#and drunk walk home feels so relatable like she captured what it’s like to be a girl in a city perfectly

[brianakennediisjustaname]

ALL OF THIS TURBULENCE WASN’T FORECASTED

[meandheraresoulmates]

Drunk-dazed — a dodgerfox fanfic

Fandom: The Artful Dodger (2023)

Warnings: none

Relationship: Jack "the Artful Dodger" Dawkins/ Belle Fox

Characters: Jack "the Artful Dodger" Dawkins, Belle Fox

Tags: Fluff / missing scene from 1x06 / canon compliant / kissing / lots of kissing / just a hint of smut / Jack centric / 3rd person narrator

Word count: 2.1k

Summary: Belle had the audacity to huff, «Of course not, don't be ridiculous. I dismissed the coachman a few blocks from here so that even if my parents suspect something, he won't tell a thing.» «That was quite smart of you» Jack admitted, relishing in the satisfied smile that made its way up Belle's face. «But how did you plan on returning?» For the first time since they met, Belle looked almost sheepish. «I was rather hoping that you'd walk me home» she muttered, not meeting his eyes. or, the missing scene we all were waiting for between 1x06 and 1x07

AO3

Jack Dawkins had been drunk before - hell, he was a sailor. They handed him his first pint long before he could call those sparse blonde hairs on his chin stubble. But no amount of alcohol in his system had ever come close to the feeling of Lady Belle's body pressed on his front, her lips on his and her scent filling his nostrils, leaving him lightheaded and weak in the knees.

It was almost pathetic, he thought in a fleeting moment of clarity before losing himself again in the intoxication that came from her closeness - the way Belle had manhandled him and pushed a bewildered Jack against that pillar. She was the inexperienced one - not that they had ever talked about experiences of that kind, he just knew that Milady had never been with a man like that before.

Yet here she was, soft mouth moving fervently against his, hands laced in his ruffled locks, not giving a care in the world about what anyone could see and think. She was facing the physical aspect of their newborn relationship the same way she took on surgery and everything medicine-related: head-on, confident, and daring, taking everything in her path as it belonged to her. Jack would be lying to himself if he didn't admit that it was her brilliance, her sharp mind and even sharper tongue that pulled him in like a moth to a flame, that lit a fire in his belly and gave him a sense of euphoria that 'till that moment only thievery had granted him.

He almost didn't recognize himself when a low hum escaped his throat. Belle was running her nails down his scalp, and it felt heavenly. Goosebumps erupted on his skin and he needed her close, closer than what was deemed sensitive outside a beaten-up tavern, even if sensibleness was thrown out the window the moment he put her mouth on hers. His hands sneaked around the heavy clock on her shoulders to latch on her waist and he pulled her flush to his chest; a gasp escaped her now swollen and moist lips and Jack was all too eager to swallow it, slanting his mouth on hers and grazing her lower lip with the tip of his tongue.

He moved one of his hands up between her shoulder blades while the other anchored Belle against him when he realized something - and before all blood left his head and went south, he forcibly tore himself from her wanting mouth.

«Belle» he gasped in the small space between their bodies, trying to put a bit of space between them. She was not having it, as the deep frown that had settled between her eyebrows foretold. She looked at him briefly, eyes going from his flushed checks to his parted mouth, before capturing the young doctor's lower lip between hers again.

For a moment Jack forgot why he stopped in the first place and resumed kissing her with renewed vigour until his hand, which was moving as if it had a mind of its own, crept up her back and brushed hot and smooth skin. Suddenly he remembered why he was trying to halt this madness and abruptly moved away, putting Belle at arm's distance but still keeping her close.

«Belle, » he said breathlessly while his chest heaved. «Are you not wearing a corset? »

She looked at him as if he had gone completely mad, chest going up and down while she tried to regain her breath. «Of course, I'm not wearing a corset, » she told him as it was the most obvious thing in the world. «Why would I wear one if I am in my nightgown? »

«Your night-» Jack's eyes were the size of saucers. He closed them, breathed in deeply, and lowered his hands so that they rested properly on her hips. When he blinked, he found Belle looking at him with an amused expression, her eyebrows raised. «So, » he said slowly, looking at her intently to gauge her reaction. «You're telling me that you have gone out, in the middle of a Friday night, in your nightgown, and» he looked down for a moment «slippers? »

Finally, it seemed that the reality of the situation dawned upon Belle. «Well, » she gulped, looking away while the apple of her checks began to flush. «It seems like I didn't think that far when I decided to go out and look for you. »

She was so adorable that Jack couldn't help a soft grin from spreading on his face. «Well, » he mimicked her, raising a hand to brush away a soft curl that had escaped her hairdo and had fallen onto her face. «It seems like you didn't think at all, Milady. »

Belle huffed, clearly annoyed but at a loss of words. Jack barked a laugh, a feeling almost like pride running through his veins: she had been so eager to see him that she hadn't thought it wasn't proper for a lady to go out dressed - or more exactly, undressed - like that. It was intoxicating, he thought while he nudged her nose with the tip of his, to know that he had that effect on her, almost like the one she had on him.

Belle scowled, annoyed, and stepped sideways to move away from him. Jack strengthened the grip on her hips - the proper, chivalry reason for that was that he didn't want her to feel embarrassed and exposed in front of the drunkards going in and out of the tavern. The most selfish and true desire was to savour the sensation of her warm, velvety skin, even through the thin fabric of her gown.

«I jest» he said softly, swiping a thumb across her cheek. Normally, he wouldn't have dared to touch her like that. However, he thought he could blame his tenderness on the alcohol. Just this once. «But you have to admit that it was careless of you. It is dangerous for a lady to go out at night, even more so in this state of undress. » His voice had reached a more serious tone in the last sentence.

Belle smirked and, getting on the tip of her toes, invaded Jack's personal space, bringing her face at a breath's distance from his. Something akin to butterflies fluttered in the doctor's stomach, or perhaps the contents of his intestines were fighting a civil war with all the liquor he had put in his system.

«How chivalrous of you, » her voice had a teasing edge, hands resting on his chest under the pretence of adjusting his jacket. «I didn't deem you a gentleman. »

«Then you poorly underestimate me, Milady» Jack answered in tow, enjoying this playful banter fully. «Also, it is not safe for anyone to be strolling around at this time of the night near Cat and Bagpipes. Usually at this wee hour, the patrons go from blind weasels that dance to...» he caught a movement from the corner of his eye. He swirled himself and Belle away from the pillar they were resting on before a poorly dressed man puked on their feet. «...to pesky badgers » he continued, unphased.

Belle on the other hand was trying very hard not to flinch. «Oh» was all she said. Jack laughed at her rare lack of eloquence. «Right. I think it is time you return to your chambers, milady. May I escort you to your carriage? » he offered her his arm.

She gladly took it, and together they made their way between passed-out men and equally drunk but still on their feet women. «I think now it is a good time to say that there is no carriage» she stated matter of factly. Jack almost snapped his neck upon hearing these words. «Wha- what do you mean there is no carriage? Did you come here all the way from Government House on foot? » he asked, in equal parts horrified and worried.

Belle had the audacity to huff, «Of course not, don't be ridiculous. I dismissed the coachman a few blocks from here, so even if my parents suspected something, he wouldn't tell a thing. »

«That was... quite smart of you» Jack admitted, relishing in the satisfied smile that made its way up Belle's face. «But how did you plan on returning? »

For the first time since they met, Belle looked almost sheepish. «I was rather hoping that you'd walk me home» she muttered, not meeting his eyes.

All thoughts about teasing her vanished from the young surgeon's mind. She was looking at him with those big, brown eyes of hers and reflected in them he could see a vulnerability that Belle had never shown before. Jack flashed her a small smile. «Then what are we waiting for? »

It wasn't that long of a walk from the suburb of Port Victory to Government House - two miles or even less. Still, it took them almost one hour to reach the back of the garden where Jack usually sneaked in. If somebody were to ask him why, he would answer that the shoes Lady Belle was wearing weren't suited for walking - but deep down they both knew it wasn't the truth. They wanted to savour the unique, peaceful stroll holding hands, pretending to be a typical couple in the early stages of courtship.

When they reached the bottom of the spiral staircase outside Belle's bedroom, Jack let go of her hand to help her climb and open the window shutters.

«Do you go all these lengths every time you come here when there is a perfectly functioning door? » Belle asked, making her way into the bedroom to light a candle.

Jack turned and was about to reply when the sight before him left him breathless. Under the candlelight, Belle looked ethereal - her hair had escaped the braid she had put them in to go to bed and was now framing her face like a halo. Her skin was golden, her eyes as deep as the oceans he had navigated all these years. She was the most beautiful woman Jack had ever seen, he thought, and she wanted him. She had kissed him. This mere notion made him euphoric.

«Jack? » Belle called, confused. His eyes snapped to her face, and in two long strides, he was in front of her. The surgeon took her face between his hands and sealed their lips together, a rough desperation he had never felt before cursing through his veins. Belle had just enough time to put the candle down before fisting the material of his shirt between her fingers and kissing him back with the same amount of passion.

Jack felt delirious and he knew that the alcohol had nothing to do with it. He wanted Belle as near as possible, to touch every inch of her skin, memorize and explore every nook and cranny of her body with his hands, eyes and lips. His mouth seemed to have a mind of its own as he moved away from her lips, trailing kisses down her jaw and along the soft skin of her neck.

It was only when a soft moan erupted from Belle's parting lips that Jack regained control of his actions. He forced himself to part from her skin and took a step away, putting some distance between their bodies. He was panting, and so was Belle. It took them a few minutes to catch their breath, and when they did, they were too embarrassed to look each other in the eye.

Reluctantly, Jack withdrew his hands from where they rested on Belle's waist. «So» he stammered, an uncharacteristic awkwardness slurring his words «I bid you goodnight. »

Belle nodded vigorously as if he had just uttered the most brilliant thing in the world. «Goodnight, Jack. »

He nodded back and turned around, making his way to the window. He already had a foot on the first step of the stairs when he turned, and found Belle looking at him from the same spot where he had left her - in her eyes, the same longing that was squeezing his chest and made each step feel like he was walking into the sea with rocks in his shoes. Jack's determination faded away and in just two swift steps, he found himself standing in front of her. He cradled her face between his hands and molded their lips together, tenderly, as if too much pressure could break her.

When they parted, Belle was already smiling, as was he. «Goodnight, lady Fox, » he whispered, brushing his nose against hers, basking in the smile she gifted him.

«Goodnight, dr. Dawkins, » she said softly.

Jack Dawkins had been drunk before. He enjoyed the feeling of a warm stomach, a buzzing head, and tingling skin, the way the world seemed to lose all its blunt edges, and people were more inclined to unfiltered happiness or unending sorrow as if the fumes made their restrictions disappear.

However, he would have given up alcohol forever if that meant he could see Belle's smile this close one last time.

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

...is anyone still here? hello fellow The Artful Dodger enthusiasts!! thank you for clicking on this story. this is my ode to the fantastic show and a gift to all of us who have loved it and are still waiting for a season 2. i can't believe my longest story is a brainrot about Jack Dawkins and Belle Fox but here we are, these two have all my heart and if we don't have a canon happy ending i will do something that will change the course of hulu's life forever. i hope you liked it and if you did i would love to hear your opinions and comments :") bye!!

[rulerofstars]

do you write in modern!au? i have an idea about an angst of him confessing/proposing to his s/o but because they were too shocked, he thought he was being rejected and he left them, (cutting their contacts off and such) then they meet again after some time coincidentally and they got to talk about it and his s/o got to finally answer him (sorry if its too long!)

Le quattro Stagioni

Pairing: Levi Ackerman x (Fem) Reader

Genre & Warnings: Modern AU, angst, fluff, swearing, mentions of alcohol

Word count: 4,950 words

Angel: I am so sorry this took so long, anon. Thank you so much for requesting, I hope you enjoy this one. Play the songs in order upon seeing the little hearts (♡) that I’ll put, but only if you guys want. All the love.

Songs:

Two is Better than One by Boys Like Girls

Back to December by Jake Coco (or TS)

You and Me by Lifehouse

The tepidity of June danced along the slightly cool breeze that blew a few strands of your hair away from your face. Numerous messages from Hanji made your phone go almost crazy and overwhelmed by the bombardment of notifications. Several questions about what would you wear, what time will you go, or should they pick you up.

A sigh escaped your lips upon opening your apartment door, the cold feeling of being alone grazed your cheek, sending shivers down your spine even though it was summer. Walking to your room, you grabbed the makeup pouch on top of the dining table along the way, replying to your friend’s messages.

Tonight is a special one. After five long years, a highschool reunion is initiated and organized by a few of your batchmates, and the venue is at a small garden event place—where everyone experienced their first prom when in third year. Your lips formed a smile upon the memories brought by the sudden reminisce, it was your first everything.

♡

Highschool is a period where people often experience every kind of shit an individual has to go through to enjoy their teenage years. We get drunk, we smoke—well not everyone, but a majority has tried taking one drag and regretting it afterwards, we lie to our parents, we cut classes. It doesn’t always happen to everyone, and not every single person can relate, but the point is, highschool brought us to situations we never knew we could get through. It introduced us to unfamiliar feelings, it gave us the chance to quench the curiosity that formed within the depths of our minds.

It doesn’t always happen to everyone in high school, but in your case, you fell in love.

Being friends with Hanji allowed you to become one with their own circle, too. The ever so responsible Erwin, Mike, Nanaba, Moblit—Hanji’s best friend, and you didn’t know if they noticed but there’s something else in the man’s eyes whenever he stares at Hanji, and of course, Levi. . . Every single one of them had their own idiosyncrasies, and it wasn’t hard to get along with them, especially with the man with the jet-black hair and slanted eyes.

As a transferee from another school, you chose to go along their group, because being with them makes you feel at ease. They weren’t intimidating at all, Levi was, at first, but their warmth and how they welcomed you in their circle will never be forgotten by your heart.

Everyone has their own “partner in crime”, except for Erwin who could ace high school on his own, but he did help anyone who needed a hand, and because of his duties as a class president, he doesn’t always have the chance to mingle with you guys. And so every time you had afterschool shenanigans, Mike and Nanaba would have their own little world, Hanji would be blabbering their rants to Moblit, sometimes Erwin too, if he’s not too busy with his responsibilities, and you are often left with Levi. It’s not that you hated it—you never hated it.

“Do you want me to walk you home?” He asked, one day. It was three months after being friends with you when he first held your hand, just because an over-speeding car almost hit you while you were walking your way towards our house. His hand felt nice on yours, and the concern that dwelled in his eyes was enough to make your frail heart dance with the crispy, orange leaves.

It was in the final term of first year when the attraction towards him grew into a little crush and little did you know how he became more fond of you than he did with the others, too.

“Do you want me to get you soup?” The busy cafeteria was filled with hungry students, lunch time only allows you to have your break within an hour. Yes, fuck school, but thank God the canteen wasn’t so far away.

“Yep,” You answered, while waiting outside of the line as you waited for Levi to finish ordering your food while you held his bag, and the utensils.

“Go find us a chair, I’ll come to you.” His bored eyes darted onto yours, nodding his head, insisting that you should go and sit. Hanji and the others found you soon after being separated for a while, they sat anywhere but the seat in front of you. Because, it’s Levi’s spot if it is across yours, and nobody can change that.

The unexpected bond of you and him had grew into a light sense of puppy love, and you really didn’t have a clue about what you were feeling, but it did feel right, he felt right.

“Do you like Levi?” Nanaba interrogated you one time when she and Hanji had a sleepover at your house, and a sleepover isn’t one if you would not talk about crushes and such. Apparently, something is really going on in between her and Mike, and she talked about how it all began in middle school. Hanji, apparently, is too caught up with fictional creatures like Titans, and they spoke about not having time for crushes.

“Yeah, do you like him? Because he liiiikes you,” They teased and you brushed it off, avoiding the question by changing the topic immediately.

“Don’t be silly.” You laughed.

Of course, of course you did.

He is the snowflakes of your winters.

It was the autumn of sophomore, when you first went into Levi’s house, along with your friends, of course. You met his lovely mom who welcomed you warmly and cooked the nicest food you’ve ever tasted outside of your house, and then you met his uncle who acts as if he’s always drunk and calls Levi a little runt.

“Tch,” Kuchel showed you his baby pictures, and you stared at his annoyed face, picturing if he had not cut his long, dark hair. Maybe he could tie it into a manbun? “Mom, stop that.” You laughed, amused how he managed to snatch the album away from the grip of his mother as he ran towards his room while everyone giggled because of his reaction.

“That brat was never the friendly type, we’re glad you were able to adopt him to your group,” Kenny snorted. Behind his harsh words were a sense of gratitude, you knew that Levi’s uncle may appear as harsh at first, but he was kind, and you were pretty sure where Levi got his attitude from.

Kuchel patted the top of your heads before sending you off that day, thanking you for how well you treated Levi, “You take care of my son, okay?” She said, and it might have appeared as usual to others, but not to you. You’d never forget how she looked into your eyes the moment she spoke, as if she was pertaining to you.

What you thought was puppy love had bloomed into something deeper, something stronger, more serious, and bigger than the both of you.

-----

It was the spring of junior year when you first made out. His room was dimly lit, the curtains were closed, his bed was soft, his tongue on yours—and how you wrapped your arms around his neck just to pull him closer to your body.

The seasons flew by quickly, you knew how well your heart and mind begs for him, and he is well aware about how a single touch of you could make him falter. You weren’t dumb, and it wasn’t that hard to figure it out, what was hard was to admit.

“What do you feel about me?” You asked, staring into his eyes and getting lost within the ardor the dwells upon his irises whenever he looks at you. “Do you love me, Levi?”

You would never forget how his ears turned red at that moment, placing soft kisses on your face while holding you in his arms, never ready to let go. “Tch, what do you think?”

“I think you do, too.” You smiled, pressing your lips against his and closing your eyes, feeling his warm breath on your face, his long eye lashes against your skin, and the scent you’ve grown fond of for years.

His eyes trailed to the necklace he gave you at prom, tracing the cold silver chain that rested upon the smoothness of your neck, “Then why’d you ask?”

And he would never forget how your eyes gleamed when he told you that, as if every star in the universe exploded and the smithereens fell onto your face. “I’m right, then?”

“Mhm.”

“I just want to hear you say it,” You pouted, kissing on his forehead and studying the cosmos in his eyes. You have always wondered how his eyes looked so pretty whenever you stare at them, never had you noticed how it only dazzles that way just because he is looking at you.

“I am in love with you.”

And it’s just a matter of time when the both of you realized that “you and me” was meant to be an “us.”

Everyone knew about your relationship when you were in high school, you were a power couple, lowkey but sweet. You never fail to capture almost everyone’s attention whenever you do the slightest things, hold each other’s bags, when you give him your food, when you share food, when you share a smile, most especially when you took every breath away at your first dance in prom. The relationship was private, but it shook everyone’s world. You kept things to the both of you, leaving people extremely curious about it.

The graduation was emotional, almost everyone was crying while they hugged their friends. And tears were flowing from your face, too, while Hanji and the others enveloped you into a group hug.

“I’m going to miss you all, oh my God.” They cried.

“There, there, it’s okay.” Erwin shushed them, earning a glare from your brunette friend.

“Shut up! You’re lucky you’d be going to the same university as Levi and Mike!”

You shook your head at them, spotting your boyfriend and walking towards where he is. A small smile formed on his lips upon seeing you approaching.

“Hey,” You smiled, kissing his cheek. Good thing, the lipstick you’ve used is waterproof.

“We made it, huh?” He kissed your forehead, and seldom are the times that he is willing to be affectionate in public. You closed your eyes for a while and caressed his cheek gently.

“We did,” You grinned, reaching out to his palm and intertwining your fingers together. “Hold my hand?”

He let out a light chuckle, and you swore, you fell in love a bit more. “Always.”

While you are the flowers of his spring.

♡

Just like how high school was, college flew by quickly. After years of being emotionally, physically, and mentally drained, you couldn’t believe how you managed to reach the last year of suffering. You wouldn’t lie, but the pressure and the amount of knowledge you’ve compressed into your brain made you doubt yourself. The path towards reality was extremely horrifying, and you felt like you couldn’t take it. You doubted your own capabilities to the point wherein you almost didn’t believe in yourself anymore.

It was the winter of senior year when Levi asked you one question that almost made your heart stop.

The snow fell from the empyrean that day, the heater felt useless because of the extreme cold that crept upon the spaces of your apartment. Your boyfriend was there while you burned your eyebrows trying to work on your final requirement.

You wouldn’t lie if you would say that the stress that had been introduced to the both of you didn’t put a space between him and you. Numerous quarrels have made you stronger, but this. . . it was as if you’re aware that you are drifting apart, and you weren’t doing anything about it, and fuck how it scared you. You wouldn’t lie if you were to say that the love wasn’t as warm as it used to, it wasn’t as fluttery as before, and you understood that it could be because of college. But the thought of letting go of the man that you love just because you are so damn scared of opening up teared your heart to pieces, and so you made your mind.

“C-can we talk?” You asked, approaching Levi who sat on your couch while scrolling through his phone. He nodded, standing up and following you to the dining table where all of your papers and laptop sat, while you shivered underneath the sweater that you stole from him.

“I have to tell you something,” Your hands gripped the hem of the sweater tight, while your boyfriend lean against the backrest of the chair.

“Yeah, me too.” The coldness of his voice added to the ice that formed because of the freezing weather. Was he this cold or were you not used to anymore?

“I-”

“Marry me.”

The ice struck your core like a billow enraged with fury and no mercy. You couldn’t speak nor react as your stared at him while time remained suspended in the frost. Your mind could not process his question, and confusion glazed your eyes while your heart pounded like crazy. The grip of your hand against the hem of the sweater weakened while you couldn’t believe what you just heard.

You thought he’s calling it off. You thought he was going to break up with you, you fucking thought you were done. But you are so taken aback that you can’t even talk. You sat frozen until seconds turned into minutes. You were sandwiched in the conundrum of stress, pressure, anxiety, and doubt.

“I see,” The words that left his mouth struck you in a different way as you watched his body walk out of your apartment. You wanted to scream, to punch yourself, to hurt yourself for not being able to function. You are trembling, but not because of the cold. A part of your soul shivered upon trying to understand what just happened.

“O-oh, my God.” You whispered, rushing outside without even bothering to put on more clothing. Winter’s kiss felt like a ghost on your skin as you sat in the middle of your snow-coated staircase, seeing how he had already gone.

Trepidation slowly crushed your heart as hot tears trickled from your eyes, down your face. Realization crept in the depths of your system as you understood that what caused you to be terrified never involved anything about the future, you’re not crying because he left, because whenever he does, he always comes back to you. What scared you the most, was how he felt before leaving. It felt like goodbye.

-----

The summer dress fitted your body perfectly, putting on a small smile while staring at yourself in the mirror. After some time, you finally finished getting ready. Pink stained your juicy lips, and you topped it off with a gloss. A spritz of perfume, earrings, mascara, everything felt like complete but deep inside, you knew that something was missing.

Your eyes darted on your neck, that is why, feeling nothing around your neck was weird, because you were so used to wearing the necklace that he gave you back when you were in high school. Sighing, you found yourself opening one of your drawers and taking out the necklace once again, you never threw it away, how could you? You just stopped wearing it. Cold and pretty, it sat on your skin. It never looked weary despite how old it was, because you took good care of it. You took good care of the presents Levi gave you.

Memories of how you broke down and how Hanji and Nanaba hugged you so tight while you sat in the middle of Levi’s empty apartment tore a piece of your heart once again. How you begged Erwin and Mike to help you with finding Levi, but they were clueless, too. It hurt so much, he left without a word, cut everything off, he was gone in the wind, and never in your life had you been so confused, so hurt, desperate for answers, desperate for chances.

Before thoughts of him could fill your mind, you forced yourself to think of something else. It has been six months since then, but you would be lying if you were to say that you don’t miss him. Because in reality, you fucking do.

A doorbell woke you out of your daze, “Coming!” You shouted, double-checking everything before heading out the door. Various thoughts filled your mind upon seeing the staircase that was once buried in deep, white, snow.

“Come in, girl!” Nanaba shouted from the backseat, and you smiled upon seeing their bright faces. In the front was Mike, and Moblit’s in the passenger seat, Hanji and Nanaba sat next to each other in the backseat, squishing you in a tight hug once you got in. You missed this so much, it has been so long. You never imagined that you could cherish a friendship like this, one that could last long. One that is worthwhile.

The garden is filled with various decorations inspired by the summer. Flowers of different kinds greeted your vision, every decoration turned the same, old, and boring venue into a decent one. You smiled at every familiar face you’ve encountered with, grinning awkwardly whenever they asked you about Levi, and your heart ache. You sought for answers, and they were never given to you.

“Where’s Erwin?” You were curious about the blonde man’s whereabouts, he’s probably busy with work. He immediately got into a company after graduating. You were in their graduation, and Levi wasn’t there. Thoughts of how you panicked that day filled your mind once again, how you cried to Erwin and Mike, telling them how you’ve ruined Levi’s life. But they were comforting, telling you how the man could have transferred when in the final semester in the last minute. Still, everything’s just a possibility, you didn’t know.

Hanji scrolled through their phone, “Probably late because he’s busy,” They answered, looking at you to check if you are okay. Their hand caressed  the exposed skin of your shoulder, sending comforting warmth to fight against the cold of the night. “I’m sorry if everyone’s asking about. . .” They trailed off, and you smiled at them, assuring them that it is okay, even though it’s not. How the fuck will it be okay?

Nanaba hugged you from the side while you were sitting, you leaned your head against their shoulder, letting a few tears fall from your pretty eyes.

“I’m sorry, it’s just how they knew you. . .” She whispered, caressing your back, “You’re (Y/N) of Levi.” A bitter laugh escaped your mouth as you chewed on your bottom lip.

“Hey, don’t talk like that,” You giggled, forcing the tears to stop. Mike handed you a glass of water that he fetched from the mobile bar, and you thanked him, carefully drinking from the cup. “Thank you, for being with me.”

“Always.”

Everyone had fun with games and such, the food was great, you had to go back to the buffet table two times, not minding your diet for the night. It was in the middle of the program when Erwin came, nodding at the men and hugging you girls.

“What did I miss?”

“Everything, dude. Where the fuck did you came from? Narnia?”

The spotlight is suddenly on Erwin, shocking the man who is currently eating the food Moblit got for him while he was gone, the Microphone person, Oluo, decided to interrogate Erwin, being the class valedictorian of your batch. People laughed when he was forced to take one shot of pure tequila before making a short speech first. You weren’t sure if Erwin was one of those who organized the event, but he did told you that he was added into a groupchat by a person from another section—you think Nile was the name.

Erwin was indeed, super late when you realized that it is time to for the most fun part of every prom you had in high school—the party portion. The man ate first before he joined your group’s rowdy-ass partying, you had fun as if you were back in your teenage years, except, you had unlimited alcohol this time. You’re pretty sure that either Hanji or Mike would come home late because those two doesn’t know the word limit.

Amidst the part where everyone’s being wild, from disco music to cheesy ones that you actually danced to when you were. . .

♡

A few couples filled the dancefloor, as others went to the mobile bar, ready to get drunk. It was one of your favorite love songs which played, as if it’s mocking you for not having your long-time partner. It’s mocking you for being single, fuck, you don’t even know if you are single or not.

Your boys formed a circle, they always do this every time a sweet song plays from the blasting speakers, mimicking a cotilion, but jumping to the part where everyone switches partners by forming a circle. You get partnered with Mike first, making funny faces to him like how you used to when you were young, and as he twirled you around, you found your self in the gentleman’s arms—Moblit, he told you how pretty you looked as he let you spin, passing you onto Erwin.

His eyes darted on the necklace on your neck, smiling upon the sight of the familiar jewelry, “You look beautiful tonight,” He told you, swaying you along the rhythm of the music. Your lips formed a slight smile, knowing that the reason of his stare is because of the necklace. “Don’t even think about teasing me, Erwin I swear I’ll punch-”

“Woah, easy there, I won’t do that to you.” He laughs at your glare, this man is probably drunk, you thought. While the two never knew their limits, Erwin’s a fucking weakling when it comes to alcohol. He twirled you around with so much force that you ended up not being catched by Mike and so you closed your eyes and braced yourself for the impact, but you didn’t fall.

Warm hands caught your frail body, whoever it was wrapped their hands around you, and between the the searing touches of this stranger, you felt yourself froze, feeling the familiarity of the unfamiliar touch. The clean, musk scent that had you enticed and whipped for years is recognized by your system.

There’s something about you now. . .

His warm hands embraced you like he used to while you get lost within the music that you first danced to.

I can’t quite figure out.

“I missed you.” He whispered, and you couldn’t open your eyes. You buried your faces within his chest, and how you also fucking missed it.

While various emotions filled your core, the tears that failed to escape your eyes before the party started, found their way back into your tear ducts. You didn’t know what to feel, how to feel, what to think, you are once again clueless while you let yourself drown within his touch.

Everything she does is beautiful.

But one thing is for sure.

Everything she does is right.

You are glad that he’s back.

He is the chill that makes you shiver when autumn comes by.

“F-fuck you. . .” You cried, sobbing onto his shirt and gripping onto the fabric. Levi’s hands caressed your back, pressing you closer, harder onto his chest. Fury crept upon every crevice of your heart, but you can’t let him go, you’re scared to let him go.

The love that you have for this man is so tremendous, that you can’t stand to hate him. Slowly, you felt yourself being pulled away from the crowd of dancing couples, distance made the music sound so soft, and the only sound that blasted you to bits was the sound of your heart beats with his.

“I hate you, I fucking hate you, how dare you—how fucking dare you!” Your fists came in contact with his hard chest, the feelings you have kept to yourself for six fucking months blasted like a waterfall. The force was too much, and you let yourself get carried out. Just this once.

His soft eyes never left your tipsy state, you were perfect. Still perfect.

Levi gladly took every punch you threw, every curse you spat, every slap you gave, because nothing could ever deny the fact that he deserved it. He was so fucking dumb, as Erwin and Mike told him.

“Leaving after proposing? Are you a sick fuck? Who does that?”

He received words from his friends after knowing what happened between the both of you. Curses, advices from Erwin, words from Hanji, the disapproval of Moblit, Mike’s punches, Nanaba’s disbelief.

“How d-dare you leave me! Y-you told me you won’t leave me. Fuck you, I-I love you. . .why did you leave me. . . Y-you know that I hate it when you leave me.” You sobbed, not knowing if you should continue hurting him or if you should go and hug him.

Levi’s lips pressed softly against your forehead, holding you tight, under the unforgiving solstice of the night.

“I almost failed my major. . .” He whispers, hugging the vulnerable you, while he buried half of his face onto the crook of your neck. And fuck, how he had missed this, how he fucking missed everything about you. “I never told you, because I know how anxious you were. . . I don’t want to become a burden.”

Your breathing was unsteady as you choked on words you could never say because of what he just said, your grip on his shirt tightened as you felt more tears streaming down your pretty face.

“I felt us drifting apart. . .and fuck, it scared me, (Y/N),” He paused, breathing deeply and running his fingers through your hair. “And when you asked if we could talk, I thought you wanted us done. So I asked you to marry me.”

His warm hands found their way to caress your tear-soaked face as he brought his face closer to yours, staring deeply into your eyes. “And I really wanted to marry you, baby. Fuck, I even had the shitty ring with me that time. . .” He gulped, biting his lip upon seeing the pain in your eyes. He could feel how fast your heart beats, he could feel the ache you’ve gone through for six months. “But I freaked out, And I really thought I. . . I already lost you.” He closed his eyes, he couldn’t bare seeing you cry because of him again.

“Erwin told me that I don’t deserve you, and I realized that really fucking don’t.” The cold wind kissed your skin, contrasting the heat that his body radiates. Steel grey eyes you have fell in love with years ago and until now darted on the silver necklace that sat pretty on your skin, and how it made his heart pound faster that it does. “But I am in love with you. . . The six fucking months, I’ve spent all of it trying to make myself a better man for you.”

His eyes, the gloss that reflected the beauty of the moon stared into yours once again. It’s been a while since you’ve seen the way his eyes look more pretty whenever you stare at him, because it has been a while since he last saw you.

“And whatever decision you are going to make, I will accept.” He whispered, pressing a soft kiss on your tear-stained face once again. “I am in love with you.” A small smile formed on his lips, as if he was already assuming that you’d leave him, and you hated that smile, you hated everything.

As if you fucking could.

“Marry me.” You muttered.

Gone was the fragility that dwelled upon your starry eyes, every doubt, every question, every ounce of fear that once settled deep inside your heart vanished along every meteor that crashed into the abyss of nothingness. Gone was the hate, gone was everything else except for the both of you.

‘Cause it’s you and me, and all of the people, and I don’t know why, I can’t keep my eyes off of you.

He nodded at you, speechless upon your sudden question. And he knew that this is right, he is sure. He is sure of you.

“I’m sorry.” His kisses sent butterflies and made you grew flowers on every inch of your body as he carefully slipped a ring on your ring finger. “I will make it up to you.” His words are coated with finality, and your heavy-lidded eyes felt warm once again, his slender fingers wiped the corner of your eyes before the tears could stain your face once more.

“D-don’t you leave me again.” You choked, admiring the ring that he got you. It fitted perfectly on your finger, just like how your hand fits perfectly with his.

“I’ll stay with you, always.”

“I never stopped loving you, Levi.” Your soft voice was melody to his ears, as the summer night reminded you both of how everything started. How you first met, how you first held hands, how you slowly fell in love, how you first made love, how you both thanked the cosmos for leading you to each other’s arms.

“I’ll never not love you.”

And you will always be the warmth that completes his every summer.

[lovenliterature]

You Signed Up For This Thoughts

You Signed Up For This

Instant fave from the tiktok snippet

Fave Lyric: “A small towner, I only drink to get drunk” and “Please don’t give up on me yet/I know I’ll get better/I’m just not better yet”

I’m Trying (Not Friends)

Love the vibe and beat of this one

The sort of song I’d def sing along to drunk post breakup on the floor of the living room with ice cream and a friend and shitty movies

“We think that your girlfriend is a bore/But we're nice to her in public cause we're grown up and mature” - such a vibe and such a like UGH I’ll be the bigger person but doesn’t mean I like her

Fave lyrics: “London 2020/Boy and a girl broke up, yeah, it's two a penny” and “Three shots, lemon drops/One for being lost and alone in your early twenties”

John Hughes Movie  

Really liked this one from its release and the music vid is so good

I sing along to it when cooking most nights - spinning with a vodka coke is always running through my head

Also the romanticisation is something I relate to so hard and it’s so good to have that pointed out

Fave lyric: “Cause if you don’t want me/Then you’re not the one”

Outdoor Pool

Gives me vibes like august did somehow

Also such a good like teenage encapsulation and start of uni, feels like a capturing of my life pre transition along w my naivety and throwing myself into relationships and friendships pre T, now I’m more likely to save the friendship than chuck away people I love for something I’ve built up in my head

Toast ref!!

French exchange!! Oh dear god it’s actually dragging me back to 2014 and Year 10 and falling for different boys

“And you only kissed me, once, nothing changed at all” - OOF this is so relevant to second year and the whole situ, I mean, everything changed, but nothing changed between us and it SUCKED

Fave lyrics: “I was fifteen, now I'm fifteen and a fool”

Love Him I Don’t

Early fave, just love the intro and the whole chill ish vibe, gonna be a walking home song and a late night staring at the stars song

The whole chorus is a stunner

Oh god does it hurt to think of people i’ve felt this for

“What a state, what a waste of your twenties” - oof that hits and hurts

Definitely the song that gets stuck in my head the most

Fave lyric: “Fell for you and got a bad concussion”

Psycho

Ngl, really didn’t vibe w it on first listen at all, prob bc I had psycho by Lauren Aquilina in my head, but now really like it and the lyrics are really clever

The vid is fun but legit creepy (iconic outfit)

Fave lyric: “You don't want me at all/But you don't want me to fall for anyone” also the bridge

Boy

FAVE FAVE FAVE

Kind of wish it was called fuck boy but still iconic

Why is this relatable for so many different situs

The opening lines are so good and the whole song gives me like proper dancey vibes, kinda sia vibes idk

Fave lyric - literally the whole song but lets go with: “She tries to get closer/So you go and ghost her/Like it's perpetual Halloween”

Hollow

Oh man it makes me cry

So good, the melody is so beautiful and it feels so OG Mazzie I love it, it fits in perfectly with the playlist I made the worst winter of my life and believe me that’s a compliment

Fave lyric: “We had a future 'til you made it history”

Villain

FAVE AS WELL

I love anything that shows you as a villain

SOUR vibes

Love the way she sings I’m your villain

Verse 2 is so good and so relatable

“If she's the girl of your dreams/The best thing you've ever seen/Well, what does that make me then?” - this is proper first breakup vibes and it hurts so much

Fave lyric: “Now you're in her room, getting undressed/I curse you on the front of the steps”

Brooklyn

I’m a real softie for the songs about Ellen, especially after corona now I’m so much closer to my sister and I think it’s so lovely having Ellen hyped up as the girl of your dreams idk

“Sushi and a fake ID/You're Katie from Michigan/Wing woman” - especially love the pace of these lines

Fave lyric: “If you want to take her out, you're gonna have to ask me first/Come on, have you seen those eyes?/It’s nothing but the best for her”

Elvis Song

Love the vibe of this and the sound

Kind of love the fact that it’s a post should be over a breakup time thing because that’s almost the worst part of heartbreak, everyone else is sick of hearing about it, you should be over it but you’re still reliving it

“Cold bench on a platform/Last train on the Northern Line” - heartbreak but also first releases of music for me is a time that’s always full of movement, on trains and in my head, so i kind of love this lyric just for that

For some reason it reminds me of summer’s at pride

Fave lyric: “I've got no right to miss you/All I did was kiss and fly”

Talking to Strangers

God this is so the vibe when I like someone or am just generally excited about having them in my life, like I’m like that about friends as much as crushes - no points for guessing who this makes me think of at the moment

So chill gives me festival vibes

Idk I just love it

Fave Lyric: “The girl doing laps in the pool knows you learnt how to swim in Hawaii” the way she sings it is just the best

Volcano

Such a bop and such a mood when someone leaves

Haunted vibes is so true!!

Fave Lyric: “I’ll cry you a river then I’ll drown you in it”

Tough Act

Its such a hard thing to let someone go

Birthday ref!!

God I don’t think I can pick a favourite lyric, so many of them are incredible

Also Hollow ref??

Fave lyrics: “Everybody knows that a breakup/Is better when there’s someone to hate but”

A lot of the album feels v pro self love and also very drunk girl in the bathroom telling you not to take him back

[darnittumbleweed]

HC: drunk reader giving reid a lap dance in front of the team (IM SORRY I RANDOMLY THOUGHT ABOUT THIS AND BURST OUT LAUGHING)

Sooo Y/N maybe doesn’t handle her alcohol well...She might be the definition of a lightweight.

She also doesn’t handle peer pressure well

which is probably why she keeps accepting the drinks that Rossi keeps serving. He is an excellent host and Y/N isn’t going to say no to free good quality booze.

You are all just blowing off some steam. Everyone is.

Rossi had long ago gone to bed reassuring everyone he was fine with them sleeping here. He didn’t want anyone driving home drunk.

The drinking hadn’t stopped even after Rossi had gone to sleep.

You can’t stop yourself from leaning against the sofa a little too hard the room spinning just the slightest as you down another drink.

Y/N can’t stop herself from smiling at the groan of annoyance that leaves Emily as Morgan speaks. “I still can’t believe it, a stripper killing her clients.”

“She was enacting rage against men that reminded her of her father. These clients brought up that rage and she had to eliminate them. In a way she was killing her father over and over again. She kept doing it because she never could feel fully satisfied once the murders were over. She had to keep killing to try to capture that satisfaction. It was never enough though. She couldn’t get to the true target of her aggression, her father.” Reid provided earning another groan from Emily.

She spoke not missing a chance to say it. “We know Reid. We were there when we said all of that in the profile. Can we please talk about something that isn’t work related?”

“I know one thing. I can see how women can walk in those platforms when stripping. Normal high heels are hard enough on your feet. Those things look like nightmares.” JJ exclaimed.

Y/N felt the words leave her before she could stop them. “It’s easy you just don’t walk on your toes like you’d do in normal heels. Platforms actually kind of help on the job. It places you closer to being higher up against the pole and they kind of work as weights so they make transitions in dancing easier, not to mention they can make your legs look longer.”

She would have felt her cheeks flush if she wasn’t so drunk.

The guffaw that left Morgan at this statement. “Do you have something to share about yourself Y/N?”

She felt her cheeks flush the alcohol emboldening her enough. “College was expensive. I had to make an income to get through school fast if I wanted a chance to join the FBI.”

“Holy crap, so you? I mean you were a stripper?” Garcia squawked.

Y/N shrugged her shoulders not noticing the flush to Reid’s cheeks the man shifting in place beside her as he tried to take in this information. “Yeah, I didn’t do it long. It paid me more than enough to fund my education. It helped me in a way, I learned a lot on the job. I learned how to read people. I figured out who would be a good tipper by studying their appearance and their behavior. It was like profiling.”

“Yeah profiling with lapdances.” Morgan exclaimed still obviously amused by this information.

“Wait, can you still do some of the moves? I mean like working on the pole and the lapdancing?” JJ asked not helping but to be curious.

Y/N shrugged once again the alcohol making her more open. “Yeah, I kept up pole dancing at home. It’s a good workout. I thought about even teaching some poledance workout classes but I figured the FBI would frown upon that.”

“We need a demonstration.” Morgan exclaimed.

Garcia nodded her head fast to agree. “Yeah, come on...I mean if you want to. No pressure. Don’t want to put you on the spot.”

Y/N spoke this being an alcohol based choice. “What the hell, why not.”

“I volunteer Reid.” Morgan exclaimed ignoring Reid’s flushed cheeks and stammers as he tried to argue against it.

Y/N stood a sigh leaving her. “I’ll need music. It might be awkward doing this in silence.”

“I’ve got you.” Garcia exclaimed pulling her phone from her purse and pulling up a music playlist.

Y/N was surprised it was easy to sink into it even drunk. It had been a while since she’d actually done a full on lapdance, but it came to her like riding a bike.

She managed to shake her hips enough bending over in front of Reid making sure to move slowly and sensually.

She closed her eyes it a little easier to proceed when she could pretend there weren’t eyes on her.

She moved over Reid slowly resting her backside in his lap grinding against him lying back to rest against his chest.

She rotated her hips slowly not missing the audible groan that left Reid the man closing his eyes his cheeks pink. Why did this have to be happening with everyone watching them? Why did this have to be happening with her. He’d been crushing on Y/N for so long now...this was so amazing...but so mortifying.

She continued to rotate her hips knowing just how to move to draw more noises from Reid.

She felt a noise leave her at the evidence building against her backside notifying her that Reid was so enjoying this.

She stood turning to face him shaking her hips a little more teasingly working her way to the finale.

She didn’t miss the whine as her hips left his or the way he reached for her Reid too lost in this moment to notice Morgan’s amused laugh. “Hey no touching the dancers kid.”

She straddled Reid’s hips facing him this time so she could continue rocking against him her breasts pressing close to his face. She knew this move was a little more successful when she just just pasties and panties on but it was the thought that counted.

Reid moaned as she grinded against him rotating her hips to the beat of the music.

It was over way too soon. The song ended and Morgan spoke another laugh leaving him. “Okay kids, break it up. That lapdance is turning into dry humping.”

Y/N laughed her cheeks flushing as she stumbled out of Reid’s lap not noticing Reid panting his cheeks bright pink.

He stood up from the sofa scrambling from the room. “I gotta go...to the bathroom.”

He felt his cheeks flush darker as Morgan called out something about not getting himself off in Rossi’s guest bathroom.

He could distinctly hear JJ speak to Y/N an amused laugh leaving her. “You have to teach me some of those moves. I don’t care if the FBI says no, we are starting a BAU poledance work out class.

The next morning was awkward to say the least. Y/N woke with a pounding head and a stiff neck. She was never passing out on Rossi’s couch again.

She moved from the room quietly careful not to wake the rest of her sleeping coworkers.

She felt her cheeks flush as she entered the kitchen finding she wasn’t the only one so awake so early.

Reid almost dropped the spoon he was stirring his coffee with at the sight of her.

She and he shared an awkward stare Y/N feeling her knees grow weak as memories of the night before flashed through her brain. Oh god she was a bad person. Reid didn’t feel comfortable being touched most of the time and she’d totally given him a lapdance in front of everyone. He must hate her.

She spoke unable to stop herself from groveling. “I am so sorry about last night. I was drunk.”

Reid cringed thinking she must hate him. She was probably upset she’d done that with him of all people. 

She spoke again clearing up her statement. “I didn’t mean to invade your private space like that. I know you feel weird about touch and I must have made you so uncomfortable. I never wanted to disrespect you like that but I so did and I can understand if you’re upset.”

“I”m not upset.” Reid exclaimed the words leaving him.

She felt her cheeks flush the words spilling from her. “You aren't?”

Reid sighed knowing it was now or never. “I liked it..I mean...I don’t want to make you feel awkward to say it. I really value you as a profiler and a friend...I want more than friendship though...I have for a while. Last night was perfect...I just wish it hadn’t been in front of everyone...and I wish I actually had a chance to take you out on a real date before I got you in my lap.”

He cringed the words leaving him doubt filling him. “I can understand if I crossed a line. If you don’t feel the same I understand. Like I said I value you as a profiler and a friend and that won’t change if you don’t feel the same.”

Y/N answered him her with a kiss her lips landing against his the kiss chaste considering the fact that she’d felt him get hard against her last night.

She pulled back her voice soft. “I’d love to go on a date with you.”

He smiled the words leaving him his heart fluttering. “Really?”

“Yes, really. I might even give you another lapdance when our date ends. I still have some old platforms in my closet.”

Reid grinned at this nodding his head eagerly. 

Thank god for drunk Morgan and his stupid ideas and thank god for lapdances. 

[wouldpollyapprove]

Headcanon: Going Into Labor At A Party

Request: None, you guys just really liked these so I have decided to do one for each of the Shelby boys.

Requested by no one

John Shelby x Reader

Warnings: language, alcohol, pregnancy

A/N: This is the last of the “Going Into Labor” headcanons for the Shelby Clan unless you guys want me to do them for Ada & Polly and/or other Peaky Blinder characters. Just let me know and I’ll do them b/c I love these so much. I don’t know how well this is b/c I haven’t read through it, so sorry if it’s rough.

Part One (Arthur) / Part Two (Finn) / Part Three (John) / Part Four (Michael) / Part Five (Thomas)

Masterlist

The Shelby’s had been invited to a large gathering by the Lee’s, more like a party where everyone would end up blackout drunk, due to the fact that you were distantly related to them. As a relative, they couldn’t just not invite you and they wanted to keep Tommy happy.

So, with John’s arm link with your’s, you slowly walked behind his family to where you could see your’s and most of them appeared to have opened a bottle of whiskey. 

“God, your brother’s are shit faced,” your husband chuckled, pointing at your brother who was chasing after a goose. It was all fun and games until the goose turned around and started chasing after him.

You laughed, watching the goose hiss at your brother. “You think he’d slow down with the liquor, but no.”

John hummed and gazed out at the open field around you. “How are you feeling, love?” he asked to fill the silence.

“I’m the same as I was when you asked earlier,” your rolled your eyes. “Now, quite fussing. We’re here to have fun and you can’t have fun if you’re worrying about me.” You leaned your head on his shoulder.

Your swollen belly gave him every reason to worry. John knew drunks, having spent a lot of time around them, and knew they could be dangerous even if they didn’t mean to be.

Once among your family, John and you were quickly greeted ad given glasses full of who knows what. John had no problem accepting what was shoved in his hand, but you did.

Since becoming pregnant, many things made your nose scrunch up in disgust. Lamb made you want to vomit, meaning your husband would have to go a while without some of his favorite dishes. Alcohol, it didn’t even matter what it was, was disgusting to even think about. That made trips to the garrison or even the betting shop impossible sometimes. 

How you had decided coming to this party was beyond you. It would be impossible to find a place the alcohol couldn’t reach your nose, so you just hoped that you could hold down your dinner.

The sun had set as John pulled you on to the dance floor. It was a slow enough song that he knew you could manage to keep the pace. “You look beautiful in this light,” he smiled at you, brushing a loose hair out of your face. Though, the two of you had been together for a long while, he always made you blush.

“You know, once the baby’s born, there’ll be another party like this,” you commented, allowing John to spin you around. 

“What’s with your family and parties?”

You shrugged, looking over your husband’s shoulder to see one of your uncles light a wagon wheel on fire. It was better than someone’s hair, which had been the last thing he’d caught on fire. “I don’t know, but they’re fun.”

The two of you made your way out of the swarm of dancers when your feet began to hurt. It was a light complaint, but John insisted you take a seat and rest your feet for a bit. But before you could make it far, your water broke, soaking the dirt beneath you.

You weren’t sure who raced to your side fast, Polly or your aunt May. Despite John’s protests, they quickly took you from his arms and led you to one of the wagons. Even with a car, they were too far from the city to get you home in time. 

Once you were out of sight, Arthur came over and clapped a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Ya’re gonna be dad.”

A massive grin broke out across John’s face. “I’m gonna be a fucking father!” he shouted. 

You could hear him from where you were, the women around you trying to get you comfortable. You wanted to smile at his antics, it was the same reaction he’d had when you found out you were expecting, but a contraction washed over you and all you could do was grasp on to Polly for support. 

John was all smiles as he made sure everyone knew that he was going to be a dad. Tommy tried to get some whiskey in his system to help calm him down, but it was nothing compared to the excitement racing through his blood. 

After an hour and a half of contractions, swearing, and pain, you held a little boy, a tuff of hair a top his head that certainly had to have come from his father. Polly sat beside you, refusing to leave you, with a baby girl in her arms, wrapped in the woman’s shawl. “Would you like me to go fetch John before he falls in the fire?”

You let out a weak laugh, gazing down at the child your created. “If he hasn’t already.”

Polly nodded, following the other women, who had helped you deliver, out of the wagon. She held the baby close to her chest as she walked up to Tommy, who had forced John to take a seat before he hurt himself. 

“John,” Tommy hit his brother’s knee then pointed at Polly behind him. John turned, eyes lighting up when he saw the small bundle in her arms. 

Standing, he walked over to his aunt. “Fucking hell.” He moved the material away from the infants face. 

His aunt scolded him for such language before passing the child over to him. “She’s a spitting image of her mother.”

John sucked in a breath, a little girl. He had a little girl. “She sure is,” he couldn’t keep his eyes off of her. 

“Your wife’s holding a baby boy that looks just like you,” Polly told him, pointing to the wagon, before warning him that she would kill him if he dropped the baby.

He could barely process her words as he made his way to the wagon. There was no way there was another baby, she had to pulling his leg, that’s the only thing that made since. But once he opened the door to the wagon, tears of joy pooled in his eyes at the sight of his wife soothing the small child in her arms. 

You smiled when you heard him enter. “John, look at our babies.”

He came to sit next to you, you instantly leaning against him. “Your fucking amazing, love.” He kissed the top of your head. 

“I think we should name her Elizabeth,” you suggested, giving your pinky over to your daughter.

Your husband raised a brow. “After Polly?” You nodded, there was no way you couldn’t. She had done so much for the two of you. So much for her family and it seemed that she often didn’t get the credit she deserved. “What about for him?” John asked, leaning over to get a proper look at his son. Though, his eyes were closed and he was fast a sleep, John knew he would be a wild child, just like the rest of the Shelby men.

“Joseph,” you said, remembering when John had told you he had always liked the name. 

“Elizabeth and Joseph.” John used his free hand to turn your face and capture your lips in a kiss. “Would ya look at our family?”

*~~*~~*~~*

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[aros001]

Read through light novel vol. 6. Random thoughts.

She hurried along behind the others, but she couldn’t quite get the image of the red-haired spell caster out of her mind.

Maybe I’m just imagining things, but...he looked really familiar.

Let me guess...

[Chapter 3]

Nailed it!

“How many?” Guild Girl asked, her pen scratching on the paper. “Oh, and break them down by quest, please.”

“Thirty-four for the first quest.”

He suddenly fell silent. Guild Girl stopped writing and looked up, and Goblin Slayer added quietly, “and ten or less missing.”

“Missing?”

“We went in, rescued the hostage, and flooded the nest. I confirmed thirty- four bodies. There can’t be more than ten left.”

You can tell this series has done a good job making the goblins feel like a threat that I'm really concerned about any goblins escaping the nest Goblin Slayer flooded. With how quickly they learn and how much he tries to keep them from learning his methods, now I'm going to be worried about some goblins down the line breaking open a dam and flooding a village because of how well it worked against them.

This is a weird thing to focus on but why do goblins get so excited over elf women compared to the women of other species? It just gets brought up a lot through the series when seeing things from the goblins' POV. Is it because of their beauty, their age, some kind of ancient grudge between elves and goblins, or is it just that they smell particularly good? Because back in vol. 1 Goblin Slayer made a point about goblin noses being quite sensitive to the smells of women, children, and elves. Obviously they're cruel and lustful to any women they want to capture but they keep singling out specifically High Elf Archer when she's with human women. Closest I've seen to an answer is in this volume, with the goblins knowing that elf meat apparently keeps for longer.

“All right,” he said. Then the helmet turned toward the boy. “Let’s go.”

Ugh. Not expecting much from this meal.

The boy nodded grudgingly then heaved himself to his feet and followed after Goblin Slayer.

If the food sucks, I’m knocking over that table.

This kid's starting to piss me off.

“Heh! I know you’re back-row, but there’s no way someone as weepy and blubbering as you could ever get promoted!”

That sent High Elf Archer’s ears straight back, and she began looking for their antagonist. The owner of the voice rose unsteadily from one of the benches.

It was the red-haired boy—dressed in a robe, holding a staff, wearing glasses. That wizard.

Priestess spent only a second with her mouth open in shock, then the corners of her eyes tightened angrily.

“I—I’m not weepy!”

“I dunno ’bout that. I hear all you clerics like a good cry.” He gave a dismissive sniff and didn’t even open his eyes all the way as he looked at Priestess. Maybe he thought all this diligent ridicule made him look cool.

He didn’t seem to realize that it just made him seem like a slimy villain.

“Whenever you’re in trouble, it’s O gods, please, save me! Boo-hoo-hoo!, right?”

...I want to break his nose. Specifically I want Priestess and/or Goblin Slayer to break his nose.

The only spell he could use was Fireball, and he could only use it once per day.

THE MORON ONLY HAD ONE SPELL HE COULD USE AND ONLY ONCE A DAY?! Priestess already had to keep him from using it once against a basic encounter with goblins! What the hell was he planning on doing after that for the rest of the nest?! Just beating them with his staff?! He doesn't seem like the type to see any merit in fighting like a barbarian and certainly not the type to dirty his magic conduit. His sister was apparently top of her class so I'm assuming she actually had at least two or more spells she could use (I don't remember what specially was said she could do back in vol. 1) and Priestess had two Miracles she could use three times a day.

Ron Weasley, year one at Hogwarts, is a better wizard than this kid! Think about that! He actually used his one spell exactly when he needed it and beat a troll!

It was funny all the ways Goblin Slayer found around High Elf Archer's rules, but it's also kind of funny that now he just seems to be ignoring them. He flooded a nest (finally got to use a scroll for the reason he bought it) and set a troll on fire. Though I like what even she pointed out, that he holds back on such methods when the goblins have a hostage. Also I suppose her main problem was using fire, water, and poison to attack from a distance or flush out the goblins and then pick them off methodically, making it feel like less of an adventure. Then again, it's goblins. She already doesn't consider that an adventure. The goal is less exploration and more pest control.

Aw, Sword Maiden and Noble Fencer are friends. That's sweet.

Just like with how Goblin Slayer's equipment and methods relate to goblins, I love just reading about Dwarf Shaman talk about magic and the basic principles of it, as well as Lizard Priest talking about his culture. It's just little details I like getting wrapped up in. It's very simple yet believable logic how Wizard Boy's eyes were opened to him actually having four spells instead of just one; breaking down something complicated into its smaller parts.

Again, so glad Spearman isn't a Motoyasu. I'm actively glad Goblin Slayer has someone like him and Heavy Warrior in his life. Also, this is funny only just because it's in comparison to the last few light novel series I've read prior to this, but:

Overlord: Protagonist is a skeleton. Can't drink.

Konosuba: Protagonist can drink but it's his useless companion whom usually gets drunk

Rising of the Shield Hero: Protagonist physically can't get drunk. Immunity to toxins too high.

Goblin Slayer: Protagonist drank, got drunk, puked in an alley, went out drinking with friends on another day, had a hangover the next morning, still went out to kill goblins. I really hope he got his helmet open before he threw up because it's already got to smell not pleasant and you know he wouldn't be removing his helmet on the walk home.

I like that you can kind of tell Goblin Slayer is reapplying Burgler's teachings to Priestess (minus the parts where he'd throw stuff at her). At the big moments he doesn't tell her she can or can't do something, rather he asks if she can or listens to the plan she's come up with. As Burgler taught him, once you decide to do something and act on it, you've already won. His words about power not mattering if you can't even do that much feel like they can apply even more to Priestess, as she has next to no offensive abilities and thus gaining power that'd be useful in killing goblins is even less of an option for her than it was for Goblin Slayer.

Despite all my prior words, I didn't hate Wizard Boy. It's just that undeserved arrogance is one of the quickest ways to get me to be against a character, especially when they're loud about how much better they think they are and their ego actively causes problems for others (Ben 10 in his later series is the most immediate example for me). There are plenty of arrogant and egotistical characters in fiction that I really love, like Lex Luthor or Mandy from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, but usually they can back up their arrogance and they're more "speak softly and carry a big stick". They don't need to boast about how good they are, they just let their actions speak for them. Wizard Boy, I get it, he's going through a character arc and he does grow somewhat during this book. It's just that his sense of superiority despite being in WAY over his head and his disrespect even after he learns his lesson makes it a little hard to be on his side. Hopefully his new adventuring partner can help straighten him out a bit more, and of course I love all the ways his presence caused Goblin Slayer to reflect and evaluate himself, given what they have in common.

This is probably me just looking too deep into things again, but I'm curious what was bigger source of guilt for Goblin Slayer in this book: that he couldn't save Wizard Boy's sister, thus reminding him of his own and making him feel like nothing's changed since he started killing goblins, or that he was the one who killed her? Obviously I think the former is more likely, given the themes and parallels in this book, but it's shown often that despite how he talks, looks, and carries himself, Goblin Slayer isn't some cold-hearted, unfeeling monster. He does care about people and even though it was a mercy kill Wizard begged for I can see him having some heavy feelings weighing on him after killing someone innocent, especially with Wizard Boy's presence forcing him to confront that reality again.

Original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/GoblinSlayer/comments/fxut3s/read_through_light_novel_vol_6_random_thoughts/

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #234: The Witch’s Tale!

August, 1983

“Seasons of the Witch!”

If Wanda offers you a free Halloween mask, politely tell her no thanks.

A lot going on in this cover. Because this is one of those issues that summarizes a character’s continuity because wikipedia doesn’t exist yet and back issues aren’t super easy to get. 

Last time: There was an Avengers/Fantastic Four sorta crossover where Annihilus tried to blow up the universe. The primary fallout of that is that Vision walked into a null-field and then collapsed. He’s basically in a robot-coma recovering.

This time: the Avengers bring Vision home in a tube.

It looks like the kind of coffin you shoot into space but it’s not. It’s just a life-support capsule that looks like a space coffin.

Now though it sucks that Vision is in a robot coma, this does mean that he and Wanda are back involved with the book again. We briefly checked in with them during the Trial of Yellowjacket arc.

But we’ve been pretty short of Scarlet Witch and Vision since #211 when they left the team to try to have a go at a regular life. I’ll summarize in brief how that’s been at the appropriate time. Point being, that’s twenty some issues with a very low amount of my second favorite comic couple.

She-Hulk and Thor carry the capsule into the basement of Avengers Mansion because that’s where their medical center is. The basement. Of course. Why wouldn’t you put your medical center in the basement. Best place for it.

Wanda thanks Wasp for inviting her (and Vision) to stay at the Mansion when they could have stayed at the Baxter Building.

Wasp: “Nonsense! That place was left in a mess by Annihilus! Besides, the Avengers take care of their own!”

(Tangentially, the Avengers have always been more of a family to Wanda than anyone else aside from Django and Marya Maximoff who raised her and Pietro. The Avengers are Wanda’s family basically.)

Also, it’s not said anywhere but I feel like probably Reed Richards never did do that procedure that was supposed to help Vision recover more quickly as distracted as he was by Franklin’s injuries.

While Wanda hovers (metaphorically) around Vision’s tube, Wasp reflects on how hard this is hitting her.

Wasp: “She and the Vision were such a strange match, but they’ve been so devoted to each other their marriage worked -- !”

Oof, that bold hurts, Jan.

Wanda asks for some time alone with her husband so the Avengers leave the basement level medical center, all thinking thoughts as often happens.

Wasp feels guilty because she’s the one that called Wanda and Vision into action but justifies that they were needed. Even though they didn’t really accomplish much.... Kinda makes it worse.

Captain America asks Thor off to have a private chat.

Captain Marvel laments that they couldn’t destroy the field before Vision was injured. And Starfox muses about the sensitivity he senses from Captain Marvel.

Kinda wondering if Stern is trying to set up a love triangle between Starfox, Captain Marvel, and She-Hulk.

Speaking of She-Hulk.

She-Hulk: Any of us could’ve wound up in a tube... or on a slab. But that’s the risk we have to take!

A very typically She-Hulk of this era kind of thought. She’s very direct.

Wasp calls a rain-check on apartment hunting. Which is what she and She-Hulk were doing before the whole invisible dome thing.

And She-Hulk finds other ways to occupy her time.

She-Hulk: “Hey, Starfox! You have any plans for tonight?”

Starfox: “Well, I’d considered checking out the local sights, but if you have a better offer -- !”

She-Hulk: “Spaceman, I can show you some things you won’t believe!”

She’s very direct.

Over at Captain America and Thor’s private conversation, Captain America catches Thor up on the happenings re: Iron Man, i.e. Tony Stark.

Cap(tain America): “It’s Iron Man, Thor... the Wasp and I paid him a visit to find out why he’d resigned from the Avengers. I... don’t quite know how to say this, but... Tony Stark hasn’t just left the Avengers! He’s given up his identity as Iron Man... turned his armor over to another man!”

Thor: “Eh? ‘Tis most passing strange!”

Cap: “That’s not the only thing that’s ‘most passing strange!’ When we talked to him, Stark was so drunk, I’m surprised he was able to stand up! And when I suggested that he’d had too much to drink, he ordered Jan and me out of his apartment!”

Turns out that off-panel at some point, Tony confided his problems with alcoholism to Thor.

Another example of the close relationship that Thor and Iron Man used to have and lamentably don’t seem to have anymore.

Cap even says that Thor has known Tony longer than the rest of the Avengers. While Wasp has been on the team just as long as Thor has, yeah, Thor has known the man in Iron Man longer.

So Cap asks Thor to try to talk to Tony because maybe he could get through to him.

Thor: “I could try, Captain! But if he rejected your advice, while under the influence, I fear for my ability to do better!”

Cap: “What about your mortal identity? Maybe if you approached him as Dr. Don Blake... man to man...”

Thor: “Mayhap. I shall give this thought.”

Thor then hammer-whirl flies off, leaving Cap to think about whether there’s anything additional that he could do, maybe in Iron Man #172, which was on sale at the same time.

Since this issue is otherwise going to be a lot of recapping Scarlet Witch’s entire life, why not pop into another book briefly for some additional content?

I’m the boss and I’ll allow it.

So over in Iron Man in general and issue #172 specifically, Tony Stark is on hard times. We know about the alcoholism and Rhodey taking over as Iron Man. But a man called Obadiah Stane is also attempting an incredibly hostile takeover of Stark International. He’s bought up all the company’s debt (and it has a lot), he has a bunch of civil suits pending against the company, and he’s secretly been the architect behind Tony Stark’s imploding life. That and Tony himself. Takes two to implode.

The last hope Stark Int. has is a writ that will force Stane to back off for a week or two. It’s not a lot but it’ll be some breathing room. Only problem is that it needs Tony Stark’s notarized signature before 5 PM and they kinda lost track of him after he broke into a museum to put on some knight armor and had to be bailed out of jail.

Rhodey decides to call Captain America for help and that’s how we get the asterisk indicating that you should check out Iron Man #172.

Cap does find Tony but unfortunately, Tony slips away in the confusion when an old Iron Man foe called Firebrand (unfortunately not a gargoyle) sets the hotel on fire because he’s just incredibly pissed off at the idea of Tony Stark.

Cap’s less-nice confrontation with Tony about his drinking is decent drama (but possibly not the right tactic to take) though so have some of that.

Anyway. Back to Avengers.

Meanwhile, over on Long Island and at the Cross Technological Enterprises building, industrial espionage gets aggressive as some men in jumpsuits and balaclavas climb the building to sneak in.

One of them is worried because that Avenger guy Hawkeye is in charge of security but the boss is like pssh Hawkeye is a chump with a broken leg.

Then Hawkeye arrives on a hover scooter because insulting Hawkeye probably just summons him to prove you wrong. He has that kind of contrarian energy at times.

He shoots all of their guns out of their hands and pins them to the wall with arrows all before they can really do anything.

His leg may be broken but his arms aren’t. And those are the limbs that do archery.

Sure, his style is slightly harshed by having only one swashbuckler boot on but that still doesn’t stop him from shooting arrows.

A woman and a photographer show up instantly to take pictures of Hawkeye’s cool victory. Apparently the woman is Sheila Danning and she says that she’s in charge of PR for Cross Technological Enterprises.

People showing up to take pictures of how cool he is makes Hawkeye feel very appreciated so he happily poses for some pictures with the captured intruders.

I feel like this is going to end up related to the Hawkeye solo miniseries that’s published around this time. The events of the miniseries cost Hawkeye his hearing but gain him a wife. So we’ll call it a net positive for Clint.

I’ll possibly summarize the relevant parts of the series when it becomes relevant to Avengers, which I’m sure it will.

Several hours later, back over at Avengers Mansion, She-Hulk wakes up after a night with Starfox.

So let’s discuss a thing.

In a later She-Hulk series, the moral iffyness of Starfox’s ability to shoot pleasure at people’s brains and make them become infatuated with him is explored. In a legal sense. As in, Starfox gets put on trial for sexual assault and accused of using his powers to seduce people.

The question is raised whether he had ever used his powers to seduce She-Hulk in regards to them getting together like this in Avengers. And when he won’t give her a straight answer, she beats the shit out of him.

Eventually, the case goes all the way up to the Living Tribunal, the cosmic judge of all realities because of course there’s one of those, and a mind probe proves that Starfox did not use his abilities to influence She-Hulk’s decision to have sex with him.

They’re both just horny people.

Anyway, Starfox and She-Hulk get on first name non-codename basis with each other. Then Starfox takes off to go explore New York, but he and She-Hulk do make plans to get together again in the evening.

She-Hulk’s post-implied-coitus giddiness is rained on when she learns that Wanda hasn’t slept at all and has spent the whole night at Vision’s side.

So now its time for She-Hulk brand very direct friendship.

She tells Jarvis to go make breakfast and she’ll deal with Wanda.

As we saw in and about the Trial of Yellowjacket, She-Hulk doesn’t really beat around the bush.

So when Wanda says she’d rather stay at Vision’s side rather than get breakfast, She-Hulk grabs her and tries to physically drag her towards self-care.

She-Hulk: “Look, watching your hubby won’t make him get well any faster. You’re coming with me! You’ll feel a lot better with a little breakfast in you!”

It doesn’t go over well.

Wanda blasts She-Hulk away and now Jen and Wanda are angry at each other and Wasp arrived just in time to play baffled mediator.

She-Hulk: “I hope you have a good dentist, Red!”

Wasp: “Jennifer!”

She-Hulk: “She started it, Wasp! I was just showing her some hospitality, and she sent me flying with her crummy hex bolts!”

Scarlet Witch: “What?! You physically pull me from my husband’s side, and you call that hospitality?!?”

Wasp: “Girls, girls! We’re all friends here! I know how upset you must be, Wanda, but you mustn't let worry get the better of you! I think we all need a spot of breakfast! Please join me, Wanda. The She-Hulk will relieve you at watching over the Vision... we all will!”

She-Hulk: “That’s what I was trying to tell her!”

Jen’s heart was in the right place but she lacks much in the way of tact?

Anyway, Wasp and Wanda set up in the library and Jarvis brings breakfast pastries to them, though Wanda refuses any.

Free breakfast aggros Captain Marvel and now she’s here too. That and She-Hulk trying to make up through a proxy.

Captain Marvel: “A little bird told me that you were serving your continental special, and I just couldn’t stay away!”

Wasp: “A little bird, C.M.?”

Captain Marvel, whispering: “Well, a big bird! She-Hulk radioed me that the Scarlet Witch was still a little down, and suggested that I might be of help, cheering her up!”

You have a good heart, Jen-Hulk.

Also, Monica just beams right in through the library window as a sunbeam before forming back into her human shape. And that’s delightful. But would be startling. Jarvis is startled. He’s seen it all but all keeps expanding.

Monica and Wanda briefly bond over both speaking French when Monica praises that Jarvis’ pastries rival the best of the French Quarter. Jan is a bit lost because she doesn’t know any French but Monica and Wanda were just very excited because they don’t get to French very often. The language.

AND with the ice broken, Monica smoothly shifts topics over to asking Wanda about herself.

Captain Marvel: “You know, there’s so much I’d like to ask you. I’ve read all about you in the files, of course -- but they’re so impersonal. You’ve led such a fascinating life.”

Scarlet Witch: “Fascinating? I suppose... but I was too young to appreciate some of the more fantastic moments.”

AND THEN WANDA LEGIT, NO FURTHER PROMPTING, STARTS NARRATING HER WHOLE LIFE STARTING FROM BIRTH.

DAMN WANDA, exposition under pressure?

So Wanda tells Monica about how she was born in WUNDAGORE, a Balkan mountain in Transia with a super-advanced city built on it. The High Evolutionary was making furries for reasons which escape me but it explains why a cow-woman answered the door when Magda, supposedly Wanda’s mom although that has changed, came knocking on the door.

She was double pregnant and on the run from a husband who had developed terrible problems and an attitude problem.

The cow-woman Bova, invited Magda into the city and helped deliver her children Pietro and Wanda. And then Magda walked off into the snow to die, pulling a Padme-on-purpose-but-years-ahead-of-time by dying just after having twins.

Her thought process was that Mystery Husband would come looking for her but if he found her frozen in the snow, he wouldn’t find out that she’d had children? I dunno, this logic is a bit spurious.

I’m glad that Wanda’s current in the year 2021 real mom isn’t someone who walked off into the snow to die because it seemed like a good idea.

Showing what an awful idea this was, Magda left Wanda and Pietro in the care of Bova who had no idea what to do with two babies. So she took the matter to the High Evolutionary who also didn’t want to deal with it and decided to dump the babies on a childless Roma couple.

High Evolutionary: ‘DOES ANYBODY WANT SOME BABIES?’

Except the comic doesn’t say Roma, they say the g-slur. I don’t think Marvel ever stops doing that. Its a weird case where the portrayal is overall sympathetic but tinged with stereotypes and using a slur.

Shape up, Marvel.

I also notice that Wanda’s recap leaves out Fake Dad Robert Frank, the Whizzer.

The first time Wanda’s parentage was Totally Revealed For Real, it was revealed that not only Magda but Robert and Madeline Joyce Frank were hanging around Wundagore waiting to give birth.

I’ve already been into it before but originally it was just the Franks kids but the Whizzer whizzed off in grief when he learned his wife died in childbirth. Then when someone got it into their head to retcon otherwise, Magda was at Wundagore and gave birth to twins and then the High Evolutionary had Bova try to give the kids to Robert but he ran off in his grief so shrugged and passed them off to Django and Marya Maximoff AKA the real parents even if not biological.

To editorialize, the Maximoffs actually raised Wanda and Pietro so no matter what, I’ll always consider them the twins’ real parents.

Anyway, the Franks aren’t part of this retelling. Which is funny because for a while Wanda thought the Whizzer was their dad and treated him like one and now she’s dumped him like raw meat for ease of retelling. Tsk tsk.

So, Wanda and Pietro lived a good life and “better parents could hardly have been found.” Then when adolescence happened, Pietro suddenly could run really fast and Wanda “discovered that strange, unpredictable things would happen if I was in a certain frame of mind and gestured in a particular way.”

That’s a pretty specific mutant power. And she relates that she kept causing accidents by gesturing in the particular way while in a certain frame of mind, it’s like, Wanda, don’t gesture that way? Get mittens or tie your fingers together. Its not hard.

Your powers are so specific!

Stereotypes happen and an angry mob burns down the Maximoffs’ camp.

Pietro ran Wanda to safety and the shock was so great that they got AMNESIA.

Marya, I think, died but Django survived and went a little mad with grief, assuming he lost his wife and kids.

For a couple years, Wanda and Pietro just kicked it around Eastern Europe, Pietro using his superspeed to catch game. Things were going okay but not great up until the time that Wanda wandered into a village and made the fuck-things-up gesture and whoops fucked things up.

I’m telling you, Wanda, mittens.

Anyway, she set a house on fire, WITH HER MIND, and now there’s an angry mob after her assuming that she’s a witch.

As sometimes happens in Marvel Eastern Europe.

The mob chased Wanda to camp where Pietro lost his shit and superspeed tried to beat up a mob but wound up getting pinned down and beaten.

Then Magneto showed up and yanked all the crude farming implements away and told the mob to gtfo.

Magneto: “Come no further, homo sapiens! The two whom you attack are under the protection of Magneto!”

An idiot: “With power such as his, he can only be Satan himself!”

An idiot who has the right idea: “Run! Run for your lives!”

Wanda thanks Magneto for the save and he demands “Let neither of you ever forget what you owe me... ever!”

Cool. Cool cool cool.

Wanda: “He took us in... fed and clothed us... but never did he show us any human kindness. We were supposed to be above that, he said... we were mutants, and under his tutelage, we became Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch!”

What a dick.

Anyway, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver were forced to join Magneto and his other agents Toad and Mastermind.

Magneto’s Brotherhood clashed with the X-Men multiple times. And then the Stranger just sorta yoinked Magneto into space.

Early X-Men is a bafflement to me.

Wanda: “Our debt had been repaid to Magneto many times over. We were beholden to him no longer... We were free. And... we were alone. We had just begun to realize the potential of our mutant powers, but we did not know how best to use them. Cut off from Magneto’s cruel exploitation, we didn’t know what to do. I don’t know what would have become of us, had we not been accepted as Avengers! The Avengers gave purpose to our lives, gave us something to be part of.”

Anyway, being on the Avengers meant dangers and foes to fight but it also meant allies, friends, and ROBOT BOYFRIENDS.

Wanda: “Were it not for the Avengers, I might never have met the Vision! He was the product of a laboratory -- and many thought him to be inhumanely cold -- but I grew to love the warm, feeling inner man.”

Of course, if you tell Vision he has feelings he gets mad and insists NUH UH.

And dating Vision pissed off Quicksilver who basically disowned Wanda for a while.

But who gives a fuck what Pietro says, Wanda also learned WITCHCRAFT and (although not explicitly mentioned) how to summon METEORS TO SMASH HER FOES.

And she got married in a double ceremony where the other bride married a tree! That tree part doesn’t get mentioned.

After this, Wanda and Vision went on a short honeymoon but found that the hashtag Avengers life kept them so busy that they didn’t have a lot of time to themselves.

Then Real Dad Django Maximoff showed up and Wanda and Pietro went with him to Transia to learn their backstory.

Annnnnd Wanda got possessed by Chthon. Won’t be the first time ha ha.

Thankfully, the Avengers managed to do a care bear stare to unpossess her. Oh, and Django died. A misstep if you ask me. There was too much character potential to just kill him off after one arc.

Alas, alas.

Anyway, the recap skips over a whole bunch of stuff and doesn’t mention Moondragon’s role but we get to the point where Wanda and Vision quit the Avengers.

Wanda: “When the Vision and I were finally reunited, our thoughts began to turn inward. Our life with the Avengers was fulfilling, but apart from our careers, we had no real private life of our own. Would society accept us on our own, away from Avengers Mansion? We didn’t know -- but we had to at least try to find out. Taking our accrued Avengers salaries, we bought a modest little home in Leonia, New Jersey.”

So a brief recap of their adventures in the first Vision and Scarlet Witch miniseries.

In the first issue, Captain America’s Halloween housewarming gift of a cursed book winds up being cursed and contains Samhain. When Wanda didn’t immediately free him, he got angry and turned some trick or treaters into monster versions of their costumes to attack Vision while Samhain attacked Wanda. She manages to set the cursed tome on fire, ending Samhain’s power. FOR NOW. Then Not-Actually-Their-Father-But-Doesn’t-Know-It-Yet the Whizzer shows up.

In issue two, the Whizzer is looking for Wanda’s help in regaining custody of his son Nuklo the Nuclear Man. With their help, Whizzer manages to get the court to agree to release Nuklo to his custody. But the lead doctor managing Nuklo is secretly ISBISA! ... Y’know, the Whizzer’s old foe from his All-Winner’s Squad days? No? Okay, well he also masterminded the nuclear ‘accident’ that led to Nuklo’s birth in the first place. And now he’s back to finish the job with radiation siphoned from Nuklo. In anger at Wanda being drawn into Golden Age drama, Vision reveals that Wanda isn’t the Whizzer’s kid but it little matters because Whizzer has a massive heart attack and dies. Nuklo helps defeat Isbisa and both of them are drained of atomic power leaving them human. Oh and Vision’s arm gets melted off. That’s kinda important.

In issue three, Vision is in a robot coma and he needs an energy donation from Wonder Man, his brain brother, to recover. Comic books! Vision has a meaning laden coma dream where Ultron screams at him a lot. Grim Reaper attacks and tries to kill Vision and Wonder Man while they’re incapacitated because he has one character beat and its that. But Vision manages to subdue him.

In issue four, is the pertinent one for this issue.

I’m going to say, I think the second Vision and Scarlet Witch series is better. This was a series of loosely related mishaps. The second volume does more with Vision and Scarlet Witch living in suburbia as a concept.

Anyway, in the fourth issue and in this Avengers recap of Wanda’s entire life, after Vision lost his arm, he and Wanda went up to Attilan to get it replaced. Because the Inhumans can casually just build him a new arm that works with his powers.

And people say the Inhumans aren’t good for anything.

While on the moon, Wanda and Vision decide to visit with Pietro and Crystal and their new daughter Luna. Pietro was even not a dick to Vision. It was a nice moment until Magneto barged in and started a fight by insisting he wasn’t here to fight while trapping everyone inside the building. Also, he threatened Bova to get information on who his kids were and frankly, that’s unforgivable. Bova is an angel. A cow angel.

They fight fight fight and then the fight is ended when Luna cries and Magneto realizes he’s doing a big superhero/supervillain fight in the same room as a fragile child and realizes ‘wow maybe i’m the dick here.’

Now the Vision and Scarlet Witch series ends with the internal-reveal that MAGNETO is the father (for now) of Wanda and Pietro. Magneto asking them to accept him as such. And on a confused moment of ‘shit what now.’

The Avengers issue picks up on that and finishes out the scene.

While Wanda is too stunned to know what to say, Pietro has some choice words.

He snatches his daughter away from Magneto and tells him fuck off, you’re no father to me.

Magneto’s argument is ‘hey genetics is the only thing that matters you’re my son like it or not.’

Pietro’s counter argument is ‘nuh uh’ and that Django Maximoff is the only man he calls father. And Wanda agrees.

Its good to see some Django respect.

Magneto tells them they’ll see the error of their ways and flies off.

Which is the wrong tack to take to prove that you’ve changed and are ready to get some good dadding in and won’t kill your granddaughter for being a human.

He’s super bad at this.

After that, Wanda and Vision went home to New Jersey and just stayed at home for a while, Wanda was so horrified by the reveal.

Wanda: “Even now, I can hardly begin to express the horror, the shame! It’s as if I suddenly discovered Hitler lurking in my family tree! Part of me wishes that he is really sincere about tempering his hatred for non-mutant humans. But even if he was telling the truth, that can never excuse his past crimes... Nothing can!”

Its really surprising how ready people are in-universe to compare Magneto to Hitler. From Wanda to Cap to Xorn.

Wasp: “Wanda... you mustn’t torture yourself this way! Magneto has no claim on you, and you’re certainly not responsible for him! I know it must be tough, but you can’t let him ruin the rest of your life!”

These are helpful things to tell Wanda to calm her down.

Less helpful is when Wasp speculates that hey maybe it was okay not to believe Magneto when he said he’s changed because maybe he’ll become worse! Maybe his newfound tolerance of humanity will lead him to try to save humanity from itself rather than wipe it out. In reference to how Moondragon tried to do that on that planet we never heard from again.

Wanda: “Heaven help us, if such a thought occurs to Magneto!”

I’m pretty sure he’s going to be too busy in the near future trying to be teacher to the most death-prone idiots this side of Westchester. And then after that when he decides to be evil again, he’s going to do some nonsense with Asteroid M. But I don’t think he ever hits the ‘save humanity from itself’ point.

Anyway.

Wasp and Captain Marvel reassure Wanda that if Magneto Strikes Again the Avengers will be with her!

The following day, Wanda returns to Leonia, New Jersey to put together a suitcase of stuff since she’s going to be staying at Avengers Mansion for a while.

Wanda: “Jan was nice enough to offer me a few of her things, but they’re all too small for my figure. And that robe the She-Hulk lent me last night fit like a tent!”

Wasp and Scarlet Witch usually look the same size and shape but that’s important canon body shape information for someone, I guess. If they wanted to draw Avengers But Not All The Same Paper Dolls character designs.

Anyway, the issue really ends with Dr Strange showing up to pull Wanda into a crossover with his own book in Doctor Strange #60.

Ergh. This era sure has a lot of stuff going off on the sides.

I’ll synopsize Scarlet Witch’s time in Doctor Strange’s book if it becomes necessary but I’ve already looked at five non-Avengers issue for this post and am probably going to have to cover the Hawkeye series in brief too when it intersects with Avengers.

Follow @essential-avengers​ for grudging contextualization of everything that’s happening in Avengers, when I feel like it. Like and reblog if you liked.

[linssikeittomies]

The Place Between Here And There - Chapter 10: ...And Happiness In Private Life(cont'd)

Masterpost AO3 Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7  Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 9(cont'd)

I've finally updated the status of the fic to ABANDONED, I was going to do that way earlier but I didn't want to admit defeat, and then I just kind of forgot... Time really starts flying by as you get older, it totally doesn't feel like 2 years passed by^^' I'm still writing scenes for later on in the fic, and I've had the general outline of the story planned for a long time, but I haven't been able to write complete chapters for any of my projects for over a year now, it's very annoying. Anyway, this is the rest of chapter 9, not my best work but at least I like the part with Toris. He's noticed Ivan's small efforts of being nicer and wants to encourage them. Thanks for everyone who read this story and sorry for not being able to bring it to conclusion for all of you who were invested!

-

Ivan sent Fredya home until Wednesday – claiming it was so he could concentrate on work, but he was sure Fredya could tell he was just fretting about the upcoming meeting. Ivan was terrified Katyushka would get carried away, and that was closer to certainty rather than possibility, and then Fredya would walk out of his life. He had known from the start that the time would come sooner or later, but he had much hoped it would fall on the later end of the spectrum. This was a wholly different case from that of his first girlfriend - the one he had been with all of three days before Katyusha started talking about weddings. She had left him the next day, not surprisingly, and he hadn’t really cared one way or the other - she had been far too practical to occupy his thoughts when she wasn’t in sight. But if Fredya left as suddenly, and he was certainly impulsive enough to do so on the spot, then... Obviously it still wouldn’t be the end of the world,of course it wasn’t the worst thing that could happen, losing a home for example would be far worse than losing a companion, it really wasn’t that big of an issue when you thought about it – there was no reason to lose what little will to live Ivan had left over something that insignificant. No reason.

So Ivan would not worry about it – he slammed the door on the thought, and worked hard to put all his concentration on his notes. He had not yet studied Rogers enough, his files on the computer had sat abandoned for too long. Opening his folder, going over the routes again, verifying time codes, Ivan fell to a comfortable, familiar routine, cup of tea beside him growing cold. Rogers didn’t have much of a routine, which made observing him a challenge and data collecting a thrill. At least this was an activity that Ivan could still lose himself in despite whatever non-turmoil was boiling in his gut. Comparing coordinates, discovering overlaps, identifying patterns, data was something Ivan was good at. Data had no emotions, so it was easy to handle. Data didn’t mind his extracurriculars, didn’t judge him for his jealousy, didn’t snoop into his past. Though it also didn’t text him at 3 am to tell him about a silly dream it had. Even less it cared about whether he was coming home for the night or not. It not wanting to watch brainless, cliched superhero should have been a positive, but in the dark, the brain gets sentimental. Ivan suddenly wished he had a file on Fredya. Ivan certainly had enough data on him, though so far it was all in his brain and a few lines in his notebooks. One photo on his phone, a selfie Fredya had sent some weeks ago. It was taken with one of those filter things, Ivan wasn’t familiar with the apps so he couldn’t tell if it was instagram or snappychat or whatever others there were. Fredya had cartoon glasses on his nose, on top of his real-life glasses. He was doing a victory sign, and there was a badly drawn pink heart floating in the lower left corner, not anchored into anything. The composition of the photo was bad. A large dead space occupied the top left, a pile of dirty clothes was poking into the frame from the bottom right. The lighting was scarcely better, the only diffuser was the dust inside the light fixture. Fredya’s artistic ability was nil, though he did make for an attractive subject, harsh shadows and all. It would be nice to have proper photo of him, before he got out of reach. With a reference to guide him, it might be possible. Ivan quickly scanned his bedroom for inspiration.

Perhaps it was too much effort for 2 a.m., but Ivan rather liked the end result. The handful of stars drawn on the wall to form a suggestion of a halo – however wrong it looked on Ivan – and hands posed to form a heart on the chest, and some minor lighting adjustments on photoshop, he thought it near perfectly captured how Ivan saw Fredya. Bright, innocent, center of the universe, unashamed of his affections. Fredya wouldn’t put as much effort in to it, even if he did take his own version of the photo as Ivan had requested, but that was also good. It wasn’t in Fredya’s nature to try too hard at something he didn’t feel like understanding - such as art other than of the moving pictures variety. Together, the photos formed a piece – the fantasy and the reality. It was a commentary on expectations. Fredya may or may not look at the photo when he inevitably got up to go the bathroom sometime soon, but he wouldn’t take his own until afternoon if ever, so Ivan finally went to bed. He only had a few hours before his shift started.

-_-_-_-_-

Fredya had sent an emoji Ivan didn’t understand the meaning as response to the photo, followed by hearts and something that seemed to be an abbreviation, Ivan didn’t research the meaning. It likely wasn’t important. Ivan got coffees for everyone again, and Amanda gave him a incredulous look. It was getting suspicious, Ivan acting nice. He should dial down on the social interactions for the next few days. It would be good practice for when Fredya left him, anyway. “Oh, thank you for going through the trouble”, Toris commented smiling. Ivan studied the smile, trying to map out proportions and gauge timings, but again he failed to replicate the gesture. It kept coming out as sarcastic. He would prefer if both would just shut up and their coffees without scrutinizing his intentions. Let a man act civil to fellow humans beings in peace. “If everyone is done sitting around, we need someone to go interview Fowler’s parishioners.” Predictably, Amanda volunteered for the task. That left Ivan and Toris at the office, reading through statements, comparing alibis and viewing security footage, the same draining and pointless sinkhole of never-ending choppy black-and-white footage that glared a print of the screen in your soul, so that in the end when you lost everything else to dementia and cataracts, you would still see that stinging bright rectangle staring you in the eye, smirking gleefully, taking pleasure in removing everything one used to take joy in, and replacing itself in place of loved ones. That metaphor ran a little wild at the end, there. In all fairness, it could be intriguing work when results could reasonably be expected, but everyone and their mother knew the only thing learned from these particular ones would be just how much time were wasting on them. Even Toris, being his professional self, couldn’t resist glancing at the clock every few minutes. He would of course try to make it inconspicuous, just letting his eyes dart to his wrist and back again, but it was noticeable enough when one was more concentrated on the coworker than the work. It came to Ivan’s mind that perhaps this was another aspect of Toris he should try to simulate, rather than keep studying, his work ethic was excellent. Surely that was something most people would approve of. And Fredya did often complain Ivan was rather lackadaisical about his work, he would appreciate the effort. “How do stay so focused?” he asked sincerely. It was admirable, really, how Toris could throw himself at something so tedious. Toris blinked at him in confusion, probably surprised to see his colleague who was supposed to working beside him blatantly ignoring said work. “I’ve practiced it for years, there’s really no easy trick for it.” “Ah. Shame.” “I find that meditating regularly helps. And a good diet.” Well, that was already two things Ivan would not be trying out. “I could send you some articles  if you’d like.” “You should spend your free time on yourself. You work too much.” Ivan went idly back to his files, not really feeling like working, but deciding to at least give it a shot, but feeling Toris’ curious eyes still fixed on him was too much of a distraction. After several seconds of silence he couldn’t take it anymore. “Yes?” “Thank you. That was considerate of you.” Ivan didn’t know how to answer that. It had been such a banal thing to say. Not warranting any response, really. Just a stock phrase, however true of some people and situations - such as this particular specimen. Toris must have heard the exact same statement hundreds of times in his life, knowing that he had an actual social circle who cared for him. Ivan was outside that circle, and people rarely care for the things outsiders say in matters like these - surely Toris should feel nothing particular about anything Ivan said. There was no need for him to smile like that, it was just embarrassing for a grown man to get so giddy about faint praise. Ivan scoffed and went back to his work.

-_-_-_-_-

U maek a habot of drawning on walls huh Outside of his brief childhood, Ivan had only ever drawn on walls three times - once in a drunk, misguided bout of creative frenzy, once to write his number on an intriguing man’s wall to annoy him, and once in an attempt to save a relic of happier times for the future. Mostly when you are involved, it seems. Perhaps you are my muse for wall-related artistry It had been a while since Ivan had drawn a portrait, but now might be the time to dust off that skill set. Ivan considered himself more of a photographer, but there was also something appealing about creating from scratch. Although... he would need to keep the portrait hidden, it would raise questions and pity later on. Ivan wished he was better at abstraction, that way it wouldn’t look like Fredya to anyone else, but his mind seemed to be too observational for it. It could only make sense of things that connected together in realistic ways, it couldn’t create anything out of feelings alone. Perhaps he simply didn’t have enough of them for that kind of art. The dinner with Fredya and his sisters was a few hours away, but Ivan was already nervously ironing his clothes. He once again pleaded Katyusha to control her romantic impulses, and of course she promised, but Ivan knew that meant little. She had very bad self-control. Tasha’s picking me up, we’ll meet you there Natasha was coming? Nataliya was coming?! Fuck - what was she - this was bad news - why hadn’t she said - oh god, forget about Katyusha ruining everything if Nataliya Grigorova was coming! She never mentioned wanting to come along That sneaky little girl, she told me you said it was okay, haha He would not survive this night sober. He wanted to make a good impression. He did not want to be drunk when the only three people who mattered to him were all in the same room. He wanted to be fully conscious, to enjoy an outing with his family while being fully genuine, not just sedated into calmness. But lord knew he would not survive the night sober.

-_-_-_-_-

Remembering the fit Fredya had thrown the last time Ivan had driven not-strictly-drunk-but-also-not-sober, he was glad that they had arranged beforehand for Fredya to pick him up. Because he was observant in the most inconvenient ways, Ivan had been sure Fredya would notice something was off, maybe a smell or the slow movements to counteract the unsteady hand-to-eye-coordination, but fortunately he was too stoked about meeting Ivan’s sisters again, officially, to notice Ivan’s oddly calm demeanor. He babbled excitedly the whole way there, and was halfway across the street before Ivan had even fully exited the car. “Come on you snail! They’re gonna think we ditched them!” “It’s only a few minutes away, you can afford to slow down”, Ivan chuckled. Fredya was so adorably excited, he resembled a puppy on a walk. “Being overeager is as bad as being late.” “Beg to disagree! Pick up the pace slowpoke!” Fredya sped up ahead, Ivan kept his leisurely pace. He missed the re-introductions, but it seemed like he hadn’t been needed for those at all - Fredya and Katyushka already looked like old friends, while Tasha regarded him with a haughty look, but nary a nasty word. She raised an eyebrow at Ivan, as if saying really, you chose this clown over me?, and he simply smiled pleasantly at her. As they waited for their food to arrive, Fredya and Katyushka were unsurprisingly the only ones to hold up conversation. They had found a common ground in Star Trek - in that Katyusha had heard a lot about it, but had never watched an episode and was interested, and Fredya was an expert in all the series and films and liked talking about them. They went through the pacifistic ideas on the original series and how it sometimes contradicted itself on it, analyzing the casting choices for the remakes, some more things that Ivan had no interest in.  When their plates were brought, the were in the midst of trying to speak klingon - the attempts of both of them were saddeningly hilarious. Or perhaps they were both surprisingly accurate. Ivan had no way of knowing, the franchise being something he had never taken an interest in. Of course he liked space, but he was more fact-oriented than a fan of fanciful fiction. “You seem so young, it’s almost like you’re still in college”, Katyusha giggled, and Ivan could not agree more. The youthful energy Fredya exuded was refreshing, at least most of the time. “Never went to college, I went straight to work from high school”, Fredya explained, crumbs flying. That was the one habit that Ivan never found charming in Fredya, it was just plain disgusting. Tasha made a small chortle of contempt that passed Fredya by. “Our brother is a very intelligent man”, Tasha commented sharply, and Ivan knew exactly what she was going for – he had come to the same conclusion, himself. And truthfully, neither of them had been wrong - Fredya really was stupid. “Oh, tell me about it”, the insulted man chuckled, not understanding what was being implied. Ivan would have liked being able to defend Fredya, but the thing was that Fredya was not intelligent – intellectually or socially, and attempting to claim otherwise would have been pointless. He might have been considered smart in some useless areas, such as entertainment trivia, but faint praise is just as damning as admitting faults. Trivia! There was the opening Fredya needed to impress Tasha! “He has a master’s degree in movie trivia and celebrity gossip, if nothing else. Just give an actor’s name and he will tell you every movie they have ever been in.” “And not just that! I can also tell which year each movie came out!” Fredya exclaimed proudly. Ivan started with an easy one - Tom Cruise. Tasha did look reluctantly impressed as the titles and dates kept on coming, but refused to admit defeat. She tried her favorite actor, someone much more obscure. “Ken Foree?” “Hmm… The midnight man, 2017… Rift, dark side of the moon 2016, Cut slash pri- no wait, I think he was in Divine tragedies, 2015, Cut slash print 2012 –“ However, since

Tasha’s obsession with her brother refused to give way to respect for her perceived enemy, she realized that to claim victory she could simply ask about any non-American film star. “Anastasia Zavorotnyuk.” “Anastasia who?” Of course he pronounced the name the American way, but Ivan was still mildly impressed he could tell Анастасия and Anastasia were the same name. “Zavorotnyuk.” Tasha allowed herself a malevolent smirk as Fredya racked his brain for the name in vain. “A true expert wouldn’t limit himself only to Hollywood”, Tasha hmphed in triumphant malice, believing to have proved her superiority over him once and for all, despite not showing an ability to counter his. It seemed the point had only been to prove Fredya was not omniscient. In Ivan’s eyes, it was enough to be merely well-versed. “He does hate subtitles to the point where I thought he might be illiterate”, Ivan joked. “Hey, at least I speak the language of the country I live in!” “Verily, my darling, thou speakest with the most biting of tongues. Shakespeare himself would envy your prowess.” “The guy lived like hundreds of years ago, who gives a shit? Ivan Drago was famous in the 80’s.” “Ivan can sound almost native when he tries”, Katyusha said, trying to diffuse the argument, not knowing the workings of their relationship well enough to tell it was all said in jest. “I haven’t tried in years, I doubt I could anymore”, Ivan thought. He had tried training his accent away in high school, so he would sound less foreign in job interviews. Having a foreign name was bad enough in an application. He had never achieved a smooth, natural accent, he had to concentrate very hard which caused the words to come out very slowly and robotically, and still there was always a hint of foreign phonemes. Combined with his attempts to deepen his voice – an incredibly embarrassing failure on its own – had made him cringe, even back then. Tasha had encouraged him, of course, because in her mind anything and everything her dear brother did was the right decision. Excluding taking romantic interest in someone other than her, of course.

The rest of the evening went by in much the same fashion. Fredya and Katyusha got along swimmingly, Tasha made snide remarks about Fredya, Ivan defended him in mean ways, Fredya played along. It was all very pleasant. Finally the staff started dropping hints that it was time to vacate the table, so they got up and parted ways. Katyusya was enchanted enough to not wait long enough to be out of earshot before starting to gush about her baby brother’s relationship, which made for a perfect opening for eavesdropping. “Don’t you think Vanechka looks so much happier than usual?” Katyusya said, nearly clapping her hands in excitement. “Idiocy might be contagious”, Tashenka grumbled in response. “I never imagined he’d go for that type, but I guess it goes to show opposites really do attract!” Katyushka squeed. “It’s only for the moment. That American moron will start getting on Vanya’s nerves soon”, Tashenka claimed, not sounding too confident herself. Ivan had expected that to happen as well, in the beginning. “I hope he won’t, I think Alfred is good for Vanechka. He’s come out of his shell.” What did she mean by that? As far as Ivan was aware, he had never been shy around his sisters. Or other people, for that matter. “What’re you frowning about?” Fredya asked. “I’m eavesdropping. Katyusha likes you, and Natasha doesn’t despise you.” “Well that’s good news isn’t it?” Fredya smiled, and tried to hear the women. “Man, you got great hearing. I can’t hear them at all.” Yes, it did take some practice to achieve Ivan’s level of spying on other people’s conversations. And by then they had gotten far enough that Ivan couldn’t hear then anymore either, actually. “Your eardrums must be damaged from the all screeching you do.” “You’re walking home, asshole.”

-

Tasha + Katyushka = affectionate nicknames for Nataliya and Yekaterina. Tashenka + Katyusya = one level more intimate. Ivan is being drunk and sentimental so at the end of the evening, the way he feels about his sisters is something like most people do when seeing tiny kittens. Thanks again for reading! Maybe in like 10 years so I'll add a final "chapter" describing the rest of the plot, but I know myself and won't make any promises. I have some more snippets on the masterpost if anyone wants to frustrate themselves with a story that will never be finished.

[iwillsithereandtrytocontribute]

No Happy Ending

Masterlist Ao3

Pairings: Implied Lyfrassir Edda/Marius Von Raum

Warnings: Major character death, Mechanisms-typical threatened violence, Coughing blood, Thoughts of suicide, 

Don’t worry, I don’t describe the death in a ton of detail, but be warned. 

This is my first fic for the Mechanisms fandom. I was listening to The Bifrost Incident again and thought "Hey I've seen a bunch of content where Lyf survives and meets/joins the Mechanisms. What if they didn't survive?" And because I had to deal with that thought (it's a Mechanisms album let's be real) now you get an hour's worth of straight stream of consciousness. Enjoy! :)

“Log of Lyfrassir Edda Inspector- oh that doesn’t matter anymore I suppose. Just Lyf then if anyone actually listens to these when I’m gone.” Lyf coughed wetly into their hand and stared somewhat disinterestedly at the blood that splattered across it. They took a moment to catch their breath. “This will be my final entry I imagine. None of the ship’s functions have worked correctly in weeks.

“First it was the-” they were cut off by a sudden blur in their vision. It took a moment for Lyf to realize they were still holding the recorder. “The navigation systems went down first, then one by one various systems shut down or broke. I am nearly out of food and water and the oxygen pumps stopped almost an hour ago.”

Lyf stared at their hands, shaking and covered in their own blood. “I know I was touched by the outer gods. Even I wasn’t fast enough to escape their grasp completely. But I know they will not save me. I wouldn’t want them to if they could. Perhaps in a moment of weakness I would fall to them as Odin did, but here in the cold of space I don’t even have the option. It’s for the best.”

They gazed at the sputtering lights around them, the broken gauges and stuck knobs. They had been tempted just to end it many times, but something always stopped them. If Lyf had been more foolish or perhaps just slightly less stern they might have called it hope. Hope that they could flee and survive. That they could take advantage of the gift Loki and Sigyn had given the Yggdrasil System with their lives. But they were austere as ever and chalked up their perseverance to nothing but fear of dying.

And Lyf was afraid to die. Even here, even now, as they felt the end approaching as they had for weeks now. They were afraid. They realized the log was still running. They might as well spend their last hours leaving something to be remembered by.

“The recordings of my findings and the events of the Bifrost incident are all here. You may even have listened to them if you’re listening to this. I sincerely doubt there will be anything left of my home system, not after what Odin released there. They might even leave there one day, consume the rest of everything. It doesn’t matter. I’ll be long dead.” Lyf laughed. A short bitter laugh that turned into another wracking cough.

“I didn’t have much on Asgard to be perfectly honest. No family to speak of, few friends. The one constant I had were those blasted Mechanisms. I suppose they’re the reason I lasted long enough to make it all the way out here instead of being trapped in that psychedelic hellscape. They’re the reason I asked for a transfer from the prison to transport police. The amount of violins I confiscated from Marius,” Lyf said as an afterthought.

“They always disappeared not long after I left them. I guess Von Raum and the others could always have escaped. They must have wanted another story .” Lyf put more malice in their voice than they felt. It was hard to feel real anger towards the Mechanisms, other than maybe Jonny. He was a piece of work, Lyf thought with a grimace. Jonny had taken the longest to capture and the most work to contain and recapture. Everyone knew- had known someone who’d been killed or injured by Jonny d’Ville. Lyf couldn’t say they had any love for the man.

Ivy, they could respect. She was incredibly logical in a way they found endearing. Raphaella la Cognizi scared them. True, Lyf had a ton of respect for her, but she was the closest thing they had ever known to a mad scientist before Odin. Brian was nice, as was Marius when he wasn’t being an idiot. Lyf had only called him Von Raum to annoy him, so Marius had responded in kind. A smile tugged at the edges of Lyf’s lips even as they struggled with each breath they took. Ashes and Tim scared him the normal way. The “We will destroy everyone and everything you love with a smile if you wrong us” way. Stay on their good side, and they’re nice enough. And the Toy Soldier… Lyf didn’t like thinking about the Toy Soldier. It unsettled them.

Lyf wasn’t sure how much of that they’d said aloud, if they had said any of it. Oxygen deprivation was really getting to them. They gave a tired smirk at the monitor above them as if any of the cameras still worked. “If the Mechanisms ever get ahold of these my message to you is; fuck you ,” they said with feeling, before doubling over in another coughing fit.

“I don’t have much-any time left,” Lyf rasped. “I-I Lyfrassir Edda signing off for what is likely the last time.”

They clicked off the recorder and set it down on the table by the chair they were sitting in, next to a small pile of similar recorders. Lyf took the deepest breath their air-deprived lungs would allow and closed their eyes.

In the greatest mercy the universe would ever bestow upon Lyfrassir Edda, it allowed them to die in their sleep. One might even have been able to call it peaceful.

Drumbot Brian stood on the bridge trying to puzzle out where that beeping was coming from. Nastya had added a lot of systems to Aurora before she left and well… Brian hadn’t had nearly long enough to learn them all. Finally he managed to find it. Ah a radar… thingy. He wasn’t really a pilot. Why was he the pilot? He would be much better as the doctor seeing as resurrection was his thing. Brian made a note to bring it up with Jonny or maybe Ashes seeing as they were the quartermaster (not that they ever did any quartermaster-like duties). The increase in beeping brought Brian out of his thoughts. That looked like a ship. Floating in the middle of nowhere?

Brian shrugged and left to go find Jonny. He always threw a fuss if he wasn’t the first one notified of anything and Jonny throwing a fuss generally led to him quite literally shooting the messenger. Brian didn’t much feel like dying today.

He found Jonny in the library, which was strange. He typically avoided books like a plague and Ivy hated having Jonny in there. Jonny gestured Brian over as soon as he saw him.

“Come on. Come on ,” Jonny whispered furiously as Brian took his time walking to him.

“Who are you hiding from this time?” Brian asked loudly. Jonny glared daggers at him. Ah well, he was starting to think antagonizing Jonny today would be worth getting shot.  

“Ashes. I might have stolen their favorite hat.”

“So you’re hiding in the library.”

Jonny gave Brian a knowing look. A look that made Brian wish he had the eyebrows to express his disdain, because that look said that Jonny thought he was doing something really clever. 8 times out of 10 he was wrong and the other 2 times ended up with someone dying. “Exactly. Ashes is banned from the library, too much flammable materials or something or other.”

“That’s why you’re banned from the library too.”

“Exactly why it’s the best hiding spot.” Jonny peeked around the corner at the sound of footsteps outside, hand over the gun at his side. He caught a glimpse of Raphaella’s wings as she passed the open doorway.

In the split second Jonny was turned away, and therefore less distracting, Brain remembered he had for once actually been looking for Jonny. And that it might be somewhat urgent. Oops.

“Uh Jonny?”

“Uh-huh. What?” Jonny wasn’t paying attention to him.

“There’s a transport ship outside.”

That got Jonny’s attention. “Any idea who?” he asked with a grin that meant he was in the mood to shoot someone. Brian shrugged inwardly, as long as that person wasn’t him.

“No clue. Looks familiar, but I can’t place it.”

“Lovely.” Fight with Ashes forgotten, Jonny strode out of the library whistling Tales to Be Told and Brian walking just behind him.

They arrived at the bridge to find the ship had drifted even closer, or maybe the Aurora had gotten closer, it was hard to tell. Jonny studied it for a long time before snapping his fingers a couple times as he tried to remember where he remembered it from.

“That’s from As-as something.”

“Asgard?” Brian asked. Jonny nodded.

“That’s the one.” He put his foot up on Brian’s chair and rested his elbow on his knee. “Wonder what it’s doing he- Hey Brian, when are we in relation to the whole Yggdrasil system collapse thing. The Bifrost Incident? We were going to make a new album out of that story right?”

Brian checked one of the monitors, halfway surprised that Johnny remembered the Yggdrasil System. Although, to be fair, they’d been there for almost a century and even he couldn’t be drunk the entire time (events 300 or so years in the future ago were outliers and so could not be counted).

“We’re a couple months after. Why? You think someone escaped the train?”

Jonny shrugged. “No idea, but we might as well get the rest of the crew up here.” He turned and pressed a couple buttons until he found the comms. “Crew of the Aurora,” he exclaimed with his usual gusto, “this is your Captain speaking.”

“FIRST MATE!” They heard Tim scream at the top of his lungs from the armory. The armory wasn’t too far from the bridge and damn could Tim scream.

“ Captain. We’ve found something rather interesting, a transport vessel from the Yggdrasil System. If anyone would like to come with us to take a look get up to the bridge. You have five minutes.” Jonny poked a couple more buttons until it seemed like the comms had shut off.

It wasn’t long before they were joined by Tim, Marius, Ashes, and the Toy Soldier.

“We didn’t invite you,” Jonny sneered at the Toy Soldier.

“I’m just happy to be included!” the Toy Soldier said happily, oblivious as ever. Johnny rolled his eyes.

“Right. Can we dock it or something?” Ashes asked, leaning on the door-frame with their hands in the pockets.

“Aurora?” Brian asked tentatively. The Aurora was unreliable at the best of times and now that the only person she would always listen to was gone, she was testier than she’d ever been. Still, they heard the satisfying clunk and hiss of the airlocks attaching and sealing. The doors slid open to reveal a small ship.

Close as they were, it was clearly Asgardian design, all sleek edges and intricate grooves. For a transport vessel, it was decent quality although obviously not built for the kind of travel it had been doing. Jonny stepped in first. Well… his gun went in first while the rest of him followed. The Toy Soldier trotted in behind him and the rest followed in a sort of amorphous blob.

There was just enough space for the 6 of them to fit in the largest of the two rooms. Everywhere they looked was broken equipment, a frankly impressive array of destruction for this thing to have gotten as far as it had when it wasn’t built for out-of-system travel.

“There’s no way anyone from that system could have survived this much system failure,” Brian whispered as if the likely dead person in the other room could hear them.

“They could have been, what was it? ‘Touched by the outer gods?’” Jonny asked.

“Who came up with that line?” Ashes snorted.

“Me,” Marius said distractedly as he moved towards the table by the door. There was a small mound of recorders on it. He pressed play on one of them. The sudden sound made everyone jump. Then they heard it.

“Log of Inspector Second Class Lyfrassir Edda New Midgard Transport Police. I was able to barter for a transport ship. I’ve spent most of my savings on this, food, water, and fuel. I have some left over that will hopefully last me until I can find work in another system. Already things have begun going wrong. I brought my recordings of the Bifrost incident with me, I don’t think anyone will believe if I didn’t, and attached to the last one are some messages we’ve been receiving on various frequencies from everywhere in the system.

I didn’t tell anyone I was leaving. I just left a copy of the recordings and got out of there as quickly as possible. I think I escaped the worst of it, though the nightmares I’ve been having are certainly nothing of this world.

If I don’t stop, I might survive this. I might survive this.

Log ends.”

The Mechs stared at each other for a moment before Marius shoved his way forward and thrust open the door. In the pilot’s seat sat Lyf, their eyes closed, blood spattered about the small room. Their uniform was long past wrinkled and blood-stained. Their dark skin was the palest Marius had ever seen from them.

Marius had seen war. He had been through horrors, and committed such atrocities in kind. He had thought that his many centuries of mechanization would have made him desensitized to death by now, and it had. But it was so much easier to come to terms with Lyf’s death when they weren’t laying in front of him, covered in their own blood. This touched him deeply, in a way he couldn’t remember feeling before.

He didn’t remember walking to the medical bay, but he must have because here he was. Lyf lay on the table that they usually put their dead crewmates on to wait for the resurrection process, but there would be no resurrection process.

Raphaella had come in sometime during the time Marius had been in there and given her verdict. Lyf could not be mechanized. They had been dead too long and even if they hadn’t been, the touch of the outer gods would not have allowed for mechanization.

And Marius was alone again.

Alone with a corpse that would never walk again. That would never tell him, and Marius smiled slightly at the memory, to shut the fuck up and put the goddamn violin away, again. Lyfrassir Edda was gone. For good.

They listened to the tapes. All of them. All of the Mechanisms had known Lyf and most of them had even liked them. Besides, they weren’t entirely cruel and oblivious. They knew this was something Marius needed. Not to mention it helped with the whole album-writing part of their gig.

Marius listened to those tapes. He listened to them over and over again until he had them memorized. Well, except for the final recording. It hurt too much to listen to it more than once.

Marius always had the one of them that approached immortality with the most skepticism of the Mechanisms. How disappointing that he had been right.

Let me know what you think! If you like to be tagged in other works in this fandom (or others) or have any questions my inbox is open. Stay safe! :)

[soliverse]

SAY YOU LOVE ME - PART 4

rockstar!taeyongxjournalist!reader

genre: angst, suggestive, romance

warnings:  mentions of emotional abuse and manipulation, panic attacks, stalker behavior, and cussing

1 ⭒ 2 ⭒ 3 ⭒ 4 ⭒ 5 ⭒ finale pt 1

Length: 3k

ps:  if you are not comfortable with that sort of stuff, I will insert a warning within the story so you can skip it.

Also: the story is fictional and is no way related to NCT and its brand, especially Yuta. These are all a part of my imagination and I felt like it was needed to push the story further. Again, happy reading! - Ellie

The boys of 1:27 made a detour on a small BBQ shop on their way home to celebrate their successful performance for that night. Charlie promised them that she’ll pay for dinner and so they are stopped at the BBQ shack that they passed by on their way home. Everyone excitedly stepped out from the minivan with their arms around each other.

At this time of the night, they were the only ones inside the place. They took it as a go signal to be loud and did as they please. On a respectable manner, of course.

On one side, Johnny was filming a vlog with Mark and Doyoung. They talked about how they had fun at the performance and they wished that they can do more stuff like that in the future. Meanwhile, Taeyong helped Charlie decide what and how much to order.  

The pair came out alongside the staff to help them in carrying their massive order. They brought out about five trays of barbeque and side dishes which almost didn’t fit the small rectangular table that they have. They thank the staff for their troubles and started gobbling marinated meat right away.

The staff then came out with another tray. This time, it was filled by glasses containing amber-tinted liquid.

The boys cheered as Charlie went around the table and gave each one a glass. Mark was the first one that was handed the drink and so he took a sip right away. He then started laughing uncontrollably as he takes a sip once again from the glass.

“Dude, it’s apple juice.”

Charlie went back to her seat smiling smugly.

“Of course, it’s apple juice. I’m not going to baby your drunk asses off when we get home.”

The table went quiet, filling the room with sounds of chewing and utensils clanking over plates. Doyoung tried to lighten the mood up and started sharing stories about the miniconcert that they were invited in. They also got along well with the other performers and started taking pictures with them as well.

Charlie whipped out her phone and showed everybody pictures and videos that she captured while they are performing. They can all hear the cheers and screams coming from the videos. The loudest was definitely Charlie. Everyone was excitedly jumping up and down and singing their song with them. They got all hot and sweaty from the humid weather and moving around the stage. That didn’t stop them from interacting and hyping up the audience. She even argued that it made them even more appealing, especially to the young ladies watching. Some of them even tried to get the boys’ number but they all politely declined and just settled for selfies instead.

They also played games that night which resorted to Mark paying almost half the bill as they left. The guys thanked the owners for not kicking them out for being so noisy and promised that they’ll be back to eat there again. They hopped inside one by one and passed out as soon as their bodies touched the seats.

Taeyong stayed up for a bit and waited until everyone was asleep. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and leaned on the glass window, making a tired peace sign. He sent you the pic and typed a message right after.

Taeyong: We did well today. I’m almost home. Missed u.

  His thumb hovered over the send button for a while. He cringed at the last sentence and erased it before sending it to you and popped in his eyemask and headphones to sleep.

///

“Any more questions about your assignments for this month?”

Everyone remained quiet and just shook their heads in response. The team meeting took longer than expected and it is already past lunch time. You were impatiently scribbling on the notes that you took earlier. A little trick that you do so you will look like you’re busy doing something productive. Your thoughts are now clouded by hunger and boredom and and you kept looking at the clock ticking. You are silently praying that no one will ask a question and extend the meeting any further.

“Okay then.”

The supervisor, an old guy in his early fifties, finally closes the presentation and started closing the tabs in his windows. He shut the laptop down and slammed it close.

“We’ll see each other again same time next month. Remember to stick to your deadlines.”

Finally.

The room rattled as everyone tries to pack up their stuff and get out as fast as they can. You stood up from your chair. You did a bunch of weird poses to stretch your aching body from sitting down too long as you waited for the crown to dissipate before walking away from the room.

You grabbed your handbag from beside you and dug through tons of your unorganized stuff before you were finally to fish your phone out to do a time check. Instead, you were met by tons of photos and videos sent by Charlie that morning. They were mostly pictures of them rehearsing and goofing around the area. A slight curved on your lips as saved all of them in your phone and made your way into the breakroom.

Things are going well for the past couple of weeks. You and Taeyong barely talked before the event because he was busy practicing but at least you can finally look him in the eyes. Greetings are also once again exchanged, you even sent him off on their way to the event. With that out of the way, you’re finally able to catch up on to your prior commitments and saved yourself from being fired that week.

You bolted to the breakroom because you can now hear your stomach complaining. You politely bowed at everyone inside and snaked your way through a bunch of your coworkers. Today’s hot topic was them complaining about how long the meeting was and that Mr. Supervisor purposely stretched the meeting out because he wanted to spite all of you. None of that mattered to you though. The croquette that you made last night for lunch was the only thing on your mind. Upon reaching the fridge of the tiny breakroom, you microwaved your lunch for a few seconds before to your cubicle to eat in peace.

You greeted the one sitting beside you before you took a seat. The stacks of folders and papers were set aside to make way for your lunch bag. You carefully took the contents and dived right in to calm down your growling stomach. At the same time, you decided to pop in an earphone and listened to some of 1:27 recordings while eating. A ding! interrupted the music so you absent-mindedly opened the messages without seeing who it’s from.

Abby: Hey boo.

  The text intrigued you. She wasn’t the type to text someone unless it’s an emergency.

  You: Oh hey. What’s up?”

Abby: Don’t freak out, okay?

Abby: I think I saw Yuta in the mall today.

You felt a lump on your throat, and it wasn’t your lunch. You felt as if someone threw a bucket of iced water at you. You’ve set your lunch down and immediately pressed reply.

You: You sure it’s him?

You: Guy might be visiting his sis. I’m sure it’s nothing.

Abby: You sure?

Abby: Would you like to stay at our place for a while? I’m sure big bro wouldn’t mind.

As much as you wanted to stay over at anyone’s house for tonight, the Li household wasn’t the best option either. The last time you slept over, he glared at you whenever you tried moving anything in the house by a small fraction.

This might be an overstatement but the only thing scarier than Yuta is judgmental Li Yongqin.

You: Yeah, it’s probably nothing. Don’t worry about me.

Abby: Just in case something happens, you have my number okay? Be safe.

You dropped your phone at your desk and you felt your body getting colder and your breaths getting shorter once again. Eating lunch didn’t feel right anymore so you placed the lid back on and slipped it back, exchanging it with the water bottle. You drank half of its content and took deep, long breathes to slow down your racing heart for a bit. You dizzily bobbed your head down and rested your head on your folded arms. People asked if you were okay but you just smiled weakly and insisted that you’ll just sit the day out until office hours was over

As the day ended, Abigail Li picked you up from work that day. She insisted that if you’re not staying over at their house, the least thing that she can do was to make sure that you get home safely.

“Are you sure that you don’t want to stay over? I’ll lock Yongqin in my closet upstairs if it makes you feel any better.” Abby knew what her brother did last time and she made Ten apologize for the glaring at her. He did some half-hearted apology before glaring one last time and shutting himself back to his room.

“Relax. I’ll be fine. It’s been years since we’ve last seen each other. He probably moved on already.”

A sigh left her mouth.

“Fine. Don’t forget to lock everything when you sleep, aight?”

///

The first thing you did as soon as you got home was to lock everything just like what Abby said. You said that you’ll be fine to assure Abby, but you know you couldn’t be too sure about Yuta. First thing you did was grab a few chips and a can of cat food for Felice. The bedroom was the most secure part of the house so you decided that the best thing to do was to camp in there until the morning comes.

You held Felice close and stroke her soft fur to calm yourself down. She had become your most loyal companion on your path to recovery when you shut yourself from everyone else. She snuggles into your chest and purred lightly, probably sensing your uneasiness.

You used all your willpower to sleep that night but your mind was restless. Even after you stuffed yourself full, drank room temperature milk and fiddled on some fancam videos, you just couldn’t your mind off of Nakamoto Yuta.

The last time that you saw him was when you were crying nonstop at the police station as Abby and Sophie held you in.

Everything played out in your head like a film in cinema.

Na Yuta.

Awesome performer.

Awful person.

(This part may be a trigger to some readers so if you wouldn’t be comfortable reading this, skip to the next ///)

Everyone knew that he’s a player. That’s the first thing that he told you when you met him. It made him look dangerous, something you just need in order to spice out your cookie cutter life. Your parents just went into divorce and your life was going downhill.

He’s just a perfect distraction.

It went well at first, you became his muse. He’d shower you with love and gifts. He made you feel things that you never felt before. That didn’t last very long though.

Not even a year later, fights became a common occurrence. You finally understood how someone can love and hate a person at the same time. As soon as you realized the kind of guy that he is, you couldn’t get out. You made excuses after excuses and still waited for the time that he will change.

He’d go on tours and you would hear stories about him being seen with other women. Plural. Witnesses gave you a different description at every story that you believed it was ridiculous. It’s probably a colleague. Or it was fan and hew was just doing a bit of fanservice. That’s what you believed because that’s what he’d tell you every time you would confront him about it.

At the few times that you did caught him, he’d lie blatantly as if he didn’t just get caught. You couldn’t also count the times that he’d turn the table around and find some guy to link you with. It tricked you into believing that it was your fault that he did it. That he regrets being with you.

You couldn’t also fathom that you cried yourself to sleep because of him. He wouldn’t respond at parties and it would take him days before responding. He made you feel that you are never good enough for him, damaging your self-esteem and confidence in the process. And then he would go full circle and be over the top with surprises and gifts. He starts to go all soft on you and made you weak against his touch and kisses. It’s reminder that only him can make you feel that good, even if he’s also the one who caused you pain.

You also turned your back against everyone. Nobody could contact you for months. It was mostly you, trying to keep your ego intact. You can already hear them mocking you and will remind you that they told you so. He also convinced you that nobody else will love you like he did. The absence of your friends and family made you lonely. It was like they didn’t even miss your presence. And so you clung unto him more.

But everyone has their breaking point. At that point, you’re numbed out. You didn’t even cry as you saw him bringing someone into your own home. It was the wakeup call that you needed to get away from him. You finally realized that you didn’t deserve to be treated like trash and broke things off with him right then and there.

He didn’t like that one bit. He saw you as his possession and no one can take you away from him easily. Yuta started following you around wherever you’ll go and asked you to talk things out with him. He’ll pop in at your office, at the club where you would drink your troubles away, or at any possible location where he knows that you would see him. He was switching back and forth from begging and reminding you the memories you both had into going full psycho and texting you that you’ll regret ever leaving him.

It made you so paranoid that you just flat out refused to go outside at the fear of meeting him. The girls wanted to do something about your condition, and decided that the best thing to get your mind off of things was to surprise you on your birthday.

They brought your favorite food with them and decorated the party with your favorite colors. It was unexpected and you even apologized to everyone for causing them trouble. The night made happy that night and finally be able to smile for the first time in months. All was going well until everyone decided to go outside and take a group photo. Yuta popped out of nowhere and started dragging you away. You were crying and begging him to let you go but he insisted that he needs to talk to you and it wouldn’t take a while.

All hell broke loose. The guys rushed outside to intervene. Sophie’s then boyfriend (now husband), was a big, strong man and was able to grab him by the collar and beat the living crap out of him right in front of you. The sudden violence made you cry harder than earlier. There was nothing that you can do besides watch as everything go down. Both the police and the paramedics came right after and disturbed the whole neighborhood.

That day was still, hands-down, the most awful day of your life. The memory was so horrifying that your birthday is doomed for life. Nobody ever tried to do something for your birthday again, as per your wishes.

You strike yourself as lucky that you don’t have to go to a psychiatrist or drink meds anymore to sleep. Flashbacks make you shake a little bit, but at least that’s manageable. You cannot say the same thing about meeting Yuta once again.

///

“Here’s your stop. I’m sorry I couldn’t drop you off by Y/N’s apartment. The street was small and it would be difficult to turn the van around.”

“It’s totally fine. Walking won’t hurt me.”

Taeyong grabbed his duffel bag and his guitar from the backseat and steps outside the vehicle. He waved at them goodbye before the van went back to the road. He adjusted the straps of his guitar case and duffel bag so he can carry them both comfortably as he begins to walk towards your place.

It was eerily quiet at that time and something just didn’t feel right. He tried to shake the feeling off and increasing his walking pace. It didn’t take long before he can see the building from a distance.

He didn’t know if he was just imagining things but he could’ve sworn that he saw a dark figure lurking in the darkness surrounding your apartment. He muttered a series of curses made a run for it.

///

Your thoughts were interrupted when you thought you heard footsteps coming from outside your house. You were jolted awake and started going into panic. Your heart pounded so much that you can hear it ringing through your ears. You forced yourself to not mind the sound and convinced yourself that you’re just imagining it.

You felt your heart drop as you heard the front door opening and swung slowly. You can definitely hear footsteps just right outside your door. That’s impossible. You locked every single entrance that night. Mind is getting a bit hazy at this point from hyperventilating. Despite this, you grabbed anything that you can get your hands on and decided to face the intruder head on.

You opened your bedroom door just started wielding the thing you are holding at whoever it is that’s outside. You heard a loud thud at the ground and a guy squirming in place.

“Oh shit.”

You quickly realized who it is and threw the blunt object away, now realizing that it’s a tripod. You kneeled down right in front of him and started panicking again. This time, it’s for a whole other reason.

“Oh my god, Taeyong. Are you okay?”

---

[theliterateape]

I Like to Watch | Promising Young Woman (2020)

by Don Hall

In the pantheon of films made, only a handful stand out as truly understanding and communicating its time. Not documentaries or those based on true events but fictional stories that likewise mirror the specific zeitgeist (yeah, I used that term with a straight face) of a given time period or social movement.

Fifty years from now, when discussing the Black Lives Matter movement in the country, Get Out will be among the films watched for context on the American experience. It grasps the indelible feelings of the movement without mentioning it and is a stand-alone epic horror film at the same time.

The French Connection (1971) is not only brilliant but perfectly tells a tale of the beginnings of the War on Drugs instituted by Richard Nixon.

Casablanca (1942), unlike the propaganda films of most pre- and post-WWII movies, demonstrates an incredibly timely portrayal of the horrors of fascism, the values that heroes like Victor Laszlo hold, and illustrates an America that is a place for refugees to find freedom.

The Graduate (1967) is both a wonderful film and also expertly captures the transitioning from the idealism of post-Kennedy assassination to the craven capitalist emerging from the ashes.

High Noon (1952) is a grand cinematic device using clocks and real time as well as a window into the hysteria and paranoia of the McCarthy Era.

The Deer Hunter (1978), Fast Times of Ridgemont High (1981), Norma Rae (1979), The Great Dictator(1940), Wall Street (1987), and American Psycho (2000). The list is almost exhausting but spectacular at the same time. No question that you will, upon reading this, think of ten movies that fit this particular bill that I haven't mentioned.

While I gravitate to the optimism of Rocky (1976), the film of that year that depicts the isolation and torment of a young man disillusioned by the trifecta of the Kennedy assassination, Vietnam, and Watergate is Taxi Driver.

Set in a decaying and corrupt post-Vietnam New York City, Travis—played by a stunningly grim Robert De Niro—dreams of ridding the city of the filth and perversion he witnesses during his overnight shifts as a cabbie. The more Travis drives, the more he questions his purpose in life and grows deranged, ultimately leading down a path of violence, hatred, and even redemption. 

SOURCE

If there is a modern parallel, while Joker is a DC comics version of Bickle's journey into madness (although it more accurately makes a case for the existing madness of Incels), the more appropriate equivalent is without question Emerald Fennell's Promising Young Woman.

I'll confess that I didn't really want to see it. These days so much of film has become a series of lectures on social justice that, after the insufferable reboot of Charlie's Angels and the ugly one-sided and exploitative Them I just couldn't bother with more of the same.

It didn't help that they wanted twenty bucks to watch it. Then, when Dana and I were flying back to Vegas from a visit with my father-in-law in Pennsylvania, she watched it for free on the inflight. She loved it and, being that Dana is a notoriously finicky critic of film, the recommendation did not fall on deaf ears.

The premise is not what I gleaned from the trailers (Carey Mulligan does not play a serial murderer so much as serial justice seeker) and, like all superior satires, everyone (including the protagonist) gets a bit of shade. 

In the opening minutes of Promising Young Woman, Cassie (a deeply sardonic and wearily angry Mulligan) walks down a street with blood dripping down her leg eating a hot dog. She’s just left the home of Adam Brody, a beta-male who couldn't resist the temptation. She must have murdered him. Nope. It's ketchup from her phallic snack. In a single moment, you realize that Fennell has decided to subvert the male revenge fantasy for something wholly different.

Cassie, a medical school dropout, lives with her parents and works as a barista. She lives with the trauma of her best friend Nina Fisher's rape by a classmate. As a response, Cassie spends a night a week pretending to be the drunk single hot chick in bars. She's looking for the 'nice guys' who invariably offer to take her home and instead take her to their home with the intent to rape the helpless inebriate. She lets them go far before snapping the rubber band and revealing she's completely in control.

Cassie has a book of names. In it she keeps track of every 'nice guy' she confronts as well as another list directly related to Nina's rape. The college dean (Connie Britton) who did nothing when Nina reported her rape; the med school friend (Alison Brie) who dismissed the accusation as crying wolf; the lawyer (Alfred Molina) who bullied Nina into dropping the court case. She plays twisted pranks on them if they haven't yet seen the Nina she knew. She wants them to understand the gravity of their collective action.

After a chance meeting with an actual nice guy (a disarmingly adorable Bo Burnham), Cassie sees a way out of her dark quest. From this point, Fennell does something unexpected and remarkably effective: the film bounces back and forth from dark revenge fantasy to heartwarming romantic comedy in a whiplash manner. It's hard to keep up and serves to keep us guessing throughout.

Fennell (who also wrote the thing) has described Cassie's rage as "like an ingrown toenail" and Mulligan portrays Cassie with the numb pain of that feeling. Fennell isn’t content to simply paint the men as the problem; everyone involved, men and women, are culpable agents. Certainly the men who rape are the actors of personal destruction but the men and women who do not rape yet cover-up or minimize the damage are equally as guilty and ripe for Cassie’s meted out justice.

Travis Bickle was a young man traumatized by war and the abandonment he felt as society realized he was fucked up by a system designed to fuck him up. Cassie Thomas is a young woman traumatized by a system in place designed to fuck her and discard her like a piece of trash.

In fifty years, when college students are watching popular culture for insight into the #MeToo movement, Promising Young Woman will be on the watchlist.

[biscuit-drivels]

Ruthenian power couple. Alternate history, alternate universe, alternate everything

“What did I care about women before you grew into one?” he resumed bitterly “Hey, listen, one time in the Black Sea, I remember, I took a Turkish galley full of the most beautiful young girls a man would want to see. Picked for the Sultan’s harem from all over the world they were, and not one of them sparked anything in my heart. Not one! So what happened then? So my good brother Cossacks had themselves some fun and then I had a stone tied to the neck of each of these beauties and tossed them overboard! What did they mean to me? I didn’t care about anybody in those days! Didn’t fear anything alive between the earth and the sky! I made war on the Tartars, took my loot where it came, and lived in the Steppe like a prince in his castle . . . I was free! I did what I wanted! And what’s the story today? Eh? Will you tell me that? Here I sit like a slave, like a dog. . . a beggar waiting for one kind word from you. But I never hear it. Like I didn’t hear it in those other days when your own people were planning to marry you to me. Why is that? Why can’t you ever say it?”

... and I know it is a century off, but imagine this Ruthenian power couple, straight out of hell the Sultan’s harem :DDDDDDDDD

... enter Bohun.

... time for some puppy eyes angst.

... well, that was racey.

... so racey that you have to cool your head with a horse race.

... yeah, yeah Bohun :DDDDD Church Madonna, sure.

“I’m covered like a butcher with the blood of gentry But in those other days, when you could have loved me, the only people I killed in the Steppe were Tartars. Or Turks in the galleys .

‘And the loot,” he said. “The goods I took from them and brought home to Rozloghi. It wasn’t for me. None of it was. What would I want with silks and satins and yellow gold and jewels in those days? What does a free Cossack care about bags of treasure? It was for you! I brought it all for you because you were my heart and my soul and because I loved you. I killed a hundred men, burned a dozen palaces in the Crimea and took a score of caravans so that you’d be able to walk about shining in gold and jewels like one of God’s angels.”

... but Bohun doesn’t really need much persuasion.

‘Ask for anything you want,” he said heavily then nodded at the richly decorated walls. “Here, look around you. That’s all mine. That’s my loot from Bar. It took six horses to carry it here and there’s a lot more. You want gold? Shining jewels? People at your feet? Slaves? Servants? Peasants in your fields? Speak up and it’s yours. I’m a rich man and if I need more I know where to get it.”

His dark, slanted eyes were shining with that strange yellow glow, and she felt all her anger welling up in her at his presump­tion that she could be bought.

“You want a country of your own to rule? I’ll take and give you all the castles you want. I’ll give you half the Ukraine and more if that’s not enough. I may be just a Cossack, not a noble, but I’m a Zaporohjan Army ataman for all that, with a horsetail standard carried over me and ten thousand good men riding at my back and jumping at my orders. I can have ten thousand more anytime I want.”

Nodding, as if to confirm his power to himself, the Cossack hero stared at her with the quiet humility and hunger of a begging child.

“So ask for anything,” he said. “D’you want a kingdom? It’s as good as yours. You’re my queen. I’m your dog and warrior. Just tell me what to do, what to get you. Just so long as you don’t run from me anymore. Just so you’ll stay with me, and just so you’ll love me.

... but then, dramatic twist. Bohun has to go.

... leaving Alexandra all vulnerable.

... but Bohun doesn’t give up easily.

(who cares for characters looking drunk in the back, at least Bohun looks majestic in the screenshot)

... Alexandra slowly grows acustomed to Ottoman lifestyle. She is not Alexandra anymore, she is Hurrem.

... and Hurrem Alexandra is no weakling either.

Her own bloodless face stared at her coldly out of all those gold and silver mirrors with such strength and power, and with such pride and such indomitable will, that she seemed more like an avenging angel or a legendary fury than the mild and gentle icons to which HE compared her.

She shuddered then with the force of the anger that leaped in her breast.

She was a woman living in a time when few of her sex could decide their lives, direct their courses, or design the content of their fates. An orphan, thrown on the mercy of ruthless rela­tives strangers, she’d never had much say in what might happen to her. But she was a Ruthenian princess none the less.

Born in Ruthenia (then an eastern region of the Kingdom of Poland), Hurrem was captured by Crimean Tatars during a slave raid and eventually taken to Istanbul, the Ottoman capital. She entered the Imperial Harem, rising through the ranks to become the favourite of Sultan Suleiman.

Hurrem acted as Suleiman's advisor on matters of state, and seems to have had an influence upon foreign policy and on international politics. Two of her letters to King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland (reigned 1548–1572) have survived, and during her lifetime the Ottoman Empire generally had peaceful relations with the Polish state within a Polish–Ottoman alliance.

In her first short letter to Sigismund II, Hurrem expresses her highest joy and congratulations to the new king on the occasion of his ascension to the Polish throne after the death of his father Sigismund I the Old in 1548. She also pleads with the King to trust her envoy Hassan Ağa who took another message from her by word of mouth. In her second letter to Sigismund Augustus, written in response to his letter, Hurrem expresses in superlative terms her joy at hearing that the king is in good health and that he sends assurances of his sincere friendliness and attachment towards Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. She also quotes the sultan as saying, "with the old king we were like brothers, and if it pleases the All-Merciful God, with this king we will be as father and son." With this letter, Hurrem sent Sigismund II the gift of two pairs of linen shirts and pants, some belts, six handkerchiefs, and a hand-towel, with a promise to send a special linen robe in the future.

There are reasons to believe that these two letters were more than just diplomatic gestures, and that Suleiman's references to brotherly or fatherly feelings were not a mere tribute to political expediency. The letters also suggest Hurrem's strong desire to establish personal contact with the king. In his 1551 letter to Sigismund II concerning the embassy of Piotr Opaliński, Suleiman wrote that the Ambassador had seen "Your sister and my wife." Whether this phrase refers to a warm friendship between the Polish King and Ottoman Haseki, or whether it suggests a closer relation, the degree of their intimacy definitely points to a special link between the two states at the time.

[suckmysupernatural]

Sunshine - Chapter 6

Series Masterlist

Word Count: 1557

Pairing: Sam x OC Sunny

Series Summary: The Winchesters meet a cheerful hunter named Sunny, who quickly captures Sam’s attention. Little do any of them know what lies in store when Sunny gets invited to join the brothers. Who can say how Sam, Dean, and Sunny will be some training days, a handful of hunts, romantic dates, a kidnapping, and one vengeful demon later.

Chapter Summary: The case gets wrapped up.

Warnings: language, show-level violence

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

Near the end of the day, the three hunters had decided to meet up at the local diner to discuss their findings. Dean had been to the police station, local bars, even checking out the alleyways looking for men with sinning tendencies. Sunny and Sam had talked with many of the townspeople, posing as journalists who were looking for extraordinary women. Sitting at a booth, they began to trade information.

“I have, like, four town drunks,” Dean said before listing their names. “Oh, and there is this one dude who I caught snorting coke off of a bar bathroom sink.” Both Sam and Sunny were equally disturbed by the information. Bars were not known for their cleanliness, that was for sure. 

“Well, we found a couple of women who seem to fit the profile,” Sunny started, looking to Sam so he could continue. 

“There is a woman who is a sports coach for teens with disabilities, one who plants gardens around the city to make it look nice, a lady who bakes cookies for those staying in the hospital, and the last one just recently came home from a trip to Africa where she built ten houses for those in need,” Sam explained.

“Well, damn. Those are some do-gooders. So what, we just trail the people until the demon shows?” Dean asked. The three sat in silence, no one knowing where to go from there. 

“Why don’t we follow the women? So far it’s one man, one woman and so on. The last that died was a man,” Sunny pitched the idea to the guys. 

“There are four women and three of us,” Sam pointed out. 

“I think Garden Lady can be counted out for now. Yeah, she is doing good but not at the scale the other three are,” Sunny shrugged. The two men agreed. Tomorrow, they were each going to tail one woman and call the others if they found anything. 

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

Sam had been watching a basketball practice for almost two hours now, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He watched as the kids all left the court, getting their things, and starting to leave. Taking the opportunity, he decided to approach the coach.

“Hi, um, Jeanine?” Sam asked, getting the woman’s attention. 

“Yep that’s me, and you are?” Jeanine smiled.

“My name is Sam, I’m a freelance journalist and I am currently writing a piece about extraordinary women. I asked around town and your name came up a lot. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions?” Sam asked, taking on the role that he and Sunny had the day before. 

“Why, sure! The people around town are just the sweetest,” Jeanine shook her head slightly. It was obvious that she wasn’t one to boast about her efforts. She motioned to a bench nearby, her and Sam sitting and facing each other. 

“So, Jeanine, what made you want to teach teens with disabilities?” Sam asked. He wanted to ask demon-related questions but knew it would probably be best to start simple. 

“I might not look like it, but I’m disabled myself. I have POTS and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. When I was a kid I really enjoyed going out and being active until I kept getting sprains and injuries. I tried pushing through it but began fainting at random times as well. It was then that I saw a doctor and was officially diagnosed. I asked if I could continue playing sports, but was immediately shut down. My doctor basically said that people with disabilities can’t play sports. I decided that was ridiculous, so I started finding ways to play the sports I loved while also keeping safe. As I grew older, I realized that I wanted to help other kids do that too. When you have a disability you are always told what you can’t do. I decided to focus on what they can.” 

“Wow, that’s really great. How has the reaction been of those in town? People must love what you are doing,” Sam said. 

“Almost everyone is fantastic about it! I have parents that volunteer to bring snacks for all types of diets, the community here really cares about one another. I do have a few people, however, that don’t like what I’m doing. They say I am getting these kids’ hopes up for no reason or that they are just going to get hurt,” Jeanine sighed. It was obvious that these types of people annoyed her greatly.

“Who would be against this kind of thing? Do they bother you?” 

“Well,” Jeanine took a second to choose her words carefully. It was going to be in an article, after all, “I have had one woman that won’t give up. She had tried just about everything to get my programs shut down. She doesn’t even have a reason, it can feel like she has it out for me.” Sam’s eyebrows raised Jeanine’s answer. This could be the lead he was hoping for. 

“Off the record, who is this crazy lady?” Sam asked. Jeanine hesitated, not wanting to annoy the woman even farther. He gave her his sympathetic puppy-dog eyes and she folded.

“Name’s Brandi Thomas,” Jeanine told him. The two continued to chat for a few more minutes before Sam excused himself. Walking away from the bench, he sent a text to his two partners. He was going to leave Jeanine to go investigate Brandi. He got two confirmations before heading to the nearby payphone to look at the yellow pages.

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

After finding Brandi’s address, it didn’t take long until he was on her front door. The mailbox was filled to the brim and it looked like there hadn’t been any visitors to the house in a long time. Sam patted his jacket, feeling the demon blade that was tucked into this inside pocket. He had a feeling that he was in the right place. Bringing his knuckles to the wood, he gave a few loud knocks. Sam could hear the footsteps as someone approached the door. It swung open, revealing a middle-aged woman with black hair and piercing blue eyes. 

“Yes?” the woman asked, her voice conveying her slight annoyance.

“Hi there, my name is Sam. I am a freelance journalist reporting about those who use other’s disabilities for their own gain. I heard that you might be the perfect person to talk to about Jeanine?” Sam said. The woman’s eyebrows raised in curiosity. 

“Brandi,” she said, offering a hand for Sam to shake, “come on in.” She ushered Sam into the home, closing the door behind him. He took the opportunity to pretend he tripped on the rug that sat in the entryway.

“Jesus Christo!” He said, looking in his peripheral. Brandi twitched, her eyes turning a jet black. Sam’s hand went to his jacket pocket, pulling out the blade. The demon saw the glint of the metal, quickly shoving Sam in an attempt to get away. Before Brandi could get far, Sam tackled her onto the ground, stabbing the demon blade into the center of her chest. It was like her skeleton was a glow stick, lighting up orange as the life drained from the demon. Sam stood and wiped the knife off on the lifeless body’s jeans before tucking it back into his jacket pocket. Adrenaline was still pumping through his veins as he cleaned up the corpse, wiping down any surface that might have his handprints on it. 

Exiting the house, he pulled out his phone and told the other two that he had dealt with the bitch. They could meet back at the hotel, pack up, and head home. 

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

“I wonder why the demon went after the shitty guys too. I mean, the good people make sense; demons want to watch the world burn. Why the sinners though?” Sunny questioned as she shoved her clothes back into her duffel bag. It was something she had been pondering all day.

“Who gives a shit? The bitch is dead,” Dean shrugged. Sunny tossed him a look before resuming packing. Of course, Dean wouldn’t care. He usually left a hunt behind as soon as the monster was rotting in Purgatory. Sunny and Sam, on the other hand, wanted to understand each aspect of a case. The question nagged at Sunny, but she decided to drop it as she felt Sam’s hands snake around her waist. He kissed the back of her head before leaning down to rest his chin on her shoulder. 

“You know, maybe she had a bad ex,” Sam joked. Sunny couldn’t help but chuckle along with him. Turning her head, she gave him a quick peck on the lips before stepping out of his arms.

“Let’s get going, Mr. Lucky,” Sunny teased. Sam picked up her duffel bag, along with his, and began to follow her out to the Impala. 

“Mr. Lucky?” Dean questioned.

“Yep,” Sunny looked to the older brother, “it’s short for Mr. Getting Lucky Tonight.” She stuck out her tongue as Dean pretended to gag. Looking over at Sam, she winked. He gave her a grin, his eyes raking over her body. 

The car ride to the bunker was going to be torture for them all. Sam and Sunny would have to resist taking each other in the Impala’s back seat and Dean would have to resist puking at the thought.

Chapter 7 ->

[at-the-exd-of-everythixg]

3. Hopes || 4. Fears || 5. Crying || 6. Laughter || 10. Art || 12. Worst Enemy || 14. Eyes || 17. Scars ||22. Family || 23. Romance || 30. Sex || 31. Death || 34. Affection || 35. Guilt || 39. Secret ][For Wulf][

@blind-mutant

Hopes

Wulf only tends to believe in something or a concept of it can make sense to him/work out. Wulf as a child would have never believed in santa because a man going all over the wold in one night makes so sense. Especially when Midgard is bigger than Asgard and doesn't have the same magic. It tends to surprise people when they learn that Wulf thinks this way, but he doesn't want a life and relationship based on simple hopes, he wants to earn it with his own two hands. Thinks the tooth fairy is genuinely real and believes in all his lovers for what they're worth.

Fears

Wulf is scared that something will happen to his loved ones, or that he'll never be enough for the most basic needs. It's a rather grounding fear that makes him want to do as well as he can so he can be an aid and provide for the people around him. He almost doesn't want to even consider the option of someone else providing and caring for him when Wulf is already so capable of doing it himself. It seems...selfish.

Crying

When he's upset, Wulf's hair goes completely limp from where normally it will float around. He likes to hide in high up places and curl up to cry properly just in case anyone tries to look for him, then they can't make him come down. Its...frustrating to deal with and so far Edith is the only person who so far has been able to teach and stay with Wulf when he's upset due to the fact that she can control plants and get to him almost anywhere. Wulf never wants Rhys to see him cry really, not when any of his issues seem so...unmeaningful compared to Rhys's own issues and feelings.

Laughter

Wulf is very stereotypical in the fact that he has a very loud laugh like most Asgardians. But unlike most Asgardians Wulf starts to float when he's laughing, which used to be a relatively big issue as Wulf used to laugh and immediately shoot into the ceiling and struggle getting down because he kept laughing. Edith had to tie a rope around him for a month until he figured it out. Wulf still floats but that only happens when he's positively giddy or rather drunk. Maybe both.

Art

As a hobby or to keep memories, I'd probably say that Wulf would take up painting the scenes from Midgard. He has a lot of watercolour themed ones that he likes to get up in high places to see things better. He thinks that Midgard contains an array of beauty of that needs to be captured, particularly if beauty involves a lovely boyfriend laid out on bed in bliss. Wulf likes to think that he has excellent taste in what's beautiful.

Worst enemy

I mean,,,Wulf is someome who really wants to forgive people who wrong him. But if there's a person who has properly wrong him or his family? Then Wulf will ignore the person until he dies. He hasn't gone into the pottery store his ex owns for 93 years. If anyone is rude to Rhys or Abby then Wulf gives a two hour speech on their dignity before being dragged away and he refuses to let them step foot near the insulter when he'll just take care of it and glare for ages.

Eyes

Wulf uh. Tends to nap with only his third eyelid closed. Which means that people who can see him sleep ate often freaked out when he's got a literal blank stare the whole time. His eyes are more adjusted for high flights and other air related things so Wulf can go long hours without needing to blink and had GOOD eyesight. Spots any detail and knows if Rhys's is upset by his body language tbh. Wore real glasses once and they hurt his eyes so had he walked into a glass window and smashed through it entirely.

Scars

Wulf is rather hard to scar, as most Asgardians are. That's why it's so incredible to be able to get scars; you've faced something stronger than yourself and came back from it. Wulf only has long jagged scars going down his shoulders to just around the top of his ass from where he bad been slammed into a cliff side by a rock troll and forcefully dragged down it along with a bite mark at his sides. He thinks any partner that has scars is utterly enchanting and brave to have experienced and survived something that marked them so.

Family

He's very family oriented! Families are incredibly important on Asgard for survival and creating your own family so he's always been happy to do anything to help his parents and sister. It makes Wulf incredibly sad to know that Rhys's family gave him away and he becomes a little more intent on giving him aa better experience of a family at that. When he gets shunned and hair cut, Wulf is...a bit lost and doesn't have an exact idea of what to do with himself when he's suddenly cut off from all of his most important people.

Romance

Wulf could easily be someome in love with the idea of romance. There's something beautiful and special in treating someone as they deserve. He's big on gifts and special items that can be useful, like a comb for long hair or new shoes for walking distances. If it's a special partner? he'll even bake for them and use the recipes his mother taught him. Edith and Wulf have pastries that are to die for. Not to mention the fact that Wulf will spout poetry about his lover's body and traits at any waking chance. He likes being able to spoil and treat his partner as they deserve to be treated.

Sex

Like romance, Wulf is all about treating how his partners should be worshipped. He loves taking care of them and likes to take sex however they want it, particularly for the first time. Although, Wulf likes to have a certain degree of trust and affection to them for the first time, like how he's known Rhys for a while before making an offer of sex (and he's gonna ask him out afterwards). Wulf isn't...entirely too sure about reviving or being the one to be doted and romanced on. He's...awkward. it takes him a while to learn how to take romance and to lay back and enjoy someone else pleasuring him instead of being the one used to doing it himself.

Death

You can imagine Wulf's relationship with death is a little...odd. what with his sister being a grim reaper practically. He's a bit too casual and blunt with funerals, even on Asgard. He'd probably get kicked out of a Midgard funeral for sure after trying to celebrate someone's life. But its nice in a way, that Wulf believes in a better place for people to go when they die and he believes that he will always be with his love, even in death, and welcomes the time he's pulled to a place of rest.

Affection

He is SO affectionate. Loves friendly hugs and pulling someone close to protect them. Will happily lean in or pick someone up to shield them from rain and when dating? Always gives hand kisses, likes simply having an arm around his partner's waist and shoulders, happily let's them sit on his lap when they want and he's the sickingly sweet one who brings a diffrent Midgardian cliche gift every week. Rhys gets dragged around all the hip Midgard places and a ten foot teddy bear Wulf won for him while Abby gets a romantic fly and flowers that Wulf picked off a mountain side and reminded him of Abby's beauty. Both get homemade chocolates and pastries and a night of romantic love making.

Guilt

Admittedly, Wulf feels guilt for leaving home and being so willing to go off to Midgard. Someone should have stayed behind to make sure things were fine, right? He also feels a lot of guilt for leaving Rhys at first, even if it was out of his control. Wulf tends to keep his guilt to himself as he doesn't want to burden his partner with it, which is very hypocritical when you consider how he wants his partners to always be open and to feel safe with him. Wulf is someone who probably needs it verbally beaten into his head that he should be honest if he's feeling guilty for leaving Rhys and just yanking him into a new world so suddenly.

Secret

So bad at them. Doesn't get told a out surprise parties and even Wulf agrees that's the right idea. Rhys probably learns to feign surprise at his birthday or any secret romantic gesture at this point from where Wulf either accidentally blurts out a detail of his plans or Rhys even finds what he has hidden. He shares most secrets that could hide something bad though so hardly any secret Wulf does have often means good things. I kinda like the idea that Wulf is someone who accidentally walks in on secrets or guesses surprises that are for him ridiculously well.

[palakshishaswat-writinglover]

There will come one day (BSD One shot)

"Oi! Shortie! wait for me", you called for your ginger head. Chuuya turned to you as he stopped after listening from you. You were running all the way to the park where you guessed he might be. You were so happy that Chuuya is back, back to you after a good long while. You reached upto him and rested your hands on your knees, which seemed like a bow, as you were out of breath. It felt like there was no air, 'But if there is no air then what am I gasping for', you said to yourself.

"I know you like me~ and respect me~. But no need to bow", he said in a calm tone but teasing was hidden deep beneath those words. He was wearing a navy blue shirt and black pants and off course his peaked cap was resting on his head.

"O.. ho.. Mr. Commader, why that hat can always stay with you, whereas I can't ", you said, answering his tease through a tease. But it seems it didn't worked out.

"Ptfff, well well, you would be allowed to go with me soon. By the way how did you know that I am here?", he asked. He sitted himself on the bench indicating you to sit beside him.

"Course Chuu........ I know where you use to come when you would like to relax", you said as you sit beside him. He always use to talk about searching for peace, he just wanted it, and could do anything for it. Well, you heard him singing a hymn related to it. Actually according to him he took his step in army as he thought that a selfless sacrifice can lend him peace. Who knows?

"Not gonna talk?", he asked as he turned his gaze from the book in his hands to the girl sitting next to him.

"Sitting beside you, and watching you contented and happy is more than enough Chuuya", you said in a very calm tone which always felt like a beautiful music to Chuuya's ears. You didn't mean to tease and so didn't. It was dense but truth. You let out a deep sigh of happiness. You smelled the fabulous fragrance of seasonal flowers like hibiscus. The scent was reaching upto you with warm air. It was no more skin burning which indicates soon autumn will reach to your doorstep.

"(Y/N), I want to tell you something", he said. Little sadly, his eyes were showering something which felt like......... guilt. You were suddenly caught with worry. You never wanted to watch the most important person of your life like this.

"Chuya!", you couldn't help your voice to not to feel like startled. You put each of your hands on both of his shoulders. "Jus-just tell me. Everything is fine. I won't mind whatever it is you want to tell".

"Don't be worried", he put one of his hands over your own. His sapphire eyes turned to capture the beautiful scene of setting Sun. When you arrived here, there were some people strolling, but now it was deserted leaving you, Chuuya and little birds. Little chirpings of birds and honking of vehicle were filling the background music. You didn't moved your orbs from the red head. He looked at you with small smile, warm as ever. He wasn't wearing his hat on the moment. You didn't realised that when did he kept it on bench. He rest his head on your lap and lifted his body up on the bench.

"Can I rest here for a while", you nodded with a small smile. Whatever it was, surely enough, it was depressing. And you thought that Chuuya will tell you once he is Ok.

"(Y/N)", Chuuya spoke after a short while. His eyes were still close and his flaming hairs were lying carelessly on his face.

"Yes?", you replied softly.

"Will you do me a favour?", he asked, his voice was ever so peaceful. You nodded to it and he continued, "please stay happy, seeing you like this is the biggest pleasure in life". He opened his eyes to took deep into you, it seems he can reach into your soul."Anything Chuuya, if it makes you happy", you said. He smiled to you and you both saw the stars which were now showing themselves in the sky.

"Say Chuuya, are you going back. But you just returned", you almost pount as those words slipped out your mouth. He nodded to it and continued, "don't worry I would be back by October 23. Well I thought you would be furious and won't be talking with me, so.....".

"So you thought to emotionally blackmail me first, so that I won't be angry at you", you said as a quiet chuckle escaped your mouth. "Let's go home it's getting dark". He glanced at the night sky, "I will walk you home". As a overly protective person Chuuya was, he never asked you something like that he would mostly order you instead, like:

• Don't go alone anywhere far.

• Don't go out at night.

• Don't drink.....

Well the third point was unfair as Chuuya would drink more often. He says that by chance if anyone would get you in your drunk form, which was very bad, then anyone can take advantage of that. And after all, after few time you were gonna become the fiancee of the Wing Commander. Yes... Chuuya is a part of the Air force.

It was pretty long way through the busy roads. People were heading to their home, exhausted, probably. Chuuya was silent throughout the walk. You were mostly giving him glances, actually you couldn't resist it, he looked so nice. A person who can't resist his insult. Those eyes which demands respect. His flaming hair were like a lion's mane - 'Aslan', you told yourself. But for you so pleasant. He was your paradise.

"Chuu-ya~", Chuuya turned to you as he heard his name, "your looking great today", you said. He blushed at the sudden compliment. Chuuya never leave comments, never compliment, neither do he flatter, he is simple. 'An ideal personality', you told to yourself. You reached to your home, while he was waving a hand, you drag him inside and requested, or rather ordered, to meet your mom while you would prepare him dinner. You three ate in peace while little giggles and chuckles were coming out from the three of you. After a good long conversation Chuuya finally waved off and promised that they would meet on 23 October.

__________(on 23 October)

You were walking gleefully to Chuuya's house (or rather Bungalow). Well you couldn't resist your happiness that it was giving your every step a little hop. You reached to the entrance and welcome yourself. Mr. and Mrs. Nakahara were really nice person and they always welcomed their future daughter in law. As you were passing through the pathway of their huge-enough garden. All of a sudden you eyes caught by your future father in law. He greeted you with a warm smile but....... a slight sadness?

"Pleasure to see you (Y/N)-kun. Well I have an important task so will you go to Fuku-San?".

Fuku San was your mother in law and you liked her a lot. You nodded and and Kensuke-San went from beside you. As soon as he turned from the sight stunned you. It seemed as if 'Sorrow' was clearly written on his face. You felt tear forming in your eyes but shrugged the strange feeling off which was so dark and haunted you. You met to Fuku San and again the sight stunned you. She had rapped herself in milky white cloths with no designs, no printings nothing. Just as you saw Kensuke San, he too was wearing simple white cloths whereas he usually wear his laboratory coat.

"Fuku San, did something...um.... happen? Why the most colourful people had rapped themselves in white", you said taking care of your tone because the person might had some close relation. At this Fuku San's small sad smile was transforming. The tears she was holding came running down her cheek and she fell on her knees. You embraced her tight as you tried to comfort her. She finally hold down and pointed to the verandah which opens to the backyard. You stood up with her and walked to the place. Some more people were sitting there in white clothing. Maybe Nakahara had the funeral at their own home. A sad smile went off your face as soon as your eyes fell on what you just saw in front of you. On the table - where for background music everyone were reciting their regrets and enchanting sweet songs to the person so that the person would rest in peace - was the photo of a young looking man. A Garland was hanging on the photo and two instance stick were ignited at the side. Your heart drop at the sight of it and soundless scream escape your mouth.

Fuku San gathered all of her courage and tried to speak. Her voice was dry as she said," There was an attack the day before yesterday and their unit were stuck between the opposition's fighter planes and............," her voice trailed off as she tried her best to continue.

And......

"To save his comrades, Chuuya gave upon his life. He is dea- dead. He died yesterday", more tears rolled on her cheeks. Only one thing was roaming in your head that...................... Chuuya's dead, red head is dead, no, no you can't leave me you can't. You can't!

You walked up to the table where ginger's photo was lying. Your face was blank, a tear ran down your face, following it, more and more tears were coming, but you weren't aware of it. They didn't matter at all. What you could imagine was, Chuuya. Were all of it a joke? Would he just pop up from behind you? You saw behind you in anticipation. You won't hear his voice anymore, the thought of it was killing you and burning you alive.

"(Y/N)", for once you thought that Chuuya is back to you. You were delighted and you turned around to see your ginger. But.... it wasn't him. Your smile dropped and so your head. You slowly turned back to the picture of your ginger. A tall brunette with chocolate coloured eyes was standing beside you. He tapped on your shoulder and told you that, 'he has a very important message for you'.

"From Chuuya?", you questioned in disbelief but accepted when he reassured you. May be something, something you could do for him. At the moment any memory of him felt like heaven. But you couldn't control on the tears, they had now became something usual like rising of the sun. But what the worse was your heart it ached.

So hard.

To be continued.......

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