#apparently he’s trying to clean up his act recently and like honestly based on his consistency with telling people straight lies 24/7 i-

[awoooooubliette]

i’ve seen other people sharing their family lore and such on here before and i wanted to share mine because it’s really fucking funny and i will literally never shut up about it. so i used to live out on the (american) west coast with my mom and bio dad, and when i was like 4 (ish) my dad decided to do some fucked up shit (understatement) and so he decided to do the most logical thing possible when faced with court hearings: my father, who i have inherited many fun and interesting mental illnesses from, tried to fake his death in the most cheesy and absurd way possible.

he (again!! in order to escape court hearings) decided to set up his apartment like it was something out of a crime drama. he left dozens of empty beer bottles around, left a really incredibly overdramatic ‘woe is me, my life sucks, the world isn’t worth me’ note for people to find, and then (this is the best part) he left a MAP. on the TABLE. he had CIRCLED A CLIFF ON IT and EXPECTED EVERYONE TO JUST. ACCEPT HE JUMPED OFF???

the way that my mom found out where he even WAS happened because he got caught selling drugs in las vegas with his girlfriend and the cops called her and were like ‘hey is this your husband’ and she was like ‘yeah thanks guys i’ve been trying to prove he disappeared so i can divorce him’ and at that point it had been like a full year and my mom had had to hire a literal private investigator in order to PROVE he was actually gone at all and it wasn’t just her trying to steal money while he was away on a fishing trip or whatever

(she did end up divorcing him btw and remarried to my step dad who very much stepped up <3)

but yeah that’s… how my dad both failed and succeeded faking his own death 👍

[wherelanguage-ends]

Sorry to bring up the B and P issue, but imo BoC should also come clean and clarify on the topic that is the 4 minutes series. We should not forget that the first accusation P made against B was regarding plagiarism of a supposed series she was writing. Then there is a phone call recording in which P accusses B repeatedly of sharing the plot of her series with B*C and with the writer Sammon and B repeats that he didnt do that while crying, asking her please to believe him, and then she asks him for money as compensation. Back then the company not only did not defend B, but only recently the ceo said that it had been all coincidence and that P had made a mistake and it was solved, yet no apology to B was ever made. I think there are more issues and ppl involved in this mess that we're led to believe.

So I’ll be honest anon, when I got your ask I wasn’t sure if I would answer it or not, partly because most of the time when it’s come to this situation I tend to either have emotional outbursts on my blog that go untagged(as in not in the main tag) or the occasional tags under a post as I try to process information(this is one of those times it’s always best to listen to what experts or survivors have to say before formulating your own opinion) Plus talking about this issue when Build himself posted a statement saying he’d like to move on seemed pointless, cause it would be more speculation and theorising.

But fuck it I say, since Pond clearly wants to share his side that nobody asked for?

Going to put the rest under read more.

When this whole thing started I wasn’t really active on Twitter or following any of the going ons on there so correct me if I’m wrong but initially I thought BOC truly had nothing to do with this situation. Sure it’s weird that a former/current writer was accusing their newly contracted writer of stealing her idea by way of an actor in the company and the company itself says nothing but hey Build’s the one who decided to address the situation all on his own. I am not blaming him we clearly know now why he did that at the fan event. Add to this already messy situation the fact that former writer and actor were in a relationship that apparently was abusive, I wouldn’t have blamed BOC for wanting to separate themselves from this entirely even if it started with plagiarism charges.

But they never did that did they? Now Pond’s adding an IG story saying he knew about things from the start? Like what? The abuse charges were fake? The pregnancy was fake? It’s true as he says you can’t know what’s the truth when you’re outsiders but based on what Pond did know how was the press conference a good idea? How is his posting that statement now even helpful to the situation?

Why the both sides argument back then and even now? Poi went on a complete rampage trying to ruin the reputation of a man because he wanted to break up with her and now we’re just supposed to accept it was a messy break up? I know many have commented and explained what toxic relationships can be like , keeping that in mind: What happened to Build’s charges of compelled to act and extortion? His saying that she forced him to stay in the relationship using his career as leverage? That just doesn’t seem like they were equally at fault?

Yeah there are more people involved in this issue and we’ll never know what and who but what the hell is the CEO thinking when he does what he does? I can’t tell if this is his version of ‘oh look at us, we’re such a transparent and honest company’ or what.

As for the thing with Dr. Sammon and everything else. She’s seems to be an industry veteran with multiple projects to her name. So she would know how to handle the situation best and if she doesn’t want an apology or further clarification then so be it. Same goes for any apologies owed to Build. If he deems a public apology necessary he’ll ask for it.

Honestly don’t know if this is what you were going for when you sent the ask but sorry this is what I have.

[writertitan]

Sunsets

pairing: levi x f!reader (she/her pronouns used)

word count: 3.3k

themes: a little angsty at first but trust the process, fluffy ending, canonverse, levi is nervous

requested by anon

The first time you felt something was amiss was when you caught Levi scrambling to hide something in his desk drawer as you walked into his office. 

“What’s that?” you asked, more out of slight curiosity than anything else, as you closed the door behind you. 

“Nothing,” Levi responded curtly, and that was the end of it. 

For a moment, you wondered about pressing it, mostly just to tease, but it was forgotten the moment Levi got up and walked towards you to hand you a cup of tea. 

You stole a quick peck from him in the process, his sneaky little moment now completely wiped from your head, and you launched into a summary of your day with your squad. 

Levi listened as attentively as he always did. As you spoke, the two of you ended up leaving his office to take a stroll outside, sipping your teas as you chatted. 

It was no surprise that you ended up where you always did outside. A private spot - the one you’d dubbed your spot with Levi - in a quiet part of base, aware from prying eyes and the constant noise and running around. 

You looked towards the sunset that bled across the wall and sighed in content, clutching your teacup close to your chest as you took in the sight. You could feel Levi’s eyes on you but you didn’t turn to him right away, choosing to admire the warm colors before the sky turned inky. Still, that didn’t stop you from being cheeky. 

“What are you staring at?” you asked with a small smile tugging at your lips. Finally, your gaze flickered to Levi, catching his silvery eyes. 

He grunted a noncommittal response and looked towards the sunset as well, but you saw the faint pink dusting his ears. It made you smile wider, and you hid it behind your teacup before taking one last sip of tea. 

“We should go back inside soon, it’s getting chilly,” you said, and Levi nodded once, his eyes on you yet again when he noticed that you were getting closer to him instead of heading back inside. 

The evening was settling into a cool spring night, and you couldn’t help your desire to snuggle closer into Levi. There was no one around - you could hear the ruckus of dinnertime in the mess hall - which made it the perfect opportunity to find comfort in his sturdy, warm chest. 

Over the years, you’d noticed that your more unexpected advances, like this one, made Levi tense up less and less. The very first time you’d gotten cuddly with him, even in the privacy of his room, he’d frozen up and couldn’t respond. An entirely different Levi from this current one, who easily looped an arm around your middle and nuzzled his nose into your hairline when you rested your head against his shoulder.

“Let’s go back in now,” he murmured against your forehead, and you hummed in both agreement and disagreement. 

It was nice to be like this with him. It felt normal, weightless. You wanted to soak up in this moment forever. 

When Levi pulled away, you whined a little and leaned towards him again, seeking his warmth, but you stopped when Levi set his cup down gently on the grass to shrug out of his jacket and drape it over your shoulders. His warmth and his scent enveloped your senses and you smiled shyly at him, using your free hand to tug his jacket closer around you. 

He took your cup from you and then grabbed his cup from the grass, allowing you a few moments to snuggle up in his jacket and stick your arms through the sleeves. The two of you were settled in a comfortable silence as you walked back inside, straight towards your shared room. 

On the way back you passed by Levi’s office, door still ajar, and Levi asked you to stop so he could finish up a few things and lock it up for the night. 

“Mind taking these back to the kitchen?” he asked you as he gently handed you the empty teacups. 

“Don’t mind at all, I’ll just meet you in our room,” you said, turning back around to leave. 

You turned to look at him over your shoulder before closing the door behind you, and stopped when you saw him briefly peek into the same drawer he’d been so sneaky about earlier, the memory popping back up in your brain. 

Whatever he was hiding, he didn’t take it out, and you didn’t wait around to see if he would. It was probably nothing. 

By the time you got to your shared room, Levi was already there, and the memory was almost to the back of your mind again, to be completely forgotten the moment his lips touched yours. It wasn’t until you were drifting off to sleep, Levi’s hand stroking along your spine, that your mind conjured it up again in a dream. 

----

The second time you felt something was up was when Hange and Levi shut up the moment you stepped into the room. 

Hushed whispers cut off short the moment you walked in, and it was a little irritating. Whatever urgent matter you’d needed Levi for was wiped from your head for the moment, replaced with unease. 

“What?” you pressed, eyebrows knit together in confusion. “Am I interrupting something?” 

“No,” Levi said, a little too quickly for your liking, and you gave him a frown. 

“Then what were you talking about?” 

“Can’t tell you yet,” Hange piped up, which in turn made Levi glare at them. 

You pressed your lips together, trying to decide if it was worth asking for more information, but before you could make up your mind, Hange jumped up from their chair and gave you a bright smile, glasses flashing in the afternoon light streaming through the window of their lab. 

“Well, I’m off! Got lots of things to tend to this afternoon. See you for supper?” They didn’t want for an answer as they hurried past you, leaving you alone with a very on edge Levi. 

You hadn’t seen him this tensed up since you’d first gotten together. It was startling. 

It was scary. 

“Levi…,” you began, but couldn’t find the words. Finally, you decided on, “Is everything okay?” 

He softened at your question, which had come out quiet and clearly laced with worry, and in no time he was in front of you and smoothing some hair from your face. 

“Stop worrying so much,” he answered; his eyes were sincere and calming, and your heartbeat slowly went back to normal when he let you lean into his touch. 

You didn’t dawdle too much and eventually you pulled away from him, giving him a stern look when you remembered what you’d come to find him for. 

“One of the cadets tracked in...horse shit. And he doesn’t know how to clean it up. Honestly, he’s just spreading it around even more. We need you,” you explained, just about gagging even at the very recent memory of the poor boy trying his best to clean before his captain could find out. 

Levi’s eyes had widened the moment you’d mentioned anything about horse dung being anywhere other than in the stables, and then darkened as he processed the situation at hand. 

“This batch has got to be the worst we’ve ever had,” he muttered, referring to your newest recruits. “I think I’m gonna be fucking sick. Let’s go.” 

It wasn’t until you both heard Hange’s bloodcurdling scream that you sprung into action. Because for Hange of all people to get worked up about a mess, it had to be bad. And Levi knew that better than anyone. 

He had never left you behind as fast as he did right then. 

---

Though the sneakiness persisted over the next couple of weeks, what you couldn’t let go of was the way Levi was slowly tensing up again. 

What had you done? Had you done something that had set him off and made him uncomfortable?

Every time you tried to broach the subject with him, Levi was quick to change the subject. Then, for a while, he’d be sort of back to normal with you. He’d sneak a few affectionate touches in private, he’d take an evening stroll outside only for you to end up at your favorite spot, and then you’d feel your worries slip away. 

Only for those same worries to come crashing back when he’d tense up again. 

The final straw was after training, when you’d walked into his office to give him some paperwork, and had caught him pacing back and forth. He looked stressed out and it made your heart hurt for him. 

Apparently, he was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn’t hear you come in. As he turned his head towards the window, back to you, you walked over to place a hand on his shoulder, ready to comfort him. 

The way he cringed away made you stumble back as if you’d been slapped. The pain of rejection spread from your heart to your entire body as Levi whipped around to face you, grey eyes filled with surprise when he saw it was you. 

And then you just couldn’t help it. The tears that filled your eyes couldn’t be stopped, and Levi looked horrified at the sight. 

“I’m sorry-” he started, but you interrupted him with a whispered, “Stop.” 

It was then that the most horrible thought came to you, a thought that suddenly made the most sense. 

“Do you not want to be with me anymore?” you asked him, voice cracking at the end. 

The sneakiness, the tension he radiated, it all pointed to one thing: He was done with you. That had to be it. Just the idea of it made your heart simultaneously sink and beat hard in denial. Your body was just as tense as Levi’s. 

Somehow, somewhere along the way, maybe Levi had decided that a relationship really was too hard. Maybe you’d forced him to be too open. Maybe he was uncomfortable with you. It had taken a long time for him to come out of his shell and truly open up to you, but maybe he regretted it. 

Levi, for the first time ever since you’d known him, looked dumbfounded. 

“What are you talking about?” he asked, but your heart sank at that. 

Answering a question with another question. A telltale sign that he was avoiding the answer. 

“All of your sneaking around, Levi! You’ve been acting so different lately and I guess I get it now,” you said, voice still wobbly as the tears threatened to fall. 

Realization dawned on Levi’s face then, but you didn’t wait around for whatever he was about to say. You’d thought that maybe Levi had just needed some space before. Now it was you who needed space. If he was going to call things off, you needed a bit more time to prepare yourself. 

You left despite Levi calling out for you, tears finally trickling down your cheeks as you desperately tried to hurry off and find somewhere to calm down. 

You pushed yourself into the first supply closet you could find and locked it after you, settling down in the darkness as you wiped at your continuously falling tears. 

Maybe you were jumping to conclusions, but something was just different about Levi lately. And to have him tense up like that, when he hadn’t done so in such a long time...it hurt more than anything else. Even the thought of him not being in your life sent shots of panic through you. 

But you couldn’t face him just yet. You’d have to sort it out soon with him, whether you were right or not, but the fear and insecurity ate away at you in that supply closet. 

One thing stood out though, as your tears subsided. 

Levi would never intentionally hurt you. He wanted you to be safe, to feel safe, like you made him feel safe. 

And, the most important thing you had to remember, was that you loved him. And you weren’t willing to throw it all away without doing all you could to repair whatever needed fixing. 

You had to be brave. You owed it to Levi to be brave, even if you were about to hear something you didn’t want to hear. 

So, after a deep breath, you dusted yourself off and slowly left the closet, quiet and a little anxious as you headed back to his office. 

Your footsteps were the only sound as you made your way down the hall. Nobody was around and, as you got closer to Levi’s office, you couldn’t hear him inside. 

Peeking your head in, your suspicions were confirmed when you were met with an empty space. You quietly shut the door behind you and looked around, as if Levi would randomly appear. 

The silence was uncomfortable. Though much of your time spent alone with Levi was in silence, it was comfortable and perfect, and made you feel as if you could continue on that way forever. But just you here in his office with Levi nowhere in sight, with only silence to accompany you, made you feel cold. 

You sat at his desk and sighed, rubbing at your face for a moment before leaning back in his chair and contemplating what to do next. Should you just wait for him here? 

But when your eyes flickered to the desk drawer that had started the first bouts of unease in you, your mind blanked. 

It was unlike you to invade Levi’s privacy. And truly, whatever he’d pushed into that drawer must have been taken out by now, right? 

But you were acting so unlike you today. 

Part of you felt bad to be opening up the drawer to peek inside, but the other part of you just needed to know, and needed to find answers. 

There were a few documents in there that looked standard, but the folded up piece of parchment at the back caught your attention immediately. 

You carefully pulled it out and shut the drawer, heart thumping as you unfolded it to look at the contents. 

Ring? 

At morning? At night?   at sunset, our spot

Write a speech

Memorize the speech? 

Or maybe just ask her Too aggressive. Say something romantic first asshole

Ask Hange for help on what to say even if it makes you want to die 

Be confident

Would she even want to marry you? 

Be confident

Where at first your heart had been pounding, it had suddenly skipped a few beats when you realized what you were reading. 

Levi’s normally neat and beautiful handwriting was more erratic here, with ink blotting through and so many things scratched out.

But even so, your eyes fell back to the word you couldn’t believe you were reading. 

Marry.

He wanted to marry you? 

And he was actually questioning if you’d want to marry him? 

All of your previous worries suddenly seemed so stupid. You felt so stupid. You’d jumped to conclusions, and your conclusion had been the complete opposite of what was going on. 

And now you had to find Levi. 

---

The best part about being with Levi for so long was gradually figuring out his thought process. And you knew, judging from how you’d taken off earlier, that Levi would try to think like you and run off to find you in the places where you’d most likely go to calm down and seek comfort. 

Definitely not a supply closet. 

Your feet guided you outside and you felt like you were on autopilot as you strolled the grounds, slowly making your way to yours and Levi’s spot. 

When the sight of him came into view, him sitting on the ground and leaning against the wall of the building, your heart fluttered and you breathed out in relief. 

He whipped his head in your direction once your footsteps could be heard coming towards him, and the conflicted expression on his face melted away at the sight of you. But at the sight of his little secret clutched in one of your hands, his eyes widened and a faint blush spread over his face. He got up quickly, hesitating for a moment before stepping towards you. 

“I’m sorry for going through your things-” you started, but were cut off by Levi pulling you into a tight embrace. 

“I do want to be with you,” he whispered in your ear, pulling away after a moment to look at your face with the most gentle gaze. He briefly nodded toward the parchment in your hand, looking even a little shy as he met your eyes again. “I want to be with you for as long as I’m allowed to be. But I was so busy being nervous about asking you that I didn’t realize I was acting like an asshole. I’m sorry. You deserve bett-” 

Your lips were on his before he could finish. 

Levi had the annoying habit of thinking you were too good for him. But now, it looked like you could spend the rest of your life proving to him that he was exactly what you deserved. 

When you pulled away, you beamed at him, tears sprouting in your eyes again. This time, of pure happiness. 

You turned to look at the slowly disappearing sunset and laughed a little; it was just how Levi had tried to plan it. 

Still, he looked flustered as he pulled you closer. 

“This wasn’t exactly how I wanted it to go, I don’t even have a ring yet,” he whispered, but you shook your head and cupped his face, pressing your forehead to his. 

You just wanted to hear the words. 

“This is perfect,” you assured him, and it really was. He could have asked you at any moment, ever, and you would have thought it was perfect. “Just ask me. I just want you to ask me.” 

Levi cleared his throat awkwardly, which made you giggle, but it died down when his thumb danced over your jaw sweetly, and you felt his words ghost over your lips when he finally spoke. 

“Will you marry me?” 

[final-fantasy-imagines]

Can I ask for Cloud’s crush tending to his wounds, while scolding him for being irresponsible and saying they couldn’t handle it if something happened to him? And they both get flustered at the close contact? Thank you! 🖤

Thank you for your request! I got a little carried away while writing this, so I hope it still fits your idea and you enjoy the drabble. Have fun reading! :)

Please stay safe – Cloud Strife x reader

Right from the moment when Tifa rushed into your small apartment and asked you for medical help you knew that something bad was going on. Though it wasn't unusual for Avalanche to seek your adivce when it came to medical treatment but the expression of utter helplessness on Tifa's face had been enough to make you understand that it wasn't just about a gun wound or a concussion this time.

You knew that her, Barret and Cloud had tried to sabotage Shinra once again by destroying yet another Mako Reactor; you had heard the rumors about their encounter with Heidegger and his trusty Airbuster but when there were no news of their deaths you had assumed that they were all fine. Which apparently wasn't true.

As you followed Tifa to Avalanche's secret base in the basement of Seventh Heaven, clutching your first aid kit and your bag in your hands, you couldn't stop worrying. Was it Barret who got injured or did Cloud get hurt again while he tried to protect everyone else? It wouldn't be the first time that he risked is own life to make sure that the others made it out alive, no matter how often Tifa or even Barret told him that he needed to stop making decisions like this. It was also one of the main reasons why you went almost crazy every time Cloud was assigned to a mission – deep down, you were afraid that one day he might not make it home again. And you weren't sure if you really could bear losing him.

When you arrived at the basement of Tifa's bar the first thing you noticed was the unusual silence. Of course they couldn't whoop it up down here but normally, there was always someone who discussed the recent mission or just chattered about Avalanche's achievements over the past few months. But today, there was only silence to greet you.

You spotted Cloud at the back of the room, sitting on the floor next to Barret, and it almost felt like all air was pressed out of your lungs as you noticed his injuries. He was clutching his right shoulder, and there was a huge laceration on his forehead. His hair and his clothes were bloodstained and dirty.

Shakily, you exhaled, then you straightened yourself and walked over to him. “Hey,” you greeted both Barret and Cloud and while the first managed to crack a smile, Cloud didn't even look at you. He was staring down at the floor, almost as if he tried to avoid your gaze – something he did quite often when you were around – but right now, you didn't have the time to wonder why he acted like this.

“Okay,” you said, trying to stop your voice from shaking. You needed to be strong right now. “What happened?”

“I'm not sure,” Tifa replied when Cloud didn't answer. “Things got a bit hectic when we tried to get out of there.”

You nodded. In the end, it didn't matter anyways; the only thing that was important right now was to take care of Cloud's injuries. You knelt down in front of him. “How are you feeling?”

“I'm fine.”

“You always have to play tough, huh?” you mumbled before you focused on getting your equipment together. Cloud didn't flinch as you started to carefully clean the laceration on his forehead with an antiseptic. The wound wasn't as bad as it looked, a few stitches should be enough to take care of it but you still couldn't stop worrying.

For a brief moment, you let your hand rest on his cheek. “You need to be more careful,” you said quietly. “Or you'll get yourself killed one day.”

“I was just trying to-”

“You always try to save everyone, Cloud,” you interrupted him and frowned. “And that's awesome but you really need to stop risking your own life every time. What's Avalanche supposed to do without you? I know you mean it well but honestly, your solo actions are just irresponsible most of the time.”

There was a long silence afterwards. While you took care of the laceration, neither of you spoke, even Barret and Tifa didn't say anything. You knew that you possibly had overstepped the mark with your words but you didn't regret it. You were tired of worrying about Cloud's safety – especially since he never seemed to think about it himself.

You shook your head and tried to focus on his injuries. As you examined his shoulder, he hissed in pain. “I think it's dislocated.”

“It is,” you agreed, secretly relieved that it wasn't something worse. Dislocations weren't pleasant but at least he hadn't broken a bone again. You could still remember that one time where he managed to break his ankle – it had been almost impossible to get him to rest. “I need to set your arm,” you added. “It's going to hurt but it's necessary.”

Cloud huffed. “Do what you have to do.”

“You know,” you said as you got into position. “You could be a bit more thankful. It's not the first time I'm patching you up and believe me, it's something I can well do without.”

“You don't have to take care of me if it's too much to ask.” His voice was harsh but as you turned your head to look at him you could see the insecurity in his eyes. He still didn't understand why you were so upset.

With a quiet sigh, you gently put a hand on his arm. “It's not about that. I... I just can't sit here and wait for your safe return every time you go on a mission. It drives me crazy to worry about you and I really wish you'd be more careful but no, instead you risk your life every time.” You hadn't meant to sound so distressed but you just couldn't help it. “I'm tired of worrying, Cloud. I'm not asking you to stop going on missions or something, I just... I just couldn't bear if something happened to you. I can't handle the thought of you not coming back home one day.”

Again, silence. Your hand was still resting on his arm, you could feel the warmth of his skin against your palm, and when he slowly raised his hand to place it over yours, you felt your cheeks heating up.

“Listen, (Y/N),” he mumbled, his voice a lot softer than before. Even in the faint light you could see that his cheeks had turned a pale rose color. “I'm not going to make any promises I can't keep but... thank you for being honest.”

The sincere look in his eyes was enough to make your heart skip a beat. He had never looked at you like that, and for a few seconds you had to resist the urge to kiss him right then and there. Instead, your lips curled into a smile. “Anytime.”

[ravioliwings]

Honestly I’m glad that I’m never touching a man again for the rest of my life but I still can’t get over how absolutely busted some men’s perception of the world is

This is hopefully just anecdotal, but I’ve been in relationships with men where it was like all of their thoughts/feelings/actions were based off of things they’ve seen in media. 

On the less harmful but still annoying side, those men would perform “romantic” gestures for me as if their only exposure to relationships was through romance movies. I’d received roses several times (which I don’t particularly care for, especially not around valentines day), chocolate (I’m not big on chocolate), a “promise ring” (I am very vocal about my hatred of promise rings), lingerie (that I never wore because it would have made me dysphoric), poems (if a man is not actually a poet and he says he wants to write you a poem, run for the hills), and I’m sure plenty of other things that I’ve blocked out of my memory. There was also a time where one of them almost bought an engraved “promise ring,” for my birthday or something, but he was acting super nervous about it and saying that I might hate it, so I had him tell me what it was, and he was right; I hated it.

And the thing is, is that some of these men knew me for a WHILE. Like they should have known what I liked, what I actually found romantic; but instead it was all stuff you’d see in a movie. Almost every single time a man has ever given me a gift, instead of being grateful and happy that they were thinking of me, my stomach would sink. Because it was as if the gifts were for a totally different person. It’s like every one of them bypassed the thought of “hm what would this individual appreciate” and went straight for “[girls] like roses and chocolate and empty promises, so I’ll get those.”

And it’s so fucked because you can see them as their own person, meanwhile they’re thinking of you as a category. They’re thinking of you as whatever they want, as opposed to what you are. I just really can’t wrap my head around the thought of dating someone and telling them you love them while also apparently not knowing anything about them? And not really wanting to know anything about them that doesn’t affirm whatever character you’ve decided you wanted them to be?

It was like I was smart when they wanted me to be, dumb when they wanted me to be, nerdy when they wanted me to be, not nerdy enough when they wanted me to be, funny when they wanted me to be, unfunny when they wanted me to be. There was one time when I was hanging out at someone’s house with one of my exes and he was gassing me up to his friend, talking about how “oh I’m so smart” blah blah blah, but behind closed doors he would never believe a word I said. Anything that I knew that he didn’t had to be wrong. He wanted everyone to see that I was intelligent while he acted like I was uneducated when it was just the two of us. 

Another one of my exes would constantly tell me that I was funny/unfunny. Sometimes it would happen within the same day, where he’d praise me for being so funny and interesting, and then an hour later I was “the most boring person to talk to” and I wasn’t funny at all. This one was kind of the opposite, because most of the time he would praise me behind closed doors, and degrade me in front of his friends. 

The most recent one had a complex about being a “nerd;” when all that really meant was that he fawned over every single marvel movie and watched dragon ball z as a kid. And sometimes he’d find it great that we were both “nerds,” but sometimes he would feel threatened by the fact that I liked things that were less socially accepted as the things he like and I didn’t have a nerd complex. Once again, it was a man who felt that his identity was threatened by my own. I was a nerd when he wanted a nerd partner, but not the right kind of nerd when he wanted to feel victimized.

Shit, this even goes back to like the third person I dated? Where in public I was so good at art, but in private I was really terrible at art. That’s a little more forgivable though because we were both like 15.

And it’s funny, because these men would always try to fit me into whatever box they’d picked out, and then be shocked when they realized I wasn’t in the box at all.

Like the same ex that tried to give me an engraved ring; near the end of our relationship (this was essentially the last of many straws for me), he was going off on some tangent about wanting to get married so that “people would finally see him as a man.” And that enraged me pretty quickly. Because not only did he apparently think that’s something I would have done, but also because he thought that would actually work. He was the type of guy who would bitch and moan about things but wouldn’t ever try to change them. And he was upset because other adults didn’t take him seriously. Which they had every right not to; he couldn’t do anything for himself (cook, clean, laundry, fix anything), all he ate was sugar (he was also diabetic, that didn’t stop him), all he drank was monster, he smoked a pack a day, he had a car with like a 24% interest rate, and he blew all of his money on yugioh cards. He was like if a middle school boy worked full time and had to pay taxes, with the maturity level to boot. 

He was surprised that I didn’t want to get married (I was 18) and that I also didn’t really respect him as an adult. And he was still surprised when I finally broke up with him after 3 years and didn’t buy his promises of change anymore. 

My most recent ex from 2 years ago wanted me to be more passive than I am. And it’s funny, looking back, because I was definitely more passive back then than I am now.

It was like he wanted a “proper” girlfriend but still dated me anyways. He would get irritated if I opened a door for him, or if I took the lead when we went places, or that I preferred to be the one driving. Actually, the taking the lead part was actually one of the reasons he broke up with me, and to this day it does not make any sense. And I guess as he got to know me throughout the relationship, the more he decided he didn’t like who I was. Which at the base level, is fine. But he realized this after like 4 months of dating, while we continued to date for another 6 (so only 4/10 months he actually had feelings for me). And he told me that only when he broke up with me after 10 months. So nice of him.

And the thing is, is that men want so badly for me to be terrible. They want me to be mean, to be cruel, to be heartless, so much so that they’ll even tell me that I need to be more compassionate and understanding after treating me worse than I treat strangers, and after using me.

And they say these things because sometimes I wouldn’t put up with their shit. Because I would talk to them about their behavior towards other people, and how they shouldn’t treat others that way. Because I wouldn’t recoil in fear whenever they threw something or tried to tip a fridge over. Because I wouldn’t coddle them when they “felt bad” for hurting me.

They’ll preach compassion until the cows come home, but really they only care about it when it can benefit them. They won’t show an ounce of compassion to another person, but as soon as they’ve done something wrong, all of a sudden you’re the most cruel person in the world for saying “hey, when you said x it hurt my feelings” and then not consoling them when they say they’re “sad now because you brought up how they hurt you.”

Idk I really got away from what I started writing about here. 

And I know not every man is like this, but I’ve encountered enough of them to where I am no longer dealing with them if I don’t have to. I consider myself lucky to be bi because at least I still have the (better) option to date women and nonbinaries. Honestly wish stopped dating men sooner, but whatever. The past is the past now, no sense in beating myself up over it.

[areasontobreathe]

The Miys, Ch. 56

This one got away from me.  I meant for it to just be some filler, but it turned into a serious conversation, somehow.  Those wily OCs keep getting away from me.  *Spots one sneaking out the door* Hey!  Get back here!

By the virtue of having to proof the pizza dough, Maverick managed to dash into our quarters with just enough time to shower and change before sitting down with us for dinner.  He gulped down a glass of wine before even reaching for any food, nodding his thanks to Antoine as he handed the glass back. Conor and I glanced at each other, concerned: Maverick rarely drank with dinner, and if he did it was usually sparingly.

He must have caught our glance. “My hands are shaking and my back is a mess of knots from checking – and I quote – ‘everything in the lab that may have had anything to do with the construction of the platforms, along with any equipment that may have interacted with them after construction’.  So sayeth Grey Hodenson.” He paused to stuff a fish-laden slice of pizza in his mouth. “Mmph. Sorry. Hey, Zach.”

“That’s literally every piece of equipment in BioLab 2 and the fabrication lab,” Conor interjected.  “Grey is making you do all that?”

Maverick shook his head. “Huynh is coming down on everyone with this, Con. Grey’s just protecting their technicians and researchers.”

“What about Xiomara?” I asked, waving my hand to grab their attention before glancing at my sister. “I mean, the platforms being unsafe would fall under her department, right?”

Tyche picked up on what I was hinting at. “Does she even know about this issue?”

Conor glanced back and forth between us for a moment. “I – I honestly don’t know,” he admitted.  “I’ve been so caught up in defending myself that I didn’t even think to ask.”

“If Councillor Hodenson knows, would they not think to pass the information on to her?” Antoine asked reasonably.

It was my turn to shake my head. “Don’t you remember on Level One?  Grey gets incredibly forgetful when they’re under extreme duress.  With the recent gravity increase, I don’t think anyone has been sleeping all that well. Derek told me earlier that he’s been having nightmares.  I know the three of us haven’t been sleeping worth a damn.” I gestured between myself and my two partners-cum-guard dogs.

“Surprised you can sleep at all, the way Maverick snores,” Zach snickered, earning a half-hearted glare and the confiscation of a slice of pizza from his plate. “Hey!” he protested weakly.

Still staring him down, I took the biggest bite I could manage of the slice in my hand before sliding the rest of the pizza on the table toward him. “Be nice,” I admonished around my stolen mouthful.  “The point is, Xio may not know about the situation.  I’ll touch base with her tomorrow, first thing.”

Later, Tyche and I were sitting in the living room while the guys were cleaning up and joking around in the food-prep area. “Does he do that often?” she asked, referring to the earlier situation with Conor.

“Hmm? Oh, umm…. No? Not really?” I scrunched my nose. “This is the first time I’ve known him to do it while someone else was here?”  

She looked at me skeptically. “Mon soeur…” she started with the same fond tone that she usually reserved for calling me ‘silly bitch’.

“I’m not lying, you can have Noah check the recordings later. I swear. Yes, he does lose his temper sometimes, but he makes a point to ask me and Maverick to leave while he calms down or warns us before we get home that he had a bad day and needs some time to himself.  I can’t really think of any time that it’s been something one of us did that set it off – usually it’s work or a hydroponic project that gets him that frustrated.  We didn’t even know that he was throwing things until we came back for something once, thinking he was just laying in bed or reading a book or something, and we caught the mess he had made while he was cleaning it up.”

She seemed reluctantly mollified. “I really thought for a second that… Anyway, assuming you are telling the truth – and I will check – it makes sense that he was so upset when you walked in earlier. But if I check with Noah, and he tells me a different story…” She left the threat hanging as she gave me a pointed look.

“Check all you want,” I assured her. “Cross examine, be specific, grill them. If I’m blind to something, let me know.”

Before we could say anything else, the other four joined us.  Tyche left the couch in favor of sitting with Antoine in the armchair, while Maverick took her seat next to me.  Surprisingly, Conor let Zach sit on my other side, in favor of sitting on the floor and resting against mine and Maverick’s legs. It wasn’t unusual for him to do after losing his temper – I wasn’t even sure he realized that he acted like he had to earn back his spot on the sofa – but I hadn’t expected him to do it in front of other people.

My favorite source of never-ending surprise didn’t stop there. “Antoine,” he asked, clearing his throat. “Do you have anyone on staff who, uh, helps with… anger management?” He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment when Antoine’s eyebrows shot up.  “I got… mad as hell today, and I was throwing things in front of Zach.  And it’s not the first time I’ve tossed a room ‘cause I was pissed off.” Leaning forward, he shoved a hand through his hair and forced himself to keep talking. “I’ve never raised my voice or threw things at Sophie or Mav, and I try to make sure that no one is here when I do it.  But today… Zach was here, and Sophie and Tyche got home and the door was open, and I could’ve… Even if it had been a accident, someone could’ve got hurt, and – “

“No one got hurt?” Antoine cut in, glancing around with concern. I could see his fingers digging into Tyche’s hip where his arms were around her, his professional façade cracking just a hair at the idea that she had been in potential danger. The three of us who had been there shook our heads, and he pinched the bridge of his nose. “I am well aware that Tyche will likely be checking the recordings to ensure that you are save, Sophia and Maverick.  I will be checking them with her, just to be sure.  And yes, Conor, we do have some people on the Ark who are trained to handle anger management.”  When Antoine removed his hand from his face, I caught him clenching it in a tight fist for a brief moment.

Apparently Conor wasn’t the only one with an unexpected temper. “Antoine,” I said softly. “I already told Tyche, go ahead and check the recordings. Grill Noah. Conor really has always made a point to make sure we weren’t here when he knew he was going to lose it, and he tried as hard as he could to make sure we didn’t realize how badly he was handling it. But I do think he could use some help learning a more… productive? Way to handle things.” I stroked Conor’s hair and smiled slightly when Maverick moved my hand so he could do it, instead. “I did suggest boxing,” I pointed out, glancing up.

“The last thing I want to do is graduate to hitting things,” Conor grumbled.  “That doesn’t seem like a good idea at all.”

“Actually, boxing is an effective outlet for aggression,” Antoine argued. “It has proven to provide a safe outlet for violent urges, especially if it is not an activity you have ever taken up before.  Over time, it reprograms the same physical impulse that causes you to throw things to instead channel that aggression toward hitting something that is designed to be hit, or toward a sparring partner who is consenting to engage and is physically protected.”

“There has to be something else. Something non-violent.”

“Any physical exercise can provide an outlet, but it may not be as satisfying,” our resident therapist relented.  “Running, aerobics, or dance are found to be the most effective due to the high cardiovascular output they provide.”

Conor nodded, taking that into more serious consideration.  “Running sounds better.”

“Awww, you don’t want to start taking dance classes?” Maverick teased, grunting when I elbowed him. “What? You can’t tell me it wouldn’t be a little funny.”

I glared at him as Tyche cleared her throat. “Um, Maverick? Sweetie? Sophia took dance lessons for years.  Believe me, just the stretches will have you pouring sweat when you first start.”

“It takes about the same amount of discipline as martial arts,” I picked up from there. “Precision, and complete focus on what each part of your body is doing at any given time. Not to mention the amount of strength you have to build up, depending on what you’re doing – at one point I could squat close to three hundred pounds. Not for long,” I admitted. “But I could do it.”

“Maybe you should start dancing again,” my sister mused. “It was good for your anxiety.” I tilted my head, conceding her point, but didn’t say anything.

“I am tempted to make the entire ship start taking up more cardiovascular exercise,” Antoine sighed.  “Since the most recent gravity adjustment, the reports of anxiety, paranoia, and insomnia have far exceeded what we anticipated.  As Sophia suggested at dinner, it seems that very few on the Ark are unaffected.”

I snorted before descending through giggles and into outright hysteric laughter.  I glanced up briefly to see everyone staring at me, waiting for me to explain the joke. I managed to pull myself together long enough to gasp, “Ten-thousand-person flash mob.”

One by one, the entire room descended into laughter, the seriousness that had settled upon us temporarily broken by the mental image of everyone on the Ark dancing their hearts out.

<<Prev    Masterpost    Next>>

[fmsdraws]

Metal in the Underground AU: General Info

... So, I’ve had this AU in my mind for about two years now, and I felt the urge to post about it now that I have made a new sprite for it’s Frisk. And since I don’t really plan to make a sprite comic about it, I figured I’d dump the ideas I had here. So you’ll find the information below the cut. 

What’s this AU about? Well, it revolves around a simple question....

What if Frisk was a robot?

That’s right, Metal in the Underground takes a different to most AUs by merely changing the protagonist, and letting the rest of the characters untouched. However, due to the now apparent artificial nature or Frisk, the characters have different reactions, and the way the story unfolds is somewhat different from Undertale’s.

The info you’ll find here is...

-General Backstory -Frisk bio -Changes in the story  -Changes in mechanics

But, I’m sure you’re wondering...

Why is Frisk a robot?

In the year 211X, technology has advanced in a considerable manner, so much so that household robots, and robots in general, are a commonality in this world. Frisk was one of these household units, who lived with a loving family, until their useful life eventually ran its course, and were shipped back to their manufacturer to be dismantled, and their parts reused for future models.

However, a group of scientists was looking for a robot to work with that they could modify for a project they were tasked to do. Since Frisk was the most recent one to arrive, and the one in the best state, they were picked.

What is this “project”?

Several humans had fallen into Mt. Ebott throughout the years, because of this, many protests had arisen from the town living nearby. The gobverment decided to dispatch a team of scientists to develop a robot that was capable enough to at least find whatever happened. Just enough so that the press would stop bothering, anyways. But they also put the team in a tight budget, hence the use of discarded robots.

What was done to Frisk?

When Frisk was brought to the lab, they managed to upgrade them rather well, they got rid of their memories but kept their experiences untouched due to an oversight (they’d know how to deal with something, they just don’t know why), they upgraded their battery life for obvious reasons. They also made their movements more fluid than the standard for their line, making them able to climb out if push came to shove. 

However, they made some rather... questionable choices. Namely, the removal of Frisk’s voice capabilities in favor of a system that would allow the scientists to speak through them should the robot find one of the humans. 

The robot didn’t have memories, anyway. It wouldn’t be able to deal with conflictive situations on their own, right?

How did they end up Underground?

Use your imagination. 

In reality, the robot was told to climb down the hole into the mountain instead of, I don’t know, making them go down safely via ropes or something. The robot lost communication with the scientists as soon as they entered due to the barrier, the wall they were hanging from collapsed, and they promptly fell into the underground.

Thankfully, they landed on a bed of flowers, somewhat cushioning the damage. But still leaving the poor robot stunned for a good while...

What is Frisk like?

(Note: the eyes do not represent a chara possesion, it is just the color that was set to by their previous owners, and the scientists liked it a lot.)

Name: Frisk (ooc nickname: Mitu) Height: 5′5

Having household been their job in their past “life”, and having retained those experiences, Frisk has a tendency to cling onto people they deem as friendly, and prefer to keep whatever indoors space they’re in tidy and clean. Their lineage of robots also has some special features that in Frisk have remained unchanged. Said features are...

-Alarm clock -Bluetooth sound stereo (hence their headphone-like ears) -Snapshot ability -They can also be patted on the head to get an instant smile from them, which also serves to turn off their alarm.

In general, their line searches affection from their owners. MitU however cannot really connect with monsters due to the fact that they’re, well, monsters. They have a hard time recognizing monsters as people, since they don’t match with their facial scan systems. They can recognize some similarities, such as toriel looking like a goat, but someone like sans they’re lost in even figuring out what he is. 

They’re also somewhat aquaphobic, since they aren’t waterproof. So areas like waterfall are horrendous to go through for them. They can also remain operative even after taking somewhat concerning damage, and even repair themselves provided they’re given the tools (they are not).

All in all, MitU is a kind robot when it comes to humans, they are loyal as a puppy and such. But when it comes to monsters, their morale can be ... bent, depending on their actions during either Genocide or Pacifist routes. (Note: while a genocide route is just about as likely as a pacifist route, a theoretical genocide route is not canon to the AU.)

What changes from the original Undertale story?

For starters, Chara is not present in the story. This is due to the lack of a SOUL on Frisk’s part, meaning they cannot understand certain monsters (Froggits, for example), and they have to guide themselves based on visual aid. They also provide some flavor text themselves. The lack of a SOUL also means that they cannot interact with SAVE files at all, but don’t worry, Flowey the Flower comes to the Rescue!

Mainly for personal amusement, Flowey wants to help Frisk get as far into the underground as possible, and see how they tackle the sheninegans that the underground is filled with. Often times, he’ll give them advice after reloading for anything up ahead. Frisk cannot remember reloads, anyway...

This doesn’t mean that flowey becomes an active partner, he only pops up from time to time to give Frisk advice.

Since Frisk is strictly mute, and has not been taught sign language, they can hardly communicate with Monsters. They try to get their ideas across as clear as possible via pointing and acting, but no one really knows what they’re trying to say. they’re trying their best pls don’t pick on them ;-; As a result, some monsters have different behaviours towards them. 

For instance, Toriel (who is well aware of Frisk being a robot) decides to take the robot with her while she buys her groceries in fear that the robot might not have the best reaction to an encounter. She cooks snail pie, since Frisk can’t have CB pie. They can still take a slice with them for later use, though. 

I envisioned that Toriel has no real reason to stop MitU from leaving, they don’t have a SOUL, anyways, so their death would not mean anything in the long run.

In Snowdin, Frisk tries to play along with Papyrus’ sheninegans to sans’ request. And they succeed for the most part. Sans has seen enough anime to be aware of the fact MitU is a robot, but Papyrus still 100% thinks they’re a human.... Up until he figures it out by himself.

Waterfall goes generally the same, save for the fact that after Frisk falls from the bridge, they’re yet again knocked out cold, and Undyne comes to the dump to... pick them up and bring them to Alphys lab to repair them.

You see, Alphys, like her Undertale counterpart, looks over MitU ever since they step in Snowdin Forest. And she could tell that after the fall they took, they wouldn’t be able to get up. So she called up Undyne to explain the situation, and thus, saved Frisk from eventually being dragged away by the water.

When Frisk is returned back to life, Alphys explains that she rescued them herself, and that there is little to no time to waste. She has to return them to the surface! She also mentions that she modified MitU a bit to suit Hotland’s very unforgiving conditions, plus added a jetpack that comes out of their back. 

MitU also gets to meet Mettaton himself, and they naively agree to do shows with him despite the risk that said shows entail.

And, honestly? Those were basically all the real changes that there are in the main run. Omega Flowey does flow differently due to Frisk lacking a SOUL, but the beats are the same. The Dates don’t vary that much, neither the amalgamates.

In the true pacifist Asriel fight, MitU is able to fully utilize their ACTing skills that they had gained all those years ago with their old family to calm Asriel down. However, in the end, they are destroyed by the final blast that Asriel shoots as his last attack. 

And it is their death that reminds Asriel of the pain he had gone through when Chara passed away while trying to make their plan go through. So he’s quick to undo his wrongs, bring Frisk back, break the barrier, return the souls, and leave to never be seen again. 

Frisk then gets to live with the monsters in the surface from then on. While their scientists do try to take the robot back, to check what they recorded Toriel’s deadly glare guarantees that Frisk shall clean their new home and have fun while doing so for a long while...

What changes in terms of mechanics? (no pun intended)

Frisk has a battery life, as explained earlier, so they need to recharge at several points in the story. It’s indicated via the heart in their chest, which may I add, is also their on/off switch. Their battery drains in turn of how much exploration you make. Note that MitU can and will run out of power in the overworld and in the midst of a fight if you’re not careful.

The UI is different as well, this was basically a mock up I made a year ago, but it gets the idea across. Their HP is replaced with a damage meter, which the more it grows, the more glitches appear on the UI and on the screen. The battery should be obvious enough.

And Frisk can also climb up some walls provided they’re colored properly, which can lead to some goodies, or allow them to solve puzzles.

And that would be all of the info I had made. What do you guys think? While I do love the concept of this AU, there was just no driving force to work on anything like a comic for me, plus, I currently work on my other AUs, so my time is already tight as is. 

If anyone has any more questions they’d like answered, I’ll be sure to answer them.

As an addendum: I must ask that people do not RP Mitu!Frisk, steal the few art pieces done for this post, or steal this AU in any shape or form without permission. 

If anyone desires to RP interactions with MitU, I RP them in the Omega Timeline server, along with other characters. It is a highly reccomendable server in my book for any UT fan that likes to RP.

I will also ask that people don’t make a AU wiki entry on this AU, as I may do that myself provided the time is right. 

[mischiefandspirits]

Iron Legion (7/?)

Never let it be said that Tony Stark ever does things by half. He might have grown up with little family, but he wasn’t about to keep it that way.

Tony Stark was seventeen when his first child was born, and that was just the beginning.

For Masterpost, AO3, and Fanfiction

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

Daddy's Home

Tony Stark was thirty-four when Iron Man was born.

Tony smiled as a chorus of voices answered his call. “Hey, kids, you all having fun in the country music state?”

“Have you been having fun?” Nebula asks with a knowing voice and Tony hates how much her and J.A.R.V.I.S. gossip. None of his kids needed to know what he does in his bedroom when they’re not home. Or who he does.

“Daddy! Daddy look! I had Harley and Valeria cut my hair!” Teresa said, stealing the phone away for herself so she could show him her new look. “I look just like you now!”

“Yeah, Tori sent me pictures, Resa,” Tony chuckled, remembering the panic-filled text that had come with them. Honestly, the kid was eight. If she wanted her siblings to shear off her hair, who was he to care.

“I’m taking her to a barbershop tomorrow to have them clean it up,” Nebula said, grabbing the phone from her sister.

“Nebs said they’ll make me look even more like you!” Teresa shouted and he could see her hand grabbing at the phone.

“I’ll have to show you how to style it right when I get back,” Tony said, leaning back.

“Is Uncle Rhodey there?” Harley asked, jumping onto Nebula’s back.

“Get off me shrimp!” the teen huffed, shoving him off, but not before losing the phone to her brother.

“Hey, I’m taller than Teresa!”

“Am not!” came Teresa’s argument.

Harley’s face appeared, far too close to the screen. “Is Uncle Rhodey there?”

“Well don’t I feel loved,” Tony pouted. “I call to talk and all I get are questions about Rhodey?”

“Yup.”

“You spend too much time with your mother. No respect.”

“Dad,” Harley whined, elongating the a.

“Nope. You can talk to him when we get back.”

That made the boy perk up. “You’ll be back in time for my birthday, right?”

“Of course! As soon as Rhodey and Dad are done playing with the new toys Rhodey’s friends are buying then we’ll be straight there.”

“Speaking of birthdays, what did you get Aunt Pepper for hers?” Nebula asked, shoving Harley’s face away and giving her father a knowing look.

“No idea, but I hear it was nice.”

“Daddy forgot again,” Teresa giggled and then all three of them were laughing at him.

“This is why Jay’s my favorite.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

“What are you all doing up? ” came Tori’s voice.

“Uh oh, someone’s in trouble,” Tony said.

“Yeah, you.” She took the phone and gave him a glare. “Do you know what time it is here?”

“Late?” Tony offered.

“Very. Kids, say goodbye to your father.”

“Bye, Daddy! Love you!” Teresa yelled while her brother shouted, “Bye, Dad. Tell Uncle Rhodey I said you guys need to hurry back!”

“I don’t have a bedtime,” Nebula pointed out.

“You do here,” Tori said, handing her the phone.

“I’m not a child,” Nebula huffed before turning to Tony. “Goodnight, Father.”

“Night, Nebula. Try not to drive Tornado too insane with your teenage angst schtick. That’s my job.”

Nebula snorted and shook her head. “Be safe.”

“Don’t worry. We’re just showing off the Jerico to the brass.”

“Tony!”

“Looks like we’re landing. I’ll call you when we’re headed home. Love you!”

“Love you too.”

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

“Got a family?”

“Yes, and I will see them when I leave here. And you, Stark?”

A man with a heart of gold that had somehow managed to put up with Tony’s nonsense since they were teenagers. A bodyguard who put up a grumpy act, despite being rather soft. A woman that embodied the term mother bear. A fiery redhead that happily put him in his place. An alien who had recently taken to wearing a silvery-blue pixie cut wig and had hacked her mask so she could add dark makeup to the disguise. A pair of bots that were always in the way and never listened. A snippy UI that refuses to call him anything but Sir. A little girl that left LEGOs all across the house and wanted to be just like her daddy. A boy who was just as contrary as his mother. A little girl who wasn’t his, but that only meant he got to be the fun uncle instead of a responsible parent for once.

A whole group of people he would do anything to protect.

“Nothing.”

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

“How are the kids?” Tony asked as soon as they’d left the base.

“They’re thrilled to know you’re back. None of them really handled your disappearance well. We kept them at Tori’s since Obidiah’s come sniffing around your house a few times. I kept him out since you hadn’t been declared dead, but we didn’t want to risk him finding them alone. Teresa and Nebula will be here tomorrow. It would have been sooner, but as I thought you would be in the hospital, I figured it would be better to wait,” Pepper said, her voice sharp at the end.

“I wanna talk to them.”

This, at least, Pepper didn’t argue.

“Keener residence,” a male voice answered.

“Hey, Richards. Where’s your cousin?”

“Shit, Stark, you really are still alive?”

“Nice to hear from you too.”

“Who is it?” Tori asked, voice distant.

“Stark.”

“What the- Give me that!” There was a shuffling sound then Tori’s voice came through clearer. “Tony, thank God you’re alright! How are you? I thought Pepper said they were taking you to the hospital.”

“She lied. I’m fine. I want to talk to the kids.”

“Of course. Harley’s at school right now, but the others are here. Frank, get the kids, please.”

“Cousin cowboy come over to complain about me again?” Tony asked, tucking the phone between his shoulder and cheek so he could adjust his arm into a more comfortable position in the sling.

“Oh shut up. You know Frank likes you, he just…”

“Thinks I should have married you instead of that trash you won’t let me track down.”

“You both need to let that go. I just want to forget about him.”

“But if we do that then Franky and I won’t have anything in common. It’s the only thing we agree on.”

“Why Mr. Stark, was that a proposal?” Tori sighed, exaggerating her accent.

Tony held the phone out to Pepper. “Give that back to me when the kids get on the line. I shouldn’t be dealing with this kind of emotional trauma after what I just went through!”

She ignored him, continuing to work on her phone to set up the requested press conference.

He put the phone back to his ear. “I thought I asked for my kids.”

“They’re coming. Frank had to go fetch them from the barn. Harley and Teresa have turned it into their personal workshop so Nebula and her have been using it for school time. It’s got the best internet speeds on the property. Hell, probably the best in the county.”

“I’m so proud,” Tony said, and he definitely wasn’t tearing up.

A loud crash sounded from over the phone, accompanied by, “DADDY!”

“Teresa, hold on and -” Tori cut off with a yelp.

“Daddy!” Teresa yelled right in his ear before continuing in a softer voice littered with sobs. “Daddy! Are you okay? Aunt Pepper said the bad guys took you and the news kept saying you were probably dead, but Aunt Tori said you were too stubborn to die and Nebs and Jay couldn’t find anything even when they hacked into Uncle Rhodey’s work computers and -”

“Woah, hey, Resa, it’s okay, baby girl. I’m alright. I’m here,” he said calmly, putting aside the fact that his daughter and AI apparently hacked into likely classified military files for the moment. “I’m okay. I’m with Aunt Pepper and Uncle Happy right now. We’re going to go talk to those mean news people right now.”

“I thought Aunt Pepper said you were going to the hospital,” Nebula said with an annoyed growl.

“Stark, you better be on the way to a hospital right now!” Tori snapped.

“Resa, did you turn daddy on speakerphone?” he groaned, letting his head fall back.

“I thought you would want to talk to Nebs too, sorry.”

“Stark, if I call Pepper, she better tell me that you are either in perfect health or headed to the hospital.”

“I don’t need a hospital,” Tony said and Pepper looked up at him to give him a look before turning back to her work.

“J.A.R.V.I.S. and I saw your medical files,” Nebula cut in.

“Good, then you know the Air Force guys already fussed over me. Also, you two need to stop hacking the government.”

“Like you’re one to talk,” Tori snorted. “Who do you think taught them behavior like that?”

“Go to the hospital, Father. You are -”

“I’m fine. All I need is a cheeseburger.”

“I’m calling Pepper.”

Tony rolled his eyes and turned on the speakerphone. “Pepper, Tor-Tor wants to talk to you.”

“I tried,” she said before Tori could speak. “He refuses to do anything before getting a cheeseburger and holding a press conference.”

“Take him to the hospital after.”

“I’m fine! Can any of you hear me or am I talking to myself?”

“I can hear you, daddy!”

“Thanks, Resa. You’re the best!” Tony looked over to see them approaching Burger King. “Oh look, the cheeseburgers await. Nebula, Resa, I'll see you tomorrow! Give your brother my love! Love you, girls! Bye!”

“Bye, daddy! See you tomorrow! You better be there!”

“Father -”

Tony hung up the phone and handed it back to Happy.

A few minutes later Pepper smiled and showed him a text she had received.

⭐️Nebula⭐️:  J.A.R.V.I.S is calling up the doc. If he wants to act like a child, we’ll get him a pediatrician.

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

“So this is what you call fine?” Georgia sighed, staring at the thing embedded into Dr. Stark’s chest.

“No, this is what I call an antique.” He held up a device that looked the same. “This is an upgrade. I need some help putting it in. Since you’re here anyways…”

She crossed her arms. “You know that’s not why I’m here. I read the files Nebula sent me -”

“Yeah, yeah, send me the diet plan or have Pepper pick up the meds or whatever you all seem to think I need despite the fact I’ve said I’m fine over a hundred times. Now, can we do this? The kids will be here in an hour and I’d rather not have an empty hole in my chest when they get here.”

“I’m not that type of doctor.”

“Well, my hands are too big and I think Pepper might pass out if I ask her.”

“I might,” Pepper agreed, looking pale at the idea from where she was standing next to the door to the workshop.

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

“Mom says you’ve got a battery in your chest! Can I get one too?”

“Why hello Harls. Yes, I missed you too. Sorry for missing your birthday. I love you so much.”

“Mom said you were fine. And if you’re really sorry, you’d put a battery in my chest.”

“I was kidnapped,” Tony said, and yeah that was probably not something to tell an eight-year-old, but Harley was tough and it wasn’t like he was going to bring up the torture. “Why do you even want a battery in your chest?”

“To charge things.”

“Yeah, ask your mother.”

“That’s what you say when the answer’s no, but you don’t want to be the one to tell me.”

“But if you know that, then that means I am telling you no.”

“Come on, isn’t it your job as an absentee father to spoil me?”

“Key word is absentee, meaning not there, which means no, an absentee father’s job is to not be in their child’s life at all. I’m in your life, so not an absentee father.”

“You know what I meant!”

“And you know what I meant when I told you to ask your mother. So how’s school going?”

“How’s the business going?”

“Fair enough. Want to play that online racing game you like?”

“You’re on!”

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

“Daddy!”

Tony groaned and brushed fire retardant off his face so he could look up at his daughter. “Hey, sweetheart, what are you doing in here? You know to stay behind the glass when I’m testing things.”

“You hit a wall,” she said blankly. She reached her hand over and started feeling around his head. “I have to check for bumps.”

“I’m fine,” he sighed, but didn’t fight it. He knew if he did then she’d hold it against him the next time his clumsy girl fell and he needed to check her over.

Once she was done, she stepped back and tilted her head. “Why did Dum-E spray you with the foam? Did you catch fire again?”

“No, Dum-E is being silly.”

She crossed her arms and turned to Dum-E. “Don’t waste the extinguisher,” she reprimanded, slowly pronouncing the word extinguisher.

The bot’s arm fell as he gave a sad beep.

U rolled up, showing the camera they were still holding to their favorite sibling.

She smiled and patted their claw. “Good job, U.”

Smiling at his kids’ antics, he stood up and started wiping off the rest of the foam. “Alright, next time we need to start at a lower power. And stabilizers. Those would help.”

“What are you making?” Teresa asked, leaning over to look at the boots.

“Special secret project. Don’t tell Pepper.”

She nodded without question.

Why couldn’t all his children be so well behaved?

“Can I help?” she asked, bouncing.

He shrugged. “Sure. You and Jay can run some numbers while I work on the next piece.” Most of the equations would be over her head, but J.A.R.V.I.S. would give her a few that were her level and a few above for practice. The workshop was the best place to learn, in his opinion.

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

“Careful, careful, and touchdown,” Tony cheered as he landed in the workshop.

“Very good, Sir.”

“Can I get one?”

He turned to see his daughters, the younger sitting on the back of the couch while the older was leaning against it. Teresa waved, her legs swinging, and Nebula studied him, her head tilted in that way it did when she was talking to J.A.R.V.I.S.

He lifted the faceplate and frowned at them. “What are you two doing in here? You know you’re not allowed in the workshop while I’m not here. Do the rules not mean anything anymore? Did Jay let you in?”

Nebula pointed a blue thumb at the missing glass wall.

“Right.”

“Daddy!” Teresa chirped, hoping down and running up to him. “You look so cool!”

“Thanks, Sunray. Now step back so daddy can change.”

She eagerly did so, gasping when the arms rose up to remove the suit.

Nebula walked around to face him, crossing her arms. “I thought Stark Industries was out of the military business.”

“We are. I was just… doing a bit of cleaning up.”

She hummed, but didn’t say anything and he caught her staring at the blast-mark on the faceplate.

“Nebula -”

“I want one of those,” she said, pointing at the repulsor on one of his gauntlets.

“Why?”

“Why not?”

The two stared each other down before Tony sighed. “We’ll see.”

One of the arms tugged a little too roughly on his leg.

“Careful!”

“Apologies.”

“Hey! Ow!” Tony said, giving a yelp.

“Ooh. It is a tight fit, Sir.”

He let out a hiss, pulling away from the one yanking on his arm. He saw Teresa take a step towards him, but Nebula stopped her.

“Sir, the more you struggle, the more this is going to hurt.”

Tony considered making a joke, but thought better of it when he remembered Teresa.

“I designed this to come off, so- Ow! Hey!”

“Please, try not to move, Sir.”

“What's going on here?”

The three turned to see Pepper standing just inside the workshop.

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

Nebula frowned when her music suddenly cut off. She tapped her head with a frown. “J.A.R.V.I.S., what’s going on?”

There was no response.

She tried to reach out to the intranet, but only received static. She narrowed her eyes and quietly slipped off her bed. The only reason the intranet would be down is if someone was using something to disrupt the signal.

She slipped her mask on and activated it so she could see, but didn’t bring up the disguise. She snuck out of her room and to Teresa’s door. When she opened it, her sister was curled up, half asleep.

“Nebs?” she yawned. “I’m s’eeping.”

“J.A.R.V.I.S. isn’t responding. Go into your closet and seal the door. Take your phone.”

Her eyes widened and she stumbled out of bed. “Daddy?”

“I’ll find him. Just go.”

She bit her lip, but nodded and grabbed her phone off her nightstand. Nebula waited until she heard the locks in the closet door engage before continuing down the hall. Her father’s room was empty so she headed into the living room.

“I wish you could've seen my prototype.”

Nebula frowned at the voice that was both familiar and not. She knew of Obidiah Stane, but they’d never met and she had never planned to do so. She wasn’t fond of how he tried to control Father’s life, to say the least, and she certainly understood Father's reasoning to keep her and her siblings a secret from the man.

“It's not as, uh — Well, not as conservative as yours.”

She peeked around the corner and her fists clenched.

Stane sat on the couch next to her father, one man with a briefcase on his lap and the other with a whole in his chest.

She had never wanted to put her assassin training to use on Terra before.

This man changed that, with his next words only increasing that urge.

“Too bad you had to involve Pepper in this. I would have preferred that she lived.”

Her arm let out a series of clicks as it shifted to reveal the repulsor Father had placed inside it “for emergencies only.”

She stepped out as the man walked away from Father and took a shot. Unfortunately, she wasn’t expecting the recoil and the shot flew high, just missing the man’s head.

“That was a warning shot,” she bluffed, taking aim again. “On your knees and I might not tear you to pieces.”

Stane stared at her with shook. “Well now, Tony. It seems you’ve been hiding more than I thought. And what does he call you? You’re certainly a step up from those rust buckets he insists on keeping downstairs.”

“On your knees.”

“I don’t think so.” He pulled a gun out from behind him and she froze as he pointed it at her father. “You lot have one thing in common, you won’t let any harm come to your creator. That bit of his neediness always comes through. It’s pathetic.”

Her fingers twitched to wrap around the man’s neck, but she let the repulsor tuck away and dropped her arm. “You will die for this,” she growled. “Enjoy what little life you have left.”

“I think you should be more worried about what little life he has left.” Stane slowly made his way out of the room, keeping the gun pointed at Father the whole way.

When he slipped out the door, she ached to take chase. She resisted though, rushing to her father’s side. Her hands hovered over the place the arch reactor was meant to be uncertainly. “What do I do? How do I help you? I don’t…” She looked around for the reactor before realizing Stane must have taken it with him. She reached for her arm. “Will the mini reactor work?”

“Nnn,” he slurred. “D’ns’s.”

“What did he do to you?” she hissed. He shouldn’t be this out of it this quickly just from having the reactor removed.

Carefully she picked him up and carried him down to the workshop. Immediately U and Dum-E were at her side, beeping frantically. With the intranet still disabled, though, she couldn’t understand them.

“Stane attacked Father. He removed the reactor. We need to figure out how to help him.”

U went to a bench to clean it off for her, but Dum-E went crazy, spinning around and chirping before darting away. Ignoring her brother, she went to the bench and gently set him down.

Suddenly Dum-E was at her side, shoving a glass case in her face.

“Stop it, you -” She cut off as she realized what was in the case: her father’s original reactor that Dr. Jenkins had removed with the words Proof Tony Stark has a heart carved around the rim. She laughed and pressed her forehead to her brother’s claw before smashing the glass between her hands.

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

“I’m coming with you!”

“No, you’re not.”

“He attacked you!”

“Which is why you’re staying here. Protect your siblings.”

“But -”

“Take care of Teresa. Rhodey, keep the skies clear.”

“Father!”

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

“The truth is… I am Iron Man.”

Teresa didn’t hear Nebula groan on the other couch or Harley start yelling on the phone. As the reporters on the tv started shouting, all he could do was stare wide-eyed at his father with pride.

[dailytomlinson]

Louis Tomlinson may be one-fifth of one of the biggest boybands in the world, but there's so much more to know about the singer than the fact he was in One Direction. Now that he's getting on with his solo music career - AND just dropped his amazing new single 'Two Of Us', Louis is a major household name across the world.

Louis William Tomlinson was born on Christmas Eve in 1991, making him 27-years-old at the time of writing. Louis is the oldest member of One Direction, being 13 months older than second eldest Zayn Malik.

Louis Tomlinson's star sign is Capricorn. Apparently, typical Capricorns live by the motto, ‘Slow, steady and win the race.’ Where is Louis Tomlinson from? Louis was brought up in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Other famous people who hail from the town include Jeremy Clarkson, Kevin Keegan and Brian Blessed! Louis Tomlinson on The X Factor Louis first auditioned for The X Factor in 2009 but didn't get through the producer's audition, but that made him more determined to return in 2010 as a solo artist at the age of 19. He then met his future bandmate Harry Styles in the toilets at The X Factor auditions in Manchester.Although he made it through to bootcamp after singing a version of Plain White T’s ‘Hey There Delilah’ and getting a clean sweep of yeses from the judges, he wasn't able to progress as a solo artist.However, judge Nicole Scherzinger suggested that he go through in a group with some other rejected solo boys, and he was put together with Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Harry Styles. They went through to Judges' Houses, singing an acoustic version of 'Torn' by Natalie Imbruglia with Simon Cowell himself commenting that the group "were confident, fun, like a gang of friends and kind of fearless as well."They were Simon's last act standing on the series, but finished in third place behind Matt Cardle and Rebecca Ferguson.When One Direction formed, Louis’s big ambition was to go "straight to the top." Proof that dreams come true! He also once said that if he could give anyone a tip when auditioning for The X Factor it would be "just be yourself and really try and get your personality through in your song choice and interview." Although Louis has returned to The X Factor as a performer, he took part in the show in 2018 as part of a brand new line-up alongside Robbie Williams - coincidentally, someone who Louis once called his 'man crush'.He also once said that Robbie is his biggest role model, telling KISS, "I’ve got a massive musical icon and that’s Robbie Williams. We actually got to sing with him on The X Factor and it was absolutely amazing." Louis Tomlinson in One Direction After coming third on The X Factor, the boys were signed to Simon Cowell's label Syco in a reported £2 million contract and immediately started working on their debut album. They took part in The X Factor Live Tour in 2011, and released their debut single 'What Makes You Beautiful' in September that year, which debuted at Number 1.The debut album 'Up All Night' was released in November 2011, and Louis’s favourite track on ‘Up All Night’ is the Ed Sheeran-penned track ‘Moments’. The track appears on the deluxe version of the record.They released second album 'Take Me Home' exactly one year later. Their documentary and concert film One Direction: This Is Us was released in August 2013 and grossed $68.5 million worldwide.Third album 'Midnight Memories' was released in November 2013, and fourth album 'Four' came out in November 2014. Just prior to the release of their fifth album 'Made in the A.M.' in November 2015, the band announced in August that they would be taking a hiatus, following the departure of Zayn Malik in March.

What was Louis Tomlinson like in One Direction?

According to his bandmates, Louis has the smelliest feet in One Direction! Niall once said, "Louis wears plimsolls with no socks so his feet get very sweaty and the sweat is captured. If we are on a bus or something and he takes them off we all pretty much start gagging." Despite having smelly feet, Louis is a big fan of shoes! His favourite types are chinos and Toms and he's a size 10.

Louis also revealed in an interview with us that Niall is the one person in the world he would swap bodies with, "I’ll go close to home Niall Horan, he doesn’t worry about anything in the world, Irish accent I’m not too bad I spend a lot of time with Niall."

Louis was given a telling off by police when filming the ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ video Los Angeles in July 2011 for his erratic driving. Afterwards, he explained, "I got pulled over by the US police. They thought I was all over the place. The officer goes, 'Listen, man, I can shut this thing down if you carry on driving like this. You're driving like a maniac.' And I was like, 'Man, put the gun down. I don't want no trouble.'"

He also says that he and his 1D bandmates are like brothers. Admitting that they occasionally bickered in the band, Louis told Digital Spy, "Because we're around each other so often it's like arguing with your siblings. You fall out with them, go away and have a bit of a paddy, then come back and get over it."

Louis once said that he likes snuggling up in bed with one of the One Directioners... HARRY! He said, "A few weeks ago I made a cup of tea, then went and got in bed with Harry and we watched a show called something like The Top 50 Boybands Of All Time." Nice!

Louis has approximately 1 minute and 30 seconds of solos on ‘Up All Night’ – the second least behind Niall Horan. Louis says he’ll "never get used to" the adoration he receives from fans. He once said, "At the end of the day we’re doing something that we really love and to be appreciated for that is really nice."

Louis hates rumours, especially when they involve Harry and himself. In a Tumblr interview he explained, "Me and Harry are best friends, people look into our every move. It is actually affecting the way me and Harry are in public, We want to joke around but there seems to be a different rumour every time we do anything."

Louis told us the one thing he misses about being in One Direction, "Probably touring, that’s why I’m excited to perform today and excited to get out and spent time touring the world as that’s probably the best thing about being an artist."

Louis Tomlinson's new music

After his successful solo performance on The X Factor in 2018, Louis delighted his fans in March when he dropped his amazing new single 'Two Of Us'.

The song, which is adored by fans, is a tribute to Louis' late mum Johannah Deakin. Johannah left behind seven children, including Louis, at the end of 2016, when she lost her battle with an aggressive form of leukaemia at the age of just 42.

Louis' track 'Two Of Us' features the lyrics, 'I know you'll be looking down/Swear I'm gonna make you proud/I'll be living one life for the two of us.'

The heartwarming music video saw Louis team up with 83-year-old Richard Green to complete a bucket list of adventures that he'd been trying to complete after losing his wife Pat in December 2016 - the same month Louis tragically lost his mother, Johannah Deakin.

Thanks to the success of the video, Louis has helped to raise a whopping £10,000 for the Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice with the music video, which encourages fans to donate to the Sheffield-base charity in a call to action on his music video, which also promotes the Alzheimer's Society and Cancer Research UK.

He told us about the video, "He is, honestly, one the most amazing men I’ve ever met. Probably the most amazing man. I was so in awe of him, you know. Eighty-four, and to have that outlook on life. He was an amazing guy. Really funny as well.

"Just his outlook in general was what I took from that whole experience. You know, he recently had lost his wife but his outlook was so positive and a lot of people are entitled to dwell and be sad about those kind of things. But he was the exact opposite. He was so upbeat, so fun, and up for anything."

Louis Tomlinson's family

Louis' parents are Johannah Deakin and Troy Austin. In 2011, his mum Johannah and stepdad Mark split up and he took on his stepfather Mark Tomlinson’s surname. Speaking about his mum, Louis said, "It must be so much harder for her because I’m living this fantastic life and being so busy every day whereas she’s still in the old life I was in but without me... It must be really difficult for her not to get upset."

Johannah sadly passed away in 2016, and Louis paid tribute to his mum on the anniversaryof her passing.

Louis was incredibly close with his mum, and she once told Sugarscape that Louis is a giver and not a taker. In fact, there’s nothing he enjoys more than giving his friends and family presents, "He’s not a materialistic person himself, but he likes to give people things. He spoils me and the girls and he's happiest doing that."

He also has five younger half-sisters - one on his father's side (Georgia), and four on his mother's side (Charlotte, Félicité, and twins Daisy and Phoebe). Sadly, it was announced in March 2019 that Louis' sister Félicité tragically passed away after suffering a suspected cardiac arrest, at the age of just 18.

Just days after the release of his brand new single 'Two Of Us' in memory of his late mum, Louis' 18-year-old sister Félicité Tomlinson tragically died after she suffered a cardiac arrest.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson confirmed, "Police were called by London Ambulance Service at 12.52pm on Wednesday, March 13 to a residential address in SW5 following reports of a female in cardiac arrest. At this stage the death is being treated as unexplained. A post-mortem examination will take place in due course. Enquiries continue."

What did Louis Tomlinson do before The X Factor?

Louis had a number of part-time jobs before The X Factor, including working at a local cinema and as a hospitality waiter at Doncaster Rovers Football Club. When he was younger, Louis wanted to work on a farm.

He also once revealed that if he wasn’t a multi-million selling pop megastar, he reckons he’d be training to be a drama teacher.

Where did Louis Tomlinson go to school?

When he first auditioned for The X Factor, Louis was a sixth form student at Hall Cross School in Doncaster. Louis also attended The Hayfield School in Doncaster, but dropped out when he failed his first year of A-levels.

Has Louis Tomlinson ever acted?

When he was just 11-years-old, Louis had a role as an extra on ITV drama Fat Friends. His newborn sisters Daisy and Phoebe starred as babies on the show. Spurred on by his appearance on Fat Friends, Louis attended acting school in his spare time and eventually had small parts in 2006 ITV drama If I Had You! and Waterloo Road.

As a student, Louis played the lead role of Danny Zuko in a high school production of Grease. He says playing the part gave him the confidence to audition for The X Factor.

Does Louis Tomlinson have hearing problems?

Louis suffers from a ringing noise in his right ear. Although yet to be officially diagnosed it’s thought it could be tinnitus which can lead to deafness if untreated. He once said, "I am going slightly deaf in my right ear. It’s tinnitus, something like that," before joking that it was because of screaming fans.

Is Louis Tomlinson good at cooking?

Louis admits he’s a really bad cook. Speaking to us in May 2019, Louis admitted that whilst he's very romantic, he's not great in the kitchen! "I am a horrific cook, a very, very bad cook. I give it a go, you know what I mean, I’ll try.

Despite his lack of skills, he appeared alongside Harry in a cooking segment on This Morning in September 2011.

Can Louis Tomlinson play any musical instruments?

When he was 14, Louis played lead guitar in a band called The Rogue with his schoolmates.

Louis is also pretty decent on the piano and he loves to play ‘Mr Brightside’ by The Killers. Louis is a big fan of Las Vegas rockers The Killers. After seeing them perform at V Festival, he tweeted, 'Watching Mr Brightside live last night was unbelievable. LOVED The Killers!!'

Unfortunately, Louis was fined £80 for speeding on the way to V Festival in 2012. It’s reported that he was going 48mph in a 40mph zone, which means that he may also have had three points on his licence. Ouch!

What are Louis Tomlinson's favourite TV shows?

His favourite TV shows are Misfits and One Tree Hill. In a recent interview with us, Louis revealed that he also loves Westworld and Black Mirror.

Louis Tomlinson's other favourite things

Louis once said that he is a big fan of girls who eat carrots.

The two traits Louis looks for in a girl are confidence and a good sense of humour.

If Louis had a superpower, he would want to be able to fly.

Louis’s favourite band is The Fray, and his favourite song of all time is ‘Look After You’ by The Fray.

Louis’s favourite colour is dark red.

He once said that if he could visit any planet it would be... Narnia. Erm, it’s a fictional place Louis!!

Apparently, Louis said that if a movie was made about his life, he’d like Leonardo DiCaprio to play him.

Just like Zayn and Harry, Louis supports Manchester United Football Club.

One of Louis's favourite mottos is, "Live life for the moment because everything else is uncertain."

Louis loves Marmite and has big dollops of it on his toast.

Louis’s celebrity crush is Natalie Portman.

Louis is an avid fan of surfing. In fact, he loves the beach so much he says he’d like to get married on one.

Louis once said his favourite country is France.

Other Louis Tomlinson facts

A man who works in the music industry once tried to have a snog with Louis! "It was a press guy.... he just started going in for a kiss!" said Louis.

Louis once owned a Porsche Boxster and sold it on eBay in 2012 for £30,000.

Louis would love to copy Michael Jackson and have a pet monkey. He said, "I'd like to adopt a chimpanzee and build an eternal friendship, that would be amazing."

Louis admits that he’s a messy person. In fact, he hasn’t met anyone who’s messier than him!

Louis’s pet hate is when people chew their food too loudly.

In August 2012, Tulisa prank called Louis during a live webchat. When Louis answered she spoke to him in a Donald Duck voice in front of thousands of viewers. The N-Dubz star tweeted afterwards, 'soz babe we had 2 get ya! Thanks 4 being a laugh n entertaining us!'

Louis is prone to sleepwalking and once tried to get into Niall’s bed!

Louis is a big fan of silly string! He’s sprayed it on stage at gigs, press conferences and even at a security guard who refused to let him speak to fans.

Louis loves to party! He once told TOTP magazine, "To be honest, I’m sure the majority of 20-year-olds go out and party. I’m not going to feel oppressed."

It takes over 30 minutes for Louis to get his hair ready in the morning.

Apparently, Louis has revealed that his least favourite food is baked beans.

Louis once said that, if he was Simon Cowell for the day, he says he’d go on a date with Susan Boyle.

[argylemnwrites]

It Couldn’t Wait Another Moment - Chapter 6

Pairing: Drake Walker x MC (Riley Liu)

Book: The Royal Romance (Canon Divergent from Book 2, Chapter 15)

Word Count: ~5200

Rating: PG-13 (strong language, innuendo)

Summary: Drake continues to search for a job in New York while Riley settles in to her new bartending gig. Meanwhile, Madeleine had matters to discuss with Hana back in Cordonia.

Author’s Note: Sorry this is late! I was doing my final edits yesterday and realized I had to rework a massive section of this chapter. On the plus side, this means there will be a deleted scene I’ll clean up and put out this week that I rather liked, but just slowed down this chapter way too much.

This series diverges from TRR canon, where instead of waiting to discuss his relationship with Riley until their last night in NYC, leaving her a note while Liam is proposing to her, Drake tackles this topic as soon as possible after Tariq makes his statement and Riley’s name is cleared. To catch up on this series, you can find the rest of the chapters in my masterlist (link is located in my bio).

Smoothing any wrinkles out of her dress, Hana took a deep breath and entered the hospital room right behind Penelope and Kiara. The two guards stationed outside the door made it abundantly clear who occupied this particular room, in addition to the metal detector they had to pass through that had clearly been placed temporarily at the entrance to this unit. Once inside, the touches provided by the hospital staff to elevate the room were apparent. The flowers that had been sent were placed in a variety of actual glass vases, not plastic containers. The blankets on the bed appeared much newer and softer than standard hospital fare, plus they were a lovely grey color, much different from the faded blues and greens of the stacks of blankets on carts they had passed on their way in. Somehow, the smell of this room was much more pleasant than the hallways they’d passed through, as if candles or air fresheners had been provided.

Sitting up in the hospital bed, Madeleine had a table pulled over her lap, covered in numerous binders and sheets of paper. She looked good at first glance, her hair carefully styled in spite of the shapeless hospital gown she was wearing, but on closer inspection, Hana noticed some subtle signs of her recent trauma. She was definitely wearing more rouge than was typical for her, and as she shifted slightly to greet her visitors, she winced before covering her grimace with a smile. She was still connected to a bag of IV fluids, plus another medication pump that was locked.

“Madeleine, how are you?” asked Penelope, scampering away from Kiara and wrapping Madeleine in a hug, not noticing the grimace that crossed her face, clearly still in a large amount of pain.

“Just sit down. I called you all here to discuss some information.”

Hana joined Kiara in pulling over some chairs, settling in before Madeleine continued.

“So, Liam and I have discussed our response to this attack, and we both feel it is best that we postpone the wedding.”

Hana doubted that was entirely true. Based on the conversation she and Maxwell had with Liam yesterday, it definitely seemed like the postponement was coming from him. Additionally, with what she had observed about Madeleine, she highly questioned that she would really desire pushing back the ceremony that was the only thing standing between her and being officially crowned queen. Still, she kept her face solemn. If Madeleine wanted to play this development as being under her control, Hana knew better than to openly question that fact.

“Oh mon dieu,” replied Kiara.

“Honestly Kiara, it’s nothing. It simply makes the most sense. Regardless, I wanted my court aware of this decision so you can speak to the press intelligently and represent me well at the upcoming Five Kingdoms festival. I’m not sure if these so-called doctors will release me before then. I’ve told them I am perfectly fine, but they insist I am not cleared for discharge yet.”

At the mention of the festival, Kiara shifted slightly in her seat. “Madeleine, about the festival. I regret to tell you that I will not be able to attend.”

“Why the hell not?”

“In light of the recent attack, I’ve decided I should return home.”

“Really? You got a little scratch and you are running like a coward?”

Kiara dropped her eyes to her lap as Madeleine berated her. Hana felt for her. Getting stabbed in the shoulder, requiring several stitches, hardly seemed like a “scratch.” As Hana placed her hand soothingly on her shoulder, Penelope spoke up in her defense as well.

“She was stabbed! And we didn’t catch any of the assassins! Everyone is scared, Madeleine. In fact, I was going to tell you that I’m returning home as well.”

“Seriously?” Madeleine shook her head at both of them, sighing in disgust. “Fine, get out of here.”

Hana stood to leave with Penelope and Kiara, but Madeleine spoke out harshly.

“Not you, Hana.”

Penelope stopped in her tracks, turning back to Hana with wide eyes. She mouthed “sorry” before Kiara nudged her out of the room. Hana gently sat back down, this time taking the chair closest to Madeleine. She was unsure why Madeleine wanted to speak to her individually. Liam had already okayed her moving into the palace, at least temporarily, but it was possible that Madeleine objected for some reason. If she wasn’t able to stay in the palace, she wasn’t sure where she would go. Home was no longer really an option. In fact, she was shocked that she hadn’t been cut off by her parents completely at this point. Most likely, her father hadn’t entirely explained the situation to her mother yet, hoping that Hana would come back, begging for forgiveness.

Madeleine waited until the door was completely closed before she spoke again. “You’re really the only dependable one, aren’t you?”

Hana didn’t know how to respond other than to give a little smile. In response, Madeleine broke into a wide grin, more genuine-looking than any other expression that had ever graced her face, or at least the most genuine looking pleasant expression.

“Liam told me you asked him if you could move into the palace”

“I hope that won’t be a problem, Madeleine. I -”

“Of course not. I take care of those who are loyal to me. Wanting to be more accessible as a member of my court will never be a problem.”

Hana swallowed at that. Madeleine didn’t really believe that Hana was moving to the palace exclusively for her, did she? “Did Liam tell you why I need to move in?”

To Hana’s surprise, Madeleine continued to smile at her question, “I’m glad you brought this up. I heard you rejected Neville.”

This sent Hana’s mind racing. She had assumed Madeleine would be upset that she had so firmly ended things with Neville, given the emphasis she had placed on her ability to keep a suitor just weeks ago. Yet here she was, acting happy about this fact. “Yes, that is correct,” Hana eventually replied, choosing her phrasing cautiously.

“And you are not linked to Rashad at this time, are you?”

“I am not. Is that a problem?”

Madeleine paused for a moment, seeming to collect her thoughts before she started her answer. “They say certain things become clear when you go through something traumatic. The adrenaline puts everything in focus and what really matters is all you can see.”

Hana felt completely lost at this point. When Madeleine had summoned her court to the hospital, the last thing she expected to be doing was discussing near-death revelations one on one, but it was a nice alternative to her typical scorn and judgement. “Did that happen for you?”

“Not quite in such a saccharine fashion, but to a degree. Do you mind me asking why you rejected Neville?”

“He was so selfish and dull. I couldn’t see myself spending the rest of my life with him.”

Shockingly, Madeleine seemed to nod in agreement. “I understand the desire to have love and passion in your life. That much is clear to me now.”

“Is Madeleine thinking of calling off the wedding?” wondered Hana. She simply couldn’t imagine it happening, but with Madeleine saying all these things, it was the only thought that came to mind. Not wanting to upset Madeleine if her assumption was incorrect, Hana remained quiet, allowing Madeleine to continue when she was ready.

“Did Riley ever tell you about the proposal I brought to Liam, the one that guaranteed he chose me during the social season?”

Hana shook her head. Riley had never brought up any such topic. Of course, that was around the time Hana’s suspicions that something was happening between Drake and Riley really started, so she had focused more on observing their interactions than watching how Riley was with either Liam or Madeleine.

“I told Liam if he chose me, I didn’t care who he was involved with behind closed doors. He was welcome to invite anyone to his bedroom as long as he was discrete.”

Hana couldn’t help it; her jaw dropped in shock. Was Madeleine trying to arrange an affair for herself? Did she want Hana’s help in keeping some ongoing relationship a secret? Before Hana could fully process this turn of events, Madeleine continued on.

“I had thought he was a lovesick fool, following such a shallow drive, but I can better understand his desire to keep passion and romance in his life, regardless of his station. I feel the appeal more than ever.” With those words, Madeleine dropped her left hand down, reaching for Hana.

Hana’s hands started to shake. Surely, this wasn’t happening. There was no way Madeleine could be interested in her. She had been so cruel and harsh, actively working to make her life harder. Before Hana could collect her thoughts, Madeleine twined their fingers together and continued her speech.

“I know it isn’t an ideal situation, but I figure discretion will be easy enough when we are living under the same roof, and-”

“No,” said Hana, pulling her hand from Madeleine’s, rapidly standing and walking across the room to put some distance between them. The words slipped out a little louder than she intended, but at least she got her message across.

Madeleine’s eyes briefly widened in horror and her cheeks flushed bright red, but she quickly composed herself, her mouth curling into a stern scowl. “Oh, I guess I misunderstood. I thought you were attracted to women.”

Hana felt her cheeks growing warm at that comment, “I am.”

“Then what’s the problem? Is it that I’m with Liam? That means nothing to me, and quite frankly, you are going to need to get used to some degree of freedom in relationships if you intend to marry within the Cordonian nobility-”

“I will not be your mistress, Madeleine,” Hana interrupted. “Whatever arrangement you have with Liam is your business, just as any such arrangements between any other nobles are between the parties involved, but I will never consent to such a relationship. I don’t care if it’s old-fashioned, but I will never be with any man or woman who doesn’t love me enough to commit to me and me alone.”

“God, you’re such a child, like you’re waiting around for some fairy tale romance,” sneered Madeleine.

“Maybe I am naive, but over the past few months I’ve learned that I can make my life what I want it to be, not what you or anyone else tells me it needs to be. And I have no interest in being a dirty little secret, hidden away for shameful moments, particularly with someone who took pleasure in my pain and looks down on me even as she tries to start a relationship with me. I am worth more than that.”

A tense silence settled over the room for a few seconds. Madeleine’s lips were pinched tightly, and she was blinking rapidly, a slight wetness visible. After a moment, she responded, “If you’re quite finished, Lady Hana, I think it’s time for you to go,” a slight shake evident behind in her voice.

Hana nodded, walking briskly to the door without a glance back. It wasn’t until she was at the elevator that she let out the breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding. She fumbled past her wallet, compact, and lipstick, attempting to grab her phone out of her purse with trembling hands. Eventually, she managed to access her contact list and select the name she needed to talk to most in this moment. After several rings, she answered.

“Hey, Hana. Just one second okay?”

In the background, Hana heard lots of rustling and Riley’s muffled voice. After a few seconds, she came back, “Sorry about that, Anderson and I were on a walk and he did not want to come back inside. How are you?”

“Okay, I think. I just had the most surreal conversation with Madeleine.” Hana began to explain her meeting with Madeleine, but she hadn’t even gotten past the discussion of Neville when Riley interrupted her.

“Sorry, I was in the elevator and you kept cutting out. All I got was something about a festival and Kiara and Neville.”

“Should I call back later?”

“No, no, no. I want to talk to you. Lemme just put you on speaker while I get dressed for work.”

Hana sighed. It was clearly a bad time for Riley, “That’s okay. I’ll give you a call later.”

“You sure?”

“Positive. Have a good time at work.”

Taking a deep breath, Hana kept her calm, remembering she was still in public. Still, she was overwhelmed by everything that had happened over the past 30 minutes, and she really wanted to talk to her best friend. Unfortunately, that was not an option right now, and realistically, she needed to find a place to stay since she had a feeling Madeleine was not going to be so welcoming at the palace after everything that just transpired.

Resigning herself to the fact that she was going to have to be a bit of a stray kitten, at least temporarily, she followed her instinct, scrolling to another name in the phone. This contact answered his phone right away.

“Hana-banana! How’s Madeleine doing?” said Maxwell.

“Physically fine, but I don’t think I’m on good terms with her anymore. Can I stay with you and Bertrand for a little bit while I figure some things out?”

“Of course! Let me come get you, and you can tell me all about what the she-devil did.”

Hana smiled. Maxwell Beaumont was many things, and thankfully, adorably reliable was one of them.

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

Drake took a bite of the BLT in front of him. The bacon was flavorful, the lettuce crisp, and the bread perfectly toasted. It was just what he needed. “Thanks, George.”

“Of course. How’s the job hunt?”

Drake shrugged. It had been over a week since the attack at the Homecoming Ball, and most days he’d eaten lunch at that same diner, getting to know the owner, George, a bit in the process. What could he say, he felt comfortable in this greasy spoon, hole in the wall type of place. Plus George’s food was good, old-fashioned comfort food.

Drake was in need of comfort. To say that his job search was going poorly was an understatement. He was told over and over again that he was overqualified for the entry level office positions, but it was rare when he was even asked for an interview for any of the higher level postings. He was sure his lack of college degree hurt him, but when he did get a rare interview, it was clear he wasn’t giving a good impression. He never had been good at ass-kissing, but at court, all he had to endure was a snide comment and a sneer. Here, his lack of sucking up meant that no one was going to hire him.

He’d expanded his job search to other fields, but that hadn’t really improved his luck at all. He’d gotten a couple of interviews at retail stores and restaurants, but he couldn’t keep up a friendly, smiling act for even the length of the interview. Construction and repair jobs wouldn’t touch him without formal experience it seemed. He looked into a customer service call center, but Riley urged him not to take that job, telling him that he would end up killing someone if he had to listen to people whine while somehow staying pleasant all day long.

“Trust me, I only stomached about 5 weeks at one of those call centers a few years ago,” she had said. “If you thought court was bad, just wait until some asshole doesn’t even have to look you in the eye when they call you every name they can imagine.”

Drake was starting to get concerned about money. New York was expensive, and a sizeable portion of his savings had gone to their rental, which had cost a crap ton considering they had needed a pet-friendly apartment in less than 24 hours, and Drake had drawn the line at sharing a unit with other random travelers. He didn’t care if Riley swore up and down that she had stayed in hostels a various points when she was between places. That might be fine when you’re young and taking holiday during university, but he was way too close to 30 to be considering something like that.

They were moving back to Riley’s apartment tomorrow, and while the the price per day would be lower, her place still cost about $2000 per month. And that didn’t include the utilities or anything. She had repeatedly told him not to worry about money. She was apparently making boatloads in tips at the bar and she kept insisting they would be okay on just her income until he found a job. But Drake already knew he would be cutting into his savings even more to make sure he was at least covering his share.

It made Drake feel like shit that he was barely able to cover his own food with the money he had earned since the move. He wanted to take care of Riley, and maybe that made him sexist or old-fashioned, but it just didn’t feel right being a burden to the woman he loved. He was able-bodied and should be able to contribute. But all he had so far were his TaskRabbit jobs.

He really had to thank Sam for getting him set up on TaskRabbit. Sam was George’s former daughter-in-law who worked in the kitchen over the lunch and dinner rush on weekdays. The dynamic between her and George had confused Drake when he found out that she had divorced George’s son, Nick, a few years earlier.

“Wait, so you hired her after she left your son?” Drake asked a few days ago, after Sam left for a doctor’s appointment.

“Well, for one, I hired her when she was still married to my son. I just didn’t fire her when she divorced him. She’s a good cook, and I still like her.”

“Doesn’t that make things awkward with your kid?”

“Well, if he wanted to keep things from getting awkward, he shouldn’t have cheated on her. Look, Drake, I love my son, but he’s a bit of an impulsive idiot. Sam is sharp, hard-working, and damn good in my kitchen. I still love her like a daughter, even if Nicky shot that all to hell.”

And that was that. Drake liked both of them, so who was he to judge if they found a dynamic that worked for them. Sam was a direct straight-shooter. She claimed that the pregnancy hormones made her more blunt than usual, but Drake got the sense that she always called things as she saw them, and that all the pregnancy had done was reduce her tolerance for bullshit. George was quieter, but he had a gruff no-nonsense approach to life that Drake appreciated. He supposed that was another reason why he kept coming back to this diner. Not only did he like the atmosphere and the food, but he liked the people, too.

These days, Drake had fallen into an awkward routine. Mornings were for interviews or searching for jobs online. Then, it was to George’s diner for a late lunch. He usually hung out there in the afternoon, taking tasks at the nearby office towers as they came in. He had quickly found that putting up shelves or putting together an Uskea desk was an easy way to make some money, and all these white collar workers were in such a hurry, they often threw him some extra cash for his quick arrival. Then it was home to feed and walk Anderson before he cooked dinner for himself, putting the leftovers away for Riley for when she got off work. Some nights he had found a couple of nearby tasks at night, loading boxes for a move or putting together a dresser, something like that. By the end of the night, he’d head down to the bar, waiting for Riley to finish up before walking her home.

Riley had rolled her eyes the first night when he had showed up a little before the end of her shift, telling him that she was capable of getting home on her own, but the thought of her alone so late just made him nervous. Maybe it would be better when they were living at Riley’s place and the bar was only a few blocks away, but for now, he just wanted to make sure she was safe.

“How do you think I managed before I met you?” she’d challenged him one night.

“Just because you can do something on your own, doesn’t mean you should have to, Liu.”

Regardless of her protests, Drake had been coming to the bar earlier and earlier. Mainly, it was a nice way to spend some time with her. Their schedules didn’t exactly line up the greatest, with Drake waking up early to hit the job trail, and Riley not getting off work until after midnight. Drake supposed it was he should be grateful that she usually didn’t have to close out the bar. The other new bartender had a kid to pick up from school, so she was glad to take the later shift most days if Riley was able to be there in the afternoon. The only times Riley really had to stay until bar close was when she worked the weekend. She and the other new hire had decided on alternating pairs of Friday and Saturday nights, and Riley had been the one who worked last weekend.

Given that there wasn’t going to be much Drake could do for job hunting over the weekend, he’d stayed with her until closing time last weekend. The weekends were obviously much busier than the weeknights, but Riley was impressively efficient, pouring drinks while still charming all the customers. Eventually, the crowd thinned as the night wore on, either heading home, some by themselves and others with a new partner, or moving on to clubs where they could mix their alcohol with dancing. It had been rather nice last Friday, as the only table left for the last couple of hours before bar close was a group of middle aged women celebrating a birthday. They just needed a new bottle of wine every so often, leaving Riley largely free to chat with him. Saturday ended with a couple of drunk men who required a lot more attention, but as Riley pointed out, that meant better tips. Plus, it had been pretty damn satisfying to leave with her after they had been hitting on her for hours.

This weekend, though, was going to be different. Riley was off both tonight and tomorrow night, and with no interviews over the weekend, they were planning on having a real date. It was odd to think that they had moved in together without ever actually going on a date. Drake had never lived with a woman before, but this certainly felt like a backwards order of doing things.

He knew he should probably see if there were any quick tasks he could knock out to earn some money, but thinking about Riley made him just want to head back to their rental. She hadn’t been awake when he left this morning, and as cheesy as it sounded, he missed her. Just talking to her, laughing at her jokes, that sort of thing. There had been plenty of down time on the engagement tour where they had talked about anything from the serious to the stupidly silly for hours on end. He missed that.

Pulling out his wallet, he grabbed the bills he needed for his sandwich, but it took a few minutes for George to make it over to him. Sam wasn’t here today, and George was struggling to keep up with the lunch rush. When Drake handed him his money, he asked, “Another doctor’s appointment for Sam?” but George shook his head as he began clearing away Drake’s dishes.

“No, she had the baby last night.”

“I thought she wasn’t due until next month?”

“Yeah, six weeks early. Made me mad nervous, but she and Jesse called this morning and said he’s doing real good and breathing on his own just fine.”

“Well, congratulations.”

“Thanks. Of course, the cook we hired for her maternity leave isn’t available for six weeks.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah, so if you know anyone who knows their way around a kitchen, send ‘em to me.”

“Seriously? Because I can cook.”

George stopped wiping the counter, squinting up at Drake. After a few seconds, he asked, “What kind of cooking are you talking about?”

“This kind of cooking. Nothing fancy, just good, filling food.”

“But no restaurant experience, right?”

“No, but I’m a hard worker.”

“I’m sure you are, son,” he said, pausing for several moments before he continued, “If we do this, it’d only be for Sam’s maternity leave. I don’t need anyone long term.”

“I know.”

“And if it isn’t working out, either one of us can call it off, no questions.”

“Fair enough.”

“Okay, I’ll see you Monday at 10,” said George, sticking out his hand. Drake shook it eagerly. He knew he probably should get something in writing about his hours or his wages, but he was too excited to care. He trusted George not to screw him over, plus this felt like a way better fit for him than any of his dozens of interviews. For once, something about New York that wasn’t named Riley Liu felt right.

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

“So, clearly you hustled me last time we played.”

Riley laughed before she called her pocket for the eight ball, sinking it with ease. “You just assumed I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t bother to correct you.”

“You just ran the table on me.”

“Well, you’re good at pool, too. I couldn’t risk you winning by giving you a chance. See, unlike you, I take my opponents seriously.”

Drake rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Believe me, I take you plenty seriously, Liu.”

She smirked at that response, moving to rack the balls for another game when a pair of hands came to rest on her hips. She spun around to face Drake, looping her arms around his neck. “Don’t you want to play another game, see if you can avoid total embarrassment?”

Drake shook his head, before he dropped his lips to her ear, “All I really want to do is get you naked.” Suddenly, the heat that had been building between them reached the breaking point.

Drake had been nearly giddy tonight, his good mood completely infectious in a total role reversal for them. Starting when he bounded into the Airbnb in the afternoon, announcing that he had found a job, he had been smiling nearly nonstop. Riley knew that his job hunt had been going terribly, a fact which clearly weighed on him. In fact, Riley had wondered if his inability to find employment was part of the reason he hadn’t gone back to Cordonia.

In the initial days after the attack at the Ball, Riley had asked Drake if he planned to go and visit Liam, but he had said no without much of an explanation. Sure, he had talked to Liam or Bastien almost everyday, but Riley had been sure he would want to see them in person. She couldn’t help but wonder if he was self-conscious about his lack of a job, causing him to avoid returning to Cordonia. She couldn’t think of any other explanation. She had made sure to tell him she understood if he wanted to go, so it wasn’t likely that he was staying for her sake, unless he could sense her reluctance for him to leave. Regardless, the selfish part of her was glad he wasn’t headed to a different country, even as the rest of her worried about his avoidance of his former home.

Given how everything had been weighing on him, Riley was thrilled he found work he was happy about. She had been worried that his job hunting stress was going to put a damper on their first real date, but the timing had worked out perfectly. The entire evening had been excellent, starting with pizza and beer before they had headed to one of Riley’s favorite dive bars. They had been drinking and talking for hours, and Riley was pleasantly buzzed when Drake had spotted the pool table in the back, challenging her to a rematch of their game in Paris. Given their mutual memories of that night, of everything they had wanted to do, but couldn’t back then, it wasn’t surprising that it had only taken one game before they were both scrambling to get out of there to somewhere they could turn those fantasies to reality.

It was torture getting home. It was late enough that they had to contend with subway maintenance, so they waited for at least twenty minutes for their train. Riley was about to suggest getting a Dryve when they finally heard the train coming down the track. They had been contenting themselves with little touches and light kisses, but as they settled in to their seats, Drake grew bolder, less patient, letting his hand slide between her legs and slowly creeping upward. Thankfully, they only had a few stops, or Riley is sure they would have completely scandalized the middle aged couple seated a few rows away from them.

By the time they reached their building, it was a miracle they made it into the elevator before they were kissing. Riley barely registered her back hitting the wall as she tugged Drake down, sliding her fingers through his hair. The buzz from the alcohol hadn’t completely worn off, and it was enhancing everything with a warm, pleasant glow. Both their hands were everywhere, grabbing at each other, sliding under clothing. The kisses were rough, biting and demanding. He ground his hips against her as he pushed her further against the wall, only to tug her after him when the bell finally dinged, signaling that they had reached the 18th floor.

It took them longer than it should have to reach their door, and unlocking it was a struggle as Drake was working his mouth down her neck as he stood behind her, arms wrapped tightly around her waist. Finally, they stumbled through the door, only to be greeted by Anderson, tail wagging as he happily trotted over to them. Riley sighed as Drake let out a groan before reaching for the leash they had left by the door.

“I’ll take him around the block. When I get back, I expect you to be naked in bed,” he said, dropping one last kiss to her forehead before he grabbed the dog and turned toward the door.

Riley smiled as she watched them leave. They had waited so long for this first date, what was waiting 10 more minutes?

Tags: @wickedgypsymoon @thesumofmychoices​ @cosigottahavefaith​ @thequeenofcronuts​ @thequeenchoices​ @katedrakeohd​ @carabeth​ @feartheendlesssummer

[sir-muhead-blog]

Closed Doors

Summary: Dimple is acting a bit spoiled. ( Based off a comic I remember reading but I can’t remember the name if anyone knows the title let me know). 

Yo~ This is an unbeta fic, so I would love any and all feedback you have for me. Thank you and enjoy! 

Dimple, fully suited in his favorite host, struts into Spirits and Such Consultation making sure to exude a certain level of arrogance as he strolls up to Arataka’s desk. With a cigarette in hand and after hours of practicing that devil may care smirk, Dimple plops himself on the desk knowing in his soul that he looks downright fuckable. For his part, however, Arataka looks wholly unamused barley sparing a half-second to appreciate the godly sight in front of him. Irritation swells up at the cruel dismissal. As revenge, Dimple makes a big show of snuffing out the cigarette in a nearby ashtray before exhaling a cloud of nicotine into Arataka’s face. The faker coughs but refuses to take his eyes off that dinosaur he calls a laptop, only taking a lazy moment to point to the filing cabinet to his right. Dimple clicks his teeth as he walks over to the cabinet, yanking the bottom drawer open to grab the small caddy full of cleaning supplies. After one too many customers thinking it's okay to smoke in front of a child, Arakata keeps it on hand. He can suffer this tedious task once in a while if it's to keep Shigeo-chan healthy.  

He grabs the caddy and quietly gets to work spraying and airing out the smell that clung to the air, after his showboating. Honestly, this would have been more than worth it if Arataka looked even the slightest bit annoyed. Apparently, though, their recent adventures have either given Arakata a spine or some perspective on his life because the faker seemed so unbothered by Dimple's antics as of late. Admittedly, it bothered him. They developed a strange bond since their first introduction, going from annoyances to a tentative friend and then to occasional fuckbuddies. There was a rhythm in the way they interacted, a weird dance that only they seemed to know the steps to but after the whole Claw debacle somethings changed.

"Dimple, I've told you a thousand times that the air filter needs -" 

"To be facing towards the desk but not directly against the wall." Dimple snapped harshly. 

Dimple can feel Arakata giving him the side-eye. He’s snarky but doesn’t normally devolve into snapping.  He pointedly doesn’t look back, training his irritation to the innocent filter at his feet leading Dimple to spend way too much time staring at the plastic box. It’s a dump pink air filter, that Arataka probably got on in a discount bin if even that. Dimple’s brain short circuits.  Air filter. Dimple's gaze bores into it. Air filter. It was relatively new, cheap no doubt but definitely not something Aratka would buy. Especially now that Mob spends so little time in the office since he’s preparing for his high school entrance exams. Dimple glances up at the desk the filter is sat next to. He could almost visualize the empty desk with a stocky large man grimacing at him.  A nasty little ache springs in his chest, that yea, there wasn’t a doubt in his mind, this air filter was to benefit the newest “employee” of Spirit and Such Consultations. That lump of barely functioning anxiety, Dimple restrains a bout of anger that floods through him, his hands tightening on the plastic as he thinks about the hikamore. Arataka practically adopted him, and it gives Dimple no end of grievances as he can feel how much the man practically worships the blond idiot. Just thinking about it leaves a nasty taste in his mouth. If confronted about this Dimple would say it was that he wanted that admiration directed it towards him, but he knew deep down what kind of little green monster he was. 

Speaking of which, Dimple sweeps the room again, almost baffled that he couldn’t see the spineless oaf, the man is practically attached to Arataka’s hip after he quit working for Claw. There are a lot of things that recovering-hikikomori lacks but diligence was not one of them. He said as much to Arataka. 

“Serizawa-san called earlier, said he overslept. He should be here around noon.”  

Dimple smirk, he presses the on button on the filter before getting up and walking back to Arataka, “Oh my, Seri-chan~ had developed such poor work ethics. What can you expect I suppose, when the boss is just as lousy.”

Arataka rolled his eyes, still not bothering to look up from his laptop,” Leave me out of it and leave him alone, he has nightmares. Things like that happen and it’s his first time being late.” 

“You’re being awfully considerate,” Dimple grumbled walking around the desk half leaning, half sitting to Reigen’s left.

“ I’m always considerate when it comes to people that deserve it,” Reigan said.

“Oh, I don’t deserve your consideration? Why’s that?” Dimple sneered.

“Cause you're a rotten spirit. Serizawa-san is trying his best to live up to his full potential, maybe you could understand if you cleansed your soul a little. Then maybe I’ll think about changing my mind.” Irritations swelled up in Dimple as Arataka praises Serizawa, tapping down the reaction as he redirected his thoughts to Arataka’s laptop.

“Good thing I’m here then, I don’t have to worry about being exorcised.” Arataka opened his mouth to respond but Dimple cut him off wanting to leave this suffocating office,” Why the hell did you even invite me over today?”

The blond huffed, no doubt upset at being cut off, before slumping down slightly. He scoots the laptop over a bit so Dimple could take a look at it.  It was a job request from a new client, he skimmed the contents. He scowled.

“Don’t waste my time, this is training wheels shit. You could probably handle this with your stupid salt.”

“Correct, which is why it will be a perfect practice run for Serizawa-san.” Arataka said proudly. “He has been getting better at controlling his powers and I think it’s time to get him out on the field. Give him a boost of confidence you know.

Irritation bubbled up hotter, “Yea, great. He’s so well trained now where do I fit in here?”

“You're my backup,” Arataka says smugly as he closed his laptop. “I have absolute confidence Serizawa-can can control himself but I don’t want to take any chances. If he freaks out I’m going to need some extra muscle to contain whatever might happen. Mob would have been a better option but he has exams soon and I don’t want to bother him.” 

“Pass.”Dimple bites out. He doesn’t need to see Arakata practically wetting himself at Serizawa’s show of power. 

For the first time this morning, Arataka gave him his undivided attention,” You can’t just pass. This is an important step for Serizawa-san to transition into the real world.”  

Serizawa this, Serizawa that, Dimple couldn’t top off the anger flooding his stomach any longer. He stood up and leaned into Arataka chair,  effectively trapping the man in his chair and taking full advantage of his host’s height, easily towering over the fake. 

“I said pass. I’m not your employee or your pet ghost on a leash. I’m not wasting my time for this baby shit, because you decided you want to mother him..”  Dimple snaps. He stands up forcefully only to be grabbed by his shirt. He braces his hands against the arms chair once again, raising an eyebrow as he stares Reigen down.

“You're being more of an ass than usual, but fine you have a point, what do you want as compensation for doing me this favor?” Arataka asks 

Dimple regards Arataka slowly, letting his eyes wander from the lips, to the neck and rest of his body. Possessiveness, that bitch, was telling him to mark up the fake. “You know exactly what I want.” Arataka huffed.

“Right now?” Arataka said incredulously, Serizawa will be here in like half an hour!” 

“Then we better get started.” Dimple hoisted Reigen off his chair on to the table. Surprised by the sudden motion Arataka tipped backward with Dimple following him down. He swallows the yelp in a heated kiss. Dimple is going to make sure Serizawa is not in Reigen’s vocabulary if he has any say in it.  

[mashitandsmashit]

America’s Got Talent: The Champions - Auditions 4

So, despite what I said last week about not wanting the results to be spoiled to me, some jerk in the Youtube comments gave away this week’s results (and pretty much all of the remaining results for this season...I thought the finale would at least be live, but I guess not...) Needless to say, it kinda ruined my day...

I mean, some of my favorite variety acts in the history of the show were all there...And both of the acts to advance are the two solo singers with sob stories! (That’s a lot of S’s! And S is for SIMON!!!)

But since I heard them ahead of time, I was able to go into tonight with an open mind, take the results with a pinch of salt, understand that they probably would have been quite different if it was live, everyone watching at home could vote, there were more spots, etc.

And indeed, I was overall very satisfied! Everyone tonight seemed to put everything they had into their performances, and they all had something to offer...Even some singers that I wasn’t looking forward to rose well above my expectations! While I’m still very disappointed by the results, I can at least see what circumstances led to this, and overall, this is probably my favorite Champions show so far!

So let’s rank the acts that made up this strong show...

10: Moonlight Brothers. In a night filled with strong contenders, these two stuck out like a sore thumb...Ironically, by NOT sticking out! Howie pretty much summed it all up when he basically said that America is a completely different arena than where THEY come from, because if they were on AGT, they would have been cannon fodder...But hey, I thought they were pretty entertaining and had some interesting moves...Nonetheless, there was no doubt who last place was going to...Also, GOOD GOD, I’M SO SICK OF THAT FLOSS DANCE!!!

9: Issy Simpson. Didn’t know who she was before, but now that I do, I like her! ...Except she apparently already did this same trick for her BGT audition...Ouch! That’s gonna dock her some significant points!

8: Brian Justin Crum. This is who I THOUGHT was gonna get the GB, because his story is just the right amount of “inspiring” for Simon, but he’s also proven to be one of the more exceptional singers in recent seasons...Also, the promo last week showed him in front of a glittery golden background, so I thought it was a dead giveaway...Turns out I was half right, because that apparently comes up for the OTHER act advancing as well...Anyway, yeah, I still like him, but compared to some of the other acts, I wish it went to someone else...And it’s ironic, because I was ready to accept him advancing ALONGSIDE one of my favorites over the other two singing acts...And yet, the other two actually exceeded my expectations, whereas he settled on being...BIG! Not that that’s a bad thing in and of itself, but for me it just wasn’t as compelling to listen to...But I will say, that song choice was just a natural pick for him, especially since it’s from a fellow gay man! In fact, during Season 11, I was waiting to see if he was gonna perform it...

7: Drew Lynch. I’ve always considered Drew to be quite underrated, and his jokes tonight were mostly quite solid...Maybe if the set lasted longer than 30 seconds (I know that’s an exaggeration...His stutters add at LEAST an extra minute!), he’d rank higher!

6: The Texas Tenors. Ahhh, Season 4...The year I got into AGT! I was a naive young fool back then...I was VERY prone to getting my hopes up (even more than I am now!) I was like, “Well, that Kevin Skinner guy is good and all, but he’s not as good as the other singers, so maybe the semi-finals is as far as he should go...Can’t have TOO many singers in the final round, right? Gotta make room for the variety acts...Like Acrodunk! They should TOTALLY clean up tomorrow night!” That infamous season is what ultimately prepared me for the pain I would have to endure down the road if I were to continue to watch this show...And one of the biggest pains was watching these three pretty-boys (okay, the short one’s not that pretty) make it all the way to Fourth Place on what appeared to be nothing but their Southern charm! And it’s not even that I hated them; I acknowledged that they had singing talent, and they had this schmaltzy charm to them...BUT FOURTH PLACE!? I mean, I watched some great acts get knocked out in favor of them, some of my favorite acts of the season! And these rednecks get to smile their way all the way to fourth!? It was one of my first big outrages while watching this show...But why? Again, they could sing...But there was just something about them I couldn’t stand...Anyway, I’m rambling here; The point I’m trying to make is that I actually really enjoyed them tonight! I don’t know what it is...Maybe their individual vocals have improved (because they all have uniquely great singing voices), maybe the harmony has improved...Or maybe I just feel differently about them now! I guess I’ll have to go back and re-watch their Season 4 performances and make a comparison...(I have been strongly considering watching AGT from the beginning and giving my thoughts on the older seasons, seeing how they compare with my thoughts back then in the cases of Season 4 onward...)

5: Kechi. Ooh, I felt so much outrage when I heard she was advancing over the Top 4 acts in this list (who are mostly ranked like that out of sheer bias)! With all of the acts this season (and in this episode) that make me smile, seeing her tragic disfigurement again and hearing her sad story was bound to bring down my mood, and hearing that I will see her in the finals over said joy-bringing acts brought it down even more! Going into tonight, I knew she had damn well better justify her place! ...She justified her place! BY FAR her best performance to date! I think what I like about her is that she doesn’t try to belt it out all big...I just haven’t been a big fan of hers in the past because I felt that she could USE a little more “big”! And tonight, she went just big enough while keeping it nice and balanced, and when she does that, she really can be one of the best singers! I saw a hint of that in her quarter-final performance back in Season 12, but not until tonight have I seen her full potential unleashed! That said, I think it’s pretty obvious why Simon REALLY wanted to give her the GB, and I’m convinced that as producer, he made sure to arrange her to perform this week when he gets to do that! Classic Simon...

4: Kenichi Ebina. Okay, I’m not gonna deny that my constant support of Kenichi is mostly bias, because even back in Season 8, there WAS kind of a hit and miss quality to most of his performances...But I still couldn’t help but love this guy and everything he represented! Tonight was no different; The dances were mostly limited to the DDR segment at the beginning, and then he went all big fancy effects, and didn’t do a whole lot physically from there...So I can see where Mel’s coming from...But I loved the effects, I loved the story, and I especially loved the little robot dog aiding him throughout...It wasn’t perfect; Honestly, his performances never really were...But I don’t think any AGT contestant has inspired me as much as this guy has! My respect for him transcends his performances! I guess that’s a major reason why I was so happy that he won Season 8 despite his imperfections, and why I was deep down hoping he could defend his AGT cred in Champions by at least making the finals...But I guess you can’t have them all...Nonetheless, I still can’t help but salute this guy!

3: Paul Zerdin. I guess there weren’t any big innovations like the animatronic effects he did back in Season 10, but as Howie said, this guy’s always finding unique ways to play with the art of ventriloquism...Like Darci, I would like to see new puppets from him (and voices that don’t sound like Howie doing a British Bobby Generic), but this guy still entertains me every time!

2: The Professional Regurgitator. I think everyone can take Simon’s opinions here with a grain of salt...His decision to buzz the guy while he had a razor blade in his throat on the other hand...From what I heard from Stevie ahead of time as well as his curse to Simon backstage, I can tell he’s pissed at this, even more than Heidi is! And I know this isn’t for everyone...I should know; I didn’t like this guy at first when he came on in Season 10 either...But with all the crazy tricks he pulled off, he just kept growing on me! This might not have been his best trick to date...but I’m still pretty damn impressed, however he pulled it off! And for all his talk of swallowing Paul Zerdin, perhaps the one who he SHOULD be swallowing is Simon Cowell! It would surely be a terrifying sight...But also cathartic!

1: Tape Face. I’m actually quite surprised that he managed to get into the Top 3 (or 4?) But it provided a slight bit of satisfaction to an otherwise disappointing result...Perhaps a big part of it is that he made sort of a love letter to the show while getting Howie and Terry to do much of the performing...It’s actually quite genius! But a big part of what makes this character so charming is simply his presence! I could only imagine what it would have been like if I was in the audience waiting to see what old AGT act would come onstage next, and then seeing that weird intro where he’s in shadows...and then sits up and reveals himself! I would be cheering...at least in my mind, because I’m socially awkward...Not much else to say; It’s Tape Face! ‘Nuff said!

So again, I would have liked to see at least one favorite make it alongside whatever sob story singer that Simon was inevitably gonna give the GB to...But for what we got, I’m happy! Onward to next week!

I’m actually not gonna bother ranking next week’s acts based on my support, because half of them are foreign acts who I’ve never heard of (but they all sound interesting), and the other half...Well, I can’t say there are any that I DON’T like...Let’s just say that there are two clear front-runners (though I know only one of them will go through), a singing group that I really like, a singer who I...like enough...and a magician who I like, but will surely be overshadowed by the other one who is one of the pre-mentioned front-runners (in fact, they will no doubt play up a rivalry with the two).

I guess that is all there is to say for now...

[llamaswrites]

Spiral

Fandom: Overwatch

Rating: Teen

Pairing: Doomfist: The Successor | Akande Ogundimu/Lúcio Correia dos Santos

Summary: 

Hana said it took twenty-one days to form a habit.

It should have been simple to do.

The universe only gave him four days before everything went wrong.

Read on AO3 here.

It was yet another of Hana’s spontaneous theories and, like most ideas she came up with unrelated to battle tactics (either in Starcraft or actual combat), it was completely awful.

“It’s really simple in theory,” she told Lúcio through a mouthful of chips and ice cream. It was a combination that he always found awful, but it made appearance any time either of them had something go down that required ‘bestie time’, as Hana put it. “You just need to stay so busy that you can’t think about him. Eventually, you’ll just forget to think about him. They say it takes twenty-one days to form a habit. Think you can do it?”

Hana didn’t know much about Akande, other than he was exactly Lúcio’s type and managed to severely bruise his fragile heart. She didn’t even know his name, because he’d never told her and she’d never asked. It was the unspoken rule when they got together that the other person didn’t pry, to just let everything flow out naturally.

This time, Hana perched on the ratty old couch she’d found in the depths of Watchpoint: Gibraltar, after having put on something awful (anime, probably) on the holoscreen at the front of the room. Lúcio sat on the floor with his back against the couch, letting Hana comb her fingers through his recently cleaned hair. After a lot of practice, he was comfortable with her helping twist his hair back into locs.  

It was hard, sometimes, to reconcile this Hana with the one he went on missions with. When she was out of the MEKA, she was bright and happy and spontaneous. In it, she was cold, calculating, and brutal, everything she trained to be as essentially a child soldier.

“I’m going to bet that’s worked for exactly no one ,” he told her, eyes trained on the screen in front of him but not really watching. “How do you come up with this stuff?”

“I don’t,” she said, but then backtracked. “At least, I didn’t come up with this. It’s something 76 mentioned to me once.”

“You should leave that poor guy alone,” Lúcio mumbled, and then asked “What did he have to say? I didn’t think he really had anything or anyone outside of just being an old soldier past his time.”

“You tell me to leave him alone and still want to scoop? I don’t think that’s fair!” She tugged on a completed loc playfully.

“It’s not like you’re going to leave him alone anyway. Just spill!”

He expected Hana to spill immediately, like whenever she had a juicy piece of gossip about someone on base, but she hesitated. “I’m not really sure if it’s my story or whatever to tell, but...I found him one night when I was exploring, out near the big beacon that acts like a lighthouse over the straight. His visor was off and he was slamming back this cheap ass beer. I asked him if he wanted to have some company, to share some war stories and beer because I had some too and god knows none of us are getting therapy anytime soon and he told me, ‘That’s not why I’m out here’.

“He let me join him though, and few beers later he started talking. Said that back when he was the head of this whole shindig, he had a person that he was really close to, that he fell in love with. He never told them though and they died when that base blew up. He told me that piece of advice, though. Said that’s how he got over it. Maybe it’ll work for you.”

“Did he ever say who they were?” Lúcio asked, curious.

“Nah,” she said, flipping a finished loc over his shoulder. “But hey, his advice has to be worth something. He’s got way more age and wisdom and senior discounts than we’ll ever have. He probably knows what he’s talking about.”

He hummed softly in agreement, but couldn’t help imagining 76 up on that lighthouse tower. Hana probably didn’t realize that if he was up there mourning by himself that his tactics for forgetting hadn’t worked after all. Maybe his advice had worked once upon a time, but obviously something or someone recently dragged every bit of thought and obsession and grief back to the forefront of his mind. Lúcio didn’t plan on taking Hana’s advice, at least not originally. As was the case with everything in his life, but especially concerning Overwatch, trouble soon followed.

He told himself at first that he wanted to know more about Akande because he needed to thank him for the research and schematics left behind on the holo tablet. Not because, he scolded himself, he was still enamoured with the man despite not seeing him in over two weeks and despite the lack of any further promise. Searching for him on the web hadn’t been his immediate course of actions because it felt weird to search for someone he’d been so...personal...with in such an impersonal way. Lúcio was afraid of what he’d find, afraid that his experience that night would be far from unique, even if nothing was promised to make it that way. He soon found that with Akande, that should have been the least of his worries.

Instead, he checked the message Akande left for him on the datapad, hoping for some overt contact information he missed on his first glance through or clues in the metadata. The message itself was as unhelpful at it had been before. Checking the metadata was no better; it was as if someone had taken a sledgehammer to it, leaving it utterly unsalvageable and utterly useless. It was too much like recovered data from old watchpoints and Talon bases, deliberately obscured and damaged to hide the fingerprints of individuals long gone, or long damned in their pursuits.

Lúcio chose to look past the oddity. Surely Akande had his reasons for masking his digital trail. From his knowledge to his (too) expensive suit to the small red plates on his head announcing the fine intraneural nerve wiring to his prosthetic, it was clear he was someone , someone who dearly didn’t want to be found trivially. It should have scared Lúcio more than it did. He wasn’t prepared for how hard the fear and realization would hit him.

It had been entirely too easy to find out about Akande on the web. Lúcio thought that he misspelled his name at first because surely this couldn’t be the intimidating but gentle man he met. A quick check of the message of the datapad confirmed he had it right and a hard, cold lump of anxiety settled deep in his gut. He steeled himself and clicked on the first biography page that popped up. His eyes lighted on the picture and the lump immediately shot up into his stomach, nausea rising quickly. He threw the datapad (the same one from Akande) violently away from him and dashed to the bathroom to lose his lunch. The datapad landed on the bed’s comforter and was fine. Lúcio’s emotional state, however, was not.

Lúcio could honestly say before he saw Akande’s picture that there was not much he regretted in life or, at least, nothing he regretted deeply. He mourned deeply those lost in the revolution he’d started, wished there had been a better way, but he knew his regret would do nothing to change the past and only dishonor their memory. He didn’t really regret the actions that led him to lose his lower legs; after all, he wouldn’t be the same person or have all the same friends today with them.

After emptying his stomach, he rested his head back against the wall. He realized, panting slightly, that this was his first true regret. The only person that could reasonably be worse in this situation might be Gabriel Reyes, if he ever really was a person when he was still in Blackwatch (there was still so much he didn’t know or wasn’t privileged to). Or maybe Widowmaker. Still, Akande -- Doomfist -- was terrible in his own right. He killed so many in his rise to power through Talon; more still would be lost Talon’s warmongering efforts succeeded. He was the antithesis to everything Lúcio stood for in his life and Lúcio had let him see the most vulnerable part of him, both personally and with his tech.

The memory of being touched gently by Akande, by the same hands that killed so many, flitted by in his brain and Lúcio smashed his head back against the tile wall, quashing down the nausea that rose violently in him with pain. He took a few deeps breaths and tried to center himself. Maybe this wasn’t as bad as he was making it out to be. After all, Aka-- Doomfist certainly hadn’t mentioned to anyone what had happened between them and if he did, it hadn’t gotten out. Maybe this was just another passing thing for Doomfist or at most, some manipulation on Talon’s part. He couldn’t let it get to him. He wouldn’t.

The keypad beeping faintly in the distance was all the warning he got before Hana barged into his room, 76 in tow with a tray of food. Apparently in his internal angsting, he missed dinner. Hana joined him on the floor of the bathroom without hesitation, smoothing his locs away form his face. 76 positioned himself in the doorway between the bathroom and bedroom with the tray balanced on a single hand, obviously irritated by being dragged along but still not leaving.

“You never miss dinner, are you sick?” asked Hana. Lúcio shook his head and smiled weakly at her.

“Nah, I’m not sick,” he said and tried to stand up. Hana pulled him back down to the cool floor.

“What’s wrong? I know something’s wrong. Is it him?” she asked once more. Lúcio glanced up quickly at 76. The old soldier seemed to be unimpressed by what the youngsters before him were talking about and studying the room around him. An arched eyebrow above his visor, though, cued Lúcio into the fact that 76 was actually listening to their conversation.

“Um, kinda,” Lúcio admitted quietly, trying to prevent 76 from listening in. It probably didn’t work; super soldier hearing made having private conversations near impossible. “Just...I think I need to take your advice, for once. I’m driving myself nuts.”

Hana helped him to his feet and together, they stumbled back into the bedroom. His prosthetics feld like dead weight as he settled back onto the bed. Hana relocated the tablet to his bedside table, where 76 also placed the tray of food. 76 averted his gaze when Lúcio undid the locks on the prosthetics but Hana just leaned on his shoulder, entirely used to seeing his legs off and knowing it just made everything more awkward if she ignored the elephant in the room.

76 took up post by the door, clearly waiting for Hana as she whispered to Lúcio, “Love sucks. It gets better though. I promise.”

“It’s not, uh, love and thanks. For the advice. And for dinner.”

She pushed herself off his shoulder and off bed. “No problem! Text me if you need anything else. And hey, maybe you should start taking my advice more often.”

“You had a good idea for once?” rumbled 76’s voice finally. “The world must be ending.”

Hana pouted at him with crossed arms as he poked roughly at the keypad to open the door. 76 waited outside in the hall as she hugged Lúcio.

“Can it, mister,” she told the old soldier as she joined him in the hallway. “Besides, this bit of wisdom wasn’t one-hundred-percent Hana Song Certified. If it goes topsy turvy, it’s your fault.”

The door closed, but Lúcio could still hear the indignant, “My fault?” from the other side as he flopped back down the bed. For some reason, he had a feeling that sleep would not come easy.

Everything that could go wrong, did so like this:

Hana said it took twenty-one days to form a habit. Simple enough, Lúcio thought. Overwatch always had a plethora of missions available, ranging from escort situations to active combat situations. He signed himself up for the most mind numbing missions he can find after he fails to not think of the night in Rio for a week straight. This will work, he told himself.

And it did, for about four days. Four days of pushing himself to the limit and falling in his bed or a cot every night, absolutely exhausted. Four days of getting up, showering, and throwing himself back into his work, healing and guiding and fighting with blood making his skin tacky.

His life hadn’t been this intense since living back in the favela under Vishkar. These missions were the most extreme Overwatch had to offer, the ones that were always waiting for one last brave soul to make them a reality. Lúcio found himself crawling through vent ducts and scorching under the heat of the Cairo sun, all in the name of justice (and keeping his mind off of Akande). He didn’t even realize his plan was working.

Everything went wrong, starting like this:

They’re up in a satellite state of Russia and the air was cold enough to make breathing physically hurt. The sun, just starting to set below the horizon, did not help the temperature at all. The mission is in an area that could be described as a slum. Each shack was built out spare parts, whether from the siding of trains or the hulls of Volskaya mechs and rats, more impervious to the cold than Lúcio was, ran underfoot.The streets were narrow and wound through it in an almost non-Euclidean manner, making it all the more impossible to avoid the sharp icicles hanging from the tin ramshackle roofs. If not for the cold, it would make Lúcio miss his favela fiercely.

There was a definite sense of poverty, yes, but also a feeling of community and belonging. Everyone here knew each other and each other’s business, which made the Overwatch team’s presence all the more glaringly obvious. Their objective was a specific omnic living in one of these shacks, particularly escorting them to safety from the harshly anti-omnic groups circling like sharks around the neighborhood. Omnics were exceedingly rare in Russia, though this omnic had managed to survive long enough to see many others of their kind to safety. Now, only they remained, trapped by those wanting to prosecute them for the crime of protecting others. The community didn’t know or trust their intentions to help, though, and so hidden the omnic remained.

Today’s squad was smaller than their usual six man. He was accompanied by Soldier 76 and McCree, of all people and was dismayed when neither man seemed very bothered by the cold. They split up early on, to gain more ground, and Lúcio found himself quietly skating through icy alleys, followed only by the quiet hum of his sonic amplifier and the stares of the slum’s residents. There was at least a clue to where this omnic might be in the form of some sort of symbol painted on the upper left of their door, but that was according to the worried omnics this one helped. Still, working on old information was better than none at all.

He barely turned a corner when an explosion nearby rocked the slums, causing some of the icicles to fall from the eaves, shattering on the ground melodiously. Lúcio quickly backtracked to the alley he came from in search of better cover, hand reaching up to the comm in his ear to consult his team about what just happened.

76 only had time to growl out, “Talon, Reaper,” before the rest of the icicles crashed down in a cacophony as something heavy landed behind him. Lúcio froze, heart in his throat and his skin prickling up from something other than the cold. He had a feeling that, if he were to turn around, he would know exactly who was behind him.

Everything went wrong because Hana’s plan couldn’t possibly account for Doomfist finding him in the middle of a mission.

Once, he read that the now extinct wolves in America proper would refuse to look at or acknowledge humans when they were caught in a trap. Sometimes, a wolf would twist itself around in a trap if that meant not looking at a human nearby. It was as though they thought trouble didn’t exist or would go away if it wasn’t acknowledged. He didn’t understand it then, but he did now.

“We meet again, Lúcio Correia dos Santos,” rumbled a voice behind him. Lúcio willed his knees to not give out and turned around finally, knowing that not facing an enemy was probably the stupidest thing he could do, next to being intimate with the same enemy.

The next stupidest thing came out of his mouth a moment later and he wanted to slap himself. “Just Lúcio is fine, but you know that.”

The corner of Akande’s mouth twitched up into a smirk as he approached Lúcio. The way he moved reminded Lúcio of some sort of big cat stalking its prey. Any other time it might have been a flattering comparison, but in this case…

The prey was a rather idiotic frog.

Lúcio skated smoothly backwards, intent on putting some space between himself and Akande--Doomfist---he really needed to stop conflating this man with anything but enemy . He hoped Doomfist wouldn’t force him to wallride to escape, as he knew there was another wall fast approaching behind his back. Escaping that giant gauntlet while having little control on a wall other than forward was not Lúcio’s idea of a good time. Really, Lúcio ought to just flee but some stupid part of him wanted to know why he was sought out specifically.

Thankfully, Doomfist stopped. Still, his huge frame filled up the narrow alley to the point where Lúcio could barely see past him. In contrast to the images he saw in his earlier search of the Talon, the mountain of a man actually wore a shirt, with one long sleeve that nearly extended past his free hand and the other tied up above his gleaming gauntlet.

“I am glad to see you once more. You were not on any of the usual missions you take for Overwatch.”

Lúcio’s first thought was that, duh, he wasn’t on any of those missions because he was trying to avoid the man, whether it was actually encountering him or simply thinking about him. His second was to question if Akande was actually looking for him . Was the man actively stalking Overwatch just to talk to him? Subtly, he muted the comm in his ear, listening with only half attention as 76 screeched commands into their line like a hoarse, old crow .

“I have to say that, uh, I’m not really that glad,” Lúcio as he shifted his weight back and forth on his skates and studied the eaves. They were just tall enough that wallriding might be possible to get past Doomfist, but there would be a problem if he wanted to launch himself on top of the building due to the eaves.

The smirk dropped instantly and Lúcio felt his veins turned to ice. Happy Akande was terrifying and intimidating but this was on a whole other level. He wasn’t sure if he would be more intimidated of Reaper if the ghast decided to show his face right then and there (it was doubtful though, if the traded gunfire between a pulse rifle and shotguns in the distance was anything to go by).

“I must admit, I thought you might be slightly more cordial, especially after how our first meeting ended.”

Nope. Nope. What man experienced in modern combat would ever say that in the possible presence of comms that either side could hear ?

“Yeah, no, not after what a quick search of you brought up. No way.” Peeking down the other alley revealed a McCree rolling by like a tumbleweed, quickly followed by gunfire. That was a definite no.

“You did not realize who I was.” It was not a question. Lúcio glanced back and met Akande’s gaze levelly. There was no referring to him as Doomfist anymore, not with his insistence of talking about that night.

“No,” he said. Akande huffed out a laugh and shook his head incredulously. The slight movement caused his giant gauntlet to gleam with the weak rays of the dying sun.

“I see. So you make it a habit then, to let total strangers make modifications that could leave you helpless? To let them bring you to the end and--”

“Could you not?” Lúcio interrupted. “Go there, I mean. To answer your question so you will stop coming back to that, no, I don’t. Now if you could stop mentioning that night, I’d be super happy because I know we both have active comms and I don’t particularly want an international syndicate knowing the details of what I do in my free time.”

“My comm is muted,” Akande said. “I assume yours is the same.”

The gears turned in Lúcio’s head, though he was quickly brought out of his reverie by another explosion, this one closer than last time. Helix rockets, maybe?

“Your team doesn’t know either,” he said slowly.

“Yes,” said Akande.

“You’re not here for Talon reasons,” Lúcio clarified and then asked, “Why are you following me?”

This gave Akande pause.

“This is not entirely Talon related, no,” he said. “I saw a kindred spirit in you that night. One who knew what it was like to fight and rise above, to overcome and be better for it.”

“So, what? You think I’m just going to follow you back to Talon because you helped me out that night? Because I fought in a war and came out on the winning side of it?”

“I did not think it would be so simple as that, but in essence yes.”

A harsh laugh rang through the air and Lúcio realized it was his own. Even Akande looked surprised.

“You really must think I’m some sort of idiot.” Akande tried to object, but Lúcio continued speaking over him, fueled by a level of anger he didn’t know that he possessed. “No, seriously. Did you really think I would be, what, seduced by you into joining Talon? Just because I fit into some part of your weird philosophy? Let me tell you a few things.

“I’m not better because of what happened with Vishkar in Rio. Just because I don’t regret my actions doesn’t mean I want to go through it all again, that I can say I’m better for everything that happened. I don’t know how you could think anyone could be better from losing their legs, their family, everything in their life, from watching children and their parents die from the labor they were forced to do or the beatings from being out past curfew. Even worse is seeing people die in the name of a cause you yourself have spearheaded, before they could ever know a better life.

“You think I’m better for that? That they’re better for that? You can seriously fuck right off with that ideology and take your rich boy self elsewhere because I’m done here.”

Lúcio rushed towards Akande and started to crouch to begin his jump. Akande, seeing the change in posture, lunged for him but missed him by inches, hurtling towards the other end of the alley with the gauntlet. Homefree, Lúcio continued to wallride and flipped around to watch as Akande pulled up short of crashing at the end of the alley before backflipping off a wall to land in the larger street.

“Lúcio, wait!”

The first shot, he reasoned later, didn’t make its mark because Widowmaker wasn’t anticipating the manner of his exit from the alley. Still, it shattered the green plexiglass of his goggles and caused him to land off kilter, not entirely balanced on his skates.

The second hit him, but also not in its intended place. Akande, having realizing the gravity of the situation far before Lúcio did, lunged out of the alley and tackled him into the ground. Still the sniper’s bullet found its way into his right lung, entirely too close to his heart. He wouldn’t know that until later, though.

Lúcio’s world seemed to grind to a halt. Some part of him dimly registered how nice and warm Akande was over him, especially compared to how cold it was. Another part registered Akande yelling into his now unmuted com, ordering Widowmaker to stand down as he was pulled into the man’s lap, while his own comm screamed in his ear.

Akande ripped off part of his sleeve and balled it up. When he pressed it against the wound on Lúcio’s chest, the pain finally cut through the haze in his mind.

Fuck.

He’d been shot.

Pain crawled through his chest like fire and he couldn’t suppress a whimper that came out even more pathetic than it should with a pierced lung. It had been so long since he was last shot -- usually his blades were quick enough to keep him out of the line of fire. It was a familiar enough of a sensation to know that something was very, very wrong with the way pain flowed through his body.

Akande murmured apologies as he cradled Lúcio’s body and kept the cloth pressed to the wound, though it was quickly apparent it was doing nothing to help. Lúcio smiled and tried to laugh, even as he failed catching his breath. There were worse ways to go than been looked after by a really attractive guy he thought and he must have vocalized it because Akande ruefully chuckled as he raised a hand to cradle Lúcio’s face. It was getting harder and harder to keep his eyes open and the hand that was cradling his face soon turned to striking it lightly, probably in an attempt to keep him awake.

He heard footsteps quickly approaching and suddenly, the pain cut to a fraction of what it had been. Lúcio found the strength to crack open his eyes and he saw Akande still looming over him, tense and lit by a warm yellow light. Lúcio let his head loll over to the side and saw 76 crouched by them. That explained the light, most likely from one of the soldier’s portable biotic fields.

“I’m not going to kill you,” 76 said quietly. “I’m not even going to tell anyone about this. I’ve been through this same thing. Just please, give him to me. We can still save him from the venom.”

Venom? Was that what was making this so painful?

Akande hesitated, before gently lifting Lúcio up from his lap and letting 76 take him into his arms. The cold leather of 76’s jacket was significantly different from Akande’s own natural warmth and Lúcio shivered violently. Akande’s hand stroked the side of his face gently and Lúcio leaned into the warm touch thankfully.

“Take care of him,” Akande told 76, who inclined his head slightly in response. The soldier shoved the biotic emitter in his pocket and took off running. Lúcio didn’t make to the ship before losing the fight to unconsciousness, but he was awake long enough to hear the tell-tale boom that announced Akande’s takeoff with the gauntlet.

It took three days for Lúcio to wake up completely.

In the meanwhile, he woke up for seconds or minutes at time.

Once, he woke up to Hana tying his hair back in a scarf, considerate of the way it went absolutely bonkers whenever he slept or neglected to take care of it. Her face was puffy and red, probably from crying and she stroked his face gently when she saw that his eyes were open.

Another time, he saw Zenyatta meditating in the corner of the room, lit only by the afternoon light filtering in through the blinds. The chiming of the orbs around the omnic quickly lulled Lúcio back into unconsciousness.

When he finally awoke, the room was empty save for 76. The old man sat in a chair in the corner where Zenyatta previously was, snoring beneath a magazine that lay on his face. The room was darkened and from the lack of light outside, Lúcio could guess it was well past the time any decent person should be awake. Sore and conscious of the too-tight bandages that swaddled his abdomen, Lúcio carefully sat up. He was surprised when nurses didn’t immediately swarm in with the pick up in heart rate, but it was night after all. He noticed that someone had taken his legs off and it irked him slightly that they weren’t in sight.

He tucked a stray lock of hair back into the scarf and dipped his head to his chest to inspect the wound, or what little he could see of it. Purple blood vessels, so dark they were nearly black, crawled out from under the bandage, clearly damaged by whatever the bullet was laced with. It would be a long while before he was completely recovered. With the wound so close to his heart, he was lucky to even be alive at all. Sighing, Lúcio pulled the covers back up over his chest just as someone entered the room.

The omnic clearly wasn’t a nurse. His (because this was probably the most masculine omnic Lúcio had ever seen) expensive suit looked extremely out of place in the hospital and he wasn’t the standard build that any of the nurses probably were. In contrast to most omnics he knew, including Zenyatta, this one had custom sculpting done on his frame to give him a more human-like appearance, belying that he was something outside of the range of the common omnic. Lúcio also noted with some disquiet that all of the omnic’s vital lights were red.

Could this be the omnic they tried to rescue in the slum? God, he hoped so. His luck lately would have this mystery bot be entirely bad news.

“Ah good, you’re awake,” he intoned, mechanical voice belying an accent that was, again, entirely by choice and out of the common range for most omnics. The omnic placed a wrapped box, presumably a gift of some sorts, at the foot of his bed with many more Lúcio hadn’t noticed before.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t recognize you,” said Lúcio. The omnic chuckled darkly.

“That is good,” he said, “for both you and me, but irrelevant nevertheless. I am here on behalf of a mutual friend to check on you and deliver a gift.”

Lúcio eyed the omnic carefully. He was starting to have a few guesses to who this omnic might be and quite a few of them led back to the hole in his chest.

“How...exactly did you get in here?” Lúcio asked and glanced at 76, who still appeared to be quite passed out but still breathing. “Overwatch’s security is pretty good and if I don’t know you…”

“Their security can be the best in the world but it’s not going to stop the owner of this hospital from walking in whenever he pleases.” The omnic tapped at the datapad on the wall, pulling up Lúcio’s charts and examining them. “And don’t go looking for my identity either, you won’t find anything worthwhile there.”

Another glance at 76. Another snore.

“Did you, uh, do something to him?”

“Just a mild sedative in the coffee creamer. Don’t worry, he’ll wake up eventually.”

“So, if your...friend....needed to know how I was doing, why not just check my records through the access you already have?” Lúcio asked and the omnic turned away from the datapad with a sigh.

“Do your questions never cease? And you never ask the right one...Humans, even the more intelligent ones, are astoundingly illogical sometimes. Seeing the records was not enough to assure his heavy heart, though I’m not sure what my presence here will do in regards to that. I will say though, you are looking remarkably well for being on the receiving end of Amelie’s gun.”

Everything clicked at once.

“You’re from Talon. Akande sent you.”

“Finally, some sign of intelligence. Yes, he did. For some reason I’m failing to comprehend at the moment, he has stake in your continued existence. Now that I’ve seen sign of life in all your lacking faculties, I shall take my leave.”

And like that, the omnic strutted out of the room just as suddenly as he had arrived. Dumbfounded, Lúcio could only stare at the small present, wrapped in red paper, sitting out of his reach at the foot of the bed. Everything was spiralling out of control. The night with Akande should have never left the hotel, but now it landed him in the hospital. Overwatch probably thought that he was compromised, Talon was probably looking at him like he was a piece of meat, and now everyone would know how much he messed up.

A short time later, 76 startled himself awake with a snore and then proceeded to act like he’d never been asleep in the first place. Lúcio didn’t enlighten him as to their curious visitor and soon enough, 76 was replaced by a weepy, but happy, Hana. With her, she brought the datapad from where he had abandoned it beside his bed. He left it closed and let her chatter away about what was happening back at the Watchpoint. Being the friend she was, she immediately picked up on his quietness though he initially tried to wave it off as a reaction to recovery and the drugs they had him on.

“76 told me what happened, you know,” she said quietly. “As far as I know, he didn’t tell anyone else. You can talk about it if you need to.”

He shook his head and his gaze caught on the box at the end of the bed for what was probably the thousandth time. Tracing his gaze, Hana grabbed it.

“You keep looking at it,” she explained as she dumped it in his lap. It was heavier than he thought it would be. “Just open it. I think I know who it’s from.”

Sighing, Lúcio carefully untied the silk ribbon binding the box and lifted the lid. Inside was a poncho of some sort, made from tan lengths of woven cloth with green stripes running parallel to its length. Upon closer inspection, there seemed to be little stylized frogs embroidered upon the cloth, hopping the length of the stripes on the front of the fabric leading up to what Lúcio presumed was the neck hole. The reverse side was lined with a heavier cloth, softer than the top fabric by far.

“It’s neat,” said Hana as she reached out to run her fingers over the texture, “but what is it?”

“I’m not really sure either,” Lúcio said. “Look, you can take off the lining.”

“It looks really warm,” Hana murmured as she smoothed her hand over the soft lining. “Which is good, you’re always shivering unless you’re south of the equator! He probably noticed too.”

Lúcio said nothing and traced the outline of a frog. Hana watched him mope for a moment before she snatched the gift from his hands.

“You should wear it!” she announced and fed her hands through the fabric, presumably trying to find the neck opening to shove it over Lúcio’s head.

“Hana, no,” he objected. “I’m fine. Also I have no idea how to wear it.”

“Hana yes,” she said, “and we’ll figure it out together. Hold still!”

Luckily for Lúcio, Soldier: 76 chose that moment to wander back in the room with Efi, a hand on her shoulder. Probably to keep her from excitedly bouncing on the balls of her feet, something she almost alway did when she came to see him.

The hand failed to keep her from tackling him.

“Lúcio!” she cried as she barreled into his chest. Lúcio nearly bit through his lip to keep from crying out as her head smashed into the bandages on his chest. “I was so worried but everyone else at Overwatch said you were going to be okay but the mission details said that both Widow and Doomfist were there and oh my gosh I can’t even begin to imagine what happened, you should have taken Orisa with you--”

“Efi, it’s alright,” he reassured, prying the small girl from her tight hug around his chest. Efi didn’t seem to notice him gritting his teeth. “It all worked out okay. We’ll try to take Orisa next time, okay?”

She nodded solemnly and added, “She would have been able to kick Doomfist’s butt. Then he wouldn’t be able to hurt you or anyone else.”

Lúcio looked up guiltily to meet Hana’s pained gaze (and 76 too, if he’d actually been able to see past the visor).

It was funny how the most innocent phrase could just punch through him like a bullet.

Thankfully, Efi was distracted by the gift in Hana’s hands.

“Oh! An agbada! Can I see it?”

“Is that what this is?” Hana asked. She handed over the folded fabric to Efi, who sat back at the end of the bed and unfolded it. She traced the pattern and giggled when her fingers found the frogs.

“Yup,” she said. “It’s a super common thing for men to wear in Numbani. Or really, any Yoruba guy anywhere. Where did you get this? It’s really cute!”

“Um, a friend gave it to me,” Lúcio admitted.

“A guy friend?” asked Efi with a sly smile and Lúcio felt his face start to burn. She laughed. “It’s okay, I can tell. With the way that this was woven, I can almost guarantee a guy made it. Here, let me help you put it on.”

Lúcio leaned forward as much as his bandages allowed him to let Efi slip the agbada over his head. He was only able to get one arm through a sleeve for fear of snagging his IV, so he elected to keep it slightly wrapped around his abdomen under the cloth. Efi tugged the agbada into place, consequently dislodging the breathing tubes from his nose.

“Oops, sorry!” she said as he fixed them. “But really, you look pretty good. You’re not quite tall enough to be called agunt'asoolo, but it suits you anyway. Whoever made this for you really put a lot of care into it.”

“Yeah...he did.” Lúcio mumbled as he ran his free hand down the front of the agbada. This was physical proof of either how smitten Akande was with him, or how desperate Talon was for him to join them.

He wasn’t sure what was worse.

“I’d still wear something underneath it in the future,” said Efi, oblivious to his turmoil. “It’s really meant to be an overcoat of sorts. Maybe Orisa and I will make you some beads for your hair to match with little speakers in them. Don’t you think that would be awesome, miss Hana?”

Hana nodded with a tight smile on her face. The look she shot Lúcio plainly said we need to talk about this soon and Lúcio averted his gaze back down to the agbada. 76 was not immune to the tension in the room and checked an imaginary watch on his wrist.

“Five more minutes, kiddo,” he growled out. “He’s not going to get any better with you playing on him like a jungle gym.”

Efi plainly struck up a pout. When her parents let her visit Orisa back at whatever watchpoint she currently based out of, the pout was the demise of nearly anyone around her and she was consequently able to get away with murder.

Nearly everyone, except for Ana and 76.

Soldier: 76 stared down the small girl and when it became apparent that he wasn’t bowing, Efi turned her attention back to Lúcio, chattering about some of her newer plans and his concert schedule. When finally 76 determined her time was up, she hugged Lúcio tightly (and no, he wasn’t going to admit exactly how much it hurt, it was humiliating that the strength of an eleven-year-old’s hug made him want to cry) and hopped off the bed. It was Hana who escorted her from the room this time, leaving 76 and Lúcio alone in the small room.

Lúcio shrugged off the agbada and folded it carefully as his nurse finally came into the room. 76 took it from him and set it by the holopad at the side of the bed while his nurse ran through his vitals and started a new drip of medicine going.

“You’re going to be out like a light here in a few,” said his nurse, “so you may want to do whatever you need to before you’re dead to the world again.”

His nurse helped him walk stiffly to the bathroom and after settling him back down in bed, left. 76 settled down in the chair beside the bed and Lúcio prepared himself for a lecture. The old man said nothing, though, as Lúcio fussed with the scarf around his hair (hopefully Hana was up for helping him redo all of his locs once more). Finally, the soldier let out a sigh.

“You’re not the first to do this, you know,” he said, “and you’re definitely not going to be the last.”

“I’m not exactly doing anything,” Lúcio told him, trying to keep the snapping edge out of his voice. “Really, I’m trying not to do anything. But...but…”

He shook his head and immediately regretted it as dizziness sucker punched him from the movement. Obviously, the meds were kicking in.

“But he won’t let go,” 76 said. “And really, I don’t think you’re ready to let go either. Kid, you look like a love sick idiot anytime you so much as see that thing he got you.”

Lúcio flopped back on the bed and huffed.

“So?” he finally snapped, feeling more than a little immature. “So what? Are you going to take me off mission rosters because I’m compromised? Remove my agent status?”

“I’d be a hypocrite if I did,” said 76 and Lúcio stared at him. “Again, you’re not the first to do this. You have a good head on your shoulders and I don’t think you’re going to be leaping to join Talon anytime soon, or give them too much information.”

“So why bring this up, then?” Lúcio’s words came out slurred and his mind struggled to gain traction. He wondered if he’d remember this discussion the next time he woke up.

“I just…” 76 sighed again. “I just don’t want to see you making the same mistakes I did. There’s two sides to this, there always is. Don’t do anything stupid but…”

76 reached up to the visor as if to pinch his nose but settled for running his fingers through his white hair.

“Just know that there’s more to life than fighting, okay? If there comes a time that you’re starting to doubt if you’re in the right place, don’t ignore those doubts. Listen to them. It’ll serve you well.”

76 stood up and reached out to lightly ruffle what he could reach of Lúcio’s hair.

“Take care of yourself, kid. Get some sleep.”

Lúcio watched with drooping eyes as the old soldier marched out of the room and thought back to his encounter with Akande. The face Akande had given him when Lúcio ripped into him was one of a man who, for the first time in his life, doubted the ground on which he’d built his life. 76’s words echoed in his head as he gave into the medication and spiralled into unconsciousness.

He sincerely doubted that he was the one having second thoughts about where he was in life.

[threemoonsareshining]

i read through all the 'get to know me uncomfortably well' questions and honestly i couldn't pick because i'd love your answers to any of them so idk just answer the ones you feel like answering? is that allowed in these ask games? idk i'm making it allowed (also have a great day!) xx

Hi!!!!!! Oh my god you’re blessing my night with this message because let’s say... I haven't had the best day today, and I’m sure that’s allowed in these ask things, i mean are there even rules? I do’t know how many i’ll be able to answer but I’m going all in so let’s go

2. How old are you? 19 such an ugly age let me tell you

4. What is your zodiac sign? taurus and i’m not really into astrology and stuff so i don’t know if i can relate to my sign or not

5. What is your favorite color? i really like earthy tones, and i’ve always loved dark colors but i’m trying to broaden my horizons in terms of colors, unsuccessfully this far

6. What's your lucky number? i’m not sure if it brings me luck but i’ve always loved the number 5, maybe bc it’s my birthday, i think it’s really nice overall

7. Do you have any pets? yes!! i have 2 cats, i love them so much even though they’re not the friendliest cats in the world you know. I used to have fish but they kept dying not matter how hard i tried! It makes me a little sad but in the end it was just too much work and if i wasn’t able to take care of them properly i’d rather have no fish honestly

8. Where are you from? i don’t like to say these things but i think it’s pretty obvious if you pay a little attention to what i post every once in a while

9. How tall are you?i’m 1.64 or so, which is like… 5.3-5.4??? I’d like to be a little taller tho

11. How many pairs of shoes do you own? I don’t own many, this year i bought some winter shoes but i just realised all my summer ones are either a little too used or i just don’t like their style anymore so yeah i should do some shopping (if only i had time to do that hah!)

12. What was your last dream about? i don’t remember very well but i think i saw my economics teacher riding a bike with no pants after i’d been fined by the police for having a water balloon war in the middle of the street, I wasn’t happy about that. I’ve had many dreams i was able to remember these last days, but they were more like nightmares i’d say, many of them about being kidnaped, other studies-related (i failed my math test again, i had to retake my college-access test… just terrible), and other were with people i actually know, which wasn’t the best thing ever honestly

15. Favorite song? Plant life by owl city, i’m going to paste the answer i wrote to explain why it’s my favorite (Plant Life by Owl City, that song just describes my soul at a spiritual level, like I could choose 1564 other songs by Owl City that describe me as well but this one is the one that I can relate to when i’m going through the worst times, but also gives me the hope that things will get better idk. And it’s funny because I still loved it before I had the level of English to understand the lyrics, and then I found out what they meant and i was like “woah this actually speaks to me in a way i can’t explain” it was a really weird feeling idk, that song is just me)

16. Favorite movie? billy elliot, actually it’s been a really long time since i last saw it. I remember i watched it like 7 times in a row in one week when i first saw it, i just loved it so much

17. Who would be your ideal partner? Just… someone that i’m 100% comfortable with, which should be a given, but apparently that isn’t that easy to find. Idk i’ve been thinking a lot about this lately basically because some of my coming decisions are going to be based on who i want as a partner, obviously not in a serious-for-life way, but in a way that i deserve right now. I’d like to have someone that doesn’t make me feel inadequate like almost everyone does, that doesn’t make me feel like a temporary asset in their life until they get want they want for me and just don’t care anymore. I don’t know, recent experiences have made me realise I need to figure out what I want and fight for it, not settle for someone just because it’s convenient, or because i don’t want to be alone... because in the end, if someone is making you feel like shit for being who you are and it’s acting like you are not important, even though they’re willing to be with you (even if it’s just for the physical part) that clearly makes you feel even more lonely

18. Do you want children? I’d say my #1 fear in life is getting accidentally pregnant (i know that shouldn’t worry me that much if i use protection and stuff), i meant a good reason i’m so wary of having sex is because i’d go crazy just considering the possibility that the condom failed or something. I think this answers the question, i really don’t want children, idk if i’d be able to take care of a kid, and above all, i don’t want to. Every time i see a kid in the street or in the public transport i pray he/she doesn’t interact with me because i just find it so so so difficult to be nice to them, basically because i don’t know how . Then i also look at their parents, their tired look, and don’t get me wrong, I’m sure they love their kids and all but I don’t think everyone can find happiness in having kids, and I don’t think I’m one of those people that won’t feel complete until they have kids or stuff. Furthermore, I’m not willing to sacrifice my body and to suffer the pain of giving birth, that doesn’t even cross my mind. So if I consider the possibility in the future i think I’d adopt.

20. Are you religious? I already answered this so I’ll just paste it I’m sorry this is so lazy (i was raised catholic and as a child i was really really devote, i truly believed in god. But you know, as years go by, then you find out you don’t agree with a lot of things the Church preaches (being in a catholic school doesn’t help, i will never forget the day i heard a priest telling literal 7-year-old girls that their only duty in life was to have children). My environment was really really conservative and I was lucky to somehow realise how fucking wrong some of the stuff they were teaching us was, sadly, i still see a lot of kids in my school being brainwashed… it’s crazy to see the way some families think. Anyways, that contributed to me getting distanced from everything religious-related. Now i could say i’m somewhere between agnostic and non-practicing. I still pray every once in a while but i’m not sure if i truly believe it or it’s just out of custom, i just feel too hopeless and detached from everything to believe there’s something greater than us… this question is too hard!)

24. Baths or showers? I used to hate taking showers just because I didn’t have the strength to go through all the process of taking a shower but I’ve been trying to fix this mainly because 1) Personal Hygiene and stuff 2) Even though i don’t have the willpower to do it, i always try to think about how nice it feels to be clean after a shower, or how relaxed you are (even if it’s for a short period of time) after taking a bath. So yeah I don’t like either of them but they’re obviously necessary

26. Have you ever been famous? I haven’t been famous but I’ve been mistaken for a famous people more than once. The first time i was very young and a man asked me if i was that girl (idk who) that was on tv and I said no, and the other was more recent, last year, when someone mistook me for a youtuber

28. What type of music do you like? I love instrumental music, specially orchestral but i also adore celtic themes. And i hate to admit it but i love electro pop, the owl city - type, even though many people (aka my dad) may think it’s not the Best Quality, but i mean who cares at least I enjoy it

33. What do you typically have for breakfast? I’m a mess so most of the time I have a coffee so I don’t die of tiredness throughout the day and if i have time i eat some fruit and cookies, not a lot honestly, which isn’t the most healthy thing to do but hey idc

34. Have you ever fired a gun? No. I really, really hate guns.

37. Favorite swear word? I never swear in public, just when I’m alone, I don’t think I can choose any word!

38. What's the longest you've ever gone without sleep? Maybe 24 hours, the thing is that i sleep very, very little, but i always end up sleeping anyway

41. Are you a good liar? Even when I’m actually telling the truth there are people who don’t believe me so yeah hah not really

42. Are you a good judge of character? i’m really good at getting the vibes of people, sometimes i think i’m just overreading everything but a high percentage of the time i end up being right, so yeah not only regarding people but also with other aspects of my life… i like to trust my gut. However, i don’t always say it bc i’m afraid i might be wrong, but when my suspicions are proven, I’m like yeah i was right how weird hahahahhhhhhhhh, i amaze myself in this aspect honestly

46. What is your personality type? i think i’m intj, but i remember retaking the test a few months later and getting another result but yeah i can relate to the architect type, introvert, cautelous, focused on analysing rather than acting blah blah all that stuff (i love this stuff)

49. Are you an innie or an outie? Innie 4 life, because I’ve tried to force myself to be more outie and let me tell you that didn’t go well

50. Left or right handed? left!!!

51. Are you scared of spiders? I’m really scared of them but i also cry every time i kill one bc i feel sorry for her (but it’s either my life or hers i’m sorry) although most of the time when i see i spider i face my fear and i put in in a box or something to release it outside

52. Favorite food? i’d eat ice cream every day of my life for every meal all the time just give me all the ice cream

58. Do you have much of an ego? My ego is so tiny sometimes i forget it exists and let people step on it like it’s nothing

61. Do you sing to yourself? I perform to myself, i love singing alone in my room. I used to care about my neighbour hearing me but you only live once right

62. Are you a good singer? i wouldn't say i’m a bad singer, nor a good one bc the problem is that my voice is not very strong, so it’s very hard to hear me. But yeah, i’ve been complimented for my singing in some occasions, and i really enjoy doing it on my own (i still don’y know how i was able to sing in public the only time i have done it)

63. Biggest Fear? that i’ll keep missing stuff due to my anxiety, oh that and having unwanted kids obviously

64. Are you a gossip? it’s always interesting to hear stuff and be aware of what happens around you but i‘ve always said that things would be better if everyone just… minded their own business a little bit more, you can’t get mad at someone if they don’t want to tell you something, it’s their life and they don’t owe you all the explanations after all

66. Do you like long or short hair? i have really long hair and i’d love it if it wasn’t so so so hard to maintain… i’m pretty tired of it honestly and i know i said i’d be cutting and donating it this year but… it’s such a part of my identity (which is so silly but it’s true, i’m introduced to some people as “the girl with really long hair”) and… i don’t know i think i’ve enough changes this year, so i’ll keep it for a little longer

70. Have you ever been scuba diving? i’m so scared of the sea i think i’d die

71. What makes you nervous? sadly, even the most insignificant stuff makes me nervous, and apparently, ignoring them doesn’t mae them disapear! so yeah i’m basically suffering at all times due to stupid stuff, i’ve just learned to ignore it enough so it doesn’t interfere with the rest of my life (most of the time it works but it’s mentally draining now that i think about it)

77. Have you ever drank underage? I’m one of those people that can say that never drank alcohol until it was legal for me to do it, I didn’t do it even when my mom offered me something at family gatherings… yeah i think that’s the reason i drink so much now

80. How many piercings do you have? I don’t like piercings for myself (i obviously don’t have a problem with other people having them) but i just think it’s an unnecessary way of mutilating yourself (i hate needles)

86. What are you allergic to? Ironically, I’m allergic to cats, even though i have 2. It comes and goes, and it’s not serious, i sneeze a lot, my eyes itch a little sometimes, but i’m willing to pay that price for my cats honestly

87. Do you keep a journal? I do, but it’s been months since i last wrote mainly because i always feel like shit after writing, so now i can’t bring myself to do it, that’s why i post so much about my personal life in here, because i’m not able to journal but i also don’t want to forget about what happens in my life

90. What makes you angry? Anger is a weird concept for me. I get angry very often, but I’m angry in general, not at anyone in particular, I just find myself unable to get mad at someone, the anger instantaneously turns into sadness, so I don’t know what’s worse. If I’m being mean to someone (most of the time my parents are the victims) it’s not because of them, I’m just angry for no reason and I just can’t keep being nice.

Hey congratualtions if you made it till the end, i was really bored so i answered a lot. Thanks for the message again 🐱🐱🐱🌳🌳🌳

[nikkijl-blog1]

My first piece of Wayhaven Chronicles fanfiction. In celebration of Adam, I created this little story. Hope it does the legendary Angst du Mortain justice.

Adam’s Birthday Present

Synopsis: Detective Alice Roesler decides to give Adam a shoulder massage for his birthday

F!Detective/Adam du Mortain

"Something you need, Detective?" Adam eventually came into the office about three hours after he'd been summoned. Alice leaned back in the chair behind her desk, her professional persona taking a breather. 

"Are you avoiding me?" she asked. The question was lighthearted but curious. Adam sighed, crossing his arms at the topic of conversation.

"Things have been rather busy at the Agency. I do have other jobs that I'm responsible for besides watching over you," he turns on the defensive almost immediately. That's alright, she had prepared evidence.  

"Does Nate not factor into any of those missions? At this point, I feel like I could take over as his best friend. Did you know he has an obsession with high end quality hair products? I mean, not that it's surprising, look at the man," she said. She probably should start calling her lunch hour, Tea Time with Nathaniel.

"Nate can simply be more flexible about where he does his work. During times like these when we aren't facing any verifiable threats, it's more ideal to split ourselves in many different directions. Nate is obviously the best equipped for human relations," he spouts off a dozen lines of professional script like its second nature.

"Human relations, huh?" she asked, "Isn't that a dry way of putting it."

"Unless things have changed, you are still human," he said. 

"Well, I was bitten by a werewolf last week but I've yet to grow any extra hair," she said. His pale complexion blanched even further as he took a hurried step forward. 

"You were what?! Why didn't you report this to--"

"Hey look, a genuine response," she smiled before continuing, "That was a joke, Adam," Adam pinched the bridge of his nose with a frustrated sigh.

"Is there a point to this meeting, Detective? Or are you just entertaining yourself by adding to my already stressful day?" he grunted, barely hiding a snarl.

"So, are Felix skills also not included in your apparently legendary pile of responsibilities?" she said. Adam half turned towards the door, eager to make a quick exit as soon as she released him.

"Not recently. Besides, he volunteers whenever he's available. For some strange reason, he enjoys your company," he explained. She braced her elbows onto her desk and steepled her fingers.

"And Mason?" she kept up the interrogation. Adam's lips pursed.

"That... was a last minute decision. I was called away on something--"

"Man, Adam, you are a master of weaving yourself out of a tough conversation, especially one dealing with your feelings," she said. 

"There are no feelings involved, only common sense. I apologize if I've somehow offended you, it was not my intention," he said, "Considering it's the end of the day, I will walk you back to your apartment. Would that be sufficient time spent with you?"

She almost considered telling him to pound sand right then and there but that was what he wanted. Instead, she pushed herself out from her desk and stood up, "So it's your birthday today?" 

He flinched, not expecting the blow. He muttered some choice words about Nate before collecting himself again, "Is that important?"

"You tell me," she asked then decided to answer for him, "Although, considering it's you, I'd imagine you'll say something broody like 'it's only another day, not worth celebrating. I've got work to do,' blahblahblah."

He grit his teeth, quickly losing patience, and she guessed she'd hit the nail on the head. However, he was getting very close to fleeing so she should probably get to the point before it was too late, "Anyway, I wanted to give you a present."

"I don't need anything," he said.

"You need a lot of things, hun. Trust me," she carefully stepped around her desk, the poorly taped corner acting as a perfect monument to Adam's needs. She shut the blinds over the windows into her office, "And I know the perfect thing to help you relax."

"What are you doing?" he swallowed dryly, tensing up like a penned in wild animal, "There is no stress reliever that requires such privacy," his voice rises several ticks.  

"Adam, come on, you're how old? I think you can come up with one or two ideas," she turned the lock, shutting everyone else out and Adam started becoming more erratic.

"Detective, I think we should rethink this course of action," he said, "We don't want to do anything we might regret."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous. Now go have a seat," she stood between him and the door, "Don't worry, no one will think anything strange is going on. Unless you're a moaner, that is."

That got him. A light flush of red rose on his cheeks and she could tell he was fighting every instinct in his body. He wanted to give in, but he had the emotional defenses of the Great Wall of China, "Alice, that's enough. Flirting is one thing but I'm not about to... in your office. It's unprofessional. You need to get ahold of yourself."

"Wow, I didn't think a simple shoulder massage was a reason to call the puritan police," she said. Her smile grew with satisfaction as realization dawned on his handsome face. She'd crawled right under his skin and buried herself there, "What were you thinking of--"

"You know exactly what I was thinking of, woman, and don't even try to deny it," he snarled at her. God, she wanted to take him by the collar and kiss him, drawing in all that repressed heat that was burning like an oven inside him. But she refrained.

"Ok, I'll stop teasing. Now please sit down," she gestured towards her chair.

"This is unnecessary," he protested.

"If you don't do as I ask, I will schedule midnight patrol for myself for the rest of the week. I think the city's been a little restless lately," she tapped her chin. She could tell he was calculating whether or not it was worth the extreme inconvenience, "I promise, no roaming hands. This is your birthday, not mine," he fidgeted at the implications. Finally, he sighed, tired of fighting against her will. He sat down in the desk chair, back stiff as a board. 

"Get it over with," he said like he was prepping for a round of torture. Fine with her, she was ready for a challenge and she knew what she was doing. However, despite his sudden burst of courage, he froze the second she laid a hand on his shoulder. She could only imagine what his face looked like right now. 

"Adam," she sighed, unable to even get a grip on his muscles, "I know it's not in your nature, but could you try to relax a tad?"

"I thought that was your job in this instance," he drummed his fingers on the arms of the chair. She shook her head and removed her hand, rolling up her sleeve. Before he could ask her what she was doing, she drove the tip of her elbow into the space connecting his neck with his shoulder. He choked back a small grunt with the sudden spike to his Trap. 

"You want to do this the hard way, fine with me," she said determined. She used her forearm like a rolling pin across the top of his shoulder, gradually kneading out the muscle until it was at least pliable. It helped that after the initial defiance, Adam lowered his guard. Once, Alice got into it, she was quiet and focused on her work. Sliding her thumb above the bone of the scapula, she ran into a web of knots. Adam's lips twitched when she pressed against it. 

"Have you ever done something like this before?" she asked and she strummed the adhesions like the strings of a guitar, "Because there's gotta be a century's worth of tension built up in here."

"I'm in a very stressful work environment," he said with the hint of a smirk, "Especially recently."  

"Well, I'll just have to call this cluster the Alice knot, won't I?" she dug her elbow into the spot which was turning from a mountainous to a hilly terrain, "Heaven forbid I find the Felix knot, that must be the size of a grapefruit." 

She prided herself when she was rewarded with a one note laugh. Such a rare and beautiful occurrence. 

Later, when she returned to squeezing his Trap muscle, she managed to get enough of a grip of it to pull it off the bone, "Turn your head to the left for me," he did without complaint. She found more congestion around the collar bone when he opened up his neck, "I sort of wondered if vampires had problems like this but the muscle is healed tissue, just not healed the correct way."

"That is an interesting theory," he said, his voice growing deeper, momentarily throwing her off balance. 

"Is that your way of saying you don't know?" she asked. His answer was cut short when she tilted his head forward again, fingertips grazing his clean shaven jawline. She was close enough to hear his breath hitch at the contact. She honestly didn't think much of the gesture, instinctively maneuvering him around like she would've done to any of her friends. However, a spark coursed through her blood with the minor touch. 

She quickly moved back on track, drawing a line up the base of his neck into the gap right below his skull. She strummed her way up the tight bands and she was shocked when Adam gradually opened up his neck as he let his head drift towards his opposite shoulder. 

For the longest time, they said nothing. There was no teasing and jokes from her or complaints and barks from Adam. She transitioned her way over to his other shoulder to repeat the process. She again had to dig her elbow into hard flesh to break ground, but he was more open to it now. She tended become almost clinical when giving someone a massage so there wasn't much for him to be uncomfortable with. She truly did have good intentions. Ever since she saw the way his shoulders hiked up towards his ears and his ritual-like rolling of them, she'd been dying to smooth him out. 

There were other ways she wanted to touch him too, but those were on the back burner for now. 

"You are... very good at this, Detective," she startled when he spoke, silent for such a long time, his voice cracked. It was only now she saw that his eyes were closed, thick eyelashes resting against his cheeks and lips normally frozen in a frowning state were slightly parted like he could fall asleep at any moment. She half smiled, zeroing on another knot near the base of his neck and kneading it into submission.

"Thanks," it was a simpler reply than what she was accustomed to, but she didn't want to risk damaging the fragile connection they'd established. Things would likely return to their scheduled awkward programming as soon as she stepped away. However, she didn't want to speed things along. 

She finished the massage by wrapping her hand around the back of his neck and rubbing all the muscles simultaneously. It was telling that Adam remained completely at ease even around such a vulnerable spot. He even let out a content moan that caused her heart to flip in her chest. Her thoughts began to morph, thinking about replacing her fingers with her lips, trailing kisses down his spine, drawing out a symphony of pleasure from him.

"Alice?" she felt his body heat rise under her hand. She must've delved a little too far into her carnal desires and the mind reading vampire had noticed. But he wasn't pulling away either, so maybe--

"Detective, are you here?" Felix said and Adam shot up out of the chair so fast she nearly bounced back against the wall. The door was unlocked a moment later and Felix and Nate were both standing with curious expressions on the other side. While Nate's was more of concern, Felix was filled with ulterior motives.

"Felix said you weren't answering your cell phone," Nate says. However, he read the situation quickly enough when Adam had his eyes glued out the nearest window, hand fixed on the neck she'd been rubbing only a few seconds before. Felix sidled in, throwing the door the rest of the way open as if he owned the place.

"Well, well, well, here I thought we would need to find both of you, but it turns out you're holed up here together. Alone," he said.

"The Detective was simply helping me with something," Adam said, barely hiding a growl. 

"Hmm, and what was she helping you with that required the shutters to be closed?" he said switching into investigation mode. Adam crossed his arms, tensing again. While she normally would've been on board the teasing train, in this case, she was rather annoyed.

"Felix, you're going to undo all my hard work," she said. Every occupant in the room was startled by her serious tone, "I was just giving him a shoulder massage for his birthday and I figured he'd be more comfortable if nobody was watching."

"You were able to get him to relax?" Nate said, brows arching in surprise.

"That's impressive, I didn't know our fearless leader had an off switch," Felix said, "But with that kind of magic, I want a massage too. Do me next, Detective!" "Felix," Adam scolded him.

"Maybe on your birthday, if you leave Adam alone," she smiled and Felix recoiled as if he were burnt, pressing a hand over his heart.

"Impossible," he said. 

"We were hoping to bring you along to the celebration," Nate changed the subject, eyeing Adam as he said it and Adam bristled for another reason.

"Why are you all suddenly interested in celebrating my birthday?" Adam started before clicking his tongue, marching towards the door, "Forget it, I don't have the energy to argue."

"The Detective really loosened you up, didn't she?" Felix remarked. Adam snarled at him as Nate cleared a path for him.

"You couldn't even last until he left the room," Alice said although she was smiling along with his antics this time.

"Are you coming, Alice?" Nate said. Her gaze shifted to Adam who was trying his darnedest not to show his interest in her answer.

"I will not," she got the response she was hoping for when a brief flash of disappointment crossed Adam's features. She finished her sentence, "Miss it for the world." Adam twitched in anger for falling for her trick, "Just let me close everything up in my office."

She ran through her usual process of straightening up, shutting off the computer, and locking the filing cabinet. When she finished, she found Adam still lingering at the door waiting for her. She smiled as she joined him. 

"Hope that wasn't too painful for you to endure," she said, secretly wanting her opinion.

"You've made this birthday more enjoyable than most," he said, lips twisting up into a subdued smile as he kept pace with her out of the office, "I may even ask for your services again sometime."

"Oh good, I've been dying to get my hands on those Glutes," she said and he missed a step. She nudged him with her shoulder in good humor and he shook his head.

"Incorrigible."

[abhordelano]

AS3 Hot Takes Episode 1

Spoilers down below, not gonna talk about everything just going to serve some hot takes (also its super long, so, you're welcome)

Morgan had me sold the minute she walked in and said “I look good for a dead bitch!” I think it takes fucking balls to come in and reference something so specific, especially when you know that it was so recent at the time of filming! For those that dont know, Morgan & Tyra Sanchez had some drama after S9 which ended with Tyra pronouncing Morgan as dead & holding a joke funeral for Morgan at one of her shows. 

Anyway I’m totally #TeamMorgan now because the bitch gives no fucks and her coming into the competition ready to be cut-throat and play the game is something I respect. Yes I know she totally just got eliminated on the first episode but I feel like she’s gonna pull a Tatiana and re-enter the competition. The binch can PERFORM!

I saw the spoilers months ago so I was already expecting to see Bebe come back for this season. I think that if Ru wants to have a previous winner compete again with non-winners then thats totally fine, its his show. Also lots of other reality shows do this shiz so honestly i dont think its that big of a deal. 

Having said that, I have mixed reviews about Bebe’s first impressions on the show. On one hand, I find her to be the most regal and poised of all the queens this season (probably the most regal queen of ANY season), and I really appreciate that she is proud of her Cameroon heritage & presents it so flawlessly in her drag. On the other hand, I’m worried that her energy is too muted for all of these big personalities and that I’m not entirely sure what she is capable of, so I really dont know what to expect from her. However, I’m certain that miss Zahara-Benet will surprise me and the world with her talent!

Was anyone else really annoyed by Milk this episode? He comes in saying “Zaddy’s Home!” (tbh any man who calls himself zaddy is automatically annoying to me) and then acts like he’s breaking boundaries with all of his high fashion photoshoots, which were mostly of him as a dude. This is Drag Race, not Conventionally-Attractive-White-Boy-Out-of-Drag Race. While I actually did think his reads in the Reading Challenge were pretty good, I thought his ‘talent’ portion was really....pretentious and try-hard? I know what he was going for with the Moschino S/S 2017 referencing in the routine, but honestly the track felt like a knock-off of Anna Dello Russo’s Fashion Shower (which is iconic, look it up!)

I feel like I’m gonna be so sick of Trixie halfway through this season. Although, I think that he could actually get the bitch edit, and I’m honestly so here for that. But like, I think its a smart move for the producers to give Trixie this edit because they can totally make Trixie come off as a total bitch and get away with it because 1) people have been clamoring for more drama on Drag Race since season 7, and 2) Trixie’s huge & rabid fanbase will totally defend him till the cows come home so there probably won't be as much backlash as there was last season when Alaska’s popularity whiplashed at the last minute.

I’m seeing so many people hate on Shangela for being here but, like, I’m so fucking excited to see her again! One of Shangela’s biggest flaws on season 3 was that she wasn't polished, but now I see that she has stepped her game up immensely, she has become a real tour de force in the competition. Her dancing skills, acting skills, and now her stepped-up fashion will definitely make her a queen to not be fucked with (actually, I would definitely place her in the top 4).

Lets talk about the lip sync: First of all, I will always be bitter when anyone plays the clean version of Anaconda (i know that drag race is apparently “A ‘FAMILY’ Picture” now but like.....its Anaconda, the clean version may as well be the Kidz Bop version). Regardless, I’m glad that Ru went with comedy over stunts in the final decision. Dont get me wrong, Aja was absolutely amazing this whole episode including the lip sync but...Anaconda is just meant to be a joke at this point. Also I appreciate that DeLa really knows her strengths as a comedy/campy queen and can distinguish herself amongst a season full of super talented lip synch assassins. 

Prediction: I think the runway next week is gonna involve replications of looks that they were read to filth on in past seasons. Based on the previews, Aja looks like a better version of Princess Disasta/Princess You-Look-Like-Linda-Evangelista, Shangela’s look is either a better Christmas look or a better Space look (she got read a LOT on s3 for her looks lmao). Milk’s is the only one I'm not sure of but Im assuming he’s just trying to do glamor because Michelle told him he wasn’t glamor on S6. I’m thinking that Kennedy will do a better Death Becomes Her look, though I honestly dont think she can top perfection--her crystalized fried chicken look is legendary!

So far, my top 4 prediction is: Shangela, Trixie, Bebe, and DeLa