#are the biggest things on my mind from what I’ve heard through the grapevine of this story

[shipsarebeautiful]

You may think your OTP is the best ship, but have your faves ever intentionally and single-handedly crashed a cryptocurrency together? 🤨

[hldailyupdate]

Casting Harry Styles and Emma Corrin for the theater director's second feature — a story of forbidden love and repression in 1950s England — proved to be remarkable straightforward: "[Styles] was very clear, saying, 'I've done one film, and I’m just making another now, and I know that I would love something like this to be my next film project."

Although director Michael Grandage had a pretty good idea of Harry Styles’ star power when he first cast him in My Policeman — his sophomore feature and adapted from Bethan Roberts’ 2012 romance novel — it only really hit home once rumors of the musician’s involvement in the film became public.

“When it started to get out, sales of the book just went through the roof. It was abso- lutely berserk,” says the Brit, a celebrated and multi-award-win- ning theater director who marked his first turn as filmmaker with 2016’s Berlinale-bowing Genius. “This poor, lovely author who had just been ambling along mind- ing her own business suddenly became a best-selling writer literally overnight. And I thought, ‘Oh my God, I see, that’s the power of this boy.’”

A story of forbidden love in 1950s Britain when same-sex relationships were illegal, My Policeman, which is with Amazon Prime Video and premieres Sept. 11 at the Toronto International Film Festival, sees Styles play Tom, a police officer who develops feelings for museum curator Patrick (David Dawson). While the two keep their relationship a secret, Tom marries local schoolteacher Marion (Emma Corrin), whose jealousy would have destructive consequences. Shifting to the 1990s, the three (played by Linus Roache, Rupert Everett and Gina McKee, respectively) are still reeling with regret but seek to repair the damage done 40 years earlier.

Given his music career and a hectic touring schedule, attracting the interest of Styles might seem like an uphill struggle. But Grandage admits they never actually approached the star, whose only onscreen role when My Policeman was in development had been Christopher Nolan’sDunkirk (although his soon-to-be involvement in Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling was known — the film would shoot almost back-to-back with My Policeman).

With the film script circulating, it was Styles’ team that reached out, saying he’d loved it and wanted to discuss it further. Shortly after, in Grandage’s office in London’s West End, the director met someone who not only had read the script and novel inside out but could talk “very, very eloquently” about what he could bring to the character of Tom. Notes Grandage, “He was very clear, saying, ‘I’ve done one film, and I’m just making another now, and I know that I would love something like this to be my next film project.’”

Getting one of the world’s biggest names in pop involved in his next feature may have been unexpectedly straightforward, but Grandage had similar good fortune when it came to casting a future princess. Before it was revealed they would be playing Diana Spencer in The Crown, Corrin had been mentioned by a producer who said he’d heard “on the grapevine very good things, and that they were very, very interesting.” With Styles attached, however, Grandage was worried about getting someone few had heard of before to play My Policeman’s other major part.

“But the consensus was that the world would have heard of them pretty quickly, not just with Diana but everything else,” he says of Corrin. The consensus was spot-on (Corrin also has the lead role in Netflix’s upcoming Lady Chatterley’s Lover about to land, with their Crown-fueled stardom looking set to skyrocket even further). And then he met the actor and, like with Styles, knew instantly. “It was very obvious I was in a room with somebody who was burning to play this role and knew exactly what they wanted to bring to it.”

Although it’s been six years since his first feature, which delved into the relationship between author Thomas Wolfe and his editor Max Perkins, Grandage says that having “loved, loved, loved every part of working on it,” he’d been desperate to get back behind the camera once more. So alongside juggling his theater commitments (in the years since, his Michael Grandage Company has put on, among several performances, Martin McDonagh’s The Lieutenant of Inishmore), he began developing several projects. But then My Policeman came his way via producers Greg Berlanti and Robbie Roger over dinner in New York, and he went straight to work.

For Grandage — and he says for Styles too — he was very much drawn to the “political aspect” of the story and about making a film that has “something to say as part of a bigger debate” in today’s society. And despite My Policeman’s historic setting, he says he feels it has an unfortu- nate poignancy, claiming that the “substantial progress” made since the 1950s suddenly has a sense of vulnerability.

“For the very first time in my lifetime, I think it’s fragile again. And I think this will alert people, hopefully even educate people and certainly remind people, that if you let it be fragile and let it go backwards, this is where you get to. You get to a place where people cannot be themselves and cannot be free.”

(10 September 2022)

[xxisxxisxxis]

AU: Gateway Drug | "Forty-Something" [PT. 2]

[PT. 1 HERE]

Tag List: @unknownoblivion  @edwardtriggerhandzz  @haileynicoleseavey17  @cierrasixx19  @oskea93  @mgkobsessed  @sharon6713  @itsametaphorbriansblog  @miriampraez  @allie-mcginn @xpoisonousrosesx  @rebeccaphillips14  @nicholeh7 @lilmou5ie  @tamedhearts  @divaanya  @6ixx6ixx  @ratedrkohardychick91  @floregrohlssard  @oldschoolimagineblog  @thanks2pete  @abaldboi  @liith-ium  @jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels  @ytwahsog  @scarecrowmax  @random-internet-user-4471  @solohqrry  @sparxx27  @kaitieskidmore1  @cruecifymesixx    @meetthesixxter   @sublimeprincesswasteland  @arianareirg  @girlnight-terror

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2002

"Monroe, did you get all your stuff from Duff and Su's?" I ask him as I walk backstage, at the Whisky, following him to where Duff and Slash are. 

"Yes, Ma'am." He tells me politely. 

"Okay, just making sure since you forgot nearly all your clothes over there the last time." 

"I had to make room for the Playstation." He shrugs. 

"Hey!" Susan pipes when she sees me, a wide smile and raised brows, arms open wide. 

"Hey," I reply, hugging her to me. 

"You look so good." She tells me next, looking at my outfit as I'm admiring her's. 

"Thank you, you do, too." I return the compliment because it's well deserved. 

"Hey," Duff tells me, kissing my cheek as he passes by, "I gotta go to the bathroom." He adds with a smile. "But don't go anywhere, I'll be right back." He assures me. 

I just nod, seeing the fluff of Slash's hair behind Susan before he comes out and smiles. 

"Hey, Viv," he says to me. 

"Hey," I reply. 

"Hey, Stripe." I hear that voice and I freeze up for a moment before turning around. 

Izzy. 

We haven't spoken in a couple years. 

I blamed it on his divorce/breakup/whatever it was/I heard about it through the grapevine anyway, and him needing time to recover from facing the death of a nine year relationship, soberly. 

"'Hey?'" I ask him, emotions coming to the surface that I've tried to keep down ever since I realized he didn't want anything to do with me. "You haven't acknowledged my existence in two years and all you have to say to me is, 'hey'?" 

"Viv—"

"—No, I'm talking, and I have two years worth of it to get out so you're gonna shut up and let me finish." I order and he sighs and rolls his eyes the slightest bit. "You know what, no, no, I'm not gonna say a damn thing to you, that's obviously how you've liked it this far." I snap.

"Call me when this is over and I'll come get Monroe." I tell Susan who's astounded by the exchange, before I start walking. 

"Nice to see you, too!" Izzy sarcastically calls and I stop in my tracks and turn on my heel, quickly walking to him but Slash grabs me and stops me. 

I don't struggle against him because I know if Monroe and Duff come back to me and Izzy getting into it it'll just be evidence that I haven't grown up while they all have. 

"What the hell was I on to think I'd hear just as much from you as I have everybody through the years? I must've been crazy." I hiss and he stares at me. "Just doing whatever you want to without thinking about how it affects everybody else. You aren't any different now than you were then. Just less high and not as much booze on your breath." I add, stepping away from Slash. "Have a safe flight back to BFE." I call, stomping away. 

When I get home, I get changed into my comfy clothes and go lay down, trying not to cry. 

I'm a 38 year old woman and I refuse to cry over a boy. 

I know two years doesn't seem like a big deal but when you spend fifteen years in constant contact someway or another with someone and then they just stop answering your calls, quit sending letters, and are living thousands of miles away so you can't just walk up in their house and confront them, it takes a lot out of someone's peace to try to get closure from that. 

I'd expect something like it from Axl, but never Izzy. 

There's a knock at my door only a few minutes later, and I get ready to hear Monroe start spouting off about how cool it was to see his dad up perform, although he's seen it multiple times before, as I walk to the door.

I open the door and it's like one of those cheesy, stereotypical books where the dude stands out in the rain to confess his assholery to the girl. 

"You're my best friend." Izzy tells me sharply, not like he's pleading, or wants forgiveness, he's just telling me. "And you have been for fourteen years. And because you have been my best friend for so long, I know how you work and when people you care about are in hell you nearly stoop to their level of hurt to try to make it easier on them--I didn't want you to do that when Aneka and me split and I knew you would. I took time to myself, I've barely spoken to anybody, but I'm okay, now. I wasn't trying to be selfish, Vivian. I didn't just up and leave you like I said I wouldn't because there was a reason why I distanced myself. And I'm sorry that I hurt you by doing that but that's just how I've always handled things, just by myself and under wraps and I guess that means you're right. I haven't changed a bit. I'm still full of shit and private and in love with you so much that I don't even know how to handle it other than to ask you one more time. One last time, and if I don't get a new answer I won't ask again." He tells me and I all I can see when I look at him is that stubborn kid with smoke constantly flowing out of his nose or past his lips, who would only acknowledge me with a simple, "Viv" and a nod. 

"I know you were put through hell with Nikki when you married him. And I-I know you're worried I'll end up the same but, Vivian, I'm not seeing anybody, I'm forty-something and have my shit together a lot more than I thought I ever would." He tells me, taking a step closer to me. "I've always been restless, whether I was by myself or with someone, or in L.A. or in Indiana, I've never been able to just rest and I know you haven't been able to, either, so just rest with me." He tells me and I feel my eyes water, a lump in my throat--a good one, though. A lump from being strangled with relief and ease. 

I rub my lips together, looking at him in the rain…and nod slowly.  

"Okay?" He asks me, raising his brows. 

"Okay." I say, trying not to let my voice crack, continuing to nod.

"That's a 'yes'?" He questions, and tears break past my lashes. 

"Yes." I repeat, reaching for him as he steps one more step and leans down, kissing me in a way that tells me he's been waiting a long, long time to kiss me, hugging his arms around my waist so tightly my feet aren't even on the ground.

2022

"GUNS. N'. ROSES!" The crowd chants repeatedly while the guys finish up their last minute tasks before their first show back. 

"Axl you're actually on time, wow." I comment and he cuts his eyes at me, making me give him a smug smile. 

I told him, Duff and Slash that I wouldn't see me at a reunion show until Steven and Izzy were playing with them once again. 

And for six years, I haven't come to a show…

"Alright, everybody, gonna get the hands clappin' and the feet stompin'!" Steven exclaims excitedly and Izzy grins like he's missed hearing that before every show. 

...Until now. 

"Alright, let's go, let's go, let's go!" Someone calls, signaling showtime and Izzy looks at me. 

"Viv," he says neutrally, with just a hint of a smirk--like he always used to do.

"Izzy." I reply the same way, like I always used to do. 

Except unlike all those years before playing with Axl, Steven, Slash and Duff, he follows our exchange with catching my lips with his for a moment before pulling away and winking at me before following the guys to get ready. 

I give the dressing room one last glance, seeing the Polaroids he's had glued to the back of his guitar case for years. 

One is from '88 when we shot the "Sweet Child O Mine" video, I'm sitting on the edge of a chair while Tansy, Stevie, and Izzy are crouched down, talking to my very pregnant stomach, my hand guiding theirs to where Monroe was kicking me. 

Then another from '89 at the MTV awards when I was trying to get past Izzy and the guys and, drunk, Izzy grabbed me and pulled me into his lap, giving the biggest shit eating grin seeing a camera. 

I was laughing so hard my eyes were closed. 

Then '91 with us and the band and it's obvious he and I are the only sober ones in the photo aside from Axl and Tansy--who looked miserable, out of her mind, because she was. 

The next is from around '96, me, Duff, Izzy and Steve Jones backstage at a Neurotic Outsiders show. 

And the last one is a picture of me in a white minidress and Izzy in a button down and nice pants, holding me like the new bride I was, kissing in front of the Lafayette courthouse in Indiana, marriage certificate in my hand...I smile and hear the rumbling of the crowd as a riff from Slash screams out. 

I let out an easy breath after twenty years of rest, and look forward to an eternity of it.  

[jossujb]

Now that I’ve had more time to soak the s14 and the audiobook format in, I think the only real negative of the Jago & Litefoot s14 is that you can still tell that they were designed as full cast drama in mind, which makes some of the scenes that in audio drama would be snappy conversations to drag somewhat. 

I noticed this both in The Red Hand and A Command Performance, in particular. In The Red Hand they go from The Red Tavern to the bridge opening, to the police station, to Red Tavern, to the New Regency Theatre, to some back alley, to the New Regency Theatre and back to the Red Tavern, and like, that’s not particularly unusual in Jago & Litefoot that they bounce between few locations per episodes. In full cast drama however it just happens in a second and the conversations flow naturally, where as like the audiobook format insist on telling me how the character feeling or what they are thinking, where as in a normal audio drama I get that from the actors performance.

In A Command Performance they stick to one location, but the drag of the slowed down conversations works against the concept of trying to figure what is happening and preventing a murder while the Xmas pantomime is playing. I get that the idea is to be on the edge of your seat and bite your nails that do they figure it out on time or not, and Jago & Litefoot do nothing but converse about thing and fing clues and try to put it together. But in audiobook it kinda loses that urgency. On my third listening I was like why are you guys so goddamn slow, it’ 2 hours in - but if it was in the intended 1 hour drama format it would all happen in real time, so it actually would play twice as fast.

I am the biggest fan of the series however. I’ve heard through a grapevine that some people were disappointed, which is a shame, if this is gonna be all of J&L content I ever get. I just feel like a s15 with scripts written explicitly for the new format would absolutely fix the small awkwardness this box had going.

BESIDES don’t you want to know if Litefoot and Bazemore are sitting on top of a pyramid K-I-S-S-I-N-G

[dystopian-penguin]

Regicide is a two-person job - Chapter one

[Has anyone asked for a mashup between an Royalty AU and a Boarding School AU? No? Well I did one anyway.

While I actually know where I’m going with this (which is rare for writers) I am not so sure if I’m gonna go anywhere with this at all (which is decidedly more common for writers). Either way, here’s an intro/sneak-peak into an idea that has been sitting in my folder for way too long.]

~~

Lena Luthor was not having a good day.

It would have been unnecessarily overdramatic to say it had cracked even her Top 10 Worst Days, but then again, the full repercussions of it hadn’t made themselves fully known yet. Although, she supposed being forced to move halfway across the globe fit the “life-changing repercussions” category, and Lena had no possible method to ever measure all of those.

It didn’t matter. She was going to endure the next two years of her life by making everyone else’s a living hell, as she had always done. Besides, she doubted her antics would make her last very long in one of the most well secured campuses in the world, and when she showed up back home in a couple of months after getting (very politely) expelled it would be her turn to laugh in Lilian’s face. And her stepmother wouldn’t even be able to fully act on her rage without tipping off any investors that the Luthors were many orders of magnitude bellow “less than perfect” as a family.

Lena stretched lazily and put her feet on the table, sparing a passing glance at the picturesque snow-covered mountain ranges passing by thousands of feet bellow her. Deciding that she needed a well-rested mind in order to face the many small battles that were sure to occur throughout the day, she picked up her phone to change to a more sleep-friendly playlist. As she muted her music to scroll through her options, she heard Lilian and Lex’s hushed tones coming from the front of the jet.

“…what my contacts say about her”.

Lilian clicked her tongue at that at that. “I hardly think a girl with that much security actually lives up to these rumors. Maybe they’re trying for a more approachable thought-the-grapevines PR strategy,” she answered.

“She does fit the ditzy dumb blonde type, doesn’t she?” Lex said.

Lilian laughed at that. The type of laughter only Lex was ever really allowed to witness. Lena continued through the motions of picking a sleeping playlist and making herself comfortable enough for a nap, feeling slightly bad for whoever was the focus on their conversation. Her brother and Lilian could be quite vicious about their business partners when they were left alone to gossip, and not exactly fully committed to facts. Not that Lena gave a fuck of course. She had stirred up quite a few nasty rumors about her peers herself when bored.

“That will certainly come in handy for the company in a few years’ time, should it be true,” her bother continued. “Although I do personally believe a rebellious youth would have been even better to our interests than an idiotic leader. Either way, Lena dearest appears to be yet one more problem for the Kryptonian Secret Service now”.

Wait, what?

Lena continued to act as if her earbuds hadn’t been muted and curled on herself as if asleep. It had been bad enough to pull her out of her previous boarding school and haul her ass across the globe overnight and without warning. Had Lilian and Lex really concocted even more unpleasant surprises for her day?

What was she thinking, of course they had.

“Oh, I am sure she will be a problem either way, no matter what the other girl really is like” Lilian dismissed. There was a pause, and Lena heard the clink of a teacup against its plate. “Might I enquire what makes you so keen on believing that particular source this time?”

“For the same reasons you picked this particular academy to exile her to, mother dear”.

Another pause, longer this time, then Lilian answered in a tone of subdued irritation.

“So, he has contacted you as well. I can’t say I’m surprised.”

“Oh, I can. What a stupid individual that was. But no matter, it has been dealt with,” Lex chuckled. “Unless you had any other pending business with him?”

Oh great, thought Lena. She was now once privy to the answers to what is without a doubt yet another “mysterious missing person case” that would make its rounds on Youtube conspiracy videos in a few years. If she didn’t know any better, she would think her brother planned his assassinations with the narrative of those videos already in mind.

And her family wondered why she was half-buzzed all the time.

Lilian must have made a dismissive hand gesture because Lex continued, “Good then, so we can stop these charades and discuss what we actually need to. Mother, I must admit, as much as the rest of this ordeal has been perversely well crafted, I believe sending her directly to that room might be a liability.”

“Oh please. Princess Kara might be a pretty face, but even Lena isn’t that stupid.”

Had Lena’s chair been facing them her ruse would have been over at that moment, as her eyes went wide. Just what on Earth were these two planning now? Lex’s black-market deals and criminal business practices were one thing. Every big corporation out in their happy little capitalistic dystopian society was guilty of that, no matter how much they liked to give flak to the Luthors exclusively. “That’s just good business,” as Lionel used to say.

But toying with Kryptonian royalty was way above even Lex’s repertoire, especially after their last… security breach, so to speak. Had her brother really grown as arrogant as to think he could walk in the same circles as a family thousands of years old and come out unscathed? That level of hubris spoke of Lillian’s intelligence, but her brother…

From a logical standpoint, Lena knew she would have to run into Princess Kara at some point during her (hopefully brief) stay in that blasted Royal Academy. The girl would have to be undoubtedly the hottest shit in that school, being the first in line to an empire and all. Lena also expected to be asked for some sort of report on her for Lex, so it’s not like she had exactly been planning on ignoring her existence entirely, as much as the prissy playboy types exhausted her to no end.

Okay, if Lena was being completely honest with herself, even she was curious about what the princess was really like.

She had met all kinds of celebrities and dignitaries in her short 16 years of life, but she had never met anyone from the only true royalty left in the world. And Lena knew even Lex had met the late King Zor-El only once, and as a child.

It was a silly guilty pleasure, but one that she was certain she wasn’t alone in. There was just something about the Kryptonian royalty in particular that made them seem like truly god-chosen and regal, and the whole world followed them like their own private novela. Rationally, Lena knew that “something” was, simply put, the best motherfucking public relations company in the world. One that not even the Luthors had enough money or sway to buy. She knew because they had tried. But there was still some air of magic and old-world nostalgia surrounding the very small family, and as much as it killed Lena to admit, she was as susceptible to that trap as the general public.

Even the super-rich are raised on Disney princess movies, after all.

Lena was pulled out of her reverie by Lex openly laughing and chastised herself for becoming so easily distracted at the mere mention of Princess Kara.

“Why, mother, that must have been the biggest compliment I’ve ever seen you pay her. I wasn’t referring to Lena’s dalliances, however”.

“Oh? Weren’t you?” Lilian countered with fake interest. There were more noises from the expensive porcelain set before he answered.

“Ok maybe I was a little bit,” he said bashfully, in a tone betraying just a sliver of vulnerability, like a little kid being caught with the cookie jar. A tone that Lena as a child used to think it was just for her. “But regardless,” he continued, “putting Lena in her room is simply too close. Even for whatever torture you have planned for her-“

“And here was I thinking I had made pretty obvious that sharing a room was part of her punishment,” Lilian interrupted.

Oh.

Oh, what the flying fuck?

Lena was being forced into a sharing a bedroom? Oh, that shit was low, so low. Even for Lilian.

“It is simply too close, mother” Lex repeated incisively, before Lena could focus into her seething rage any further. “She is to be there simply to observe and report, nothing else. Engaging directly with Kryptonian royalty is a risk we can’t afford to take, not with Lena of all people at the helm of the matter.”

Well, thanks for the vote of confidence, Lex.

“Well I beg to differ, darling. With the level of security and scrutiny that room is subjected to, there will be absolutely nothing Lena will get past us this time.”

“And therein lies the risk, mother. The KSS simply cannot be allowed this close to Lena. It is bad enough to need a background check to just enter the grounds of the damn school.”

“I admit the KSS might be a bit of an… overkill to our problem-”

“To your problem. I could not care less what Lena gets herself into, and especially not in such an easily bribable school.”

Lena heard Lilian open her mouth as to reply, but what followed were a few seconds of silence.

“Oh, Lex. Don’t tell me this is about you trying to protect her?” she finally said.

There was a muted silence, and Lena tried to keep her heart in a normal rhythm. Lex hadn’t really given much of a fuck about her for a few years now, there was no use getting her hopes up that he had ever been the brother he acted like when they were kids.

“Yes,” he answered more curtly than he usually was with his mother. Lilian must have had a similar expression of utter disbelief as Lena, because Lex felt the need to continue. “There are… details of this that you are not aware of, mother, no matter how much you believe to have bribed that man. But a private jet, of all places, is not the right setting for this discussion, yes?”

There were more clinks that sounded way rougher than their expensive 17th century porcelain should be handled like, and Lena was suddenly reminded of her brother’s secret (and completely pathetic, considering the family’s business) fear of planes. She wished she could say her heart didn’t feel a bit tighter with that knowledge resurfacing in her brain, but Lena was quite pathetic herself. Especially when she came to Lex.

Her brother’s expression must have put an end to the discussion, because Lena waited completely still for a long time but there had been no more words from either of them. But that suited her just the same. Deciding to give her fury towards Lillian proper attention on a later time, she decided to focus on the major bits of information she was able to acquire. Whatever it was this family had been planning to put her through this time, at least now she had an inkling of what it was. And a name. And with that name came a lead, and the very rare possibility of actually preparing herself psychologically to one of Lilian’s sadistic decisions over her life. Lena checked the time on her phone and found out she had roughly three hours for that. Four, if she counted the car ride between the private airstrip and the school.

She would need to google the shit out of Kara Zor-El.

[raywritesthings]

Bird in a Storm 4/17

My Writing Fandom: Arrow Characters: Laurel Lance, Oliver Queen, Tommy Merlyn, John Diggle, Joanna de la Vega, Quentin Lance, Frank Pike, Felicity Smoak Pairing: Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen Summary: The confrontation between the Hood and SWAT on the roof of the Winick Building goes differently, altering the course of Laurel’s career, relationships and efforts to save her city forever, the shockwaves of such an altered path making themselves felt throughout her family and friends. *Can be read on my AO3, link is in bio*

Joanna couldn’t believe it when she first got the news. But the multiple texts from her coworkers at CNRI proved its veracity: Laurel was being forced out.

She headed over to her friend’s apartment and was let in by a surly Tommy Merlyn.

“You wouldn’t be here to talk some sense into her, would you?”

“I’m here to support my friend.” Joanna headed past him into the sitting room where Laurel looked up from her laptop.

“Hey. I guess you heard.”

“Yeah. Are you okay?” She’d meant to come by even earlier to see her after that whole incident with her injury, but they’d had family in visiting still. It didn’t keep her from feeling guilty for not being there when Laurel clearly needed someone.

She shrugged. “It’s not the end of the world.”

“Just your career,” Tommy reminded them all as he passed by on his way back to the bedrooms. The door shut hard behind him.

Joanna hid a wince and took the spot next to Laurel on the couch. “Where have you been looking?”

“Everywhere?” Laurel shifted so she could look at the cover letter her friend was drafting. “It’s a little hard when I can’t talk much about my only place of employment or use them as a reference.”

“I guess your reputation of taking down corporate big shots isn’t too helpful when applying for corporate law.”

“No, it is not.”

Joanna shook her head. This was so unfair and everyone knew it. “You want me to talk to Eric?”

Laurel shook her head. “It won’t do any good. He’s under the thumb of CNRI’s backers.”

“And those backers want you to starve?”

“They want to see the Hood punished. Since they can’t do that, I guess I’m the next best thing.”

“But you’re more than just a connection to the Hood. If you hadn’t been helping me solve my brother’s murder, nobody would even know you’ve worked with him. None of this would’ve happened.” Joanna hung her head.

“I wouldn’t take it back if it meant not exposing the truth about your brother’s death. Or saving the chief. Those were good things.”

Before Joanna could answer, the bedroom door opened again and Tommy stopped in the sitting room. “I’m heading out.”

Laurel set her laptop aside and stood. “Okay. Did you want me to wait on dinner?”

“I’ll eat while I’m out.” He gave a curt nod to Joanna, then turned and headed to the front door.

Laurel wavered on the balls of her feet. “Have a good day,” she called just before the door shut.

“Does he really have to start at the club that early?”

“His hours are what he wants them to be. And right now, he does not want to be here.” Laurel sighed and dropped back down into her spot. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Maybe… maybe you just take the deal. It’d make things a lot easier for you and your relationship,” she pointed out. It was the practical choice. The safe one. But she knew Laurel was rarely interested in safe or practical.

Her friend looked at her. “Jo, you know as well as I do what lying about the Hood would look like to our clients.”

She grimaced. That was a hard point to refute. Laurel was good at what she did precisely because of the trust she garnered in their clients. They really believed she was willing to put everything on the line in the name of justice. The time had come to prove she was.

“There is one thing about CNRI,” Laurel told her. “Thea. Anastasia has agreed to become her temporary sponsor, but when you go back to work, I’d really appreciate it if you could take over. I feel like Thea could learn a lot from you.”

She felt herself smile. “Yes, of course. Actually, on one condition.” Laurel frowned, but Joanna wasn’t worried. “If you ever need anything, you let me know. A reference, food — my mom misses cooking for a group.”

“I don’t think things are that drastic yet,” Laurel was quick to say.

“You never know. It isn’t exactly cheap to live in this town. Except in the Glades.”

“Yeah,” Laurel agreed quietly. “Thank you for the offer, Jo. Really.”

“I’m your friend, Laurel. It’s what we do. I’m gonna miss you when I go back.”

“You’ll do fine without me.”

“I don’t know. I don’t love the odds,” Joanna told her. Laurel pulled her in for a hug.

“Me neither. But we have to keep fighting.”

She nodded into Laurel’s shoulder. Then she pulled back. “So, jobs. You try the DA’s office yet?”

“Yeah, I think Kate Spencer is my least biggest fan at the moment.”

Joanna couldn’t help a snort. “Yeah. That figures.”

Laurel joined her in laughter. Sometimes that was all you could do.

---

It had taken him practically begging for Laurel to finally come see him at the station. She wouldn’t go to his home, and he knew he still wasn’t welcome in hers. That was assuming it was hers for much longer, the way she was going.

“I don’t get it. I really don’t. They don’t wanna let you go. Nobody wants to see you leave CNRI. You’re the best they got!” He paced back and forth in the space between table and wall of the interrogation room he’d commandeered to try and talk some sense into his daughter. “Why would you throw that away?”

“Because if I agreed to what they’re asking, I wouldn’t be the best anymore. I’d just prove to be susceptible to coercion.”

“Coercion to help control a criminal. That’s not coercion, that’s- that’s cooperating with law enforcement!”

“A lot of people in the Glades see that as the same thing,” she stated while looking straight at him.

“Hey now,” he said, raising a warning finger. “I’m not saying this department is perfect, but you gotta have order in a society. This Hood guy, he’s disrupting that.”

“If it was already so broken, maybe it needed disrupted,” she argued.

Quentin could feel his frustration mounting despite his promise to himself not to get angry with her today. The investors at CNRI were pushing the issue because he’d pushed it first — but there wouldn’t be an issue if she’d just see reason!

They were interrupted by a quick rap on the door and the desk sergeant poking his head in.

“Detective, there’s a woman at the desk asking — well, she called you Laurel Lance’s father,” the sergeant amended with a glance Laurel’s way. “I think she might really be looking for you, Miss.”

Laurel took a step forward, but he said, “Send her back here.”

The desk sergeant left and returned a few minutes later with an older woman with dark skin whose face lit up when she saw his daughter.

“Well, Miss Lance!”

“Hello, Mrs. Ross.” Laurel embraced the other woman, and Quentin tried to remember if she’d been a client or family of one.

“I heard through the grapevine you’d been fired. It’s a disgrace, and after everything you’ve done for that office!”

“Thank you,” His daughter said, a small smile gracing her lips.

“You find some other work yet?”

“Not just yet. Most of the law firms in this city aren’t too keen to attach my name to themselves at the moment.”

“I thought so. Well, they’re all a bunch of thieves anyway. So listen, if you need something to keep you afloat, I’ve been asking around. My neighbor’s aunt has this friend, she’s got a flower shop on Wells and 17th Street, and she’s been looking for a helper for a while now. Arthritis getting bad in her fingers.”

“Oh,” said Laurel. She glanced his way, uncertain. “I’ll have to stop by and introduce myself.”

“Mm-hm. It’s honest work, which beats most things. Gotta put the food on the table.” She looked to him as if expecting to share a grin. Quentin’s lips didn’t even twitch.

Mrs. Ross dropped her gaze to her purse, which she rifled around in. “Here, I wrote the address down for you. You show up anytime and just tell her I sent you.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Ross.” Laurel hugged her again. “It means a lot.”

“Well, we all gotta help each other, cause them upstairs never will.” She darted a look in Quentin’s direction and stepped back. “You take care, now.”

“I will. Thank you.”

Mrs. Ross left the room, and the silence in her wake was deafening. Laurel looked down at the paper in her hands, which was really just a way of avoiding looking at him.

“A florist?” He finally asked. “That’s what you’re gonna be now?”

Laurel grimaced. “Has to beat retail, right?”

“Laurel, honey, just be reasonable, alright? No vigilante is worth this much no matter what he’s done.”

“And what am I worth?” Laurel asked. “My word, my integrity. That’s what’s on the line here just as much as his reputation. If your boss asked you to lie about some case just because it would make a few CEOs happy, would you do it, dad?”

If he answered truthfully, it wouldn’t make everything right again. Except: “Lying about a case is a lot different than saying a criminal’s a criminal.”

Laurel shook her head before walking to the door. “The next time you wonder why residents in the Glades don’t trust the cops? Remember that.”

She left without letting him respond. It never helped that the both of them always wanted the last word.

“Detective?”

“What?” He snapped. Kelton just blinked at him, and he sighed. “What was it?”

“The incident report was filed for the, uh, Winick Building use of force.”

He straightened up right away. If he couldn’t save Laurel from her own reckless decisions, he could at least nail the idiot who had hurt her that night. “Well?”

“The rubber bullet came from Officer Daily’s weapon.”

“Daily.” Something had always seemed off about that one. He hadn’t even been one of Quentin’s first picks that night, just volunteered because he was on shift. Probably one of those gun-happy nuts who thought the job was more about shooting people than about keeping the peace. Quentin never minded knocking one of those guys down a peg. “Good work, Kelton.”

He left the interview room and headed to Frank’s office where he rapped on the door. It took a few minutes for his superior to open it.

“Got a minute?”

“I suppose,” Frank Pike sighed. “It’s either now or later with you anyway.”

He showed him in, though Quentin remained standing. “You see the incident report?”

“Well? What’s gonna happen to Daily?”

Frank brought his hands together in a gesture that rarely meant good news. “That’s up to Captain Stein’s decision. From what I understand, there will be no disciplinary action.”

Quentin thought he felt his eyes bug out. “What do you mean, no disciplinary action? The man shot a civilian!”

“It’s a difficult situation, Quentin, one you probably should have thought of before you made your daughter a person of interest to the Taskforce,” Frank pointed out none-too-gently. “Daily believed he was shooting at the vigilante. He has expressed no ill intent towards Laurel or any other civilians since. Laurel didn’t even press charges.”

“And you’re lucky she didn’t since it would’ve exposed us being caught in another lie,” he snarked. “Look, if Stein wants to let the whole thing go, that’s his prerogative. But Daily was under my command that night, so I’ll decide—”

“You won’t go near Daily,” Pike said, standing from his desk. “You won’t speak to him, won’t touch him. It’s a huge conflict of interest, Quentin, one that could see you in front of an ethics committee if Stein decided to pursue the matter.”

Quentin stood there a minute, hardly daring to believe it. Far from threatening him, Frank was trying to protect him, and from his own superior. But he was also protecting an officer who had demonstrated gross misconduct. “You know this isn’t right, though.”

“I know what my orders are. I’m telling you what yours are now. Are we understood?”

Quentin looked down, his jaw working for a moment or so. “Sure.” Then he left the office.

Back at his desk, he checked the incident report. Nowhere in it did it actually confirm that Laurel had been struck by Daily’s bullet; it simply made note that Daily’s gun had been returned with one bullet missing. The official record would never hold him accountable and, apparently, neither would any of them.

Why nobody trusted the cops indeed.

---

It had been a long evening of arguing with the contractors yet again. Tommy had been hoping to be done with that long ago, but thanks to the fire last month, they were still in the building process. It didn’t help matters that Oliver tended to disappear as soon as he turned his back for more than a few minutes. He was just glad to be heading home for one night.

Tommy entered the apartment, frowning as he took in the stripped-down sight of it.

“Laurel?”

“Hey.” She came in from the bedroom, a notepad in one hand and a box under her other arm. It looked to have some of her court suits folded up inside.

“What’s going on?”

“I started an account to sell some extra things for rent this month. Since CNRI is a nonprofit that struggles to stay open as it is, they don’t exactly have severance packages.”

“You’re auctioning off your belongings,” he stated flatly.

“They’re clothes, Tommy, not precious heirlooms.”

“And what about next month’s rent? What’ll you have to give up, then?” Even if Laurel let him cover all of it, they’d barely make it along with food and other expenses. He was too proud to ask Oliver for a raise, especially so soon, and it shouldn’t be necessary. None of this was necessary, but Laurel was stubborn enough to go ahead with it anyway.

She seemed to sense his irritation, for it was apologetic eyes she turned on him. “Next month I’m hoping to be out of here. The landlord already said he’s happy to waive the fee for breaking the lease. I think he’ll be glad to have less attacks.” When he didn’t even crack a smile, Laurel started playing with the hem of her sweater. “I’m taking a job at a flower shop for now. So we’ll have to start looking for something in a cheaper neighborhood.”

A flower shop. That was the next grand step in this plan of hers.

He couldn’t believe this. All this time, he’d seen Laurel as something of an unattainable ideal, with some faults perhaps, but nothing in comparison to his own. While he’d been drinking and sleeping through life, she had followed a path to success. And all of that she was willing to give up for the sake of some killer who had decided to make her a centerpiece for his crazed vendetta on the city. He couldn’t just stand by and watch that happen.

Tommy had been trying to make himself better for her, but it seemed clear to him now that the problems in this relationship weren’t just with him.

“Yeah,” he said at last. “Yeah, we will. But separately.”

“What do you mean?”

He gathered a breath. “I thought I wanted this. You. But I was wrong.”

He walked back towards the bedroom. Laurel set her box down and followed him, her eyes widening as she found him pulling clothes out of the drawer — the drawer he had fought tooth and nail to get only a month ago.

“Tommy, talk to me.”

“Why should I? You haven’t been talking to me. Not about meeting up with the Hood, not about the decisions you’re making with your career, the apartment.”

“My career is my choice,” she argued, yet her shoulders slumped as she added, “But I shouldn’t have lied to you about meeting the Hood. I know that, Tommy. And we can still make this work—”

“Just answer me this,” he said, turning back to her as he shut the drawer. “Would you give up everything you’re giving up right now for me?”

Laurel’s head gave a minute shake. “Why would I need to?”

“Exactly. You wouldn’t, because I would never ask you to. But you’re giving it up for him.”

She frowned. “Tommy, this is about what’s best for the city. Not the Hood.”

“It’s about him for me, Laurel,” he stated. “I’m not stupid. You’re committed to him in a way you’re just not to me. I don’t know why, or what this lunatic has that keeps you so loyal to him.”

“He’s—”

Tommy held up a hand. “I don’t really care anymore. I can’t keep caring when you’re ignoring what’s best for you to keep him going. I’m done, Laurel.”

“Tommy, please.” She followed him back out to the front room. “I need you.”

“If you needed me, you wouldn’t have gone to him in the first place.”

Tommy shut the door behind him. He squeezed his eyes shut to hold back the stinging and the tears, and he walked forward to the elevator. Laurel’s crying grew quieter in his ears the further he got away, but not his mind.

He paused in the elevator, his eyes on the apartment door. Then his phone buzzed in his pocket with a news alert.

Hood attacks Queen family matriarch at QC

Tommy’s eyes narrowed, and he hit the close door button. The Hood was an enemy to the people he cared about, whether they could see it for themselves or not.

---

John worked frantically to restart Oliver’s heart. He didn’t know what had gone wrong, but the machine kept up its flat, dead tone.

At least until Felicity Smoak fixed the wires. It was with relief that he realized there was actually nothing wrong with Oliver. His friend was just resting and recovering.

He and Felicity talked while they waited for Oliver to wake up. John could tell she was searching for some kind of reason to stay and accept what was happening, what she now knew. He did his best to explain his own rationale for helping a vigilante.

But at an extremely late hour, the door upstairs opened, revealing a miserable sight.

John stood up straight. “Laurel? Something wrong?”

“Um, hi, John.” The woman’s eyes were red-rimmed, and her voice came out quiet and a little hoarse. She must have been crying a while.

But when her eyes widened upon spotting Oliver on the table, it was any guess as to the reason. “Oliver. Is he okay? What happened?”

Laurel rushed down to their friend’s side, her hand reaching to take his where it hung limply at his side.

“He took a bullet. Should be okay with time,” John told her.

“It was his mother,” Felicity added.

Laurel looked up sharply. “Mrs. Queen?”

John nodded. “We got some intel that she might know something about his father’s list. He tried asking her about it as himself, but she wouldn’t answer. So then he gave it a try as the Hood.”

“And Mrs. Queen gave a try at putting the Hood down,” Felicity remarked.

“She must’ve panicked. If she’d had any idea,” Laurel said. John just stayed quiet. He knew Laurel didn’t have quite as large a blind spot for the Queen matriarch as Oliver did, but she had grown up knowing the woman. It would likely take some time for her to adjust to the idea that Moira Queen wasn’t all she pretended to be.

Laurel wiped her eyes on her sleeve and turned to Felicity. “Um, sorry. I’m Laurel.”

“I know. I saw you on the news a few weeks ago,” Felicity said. “I’m Felicity. I work at Queen Consolidated, which apparently includes doing odd jobs for vigilantes.” She considered Laurel for a moment. “So you really have known who he is. I was wondering.”

“Just for the last month,” Laurel said.

“Did you need something when you came down here, Laurel?” John asked.

“Oh. Yeah, I was hoping to have a look through Ollie’s list. But it can wait.” She returned her gaze to the man’s prone form.

It was another hour before Oliver stirred. His eyes opened and his hand clenched around Laurel’s. John watched her bite back a gasp.

“Ollie, it’s okay. You’re safe.”

“Laurel?” Oliver’s eyes opened and he looked around at the three of them. His grip eased, and then he was pushing himself up to sitting with one arm.

“Easy there. Try not to aggravate your shoulder,” John advised. “You’ve been out most of the night.”

“What happened?”

“Uh, well, I got you to your secret basement like you asked, John patched you up, I hacked the SCPD database to have them dispose of your DNA sample collected at the crime scene, and then Laurel showed up,” Felicity summarized in one breath.

Oliver turned back to Laurel. “Are you okay?”

She looked ready to laugh in disbelief. “I’m fine. You’re the one with a shoulder wound worse than mine was. How are you going to hide this from your family?”

“I’ll manage.”

“Did you want to see the list now, Laurel?” John asked.

Laurel nodded and stepped back from Oliver’s table. “Yeah, thanks.”

“Why do you need the list?” Oliver asked, frowning as she walked away.

“I wanted to make sure which landlords are on it and which aren’t.” She kept her eyes on the pages she was scanning as she continued, “I’m, um, probably moving to the Glades.”

“What?” Oliver slid off the table and winced as the impact reached his shoulder, but he shook it off. “Laurel, the Glades aren’t safe.”

“Yes, but they’re what I can afford. The only work I’ve found is at a florist’s shop, and if I can walk there instead of using public transit, that’ll save me money, too.”

“That the shop on Wells and 17th?” John asked. He’d noticed the help wanted sign in its window a few times as he’d passed by.

“Uh-huh.”

“Laurel, you’re not a florist,” Oliver said. “You’re a lawyer.”

“Well, there aren’t any law offices that want me. Wish I’d known that before I paid all that money to get the degree,” she remarked. John could see the effort she was going through to keep things light. He still didn’t know what had had her so upset when she arrived. “Okay, so none of the Nickel properties are worth looking into…”

Oliver shook his head. “Those offices will reconsider with time. Look, if you’re that tight for money, I’ll just raise Tommy’s salary so you have more time to look or you can work here with him—”

“Tommy broke up with me,” Laurel stated bluntly, at last looking up from the list. Her mouth pulled down in a terribly sad frown. 

Oliver froze. “He left you?”

“He packed his things and walked out tonight.”

“Because of everything that’s happening.” Oliver looked down for a long moment. “I’ll tell him the truth.”

John’s eyes widened, though before he could speak up Laurel was already replying with common sense.

“No, you can’t. He hates the Hood worse than ever, Ollie. There’s no telling how he’d react.” She heaved a sigh. “And it wouldn’t fix the rest of the problems we’ve had. I gave a relationship with Tommy a shot because I was tired of constantly having to turn him down. And I liked it, but — it’s over now. He can’t agree with my choices, and I can’t force him to.”

There was a heavy silence after those words. John noticed Felicity was busying herself by the table with the newer computers she’d set up, and he had a feeling the woman was desperate to be anywhere but here.

“I can still get you a job. Maybe not at the club, but Queen Consolidated. I’m sure we could find something for you,” Oliver offered.

“After the Hood attacked their CEO?”

John looked down. He could see where this was going, and it didn’t lead to any of Laurel’s problems having an easy fix. That was going to be partly on him since he’d been behind the push to send the Hood after Mrs. Queen, and all for no new information, as it was turning out.

“Oliver, if you want people to believe your cover for not being the Hood, for not even liking him, you can’t have anything to do with me.”

Oliver’s face took on a look of alarm as he started towards her. “Laurel—”

She set the list down and took a step back. “Your mother’s just been attacked by a man you’ve been claiming is insane. If I continue believing in the Hood — which I will, since I know you never meant to hurt your own mother — it would be impossible for you to keep being my friend. We can’t have contact, at least not in public.”

Words were failing Oliver. Combined with his shoulder wound, the man looked absolutely broken. He and the rest of them could only watch as Laurel made her way to the stairs.

“I’m sorry. It was nice meeting you,” she added to Felicity. For one moment, she stared at Oliver with eyes that practically ached. Then she looked down and climbed the staircase, the door closing with finality behind her.

“Well,” Felicity said eventually. “I think I’ll be heading home myself. I’ve got an early morning.” She reached for her coat and started for the door.

“Felicity,” Oliver said quietly. The woman paused. “Thank you for everything you did tonight. I understand it was a lot to bring you in on so quickly.”

“Yeah.” She fiddled with her keys. “Not that I’m not grateful you felt you could finally trust me with the truth about all this. But just, no offense, from where I’m standing, being associated with you seems to destroy a person’s life.”

Oliver stayed silent, not even attempting to argue against that assessment.

“So I’m not going to tell the police about you, and I will work with you to find Walter. But that’s it, and after that we’re done.”

Oliver gave a slow nod. “That’s fine.”

“Okay. Well, goodnight. I’m glad you didn’t die.” She, too, headed up the stairs and at of the foundry.

A very heavy, very uncomfortable silence fell once it was just the two of them. John knew it was up to him to try and bridge it. “Oliver, I’m sorry things worked out like this.”

“What is this like, Diggle?” Oliver asked. “A disaster? Because that’s how it seems to me.”

“You couldn’t have known Tommy was going to call things quits. And that relationship needed to run its course without you anyway.”

“But it’s not without me, John.” Oliver’s look was absolutely guilt-stricken. “Tommy was jealous of the Hood. And with him gone, and her and Lance not speaking, and now this, she’s totally on her own. I did that.”

“A lot of that was Laurel’s choices, too,” he pointed out quietly.

“I forced her into them. I should have realized the danger I was putting her in. The risks. Now it’s too late. But I’m not taking them with anyone else.” Oliver pulled on a sweatshirt, then took two steps towards John, getting right into his space.

“My mother — any of my loved ones, are off limits. For good this time.”

He’d known it was coming, and there was little he could say without them coming to blows over it. And without any more information about this Undertaking, he had no real leverage.

Oliver turned and stormed from the base. John sighed, then got to work finishing cleaning up.

To think things had somehow only gotten worse even after Oliver had been shot.

[lachlann-macnab]

At Tiana’s Place Grand Opening

Alternative title: “Totally not a date, we have no idea why anyone would think that” and “Just a couple of dudes being guys”

Dated: November 12- 15, 2020

Lachlann MacNab Lachlann wasn't even sure if he was even welcomed at Tiana's Place after Chippamunka's fiasco and actually wondered if there'd be a moment in which she'd catch a glance of him and then kick his ass out of the place while screaming. That scenario would be completely fair, really, but Lachlann would rather not get kicked around while his side still hurt like a bitch and felt still way too tired  to deal with that too, like, seeing Mister Mac T after dissapearing on him for more than a couple of days was nerve-wrecking enough (and while Lachlann could argue that nothing about that had been something he had any kind of control over, well, he'd rather not tempt fate and have an angry Scott talking his ear off about not doing stupid things). In that moment the only thing that Lachlann wasn't nervous about was the prospect of tasting some of Tiana's food and getting some extras to send Tito and Greg's way later, since that scenario didn't involve someone giving him angry or dissapointed looks. He was slowly passing by the door, just waiting, before he finally spotted the other and gave him a little "hey, Mister Mac T"

Seamus MacTunnag Seamus was...very hesitant to appear at the opening of Tiana's Place but, ultimately, his wanting to show his face and offer his support for the restaurant. Though he'd not personally met her, he thought Tiana had spunk, and he'd heard wonderful things about her from most everyone in town, social media and otherwise. Still, there was still a touch of anxiety behind the appearance, though he did his best to swallow it down and put on a smile. He hadn't heard from Lachlann but that was fine. Despite what had happened shortly before the previous weekend, Seamus had been assured he was still alive thanks to social media (and Louie). It was only mildly shocking when he turned and caught sight of the very man in question, slinking around like a dog with his tail tucked between his legs, offering a nervous little wave and a "hey, Mister MacT," like he hadn't just gone radio silent for days. Seamus just raised a brow, eyes sweeping across to Lachlann's side, noting the thick bandaging beneath the fabric, and said: "Lachlann. Feelin' better, I presume?"

Lachlann MacNab 'Lachlann', he said. And, oh, the former pilot could tell, just with that one word, that the other wasn't happy -and, again, he couldn't blame him a bit. "I feel like sleeping for three more days, actually" he said, trying to joke his way out of any potential trouble as he, tentatively, got a step closer to the other "but I couldn't possibly refuse the oportunity to get some good food or- well, you know" 'To see you again' were words left unspoken, but very much there. "How about you?

Seamus MacTunnag Well, now that that little snitt was out of the way, Seamus let his shoulders fall into a more relaxed position, still eyeing the other man as he edge closer, if ever so slightly. The Scotsman snorted at the joke, which probably wasn't really a joke if the look around his eyes was any indication, and nodded slightly. "Aye, I can imagine, considerin' 'm sure ye pulled yer stitches already." He paused, briefly, to smile at someone walking by whom he recognized, another businessman who was intent on being seen for the opening. When he turned back, there was an air of "kicked puppy dog" hanging around the younger man, and Seamus rolled his eyes. "Ie yer expectin' me tah chew ye out, yer shite outta luck. I ain't yer keeper. Ye disappeared, which I cannae say 'm pleased as punch about, but yer nah dead, so that's somethin'."

Lachlann MacNab As Seamus' shoulders relaxed, so did Lachlann; It just seemed easier to approach the other when there wasn't an imaginary barrier between them (just a fancy-dressed man, but he quickly passed them by so it wasn't a big deal). "Yeah" he admitted just because there was no use in denying something like that (the man had more experience with that kind of things and would realize sooner than later, anyways) "but I'm totally getting those fixed as soon as the hospital isn't full and the doctors aren't exhausted" Swynlakers recovered from trauma considerably faster than normal people, so Lachlann figured it wouldn't take long for things to get back to kind-of-normal. "And I don't mean to get all "it's complicated" on you, so I guess we're even, right?" he joked once more, giving the other a soft pat on the shoulder " 'sides, I'm sure Louie already told you 'bout the chaos. It just...seemed like the right thing to do"

Seamus MacTunnag The corner of his mouth quirked up at the admission, glad he wasn't trying to wave it off. "Mm, ye need someone tah hold yer 'and while they fix 'em," he quipped, a cheeky grin passing over his face. He had heard from Louie, who had done equally as stupid things while the town went to shite, that Lachlann had been saving a man's life. A man who, Seamus had heard through the grapevine, needed his medical bills paid off. So guess what had happened. "Sure, ye didna mean to. But ye did." Seamus shrugged. "An' it was. I did somethin' similar when we had zombies. Drove around on me motorcycle. It was jus' stupid tah do with yer side th' way it was. But...I get it."

Lachlann MacNab Oh, how had Lachlann missed the man -just a couple of minutes and he was laughing once more and things just seemed to be way, way easier to deal with. "My what noble offer, Mister Mac T" he joked back, letting his palm rest on the other's shoulder for a second before moving it to his upper arm "I'll keep it mind" He'd made the previous pain more bearable, so it wasn't just a joke. "...zombies" he echoed with a confused look "that sounds like...something. A little bit better than people attacking others and people burning buildings, I guess" At least zombies weren't people. " 's Donnie ok? I imagine he was worried out of him mind 'bout Louie playing the hero, even if he looked cool while doing so"

Seamus MacTunnag "Aye?" The smile that cracked across his face was both a flash mischievous and that normal cheek. "Good." Nodding, Seamus shrugged again, confirming. "Zombies, yes. And it...was, to a degree, but it was...a lot. Running 'em over was fun though." Placing a hand at the small of Lachlann's back, Seamus steered them around another few people as they entered the entrance of the establishment, considering what the other man had asked of him. "Far as I know, yes. 'M sure he was worried. I know I was. An' I hope he chews his arse out, but I wasna gonna stop 'im."

Lachlann MacNab Lachlann was very, very aware that laughing about running anything over while being an Uber driver was the biggest possible faux pas -but he couldn't help but chuckle anyways at the mere idea of Mister Mac T enjoying himself in such a way. Granted, he was also happy about the physical contact, even leaning a little into the other as he guided him around. " 's a very Donnie thing to do- worrying about 'em, I mean" and he wasn't complaining about it, just pointing it out. Saying the man loved his nephews was like pointing out that water was wet, it was just... natural "and a very Louie thing to do to do whatever he wants anyways" He paused for a second, suddenly feeling as if he was being watched, then shrugging that feeling off. "He kind of takes after you" he added, fondly, almost in a whisper

Seamus MacTunnag It was nice to hear the other man laugh, even if it wasn't the, uh, best topic to laugh about. It was just good. Good to hear and good to cause. When Lachlann tilted into the arm that was curved at his back and waist, Seamus his the smile that came with that, too. A bark of laughter escaped him at the thought of Louie doing what he wanted (because it was true) and Donald being a worry wart over things he couldn't necessarily control. It was the Mallard way and the MacTunnag creed, as it were. "Which one? The worry wart or th' reckless one?"

Lachlann MacNab That was a valid question, but the answer was so very, very simple. "Both" he said, not even stopping to think it over "Louie trying to save people while driving a moped is like a lighter version of you running zombies over" (And it was. and actually quite funny to think about) "And Donnie worrying about things that will be just fine" he added, just stopping on his tracks to carefully avoid bumping into someone, then getting a little bit closer to the other "of...what is kind of certain, I guess? I mean, the boys will cause some trouble for a while but will always come back and won't love him any less even if he was being a big worrywart" 'Just like me, I guess' "Unrelated, but...do you fancy southern food? I've heard wonderful things about Tiana's cooking

Seamus MacTunnag Well that wasn't entirely accurate at all. "Both, huh?" Seamus scratched the side of his neck, behind his ear, with his free hand, the other one hooked somewhere near the closest loop on Lachlann's pants, thumb toying with the material as they waited for someone else to pass them by. "Fast answer. Ye sound pretty confident, Lachie," he said, a touch teasing, but let it be. It was unflinchingly true. And Seamus hadn't really thought about it, how much parts of himself could be reflected in his nephews, until someone else mentioned it. Still, something certain was that Seamus couldn't help worrying, and he said as much, quietly, as they maneuvered through the crowd. The other question was a distraction, and a welcome one, and Seamus answered it easily. "Absolutely. Someone I was very close to, before everythin', used tah cook it often. If 's anythin'  like th' food from her hometown, 'm sure it'll be good." It also helped he had heard good things about Tiana herself.

Lachlann MacNab How long had it been since Lachlann had enjoyed himself that much? The recent events had made the days feel like a blur and- well, there hadn't been much to feel good about, anyways. Things without the other just seemed boring and thinking about it made Lachlann's head spin (because it seemed so silly, right? It had only been a couple of months since he'd arrived to Swynlake so saying something sentimental like "he makes my days worthwhile" seemed way too out there -true is it all might be-) "I'm glad to hear that" he said with a nod "I'm sure that if anyone can capture the magic of that kind of cuisine, it's Tiana" That was another thing that seemed so very natural -her posts were always so enthusiastic about that, she had a passion for what she did and he knew that would show on her food. "I just hope she isn't mad at me. But maybe if we have a lot of food she'll forgive me, right?"

Seamus MacTunnag There was a lot about the past few days that Seamus had realized had been...off, and he had just now recognized that it was because Lachlann had shown up, however many months ago that it was now, and hadn't left. Save for the times he was away crashing through town as an Uber driver and crashing at the apartment that needed to be condemned in Benbow, he was at the house in Besydus. It had been strange not to have the younger man crashing through the front door with some story or another about his adventures in town, the people he's met, the "friends" he may or may not have made. It had become something very much like a routine, a constant, and it was weird when it wasn't around. More than weird, in fact, though Seamus had no idea how to address it. "'M sure she can though that's nah what 'm interested in." Seamus turned to look at him from the corner of his eye. "What'd ye do?"

Lachlann MacNab "Well..." he said after thinking about it for a second and moving his arm so he could link it to the other's, even if the movement was kind of awkward at first thanks to the placement of the other's hand (but they got comfortable after a second and walking around that way seemed way more practical) "Where to begin...?" And suddenly, he realized that he didn't need to give a long talk about it. "Remember the other day when I told you about spending the day with a family? The Polleys?" he'd told him about that fiasco, before (that very same night, actually, since he'd arrived at Besydus with a head full of ketchup and Maeve had been thrilled about him smelling of bacon) "About the baby throwing a piece of bread then some teens starting a food fight in which I valiantly fought for the family's honour? Yeah, it was that. Tiana was the waitress" How curious that he didn't have to elaborate even more. To know the other would understand. "Maybe I can make it up to her by buying a lot of food -some for us, some for the boys, some for Tito and Greg"

Seamus MacTunnag Shifting around a bit so Lachlann could link their arms without straining his shoulder, or Seamus's own, for that matter, the Scotsman hummed in interest. "Aye, I remember. Took ye twenty minutes tah get th' bloody catsup outta yer hair." But, as he listened, Seamus inwardly cringed. That poor woman. "She deserves tah have 'er own place after dealin' with that." A small laugh escaped him and he shrugged, fingers of the hand Lachlann had looped his arm through into the edge of the other man's pants pocket. "Or ye could just apologize, though I figure Mr. Eeyore could do with food that ain't from th' hospital." While he had never met Tito, he seemed like a decent sort, enough to join Lachlann on his quest to make sure Greg survived. "Maybe th' beignets?"

Lachlann MacNab "It takes a special kind of teenage rebellion to start a food fight because of a literal toddler. I only joined in because of that, like...who attacks a family with a baby!?" and, sure, his actions hadn't made things any easier for Tiana and he was sorry for being part of what finally made her snap, but he wouldn't apologize for doing what he thought was the best thing for the Polleys "But...yeah, I guess-" His hand moved, searching for the other's, partly because he needed something to ground himself with and because it seemed a better option that having the man grab him by the pants (not that he'd ever complain or that he, of all people, knew or cared about what was socially acceptable, but, hey) "An apology 's good but it won't...change what happened, I guess? I think actions would be better than words" (which was a very relevant thought during that moment, in many ways) "And I'll have to be extra careful 'bout that, yerp! Tito says Greg 's vegan so we'll have to ask about the ingredients!" He paused for a second. "You remember the beignets!" he said, amazed. They'd seen them at Al's Potluck and had been such a little thing, mentioned in passing and yet...!

Seamus MacTunnag "Teenagers," Seamus responded, voice dry, as he continued listening to the younger man defend his supposed defense of the Polley family who, quite frankly, should not have been where they were at that place and time if it had meant poor Tiana dealing with it as she had. Still, the mental image of teenagers starting a food fight because of a baby was a funny one. And, subtle as Lachlann was not, Seamus couldn't help but find it amusing that he’d joined in a food fight purely because he'd thought it was the thing to do. Also, that the man was now trying to wiggle his hand from his pocket. The Scotsman obliged with a huff, sliding their fingers together with an ease that bellied the actual action itself. "Both, then. An' apology of ye see 'er an' buyin' the food, too. That's why yer here, anyway, ain't it?" It certainly wasn't because Seamus might have shown up or, at least, that was the thought anyway. The amazement that crossed over Lachlann's face at Seamus's memory made him laugh outright, loud and long, and shake his head. "D'ye think I canna remember things, Lachie? 'M nae that feeble minded yet. But, course I did. They were good, fer one, and fer another they're all over social media." Apparently they were one of the best desserts in town.

Lachlann MacNab "Teenagers" Lachlann replied with a nod and a somehow-defeated expression. Thinking about it wouldn't do any difference now to them, the Polleys or Tiana, so he just accepted what had happened and his part on that whole fiasco. Besides, he had more important things to worry about, like the other's laugh. "Ah" he said, suddenly feeling specially stupid for forgetting about the existence of social media (of course! Those posts were nice reminders too!) "I didn't say that or, like, meant to imply it. It was, just, nice that you remembered" He tried to cough the blush away. "And the food's good and I'd like to, like, ask for forgiveness but there's other reasons too-" he shrugged just one shoulder "--you know?"

Seamus MacTunnag Seamus snorted at the other man's defeated expression, the somber tone with which he foretold the destruction wrought by teenagers. It was a sincere understatement. But it was good to see that Lachlann was trying to make ammends for the part he had played in the fiasco. Tweaking the other's hand with his own, Seamus raised a brow at not only the cough, but the red tinge that colored his face and neck, as well. "Saw that," he teased, before smiling slightly, "but, aye, I do. 'M sure she'll appreciate it."

Lachlann MacNab Swynlakers could be scary. Normal teens were scary. Ergo, Swynlake teens... "I think the real surprise 's that you decided to come, Mister Mac T" he said, forgetting about the blush  for a second "'s it because you heard The Robinsons were coming too? Or because of the Tritons? Or are you secretly a Jambalaya afficionado?" (Which was a funny mental image) "I heard Mrs. Robinson is playing some songs!" he added, taking a couple of steps to the right in order to now move away from the bar, knowing the thing might be a complicated topic for the other "you think it would be a faux pas if I were to dance? Like, I mean, my dancing 's almost criminal but I think it'd be fun" Hey, if he was making a fool of himself he might as well go all out, right?

Seamus MacTunnag "An' why wouldn't I? Figure, 've survived all o' this shite, a restaurant openin' couldna be too bad for me health." He was only mostly kidding, too. There had been far too many things trying to kill him over the years; he'd begun to grow tired of hiding from them, from running. "Heard all th' food's good, nah just the Jambalaya. However, I wouldna say no tah a good helpin' of it." They had somehow made their easy through the crowd by now, meandering through the building as they went. Seamus took the place in with a critical, but friendly, eye. The place looked good, to say the least. He tuned back into the conversation somewhere around his cataloging of their location (the bar, regrettably, though he noted the subtle change in their course and was grateful for it) and nodded his head. "'S prob'ly true, then. I doubt she'd miss this." He doubted Cornelius would, either, particularly if his wife was here. When dancing was brought up, however, Seamus brightened up a bit. He hadn't danced seriously in years but he was still fairly good at it, if he had to say so, but he still glanced the other man over, a smirk on his face. "D'ye 'ave two left feet, MacNab? Or are ye actually worried 'bout yer side?" Or both, which was a distinct possibility, but doubtful.

Lachlann MacNab Well, that was an unexpected reaction. Lachlann had expected for the other to chuckle at the idea of him dancing but he seemed to be legit thrilled by the concept. "A little bit of both" he admitted, now stopping for a second to take a look at the big painting that decorated the place (and that seemed familiar, somehow) "I think it'd be dangerous for the furniture and my side if I were to try and dance. 'sides, the music will probably be jazzy or, like, swing or neo-swing, right?" (And as much of a Big Bad Voodoo Daddy fan he was, he'd rather not cause extra trouble) "I'd probably step on you anyways" the (former) pilot added, bumping the other's hips with the least damaged of his and grabbed the other's hand a little bit tighter (in case he lost his balance).

Seamus MacTunnag Pausing as Lachlann did, Seamus tilted his head to look at the (weirdly familiar?) mural as well, wondering where he'd seen it before. "Yer nae gonna run intah anythin'...well, ye shouldna," he clarified, but nodded his head in agreement. "Thas' what Franny does, aye." And, suddenly, he missed the swing dancing when he was younger, probably around Lachlann's own age, when he'd tossed his younger sister up into the air and heard her laugh aloud. While they certainly wouldn't be doing anything fancy, Seamus figured at least one dance wouldn't hurt. Just the one. "Who said ye couldna? 'S how I taught Adelaide. Yer a mite bit heavier but I think we could make it work," he teased, nudging back. "'Course 's up tae you. Slow 's fine with me, too."

Lachlann MacNab "It may come as a surprise, Mister Mac T, but I have some self-awareness" (just a little, really, but it was way better than nothing at all) "and being as accident prone as I am...that can only end it in tragedy for you and your shoes" And yet, here he was, moving a little from side to side as he held the other's hand, not really minding the lounge-style music in the background at all and instead just moving a little for the sake of it. "And I wouldn't want to ruin your squeaky clean image by doing something silly in front of everyone" (Yup, the squeaky clean part was a joke)

Seamus MacTunnag "Do ye, now?" The grin that crossed his face, then, was bordering on impish, but no one else would ever really see it. "I'd've never guessed ye were accident prone, Lachlann MacNab. Not after how we met." No, he was never going to let him forget that. Even with his words, though, Lachlann was swaying a bit from side-to-side, almost in time with the music but not quite, so Seamus let him, sliding a leg back a bit so he didn't take a tumble if he over corrected. The bark of laughter that escaped when he caught the joke was surprised but, really, he didn't know why he was. He was far from squeaky clean and he shook is head, amused by the insinuation.

Lachlann MacNab "Unbelievable, I know" Lachlann joked back (because at this point there was no use in pretending to be offended or that the other wasn't absolutely right) "but it happens" Besides, his attention was now on the other's movements and laugh; He'd been honest with the 'I can't dance' comment, so even something as easy as swaying implied some effort and concentration he didn't quite have, partly because of his wounds and partly because of his...general self. So he moved his free arm to surround the other's side and use his as a guide, even if the rythm wasn't a slow-dancing one (or anyone else was dancing, but he was ready to ignore the rest of the world for a couple of minutes). " 's this like...one two three, onetwo three? or, like, one. twothree, onetwo. three?"

Seamus MacTunnag "Absolutely unbelievable, mmhmm," he agreed, leaning into the joke for a moment more before he caught Lachlann looking at him and tilted his head, arching a brow in silent question. Lachlann moved his free arm around his waist and, he thought, he had his answer. They continued swaying but now Lachlann was asking questions, too, and...really he must have been desperately hopeless at it all if he was asking about a simple three-step. "'S more one two, three," he said, demonstrating with the side-step left, right, and a small backyard rock on his right heel. "Fer swing anwyay. Yer left foot would rock back, since it'd be th' opposite. But fer a slow dance 's nothin' that complicated." As if to prove his point, Seamus nudged Lachlann around to face him using the arm he'd had slipped around his waist and the one he still clutched as a guide. "Jus' following along 's really all it is. Don' gotta worry about yer feet. Jus' follow."

Lachlann MacNab Lachlann was desperately hopeless and the other's words weren't all that easy to follow anyways, so that was a bizarre situation all around (but at least it was a funny one). "One two. Three" he mumbled, trying to mirror the other's movements and failing by a couple of beats before he tried again -and again and failed again -and again. They were lucky that as silly as the whole thing was, it was also actually quite entertaining to be part of; They were quite literally 'dancing' (though the mileage might vary about the dancing part)  to their own rythm and while Lachlann couldn't tell if the other was as focused as he was... well, at least he seemed to be enjoying himself. 'Jus' follow' the other said. "To the end of the world" the (former) pilot replied "...but dancing wasn't in the contract, Mister Mac T"

Seamus MacTunnag So engrossed was he in simultaneously making sure Lachlann didn't pitch over sideways and that they didn't run into any other people milling around, Seamus almost didn't hear what he said. Almost. Suddenly, he was the one making a misstep, grip tightening on Lachlann's good hip and hand to keep them both upright. He could feel the surprise cross his face, too, and he had no idea what to do about it. "...s'pose it wasna. Ye don' mind alterin' th' contract a mite, do ye? 'Cause yer gonna learn, actually learn. Jus' so ye know what t'expect, an' all."

Lachlann MacNab The sudden misstep almost made Lachlann trip, but he (almost miraculously) managed to regain his footing before he stared at the other, now a little bit closer and even more confused than he already was. Had he said something wrong? "I- buh" he tried to say, then tried again "that sounds like a plan, yerp, and I guess learning something new won't hurt" He didn't know what he'd even needed to learn to dance for, or if that was a relevant talent to have, but whatever the other offered, he'd gladly take. "But, are you ok? Or was that part of the dance? Should we take a seat, Mister Mac T?" (A silly offer from someone that wasn't really planning to let go just yet)

Seamus MacTunnag The confused look that passed over Lachlann's face after Seamus's misstep and recovery and Lachlann's own (miraculous) recovery was remarkably endearing. As was the apparent concern. "Old dogs, new tricks, Lachie, old dogs an' new tricks," Seamus hummed, stepping back and out and giving a twist ofis wrist to (slowly) spin the other in a small circle. When he came back to center, Seamus slid his arm around Lachlann's waist again and just...idled with a small grin on his face. "'m fine. Jus' tripped. But if ye need tah sit we can find a table 'fore everyone else takes 'em."

Lachlann MacNab "You sure? I-" Lachlann began, going so far as letting go from the other's waist with the intention to pat his (good) shoulder to make sure- -but the next thing he knew was that he was being guided into a little spin he couldn't help but whisper a happy "weeee" at. But soon enough he was back to facing the other, returning his grin with a smile of his own as he rested his palm on the older man's shoulder and not doing much for a second save for just watching him. "Yeah, maybe we should stop now" he whispered, unaware that they had already done so.

Seamus MacTunnag "We already 'ave," Seamus said, voice pitched lower so it didn't carry, didn't interrupt anyone else around them (whoever was close enough anyway). There was a slight smile that softened the edges of Seamus's mouth, crinkled the edges of his eyes, caused by the little noise he'd heard the other man make. They stared at one another for a moment before someone cleared their throat behind him and Seamus snapped back to reality. He stepped to the side, an arm still resting around Lachlann's waist, and nodded his head as a man and woman passed. "Come on," he said, using the hand he had curled around Lachlann's hip to nudge him toward the tables. "Find a seat."

Lachlann MacNab The realization of having stopped before and his words being silly because of it didn't really bother Lachlann, nor did the other's words -because both of those things seemed completely irrelevant at the moment. "I-" he whispered still, with the intention of pointing out how much he'd missed the other during the days that were still much of a blur on his mind (because of the fever and how the incident with Greg had shaken him way more than he cared to admit and the fact that without him around things just seemed senseless and so very forgettable). And suddenly he was leaning a little closer to the other's face and- -a couple distracted him -distracted them- because, well, they were still on the way. On a public event. So, yeah, those two being bothered by them being on the way was completely understandable. No biggie, not at all. "Yeah, lets" he finally said, once again following the other.

Seamus MacTunnag He hadn't known, rightfully, what he'd seen staring back at him from Lachlann's face, nor for certain that he'd been leaning in closer, closer than before anyway. That Lachlann'd been saying something and had lost it, had seemed distracted, by the couple. In truth, Seamus had forgotten where they were for a few minutes, drowning out the sounds and focusing on the steps, not having to worry about thinking or doing but just being somewhere. But it was still no reason to feel like a stone had settled at the bottom of his gut at having to move out of the way. Yet, there it was, leaden and heavy. Lachlann moved with him as he maneuvered his way through the oncoming throng of pairs and groupings of people, navigating them easily enough to a smaller table away from the main pathway, a place where Lachlann could stretch out his leg and not have to worry about tripping any one and where Seamus wouldn't feel swallowed in by the oncoming tide of people. The privacy was an added afterthought, if a bonus

Lachlann MacNab Things had just...happened, really (or, rather, hadn't really happened) and Lachlann was, once again, at a loss. Again, he couldn't blame the couple for wanting to make their way around, but they had rained on his parade and- -aaand he was feeling specially stupid for even considering doing that while in public, but with the closeness and the sudden feeling of intimacy it (the dancing and the chat) brought...well, he hadn't really considered anything save the other for a brief moment. That said, he felt very glad when they found an empty table and took a seat, since that brought a sense of stability he hadn't realized he needed. "As I was, eh, trying to say..." he began, after taking a moment to make himself as comfortable as possible "I- wait, is that Huey?!" Waitwait- was Huey really on a date just some tables away?!

Seamus MacTunnag Seamus watched the other man out of the corner of his eye as they sat, both to gauge if Lachlann was able to sit without pain and if the almost...discontent he saw was actually there. It was, but Seamus chose not to comment upon it. Rather, he sat in his own chair with a small sigh, glad to be off his feet for a short while. Though he enjoyed dancing, and would have continued if he could, he'd been up on his feet since well before the day had begun and a certain tiredness tugged at his bones now, though it didn't show on his face in the slightest. His head turned to take in the other man, patiently waiting for him to continue before being surprised by his outburst. Straightening and turning to look where Lachlann was, Seamus chuckled quietly. "Aye, so it is." A pause and then a mischievous smile. "Think he'd like tah be told hello?

Lachlann MacNab Oh, what a delightfully devilish idea! Buuut since the other was being the michievious one right now, Lachlann feel the moral obligation of being the voice of reason for now. "Maybe later?" he joked, moving a palm to one of the other's legs, resting it there for a second "it'd be fun to say 'hi' and see what happens but they deserve to have a nice moment first, right?" They, themselves, had been interrupted a second ago and he wouldn't wish that kind of anticlimatic feeling on the teens. " 'sides, I'm having a lot of fun already, Mister Mac T! Maybe we should get something-" he now pointed at one of the menus "-and then, I don't know, maybe continue partying somewhere else?"

Seamus MacTunnag He didn't pout nor did he frown, but there was a furrow between his brows and he sighed, slumping in his chair in mock dejection. "Fine, fine. Yer right, I s'pose." And he was right, at that. Seamus made it a point to let the boys do whatever they thought best, to make their own mistakes and choices and be a voice of reason if Donald asked it of him or he was called to speak to them, but he was not inherently close to them, not truly. But Huey did deserve his date with....who looked to be the youngest Triton lass. So they would stay put for the time being. Dragging his gaze back to the table and the menus Lachlann pointed at, Seamus nodded and pulled one closer, pausing as the end of the thought caught up to him. "'ll keep that in mind. What d'ye reckon ye'll get?" Seamus hadn't had the chance to decide but they had time to, he supposed

Lachlann MacNab Well, Lachlann didn't know much about the Tritons (having only heard of Aquata thanks to the Elections and Alana thanks to Loppy's makeup) and, as such, he couldn't recognize the girl Huey was on a date with as one of them and, instead, just assumed she was the girlfriend he'd mentioned that time at Chapter Three. "Well, I'll have to ask for their vegan options and if they aren't against me taking some food home..." he said, giving the menu a quick look "and, buh, I guess I- we-? should try Tiana's gumbo. I've heard it's a must" Then again, everything Tiana cooked sounded amazing, so there wasn't a bad option. "What do you think?" the (former) pilot trusted the other's tastes, so he wasn't against asking for the same thing as the other.

Seamus MacTunnag Humming as he scanned over the menu himself, Seamus nodded his head absently at the other's words. "Mmhmm gumbo or the jambalaya. Take one home. 'M sure they'll letcha." It was a restaurant, after all. Still, he scanned through the pages and looks everything over, bypassing the drinks and desserts pages, though he knew he'd be taking a container of beignets home for later. "Pick whatcha want an' if there's more than one jus' take th' second one home."

Lachlann MacNab Lachlann blinked a couple of times before he remembered that the other was loaded and, as such, didn't have to go through the whole 'discreetely eyeing the prices and deciding based on them' process everyone else had to. "Ah, yeah" having both was technically, an option "I just don't want to impose or make my part of the tab way more expensive than yours or anythin', Mister Mac T" Ah, the struggles of the non-billionares....! "I guess I'll have Gumbo and ask for some to give Tito, then ask 'bout the vegan options for Greg" but that would had to wait until they were already done eating their parts" he paused before thinking out-loud "...you think we should buy Maeve something?"

Seamus MacTunnag Glancing over at Lachlann, Seamus shook his head at the clear hesitancy to buy what he wanted on the menu versus how much the price was. "I know what yer doin', ye know. Sometimes I think people forget I didna always 'ave money. 'M tellin' ye tah get whatcha want 'cause it don' matter if ye do tah me." And that was the truth. Seamus had worked hard for the money he had, had invested what he had in places that had been lucrative, had been downright lucky at other times, but there had been the times where he'd barely had enough to eat, too. "'S fine by me," he hummed, and answer for the man's entire thought process summed up into a single sentence, closing the menu and sliding it across the table to sit with the other one. He draped his free arm across the back of Lachlann's chair. "Think I saw chicken an' rice we could get 'er"

Lachlann MacNab "I don't know what you're talking about, Mister Mac T" he lied (even if he didn't even bother to make it a convincing lie), taking a moment before nodding and closing his own menu, placing it above the other's "and I'll insist on paying my part. Like, I still have the Gala's money so there's no need for you to worry about it" Hey, Lachlann was kind of dim-witted but he wasn't completely oblivious and was very much aware that some people believed he was around only for the money (Boba's words hurt every now and then) and while he generally tried to not mind other's words a lot... Yeah, he wasn't letting the other pay for his part of the tab. "Can dogs eat rice, though?"  that was a legit question, even if he was distracted with the return of the closeness

Seamus MacTunnag A slight laugh broke out of him as he slanted a smile toward the other man. "Aye, that was very convincin' Lachlann. But if ye insist, I ain't gonna stop ye." See, he knew what people said about anyone he was around for longer than a few days, particularly someone that he'd grown...close to. Seamus had heard it before and he would probably continue to. It didn't help matters that Lachlann was younger than him, too. He could only imagine what people said. If the gossip blog was anything to go by, of which he'd seen plenty thanks to Lachlann, the lads, and a few other random moments of fortune, it wasn't always nice. As though to convince the other about the sincerity of his words, Seamus squeezed the hand that Lachlann had yet to move from his leg and nodding his head. "She can if 's cooked white rice. Good carbohydrates an' protein if ye give 'er meat too. Cannae 'ave it often though."

Lachlann MacNab "That's really appreciated, Mister Mac T" and it really, really was. The last thing he wanted to do was become yet another thing the other had to worry about (again. The whole Black Annis ordeal was a prime example of what could go wrong if he didn't think things twice) " 's not like I don't, eh, appreciate the idea of you paying but I'd rather pay my part, it's only fair and I really don't mean to impose" Specially when they haven't seen eachother during the last couple of days -he didn't want the other to get the wrong idea. (Gee, maybe he should stop reading The Spill. He loved Boba but they were far from unbiased when it came to some people) "Then she can have some, as a treat" he joked, once again interwining his fingers with the other's, not thinking too much about it -that kind of proximity just...happened, really. "And I'll give her some peanut butter as dessert"

Seamus MacTunnag Seamus nodded his acquiescence and his acknowledgment of what Lachlann said, offering up a small smile as he did. "Ye worry too much, ye know that," he said, voice leaning toward teasing to soften the words as he nudged him with the knuckles of the arm curled around his shoulders. "Startin' tah give me a run fer me money." A moment later he dropped the teasing and became serious, leaning so he made sure Lachlann could see his face. "An' yer nah an imposition, ye ken? Ye can pay if ye wanna, I ain't ever gonna tell ye yah ain’t able tah, but it ain't about fair." Fair was nice, sure, but that's not how anyone else would see it. And Lachlann, for whatever his reasoning, had decided to hitch his horse, so to speak, with Seamus's own for the time being. He wasn't going to make it any harder on the man. The joke was one that hit center mass but all Seamus did was shake his head, thumb idly tapping the top of Lachlann's hand while they waited for the waitress. "She's spoilt, ye know that right?"

Lachlann MacNab There were many ways in which Lachlann felt like replying to that: from the typical "I worry too little, actually" to the "I'm trying to dethrone you, you know?", some options a little bit more playful than the others, some a little more serious- but instead, he decided to be a little more direct about what was on his mind, since he hadn't had the chance to do it some minutes before. "She kind of is" he began, then stirred the phrase into what really was on his mind "and I really missed her" A beat. "I missed you" (and that hadn't been his best segue ever, but at least he finally said the thing) "A lot"

Seamus MacTunnag "An' yer mostly tah blame," he mumbled, knowing that was only half the truth. 60/40 at the very least. But he didn't say that. Instead, he listened to the change in Lachlann's voice, a more serious tone than before. Saying he'd missed the dog and, then, him. That he’d missed him a lot, and something about that twisted a bit in his chest, squirmed around and burrowed in between his ribs, a bit disarming but...not necessarily a bad thing. The corner of his mouth curled upward, the edges of his eyes crinkling. Seamus decided to tell a bit of the truth, too. Fair was fair, after all. "Tah tell ye th' truth, it was...strange. Th' house was quiet fer th' first time in months an' it--" It had been alien, is what it had been, and it suddenly dawned on him how easily it had been to get used to having someone in his space for longer periods of time than a few days every so often. "--aye. I missed ye, too."

Lachlann MacNab Lachlann wasn't sure of what he had expected the other's reaction to be like- -but this was way better than the best of any possible scenarios he could imagine. The other was smiling (genuinely smiling!), didn't answer his words with a comment about him being daft or being the one to blame for the brief separation to begin with and, most importantly, he was smiling. His smile was contagious, and Lachlann was smiling back before he even knew it, all semblance of any previous nervousness completely gone. "I didn't mean to dissapear and-" he paused, trying to get his ideas in order. He was a man of his word (because he'd learned from Darkwing's series, of course) and, as such, couldn't promise to not dissapear on the other ever again because things sometimes happened out of nowhere (just like the whole previous ordeal) "-I'll try to not do it again" He couldn't promise because he couldn't control that sort of thing, but he could promise to do his best. "I wouldn't want you to get too comfortable without me, you know?" he joked.

Seamus MacTunnag Apparently, what he'd said had been the correct thing because Lachlann was smiling back at him, his entire face lighting up. It was nice to see, particularly after the last few days' ordeal, that the last time he'd seen him there had been tears and injuries to tend to. Granted, the tears had been his own, first, but Lachlann had followed suit. Seamus still didn't quite understand why (though he was, maybe, beginning to shape up something like one). Squeezing the hand still curled in his own, Seamus acknowledged what he was saying with a quiet murmur of his thanks, anything else he might have said sticking in his throat. Lachlann couldn't promise he wouldn't leave, just like no one else could, but the fact he had promised to try not to do it again well...that meant something. And that something was good enough for Seamus. Without really thinking about it, or making sure he couldn't, the Scotsman lifted the hand in his and pressed the back of it to his lips, dropping it just as swiftly back to where it had lain and turning to the waitress that came alongside their table with a well-practiced smile.

Lachlann MacNab Ladies and Gentlemen (and those who identify as 'neither'), Lachlann MacNab's brain had just left the building. And the planet. And this side of the galaxy, probably. Lachlann's current state of mind could be described with two memes: 'no thoughts, head empty' and with the blurry images full of colourful hearts -the red on his face (that was almost as dark as the one of his hair) did a good job expressing that last idea without any need for words. His thoughts didn't return when the waitress finally appeared, nor when the older man started ordering food, nor with the casual 'customer service-like' jokes she made every now and then. He had been reduced to a blushing, grinning idiot and he regretted absolutely nothing.

Seamus MacTunnag The waitress was friendly, incredibly so, the small talk she made before taking their orders was casual, friendly, and professional. Seamus was pleased to see that she knew the menu expertly, answering the questions he had about certain dishes. Out of the corner of his eye, Lachlann still hadn't stopped grinning. A self-satisfied smirk curled, briefly, around Seamus's mouth before it fell away, returning to something more pleasant. Their waitress caught it, nevertheless, and hid her own smile behind her notepad. Seamus ordered everything they'd discussed, vegan option included, and merely asked for part of the order to be brought out to-go, along with the dessert (unless their minds were changed about that, later). Then she left and the table had fallen silent again. Seamus turned to Lachlann and chuckled at the red flush that had spread across his face. "Did we lose ye Lachie?"

Lachlann MacNab 'Did we lose ye Lachie?' The answer was, of course, a dazed "buh" before any semblance of coherent thought returned to Lachlann's mind and he became, slowly but surely, capable of articulating words. "Yeah, I- wha-? I- sure?" he obviously hadn't heard the other's words (but, hey, at least he was trying), cleared his throat, then tried again "I'm ok, I just- I- yeah. That was- really cute" He then realized 'cute' wasn't necessarily the best word to convey his idea but at this point the fact that he hadn't fainted (like when he was sufficiently near Jim Starling) was practically a miracle in itself. "Sorry, I just-" he laughed "-sorry, Mister Mac T, you have my attention now" (As if he hadn't before) "Would you believe me if I said that blood loss finally got the better of me? and, eh, thanks for ordering, by the by"

Seamus MacTunnag The brunette waited patiently for the other man to be able to express emotions through words, but it was a bit if an amusing wait, if he was being honest. It was almost like watching a computer reboot, except the computer was Lachlann's brain and it had gone completely off-line. "Cute, huh," he questioned, good-humor coloring his words, still a touch teasing as he shook his head and laughed, quietly, again before nudging a water towards the other man. "Nope. Not in th' slightest." The grin that curled around his mouth was cheeky, now, as he motioned towards Lachlann's face, gently ribbing at him. "Seein' as yer face is th' color o' yer hair, I'd say 's fine. An' if it wasna, well, ye'd probably be goin' tah th' hospital." He was, after all, proclaimed a worrier. Had to keep that intact, even if he was messing about. "But yer welcome. Figured it wouldna hurt."

Lachlann MacNab "You know what I meant" was the best argument Lachlann could offer (and he was sure the other  indeedknew). 'Cute' wasn't the best of words to express the idea but it was close enough. (And, again, the other's smile had disarmed him a long time ago and he regretted absolutely nothing) "Maybe I should go to the hospital, but I'd prefer to get some food first" he joked back, just letting things be "I'm a man of priorities, Mister Mac T!" It was almost surreal to think that he had been nervous at the beginning, specially now that things felt so ...natural, as if no time had passed or the town being in literal flames some days prior hadn't been that big of a deal

Seamus MacTunnag "Do I though," he hummed, one side of his mouth still curled upward. He sipped at his own drink for a moment before Lachlann spoke again. "Food first, then. Go tah th' hospital on a full stomach," he murmured, following along on the thread of the joke as his eyes roved over the other patrons. There were a great number of people clustered near the front still, many more seated at tables and booth seats. Tiana's Place seemed to be doing wonderfully well.

Lachlann MacNab "Food first, everything else can wait" he nodded with a smile still on his face. The atmosphere was really, really enjoyable and they were in no hurry to do...well, anything -the previous interruption had been kind of rude but now that they had decided what to eat and had made themselves comfortable it seemed like such a trivial thing to think about. Maybe they'd give dancing a second try, later, and maybe he'd manage to find Tiana and chat her up, maybe the other would find some of his acquaintances and have a good time with them, too- -but that moment, that little moment, was perfect just like that.

Seamus MacTunnag Nodding his head, Seamus agreed to Lachlann's words wordlessly. Instead, he returned the grin. He found himself continuing to do that. Perhaps any other person would have been angry that Lachlann had disappeared, that he'd gone out and done something idiotic because he thought to help a friend. Perhaps, at one time, he would have been. But Seamus had learned in his irregularly long life not to hold a grudge. At this point, it would probably die with him, and he didn't want to hold grudges against the man next to him. He hadn't promised not to leave again, but he'd said he would try, and trying counted in his book. They could dance later or they could not. They could sit and talk or they could walk back to the car and drive back through Besydus. But whatever they did, Seamus was alright with that. It was the trying that counted, after all

[tedwoodward]

Harsh Words

a Bill/Ted breakup fic

i made this post a while back that sparked a fic

Notes: this is entirely angst i’m so sorry, pre-canon, strangers to friends to lovers to exes in just 3k words!

Summary:

He wasn’t always this way. In fact, it may be hard to believe, but Ted Richards used to be known as a nice person.

In October of 2014 he started a job at CCRP Technical. Ted was a sweet man, always there with a smile and a listening ear. He asked about people’s weekends and seemed to genuinely care about their lives.

And then he met Bill Fisher. And resulting from that, in early 2016, just over a year later, Ted’s personality did a 180. Yes, you read that right. The reason for Ted’s shift in attitude came in the form of Bill. Yes, Bill, the sweet man constantly seen gushing about his daughter, the man who never has a harsh word to say about anyone. That Bill. Or, at least, that’s what Ted Richards would tell you.

Warnings: very brief mention of alcoholism; disagreements and a large argument

Read on ao3

He wasn’t always this way. In fact, it may be hard to believe, but Ted Richards used to be known as a nice person.

In October of 2014 he started a job at CCRP Technical. Ted was a sweet man, always there with a smile and a listening ear. He asked about people’s weekends and seemed to genuinely care about their lives.

And then he met Bill Fisher. And resulting from that, in early 2016, just over a year later, Ted’s personality did a 180. Yes, you read that right. The reason for Ted’s shift in attitude came in the form of Bill. Yes, Bill, the sweet man constantly seen gushing about his daughter, the man who never has a harsh word to say about anyone. That Bill. Or, at least, that’s what Ted Richards would tell you.

Ted had only heard about Bill’s divorce through the office grapevine, which he was not prone to listening to, but there’s only so much you can do to not hear the gossip in the break room. Ted felt for him. His sister had gone through a nasty divorce a few years prior, and he knew how hard the whole process had been for her, especially with the kids involved. He hadn’t planned on approaching the man, but when Bill had been having a rough day and had a minor burst of frustration in the break room due to the coffee machine acting up again, resulting in a loud bang as the side of his fist connected with the counter, Ted couldn’t stand by and not reach out.

The man had nearly collapsed into a chair at the table next to the counter, all the fight having left him in his outburst.

Ted slowly approached him, “Hey… Bill, right?”

Bill looked up from where his hand was supporting the weight of his head and nodded with a small, tired smile, “Yeah. I’m sorry, I don’t know your name. Are you new?”

Ted took a seat across from the man and smiled, “Yep! Just started last week.”

Bill found himself smiling back at the man; wow, he was infectious.

“Well, welcome! And sorry about earlier,” he mumbled, waving a hand in the general direction of the counter, “I’ve been running on caffeine for way too long, and I’m starting to crash. We really need a new coffee maker. I’m so sick of this one breaking all the time.”

He sounded so exhausted, Ted couldn’t help but offer assistance.

“Hey, if that’s the case I don’t mind making a run to Starbucks or something. What can I get ya?”

Bill was taken aback. This guy was too nice! “You don’t have to get me anything!”

Ted waved him off, “I gotta get my own caffeine fix somehow, and if that’s kaputt, I don’t mind grabbing something for you as well.”

Bill was no match for Ted’s generosity, and, with a wink and a promise to return with the fuel they needed to get through the rest of the day, the man disappeared. And Bill couldn’t help but smile after him.

The two became fast friends. It was nice to have someone around who was so caring, and that went both ways. Ted supported Bill through the tough days, and he shared stories about his sister and her kids whenever Bill worried about Alice being caught up in the divorce. Bill helped Ted settle into his new environment and worked as hard as he could to make him feel included around the office, knowing how a new workplace could be ostracizing. They fit really well together.

Naturally, it just kind of evolved into something more. Without realizing it, Bill and Ted started spending much more time together than expected. They stumbled into a relationship one evening after accidentally falling asleep while watching a movie together after work one Friday. The two men woke up with Bill’s head on Ted’s shoulder. After a brief moment of semi-awkwardly staring, trying to read each other’s thoughts, Bill kissed Ted.

Ted let Bill set the pace for their relationship. It wouldn’t be fair to rush right into things, and Bill’s mental health was much more important than anything else to Ted.

Things Bill learned about Ted:

(1) He cares so much.

(2) He can read Bill so well and immediately knows when the other is having a rough day.

(3) Ted was kicked out of the house as soon as he turned 18 and was no longer considered his parents’ responsibility. The only family he keeps in touch with is his sister.

(4) Ted secretly loves musicals, but it wasn’t until a few weeks in as Ted was dropping Bill off at home after date night that the latter recognized Jekyll & Hyde playing through the car stereo, and Ted confessed to his deep, dark secret.

(5) Ted can be a cynic at times.

(6) He gets protective over things that mean a lot to him (for future reference: do NOT poke fun at his favorite movies because he will refuse to speak to you for at least a day and only accept your apology after making you listen to his explanation about why you are Wrong).

Things Ted learned about Bill:

(1) He has so much love.

(2) When he gets excited he is the most adorable sight Ted has ever seen.

(3) He’s not the biggest fan of alcohol due to witnessing the effects of alcoholism on a family member when he was younger.

(4) If you mention something you enjoy, Bill will become an expert on it just so you can bond and have someone to talk to who understands what you’re saying.

(5) His ex-wife had Alice while they were in college, and they had stopped loving each other a while before the divorce. Bill had only wanted to stay together for Alice’s sake.

(6) His love for Alice far outweighs any other power on earth.

And that’s where things got a bit rocky.

Not to say that Ted didn’t like Alice, he was just really protective of Bill. The amount of love that man put out into the world was incredible, but it also made him vulnerable. Ted didn’t want to see him hurt, and he was scared to see what was happening with Alice.

Bill only had Alice with him for a week every month, but his world revolved around her when she was with him. It was adorable to see how excited he was to spend time with his daughter. What wasn’t adorable to Ted was hearing about how much she obviously didn’t even care and how little she paid attention to her dad the entire week.

The first day after Alice left to go back to Clivesdale Bill was always sobered, no longer his usual, happy self. Ted would be there for him, and Bill would recount his time with his daughter. What stuck out as wrong to Ted was how much love Bill poured into his child and how little he got back.

Bill defended her. She’s a teenager trying to navigate life with the addition of a divorced family, it’s hard for her. No teenager wants to spend all week hanging out with their lame dad! (“You’re not lame, Bill.” “Try telling that to a 14 year old.”) He understands. He’s not going to stop loving his daughter because she acts her age.

But Ted doesn’t get it. How could she not see the incredible father in front of her? She treats him like crap and ignores him half the time. She doesn’t deserve Bill.

A few months in, Ted told him this much, and that was the beginning of the end. Their relationship began to deteriorate. Bill couldn’t understand how Ted could say those things about a kid, about someone he loved with his whole heart, his source of joy since college. And Ted’s opinion on Alice persisted in the back of Bill’s mind.

The two started getting into arguments much more often. Bill started to see how Ted took “caring” and “protective” too far. Mixed with Ted’s cynicism, Bill was starting to see how stubborn the other man was. And they found that Alice was a topic Bill would never back down on, regardless of his usual demur response to conflict.

The pair noticed this change, of course they did. And they tried to work through it. Bill began inviting Ted along to the activities he planned with his daughter, hoping he would begin to understand and start to love Alice as much as he did. And Ted agreed to give it a go. He really loved Bill and would do anything to mend their issues, and he truly did want to see the good in Alice. Ted tried to bite his tongue and not judge the girl too harshly. He didn’t dare lash out at her when she gave her father attitude (he wasn’t a monster, he's not about to make a 15 year old cry), but it stuck with him all night and ate away at his mind and his heart so much that he couldn’t hold it in. After Alice had gone to her room for the night Bill walked Ted out to his car to say goodbye.

“I had a really nice time tonight. Thank you for being so great with Alice. You are an incredible partner, and this really shows how much you care. I really appreciate you trying.”

“Bill,” Ted sighed. They both knew what was coming. “How do you do it? You are so loving. How can you just accept the way she treats you?” His tone was soft, his eyebrows scrunched in concern. “She was so dismissive the entire time. It’s not fair that you had to carry every conversation with her and only got attitude back. It’s been eating at me all night. I don’t know if I can listen to her treat someone I love like that.”

The pair stood there with tears in their eyes, holding hands as they silently gazed at each other.

“She’s a teenager, Ted. Every kid is like this at some point, and I’m sure the divorce has just made it even worse for her. But she’s here, isn’t she? She wouldn’t be here if she didn’t care about me. She could easily just stay in Clivesdale, but she comes and visits me. I have to give my daughter love and support, Ted, especially during this time of her life, otherwise what kind of father would I be? A few moments of sass and attitude aren’t going to spoil my love for her.”

Ted seemed to take in what Bill had said. It was clear where Bill stood, and it was up to Ted if he could accept it or not. The couple embraced, and Ted made his way home.

The split didn’t come till another month or so later. The two were once again at Bill’s for movie night, somewhat of a Friday night tradition since they first got together. The movie had finished, and the pair were discussing what they had just watched. Once again, Ted absolutely refused to hear Bill out on the reason he enjoyed the protagonist as a character.

“He has such an annoying arc! Who gives a shit about the fucking love triangle? They spent half the movie focusing on who was going to end up together than they did on the actual plot line!”

“But would you rather he have no personal life outside his job? It gives him humanity to have to juggle both situations. Yeah, it’s a bit cheesy that all the issues climax at the same time—”

“I just think it’s stupid.”

“Okay then, how would you have written it differently and still given the characters believability? If you take out the romantic subplot, you lose the chance to see his soft side in addition to his brooding, professional—”

“Well, they just took it too far—”

“Are you gonna let me talk?” Bill asked.

A beat landed silently between the pair.

“What?”

Another beat as the two looked at each other.

“Are you gonna let me talk?” Bill repeated. “This entire conversation you’ve steamrolled over all of my points and refused to let me even finish my thoughts before telling me why I’m wrong.”

“I never said you’re wrong. I just have a strong opinion on this movie.”

“On this movie? What about all the other times we’ve been in this exact situation? Every time we have differing opinions on something you don’t seem to care about my thoughts.”

“Of course I care!” Ted exclaimed defensively. “I’m sorry if I monopolize the conversation, you know I talk too much. Just stop me if you have something to say.”

“But it’s not monopolizing, you just refuse to listen to me. You never give any counter-arguments other than the fact that it was ‘stupid’ or ‘annoying’ or whatever. You’re so stubborn about everything that you refuse to even listen to my opinion when it’s different from yours.”

“I’m not stubborn!”

“Yes, you are! You are relentless when you have an opinion, and you always have an opinion.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Fuck, I didn’t realize I wasn’t allowed to have my own opinions. I didn’t realize I wasn’t allowed to be fucking passionate about something.”

The tension in the room was ramping up as the two men started getting angrier.

“You can be as passionate as you want, but—”

“But only about certain things, right? I can’t be passionate about a movie, I can’t be passionate about the way dishes are washed,” Ted began to list, memories from past arguments resurfacing. “I can’t be passionate about my partner’s toxic relationship with his daughter—”

“Don’t you dare bring my daughter into this,” Bill warned.

“Oh, that’s rich. Sorry for caring about you. Sorry for not wanting you to be taken advantage of by an asshole teenager who wouldn’t give two shits if you solved all life’s problems for her. I didn’t realize there was a limit on how much I’m allowed to care about you!”

Their voices were raising. They hadn’t gotten into an argument this explosive before, and they both felt it. But neither of them could back down.

“Don’t you say those things about her. You don’t even know her! You never even tried to care for her. Once you got the idea in your head that she wasn’t worthy of my love, I knew you wouldn’t be persuaded. I hoped and dreamed and tried to get you to see what I see, but you’re too stubborn. You’d never change! You can love more than one person, Ted. Didn’t you know that? My love for Alice does not detract from my love for you, but you know what does? Your jealousy and your manipulation and your bullying of my teenage kid!”

Ted scoffed, “Ha! Jealou— manipulation?” Harsh laughs accompanied his words. “Bill! All I ever wanted was for you to see that there are some people who will take and take your love and use it for their own fucking advantage and will never return it no matter how much care you show them.” His tone turned much darker. “Those people do not deserve your love, but you’re too blinded to see that no matter how much you try, you’re never going to get that perfect father-daughter relationship you want with Alice. Okay? She doesn’t. Fucking. Care.”

The two men stood there, breathing heavy and minds racing as they fiercely stared at each other.

Bill tried to compose himself and spoke with an uneven voice, “You’re an asshole, Ted. We’re done, now get out of my house. I should have ended this forever ago.” He strode past the other, cleaning up the dishes from the table next to them.

“Excuse me?” Ted followed the other man into the kitchen, trying to catch up after being taken aback by his words.

“I said, ‘we’re done’. Grab your crap and get out of here.” Bill refused to look at Ted as he washed the dishes from their dinner. “You can’t talk about my daughter like that. I don’t know why I allowed it for so long.”

Ted stared at Bill for a few moments, and when he got no other response or acknowledgement from the man he let out a deep, angry sigh. “Okay, yeah, whatever,” he clipped.

Ted stormed from the kitchen, shoved his feet into his shoes, grabbed his jacket and bag from the living room, and slammed the door on his way out.

Work was tough. It’s hard to be employed at the same office as your recent ex, if only due to the gossip. Anger was still stewing in both of them at the sight or mere mention of the other, so naturally the entire office knew what had happened by the end of the work day the following Monday.

Bill found solace in Paul who immediately supported his reasoning for the breakup.

Of course Paul would take his side, Ted thought, why wouldn’t he? Why wouldn’t the whole office? They all knew Bill much longer than they had known Ted. He’d only worked there for a year, so how much did they really know about his true character? Bill, on the other hand, was a sweetheart. After dealing with a difficult divorce and now a fresh breakup? ‘That poor man,’ they’d all think. Ted fumed.

Everyone was going to take Bill’s side. They’re going to hear all about how Ted was a heartless asshole who hates children, is desperate for attention, and doesn’t care about anyone’s feelings.

You know what? Fine.

Fine. If that’s what everyone expects him to be, then that’s what Ted is going to be. There’s no use trying to get on his coworkers’ good sides when it’s his word against Bill Fisher’s. No. If Bill thinks he’s an asshole, well, all the more reason to become one. There’s no way Ted was going to go through that again. No more wearing his heart on his fucking sleeve. Obviously he’s too passionate when he cares about things, so it looks like he’ll just no longer care about anything. So no matter what fucking bullshit Bill decides to spread around about the breakup, there’s no more reputation to destroy. No, Ted gets to do that himself. That’s one thing he knows he has control over.

[the-gedonelune-times]

The Hunt Is On

It’s been a little while since the last time I’ve actually posted a story to my blog. But I’m really happy to present this sort of long one-shot fic. I got the idea after the recently released Romance Point slot in Wizardess Heart, I’m 99.9% sure that little plush is Felix and being the absolute lovestruck idiot I am for this man I just couldn’t help myself. So here’s a small story of Felix being a plush and showing his Tsundere side towards a certain red-haired wizardess.

“Hey, did you hear the big news?”

“Huh? What news?”

Gray and I were just leaving the book club session and were walking down the hallway when he brought it up.

“I guess there’s some rumour going around about a new magical creature.”

“S-Seriously?! That’s incredible! Is there a name for it yet?”

“Nope.” Gray shook his head with a smile. “Buuut I heard that whoever catches it will get to name it.” He added happily.

“Catch it? The poor little thing..”

“Huh? Just a second ago you were so excited.”

“I-I am, believe me. It’s just...well, if there are a lot of people trying to catch it, don’t you think it might be a little scared?”

“I suppose you’re right.” Gray put his hand under his chin and looked lost in thought. 

“Gray?”

“Ah, sorry, I was just thinking.”

“About?”

“Well, what if we were to catch it, but without chasing after it? Maybe it wouldn’t get so scared?”

“Oh, I like that idea! What did you have in mind?”

“A hole!”

“Gray!”

“Hear me out, Nadia. It’ll be a nice sized hole and I’ll even add cushioning to the bottom of it so that the creature won’t get hurt. Then, when I need to get it out, I’ll use a pail attached to a fishing pole and drag it up like a well!”

“Gray...I have so many questions about this, but the most important one is what are you thinking?! The poor thing would be even more terrified!”

“What if I offer it cookies?”

“Cookies can’t fix every problem.”

“Are you sure? I thought everyone liked cookies, I mean who doesn’t like cookies?”

“Gray…” I chuckled while watching him go on a tangent about cookies. 

“But seriously, I think my plan won’t fail.”

“I’m sorry to say, but Gray, I have my doubts about it.”

“Hm? Then what would you suggest doing?”

“Well I…”

Huh...what did I have in mind? It was true that I wanted to see the magical creature for myself, but I really didn’t want to go chasing after the poor thing or make it feel like it was in danger. I had to ponder my options carefully but alas, no such idea was popping up in my head at the moment.

“To be honest, I don’t really have a plan.” I sighed.

“That’s okay, maybe on your way back to the dorms you’ll figure one out.”

“Here’s to hoping!”

“What are you two talking about?”

“Uh-oh…” Gray laughed.

“Zeus? What are you doing here?”

“I came here looking for you two.”

“What for?”

“You’ve heard the big news right?”

“I just got done filling Nadia in about it.”

“Then you know why I need you guys.”

“Sorry, but I already have my own plan.” Gray responded confidently. “It’ll be sure to succeed!”

“Tsk! Well, what about you Nadia?”

“To be honest, I have a feeling your plan will involve a lot of chasing. Plus the last time you found a magical creature, you practically scared the living daylights out of it!”

“Come on, that was one time! Besides, I heard that if you catch the thing then the Headmaster will give us extra credit.”

“That’s just a hoax.”

A new voice had entered the scene and right behind Zeus came Elias who had his arms folded on his chest.

“Oh great.” Zeus rolled his eyes.

“You don’t seriously believe you’ll get extra credit for something like this, do you?”

“I sure do. If there’s a chance I can get that, then I’m taking it, I mean, you guys want the extra credit too?”

“Hate to break it to you Zeus, but I agree with Elias here. I highly doubt Headmaster Schuyler would provide students extra credit because they caught a newly discovered magical creature. You’d be in for the biggest scolding of your life, that’s for sure.”

“No way, seriously?! Are you here to suck the fun out of Goldilocks the third over here?”

“Hey!”

“I agree with them too, Zeus. I mean, we’re bound to get a scolding for it, a big one too. But I really want to see what this creature is all about.”

“So…” Zeus stared off into space, trying to process everything Gray said. “So are you on my side or not?”

“Nah, I’m on my own side. Team Gray!”

Gray began waving his free hand around as if he had an invisible team spirit flag in his hand.

“Tsk. Fine then. I’ll just get Hiro and Lucious to help me out with this. Oh and don’t come crying to me when I bring home the creature and actually get extra credit, I won’t be sharing nothin’ with you guys.”

Zeus huffed before practically storming away, leaving just Elias, Gray and I to shake our heads and proceed walking down the hall.

“Oh yeah, I wanted to ask before, but what are you doing here, Elias?”

“Oh, I was in the Archives looking for something. On my way out I heard voices and, specifically Zeus’ and thought he was up to no good again.”

Gray began to laugh. “That’s totally understandable. Everyone in the Night Class usually pop their heads out of the classroom when Zeus starts going on a rampage. It’s like they know when he’s about to stir trouble. I just hope he never releases that foul beast in a classroom ever again.”

“Foul beast?”

“Which one? He has a lot at this point, him included.” Elias remarked.

“Vulcanaux.” 

The moment that word came out of Gray’s mouth, we all let out a shudder.

“I can’t believe he’s still summoning dangerous beasts like that.”

“Seriously? I can.” Elias interjected.

The three of us continued our little walk and talk session before heading our separate ways. Gray was going to go to the Night Class cafe and Elias offered to walk me back to the dorms. We discussed some prefect things, like deciding what kind of upcoming classes we were going to teach and so on and so forth. The topic of the magical creatures was brought up again too and much to my surprise, Elias admitted that he wouldn’t mind catching a glimpse of the mysterious new magical creature. It wasn’t every day that you got to see something as rare as that. 

When we reached the dorms, Elias and I said our goodbyes before splitting off. The moment I reached my room, I unceremoniously dropped my bag to the ground and lazily plopped down on my bed. I was exhausted from classes and the fact that I couldn’t get the thought of the magical creature out of my head wasn’t helping matters at all. 

I ended up lying down on my bed and staring at the ceiling for a few hours, unable to find the will to sleep. Too many thoughts were running through my head at the same time and no matter how many times and methods I tried, they just wouldn’t stop. I had even grabbed a pillow and screamed into it, thinking that in some way, all my pent up tiredness would come crashing into me, spoiler alert, it didn’t. The hours ticked by and before I knew it the sun’s early morning rays of light came pouring in through the window. I realized now that it was far too late to try and sleep now, so I decided to go ahead and get ready for classes. 

Perhaps a nice cold shower will wake me up? I thought it sounded like a good idea at first, but boy was I wrong. In the end, I just became this cold shivering mess who couldn’t stop shaking enough to even do my hair or put on any makeup to conceal my sleep heavy eyes. Screw it, I’ll just have to leave my hair down for the day and just put on a little bit of concealer under my eyes, assuming I could. I gave one more look in the mirror and gave a satisfied nod. It wasn’t the best work, but it would have to do for now.

When I stepped outside of the dorms, I noticed that the whole Academy seemed lively; well, livelier than usual that is. I saw Guy walking up ahead and quickly raced to catch up to him.

“Good morning, Guy.” I smiled.

“Oh hey, good morning Nadia!”

“Everyone seems to be in super high spirits, I wonder why?”

“Word through the grapevine is that everyone is desperate to catch some new magical creature. Everyone on the Ladilz team was talking about it and even went so far as to come up with ‘fool-proof strategies’ to catch it.”

“Wow…”

I watched as students raced around; a competitive aura was beginning to fill the air.

“I wonder what Schuyler thinks of this.”

“No one knows.” Guy shrugged. “It seems like he’s kept silent since the rumour was first introduced.”

“Strange..”

Guy nodded in agreement. “Very.”

Augustus had walked up to us a little while later and he and Guy walked to class, leaving me to walk by myself. Which was okay by me, besides, I still had a lot on my mind, so much so that I hadn’t realized someone had been screaming at me until I felt a pair of arms pull me from my thoughts and away from a rather big hole in the ground.

“Nadia? Did you not hear me screaming at you to watch out?”

I looked up to see Gray’s face hovering over mine, a look of worry clouded over and when I looked down, I noticed that I was sitting on the ground, just mere inches from the hole. Gray’s hands still wrapped around my waist and I began to feel my cheeks go warm.

“No, I-I suppose I was too far gone in my thoughts to have noticed. I’m sorry.”

“That’s alright.” He smiled. “Just please keep an eye out on your surroundings.”

“R-Right. Umm…” 

“Hm?”

“Do you mind..?”

“Huh - Oh!” 

Once Gray realized what I was getting at, he quickly released his hold on my waist and scurried back a little bit. He ran his hands through his hair and chuckled awkwardly.

“Sorry about that.”

“It’s alright…” 

I quickly got back onto my feet and dusted off my skirt before offering my hand to help Gray back up to his feet.

“Gray...did you do this?” I asked curiously.

“The hole? Sure did!”

“What? Gray!”

“I told you I was going to make one yesterday, remember?”

“But out here near the courtyard?! Lots of students and professors walk through here.”

“Yeah…” Gray began to chuckle nervously. “I didn’t think about it until it was too late.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Oh, I mean that Klaus, Elias and Schuyler fell through the hole, along with some other students.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Heh heh, you should have seen the look on their faces, especially Schuyler, man was that priceless. Ah… but after Schuyler fell in he gave me the scolding of a lifetime and I had to cancel my plan. I was about to fill the hole up but then I saw you walking towards it without a care in the world.”

“So much for you’re ‘fool-proof’ plan, huh?”

I received a flick to my forehead from Gray who was pouting.

“First of all rude! Second of all, I haven’t given up yet, I’ll just put a new hole somewhere away from here. I’ll even call it ‘Operation rabbit-hole’, it’ll be sure to succeed this time!”

“Gray…” I sighed.

I couldn’t change Gray’s mind, but I could help him fill up the hole before more chaos was made. Afterwards, I left for my first classes of the day, which seemed to be shorter than usual, in fact, the whole day was shorter. I guess I hadn’t realized that today was a half-day, what a relief it was to find that out.

“Maybe I can finally take a nap…”

“Miss Zaidelle? Is there something you wish to share with the class? Or perhaps you know the answer to my question?”

“Urk…could you...repeat the question by any chance?” I smiled nervously and was greeted to Schuyler’s annoyed sighs.

“Honestly, Nadia, if you’re not going to pay attention in my class, then you’ll have to make yourself useful by staying after and cleaning up the room.”

“W-What? Oh, come on!”

I heard snickers coming from the other side of the classroom, causing me to slump down even further in my chair and wait for this nightmare of a class to end already. Even though the bell rang, I still had to stay back while everyone left. Elias gave me a quick pat on the back and told me everything will be fine and that he would buy us some drinks at the Night Cafe later. I forced a smile and thanked him, and when he left I let out a sigh while I grabbed the nearby broom and began sweeping. 

A couple of hours had passed and I had the room looking spotless, everything had been wiped down, cleaned and organized. I stood there and admired my work, feeling rather proud of myself before grabbing my stuff and heading outside. The warm air and cool breeze felt so nice on my skin that I couldn’t help but yawn. The sleep that had been plaguing me all morning was finally taking over and suddenly the thought of taking a nice nap on the lush grass sounded wonderful.

In fact, that’s exactly what I was going to do. I found a nice open area with a good amount of shade. It was close to the lake so I could hear the sound of the soft ripples in the water when the Lune fish moved around. It was enough to lull me to sleep, which I was about to do had it not been for something that caught my eye. It looked like a small creature, almost like a stuffed animal. It had two small horns, ears, a fluffy tail and it was wearing such a cute little outfit!

“Oh, how adorable!”

The words came spilling out of my mouth before I knew it and that’s when I saw the creature suddenly take off in a sprint out to the courtyard.

“Oh no...was...was that the magical creature?!” I suddenly jumped to my feet, realizing the danger that poor thing was going to get into, especially if Zeus got a hold of it. “Wait, come back!”

Though I was exhausted, I somehow managed to run at full speed after the creature. I felt bad chasing after it, especially since I knew it was already scared, but I just had to make sure it was going to be alright.

“Hey, Hiro, look over there!”

Zeus’s voice suddenly rang out like a bell; clear as day. I knew that I wouldn’t have much time to get to the little creature, Zeus was awfully fast…

“Oh hey, look how small it is.”

I heard Hiro’s voice, which was sounding closer than ever before and when I looked up ahead, I saw the two of them cornering the small creature who looked absolutely terrified.

It’s now or never! I quickly rushed in, running as fast as my legs could carry me on the wavering stamina I had left. I quickly scooped the creature in my arms and ran while I held the timid creature to my chest.

“Nadia!”

“Get back here!”

Hiro and Zeus began sprinting after me, their footsteps sounding closer each second. I knew that they would outrun me, so I did the first thing that popped in my mind.

“Sorry about this!”

I cried out before tightening my grip on the creature with one hand - freeing my other hand - which I used to send an ice blast to the ground, which caused Zeus and Hiro to fall flat on their butts.

“Dammit!”

I could hear Zeus cry out from a distance while I continued running. After a short while, when I thought it was safe, I felt my legs buckle and I found myself on the ground breathing hard from exhaustion. I looked down at my arms and smiled knowing that the creature was safe and sound.

“I’m glad you’re alright.” 

I gently put the creature on the ground and went to pet it, only for it to bite my arm!

“H-Hey!” 

I began waving my arm almost wildly, trying to get the creature to release my arm, but it wasn’t working. At least it didn’t hurt…

“Come on, let go!”

But no matter how hard I tried, it just wouldn’t budge, in fact, it even growled at me when I reached for it again.

“Don’t touch me with such filthy hands human!”

Though the voice was a bit muffled, I could still make out the words.

“You can talk?!”

I looked down at the creature with shock. 

“Of course I can!”

It finally released its grip on my arm and took a few steps back with tiny little squeaks. It looked like it was glaring at me, but if that was the case then it was doing much of a good job.

“You’re…” I began to blush. “Gah, you’re so cute!”

“D-Don’t call me cute! I’m a dangerous creature I’ll have you know!”

“Not in the slightest.” 

I couldn’t take it! I ended up hugging the small creature only to have it begin hitting me while tiny little honks rang out.

“Unhand me right now heathen!”

“I-I’m sorry..”

I quickly put the creature back down and watched it sit right down in front of me. It clearly posed no threat, except through cuteness.

“I’m guessing you’re the new magical creature everyone is hyped up about.”

“What?”

“Yeah, everyone has been out to grab you and name you.”

“That’s ridiculous! Are humans all such morons, you included.”

“H-Hey!”

“Hmph. As if I’d let some human claim me like some stuffed animal. Ridiculous.”

“Then don’t wander out in big crowds.” I suggested. “Or it’ll happen.”

“Preposterous.”

“Well, you almost got snatched up by Zeus and he would have probably tossed you around like a ball.”

I watched as the creature made a derpy little face, it was like he didn’t know how to respond. I found myself laughing at the sight.

“What exactly is so funny to you?”

“I’m sorry, it’s just...the face you were making just now was pretty adorable.”

“Call me adorable again and I *will* bite your ankles, do you understand?”

“Pfft, go ahead, it won’t bother me.”

There it was again! Only this time the creature ended up falling back down on its butt after having gotten up just seconds prior.

“Truly, you’re one of the oddest I’ve met.”

“Hm?”

“Nothing. Forget it. Why did you even help me? Do you think I’m going to be grateful to you? Because I’m not!”

“No. I just felt sorry for you. You’re so tiny and you seemed so scared. I felt that saving you was the best option. Plus, at least now you’ll be safe here. The forest close by is filled with lots of other magical creatures, like the Winged Rabbits.” I smiled.

I watched as the being turned to look behind it, then it looked back at me.

“So you’re just going to let me go?”

“Isn’t that what you want?”

I watched the hesitation in its eyes as it got up. It looked back at me one last time before disappearing. I felt a strange sense of loneliness in my heart when it left. Did I happen to know that magical creature? It did feel familiar in some ways. Ah, perhaps it’s just my imagination. I began to shake the thoughts away and tried getting up to my feet, only to be hit by a wave of dizziness. 

Perhaps pulling an all-nighter was really getting to me. Maybe I should just stay here and take a quick nap, I mean there was no harm in doing so after all. Besides the grass felt like a soft cushion, mix that with the warm air and it made for the absolute perfect napping experience. With a soft yawn, I found myself giving into sleep before falling into a peaceful slumber.

As she dozed off, a certain creature had come back and now squeaked softly as it inched closer to her, careful not wake her. Particles of light surrounded its body and revealed their true form, a certain once hooded Dragonkin. 

“What a bother. This human truly is strange.” Felix let out a sigh as he scooped her sleeping body in his arms. “Yet she fascinates me. How bothersome…”

He averted his eyes and began walking in the direction of the dorms. He had a barrier of miasma that only he could see which concealed himself and Nadia from the eyes of anyone he walked past. As he got closer to the dorms he went around back and where his horns began to glow, creating a cloud of miasma which allowed him to float up to the balcony that he was sure belonged to her dorm. 

Once on the balcony, he opened the doors and slipped inside. His horns glowed again and the covers to the bed slid down, he then gently put Nadia’s body down and covered her up. When he stepped back he couldn’t help but stare at her sleeping face. How could humans be so terrifying and yet…

“Stupid human, making me feel such things…” 

Felix quickly left in a cloud of miasma, teleporting to who knows where. Meanwhile, Nadia had slept peacefully for a couple of hours before she woke up. She had woke up feeling well-rested but also confused. 

“How did I get back in my room..?”

Throwing the covers to the side, she got up out of bed and noticed that the sun was just now setting. She had woke up just in time to head down to the Night Cafe and was elated by the fact. She just couldn’t wait to go down and tell Gray and the others about the wonderful, yet strange dream she had.

[warriorgays]

btw I just found the original epilogue for Through the Gay Days, which I scrapped in favor of Gene getting a letter from Tipper. I kept it because... well, I still liked it a lot. thought some of you might enjoy. (there was supposed to be some narration in between each letter, and I never finished the ones from Babe or Gene, but I think you can get the picture.)

Detroit, Michigan, 1949

“You’ve got a half-dozen letters again,” Carla said with a long-suffering sigh as she dropped a pile of envelopes on the end table by Tipper’s elbow. “Honestly, Ed, I have no idea where you find the time to write so many letters.”

“It’s because I have friends,” he said, scrambling for the envelopes eagerly. “You wouldn’t know what that’s like, Carla, but when you’ve really got ’em you can’t leave them disappointed.”

She stuck her tongue out at him, and Tipper blew a kiss. But instead of bickering, Carla flounced away immediately; she knew he didn’t have the attention span for a real spat, not when he had a fresh delivery of letters. Tipper shuffled through them, eyes scanning the return addresses, and decided to open Luz’s. It was the lightest, which could only mean good news. He dug his pen-knife into the flap and tore the envelope open to find a single sheet of notebook paper, scrawled with a message in blue ink.

March 2

Dear Tip,

You’re on! April 8th is my mother’s birthday, April 12th is my brother’s birthday, and May 1st is my other brother’s birthday (have I mentioned I have too many brothers?) so those days are a no-go, but anything else, I’m game. But check with your pals before you pick a date, because I want to come to one of these famous balls of yours, alright? The campiest, queeniest, drunkest thing you can whip up. These salons out here are far too respectable for my taste.

Cheers, G. Luz

(P.S. Heard from J.L. lately? The grapevine’s got nothing but I thought you might.)

Feb. 28

Dear Ed,

Guess where I’m writing this letter. Go ahead, guess. Did you guess ‘at my kitchen table in me and Ralph’s brand-new apartment’? If yes, ding ding, give the man a prize. We moved in yesterday and fucking hell it took forever. But we’re pretty much settled by now. We unpacked half the boxes and got all the furniture in the right place, and then this morning Ralph and I went out to get groceries so now it really feels like home. You know what I mean? It just don’t feel like home if you can’t raid the cabinets whenever you want. Do you think you’ll be able to get out to Philadelphia again soon? We want to show you the new place, and the neighborhood and everything.

I think Ralph still can’t believe we actually did this. He keeps looking at me with this look on his face--he’s a dope but I love him. I’ve got to kiss him ten or twelve times a day to prove this is happening, and it’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it.

Dear Tipper,

I know I’ve said it a million times, but you really are the biggest flirt I know. That last paragraph of your letter  would have made smoke come out of Ron’s ears if he saw it--lucky for you it arrived the day after he left. Spared this time!

Anyway, we did decide to take a break while he’s overseas. He didn’t want to; I think he still feels tremendously guilty over me getting shot, although I’ll never know what he thinks he could have done different. But at the same time, he’s not the sort of man you can tie down, and I’d rather give him a few years of freedom in Germany and get him back at the end of it than get snippy and bitter like an old married couple. (Of course, when I said that I didn’t know how much I’d miss him after only a week.)

That’s the big news in my life, I suppose, Ron being gone. I expect a letter full of crass jokes about you/others keeping me company in the meantime. Actually I’ve been talking with a few other guys in L.A. who are talking about starting a group for men like us. I mean like an organization, not just a group of friends--the main fellow’s written this sort of manifesto. It’s a little Red for my taste, but I am sort of interested. They want to send out newsletters and things, make it national, and I kept thinking how it was pure dumb luck that all of us met at Toccoa, and maybe having a group would make it easier for other guys. I don’t know. We’ll see if it works out.

I went out for drinks with Joe last Thursday, too, when I was up around the Bay Area. Have you heard from him recently?

Tell your mother hello from me, and I’m glad to hear your leg is feeling better. I guess it’s a weather thing, because my father’s bad hip was hell this winter, too. My arm just comes and goes as it wants. It’s annoying as anything, but as far as brain injuries go I got off light, so who am I to complain?

I’ve got to make dinner, so I’ll stop there and get this out with the evening post. I’m sure I’ll hear from you soon.

Yours, Chuck

Dear Edward, Thank you for your letter and I’m sorry its taken so long for me to respond. Lots been going on. But everything’s fine now, we’re all fine. Shelton has apologized and moved back in. I told him straight out, I said “your problem is those war buddies of yours, they let you get away with too much but your out of your damn mind if you think I will” and I swear, Tip, for a minute I thought he was going to turn right back around. But then he just laughed and said I came back meaner then before. (That’s what passes for sweet talk with Shelton. What a charmer I’ve got, huh?) Anyway I was happy to get your advice. I did give him a piece of my mind, even if I didn’t yell at him quite as much as you thought I should, and writing to you and having you tell me I was in the right helped. Really he’s not bad, I promise, but the last few years he’s been so wrapped up in being tough, you know? The war did a number on him, but he doesn’t want to talk about it much or admit it did anything. And I suppose I’m not the easiest person to live with either, because if something’s hard to talk about I’d just as soon stay quiet.

[kootenaygoon]

So,

Blayne had a new tattoo.

It was early evening and we were sharing a joint at Red Sands, wading shin-deep through the lake while I took pictures of her framed against Elephant Mountain. She’d told me that she wanted some tasteful nude shots that showcased the ram skull she’d recently had inked below her breasts. I’d brought along my work Nikon for the task. She was leaving for Victoria soon, and I was trying not to mope — since Paisley’s abrupt departure, Blayne had been my primary confidante. The only reason I hadn’t made some sort of romantic gesture was I was too addicted to being her white knight, and didn’t want to jeopardize that status.

“The thing about these growers is it would be fine if they were stoners, but they’re not. Niles and them, they all do fuck-loads of coke. And you should see the way they creep on the girls,” Blayne said, taking a dainty drag. 

“I need to get out of this town for a while. It’s starting to feel like a hole I can’t climb out of.”

I knew exactly what she meant. Since arriving in Nelson I’d watched my mental clarity spiral to the point that I was barely reading anymore. I was holding things together, putting out two issues of the newspaper every week, but I was still basically homeless, dead broke and an emotional disaster zone. Lately my coping mechanism seemed to be promiscuity, and I’d been engaging in multiple unhealthy entanglements that left me feeling selfish and exploitative. I didn’t have any romantic juice to give, but I was determined not to let that turn me into a neuter. In my journal I’d write lists of prospective women to date, putting checkmarks beside the ones I’d hooked up with. This was the sort of lothario behaviour I despised in other men, but I gave myself a pass because I was grieving. This was just a phase I had to go through before I retreated back into a healthy grown-up relationship, I figured.

“Are you saying Niles hit on you? He was creepy with you?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No, it was one of the older guys. Reg. I actually heard through the grapevine that he raped one of my cousin’s friends.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah, and he paid her a bunch of money to keep quiet about it.”

“I didn’t think shit like that really happened. Are you sure it’s not just an urban legend?”

“I’m telling you, there’s a bunch of perverts out there. Snapper’s not the only one.”

The topic of sexual assault had been on my mind a lot, with the accusations against Galloway continuing to roar through the CanLit community. Everyone was unclear on the specifics, but they were mobilizing either way. I still believed he was innocent until proven guilty, but that didn’t seem like a popular stance amidst all the social media hubbub. I told Blayne about what was going on, passing her the joint, trying to give her a feel for all the social nuances.

“You know, down in Mexico they believe you’re guilty until proven innocent. It’s the opposite of the Canadian laws. That’s how my youth pastor ended up in jail for so long down there,” I said. “But people are acting like that’s the law up here, like just because he’s accused he’s got to be instantly ostracized.”

She blew out a cloud of smoke. “And he’s like a famous author?”

“He was the chair of the biggest creative writing program in the country.”

She shrugged. From what I could tell, Blayne didn’t read. She was heading to Victoria to study herbology, and a few times she’d gone into rants about astrology and the universe’s energy that reminded me she’d definitely grown up with the hippy mythology of the Kootenays as her primary intellectual sustenance. At least she wasn’t into conspiracy theories, like all the people I saw posting on Facebook about chem trails and shadow governments. As we walked we transitioned to happier topics, wandering amidst the boulders and looking over at the Big Orange Bridge.

“Your cock kind of looks like an elephant trunk,” she said, with a stoned smirk. “It looks like you could suck up water and spray it at me. Like Dumbo.”

I laughed. “What, you don’t see many guys who are uncircumcised?”

“I guess not. Not the guys I’ve been with.”

“What, like that fuckhead who trashed your living room?”

She smiled mischievously. “He actually had a tiny little dick. I only fucked him like three times, and every time he lasted less than a minute.”

I laughed. “The poor guy. I’ve been there. That was the story of my early twenties.”

She put out the joint, turned. “Really? You came too fast?”

“I dunno, there was a few years there when I wasn’t really getting laid routinely, right? So I’d go for months without getting any, and then the next person I hooked up with I would be ... embarrassingly brief with.”

She giggled. “I can’t believe you just admitted that.”

“I guess the only reason I don’t feel totally humiliated by it anymore is because the situation solved itself with Paisley. Like five years of consistent sex will teach you a few new things, you know? If anything, I have the opposite problem now.”

Blayne stepped towards me, and I felt the energy shift. Beads of lake water dribbled down her chest, and her hair hung tangled and wet. Because we’d hung out at Red Sands so often, I’d become accustomed to her naked body and didn’t have to walk around in a state of perma-arousal. But now, as her eyes met mine, I admitted to myself what I’d known since long before the breakup: I wanted to fuck her brains out. She smiled at me in a way that made it clear we were about to barrel back into the forest to do something about that, and I probably couldn’t stop it from happening if I tried.

She smiled lasciviously. “What did she teach you?” 

The Kootenay Goon

[artificialqueens]

little light (1/8) (Trixya) - Elissa

A/N: This is based on the requests for Katya as Trixie’s brother’s friend who slaps her ass at the bowling alley. Title from “Little Light” by Lewis Watson, which I listened to a lot writing this.

This fic truly…ran away from me. It was supposed to be a short, sweet, smutty little number and has somehow grown into this high school lesbian AU that no one actually asked for but I spent a month writing anyway. Trixie and Katya are both cis girls in this fic, for no other reason than that’s how I wrote it.

It ended up almost 20k, so I’ve broken it up so as to not overwhelm you all. I’m submitting here, since the request came from this blog, but if you’re impatient and can’t wait the whole fic is up on my ao3 page, yekaterinunhhhh.

The biggest thank you to my wonderful girlfriend, who is the reason this fic isn’t sitting in my documents half written, and the reason I ever get anything done in general. This fic is for you. Thank you so much for being my number one fan and supporter. Love you most.

Trixie’s family has lived in Two Rivers for decades. Even her great-grandmother, who is somehow still alive at over a hundred years old, can’t remember a time when their family didn’t live here.

And Trixie hates it with every fiber of her being.

It isn’t that the town doesn’t have its charms. From the rickety shack near the beach with the blue and white striped awning where she gets ice cream sundaes every summer, to the massive church stowed away on top of the highest hill in town where she spent hours every winter during her childhood holding onto her brother’s waist for dear life while the toboggan slid down the slope - she has fond memories of her time in Two Rivers.

But as many good memories as she has, she can’t help but itch to leave. The town has a nasty habit of gossiping, and it’s nearly impossible to keep anything hidden for long, no matter how private or embarrassing. There’s no way around it; life in a small town doesn’t afford you even the illusion of anonymity.

Katya’s family had moved into town a few years ago - Trixie can remember because Katya’s arrival to their tiny high school had shaken the student body. Their town wasn’t used to new people, and the school wasn’t used to new students. Most of the students’ parents had gone to the same high school as their parents, and their parents, stretching back until the founding of the town itself.

So when the town got a new car dealership headed by a tall, impressively muscled man with a heavy Russian accent, the long-time occupants of Two Rivers had been understandably wary. His wife, much shorter with a much lighter accent, had managed to find herself in the good graces of Mrs. Peters at the town’s only bridal boutique and land an impressive gig as the in-house designer and seamstress. The family seemed to be assimilating into the small town culture fairly easily.

At least for the first few weeks.

But before long, rumors started floating around that Mr. Zamolodchikova was a boss in the Russian mafia. Trixie is almost certain the gossip had started where most gossip in town does - Violet Chachki.

Trixie tolerates Violet - she has to, for the sake of her best friend Adore who is friends with the most popular girl in school. But there’s not a shadow of a doubt in Trixie’s mind that Violet is the one who originated the rumor. It’s a well-known fact that Violet has a bit of a thing for married men, and Trixie had heard whispers through the grapevine (the grapevine in this scenario being Adore) that Violet had hit on Mr. Zamo, and that Mr. Zamo had very adamantly rejected her. And it’s another well-known fact that Violet doesn’t take rejection well.

And the rumors have only snowballed from there. Accusations of drug trafficking, gunrunning, and even murder have been whispered through the narrow cobblestone streets of Two Rivers. The gossip even spread to his daughter; tales of promiscuous activities and wild partying plagued the girl wherever she went.

Which took poor Katya from being the pretty and shiny (if bashful) new girl that everyone wanted to pull into their friend group, to being the dangerous loner who people avoided in the cafeteria and chose last during gym class. Trixie remembers feeling bad for her, but since Violet and Adore were friends, and Violet had a very strict “no Zamo” policy, she had felt unable to reach out to her. Trixie remembers wanting to reach out to the beautiful, shy girl so badly.

Fortunately, though, Trixie’s brother Daniel was in the same grade and science class as Katya, and the two were paired together for a project that ended up bringing them closer together. Trixie has enjoyed getting to see Katya’s gorgeous smile and hear her warm peals of laughter in her home, even if Trixie’s been too afraid to talk much to the (slightly) older girl.

And that’s how Trixie has found herself here, sitting crosslegged on one end of Adore’s couch while she confesses the feelings she’s been having to her best friend.

“No fucking way,” Adore laughs. “You have a crush on your brother’s friend?”

Trixie’s cheeks are burning as she locks her eyes onto her notebook, furiously scribbling down an equation. “Can we actually like, not talk about this? We have a test tomorrow, we should be focusing on that.”

“Fuck the test,” Adore yanks the notebook out from under Trixie’s pen, prompting a groan.

Trixie lets her head fall into her hands.

“What do you want to know?” Her words are muffled through her palms.

There’s a shuffling that Trixie is too embarrassed to look up at, but it sounds like Adore has scooted closer to her on the couch. “How long has your brother been friends with Katya?”

“I don’t know,” the blonde admits, lifting her head slightly. “I only started noticing her hanging around last year, so at least that long.” She tugs lightly at a string hanging from a tear in her jeans.

“What about her dad?” Trixie can hear the intrigue in Adore’s voice, and see the eyebrow raise that accompanies the tone in her mind’s eye.

“What about him?” She asks, pretending not to know what Adore could possibly mean. But Adore knows that Trixie knows. Everyone in town knows.

“Do you think he’s really -”

“I don’t know,” Trixie groans. “I don’t think so, she seems too… normal to be the kid of a mob boss.”

“Normal? Are you kidding? That girl is the furthest thing from normal.”

“Are you sure you’re the best judge of who’s normal, Adore? Really?” Trixie flips a page in the textbook, pretending to scan it, trying desperately to make this conversation end. But she can’t just let Adore say bad things about Katya. They don’t even know her, really, so how would they know if she’s normal or not.

“…Okay, fair.” There’s a beat of silence, a glorious pause where Trixie thinks the conversation might actually end. “Are you sure they’re not fucking?”

The blunt question shocks Trixie enough that she finally makes eye contact with her friend once more. “I - fuck, I don’t think they are? What the fuck kind of question is that, Jesus,” she mumbles, crossing her arms in front of her.

“It’s an important one if you’re going to try to make a pass at her,” Adore lifts a jet black eyebrow in her direction.

“Who said I was going to do that? All I said was that she’s cute! I don’t even know if she likes girls,” Trixie huffs and sits up, leaning toward the coffee table that is covered in textbooks and highlighters. She starts to shove her belongings back into her bag, determined to end the conversation.

“Let’s find out, then.”

There’s a strange tone to Adore’s voice, and Trixie recognizes it as her scheming voice.

“What are you -”

“Hey, it’s Adore,” a grin spreads over her face.

Trixie frantically looks for her phone before she freezes and pales. The pink case around the phone in Adore’s hand tells her that what she had feared was exactly what had happened. Adore had called someone on Trixie’s phone.

“So, Katya,” Adore smirks as Trixie’s eyes widen in distress. “Are you and Daniel, like, a thing?”

Trixie mouths a quick “what the fuck” at Adore, but she just rolls her eyes back at her.

“You’re just friends? But Daniel is so hot,” she twirls the end of a braided pigtail around in her fingers. Trixie wrinkles her nose. She knows Adore thinks her brother is hot, but she doesn’t like to think about it.

From Trixie’s spot, now pressed impossibly close to Adore’s side, she can hear a familiar cackle over the receiver as Adore starts to laugh as well. Katya’s wide smile flashes into her mind and she feels herself hopelessly sinking deeper into her infatuation with the tiny blonde Russian.

“Fuckin’ party,” she nods. “I didn’t think you were into him but I wanted to check before I tried anything.”

The cover is believable, and Trixie is grateful Adore had the foresight to think up an excuse.

Adore locks the phone and hands it back to Trixie, then flops back on the couch. She picks up a magazine and starts reading it.

As the seconds tick by, Trixie tries not to lose it. She’s anxious to hear what Katya had said that was so funny, but Adore seems to have moved on from the conversation.

“Well?” She snaps finally.

“Huh?” Adore stares back at her.

“Adore,” Trixie whines and clings to her arm, her best puppy dog eyes on full display. “What did Katya say?”

“Oh, right,” she closes the magazine and tosses it onto the coffee table. “There’s nothing going on between her and Daniel.”

Trixie tries to ignore the way her heart swells at the news. “Are you sure? Like, she wasn’t lying?”

“I’m sure,” Adore pats Trixie’s arm where it’s looped around her elbow. “She’s not into him.”

“But like, if he’s into her -”

“He’s not,” Adore cuts her off.

“You don’t know that,” Trixie moans.

“Jesus, Trix,” she tosses her head back against the couch cushions. “Try to read between the lines for once. She’s not into him, because she’s not into any guys.”

Trixie isn’t getting it. So Katya doesn’t have a crush on anyone. That doesn’t mean that she won’t sometime soon - it doesn’t mean that she won’t start liking Daniel. It happens all the time in the romance movies Farrah and Kim force them to watch when they come over.

“Okay… and?”

“Oh my God,” Adore claps a hand over her own forehead before sitting up to look at her friend. “Katya doesn’t like Daniel, because Katya doesn’t like boys, Trixie.”

[whatdoyouexpectthistime]

‘Choosing Sides’ Part Twenty-Six - Haiku

“Station?” Miho piped up, when Nomura led her by the hand into the favourite watering-hole of Second Unit.

“No better place to celebrate,” he declared with a sly grin.

“I disagree,” she mumbled, “and still think it’s far too early for celebration.”

“Fujiwara and Nomura?” Kyobashi blinked, and the heads of the other congregated members turned to their arrival. “Holding hands no less.”

“I’ve practically been abducted,” she muttered, shooting Kyobashi a sharp look as she wormed her fingers free of Nomura’s.

“Heard through the grapevine you managed to nab all those terrorists,” Kirisawa smiled broadly, but he also glanced from Nomura as he ordered drinks, back to Miho. “Pretty impressive for a rookie.”

“The investigation is ongoing,” Miho told him. “It doesn’t feel like it’s over yet.”

She then jolted as Tennoji clapped her solidly on the back.

“Always thought you were kind of girly,” he announced with a grin, “but I guess there’s a cop in there somewhere.”

“Have you never seen her fight?” Hannai scoffed. “She’ll floor you in five seconds Tennoji.”

“Bullshit,” Tennoji snorted, looking Miho up and down.

“I could,” she shrugged a little smugly, taking the tumbler of whiskey Nomura passed to her.

“Prove it,” Tennoji snorted.

“What? Right here?” she laughed, taking a sipped.

“Yeah,” Tennoji nodded, stripping away his leather jacket. “If you’re game.”

“I don’t think…” Miho began, but Kirisawa was already moving a table back to create some space. “Wha… Agasa, you’re okay with this?”

“You kicking the stuffing out of Yutaka in a fair fight?” the bartender smirked. “Sounds like good entertainment.”

“You’re kidding?” she gaped, only to feel Nomura gently pinch the back of her neck.

“Try not to mess him up so much he can’t work,” he instructed lightly, slipping his fingers into the collar of her jacket to tease it back.

“Heh,” she grunted, putting down her drink and allowing him to take her jacket before flexing her arms. “No promises, and you know when I beat him, he’ll be hell to be around, almost as much as if he won.”

“Hey, I’m standing right here,” Tennoji barked. “And just so you know, as a rule I don’t spar against women.”

“Too scared?” Miho jibbed, and the men laughed.

Other patrons from outside their circle drew closer, curious as to what was going on.

“No way!” Tennoji reacted, just the way she knew he would. “No complaining if you get bruises. I ain’t gonna go easy on you.”

“Nothing about my life lately has been easy,” she huffed. “Why should this be any different?”

In what was now a circle of onlookers, Miho stepped away from Tennoji and bowed.

“At least I get to blow off a little steam,” she muttered as she straightened.

Grab.

Flip.

Slam.

And Miho held Tennoji’s cheek to the floor, his right arm pulled back, her knee between his shoulder-blades.

“Aaand match,” Kirisawa called, and Miho released Tennoji and stepped away to find her drink waiting in Nomura’s hand.

“Holy fuck,” Tennoji blinked, rolling over and sitting up to stare at Miho. “You sure you’re a girl?”

“Pretty sure,” Nomura responded for her, which afforded him some appraising looks he simply ignored. “That enough steam blown for you?” he added, leaning to whisper into Miho’s ear.

And she nearly choked on her mouthful.

Lol.

Get it?

But the narrator means whiskey, not that other thing you just imagined.

“Quit teasing me or you’ll join him,” she warned, but he wasn’t to be told.

“I can think of worse things than you on top of me,” he responded flippantly, before taking a sip of his oolong.

Miho levelled her gaze at him, her brows twitching downward.

“Are we going to end up in the ladies’ room again?” she enquired, dropping her voice though the boisterousness of Tennoji’s excuses covered the exchange.

“I can think of worse ways to end an evening,” he replied, slightly more serious, just enough to make her think he was potentially being serious.

Quit teasing,” she grumbled, turning away from him to re-join the party.

You know you want to.

“Shut up,” she told herself, and took a gulp of her scotch.

For over an hour she hung with ‘the boys’, but at the back of her mind there were far too many unanswered questioned – and Nomura.

When her phone rang with a number she didn’t recognise, she took it as a life-line and shuffled to a quieter spot.

“It’s Genever,” came the curt female voice when Miho answered.

“I’d ask how you got my number but I bet your boss, or his boss, have their ways,” Miho grumbled. “What can I do for you?”

“I was just thinking, you know,” Genever replied, “that I put you in a bad spot, and maybe I’d like to apologise. Lieutenant Kirisawa talked to me yesterday, said I could back out if I wanted, just like that, so...”

Miho had to laugh.

“Why don’t you kick back and relax?” Miho suggested. “Or, have you decided to stay with the Ice Dragons?”

“I don’t know yet,” the other woman sighed. “You know, I don’t really have anyone close to talk it over with, so…”

She let her sentence trail off again, and Miho glanced at her watch.

It was late… er early.

“Now?”

“Sure, if you’re not busy,” Genever encouraged.

“Okay,” Miho sighed. “Where? Coffee I need it.”

 “Heh, didn’t think you’d actually come,” Genever greeted, when Miho entered the twenty-four hour café.

“Should I not have?” Miho queried, flopping down into the booth.

“I just mean, it’s not like I did much to win your friendship or anything what with the whole abduction and stuff,” Genever pointed out a bit sheepishly. “So, I’m sorry, especially for the Ichinomiya part cause that guy is the biggest toss.”

“No argument about the biggest toss part,” Miho snorted. “And I understand you were in a tough spot so, no hard feelings.”

They talked for a little while about Genever’s options, before Miho’s yawning became too much and they decided to call it a night. Genever slipped out of the café, but Miho lingered to stretch before getting out of the booth and standing.

“Ugh,” she grunted, finding Genever’s phone sitting on the opposite chair.

For a moment she considered the possibility of using it to set up Soryu Oh, but with a wry chuckle and a shake of her head and picked it up and slipped it into her bra.

“Not, and were never, a cop,” she told herself. “Just give it back to Kirisawa tomorrow.”

Yawning again she stepped out onto the street and began down the sidewalk, scanning the road for an unoccupied taxi.

When she was yanked suddenly into an ally with a hand pressed firmly over her mouth.

Sleepy though she may have been moments ago, her fight instinct kicked in instantly, and her attacker was flat on his back within seconds. The mouth of the ally, however, was barred by several other figures that forced her further into the dimness.

Panting, she stumbled around trash cans and dumpsters, only to find herself trapped by a second group of men.

“What’s this?” she hissed as they closed in from both directions.

She put up her guard, but there was no way she could take on that many and win.

“I suppose you thought all this was over, didn’t you, Miss Fujiwara?” a heavily American accented voice queried rhetorically, the flicker of a cigarette lightly briefly illuminating his face.

“Actually I was dubious,” she managed, though her mouth was dry. “I never had the information to sell, so this is pointless.”

“I know you didn’t,” the man nodded calmly, carefully adjusting his suit jacket like she bored him. “That ship has sailed, but that doesn’t mean our encounter now is pointless.”

His sudden grin caused every muscle in Miho’s body to tense, to clench.

“There is some measure of satisfaction to be had from revenge,” he went on, moving closer but staying out of arm’s reach, “and while I may not have Japan’s authorities at my mercy, I can send them a poignant message about what happens when they interrupt my plans. Something poetic.”

I doubt he’s going to write them a haiku…

 Over-confident

Silly girl thought she had won

Oh how she was wrong

 “Don’t do this,” she exhaled. “Just walk away and disappear, don’t…”

“It’s far too late for that,” the man told her with a slow, sad smile – sarcastic though it was. “Take her bag, destroy the phone.”

With that, Miho was set upon by arms that grabbed, that tugged, that dove into pockets to empty them out, and in dismay she watched them stomp her mobile phone into the asphalt.

“If I scream…” she began as she was dragged along the ally toward a car, and the lead man looked back over his shoulder.

“If you were to scream, we’d still cart you away,” he declared. “Only when we reached our destination I’ll have my men do all kinds of unspeakable things to you, as tired a threat against women as that is in literature.”

“Asshole,” she growled as she was led to the back of the sedan, where the trunk was opened and she was bundled in. “Charming,” she snarled, then she was shut In the darkness.

For several moments there was the scrape of feet outside, the rampaging thunder of her pulse, and ragged breaths trying not to become sobs.

After everything… this is how it ends?

Then there was motion, and a sudden vibration she did not expect.

“Genever,” she gasped, struggling in the narrow confines to dig Genever’s phone from her bra where it had gone undetected.

A text message, from Nomura no less, reminding her to see Kirisawa tomorrow.

With trembling hands she pressed call, and prayed that since the text had gone through, the call would too.

“A little la…” Nomura’s voice began, but Miho rushed over him.

“Nobu! I was jumped in an alley outside a café in Shibuya and I’ve been bundled into the trunk. They’re going to kill me out of spite for messing with their plans.”

“Wha… Miho?” he sought, his voice as shocked as it had been when she’d called him after the Tres Spades explosion. “Who?”

“The terrorists I guess,” she sniffed, struggling not to lose herself completely. “They’re taking me somewhere, they took my phone but I had Genever’s… they want to send a message and they’re going to kill me,” she repeated.

“We can track your phone, but you’re going to have to buy us as much time as you can,” Nomura told her with calm urgency, and Miho closed her eyes, breathing heavily. “Miho, I’m not going to let you die,” he promised.

“Right… right,” she panted, trying to calm her heartbeat, ease the frantic burning of her lungs. “I’ll, when we stop I’ll put the phone back in my bra…”

“Figures you’d want me in there,” Nomura laughed, and Miho actually managed to cough out a chuckle.

“I’ll try to stall, to tell you where I am when I can, if it doesn’t sound suspicious,” she went on, the muttered stream of consciousness helping a little. “There were… um… how many in the alley?”

She thought hard, tried to picture it as a police officer would picture it, sharp and clear.

“Three, plus the one who grabbed me,” she hissed. “Then, four, and one more, the American.”

“American?” Nomura repeated.

Perhaps he wanted more information, or maybe he just wanted to remind her he was still there and listening.

“He had a thick accept, Texan maybe, very redneck,” she continued. “Smoker, wearing a grey, no, dark navy suit, double breasted, really out of place… blue eyes, dirty blond hair…”

Toward the end of her ramble, she dissolved into tears again, but before Nomura could offer her further reassurance she sucked a sob deep into her chest and trapped it there.

“Nobu?” she prompted, and her suddenly apparent calm caused Nomura’s chest to clench.

“I’m here, Miho,” he smiled, for her sake, even though she couldn’t see him.    

“I treated you horribly,” she declared. “And I know I said you shouldn’t forgive me for just, throwing you away because I was afraid, but… but I want you to forgive me. I want you to.”

“Honey I do,” he told her, only now his voice wavering a little. “And when this is over, if you let me, I’ll prove just how much I forgive you.”

“I want that too,” she sniffed, and though she was probably travelling to her death, she felt some relief knowing she wouldn’t be carrying that guilt to her grave.

Only regret.                                    

Though he continued to move and spoke to people in the background, Nomura updated Miho on police progress as much as she could, until Miho announced the vehicle she was travelling in had slowed.

“We still need time baby, buy that time,” Nomura encouraged.

“I’m going to mute you,” Miho inhaled slowly.

“I’ll see you soon,” he said sternly, then with a trembling finger, she muted him and tucked the phone firmly back into her bra.

The car stopped. Doors opened and slammed like they didn’t care who heard, and there was a strange, faint echo.

“Echo,” she whispered though she hardly heard it over her thundering pulse. “Like it’s an open space but, surrounded, by metal.”

Then footsteps approached and she prepared herself.

When the trunk opened, one of the larger men reached in and dragged out her by the arm.

“Ow ow ow Jesus, I can get out myse… ow!” she complained, steadying her balance before wiping at her cheeks with her free hand before looking around. “Really? The Keihin District steelworks? That’s what you meant by poetic?”

God I hope you heard that Nobu.

“Well, had Abukara not met his untimely demise before I could acquire the information from him, then kill him myself, this would be just another industrial site,” the Texan mused, watching where he was watching as he followed Miho and her guard as she was led toward the water’s edge.

“I didn’t kill Abukara,” Miho hissed out. “You can hardly blame me for that.”

“I can blame you for whatever I want,” he smirked.

“And you’re going to blame me because you didn’t end up with what you wanted,” Miho added, and her captor nodded.

“Yes.”

“What if,” Miho fished, as Tokyo Bay drew closer, “what if I could still get you what you want?”

She stopped and turned, and the one who held her did also, allowing her to look at the Texan.

“I’d say you were merely making a desperate play for your own life, and a pathetic one at that,” he responded.

“Maybe,” she agreed with an awkward nod and a shrug, “but when you’re fucking the Public Safety Captain who was in charge of the operation to recover the information you’re after, you have certain privileges­. The, the difference this time would be you’d have the information, and Public Safety would never even know about it.”

Please don’t believe what I just said Nobu. Kaga WISHES.

The Texan shifted his posture and tilted his head.

“I’m listening,” he smiled, seemed amused by her last ditched effort.

“I’m still under investigation,” Miho declared, and continued to talk, peering around as she did, noting a figure on one of the roofs nearby.

Meanwhile, several buildings away, another person joined the party, and also noticed the rooftop gunman overseeing the Texan’s proceedings.

“Spoil sports,” Hikaru huffed, taking careful aim, and with a silent shot, the Texan’s sniper was dead, slumping soundlessly forward against his gun and still hunched like he was aiming downward.

“Eisuke,” Hikaru said through his earbud. “It’s a real party down here. You want me to take out the bad guys? Looks like they’re fixing to dump Fujiwara in the bay.”

It was a little bit funny to Hikaru, since it had been he who killed Abukara for the information in the first place and dropped him in the water – careless though, since the body had been found.

“No,” Eisuke’s voice replied. “If they kill her, take out the lackies, but I’d actually like a private word with their leader if at all possible.”

“Heh,” Hikaru snickered, and resumed watching.

She was animated, and Hikaru had to, in some cold, detached way, admire her gumption as she tried to convince her would-be killers to spare her life.

“Ha, she might actually convince them she can swipe that info from Public Safety,” he murmured.

“Shame she wasn’t a better actor before she got kidnapped,” Eisuke commented, but Hikaru volleyed back, had never been afraid of Eisuke.

“She had you convinced,” he pointed out, then huffed quietly when he spied the approach of a small fleet of cars. “Oh, looks like the cavalry has arrived.”

But there was nothing Miho could do to warn her rescuers that the roof held terrible danger, not without giving herself away.

“You kill me,” she exhaled, her mouth bone dry again, but she shook off the man who held her and with hands out wither side of her, was allowed to approach the Texan, “what do you gain? A moment of satisfaction? The further ire of police?”

He watched her, one of his hands holding his own gun casually at his side.

“Let me go, and you get everything you wanted from the start, and more,” she finished.

“And what might compel you to follow through the moment I let you go, hmm?” he mused darkly, reaching out his free hand and coiling his fingers lightly around her throat.

“You don’t think I have a trustworthy face?” she swallowed, and he squeezed a little.

“What do you think a bullet would do, to that trustworthy face?” he whispered, leaning forward a little, bringing their faces uncomfortably close.

“Nothing pleasant,” Miho managed through clenched teeth. “You’ve already shown you can find me – I have no doubt at all you could find and kill me if I thought of a double cross. Letting me go now puts you in very little danger.”

“You’ve seen my face,” he pointed out, and Miho had to quash her revulsion as his hand slid up under her chin.

But his focus on her face did serve some purpose, a purpose that became absolutely crucial as she spied a familiar figure in the distance.

“I have,” she agreed, leaning her head a little into his hand, steeling herself for what she was about to do. “And it’s pissing me off.”

Though he’d held the gun pointed at her body, the Texan surely hadn’t thought Miho would make a play for it. Her sudden grip on his wrist and the swiftness of her movement to force his arm out to the side, cleared her of its harm, but discharged a bullet in the process.

“Nobu, sniper!” Miho shrieked, as Nomura, Kirisawa and the others from Second Unit appeared with their weapons drawn, shouting for the terrorists to freeze, while scanning the rooftops.

“Gah!” Miho grunted as she took the Texan’s elbow under her chin, and together they hit the ground and rolls in a struggle of arms and legs without technique.

 But there was just enough room in their grapple to squeeze a trigger.

 Just enough time to twitch a second time.

 And Nomura watched in horror as Miho’s body was shoved away, how it tumbled down the embankment.

 Like.

A.

Ragdoll.

Continue to Part Twenty-Seven: Why Are You Stopping?

@hifftn @ladystar0710 @nitelotus @belxsar @smutmylifeup @smile-smile-ichthys @mirandaflamel

[msbigredmachine]

Into The Deep End - Chapter 59

Sasha has always tried to play it safe, to keep her life as simple and risk-free as possible. Things change, however, when she garners the interest of a handsome, charming, younger man from a completely different world than hers. As she starts to question her own rules, is she ready to take the biggest chance of them all? Will she let herself take that dive? Roman Reigns/OC.

CHAPTER 58

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

If there's a question of my heart, you've got it It don't belong to anyone but you If there's a question of my love, you've got it Baby don't worry, I've got plans for you Baby, I've been making plans, oh love Baby, I've been making plans for you

Three months later...

This was straight-up voyeurism wasn't it, what she was doing. It didn't feel that way at all, but it had to be. Right?

Sasha had been awake for over an hour and she'd spent every second gazing at her sleeping boyfriend, resting on her side facing him. He looked so good. Even in slumber he was sexy as hell. He did need to shave though, and some hair had escaped from his loosening ponytail. She wanted to run her fingers through it, but it was highly likely that the action would awaken him. He slept like a log all night, and understandably so after a stressful week. They'd only just returned yesterday evening from Pensacola and last night was the first time he'd had any proper sleep. It was best that she let him be. She could play with him later. 

Carefully, she slid out from under his arm, grabbed her robe to cover her nude body and tiptoed into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She crept back into the bedroom and saw that Joe had turned on his stomach, causing the covers to slide over his body and expose a naked butt cheek and leg. His ponytail was completely free now so his hair flowed down his broad back. Sasha bit her lip and quickly scrambled out of the room before she could change her mind and climb back into the large bed to ravage him.

Alone in the kitchen as she prepared breakfast, she ran through a mental checklist of the day ahead. T.K. was back home with his girlfriend Angelia, but they were only here for a short visit as they had to return to Chicago before the weekend was over. She'd missed him so much; he'd been gone for about three months training, and had only come home twice the entire period. He had one more month to go before his training was complete. Sasha remembered when T.K. had introduced her to Angie via FaceTime some weeks back. She recalled her skepticism at meeting the young woman, then said skepticism being wiped away the minute they first spoke to each other. The girl was quite the charmer, and she clicked well with Sasha. For the first time since her son started dating, Sasha actually liked the girl he was with. That had never happened, so she figured it was good omen.

A lot of good had been happening around her over the past couple of months, actually. Elgin was responding well to chemotherapy and showing signs of progress. Pam remained by his side and was keeping strong for him and their daughter. Imani was happy and healthy and the seven-month-old remained a constant source of joy to her parents during this tough time. Mia was about to enter fourth grade and was less than a year away from the big 1-0. In funnier news, Sasha heard through the grapevine that her ex-boyfriend Tyson was having another kid...but it wasn't Desiree's. She could only imagine how much grief his wife was giving him over that situation. Or maybe not. She really couldn't care less. Those two were no longer her problem. Reggie's Bar & Grill was expanding through Tampa, and Reggie had offered Sasha the Manager's position at the new, swankier restaurant that had opened in downtown Tampa. She would be further away from home but with T.K. never around these days she only had Mia to worry about. Plus, no more nightly shifts for her. Other people were doing that now. Now that she had her GED, she could finally back up all her work experience with credentials. So while she may not have made the cut for the photography job she'd applied to, she got an even bigger opportunity and took it gladly. Evidently every cloud had a silver lining, including the one cloud in her life that had been complicated for a long time...

Sasha was glad she didn't have to pee in a cup for this appointment. It was still one of the most uncomfortable things she had ever done. It reminded her of what she endured back in junior year of high school during another of the authorities' fruitless attempts to curb the widespread marijuana problem at school. It sucked just as much as sitting in the OB-GYN's office wearing only those thin-ass hospital gowns that covered up nothing. She looked around the room, her feet bumping the side of the table as she swung her legs fretfully.

Sitting beside her, Joe rubbed her leg. "Nervous?"

"No.” 

His hand left her leg to curl around her waist. "Liar," he whispered and kissed her forehead. "You're gonna be fine, baby girl." He could tell that she didn't agree and chalked it up to nerves. He would keep trying to encourage her though.

As the door to the OB-GYN's office swung open, Sasha glanced up and swallowed hard. Normally she was happy to see Dr. Mona Sawyer, whom she and Joe had been visiting over the last two months, and it had got to a point where the mother of two could now call her a friend. But right now every other sentiment she owned was replaced by stone cold fear.

Greeting them both with a smile and a warm hug, Dr. Sawyer took a seat opposite the couple. "So how are you two feeling? Good?"

"I'm good. She's terrified," Joe joked, and Sasha nudged his shoulder for his troubles.

Dr. Sawyer smiled at them and then cleared her throat. "Okay, I'm gonna cut to the chase and give you the answers you're here for." She took the long brown file she'd carried into the office with her and drew out an X-ray photo, pinning it onto the board in the office. The couple watched her every move.

"So Sasha, this is the X-ray of your cervical area you had a month ago. I retrieved from your medical history that you had emergency cervical surgery immediately after you gave birth to your daughter nine years ago, due to excessive bleeding following her delivery. The surgery caused significant scarring or damage to your cervix, which is the neck of your uterus over here..." Mona pointed at a spot on the X-ray, "And this happens to be one of the major causes of infertility among women. However, your tests have shown that your cervix is now fully healed, and that should allow you to have a full-term pregnancy without any life-threatening complications. Joe's tests also showed no traces of infertility. In other words, I see no reason you can't and shouldn't get pregnant if you want to."

Stunned, Joe and Sasha stared at each other. Several seconds ticked by as each of them digested the news. Sasha looked at Mona in bewilderment, her vision blurred by the tears in her eyes. She could get pregnant? Her problems were gone? Was this really happening? She legitimately had no words to express what she was feeling within her.

Joe was first to speak, a big smile spreading across his handsome face. "Wow...That's great news, Doctor," he said.

Mona's smile was as big as Joe's. "I figured it would be."

Sasha didn't let go of Joe's hand...its large warmth enclosed around hers was the only proof that this moment wasn't a dream. "So...what now?" she stammered.

"Well, in cases like these we usually advise expectant management, which means you can continue to try to conceive by having regular unprotected sex. How often do you two try these days? Any changes?" Dr. Sawyer asked, writing on Sasha's chart.

Sasha looked over at Joe's reddened cheeks. She couldn't stop grinning as she spoke. "Um...not really. We still try very often. He's gone for weeks, maybe more at a time thanks to his job, and I miss him so much, so things get a little heated when he comes home." She trailed off before she could ramble on and on.

"Yeah. Basically, our sex life is still very healthy," Joe filled in for her, as Dr. Sawyer's smile widened. He leaned over to kiss Sasha's temple, squeezing her fingers as his brain continued to process this fantastic news.

After one last brief exam on the two of them, Dr. Sawyer spoke to them both. "Well, you're both still physically healthy. Neither of you is under nor overweight, and I'm well aware that Joe's line of work requires frequent and rigorous exercise and workouts that I do not medically rule as dangerous. I will order an inter-vaginal sonogram for you Sasha, just to be safe. That's the final test I'll need from you."

Sasha shot Joe a nervous smile. So far she was given a clean bill of health. It was only the sonogram that was left. She could only hope that one went right for her too.

The OB-GYN leaned forwards and placed a reassuring hand on Sasha's shoulder. "For now, you two need to relax and let nature take its course. Just be patient, and don't try so hard," she added with a wink.

Sasha shrugged. "It's kinda tough not to though...I mean, look at my man. He's so damn hot." Rubbing her boyfriend's thigh, she gazed at him adoringly, causing Dr. Sawyer to laugh and Joe to turn away to hide both his blush and huge smile.

"Make an appointment for the sonogram this week and I'll see you again soon." Dr. Sawyer turned to leave after patting Sasha on the arm. "You two are gonna be fine. Just enjoy each other, alright?"

Her reverie was interrupted by a small noise coming from her right, where the staircase was. She turned and smiled widely as Joe came into view, barefoot and bare-chested. "So this is where you've been," he stated, his voice raspy from sleep as he lumbered into the kitchen.

Sasha had to touch the corner of her mouth to check if she was drooling. How did she manage to bag such a hottie for a boyfriend? "Good morning, Mr. Reigns. You sleep good?"

He nodded and rubbed his eyes. "I passed out last night," he said.

"You did," Sasha nodded, having to refrain from laughing at his zombie-like movements as he wandered around the kitchen island. "But that's good. You need all the sleep you can get after the week you've had." Sika had fallen seriously ill earlier in the week, and Joe had dropped everything to go be with him in Pensacola. Sasha accompanied him so she could keep Patricia company and keep both mother and son sane. Joe ended up missing two house shows but as far as the Samoan was concerned, family was far more important than anything else.

Sasha turned her back to him to open the refrigerator, taking out a pitcher of freshly blended carrot juice. "It's cheat day today. What would you like for breakfast?"

Joe stood behind her, running his hands along her hips. "You."

Desire flashed, fast and hot, through her. His forwardness, especially when he wanted sex, was still taking some getting used to. "And what if that's not on the menu?" she inquired, gasping when he pushed up on her, his morning hardness pressing against her lower back.

"I'm sure I can convince you to reconsider." He flattened one palm over her stomach and kissed her neck. "Come back to bed," he whispered.

Good Lord, his voice. That deep, smooth whispery voice of his. She'd lost count of how many times he'd charmed her into bed with it, not that she ever needed much convincing in the first place. She sighed, sensing her thoughts drift away from her as he began a trail of kisses along her neck – a weakness of hers that he never hesitated to exploit – with gentle brushes of his lips up and down the column of skin. He turned her around to face him, taking her chin between his fingers. His touch was gentle but his gaze was raw, reducing Sasha to a puddle of goo. As he pressed his lips to hers, he let go of her chin to pull her to him, his front flush against hers, and Sasha moaned low in her throat. She placed her hands on the hard muscles of his chest, then slid them up his shoulders and held on, letting him take control of the kiss. He needed this and she was more than happy to give him what he needed.

It started out relatively chaste but it rapidly became more, sparking the familiar sensual heat that always led to something much more carnal and passionate. "Mia could wake up soon," Sasha tried to debate, even though she knew her daughter could sleep through an earthquake.

Joe suckled her neck as he tugged off the belt holding her robe together. "I checked on her. She's still fast asleep. And T.K.'s gone off somewhere. We can do whatever we want."

"Yeah?"

"Mm-hmm." The Samoan silenced his girlfriend by sucking her lower lip gently. He watched her eyes glaze over with hunger as they met his own, and sighed as she boldly plunged her tongue inside his mouth, sliding it along his in an alluring rhythm. Her hands couldn't stop moving up and down his back, exploring the contours and ridges she now knew by heart. Inhibitions were fading away very quickly, which had become a normal occurrence between them. 

Ever since Elgin's cancer diagnosis, Sasha's guarded cautiousness had become a thing of the past. No longer did she allow any doubts or fears hinder her relationship with Joe. Having made up her mind to change her ways, she gathered up the courage to finally let herself go emotionally, to fully embrace Joe and his unquestionable love for her, and it turned out to be a wonderful decision. Of course there was still the occasional tiff that all normal couples experienced, but it was nothing that threatened to derail them like in the past. All of that was gone. They were both confident in what they had and were happier than they'd ever been together.

Both of Joe's hands slid down to her ass, clenching it tightly before he lifted her effortlessly onto the kitchen counter, his muscled body occupying the space between her parted legs. Sasha grabbed the back of his neck and held on tight, as though afraid he would change his mind and pull away. "Don't stop, Daddy," she begged.

Joe growled hungrily at the husky tone of her voice as she said his ‘name’, making his body ache even more for his woman. "I won't. Not until you come," he whispered, his mouth back on hers in the same breath with which he spoke. His tongue rolled against hers as he pushed open her dressing gown, sliding the garment off her shoulders before grabbing her breasts and squeezing them. He grinded against her, and their ragged breathing cut through the morning quiet that had settled in the open kitchen. Joe nudged her thighs wider apart with a shift of his body, his large hand winding into her hair for a quick tug to expose her neck to him. He sucked her throat hungrily, then licked and nibbled down her chest and tugged her peaked nipple hard with his lips, smiling against her skin when she moaned. Impatiently, Sasha grabbed him and guided his mouth back to hers. Her other hand grasped his length and pulled it right out of his shorts, and it was Joe's turn to groan.

"Nani..." His breathing quickened, his body tight with anticipation as she gripped his dick, and he moaned out loud as she pushed him into her dripping entrance, sliding him deep inside her. Locking her legs around his waist, she leaned back against the counter, and he followed her, burying his face in her neck. Right away his hips began to move, and he braced one arm on the countertop, his other arm winding around her waist to hold her steady as he rocked into her.

"Yo, anyone up yet?" The front door opened, and T.K. strolled happily into the house, his steps coming to an abrupt, screeching halt at the sight before him. "Jesus Christ Ma!"

Sasha shoved Joe away from between her legs. Scrambling to find her robe, she yanked it over her bare shoulders and jumped down from the kitchen counter, gaping at her son in shock and embarrassment. "Ty!"

"Is it safe to look now?" T.K. had turned his back with his hand over his eyes. Cautiously he turned back around, uncovered his face, and gaped at his mother, horror-struck. "Ma, what the hell!" he spluttered, "Ain't Mia upstairs or somethin'? What if she walked in on y'all?"

Good point. But she forgot about that. That was the kind of magic her boyfriend possessed; all rational thought disappeared with the simplest caress of his hand. Stumped for a justifiable answer, all she could do was tug the robe tighter around her body and wish the ground could open up and swallow her whole.

"Hey, T. What's up?" She heard Joe say next to her. His shorts were already back up, and he wore an easygoing smile like nothing had happened, like he hadn't just been quite literally caught with his pants down. How on earth did he always stay so calm in situations like this?

T.K. cringed inwardly, still reeling from what he'd just witnessed. It was great that they were so much in love with each other, but he really could have done without the image of his half-naked mother getting it on with her boyfriend. This wasn't the first time he was catching them in the act, and each time traumatized him. At this rate he was going to need serious therapy. But first he needed to wash his eyes out with bleach. "We'll be in my room," he declared, gesturing between himself and Angie, who looked just as embarrassed as he did.

"Hi Miss Morgan." She waved awkwardly.

"Hey...Angie." Sasha couldn't bring herself to look at her. Luckily she didn't have to, as T.K. dragged Angie out of sight towards his bedroom. Sasha turned to see Joe covering his mouth with his shoulders shaking. "The hell are you laughin' at?" she snapped, slapping his arm.

The Samoan was moments away from completely losing it. "The look on your face, babe," he chortled, pointing at her. "I swear to God it's the funniest thing I've ever seen."

She whacked him in his chest with the back of her hand. "It's not funny. Why aren't you ever fazed when we get caught?"

"What's the point? If we're caught, we're caught. You can't change it can you?" He raised an eyebrow at her, and Sasha groaned and spun around. "I'm going back upstairs," she announced, suddenly lacking appetite of any form.

Joe trailed after her. "Sounds good to me. We still got some time to kill before we head out later."

"I thought Cassie's barbecue was tomorrow."

"Not the barbecue. I'm supposed to check out a place for Al, remember?"

Oh yeah. She forgot about that. Somewhere down the line Joe had developed a big interest in real estate, in houses and property and land and everything that had to do with them. It all started about two months ago when Alma started recruiting him in his free time to appear at the showings of buyers who were WWE fans and influence their decisions to purchase the property. Sometimes he dragged Sasha along to see some of the properties, and she'd seen him work his magic on the clients, and knew his success was fueling his passion to be fully involved in the real estate business someday. "How many properties has Alma sent you to now? Three? Four?" she asked him.

"Four. And all home runs," he replied proudly. "Hopefully I get the fifth this afternoon. It's a lady that's interested, apparently."

Sasha snorted. "Last time you had a female client all she was 'interested' in was your fine ass." She opened the door to their bedroom with a little more force than required, and made her way to the walk-in closet. "And don't tell me Alma's broker friend is tagging along too."

Joe exhaled, fighting exasperation. "Sash."

"What?" Her voice echoed from inside the closet.

"Her name's Cleo. We've talked about this."

"Yeah we have. And I remember saying I don't like the way Cleo looks at you." She poked her head back out to give him a pointed glare. "And she's always giving me this look, like she know something about you that I don't."

Joe joined her in the closet and nodded approvingly at the red jumpsuit she picked out. "You know everything about me, doll," he said. "Cleo accompanies me to the showings for obvious reasons. She's the pro, not me, remember? She works for Alma, and we both need her."

Sasha locked eyes with her boyfriend and sighed. "I know," she conceded. "Don't mean I gotta like it though."

"Relax. I don't need to tell you you're the only woman I have eyes for, do I?" said Joe.

She brushed past him out of the closet to place her jumpsuit on the couch. "Alma's been working you hard though. Like pimp hard," she pointed out.

"Pimp?" Joe repeated, incredulous. "What’chu mean pimp?"

"You heard me. Your sister is pimping you out," Sasha laughed.

"No she ain’t," he pouted.

"Yes she is. All your siblings have pimped you out on at least one occasion throughout your life. Matt did it when you were a kid, making you fetch all his stuff, Cassie did it with her furniture business, and now Alma's using you to sell off her houses. Let's call it what it is, big boy. Your siblings are your pimps."

Joe crossed his muscular arms over his chest. "I take offense to that."

Lifting her shoulder in a shrug, Sasha added, "Well you are getting paid." She smirked, laughing as Joe curled his lip at her words. He stepped out of his shorts and flopped down onto the bed, bouncing off it slightly on impact. He reached behind him to fluff the pillow beneath his head. "Mia says she wants a dog," he brought up.

"Now don't you go spoiling her, giving her everything she wants," Sasha warned.

"It's not a big deal, babe. She can learn a lot about responsibility from taking care of a dog. I think it's a good idea." He watched Sasha put her shoes away and licked his lips as she bent over, the silk robe hitching up her backside. The stirring between his legs reemerged. "Now that you've finished making fun of me, can I finally get some ass?"

Sasha giggled, looking over her shoulder. "How nice of you to ask politely."

"That's as polite as I'm gonna get," he responded as she stood up straight, and he heard her breath hitch at the sight of his erection draped over his hip. Smirking at the look on her face, he fisted his dick and stroked it deliberately, watching the lust fill her eyes once more. "I know you want me, baby girl. So do I. Come here," he growled.

The corner of her lip quirked. "You want yourself?"

He rolled his eyes. "You know what I meant."

"I guess I do." She walked over to the bedroom door and locked it, closing them off from embarrassed teenage sons and their equally embarrassed teenage girlfriends, and made her way to the bed. She took her time crawling in, her gaze locked on her man, and threw one leg over his naked body to straddle his hips. Joe moved his hands from her thighs and her backside up to her slender waist. He untied her silk robe once again, this time succeeding in undressing her completely. He cupped her breasts, admiring them as he squeezed and sculpted them in his palms.

"You've got really nice boobs," he observed, the mesmerized tone of his voice slashing his age in half and drawing a giggle out of his girlfriend.

"Thank you." Biting her lip, she rolled her ass against him, and he groaned as he felt her moist heat spread over him, her soaked entrance brushing over the tip of his length. It blew his mind – and other parts of his anatomy – how easily wet her pussy always got for him. He growled and kissed her hard while he raised her ass in the air, both moaning as he lowered her down onto his dick. He kept a firm grip on her plump backside, gasping as she started to ride him, her walls wrapped snugly around every inch of him like a glove.

Sasha hummed with satisfaction as she felt Joe's hips rise off the bed to thrust slowly into her, and she twisted her fingers in his hair. "Mmm, that's right baby...keep doin' me like that. Don't stop."

"I won't." Joe gave her a devilish smile. "Not until you come."

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

"Holy shit."

Joe chuckled in amusement at his girlfriend's remark as the Range Rover came to a stop. He climbed out and rounded the vehicle to open the passenger's side for her. He carefully helped her out, noting her awed expression as she gawked at the vastness before her.

At a little under six thousand square feet, it was easily one of the biggest properties she had ever seen. The house itself was a stunning Mediterranean-style masterpiece, with stone pathways wrapping around impeccably trimmed green grass and short palm trees. A stone fountain stood in the middle of the pathway, and giant columns greeted them at the entrance to the veranda towards the large double-entry front doors. Hand in hand, the couple walked up, and Joe fished around in his pocket for the house keys before smiling at Sasha. "So, you ready to go in?" he asked.

Sasha gave a slight shake of her head and smoothed down her red jumpsuit. "Can we even finish viewing it in one day?" This was a colossus of a house. Joe's potential client was in for a treat. Surely Alma would forward him a nice sum from this sale too.

Upon entering the house, the two were treated to a magnificent view of the pool area outside and beyond through the large pocket sliding-glass doors featured in the massive living room. A fireplace and built-in shelves graced one wall of the living room. They passed through an arched opening situated next to a walk-in wet-bar and found an over-sized family room with a built-in entertainment center and a second fireplace. One wing of the house took up the study, equipped with built-in bookshelves and a large mahogany desk, along with a large guest-bedroom, powder room, pool bath and utility room. Walking through the large pocket-sliding doors, they strolled into the lanai, with the outdoor grilling area and a large swimming pool spread before them. It was perfect for parties, cookouts, barbecues, or just chilling outside on a quiet breezy evening. Whoever lived in this house was going to have a blast.

Upstairs was more of the same fabulousness. The master bedroom was the most magnificent of the six bedrooms. The ceiling was vaulted and the bedroom opened to the balcony from which one could see the lanai as well as the pool area from a further distance. The 'his and her' walk-in closets were roomy, bigger than the ones in their home. The luxurious master bath featured an over-sized tub and a large dual-head shower area. Two his-and-her toilets completed the bathroom design. Sasha and Joe pushed open the double doors and stepped out onto the balcony to test out the view outside. Sasha could already envision how beautiful the sunset would be from here.

Joe gazed down at Sasha, watching her every reaction as she looked out the balcony. "Incredible, huh?"

"Amazing." This place was unbelievable. Anyone who could afford this place would be crazy not to take it. She herself was already sold and she hadn't even seen the house in its entirety.

"I hear the best part of the house is at the other side," Joe told her, holding his hand out to her. "Wanna see?"

Sasha noticed the prominent twinkle in his gorgeous eyes. He seemed particularly enthusiastic about this house. But who could blame him?

She followed him back downstairs and to another side of the house, opening a door that led outside. He pushed it open, and Sasha's jaw dropped.

It was the most breathtaking garden she'd ever seen, its landscaping dominated by rows and rows of neatly trimmed rose bushes. Red and pink and yellow and white roses lined all four corners of the garden, and it bore a strong resemblance to the gardens she and Joe had strolled through on the private island in Pensacola so many months ago. 

She blinked several times as she turned around slowly in the same spot, shaking her head. "Okay...I'm totally jealous of this client of yours. She's bagged a total gem in this place." She glanced at her watch and looked up at Joe, who, she suddenly noticed, was intently studying her every move. "Speaking of, where she at? She shoulda been here like half an hour ago, right?"

His already wide smile broadened. "What if I told you she's been here with me all along?"

Narrowing her eyes, Sasha looked around expecting to see someone else there, and then looked back at him, growing more confused when she saw his gaze fixed determinedly on her. "Wait...me?"

"Well technically, you and me," he said with a nonchalant shrug, though his fingers were crossed tightly behind his back. "We will be living together after all."

Sasha's eyes widened, her entire body slacking as realization dawned on her. "Wait a minute...You're the one buying this house?"

"I'd like to." He smiled. Thanks to his healthy WrestleMania bonus and the checks from the recently released video game, he had some change to spare and this was where it went. "That's why I've been communicating with Cleo. She found this place. I liked it, and I thought you'd like it too. It's in a gated community not too far from the city...I wanted your approval before I bought it. Cleo will get a good price for our current home when I put it on the market." His smile faded, and his heart raced uncomfortably at the look on her face, and right away he wondered if he'd acted too fast again. "You don't like it?"

Glimpsing the hurt in his eyes, the mother of two shook her head adamantly. "No, no, I love it. It's just...I didn't think it was for me...I never thought in my wildest dreams..." Tears clogged her throat. "Oh Joe. A house! Why do you go through so much trouble for me?"

Joe stepped closer to her, wrapping his muscular arms around her waist. "Simple. I'm in love," he answered. "And this ain't just any house, baby girl. It's our home," he emphasized, placing a gentle kiss on her nose and looking into her eyes. "I know we've haven't been living together all that long, but I've loved every moment of coming home to you and spending all our free time together. The court case with Andrea had me thinking of the old memories in our current place. Bad memories. I want to start a new life with you and create brand new memories with us as a family. You, me, T.K., Mia, and whoever else we welcome into our family. All of us, together. Here. If you want it, just say the word and it's ours."

Sasha was blown away. Absolutely blown away. Six years ago she was cramped in a glorified sardine can with her two young children. Now she had the choice to reside in a six thousand square-foot gated home for the rest of her life with the man she was hopelessly in love with. Who was she to turn down such a seductive offer? Burying her face in her man's chest, all she could do was nod. "Yes. I want it. I want it all."

Relief washed over the Samoan's handsome features and he let out an audible sigh. He circled his arms over her shoulders in a big hug and stroked her hair, quietly thanking God that this was working out well so far. Several seconds passed when he said, "You know, there's more."

She pulled back and gaped at him. More? What else, what more could he possibly have in store after something as unbelievable as this?

"Hi Mama!"

She spun round and found T.K. and Mia crossing the garden to join them. Mia rushed into her arms and kissed her cheek, then presented two red roses to her. Sasha looked down at the roses and saw they were intertwined together at the stems. Now she was really confused. "What is going on? What are you two doing here?" she asked, watching Mia hug Joe.

T.K. grinned at his mother's disoriented countenance. She hadn't seen anything yet. "Angie dropped us off. This place is awesome, Ma. Do you like it?"

"Wait, y’all knew about this place too?" she inquired, and they both nodded, grinning widely. Clearly they were all in on some plan she wasn't a part of. She returned her gaze to Joe's, a sigh escaping her full lips. "I love it. The décor could do with a little tweaking but overall it's amazing," she commented, inhaling the roses in her grasp and smiling softly.

Joe smiled. "I'm glad you like it. I care so much for you nani. I want you to have everything you've ever wanted."

It was all too much for her, too overwhelming. The tears she was holding back finally spilled forth. "I just want you, babe," she whispered.

Smiling softly, Joe wiped away her tears with his thumbs. "And you have me. You've had me since the moment I first laid eyes on you. I was days away from completely self-destructing and you saved me. You gave me something that I was missing for a long time; a reason to work harder on myself, to be a better man. I am in awe of you. You are such a beautiful woman, inside and out. You are sexy and smart, strong and independent and an amazing mother. An amazing lover. I can't keep my hands off of you. Your sassy mouth and your fire make me so crazy. I love how you don't put up with my crap, but you put up with the crap that comes with my career. You hold me down and make me feel like a million bucks even when I don't feel that way inside. You mean everything to me, and I've since realized that I cannot live without you."

He ran his thumb along her lower lip and smiled, his nerves quelling a little when she pursed her lips against his thumb. The confusion was still in her eyes, wondering where he was going with this. He would clear that up in a few seconds. He was nervous as hell, but he took a deep breath and carried on. "Baby girl, you are the center of my world. I want to love you, protect you, fight with you and make up with you for the rest of my life, all in this house right here. I know I won't get to be home all the time and trust me I fuckin' hate that, but I'll make time to be with you and our family. I'll always make time for you, nani. I want to be yours forever, and I want you to be mine forever, and there's only one way I can show you how much I mean that."

Taking another deep breath, he stepped back from her, and reaching into his pocket, he withdrew a tiny velvet box.

Time froze. Like literally froze. The world seemed to stop moving as Sasha finally realized what was going on. A gasp ripped from her throat and her hands flew to her mouth as she watched Joe descend to one knee. He carefully opened the box, revealing a white-gold diamond-encrusted band with a sparkling, cushion-cut diamond in the center.

"Oh my god," she whispered, her voice and her hands shaking. "Oh my god."

Though his smile was nervous, his words were as clear as the afternoon sky above them. "Sasha. My love, my queen...I'm asking you in front of the two most important people in your life, to make me the happiest, most blessed man in the world. I want you to be my wife, Sasha. Will you marry me?"

She could barely see through her tears. She could hardly breathe. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought it was going to burst inside her chest. She tore her gaze from the ring to look into his grey eyes, seeing nothing but his heart in them. It was one thing talking and thinking about this moment. To have it actually happen, in the middle of this beautiful rose garden, with the most breathtaking piece of jewelry she'd ever seen, was an entirely different, entirely indescribable emotion. She looked over at her two children, and noticed how they stood confidently by each side of Joe; their father figure, who even at his young age was a better father to them than their real fathers ever were. They loved him just like he loved them. And that solidified the answer she'd always known in her heart.

Joe took her prolonged silence for something else. "Baby, say something," he whispered, his worried eyes boring into hers. But he never had to worry anymore. Never had to question or even doubt how much in love with him she was. Because she was head over heels. That part of her was dead and gone and in the past where it belonged. Her future was with him. Her future was now and forever with Joseph Anoa'i.

She smiled reassuringly as tears continued streaming down her face, surprisingly calm on the outside even though her heart was still hammering and she was giddy and leaping for joy on the inside. Her trembling hand found its way to his face, caressing his cheekbone with her palm. "Joe," she breathed, "My beautiful, amazing Joe. I would be honored to be your wife."

Joe's eyes immediately softened at her response. "Is that a yes?" he whispered, and she giggled tearfully.

"Yes, baby. Yes it is."

"Thank God." He pressed his lips to her hand, and it felt like he was on autopilot as he took the ring out of the box, slid it carefully up her ring finger and kissed it reverently. As he stood up, his head was spinning, Sasha's answer buzzing in his ears. Suddenly, everything had changed. Everything between them became that much more final, much more complete.

Sasha held up her hand, turning it left and right as she admired the diamond. "It's so beautiful."

"Simply beautiful. Like you," Joe agreed with a smile, repeating the words he'd said to her back in Miami, seemingly a lifetime ago now. They'd both come so far together.

"I helped pick the ring, Mama," Mia chirped in proudly.

Sasha gaped at her daughter, and then down at the entwined roses she was still clenching. "And this? What does this mean?"

"It represents the question you just said yes to," T.K. responded. "We did our research."

Sasha glared playfully at all three of them. "Y'all been working overtime behind my back huh?"

"Something like that," Joe laughed. His eyes were round and bright, and his smile was a wide, joyous, heart-breaking smile that made her fall in love with him all over again. She pulled him to her, kissing him zealously. She wrapped her arms around his neck, squealing as he lifted her up in the air and spun her around. He set her down and kept his tight hold on her, burying his face in her neck. "I'm so happy right now," he murmured.

And she was just as ecstatic. She wanted nothing but happiness for the man who changed her life, who had fought so hard for her and for their relationship. He deserved love and happiness and Sasha promised to spend the rest of their lives giving him all of that and more.

Nothing could wipe the grin off of her face as she glanced down at her beautiful ring. "Oh my god, I'm getting married," she squeaked tearfully, fighting the urge to pinch herself.

Joe watched her eyes glisten again, and he rested his forehead against hers, his arms wrapped protectively around the woman who was now his fiancée. "I love you, nani. You're mine now. Forever," he whispered.

Sasha placed her hand on his chest, the diamond glinting off her finger, and she relished the feel of his heartbeat as she kissed his lips softly. "I love you too, Leati. And you're mine, forever and ever. I wouldn't have it any other way and I'm never gonna let you go."

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

There really couldn't have been any other outcome, could there? Y'all woulda killed me, for one, lol.

Two more chapters and that's it. Got the champagne on ice (even though I don't drink) as I bid farewell to my baby.

Song lyrics from "The Matrimony" by Wale and Usher. (LOVE that song, the chorus is just heaven.)

CHAPTER 60

[dipifica]

need help/new story!

hey everyone!!! i know ive been m.i.a. when it comes to the fanfic scene but i have the first chapter of a new story and its......a 10 things i hate about you au! i love this movie a ton and really love the idea so i thought i would try it out! under the read more below is the first draft of chapter 1! i dont usually do this but i would totally appreciate any comments or suggestions on this first chapter (also if you want more/would read until the end, etc.) since im busy and have been having personal problems i feel it would help me be motivated if people were interested! this is a rough draft so things can change but for sure couples are dippica (dipper/pacifica) and wenbel (wendy/mabel) ages are moved around as well but only so i can have the whole gang in high school at once. anyways yeah! please tell me what you think!

Wendy Corduroy adjusted her baseball cap for the final time before deciding that, eh, that will do. She had never been one for nervousness, frankly she considered herself to be one of the chillest people she knew (except around family, but who was stress-free around their family ever?), but today was a brand new day full of brand new people in a brand new place.

Wendy and her family has moved to Gravity Falls only a month ago because the work was good for her lumberjack father. With the world moving faster and faster everyday, Wendy’s father couldn’t seem to keep up and decided a quieter, more rustic town would do well for the entire family. Luckily, the Corduroy children weren’t incredibly disappointed. Wendy was a starting her senior year somewhere new, but she tried to look on the bright side. If she loved it here, she will be happy, and if she hated it, hey, she’s in college next year anyway.

She got an E-Mail the night before instructing her about the school’s transfer policy, each transfer student would be assigned another student to lead them around the school, answer questions, and be a “friend” although Wendy knew well that the school couldn’t make her be friends with anyone. Still, she thought it was somewhat unnecessary, the school wasn’t huge and she was a senior, the last thing she needed was to look lame asking someone younger than her about her school.

“Name, please?” A man asked her as she approached the main office.

“Wendy Corduroy.” She stated, the school was a lot smaller than her last with far less students. Maybe her adventure would turn out to be a dud after all.

“Gideon Gleeful?” The man called to a group of student leaders. Wendy turned to see no one answer, than out from the corner a boy with white hair, dressed business-casual stood up.

“Yes, sir!” He replied.

“Your transfer. Wendy Corduroy, this is Gideon. Gideon, Wendy.”

“Nice to meet you.” Wendy shook the boy’s hand thinking how he even looked too young to be in high school.

“To you as well.” Gideon replied.

“If you have any questions, Gideon will answer them for you. Now, go ahead and start the tour. Next in line?”

“Right this way, Ms. Corduroy.” Gideon exclaimed.

“Wendy is fine, thanks. You are…..chipper.” Wendy chuckled. “If you don’t mind me asking…how old are you?”

“I’m 15 years old!” Gideon seemed to get somewhat angry. “I’m a sophomore this year at GFHS and I am so sick of people asking my age…” He muttered.

“I’m sorry, dude.” Wendy apologized. “You know, it’s good to look youthful.”

Gideon sighed. “Not when you are trying to get a girlfriend. Well, let’s start the tour anyway, you are gonna need a lot of help from me!” Gideon perked up and started his journey down the south east hall, Wendy trailing behind him.

—

“And that wraps up the English department. Next we have-“

“Gideon, can we just end the tour here? I think I’ll figure it out.” Wendy slumped over and sat down in front of a locker. Her feet killed as Gideon insisted on taking the stairs everywhere.

“We have so much more to see, Wendy!” Gideon exclaimed. “We still have the art wing, the back alley, the make out tree!”

“I really think I’ll catch on.” Wendy sighed and hung her head.

“‘Cuse me?” A perky, girl’s voice called from above. Wendy pulled her head back to see a beautiful young girl. “So sorry to bug you but you are blocking my locker.”

“I-uh…yeah. No, I’m sorry.” Wendy picked herself off and moved out of the pretty girl’s way.

“Hey, don’t be!” She smiled. “Are you new? I’ve never seen you around before.”

“Yeah, I am. Wendy Corduroy.” Wendy stuck her hand out.

“Mabel Pines!” Mabel trapped her hand and shook. Her hands were soft in Wendy’s and Wendy suddenly felt light as a feather. “You’ll love it here. Always something going on.” Mabel grabbed the book she needed from her locker and shut it. “I gotta go, but it was great meeting you, Wendy Corduroy!”

“You too, Mabel Pines.” Wendy replied, her heart dancing inside her. She usually wasn’t one for love at first sight but…wow. Mabel smiled once more and turned to join two other girls waiting on the corner for her.

“Don’t push your luck with her.” Gideon snapped Wendy out of her love-filled day dream. “Mabel Pines doesn’t date. Not allowed in fact.”

“Oh really, why is that?” Wendy asked, eyes still on the beautiful junior before her.

“Protective parents. You know, I even heard she’s not allowed to date until her brother does.”  

“Brother?” Wendy questioned.

“Twin brother, Dipper Pines. Basically the biggest dork this school has ever seen.” Gideon chuckled.

“That’s not you?”

“Watch it newbie.” Gideon glared. “No one will go out with him.”

“Hey, can you do me a favor?” Wendy batted her eyelashes.

“Ugh, Dipper is straight and so am I.” Gideon groaned. “And we aren’t that close yet, sister. Maybe you could…”

“Hi,very gay.” Wendy responded. “Plus, I’d feel bad…”

“But you were ready to throw me into the ring, huh?”

“Look, there’s gotta be some way to get her brother a date and get her to…is she gay?” Wendy asked, deciding in the moment it would be best to get that settled before she devised any schemes.

“Heard through the grapevine she’s had summer camp flings with girls and guys. So bi?” Gideon shrugged.

—-

“Ladies!” Gideon called over to two girls who did not look pleased to see him. Wendy trailed behind, listening in on the conversation.

“What do you want Gideon?” The larger girl sighed.

“Just a quick question, Mabel, straight or…?”

“She’s not into you.” The smaller girl rolled her eyes. “She can’t date, you know this better than anyone.”

“Right, right, right, that was last year. I actually am on the market for someone new.” He winked to them, which they groaned and turned their backs to him in response. “So she is or?”

“Bi, weirdo!” One yelled back.

“Wait like, she’s bi, or like goodbye to me?” Gideon yelled back.

“Like she’s bi, idiot!”

“Okay, thanks!” Gideon scurried back over to Wendy who was now crouched behind a trash can.

“You had a thing for her? Should I be worried?”

“Last year, Wendy. Last year.” He waved his hand in the air. “Although Mabel did at one time own my heart, she made it clear even if she was to date…it wouldn’t be me.”

Wendy placed a hand on his shoulder. “I have your blessing?”

“Yeah, but you have to help me find a lady of my own now.”

Wendy laughed. “Okay. In the meantime, tell me more about Dipper Pines.”

—-

Wendy and Gideon sat at the table across from Dipper’s, watching him read a book that was in a language Wendy could not understand. “Damn, you really weren’t kidding. No friends?”

“Dipper can come off as a know-it-all jerkface.” Gideon whispered. “Half of the student body thinks he’s an weirdo nerd, the other half is afraid of him.”

“Afraid of him?”

“He’s got an interest in the paranormal. Really freaky shit.”

“I mean, that’s not that weird…”

“He’s had a few incidents at school…” Wendy raised an eyebrow. “Look, by now you know Gravity Falls isn’t exactly a normal town, we are home to some weird, unexplainable stuff. Dipper…exploits it. Brings it to school. We’ve basically had a lot of lockdowns because of him. Even his perfect grades couldn’t keep him out of multiple suspensions, and causing mass panic every few months doesn’t make him that popular.”

“Damn.” Wendy breathed. “So finding someone to date this guy is going to be…”

“Impossible? Yes.”

“No one comes to mind? Come on Gid, there’s gotta be someone willing and desperate!” Wendy whisper-screamed. “Maybe someone we can even blackmail?”

Gideon perked up and suddenly smiled widely. “Oh, I have just the person. This tour is about to get way more fun than what I expected.”

—

“Her?” Wendy asked. “She’s gorgeous.”

“And my only lead.” Gideon muttered. “Play it cool.”

“I always do!” Wendy scoffed as she followed Gideon towards the beautiful blonde standing at her locker.

“Pacifica Northwest, how are you?” Gideon greeted. The girl visibly sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Gleeful, a new school year is not going to make me forget how big of a weirdo you are. Move along.” She spat.

Gideon let out a chuckle and Wendy caught on he was most certainly enjoying this. “Actually, darling,” He grinned. “I think you should be a bit nicer to me from now on.”

“Psh. Why would I ever show you any sort of kindness? Get lost.” She slammed her locker and started to move away.

“Welcome to Posh Burger, can I interest you in some fries today?” Gideon stated simply, still grinning, causing Pacifica to stop dead in her tracks.

“No. Way.” She muttered, turning back. “Listen, you-“

“No, you listen.” Gideon interrupted, pulling out his phone revealing multiple pictures of Pacifica working at a burger joint. “I’ve got proof here that Miss Gravity Falls herself, works at Posh Burger two towns over. What happened Paz? Daddy ran out of money?”

“That is none of your business! And this right now, is just about the creepiest thing you have ever done!” Pacifica rose her voice. “Delete them.”

“The students of GFHS have a right to know what their homecoming queen does on the weekends. It would take one simple click…”

“What do you want? Is that what this is, some sort of blackmail?”

“Gideon, maybe we shouldn’t-“ Wendy started, not wanting to ruin some junior’s life on her first day.

“Wendy, you are new around here, but trust me, 85% of the school population would expose this brat the second they could. I’m a saint.” Gideon turned his attention back to the blonde. “It is a blackmail thing. We want you to take Dipper Pines out on a date.”

“He’s even worse than you.” Pacifica sighed. “Why would you ever care about Dipper Pines’ dating experience?”

“Wendy’s got a thing for Mabel Pines. Mabel doesn’t date until Dipper does. It’s simple really. You date Dipper, Wendy woos Mabel, and these pictures stay safe with me. In return, Wendy’s basically my slave and you have to date Dipper in the first place. Satisfying enough for me.”

Wendy shrugged and for the first time wondered what she was getting herself into.

“You’re cruel. This is going to ruin me.” Pacifica sighed.

“I think these pictures will more so.”

“Maybe I’ll take my chances.” Pacifica glared.

“No, wait! I’ll-uh-I’ll pay you for every date.” Wendy offered.

“Corduroy, what’s the deal?” Gideon whispered.

“I’m starting a new job over the weekend. I’ll pay you for every date you take him on. And-And we won’t leak the pictures. Deal?” Wendy stuck her hand out for a handshake.

Pacifica eyed her hand, then eyed Gideon who’s finger hovered over a send button. “…Deal.” She shook her hand. “Gideon, you just made it to the top of my shit list.”

“I’m humbled.” Gideon put on hand on his heart. “As an added bonus, I’ll be your information guide. Dipper usually hangs around Lab 324 after school, I think. Best to start the courting early.”

Pacifica cringed. “Whatever.” Pacifica finally got to storm away without interruption and as soon as she knew she was alone, she let out a frustrated scream.

——-

Pacifica paced outside Lab 324, she peeked her head through the small window and saw Dipper Pines sitting with headphones in and writing quickly in his notebook. She didn’t know why she felt so nervous. She tried to convince herself it was the fact this guy had almost destroyed the school and town multiple times, but she knew what it truly was, and feared fulfilling Wendy and Gideon’s task would be far harder than seducing just any nerd. This wasn’t just some nerd, it was Dipper Pines. The Dipper Pines that helped her a few years ago and showed her how horrible her parents could be. She now had to face, trick, and lead on the one who believed she could be better. She was going to prove his belief in her wrong all over again.

She thought back to the photos and sighed. It’s just this one guy. She thought. It’s not like he is a saint either. She recalled all the mean things he said about her that same day of the party.

The memory drove her to finally open the door, alerting Dipper to turn and pull his earphones out. “Pacifica.” He stated, he didn’t seem confused as to why she was there.

“Hey, Dipper.” She said, awkwardly strutting in and leaning on the table next to him. “How have you been?”

“Oh, so now you’ll talk to me?” He spat right away. Pacifica hoped he would be polite and act as if they had no past, but no one was around them to fake for.

“Don’t be like that, I was just a kid-“

“Just a kid two years ago when you refused to acknowledge my existence in front of your popular friends.”

“A lot can change in two years.”

“Yeah, but not that much.”

“Dipper, come on, I know I’ve been a real jerk to you in the past, but I was wondering if you wanted to hang out sometime. You know, like old times?”

Dipper stared into Pacifica’s eyes. “…What do you want?”

“To hang out with you.”

“No, what do you want? You choose now to suddenly rekindle our…semi-friendship almost four years after the fact? Is there another ghost in the manor?”

“No, I want to hang out, Dipper. I’m sorry if you felt like I ditched you.”

“I didn’t feel any way, you did ditch me.”

Pacifica remained silent, backed into a corner by Dipper’s words. She couldn’t argue it wasn’t true, the two had connected, even if it was a short time. By the time freshmen year pulled around, Pacifica learned fast how to survive in a bigger school: cut off the people that didn’t fit in.

“You know I’m right. You are so easy to read.” Dipper scoffed, packed up his things, and left the room.

Pacifica was left standing on her own, feeling guilty and frustrated.

[kai-keda]

Honestly, looking at your posts about Super sometimes I feel guilty for supporting the show so much. Because I honestly love it. I love the art style, I love how most of the characters are, I love the humour, I like a lot of the action and the stories. There's some stuff I don't like and I know the animation isn't always great, mostly in the first two sagas, but honestly there's not enough to ruin the experience and I still think it's a great show all around. It's the most fun I've had with 1/2

First and most important - you are absolutely not wrong for liking Super.

Never let critics tell you what you can and can’t enjoy. Ever.

You’re not stupid for liking it.

You’re not wrong for liking it.

It’s okay.

Now, from here on out is gonna be a little bit of tough love.

I’m not going to say “oh it’s okay, it’s okay, Super can totally be good! If you like it - it must be, right? It’s not dragging down the franchise!” because I would be lying to you and myself if I said that.

Liking things that are objectively bad un-ironically is normal. Lots of people do it. I do it. I really fucking love Equestria Girls. Like. A lot. I love it. A lot.

Not being able to study a piece of art on a critical level doesn’t make you stupid. It’s okay. You just can’t seem to place what you love about the series.

I can’t help you to figure it out, either, sadly, because I know that everything is done bad and I know that the story goes against everything I’ve studied about Dragon Ball’s writing and just writing in general. The same with animation. Everything I’ve studied to do to make something look good in an animation is done wrong in Super.

If you read what I have to say about DBS and can’t argue because you think I’m right on the complaints that I have, then I suggest that when you’re talking about it with friends you say something along the lines of “I can’t really say why I like it. This person online says it’s really bad, absolutely hates it, and I kinda agree with what she says but something about it keeps me attached.” That’s a perfectly valid reason to watch it but if you think I’m right when I say “the writing is done bad and the animation is done bad.” then you can’t really say that those things are done well, can you? Unless you don’t believe that, in which case I’d ask “why” and we’re back to the “I don’t know, but I like it.” argument.

I’m so sorry but the fact that you like it doesn’t mean it’s good.

I think the problem with comparing it to GT is the time between the end of Dragon Ball and its airing.

Many fans watched GT while Dragon Ball was still new and amazing and hyped everywhere as being great. So when GT wasn’t as good, everyone lost their minds. (Honestly, I’ve heard through the grapevine that GT had basically the same reactions from fans as Super. Everyone was swearing it was made by Toriyama and that it was canon, if you tried to criticize it you got shut down and only after the hype died did people start listening to the critics).

The problem with GT is the same as The Legend of Korra. It’s not as good as the original, but it’s not god-awful. GT is fine when standing on its own. It had one silly arc and one ehhhhh kiiiinda bad arc but the writing was still solid. It’s “meh”. GT is not as good as Dragon Ball, but good Lord it is not as bad as people make it out to be.

Not trying to say GT is some diamond-in-the-rough secret masterpiece like what Dragon Ball is, because it’s not. It’s okay. I got bored pretty often and some things in the writing weren’t the best but I wasn’t pulling my hair out and screaming about basic rules being broken the way I am with Super.

GT’s biggest problem is boredom.

People complain about the animation in GT while praising Super’s and that’s baffling me. No, GT is not fantastic - even for its time - but it’s not consistently terrible with random quick moments of “lol hey look at this quick pretty scene now forget about all the crap before it” the way Super is. GT’s quality was consistently “pretty good”. Super’s is inconsistent but on average, pretty dang bad with a lot of god-awful and obnoxious-to-look-at moments.

I think there’s a lot of “what we wanted Super to be” projection going on. That’s why, when you try and discuss the writing with fans of the series, their only defense is “but the concepts are good!”. They’re right. The concepts are good. But story concept alone does not, a good story, make.

Ideas are cheap, I’m afraid. So when you botch a great concept with terrible execution, you get a terrible product. That’s just how it is.

I feel like people are terrified of another GT and so they’re projecting so hard this idea that “well, wherever Super is bad, OG Dragon Ball was bad too” and that’s what’s hurting the franchise.

This fanbase has a serious problem of disrespecting Toriyama as an Author, as an Artist, and disrespecting Dragon Ball as the amazingly written series that it was.

This is a random scene from DRAGON BALL - ya know, the really fucking old series? - and the animation still holds up. Random, unimportant sequence of just Bulma talking and this is the average quality I expect from Dragon Ball.

Compared to Super’s average:

That fancy over-the-shirt-whatever-it’s-called-coat on Gohan changed size. In fact, Gohan’s line where his hip starts jumped up for no fucking reason. Also - do you know how hard it is to find DBS gifs on here? There’s not a lot. Because no one’s making a ton of gifs of scenes. Especially not of the countless amount that look like shit. Just a lot of the same two fights that looked great because those two exist. Mr. Satan’s muscles aren’t real. Videl should’ve fucking blinked or reacted or something, Mr. Satan’s cape is defying gravity. What’s the light-source? I don’t know. You’d think it’s inbetween Gohan and Videl but Mr. Satan begs to differ. This isn’t even the worst. It’s just kinda bad but it’s the fact that this is the best the average gets that’s shit.

Here’s where I bring out information that I was gonna save for its own post tomorrow but I guess it’s coming out now.

Among the Asian countries, there’s an annual poll of the best Anime. For all these years since serialization, Dragon Ball hasn’t gone below 20. Dragon Ball Super comes out, the poll changes the name of the anime to “Dragon Ball Super” to encompass the entire franchise, it isn’t on the list by the end of the poll. Out of 100. Why when the ratings are fine? Well, I’m watching Super on CrunchyRoll every week because I fucking have to because I can’t stand not taking in every Dragon Ball everything out there but if I was in that poll, I probably would’ve voted for Hunter x Hunter or Yuri on Ice. I sure as hell was not going to vote for DBS purely because of Dragon Ball when so much other Anime is so much better and has so much more blood, sweat and tears in it than DBS’ garbage. Teen Titans Go was doing GREAT for ratings for Cartoon Network but we all know how those numbers are bullshit. Ya know - it being the only thing airing 80% of the time. Ratings =/= quality.

http://goku-x-chichi.tumblr.com/post/154773647402/im-gonna-need-to-see-the-receipts-for-these

http://vote.animefestival.jp/finish.html

http://animefestival.jp/ja/post/4695/

So - yeah - Dragon Ball Super is hurting the name of Dragon Ball because of its terrible quality.

I’m sorry.

That doesn’t mean you’re stupid for liking it.

That doesn’t mean you’re stupid for not understanding what’s bad about it.

It just means that there’s some other God-only-knows reason you like DBS.

Don’t stress about it.

PLEASE don’t stress about it.

Enjoy it.

Have fun.

Just don’t try and tell me that it’s good because it really - really - isn’t.