#as a kid he’s supposed to only have five and that’s only shown in that last doodle on the first page ahaha whoops

[skittlewaffle]

haha what if i shared Wilson and Bree backstory shit

[starkidmunson]

damned if i do (give a damn what people say)

It seems Steve Harrington is back off the market

The latest news on the pop star’s love life comes mere weeks after word of a fallout with longtime beau, journalist Nancy Wheeler. While neither party has confirmed the rumors, many of Harrington’s closest friends have hinted at the end of the relationship in interviews and on social media.

One thing everyone failed to mention, however, is that Harrington appears to have moved on and is now dating Corroded Coffin front-man, Eddie Munson.

The two have been friends for years, tracing as far back as the early 2010s, though it’s difficult to put a pin in exactly when they met. Neither are particularly vocal about their personal lives and often change the subject when the other comes up in an interview; a diversion tactic they’ve been playing for years.

Still, the alleged new couple has been spotted around some of Harrington’s favorite Manhattan hot spots several times over the past week.

The rockstar has a bit of an edgier vibe than Harrington’s usual flings; more outspoken and unpredictable than the ‘type’ Steve has typically shown an interest in; at least publicly.

Only time will tell if “Steddie” (so dubbed by the fans in support of the relationship) is true… and if they’ll last.

_____

“I can’t believe they think I’m dating Eddie,” Steve grumbled into the pillow on the floor of his hotel room. With a huff, he turned his head and looked off to the wall on the far side of the room. “I mean, it’s crazy that I can’t go out to dinner with anyone besides you and not be on a date.”

Robin leveled her foot to the center of his back, before shifting her weight onto it, then grinned in satisfaction as Steve groaned and his back popped loudly in several places. “It’s not like it’s that surprising. The tabloids went feral over you and Nancy breaking up after they were convinced you guys were already secretly married.” She shifted her weight back off him, dropping to sit cross-legged beside Steve. “Plus, it’s not that much of a stretch.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Steve asked, pushing himself up until he was sitting with his back against the wall, leg stretched out against Robin’s.

“It means you two have never looked at each other the way friends do. It makes sense that they’re picking that up.” Robin shrugged, brushing off her comment like it wasn’t shattering part of Steve’s bubble.

“We look at each other totally normally!”

The look Robin leveled Steve with had him pushing himself up off the floor and making his way toward the bathroom.

“I don’t have time for this right now, I need to start getting ready, but we don’t do anything normal friends wouldn’t because that’s what we are, Robin!”

“Are you trying to convince yourself of that, or me?” Robin asked and sighed heavily when Steve slammed the bathroom door closed in response.

It was only about five minutes before there was a familiar knock at the door; three in quick succession, followed by two after a short pause.

“I think we need to talk, sweetheart,” was understandable, despite being muffled by the door, before Steve was racing out of the bathroom to beat Robin to undoing the locks and letting Eddie in. “Why didn’t you tell me we’re dating?” Eddie asked through a pout, leaned against the doorframe.

Steve rolled his eyes and moved out of the way, letting Eddie follow him inside, before pointing at Robin. “See! Very much not dating!”

“Well,” Eddie started, teasingly, only to get hit in the face with a pillow from Steve’s bed. “I’m kidding, Steve. It’s not even a bad thing. I mean, they’re actually being really fucking cool about you being bisexual.”

“Being out as bi doesn’t mean that every person, regardless of their gender, is automatically my love interest just because I breathed near them.” Steve snapped, obviously frustrated despite Eddie’s attempts to ease the situation.

“Hey. Don’t get mean. You know what’s not what Eddie meant.” Robin responded. Steve looked back and forth between the two of them for a long moment, before he collapsed, face first, onto his mattress with a loud groan.

“C’mon, there’s no need to meltdown over this. If you want me to, I can post something about catching up with old friends to try to make it go away.” Eddie offered, gently, sitting down on the opposite side of the bed from Steve.

It took a long beat, but Steve eventually lifted his head from his pillows and shrugged. “I don’t want to make you do anything like that. It’s fine. It’ll all work out in the end. I'm just having a weird day, I guess.”

Eddie raised an eyebrow, and when Steve didn’t elaborate, he turned his head to Robin, who shrugged.

“Nancy texted him this morning asking to not talk about her at shows and he’s been in a sour mood about it since.”

“Robin!” Steve groaned, pressing his face back into his pillow miserably.

“Have you been, though?” Eddie asked, confused. “Talking about her, I mean? I thought I was doing a decent job at getting the highlights and I have no memory of you dropping anything profound about you and Nance on any crowds.”

“Not directly,” Steve spoke into his pillow, before turning his head and staring at the wall as he answered. “I made a few comments about my songs. How to get someone back. How to gaslight someone into thinking you love them before letting everything go at the drop of a hat for one of your best friends.”

A silence settled over the room for a moment, before Eddie burst into giggles, which set Robin off. Eventually Steve joined in, turning his attention to the two of them with a heavy sigh.

“I guess I was an asshole about it, huh?”

“I think it’s justifiable.” Eddie offered, to which Robin nodded in agreement as she started toying with Steve’s hair. “If you feel like you’re going to say something about Nancy, you could always say something to me instead. Really confuse the shit out of everyone.” He teased, but Steve beamed.

“Wait, that’s actually a great idea.”

Robin looked apprehensive, holding her hands in the air. “Steve, you remember you just freaked out about this, right? And now you’re going to play into it? Publicly?”

“It’ll be fun. I’m not gonna say anything directly about Eddie. But just. References. And then we can watch the fans lose their shit on TikTok later.” Steve reasoned with a grin, and Eddie smiled back at him.

“I promise to spend the entire show dancing my ass off and singing along. For the bit.” Eddie said, his hand over his heart.

“You do that anyway, you’re just usually backstage.” Robin pointed out, and Eddie rolled his eyes.

“Well, obviously, I have to join you and Dustin in the family tent tonight. Duh.”

“Yes!” Steve agreed with a laugh. “This is going to be so much fun!”

“You’re both psychotic.”

_____

“Indianapolis, you're making me feel awfully special tonight.” Steve bit at his lip as he looked around Lucas Oil Stadium to thousands of people screaming back at him. “This is as close to a hometown show as I really get these days, so thank you for always making sure to remind me how special of a place home is.”

The music started to pick up again, but Steve kept talking. “I kind of spent the last few years coasting by without anyone paying too much attention, but now that I’m back on the road, everyone’s suddenly deeply invested in my life, and it's strange to be back so close to somewhere I called home for so long, in the same position I was in five years ago.” He ran his fingers through his hair, before huffing out a laugh.

“But you guys, you've always been there. Unwavering in a way I will never be able to express my gratitude for.” he paused to glance around the crowd again, grinning as they cheered. “Not many people can say the same, you know?”

“Where is he going with this?” Dustin asked, leaning close to Robin, who shrugged, trying not to have a visible reaction. There were always cameras on them in public like this. Any reaction would be taken out of context and exaggerated.

“Did you see the tabloid rumors about Eddie and Steve?” She replied, and couldn’t help but smile as Dustin’s head whipped back forward to Steve.

“I mean, there’s Robbie, the kids I used to babysit. And, uh…” he trailed off, which Eddie took as his cue to move to the front of the family tent. “Maybe someone else. This one's for you.” Steve said, leaving the “you” ambiguous enough to be open for interpretation.

Eddie, hamming it up, made a heart with his hands, before immediately starting to headbang along to the love song next in the setlist.

_____

In a surprising twist, Dustin managed to wait until the security team had moved them out of the crowd and behind the stage with the crew nearly two hours later before his outburst.

“What the fuck?!” He asked as soon as the were away from the crowd. “Why are you two playing into this? It’s just going to get more headlines and attention on the two of you, which neither of you usually like!”

“But it’s different if it’s on our terms.” Eddie responded, not even looking up from his phone as he answered Dustin.

“Is it, though? Is it really on your terms if it’s not even true?” Dustin sounded exasperated, and while Robin could relate, she was planning on sitting this one out until Eddie shoved his phone into her face.

“It’s already on TikTok. 4 videos in.” He said with a grin as Robin watched Eddie make a hand heart toward the stage before his hair started flopping all over as he sang along. The clip was captioned “steddie is real!!!”

“So you’re proud you’re deceiving fans?” She asked, which made Eddie’s grin fall.

“Don't be so dramatic,” Steve called as he approached from the stage exit. He was covered in sweat and still in his performance clothes, holding a half empty water bottle. “It’s all in good fun. They never need to know if it was real or not.”

“I think you’re downplaying this by a lot. What happens the next time one of you is seen out on a date?” Dustin pressed, and continued despite the way Steve rolled his eyes. “I mean it, an honest to god date. People are going to lose their minds, trying to figure out what broke up Steve and Eddie, when you were never even together in the first place! They’ll turn you against each other, they always do. And if you weren’t dating, isn’t that just as bad of a look?”

“Woah. Henderson. Chill. It’ll be fine, man. You’re WAY overthinking this.” Eddie said, before he grinned at Steve. “Could you see my hand heart from the stage?”

“I could. Did you catch the wink I sent your way at the end of the song?”

“I did, nice touch! I patted my hand over my heart, so maybe that’ll end up on social, too.”

“I’m going to throw myself into the White River.” Dustin groans loudly, to a round of laughs and elbow nudges.

_____

Steve could pinpoint the exact moment things finally felt out of hand two weeks later.

He was getting ready for the show that will wrap up his first weekend at his “home away from home” in 5 years when Eddie texted him about being late to that night’s show.

It shouldn’t have mattered.

Eddie had missed the last two shows in Chicago

It shouldn’t matter.

Eddie’d been there, religiously, at the 4 shows before Chicago on the tour, and 6 others before that when his band wasn’t playing their own concerts. Steve even made 3 trips of his own to Corroded Coffin shows, around his own obligations.

But it still made him frown at his phone for a moment too long. Long enough Robin caught him.

“More headlines about Steddie?” She asked, slipping the phone from his hands before he could stop her. When she read over the message, though, her expression softened. “Oh, Steve, I’m sorry.”

“It’s no big deal.” Steve rushed out, snatching his phone back and shoving it into his pocket. “It’s fine. I’m not upset, there’s no reason to feel sorry. Besides, he just said he’ll be late, he didn’t say he isn’t coming.”

“Would you be upset if he wasn’t coming, then?” Robin asked. Steve glared daggers at her, and sighed when she held her hands in the air, feigning innocence.

“I don’t know.” He mumbled, honestly.

___

The intro tape was just about to start as Steve was making his usual trek toward his starting point, when he heard someone running and calling his name from behind him, rather than out in the crowd. He paused and turned, to see Eddie rushing toward him.

“I’m so sorry, I just wanted you to see that I made it before you went on!” He was out of breath, his hair more wild from running than usual, and Steve…

Well, frankly, Steve was tired of pretending like Eddie wasn’t the hottest person he’d ever seen.

So Steve met Eddie halfway, threw his arms around his neck and pressed their lips together in a move Eddie seemed to have anticipated because he wasted no time returning the favor.

It was only Steve’s cue music that had him breaking away, biting at his lip and grinning at Eddie, who grinned back at him, before using the hands he’d placed on Steve’s waist at some point in the interaction to turn Steve toward the stage.

“Go, before you miss the start of your own show, superstar. I’ll still be here after.” Eddie said.

“Promise?” Steve called over his shoulder as he made his way toward the stage’s catwalk.

“Cross my heart, big boy.” Eddie drew an x over his heart for dramatic effect, then laughed and ran his fingers through his hair as he watched Steve run to make it to his place on time.

[pepperf]

I'm a little puzzled by a few takes I've seen along the lines of, Lila was such a great wife and mother and Diego took her for granted! Because I don't think the show gave us that at all, and I think it relied heavily and lazily on societal norms to get the audience to make that leap. It also ignored previous characterisation, which is why I plan to disregard the season as a whole - because if the characters had been like this from the start, I wouldn't have fallen in love with them.

So, what I mean is: the whole time we see her as a parent, Lila is basically phoning it in. She seems to view her kids as one monolithic, sticky entity sent purely to ruin her day (distinct shades of the Handler there). They're just a list of chores - diapers, dentist, ballet, cake, piñata... And I'm not underestimating how much parenting really is a list of chores to be done - but that's all we see, no love, no fun. She's eager to get away from them, and she's only - finally - desperate to be with them when it's convenient for the plot, at which point we're supposed to buy the idea that her kids are her sole focus (not the relationship that they spent the past two seasons building up). And even then, the focus is not on the reunion with the kids, it's on all the awkwardness of the surprise love triangle. Hell, one of the kids doesn't even get a name.

Their intent might have been to have Lila be the better parent, but like much of this season, it's all tell and no show. We're working off a couple of brief conversations from the points of view of two frustrated, tired, biased individuals who are already at odds with one another, plus the evidence of what they actually do. They show that they’re not communicating well, but they don’t show how that happened, how long this has been growing, if one of them really is more at fault. All we know is that he complains a lot, and she’s sneaking out at night to play secret agent. They tell us that she loves her children (eventually, after seven years apart), but they show her being annoyed and/or bored in every normal, non-apocalyptic interaction. They have her (and Five) tell us that Diego is a bad husband, but they show Lila sniping at his weight, his way of running a birthday party, rolling her eyes at his efforts to impress her and regain her attention - and they show him dadding at everyone (he will turn this van around, so help him), the comfortable love and affection between him and his kids, the Punjabi he learned to speak fluently to his in-laws, him looking for ways to fix his marriage...

Take the bracelet thing, for example. "You hate bracelets," says Diego. "I gave you one for Valentines and you traded it for a Dyson vacuum." I think what we're supposed to take from that is a) Lila stopped wearing the wooden bracelet (uh oh, signs the honeymoon period has worn off!), b) Diego gives thoughtless, stereotypical gifts, and c) he doesn't understand what she really wants.

But an alternative reading is this: a) Lila stopped wearing the wooden bracelet (could not be a clearer or more loaded 'fuck you' to Diego), b) Diego tried to find another way to win her affection (on his pay as a delivery driver, with a wife and three kids to support, he managed to buy a bracelet that was expensive enough to trade for a Dyson?), and c) she rejected that gift as well, without any deeper explanation than 'I hate bracelets'. She's shut down all communication between them and is not telling him what's wrong. She has shut him out so comprehensively that she's got a whole undercover life - for which she apparently has the time and energy! - and yet we're supposed to think that oh it's all on Diego. Why? Lila is not a shy and retiring flower, and she and Diego have been shown before to have some very sincere heart-to-hearts about their relationship. Something changed, okay, fine - but why would we assume it was Diego that caused that?

I think our expectations about What Women Are Like are doing a LOT of the heavy lifting in how the show wants Lila to be perceived. She's a woman, and therefore she's automatically a good wife and mother - that she's emotionally intelligent, the organiser, she'll love her children and would do anything for them, she'll tried the hardest to make her marriage work, just...because boobies, I guess. This is not how you write good parents, or good female characters, TUA! A truly astonishing amount of people actually ARE women, and they know that it doesn't automatically confer any kind of maternal or wifely abilities! These things have to be worked on!

(In real life, women are often socialised to be better at these things, this is sadly true. But an awful lot of us do not have an innate talent for it, and there's no shame in that. And, more relevantly to this post, this is not real life, and Lila is not your average person. She's not normal, and I love that about her. She was raised to be a weapon. Do we really think the Handler installed the 'homemaker' module? Lila herself said that she was scared that she wouldn't know how to be a mother, because she had no good example to base it on.)

I also think the show assumes that, when you get married and have kids, you're automatically granted a house in the suburbs, a bunch of in-laws, and enough money from just the husband's job to get by. And I think that is an incredibly privileged and blinkered assumption. Frankly, unless her parents are financing them, they should be struggling a lot more. None of that is explained, and for me it was a real gap, because these are the arguments that Lila and Diego should be having. Lila caring for the kids versus getting a job. Living with family versus striking out on their own. Diego sticking at a job that makes him miserable and difficult to live with, or taking the huge financial risk of trying to find something better. These are the real life issues they should be facing.

Listen, I think the characterisation of Lila as a parent and spouse in this season is horseshit. I think she would be so much better than they showed - of course she's going to have some low times, she's going to struggle with her own upbringing, but I think she would try her damndest to get it right, and I don't think she'd be defeated so easily. But if we're dealing with what canon actually shows us, she's, uh, kind of mediocre as a mother, and really not that great as a partner.

And yes, I'm sure Diego is no angel, either, he's obviously wrapped up in his problems, and he's probably not much fun to be around when he's fixating on, uh, *checks notes* wanting a more fulfilling job (the fiend). But honestly, he's not that far removed from the Diego we've seen all along, the one she fell in love with. It takes one conversation for him to realise how incredibly fortunate he is, and to convince him to try to work harder on his relationship and stop focusing on the unobtainable. The idea that he's the only one who is failing at this whole gig - the chief culprit in the failure of their marriage, the only one who needs to make an effort to fix things - is bizarre. And it's pretty obvious why they've done it: to justify her thing with Five later and make it all seem more palatable. But there's no real substance behind it.

tl;dr: this season was badly-written, takes some incredibly antiquated attitudes towards the role of women that are inconsistent with the characters they themselves established, and some incredibly classist attitudes towards manual labour, and just hopes that you'll either take it at face value or read the fuck into it, to better sell you a shitty romance that added nothing to the plot.

[catelyngrant]

So I'm thinking about the Fourteenth Doctor, and the bi-generation, and how he may have come to an end. What happened to him after those years he spent with Donna and her family, and with so many other friends on Earth (oh, I am headcanon-ing, friends), existing day-to-day and beginning to heal? After he learned how to let himself be loved, and shown compassion, and forgiven—and, eventually, learned to love, forgive, and care for himself? What happened when, at the end of this journey, his regeneration energy (I assume?) traveled back (in some hand-wavey fashion) to become the Fifteenth Doctor, who is born out of that love and forgiveness and compassion and is ready to move forward in the universe?

Fourteen becomes Fifteen—but what about the TARDIS?

Fourteen's TARDIS was created for the same reason Fourteen was: they needed to slow down, to be gentle. They needed to find a home that wasn't moving at the speed of light. So maybe this TARDIS is a little gentler, too. Maybe she's a little more careful of herself and her charges.

When Fourteen takes Rose to Mars, they land right where they're supposed to, and Rose sees wonders. Nothing bad happens, and they return home five minutes after they left.

When Shaun wants to see a football match from 1988, he opens the TARDIS door and she takes him right there, flying all by herself, to Fourteen's chagrin.

When Fourteen takes Mel to New York, they have adventures that don't involve running, or hiding, or screaming with anything but laughter. When Fourteen takes Jo, Ace, and Tegan to the Jurassic era, the only danger he faces is when he makes an age joke.

When, after Sarah Jane dies (yeeeears in the future, tyvm), Fourteen takes Luke, Maria, Clyde, and Rani to see Florana—the place he promised to take Sarah Jane all those years ago—the TARDIS chooses the safest, most beautiful moment in time for them to honor her memory.

When Donna and Martha and Yaz and Shirley sneak in for a joyride, they have the time of their lives, and the TARDIS covers for them. (Fourteen suspects, but can't prove it.)

When Fourteen is struggling, and chafing at life on Earth, and just needs to run, to fix things, to solve puzzles, to get away from the day-to-day of it all, the TARDIS lets him. She takes him so many places he's never been before, and they're all beautiful and wild and remind him what he loves about the universe.

(He tries, a few times, to go places that might bring him pain, and she gently refuses.)

And every now and then, someone will try to get in. This TARDIS doesn't have a key; she just opens to those in her care, and refuses entry to those she doesn't trust. She is safe, and so are they.

When Donna's in her eighties and can't get around as easily, the TARDIS takes her where she can manage. When Rose is overwhelmed with the pain of the world, the TARDIS takes her to places where none of that pain exists, and lets her stay as long as she needs to.

They live magnificent lives, and the TARDIS takes care of them. And then, at the end of it, Fourteen is ready for what comes next, and he becomes Fifteen. There's only one Doctor again.

But this TARDIS...

I think she stays, right in the corner of that yard. She leaves and then lands so precisely that roots and ivy grow over her. The Doctor is gone, and eventually Mel and Sarah Jane and Jo and Donna and Martha and everyone that traveled with the Doctor once upon a time in a different TARDIS are gone too.

But Rose is still there. Luke, Maria, Rani, and Clyde are still there. Their families, their kids. The TARDIS opens to them, and shows them the universe. She takes them only where she chooses to, and it's always exactly where they need to go.

She always takes them home, to the garden that once belonged to Donna Noble.

The Doctor finds new companions. Some of them come home to Earth after awhile, but they're not stuck dreaming of the universe. You showed me the furthest reaches of the galaxy, Sarah Jane said. You showed me supernovas, intergalactic battles, and then you just dropped me back on Earth. How could anything compare to that? We get a taste of that splendor, but then we have to go back.

These new companions, they return to Earth and their lives there, but every now and then, they swing by that old house that the Noble family has lived in for generations. They say hello to this old/new box, and she invites them in.

They don't have to say goodbye to the universe. She's right there in Chiswick, waiting for them.

And sometimes—on rare occasions, when they need it, or when he (or she, or they) does—she takes them to the Doctor.

[hungermakesmonsters]

(Once Bitten) Twice Shy

Chapter Seven

Plot summary : Desperate to get away from your controlling family, you take a job in New York as a wealthy vampire's blood source. A million dollars awaits if you can make it through a year, but life with Billy Russo is not going to be as simple as you think.

Pairing : Billy Russo x Reader

Story Rating : R  Chapter Rating : R

Warnings : [This is a fic for 18+ only, minors DNI] Smutty behaviour, some of it gets a little rough. Some mention of an emotionally abusive parent, and readers problematic views of her own autonomy. All chapters will contain mentions of blood. Please check the warnings on each chapter if you choose to follow this story. 

Word Count : 4.5k

A/N : I think I've finally sorted the tagging issue.

CHAPTER ONE | CHAPTER TWO | CHAPTER THREE | CHAPTER FOUR | CHAPTER FIVE | CHAPTER SIX

MASTER LIST

Chapter Seven

“Are you alright?” Karen asked, pulling your attention from your pancakes. “You’ve been really quiet.”

Your cheeks warmed and you immediately felt bad; she’d shown up early to go to breakfast with you before taking you to the Met, and all you’d been able to think about was the Homeland agent who’d approached you the night before.

“I’m fine,” you answered, forcing a smile. “Just tired. We were out late last night.”

“Billy took you out?” She seemed surprised.

“He took me dress shopping,” you explained, reaching for your coffee. “He’s throwing a party next month and he wanted me to have a new dress.”

“Oh, his Vampire Night party,” Karen nodded and you shot her a confused look. “He does it every year, it’s to celebrate the anniversary vampire’s being accepted into society. It’s supposed to be a big deal but, for Billy, it’s just an excuse to throw a crazy party every year.”

“Does he normally invite the person who’s...” you struggled for a moment, not wanting to out-and-out state what you did in the busy little diner, “working for him when he throws parties?”

“Usually - I mean, it’d be pretty shitty to throw a party in the penthouse and not invite the other person living there.”

“So, the others, they all went to his parties and they enjoyed themselves?”

“Yeah, if there’s one thing Billy knows, it’s how to throw a good party,” she answered, fixing you with a look, as if she could sense there was more you wanted to ask. “Why the sudden interest?”

“I don’t know,” you shrugged, trying to pretend it wasn’t a big deal. “It just seemed like such an easy job and, I guess, I just don’t understand why anyone would do anything to ruin it for themselves. Do you know what happened to them once they left?”

You needed something, some sort of sign, to tell you that you weren’t wrong, that you were safe with Billy. And, if you weren’t...

Well, in that case, you needed to find a way out that didn’t involve going home with your tail between your legs.

“As far as I know, they all went back to their lives. Though there was one...” Karen trailed off, the thought alone making her wince. You shot her a questioning look, silently begging her to continue. “Not the last one, but the one before, she had to be removed by building security. She tried to come back a couple of times but she eventually got the hint.”

The one before the last one - so, one of the last three, one of the ones Madani thought was dead. She’d been fine when she left and she’d been seen a couple of times since. So, that meant that Homeland was wrong about Billy, right?

With your mind set at ease, you happily finished breakfast and, before you knew it, you and Karen were stepping into the Met. You felt like a kid at Christmas. It was everything you’d imagined and more. Karen could barely hold back her amusement as you moved from exhibit to exhibit, never seeming to lose any of your initial excitement. It was something you’d always wanted to do, filled with things you’d always wanted to see.

By lunch time, poor Karen needed to sit down, and you needed a coffee so you ended up in the cafe. When Karen headed to the bathroom, you looked over the map, making a mental note of what you’ve seen and what you still wanted to see. Distracted, you didn’t notice the figure beside you until she’d taken a seat. The Homeland agent, Madani.

“Are you following me?” You demanded, keeping your voice low.

“I’m trying to keep you safe,” Madani answered, ignoring your sharp tone. “Have you thought any more about what we discussed last night?”

“Look, I don’t know what you think you know, but I’m pretty sure Billy hasn’t done anything wrong.”

She fumbled with her pocket, quickly pulling out her phone and showing it to you. “These are the three missing women; Layla El-Faouly, Krista Dumont and Mary Poots.” With each name she moved to a different photo, letting you see each of the missing women. “Has he mentioned any of those names?”

“No.”

“Are you sure? Have you seen anything in his penthouse that might belong to them?” You shook your head, quickly feeling overwhelmed by all of the questions.

“No, and anyway, you said the last three women, right?” You asked and Madani nodded. “People have seen one of them since. She even got thrown out of Billy's building a couple of times.”

“You're sure of that?”

“Yes,” frustration slipping into your tone. “Whatever you're looking for, it's not -”

“Has Russo done anything to hurt you? Is he forcing you into a sexual relationship or have you felt like you’re being controlled?”

“What? No.” 

“You might not even realise that he’s doing it. Some vampires are very good at controlling their victims, Russo is -”

“He’s not controlling me,” you told her as firmly as you could, glancing around, hoping to spot Karen. “Can you please leave me alone? I don’t want to lose my job because of this.”

“I can protect you -”

“I don’t need protection, I need this job,” you told her. “Please, I wasn’t kidnapped, he hasn’t hurt me, and I know he hasn’t hurt anyone else. Can you please just leave me alone before you cause any trouble?”

“Okay, I’ll go,” Madani relented, “but I’ll be close by if you need me.”

You muttered that you wouldn’t as she stood and left, just in time for Karen to return.

“Who was that?”

“She was asking me for directions,” you lied, as you stood, not wanting to think about anything Madani had said to you. 

It was all crazy, ridiculous. You weren’t being coerced or controlled and you still didn’t believe Billy was capable of hurting anyone. Fortunately, there were plenty of exhibits left to distract you for the rest of the day.

By the time you returned to the penthouse it was getting late. You rushed to draw blood and to throw some pasta onto the stove. When you were done, you found Billy on the sofa, his eyes fixed on the view of the city until he heard you approach.

He smiled and you felt butterflies, and there was a spring in your step as you made your way to the kitchen to grab a glass for his blood before joining him on the sofa.

“You look nice.” His eyes trailing down your body.

“Oh,” you looked down at yourself and the skirt-blouse combination, “Karen took me to the Met. We got back late. I haven’t had time to change yet.”

“I’m glad,” Billy said, taking the glass from your hand, “I love your legs.”

Your cheeks warmed and you bit your lip. As much as Billy liked to pay you compliments, you still weren’t used to it. Honestly, you weren’t sure you’d ever get used to it, especially when Billy managed to make every compliment sound simultaneously sweet and filthy.

“I got you something,” he said a moment later, motioning to a large paper bag on the floor in front of him. Cautiously, you pulled it towards you and pulled out a large yellow, faux-fur blanket. “You can leave it out here for when we watch TV together.”

Butterflies filled your stomach at the gesture, but there was one thought you couldn’t quite shake; “it’s yellow.”

And yellow didn’t exactly match the dark and minimalist decor in the penthouse.

“It made me think of you when I saw it,” Billy shrugged.

The butterflies in your stomach seemed to multiply; it was a warm and happy colour, it was the colour of sunlight, and it had made Billy think of you.

Hugging the blanket to your chest you thanked him before carefully placing it back in the bag.

“I’ve got some time before I need to leave for work, if you want to hang out?” He asked as if he needed to, as if he thought there was any chance that you wouldn’t want to stay there with him.

As he drank, you told him about your day and every little thing you’d seen in the Met. And he listened. It seemed like he was actually listening, hanging on your every word, like he cared, like he wasn’t just indulging you and letting you run your mouth.

“Maybe next time I could take you?” He offered. “They do night openings a few times a month.”

“I’d love that,” you answered without a moment's hesitation.

“Really?”

“Of course. I like spending time with you.”

He finished his drink and quickly put the glass down, licking his lips as he turned himself towards you.

“You like spending time with me?” He repeated. 

You couldn’t tell if he was amused or confused. “Yeah, you’re... different to the sort of people I’m used to being around. I like talking to you.”

“Just talking to me?” He asked, a smirk starting to tug at his lips. You felt your face start to heat again as your gaze dropped to your lap. “Still so shy, so easy to embarrass,” he muttered, placing a hand on your bare knee, “but I bet you’re already wet under this little skirt.”

Your breath caught and your thighs clenched together at the realisation that he was right.

You couldn’t bring yourself to look until you realised he was moving. You watched, confused as he slipped onto the floor, his hands on your knees, urging your legs apart so he could sit between them. It wasn’t until he started to slowly kiss your thigh that you realised what he was going to do. Your heart started to race, and Billy noticed.

“Are you okay?” He asked, his cold fingers tracing soothing patterns on your leg.

You nodded, swallowing the lump in your throat, cheeks burning with embarrassment. “I’ve just... I’ve never...”

“It’s okay, hummingbird,” Billy reassured you, smiling softly. “Just relax and let me make you feel good.”

While you managed not to show it, those words almost broke you. He always seemed to care about you, about making sure you felt good, and that wasn’t something you were ever sure you’d get used to.

Your cheeks burned hotter when he reached beneath your skirt and eased your panties down your legs, discarding them somewhere on the floor. But you didn’t have time to dwell on it. He pulled you towards him, lifting your legs over his shoulder while continuing to trail kisses up your thighs. Up and up and up, until -

“Remember the rules,” he told you, gazing up at you from between your thighs, “and breathe.”

Until he mentioned it, you hadn’t even realised that you were holding your breath. With a nod, you let out a slow breath, trying to steel yourself for this new experience. His cold fingers gently parted your folds and a shiver ran down your spine. You bit your lip, keeping your eyes focused on him until you finally felt it. His tongue slipped through your arousal, delicately at first and then with a little more pressure. You back arched and your hips pressed forwards, and you could have swore you felt Billy’s lips pull into a smirk against you.

He alternated between long, slow laps of his tongue and faster flicks, obviously taking note of your reactions. One moment he was focused on your clit, the next, you felt the tip of his tongue against your entrance. Your body shuddered, completely overwhelmed, and you almost lost your mind when you heard Billy groan.

“Billy -” you gasped, knowing that you weren’t going to last long.

“Not yet,” he almost-growled from between your thighs.

Before you could even think to beg, his tongue was against you again. Your fingers slipped into his hair, needing something to hold on to as your thighs started to tremble. It felt like you were being devoured by his mouth, his lips and his greedy tongue making you feel sensations you’d never felt before. Soon enough, it felt like his grip on your thighs was the only thing keeping you from crushing his head - it was too much and not enough all at once, you desperately wanted the release of an orgasm but you didn’t ever want him to stop.

“Fuck-fuck-fuck...” you whimpered, barely holding back. “Billy, please...”

It almost seemed cruel when you felt his lips on your throbbing clit, gently sucking. Your back arched again, trying to press yourself closer but his strong grip kept you in place. 

Your fingers tugged on his hair, twisting and pulling, earning another groan from Billy. Every muscle tensed and you felt like a spring coiled too tight, like you could snap at any moment. And, thankfully, Billy seemed to realise that.

“Okay, hummingbird, you can come,” he muttered, barely pulling his lips away from you. 

One more flick of his tongue and you were done for, crying out as you came undone. All the while his tongue kept moving, lapping the wetness that spilled from you, and not pulling back until your thighs were violently shaking.

While you struggled to catch your breath, Billy lowered your legs and rested his chin on your thigh, grinning up at you. 

“What are you smirking at?” You managed to ask, fighting back a smile of your own.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you swear before.”

You bit your lip, your cheeks starting to warm again. “I think the situation called for it.”

That got a laugh from Billy. 

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he said before getting himself off the floor and sitting beside you again. “Did you enjoy it?”

Of course, you couldn’t answer. Once he’d asked the question you couldn’t even look at him. All you could do was give the slightest little nod, suddenly acutely aware that your panties had ended up on the floor in front of the TV and, as much as you wanted to, you couldn’t tear your eyes from them.

That is, until Billy placed a hand on your cheek, turning your face to his. For a few seconds he simply looked at you, almost seeming confused, before smiling again.

“What is it about you?” He asked quietly, his thumb softly caressing your cheek. “Why can’t I get enough?”

Before you could answer, he’d closed the distance between you, kissing you and sending you into a tailspin. How could he keep saying things like that, how could he keep making you feel so special, when he seemed so reluctant to - god, you didn’t even know. You still didn’t understand how this casual thing was supposed to work. The time you spent together left you feeling like there was something, a connection between you, but that wasn’t what you’d agreed to. It was just supposed to be fun.

But, surely casual fun was supposed to lead to sex, right?

“That’s not what I want to see when I kiss you,” he remarked, pulling back a little, leaving you even more confused until he clarified; “you’re frowning.”

“I was just...” you fell into silence for a moment, not sure how to say it. “Do you want me, Billy?”

“Do I want you?” He repeated.

“Yeah, I mean like -”

“Oh, hummingbird, I know exactly what you mean,” he almost laughed, his hand still on your cheek. “I’m just not sure how you can ask me that after I’ve just been on my knees worshipping you.”

Not knowing how to respond to that, you kissed him, tasting the lingering traces of your arousal on his lips and tongue. You pressed closer and closer, until you felt an arm around your waist, pulling you onto his lap.

“I don’t want to rush you,” he muttered against your lips.

“You’re not,” you answered breathlessly, sinking back into his lips.. 

He pulled you closer, positioning you so you could feel the bulge of his erection against you. The feeling alone was enough to cause your hips to shudder and buck, still feeling sensitive from his tongue. Billy groaned, his lips pulling from yours and finding your neck. You barely noticed the buttons of your blouse being undone until he started to push it off your shoulders.

Trembling fingers started to pull open his shirt, hands exploring every inch of cold skin that you revealed, feeling the raised lines of scars beneath your touch. Billy squirmed when your hand trailed over his shoulder, his body pressing up against yours.

Your heart raced faster when you felt him unclasp your bra. You barely had time to finish removing it before his lips were on your breasts, kissing, licking and sucking. Every cold touch sent a jolt of pleasure right to your core and, before you knew it, you were gently rocking your hips against him.

“Billy,” you gasped as his lips closed over your nipple.

Desperately, you dropped your hands to his waist, fumbling with his belt then, when that was open you started on the fastenings of his pants.

A yelp escaped you when you felt his teeth on your nipple, not biting hard enough to break skin but more than enough to give you a shock. An eager growl sounded in the back of his throat as he moved to your other nipple. But his sudden roughness wasn’t enough to stop you.

Despite his cold touch roaming your body, you felt hot, like you were on fire. Every deep breath you took was him; his cologne, his clean shirt, the products in his hair. You were intoxicated, drunk on Billy Russo. His fingertips pressed into your hips with a bruising force, but all you cared about was getting his zipper down and letting him possess you completely.

“My little hummingbird,” he muttered in that low, dangerous tone as his lips moved back to yours. “I’m going to ruin you.”

He kissed you again, groaning into your mouth with an unbridled want that seemed to match your own. The words didn’t shock you like they perhaps should have, they didn’t worry you at all. You trusted him to stay in control.

Clumsy fingers tugged at his zipper and -

“Shit!” You yelped as the zipper nicked your skin, pulling back from him, lifting your finger to your lips.

Billy’s whole body went rigid beneath you, eyes narrowing, dropping to the finger between your lips.

“It’s alright, I just -” you started and stopped just as quickly, looking at the small bleeding cut before looking at Billy.

His eyes seemed to get darker and you watched his throat bob uncomfortable as he tried to swallow. You squirmed as his grip tightened on your hips, holding you in place. The tiny cut bleeding in a way that only tiny cuts could.

“Billy...” you muttered softly, trying to soothe the monster inside of him.

Gingerly, you reached for him, tenderly running your fingers through his hair while you returned your bleeding finger to your mouth, trying to remove temptation. 

His jaw tensed before he lunged forwards, pressing his lips to yours, his tongue forcing its way into your mouth, desperately seeking your finger and the tiniest drop of blood. You tried to push his face away, your hand on his jaw, your finger ending up between his lips.

“Billy, stop,” you pleaded, “please.” 

Suddenly you found yourself hitting the floor as he stood and moved away from you. It took you a second or so to get over the initial shock before you grabbed your blouse and covered yourself. By the time you got to your feet, Billy was halfway to the elevator, buttoning his shirt as he went.

“I’m sorry.” The words left you in a desperate and broken tone, not knowing what you could possibly say to fix the situation or stop him from leaving.

Billy froze, taking an uncomfortable breath before turning back to you, confusion written all over his face. His eyes moved from you to the elevator and back again, weighing his options.

“Why are you sorry?” He asked, a crack in his voice that made your heart ache. “You did nothing wrong.”

“I was clumsy, and I pushed you, and I -” you sniffled, blinking as your eyes threatened tears. 

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” he told you, voice firm and certain, “that’s not what happened.”

“Then why are you leaving me?”

Billy was at a loss, staring as you tried not to break down in front of him. Your mind was racing over everything that had happened, over everything that you had done wrong - all the things that Billy seemed to want to ignore. You’d always been clumsy, never careful enough. Your mother had always chastised you, telling you that you only did it for attention, telling you that you were needy, criticising you for always wanting to be the centre of attention.

It was easy to spiral into those negative thoughts, to see all your faults and failings, to feel broken and unloveable. 

He stepped towards you, confusion softening into something more like concern.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” he repeated, “I did. I almost lost control, I could’ve -”

“I shouldn’t’ve complained, I -”

“Don’t say that,” he snapped, his tone sharp enough to jolt you from your self-loathing. “I told you that you always have a choice here. Always. No one gets to hurt you, and you never have to go along with anything that scares you or makes you uncomfortable. Do you understand?”

On some level you did, you understood completely, you knew that he was right, but years of being made to feel like you were the problem were hard to overcome.

Reluctantly, he closed the distance between you, his hand finding your cheek, urging you to look at him.

“How you feel matters, hummingbird. What you want matters,” he told you. “I don’t want to scare you. It’s me, I - there’s something wrong with me, something I can’t always control, and you deserve better than that. I don’t want to do anything that you’re not a hundred percent certain about. I never want you to regret anything that we do together.”

It felt like your throat was closing up and your vision started to blur, it wasn’t until the first sob shook your body that you realised you were crying. The idea that you had a choice, that you got to decide what you wanted, and that your feelings mattered - no one had let you have that before. His arms wrapped around you, pulling you tight against his chest.

“No one gets to hurt you,” he told you again. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise I’ll keep you safe.”

Even from himself, though the words went unsaid.

He shushed you as you whimpered the word sorry again and held you tighter when you hid your face against his shoulder. Minutes passed, and Billy held you, not moving, not pulling away. Eventually you stilled, your breathing slowing and the sobs subsiding. But, still, Billy didn’t move. His hold on you didn’t loosen until you slowly pulled back.

Your head instantly dropped, the back of your hand trying to scrub the tear stains from your cheeks. One of his hands remained on you, resting gently on your shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” you muttered.

“What are you sorry for?” 

“I don’t know,” you finally admitted. 

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Do you?”

The question hung awkwardly in the air between you, neither one of you wanting to answer it. It was more than obvious now that you both had baggage, you both had parts of yourself that you were desperate to keep hidden, but it was also becoming clear that you weren’t going to be able to hide forever.

“I think we’ll have to eventually,” Billy told you.

As much as you hated it, you knew he was right. 

Silence lingered for a few seconds before you quietly confessed; “I feel safe with you.”

It felt important to tell him that, like everything else could come after. Despite his little lapses in control, you trusted him. He looked like he wanted to ask how you could feel that way after everything but, at the same time, it was clear that he didn’t want to know.

“Are you... okay?” You asked after a moment of silence.

“It’s complicated,” he said and, for a second, it seemed like he was going to leave it at that. “I just - when you’re a vampire, everything is so loud. Everything feels like it’s too much. It makes you want so much. Sometimes I feel like I can’t control it.”

You stomach knotted as you watched him struggle, the jagged edge to his tone furthering something he’d already let slip days ago; he didn’t want to be like that. He didn’t want to be a vampire.

“I feel like that too, sometimes,” you offered softly. “Not exactly the same but - my mom always used to tell me that no one likes emotional women. Whenever I’d get upset, she’d tell me I was being hysterical or call me an attention seeker. So I started holding it all in. I wouldn’t complain or get upset, I’d just pretend I was fine, and it made me feel like I was going to burst...”

Without warning, he pulled you into another hug, and you let him, your face pressing back into the damp spot you’d left on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered, sounding almost guilty, like he thought he was somehow to blame. “You don’t have to hold it in with me, you don’t have to pretend or go along with anything that you don’t want.”

“I do want this though,” you confessed, stopping short of telling Billy that you wanted him, that you were starting to feel something for him. It had only been a few weeks but, already, you felt a connection to him, something you didn’t want to give up. 

He seemed torn, almost like he wanted to cut his losses and end things now, and you weren’t sure how you were going to make it through the rest of the year if you had to go back to how things had been at the start. That is, if he even wanted to keep you around. Technically, because of him, you’d broken your contract.

“You need to promise me something; if you’re ever not comfortable, you’ll tell me to stop, and if I ever scare you, you’ll tell me,” he told you in a firm and uncompromising tone.

“I promise, but -” you hesitated, not sure if he’d appreciate your condition, “- but you have to tell me when you’re not feeling well.”

Billy nodded and you sank forward into his arms again, holding him tight for a little while longer until he finally had to get ready and leave for work. And, of course, you felt terrible that he had to go and change out of his crease, tear-stained shirt before he went. He left with the promise of spending time with you tomorrow.

CHAPTER EIGHT

End Note : The Marvel name drops are mostly just easter eggs (and because I HATE coming up with names for side characters. I feel like a lot went on in this chapter but I don't actually have a lot to say about it. I'm just slowly piling on the mystery and angst.

Anyway! Thanks for reading! I've really loved all your comments and questions on this series. Have a great weekend!!

Let me know if you'd like to be tagged in future chapters! If tagging doesn't work for some reason (aka Tumblr being dumb) I post most Fridays around 7:30 gmt. (I think I've found a way to get tagging to work properly again, please let me know if it doesn't tag you.)

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[edibleashell]

TUA S4 feels

Pretty sure that Umbrella Academy S4 finale left a permanent scar on my psyche. Still one of my favorite shows but I might just end after season 3 in future rewatches. So many issues with S4.

In like episode 1 we got Ben and Jennifer touching and that started a countdown to the end of the world and the whole season was just junk to fill that time. So many good ideas that weren't done properly at all. Shuffling their powers? Alternate timelines? Hargreaves owning pretty much everything? Abigail just being alive? Pointless.

Luther was just a repeating loop of stripper and home decorating jokes.

Diego should have been a martial arts instructor or something not a depressed delivery guy. A bunch of jokes about him getting out of shape only to reveal that he's still jacked. He throws a potted plant and misses. His arc is just Big Sad for no reason and the relationships he built in the first three seasons were apparently irrelevant, if anyone would have been taking care of Safety Klaus it would have been him.

Allison's character was just an accessory to Klaus, after three seasons of her trying to reclaim the family she lost she ended up spending more time as a tool to Klaus's arc than she did with Claire. And Ray just being casually written out was so disrespectful.

Klaus, oh poor Klaus, my favorite character, what did they do to you? He should have been a nurse or something but instead he was paranoid, then pissed off because the writers decided that Klaus would equate marigold with drugs and just fall right off the wagon? And then he goes to some sketchy guy he owes money to even though S1 Klaus is shown just buying drugs from random people? All to justify his prisoner plot, none of which had any real impact. And he can fly for a second for some reason. Okay.

Five working for the CIA was bad. He should have been the retired fun uncle to Claire and Grace. After spending fifty years trying to get back to his family why did he keep leaving them? Why did he hook up with his brother's wife after only six years? And am I supposed to believe that in every timeline he has the same haircut? That none of the other Fives lost their arm? How did he never notice his boss's blatant umbrella tattoo? He just casually strolls through "his" apocalypse as though he doesn't have ptsd, and why were he and Lila living off sewer rats when they had infinite timelines to scavenge?

I was so excited to see Ben witg the family but one episode in he becomes a bomb and fucks off with a girl who can hardly be called a character.

Viktor was the only character I thought got some form of authenticity and justified growth, his arc kind of seemed like a ripoff of S3 Klaus though. And we missed out on what could have been a really beautiful scene of him drawing the upside down umbrella on his arm.

Lila went from "I don't want to be like my mom" to a motherhood cliche. And what was the deal with her family? She just found her parents and they immediately accepted her or something? Was there another Lila in this universe? That made no sense. If anyone would have joined the CIA it would have been her. Her and Diego should have been weird parents teaching their kids how to fight and kill but instead they got some domestic life that those characters never belonged in.

And there's so much more! Abigail is alive? Hardly relevant. Why did she body snatched Gene, it didn't really seem to change anything. The Keepers existed only to be a minor obstacle in the last episode. And are her and Reggie aliens? Why? How? What's the point?

AND DURANGO? THAT'S A CAR! Harland named marigold and for a farm kid that makes sense (though the retconned acceptance of that word into Umbrella vocabulary was irksome) But Durango? Abigail is a scientist and she names The Bad Dust after an SUV? Why?

AND WHY WAS THERE ZERO QUEERNESS? Each of the first three seasons had some sort of queer arc but not this one. I still wonder if some higher-up didn't intentionally assassinate the show as backlash for the immense respect S3 gave Elliot Page.

One last thing, music is a big part of the show, they've always put such thought and care into the soundtrack and it makes sense knowing who the creators are, so why, of all songs, was Baby Damn Shark the first song to be featured in like three episodes? It seems intentionally disrespectful.

I'm done, rant over, I'll never recover from this.

[piratefishmama]

Crossing The Line | Part 4

“What the fuck is that?” Was Robins immediate question as Steve donned a pair of sunglasses and a cap just before disembarking the plane.

“My disguise.”

“Your disguise?”

“Yeah, y’know. Fans an stuff.”

“...Steve. Steven. I’m always here to keep you humble, you know this, so I say this with an immense amount of—”

“Robin do you remember the JFK incident? Not the president don’t be a shit, I mean the airport and you know it.” The JFK incident being a single fan who got ONE photo of him walking through the terminal and boom, paparazzi everywhere, it was as though they’d just emerged from the walls.

‘What are you doing in New York?’

‘Are you visiting anyone special this Christmas?’

‘When are you releasing new music?’

‘Will you be attending any events here in the city?’

‘Who are you wearing right now?’

‘STEVE SIGN MY TI—’

It was always chaos. “Yeah yeah you got to sign an impressive set of double D’s, woe is you. I can see your moles Steve, that isn’t going to fool anyone with eyes.” Sure his signature head of hair was covered but the moles were as good a sign as any when it came to eagle eyed Airport celeb spotters.

“Sign an impressive— my ass was grabbed more times than I could count! I had hand sized bruises Robin!” He bruised like a peach and people in crowds were grabby. “I lost my favourite sunglasses.” The cheap pair he’d grabbed from the gas station after his first real paycheque cleared. “These cover my hair and my eyes, I can’t cover anything else.” He didn’t have the resources to pull a full face of SFX to hide himself.

“Aww poor baby, okay. At least put this on.” She pulled the scarf from her neck and wrapped it around his, it wouldn’t do much, but it’d cover the vampire bite moles he’d shown off on one of his early album covers.

“Great I look like a twenty-ten hipster.” It wasn’t even scarf weather. “All I need is a bullshit moustache.”

“Better than the local weirdo at a kids playground.”

“Oh my god, is that Steve Harrington?!”

“Shit.”

“Rest in pieces, sis”

“Robin get back here!”

There was a subtle art in getting away from paparazzi and fans alike, an art cultivated from being chased by them since he was nine. It involved fake plants, bathrooms, and Robins impressive gallery of ‘fake fan photos’. All it took was a photo whizzed over the internet through Robins ‘fan’ account, an account which used one of their regular makeup girls photos as a cover (agreed to, of course) to act as a ‘fan’ of Steve Harrington.

“How come nobody TOLD ME Steve Harrington was going to be flying out of Indy today?!” Captioned above a photo from two years prior that Robin took from a distance at that very airport for that very reason.

It took all of five minutes for the hoard to dispel, hurrying as fast as they could to as far as the airport staff would allow them to go, but Robin and Steve were once again free to get their asses out of that airport and into an Uber before anyone else could spot them.

“Okay, battle plan. I got us a twin room at the—"

“Don’t say Conrad.”

“What’s wrong with the Conrad?”

“It’s… bougee. It’s like the only five star in Indy, he already probably thinks I’m the worst, a nice four star would be fine, and a twin room? Robin how the hell am I supposed to woo a guy and bring him back to the hotel if we’re sharing a room?”

“First of all, I think you’re super overestimating your level of game right now to think that you’d just be able to go from wooing to the hotel room in one sweep this guy seems like highkey mom’s basement dwelling virgin, dude probably scampers, second, we don’t even know if he enjoys the male form, and third... honestly I’m expecting you to strike out so we can have a sleepover with facemasks and chocolates. But fine, fine, what hotel would you like?” Robin passed him her phone with the booking app already loaded.

“Your faith in me is truly what gets me through my days, Robin.” He was choosing to ignore the panic inducing idea of what if he isn’t even into guys?!

“I aim to please.”

“What about an apartment? See there’s one here, two double bedrooms, four star rating, we can book now and grab the keys at reception.”

“Fine, fine, you’re making all the food though, since you’ve robbed me of my five star room service.”

“I’m cool with that.” A few buttons pressed, details auto filled, booking complete. Indianapolis, here they come!

Part 6

[piracytheorist]

something i love about spy family is that its a very funny manga, but it isn't afraid to be serious and talk about serious things (and its also really good at transitioning between the two)

Tatsuya Endo has an amazing grasp of balance. There are a lot of posts going around about how Spy x Family goes from something as heavy as "war makes monsters of us all" to something as silly as "Anya finds Loid's tourist fashion choices lame" and it somehow works.

It's one of the things that made me fall in love with the story from the second if not the very first episode of the anime. It dares to be realistic about how war impacts humans and how it takes them into a path they wouldn't normally take, but at its core it's a story filled with humor and love and connection, because this is how humans are supposed to live like. I mean, not to break it down to a "live laugh love" moral, but at the end of the day it does prioritize people living happily together and in peace. Even the "enemy" is shown in a sympathetic light from time to time.

And the humor and silliness attributes to that. It makes the story light-hearted despite the heavy issues it tackles. It would be hard to find hope in a story that focuses only on those heavy issues, if its vibe was constant grittiness and violence and dark themes. Not that there's anything wrong with stories with such themes; but you wouldn't usually watch such a story and expect to feel full of hope afterwards, nor expect it to have the humor that SxF has.

What is amazing is how Endo manages the balance of it all. How he works in the silliness amidst an environment of a cold war, of hardened spies and assassins, because it would be very easy to veer right into tone-deaf cheesy territory that gives you (unintentional) emotional whiplash. I think it's due to how the characters are only slightly exaggerated versions of something you'd see in real life. Anya behaves as any five-year-old would, where her focus is to work in protection of peace, make sure the family won't break apart, and above all, have fun. Yor's view of the world has been impacted by how long she's worked as an assassin, but her "naivete" is mostly her tendency to see good in everyone, even the "bastards" she's sent to kill. Twilight keeps telling himself everything he does is "for the mission" but he's only human and can't help bonding with his family even if he doesn't realize it.

The characters may behave in an exaggerated way from time to time, but they're not caricatures. The humor and ridiculousness (affectionate) in their actions are based on real human traits and behaviours we can see in real life. The want to have fun, the tendency to see the good in people, the desire to love. Endo simply takes those and has three people whose special traits clash with those three mentioned traits. Anya grew up as a science experiment in a lab where she wasn't allowed to have fun, so now that she has people who care for her emotional growth she goes all out with fun activities. Yor was forced into the choice of becoming an assassin, having to be told "This person is BadTM so you play judge jury and executioner", but with Yuri being her motivation (and later on the Forgers too) she managed to keep her kind heart. Occasionally she can't control her monstrous strength and may also consider killing people who inconvenience her and then go like "Yo wtf chill maybe". Twilight became a spy and distanced himself from human connections, but now that his job brought him into the position of staying long term with a kid and a wife and a dog, his desire for such a connection is rearing its persistent head. And so you get a Professional Master SpyTM playing "Rescue Princess Anya from the Evil Clutches of Count Scruffy Head".

It's the contrast that makes the humor of it all, and in such a way that it never takes only one character's side. I think that also adds to the "flexibility" of the story. It's easier to connect to a story when there's multiple sides explained and understood by the audience; and I mean, the only thing the story looks to be trying to "convince" you of is that humans live best when they live in peace and surrounded by people they love, and that's an undeniable fact of human nature. The characters can and do make mistakes but they're shown to be able to grow from them, and even someone radicalized and extremist like Yuri has understandable motives and a very human nature - just one that was taken advantage of by people in power.

Overall yeah, I think it's how focused on the characters' humanity the story is that it makes the balance between humor and heavy issues work. Again, though it can be exaggerated at times, it's not a caricature or slapstick, just for the sake of making the audience laugh. There's a depth and a genuine reaching out for the audience's emotions and understanding.

(Anime only fan here, don't spoil me for the manga 😁)

[autisticlancemcclain]

fic rec friday 49

hello and welcome to fic rec friday! where, on friday, i rec five of my favourite fics.

it's not enchanted without you by @adelfie

He rolls his shoulders back and shifts into his wolf form. He’s all dark fur and lupine when he raises his head again. Like this, he can match Lance’s height — head to tail. Not that it’s a competition. But still. -- In an enchanted forest, wolf shifter Keith and merperson Lance are best friends. They're not supposed to be. (Or, a cute kid fic in which Keith and Lance both have swishy tails and Shiro is Strict™)

could have sworn i recced this one already. anyways. this is SO CUTE, baby klance always is, but like the whole forbidden friendship trope is so....little keith dragging his friend along in a wagon so they can run together. weeping

2. what the deep night brings by @adelfie

Lance wakes up feeling uneasy and Keith comforts him.

cute klance piece. it's all anyone ever needs. keith being lance's comfort both because lance finds him comforting and keith wants to comfort him. SIGH

3. Gentron Day 2: Childhood Friend by sunshinehime

"Hey! Wanna play with me?" A simple question hangs in the air. The boy in front of him holds out his hand, blue eyes sparkling like the ocean on a sunny day. His wide grin reveals a few gaps where baby teeth used to be. He can barely look him in the eye and his old habit of stuttering his words rears its ugly head again. He expects the boy to get annoyed with him and leave in a huff. But it seems this day is full of surprises.

lance & hunk is so everything to me actually. and lance shamelessly flirting with hunk can be so personal. i just love them having the longest friendship known to man and literally being cosmically connected like they're so

4. fighting the surface by @tomminowrites

“Humans have shown quite the impressive drive for survival,” the Galra commander grins. “I want to see you fight against that. The druids claim drowning is quite the painful way to go." He tips Lance backward over the water, as Keith and Shiro struggle against their bonds. "If you surface, they die.” Lance’s eyes widen and he's pushed backward with a splash. ______ Keith, Shiro, and Lance are taken captive during a mission planet-side. The commander decides he only needs two paladins for interrogation, and decides to have a little fun while they wait for extraction. Lance is thrown into the deep with the threat that if he swims up for air, one of the other two will be shot. Obviously Lance would rather die than allow that. Later chapters will, of course, deal with Keith and Shiro losing their damn minds thinking Lance just drowned himself for them.

now this is a CLASSIC. truly. i remember talking about this fic out loud with a friend bc that was normal back then. god. anyways this fic was like THEE bamf lance fic for a WHILE and like the blue & lance dynamics are AMAZING. remember when water power lance was all the rage?? i do and so does this fic. lance shooting people between the eyes RIGHTS

5. Paladin of Water by SimplyVibing

"Well, say your goodbyes.” The Triq’en laughed and tossed Lance over the edge of the cliff. __________________________ In the middle of battle, the paladins realise two things : 1- Lance is very helpful in a fight. 2- There's more to which lion you pilot than they thought.

i will never ever in my life get tired of lance just absolutely tearing bitches up. power making him glow. just popping up from being half dead and going oh you thought you could actually kill me?? you stupid motherfucker?? try again

that’s it for today!! i’ll see y’all back next friday for the next fic rec post!!!

[befuddled-calico-whump]

Augusnippets Day 17: Resolution

cw: loss of a friend, grieving

for the @augusnippets challenge // word count: 659

=~=~=

Monty could hardly believe it when everyone showed up.

It had been five years since the team was disbanded, and a lot could change in five years. He still kept in touch with everyone else, more or less, and they'd all seemingly adjusted well. Moved on, grown past the past.

But the team hadn't reunited because Monty had asked nicely. It was because everyone still felt the loss.

He certainly did.

No one had taken the time to talk about what happened when it happened; they were all a bunch of dumb kids playing dumb games, left to grapple with feelings too big to hold when everything suddenly got real.

Tom hadn't shown them the footage, but the way his voice shook when he told them what happened, the look on his face… Monty knew it must've been awful. And none of them had been able to stop it. None of them had been able to save him.

Sen was the first to show up. They'd all agreed to meet in the park. Near the facility they'd trained in, but not too close. 

“Hey,” he greeted them. “Been a while.”

“Yeah.” They nodded, their expression pensive, like they didn't know what to say next. Did any of them? How did you swallow something like this, even after so long? How could you have a team reunion when it was supposed to be five of you, not four?

Faye and Emery made their appearance a few minutes after Sen, hand in hand. They’d started dating after the team was discontinued, taking comfort in one another. Something about shared experience, about being one of just a few people who understood. Monty was glad to see they were still together, but he couldn't help the pang that came at the sight of them.

He could've been holding someone's hand too, if only…

“How do we start?” Emery was the first to speak, after the four of them spent a good several minutes in silence, staring at the grass where they used to take lunch breaks, or study, or spar.

“What can you say?” Faye murmured. “He's gone. There’s nothing we can do.”

“Only remember,” Emery offered.

“Remembering hurts.”

“Don't we owe him that much?” Monty’s own voice, thick with a tremor, almost surprised him. The others gave him looks he might've called pitiful, if they weren't all suffering the same loss.

“He was… he was always the one who pushed us to keep trying,” he continued. “Never just gave up and called it quits when things got tough in training. That's how I remember him.”

Sen nodded. “He would've made a good leader. I know we always said there was no leader, but it would've been him.”

“He didn't hold grudges,” Faye added with a short laugh. “I… I was kind of a bitch to him for the first month, and he still just… welcomed me into the group. Y'know. He was—” Her voice broke. She covered it with a cough. “He was a good guy.”

“He was a giant nerd,” Emery said. “Remember how much he used to talk about Dungeons and Dragons?”

“Oh my gosh, don't get me started—”

“He was always saying he'd run a campaign for us one day.”

“Remember the one story from his highschool campaign he always used to tell? About the rat in the cellar that just wouldn't die?”

“It just wouldn't die.”

Soon they were laughing past their tears, the somber air dissolving into recounted memories. It was better this way, wasn't it? How remembering was supposed to be?

“Maybe we should get a campaign started,” Emery said. “I can run it if you guys want.”

“Yeah.” Faye wiped away tears with the back of her hand. “Yeah, I think we should.”

Emery threw an arm around her shoulder. Sen joined in the hug, already crying again. After a moment, Monty joined too.

“Look at us, becoming nerds. I think Ander would be proud.”

[sunnysideaeggs]

episode 5 review! as always my dear friends, long post ahead, and remember i wrote this while i was watching and was sleepy. enjoy a piece of my mind love u ☀️💕

the smallfolk ‘caring’ for meleys as if rhaenys hadn’t killed thousands of their own a few weeks ago. ‘rhaenyra will answer this’ be fr. you should be grateful your cousin was avenged. or they kinda forgot about the dragonpit idk

now this is the kind of gruesomeness i wanted for aegon’s wounds. hear me out: he has shown his commitment to his cause. he bled and burned for the realm. only his wounds prevented him from ruling, and it won’t be permanent.

also is it me or his wounds are in the wrong side? i know in the books he’s supposed to have the right ride of his body burned, but in last episode we see aegon’s right facing vhagar’s fire. condal answer pls

i fucking hate aemond. he sees his brother, his king, in the verge of death and all he cares is about power. book aemond would never.

gotta love rhaenyra’s 🧐❓ face in the council. she’s not prepared for this she’s so confused i love emma’s faces lol

lmao a valid concern of lord broome is dismissed as MysoGYNy. daemon left because rhaenyra allowed it, she’s not attending council, she ignores problems, she doesn’t know how to act. his complaints are valid, rhaenyra should be grateful he’s giving advice and loyalty instead of demanding praise in top of all.

now this is ridiculous. canon rhaenyra was out of question for battle because she was resting after a terrible miscarriage (which is one of the only points i give her: she was doing what was best) but are we supposed to believe that eeeevery time miss rhae wanted to go to battle and eeeeevery time her council dissuaded her? 💀

baela sidelined and admitting she’s being used as a shield for jacaerys, accepting that. consoling her fiancé instead of being consoled for the lost of her grandmother. girlie has red eyes from crying but she still has to center a man.

‘the brackens are from the seven hells’ aren’t you a follower of the old gods? be consistent.

daemon of all people being ‘diplomatic’ 😭

looool lady jeyne complaining that the dragons she got from shein aren’t the right size. well babe if you sent two baby dragons i’ll sent my 15k swords with a 2 year delay. fair game.

we got a scene of rhaena crying for lucerys, but not rhaenys. she was basically the twins’ mother since they were kids but they don’t mourn her?

rhaenyra complaining she got a position in viserys’ council and was taught diplomacy from a young age, but believes that sword training would’ve been more useful 💀 of course she takes that boring council stuff for granted so much she doesn’t use it.

‘if i must be suplicant to my own husband what does that make me?’ a woman. a wife.

this quote summarizes how rhaenyra is so disconnected from the experiences of women in her world, so much she can’t fathom them for herself. she’s so singled out that not even the next most powerful women in the realm (alicent and helaena) are free from being supplicant to their husbands.

they wanna give the smallfolk’s favor to the blacks? 💀💀💀 if this is foreshadowing for the storming of the dragonpit i riot.

so you agree? dragons choose their riders and don’t care for inheritances? good to know.

rhaenyra is so memememe all the time ew. can’t focus on anyone else for five minutes without asking for something. i just know she would be so tiring to be around.

DAEMON’S MOMMY ISSUES 🤨🤨🤨 that shit will haunt me. also they de-yassified alyssa smh

daemon being trapped in a haunted castle and a diplomatic hell is funny af. now he knows what otto always yapped about.

and he still is delulu about being king. some things never change

my poor king :(

lmao as if alicent had ever one ounce of power without otto. and as if she isn’t dismissed by the council every day of the week. girl you can’t even rule over your sons sit down

alicent would’ve had a lot more power and influence if she had played her cards right and treated aegon a little better. fafo.

larys wanting criston to say shit so alicent gets mad at him 😂

i would like an explanation for why random peasants are so loyal to rhaenyra when they don’t know her, she’s very polemical and she would sneer at the sight of them. writer’s nonsense again

also another nonsense is the crown not having coin. they literally have the whole treasure, so much they can play with it for plot related reasons that will be important later

that dog cared for cheese more than alicent cared for aegon.

nooo poor ali 😭😭😭 the king looked to you for advice and you spurned him. now there’s another one in charge and he’s not so eager for your opinion.

jace comparing vermax to vhagar 💀 babe you can’t compete when you don’t compare

daemon rn: day’s never finished, master’s got me working, someday master’ll set me freeee 🪓🎶

and he’s shading rhaenyra lmao

alys is so cryptic and unhinged i love her

baela being more loyal to her stepmother than her grandfather 💀 well it’s not like corlys ever defended her before so idk

gotta love how all of the discord and resentment is resolved by ✨ girl power✨

‘driftmark must pass to salt and sea’ was lucerys salt and sea? is joffrey salt and sea? be truthful. look at me in the eyes.

FINALLY SOME BLACKWOOD SLANDER

i hate the blackwoods during the dance for the shit they did. the septs, the pillaging, those atrocities are brushed over because of george’s bias. i didn’t expect a lot from the show but i’m pleasantly surprised.

i love that riverlands’ lady. i love all of the riverlords now. i think people forget that the brackens have decent relationships with most other houses and only have a very specific rivalry with a very specific house that just happens to be a pet of george.

also how did they get to harrenhal so fast? i forgot to mention how it’s so surreal for armies and people to travel so fast. how did jace got to the twins and was right on time for dinner the same day?

i just know the aemondwives will have a field day with the scene of aemond looking at the throne. that camera descending? now that’s what i’m talking about.

helaena asking the real questions here.

an answer????

egg 😭😭😭 he deserves so much more. his panting, his burns, he looks like a sick child and this is the first time we see someone giving him a gentle touch

i love alicent’s dress. you son is battling with the stranger and you’re serving cunt? helaena is with the same dress from ep2 and alicent has a new wardrobe 😵‍💫

MUMMY 😭😭😭

i’d like alicent praying for aegon. they made religion a big part of her character just to erase it this season or conveniently point the finger at her for ‘sinning’. we get alicent praying for lucerys and viserys but are we supposed to believe she wasn’t praying by aegon’s bedside? we could get an interesting parallel with catelyn and bran there.

rhaenyra wanting to be visenya 💀 girl visenya would kill everyone who said she couldn’t fight or rule or anything else. if rhaenyra can’t stand up to her council she can’t stand up to her enemies.

jace proposing the dragonseeds yay

rhaenyra dismissing the idea of dragonseeds because ‘their blood is thin’ but not recognizing the actual danger of giving a dragon to someone unrelated to the targs (something that will be important to the plot later) shows exactly where her priorities are.

i wanted more helaena. i wanted more aegon. smh

[forasgaard]

Stitches

pairing: Neteyam x Reader

summary: Neteyam and Reader got captured by Quaritch, Neteyam got wounded and she has to stitch him back up, but then he confesses his true feelings

warnings: whump, fluff, gunshot, blood, angst, harsh language, comfort, injury, pain

words: 2.8k

Masterlist

...

"Neteyam!"

My scream echoed through the night. They shot him! It was short after the eclipse, but we couldn't go home. Neteyam, Lo'ak, Kiri, Spider, Tuk and I had spend the whole afternoon at that one lake with the waterfall. It was really beautiful. The sun had shown warm onto us and the water cooled our skin.

But suddenly, we heard a noise coming out of the bushes and Colonel Miles Quaritch and his recoms appeared. We knew that he had come back. They already almost catched us once. When we were at the old Avatar-link shack where Quaritch had died. Just last minute, Neytiri and Jake could save us. Since then, Quaritch and his team disappeared. Until now.

They broke out of the jungle, just when we wanted to go home. We were supposed to be back in the village before the eclipse. The tried to catch all of us and it came to a fight. Suddenly, someone shot into the air. We froze immediately. Then someone grabbed my arm and I started screaming. My friends turned towards me, fear in their eyes. Quaritch had grabbed me. I tried to free myself bit his grip just got tighter.

"What do we have here, hm?" He pulled my wrists into the air. Five fingers. I could hear him laugh. "You're no Sully. You're an Avatar!" His team laughed at me.

"Let her go!", Neteyam made a brave step stowards us. He had raised his bow and aimed at Quaritch's head. My other friends stood a few steps behind him. Kiri had pressed Tuk close to her and Spider stood half in front of Kiri. Lo'ak rose his knife and hissed at the recoms.

Neteyam spoke quietly in Na'vi: "No one moves, you understand?" I saw Spider nodding.

"What do you want?", Nete spitted. One of Quaritch's guys aimed with his gun at him. "Don't shoot!", Quaritch ordered from behind me. Then he purred to Neteyam: "I will let her go if you tell me where your home is."

"Never!", Lo'ak screamed at him, his grip around the knife tightened.

"Lo'ak!", Neteyam warned him with gritted teeth. The suddenly, everything happened at the same time.

"Let her go or I'll shoot!", Neteyam said harsh. He pulled the arrow farther back. It was just a thread, I knew that. The wouldn't shoot. Not yet. But one of Quaritch's soldiers interpreted his gesture wrong. Abruptly, he shot with his rifle at Neteyam. The oldest Sully boy screamed and dropped his bow in shock.

"Neteyam!"

My scream echoed through the night. The other Sully Kids gasped and Lo'ak wanted to run towards his brother.

Quaritch tightened the grip around me and screamed: "Are you mad!? We need them alive!"

Neteyam held Lo'ak back. "Run! Tell Dad! Just leave!", he panted in pain, holding his left shoulder. I pulled at Quaritch's hands but he was too strong.

"Yeah, tell Sully!", a female Avatar right next to us laughed. The had aimed her gun at Neteyam, who stood a few feet in front of us with shaking knees. My friends looked at each other for a split second. "Go, fast!", Lo'ak said and they disappeared in the woods. One of Quaritch's men put his rifle over his shoulder. "Shall we get him boss?"

"No, let them run", Quaritch grunted. "Those two are all we need. Get him!"

One guy grabbed Neteyam harshly at his armes and he let out a small whine of pain. They went with us onto a glade and the woman said something into her radio. Shortly after, two helicopters appeared over us. Ropes where let down to us and a few minutes later, we sat in the helicopters and flew over Hell's Gate. The human city.

They brought us into an empty white room. Only a table stood in the middle and on one wall was a black mirrored window. The glass door slider open and he I got shoved into the room. Someone layed Neteyam down onto the table. He was unconscious.

"We'll speak tomorrow. Get comfortable", Quaritch glanced at me and got out.

"Hey!", I screamed when he went. I slammed against the closed door, made out of glass. "Let us go, you bastards!"

My head was spinning. So much had happened in the last minutes. I turned around to Neteyam. Panicking I shook his arm. "Neteyam!"

It took a while until he was awake. Carefully, he opened it eyes but closed them immediately at the bright light. He groaned in pain and pressed his bloody hand on the wound.

"Don't" I pulled his hand away. "You'll only make it worse!"

"Were are we?", he panted. "We're at Hell's Gate, in some kind of prison or interrogation room." I voice started shaking. Neteyam made a move to sit up bit the pain let him sink back onto the table. I checked his wound. It was just a graze shot, but he lost too much blood.

"Shit!", I cursed. Panic rose inside me. Neteyam looked at me, his face twisted with pain. "I have to stitch it up.", I muttered. Or else he would lose even more blood. But how? There weren't any first aid kits around here, there wasn't even a chair in here. I sweared and looked around. No cameras, but they must watched us.

"Can we at least get some medicine and water? Damn it!", I screamed at the walls. "And blankets or cloths or something!?" I looked up at thr ceiling. Neteyam took softly my hand

"It's alright. I will be better soon"

"No!", I lupped away from him when the door opened.

The Avatar women got a bundle in her hand. She raised one eyebrow. "We're no brutes" I wanted to grab the bundle, but she let it drop right before my feet. I saw my chance, wanted to run past her but the door closed right in front of me so I dashed against it. The women gave me a mischievous smile. Furious I put my ears back and hissed at her. He gave me dismissive look and her mouth formed the word "Savages" Then she left.

I took up the bundle. It contained two blankets, two water bottles and a first aid kit. I wen back to Neteyam and put the things next to him on the table. He breathed heavenly and had his eyes closed.

"Here"  I said softly and spread the blanket over his sweathy body. I rolled the other one up and put it is as a pillow under his head. Then I opened the first aid kit. Bandages, gloves, scissors, band-aids, painkillers, needle and thread, scalpels and sanitizer. Perfectly equipped. I opened the packaging of the painkillers and gave Neteyam two of them. Then I brought  the water bottle up to his mouth. He took long sips and I supported his head with one hand.

"Neteyam", I whispered. He let his head fall down onto the blanket. I took one of those bandages, wet it with ater and started cleaning the wound on his shoulder. Neteyam suppressed a curse. He balled his hands into fists. I really hoped, those damn painkillers helped soon. "I have to stitch it up", I repeated when I was done. He turned his head towards me. Looked at me with a series face and nodded slightly. "Okay. Do it"

I had no idea what I was doing. I had never done this before. I only saw those things on movies and television. Hesitantly, I disinfected the needle and the wound. I looked at Neteyam. He had his eyes closed in concentration and beads of sweat covered his forehead. His breath was shallow and way to fast. Without thinking, I poured out all the stuff from the first aid kit, rolled it up and gave it Neteyam to bite onto it. Like they did in movies all the time. "I'll try to hurry but you shouldn't move" I said, slightly panicked. He just nodded.

I took a deep breath and scanned the injury. Then I made the first stitch. I heard Neteyam gasping and tears watered my eyes. I could almost feel his pain on my own skin.

Next stitch. Don't stop. My hands started shaking and I felt nauseous. "Almost done" I muttered more to myself than to Neteyam. Third stitch. "Everything will be okay"

I just hoped, we wouldn't lose conscious again. "It's alright, you're doing great", I mumbled words of comfortto us until I was done. Eight stitches. It took like forever.

When I was done, I put a compress on the wound. "Can you sit up for a second?" I asked carefully. "I have to put the bandage on."

With a groan he got up, I supported him as much as I could. The I rolled the bandage around his arm and chest.

I mustered my work and looked up to Neteyam's face. His eyes were half closed. "Hey, you're alright?", I asked caring and gently touched his hand. He nodded and mumbled "Water".

I gave him the bottle and he emptied it within a few sips. The he carefully swung his legs over the edge of the table, the blanket fell from his body. "Careful!", I was sacred. He shouldn't move too fast.

"It's alright", he said and forced a smile on his lips. But he clearly was in pain. My heart ached, seeing him like that. I sat down next to him onto the table, legs over the edge. We went silent for a while and Neteyam leaned softly against my shoulder. He lost so much blood! Hopefully he felt better soon.

I put the blanket back around his shoulders, and the other one over mine. It wars hard to see him injured. Normally, he was always cheerful, always wise and responsible. And he was such a good leader, he always protected his siblings and friends. Put others before him. I sighed. That was one of the reasons why I liked him so much. Even because he was so selfless and caring. I knew him for many years now, I grew up with him. We were best friends. And in the last months, he became even more than my best friend. I fell in love with him, but he didn't know. At first I was scared, I didn’t want to love him. But I got used to that feeling, even though it hurt sometimes having him so close and not could touch him or something without making it too obvious.

So I never told him. I was afraid to destroy our friendship, if I would tell him. And I wasn't even a real Na'vi, I wasn't one of them. He wouldn't probably want me anyways.

"He wants to use us as a bait for Dad", Neteyam murmured after a while. I glanced at him, surprised. He slowly started to feel better. "Quaritch?", I asked. He nodded. Neteyam wanted to stand up, but his legs trembled uncontrollably and I jumped forward to help him. We went to the opposite wall and let us slide down. I spread the blankets over our bodies. I sat on Neteyam's right side, to not hurt his injury.

"We have to warn him", Neteyam grunted. "First, you have to rest.", I warned him. I felt more like his Mom than his friend. Our shoulders touched. I put my head onto his and sighed. Neteyam slightly changed position and let his head sink down onto mine.

"How could they even find us?", I whispered into the silence. "I dunno", he muttered and I could feel the vibration of his voice hummed through his body.

"But Dad mustn't come here. That's exactly what Quaritch wants."

He swallowed and I took his hand under the blanket. I knew he worried to death about his father since Quaritch was back. Jake said, he wouldn't risk any fight with him, but Toruk Makto was such a bullhead, that he would join any fight, if someone was threatening his family.

"How's your arm?", I asked. He slightly shrugged. "It's okay. I think the painkillers are starting to help."

"That's good"

He really seemed much fitter than a few minutes ago. I closed my eyes and list listened to his breath. It was rare that we sat so close to each other. Most of the time, Spider and his siblings were around us and I couldn't even hug him, without it looking too obvious. So I enjoyed every second that I could be near him. Hopefully, he couldn't hear how fast my heartbeat was.

"That was really brave what you did earlier. Stitch me back up.", he said after a while. I had no idea how much time had passed already. I thought he was asleep.

"I think, I couldn't have done it.", he continued. His voice sounded normal again, not as twisted with pain as earlier.

"Of course you could've.", answered and squeezed his hand. "You're a Sully."

He chuckled with amusement. "You would make a good Sully too." I started laughing. "Oh, I don't think so."

I felt him changing position and I raised my head from his shoulder.

"No, I think you would. Everyone loves you", he said serious. I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "Your Mom hates me."

A small mischievous smile appeared on his face. It was so good to see him smile again.

"Bullshit"

"Yes she does!", I laughed quietly. He really felt better. I sighed with relief.

"She hates me because I am half human", I said. He let go of my ahdn and turned more around to see me in the eyes.

"Dad was half human. And guess what - she fell in love with him.", he teased and I had to laugh.

"Yeah, but that was probably the only time in Na'vi history and will never happen again!"

He rested his head against the wall behind him. His eyes scanned my face. "Hm, I don't think so. Look at Kiri and Spider."

"Yeah, okay", I admitted. Kiri and Spider, that was strange. They loved each other but none of them wanted to admit that. Everyone saw it. Jake even asked Kiri about him one time while dinner. But she denied it. They both denied it all the time. A little smile appeared on my face when I thabout them. They were cute together, even though she was Na'vi and he human.

"And me", Neteyam muttered. I raised my view at him. "What?"

His yellow eyes fixed me, but his gaze was different than before. It was more perceiving, as if he could stare directly into my soul. He scanned every inch of my face and I felt nervous. Heat rushed through my veins. What was he talking about? Were that the effects of the painkillers?

Then all of a sudden, he leaned forward and kissed me. I was too astounded to do anything. My mind was racing. But then I gently returned his kiss. His lips were soft and tasted salty. I felt him putting one hand on my cheek and my heartbeat skipped. He pressed his forehead against mine while kissing, only to be even closer. Then we both needed air and he let go of me. This thumb stroked over my cheekbones. I was so confused. He had kissed me!

I opened my mouth to say something but I couldn't make a noise. Neteyam's ears twitched. "I always wanted to tell you, but I was afraid that it would break our friendship. And I don't wanna lose you"

His voice was so quiet that I almost couldn't hear him. But then I realised: He was in love with me! I looked at him in astonishment. "I... Me too."

He grinned and his fangs showed. "I was always too scared.", he admitted and his hand framed my face.

"But I mean, I almost died today, so why keep it a secret?" He shrugged. I laughed. "Drama Queen!", I teased him. He smiled. "Got it from Dad"

We laughed and I wrapped my arms around him. "Argh", he howled with pain. I had touched his wound. "Oh sorry, sorry, sorry!" I immediately let go of him. Neteyam took a deep breath with gritted teeth. "It's alright. Come here"

He put his hands on the back of my neck and kissed me again. More intimate and passionate. I wished, we could stop the time.

No matter what would happen on the future, we would get out of here. Together. Nothing could separate us. We belonged together. And while we kissed there in the prison room, we didn't notice, that Quaritch stood behind the mirrored window and watched us.

"You'd better watch out, Sully. I could blackmail you.", he grunted. "I know your son's biggest weakness now."

[kitty-av]

Hello CC fandom!

I've been lurking on CC Tumblr for a hot minute, and decided I needed to talk to people about the Facebook murder hidden objects/visual novel game. The brainrot won over the anxiety XD

I don't actually know a lot about the later games ( I watched like half of travel in time and the beginning district of MoTP and honestly it didn't feel the same. ) I mostly just brainrot over Pacific Bay and Save the World. I don't know why, but those are just MY games, you feel? The characters are just great, I vibe with them a lot. That being said, I doodled some of them!

I have no explanations or context except this. Amy influenced by Russell and the entirety of Pacific Bay would be unhinged in a good way. They become the CC equivalent of ' go kick his ass bby I got your flower ' if you get what I mean.

Angela loves Lars, I will die on that hill. She loves everyone, but Sombra is... Yknow, Sombra. Tell me they didn't try to threaten her husband and kids at least once, I dare you. Maybe it's me looking for nuance, but I firmly believe that besides her being raised in a cult essentially ( one of their branches literally was one ) she also thought there literally was no way she could stay with the team without sacrificing her family. I mean, Sombra agents got into and almost killed people in the Bureau multiple times. The only reason they didn't is because Jonah exists and he's not having any of it.

Speaking of STW, Michelle deserved better. I don't know why exactly, but I headcanon that because they were never shown together ( or so I remember ) she knew Jonah. Maybe she hired him for protection once. No other reason other than I feel they'd be those two friends that stay sober and drive everyone home after a party.

I'm really speaking about this because I randomly doodled these five, so I might as well give my thoughts.

I swear, I feel parched for interaction, I need more people to nerd out with over these games, even though I'm busy these days and likely will be. Is there maybe a discord server? Maybe I'll also lurk there ( likely not, knowing how excited I am to share all my little headcanons about these two games in particular) but it'll just feel nice to have that space to view more of people talking about the game. •^•

I'm open to doodling some more characters, but I'm doing it from memory, while bored at a seminar thing - and I'm also taking notes. I am a master of multitasking clearly. These are all done at the back of my notepad. XD

I suppose you guys can ask and I'll figure it out. I'm also probably going to give my thoughts on each character, or the little I remember if I don't.

I'm planning on rewatching Grimsborough gameplay soon because half of it has left my mind, and there isn't much emotional attachment, as with these two games, so... Yeah!

This is wordy because I'm feeling awkward posting into a smol fandom Tumblr honestly. I know it's not a crime at all, but it feels like I'm intruding into a sacred space or something XD

Well, I'll get used to it. So will you, hopefully. 👀💫

[azuresins]

hey I'm not trying to get you hate but question about the poison theory... I could believe an older child could do that but why would you think a 5-year-old would? That's the part I think most people just can't get passed

I've answered this before, several times, and I'm not sure how many times this needs to be said, before people realize it's not something I'm arbitrarily making up... it's not "I believe this might happen in fiction" -- I suspected it because there have been well-documented cases of living, breathing 5-year-olds who have done this exact same thing, before. In fact, ones who have done much worse! And it was not an abuse case.

But I realized, very, very quickly, that while some people genuinely wanted to have a discussion, there were a number of people who were asking me about this, (or about asthma in general) in really bad faith? To find fault with me and put words into my mouth, paint me as someone who just hates children for no-reason or doesn't know anything about asthma. Read all of this carefully, please.

The sources and documented evidence out there, of 5-year-olds (and younger) who have killed or harmed animals, infants, are real people... and these deaths and injuries, as a result of these children and what happened to their families, are often extremely sensitive in nature. I can't justify continuing to send links of this type of evidence to people, who dislike my theory, to these studies and documentaries (the amount of content warning labels I'd have to provide, alone...) to... what...? Gawk at? Just to prove that it happens?

Should I have to explain to strangers or irritated people who have a reason not to like me, for what I think about a fictional story or character, that I actually have asthma and that I know the difference between types (most people don't know there's different types to begin with) and why none of this is adding up to me? Probably not. I know that this topic is sensitive in nature but suddenly, a lot of people were making judgments about my character and wanted to know details about my personal life. Why is that okay? If I ever came off overly defensive about this in the past, I apologize, that was why.

Back to the subject... Five-year-olds who are capable of getting into things they aren't supposed to, and playing with ""medicine."" Is that a rare occurrence? No. Five-year-olds capable of playing with ""medicine"", knowing the outcome might be harmful...and doing it anyway? Actually a lot more likely, than you think it is. Is it rare? Absolutely, but sadly... but not so rare that it's not well-documented and studied. The evidence is out there, and if people want to find it, they can do so. You don't have to take my word for it. And people can believe, what they want to believe. If they look at all of the behavior shown of RealCiel, and just shrug and say he surely can't be one of those kids. Fine. However...

- I'm suspicious, when a ten-year-old hides the ability he can regurgitate at-will, and likely had to practice this ability to perfection. He could have died, he could have choked, right then and there and just didn't. Am I supposed to believe this is the first time he's done something like that? He did it with such confidence, when he swallowed that huge ring. He knew he could keep it safe, and get it back in what I assume was a much more dignified way. That ring wasn't so much as tarnished, by his stomach acid. Why did he think he'd need this ability? Is it a watchdog secret? Or is it something he figured out on his own, and taught himself? I'm also suspicious, of the circumstances surrounding "that day" and the way real Ciel behaved, up until the moment he left the bedroom. - I'm suspicious that Tanaka was the only person spared and survived the fire, and that this master butler, a man who can stop a bullet with a sword, did nothing and seemed completely panicked... his last words before injury were "Don't come closer, Master Ciel is--!" Master Ciel is what? - I also find it an odd choice, that he trips/falls twice but both times, where moments where his brother was supposed to receive attention and he refocused it back on himself. Once during a fencing lesson when O!Ciel tried to talk to Lizzie, and once more when R!Ciel brought him flowers from the outing, he tripped and they were scattered everywhere. - I find it an odd choice, that O!Ciel was concerned with making everyone on the estate happy and worried about solving all of their problems and was considering the burdens of caring for so many people... while real Ciel compared them to livestock... like currency, and worried if they didn't keep things running right, they'd leave. A remark that wasn't unnoticed, by their father. - I'm actually not-at-all startled by how hard, R!Ciel took being told that his brother was going to leave him, someday. How hard he protested and how emotional he got, I think that part is fairly normal... but I am suspicious, of how immediate and quickly he recovered. The moment he realized, "Oh. ... I don't have a choice." Shouldn't he have cried harder? But he smiled, immediately and his tears dried up on a dime. Maybe a child in his position would have tried to run away... but with a sick brother, how could he? I don't think he just accepted it happily, I don't take that reaction at face value. I think he wanted his circumstances to be very different and someone, saw this and took advantage of him and manipulated him all the way to the events that lead to "that day." - And last but certainly not least... I'm extremely suspicious of the way Sebastian-the-borzoi reacts to Our!Ciel, especially the nose-prodding and constant barking at him, and only him. It looks a lot like a service dog alerting. They bark, they prod. They do not give up. He knew something was wrong, and if nothing else... I trust and have faith in that dog. It's not any one thing Real Ciel did, it's...everything we were shown of their childhood, combined. Could there be another party at play, here? Of course, I think it's obvious this child couldn't have acted alone. Someone with ill intentions... used him.

I don't blame him, for what happened "that day", I don't think he's 'evil' and I'm not 'out to get him' or whatever it is people think. ...

It's something that not a lot of people LIKE to think about, I'm sure, what children are capable of. But not every child who does that, is abused, and it's NOT always the cause of these behaviors. To say so? Is not only incorrect, but... it's really a slap to the face to the parents and caregivers of some of these children. I read about one case of a child who tried to kill his siblings on multiple occasions and blamed other grown adults for years, before he was caught. They found needles, knives, candy, and his mothers meds under the carpet padding in his closet. He would go to school and manipulate teachers and tell them things like, "Mommy didn't pack me a lunch today!" When she actually did, he was throwing his food, in the trash. He was not abused at home or in school, or treated any differently than his other siblings, who did not display any of this behavior.

Some people are simply born "different" and children do very strange things for attention and their ideas of love and affection, there's... a lot of people in this world, that dedicate their entire lives, to trying to help these children and understand why this occurs. To the best of my knowledge, when this occurs and abuse is not present or a cause, it's thought of as something that is neurological, with possible genetic factors at play.

While a lot of them are caught, early on (with symptoms often manifesting beyond a shadow of a doubt, around age 5... the most extreme case I've become aware of, showed alarming and severe signs at age 3 ) ... some children, learn to mask and learn how to avoid getting into trouble, and to make sure they're the most popular and well-loved person in the room. They mask so well, that this never gets properly diagnosed well into adulthood. The adults often lead quite successful lives, and don't usually seek help... because they don't feel like they need help. Why would they, unless they're forced to? For what reason? They say that psychopaths make up 1% (1 in 100 people) of the population. Yet, 20% of the most successful businessmen in CEO positions (1 in 5), are psychopaths. That all being said, this is a theory about a fictional character ...and I don't condone people using it, to hurt someone or to manipulate whether they agree or they don't. People are allowed to interpret Real Ciel differently, than I do. You're allowed to like him and think I'm incorrect. You're allowed to like him, even if I AM correct.

[ctheathy]

Survival instinct didn’t make the cut

Yandere Ticci Toby x Reader

Angst oneshot

Imagine making your first Tumblr post and it’s this. But I swear, this scenario has been living rent free in my head for the past months-

I believe it turned out quite alright though, hope whoever comes across shall be able to enjoy it themselves too =} Goodluck, darling~

Ticci Toby/Reader

⚠️Warnings ⚠️ :

•Toby lmao. •Yanderes •Reader’s demise •Obsessive behaviour • Abuse in all varieties •Implied non-con // r#pe •Indirect su!c!de •Slight detail of gore // blood •Derealization ?? •Tobitch going through the five stages of grief

Angst time babiee

____________________________________________

Now he’s done it.

Before you is where he stood, body trembling as the smell of bitter iron was dancing alongside his nostrils, mocking him.

His throat was aching, easily confirming the assumption that he had in fact been screaming at you. He hadn't expected this, but he should have.

He should have realised his self-restraint was reaching it’s limits.

He had lost count of the amount of speeches he had prematurely given you in warning over the course of just six months, the amount of punishments he’d given you in an attempt to put you in your place, his already thin patience having decreased into absolutely nothing. Why the fuck couldn’t you just be all ears and listen to anything for once in a lifetime?

You never listened.

It seemed like not too long ago he would have once again had your fragile figure cornered in an obvious out of control burst of rage. Figuring he had the absolute opposite of innocent intent, as he has done many, many times before in his quote on quote “regular” state alone. Yet the now deafening silence was haunting to Toby. You never enjoyed crying when he was in the same area as you were, he knew this, but some whimpers here and there did always manage to slither it’s way out of your throat. Especially when battered like this, you’re not supposed to be this quiet.

Conversations were rare, but it surely wasn’t like they weren’t there at all, despite how minor they might have been. He’d recall you flat-out ignoring his entire existence for a long time before that, and when you did reply to a sentence or two; your answers were always kept as short as possible, too short. Cold, even.

You and your blunt statements.

It angered him, following with Toby developing a habit of literally demanding your attention and cooperation, which surely wouldn’t be considered all that bad by a majority of people,

if it didn't include inflicting damage if a hint of resistance was even shown, that is.

Neck twitching severely with his eyes scanning over your once gorgeous form; one he wished to have held onto for the absolute rest of eternity, now beaten into a bloody pulp. Truthfully saying, your state had already been quite the wreck from these so-called “punishments” you had endured from him formerly, but they were nothing in comparison to whatever the hell he did to you this time. Your body structure wasn’t even recognisable to the bare eye anymore. The only thing left confirming your identity being your facial features, those you had instinctively tried shielding with your arms; arms who were now bend in uncomfortable positions, whose bones were now much so similar to your ribcage as they were clearly showing, sharp tips that had been broken off of the full bone structure poking out of the bloodied flesh.

You seemed to have gotten on his nerves once more, didn’t you? Who were you even kidding, you were always at fault from his point of view. You swore it had gotten to a stage where he just reached out for whatever excuse he could get his grabby hands on to cause harm upon you. His frustration streaks being no help in the matter, whatsoever.

That being said, this too included suffering the most whenever his torturous desires came over to front within his own mind, lashing out and resulting in unimaginable that when given too much detail would probably get me banned discipline instances in itself. He was trying to tame you into being some compliant little lap dog,

the perfect significant other.

And you? You were absolutely not having it.

You were very well aware of the fact that you, too, weren’t exactly the easiest when being in his presence either. Seemingly almost intentionally setting him off, having caused many broken limbs, bruises in all colours of the rainbow, deep wounds and screaming matches that could have easily been prevented otherwise. You just could not help it, the thought alone of being obedient to this- this monster made you sick to the stomach. The strict mental promise you made to yourself literally keeping you sane from his either constant cruelty or unwanted affection.

It was no surprise to say that he just went along with everything he desired as well, not caring about the clear signs of major discomfort your own figure had been showing Every. Single. Time.

Well.

He simply continued to take, greedily getting some sort of emotionally high on all that you'd indirectly have the possibility of giving him. Your blood, tears, cries, whatever sound he managed to get out of you, your body; he wanted all of it, the most suffocating part being that he wouldn’t ever hesitate to be selfish when it came to his wants, his needs. You could yell, squirm and resist all you wanted ...but deep down you knew attempting to resist his lustful urges would be futile. You knew he would continue to take until you were nothing short of an empty husk.

That was the case, atleast.

Until there was nothing left to take from you. His wrath didn’t hurt you anymore, it couldn’t.

Toby swore he could have felt the last bit of basic common sense alongside the last pinch of emotional stability left inside of him fading right then and there. Slipping from his grasp as he was clutching together excuses to desperately try and get himself somewhat in the clear, to not have the realisation of his actions setting in.

No. He wouldn't be able to handle it

This wasn’t his doing. No- nonono he has always told himself he had everything under control. It COULDN’T possibly be his own doing.

He’d never meant to ...

Yet despite these protests profusely swirling around in his head, slowly having it drag itself more into insanity, the axe was right there. Clutched in his own shaky hands with the oh-so-familiar dark red substance dripping from them. In fact, his own entire being was soaked in blood from head to toe. Creating a dried up pattern on the fabric he was wearing.

Was it his own?

Despite the constant weak state you managed to be in, how low in power you were compared to him; you never failed to catch him by surprise when still managing to put up the slightest bit of a fight, often even shedding blood yourself, his blood. Even as time passed, you should have clearly gotten the hint by now that struggling against your capturer, your abuser, did absolutely nothing for the both of you.

It caused you yet more and more harm. But much to Toby’s irritation, you never gained the desire to lower this stubborn behaviour of yours. Continuously keeping up your nagging nature, almost like you were trying to make him snap with no questions asked in the matter. Your motives were foreign to him, even questioning himself if you even had any to begin with. Heck, everything you once seemed to hold a liking torwards was either destroyed to bits, crumbled on the streets for the passersby to find or dead;

So, why?? Was tormenting him truly that important to you?

Muttering nonsense to himself and still being as shaky as ever, Toby dragged his now numb legs across the floor in a sad attempt to get the situation in hand, to get closer to you.

Still, a part of him couldn’t help but feel hesitant, his racing mind still not seeming to have left the state of shock he’s been in for the past hours. He was very much aware by now that your life had been taken this night. Taken in a brutal act of fury.

You weren't there anymore.

the axe slid right onto the cold floor, the metal leaving a clunk sound that echoed clamorously along the room as his body now realised how heavy the pressure on his arms had actually been.

Weakly he started counting down the reasons on how and most importantly, why this could have happened in the first place. He knew how massively petty you could be at times, but this was FAR from the wishes of his main desires.

This should never have happened.

He loved you.

It shouldn’t have.

He loved you. Helovedyouhelovedyouhelovedyouheneededyo---

He completely set his current thoughts to a stop for a good minute at that one. Needing you.

What did that even mean?

He knew he held you in massively high priority, he adored you even, but. Even that sentence in itself caught him off guard. His head had been over flooding for sure, it all just felt void-like, not real.

All he was left with now were his own heartbeats growing their ways into his ears as the organ was struggling to keep itself at bay, the strange yet all too familiar hollowness he felt in the deepest pits of his stomach and the liquid that has unconsciously been falling from his now blurry eyes.

He bit his cheek until blood was drawn from them, fighting back a choked sob as he crouched down to the bloody mess in front of him. Gently stroking your cheek with his knuckles, he flinched at how cold it actually was. The sensation of suffocation in his throat having reduplicated itself in a way he doesn't wish to remind himself of, clenching his jaws at how difficult it had become to keep in his whimpering. But enough of his tears were being shed for sure. And to make matters worse, the usual lack of emotion burned into your expression you’ve had ever since he’s been holding you hostage was now gone.

Instead, the frown Toby had been forced to grow used to was now formed into a soft smile instead. It was small, but unquestionably there. You were safe now, making peace with the outcome that had been created for your life. The outcome created by the absolute greed of another.

The outcome he had made for you.

This realisation he had tried to deny so damn badly had finally hit him, hard.

He quit fighting, the walls he created as a defence mechanism crumbling completely. Giving in as the overwhelming emotions that had been building up finally came to a releasing end. His usual mockery demeanor had been thrown out of the window once and for all, as all he managed to shriek out now were rushed apologies while just pleading for your living form. Just begging to hear your breathing for one last time. You seemed so small. Had you always been like this?

Please come back... please...

Hands were clinging onto the little bits of what was left of your body like his life depended on it. Big chunks of flesh were hanging from the body parts of your figure, laying limp against his own with his weak grip being yet as needy as ever, tears streaming out like a waterfall and unsteady breaths forcing their ways out into the crook of your neck. He had nothing to say anymore, the room instead being filled with high-pitched sobbing and convulsive gasps coming from nobody but himself.

God, he could have heard you call him pathetic right on the spot.

And that thought of you alone was enough to force a muffled screech out of him as his grasp grew only stronger, his veins being filled with nothing but desperation and grief; The constant loop he was in, slowly but actively breaking him down entirely. Your faint words out of memory repeating themselves over and over again.

And that smile.

That damned smile of yours being left to haunt the back of his mind.

Oh how that little motivation of yours had become clear to him now . . .

[bluestar22x]

Epilogue

Baby Fever - Epilogue

Series Summary: It all started with a classic case of baby fever

Pairing: Marcus Pike x F!(Wife)Reader

Rating: 18+ Series

Warnings: Family fluff - that's all you're getting, otherwise spoilers - but keep in mind all previous warnings

Word Count: 2,150(ish)

Author's Note: A peek into the Pike family's future for me and you. :)

There will be one more oneshot coming soon, so keep an eye out, but this is it for the main fic.

xxx

When you parked your car in the driveway you turned off the ignition right away and slumped back in the seat, sighing and scrubbing both your hands over your face.

It had been a long day at work. More than usual. A maid hadn't shown up for work the night before and the hotel, already short handed to begin with and at full capacity with spring break tourists, had been in utter chaos.

You'd had to split your time between your job at the front desk greeting guests and checking them in, and laundry duty, throwing loads in the washer and dryer to help the maids that had shown up. Even then they were only just catching up on the laundry by the time your shift ended.

You were exhausted, more than you'd been in a long time. Not since Rylee had started sleeping her nights, which was well past three years ago.

Three years. Where had the time gone?

You pushed open the driver's door and stepped out, smiling at the excited shouts you could hear over the day's strong winds. For the first time in months the weather was comfortably warm. You followed the sounds through the gate to your backyard, finding Marcus engaged in a very serious soccer match with the kids, Oliver kicking the ball past him into a makeshift goal (built out of two orange cones).

The ten year old boy raised his fists in the air triumphantly and Rylee ran up to him, jumping up and down excitedly. "Go Ollie!"

He grinned at her and offered a hand up for a high five which she gladly accepted, slapping his hand so hard it was loud enough to hear from where you were standing.

"Easy on Ollie, Ry," Marcus said as the boy winced.

"Sorry," she apologized quickly before darting for the ball.

It was then Marcus noticed you standing by the gate and he told the kids to play amongst themselves before joining you.

"How was work?"

"Busy," you replied. "How was your day off?"

He briefly kissed you on the lips before answering. "Good. Good. We might have emptied the ice cream container though."

"Marcus!" You gaped at him. "That was supposed to last us another three days." It had been a fairly large tub.

He shrugged helplessly. "They were still hungry after the mac n' cheese."

"They're always hungry," you reminded him, shaking your head. What did you expect? He had a hard time telling the kids no, especially when they were hungry. Knowing him he'd probably given them the ice cream before dinner.

"I'll pick up some more on my way back home from work tomorrow," Marcus promised, stroking the bottom of your back. Even through the knitted cotton of your work shirt you could feel the warmth of his hand and it helped you relax.

"Thanks," you said gratefully.

"Of course," he murmured.

"How'd Ollie do at school today?" you asked.

Though many schools had a vacation at the moment, spring vacation wasn't for another week for your kids' school.

"No fights today," Marcus informed you. "In fact, Ollie told me he'd like to go see a movie next week with his new friend, Alex Jackson. Promised me his parents would be watching them."

"And their background?" you questioned, knowingly.

"Clean," he said. "But we should still meet them first."

"Of course, papa bear." You smiled. You liked to tease him about how protective he was of the kids, but you were the same.

Oliver had only been yours for a year, including the time you'd spent fostering him, but you both loved him as fiercely as you would've if you'd known him his whole life.

The start had been rough. He'd been from a neglectful home and wasn't used to any rules or much affection, so he'd quickly labeled you and Marcus as overbearing, but he'd slowly adjusted. His school life was rougher for longer though, and he still had a ways to go. He'd been a loner at first, and recently had gotten into several fights, not one for letting anything he considered wrong slide. That included pushing a bully into a locker for shoving the books out of a fellow classmates' hands. He'd nearly gotten himself expelled, but luckily the principle was a bit more sympathetic towards adopted kids.

At least Ollie fights on the good side, you'd thought, though you'd never say the words out loud. Parents weren't supposed to be okay in the slightest with their kids using physical means to fight off other kids. So you were told.

"Saved you some leftovers," Marcus told you.

"Perfect." You weren't being sarcastic. You loved mac n' cheese, even reheated.

You walked over to the kids to greet them, Rylee giving you a big ol' hug, then went inside to eat.

With the stress of work beginning to roll off your shoulders, the memories of a few impatient guests fading away, you realized you were starving.

You dumped a healthy portion of the mac n' cheese stored away in the fridge into a bowl and shoved it into the microwave to heat up for a couple minutes as you glanced around.

The house wasn't too much of a mess. Marcus had done the dishes. Most of Rylee's toys were put away. The place just really needed a dusting. Soon. On the weekend. Not tonight. Definitely not tonight.

The microwave beeped and you quickly yanked the bowl out of it with kitchen mitts. You didn't even sit down to gobble it up, but you did use a fork.

You were putting the bowl in the dishwasher when Marcus and the kids came in for the night. Ollie got ready for bed on his own and Marcus helped Rylee, though she was getting pretty good at her routine too.

She was growing up way too fast. Just like how her curly hair grew out too fast. She'd need another haircut soon, before it fell below her middle back. She didn't like it too long.

Once she was ready for bed you joined her in her bedroom, in an extension tacked onto the old house. It was your turn to read her a bedtime story.

"What would you like me to read you tonight?" you inquired as you sat down on the edge of her bed.

"Clifford!" Rylee exclaimed, shoving one of her Clifford the Big Red Dog books into your hands. It was the one about him as a puppy. Her favorite.

You could probably have told her the story without looking at the words, but you did anyway as she buried herself under her blankets and pulled her very own Clifford (a stuffed toy red dog) into her arms.

"Hi, I'm Emily Elizabeth, and this is Clifford, my big red dog," you began.

You showed Rylee every page you flipped through until you noticed that she'd nodded off, looking as angelic as ever (though she wasn't always). You read a little longer until you were sure she was completely out then quietly put the book down on top of her bookshelf and turned off the lamp beside her bed.

Afterwards you left for the master bedroom where Marcus was waiting, scrolling through his phone while sitting at the desk in the corner of the room.

"What ya looking at?" you quizzed.

"Case stuff," he informed you.

"Marcus..."

He sighed heavily. "I know; I know. Work stays at work. But this case is really baffling everyone."

"And you thought Google would have the answers?" you teased.

"Maybe."

You bent down to give him a peck on the cheek. "Get ready for bed. We have plans."

"You're not too tired?"

"You'll be doing most of the work."

He laughed and grabbed a hold of your right hand, pressing his lips to your palm. "Sounds good."

As unromantic as it may seem, you and Marcus had to set aside time to be romantic with each other some weeks. Your lives were just that hectic at certain times of the year. But you'd learned to be okay with it, to even like it. It wasn't that difficult to deal with the lack of spontaneity when you had to resort to putting aside time together. You were still deeply attracted to your husband and daydreamed at work about him when things got slow.

The worst part was when you didn't have the time or energy. When your body was at odds with you. This wasn't one of those nights though. You weren't that tired.

You left Marcus for your bathroom, slipping into one of his t-shirts that you borrowed on a regular basis for these kind of nights, for when you didn't feel like wearing lingerie, as you did so.

While you were closed up in there, getting ready for the rest of the night, you checked to make sure you weren't bleeding yet, since you were due for your period soon, wiping yourself with a tissue.

Nothing.

Strange. Lately it'd been consistently at the end of the 3rd week of the month, but you were several days past that mark.

Your mind immediately drew back to the morning, when you'd had to forego a traditional bra in favor of an undershirt with a built in one because your breasts had hurt in them. It happened sometimes, but knowing that you were late...

You reached under the bathroom sink for a pack of pregnancy tests and rushed to take them, knowing pretty soon Marcus would wonder why you weren't out yet.

As you placed the two tests in the sink he knocked on the door. You slipped back into the bedroom, a little excited and nervous, like every time you took a pregnancy test.

You weren't as sure as the first time if Marcus would be as happy as you about this. You were both so busy, if the pregnancy test was positive, you'd only be busier. And this wasn't planned like the first time. You hadn't exactly been careful, but you hadn't really discussed having another baby together in a long time.

You'd taken up the "if it happens, it happens" attitude a year after Rylee was born but it hadn't happened for over two years. You'd been convinced you couldn't have anymore kids in that manner.

You were doubting it even as you waited for the tests, but you wanted to tell Marcus anyway, just in case.

"What's up, honey?" he inquired with concern, recognizing the conflicting emotions written on your face.

"I've been off today and I'm late, so I decided to take a couple pregnancy tests," you informed him. "Probably won't be positive, but I figured best to be safe. Never know. They should be ready in a few minutes."

Marcus nodded in understanding and pulled you to him. "You know I'll be happy either way, right?"

You smiled widely at him. "Yeah. Yeah, I know. And it's the same for me. I'm perfectly satisfied with our lives, having two wonderful kids. But I wouldn't say no to one more. Just...we're so busy already."

"We'll make it work," he promised you. "I thought the same thing when I was single."

You snorted. "True."

Almost everyone complained about how little time there was in a day, and yet you'd always found time for what mattered. It was just about narrowing down what was in that category.

You checked the alarm by the bed. "It's been long enough."

You led him into the bathroom and you peered down at the tests together.

They were both positive, clear as day.

You and Marcus glanced at each other, mouths both hanging open before the grins formed.

You reached out to him and he wound his arms around you, kissing you on the cheek briefly before letting you tuck your head into the crook of his neck as his hands started rubbing your back, up and down along your spine.

"Looks like we're going to be busier," you said and he chuckled, his chest rising and falling strongly against yours.

"Looks like we have something to celebrate tonight," he added, kissing the top of your head.

You leaned back and beamed up at him. "Good thing we have time set aside for it."

"Oh?" He moved his hands to your waist and you guided one of them further down, under the t-shirt.

He hissed when he didn't feel any fabric underneath, just you. "Shit, you're not wearing anything else, are you?"

You shook your head. "Not worth it. Saves time."

He captured your mouth in a searing kiss, his hands on both sides of your face, cradling it, and you parted your lips to let him in as he backed away towards the bed, with you closely following.

For as long as you could you'd stay embraced in his arms, your lover, your husband, the father of your children.

You'd never have enough time, but you'd take all the time you got.

xxx

Tagged: @amyispxnk @harriedandharassed

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