#as you can tell by the icon i almost completely went off the rails and made an AU marluxia/lauriam blog

[avalxblade-a]

Why the hell can’t I ever get writing done unless I’m on the verge of sleep anymore

[twinklelilstarkey]

Where is my girl, bro? - Qb!Rafe Cameron

Words: 2.1k+

Summary: Rafe is, finally, having the game that he anticipated for so long, but he can’t find you in the stands.

Warnings: Cursing? Female!Reader. Rafe being a sad boi for a few minutes. 

DO NOT REPOST, REWRITE OR TRANSLATE ANY OF MY WORK!

Inspired by the iconic video “I can’t find my mama, bro” (but, of course, instead of mom, it’s his girlfriend)

One thing you absolutely hate but, for some reason, always happens to you is that whenever you really want or need to be somewhere at a certain time, something *always* happens and you end up being late. 

It could be for presentations, tests, and many other important things, and no matter what you do, it just happens. There’s no way to escape it.

Today is your boyfriend’s game. You never miss a game, ne-ver. And he has been telling you about it for way too long. Always saying how excited he is to play it, just so he can finally beat the guys that have been talking shit about his team nonstop for so long.

You did everything to get there in time. You left the college library early, went back to your apartment to take a shower and get ready. 

You did everything in time and still had at least twenty minutes to spear. So, with the time remaining, you calmly and slowly got onto your car and drove your way to the stadium with absolutely no worries. 

The time from your apartment to the stadium wasn’t all that much. Ten to fifteen minutes, max. Plus, the games are always a few minutes late. You were as relaxed as one can be.

But that’s when everything went to shit.

There was a car accident at one of the streets that connected to the stadium, so the road was closed. It wasn’t a big accident, just a tap that took one off the road slightly. No one was hurt, thankfully. But you had to do a whole different rout, where you were met with nothing but... traffic, of course.

Still, you didn’t stress. You still had time. Rafe didn’t have his phone on him anymore, so you couldn’t text him just to tell him know that you were on your way. But, still, you didn’t panic, yet.

It took you a good 15 minutes to get out of the traffic and get in the parking lot, to find almost no empty spots. 

But life’s still great, right?

You were able to park your car all the way in the back and as soon as you turned off the engine, your friends started blowing up your phone to say that the game has started.

You jumped out of the car, locked the doors and started running to the stadium. 

Midway through the ginormous parking lot, you remember that you left the lights of the car on. So, running back you went.

To say you were out of breath was an understatement.

You called your friends when you were able to get in the stadium (in as: ‘just walked through the door’) to see where they were seated, and you did that while walking at fast pace to the usual seats, slightly off to the left of the field, already expecting their answer.

And all you got as their answer was “our usual spot was occupied”, which made you stop walking and sigh to the ceiling, “we’re on the right, by the doors”.

And there you went again. Running like a mad woman, again, through empty hallways to the other side of the stands.

The game had been going on for a good few minutes now and Rafe was sitting on the bench, breathing a little heavy has he just left the field and his eyes study the stands.

“Where is my girl, bro?” He asks his teammate beside him.

His friend tries to help him find you, eyes scanning through the sea of college students and families, but soon enough he was called back in the game. 

Rafe’s telling himself many times that you are there and he just isn’t seeing you. 

You wouldn’t miss a game, right?

You pant as you make your way up to the stands. Your legs are starting to ache from the sudden running and jumping up stairs, and the urge to yell a ‘thank god’ when you spot your friends at the front seats and not all the way in the back is too intense for you to just not let out a whisper yell version of it.

“Finally!” Your friend says loudly over everyone’s loud excited voices.

You sit beside them, feeling exhausted, eyes already on the score board, scared to see that you missed any points, but you’re happy to see that you didn’t miss all that much.

You sip your drink excessively as you quench your thirst and your friend starts to update you on what you missed.

Rafe’s eyes go back to the stands as he makes his way back to the bench and he frowns at the fact that he can’t see you nowhere close to your usual spot. He looks through the sea of dark blue jerseys, trying to at least find his number on anyone and go on from there, but he just... can’t see you.

“Still can’t find her?” His other teammate asks.

“No, like... what the fuck?” He curses more to himself than anyone else, sad tone. “Where the fuck is she?”

He’s not cursing you, he’s cursing himself. Like what if he forgot to tell you that the game was today? He had stopped checking his phone long before the game started... what if something happen? Maybe he should’ve checked his phone earlier. 

Oh, god, where are you?

He lets himself fall back on the bench, eyes still on the stands, which almost made him trip over an helmet on the floor, but he didn’t seem to care all that much.

Your eyes stay on the field, watching the game continue as you try to cool down your warm body, nodding at your friend’s words and waving your arms around your face to seek some wind.

(...)

The game continues on, Rafe keeps on trying not to think too much about your absence on your usual seat, forcing himself to think that you have been there the whole game, and imagines you in previous games just to simulate some idea of your presence.

Everything is close to ending, his team is winning, as expected, yet he was still dragging his feet on the grass and letting his eyes stay on the ground as he walked back to the bench. 

He feels sad, this almost-win doesn’t even feel like a win. He never celebrated a home game win without you, and it’s weird to even think about it.

“Yo, Cameron!” His friend screams from a few feet away from him.

Rafe lifts his gaze from the ground, up to his friend. He has an outstretched arm, pointing at the opposite side of home team stands, the one’s he has been looking at for way too long.

Rafe’s heart speeds up for a bit as hope runs through his system and he stands up, almost running full speed to his teammate. He stands behind him to try and follow his pointed finger. His blue eyes scan the middle rows first and suddenly... he spots you.

You’re smiling at your friend, wearing his jersey, like always, shaking a cup on your hand and sipping the last drops of your drink at the bottom of the cup.

You are nowhere near where he thought you would be. Yeah, you’re on the front row but way off to the side, close to the doors that he had just walked through on the break.

How the hell didn’t he see you?

A wide smile spreads over his lips and his heart squeezes at the sight. He has never felt this much relief in his life. You’ve been here this whole time.

You’re not going to miss a home game win.

The last seconds of the game run out and the team starts celebrating as soon as the number zero hit the timer.

A heavy weight has been lifted off Rafe’s shoulders and he honestly didn’t even realize it was there until now. His smile is huge as he jumps around with his teammates while they chant whatever nonsense you always had trouble understanding a word of.

His helmet is on his hand, letting his hair flow away freely in the wind as his features twitch upwards in the happiness with the win of the game that has been on his mind for so long.

You smile from your spot on the stands, some people in the stands are just as loud as the team, jumping and dancing around. You can’t blame them, after so many weeks of both colleges fighting against one another on social media, yours can finally rub the win on their faces.

As the team separates to go to their girlfriends, boyfriends and family members, many people walk over to the railing of the stand.

Rafe walks towards you, smile as bright as ever, being highly contagious to you.

“Hi baby!” You squeal in excitement as he gets closer to you.

He answer back with a just as excited tone and cheesy nickname and comes closer to the stands. He climbs them a bit and you lean down to cup his face and give him the usual kiss after a game.

His cheeks are sweaty under your fingertips, but it’s not something you haven’t grown accustomed to.

When being able to pull away from the various pecks, Rafe helps you down the stands, almost against your will, and pulls you into a not so comfortable hug due to all the gear on him.

Yes, you, supposedly, can’t get on the field, but there’s too many people around you for anyone to notice, and other people are also doing it, so it will be impossible for someone to call you out specifically in the middle of such commotion. 

“I didn’t see you for most of the game.” Rafe tells you and you look up at him.

“I expected that. I got here late and supposedly our usual spot was taken.” You explain over the loud music.

“You were late?” He asks loudly, forced shock on his tone as he pulls a quite offended look on his face, “For my special game? How could you?”

You giggle at him and he breaks the fake expression so he can smile.

“There was traffic and the parking lot is completely full.” You explain.

“Excuses, excuses.” He says while waving his head from side to side comically, “You. little missy... for-got!”

He pokes your side with each word and you laugh at him again, loving his playful and excited mood.

“Did not do such a thing!” You say, playing along.

Rafe’s smile is wide and bright and god, you wish they could win everyday.

If it meant him stopping to worry so much about everything and just be this happy every day... Ugh, where do you sign? No matter what cost. You will sign that, god damn it.

As you’re about to pull away from your sweaty boyfriend, your friend stops you.

“Wait! Let me take picture!” She says.

You pass her your phone with the best of your ability and she takes it in her hands midair. You walk back to stand beside Rafe and wrap one of your arms around his waist, as his do the same, pulling you closer, completely against him.

Your friend takes as many pictures as she can of you two smiling, just for memories’ sake, but you, many family members and significant others, are interrupted by the usual voice saying a ‘please stay on the stands and do not step on the grass’ blah blah blah. 

“Thank you.” You thank your friend as she shows you the pictures from her place up the stands.

Rafe holds your waist close to him and, just like any other guy around him, he helps you up. But... Rafe is Rafe. He can only fight his urges to some extent.

As soon as your hands grab the top railing and you stand safely at the top, his hand lands a loud and hard smack on your ass.

God, you hate this man.

You send him a glare and the bastard sends you a cheeky toothy smile, so forced that even his eyes close with his cheeks. You shake your head in a chuckle and jump to the other side of the stands.

“Don’t take too long on the locker room!” You tell him over the loud music and he nods.

You’ll never forgive him for making you wait 2 hours for him to only say ‘Sorry, I had to enjoy the shower while we still had hot water’.

Never. You will take that with you to your grave.

“Sure thing, ma’am!” He says, playfully saluting you.

You smile down at him and take some steps back.

“Wait!” He says, hand on the air.

You walk back close to the railing and he smiles, climbing up the stands again.

“I deserve one more kiss, no?” He questions, standing right at eye level with you.

You bring his hair back, not letting it fall back on his eyes and cup his cheeks, giving him the kiss he so wanted and wasn’t able to get when you were standing beside him.

Rafe’s free hand holds you close to him by the back of your head, but you pull away quickly as soon as you feel his tongue touch your bottom lip.

“We are not doing all of that here.” You warn him.

He stares back at you.

“I’ll wait in the car.” You say, your lips hovering over his, pressing a last kiss on his lips.

He jumps back down to the grass and stares as you turn to grab your things from your seat. 

His last name is written across your back as well as his number. A dark blue jersey matching the one he is wearing right now.

Your friend stands beside you, so that the both of you can leave, and you give him a last look before he has to step away with his team and resume his celebrations while you go to the car.

He steps back from the stands, eyes on you and on his jersey. Rafe loves to see you wear it, it awakens some sort of possessiveness in him, but, god, he is dreading to take it off of you.

Is this good? Because I love the idea of qb!rafe, but I don’t know shit about American football, and wrote this on a free morning. Help.

If you guys enjoyed this, I’ll write a fic with qb!rafe and maybe some more imagines of him just being a jock...? Maybe?

[overthinkingfandom]

Cards on the Table - Breaking down the tactics in L'manburg Independence

/rp /dsmp

Much has been said in the fandom about L'manburg's independence. It is, after all, arguably the most important moment in DSMP's history, as the rest of the story wouldn't have existed without it. 

In light of the recent anniversary of it, yes I know I’m late, I wanted to throw my hat in the ring and add something to the discussion surrounding it. However, as the morality of the situation has been discussed to death I'll be taking a slightly different approach to it. 

Due to the nature of the DSMP's medium, the story has many unique quirks. One of those quirks is how realistic the tactics used in the story's portrayal of politics are. The independence conflict is a great example of it. While on the surface things seem to be rather simplistic in nature, there's a lot more going on that’s less obvious.

Both Wilbur and Dream are brilliant politicians who get to show both their strengths and weaknesses in dealing with an equally skilled opponent in this encounter. There’s actually quite a bit to go into, despite their interactions being so short.

When most people think about the L'manburg's independence, they think about the moment the declaration has been written up and the subsequent declaration of war. While this moment is certainly iconic, it's not really all that impactful in the grand scheme of things. Both declarations are the culmination of decisions that have been made beforehand. It's the moment when those decisions were made that really influenced things.

Conveniently, Wilbur and Dream only hold a single conversation about L'manburg before the declarations are drawn up, so we don’t need to look far in order to figure out where those decisions were formed. 

Wilbur has been working on L’manburg, collecting materials and building the wall surrounding it, for almost an hour when he spots Dream lurking. “Get [Dream] into the VC, I need to talk with him. He’s the leader of the other nation, I think we need to have a congress.” (52:44)

Dream: “Hello?”

Wilbur: “Hello Dream. Welcome to our great nation of L’manburg.”

Dream: “L’manburg?”

Wilbur: “Yes. We are seceding from Dream SMP. This is our own server now. This area, just this part [between the walls of L’manburg], is our server.”

Wilbur doesn’t waste any time before getting right down to business and talking about the matter at hand. However, the way he speaks about it here and in the rest of the conversation is fairly interesting. Wilbur is talking about L’manburg as if it’s something which already exists. They are seceding. This is their land. This conversation is merely a courtesy to give Dream a formal notice of their separation.

Yet, a bit later Wilbur shows he knows they need Dream’s acknowledgement in order for L’manburg to be its own entity. Independence is not a concrete thing that can just be taken or created on one person’s whim, after all. It only exists when the people with power agree it exists. 

Wilbur: “Dream, basically all we want from you is just acknowledgement that we are an independent nation now. That’s all we need.” (56:20)

So if Wilbur knows they aren’t independent yet, why is he talking like that? 

It’s because he’s using a salesman technique called an Assumptive Close. Instead of posing it as a question and putting the choice of agreeing or disagreeing in Dream’s hands, Wilbur acts as if it’s already true and leaves the burden of challenging his claims on Dream’s shoulders. He even moves on to ask secondary questions on how Dream feels about having embassies in his land (and notably he frames it as a question, unlike how he frames the topic of L’manburg’s independence) as if L’manburg is already a political entity. 

Wilbur: “Dream, I’ve got a proposition for you. How do you feel about having Tommy’s land being an embassy? Like it’s an enclave in your own land.” (59:01)

Wilbur’s use of this technique has an interesting side effect in that it signals to Dream Wilbur is taking a non-compromising position in this negotiation. In essence saying “L’manburg is independent, take it or leave it.” 

A non-compromising position is the game theory term for when someone goes, "I'm going to do that, this is going to happen and nothing can dissuade me from this course of action." It's a strong tactic which forces everyone to react to that person's position, reducing the others' options into a binary of either accepting that position or rejecting it. 

This is a very common tactic and various manifestations of it can be seen all over history and media. From Martin Luther who refused to recant or compromise with his famous words of “Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise” to groups who cultivate a "with us or against us" mentality to heroic characters who say they would die before giving in to whatever Evil the story focuses on.

This is the situation Dream is facing here. He can either accept Wilbur's assertion that L'manburg is an independent entity by either encouraging them or even doing nothing, or he can reject Wilbur's assertion by acting against it.

As we all know, he ended up choosing the second option but what were his considerations for doing so?

For that we would need to know what his goal was here, something we don't really get a sense of from his conversation with Wilbur. However, he ends up stating what it was in a later conversation with Skeppy. 

(Emphasis added by me and wasn’t part of the original dialogue.)

“Everyone can build wherever they want. [L’manburg] just decided to say that they get to determine where they can build and we can’t and we said well no, you can’t do that. And that’s what the whole war was over.” (31:44)

“[L’manburg] can’t tell us that we can’t go in their land. That’s all we wanted to say. That they’re not independent, they are a part of the Dream Team SMP. They’re just a delusional, small part." (34:26)

Dream lies a lot, so just because he says something doesn't mean it's necessarily true. However, this seems to be genuine. Dream has no problem telling Skeppy “we burned down their houses and blew up the whole land.” (32:36) later on in the conversation, so we can rule out that he's trying to paint himself in a better light, and there aren't really any other reasons for him to lie to Skeppy here about this. 

When looking at Dream's options with his goal we can see the choice is pretty much a no-brainer. 

Accepting is a total lose scenario for him. Not only will it fail to fulfill his goals, it would actively encourage the sort of behavior he doesn't want to happen, as Wilbur would set a precedent that so long as someone insisted hard enough and implied Dream is a bad person he would fold in negotiations and give them what they want.

Rejecting gets him far closer to his goal of railing against L’manburg’s exclusion. Going to war means he has to invest much more effort and resources into his reaction than if he just accepted as well as deal with the risks any war has, however the sheer difference in ability between Dream's side and Wilbur's side make the risk minimal. 

Going to a war he’s pretty sure he can win VS encouraging the sort of thing he disapproves of, isn’t really a hard choice.

This is actually the result of a mistake on Wilbur's part. CC!Wilbur called his character naive (37:49) and he's not wrong. Wilbur has a tendency to act as he wishes and not take into account that people might disagree or retaliate. We see it with him saying they could just ignore the Americans (1:51:17) or during the elections when he told Quackity his scheme and got blindsided by Quackity deciding to run against him. 

Historically, non-compromising positions worked best when the person who used it made sure rejection would be more costly than acceptance in one way or the other. In essence, narrowing down the options for others even more and leaving them only with acceptance. 

Wilbur may have managed to wipe off the table all other options and put pressure on Dream to accept with his use of Assumptive Close, but he didn't do anything to prevent Dream from rejecting. In fact, it seems like Wilbur didn't even consider it as a valid possibility as he outright dismissed it when Dream brought it up as an option.

Dream: “What happens if the rest of the server decides to take over your land?”

Wilbur: “They can’t. It’s literally not how servers- Dream you’re supposed to be smart man, that’s not how servers work. You can’t just take over another person’s server.” (54:33)

But, you may be asking, if it was better for Dream to go to war against L'manburg rather than grant them independence, why did he end up giving into their desire for independence in the war? Wouldn't it have been better if he just saved everyone the trouble and gave it to them when they asked for it the first time? Or maybe Dream’s obsession with Tommy and his discs is just that strong?

We can find the answer to all those questions at Punz’ video where he shows the behind the scenes of the independence war, including some of the planning which went into it from the Dream Team’s side of the war. Specifically, this quote:

Dream: “[The L’manburgians] are never gonna give up. So then in the end the resolution will probably just be, we won but they can think whatever they want, we’re just going to ignore them because they’re essentially like- You want to think you’re independent? You’re not, you’re still part of the SMP, but if you want to think you’re independent, you can.” (9:04)

“They’re never gonna give up.”

Whether it’s true or not doesn’t matter, as this is what Dream thinks and so this is what dictates his actions. Perhaps he’s overestimating his opponents here, or maybe he’s talking about how even if L’manburg is defeated this time they would try again for independence in the future. In either case, it’s clear Dream thinks the best case scenario for him - completely preventing people from fighting for L'manburg's independence - is impossible. 

So, he tries for the second best case. If he can’t prevent L’manburg, he’s going to allow it but only under Dream’s terms. That’s what his “they can think whatever they want” line is all about. He intends on giving them token independence here, something which would satisfy them but wouldn't pose a real threat. Which is exactly what he ends up offering them during the bow duel.

Dream: “Let me just clarify: if you win, we grant L’Manburg independence.”

Tommy: “Alright.”

Dream: “But we recognize it still as a part of the Dream Team SMP.”

Wilbur: “That’s fine, that’s a fine condition.” (40:54)

The token independence thing didn’t work out so well for him. L'manburg quickly grew to be seen as an entity separate from Greater Dream SMP by everyone, and so Dream was forced to concede and treat it as one as well. 

However, despite this part of his plan failing, overall the independence war was a glowing success for Dream. 

By giving L'manburg independence after winning the war, Dream sent a very clear message. L'manburg only gets to be independent so long as they stay on Dream's good side. If they don't adhere to the terms Dream sets out for them? He can and will kick their asses, as the war so aptly demonstrated.

This message is received loud and clear. During his entire presidency Wilbur went out of his way to treat Dream with respect and try not to piss him off. Something he clearly demonstrates a number of times, like when he asked if he should call Dream “king Dream” (59:08) or during the railway skirmish (24:16).

In fact, it can be argued that this message lasted all the way up to Tubbo's presidency. Unlike Quackity, who was perfectly fine with starting a fight with Dream, Tubbo knew first hand what a war against Dream looks like. He knew that they could not win a war against him, especially in their weakened state at the time, and that influenced his decision. 

As Dream once said: "L'manburg can be independent but it can't be free."

[softieskywalker]

sry if you've explained this already but how did you feel about luke's character arc in the last jedi?

i hate it. i have two big problems with it:

1) it's fundamentally out of character. when constructing a character you have to define some things that can't change because they constitute their identity. contrary to what tumblr lit analysis says, characters are not people. they'll never be as complex as real people. to make good characters you have to select some traits as fundamental, some things that no matter what happens won't ever change or else the characters loses their identity and become unrecognizable. that happened with luke. luke fundamentally would never willing isolate himself while there's new nazis running wild in the galaxy, not when his sister is leading the fight against them, not when his goddamn nephew is leading the nazis. luke fundamentally wouldn't give up on his own family. dude was willing to die for vader who had done absolutely nothing to show he was worth of redemption. you can change many things about luke, but if you make him lose his compassion and give up on family, he's no longer luke skywalker.

2) virtually, almost any of those character changes could work if they're well justified and worked into the narrative. luke's "arc" wasn't. we never really got a reason why he went completely off the rails. and it's not even a cool concept where i can say alright I'll give the author some slack because this concept is cool. taking a heroic and iconic character and making him into a resented hermit is not something I'm willing to buy. so you have to sell it to me. and they didn't.

it was never going to work because such a gigantic change in a character needs a lot more time to work. and luke was not going to be the protagonist of this story. it's honestly, a really stupid idea and idk how everyone enabled rian johnson and lied to him multiple times making him think he could pull it off.

damn, if mark hamill is telling you this is not luke, maybe you should listen.

[alj4890]

I have an ask? What if Liam got Riley pregnant when they first met in New York? Would he still have to go through the social season? Would she have to raise a baby on her own would Liam find a way to help?

Ooooohhhh. Interesting. That would be quite the conundrum for them, wouldn't it? Especially since the social season starts the very next day after he visited her bar. Hmmm. Let's see what I can do with that time frame. I'm going on the assumption that the social season lasts at least three months with all the parties and traveling they do. Which will help out with the pregnancy part 😉 I think she would still go and take part in the social season since she wouldn’t know she was pregnant yet, but it would definitely alter how things end in book 1.

Masterlist

@gkittylove99 @darley1101 @krsnlove @kingliam2019 @texaskitten30 @yourmajesty09 @mom2000aggie @ofpixelsandscribbles @twinkleallnight @lodberg @twinkleallnight @amandablink @neotericthemis  @mm2305

Aftereffects

Three months earlier...

"Well?" Riley tilted her head to study Liam's profile. "What do you think?"

He cleared his throat. Lips parted, yet no words were formed. Liam had so many emotions hitting him all at once that a mere stranger had made his one wish come true.

His eyes went from the Statue of Liberty to the woman responsible for him being able to see it.

"I'm speechless." He lowered his head, lips curving in a shy smile. "I've never been so moved in my life than I am in this moment with you."

She smiled and turned her attention toward the iconic monument. "She's really something, isn't she?"

He turned toward Riley. His eyes traveled down her beautiful face softly lit by the dull light coming from the ferry they were on and the sliver of moonlight from above.

"Yes," he moved closer to her. "She really is."

Riley looked up at him. Her heart raced at the tender longing she saw in his eyes. He seemed so lonely. So in need of encouragement. So in need of affection.

Before he could step away, she snagged his lips in a tender kiss.

He froze for two seconds before crushing her to him. He allowed all the feelings he kept to himself pour out as a fuel to draw moans from her. The desperation he had been feeling since his brother abdicated didn't seem to exist around this woman.

His kisses traveled down her neck.

"Liam." She sighed when he returned to her mouth.

Her arms wrapped around his neck as he pressed her back against the railing.

"I don't want this night to end." He murmured.

It took a physical effort to stop.

"Neither do I." She cupped his cheek. "I know you leave tomorrow."

He nodded, already feeling the heavy yoke that was about to be thrust upon his shoulders.

"It's not quite tomorrow though." She kissed along his jaw as she whispered. "We can still enjoy the rest of tonight."

"Riley, I--you know I must choose--I couldn't do that and simply leave you to search for a bride." He felt guilty just thinking about it.

He would be the worst sort of cad possible if he were to spend the night in her arms.

He shouldn't have pursued her. The moment she had turned around and greeted him in the bar, he had thought of nothing else except getting to know more about her.

"I want you." She whispered. "If tonight is all we have, then let's make the most of it."

"You have no idea how much I want you." He kissed her once more, completely unable to resist her.

******************

Two and a half months later...

Maxwell winced when he heard the noises coming from Riley's bathroom. Bracing himself, he timidly knocked upon the door.

"You okay in there, blossom?"

"What--" she heaved into the toilet, "do you think?"

"Maxwell!" Bertrand snapped. "What is the hold up. She should have been downstairs fifteen minutes ago."

His eyes widened at the sounds of vomiting.

"Is she ill?" He whispered.

Maxwell shrugged.

"She seemed fine last night." Bertrand thought over the past few days.

"She has been more tired than usual." Maxwell narrowed his eyes in concern. "And this isn't the first time I've heard her throwing up."

Bertrand's stern demeanor turned to worry. "You don't think she's..."

"Think she's what?" Maxwell asked.

"We have been pressuring her to wear the right clothes. I hope we haven't caused her to think she needs to lose weight." Bertrand explained.

Maxwell's eyes widened. He would never be able to forgive himself if he had made Riley think less of her natural beauty.

"Riley!" He anxiously knocked again when they heard nothing but silence. "Can we come in?"

"Sure." Her weak response was followed by her unlocking the door.

The brothers walked inside and saw her sitting in the floor.

Maxwell wet a rag and crouched beside her. He gently cleaned the sweat off her brow, his worry was now off the charts at the half hearted smile she gave him.

"Thanks." She lifted her eyes to Bertrand. "I'm sorry. I know I'm supposed to be outside for the--"

"Don't concern yourself with that." He tempered his usual gruff tone. "We must take care of you first."

Tears filled her eyes at how kind he was being. He wasn't berating her or telling her that House Beaumont needed her to win Liam. She wondered where this Bertrand had been hiding. Tears began to trickle down her cheeks as the brothers discussed ways to help her feel better.

He ordered Maxwell to pick her up and carry her to her bed.

As she settled back against her pillows, he called down to the kitchen and ordered a tray of soup, crackers, and tea to be brought up.

By the time he was finished, she was crying in full force.

"Riley!" Maxwell sat down on her bed and tried to hug her. "Please tell us what's wrong."

Bertrand reached for her hand. "You do know how lovely you are, right?"

Her eyes widened at that odd question.

"We think you shouldn't change at all." Maxwell added.

"Indeed. Many of the dresses in the boutique are," Bertrand's frown firmed as he tried to think of a way to keep her from thinking her body was at fault, "they aren't properly made. One can never go by sizes there."

"And you're size is perfect. Liam can't keep his eyes off you." Maxwell added. "In fact, you could probably add on some weight and be even more beautiful."

"Indeed." Bertrand latched on to that. "Size does not matter. It is what is on the inside that counts."

Riley lifted her head. "What are you talking about?"

"You're," Maxwell mimed vomiting.

"You must stop." Bertrand added. "You do not need to lose weight."

"I'm not doing it on purpose." She shook her head.

It touched her heart though that they wouldn't want her developing an eating disorder.

"I don't know what's caused this." She explained. "The weirdest smells and motions seem to set it off. Like yesterday, the smell of tomatoes had me running for a bathroom and I've always loved tomatoes."

"Could it possibly be your nerves?" Bertrand sat down at the foot of the bed. "The social season can take a toll on even the most seasoned noble."

"I don't think so." Riley mumbled. "It's like my energy has suddenly been depleted. Of course that could be because of the vomiting."

"So what caused it to start?" Maxwell asked.

"How long has it been going on?" Bertrand added.

"I don't know what set it off. It's been going on for a couple of weeks, but it is getting worse."

"Hmm." Bertrand and Maxwell shared a glance.

"Riley, I hope you don't think badly of me for asking," Bertrand struggled to inquire into something so personal. "But, have you, er...did you..."

She lifted her eyebrows in silent question.

"Before you joined us, were you involved with anyone?" He closed his eyes in embarrassment.

"Involved?"

"Any previous boyfriends or hookups before Liam?" Maxwell clarified.

"Oh!" Her cheeks heated with color. "No. I actually haven't been in a relationship for almost a year now." She lowered her eyes. "I had a bad relationship with a guy and decided to focus on myself once I got out of it."

Bertrand relaxed some. "A wise decision."

"So no one night stands?" Maxwell prodded.

"I've never been that type of..." Her eyes widened. She had been that type for one incredible night.

It was the driving force in making her decision to come to Cordonia in the first place.

"Oh no." She breathed. "The night I met you," her eyes held Maxwell's shocked gaze, "Liam and I sneaked away and..."

Bertrand shot up off the bed. "Wait here."

*****************

"We must be certain." Bertrand stressed. "The bloodwork must confirm what the test showed." His frown was fierce as he stood before the physician. "Discretion is a must in this situation."

"I'll have the results by this evening." The doctor replied. "And only I will run the lab work for Ms. Brooks."

"Here's my number." Riley scribbled it out quickly. "If I don't answer, please send a text and voicemail."

Once he was gone, she sagged back on the bed.

"What do we do now?" Maxwell asked.

"We have a ball to prepare for." Bertrand held up a silk dress. "We missed today's events, but we must make an appearance tonight. Everyone will begin to talk if we don't."

Riley nodded. Her mind though was whirling with the knowledge that she was pregnant.

How will Liam react? Will he be upset? Will he hate me for allowing it to happen? Will he think I'm trying to trap him?

How do I tell him?

Taking the dress, she forced herself to get ready.

***************

"Have you seen Riley any today?"

Drake shook his head. "No. Why?"

"That's strange." Liam folded his arms.

He wondered if something was wrong. He hated that he couldn't spend every single moment with her. What if she had reached the end of her patience with this suitor situation?

He shook his head when Drake offered him a drink.

"You've got it bad." Drake teased.

"Got what?"

"Love."

"I do?"

"Are you saying you aren't in love with Brooks?" Drake smirked. "I've seen you with her. Ever since she showed up at the masquerade ball, you haven't looked at any of the other ladies trying to win you."

Liam couldn't help but smile over that. It was true. His night with Riley in New York had been the most magical of his life. Each moment he had spent with her since then all but reaffirmed that she was the only one for him.

He was thrilled at how the people of Cordonia had fallen for her. The press had only positive things to say about The American that had come to win his hand.

He could picture her smile when she approached him at the masquerade ball.

"I think we both know we have something special. One night together will never be enough for me." Riley whispered as he kissed her hand.

"I agree." He held her hand a moment longer than was deemed appropriate. "It isn't enough." His bright blue eyes shined against the silver demi mask. "Are you certain I'm worth going through these next few months? What if--"

"We end up with our happily ever after?" She finished for him.

He knew he had completely lost his heart in that moment. Our happily ever after. Her optimism that they could have that helped him through every step of this social season. She was the prize he knew he could claim once he passed the final hurdle to be king.

He spent his time in dull conversations daydreaming about their future. How beautiful she would be as a bride. How comforting she would be as they dealt with his father's illness and troubles of their small nation.

Then he dreamed of the family they would have. He hoped they had many children, each with her infectious smile and kindness.

He hoped she would say yes when he asked her to marry him. Even if they never had all these other dreams of the future, he would at least have her and her love.

Then all of this would be well worth it.

He did worry about his father's reaction to the time he spent in her company. Whenever Liam attempted to discuss his feelings about Riley, Constantine would point out another lady of the court. He wouldn't allow his son to go ahead and make a decision.

"You better head downstairs." Drake finished off his drink. "Can't have a ball around here without the prince."

****************

"Any word yet?" Bertrand whispered.

Riley shook her head.

He softly cursed, causing her to burst into laughter.

"I'm sorry." She giggled when he shushed her. "But I would have bet a lot of money that you would never say that word."

He rolled his eyes. "Be that as it may, you should go mingle."

****************

"Lady Riley?" Liam gently tapped her shoulder. "May I have this dance?"

She turned around with a start. "I'd love to."

He took her hand and placed it within the bend of his arm. "You look beautiful tonight."

She gently squeezed his arm. "Thank you." Her eyes lifted to his. "And you're as handsome as always."

"I don't know about that." He winked at her. "But as long as you think so, then I'm content."

He took her in his arms as a waltz began.

"Let's not spin as much as we normally do." She pleaded when he twirled her.

His brow furrowed. "Is something wrong?"

"No!" She said quickly. "Just, um, a little motion sickness from time to time."

"I see." He kept his gaze upon her face. "I missed you today."

"You did?"

"I always do whenever you're not around." He admitted with a sheepish grin.

"That's so--" she felt the vibration of her phone.

She stopped dancing, causing Liam to nearly trip

"Riley, is something--"

"Excuse me, I have to--that is--this is from--" she ducked out a nearby door before all her revelations came tumbling out.

***************

She plopped down on the edge of a small couch and read the message from the doctor.

Hitting the link, she read the results of her bloodwork.

Her breaths came in and out in short gasps.

I'm really pregnant.

"Riley?"

All the color drained from her face as she looked up at Liam.

He shut the door to the ballroom and knelt before her.

"What is it?" He took her icy hand in his. "Is something wrong?"

She licked her dry lips and tried to tell him.

"Yes. No. I'm not sure."

He pressed a kiss to her hand. "Whatever it is, I will do all that I can to help you."

She blinked back tears. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything." He laced his fingers with hers.

"Do you," she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "do you love me?"

"I do." He admitted. "I had planned on telling you during the Coronation Ball."

"Really?" Her eyes narrowed. "I need you to be completely honest with me right now."

"I am." He lowered his gaze to their clasped hands. His thumb brushed against her skin. "I know I'm not supposed to say anything until then, but you are the one I will pick to marry," he looked up at her, "if you want to."

She bit down on her bottom lip. "Do you want children?"

"Yes, and not just for the continuation of the Rhys holding the crown." His smile gentled. "I want a family with you, selfishly for myself. I want all the holiday memories spent with them, watching them see the world with wonder, and seeing our traits passed on, especially yours." He chuckled. "Heaven help me if we have a daughter like you. I will be completely wrapped around her little finger."

Riley couldn't believe she was hearing all she needed to from him.

He really is Prince Charming. My Prince Charming.

"Do you remember the night we met?" She asked.

"How could I forget?"

She grimaced at the worry that still gnawed at her mind.

"My love," Liam sat down beside her. "Please tell me what troubles you."

"I had not been with anyone in a long time." She began. "I mean, no one for months when we spent the night together."

Liam merely listened, wondering where she was going with this.

"I didn't think in the heat of the moment. I should have. It was irresponsible, but I was so swept off my feet..." She took a deep breath. "And I found out today that I'm pregnant."

His fingers tightened around hers.

"I'm sorry. I know with the--"

"Pregnant?" Liam interrupted her. "You're certain?"

"The doctor just sent me the results of my blood work. That with the test I took and the physical exam confirms it." Her eyes widened when he suddenly stood up and took her into his arms.

The kiss he gave her weakened her knees. His arms held her as if she was the most delicate piece of porcelain.

"Marry me." He said between kisses.

"That kinda was the whole point of me coming here." She teased, once she saw how happy he was.

He smiled against her lips. "Is that a yes?"

"It is."

He stepped back and took hold of her hand. With quick strides he had them back in the ballroom.

Waving the conductor to stop the music, he held his hand up. "May I have your attention please!"

The court stilled as all eyes turned toward him.

Ignoring the hushed questions coming from his father, he settled his arm around Riley's waist.

"Lady Riley has made me the happiest man this evening. She has accepted my proposal of marriage and has told me that within a few months or so," he turned his adoring gaze upon her, "we will have an heir to the throne."

Constantine staggered back at this announcement. He had no idea the couple had become that close.

Regina called for champagne to be brought to all the guests as she embraced the young couple.

Liam held his glass up. He decided to force his parent to officially accept Riley in front of the entire court. He suspected that if he had not announced the fact they were expecting, that Constantine would find a way to break their engagement. He didn't know why he felt such unease with his father when it concerned Riley, but he wasn't going to leave anything to chance when it concerned her.

"Father? Would you like to give the toast?"

Constantine cleared his throat. Seeing no way around it, he stepped forward and lifted his glass. He hoped for Liam's sake that this woman would not be detrimental to his rule.

"To my son and the lady he has chosen. May they have all the happiness that I have found with my own queen and may their new family continue to serve Cordonia with grace and honor." He turned toward them. "To Liam and Riley!"

[enby-crisis]

Hope (I Lava You) Kylo Ren x reader)

Summary:  Soulmate AU where you can talk to your soulmate though the force. Based off of a short film from Disney.

Word Count: 1912

Warnings: Mentions of death.

Requested: No

Ben Solo thew his lightsaber onto his dresser and sat on his bed, running his hands though his hair with a grunt. After training with Luke all day, Luke had the audacity to correct his form. Luke didn't understand him. No one did. Not his parents, his uncle Chewie, or the other padawans. Ben only wanted one person to see things the way he does. One person to know where his head goes. Ben wanted someone to see his flaws and accept who he was. Ben Solo wanted a soulmate.

With this idea of talking to her he sat on the floor, crossing his legs as he begun to replay the words that always came when he though of her. He did this every day after training for nearly two years now. His hope being the only thing keeping him from going insane.

I have one wish. A wish to meet you that one day I'll get to be alone with you. See all the stars in your eyes. See all ones in mine. I hope that the force carried in dark blue, brings me closer to the day I get to be there with you. Maybe the force between the planets above will grant me my little dove. Oh how much I really need you.

--

Years without response from the force made Ben finally turn to the dark side, his heart ultimately filled with hatred. He assumed that he didn't have a soulmate.

He watched his mom fall in love with his dad every single day before he was sent to train with Luke and finally came to terms that he would never get that kind of peace and tranquility. Now after his first day of training with Snoke, he is officially on the dark side. No more meditating to some stupid girl he never met.

Kylo Ren, Ben Solo's new identity, walk into his private quarters. He begins to strip his more unnecessary layers of black, starting with his helmet and ending with his boots ultimately leaving him in a tank top and his boxers. After the completely different training style from Luke's, that he is so not use to yet, he make moves to prepare for a shower.

I have one wish. A wish to meet you that one day I'll get to be alone with you. See all the stars in your eyes. See all ones in mine. I hope that the force carried in dark blue, brings me closer to the day I get to be there with you. Maybe the force between the planets above will grant me my little dove. Oh how much I really need you.

With the water running down his back he feels something in the force pull at him.

--

He was not aware of the outcast on the planet of Dantooine. She wasn't a light force user but she wasn't a dark force users either. She was in the middle, believing that one can not exist without the other. She aligned more with the dark force rather then the light because the light side saw her ideas as a threat. She always felt out of place and alone until she heard a voice though the force. She listened to it everyday when she got ready for her chores and though maybe he was asking for her. She wanted so desperately to respond but couldn't communicate though the blinding ideals of the light side.

So she waited and she waited and practiced using the light side until she though she was ready to respond to this man. But on the day she was ready to respond back was when she stopped hearing him. She didn't know what happened to make him stop but she though maybe she should try to reach out regardless.

She talked in her head, trying to communicate though the light force. Trying to reach him. She though about how she would respond and gave her prayer back into the light.

I have this wish. A wish to meet you so one day I'll get to be somewhere new. See all the stars in my eyes. And all ones in yours. I hope that the force carried in dark blue, brings me closer to the day I get to be alone with you. Maybe the force between my planet above will grant you your little dove. Oh how much I really love you.

--

Kylo tried to cut off all ties with the light side but he knew if he did that then he would never find this girl. He knew that if he didn't keep this a secret then she could be hunted down by the first order and executed for being a distraction. He worked really hard on hiding his thoughts from his master. He worked on building his mental wall but he learned later on that it wouldn't be enough to save her.

"You are conflicted Ren. I can feel it in you." Snoke accused.

Kylo, keeled in front of his master, stayed silent as he was lectured.

"It's your father. You know what you have to do." Snoke ordered.

Once Kylo was dismissed he went to the bridge where his father, Han Solo, was. Kylo looked around, walking out on the bridge. He knew his dad was there but didn't know where.

"BEN!!" Han Solo shouted from the other side of the bridge.

Kylo froze. He hadn't heard that name in years. He pivots around to face his father. "Han Solo." He pauses, "I've been waiting for this day for a long time."

His dad takes cautious step towards his son pausing when he got too close. A door opens above, blinding the dark corridor in a pale white light.

"Take off that mask. You don't need it." The elder Solo claimed as he continued to meet the darker version of his only child. Han stops a few paces before the Commander of the First Order.

"What do you think you'll see if I do?" Kylo asks.

"The face of my son." Han states.

Kylo can feel shock but can't tell from who. He mulls over the idea before deciding to give in and with a hiss, he takes his mask off and holds it by his side firmly.

They locks eyes. "Your son is gone. He was weak and foolish like his father so I destroyed him." Kylo lied.

Han took more steps to the middle of the bridge. A bridge which he now realized had no safety railing and wondered if this is a good idea but he promised his soulmate, Leia, Ben's mother, that he would do everything in his power to turn their son back so if that meant risking his life for his son then he'd do it for Leia.

"That's what Snoke wants you to believe but its not true. My son is alive." Han speaks, knowing what he says is true.

"No." Kylo contradicts calmly but the calmness in the situation was wearing quite thin. "The Supreme Leader is wise."

"Snoke is using you for your power. When he gets what he wants he'll crush you." The iconic smuggler is now face to face with his biggest regret. It was his idea to send Ben to train with Luke. "You know it's true."

"It's too late." Kylo though out loud.

"No it's not. Leave here with me. Come home. We miss you." Han interrupts.

Kylo knew his words to be true and it makes him sad. He can't verbally say what he's thinking so he eases a though into his dads subconscious. There's a girl. She's my hope. I'm planning on killing Snoke.

Stricken with grief he speaks, " I'm being torn apart. I want to be free of this pain."

Han saw this coming. He's glad for a second at the though of his son being happy but in the end knows he'll have to sacrifice himself to keep his son alive long enough to see the end of his story. Han knew Kylo finding his soulmate was more dangerous then him abandoning the Order. Han knew that no one would be able to protect his son from that. However this was his chance to try.

"I know what I have to do but I don't know if I have the strength to do it." Kylo continued. He really didn't want to kill his dad but hoped that he understood. And hope was a dangerous thing. "Will you help me?" Kylo asked.

"Yes. Anything." Han responded instantly.

Kylo finally drops his mask, watching it fall and reaches for his lightsaber on his belt. He holds it at chest level to his dad's abdomen. Han looks down acknowledging the red bladed weapon. When Kylo holds it in front of Han, almost like an offering, Han hakes it, finding the ignition button.

Letting his son go on thinking he killed his father was not a burden Han wanted to put on his son. He would be the one to turn the saber on. The light from the weapon of the planet was gone, leaving darkness and a dull red light.

Kylo ignited the cross-guarded saber into Han's abdomen when everyone was distracted. Pain filling Han's mind as he heard his best friend scream his name. Kylo pushed the blade in all the way up to the hilt and turned off his weapon. "Thank you."

His dad placed a shaky hand onto his cheek as a response, before falling at the hand of his son pushing him off the bridge.

Kylo heard Chewie yell his disappointment as his surrogate uncle blasted a shot to his abdomen.

--

A year has passed since the event of his father and a few months since he killed Snoke. With the help of the technology the First Order has access to, he was finally able to track down the planet he though the girl was on. Dantooine.

Ben nervously stood outside of a farming community. He knew she was there but he didn't' know who she was. He was waiting to hear her pray again. It was just before daybreak and after waiting all night he was beginning to think he was wrong.

I have this wish. A wish to meet you so one day I'll get to be somewhere new. See all the stars in my eyes. And all ones in yours. I hope that the force carried in dark blue, brings me closer to the day I get to be alone with you. Maybe the force between my planet above will grant you your little dove. Oh how much I really love you.

There! Kylo followed the pull in his chest to a small cottage at the end of town. He saw though a small window a girl sitting in front of her bed, hand clasped together, elbows resting on the fabric of her blanket. He was too frighten to knock so instead he responded to her.

I have one wish. A wish to meet you that one day I'll  get to be  alone with you. See all the stars in your eyes. See all ones in mine. I hope that the force carried in blue, brings me closer to the day I get to be with you. Maybe the force between the planets above will  grant me my little dove.  Oh how much I love you.

Started by the response she spun around, only to lock eyes with Ben.

[quensty]

I’m glad you tagged yourself via me!!!! But I have a lot of questions.

Emergency fic for clout

a list of things regarding anthony j crowley

Steve?

Wouldn’t it be knife

Music wiki

omg!! thank you so much for adding that nice part to ur post in the first place!! it was very kind, especially because i love talking abt myself. anyway, AGAIN, this got a bit long. 

“emergency fic for clout” i honestly had no idea what this was until i opened it and promptly laughed so hard i had to get a drink of water. i think i wrote this four years ago? it’s an aftg star wars au that i can’t believe i had the audacity to write considering i know jack shit abt star wars. 

The air shifts, violent, making the floor beneath Andrew’s feet formless. As it pitches sharply to the right, he grabs hold of the control panel and shoots the Commander straight through his side. 

Everything is silent except for the blaring of sirens until Kevin steps into view, face drawn pale and tight, and tells him, “Change of plan: there's someone we need on this ship.” 

Nicky splutters from the data console, stilled from maneuvering wildly around looking for the right information to stare at Kevin. “What? Are you kidding me?” Even Aaron, from his place where he’s crouching over the dead bodies and looking for a working blaster, looks up with a sneer curling his lip. 

Kevin doesn't look at them. He's staring straight at Andrew, who, under the perfumed fog clouding his mind, is not impressed. Andrew on the surface breaks into a sharp grin. “You heard what the Imp said. He’s alerted all stormtroopers of our location.” 

“Not very fun company,” says Aaron. “Considering they want us dead.” 

“Agreed,” says Nicky. “FOX almost has all the data downloaded. Two minutes tops.” 

Andrew’s grin widens, showing all his teeth. He hasn't turned away from Kevin’s stare once. “You want to live?” It is not a question that needs an answer. “The answer is no.” 

“We need a pilot.” 

“I'm looking at one.” 

“He's the best pilot in the outer worlds,” he insists, and if Andrew was anybody else, he might have been surprised. “We need him.” 

“Oh?” Interested. “Who?” 

“Nathaniel Wesninski.” 

Silence rings out for a heartbeat, all of them stunned into silence. The ship alarm keeps blaring. 

Andrew barks out a short laugh. “You mean the criminal,” he surmises. 

A pause. “Yes.” 

Andrew leans a shoulder against the control panel. Distantly, he can hear footsteps coming down the corridor, orders shouted by generals. Any second now, they’ll start firing at the iron gate Nicky has managed to lock down. How long it’ll hold is up is a roll of a dice. 

Andrew says, “He’s more trouble than he’s worth.” 

“We can't risk leaving him. If we don’t keep him, the Empire will.” 

“Andrew,” Nicky says urgently. At his feet, FOX is beeping desperately, skittish. “We should really get moving.” 

Blasters pound against the gate. 

“That sounds fun,” he says, then goes, “Nicky, I want Nathaniel Wesninski’s cell number.” 

“Andrew,” Nicky repeats, wide-eyed and incredulous, to which Andrew responds with, “Fifty seconds, Nicky, or you can find your own way back to Base.” 

He pulls something from under his robes and, with a hiss, flicks on his lightsaber. “If we get captured,” he says, this time to Kevin, pointing the rumbling, static end of the lightsaber in his direction, “you can thank your Imperial renegade.”

pls excuse the shitty writing. the last edit was made in fucking 2018. 

i was actually really excited about “a list of things regarding anthony j crowley”  when i was writing it bc it really was going to be a fic written in the form of a list. which is much harder than it sounds. i still have this hope that i might finish it one day, but basically, i wanted to tell thee iconic 6k year slow burn thru crowley’s perspective. this is abt as far as i got.

1.) Crowley’s middle name is Jabez. 

2.) He doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with that, either. It’s a perfectly good name, one he thinks anyone like them—of which there are few, perhaps none—should like. Anyway, it’s much better than the name Aziraphale thought up. For all his intelligence and rebelliousness, he still lacks imagination.  

3.) This is what Crowley tells Aziraphale, anyway. The truth is that Crowley got piss drunk one week and changed his legal name to—well, it doesn’t really matter what. 

4.) In spite of the story Aziraphale likes to tell—which, depending on how much Aziraphale has had to drink, have begun in the Garden, a gentlemen’s club, the bookshop’s grand opening, Golgotha, and Paris—Crowley met Aziraphale in Heaven.

5.) More accurately, Crowley had been slouched over the railing of one of heaven’s thousands of identical balconies and was only half-listening as a Seraphim beside him went on a tirade about the location of the newest temple. Crowley, bored out of his mind, mostly stared off into the middle distance wishing he was anywhere else. 

6.) He still vividly remembers Heaven. All the calculating tones, the monotonous psalms, the never-ending polished marble. Despite the light, Heaven always felt cold. 

7.) He spotted Aziraphale by complete accident. He hardly paid attention to the steady stream of angels making their way to and fro anymore, and he can’t say why Aziraphale caught his eye when not much did, in those days. Anyway, Aziraphale was so completely unremarkable in every way. He held his wings back the same way everyone else did, his halo perfectly balanced over his head; even his smile was familiar. He was, in all possible ways, a carbon copy of all the rest, but he wore his skin like an ill-fitting glove, as if he’d never quite mastered how to make it his own. Crowley was hooked on it. 

8.) Crowley was so busy staring he didn’t notice the Seraphim gradually leaning into his space, awaiting a response to a question he hadn’t heard. She bristled when she noticed his wandering attention, so he took a stab in the dark and said yes, that was rather interesting. He watched Aziraphale walk uncomfortably between other angels and thought, Very, very interesting.

quick tangent, this was a real comment i had next to the third point

i already answered the “steve?” question, which u can find on this post!! it’s the first two excerpts of writing. 

“wouldn’t it be knife” is blank salkfjasfj. i’m so sorry!! i think it was meant to be an abigail hobbs fic, but i haven’t actually figured out how i want it to go. in other news, i’m going into witness protection. 

“music wiki” was actually meant to be a gift for my friend like ... five years ago. it’s a viktuuri musician au that i haven’t made any progress in bc ik nothing abt music. unfortunately, the writing is very bad and i can’t, in good conscience, force u to read it, but just know that all i have to show for half a decade of work is 359 words. truly awe-inspiring what i can accomplish when i put my mind to it. 

[razorblade180]

Sunshower 9

Dusk time, the time every resident has been waiting for has returned once again. Decorations start to light up like yesterday and one by one people started to roam the streets yet again; including Neptune. He leaned against a small metal railing that went down to the beach via several steps. His pants were replaced with red shorts and a black, half buttoned up shirt. Perfect casual attire for having fun on the beach. It also was the only place his goggles didn’t stick out.

Even though the festivities had just begun, Neptune had already been patiently waiting for Ilia. Sun had informed them of conversation that took place by the lake and eagerly waiting to hear her interpretation of it. He’d had practiced pretending to be ignorant about it for an hour. Secretly being the friend they both turn towards for this predicament was rather challenging, yet flattering. Not to mention he was kinda living for this type teen drama. It was sure more investing than dealing with grimm.

Neptune:Hmmm, where the hell is she? I hope she didn’t change her mind.

“Freeze Human! You’re under arrest!!!” A voice cried out behind Neptune that made him jump instantly and turn around with his hands up.

Neptune:Officer I swear it was Su- Judy?

Judy:Hahaha! Man I got you good!

The fox officer laughed hysterically while holding their scroll sideways like a gun. Neptune would’ve been furious if he wasn’t busy looking at Judy’s outfit. The uniform from earlier was replaced with some blue daisy dukes that showed off her legs and a red crop top that proved that Judy definitely was the type who took police academy seriously. It was a good thing Judy had warned him earlier about using compliments like foxy because he definitely would’ve said it here.

Neptune:Woah.......

Judy:I could say the same thing. I guess earlier I saw you in standard clothes and not party attire. Not to shabby.

Neptune:Th...thanks. You look....wow.

Judy:Hmmm first woah, now wow. Here I thought you had flirting down packed.

Neptune:I’m...sorry?

Judy:Don’t be. Bumbling is was more adorable. *winks*

Neptune:*red* S..so, you’re definitely not dressed for work hehe. I guess you’re off the clock?

Judy:Yep! But technically an officer never really is. If something pops off and I’m around then you bet your ass I got to do something about it. With parties like these even the best of people can do something crazy with enough liquor in their liver.

Neptune:Hehe, ain’t that the truth?

Judy:Hmm, aren’t you too young to drink?

Neptune:.......

Neptune:Am I about to get a ticket?

Judy:Pfft, that’s not worth the ink; and you won’t just here me say that. When Menagerie parties like this then it’s pretty common for the young adults to end up drinking as well. If we tried to enforce a law like the drinking limit during these then we’d run out of trees to make paper in a day. So we let it slide. It’s a double edged sword though. Anybody who gets arrested for something better not hope they’re illegally intoxicated. We’ll add that to the charge.

Neptune:So I’m guessing you’re what, 21?

Judy:Actually I just turned 22. I don’t drink though. Not really my style.

Neptune:I don’t know many people like you. A badass older woman fox cop. That’s a mouthful.

Judy:.......

Neptune:What?

Judy:*hands on hips smirking* Give it a second.

Neptune:......!!! Shit! I’m sorry! Badass older...person. Was that rude? I didn’t mean to-

Judy:*grabs his shoulder* Neptune, was it?

Neptune:Y..yes.

Judy:I’m just messing with ya. Lighten up; just wondering if you’d catch on.

Neptune:I sort of put two and two together with a bit of Ilia’s help. Sorry, I have a couple of gay friends but non-binary is a new one. I’ll try not to slip up too much.

Judy:*grinning* I appreciate the thought. I’m not sensitive about that sort of thing though. Cops need thick skin and I’ve lived this life long enough to be comfortable with how I’m addressed. Feminine pronouns are no skin off my back. Brownie points though if you do get the hang of it though. It would definitely make you more....appealing.

That last word was said strangely to him. Either he was reading the room wrong or there was a definite vibe sh-they were trying to give him. The boy was definitely out of his league with this one. Judy watched his face get a little redder as he was finally let go of.

Neptune:Good to know.

Judy:That’s enough about. Wanna tell me why you’re standing here all alone? I saw your friend up at the Belladonna estate just a bit ago. Waiting on a date?

Neptune:No, but I wouldn’t mind one honestly.

Judy:*raises eyebrow* How bold.

Neptune:That’s not what I- I mean if you wanna. Wait, I’m doing something important! I’m waiting for Ilia; I’m supposed to meet her here.

Judy:She was looking pretty rough earlier. I didn’t think she’d party two days in a row.

Neptune:She sort of got persuaded. I’m wondering what’s keeping her?

Judy:Why wonder when you can ask? You have her number right? Face time her.

Neptune:Why not just call?

Judy:Trust me, she doesn’t answer regular calls nearly as often. She’s probably just laying around.

xxxx

“I’m going to be the number one hero!”

“Fuck yeah you are!” Ilia shouted at her tv proudly as she put a spoon full of cereal in her mouth. “I wish someone could give me a super power.”

Bzzz!!! Bzzz!!! Incoming call

She looked down at her scroll to see the little goggle icon she gave Neptune shaking side to side Ilia wasn’t stupid. She knew what time it was; she also knew that she still wasn’t feeling in a party mood. ‘Maybe if I ignore it, he won’t call it again? Then again, it’s face time. Why not just call? .....screw it.’ Ilia answers it.

Ilia:H-

Neptune:Where are you!? Party time officially began at least half an hour ago!

Ilia:Uuhhhhh, fashionably late?

Neptune:Is that why you have dried up milk in the corners of your mouth?

Ilia:.....*wipes mouth* Yes? Hehehe.

Neptune:Are you even dressed?

Ilia:...Does a sports bra and basketball shorts count?

Neptune:You wear a bra in the comfort and privacy of your own house?

Ilia:Yeah?

Neptune:Hmmm, you would.

Ilia:W..what does that me-

Neptune:Never mind that! Ilia, put on something party casual and hurry up. Don’t think I won’t drag you out of your house.

Ilia:You don’t know where I live Neptune.

Judy:*offscreen* I do!

Ilia:Judy!? Are you with my parole officer!!? Am I on speaker phone!?

Neptune:...That sounds pretty bad out loud but yes. Say hi Judy. *hands her scroll*

Judy:Hey Spots. You look comfy.

Ilia:I was. Now I’m suspicious.

Judy:Relax, I bumped into your friend and simply asked what he was doing. Apparently he’s waiting for you, so get off your butt and put on your dancing shoes!

Ilia:Shouldn’t my parole officer encourage me to stay in one place?

Judy:All I have to do is recommend you make good choices, which is something I never had to do with you personally because news flash, you’re a good citizen; reformed anyways.

Ilia:Woah, almost a complete compliment.

Judy:You know I find you endearing. Now are you real going to bum out on your couch watching anime.

Ilia:How did you know it was-

Judy:Or are you going to enjoy the night with your friend who keeps jumping every time he hears a wave crash on the shore?

Neptune:Hey!

Ilia:Sigh........uuuugggggghhhhh

Judy:FYI, if I see you out and about tonight then you don’t have to wake up early and report to me tomorrow. You can sleep in.

Ilia:.......

Ilia:Give me fifteen minutes.

Judy:I’ll give you twenty five. I can smell you from here. *hangs up*

Ilia:I don’t-oooohhhh Judy you.....why can’t I have a normal parole officer!?

xxxx

Judy:She’s on her way.

Neptune:You’re good.

Judy:Nah, Ilia is just a big softie. Even if she won’t admit it. I do hope she cuts back on the drinking.

Neptune:Pfft, after yesterday she already said she’s not drinking a single drop of alcohol.

Judy:Whay happened yesterday?

Neptune:(Crap....) Oh you know..... too drunk to actually enjoy herself. I mean you saw her when I had to basically carry her.

Judy:Hmm, you’re definitely holding out on me. I can hear it your voice.

Neptune:What are you a detective? Wait, are you? *eyes widen*

Judy:No, you’re just really bad under pressure. That’s enough of you talking about what you do with females at parties. We have time to kill. *grabs his hand*

Neptune:*red* Where are we going?

Judy:Standing in one spot is boring! We’re going on a little walk on beach. Maybe get our feet a little wet?

Neptune:That’s...you see....bodies of w..water and I don’t exactly go together!

Judy:Yeah right. Your name is Neptune and I can see the goggles on your head.

Neptune:(I’ve made a terrible choice in fashion. Sun, I don’t know how but you owe me for this one.)

xxxx

Yang:Oh, you’re back....

Sun:Yeah, I have a room here....

The two of them stood in the doorway of Blake’s house. Not many people have come to enjoy the festivities inside yet but those who did were treated to uneasy tension the two radiated. Neither of them had changed. In situations like these, you come prepared for the worst.

Yang:I don’t want to argue with you.

Sun:Me either.

Yang:So why does it feel like we’re one bad move away screaming our heads off.

Sun:Because you’re obviously defensive over this. As for me, I’m.....sad.

Yang:*frown* You’re not sad Sun. I know what sad is. What you are is hurt. Badly. Not that I blame you.

Sun:But you still insist on rubbing it in my face knowing how I feel? I thought you were better than that.

Yang:That’s not what- listen, I get it. I started ya off on bad terms and might’ve...deserved some choice words. My bad. Can we at least try to look past that?

Sun:*folds arms*....For Blake.

Yang:For Blake.

Kali:*walks up* Well that was a sorry excuse for an apology. Shouldn’t huntsman be somewhat good with deterring hostile situations. Both of you are scaring guest. Now I may not know the complete ins and outs of your problems but I know Blake cherishes you both; I cherish you both. Ghira might not show it but Sun, he is fond of you.

Something about hearing that made him smile a little. It would’ve been nice for Ghira to say it himself but still, it was nice.

Kali:If one of you is upset then Blake is upset. If both of you are upset with each other then you better believe that Blake will be concerned and I’ll be mad at both of you. So please, actually try and forgive one another; faking it won’t solve the problem. You’ll only end up more hurt.

Yang and Sun:.......Yes ma’am.

Kali:Sun?

Sun:Yes?

Kali:I hope you know that you don’t have to force yourself to okay so soon? As much as I would be thrilled if you were, we all know that’s not how these things work. Take your time. After all, this isn’t some physical injury you got. You’re heart broken.

He was. Sun didn’t really want to give it that label. Him and Blake definitely shared a lot of deep moments together since they met but they weren’t exactly plentiful. Yet somehow Blake....really captivated him. She was special to him. That feeling itself hasn’t changed. there was now simply miserable end layer that followed it; like bitter sweet chocolate. Coming here in the first place was struggle on its own. His chest felt heavy and face slightly warm. It felt wrong to not be completely happy for Blake. It felt selfish....

Yang:You know, Blake is still getting ready. Kali and I can tell her you stopped by to let her know you just weren’t feeling well? If that’s what you wanna do that is.

Sun:..Yeah. That might be for the best right now. *rubs head* Tell her I’m sorry too.

Yang watched him turn around and begin walking down the stairs. Guilt didn’t stop with him. Even she had to admit this isn’t what she wanted. Seeing Sun low spirited was unnatural. Things couldn’t end like that; not completely poor. “Sun!” She called out to him without thinking and ran to him. Sun turned just in time to receive an unexpected hug from the blonde bruiser. It took a moment before he returned it in kind.

Sun:.....

Kali:*smiling*

Yang:Please feel better. I mean that. You’re just not you without a smile. I’m...I’m sorry I took that from you. I didn’t mean to.

Sun:Something was going to be collateral. No way around that. Thanks though; I needed a hug.

Sun spent no time putting distance between himself and that house. The sunset had was finally fading int night and with it brought more active people out and about. Many heading to where he just left, but some preferred to make the streets their dance floor. He wasn’t quite in a mood for it however. Instead he sat alone on a bench near the beach entrance and closed his eyes.

‘I wonder where the other are? They should be around here somewhere. Heh, Ilia is totally gonna be pissed that I didn’t follow through. Well, not exactly. At least Yang and I seem a bit more friendly. Still, so much for a part do over’

“Someone looks pretty gloomy for them to claim that making friends is their so called secret semblance.” The sarcastic tone was all he needed to hear in order to know Ilia was right in front of him.

“Hi Ilia.” No effort was put into making that sound cheery. “Sun, please tell me I didn’t get dressed for nothing?” His eyebrows scrunched at her words in confusion before actually deciding to take a look at the her. Ilia wore a simple white tank top and jean shorts that looked ripped by her own doing. They were faded and stopped halfway down her thighs. The most surprising part about the outfit, other than it being like colors, was her shoes. Sun didn’t expect Ilia to own a pair of high top sneakers. They were so blue with yellow stitching.

Sun:Where are the others?

Ilia:Don’t know; I just got here.

Sun:What? Shouldn’t you have been here like an hour ago?

Ilia:*red* I-I almost bailed. I’m sorry...

Sun:Don’t be. I kinda wished you did. It would make me feel a lot better about not holding up my end of the bargain.

Ilia:Someone looks like they have a story to tell. Or a reason to scream?

Sun:Try both.

Ilia:I just might. After you tell me about it first. Scoot over.

xxxx

Ilia:....

Sun:Well? No comments?

Ilia:Oh I have comments. They’re just mostly I told you so. Seriously, I’m the one who suggested getting space away from this situation in the first place!

Sun:I’m pretty sure you did not phrase it as kind. “Screw Blake Belladonna mentality” was what you said.

Ilia:Same difference. You got the message.

Sun:Yeah. Sorry, you were right. If you wanna go home then I won’t stop you. I’m not in much of a party mood anyways.

Ilia:.....

Ilia:Too bad

Sun:What?

Ilia:I said too bad. I’m already dressed and out here. You’re stuck with me. We decided on three hours right? Plenty of time to turn this night around.

Sun:But-

Ilia:Too bad....*grins* Listen, would you really rather sit here alone and bummed out. At least around me you’ll look cheery by comparison.

Sun:That’s pretty when you think about Ilia.

Ilia:Trust me, I know. So let’s at least try to fix that!

Her words and attitude were picking up steam so to speak. Only a little awhile ago did Sun hear the girl want to do nothing but lay around but now she was at least trying to give him positive vibes to feed off on. He hasn’t seen this much enthusiasm since their race. “You’re a real haggler aren’t ya?”

“You’re one to talk, banana breath.” She folded her arms and smirked with pride. The petty insult managed to put more of a smile on his face. “Look at that, you’re looking better already.” He playfully rolled his eyes; she might’ve been right though. He’d let her have this little victory if it meant her spirits was lifted too. A smile on her face was beginning to be a rare thing.

The two kept trying to read each other’s facial expression in an attempt to get some sort of edge over the other to tease them about. That all stopped however when the same thought came to both of them. ‘How long have I been staring?’ Unknowingly this had been going on for a couple minutes. Not only that, they hadn’t realized how physically close they had gotten in the process. Someway, somehow, Ilia had inched closer to him until there was almost no space between them except for hands that were finger nails apart. Sun was no better. He was so focused on reading her that he actually had leaned in a bit. Their faces only a few inches away. Ilia’s skin flashed pink briefly before her immediate jolt backwards away from him. Sun wondered if she had noticed? He wouldn’t bring it up if she didn’t. Even he could tell his face was probably a bit flushed from the unexpected breach of personal space.

Sun:S..Sorry about-

Ilia:No, it’s fine. My bad. We’re cool......

Sun:Cool. Cool...*rubs head* so uhh, let’s find Neptune I guess?

Ilia:Sounds like a plan!

They hop up from the bench and begin looking too see if they could spot him. “Judy was with him whe he called me. I’m sure they’re on the beach.”

“Let’s go then.” His mind instinctively went to grab her hand. He had caught what he was about to do but before he could backpedal, Ilia’s hand met his halfway and grabbed it. Her own subconscious action startled her. She had seen his hand swing back to her and simply...reached for it. Ilia looked at their hands then at Sun who was more than a little embarrassed by the incident.

Sun:I-

Ilia:Yeah, this crowd is getting pretty big. Wouldn’t want to get split and then have to find each other too.

She couldn’t tell if she was giving him an out, being logical, or rationalizing what happened to herself; and she wasn’t about to linger on it. Now was the time for fun. Anything else can be dealt with another day. Ilia took the lead and lead him to the beach.

Part8

[doctorwhoformybestie]

Anon asked,

hello, could you write something with eleven where he takes the reader to an amusement park or something of the like on another planet and they spend the day there? maybe aliens show up, I don’t know, up to you! thanks love :)

So here's my best shot! I hope you enjoy it!

11th Doctor x reader

Visiting Childhood Places

The Doctor takes y/n to his favorite place in the whole wide galaxy.

Word Count 2,018

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"Doctor, where are we going today?" You asked as you leaned your back against the railing. 

"Oh I thought, we could go somewhere fun today!" He looked over to you smiling from the control panel. 

Usually when the Doctor says, "fun" he means, "go to another planet and get accidently caught by aliens and sent to jail". So when you gave him a skeptical look he was not surprised to see it coming from you. Many times you were told places would be fun. Meeting Christopher Columbus was supposed to be fun and it was, until the doctor found out that Chris was just a clone who was part of some ancient alien race trying to take over the new colonie. Then that led to more danger and big spaceships. But in the end everyone was okay and ended up alive, and all of history was put back into place. 

The Doctor just smiled at you, "trust me this one won't be as bad as the times before." 

"I'll be the judge of that" you replied with a sly grin and a wink. 

He laughed it off and started pulling levers and twisting knobs. The Tardis started making its iconic wooshing sound. You held onto the railing and was laughing as the Doctor jumped from here to there to get the spaceship to travel to wherever you were going. 

As the Tardis settled down, the Doctor was ecstatic. He ran over to you with a happy smile, grabbed your hands and twirled you around. 

You were astounded by his giddiness over one place. The last time he was this happy was when he learned to rollerskate. You had the biggest smile on your face as he twirled you around in a few more circles. 

"Are you ready?" He asked as he stopped spinning you and took one of your hands. 

You nodded your head and his eyes lit up. You followed the Doctor to the door of the Tardis. 

"Now, when I say fun, this is what I mean. I haven't been here in hundreds of years!" 

He swung open the door and stepped out with you right behind him. 

"Welcome to the biggest amusement park on the planet Aerelia. Where all aliens can come together and have some fun!" 

You looked at the place amazed. The whole place was like a human amusement park but 10 times bigger. There were rollercoasters, some with tracks some without. Food vendors everywhere, selling treats from all sorts of different planets around the galaxies. Aliens of all sorts were walking up and down the long walkways. Some of the aliens you could recognize were the ood, slitheen, adipose, and vinvocci, but there were a lot more that you did not know. Balloons and what looked to be cotton candy were being sold by some aliens walking around the park as well.

"Doctor this place! It's just incredible!" You exclaimed.

His eyes darted from one thing to the next like a child in a candy store. He started walking and you went along with him as both of your hands were glued to each other. 

It was like walking in a wonderland filled with all sorts of delights and games, rides that you've never seen before that look quite scary. 

"I was never fond of those ones" the Doctor would say as he pointed up to the huge roller coasters that floated above and around you. Some flipping people upside down while others just flashed before you like a speed of light.

"Are you telling me you're actually scared of something Doctor?" 

"Well, not really. Just found other things around here to fill my time with." He smiled at you with eyes that were filled with kindness.

"Okay then Doctor. Show me what a normal day would be like here if you were a kid?" 

His smile got much wider and he seemed to accept the challenge.

"One must first partake in the eating of a fried zigtobno." 

"A what?" 

"A fried zigtobno. It's quite delicious really! Somewhat of a funnel cake as they would call it on Earth." 

You gave him a confused look as he led you down the aisle of food vendors, surrounding you on both sides. Many of the places had small lines, but the one the Doctor was leading you to had no line at all. 

It was a small yellow shack that had a sign above it that said 

~FRESH FRIED ZIGTOBNO~

The alien inside was a small creature with 4 tentacles running down its face. It looked like a small ood but with a shrimp like head with a human body. It had what seemed to be a thick layer of flour all over his apron, and when he moved the flour seemed to move with him like a ghost. 

"Ahh Herbert my good pal! How's it been?" The Doctor flew his hand onto the counter and Herbet flew his hand on top of the Doctors. They did a very interesting hand shake that consisted of fistbumps, finger snaps, a pinky promise and at the end the Doctor made a bird call while the Shrimp man (or whatever he was) just put his hand up to his eyes and covered them.

After the complex ritual, Herbet and the Doctor started laughing. 

"Good to see ya old pal! What can I get for you and your lovely misses today?"

You slightly blushed at the choice of words this Shrimp man had said. 

"Just one fresh fried zigtobno please!" 

Herbert smiled and whipped around to fix up a zigtobno. Although you couldn't see what exactly he was making it sure did smell good. 

"How long have you known Herbert?" You asked out of curiosity.

"Oh just around 400 years or so. Great pal. He saved me from a trash can falling on me once. That's the day I fell in love with his food stand. Never wanted any other food than fresh fried zigtobno." He stood there with his eyes closed smelling the sweet smell that was coming from the little shed. 

"One order for you Doctor." 

The Doctor was reaching inside his pocket but before he could pull out anything Herbert just said, "Don't worry about it. This one's on me." 

The Doctor smiled and patted Herbert on the arm. "Thanks friend. I owe you one!" He smiled and grabbed the zigtobno and walked over to a bench, sitting where you could look off at all the rides in the area. 

The zigtobno was not what you were expecting. It had a cinnamon roll type texture but it was in one big heaping like an elephant ear. The powder that was on top of it consisted of pastel colors that luminated in the sunshine. 

"Here you have the first bite." The Doctor said as he held the paper plate the food was on. 

You tore off a piece and it was slightly gooey on the inside. Not sure if it was completely baked or it was supposed to be like that you took a bite anyways. 

Your eyes light up like a million stars, as you tasted the pastry. The dough tasted as though a fresh warm baguette, with the powder as cool strawberries all mixed with a slight chocolate flavor hinting on the tip of your tounge. 

"This is the best food I've ever had. Like better than Aunt Cindy's raspberry tart she makes for Christmas." 

The Doctor laughed as you quickly reached for another piece and ate it quickly. He joined in as well and ate the simple pastry made by the Shrimp man Herbert.

Once you were both done eating, the Doctor continued to show you around a few more of his favorite places. Some of which were the center drama, where mini plays were put on throughout the day. The one you ended up watching was like a Romeo and Juliet spin-off. Instead of them both dying they just left Earth with some aliens and started a whole new colony. The Doctor thought it was fantastic while you on the other hand thought it could have been a little less cliche. But come on, it's Romeo and Juliet we're talking about. 

He also showed you some of his favorite rides like the flying dragons, which you could control going up and down. And let's be honest the Doctor did most of the controls himself.  Another ride was more like a simulation of whether you could get out in 10 minutes or not. And again he did most of the work for that one as well.

But as the day went on the night started to fall and it was getting quite late. You were getting slightly tired from all the fun you've been having, but the Doctor had one more thing purposefully planned put. (Apparently it's been planned for quite some time. But you know time travel and how that all works, and let's be honest he probably wandered off to run to the Tardis and do this because he just thought of it like 2 seconds ago)

The sky was almost fully dark and the stars were shining brightly. The Doctor led you to one last ride, a ferris wheel. 

He checked his watch and started mumbling under his breath. "Right. Now just wait a few more ticks and then we should be good to go." 

You kept giving him sideways glances as you walked up to the large ferris wheel. 

"Did you know that this was built only 200 years ago, and it still runs to this day!" You could tell he was getting nervous. Spilling out random facts about random things was what he did when he got nervous. Yet you had no idea why he was so scared over one ride on the ferris wheel. Didn't he want to go on it? Was he that afraid of heights?

With a slight "hmm" the Doctor seemed to settle down a bit and slowly started to relax more. 

When you reached the line the doctor handed the ticket taker 2 very old fashioned tickets. The ticket taker smiled and then winked at me as we entered the cart. 

When the Doctor walked in he turned around to see what my reaction would be. 

The cart was filled with fuzzy blankets, a tub of popcorn, and a giant zigtobno placed on the seats across from us. The Doctor smiled as he saw my eyes light up with joy. 

"Did you do all of this?" 

"Oh possibly. Maybe it was the past me, or the future me, hard to tell sometimes." He smiled and sat down on the right side of the cart. You joined him and then the wheel started turning up. 

When the wheel was at the very tippy top it stopped. You could see the whole sky from up there. Galaxies and stars could be seen from up here. 

Soon shooting stars started to light the sky. 

"Doctor this is amazing!" 

He smiled as the stars were passing the both you from up above. 

"Tonight marks the 500th year anniversary of the legend of Mika and Woo. The ones the play were about."

Ahh yes the cringy Romeo and Juliet play that you watched earlier that day. 

The Doctor slowly placed his arm around your shoulder as he continued talking. 

"Legend has it that once that Mika and Woo landed on an abandoned planet they started their own colony. Representing peace for all alien races. That's what this place represents, peace for all to come together as one."

"That's just beautiful Doctor" 

"I know isn't it?" He turned his head every so slightly to get a glimpse of your amazed face. 

You slowly put your head down on his shoulder, the Doctor tensed up a bit not knowing what to do. But as minutes went on he started to relax. 

About 10 mins later you were out asleep, from such a long day you had the Doctor did not blame you. 

He gently placed a soft kiss on top of your head and then continued to fall asleep himself. 

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A/N thanks so much for reading I hope you enjoyed it! If you have any requests please feel free to pop a question!

[inmyarmswrappedin]

Isak season rankings (so far)

I’ve seen people doing this, and while we wait for SKAM Austin to get renewed 🤞 I thought I’d rank the Isak seasons that are out so far, according to my personal preference. People who wanted to read my Matteo and Cris meta, this is the very short version of it. 

Warning: I am super critical in this ranking. If you’d rather read only compliments, don’t click the Read More. 

SKAM s3 – Isak: I don’t consider myself a Skam supremacist or whatever the term in vogue is these days. There are many things about Skam that I’m not happy with. I wasn’t really into the idea of the remakes at first, but when they started coming out I hoped that some of the stuff I had issues with in Skam was handled better in the remakes. That said… I never had issues with season 3. I think it’s as perfect a TV season as it can get. The writing, the acting, the music, the cinematography… Everything has a reason for being there and nothing got unresolved. I don’t feel Isak’s season needs “fixing.” A good remake of Isak’s season, for me, is one that takes what Skam did and flips it and does entirely different things with it, not one that aims to tell the same story with cosmetic changes here and there.

DRUCK s3 – Matteo: I’m not sure if Matteo’s season would be as high for me personally if it weren’t for David, tbh! I fell in love with David before I even knew his name was David. My main issues with Druck s3 are these: Druck put a lot of effort in adapting the original storyline to David and Matteo’s personalities, but I don’t see the same effort with the internalized homophobia storyline. I don’t think the writing is consistent there. I also didn’t like the way they hinted at Matteo having a MI, but never committed to it. In fact, I’m not even sure the writers think Matteo has a MI? When the writers have done interviews they’ve talked of Matteo as a “slacker-type” character, not a character with mental health issues. I also have really mixed emotions about the way David’s outing clip was scripted and shot. But overall I had so much fun watching the season, I love David, I love David and Matteo together, and I love a lot of the musical moments. And honestly, it’s amazing that the writers decided David’s movie was going to be Only Lovers Left Alive, built the whole character around that idea, and that single trait explains so much about how David views himself, Matteo and the world.

SKAM España s2 – Cris: If it weren’t for David’s existence, Cris’ season would have the second spot. My issues with Cris’ season are that I feel like the writers had a much firmer hand when adapting Eva’s season. With Eva, they seemed more confident about getting rid of iconic moments or putting their own spin on them. With Cris, I felt like the criticisms they got in Eva’s season about getting rid of iconic moments made them try and include them even when they didn’t make sense for Cris and Joana. I’m thinking specifically of using 21:21and the pool scene, which had no significance for Cris or Joana’s characters. I also thoroughly hate Lucas getting hate crimed, and yes, it was handled better than in other remakes, but still. I’m from Spain, so yes, I’m aware of the cultural reasons for doing it, and I still think it was unnecessary on every level. (I’ll probably write something longer on this, because I do want to get into the ~cultural reasons,~ but not right now.) The music isn’t amazing because the music licensing costs in Spain are more expensive, but it does affect my overall enjoyment when the use of music was one of the things I loved about Skam. I also think Skam España tried to keep every fandom satisfied, which led to a more scattered season. (That said, compared to Skam’s Sana season, the POV was tight as fuck.) I don’t like that Cris and Joana didn’t have a sex scene. I understand that Irene was a minor at the time, but it doesn’t make up for the fact that Skam and Druck delivered extremely beautiful, non objectified sex scenes, and Skam España didn’t. Now, for the good: aside from the moments I mentioned, Cris and Joana were fully their own characters, Cris isn’t Isak and had her own struggles and character flaws she had to overcome, same for Joana. Cris and Amira’s friendship is everything, and considering how other remakes have handled friendships between a LGBTI character and a character of color, it’s almost enough to declare Skam España the holy grail of remakes. Also, one of the reasons it’s sad that the focus on the girl squad moves to the boy squad for Isak’s season is that the squad is at its most supportive and loving of the main in Isak’s season. By contrast, Eva, Noora and Sana’s seasons are full of betrayal and infighting. It was really so gratifying to get to see the girl squad support and love Cris. I also really liked that it was almost two queer seasons in one, with Cris and Lucas having their own journeys on Youtube and the episodes, which sometimes converged. I also loved the exploration of Viri’s character. Loved the borderline PD awareness content on instagram, for me the only valid use of Minutt for Minutt by a remake. I’m aware of the elephant in the room I’m not mentioning, but I feel like if it hadn’t been for the actors going wild on social media, that scene would have been a non event. Which brings me to…

SKAM Italia s2 – Martino: I really liked Eva Brighi’s season and I was really looking forward to Skam Italia’s take on Isak’s season. I really liked Martino in season 1. Martino’s season opened with a very powerful, factual voiceover of queer Italian people calling into a helpline to set the tableau of what it means to be queer in Italy. And then… it just got off the rails, man. Now, I did finish season 2 (racial slur and all), but I’m not sure I would have if it hadn’t been the first remake of Isak’s season. First off, they switched the order of the seasons, but instead of doing their due diligence and keep developing the Eleonora and Edoardo relationship (like Skam España did), they simply sent Eleonora to the cornfield to avoid having to deal with it. Second, the Skam España writers forced a few Isak and Even elements on Cris and Joana that didn’t fit them… Bessegato forced plenty more elements that didn’t have any relevance to Martino and Niccoló onto them. The obvious network interference when it came to Martino and Niccolò’s intimate scenes. And when I say intimate, I don’t mean sexy sex sex scenes, I mean the scenes that in Skam were Isak and Even existing in their own bubble. In Skam Italia, these scenes were intruded upon by the boy squad again and again. I’m not sure whether the Skam Italia fandom realizes that the reason the Italian boy squad is so loved is because they had a much larger role in Martino’s season that infringed on Martino and Niccolò’s dynamic. Anyway, I thought the boy squad was gross, honestly. The way the volleyball scene was shot was less about Martino’s discomfort and more about close up shots of a 14-year old actress’ sweaty butt and crotch. And for my money, I can’t understand why keeping Francesco Centorame meant they absolutely couldn’t cast an actor of color to play Luca. People talk about wtFOCK using certain tropes for shock value, but can we talk about the way Skam Italia had Niccolò literally run around Milan naked and giggling for the viewer to see? It appears that Skam was too tactful only giving us a glimpse of Even’s bare ass leaving the hotel room. We really needed to sensationalize the whole event, or otherwise it would fly over our heads how serious Niccolò’s crisis was. And Bessegato’s instagram tantrum when called out on Niccolò randomly dropping a racial slur mid-conversation was just the cherry on top. Oh, and I also hated the inclusion of Martino’s mom, but that’s more personal, so I’ll leave it at me having an issue with that decision because of hugely personal reasons I won’t go into. (Edit: I forgot to say that Filippo’s Pride speech is one of the best remakes of that scene, if not the best so far.)

Didn’t finish:

SKAM France s3 – Lucas: Okay, so here’s my Skam France story. Unlike a not small part of the fandom, I did watch s1 shortly after it came out. Now, I love Eva and Isak on Skam, they are two of my very favorites. I didn’t like Emma or Lucas. However, I love Jonas Vasquez and I felt like Yann was the only phase 1 remake Jonas that really did Jonas V justice. Not Jonas A, not Giovanni G, not Marlon F. Yann. So I came into s3 not very interested in Lucas (or Eliott to be completely honest), but fully pumped to see my boy Yann be the supportive friend Jonas had been in Skam and Yann had been in s1 and s2. Folks… I ragequit Skam France the moment Yann abandoned Lucas in that bench. And yeah, it can be argued that, while they used that moment for shock value, they stuck the landing. I personally disagree, the damage was done there, but it can be argued. Anyway, that was the end of episode 6, and by then I knew I didn’t vibe with Lucas (hadn’t liked him since s1 as aforementioned), Eliott had done nothing to get me onboard, couldn’t care less about the girl squad being forced into the season through network mandate, hated Basile and the Daphné/Basile storyline, and was bored as hell of people fawning over Arthur when the character was as lacking in substance as Mahdi, but fandom never went crazy over Mahdi in the same way (fun fact! Despite Skam fandom being much larger than any remake fandom, there were never essays about how great Sacha’s acting was, how carefully constructed his character, there weren’t people fighting for Mahdi-related usernames… I could go on). I simply can’t understand how the writers came up with the whole Polaris thing and then dropped it entirely after episode 4, and didn’t bother coming up with a twist on that motif. (You know, like the R+J and Pretty Woman twist, or how Druck used the vampire motif, or how Skam España used the Dangerous Liaisons motif throughout the season.) Like… Instead of using an existing piece of media, they created one tailored to what they wanted to do, but they didn’t follow through with it? Almost completely wasted the potential of the Lucas/light/darkness symbolism/motif. And, as I’ve mentioned with Skam España, I realize that the music licensing costs for France are astronomical, but again it does affect my overall enjoyment of the show, and the piano music didn’t make up for it.

wtFOCK s3 — Robbe: I gave Skam France six episodes before I quit. By the middle of week 2 of wtfock I was already checked out. The decision to delay Sander’s intro just completely ruined the pacing and anticipation for me. The lack of a tight POV was another nail in the coffin. How utterly loathsome Moyo and Jens were in that first week and a half was another factor. The way they resolved the issue of Milan leaning in for the kiss with Robbe was yet another. The wtfock characters having no nuance (most of them have one character trait, the most any of them have is three) was another. Initially I quit watching because I thought I’d write episode by episode posts, and I wanted to keep my reactions fresh. So I just read the transcripts. And every single thing I read in those transcripts only served to prove I was right in dropping it.  But here’s one thing I liked! I liked the blurring of the fourth wall with the spray painting of the garbage truck and the garbage truck servicing Antwerp at the time the season aired. (I could draw a parallel between the garbage truck being the first motif the season deployed, and how the rest of the season turned out, and... well, I guess I just did.)

[eddiesasspbrak]

Forever and Always Ch. 4

Eddie is the only one of his friends to stay behind in Derry after high school, causing him to lose touch with some of them. Now 24, Eddie has heard rumors that his now famous, former best friend (aka love of his life) may be coming back to town. That won’t be too awkward, right?

nsfw content to follow

Ch. 1

Ch. 5

Read on AO3

5k+ words

When Eddie arrived at work bright and early on Monday morning, the first thought he had was of his dream. He saw himself bent over the counter where he’d have to spend the rest of the day, Richie grinding into his ass and getting ready to rail him. It sent a shiver through him and he had to try to focus on anything else to keep from getting hard right there in the store. He went about opening up the store and found that focusing on different types of spices helped keep the dream and Richie out of his mind. The day was fairly normal. Old people coming and going, shopping and buying groceries. Monday’s were typically pretty busy, people stocking up for the week.

By the time Gerard came in for his shift after school, Eddie was ready for a nap. He was in the middle of checking out Mrs. Sanford when Gerard came in slouching, dragging his feet, his bag hanging almost completely off his arms. He greeted Eddie with a yawn on his way back to the break room. When he emerged minutes later with his apron on crooked, he came behind the counter to open the second register. Half Eddie’s line moved over to the other side and with the both working, the line disappeared quickly.

When they were finally free for a moment, Gerard turned to Eddie with a loud sigh.

“I fucking hate Mondays.” He said.

“Language. We still have customers.”

“Do you know how exhausting it is getting up at 7am?” He asked, ignoring Eddie.

“I’m up at six every morning.”

“But you’re not human so that doesn’t count.”

“Maybe don’t spend Friday through Sunday staying up till 4am.”

“Hey, I only do that on Friday and Saturday. Sundays I only stay up until 2am.”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “Oh, my mistake. You shouldn’t be tired at all then. That’s plenty of sleep.”

“Fuck you.”

“Language.” He warned again as another customer came to his register.

“What did you do yesterday then? Polish your attendance trophies?”

“I don’t have any trophies.”

“You just said you get up at 6am every morning.”

“So? When I was in high school, I ditched at least once a week to go to the quarry with my friends.”

“Seriously? You mean you used to be fun?”

“I’m still fun. I just have responsibilities now.”

“No, you’re boring now. So, what did you do yesterday oh lord of the dull?”

“I went for a jog, did some cleaning...had lunch with Richie.”

Gerard crossed over to Eddie’s side and grabbed him by the shoulders. “Tell me everything.”

“There’s nothing to tell. We talked about friends.”

“Did you fuck him?”

“What? No! We just had lunch and then parted ways. His dad had his surgery yesterday and he went to the hospital after his mom called.”

“Ok so if he hadn’t left would you have fucked him?”

“It’s not like that with us.”

“Who cares? It could be!”

“I thought you wanted to be with him.”

“I do but you have the upper hand being childhood friends. So, if he chooses you, I will be heartbroken, but I’ll have no choice but to cheer you on. I expect you would do the same for me.”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “Sorry to burst your bubble, but Richie is straight. Not into guys at all.”

“Bullshit.”

“Don’t believe me if you want but you’ll just end up heartbroken.”

Eddie’s phone chimed and he pulled it from his pocket with a speed that Gerard definitely noticed. He eyed him while Eddie smiled down at the screen and then typed out a message.

Richie: Are you working today?

Eddie: Until 6 like most days.

Richie: I thought we could go out tonight. Hit up a bar or something.

Eddie: On a Monday?

Richie: I figured they won’t be too crowded tonight so we should be left alone.

Eddie: Alright, yea I think I can make it

Richie: Have you had your break yet?

Eddie: No. Gerard just got here and we’re pretty busy

“Who are you texting?” Gerard asked, sure he already knew the answer.

“A friend.”

“Richie?”

“No. It’s...Beverly.” Eddie didn’t really know why he was lying. He just wasn’t sure he wanted Gerard to speculate about his true feelings for Richie. He wasn’t known for keeping his mouth shut and the odds of him blurting something out in front of Richie was a danger Eddie wanted to avoid.

“Oh yea? What’s she saying?” Gerard leaned on the counter with his elbow on the countertop and his head propped up on his fist.

“She’s saying to mind your own damn business.”

“Language, Edward. There are customers.”

“You’re so annoying.” Eddie sighed.

“Excuse me, if it weren’t for me, you’d have no one to talk to in this shitty town. You love me.”

“Do you really want to brag that I’m only friends with you because I have no other option?” Eddie asked with a laugh.

Gerard grumbled in annoyance and said nothing more when and older woman came to the counter to ask Eddie for help with something. Eddie left the counter in Gerard’s hands while he led the woman to an aisle near the back of the store. A second later, Richie was coming through the doors. He smiled and waved at Gerard as he approached the counter. Gerard let out a weird breathy laugh as he awkwardly waved back.

“You’re back! I guess you really liked that peppercorn!” Gerard said, immediately hating himself for his choice of greeting.

“It was great. I’m here for Eddie this time.”

“Sorry, but he’s not for sale.”

Richie laughed. “I’m not sure I could afford him if he was.”

Gerard snorted and immediately covered his nose and mouth with his hands in embarrassment. Eddie emerged from the aisles and paused when he saw Richie at the counter laughing with Gerard. Seeing him there brough his dream back to his mind for a second before he pushed it away with nutmeg, paprika, cardamom, turmeric. He approached slowly, still not used to talking to Richie after such a long time apart.

“What’s so funny?” He asked as he grew near.

“We’re discussing how expensive you would be.” Richie said, turning to smile at him.

“Ok…well, what are you doing here? Aren’t we seeing each other tonight?”

“Tonight? What’s tonight?” Gerard asked, leaning forward.

“We’re going drinking.” Richie answered when it was clear Eddie wouldn’t.

“On a Monday?”

“Oh, absolutely. It’s the best night to go out. Plenty of attractive people to take home after you’ve had a few. Just make sure you’re drunk enough to think it’s a good idea in the moment and then regret it the next morning when you wake up next to a stranger.”

“Beep beep Richie. He’s only sixteen and he doesn’t need you giving him advice and getting drunk and picking someone up at a bar.” Eddie said.

“I already do that.” Gerard said to Eddie before looking back to Richie. “So, people actually say the ‘beep beep’ thing? I thought that was just a bit for your shows.”

“It’s definitely a real thing people say. It’s the only way to get him to shut up.” Eddie rolled his eyes with a smile.

“My dear friends just don’t like hearing what I have to say because they know I speak the truth.” Richie said, nudging Eddie’s arm with his elbow.

“No, it’s because you aren’t funny, and you never know when to shut up.”

“Please, you definitely think he’s funny. You’ve watched like all his shows online.” Gerard said, outing Eddie for being a secret fan and mortifying him in one breath.

Richie’s grin widened as he looked at Eddie, amused. “Oh really? You watch my shows? Are you a fan, Eds?”

“No…I just thought I should support you.” Eddie said.

“He’s definitely a fan. We spend most days talking about you.”

“Shut the fuck up, Gerard!” Eddie said, giving him a look that said he might kill him if he kept talking.

“Aw, my sweet Spaghetti in a fan of his very best friend.” Richie said, ruffling Eddie’s hair.

Eddie smacked his hand away and glared at him. “I’m ten seconds from kicking you out of the store. You never even told me why you’re here.”

“Oh, right. I wanted to give you something.”

“It couldn’t wait until tonight?”

“I didn’t want to take it to the bar.”

Richie reached into the inner pocket on his jacket and provided a pile of notebook paper, stapled together. The pages were wrinkled and folded, some rips on the edges from years of being handled. He held it out for Eddie to take, whose eyes widened as soon as he realized what it was.

“No fucking way. You still have this?” He asked, his smile returning.

“I found it in my old room last night when I was going through some things.”

“What is it?” Gerard asked, standing on his toes to try and see from his spot behind the counter.

“It’s a comic we made with our friend Bill when we were kids.” Eddie explained, admiring the roughly drawn cover art.

All seven characters based on themselves and their friends were present in pencil and it brought back some good memories for Eddie. The three would write and draw different scenarios while in class and pass them back and forth. Sleepovers were spent huddled over a table plotting and drawing. Bill did the illustrations as he was the best artist out of the three of them. They’d imagined them all as superheroes and had designed outfits for all seven of them. One Halloween they’d convinced the others to dress up as their super selves. Somewhere Eddie was sure he still had the photo from that night.

“I can’t believe this still exists. Maybe we should post it online so people can see where up and coming author Bill Denbrough got his start.” Eddie chuckled.

“Hold up. Your friend Bill that you talk about is that Bill? Holy shit dude. How many famous people do you know?” Gerard asked.

“I don’t know…our fiend Ben is making a name for himself as an architect already and Beverly is definitely going to be a famous fashion icon one day.”

“She dresses me for most of my shows.” Richie added.

“Shit dude. Why are you still in Derry then if all your friends are so successful? Shouldn’t you be out there making a name for yourself too?” Gerard asked, wide eyed.

Eddie didn’t answer. It was a sore spot and he really didn’t want to talk about it in front of Richie. They’d already briefly discussed over lunch why he’d stayed in Derry and he didn’t want to open that wound again so soon. He kept his eyes on the comic as he flipped through the pages. His super self was definitely more impressive than he was. He wouldn’t have stayed in Derry. He would have left to save the world with his friends. Eddie tried not to let it show how sad he was when he looked back up at Richie.

“Thanks for this. It brings back a lot of memories.” He said with a forced smile.

“Yea, I thought you’d like it. I should probably split before someone sees me and posts on twitter where I am. I’ll see you tonight though, yea?” Richie said, backing toward the door slowly.

“Yea. I’ll see you.”

With that, Richie waved one last time before leaving the store and disappearing from sight. Eddie sighed, his smile falling away as he looked down at the pages in his hands again. He was reminded against how much he truly missed his friends. He survived on old memories, text conversations and occasional phone calls. It didn’t compare to the seven of them spending summer nights down by the quarry, drinking cheap booze and talking about their lives and their futures. Eddie longed to feel that way again. To feel unconditional love from the six people he held dearest.

*

Eddie had never cared what he wore in front of his friends in the past. Now, as he stared at his fifth outfit choice so far, he felt like he looked ridiculous. It’s not like this was a date. It was just getting drinks with an old friend and catching up. It wasn’t a big deal at all. He could show up in pajamas and Richie wouldn’t care. Actually, he’d probably give him grief for it but only because Richie didn’t know when to shut up and had to make everything a joke.

Eddie sighed as he stared at himself in the mirror. The jeans were ok, but the button-down shirt was definitely too much. He looked like he was going to a job interview. He stripped that off and traded it for a light blue t-shirt with the Golden Girls on it. It was stupid shirt that was a size too big he’d found at a thrift store outside of town. He thought Richie would appreciate it though.

Throwing a hoodie overtop that was thick enough for the cold spring night, he double checked for his phone, wallet and keys before heading downstairs. He tried to be quiet as he sat on the bottom stair to put his shoes on, but of course his mother was sat in her recliner in front of the TV. He knew she arranged the furniture that way so she could see him coming and going. A little bit of control from his childhood that she hadn’t let go of.

“Eddie bear, where are you going?” She asked.

“I joined a book club.” Eddie had thought of the lie earlier just in case. It wasn’t like she could stop him from leaving the house if he told the truth. He was an adult. But if he’d told her he was going to drink on a Monday night with Richie Tozier, she would have argued and tried to guilt him into staying home. Lying was easier. That’s what he kept telling himself.

“Really? What book are you reading?”

“I don’t know. It’s my first meeting. I’ll find out when I get there.”

“Well, be safe and make sure you don’t stay out too late.”

“Yea, sure.” Eddie said as he made his hasty escape out the front door.

Eddie shivered as the night air hit him. It was officially spring, but nights were still chilly. He zipped up his hoodie and tucked his hands into his pockets as he started his trek into town. Richie had texted him about an hour before to agree on a meeting spot. Eddie suggested the closest bar to their houses since he was walking. He’d briefly thought about taking his bike but decided that was probably a bad idea in case he got drunk. Not only was it dangerous, it counted as drunk driving if he rode his bike under the influence.

It wasn’t a long walk and by the time he made it to the bar, Richie was already standing outside waiting for him. Eddie stopped and stared at him for a moment before he noticed he’d arrived. He was standing with his shoulders up to his ears, his hands stuffed in his pockets, his breath visible with every exhale. For a second Eddie wondered if he was dreaming. So many times, he’d dreamt of reconnecting with Richie, of being with him again. And there he was, standing in the cold waiting for Eddie. It made him smile and for a second he could pretend that no time had passed at all. He could pretend he had followed Richie to New York all those years ago and they were meeting after work for a drink before going home. Together.

Richie finally noticed him, and his face lit up with a grin as he pulled one hand from his pocket and waved. Eddie crossed the street to join him and suddenly he didn’t feel the cold anymore. They greeted one another and headed into the warm bar. Richie was right about it not being crowded given that it was a Monday. There were a few people sitting at one end of the bar, watching whatever sports game was on the TV. Two tables were occupied and appeared to be friends blowing off steam after a long day of work. Eddie figured they must look the same. They opted to take two empty bar stools and made themselves comfortable while they waited for the bartender to come over and take their drink orders.

Richie looked over at Eddie and stared for a long moment before chuckling and looking away again.

“What?” Eddie asked with a smile, wondering if he should get defensive or not.

“I never thought I’d see you in a bar.” Richie said.

“Why not?”

Richie shrugged. “Just didn’t figure it was your scene. Bars are dirty, right?”

“Man, you don’t know me at all anymore. You’d be surprised how often I frequent bars.”

“Really? Eddie Spaghetti is a regular here, huh?”

The bartender made her way over and took their orders, setting two beers down in front of them a second later. They both took a swig, the unfamiliar tension between them creeping its way back in. This used to be so easy, now they felt like strangers. Eddie searched this mind for anything to say, anything he could talk about to break the ice and help them fall back into their old ways. Part of him remembered what it was like to joke around with Richie and speak freely about anything. He wanted that back more than he wanted his next breath.

“So…which bar is your favorite then?” Richie asked, finally breaking the awkward, drawn out silence.

“Uh…it’s outside of Derry a little way. In the city.”

“What’s it called.”

“Why? Planning to head into the city for a drink while you’re in Derry?” Eddie was worried if he told him the name, he’d look it up and realize it was a gay bar. He wasn’t sure he was ready to mess up their reunion by coming out unexpectedly. He didn’t know how Richie would react. None of them had really batted an eye when Stan and Bill announced that they were dating. Still, it was scary telling a new person. Especially when only two people actually knew. Aside from the few guys he’d met at the bar and had killed time with.

“Why not? You can’t expect me to hang around the local bars the whole time I’m here, right?” Richie chuckled.

“Aren’t you out of here in a few weeks anyway?”

“Is there a reason you don’t want to tell me the name of this bar? Worried I’ll show up and embarrass you in front of your city friends?”

Eddie took a long swig from his beer. “It’s, uh, Over the Rainbow.”

“That sounds like a gay bar.”

“Can I get a shot of Jamison please.” Eddie called out to the bartender, not responding to what Richie had just said.

She nodded and poured the shot agonizingly slow while Eddie could feel Richie’s eyes burning holes in the side of his face. She brought it over and set it in front of Eddie and he tipped it back without a second thought. Telling him the name was definitely a mistake. Why didn’t he just make something up? He definitely knew now, and Eddie’s heart was beating so fast he thought it might leap out of his chest and land on the bar in front of him.

“Eds, are you…?” Richie’s question was unfinished. It didn’t need to be finished. They both knew what he meant.

“Another please.” Eddie said, setting the shot glass aside.

She handed him a second and he tossed it back just as quickly as the first. He’d probably regret it later, but for now he needed to get out of his head a little. When he made plans to hang out with Richie, he hadn’t planned on coming out. Especially in such a public place. The music was low and who knew who was listening to them. Richie was still looking at him, but he was too afraid to meet his eyes, to see what expression he was sending his way.

“Hey, Eds, it’s cool. Relax. I just can’t believe you didn’t tell me before given…” Richie said, finally looking away from him.

“Given what? That we used to be best friends?”

“We’re still best friends. We have a lot to make up for, but you mean more to me than anyone and we’re going to get passed all this bullshit, ok? As for…” Richie glanced around the room to see if anyone was obviously listening. “…that. It doesn’t matter to me. I’m not exactly straight either.”

Eddie finally looked at him, his eyes wide. So, maybe Gerard had been right. “Wait, really?”

“I figured you’d know that.”

“How? You only ever talked about girls back in the day.”

“Jesus, you make us sound old. And I wasn’t exactly eager to broadcast it in this shitty town, you should get that. With how close we were, I thought you knew.”

“I didn’t.”

They fell silent again, but this time it weirdly felt like a wall had disappeared from between them. Maybe speaking honestly was what they needed. Neither one was well known for sharing their feelings easily. Still, they used to tell each other everything so maybe they could get to that point again. The point of blind trust and unconditional love. Eddie was so starved for that kind of intimacy with someone and he was ready to cling onto anything that Richie had to offer at this point.

“So, you watch my stuff.” Richie said, breaking the silence for the second time.

“Yea. On YouTube. I look up clips people have uploaded.”

“You should come out for a live show. I’ll save you a front row seat.” Richie grinned.

“That’s tempting. Getting the Netflix special must be pretty exciting.”

“More like overwhelming. Getting paid to tell jokes is awesome, but there’s a lot of pressure. If something flops, it’s so…public. They want me to get a writing partner.”

“Are people getting tired of the jokes about Derry and your friends?” Eddie asked, taking another long swig of his beer and flagging down the bartender to order a second.

“I guess so.”

“Well, you were never very funny so why should it be any different now?”

Richie laughed and pointed a finger at him. “This coming from my number one fan? I used to have you in stitches when we were young, and you wouldn’t watch my stuff if it didn’t make you laugh.”

“Yea, well a lot of the jokes you tell about your childhood are bullshit.” Eddie chuckled.

“Like what?”

“Ben having a shrine to Beverly in his closet. That was definitely not a thing.”

“I said it might as well have been a thing, not that it was. Ben thought it was funny.”

The bartender brought over their second round and Eddie was already feeling that lightheaded buzzed feeling that spread warmth through his limbs. He hadn’t set out to get drunk, but now here he was, one beer and two shots in and feeling like he could keep going if it let him loosen up around Richie. He wanted to badly to go back to that feeling they used to have and if liquid encouragement was needed, so be it!

“Ok, what about Stan pissing himself in the middle of the pep rally? We all know that he dropped his water on his lap.” Eddie said with a smile.

“It’s funnier if I say he pissed himself.”

“And your first love? Who the fuck is that? You never showed real interest in anyone.”

“Totally made up.” Richie said, putting the bottle to his lips and taking a long drink. He wasn’t looking at Eddie and that made him think he was lying. He wondered who it really was but decided not to press him any further.

They continued to drink and talk, loosening up further as they became more intoxicated. They joked about old times and Richie suggested calling up the other Losers to convince them to come to Derry to see them. They could go for a late-night swim at the quarry like they used to and sleep on one of their floors all huddled together under blankets and sleeping bags. Their parents couldn’t tell them that Bev couldn’t come anymore. They wouldn’t have to sneak her in through the window for once. Richie sent her a text explaining their great plan, but they didn’t receive a response. She was probably sleeping, something they both should have been doing as well.

They closed out the bar, Richie picking up their tab. They entered into the cold night air once more, this time together. Richie draped his arm around Eddie’s shoulders while they walked. It was warm and comfortable, and Eddie forgot about everything he’d been worried about. All he could think about now was the feel of Richie’s fingers tightening on his shoulder. It wasn’t until they were a block away from Eddie’s house that he realized he couldn’t go home.

“Shit, my mom is going to kill me.” He laughed, stopping in his tracks.

“Why? Did you break curfew?” Richie asked with a grin.

“She’s never seen me drunk.”

“So what? You’re a legal adult.”

“Have you met my mother? She’ll definitely wake up when she hears me come in and she will give me shit for the next three weeks if she sees me this shit faced.”

“I guess you’re coming home with me then.”

“What? No. I can’t.”

“You gonna sleep on the lawn? Cause I think that will get you in more trouble.”

“Shit.” Eddie thought for a second. “Still got the couch in your basement?”

“Yep.”

Without another word, the two turned at the next corner and headed to Richie’s house instead. The last time Eddie had been there he’d only seen the outside. Walking inside was almost like stepping into the past. It weirdly still smelled the way he remembered and nothing much had changed. They’d replaced the couch in the living room and the TV was bigger, but everything else was the same. The same pictures hanging on the walls, the same wallpaper and carpet, the same kitchen with the same table and chairs. If Eddie closed his eyes, he could pretend he was sixteen and hanging out at Richie’s after sneaking out of his house.

Eddie followed Richie down into the basement and the nostalgia hit him even harder. So many weekend nights spread out on that floor with their friends, reading comics and watching movies on the shitty box TV with the attached VCR. The time Bill broke his finger messing with Wentworth’s weights in the corner. The old bookshelf full of old dusty novels that hadn’t been touched in ages. The old computer against the wall, that had been replaced by a newer model finally. He remembered the first time Richie had convinced him and the other boys to look up pictures of breasts on that computer when they were twelve. Eddie had thought it was gross and at the time he didn’t understand why. Now he did.

When he turned back from examining the things that were the same and different, he saw Richie setting a blanket and pillow out on the old plaid couch. His cheeks were flushed from a combination of the walk in the cold air and the alcohol. He plopped down on the cushion, which creaked in protest, and patted the spot next to him. Eddie joined him, enjoying the feel of Richie’s arm stretched out behind his head. They’d shared many talks spread out on that couch together. Heart to hearts between two best friends that felt so long ago.

“I lied.” Richie said, tilting his head back and closing his eyes.

“About what?” Eddie smiled. “The cat on the skateboard you said you saw going down the street on its own?”

“No. That definitely happened. I mean about my first love.”

“Oh.” His smile fell away and his gut twisted sickeningly. Maybe he’d had too much to drink, or maybe he just wasn’t prepared to hear who had stolen Richie’s heart. “Who was it then?”

“One of the Losers.”

Eddie felt like he could double over in pain from the stab that just landed in his heart. That was worse than some random classmate.

“Beverly?” He was sure all the other guys had had a crush on her at some point. He was sure he had a crush on her before he realized he was 100% gay.

“Nope.”

If he’d said yes, that would have been easier. Richie still liked girls and somehow losing to a girl was easier than to another guy. Especially one of their best friends. What if he still had feelings for him? At one point Eddie had a small thing for Bill and his heart had skipped a beat whenever Mike would easily lift him up as if he weighed no more than a feather. Stan and Ben were the only ones he’d never really felt an attraction to. Not that they weren’t both good looking in their own right.

“Bill?”

Richie smiled. “No not Bill.”

“Mike?”

“No.”

“Ben.”

“Ben’s hot as hell. But no.”

“Then Stan.”

Eddie could feel the vibrations from Richie’s laughter through the couch. “Stan would kick my ass if I said he was my first love.”

“So, it was him.”

Richie finally lifted his head and opened his eyes, looking at Eddie. Despite his best efforts, Eddie couldn’t help looking back at him. His heart was racing and breaking all in the same breath and it was painful.

“It wasn’t Stan.”

Eddie ran through their friends one more time in his head and he was sure he’d been through them all. The only one left was Eddie, unless Richie was going to say he was in love with his own reflection. Which was a possible joke he’d make but Eddie prayed he wouldn’t. He had too many emotions rushing through him at once and he was too drunk to deal with something like that right now.

“Me?” Eddie was breathless and wasn’t sure if Richie had even heard him. But he did and instead of responding, he leaned forward and kissed Eddie. It was soft and chaste, making Eddie’s lips tingle. It was over so fast, he wondered if he had made contact at all.

“It’s always been you, Eds. I thought you hated me for so long after I left. I wanted to bring you with me so badly. Letting you go was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

Eddie heard the tremble in Richie’s voice before he saw the tears in the corners of his eyes. Instinctively, Eddie reached out and cupped Richie’s face between his hands, swiping at the tears with his thumbs as they fell. Not giving in and touching him had been so hard, but now there he was with his hands on his face and wanting nothing more than to crush their lips together. So, he did. He was drunk and in love and overwhelmed and he just needed Richie so badly. Part of him worried this was another dream, but when Richie grabbed his ass and pulled him into his lap, he knew it was real. His dreams never felt like this.

Straddling Richie’s lap, he parted his lips and traced patterns on the inside of Richie’s mouth. He tasted different than he’d expected. Not the beer or the Jamison or the pretzels they’d eaten at the bar, just completely Richie. His hands were in his hair while Richie’s hands were on his hips, pulling him close with every grind down against him. Years of want and need were coming to fruition and neither could stop themselves as they moaned against the others’ lips. Richie reached for the zipper of Eddie’s hoodie as he pulled it down, pushing the sleeves down his arms and letting it fall to the floor. His hand traveled to Eddie’s jeans next, hesitating over the button.

“Can I?” Richie asked, briefly breaking the kiss.

“Yes.” Eddie’s response was breathy as he dove back in to devour Richie’s mouth.

Richie made quick work of the button and zipper and Eddie all but whined when his hand slid beneath the fabric of his jeans and boxers. He bucked his hips against his hand as his cool fingers wrapped around his semi-hard dick. His hand was dry, but Eddie didn’t care because it was Richie and he was far too gone for it to feel uncomfortable. Richie left his lips to trail kisses down his jawline to his neck. Eddie tilted his head back, allowing for better access.

“Fuck! Richie…” Eddie groaned when Richie nipped at the tender flesh of his neck. “You too. Can I touch you?”

Richie nodded against his throat, lapping over the hurt he’d left behind with his teeth. Eddie fumbled with shaky fingers to unzip Richie’s pants to get his hands on him. Richie moaned against his skin as he wrapped his fingers around him. He was bigger than he’d been expecting. The thought of it being inside him made a shiver ripple throughout his body, but he’d have to wait for a later date to experience that. Eddie lost himself in the feel of Richie’s hot fingers, his lips and teeth and tongue peppering his neck in markings he was too gone to care about right now, his own hands working quick to get Richie off. To drag more of those growls from Richie’s throat that made him weak.

He felt the tension building in his gut, his toes curling against the couch cushion as Richie brought him closer to the edge. Richie bit hard just above his collar bone and that was it for him as he spilled into Richie’s waiting hands with a string of his name and curses and on his lips. Richie didn’t stop until he started to come down, chasing his orgasm to the end. Eddie’s hand had momentarily stopped when he came, but as he slowly came back to earth, he began to pump again. Richie buried his face into the crook of Eddie’s neck, a strangled “fuck” falling from his lips.

“God, Chee I’ve dreamt of this for so long. Touching you, coming apart in your hands. Tell me you feel good too.” He whispered into his ear, planting a kiss against his temple.

Richie’s jaw was clenched tight, his clean hand squeezing Eddie’s thigh hard enough to hurt. “Eddie…Eds…I fucking love you.” Richie seemed incoherent, lost in the pleasure. A second later he was moaning from deep in his throat as he tensed against Eddie.

The room fell silent, save for their joint heavy breathing as they both came down from the high. Richie held Eddie close to him, afraid he might run if he let him go. But Eddie didn’t want to run. Just the opposite. He never wanted to leave. He wanted to stay in this moment of bliss with Richie until the end of time. He didn’t care that their hands, and probably pants, were a mess. He didn’t want to move. As long as they sat there in that moment, everything was ok.

[mobius-prime]

166. Sonic the Hedgehog #98

Sonic Adventure 2

Writer: Karl Bollers Pencils: Patrick "Spaz" Spaziante Colors: Patrick Spaziante and Nelson Ribeiro

Welcome to Sonic Adventure 2, everyone! Now, you would be excused for thinking that the comic would want to handle such a highly anticipated and ultimately successful game in the same manner as it did the first one, but you would be wrong! I'm going to spoil it for you right now - we only get part of the story in the comics. This one issue used to cover the entirety of the game, and as we'll see this presents some serious problems. But let's dive in, I'll save my rants for after we go over everything.

So our story doesn't actually begin where the previous issue left off. Instead, it begins three months ago, right on the tail end of the previous Sonic Adventure, in fact. The comics never really did address exactly what happened to Eggman in between being chased out of Station Square by Silver Sonic, and returning to Robotropolis. Well, as it turns out, he ended up being chased, somehow, all the way to one Prison Island, where Silver Sonic cornered him and blasted the ground out from under him, causing him to fall down a dark hole. Satisfied that it had killed him, Silver Sonic returned to Station Square to resume its defensive protocol there, but in actuality he had fallen into a secret lab with something very interesting hidden inside…

Now fast forward to a mere week ago. In the dead of night within Station Square, a mysterious figure broke into a top-security vault to steal the city's last remaining Chaos Emerald. Silver Sonic tried to prevent the theft, but…

News of the theft soon reached the desk of the city's president, who mistook the figure as the hero who had defended Station Square from Chaos mere months ago, because apparently in every Sonic canon, no one can ever tell Sonic and Shadow apart, not even Sonic's best goddamn friends. Seriously, at least in the anime it's explained as being a deliberate set-up by GUN to cover their own asses regarding the Project Shadow disaster years ago. I know I've joked before about Sonic being an extremely average-looking Mobian hedgehog which is why he's so easily mistaken for other people, but seriously, Shadow and Sonic's profiles and quill style don't even look alike, let alone their fur color.

That is a very bizarre-looking Rouge. For whatever reason, they decided to draw her a lot in this era with like… claw hands, and I don't even understand where they got that from. In the game itself one of her upgrades is called "Pick Nails" and I guess you could extrapolate that to mean razor-sharp nails under her gloves that don't show up on her low-poly 3D model or something, but all her 2D art depicts her with normal-looking rounded fingertips, so I don't even know. Anyway, the comic goes on about how the president put together an elite task force to track Sonic down and arrest him for his supposed crimes, and now they've finally found him just outside Knothole. Man, if some randos from Station Square could find where Knothole was, how the hell has Eggman not figured it out yet? They pull out actual, deadly rifles and start firing wildly at him, and he dances around cheekily, stealing their guns and taunting them. This ends when they shoot an electrified net onto him, and soon he's handcuffed in the back of their helicopter, being taken to the hidden city. Of course, we know how this goes from here - he breaks free inside the 'copter and bursts out its side, peeling off a strip of metal to use as his makeshift skateboard, because even though this isn't the 90s anymore, it's still the 90s.

We're then treated to a short montage of Spaz's interpretation of City Escape - landing on the streets, surfing down sloped roads, soaping on walkway rails and leaping over any obstacles in his way. Honestly, the action is a bit hard to follow - Spaz is certainly a talented artist in many respects, but I think his decision here to move on from his somewhat simpler designs from before hurts rather than helps, as the action and lines become so chaotic that you have to really concentrate to follow what's going on. There's just a bit too much happening, so that your eyes are drawn all over the place without really focusing on a specific focal point of each image. But anyway, we all know how City Escape ends - with the iconic GUN truck chase!

And that's… it! No, seriously, that's all we get for the actual story of SA2. The final text box invites us to play the game itself to see how it all ends, but there's a number of problems with that, the foremost being that the game takes place in an entirely different canon. We've got completely different circumstances that led up to these events. We've got characters missing - Tails still hasn't been returned to Knothole yet, Knuckles is off somewhere else struggling with his newfound powers, and humans aren't even the dominant species on the planet like they are in the game. This would leave any comic fan with a bitter taste in their mouth, as there's no actual resolution provided and no explanation for how the story will play out with so many of the original players out of commission. Many issues from now, Ian Flynn actually addressed this exact problem and gave a condensed version of events to explain exactly what we're missing, so at least we have that to look forward to in the future. There is one more story after this, and I have additional problems with that one, but let's cover the rest of the issue before I give my final opinions.

As the Shadow Awakes!

Writer: Ken Penders Pencils: Ron Lim Colors: Frank Gagliardo

So this story actually jumps us back fifty years to see Shadow's beginnings. Professor Gerald, Eggman's grandfather on his mother's side, has been working for a long time on his latest project, which he hopes will see the end of disease and untimely death and even be able to cure his granddaughter Maria's unspecified terminal illness. This project is, of course, Shadow the Hedgehog, who, as an excited and astonished Gerald watches, begins to move inside his pod. The inexplicably-brunette Maria suddenly calls him at his lab, telling him that she can see a military spaceship flying toward the ARK, their space station, and Gerald, in a panic, orders her to come to him. He knows that the military is here to take possession of his project, and believing them to be too simple-minded to understand his intentions for the project, wants to evacuate immediately. He's immediately proven right, as the military men who board the station scoff at the idea that an "old scientist and his crippled granddaughter" could pose any trouble to them as they intend to take the professor's project by force. Gerald sends Maria and Shadow, the latter now out of his pod, to evacuate in an escape pod, but of course, we know how this ends…

I think this is the only Sonic media I can think of that actually directly shows Maria dying. In both the game and the anime, the shot happens offscreen, and Shadow is ejected before Maria actually takes her last breath. I do have a problem with how the scene is portrayed here, however, as a big conflict that Shadow goes through during SA2 is his vast misinterpretation of her last request to him, whereas here she seems to just die immediately without saying another word. The military takes Gerald into custody, and shortly thereafter recovers Shadow from the escape pod, taking them both to Prison Island where they force Gerald to continue his work under their supervision. Gerald, however, is devastated at Maria's death, and thus plans out his revenge in secret under the guise of continuing his work as demanded.

The military eventually caught on to his nefarious plans, and had Gerald executed and Shadow sealed away in suspended animation on Prison Island, where it remained undisturbed and forgotten for the next fifty years. Of course, this is what Eggman found on the island, and now he's poised to use his grandfather's own work to conquer the world. My biggest problem with this story, ultimately, is that it essentially acts as one huge spoiler for the game. Everyone now, almost twenty years on, probably knows the general gist of the story, but this comic was published when it was still very new, and this entire story basically spoils the biggest twist in the game right off the bat. Furthermore, in this story, Shadow literally wakes up, goes straight to the pod, watches Maria - who he knows nothing about - die, and then gets sealed away in his stasis pod for fifty years. There's literally no time for him to even develop a personality, let alone a relationship with Maria, which is the single most important thing in his backstory. I believe this was later retconned, but this is still a huge thing to overlook in an adaption of this game.

But anyway, yeah, that's it. That's all we get for the time being. A few brief glimpses of Shadow, and one whole cameo from Rouge. It will be a while yet before Shadow gets to make his reappearance, since like in the game, at the end of their adventure he falls from space and is subsequently believed to be dead. Honestly, the entire thing kind of gives off the impression that they felt like they had to make some kind of comic tie-in to the game, but didn't feel like interrupting what they already had going with the whole "Sonic goes to high school" thing, which is clearly far more interesting of a story. So they basically went "yeah, something like this happened, but now let's just get back to the real story." It's honestly very weird, so weird that, again, they needed a later fix-it issue to explain everything, but for now, we'll just have to move on.

[elementalwriter67]

The Death of Penguin

Pairings: Best friend Jason x Reader, Best friend Roy x reader

Word count: 3019

Summary: Jason has just killed the Penguin on live TV and you and Roy rush to help me knowing that a certain Bat isn’t going to be too happy about what just happened and fearing for the life of your friend. 

You dropped the coffee cup that you had been holding your mind racing a mile a minute as you tried to process what you had just seen on TV uncaring of the fact that you were currently being scalded by fresh coffee. Your mouth was hanging open and your hand was still hanging in the air as you stared at the TV that had cut away to a news report, you couldn’t believe what you had just seen. Your best friend, the man you had known pretty much your entire life, had just shot the Penguin at point blank range on live television in all of Gotham. Jason Todd had just killed the Penguin on live TV after he had promised that he wouldn’t kill anyone. You stood there for a few moments still staring at the TV not even listening to what the newscasters were saying before your brain finally caught up to what was happening and you jumped into action pulling your phone out of your pocket as you raced to your bedroom.

“Come on, come on, come on, come on pick up, pick up you son of a bitch pick the fuck up.” You muttered as you rushed about your room gathering your gear and hurriedly pulling it on as you listened to the annoying ringing of the phone desperately waiting for the person you were calling to pick up.

“Hey! This is Roy Harper speaking how may I help you?” Roy’s voice came over the speaker you hadn’t felt so relieved in a while as you pulled on your body armor.

“Roy! Thank god. It’s (Y/N) how quickly can you get to Gotham?” You asked him as you fell on to your bed pulling on your shoes.

“Depends what’s going on?” He asked but you could hear him getting ready on his end, you weren’t one to call and immediately ask if he could get here without there being a good reason.

“It’s Jason he just shot the Penguin on live TV, so I need you here like yesterday.” You informed him and there was a beat of silence and for a second you almost thought that Roy may have hung up on but he spoke up before you could say anything.

“I’ll be there in a hot minute, any idea on where he could be?” Roy asked and you shook your head as you pulled on your own helmet switching your phone call to the one in your helmet.

“No idea he hightailed it off the scene but Jason going awol isn’t my biggest concern it’s Batman that’s my concern.” You said as you grabbed the rest of your gear and then climbed out of the window of your bedroom and out onto the fire escape.

“Shit you’re right, ok, alright, how far away are you from where it happened?” Roy asked as you climbed up onto the railing of the fire escape and dropped down to the ground below rolling on impact and coming to the stop beside your motorcycle.

“I’m on the other side of the city, but I’m heading out now to find him how quickly can you be here?” You asked him as you hoped on your bike, starting her up and peeling out of the alleyway without a second thought.

“A minute maybe three, I’m leaving now add on some time to find Jason but I’ll be as quick as I can,” Roy responded and you nodded as you raced down the streets of Gotham weaving in and out of traffic as you went ignoring the angry honkings of other people.

“Ok, just get here as quickly as you can, we have to find Jason before Bats does.” You told him.

“Got it, be there soon,” Roy responded before the line went dead.

“Call Alfred Pennyworth.” You stated as you took a sharp turn kicking your leg out and dragging your foot across the ground to stabilize you as you took the turn. In the corner of your eye, you watched as Alfred’s little profile pic popped up followed by a calling icon for a couple of seconds before focusing on the road again and pushing the bike to go faster. The phone rang a couple of times before Alfred finally picked up the phone just as you zipped around another corner speeding towards the last place that the cops had seen Jason.

“Alfred please tell me that Bruce saw none of that.” You begged him and there was a moment of silence before he sighed and you already see the look on his face.

“I’m sorry miss (Y/L/N) but he’s already left to deal with master Jason as he put it,” Alfred responded and he didn’t sound happy about what was going on either.

“Fuck! God damn it! For once in his life could he not be a fucking stalker.” You cursed as you pushed the bike to go faster hitting the nitro button because now this was a race against the clock, if you didn’t get to Jason before Bruce did then there was no telling what Bruce would do to him.

“(Y/N).” Alfred’s tone was heavy and serious pulling you out of your panic thoughts and back to the current call you were on.

“Make sure that Jason is ok, while I do not approve of what he did he has never been one to kill just because he can so you make sure that Jason is ok and. You give Bruce hell.” Alfred’s voice was filled with determination and a part of you was relieved that Alfred didn’t hate Jason because of what he did, a fact that you knew Jason would need later.

“I’ll do my best.” You stated before hanging up the call and sighing heavily as you burst out on to one of the main roads only to come to a screeching halt as you looked up at the sky above you in complete and utter disbelief.  There was a building the size of a city block was currently falling from the sky. You blinked a couple of times as you continued to stare at the building your first instinct said to find a way to stop the building from crashing into the city, but you were coming up blank as you stared at the building. How the hell were you supposed to handle this and find Jason at the same time? A crashing spaceship maybe you could have managed that, a crashing plane you definitely could have handled but a crashing flying building as big as a city block fuck that the city was screwed. You’d need the justice league to handle that and there was no way you were calling the justice league lord knew what they would do with Jason when they found out what he did.

“Can this night get any better? I mean can it?” You muttered to yourself as you drove into an alleyway. Cutting the engine you jumped off the bike and grappled up onto the nearest building getting a better look at the building which was still very much falling.

“Please tell me you see the falling building too?” You looked over at Roy as he landed next to you staring up at the sky just as dumbfounded as you.

“Yes, I see the building too.” You responded and he nodded.

“Ok good, where’s Jason?” Roy asked moving on from the building accepting what was going on and how the two of you couldn’t stop it as he looked around the area trying to see if he could spot Jason anywhere. You, however, looked up at the falling building your stomach sinking as you remembered a conversation you’d had with Jason about how cool his new super secret hideout was and how no one would find it.

“How much do you want to bet that he’s up there.” You said pointing up at the building and Roy looked up at the building sighing heavily as he dragged a hand down his face.

“So first he shoots Penguin in the face and then he’s in a flying, crashing, building the size of a city block? Do you ever wonder what we did with our lives that made them so boring in comparison to his?” Roy asked and you shrugged.

“I don’t need to wonder I know, we didn’t die when we were sixteen.” You responded and Roy chuckled as he notched an arrow and aimed up at the burning building while you raised your grappling hook.

“Damn us and our inability to get kidnapped by the Joker when we were sixteen.” Roy joked and you smirked barely hiding your own chuckle as you shifted your finger to the trigger and prepared to fire at the building.

“Yeah damn us.” The two of you were about to fire at the building when suddenly the entire building exploded right before their eyes.

“Jason!” You and Roy shouted in unison as the two of you stared at the explosion in abject horror. You dropped your hands to your sides the grapple hook dangling loosely from your fingers as you stared at the falling remnants of the building, that was when you noticed there was something that didn’t look anything like falling debris. Blinking you reached up and pressed a button on the side of your helmet your vision zooming in on the falling object to see that it was Jason who crash-landed on a roof a few buildings away.

“Roy! Over there! You shouted dropping your hand from the side of your helmet to instead grab ahold of Roy’s arm and pull him towards the edge of the roof.

“Woah? What? What’s going on now?” Roy asked watching as you raced forward without any hesitation jumping off the roof and onto the next roof rolling on impact because of the significant drop in height.

“Jason’s alive and he landed on that roof not too far away! Follow me!” You shouted back as you jumped and grappled on to the next roof. Roy’s eyes widened but he didn’t question you as he chased after you, the two of you running and jumping over the rooftops only to come to an abrupt stop as you saw Jason and Bruce fighting on the next rooftop. Well, fighting wasn’t exactly the word you would use for it, it was more like Bruce was currently using Jason as a punching bag. Gasping you took a step back when you saw that not only was Bruce using Jason as a punching bag but he had also been hitting Jason so hard that he shattered Jason’s helmet.

“Oh, my gods.” You breathed out as you watched Bruce punch Jason so hard in the face that he went flying backward landing several feet away from Bruce.

“He’s beating the shit out of Jason, we have to do something now before he beats him to death,” Roy stated as his grip on his bow tightened and he glared at Bruce.

“I know, but what the hell are we going to do? There’s no god damn way we’ll be able to take on Bruce by ourselves we’re not strong enough to do that.” You responded as you watched as Bruce ripped Jason’s symbol off of his chest and tossed it to the side. You clenched your jaw as you put your grapple hook away, your hands twitching to grab your guns and shoot at Bruce.

“Then we don’t fight Bruce, we distract him enough to get Jason out of there and then we go somewhere safe,” Roy stated and you nodded watching as Bruce started dragging Jason across the roof by his broken helmet anger raging inside of you at the sight of that.

“I’ve got a safe house not to far away from here that Bruce doesn’t know about we can go there and make sure Jason isn’t dying before we get out of the city. You know what to do?” You asked him as you stepped up to the edge of the building and Roy nodded as he pulled an arrow out of his quiver and aimed it at Bruce.

“The old shoot and gas got it,” Roy said. You nodded in silent agreement as you pulled your guns out of your holsters and you waited until Roy had moved to another roof not too far away before speaking up. Once Roy was on the other roof you jumped down onto the one that Bruce and Jason were on.

“Hey, Batass!” You shouted as you raised your gun and fired at Bruce, nothing that would kill him but it was enough to get him to drop Jason in order to dodge your bullets. You winced at the sound Jason’s head made when it smacked against the roof but you didn’t take your eyes off of Bruce your guns still raised and pointed at him.

“(Y/H/N) what do you think you’re doing?” Bruce asked his hands balling into fists as he glared at you taking a step towards you. The anger that was radiating off of him sent chills down your spine and had the hair on the back of your neck standing up. You had never seen Bruce this angry before and if you were being honest it was starting to scare you and you forced yourself to stay where you were your eyes never leaving Bruce.

“Stopping you from continuing to beat the shit out of Jason what does it look like?” You asked him your voice firm and aim steady as you stared at him waiting to see if he would attack you like he’d attacked Jason.

“Stand down (Y/H/N),” Bruce said after a minute of silence and you shifted your grip on your guns slightly as you also shifted your stance, there was no way that you were getting out of this without a fight.

“I’ll stand down when you leave Jason alone and walk the hell away from us right now.” You stated your words dripping with firm anger as you continued to glare at him. There was no way that you were going to let Bruce keep doing what he was doing.

“You know I can’t do that, he killed Penguin he deserves to be punished,” Bruce stated and you couldn’t believe what you were hearing. You got being upset with Jason about killing Penguin, you got being pissed off about the fact that this is the second Bat to kill a villain under his watch, but what you didn’t get was how he thought that Jason deserves this. Deserves to be beaten until he was barely conscious and looked like he was about to die any second now.

“He deserves this? He deserves to be treated like your own personal punching bag? He deserves to be beaten to near death? He deserves to be treated like he’s nothing more than another one of your goons?! HE DESERVES THIS?!!! Do you even hear yourself?!! How does he deserve this?! How does he deserve to be treated like your personal punching bag?! How does he deserve any of this?! All he did was kill penguin! How is this any different from what Batwoman did to Clayface?!” You shouted at him doing an amazing job at keeping your hands still because all you wanted to do right now was slap him silly with the butts of your guns.

“This is completely different from what Batwoman did!” Bruce shouted back and you shook your head in exasperation as you stared at him like he’d grown a second head.

“How is this different from Batwoman?! Because he did it in front of all of Gotham?! Because you can’t sweep this under your all magical Batman rug and hide it from the eyes of the public?! Because he killed another one of your little play dates?! This isn’t any different from what Batwoman did! They both killed one of your little play dates the only reason you're more pissed off at Jason is because this is the second one of your little cronies to go off the deep end and kill someone! Face it! You’re just pissed off about the fact that you can’t control them anymore! That they’re not your good little soldiers like you want them to be! BECAUSE ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS YOUR STUPID LITTLE REPUTATION AS THE SUPPOSED PROTECTOR OF GOTHAM!!!” You shouted and that little jab seemed to be the final straw as Bruce lunged at you.

“Roy! Now!” You shouted as you jumped away from Bruce narrowly missing his hands as he tried to grab you. You rolled away from him landing next to Jason and Bruce spun around to attack you again but before he could Roy fired his arrow and it landed directly next to Bruce. The sudden appearance of the arrow caused Bruce to pause for a fraction of a second, but it was long enough for the bright pink smoke in the tip of the arrow in one giant puff of smoke. You were quick to grab ahold of Jason’s body pulling him away from the smoke that was quickly enveloping the area as Roy landed next to you and helped you pick Jason up off the roof.

“(Y/N)... Roy?” Jason groaned out as he leaned heavily into the two of you.

“It’s ok buddy we’ve got you,” Roy said as he placed a hand on Jason’s chest stabilizing him slightly and making sure that he didn’t fall over.

“Come on Roy we’ve got to get him out of here before it’s too late.” You muttered to him and Roy nodded. The two of you hauled Jason towards the edge of the building and got him down to the ground and into the nearest car before speeding away from the building and to one of your safehouses as fast as possible. All before the smoke even cleared leaving Bruce standing there alone on the rooftop more pissed off than he had been before but for now the three of you were safe.

[avengers-nextgen]

The Year Between VII

Traveling was always hard. One would finally settle in one place only to move on, and while it allowed avenues for exploring-it grew tiring. At first, Piper was more than happy with the arrangements. Nice plane, nice food, nice people, and of course the recognition wasn’t bad.

She was finally having her work acknowledged rather than doing school projects or keeping things locked up in the lab. The papers were more than happy to scoop up the information, but with the glory came the tiring work.

Meetings did little to hold her attention, and it was a good thing Gen was with her through it all because she actually remembered what the hell was going on. Half the time Piper just asked for the run down version from her friend and found it was much more entertaining.

During one particular meeting, Piper had busied herself with a rubic’s cube. She knew the formula, and she knew how to solve it, but it was hilarious watching everyone else try to focus. When she grew bored of that she began to play with the pens. It was moments like that, that reminded everyone how young Piper really was.

She was charismatic on stage for presentations, adept at press conferences, and charming during interviews. Still, there was something lacking. It’d have been much more of a success had she been able to celebrate it with her family.

Piper checked up on them from time to time, she called her parents every night, and she found Enzo’s emails funny enough to indulge in them. But away from the cameras or the media Piper was just tired. She lounged around in pajamas all day, didn’t bother doing much of anything really, and had way too many naps.

Currently, Piper was laying upside down on the couch with her legs propped up on the back and her hair sprawling into the floor.

“Channeling your inner bat,” Gen remarked as she tossed one of Piper’s shoes at their owner, “you left this one in the bathroom.”

“Oh darn, I always forget something after showering.” Piper sighed and regarded the shoe now resting next to her head. “Stupid shoe.”

“It’s just a lost sole.” The pun was horrible but it was enough to make Piper laugh.

“So, what’s the upcoming schedule?” Piper frowned. “How bad is it?”

“Actually, you’re in luck. I just got off the phone and as it turns out-they already have someone for the job.”

“How is that lucky?” Piper snorted. “I was replaced.”

“It’s lucky because you have two days to yourself before we fly out to Texas. So you can stop moping and live a little.” Gen plopped down onto the couch next to Piper and whacked her on the stomach. Groaning, Piper rolled onto the floor before sitting up. Her hair was a mess, her face was bright red, and her expression of betrayal looked ridiculous.

“I don’t mope,” Piper insisted. “I think.”

“If that’s what you want to call it. Point is, the vibrant Piper Stark has become a gloomy little couch potato and it sucks ass.” Gen held up her hands as if what she’d said wasn’t her own words. “You gotta get out of this funk.”

“There’s nothing too do. Literally, the rules were that I stayed in this hotel so I don’t get taken or kidnapped or robbed or some crazy shit.” Piper spluttered trying to blow a strand of hair out of her face. “I am not going to find fun like Cinderella did and clean this place.”

“You’re so dramatic it’s ridiculous.” Gen gave her friend a mocking look of pity. “You have a big brain. Use it. What can you do in this big old penthouse? I can think of exactly thirty two and a half ideas.”

Piper sighed and contemplated Gen’s words seriously for a moment. “Well, Alex and I would sometimes wear socks and do a dance party. Some of the others would join in. One time James fell on his face and got a bloody nose! It was the funniest thing I’d ever seen. One moment he was jamming out to Journey and the next he was crying.”

“You were a cynical child.”

“I was...still am actually.” Piper winked. “Shoes off.”

“On it already.” Gen promised as she kicked off her shoes.

“What music are we going with?” Piper asked walking over to the speaker system equipped with ‘The world’s best surround sound!’.

“Anything you want. I honestly don’t care-actually that’s not true-I hate country music. Don’t play that.” Piper nodded and flicked through the channels in search of a song she actually liked, and hadn’t heard a trillion times.

“Bingo.” Piper pumped her fist in excitement. “Nothing like that dramatic Celine Dione for Titanic. Dumbest movie I’ve ever seen. Get ready for the best acting of the century.” Piper’s eyes lit up with a mischievous look.

— — —

And that was what started it all. The two recreated the most iconic movie scenes of the century. From Piper laying on the coffee table yelling ‘I’ll never let go Jack!’ to Gen impersonating Robin Williams in Jumanji.

“This was the best idea I’ve ever had!” Piper wheezed as Gen held up a sock.

“I’m a free elf!”

“You’re welcome you elven turd!” Piper threw another sock at the girl.

“That’s not in the movie!” Gen scolded, playfully whacking Piper with a pillow.

After completing all of the Harry Potter cinematic moments worth caring about Piper concluded the mess with the classic: Footloose.

“Kevin Bacon is in everything,” Gen remarked.

“That’s because everyone loves bacon. So, you put bacon on everything and in everything.” Piper’s logic was extremely hard to argue with. She was certain Thalia would’ve agreed with her whether she knew Kevin Bacon was an actual person or not. “Bottom line...I’m tired.”

“Already?”

“What do you mean already? We’ve done at least twenty movies! I do not have the stamina of Orion or Alex or James or-to be honest-anyone really.” Piper admitted. She’d never really thought about it but she was the most out of shape in the group. “Holy shit I have to work out more.”

“You are one character Piper, that’s for sure.” Gen laughed, resting her hands on her hips and shaking her head.

“So I’ve been told.”

“But you really miss your family don’t you?”

“Yeah,” Piper nodded, “don’t you miss yours?”

“Eh,” Gen shrugged.

“What’s that mean?” People frowned, finally straightening from her bent over position.

“Nothing, just that my parents love their work more than me.” Gen shrugged. “Why else would I be all over the country?”

“Because they let you?”

“Nah, gives them the lab to themselves. For people who always wanted a science daughter they kind of regretted it. You’re pretty lucky with your dad and all.” Gen smiled happily. “He’s really cool. You guys share pretty much everything.”

“Well, yeah...he’s my dad. He’s supposed to-“ Piper didn’t finish what she was going to say. “Do they not even talk about normal stuff?”

“Nope.” Gen shook her head as if it were a normal thing for parents to do. “Just work stuff. They get bored when I talk about school. Or personal stuff...really just anything they don’t find interesting.”

“That sucks,” Piper breathed, “I’m sorry.”

“Eh, don’t be. My counselor’s taught me some stuff. She’s really cool. And that’s why I’m so chill all the time. No use in getting worked up over everything you know?” For someone who was Piper’s best friend, Piper was surprised she didn’t know this aspect of the other girl’s life. “This was fun though. Definitely going to do this again if you’re down for it.”

“Uh, yeah...” Piper nodded, “yeah I wouldn’t mind. It was fun.”

— — —

Then everything went completely off the rails. Piper woke up at three in the morning still tired, and completely panicking. She remembered everything that had happened and it hit her like a truck. “I am exactly like my father.”

One night stands seemed to run in the family as it turned out. Piper concluded that it was all probably Alex’s fault. She spent too much time with the squishy hearted girl and it had led to this. This feeling of sadness for a friend that turns into one hell of an evening.

The conversation the previous night hadn’t ended as briefly as either wanted. They’d spent some time talking about deep rooted childhood issues. Where one moment Gen was talking about her eighth birthday and the next they were kissing. Sure, it was foggy in Piper’s memory, but she coldly grassland why she hadn’t stopped. She could have. But she didn’t. Now, her clothes were in a chaotic halo on the floor and she was very aware of the chill in the air.

Shortly after recollecting the events, Piper’s first instinct was to yell and probably cry. Then she contemplated calling her parents. Her dad wasn’t an option, he would probably just congratulate her. That was not the needed response at the moment. Her mom would just freak out so that wasn’t an option either. Piper ended up calling the very person she was trying to despise: Alex.

“Piper? It’s like one in the morning here. What’s the issue. Please tell me you didn’t drink ten cups of coffee again?” Alex sounded half asleep and dead to the world.

“This is a bit worse than ten cups of coffee.”

“Okay, I’m listening now.” That seemed to wake Alex up.

Once the conversation was over Piper was too tired to even think. She decided the best course of action was just to go back to sleep, and sort it all out in the morning. That was almost a worse idea because Piper found out she didn’t quite mind what had happened, and frankly-she was fucking confused!

[miene-blaubeere]

Love Through Quidditch

James' POV: I had never been more excited, Dad had got us tickets to see Puddlemere United play Ballycastle Bats in the Quidditch League Final at the Quidditch Trillenium Stadium! As I got off the Hogwarts Express after a long year I met with my mum and dad and that's when he told me, he told me it was because I 'settled down' a bit more this year for OWLs. Joke's on them, I just became sneakier. Over the whole holiday all I could think about was going to the match, I'd get to see Alfred Nimble live in action! He's one of the best Chasers ever, one of my heroes really. The day had finally arrived and my dad and I were walking down to a portkey point to make the journey to the famous stadium. Decorated in my Puddlemere memorabilia and waving about my blue and gold flag I ran up to the portkey, which was an old trainer, and held on to it with my dad kneeling down beside me in his blue and gold scarf. Soon enough the familiar whirling sensation began and we were transported to Dartmoor, I wobbled about on my feet slightly as I normally did but soon became stable again. Turning to my dad, I straightened my glasses and threw him a wide, cheesy smile, which he returned with a chuckle. His arm was around my shoulders as we walked through the swarms of people to keep me close. Blurs of blue and gold merged into black and red as the fans of Puddlemere and Ballycastle mingled, a few of the older fans were already hitting the beer, and it definitely wasn't Butterbeer. Outside the stadium was stands selling team memorabilia and food so dad and I decided to have a look around. The enchanting smell of Pumpkin Pasties filled the air, a miniature of a golden snitch zipped past my face closely followed by yet another miniature but this one was Jeffery Smith, Puddlemere Seeker, with brilliant blue smoke coming from the end of his broom, soon after came Martha Littleworth, Ballycastle Seeker, bellowing black smoke from her broom. I spun around on the spot watching them fly of with a fascinated and awe inspired smile on my face, dad chuckled and pulled me along with him, "c'mon son, it's almost time for the game to start," enough was said and the roles were reversed and it was me pulling my dad along towards the entrance to the stadium. Once we had climbed up to our places in the stadium I instantly scrambled up to the bar to look over at the pitch. The six hoops stood either end of the pitch as they should, the balls were in their chest prepared for the game, my eyes lingered on the gates that were appropriately decorated for the team that was going to be walking out of them in no less that five minutes. Excitement was brimming inside me and I was finding it difficult to contain it all. Four minutes had passed but it felt like four years, I was bouncing forwards and backwards on my feet in anticipation. Out of the corner of my eye I saw someone beside me, they seemed to be bouncing around in anticipation also. I took a quick glance and noticed it was a girl, she was about my age and was also completely covered in blue and gold. A Puddlemere supporter, she obviously had good taste. This girl intrigued me, I can't quite decide what it was about her but I knew I needed to talk to her. As I stood there trying to build up the courage to say something to her the were suddenly cheers coming from every direction, but her cheers seemed to be the loudest to me. I spun around when I felt something zip past me. I leaned over the bar in awe watching the team fly around the stadium on their brooms. After speeding around the stadium the differnent members of the team broke off and flew about in different directions as the crowd began to sing 'Beat Those Bludgers Back Boys, and Chuck That Quaffle Here,'. My heart began to race as Alfred Nimble flew around my level with his hand out, giving people high-fives as he flew past. Quickly, I reached out and my hand came into contact with his and I almost went into full fanboy mode, screeching and squealing. That's when I heard a giggling noise from beside me, I glanced over to see the girl, he eyes quickly diverted back to the Puddlemere players with a small smile ghosting her features. I felt colour flood my cheeks as I realised she had witnessed my little outburst. I looked to see where she was looking and saw the Andrews brothers swirling about in the sky above, waving their Beaters bats in the air. I don't know what encouraged me to do so but I moved across the railing and stood beside her and said, "So, you like Beaters?" She turned her head towards me with a bright smile on her face, " absolutely, best member of any Quidditch team hands down!" She exclaimed enthusiastically. I laughed at this and questioned, " so do you play as a Beater?" to which she replied with, " no, I'm a keeper, obviously," her tone dripped with playful sarcasm. "Okay, okay fair enough," I chuckled, smiles stayed on both of our faces. " Wearing so much blue is so weird and weird to me," I thought aloud, "why's that?" the girl asked, " well, at Hogwarts I'm a Gryffindor so there's an awful lot of red." She nodded in understanding then replied saying, " I live in blue so it isn't so different for me," I was going to reply but the iconic sound of the announcement of the beginning of the match sounded and my attention instantly turned onto the game as did hers. The game flew by, no pun intended. Jeffery Smith had caught the snitch and Puddlemere were ahead 100 points anyway, I was filled with euphoria. As we began to leave the stadium and go home my eyes scanned the crowds trying to look for the girl I had lost in the rabble of people after realising I didn't even get her name. My efforts of finding her had been in vain, little did I know what lied ahead. Sixth year had rolled around, I was back at Hogwarts with my three best friends and everything was going smoothly. School had started a couple of weeks back and the first Quidditch match of the year was happening soon, Gryffindor Vs Ravenclaw. I don't mean to sound big headed when I say this but it should be a fairly easy win. My team and I made our way out onto the pitch in our scarlet robes, the Ravenclaws approaching the centre at the same pace. We met in the middle before going up on our brooms and the balls were soon released. The game started to our advantage, the Quaffle kept going through the hoops ramping up our points, however a Bludger had caught the shoulder of one of our Chasers meaning it was just down to the two remaining of us. It wasn't long after that our keeper had been taken out. Scoring had now been made easy for the Ravenclaws, I was distracted for a moment when I saw one of the Ravenclaw Beaters flying near me, I had to have a double take as I instantly recognised her as the girl from the Puddlemere Vs Ballycastle match. Her H/C hair secured back to keep it from distracting her and obscuring her vision, her S/C skin glowed in the early autumnal sunlight. As I found myself trapped in some kind of trance I suddenly heard her familiar shout, "Look out!" Before I knew it I felt the wind rushing past me as plummeted to the ground below. My body braced itself for impacted but I felt my mind drift off before I could even feel anything. My eyes opened briefly, I felt stationary as far as I could tell. The last thing I remembered was a blur of blue. As my body came back round to consciousness a sharp pain seared through my head causing me to have a sharp intake of breath. My eyelids flickered open once again although this time my vison was much clearer. I took in the scenery I had now grown accustomed to, the hospital wing. Sirius, Remus and Peter suddenly rushed into my view with concerned looks painted on their faces which quickly shifted into looks of relief. "Where is she?" I asked quickly, " Do you mean the Ravenclaw girl?" Remus asked in a confused tone, " yes, where is she?" I asked in an urgent tone. " She's just outside, why?" Peter asked curiously, "I need to talk to her, just go get her for me!" " That's the thanks we get as your friends for sticking around here?! 'Bugger off and get me the girl' insulting," Sirius called in a dramatic tone as he walked towards the doors of the Hospital Wing to get her. After he brought the now shy seeming girl over he linked his arms with Remus and Peter's and dragged them towards the exit. " Come along boys, we'll leave his highness King James to whatever it is he's doing. You know from now on he can just kiss my perfect posterior!" Sirius called over his shoulder, over exaggerating his already dramatic tone. After they had left, before she could say anything I blurted out " will you go  to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?" She had a shocked look on her face, before she replied I continued by saying, " I would really love to get to know you better, I think a good start would be your name, I'm James." " Y/N," she said simply with a small, delicate smile spread across her face, " Ah, a beautiful name for a beautiful girl."

[aleksthememe]

FAKE CHOP FANFIC

some lovely art work by @kurismeow inspired me to write this. I hope you enjoy!!

~~~

WC: 2,124

Summary: “Have you seen Aleks?”  “No, I thought he was with you.”

As the sun slowly sank into the Pacific Ocean, Brett leaned against the balcony railings of his pent house nursing a vodka tonic. The day hadn’t been stressful or busy and that was putting Brett on edge. Cow Chop hadn’t had a major operation in over a month and the unused energy was bubbling under his skin.

As the sun, descended, Brett turned his attention to the beach below, where ant-sized people moved around transitioning to the night-life that was iconic for L.A. Brett was so engrossed in the spectacle that was the argument between a girlfriend and a boyfriend that he almost didn’t hear his front door open. A pair of obnoxious guys waltzed into the room, in the middle of a heated discussion.

“I can’t believe you Trevor!” Yelled James as he plopped down on one of the leather couches, “shooting at the guy we were supposed to make a deal with? I swear I can’t take you anywhere.”

“It wasn’t my fault,” retorted Trevor, following in James’ footsteps, “and it doesn’t matter, because we got the money anyways.”

James shook his head and grabbed the remote for the TV.

Brett slid the glass door closed behind him, coughing a but to make his presence known, “am I interrupting anything?”

James continued to flip between channels completely ignoring Brett so Trevor answered.

“James is mad at me for shooting at our client.”

James slammed the remote down on the couch and whipped his head around to face Brett, “that’s only because there was no point to it.”

The pair began to fall back into the argument when Brett put his hand up.

“Hold it. Did we get the money?”

Both James and Trevor shook their head yes.

“Then all is well. Trevor,” he turned to the young member, “not every problem requires a gun as the solution. James,” he turned his head to James, “take it easy on the kid. He hasn’t even been here for six months.”

“He should still know better,” grumbled James as he returned his attention back to the TV.

Brett smiled, glad that the yelling was finally over and went to go refill his glass when he stopped.

“Have you seen Aleks?”

Trevor turned around his eyebrows drawn together, “no, I though he was with you.”

Brett shook his head, “he texted me earlier today that he was going to meet up with you guys. You never saw him?”

“No,” James said not looking away from the TV, “he did text us to meet up with him, but when he never showed up, we assumed he was with you.”

Brett set down his drink and pulled out his phone, a small bubble of anxiety forming in his abdomen.

He sent a quick text over to Aleks asking where he was before going to dump his drink in the kitchen. When he returned, he still hadn’t received a response from Aleks. Frantic, Brett hit the call button next to Aleks’ name and stuck the phone up to his ear. After one ring, it went straight to voicemail.

At this point, James and Trevor were standing both with concerned looks on their faces.

“Hey Aleks,” started Brett, “Its Brett, just wanted to check in on you. No one has seen you all day so… just call me back okay?”

After he hung up he clicked call on another name and tuned to face Trevor and James, “get a hold of Anna, Lindsey, Joe, and Jakob. We may have a problem.”

As the pair started with their own task, a monotone voice answered on the other end of Brett’s phone call.

“Hello?”

Brett sighed, “Asher? Its Brett, we have a problem.”

“What is it?” Asked Asher, his voice suddenly sounding a lot more awake.

“Aleks is missing, no one knows where he is. Could you do a quick scan and see if you can find him?”

“I’m on it” answered Asher, “I’ll call you when I get something.”

Brett hung up just in time to see Trevor and James hang up as well.

“Joe, Jakob, and Lindsey are on their way over,” stated James.

“And Anna is heading over to help out Asher,” finished Trevor.

Brett nodded, “okay, suit up. I want to be ready if something is actually wrong.” ----------------

Aleks gasped for air as his head was pulled out of the freezing cold water by his hair. The strong gloved hand threw him to the floor, leaving Aleks to cough and splutter. They had been doing the same routine for almost an hour now and Aleks’ lungs felt like they were going to burst at any moment. All he could do was hope that a member of Cow Chop discovered that he was missing.

“That’s enough,” stated a gruff voice.

Three of the four people that were in the small storage room with Aleks, leaving him with the large burly man that had just spoken. The man approached Aleks and forcefully lifted him into a sitting position, his legs crossed in front of him and his hands tied behind. Aleks let his head sink down so he was staring down at the ground. His dyed blonde hair stuck to his forehead, just like the soaked pink shirt e wore stuck to his body. His black jeans had some holes in them from when he was dragged across the floor and the green jacket he wore had fallen off of his shoulders.

“I know a lot about you, Aleksandr.” Said the gruff voice a venomous sweet tone to his voice, “I know that you work for Cow Chop, I also know that you are very close to your ‘informant’.” He squatted down so he was at the same level with Aleks, “why don’t you tell me who that it is and I’ll consider letting you live.”

Aleks lazily lifted his head up, a slight smirk on his lips as he stared the gruff man directly in the eyes.

“The only thing I can tell you is that you are a giant pussy.”

At first, Aleks didn’t feel any pain, the only thing he could feel was the feeling of weightlessness, like he was flying. But, as his head collided with the ground, all the pain came shooting in to him. Aleks let out a groan as the man stepped over him and over to the door.

“When I come back, I expect an answer or else you will be begging for death.” The door slammed behind him, leaving Aleks in the dark. Alone, wet, freezing, and bleeding on the concrete floor silently hoping the rest of Cow Chop finds him. ----------

Brett threw his phone across the room in anger after hanging up with Asher for the second time that night. The young hacker had called to give the bad news that Aleks phone was off and his exact location couldn’t be traced.

“I can turn on his phone from here, but that will take a while. Until then, all I can tell you is that he was near 5th street the last time his phone was on.”

Brett now paced the length of the room, the unused energy and anxiety fully taking over him. Trevor, James, Joe, Jakob, and Lindsay all sat on the couch, not wanting to set off Brett’s short fuse.

After a few more minutes of pacing, Brett stopped, picked up his gun, and headed towards the front door.

“Where are you going?” Yelled James.

“I’m going to find Aleks,” replied Brett.

“But you have no idea where he is.”

Brett paused, his front door slightly open. After a moment of hesitation Brett turned back around to face James, the fire in his eyes enough to make even the strongest of men take a step back.

“I’ll tear this entire city apart if I have too.” With that Brett left the apartment to begin his hunt for Aleks. --------------

Five hours later, Brett was sitting in his car, in front of the warehouse that most definitely held Aleks. Brett had spent the last five hours scouring all of L.A. for any hint of the missing Russian. After multiple dead ends, someone had let it spill that a local street gang was bragging about capturing a member of the famous Cow Chop. Eventually, that led Brett here. As he did one last inventory of his weapons, a black SUV pulled up beside him. The passenger side window rolled down to reveal Trevor with James in the driver’s seat and Joe, Jakob, and Lindsay sitting in the back.

“How did you guys find me?” Asked Brett.

“We waited for Asher,” answered Trevor, “the moment he found Aleks’ location we came here. You can’t do this alone Brett. No matter how good you are, you will go down if they have enough men.

Brett nodded, “let’s get going.”

The plan was simple, Joe and Jakob would storm the south entrance, James and Lindsay would take the north, and Brett and Trevor would take the east. Their goal was to kill as many of the bastards as possible and to locate Aleks. If any pair found the missing Russian, they would immediately retreat back to the SUV, leaving the other four to clean up the mess. It was a rushed and under-developed plan, but no one cared.

Once everyone was in position, they waited for the set moment to strike. As the time grew closer and closer for the attack, the energy under Brett’s skin began to surface, ready for all hell to break lose.

When the moment came, Brett kicked in the door in front of him and began to shoot at anything that moved. In the span of ten seconds he had already killed five men and was already searching the rooms around him, desperate to find Aleks. Distant yells and gun shots let Brett know that the other pairs had made their entrance as well.

As a second wave of men came, Brett spotted a storage unit in the corner of the warehouse, heavily guarded by men and decided that that was where the Russian was being held. Together, Brett and Trevor quickly cleared a path to the door. Without even testing the door, Brett kicked it in, his gun ready for what was waiting on the other side. ---------

As the door busted open, the gruff man from earlier pulled Aleks closer to himself and put the pistol closer to Aleks’ head. Aleks felt a surge of relief flood through him when he saw Trevor and Brett standing there, their guns at the ready.

“Let go of him,” hissed Brett, his voice dark enough that it caused Aleks to shiver and for the man holding him to take a couple steps back.

“Or what?” The man asked.

“Or I’ll place a bullet right between your eyes without a moment of hesitation,” replied Brett, taking a few steps into the room, prompting the man to take the same amount backwards.

“What’s in it for me?” The man chuckled, unaware of the rage that was bubbling underneath Brett’s skin.

“I’ll possibly let you walk out of here alive.” Brett lifted his gun a little higher, “it’s your choice.”

As the man thought over Brett’s proposal, his grip on Aleks loosened. Taking the window of opportunity, Aleks slammed his head back into the man’s face and quickly ran away when the man’s grip disappeared.

Before the man could recover, Brett had placed a perfect shot between his eyes, letting him drop lifelessly onto the floor. The room was tense, everyone too scared to move in fear that if they did the man will get back up. Eventually, Trevor put his gun down and moved behind Aleks to let him out of his bindings.

Aleks rolled his shoulders and rubbed his wrists, glad to be out of the wretched bindings. When he looked back up, Brett still hadn’t put his gun down, his ragged breathing still echoing around the small room. Aleks slowly approached him and place his hand on the barrel of the bun, prompting Brett to lower it.

“It’s over,” said Aleks, keeping his voice light, “he’s gone.”

Brett looked over at the Russian and the fire in his eyes dissipated into worry.

“Aleks,” he breathed, taking a step closer, “are you alright?”

Aleks lifted and hand up to the dried blood that led a trail up to his nose and shrugged, “I’m fine. Just some bruises, I’ll definitely be sore tomorrow.”

Seeing that Aleks was still the same as ever, Brett allowed himself to fully relax and let a slight smile fall onto his face.

“Now, can we get out of here?” Asked Aleks, “I’m actually craving some burgers right now.”

THANKS FOR READING! I HOPE IT DIDNT SUCK TOO MUCH!!