#back to our shitty families. every time i get dismissed or made fun of or yelled at here i just remember how lucky i am to have met my

[spitedemon]

.

[wandaromanova]

Can you do a fluffy wanda one (with a little angst because of course) where reader and wanda are best friends, reader wants more, but thinks wanda is interested in vision so she doesnt say anything. And then one day a mission goes wrong, and reader gets into an accident that results in her getting powers, and it makes wanda wake up and confess her feelings?

Requited Love

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x Fem!Reader

Warnings: cussing, injury, that’s all!

A/N: hello! i hope you enjoy what i’ve created out of your request, anon! sorry i couldn’t think about how i could incorporate the powers part of the request! not proofread, so i apologize for any grammatical errors! join my taglist here <3

Summary: Wanda Maximoff and Y/N L/N are your typical best friends who refuse to admit their feelings for each other.

Word Count: 3.3K (had a lil too much fun with this)

(gif is not mine)

You and your best friend, Wanda, had been friends practically since the moment she had joined the team. Being the youngest Avenger, you were so excited that there would finally be another member that was close to your age. Despite the events of Sokovia, you didn’t fear the woman. If anything, it only made the urge to get closer to her stronger.

Her powers absolutely mesmerized you. From the color of her powers to the different ways she could use them to her advantage; it was mind blowing how much power she had literally at her fingertips. As time went on, you and Wanda became very close. You’d always have movie nights together in your room, which eventually led to the Sokovian woman peacefully sleeping next to you in your bed.

Not only was Wanda drop dead gorgeous, but she was genuine and humble. She had confided in you about the many different traumas she had been through and expressed how the surreal amount of grief constantly consumed her. It broke your heart to know that such an amazing person was put through so much.

Her past could’ve easily turned her into a villain, but she decided to go the opposite direction. She came to the conclusion that her powers could help others and that’s what she had chosen to do in Sokovia and up to now. It was why she had agreed to join the Avengers in the first place. Wanda knew how awful the world could be and she wanted to be there for people the way that her family had been before they passed. The amount of respect you had for Wanda was immeasurable.

Over the span of two years, you and Wanda became joined to the hip. Wanda didn’t even sleep in her own bed anymore. Before, she would just accidentally fall asleep in your room or sneak into your room in the late hours of the night to sleep with you. But now, she just barged into your room every night and slept there. She said that you kept the nightmares she had at bay and you were more than happy to be there for her if it meant she got a full night’s rest.

You both jumped at any opportunity you guys could to be on the same mission as the other. You not only wanted to spend time with her, but you wanted to protect her. Lord knows that Wanda of all people could handle herself, but it kept you at peace when you were with her; knowing that she had you to back her up. Naturally, you fell in love with your best friend.

At first, you thought you were just confusing your special platonic friendship with Wanda for romantic feelings. But sometimes you caught yourself wanting to kiss Wanda. You knew damn well that friends don’t daydream about making out with each other. So, yeah, you definitely had feelings for Wanda, but there was one thing standing in your way; Vision.

Vision basically joined the team at the same time Wanda did. He was created during the Ultron situation and has been an Avenger since then. Wanda and Vision were very close. They weren’t as close as you and Wanda were, but he was a close second. They had a bond over the mind stone that you couldn’t ever compete with. This fact discouraged you and forced you to keep your mouth shut. You’d rather keep your feelings to yourself and suffer in private than risk your friendship with Wanda.

I mean, you didn’t even know if Wanda was into girls! She could be as straight as a wooden ruler and you would most definitely embarrass yourself if you told her. Vision wasn’t exactly a man by any means, he was a robot. If Wanda were to like Vision that must mean you had a chance right? Not to be an ass, but he’s literally a hunk of metal. Regardless of all these thoughts, you knew at the end of the day that you would have to hide your feelings for the sake of maintaining the relationship you currently have with the Sokovian.

You did pretty good at hiding your feelings for awhile. You acted as if everything was normal and not like you were emotionally crying out inside every time you saw Wanda with Vision. It began to get too much when you had caught sight of the pair cooking Paprikash in the communal kitchen. Cooking was something you and Wanda used to do together. It was kind of your thing. It may seem silly, but watching her do something with Vision that used to be sacred to you both hurt.

You began to distance yourself the closer Wanda and Vision got together. What sucked even more was that Wanda didn’t even acknowledge your sudden distance. She no longer slept in your room, opting to spend her nights with Vision. You were dying inside and Wanda didn’t even care to notice.

You had a mission to get to today. Usually, Wanda would be down in the hangar whenever you were going on a mission without her, but she wasn’t there today. She was probably off somewhere with Vision, again. It stung that Wanda didn’t even want to see you off. She was so preoccupied with Vision that she didn’t even give you a second thought. A toaster was stealing your best friend who you just so happened to be madly in love with away from you. And you couldn’t do anything to stop it.

So, you reluctantly got onto the Quinjet with Steve who was accompanying you on the mission. Fury only sent you two in for this mission because it was a simple one. It didn’t require the entire team to complete. You both were to capture and detain the scientist responsible for the latest human experimentations at the hands of Hydra. From the intel gathered by S.H.I.E.L.D, their security wasn’t that bad so it would be a walk in the park for you and Steve. You had just left and you already desperately wanted to go home and wallow in your own self pity in the comfort of your bed.

But first, you had to get this mission over with. The Quinjet landed a little far away from the small Hydra base. You and Steve made your way out of the jet and began to trudge your way toward the building. As you guys got closer, Steve stopped abruptly.

“No matter what, we stick together okay? Just because this should be an easy mission, doesn’t mean we should let our guard down. Understand?” He lectured you sternly as he stared at you intensely.

“Yeah. I got it, Cap.” You replied to him dismissively as you continued to make your way toward the building. You took note of the five guards that were guarding the entrance and gave Steve a nod before you both sprung into action.

After you guys had taken down the entrance guards, you both sneakily made your way into the building. It was pretty easy to find your target, seeing that the building was the size of a house. You and Steve barged into the room, the scientist whipping around quickly and freezing in shock at the sight of you both.

Steve quickly charged at the man and placed him into handcuffs. As Steve pulled the man up by the collar, forcing him to his feet, a thought crossed your mind. This is too easy. Only five guards and the professor was just conveniently in here? This had to be a setup.

Before you could voice your concerns to Steve, you felt a sharp pain rip through your shoulder as Hydra agents flooded into the room. You fell to your knees in pain as Steve threw the target to the ground. He quickly began to fight as many agents as he could. You stood up as you tried to temporarily forget the pain. You began to take on agents yourself. Despite being injured, you kicked their asses with ease.

You were down to the last agent while Steve was pulling the scientist back up to his feet, much more aggressively this time. For some reason, your thoughts went to Wanda. How would she react to your injury? Would she even bother to visit you to make sure you were okay?

Unfortunately, you had chosen the wrong time to become distracted by your thoughts of Wanda. While your thoughts were racing, you failed to notice the glint of a knife in the agent’s left hand. As you blocked one of his punches, he quickly stabbed you right in the stomach. At this, Steve jumped in to help you and made quick work of knocking out the man who stabbed you.

You fully fell to the floor this time, gasping for air. Not only were you shot, but now you got stabbed. Seriously? Did god decide you weren’t already having a shitty enough time? Steve quickly picked you up in his arms in a panic. He carried you to the Quinjet while making sure the scientist was following behind you both. Steve placed your body onto the medical table that was in the Quinjet, handcuffed the man to a railing, and sped off to the compound. He took note of how much blood you lost; it was a lot to say the least. If he didn’t get to the compound soon, he feared you wouldn’t make it; and that wasn’t an option.

The 30 minute trip to the compound turned into a 15 minute ride. Steve quickly rushed you into the medical wing of the compound and placed you into the care of Doctor Helen Cho. He knew he had to tell the team about what happened. The Avengers were a family, and you being the youngest meant you were like a child to them, well besides Wanda obviously.

Steve hurriedly made his way into the living room of the Avenger’s living quarters and made sure Jarvis informed everyone that it was an emergency. As Steve entered, everyone turned to face him with worry present on each of their faces.

“What’s wrong, Rogers? Is everything okay?” Natasha asked as she looked over his body. There was an insane amount of blood all over his star-spangled suit. “It’s Y/N.”

At Steve’s words, everyone in the room stood in shock as their jaws dropped. But no one’s feelings could compare to Wanda’s. She abruptly stood up from the couch and made her way towards Steve.

“What about her? What happened to her?” Wanda began to get angry as hints of her powers made their way to her eyes. Steve took a step back and looked at Wanda before returning his gaze back to the other people in the room. You could hear a pin drop in the silence of the room.

“We went on a mission together. It was supposed to be an easy in and out thing. But we were setup. She got shot in the shoulder and stabbed in the abdomen. She’s in the medical wing right now.” Steve spoke strongly, attempting to remain calm for the sake of the team, but he was terrified inside. Your state refused to leave his mind. Your limp body in his arms as your warm blood covered his hands.

Wanda didn’t say another word as she ran towards the elevator and impatiently hit the button to the medical wing. She didn’t bother to wait for anyone else. Nothing mattered right now except you.

Wanda had feelings for you. Ever since she met you, you were this light in the darkness that was her life. You could cheer her up when no one else could. You knew her better than she knew herself. You were not only her best friend, but you were the woman she was irrevocably in love with. She was terrified to tell you how she felt. She thought she would lose you if she had confessed how she truly felt for you. So, she remained quiet and tried to forget about her feelings for you by hanging out with Vision more. She wasn’t using Vision by any means, she genuinely did enjoy his company. But he wasn’t you.

Wanda didn’t even wait for the elevator doors to fully open as she squeezed herself through the small gap and made her way towards the medical bay doors. Before Wanda could open the door, Steve abruptly grabbed her hand, stopping her from going any further. He must’ve taken the stairs. Damn his super soldier abilities.

“Wanda. Stop. I know you’re worried about Y/N, we all are. But barging in there won’t be any help. You need to let Cho and her nurses focus on helping her.” Steve desperately tried to talk some sense into Wanda; it worked. Wanda’s shoulders slumped as she made her way towards the seating area that was right outside the doors. All she could do was sit, wait, and pray to whatever god there was that you would be okay.

Wanda didn’t even know you were going on a mission today. If she did, she would’ve went to the hangar and hugged you before she left, like she always did. Oh fuck, she didn’t even get to see you off and now look at your state. Now that she thought about it, she had been neglecting you for some time now. She let her fear of her feelings consume her. She spent more time with Vision than with you, and now she wasn’t sure if she would get the opportunity to be with you again. The thought of not being able to tell you how in love with you she was mortified her. This was the wake up call she needed.

——————————————————————————

2 hours later

After two agonizingly slow hours, Doctor Cho made her way towards the anxious group of heroes. Wanda shot up from her seat and approached Helen.

“How is she? Please, tell me she’s okay.” Wanda asks as she nervously chews on her bottom lip. “Y/N is fine. Luckily, the knife didn’t hit any major arteries. She won’t be able to make any sudden movements for the next few weeks which means no missions until I give her clearance.” At Cho’s words, the entire team was struck with relief. Wanda’s eyes lit up at the good news. You were okay. You were still here.

“Can we see her?” Steve asked from behind Wanda as he made his way to stand beside her. “Yes, shes awkward, but only one person can go in at a time. She’s very sensitive right now from the anesthesia.” Helen gave the team a smile before walking off.

Everyone looked at Wanda as she gave them a nod. Of course she had to go in first. You and Wanda may have been oblivious to each other’s feelings, but the team wasn’t. It was almost annoying how unaware you two were of how the other person felt.

Wanda quietly made her way into your room and almost let out a sigh of relief as she saw you laying on the table awake. You were trying to reach for a glass of water beside your bed, but the pain in your side made the small task a burden. Wanda quickly made her way to the table and handed you the glass of water. You were startled since you didn’t even hear her enter the room. You took the water from her hands and took a long sip before handing it back to her.

“What’re you doing here?” You asked coldly as you glared at the Sokovian woman. She was shocked at your animosity. You were never like this with her before. “I needed to make sure you were okay. I was worried sick.” Wanda frowned as she pulled a chair up to your bedside and sat in it.

“Oh. Now you suddenly remember I exist? It only took me nearly dying for you to notice me again.” You knew you weren’t being fair. You guys were just best friends and she was entitled to hang out and be with whoever she wanted. But the part of you that loved her and longed for more took over.

“Y/N. I’m sorry I haven’t been around as often. I got caught up hanging out with Vision when I should’ve been there for you.” Wanda’s eyes softened as she stared at your face. She missed you so much. She may have seen you around the compound, but she hasn’t been this close to you in what felt like decades.

“Yeah. You got caught up with Vision. Why don’t you just go back to him now. I’m fine.” You stubbornly spoke as you tore your eyes away from Wanda and stared out the window in front of your bed.

Wanda made a ballsy move and grabbed your hand in here. Thankfully, you didn’t move it away. “Y/N. I don’t care about Vision, I care about you. I love you and I mean that in more than a friendly way.” At Wanda’s words, your head snapped back to her as you looked over her features for any indication of a lie; you didn’t find any.

“I was spending time with Vision to try and forget my feelings for you. That obviously backfired and only solidified what I already knew I felt. I’m sorry it took such a terrible situation for me to finally grow the balls to tell you this. I love you Y/N.” Wanda squeezed your hand tightly as she stared at you full of love and adoration.

You were speechless. As cliche as it sounds, this was what you’ve wanted since the moment you laid eyes on her. She said the three words you’ve been longing to hear spill from her mouth. She loved you too.

“I love you too, Wanda. I’m sorry. I thought you had a thing for Vision and I let jealousy and insecurity get the better of me.” You looked down in shame as you tried to pull your hand out of Wanda’s hold, but she only gripped it tighter.

“Don’t be sorry. I completely understand. I’m so glad your okay and I’m so unbelievably happy that you feel the same way.” Wanda smiled brightly at you as you smiled right back. You guys must’ve looked like maniacs with your big, cheesy smiles, but you didn’t care.

Wanda began to slowly lean towards you. You attempted to meet her in the middle, but only ended up wincing in pain as you were reminded of your impressive stab wound. Wanda let out a laugh.

“Let me handle it, moya lyubov (my love).” Wanda said before closing the gap between you both and giving you a heated, desperate kiss. All the pent up emotions that you both had been withholding from each other were coming to light through this kiss. You guys were interrupted by the door swinging open abruptly and the sound of someone clearing their throat.

You both jumped apart as you cringed at the sting of your injuries. You turned to the door and caught sight of the team standing at the door with shit eating grins on their face.

“Sorry to interrupt you, lovebirds. But we wanted to check on Y/N too. Cho gave us the clear to come in now.” Natasha smirked at yours and Wanda’s flustered states.

“Pay up, Barnes.” Sam said as he held his hand out to Bucky, who groaned before placing 50 dollars in his hand. You and Wanda stared at the two confused, Bucky took notice of this and decided to fill you both in.

“We made a bet on when you two would get together. I said in the next two months, he said in the next two weeks. He won.” Bucky gave you both a shy, almost embarrassed smile.

Everyone in the room laughed, making you and Wanda turn even more red than before. You didn’t care about the inevitable, endless teasing you would have to endure after today. You would deal with the comments forever as long as it meant Wanda was by your side. You once thought that she didn’t feel the same, and you were so glad you were proven wrong. Sometimes, love can be requited after all.

[omg-im-such-a-masochist]

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

@ziasaph

Prompt: When Roman and Y/N have a little phone teasing, Roman is left with a problem to solve...with his bare hands.

Word count: Long-ish

Pairing: Roman Reigns x Reader

Warnings: +18, masturbation(male),cursing,explicit thoughts,smut(implied)

Notes: This is my first time ever trying to “recreate” what would go through a man’s mind while masturbating( I don’t have a wiener, so you know, this might not be 100% accurate) this is written in Roman’s POV only. Y’all know the drill loves,sorry for misspellings,english isn’t my first language (bla bla bla),check out my other stories if you’d like to(it would make your girl here very happy 😊) and if you’re comfortable with it,please let me know what you think? Some feedback is always welcomed and appreciated ❤️You can check out my other stories typing ‘masochist writes’ on the search bar on my page and my newest story as a fixed post.Okay,now let’s get to the fun part,shall we? Hope you’ll enjoy 😉

“Fuck me...” I whispered as I adjusted my bulge for the 4th time. I just finished a phone call with Y/N, and we kinda had a little phone teasing so now,here I am making my way to my locker room with a very painful hard on that I couldn’t wait to take care of.

As soon as my eyes met the locker room door I sighed in relief, until I heard

“Yo Uce,hold up!”

“You have got to be fucking kidding me!” I barked under my breath

“What up Uce?” My cousin Jimmy happily smiled at me

“Good,good...” I dumbly replied

“You ok there?”

“No I’m not ok Jimmy,what to you want?”

“Is this because you lost your match? Uce, you gotta learn how to lose man”

“This is not because of my match ok? It’s another thing that’s bothering me”

“Oh...Is it because Y/N hasn’t come back yet? I know you love her and all, but ever since she left, you got all blue and shit... I’m aware of your obsession towards her,but she has her own life problems to deal with you know? You can’t get all bitchy every time she needs to leave man...” he vaguely said

Y/N took a one month license so she could solve some problems regarding her family business, and ever since she left my mood has gotten worst and worst, and I still got 8 more fucking days ahead of me before she comes back! The racional part of my brain understands and agrees with what my cousin’s saying, but the other primal part of me just wants to punch his face and tell him to shut the fuck up.

He doesn’t understand the connection that Y/N and I have, she is my other half as cheesy as that sounds. I’ve never had believed that sort of stuff UNTIL the day I met her. From that day on I knew I had found my one and only. So you can’t really blame me for being in such a shitty mood, I was left without my sunlight for a whole fucking month, so yeah, I was gonna whine about it.

“Are you done,mom?” I said with an annoyed tone

“I’m just trying to help Uce”

“Yeah I know man” I sighed “I’m sorry is just that I gotta take care of something..” I vaguely said

“Ok, I’m not gonna keep you long, I was just gonna ask you if you would like to go out to th-“

“No,thanks. I have other plans” I quickly said before he could finish

“Really? And what possibly great plan is that,that you gonna miss a night out with your favorite cousin?”

“You really wanna know?”

“Yeah! And it’s better be a good plan for you to dismiss me like that”

“I’m gonna take a shower, take care of a very painful boner, jack off while I think about my girlfriend, then I’m gonna head back to my hotel room where a nice,big and comfortable bed waits for me...and maybe jack off again looking at some pictures of Y/N. Happy now?”

He looked at me in disbelief

“So you’re dismissing my invitation for a night out so you can jack off? How old are you? 14?” He started laughing

“Is that all Jimmy?” I made sure my voice demonstrated how annoyed I was.

“Yeah, yeah..go ahead Mr. Puberty go do your business...even tho you won’t need to take care of it yourself..” he barely whispered

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, nothing...here I’ll even open the door for you..just so your hands don’t get too tired!” He said mocking me “Milady, please” He bowed down and was now 100% laughing at me

“Fuck you Jimmy” I muttered under my breath closing and locking my locker room door.

I got out of my ring attire faster than a demon from church and made my way to the shower, while I waited for the water to heat up, I begin to stroke myself lazily while I thought about Y/N and the last time we were together. I got under the shower and remembered her body, the way it felt against mine, her breasts and how they are a perfect handful size, how soft her skin is (specially her boobs), how delicate her nipples feel against my lips.

Her sexy love handles,fuck I love those, which is why I don’t really get it why she hates it so much and wants to get rid of them so bad? I love how they feel when I tightly grip them on my hands whenever I’m holding her hips in place while fucking her from behind. My dick got harder just to think about it..Fuck I wish she was here!

I love her ass, I was always a tits lover until I saw that ass! Then I was officially converted into an ass lover. I just love to touch it, grip it, bite it, I love to watch it bounce when she rides me, I love to kiss it, spank it, rub my bulge against it..

*I begin to stroke my cock harder*

And fuck it..I love to fuck her ass.

But not as much as I love to fuck her pussy, nothing compares to the feeling of my cock buried deep inside of her tight pussy, I could cum just by remembering the vision of my dick sliding in and out of that sweet pussy..MY pussy, that belongs to ME! Fuck I just wish she was here, I would eat her out like a mad man.

I love to go down on her, seeing her eyes roll to the back of her head as I hungrily devour her..seeing how she squirms underneath me, moaning..begging for me to fuck her, how incredible she tastes...

But I also love when she sucks my dick.

The sight of her, on her knees, with a mouthful of cock while she looks up to meet my gaze.. FUCK ME isn’t that a beautiful sight?! Her lips all swollen and red from sucking me, her hands stroking my cock while she looks up and give me one of her satisfied smiles..so fucking gorgeous. Even more gorgeous when she chokes on my dick, making me slide all the way down until I hit the back of her throat just so she can pull back, gasping for air, while she giggles amused about how far she had taken.

With all of those sweet memories I came on my hand, giving me some sort of relief (at least for now). But it wasn’t the same thing tho, it wasn’t her and I NEEDED her!

God I love that woman, and I just fucking miss her, I just wish that she was here..

I made my car ride back to the hotel thinking about everything that I missed about her. I missed her scent, her voice, her smile, her hugs, her kisses, the way she likes to stroke my hair to help her sleep, her stealing all of my gray sweatpants just so I couldn’t “advertise” my package to other women, our late night conversations that were sometimes meaningful others meaningless, our make out sessions, lazy morning sex, horror movies marathon, the way she argued with one of the characters and told them they were “so dumb” and she “wished they would just get killed already”, the way she comforted me, the way I comforted her...

I opened the door to my hotel room, dragged myself to the sofa and was so deep in thoughts that I didn’t even noticed that the lights were on.

“Should I come back later?” The voice said in quite an amused tone.

*Wait..I know that voice!*

I turned my head to my left side so I could meet the owner of that voice, the one I had waited 3 long weeks to have by my side again

“Y/N” I couldn’t help but ran towards her, grab her tightly in my arms and kiss her so intensely that she almost couldn’t breath.

“Ro” she giggled “Baby, as much as I love this affectionate side of yours, you’re kinda making it difficult for me to breath” She chuckled

“Sorry, it’s just that I missed you so fucking much! You have no idea what hell I’ve been through those 3 weeks without you” I said as I gave her light pecks all over her lips,neck and face.

“Aww Rome.. I missed you too love! That’s why I decided to make you a surprise come back, everything solved before expected so I didn’t need to be there anymore so I decided to come back to my home,you!” She smiled

“I am your home,just like you’re mine! Those 3 weeks without you were a nightmare!”

“Oh I know! Jimmy told me you were being a little bitch and if I didn’t came back soon he would whoop your ass!” She was laughing uncontrollably

“That fucker...he knew you were coming back today didn’t he?” I asked remembering his little comment about me not needing to jack off at the hotel.

“Yep! He helped me with everything. Why?”

“Oh nothing, it’s just that he asked if I wanted to go out with him somewhere after the show and I declined saying I had other stuff to do”

“Like what?” She asked slightly confused

“Oh you know, like jack off in the shower thinking about you..”

“Did you?” She looked at me with that vixen look on her face

“What do you think baby girl? After our little teasing on the phone, you got me all worked up so I had to think about you while I took care of business with my own hands” Which where now roaming down to grab her ass.

“That sounds fun..why don’t you tell me everything you thought about huh?” She deviously smirked at me

“Oh baby, I might as well just show it to you” With that I picked her up in my arms and made my way towards the bed. I was going to show her everything that went through my mind those 3 weeks.

And fuck,she better be ready, ‘cuz I got all night long..

[damnzawa]

henlo i'm not sure what your rules are for requests so i'm sorry if i'm doing this wrong i just love your writing uwu 👉🏼👈🏼 aizawa with an hero!s/o turned into a neko because they got hit by a quirk after fighting some villain? 🥺👉🏼👈🏼

(CAT)ASTROPHE — A. SHOUTA

Note(s): OMG ?? I ?? AM ?? SO ?? FLATTERED ?? THAT ?? YOU ?? LIKE ?? MY ?? SHITTY ?? ASS ?? AND ?? CLICHE ?? WRITING ?? also i live for these types of scenarios SO EFF YES

Warning(s): Poorly written fight scene, Aizawa having a mental breakdown, Cat Fluff

...

Being a pro-hero comes with a lot of pros and cons. For some, the pros may outweigh the cons and vice versa. Some even has a healthy balance of both. While you, you were one of the people who have pros outweigh the cons.

You weren't really the pro-hero to compete for the spotlight but you still had a good number of people who knows of you and what you could do. Though, you aren't as flashy as the others, you had a unique charm to you that draws people's attention towards you.

It was that charm that drew the infamous hobo man of U.A. to you, all in his yellow, shining (not really) sleeping bag glory. Though at first, he was irritated at the fact that you were just a natural at everything and everybody just seemed to love you. But as time went by, he realized that this charm of yours has truly captivated him. You weren't like the other pro-heroes he had met. No. You were unique. One of a kind. Genuinely different from the others.

After months of (silent) pining, he decided to just fuck it and ask you out on a date, in which surprisingly you happily agreed to. As time progressed, and two dates became 3, 4, 5, and counting, he got to know more sides of you. More characteristics to add to your charm. And by the time you reached your 2nd year anniversary, you guys decided to move in together—which was by far the greateat decision you and Aizawa has ever made.

Your charms are a part of your pros. It's what makes you, you. But unfortunately, you had yet to learn that it was one of your cons too.

It was the usual night patrol. Check any suspicious activity, check if anyone's doing crimes, check up on the stray cat on the alley, repeat. Honestly, some times patrols can be quite a bore. But you didn't mind. It was part of the job after all.

Cautiously walking down the street, you suddenly heard a scream from one of the alleys nearby. You quickly sprinted into action, not sparing another second as you rushed into the scene of the crime.

"Please! Don't hurt my child!" The woman screamed as the villain inched closer to them. Silently creeping up on the thug, you noticed that the villain had a weapon—a gun to be exact which was gonna be a pain if they ever shot the woman and/or his child. "Please! It's all I have! I promise!" A robbery? In the night? Typical villain move.

"Step away from them." You commanded the villain as you activated your quirk. A force field acting as a shield appeared out of nowhere, protecting the woman and her child from harm. You could tell that the woman was relieved, however, the child was still crying.

The villain chuckled as he turned around to face you, your hero name rolling off his tongue in a sinister way. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the saviors of society! The heroes! Protecting the world from evil doers such as myself." You could feel a speech coming. You honestly could feel it. "At least that's what you think. You heroes think you're good shit after taking down some bad guys but do you ever wonder about those who also suffer because of you?" He pointed the gun towards you making you squint at him. "I lost my family! Because of you guys! Because of that stupid Endeavor! You don't really care about the people! You just care about the fame! The money! The recognition you'll get after locking us all up in jail!"

"I assure you, heroes are not like that. Sure we have our own ambitions, but we all protect the people. That's our number one priority." Your response made him snarl. "And as much as I would love to stay and chat..." You activates your quirk once again, this time making whips out of light. "...It's time to pay for your crimes." You attacked him with the whip to which he skillfully dodged. He appeared from place to place with a blink of an eye, making it hard for you to apprehend him.

'Shit. A teleportation quirk? That's gonna be a pain in the ass.'

Dodging his punches that came out of nowhere, you kicked him in the gut. After reading watching his moves while dodging, you figured out that he has this pattern. He would first attack you in the back—which caught you by surprise the first time—then he would go for your front then your sides. It was the repeating pattern he used on you, so after getting used to it, you finally had the upper hand.

He was thrown a bit from the force of your kick but quickly recovered from it. He attacked you with another punch on your left which you countered by grabbing on his arm and twisting it until you heard a crack.

'Well now he certainly can't punch with that one.'

"You bitch!" He pulled out his gun and repeatedly fired shots at you. Every shot was a miss and then finally you encaged him in a box of light.

"Sweet dreams." And with that, you knocked him out with your quirk.

After putting on quirk nullyfing cuffs and a rope made out of light around his body, you checked up on the victims. The woman was repeatedly thanking you while the child was still shaken up.

"Hey now kiddo. It's alright. You're safe now." You approached him with a gentle smile on your face. You were about to place comforting hand on his shoulder when he suddenly shot up.

"No! Get away from me and my mom!" A sudden force emitted from his body as he pushed you to the ground.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry about that!" You stood up and brushed yourself off as the woman repeatedly apologized for her son's behavior.

"No ma'am. It's alright. I'm fine, no harm done. See?" You flashed her a smile. "Kiddo, it's alright now. I'm a pro-hero. Police are on the way. Can you stay for a bit and tell them what happened?" The boy reluctantly nodded which made you smile even wider. "That's great then! You were brave out there kiddo."

"I'm sorry for using my quirk on you..." The boy muttered. You ruffled his hair and told him that it was alright. Though, you would surely see a paramedic later.

After the police arrived and collected your statements, you headed home with a headache. Apparently, the woman and her child doesn't know what his quirk actually is. The robbery might have triggered his quirk and you were the first one to be hit with it.

Great.

Just great.

You just hoped Aizawa was home too. You clearly need some of his A+ cuddles to ease the pain.

You arrived at your shared apartment shortly, but before you could even reach your shared bedroom, you blacked out.

...

Aizawa Shouta wasn't having the greatest day of his life. An eventful and rowdy day at U.A, then an eventful and extra rowdy patrol at night all while running with 3 hours of sleep? Yep. Not the greatest day of his life.

The grumpy man groaned as he remembered the stack of papers waiting for him back home. He could already feel the pain he was about to endure for the greater good of the future heroes he was teaching. He frowned as he imagined Kaminari's sloppy handwriting—and a possible doodle of him—in his homework, he could also imagine the cluster of words that didn't make sense brought to him by Mina Ashido.

But he could also imagine you greeting him with a kiss as usual. He could imagine your arms wrapped around him in a loving embrace, washing out the stress he previously had. He could imagine you rolling your eyes at him as he complained about you not getting enough sleep. He could imagine you helping him grade those forsaken essays he made his students do.

Well, maybe this day wasn't so bad for him. After all, he had you to go home to.

After opening the door, he expected you to greet him with open arms and ask him how his day went. He expected you to make fun of his struggles as a teacher and remind him that it was his choice to teach to begin with. But instead he was met with silence and no you.

To: Y/n

From: Shouta

Are you patrolling late tonight?

He waited for a few minutes but he didn't recieve a reply. He sent another message, and another, and another, until he finally decided to wash up and wait up for you just incase anything happens.

Just as he was about to enter your shared bedroom, he noticed your hero costume on the floor, a lump of something breathing underneath it. He lifted your hero costume, revealing a (h/c) cat—who stirred at his actions—sleeping peacefully. His hand instinctively reached down to pet it, feeling the smooth fur on his fingertips. The petting caused the animal to wake up, it's tired eyes looking at him with such warmness it was almost so familiar yet he couldn't remember where it's from.

"Shouta?" Aizawa froze on the spot as he heard your voice leaving the cat's mouth. He blinked owlishly, trying to process what the hell happened. Did the cat just speak? And did the cat sounded just like you?

"Why the hell are you so big? Did something happen?" You—the cute cat infront of him—asked as you unconsciously started to rub your cat chin into his shoulder.

"Y/n, I should be the one asking you that." You perked up at his response, head tilting as you waited for an answer.

"What do you mean?" Oh god you were giving him the cute eyes.

"Y/n, you're a cat."

"I'm a cat." You repeated. "Wait—what?" You blinked as you realized what had happened. Oh. So this was that child's quirk. "Shit."

"Shit indeed." Aizawa picked you up gently and placed you on the bed. "Mind telling me what happened?"

"Ok so..."

...

Aizawa secretly carried a laser on him the next day. You were dismissed of your hero duties for a week (because that's how long the quirk's gonna last) and was stuck in the apartment all day so he figured you could use a little fun right?

Right...

You greeted him as usual, but instead of human you, cat you is rubbing your body around his ankles and making a '8' shape as you circled his feet. It was quite cute to be honest. He had a soft spot for cats and you after all. He tried his best not to melt then and there.

"I've got something for you." Your ears went forward and your tail erected with it's fur flat at the statement. Clearly, you were happy. Aizawa brought out the laser thingy he had and started pointing it towards the wall, to which you suddenly leaped for. You followed the dot everywhere it landed and Aizawa couldn't help but smile at the sight infront of him.

...

"Shouta." You poked his cheek. "Shouta." You poked it once again. Why were you poking him exactly? Well, you were hungry and it was in the middle of the night. You couldn't reach the pantry nor the fridge handle so you reluctantly asked Aizawa for help. Somehow, he wouldn't budge. After poking him a couple more times, he opened an eye that showed that he was clearly annoyed by your behavior.

"What?" Came his gruff reply.

"I'm hungry." Aizawa sighed as he stood up and blinked the sleep out of his eyes.

"Fine." Sluggishly walking towards the kitchen, he looked at you silently trailing behind him. "You want tuna?"

"Haha, very funny Shou."

"Is that a yes or a no?"

"Yes please."

...

You purred as Aizawa rubbed the spot behind your ears. It was becoming a habit for Aizawa to pet and rub you like this and honestly, he was enjoying it—not that he'd ever tell anyone about it.

You insisted to not cancel your annual dinner date at your shared apartment which consisted of eating takeouts and watching whatever was on Netflix. You and Aizawa happily ate your food—you ate tuna... again—and now, the both of you were watching some Studio Ghibli film, well atleast you were supposed to.

You quickly got distracted once Aizawa started petting you, leading to you not focusing on the film at all. Aizawa's eyes was still on the film playing but you were sure he was also distracted. You found it a bit weird that the both of you quickly adjusted to this cat life and that neither of you freaked out at all. Maybe it was the pro-hero sides of you, who knows. But it was nice to see Aizawa helping you in any way that he can.

His petting abruptly stopped as he stiffled out a yawn. You looked at him and saw that he looked completely exhausted. More so than usual.

So, you hopped out of his lap and switched off the TV as you nudged Aizawa's leg with your paws.

"Come on Shou. Let's go to sleep."

Aizawa did not decline your offer and gladly followed you out of the room.

...

By the end of the week while having breakfast a loud 'poof' and smoke suddenly covered the whole room. After the smoke cleared, it revealed you in all of your naked human body glory.

"Welcome back, Y/n."

"Oh shut up, Shou."

ADDITIONAL NOTE(S)

This was fun to write! I hope I did this right though lolol. Also, requests are open!!

[bumbershots]

A CERTAIN ROMANCE

CHAPTER TWO: MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

Author’s note: Hello! Thanks a lot to everyone for reading this, I’m over the moon with the messages you sent after posting the first chapter. Keep them coming, and enjoy! ~ Alex

Story Masterlist ** Word count 2.3K ** 

If she was prettier and a bit smarter. If she were special, like the Instagram models that Teen Vogue features in their cover nowadays. She would have the guts to take three steps towards him and ask if he is who she thinks he is.

Harry is standing once again across from her, and she doesn't even know that he is wearing his beloved woolly jumper that has a picture of the planet Saturn on it, just for her. The girl wonders if they've heard of Styles on that planet, too. Of course they have, she scolds herself looking away from him at last, not believing her luck. For the third time on a Thursday, at half past three, he's jumping in the train right after her. The first time could've been luck, second one was a lovely coincidence but a third time? It's a charm. That's what her grandma would say.

But she isn't brave enough to walk up to him, not because of who he is, but the pressure and build up around the entire situation. What if he's a dickhead? She frowns at the thought, knowing it can't be true, not when his eyes, the so-called windows of the soul, are that nice.

They're both in a corner of the train this time, conversations start to sputter around as people try to keep their own talk ticking along on autopilot. He seems to be busy, reading Keith Richards' autobiography, she wants to talk to him about it, it's been a while since she read it though she still remembers it clear as day. The next one is his stop, she sighs in defeat at her own cowardly nature and takes out her mobile only to look busy.

Harry wants to talk to her, this is the third Thursday in a row, he's afraid there won't be a fourth one. He's back from his last meeting with Jack and Fernando, everything is set to start the renovation. He won't be taking this route anymore, it's now or never. But it's harder than he thought, to approach her and that's it, he doesn't know what he's supposed to do once he stands before her.

The speaker announces his stop, but instead of leaning away from the wall and walking out of the train, he flips the page of his book, letting the doors close and stays on the carriage for the next station. He is so nervous, a bit scared of his bold choice to stay on the line without a well defined plan. He's never been this nervous about talking to someone, the butterflies on his tummy at the mere sight of her are restless. Maybe if he scoots closer, little by little, he can nudge her side and mouth her a polite "hello," a warm smile afterwards so she doesn't think it's a come on. Except it is.

Harry closes his book, deciding that it's stupid and honesty is the best way to anything. He will just greet her and ask if he can buy her a cup of coffee someday, easy, breezy like Jack says. His green eyes follow her out of the train, they just reach Colindale station, before he can process what is going on or even move, the doors close and the vehicle is moving back to the tunnel. Away from her and his last chance. His mouth is dry and it's like he stuffed it to the brim with cotton.

He got off on Burnt Oak and switched direction, he was so mad at himself, the deep frown on his face said it all. This was supposed to be his chick flick moment and he ruined it by not doing anything at all. He keeps his face glued to the door closest to him, waiting for her to come up and smile at him in that knowing way. Perhaps then he would stand tall, mention that cup of coffee after introductions are made and she will agree. But she doesn't come back on the next station, or the three following ones. Harry gets off the train with a cloud looming above him, the wind is blowing in that nasty way that announces a storm following suit. The singer hurries to his home, trying to beat it.

The rain comes out of nowhere in full force just as Harry walks through his front gate, dashing to the inside of his house. He decides to fix himself a light lunch to keep his mind from wondering if she made it to her destination before the rain caught up with her. A text message from Jack does the trick, he sent him the address for Freddie's birthday. Harry can't believe that's tonight.

"Hello stranger," Gemma's voice greets the musician after the second ring. "All right?"

"All right, just forgot about plans I had for the evening," he hated to cancel dinner with his sister, "come with me?" Harry's tone is hopeful, she can almost picture his adorable cherub face, eyes sparkling.

"Is it with your teenage friends?" He hums trying to come up with a lie, "Harry we can have our dinner tomorrow night instead, I don't mind." As much as she loves her brother, that doesn't extend to that certain group of acquaintances.

"They're not that bad!"

"Baby brother, have fun with the lads, I'll see you tomorrow, pick me up at eight o'clock." She states before ending the call. Harry huffs before finishing his veggie wrap and jumps in the shower.

Perhaps he should've told Gemma that his mood tonight wasn't the best, that although he wanted to go out and about, he didn't want to do it alone. But her reasons to avoid his less mature group of mates are valid so he grabs his parka and his phone and, a little stooped, heads for the flat where the party is held.

A few years ago, he set himself three tasks: prioritise friends, learn how to be an adult, achieve a proper balance between the big and the small. Harry genuinely loves the fittings of his outfits before tour, playing his music for thousands. But he realised, as well, that the coolest things are not always the cool things. Tonight he's hearing anecdotes of how his friends sold almost everything they owned, to be able to afford a trip to the World Cup in Russia the year before. He knows that England almost made it to the final, but to see the agony and pain reflected on Freddie's eyes as he tells the story is truly humbling and heartbreaking.

"They had to escort me out, an hour after the match ended." The birthday lad finishes with glossy eyes. "I've never felt so powerless in my life, the world just seemed so unfair from then on, you know?" Harry doesn't, but he nods and finishes his drink. "But enough about good old me, what about you?"

"Same old, touring for a while, back in British soil before I take off again." He doesn't like giving rehearsed answers to his friends, but they're surrounded by at least a dozen people carrying out their own conversations while straining to hear what Styles says.

"Thinking about the next album already?" His friend's amazement is genuine, "can't believe what you'll hit me with next!" Freddie was his rocker friend. The one with an expensive vinyl collection, the one to never miss a Rolling Stones show, the one that religiously attended Glastonbury every year. Remembering this, Harry relaxed and decided to share with him a topic that left him vulnerable.

"You can expect a lot of break up songs that's for sure," he tries to joke but Freddie's smile falters a bit.

"How long has it been?"

"It'll be a year next month." He can't believe it still feels so recent and not at the same time. "I'm getting used to it." Freddie sighs and nods in understanding.

"I'm sorry you have to go through a shit thing like that, you're one of the good ones H," the green eyed musician is blushing, waving his hand at his companion in an attempt to dismiss his words. "It's the truth I mean... look around us, Jack has been on and off with Alexis for years," the two men observe the couple they're discussing, nothing seems wrong with them but Freddie's words are true, Jack has a habit of calling it quits with the redhead once she brings up marriage. "Kiera and Mosas cheat on each other all the time, we're not even sure if they're still together at this point... last but not least you have Alf, Christophe, Ruben and myself, four emotionally unavailable men who can't commit because they can't get their shit together." Silence takes over the two friends, it's deafening even though the background music can be heard loud and clear.

"I made some shitty decisions too, that's what drove her away," Harry wants to continue, the tequila shots seemed to have loosened his tongue.

"No, no, no you listen to me," Freddie's hands hold his younger friend's face carefully. "I know you're not a dishonest scummy man, you're allowed to make mistakes in a relationship and learn from them... don't be like Alf," he lets Harry's face go and nods towards the tallest guy in the room, "he had a brief relationship with a Portuguese girl, charmed her socks off and when she planned to move here guess what he did?"

"What?" Harry knew the answer, but he wanted to give his friend the benefit of the doubt.

"He cuts her off! Ghosting is what they call it nowadays. Just like that... and you think he learned, except that he doesn't!" His friend is now sounding too frustrated. "I saw him do the same thing to Al, perhaps it was a bit different she already lived here but she wanted more and just—" he can't finish his thought and Harry feels for his friend. "We all do that, it's a trend."

"Must be something in the water." The curly one tries to joke and he earns a soft smile from the birthday guy, along with a heartwarming hug. "You can always ring me Freddie, to chat and if I'm home see each other." Harry knows this is something new in their friendship, but he feels it necessary, after so many years of knowing each other. He can tell that Freddie is trying to find his way into adulthood, something that Harry had to experience at a much younger age due to his career.

"Thanks mate, I would really like that." Harry is about to ask Freddie about his family's well-being when a figure entering the room caught his eye, she was wearing the burgundy coat like that first Thursday he was lucky enough to lay eyes on her, high-waisted trousers. The newsboy cap was missing though, but he was glad because it gave her curly hair the freedom it lacked before.

Of all the places where he thought they might meet again, his friend's birthday party was certainly not on the list. She was here, greeting Jack and the others, pulling her sleeve to show how uncomfortable she was at making small talk with Alexis and Keira. She has to crane her neck up a bit when talking to, well pretty much anyone in the room.

This is the miracle he's been waiting for, he thinks just as the song changes to The Beach Boys' and a small smirk threatens to expand on Harry's lips, he does want to ask her if she wants to dance like the sixties tune suggested.

"Harry it's nice to see you again!" Fernando stands in the way blocking the view between the musician and the tube girl. He cringes a bit at the nickname and makes a mental note to learn her name, the sooner the better.

"Fer, I have missed you since we last saw each other earlier today," the architect laughs and so does Freddie. "Would you like a beer?" Forever polite Harry asks.

"No, I'm driving tonight but I'll fetch one for my sister," he says stepping around the bar where Harry and Freddie have been leaning against for the past hour, "I'm starving though, do you mind if I order something Fred?"

"I have some pizza in the fridge man, help yourself." Fernando thanks him before nodding to the person standing behind Harry.

"This beer alright?" Harry turns around just in time to meet a pair of chocolate eyes staring at the guy behind the bar and nod in acceptance. "You already know Freddie and this is Harry," the curly guy is speechless, now up close she seems prettier than before and real. "Harry this is my sister Alma." She smiles in a sweet way that makes the pop star wonder if he's about to go into cardiac arrest.

"I saw you in the tube, Hampstead station guy!" Her voice was nothing like he had imagined, it was raspy and a hint of an accent he couldn't quite put his finger on was swimming through her words.

"That's me..." he admitted, the pink blush from his cheekbones migrating to his ears. Alma thought he looked adorable.

"Do you wanna dance?" She asked after a big gulp of her beer. All star by Smash Mouth just started playing, that was definitely not what Harry wanted to dance with her. Not that he had a secret plan to woo her with his moves, he wasn't the best dancer.

But he took her hand and let her lead the way to the unofficial dance floor, that on a regular day was the dining room. Oblivious to all the eyes focusing on them, Harry allowed himself to enjoy the unexpected turn of events, he had already wasted precious time not talking to this marvellous woman. Like Freddie said, he had to learn from his mistakes, instead of repeating them.

///

Let me know if you like the story! *** Join the taglist!

///

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Next chapter

[vigilantesanonymous]

clean - klaus hargreeves

Diego is your best friend, and he asks you for your help, the one and only favor he’s ever asked of you. The catch? It involves helping his addict brother get clean.

Warnings: addiction, alcohol, mentions of an abusive relationship

Word count: 4900

***

A favor. That’s all that Diego mentioned in his text about why I oh so urgently needed to meet up with him. That’s Diego though, curt, short, and to the point. Elaboration was not his strong suit, never had been. 

“You need to get a real place to live, Diego,” I say, looking around the cramped room that reeks of sweaty dudes and menthol muscle cream. “I mean who are you, Rocky Balboa?”

“Hey, I’m doin’ just fine. Mind your own business,” he snarks, obviously butthurt that I don’t revel in the aesthetic of living in a gym as much as he does. “I asked you here to see if you could do a favor for me,” he says, his tone suddenly shifting to serious. “It’s about my brother.”

Diego Hargreeves, in my years of knowing him, has never talked about his family. I know they exist, from all the splashes in old newspapers about the Umbrella Academy. But he would be damned before actually speaking about any of them. Any time that I tried to tease out some information about the strange family that Diego was apart of, he clammed up, changing the subject to literally anything else. So the fact that he wanted to ask me a favor involving his brother had me start to wonder if Diego had been replaced by a clone, a carbon copy of the man who had erased his family from his life. 

“Which one?” I ask, slightly confused. “One, four, five, or six?”

“Klaus,” he responds. “I um, I really need your help with him.” Diego rubs at his forehead, his go-to body language for when he’s stressed. “This isn’t easy for me to ask you this, but you’re my closest friend and the only person that I really would trust with him. My brother Klaus is a drug addict, and he got caught, again, buying pills off of some loser. I’ve tried talking to him, talked about getting clean and sober, I know a few of our other siblings have talked to him, but nothing sticks. He just won’t listen to us,” Diego says through gritted teeth. “He’s in jail right now, and I’ve been talking to the ADA to see if they’ll let him out easy if he gets clean. But they’re being really strict about it, and they won’t let him out unless someone really helps him get clean. They’re going to make him get checked weekly, make sure nothing new is in his system. It’s going to be rough.”

“So where do I fit into all of this?”

“That’s what I’m getting to.” Diego has never been one to ask for favors, especially not one this grave, and I can tell it’s painful for him to get the words out. “You’re one of the most kind, patient, loyal people I know. If anyone can help Klaus kick this, it’s you. So, I’m asking you if you’ll help my brother get sober.” 

“Diego Hargreeves,” I sigh heavily. I didn’t know on my walk over here that I would be enlisted to become a one woman sobriety clinic, but I owe Diego my life. So anything that he asks of me, I’ll do it.

“I know it’s a lot that I’m asking of you,” he starts, but I cut him off with a shake of my head.

“You know I can’t say no to you, you bastard,” I chuckle softly. “I’ll help your brother. I can’t say that I’m going to succeed, seeing as he sounds like he’s a real pain in the ass, but I’ll help you.”

Diego reaches out and smothers me in one of his rare hugs. “Thankyouthankyouthankyou,” he breathes, giving me a final squeeze. “You don’t know how much this means to me.”

“Don’t thank me just yet,” I note. “Let’s get your brother out of jail first.”

~~~

Klaus has himself flung dramatically over the bench in the cell, his skinny arms flung to either side of him. Well- it must be Klaus because he’s the only one in the cell. I notice that he has a few tattoos, and more than his fair share of puncture holes around the inside of his elbow. His outfit it… Excentric. A crop top and pants so tight they might as well be painted on him. 

“Get up, asshole,” Diego barks.

Klaus looks over lazily, his energy shifting as he sees his brother. He bolts upright, a grin lighting up his features. “You’ve come to rescue me!” He cries as soon as his eyes fall onto Diego. He then turns to me, his expression becoming more coy. “Well Diego, I didn’t know you were going to bring your side piece. I would have cleaned myself up more for a proper introduction.”

Diego and I both look at each other, disgusted. “There’s no way-” “We’re not fucking-” We say at the same time, which only amuses Klaus more.

“Why’s she here then?”

“She’s going to get you sober,” Diego says with a devilish smirk. 

“Ah, so she’ll be my keeper then,” Klaus grins. 

Diego rolls his eyes. “Look, she’s a good friend of mine, so if you try to pull any bullshit with her-”

“You’ll skin me alive or something like that. Whatever, Knife-Boy.” Klaus dismisses Diego with a wave of his hand. 

“Promise me.”

Klaus raises his right hand, cocking his hip to the side. “I promise, okay? Scouts honor. I will be a delightful little cherub and do nothing except focus on becoming squeaky clean and sober.”

“Good. You better.” Diego gives Klaus a knowing glance before turning back to me. “Okay, he’s in your custody. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Will do,” I agree, swinging my keys around on my finger. “Alrighty Klaus, let’s get going.”

Klaus and I walk out into the crisp autumn air towards my car in the jail’s dinky parking lot. Despite the weather, Klaus was arrested in a crop top and sinfully tight black leather lace up pants. He shoves his hands in his pockets, goosebumps littering his arms. He shivers slightly. “If it gets any more cold out here, my nips might show.”

I laugh and shake my head at him, unlocking the door to my car. “That’s inappropriate. I’ll have to get you a change of clothes; I run a modest household,” I tease. 

“Oh wonderful, I can’t wait for our stay together to begin, then,” Klaus says, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “I’m surprised that my brother hasn’t tried to steal this car from you,” he notes as he swings himself into the passenger seat. “I don’t know a whole lot about cars, but this looks a hell of a lot better than that shitty vintage beater he’s got.”

“I know,” I reply. I drive a white ‘72 Ford Mustang, and on more than one occasion Diego has commented on how pretty my car is. I stick the key in the ignition, the roar of the engine a sound that never ceases to comfort me. 

“So what’s the plan?” Klaus asks me. He starts toying with the knobs for the radio, switching from one station to the next. “Find a sleazy hotel, snort some coke, have wild sex?” His eyes glitter with mischief as he says this.

“Yeah, don’t you wish,” I retort. 

Klaus huffs, folding his arms and slouching down in the passenger seat to pout. “Well you’re no fun,” he sighs. “Can we at least get some cigarettes and take out for dinner?”

“Why don’t we establish some ground rules instead?” I suggest, laughing as he groans loudly from his spot in the passenger seat. 

~~~

Something I learned very quickly was how feisty Diego’s brother is. Klaus did not take to sobriety well, and made it very clear and is very vocal that he was not going to get clean without a fight. Within the first day, he had cleared through all the liquor I had stored under my bathroom sink (for when I was having a rough day myself). He was suspiciously quiet for how talkative he had been in the car, which made me nervous. And low and behold, when I went into his room to check on him, he was laying on the floor, giggling to himself and reeking of whiskey. I dragged him to the bathroom and forced him to puke (“Kinky,” he slurs as I hold his head up by the hair. “You know, you’re sexy when you take charge like this. Maybe pull my hair a little harder,” he jeers, clearly enjoying making me flustered by flirting with me. “You having fun? This won’t be so funny in a second, smartass,” I snap. Klaus thought it was a great joke until I shoved my fingers down his throat and he starts purging himself of all my booze). 

That was the other thing: the relentless flirting. Whether he was sassy, or he wanted something, or wanted to throw me off guard, or even when he was in one of his sweeter moods, Klaus would always make some kind of remark that never failed to make me blush. After a few days, I should have grown accustomed to it, expected if from him even. But I didn’t, and every time he would say how hot it was that I was taking charge and keeping him from downing as many pills as possible to get high, or when he was shaking and barely coherent and suggesting a sexual exchange in order to get his fix, I would find myself red in the face. I tried to shake it off and chalk it up to him just buttering me up so that he could get what he wanted, but it didn’t always seem that way. Sometimes I would catch him staring at me for a beat too long, his usually mischievous look replaced with something softer. I didn’t really know what to make of it. 

“Ah, there she is!” Klaus cries as I walk in the door. He pops up from the couch a little too quickly for my liking for his current state. He’s so close to being done with the ugly stage of withdrawal- the shaking, sweating, screaming in your sleep and calling me a bitch because I wouldn’t get him something to get high with- stage. It’s made him a little worse for wear; he’s shaky and lightheaded because of the lack of drugs in his body. Only a day or two more and it should be out of his system completely. “My little angel! Did you get any snacks for our movie night?”

I feel my face heat up as I root through the convenience store bag for his cigarettes. “Yeah, and I got you a present too.” I hold them out to him, Klaus eagerly snatching them up like a child on Christmas Day. 

“Oh, bless you and your beautiful face,” he says gratefully. 

“They’re for us to share,” I say as I dump out the contents of the bag onto the counter. Smoking is the only vice that Klaus and I share. Klaus makes fun of me for it, saying that I smoke for the aesthetic of it, whereas he smokes because he’s an addict. I actually picked up smoking to temper my anxiety- the ritual of taking a drag, forcing myself to breathe slowly and surely helps calm me down a lot. 

Klaus leans against the counter, lighting up a cig. He takes a deep drag, letting the smoke tumble from his lips. I stand mesmerized as I watch it tangle through the curls in his hair to the ceiling. The slight tremble from his hands stills as he absorbs the nicotine, and I see as the tension starts to ooze out of him. He takes a few more drags before offering it to me. 

“I really can’t thank you enough,” he says as I take a puff of my own. “That nicotine really hit the spot.” He shuffles over to me and gives me a quick peck on the cheek, his facial hair tickling my face as he does. “A token of my appreciation.”

I giggle, playfully blowing smoke at him. “I’m glad I could make your day, Klaus.”

“Well, there’s always something you could do to make my day,” he grins, giving a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows. He hoists himself onto the counter, feet dangling. He positions himself over me so he can see what else I grabbed for us. Giggling softly to himself, he leans back lazily as he watches me put things away in the kitchen. “Yeah, I’m pretty easy to keep happy. Smokes, yummy food, and someone to love me.”

Before I could respond, my phone started ringing. Diego, probably prompting me for another update on Klaus’ sobriety. I mentally scream, annoyed that I can’t seem to ever get to the bottom of Klaus’s flirting. Reluctantly, I walk down the hall to answer the phone, wishing the whole time I just would get the courage to deny the call and see what Klause really means. 

*

“Star China is absolute trash,” Klaus says, shaking his head. “I refuse to eat it. We should get takeout from that place that’s called Little Hong Kong or something. Their egg rolls?” He kisses his fingers, blowing it towards me. “Absolute perfection.”

I can never beat Klaus with his antics. They definitely have added to my experience of living with him. He always finds a way to overembelish an interaction, which keeps me on my toes. “Fine, we’ll get your fucking takeout place,” I say with a laugh. “But I want noodles.”

“Wait! I want noodles!” Klaus whines. “Can I have some too?” 

Klaus and I take a few minutes to negotiate what to order, Klaus perched over my shoulder as he reads the menu. His breath tickles my neck, causing my heart to start beating out of control. 

I pay for delivery, Klaus hopping up and down behind me as I gather all the food from our driver and shut the door with my hip. “Thank God,” Klaus moans. “I’m starving. I mean, I could practically wither away with how hungry I am.”

“Oh, shut up,” I laugh. “I feed you. It isn’t my fault that you choose not to eat vegetables.”

He snatches one of the boxes of takeout from me, grabbing a fork and heading for the couch. 

“Hey! Where are you going?”

“I like to be comfy when I eat!” Klaus calls back, already shoveling food into his mouth.

I roll my eyes. He’s always distracted by something, whether it’s Ben talking to him or the TV, which causes him to get crumbs everywhere. But he’s already rooted himself to the corner of the couch, his feet tucked underneath of him as he devours his chicken lo mein. 

“Okay,” I agree, setting the other food down on the coffee table. “But if I find any crumbs someone is picking them all up, and it’s not going to be me.”

“Ben?” Klaus asks, pointing to the chair across from him.

“That’s kind of rude to pin the chores on your dead brother,” I retort. 

“Don’t back him up!” Klaus cries, which only makes me laugh more. I decide to sit down next to him, making it easier for us to share food. Well, that, and I will take any excuse to be close to Klaus. “I was planning on sharing some of this, but now I’m not going to,” he huffs defiantly.

“Oh, come on Klaus. Please?” I lean against him, hoping that batting my lashes will win him over. 

Klaus stops for a second, taking me in. He looks me over and grins, jumping back into his character. “Oh, fine. I can’t say no to a girl as pretty as you.” He twirls some noodles around on his fork, holding it up to feed me some. 

I take the food from him, positioning myself so I’m leaning against him slightly. Klaus moves some of the cushions so that I’m leaning more on him than I am on them. He takes advantage of the way we’re sitting to steal a piece of shrimp from me, his eyes twinkling with delight as I turn to look at him, but I don’t call him out for it. 

“Y’know, out of all of my siblings, I could argue that Diego is the least conversational,” Klaus notes as we sit nestled together on the couch. “So how on earth did a nice girl like you become friends with such a hard ass like him?”

I pick at my noodles, moving them by pushing them into a pile and then placing one on top of the other. “It’s kind of a long story,” I say, not really answering the question. I don’t really want to talk about how Diego and I became so close. Diego’s one of the most important people I know, and I owe him my life, but reminiscing on the finer details of how we developed our bond wasn’t something I wanted to focus on.

Klaus shrugs. “Well, I’ve got time. I’m all ears. I mean, I really couldn't leave if I wanted to. Not that I do, of course.” He shifts closer to me, his bright green eyes locking earnestly with mine. I can’t bring myself to turn him down. He’s looking at me supportively, almost like he knows that there’s something sensitive tied to my friendship with Diego. “I was working at a bar he would go to a lot between calls, or if he just wanted some time off from being a self-proclaimed super hero,” I start slowly. “And I was dating this guy at the time. And he and I move in together, because I’m young and naive and I think that even though there’s a million red flags, that moving in together is going to solve all of our problems. But he starts getting rough with me- real rough. So one night we’re fighting, like top of our lungs screaming at each other, and I just get this feeling like…” I stop to rub at my temples. Thinking back to that night brings back so many memories I prefer to keep buried. “I felt like that was it. He was going to kill me. I don’t really remember how I got away from him, but I locked myself in the bathroom and called Diego, just saying that I needed to get out of there and someone to be with me. I knew the police took too long, and I was scared out of my mind. I went back out of the bathroom, and he was choking me, saying that I would leave over his dead body. And then, in a moment of pure poetic irony, I see a knife sink into his jugular.” I chuckle darkly. 

My mind flashes back to that night, the images reeling like a silent film. I remember how dark it was in the apartment, what little light illuminated his face was starting to blur around the edges as I lost more and more oxygen. And the thick thunk sound as Diego’s knife sunk into his neck. The way he stumbled back, grasping at it like that was going to do anything. Me sinking to the cold, hard floor, coughing and trying to catch my breath. My head pounding, my vision coming back, the feeling flooding into my extremities. And Diego, silently slinking forward out of the shadows as my boyfriend bled out on the floor, his eyes hidden beneath his Academy mask. 

“Good old knife boy,” Klaus chuckles darkly. “I’m sorry though,” he says seriously. “You don’t deserve that. I mean nobody does, but especially not you.”

“It’s okay,” I say, but we both know it’s not. 

Klaus silently pulls me into a hug, resting his chin on my head. I feel small but safe in his embrace. “So how come you guys never got together?” I appreciate his attempt to change the subject, even though it’s one that still makes me feel a little awkward. He tries to sound blase about it, but I feel like there is a twinge of something else to his tone. “Diego is one of my best friends, and I’m forever grateful to him, don’t get me wrong…” I taper off. “I just… I know that he could never see me as anything but the way I was that night. When he saved me. And in some ways, I appreciate how protective and respectful he is to me. But if I’m with someone, I want them to see more to me than just that. I know he couldn’t ever do that with me.”

Klaus hums in agreement. “I can see that. Diego is a good guy, but he definitely takes the vigilante hero role to a whole new level. I think that’s what ruined his relationship with the cop lady-”

“Patch?”

“Yeah! That one.”

“Yeah,” I agree. 

I can tell Klaus is looking at me out of the corner of my eye, but I don’t care right now. I feel weirdly distant all of a sudden, like I need some air and space or something. “I think I’m going to go to bed,” I say, almost mechanically. 

“Okay.” Klaus gives my hand a little squeeze. “Sweet dreams.”

“Thanks,” I whisper, but I’m sure he doesn’t hear it. 

Thinking about my ex always puts me in a bad place. That’s why I try to avoid it as much as possible. And that’s why I always keep alcohol around. Is it healthy? No. But I’ll be damned if I have to stay up all night with these thoughts and not get any sleep because of him. One thing I got at the convenience store that I didn’t tell Klaus about was the liter of my friend The Captain, Captain Morgan to be exact. I start throwing back shot after shot, making a face as I do, the sting of the alcohol making my mind melt slowly. But after a few, things start to loosen up, relax. And I feel like I can finally sleep because my thoughts are so spaced out, floating loosely in my brain.  

I feel myself bolt upright in my sleep before I fully realize that I’m awake. In my drunken stupor, I realize it’s Klaus screaming in his sleep that’s woken me up. Again. Poor thing, I think to myself. Maybe he needs someone with him right now. I throw my legs over the side of the bed and walk down the hall to his room.

He doesn't hear me come in at all. “Klaus,” I whisper. He stays asleep, his face screwed up with fear.

“No… No…” he murmurs. “Please Dave, stay with me.” 

“Klaus,” I say again, firmer this time. I give him a little shake, to which he gasps as he wakes up, his fingers digging into my forearms. 

“Holy shit,” he breathes. “Fuck, am I glad you’re here.” He whispers it like a prayer. Any of the usual giddiness and antics is gone from Klaus’ usually bright eyes. Instead, he looks scared and exhausted, the kind that builds up from years of torment and pushing down emotions. He releases me from his grip, falling back on the bed with a faint thud. 

“Move over,” I instruct. Obediently, Klaus scoots over so I can fall into bed beside him. 

For once in his life, Klaus is doesn’t have anything to say. I hear him panting, still recovering from his nightmare as I scoot around until I get comfortable. I look up at him to see him staring back down at me. 

“What’s wrong Klaus?”

He looks down, his long lashes tickling the tops of his cheeks. “It was just… A really bad nightmare, that’s all.”

“You wanna talk about it?”

He shakes his head. “Not really.”

I hold my arms out to him, silently offering to hold him. Klaus accepts, shimmying himself into my embrace. His skin is cold and clammy from sweat and fear. I put my hand on his chest and can feel his heart thumping hard and quick, the way it does when you’re terrified. I feel him trying to relax in my embrace. 

“You smell like booze,” he says softly. I sigh, glad I can’t see his face. Whether it’s a smug smirk of perfect me being not so perfect, or a scowl of disappointment, that was honestly the last thing I needed to see right now. 

I let out a weary sigh before responding. “Well, you’re not the only one who’s been having a rough night.”

“I’m not judging,” he says quickly, almost nervously. “Trust me, I’m the last person who would.” He flips around to face me, snaking an arm around my waist. “If you tell me about yours I’ll tell you about mine,” he offers earnestly. 

“Maybe in the morning,” I suggest. The alcohol is coming back to haunt me, and my brief moment of coherence is wearing off now that I don’t have to attend to the screaming man. I feel tired, and I’m comfortable in bed tucked next to the man that I’ve grown to love. Love. Loving Klaus is a scary thought, but I don’t want to over analyze it in the state I’m in. That could be saved for later. “I promise we can in the morning if you still want to. I’m just, I’m really tired Klaus,” I admit. 

Klaus nods, silently agreeing with me. “Okay,” he says softly. “I’m tired too.” Hesitantly, he nuzzles himself into my embrace, placing his face in the crook of my neck and wrapping his long skinny arms around me. 

~~~

Most mornings, I wake up headache free. This is not one of those mornings. I peel my eyes open, not understanding why I’m not in my own room and why the fuck is Klaus here?!

“I tried not to move around so I wouldn’t wake you up,” Klaus admits as he watches me grasp at my throbbing temples. He must have been watching me for a while, which I find oddly sweet instead of strange.  “How are you doing, sport?” He’s sat up slightly, looking down at me with tender eyes. His dark hair is fluffy and sticking up slightly on one side from sleeping. Klaus is warm too, and I reflexively scoot towards him, he silently shifts to accomodate me. 

“Not well,” I answer gruffly. Then I start to put the pieces together. Drunk me really stumbled all the way to Klaus and slept with him? God, I need to never do that ever again. 

“Someone’s a little cranky,” he teases. “I can’t believe you didn’t share though!”

“Klaus!” I snap. His face falls, immediately sorry. 

“I shouldn’t have asked you all that stuff last night, huh?” He asks softly. “I’m sorry I brought it up. His ghost just keeps following you around though, and he was being so annoying with the accusing and bitching and-”

I sit up so fast that I feel woozy. “Did you just say that my ex-boyfriend’s ghost is following me around?”

“Um, yeah?” He says it so plainly, like it’s common knowledge. “Did- Did Diego seriously not tell you about our powers? They’re kinda like the whole reason that I’m fucked up literally all the time. Both literally and metaphorically.”

“No Klaus, he didn’t mention the powers or the seeing dead people thing,” I sigh. 

“I’m really sorry,” Klaus says softly.

“What? What are you sorry for?”

“I just- I’m sorry that Diego dumped me on you, and that you’re trying to take care of me, and that your ex-boyfriend is a piece of trash,” he says a little bit louder to an empty space in the room. “I know I can be a lot. But no one has ever been this kind to me- well, scratch that. No one has been this kind to me since Dave.” He rakes his fingers through his hair, trying to find the words to tell me what the hell he means. “What I’m trying to say is- You’re a really amazing person. You didn’t have to help me with all of this, getting clean, you didn’t have to come to see if I’m okay when I’m having nightmares.” He slips my hands into his, rubbing his thumbs soothingly over the back of my hands. “I like you a lot. Like, really like you a lot. I’ve been really scared of being vulnerable with someone after Dave but, you make me feel not so scared.”

“So all the flirting was real?” I ask. I feel slow, my brain processing what I’m hearing a few beats too late. 

“Of course it was. You’re fucking hot!” He cries, both of us giggling. “Um,” he swallows, flinging back to seriousness. “If you would want to like, be an item, or date, or something… That would be cool.”

I giggle, sliding a hand up to cup his face. He flicks his gaze up to meet mine, his green eyes melting into mine. I lean in and press my lips to his firmly, Klaus immediately melting into the kiss. He makes a little squeak of excitement as I pull him closer to me, grinning ear to ear when I pull away.

“How’s that for an answer?” I smirk.

“I don’t know, I think I’ll have to check again,” Klaus says before pulling me in for another kiss.

[ashdoesfandomarchieved]

Hey!! Could you write something shippy about Boimler and Mariner? What if Boimler regularly spent time in the holodeck acting out certain scenarios and situations with Mariner? 👀

A/N: This was way angstier than I meant it to be. And way less sexier. I apologize in advance.

ao3

She glares at him, mouth pressed into a thin line. “What happened to having each other’s backs? I put my ass on the line for you. Repeatedly.”

He winces. This conversation is not going how he’d planned. “Mariner, I-”

Mariner clenches her fists and straightens. “No, you don’t get to say anything after what you pulled. Fuck you.”

The image freezes and Boimler resets the simulation.

What seems like years ago, he remembers lecturing Tendi overusing the Holodecks for fun. The details are fuzzy. It was before the “GUYS I MADE US INTO A MOVIE'' incident with Mariner, but after that weirdass thing with Rutherford and his rogue program. He thinks she and Mariner had been using it to watch Ransom in an array of—what he now admits-hysterical situations—but can’t be sure.

She and Mariner have gotten up to so much shit, he can’t keep track.

He doesn’t know why he’s remembering it now. It was a random conversation that happened a long time ago—a few months after Tendi was assigned to the Cerritos? –so there’s no reason why he should be thinking about it right now.

Liar, a smug voice intones in his head. It sounds vaguely like Mariner. Boimler aggressively shoves it down.

This isn’t for fun, he anxiously tells the voice in his head. The voice is quiet. It does nothing to soothe the turning of his stomach.

It’s been three months since Boimler requested a transfer back to the Cerritos. Three months since he’d run into Rutherford and Tendi on shore leave and the three of them got swept up into a ridiculous, interplanetary civil war that took three different starship crews to settle out. Three months since he’d almost died more times than he can count on all his fingers and toes, three months since he thought Tendi had died, miles away from her home, on a world which would never remember her name, three months since Mariner swept in and fixed everything.

It’s been three months.

Not that he’s counting.

Somewhere between being in a remote alien prison with Tendi and hiking for a month in a perpetually dark wilderness with Rutherford, Boimler had come to the belated conclusion that his career didn’t take precedence over his friends.

(Also, if he’s being completely honest, he missed the chaos of being a lower deck ensign. Not that he still doesn’t want to be in the upper ranks. Just not without his dumb, dumb friends.)

After it was all over—and he’d realized that Tendi was alive—he put in his transfer request, surprising all his peers.

“This just isn’t a good fit for me,” was his official statement.

Captain Riker gave him a bland look. “You worked with Beckett, didn’t you.” His voice was flat, but his eyes were amused.

“Is it that obvious?”

“She rubs off on people. Don’t let her give you a hard time,” he added, signing off on the request. “It was nice working with you, Boimler. If you ever need anything, let me know.”

And so here he is, a newly minted ensign again, on the lower decks of the Cerritos.

(Captain Freeman is thrilled. “All operations have been down by 18% since you left. Good to have you back, Boimler.”)

Tendi and Rutherford seem hyped to have him back-Tendi especially, who’s been a little clingy with everyone since her near-death experience-but are acting uncharacteristically nervous around him. This isn’t a surprise. The tension between him and Mariner when she’d shown up on Roxadt II was insane and was only getting worse with every day. It’s been six weeks since he’d transferred, and she’s found a reason to be in a different room for all six of them.

Hence the simulations.

That makes absolutely no fucking sense, the Mariner-esque voice in his head sneers. Just talk to her you fucking wimp.

Boimler ignores it.

“Scenario A-187,” the clinical voice of the simulation intones. The simulation restarts.

It goes exactly the same way 186 other scenarios had gone. He corners Mariner. She stays quiet. He apologizes. She explodes.

Mariner’s anger had always burnt red hot. He’d first experienced it when an ensign got a little frisky with Tendi after she’d repeatedly told him no. Mariner’s fury at the situation felt justified. Vindicated. The ensign had been demoted so hard, Boimler was certain they’d seen the last of him for like. Well, forever.  At the time he’d been astonished that she’d managed to pull it off, but after finding out about her familial connection to the Captain, it made sense.

He’d seen a glimpse of that anger a few more times—when Captain Freeman had forced her to go to therapy, after Rutherford had been captured by rogue Klingons, that one-time Ransom tried to promote her.  But never toward Boimler.

Oh, she’d get irritated with him.  “Loosen up, Boimler, it’s not that bad.”

“Look, the worst that’ll happen is that we get a note to file-stop yelling!”

“Dude if you don’t chill the fuck out I might actually throw you out of an airlock.”

Standard Mariner reactions, right? Yeah, she’d been pretty pissed when he took the promotion (his voicemail had been blowing up for the first 48 hours after he transferred), but it had died down fairly quickly so he had logically assumed that she had gotten over it.

He assumed wrong. If her icing him out was to be taken into account. So here he was, six weeks in, desperate and stressed from his friend’s apparent dismissal. The obvious solution, his sleep deprived brain decided, was to simulate a conversation with her using his high-tech program on the holodeck.

This may have not been the best idea. But he’s calculated the probability of anything going wrong and it’s under 3%, so he’s almost guaranteed success.

(So, of course, it blows up in his face, in true Boimler fashion.)

“Okay, I have a pretty high threshold for weird, but this might take the cake,” a voice slowly says.

Boimler startles. Whirls around. Shuts down the simulation. “Ohhh shit-”

“Yeah shit,” Mariner says, stalking into the room. “What the hell, dude?”

“This isn’t what it looks like!” Boimler sputters out, panicked. The simulation is shut down, leaving them in the empty holodeck room, but the echoes of Holo-Mariner’s rage still resonate between them. Actual Mariner is staring at him, face somewhere between completely shocked and furious.

“Did you use your dumbass hyper realistic program to simulate a situation with me so that you could cheat later?”

“I mean, kinda?”

“Then it’s exactly what it looks like!” Mariner slaps a palm over her eyes.

“Well what was I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know—maybe talk to me like a person? Not use your creepy, hyper realistic simulations to roleplay it?” She drops her hand and glares up at him.  

Boimler rolls his eyes. “You literally created a simulation to kill the entire crew because your mom made you go to therapy.”

“Yeah and it fucking worked.”

“Then why are you yelling at me?!”

“I’m not!”  she shrieks. “I’m very calmly telling you to fucking talk to me next time!”

“There’s not going to be a next time!”

Mariner stops, mouth open. “What?”

“Look, I get it. I fucked up and you apparently don’t do second chances! I was trying to make things right but clearly it isn’t working. I’ll stay out of your way now.”

Instead of pacifying her, this seems to make Mariner even more furious. “You fucking asshole. what am I supposed to say to that?” she shouts, stomping up to him.

He groans in exasperation. “Apparently nothing, considering you don’t want to talk to me!”

Her hands grab his collar, pulling him down to eye level with her. “I literally just said to talk to me next time!”

“And how was I supposed to do that if you’re avoiding me?”

“You’re the one who fucked off in the Titan to god-knows-where,” Mariner grits out.

So they’re actually doing this. Boimler swallows hard. Takes a breath. Tries to quell the anxiety welling in his gut. “I’m sorry.”

“Right after you said you didn’t care about rank or shit,” she adds, twisting the knife.

“Yeah. It was really shitty of me.”

“And then you ghosted me for like six months.”

Boimler winced. “Yeah—I. Yeah.”

Mariner’s iron grip on his shirt loosens, but she doesn’t let go completely. “That was really shitty of you.”

Not sure what to say, beyond apologizing again, Boimler gives a jerky nod.

“You came back.” She stares at him, eyes unfathomable. “The Titan wasn’t everything you dreamed it would be.”

It’s not a question.

Boimler still has an answer, though. “It was.”

She stiffens. He pushes forward, intent on getting this out while he still has her attention. “It was everything I wanted in a career. I was doing what I wanted, everyone took me seriously. Our missions came straight from the Admiralty and they treated us like we weren’t a joke. I loved it.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Because I care more about my friends then I do about people taking me seriously.”

Mariner freezes and then lets out a strangled laugh. “Now I think you’re the simulation. Who are you and what have you done with Boimler?” She pokes at his cheek.

He grins. And then falters. “For what it’s worth—and I know it’s not worth much—but. I am sorry. I wasn’t a very good friend.”

“Yeah you weren’t.” She lets go of her grip on his shirt completely and draws back. “You said you were my best friend and then you left. For Riker.”

“That makes me sound like the love interest in a cheesy drama. And like I’m hooking up with Riker.”

“I said what I said.”

Boimler laughs. It feels real for the first time in a long while. “Are we good?”

“No.” Mariner smiles. “I’m going to give you so much shit and you’re gonna grovel for like months and then I’m going to tell my mom that you used to holodeck to simulate certain situations with me.”

“If you do that I’m transferring back,” Boimler tells her. “Your mom finally likes me; I don’t need her ejecting me out of an airlock.”

“She wouldn’t do that.” Mariner waves him off.

“She totally would.”

“Yeah, she totally would,” she agrees. Grabs his arm and begins dragging him out of the holodeck. “So maybe I won’t tell her. I am telling Tendi though and she’s gonna give you so much shit considering you reemed her out over misusing the holodeck.”

Boimler makes a face. “I’ll probably let her too. I’m such a hypocrite.”

“You are, but it’s super weird to hear you be honest about it. Stop being all apologetic, it’s weird.”

They’ve reached the corridor. Mariner steers them in the direction of the bar. “Only if you promise to deck me if I ever make a dumb decision like that again,” he says, giving in and allowing himself to be manhandled. It’s the least he owes her.

“Deal. And the next time you use your weird, hyper realistic simulator—which doesn’t even fucking work by the way, I’m not that much of a bitch—you gotta promise you’ll use it for sexy reason only.”

“Sexy reasons only,” Boimler deadpans. “You know they log everything we do down there.”

Mariner wiggles her eyebrows up and down. “I know.”

“You’re disgusting.”

“And you’re uptight, but you’re the one who was playing with simulations of me.”

“That sounds way worse than it actually is,” he cringes.

“No, it doesn’t. I would take some sexy action over your sad, sad trauma simulations any day. Next time I catch you, you’d better be having fun with it.”

“Mariner, what the fuck—”

They dissolve into good natured bickering. She says something lewd and he rolls his eyes and elbows her and she squawks in protest and threatens to get him thrown in the brig. It’s normal, but it’s also not. There’s something new in the air between them that wasn’t there before. Tension, but not negative. It’s charged with. Something else.

Boimler doesn’t examine it too closely. Better to let it work itself out naturally. After all, he has all the time in the world now.

[imagine-loki]

Pride and Prejudice

TITLE: Pride and Prejudice CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 51 AUTHOR: wolfpawn

ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Loki was raised on Jotunheim as Laufey’s son after the war, but an agreement was then made that he would wed Odin’s daughter so Odin could secure the alliance of Jotunheim through the marriage. Loki, in turn, was raised to be king of Jotunheim, but how he views Asgard is far different from how Odin’s daughter is raised leading to a clash of cultures as well as uncertainty between the pair of betrothed youths.     RATING: Mature   NOTES/WARNINGS: Forced Marriage, not all fun and games. My first real step back into the Loki scene in over a year.

I literally have this written with over a week and just as a tab on my computer but I suffer from ITS, Idiotic Thoughts Syndrome which makes me really mentally weird and my mind tells me no one likes my stuff, I just had a few people message me over the last day about this telling me they love it which forced me to feel like I am letting them down if I don’t post it which, by the way, is sometimes the best way to motivate my shitty ass, so yeah, it needs saying, if you like this, please let me know, it actually gets me to upload new chapters. I have some written, so…yeah.

Tags - @skulliebythesea @asimovethroughthisworld @blackcherry26-blog @we-shadowhunter2901

Ella watched her parents’ faces for their reaction, both were worryingly neutral. 

“Are you even physically able to healthily carry a child so soon after everything?” Frigga asked worriedly. 

“He is perfectly healthy, his seidr interacts with mine. I have checked his growth throughout with mine, he is perfectly healthy, perhaps even a little big for a first child. He has more of the Aesir side of his genes build.” Ella was proud to declare. 

Loki frowned slightly. He didn’t realise she had been noting such in their son. He thought of the lithe natural physique of the Jotnar, he had never thought that adding a different type of physique to the genes would alter the appearance of their child. He thought of how it would alter how their child would look. He clearly would have Jotnar markings, he also preferred the cold. Loki didn’t know if his son’s skin would be the same as his, but if he was robustly built as Thor and Odin were, it would be interesting. He did not know what to think about that.

“He?” Frigga frowned. “How could you know that?” “Mother, you are an incredible seidr wielder but you never really pushed yourself as much as you should.” 

Frigga frowned at her daughter’s words. She looked over at Odin, startled by his knowing face. “You knew this?” In truth, Frigga was slightly hurt that Ella had not informed her of this news earlier.

“I suspected such when sensed it through Gungnir. It...He has a different wave to Ella. I don’t think he will be as powerful but he most certainly has seidr of his own.”  There was clear pride in Odin’s face for both being right in his suspicions and at knowing his grandchild was showing blatant Odin-line attributes. 

Frigga could not argue that. She thought their daughter had informed Odin and not her, which had hurt her deeply. Seeing that instead, it was the use of Gungnir that made him suspect it, she was no longer as hurt. When she looked at Ella again, she could see her daughter seemed somewhat unsure of what to think of their reaction, the manner that Loki was looking at Ella telling her that he too was uncertain as what to think and wondering if he should try to comfort her in some manner. It was clear that the two young royals were confused by such a reaction. She swallowed slightly. “This is, of course, wonderful news.” Ella looked at her mother with scepticism blatant in her features. “My concern is for your health, it was barely over a year ago that we almost lost you, Darling. Of course our concern would be for your health and indeed that of the baby, we are just worried for you both.” She ensured to make clear. 

“I just tripled the size of a palace. I think it is safe to say that if I were to be ill, I could not have done that.” Ella scoffed playfully. “I wished to tell you in our conversations but I felt it to be something worthy of a face-to-face informing.” “And we appreciate such. I fully understand your reasons for doing so, even if you hid your condition when I explicitly asked if you had any further alterations to your health.” Her mother eyed her admonishingly. 

“I stated clearly that my health has been practically doubling...it’s not lying if there are two beings involved...technically...theoretically...sort of.” 

“It’s not the same, Ella and well you know.” Odin’s tone was reprimanding but in a playful manner causing Ella to laugh slightly. Odin then noticed Loki’s apprehensive looks to his mother-in-law. “Don’t mind Frigga, she simply feels she shouldn’t be old enough to be a grandmother.” He dismissed. “But it is entirely to be expected and to be celebrated. No wonder Laufey is so confident to relieve himself of the reins, so to speak. Jotunheim has a good future to look forward to.” he nodded to his daughter. “I solemnly hope that little fellow does not give you the same trouble you gave us, be it with your health or mischief.” 

“The latter I can take. It would be the Norns revenge for my previous behaviour.” Ella retorted back playfully. She found her hand going to her stomach on referencing her son within. 

“If you were to be given a son to mimic your persona...forget Norns have mercy, the realms in their entirety have mercy.” Odin chuckled. “Jotunheim truly is in good hands. So long as that child has even a modicum of your combined attributes towards leadership, then Jotunheim will truly prosper.” 

Loki did not know what to think at Odin’s statement. To hear the Aesir king, a man that left no uncertainty at his want to hurt Loki for what he did to his daughter not very long before, speak of him in such a flattering manner startled him beyond words. 

“With the difference in gestations between Jotnar and Aesir, how long before our grandchild arrives?” It was clear that after the initial shock and concern about Ella’s health, Frigga was somewhat excited with regards the idea of there being a baby. 

“Everything seems to be at the rate of an Aesir and Vanir pregnancy. So all things going to plan, he will arrive in seven months,” Ella was proud to declare.

“So soon?” Frigga was startled by such news. 

Ella rose to her feet and removed her cloak revealing her somewhat protruding stomach to her parents. 

Odin merely nodded slightly. “Wonderful. Praise the Norns we are told now and not at the beginning, the waiting can be something bothersome.” 

“It’s different here, Loki was bothered I did not tell him before he left.” 

“Knowing them to be carrying and going to war does no good.” Odin shook his head at Loki, looking him in the eye as he spoke. “I spent more of my time worrying about if Frigga could flee as she grew heavier with Ella than I did worrying about myself. With Thor being so young and Ella being so bothersome, it was something I worried about no end. On Alfheim, your focus was more on the task at hand.” 

Loki nodded silently. He personally disagreed with that statement but it was subjective so there was no reason in telling the old king that he did not share his sentiments. Though, it did show him why Ella had not thought to tell him before his going. He was only grateful that through it all, their child had been growing and the date of his arrival grew closer. 

The talking after that remained reasonably pleasant, if not slightly boring. Loki and Ella were regaled with the going-ons of Asgard, the vast majority of which Loki thought to be entirely mundane, though he noted that Ella listened intently, adding to the conversation every so often, often on a matter she had learnt of in her youth that her parents had not been aware of. So too was there talk of the requirements for the readying for the coronation. With Laufey still alive, it was somewhat different from anything that Asgard had planned for Thor’s coronation but that did not stop there being areas that her parents were able to assist in them readying. Frigga offered her assistance behind the scenes, recognising that many, especially the mates of Laufey’s other sons would feel it an intrusion and to keep the idea of meddling on the part of Asgard to a minimum. Both Loki and Ella informed the Aesir royals of the sentiment that some had with regards Loki, his heritage, his lineage, the marriage and Ella within Jotunheim’s court. Both nodded and gave suggestions on the matter and gave their sympathies to both youths for what they were being forced to endure by the ignorant older in society. 

“I too felt as they did,” Odin admitted. “I thought the occupants of the other realm to be somewhat beneath me. Monsters. Inferior in most manners, without getting to know them. But I can see the error of my thoughts. I was wrong and I will admit so, but not all can. Some cannot see past what they believe to be fact when in truth, fact is rarely present in their thinking and even if they were presented with the facts, they would ignore them anyway and state them to be lies. This little fellow will be more Vanir than Jotnar or Aesir and will no doubt look mostly Jotnar due to the more dominant genes of the Jotnar. He will be raised here, as a Jotnar, who knows his other heritage and will be surrounded by the Jotnar way of life but that will never be enough for them. They want only purity. But there is no purity, not without imperfection. I read of this family in Midgard, royals, so closely related that they were without fertility and had every manner of genetic error within their bloodline, Norns, but the thought. It was not even that long ago and I recall saying it to the kings of different realms in our talks and we stated it there and then, that a varied bloodline is a better one. This little fellow, he has so much royal lineage but his mixtures will allow him good strength. Look at Thor and Ella, strong and healthy, bar of course, when she is the only one with the ability to harm her. That blade sliced her side, I have seen fully grown, fully trained Einherjar fall to less and she was no more than six hundred and with blood staining her clothes, she continued to fight using her seidr, not even looking to see where she was hit. No haemophiliac Midgardian royal could do that.” Odin’s chest swole slightly at pride in his daughter’s strength. 

Loki looked to Ella curiously. “Haemophilia is blood issues. Some with them cannot clot wounds, they would die from bleeding from something we would not even see as much because the wound would never be able to heal.” She explained.

Loki shuddered at the thought. He found himself thinking of how Odin had seen the Jotnar as a species. He was insulted deeply by the comments but he paused and also considered his own earlier thoughts on the Aesir. He remembered how he dismissed them as cruel, especially considering their young but he realised through it all that the 

Aesir truly did care for their child. Odin left his realm and rushed to Jotunheim to his daughter, he did not even seem to concern himself with the needs of the realm, he never even asked who dealt with Asgard in the Allfather’s absence. Had he even thought to put someone else in charge? Loki did not know. He had thought them monsters and he too was wrong. Looking to his mate beside him, he was relieved that he had learnt such, it allowed him to enjoy her fully as a mate. 

After a time, there was a knock on the door before Ella used her seidr to open it. Thor strutted in with a smile. “Why am I never invited to these family discussions?” “They’re not family discussions, they are me talking with our parents because I now live in a foreign realm so I do not get to talk to them face-to-face too often and I want to. If it was an actual family discussion, you would have been informed of such to begin with.”

Thor could only make a head gesture in agreement, knowing this was true. He looked at Ella in an analytical manner for a moment, his eyes coming to her stomach before getting himself a drink and sitting down. 

“You knew about this?” Frigga stared at Thor in shock, her hand gesturing to Ella’s stomach. 

Thor nodded before taking a drink. “When I came to ask for Loki’s help, she spoke of some concerns she had for him for a moment, asking me to keep an eye on him. Whilst we were speaking, she voiced her concerns on other matters also, including fear for something happening while he was not here, especially and I am not able to recall the sentence verbatim but she referenced that she feared someone would hurt Loki and his line, while she unknowingly seemed to be touching her stomach. All this did not require an overly able mind to comprehend.” Thor looked at his family proudly before their startled faces made him scoff. “I am more astute than I am given credit for.” he shook his head before taking another drink. “I apologise to you Loki, for not saying anything to you on Alfheim but I gathered from your lack of saying anything with regards to it meant that you did not know.” He looked at Loki as he spoke. “Though with how long these things take, it’s best to not know for so long. I feel like I know forever. When is my niece or nephew due?” 

“Your nephew is due in seven months,” Ella informed him. 

“Nephew?” Thor smiled at the idea. “Well, that’s part of that agreement dealt with already, so that’s good, but Norns have mercy if he has your mischief.” He quibbed. 

Loki felt slightly odd at the reference to the requirement of sons, something he still disliked. 

[ilovemyschool]

Teaching through COVID???

Bless you if you actually make it to the end of this post, lol.

I teach high school science- specifically Chemistry and AP Chemistry.  I absolutely love teaching and I love my students.  I especially enjoy getting to talk to them about what they want to do when they graduate, where they want to go to college, what kind of jobs they want to do, and all of that fun stuff.  Finishing high school is an incredibly exciting time in life for a person, and I feel privileged to get to re-live the excitement and apprehension and hopefulness and all the other feelings that come along with having so many possibilities for your life laid out in front of you.  I don’t know any other kind of work that allows you to feel those feelings year after year like I get to through my students.  I also try to support them through the hard stuff.  I listen when they cry and tell me that they feel alone in a room full of people, I hug them (if they want a hug) when they tell me their mom moved out over the weekend, and I feed them and get them additional support when they tell me they are hungry and don’t have enough to eat.  I spend hours on tutoring, grading, and lesson planning outside of my “contract hours.”  It never bothered me because I knew I was doing something that mattered to my kids.  If you’ve never gotten to see a kid gain self-confidence in their own ability by practicing with you one-on-one- let me just tell you it’s magical.  When they know you’ll sit down and work with them again and again when it’s still tough for them, they can see that you believe they’re worth the time and effort, and they start to believe it too.  When you get a note from a student about how they never thought they’d be able to understand chemistry so well, but aced a state final exam or got a 4 or 5 on the AP exam, it feels like you’ve done more than teach them your subject- you’ve taught them to believe they can do hard things.  

I’m sick to my stomach right now, because I am so torn on whether to go back this year.  My students are set to come back in two weeks.  There are so many things going through my head and this has been whirling around for the past two weeks, so I’m writing it out.  To quit or not to quit.  That is my question.

To Quit:

*My district notified parents of the plan just two weeks ago at the same time as the teachers- teachers actually just got a quick email that said something to the effect of “oh hey- check out this stuff we’re sending to parents about next school year.”  

*Since they released their plan, I got in to see a doctor.  I have an autoimmune condition.  It’s not a big deal in general, just a pill everyday, but it does affect my risk- although in the grand scheme of immuno-issues, thankfully mine is on the low end of the COVID risk spectrum.

*The district’s plan is for all students to go back to school 5 days/week, unless they opt for the virtual option.  The hours will be shortened so that the district doesn’t have to do a deep clean at the 4 hour mark as would be required if we were in school for the usual 7 hours.  Instead, teachers will all teach 4 class periods and also have to teach an online class.  If you’ve never taught, teaching online is a whole separate thing, so even if you teach chem both online and in person, it’s likely that most of the time you’ll have to set up your lessons completely differently for the two.  It’s not a deal breaker, but it’s extra work for sure.

*Teachers are responsible for sanitizing the classrooms between classes, which means we’ll have to pee some other time, although every teacher is teaching all 4 classes, so we won’t have anyone available to cover us?  I guess they’ll figure that out?

*According to the FAQ document our principal sent out, if we are told to quarantine or isolate, we have to use our sick days.  If we go through our sick days or run out we can apply to the sick day bank.  They don’t say it in the FAQ, but once you’ve used up days, they dock your pay.  

*However, that might not actually be a problem, because in a virtual staff meeting they held on Friday, the assistant superintendent shared that the health department here is now defining “exposure” as 15 minutes or more within 6 feet of a person who has tested positive without a mask.  That means that we could be in the classroom with kids who later test positive for COVID for an hour and neither the teacher nor the parents of the other kids in that class would be notified or asked to isolate because we were all wearing masks and therefore were “not exposed.”

*Since all kids are going back at the same time, thats nearly 1800 kids (minus the ones who signed up to take all their classes virtually).  Based on early estimates, less than 20% are going to opt to go online.  There are no plans to stagger class changes, which means our hallways will be full- it will not be possible for students to social distance.

*Currently, I have a class with 33 students in one of my face-to-face classes.  That’s a fairly big class anyway, but in COVID, they’ll be packed in there.  It is not possible to keep that many kids 6 feet apart in my classroom.

*We are relying on parents to do temperature checks every day and keep their child home if their temp is 100.4 or above.  If you’ve ever taught, you know that while most parents are responsible with things like this, there are some that will send their child in no matter what because they have to work or (in some very sad situations) want the time to themselves.

*In our state’s official COVID school plans, they outlined “Required,” “Strongly Recommended,” and “Recommended” measures.  My district seems to be reading “Strongly Recommended” as “Not Required.”  This means that they are okay with us running labs, sharing equipment, and working in close proximity because they think that parents understand that if they’re sending their child to school, that they know their child will be in close proximity to others.  They say that parents know that their kids will be 2/bus seat anyway and that they’re going to have to be changing classes in a full hallway.  I’m not so sure I agree with that.  I think parents are probably very unaware of that because I think it would be reasonable for parents to think that the “Strongly Recommended” guidelines would be implemented.  I’m not a parent, but I think that I would assume that?  Unfortunately, things like 6 feet of separation, doing on-site temperature checks, and not sharing materials are in the “Strongly Recommended” category, which means the district will “do their best.”

*Our district’s Union President wrote a letter to the board on our behalf regarding the strongly recommended guidelines.  The superintendent was dismissive of those concerns, stating that schools in other countries saw negligible spread upon reopening, which is like comparing our shitty COVID apples to European oranges.  Shortly after his response, two other board members went on to praise the administration for putting together a “safe” plan and quickly approved it to send on to the department of education.  I wish that those board members would come and sit in our classrooms for the first few weeks of school.

*We won’t know which class(es) we’ll be teaching online until the week before (best case scenario), so we can’t prepare very much that is specific to our class until the week before school.  We won’t know our final schedule in general until next week.  To not know this with only a week and a half to go is insane.  My anxiety is in full gear.

*Financially, we could handle it if I don’t work.  

Not to Quit:

*I have one student who had me for a science class his freshman year, then requested to take my chemistry class during his sophomore year, and is signed up for AP Chem this year.  I don’t want to miss it.

*Lots of my former chem kids are signed up for my AP Chem class this year.  I’m newer to the school, but I’ve been really working on growing the AP Chem program.  We even had enough students sign up to make 2 sections of AP Chem this year, which hasn’t happened in a long time at this school.

*I don’t want to quit with only 2 weeks before school- granted, they just announced the district plans 2 weeks ago and in that time I’ve had to talk with my husband and family, consult a doctor, and look at our finances and upcoming expenses to gather the information I need to make a decision. However, with only 2 weeks left before kids are in my classroom, it would be extremely tight to hire and have someone in place for those kids.  I would hate to leave students in that spot where they might start school with a sub.

*I LOVE my classroom and my lab.  I put so much time into organizing and cleaning it out.  I decorated it really nice and made it super functional.  I would hate to have to move everything out- I doubt I’d ever have a classroom that epic again.  All my desks match, too!

*A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.  I have a job I really love at a school I like and with kids I like and it’s close to my house.  If I resign, they’ll have to hire someone else for my job, and I won’t get it back next year.  There is no guarantee that I get hired again next year at another school nearby either.  With budget cuts, who knows?

*In a new job, I could be teaching anything in the sciences- I love that I have a specifically chemistry teaching job.  Those are rare and hard to come by.

*One of the “Required” measures in the state’s plan is to wear a mask.  That’s helpful.  All students and staff will have to wear a mask unless they are medically exempt.

*I’m still youngish, especially by COVID risk standards.

*Maybe nothing bad will happen- hopefully it won’t and the year will go relatively smoothly and staff and students will stay healthy and get through unscathed.  If that ends up being how it goes, I’d regret resigning and second guess my decision.

*I would feel guilty for calling it quits when so many others don’t have the option and may be at higher risk than me due to age or underlying conditions or taking care of loved ones that are either older or immunocompromised.  I know so many teachers who have to work this year because their spouse/partner is unemployed, or they are the sole breadwinner for their family, or they are going to retire soon and need their income to stay high to maximize their social security benefits.  

*I don’t know how I’ll take it if I go from teaching full time to being a stay at home wife.  I did stay at home for a year when we moved to another state, and it was HARD on me.  I developed a bit of a depression, exasperated by some other things that were going on.  I got on medication and did some therapy and it eventually resolved, but that SUCKED.  I would really miss my students and my fellow teachers and having a clear purpose/mission for my days.  

In conclusion...

I’m not generally a hypochondriac or a “Nervous Nelly.”  Most stuff rolls off my back fairly easily.  This scares me.  I get the flu or an upper respiratory thing almost every year.  There’s no reason to think that somehow I’ll manage to miss COVID if it comes into our school.  I am beyond anxious about teaching in person with so few precautions being taken.  I’m also angry that my choices are to resign and lose the job I really want or to go in and feel anxious and angry about the lack of care and respect that teachers and students are being shown by district and building administration for the foreseeable future until COVID is over.  I have had a stress knot in my gut for the past two weeks over this stuff, and I highly doubt it’s going away if I decide to stay and teach.

Since the pandemic started I have stayed at my house with few exceptions over the summer.  I wear a mask when I go out, I usually use a pick-up option for my groceries, a drive-thru option for my pharmacy, and I just avoid gatherings.  We do occasionally see my in-laws and my parents, usually outside and observing social distancing. In my state restaurants can’t fill to more than 50% capacity and movie theaters are just plain closed, but schools are about to open at 100% capacity.  I honestly can’t imagine putting myself in an enclosed space with over 30 kids or into a hallway with close to 1800 of them.  Even more than that, I can’t imagine not sitting down at a desk next to them to help them or watch them work a problem to see what they’re thinking.  I can’t imagine not getting to hug the girl who’s mom left or sit with the boy who doesn’t feel connected with his peers so he comes up to sit with me and do his homework after school.  Even if I do teach this year, I worry that my kids won’t get what they need from me- whether that’s homework help or emotional support.

If you are so inclined, please send up a prayer for state leaders, school administrators, teachers/school staff, and students this year.  We could all definitely use some wisdom, some grace, and your good vibes.

[suhmayzooka]

cursed child broadway, feb. 23, 2020

third time seeing cc in three months for one reason: my sister is, in her words, “in love with joey labrasca” (karl).  she thinks he’s absolutely perfect.  this past week i’ve endured her talking about how hot he is.  i mean, i’ve gotten quite a bit of good lily luna material for my fics now, but at what expense? did i need to know that joey’s (very mild) acne made him look handsomer? did i need to know about how deep his eyes are? did I?

i teased her about what she’d do if he wasn’t on, and she said she’d be so upset.  

we get to the theatre, i look at the cast…and james romney was karl.

my sister was shocked.  the love of her life, who most likely has forgotten about her existence, wasn’t there for what looks to be our final time seeing the year 2 cast.  she was devastated.

we also got to see antoinette robinson as hermione and tom patrick stephens as ron!  and sarita amani nash was myrtle!!  and kimberly dodson as polly!!

james!karl was great and i will bombard my sister with as much james romney content as i can in order to piss her off further :)

patrick du laney was the sorting hat and aaron bartz was the station master.  we actually saw aaron walking into the theatre as we waited outside for part 2.  he definitely has the draco swagger.

anyway let’s get to the good stuff!

~james snyder as harry! great as usual. i don’t think he did much differently than last time, or if he did it wasn’t very noticeable.

~diane davis as ginny – same w james.  i think she held on to albus longer when they hug in godric’s hollow this time?

~jonno roberts as draco: okay this guy singlehandedly inspired me to start a fic back in december (that has…….yet to be finished………) with how his draco and bubba’s scorpius behaved and this was no exception.  idk whether his mic got caught on something or if he was really bringing it all out, but when he shoves scorpius’s head against his desk in the dark world, he GROWLED the “you do NOT use her name in vain” line ???? i’ve never heard him say it like that, it’s usually more of a hiss.  idk how to describe how he said it other than “growl.” almost like an animal.

then when he said “do it safely, i can’t lose you too” he’s looking directly at scorpius.  it’s different from how i’m used to seeing him and closer how i picture him saying it; usually he’s looking away, like he’s afraid of showing vulnerability to scorpius.  but here, with him looking directly at him, and said with so much emotion and love, even in such a dark place…oOOF

he refused to let go of scorpius when they met again in godric’s hollow.  my heart…..always one arm around scorpius’s shoulders, or one hand on his chest, as scorpius clings on to him.

~kimberly!polly SMILED and giggled when she stepped in blood? “oh, potter, i’ve got blood on my shoe!” *delighted* and then as the staircase rolled away, she turned on her stomach to gaze down at scorpius, grinning flirtatiously.  this is my second time seeing her as polly, but from what i remember, katherine!polly wasn’t as sadistic in the dark au as she was.  i personally prefer kimberly!polly.

~sarita!myrtle!! like w kimberly!polly this is my second time seeing sarita!myrtle and i don’t really remember much about lauren!myrtle to compare, but sarita!myrtle was hilarious.  she got a round of applause just for appearing.  “girls….*turns around, stares directly @ albus* AND BOYS” *albus turns around, confused, as if she’s talking to someone behind him* UGHHH she’s so good and she’ll absolutely kill it as (main) polly, i can feel it.

~this was my first time seeing jack pravda as young harry! his voice is deeper than zell’s, and he was so adorably confused in the graveyard scene.  “why are there so many flowers?”

~antoinette!hermione was a lot less playful than jenny!hermione.  she does try for comedic effect, but she’s a bit more serious overall.  she was so scary in the first timeline!  when she waves her wand to dismiss the class and she’s standing all alone, she looks out with such a distant, despairing expression, then composes herself immediately. 

~tom!ron was very funny!  again, my issue with ron in cc comes down to how he was written.  he may have been relegated to shitty comic relief (why……is one of the first things he says……a fart joke…..?), but it’s up to the actors do what they can to flesh out some semblance of a likeable character from the bs that the script gave us.  and tom!ron was great!! he’s not as…dopey? dorky? as matt!ron, who’s very funny but a bit—childish? i guess? tom!ron feels more like an adult who still has a childish sense of humor, if that makes sense.

~ROMIONE.  watching a new take on romione was like falling in love w romione all over again.  tom/antoinette was a very loving pair.  jenny/matt tease each other a lot more, but tom/antoinette are more tactile.  their kiss was so sweet

~there’s hardly any love for sara farb’s delphi for some reason. i’m not sure why; her shift from delphi diggory to delphi riddle is so chilling. delphi diggory has a high pitched voice and is really goofy around albus.  scorpius absolutely hates her lmao.  as soon as she switches, her voice drops to a low growl and she’s downright terrifying.  i’m sad to see her go!

~WILL CARLYON.  is it possible to fall in love with the portrayal of a character in a handful of scenes? he’s got like five lines total but oh my god.  one thing a lot of people note about nicholas!albus is the way he’s so obviously a fourteen-year-old child.  will’s james sirius potter is SUCH a thirteen-year-old in the opening scene…it’s somewhat disconcerting watching this very-obviously-twenty-something-year-old man flap his arms going “WATCH OUTTT FOR THE THESTTRRAAAAAAALS” but it works? it’s believable?? he’s so close with lily luna.  this is my third time seeing him and every time he pretends to pounce on her and hug her during the thestral line i fall in love?? ginny scolds him and he is sheepish, but he won’t stop making the troll face at albus.  “SLITHERING SLYTHERIN STOP WITH YOUR DITHERING” *smacks albus*

~yeah i promised jsp content and i’m fucking delivering

~he’s sO excited watching albus get sorted. when the hat goes “SLYTHERIN” he’s absolutely shocked.  he’s confused.  he just stares at albus, confused, until yann (jonathan gordon, who once again gives us a delightfully dislikable yann) says some shit and james just turns to him and swats his hand at him.  he genuinely looked ready to fight yann.  i couldn’t tell but i think he tells him to stop?? it was hard to hear but his mouth definitely moved, i think to tell yann to cut it out.

~the scene with the students eavesdropping on mcgonagall’s meeting with the parents.  oh my god i don’t think he did anything that much differently than last time but i need to talk about this because i didn’t do it justice in my last recap.

~they sit on the stairs (iirc) top to bottom craig, yann, karl, rose, james.  i’m gonna ignore craig, yann, and karl since there are some serious family feels going on w rose and james

~jsp and rose begin the scene smiling, snickering as they hear that albus and scorpius fucked up.  “ahaha they got into deep shit” but then when they learn that they wrote rose and hugo (??whom??) out of time and then killed harry, their faces fall.  james’s eyes become vacant, far-off as he learns what happened to his brother.  his breathing becomes heavier and faster until he’s a few breaths from hyperventilating.  he leans his forehead against the stairwell/banister and shakes his head, mouthing/whispering “no…no…”

~nadia brown’s rose is such a little shit but she’s so good in this scene.  when she learns that she didn’t exist in the new timeline, she grabs james’s shoulder and he grabs her hand.  they don’t let go for the rest of the scene.

~i’m like half convinced that will got the part because of his amazingly expressive eyebrows.  i think my sister calls it “back row acting?” his eyebrows can probably be seen from the back row.  after the mcgonagall scene is over he sits on the stairs, raising one eyebrow at rose and hermione, then goes back to reading the scroll.

~i didn’t mean for this to become a will carlyon fan account but he deserves it.  according to nicholas he’s the biggest potterhead in the cast. he’s a ravenclaw. he can sing.  he’s so fucking valid and i’m so glad he’s staying for year 3.  he’s got two followers on youtube and one of them is me.  please guys like no one talks about him and i’ll fill this niche.  same with the lovely sarita. she’s so kind and so beautiful and so talented she can sing so well and she gives everything during wand dance listen i spent the beginning of this thing making fun of my sister for liking joey so much but sarita……..

~cc nyc said straight girl/lesbian solidarity  

~anyway…

~nicholas podany as albus.  so. Many. Tears.  i didn’t realize this before but his whole body trembles when he cries?? i first noticed this when he and harry were in the slytherin common room.  i was like “are his pajamas vibrating?? is this an optical illusion (they’re striped pajamas)???” no, his whole body was shaking with suppressed crying.  once i noticed i couldn’t un-notice and this continued for the rest of the show.

~bubba weiler’s scorpius didn’t seem much different from usual? i could go on about him but….that’s what my unfinished fic is for……one day……….

~okay so this is where i elaborate on the scorbus moments that made me want to YEET myself off the roof of the theatre (if you had to make sense of my typos on discord: i am Sorry)

~the slytherin dorm scene: scorpius tickles albus to wake him up.  he then makes himself comfortable on albus’s bed and won’t stop rubbing and patting his thigh.

~in addition to being austistic, bubba!scorp is bisexual (jon case would be proud) and here is PROOF: to flirt, bubba!scorpius leans against objects, sprawls his body out, plays with his hair, etc all extremely cheesy, greasy, suave moves.  he blows a kiss to polly as he’s sprawled across the stairs.  when he ROLLS down the stairs (looked painful…) to see rose at the end, he plays with his hair, shoots her a finger gun (further proof he’s bi), and lowers his voice.  but the comparison i need to highlight is THIS: when he says rose smells like bread, (1) he leans against the suitcases, trying to look suave, and (2) his face is instant regret. he silently bends back and mouths “WHAT WHY BREAD?? WHAT??? WHY???” and now…when he delivers his “ENGORGIMPRESSED” line to albus, he (1) leans against the sink, (2) grins, lowering his voice, and when the pun doesn’t land, (3) his face immediately falls, instant regret, the literal definition of “oH MY GOD WHAT WHY DID I JUST SAY THAT” the same expression he had when rose wasn’t impressed.  coincidence? i think NOT.  he’s trying so hard to flirt but he has no idea how to interact w people im --

~delphi in the church: when the adults have all surrounded delphi with their magic in the center of the stage, albus, ginny, and scorpius are huddled together. scorpius is behind albus, clutching his shoulder and hand.  albus breaks free for “SHE’S A MURDERER I’VE SEEN HER MURDER” (an underappreciated line imo) and scorpius just watches him, clearly wanting to help but not knowing how

~the final hug.  my initial, endorphin-fueled reaction was, verbatim: “THE FUNAL HUG NSCWR SEEN IR LAST SO LLNG NEVER SAW NICJ HUG HIM BACK NOSES ALMOST TOYCHONF.”  not even this is enough to convey my reaction to the final hug, but i’ll try my best to transcribe it.  

scorpius: runs up the stairs, grabs albus into a hug

albus: stunned for a moment, then wraps his arms around scorpius’s shoulders and hugs him back, burying his face into the crook of scorpius’s neck.  this is the first time i’ve seen him hug back, at least so fiercely.  they stand there for a good 3-5 seconds, then albus says, quietly, “what’s this? i thought we didn’t hug.”

scorpius, pulling back but still close to albus: “i wasn’t sure whether we should…” *looks up at albus, literal inches from his face* “in this new version of us…” *more gazing into each other’s eyes for a few seconds*

albus: “well…you better ask rose if it’s the right thing to do…” he sounded unsure? not as playful as before?

scorpius: *stares at albus for a few seconds* “a..aaha………..yeah right!”

he turns around and runs down the stairs.  albus goes “i’ll see you at dinner!” and scorpius turns around, smiles at him, and walks off, albus grinning and gazing so lovingly as he departs i’m gonna c r y

i can’t think of anything else to say about the show itself?  but my sister has given me a lot of material so i’m gonna talk about what went on with her because it’s relevant to our stage door interactions.

as we ate, she described how she would rewrite cc.  she has valid and absolutely invalid suggestions.  she would keep the father/son issues, make scorbus canon, remove or rewrite rose, and rewrite delphi’s backstory (valid).  she would remove the sorting hat and the dark timeline (not valid).  

during the intermission between acts 3 and 4, we started looking through the playbill and she started gossiping/venting about how much she hates the people in her school’s theatre (valid, since they’re bullying assholes).  i brought up a meme i sent her that i saw on twitter about how no high school theatre guys can sing, act, dance, and not be sexist.  somehow this discussion went back to nicholas podany? she was like, “i’ve been listening to his songs and deep blue is a low-key bop.” i asked if she heard his most recent song, telling myself.  she hadn’t and she immediately went to soundcloud to listen to it.  her reaction was PRICELESS.  she absolutely adored it.  she was dancing in her seat, going “okay this is actually really good??” like ofc it is? i don’t recommend bad songs? she tried to replay it but then her data ran out and the lyric theatre wifi is shit so she got very upset.  then the lights turned off and she reluctantly took out her earbuds.

there was a little girl (around 6-7ish, i’d say) in the very first row dressed as hermione for part one--complete with a doll and a broom.  for part two she was wearing a hedwig costume that looked homemade! she was very adorable, and bubba waved hello to her when he came for the curtain call.

stage door:

~sarita came out first! we told her that this was our third time at the show and second time seeing her.  i congratulated her on being cast as polly and she was so happy! dare i say…..loml

~tom and antoinette were so happy to have been the first cover romione we saw! tom was like “ah, you saw the best ron (himself)!” we were in front of a man from the uk who had seen the london show five times, and he and tom struck up a conversation about where they were from.

~nadia brown was so happy to see us! she didn’t remember us lmao but she’s so friendly

~edward james hyland (amos/dumbledore) was…politically campaigning?? the people in front of us were from vermont and he was like “ah…vermont…do you support bernie??” just like that.  they were caught off guard but i think they gave an affirmative answer, and he was like “and if he doesn’t get the nomination…?” they were still caught off guard and he just went “you’ll vote blue, right…? cause it’s the right thing to do….?” idk i’m firmly liberal but i thought this was a weird place to get political but okay

~EVERYONE was telling nicholas podany about how much they love telling myself.  he was telling the people in front of us about how it was mastered/mixed by solange’s producer(?) and my sister and i exchanged :0 looks.  she was getting shy, but i was like “tell him! he’ll love to talk about it, i guarantee it!” because even though i produce 0 content, i *am* an artist and i *do* know that we artists love validation

~so he came to us and she started talking about his songs! we’re fortunate that it was a more rock-y song so we’re…able to sound like we know what we’re talking about lmao.  growing up our mom would play us classical music (check out beethoven’s wig yo) and our dad would play us the ramones.  one of my earliest memories was arguing with my sister (probably around 4 at the time) about the lyrics to “i wanna be sedated” ahh… (she was correct btw)

~(don’t argue with me the ramones may not be poets but they’re valid)

~i was right! he was SO excited to talk to us!! my sister complimented the song and the production.  she said “i ADORE your new song!! it’s a high key bop!” and he broke into the BIGGEST smile.  she was like “i’m gonna play it until i hate it” and he said something along the lines of “i was in the studio listening to it nonstop for 8(??) hours i can’t stand it.”  he was talking about how he made the song with his “own scorpius” but i forgot who…he said scorpius and my mind blanked lmao.  he’s brought this person up before in interviews so i can probably find it.  she complimented the fact that it was different from his usual stuff and he told us about how he had a rock band in high school.  @nick where tf is your rock content pls deliver

~i actually spoke this time and cut in to tell him about how she was trying to listen to it on repeat but the signal gave out. she was trying to tell me to shut up but it’s my legal duty as the older sister to embarrass her.  

me: “I told her about your song during the intermission—”

her: “don’t!”

me: “no, nO, i told her and she was listening and then she ran out of data—”

him: “aaAa noo!”

her: “I listened to it!”

~then i told him that we loved seeing how he played albus and that we’re going to miss him, that we were going to see the cast change show but we couldn’t get tickets (i kindly left off the reason why), and he was so sweet about it *clenches heart* he told us how much he loves being able to experience this, that we’ll be so lucky to have james romney take over, etc etc i kinda wasn’t listening bc I was too emo, but I remember going “…but I don’t want to say goodbye…” and he just. gave me a sad look like “I know.”  there was so much pity in his expression.  why is he leaving us.

~the uk guy behind us was talking about how he’d seen the london year 3 and 4.  nicholas was like “oh, joe and dom? yeah i’ve spoken to joe and dom—wait, no, i haven’t met dom? i know he has an impressive social media presence” and they started talking about how different actors bring different things to albus and how the show allows them to explore different aspects to their characters and he just…wasn’t making any of this any easier for me lmao i’m mourning the loss of nick!albus and it’s not even march

~i feel bad that we weren’t able to speak with fiona reid (petunia/umbridge) because nicholas was talking to us.  

~jonno roberts.  this was the first time i’ve interacted w him at sd.  his draco has made such an impact on me, he’s my favorite actor in the show, and what do i say? what great words come out of my mouth? “hi you were great.” my sister KICKED me with her heeled boots. good thing i’m a lesbian because my doc martens protected my feet from the force of her anger.

~james snyder was enraptured in conversation with the people in front of us and just took our playbills to sign as he spoke with them. then he went “hi,” passed over us to talk to the guy behind us.  my sister was like “you were great!”

~tbh sd was kinda messy bc we were at the end of the line and the barrier things didn’t allow for the actors to get enough room to interact with the fans at the back. also jonno was standing there and he’s not a small man.

~saw several male actors leaving sd, waving goodbye at us and just walking away.  MOOD.  i was exhausted and i wasn’t the one running around on stage!

[reylo-trash-4ever]

FRIENDS IT IS I. HERE WITH MORE REYLO FANFICTION

Can’t believe I actually wrote this in one sitting... sorry if it’s shitty but I just wanted to get this ‘exposition’ stuff out of the way so that the REAL fun may begin! WHOOHOO!! Get ready for a wild ride my reylos!

As always, MUCH LOVE to my besties @scav-eng-er and @mojona1999 for being the coolest ReyloMates ever and for suffering through my endless snl “live tweeting” with me!

And special shout out to @lana-n95 and @firethebluesky for always supporting me. Enjoy! 

THE GAME: Chapter 3 (a Modern Reylo AU)

Word count: 2850

His voice was low and silky. He must have regained his composure before she did as she felt the skin of her palms being pierced by nails from fists she didn’t know she clenched. Her vision focused on him and him alone, as if they were suddenly the only people in the world. The surroundings faded and there was a white hot anger swelling in her from the very tip of her toes on up. 

“Oh good, I see you two have already me then?” Amilyn’s voice somehow found its way through the ringing in Rey’s ears, but she could do nothing besides stare into the face of the mysterious man before her. She didn’t respond, and there was an awkward pause where she realized the question had been directed her way.

“Not exactly,” the man spoke up first, answering for her, “we ran into each other last night, but nothing more.” 

The casual way he blew her off made her anger boil further and she noticed the subtle jab at ‘running’ into each other. If she remembered that encounter correctly, it was his carelessness and haste that caused the collision. She had nothing to do with it, and she hated the way he already seemed to twist the narrative to make it look like she was to blame.

“So you haven’t been properly introduced then?” Amilyn asked while motioning for Rey to take a seat opposite her and next to the man, who still stood. Her feet felt like they were stuck in place, and it was like walking through thick jello with every step she forced herself to take closer to them. She finally made it to the chair, giving Amilyn a nod and the smallest twitch of a smile in thanks. She took her seat and noticed that the man remained standing until she was fully below him. Only when Amilyn also sat, did he lower himself to their level, but even sitting down his presence seemed to flaunt over them. 

“Rey, this is Kylo Ren. He’s been with the company for a few years now, but he travels between firms so you probably haven’t had a chance to see him work in action before now. He’s an accomplished lawyer with many cases under his belt, and his father is-”

“That’s enough Amilyn,” Kylo cut off his superior before she could continue. Rey gaped at his audacity and waited for the cold response of Amilyn, but it didn’t come. Instead, she did the last thing Rey expected; she apologized to him.

“I’m sorry, Ren. I didn’t think it would be an issue here.” Her voice did come off as slightly chilled and Rey detected a greatly hidden offense, but it was nothing like the stern tone she often took with her employees. Rey couldn’t believe what she was hearing and wondered who this ‘Kylo’ had to be to make Amilyn the one to apologize when he was clearly in the wrong. 

“As I was saying, Rey” she continued, turning to look at her again, “I’m assuming you already made the connection that Kylo is who you will be working the Terrio case with. He will be an incredible asset to this specific case and a wonderful addition to our team. I’ve long awaited the days when he would return to us.”

Even though they were praising, there was a delicacy in Amilyn’s words, as if she were afraid that by saying the wrong thing, Kylo would react poorly. Rey tried to keep her eyes trained on the woman in front of her, but she dared a few glances at the man. She could feel his demeanor shift from pompous superiority to boredom. Amilyn was speaking as if he were her own son, something Rey found herself alarmingly jealous of, and he was on the verge of acting like a teenager who couldn’t care less.

There was a pause in the conversation where any normal person would show their gratitude towards such high praise, but Kylo didn’t respond. After a few more awkward moments where both of the woman simply stared at him, he finally spoke.

“Now that all of that is out of the way, are we ever going to get to start on this so called ‘important’ case?” Kylo leaned back in his seat, propping his left foot over his right knee and taking up an impossible amount of space with his lengthy form. 

“Ben,” Amilyn sighed, dropping her professional airs and rubbing her forehead with her hand.

“I told you not to call me by that name,” Kylo snarled suddenly, but Amilyn continued without even seeming to notice. Rey wondered why she called him ‘Ben’ instead of the previously mentioned ‘Ren’. Amilyn was not one to make simple errors on something as important as a name. 

“If you’re going to work with us, you need to have more respect for our process. Your mother told me that you were willing to cooperate here, and I fully expect that to happen. I will not go easy on you because of your parentage and you will listen to what I say.” 

Rey felt like she was put in the middle of some kind of family quarrel and she suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable. She looked to the floor, hoping that was the respectful thing to do, and heard Kylo try to make retorts, but Amilyn kept giving him no time to cut in. Should she leave? This didn’t really feel like it was about her anymore and she didn’t know what to do, or even if she should do anything at all. 

“Need I remind you of the consequences if this doesn’t turn out like your mother hoped it would?” Amilyn said in a hushed town, and Rey could sense a threat when she heard one. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kylo clench the handles of his chair so hard that his knuckles went white. 

There was another long silence and Rey was about to scream from discomfort, every inch of her body begging her to run away, but finally it was broken by Amilyn. 

“I’m sorry, Rey, we’re going to have to cut this short. I’ll fill you in on the details when I’m finished here. Please close the door on your way out.” 

Rey knew it as an instant dismissal and she shot out of her seat, thankful for an excuse to get the hell out of that situation. She practically leapt from the room, crossing the long distance between the doorway and the chairs in a mere few strides. 

It wasn’t until she was fully out of the room, the door almost shut behind her, did she realize she left her bag with her laptop and case files inside. She silently cursed herself, wishing to god she didn’t have to go back in.

Mustering up all of her courage, she meant to knock and go back, but the conversation coming from inside made her stop. She knew she shouldn’t be eavesdropping, but she couldn’t help it when she heard her name. 

“Rey is incredibly talented, Ren, and I want you to teach her,” Amilyn sounded more serious and intense than she previously had. Rey wondered if she had been putting on an act in front of her, or maybe it had been for her? 

“She’s a kid!” Kylo hissed. 

“She’s a woman with high potential,” Amilyn corrected. Rey’s heart fluttered with the praise, “and I will not have you ruining it for me. This is your last chance to make your past mistakes right. Your uncle asked me to-”

“My uncle is a piece of shit!” Kylo yelled, and Rey heard his chair skid on the floor. She imagined him angrily rising from his seat with enough force to slide the chair out from under him. His intimidating height gave her those chills again as she could see the scene in front of her as clear as day. 

“Luke is a legend at this firm and if you want to hide your relation to him and your mother, that’s your choice and none of my business. But, you are sure as hell going to have to keep your temper in check.” Amilyn’s voice was as cold as ice now and Rey found herself wanting to shiver with a new kind of chill. She prayed she would never have to hear that directed towards her. 

It seemed to have done something to Kylo as well. There was a beat in their conversation and when he spoke again, his tone had calmed somewhat and his words were slow.

“I did not come out of my own volition, or because I had any desire to be here, in the slightest. You will be wise to remember that, Holdo.” 

“And you will be wise to treat your superiors with respect, Ben Solo.”

Rey’s mind clicked with something at the name. Weren’t the women in the office talking about a ‘Ben’ the other night? And Amilyn had used it just moments before. Was it not just a slip of the tongue? 

What caught Rey’s attention more than anything was the family name she used directly after. Solo… why was that so familiar to her? 

Suddenly it hit her like as fast and as forceful as a train. Solo was the name often associated with the whole Skywalker company. If she remembered her research right - which she always did - Solo was the last name of the man who helped the CEO create to company. He co-owned the business, although he himself didn’t practice law. Luke Skywalker, the world renowned and super famous lawyer created the business with his brother in law, Han Solo. Han married Luke’s sister, Leia, and they had a son together who Luke took under his wing from a very young age. The stories regarded him as a genius and he was quickly in line to take over the company for the both of them when he came of age. 

Except, he apparently wanted nothing to do with it. He was a spoiled rich boy born into high society New York who had a silver spoon thrust into his mouth since he was a baby. Even though he was known to abhor those of his class, his attitude was always that of someone who regarded himself ‘better’ than everyone else. He was reportedly one of the biggest assholes you could ever meet, but everyone constantly sucked up to him because of the standing in life that his friendship, and money, would gain them. Rey thought that sounded like a very lonely way to live. 

The rumors were that he and his uncle used to be very close, but they had a huge falling out, and it was the reason for Skywalkers early retirement. The company scrambled without him and his sister, Leia Organa, took over in his stead. She ran the business fairly, but when it caused a rift between her and her husband, they split shortly after. Everyone said the divorce was their sons fault because of his rowdy and rebellious antics and they couldn’t control him without Luke’s help.

That’s when Ben Solo fell off the face of the earth. Rey heard of this ‘Kylo Ren’ but she never suspected it was a fake persona for the man trying to hide his family name. The realization of everything suddenly hit her. Amilyn Holdo wanted her to work with the CEO’s prodigy nephew?! The son of the current leader and of the infamous Solo?!

She realized that Amilyn must have high expectations of her, and the thought was almost crushing in its responsibility. But Rey also found her excitement welling up within her again. She loved nothing more than a challenge, and working with that prick of a man was going to be just that. 

Suddenly, the door opened in front of her and she almost fell inside. Luckily, she caught her balance and saved herself from looking like a fool. Except, her eyes widened as she realized she was looking at the feet of Kylo Ren, or rather, Ben Solo. She slowly looked up as he glared down at her. 

“Were you listening to our private conversation?” He practically spat at her, making her wince. 

“N-no! I just forgot my bag,” Rey stuttered a whisper, trying to look inconspicuous, but knowing she failed miserably. What else could she have been doing? It was obvious that she probably heard every word of their very personal dialogue. 

“Is there something wrong, Kylo?” 

She heard Amilyn use his disguise name from behind them, knowing that his large frame completely hid her from sight. Was he going to expose her in front of their boss? It was an easy way to get rid of her, eavesdropping would surely make her lose favor with Amilyn and would give her the wrong kind of attention. 

Ben’s mouth twitched once before twisting into an evil grin as he never broke eye contact with Rey. She felt her stomach drop and she found she couldn’t breathe. She was completely at his mercy, and from the look on his face, that was something he didn’t posses. 

“It’s nothing, Holdo,” he said over his shoulder, still watching Rey, “I seem to have forgotten my things, is all.”

In one swift movement, he shoved the bag he already carried on his shoulder towards Rey with such strength that she was forced back a few steps and out of eyesight from anyone sitting at Amilyn’s desk. He turned around and she watched him move out of sight only to return a few seconds later with her own bag clasped by one of his large hands. He shut the door softly behind him, and turned to look at her expectantly. Rey realized that other people were beginning to file into the office for their day of work. She still clutched his briefcase with both arms across her chest and stared up at him with disbelief. 

“Why did you do that?” She demanded after he refused to say anything or make a single move. More bodies were coming from the elevator and they were quickly being outnumbered by easily gossip mongering men and women. Rey wanted to be seen with Ben as little as possible, and she could only imagine the rumors they would start by standing so close together in a small doorway. 

“Because now,” Ben breathed, leaning in close and whispering in her ear, “you owe me.” 

Rey’s eyes were wide and she instinctively shoved him away from her. Her cheeks felt hot and her brain was fuzzy. How the hell did he always get the better of her? 

“What is that supposed to mean?!” She said hotly, watching his smirk turn into a frown of obvious annoyance. 

“It means that you have to do whatever I say, kid.” 

He said the word as an insult and Rey felt humiliated. She huffed in response and rolled her eyes, trying her best to look as nonchalant as possible. She didn’t want him to keep thinking that he could get under her skin so easily. 

“I don’t think that’s what Amilyn meant,” Rey challenged, “now would you please give me back my bag?” 

Ben’s dark eyes flashed angrily and Rey could tell that his importance wasn’t used to being challenged. She could see the anger threatening to break loose from his fake ‘calm composure’ and she braced herself for the explosion.

But it never came. Instead, an idea seemed to form in Ben’s mind and the cockiness returned to his eyes, although he continued to glower at her. 

“Actually, I think I’m going to keep this,” he said, tapping on the bag he now had slung over his shoulder, “think of it as a get-to-know-you exorcise. You keep mine and I’ll keep yours. Should be interesting to learn a little bit about each other, no?” 

Rey glared at him, concern quickly growing in her with every word he spoke. Did he really think that was a good idea?!

“That’s ridiculous,” she said, pretending that her heart wasn’t pounding at the idea of him sneaking through her personal belongings, “you wouldn’t even be able to get into it because you don’t know the password.”

“Oh don’t worry, sweetheart, I’ll figure them out.” 

“Stop calling me that,” Rey retorted, making Ben raise an eyebrow at her ferocity. He simply shrugged his shoulders and stepped out into the hallway as people walked past them. 

“I think I’ll work from home today. We’ll meet up tomorrow once we’ve ‘gotten to know each other’ a bit more, I think.” 

Rey didn’t have any time to reply as he walked through the sea of people flooding in. He was easy to spot over the heads of everyone else, and Rey tried to rush after him, calling out that she still had no idea what he meant, but he made it to the elevator before she could and the doors slid shut in front of her face. 

And just like that he once again left her in complete and utter shock and silence. 

[mysnarkyslytherinsecret]

Snape & the Glass Ceiling

One of the reasons I love Snape as a character so much is because he’s so driven and talented.  He’s very good at what he does. There doesn’t seem to be much that he *isn’t* scarily good at.   He has hobbies, and one might even argue he has a “special interest” in the Dark Arts.  He creates spells.  He’s shown hunched over a book in flashbacks. 

But Snape is a Poor Kid.  

This shows in the shabbiness of his clothing, and in the neglect and abuse that he receives due to his father and mother fighting (poverty makes people more stressed out and leads to things like alcoholism and food insecurity-whodathunk?)

Snape is sorted into Slytherin, which is the House of the Elite.  It’s the House of the Good Old Boys, of the Monied Kids.  Of the families with Names that have Power.  But more than that, the Wizarding World in general, the one that he’s so certain will be merit-based on power and ability instead of class and who your daddy knows like the Muggle World is simply a distorted, magic-themed version of his Muggle life.  How frustrating that must have been for Snape to finally realize that no matter what he does, he cannot escape his “fate” of being born at the bottom and designated as the “suffering and hated object” for those who consider themselves his “betters.”

Over and over, Severus is ignored. His words are treated as shit.  He is made fun of- only the most cowardly of the students is actually frightened of him.    Everyone else isn’t afraid to say how much they hate him, disparage him, roll their eyes at his lessons....

Over and over again, Severus is passed up for any advancement in his career.  There are certainly some reasons we are not privy to for this (ie: Dumbledore needs Snape to be in a certain place because Voldemort and such), but he is still treated like he’s little more than a snarky babysitter despite having higher expectations than most of the other professors (other than perhaps McGonagall), and requiring much better marks. The most interesting thing here is that the students consistently meet his high and “unreasonable” expectations. 

And yet, many of Snape’s thoughts and actions, when masked as someone else’s thoughts or actions, are always taken seriously.  For example, when Dumbledore says or suggests something that Snape has suggested in another situation and everyone listens.  Or even Remus Lupin and Hermione tend to echo things that Snape says, just in different ways.  In every situation, Harry reacts with surprise (and I think the reader does as well).  Snape being competent? Seems sketchy, maybe it was one of those OTHER guys who are ACTUALLY really competent?

As a person who is female-presenting myself, I run into this same thing all the time.  If I say something bluntly, even if it truly is a fool thing, I am accused of being too harsh.  If I sit back and have a male colleague bring up my point, suddenly the idea is “great” even though I have suggested it before and it was overlooked or dismissed.  I consistently see (usually male or connected) people getting promotions and advancements while I am told to take on more work without any promise of improvement for my situation.  

Sure, I could go elsewhere, but I suspect my treatment in this situation is not unique.  

And, even if the Harry Potter thing wasn’t a thing and Snape was just a teacher in a shitty job, I can see him having a similar feeling towards other jobs such as Ministry worker or an apprentice in an apothecary.  

He certainly doesn’t have the money or connections to start his own business, and even if he somehow did, many businesses lose money for several years and require ongoing support from connections in high places to succeed.

In this manner, the portrayal of Snape in the series is one of the most depressingly realistic.  He is an example of the person who is stuck, through lack of privilege, in a place where he is told he “belongs” and despite any of the work he does to climb out of the hole, he is consistently pushed back into a slot where he vehemently feels he should not have been in.  The idea of “slots” in socio-economic status is depressingly true in real life too.  Most people will never be able to pull themselves up from poverty if that is truly where they begin, and nowadays with our increasingly uneven wealth distribution, the number of people who are sliding into an increasingly large “slot” of “deserving of lifelong poverty” is only getting larger.  When there are “places” to be put into, it only truly benefits a select few, with complicit individuals who are afraid to be put in “that place” as well as a punishment for speaking up.

Snape, contrary to some of the other posts I’ve seen on this subject, is not a cautionary tale.  He is a reinforcement of the harsh truth that seems to be as old as humanity- “you have a status you are born into, a destiny of worth that you will never change no matter how hard you work or struggle or how beautiful your soul shines.”

And, in the end, when you die wretchedly and hated by all simply for existing, the worth of your life will be weighed the same as it was upon your birth.

[elizaviento]

Manipulation (part 9)

SFW -- 3400 words

(FYI: This story is a sequel/companion piece to Assimilation, which can be found in the Rick Fic Masterpost link in my blog’s description along with additional chapters of Manipulation.  Or, you can click the #manipulation tag in this post, within my blog, to access all additional chapters.)

*****

“I don’t – ya know – think this is such a good idea, Rick,” Morty whined as I tossed random objects into the large sack he dutifully held open for me.

“Well, lucky for me, Morty, I-I-I don’t base where – how I make my decisions on if you think it’s a good idea or not.”  Glancing at him briefly when the sack started to sag in his hands, I caught him trying to stifle a yawn before he released one side to rub at his eyes.  “Come on, Morty!” I shouted, snapping my fingers in front of his glazed eyes to capture his attention.  “Look alive there!  We got the goggles so I just need a few more things over in D-79 and – and then we – w-w-we’re all finished.”

“Yeah, okay, Rick,” Morty replied, holding the sack up to hoist over his shoulder as I aimed and fired the portal gun at the closed garage door.  Stepping through the portal, I flinched when I heard the loud crash of the sack landing on the concrete floor of our garage.  

“Damn it, Morty!  Be careful!” I shouted, scooping the sack from the floor to gently rest it on my workstation.  

“Sorry, Rick. It was heavy!”

Somewhere in the background, I heard a faint whistle that could have come from some bird but sounded more familiar than that.  Then, out of the corner of my eye, Morty perked up like an obedient dog right before her sweet voice drifted across the atmosphere in the shape of Morty’s name.  Turning in her direction, I caught her smile and wave as she approached from Mr. Benson’s – well, her – house across the street.

“What’s up?” she asked, coming to stand next to Morty with her hands on her hips.

“W-w-we’re gathering supplies,” I replied before realizing that her question wasn’t directed toward me.  Turning to my workstation, I dug around and pulled items from the sack to hide the infuriating warmth working its way to my cheeks from my neck.  

“Supplies, huh?” she asked as I placed the last of seven bottle of vodka on the counter.  I still wasn’t in any state to acknowledge her directly, so I didn’t.

“Sometimes Rick and I will – uh – go to other dimensions of earth to s-s-steal things from other Ricks,” Morty offered in way of an explanation.

“Other Ricks, huh?” she asked.  Only this time her voice held a suggestive tone that wasn’t lost on me and suddenly, the idea of her with any other person – let alone, another Rick – made something well up in my chest that hadn’t since… well, I couldn’t remember exactly.

Jealousy.  The word flashed red in my mind’s eye like the no vacancy sign of a shitty pay by the hour motel.

“It’s not stealing, Morty,” I spat, putting as much venom in my voice as possible, still refusing to turn and address the pair directly. “You – you can’t steal from yourself.”

“I-I-I don’t know, Rick.  I mean, I don’t think that other Rick will be – be very happy when he realizes his uhhh…” Morty trailed off.

“Inter-dimensional goggles,” I filled in, instantly regretting it.

“Yeah! When he finds they’re gone,” Morty finished.

“What are inter-dimensional goggles?” she asked.  I could practically feel her eyes bore through me toward the pair that I had pulled from the sack.  

“I don’t need the goggles, Morty. I need the parts.  Getting them from another pair is – uh – is a lot easier t-t-than making all new ones,” I said while forgoing an actual explanation of their true function.

“Okay, well. Hope you had fun,” she said dismissively, her footfalls signaling her departure from the garage.  I released a quiet sigh of relief that she didn't feel the need to probe further and that we could continue our mission without distraction. That is, until Morty opened his stupid mouth.

“We aren’t f-finished!” he called and I sighed audibly, now in frustration.  “W-w-we still need to steal – uh, I mean get – some other things, right Rick?  You want – wanna come with us?”

Finally turning to face them, I crossed my arms over my chest and awaited her reply.

“Sure, why not?  You think I’ll run into an alternate version of me while we’re there?” she joked.

“Nah. Rick – he makes s-sure no one is home when we break in.”

“Cool. Maybe this version of me will be rich and I can steal all her cash.  If she’s like me, she keeps it in her underwear drawer,” she joked again, causing Morty to blush.  “I’m kidding, kiddo!” she laughed, ruffling his hair.  “I bury it in the backyard, duh.”

While Aunt and nephew engaged in their mindless banter, I pulled out my laptop and booted up the program I used to scan other dimensions before I’d invented those fucking goggles.  Locating dimension D-79, I quickly checked the surroundings to make sure the house would be empty.  I already knew her counterpart would probably be at work during this time of the day, so I didn’t even bother checking the house across the street.  Again, I could feel her eyes bore directly into the back of my head as I flipped the laptop closed and pulled my portal gun.

“Hey – hey, can we – uh – end Howdy Doody hour and get going before this Rick and his idiot family gets home?” I asked as I punched in the coordinates and pressed the trigger.

“What’s Howdy Doody?” I heard Morty ask as I stepped through with the both of them on my heels.

----------

As soon as the portal popped closed behind us, I made a bee line toward the metal shelving unit of Rick D-79’s garage and began rooting through.  I’d already gathered the parts I needed to enhance the inter-dimensional goggles, but this particular Rick had a stash of kalaxian crystals hidden in one of these boxes and – ever since I’d spied them while watching through D-79’s eyes earlier this morning – I couldn’t get the thought out of my head of how mind blowing it would be to fuck her while riding that high.

“Rick–” she began, pulling my attention toward her, “–if the garage door is open here, doesn’t that mean that the Rick from this dimension will be back soon?”

Genuinely taken aback by her astute observation, my shocked expression was quickly replaced with a scowl when Morty chimed in while spinning around on one of the stools.

“Y-yeah, Rick. Maybe this Rick is stealing from you right now.”  The smug look on his face, while infuriating to me, made his Aunt giggle.

“Shut up, Morty.  The Jerry in this dimension is more of an idiot than the others.  He probably f-f-forgot to close it,” I rationalized before glancing in her direction just in time to catch her rolling her eyes before she strolled out of the garage into the front yard.

Making my way toward the workstation, I nudged the stool Morty was perched upon with my foot, causing him to sway on the seat as it rolled away.  

“Buzz off, will ya, Morty?” I grumbled as I shuffled through more boxes littering the counter.  Where the hell did that asshole hide those crystals? I thought as I briefly registered the crank and roar of a lawn mower nearby.

In my peripheral vision, Morty rose from the stool and soon disappeared; his footfalls echoing fast and heavy on the concrete floor, as if he were running.  

“Rick! Rick!  We have to – gotta go!  Right now!” Morty suddenly yelled from the driveway.  

“Ughhh, what is it, Morty?” I asked without giving it a second thought.  Knowing Morty, he probably caught sight of a cute girl and wanted to go back to his room to jerk off.

“Rick, please! Let’s go!”

“Settle down, Morty,” his Aunt’s voice drifted toward me from the front of the house. She sounded as annoyed as I felt. “I just want to see what type of shrub this is so I can put something similar in front of my house soon.”  Her voice became softer as they exchanged a few more words and I couldn’t quell my curiosity any longer at what the hell he could be freaking out over.  

“Morty, w-w-what – what the hell is wrong now?!” I bellowed as I gave up my search for the k-lax and made my way toward them on the front lawn.  Then, another voice cut through theirs; a man’s voice – deep with a southern drawl, shouting to reach from across the street. The voice spoke her name and I felt my blood run ice cold as it pumped from my heart through every limb.  I’d made a mistake.  I’d made a fucking terrible mistake...

“Hey, babe. When did you get back?” the man shouted again from across the street.  Casting my eyes in her direction, I’d just missed contact with hers as she spun on her heal to locate the owner of the voice – her husband.

----------

Before I could react, she was moving – propelling her body forward in a jerky manner that indicated that even she was unsure of her actions.  That is, until Morty grasped her hand in an effort to hold her back.  Then, her mind made up, she yanked her hand from his and erupted into a full on sprint toward the man across the street.

“It – it’s not him!” Morty shouted, but it was in vain.  

The expression on the man’s face as she ran toward him was that of utter confusion but when her body collided with his, he curled his arms around her in an easy and familiar fashion.  Observing as she pulled back just enough to look up into the man’s face, tracing one finger across his brow, my blood turned from ice cold to boiling hot in the span of two seconds.

There it was again.  Jealousy.  

Before I knew it, I was sprinting from the threshold of the garage toward her, snatching Morty’s arm along the way to drag him with me as I went.

“I thought you said you wouldn’t be home from work before I left for my shift,” the man said as I approached the edge of the driveway.  And, as Morty and I drew nearer, she buried her face in the crook of his neck and tightened her hold.

“Ow, babe. What’s with the claws?” he asked as her nails sunk into his biceps before she looked up into his face and he continued.  “Something’s weird here.  You look… different.”  He pulled back slightly before adding, “Your hair is longer.”  He tried to release her, but she only tightened her hold, digging her nails in deeper.  

Hanging back so as not to rip her from his arms like some kind of lunatic, I released Morty and allowed him to approach.

“Uh, hey – hey Uncle Chris.  This probably seems weird, but –”

“Do you – uh – do you know who I am?” I asked, cutting Morty off mid-sentence; seemingly unable to control myself.

“Of course I do, Rick,” the man – Chris – began, his voice laced with obvious suspicion.  “What the hell is going on here?”    

“So you know – you recognize this?” I continued, holding up the portal gun. Chris nodded in affirmation, forgoing a verbal reply.  “We – w-w-we aren’t from this dimension.  That –” I pointed directly at the woman still wrapped securely around his body, “– she isn’t yours.”  The emphasis I’d placed on the word ‘yours’ wasn’t lost on him and every muscle tensed as I unconsciously prepared for a fight.

What the actual fuck is wrong with you, Sanchez? That man isn’t her husband.  He has no claim on her.  In fact, neither do you!  

Clenching my fists as the internal battle raged in my head, I actually felt a wave of relief when Morty interjected.  

“We – we’re j-j-just visiting here from dimension D-74.”  Chris nodded in understanding, obviously familiar with the concept and Morty continued.  “So, she isn’t your wife.  Not – not really.”

Just then, there was the unmistakable whirl of a portal coming into existence from the garage across the street.  Rick and Morty D-79 stepped through.  Morty had a large sack slung over his shoulder that he unceremoniously dropped to the concrete floor of their garage, causing Rick to jump and cringe at the metallic clanking from inside.

“Damn it, Morty!  Be careful” Rick D-79 yelled, scooping the bag from the floor and gently resting it on his workstation.  

“Sorry, Rick. It was heavy!” his Morty whined, following closely behind while rubbing his hands together in a worrying gesture.

Shit, I thought as they took notice of the four of us across the street.  I hadn’t spent much time in this particular Rick’s head, but just the crazed look of him confirmed that he was one of the adulterers – completely unhinged due to years of ‘sharing’ and sneaking around.  For a moment, I felt for the bastard – until he came at us like a wildebeest out of hell.

“W-w-what are you doing here, mother fucker?!” he screamed while waving his arms wildly in the air.  For another moment, I wondered if I looked that insane when I was angry, but then dismissed the thought as ludicrous.  “You better get the FUCK outta my – get out of my dimension before I kick you and your Morty’s ass!”

“Ah, man! Ah jeez, Rick” his Morty cried, holding his head in his hands.

“Yeeep, time to go – to split,” I said, aiming my portal gun at the end of the driveway and pulling the trigger.  Rick D-79 was just mere centimeters away when the portal materialized.  

“Y-y-you nearly sliced me in half, you piece of shit!” he bellowed from behind the portal as I wrapped a hand around her upper arm and yanked her from Chris’s grasp. She struggled, of course, but I overpowered her just as Chris loosened his grip and we tumbled through the swirling the green void.

----------

She wrestled herself free of me as soon as we landed in our garage and sank to her knees on the concrete floor.  Morty slowly approached her and placed both hands on her shoulders before dropping to his knees, as well, directly in front of her.  Whispering her name, he looked pained as the woman who loved him like one of her own crumbled before him.  

Then, just before she broke, she wrapped her arms around his scrawny body – crushing him against her chest – and wept.  And, wept.   And, wept.

I was paralyzed, flopping down into the nearest stool as I forced myself to watch; forced myself to confront what my arrogance had wrought.  What kind of a monster was I that I wouldn’t even consider the possibility that we’d encounter an alternate version of her husband – an alternate version of her dead husband?

Eventually, her tears dried up and she relinquished her death grip on her nephew, only for him to abruptly stand and unleash his, admittedly justified, fury upon me.

“God damn you, Rick!” He screamed, his voice cracking as he wiped the tear streaks from his face.  “W-w-what – what – what’s wrong – the fuck’s wrong with you, huh?!  You’re such a selfish piece of shit!  You – y-y-you say you make sure the other Ricks and their families are gone, but you didn’t think about – t-t-think about – what the – what the fuck, Rick?!”

Morty’s face was red and his chest was heaving by the time he finished his tirade.  

“I didn’t know – n-n-never seen – met the guy before, Morty!  How – how could I know to look for him, huh?!” I shouted in reply, standing from the stool to assume a defensive posture more so out of reflex.

“You’ve met him,” she interjected.  Still kneeling on the concrete floor, she flopped to her ass and crossed her legs.

“What?” I asked, confused.  

“He was the cop that came to the house the night you beat the shit out of my date,” she clarified.  “You remember that, don’t you?”

“Uh – yeah, I do,” I confirmed.  In fact, I recalled smashing that piece of shit directly in the nose until it cracked under my fist in perfect clarity.  But, I supposed all the additional details became a blur once I’d forced Beth to call the cops on that budding sexual predator.  “But, that was – was what… fifteen years ago?” I asked, cringing at the reality of just how long it had been since that night.

“Sixteen,” she corrected.

“You ended up marrying that guy?”

“He came by to check on me a few times afterward; to make sure I was doing okay and that the creep wasn’t coming around anymore,” she began and I was able to conjure up fuzzy memories of a cop coming by the house a few times afterward. However, at the time, I was much too busy distracting myself with inane projects to occupy my mind; to keep it from straying into unwanted territory.

“We bumped into each other now and then, too.  And, then – I don’t know – I just fell in love with him.  That didn’t happen until after you left, though.” She tacked on the final sentence by way of some type of justification, it seemed.  And, that hint of justification was just enough to make me wonder.  But, then she continued, “We were officially together for eight years but didn’t get married until three weeks before he died.  He was stabbed to death while on duty almost three years ago.”

“Jesus,” I replied, raking a hand through my hair.  Of course, Beth had already relayed these details to me about a year ago, but the reality of it seemed much more grim when spoken from the mouth of a widow.  “Look, I – I’m sorry, Chicken.”

I could feel Morty’s gaze as it landed on me and I knew what he must be thinking upon hearing that ridiculous nickname.  

“Don’t be,” she said, looking down at her hands as she twisted them in the hem of her shirt.  “Like you said, you didn’t know.”

“Bullshit!” Morty shouted again, pointing his grubby finger in my face.  “He – he knew!  He knew all about – Mom told him!  He’s j-j-just selfish and – a-a-and never thinks about anyone but himself!”

Before I could utter any sort of retort, she stood and pulled Morty into a hug, rubbing her hands up and down his back in a bid to sooth him.  He seemed to calm down a bit, but his chest still heaved in an effort not to cry.

“It’s okay, kiddo.  I spent a lot of time pretending it didn’t happen so how could I really expect anyone else not to do the same – especially someone who wasn’t around?”

Even though her words weren’t meant to wound me, they did.  God damn it, they did…

A moment later, she released him and he simply left, entering the house without another word or backward glance in our direction.

“Please don’t, Rick,” she said just as I opened my mouth to speak.  “You can make it up to me later.”  Quirking one side of my brow in question, she continued, “You’re going to tell me exactly what happened when we were with Unity – when I was Unity.  I want every detail; nothing left out.  Got it?”

“Yeah.  I – I got it.”

“And, I want to use those goggles as soon as you replace the parts or whatever you need to do to them.”

Of course, she’d worked out the true function of the inter-dimensional goggles.  She was smart and the name pretty much gave it away, as it was.

“Look, t-t-that’s not a good idea.  Take Beth and Jerry’s word – let them tell ya.  Or – or Summer,” I warned.  Hell, I was probably the best testament to just how fast those fucking goggles could turn your entire world upside down.  

“I don’t give a shit,” she replied simply, exiting the garage.

To be continued...

[darkstache-iplier]

Between Us - Arrival

WARNING: THIS IS A SEPTIPLIER FANFIC, DON’T LIKE IT, DON’T READ IT! Thank you!

Warnings: none!

Summary: Sean arrives at the farm, and is greeted by a sweet looking girl and a farm boy.

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

Arrival

After a long conversation with his parents through Skype, a small talk with Robin, a vague post about 'taking some time for himself' on twitter, a short booking mail, a quick trip towards the nearest airport, an ever-lasting plane trip towards the 'Free Country', and another few hours long travel in a rented car towards the middle of the Californian desert, he finally, finally arrived to the location he was supposed to be.

The Iplier Residence.

It was indeed in the middle of the desert, though it wasn't like Las Vegas, with only miles and miles of sand around. There were a few trees, some grass, and inside the farm, from what Sean could see, there were some crops, some animals, living in quite the style, seeming extremely strong and imponent. Everything was green and beautiful, and the farm was the nicest thing he had ever seen. It somewhat remembered him of his shack in the woods, but much more... American, he guessed.

The houses weren't made of wood, apart from the barn, and some smallest storage rooms. There were many little houses, probably the ones that people rented to stay more isolated. And further in, there was the 'hotel', which was just a bigger house. The farm worked like booking a room in someone's house. Apparently the owner slept in the same house that Sean would, and everyone helped in the farm. It was part of their 'relaxing' program. And for those that only wanted to spend their time having fun, it was a bit more expensive.

Sean never had a problem with crops and animals and he guessed it would be nice to take care of them so he didn't mind being all that careful when choosing his vacation plans.

Getting through the big ranch-like gates with his car, he drove all the way to the big house, and stopped in the parking spots in front of it. He got off, grabbing his phone and wallet and bags and walked towards the house, standing in front of the closed off door. He knocked, waiting around, and then knocked again, after a few seconds.

It was very warm in there.

"Just a moment!" he heard a feminine voice saying loudly from inside, and after a few rushed footsteps and a grunt, someone opened the door. Sean looked at the girl, a bit surprised. She was the prettiest girl he had ever seen, with blond hair falling from her messy ponytail, dripping with sweat from (apparently) carrying something heavy, wearing a flannel tied around her stomach and a pair of jeans that were held secure by jeans suspenders. Her warm brown eyes looked up at him and she smiled, raising her hand after whipping what seemed to be dirt on her pants. "Sorry! We are a bit busy here today, name's Amy!"

"Hi... Sean" he said, slowly lifting his hand and shaking hers. She grinned even more and gently pulled him inside.

"Please come in! I will check your booking in a second, just let me finish to take these buckets away!" she said, happily, and rushed towards a pile of buckets that she was carrying. He frowned, thinking about offering help, but as she took them and walked away, he gave up, shutting his mouth and looking around.

The house was way colder than the outside. It was cozy, with a fireplace right in the living room, in the middle of a bunch of couches, chairs and comfy pillows. It was clearly a reunion place, somewhere to gather and talk over a few glasses of beer or wine and some cheese.

The decoration was also very pleasing to look at. The walls were dark, imitating wood, with furniture that seemed from the last century, some family pictures above them and on the walls. There was even an antler on the wall, though Sean was sure it was a fake and not the real thing. It was just atmospheric.

Sooner than he expected, Amy returned, wiping her forehead and rushing to a desk nearby, waving for Sean to come closer.

"So. Sean?"

"Sean McLoughlin" he said, leaning against the desk, and she nodded, opening a big ass book and going to the last pages, where she started to slide her finger down the many, many names.

"Sean McLoughlin! Yes! You made a booking for... two months, is that correct?" she asked, looking up at him, and he nodded. "Nice! Well you can pay everything off now or leave it for when you decide to go! Also you... don't have any plans so I am guessing you want our usual deal?"

"The fifty bucks a day plus labor?" he smirked, and she giggled.

"Yeah! But since you're staying two months I'm pretty sure I can convince the boss to lower the price. Specially if you're a good worker" she giggled and Sean shrugged it off.

"I'll pay it later then. But don't worry. I'm ready to get my hands dirty" he assured, looking around again. "This... farm of yours... it’s a great idea. Like pay for food and work a little... sounds like a great deal"

"Yeah, we usually receive many clients because of it" she admitted, closing the book after checking his name. "Like, someone comes once and then every vacation they come back. It's a blast. That's how I started. But I liked it so much I asked for a job"

"Really? And now you live here?" he asked, surprised, and Amy nodded, smiling lightly.

"Yeah. Now my vacations are at my parents' house" she shrugged and walked around the desk, smiling. "Do you mind waiting a bit? Mark likes to know the clients and show them their room himself. Mark is our boss by the way"

"Oh no problem" Sean shook his head and looked around. "Can I sit?"

"Sure! Want some water? Coffee? Juice? Beer?" she asked, and he shook his head, walking to the living room and sitting on a chair.

"No thank you" he smiled and she nodded, walking towards the door.

"I'll go call him. Wait here" she said, and walked out, leaving Sean alone. He looked at the place again before taking his phone and automatically going to his twitter app. But there was nothing there.

Right. He had deleted it.

Sighing, he looked around and sent a message for his mom and Robin, saying he had arrived safely and that he would get to know his room soon enough. Then, he opened one of his mobile games and begun playing it, waiting for whoever 'Mark' was to arrive.

Considering that farm looked like it was at least some decades old, he guessed 'Mark' was an old guy, probably the grandpa of the family, that took care of the employees and watched over his family (who probably also worked there or had left for better lives). Or maybe he was the father of the family? The son of the grandpa that probably passed away? Maybe a fifty something buff guy that liked animals? Sean couldn't really tell.

Soon, someone opened the door and he looked up, seeing a guy that seemed around his age coming inside. He dismissed it, guessing he was another employee like Amy, and turned back to his game. But the guy put the hay he was carrying on the ground and walked towards Sean, making him stop his game and look up.

"Hey. You must be Sean. I'm Mark" he said, happily, smiling big and offering his hand for a shake. Sean looked at him, head to toe, and then stood up slowly, taking his hand and shaking it. "It's a pleasure to have you here Sean"

"You... are Mark?" he asked, confused, and Mark furrowed his eyebrows, but kept smiling.

"I don't look like a Mark for you?" he asked, and leaned in, smirking a bit. "Too Asian looking?"

"No no!" Sean exclaimed, not wanting to seem like a xenophobe or something. Which he wasn't. He didn't want to add that to his already horrible image in the public eye. "I just thought... you would be older, that's all"

"Oh, yeah no, I'm thirty" he said, smiling. "I mean, I will be thirty. In a few weeks"

"You are thirty and you own a hotel?" Sean asked, surprised, eyes widening as he let go of the man's hand. Mark shrugged and looked around.

"Yeah. Yeah I am. And you're twenty-nine and a billionaire, are you not?" Mark smirked, and Sean pressed his lips together in a surprised expression. "Don't worry. Nobody in this farm is going to talk about you, mister Jacksepticeye. Although... being talked about seems to be your specialty"

"Well, I am not sure I am fucked if even a farm owner in the middle of the Californian desert knows about my shitty life" Sean chuckled, weakly, and Mark shook his head, slapping his shoulder lightly.

"Nah don't worry about it pal! Here, we don’t ask questions. Just have fun, enjoy yourself, and relax. That's what you're here for, right? Let things rest a bit?" Mark asked, and Sean nodded, scratching the back of his neck.

"I guess, yeah"

"Great. That's what I wanted to hear. Now let me show you your room" he nodded and the youtuber followed him towards the inside of the house. There was a staircase to the left of the living room, and they followed it up to the rooms, walking through a hallway with at least 5 rooms on each side. When they reached the second to last one, Mark stopped and took out a key with the number 7 on it. He opened the door and then handed the key to Sean. "Your room"

"Oh... thanks" Sean smiled and walked inside, while Mark stood by the door. He entered the coziest room he had ever seen. It was all decorated with simplistic objects and furniture, seeming more like a guest room than a hotel room. The bed seemed extra comfy, there was a mirror on the wall, a TV, a small fridge, and the bathroom was inside the room as well. "Holy shit..."

"Liked it?" Mark asked, walking inside slowly, and Sean nodded, looking around in amazement.

"It's like a hotel room, but much comfier... how the hell you have money to build this?" he asked, impressed, and Mark shrugged.

"The farm has around 8 years. It started with only this house, and the bathroom was shared, but then 3 years ago I rearranged it, made a huge renovation. Broke down most walls, reorganized the top floor, changed the stairs' location... it was a mess" he chuckled. "But it worked"

"This seems to be very crowded, I mean, for you to get that much money to do that much stuff" Sean said, sitting down on the bed and humming at how soft it felt. Mark chuckled and shook his head, leaning against the wall.

"Well it does get crowded but we ask only for what we need. We sell our crops, we consume them as well, and we only ask for more money from our guests because we have a high costing water and energy bills. If it wasn't for that, we would never ask anything from the guests, as long as they worked" he explained. "This is like... a place for resting. For forgetting your problems. And I don't really want to be rich so..."

"But... you have no profit?" Sean asked, frowning. "How do you buy new things?"

"The clients give them to me" Mark answered. "They give me what I need. And if I can't have anyone to give me anything, I don't do it. I wait until someone can"

"Wow... this is like... against everything the US teaches" Sean smirked, and Mark smirked back, nodding.

"Yeah, well. What can I do if this place resists?" he winked and Sean laughed, nodding and standing up.

"Well, you surely got me excited to begin my work. My bags are already here, I can change and begin to put my hands in the dirt and work my ass off!"

"Oh no please" Mark chuckled and shook his head. "First days are for resting and getting to know the farm. Take a shower, or just change, and come to the barn. From there I will show you around, present you to the employees, to the guests, and tonight we will celebrate your arrival. Only tomorrow you can start working" he winked, and Sean smiled as Mark made his way out of the room. "I will be waiting"

And after that, he closed the door, and Sean chuckled, shaking his head and sitting down on his bed again.

This place didn't exist. It wasn't possible that such a dream land existed. He could only be dreaming.

But he wasn't. And it was time to know a bit more about that strange place.

[doberbutts]

ADD brain says no past tense for you.

But yeah anyway I was just feeling really happy at work, in my element and managing classrooms and my class dogs and helping people with their dogs and ugh why did I let Petco make this so horrifically toxic for me.

Today I helped a client work through a reactivity issue with her dog and it will be a long road for them but they are committed to fixing the problem. Yesterday I convinced someone who was really dismissive about her dog’s issues to sign up for privates in order to really dig into them, because she had firmly believed that his breed was just bound to have these problems and I showed her what a fun dog he actually is under the shitty behavior and how he’s truly a delight but has been allowed to be a shit and that’s why he acts like that, and now that she knows he can be a dog she’s proud to own she wants to commit to that momentum.

Sushi at just 10 months is proving to be a capable occasional demo and a wonderful dog to just have around the store, we go for our CGC on monday but she is already showing signs of being a capable neutral dog.

THREE of my clients have asked me for my pronouns and one was a young teen who then bullied her parents every time they got it wrong (u go gen z) and thanks to a quick explanation with a matted doodle I was able to get the family to accept starting over on their dog’s coat while also getting good grooming habits in while they wait for it to grow back so their dog can be just as fluffy as they want him to be.

I started training dogs because I wanted to help animals. I started training professionally because I wanted to help the people who owned them. Petco really poisoned a lot of it for me not due to specific company policies but due to store management and being needlessly restricting and refusing to budge even though it was proven several times that my suggestions would help. And what do you know, I made THE LITERAL SAME suggestions to my current company who listened to me and we are averaging $1-2k in dog training sales ALONE per week (company expects $300/week) and I am booked straight until mid-June. After only working there for 2 months and selling for even less than that.

Man, I miss classrooms and class dogs.

[telltheworld-phff]

Chapter 30: Promotion

December was a busy month to everyone. But to Carol, it became her busiest yet.

They were only in the second week of the month and she still wasn’t speaking to Harry. There was a side of her that missed him, their chats and even their Skype calls. But she didn’t want to give him hopes she wouldn’t be able to fulfill. She was clear with him all the time, but he still thought he had some sort of claim on her. She wasn’t talking to him because she was mad, she was, but that wasn’t the only reason. Carol didn’t want to be a bitch and break his heart. Because he had such a kind and good heart and she wanted it to remain the same. She thought it was best for him to make them disconnect a little bit. They were spending a lot of time, calling, texting and when they were together, they were glued together and it wasn’t a healthy thing to do with someone you didn’t intend to have a relationship with. But she couldn’t deny she was missing his voice, specially when his accent became stronger. Because that meant he was either happy or aroused. Sometimes even when he was angry his British accent came out stronger. She missed how he made sure to find a way to talk to her all day, every day.

She was enjoying a quiet day at the office and was reading a few articles here and there when she came across one announcement that made her royal-watching heart fill with joy:

“Their Royal Highnessess Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel have the great pleasure to announce that they’re expecting their third child.

The birth is to take place in April 2018.

Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar are looking forward to welcome a new sibling.

No changes in the schedule of the Crown Princess couple public engagements are planned.”

She smiled big when she read it. Victoria was one of her favorite princesses and she truly was a great role model to everyone. She instantly got her phone to text Harry the news when she stopped mid way. She too was used to tell him everything and this habit scared her how subconsciously she was going to do it. She erased the text before sending it and got up to start her day. She had a meeting with directors and she didn’t want to be late.

(…)

“I’m going to where?” she asked in disbelief.

“London” one of the directors said.

“Why?” she asked.

“Because your inclusion project was well received and our main office wants to implement it there. And since you were the one who developed it, you’re to go there.”

“For how long do you think I’d have to stay there?” she asked.

“Well, darling… It took you nine months to implement it here. So given that our London headquarters is four times bigger than this one, I’d say you’re going to stay there at least for a year, but really wanting to say you’re probably going to be one of their permanent employees.” her boss told her and she was awestruck. She was being kind of promoted and they were putting up a plan for her to move to London. It was a dream come true? Yes. But at the moment she wanted to be anywhere but there.

“I think it’s a great opportunity, Carolina.” one woman she didn’t remember the name said. “Your housing will be paid by the company. You’re going to earn a lot more, not to mention the fact you’ll be living abroad. It is a booster to any resume.” she finished.

“I… I don’t know what to say.” Carol said above a whisper.

“We know it’s a lot to ask you. But, let’s think this through. You have worked hard and fought for this project with everything you had. You followed every step, you put most of this together. Would it be fair for us to send anyone but you to work there?”

“No. It wouldn’t be fair.”

“Exactly.” her boss said. “So, we’re offering you another position. You can tell us how much you want for a wage and how many times in a month you want to receive your payments. You can chose a London neighborhood to live, you’re going with a full sponsored visa paid by us and you’ll be working in the same company you are right now...”

“The same but not quite same.” she said.

“I really want you to choose to go, Carolina.” her boss said and looked at the other directors. “Because it’s simply a dream job.”

“I know… I probably have always dreamed of living abroad, but right now, I don’t know if I should move to London due to personal matters...” she took a deep breath “But I take it they’re demanding someone as soon as possible, right?”

“Always clever. They want someone that knows how this project works to go there. And if you chose to stay, we’re going to send someone else.”

Carol closed her eyes and her mind was racing already making pros and cons lists. She wanted to go? Of course. But she never was away from her home or from her mom. But in London she’d be close to her sister. She’d have her friends (that were Harry’s friends too), she’d be able to get the master degree she wanted and she’d be close to him. She laughed at the irony that fate kept pushing them together. Just when she decided to step back and give them some space, she was thrown in his way once again.

“I’ll do it. But I want to negotiate terms.” Carol said getting a piece of paper and a pen. She started to write everything she wanted. If they wanted her to go, she’d go in her terms.

“Let’s start with payments…” she said cutting to the point. Her boss only smiled brightly, he had taught this young lady well.

(…)

She soon had a growing list of tasks to do.

To be able to have a working visa, she had to take a proficiency test to see if she had the required level of English. Her company had scheduled it to three days later, after the meeting. She studied a little bit just out of habit, because right now she didn’t have any doubts about her level of English. It was a difficult test, not because she didn’t know what was asked of her, but because she had to do a writing report on a plain subject (flowers), she had to listen to excerpts of movies, songs and readings to answer a few questions about it, there were lots of text interpretation questions along with grammar ones. And the final part of the text was an hour long conversation with a native speaker. He was pretty sharp and sometimes even rude. He shifted the conversation to common things to news around the world to books and literature. She never was so relieved in life when she was dismissed to go home. Her scores would be up in a couple of weeks and she really wanted to not have to repeat this test again.

RH had applied for her visa. She had a meeting with them where they explained the type of the visa they were getting her. It was a tier 2 visa, also an intra-company transfer. Her visa was for a  long term staff and where she could stay in UK up to 5 years. They didn’t think she was able to introduce, discuss the particulars, implement and train employees in less than a year. So they were paying for the 5 year visa, so that way they wouldn’t have a deadline to make them hush things. It’d take two weeks for her answer to come back from UK’s embassy in Brazil and that would be only after Christmas. But it was a certainty that she’d get one, so they helped her to look at the other documents she needed to do. They gave her the receipts of her income tax payments ever since she became a BBC employee, they helped her to translate and validate all of her degrees (high school and university and other courses she took) and they shared with her a couple of flats that she could chose from to live in. She received her TOEFL test score by December 21st , her last day of work, she had gotten an outstanding 110 points out of 120. She smiled proudly and her boss only said she was the perfect person to send to the main offices.

(…)

Christmas she spent at home with her family. Hailey was here and they all had cooked their dinner. Flavio and Maria were more in love than ever and their daughters were having the time of their lives to mess with them about it. They opened the gifts after eating dinner. As a Brazilian couture, gifts were opened in the eve of the 24th. They all were sitting on the living room floor and were surrounded by wrapping papers. They were chatting freely and Maria gave Carol a small envelope. She opened it and saw it was a letter.

“Darling,

I know I can’t start a letter saying I’m sorry. But right now I can only think of it to start it. So here it goes: I’m sorry for the way I treated you. I’ve let you down again and it pains me to say that I don’t deserve this friendship. I’m such a shitty and jealous friend and I understand why you got so pissed and why you ignored me this past weeks. I want you to know that I have missed you a lot. Really, a lot. I want to make amends with you, so I decided this will be the first year I don’t throw my new year’s eve party, because I can’t celebrate anything if I’m to be far away from you. It sounded cheeky, right? I know. But it’s the truth, Carolina. How can I celebrate without my best friend?

Instead, I asked your mom’s help to give you a gift you’ll really enjoy. We’re going away. Just you and me. Don’t worry, I’m not going to kidnap you. Because if I was to do it, I wouldn’t be writing it on a letter, would I? It’s just a getaway from our busy lives and a quiet place for us to talk freely. I really want you accept the gift I planned for you. Because I had so much fun putting it together and I can’t wait to actually be there. So, I’m going to ask you: get your passport ready and pack for a cold weather. The rest is taken care of. See you on the 27th.

Always yours,

Henry.”

Carol was in tears by the end of the letter. She missed him so much and those heartfelt words melted her icy heart. She missed him and she had already forgiven and forgotten what he had said.

“Mom! Where is he taking me?” she asked her mom while drying her tears.

“I’m not going to tell you, but I think you should go.” Maria answered.

“Please...” Carol pleaded.

“I won’t tell you, don’t even try.” Maria shared a mischievous smile with Flavio and Hailey and it was clear that they all knew where she was about to travel to.

(…)

On Christmas morning Carol ate breakfast with her family. They were in pajamas and Carol was still trying to know where she was going with Harry but they all kept their mouths pretty shut. She was annoyed for a little while and her mood changed to a grumpy one for the rest of the day. She only truly smiled when they were walking around Ibirapuera park. They went to have lunch at one of its restaurants and decided to take a stroll around the park. In Brazil this time of the year is summer, and the park was pretty empty because of the holiday. They walked to a patch of flowers by the lake and the three women gasped when they turned around to see Flavio on one knee with a ring box opened and asking Maria to marry him.

“Nós não conseguimos da primeira vez, mas eu não quero te deixar escapar novamente. Você quer se casar comigo?” [we didn’t get it the first time, but I’m not letting you go again. Will you marry me?]

The girls were jumpy and waiting for her answer.

Maria had her hands on her mouth and tears in her eyes. He was giving her the same ring he had proposed all those years ago. The one she had given back to him. She nodded once, twice before saying.

“Sim! Sim, sim, sim!” [yes! Yes, yes, yes!]

He got up and hugged her taking her feet of the ground. He spun her and they kissed before he put the ring on her finger. They soon hugged their daughters (both were crying) and they felt this was one of the best Christmas ever. When they got home, the girls were the first to grab their laptops and start planning their parents wedding. Flavio and Maria were just having fun with them, but truth be told, by the evening they had already sorted out a couple of things, but specially the date. April 14th, 2018. And it scared both of them how crazy their girls could get when they went into planning mode. But they were also relieved that the didn’t have to do most of the heavy work. If the girls kept this pace, they’d have to just show up on the day. They shared a knowing look before getting up to get a bottle of wine and snacks for all of them.

A/N: It’s 2 am right now and I couldn’t go to sleep before putting another chapter up. Hope you like it.

I also want you guys to go check @royalfanficcentral They have other amazing histories for you to read (I sure am reading lots from there)