#but i guess i just need to accept the fact that i’m just not talented enough for that

[dixons-sunshine]

Fanfic authors that can draw are on a whole different level and I bow down to their greatness. Just know that I aspire to be that talented and that I envy you so much (in a good way).

[arlestial]

Hey, could you make a part two of how the Blue Lock boys make up for the forgotten date? (Nagi,Isagi,Bachira) 🌷

❝if you'd have been the one❞

synopsis : Life is sometimes difficult, keeping them busy and away from you; until it turned to take you away from them.

pairing : Isagi Yoichi, Nagi Seishiro, Bachira Meguru x genderneutral!reader •— Blue Lock

tw : Alternative endings (angst or fluff/comfort)

word count : 4300~ words

author-note : Hi !! I’m so happy y’all liked this, so I decided to write a part II. Some wanted angst, others comfort, so I did both in order to please everyone :) The part I is here ! Thanks for all your kindness, I’m overjoyed to see so much attention on my writings 😭 I hope you’ll like it !! take care of yourself ♡

tag-list : @cecee77, @mandapanda16, @mariyumemi, @someonethatisnobody, @erintaro, @missalienqueen, @8-xnny, @miyanosm, @neuvilletteismybby

ISAGI YOICHI’s eyes widened when he saw your text, after the game. He knew he fucked-up the instant he stepped inside the soccer field, already regretting his decision. He won, but the stadium applause sounded like an awful ringtone that woke him up to reality, a shrill noise crashing his organs and piercing his ears. His heart was racing; not because of the victory, but because of the apprehension. The fear. The panic, that perhaps, he had lost you. But you wouldn’t leave him, right ? Everybody make errors. You would forgive him, no need to stress. At least, that’s what he was trying to convince himself. But in the depths of his own mind, he wasn’t this confident. He took his phone, excusing himself from his teammates that were celebrating, and isolated himself in the corridor. He tried to call, but you refused it twice. He groaned, his hands shaking, trying to tap a text quickly.

22:49p.m. | y/n ♡ : guess you made your choice then.

- read at 00:24a.m.

00:24a.m. | yoichi ♡ : honey please just accept the call

i know I fucked up, I’m sorry

i shouldn’t have done that

- read at 00:33a.m.

00:34a.m. | yoichi ♡ : i know you don’t want to talk to me right now

I’m coming over

- read at 00:38a.m.

00:39a.m. | y/n ♡ : gosh, how savvy and perspicacious of you.

- read at 00:39a.m.

00:40a.m. | yoichi ♡ : here in two minutes

- read at 00:41a.m.

You turned off your phone, completely mad. You clearly didn’t want to talk to him right now, especially this late. He couldn’t care less about you when he was playing on the field; and now, surprisingly, he knew that he fucked up and he regretted it ? Please. You decided to spend the night elsewhere, at your parents, since they were the only ones responding in the middle of the night - they were probably watching a movie at home and were a bit surprised to see you texting them a "hey, can I come over ? got an issue at home" text out-of-the-blue. As you exited your bedroom with a bag filled with spare clothes, you’re met by a raven-haired man, panting, still in his blue jersey, preventing you from leaving the house. He grabbed your waist when you tried to walk past him.

"Isagi, let me go."

"Love, listen. What I did was selfish, I know, it was a terrible mistake."

"So tell me, Isagi, when did you feel regret ? When you stood me up or when I texted you back, making it clear that I was upset ?"

"Actually, from the very first moment my foot landed on the field. But that doesn’t change anything, it’s still shitty of me, and i-"

"But it changes everything, in fact. So, you could’ve turned around. You could’ve joined me at this restaurant, like you promised me, no ? But you didn’t. So you just lied right in front of my face. How bold of you."

He felt like suffocating. You were right. He should’ve refused to play the match, even if there were the most talented players in the world; because you were his lover, goddamnit. He knew you were insecure, because he was rather absent, and he should’ve came to the date he promised to take you to. He was busy with Blue Lock, neglecting you in the process and not setting aside enough time to reassure you like he was supposed to. He wanted you to slap him, to punch him, as hard as you could; he wanted to suffer physically. It was easier to bear physical pain than to handle the mental distress he was in.

"But no, my sweet boyfriend Isagi Yoichi decided to stood me up to play some random game as if he’s not always away from me all the damn time."

"I don’t know why I did that, honestly. It was stupid, and I’m deeply sorry. You know that I love you a lot, right ? You’re the most important thing in my life, and I don’t want to loose you because I’m too immature to think before I-"

"Am I even enough for you ?"

You were losing patience, your tone now sharp, trying to bite away the tears from falling.

"Obviously you are, darling. You are more than enough, and you deserve so much better than me."

He hurried to say, his hands coming to your cheeks, gently stroking them with his thumbs. The concerned look on his face grew rapidly in a desperate, frightened one.

"That doesn’t feel like it. If it was the case, you’d have turned around. Soccer had always been your main interest, and I’ve always been the second. I don’t want to be with a guy that prefers a sport to his own partner."

ISAGI YOICHI had never experienced so much fear in a lapse of time this short. His heart skipped multiple beats - maybe it stopped completely, heavy. He heard the blood rushing in his veins, in his ears, as if the pulsations were the applause of a whole stadium; it was deafening. His breath hitched, goosebumps painting themselves on his clothed arms. Don’t go.

The choice was all yours, now.

↳ Your mind kept telling you that he wasn’t feeling any regret, that he wasn’t really sorry. If this situation presented itself again, he would pick the same decision, leaving you alone, completely by yourself in this stupid restaurant, below the pitiful looks of the waiters, probably whispering at each other who could even stood you up like that. He put distance in your relationship since weeks, months even, ghosting you when he was too tired to send you at least one text to let you know that he loved you still. Regardless of his lack of attention towards you, he wasn’t even capable of respecting his own promises, as he might prefer to play soccer with his friends as usual. And you were just there, always waiting for him, in every situation, waiting for him to come home with a warm smile and a good dinner, sharing kisses, hugs and cuddles on the couch, disappointed when he was reminding you that he’d be gone again in two or three days to return to Blue Lock. You were tired of it. It wasn’t even a relationship at this point.

"I’m not a toy you can play with for some time and then abandon like it’s nothing. My patience is not infinite."

"I never said that. It was an opportunity I couldn’t miss, and I wasn’t enough thoughtful to realize about the consequences of my actions. I just hope you can forgive me for it."

You pushed his wrists away from your face, glaring at him coldly, not wanting to cry for him. You took your bag and walked past him successfully this time, opening the door without giving him a single glance; just stopping in your tracks as you reached the doorknob.

"Goodbye, Isagi. I hope you’ll become the player you desired to be for so long."

You were his motivation, the person he wanted to make proud, the person he wanted to impress when showing his new capacities and his strength. The person he wanted to come home to, everyday, as lovesick as the day before. But now, the tears were flowing silently on his cheeks, as he couldn’t process what he saw. You, closing the door behind yourself, leaving him without any chance of coming back. Because you sincerely realize how much you love someone when you actually lose them.

↳ You tried to push him away, in a faint attempt to show how much you hated him right now. But he just stared at you, his gaze never fading, and he tilted your chin up with his hand. The other went straight to your waist, pressing you against him. Your eyes and his met; and you swore you’ve never saw a fonder look in your entire life. Orbs filled with pure love and softness, enamoured unpronounceable words, a silent plea begging your forgiveness. He leaned and kissed you gently, carefully. When he finally broke the kiss, he took your hand in his and intertwined your fingers together, pressing multiple kisses on the back of your hand without breaking the eye contact you both were sharing.

"You deserve someone better, honey. And I want- no, I will become this someone, that will love you properly. I promise you this - and if I break this promise, I swear, you can kill me however you like, it’s up to you."

You bit back a chuckle, amused by his words; but on the depths of your heart, you were fully aware that he was genuine.

"I’ll never disappoint you again. You’re the love of my life, I couldn’t handle loosing you. I’m sorry for what I did, again. I’m an asshole. Really."

He kissed your forehead with so much tenderness, a tenderness you missed during his long absence. He peppered kisses on your face, his grip on your waist tightening, as if you were going to slip away from him. He whispered something else, not daring to break the eye-contact,

"I’d rather watch the whole world burn and experience an endless suffering that having you leaving me for good."

NAGI SEISHIRO tried everything. After multiple unanswered calls and messages left on “seen”, he noticed that you’ve blocked him. He sighed, staring at his ceiling. Was it the end ? He tried to forget you, he really did. He tried to convince himself that you weren’t this important. He tried to wake-up each morning without searching for you underneath the sheets, only to find a cold bed next to him. Occupying his thoughts with games, movies, series, even soccer, wasn’t enough anymore. He needed you in his arms, and he was willing to do every single thing imaginable to get you back.

You were at one of your friend’s apartment, enjoying some time with her watching your favorite series. She left the couch to get you a drink, mumbling a quick "pause the episode, I don’t wanna miss it" before hurrying to the kitchen. You smiled, and did as she asked; until you heard a knock on the door. You frowned.

"You ordered take-out ?", you called your friend from the couch, questionably.

"Nah, I didn’t. Told you we were going to one of my friends’ restaurant this evening."

She came back from the kitchen, two glasses filled in her hands, her brows furrowed. She put them on the table, glancing at the door.

"Who is it then ?"

"Don’t know. Wait, be right back.", she quickly turned around, walking towards the door, and opening it slightly. Her face went blank in approximately 2 seconds, and she gulped.

"Um.. Well, that’s awkward."

You couldn’t hear correctly what your friend said to the stranger; you could only hear a low voice, that sounded awfully familiar. So, you decided to get up, trying to get a peek of the tall figure standing in the corridor.

Your eyes widened.

The series was long forgotten on the screen, the voices echoing between the walls, as you stared, dumbfounded, at him.

Seishiro.

Your friend shifted uncomfortably, deciding to leave you both alone for some privacy as she promptly went to her room. You didn’t know what to say. What to think. But the dark bags under his eyes, that looked stern and empty, his hair even more messy than before, gave you relatively an idea of how the two passed weeks had been for him.

"What are you even doing here, Nagi ?"

Ouch. The use of his name instead of his first name was abysmal; but a relieved sigh escaped from his lips. Finally. Your voice. It sounded so much better than your voicemail, that he had listened every night after you left him in your shared apartment.

"I’m sorry. I- I’m really, fucking sorry for what I did. I miss you, Y/N. I can’t-"

"Nagi, stop. I can’t do this right now."

You cut him instantly, trying to close the door. Well, trying, because he refrained you from doing so, laying his whole strength on the door to keep you from leaving him again.

"Please, Y/N, at least, hear me out."

His voice was pleading, begging even; as much as your heart broke with his wobbly words, you didn’t know what to think, what to say. You bit your inside cheek, wondering what to do, now that he was so close to you, after all this time.

NAGI SEISHIRO looked at you dead in the eye, his own blackish orbs watering at the sight of your frame standing in front of him. His hand wandered to your cheek, his fingertips almost grazing your smooth skin that he missed so bad, as if you were made of real porcelain. Porcelain that he’d break with only one feather touch. So he held back.

"I missed you so much," his voice broke, approaching you hesitantly. "So fucking much. I’m sorry for neglecting you and taking you for granted all the time, I’m sorry I didn’t give you the attention you deserved, the attention you needed. I need you to come back to me. I can’t live without you, baby."

Forgiving him was a tough choice. Your heart was aching at the sight of tears rolling down his cheeks. You’ve never seen Nagi cry before, at least, not cries of pain. But he hurt you, he really did. These two weeks were just obnoxious to him, but they were worse to you. Seeing his texts, his calls, deciding to block him anyway - it was laborious, to say the least, because your feelings for him were still there, haunting your mind constantly, day and night.

The choice was all yours, now.

↳ How could you just forgive him like that ? After all he did ? Sure, you meant a lot to him, but did you mean more than anything else ? You were always second, never the first, and it became clearer each day that passed that you weren’t as important as you thought you would be for him. He didn’t even made time for you in his oh-so-important schedule, focusing on soccer and his fucking games, hanging out with his friends who knows where, instead of you. He chose it. It wasn’t random. You weren’t his priority at all. Sitting patiently on the couch, staring at the door with this constant lovesick gaze, waiting for him to return to finally go on your well promised date. But he never returned. And you weren’t going to return either. It was enough.

"You know what ? You were the first thing in my mind, everyday. You always have been the first person I was thinking of in whatever situation I was in. The only voice I wanted to hear, the only person I wanted to see, the only gaze I wanted to get lost in - now don’t tell me you feel the same."

"I do-", but you immediately cut him off, anger taking the best of you.

"You’re a freaking liar. What’s the next step, uh ? You’re going to promise me you’ve changed ? You think I’m stupid or something ? I’m not naive, Nagi, I’ve never been your priority and I’ll never be."

"You don’t understand, Y/N. I’ve been busy, you’re right, but give me a second chance. I promi- I’ll not make the same mistake again, that’s for sure. I realized that you were extremely important to me, more important that I’d like to admit actually, I can’t bear seeing you without me at your side, it just hurts too much. I’m just asking for a second chance."

"As much as it hurts to say, it’s over. I’m not going to give you a second chance when I knew damn well that it’ll not change anything. If you needed time to process your love for me, I’m definitely going to give you time to process it even more."

His eyes widened when he saw you slowly closing the door, in a faint attempt of ending the discussion.

"No, wait, I beg-"

"Move on. It won’t be so difficult anyway, spend some time with your friends and your games, you’ll soon forget about me."

He was now staring at the wooden door of the apartment, tears streaming down his features. He lost you for good this time. And he finally understood how it felt to receive the same treatment that he gave you; to be abandoned by your lover when you needed them the most.

↳ Seeing him in tears didn’t really help your case. Your heart burnt, and you soon felt yourself tearing up, your vision blurred. You let out a broken sob, to which he responded with a call of your name - desperate, probably as broken as your cries - and he embraced you tightly, his nose nuzzling on your neck, sighing when he finally touched you, melting in the loveable hold he wished to feel again. He kept repeating the same apologies, the same confessions of love, hoping it’d soothe your tears.

"I don’t want to hurt you ever again," he mumbled, stroking the back of your hair gently, "I’ll never hurt you ever again.", he assured with a shaky voice.

He kissed your temple softly, still holding you close to him, your head resting on his chest.

"It’ll be the last time I’ll ever put something above you. You’re the most important thing to me - I can’t live without your presence near me all the time. I’m sorry I just realized that I needed to tell you this now. I should’ve known you deserved to hear it properly,"

"You’ll be my highest priority from now on, as it should’ve been from the very beginning, angel."

BACHIRA MEGURU was anxious. At first, he decided to give you space. He hated arguments with you, always trying to avoid them, and he thought that distancing himself might help the situation. Spoiler alert, it didn’t. Sweaty palms grabbing his phone, and immediately turning it off, utterly incompetent. He didn’t want to argue, to entertain a conflict with you; he prefered your smiles and your soft giggles in tickle fights. He missed them. The sound of your hard laughs, the look of your teasing grins. However, he couldn’t bring himself to text you, nor to call you, afraid that you’d pronounce a dry "it’s over". He couldn’t handle the pain, and avoiding it wasn’t the best idea to fix the issue. Meanwhile, it had been 3 weeks, you were now nearly convinced that your relationship with him had come to an end. No texts, no calls, no attempts to see you, you founded it weird, but you didn’t question it. It worried you a bit, yeah, but you weren’t going to chase after him if he didn’t want to talk about it. You were more hurt than worried; after all your moments together, the shared memories and the heavy feelings, he just moved on this easily ? Even though it was totally his fault ? You just scoffed when your friends asked about him, hiding your devasted state behind a mocking tone, saying it was probably over now. You waited for a message all the time, staring at the screen, angry fat tears rolling down your cheeks in frustration. What an asshole.

"You never texted them ? Bachira, are you crazy ?"

Isagi exclaimed, in utter shock. They were in his bedroom, Isagi was sitting on his bed, unable to process what Bachira just told him. The usually joyful man paced around, his face in his hands.

"I- I didn’t know what to say ! I fucked up really bad this time, I was scared of losing them."

"Man, you definitely lost them now. It’s been 3 weeks, you should’ve said something earlier !", Isagi replied, nearly strangling himself in desbelief.

"I know. What should I do ?"

"Bachira..", he sighed, biting his lip in despair, "it’s probably too late now. They’re most likely thinking that you don’t love them anymore or that you moved on."

"But I didn’t ?", Bachira whined when Isagi stood up and smacked his head, annoyed. Isagi mumbled something inaudible, probably about his naivety or his stupidness, again.

"But that’s what it looks like, bro. You stood them up, and they got no news from you, don’t be stupid. Everyone would think the same thing."

Bachira gulped. He was right. And without hesitation, he ran away from his home, heading towards your place, in hope you would accept his apologies. He never sprinted this fast in his entire life, his muscles burning, his ankles aching from the impact of his feet against the stiff concrete of the streets he was running in. The road seemed even longer than usual, and when he finally arrived on your doorstep, he was panting, his hands shaking as he hesitantly knocked. He felt nauseous. Emotions overwhelmed him when he finally saw your form opening the door with a worried look.

"Meguru ? What are you even doing here ?"

He immediately took you in his arms, his head buried in the crook of your neck, breathing-in your comfortable scent, relieved. You yelped in surprise, not reciprocating the hug.

"I missed you so much."

He muttered, still trying to catch his breath. You frowned, surprised by his presence.

"It had been 3 weeks, Meguru. It’s a bit late to come here."

"I know. I should’ve come earlier. I’m so sorry, Y/N. Please, forgive me ? I promise I won’t do it again !"

BACHIRA MEGURU didn’t want to let go of you, choosing to hold you even tighter, letting his tears soak your shirt. He couldn’t care less about crashing your bones with just arms; if it was possible, he’d live in your skin. That seemed creepy, to say the least, but he enjoyed over-proximity with you, and he couldn’t bear to be apart from you anymore.

The choice was all yours, now.

↳ After 3 weeks, seriously ? You pushed him off of you, clearly not amused by his whines. You just felt anger, disappointment, embarrassment.

"Meguru, you left me alone for 3 weeks straight, and now you’re coming unannounced as if it was actually common ?"

"You don’t understand, Y/N !! I was too anxious of your reaction after our argument. I didn’t know how to deal with the guilt I felt, I didn’t know how to apologize properly.."

"No, you don’t understand. You really think that ghosting and ignoring people as if they never existed was a solution ? I should be the one to do that, not you. You’re always avoiding conflict and I’m so sick of it."

"I know-"

"No, you don’t !", you sneered, taking a long breath to soothe your nerves, "You never did. You haven’t remembered our anniversary - and it’s not the only thing you’ve forgotten along the way. You never took our conversations seriously, you never put any attention in our memories and our celebrations for them. I don’t want to be with someone who’s not even capable of being mindful of our important moments together and of our special dates. If it’s not important to you, alas, it is for me. I won’t give up another thing, especially if it’s something that is dear to me."

"It’s important for me, I swear. I just don’t know how to show it correctly."

"Then learn. But you can count me out."

You opened the door, leaving a broken Bachira behind, reaching after you. But you turned to stop him, giving him a quick nod, a silent no. The weak smile on your face shushed the golden-eyed boy. And he understood.

"I wish you the best, Meguru."

↳ You bit your inside cheek. Always giving promises he couldn’t keep, with a beam and butterfly kisses. And as much as you loved him, you didn’t know if you could tolerate it again, if your heart could handle another betrayal.

"You’re always promising the same things, but you’re never actually changing.", you argued.

"I can. I know I disappointed you, and you have every right to be upset. I’m trying my best, learning to manage my feelings and my habits is hard and tough, but I’ll do it for you. I’m really trying, Y/N,", he said, his voice breaking slightly, "I’m not used to this. It’s- you’re my first love, and I really hope you’ll be my last. I don’t have any experience in terms of relationships. If dates are important to you, I’ll make all the efforts in the world to make them special and memorable. I want to grow old with you, so please, give me one last chance to prove you that I’m worth it."

You hesitated for some seconds. He wasn’t the type to lie, and right now, he sounded strangely serious. It felt out-of-character, but you needed it to actually make up a decision.

"Fine. But it’s your last chance.", you finally whispered,

"Yes ma’am. Trust me on this one, I’ll make you proud of my work."

He sighed, relieved, immediately peppering your face with kisses. You giggled, trying to push him away.

"Gosh, I missed this sound. Oh- and I’m taking you on a date after; that’s the least I can do. I love you to the moon and to saturn, Y/N. Thank you for everything."

[cityofmeliora]

Cardi wishes he could've had a real father-son relationship with Nihil 😢

despite the obvious bullying / disrespect / hostility between them, Cardi accepts Nihil as his father much more easily than he accepts Sister Imperator as his mother.

after Cardi found out they're related, he actually started to acknowledge Nihil as his father. at concerts, he's referred to Nihil as "my dad", "my daddy", "my daddy-o", "my papa", "pops", "my old man", "my father", and "my old pop" dozens of times. but he's never once referred to Sister Imperator as his mother in any way. did you notice that? because i think about this a lot.

Cardi is bitter about Nihil having been an absent father.

PAPA EMERITUS IV: You know… my dad… not much of a dad. Bristow, Virginia, USA (August 24, 2023)

PAPA EMERITUS IV: That’s my old man. Or was. Pretty sucky father, but he still can blow. Syracuse, New York, USA (August 18, 2023)

but i don't think Cardi's bitterness about Nihil being an absent father is anger or hatred towards Nihil for failing to be a parent... i think it's a lamentation of the fact that they never even got a chance because they didn't find out they were father and son until Cardi was 51 years old and Nihil was already dead.

every time Cardi said Nihil was a bad father / an absent father, he always ended up saying "it's okay." or "he's okay." Cardi wants things to be okay. at the show in Sydney, in particular, Cardi genuinely sounds so sad and disappointed about their situation.

PAPA EMERITUS IV: My old dad. He wasn’t much of a father –he kind of sucked at that– but he sure as shit blows really good. Yeah, no, he– he’s fine, he’s fine, except for being dead. Auburn, Washington, USA (August 4, 2023)

PAPA EMERITUS IV: My old man… First, he was just a fart that I met. And then I got to know that he was my dad. Yeah. He's– he was okay. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA (August 12, 2023)

PAPA EMERITUS IV: You see– I’m your Papa, but that’s my papa. He’s an okay papa. Or he was. He’s dead now, but we sort of drag him out for the good shows. Buenos Aires, Argentina (September 24, 2023)

PAPA EMERITUS IV: That’s my old man. Well… He never was much of a papa to me, but… it’s okay. Sydney, Australia (October 3, 2023)

i think Cardi, deep down, wants to forgive Nihil. he wishes they could've had a real father-son relationship. Cardi still longs for the parent he always wanted and needed but never had.

Cardi frequently talked about how Nihil used to be a singer / entertainer like Cardi is now, and Cardi said he thinks he must have gotten his talent from Nihil. as someone so proud of his own accomplishments, someone who's been shown multiple times to believe he's better than all the other Papas before him, it's strange for Cardi to say he got his talent from someone else. Cardi never said these kinds of things before he found out Nihil was his father, never even acknowledging the fact that he was allowed to become the frontman of Ghost because of Nihil's blessing. but he's saying these things now because he clearly wants to feel a connection to Nihil– to his father, even though he doesn't like to admit it.

PAPA EMERITUS IV: He was, once upon a time, a singer like I am. And he did a few tunes. I don’t know if you’ve heard them. They’re okay– they’re okay. Bristow, Virginia, USA (August 24, 2023)

PAPA EMERITUS IV: But you know, he used to sing, like I do! And he was an okay singer, actually. I must have got it from somewhere, I guess. Athens, Greece (June 25, 2023)

PAPA EMERITUS IV: You know, back in the day, he used to be a singer. I hate to say it, but I think I got it from him. Yeah. He was an okay singer. Auburn, Washington, USA (August 4, 2023)

PAPA EMERITUS IV: That was my– my old papa. He’s okay. He’s not that good. And I guess the apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree… So he’s okay. Mexico City, Mexico (September 18, 2023)

Nihil and Cardi never got along, but there was still hope that it wasn't too late for their relationship to develop. in RITE HERE RITE NOW, as Cardi struggled with confusion about his life and feelings of anxiety over his time as Papa ending, Nihil offered Cardi some "entertainer advice".

PAPA NIHIL: Son– You seem to think of your life as a zero-sum game. As if you living in a house means that nobody has ever lived in the same house before you. That nobody will ever live there after you. That even before there was a house there, nobody walked that ground it now stands upon. It's not pleasant to think about that, I know. You have to be more here. Right here. Right now. I have also lived a long life that I was precious about. Life is not always how you scripted it. I am almost 80 years old, and I'm dead. But I still am part of it. Making the people rock. Look, I always wanted to entertain people… and be a part of the night, be a part of the world of magic and wonder– showbiz. And I am. Even now that I am dead, I can still entertain those people for a brief moment every night. And that is meaningful. Do you think that is how I wanted it to pan out? PAPA EMERITUS IV: Thank you, dad. RITE HERE RITE NOW

while i think Nihil's advice is kinda terrible considering the context that Cardi was legitimately afraid his parents were going to murder him and put his body on display for his successor's fans (which was not an irrational fear, because they literally actually did do that to his older brothers), i do think Nihil was genuinely speaking from his heart, and it got through to Cardi. that was the first time they had ever addressed each other directly as "dad" / "son".

so it seemed like they were starting to make real progress in their relationship. unfortunately, they're right back to bullying / disrespecting / being hostile to each other in the post-credits scene, so who knows how much that moments of sincerity and vulnerability actually affected them. 🙄

but yeah. ugh. it fucking kills me the way Cardi so clearly wants to forgive Nihil and wishes he could've had a real father-son relationship with him. they cannot fucking stand each other. but i think they could have loved each other. in a better life.

[chiaraanatra]

Break Up in a Small Town

Request: What about break up in a small town by Sam Hunt? Pilot!Reader and Jake?! Love your work!! - @callsign-viper

Summary: You and Jake had known each other since high school and the two of you dated back at the Academy. After being stationed on separate sides of the US the two of you separated. Little did you know both of you would be called back to Top Gun. Little did he know you would be followed by a civilian boyfriend.

Warnings: Swearing, name-calling (slut), shitty boyfriend, Hangman to the rescue!

No Y/N; callsign Stinger; called Honeybee by Jake as term of endearment.

Word Count: 3k

AN: This took way too long and I’m sorry. It also ran away from me and I’m not sorry.

When I first started writing this, I was watching too much VPR and Tom is definitely based on Tom Sandoval.

For the parts 1 & 3 of this accidental series: pt 1: Cop Car || pt 3: Falling Like This

《 m.list || ao3 》

“Stinger!” You looked up from your spot in the common room, greeted by the commander looking about as pissed-off as usual, “My office now!”

Shit! What did I do…? Your thoughts ran rampant. You weren't a bad egg by any means but depending on the day the commander could go on a tirade over just about anything.

You stood in front of his desk, eyes trained straight forward. He was looking through a large manila folder. “Do you know why I called you in here?”

“No, Sir.”

“I have to send somebody from this squadron to Miramar…” Your brain was barely able to register the Commander’s words. “This might be against my better judgment, but I’m giving you your dream shot. I'm gonna send you up against the best. You’re going to Top Gun.”

Holy Shit…!

“Thank you, Sir.” You tried to keep a stoic look on your face but inside you were screaming. Top Gun was a big deal and you would be one of the few pilots included in the upcoming class!

“You ship out tomorrow. You're expected to be there Monday at 0500. Don’t make me regret this decision, Lieutenant. You’re dismissed. Go home and pack up.”

“I won’t let you down, Commander.”

You walked out and closed the office door behind you. You tried your best to contain your giddy smile. You bolted down the hall, running into the parking lot and towards your car. The first thing you did was pull out your phone and call your best friend.

Viper was stationed in Florida. The two of you were inseparable at the Academy, attached at the hip, and you didn’t let being stationed in different places stop this. Regardless of the distance, the two of you always stayed in touch, sharing whatever news and gossip came up wherever you were stationed.

“Hello?”

You couldn’t contain yourself and just screamed into the phone, “Guess what!!”

“Okay tone it down there, Sting. I don’t need you blowing out my eardrums.” She laughed.

“I’m going to Top Gun!”

“Oh?” There was a small pause, and you could hear her giggle softly. “That’s amazing, babe! I think there will be a lot in store for you there!" she paused for a moment. "You know, Top Gun, full of surprises!” You knew Viper was acting weird, but your excitement was taking over, and you couldn’t be bothered to ask what she knew. “I umm have to go but call me when you get to Miramar safe! Love you!” She hung up just as quickly as you called her.

Weird as that was you knew better than to question Viper. But the last thing on your mind was the fact that in the Navy, news travels fast and Viper knew much more than she was letting on. All you could think about was goodbye China Lake and hello Miramar!

“You accepted it? Don’t you think we should have talked about this first?” This was not exactly the reaction you were expecting from your boyfriend.

You met Tom about a year ago at a bar just off the China Lake base. You had been stationed at the Naval Air Weapons Station at China Lake since you graduated from the Academy. Being a skilled pilot with a talent for air-to-air combat, it was the perfect placement for you. Last fall, Tom moved to sunny California after being employed as a civilian contractor, hired to work on weapons navigation. The two of you seemed to click well and after a month of being friends, you decided to go out with one another. You hadn’t really dated anyone since the Academy, and it was a nice change of pace, for a while at least. As months went on Tom tended to, not so subtly, question your career as a naval pilot.

“I know, but this is Top Gun. This is a huge deal!” You said adrenalin running through, a giddy smile was plastered on your face. “This is the big leagues! And it’s still in California, only like a 4-hour drive.”

“I get that babe, but you really should have consulted me on such a big decision.”

Your smile began to fade, “You’re right I should have talked to you…” Tom always had a knack for bringing you down a couple of pegs.

“It’s cool and all but you have to consider how it could affect me, us. You know?"

“Yeah… I’m sorry.” You looked down at your feet.

“Hey, don’t give me that face.” He placed his finger under your chin lifting it so you would look at him. “You just have to think before you act.” He pulled you into a hug, “We’ll make it work.”

The drive to Miramar was surprisingly easy despite the traffic. You made it there in record time, partly due to your tendency to drive just a bit over the speed limit.

*Ping*

You looked at your phone expecting it to be Tom but the name on the notification read Phoenix. The two of you had gotten pretty close after her short stint at China Lake a couple of years ago. You were relieved when you found out that she was also accepted into Top Gun, the perspective of a familiar face made your nervousness subside.

You, me, Hard Deck 7 pm! The whole class is meeting up!

You smiled at the screen and all thoughts of Tom and the hope that he would text that he was glad you made it to Miramar safely quickly left your head.

You made it to the Hard Deck a few minutes after 7. As you walked in you saw a collection of khaki surrounding the pool table. You made eye contact with Phoenix, who lifted her empty glass with pleading eyes. You smiled, giving her a nod that indicated her next round was on you before you headed to the bar. You didn’t notice when more khaki uniforms shuffled into the already-packed bar.

“What do we have here? If it ain’t Phoenix!” A tall blonde made his way over to Phoenix and the others. “And here I thought we were special, Coyote. Turns out the invite went to anyone.”

She rolled her eyes, “Fellas, this here’s Bagman.”

“Hangman,” he smiled as if the snide comment didn’t bother him.

“Whatever.” She turned to Fanboy and Payback, “You’re looking at the only naval aviator on active duty with a confirmed air-to-air kill.”

“Stop.” He tried his best to fain embarrassment.

“Mind you, the other guy was in a museum piece from the Korean War.”

“Cold war,” he corrected. “Different wars, same century.”

She smiled back at him, “Not this one.”

“Who are your friends?” He nodded toward the two men on either side of her.

“Payback. Fanboy. And Stinger’s at the bar grabbing drinks.”

“Stinger...?” he spoke in barely a whisper. Hangman could feel his heart skip a beat at a name he hadn’t heard in years but never forgot. There’s no way…

After a few moments you made your way over to the pool table, Nat’s tequila and soda in one hand and your drink of choice in the other.

“What did I miss?” You said squeezing in next to Nat and handing her a drink.

I knew I'd see her around.

I'd be at some party, she'd show up and I'd be walking out.

“Stinger! This is-“

You interrupted before she could finish, “Hangman. It’s been a while, Seresin.” The corner of your lip turns up slightly as you maintain eye contact.

“That it has…” Jake’s eyes wandered through the room, itching for an escape. He figured it was inevitable that he would run into you again, but he wasn’t prepared for it to be now. He saw Rooster out of the corner of his eye, “Bradshaw! Is that you?” Bradley made his way over to the group and you watched as the two men had a dick-measuring contest.

You moved closer to Nat. “Well, he hasn’t changed,” she sighed as she turned back to you.

“Nope. Sure hasn’t…” a small smile making its way across your lips. You downed the rest of your drink, “I think I’m gonna head out. I have a lot of shit to do before Monday.” The reaction between you and Hangman had Nat curious but she knew better than to bombard you with questions.

You were barely at the parking lot before you had your phone in hand dialing Viper’s number. Time differences be damned!

“You knew, didn’t you?!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You could hear Viper’s smile through the phone.

“You knew he was here!”

“Okay maybe… Yeah, I knew. But come on Sting… I know you still have feelings for him.”

“That doesn’t matter I have Tom...” You didn’t even sound convincing to yourself.

Viper held herself back from sharing her thoughts about Tom. “Well, a lot can happen in a few weeks. Maybe keep your options open.”

You rolled your eyes and let out a soft sigh. “I’ll talk to you later V. Love you.”

“Love you too, S. Be safe up there.”

The first two weeks had been maddening. Top Gun training was a lot, to put it mildly. Being so close to Jake Seresin brought up feelings you thought you had long since buried and it didn’t help that Tom was MIA due to work.

You were wrapping up your post-flight checks, humming along to the music softly playing from the speaker on your workbench.

We just needed some time.

Your mood dampened slightly at the choice of song. You didn’t listen to much country before you met Jake. Coming from the Lone Star State, it’s all he would listen to. It didn't take long for the genre to grow on you. But even after all those years, there was a pull somewhere in your heart whenever a song like that would come on.

Thought I would be fine, but maybe not.

“Hey, Honeybee.” Jake mentally hit himself for the nickname.

Speak of the devil.

You couldn’t help the shiver that made its way down your spine. You wouldn’t say it out loud but you missed the nickname. One only he ever got to call you.

You turned around to see Jake walking towards you. You stood, adjusting your flight suit.

“Good job out there today.” Jake was looking down at the ground.

“Thanks. Same to you.” You gave him a small smile just as his gaze made its way to your face. “Mav’s a hard ass, but this is a good team and I think we have what it takes.”

He couldn’t help but smile, “Hard ass might be underselling it, but I have to agree.” He looks back at the ground once more. “Hey, I’m happy you’re here. While I had some doubts about some of the pilot selections, I never had a second thought about you being here.”

“Thank you, Jake. I-“ Before you can finish your thought you hear a door open next to you. When you look over the sight of Tom is a surprising one. He had barely spoken to you since your arrival, let alone mention coming down to see you.

“Sorry, am I interrupting?” Tom’s arm was slung heavy and uncomfortable on your shoulders.

“Tom, this is Lt. Jake Seresin. He’s also attending Top Gun.”

Hangman extended a handout to Tom, “Nice to meet you, Tom.”

“Back at you, buddy.” Tom leaves Jake’s hand empty, pulling out his phone from his pocket. “Hey babe how about you clean up your grimy self and we meet somewhere for a drink.”

You try your best to brush off Tom’s brazen attitude, “Umm yeah we can meet at the Hard D-“

Tom cuts you off, moving his arm from your shoulder and turning all his focus to his phone, “Yeah. Cool. Let’s meet there in a few hours?” Without waiting for your reply, he starts making his way towards the exit. “Just send me the address.”

You let go of a sigh that caught you somewhat by surprise. “Well, I guess I should wrap up my checks and get out of here.” You couldn’t bring yourself to look at Jake.

Jake was taken aback by the little interaction but bit his tongue. He had no right to comment on your current relationship, even if he hated how the guy talked to you. “Yeah,” he paused for a brief moment, “I’ll see you at the Hard Deck.”

You couldn’t help the smile that formed on your face, “yeah, see you there.”

Jake sat at the bar of the Hard Deck watching Penny and the new bartender pour drinks while he debated his decision to come tonight. The second he saw you for the first time since the Academy, everything that happened between you and him came flooding back. Meeting you in Corpus Christi after your dad got promoted and stationed at their Naval Air Station, going to the Academy together, long nights spent studying, and even longer nights spent intertwined with one another. He missed you. He wanted to convince himself that he didn’t, but he did. He always wondered where you two would have been had you been stationed together after graduation or had you tried to make things work despite the distance. Maybe you wouldn’t have been with that jackass now…

Jake looked up from his drink to be met with a view of the said jackass. However, the hands that were hanging all over Tom, didn’t belong to you. Jake watched for a few more moments as Tom’s hands grabbed at the girl’s ass. Before he knew what he was doing, Jake was making his way towards Tom, taping the shorter, dark-haired man on the shoulder.

“What the-Ho, hey Jacky boy!” Tom’s demeanor quickly changed when faced with the taller blonde.

“It’s Jake.” Jake was straight-faced and unamused.

“Yeah, that’s what I said. Any way you mind?” Tom’s eyes moved from Jake to the girl and back to Jake, hoping that Jake would catch the hit and keep quiet.

I wanna jump out, I wanna fight, I wanna say, "F- that guy!" but I can’t.

Jake knew exactly what that look meant. While he wasn’t proud of it, he had a past. When you first met in high school, Jake had a reputation for having a high “catch and release” rate. It was because of that it took him a while to convince you that he wanted something different with you. After you things reverted, never wanting something serious if it wasn't with you.

The doors to the Hard Deck opened and your gaze was drawn to Jake. Thoughts of Tom were nonexistent, to the point where you couldn’t be bothered to notice the shorter, dark-haired man or the shorter woman hanging all over him.

You waved to try and get Hangman’s attention. On further inspection, you could tell that the man was seething. Jake wasn’t one to share his emotions much and he wasn’t the most readable, but after spending years with him you could read him like a book. When you finally reached the man, you were met with the source of his anger.

“Tom?”

The girl turned to you with a look of disgust, as if you were beneath her. “And who are you?”

“Well, girlfriend doesn’t seem like an appropriate title anymore,” your attention shifted from her back to your ex-boyfriend, “does it, Tom?”

Tom let out a laugh that made you want to shrink into yourself. “Sure, sure. You know what? Fuck you! I could have any girl I want! I don’t have to put up with this bullshit!”

“What bullshit? You’re the one with another woman hanging all over you.”

“Oh, seriously?” Tom looked to Jake and back at you, “Like you haven’t been slutting yourself out to guys like him?”

“Hey hey hey!” Penny moved toward the two of you, “I will not have this shit in my bar.”

Tom scoffed, “And what are you going to do about it?”

Penny smirked and ranked the bell. The whole crowd cheered as Tom looked around in confusion.

“Overboard! Overboard! Overboard!”

Before he had time to think, much less react, Tom was hoisted into the air and carried toward the exit. Before he knew it his ass hit the sand and the doors to the bar were slammed shit.

Jake looked over to you, you had shrunk into yourself at Tom’s words but tried your best to hide it. He gently placed his hand on your shoulder. “You wanna get outta here?” He gave you his iconic smile and you couldn't help but give him a small smile in return.

“Yeah, I would rather be anywhere but here right now.”

“I think I know just the place.” He cashed you both out with Penny and led you to his truck.

“I hope this isn’t your masterful plan to get me back in your bed.” Half joking you look over to him.

He let out a breathy laugh, while he liked the thought of you back in his arms, tangled in the sheets of his bed, he knew that’s not what you needed. At least not right now. “Unlike some, I am capable of think without using my dick.”

The two of you drove in comfortable silence. You noticed that he had driven you back to Miramar. He parked and you looked at him with some confusion. “Come on,” he hopped out, grabbing two blankets out of his back seat before making his way towards the back of the truck and you followed. “You remember back in Corpus Christi when we would sneak onto the base and watch the planes take off.” He laid out the blankets and lifted you to sit on the truck bed.

“I remember us almost getting arrested senior.” I couldn’t help but laugh as you remember that night. You also remember that being the night you two first kissed.

He jumped up to sit next to you, “Thankfully, we don’t have to worry about that.”

Your eyes drifted in his direction, taking in his form. His strong arms, his hands that were much larger than your own. His strong jaw and beautiful eyes. You knew your timing could have been better, but you couldn’t stop yourself, “I’ve missed you, Jake…” Your head came to rest on his shoulder.

His head came to rest slightly on your own, “I missed you too, Honeybee.”

Tags: @callsign-viper @luckyladycreator2 @saturnsbabe69 @desert-fern @pono-pura-vida

As always, feedback, likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated!𝑊𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑎 𝑏𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑑? 𝐿𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 💜

[starshine-hockey-girl]

Here is my late entry for the Valentine's fic exchange. It is my first attempt at player/player HRPF. @deformed-globule, I hope you like it.

I also apologize that it got long. Actually, i should he sorry, but I am not.

Summary- My best guess to answer the question that has been haunting hockeylbr since the All-Star game. How and why was Sidney Crosby wearing Nate Mackinnon's hoodie during his post-game interview?

@pattiemac1 @penstxgal1968 @angry-geno-is-score @newlibrary @cellythefloshie @hockeyficexchange

Wednesday- January 31st- Nate MacKinnon’s hotel room

Nate watched as Cale Makar stood at the door and looked out into the hall. Cale looked back and forth several times to ensure that the hallway was clear before turning back to Nate. “So…. uhhhh…. I guess I will see you at breakfast? Maybe we can have round two before the Skills Competition,” the soft spoken defenseman said.

“I’m not sure,” Nate yawned as he wrapped the towel around his nude body. He had just started the shower and was anxious to get his latest conquest out of his room as quickly as possible. He was fully anticipating a video call from Sid, especially once the photo Nate had sent to him was opened.

“Oh, okay,” Cale replied, trying to hide the disappointment in his voice.

“Don’t worry Kid,” Nate grimaced slightly, “I won’t leave you hanging.”

With that, Cale smiled and rushed down the hall towards his room. He had a naive fear of being caught doing the “walk of shame” down the hall. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he almost ran into Leon Draisaitl walking towards his room. Smiling at the near collision, it dawned on him that Leon was walking from the direction of Matthew Tkachuk’s room. The term “walk of shame” took on an entirely different tone during the ASG and Cale pondered just how many of his fellow All Stars would be taking the same walk during the next three days.

Inside Nate’s room, Nate stared at his phone. The message containing his nude selfie with Cale’s bare ass in the background had been seen by Sidney, but there was no response. After another fifteen minutes, Nate contemplated sending another message to provoke a response. It was a move that made him feel needy, but dammit, he NEEDED to know Sid’s response to the picture. Finally, the young buck couldn’t take the suspense any longer. He FaceTimed Sid who picked up while reclining on his hotel bed wearing nothing but a pair of boxers.

Nate: Hey Sid

Sidney: Nate

Nate bit his lip before speaking: So, did you see the draft?

Sidney: No, I was busy. I saw the line-up though. Not bad.

Nate felt the flame of anger light in his gut. Not only had Sid not told him that he wouldn’t be at the draft, but he didn’t even have time to watch it. Nate had been selected as a team captain, after all, and he made sure to draft Sid as his first pick.

Nate spit out: Not bad? So not bad but not good? Well, maybe if I hadn’t been thrown off by you being represented by a damn toddler, I would have been more focused

Sidney yawned: Don’t overthink it Nate. It doesn’t really matter what team you end up on during the All Star game. Everything is usually pretty equal talent-wise. Although we might be hosed during a penalty kill.

Nate snarked: Well, then try not to take any dumbass penalties, Sid.

Sid leveled his gaze at Nate: Need anything else?

Nate responded without thinking: Did you get my pic?

Sid answered tersely: Yes, I did. Makar has a nice ass by the way.

Nate inwardly seethed. Sid was completely nonchalant by the knowledge that he fucked Cale. In the seven years since they had become “friends with benefits”, it had been generally accepted by both that what happened when they were apart in different cities went unquestioned.

It was that fact that made Sidney question why exactly Nate had sent such an obvious thirst trap picture. Then it dawned on Sidney that Nate was pissed about the draft. Sure he should have communicated better he thought, but it wasn’t like Nate was his girlfriend. “No, boyfriend,” Sidney corrected himself. Either way, Nate wasn’t entitled to an explanation and it irritated him that he reacted this way.

Nate finally came up with a response: Yeah, it was a nice ass to tap.

Immediately, Nate felt a pang of regret. It was a shitty thing to say about The Kid. It was a shitty thing to use him as a means to make Sid jealous. Nate paused. “Jealous?” Nate questioned himself, “Why would I want to make Sid jealous?”

Sidney responded with disinterest: “Was it good?”

Nate had repeated in disbelief: “Was it good?” “You don’t give a fuck?”

Sidney yawned and examined his feelings with a coldness that further infuriated his younger….. He paused to think of the correct term. What exactly was Nate to him? They definitely fell into the more than friends camp, but were they in a relationship? Definitely not. However in his gut, a tiny seed of something grew. It felt like a weird combination of jealousy, anger and outright annoyance.

Sidney and Nate’s physical relationship began at Sidney’s 2017 Stanley Cup party. A very drunk Nate followed Sidney up to his bedroom at the end of the night. When an equally drunk Sidney suggested that he walk home, Nate made his move with a sloppily drunken kiss. He moaned into Sidney's mouth, “Don't want to go home. I want to be fucked.”

It was an unexpected offer to Sidney, but not an unwelcome one. He had often imagined what it would be like to take the younger man. Solo jerk off sessions after their intense and competitive workouts had become routine. He wondered how his extremely fit body would feel in his hands. Sidney paused to contemplate the ethics involved. “How drunk are you?” Sidney asked before he returned Nate's kiss.

“Sober enough to consent,” Nate slid his hands under Sidney’s shirt, “I am also a grown ass man and I know what I want.” It was as if Nate had read his mind. It was just enough to release Sidney's tenuous hold on his last inhibition. He pulled Nate into the room and slammed the door shut. Nate grinned as he raced to strip. Sidney was slower and more deliberate in his actions. Nate gasped when Sidney’s semi-erect cock sprung out of his boxers.

“Is this your first time?” Sidney asked as he stroked his cock, getting it fully erect. Nate shook his head no. “Get ready for me,” Sidney drawled with seduction. Nate scampered onto the bed. Nate felt Sidney's large thighs behind his as his hands gripped Nate's hips. Sidney leaned forward and nipped at Nate's neck, “How do you want it?”

The blonde looked back at his hockey hero. “Any way you want to take it,” he answered. His eyes half closed in a state of extreme arousal and disbelief. He had dreamed of this moment for years. “Hard and fast it is,” Sidney smiled as he thrusted.

Sidney shook his head and pushed the memory out of his mind. Nate had fumed on the other end of the line. Sidney paused, unsure what to say. He wasn’t sure what emotion he was feeling, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to admit anything to Nate. “You’re free to do whatever you want, with whomever you want,” Sidney finally replied as coolly as possible.

On the other end of the line, Nate’s face reddened.

Nate: Fine, I will.

Nate ended the call abruptly and turned off his phone. He was sure that Sid would call back immediately. Sidney did not.

Thursday- February 1st- Scotiabank Arena

Sidney glanced at his phone once again as stepped out of the SUV at the All Star Game red carpet. Nate had continued his radio silence after the drunken phone call the night before. When Sidney walked into the assigned locker room, his eyes searched for Nate. He saw him huddled his fellow Avs - Cale and Georgie.

An awe-inspired silence fell over the room when Sidney walked into the locker room. It happened frequently these days when the younger players from other teams came into close proximity to their childhood hockey hero. All eyes turned to Sidney in various levels of adoration. All eyes except for Nate who felt the weight of Sid's eyes on him. He stubbornly looked at the floor and refused to acknowledge him. Sidney blinked then proceeded to his locker to dress, exchanging head nods with everyone else. Cale looked between the two friends and pondered the obvious tension.

Nate kept his focus on Cale, openly bantering with him. Sidney watched for a moment. In all of the years he had known Nate, the younger man had never failed to acknowledge him. The strange, unnamed feeling from the night before returned. The one that he had been trying to stuff down most of the morning and during flight to Toronto. Like most men when confronted by a difficult emotion, he turned it into anger. “Who in the fuck did he think was? Like I am going to be jealous of Salad boy,” Sidney thought to himself. “Any one of these guys would die to have my attention and you want to ignore me, Nate? Go ahead play with your new conquest. I will find my own.”

With that, Sidney turned his attention to Tom Wilson with a smile. “Are you here to give moral support to our boys or did you just want to spend time with me?” Sidney said flirtatiously. Nate’s ears perked up but he willed himself not to look.

“It can’t be both?” Wilson smiled back, “I won’t be on the ice today. I guess I will have to admire you from afar.”

“Just like always,” Sidney shot back, “I see you sneaking glances my way during games.” Nate’s head swiveled around and his eyes widened. Sid was openly flirting with Wilson. He was openly flirting with Wilson IN FRONT OF HIM.

Wilson inwardly laughed. He had been in the league long enough and was smart enough to realize that Sidney’s sudden flirtatiousness was not for his benefit, but MacKinnon’s. Despite that knowledge, he decided to play along because frankly he didn’t have anything better to do. The fact that it irritated the other golden boy from Nova Scotia? That was just an added bonus.

“You know I can’t help myself, Sid,” Wilson flirted, “That ass cannot be ignored.”

“Who says I want you to ignore it?” Crosby shot back.

Nate couldn’t take it anymore and stomped off towards the ice. Makar followed after him. Wilson laughed out loud, “Poor NateDogg - no longer Sid’s golden boy.”

“Shut up, Willie,” Sidney snapped.

“Or maybe he is,” Wilson answered coolly.

“It’s complicated,” Sidney said before he got up to walk to the rink. He turned to Wilson and smiled, “Thanks for the assist though. I appreciate it.”

“Anytime, anytime,” Wilson smiled, “I’ll be glad to keep it up. Get him worked into a lather for you.” Sidney winked at Wilson and kept walking.

The Skills Competition essentially became a battle of two peacocks. Nate and Sidney both vying for the attention of the other by any means necessary. Nate hung tight with Cale, flirting shamelessly. Sidney flitted from young admirer to young admirer, mesmerizing them with his presence before leaving them with titillating hope of more. On the surface, the two appeared calm and collected. They joked superficially and appeared to be the same long-time friends that they had successfully projected into the world through the years. Beneath the surface, they battled to remain in control of the seething jealousy.

In the locker room after the skills competition, talk turned to evening celebrations. Nate made the first move and loudly pronounced his intent to go to a club with his fellow Avs. Sidney casually threw out that he had been invited to History, Drake’s nightclub. That announcement led to almost everyone else in the locker room to ask for an invite as well. Sidney was more than happy to text his new minions to the guest list. He threw out a half-hearted invitation to Nate which was soundly declined.

Friday - February 2nd- Scotiabank arena - Team MacKinnon locker room

Sidney threw his stick against the wall in disgust. Anger pulsating through his veins. Nate followed behind with proverbial steam coming out of his ears. The rest of Team MacKinnon followed in confused silence. “Yes, losing sucked” Oliver Bjorkstrand pondered, “but it’s just the All Star game. It’s not like the points counted.’

“What the fuck was that, Sid,” Nate screamed.

Sidney swiveled around, “What was what?”

“You missed your shoot out shot. You cost us the game,” Nate yelled.

“First, watch your tone with me. Second, you missed your shot right after me,” Sidney yelled back.

“Are you saying that I cost us the game,” the blonde huffed. The remaining players in the locker room looked back and forth as the two friends volleyed accusations at each other.

“I am saying that maybe you should have considered a penalty kill in your draft strategy,” Sidney said through clenched teeth.

“Maybe you should have been there if you were so concerned about draft strategy instead of sightseeing god damn bears and wolves!” Nate responded.

Sidney took a breath and looked around the room. Expressions ranged from the total amusement of Tom Wilson to the shock and awe of Makar. Sidney grabbed onto the bench to keep himself from walking over to the defenseman to slap the expression off his face. “Fuck this,” Sidney muttered, “I refuse to be a spectacle because you are behaving like a spoiled child.” He gathered his things and walked out of the back door into the hallway.

Nate watched in disbelief. “Where in the fuck do you think that you are going?” he thought to himself. His mind raced back to Wednesday and the blythe way Sid had dismissed his veiled cries for attention. He got up and followed him down the hall. Sid checked doors until he found an empty physical therapy room unlocked. He went and threw his stuff down. He was almost undressed when Nate entered the room. The rest of players looked at each other for a moment and scampered down the hall to listen.

“Don’t walk away from me, Sid,” Nate hissed.

“I am not going to indulge your temper tantrum, Nate,” Sidney shot back.

Nate crossed to him in a fury.

“What did you say to me?” Nate questioned.

“I said that I am not going to indulge your temper tantrum,” Sidney responded coolly. The detached tone fueled MacKinnon’s repressed anger.

“Like I am a god damn baby?” Nate laughed.

“Like a damn baby in need of a pacifier,” Sidney spit out.

The duo stared at each other, nostrils flared and chests heaving. In a split second, the anger turned to unbridled passion.

“I don’t need a pacifier but I want to suck on something,” Nate whispered. Sid smiled and tore off his remaining clothes. Nate pushed him until his ample ass bounced off the padded table. Sid pushed himself up onto the table and spread his legs. Silently he offered Nate the object of his desire- his thick and throbbing cock.

Nate began to suck like it was the first time they had explored each other’s bodies. The anger had fully subsided into pure passion. It was aggressive and rough. Sid’s large fingers grabbed onto Nate’s hair and guided him up and down. Nate, however, required no guidance. A silent look was exchanged and Nate stood up. Sid hopped down and Nate bent over the table.

“Is this what you want?” Sid hissed.

“Shut up and fucking give it me,” Nate hissed back.

Sid poured the unspoken anger of the last two days into his fucking. His jealousy of Nate fucking Cale, his anger at Nate’s passive aggressiveness over the past two days, the disappointment of losing to fucking Connor McDavid fueled his relentless thrusts.

Nate felt his anger fading away, replaced with the subtle confidence that Sid did, indeed, still want him. The jealousy faded as Sid fucked him like his life depended on it. The grunt and groans filled the room. Their usual banter replaced animalistic noises as they expressed their emotions in the only way they knew how. Sid collapsed in a heap on top of Nate momentarily before wrapping his arm around Nate’s waist. His hand stroked feverishly, bringing Nate to a quick orgasm. Nate’s back rose up and down as he collected this thoughts and let his breathing slow down.

Sid gently kissed Nate’s back and Nate froze. He allowed Sid to feather kisses across his shoulder blades. Sid seemed to be conveying something, but Nate wasn’t clear on the message. He was torn on wanting to let it continue and the need to know what the message was. He pushed up and turned around to face Crosby.

“What? All of the sudden you give a shit about me?” Nate quizzed.

“Of course, I give a shit about you Nate,” Sidney answered quietly.

“Right, you really gave a shit about me when you skipped the draft,” Nate accused, “I needed you and you bailed on me.”

“You needed me? Why?” Sidney answered, truly perplexed. “All of this is because I missed the draft? Seriously?” Nate reached for his sweatpants and shook his head. “Look at me, Nate,” Sidney commanded. Nate continued to look down. “Look at me please?” Sidney asked instead of ordered.

Nate looked up, the pain evident in his eyes. Sidney continued, “I didn’t know that you really wanted me there and I didn’t certainly didn’t know that you needed me there.” He ran his fingers through his silver and gray hair. “I thought I was doing the right thing, Nate,” Sidney explained, “I thought me not being there would allow the spotlight to be on you. I thought it would give you a chance to shine.”

“You wanted me to shine?” Nate asked softly, “That’s why you stayed away?”

Sidney pulled up his sweatpants, “You were selected to be a captain. It’s a big deal. I didn't want to take attention from you.”

“Really? You expect me to believe that? What did you say the other night Sid? You’re free to do whatever you want, with whomever you want,” Nate accused.

“You are,” Sidney replied as neutrally as possible. “You are free to fuck anyone you want. That doesn't change that I want the best for you.” Inwardly Sidney's heart raced. This conversation was getting close to dangerous emotional territory.

Nate stared at Sidney for a moment. The unspoken emotion simmered beneath the surface. Finally, Nate spoke, unable to stop himself, “You-you're what's good for me.”

“What?” Sidney gasped, “What did you say?”

Nate took a step toward Sidney, “I don't want anyone else but you.” He began to say before Sidney kissed him mid-sentence. The kiss was soft and gentle, completely different than any other of their shared kisses.

“Me too. I only want you- no one else,” Sidney moaned as his tongue languidly explored Nate's mouth.

Nate pulled back, “Seriously?“

“I only want you,” Sidney reiterated as Nate grabbed him and pulled into his body. They were both absorbed in the kiss when there was a soft knock on the door.

“Uhhhh, guys?” Oliver Bjorkstrand said, “They're looking for you. Neither of you did your post game media before you uhhhh.” He paused to think of a polite way to say retreated into an empty therapy room to fuck like animals.

Sidney called out, “Tell them you found me. I'll be right there.” In the hall, the members of Team MacKinnon scrambled back to the locker room. In the room, Sidney grinned at Nate, “I'll go first and let my captain have the last word” He grabbed a hoodie, threw it on, and kissed Nate quickly before rushing out the door.

Nate stared at the door for a brief moment before reaching for his hoodie. He grabbed the remaining hoodie and saw the 87 on the right side. It took a moment for the meaning to sink in. “If I have Sid's hoodie,” he thought to himself, “Where is my hoodie? Shit, Sid has my hoodie.”

He raced to open the door. He called out to Sid, “Wait, you have the wrong hoodie,” Sid turned, looked the number on the hoodie and shrugged. Then he flashed a grin, pointed to the number and then to his heart. Nate stared for a moment before a sly grin spread across his face.

Later that night - Vince Dunn’s condo - Bellevue, Washington

Dunn looked up at the TV screen from his position between Larsson’s massive thighs. He did a double take when he saw the number 29 on Sidney Crosby’s chest. He turned to Larsson who looked down in mild annoyance to the interruption of the blow job he had been receiving. “Is Sid wearing MacKinnon’s hoodie?” Dunn asked in disbelief.

“Gubben,” the ginger spoke, “Focus.”

Dunn pouted slightly, “At least he isn't wearing some rookie's jersey like SOMEONE I know.”

Larsson gently grabbed Dunn’s face and turned it to him. “Gubben…. How long are you going to pout about that? I was simply trying to boost Garth's confidence. You know he means nothing to me. You are my special one.” Dunn grinned, basking in the reassurance of his beloved partner. “Now back to work,” the Swede playfully demanded, “Back to work.”

[ukulelevillainwrites]

who follows the rules anyway?

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9

complete

pairing : anthony lockwood x she/her reader

word count : 4.5k

content : in this part you get angst, reader and lockwood’s backstory and some plot with a side of ‘i didn’t know where else to go’ in subtext :)))

They ate dinner in silence. It was clear that the two guys she had in front of her weren’t used to having people over. They were sitting around the kitchen table, notes and drawings covering the cloth beneath their plates. She read the messages closest to her. Many were about cases they probably worked over the past couple of weeks. But here and there she noticed some insults directed at Lockwood and she was glad to see she wasn’t the only one who thought those things. A drawing of a visitor caught her attention. It wasn’t very detailed but its expression seemed sad and lonely nonetheless.

“Who’s that?” she asked.

“That’s the ghost we have to take care of tomorrow. It’s probably a Type One so we should be done quickly.” George answered.

“Where is the house you have to take care of?”

“Hopkins Street in Soho.”

“I’ve been on a case near there! Though it was more dangerous, the Type Two we had to contain was more threatening than we had anticipated. And the house was big too, are you gonna be okay just the two of you?”

“I’m sure we’ll be fine.” Lockwood cut in.

“We could always add a third person, worst case scenario they just stand by…”

“I’d be happy to be there in reinforcement… And that way I could pay you back for letting me stay here.”

Lockwood was far from enthusiastic about the arrangement. y/n saw his jaw tighten as George accepted her offer to tag along.

“I’ll go to Satchell’s to restock.” He got up and aimed for the door. “You and y/n can prep the bags so we can leave when I come back.” He left the table without looking back. There was no room for discussion. It’s like he couldn’t get out fast enough. I guess the feeling is mutual then. But who cared if he couldn’t stand to be in her company either? At least she could repay George by helping him out back. And that way she didn’t have to figure out what her next move should be for another day. She could pretend to be a proper agent one more time and forget about her disgrace.

George immediately filled her in on all the research he had done on the case. Apparently even for a Type One explaining every little detail couldn’t wait until tomorrow. She listened to him ramble on about the history of the house on Hopkins Street and felt at peace for the first time that day. It reminded her of their walks back from a job early in the morning. She paid attention as much as she could until her eyes decided to close on their own.

----

It was getting unbearably cold and the fact that she was restrained to a small iron circle didn’t help her condition. The night had been a disaster so far. It made her regret Fittes, her old teammates, her decision to stay here and help. She wanted to be a true professional and apply her impeccable methods. What could be better than to follow Marissa Fittes’ instructions to the letter? What could possibly be worth denying everything her supervisors had taught her her entire career? Anthony Lockwood’s sheer will apparently justified changing everything.

It had started as soon as they had set foot inside the house. She wanted to be thorough and efficient. She offered that the group went through the house together to look at each room and possibly locate the source before facing any type of ghost. But their leader had decided otherwise and didn’t even bother to listen. He sidelined her immediately.

“You’re here in reinforcement, right? So we’ll come get you if we need a hand.” He had told her before leaving her behind surrounded by an iron chain. It made her furious. Sure, she hadn’t exactly been warm yesterday, or even polite, but still. He could really use her training and her talent. His stubbornness was really stupidity at this point. And what kind of agency didn’t have supervisors?

She was going on and on in her head about everything that was wrong with this situation when George interrupted her train of thoughts as he entered the room.

“We still haven’t found anything, we’re taking a break in the kitchen. Care to join us?”

Of course, Lockwood wouldn’t have bothered to tell her that. Instead, he greeted her with

“That tea is really awful. Who made it?” he said with a wince.

“I did, and at least I was nice enough to bring tea for everyone.” She went to pour herself a cup from a thermos she had packed.

“Well, it was your job.”

“My job was to prep the bags with George, not play housekeeper.” She said coolly without looking up. She turned her back to him so he couldn’t see the look on her face. That tea really was terrible.

“The tea isn’t the only thing that’s bitter tonight.” He said with a smirk.

She turned around to face him.

“Tea isn’t part of a regulation kit.”

“In our agency it kind of is.” He cut in.

“What I’m trying to say is that you could appreciate the intention instead of making your snide comments. Earlier you literally walked through the door shouting orders without helping us even a little and now you keep criticizing me. You can’t spend the evening reprimanding everything I do.”

“I’m in charge and I can when the work isn’t done properly.”

The room fell silent. She wanted to scream at him, hit something, anything. But this was still a haunted house. She needed to keep her emotions under control. No matter how much she wanted to put him in danger specifically, George didn’t deserve this. Ignoring the satisfied look that Lockwood gave her, she turned to George.

“Is he always so difficult to work with? I’m surprised you haven’t lost your sanity.”

“He’s actually tolerable most of the time.”

Lockwood smiled at her with a “I told you so” grin.

“But you obviously have quite an effect on him.” He told her with a wink.

His smile disappeared instantly and it was George’s turn to laugh.

“Instead of having you two brooding in separate corners of the room, maybe we could try and do the job we were hired to do?”

They went for another tour of the house, using all their senses to try to detect any activity. The only result they got was a drop in temperatures which was a start. They settled into the coldest room, figuring the source was probably nearby. They set up a circle in the center and the boys started to search anything that could be the cause of the haunting. As y/n went to pick up a figurine carved in ivory on a shelf an annoying voice interrupted her.

“I need you to stay in the circle while we look for the source.”

“But my Touch is better than yours and George’s combined! Stop being a jerk and let me do my job for the first time this evening.”

“We’ll tell you if we need reinforcement.”

As George was about to protest she raised her voice.

“I’m getting really sick of your behavior. Stop treating me like I’m a beginner. I can handle myself. I worked for the most prestigious team in the most prestigious agency for God’s sake!”

“Well, you’re not anymore. Your behavior hasn’t been much better and until I know that I can trust you I’m not letting you touch anything in this house.”

“Fine. If that’s how it’s gonna be I’ll be better off anywhere else.”

She left the room in a rush. She was putting both of her teammates in danger anyway with how angry she was getting. It was better for everyone if she left.

She went down the stairs in a hurry and slammed the door on her way out. The fresh air outside helped a little. But she would need a two-hour walk at least to calm down. She started to walk down the street as she heard footsteps running behind her.

Lockwood caught up with her and grabbed her arm to make her turn around.

“Where do you think you’re going? You don’t have anywhere to go and we organized the night with you as backup. If we don’t have you standing by you’re putting both of us at risk if something goes wrong.”

“I’m putting you two at risk anyway with how angry I am at you. I thought getting to know you would change the opinion I had of you but I was right from the start you’re just an arrogant jerk.”

“And I was right to think you were just pretentious and helpless that night we met. If it weren’t for me you’d be dead but instead you disrespect me in my own house and act surprised when I don’t trust you on a case.”

So he did remember that night. She tried to hide her surprise.

“Oh right so I’m supposed to be grateful for you ruining a perfect opportunity for my career.”

“You didn’t need me to ruin your career you handled it very well yourself.”

That stung. She turned around before he could see the tears that prickled her eyes and stormed off into the night.

“Nice one Lockwood! And I’m the one with zero social skill.” George said from the doorstep before going back inside, leaving Lockwood alone in the deserted street.

---

“y/n I need you to keep the visitor under control while we look for the source!” Kipps shouted as he ran up the stairs, followed closely by Bobby.

“But wouldn’t it be better if-” She tried to point out that her talent would be most useful if she went to look for the source herself but the boys were already gone. Reluctantly she went back to the living room, using her senses to see if the visitor had come back yet.

She was alone for now. Just her and her frustration to keep her company. After a week of strenuous efforts and late nights, her leader still didn’t seem to warm up to her. Obviously if he kept her aside and gave her tasks that didn’t let her show her full potential he could never be impressed with what she could do. But she kept her head down, it was only the first week, she needed to follow his directions to remain on his good side, or at least his neutral side. And if the visitor showed up she would do her best to fight it, maybe that would show him. She tried listening to reason the best she could, but the truth was that Kipps’s behavior vexed her. She couldn’t help feeling underestimated and a kind of sorrow rose in her. What more could she do to make him notice her? His approval was the only thing she sought at the moment. It consumed her so much that she didn’t realize the visitor had resurfaced. It started creeping up behind her when suddenly she felt a presence as the temperature dropped several degrees.

She ducked at the last minute and narrowly avoided the ghost that flew above her reaching for her neck. The phantasm was now hovering between her and the iron chain, she had no refuge. She drew her rapier unaffected and ready to fight. The ghost tried to attack again, it was aggressive and used her frustration to its advantage. She formed complicated patterns with her sword to keep it away from her. They stayed face to face like this for several minutes with no sign from Bobby nor Kipps. Her arm grew tired of this face to face. It was getting harder and harder to draw the ghost off but her mind stayed focused. Fortunately, it was hard to break her spirit. That was until a cramp painfully twisted the arm that held her rapier. The pain was so sudden that she grabbed her arm and dropped her weapon as a reflex. Probably the worst reflex to have in this situation. As her iron defense touched the floor the visitor attacked. She ducked again, getting closer to the iron chain. As she went to step inside, she tripped and broke the circle. Her rapier was out of reach. She grabbed the chain and tried to fend off the ghost with the chain, not using the flares at her belt that certainly would have caught fire inside. Where were Bobby and Kipps? She could really use a hand right now. As the phantasm got very close to touching her the door flew open.

Finally. In the darkness she only saw a silhouette in a long coat drawing the visitor’s attention away from her. She was thankful but she didn’t recognize who it was. Bobby or Kipps would have been coming from upstairs so she wondered how this stranger could have known when to barge in. Nevertheless, the diversion was enough for her to grab her rapier, ready to fight once more. The living room was lit by the ghost lamp outside. She turned around to see her rescuer fending off the phantasm. He was quick on his feet, the movements of his sword clear and precise. His posture looked elegant even in a fight. He seemed completely at ease and it didn’t look like he needed her help. Once more she felt rather useless. She remained alert but couldn’t do more than watch the scene unfold. It was like the visitor had forgotten she was in the room standing right behind it. As the fight went on the guy in front of her tried tempting it more and more each time he dodged a sudden move from the ghost. She slowly walked around to join him on the other side of the room as the ghost was getting closer each time it tried to reach him. What was he doing? The point wasn’t to tempt the ghosts but to keep them away. It’s like he found it amusing somehow. She felt a burst of energy and a shiver ran down her spine. It was getting particularly angry. She hurried to reach his side telling him to get out of the way. She held her sword high, ready to fight off the new blow she was expecting when instead she was pushed behind. She lost her balance as she was shoved against a sofa sitting in the corner of the room and tripped the reckless idiot in the same movement. He held on to the armrest to quickly stand up and stood between her and the visitor. It was getting close, too close. At the last moment it disappeared. The air warmed up and the tension that filled the room was replaced with relief. Only for a moment though.

“Are you crazy? You could’ve gotten us both killed if my team hadn’t just located the source!” She pushed him away as she stood up from the sit he had pushed her into.

“A good evening to you too. What a lovely night isn’t it?”

She looked at him in disbelief.

“You’re not even gonna acknowledge the fact you almost got killed three seconds ago?”

A voice came from the hallway.

“Tony! To what do we owe the pleasure?”

The boy rolled his eyes at her before turning around.

“Shouldn’t you be alone in your big house at this time of night?”

She had never seen Kipps like this before. Sure, he was proud most of the time, but never to that extent.

“You should thank me for saving your teammate from a certain death. I did your reputation a favor here.” He talked about her like she wasn’t standing right next to him. How could someone she met 5 minutes ago irritate her so much?

“I’m sure she could handle herself just fine.”

“I could but he didn’t really give me a chance.” She said, glaring at him. “I didn’t need your help, I had the situation under control.”

“A simple thank you would have sufficed. Next time I’ll just enjoy the show from outside then.” He gave her one last look before exiting the room.

He left the same way he had come without looking back. Or at least she thought. Outside he had glanced one more time through the window where he had first seen her battling the phantasm, his lips curving slightly as he made his way back home. 

---

The memories of that night kept coming back to her, fueling her rage as she made her way down Wardour Street. He didn’t let her do her job then and he didn’t let her do her job now. And he was acting like an arrogant prick with a smug look on his face while he was doing it. Her head was heavy with the events of the past two days and she felt overwhelmed. She was angry at the universe for turning her life upside down. She had a plan and she was following it. Why did things have to change so suddenly? She was mad at her instincts for misguiding her and she hated the way she kept overreacting. The further she walked the more anger she realized she had to unpack. She had weeks of frustration from all the efforts she made to gain Kipps’s trust and approval and the ironic twist of fate that undid all that in just one day. She also had the hurt from El’s betrayal that still twisted her stomach. The uneasy feeling that something wasn’t right with Mrs Dufour. The shame of being fired. The unbearable weight of figuring out her future now that she threw away the one that she had designed for herself. She wasn’t ready to deal with that just yet and decided to focus on tonight instead. Who cared if she didn’t have a future, at least she still had a friend in the city that very kindly accepted to take her in. Well, until she left him and his colleague alone in a haunted house that is.

She regretted taking her anger out on Lockwood, though some of it was well deserved. She actually didn’t know how to feel about him. Somehow she was convinced he could have been very nice to work with if she had given him a chance from the start. On the other hand, she still wasn’t over how he literally kept her from doing her job all those weeks back. And the fact he behaved the exact same way tonight certainly didn’t help. Still, she hoped they were safe even with her gone.

The stroll did help a lot. She had been gone for half an hour but the fog in her mind already started to lift. She still needed some alone time but she really should apologize for her behavior later. The guys wouldn’t be home for a couple more hours anyway. No need to rush. She could always apologize tomorrow. And she would owe them one less night at their place.

She made her way to the border of the Thames, passing Scotland Yard on her way. It was one of the only buildings with light coming from the windows. She followed the river south, taking deep breaths to try and ease her mind. A gentle breeze rustled her hair and she finally allowed herself to relax for the first time today. The water made her feel safer and the quiet streets made her appreciate the city even more. It was a shame she couldn’t do this more often without taking risks. She could have stayed there for hours but as she leaned on a banister she noticed a boat getting weirdly close to her. It kept coming her way until a girl with a straw hat on came into view. She pointed to somewhere behind her mouthing something. Was it directed at her? She frowned mouthing “what?” back to the girl. She insisted. ‘Watch out.’, she finally understood. She turned around to see men gather and she ducked on instinct. The only people out at this time of night couldn’t be good news.

Curled up behind a brick wall, she slowly craned her neck to try and see what this was all about. There were three men standing a few feet away from her. They were partially hidden by a tree. She moved slightly to her right to have a better view. Relic men. It was very clear that this meant trouble and she needed to get out of there. She turned around, hidden behind the wall to thank the girl on the boat but she was already out of sight.

The easiest way for her to get out of there unseen was to go back the same way she came, practically on her knees the whole time to remain covered. She made slow progress but she would soon be able to reach Scotland yard and from there she could keep walking the other way. She didn’t really care where she was going as long as she was out of danger. She was reaching the last few feet when she heard a familiar voice that made her blood run cold.

“Good evening gentlemen.”

George was right. She was right. Mrs. Dufour was standing there, casually chatting with relic men. Her dismissal seemed even more unfair now. She wasn’t in such a hurry now. She could finally get her answers and get to the bottom of this.

“Did you bring it?” one of the men asked though it sounded more like an order.

“Of course I did. Here, I’m sure you’ll get a good price for it but I want 25%, no less.”

The man closest to her laughed as he dismissed her with a hand.

“Yeah, right.”

“It’s an original from Mrs. Overton’s ancestors. A piece from a prominent family like hers has got to be worth a lot more than the other pieces I brought you. And I’m putting my job on the line for this. 25 or I’ll find someone else.”

Did she really say Mrs. Overton? She was selling the clock she was supposed to bring back in a few days? y/n couldn’t believe it. How was she going to justify the missing piece to their client?

The shock made it hard to breath. She had flashbacks from the day before when she heard voices outside Mrs. Dufour’s office. She tried to step away slowly and discreetly but the friction of her feet on the ground made a sudden noise that made the group look in her direction. She stayed ducked but she heard one of the men get closer to investigate. She only had one option if she wanted to get out of here unharmed. She stood up and immediately started running. She could hear one of the men yelling to go after her from afar but she didn’t turn back to check. She hoped the supervisor didn’t recognize her but now was not the time to worry about this detail. She had more chance losing them if she got lost in the streets instead of following the river. She made a turn on her left, hoping they would lose sight of her. Instead she felt a sharp pain in her left arm. How could she get a cramp in this part of her body while running? Without slowing down she passed a hand up and down her arm to ease the pain. Instead of finding the soft fabric of her jacket her fingers met something wet. She looked down at her bloodied fingers trying to keep up her pace. Not only were these men chasing her but they were throwing knives at her. Letting them catch her wasn’t an option from the start but even less so now. She tried to ignore the sharp ache and kept running until she found a hiding spot in a deserted alleyway. She used the trashcans and piles of cardboard boxes to avoid her pursuers. They ran past her without looking back. She waited a few minutes trying to calm her breathing down.

The street was silent again, she couldn’t hear any voices or steps coming her way. She peered out from her hiding spot and only saw the ghost lamp at the end of the street. She came out and sighed in relief. Her mind had gone completely numb but as she stepped out of the alley she became painfully aware of the situation. Panic started to rise inside her. She wanted to curl up in the middle of the street as her breathing accelerated. Somehow she still wasn’t getting enough air. Her lungs hurt, the world started spinning around her. The wound in her arm was burning, she felt blood running down her arm. All her senses were blinded by the pain and the stress, she couldn’t think straight. Behind her she heard something crack. A leaf, a branch maybe or just a rat passing by. But that was enough to send her running as fast as she could. Her instinct was the only thing guiding her at this point. She needed to get help, to find people she could trust. She needed to go somewhere safe.

---

All the lights were out inside the house. They probably hadn’t gone home yet. The case could have turned more complicated than anticipated. But she didn’t feel like waiting for them in the street with blood trickling down her arm. She felt dizzy and lightheaded, her throat was sore from the cold autumn breeze and her wound wasn’t getting any better. She climbed the few steps in front of the door, her right hand in front of her in case she tripped. As she got to  the door, she kneeled and retrieved her hooks from the sock where she always kept them. Her dad had always told her this skill would come in handy. At the time she didn’t believe him but still let her teach her. It was a fun father-daughter activity after all. But right now, with the pain she was in, she truly blessed him for having weird hobbies.

In three clicks she unlocked the door and stepped inside without worrying about the noise she made. Her head was heavy and relief flooded her as soon as she closed the door behind her. It didn’t matter that her day had ended up worse than the day before. It didn’t matter that this seemed unconceivable yesterday. The fight, Dufour, the chase, all of it was behind her now. She was safe. As she stepped deeper into the house the walls started spinning. The masks on the wall looked like they were mocking her. She felt the urge to dismiss them with the back of her hand. A sharp pain shot through her arm as she lifted it. She cried out and didn’t notice Lockwood coming down the stairs.

“y/n? What are you doing?”

She hadn’t heard him coming and jumped in surprise, prompting another sharp pain in her left arm.

“y/n? What’s wrong? Wait how did you get in?”

At that she smiled faintly. But her head was spinning too much. Her knees buckled. She saw movement in front of her as the floor got closer before she collapsed in the hall.

[verdantcrimson]

Heaven and Earth / Discernment of Heaven and Earth - 7

(Unproofread)

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[A few days later. Inside the ES building, at Rhythm Link Office]

Koga: Oh, it’s Anzu. D’ya wanna eat some vegetables?

Koga: I ended up harvestin’ too many so I’m givin’ away the extras. C’mon, eat up, you’ve been lookin’ seriously malnourished these days. Ya gotta get your vitamins.

Koga: Hm? Adonis said the same? Haha, with the meat he gives you and my veggies, you’ll have a balanced diet, yeah?

Koga: But more importantly, the hell are ya doin’ in our office so early in the mornin’?

Koga: Huuh, they’re bringin’ outside manpower ‘cause they’re short-staffed? ‘Cause the thing from earlier, what was it called, the ‘Rumblin’ Heaven and Earth’ thing’s about to start production?

Koga: Eeh? You’re tellin’ me that the show that was obviously destined to fail, is gonna be properly made into reality?

Koga: That’s— Well, guess that’s just what you’d expect from that shitty glasses guy…… Even when things seem absolutely beyond savin’, he manages to turn it around.

Koga: He absolutely never gives up, just keeps persistin’ and persistin’ stubbornly until he makes his hopes a reality.

Koga: Prolly tough for the people that gotta deal with someone like that. But well, it ain’t my problem, so I’m just gonna sit back, relax, and watch it all happen.

Koga: Heheh…♪

Keito: Oogami! It’s good you’re here! Don’t just stand around and chit-chat, come help!

Koga: Ugh, He found me!? He’s still got the same old ears from hell!

Koga: I- I don't have the time for this, y’hear! UNDEAD and HELLSING¹— I mean, we were talking about makin’ a breakthrough and goin’ all out, right?

Keito: This is something that will benefit you all too, as members of the same office.

Keito: We submitted the proposal to reform ‘Rumbling Heaven and Earth’ yet again, and though it was accepted by the agency, it ended up being a much larger scale project than anticipated, so—

Koga: AAAAAARGH! I DON’T WANNA HEAR IT! I DON’T WANNA! DON’T DRAG ME INTO YOUR SHIT!

Souma: Please do not say such things. If you could simply do odd jobs here and there to the extent of your abilities, it would be of great help. At present, reality fails to reflect our lofty ideals—

Souma: In truth, we have a shortage of most everything. We are lacking in manpower, costumes, props, setpieces, scripts, publicity and anything else you could imagine.

Keito: Yes. ‘Rumbling Heaven and Earth’ is an antiquated show, so it’s been a little difficult.

Keito: After discussion of the fact that the show wasn’t very interesting to younger audiences, we decided that the presentation of it— The design aspect of it, would need to be revamped. 

Keito: And though RhythLink is a well-established agency with a strong base, there is absolutely not enough staff available.

Keito: The more skilled a person is, the busier they tend to be, so it becomes difficult to ask them to go out of their way for our sake.

Koga: HAAH? So the reason ya called out to me was ‘cause ya thought I wasn’t talented enough to be busy!?

Keito: You’re being paranoid. I know you’ve always been like this, but why are you so excessively snappy towards me?

Souma: Heheh. His behavior is reminiscent of a child who acts rebelliously so as to test the patience of his parents or older brother. My own younger brother behaves similarly as of late.

Koga: I- I don’t need any sorta big brother! I’m happy bein’ an only child!

Kuro: Oh, Oogami, good timin’.

Koga: Argh! Why’re each and every one of ‘em comin’ to bother me? I ain’t some sorta emotional support animal to soothe yer weary souls with!

Souma: Well in truth, speaking with Oogami is quite soothing. There, there. ♪

Koga: DON’T PET ME! I’LL FUCKIN’ KILL YA!?

Kuro: Haha. By the way, after our presentation, I was put in charge of the costumes for ‘Rumbling Heaven and Earth.’

Kuro: I thought I’d try changin’ too, and after a lotta experimentin’, I think I’ve come up with some good stuff.

Keito: Yes. This is something Kiryu achieved through his own desire and effort, not because I forced him to. I’m proud of you.

Kuro: Haha. You’re too quick to praise me, danna.

Kuro: I’m pretty terrible at dealin’ with pressure, so when I get given a huge responsibility, my brain and body start to shut down.

Keito: Your self-esteem is far too low. You should think yourself deserving of an even bigger position. It’s good to be more arrogant.

Koga: That ain’t real convincin’ comin’ from a constantly condescendin’ arrogant jackass like you, shitty glasses.²

Keito: Shut up. It might feel like your clothes are wearing you at first, but you’ll grow into it.

Kuro: Sounds about right. So I decided to stop complainin’ and just do my best to design the costumes.

Kuro: I’ve sewn a sample, try it on and see, Oogami.

Koga: HUH? Why me? This has nothin’ to do with me!

Souma: We have been doing a bit of deliberating. This new costume being exclusively suited for us AKATSUKI is insufficient.

Keito: Though naturally, having it suit us is our first priority. Our first order of business is to win over the hearts of the viewers in order to make this into a long-term series.

Keito: However, we won’t be able to spend all of our time on ‘Rumbling Heaven and Earth’, so we’re planning to gradually increase the frequency of show hosts that aren’t us as time goes on.

Kuro: We’re also plannin’ on invitin’ a couple of guests, so we wanna have costumes that’ll look good on people that aren’t us.

Keito: Of course, the costumes will be adjusted to suit the cast, but generally, we’d like them to look good on anyone.

Kuro: So I designed this.

Keito: Woah? Don’t lean your body forward like that, Anzu!

Souma: Hehe. Anzu-dono adores Kiryu-dono’s outfits. Or rather, one could say Kiryu-dono is Anzu-dono’s master when it comes to sewing—

Souma: As a disciple, she simply cannot miss her master’s work. ♪

Koga: OI! Quit gettin’ all mushy and gushy on me! The hell is this outfit!?

Kuro: The theme for this one was ‘An AKATSUKI beloved by children too.’

Koga: Don’t look so proud of yourself!? I’m not gonna wear this frilly fluttery outfit! I’ll look like an idiot!

Souma: Ooh, ‘Tis akin to the ‘aneemay’ for young girls that airs in the morning on weekends. 

Kuro: Heheh, I’ve been gettin’ into cutesy costumes lately.

Koga: I said, don’t act so weirdly proud of yourself! You guys know that you’re the ones that’re gonna have to wear this on the show, right!?

Keito: It’s fine, Oogami! We live in a time where boys can be Pr*cure³ too!

Koga: SHUT UP! Are ya guys so fuckin’ busy that the sleep-deprivation is makin’ your brains glitch!?

Koga: Are ya seriously gonna be okay, with that aura of chaos ya got goin’......!?

Translation Notes:

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HELLSING is a unit comprised of the same members as UNDEAD, but with a more traditionally rock centric image. It was initially made up of AI versions of the UNDEAD members, but has since been taken over by the real versions of them. Keito was in charge of managing HELLSING. You can read more about this in Flashback, a story set chronologically before this one.

This line was localized for better reading flow, but Koga originally refers to Keito's second person pronoun of choice: 'kisama' (貴様), a derogatory way of addressing someone.

It's obvious, but this is a Precure reference, specifically a reference to the fact that they recently started introducing magical boys to the magical girl show.

[mephinomaly]

[TL] PYSCHOBREAK/Chapter 13

[ This post uses Ois~su ♪ ]

Koga: (Woah, that playboy suddenly changed up his movement! Before he was jus’ flailin’ his limbs around like an octopus!)

(Now he’s movin’ with emotion, somethin’ he never did at practice! He has emotion, a soul! He can really dance!)

(I’m still in the middle of practising that part…! I don’t wanna make excuses like I haven’t prepared enough or I don’t have the talent though!)

(I’ve got to do my best with what I’ve got!)

♪～♪～♪

Adonis: (Hakaze-senpai, Oogami… You’re both amazing. It’s like wet gunpowder suddenly exploding.)

(What changed? Is it because Sakuma-senpai is here now? Did seeing him ease your anxieties and rejuvenate you?)

(I don’t understand how but– I must try my best too.)

(I need to learn from these people, from my friends.)

(I need to do this for them, who accepted a foreigner like me without a second thought!)

♪～♪～♪

Rei: (Ahaha. Thanks to me showin’ up, they’ve suddenly got some pep in their step.)

(Your scrambled thoughts have been blown away, and your anger and emotions are stronger than ever.)

(As long as you don’t think about random shit, your brain can focus on movin’ your body.)

(Then, your bodies won’t get worn out—otherwise you’re hidin’ your strongest talents.)

(Let it explode. Let yourself bloom spectacularly, magnificently.)

(That's why, even if I’m not there, you guys can defeat anyone.)

(I don’t wanna deal with those “vampires” that were slackin’ off ‘n messin’ around.)

(The DreFes was supposed t’be a live showdown, but this time it’s more of a ceremony.)

(UNDEAD will beat the “vampires” who are nothing more than an untalented, unorganised mob.)

(That’s how it’ll go. They had lost before we even began.)

(Bouzu wrote this story. Because of today, the Student Council will be received positively from vanquishing these delinquents.)

(These are just their opening moves. Haha, I ended up bein’ his pawn.)

(But I guess I was a little on edge in the beginnin’, but if things keep goin’ how they are, the only way we don’t win is if somethin’ major goes wrong.)

(We’ll be victorious, as UNDEAD.)

(The vampires, they won’t even come in here even if we ask them to. This battle— Flashback, has already been won. By us, by UNDEAD.)

(On top of that, they ain’t gonna exactly be eager to be fightin’ against me, against their god.)

(Those guys, those “vampires” won’t fight us. They won’t participate. They won’t even get up on this stage.)

(It’s ‘cos those vampires have no sense of danger.)

(They don’t think about the future. If they don’t get up on the stage, they’ll never know what could happen.)

(If you actually thought about your future, you wouldn’t be wastin’ your precious life bummin’ around being a delinquent.)

(They’re probably not even worried at all. They’re just goin’ about their day as usual. Maybe they’re making fun of us for the fact that we challenged them to this.)

(They think everything’s a joke, and waste their days laughin’ to themselves.)

(But they won’t be able to laugh for much longer.)

(My condolences. It’s too late for them to regret it now, morons.

(The crossroad lies here.)

(And those guys took a wrong turn.)

(Sorry, but I got no sympathy for them… Bouzu’s different, he actually fought back. They said they admired me, yet they avoid me, they can’t even face me.)

(They say they love me, yet all they love is themselves.)

(That’s why they chose the easiest path, the one that would hurt them the least.

(Pretendin’ they couldn’t see me right in front of their eyes and ran away.)

(That road doesn’t go anywhere. That road is crumblin’, and it'll send you straight to hell.)

(But now I feel like I can reach out my hand to those who have nothin’ to do with me.)

(I’m sorry, I can’t help you.)

…Welp, since you found me, I’ll be up there in two shakes of a lamb’s tail ♪

Kaoru: Seriously? If you’re not interested in doing this, you can just go home, okay?!

Rei: Ahaha. You’re sexy when you’re angry, Hakaze-kun. Sorry, sorry, Freudian slip?

Kaoru: Are you kidding me? Even if you think that, you don’t have to tell me!?

Rei: Yeah yeah, anyway. We just gotta get to know each other one step at a time. We’ll become friends no matter what happens, and there'll be a lot of opportunities to do things like this.

Yup. Fortunately, we’ve still got time.

This is our youth.

♪～♪～♪

[ ☆ ]

Chapter 12

[incorrecttowerofgodquotes]

Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Season 2: Episode 10 Review

- Starting off the episode with a mass murder, beautiful. Though the good thing is that there’s a cool down period so if we can draw out the fight long enough, we may be able to win

- Chuchu begging Secelia despite her being a Spacian, how far we’ve come. And the fact that she hooks her boy Rouji up to get some tech info is also great.

- Felsi is the best girl and I will accept no disagreements. The way Earth House just adopts her like a homeless puppy is funny. Also the fact that she was so willing to do something besides wait for Petra to get better is great. She is the ultimate kusogaki as she is the only one going to the final battle.

- GOD DAMN IT ANIME GIVE ME YOUNG ELAN FOOTAGE!

- I’m guess the backstory was cut due to time constraints but I just want to see who the Elan’s were before they’re unfortunate unpersoning. However, we were still given delicious 5nore crumbs so I will accept it. It’s interesting how El5n stated El4n was the lucky one despite earlier in the series saying he was unfortunate. He finally realized that even though El4n died, he had someone who loved him, and now he knows just how important his actions towards Norea were. His line about envy could be directed at either Norea, Suletta, or El4n, and I hope he finds his own self separate from the Elan persona that had been forced on him

- Suletta and Guel’s duel was so stupid but so adorable. It really hammers home how they’re still children and they’ll do childish things. Also Guel 100% threw that duel, or at least they animated it so it was clear Guel knew how to fence but Suletta was just floundering. He’s the ultimate supporter of lesbians and I love him for that. Please G-Witch, give him a boyfriend. Also Guel slapping himself to remind himself not to butt in on SuleMio’s affairs, lol.

- The talk between Suletta and Miorine with slash playing in the background was just *chef’s kiss* perfect. Right or wrong, and even if there’s nothing to gain, Suletta wants to move forward. And she wants to move forward with Miorine. They have to face their problems head on. They lock fingers, willing to move on together.

- Guess they didn’t have the money for Delling’s VA. But it is nice to see a realistic depiction of a coma patient. Though I’m not sure if he appreciates being yelled at after he wakes up

- What is Prospera searching for? It can’t be the Calibarn. Is it something special Notrette made? And who removed it?

- What deal did she make with Shaddiq? Is she taking his harem squad? Did she plan to work with him on Earth?

- The fact that the tomato is literally embedded with love in its very DNA is beautiful. The tomato has always represented love in this series, and here we see that it’s very creation was because of Miorine’s mother’s love for her.

- Poor Suletta is struggling hard in that Gundam, but also it’s the coolest suit in the show so far. IT HAS A FREAKING BROOM. SHE IS LITERALLY THE WITCH FROM MERCURY. RECLAIM THE SLUR

- Suletta is talented. Aerial used to overshadow as we didn’t know how much handholding Eri was doing, but this proves she’s great even without it. But I don’t think it’ll be enough to defeat Eri all by herself. She needs others to help her. They all need to come together and create a better future!

- Lauda, my son, please stop this. We are destroying the Death Star right now. Have your angst moment later. And dear god don’t make your brother kill you, and don’t die of heatstroke like a dog in a car with the Schwarzette. I’ve seen some people say Guel might die but I reject that reality. After all the suffering he’s been out through, he needs to live.

I feel like we’re in a weird space where there both could and couldn’t be a second half. We have a lot to wrap up, but also we’re closing up Suletta and Miorine’s personal journeys. Though I hope we do get the second half and have it focus on Earth and the Space League. And maybe we’ll get to kill Peil while we’re at it

[the-sisters-madrigal]

t it's not even that noticeable, just maybe a handshake that lasts a touch too long or someone standing a couple inches too close, and so it's not anything major, and if course in that situation she'd probably want to believe that it doesn't mean anything, so she keeps her mouth shut and- okay yeah I've thought about this. Sorry for rambling, I just... *gestures vaguely* This story of thing is... an element that interests me, you know? argh that still sounds weird!

A/N: Don't worry! You don't sound weird at all! I just finished this request finally, and I'm sorry that it took me so long to do it! Life's been crazy and inspiration has hopped from fandom to fandom 🥴

I hope you enjoy this one! I really enjoyed writing it! 💖💖💖

Word Count: 4.7k+

   The last thing Isabela had really been planning to do today was quite literally run into someone.

   But she had been in a hurry that morning. Pepa had been less than perfectly agreeable, and Abuela had said that someone needed to fetch her some chocolate or some sort of comfort food to help calm her. Since Luisa had gone into town to do chores already and Mirabel had been preoccupied doing something with their mother, Isabela had offered to do it.

   Which brought her to where she was now.

   “Oh, I am so sorry! I didn’t mean to bump into you!” Isabela apologized despite the fact she was feeling some amount of irritation at the man for not looking where he was going. She had her hands full with chocolate and had been looking inside of the bag to make sure she had gotten everything she needed, so she could not exactly be held responsible for looking out for foot traffic.

   “Oh, no, Señorita, I apologize for bumping into you,” he returned the apology as he bent down to help her pick up her bag. She took it from him, aiming to start back toward Casita since the confrontation was over and conflict was successfully avoided. However, he stopped her.

   “Hola, I’m Julio. I’m new in town,” he introduced. Isabela blinked but smiled nevertheless, extending her hand to meet his and shake it kindly.

   “Hola, I’m—”

   “No need to introduce yourself. I know who you are,” he interrupted, his eyes half-lidded and a smirk underneath his mustache as he eyed her.

   “Oh, yes, I guess you probably would. My family has a reputation around here,” Isabela conceded, unable to help the slight discomfort as she realized he still had not released her hand. She was stricken with the sudden desire to rip her hand away, but she pushed that down, figuring he would release her in a few moments.

   “No, I heard about you upon your own merit. Your beauty is beyond breathtaking, and those vines,” he practically purred, his voice lowering as he seemed to move onto a completely different train of thought.

   Isabela laughed somewhat uncomfortably as she finally decided to gingerly pull her hand back under the guise of brushing a hand through her hair. She was not sure what to make of him, but he was leaving her less than perfectly at ease.

   “Thank you, but trust me, my family is full of breathtaking people that are much better than me. They’re amazingly talented,” Isabela tried to redirect him on a different track that was nothing to do with she herself.

   However, he still seemed to be staring at her with far too much interest. Isabela could not help but notice how his gaze kept dipping down just a little too far for her liking.

   Isabela swallowed, infinitely thankful that she was not wearing a lower-cut dress.

   “Do you think you could possibly show me some of those vines?” he asked, trying to pull off something that he must have thought was suave.

   Isabela instantly saw the slightly darker and lustful glint in his eyes and she instantly knew that he definitely had some sort of an obsession with the vines in a manner that definitely was outside of what was acceptable. Isabela laughed once more, not sure what in the world else to do.

   Thankfully, before she had to answer that question, she heard a familiar voice speak up behind her.

   “Hey, sis, this guy bothering you?” Luisa asked, that strong yet gentle voice speaking up steadfastly behind her. Isabela did not think that she had ever been so thankful in her life to hear Luisa.

   He instantly backed away a little, seemingly taking in the sheer size of Luisa and deciding that he was not even going to try to speak to Isabela with her around.

   “Oh, no, I was just introducing myself,” he assured Luisa, and Isabela could feel Luisa’s arm brush softly against her own as she towered behind her and over the both of them.

   “Yes, um… He was just… introducing himself,” Isabela confessed, trailing off a little as she looked at him and decided to go along with his statement for the sake of simplicity. After all, she might have just been looking into all of this too much and she could be overreacting.

   She glanced up at Luisa as she spoke, and she noticed Luisa’s slightly narrowed eyes and furrowed brow. Ultimately, if one did not know she was one of the most softspoken, tender-hearted people in the Encanto, one would assume that she might be in the mood to pummel someone.

    “Well, it was good meeting you. I must be going, but hopefully we will meet again,” he spoke, managing to gain enough confidence to speak to her again since Luisa had not really spoken or tried to threaten him as he had apparently been afraid she would.

   As he was hurrying away, Luisa’s hand softly squeezed Isabela’s shoulder.

   “I saw he was making you uncomfortable. I could hear you fake-laughing all the way through the alley,” Luisa told her, and Isabela did not say anything, just watching him leave as she remained terribly perplexed about the entire situation.

   Despite the fact that Isabela was more outspoken about her feelings nowadays, she still tried to be as kind to the villagers as she could despite it all. Old habits die hard, and even when people like this guy bothered her and were almost creepy, she still knew better than to actually act outrightly against them.

   Granted, if such things were to do with her two younger sisters, she would have no qualms about tearing in vines-first and hanging the harasser by their toe, but given the fact that it was she herself, she pushed those urges aside in favor of being the level-headed Isabela that everyone in town knew.

   But she still was just not entirely sure if she was being paranoid or not. She did not want to falsely accuse someone, after all. Even if they did seem shady at best.

   “You okay?”

   Isabela was quickly drawn from her thoughts, and she snapped out of it quickly, turning her attention to Luisa more fully as she shook her head.

   “Yeah— yes. I’m fine. Don’t worry about me, Lu,” Isabela assured her, a gentleness in her tone as she addressed her. Luisa still looked a little concerned, but before she could speak, someone from the other side of the street started to call her over for her help. Luisa looked in their direction before swiftly turning back to glance at Isabela.

   “Are you sure?”

   “Yes. Now go get to work. Your público awaits,” Isabela shooed her away, making a slight joke. She earned a small huff out of her younger sister, but Luisa still looked at her skeptically as she finally walked away. Isabela waved to her, sending her off.

   As soon as Luisa was preoccupied, Isabela let out a soft sigh. She looked around the area surrounding her, trying to make sure the guy was not around before she started to head in a different direction than she had seen him go.

   Maybe that was the last she would see of him or at least the last that she would have to handle his creepy ways.

   If only she knew…

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

   Throughout the week, she swiftly started to notice that the guy seemed to be following her. He was mysteriously popping up everywhere throughout town, and it was always in places that Isabela had to be.

   Isabela had grown quite uncomfortable, but so far, she had done a mostly good job of steering a wide berth around him, and if all else failed, she would take time to see Luisa when she spotted her working in order to deter him from coming to actually speak to her or try anything else. Luisa seemed to be the only thing keeping him at bay when it came to her.

   It was evident that he must have simply viewed Luisa for her outward appearance, because if he had observed her as he had been watching Isabela, he would have quickly figured out that Luisa was not too threatening despite her size and strength. Nevertheless, Isabela was definitely not complaining.

   However, as wonderful of a buffer as Luisa had been, the unfortunate part was that just when Isabela needed her most, Luisa happened to be on the opposite side of town.

   “So we meet again,” he pointed out, and Isabela forced a smile on her face as she turned to face him.

   Despite the fact that she was being nice, she did not put a ton of effort into trying to look overly friendly as she had at their last meeting. She was really getting tired of seeing his face around town everywhere she went and some part of her was hoping that perhaps a slight lack of enthusiasm would diminish a bit of this weirdness he had about her.

   It was not that Isabela could not stand up for herself, but she did not want to cause trouble when it was really more of a her-problem. This did not exactly directly affect anyone else and as long as he kept his hands to himself, she figured that she should handle it calmly and without too much fuss.

   “Yes. I suppose we do,” Isabela agreed somewhat awkwardly, wishing that Luisa would show up again since she was the only person that even knew of this guy’s existence.

   Granted, Luisa did not know the extent to which this guy was being creepy, but she had seen him the other day when Isabela had spoken to him. So, ultimately, she was aware enough of his ways to come and interfere if she saw him speaking to Isabela again.

   “And let me say, I’ve noticed how incredibly good you are with the kids here. You actually seem to spend more time with the kids than the townspeople.”

   “Well, kids are the ones that want flowers most often, so I do what’s needed.”

   “I bet you do…”

   “What do you say we go for a little walk? Maybe you could show me a little of that special gift of yours,” he told her, drawing nearer as he grew uncomfortably close. His voice had dropped a few octaves, and his eyes were filled with a certain desirous determination.

   Isabela stiffened, freezing up just a bit as she wracked her brain for a polite response and some manner of an excuse.

   However, she was soon saved by the bell not for the first time that week.

   “Hiya, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Mirabel, Isabela’s youngest sister,” Mirabel’s voice suddenly piped up as she poked her head around Isabela’s arm, her eyes locked on the guy before Isabela that had gotten just a bit too close.

   He backed up a little, looking at her in surprise, and Mirabel moved so that she was standing next to Isabela.

   “Hola… Umm, me and your hermana were just talking, so,” he tried to tell Mirabel, not so subtly cuing her to leave them alone.

   Isabela was honestly not worried about that happening, though. She could read the stubbornness and determination in Mirabel’s stance as she stood next to her, and she knew that Mirabel must have understood enough about the situation to recognize the need for interference that Isabela could not do herself.

   “Oh, you guys were talking? That’s so cool, because I love talking. Talking’s my favorite. By the way, what’s your name?” Mirabel kept talking in a constant ramble as she came closer to him, moving more so that she was in front of Isabela.

   Isabela almost laughed at the look on the creep’s face as Mirabel just plowed right through, hardly giving him a chance to reply with his name before continuing on.

   “Julio… That’s crazy. Our mom’s name is Julieta, so that’s crazy. It’s almost the exact same but like a girl and guy version,” Mirabel stated, moving nearer. He instantly started stepping back to move away from her a little.

   “So are you like an uncle we didn’t hear of? We had an uncle that disappeared for years. His name’s Bruno. You might have seen him around town. Always has a rat on his shoulder?” Mirabel asked, gesturing to her shoulder for emphasis, and the man shook his head, not knowing how to respond as he looked longingly at Isabela.

   “I’m afraid I haven’t—”

   “Oh, that’s fine. Bruno’s the best, though, so you should totally meet him. Hey, you should meet the whole family. Our aunt’s awesome, but she has a tendency to start literal tornadoes and stuff when she’s stressed or mad, but don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll love you,” Mirabel continued to babble on, and he instantly looked nervous as he continued backing away and Mirabel kept following him as she moved closer and kept up her ongoing conversation.

   Isabela was about to laugh, but she did her best not to because she did not want to give him any encouragement to stay. However, after Mirabel had successfully talked his ears off within the first three minutes of knowing him, he probably would not stay even if Isabela would have asked him to.

   “Oh, no, that’s quite alright. I’ve got to be going anyways—”

   “So soon?!”

   “Yes, yes, I’m very busy—”

   “Well, hey, I get that. Don’t be a stranger! Feel free to come and visit and see our whole family. They might be capable of creating tornadoes, shapeshifting, hearing everything, and crushing boulders, but they’re really a super sweet bunch!” Mirabel assured him as he turned and left the scene quickly.

   Mirabel waved to him excitedly.

   “See you around, amigo!” she called.

   Once he was out of the line of sight, she turned back toward Isabela with self-satisfaction written in her features, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Isabela allowed herself a laugh, and Mirabel puffed up a little more, pride evident in her every move despite the glint in her eye that indicated her suspiciousness.

   “You are aware that you did actually get a gift, right?” Isabela questioned with a grin, trying to throw Mirabel a little off of her track.

   Mirabel instantly looked at her in complete confusion, her smile fading away as she stared at Isabela and tried to figure out what she was talking about.

   “What?”

   “You’ve got the gift of gab,” Isabela replied, and Mirabel instantly narrowed her eyes playfully at her, scoffing.

   “You’re hilarious,” Mirabel sarcastically shot back. Isabela allowed herself a bit of a hair flip.

   “I know,” Isabela tried to remain upbeat, confident, and playful as she generally was with Mirabel these days.

   After all, she knew Mirabel was a tad more stubborn than Luisa was, so if she actually acted like something was wrong, Mirabel would push to find out what was really going on and Isabela would have to admit that this guy had been bothering her.

   At this point, she was a little embarrassed to let anyone know that she had let this go on for so long. She also did not really want Mirabel or Luisa to go to any trouble on her behalf. She was the oldest sister, and she should be able to take care of herself.

   More than that, though, after all the trouble she had put her two younger sisters through, she did not want them to have to protect her from this. It was her job to do that for them now since she had most of Mirabel and Luisa’s life to make up for.

   “What’s up with the guy?” Mirabel asked, as shrewd and quick on the uptake as ever. Isabela just shrugged a little.

   “I don’t know. He’s new around, and I think he’s just a little smitten with our family and the gifts,” Isabela replied simply, trying her best to muster nonchalance.

   It was not entirely a lie. He was smitten with the family and the gifts. It just happened to be that it was not so much the rest of the family and that it was mostly her being the primary object of that obsession.

   Mirabel did not seem to be entirely buying it, and Isabela efforted to keep her face as calm as it would be normally. She knew that if she forced a smile or any sort of extreme emotion, Mirabel would somehow know it was fake and resolve to get to the bottom of it all.

   “He really seemed to like you,” Mirabel pointed out astutely, and Isabela shrugged.

   “It’s probably just a crush. Who knows?” Isabela tried to play it off, and Mirabel looked at her for a long moment.

   Feeling the pressure of her youngest sister’s insistent gaze, Isabela let out a soft breath, looking around as she desperately tried to spot any sort of a distraction.

   She soon spotted a group of little girls that she had promised to grow flowers for so that they could put them in their hair, and she felt relief wash over her. She looked back at Mirabel, offering her as genuine of a smile as she could manage.

   “I almost forgot. I’ve got to go over here and grow these girls some flowers. I’ll see you later, mariposa,” Isabela told her, quickly excusing herself as she escaped the situation.

   She honestly half-expected Mirabel to follow her, but to her surprise, she did not. Isabela took in a deep breath as she approached the kids, mustering a smile on her face.

   It was probably just a crush like she told Mirabel. He would surely be over it by the end of this week.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

   As it turned out, he was definitely not over it by the end of the week.

   It was during the afternoon when it all came to a head. She had made the decision to duck into an alleyway to try to escape the guy’s view and head home. She was doing her best to avoid confrontation because the last thing she wanted was to make a scene in front of the other townspeople.

   Isabela was a lot different now than she had been before the fall of Casita, and the townspeople now had mixed feelings about her current identity. She did not want them to see her fighting a man and solidify the negative opinions of her and, by extension, of the family.

   “You’re an elusive one, aren’t you?” his voice piped up, and Isabela instantly realized that he was behind her. 

   It was also about that time that she realized the gate at the end of the alleyway was shut and locked.

   She had successfully trapped herself in an alleyway with this guy.

   She swallowed, readying herself to fight in any way she had to in order to escape this situation. At this point, it did not matter so much what the townspeople thought. She wanted to avoid a fight if she could, but she was not above doing what she absolutely had to.

   “Listen, you have been following me and watching me all week, and it’s honestly starting to get insanely creepy, so can you please stop?” Isabela told him, her voice firm as she lost all pretenses of niceties.

   He raised his eyebrows at her.

   “Wow… You have a fiery side. I like it. Of course, I knew that you could not always be pure grace in every moment,” he stated as he came closer. Isabela straightened a little, preparing herself as the nerves balled up inside of her.

   “Just let me pass by. I’ve got to go home,” Isabela informed him firmly, starting to try to move around him. He held out an arm, blocking her path, and she backed up, trying to keep him from putting his hands on her.

   “Going so soon? We have hardly had a chance to talk this week, and I would love to get to know you better,” he stated, moving increasingly nearer.

   “I’m sorry to say the feeling’s not mutual. Now. Move out of my way,” Isabela warned, growing increasingly agitated as she looked at him.

   “Or?” he questioned, almost looking amused.

   Isabela narrowed her eyes, having about all that she could stand of this man and his frustrating ways. Vines grew near her, launching upward as they prepared to string him up by his legs and move him out of her way.

   However, taking her off-guard, he suddenly smirked.

   “Oh, yeah, show me what exactly those vines can do,” he flirtatiously encouraged, and she instantly stopped, the vines disappearing as she drew back in utter disgust.

   She could hardly even bring herself to put her vines near him after his disgusting, twisted obsession with them. It felt like she was being violated despite the vines not actually being something necessarily attached to her in the way of a body part.

   He stepped closer to her, his hands reaching out for her, and panic was controlling her every thought as she almost froze, never having encountered anything like this before. She had been fawned over throughout her life, but not to the point that someone was trying to assault her or lay their hands on her.

   However, before she could fully comprehend what was happening, he suddenly was lifted into the air. He let out a startled yelp, and Isabela’s eyes widened as she took in the sight before her.

   To Isabela’s absolute surprise, it was Luisa.

   She had grabbed the man and was holding him upside down by his leg. She lifted him up so that he met her eyes and while she did not seem like she was going to necessarily do him any harm, she did have a resolved look in her eyes that was not quite characteristic of her.

   Luisa lowered him down to Mirabel’s eye level, and she looked him right in the eyes with a fierceness that strangely stirred some sense of pride within her.

   “If I see you bothering my sister again, I will have Luisa here crush you like a grape,” Mirabel warned, dead seriousness in her voice.

   While Isabela knew that Luisa would never do that, he did not seem to be aware of that at all as he gaped at her with comically wide eyes. Luisa even seemed to be a bit shocked at Mirabel’s words, and she almost seemed as if she were considering saying something to lessen the severity of the statement when Mirabel interrupted once more.

   “And if she doesn’t do the job, I can personally guarantee that I and the rest of our family will make your life absolute and complete torture,” Mirabel promised, and he seemed to believe her completely as he stared at her with utter horror.

   “Are we clear on what you’re going to do?”

   “Si, si, I will not speak to her again,” he promised, his voice shaking and quick as Mirabel made her threats. Mirabel looked at him for a long moment before nodding to Luisa.

   “Let him go,” Mirabel nodded her head, and Luisa dropped him down a little further before letting go of him and allowing him to fall onto the ground.

   “See you later, amigo,” Mirabel told him, her voice completely dead and devoid of emotion as he scurried off and away.

   As soon as he was gone, Mirabel looked at Isabela carefully, her gaze shifting quickly as she inspected her. Luisa stepped closer as well, her soft eyes offering Isabela a onceover.

   Isabela flashed her a gentle glance, assuring her she was okay. Catching the expression, Mirabel seemed satisfied with her search, and she then looked terribly unhappy.

   “Have you lost your mind?! Isa, Luisa asked you if this guy was bothering you several days ago, and I checked on you, too, and you still didn’t say anything!” Mirabel instantly launched into fussing, and Isabela chose to ignore her complaints for the moment, directing her attentions to Luisa.

   “How did you guys know I needed help?” Isabela asked, and Mirabel instantly looked less than impressed at Isabela’s obvious redirection. Luisa looked at her somewhat worriedly and sadly.

   “Dolores heard you and told us,” Luisa softly answered, her voice quiet. Isabela could read the pleading in her gaze as she glanced between the youngest and oldest sisters, and Isabela instantly felt a pang of guilt.

   “Now that that’s out of the way, why didn’t you say anything?!!!” Mirabel demanded not giving Isabela any more room to fight her. Isabela sighed deeply, looking down as she resigned herself to admitting the truth.

   “Look, I had it under control, but—”

   “You call almost being assaulted under control?!” Mirabel stopped her, not giving her time to speak.

   “Listen,” Isabela insistently interrupted, her gaze meeting Mirabel’s in a soft warning as she tried to get the youngest to pay attention. Mirabel just let out a breath, but she quieted, seemingly waiting for Isabela to offer her own explanation for everything.

    Isabela looked down at the ground before meeting her little sisters’ eyes.

   “I didn’t want to bother you guys with this. I’m used to people bothering me or talking to me all the time, and while he was a little creepy, I thought I might be overreacting. It just sort of slowly got more and more weird and then he cornered me here,” Isabela explained, pausing for a moment as she thought it all over.

   “And then I guess I figured out he was definitely a creep,” Isabela breathed, and Luisa and Mirabel just stared at her blankly for a moment. Luisa was the first to speak, albeit a short reply.

   “Isa,” Luisa trailed off, sounding almost anguished as she eyed Isabela gently.

   “If you would’ve told us, we could’ve helped you,” Mirabel expressed, her voice somewhat pained.

   Isabela shook her head insistently.

   “You two are my baby sisters. You’re not supposed to save me from everything,” Isabela told them.

   “But we’re here for you,” Mirabel argued.

   “Just like you’re here for us,” Luisa chimed in, those painfully soft mocha browns boring into Isabela’s own darker ones.

   “But for most of our lives, I wasn’t there for either of you while both of you would have been there for me. I need to make up for lost time, and neither of you should have to help me. I’m here for you now.”

   “Just because we’ve always been there for you even in the times that you weren’t for us doesn’t mean that we’re going to just abandon you,” Mirabel told her, and Isabela could not help the slight sting at the words despite the fact that they were true. Something about them being actually said out loud by Mirabel made her feel even more guilty than usual.

   “We don’t have to take turns on who is there for who,” Mirabel added to her previous statement. Luisa nodded.

   “We should all be there for each other always,” Luisa expressed, and Isabela looked at her carefully, her heart softening at the sight of her.

   “And sometimes one of us is going to need more than the other two. And that’s okay, Isa. Just like you’ll be there for us, we just want to be there when you need us,” Mirabel reassured her, nothing but love in her words.

   Isabela swallowed, feeling a lump in her throat that she was desperately trying to fight as she looked at her younger sisters. Her amazing, incredible, sweet, generous, forgiving younger sisters that she definitely would never deserve in this lifetime.

   Isabela stepped closer, pulling Mirabel into a tight hug with one arm as she reached for Luisa and grabbed at her waist to pull her closer. Mirabel was quick to hug her firmly in return with one arm around Luisa as well, and Luisa stepped closer, one large arm wrapping around Isabela’s body and touching Mirabel’s arm while the other wrapped around Mirabel’s body.

   “Gracias. Muchísimas gracias,” Isabela murmured.

   “De nada, but we love you,” Mirabel stated, the words serving as a simple explanation and a rebuttal to why Isabela should not have to express her gratitude. Isabela nodded against them, her forehead pressed somewhere against Luisa’s stomach at this point.

   “I know. That’s part of the reason for the thank you,” Isabela whispered, not trusting her voice right now.

   Luisa’s arm tightened around her, and Mirabel’s swiftly followed suit.

   “You don’t ever have to thank us for that.”

   “We’ll always love you and be there for you, hermana.”

   Isabela did not know how she had gotten so lucky, but she won the jackpot when it came to amazing siblings.

   She had the best sisters in the world.

[clericofshadows]

I’m working on some ME2-era Regis fics and holy shit he is one vicious bastard to the Cerberus crew (and even some of his former crew), and I’m here for it, but I’m also wondering if I’m taking it a bit too far in some cases...

oh well.  it’s more fun that way.  we need more angry and mean shepards anyway.  here’s a snippet of something I’m working on and I can’t decide if it’s too much or not... but I’ll probably keep it as is.  I like volatile relationships :)

A few minutes later, a knock sounded on his door.  With a wave of his omnitool, he allowed Joker to come inside.

“They really tricked out the place, huh.  Swanky crib you got here,” Joker commented, walking over to the couch.

“I think it’s utter bullshit,” Regis said, getting up from the desk to lean against the fish tank.  “Another way to think that I’m in a better place or some kind of manipulative crap.  I hate it.”

“You know, you could really lighten up a bit.  I think you’ve already scared half the crew to death with that announcement of yours.  Especially Chambers.” Joker said with a laugh, but quickly stopped after seeing the dark look on Regis’s face.  “Uh, sorry.”

“It’s because I don’t want to be here, Joker.  Did you really think I was going to accept having a nosy pseudo-therapist getting all up in my business at the CIC?” Regis asked.  “Chambers is just one more way to report on every little move I make to the Illusive Man.  She should be happy I haven’t decided to strand her with nothing when we get to the Citadel.”

“What’s next, you kick me off the ship?” Joker asked, crossing his arms.  When Regis didn’t immediately respond, he held up his arms in surrender.  “Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood.”

“What is this really about?” Regis asked.  “As you can see, I’m really not in the mood, so spit it out.”

“Do you blame me for what happened?” Joker asked in a startling amount of seriousness.

Regis tilted his head to the side.  “Do you blame yourself?  Is that why you joined Cerberus?”

“Just answer my question, Shepard!” He balled his hands into fists.

“Fine.  The only thing I blame you for is joining Cerberus.  I don’t give a single fuck about how you supposedly did it for me, and thinking they were any kind of answer to your current problems was a betrayal to me and all the victims of their experiments that we discovered.  Be happy we’re even having this conversation.  You did what you thought was right back on my ship, but then again, you thought joining Cerbreus was a good idea.  I don’t know if I can even trust your future judgment,” Regis said, staring Joker down.  

Perhaps he was being too harsh, but at this point, Regis didn’t care.  

It doesn’t matter that Joker was with him on the Normandy.  Regis was never close with the man, never meshing well with his attitude and sense of humor. They butted heads more often than not, especially about matters surrounding the ship. 

"If we're ever in a situation where it's you or the ship, choose yourself.  I know you're a talented pilot, but I also know you can recognize when it's gone FUBAR.  Abandon ship the moment you can while also keeping the crew safe." Regis said to them early on their Saren mission.  

"My piloting skills will be the only thing that saves our asses if we end up in that kind of situation. I'm the pilot. You trust my judgment."

"I grew up learning how to pilot shuttles and ships, Moreau. I grew up hearing similar disaster situations on all the ships my mother served on. This is an order.  You listen to my disaster plans, and we won't have a problem."

Joker opened his mouth to reply, his expression twisting with anger, but Regis beat him to it. "I know you remember that argument we had about what to do if we have to abandon ship.  I've run all the scenarios in my head, and guess what, I remember everything that happened up to the moment I died suffocating in space.  Maybe what you did saved more of the crew. Maybe what you did was the right thing. But we will never know, and you have to live with the fact that you defied my orders when you could've saved yourself."

"You're right, we will never know, but it doesn't matter, does it? We're here now, but you aren't going to thank anyone for the chance you've been given," Joker replied. "You're acting like a fucking child. How is that helpful to any of us?  I'm sure if Alenko was here you'll be getting on your knees for his oh-so-great decision."

Regis kept his face neutral, but if another biotic was in the room with him, they would feel his field about to roar to life.  "Moreau," he said, "get the fuck out of my quarters."

"You aren't denying it!  Regis Lucian Shepard, Butcher of Torfan and a hypocrite."

Regis activated his omnitool to open the doors remotely. He raised his voice, his field roaring to life in a bright violet glow.  Moreau flinched back. 

"I said, get the fuck out of my quarters!  And for your information, Kaidan would've never joined Cerberus because he was there for every goddamn mission we did unearthing their crimes.  I'd be treating him the same way I'm treating everyone on this fucking ship if he did sacrifice his morals to be here." Regis shouted. "Sure, I can excuse your bullshit jokes, but you've crossed the fucking line. You see that picture over there.” He pointed at the photo frame on the desk.  “You remember that picture being taken?”

He nodded, swallowing.

“And that’s why I’m so fucking angry.  That’s why I would rather space myself again than be on this ship.  But I can’t do that, now can I?  Because Lawson and Cerberus will just bring me right back again, except this time, with a new way to control me!” 

[cluelessbees]

I sadly do not have any presentable wips for today could I interest y'all in part 2 of the Dash and Lily post I made the other day--

***

Blue,

You’re sticking with Notebook Boy? You really are stubborn. But okay, Notebook Boy it is.

I have to warn you. I don’t think I’m as mysterious as you want me to be. The air of mystery really is just the notebook talking. I’m fairly boring otherwise. 

But to answer your question.

I think my music taste also varies but- I really like rock a lot. My brother is where I get my music taste from. He would give me a bunch of mixtapes that he’d make and the music was always so— different and the sound was so addictive. 

I think my favourite song right now is Boys Don’t Cry by The Cure, have you heard it? 

Also, I have to say, your friend makes great music. 

When I first got to the venue I really thought I was like- this weird…outsider. Like- I don’t know….like I didn’t really fit into the crowd there? And I want to pretend like it went away quickly as it came, but it stuck for a while. Which I know is stupid. I’m sorry.

Thankfully, the moment the music start the more I felt it. I felt the energy course through my veins and it was electric and suddenly the music was all I could hear. You somehow managed to drown my thoughts. Kudos to you. 

Tell your friend again I think he’s extremely talented. And if he ever records them on tape I 100% want a copy.

As for you, Blue. I think you need to learn to be less stubborn- let yourself go a bit. You don’t always have to be right, yknow? 

So, I think it’s time for you to be more flexible.

Have you ever done an escape room before? Usually they require a lot of team work and communication. Stubbornness won’t do anything if you don’t listen. 

I’ve devised a team that truly won’t work unless you allow some flexibility. Let’s hope you don’t hate me after this one.

The games at 7pm tomorrow night. Leave the notebook in the first items locker.

Now for my question, 

What’re your thoughts on true love?

I know even you can be a bit cheesy so- I’m praying there’s a bit of a hopeless romantic in you somewhere.

That’s all for now.

Until next time,

Notebook Boy

***

Notebook Boy,

Wow. You were not kidding about this team. You really are a sadist huh? You managed to create my nightmare team. I cant tell if should be happy you know me enough to do that or terrified that you knew how to get on my nerves.

I’ve got to hand it to you. You did manage to make me a bit less stubborn. Only a little though don’t get cocky. It was…very challenging I’ll say- trying to get everyone to listen. Not fun. But we did manage to win! A minute to spare and several hints but we won and I think that’s a point for me.

I’ll have to disagree with you a bit. I don’t think you’re boring. You’re probably one of the coolest people I know. You might think you’re boring but you’re not. Your mind is amazing yknow that? I like being able to read your thoughts. It makes me feel special. 

Don’t call yourself boring alright? I think you should own the name Notebook Boy. Own the mysterious-ness of it all. 

In fact, I think I know your next dare.

There’s a cafe by the old middle school I don’t know if you know it- Uncle Mel’s? Anyways they do poetry slams every weekend. Go to it. Get on stage and make up and identity and do whatever. Be weird be different be you anything. You’re never gonna see these people again so screw it. Make up a character if you want to.

I think you’ll find yourself a bit more interesting afterwards. I’m sure you’ll even steal the hearts of a few boys and girls. (Although hopefully your heart is already reserved)

Anyways, true love. I don’t know what I think really. I’d like to think it’s true. I’d like to think there is such thing as true love and the one and all of that but…part of me doesn’t. Or- we’ll that’s not true.

I think most of me thinks it’s not true or— at least has accepted it. But…part of me wants it to be true- hopes it I guess. Like, hopes that will one day I’ll see the one and it all clicks yknow? It feels childish admitting that. 

Also. Don’t apologise. You don’t have to apologise for feeling like an outsider. It’s okay.. I feel that way too. It’s not stupid. I hope you at least feel less of an outside now? Either because of the show or….or me? I don’t know.

Now for my question, I think…I want to know…do you play DnD? If so, what’s your class? 

I’m a paladin. (Maybe you’ve guessed that considering how well you know me) 

Enjoy the poetry slam (leave the notebook with the barista with the name tag Max)

Yours,

Blue 

[fluentmoviequoter]

Hey!! I just saw that it was your birthday recently so I thought I’d wish you a (very late) happy birthday!! 🫶🏻💕

I actually do have a few things to say. I admire you and your work a lot, and I can genuinely say that I love what you write and the overall vibe of your blog so so SO much. You were the VERY first person to welcome me into the writing world and I’ll always appreciate that for a lot of reasons, and I kinda wish I could’ve written a birthday fic for you (like you did for me) but another time it’ll be.

Anyway, thank you for everything and I hope you enjoyed your special day and wishing you nothing but success and happiness this year 🫶🏻 all the love as always!!!

(I miss you btw)

Blake!! I was just thinking about you and now you’re trying to make me cry😭 This is seriously the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me and I don’t even know how to respond.

Thank you so much for the birthday wishes!! If or when you want to write a birthday fic you know I will happily accept it and read it over and over… as usual when it comes to your writing!

I admire you and your work as well!! I feel honored that I was the first to welcome you because you’re insanely talented and I’m lucky to get to experience your work and growth firsthand! I was excited to see your New Years’ post about getting back to writing when you’re ready; I hope you know that we’re all here for you but understand that you need time and will come back when it is right for you.🤍

Also, the fact that you love what I write and my blog?? That’s crazy to me and makes me so so happy! I smiled so hard while trying not to cry… I guess they cancel each other out? Either way, thank you so much for this. I can’t tell you how much it means to me during a time that has honestly been pretty rough.

(I miss you too!! Sending lots of love!💕)

[shebitesshewrites]

1952

Drabbles/Excerpts/Concepts from an Edward x O.C. I am working on ✨

Suspensions

Okay so let’s just pretend that Edward HAS loved before - but that his love for Bella eventually is like far deeper obviously, so this is going to be just be him really trying to put his whole Edwardussy into loving someone after seeing Rosalie/Emmett and now Jasper/Alice being so perfect and in love

Let’s pretend that Jasper’s thoughts have driven him out for the moment- right after Jasper and Alice joined them, he’s just getting away from feeling the wave of Jasper’s thirst through his mind everyday, taking it on as his own, remembering his time apart from Carlisle- hearing everyone else remembering his time away from Carlisle, comparing his to Jasper- he just needs a minute

Alice is keeping tabs on him, but trusts that he just needs time to sort this out, the more she interferes the longer it will take him to come home.

I really like the idea of Edward’s interactions with other’s telepathic abilities, and what it is like to be so close to someone- or trying to be close to someone- who knows your whole mind, or KNOWING someone’s whole mind. Like what if he just really really tried to accept everything about someone to find love. I can see him pushing himself to do that- like if he can just find someone whose mind is easy to forgive?

Also Edward struggling with the way Carlisle changes people- if he is truly so concerned with souls and damnation, surely this would get to him in times of weakness- especially when Jasper joins them and is on S T R U G G L E street, it would remind Edward of his early days with Carlisle, why he chose to turn him and Esme, and Rosalie, when they suffer like this so often because of it- and when the only relief they receive is from being coupled (that Rosalie resented this life until Emmett)- yeah you’d start thinking there’s something wrong with you- you’d need a break- you’d try anything to find that relief for yourself no?

~~~~

Set up / Who / What

So off he pops to NYC night life to be a sad lurker boy- when he runs into Jewel/Julie/Julie/Jay bird (our O.C.), a jazz singer (and for some reason I am so sure I saw somewhere that Edward hates Jazz- but now I cannot find that source for the life of me- but we know 50′s, 60′s is his favourite era of music so I'm sure we can make this some sentimental reason as to why - maybe he hated jazz before meeting her 👀). 

Jewel’s talent is essentially a siren song, which she used to entrance and control men at the club into doing whatever she wants (primarily to throw their money away for her and drumming up business for the bar [she is a businesswoman first and foremost aye] but of course a girls gotta eat). Edward isn’t as affected by it because of the echo (he’s hearing it in her head and everyone else’s so he is more aware of it I guess) but he is intrigued by her- how an immortal can show such control, reminds him of the Cullen's and their ability to attempt an ordinary life- he wonders how she developed such self control on her own.

She spots him in the club during Sinatra's set (yes Frankie is playing in her underground club in this timeline- idc if it doesn’t make sense I tried so hard to make the timeline match up with his shows at the time I stg), she’s upset that he looks like he isn’t enjoying himself, and then she recognises him as an immortal.

They go out for the night- she tries to compel him - it doesn’t work well. She is shocked by the fact he has a “family”. She is similar to Rosalie in this way, she craves a mortal life, and finds the feeding aspect of immortality difficult, because how could she take something away from someone that she so badly wants?

When she learns about his gift they start working in tandem, he picks them out, and she takes them down. Carlisle wouldn’t exactly be pleased, but at least he is controlling his thirst around her. Her thoughts are clearer than Jasper’s at least- she doesn’t kill for the love of it, the way he does, for anything, anyone, something. She seems to only indulge her lust in the moment, then the job is done.

She reminds him of when he used to hunt, only preying on the worst of humanity. He tries to get her to move back with him-

“Maybe we could have what they have?” He likes her, and she just wants family, a community, greater purpose- that’s the closest he’s come to a mind or goals he can align with. He knows her intention is there, and he could make her happy by giving her that. Maybe they could grow to have what Carlisle/Esme have, what everyone else seems to have except him. Is his ability to read minds the only thing stopping him? Perhaps if he just found a mind to.. tolerate. But does she value human life enough?

She doesn’t feed often, because she could never take away a life she wanted so much. But will her disgust for the men that hurt her, the predators who take, will that bloodlust be satiable - will she be able to move past that - with the way immortals struggle with true change?

~

Drabbles

When they are arguing talking about the Cullens

“Why are you here then?” Jewel questions.

“I just told you I had to get away-”

“No- I mean why are you here and not with them?” her thoughts jumped around with visions of a happily family life, something she thought impossible for their kind.

“It’s not like that.”

“How?” she accused, almost in defense of her vision, of indulging the belief that life could exist for her. Edward frowned. 

“We’re broken, we relapse, we make sacrifices for this life, and we take the lives- the souls- of others without their consent. They don’t get a choice- Carlisle turns them and then they stay, and that’s it.” He snarled at her, eyes dark now, his involvement in the Cullens’ clan growing clearly at the front of his mind- and perhaps the guilt of his inability to stay with them, his relapses, trying to please Carlisle and Esme, to make them proud-

“I said it’s NOT LIKE THAT-” he barked. He had followed her thoughts then.

“So it is just like a real family,” Jewel smirked.

~

They people watch at the bar, speaking in the hushed way immortals can without being noticed, while Jewel questions him on the mind’s of different passersby.

“He's caught on, you know.” 

“Tony!?” she starts, he nods. She looks up at her ask no questions bartender, never having considered his opinion on her habits before

“But he barely believes it himself, and I doubt he’d do anything about it.” “Has he told anyone?” he sits still for a moment. She’s noticed he does this when he’s… listening, for lack of a better term. She briefly wonders how aware he is of her thoughts in this moment, honed in on someone else's- perhaps hers could go unnoticed. “There’s a girl.” he startled her out of her head again, allowing it to fill with everything she knows about Tony’s life, “They’re not serious- he likes her but…” he smirks, “she’s.. his neighbour? They live in the same building… she’s sort of tolerating him, but he doesn’t want to freak her out with something like this,” he chuckles, a nice change to his otherwise stern façade, “Like maybe if he doesn’t tell anyone it won't be real.”

A joke comes to her mind, and he laughs before she does, “Schrodinger’s Vampire?” 

~ 

Their lazy days in bed after um *stuff* just chatting and enjoying the physical contact

“Rosalie would love you.” He laughed and she felt his laughter fill his chest under her palm.

“So does Alice know about me?”

He shrugged, “Probably.” and he drifted off into that familiar silence. She ignored it and laid her head back down on his chest.

~

Edward realises how cut off she is from the rest of the immortal world- how she has managed to fly under the radar- wouldn’t the volturi have come for her had they known she possesses such a commanding gift?

“The volturi?”

“You don’t know them” he asks, in the way that he does by just stating things before she even forms the words. Vague images of cloaks and blood red eyes, petrified skin, towers and hushed whispers- only imagined, as that one traveling immortal’s tales fill her mind.

“I’ve heard of them, but I've never had anything to do with them, really.”

[homemade-ghosts]

You are really good with words REALLY, so you may help me a bit there is something eating my brain: Some people have said that the only way to close Ricky's arc is to make him go away once he graduates and leave Salt Lake. And I disagree I can't point yet why, I guess a part of me feels like Ricky's arc about change is connected to his parents and he reflected that on Nini, letting her go and dating Gina was a step. I don't think going away will solve his problems I guess. What do you think?

You: “You are really good with words […]”

Me:

— but thank you for saying that lol, it means a lot, though I’m afraid I don’t always live up to that expectation.

I’ve never actually seen anyone say that Ricky needs to move away (for college or otherwise) from SLC as a sort of capstone to his arc of accepting change after he graduates high school. It’s an interesting idea and I’m not opposed to it, but I agree with you, I don’t think it’s necessary.

College is a big life adjustment in & of itself. Ricky’s going to be surrounded by & bombarded with change regardless of if he goes to a university across the country or 20 minutes outside of his hometown. No matter what, it will be a new place with new people and new responsibilities, so it’s not as if Ricky needs to “go away” & completely sever ties with SLC to experience any of that.

Besides, it’s Nini whose arc has always been tied to a place, not Ricky. It’s her who craved that external change, who needed it. At one point in s2, she tells Ricky something to the effect of “being in Denver didn’t feel right, but I liked who I was there.” Not because she thought that being in a new city had the power to fundamentally change her as a person (no one place can do that for you, you have to do that yourself) but rather because she had already changed and, I think, being in a place where everyone had all these preconceived notions about who she was & what she wanted, where they only ever saw her as this “old” version of herself, was stifling for her. Growing up in the same town, going to the same school with the same people, there is always going to be some pressure to be the person you have always been. It’s why Nini needed somewhere without a past, where she didn’t feel forced to be the Nini everyone had come to know, the Nini that everyone expected. She could just be all of herself, without restriction. 

Ricky’s fear of change has always been less external than Nini’s desire for it, less about the place, specifically, and more about the people in it. It’s been about learning & accepting the fact that people, including himself, change & grow. No matter where they are.

& aside from the fact that moving away for school isn’t a necessity for Ricky’s character growth, it’s also not particularly logical. Out-of-state universities, public or private, are typically very expensive and we know, given the fact that he had to move out of his childhood home because they could no longer afford it, that Ricky’s dad doesn’t make a lot of money. There’s scholarships, but we’ve been told, on a couple occasions, that Ricky doesn’t turn in or finish his assignments and he’s on the verge of failing at least one class (English, I think? They mention it briefly in the Quinceañero episode) so it’s not likely he’d qualify a lot of those, at least not on the basis of academics.

Ricky’s a smart, talented person, who’s been going through a lot, emotionally, this past year, so I’m not trying to put him down by suggesting it’s impossible for him to get into an out-of-state college, I just wanted to throw out the idea that it might be more realistic if he went to a state school — but, hey, Troy Bolton managed to somehow avoid making a decision about what college he’d attend until they were literally at graduation (which is not a thing you can do, he would’ve lost his spot) and (again, somehow) got into the very competitive UC Berkeley, despite not being perceived as a very booksmart guy, so realism isn’t always at the forefront of storytelling.

I think Ricky could really thrive in college, wherever he goes, but I get the feeling that he doesn't see it that way -- I'm excited to see that change in s4, for him to believe in himself as much as Gina believes in him.

EDIT: @blues-valentine has a much better answer than I did! (here)

[ohlookanothercartoontofallinto]

I posted 834 times in 2022

That's 684 more posts than 2021!

373 posts created (45%)

461 posts reblogged (55%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@silvercaptain24

@socksandbuttons

@squigglywindy

@socialc1imb

@ohlookanothercartoontofallinto

I tagged 589 of my posts in 2022

Only 29% of my posts had no tags

#linkeduniverse - 120 posts

#linked universe - 115 posts

#lu - 114 posts

#linkeduniverse wind - 101 posts

#lu wind - 99 posts

#linked universe wind - 74 posts

#linkeduniverse legend - 33 posts

#linkeduniverse sky - 29 posts

#renegade winds - 29 posts

#linkeduniverse twilight - 29 posts

Longest Tag: 132 characters

#you helped me realize i can actually help people and that helped me influence my career choice you are so talented and are a amazing

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

WAIT a darn second. I just realized, Wind wouldn't use a bedroll to sleep. He would use a hammock, and then a bedroll if he absolutely needed to.

Because, that's what pirates and sailors used on their ships.

So can you just picture, Wind putting up his hammock and just the all out brawl that take place about who gets to sit with him in it before going to sleep. Those things are comfortable!

Just the adorable snuggling Four, Wind, and Hyrule would do because they are the lightest.

Legend sneaking in with wind at night because he had a nightmare and the rocking helps him.

Sky just downright stealing it because ITS A HAMMOCK, and wind just being nice and letting him have it for the night.

Wild wanting one because he's not allowed to sleep in trees.

Then just Time and Wind relaxing together in it!

354 notes - Posted August 9, 2022

#4

You know another fic I wanna write but have no time for is a fic where.

Wind just assumes Wolfie doesn't like him.

Like originally Wind was so excited to meet wolfie and get to know him. But the more he tries to get close the more wolfie pulls away. Then Wind watches everyone else effortlessly get close to the wolf.

So Wind in his 13 year old brain just comes to the conclusion of oh he must hate me. So he will try to be respectful and keep his distance, however he also feels a bit shaky when wolfies near by.

After a while Time will catch on that somethings up, and will casually ask, and Wind will just answer, "oh Wolfie doesn't like me, so I'm trying to not bother him!" In the most cheerful voice. Cut to Twilight hearing boss music and feeling the most intense stare of his life. 

The chain will try to convince Wind that Wolfie does in fact like him, but Wind will come back with all the times Wolfie gave him the cold shoulder or snapped at him. Which in Twilights mind did not register he did that so much, or that how Wind interpreted it. that way.  

So Wolfie will try to fix it by coming closer to Wind to try show he does like him. Only Wind is now super careful around the wolf, and just assume, “Oh Champion’s not here so he must think I’m him, because of the blue.” Or Wolfie could save him in battle and Wind would respond with, “I’m guessing he know you be sad if I got hurt, so that’s why he saved me.” 

The fic wouldn’t be a gab at twilight or anything. More I like to write about the psychological implications of patterns, and how young ones misinterpret actions as hostile because they either have not experienced it, or have and know the signs. And how hard it is to break that line of thinking once the idea has become fact in your mind. 

407 notes - Posted November 9, 2022

#3

Time: Maturing is accepting the responsibilities you been given no matter your age and fueling them. 

Wind: No it’s not, maturing is realizing you were denied the childhood you should of had from the start, and doing little things to help restore it. Now shut up and put on your scariest mask, we’re pranking people. 

Time puts on the Great Fairy mask: Yes sir. 

572 notes - Posted August 26, 2022

#2

Hyrule: Princess Zelda should be protected. 

Sky: I prefer loved and cherished. 

Time: Hmmm, feared and respected. 

Wind: Defeated..... 

All eyes on wind. 

Wind: She launched me from a catapult, I hold grudges. 

797 notes - Posted August 28, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Sky: Yeah I grew up on a floating island in the sky. 

Wind: WAIT! You’re a island boy to! (Take’s sky’s hands) Brother! You and I have a alliance now. The Island Boy alliance. 

Warrior: What in the world are you talking about? 

Wind: Silence now earth walker, the island boy’s are speaking. 

1,053 notes - Posted September 14, 2022

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