#city of second chances

[fortheloveoffanfic]

City of Second Chances

Hozier x reader

Hozier Masterlist

Author's note: I swear I'm gonna get back to posting the ongoing fics.

Summary: A year after the demise of their relationship, Andrew and Y/n reflect on what used to be.

Warnings: Angst, the briefest mentions of SMUT (like, blink and you'll miss it.)

Much like him, Las Vegas is restless – though, he thinks that may be the only similarity between him and the dazzling city below him. He isn't glamorous, he isn't unrelenting, he isn’t filled to the brim with hopes and dreams. He isn’t blessed with the grace of second chances.

Because if he was, she would be there with him tonight.

He’d make a joke about getting hitched at one of those drive through chapels, she’d humorously accept his proposal and throw her head back and laugh – but deep down they’d both be hoping that the other is just a little serious.

She would have said yes if he asked, right? Like, for real. The right way. Andrew thinks – knows – that he’s let the opportunity pass him over more times than he can count.

Fucking Vegas, and their fake Eiffel Tower, their tacky drive-thru chapels, and those silly plastic rings – like the one he carries in his wallet.

Andrew’s never been the type to enjoy that sort of fast-paced, glitzy lifestyle that the sleepless city offers, but he used to love that place – just like Y/n used to love him.

Standing at the expansive, floor-to-ceiling window of his hotel room, he can’t help but feel a sense of disenchantment with the place; the people ten stories below him, decked off in glittering dressed and expensive suits, the plastic palm trees cemented to the sidewalk and the reflective, gold-varnished doors that lead to dizzying casinos. He’s so removed from it all – Andrew feels like he’s peering in from the outside at some mystical land that he doesn’t quite understand.

But he's walked those streets, thrown money away at blackjack tables behind those doors and gotten blind-drunk at a couple of those bars. He’s done it with her – but it must've been a lifetime ago.

He wonders if one year ago feels that far away for her too. Does she look at all the photographs she used to take and feel like they belong to another version of herself, one that’s experienced the best of the world, but a lifetime ago?

He wonders if she thinks of him when she puts on those stunning silver heels or that blue dress that clung to her curves like wet fabric. What about when she hears Dusty Springfield's voice coming over the record player – does she still have the record?

Does she think of him when she pours herself a glass of wine? Does that one, far away memory come rushing back to her, like dandelion fluff on the wind – like the subtle ache of a wound that just won’t heal right.

She thinks of him when she’s barefoot.

That night in the hotel, when they got into the elevator she started complaining about how her feet hurt. It might have been drunkenness, it might have been because he’s the sweetest man she’s ever had the privilege of knowing, but Andrew immediately got on his knees and started undoing the straps of her heels – the same pair that she can’t stand to look at anymore.

“Want my shoes?” He offers earnestly, looking up at her in a way that makes her reach out and cup his face, her thumb roving the apple of his cheek. Most of the time, its the most mundane things that remind Y/n why she loves him as much as she does; the way he looks with his bowtie and the top two buttons of his dress shirt undone, the way he looks at her like there’s no one else he’d rather look at – his eagerness to offer his shoes when she makes the mistake of wearing her most uncomfortable heels for a three hour event.

“They’ll be too big,” she giggles, and Andrew flashes her that painfully rare smile that he wears so very well.

“Then I’ll carry you,” he determines upon straightening up, her silver heels still hooked in his long fingers.

“You’re too drunk for that,” Y/n counters, noting the redness in his face that only comes from a few drinks too many. Still, Andrew bends forward and loops an arm around the back of her thighs to throw her over his shoulder as the elevator doors slide open. “Andy!” She squeals, hair falling over her face as blood rushes to her head. Its a dizzying experience, especially considering she already isn’t in the best frame of mind – she’s suddenly beginning to regret that last cocktail.

“I’ve got this darlin’,” he huffs. He seems to have a handle on things too…..until he trips on the threshold of the elevator and stumbles forward. He might have caught himself if he hadn’t been so inberated – and hadn't been carrying her in the most impractical way – but he doesn’t and they both hit the carpeted floor with simultaneous ‘omphs’.

“Don’t say it,” he warns, struggling to prop his weight on an elbow so he doesn’t smother her.

“I told you so,” Y/n giggles, before wincing at the pain in her back.

“And she said it,” Andrew teases and then his smile softens, “you okay?” He asks softly, slipping his free hand behind her head so it isn’t resting on the floor.

“Better than okay,” Y/n hums, reaching between them to touch his face again. When she does, her eye catches a glimpse of the thin, plastic band adorned little bits of coloured glass meant to look like gems on her left hand. It doesn’t exactly go with the rich, jewel-toned blue stain of her dress – Andrew had gotten it out of one of those vending machines earlier, and now he’s wearing its plainer counterpart. They hadn’t made it to the chapel, but it seemed silly not to wear the rings after already buying them. Lifting her head a little, she meets his lips, tasting the heady combination of champagne and whiskey on his tongue.

“We should get off the floor,” he mumbles against her lips before stumbling to a stand and offering his hand to her. When she gets to her feet, it takes them another moment to collect their bearings before finally starting the walk down the hallway to their room – that time with her bare feet on the ground.

So now, she thinks of him when she’s barefoot. And when she looks at that dress, or the plastic ring still tucked away in her jewelry box – or thinks about Vegas.

Sometimes, the memories are so fresh in her mind that she swears they all happened yesterday; Y/n wonders if it's like that for Andrew – if those moments are all on constant replay in his mind, so achingly fresh that it makes the air thin. It must be some kind of curse not to, Y/n determines, because most times, its the sharpness of those moments that keep her going. It might not be so bad to have lost if she was once loved that deeply – at least she can say she felt it.

With Dusty Springfeild's Look of Love coming over the record player, Y/n drains a bottle of white wine, and deserts the empty bottle on the marble counter that separates the living room from her kitchen. Humming along to the tune – their song – she starts padding towards the sofa when a photograph on the yellow wall catches her eye. That stupid hotel room that overlooks that faux Eiffel tower.

Andrew at the grand piano with a bottle of wine on the top. She knows exactly what he’s playing, she remembers how awful it sounded when he realized the damn thing was woefully out of tune.

What kind of hotel room has an out of tune piano?

She remembers what happened when she distracted him. The coolness of the ivory keys under her skin. That horrifying tune that made them laugh. The tickle of his bead on her neck and the way his hand tangled around her fingers.

“How’s this for a picture?” He mumbles, lips against her skin as blood rushes to her cheeks, but the camera's already been discarded near the empty bottle and its the last thing she’s concerned about.

Fucking Vegas – and their out of tune pianos and fake Effiel towers, Y/n thinks as she takes a drag of her wine.

Great, now she’s thinking of him while she drinks wine.

[pinkkop]

Day 27 - 15 Days Days BL Challenge

Day 27: Top 3 15 BL Kisses?

You're not the boss of me!!!! I do what I want!!!!!!

please don't hate me, I just couldn't choose only 3 kisses

... sorry #NotSorry

So here are my 15 favorite kisses in no particular order!

Since I couldn't add EVERY single GIF of how these kisses happened and progressed, you should all go check out the full posts these GIFs are from, so you can experience the kisses in their full glory ✨

These 1-3 GIFs really only show a fraction of how good these kisses are.

Brave Boys

Second Chance

Time of Fever

Kinnporsche the series

The Eclipse

Love in the Air

Choco Milk Shake

Secret Crush on You

Never Let Me Go

Love Class 2

Step by step

Monster Next Door

Just ignore that this is from the pilot trailer and not actually in the show.

City Boy Log

Semantic Error

I feel you linger in the air

I recommend pretty much every single of these shows so if you want to know more or just where to watch any of these, shoot me a message!

Good kisses need good chemistry so you're guaranteed that in every single one of these shows.

And finally an honorary mention: Dai and Shun from The Boyfriend, who's first kiss could have been straight out of a BL 🤯

The original challenge is here and part two here.

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 273

You know what? We need more Good parents Fentons. 

And you know what else? Technically, Jack helped Danny defeat Pariah via the use of the Ecto-Skeleton. And like, that’s his son, his baby boy. Sure Danny is and has always been a mommy’s boy, but it doesn’t change that fact. They’re both already feeling horrible about the fact they could have hurt him, they could have hurt their son- they have hurt their son, killed him with their inaction and never again. 

So when these oversized jello-eyeballs try to insist that their baby, their precious baby boy, take a crown? Become a king when he’s not even out of highschool, when he doesn’t want it? No. Hell no! That is his Danny-o, his baby boy who was terrified of his own parents! 

Which is how Jack, despite technically still being alive even if so-very ecto-contaminated, became the Ghost King. 

And for some reason there’s several ghosts rather happy about this- oh, these are his Danny-O’s ghost-parents? Not-ghost parents seeing as some of them have never been anything but a realm denizen? That’s really fascinating- y’know what, want some fudge and we can exchange childcare- Maddie dear come over and meet our co-parents apparently!  

Now it’s not all easy, but they’re trying their best, and that’s all that can be asked. 

…

Which is perhaps why it’s so exasperating- or as Maddie would put it, downright infuriating- that it is now, almost an entire year and a half later that the Heroes finally arrive to investigate. Well, at least he has plenty of fudge since it’s almost time for the council meeting. 

[feroluce]

Lucid Dreamer (2/2)

part 1

Gepard stalls almost a week before he finally goes out to the safehouse, and it takes him a couple days to find it because Sampo didn't have the time left to be wasn't super specific about the location. But he does find it.

It's pretty bare bones, really. Gepard knows that was probably to be expected, but… It feels crushing, when he realizes there are so few personal things here. It's nothing specific to Sampo. Just some food, some medical supplies. A cot and a heater and a lot of mismatched blankets. Nothing to remember someone by.

But he does find the letters, in a metal box stashed away under the bed.

There are two for him. Three for Natasha, and two for Seele. One for Hook, one for Serval, one for Pela, one for Bronya.

Bronya's is mostly business. They knew each other from the whole Stellaron incident, but not much beyond that, and the incoming catastrophe is a more pressing matter. Seele's is actually two copies of the same letter, and Gepard realizes why when Seele is so angry she rips the first one up without reading it. He gives her the copy a couple days later, and she slinks off without a word.

Pela seems completely normal after hers is delivered, but Gepard knows better than to trust that. The next day, he finds her asleep in bed with Serval, bottles abandoned on the floor, both their eye makeup smeared and running and Pela's glasses horribly smudged and crooked on her face. Serval doesn't read hers in front of him, but she's clingy with Gepard, Pela, and Lynx for quite a while after. She throws herself into her work a lot. She insists the heater from the safehouse is busted and she needs to keep it. It's too dangerous for use by someone who's not an engineer. Might burn their house down or something. Gepard doesn't argue.

Hook's letter is short, with easy to read words. The rest of it is actually a treasure map, and she and the moles spend the next several days running through the Underground, finding hidden candy and toys. Hook asks them when Sampo is coming back, because one of the marbles she found from his map looks green, just like his eyes, and she wants to give it to him. Natasha shoos Gepard out of the clinic before he can even begin to think of an answer.

Natasha refuses to let him see what's in her letters, which ok, fine, he'll respect that. He hears from Bronya who heard from Seele who heard from Natasha herself though that one of the letters was a map and the other a catalogue, with all of Sampo's hidden "warehouses." Gepard promptly marches himself back out to the frontlines, where he can turn a blind eye. If a ton of stolen goods suddenly enters the black market, and if the orphanage and the clinic suddenly have new supplies, well, technically that's none of his business.

Gepard goes to bed, curls up under mismatched blankets and closes his eyes.

He doesn't dream.

One of Gepard's letters was also business, like Bronya's and Natasha's. He and Bronya follow everything meticulously, down to the letter, because there has to be some good to get out of all this, there has to be. Gepard can't let it all be for nothing, it would bury him.

And so the catastrophe passes. Not without casualties, and not without a lot of damage and destruction. But Belobog survives.

And after that, time just kind of…goes on. Gepard has been a part of the Silvermanes since he was old enough to enlist. The Fragmentum had gotten so much worse in the years before Welt sealed the Stellaron. He knows the statistics, it is literally his and Pela's jobs to keep track. He knows when he sees a face everyday in the camps and then it's suddenly gone. He's not unfamiliar with things like grief and loss.

He still catches himself checking the trashcans and the supply crates and soldiers' footprints sometimes, though.

But there comes a night where Gepard goes to bed, holding the mismatched blankets to his face, and he dreams. And it's strange, it's off, it sticks with him. Sampo doesn't look the same. He's thinner. His muscles have atrophied. He looks like how Gepard has seen soldiers after months in the hospital.

The most unsettling difference is there's a scar across the left side of his head, Gepard can see it over his ear, peeking out past his hairline, carving towards his cheek. Sampo is always careful about his face. Gepard once saw him dodge a Fragmentum monster and literally let it cut across his neck just to keep his face clear. He wouldn't let that happen for nothing.

Their actions in the dream itself aren't new. Sampo seems tired, run down and worn out, but he announces his presence with aplomb by lobbing a bunch of smoke bombs off the rooftops and sending his soldiers scrambling. Same shit, different day.

The new part is what he says when Gepard chases him out to the edges of the camp, tackles him into the snow. Gepard pins him to the frozen ground to detain him and Sampo doesn't even fight it, just looks up at him like he's seeing sunrise for the first time in months.

"I'll be home in one week."

[bruhstation]

of fucking course the best, most harrowing, most gut-wrenching tugs character only appeared in one episode (a bit of ramble in the tags)

[wolfsbanesparks]

If Fawcett has all these heroes, how big is Fawcett?

Hi anon! This is a great question for people who may not know.

When I talk about Fawcett heroes, I'm talking about heroes created by/featured in Fawcett comics, not necessarily those that protected Fawcett City. Back in the day, Fawcett comics was independent and while many of their characters lived in the same general world, it was completely separate from the DC universe. So characters like the Marvels, Bulletman, Ibis the Invincible, etc. were the ones protecting the entire world, not just Fawcett City. Many of their adventures take place across the globe (particularly overseas because it was WWII and everyone was fighting Nazis).

Technically Fawcett City didn't even exist when these heroes were introduced. I think even Captain Marvel was set in a city meant to be New York City or a fictional stand in for it. It was eventually called Fawcett City as a callback to the original publishers (this was in the 80s I think?).

Since Captain Marvel was acquired by DC, most Fawcett heroes haven't been brought back in any meaningful way, so they functionally don't exist in the current DC version of Fawcett City.

Which is all a roundabout way of saying it depends!

Originally Fawcett City was probably NYC-esque in size, though not all of the Fawcett heroes would actually operate out of it. For a while after DC took over, Fawcett was probably a mid sized city (smaller than say Metropolis, but probably on par with Central City) located somewhere in the midwest. In current continuity it is technically a suburb of Philadelphia, so not that big at all.

I know it's pretty complicated but I hope this helps!

[littlespoonevan]

the thing about romcoms is just- it's never meant to be 'is it believable?' but instead 'do you believe it?' do you believe these two characters are actually falling in love with each other??? do you believe their chemistry??? do you believe whatever obstacle is thrown in their way is legitimately something that might keep them apart for a time and not something that could be solved with one conversation?? do you believe that they believe they need to fake date for this very specific reason??? do you believe the reason why they're 'enemies' at the start, no matter how silly a misunderstanding it may be??? do you believe the grand romantic gesture fits the characters and is actually how one character would show their love to the other?? like!!!! it's about empathy and authenticity and feeling what the characters feel so strongly that even if it's a trope or a cliché it doesn't matter because you believe it

[theholeyness]

[mechahero]

There's a whoooole bunch of undead guys in Motor City! And while I can't go over every single one of them, here's a small selection of zombies you'll see here! You don't have to use the nicknames for them though, we are all aware of how dumb they sound.

YOU try coming up with a way to tell different zombies apart without sounding like a complete dumbass though. >:/

ROMEROS- Your classic zombie. Slow, shambling and trouble in large crowds. These guys outnumber most of the zombie types here 2 to 1. Compared the zombies they're named after, they're far more smarter than them. While you won't catch them using a rock to bash open a window, you'll at the very least be able to hold normal conversations with them as they're well... normal people still more or less!

You could always ask one what brought them back and sometimes they'll tell that it was due to a satellite that came back from Venus. Don't take it to heart though, it's mostly a joke.

LANDERS- Said to be the victims of a disease (probably rabies or mad cow disease or something, we don't fricking know), these zombies are bit uh... complicated. These guys take the longest to get back on track and get them acting like the humans they used to be. It's no fault of their own obviously, but man is their particular strain of zombification a complete BITCH to work with. It makes them bitey, spew-y and all around JERKS the first few months of unlife.

They're alright once you get them back down to normal but you really gotta stick it out through those months to do it. And the kicker? They can only make more of themselves via biting. Or if they've got a cold and are inconsiderate enough to not cover their mouths when they sneeze. Not that you'll catch any of the ones here biting people though. That's rude and they're more likely to be chowing down on junk food than people. They looove stuff like Ding Dongs and stuff like that.

Not every Lander is the same though, since some of them seem to act completely differently to the regular Landers. One of them snuck up on me the other day, it wasn't fun.

TRAINRUNNERS- Okay, forget what I said about the Landers. THESE guys are complicated. Kind of, I mean. They're fast, super durable for the most part and their strain is also spread through bite and boy, does it spread FAST. It's probably for the best that there's so few of them living here. That's nothing against them, of course but uh... it's not fun to deal with?

And if takes a while to get a Lander back on track, then it takes even longer for a Trainrunner. Which is not as pleasant as you can imagine when they get out of control but hey, we push through. Some of them are kind of prickly people to deal with though. We're not sure if that's because of the way their strain affects their brains or if some of them are natural born jerks. But either way, if you see some literally rotten looking people with varicose like veins and wearing sunglasses (their eyes ARE kind of gross looking), then you're seeing a Trainrunner. Just be cool around them and you'll be okay.

I dunno who originally coined their nickname though. We don't even have trains here?

NEWDEADS- A sort of catchall term for zombies that don't fit in the standard definition of zombie but are similar enough to their regular counterparts to qualify as one. It's not too uncommon to see a Newdead with a pulse (That's me!) but as long as they have a couple of traits seen in either Romeros, Landers, or Trainrunners, they can count as a Newdead. The one difference between a Newdead and the other zombie types though is that Newdeads don't have to worry about losing control and going on a complete rampage just to eat some dang flesh. Newdeads are kind of like humans the most? But also kind of not? They're stuck in a weird in between of being both and neither.

Don't ask how a zombie can have a pulse though. Yeah, I know it doesn't make sense but we're all made and sometimes rot and decompose in different ways and you'll break your brain trying to understand it so don't fricking question it. We're all kind of dead and that's just it! :>

Anyways, that should be just about every type of zombie seen here mostly! Might have missed a few but I can always edit this thing. Or just make new pamphlets. Either one. Next one's going to be about vampires and let me tell you that one's gonna be wayyyy easier! Well bye! ^_^b <- (me giving you a thumbs up)

[fungi-maestro]

Questionable Images 1/2 - The Question #8 (1987)

[books-coffee-and-the-woods]

oh shit--Finch and Shriek are SIGNED??!!

this is why I love ordering from BookOutlet. I once got a signed copy of The City in the Middle of the Night too, just randomly.

[easeupkid]

new person at work trying to peer pressure me into doing a charity 5k after i already told her no i don’t want to and it is starting to annoy me so bad!!!!!

[nymphadora7]

no actually cause what was the point of mom city if not jamiekeeleyroy?? like i’m actually. there is no other conclusion???

[droodlebug]

soo many of my ocs.. and like All my beloved ones.. are people who just desperately want to live a quiet, peaceful life with their loved ones. but forces outside of their control keep making that impossible for them, and they aren't able to keep going through the situations against them without having to hurt and push themselves too far but still keep Choosing to be good and do good things because it is just what you should do

this says nothing in particular about me, i am sure.

[approximateknowledge]

ok so just finished reading City of Last Chances

1-did not expect to care so much about ruslav holy shit... genuinely a fantastic character

2-it took me until almost the last page to finally understand the Anchorwood's deal

3-i actually feel bad for yasnic's shithead little god now; rereading House of Open Wounds is gonna be an *experience*

4- OH SO THAT'S HELLGRAM'S WIFE! love that. it makes so much sense in hindsight, that's amazing!