#definitely not trying to not cry in the dressing roo.

[queeranddepraved]

apparently there's not a single pair of jeans in the entire world that even come close to fitting my body.

[rebelwrites]

OPERATION: Find The Kids!

Bravo Team x Reader

A/N okay so I saw a TikTok yesterday and this gave me the idea for the chaotic fic you are about to read. Seven tier one navy seals looking after four kids. What could go wrong? So I give you nearly 2k words of utter chaos. Trying to keep track of what 11 people are doing is stressful 😂

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SEAL Team Masterlist

This Months Writing

Sipping on your coffee, you ran your hand over your face as you try to finish off the paperwork from the last deployment. You tried to get this done in your home office but it was no good when your house was used as base when the boys were home. Or as Metal kept putting it “the home of Bravo” but it did make your life easier meaning you didn’t have to worry about finding a sitter at short notice as you had at least one of the boys crashing at yours for whatever reason.

And at the moment it was a godsend, especially as you were looking after your Brother’s triplets whilst he was going through the divorce. But having four kids under the age of 7 in the house was chaos, but you lived around big kids all the time so you could just about cope.

“Guys, someone has to take the boss some coffee,” Clay said, as he placed the plate of toast in the middle of the kitchen table. “And to swipe the walkies.”

Everyone fell silent. That silent you could hear a pin drop.

“Oh hell no,” Sonny said, breaking the silence. “You know how she gets when she’s doing the reports. And it was your idea Blondielocks, so you should do it.”

“No way,” Clay exclaimed, “I value my life thank you. “

“Guys let’s settle this like adults,” Metal said, with a serious look on his face. “Rock, paper, scissors. We go around the group and do it as a knock out style thing and whoever is left standing has to take the boss some coffee and swipe the walkies.”

So that's how it was decided that Sonny was the one to go into the lion's den, armed with coffee and breakfast to hopefully make things go smoothly.

“Quinn, I see you.” You said not looking away from your screen.

“How the fuck?” He muttered, “I swear you have eyes in the back of your head.”

“You have to when you look after children,” you laughed, “now I’m busy so what do you want?”

“We know you left without breakfast so I thought I’d bring you some,” he shrugged, placing the food and coffee on the table.

“I don’t buy it,” you said, raising your brow at him. “You are up to something.”

“Nope, just bringing the boss coffee.” He grinned, he had already swiped the walkies and needed to get out of here. “You have a good day, and don’t worry about anything, we have it all under control.”

“That’s what makes me worry Quinn,” you glared. “Just don’t burn my house down and don’t lose a child. That’s all I ask.”

“Hard copy, boss.” He nodded before leaving the room.

“Mission success boys,” Sonny shouted walking back into the house, “Oh and final words from the boss were don't set the house on fire and don’t lose a child but she had no idea I swiped the walkies.”

“Well then, time to gear up boys,” Jase said, slapping his legs as he stood up. “Kids have requested we wear our camo bottoms so hurry up we head out at 0900.”

Twenty minutes had passed and everyone was gathered in the living room.

“Right, let's just run through this one more time,” Clay said looking at the list on his phone.

“First aid kit”

“Check”

“Snacks”

“Check”

“Drinks”

“Check”

“Sun cream”

“Check”

“Kids dressed”

“Check”

“All walkies on the same station”

“Check”

“Well boys I think we are ready,” Trent nodded, “So Brock has Cerb and Pepper, I’ve got the bag, so the rest of you get to keep an eye on the kids.”

Your daughter, Riley instantly clung onto Clay like a koala bear, your nephew Joey gravitated to Metal, Sonny scooped up your niece, Amber and Ray took your other Niece, Lola.

“Let’s hit the park,” Jase nodded, leading everyone out the house.

“What could go wrong,” Sonny laughed. “It’s not like we are gonna lose any of them. There’s four of them and seven of us.”

“Don’t say that, you idiot,” Metal said, hitting Sonny around the back of the head. “Don't jinx things, now If things go south it’s your fault.”

“Anyone got have eyes on HVT one?” Jase asked down the walkie, as he scanned the park.

“HVT one is south moving toward the tyre swing,” Metal replied, “I’ve lost eyes on HVT two.”

“I’ve got eyes on HVT two, she is in need of refilling. Lure her back to base Three,” Clay said, as he squinted from the sun.

“Copy six,” Sonny called, as he calmly headed for Amber, who thought this was the best game in the world as her Uncle Sonny chased her. “HVT two inbound,”

“My eyes are peeled,” Jase laughed, as he spotted Amber running towards him.

“For the love of god don’t forget the suncream.” Ray responded.

“Copy that,” Jase said, routing around the bag for supplies. He literally only took his eyes off her for two seconds but by the time he looked up she was gone. “All call signs I have lost eyes on HVT two. I repeat I have lost eyes on HVT two.”

“I don’t have HVT three or four,” Brock sighed “They just vanished.”

“Is HVT one still at the tyre swing?” Ray asked.

“Fuck, she’s gone to.” Metal cursed.

“Guys we fucked up, boss is gonna kill us if we don’t come home with a full head count.” Ray breathed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Three you know this is your fault,” Metal growled.

“How is it my fault?” Sonny snapped. “You're the one meant to be watching HVT One.”

“You jinxed things, idiot,” Metal huffed, “Told you this would happen.”

“Guys, stop fighting,” Jase sighed, “Look just everyone reconvene at base and we put a plan together, they can’t have gone far.”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing, you knew Sonny was up to something when he came in this morning but the big idiot forgot to pick up all the walkies meaning you could hear everything.

Pinching the bridge of your nose, you messed with the station trying to get a clearer sound. You wanted to see how this would play out, they all sounded pretty panicked but they should be. One of the rules was they could do whatever, go wherever but just don’t lose anyone.

“You okay Y/L/N?” Eric asked coming into the briefing room with some fresh coffee.

“Define okay when the boys are looking after the tribe today, Sonny managed to swipe the walkies and now somehow they have managed to lose all four kids at the park,” you sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose.

“Well at least they had the sense to get the walkies I suppose,” Eric laughed, “you know they will have a full head count by the end of the day, they won’t leave until they do.”

“I know,” you laughed, “but I’m gonna get them back.”

“How the fuck have we managed to lose four kids,” Clay said running his hand over his face. “I don’t get it,”

“Because children like to fucking run off,” Jase snapped. “Look, we don’t need to go into how it happened, it happened. Let’s just work the problem and get these kids back before we all get brutally killed. Operation find the kids is a go.”

“Riley likes water right?” Trent asked.

“Yeah, she’s a proper water baby, why do you ask?” Clay questioned.

“She might have gone towards the lake.” Trent nodded.

“Right, Clay and Brock head to the lake and try to get Riley. We all know you are her favourite Uncle Clay so she might actually come back to you.” Ray said, making a call. “We divide and conquer boys.”

“Copy,” Brock and Clay nodded, before running off in the direction of the lake.

“What about Joey?” Trent asked.

“The woods definitely,” Jase nodded.

“I’m on it,” Metal nodded before disappearing.

“Okay so that leaves Amber and Lola.” Jase said.

“Fuck I have no idea,” Ray sighed. “They are both so quiet.”

“We are just gonna have to split up.” Sonny said, “we will find them.”

Two hours had passed and everyone apart from Brock and Clay were back at base. Three out of the four kids had been located and now sitting on the grass with Metal eatting some cookies.

“I’m gonna need a medic,” Clay said, his voice full of panic and cry’s could be heard in the background.

“How far out are you?” Jase replied.

“About 5 mikes,” Brock replied.

Clay looked down at Riley in his arms, she was screaming and the tears kept coming.

“Hey Riley-roo, it’s okay, Uncle Clay has got you. You are gonna be okay.” Clay cooed trying to calm down his god daughter.

“What’s the sitrep?” Trent asked.

“Not sure if it’s a broken wrist or just a sprain. She fell pretty hard on it whilst running.” Clay sighed down the walkie. “It’s official boys, we are dead meat when the boss gets home.”

The house was quiet when you got home, far too quiet. The only sound was the hum from the TV but even that was on low volume. Quickly glancing in the kitchen you rolled your eyes at the state of it. It looked like a bomb had gone off. There were plates and mugs everywhere along with McDonald’s discarded wrappers.

Quietly you walked into the living room to see all the kids awake and all the boys fast asleep on the sofas. Riley was tucked under Clay’s arms, Joey was laying across Metal and Brock, Amber was sat in between Jase’s legs and Lola was tucked under Ray’s arms.

“Mummy” Riley grinned as she saw you. “Look what I got,” she giggled, waving her casted wrist in the air.

“What happened baby?” You asked, crouching down to her level.

“I tripped and broke my wrist.” She pouted, “But Uncle Clay took me to the hospital.”

“Well it looks like you all wore your Uncles out today,” you laughed, “but just cover your ears for me kiddos.”

Once they all covered their ears with their hands, you pushed yourself to your feet.

“Wake up you lazy shits!” You shouted, startling them all awake. “Did we have a good day?” You asked playing dumb.

“Yeah it was amazing,” Jase nodded. “We went to the park.”

“So you did lose any of the kids?” You asked, placing your hand on your hip.

“Nope,” Clay said, with a sheepish smile on his face.

“Well can someone explain this?” You said, pressing play on the recording.

The whole room fell quiet as they heard the conversation playback from early.

“So wanna change your answer boys?” You glared. “I only have two rules and you fucking broke one of them. And my daughter has a bloody broken arm!”

“Sorry, boss.” Sonny mumbled, not making eye contact.

“You better be you idiots,” you laughed, “At least you came home with a full head count. Now Clay move, you are in my seat.”

Once Clay had moved, you settled down in your spot.

“Oh and another thing, I’ve had a long ass day typing up all the incident reports from J-Bad, I swear your band list gets longer each deployment,” you laughed, “but I’m not happy about the state of my kitchen so you can all get in there and sort it out.”

“Yes, boss.” They all said, making you smirk. Not many people could make Bravo team sulk off with their tail between their legs but you could and it always made you laugh.

“And someone make me a bloody coffee, because I am not moving off this sofa for the rest of the night”

@chibsytelford @mrsmarvelous1995 @supervalcsi @talicat713 @disasterfandoms @bravo-four-seal-team @jasonbabymama @jayhalsteadfan-2417 @lotsoflovefromlea @seik-o @velvetcardiganbucky @phoenixhalliwell @pancakeisreading @itsonautopilot @pinkrockstar19 @galaxysanduniversesinmymind @softi92 @abby-splace @theysayitscrazy @thelovelyleo23 @innerpaperexpertcloud

[the-silentium]

The Lost Future Pt.1

Masterlist   Part 2

Pairing: soulmate!Five Hargreeves x Reader

Summary: Soulmate AU where the soulmates share their wounds. || Along with your brother, you are transported into the 1960's with a bunch of kids you don't know. Turns out they are trying to stop the 2019 apocalypse and you are playing a key part of it.

Words: 4590 words

Warnings: Violence, blood, swears, racism. 

A/N: Hi readers! This fic' was too long to be posted in one part, so I divided it in three distinct part. The next part will come out pretty quickly, seeing as it it already written but not proof read yet. Please, let me some comebacks in the comments or send me a request!

Groans erupted from your throat, a clear indication that your peaceful slumber has been disrupted by some unknown pull. Your heavy eyelids fluttered open with difficulty, the need to sleep omnipresent in your system. A bright blue light forced you to squint while tears formed slowly thanks to its harsh brightness. Before your foggy brain could comprehend what was happening, the glow intensified in a blinding flash and the sudden feeling of free-falling gave you nausea. 

The fall was brutal, your whole body crashed on the ground like an inanimate puppet. Your hands flew to your face with a pained cry, covering the painful spot that was your nose in an attempt to soothe the suffering nerves. To say that you were confused was an understatement. One moment, you were peacefully asleep and the next you were… where? You removed your hands from your face, a pounding sensation still beating under your skin and shrieked as your eyes landed on a disgustingly big spider weaving its web between two oversized blades of grass. You jumped aside, eager to put distance between yourself and the arachnid, when your eyes met the magnificent blue sky, as clear as ever, with the sun nearing its peak. The warmth of its rays touched delicately your cheeks achieving to bring a smile to your lips. It has been a really long time since you last sunbathed and today would have been a perfect day to do it if it weren’t for the strange situation you just found yourself in. 

At the foot of a nearby tree laid a brown-haired boy cursing under his breath. He must have scratched his knee somewhere, looking as he was slouched over himself trying to alleviate the pain as you did moments ago. Your eyes traveled up, analyzing the familiar form. His outfit resembled yours, his tousled hair the same shade as yours… You jumped to your feet in a hurry when his green gaze met yours. 

"Roo!" You exclaimed, running toward your twin. The teenager only had a second to prepare himself before his body was tackled to the ground by an incredible force. His yelp made you laugh before he pushed you aside, adding another fall on the list of today's activities. Once he got a good look at you, Andrew’s eyes widen. Some tears formed in his eyes, but before they could escape and run freely down his cheeks, he threw himself at your neck, hugging you with all his might. 

"Y/N!" His strangled voice was muffled by your neck. Your arms wrapped around his body, mirroring his grip. "I missed you too, Roo," You whispered in his neck. Finally, you reunited with the only person in the whole world that understood you more than yourself. 

Pushing you at arm length, Andrew’s eyes scanned you like an awk. "How is that possible?" He mumbled, eyebrows furrowing. "You-" Your laugh made him jump and clearly, he was beginning to think that you came back missing some brain cells. Patting his shoulder, a smirk stretched your lips. 

"Don't sound so disappointed." You flicked his forehead, just like you used to do when you were kids and you were teasing him. "I might think that you don't like me." 

Andrew groaned and pushed you off. Getting up snickering, you brushed off the dirt on your clothes. You had missed it, this perpetual teasing. You both could bicker and argue all you wanted, but you would always recover in no time, never holding a grudge against the other without having to talk about it. 

"What the fuck!" Andrew's yell made you look up. He pulled his clothes forward, examining and patting his body like he never saw it before. "No, no, no… Why am I thirteen again?" His head shot up, his green gaze back on you showing his confusion. "What did you do?" 

Taking a step back, you put a hand on your chest. "What did I do?" You replied in a defensive tone. "I didn't do shit! Four minutes ago I was-" Your sentence died as your eyes caught on your surroundings. Old cars you’ve had only seen in movies rolled on the streets, ladies walked by wearing old fashioned dresses of various flashy colors and various patterns, different stores displayed proudly their retro signs for all to see. Were you in one of the small American towns that were stuck in time? 

"What the…" You heard your brother mutter in sync with yourself. The thought to pinch yourself passed your mind, after all, you did have some really weird dreams recently with all the stuff that happened in your life. Or maybe you watched too much Supernatural in the last months.  

Turning around to try and make sense of the scenery, you noticed high buildings beyond the line of trees. If they were anything to go by, you would say that you ended up in a urban park in some random city. The transportation method was still unknown, but that was something you could figure out later. 

Women in colorful dresses walked slowly talking to each other on a stone walkway. Some of them pushed baby carriers around while others looked in the twins direction, a hand flying to their mouth, eyes growing as wide as saucers. Looking down, you felt your heart accelerate. You were wearing a pair of black basketball shorts along with a light grey tank top that said: "If I was a bird, I know who I'd shit on". Clearly, you didn’t have the proper attire for this period of time. Andrew was in the same predicament as yourself, with his basketball shorts and his "I play hockey because punching people for no reason is frowned upon" shirt. 

Getting a hold of Andrew's wrist, you started to walk away from the outraged women who seemed to be harshly whispering between them, their manicured fingers pointed at them. Would it have been your own modern age town, you would have assumed entirely your choice of clothing, but here, where you didn’t know jack shit about how the people would react? You kept it in and walked away. 

"Hey! You two from the 21st century!" Shocked, you stopped in your tracks and turned to meet a brown-haired boy running in your direction. His school uniform was vaguely familiar, although you couldn’t put your finger on where you knew it from. "You guys got transported too!" The boy finally reached them. He was all smile and his bubbly presence made you relax immediately. You noticed six other kids wearing the same uniform walking after their comrade. It reassure you that the majority of the group seemed as lost as your brother and yourself. Maybe you could stick with them for a while. You noticed that they had an unconscious girl with them. You wondered if her state was caused by a fall or by another unknown reason. 

"Transported? What are you talking about?" Andrew stepped closer, positioning himself right beside you. He was three inches taller than you and surpassed the new boy by a good one inch. 

Bubbly guy turned around, pointing vaguely at one of his approaching friend. "Five time-traveled us here. In the past! So we could stop the a-," a hand on Bubbly's mouth prevented him from saying more. 

Before you had time to question the sanity of Five's parents for choosing such a name or ask how one could time-travel back in time, cold blue eyes glared holes in Bubbly's head while maintaining pressure on his mouth. "Shut it. We already have enough attention on us like that." True to his words, people were watching their little group intently, some of them stopping in their tracks to openly stare at them. 

The steady rhythm in your ribcage was quickly disturbed by the harsh blue gaze falling on you. A beat or two were skipped, your body too entranced to remember that this muscle was indeed vital to your survival. "We can't talk here." A smirk stretched his lips when his eyes trailed down to your tank top. For a completely unknown reason your body answered to his apparent approval by creating some butterflies in your belly. Swiftly, he removed his jacket and handed it to you. 

Eyebrows furrowed, you stared at him, then the jacket and back at him. "I'm not cold thank you." You said confused. Rolling his eyes, Smug Face kept handing you the piece of clothing. "If you walk around looking like that, you might get arrested. People in this decade aren't that open yet." He clarified in an impatient tone.

You didn’t know much about "this decade", but you can feel that he was definitely right. The people around seemed extremely judgemental and unappreciative of your appearance. Sighing, you uncrossed your arms and took the jacket, making sure to not touch the boy's finger in the process. The last thing you needed was your heart stopping indefinitely because it short-circuited at his contact. 

"Fine." The black jacket was surprisingly comfortable and light on your shoulders. The coffee scent that lingered on it was quite enjoyable and you found yourself gripping the slightly too long sleeves. Looking down, it seemed like you were wearing a weird looking black dress. If you kept your legs close to each other, that is. Smug Face looked satisfied of your appearance and nodded. His mouth opened to speak again, only to be cut by another. 

"Wait. How do we know we can trust you?" Oh, Andrew. Always there to protect you from any harm. Speaking of which, his right arm found its place on your shoulders while his query gaze was fixed to the unconscious girl in one of the boys’ arms. 

At that, Smug Face stared at him, seemingly getting colder. "Really?" He rolled his eyes once again and scoffed, turning around. He took off toward a street, muttering to the others to follow him. Some of his companions followed right behind him after sending them curious and apologetic glances. Bubbly and a girl stayed behind, waiting for the newcomers. 

The girl sighed and offered her hand to shake. "I'm Allison. Sorry about Five, he's a bit rude."  Bubbly scoffed at that, muttering something about a grouchy old man. "The girl is our sister, Vania. She fell unconscious before we time-traveled. Look, I know you don't have to, but you can trust us." Deep inside you, you knew that they were trustworthy. Anyway, if you were proven to be wrong, all you had to do was use your power and get the hell out of there with Andrew. Smiling, you shook Allison's hand before pointing to your brother. 

"That's Andrew, I'm Y/N. And don't worry," You pointed at the nosey people still watching their little group, "between the old-timers and you guys, I choose you guys." 

Allison chuckled while Bubbly, who presented himself as Klaus, cheered and led the way to catch up with their siblings. 

The walk to a small isolated house took a good 20 minutes. In this time, you talked with the rest of the group, getting to know them a bit. 

You learned that the familiarity you found in their uniform was caused by their worldwide superheroes reputation. You remember watching the news one day, 6 of them displaying in front of a crowd, proud faces daring someone or something to come at them and try and beat them. You remember feeling proud of being born on the same day as them. You were all special after all. 

However, they weren't as invincible as you once thought in your young innocence. Apparently, they failed in preventing an apocalypse in 2019 and ended up travelling through time to survive, which failed once again because you all were back in your early teen age. The idea of being stuck in the past for your whole life was weird to say the least and you hoped that you would find a way to get back home. 

Most importantly though, you learned that Klaus was your favorite out of the group. He was carefree, almost too much sometimes, and was not afraid to be himself. You laughed along with him during a big part of the walk, the both of you mocking the outraged faces of the 1963 grown-ups when they got a good look of Andrew's shirt or Allison's too short skirt for their time. 

Luther clearly didn't trust the two addition to their little group. He shot some glances your and Andrew's way from time to time, clearly trying to judge if you were a threat or not. At one point, he asked Allison to walk with him. It may have sound innocent but you knew he wanted to protect her from you. You didn't need a power to find out, his eyes were talkative enough. 

Diego was at least approachable. He didn't talk much, but didn't reject you either. He seemed funny on first glance and you hoped that you would have a chance to talk to him more. 

Finally, there was Five. For you, he was a total mystery.  He didn't turned around once, too concentrated to get to his destination and not once did he answer his siblings when they asked where he was leading them. He totally ignored the people watching him like he had two heads, sometimes glaring at those who were too close to him, but mainly kept his eyes right ahead. 

You reached a cute little yellow house with rows of beautiful purple flowers framing the door. Pansies you think they are named. You were sure that there would be a lovely old lady greeting you at the door with a nice smell of cookies floating in the air, but to your disappointment, a musty smell gripped you at the throat instead, along with dust entering your lungs. 

You coughed a bit just like everyone who entered before you minus Five. He seemed immune to his environment, still walking like he hadn't reached his destination yet. 

"Five, the hell are we doing here?" Diego's voice echoed through the silent rooms. You wandered into the little living room, barely dodging Klaus who just threw himself on the first couch he saw. A cloud of dust erupted of the old cushion, like an explosion suffocating the brunette who quickly got back on his feet. You laughed at his antics when a hand got a hold of your arm and pulled you toward a door. 

"Come on Panda. They went this way." Andrew released you when you followed after him. The door lead to a basement, where everyone was gathered around Five. 

"Thank you for finally joining us." The sarcasm caught your attention, your eyes travelling to the source only to find his gaze on you, reanimating the flutters in your belly. Damn butterflies, you'll need to find a fly swatter soon. "Now we can concentrate on stopping the apocalypse." You froze. The what now? 

"The hell?" "Did you just say a-" both yours and Andrew's voice died in your throat when Five lifted the corner of a carpet, throwing it at your feet and gripped two wood planks. If he hadn't lifted the two planks like he did, you would never have thought that they were movable. 

"Holy shit! You have your own batcave?" Klaus jumped before Five in the hole in the ground. Five followed suit, threatening Klaus of mutilation if he touched anything. Luther moved his unconscious sister in his arms and entered the hole. Your curiosity to see what was down there got the best of you, so you did one step toward the hole before you were stopped in your tracks. 

"Woa. We can't go down there. We don't know them." Roo's uneasiness was clear. He didn't trusted them and being stuck underground wasn't helping. "No offense," he watched Allison and Diego, who stayed behind waiting for them, "but you guys might be killers for all we know!" 

A blur passed in your field of vision, passing under your brother's chin and hitting the wall. 

"Don't you fucking dare call us killers. We save people." With each words, Diego got closer to Andrew, growing the tension in the room as he went. 

"And you think that they'll trust us when you throw knives at them?" Allison grabbed her sibling's arm and pulled him back, away from Andrew's face. 

"They have to if they want to come back from here." Five's voice coming from behind you made you jump. You hasn't seen him exit the hole nor did you hear his steps. "And we don't have time to waste. The clock is ticking." His tone let no place to negotiate. He was losing patience. And fast. 

"To stop the apocalypse?" The hope of returning home, to your family and friends was relieving. If you could do something to save them in 2019, you would definitely do everything to make sure that happened. 

"Yes and if we want to have a chance to do it, we must start to plan. Now." A sigh on your left made you relax. Andrew finally admitted defeat, allowing you to follow Five who disappeared under the ground again. 

You stopped in awe at the underground living room. A bunker. The perfect hideout to plan to stop an apocalypse. 

…………………………….

Your brain felt like it was going to explode at any second. After Five had thrown spare clothes to everyone, the Hargreeves had taken an hour or so to explain what happened in 2019 and you were now trying to elaborate a plan against an organisation named the Commission. Sadly, every ideas were quickly rejected by an impatient and highly irritated Five. 

Klaus' whines about his empty stomach was getting on the boy's nerves for the last half hour, but you couldn't stop yourself before finally agreeing and proposing to go get some take out. Thinking with an empty stomach was too much to ask for and by the looks of it, Five would never be satisfied by anyone's idea. 

Cheers resonated in the room making you chuckles while Five rolled his eyes. 

"I'm coming with!" Klaus cheerfully tapped your shoulder and lead the way out of the bunker. 

"Me too! You'll need someone to "pay" for the food." Allison chuckled along with you. You shot a questioning glance at your brother, only to be answered with a shake of his head. You knew he would probably use this time to snoop around the bunker and get to know who he was plotting with.  Just as you were about to exit the house with your 2 new friends, a blue flash on your right caught your attention. 

"I'm coming." Every damn time! The second you hear that damn melodious voice, your heartbeat accelerates! Were you ill? Was your body trying to tell you something? Warn you against him? 

"Believe me, old brother dear! We really don't want to know!" Hands moving in the air like a lunatic, Klaus turned on himself to face you, walking backwards. You barely had time to slap a hand on your mouth to stop yourself from laughing at the boy. "You just want coffee, say it." He added on a more serious tone. 

"I'm here to make sure that you newbies don't alter the timeline more than it already is." Allison ignored Five's irritated comment and nudged your arm. 

"Hey, sorry about Diego earlier. He really takes his vigilante work seriously." You shrugged it off, it wasn't a big deal to you. You were a bit carefree but not careless. You had good instincts and you knew that you could trust your guts telling you that they were good allies. 

"It's fine. Sorry for my brother, Roo really crossed a line, calling you killers like that." You paused, trying to find the right words to describe your situation. "He's just really confused. One minute we are relaxing at home and the next we are back in our teenage body in an old american city." You frown, looking at the ground. A delicate hand found your shoulder and squeezed softly. 

"I forgot to ask!" You jumped at Klaus' sudden exclamation. "Where are you guys from? I can't place your accent!" 

You scratched your neck, an embarrassed smile forming on your face. "Sorry for the accent." A nervous laugh escaped your lips. "My brother and I are French Canadian. We grew up learning French and English, but I'm way more fluent in French as it's my mother tongue." You were not embarrassed of your country in the slightest. You loved Canada, it was just that a certain piercing blue pair of eyes was glued to you ever since you left the house and they started making you nervous. 

Klaus gasped before reaching your side to throw an arm around your shoulder and pull your smaller form into his side. "Our polite neighbors! You don't have to worry, your English is impéccable so far!" You giggled, happy to know that your nationality won't be an issue. 

"So you were in Canada and you still time-travelled?" Five's sudden question surprised you. During the whole way to the nearest diner, he had remained silent, listening and analysing. His incredulous tone made you perplexed. Was it wrong? You opened the door to the others before answering the question. 

"Looks like i-" A fist hit the counter in front of you, making you jump. Your heartbeat accelerated for a second, the silence in the diner deafening to your ears and rising your nervosity. Every pair of eyes in the room was directed at you, more so at Allison. You perceived her anxiety and immediately, your hand found hers in a weak attempt to appease her. The way her fingers tightly interlaced with yours despite her keeping a strong exterior alerted you that she was shrinking inside. 

The looks on the patrons faces made you sick. You recognized those looks. Disgust. Anger. Superiority. For a moment, you had forgotten that a lot of people in these years hated the people of color and that they suffered great injustices. 

The clerk behind the counter with his haughty air, pointed a sign behind him. The sight made you gnash. Whites only. Oh how you wanted to show him how colourful he could get if you hit him hard enough. You opened your mouth at the same moment as Klaus, but the both of you were interrupted by none other than Five. 

"We're leaving." Your eyes went wide, quickly turning to him to yell at him instead, but were cut off by his hand pulling you out harshly along with Allison. The second you were outside, you pulled your hand back as hard as you could, nearly elbowing Klaus in the stomach when Five let you go. 

"Why are you letting them win?" You spat. Some patrons were still eyeing you through the front window, contentment dripping from their features. You nearly decided to get back inside and speak your mind. 

"There's nothing we can do about that. Drop it." Your blood was still boiling in your veins. You wanted justice. You wanted to punch the clerk's and patron's smug faces until their thick skull understood that people of color or not, everyone had the same rights. You were all humans. You were all sentient beings. 

"It's fine. Let's go." Allison's weak smile didn't even reached her eyes. As much as you hated to, you dropped it nevertheless. Pushing the matter wouldn't do anyone any good so you followed Five towards another diner, your morale at its lowest. He and Klaus went inside to get the food while you waited with Allison outside. You two settled on a bench near the diner so the boys would find you easily and started softly passing rocks at each other with your feet.  

"You must miss them." You frowned at the affirmation. 

"Who?" 

"Your soulmate and your family." Her sad eyes met yours. It was at this moment that you realised that she looked utterly tired. It pulled at your heart to see her in this state. 

"I never met my soulmate. But I do miss my family a lot." You recalled your mom who stroked your hair when your weren't feeling good, your dad who would always figure out a way to cheer you up and your dog who would always be a sunshine and sleep over your covers to keep you warm whenever you felt cold. Lowering your head because of the tears forming in your eyes, you blinked several times to subtly kept them at bay. Years of hiding your tears caused you to improve your own technique and become an expert. 

"You'll meet him, one day." You slowly nod your head, keeping your gaze low. "You say "never" like it was definitive, but when we get back in 2019, there's still a chance that you'll find him." She pat your shoulder, smiling softly. You returned her smile. You were about to ask about her own soulmate when something shiny caught your eyes. The sun reflected off a metallic surface, which you quickly attributed to a knife. 

Before you could register what happened, your brain forced your hand to move and grab the knife in a strong grip. The pain was excruciating. The feeling of a thousand paper cuts all happening at once, cutting through your flesh and leaving a burning feeling in your palms and fingers made you grunt. As much as you wanted to drop the knife, you couldn't. Because if you were to release your grip on the weapon, the moron who tried to stab your friend would get what he wanted. 

Only when he pulled back on the knife, cutting deeper into your flesh, did you screamed and fell on your knees. You heard your name but you were too focussed trying to keep the pain at bay, squeezing your wrist in vain. The burning intensified, along with your heartbeat resonating into your hand. A soft touch on your back brought you back to reality. The moron had apparently took out, leaving you with Allison, Klaus and a disheveled Five. 

"Wait, you're cut too?" 

You couldn't concentrate. Your head along with your hand were pounding, blood pooling between your fingers and tainting your newly acquired old pants. For a moment, all you could see was the deep red of your blood, slowly oozing from the deep gashes in your palm and phalanges. It was mesmerizing and terrifying. You haven't been hurt to the point of bleeding in… years? It wasn't something you missed in the slightest. 

Then your world became blue. The most beautiful and calming shade of blue you've ever seen. It happened in a flash and suddenly you were back in the bunker under the yellow house. No more calming blue, no more street, no more cars. No more bubble. 

"What the hell happened!?" Andrew's body filled your vision while his beaming voice filled your ears. 

"Stop screaming. That's unnecessary." You were certain that if Five hadn't knelt on your side and showed you his hand, Andrew would have definitely jumped at his throat and strangled him. Your eyes widened when you noticed the blood on his hand. Both your cuts were 100% identical. "That explain why you got teleported from Canada." The tiniest of smile graced his features. "Hey soulmate." 

You didn't know how you two being soulmates allowed you to time-travel, but you knew two things: you were screwed and the butterflies will keep dancing in your stomach for the rest of your life.

Part 2

[chalkrevelations]

Word of Honor, Episode 30. STILL A LOT. This one got long.

(Spoilers. Scroll away and come back later, if you need to.)

Yeah, so, A-Xiang and I are crying again. At least they’re good, cathartic tears, this time? Poor Cao Weining – he continues trying to make sense of all this (It’s all a misunderstanding, right? My good friend Wen Kexing was framed, right? He can’t possibly be the terrifying master of the Ghost Valley, and you can’t possibly be his henchwoman, right?), but nothing he knew is true anymore. Nothing except his faith in A-Xiang. I know you’re good, he tells her. I won’t fail you. And they do make this explicit here, with him saying, “I made a promise I will never fail you in my life, not even once.” I’m flailing on the couch, at this point. Come here, my little cinnamon roll, and let me squeeze the stuffing out of you. And oh. Oh. It just hit me that a girl who was raised by the Department of the Unfaithful (as well as WKX) has found a man who will vow this to her and mean it. Also, I don’t know if this is the closest we’re going to get to this theme made explicit with Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing, but Cao Weining and Gu Xiang continue to act as proxy here for the m/m couple that has to be more circumspect. (Also, I would compare the way this promise, spoken out loud, bookends this ep – Cao Weining’s heart once again offered here, at the beginning, and the undertones of betrayal in Xie Wang’s words to Zhao Jing at the end, but we’ll get to Xie’er in a bit.)

Digging into our continuing parallels, I said a bit back - Ep 26? sometime before Wen Kexing’s identity had the ultimate reveal in the confrontation with Ye Baiyi, at least - that Zhou Zishu was beyond “you don’t fail me and I won’t fail you” into “even if you do fail me, I won’t fail you.” That’s where Cao Weining is now, knowing (finally) what A-Xiang’s been hiding from him, as ZZS knew about the Ghost Valley even before it was actually spoken out loud. Even if A-Xiang is there to infiltrate his sect, even if she’s helped cause all this death, Cao Weining will follow her into death and reincarnate with her to stay with her and protect her forever. (Ugh. My heart. Cao-dage, how are you like this?) Last ep, watching WKX’s frantic efforts to save Han Ying, I think there was some callback to the Four Sages of Anji, but I also pointed to what I saw as a callback to the paired conversations in Eps 22/23, when Cao Weining tells A-Xiang to be more careful because he knows she’ll feel bad if she kills an innocent accidentally, and ZZS tells WKX he’s trying to protect him from more sins on his hands. This ep, there’s a literal flashback to that Cao Weining/Gu Xiang conversation in Ep 22. I also want to go back to the interminable infodump in the Longyuan Cabinet cave in Eps 19/20, where - similar to Cao Weining finally learning and accepting who A-Xiang is in this ep - Zhou Zishu has finally put together all (well, most) of the pieces, and he makes it clear that he knows (at least part of) who WKX is by calling him “Zhen Yan” to his face. The color palettes for the two couples match in these scenes – slightly more saturated and intense for the older couple, but lavender for WKX and A-Xiang, blue for ZSS and Cao Weining; we also have an enthusiastic hug that’s met by a hesitant response. Although roles are reversed in the hug – A-Xiang hugging Cao Weining, ZZS hugging WKX - the way they shot Cao Weining’s response in this ep, hesitant hands finally going around A-Xiang’s back, is almost exactly the same framing and movements as WKX’s response to ZZS’s hug in Ep 20 (7:37 in Ep 20, 9:00 in Ep 30). I’m just sayin’.

Also, I might or might not have rewound three times to watch Cao Weining wipe the tears off A-Xiang’s face and her responding radiant smile. You can’t prove anything.

The other big parallel I see in this ep is a return to the ZZS/Prince Jin and Xie Wang/Zhao Jing relationships. Everyone is telling their creepy gaslighting mentor/parent figures to fuck off in this episode, apparently. (We even (kind of) get to see WKX do this, seeing the scene of him in the aftermath of killing the past master of Ghost Valley in flashback as A-Xiang tells her tale to Cao Weining). I have to think it’s not just coincidence that the ZZS/Prince Jin and Xie’er/Awful Yifu confrontations play out in the same ep. Not to mention the fact that both happen in the middle of a big fk’n mess, lit. and fig., that ZZS and Xie’er have made of not just their physical surroundings, but their Awful Prince’s/Yifu’s plans.

So, first off, we cut to Bad-Touch Prince Jin. I knew it, you creepster (and ZZS knew it too!). And yet, I still cannot believe you. You kidnap him, try to kill everyone in Four Seasons Manor for the second time around, burn his house, plan to get him drunk and take advantage of him, lit. and fig., and now you’re fondling his sword? Eurgh. There’s definitely an air of “bathe him, dress him, and bring him to my chambers” with ZZS at the beginning of this scene, even if we’re actually in the throne room and not any bedchamber (not that I don’t also enjoy the leather bracers-updo-evil collar look on ZZS, so I’ll give Prince Jin points for good taste, at least). Prince Jin pulls out the poor yifu prince card, because it’s lonely being in charge, you know. And now, we’re back to how could you leave me. Aaaaand then, he blows off Han Ying (Han Ying!), the last sort-of vestige of ZZS’s Four Seasons shidi, and oh, boy. You done fk’ed up now.

So, I love how clearly done with all this ZZS is, from the first minute we see him this ep. I keep hearing this role was a departure from Zhang Zhehan’s norm, and while I plan to check out some of his earlier work, I’m honestly glad I got to see him first in this. I hope it opens up some more doors for him. I keep being struck at various moments by his physicality as Zhou Zishu, which has a weight behind it that just … ah. I keep failing to put it into words, but it gives a substance to the character that makes ZZS feel real, and it’s not particularly in his big action fighting scenes that it keeps hitting me, like you might expect when it’s something about the way he moves and carries himself. I started turning this over in my head last week, when I talked about how I felt that shout at WKX in the wake of the fight with Ye Baiyi in Ep 27, moreso than any of the other various shouty characters we’ve met in the show, even when their yelling is louder and more sustained. There was something visceral about ZZH’s performance in that moment. It reminded me of an earlier scene when Wen Kexing’s been drunk under the table by Ye Baiyi but insists that he’s fine, just fine, and Zhou Zishu, who’s trying to make him go to bed, makes a feint at him and then hits him on the shoulder. (Hold on … I just went and found it, it’s at 37:19 in Ep 17.) Not just the hit, but particularly the feint preceding it struck me the same way Ep 27’s shout did. It’s something that maybe comes through strongest when ZZH is doing leashed anger, where the character’s raw emotion is simultaneously supposed to be controlled but leaking through – that contrast seems to showcase what I’m talking about. Or maybe not just anger, but any really strong emotion, because I got it in this ep, among other places, from the little lip tremble as ZZS drinks some of the wine before he pours one out for his dead homies, as well as from the way he works his jaw to get himself back under control after bringing up all his dead shidi. Also the tiny lip quirk and deliberate breathing while Prince Jin disparages Han Ying. (Not the snarl when he’s faced off with Prince Jin holding his sword blade right before the cheesy cut to close-up split-screen, though. That one didn’t hit right, unfortunately.) ANYWAY, this whole throne room scene with Prince Jin is basically porn for me, with ZZS simmering the entire time until he finally breaks and everything explodes. God, the only thing it’s missing is actual tears.

Cut from the scene of ZZS literally striking back at Prince Jin to what’s going to be – at least it looks like – Xie Wang’s breaking point. Xie’er and his henchwomen seem genuinely surprised that Awful Yifu is the one who shows up as reinforcement for the Gentle Wind Sword Sect, and I’m still trying to untangle all the various strings of this web. I don’t know if I’ve missed some things, or not put something together properly – I feel like Cao Weining, all “Slow down, I can’t keep up!” Anyway, we get a very public repudiation of Xie’er by his Awful Yifu, which is interesting because nobody is supposed to know they’re connected in the first place, right? Yet, clearly Mo Huaiyang does, and no one in his sect – all of them standing around in the subsequent cave scene - seem to react with any kind of shock to the info that Zhao Jing is Xie’er’s yifu. Aren’t we supposed to be hiding this from everyone? So that not only the jianghu but Prince Jin doesn’t know it (yet)? Anyway, as well as getting slapped, Xie’er gets a couple of places with good little maniacal laughs in. Given the apparent surprise at Awful Yifu’s appearance, I’m assuming this was something Xie Wang really didn’t expect, and this public repudiation is the breaking point? Or that Awful Yifu hid this alliance from him? Not that this attack on the Gentle Wind Sword Sect was part of a deliberate long-game to fuck over his Awful Yifu by fucking up this alliance? Anyway, Xie’er has learned his lesson about his Awful Yifu – or at least he says he has - so maybe there will be some deliberate fuckery of Awful Yifu going forward from here? Have you learned your lesson, little gambler? Finally?

I do have to warn you, Xie Wang: Do not touch A-Xiang. This is a hard limit. You will be dead to me.

Scattered other things:

Duan Pengju, omg, this asshole. I love how he just gets dismissed from the throne room like a lackey once he’s delivered the guy Prince Jin actually wants. I love how ZZS says, out loud, with everyone in the throne room to hear it, why would I leave this loser in charge of anyone I cared about? I looooove how utterly dismissive of him ZZS is even as ZZS is literally being tortured by him. ZZS’s mockery and whole air of how he’s just ever so bored with all this torture is delightful. However, I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’RE ENDING THE EPISODE THERE, SHOW. I’m going to have to wait until at least Thursday to find out what happens??? (This is d/t work schedule, which is 12-hour shifts on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, leaving no time to watch as the next eps upload, if I want to sleep).

I don’t know if this is deliberate, but when we cut to sleeping Wen Kexing near the beginning of the ep … we’ve just seen him in his very red robes as Ghost Valley master in A-Xiang’s flashbacks, and I notice that what he’s wearing now – it’s not the pinkie pink of the robe he wore to match the winter plum blossom forest, but it’s not blood red, either. It’s muted, something in-between, kind of salmon colored.

Bwahaha, dying at our two little foodies in the cave being the first ones to say “Hey, somebody’s cooking something!” Also, A-Xiang, my clever girl. You know to avoid letting Xie Wang or Zhao Jing (or Liu Qianqiao?) see you. What are you putting together in your head and coming up with about this tangled web of alliances? Also, I see you call Cao-dage over to your hiding spot. Are the two of you still there to hear the conversation between Zhao Jing and Mo Huaiyang, and how Mo Huaiyang and Zhao Jing are working together with the Scorpions and the Ghost Valley?

Last but not least, no intention to leave Jin Palace alive, ZZS? I seem to recall you telling your boyfriend, the terrifying master of the Ghost Valley, that there would be time for him to rescue you once he woke up from his nap. Is it possible you were lying so he wouldn’t feel bad? Mn. Possible. But I also remember the way you yelled at WKX over his plan to get himself killed and leave you alone, and I remember the fact that you won’t fail him, and I have to wonder if your plan really was to die, or if you’re bluffing when you say that to Prince Jin.

[angel-tries-to-write]

Rules are meant to be broken

Fandom: Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan Rating: General Pairing: Levi Ackerman & Hanji Zoë Word count: 3163 Genre: fluff, humor

When Hanji is forced to conform to gender roles, their friends stand up for them and it’s wholesome.

Non-binary afab Hanji, one (1) swear word.

This day seemed to be a regular and boring one. First year students were going to their club meeting and they didn't expect anything interesting to happen. But when they entered the Survey Club room, they saw a very strange view. Hanji, being their dramatic self, had upper part of their body completely sprawled on table, with Moblit, Miche and Nanaba sitting next to them, clearly trying to cheer them up. But the weird part was that by their opposite side was Levi with his hand caressing Hanji's back. Mr. Erwin Smith was observing them, visibly upset, thinking about something intensively.

“What happened?” Jean asked, as he was the first to snap out of the shock that this very uncommon incident induced.

“As you may know, we have this holiday event and a very important inspection tomorrow. Everyone has to be dressed in very formal clothes” Petra explained, she was very concerned and sad.

“We know, but is that a tragedy?”

“I can't wear a suit” Hanji said with a slightly muffled voice.

“So?”

“I'll have to wear a fucking dress, and you even dare to ask?!” they snapped, looking at Jean angrily. Not that they saw much with their glasses pushed up their head, but they didn't even want to see him.

“Hanji, there's no need to use such language” Mr. Smith reproached them.

“Excuse me, Hanji-senpai, but what's wrong with that?” Eren asked, not really understanding the problem.

“Oh, nothing. If you like dresses” the older student was really upset about this situation.

“I don't think I follow...” Sasha spoke, actually trying to understand that.

“Me too” Connie nodded, agreeing with her.

“Tch, isn't it obvious, you stupid brats?” Levi looked at them with a cold stare. “Dresses are formal clothes assigned to girls, while suits are for boys. But this idiot school rules don't allow any other option” he said. It was obvious that he was furious about it, even if he seemed stoic at first sight.

“So, the problem is that Hanji-senpai is forced to wear a dress even though they are not a girl, because school rules are stupid?” Armin summed up to avoid further confusion.

“Precisely” Mr. Smith nodded. “And unfortunately, there is not much we can do about that.”

“There is something.”

“No, Levi, violence is not an option.”

“Tch. Violence is always an option.”

“I understand that you are upset, but you can't change the whole school on your own.”

“Watch me. Only I can hurt that stupid four-eyes.”

“That's actually cute, thank you Levi” Hanji smiled weakly at him. “Even though you've never actually hurt me.”

“Aw, Levi, you actually care about them” Nanaba teased and he shot her a death glare she ignored.

“I don't. Why would I?”

“You've said it already, there's no point trying to take that back.”

“He doesn't like to be obvious. You know expressing feelings isn't really his thing” Hanji explained. “But I know he does care and he knows I do care too. We're best friends, after all.”

“That's so sweet” Petra smiled.

“Can we focus on our problem?” Levi asked with irritation, just like Hanji said, he didn't like to be obvious about his feelings.

Meanwhile Mikasa, who had no interest in their conversations and relationships, pulled Sasha, Christa and Ymir aside. She had a plan. The girls didn't need much convincing to agree with her.

“Hanji-senpai” Mikasa spoke, it was unique of her to talk to anyone but Eren or Armin, so every head turned at her. “Please, wear your suit tomorrow and be as elegant as you can.”

“Do you have any plan?” Hanji was actually interested and fixed their glasses to properly look at the younger girl. “But do you realize it's against the rules?”

“Rules are meant to be broken” Ymir shrugged.

“Nothing is meant to be broken” Oluo scoffed, miraculously not biting his tongue.

“What about glowsticks?” Armin asked.

“Spaghetti if you have a small pot?” Sasha added.

“Karate boards?” Eren suggested.

“And rules” Ymir was more than happy to prove her point. Oluo wanted to comment it, but before he could form a coherent word, he bit his tongue.

“You'd better be quiet” Petra sighed with annoyance. “I can't wait for the day when you finally bite your tongue off.”

“My, my, love is in the air in Survey Corps” Nanaba teased again, observing the red headed girl.

“L-love? Nanaba-senpai, this is not—” she tried to protest, her cheeks blushed.

“Isn't it? Well, I see a pattern here” Nana looked at Levi and Hanji, then at Oluo and Petra and smirked.

“B-but...”

“Stop arguing, you only prove her point” Levi interrupted her, before she could embarrass herself. “The best strategy is to ignore her and pretend nothing happened.”

“I never said anything happened.”

“But you thought that. You and Miche are doing it since you joined us, I just know what you've thought” he pointed out, the mentioned couple only shrugged in response.

“Alright, kids, I guess under current circumstances we can tell that we are not able to have a proper club meeting today. I guess we can go home then” Erwin said and no one protested. They all had too much to think about.

The next day Hanji was extremely nervous. With Levi's help, they looked absolutely amazing, in a perfect suit, with clean and brushed hair, neatly pinned in an elegant updo, and polished glasses, they didn't look like their usual mad scientist persona. They were pacing nervously, waiting for younger girls, just like they told them the previous day.

“Oi, calm down, four-eyes, would you? That pacing drives me insane” Levi spoke finally.

“Sorry, I'm just really nervous!”

“I said stop” he approached them and grabbed their forearms, firm enough to make them stop, but careful enough to not wrinkle the jacket. “It will be fine” he said calmly, looking in their eyes. Hanji blinked a few times and sighed.

“You are probably right” they admitted. Corners of Levi's mouth moved a little and Hanji knew it was his smile. His stoic composure helped them calm down a little. Just when he let go of them, the younger students appeared, all wearing the best suits. When Hanji saw them, they blinked with confusion. Eren, Armin, Jean and Connie, as well as Mikasa, Sasha, Christa and Ymir all wore suits, and looked very elegant. Even a very girly and cute Christa, who wore dresses and skirts all the time, look very good with her hair braided in a pretty updo, they could even say she looked noble.

“Hanji-senpai, you look absolutely awesome” Sasha smiled, munching on bread sticks.

“B-but... You do realize, you're going to get in trouble?” Hanji asked, they were both deeply moved by their sacrifice and terrified of their potential punishment.

“They won't take us all” someone from the other side spoke and they turned around to see Nanaba, Petra, Ilse Langnar, Rico Brzenska, Annie Leonhart, even Hitch Dreyse as well as some more girls, all wearing suits. Hanji felt tears filling their eyes.

“You all did it for me?” they asked and their voice cracked with emotions.

“For you and to fight systemic oppression. We can't allow rules to limit our freedom. I already provided the article about it, we are supposed to look elegant, so we do. Who cares that we don't meet gender norms” Ilse answered with a smile.

“Thank you. All of you. It means a lot.”

“It was all Mikasa's idea, but we couldn't disagree with her” Petra praised the younger girl. Hanji turned around to Mikasa, who wasn't wearing her red scarf, as it wasn't particularly elegant after all those years.

“I did what had to be done” she said. Hanji said nothing, just approached her and hugged her, trying not to cry.

“Alright, let's go and ruin that stupid school!” Nana punched the air with her fist.

“Yes!” Eren definitely shared her excitement.

“Maybe not literally” Hitch reminded them, after all she still was a part of student's council. Everyone entered the school and proceeded to have their day.

They didn't have to wait long for the results of their actions. The teachers' reactions were mixed, some of them were horrified, some were quietly proud, and most of them didn't care, but they all at least tried to act like nothing happened. Yet the moment finally came and all the girls wearing suits, including Hanji, were called to principal Darius Zackly's office.

“What is the meaning of this? Don't school rules mean anything to you? Explain yourselves!” Mr. Nile Dawk demanded, he was clearly stressed out and he looked like he was going to have a seizure.

“Calm down, Nile, there's no need to yell” Mr. Erwin Smith rebuked him calmly.

“We were supposed to dress up formally and so we did. There is nothing wrong with our outfits” Mikasa answered with her usual unbothered expression.

“I don't see anything wrong either. These students look as elegant as they are supposed to” Mr. Smith agreed.

“But they wear clothes assigned for boys!” Mr. Kitz Woermann yelled and the blond teacher looked at him carefully, before speaking.

“Clothes have no gender” he stated.

“Unfortunately the school rules are clear about what the students are supposed to wear” principal Zackly fixed his glasses.

“Maybe this is the time to change the rules?”

“Are you seriously suggesting changing years of tradition just become some students can't keep up with it?” Mr. Dawk was getting angrier, but Mr. Smith was not easy to be provoked.

“If they can't, maybe there is a bigger problem? Look at all those students, this is not a single case. And there's more of them, this is a group protest. So maybe we should consider that it's time to change what isn't working anymore. Traditions are supposed to guide us, not limit our growth.”

“You are saying there is more students supporting this idea?” principal Zackly caressed his beard and looked at Erwin with curiosity.

“Of course” the teacher nodded and opened the door. A rather large group of boys entered the room and gave the traditional salute.

“Principal Zackly, with all respect, if you want to punish them, you would have to punish us as well!” Eren declared and no one disagreed with him, because for the first time he wasn't talking what seemed nonsense.

“Eren Jäger. I should have known it was you who stands behind all of this” Mr. Woermann clenched his fist in anger.

“Eren has nothing to do with that. It was my idea. Mine and no one else's” Mikasa said firmly.

“It doesn't matter whose idea it was” Mr. Keith Shadis spoke for the first time since this meeting started. “We should decide what to do now.”

“So you all agree with Mr. Smith and all this... protest?” the principal asked the boys, who all nodded in confirmation. “Very well. Then let's do this: since you claim clothes have no gender, then tomorrow you all come to school in dresses and no one will be punished, also we will change the school rules. Does that sound fair?” he proposed and the boys' confidence visibly lowered.

“It does. We are up to challenge” Levi said with his usual poker face, though his gritted teeth and slightly furrowed brows were giving away his determination and anger.

“Very well. You are dismissed” he decided and the students left the teachers to deal with any disagreements on their own.

“How did we get into this?” Jean ran his fingers through his hair.

“We can't do that” Reiner protested.

“We have to. Remember why are we doing it: for our friends. All the girls decided to risk getting in trouble for today, yet they did it, because it was the right thing to do. Now it's our turn, are we going to be little cowards or can we face it like men?” Armin reminded them, his speech raised their morale a little. He knew he was right and his friends knew it too. Besides he wore girly outfit before and he knew it was nothing bad.

“You don't have to do that. None of you had to” Hanji spoke quietly, they felt overwhelming guilt about everything that happened. “I'm sorry for making this much trouble, I should never have said anything, I should have acted like it wasn't a big deal” they pushed their glasses on their head and rubbed their eyes.

“Shut up, four-eyes. You have the right to be yourself and no one can tell you otherwise. At this point it's not even about you anymore. They want a war. So I can gladly provide one” Levi growled and only Hanji knew how much affection he had just expressed in this angry statement. “If they think a piece of clothing is going to ruin our confidence, they're so wrong.”

“Alright then, if Levi-senpai can do that, I guess we all can” Oluo shrugged. He looked at Petra and for the first time he saw admiration in her eyes. It was definitely worth doing it then.

“Thank you. It means a lot to us” Christa smiled sweetly.

“You will thank us tomorrow, when we prove our point to the teachers” said Levi.

The next day however, they were even less sure if it was worth doing. Even during the road to school, everyone was unusually quiet.

“Eren? Are you alright?” Mikasa asked shyly, when they met with their friends, only Armin and Connie didn't seem to have much against their clothes. “You know you didn't have to do this, right?”

“You think I could back out like a coward after you have fought so bravely for Hanji and for the right cause? To admit the teachers were right, that wearing this dress, this meaningless piece of clothing can shatter my manliness and hurt my pride to the point I choose to spare myself embarrassing and abandon my friends in need? I thought you know me better than that” he looked at her and she gave him one of her most beautiful smiles.

“Yeah, when I told my mom about it, I was sure she was going to slap me or even disown. But she suddenly started crying and said she's proud of me for being willing to sacrifice myself for my friends. And I guess it made me feel better” Jean confessed and Mikasa looked at him.

“You can be annoying, but this is very mature of you. I really appreciate that you didn't back out. Thank you” she said and he suddenly blushed, clearly not being used to such kind words.

When they arrived to school, they were very relieved to see that they weren't the only ones who wore dresses just like they were supposed to. They could see Petra chatting with Oluo, Gunther and Eld; Marco talking to Ilse; Reiner, Bertholdt and Annie, trying to act like they didn't exist; Hitch, who at once wasn't making fun of Marlowe; Franz and Hanna lost in their own world; even Rico, who usually wore her sport suit, was wearing a dress, just like her friend Ian, they were looking at the walls and seemed to lament they won't be cleaned today too. Finally, the first year students saw the core of Survey Club: Moblit was reading a book, Miche and Nanaba were chatting about something quite cheerfully, all not bothered by their outfits at all, while the other couple was just their usual self, excited Hanji and grumpy Levi. And whoever saw them, simply couldn't not stare. Hanji had their hair down, it was messy and fluffy, because of its cut, but the way it fell around their face was really bringing out their beauty. Hanji was never considered casually beautiful, but now everyone could see how terribly wrong they were: Hanji was gorgeous and they didn't even put any effort to look like this. All it took was to loosen their hair and put a dress on, and suddenly everyone was aware of their beauty. And Levi... this guy was incredible, he had his usual grumpy expression, but even in a dress he looked absolutely amazing. These two totally rocked in those outfits and everyone was staring at them either with adoration or jealousy. Their obvious confidence and radiating boss energy was very helpful for everyone who felt down about their clothes.

That was until Mr. Erwin Smith joined them and absolutely stole the spotlight. He was wearing his usual shirt and tie, but instead of pants, he had a skirt. And he wore it with so much confidence that he looked awesome.

“Even you had to do that, sir?” Sasha asked when the young group approached them and the teacher just smiled.

“I didn't have to. I decided to, because I realized that if I was defending you so strongly, I could set a good example myself” he explained. The students looked at him, very impressed. He didn't have to unite with them, yet he chose to and he wasn't ashamed at all. “It was not an easy decision, but I knew you were going to need support in this difficult day. So here I am.”

“Mr. Smith, you are the best!” Connie exclaimed and no one could disagree with him.

The rest of the day was very challenging. Boys were not used to wearing dresses at all, but luckily every one of them had girls who were experts in preventing any wardrobe malfunction. They were also ready to protect their friends from any bullies, and unfortunately they had plenty opportunities. But it was worth it, at the end of the day, principal Zackley informed them, that he didn't believe they could do that, yet they did. And deal was deal, the school rules were going to officially be changed. It was the moment Hanji couldn't take it anymore and they just started crying.

“Stop it, four-eyes” Levi said gently.

“I'm sorry, I just... I'm so happy and I can't believe it's real” they laughed through tears and pushed their glasses up, so they could wipe their eyes. Suddenly they pulled their friend in a tight hug. “Thank you, Levi. Thank you for everything” they sobbed.

“There, there. Don't you dare to ruin my dress” he warned them, but put a hand in their hair and caressed it softly. He actually couldn't care less about his clothes as long as Hanji was comfortable. They pulled away after a moment, smiling sheepishly. “Better?”

“Yes. Thank you, Levi.”

“You're welcome.”

The next day everything went back to normal. Well, almost everything, because those two days definitely strengthened relationships. There was more understanding and affection in all friendships, and the taste of success really made everyone more confident. Some teachers weren't happy about it, but they didn't have much choice than to accept their loss. Even more, when a couple of days later, principal Zackly got a report that the results of the inspection are very positive and the school is doing just fine...

[ashley-incharge]

It’s a.... | Ashroo

Ashley and Roo find out the sex of the baby. [Dated: May 21st]

@littlemister-roo

ASHLEY:

Ashley could hardly believe what they'd told her. "It's a boy!" The nurse said as she did her ultrasound, pointing on the screen to show what she was seeing and Ashley had...admittedly...been shocked. A boy? Ashley didn't know what to do with a boy! Boys weren't as cute or easy and fun to dress.

After some theatrics and yelling long enough to insist they double check for sure, Ashley learned she had to accept her fate there. She was having a boy. They were having a boy. What a disappointment. Ashley wandered out of the doctor's office, not really paying much attention to Roo as she did it, a hand over her stomach as she grumbled to herself.

"A boy? Seriously? What good's a boy! You were supposed to be a girl. I know what to do with girls."

ROO: 

Roo had surprised, to say the least. A boy? Really? For a split second he'd felt a surge of excitement and pride. It was going to be a boy! He was going to be a father to a son!

But then Ashley had started with the dramatic stuff and the magic of the moment vanished. They got through the rest of the appointment with little fanfare, and as Ashley stalked from the clinic, muttering at her stomach, he followed, bemused.

"It's not so bad, princess," he commented dryly. "Think of it as an opportunity to expand your horizons. You get a mini-me all to yourself and an excuse to become an expert in little boy fashion trends." He smirked. "Sounds like a double win to me."

ASHLEY:

The disappointment was tremendous for Ashley, if only because she had imagined up until this point that of course it would be a girl. Why wouldn't it be a girl? But then the nurse said what she said and now here they were.

Ashley practically stomped away from the office in the direction of the park. She was grumpy and Roo was definitely not helping things in the slightest.

"Not so bad? Really? I don't think a mini Romeo is at all what I would have wanted. I don't want my child to be an idiot!" Oh god, her child might be doomed to be as ridiculous as his father. "Why me?!" She wailed, and admittedly she was feeling it a little more intensely than she might have otherwise, but it was just...it just...the baby was a boy! ROO:

Roo's eyebrows flicked up at her dramatic outburst. He knew it wouldn't help anything but he couldn't resist rolling his eyes because, of course she couldn't not insult him every chance she got.

"You are being awfully dramatic, don't you think?" he asked, crossing his arms. "The kid is a boy, the sooner you accept it, the better for all of us." Usually he had no problem ignoring the jabs at his intelligence. That had always been part of whatever the spark between them was. But having the same jab directed at their kid really rubbed him the wrong way.

"Our kid is not going to be an idiot." He grinned, a bit smug. "He'll be creative and funny and oh so charming." And hopefully a lot nicer than his mother, Roo added silently. ASHLEY:

Oh why was he being so horrible? Ashley was experiencing a major crisis!

Tears flooded her vision, and while it would ordinarily embarrass her at how easy it was for her to cry these days...well. She was pregnant so she had an excuse, and they were out in public, so if nothing else should someone notice she could talk about how horrible Roo was being.

"You mean the better for you! You and your plans to corrupt our baby and make him a...a...geek!" She sobbed, rubbing her eyes furiously and shaking her head. "Ohhhh this is tragic. I had a billion girls names in mind!" ROO:

For a brief moment, Roo felt bad for Ashley. He didn't like to see her cry. It felt off—like they were in some weird alternate universe where Ashley Armbruster would cry over anything.

But then she started with the insults—again—and he snorted. It was on the tip of his tongue to shoot out a snarky retort, but he stopped himself and just sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. And she called him ridiculous?

"I don't think encouraging a kid to enjoy their interests, whatever they may be, really qualifies as 'corruption'," he said reasonably. "But seriously, calm down, Ashley. You're throwing a fit over something you have no control over and what good is it doing you?"

ASHLEY:

"Calm down? Calm down!?" She shrieked. The baby was a boy! How could the baby be a boy? It just didn't make sense. And she didn't care how ridiculous she sounded, she deserved to be upset for a while!

"Seriously what good's a boy? Boys are stupid. And loud and they're not as trustworthy as girls." Ashley sniffled, wiping at her eyes as she tried to take a few deep breaths. "I didn't want it to be a boy."

ROO:

Roo felt a surprising surge of anger at her outburst. It was almost—protective. At first he'd been almost amused that she would throw a temper tantrum over the gender of their baby. Something that was without a doubt outside their control.

But then it started getting personal. Not the fact that he was a boy and she was in essence implying that he was stupid and untrustworthy, no. She was talking about his son!

"Do you even hear yourself, Ashley?" he snapped, glaring. "You are talking about our baby, not me. Not some random kid on the street. Our son." He wanted to feel a little bad for her, seeing as she was crying, but anger and irritation overshadowed it. "If you hate boys that much, maybe you should rethink this whole full time parenting thing, because it won't do any of us any favors if you plan to go around telling our kid how stupid loud and untrustworthy he is."

ASHLEY:

Ashley's face flushed, and her upset turned to anger right along with him. How dare he suggest that she not be a parent to their child? She had the right to be shocked and upset! It didn't mean she wouldn't look out for their kid! In her opinion it was more her kid than his anyway. Her body disrupted? Her kid. Roo could suck it.

"Do you hear yourself? Can I not have a second to be upset? Huh? I'm carrying this kid inside me so really he's like...70 percent my child and 30 percent yours." Ashley glowered at him. "Besides, I have a right to process through it. I would never treat my child like that. I have a brother too. You don't hear me being a bitch to him."

ROO:

There was a time when he would have backed down from Ashley and tried to placate her—but not anymore. There was a lot more than popularity on the line now and somehow Roo no longer cared what she thought of him.

He glared in frustration, his fists clenched at his sides. "Do I hear myself?! I'm not the one over here throwing a tantrum. Sure you can be upset—take all the time that you need to process, but Jesus Christ, Ashley! What does having a brother have to do with how you will treat our kid? Because from where I'm standing, it sure sounds like you won't love our son as much as you would if he was a daughter and if you ask me, that's pretty fucked up."

ASHLEY:

Her anger went from a simmer to a boil. How dare he tell Ashley that SHE was fucked up? How dare he? He didn't know anything! Not to mention he had no clue about everything that Ashley had ever done for her little brother.

"Fuck you. Fuck you Romeo DeRosa. You clearly don't know a damn thing. I practically raised my brother and miraculously he hasn't turned out to be the worst human being on the planet. Unlike you. How dare you suggest I won't love my son!"

ROO:

"Then ACT LIKE IT!" he shouted back, not terribly concerned that they were walking down Main Street and half the town could probably hear their argument now. "You can cry about it all you want, storm and rage, whatever! But for the love of god, stop acting like our kid is cursed just because he's a boy!" He paused just long enough to huff a breath, grinding his teeth in anger. This was so like her. Never wrong about anything, even when she was clearly acting like a lunatic.

"You're only mad at me because I touched a nerve, didn't I? Well, just because you don't like what I said doesn't make it any less true. I'm not the bad guy here, Princess, try to remember that for half a second."

ASHLEY:

How dare Romeo DeRosa yell at her? He wasn't fit to polish her boots! She hated that he thought he was better than her for being upset for a moment. She hated that he thought he'd be a better parent than her. How dare he sit high and mighty when he was the one who'd put her in this mess!

So Ashley started thinking. There was no way he'd let him make her look like the bad person forever. Oh no. She was going to bring the shame down on him. She burst into tears, loud wailing tears that the whole town could probably hear. She wanted to be an actress once. This was definitely within her ballpark. And then all she had to do was wait for it and then...

"Wow what the bloody hell is going on over here?" Wilbur called out, making his way over to the two of them with eyebrows furrowed. Ashley sniffled, wiping at her eyes and pointing at Roo. "He...he...he won't stop yelling at me!"

ROO:

Roo snorted, rolling his eyes at her dramatics. Like seriously? She was going to play the victim here. Like, sure. He got that she was miserable and was generally content to deal with her moods. She had a right be grumpy and emotional here. But today she had just pushed it too far and refused to see reason.

"Right, Princess," he scoffed, crossing his arms. "You left out a few key details. Like the part that you threw a hissy fit about our baby being a boy and when I pointed out—quite reasonably, I might add—that it wasn't the end of the world, you started going off about how awful and stupid our son was going to be!"

He turned to the guy, recognizing him as Wilbur Robinson from school. He was one of those guys who liked to hang around the Ashleys for popularity points. Whatever. "Well? What do you think?" he asked pointedly. "Guy to guy—don't you think its pretty ridiculous to lose your shit because you find out your expecting a son even though you've already decided you hate boys?"

ASHLEY:

The fury only built up in her, fury that he would dare to share those details with anyone. Let alone Wilbur Robinson. Her cheeks flushed, but she made sure to keep her face that of one that was sad and hurt and not absolutely fuming. She had to keep Wilbur on her side after all.

Wilbur put a hand on Ashley A's shoulder, a sympathetic grimace on his face before he glanced over at Roo with a raised eyebrow. "Don't you think it's pretty ridiculous to lose your shit on a pregnant girl? I mean yeah it's kinda bad but her emotions have to be wild." Not that Wilbur knew much about pregnancy. Only that it didn't take with his mum.

Ashley sniffled, wiping at her eyes sadly. "I was just...I understand girls better. Is that so wrong? I just...I..." she started to sob again, leaning against Wilbur to play up the theatrics. Wilbur to his credit didn't draw away or side with Roo and that amde him one of her favorite people in that moment.

ROO:

"You clearly don't know Ashley very well, at all," Roo couldn't help but point out. "If you did, you would know her emotions are always wild." What? It was true. She'd been no less mean and manipulative before all of this.

"But sure, whatever." It was pretty clear to him that Ashley was—well not faking it exactly. He believed she was an emotional wreck, just—she was totally milking it to gain a sympathy vote from her audience. "Are we done here? Or did you want to scream about how stupid and idiotic and untrustworthy boys are some more?"

ASHLEY:

"You're still insulting her? She's carrying your kid. Talk about a shitty thing to do," Wilbur remarked, patting Ashley's back gently as she continued to sob at his side. Honestly it was a little gross to have a wall of water basically on his shirt but whatever. At least Ashley A. seemed to trust him.

Ashley sniffed, lifting her head and glaring at Roo. "G-Get out of here. I'll...I'll tell you when the next appointment comes up." Or maybe she wouldn't. He really infuriated her.

ROO:

Ugh. What was wrong with people? Letting her wrap them around her little finger like that, it was so annoying. Roo, of course, chose to ignore the fact that had been him just a few months before. That was so not the point!

He rolled his eyes. "Right Wilbur, because you totally know anything about this or what its like to try and have a reasonable conversation with her. But sure, take her side. Whatever." He shifted to address Ashley. "Fine. See you around, princess." Turning on his heel, he stalked off, glad to be getting away from the dramatics. Somehow he had a feeling that parenting itself wouldn't be nearly as dificult as dealing with his son's mother.

[mcyslarb]

CHARACTER INTRODUCTION

THE BASICS

NAME/NICKNAMES: May Parker

ALIAS: “Aunt May”

AGE: 50

PREFERRED PRONOUNS: She/Her

AFFILIATION: #teamspiderman (or, at this point #teamspiderpeople)

FACECLAIM: Paget Brewster

THE DETAILS

FAMILY: Her parents are deceased, she doesn’t have any siblings (that she knows of) and they lost Ben circa pre-Civil War, I believe. All in all, it’s mostly always just been her and Peter. What’s more of a dream team, anyways?

THREE FAVORITE THINGS: Thai food, denim jackets and her #1 nephew.

EDUCATION: A college graduate who spent more time looking cool than studying but she got by, thank you very much.

SKILLS: Being a kickass aunt is a skill. She can also get wine stains out of white dresses, knows pretty much all of Stevie Nicks’ discography, once tied a cherry stem with her tongue and was a two-time ‘if you can get it all, it’s free’ champion at some local diner.

WEAPONS: Just her lowkey fists of fury, huh.

ABILITIES: N/A (the stellar BS detector isn’t universally recognized, unfortunately)

THE QUESTIONNAIRE

IN THE LAST YEAR SINCE THANOS WAS DEFEATED, WHAT HAS YOUR CHARACTER BEEN DOING?

All in all, rebuilding her life and attempting to keep some semblance of normality and stability in Peter's life. The usual stuff, y'know. A roof, a curfew(ish), at least three meals a day that include some sorta vegetable. A lot of pretending that she knows what she's doing in the face of the world literally crumbling and then spitting everyone back out like it was nothing. No big, just another manic Monday in NYC. May's always been pretty good at rolling with the punches. Before Peter's parents died, she was more than settled on being the Cool AuntTM to the absolute max. She was going to sneak Peter his first beer, let him drive her car, not embarrass him when he brought a date around for family dinner but things changed, obviously.

So she rolled with it. Being so suddenly in the know and in the center of things though, she definitely felt a big need to actually do something. Be proactive. Help people; it’s what Peter did, it's what Ben would have done. Despite the lack of super-juju, she did her part where she could helping those whose lives were totally messed up by the ole snap-a-roo.

May absolutely insisted on knowing all the information she could afterwards too. I mean, remember when her kid literally went to space without calling? Yeah, samesies.

WHAT HAS YOUR CHARACTER LEARNED IN THE AFTERMATH OF THANOS, HIS SNAP AND EVENTUAL DEFEAT?

May already had her fair share of experience when it came to grief. She'd known loss, she already knew that permanence wasn't real and you could do every little thing right and still end up heart broken. You never know what the day is going to bring. But this was...a lot. In a way she was weirdly grateful that she'd at least dusted too because being left behind knowing that Peter was gone? That would have been one loss too much. Knowing that she was supposed to have protected him and that she had, undeniably, failed in that? It would have been heartbreaking.

Actually, it still kinda was. Even though they all came back, even though the heroes won and the bad guy was defeated, she still felt as if she had failed. You want the best for your loved ones, you want to keep them safe but what was she was meant to do in the face of something like that? I mean, sure, if she had been there... She definitely would have taken a swing at Thanos for even looking at Peter wrong but that's just the point: she wasn't there and that stuck with her. She was probably a lot more overprotective, insisted on almost constant communication and may have had a small, minor cry over a burnt lasagne (but, like, it wasn't about the lasagne).

Still, there is hope, isn't there? Even in the face of what, for her, was the literal end of the world... There was hope. There had been some wild solution to fix everything, even if it had come at a price. Despite the worst of odds, they still got saved. That was something at least, you know?

THE SAVAGE LANDS IS A NEW AND DANGEROUS PLACE, HOW IS YOUR CHARACTER COPING WITH THE NEW ENVIRONMENT?

Nope. Nope, nope, nope--- no, thank you. She's been a city gal her whole life, hasn't even been on a camping trip so there's no way she's happy about being landed in...wherever the hell this is. Knowing her luck, this will definitely be more Jurassic Park than Land Before Time, you know? If she can make it through the literally day without being eaten, then we can talk.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Headcanons;

May was the leather pants clad, motorcycle riding, tattoo her parents never found out about having kinda gal who you never would have imagined Ben Parker to end up marrying. Mostly because, well, she'd said on multiple occasions she wasn't the marrying type- unless there was some kinda Elvis impersonator involved. They were best friends since high school though, even went to the same college and just when she thought she couldn't handle having another bad boyfriend (or girlfriend), he finally fessed up about his F-E-E-L-I-N-G-S. The rest was, as they say, history.

Definitely felt too young to be a mom. Well, guardian. Aunt with responsibility. May had never considered kids before and she was scared to death when they first took Peter in. Ben was perfect as always and yes, she'd literally loved that little kiddo since the day he'd been born but it was still scary. What if she forgot to pick him up from school and he joined a biker gang? What did kids even eat? Did she really have to say things like 'do your homework' and 'eat your larb' outloud? Needless to say it all worked out in the end but despite faking it 'til she made it, she was 100% freaking out, lowkey, at the time.

Never dated for a long time after Ben. She showed up to a few dates (online dating... Way scarier stuff than raising a kid) but often ended up bailing or ghosting before they could even show up. Even now it still feels kinda off. Sure, she'll flirt and she has a beating heart but as for epic, true, soulmate, matching tattoo love? She feels like she had it. Done, dusted (poor wording) and that's just...how it is. No big.

Read a ton of blogs about how to handle raising a teenage boy and felt very confident in all she had to say, however ridiculous. Lucky she and Peter have always had a really open and honest relationship. She's always wanted him to feel like he could talk to her about anything. They were a team and it'd always be them against the world, no matter how weird things got.

Loves a two-tone double denim look! Loves some high-waisted jeans. Absolutely adores literally anything with stripes and she shan't be stopped. Always looks great, let's be honest.

Looks like a cinnamon, really is a cinnamon roll...until you try and mess with her spidernephew.

[lethe-distillery-blog]

The Philanthropist

It took everything in me to not break down into tears in the parking lot of Gage Enterprises and Investments Incorporated. To say that it had been a long four hours was as simple as saying the ocean was a large puddle. Technically, it was true. In the most basic stretch of the definition. But if I stopped, if I allowed everything to catch up to me, I would break, I would fall apart and crumble and I couldn't let that happen. I needed to do this. This was the last shot I had of still having a house in the morning.

My rust bucket of a 1991 Ford Mustang looked out of place beneath the shadow of the steel and glass building; not to mention it's companions were things that likely cost as much if not more than the dump I called home, I was just thankful that she hadn't decided to backfire or else someone would call the cops thinking I was here to rob the place. I looked around slowly, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. It was something I had seen on a Youtube ad about how to relax, and right here, now, of all times, I needed it.

The receptionist gave me a polite, but cold smile as I approached her rather large desk, with whom she shared it with two others. "Can I help you?" She asked in that polite kind of way that assumes you're lost.

I forced myself to not look down at what I was wearing, the pencil skirt and blouse were for work, but also so happened to be the best-looking things I owned and I had figured that though it wasn't perfect, it wouldn't hurt. "Yes," I took a long reassuring breath, in through the nose, hold three seconds, out through the mouth. "I am here to see Gage Harrison."

Her expression was plain, even though she did her best to hide the disbelief from her features. "He's the top floor," she indicated a row of elevators and I nodded my thanks, doing my best to swallow down all fear and trepidation and walk to the elevators as if I owned the place. Well, maybe not the place, but maybe some small modicum of dignity and self-worth. I could at least have that, right? I stepped into the rich walnut paneled box and the doors slid shut without a sound. Scanning over the buttons I found floor 43, the top floor, whispered a prayer, and pushed it. I started moving after a slight delay.

In the lonely confines of the elevator, with the distance from everyone, and the half a moment to breathe; everything crashed into me. Hard.

"What do you mean we got an eviction notice?" My voice had been louder than I meant, but the shock of it had caught me off guard as I had been getting ready for work. I pulled the paper close and started reading.

Carson, my husband, had looked distraught. "Baby look, I can explain." The writing was explaining it far better than he was, "I was hoping I could get the money together and pay it off before you noticed." Before I noticed!

"Where did the money that I gave you for rent go?" I had a really, really bad feeling though the rest of the stupidity of what he said taking a second to register, "And where were you supposed to get the money from?"

He reached out to touch me and I felt his hand on my cheek, I almost wished he was angry too, I felt so helpless when he was pathetic like this. Like I wasn't allowed to be angry at him; when he was yelling back, I at least felt justified. "I," he hesitated, pulling his hand away and scratching the back of his neck. "I was doing really good last Saturday with the guys," I knew what was coming, but still, I naively kept hoping I was wrong, "I thought," he hesitated again, "I figured that I could win big and give you that new dress you've been wanting so badly." He didn't exactly fess guilt to his spending the rent money but this had happened often enough that I knew what had happened. "And I've been trying to get the rest back, so then you wouldn't get angry." Ah, because this was my fault I got angry that he had just 'lost' six hundred dollars. "That's why I didn't tell you, Jake said they're doing double the stakes tonight, I figured I could win it back, and pay it off before you even knew what was happening."

"Carson," it took everything in my power to not yell at him but the pathetic look in those big green eyes had me just sighing and shaking my head. He came up to me, a large man, he limped slowly on a leg that had been shattered in the prime of his life.

He wrapped his arms around me, "I'm so sorry Tess, I didn't ever mean to stress you out." I hugged him back, though I felt cold. It was just the anger, the pain of him lying to me, again.

"It's alright, I'll figure something out." I didn't know what, but, I would at least try.

I dropped Hannah off at school, hard to believe the munchkin had just started kindergarten this year. Her brother, Jeremy, was at home still, my mother-in-law, Sarah, had said she'd take care of him today since I needed to scrape together every penny to try and get rent together in less than twenty-four hours and had decided that forgoing the babysitter would help some, besides, it would be a nice visit for Sarah and Carson.

An hour after that, I was sitting in the mall parking lot and staring off into nothing. The bank wouldn't loan us the money. Even the quick-loan wasn't giving us money and I had always been led to believe that they gave money to anyone. I didn't know what else to do, I could get together a couple hundred, but this was our third miss, I didn't really blame Karol, she was trying her best and she had already been more than generous as tempting as it was to blame her, blame anyone really, for my problems. I didn't know what else to do. It's not like we could afford anywhere else, between a damage deposit, first month's rent, and a place that accepted Randy, I was seriously out of luck.

"It's a shame that Gage is too much of a royal prick and would never give money to anyone in need or I'd suggest him." Sarah ranted when I called her to ask what I should do.

I had only met the younger Harrison boy once; it was when Carson and I had gotten married. I had only been introduced to the man in passing, and the way he stood apart from everyone I figured he had been simply a long lost relative or friend that Carson had invited out of guilt or obligation. Never would I have suspected that this man was a brother. Though I did get an earful later when I had asked who he was. "He's my younger brother," Carson had spat, sounding angry and bitter, "gone off to business school like he's somehow better than us. Fool don't know shit even if smacked him in the face, you watch, he'll come crawling back and beg for a place among us and I'll shut him out just like he did us." After hearing the rage, and the chewing out I got after simply asking if he had an email I could contact him by, I had left the topic alone.

I had looked him up, with shaking fingers, on the free WiFi hotspot by the library. Gage Harrison, owner, and CEO of GEII, a multimillionaire. Parents and brother were listed in the Wikipedia article. Parents are Sarah and Parker Harrison, older brother of Carson Harrison married to Tessiah, children of Hannah and Jeremy. Honestly, it was a bit creepy to have this much known about me on the internet where just anyone could find it. If they had included my pittie Randy I would have flipped a gasket. Not sure why that would have sent me over the edge given that they already seemed to know more about me than was comfortable.

The ding of the elevator dragged me back into reality and I looked into the smooth glass panel and swore. I had been crying, and it was painfully obvious that I had been. Stepping aside, I took a few seconds to dab at my eyes and clean up some of the mascara that had flowed down my cheeks. Even on my dark complexion that was still terribly obvious. Not to mention it only took a good look to see that my eyes were swollen and bloodshot. Yes. I indeed look like a crazy bitch. All well, it's all I had.

I stepped out into a beautiful sunlit space, the ceiling had to be at least fifteen feet up. I stopped and looked around in sheer awe. Massive panes of glass stretched floor to ceiling, the floor was a brilliant black marble with gold sparkles that glowed in the afternoon sunlight. It reflected on itself causing glowing constellations across the walls, all tastefully paired with comfy looking black leather, black wrought iron, and glass, It had been perfectly put together, providing comfort but also commanding attention. I would know, I had been taking interior design courses before I had gotten pregnant with Hannah and I had dropped out to marry Carson and care for her.

I froze mid-step when I realized I wasn't alone. An older woman sat behind a desk at the far end of the room though she was smiling kindly. I went over, a bit hurried and she smiled kindly, "I still catch myself staring at all the reflections too. They move like smoke throughout the day." I could only imagine, though I still flushed furiously, like a child that had been caught doing something naughty. She smiled, "I'm assuming you're here to see Mr. Harrison, but he's on a call right now, would you like to sit and maybe have some refreshments?" She indicated the plush looking leather chairs and a coffee maker, water, and what looked to be a kettle and an assortment of teas. "I can't see him being much longer than a half hour." She smiled, warm and kind, I liked her immediately.

"Thank you," I trailed off and looked over her desk and flushed more.

"Wendy." She provided with even more warmth in her smile.

"Thank you Wendy." I smiled, relaxing slightly and went over and poured myself a mug of the hot bitter coffee and added a few sugars and cream. I needed the caffeine. I didn't even pull out my phone from my purse, I had told no one I had come here, given the horrific reaction I had gotten after the wedding, I figured that this was best done without knowledge from anyone. Ever.

Instead, I simply contented myself on walking around the room, impressed how the deep turquoise green color of the room lent itself to brightening the space rather than making it seem smaller. Though to be honest it was likely due to the space being massive already. It was easily a thousand square feet, complete with what looked to be like a conference area, complete with a carved ebony table that likely cost more than some of the cars outside. I knew because I had drooled over one at a studio once, the wood color was rich and warm, very close to my own skin tone, which made it all the more appealing to me. I couldn't help but reach out and smooth my fingers over the polished surface. It was warm from the sun, hard, but with that softness that wood held that was different than metal or glass.

I felt him before I saw him. Raw power. That was the only way to describe what I felt coming off him as I looked up at his approach. He was a tall man, though a couple inches shorter than his older brother I could see the family resemblance in the jaw, the shape of the eyes, and the way the eyebrows arched. Still, he held a predatory grace that definitely made me notice him, an innate confidence that had him knowing his place in the world and that he was content in it. His suit hugged a body that was lean and muscular and a flash on his right hand indicated a ring as it caught the light. His smile was warm, though it didn't quite reach eyes that were a deep hazel and moss. "Tessiah," my voice sounded exquisite on his tongue, rich and cultured, "it's been a while, please, come in."

I followed him past Wendy, who smiled at us both, and through the large walnut double doors and into a beautifully furnished office space. Large and airy it held a pair of the same leather chairs, a small table that looked like it should collapse under its own weight, a rather well-stocked dry bar, a massive kidney shaped ebony desk that was neatly organized of papers and a charming, old fashioned, rotary phone, and a laptop that held a slideshow of far off places. Would you like something more to drink?"

I shook my head, given that I had been drawn in by the design of the place I still had three-quarters of a cup of coffee. "Have to drive home still." I offered an explanation. He nodded his understanding and pulled out one of the leather chairs slightly, sitting, he tucked me in like a true gentleman before he went, found himself a tumbler, a bottle, and poured himself a couple fingers of amber ambrosia before coming over and sitting across from me. It smelled potent but sweet. He took an appreciative sip and closed his eyes slowly as he rolled the flavors on his tongue.

"So, how are the kids?"

I was startled, I was expecting to get straight down to business and my begging him for money but I smiled at the thought of Hannah and Jeremy. "They're good," I sipped my coffee, "Hannah started kindergarten this year."

He let out a long breath and smiled, "I hadn't realized it had been so long. I bet you're thrilled."

I was. "And frightened," I confessed. "Most of her classmates are white, and though it isn't an issue now, I worry about her when she's older." He nodded sympathetically and I continued. "She loves it though, keeps on saying she wants to adopt Mrs. Kinsmith to be a third grandmother."

Gage snorted a soft laugh, "I'm surprised she's still alive." I raised an eyebrow and he smiled, "she was around when I went to school, was still old then too."

I laughed. "Yeah, she's still there, and grumpy too." And slowly, I started talking about Hannah and Jeremy and before I realized it, and two cups of coffee later, it had been an hour and I felt nearly human again. He truly was a miracle worker. I felt like I wasn't taking on the world anymore, that maybe I wasn't alone in facing this all myself. That if I didn't exactly have an ally I at least had someone that I could talk to. "Thank you," I let out a long breath, "really, I needed that."

He nodded in answer and I could see the veil slide into place. "So, why were you sent? I thought they finally got the point."

I frowned at him entirely confused, "What? Who?"

"Carson, or his parents. All have come several times." I could hear the bitter fury in his tone though he did his best to hide it. I wouldn't think about it until I was driving home that he hadn't claimed any of them as family. "Asking me for money, begging for money, telling me that I owe it to them." His eyes were hard and flat as he stared at me, marbles held in his skull. "So, which of them sent you here looking for money?"

I swallowed, a bit fearful now but I answered honestly, I had a feeling he wouldn't be made a fool. "None of them," I took a long breath and forced it out after he raised his eyebrow. "I came by myself, I didn't know where else to turn," it all came in a rush, a painful wave that had tears trickling down my cheeks again, "no one will lend us money, not the banks, not the quick-lenders, no one. Even Sarah and Parker don't have the money. Carson gambled away our rent money and we're going to be evicted tomorrow unless I can get my hands on twenty five hundred dollars to cover rent."

"Of course they don't have the money," his growl was feral, "would be helpful if Carson worked a god damn day in his life and Parker could hold down a job more than a few weeks."

I sniffed back tears and gratefully took the tissues he handed me and patted my eyes dry again before looking back at the arrogant asshole. "That's harsh." His eyes were spitting fire and I met it, "Parker can't hold a job down because no one respects him," I didn't rise to the bait as he snorted disdainfully, "As for Carson, you know he was in for a scholarship and championship if he hadn't been in that car accident that shattered his leg."

I glared at the arrogant prick that had the audacity to laugh. "Oh, yes, Mr. Golden Boy had it all lined up for him, didn't he?" He looked at me and I could practically feel the rage flowing off him, "He was so picture perfect, could get coasted on by through grades because he was so great, everyone was so proud of him, he would become so much." He snorted and glared at me like it was my fault, "So Mr. Golden Boy goes out, tries for training camp and you know what happened?" I shook my head, helpless before the onslaught of his anger, "Mr. Precious failed!" He didn't even sound gloating, just pissed, "he goes out drinking, ran a stop sign in front of one Becca O'Reilly, who so happened to be killed instantly. On her way to a date, a date who had no idea what was going on because this was before the age of cell phones."

A tear slipped down his cheek and it all slammed home with a sharp, vicious clarity. "She was coming to see you?" My voice broke on the whisper, as if it held all the secrets of the universe.

"It doesn't matter," it did, a lot, it had crushed this man before me, "but since he was the crushed football star who could never play again, he got all the attention, he got all the sympathy; not some pathetic drama student the rest of the world couldn't give a shit less about." He glared at me and I could see the pain, the self loathing, and the complete hatred for his own brother.

"I'm sorry I brought up such terrible memories, I had no right. I'm so sorry." I got up, stumbling as I blinked back tears as I went to leave when a soft voice stopped me.

"You still need the money," it cracked slightly and I turned back to watch him pull himself together with a strength that awed me. If not for the bloodshot eyes, I would never have guessed that I just ripped apart this man's soul.

"I'll get it some other way." I couldn't even look into his eyes for long, guilt stabbing me through the heart.

He shook his head, "There is no other way Tessiah, you and I both know that." He looked at me hard, "I'll give you five thousand dollars on two conditions." I blinked at him stupidly, not even following for a heartbeat, "one, you keep it away from Carson." I nodded, I didn't plan on trusting him with money again, "two," the slow smile that formed was all kinds of evil, "you come with me, alone, for a week long vacation in Mexico to get, acquainted."