#emt stuff and camp stuff

[mcclintcock]

https://youtu.be/wjdrUksw8b0?si=UUqq5gshlDR8ozpi JONAH FROM VEEP HELPED MAKE THIS COMMERCIAL??????

(the fact i immediately thought of you lol --)

USHIAJDJW THE FOLGERS INCEST COMMERCIAL

thats one of my favorite commercials of all time it lives in my head rent free timothy simons helped make that WHAT

[pablitogavii]

Doctora

Summary: You start your internship in sports medicine at FC Barcelona, meeting an interesting footballer who quickly develops a crush on you.

Pairing: Pablo Gavi x Reader

Warnings: there will be angst/smut/fluff

possibly a short series if you guys like it :)

Pablo's POV

We just came back from the short break, and my groin somewhat healed but I kept feeling numbness in my upper thigh that I didn't mention to anyone. I hoped it would just go away and besides everyone who knows me knows that I HATE doctors!

I would rather push through pain for days than go see a doctor. It was since I was a kid and they couldn't find my vein during regular check up at La Masia that I developed real fear of needles or any hospital related 'stuffs'.

It was during training when I was trying to lift weights with my legs that I kept wincing so much so that Xavi pulled me to the side to ask if everything was alright.

"Soy bien, no te preocupes" I lied but man was suspicious saying I should do a check up with one of team doctors before the next game. It was my very own nightmare!

"But sir, it's really nothing..I'm probably sore" I said realizing just how illogical that was considering this was a first training since we got back from a break.

"He's scared sir! Pablito is scared of doctors!!" Ansu joked around as others joined him making me do my best to hide the embarrassment for being afraid of something so silly. I was Pablo Gavi after all!

"I'm not scared cabrón. I just hate being poked!" I said proudly pretending like I currently had no worry in my mind (which was far from truth).

"Scared or not, you have to see the doctor after training Gavi" Xavi ordered and I could do nothing but nod rolling my eyes at the guys who were smirking at me.

This is just my luck!

Your POV

It's been such a long morning already with lots of paperwork and barely any time for a proper meal or a cup of good 'wake me up' coffee.

I was interning with the medical staff as the young college student so of course they gave me all the grunt work but I didn't mind feeling grateful for the opportunity.

"Hola..um..I'm sorry, I need someone to get my blood drawn?" Gavi walked in and I felt myself staring at him before focusing on his question instead trying to forget that I found him extremely attractive!

"I can do that. Take a seat please" I said and he does but furrows his eyebrows in process.

"Aren't you like my age? Can you really poke people??" he said and I chuckled at his choice of words while prepping the syringe and the needle.

"Well, I got my EMT certification done early and now I go to school while working here and yeah poking people is kinda my specialty. Do you have an arm preference?"I said walking up to him immediately noticing that he was the 'nervous patient' which was kind of adorable knowing how confident he is on and off the pitch from seeing him around the camp.

"Well..um..I don't know" he said and that's when an idea popped in my head seeing that he had his eyes shut waiting for me to do something.

I slowly pulled up one of his sleeves putting on a tourniquet and wetting the gauze with some rubbing alcohol. That's when I start excercising my plan.

"You know I watched you play in the last game and I thought to myself 'damn! that boy is fine!'" I smirk seeing that he was starting to relax as his confidence returned the moment I said that. Pablo Gavi loved to be complimented, that's for sure ;)

"Is that right nena??" he said as I cleaned his skin but he barely paid any attention to my actions waiting to hear me say something back.

"Mhm..I mean you in that sweaty home kit..and your hair falling on your forehead..it did things to me" I said opening the syringe and slowly tapping his veins.

"I bet I can do better things to you.." Pablo said and I felt my panties getting wet knowing that my words were god honest truth and then I finally poked his vein pulling enough blood to run all the necessary tests.

"Alright! We are all done!" my words took him by surprise as he opened his eyes shocked that he didn't even notice me poke his skin as he was too busy imagining the things he wanted to do probably..not that I minded ;)

"Wait..so was this all to distract me?" he said and I smirked tossing away the waste before getting back to my desk.

"I will see you next week when the results come Gavi" my smirk only grew when he got up and walked over placing his fingers underneath my chin making me look up before suddenly crashing his lips onto mine leaving me in utter shock.

"I'll see you around nena" he winked before leaving. Damn it! Getting involved with a player!?

That's just my luck!

Guys please comment if you want this to become a series because I really like the plot :)

[lu-backrooms-au]

Meet the Chain

Wind Lon is a 13 years old boy and middle school student. He is the son of Time and Malon, and has a little sister Aryll who is 9. For fun he likes to play video games, play baseball on the city little league team, and he loves canoeing and kayaking and anything to do with boats. Don't tell his dad but he also has a secret youtube video channel where he and his friends do stupid stuff and post videos of it.

Time Lon is Wind and Aryll's dad. He retired from being a royal adviser and is now a horse rancher with his wife Malon on Lon Lon Ranch. Time is nonbinary and has no pronoun preference, although most people use he/they for him. For fun he likes to hang out with his kids and take them on trips, read and journal, spend time with horses and his wife.

Twilight Woods is the 23 year old ranch hand that stays with and works for Time and Malon. He is originally from the Ordon province but came to Castletown to find better-paying work. Twilight is a quiet and reserved fellow, lover of all animals, and good with kids. He uses he/him pronouns, but secretly, he's also interested in it/its pronouns.

Four Smith (21 years old) is Twilight's cousin (they have the same grandfather). Four is multigender (genderfluid) and uses he/they/she and occasionally neos; their specific pronoun preference changes day to day. Four has just completed a metalworking apprenticeship and works as a journeyman in the metals technology shop that their grandfather owns. Four very logical/analytical, tends to be on the quieter side, especially when in groups of people, but they do wear their heart on their sleeve. They recently started learning how to skateboard.

Wild Archer (formerly Wild Knight) is a 17 year old high school student. He and Hyrule are adopted brothers, sons of Saki and Teba (and Tulin is their 13 year old little brother). Wild is gender questioning although he is leaning towards genderfluid. He uses primarily he/him pronouns but is experimenting with she/they too. Wild loves any outdoor activity, especially rock climbing and photography. He has a tablet that also serves as an AAC device whenever he goes wordless.

Hyrule Archer (formerly Hyrule Walker) Just turned 18 and is in the first few months of the local community college's EMT course. Hyrule is gender questioning although he is leaning towards nonbinary or xenogender. He uses he/they and is experimenting with neopronouns. Hyrule enjoys hikes and bonfires, retro video games, escape rooms, and learning about magic. Both he and Wild are taking horse riding lessons at Lon Lon Ranch.

Sky Robinson is a 22 year old pilot and mechanic of small Loftwing aircraft. He primarily flies cargo and occasionally people from Castletown airport out to the various smaller towns and villages scattered about Hyrule Field. He is autistic and his special interests are aircraft, birds, weather, and astronomy. Sky thinks he might be genderqueer in some way although gender isn't something he's really concerned with at this time. He uses he/him but doesn't complain if people use different pronouns for him.

Legend Morgan is a genderfluid 19 year old. She is undecided about what career she wants to go into and is working as a cafe barista for the time being and taking college core requirements classes at night. Legend uses he/she/neo pronouns. For fun, Legend likes to try new hobbies, travel, shop, and collect knick knacks and tools. Legend, Sky, Warriors, and Warriors' twin, Linkle all rent and share a 4-bedroom house. He is friends with Hyrule and Wild who often study at the cafe he works at.

Warriors Taylor is a 23 year old firefighter by day and a drama instructor by night. Warriors also volunteers at the childrens' summer camps at Lon Lon Ranch. He enjoys strategy board games, watching TV, learning elemental fire magic, and hanging out with friends. He is cis, but is very, very gay. Warriors uses he/him pronouns. He has a twin sister named Linkle and no other family to speak of.

[ygolonac]

Welp, so much for completing 2022 without a cow-orker* doing something absolutely fucking incredibly stupid.

* security guard, but they hang out in the same area I work.

So, the business I work for has nine various buildings in a three-square-block area downtown - an area that been going downhill for the past few years, and this past year the recorded cockpit warning has gome from "PULL UP" to "YOU'RE FUCKED", with all the homeless/drug addicts/winos/hookers/work-release ex-cons/gang members/mentally ill folks in the area. (Feel free to select multiple catagories, they certainly do.)

Since we don't want staff/clents/family/vendors getting accosted, our vehicles being broken into/stolen/vandalized, and our properties used for drug deals/hobo camps/knife fights/shooting galleries/hooking, we have rented security... and hoo boy, do we get the loeest-bidder quality.

Today, one guard sees (hears, first) some rando screaming a couple blocks away. (Not on any of our properties.) Welcome To Downtown. Guard continues on his rounds, gets back to the office and lets us know what's happening.

Rando continues down the street ending up in in front of the office. Still screaming, crying, taking off his shirt and jacket (in mid-30s temperatures) and this is about when the other guard comes by.

And decides to help.

This is a mitzvah. It shows empathy, feeling for your fellow man and is commendable... if you engage brain before putting it in gear.

Seems dude had already been kicked out of one of our buildings earlier. (Before he started acting chemically impaired.) Guard #2 manages to get a story out of dude: that he had been just minding his own business (off our properties) and asked some other rando what time it was... and gotten "maced".

(I have no problem accepting that this could happen, having been working down in this area for nearly 20 years now, and seeing even dumber shit happening. Buuuut, it's much more likely he got "maced" for a reason.)

Guard #2, wanting to help, tells dude to use snow to try and wash it off his face, and tries to calm him down otherwise. Which ain't happening.

So the guard comes up with a brilliant plan, a beautiful act of kindness...

And brings Rando McFreakout into the office, to use the bathroom sink to wash the "mace" off.

THE OFFICE HAS A KEYCARD LOCK FOR A FUCKING REASON.

(Said reason being the place is chock-full of stacks of cell phones, laptop and desktop computers, power tools and a lot of valuable stuff that shouldn't walk away, and we've had previous randos wander in looking for free shit, come into the office *majorly* impaired wanting to use the laminator before straight-up grabbing a phone off the desk and heading for the door, come in to use the bathroom and absolutely trash it, or come by all meth'd up and start going aggro because we're not holding mail for them.)

Now, you may have noticed my use of "mace"; the reason for that is, while I'm not current on recent offerings in non-lethal defensive chemicals, I don't think any of them claim to be odor-free. And while there was odor, it was "homeless streetie", not a product of Fox Labs, POM, or Uncle Lester's Pissin' Hot Bear Seasoning.

We finally convince Guard #2 that he needed to call an ambo for his pet project, and that said project needed to go back outside without finishing the trashing of the bathroom. And this does happen... but since the guard gave the business name and not the street address, EMTs showed up at our main building across the street.

And so the guard and dude headed off to continue their adventure...

Except, as we found out later, dude did not want any help from the EMTs. Therefore, they left. Ang Guard #2, not wanting to give up on being helpful, brings him into the main building. (Which is open to the public, for people with actual business with the company.) And lets him into the bathroom there. (Which is also for the use of the aforementioned folks, not as a public restroom.) Which, in an entirely unforseen turn of events, is summarily trashed.

Remember back near the start, when I said dude had been kicked out of one of our buildings earlier?

Yeah. That one.

Eventually, they get dude removed again, and convinced him to fuck off. (By the very large company employee, not the five-foot nothin' guard.) And so guard #2 returns to the office, because hey, break time! And is utterly dumbfounded to be informed by the other guard that he needed to fill out an incident report, detailing *everything* that had happened, and why he took the actions he did.

Luckily, he got a phone call from the dayshift supervisor at the security company, telling him to go home early so things would calm down at the office. The other guard (who isn't as smart as he thinks he is, but is smart enough not to pull this fumduckery) was saying that guard #2 was probably going to be transferred to a different location.

Morgan Freeman: "He was not, in fact, transferred to a different location."

(Apparently, this was his third strike; my boss told me one of his other fuckups was spending hours trying to chat up our receptionists - "I really need a girlfriend.")

A wonderful way to spend 45 minutes, the last workday of 2022 and getting ready for a three-day weekend. Hopefully, someone retrieves his keys and keycard, so I don't show up on Tuesday to find the office burned to the ground or stripped bare...

More alcohol is needed.

Much, much more.

[anxiety-banana]

what number reblog is this? four? i lost count

-i feel like luke skywalker was an "i was born in the wrong generation" kinda teenager

-padme amidala gives off the same vibes as zendaya and i kind of love it?? sweet and sassy and the best fashion sense

-master yoda saw so many generations of jedi. he met his great-great-great grandpadawan. he raised so many children to adulthood. he saw so many of his loved ones die, and to him a humanoid life is just a blink of an eye. when did he get used to it?

-when ahsoka left the order she probably lived in her own apartment for some period of time. what was it like for her to have this space, all to herself? a promised space to come back to every day, that would not change unless she made it do so. she got to put fake plants of windowsills and drag a free couch from the side of the road into her home. she got to feed the street tookas.

-hera knew her mother. she loved her mother. she is a good mother because of hers before her, and i just know that she is like eleni syndulla in so many ways.

-so you know how tween girls will randomly get obsessed with paris for like six months (i was that girl)?? yeah i think twelve year old girls in the sw universe got obsessed with lothal or hoth or naboo or something and had stickers on their walls and fashion trends of the planet and bedspreads with their traditional colors and stuff

-leia organa became best friends with every guard she came in contact with. even the gruffest of senate guards were soft for eight year old leia this is simply a fact

-the amount of unlikely friendships star wars houses is absolutely insane. obi-wan and anakin. anakin and ahsoka. ahsoka and lux. luke and han. leia and han. ahsoka and sabine. zeb and ezra. kanan and rex.

-BLATENT AHSOKA SPOILER so the fact that they set up the last episode perfectly for a second season?? yeah not over that ALSO ahsoka and sabine just chilling at the end like "i guess we're just gonna live out our lives with the noti and hope thrawn doesn't come back for us"

-no more spoilers you're safe now

-could kids in star wars go to summer camp on different planets??? like imagine just going to Camp Rocky Roost in naboo

-i'm still not over higher education. i want to know what going to college was like OKAY. i just want to study species justice and find out how many years of training you'd need as an EMT and get a doctorate in jedi culture and practices even thought i'm no where near a jedi

-did anyone ever get so obsessed with being a jedi even though they weren't?? like was their ever a comic book type villain who had it out against jedi because their midichlorian count was too low to be considered and they're still bitter about it thirty years later

-obi-wan probably taught anakin how to drive a speeder ("legally, padawan") and that absolutely fills me with delight

star wars things that make me smaddy (sad/mad/happy):

(subtle ahsoka spoilers ahead)

-thinking about lil baby ahsoka falling asleep in plo's arms when she was just a tiny bean

-ezra knowing his parents before they died (unlike half of the chosen one tragedies out there)

-kanan not being around to raise jacen, but he still got to raise ezra and sabine

-ahsoka and sabine's complicated relationship and the fact that they keep coming back to each other because they know. they know they love each other and they know they work best together and they know that in the end they'll always return

-anakin's tiny little hands taking apart and putting back together every appliance obi-wan has

-force ghost anakin watching ahsoka live her life

-force ghost anakin being a proud dad to ahsoka when she takes sabine on as an apprentice and talking to mando and every little thing she does the same as she did when she was a teenager

-seeing little live action ahsoka mannerisms and phrases that just hit you as absolutely perfect ahsoka

-obi-wan getting to find comfort in someone like him; satine seeing this too-smart jedi and going "he's mine"

-watching hera interact with her son

-sabine's little loth cat

-sabine living in ezra's tower

-an ACTUAL TEENAGER PLAYING TEENAGE AHSOKA i'm proud of the casting director

-live action clone wars ahsoka and her baby face

-live action cw ahsoka's voice

-the bulky design of star wars mechanics because that's how it was imagined in the 70's that never changed even though modern technology has progressed

-a room full of force sensitive younglings making their toys float and the creche master having to stop them from "accidentally" throwing them at others

-jacen and chopper's obvious attachment like that droid took one look at the tiny child of mother and decided he had to become the best babysitter in the galaxy

-star wars as a franchise surviving and thriving and growing into such an enormous fanbase with people in production who actually love the characters and love what they're doing

-seventy year olds who watched a new hope when it came out being able to connect with their grandchildren over luke skywalker

-the brotherly affection between all the clones

-the thought of ahsoka learning some jawaese and anakin learning some togruti and them both learning mando'a and UGH they just love each other and they want to be apart of each others' cultures

-ahsoka always sparring with rex and winning for the first time and just absolutely losing her crap

-rex is just so proud

-ahsoka and cody bonding because they're the same rank and they don't feel like they have to perform for each other

-cody stepping back and letting rex become her ori'vod but he was prepared for her. he loves her and she doesn't know it. he always loved her, even if it was first just the thought of her.

-when they get to know each other ahsoka realizes cody is more reserved, but is just as crazy as her own legion and she just feels so at home with him

-ahsoka expresses her anger to anakin, because he understands, but then he reminds her that anger comes from a place of pain and hurt and sadness and she just absolutely loses it because she's so tired

i feel better now thank you for listening have a good day <3

[bobwess]

CW: 9/11

Let's preface this with: there are many people whose voices mean more about this. My story is a mild one, and just one of so many, and I'm not really sure why I'm writing it, but here I am.

CW: 9/11, death, suicide

I used to sit by the windows in the towers when I went to work with my Dad sometimes. There were a couple people who brought their kids every now and again during the summers. I used to think it was really cool that we were higher than all the helicopters that went by.

My dad was transferred out of there at the end of August 2001. He would have been there. Above the crash.

I was 9 years old when it happened. I was in my 4th grade classroom when it happened. It was the very beginning of the school day. We started class at 9am normally, and we were all sort of antsy because our teacher wasn't there. Which had never happened before. She came in maybe fifteen minutes late, crying. She told us something terrible happened but she wasn't allowed to say what.

Then she didn't teach us anything. We were told to read quietly for a little over an hour and then the vice principle came in and told us that we were going outside for extra recess. (Found out later it was after the South Tower fell but before the North.) The other classes didn't know anything was wrong, they were just excited for surprise recess. Our class was freaking out a bit because "something terrible happened", adults were crying, the teachers were all huddled together, and students were getting called to the office to go home left and right.

I was surprised they didn't send us home early for a while then, but later I figured out that we were too close. I think too many families knew someone and parents needed time to figure out what to do about it. Make arrangements for their kids to go somewhere while they handled things.

My parents both met me at the bus. My parents never came to the bus stop to get me, and my dad was supposed to be at work. They told me the twin towers were gone, and I made a joke about it (and I got yelled at.) I didn't know what "gone" meant yet.

Then my parents made me watch the news. For hours I watched footage of people dying, I watched news channels talk about how little we knew, and were there going to be more attacks? I listened to my dad talk about the people he knew, and try to figure out which of them were still alive. I didn't know many of them well. We heard about the initial emergency responders setting up base camp at the base of the towers, and then get killed for having done so.

I was young enough a lot of it went over my head, but sitting there for hours, watching the footage played over and over again, getting new angles when the news channels got them, seeing the people deciding to jump rather than burn. My friend's parents who were firefighters and EMTs up here going down to help fill the gaps left by losing so many of their responders at once.

It was chaos. No one felt safe. No one knew what to do. Not for months. Then it was all prep for war and freedom fries and other miscellaneous nonsense.

So many people I know lost someone. So many people I know saw it first hand. So many people I sort of knew died. At the time I didn't get it. It was too big, and it felt too fake, and I hadn't been to a funeral since I was 4. Death was a foreign concept to me then. Reserved for movies, which this felt like because it was on TV.

Over the next few months we were taught a lot about it. About how the country worked. About what this meant. The later stuff, the war stuff, obviously was a fair bit of misinformation. But there was something about learning about this tragedy first hand while it was happening and being sorted out as a kid. Really stuck with me.

I don't really have a point, I just wanted to talk about it I guess. I don't talk to Matt about this, he has his own worse story, so I don't really have anywhere else to just... talk. So. Thank you for listening.

(And for those of you like me who have anxiety about being taken the wrong way for "liking" a not-positive post, I know what you mean by liking it, don't worry.)

[quickspinner]

Not Exactly a Loophole (but he'll take it)

Luka's got a crush on one of his regulars, but there's just one problem. His mom may not be big on rules, but when it comes to her bar Nanarchy's, the few she has are nonnegotiable--including the rule that employees are not allowed to ask out patrons. With Juleka also pining for a cute customer, Luka's determined to find a loophole...but the universe seems to have its own plans.

Rating: T (mostly for language)

This one is a belated birthday gift, but not for me--for the lovely @mamanabeille! It was meant to be a meet cute featuring EMT Marinette, but bartender Luka kinda stole the spotlight, so it didn’t quite come out like I intended, but I hope you all (and especially MA!) enjoy it anyway! 

The bar was nearly empty the first time she walked in, but Luka was sure he would have noticed her in the craziest crowd. She paused in her approach to the bar when she saw him, but when Luka gave her a friendly smile and simply asked what he could get her, she came the rest of the way over and slid onto a stool, ordering her drink in a quiet, hesitant voice, pulling out her wallet.. 

“I thought Juleka was working tonight,” she said as he took her card and opened a tab for her. 

“She will be.” He glanced at the clock. “In about an hour.” 

Her eyes widened slightly. “An—“ She frowned, pulling out her phone, and then something seemed to click and she folded her arms, pouting, as he set up to mix her drink. Luka felt like pouting, too, over the fact that Juleka had seen her first. She was really cute.

“They told me the wrong time,” she grumbled. “Because they thought I would be late. Which means I nearly killed myself getting home to change and get back here for nothing .” 

“Not for nothing,” Luka said easily. “Juleka’ll be here in an hour. We’re not busy, I don’t mind if you camp out. You look amazing, I’m sure she wouldn’t want to miss you.” 

She looked a little confused for a moment, and then her eyes went round and she touched her fingertips to her soft red mouth. “Oh, n-no, I’m not, uh—I mean I don’t um—“

Luka winked at her. “It’s okay, I won’t tell her anything.” 

“Rose!” she squeaked, waving her hands so frantically that Luka instinctively slid her drink out of the way. “I’m friends with Rose! She wanted to come while Juleka was working, and I had a—a bad experience at the bar I used to go to, and she said that kind of thing doesn’t happen here, and a bunch of us were supposed to meet up so Rose could fli—TALK! To Juleka and the rest of us could have a drink and hang out in peace but they gave me the wrong time because I’m late for everything, but for once I’m not late and now I’m stuck here with you and—“ She slapped a hand over her mouth and looked so horrified that Luka could only laugh. 

“Well, Rose is right, we don’t allow any kind of disrespectful behavior here, my mom’s very strict about it. She values Nanarchy ’s reputation as a safe space and she’s very particular about it. I promise you, being her son wouldn’t excuse me from an ass-kicking if I was inappropriate with you, or stood by while anyone else was, so feel free to hang out and wait for your friends.” He picked up another glass, flipped it in his hand before scooping it full of ice, and then he filled it with water and set it in front of his reluctant customer. “My name’s Luka, just let me know if you need anything.” 

He lingered long enough for her to smile tentatively back at him, and then busied himself far enough away from her that she wouldn’t feel crowded, setting up the wells and making sure everything was stocked and topped off before the rush started. 

Marinette nursed her drink and pouted, annoyed with her friends for wasting her time this way. Sure, she was always late, but her job was demanding and she wasn’t always in control of when she was able to leave. She couldn’t just ditch Adrien to handle it all, that would be mean. As it was, she’d been late leaving her shift today, and she had scrambled home to get home and get herself presentable and get here in time. 

Then she walked in, triumphantly on time and not even in her work clothes, and those losers she called friends weren’t even here! And then she got all confused and tongue-tied and practically preemptively accused the cute bartender of harassment, even though in two minutes of conversation she could tell that he wasn’t anything like that guy that ran Graham’s and—

She groaned quietly and dropped her head on her arms. 

Luka didn’t look back at her, but there was a slight quirk of his lips and the tiniest motion of his head in her direction that said he knew she was watching him. He set the two handful of beers he had just picked up on the bar in front of him and dipped a hand in his back pocket, coming out with a bottle opener spinning on one finger. He flicked the caps off the bottles in quick succession and then with another twirl, the bottle opener went back to his pocket like a six-shooter into a cowboy’s holster in some old western. Marinette giggled, and only then did he tilt his head in her direction and wink. 

Marinette squeaked and buried her suddenly red face back in her arms. She was pretty sure she heard a low chuckle from down the bar. 

Juleka walked in about forty-five minutes later. She took one look at Luka and asked, “What happened?” 

“Hmm?” Luka looked up at her from where he was slicing limes.

“That’s the dumbest grin I’ve ever seen on your face,” Juleka commented as she tied her apron on. “And that’s saying a lot. What gives?” 

“Nothing,” Luka said, resisting the temptation to squirt her with lime juice. It was too early in the evening to escalate that far. “I’m just in a good mood.” 

Juleka’s eyebrows raised. “You’re always in a good mood. You don’t always grin like a dope.” Luka opened his mouth to say something rude when they were both distracted by a surprisingly strong but very feminine voice carrying the length of the bar. 

“Luka!” Both of them looked down the bar to the pretty dark-haired lady waving at him (and wincing slightly as she realized how loud she’d been), and Luka’s grin grew wider as he waved a hand to acknowledge her. 

“I’ll get it,” Juleka said as he reached for a towel to clean his hands.

Luka took a step back to block her from getting around him. “Oh no you don’t. She’s my customer.” 

Juleka blinked at him in surprise and then smirked. “Oh. I see.” 

“You see nothing,” Luka told her, tossing the towel at her face as he made a beeline down the bar. “Back off. You can serve their table later, but while she’s at the bar, she’s mine.” 

“Never knew you were so possessive,” Juleka muttered, moving the towel aside with two fingers and dropping it into the dirty bin with a gesture of distaste. 

“Laugh it up, I’m gonna get you back soon,” Luka called back, and turned to his customer. “Doing all right? What can I get for you?” he asked, smiling as he leaned his hands on the bar in front of her. 

“My friends are almost here,” she said, setting her phone on the bar where he could see the message chain. “I was going to go ahead and order for them if that’s okay?” 

“Yeah, sure,” Luka said, looking at the list of drinks. When he was sure he had the order, he leaned back and smiled at her. “You can go find a table if you want, I’ll get the drinks ready and have Juleka bring them to you.” He winked, and she giggled. 

“That would be perfect. And...thanks, Luka,” she smiled, blushing a little, and he thought his heart was going to burst out of his chest. “My name’s Marinette, by the way. Which...you actually probably knew, because you opened my tab, um...” 

“I did,” he grinned, and began setting up glasses on the bar top. “But it’s nice to hear it from you.” Marinette gathered her things slowly; she’d spread out across the bar as she’d waited, with pens and a small notebook and a set of index cards with neat notes scattered across her part of the bar.

Luka pulled his mind to the task, picking up a jigger and flipping it in his hand. Realizing that Marinette was still watching him, he poured some liquor and then gave the jigger a flip around his hand as he made eye contact with Marinette. He had to chuckle when her eyes widened slightly and her face flamed up red. She forgot all about picking up her things as she watched him mix the drinks, and he struggled not to show off too much, amused at her fascination. He quirked an eyebrow at her and she suddenly remembered what she was supposed to be doing, and began picking her things up haphazardly. She reached for a pen, but knocked it with her fingers, sending it spinning off the back of the bar. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry—” she exclaimed just as Luka’s hand snapped out and caught it before it could fall to the floor. Fortunately he hadn’t been holding anything liquid at the time, and he hastily picked up the shaker he’d dropped on the bar and set it back upright before handing Marinette her pen back.

“It’s okay,” he said soothingly. “No big, Marinette. Relax.” 

She was staring at him, her blue eyes round, and slowly she took the pen back from him. “Thanks,” she whispered, and shrank a little, tucking the last few things in her purse.

“My pleasure,” Luka smiled. “Seriously, Marinette, you’re here to unwind. Don’t sweat the small stuff, okay? No pressure here. Just take your time.” He flipped a shaker up over his shoulder and caught it behind his back, and Marinette put her chin in her fist and pouted again. 

“How do you do that?” she asked enviously. “I’m such a klutz when I’m not focusing.” 

“Practice,” Luka shrugged. “I’ve been working here since I was old enough to be behind the bar, so. It’s not really anything special, but it makes pretty girls smile, so…” He grinned at her, and then motioned behind her. “Table six is the quietest, over there by the wall. I’ll have the rest of these done in just a minute, and—”

“Marinette!” someone squealed from the door and Luka chuckled. 

“—And there’s your friends,” he said, as Marinette turned and waved. 

She turned back and gave him a smile that nearly knocked him off his feet. “Thanks a bunch, Luka, really. You’ve been great.” 

“Any time,” he barely managed to answer, and had to swallow quickly afterwards. He mixed the rest of the drinks on autopilot, his eyes darting back to Marinette as she and her friends settled at their table. He saw the petite blond with her raise her hand and wiggle her fingers, and a quick glance down the bar showed him Juleka standing as if she had been hit in the back of the head with a board, a faint rosy color tinting her pale cheeks.

Luka grinned and loaded the cocktails on a tray before carrying them down to her. “These are for six,” he told her, and she looked at him stupidly. Luka smirked. “You know that saying about people who live in glass houses?” he grinned, nudging her arm before he headed back to the next customer waving for his attention. “Don’t drop anything,” he called back, and heard Juleka snort. 

***

Girls Night was no longer the trial that it used to be. Marinette loved everything about Nanarcy’s . Their aesthetic was cool and unique, their atmosphere was fun and chaotic in a controlled way, their live music nights were amazing, and they didn’t overpour, so everybody was only as drunk as they wanted to be at the end of the night. 

And their bartenders were hot. Rose was head over heels for the quiet, dark-haired Juleka, and Marinette was pretty well smitten by the kind, gentle man with the shaggy hair and the soft eyes, who never seemed to take offense no matter how many times she put her foot in her mouth. She’d never been as early as she had that first day, but she did rush just a little to beat the girls there, so that she could sit and talk to Luka for a bit before the rush hit. 

He was just so nice , and easy to talk to, and perceptive, and she always relaxed after a few minutes in his company.

Unfortunately Marinette couldn’t be early all the time, and the girls were already at their table and there was already a crowd at the bar before she arrived.

She stood on her tiptoes, looking over the crowd, and saw Luka about the same time he saw her. He flashed her a broad grin that set butterflies wild in her stomach. She gave him a small wave and then formed her fingers into a d, their sign that she was the designated driver tonight. She saw him nod, and started working her way through the crowd to the bar. 

Luka picked up his napkin and did that funny flick with his fingers that sent it spinning onto the bar right in front of her. Marinette really wanted to know how he did that, but his hand moved so fast she couldn’t follow it no matter how many times she watched him. She saw him chuckle at her pout as he flipped a tumbler in his hand, filled it with ice and soda water,  and then set it on the napkin. “Good to see you, Marinette,” was all he had time to say, but his warm, smooth voice still made her melt a little on the inside. 

She lingered at the bar for just a moment, watching him joke and banter as he flipped and spun bottles and tumblers and shakers, dropping them to catch behind his back, his movements all smooth and practiced. He’d told her once that what he did wasn’t actually that hard, but it still looked like magic to her. It had surprised her at first; he’d struck her as a quiet, laid-back kind of guy, not someone who enjoyed crowds and attention—but then she’d seen him play with the band one night, and understood. Luka might be quiet on his own, but in front of an audience, he was a performer, and if she’d thought what he did behind the bar was impressive, seeing him on stage with his guitar was, well...breathtaking. 

For all that flash, though, it was watching him shake a drink that made her go weak, eyes glued to the lines of his arms and the slight smirk on his face. Marinette picked up her soda and headed back to the girls’ table before she could embarrass herself by swooning on the bar. The girls gave her knowing looks when she arrived, but other than the smirks, they left her mercifully alone about her increasingly obvious crush. 

Marinette felt fortunate that Rose was more fun to tease (and safer; Rose didn’t flail and knock over drinks when she got flustered). Rose blushed and denied and then gave herself away by sighing dreamily as she looked at the tall girl behind the bar. Marinette couldn’t help covering a snicker with her hand, though as her gaze followed Rose’s, her traitorous eyes snapped straight to Luka. 

He seemed to be in some kind of one-up contest with his sister, the grin on his face positively wicked as he balanced a cocktail on a bar spoon on his forearm—which required to him to keep his arm flexed in a way that made the normally subtle swell of muscles along his arm much more obvious. Marinette groaned and leaned on Rose, who was peeking through her fingertips and trying not to squeal as Juleka rolled her eyes and set up a row of glasses in front of the bar. Twirling a bottle in each hand, Juleka smirked at Luka. Luka was good, but Juleka obviously outmatched him in this context. She was herself beautiful and elegant, with her hair tied back in a thick braid and perfectly done makeup that highlighted her fine bone structure. Her features were a little rounder than Luka’s sharp angles, and she was tall and slender without being as lanky as Luka. The pair of them together were unfairly attractive. 

Juleka’s motions at the bar were fluid and graceful, without any wasted movement, and she was fast . She filled the cocktails on the bar in front of her, mixing them up first and then stacking the shakers to pour all four glasses at once. Then she turned to Luka, plucked the glass off of his spoon with a lifted eyebrow, and set it on her tray, swinging it up onto her shoulder. Luka made a laughing gesture that was clearly I surrender , and Juleka smirked as she went around the side of the bar.

“She’s so beautiful,” Rose swooned into Marinette’s side, and Marinette smiled, bumping her shoulder into Rose, who just flopped in the other direction to drape herself over Mylene and sigh some more.  Marinette gave her friend an affectionate look, and then tried to school her expression as Juleka appeared at their table, setting cocktails in front of them with practiced ease and a quiet, “Welcome back,” with a subtle smile. Her eyes, though a different color, were as intense as Luka’s, and Marinette thought they stayed focused on Rose for a beat longer than the others. Then Juleka’s gaze flicked to Marinette’s drink and her eyebrows lifted slightly. “Refill?” she asked. 

“No thank you,” Marinette said automatically, and Juleka nodded. Those amber eyes flicked back to Rose as she set the last cocktail down in front of her. “Enjoy,” was all she said, but there was a subtle quirk of a smile to her lips, and Marinette could feel Rose freezing like a deer in the headlights at her side. Then Juleka was gone again, her heavy braid swinging behind her, before Rose could even think of anything to say back. 

“Ooh,” Rose moaned, frustrated, grabbing her drink. 

“Next time,” Mylene said consolingly, patting Rose’s arm. “It’s busy here tonight. I’m sure she’ll be back when there’s more time to chat.” 

That was true, Marinette thought, but still...they’d been coming here for weeks and things didn’t seem to be going anywhere. She’d thought Juleka was interested but maybe…

“You know what, I’ve changed my mind,” she said, picking up her glass and sliding out of her seat. “I think I do want a refill.”

“It just tastes better when Luka serves it,” Alix snickered, and Marinette pretended not to hear her as she made her way to the bar. She needed some answers, and maybe it was time to try the direct approach. 

Luka was hopeless, he knew, watching Marinette’s table out of the corner of his eye even as he teased Juleka. He didn’t care if it made sense or not; he was crazy into the girl, and her mere presence made him feel more alive. 

Juleka snatched his cocktail and Luka had to move quickly to catch the bar spoon and dump it in the bin. He waved Juleka off with a laugh and glanced back at the table again where Marinette was consoling her little blond friend, who was clearly suffering after Juleka’s display. That only made him grin wider. 

Luka allowed himself one lovesick sigh. Marinette was so beautiful, and he loved the way she put so much individuality into the way she dressed, and the contours of the muscles in her arms as she waved them about, talking with her hands. She was funny, and she was sweet, and she was smart , and every time she came in he entertained fantasies of quitting on the spot, confessing his love, and running off with Marinette in the rain (he wasn’t sure why it was always raining in his fantasies, but it seemed to fit her for some reason). His mom would probably forgive him. Eventually. 

Juleka would kill him though, and besides, he liked his job and he got to see Marinette almost every week. And...maybe he was a little bit chicken. Just a tiny bit. There was every chance that instead of falling into his arms and agreeing to run away with him, Marinette would be startled and freaked out and run away without him, and then he’d be out of a job with a broken heart in the bargain. Just because she liked joking around with him, and watching him (because he definitely didn’t miss her eyes on him, with as often as his were on her), didn’t mean she was interested in the reality of dating him—especially if he were suddenly jobless. 

So the fantasies would stay just that for now. 

Ugh, sometimes he really wanted to...hug his mother in a bone-crushing but loving way and tell her that for someone so hung up on freedom, her rules were a righteous pain in his ass. 

That would probably get him fired too. If you fire me, I’ll have to come live back at home with you , he mentally argued with his imaginary mother, but it didn’t work any better in his imagination than it would have in real life.

Unfortunately Juleka didn’t seem to be having any better luck than he did. Luka had a half-formed plan to call in a favor so he could get Juleka cut early, so that she could run into Rose on her way out and get around Anarka’s rules that way, when he was startled out of his thoughts by someone calling his name.

Luka was moving down the bar to smile at Marinette before he’d even fully processed that she was calling him, but the crease between her brows made him hesitate slightly. 

“Juleka didn’t get you a refill?” he asked, but Marinette shook her head. 

“I told her I didn’t need one, and then I changed my mind.” She set her glass on the table and nudged it towards him. “Also...well, I want to ask you something.” She shifted uncomfortably, and Luka swallowed as if that would keep the sudden butterflies in his stomach confined there.

“Anything,” he said glibly, with a smile that showed no trace of his nervousness. “What’s on your mind?” 

“Well, it’s just...do you think…” She glanced up at him shyly, and looked down, cheeks pinking. 

Luka leaned his elbows on the counter and lowered his head, cocking it slightly to show he was listening. His fingers laced together and squeezed tight in front of him.

“Does Juleka like Rose?” Marinette asked, glancing nervously back at their table. 

Luka blinked. “Ah…”

“Before you answer,” Marinette said quickly, turning back to him. “It’s just that Rose really, really likes Juleka, but Juleka hasn’t...well she does flirt some, but Rose isn’t sure, and...I just don’t want to be encouraging her to pursue something hopeless, so I’d really appreciate it if you’d tell me now if Juleka’s not interested in her. I won’t say anything to Rose, not directly, I just...if it’s not going to happen, I can maybe get her to—”

“It’s not hopeless,” Luka interrupted, trying not to laugh, though whether at his own stupidity or Rose and Juleka’s, he wasn’t sure. “It’s definitely not hopeless. The only thing hopeless is my poor little sister.”

“Oh,” Marinette breathed, and then smiled. “Okay then. I’ll tell Rose not to give up?”

“Definitely not,” Luka confirmed, straightening. “But we’re not allowed to ask out customers, so she’s either got to catch Juleka on off hours or make the first move herself. Mom’s a real stickler about it. I’d get in less trouble for being high on the job than hitting on a customer.”

“Oh,” Marinette’s eyes widened slightly. “Oh, I see. I...I guess that makes sense. And Rose hasn’t wanted to be creepy if Juleka was just…” She blushed, surprisingly intensely. “You know, being nice because it’s her job.” 

Luka snorted. “Juleka’s not nice.” 

Something hit the back of his head and Luka straightened to find Juleka glaring at him. “What are you saying about me, jerk?” she demanded, and Luka rolled his eyes, looking back at Marinette.

“See?” he grinned.

“Shut up and move,” Juleka grunted, shoving his arm until he stepped aside for her to get by. 

“Someone’s in a mood,” he called after her, and she turned her back to the bar and flipped him off where only he could see. 

“Rude,” he chuckled, and focused back on Marinette. “Look, I can’t speak for her, but as her brother...I don’t think your friend has anything to worry about, yeah?”

Marinette gave him a dazzling smile. “Thanks Luka. I really appreciate it.” 

“Anything for you,” he grinned automatically. 

“Send us another round for the table when you get a chance?” 

“Sure. I’ll have Jules drop it off.” He winked at her, and her smile got even brighter.

“Perfect.” She gave a happy little bounce before she hopped off the stool and went back to the table. Luka watched her go, and saw her look back at him over her shoulder. He sighed. 

“Dumbass,” he said to himself, shaking his head as he turned away to get their drinks ready.

Well, at least Juleka would be happy. If Rose still felt weird about asking her out, he could still try and get Juleka cut early the next weekend. Victor was always asking for more hours, surely he’d do Luka a favor if it meant weekend night tips…

Not that that helped Luka any. He looked back towards Marinette’s table and sighed. 

Well, he’d get his own chance eventually—or he’d make one, if he had to. 

***

“I’m missing girl’s night,” Marinette huffed, throwing herself behind the wheel. She was missing seeing Luka, she thought petulantly. Her one night a week to see him and she was missing it because Adrien had said something stupid to the person resonsible for their schedules, and she was his partner, so she was guilty by association.

“I said I was sorry,” Adrien sighed, hauling himself up into the passenger side of the ambulance.”

“Say it again,” Marinette grumbled. 

Adrien groaned, slumping into his seat. “I promise that I have never in my life been more sorry than I am at this moment, facing this whole shift with you in this mood.”

Marinette glared at him, but the radio called their attention. 

Their first few calls were simple enough, but the next one made Marinette suck in her breath sharply. 

“What?” Adrien asked, looking at her. 

“That’s my girls’ night bar,” Marinette breathed. “26-year-old male…it could be Luka...”

Adrien raised an eyebrow at her. “You want to pass it on?” he asked, not unkindly. 

Marinette shook her head. “Nobody else is even close. Let’s go, but you take lead if it’s—if it’s someone I know.”

“It’s probably not,” Adrien reassured her, flipping on the lights and sirens.

Marinette made a noncommittal noise, trying to ignore the cold weight that had settled in the pit of her stomach. Adrien put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed—and then braced himself as Marinette pulled out into traffic.  

When they walked into the bar, they had to shove their way through the crowd that had formed in a ring being kept back by a man and a woman wearing shirts that identified them as security. 

“Marinette!” Rose cried, waving at her with one hand, and for an instant, Marinette froze.

Luka was sitting in a chair, looking dazed. He kept trying to get up, but Juleka shoved him back down with one hand. Rose was pressing a blood-stained towel to his head. 

“Oh no,” Marinette murmured. Adrien squeezed her arm, and then moved past her, his stride purposeful. Marinette pulled herself together and followed, pressing her lips together. This was her job, after all, and she was good at it. It was just another call, and Luka would be fine.

Luka was confused as hell, and his brain didn’t quite feel connected to his body. He was vaguely aware that his head hurt, but he couldn’t seem to make sense of what was going on. He’d woken up on the floor, and then he’d nearly fallen when he tried to stand, and Juleka had shoved him into a chair and fluttered over him, alternately swearing at him and sounding at the edge of tears, and Luka still had no idea what was going on.

“What happened?” he asked.

“You’re a fucking idiot, that’s what happened,” snapped Juleka. “We have bouncers for a reason , dumbass.” 

“Bouncers?” Luka asked, bewildered. He blinked, trying to focus and clear the fog from his mind. The room didn’t seem to want to be still. It wasn’t spinning, exactly, just tilted to the left slightly. A flash of white crossed his vision and he focused on it for a moment, and then blinked again, still confused and sure he couldn’t be seeing what he was seeing. “Marinette?”

“Hey, Luka,” she smiled, leaning over him. 

Luka grinned. “Hi.” Then he frowned. “Thought you were working tonight.” 

“I am working,” Marinette said gently, pulling something out of her breast pocket, and Luka vaguely registered that the white he had seen was some kind of uniform shirt. Then he jumped slightly and blinked as she shone a light in his eyes. “He lost consciousness?” she asked, but then Luka was distracted from Marinette as someone else took his arm. He blinked down at a blond man that had knelt next to his chair and was pulling... stuff out of a bag beside him. 

“Yes,” Rose confirmed from somewhere behind him. 

“Luka, was it?” the blond man asked. “I’m Adrien. What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Kentucky sunrise,” Luka muttered. “Told Jules to keep an eye on the guy, he seemed shady.” 

“He was shady,” Juleka said, fingers squeezing on his shoulder. “He got nasty and I told him to leave, and he grabbed me, and then this idiot jumped the bar to come get involved and—it’s kind of a blur after that, but he got Luka in the head with a glass or a bottle or something.”

“Where’s the guy now?” Marinette asked. 

“Ivan’s got him in the back, waiting for the cops.” 

Luka tried to follow the conversation, but he couldn’t seem to concentrate for very long. Adrien started asking him questions, and Luka’s world greyed out a bit as he tried to focus enough to give the right answer. They seemed like really dumb questions, and Adrien kept touching Luka’s head where it hurt. Luka tried to push his hands away, but Marinette caught Luka’s hand and squeezed it tight. Luka looked back at her, focusing on the cool blue of her eyes. She asked him something, but he didn’t quite catch it. 

Fuck, he was tired. He just wanted to get somewhere quiet and dark and less peopled and go to sleep. 

Marinette’s hand on his cheek brought him back to reality a bit. She was frowning. “Luka, do you feel sick?” 

“No,” Luka sighed, eyes fluttering closed. “Just tired.”

“Luka,” Marinette said sharply, and he opened his eyes again. “Don’t go to sleep, okay?”

Luka whined, but tried to keep his eyes open. He leaned his head on Juleka’s stomach, and felt her hand stroke gently through his hair. He must really be messed up, he thought with mild amusement, for Jules to be that gentle. 

“I think we better take him in for evaluation,” Marinette said to...someone. “He’s definitely got a concussion, and that head lac needs stitches.” 

“Agreed,” said Adrien, and Luka began to lose the battle to stay awake. “Come on, stay with us.” Someone squeezed Luka’s arm, and Luka struggled to open his eyes again.

Luka lost track of what was going on after that, moving mechanically when someone asked him to and just trying to stay awake. The only thing he really registered was Marinette leaning over him in the back of the ambulance, stroking his hair back from his face and looking at him with such softness that his breath caught even through his fog. “I’ll drive,” she said. “Take care of him for me.” 

Luka was confused until Marinette disappeared from his side and Adrien settled in next to him instead, a faintly amused look on his face. “She must really like you,” Adrien commented under his breath. “She hates to give up the action and drive.” 

Luka smiled weakly. 

***

The hospital was a confused sequence of waiting rooms and big noisy machines, but as they sat through it all, Luka began to regain some focus and clarity, and by the time they came to tell him that he was fine, he pretty much was, aside from the throbbing in his head where they’d stitched the wound closed and the anesthetic was wearing off. 

“We’re going to keep you the rest of the night for observation,” the ER doctor told him, “But unless there’s any sudden changes, you should be good to go tomorrow. Just take it easy for the next few days.” 

Luka didn’t bother to argue since the night was mostly gone anyway. All he really cared about was getting to a bed, now that they had cleared him to sleep.

When he woke up in the morning, Juleka was sitting next to his bed. 

“Hey, dummy,” she said, when he turned his head to look at her.

“Hey,” he sighed. “Can I go home yet?”

Juleka snorted. “Knowing hospitals, it’ll take all day just to fill out the paperwork to get you out of here.

Luka made a face. “Probably true, actually.” He sighed and laid his head back, lolling it over to look at her. “Tell me you at least got a date out of it.”

Juleka blushed, and dropped her gaze, a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth. “She’s a nurse at this hospital, do you know?” Juleka mumbled, fiddling with her fingers. “She stayed with me the whole time they had you doing all those tests. We’re...having dinner tonight when she gets off work.” 

“Awesome,” Luka grinned, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. 

Juleka took a moment to collect herself, and then she lifted her head and grinned at him. “Now it’s your turn.”

“God I wanna marry that girl,” Luka groaned, smiling dreamily. “Gorgeous and smart and funny and a badass. This is it. I’m totally gone for her, Jules.”  

Luka didn’t need to see Juleka’s smirk, he could hear it in her voice. “What else is new?” she snorted.

Another memory surfaced and he grimaced. “I’m not sure puking all over her partner in the back of her ambulance made the kind of impression I was hoping for.”

“Don’t worry,” a male voice chuckled. “You’re not the first, and I’m sure you won’t be the last.” 

Luka and Juleka both looked towards the door. Marinette and her golden-haired partner were standing there in clean uniforms. Luka felt a sudden flutter in his stomach. The EMT uniform didn’t do much for her, compared to her usual perfectly tailored clothes, but...she looked strong and confident and in charge, and it was definitely doing things for him. Her hair was tied back and pinned up, but that just made her beautiful eyes more prominent, and the same smile tilted her sweet lips.

He suddenly remembered what he and Jules had been talking about. Oh God, did she hear him? Luka swallowed nervously.

Marinette gave him a little wave, her shoulders hunched slightly. “I hope you don’t mind that we stopped by,” she said shyly. “I— We just wanted to see how you were doing.”

Adrien grinned broadly, clearly amused, and Juleka began to snicker. She leaned over and whispered to Luka, “Your heart monitor’s going crazy, dumbass.” Then she kissed his forehead. “Call me when they’re ready to let you out of here.” She walked away from the bed, and Luka realized too late that she was planning to leave him there with Marinette. 

He registered about that time that the monitor behind him was indeed beeping frantically and felt himself flush. He fiddled with the clip on his finger, but if he took it off the nurses would come charging in, so he took some deep breaths, trying to get himself under control as Juleka stopped to exchange a quiet word and a hug with Marinette, with a quick handshake for Adrien. 

Adrien and Marinette approached the bed and Luka reached up self-consciously to smooth his hair before remembering the bandage on his head. He extended his hand towards Adrien instead. 

“Hey, man, I really am sorry for throwing up all over you,” Luka told Adrien. “I swear, I didn’t know it was coming.” 

Adrien smiled ruefully as he shook Luka’s hand. “I’m used to it. Sometimes I think I have a target on my chest.”

“Serves you right for always wearing such expensive shoes,” Marinette huffed.

“They’re comfy!” Adrien protested. 

Luka chuckled and looked at Marinette, taking in the uniform and trying to recalibrate his mental image of her to include this new information. It wasn’t as hard as it seemed like it should have been; she’d always had that something about her that said she could do anything, and she was certainly fit enough to be hauling people around, and the impulse to help people fit in with her sweet nature. 

He really hadn’t thought he could fall any harder, but looking at her now—staring at her, he realized abruptly—he accepted that this hole was a lot deeper than he’d realized.  

Marinette leaned over the side of his bed and reached toward his hair. “May I?” she asked, and at Luka’s nod, she parted his hair to peek under his bandage at the stitches. She was close enough that Luka could smell the faintest hint of sweet vanilla even past all the medical smells. The monitor began to beep warningly again and Luka thought he saw the corner of her mouth twitch. Her fingers skimmed his cheek as she lowered her hands. “It looks good. You probably won’t even notice it with your hair covering it.”

“Thanks,” Luka said stupidly, not really sure how one was supposed to react to a compliment on how well one’s head was sewn back together. 

“How do you feel?” she asked, straightening a little. 

“Not too bad,” Luka shrugged. “Still have a headache, but it’s much better.” 

Marinette frowned. “What are they giving you for pain?” She looked at the board in his room without waiting for him to answer, and gave a slight sigh. “Well, that should fade soon, hopefully. As long as your imaging came back normal—” Luka nodded. “—it should just be a question of paperwork.” She laid her hand over his and squeezed. “You should be back behind the bar in no time. No more fights though, okay? You scared me, when we got the call for your address.”

“Sorry.” Luka gave her a lopsided smile. “Can’t say I wasn’t wishing to see you, but that wasn’t what I had in mind.”

Marinette giggled, her eyes darting away and her teeth catching her lip for a moment before she looked back at him, a bright smile slowly growing across her face. For a moment they just stared at each other. Adrien raised his eyebrows and put his hands in his pockets, wandering back across the room. 

Luka barely noticed. Marinette was looking at him and he had never seen her eyes so soft before. Except—except that one moment when she’d been leaning over him on the gurney, and she’d promised him he was going to be okay, and then she’d looked up at Adrien and said take care of him for me…

He was so transfixed by her eyes that he didn’t react to her leaning over the bed until he felt her hand on his chest and her breath on his face, and then he only had time to gasp and close his eyes as her lips found and caressed his in a soft and tender kiss. He leaned into it as much as he dared, and managed to move his mouth to kiss her back, electric thrills moving through him. 

He followed her when she pulled back, and opened his eyes to stare at her in wonder as her lips left his. 

“I’m dying,” he said flatly. “I’m dying and no one wants to tell me, is that it?”

Marinette giggled. “No more than everyone else.” Then she actually blushed and looked down. “I’ve maybe been thinking about doing that for a while now.” She glanced up through her lashes and a truly wicked smile slowly spread. “And trust me, when you actually are going to die, you’ll know it.”

Luka’s attempt at a reply became a strangled noise at the back of his throat. 

There was a quiet cough from the other side of the room, where Adrien was turning red attempting to hold in his laughter. “I’m getting the feeling you didn’t actually need a wingman here,” he said.  

“Take a walk, Adrien,” Marinette said in a warning tone, and leaned in to kiss Luka again. Luka moved to meet her, lips parting eagerly as he buried the hand not covered in wires in her hair, only vaguely aware of Adrien’s gusty sigh and the sound of the door opening and closing, or the rapidly accelerating beep of his heart rate monitor again.

Somewhere in the haze Luka realized he wasn’t on shift, and anyway Marinette had kissed him first, and Anarka’s rules didn’t matter anymore. 

“Hey,” he mumbled in between kisses. “Want to—mm—get coffee sometime? After they let me out of here.” 

“I’d love to,” Marinette sighed, and kissed him again. She giggled. “You should have told me about that stupid rule sooner. All this time, I’ve been waiting for you to make a move.” She pulled back and blinked for a moment, and bit her lip. “Um. I should probably tell you that I told my boss you’re my boyfriend.” She shrugged. “If I start dating you after you’ve been my patient, it’s weird, but if we were dating before that, then it’s just unfortunate coincidence, so…” 

“I’m cool with that,” Luka said quickly. “Very cool.” They grinned like fools at each other for a moment, and then moved to kiss again. 

They were interrupted by a knock on the door, and a nurse poked her head in. “Mr. Couffaine? We’ve been getting an alarm from your monitor—” She paused, taking in Marinette’s wrecked hair and two blushing faces. “Oh.” 

Marinette giggled, hiding her face in his shoulder, and Luka groaned. “How much do I need to bribe you to turn that damn thing off for the next f—” he glanced at Marinette. “Ten minutes?” 

The nurse rolled her eyes, but winked at them. “Just remember you’re supposed to be taking it easy,” she admonished, crossing the room and unplugging the monitor from the wall. “If anyone asks, you’re in the bathroom.” 

“Yes ma’am,” Luka grinned as the nurse shut the door behind her, pulling Marinette back in.   

[blaineandsamevanderson]

What's in your WIP folder?

Oh boy, that’s a big ask! I tend to start writing a fic and get distracted. Some of these are super old and I keep meaning to get back to them, but the muses are fickle.

Hawaii Five 0

On the Right Track Babe ~ When a case leads to an undercover assignment, certain things are uncovered (Mcdanno)

Untitled ~ Danny works a detail at Honolulu Pride cuz he figures if there’s gotta be a police presence at Pride that some of the cops should be part of the community (Mcdanno)

9-1-1/9-1-1 LoneStar

The Date ~ Buck gets ready for a date after his shift at the firehouse...and a hot guy show to pick him up. Hot guy is Dylan, the hot EMT played by Nyle DiMarco on a Station 19 episode where they were fighting wildfires in CA. (Buddie)

Chopped ~ Buck competes on a firefighter edition of Chopped (Buddie)

BBQ ~ Carlos takes TK to a family BBQ (Tarlos)

Untitled Buddie Soulmates fic ~ When someone falls in love, they are marked, a signal appearing on their skin to commemorate that their heart was connected to another. Many couples bore marks for one and other, but only in rare occasions, do they wear the same mark. When two people loved each other and were true soulmates, they shared a mark. (Buddie)

Special Report ~ The news runs a story about the Tsunami on the anniversary (Buddie)

Untitled ~ Buck offers to go as Josh’s plus one to a wedding (undecided ship)

Untitled ~ Eddie hurts his hands and is frustrated. Buck is a good friend and lends a hand ;) (Buddie)

Untitled 9-1-1/Prodigal Son Crossover ~ What is says on the tin

Glee (All Blam)

Running Mates ~ When Blaine Anderson becomes the Democratic nominee for the presidency, he has to pick a VP. A Glee/West Wing fusion

Let’s Marvin Gaye ~ So, idea: In Senior year, Artie decides to get some more directorial experience by making music videos of his friends covering songs. One in particular is a hit, Blaine and Brittany’s cover of Charlie Puth/Meghan Trainor’s song Marvin Gaye…but unlike the actual video, they don’t share a kiss. Both Blaine and Britt have their own storylines in the video, Sam and Santana acting as their respective partners, culminating with kisses like in the video…though Artie doesn’t fade to black fast…It quickly goes viral :)

The Smell of Fresh Cut Grass on Sun Soaked Skin ~ Summer before S2, Sam’s family has just moved to Lima and he’s making extra cash by doing yard work. Gets hired by Mrs. Anderson and he and Blaine meet.

The Most Magical Place on Earth ~ Sam is called to a meeting by Blaine's parents. They sit him down and say that of all of Blaine's friends, Sam is the most reliable, the most trustworthy and the nicest. So they have chosen (maybe even hire) him to keep an eye on Blaine because Blaine tends to go crazy when he takes this annual trip. Cooper couldn't handle him. Kurt couldn't take it. But they think Sam can. When Blaine does his annual week-long trip to Disney World, Sam goes with him. Oh what could possibly happen?

Mutual Admiration ~ Famous male model Sam Evans is on Ellen to promote his new GQ magazine spread and when asked about celebrity crushes he reveals he’s crushing on Broadway star Blaine Anderson.

Friends, Love & Homecoming ~ S2 AU ~ Post 2x03 – Sam joined glee in 2x01 and is not dating Quinn. Not dating anyone at McKinley, cuz he’s with Blaine. When Homecoming rolls around, he wants to take him, so he tells the club. I want reactions!

Drunk on A Plane ~ After being left at the altar, Blaine decides to use the Honeymoon tickets himself. AU ~ where Sam never moved to Lima and he and Blaine meet later in life.

Cruise Ship Coincidence ~ Future fic slightly AU (no Klaine engagement or Samcedes stuff or they broke up already). During a cruise, Kurt and Rachel bump into newlywed Blaine and Sam, who are on their honeymoon after haven’t saw them in years

DCTV

Crossovers

Untitled Bake Off AU ~ DCTV characters on Bake Off (Captain Canary, Winnara and others)

Stretch Right Up and Touch the Sky ~ Camp STAR is one of the North East’s most popular science camps. Every year, young minds arrive to learn and explore. Unfortunately, a few weeks before the camp was to open for the season, a large explosion in one of the labs and the ensuing fire made the camp uninhabitable. Not wanting his campers to miss out on their summer, Owner Harrison Wells called up Joe West, Owner of Camp Superflarrow, who he knew was looking to expand the science discovery program at his own camp. (Captain Canary, Winnara and others)

Untitled Beach Town AU ~ Beach Town AU: Sara Lance (16) and her sister Laurel (17) are invited to spend the summer at the summer beach house of Laurel’s friend Oliver (17). There, they meet a variety of people, townies, other vacationers, etc…and one townie in particular, Leonard Snart (17) catches Sara’s interest :) (Captain Canary, Winnara and others)

Untitled Actors AU ~ An AU where the Legends of Superflarrow characters are actors playing heroes (or part of the crew for the tv/movie) and Sara is one of the heroes and Leonard is one of the villains and their chemistry inspires the writers to give his character a redemption arc… (Captain Canary and others)

Captain Cold Comes to National City ~ Based on a thread started by this tumblr post: I’ve got it! Due to the Oculus’s destruction, Len Snart is blown through the time-space continuum. He awakens in a universe not his own, with a girl in a red skirt… not to mention a red cape… standing over him (Captain Canary, Winnara and others)

Legends of Tomorrow

A Tale of Two Snarts ~ A familiar face returns in an unexpected way (Captain Canary)

Land of the Lost ~ The Legends try to figure out how they’re going to fix time and find a lost friend along the way. Spoilers for the Season 2 Finale!!!! (Captain Canary)

Marvel

Rewinding the Clock ~ In the Marvel world, even old age isn't a constant...

We’ve Come A Long Way From Where We Began ~ Picking up where Infinity War ends….

Star Trek

Georgia Time ~ A follow Up the The Journey Home and Beyond set right after Kirk et all graduate but before they ship out. (McKirk maybe?)

Teen Wolf

Finding Home ~ After the Battle of Beacon Hills, life goes on. (Thiam & Mahealahey & Others)

Model Behavior ~ Isaac gets a job as an Abercrombie greeter (before the ban) and Danny's his trainer. (Mahealahey)

The Full Moon Job (Crossover with Leverage) ~ An alternate version of Teen Wolf Season 6. Wet after the pack pretends to leave Beacon Hills, but after that, all timelines are chucked, characters are brought back and fun is had (Thiam & Mahealahey & Others)

Stay All Day in the Sun ~ When Theo isn't around, the pack starts to wonder where he's going off to.... (Thiam & Mahealahey & Others)

Untitled Actors AU ~ Liam and Theo are actors on a hit tv show. Their characters are enemies with crackling chemistry, but no one suspects it cuz they’re together off screen (Thiam)

Untitled Actors AU 2 ~ What if Danny was one of the cast of a popular show about werewolves? Possibly called Teen Wolf, for the fans of the Meta and, in Season 2, they bring in some new characters, including one played by Isaac. Their characters aren’t supposed to have too much interaction initially, but soon everyone sees the chemistry… (Mahealahey)

[bakaree]

about—

hi, my name is nya & i write stories (sometimes). i’m a teenager, i like cartoons & anime (especially ones with queer rep!!), i write about ghosts more than a sane person should, & i’m indian so i project an unhealthy amount on all my brown characters. i’m really bad at being consistent & i constantly worry if i bother people so if i go inactive again then feel free to yell at me.

my wips—

torn foliage

status: drafting

my april 2021 camp nano project. in a distant dystopian future, a ghost named fanya tells the story of the monster in the ravine & watches as students from two rival boarding schools in the mountains mess around & ignore the fact that people are disappearing. dark academia/gothic urban folklore type beat.

gold leaf girls

status: drafting

a short story collection i've started about unhinged girls who do nothing but mess up their relationships & hyperfixate on gold.

cherry vapour

status: drafting

my sapphic ya novel about grief & imagination. amaryllis spends the summer at her grandmother's house for the first time in eight years & finds out her old imaginary friend viola isn't actually imaginary.

keep me in the dark

status: first draft done, put aside

my 2020 nano novel. talynn is an emt-in-training surrounded by ghosts & shitty people in a shitty dystopian world she doesn't see the point in trying to save.

i also occasionally post poetry / prose & i have some self indulgent fanfiction up on ao3.

if you're curious about any of my wips or have any questions, my ask box is always open! i'd also love to connect with more writers so don't be afraid to tag me in stuff or rant about your own projects.

[project-sour-grapes]

My Precious Entitled Career

Despite my “success,” I've come to the realization that how I approach everything is wrong.

I am a professional in tech and an artist. My friends call me patient and hardworking beyond what is expected. In high school, I was one of those never-crack-a-book honors students with a fancy scholarship. However, when I look inward, all of these good fruits seem like an accident.

I was recently let go from a tech company that your average zoomer would know the name of. There was a conflict around compensation that played out over a week or two that escalated into my being terminated. While the decisions I made were kosher with my contract and were built upon advice from other professionals who had been in my shoes, I now consider my approach to be a failure. It's important to note that I don't regret standing up for myself, as that lesson was overdue for separate reasons. However, my mindset throughout the conflict did not serve me any good and I've now seen the severity of my entitlement and self importance through a magnifying glass.

I could detail you the statistics on median pay for my job, my old company, my state, etc. I could state why the situation seemed unjust and why I felt underappreciated and fooled. Maybe it was unfair on paper, and maybe I had the right to be angry, depending on who you ask. But I don't care anymore.

Time has been plentiful for my unemployed self. I have spent it ruminating, walking, and listening to audiobooks, one of which is Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday. In one chapter, Holiday details Jackie Robinson's struggles as a black man trying to play professional baseball. If anything was fair on paper, it would have been Jackie Robinson fighting back against the racists (which he did and was arrested for when he was younger). But as a professional, he was encouraged by others to ignore racism and just beat them in games. And he did. He didn’t fight anybody anymore, even though he would have been right to and those idiots would have deserved it. Being a famous baseball player and fully grown adult yet being treated like a non-human or a child is the peak of unfair. But Holiday’s book’s point is that looking past unfairness towards the mission is sometimes necessary to accomplish it.

I'm not saying my life struggle compares to Jackie Robinson's. In fact, that is exactly what I'm not saying. My "unfair" situations pale in comparison to his. He climbed Everest and I'm over here upset about an ant hill. And in some sense, I made that ant hill myself. I mean that if he can experience literal crimes and keep his head up, then I need to shut my damn mouth.

What is the correct approach to my work then? Let's rewind a bit. Full disclosure, my old approach to my life's work was this:

I am going to work myself to death for you, and if you don't give me the world in return, that is a moral failure.

Isn't that a biting statement? There is the entitlement out in the open. I'm not proud to have thought this way at all, and I'm sorry to all of you have had to put up with this mindset from me. But there it is.

Now. Where do we go from here? Well, during my unemployed ruminations over the past few weeks, I came across Dr. Alok Kanojia's (AKA HealthyGamerGG on Youtube) video on motivation, fairness, and how we're not entitled to anything. He talked about how, since life is unfair and unpredictable, we are not entitled to the results of our actions. We don't automatically have the right to the outcome of an action. We only have the actions themselves. Studying doesn’t entitle us to an A+. We are only entitled to the studying itself. That’s the way of the universe. In my old job, I prioritized work above all else. I forewent classes that I ended up failing or dropping. I begged to work overtime. I was, in the words of multiple others, "kicking ass." Then I decided I was entitled to something because of it. And I got angry when that was not satisfied. That is where I went wrong. It is true that I was promised a few things that did not come to fruition. Maybe it was morally acceptable to be angry about unfulfilled promises. But like I said, I’m done caring about that. That's not what it is about anymore.

What is it about is action. All we have in life is our actions. The more I think about what I value, the more I see the emphasis on action.

When we say to live in the present instead of the past or future, we're talking about action, since the present is the only time action can happen

When we roll our eyes at the person who says "I'm the idea guy," we're valuing action

The concept "Show, don't tell" works, because it is about action

Giving your soul to a job/person/thing who didn't even ask for it, then holding out your hand and saying "Gimme" is not about action. It is focused on outcome. Maybe it’s not fair that we can’t expect equal rewards in return for our work all the time. And on paper, it really is. Give X, get X. Seems fair and logical. But for me, for that to be the starting place and the motivation for my work no longer serves me. I’m not saying fairness isn’t a worthy goal or that it is bad. Fairness can be the outcome of a good mission. But it is not required to complete the mission. And it’s not going to be the sole motivator for my decisions, because life is grey and humans can’t always deliver on promises, through no fault of their own. What I'm not going to do anymore is throw my hands up and say, "Sorry, this is unfair so I quit.”

Where this leaves me is that I'm reconsidering my career--not only how I approach the work but the field I chose entirely. In the past, I tried to do biomedical research, but I failed. I have also enrolled and unenrolled in many an EMT class and have taken and failed Biology, Chemistry, and Physics classes repeatedly. This was all because of a hazy dream of being a doctor that has sat in the back of my mind every day. 

I kept trying out this doctor dream, but I would always hit a tiny snag, exaggerate it, and give up. I have gone through about 10 multi-month cycles of this for years. And guess what the snags were:

That professor gave me a B+ instead of an A on a single exam. Pre-med education is inherently unfair, and I'm not putting up with this.

I have to study this bio concept that I probably won't even use if I become a real doctor. That's a waste of my time, so I'd rather fail/drop than learn it.

Doctors have to get up at 5am? That goes against science on sleep schedules, so I'm not going to do it.

How pissy and entitled? Who thinks like that? Me, apparently--or who I hope to be "old me."

How did I get so caught up in what is fair or unfair that I lost sight of the forest for the trees? News flash, self... everything is unfair! Gym is always packed? Unfair. Fighting cancer? Unfair. Some idiot who cares less than you do got picked for the job? Unfair. Hell, the unfairness of life is half the reason why we even get up in the morning. Name a career that isn’t about taking an unfair situation and turning it into a better one. (If you can, maybe don’t do that career.) We do stuff as humans, because it’s unfair. Or the alternative, not doing it, would be unfair. If doctors threw up their hands because disease is unfair, we’d still be fighting polio. I wouldn’t make it one second in caveman times with my old attitude. The hungry lions staring at my caveman camp don’t care what I think is fair.

So here's the mission. We are going to look unfair things in the face and still do them. Despite their unfairness. Despite the fear that something will take more than it gives. Despite the brain saying, "This is inefficient, so let's not do it at all." In fact, it's because of their unfairness that we will do them. Then we can leave them better off for someone else. Or do them better the next time. I am calling this Project Sour Grapes. It starts right now.

[seemslegitflapjacks]

Adult JTK Crew headcanons

(This may contain some stuff that may be sensitive, such as mental issues, please put your mental and physical safety before anything!)

Jeff

-His father cut his hair against his will when he was 15. Around the time he suffered the injuries to his face, Which led to him not allowing anyone to touch his hair again. This event scarred him. Because his hair is his main source of confidence, he puts so much effort and care into it, and to see his own father just chop and butcher it off crushed him.

-After this, he was kicked out by his father, despite the protests of his mother and Liu. So he automatically went to Keith. Since he was the last person he had. He lived with him for a while. But slowly began to push him away when his mental health seriously deteriorated. Eventually just running away.

-In the events of running away, he met Slender. He saw potential in Jeff, so he took him in. He was quickly trained to be able to kill and fight. Eventually making his way to being a very well skilled hitman.

-Jeff feels absolutely horrible for leaving Keith behind. Cries about it often, because he still values and cares for him.

Liu

-Was extremely pissed off at their father. Which led to a lot of conflict between them. Which promptly got his ass kicked into boot camp. Which only fueled his thirst for violence. Liu also managed to learn some very valuable skills in boot camp. Such as survival and being able to make a weapon out of anything.

-Liu eventually got ballsy enough to straight up runaway. He doesn’t know how he fucking did it. One moment he was just shoving things into a duffel bag and the next thing he knew he was running down the road.

-Determined to find his twin, he scoured every corner of the city. Which led to him getting in a lot of physical altercations with many gangs and criminals. Despite that, he still kept going, but it was hard. Since Liu had to avoid the feds.

-Once he finally found his brother he almost broke Jeff’s ribs. They quickly began to team up with one enough. Slender eventually officially employing Liu to come into their mafia. Liu taking charge of the locations, targets, and whatnot. He makes sure that both he and his brother are safe. He stays back and watches, but that doesn’t mean he can’t do jack shit.

Randy

-Spent a few years in JDC for the shitstorm he caused, didn’t stop him though. My guy has the mentality of a fucking honey badger.

-Once he was out, Randy quickly discovered both Keith and Troy completely moved on. Both pissed off and sad that his only two friends had left him, he went out to find another crowd to run with.

-He joined a biker gang, he was weirded out by how close they all were, since he didn’t have anything like that. But he quickly got used to it. Along with riding on the back of someone’s motorcycle.

-Randy is out for fucking blood. He was completely humiliated in his time in JDC for letting a guy nearly a foot shorter than him send him to the ER and JDC. He wants to give Jeff a taste of his own medicine. Along with getting back at Troy and Keith for leaving him in the dust.

Troy

-Through a long time of self hate and body image issues, Troy finally fully gained back his confidence. Taking pride in the way he looks.

-Troy’s sudden surge of vigor and confidence actually led him to achieving his dream, opening his very own restaurant. He now works full time on his business and is incredibly proud of himself and his hard work. Both he and his Abuelita run the business and have so much fun doing so.

-But, he still feels the guilt of leaving his childhood best friend behind. Because even through Randy was a horrible influence, Troy still misses his best friend. He feels horrible about leaving him behind, but he tried to pull through.

-Troy also is a very big advocate for body positivity and acceptance. He wants others to be able to love themselves no matter what shape or size and be proud of it. Along with their family heritage.

Keith

-Keith was absolutely horrified when he saw Jeff sobbing with choppy hair on his front porch. Instantly taking the poor guy in. He couldn’t help but blame himself, despite having no control over what happened to Jeff. He tried his best to give him as much love and comfort, but ultimately couldn’t stop him from running away.

-Although Keith was completely crushed upon Jeff running away, he turned away to finish school. Slowly growing apart from Troy and Randy both. He put all of his stress and negativity into his school. It motivated him to just get better, be better so it could distract him from heartbreak.

-After a lot of years in EMT training, Keith finally became one. He instantly started on his job, using it as another distraction. But with some of the cases he received, he couldn’t help but have a meltdown after his shift.

-He hopes that someday he will see Jeff again, since he’s still hopelessly in love with him.

[camptheday]

In spirit of camp camp NOT being completely canceled- I present a sketch of David I did a while back. I’m also swamped with college course stuff and my EMT training so I didn’t have a lot of time to actually draw today.

I am working on something however👀 more to come on that🖤

[ursie]

Pjo oc 1 : Heath Johnson

Nb, Pronouns are they/them

Aro/Ace

Age : probs 17/18 or so by boo

Capricorn sun/Scorpio Moon they are that bitch they can’t help it

Deaf/mute

Legacy of Hephaestus (Grandkid) and Mars (grandkid) both parents were demigods (Mom was an Mars kid, dad was Hephaestus)

Dad was a independent contractor and could do just about anything needed in his field, Mom was a emt/firefighter

They died in a house fire, the wiring was faulty in the building he was working on, she went in to save him and neither came out.

They knew about all this stuff and their parent were gonna take them to the camp next year so they start making the trek themselves and they struggle

When they were homeless they started recognizing Hestia’s symbol on the shelters they frequented and at the soup kitchens. They started praying to her instead

When they finally make it to camp they sit on Hestia’s log instead and they see her.

Instead of being claimed they denounce it stating that Hestia claimed them already. Asked to prove it they point out they’re safe aren’t they?

They’re a champion of Hestia

Whilst they have the advanced abilities of the Ares kids and the scrappy nature they take after the Hephaestus ones more.

They’re never seen w/o their tool belt.

They’re very good at construction but unlike the Hephaestus kids they vastly prefer working w wood over metals (they love building lil bird houses)

Their Hestias blessing gives them fire immunity and mild manipulation and cold immunity, they can’t feel the weather anymore

They’re naturally v good in the kitchen too.

After a few years of practice they’ve mastered the trick of traveling through hearths

They can’t pick locks or anything but houses are all open to them and they sleep in different cabins a lot

Or outside they sleep next to the campfire a lot

They have a prosthetic arm that they use as a weapon, they have scabbard their parents made for them that they can reforge their arm into to change shape (sword for ex)

They aren’t a overly skilled fighter they just do not give a single shit

Calls Hestia mom and wants best for her

Wears only gold jewelry and really commits to the fire color scheme

They’re also never seen w/o goggles on . And headphones.

Is an extrovert but also does not participate in any conversation just doesn’t like being alone.

Carries their stuffed toy horse everywhere it’s their comfort toy and it’s usually hanging on their belt

Big boots! For stomping!

If you’d talk to them you would think they fundamentally do not understand any subject truly a thembo but somehow always gets good grades it drives people insane

Complete ditz tho

You know that friend you think is just living on a different plane or existence? Them they really are just vibing.

Somehow still the mom friend they’re v protective and maternal, often watching the lil ones around the camp

Cryptid their main job is watching the borders and the woods around camp and they do, you always feel safe seeing their smoke signals from wherever they are

Helps the satyrs find kids because every kid needs a home

Honestly pities the huntresses

Was on Luke’s side during the titan war to a degree low key shifted sides the whole time.

Knew about the whole Camp Jupiter thing (mom was a Mars kid) but agreed w their parents assertion that that place sucks and sounds terrible and honestly did not bring it up because they r a ditz and assumed everyone else thought it sucked too and that’s why no one talks about it

Knows all the gossip shares all of it w Hestia

Tooth gap! They always cover their mouth when the smile/laugh/ect because they r embarrassed by it

Full of love

Their bffs are Clarisse, Drew, Selena, The Hephaestus cabin in gen, Clovis, & Nico plus many unnamed campers they r popular because they stay in their lane

They do not vibe at all w the Romans

This was a fun way to spend a bit 💞 if y’all decide to make one too pls tag me 💞💕💞

[ffrecommendation]

Chapters: 10/10 Fandom: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon & Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Eskel & Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia & Vesemir, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia & Lambert, Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon & Eskel Characters: Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Vesemir (The Witcher), Eskel (The Witcher), Lambert (The Witcher), Roach (The Witcher) Additional Tags: Worldbuilding, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia Has Feelings, Emotionally Constipated Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia is Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon's Parent, Witcher Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, Hurt Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia Whump, Good Parent Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, At least he's trying, They figure stuff out, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Camping, Ciri And Geralt Work Stuff Out, Insecure Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Worried Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, Roach is the Best (The Witcher), Major Character Injury, Blood and Injury, Betaed, they're all just trying their best, Soft Eskel (The Witcher), Eskel is basically the awesome uncle who interprets Geralt's feelings, Ciri is Confused, But she figures it out, Ciri Helps Geralt, Tired Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Medical Procedures, Not always done right tho, I am a registered EMT and I am cringing at my own work, DO NOT move people with hypothermia roughly, or you will cause cardiac arrest, thank you for coming to my Ted Talk, Hypothermia, Supernatural Elements, Spirits, POV Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia Apologizes, Sort Of, Bears, The Author Regrets Nothing, Ciri is kind of good at medical procedures, And Geralt is just tired, Injury Recovery Summary:

After returning with Geralt from Sodden, Ciri finds herself distanced from the man who is supposed to be her father. Confused about her past and searching for answers about her own abilities, as well as why Geralt seems so distant, Ciri turns to the other Witchers for help. However, when Geralt asks her to come with him on a trip into the mountains, Ciri sees a chance to finally get to know her new father better. On the road, though, things take a turn for the worse.

This story is inspired heavily by my relationship with my own dad, and is an excuse for Geralt to finally open up to Ciri and understand that good family relationships involve giving on both sides.

[plastic-portrait]

Hi I apologize if this adds to your workload, so feel free to ignore or so.. but I was wondering if you're still doing the writing prompts, 21 and 44 from the Hurt/Comfort for Sal and Larry? Thank you ♡

A common branSorry for being so late! This is actually an interesting combo of prompts, I had to think for a bit about how to do it. Hope you enjoy! Also TW, I’m not sure if this will be a trigger subject for any of you lovelies but I want to make sure I mention that this prompt contains mentions to things such as substance abuse. 

21: “Where are you? Tell me where you are.”

44: “You’re burning up.”

(Larry’s POV)

I was pacing back and forth across my room, radio in hand. 

“Sal, answer me. Over.” God, it was the hundredth fucking time I’d said the exact same thing. Where was he? I hadn’t seen or heard from him in days. All I got from the others were shaking heads and shrugged shoulders. 

A click and static, then... not Sal. “Hey Larry, it’s Ash. Robert said he saw him come home with his dad two days ago. He went back to work but Sal never came out. Think you can check it out? I’d join you but I have to stay with my brother. Over.” 

I was both relieved and even more worried. This wasn’t what I had expected. “Thanks, Ash. I’m on my way now. Over and out.” 

I swear I’ve never burst into mom’s room like that before. She was confused, clearly, and asked what was up. 

“Can I borrow your keys?” I was out of breath for some reason. 

“Oh, honey, what for?” She sat up in her bed. 

I thought about telling the truth, but I wasn’t sure how that would go. “Sal’s dad is at work and Sal lost his key, so he can’t get into the apartment.”

“Oh, okay sweetie. They’re on the kitchen counter.”

“Thanks, mom. Love you!” I said, quickly running out the door. 

The elevator had never been this slow, had it? Every inch took hours in my mind, leaving me to worry if Sal was even here. Was I wasting time?

Finally, the doors opened. The hall was so empty, so quiet it almost hurt. I could’ve heard the rustling of the carpet if I stopped. I unlocked the apartment door. Walked inside. Nothing.

“Where are you? Tell me where you are Sal.” Normally he would’ve chuckled at my voice cracking like that. 

I looked around the rooms, finally making my way to his bedroom. Something hit the back of the door as I opened it, rattled. I saw a pile of tangled blue hair underneath the edge of the blankets on his bed. I shouted his name and ran over to him, turning him over. He was asleep. It was one of the very few times I had ever seen his face, scarred over with small round holes and larger scars, varying in shape and size like close-up freckles. His blue eye sat in a cup of water on his bedside table. 

I pressed the back of my hand to his forehead. “You’re burning up. Fuck” I whispered under my breath. 

I shook him to try and wake him up. Nothing. His breathing was slow, barely there at all. I grabbed his phone and called for an ambulance. 

“911, what’s your emergency?” A woman spoke.

“I’m at the Addison Apartments, my friend has been missing for several days and I found him, he isn’t responding to me and he’s barely breathing.”

“I’m sending an ambulance to the location, sir. Can you stay on the line with me until they arrive?”

“Yeah, yeah I can stay,” I tucked the phone between my ear and my shoulder, and picked Sal up, carrying him out of the room. He was so much lighter than I remembered. 

When I turned to leave the bedroom, I saw what had hit the door on my way in. An orange bottle, with maybe two pills left inside. Several more empty bottles and one or two full sat on the bookshelf. 

“God damn it, Sal! What were you thinking?” I was sure he wouldn’t hear me, but that was the least of my concerns right now. As long as he made it, I didn’t care.

I waited with him on the front steps of the apartment building for the ambulance. They arrived quickly, and loaded him into the vehicle, with a respirator mask and all. I hadn’t seen them carry away someone alive before. Hopefully, Sal stayed that way. I sat in the ambulance with him, crying my eyes out and just wishing he would be okay. 

After he was settled in, a male EMT sat next to me with a clipboard and asked me what happened. I explained everything I knew. 

“Do you know which medications he had access to?” A lot, for sure. 

“Uh, I know he had a leftover Duragesic prescription, sertraline, Xanax, and um...” I stopped to think, remembering what Sal had told me each one was for. I had asked why he had so many once. “and I know he used doxepin. I think other than that it was just normal household stuff.”

The EMT wrote quickly. “Thank you sir, this helps us radio to the hospital so they’re ready when we get there. We are going to do everything we can.” He spoke to the other EMT, some things I didn’t really understand. 

I held Sal’s hand, which was extremely warm. “It’s gonna be okay Sal. I promise. You’re... You’re gonna be okay.” I couldn’t even see him through the tears in my eyes, just a blur of blue and white. 

When we got to the hospital, they put Sal on one of the rolling beds and they let me stay in the waiting room until he was treated. I wasn’t sure if it was hours or minutes before they let me see him. 

He turned to look at me, slowly. “Larry? What am... what are we doing here?”

“I found you in your room. It’s okay now, you’ll be okay and we’ll go home soon.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath. “Why?”

“Why what, Sal?” 

“Why did you come find me?” He placed his hand on top of mine at the edge of the bed.

“Because I wasn’t just gonna let you die, man, you’re the best thing I’ve got here. I know there are things I’ll never know about your life. I don’t know what happened to you, why you have to feel like this every day. But...” I squeezed his hand gently, “But I’m here. I want to help, I know it doesn’t ever go away totally but I know it can get better. You have your whole life ahead of you.”

I could tell he was crying now. “I’m sorry, Larry. I shouldn’t have...”

“I know. I know. But we just have to move forward from here. I love you, man. We’ll get through this.” 

Our conversation was interrupted by a nurse, checking Sal’s vitals and anything else he needs.  “He’s stable and can be released tomorrow after overnight observation. His father has been notified and is on his way. You are welcome to stay as long as he allows it.” 

“Thank you,” I said, and she nodded to me as she left the room. 

I turned back to Sal. “After you come home, we can all get together and camp out in the treehouse. Mom will make us cookies. Sound good?”

“Yeah. Sounds good.” 

We sat there together for most of the night, even when Henry showed up. I promised I would always be there for Sal, and I’ll be damned if I can’t keep that promise.

A/N: I hope you guys liked this one! I know it’s a bit dark but it’s just what I felt when reading these prompts. If you guys want something fluffier let me know!

For reference to understand why Sal would have these, the medications listed in this prompt: 

Duragesic: A brand of fentanyl that’s used to further treat pain after surgeries. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is between 50 and 100 times stronger than morphine. It is prescribed by surgeons after major surgeries to treat extreme pain, or used for cancer patients. With Sal’s facial trauma he would likely have this or a similar prescription after his surgeries. 

Sertraline: A common brand of sertraline is Zoloft, it is a type of antidepressant used to treat PTSD symptoms. 

Xanax:  A common brand of alprazolam, it is used to treat anxiety and panic disorder, I’m guessing many of you already know what this is but just in case!

Doxepin: A common brand of doxepin is Prudoxin, it is used to treat anxiety, depression, and chronic insomnia or other sleep disorders. 

[gemstoneconstellations]

I love your fanfics! And I was wondering do you have any tips for original fanfic writing or just writing fics in general?

wow this actually ended up a lot longer than i thought it would, but here we go!

Original fanfics, hmmmmmm....

What I generally do is base things off of my own personal experience. Like all my iida fics are stuff that happened between me and my husband before we got married. Can’t help falling in love fic with bakugo, that was a previous relationship i had (which there is more to that story). Caught with todoroki..... thats how i got out of a ticket with a cop and how i learned that when i half check someone out and half start thinking about what i would do to that fine man in uniform (curse my uniform kink) that i glare/make a suspicious face. and when he confronted me about what i was doing, ready to write some kind of ticket for whatever i was doing wrong, i was so embarrassed that i blurted out that i found him very attractive and what exactly was on my mind and how i wanted to take that uniform off him.... that has happened with a emt too, i missed the green light looking at his bulging biceps after he rolled up his sleeves to write on a clip board.... he waved and i proceeded to squat in my seat and slam my face against the stirring wheel. escape artist cat was actually a dream i had, someone was taking off my cat’s pretty ribbon collars and putting ugly ones on her and i woke up sooooo mad, but i turned that dream into a romance story (reality kuiper was taking her collars off herself cause she was a brat) Stories about yourself, no matter how small you think it is actually has great potential to become a fic.

its also okay to borrow ideas from other forms of media. I do. example, Silk Maiden, based off of  an old batman episode from the early 2000s. its completely okay to do that. I’m not saying copy and paste the exact scenes. Just take the premises and then change it. some examples, like the movie Brave is the Scottish version of Aladdin. the princess who wants to be free and live her life beyond her princess duties needs to get married and she is not having it and wants to change the rules and runs away to find something new. premise is the same but how the story is told is different, one denies every prince and find her own prince in the streets of her kingdom and the other finds a cake that turns her mom into a bear that helps them understand each other and appreciate each other more. a weeb example is isekais. There are sooooo many isekais. japan, Korea, and china are all mass producing isekais right now. the premises are all the same, someone from one world now in another world primarily thanks to magical truck-kun who is probably could be branded as a mass serial killer at this point. I read a lot and i love korean isekai romance novels. I have read an isekai where the character was a villain who then was reincarnated with the memories of her villainous previous life who decided to live her new life by repenting by helping others but guess what? truck-kun came in the form of a airplane crash and she wakes up again in her first life’s preteen body before she became a villain. I’m reading an isekai isekai, author of an isekai met truck-kun and woke up inside the body of one of her characters in her isekai novel. all the same premise but told in a different way. i want to write an isekai for bnha! take a premise and write what you wanted to see happen between those characters if they were in that situation.

same for some fanfics, like you read a fanfic and you like the story that you read but you wished for something more. You like the idea but you wished that it went in this direction or you wanted different  types of interaction, its okay to write your own fic with the same premises. i’ve done that. (side note: but if you are gonna base off of it where a lot of the stuff is the same the give the proper credit where it deserves. no stealing peoples hard work) thats what fanfic was originally made for, fans wanted something more from their favorite works or wants something different (Thank you star trek fandom who started all this). I’ve read a lot of villain deku fics and i was craving a specific type of villain fic where “he really isnt a villain but is one but there is a reason why hes being evil cause it is for the greater good cause of deku’s savior complex and border line martyr complex he’s had since he was a child” with a side of “hero/villain romance”, “surprise quirk” and “badass” and a healthy scoop of “bakugo becomes a better person on his own without deku at UA through the power of friendship cause he has that potential without deku’s constant interference”. no one had what i wanted, so i started writing it myself.

also dont worry about being original. you can write a common idea that everyone sees a thousand times a day, like isekai, and people will love it. focus on how you are telling your story, dont put so much effort in being different. actually, common or typical tropes/ideas help make the story more relatable. two books can be equally as good but one person can like book A over book B because they felt more connected to the characters in it. they could relate to the emotions that were being conveyed. 

now writing tips....hmmmmm well not everything works for everyone but this is what i do

I write notes down, lots of them. I have notebooks full of notes for my fics. some people can just sit there and start writing, but i like notes to keep me on track and remind me of stuff i wanted to add. Writing it down makes it easier not to forget, cause you are just lying to yourself if you think you’ll remember the idea for later. i got dialogue, scenes, plots, random quirk ideas, diagrams, (12) oc profiles, outlines, lists, and a event idea that i have that i want to do some day, all in my notebook. If you are going to write a long fic i strongly encourage that you do this. Outlines are your friend, they are bones of the story Ex:

Hero By Another Name original outline:

meet at a fire, firefighter impresses kiri who will later seek her out

kiri is becoming popular and wants to share the fame

they bond some how(?)

firefighter kiri, kirishima needs to wear a firefighter uniform

firefighter turns out to be a mega fan of red riot

photoshoot

kirishima finds out shes a nerd and is cool with it

firefighter is now popular

camping with baku or bakusquad?

miscommunication

kirishima does a big confession

I always start off with the key things i want for sure to happen. then i start adding to it. I write out the scene i definitely want to see or i can see clearly in my head. i just keep adding to it till its at least three pages long of just outline that has some images, random dialogue i want someone to say or little summaries of the scene i want.

its okay to jump around when you write. there are some parts that you know you need in a story to help it move a long but it can be boring. so i write one scene that i want to happen next and then i think of what needs to happen to get to that point. like how in hero another name where kirishima shows up unannounced to her apartment  and finds out she hoards all his hero merch while not wearing pants.  how do you make that not sound creepy and have kirishima be okay with it? by adding bits of how much of a fan she is through out the story! when they first have dinner together i threw in that red riot shirt to help break the ice and that he would then know that she was a big enough fan to buy his merch and that she admires him and that he is an inspiration for her. then later adding that interview where she talks about how she became his fan shows that she has years of dedication to him as a hero. so when he sees all the merch she has, it would make sense to him that she had all of that and not go “huh, will i be able to leave this place if i enter?”

if you dont know it, look it up. research. i wrote a fic before where the reader was pregnant the entire time, i started at two months to birth. I knew nothing about pregnancy on how it can affect your daily life and what it feels like beyond what health class and child development class taught me. So i looked it up. there is seriously so much that doctors look for during those many ultrasounds cause there are so many things that can affect your health and the baby’s and did you know there is pregnancy diabetes? you can become diabetic only during pregnancy, like after you give birth it can go away or stay, the human body is just tripy. but thanks to that research, people who have had children before left comments going “yessss, i remember feeling that” or “god, this was my sister in this scene, it sucks”. Its that relatability i mentioned before that really helps and it makes the story more believable.

(this is just my personal opinion mainly here feel free to ignore) when it comes to smut, write what you know and not what you fantasize about. im not calling anyone out but i can tell from how someone writes sex that they never had it and they are most likely younger than me. i’ve experimented a lot in my 25 years of life and i find myself going “oh sweetie, thats not how the vagina/anus works” when i read fics sometimes. there are guides online that are very informative and tell you what the feelings are like that you would expect. dont rely on porn too much on how sex works physically, maybe for dialogue. (i think of porn as just live action fanfics for the human mating ritual fandom). its okay to use other smuts as reference tools as well, especially if you dont know anything of the bdsm lifestyle.

beta readers help a lot. if you are unsure of ideas that you have, talk it out with a friend. I sometimes do this for myself or help others with their fics. its actually a lot of fun with a group of people where you just keep shooting off ideas together about stuff and just go all out fangirlling to the point you are rolling on the ground smiling. this can help with writers block or motivate you to keep writing. also having another pair of eyes to look at your fics, not just for corrections but for input on the story can help make it better. someone can see things from a different angle and point stuff out to you, plot holes or things that you can add.

im not sure what else to say other than stuff like format and spacing. sometimes i see people who write too long of paragraphs or there is no clear separation between them. thats killer on the eyes and makes me not want to read at all cause all i see is this wall of text thats just overwhelming. i want to call who ever formatted textbooks cause thats how they do it and it makes it so hard to concentrate on reading and absorbing the info. if i see fics with no clear breaks or long running paragraphs, i usually give up half way cause i just cant do it. its hard to keep track where you are reading and you start trying to focus on it too much that the story is just lost on me. it is hard on people like me who have dyslexia (who ever called it that is just cruel to people who have it cause you can never spell it without spell check and pronouncing it is just ugggh) 

i hope this helps