#fire country mama bear

[whumpdoyoumean]

A/N: I was not planning on writing this, but here is a lil part 2 to my Fire Country tag! xxx

“Bode? Bode, c’mon. Come on, Bode!”

Jake pats at Bode’s face, shakes his shoulders, but nothing works. He just watches helplessly as Bode’s lids flutter, and then his eyes roll back in his head, his face going slack. 

“Oh my god, Jake is he--” Freddy begins, and Jake waves him off with the hand that’s not currently at Bode’s neck feeling for his pulse. He knows how that sentence ends and he doesn’t want to hear it, doesn’t want to even think it. 

He feels the thump thump of a heartbeat a second later, just like he knew he would (hoped he would). 

“He’s alive,” he says, and out of the corner of his eye he sees Freddy nearly collapse with relief. “But he’s tachy.”

“Tachy? What does that mean?”

Jake looks at Bode’s sheet-white face, at the sweat beading his forehead and the paleness of his lips, and his stomach knots with worry. 

“Jake?”

Jake looks up at Freddy, who’s staring at him wide-eyed. He looks like he might burst into tears at any second, which is how Jake is how Jake would be feeling if he stopped to let himself think anything. 

“It means his heart is beating too fast. It’s his body trying to compensate for blood loss. He needs that ambulance, Freddy.”

“Is there anything I can do?” the man asks helplessly. 

“Actually, yes. I need you to go find Captain Perez and ask him for an update on the ambulance. And bring me some blankets!” 

Freddy nods and jogs off toward the smoldering fire camp. Jake turns his attention back to Bode. 

“Alright, Bode, come back…” He makes a fist and rubs his knuckles firmly and quickly against the man’s sternum. Bode groans, one hand reaching up to bat weakly at Jake’s, and Jake lets out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “Good, Bode, you with me?”

“What th’ hell?” Bode slurs, one eye opening and then the other as he glares up at Jake with an expression that’s equal parts confused and pained and that’s a million times better than unconscious. 

“You passed out there for a sec, B. You’ve lost some blood but you’re gonna be okay. Ambulance is coming. You need to stay awake though, okay? Don’t--don’t do that again. You scared me.”

“‘m sorry. I…I screwed ever’thing up.”

There’s a part of Jake that agrees, but a bigger part that knows if Odin had gotten away then he would’ve gone on to cause more damage, hurt more people. 

“Naw, Bode. You had to stop him. He was dangerous.”

Bode puts one hand over Jake’s, and Jake can’t help but notice that his hands are clammy and trembling. 

“‘s not what I mean.”

Jake frowns slightly and Bode continues. 

“Back when I…left, I--” Bode swallows thickly. “I should’ve--should’ve said somethin’, I should’ve…”

“Hey, that’s all in the past now,” Jake says. He thinks the blood has finally stopped, but he’s afraid that if he takes any pressure off then it’ll just start again and Bode will bleed out, so he keeps his blood-slick hands over the pile of reddened gauze. 

“And I’m--I’m sorry about Gabriella.”

Jake sighs, closing his eyes for a moment. Freddy comes jogging up right then, and Jake is grateful for the disruption. 

“Here,” Freddy says breathlessly, his arms piled high with blankets that smell like smoke. 

“Good, drop ‘em here. We need to get one on him, and use the others to prop up his feet.”

Freddy nods obediently, dumping the blankets onto the floor. He piles all but one next to Bode’s feet. 

“I won’t hurt him if I move him?” he says. 

“‘m okay, Freddy.” Bode’s voice is low and scratchy, not at all convincing, but Freddy nods seriously. 

“K, I’m gonna lift your legs up, now.”

Bode’s brow furrows as Freddy lifts his legs, jaw tightening, and Jake is glad that Freddy can’t see the pain on his face. 

“There we go, buddy. Jake, is that good?”

Jake looks over and nods. “Yeah, looks good.”

“Here.” Freddy holds out the last blanket. 

Jake still doesn’t want to move his hands, but he’s certain now that the bleeding has stopped and Bode needs to stay warm, so he carefully lifts his hands away from the wound, watching for any fresh blood and, on not seeing any, takes the blanket and drapes it carefully over Bode. 

“What’d Cap say about that ambulance?”

“He called again, said they’re getting close. Maybe eight minutes out.”

Eight minutes. It’s not a long time, usually. An eight minute wait at a restaurant, or eight minutes until kickoff of the big game, even eight minutes on hold isn’t too bad. But there are other times when eight minutes feels like an eternity. Eight minutes in a bad fire can feel like an eternity. 

And so, it turns out, can eight minutes waiting for an ambulance to come for your ex-best friend turned rival turned whatever the hell is going on now. He still doesn’t know exactly where they stand, still has a lot of anger and hurt over a lot of things, but he does know, is absolutely certain, that he doesn’t want Bode to die. 

“How we doin’, Bode?” he asks.

“Pain’s not…not so bad anymore. Gettin’ cold.”

Jake feels a spike of concern, and he feels Freddy move closer to him. 

“That’s bad, right?” he whispers.

“We’ve just gotta keep him talking,” Jake says. 

“Hear that, Bode? Keep talking!” Freddy encourages.

Bode’s breath is coming in in fast, short bursts now, his skin ashen, and Jake guesses that if he could see better, he’d see a bluish tint to his lips. He’s obviously struggling to stay awake, but he’s fighting and that’s what matters. As long as he keeps fighting…

“Come on, Bode.”

“If--if…”

Jake has the sick feeling that he knows where this is going. 

“If I don’t--”

“Don’t talk like that,” he says gently. 

“No!” Bode says it with surprising strength, then winces. When he speaks again his words are quiet and halting. “Jake, if I don’t…if I don’t make it I need…I need you to tell my mom that I. I tried. I just w-wanted to keep her safe. ‘n tell my dad I just…I hope I made him-m proud.”

Jake reaches under the blanket, finding Bode’s cool, clammy hand and gripping it tight. 

“You’re gonna be fine, Bode. You can tell them all of that, and more, alright?”

“‘n tell Gabby…”

Jake feels a stab of jealousy and guiltily shoves it down.

“Tell ‘er thank you. For savin’ me. And--and thank you. For not turning me in.”

“It was nothing,” Jake says. “I…probably deserved that punch.”

Bode’s mouth turns up in something approaching a smile and he nods once. “Yeah.”

“Do you hear sirens?” Freddy says suddenly, and Jake looks up toward the road. He can hear the faint sirens, and distant red lights are visible through the trees. 

“They’re here, Bode! They’re almost here, you’re gonna be okay. You hear me?”

“Hear you,” Bode breathes. It’s obvious he’s getting tired, though, his eyes getting a distant look to them that Jake doesn’t like. 

“Hey,” he says firmly, reaching up with both blood-caked hands and taking Bode’s face between them. “Stay with me now, I mean it this time.”

He doesn’t pay much attention to the ambulance as it pulls up, focused as he is on trying to keep Bode awake. He barely hears the sir, we’ve got it from here. Hands he doesn’t know reach for his arm and he pushes them away. 

“Sir!”

“Jake!”

It’s Gabby’s voice that finally reaches him. He turns to see her cutting through the small clearing, face twisted with sadness and worry. Her dad is hot on her heels.

“You have to let them do their job,” Manny says.

Jake blinks and stands slowly, letting himself be jostled out of the way as the paramedics kneel on the ground next to Bode and get to work. Gabby stands near them, talking tearfully to the barely-conscious man. Manny takes Jake by the arm and leads him off to one side, and then pulls him into a hug. 

“You did good,” he says. “They’ve got it from here.”

Jake doesn’t return the hug, standing stiffly and staring off into the darkness. 

“Hey, you good?” Manny says, pulling away. “Jake?”

Slowly, Jake shakes his head. 

“I didn’t say it back,” he finally says. “I didn’t tell him I was sorry.”

xxx 

[daddy-suguru]

comforting cop!toji after a stressful shift

It's nights like these that Toji realizes how much he needs to come home to you. And the endless warm comfort you give him.

✑ tags: cop!toji, curly haired!reader, heavy angst - brief, mentions of death and child abuse, hurt/comfort with eventual smut, daddy/mama, praise, hints of a height difference/size kink, cocksucking

✑ wc: 1.4k

✑ I was supposed to do a small scenario but...that got lost in translation apparently, cop!toji would see some fucked up shit and would come home scarred

You could see it in his sunken, haunted eyes. The scene he had walked into replayed in his head. More personal bits and pieces from his perspective slowly as the liquor, you had to stop him from chugging, loosens his tongue.

A welfare call had led to Toji and Sukuna walking in on a ‘dad’ beating their little girl. While he was too late for the mom, the little girl was now in the hospital and set to move across the country with their grandparents. Who had set off the chain of events, calling for a welfare check that sent Toji and Sukuna out there?

Both of them refused to leave until they saw the mom and little girl. Which resulted in them busting the door down after hearing the girl screaming. The man much to Toji’s delight has resisted arrest.

Giving Toji probable cause to punch him cleanly unconscious. Breaking his jaw, something which you had heard about on the news before Toji got home. His mangled face is a small repayment for what the wife and child had gone through.

Disgust twists his features as the scene loops in his head. He lifts the bottle of whiskey to his lips. Slipping your hand over the tip of the bottle, placing your hand over his. He doesn't look away from the tv.

Standing between Toji's parted thighs. His dark eyes focus on you as he rips himself out of his thoughts. Taking the bottle from him and setting it on the side table. While insisting,

"Drinking won't help, I'll book you an appointment for Sunday. " It had taken a while before you found someone who Toji wants to work with. Since he didn't open up very easily and resisted the idea of needing help at first. But for all the trouble finding the right therapist for your husband was worth it.

Reminding Toji, "That little girl is alive and going to their worried grandparents because of you. You got there as fast as you could. We can go see her tomorrow morning, bring her a stuffed toy and some balloons." He cups your cheek and leans forward.

Pressing his head to yours', "Yeah, we can. She had a rabbit there, could get her another one. Replace it." His words weren't even slurring. Years of pounding back drinks with Sukuna to help cope had built his tolerance too high.

Toji firmly believed he would be an alcoholic by now if not for you and your endless patience. With your soothing voice, gentle hands, and the intoxicating smell of your lotion. He could focus only on you, let your presence consume him.

Tugging on his hand, "Let's go for a shower, then we can go out back. Start a fire and stare up at the stars, lose ourselves to nature." The house outside of town made him worried.

The four large trained police pit bulls roaming the property and house eased his mind. Along with bearing witness to how well you've honed your shooting skills eased his mind. To where he adores the peace of the woods, helping him escape from the weight of his job.

Quietly standing up, wrapping his arms around you, squeezing your body to his. Pressing your face into his chest, grabbing onto his white shirt. Which he always wore underneath his black uniform t-shirt.

Sweeping you off your feet, cradling you to his chest. Carrying you towards the bathroom. Nudging the door shut with his foot. Then he sits you down on the counter and goes to start the shower.

Toji stands in front of you, holding his arms up for you to peel off his shirt. He places his arms on the edge of the counter. As you toss his shirt into the hamper, he leans down, pressing his lips to yours.

The taste of whiskey, coke, and cigarettes on Toji's lips. He parts his lips with yours and he slips his tongue past. Grabbing your hips and pressing your body against yours.

Toji had always been a very physical man. While he had a silver tongue, talking about his feelings never came naturally to him. Losing himself in your touch and seeking comfort in physical pleasure came naturally to him. And you could never deny him the comfort.

Tracing the deep lines of his abs, down to his v, which you follow to his belt. Which you undo with practice ease. Unzipping his pant, pushing them down with his underwear.

Toji steps out of them and lifts you off the counter. Wrapping your legs around his waist, he rubs small circles with his fingers into the crease of your hips. While he softly groans into your mouth.

Pushing the shower curtain open. While holding your body with one arm with ease. He steps into the tub, with his back to the warm spray of water. You unwrap your legs and Toji sets you down.

He keeps you closer, letting the water rush over your body. Moments of silence with Toji, holding you close, pass by. As you listen to the beating of his heart. With your arms wrapping around him as much as you can.

Slowly pulling away, "Going to clean you up Daddy, get you feeling better." The corner of his lips curls into a small smile. As you reach behind him, grabbing his sponge, stuck to the wall by a suction, pressing your breasts behind him.

He picks up the soap on the rim of the bathtub. Holding the sponge out in front of him. While he squirts his liquid soap onto it before setting it back down on the rim of the bathtub.

Rubbing his chest with small circles, covering his thick pecs. You have argued, much to Toji's distaste, that he has tits. Sliding your sponge down to his abs, drifting down to his navel. Where you slide your soaped-up hand lower, wrapping your fingers around his cock.

Toji groans, "You're too sweet on me, mama. Afterward, you'll have to let me lather you up with soap." He grabs your conditioner, which he pours heaps up onto into his palm.

Smearing it between both hands, starting at your roots. Toji gentling massaging in the cream. As his cock grows thicker in your hand, the blood rushes into it quickly. While he pushes out anything other thought other than you.

Telling Toji, "I've been missing your warm, large hands on my body Daddy. You didn't give me a long enough hug before you left this morning." With Toji's line of work, you never let him leave without a hug or kiss. Out of fear of never seeing Toji again.

Your conditioner mixes with the smell of his body wash. While the gentle stroking of your hand along his cock quickly builds tension in Toji's gut. As he tries to focus more so on spreading the conditioner to the tips of your curls.

Stepping back and turning around for him to gather your curly hair to pin up with a large claw clip. This way the conditioner could work to hydrate your curls without getting in the way.

Facing Toji who is rising the soap off his chest, abs, and cock. The water ran over his large wide shoulders. While come follows along the curve of his pecs. Where some drops drip off, while others trickle down his abs.

A thick stream of water runs off his cock, hanging from the heaviness of his girth and length. His cock barely hides his fat balls. Toji widely smirks at you, "Looking hungry for me mama." Sticking his sponge to the wall and kneeling before Toji.

Grabbing his cock, wrapping your legs around him, and taking half of him. Swirling your hand along the other half of his cock. Cupping as much of his balls, gently massaging him with your palm and fingers.

There was a certain way that made his thighs tremble. Quickly bobbing your head, slipping into your throat, gagging around him. Your throat squeezes his cock and your soft hand on his balls has his legs shaking.

Groaning, "You're too damn good mama. So wet and hot, looking up at me so sweetly. Hmm ma, suck my fat cock just like that." Bracing himself by placing his hand on the wall to brace himself.

Swirling your tongue around his tip. The sweetness of his pre-cum makes your mouth. The vibrations makes him jerk his cock deep into your mouth. As you fight the urge to jerk your head back out of reflex.

Relaxing your throat, only to gag around him as your eyes burn with tears. You slowly pull away till you just have his tip in your mouth. Pumping your tongue along the underside of him. Before curling your tongue and rubbing that fat puffy vein on the left side of his cock.

m.list

[issybee06]

Because…

Part ii

Warnings: swearing, smoking, underage drinking, trauma but it's ✨trauma✨, bad flirting, uncomfortable conversations, bro Kakashi is still 18…just a baby, TI building shenanigans, insomnia, coffee addiction…thats a warning right?

Eunoia

(n.) beautiful thinking;a well mind

…………………………………………………………………..……

I sigh, squeezing the bridge of my nose as I push back from the lad bench. It was 3 in the fucking morning and I was still here in this tiny lab.

Anbu had returned home two days ago, severely wounded, with one of their comrades dead. They had been in the Stone Country when they encountered their enemy and a new poison. A new poison meant a new threat, and that meant I was pulled from my 3-day break on the first day.

My head fell back and I looked up at the grey ceiling, closing my eyes when the fluorescent light began to sting. Yeah…this is better than fieldwork my ass.

It could be worse, I reminded myself as I unconsciously reached for my chest to press the grey fabric... This is why I picked this job.

Groaning, I stand up. I look down at my notes, all scribbled and messy, 1/3 of it was Japanese, another was fucking scroll marking and the rest was just chicken scratch…how the fuck was I supposed to read that when I could see straight?

That's a problem for future me, I think as I walk out of the lab, closing the door firmly behind me. I don’t bother with turning the lights off…I’m coming back. Walking down the hall, I stuff my hands into my pockets.

Moving to the kitchen, I open the cabinets to grab the unground coffee beans before dumping my version of a cup into the machine.

I grab a glass bear bottle, dumping the residue into the sink before washing it out and then filling it with water. I fill the coffee maker with water, before pressing the button, filling the quiet quarters with the irritating grinding.

Sliding to the ground, I sit with my back against the cabinet. TI was…grey. The walls, the uniforms, everything was grey. The only colorful thing here was the people, I smirk slightly.

“SENSEI!!”

The world was on fire, licking at my face and burning my hands.

Konoha was gone, flattened by the heels of the fox demon. Houses, trees, hills, and buildings all whipped away like crumbs on a table by the claws and nine swishing tails.

I go to run, only to be dragged back by arms circling my waist.

“Let me go! I can save them! I CAN SAVE THEM!!!”

“Don't be stupid!”

Kakashi…he pulled me close to his chest as tears cleaned the dirt and ash off my face. I sob, falling to the ground and he falls with me, burying his face into my hair to hide his tears.

“…there's nothing we can do.”

BEEP BEEP BEEP

“Mother fucker…?”

I open my eyes, pulling myself up to see that the coffee was done.

“Oh fuck yes, come to mama.”

I grab a mug, pouring the black liquid into it, “you are going to keep my body functional…”

Inhaling, I move back down the hall to the lab. Looking down, my eyes droop at seeing my chicken scratch notes. You know what? Inoichi can just use his freaky mind powers to pick at my brain.

I sit back down, taking a sip before placing the cup on the desk. I lean on my hand, mental deciphering the notes as I switch back and forth between the papers and the microscope.

This poison…it isn’t like anything I’ve studied before.

When Inoichi, Ibiki and I had gone to the Autopsy of the Anbu member it was too hard to look…he was almost interlay eaten away on one side; skin, muscle and bone.

The poison had disintegrated him, but when we took the samples and stored them in the glass test tubes…nothing happened.

This poison only ate away at living tissue, and not just flesh but also flora too I had come to realize after running a few test.

I reach for a tube, holding it up to the light.The poison was oddly pretty…it was an almost impossible electric blue, reminding me of chakra almost.

My job was to break this sucker down, find out what made it tick, then use my finding to conduct an antidote with the help of the medical core.

“Fucking chemistry…” I sigh, placing the tube back and replacing it with my coffee.

As I sip, the lab door opens.

“Setsuko-Chan…is my shift done already?”

The young women blushes, adjusting her glasses, “I-I’m truly sorry I’m late Senju-Hime! I promise it won’t hap-”

I raise my hand, continuing to chug the coffee down. She shuts her mouth, gulping.

I place the empty cup down, giving her a smile, “don’t worry about it, I get into my groove around this time anyways.”

She breathes out a sigh of relief and I can’t help but raise my brow at this kid. She’s a Chunin, fresh Chunin, that Inoichi recruited after seeing her skills in making laxative drugs out of berries during the forest part of the exams. I thought she was hilarious, I knew one of the kids she got, and I think that’s why I liked her.

I stand, grabbing my old notes and handing her the clearer ones.

“Here’s my findings, coffees in the pot-don’t accidentally drink the poison…I’ve done that once.”

She makes a concern face as I walk past her, heading to the front to clock out.

It’s still winter, I think to myself as snow lightly flutters down from the sky. The walk back to the apartment, thank the gods, isn’t that long but I can’t seem to stop myself from dragging my feet as I walk. My shift…was from 3pm to 3am, you do the math, and I was really starting to feel those fucking hours.

I was praying silently that Genma would leave me the fuck alone when I got home, he never did and always seemed to break something in our shared apartment.

My relationship with Genma…i wouldn’t ever say I was closer to the lay back brunette then our other childhood teammate Gai, but we just understood each other a little more.

Nothing about our relationship was sexual, he just didn’t want to buy and pay rent for an apartment and I understood that. We shared the rent, 50/50 and split the chores somewhat evenly. He did the cleaning while I cooked, I was not going to let someone who burns water cook in my kitchen.

We had offered Gai a room in the apartment, but then Kakashi bought his own apartment and Gai just had to beat his rival by buy a bigger one.

I stop, looking over at the bright lights of the 24-hour open food shop that was set up for Shinobi. I didn’t want to cook…but I had only drank coffee and ate food pills while working to minimize how much cross contamination could happen in the lab, and I was starving.

Heading in, I raise a hand in creating to the shop owner who smiled in return. I move to the frozen food, eyes zeroing in on the microwaveable soup dumplings. They were shitty, but so good at the same time.

I grab two boxes, knowing Genma was going to bitch and complain if I didn’t get him something. I also grab two soda bottles, more coffee beans, and a can of cat food for my cat, not me.

I head to the register and the old man smiles, “hard work today?”

I smile kindly, “yes, but it’s worth it right?”

The old man nods, “you Shinobi do a great service to the village, remember that.”

He hands me my spoils in s paper bag, and I pay up. Walking out, I give him another wave before making a B-line towards the apartment.

I sigh, opening the door but furrow my brows when I find not only Genma up, but also four other shinobi that do not pay rent, in the living room playing cards.

“Genma…it’s 3 fucking 30.”

He grins and the others snap their necks to look at me. My confusion fades and I sigh, “of course it’s you guys, hi Gai-kun.”

Gai grins, a faint blush on his cheeks from the Saké. Next to him on the couch is Kakashi, which is a surprise, in the armchair sits Ebisu and on the floor is Asuma who is smoking what looks like to be his third cigarette.

Ebisus face turns crimson and I raise a brow, shutting the door. Ebisu always seemed to have a crush on me-well, he did have a crush on any woman who breaths-but I never understood why…I punched him in the face when we were kids.

Genma jumps up, drunkenly giving me a wet kiss on my cheek.

“Hime~ come play cards with us! I know for a fact you’re a better gambler then your cousin!”

I duck under his arm, “ no can do, Babes, I’m crashing. But I brought food.”

Asuma and Gai perk up, getting up to see what to had.

“That’s a relief-don’t look at my cards Ebisu!”

“Gods Asuma! I wasn’t!” Ebisu groan, also getting up.

Kakashi stayed on the couch, eye staring straight as his sneaked sips of his Saké. I frown at him, opening the packages of soup dumplings. The boys hover, sitting on the counter top and island as I cook for them. I knew Kakashi was watching, I could feel his eyes burning the back of my head.

Dishing out the food, I give the boys a tired smile.

“Welp, I’m beat…don’t stay up drinking again.” I warn, walking to my room as the shinobi in my living room all but jump on the food.

I pulling off the lab coat, then the grey TI jacket revealing my white tank top and the sealing that began on my back, can up onto my shoulders and wrapped around my arms.

I sigh in relief, those grey jackets were heavy and uncomfortable. Unbuttoning my pants, I hear a soft tap on my door.

I open it, and a soft blush rises to my face when I see Kakashi leaning on the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest. It wasn’t a commanding look, quite frankly he looked like he was about to bolt if I spooked him.

“Can I help you?”

He clenched, then unclenched his jaw, “…the poison, do you have any new leads?”

Ah, work. I had almost forgotten he was apart of the small circle of people who knew of the poison.

I wave him in, “yeah, come in we can go over it.”

I nods, stiffly walking in. I close the door behind me and walk over to my desk were I had sent my jacket down. Fishing threw the large pocket, I pull out my notes.

Blushing, I hand them over, “sorry…when I get tired I switch between real words and sealing symbols…and then just random shit.”

Kakashi looked over the messy writing, and if he couldn’t read it he didn’t voice it, all he did was look over at me with his tired eye, “…I remember you used to switch between kanji and Fūinjutsu symbols, old habit?”

I blush harder, not thinking he’d remember something like that-hell, even Genma would forget and get pissed trying to read my notes.

He looked away, his milky skin showing just a bit of color. He sunk into my desk chair, lifting his hitae-ate to reveal his gifted eye.

I move to my bed, flopping down on it as I waited for him to finish storing all my notes into his memory. I felt a small shift, and was treated with a high pitch meow as my cat decided to show himself.

I smile, scratching behind his brown eye as his big blue eyes blinked slowly at me. He purred, flopping onto his side and I continued to pet him, almost therapeutic like.

Kakashi made a noise and I look over at him, but his eyes stayed away.

“I…uh, Arigatō.”

I snort, “it’s fine, Kakashi. You don’t have to thank me.”

He made a face, and my eyes soften. He was raised right, Sakumo made sure of that. Kakashi had been a little shit when we were growing up together, but over the years as he grew he began to fall more and more back into his father’s teachings (whether he knew it or not).

I sit up, and Kakashis eye stays on me, “when’d you get a cat?”

I look down at the rag doll, smiling.

“My Kaa-San got him for me when he was a kitten…birthday present.”

Kakashi nodded, and the air went tense again as we both couldn’t seem to decide if we wanted to have our eyes stay locked or if they were going to wander.

“…does he have a name?”

Was this 20 questions? How much did he drink…?

Sober Kakashi wouldn’t bother with this, he would have left by now, and I don’t just mean my room but the whole apartment. Sober Kakashi wouldn’t be sitting at my desk, cheeks red.

“…his name is Saké.”

He snorts.

He fucking snorts at that.

“You named you cat after an alcoholic beverage?”

My legs cross and I wave my hand, “no, no. I didn’t name him, Genma did! I wasn’t even home when my Kaa-San dropped him off!”

Kakashi shakes his head, softly chuckling and I smile back. He really did have a nice laugh…

He stands, and I do too. My cheeks pink when I have to look up to meet his eyes.

He grew since joining the ANBU…

We stare at each other, both of our faces slightly flushed. We haven’t seen each other since Gais birthday, and that was a month ago. He had been close back then too, so close.

“…I should go.”

I release my breath, nodding, “Y-yeah, it’s getting late.”

He gulps, brushing past me as he reaches for the door nob. He twists it, but doesn’t open it.

“…I could read your notes, I understood it.”

And then he’s gone.

[sonicnerd]

More RBA Human Drawings, Hotshot and Medix + HC's

Medix HC's

Medix is on the spectrum for autism and that's why he doesn't get some stuff that the others say at times + medical stuff and music are things that peeks his interest the most

Since Medix is the youngest (my au) Whirl is like mama bear, so whenever something bothers him (Medix) or he's overwhelmed from something, the first bot he goes to is Whirl + if there is something that Medix is too young to see, Whirl covers his optics and say look away

Organization is something that keeps Medix calm after a long day and if the others sees that he's bored they give him a bag of beads, pasta, sea shells etc, and he'll organize it

Dangerous animals are something Medix has no conscious fear of, he just thinks their cute and wants them as a pet

This baby loves gore movies and series, like really loves gore movies and series, I think he does because he thinks he might see human injures with stuff like that someday on an actual rescue and he wants to be prepared, he watches shows like: 9-1-1, lone Star, Country fire, etc

Hotshot annoyed Medix one time while he was organizing stuff and Medix went to Whirl to ask permission to cuss at Hotshot, Medix got permission and called Hotshot a Fragger, leaving everyone shocked and Heatwave happy cause he's not allowed to cuss at his students

Toys are something that he loves

Hotshot HC's

Hotshot flinches a lot, and it ranges from Heatwave yelling at him, someone surprising him, or scary movies/stories

Hotshot is FTM (female to male)

He still has lucky ducky, he knows it's not actually lucky, but, he loves it, and it's a reminder that he'll always have his confidence

He checks up on Mock (Mach) and Glow a lot in his free time but not so much for Scorch, he'll only check up on him if he's with Mock and Glow

Hotshot unconsciously pushes himself to the limit, he wants to be perfect in the eyes of his mentor (Heatwave) and with all the yelling that Heatwave directs to Hotshot, and Hotshot being young, it effected Hotshot's metal health

Medix compares Hotshot to Evan Buckley on 9-1-1, Hotshot has no clue what Medix is talking about but the others do (if you know, you know)

When it's movie night and everyone wants to watch a horror movie, Hotshot goes and sits next to Wedge (✨gay✨)

Hotshot gets silent panic attacks whenever he doesn't get something right and Heatwave scolds him

Boulder is surprisingly Hotshot's favorite teachers, he never feels like he has to be perfect around Boulder + he hopes that when Brushfire gets a mentor that she'll get Boulder

This boy is slightly like a mini Scorch, when he first started cube he copied everything Scorch did as if they were brothers

He's kinda a book worm, and if it comes to being faster or new cube moves he studies about stuff to get it right

That's all the HC's I got

Note: Medix didn't come out how I wanted but he still looks cute

Have a good day/night!

@asmoteeth @blueberry-cute-cat @sphnyspinspin

[imtrashraccoon]

Crazy & Cold: Baston x Reader

~~~

Most people probably would've called you crazy. They were probably right too, as they often seemed to be. But you didn't care what anyone thought, you knew what you liked and you were never one to care about what others thought of you. Right now though, you knew you'd done something insane.

Three days ago, you'd made an impulsive decision to travel through one of the largest National Parks in the country - Ebbott National Park. Situated around the mountain of its namesake, the park was just about a thousand square miles and it was primarily all boreal forest. This time of year when the world was covered in snow, most of the wildlife was either hibernating or had migrated to warmer regions, but you knew there was still a sizable predator population regardless of the time of year. Timberwolf packs, grizzly bears, cougars, and more were sighted frequently almost year round.

But you weren't afraid, you'd been venturing in the wilderness for most of your adult life now, and one thing you'd quickly learned was that most predators were more scared of you than you were of them. Sure, you'd had a few close calls before, like that time you'd nearly come face to face with a mama bear and her two cubs or that time a cougar had stalked you for five miles before losing interest. Still, you'd learned from these experiences and were all the stronger for it.

Things had been going well, until the weather suddenly took a turn for the worse. A freak snowstorm formed midmorning on the second day while you were away from your campsite taking pictures. Visibility dropped to zero in moments and you were forced to take shelter in a narrow crevice between two boulders. By the time the storm had let up, six extra inches of snow had accumulated on the already snowy ground and evening was drawing nearer.

With daylight nearly none existent and temperatures dropping further, you were forced to make camp where you'd sheltered. Thankfully, you still had your rucksack that had the majority of the gear you'd packed. The little hatchet you'd brought wasn't ideal but it was enough to chop up deadwood and fallen branches, which gave you enough fuel for a fire that would last a few hours.

You ended the second day huddled up in your solar blanket next to a small campfire, eternally grateful you'd splurged and bought it last week. Hopefully visibility would be better in the morning so you could find your way back to your campsite. You only had a small package of beef jerky and a bag of trail mix for food but at least water wouldn't be a problem, so long as you could keep your fire going to actually boil some snow.

The weather on the third day was much clearer, although the temperature had dropped and you woke up shivering in the wee hours of the moment. After warming up for a little bit and eating a little of what food you did have, you set out to find your way back to camp.

Unfortunately, you were further off the trail than you'd originally thought and even with your compass, you were unsuccessful to get back and only ended up more lost. Still, you tried to stay calm, as there was no point in panicking. You only needed to travel East afterall and you would eventually leave the park.

Then you accidentally fell down a cliff. You'd only been trying to get a good look at the surrounding area, when the rocky ledge beneath your feet gave way and you were sent tumbling down a steep decline. While you were fortunate not to crack your head on a rock, you ended up with some major bruising on your torso and limbs. On top of that, your right ankle was incredibly painful to put any weight on and you were now even further away from your original campsite.

With your current condition, there was no way you would be climbing back up, so your only choice was to try to make your way around the mountain if you were going to get out of here. That is, if you even could get that far. Your ankle could be broken or at least badly sprained, which would make that walk twice as long.

For now, you managed to half hobble and half crawl until you found a sturdy stick that could support your weight. If you leaned on it, you could at least walk, albeit slowly. This was going to be difficult.

~~~

You walked for most of the day, only stopping to rest every few hours or if you spotted any decent fuel for the evening's fire that wasn't hard to carry. You tried to remain in high spirits and keep yourself distracted from the pain, but it was difficult.

You talked to yourself a bunch, both to distract yourself but also to keep any would be predators away. When you got bored of that, you resorted to singing some of your favorite songs instead.

As the sun began to sink below the horizon, you began keeping an eye out for a place to make camp, ultimately deciding on resting near an old fallen tree. Since it would block the wind and help keep anything from sneaking up behind you, but it wouldn't protect you from the elements if it snowed again tonight.

You set about gathering more deadwood and anything that would burn good to add to what you'd already collected. The fire started pretty easily and you purified more water as well as eating more trail mix and jerky. You managed to cut some pine boughs with your hatchet to make a barrier between the snow and yourself this time, but didn't have the energy to attempt anything else. Having done what you could, you settled in with your solar blanket for another cold, restless night.

Just past three in the morning, you woke with a start to movement outside the glow of your campfire. You strained your eyes in the darkness around you, only to discover, to your horror, that there were multiple pairs of eyes watching you from between the trees. From the size of the creatures, you estimated they belonged to a small pack of wolves but you couldn't be sure how many there were. They appeared to just be watching you for now, but you knew they would likely jump at the opportunity if they thought you would be an easy meal.

You quickly added more fuel to the fire to create more light, hoping this would help to deter the beasts. But just in case the flames didn't, you grabbed your hatchet and walking stick, both of which were probably the best weapons you could use to defend yourself.

You kept surveying the woods and watching for any sign of the beasts should they approach. Whenever one seemed to decide to test you and step into your little circle of light, you shouted and smacked your walking stick against the fallen tree to scare it away. This worked for the most part, but the pack showed no signs of giving up just yet. You resorted to occasionally throwing chunks of snow and ice at them, hoping to spook them into running off, but that didn't seem very effective either.

As the hours stretched on, you were starting to become increasingly concerned that the wolves would never leave. You could count at least six individuals circling around the firelight and you didn't know what you would do if they decided to attack. You were tired, sore, and really wanted to just sleep. On top of that, you'd used all the firewood you had collected and your fire was about to die. When it did, you were afraid the wolves would no longer be held at bay.

Crack

The loud sound echoed throughout the forest and sounded like it originated from somewhere behind the fallen tree you were huddled up against. For a moment, you froze as your heart leapt into your throat. Even the wolves stood stock still, their ears flitting back and forth from something only they could hear.

Something else was out there.

Something big.

Something powerful.

Something that even these wolves were leary of.

You gripped your hatchet tightly in your left hand and using the sturdy stick, struggled to your feet. Whatever was coming, you were going to have to put on quite a show to even stand a chance.

But what could it be? Cougars were ambush predators and certainly wouldn't take on a whole pack of wolves. Bears were mostly hibernating during this time of year and they tended to only be aggressive over food or their young. There wasn't a single apex predator that you could think of who would have a reason to come after wolves.

You were barely able to comprehend what happened next. First, you heard something tearing through the snow off to your right. Then, a loud thunk followed by yelping from the wolves before they turned tail and fled for their lives.

You couldn't believe your eyes. Where there had been nothing but darkness before, there was the hulking figure of...something...hunched over a now very dead wolf with a massive axe embedded in what remained of its torso.

You didn't know what to do. This was no mere beast of the wild. No, you were looking at something far more monstrous. But now that the immediate source of his rage, the wolves, were gone, what would he do with you?

The hulking figure shifted and in one fluid motion, yanked the massive axe from the animal as if it weighed nothing. Dark liquid dripped from the edges of the blade, staining the pristine white snow with what you knew was the wolf's blood. The figure was breathing heavily and you glimpsed a sort of eerie red glow around his head as he turned towards you.

You gasped and a shudder ran through your trembling body. The figure in front of you was no man and he was no beast either. You were staring into the face of death itself.

A skeletal face stared back at you, unfeeling and uncaring. His right socket was blank and had splintering cracks around the edges. His left bore a singular, glowing, red eyelight that quivered at the edges and took up most of the socket it occupied. He had a wide, crazed grin that could rival the Cheshire Cat himself, but the most shocking thing of all, was the large, gaping hole that covered nearly half of his skull just above his still working socket.

And his attention was now solely on you.

You felt like how a mouse must feel when cornered by a cat. There was nothing you could do against the sheer display of power you'd just witnessed from this monster. So, you did the one thing you'd never done before when faced with a hostile predator.

You dropped your hatchet. It was a completely involuntary action. You'd just dropped the one thing you could reasonably use to defend yourself and all because you couldn't hide your fear. This wasn't anything like facing off against an angry mama grizzly. You would die horribly here.

You took half a step back but found your back against the old tree trunk. There was nothing you could do. You would've rather fought the wolves than endure whatever torture was awaiting you at the hands of this...monster.

The skeleton took a step forward, then another, until he was standing on the other side of your fire, that was now reduced to barely a few glowing embers. He kept hold of his weapon but slowly lowered it's vicious head into the snow.

"human..."

His voice was deep and guttural, rivaling the growl of even the largest of bears. Yet he spoke with no hostility, only stating the most basic of facts.

You swallowed thickly and inhaled a shaky breath. What did he want with you? He'd just saved your life, hadn't he?

"Th-thank you..." was all you managed to stutter. Immediately you felt stupid. A freak of nature just chased off an entire pack of hungry wolves and all you had to say was 'thank you'?!

He only grunted in response. Either he was a man of few words or he was feeling just as awkward as you were. You couldn't tell and his lack of conventional facial expressions wasn't making it any easier.

You could feel the way his singular eyelight was examining you. Although it seemed like he was merely assessing your current state rather than being perverted.

You cleared your throat awkwardly, "My name's (Y/N). What's yours?" You held out your left hand in what you hoped he'd only see as a friendly gesture.

A long pause. "baston," he answered in a quieter tone. He didn't shake your hand though, instead remaining stock still on the other side of your little camp.

You bit your lower lip nervously. "I see... Nice to meet you, Baston." You finally tore your gaze away from him and glanced down at the ground.

Oh right, your fire was basically out. You had spent all the precious fuel you'd managed to forage on keeping the flame bright enough to keep the wolves away. Without the warmth it had provided, you were quickly becoming chilled.

You saw Baston shift out of the corner of your vision and then he began walking away. "Wait! Where are you...?" Your desperate cries seemed to fall on deaf ears and his hulking figure disappeared into the darkness.

"Don't leave me..." You almost couldn't believe it, but with all the stress of the last few days, combined with the shock of what had just happened, you desperately didn't want to be alone any more. Even if your only company was a terrifying skeleton monster.

You sank to the ground and pulled your solar blanket around yourself. You had nothing left. Your energy was spent and you felt too overwhelmed to even begin to cope with this anymore.

~~~

The next thing you knew was warmth.

You smelled smoke and you could hear the distinct popping sound from a large bonfire.

You sat bolt upright, only to find yourself in some sort of makeshift shelter made of tented pine boughs. Barely giving yourself time to question this new development, you crawled out of the shelter and quickly glanced around.

Other than the roaring flames of a campfire that dwarfed any of the fires you'd ever made, your gaze immediately fell on your mysterious skeletal benefactor. He sat on a log that definitely hadn't been there earlier nearby the fire, patiently cleaning his weapon. Every now and then, he'd bring it close to his face and examine the edge, then resume his ministrations as if it wasn't sharp enough already.

He paused and then slowly turned his skull towards you, as if sensing your gaze. There was no emotion to speak of in his face but he didn't seem dangerous right now either. His red eyelight had shrank to about half the size of earlier which you weren't entirely sure what that meant. He seemed so relaxed right now, downright domestic even.

"Baston?" you asked quietly.

He tilted his skull in a questioning sort of way, but said nothing.

Taking that as the go ahead to continue, you decided to ask something else. "You helped me...again?"

"yes," was his straightforward answer.

"Why? What do you want from me?"

He seemed to consider this for a moment, before shrugging his massive shoulders and resuming wiping down his axe. You were wondering if that was all you were going to get out of him, when he finally responded.

"you were hurt...in trouble too. i just helped, not sure why."

You frowned slightly, "How'd you know I was...?" You trailed off, not entirely sure if you really wanted an answer to that question.

He had an indescribable expression on his face at that. "i tracked you...for a while. not hard to track humans, you make so much noise..." he murmured.

"How long is a while? I've only been out here for about three days, Baston." You weren't sure if you really wanted an answer to that question but it would drive you crazy just wondering about it.

He seemed to think for a moment. "about two days." He said it so casually, as if it was the most normal thing in the world to admit to effectively stalking someone.

You felt a chill run down your spine. All this time...he'd been nearby all this time. He could've killed you at any point and yet he hadn't.

"Why were you tracking me in the first place?" you asked cautiously.

"had to make sure you weren't up to no good. many humans come here. some are good and only look. some are bad and make a mess." He laid the axe down against the log, seemingly satisfied with it, before looking sharply back at you.

"but none come here in the winter. you're a crazy one, huh?" His permanent grin seemed to quirk at the edges and his working socket crinkled at the corner in what you thought was an amused look.

You felt your cheeks heat up and you looked away in embarrassment. Ironic, even he thought you were crazy. "Yeah, I am crazy. I like the snow and I like the forest. I even like how quiet it is compared to the busy city. It's just...freeing in a way, if that makes sense."

He studied you for a moment before saying, "yeah, the city's too busy. humans move too fast, nature takes its time. it's better that way." You got the impression that he was speaking from experience, but he didn't seem willing to elaborate further.

Now that it was brighter out, you could see him properly which certainly helped him seem less scary. His clothing was very obviously handmade and it was sewn from a myriad of furs and skins. While the craftsmanship was rough, you could see it was also skillful and rather creative.

Baston had a dull blue coat that looked like it had been dyed with a homemade dye and a large hood that was trimmed with what you suspected was wolf fur from the colour. Otherwise, he was also wearing pants, boots, and mittens although neither of these were dyed and were instead made from hides and trimmed with fur. Overall, his clothing looked very warm and comfortable which, while you had decent winter gear, you were still slightly jealous of him.

Baston made a sound like he was clearing his throat before asking, "are you hungry?"

You felt like you were starving and nodded. "Yeah, I haven't eaten much solid food ever since the first day I got out here."

Baston nodded and stood up. He moved to the other side of the fire and drew a large hunting knife from a sheath on his belt. To your surprise, there was a makeshift roasting spit with cooked meat on it. He carved a decent sized chunk out of the roast and approached you again. If you weren't so hungry, you probably would've thought the idea of plain meat was boring, but your body was craving protein and you weren't about to be picky.

You took the chunk of meat and ate it without thought or complaint. It was a bit tough and definitely tasted gamey, but you didn't care. It was good. You didn't notice until after you'd completely consumed the meat, that Baston had stayed put, simply watching you intently. He continued to stare and you were a little more than intimidated.

"Um, thank you, Baston." You frowned thoughtfully and asked, "Was that...the wolf from last night?"

Baston blinked and you realized he must've zoned out. He nodded and his permanent grin widened slightly. "yep, it's not a good time of year but i hate wasting a kill."

"I would've eaten it regardless, but again, thank you." You paused and looked away from him. Your gaze landed on his axe still leaning against the log and you had another question. "Do you hunt often?"

He shrugged, "whenever i can, especially this time of year when food is scarce..." His expression darkened significantly and his eyelight shrank further.

Feeling slightly alarmed, you tried to stand up to comfort him, but stumbled and nearly fell over. Before you could faceplant in the snow, strong hands caught your shoulders and kept you from falling.

Baston had actually caught you, and for a moment, neither of you seemed to have the ability to speak. His grip was like a steel trap and you could feel the sharp points of his phalanges even through his fur mittens.

You knew you were blushing from how embarrassing this whole situation had become. Of course you would forget that you were injured and make a fool of yourself by being clumsy. "Th-thanks," you murmured softly and looked away from him.

There was a long pause before Baston grunted in acknowledgement and hesitantly relaxed his grip on your shoulders, although he didn't let go entirely. Probably to keep you from falling again.

"i almost forgot you were hurt," he stated. "you should be resting or you'll make it worse." His voice had taken on a sterner tone and you couldn't help but feel like he was scolding you.

"I know, but I'm fine. I probably just sprained my ankle or something like that. It's not the end of the world, okay?" you retorted.

The look Baston gave you seemed like he didn't believe you. In fact, he actually seemed a bit shocked that you had brushed him off so quickly like that. "let me look at it," he said in that same serious tone, not even giving you a choice in the matter.

You huffed and crossed your arms, "You really don't need to. I told you I'm fine..."

Baston cut your protests off by suddenly picking you up like a sack of potatoes, eliciting a shocked gasp from you. He moved back over to the log and sat down, setting you in his lap as he did so. "i need to know you're okay and not just pretending to be, (y/n)," he murmured quietly.

You could feel his breath against your face as he spoke and inadvertently shuddered. Besides feeling rather intimidated right now, you were also a bit confused to put it simply. Why was he so insistent on helping you? What was his ultimate motive? Did he even have ulterior motives?

You sighed, "Fine, but be careful, promise?"

Baston hesitated for a moment but slowly nodded. "alright, fine. i'll be careful...i promise..."

You reluctantly took off your boot and sock, letting him take a look at your ankle. It had definitely swelled up a bunch since the fall, no wonder it hurt.

Baston took off one of his mittens and for the first time, you got to see how rugged his hands were. Unsurprisingly, he seemed to be made completely of bone, but more surprising, the structure was different from any human bones you'd seen and the bones that made up his palm were fused together. There was also a concerning number of noticeable divets and nicks in several of his metacarpals but you didn't feel comfortable asking about them

With a surprising amount of gentleness for a creature of his size and strength, Baston carefully traced the injured area, paying close attention to the joint itself but also the ligaments. You couldn't help but tense up a bit and while your ankle was sensitive, the pain was tolerable. He seemed to become engrossed in the action of touching your skin the longer he did so, but eventually he pulled away, seemingly satisfied.

"there's a good chance it's only sprained but you still need to be careful," he said as you slipped your outer layers on again.

You nodded, "Yeah, yeah, I know." You wanted to get off him but didn't know if he'd let you right now since he clearly didn't want you moving around too much. Besides, he was oddly warm...maybe you could stay here a bit longer, so long as you didn't overthink this whole situation.

Hoping to distract yourself, you tried asking another question, "Do you live out here alone, Baston?"

He grinned and looked down at you before answering, "nah, i live with my brother, hemlock. he's more of a home body so i take care of all the outdoor tasks. like hunting, trapping, and collecting firewood or other things."

From the sudden but pleasant change in his demeanor, you immediately gathered he cared a lot about his brother. It was sort of reassuring to know that for someone that looked so terrifying, he really seemed like a normal person under all that tough exterior shell.

Maybe things would be alright. Baston hadn't really done anything to make you mistrust him and now that you weren't struggling on your own, you felt a bit more at ease. At least you weren't in a hurry to get home just yet.

[webseriesviral]

What to Watch: True Detective, Monsieur Spade, One Chicago, Law & Orders Some great shows are premiering... #movie quote #movies #movie line #movie line #movie scenes #cinema #movie stills #film quotes #film edit #vintage #movie scenes #love quotes #life quotes #positive quotes #vintage #retro #quote #quotes #sayings #cinematography

[randomvarious]

Today’s compilation:

The Sun Story 1986 Rock & Roll / Rockabilly / R&B / Country / Blues / Pop

Ending this little foray of mine into Sun Records with this wonderful retrospective of the entire label, which, I'll reiterate one last time, is one of the most important record companies in the history of music, because it helped shape the path of rock & roll and had some enormous stars on its roster throughout the 50s, including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Conway Twitty, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins. In those early-to-mid-50s years, there was a whole southern confluence of R&B, blues, soul, country, rockabilly, gospel, and eventually rock & roll, and Sun proved itself to be right smack-dab in the middle of it all, with its headquarters stationed in a multicultural Memphis, Tennessee, where both black and white artists were able to flourish, locally.

But, actually, to do just a tiny bit of hair-splitting here, this 1986 double-LP from Rhino Records isn't just a rundown of Sun (a Sundown?); it's more so a presentation of some of the greatest triumphs of the career of its very own founder, Sam Phillips. And as such, this compilation doesn't just contain stuff that was released on Sun. For example, a song that a lot of people contend is the first rock and roll record ever made, "Rocket 88," by Jackie Brenston with The Delta Cats (which was really Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm), was leased to Chess Records in '51, and predates the establishment of Sun entirely. But Sam Phillips recorded it in his own studio and was its producer too!

And there's other momentous occasions like that one that are on this album as well, like Elvis Presley's first ever single, "That's All Right (Mama)," which brought him to instant local fame in Memphis in 1954, and is another record that some claim to be the first ever in the history of rock and roll. Plus, other than just being a first in potentially multiple ways, it's also just a terrific mid-50s tune on its own, in which Presley speeds up the original 1946 blues version by Arthur Crudup and debuts his own trademark vocal gravitas on it 🤩.

And another highly important song on here is "Bear Cat," by Rufus Thomas, who turned out to be Sun's first substantial discovery. It's an answer to Big Mama Thornton's "Hound Dog"—the very one that Elvis would go on to immortalize in the latter portion of the decade—and it represented both Thomas' and Sun's first big hit, topping out at #3 on Billboard's R&B chart in 1953.

And there's a lot of other great songs on here that are worth talking about as well, but I'd be remiss if I skipped over Charlie Rich's "Lonely Weekends." He does an Elvis impersonation on it—which, say what you will about that—but its production, with the gospel choir-type backing of The Gene Lowery Singers, as well as a sax-laced instrumental bridge that's outfitted with reverbed click-clacking percussion, is pretty astounding. A remarkable chart debut for Rich there, peaking at #22 on the Hot 100 in 1960.

It's no doubt hard to really present the true essence of Sun in just a single volume of 28 songs, but this release does a pretty damn spectacular job of it. And don't mistake it for the curtailed CD release that came out a year after this one, because it's *very* inferior. The eight extra songs on this double-LP makes it the Sun entry point that you need if you've never delved into this eminently crucial label’s discography before. AllMusic rates it at five stars and so do I. It's simply essential listening.

Highlights:

Jackie Brenston with The Delta Cats - "Rocket 88" Jerry Lee Lewis and His Pumping Piano - "Great Balls of Fire" Billy Riley and The Little Green Men - "Red Hot" Johnny Cash and The Tennessee Two with The Gene Lowery Singers - "Straight A's in Love" Little Junior's Blue Flames - "Mystery Train" Johnny Cash and The Tennessee Two - "Folsom Prison Blues" Johnny Cash and The Tennessee Two - "Get Rhythm" Bill Justis - "Raunchy" Charlie Rich - "Lonely Weekends" Jerry Lee Lewis and His Pumping Piano - "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" Rufus 'Hound Dog' Thomas Jr. - "Bear Cat" Elvis Presley, Scotty & Bill - "That's All Right (Mama)" Johnny Cash & The Tennessee Two - "I Walk the Line"

[princepsfianna]

I would dare to say it's a longing for the past but no that's not it. I don't want to go to the past, rife with sexism, racism, discrimination and all sorts of terrible, terrible things which are disgusting. Nor am I after this manhood out of some vile, disgusting sexism of andrew tate who just wants materialism and selfish disregard of others. But rather instead one of selflessness and I guess honour? Look back in the past and see how noble our fathers were. How they drowned ni their own blood so that we might live on more. How they bravely fought, died for valiant causes doomed though they were and how they roared against tyranny and stormed the beaches, killed the enemy and secured victory. How we aspire to be like them, how we aspire to stand like them. They are our role models and we fall so, so very short. Our world is dominated by tyranny and yet unlike them we do not fight, we languish meekly. We have fallen from such highness of a noble people. We want the challenge, the blood, the leaving behind of safety and comforts of modernity where even cowrads will find safety in battle. To escape the meaninglessness of modern life and prove ones manhood in something real, something raw. It's not about the war or violence itself, well, it kinda is but not neccessarily. Just to leave the soft world and become a real man born in wars fury. Where in the bloody battlefields you discover who you really are, what you are made out of. Stripping away all the comforts, all the falseness of modern life, everything artifical and revealing who you truly are underneath. A coward, a man, a hero or a martyred dead. To break free from this constricted, miserable, drab and meaningless existence which we all find ourselves engaged in. I don't know, I don't know. I'm writing this during a risis of identity on what it means to be everything, to be scottish, to be a gael and to be a man. All these identities which I hold are in a crisis. THere's no clear path for us to prove ourselves in this time of great trial and I fear that future generations will chastise us and say we are not worthy of bearing the mantle of our beautiful blue saltire or of calling ourselves men for remaining under the yoke of despotism.

Look this video is a funny meme but honestly now i'm a bit older.. yeah basically.. It's incredible how Jreg encapsulates the male condition lmfao. We, as a people, stand in the shadows of far more noble, glorious, honourable and valiant men. We will never amount to anything like them despite being of their blood and they look down on us and I wonder how they feel? To see their noble sons driven down beneath cowards heel? Do they feel angry? Do they even care? Do they see us as their sons or do they turn us away?

"Soldiers of freedom, unfearing and eager to follow in the teaching of her hero dead, on for freedom! Fianna Éireann!" This is what I guess I relate to. I am eager to follow in the teaching of those that came before me but I can not. This world is simply different and the days are gone, and in the past they must remain. But later on, "Clean be our thinking and truthful our speaking that we may deserve her when the fight is done." This just gets it right in the juggular. Might we, in battle, remain honourable so that we will deserve our country and our cause when it's done and won. We just want to be men. But what does it mean to be a man? Honestly I used to value that importantly but now I don't really care for it. It's worthless in this modern world. I would give it up if there was something better it's simply what fate has decided. I guess, more guilty thoughts, but I wonder what the boys of Ukraine are thinking. Quoting this Ukrainain war song, "Mama! I'm in the ranks, will fire and fury, walls burn in battle! Mama, I'm standing! Mama, I'm in the ranks! Motherland! I am fighting, I will conquer and return!" I'm not sure if this is what I would, in this fantasy, be thinking or not. I don't know. I'm confused, very much so. It won't happen anyway so I guess it's worthless to think about it but still.. I want to.

"It's not a sin to be afraid, It is a sin to betray my own!"

A north west passage.

This song, this song man!

It's the commermation and the nostaliga for a future that was lost and never really existed. O' What is to be done? There is nothing more to do.

it is surely the natural desire of every man to make a northwest passage

I don't quite know how to explain it. The desire of independence and liberty. To take a north west passage and leave it all behind, like the song botany bay. Farewell to your bricks and mortor! Farewell to your dirty liens! Farewell to your gangways and to hell with you overtime! I guess it's the same appeal was being a rustic american cowboy. To ride through a land so wide and savage, untamed, wild. To get away from the modern luxuries and the modern decadance, the modern control and be truly free. Just you and a noble ride steed and gallop into the dusty, wild and free land. Where man is but a man without anything else. Just him, just his horse and revolver and the wild west. I guess the same is for a north west passage. Just you, your boat and the wild seas on all corners. Completely isolated, completely gone from the rest of society. Tracing one more line through a land so wide and savage and making a north west passage to the sea- that is such a massive fantasy we all have. To escape our boring lives under the thumb of control and pampered with modern luxury and to embrace the danger, the wildness, the feral beasts that await and to not quake.

I don't know why men feel such an urge, I guess it's, quoting Parable of the Sorer, "What is it in young boys that makes them want to wander off alone and get killed? They get two chin hairs and they're trying to prove they're men." I guess it's the lack of manhood, the lack of masculinity in society today. Look back in history and see what our ideals of manhood represent, warriors, kings and the like. Men who braved the odds and came out on the otherside. But in this world of want and luxury for your average man in the western world at least there is no such need or desire. I guess this creates a system where we simpyl do not live up to those ideals which creates a yearning. A yearning to prove ourselves as men, to die ni battle, to die honourably with glory and to bring renown upon our noble names. To fight a bear and win, to show the scars of it and to prove oneself. I guess it's like, a rite of passage from the fires of boyhood to the refinedness of manhood. I'm not entirely sure the point of this other than I want to make a north west passage through a land so wild and savage... I am quite disillusioned with manhood and boyhood as it stands today. As with the rest of society when I read it appears that we have fallen so far. Sure we've come far, objectively so. Today is better to live now than a hunderd years ago and praise be for it but still. A hundred years ago our fathers were biting into their teeth and drowning in their blood in the muddy trenches of the Somme with nothing but blind hatred for the Germans. Less than a single generation later our fathers stormed the beaches of Normandy and liberated France after fighting bitterly in the sands of El Alamein. A hundred years before that our fathers fought the French and defeated Napoleon. A hundred years before that our fathers rose up with nothing but wrath at the english invaders and out of deep loyalty to the rightful King and law and a hundred years before that the Gaels rose up and the confedrate Ireland was formed and secured much of Ireland. Our faith was in God and rory O' moore. A hundred years before that we were still fighting the English and the taught them well in Desmond and a hundred years before that we fought with nothing but blind disgust at the English and their traitors who with Bruce and Fedlim outnumbered twenty thousand to nine thousand and yet for years they fought.

Again I don't know the point of this post, i'm just using it as a soapbox because it's my blog and I want to. I just want war, really. Well not so much war but I guess kinda war yeah. There is so much evil, tyranny and the like in this world and I just want to eradicate it. Oh well many men have thought those words and few have acted on it so I am in good company lol.

[queerstuffonscreen]

BearCity 3 (2016)

108 min.

Country: USA

Genre: Comedy

Language: English

After a continuing losing streak that started at the altar, Roger tries to claw out of financial ruin and into the arms of Tyler. But Jay, Ty's hunky fire chief partner is not letting that flame blaze. Meanwhile, fireworks explode when Fred's obsessive tinkering on their bear documentary conflicts with Brent's baby prep and the unwavering due date of their newborn. Mama bear Michael faces major challenges and finds that love comes in all colors, shapes and sizes.

Watch or rent on AppleTV

[whumpdoyoumean]

A/N: Surprise! A third and final part to my Fire Country tag!

part 1 part 2

xxx

“I’m riding with him.”

“Gabby…” Manny begins.

“No! If you fight me on this you’re not going to win, so it would be easier for everyone if you just don’t even start!” 

“Hey,” Jake says, and Gabby looks at him while Manny watches her. There’s something in her face that Manny can’t identify exactly. She’s not asking for Jake’s permission, but she is looking for something. Jake looks back at her for a moment, then shifts his gaze to Manny. “Let her go.”

Manny’s eyebrows jump, eyes widening, even as Gabby’s expression shifts to one of determination and a hint of satisfaction. Whatever she’d been searching for in Jake, she’d found it. Manny wants to argue. If the worst happens in that ambulance and Gabby is there to see it, he’ll never forgive himself. But if the worst happens and she isn’t there, then she’ll never forgive him. He sighs, pinches the bridge of his nose. 

“Okay.”

Bode better not fucking die.

He and Jake and the other firefighters watch in silence as the unconscious Bode is loaded onto the ambulance, Gabby climbing in after him. The sirens start up again and Manny watches as it pulls away.

“Is he gonna be okay?” It’s one of Manny’s guys, Wes, that says it, and there’s a ripple of activity as the others echo the sentiment. 

Manny doesn’t answer. He’s suddenly exhausted, the chaos of the last few minutes, hours, weeks hitting him all at once, and all he wants to do is go home and go to bed. He’s keenly aware of all of the eyes on him, and that only makes it worse.

“Of course he’ll be okay,” Freddy says, and Manny could kiss him. “It’s Bode.”

“Thank you,” Manny says under his breath, and Freddy nods, almost smiling though it doesn’t reach his eyes. 

A thought occurs to Manny then, and a rock forms in the pit of his stomach. “Oh, shit.”

“You alright?” Jake asks. 

Manny closes his eyes and lets out a long breath. “I’ve gotta tell his parents.”

“I’ll do it,” Jake says immediately, and Manny shakes his head. 

“No. Thank you, but I can’t ask you to do that. I’m his captain.”

“And I’m his friend!” Jake looks as startled as Manny is when he says it, but he keeps going. “And you need to figure out where everyone is staying tonight.”

Manny hadn’t thought about that. He’d been so caught up with the fire, and then with Bode, he hadn’t stopped to consider the fact that their lodgings have sustained fire damage. Not that anyone’s going to be able to sleep after everything that’s happened. It’s going to take a lot of coordination to figure out what to do, and honestly the idea of not having to make that call is immensely appealing. 

“Okay,” he says, but guilt is choking him and the word doesn’t come out. He swallows and says it again. “Okay.”

Jake nods and walks off a little ways, pulling out his phone. Manny takes his out, too. He’s got a lot to figure out and coordinate. Before he does, though, he listens. 

“Hey, captain. Uh, Vince,” Jake says. “Yeah, the fire’s out, but um. I’m sorry. No, no it wasn’t--it wasn’t the fire, Odin…Bode was stabbed. He’s being taken to the hospital now, Gabby’s with him. I’m sorry.”

Jake apologizes again, and even with the distance Manny can hear the emotion rising in his voice, and Manny can’t listen anymore. He steps away and starts making phone calls.

xxx 

Fighting fire isn’t an easy job. Vince had known that going into it. It’s hard on the mind, on the spirit. Those things get…not easier, not really. But one can build defenses. The older a firefighter is, the more equipped they are to handle the emotional hardships. Unfortunately, the opposite is true of the body. It’s a hard job even for young firefighters, and the older they get, well. It just gets harder. 

And yet, after decades on the job, no week has ever left Vince as sore as these past few days have. Days and nights spent in plastic chairs and a tiny cot have done a number on his back, and combined with the lack of sleep and the fact that he’s hardly been eating, he feels and looks like death warmed over. It’s a small price to pay; it’s the only way he’s been able to get Sharon to go home and get real rest, though she still spends more time here than Vince would like. 

Not that he can blame her. They’d almost lost Bode. He’d been in bad shape when he got to the hospital, had been in shock and needed a massive transfusion before being rushed into emergency surgery. The hours that had followed had been some of the most harrowing of Vince’s life. Sharon had been absolutely inconsolable, blaming herself for the attack and alternately crying and furious. Vince had just been terrified. Terrified that he was going to lose his remaining child, terrified that all the things he’s left unsaid will remain so forever. 

And then the doctor had appeared, looking a bit worn down herself, and told them that Bode was alive, the source of the bleeding found and repaired. 

“He has a long road ahead of him,” she’d said. “But he should make a full recovery.”

And they’ve been waiting for him to wake up ever since. 

Vince has done more reading and sudoku in the last three days than in the rest of his life combined. He’d tried crosswords, but had turned out to be terrible at those. The sudoku sometimes make him want to pull his hair out, but at least he can puzzle out the answers and doesn’t need to know things like, Good as Hell singer or Star Trek actor Urban. 

Sharon is home now doing a round of dialysis, but has vowed to come back as soon as she’s finished, ignoring Vince’s request that she take a nap after. Honestly, Vince will be glad of the company. The numbers are giving him a headache. 

He’s just set his sudoku book down and is getting ready to go to the vending machine when he hears a sharp breath. He looks up to see Bode’s face slowly bunching into a frown, and he quickly scooches his chair forward and takes Bode’s hand in his own, careful of the IVs. 

“Bode?” he says softly. “Bode, you with me?”

Bode’s eyes open a crack, his lips parting, and after a moment he says, “Dad?” His voice is quiet and scratchy from disuse. It makes him sound younger than he is, and it catches Vince off guard. There’s nothing he can do to stop the tears that spring into his eyes. 

“Yeah. Yeah, son, it’s me. Do you know where you are?”

Bode nods once. “Hospital.”

“Yeah. Yeah, bud. It was, uh…It was a close call but you. You made it, so…” 

Damn he wishes Sharon were here. He’s no good at this.

“Mom?” Bode asks. 

“She’s okay. She’s home doing her treatment.” He’s surprised when Bode’s eyes fill with tears, and he adds quickly, “Hey, well she’ll be here before too long. A couple hours or so.”

“Odin--”

“Odin is in jail. He’s going away for a long, long time. You got nothing to worry about. Your mom, too.”

Bode sniffs and shakes his head slightly. “No, it’s--did…” He swallows. There’s an agonized look on his face. “Did he hit my kidney?”

Vince is only confused for a second before realization hits, and he shakes his head. “No, no, son. Nicked your spleen. You lost a hell of a lot of blood. But your kidneys are fine.”

Bode’s expression relaxes and he closes his eyes. Tears slip silently down his cheeks as he nods. “Good.”

Vince tightens his grip on Bode’s hand. “Bode?”

Bode opens his eyes. 

“I need you to listen to me. And I mean--I mean really listen.”

Bode nods again. 

“I…” Vince begins, and then stops. Why is this so hard? He takes a deep breath. “Shit, son. I’m really--really proud of you. All the work with Cal Fire, everything you’ve been doing with your mom…It’s been. It’s been really great watching you help people.”

The look of sheer surprise on Bode’s face causes a pang of guilt in Vince’s gut. He knows he doesn’t say these things much, but he didn’t know it was rare enough to cause this kind of reaction. 

“Thanks, Dad.”

“I’m not finished,” Vince says. “I’m proud of you, but now you’re going to need to stop thinking so much about other people, including your mom, and just focus on you.”

He sees the doubt on Bode’s face and shakes his head. 

“No, I mean it. If you really want to help your mother, then you need to heal. That has to come first, you understand me?”

“Yes sir,” Bode says. And then one corner of his mouth lifts into a smile. “Maybe you should take your own advice. All due respect, you look like shit.”

Vince laughs. “Yeah, you’re not wrong. I look forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight.”

Bode’s face shifts. “You been sleeping here?”

Vince shrugs, suddenly embarrassed. He rubs at the back of his head with his free hand. “Yeah.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

Vince shrugs again. “Yes, I did. You’re my son. And I love you. I’m--I’m glad you’re okay.”

Bode smiles. He looks tired, and like he may fall back asleep any second, but he says, “I love you too, Dad. Sorry if I scared you.”

“Of course you didn’t scare me,” Vince says. “But never do that again.”

But Bode’s already drifted off.

xxx 

[simplymanuela]

Bode, you do something stupid, you pursue this guy, and you hurt everybody you care about. My dad, your crew, your parents... What about you? I’d be heartbroken.

Fire Country 1.11 | Mama Bear

[heavyhitterheaux]

Reunited and it Doesn't Feel So Good

AN: Toxic!Jack doesn’t make an appearance until the end. There will possibly be a part two and I hope yall like this!

Synopsis: Your boyfriend isn’t spending time with you and you grow tired of it

Pairing: Jack Harlow x Reader, Urban Wyatt x Best Friend!Reader

Please do not repost my content anywhere

You were as excited as a toddler in a candy store and could hardly sit still since the pilot announced you would be landing in Vegas in the next thirty minutes.

Your job had been a lot lately and you found yourself overwhelmed and needing to be in the arms of your boyfriend.

The boyfriend that was constantly flying all over the country, but you weren't complaining. It got hard at times, but you were proud of him nonetheless.

He's worked his ass off for this and accomplished everything he set out to do and you were more than happy to be along for the ride.

Jack had promised to pick you up from the airport and have lunch before his show at a place he found on his explore page on Instagram that he had been dying to try and waited so you would be able to go with him. It's been two months since you've seen him and you were longing for his touch.

But much to your surprise, Jack wasn’t waiting for you when you landed. 

Strike One

Neelam and Urban were and they were just as excited to see you. 

It wasn’t that you weren’t grateful to see them as well, but your heart sank a little bit noticing he wasn’t anywhere in sight. 

“Y/N!! I’ve missed you! It’s been too long!” Neelam exclaimed while bringing you in for a tight hug. She was like an older sister to you and you were constantly going to her and Metta for advice.

“I’ve missed you too Nee. I take it you’ve been keeping the boyfriend in check because I obviously can’t trust this one to do it.” you said nodding towards Urban before he pinched you and brought you in for a hug.

“I do my best, but you already know how he is.” She replied before taking your carry-on bag from you.

“Is that how you greet your best friend? Missed you too little mamas.” Urban asked while wrapping an arm around your shoulder and leading everyone out to the car.

Urban had been your best friend close to five years and was the reason you met Jack and eventually ended up together. 

“Missed you more and yes because the two of you together causes a whole lot of problems. All I’m going to say is 4th of July 2 years ago.”

“How was I supposed to know the car was full of fireworks before I decided to light my blunt?”

“And almost set the entire block on fire?”

“You’re one to talk. Remember when you and Jack..” You immediately placed your hand over his mouth as your eyes went wide knowing the incident that he was referring to. 

“You take that to the grave Wyatt!” You whisper-yelled before settling in the backseat of the black escalade that would take you all to the hotel in order to let you get settled into your room before heading off to the venue. 

The ride to the hotel took less than ten minutes and before you knew it, Neelam was handing you a room-key before heading off to the venue to make sure everything was running smoothly and Urban helped you with your bags.

“You’re only staying for two weeks, right? Why the fuck is this shit so heavy?” Urban was starting to break a sweat while carrying your bag to the room that you would be sharing along with Jack.

“Shut the hell up, Urby. I have to be prepared for every possible situation we may come across.”

“What the hell do you expect to happen? For us to be fighting bears and shit?”

“You get on my last nerve, I swear.”

You both finally made it to the door before Urban started to take off in the other direction.

“Umm,  where are you going?!”

“Tell your boyfriend to carry those heavy ass bags, I’m done.”

You proceeded to roll your eyes before pulling the room key from your back pocket and inserting it into the slot in the door. Once it had turned green, you opened it to see Jack sitting in the corner with his eyes closed.

So, what exactly was he doing that he couldn’t be bothered to come and get you?

He didn’t even acknowledge your presence and you simply walked over to him and sat in his lap startling him.

“Oh shit, babe you’re here already?!”

“Yes, I told you I would be landing around 2. I was expecting you to come and get me, but having Neelam and Urby do it was a nice surprise.” You replied before bringing your lips to his. 

“I got caught up. I’m sorry, you forgive me?”

“Yes, I’ll let you slide this time. I know you’ve been working hard, but have you actually been sleeping?”

“Of course, I have.”

“Jackman...”

“Okay, not as much as I should but I’m okay. A few more weeks and I get a break.”

By the looks of it, you were thinking he wouldn’t last through the next two days.

“So, are we going to this restaurant or not?” you asked before hopping up and setting your suitcases in the closet.

They weren’t even that heavy so you had no idea what Urban was talking about. 

“Oh, fuck.” Jack muttered while looking over at you.

“Don’t tell me you forgot.” You were now growing increasingly annoyed and getting frustrated. 

“Babe, I’m scheduled for a zoom interview in like twenty minutes, but Urban can take you.” 

Now you rolled your eyes and began to catch somewhat of an attitude.

“You said you would take me, not Urban.”

“I know, mamas. Today has just been so busy, but I promise to make it up to you, okay?” He replied while placing a kiss to your forehead. 

“Fine, you’re lucky you’re cute.”

--

This was the recurring theme for the entire first week. Keep in mind you took off for two weeks to be with your man, but your man was everywhere else but with you and there was only one week left before you had to fly back. You were growing frustrated, and everyone around you could tell. Urban being your best friend tried to keep you entertained, but that only went so far. Of course you loved being around your best friend, but all you wanted was for your boyfriend to give you attention.  

Strike Two

Neelam mentioned that Jack had off the rest of the afternoon and your heart jumped at the thought of having him all to yourself and you planned on taking advantage of it. As far as you were concerned everyone else could wait. 

“Babe, how about we go sight-seeing?” You asked while sitting next to him. He was typing away on his phone, not paying you any attention so you spoke up again.

“Jack..”

Nothing.

“Jackman!”

“Damn, what? You see I’m doing something.”

“First of all, lose the attitude. I asked if you wanted to go sight-seeing.” It was your first time being in Houston and wanted to check out some places that one of your friends back home had recommended since she used to live in the area. 

“Can’t Urban go with you?”

“Is Urban my boyfriend? I flew out here to come and see you yet, I feel like you’ve neglected me for the past week. All I’ve been doing is hanging out with Urban.”

“What do you expect me to do? Drop everything because you suddenly show up?”

“I didn’t ask you to drop anything. But all of the plans we made have been blown off by you and I didn’t suddenly show up. You knew I was coming.” 

Jack suddenly sighed and if you were mad before, you were pissed now.

“Why did I even bother coming if you were just going to ignore me this whole time?”

“No one is ignoring you. You kind of make it difficult with you constantly fucking yelling in my ear.”

“Wait a minute. You’re mad because I want to spend time with you after not seeing you for two months? Did I get that right?”

“Y/N, that isn’t even what I said so stop putting words in my mouth.”

“Well, it sure does sound like it. I don’t even know why I bothered coming at this point.”

“Well, you can leave. The door is right over there and no one is stopping you.”

Strike Fucking Three 

Your jaw hit the floor after hearing his response and you were in disbelief that he had just said that to you.

“What the fuck is your problem, Jackman?”

Now he knew for a fact you were beyond pissed when you brought out the government name.

“I’m tired of your constant nagging. That’s my fucking problem.”

“But, you were the one who asked no... begged for me to come and see you and this is how I get treated?”

“You knew how it would be when we started dating, so why are you switching up now?”

“No one is switching up anything. I get your job is demanding, I truly do. But there is no reason for me to be ignored by my boyfriend who is in the same room.”

“I swear the only thing you know how to do is complain.”

“Fuck you Jackman.” You yell as you make your way towards the door and slammed it without another word.

You didn’t know where you were going, but you wanted to get as far away as possible from your boyfriend. 

Jack simply shrugged before giving his phone his undivided attention before he had been interrupted by you.

“She’ll be back.”

[its-snicket-here]

Sorry accidentally pressed asked before I finished

Let me present you ocean god monster mom! Think of a mermaid like in old european stories of nymphs, out of all this one is more human looking if you ignore the hollow black eyes

Oof, for a sec I though Tumblr gobbled up your other half of the sentence and got worried. But Ocean Goddess mama? 👀

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

Far, far away. Away from the Empires, Theocracies, Kingdoms, or States, off more to where the sandy streets of the beach clashes against the waves, lies a bustling village. Though the walls of the ancient village were splintered from past wars it endured, they never bother to fix their only protection from outside forces. Rather, they all seem content with their weak walls. The sandy streets bustled with merchants, livestocks, animals, and children. Some played hopscotch, while others play rope. Some even went out for hunting and gathering, but most of all, they all gave their respects to the waves.

Many baskets were weaved, only to give offerings for blessings they wished to receive during their daily lives. No statues were to be seen of their mysterious deity they seem to worship highly about. Neither the name they dare to say for their deity, but they all knew that their deity shouldn't be a force to be reckoned with.

Now, far from the waves, west of the walls, lie an old man. He held many scars from the past, though he wasn't ashamed with it. Behind him was the blacksmith's workshop. Many embers and flickers of fire flew out, daring to hit the man and ignite him on fire - but it didn't scare him. He rocked in his seat, gazing fondly at the skies. Perhaps remising his times when the village once was blessed by the sea deity herself.

Skrrt. Skritch. Scratch.

"Mr. Savais! Mr. Savais!" Cried out many of the children. Their clothing were rustled and dirtied from playing around, but they still held their bright smiles. Some were even missing a tooth or two. Though, he knew what they're here for. His eye twinkled, smiling as he repositioned himself in a more comfortable posture.

"Come then, little ones. Sit by the fire, but not close enough or else the flames will lick your skin. Come close, as I'll tell you the tale where the Nymph arrived to the Village."

🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊

Far, far away. Somewhere once a village that prospered good luck and a bountiful harvest each year. Nets after nets would be filled with fish, trees would bear the sweetest fruit, and plants would even grow in the harsh breath of snow.

All were a happy village, as they were never bothered nor found by the growing countries. The sun never dipped to early, nor rise too late. The winds never had a hint of ice or the strength of the oxen. Neither the waters even dare to rise up to touch the huts. All was perfect. There were no need to have guards or even have any watch towers, as they never had any problems.

Though...

Not all good things last forever...

A weary adventurer came across the village. Hurt and bruised, he wheezed for a healer, or anything to help with his condition. His armor held many scratches and dents, his sword was nowhere to be seen. He wore many cuts that were too clean for an animal's attack.... too clean. This made the village hesitant about being found, but slowly, as they hear the adventurer's struggling breaths. They gave in.

Many of the village medicine practitioners gathered around, holding baskets filled to the brim with supplies. Though they held no need of using potions, as it was too expensive and time consuming to make, they instead used herb pastes to sooth the pain. Those who were near to the well gather up water for the adventurer, while others brought in food for him to eat. The crowd soon dispersed as many of their practitioners carried him back to the clinic for him to heal more comfortably.

Though even when they decided to help the poor lad, the tension and worries still held high in the air. Instead of chattering and the streets bustling, the village wrapped up in a thick blanket of silence. They all knew a potential war was going on between two kingdoms and they rather much not be forcefully support one of the two kingdoms.

Days after days, the village began to act normally. As if they weren't affected by the adventurer's presence, but if looked closer. You can tell that the village began to become restless with worries. Many of the midwives gossiped and chattered on how the adventurer was actually a soldier from the Re-stize kingdom - one of the king's sons knights, Prince Barbro. While some of the elders hushed quietly in the hut, the hunters began to hunt more food than needed, and the children were now forbidden to explore outside of the walls.

Despite straying away from the kingdoms and their political conflicts, everyone knew who Prince Barbro is and his infamous attitude. Always self centered and controlling. Especially the way he views woman. No matter his royal status and power he beholds, there were hushed whispers that poke his vanity.

All has hoped for the prince to die. To end his reins and torment of his overzealous behavior to become king and strengthening the kingdom's influence far and wide.

The tension continued to tighten even more once the adventurer recovered fully from his wounds. Though he was still weak from the staggering effects of his infected wounds that failed to be disinfected. Besides the bed ridden adventurer sat a figure clad in robes. Nobody knew who this person is, but it's clearly known that the villagers trusted this stranger much more than the adventurer. Her voice kept the adventurer in company, despite it being merely a small talk guised as an interrogation.

"So, what are you sir..."

"M-my name is Savais..." The adventurer coughed. His voice was low and scratchy, it hurts to even speak. Damn... must have been hit harder than he noticed. The woman held up her hand to prevent him speaking even more for a little bit and he obliged. She grinded a few herbs in the pestle, before slowly pouring droplets of a strange liquid that almost look like finely aged wine. The smell of freshly grinded herbs overthrew the old smell of dried herbs, though it wasn't too intoxicating to ruin one's sense of smell. The silence soon wavered as Savais' curiosities creeped in behind of his mind. He should be dead by then if he didn't found this village by luck. For sure, it was the work of a god or goddess than by pure luck....

"So... W-what is this place?"

"This... Is merely a village. The village has no name, as nobody found this safe haven..." Quietly hushed, the woman continued to speak, "Not even the barbarians from the tension has found this yet; as if a god or goddess blessed this land to be hidden." Quietly, the stranger goes back to work. Continuing to mix and crush the herbal paste to her liking, almost like a rhythm.

The days turned into weeks and weeks turned into moths the more Savais stayed in the village. The tension in the village soon dispersed as they saw him no longer as a threat, but as one of them. It almost made him forget his old life and his original mission. Many of the children warmed up with him, as the hunters of the village soon treated him like brothers. Always dragging him along with their hunts as well as sharing drinks together. Many of the maidens of the village soon began to swoon over him and his charms, dubbing him the "heart catcher" in the village. This embarrass him greatly with his new title.

His boots crunched against the sand as he marched his way up on the sandy hills to a dear friend, Mivlan. She was the one that healed him up, kept him accompanied during his days cooped up inside the clinic, and being his guide around the village. Though, the closer he gets to the house, the more of his happy attitude faded. As if the atmosphere was drained from its happiness from a leech. He can hear arguing inside the house, as well some pottery or porcelain being shattered.

"For the last time, Lord Rienslif. The elders refuse for the village to partake in this silly war..." Mivlan growled lowly. She glared fiercely at the haughty noble that dared to strut in the village to only bring them in torment and obvious intent of submitting the village over as part of the Re-stize kingdom.

Rienslif was part of Prince Barbro's elite soldiers, a highly wealthy noble that would spend his money on extravagant things with no end of stopping. As well having an harem of woman at his feet.

He smirked at the agitated woman, clearly enjoying the view he's seeing. "My dear silly girl. Don't you know who you're speaking? You're right in front of one of Prince Barbro's elite soldiers. You should be happy that I'm even here offering you my protection from the war." Mivlan's knuckles turned white from her hard she clenched on them. Her figure trembled in seething anger, angry that this man dared to step foot and ignore the fact her goddess is the one that hid this village away from- no.

She must compose herself. She must not make a fool of herself. There must be a reason for this vermin to appear, treading his dirty prints all over her goddess's village. A test of will perhaps?...

With a gleam in her eyes, she slowly sat down onto a chair, staring at the noble with cold intent. "For an empire, you sure do take your time finding us here..."

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Down deep in the ocean floor, where an ancient temple lies in peace, silently a lone figure watched through her maiden's eyes. Her grip on her trident tightened as she listened more closely to the conversation. So, this is the result of allowing outsiders to find this village after protecting it all these years... Intresing...

Besides her throne stood another figure, awaiting for his master's choices to be executed flawlessly in silence. Armor blemished in barnacles and kelp, as well as dents and cracks. Many fish of all kinds swam around inside the temple freely, some even daring to come close to the silent knight. Though he dare not to attack, fearing to interrupt his master and to sound so stupid for simply attacking fish in self defense.

"Dimitri." Fixing his position, he stood even straighter, saluting his master - his "eyes" gazing at his master with determination. There she was, his master in her glory. The one he proudly serves until his final breath has been taken away.

Her toga slowly bounced in the water from her sudden rush of movement, her adorned hands glimmered against the wavering lights, and trident in hand. Her eyes were tied by a simple white cloth, but she still maintain that order around her. A commanding presence that could even rival the strongest gods, no- She IS the strongest god here.

"I have decided..."

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T'was 12 past midnight, and the village was in at unease. Many torches were lit that far away, it could be seen as if a fire had occurred. All were huddled around a single hut, murmuring and whispering around. They were all restless.

Their crudely made walls were weak and held no hope of saving themselves from a massive army. Smoke filled Gregory's lungs, as he tried to steer away from crowds that held heavily on the torches - ignoring the side glances and glares he has received through the crowd. All that trust and happiness the village gave to him soon dispersed. He felt like he was alone again...

"We should evacuate the village now!"

"A-are you crazy?! With an army that big, we all would perish by their swords!"

"Then we should use the surrounding area to take their army slowly. If we can't run, then we use the nature against them-"

"Preposterous! We're merely just a fraction of the size of an army! We'll still be outnumbered! Bah! We shouldn't hadn't even treated that adventurer and let him die outside of the village!"

"..."

"High elder, what's your proposition?"

"There is no hope for saving this village... Despite our knowledge of these lands. The army would find us one day and we will all perish to their blades..."

"B-but!"

"We're all doomed are we? Gah! What am I even saying, I say we throw out the adventurer as a sacrifice!"

"No! I forbid you to do that!"

"And you're merely a stranger in this village! Despite you being out best healers, you always disappear and secretive inside that hut of yours!"

"SILENCE!"

The room fell silent, as one of the elders's voice boomed through the fight. Her old bones wailed against the sudden strength against the table, her breath heaves as her hair gracefully sweeps down from her elegant bun. Her husband slowly placed his hand on her shoulder, slowly rubbing in a circular motion - easing her outburst slowly.

"My dear, do you have a better idea you like to share?" She slowly gave her husband a small smile, before diverting her attention back to situation.

"I still hold my position on fighting back. Though I feel like Mivlan as another idea... Something she had mentioned a long while ago... Something that could help us in our... uneasy situation."

"Dear... You don't mean about consulting her Goddess?..."

"Ha! You must have turn insane from old age, old hag! Gods do not exist in this world! It's just the mere source of hope that weak willed individuals could cling onto, giving them the main reason to act out their actions with out question!"

"Watch your language! She may be old, but she is far stronger willed than what your moaning of defeat! You always go slinking in without lifting a finger to contribute to the village! Though gods may do not exist, at least we can try fighting back with honor!"

"Bah! This is why we should have replaced the two of you a long time ago! Just watch and see the destruction you'll cast upon once the village sees that the two of you were their demise in the end!"

THUNK!

"They're here!" The couple slowly looked at each other, before solemnly nodding. If the village is going to perish, desperate measures are needed to find at least some hope and at least some honor in this village...

"Please, Mivlan. Call your goddess."

"My pleasure."

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It... Hurts...

Everything hurts...

Every breath he takes, it left out choked gasps. Every pull he made, it burns his arms.

Fire. Smoke. Death.

Armor. Swords. Screams.

Corpses after corpses. Injuries and wails. The sand burns through Savais' freshly cut wounds, going through the flesh - digging under his skin. Oh how he failed...

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

No... Not him...

The sound of leather squelching against the muddled sand grew closer. The smell of rich cologne clashed together with the metallic smell of blood. What a disgusting mix to smell...

A single kick was all Savais needed to be turned over weakly - forced to look up to his commissioner with disgust. Oh how much Savais wanted to kill this man with his bare hands...

"It seems like I've found my little adventurer cowering inside this pathetic village." Rienslief sneered. The corner of his lips curled up into an ugly smirk, clearly seeing most of his teeth was replaced with gold. Oh how much Savais wanted to rip all his teeth out one by one to see this man suffer.

"I should have known not to trust you adventurers. Always finding ways to halfass your commissions so you can run our money dry. Always thinking you're so-"

"S-sir?..."

Riensielf twirled his head around, barring his teeth as he glared at the soldier daring to interrupt his monologue of execution.

"What. Now?!"

"T-there is-"

FWOOSH

"...a...."

Drip

"...Figure..."

Drip

"...Far..."

THUMP

Riensielf looked in horror....

Savais looked in horror....

The soldier right in front of them died. Head come cleanly off from their body. Behind the fallen corpse laid f silver trident, glistening brightly from the fresh blood it has taken. Riensielf snapped his head back to the direction supposedly the trident was thrown, his heart beating faster every second that has gone by.

"Y-you!!"

"And there she was... The nymph in all her glory. Her head held high in the air, eyes pitch black from the anger she held against the fight. She was like the Lilly of the valley, beautiful but dangerous. Besides her was a black knight... Black as the deep abyss where our goddess came from. As well her fair maiden, Mivlan, stood proudly behind her - prideful that her goddess heed her call. Behind our goddess was her army of our fallen sailors, all dressed in silver and gold, riding horses that was white like the sands of our beaches. They all marched along, creating the rhythms of war."

The children's eyes all widen, all leaning forward wanting to hear more of the story about the nymph. The streets soon stopped its song, as the shops that was set up soon disappeared. The sun lazily dipped in the waters, painting the waters a deep shade of red - just how the nymph did to the army that dared to attacked her village.

"... She called the waters to clash against the knights. Conjured lightning and thunder and many more. Her army clashed against lord Rienseilf's army, drawing more blood in the waters. Every time a soldier died, they only ended up reanimated to her side. Serving as a servant to their true master... After the war is over, she disappeared as well the bloodshed with the last flash of lightning. It echoed loudly across the lands, giving the last war cry of victory and a warning for those who dared to come near with malicious intent..."

A shadow slowly loomed over Savais, as the children one by one soon scattered off back home before the sun has disappeared for another day. A hand soon placed on the weary old man's shoulder, as a soft voice quietly spoke in the winds.

"You have served me well, Savais..."

[wyn-n-tonic]

Golden, Like Daylight -- Part IX

Word Count: 3,087 Warnings: PTSD. Children. Fluff. Angst. Emotions. Dialogue heavy bullshit. Author's Note: Welp... this is it, y'all. I posted the first chapter of this on March 4, 2021, and it's coming to a close today on April 5, 2021, and I'm... a goddamn mess. I'm not ready to let these characters go, both the TF boys and my own character in Leah. I really appreciate all your kindness and encouragement throughout writing this, my whole heart belongs to you. Thank you, I hope you love this as much as I love you.

MASTERLIST | PART: I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX

Her room is painted like a sunrise. He remembers the first time he went up there, like it was the first breath he ever took. All rising pinks and melting blues.

He wanted her to feel that freedom from the beginning.

Leah’s hands climb his back, a kiss pressed to the hot skin between his shoulder blades as he dips to pluck his peaceful little girl out of slumber.

“Baby, let her sleep.”

But he’s shaking his head, careful with hers in his hand, “she can sleep later, I need her with me now.”

“Hmm,” she hums, turning him to guide him back to their bedroom, “keep that enthusiasm.”  

Their shuffle is quiet, Luna’s big eyes slipping back to sleep nestled into her fathers shoulder.

He’s been home for over half a year and as he crawls back into bed, baby and wife clinging to him, part of him still can’t believe it. That after everything he told her, she let him stay. That, like tonight, she’s soothed the new nightmares like the old. That he celebrated Christmas with them, Luna’s first.

That he watched her lift herself up and take her first steps. That after all he had done, those first steps were towards him.

That he helped blow out the candles that he helped light, on the cake he helped make for the little girl who has her daddy’s eyes. His dimple. His smile.

One hand splayed across each of their backs, he’s talking to Leah but directing it at Luna when her bright brown eyes open again to find his.

“Hi, baby,” he whispers, Leah’s soft hand falling on his under her small back, “I’m sorry that mama and papa woke you up.”

She reaches a tiny hand up to his face and he melts into the small touch of her, his heart swelling at the unbelievable luck he has in chances granted again and again when a little, “papa,” tumbles forward in the softly lit room.

He feels Leah jump and his eyes snap to hers before they both fall back to Luna, just over one year.

“She just sa—“

“Say it again, baby,” Leah coos, tears spilling over Frankie’s eyes.

She doesn’t understand but as she grabs for him, the small voice repeats, “papa,” and he didn’t know his heart could feel so full despite all the compounding moments of fullness she’s brought to him. That they both have.

He bites his lip while looking into Leah’s glassy eyes and knows that her heart is just as swollen in this moment and all the others.

“The next one’s first word will be mama,” his hand finds the small swell of her lower belly, “I promise.” —————

She presses a coffee cup into his hand before taking a seat across from him on the living room floor, baby toys and blankets strewn across the space between them.

“What happened?”  

He takes a deep breath, finding the words he spoke out loud to his team in Lorea’s mansion, “A serious fuck up.”

“I figured that much, Francisco, but what happened?”

So he tells her and she lets him.

He tells her about the seventeen grand of Santi’s own money. How he promised himself no live fire and let himself and his desperation to give her and Luna and himself the best lead him into shattering his soul again. Ripping it up as life drained from the eyes of his fellow human beings and how he didn’t even have the protection of a flag on his shoulder to ease a semblance of that pain. How even if they were bad guys, they weren’t his bad guys to worry about.

He tells her about the helicopter crash, the result of his own greed for the money and for a lack of conflict led to more loss and conflict. How he doesn’t know if he’s the one who fired first on that village but he knows he fired, an automatic weapon slung across his shoulders as easily as the diaper bag he carries through the grocery store for her.

He tells her about the crumbling mountainside, how all he saw at the bottom looking down was himself never coming home to his girls. How that’s when something within him finally snapped, when he and Will silently decided to take the reigns from Tom and Santi’s hands.

He tells her about the fire, burning hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep warm in the freezing air that wrapped around the Andes. About the gunfire that followed them through the rocks in the morning sun.

About standing over Tom’s dead body, the relief and guilt crashing inside him like a warm front meeting a cold one. How he thinks he’ll feel those both every day that he wakes because, unlike the survivor’s guilt easing through you on active duty at the knowledge that this just happens sometimes, this time was different.

He tells her that, after all of that, he threw millions of dollars down a snowy ravine in the middle of Peru where no one would ever see it again, not even his girls who needed it so much because he realized it wouldn’t be fucking worth it for them to have it if it meant not coming home.

He tells her how he almost shot that kid in the jungle. How he would’ve shot every kid standing between him and the boat to get home to his own.

He tells her that he thinks, at the end of it all, Santiago and his plan ended up doing more damage to that country than not.

She listens intently, focused wholly on him. Her face never breaks but he can see the cogs turning behind her eyes, trying to take it all in. Trying to understand.

“I understand if you want me to leave, if you never want to see me again,” he reaches out for her hand, a shiver of shock running through his spine when she doesn’t pull away from him.

Blinking as the words catch up with her, her head shakes, “I just got you back, Francisco, you promised me you wouldn’t leave again so why the fuck do you think I want you to go now?”

“Because what I did is unforgiv—“

“It’s not, there are terrible men in this world who do worse everyday,” he sees the slight sheen of tears coat her lashes, “and you helped stop one of them.”

“There will be others to take his place,” he says around a sip of his drink, his coffee gone cold in the spaces between all his words.

Her hand gives a squeeze to the one it holds, “there will always be others to take his place.”

His breathing evens out, anchored in his chest by a warmth he doesn’t deserve, “there's something else you need to know.”

He tells her about the five million dollars they were able to make it to the boat with, “we signed it all over to Molly and the girls. Will and Benny and I, we decided to do so while Santi was sleeping. We figured, ya know, at least we were coming home. It wasn’t really money we were losing since it was never ours to begin with, Tom’s family lost everything and they didn’t even know it.”

The tears do come now, streams running down his face, “I couldn’t stop thinking about how close you came to losing everything and not even knowing it too.”

His stunted words around the hiccups in his throat draw Luna’s attention, her babbles reaching out to him the way she tried to soothe Leah’s over the weeks prior. Their attention is on her now, eyes wide as she lifts herself with the couch for leverage.

She toddles one step towards his still shaking body before tumbling forward, his hands dropping the now empty coffee cup and Leah’s hand to catch her.

He pulls her small body close, hiding his face in the crook of her neck to inhale the scent of baby lotion. As she giggles in his ear, he looks up to Leah’s soft face, “the boys and I still took three hundred thousand.” —————

“You're fucking insane,” Deana doesn’t quite whisper into Leah’s ear, “a whole ass baby with another one barely even a year old, have you heard of a condom?”

“How many mimosas did you have already, D?”

Kristyn struggles with her key in the door, a large bag in hand, “judging by the slight slur, I’m going with about three so far.”

“Fuck off, K,” she points, turning back to Leah, “I'm just saying that if that big goofy idiot husband of yours goes on another of his boy’s trips, I will kill him this time.”

Her fingers are still quoting around the air as the threat falls around them, Frankie’s attention at the other end of the room grabbed away from the pureed carrots of Luna’s lunch.

“Well,” Kristyn interjects, holding the bag forward, “that’s why I come bearing the gift of one Benjamin Miller, he couldn’t be here because of a boy’s trip.”

“What do you mean?”

Leah looks back at Frankie, his eyes now turned to the conversation. She sees the pain and confusion there, he didn’t know.

Kristyn follows Leah’s gaze before looking back at the older sister in front of her, “he promised me this was his last one and he’s sorry it had to take place during your baby shower but,“ she holds the bag out again, “he says you’ll like this one.”

“It's not a shower,” Leah rolls her eyes.

“Yeah, yeah,” Kristyn interjects, “a sprinkle. Whatever.”

“It’s not even that since, ya know,” she looks down at the tiny bundle in her arms, “he's already here.”

“A birthday present then,” she beams, “Benny says he’ll set it up when he gets home.”

Frankie’s laughter finds them now, choking around the baby food he’s trying to convince his stubborn daughter of—she’s not and she’s learned how to voice that disgust with all thanks given to her Uncle Benny.

“Baby, it’s another military surveillance camera.”

Kristyn laughs, “yeah, our whole house is strung up with them at this point but they come in handy to watch the neighbors since I’m nosy.”

“When did they leave?” His voice is small, a slight worry behind it.

Kristyn lets out a breath, “about four hours ago, he made me promise not to tell you until he was gone.”

He just nods his head, a silent clock beginning to tick in his brain. —————

It’s been two weeks since he heard from Ben or Will.

The boys have been here day in and day out since they came home last year, always were before that and even more so now that all they truly had was each other and the families they were making with and around each other.

Benny ran through Kristyn’s apartment complex screaming her name so loud as he started to bang on her door that he was met with a baseball bat. Now that idiot was going to be his brother because the sight she was met with was one of Benjamin Miller on his knees with a ring in his hands.

They gave them space with the baby’s arrival, small and short visits until Leah felt ready to have them all over again. He spoke to them that morning as he shaved the night’s stubble away, they talked like they were coming by and how they couldn’t get enough of their new nephew. How they were getting him the best present.

Frankie runs his forefinger and thumb along his mustache now, the compromise of facial hair he settled on. He didn’t want his full and sparse beard but he also felt lighter at the way Leah laughed into him with every brush of his lips.

He’s pacing the living room, bouncing the baby as Leah and Luna nap upstairs. There's only silence and the soft gurgling of a newborn when the quiet knock comes.

Already close to the entryway, he closes the distance and whispers a silent prayer to himself. A prayer that this isn’t bad news. That this is Will or Benny, not using their keys out of courtesy to the newness of little life inside his home.

He opens the door and is met with the tired eyes of Santiago Garcia.

“Hey, Frank,” he says. All bravado of his being seeped from him and replaced with, what sounds like, apology.

He adjusts his son in his hold, ushering the shorter man in so the warmth of the house doesn’t keep seeping out, “I thought you were in Australia.”

“Yeah, well,” he turns to face Frankie again as the door closes, “I make some really shit decisions sometimes.”

Frankie scoffs, half a laugh hidden in the sound. He’s not wrong but he’s not exactly right either.

“Can I get you something to drink?” He’s walked through to the kitchen, the shorter man falling in pace beside him, “we’re a dry household right now with the baby and my therapy bu—“

“Nah, Fis-Frank,” he stutters, “just came to talk to you. And Leah. She around?”

“She’s resting but I can pass along a message if I like it.”

Santi reaches into the leather folder he always carries around and produces a booklet, the one from the lawyer in St. John’s.

But different, a different cover and date, a different name stamped across the front.

“The boys sent me to give you this alone, said we needed to talk about a few more things than just this. Said I needed to apologize to you and to your wife, that I owed you that for so much but especially roping you into that shit last year.”

“Water under the bridge,” Frankie replies softly, changing direction to move through to the living room, “I gave up on an apology a long time ago and Leah never expected one, but nobody’s mad at you.”

Frankie carries the bassinet into sight from the kitchen before walking back, “what is this, Pope?”

“It’s your cut, we went back.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re stupid and greedy and we fucked ourselves up getting it in the first place so we figured we’d go back and we figured we fucking owed you.”

Frankie squints at the shorter man, searching his eyes for the hint of a joke he’s not laughing at. There is none. His cold brown stare is dead serious.

“This is my apology to you, Fran—“

“Frankie,” Leah’s voice filters into the room, he can hear her sleepy shuffle as she pads across the carpet now, “did you feed Santiago while I was asleep or should I?”

“I fed him, baby,” he calls over his shoulder.

He looks back at the man who helped shape his life, tears welling in his eyes, and hears Leah talking about ordering Chinese for dinner as she crosses the threshold but he doesn’t hear her. He can’t hear anything over the squeeze around his midsection, Santi’s quiet strength taking all of his air and senses.

He lets go as quickly as he grabbed him, Leah’s presence heavy in the room now and he crosses the room to gather her in his arms, a kiss pressed to each cheek and then her hair. He’s careful not to hug as hard as he had Frankie, conscious of her still healing body.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers between them, “for everything I’ve done and everything I wasn’t around for.”

She’s trying to catch her breath, trying not to cry herself, “it's oka—“

“I should’ve been here for you guys.”

Her small hand comes up to pat the curls, a little more gray than a year ago, “you are now.”

He pulls away from her, a hitch in his voice as he says, “can I hold him?”

“Yeah,” she nods, “but you gotta wash your face and hands, no tears or snot on my baby.”

He mumbles to himself about how that makes sense as he moves to the sink, fumbling over the soap in the holder as he shakes with nerves.

She makes her way across the kitchen, wrapping her still sleepy being around that of her wide awake husband. The low lying winter sun is filtering through the windows, bathing everything in soft, warm light.

She sees the golden cover of the booklet on the counter and taps it, “what's this?”

Daylight Family Trust is stamped across in big bold words.

“That was the boy’s trip,” he whispers, “that’s our cut.”

He watches her as she slowly reaches for the document, the one that explains how this all works and looks between the men.

“How much?”

Santi rips a paper towel from the roll, “about thirty-five million.”

Frankie holds her as her knees start to give out but she’s still looking at Santi, she’s still looking for the joke he never made.

“Daylight's your call sign, you know,” he says cooly, “all the wives get one too, did he ever tell you?”

She shakes her head, looking at her husband now and thinking of all the times that very word fell from his lips.

“On our last real deployment,” Pope continues, “he was flying as the sun was setting and the sky was pure gold over the desert—“

Frankie’s eyes never leave hers, arms tight around her now.

“—he said it reminded him of the way the gold flakes in your eyes reflect the sunlight back at him, he called you Daylight until he got home and shed the callsigns altogether.”

“Frankie?”

He presses his lips into her forehead, his hand a heavy weight on her lower back that says, I’m right here.

“Your daughter has the same golden flakes in her eyes, like you, Daylight.”

Frankie runs his thumb along the swell of her cheek, "all I wanted to do last year was get home to you both, all I wanted was to make it right and see that reflection of light back at me through you both again.”

He leans down to softly press his lips to hers before nuzzling his nose into her hair, “our son has them too, the same gold in his eyes, it was the first thing I said to Ben when I walked out of the delivery room.”

"It was the first thing they said to me," Santiago says, "when they got off the plane." 

“Like me?” Her voice is soft, the heaviness of sleep still clinging to her limbs.

“Mmhmm,” Frankie hums, “like Daylight.”

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[p-artsypants]

Wip Ask Game

Spy X Family - Enlisted, Avatar Grin and bear it, and Your HTTYD stuff all look interesting.

Hi hi!! From this WIP Game post. I mentioned Enlisted already, but I’ll talk about it again.

I haven’t written any of it yet. It was supposed to be about Twilight being compromised and having a hit out for him. His identity is revealed while he, Yor, and Anya are hiding in the house. But the SS find Yor’s weapon stash and they assume she’s in on it with him. So the family has to stealthily flee the country. While escaping, Yor and Anya reveal themselves by their actions. Anya tells Twilight to give his gun to Yor while he’s driving, “Mama’s a great shot!” And Yor takes out two cars while their being chased. It’s all in my head. Maybe it’ll get written one day lol

Grin and Bear It- I started writing it right after we finished Avatar. I didn’t get very far, but I shall share it! 

It hurt. It hurt every waking moment of his pitiful existence. The salves were supposed to be helping, that’s what the healers had said.

“It’ll get better once the fever breaks.” A woman said.

“The scaring shouldn’t be too bad.” Said a man.

“It’ll be okay,” said someone that sounded like Uncle Iroh.

But the horrible truth was, he would never be the same. Honor lost, skin gone, pain, hate, anger...

It was so much. So much to bear. Even for a full grown man, but he was just 13. 13 and a prince of the most powerful man in the world. This shouldn’t have happened to him.

Hours went by, too tired to stay awake, but in too much pain to rest. So he laid there in agony, waiting for the fever to break or the infection to take him. Whatever happened first.

Then, after hours, days maybe, he opened his eye, and asked for water.

It was so cold. So soothing. So everything these last few days hadn’t been. He gulped it down, wanted to just dive in it.

But the cup was taken away, and he was pushed back down to lay.

Then there was silence, but only for a moment, until the door opened and closed again.

The temperature in the room rose, evaporating his sweat.

Zuko opened his eye again, seeing the light glint off of a crown. The Fire Lord’s crown.

“I’m disappointed in you, Prince Zuko.”

It was like being burned all over again.

“You failed the very simple instructions given you, time and time again. You spoke out of turn, and you refused to fight in the Agni Kai.”

“I’m sorry...” Zuko whispered. And he meant it. He truly was sorry. He’d never act with a free spirit ever again.

“Sorry doesn’t restore honor. You humiliated me. You dishonored you’re family, your nation, everything. Now what will you do to make up for it?”

What could he offer? Zuko has nothing of his own to give. He was just a boy with no accomplishments. What could he possibly do.

“Anything...” he whispered. “I’ll do anything.”

Ozai gave the smallest twitch of a smile. “The only thing that stands in the way of our nation’s greatest achievement is the Avatar, master of all four elements. He must be out there somewhere. Either an old water bender, or an even older air bender. Capture him, or convince him to join us, and I’ll restore your honor.”

“Thank you...father...”

“But until that day, you are banished. I’ll grant you the rest of the week to heal, and then you must leave, and never return without the Avatar.”

“But..how do find him...?”

Ozai stood. “That is not my concern.”

“Thank you for coming to see me...”

“It is beneath me to visit the infirmary. Count it lucky that I gave you this mission in person. The next time I see you, you better have the Avatar.”

“Yes, My King...”

The door shut behind him.

—

That was three long years ago. Three long years of searching, hopping from town to town, ruin to ruin, shaking up villagers and merchants and never finding a single clue.

The Avatar was a myth. A fool’s  errand.

But he couldn’t be. He just couldn’t be. For the sake of that scarred, dishonored 13 year old boy, he couldn’t be.

“Have you eaten yet today, Prince Zuko?” Asked Iroh.

“No. We haven’t stopped at a village in days and I’d rather starve than eat more of that grizzle the chef calls food.”

“You should plug your nose then, it’s better to eat gross food than no food. You’re a growing boy.”

“I’ll pass.”

Iroh lingered for a moment before saying. “You know, we really ought to be making our way north again. The man have been complaining about the cold, the food, everything. It’s not wise to keep a crew unhappy for so long.”

“We haven’t finished scouring the ice yet. We knew this was going to be rough. It’s their fault if they didn’t prepare.”

Iroh sighed, out of steam. “You’re right, my dear nephew.”

Just then, off the front of the ship, a beam of light burst from the ice in the distance.

“That’s it! That has to be from the Avatar! Tell the crew to double the speed south! We’re close!”

As Zuko left the cabin, Iroh muttered to himself, “that’s what I was afraid of.”

—

Zuko stood at the front of the ship as it poorly navigated through the icy straits.

“Can’t this hunk of iron go any faster?!” He shouted at the Captain.

“We’re low on coal, your highness. This is as fast as we can safely go.”

Zuko ground his teeth in frustration.

They were close. He could feel it.

Like a blessing from the spirits themselves, a flare shot into the sky.

“Is that a Fire Nation flare?” Asked Iroh, confused as to where it would have come from.

Zuko ripped a spy glass out of the captain’s hands, zooming in to the launch site. There. There were two figures, one definitely an airbender based on his movements.

“Pretty spry for an old man…”

“Where did he come from?”

“No clue…” he panned the spy glass over, catching the outer walls of a water tribe village just a mile or two out. “…but I bet that’s where they’re going.”

“What is your plan, Prince Zuko?” Asked Iroh, calmly.

“We’re going to pay the Southern Water Tribe a visit, and have a talk with the Avatar.”

“Just a talk?” Asked the captain, vainly containing annoyance.

“Yes. There’s no way we’re going to convince him to join our cause if we resort to violence. We have to do this carefully.”

“Very good,” Iroh praised. “What are you going to say to him?”

“I have that speech you helped me write out. I’ll read that.”

“You’re just going to read to him? Oh come now, Nephew. He’s not going to take you seriously unless you’re sincere.”

“I’m not improving.” Zuko said firmly. And everyone on deck agreed, that was a terrible idea.

“Still,” Iroh continued, “You shouldn’t rattle off the whole thing. The Avatar is wise, old, and as an airbender, a pacifist. He will appreciate human connection.”

“Why don’t you do it then?”

“This is not my quest. It is your destiny to speak with the Avatar. Don’t let nerves ruin it for you.”

“I’m not nervous!”

Despite this proclamation, his heart rate still rose as the little village came closer.

Zuko stomped across the deck, talking to himself. “Your alliance is critical in ending this war. If the other nations see that you’re working with us, they will see we have nothing but good intentions towards them.”

“Like what?”

“What?”

“You’re doing good, Nephew, what are the good intentions?”

Zuko clenched his jaw, narrowing his eyes, before continuing his pacing. “Technological advances, ways to improve agricultural and fishing. Also seizing the means of production to create steel, which allows for stronger ships, tools, and buildings.”

“Good good. Keep going.”

“A tight alliance between the Fire Nation means armed trade routes to protect imports from bandits and thieves, though the Fire Nation itself has cut back on crime with stricter punishments and programs that help the impoverished. With stricter policing, citizens feel more comfortable living in the city, traveling out at night, and spending money on goods and services, making a prosperous economy.”

“Excellent, wrap it up.”

“So, in sort, the Avatar represents a foundation of truth and hope, and to have you align with us would show we only have the best intentions and the fighting will cease.”

“Well done, Nephew. How do you think that went?”

“It sounded rehearsed, like the 50 other times I’ve said it.”

“But it sounds less like the formal speech you have prepared in the cabin.”

“Father would have gone with the prepared speech.”

“Your father is not the one leading this mission. You need to conduct it the way you see fit.”

“Brace for impact!” Called the helmsmen, mere seconds before the boat gave a sickening lurch.

Zuko nearly ran down into the hull, waiting for the nose of the ship to drop. Finally, finally after three years, they found the Avatar. Now, just to convince him to join.

It seemed a lot easier in his head.

Iroh was right beside him as the nose dropped. “It’s best to be cordial with the village. It will give the Avatar a good first impression. Take a couple breaths.”

Zuko could concede, on occasion, when his uncle made a good point. He took a deep breath, steam spewing out.

“Again, without the smoke, please.”

The breath was clean this time. “I’m ready.”

They descended down the ramp, looking to the water tribe all the invaders they were, and not the peace bringers they were hoping to be.

Zuko let his eyes drift across the crowd. Children. Mothers. Elderly. And one spunky teen with a boomerang.

That attack was deflected a bit too easily, and did nothing to disrupt Zuko’s advance.

“Where is he?”

Iroh had to hide a wince. That was neither diplomatic or…or even remotely helpful. This was going just as he had predicted. Badly.

“I know he’s here!” Zuko barked, “Where’s the Avatar?”

A child started crying.

Zuko took another calming breath, not really caring if there was smoke coming out of his nostrils or not. “We…we’re not here to hurt you. We just want to talk to the Avatar.”

He continued to be met with near silence, minus the crying child. And sadly, patience was not one of Zuko’s strengths.

“Where is he!?” He shouted, a burst of flames coming from his hands.

It was a little too close to be ‘intimidating’ and more just straight up ‘an attack’. But before the flames to lick a single person, a gust of air blew it back.

Then a monk stood in front of him. Decked in orange, bald head with tattoos. A child. The Avatar was a child.

Why was the Avatar a child!?

“I’m the Avatar.” He stated.

“Yes,” said Zuko, smartly. “We’d like a word with you.”

“If I come with you, will you leave this village in peace?”

“You have my word, Avatar.”

The boy relaxed his glider to his side, as Zuko gestured some of his men forward.

“Please escort the Avatar to the top deck.”

One man grabbed him and gave him a shove.

“He is our guest!” Zuko barked.

Someone scoffed, but it was unknown if it was from his men or the water tribe.

Zuko tried not to notice the look of dread and horror the boy threw over his shoulder as he was led onto the ship.

The table on the top deck was cleared, and the Avatar was placed in a chair. Everyone else sat in a circle around him.

And there was silence.

“So...uh, how’s it going?” Asked the Avatar. The child Avatar.

His memorized speech had completely vanished at this baffling turn of events.

“Uncle, go get the speech from my cabin.”

“Are you sure? I don’t know if—“

“Get the speech!!” He barked, making the boy flinch.

Unbothered, Iroh strolled our of the room, like he wasn’t even in a hurry.

Which left Zuko to fill the awkward silence. “You are...much younger than I expected.” How old was this boy? 8?

“Oh uh, yeah. I’m 12. Katara thinks I was frozen for a hundred years. She says there’s a war...and last I knew, there wasn’t. So...” He rubbed his head. “Uh, I didn’t catch your name.”

“I am Prince Zuko, eldest son of Fire Lord Ozai.”

“Ozai? Okay. Sozin was Fire Lord last I knew.”

“Sozin was my great grandfather.”

“Wow! Then I really was frozen for a hundred years! This is so weird!”

Weird indeed.

“I’ve been searching for you for a while, Avatar.” Zuko confessed. “Now that I’ve found you, you can help end this war.”

“Well, that’s great! First real task as Avatar is to end a world war. Seems kind of daunting, but I’m willing to try! For peace and all that.”

“That’s what I was hoping you’d say.”

Finally, Iroh returned, a rolled up paper in hand.

“What took you so long?!” Zuko snapped. “My cabin is right down the hall!”

“My apologies nephew, but you can’t rush an old man.”

Zuko growled before snatching the paper out of his hands. Then he began to read aloud the prepared speech that he and his Uncle had written for a old man.

“Sozin’s declaration of war was not an act of violence, but an act of goodwill and rebirth to all nations.”

The Avatar rested his elbows on the table

—Peace should be established on the basis of the Fire Nation with the Capital Island as its capital. This is the Fire Nation and international consensus and anything else has no value—

The Avatar was frowning, one hand resting on his chin.

—This is a significant political step that obviously needs to be augmented by additional steps of goodwill, this is not a 100-meter dash, it is a marathon. It’s about building relationships for the long term—

Iroh took notice that the Avatar wasn’t even looking at Zuko. Just glancing around the cabin.

—Ba Sing Se, like most of the Earth Kingdom, long rejected official diplomatic ties with The Fire Nation, saying recognition should only come in return for concessions in peace talks. Its accord with The Fire Nation would break that long-held tenet and could usher in agreements with the other states, undermining an unspoken consensus that was a rare source of leverage for the Northern Water Tribe—

As the speech continued its long and laborious ramblings, the Avatar became more and more distracted.

Which Zuko took no notice of.

—According to the Northern Water Tribe, and to many others in the world who agree with them, peace can't be reached without conceding to the Earth Kingdoms' demands, including uprooting settlements and colonies, and troop withdrawal from Earth Kingdom cities. No more. This concept of ‘peace through withdrawal and weakness’ has passed from the world—

Some of the other men in the room started to shift uncomfortably after standing for so long.

—We stand by our position that only a negotiated one-state solution can bring lasting peace to the World. Together with our Militant partners and the region we have campaigned intensively in past months against an annexation and for the resumption of direct negotiations—

The Avatar was face down on the table.

—Many economic opportunities will open now, and these trust-building steps are an important step toward advancing states’ interests.

Zuko rolled the paper back up and looked to the Avatar. “So, what do you think?”

The boy sat up straight, a tight smile on his face. “It was—interesting! Very interesting! And really good! Moving, in fact!”

“So you’ll join the Fire Nation?”

The boy’s smile turned into a wince. “Oh, that’s what you were trying to do?”

In rage, Zuko crumbled the paper, igniting it, and turned it into ash.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know what you were trying to tell me. Read it again, I’ll pay more attention this time!”

But Zuko just looked at the ash in his hands and sighed.

Iroh sided up to Zuko and spoke softly. “He’s a child, Zuko. He’s not going to understand idiosyncrasies of politics.”

“But that’s what I’ve been practicing!” Zuko hissed back, as quietly as he could. “What else am I supposed to do?”

“You’re a child. Speak to him like one.”

“I’m not a child!” He barked, not even trying to be quiet.

“Of course not,” Iroh placated, patiently. “Just keep it simple.”

“Simple. Okay...” Taking a calming breath, Zuko took a seat at the table across from the Avatar, hands folded on the top.

Maybe if he relaxed, the other rehearsed speech would come back to him.

“Your alliance is critical in ending this war. If the other nations see that you’re working with us, they will see we have nothing but good intentions towards them.”

“Oh, okay! I mean, from what Sokka and Katara told me, the Fire Nation did some pretty horrible things.”

Zuko squeezed his hands, hiding wince from his face. “I’m certain if the Water Tribe experienced any hardships from the Fire Nation, it was self-inflicted, or the actions of a soldier that was not representing his country well.”

The Avatar looked doubtful, but offered a smile anyways. “Okay, well, you said the Fire Nation has good intentions. Like what?

It was just like he had rehearsed. “Technological advances, ways to improve agricultural and fishing—“

“Oh really?! So you’re helping people grow more crops? How does that work?”

It was almost like he was speaking a different language. Zuko wasn’t sure what he was asking at first and just gave a long slow blink. And then he realized the boy had asked him ‘how’.

“We…have…tools.” Zuko started, haltingly.

“Tools that are better than Earth Benders?”

“Yes.”

“Like what?”

“I…don’t know.” Zuko turned to his Uncle. “Help.”

“Tools that non-benders can use,” Iroh elaborated, coming for the rescue. “In case the farm doesn’t have Benders.”

“Oh, I see!” Said the boy, ever enthusiastic. “What else do you have?”

“We’ve also seized the means of production to create steel, which allows for stronger ships, tools, and buildings.”

“What do you mean, you’ve ‘seized the means of production’? What does that mean?”

“It means…” Zuko turned to his Uncle again for help.

“We’ve taken over old iron mines, and we’ve employed Earth and Fire Benders alike to work the metal into steel, like this ship is made of.” He very carefully avoided that the Benders in question were in fact prisoners in labor camps.

“This does seem like a very sturdy ship,” commented the Avatar. “Probably great for Fire Benders! I saved a couple of Fire Nation ships when I went on my temple trial. It seems like the old wooden ships ignited really easily in the summer.”

“Yes...they would.” Zuko wasn’t really interested in hearing the child’s anecdotes, so he pressed forward. “A tight alliance between the Fire Nation means armed trade routes to protect imports from bandits and thieves, though the Fire Nation itself has cut back on crime with stricter punishments and programs that help the impoverished—“

“Oh that’s smart! What do you guys do?”

“What?”

“To help with poor people? Do you have like, charity pools? Or work incentives?”

Zuko looked to Iroh, who shrugged.

“I guess we don’t...actually know how those programs work...but we have them in place!”

“Okay, well you can tell me about it later.”

Zuko mentality back tracked to find where he was in his little spiel. “...With stricter policing, citizens feel more comfortable living in the city, traveling out at night, and spending money on goods and services, making a prosperous economy.”

“Oh I think I get it.” The boy nodded. “So what happens to thieves? Last I knew, the Fire Lord had them work in mines, or…depending on the crime, they lost their hands. You don’t do that anymore, right?”

“I…don’t know what happens.”

The Avatar frowned again, in that perplexing way of his. “You don’t know, and you’re going to be Fire Lord?”

“I…haven’t quite…gotten there yet.” This kid was throwing him off and making him look like an absolute idiot. “So, in sort, the Avatar represents a foundation of truth and hope, and to have you align with us would show we only have the best intentions and the fighting will cease.”

“I mean, I guess that makes sense,” said the boy, rubbing his chin. “But who started the fighting? And I heard the Fire Nation wiped out all the Air Benders. What was that all about?”

As for the HTTYD ones, I have a lot, so I’ll share those on a separate post if there’s interest.