#guys ive seen letters and numbers

[kindred-spirit-93]

hear me out

its a truth universally acknowledged that kindred past midnight is never up to any good lmao. i have an idea buckle up buttercups

instead of studying ive been watching peoples unhinged hear me outs for the past hour and i cant breathe. it ranged from extremely silly to bombastic side eye pretty quickly. ive seen some shit my dudes

anyway my birfday is in two weeks and a day lol and i kinda want to do this for shits and giggles with da moots & peeps, but like i said 2am kindred is not kindred in her right mind so pls tell me

the idea is kinda like a tag game of like up to 5 hear me outs like in the tags and then like maybe a very low quality photoshopped cake with everyones number 1s to end the year lmao. im working on it ok XD

and for reference this could be taken in any direction u wish, im very ace lol so im not at all the target demographic but i think its hilarious enough of a concept to kinda want to give it a try

will definately be deleting when i wake up lol but it was a really funny idea and thought id ask yall.

[scary-grace]

(secret) santa, baby - part 12 of a shigaraki x f!reader fic

Shigaraki doesn't want to participate in the office's Secret Santa exchange, but when Toga promises to make it easy on him, he gives in. But making it easy for him makes it a lot harder for you -- you're the one who got his list. Office AU, no quirks. A fic in 12 parts. Divider by @ wcnderlnds

i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x xi

part xii (opening presents)

“What?” Spinner asks anxiously. “Do you think it’s too much or something?”

“Um – no.” You’re definitely lying. You can barely see Spinner around the enormous box he’s carrying. You’re not sure if he can see anything, either. “I mean, it’s the last Secret Santa gift of the year. Go big or go home, right?”

“Yeah,” Spinner agrees. He sounds relieved. “And after what happened – she deserves something extra nice, don’t you think?”

“Definitely.”

You weren’t sure how Spinner would react to the news that Aiba and her boyfriend have broken up – or rather, that Aiba dumped him when she found out about the kiss. You know people who’d have been happy to find out that the person they’d liked from afar was finally single. But Spinner wasn’t happy. He looked so unhappy when he found out that Twice elbowed him and said he’d never seen anybody be that upset over good news.

Spinner stared at him like he was crazy. It’s not good news, he said. She’s really sad. Why would I be happy about her being sad?

Spinner’s a good guy, and you’re pretty sure the giant gift he’s carrying is something he bought before the mistletoe-day disaster. When you look around the ballroom where the party’s being held, you see a lot of giant gifts, enough that going all-out with the last gift must be a tradition or something. It’s a tradition, and you missed the memo. Your last gift for Tomura is small enough to fit in your purse.

It was hard to find, and you’re pretty sure you outed yourself as Tomura’s Secret Santa to Spinner in the process of figuring out what “video games” meant on Tomura’s list. Tomura apparently has a thing for retro consoles, and retro consoles only play old games. Spinner mentioned a game Tomura’s been half-assedly searching for since last year, and you decided to find it. It took a lot of time spent scrolling on Ebay and picking through thrift store discount bins, but you finally found it, and you even found an old console to test it on to make sure it worked. You were really excited to give it to him until you got here and saw what everybody else did.

But it’s too late to change anything now. You’re here with your tiny gift, and Tomura’s going to think you didn’t try at all. If he’s even here. “Do you know if Tomura’s going to be here?”

“Last I heard, yeah,” Spinner says. “He changes his mind last-minute about stuff, though. I can text him if you want?”

“I have his number,” you say. “I can do it.”

You can, but you won’t. You know Tomura hates parties, and you don’t want to put his maybe liking you to the test against how much he hates getting dressed up and going out. It’s what kept you from asking him yourself, even though the two of you have been texting more than two people who see each other every day at work really should. The only person who brought up the party was him, when he asked if you were going. You said yes, and then he asked why. There’s going to be free food, you said. And I want to meet my Secret Santa.

As far as you can tell, most people have at least some idea of who their Secret Santa is, but you don’t have a clue. Your Secret Santa’s never written a note to go with any of their gifts, and nothing about the gift-wrapping style – or lack thereof, with the first few gifts – has given them away. The only thing you know is that they haven’t been following your hyper-specific list to the letter. While everything they’ve gotten you has been on the list, it’s all been an upgrade from the versions you asked for.

So they’re generous and bad at wrapping gifts. That could describe half the office. You’d like to know who it is, and there’s free food, so you’re here. And if you might have dressed up a little more than you usually would for an office holiday party on the off chance that Tomura makes an appearance, you’re going to keep that to yourself. Nobody has to know. And you can have fun at the party whether or not he’s here.

It is a really nice party – probably the nicest one you’ve ever been to. The decorating committee went berserk, to the point where there are multiple live Christmas trees on each wall and food tables on either end of the ballroom, each stocked with its own chocolate fountain and champagne tower. There’s music, which Yamada apparently arranged for but isn’t actually performing. Yamada’s in a good mood. When you run into him while trying to grab a glass of champagne, he grins at you. “Next year. Acapella. Are you in?”

“Ask me next year,” you say. “Once the holiday spirit’s worn off.”

Yamada cracks up at that, snags two glasses of champagne, and speeds off through the crowd. You finally manage to separate one for yourself and get clear of the table. Half a glass of champagne later, you’re ready to mingle. Time to see if participating in the office’s holiday traditions as a way to make friends actually worked.

It feels like it did. People say hi to you, and when you stop to talk to them, it doesn’t feel awkward at all. You’re willing to admit that some of it might be because you’ve all been drinking a little bit, but at the same time, you’ve gone to office parties where people were drunker than this and still silent as the grave. Some of your coworkers have already found out who their Secret Santas are, and some of them are carrying gifts that look even more over-the-top unwrapped than they did when they were covered in festive wrapping paper. Maybe it’s better if Tomura doesn’t show up. You can find a bigger gift and leave it on his desk next week, and no one will have to know that you messed up.

You cross paths with Tomura’s friends here. They’re all dressed up, probably more than anyone else at the party, although it looks more like they’re here for a costume party than a Christmas party. “Like it? It’s an Enji’s credit card special,” Twice says, tugging at the lapel of his purple suit. “He really wanted Dabi to come home for Christmas this year.”

“Did you?” you ask Dabi.

“Yeah, but I brought everybody with me,” Dabi says. Everybody. Even – “Shigaraki, too. He hates this shit, but he never misses a chance to stick it to somebody else’s shitty dad.”

“It was fun this year,” Magne says. “Fuyumi made us our own stockings and everything. That thing was nicer than any of my actual socks.”

“It sounds fun,” you say.

“Could have been worse,” Dabi says. He glances at you. “What did you do?”

You didn’t, really, which is the other reason you’re here – Christmas alone in your apartment was fun or at least peaceful the first few years, but lately it’s been feeling lonely. “Not too much. I just slept in and then came here.”

Tomura’s friends exchange glances. “Next year you’ll hang with us,” Twice announces. “You can still sleep in. We always show up late anyway.”

“You don’t have to invite me,” you say at once. You must have sounded a lot more pathetic than you meant to. “And Twice, you probably shouldn’t invite me to Dabi’s house –”

“First, it’s not my house,” Dabi says. “Second, I invite whoever I want. The more of my friends I bring, the more uncomfortable I make my jackass of a father. As long as you don’t hit on my sister –”

“Come on, that was one time,” Twice protests.

“Yeah, one time too many –”

You sidle sideways out of the conversation while they’re still debating exactly how many times one of Dabi’s friends have made a pass at his siblings. Dabi probably didn’t mean the invitation. You won’t count on it. But it’s nice that they’re thinking about it tonight. Hearing it makes you feel a little better, even if it’ll evaporate well before next Christmas.

The party ebbs and flows around you. Sometimes there are people dancing, but other times, the music quiets enough to let people talk. There are fewer and fewer unopened gifts floating around. You see Spinner still toting his gift for Aiba, which means that Aiba’s either not here or he just can’t see her around the box. The latter seems more likely to you. She’s really tiny. No matter where you look, there’s no sign of Tomura.

You do find Aiba, though, when you stop by the chocolate fountain. You can’t tell if she’s trying to hide. “Hi,” you say, and she looks up. “He’s not here, if that’s what you’re worried about. I haven’t seen him.”

“He said he wouldn’t come to it,” Aiba says. She looks like she didn’t sleep well last night, but her outfit’s on point. “I’m not worried about him. I’m just not very – fun right now. I only came to it because I wanted to meet my Secret Santa.”

“Really?”

“I thought the Secret Santa was going to be ruined because of – him. But then I found out it wasn’t him,” Aiba says. You nod. “And that makes it – nicer, I think. All the gifts I got were perfect, and none of it had anything to do with him. So there’s still one part of my Christmas that’s nice. I want to say thank you.”

Spinner had better have a game plan. “They haven’t come to talk to me yet, though,” Aiba says. She frowns. “Do you think they’re even here?”

“I know they’re here,” you say. “If you stay here, I can go find them and tell them to come over.”

Aiba nods. “Thank you,” she says. “And thank you. For the other day. That was nice, too.”

“No problem,” you say. “Just stay there.”

Courtesy of the giant present, Spinner’s really easy to find. You give him specific directions to where Aiba’s standing, tell him to take it easy, and wish him luck. As you watch him go, you find yourself wondering what’s in the box. Maybe you should have asked. It would have given you a better idea about the kind of thing you should have gotten for Tomura.

“Hey.”

That’s Tomura’s voice. You turn and find him standing behind you, a haphazardly wrapped present in one hand. You feel a temporary surge of relief at the sight. He got something small, too. At least you aren’t alone in totally missing the boat. But then you take a look at the rest of him, and the relief evaporates into something you can only describe as a kind of awestruck surprise. Tomura cleans up nice. Really nice.

Like the rest of his friends, he’s dressed up. Unlike the rest of them, he went pretty standard with it – black suit and tie, although he’s got a red cape around his shoulders. It should be incongruous, but he makes it work. He’s done something to his hair. Brushed it, maybe. Either way, it looks good. You can’t help but stare.

But even though he looks great – he has to know he looks great, right? – he doesn’t look quite comfortable. Maybe because you’re staring at him, and you haven’t said a word. “You look really nice,” you say, and a faint flush comes up in his cheeks. “I didn’t know if you were coming. I know this isn’t really your thing.”

“It’s what you’re doing,” Tomura says, and your face turns red, too. “I want to meet my Secret Santa.”

That’s you. You and your stupid gift that’s too small. “Right,” you say. You fumble in your purse and pull it out, then offer it to him. At least you did a decent job wrapping it. “It was me. I’m your Secret Santa. Here.”

Tomura takes the gift, then holds out the one he’s carrying to you. You did a decent job wrapping it; he probably needs both hands to get it open. “The wrapping on this looks nice,” you say nonsensically while he picks at the tape on yours. “You don’t have to open mine right now. You probably want to give this to the person you were Secret Santa for.”

“I just did.”

It takes way too long for you to figure that one out. “Wait, it was you?”

“You didn’t guess?” Tomura looks almost affronted. “I figured out you were mine days ago.”

“How? Was it my handwriting on the notes?”

“No,” Tomura says. He gives you a weird look. “I wrote on my list that I hate the cold, but I don’t tell anybody that. The only way you would have known is if you got my list.”

“Oh.” You would have thought the thing that gave you away would be bigger than that – like getting too familiar in your notes, slipping up and using his given name and not going back to his surname when you realized your mistake. “Okay.”

“You really didn’t know it was me?” Tomura’s stopped trying to open your gift for the sole purpose of staring at you. “I thought Dabi gave me away. When he was talking about how shitty I am at wrapping gifts.”

You vaguely remember a joke Dabi made. You really shouldn’t have had so much champagne. “Sorry. I should have thought about it a little more.”

“It’s supposed to be a surprise,” Tomura says. It’s quiet for a second. “A bad surprise?”

“No,” you say at once. “A good surprise. But – you could have just told me it was you. Then you wouldn’t have had to come to the party.”

“This is what you’re doing.”

“I know, but we could have done something else. Something you wouldn’t hate as much.”

“I don’t hate it as much as last year,” Tomura says. He nods at the gift. “Are you going to open that or what?”

“Yes,” you say. “Thank you.”

“Don’t say thank-you when you don’t know what it is,” Tomura says. “Just – open it.”

You don’t have any idea of what it could be. You know Tomura’s gone through everything on your list already. His wrapping job is easier to get through than yours. You peel back the paper and untie the ribbons and find yourself holding a hat.

It looks sort of like your hat. The one you gave him. But you found that hat on sale somewhere, ages ago, and this one is a lot nicer. Yours is just knitted, but this one has a soft lining, and the fabric on the outside feels like it might be water-resistant. It also has a goofy little pompom on it, which yours definitely doesn’t have. This isn’t anything you’d have bought for yourself. But you like it a lot.

You look up, ready to thank Tomura, and find him staring down at your gift, unwrapped in his hand. “You didn’t leave a note,” he says. “I like the notes.”

You’d facepalm if you weren’t holding the hat. “I thought I would just say what I would have said in the note to you. Face to face.”

He looks up. You’ve never seen that look on his face before. In fact, you’re not sure you’ve seen that look on anybody’s face – wary, expectant, maybe surprised, maybe hopeful. You should have planned what you were going to say a little better. Before you can say anything, though, Tomura speaks up. “How did you know about this game? I’ve been looking for it. Where did you even find it?”

“I found it on Ebay,” you say. “It wouldn’t have shipped in time, so I picked it up in person. I made sure to test it. It works. And as far as finding out about it – I asked Spinner about the kind of games you liked. I wanted to get it right.”

“I half-assed my list. Why would you try that hard?”

“I just – I don’t know,” you say. “I know Toga kind of bullied you into doing this. I wanted you to get something nice out of it. Sad Christmas might make more sense to you – and me, sometimes – but I thought it would be nice for you to have a happy one.”

That was a dumb thing to say. Tomura hasn’t told you a lot about his background – you’ve really only gotten close recently – but what you know isn’t good. It’s dumb of you to think that one video game and a handful of other gifts could rewrite any of that. You avert your eyes in a hurry. “Thank you for the hat. I didn’t mean to make you go off-list.”

“You didn’t make me do anything,” Tomura says. “I just thought you needed a new one. Since I’m keeping yours.”

Your heart skips a beat. “You are?”

“If you weren’t lying when you said it looked okay,” Tomura says. His hand brushes against your jaw, then applies pressure, turning you back to face him. He looks almost frustrated, but his face is flushed in a way you recognize. “And if you like me.”

“Do you like me?” you ask without thinking, and Tomura kisses you.

You’ve been regretting not giving him a real kiss under the mistletoe at work, but now you think it’s for the best that you didn’t. You haven’t had very many good first kisses, and you want a chance to savor this one. You wrap one arm around Tomura’s waist and pull him a little closer, and even though he startles, he keeps kissing you. He’s not hesitant, so you aren’t, either. There’s no way you’re going to be the first one to pull away.

When you do separate, it’s at the same time, and for what you’re pretty sure is the same reason. The music’s kicked back up. “Is that the stupid Grinch song?” Tomura asks, and you nod. He’s ever so slightly out of breath. He looks kind of flustered, but not nearly as much as you want him to. “Do you want to get out of here?”

“I mean, I could always sing All I Want For Christmas Is You again –” You see the face Tomura’s making. “I’m kidding. Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t care,” Tomura says. He unwraps your hand from around his waist, then keeps holding it as he leads you towards the doors. “It doesn’t matter, if you’re coming with me.”

The wind hits you in a sharp blast as soon as you’re outside, and you pull your new hat on one-handed. “Maybe somewhere warm?”

Tomura pulls on your hand, and when you turn towards him, he kisses you again. Now that you’ve got both your hands free and you’re not in the middle of a crowd, you can kiss him how you want to – one arm around his waist, your other hand gathering up a few strands of his hair. Tomura’s breath catches, and a moment later, so does yours, and although it takes a while for you to separate again, you’re both out of breath when you do.

Tomura doesn’t go far. His arms are tight around you, and when he answers a question you’ve almost forgotten, you can feel his breath against your skin. “I’m warm enough.”

the end

<- part xi

[dragonnarrative-writes]

im the anon who sent that gaz ask and omg kyle's interlude was so good!!!!! im just giggling thinking of kyle wondering how much does she know? did she catch on somehow? fuck I have to take her out quick before she finds out how many projects ive finished and the whole time miss new girl is like. wow this guy fucking sucks at his job i want him gone from my hospital >:(

mans thinks shes gonna file a case with a police and she just thinks he's incompetent as shit

I'm so tickled. That's exactly what's happening.

CW: discussions of death and dying, autopsies, medical neglect

There’s something going on on the cardiac floor that you just… can’t quite put your finger on.

This isn’t the first hospital you’ve worked at, but you’re also new to urban healthcare, so you don’t want to rock the boat by being paranoid. But traffic from the cardiac floor is… steady. You’ve read the papers, know the stats like the back of your hand. And the cardiac floor is perfectly in line with expected trends. Every. Month.

There are fluctuations, of course. Plus or minus three to seven lives is nothing remarkable in cardiology. Macabre, maybe, but true. But that’s unnatural. In the seven months you’ve worked here, you’ve seen waves elsewhere in the hospital. The plastics floor had a month with zero deaths followed by a month of a persistent infection sweeping through the otherwise reasonably healthy patients. Oncology has seen a steady decline in patients sent your way, thank goodness. Even emergency and intensive care aren’t as fixedly consistent as the cardiac floor.

When you wonder about it aloud to the director, Dr. Martins just shrugs. “We have a good team up there. Very good at keeping things clean and double and triple checking their work.”

“But if that’s the case, then the number of deaths should be going down,” you point out.

Dennis gives you a rueful smile. “That’s not always how human bodies work, unfortunately. You know that.”

You do know that. Which is why the consistency grates against your nerves. So you decide to do a little digging.

The name that comes up the most often in the chart notes is one Kyle Garrick.

That’s actually not 100% accurate. He’s charting exactly the way he’s supposed to. And no nurse has complete, individual access to patients 24/7. But every dying patient he has access to is… perfect. Their blood work, labs, vitals, prognosis, medication adherence and refusal is almost too-the-letter, textbook precise.

The most obvious answer is that Garrick, and probably a couple of other nurses on the floor, are fudging the numbers.

The idea is infuriating. You hate the way the administrators keep changing medical record systems just as much as the next person, but inaccurate charting is a safety issue. People can, have, and do die because someone writes down the wrong timing for medications or assumes that a patient’s vitals are unchanged. If anything, this is probably worse than that. The fact that everything is so pristine probably means that some patients are just being written off. The nurses might be deciding who gets the excellent care the hospital is known for and who gets neglected.

You stay three hours late investigating the next cardio patient that ends up in your morgue.

After examining the body and reading, rereading, and re-re-re-reading his chart, you find it. A stutter in the dosages of blood thinners, a slightly higher blood pressure reading from someone who isn’t nurse Kyle fucking Garrick. Just enough evidence to have you testing the body with an aspirometer almost too late. And there it is. A fatal air embolism.

You want to scream, but the dead man doesn’t deserve that.

Three weeks later, sipping from your water bottle, someone calls into the office. “Knock knock.”

Dennis practically lights up. “"Good morning, Kyle. Been a bit since you've come to see us. Care for some tea?"

Your eyebrows shoot up. Dr Martins hates unexpected visitors. Then you look over your shoulder, and you understand. Even old queens aren't immune to pretty privilege. The man that’s leaning in the doorway is gorgeous. Maybe its because you work with dead bodies all day, but his eyes and skin seem to glow, even under the fluorescents.

"Can't," the man says, apologetically. "Just dropping someone off."

"Well, at least let me introduce our new nurse!"

The fact that you’re wiping crumbs off of your mouth over a paper plate is the only reason no one sees your face fall when you hear him say, “Nice to meet you. Kyle Garrick.”

[nicollekidman]

THE WAY YOU BACKTRACK no its just a conspiracy people seeing antisemitism with their own eyes? abby get a grip, you apologize and then you reblog a "actually its just a conspiracy to discredit palestine" like these theories havent been around for millenia

i at no point have backtracked???? you guys have to calm down and like either read the words i’m typing or accept you’re just dying to scold me for some reason and to stop engaging. like i know a disconcerting amount of you are zionists hanging around to just randomly accuse me of antisemitism (there’s a reason i haven’t been publishing those over the last few weeks lmao) but if someone comes to me and says “what is your reaction to this stuff i’ve been seeing” and i say “idk i haven’t been seeing any of that, here is my reaction to what i HAVE been seeing” and i get like six more people saying “no actually we have been seeing this stuff and if you don’t more obviously say you don’t Love Osama Bin Laden then we’re going to assume you love antisemtism!!!” then obviously my first reaction is going to be like. well damn i didn’t realize you guys were seeing this, i better get rid of an upsetting response i made off the cuff based on different information, and apologize for upsetting anyone by the disconnect.

but then the most recent post i recently reblogged is about the VERY SPECIFIC PHENOMENON we’re all currently discussing, where overnight, a prominent grifter twitter journalist wrote about a “viral” tiktok trend where the youth are apparently “praising” a terrorist which again. from the beginning, i have said i have not seen evidence of myself (which is true!!). and if you take a second to step back and ask yourself why on earth this would happen out of nowhere and be reported on like it’s a sweeping trend taking hold of america’s youth (after like 24 hours), on a platform that for weeks i have seen literally only videos from/by young palestinians and young jewish people educating their peers and others…. then maybe those videos are not truthful and organic thoughts from real people.

idk why it’s easier to believe that a platform that has been a huge source of information for the palestinian cause in a way that zionists and other invested groups cannot control is, i cannot emphasize this enough, OVERNIGHT filled with kids who have decided after reading one letter (that has been PULLED by the website citing this specific trend!!) that they love the thoughts of osama bin laden…. rather than accepting that our disdain for both tiktok as a resource and young people as a general group makes us accept that insane idea much more easily than we normally would!!!

i think that young people are capable of rational thought! i also know that writing about tiktok as a breeding ground for concerning trends/incomprehensible viral videos is a sure fire way to get everyone up in arms in a way that i don’t accept as reality! i also know that this whole thing has probably been very concerning for jewish people who don’t want to see antisemitic bigoted hateful vile people given a platform. but what i’m saying and what that post is saying is that insofar as these videos of kids apparently being “on board” with osama exist and are being spread (again. i personally have not seen a single one, so my original post is deleted was not reacting to this type of video) are very likely being created/spread with the intent to discredit tiktok as a platform and bury legitimately educational content.

if all you take from this is that i ❤️ antisemitic conspiracies then fine, i feel like i’ve been clear and at this point engaging further feels like adding fuel to a fire i don’t have any interest in spreading. if anyone feels like im being ignorant and wants to talk to me about it im obviously always open but this particular line of questioning? ive made myself clear and im not buying into the hysteria. young people are, in larger numbers than i have ever seen in my lifetime, mobilizing in their schools and cities and local government to make their voices heard and pressure their politicians for change, every day i see extremely brave people on my tiktok both spreading information and doing their best to get educated responsibly, and my attention and energy is with those kids, not with a likely manufactured hysteria over terrorist lovers that i haven’t seen myself at any point.

[dykeyote]

!! i am asking abt the wtnv guys.. i know carlos is the love interest but whats he like :-3

!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA JOYOUS I WAS ACTUALLY PLANNING ON ASKING IF ANYONE WOULD SEND ME ASKS ABOUT CARLOS HEHEHEHE I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

ok so carlos is the love of my life basically the whole thing w him is that like . im sure uv at least Gathered the general concept of night vale from being in podcast spaces but i like being thorough so im xplaining anyway .... night vale is a town that is weird and Freakay and carlos is a scientist who comes to study it . he starts out equally fascinated and frightened by the strange events that happen there and is quite othered by the town but eventually grows to adjust to it more and love it while still being able to call out some of the weirder shit which helps CECIL begin to question things more which is fun mutual character development (: he tends to be the more closed off and quiet one in comparison to cecil who can barely keep a secret to save his life, except when hes talking about science which he can go on about foreva and eva and eva

he is extremely autistic i love him dearly hes some of the best autistic rep ive seen (except when hes Not but thats usually not bc of how hes written but bc of how cecil Talks about him on occasion but whatever . its a show thats gone on for like ten years its bound to have some flops) i love him so much (: his fixation on science is Very obviously written to be a special interest (he only finds jokes that are scientifically accurate funny, he gets so excited at being asked a question about space that he goes on a huge ramble about it before laughing and skipping bc hes so excited, he self regulates by looking at a list of his favorite numbers) and it makes me very happy it was PIVOTAL for kid me loving himself as an autistic person . because hes also the most handsome man in town and his husband is MADLY in love w him and finds all that endearing (the heist isnt canon btw) and hes incredibly smart and capable and agh!!!!! and hes also written with other autistic traits too (not being able to understand jokes, not being able to read subtext, getting so overwhelmed hes unable to speak, intense hyperfocuses) and all of these things dont detract from these facts!!!!!!!! AGHHHH i love it it makes me so happy . genuinely he was so so so impactful on like eighth grade me feeling comfortable and happy w those Things abt herself that he didnt yet understand aaaghhhhhhh. i love him so much!!!!!

hes also an INCREDIBLY interesting character i think wtnv doesnt use him as much as he should a lot of the time hes sometimes relegated to just "cecils husband" which is sad bc hes SO SO SO interesting? hes incredibly bad at expressing his emotions and tends to keep them very clsoe to his chest and hold secrets from people that he cares about - the desert otherworld arc being a KEY example of that hes so fascinating . he develops this really codependent friendship with kevin (an ex-antagonist current-general freakazoid) thats really Really intense due to them being like the only two people trapped in the desert otherworld together and they really do seem to care about each other (kevin was canonically in love w him and carlos seems to feel enough abt him in return that kevin Also canonically genuinely believed it was mutual) and hes unable to really express any of his emotions verbally so he just leaves kevin a letter before leaving without explicitly saying that hes never coming back outside of the letter that kevin reads after hes already gone . and also he was trapped in the desert otherworld (which is like another dimension) for what seemed for cecil (his boyfriend at the time) like a year but for CARLOS due to time dilation it was ten years . where he was trapped in another dimension with no way to get to his home and see the man that he loves again . and carlos said in the ten year anniversaty ep that cecil will Never know how long carlos was in there and that carlos is never gonna tell him . and i find all that FASCINATING carlos is such an interesting character mostly due to the way he keeps everything so close to his chest but its quite sad bc DUE to that we rarely ever see his cmoplexities .... hes a bundle of lies via omission and oh my god i want to know more about his psyche so so so much

also hes a silly goose!!!!!! he loves theatre and acting and gets so excited to go to a murder mystery dinner theater (which in night vale is a very serious thing thats a way of like . actually trying to solve a crime) that he tests out so many fake accents on cecil (live on air) that the secret police tell cecil to uninvite carlos immediately which makes carlos so sad disappointed that cecil has to say that theyll make their own murder mystery dinner theater to cheer him up. he has a brief hyperfixation on making tiktok dances to the degree that when he says hes working late cecil assumes hes lying so he can do more tiktok dances. another one of his hyperfixations over the years is elden ring which he hyperfocused on so hard that he played it for 22-23 hours a day and was so fixated on it that he didnt know the moon was missing, or particularly care until he finished this boss. he spends his time at work making construction paper collage love notes for his husband and considers this important undisturbable work. when talking to one of his assistants he says that the subject of discussion will now be science, and then pulls out a graph with just the word "science" on it and says that its a visual aid for the discussion. i love him so much hes so silly goose

[gikairan]

Boy it sure is fun to see Building Drama that you are just... not aware of.....

I mean i feel this is all par for the course in living in an apartment building. Especially as this is a pretty mixed building - theres people who own outright, people who own a % (like myself) and i think people renting here. I know this was outlined in a document i was given, but im not sure which one anymore. I also think theres specific units for social rent, not private rent. So, council flats basically.

And i dont want to sound like i've got anything against the social rent scheme - its important, and theres nowhere near enough of it. Unfortunately, theres... a bit of a stigma against people on the scheme. It tends to attract some of the less-savoury members of society. Theres a looot to talk about on this issue full stop, and i dont want to dive to deep into it. But poverty makes you more likely to be involved in crime, drugs etc, develop mental health issues etc etc. tl;dr poverty sucks, and is just generally very bad for you.

So the buildings got people who own 100%, own some %, and some who were possibly put here by the council. This is... maybe not the best idea? You've got people whose literal wealth is tied up in this building, and people who... have pretty much no stake at all.

Most of what i see of anyone is... their contributions to the bin room. Its... just.... a travesty. Like, the recycling literally says "no plastic bags" and yet the council are constantly refusing to collect them because theres plastic bags (filled with recycling) inside. The standard waste bins... people only seem to want to fill the handful that are nearest the doors. Once theyre full up, they just... start piling their bin bags on top. ... Despite the ones on the other side of the room being half-full at best. Sometimes, they use the floor! Last week there was half a pizza just on the ground! :D Do people want rats? Because this is how we get rats.

Then theres also... one guy on my floor. Now, i live right at the end. I go past everyones doors to get out, but no one has any reason to go to mine. I share a wall with no one. I dont interact with anyone. I'm far removed from any nonsense that might happen. But one thing i do know Floor smells like weed most of the time. And look - dont care. Think it should be legalised and taxed. Have worked with massive stoners my entire professional life. But the problem is that this guy is clearly inviting some unsavoury elements to the building? Not by virtue of simply smoking in his own flat (fine), but apparently drug dealing in the garage??

And how do i know this? Well another neighbour went and stuck up some letters to other residents in communal areas of the building about the buildings issues of course! :D

Including mentioning the drug deals in the garage (Among other things, some the issue of the housing association)

Today i find out one was posted in the lift, not just the one i saw in the front foyer while returning from a day in the office. Now i dont usually use the lift because i live on the first floor. I just... use the stairs... So how did i find out this was in the lift? Well, because the lift was open when i walked past. No one in it. The doors were just... stuck open. Did see some kind of cable sticking out of the side so uh... thats not great, dont want to see that. (As i returned upstairs i wanted to see what kind of connection it was and it... fell down... as i was looking... no idea what it was but id guess introduced to jam the doors somehow)

But the lift one also had... contributions from other residents. Including giving this persons door number. He doesnt live alone, btw. There is a partner in there, and also probably a kid? This guy is.... actually the only person ive had a conversation with, and i know hes mentioned a kid. Never seen the partner, btw, or kid. Partners written on the paper "dont give away peoples door numbers, my daughter lives here" And someone responded to that with "dont lie, its just your drug dealing boyfriend. I saw him smash up the sign downstairs" (Sure enough, the sign downstairs turned out to be broken when i got there) and just, oh boy oh howdy what the hell is going on here.... Im just minding my own business as one person seems to be shady, a bunch of other people are not pleased, and the shady guy is maybe going around breaking stuff because of it.... 🙃

And like, i dont know if this person owns or rents. Literally cant remember what file all this info was in, and if it said what flat counted under what scheme. I dont know if anything can be done to get rid of him, especially if he owns. Does someone deserve to be kicked out because theyre causing problems? IDK! But kinda sucks to have someone causing problems, and a bunch of people pissed off at them, while i sit in my little quiet corner and get whiplash when i go to throw my bins out....

[aziraphales-library]

hey! do you know of any fics where crowley watches golden girls? its a trope ive seen a couple times and i think it's hilarious. love everything that you guys do!

Hello! Crowley loving the Golden Girls isn’t really the focus of fics, but here are some fics in which he’s a Golden Girls fan...

Gavottes and Golden Girls by TurnipTitaness (G)

Crowley has decided it's high time to introduce Aziraphale to two things: Their all-time favorite TV show, and cheap pastries that they most certainly DID NOT go to great lengths to invent.

Cuddles and Golden Girls? by ahyperactivehero (T)

Based on a tumble prompt I wrote ages ago but never posted here! (Wake up! Please wake up.”/ “Don’t you ever do that again!”) X

Crowley was supposed to meet Aziraphale, but he never showed. Clearly, Aziraphale has to go and check on him.

I’ve no intention of confessing today by IneffableDoll (T)

Crowley, in a drunken fit of inspiration (read: idiocy), miracles a love letter to the bookshop.

Good Omens, GoodFellas by anactoriatalksback (G)

A smarmy developer wants to buy The Bookshop, and neither Crowley nor Aziraphale can miracle their way out of this mess. Luckily, Crowley - armed with Golden Girls-themed cocktails and a handful of mafia movies - is on the case...

Time Enough For Life by EdosianOrchids901 (T)

When a cult obtains a powerful artifact, Aziraphale and Crowley receive orders to work together. One problem: Heaven and Hell are watching them closely. Can Aziraphale and Crowley successfully hide their relationship while on the mission, or will they get caught?

The Nice and Accurate wedding of Anathema Device, Witch, which went just as expected by Nenchen (G)

Wedding planner Anathema Device is the Number One. She can organize anything for a wedding, flower arrangements, catering, a marching band or an emu. The name Device is a guarantee for a picture perfect wedding - and the perfect pictures will be taken by her top wedding photographer, and best friend, Anthony J. Crowley.

Both of them see weddings mostly as business, until Anathema meets Newt, Love of her life, walking natural disaster extraordinaire, and very much not a person it’s possible to have a perfect wedding with.

Which is perfect since Anathema frankly never wanted one for herself. She just wants a fun party, good food, and all of her friends to attend - including Crowley. For whom this might just as well be the apocalypse because no, he is not allowed to work on her wedding. Strictly invited only as a guest, Crowley finds himself at a loss. What the hell do you do at weddings? Well, if you are Crowley, the answer is some James Bond-like action, some worrying about fly swarms and their sources, having a lot of emotions, drinking some very funny wine, putting your foot in your mouth and just maybe meeting someone to share all of that with. Oh, and there’s always cake, isn’t there?

- Mod D

[bonesandthebees]

Hello Stranger. I'm sending you some numbers. 9, 17, 31.

firesnap!!! hello stranger!! :D

9. Do you believe in ghosts? This isn’t about writing I just wanna know

Not really but I also love the idea of going ghost hunting and would still probably get spooked because I'm a pussy when it comes to stuff like that lol

17. Talk to me about the minutiae of your current WIP. Tell me about the lore, the history, the detail, the things that won’t make it in the text.

OHHHH FIRESNAP YOU'RE JUST BEGGING ME TO TALK ABOUT STARS RN... Eldingvegr as a planet has so much worldbuilding that I'm either not going to get to mention till later in the text, or just not at all considering most of the story doesn't take place on the planet. For one thing, I've hinted at this in the text so far but haven't stated it outright, but Eldingvegr is tidally-locked meaning it doesn't spin! aka, there's no day or night cycle. The majority of the population lives in Røkkrring, aka the 'twilight band' where the day and night sides meet, hence why every time I describe the sky it's a pinkish purple color because they live in a perpetual twilight. The day side of the planet is called Sólsid and is a burning hot desert. Very few people live there, except there are a few small groups that have learned how to survive in that environment. The night side is called Nóttsid and is an icy wasteland perpetually kept in darkness, except it's much more populated than Sólsid is because that's where the largest deposits of blaziphane are located, so there's a lot of mining settlements on that side of things. still, the population is extremely tiny compared to the population in the Røkkrring.

(also, there's a constant breeze between the day and night side because of the sharp temperature gradient. the windy season is caused by the planet's orbit moving it closer to its sun in one part of the year, thus increasing the temperature on Sólsid and making the temperature difference between Sólsid and Nóttsid even more drastic than it usually is, hence creating the extremely strong winds seen in the season)

this is already too long but, like, I have so much more worldbuilding for Eldingvegr, but also Themis and Zephys IV as well that I won't even get into rn but just. aaaaaa I have so much worldbuilding for the stars and their children it's insane (if anyone wants to learn more about it i will GLADLY start infodumping so)

31. Write a short love letter to your readers.

To all my readers,

You guys are absolutely amazing for all the insane love you've given me over the past... god, almost a year? I guess almost a year, yeah. Holy shit, I've been at this for a while. I've never been considered 'famous' in a fandom before and it's been such a fun ride, knowing that I'll have an audience for whatever crazy new au idea I come up with next is just so wonderful and gives me the chance to just explore so many different types of stories. I'm writing solely for my own enjoyment because I know I have a dedicated group of readers, so I don't have to worry about making things just for the sake of popularity. Idk it's just very freeing to me to know that people genuinely love my work and get as much enjoyment out of reading it that I get out of writing it, and it inspires me to keep going and keep creating to my heart's content, so thank you guys <3

writer ask game!

[hello-yue-here]

Yuetara, zukka, and maiko

yuetara

ship

1) its not one of my main ships. i dont rlly read fanfic for them but if i see a cute fanart of them ill enjoy it and i think i first started shipping it because of good fanarts for them.

2) i like yuetara because of how similar they are. theyre both women from the water tribe. they both understand the misogyny that they have faced. and they both said f sexism im gonna be a strong woman. i also love the tui and la parallel. moon spirit and ocean spirit parallel COME ON. YUE IS THE MOON. KATARA IS THE MOST POWERFUL WATERBENDER. THEY ARE THE OCEAN AND THE MOON. the push and pull they could give eachother. that dynamic ftw.

3) i guess if i didnt like something about this ship would be the fact that if i read a fic or see a fanart w yuetara then than means in that particular au i wont get any yuekka and yuekka is probably my second favorite ship. but then again if i get yuetara than i could get a plethora of other sokka ships to go with it so my sadness disappears in like two seconds. gosh shipping is hard sometimes until you remember ‘hey i have like fifty different universes in my head. all ur ships can coexist in ur brain olivia’ other than that i really see no downsides to this ship. maybe i wish it had more content. maybe if it had more content id ship it a lot more but its not one of the more popular ships so the content is kinda few n far between on my feed.

zukka:

SHIPPP

1) my boys. my babies. my loves. i watched this show for the first time when it came out on netflix and when it ended i really didnt ship anything other than kataang. i came onto tumblr to find fun atla content and one of the very first things i saw under the atla tag was zukka content. i was like oh? whats this? zukka? interesting... i was intrigued so i found a list of fic recs and i fell in love with the ship. the rest is history. its probably my number one ship because it was my very first ship here and im nostalgic

2) oh boy there is so much i like about this ship. i relate to a shit ton of characters in atla. but sokka and zuko may be the ones i relate to most. i relate to sokka because i tend to feel second best a lot to my friends. i try to stay positive but things rarely go the way i plan or hope for them too and while im happy for my friends and their achievements i oftentimes find myself thinking why cant that be me? and i see this a lot in sokka especially in sokkas master. i dont feel special a lot and idk seeing sokka feel the same way and then realizing he is special kinda helped me realize that im special too. on the flipside i relate to zuko because i have wild anger issues and difficulty dealing w my emotions a lot as well. i get broody and short tempered and insecure very often and i tend to push people away and i refuse to ask for help (the amount of teachers and adults and therapists who have told me its okay to ask for help ur not any weaker because of it is astounding. do i listen to them? .....im working on it.) and i saw a shit ton of this in zuko. book one and two zuko rarely asks for help as seen in the blue spirit and zuko alone and he pushes away uncle so many times and even when the gaang iffers to help him in i think its the chase he tells them to leave. when he finally has his redemption and joins the gaang and lets them kinda become a better person i was so happy. i want that for myself yk. seeing him finally win the agni kai and overcome his family that always told him he was nothing was such a win. my sister and i get along but when we were children we were very much like zuko and azula. it was extremely competitive all the time and there was so much toxicity and sibling drama to a concerning extent. we get along great now which im very happy about but yeah their sibling relationship hit a lil too on the nose for me. seeing as i relate to these character so much and want them ti be happy i want to live vicariously through them so seeing them together is amazing for me to project into them. i love projecting onto fictional characters and with them i can project onto BOTH so its a winwin. plus so many zukka fics are so well written and heartwarming and heartbreaking and emotional and fluffy anf UGH the talent here us astounding.

3) what do i not like about the ship? again the list is long. oops. mainly the toxic shippers. there are so many toxic zukka stans that sometimes make it hard for me to enjoy this ship but hey! thats what the block button is for:) i despise how often people infantilize zuko and completely ruin his character for the sake of making him a soft weak lil boy who needs protecting. thats just not zuko for me. and ive seen many many accounts even state that this kind of portrayal of zuko is rooted in racist stereotypes about asian men (now i am white so i personally have never experiences racism but i feel the need to bring that up because it is wrong and attention needs to be brought to it because a lot of poc fans have criticised this) and the same for sokka. some ppl rlly skew his character and make him a big strong brute and hypermasculine and once again poc fans have said that this take is rooted in racist stereotypes. again! these are just my opinions! this is my favorite ship! but i think its important to acknowledge some of the bad parts of our ships as well and be critical where criticism is needed :))

maiko

ship

1) I LOVE MAIKO. “i dont hate you” “i dont hate you too” BRUH. my little heart just burst into flames. im sorry guys but maiko is so cute. they hate everything except eachother. BRUH that is one of the cutest tropes. i shipped them the moment i saw them together onscreen and i was so happy when zukos face lit up in the finale when mai came back.

2) “i hate everything but i have a soft spot for you” TAKE MY MONEY I AM A SUCKER FOR THIS. they are so cute together. like zuko is rarely happy in a majority of atla but mai makes him happy and i- 🥺🥺 HE DESERVES IT. and mai is always so supportive of him. when hes stressing out about the war meeting she tries her best to comfort him. and zuko cares about her too. he may not be the best at showing it but oh my god hes TRYING HIS BEST. i think its a very accurate portrayal of teenage relationships because they arent perfect and they do fight but like,, every teenage relationship does that. and even after everything and how he left her in the fire nation she still had his back at boiling rock. she still risked her life against azula to save his butt.

3) the thing i hate about maiko isnt even about maiko. its about antis who think mai is toxic and that zuko deserves better. that has got to be the worst take ive ever heard. they had a fight in ember island. that is NORMAL. they are teenagers. they are not perfect. but underneath all the rough edges and things they need to work out they still care about eachother so freaking much. i genuinelt believe that neither of them would do anything to intentionally hurt the other and i think thats what matters the most. if anything mai is the best girlfriend in the entire world because zuko fucked up like,, quite a few times. he got rlly jealous and dumped her thru a letter and ppl always say that mai was toxic for being mad at him for those two things. umm she had every right to be mad at him for both of those. and while zuko is allowed to feel his emotions and be angry sometimes as well sometimes he needs to think things thru and realize that hey maybe some if this jealousy is unfounded. BUT EVEN THEN. HE RESPECTED HER FEELINGS AND DIDNT TOUCH HER WHEN SHE SAID DONT TOUCH ME. HE RESPECTED HER. so i hate toxic maiko takes because they are literally so wrong in my opinion.

again all of these are just my opinions!! feel free to agree or disagree but please be respectful!! i will respect whatever u think as well because this is all just for fun :)

[whatcouldgowrong-ohthat]

Doll (Bucky x Tall!Reader One-shot)

This is one of my submissions for Cloudy’s 200 follower challenge! So proud of you, girly!!

Pairing: Bucky x Tall!Reader

Dialogue Prompt: High as a Kite (highlighted in bold)

Summary: While Y/N was out on a mission, Bucky accidentally got himself hurt. So what happens when she finds her best friend/crush not nearly as quiet as he usually is?

Warnings: Guys, there’s no angst. This is all fluff.

“Who’s going to tell her?”

“I’m not! It was an accident!”

“Yes, let’s piss off the Amazonian.”

“She’s not an Amazon. She’s just tall.”

“Please, can we focus?”

“I own the building. That means I can call immunity.”

“Honestly, I’d rather be recording this for future blackmail.”

“Well, someone has to tell her.”

“Tell me what?”

Three bodies spun around, shielding the glass window they had been peering into moments before. Y/N watched them curiously. Scott, Bruce, Sam, and Tony were hiding something. She stepped closer to them, brow furrowing when Scott and Bruce instinctively moved in front of the door.

“Okay, what’s going on?” She looked down at Sam, hoping to get some sort of clarity from Bucky’s partner in crime.

“I still think I should be recording.”

“Recording what?” Y/N stepped closer. She didn’t want to admit it, but panic was starting to stir in her chest. She’d been gone on a mission with Steve and had only gotten back a little while ago. Ever since, she’d been looking for Bucky. He’d promised a movie marathon with her and she was coming to collect.

But in three hours – she hadn’t seen or heard from him.  At first, she thought she had done something wrong, but now? Seeing four of her five friends hiding outside a med-room? With no clue were her best friend was? She knew it wasn’t her fault. They were hiding something.

She walked up to Bruce, her heeled boots clicking on the floor until she was practically chest to chest with him. Looking down at him, she crossed her arms and immediately began tapping her foot.

Tony cleared his throat, not exactly in the mood to see a hulked-out Banner fighting the Winter Soldier’s crush. He still had people working on repairs from when Bucky ate the last of Hulk’s M&Ms. “Relax, Y/N. The intimidation tactics aren’t going to work.”

She groaned, dropping her hands and looking at the “genius” that felt the need to call her out in this particular moment. “You guys won’t let me know where he is!”

“He’s in there!”

Everyone looked back to Scott. He was still shielding the window from Y/N’s sight, but now he was hiding his face behind his hands. He peeked between his fingers, looking similar to a child in this moment. If she wasn’t so worried about what they were hiding, she’d probably laugh.

Her gaze shifted to the door. She gestured for Scott to step aside. He didn’t even argue. Looking through the glass, she bit her lip. The panic that had been there moments before was gone now, replaced with relief. “What happened?”

“Barnes ate Hulk’s M&M’s. I’m still trying to get the community kitchen fixed up because of it,” Tony explained.

Y/N looked at Bruce, raising an eyebrow. “You hulked out because of M&M’s?”

“I didn’t! The…” Bruce huffed. “The big guy did.”

Y/N turned back to the window and snorted, biting back a laugh.

“She’s finding this amusing. Should we be worried?” Scott looked at Bruce and Tony. Sam simply shrugged. Their usefulness for this had just run out.

“I’m going to check on him. Can you four go find something else to look at?” She didn’t bother sparing them a glance, slipping inside the room and closing the door behind her.

Instead of leaving like Y/N had asked, they crowded in front of the glass. Each of them was desperate to get a good look. “You better hope this works, Stark,” Scott muttered, unable to contain his smile.

“All my creations work, thank you very much. Especially when Banner’s helping me.”

“I’d rather not agree with that statement after Ultron.”

Tony glanced at Bruce and scoffed. “Traitor.”

“Quiet,” Sam ordered, swatting Tony upside the head. “I’m trying to hear!”

 -----

Y/N walked towards the bed Bucky was currently laying on. He was hooked to an IV, but she wasn’t sure what medicine they were pumping in his system. Surely it wasn’t too bad, right? If it were, Steve would be here, frantic and worried about what had happened to his best friend. But that wasn’t the case. So, she ran her fingers through his hair, allowing that flutter of crazed nerves to erupt in her chest and stomach. God, she couldn’t help the feelings this man gave her.

She noticed the massive bruise in his hairline. It was swollen. Like he’d been thrown into something a few times. “Hulk really did a number on you, huh?” Her voice was soft, gentle because she didn’t want to wake him up. But this was Bucky after all. Anything could wake him up. He blinked once, twice, before finally moving his head. He groaned, moving to sit up, but Y/N was there to make the movement easier. “Hey, sleepy head.”

“What happened?”

“Apparently someone decided to take Hulk’s peanut butter M&M’s?”

A sheepish grin appeared on Bucky’s face as he ran a hand through his hair. “Oops?”

“That’s all you have to say?” Y/N laughed and shook her head. “Really?”

That sheepish grin of his was shifting. His bright eye watching her with something she didn’t quite understand. But his pupils were blown. The awkwardness of being found out faded away as he started giggling.

Bucky fucking Barnes was giggling.

Bucky laughing was already a rare sight indeed. Almost impossible to see unless you were as close with him as Steve or Y/N was. But giggling? She was sure not even Steve had seen that before.

“Oh my god, what did they give you?”

She laughed as she took a step back, but before she could get too far, Bucky grabbed her hand. He pulled her close, catching her before she could fall. A hand was wrapped around her waist as he watched her intently. “I like holding you like this,” he told her, looking up at her and tilting his head. “I like looking up at you.” Of all the people on the team, Bucky was the only one who ever encouraged her height. In fact, if there were moments where he could look up at her, he did. He enjoyed how tall she was. Her curves and height were a rare sight and it was how she was nicknamed the “Amazon” of the team.

“Buck,” she murmured, laughing and leaning away from him. “You’re high as a kite, aren’t you?”

Bucky pouted at her as she ran her hands through his hair. “I’m being honest. Why don’t you believe me?”

“Because they had to have given you something.”

“No,” he drawled, dragging out the word as if it had twenty extra letters. “I’m a super soldier, ‘member?” He grinned like the cat that ate the canary. “Drugs don’t work on me.”

“No known drugs work on you, Buck. But who knows what cocktail Banner and Stark gave you?”

Another giggle from Bucky and Y/N couldn’t stop herself from smiling. He was absolutely adorable. Drugged up or not. Silence fell as she continued playing with his hair, earning soft hums from the loveable goofball in her arms. He was so calm. There was no pain or tension anywhere in his face. He was actually…relaxed.

“Why don’t you like me, Y/N?”

She frowned. He’d closed his eyes, tilting his head back as she kept playing with his hair. Had he even realized he’d asked her? “Of course, I like you, Bucky.”

Bucky groaned, pouting once again. He leaned forward as his forehead found her shoulder. “No, you don’t. Not like I like you.”

“Not like you like me?” Y/N felt like her heart was ready to burst out of her chest. Did he really admit to liking her? She glanced at the IV. What the hell had Tony and Bruce given him? “What do you mean, Bucky?”

“I like holding you,” he murmured, nuzzling her neck. His hands wrapped around her waist were now tracing up her back. “I like watching movies and cuddling…”

“I like those things too.”

He whined again, clearly not believing her. She felt like she was talking to a puppy. “Then why do you go on dates? I hate that.” He pouted, his nose nuzzling into her neck. “I hate seeing guys take you out when they don’t deserve you. I want to date you. I want to take you out. I want to kiss you. I want to…I want to…”

“Want to what?”

“I want to show you how important you are, Y/N.”

If she hadn’t been blushing before, she certainly was now. She had never expected to hear these words out of Bucky and here he was admitting that he felt everything she did. And he wouldn’t even remember it, would he?

“Oh, Buck,” she murmured, hands moving from his hair to his back. “I wish you knew how important you are to me.”

There was a pause as if Bucky wasn’t sure he heard her right. But once a few moments passed, a muffled, “I am?” was asked.

Y/N chuckled and looked down at him. Tilting his head up, she ran her fingers along his cheek. It was gentle, ghost-like. “You are. But I got to tell you that when you aren’t drugged up.” He grinned again. It was sleepy. The poor boy probably needed more rest than they realized. “Get some rest, hm?”

“Stay.” He blinked, slowly. “Please?”

Y/N smiled as she helped him lay back down. He kept a hand securely attached to hers, clearly wanting to keep her at his side. “Buck –“

“Please,” he murmured.

She sighed. “Alright. I’ll stay.”

He let go of her hand but kept his droopy gaze on her. Bucky was determined to make sure she wasn’t going anywhere. Shrugging off her jacket, she bent down and unzipped her boots. Her gaze shifted to the door to see her four friends giving her wide grins and several thumbs up. “Oh, leave, would you?” she snapped, throwing a boot at the door. They all jumped and ducked away, running off as she shook her head. Those idiots.

Taking off her other boot, she climbed into the bed. It was far too small with his massive frame and her tall, curvy build, but they made do. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her towards him and burying his face in her hair and neck. She lightly played with his hair, the other hand wrapped around him and tracing up and down his spine. It was soothing. Intimate.

“Go to sleep, Bucky.”

“You too, Doll.”

Y/N pressed her lips against his hair, hiding her smile at the nickname. He’d never called her that before. It was always her name or some nickname from it, but never ‘doll’. Until now. She closed her eyes, letting herself fall asleep in his arms.

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

(BONUS)

Bucky woke to the dull remains of a headache and an impossible warmth around him. He didn’t want to open his eyes. That would mean pulling away from the warmth. So instead, he pulled the warmth closer. His arms tightened around it, clinging to it.

Then he heard a soft moan. The exhale of someone’s sigh. And everything came back.

The fight with Hulk…

Bruce and Tony getting him to the med-bay…

Bruce’s countless apologies…

Tony wanting to “take advantage” of the moment with some new medicine they had been working on with Cho…

And Y/N.

He remembered her visiting. He remembered – He remembered everything. Opening his eyes, he realized he was curled into Y/N. His head was resting on her chest, listening to her heart. His arms were wrapped around her, her hands in his hair. Tilting his head up ever so slightly, he smiled when he saw that he was, in fact, still in Y/N’s arms.

He couldn’t wipe the grin off his face as he memorized her peaceful features. She liked him. She liked him as much as he liked her. And as excited about it as he was, he wouldn’t dare wake her when she looked like this. Instead, he pressed the smallest kiss to her lips. It could hardly even count as one, he was so scared to wake her. Nuzzling her neck, he closed his eyes once again and simply enjoyed holding her. The giddiness in his chest made it impossible for him to fall back asleep. But he could enjoy this, enjoy holding her. And that was absolutely what he would do.

“I can’t wait to show you how much you mean to me, Doll.”

-----

Tag List:

@crushedbyhyperbole​

[smitti4thecity]

Imagine you are reading something and it ends like this?? Can a writer do this to people? Can a writer survive writing like this? And more importantly what is this?? Read along and hey follow along... time to take the brakes off of story telling and introduce the first of many in the "UNTITLED FOR NOW" series...

Untitled for now begins with three characters: Teapot, Treyein and then we have Jug. The opening scene features a cry for help from Teapot and a sad confession of guilt from Treyein... and we start to examine the characters beginning with Jug.

Teapot – Hey Jug? You busy

Jug – Never too busy for you

Teapot – Thank You for your kind words

Can you come over, I would rather talk to you about this face to face.

Jug – GPS says 25 minutes, see you about 2000hrs

Jug has no idea what he is about to walk into and that does not matter because in his world his friend of 22 years needs him and has prioritized her over all things.

Meanwhile Teapot was fuming.. IVE HAD ENOUGH, the jokes, the innaprorpiate touching has to stop, enough is enough and she must escalate things before she finds herself in Wednesday’s episode of SVU.

Text message from Treyein comes in, Teapot begins to read it..

Treyein – look tea, I have decided to check myself into a rehab facility, I recognize in myself that I have demons in my past I must let go of or I will never manifest into the beautiful person I am inside.  I hope this move inspires you to somehow take your leap towards greatness.  You have so much to offer the World and I truly will pray nightly that you live in your gift.

Teapot – My life will never be the same because of you – you have literally taken my (knock, knock, knock) throws phone on the bed.

Teapot – opens door and greets Jug with a hug

Jug – well hello, nice to see you too, you look nice, nails done I see you tea... pot!! knowing damn well I love the white tip nails..… wait!!! what is this??? some sort of setup???. Are you about to tell me we are dating? What did I walk into.. you sittin around lookin all good..... smellin like YSL and lookin even better than you smell.  Look, three letters woman!!! I DO

Teapot – laughing and smiling, no no no no no, we are not dating

Jug – sigh of relief and disappointment, don’t act like if I didn’t really try and holla you wouldn’t oblige

Teapot – shrugs, grabs Jugs hand… more serious now – come in, lets talk things right now for me are….. tear drop

Jug – hugs her closely, sweetheart what is wrong? What is going on? Jug silences his phone, takes off his shoes and hurry’s back to teapot.. grabs her face – look at me? I’m in the moment completely with you – talk to me.

Teapot – I need some time, just be here with me, tell me how you are doing? I will tell you I just need some time to gather myself…

Jug – Well look it doesn’t really matter how I am doing.. Please, you cannot hold this inside of you it is going to drive you down a dark road

Teapot – I know I know I know… just please you go first.

Jug for the first time in his life was asked how he was doing? Jugs mind instantly drifted to where it all started for Jug...

It was hot outside and Jug had to walk home from two a days football practice – now Jug lived below the hill and practice was above the hill so Jug started his journey towards the bottom. His feet draggin.. head down.. he all dirty with the long day face going on…sweaty.. smellin like last weeks practice…whoooo Jug was hurtin that day..… not even halfway into the walk a voice yells out of one of the homes:

Voice: Hey N WORD!!!! Get outta my neighborhood..

Naw I’m just playin, the Voice didnt say that..

Not even halfway into the walk a voice can be heard saying..

Voice: Whats up g? And there she was.. Teapot!!

Teapot goes outside with her wifle ball bat and says you hungry I got some pringles inside.

Jug: with all the life brought back into his body from that statement, Yes I am.

Jug went inside and banged some pepperoni pizza pringles and enjoyed some good conversation.  That day 22 years ago jumpstarted an unbelievable friendship that stands stronger each day that passes.  Jug was introduced to an entire different world on that day he had never seen a two parent home, food in the pantry and refrigerator, candles smelling all good, a garage, Jugs life changed that day.  Jug would have to eventually walk down that hill and go to his home but Jug was completely in that moment wit tea and Jug was and has proven to be forever grateful for the value meeting teapot has brought to his life.  Jug provided entertainment and Jug is good at it, you know the sober guy that’s loving life, the only one on the dancefloor, singing and talking the loudest like hey look at me.  That is Jug, the go to guy for anything you trying to do good or bad because Jug has lived.  Jug travels the country for fun, he has made a living by traveling to countries and providing some of the most epic memories in travel history.  You look at Jug and just automatically get inspired ladies love him, businesses respect his word and opinions. Jug has the President’s personal number and thats him -- the only person that can make the impossible possible – it is so important to have those people in your life that can connect with every age group and just find a common ground between different parties.  You just have to see this man to believe this man.

Growing up Jug went to the community academy that required Jug to spend 7 days at the academy and he would go home for a total of 16 hours and after the 16 hours Jug would head back to the academy to finish out his next 7 days he did this for 6 years in lieu of elementary school.  Well in year three at the academy Jug was minding his own business and Jug went home for his 16 hour leave period and Jugs mom pops Jug in the back of the head like “wtf” Jug?

Jug: Momma what

Jugs Momma: Boy you been cutting your hair?

Jug: no momma

This continues for two continuous weeks and Jug is completely clueless because when Jug looks in the mirror all he sees is a billion dollar smile that he would sell his self short on if he grins... the dreamy eyes authors make up words to describe.  “Let’s call it hazel”

Jug was winning, fresh lineup, clothes was bummy but hey they all wore the same uniform, so LG.. F is the problem.

Jug strolls into his momma house on  summer leave that next week, and Jug momma put the paws on Jug.  You know the whoopen where you gotta go find the belt and you gotta find the one momma talking about or you gonna get hit wit the wrong belt and told to go find the other one…

when yo momma say “go get the belt” vs. “go get MY belt” the difference and  the tone in those two statements are completely different and has two different sides of the type of ass that gets whipped.  

When you get “the belt” only a little bit of ass is getting tore up so you good… when momma says get “MY BELT” well that my friend is all the ass.

That’s one of them beat downs that go like...

Boy (pop) didn’t (pop) I (pop) tell (pop) you (pop) to (pop) stop (pop) cutting (pop) yo (pop) hair (pop)

Huh? (Pop)

Get done you got snot bubbles, had two socks on now one of them outside underneath the car the other in the freezer stuck to the ice tray like its been there for a week.. yeah that type of life

Well a couple days later Jug was in his room iceing his buns when he hears his mothers voice scream out for him under his breath you know what Jug is saying so insert something you’d be saying in lieu of my sentence.

Jug gets up and goes in the other room and his Momma looks at him as if he were a newborn with all the love and desire a mother does and says to Jug.  I scheduled you a doctors appointment I have been talking to some people and they say I should …. Jug interrupts his Mom…

Jug: who is they Mom because if you are about to say what I think you are about to say then I need to meet them immediately.

Jugs Momma: Well what do you think I am about to say

Jug: Well, with all due respect momma - - I think you about to say …. Takes a deep breath and

That …

That umm…

Jugs Momma: say it son, you can tell me

Jug: you sure?

Jugs momma: yes son, you can say whatever it is you are thinking

Jug: I was going to say that I think you are about to say that “they” told you to stop beating my @ and like I been tellin yo xxxx xxx I ain’t been cutting my fxxxx hair, shoot”

Jugs momma: yes son its called alopecia.. wait a second Boy who you talkin.. you know what. Go get the belt…

Jug: sighs and drops his dobber and starts that stroll to the belt room and just as he takes a step momma gone say

Jugs momma: you ain’t gotta go get the belt but you better watch yo mouth, don’t know who you think you in here talkin to like that.. done lost yo mind.. clearly.

Think you talkin to boy.. I…

See when momma told Jug “boy … I” Jug was always curious to know – You’ll what? But Jug is a smart person… Jug takes his Loss… later in life someone told Jug the same phrase .. “boy…I” and Jug being the curious character he is.. Jug said it.. you’ll what? And to Jugs surprise Jug got muffed in the face and Jug would go on to never be curious again about what boy I… means.. because if someone tells you “Boy….I”

That means they are going to muff you.. so take your L.. or say “Boy..I” back to them and get ready for a muffing contest because boy I means nothing more than Boy I will muff you..in the face..

Jugs Momma: Yes son, in grown peoples words that is what I’m saying to you, and "they" is just people that gossip.

Jug: I don’t know momma, I don’t like gossip

Jugs Momma: not like that gossip, boy, shut up, you going to the doctor so go get ready.

School years begins Jug is bald, and Jug gets clowned every single day and Jug laughed along, soaked in the attention and listened to what the kids were saying.  Laughed louder than the other kids, complementing the very kids that were talking so bad about him and Jug had no choice because Jug couldn’t fight and Jug was lost, confused.  Jug knew why they were talking about him but didn’t know how to make it stop so Jug took L’s day in and day out until one day… The King of all Joke makers connected with Jug on a “I’m too great of a jokster to waste time talkin bout yo globe head self” type level...and that Jokster looked at Jug and Jug looked back and it was like the torch was passed to Jug.. and in that moment Jugs mouth opened and said one of the most legendary bars in the history of joke telling.

Jug: If you don’t get yo old…..

.. now “if you don’t get yo old” is the perfect setup however it is tricky to pull off but if you pull it off you are elevated to a different tier of joke telling…and Jug did it...

Jug was invicible from that day forward.. everyone loved Jug and Jug loved everyone.. For years the very kids that talked reckless to Jug was in the laugh of a joke (blink of an eye -- get it?? Laugh of a joke?? No?) Jugs biggest support system.  

Jug transformed that day into a legend, and in that moment Jug knew it was his life’s gift to spread love joy and happiness all over the world and that led to him winning a unanimous decision presidential election.. Yeah..He was not even on the ticket, everyone in the country wrote his name on the ballot..the most unqualified candidate in the history of life ...thats a whole nother story....

Jug has just been asked the most important question in his life, no one has ever asked Jug how he is doing? Jug has made a living by connecting with people and for the very first time in his life Jug must complete one of the most important steps in overcoming and that is answering one very important question.

Teapot – Jug, you okay you kinda went to another place for like 14 minutes, I have literally been calling your name… it was like you were not even here at all – I mean one of the first things that you said to me was that you are in the moment with me… I know that look Jug, I’ve never seen it on you… but Jug!! I know that look.. what is it..???

Jug – tears begin to form

Teapot – NO!! NO!! NO!! No Jug, you do not get to cry your way out of this one… Now open your mouth .. use your words and you get in this moment with me… and you tell me what is going on…

Jug – wipes them tears away that almost dropped, drops his head and unleashes this:

Interested in more? Tweak or Delete?

[min-haven-pokemon-sanctuary]

Old Man Porygon Care Guide

Before doing anything else, put dunsparce on your head and walk around the entire location, including as expansive an exploration outside as possible.

This dunsparce has a really good sense of direction, and it’s worth it to let them memorize the surrounding area and where they can and cannot go.

If outdoors, you can also throw them into the air so they can get a higher view, as they can use their little wings to float gently back down to the ground. (They also just kinda like being up high in general)

It’s best to do this first since they’re going to be looking after old dude porygon, who is easily confused and a risk for wandering off when he’s not at the sanctuary (hence sending him with an escort in the first place)

It’s plenty likely that you might be in the middle of something, and Porygon will decide to take a quick snack break and go down the hill to the berry trees and then maybe honk at some guests in the sanctuary. Only there are no berry trees because they’re thousands of miles away from the sanctuary in another region, and now they’re lost and don’t remember the way back.

dunsparce knows this and will do their best to keep an eye on them, and if they do manage to wander off, has a good idea of what kind of things would draw porygons attention and thus the best places to look for them.

So make sure too show them around before letting porygon out of the pc/pokeball. And once out never separate them. Old guy is too physically fragile and too senile to go without at least the minimum of protection of dunsparce keeping an eye on them.

Old dude Porygon mostly communicates through weird scrambled sounding electric tones that imply mood.

For instance, you’ll know if he’s displeased because he’ll make a sound like an old walkie talkie playing some dial up screeching while bouncing around in a garbage disposal that also somehow has a really nasty head cold and thus includes a lot of gross sounding phlegmy gurgling. (and he can make that noise for a surprisingly long time if you work him up enough, so don’t be making him angry)

Although he can also do this thing where he’ll summon some floating letter/numbers/punctuation marks that flow faintly in the dark for further emphasis and communication, such as a question mark appearing above his head along with his electric “whee-unk” noise when he’s confused or curious.

He can also play (sing?) this weird little jingle too. No idea where the tune is from, but it’s like his little victory tune for when he wins a game or something.

The letters and numbers generally show up when playing guessing or matching games with him. These games usually have to be pretty basic, like giving him a multiple choice question or doing some really basic arithmetic. (like give him a choice between a, b, or c, and the letter he picks will blink above his head, or ask him what’s 5+5 and he’ll blink 10 above his head. Or give him a yes/no game and he might either honk at you or have a Y or N blink above his head, or both honk and letter)

Just don't expect him to be doing much of any actual spelling beyond the occasional 3 letter word (he once made my employee Gordon break down laughing when he managed to spell out “ASS” after about 20 minutes of effort), or have him do any complex math. I mean you’d think being a computer pokemon he’d basically have a built in calculator, but no. You’ve got addition and you've got subtraction. Anything more and you’re just gonna make him upset.

I think he can mostly understand what you’re saying though? Or at the very least he’s good at pretending too in order to be polite. But in my time with him he’s made a lot of really strange and stupid decisions, and it’s hard to tell where the line is between apparent old age senility, and him just generally not being a very clever pokemon is.

In addition, don’t bother trying to battle with him. We have no idea what moves he has (if any?) and the closest Ive seen him do to an attack, is screech so loud it hurt to get close to him when his head got wedged between the bars of the banister for the stairs and he couldn't get it loose. But I’m pretty sure that wasn't an actual attack, he was just really really loud.

Second closest time to him performing an attack was the big time I tried super hard to convince him to try and enter some machines so some nerd guy I used to go to school with and had come to the house could do computer things with them. And after a long frustrating afternoon of trying to explain things, showing videos of other porygon entering machines, old dude being confused, and everyone getting really upset until it looked like old dude might just start crying (yeah sorry, I was acting pretty mean by that point) and he did this thing where he buzzed with electricity and let a few sparks off and then stopped and that was the end of it. But that was the first and last time I ever even saw visible electricity on the guy. And I pretty much got the impression he was doing a “this is the best I can do” moment, so I didn't try to badger him about using machines after that. At least besides some later arguments about him turning on the tv or flipping the wrong light switches at night when I’m trying to sleep. And not turning stuff on in a cool psychic pokemon sorta way, I mean him literally pressing a button or flicking a switch, so don’t any ideas there.

Also I know porygon are supposed to be a genderless pokemon, but they don't like being called “she�� or “old lady” so just stick with the male pronouns for them and calling them an old man.

We call when he’s asleep but still holding himself together “Just Resting His Eyes” cus when he’s fully asleep he falls to pieces like Ive illustrated above. In fact his bodyparts are pretty loosely connected in general and he can move them closer and away from each other at will, such as floating one of his little foot chunks out to poke at something as he floats along, or how you can grab individual chunks and jiggle them for fun. But this has a downside, as shown below...

Step 1: Let him know it’s missing.

This will get him focusing on summoning the tail, which might jostle it loose and cause it to come flying back to reattach to him (at a pretty good speed too, so something might get knocked over)

He only has a certain radius where his bodyparts will automatically snap together however. If his tail doesn't start rushing back to him, or alternatively if his body doesn't start getting magnetically pulled in the direction of his tail, that means he’s out of range, which means,

Step 2: Help him retrace his steps.

As I said before, his pulling himself together like a magnet only maintains it’s effect within a certain radius, and once out of it, the chunk will lose it’s connection and fall to the ground. A lot of the time, you just have to get him close to his tail and it’s going to fly back to him (or at least try too, listen for any thunks against a wall in adjacent rooms)

Keep retracing his steps until you find it because I have no alternatives for if he were to lose the tail permanently. Luckily though this doesn’t happen often. It’s not like he just drops his tail, it has to get caught on something strong enough to hold the tail in place as he floats away (usually bushes or tree branches). But better safe than sorry, so it’s good to occasionally check and make sure it’s still there, especially if he’s out and about.

[365days365movies]

February 26, 2021: Love Story (1970) (Part 1)

Why Love Story? I mean...to be fair...

Yeah, anyway, it is a love story, and this is Romance February, so...yeah, kinda need to watch this one for that reason alone. And, unsurprisingly, this film is considered one of the best romance films of all time, landing number 9 on the AFI list of best romances, and being nominated for Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Original Screenplay, and Score...and winning ONLY Score. GODDAMN, that’s a hell of a loss! What did it lose to for Best Picture?

OOOOOOH, Patton? Yeah, that’ll do ya. Haven’t seen that movie yet, but it’s on my list for this year. OK, what about Director? Oh, that’s Patton, too. Actor? Also Patton. Actress? Women in Love. Huh. Never heard of that one. OK, Original Screenplay? ALSO PATTON? Jeez.

One more thing before I start. How the hell is Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” that popular on this site?

Because finding GIFs for this movie has been HAAAAAARD. Geez. But OK, let’s get started, shall we? Let’s see if this film is indeed a Love Story that’ll last until the end of time! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap (1/2)

We open with a beautiful piano score, and a question: what can you say about a 25-year-old girl who died? Well, I can guess where this is headed.

We start with an interaction between Harvard “preppie” student Oliver Barrett IV (Ryan O’Neal) and quippy, working-class, Radcliffe student Jennifer “Jenny” Cavalleri (Ali MacGraw), as they argue about a book, which immediately segues into a coffee date.

It is at this point that the GF decided that she loved this relationship, as it’s basically the tsundere-loves-tsundere story that fuels her. Which I get, because the two very quickly fall in love with each other, and I also like it. He invites Jenny to a college game against Dartmouth, and she ends up accepting the invitation. I have comments on Harvard and hockey, but I tend to go off on tangents, so I’ll keep it calm. I mean, it’s not like they’re going up against Cornell, my alma-mater.

...Oh wait. Yes, they are. WELL LET’S DO THIS

Cornell and Harvard have a legendary relationship in general, but especially in terms of hockey. Look, take this from a Cornell alumnus: we SUCK at sports, but hockey? Oh, we’re fuckin’ GREAT at hockey. But that comes with a price: rivalries. Back in the day, the biggest one was with Boston University, and another major one with Colgate, but no, no, the rivalry that takes the cake is our rivalry with Harvard, those preppies.

See, the oldest and youngest Ivy League schools have an old-ass rivalry, most owing to elitist principles from Harvard students of days olde. They thought that Cornell had lower academic standards, and were a lower-quality school, WHICH WE ARE FUCKING NOT, ya grade inflationary...anyway. In 1973, a game took place at Harvard between the two, and a chicken was thrown onto the ring. This chicken was a symbol of Cornell’s agricultural and life sciences school, now called CALS (WHICH I WENT TO), as it was a publicly funded institution, rather than the private schools. Dude threw it at a goalie, and Cornellians were RIGHTFULLY PISSED OFF.

So, what did the Big Red boys do?

FISH.

Oh, yeah, they threw a BIG OL’ DEAD FISH at the next home game. A BUNCH of them, actually Some thought that it was a commentary on the fact that Harvard was close to Boston, a harbor town, or a connection to the New England fishing industry at large. But, uh...no...they did it because fish are smelly. Not exactly a red-letter moment for the intellectual subtlety of Cornelians, BUT NEVERTHELESS. 

This began a tradition. Amidst the chants and glorious taunts thrown back and forth between the two teams and their fans, chicken and fish would be thrown on the rink during and after games, and it got SO BAD that they legit check you for fish when you enter a game at Cornell. Joke’s on them, though; I threw Swedish fish. HA! Also, somebody still managed to get away with a fish at every game, and they were always BIG-ASS fish, too. Never been to a Harvard game at Harvard, though. One of these days...I’ll make it to represent the Big Red. There’s far more to this rivalry, but you can read about it right here if you want.

Anyway, back to the movie. Cornell wins (HA! GOO STAAHT THE CAAAAAAAAAR!!! Sorry, that’s...that’s an anti-Harvard chant made by the Lynah Faithful. That’s the name for Cornell Hockey fans. See, Lynah - I’ll shut up now). At the game is his father, Oliver Barrett III (Ray Milland), and they don’t have the best of relationships. He’s trying to push Oliver to go to law school, be it at Harvard or Cornell (and we have a fantastic NOPE. SHUTTING UP).

Back at Harvard, we also get a glimpse of Jenny’s relationship with her father, whom she calls by his first name, and their relationship is FAR better. He reveals to her his contempt for his father and his expectations. They study together, which turns into a discussion about Jenny’s reticence to admit her feelings and attractedness towards him, although Oliver’s already done so. 

That turns into a tender moment where Jenny admits her feelings, and the two kiss. Said kiss becomes a night together, and she compares him to Bach and Mozart, and the Beatles. We also learn that she’s not very religious, believing that a world that gives her music and Oliver couldn’t be surpassed. Which is...a beautiful sentiment, goddamn.

They continue their relationship, to the mild annoyance of Oliver’s housemates (including a young Tommy Lee Jones), and she tells Oliver that she loves him. They frolic in the snow together, in yet another wonderfully sweet montage.

After one of her piano recitals (she’s a music study major), she reveals that she’s got a scholarship to go and study to Paris, which upsets Oliver greatly, Their short argument reveals that Oliver wishes to marry her one day soon, which delights her, me, and the GF. But she’s worries that their clashing economic backgrounds will divide them too much, as well as their potentially different paths. Still, she accepts his proposal, and they become engaged.

Soon enough, he drives her through Boston to meet his parents, who live on a BIG-ASS ESTATE, GODDAMN. It’s a lot, seriously, holy shit. The mansion is HUGE. And dinner goes...well, Jenny thinks that it goes all right, but Oliver can see that his parents are looking down on her and her socioeconomic status.

Jenny sees how much Oliver genuinely dislikes his father, and questions whether or not Oliver wishes to marry her because he’s rebelling against his father. He denies this, but his father would seem to agree. At a private dinner with his father, it’s confirmed that he’s been accepted to law school. However, his father threatens to cut him off of his inheritance if Oliver marries Jenny. Oliver, enraged, leaves the dinner.

This causes a massive issue, given the fact that Barrett’s going to Harvard Law School, which is NOT CHEAP. He speaks to the Dean (Russell Nype) about getting a scholarship, post-disownment. After much struggling and confusion, they make a deal about the whole situation.

Next up is a visit to Cranston, Rhode Island, to visit Jenny’s father Phil Thompson (John Marley). His father loves him pretty much immediately, and is enraged by Oliver III’s actions in disowning his father. On a related note, I love Phil. He seems like a great guy. There’s a bit of a clash when they reveal that they’re both atheistic at this point, and don’t plan to have the ceremony in a church. But he accepts it pretty quickly.

The two get married at the college, with very few attendants. They recite poetry to each other, with Oliver reciting Walt Whitman, and with Jenny reciting Elizabeth Barrett Browning, who was mentioned in an earlier conversation between the two. They’re married, and the GF is in love with the whole movie at this point. I’m inclined to agree.

Halfway point! See you in Part 2!

[rthoney]

All of them 😄 well the 99 I don't see hehehe

1. What is you middle name? gene

2. How old are you? 14

3. What is your birthday? feburary 11th 2006

4. What is your zodiac sign? aquaruis

5. What is your favorite color? currently its pastel blue

6. What’s your lucky number? i dont have one

7. Do you have any pets? 3 cats, 2 dogs, 1 rat

8. Where are you from? washington, usa

9. How tall are you? 5' 7"

10. What shoe size are you? 7.5-8

11. How many pairs of shoes do you own? like 4

12. What was your last dream about? i have no idea but i remember on recently where daveed diggs hangout with me at my grandparents...

13. What talents do you have? i can sing?

14. Are you psychic in any way? no?

15. Favorite song? it tends to be whatever song im listening to so right now its so big/ so small and requiem from deh

16. Favorite movie? h a m i l t o n

17. Who would be your ideal partner? my best friend umm idk...?

18. Do you want children? yes

19. Do you want a church wedding? meh

20. Are you religious? kinda

21. Have you ever been to the hospital? no but i have been to urgent care a bunch

22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law? no

23. Have you ever met any celebrities? i dont think so

24. Baths or showers? showers

25. What color socks are you wearing? one sock is light gray and pink and the other is dark gray and has green polka dots.

26. Have you ever been famous? n o

27. Would you like to be a big celebrity? meh

28. What type of music do you like? musicals and those sterotypical love songs

29. Have you ever been skinny dipping? no

30. How many pillows do you sleep with? 4

31. What position do you usually sleep in? curled in a ball or on my stomach

32. How big is your house? small

33. What do you typically have for breakfast? bagels

34. Have you ever fired a gun? no. scary

35. Have you ever tried archery? no

36. Favorite clean word? linmanuelmiranda

37. Favorite swear word? b i t c h

38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep? 28 hours i think

39. Do you have any scars? tons. i am a very clumpsy person

40. Have you ever had a secret admirer? yes

41. Are you a good liar? no

42. Are you a good judge of character? typically

43. Can you do any other accents other than your own? i think i do a pretty good british accent but ive been told other wise

44. Do you have a strong accent? no

45. What is your favorite accent? f r a u n c h

46. What is your personality type? idk

47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing? idk

48. Can you curl your tongue? yes but i cant do clover

49. Are you an innie or an outie? innie

50. Left or right handed? right

51. Are you scared of spiders? YES

52. Favorite food? coffee

53. Favorite foreign food? pad thai

54. Are you a clean or messy person? both?

55. Most used phrased? lmm is my hypothetical adpotive father i have no idea

56. Most used word? oof

57. How long does it take for you to get ready? like 20 mintues and most of that is me on my phone

58. Do you have much of an ego? no

59. Do you suck or bite lollipops? i make them go c r o u n c h

60. Do you talk to yourself? in my head

61. Do you sing to yourself? ALL THE TIME

62. Are you a good singer? yea

63. Biggest Fear? failing

64. Are you a gossip? no

65. Best dramatic movie you’ve seen? i have no idea

66. Do you like long or short hair? yes

67. Can you name all 50 states of America? no

68. Favorite school subject? choir

69. Extrovert or Introvert? both

70. Have you ever been scuba diving? no

71. What makes you nervous? other people

72. Are you scared of the dark? no

73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes? depends

74. Are you ticklish? YES

75. Have you ever started a rumor? no

76. Have you ever been in a position of authority? no

77. Have you ever drank underage? no

78. Have you ever done drugs? no

79. Who was your first real crush? this guy gabe who i may have mentioned a few times...

80. How many piercings do you have? 4- two in each ear

81. Can you roll your Rs? kinda

82. How fast can you type? idk

83. How fast can you run? idk

84. What color is your hair? brown faded into redish/blonde

85. What color is your eyes? brown

86. What are you allergic to? pollen

87. Do you keep a journal? yea its called my blog

88. What do your parents do? my dad works in construction

89. Do you like your age? yes?

90. What makes you angry? people being stupid.

91. Do you like your own name? yes

92. Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they? i have like 5 for each letter.. but i really like elizabeth and andrew and quinn

93. Do you want a boy or a girl for a child? idk

94. What are you strengths? idk

95. What are your weaknesses? public speaking

96. How did you get your name? well my middle name is my grandpas middle name

97. Were your ancestors royalty? maybe

98. Do you have any scars? yes

99. Color of your bedspread? purple

100. Color of your room? normal wall color

that took like 5 deh songs to do.

[mrs-mikko-rantanen]

Crash

Ok, this got really out of hand (2767 words....). I'll try to get the read more added to it here soon. This is a re-write, couldn't find the original post, sorry. But! Caretaker!Nyar, whumpee!Avanda so fun stuff. Tw: car crash mention, hospitals

Nyar shook, feeling nauseous as the nurse led him out to the waiting room.  His left hand wrapped in a cast, he'd been given pain medications, and his mind was foggy. Weather that was from the medication, or the concussion, or the shock, he really wasn't sure. 

"My friend...the one that came in with me, where-where is she?" He asked as he sank into the chair. 

"She'll still be in surgery. You can wait here if you'd like. I'm sure…." 

Nyar didn't hear the rest of what she said. He replayed the crash in his head, trying to figure out what had gone wrong. What he had done, what he should have done better, what he was supposed to have done to save her. 

And now Avanda was in surgery. And he had no clue what was going on. His hand shook as he dug his phone out of his pocket. He knew Avanda had been the one who was supposed to pick up Ewan's little brothers, he had to get ahold of someone to take care of that and sort it out. 

He typed Ewan's name into his phone's contacts. Nothing. 

He tried Adair. Still nothing. 

Castor. Nothing. 

MacClyde. 

Adonis. 

No contacts pulled up for any of them, and he frowned. So he called the only person who's name he could think of. The one person he wanted to talk to the most. 

"Hey, I was starting to worry." Jace's voice was full of concern, thinly veiled by the relife that was seeping through the phone's speaker. 

"Hey um. I'm...not gonna make rehearsal today."

"Yeah, no I got that. What's up?" Jace Still sounded worried. 

"I um. We uh. We were. Um."

"Ny? Are you alright?"

Nyar's voice shook as he spoke again. "We um. We were in a car accident."

"Oh my God, Nyar are you ok?" 

"Uh, yeah I think so? I mean I just...I broke my wrist and a few ribs and have a bit of a concussion. But um. Av…" He choked on a sob. "Av was-she took most of it, and they took her into surgery and- I don't know who her doctor is, I don't think MacClyde is working today, I don't know if she's ok…"

"Nyar, babe, it's ok. It's going to be ok. Just take a deep breath for me alright?"

Nyar nodded and took a shaky breath in. 

"Ok. What can I do for you? Do you want me to come to the hospital? Do you need me to call the crew?"

"Um. I-I think you should call Adonis. Av was supposed to pick the kids up. I-I don't have his number. Or either of the MacClyde's."

"Ok. Ok, yeah. I'll call Cas and we'll get the boys and then we'll come to the hospital, ok?"

"Ok."

"Ok. Hang in there, Big Guy. We'll be there as soon as we can be."

"Thank you."

"I love you, babe." 

"I love you too. Drive safe."

He sighed as he hung up the phone. He was terrified. He had no idea what to do. He screwed his eyes shut, trying not to think about the sound of the screeching tires.  

    “Mr. Frostbane?” He leapt to his feet when the doctor called his name. 

    “Yeah, how is she?”

    The doctor nodded at him a little. “She’s doing better. She's a little worse for wear, but that chest wound was really the worst of it. That being said, good job leaving the shrapnel in, it would have bled more if you’d taken it out.”

    Nyar picked at his cast. “Yeah...uh, well that-that was really Avanda’s doing. She’s the medic.”

    “Well, regardless, she has you to thank. The bleeding has stopped now, we got her all stitched up. She’s got a pretty bad concussion, two broken ribs and a broken wrist, among a few other things that we can go into more detail with later. It will be at least a few days before we can let her go home, maybe a week. Have you called her family?”

    Nyar shifted, "I'll um...I'll try to get ahold of them, they don't live in town, they'll have to get a flight. And her boyfriend…” Nyar trailed off. Ewan was on a mission with Thane. They were both pretty deep undercover for now, and he had no idea how, or if the base would be able to contact them. “He’ll be here as soon as he can.”

    The doctor nodded. “Good. In the meantime, do you want to go see her? She’s going to be very sleepy, and pretty out of it, but you’re welcome to go see her.”

    Nyar nodded, “Yeah, um, yes please.”

    He followed a nurse down the hall to the room Avanda was in. There was another nurse in the room, hooking her up to machines and checking the IVs. Avanda was asleep, as far as he could tell. The nurse that had led him in showed him the chair, but he didn’t sit. He couldn’t. She looked so small, and so broken. 

He was hit by a wave of guilt. He was her captain. He was supposed to protect her, keep her safe, make sure that this didn’t happen.

“Don’t blame yourself, Sugar.” The nurse said, looking up from her work at Avanda’s wrist. “I’ve seen that look a lot, and I can promise you that this wasn’t your fault.”

Nyar opened his mouth, but no words came out. He closed it and nodded instead. He reached out slowly, gently pushing a strand of hair out of Avanda’s face. 

“She’s going to be ok, right?” He asked finally.

The nurse looked up, “Sugar, I’m honestly more worried about you. She’s gonna be just fine. You need to have a seat.” When Nyar shook his head, she gave him a stern look over the rim of her glasses that brooked no argument. He pulled the chair up to the edge of the bed and had a seat. She nodded and looked back to her work before finally finishing up, patting Nyar on the shoulder and leaving, with a promise to be back to check on them in a few minutes.

Nyar propped his elbows on his knees, and his chin in his hands. He was torn, he knew that Avanda needed to rest, that she had been through a lot, and that waking her up would do no good. On the other hand, he really wanted her to wake up and tell him what to do. 

He finally leaned back in his chair, groaning and running his hands through his hair. “God, Av, there’s a reason this is your job and not mine.”

He jumped when Avanda coughed. “Oww.” She groaned.

Nyar shot upright again and grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze. “Av? Hey, how are you feeling?”

“Cold.” She grunted. Her hand reached up to the breathing tube and her fingers started to tug at her nose.

“Hey, you gotta leave that there.” Nyar reached up and gently moved her hand away.

“Hate cannulas.” She grumbled. 

“I know, but it’s helping.”

“Bullshit.” 

Nyar laughed a little. “Other than cold, how are you feeling?”

“Hungry.” 

“The nurse said it’s gonna be a while until you can eat, they need to wait for you to wake up some more.”

“So? I’m a doctor, I outrank her.”

“You can’t pull rank here, Av.”

“Sure I can. I’m a doctor.”

Nyar shook his head and smiled. “Did the doctors or anybody tell you what’s...uh, what … what happened?”

She squinted and shifted, her hand gently probing her abdomen and muttering a little. “Broken ri-two broken ribs, at least, hell of a headache, so I’m guessing at least a bit of a concussion. Plus I heard a decent bit of talk about aortas, so I’m thinking at least a knick from that stupid hunk of glass?”

Nyar nodded, “Yeah, that sounds about right.” 

“Hey,” She threw a lopsided grin at him and drew out the last letter, “All drugged up and still whippin’ out diagnoses like a pro.”

Nyar nodded and squeezed her hand again. “That’s my girl.”

She hummed a little and her eyes closed again. Nyar figured she was going to drift off to sleep so he leaned back in the chair, ready to drift off himself. His eyes were just sliding shut when Avanda jolted and gasped, a strangled cry escaping her lips.

“What? What’s the matter?”

“Ewan, where’s Ewan? Is he ok, he was on that mission! If he heard about this he’s gonna worry, and then he’ll do something stupid, he wont be focusing, have you heard from him?” Her eyes were wild and darting around the room, and she was straining to get out of the bed.

“Whoa, hey. Easy there, Doc. Ewan is fine. He’s with Thane, they’ll watch each other’s backs.” Nyar gently pushed her back to the pillow. “They’re the best soldiers we have, they’ll be alright.”

“But,...you haven’t heard from them?” Avanda’s lip quivered a little and her eyes were pleading.

Nyar hated himself, but he decided that maybe lying would be best here. “Yeah. I’ve heard from them. Ferret went to get them, they’re both ok.” He reached up and placed a hand on the side of her face, praying that she was on enough drugs that she wouldn’t be able to keep track of time.

Avanda sighed, and her body relaxed, “Ok. Thank you, Nyar.”

Nyar smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I’m here for you.”

Avanda looked around the room, her eyes landing on the beeping monitors next to her. “What’s that one say?” She pointed to one of the screens, squinting, “In the lower left corner, what’s it say?”

“Um, I’m not real sure.” Nyar squinted, “It’s some numbers--”

“What are they?” She tried to sit back up.

“Hey, Avanda, you aren’t the doctor here, remember? You’re the patient. You need to relax, ok?” Nyar pushed her back again.

“Where’s Ewan?”

Nyar checked his phone, and his stomach dropped. Still no word from Jace. 

“He’s on his way.”

    “Did he say anything about the boys?”

Finally, a question he could answer. “Castor is going to pick them up from school, then bring them right here.”

“Ok.” Avanda fidgeted her fingers, toying with one of the IVs.

Nyar took her hand again and pulled it away from the IV. “You need to rest.”

“I know.”

“I’m serious.” 

Avanda pulled her eyes away from the screens for a minute, a confused look on her face.

“You need to let it go. You aren’t the doctor. There are nurses and doctors here who are working hard to make sure you recover. You aren’t responsible for Peadar and Carrick right now. Castor has been taking care of them their whole lives, he can do it again today. You weren’t assigned to that mission, Ewan and Thane are ok.” Avanda blinked and Nyar saw a few tears welling up, so he moved his chair a little closer to the bed. “And you aren’t alone, right? I’m here. You don’t need to worry about anything, because I’m right here, and I won’t let anything happen to you, ok?”

Avanda sniffed.

“You’re safe.”

Avanda didn’t say anything. She just looked away from him and back at the screens and monitors.

“I promise.”

“Thank you.” Her accent was thicker than he had heard it in a long time.

“You can rest now.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s ok. That’s my job.”

“Thank you.” Her eyes were shut now, and the grip in her hand was starting to relax. “Thank you.” Her breathing was slowing down, and becoming more even. “Thank you, Ny…”

Nyar squeezed her hand. “It’s gonna be ok.”

He wasn’t sure if he was saying it more for her benefit, or his. He stayed in the room for a while longer, dosing a little next to her bed while she slipped back under. His phone buzzed and he jumped. 

          We're here. Out in the waiting room. Cas just got us checked in. 

Nyar squeezed Avanda's hand a little. "It's ok, Av. The troops are rallying." He teased. 

He made his way down the hall again to the waiting room. Jace was standing behind Carrick, eir hands on his shoulders and his backpack slung over one shoulder. The thirteen year old's eyes were red and he was staring at the floor. The scowl plastered on his face told Nyar that he was still trying not to cry. Peadar was wrapped around Castor's leg, sniffling and hiccuping as he wiped his eyes. 

"Hey." Nyar's voice was raw still as he stepped closer to them. 

"How is she?" Castor demanded. 

"The doctor said she'll be ok. I can't get a call to her parents though, I have no idea where else to try calling."

Castor nodded. "Ok. That's fine, I can call them. She's ok though?"

Nyar chewed his lip a little, shooting a glance at Peadar. "She's….she's ok. She's sleeping now. Or, well, she was When I left the room, anyw-"

"You left her alone?" Castor practically bellowed. 

Nyar frowned, feeling his cheeks flush as he opened his mouth to snap back. 

              "Hey! He was in the crash too, Cas." Jace reminded Castor. "Besides, we did text him and tell him to come out here to meet us."

            Castor's shoulders dropped a little and he let out a pent up breath. "Yeah, yeah you're right. Sorry, Frostbane. I'll go sit with her a while. What room is she in?"

          "297." Nyar said. He watched as Castor patted Peadar's shoulder and began to lead the young boy to the door. "Castor, wait."

Castor scowled at him angrily for a moment. "I just...I'm not sure she'd want the kids to see her like this." He leaned in a little as he spoke, keeping his voice as low as he could. "She's in pretty rough shape, I just...I think maybe it would be better if you went and saw her first, then you can decide for yourself after."

Castor glanced down at Peadar quickly, then nodded. "Yeah ok. Carrick, here. Go see if you guys can find something to play with, ok?"

The thirteen year old scowled and took Peadar's hand, pulling him away from Castor. 

Castor nodded a little,then shot a look to Nyar. "Thank you. I'll try not to leave you with them for long."

Jace sat down next to Nyar, watching Carrick and Peadar pick through the small toy box, halfheartedly looking for something to keep them busy. Ey frowned, looking at Nyar. 

"Are you ok?"

"...No." Nyar answered. "I should have paid better attention, I should have seen the car, I should-"

"Ny. She's gonna be ok." Jace promised. "The doctor said so, right?"

"I guess." His voice was raw. 

He didn't say much else after that. Carrick and Peadar both came up at some point, asking some little question or other, which Jace thankfully took care of for him. Castor finally came back, waving the boys back with him. As soon as the door closed, Jace reached over and took Nyar's hand. 

"Hey." Ey said softly, squeezing his hand. "It's ok."

Nyar opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Jace wrapped eir arm around his shoulders, tracing a thumb over his cheek from the side. He sniffed a little and wiped his eyes. 

"What if it isn't?'' He asked quietly. 

Jace let out a soft sound and leaned eir head against him. "It will be. She's in good hands. And you were there for her too. You got her here, you did a good job keeping her alive."

"I just did what she told me to do."

"You stayed calm. You followed instructions and you did what needed to get done. That's hard to do, especially in the situation you were in."

Nyar said nothing. Jace sighed and leaned against him. Ey pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, then leaned away, aware that the rest of the crew would be arriving at any moment. Ey kept holding Nyar's hand, tracing a thumb over his knuckles. 

Nyar squeezed Jace's hand as he leaned back as well, resting his head on the wall behind him. 

"I love you."

"I love you too." Jace squeezed his hand as well. "And I'm really glad you're ok. I can't tell you how scared I was when you said what happened."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Ey pressed a kiss against his fingers. "I'm just so glad you're safe."

"Me too."

He just hoped they'd be able to say the same about Avanda. 

[rippedjeansandfadeddreams]

Tomorrows Hero chapter four

Hi y’all! This chapter isn’t really whumpy, but it has those elements of whump. Also, I am NOT in any way, shape, or form, a medical expert!!!! Enjoy!

Tagging @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi, @whump-dream, @sci-fi-pony, @whatwasmyprevioususername. Let me know if you want to be tagged!!

CW: Slight manhandling, needles, drugging, minor whumpee.

“Wake up, Magnus,” the girl says.

I groan as I slowly get up, my body aches. I stumble over to the shelf and sit down, resting my head on the shelf.

“You don’t look too good,” she says, pushing something through the slot. I lift my head just before the tray of food hits me. “Breakfast.”

I wince as I lift my arms and grab the tray. Toast, oatmeal, and a glass of milk. At least it was something, even if it was tasteless mush. My stomach grumbles at the sight of food. I slowly start to eat while the girl pulls out some papers and books, along with a pen. Once I’m finished eating, I push the empty tray back through the slot. I rest my head on my hands as she pushes the papers and books through.

“So, I now know that I need to leave you with something to do,” she says.

“I tried to tell you,” I whisper, rubbing my eyes.

She looks up at me for a moment before looking down at the papers. “I should have listened. Anyways, those are a few assignments for you to do. You’re also supposed to read the books and complete a full book report on it. I’ve included extra paper for you so you shouldn’t run out. I’ll come back for them in five days.”

I grab the books and papers. “Thanks,” I groan. I flip through the papers. There are three math worksheets, the rest of the paper is lined paper. I look up at the girl. She looks away when I meet her eyes.

“Yeah, well, we don’t want you getting in trouble again,” she says and looks at something in her bag. “Oh, I forgot to mention yesterday, my name is Jeria.” She reaches up and closes the grate. I hear a lock clang against the grate and then she walks away.

I rest my head on the book and sigh. What happened to my life? The man who took us said they had studied us. How long was I being watched? I just want to go back home. I want to go to school. I want to be with my family again.

***

I stare at the math worksheet, completely confused. I’d finished the book report in a day and a half. That was easy. But math? I tap the pen against my arm. The numbers and letters don’t make any sense. I get up and walk around the room, needing to move. I needed to move, run, get outside. I can’t think in here! There is only one more math worksheet left and I today to finish it. I put the end of the pen in my mouth, chewing on it as I pace. I needed air.

I cross to the shelf, testing the grate for the tenth time today. The lock on the other side clanks against it, like it has every other time I’ve tested it.

Math, I have math to do. I sit down again and try to focus long enough to finish the seven problems I have left. My leg bounces as I work through the problems. I just barely finish the last problem when the door opens.

I look up, watching as three people walk into the cell: a man and a woman I’ve never seen followed by Jeria. I stand, gripping the pen in my hands. “Hi,” I say.

“Hi, Magnus,” the man says.

“I, uh, got all the work done. It’s right here,” I say, picking up the papers and books and holding it out to them.

The man shakes his head. “We’re not here for your schoolwork,” he says.

I put the papers and books back on the shelf. “Did I do something wrong?” I ask. I look towards Jeria. She shakes her head ‘no.’ I look back towards the man and woman. “What are you here for?”

“Follow us and you’ll see,” the woman says. She nods to Jeria and she scurries out of the woman’s way. The woman walks out the door. The man motions for me to follow. I do. The man follows behind me.

“Where are we going?” I ask.

“Just think of it as a doctor’s appointment,” the man says.

“What is it really?” I ask, turning to look back at the man.

“A doctor’s appointment.”

I turn back around, thinking. I stop walking. “Wait, shouldn’t you guys have my medical history or something? Didn’t you stalk me?” I ask.

The man grabs my shoulders and pushes me forward. “We do. We want to gather our own data on you,” he says.

I dig in my heals. “I had a doctor’s appointment last week. Nothing’s changed,” I say.

The woman turns around. She glares daggers at me. “If we want to gather our own information on you, we will. Stop asking questions and just do as we tell you,” she says.

“I’m not moving until you tell me what you’re going to do to me,” I say, trying to get out of the man’s grasp.

The mans fingers dig into my shoulders. “Magnus, I’d suggest you start moving before things get nasty,” he whispers into my ear.

The hint of the threat sends shivers down my spine. “I just want to know what you’re going to do to me,” I say.

The woman rolls her eyes and starts walking again. The man pushes me until I stumble over my feet. I walk with my head down. I start fiddling with the pen in my hand. I forgot to put it back on the shelf.

We stop at a door. I freeze. What hallway did we go down? Was it the one I had run down? Were they taking me back to Jackson?

The door opens and we walk into what looks like a doctor’s office. Right. They said it was like a doctor’s appointment.

“Magnus is here,” the man says.

“Perfect. Magnus, please follow me,” a different woman says. She seems nicer than the woman who brought me here.

The man lets go of my shoulders and lightly pushes me towards the second woman.

I look back at the door we just came through. It closes and locks. I turn back to the room. The man pushes me again. I start to walk towards the second woman. She reaches out and rests a hand on my shoulder, steering me towards the back of the room. She sits me in a chair and leans me back, strapping my wrists to the armrests.

“Why do I need to be strapped down?” I ask.

The woman takes the pen I was holding and looks at me with a questioning look, ignoring my question.

I look away, tugging on the restraints.

The man walks over to where I sit. “Hey, Bailey. Is he ready?” he asks.

“Just need to attach these,” she says and holds up two wires with pads at the end. The man takes them and walks over to me.

“Don’t panic, this won’t hurt,” he says.

“What, what are those for?” I ask.

“That doesn’t matter,” he says and turns to Bailey.

She checks a computer and looks up. “It’s all ready,” she says.

“Wonderful.” He sits in a chair and turns to me. “Magnus, can you tell me about your earliest memory?” He asks.

“Why do you want to know that?” I ask.

“Just tell me, please,” he says. He gives me a hard look.

I swallow. I pick at the armrest, fiddling with the string that hangs down. “I’m riding a plastic bike. It’s red with a blue seat and yellow handlebars. I’m with my parents,” I say.

The man nods. “Thank you.” He looks to Bailey. She hands him an IV and a wipe. He cleans the spot inside my elbow and inserts the IV. I look away as they insert a second needle into my other arm.

“What are you doing?” I ask, heart pounding.

“Don’t worry about it. You won’t remember it,” the man says.

“What?” I ask, trying to sit up.

The man pushes me down. “Don’t get up. Just relax. Feeling drowsy?”

I furrow my eyebrows. “What? Feeling drowsy?” I do feel drowsy. Just a little bit. Like my head is light and I’m floating on a cloud. It feels funny.

“Yeah, you are. I can tell. Don’t fight it. Just let it take you under…” He reaches behind my ears and takes my hearing aids. He sets them on the counter next to the computer.

“Hey, I, I need those…” I slur.

He pats my arm. I can barely hear him as he speaks. “Eyll wake up…”

I close my eyes and pass out.