#having to evacuate every time something goes wrong

[vicsy]

since u wanna talk about fic… I’m still so crazy about ur strollonso lingerie fic, and I’m wondering if u have any more thoughts on Lance In Panties… maybe more info about the first time lance dressed up like that for Fernando. like whose idea was it… what was he wearing… did Fernando buy it for him? Did Fernando’s brain explode into a billion pieces?… idk I just need all your insane lance panties thoughts, if you’re interested in sharing 🙂‍↕️🙏

hi Connor! <3

thank you so much for sending me this ask! I am a bit late with the reply (although I was buzzing to answer it) but alas...

I hold strollonso lingerie fic very dear to me because it was the first time of me even venturing into the themes and motives of this particular dynamic. my friends had to hold my hand firmly as I paced around the way to convey the reasons behind why Lance (it was his idea in the in-fic universe!) also kinda stepped out of his comfort zone.

I had a great conversation with my friend Logan while drafting this fic and, I think, besides Fernando's eyes comically popping out when Lance first unveiled himself like a present, this whole idea of presenting himself to Fernando in a this certain way came from a place of vulnerability. Perhaps even self-doubt because Lance was very aware of Fernando's dating history lmao and he though "hey how can I make this weird gremlin of a man stick around". so Lance kinda thought about the models Fernando dated (even though he didn't think he could compare :((( ) and voila. bough a set that did not fit well and it wasn't as good but THE REACTION. Lance was weirded the hell out at the way HE liked it, too. Fernando did not leave a single patch of his skin unmarked, unkissed or unbitten. suffice to say he has also destroyed almost every lingerie set Lance had bough (because he just HAD to ravage Lance).

now the whole feminization aspect of it... Lance likes to be Fernando's lil princess. you know that. I know that. he grew up surrounded by so much love and adoration he constantly seeks a match for it and, with Fernando, it comes with a lil bonus of feeling good while wearing lingerie (even if it's uncomfy and scratchy at times). Lance likes to be taken care of, pampered, and Fernando provides that, with or without the lingerie, but man... he goes insaaane for it, like bed-breaking chugging viagra all night all day etc. Lance got his world ROCKED....

so, to sum it up a bit – Lance got the idea, bough the first set, wrong size, first time he though a thong was a good idea LMAO that traumatized him a bit, the color was reddish (alluding to ferrari days and their first meeting...), Fernando almost had a coronary event from all of his blood rushing into his dick and they fucked so nasty the hotel had to be evacuated. but like who would blame Nando, if I saw Lance's ass wearing cute lacy panties I would check myself off this planet for real...... all that peach in soft, see-though lace... call 911.

now, tho, they totally check out stuff Lance can wear together. Fernando makes a suggestion here and there. he likes it when Lance wears white.... sometimes he outright asks Lance to wear something lacy under his clothes, even when they're out and at the end of the day Fernando, all wind up (Lance, too, admittedly) gets to unwrap a present for himself. and Lance just drown in the nicknames and dirty talk (finds it hot) the pampering... he's just out there on the bed seeing colors that don't exist, wearing the tatters of inexplicably expensive lingerie set while Fernando is drooling over him...

[ipwarn]

I thought I disliked late night evacuations before. It sucks even more when you have covid. 

[aquaticmercy]

Beautiful Mess

Summary : Bucky tries to cook you a food you’ve been craving. It goes wrong, but it also goes right.

Pairing : Bucky Barnes x Reader (she/her) 

Warnings : food, mild cursing? and lots and lots of fluff! 

Requested by : anon 

Word count : 1.5k

Note : It’s my first fic in 4 years and boy I forgot how good it felt writing for fun. Thank you to the anon who requested this! (I said it would be >1k word blurb but I got over the limit and I hope you don’t mind!) Enjoy!

Requests are open!

“Shut up,” Bucky grumbled, aggressively poking at the smoke alarm with the end of his rifle case. He stretched on his toes, metal arm whirring as he tried to reach the obnoxiously tall ceiling. 

‘Oh this is wonderful,’ you had been giddy with joy when the two of you viewed this apartment, ‘I love the high ceilings, don't you, Buck?’

He had chuckled and agreed that day. For all he cared, the ceiling could be as high as the atmosphere allowed if it meant it made you happy. But now he was thinking maybe your next place should have, at the very least, a reachable ceiling on his tip toes. 

The shrill beeping had been going on for what felt like an eternity. Bucky Barnes has never been known for his patience, and now it was wearing dangerously thin.

Clearly, he hadn't thought any of his actions through. The rifle case was too flimsy, and it bent under the pressure of each jab. If the alarm didn’t stop soon, it wouldn’t just be his sanity at stake— the neighbours would probably come knocking on the door asking if they needed to evacuate.

"Great idea, Barnes. Brilliant," he muttered to himself, throwing a desperate scan around the room. His eyes landed on the bo staff you kept in the corner— a weapon from your training collection. 

“Perfect,” he said to himself, practically lunging for it. Surely, you wouldn’t mind him using it just this once. It was just a stick, right?

Grabbing the staff, he reached up again, tapping the alarm with its tip. His strength— which usually worked in his favour— became his single greatest enemy. With a loud snap, the white disk detached completely, wires dangling from the ceiling as the alarm finally went silent. A part of him took in the quiet bliss for a moment before realising the repercussions. He’d have to contact the building super, then pay the fees, and since he’s off for a mission in a couple of days, he had unintentionally given you a bit more life admin work around the house.

He cursed under his breath, staring at the detached alarm hanging limply in his hand.

He tossed it into the kitchen trash bin, as if hiding it there might make the problem disappear.  For a moment Bucky just stood there, staring at the mess around him, trying to make sense of how things had spiraled out of control.

He ran a hand through his brown thick locks, ones you had asked him to grow out again. He sighed. How did it go so wrong?

All he wanted was to do something nice for you. Just one thing. You’d been so good to him— so patient, especially after he'd returned from weeks of missions worn down and, admittedly, a bit grumpy. You greeted him with nothing but warmth, even though you were probably as tired as he was.

And then there was the food. Bucky still wasn’t sure why he'd been craving bland, 1940s-era meals, the kind no modern person could possibly enjoy, but you indulged him anyway. When he’d mentioned how much he missed a particular meatloaf recipe, you made it for him. He could tell from the look on your face that you were struggling not to spit every bite out, but you powered through for his sake. And when he’d told you about his mom’s molasses cookies, you had taken the time to bake a jar that tasted just like the ones from his childhood.

It was perfect. You were perfect.

So why couldn’t he get this right?

You'd been talking about focaccia earlier this week, your eyes lit up in childlike wonder as you told him about how you used to experiment with different toppings. He’d taken a mental note of that moment, thinking he could surprise you by making some himself.

He glanced around the kitchen. Flour dusted on nearly every surface, olive oil splattered on the counter, and a sad, burnt dough resting on the baking tray. 

Bucky sighed, leaning back against the counter, staring at the mess with a mixture of frustration and helplessness.

You’d probably laugh at this, he thought as a self-deprecating smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He could already hear your teasing voice, reminding him that not everything had to be perfect.

But still, he wanted to get it right. 

He glanced at the clock. You’d be home soon. He had maybe thirty minutes to try and salvage this— or at least clean up the evidence before you walked through the door. 

Priorities, he thought.

He cracked his knuckles, pouring the excess dough to a new baking tray. He thanked whatever gods still existed that he had accidentally made way too much dough. Not even waiting for it to rise, he shoved it in the oven and reshaped it into something that didn’t look like a science experiment gone wrong.

“Okay,” he pressed a palm to his forehead as if that would magically clear his mind. “Focus.”

He realised the oven was too hot, and that was probably why it burnt. 

Very smart, Barnes, he thought to himself, about time you used basic logic.

As he fumbled with the oven dials, he heard the familiar sound of your keys jingling at the front door. His heart sank. Shit. She’s home early.

Frantically, Bucky darted toward the flour-covered countertops, grabbing a towel to wipe down the mess. But there was no saving kitchen wreck—not in under thirty seconds, anyway. 

You stepped through the door, humming softly to yourself as you dropped your heavy bag with a thud. You stretched your shoulders, straining a little from the weight. Tossing the keys to the side, you noticed how uncharacteristically quiet it is in your home.

As you moved deeper into the apartment, you saw why.

It was your boyfriend, standing awkwardly in the middle of the kitchen, holding a flour and oil-coated dish towel like a deer caught in headlights.

The corners of your mouth lifted. “What on earth?”

“I can explain,” a red plum blush coloured his cheeks, raising his hands in defense. You raised an eyebrow, stepping closer to the crime scene.

“Wait…” your eyes widened, “are you trying to make focaccia?” 

“Yeah,” he admitted sheepishly. “I thought I could surprise you with it, since you’d been talking about how much you love it. But, uh…” He motioned to the oven. “It’s not exactly turning out the way I planned.”

You let out a soft laugh, one that melted Bucky's heart, that made his chest thrum with joy. You took the towel from his hand, squirming then dropping it when you touched the part of the fabric that was very sticky with congealed liquid, clearly a mix of olive oil and flour. “I can see that,” you teased, quickly wiping your hand as you bent down to be eye-level with the dough. “What is this? An attempt at modern art?”

Bucky groaned, covering his face with his hands. You looked around the room, seeing your bo staff on the floor, and his (hopefully unloaded) rifle by the dishwasher. “Did you shoot it?” you joked.

“No.”

“Did you hit it with my stick?”

“It’s a disaster,” he complained, exasperated.

You took a deep breath and then giggled, your shoulders shaking as you leaned against his shoulder for support.

“I tried, okay?” he grumbled, part mortified, part relieved, and fully, thoroughly, embarrassed. Still, he could feel his heart flutter as he watched you laugh.

You cupped his cheeks affectionately. “I can’t believe you went through all this trouble just to make me bread.”

He shrugged, his expression softening as he looked down at you. “I just wanted to do something nice for you. You’ve been so good to me. I thought I could, I don’t know… return the favor.”

Your heart melted at his words. You didn't care about the focaccia, or the mess in the kitchen. It was about the fact that Bucky had gone out of his way to try and do something sweet for you— even if it clearly went south.

“Bucky,” you said softly, standing on your toes to press a chaste kiss to his lips. “I love that you tried.”

He sighed in relief, wrapping his strong arms around you, pulling you into his warm chest. “I just didn’t want to screw it up.”

“You didn’t,” you reassured, resting your head against his shoulder. “I didn’t even know you knew what focaccia was,” you teased.

He chuckled, burying his face in your hair. “I’m still not sure I do.”

You pulled back slightly, looking up at him “Tell you what, I’ll make you an offer. I’ll show you how to make focaccia, and we’ll order takeout in the meantime.”

Bucky’s smile widened, as he peppered kisses on your face, overwhelming you with as much love as he could possibly give, “That sounds perfect.”

You threw him a clean kitchen towel once you were able to escape his affectionate attack, not that you wanted to. “Now help me clean up, Buck.”

He grabbed the towel and started in the corner as you started chucking empty olive oil bottles into the trash bin.

Wait, trash bin-

“What the hell is the fire alarm doing in the trash, Barnes?” 

Bucky froze, turning to you with wide eyes. “I can explain.”

You tried to suppress a laughter, piecing together the clues, “Did you break it?”

He raised his hands in defense. “It was beeping, and I didn’t mean to rip it out of the ceiling…”

“You tried to kill it with my staff, didn’t you?”

“Maybe.”

You smiled. Oh, what a beautiful mess you had found yourself in.

-end

[miniwheat77]

Lavender. (Ghost x Reader.)

!Cute, Simon being protective, blood, military stuff, you know the deal. No minors!

I went with lavender because the colors on here are limited. This is not edited. This was a request and you can find that here.

Lavender is the smell that Ghost awoke to that morning. His head pounded and he felt a dull pain in his abdomen. He didn’t understand what was going on or where he was. He was just about to start pulling the cords off of himself when you came in, clipboard in hand. “Hey, you’re awake.” You smile. Ghosts lips part slightly. He can still feel his balaclava on his face thank god. You’re very stunning. “Who are you?” He asks. “My name is Y/N. I’m a combat medic. One of your mates said you’d been shot and called for evacuation, we were the closest military base.” You smile. “They uh.. they took your mask off but I put it back on. It might be a little crooked.” You laugh. “Thank you.” He’s quiet. “Hey LT” Soap appears behind you. So that’s who called for evac.

Lavender makes him think about that military base with you. He’s always drawn back to you, night and day. He doesn’t know where the smell came from, maybe from somewhere outside or an air freshener of some kind. But anytime he smells it, he thinks of you. He thinks about how sweet and gentle you were. Reassuring him. You helped him fix his mask, adjusting it on his face and he let you. Not flinching away as your fingertips brushed across his face. Johnny watched as it happened. His eyes looked up at you as you adjusted it. Johnny couldn’t believe it.

Lavender happens to be the color of fabric he’s got in his hands when Captain Price tells him that there will be a new medic joining them on base. A little birdie told Captain Price about how well you had done and how you would make a great part of the team. Johnny smiled when he heard the news. Watching Ghost stiffen. Ghost couldn’t believe his ears. You would no longer be a memory, but a constant in his life. Ghost feared that he would get attached and something would go horribly wrong. But the smell of lavender in the morning seemed to soothe him of all of those concerns.

Lavender is where he dreams of you. He sees you walking through the massive field of purple flowers. When he’s daydreaming about you on base, eyes following your every move, he can’t help himself. You would look so pretty. Anytime he sees the color or smells it, you invade his mind like a plague. When you officially start, you approach him first. Asking him how he’s doing, if he’s recovering well. Getting enough rest, drinking enough water. Johnny can see it in his eyes when he looks at you. Usually Ghost has dark, harsh eyes. But when he looks at you they soften and he’s got adoration behind them.

Lavender is the smell of the air freshener he sees you setting down in the watch tower. You’d been filling in for Soap and you were complaining about the smell, how everything always smells musty and old. He finally understands why the smell follows you everywhere you go. “It’s not my favorite scent but it’s far better than what we’re working with now.” You mumble. Cracking open the little pot. It’s clearly meant for a car. “They sold them in bulk at the store by the other military base and it’s the only kind they had. I was desperate.” You smile. “It’s not so bad.” He mumbles. He watches you in adoration as you move around the watch tower, tidying it up. The more you were around, the harder he fell.

Lavender fills his senses everywhere he goes. He hovers around you like a lost puppy all the time. He notices a few things about you. Like how your socks are lavender and sometimes when your bra strap pokes through your shirt when you lean just right is also purple. He doesn’t know if it’s your favorite color. But it’s what he uses to associate you. You’re tidying up the infirmary when he finally decides enough is enough. You’re folding sheets when he approaches you. “Y/N?” He asks. You turn around and don’t have even a second to react before his lips are on yours. When he pulls away and doesn’t have his mask on, you’re in complete shock. Your lips are slightly parted and your eyes are wide. He cups your face and makes you look at him.

Lavender is the color of the outside of the card Johnny sends you. It’s got purple flowers and a purple background. He’s upset he missed it, but he was there in spirits. Military doesn’t always allow for time off. You use a magnet to stick the congratulatory card to your fridge. “Too bad he missed it, hm?” You turn to look at Ghost. “Ah, he’ll be here soon enough. When he’s off we can’t get rid of him.” Ghost laughs, pulling you into him. He takes another look at the wedding ring on your hand. “We’ll go out for drinks and he’ll forget all about it.” You laugh. He leans in to kiss you.

Lavender sheets are what your baby lays on. The entire task force watches over her in her crib. Mesmerized by the fact that the Lieutenant now had a baby with the girl that saved his life all those years ago. They watch her sleep peacefully. Seeing a new life when all they see is death is a blessing they’ll never fully get to appreciate. “Congratulations you two. I’m glad we were able to fly out to meet her.” Captain Price smiles. You smile back and he gives you a hug. “She’s so precious. I just can’t believe it.” Johnny looks over her. Sniffling as he tries to hold back the tears, but he’s losing. “You’re such a sap Johnny.” Ghost laughs, patting his back. “Of all of the people I expected to end up together you’re who I least expected.” Gaz laughs. Seeing Ghost wrap an arm around your back. Pulling you closer to him. “Yeah. It’s crazy how things ended up huh? Gotta say I wouldn’t trade it for the world.” He laughs.

[creampuffqueen]

people who don’t experience hurricanes on the regular do not understand the ‘hunker down and wait’ culture we have in hurricane areas

hurricanes are so incredibly unpredictable. the storm that’s supposedly going to be “the worst ever” will no longer even be a hurricane by the time it lands, a tropical storm nobody was worried about can be a cat 2 when it lands. they change on a dime. a hurricane can blow through right through and keep moving, a hurricane can sit over your house for days. it is HARD to predict

and for those of us who live in hurricane prone areas? if we evacuated for every single tropical storm or hurricane we would be evacuating like 5-6 times a year. that is completely unsustainable. and the amount of times that a storm is supposed to devastate your area, only for something to change at the last second and you don’t even get rain… it happens all. the. time

so no, lots of people don’t evacuate. even when it’s a big storm. even when it’s supposed to hit you head on. because a vast majority of the time it doesn’t

my heart goes out to everyone in hurricane helene’s path. believe me, i’ve been there before. i’ve lived through ike, harvey, beryl, and so many other storms i can’t even name because that’s how often we get them. my family has never evacuated for a hurricane before. we are a hunker down and wait family. and i am incredibly lucky that it’s worked for us in the past. i’m so, so sorry for those who did the same and were unfortunately proven wrong

stay safe out there

[teenage-mutant-ninja-freak]

Would each of the turtles be comfortable with letting one rip in front of their S/O or would they hide that part of themselves for awhile?

If I had a dime for every time someone sends in a request to do with farting I'd have 3 dimes, it's not a lot but it's weird that it's happened 3 times, right?

Leo

The calm, totally controlled leader

he does not feel comfortable letting rip in front of you, at least, not straight away

the only thing is, he can't control it in his sleep

so the first time you spend the night, he is ripping ass under those sheets from holding it in all day

he actually wakes up to you wheezing and crying with laughter because, as you put it: "It sounds like you're shitting yourself, babe"

after that he kind of realises that there's no point holding it in

still tries to be discreet about it

will leave the room and such

he gets embarrassed a bit too easily when it comes to something he sees as his "downfall"

bless him

but keeping it in makes him tummy hurt

Raph

so Raph is actually similar to Leo in the sense that he gets flustered really easily

but it's less to do with it being considered rude

and far more to do with that fact that when he passes gass, everyone and their grandma knows about it

boy could evacuate a room with that ass

so he hides it

leaves the room, but he can only say he's going to the bathroom so many times before that becomes a gross image as well

you can hear his belly rumbling with what he's keeping in

until, when getting up off the sofa, he accidentally toots

it's only small, but it's powerful

the lad drinks a lot of protein shakes, ok???

it messes with your intestines

he's so, so sorry

but you can't help but laugh

it makes him a bit less upset when you pull him closer to tell him it's alright

but then he laughs when you say "Oh god, I'm squeezing you, please don't fart on me again"

after that he just warns you when it's coming

you have a running gap that involves you pulling a clothes peg out to put on your nose

he gets more comfortable with it

Mikey

I know what you're all thinking "Oh Mikey doesn't really have shame so this blog guy is going to write him as farting 24/7"

wrong!

Mikey does not let rip in front of you for a good amount of time

thinks it will put you off him

he waits for you to do it first

then, and only then, does he feel like he can be gassy in front of you

mainly to turn it into a competition to make you laugh

he lives off an eclectic diet of pizza, pizza rolls, anything with cheese and candy so it will not smell great (does it ever?)

when he gets comfy enough it does also turn into a "pull my finger" type of gag too

but he knows that he can't just blow off then and there when you first get together

he's a gentleman after all

would totally never try to dutch oven you....

Donnie

poor, nervous, insecure baby

he knows logically that it's only natural

but he also knows that it's gross

weights up the possibilities of you leaving him because of it

thinks it's low but not impossible

then one day he gets a stomach bug and, god help you all...

he cannot help it

his intestines feel like they're going to explode if he doesn't

and you want to be there all the time to take care of him

it happens, he goes red, head in hands

until he hears you giggling

then he looks and the giggle turn into full belly laughs

"Better out than in, sweetie" you laugh

he feels a bit more comfortable after that but he still doesn't like doing that around you

normally leaves the room but is honest about why

[aesthetic-day-dream]

I was planning on keeping this away from this blog, seeing as I want to use it as an escape and a place of good, but l've been so anxious and scared and mad about the current state of the world that I just need to rant about it.

This may sound ignorant or delusional, I don't know anymore, but l'm really hoping we end up okay. I've been telling myself that there's still a lot of good in this world. Good things are happening every day, but they don't get as much traction as bad things do in the news.

News media has become more and more focused on only spreading the bad over the years and I just refuse to believe that the bad outweighs the good. Call me childish, I don't care.

I feel as though I can't pray for answers because I don't feel as though I'm being heard anymore. I hope I'm wrong. I want to grow up. I want to get a head full of gray hair. I want to experience life and everything that comes with it. I want to find love. I want to buy my own house. I want to decorate said house with all the stupid, small little things that make me happy. I want to decorate for Halloween and Christmas. I want to see my nieces grow up and start families of their own. Aging is a privilege and it is something that I will never take for granted. I have been blessed in my life and I am eternally grateful for that. I know that others have not been as fortunate as me and my heart is entirely with them.

It’s childish to say that I wish we could all get along, but I don’t care. I have never understood the hatred that some people have for others who are different than them. We are all human beings. There has been too much hatred, bloodshed, war, and everything awful you could think of in this world. I hate that everything we stand for, everything people strain their voices for in the hopes of change goes unheard of by people in power. The people who actually have the money and ability to help our planet - the very same people who just don’t care. The money hungry, greedy politicians who make everything a political war to turn us against each other.

I just want to go outside and enjoy the weather. I want those around me to be able to do the same. Scientists have been warning us about Climate change for YEARS!!! It pisses me off more than anything that we have had the time to fix things and yet here we are. Why did no one listen?! Why didn’t they fix things before it all spiraled out of control?? Maybe this is the ignorant, delusional, hopeful part of me, but I really do believe we can fix things before it’s too late. It’s just, the people who really need to change their ways for this planet to get better just don’t care. They like to put the pressure on us, the little people, when it’s them who are the problem.

You don’t have to read this. If you did, I hope I didn’t cause you any anxiety or discomfort, but I needed to get my own feelings out.

I believe that we’ll be okay, but we need to actually take the steps to get there. I hope people start to listen, if anything good can come out of Hurricane Milton, I hope it’s that it opens peoples eyes to the traumatic state the world is currently in.

If you’re in the path of Hurricane Milton, I hope that you’re okay. If you couldn’t evacuate or stayed behind to be with your pets or loved ones or you’re a healthcare worker who stayed to help, I wish the best for you. Please stay safe💚💚💚

I’m not sure if I will see any damage from Milton yet, I’m hoping we will be okay. I’ll update later if anyone cares to know. Be safe out there! 💚

[fanfic-obsessed]

Not Our Jedi

Let’s take some time today to imagine a variation on Order 66.When Order 66 declares the Jedi traitors it is believed, without question save for one thing. Each Battalion, each clone is absolutely certain that their Jedi were not traitors (This is, of course, excluding the few Jedi who were like Pong Krell and thought of the Clones as less than human). Their Jedi alone had stayed true (For the purposes of this idea there is a battalion stationed in the temple who consider all of the Jedi in residence as theirs. The Coruscant Guard claimed a number of the Shadows, including Quinlan Vos. Also, by and large the clones consider any Jedi they interact with regularly as ‘theirs’). In addition, through chip related hand waving, the clones believe that only their own battalion have stayed true, all other clones in the GAR have betrayed them and are a danger to the non traitor Jedi. 

Frankly Sidious’s words and actions did not dissuade the clones of this. Neither did the actions of the nat borns that supported the new emperor.  Instead it convinced the entire GAR that the evil Jedi traitors have somehow taken control of Palpatine. The Nat born officers that claimed their Jedi were also traitors…well those nat borns tended to be the ones treated the clones like meat droids anyway, so it was all too easy to assume they were in league with the Jedi traitors.

Every battalion decided, near simultaneously, that they had to take their Jedi and run. Regroup on some uninhabited world (Somehow none of the battalions managed to pick the same uninhabited world) and any nat born that tried to stop them was killed outright.  They could make a plan for saving the former Chancellor and the Republic once they were certain that ‘Their Jedi’ were safe. The Jedi go along with this because 1.) The force is telling them to 2.) They can feel that something is very wrong with their men and 3.)Their men are nearly panic stricken at the thought of their Jedi reaching out to other Jedi. 

In the chip-addled minds of the clones they are convinced that their Jedi reaching out to the traitors would be disastrous. Not because they thought their Jedi could be convinced to be a traitor, but because their Jedi was soft hearted and kind and trusting and the traitor Jedi would HURT them, either emotionally or physically. 

Anakin Skywalker, in the midst of falling to the dark, still marches on the temple with the 501st. By the time they reach it, the entire thing is empty. Not only that it is stripped bare courtesy of the temple bound battalions who evacuated everything not nailed down (and a few things that were). Even the Force felt different in the empty temple. This was enough to pause Anakin’s fall. It also gave the 501st the chance to convince their general that they need to retreat and regroup on an uninhabited planet with Anakin’s pregnant wife (By getting them both out of the line of fire they prevent Padme’s death and manage to bring Anakin mostly back to the light). 

Sidious thinks that with one Order he was going to take control of the GAR and be able to use millions of controlled clones in taking full control of the galaxy. Within 2 days the entire thing, including the Coruscant Guard, vanishes. What’s more his shiny new apprentice has also vanished and not a single one of them is picking up their comms (Communications across the GAR have been shut down to keep their Jedi from being tempted to contact the traitors) and the Force is not nearly as dark as it should be.

This goes on for months, the Jedi trying to carefully coax their battalions to let them reach out to other Jedi. The clones panicking and destroying more communication equipment every time and being in all other ways just to the left of their old selves. No one knows what's going on, least of all the clones, and the war has all but ground to a halt. There is so much trauma on all sides of the conflict that many of the Jedi are legitimately afraid that this was a break from reality on the part of the clones and, not knowing how widespread this was, were concerned that their men would be labeled as defective and killed. 

I cannot stress enough that none of the Jedi, save perhaps Anakin Skywalker, knows about Order 66, the chips (though Shaak Ti does know about the chips she did not connect them to the strange behavior of the cadets ), or the ramifications thereof. 

Finally, after months, Ahsoka has an idea. She goes to Rex and the other officers (without the urge to kill Ahsoka, Rex did not fight the chip or make the connection to Tup and Fives) and starts asking about who the enemy is, who the traitors are, since they cannot trust the Emperor (who is being controlled by ‘traitors’) or the separatist or even each other really because they came from all different battalions and felt some loyalty to their old comrades. At last she asks if there are any other Jedi/former Jedi that they can reach out to, to start to figure out who to trust.  Rex is quiet for a long moment. At last he says that General Kenobi always chooses what is right. Whatever side Kenobi is on is the right one. All the other officers agree.

Ahsoka helps them make plans to track down the 212th. Internally she is a bit horrified because 1) no one being should make up the entirety of another person's moral compass 2) is aware that her grandmaster is, like any other sentient, capable of making the wrong choices and siding with the wrong people 3) she knows for a fact that Rex also knew that and 4)she still has no idea what is wrong with her men.

It takes another few months to track down and make contact with the 212th, a few weeks after that to convince Cody (who very much thinks that they are traitors and should be shot on sight) that they are on General Kenobi's side. At last they find a neutral place to meet and two Jedi meet for the first time since the Order went out. 

Obi Wan is ecstatic that Ahsoka is ok. In the intervening months he has learned how to ask questions of the controlled clones where they will answer with information that they do not consciously know (Still never stumbling on the chips or their function because none of the 212th had the correct information). So when he asks Rex if he knows why the Jedi are believed to be traitors, Rex answers with ‘the chips Fives warned us about are active now.’ From this Obi Wan is able to get more information about the chip and convince Cody to have it taken out. 

After the removal Cody has a mild to moderate panic attack once he wakes up.  Dealing with memories of abducting his general, the death threats he delivered to his younger brother and a Togruta who might as well be his sister, the horrifically uncharitable things he thought and said about any clone not in the 212th. He also wakes up realizing that the Jedi are not traitors and has to reconcile what he would have done when confronted with any of them. I imagine that it is sometime shortly after Cody wakes up that Codywan gets together (I love the idea that they had an understanding that they would explore their relationship after the war, this also neatly skirts the issue of consent while under a mind control chip).

With it confirmed what was going on, the 327th and the 212th began to remove the chips wholesale. There are whole new branches of psychotherapy that are developed as the dechipping continues and Clones begin to realize exactly how kriffed up those chips made their heads.  Though the process for dechipping the entirety of the battalions takes months, as soon as the process is nailed down and there are a handful of dechipped clones, they begin to try and track down the other battalions (They find Plo Koon and his Wolffe pack next). 

With the rest of the galaxy, the disappearance of the clones and the Jedi has changed both nothing and everything. Palpatine is Emperor in name and function, he has many people in power to back him (Or who would back whomever promised them power). The Jedi do not need to be dead to be scapegoats, just absent. In fact, without the inherent tragedy of the Purge and the march on the temple, they actually make a better scapegoat. What has hurt Palpatine’s regime is the lack of 3 million clones ready to enforce his every command.   The nat born military officers that would have supported him are dead, the ones that wouldn’t have chosen to desert with clones and the Jedi. It is too close to the end of the clone wars to use droids. This leaves him entirely without a military at the most vulnerable time of his new regime (When it is between 6 months and 3 years old).  

What would have become the Rebellion in the Canon universe is also struggling.  Order 66 and the Purge is such a defining moment. It would go on to become the moment of rock bottom for many worlds, the moment where there is nothing left that can be taken away so you might as well fight.  Though it may never be pointed at, it was in that moment that many of the Rebellion founders found their courage to fight back, to Rebel, to deny the Empire that the Republic has been for decades. In this universe there is no tragedy of unimaginable proportions, no genocide to spur secret meeting, no rows of faceless white to fight against.  Instead we have a tense holding pattern, restrictions that are unenforceable and thus ignored. 

Some systems talk about seceding, some just quietly stop showing up. As the months drag on there are more and more empty pods in the imperial senate.  More and more systems suddenly stop accepting imperial credits, or abruptly seem to have their own military and won’t take Senate comms.  Then entire systems seem to be blockaded from Imperial ships. 

Palpatine played his ace in the whole and it was a good one, unveiling his empire. Without the immediate glue of the Clones, that empire began to unravel.

The Jedi and Clones know none of this, creeping between worlds in the outer rim and wild space.  Once they discover the planet that the Coruscant temple was evacuated to, it is decided to make this planet their home base, their new home which they call Haven. Once they find where Kamino was evacuated to (thankfully not far), the cadets are moved to Haven.  Thankfully it seems that Obi Wan Kenobi remains the only person that every chip-addled mind seems to think would always choose the right side (Everyone, including Obi Wan and the dechipped clones, is both baffled and a little concerned) so Obi Wan can go in with a few dechipped clones to each speak with each Jedi. 

By the time they find the 501st, Luke and Leia are just over 2 years old. The forced downtime has given Padme and Anakin the time to actually have several adult and emotional conversations. 

Anakin’s march on the temple has highlighted the cliff that he almost stepped off, and without an enemy to beat it becomes very clear that this cliff is something he wants no part of.  Something about the combination of 1) Raising children, 2) dealing with clones that even Padme can tell are NOT acting right, 3)No longer being constantly under battle stress and 4) Doing just a little self reflection (assisted by his wife) and reeling that Holy Kriff he was ready to kill kids (He has already done so but this is the difference between manslaughter and first degree murder).

Padme has also realized that she has some very unhealthy mindset she doesn’t want to pass onto the children. There was something about the way the clones agreed with everything that Anakin said that was striking in all the worst ways, for both of them (The chips meant that ‘their Jedi’ could do no wrong).

They are both so glad to see Obi Wan, even more so when he tells them that they have a way to fix/free the clones. The last grip Palpatine had on Anakin’s mind fades when Obi Wan is nothing short of ecstatic for them at the birth of the twins, and is not surprised about their relationship (he is a bit surprised that they are married, and how long, but he just sighs and goes, ‘well I guess no one wins that bet’). The 501st is dechipped, assigned a therapist to deal with the issues caused by the chip (and marching on the Jedi temple), and they are all brought back to Haven. 

During this entire process the combined Jedi and Clones are still entirely cut off from the rest of the galaxy. They could not risk being found by the Empire or Sidious and had no idea about who they could trust. They have managed to grow, create, figure it out, or do without everything they could need. It takes ten years to find all of the Clones and Jedi. There is a slowdown in year six that lasts for a year and a half when they start having to ration the fuel for their ships, which led to the more mechanically inclined managing to invent a whole new propulsion system. 

After 10 years all of the Clones and Jedi have been found and brought to Haven. With everyone safe it is decided to peek out into the galaxy to find out what is happening. 

They poke their heads out into a very different galaxy. The Republic and the Empire have both crumbled under its own weight, without the Jedi or the Clones to prop it up.  Instead smaller States, rarely bigger than a system or two, have cropped up across the galaxy. Palpatine was dead, killed by rioters on Coruscant in the final days of the Empire in year 8 (Sith might be able to cause a massive amount of damage, but even they can be overwhelmed by sheer numbers). 

In spite of what the Republic Propaganda, and later Empire propaganda, these smaller governments did not immediately throw the galaxy into a lawless free for all.  Nor did the lack of Jedi involved cause more suffering that would have happened otherwise. 

The residents of Haven decide to adopt something similar, theirs was the only inhabited planet in their system (one of the reasons the Clones chose it) but there were three other habitable planets. Thus the system Tonbrei, named for the Dai Bendu word for completeness and unity, joined the galactic stage and started making trade agreements.  Their primary exports were their new propulsion system and teachers for Force Sensitive children.

[snail-squasher]

Stars-Aligning

'boys suck, and girls I've never tried' - chappell roan

word ct. - 1113

warnings - a small panic attack(?), mostly fluff, fem!reader is implied but anyone can read :)

You've never been one to have crushes. Sleepover gossip times would always make you pick at your skin for 5 minutes trying to remember all the boys in your grade so you can blurt a name out when asked who you like. But when you got into college something changed. Something that goes by the name of Kiyoko Shimizu. You first heard about her when in a group project with Yachi, she had suggested that Kiyoko tag along to the cafe meet up that you guys had planned - a simple 3rd person to keep conversation flowing so there’s no random awkward silence. 

Wrong; you were incredibly wrong. In the entire 2 hours you guys were there, you got 2 things done: writing your name and finding out Kiyoko was the prettiest girl you’ve ever seen and that the way her lips move when she talks is mesmerizing; maybe that’s why everything she said you completely agreed with - is this what your friends talk about at sleepovers? Is this what movie scenes are made from? Is this normal? 

Obviously you know what being gay meant, you’ve seen gay couples in movies and even around campus, so why was this the worst whiplash you’ve ever experienced? And why are you getting so nervous and sweating when she asks for your number? Why do you only let out a shaky - mousy - ‘yeah’ 

The only information you absorbed is that the prettiest girl you've ever seen is in your contacts and that she likes peaches and ice cream. There’s only one reasonable response to this information - type out 4 draft messages asking her to the local ice cream parlor. Who would know better how to ask her out on a completely platonic and friendly ice cream date? Yachi. 

You’ve never felt more awkward in your entire life; you could smell the tension before the conversion even started. “Well… I say just ask in the friendliest way possible… this one right there,” she points to the 2nd message, “seems like you're rambling a lot, and the one below that sounds like you're demanding she go.” Yachi explains - a little concerned by how concentrated you are after explaining how this is a ‘totally friendly and chill meet up because she seems cool’ for about 10 minutes. “Okay…so like… the last one? Or are the emojis too much?” “The last one is perfect, she actually texts with a lot of emojis too.” “Okay perfect…” both of you sit in silence for 20 seconds before you blurt “can you please send the message for me.” 

It was set, you're very casual friend hangout, was the next day at 2pm. Although the state of your room said that you were evacuating by 2pm tomorrow; clothes thrown from your closet had basically made it out of your room, forgotten t-shirts now seeing the light of day, even pants that you’ve been meaning to return to a friend had found its way onto the outfit roster. But after what felt like the zombie apocalypse, you put together an outfit that had one inspiration - Kiyoko Shimizu. 

It was just to seem cool right? To hope that she'll want to be good friends right? And maybe kiss? Do good friends do that? 

This was a bad idea. This was a bad idea. This was the worst idea you’ve ever had. Gripping the steering wheel so hard you make a mental reminder to call a mechanic and breathing so hard you reach for a non-existent inhaler. You’ve never had a worse timed star- aligning ever. You can see her in the window, occasionally glancing out the window waiting for any sign of you, but you’re too busy having second doubts because your gay awakening is waiting for a obviously, for sure, ‘no wonder Yachi was awkward’ date. You try to quickly regain yourself after seeing Kiyoko start to look down at her watch every 6 seconds. Checking your face in the mirror and fixing your hair in the shop’s window reflection, you finally open the doors and come face-to-face with the most attractive cause for your midlife crisis. You're not even 25.

“Hey, sorry I’m a little late, I was picking up my room a little and lost track of time,” well that's not a complete lie, you had folded about 4 shirts and then rethought your entire outfit and started from scratch. And then she did the smile, the little lift up that makes her beauty mark move 3 cm from its resting place, “It’s really no problem, just glad I wasn’t stood up.” Oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god. Being stood up means a date. This is for sure a date. You're glad you didn’t over analyze but also panicking because you just processed what a lesbian is in the car you’ve had since 17.

“Yeah, sorry again, I didn’t mean to leave someone like you waiting,” are you actually stupid. ‘Someone like you?’ You’ve been homosexual for 5 minutes and already messed up. “Hope that’s a good thing,” she says sarcastically before walking up to order. “I’ll get the peach please, and what would you want?” She looks at you. She focuses on you. “I’ll just get the same thing” a smile. She smiles at you. “Sounds good, do you want to find a table while I pay?” “Oh you don’t have to pay f-” “No no, it’s okay.” You're starting to understand why your friends freak out when a guy offers to pay. 

“Okay- so- wait. He asked you to marry him after only seeing you?” you ask holding back a laugh, “Yes! I still give him a hard time for it too,” Kiyo - she insisted you call her that - was laughing telling you about her time in high school, while checking her watch, “Oh! It’s already late! Sorry for non-stop talking, I feel like that’s all I did.” You quickly try to recover as you both stand up and throw your trash away, “oh no it’s okay, I loved hearing about you.” After making it through the front doors, she turns to you and smiles before leaning in and giving a small kiss, “Well maybe you can tell me about you next time.” “Yeah! Of course,” you reply too quickly for you not to cringe when thinking about it later. She does the smile again, the same smile, “Make sure you text me when you get home… I’ll see you soon.” “Yeah of course, have a goodnight…” You watch as she walks away to her car before slowly sitting getting into your own. You're surprised the shop owners didn’t come running out after the excited scream you let out.

I hope you guys like it!!! the divider(s) is from @cafekitsune

STREAM CHAPPELL ROAN!!!!

[fetusgooseandjuice]

Okay can you do a fanfic where reader gets hurt in battle and goes into a coma for a couple months and shuri is by readers side for all of it while running wakanda as getting revenge on the person who did this to reader. Reader does eventually wake up even though the doctors don't think reader will wake up and it's just fluff from there.

If you do end up doing this fanfic, thank you! And you are one of my favorite writers! 🤍

You’ll Always Have Me

Pairings: Shuri Udaku x fem!reader

Summary: After getting hurt in battle, Y/N falls into a coma. Doctors aren’t sure when or if she’ll wake up, but Shuri refuses to lose hope. No matter how long it takes, she’ll never leave her side. Except to make sure that the person who caused this won’t get away with it.

Word Count: 4,244

Warnings: Murder | Violence

Second Person POV:

Prior to any type mission or battle, you and Shuri like to bask in each others presence right before you leave. You feel safe while you soak up every ounce of affection and time together that you can before you run head first into danger. So, that's what you were doing right now.

Sitting in the private space of your bedroom, Shuri sat crisscrossed on the bed while you sat on her lap with your legs wrapped around her. Your eyes were closed as you rested your foreheads against each others, trying to feel as close as possible in the others arms.

A few hours ago, you found out about a planned attack on the town when the enemies somehow left some clues and let information slip. You guys were working on evacuating the city, but there was still a little ways to go. So with all hands on deck, you were going to get to the city before the attack was set to happen, hoping to stop them and get everyone else out of harms way.

The loudest noise in the room changed from silence to Griots voice when he quietly gave you the five minute warning, as Shuri requested.

"You have a total of five minutes until your departure, your highness." he whispered, attempting to not disrupt the silence too much.

This was the time when you and Shuri had your "pep talk". You would tell each other how much you loved the other, and things to reassure you while sharing small, innocent kisses.

Shuri took a deep breath, inhaling your warm vanilla scent before lowly speaking up, "I love you so much, darling. When we get back home, we'll get comfy and watch a movie. Then probably fall asleep 10 minutes in, yeah?" she said with a soft chuckle, pecking your lips.

You hummed, nodding in agreement, "I love you too, Shuri." you responded and she kissed you again.

"You know I worry about you a lot, so you'll know I always have eyes on you. If you need help or think something's wrong, let me, Nakia, or Okoye know. You can even go to Aneka or Ayo. I'll have your back. You’ll always have me, my love." she told you, making sure this information was embedded into your brain.

"I know, Shuri. I'll tell you if something's wrong. But you can always tell me if you need help, you know that right?" you reassured her.

She nodded her head with a smile, "I know, angel. I will."

She kissed your lips again, but more fully this time instead of a little peck. She wanted you to feel all the love she had for you in case things went downhill. But both of you have always come back to each other in one piece, so this time wouldn't be any different, right?

When Griot informed you that the five minutes was up, you and Shuri shared one last kiss before getting up and exiting the bedroom. You stopped by her lab first to make sure that you had everything, and that you weren't forget anything you would need. When you were sure you were ready, you made your way outside and boarded the Talon Fighter.

Sitting down next to Nakia, Shuri stood standing so that she could run the plan through her mind one more time before giving everyone their roles and jobs. When the aircaft took off, Shuri started to speak.

"We're a little behind on the evacuation, so I want Nakia and Y/N to focus on getting people out, and onto the aircrafts. I'm going to have everyone else, the Dora Milaje, with me to make sure these guys aren't successful with whatever their idiotic plan was. We'll adjust and adapt the plan as needed. Questions, comments, concerns?" she spoke, looking between you and Nakia when she mentioned your names.

Everyone either shook their heads or mumbled a "no" to answer her question. With confirmation that the plan of action was understood, Shuri took a seat next to you. You leaned your head on her shoulder, and she turned hers to kiss your forehead, wrapping her arm around you to hold you for whatever time was left in the short flight.

When Griot alerted Shuri of your arrival, everyone exited the aircraft and began to take their designated places. When it was your turn to walk outside, your girlfriend stopped you.

"Promise me you'll be safe, and tell me if you need help." she said, gently grabbing your hand to turn you around and face her.

"I'll be okay, Shuri. I promise." you reassured her, moving your hand to caress her jawline with your thumb.

She sighed before giving you a small smile, "Okay, princess. I'll see you out there or when this is all over."

You nodded, leaning up to give her kiss, having to slightly stand up on your tippy toes in order to reach her lips. When you broke the kiss you hesitantly pulled away from her, not wanting to leave her arms but also wanting to go help people.

She watched you walk out and fade out of her line of vision, "Don't worry, your highness. I'll be with her the whole time." Nakia stated, next in line to leave.

"If you need anything at all, tell me and I’ll drop whatever I'm doing to get to you guys." Shuri demanded.

"You know I will."  she said, jogging to catch up with you. Shuri waited for everyone else to exit before she enabled her mask and walked out, letting the doors of the aircraft close behind her.

~~~

Your POV:

"Okay ma'am, it'll just be a few minutes and you'll be out of here in no time." I kindly said, guiding an older woman to the line to get on one of the aircraft's that are transporting people.

We still had a little bit of time before they were planned to attack, and every second counted. I was in charge of evacuating the last two floors of the building near the river, while Nakia had the smaller houses.

I quickly made my way back to the floor I was working on, continuing to guide groups of people to whatever aircraft's were available. I cleared one floor and started jogging back to my last floor when I heard the commotion of the first shots being fired. I saw smoke rising into the air that followed sounds of explosions.

Seeing this motivated me to start moving quicker, practically sprinting up the stairs to evacuate my last group of people. I reached them and led them back down the stairs, reassuring them that everything will be fine, and also answering whatever questions they had to the best of my ability while trying to keep them calm.

I made sure that everyone got on safety before pressing the button to close the door. I told Griot not to let the aircraft take off until I did one last sweep of the building, starting at the bottom floor and working up.

When I got to the top floor and was certain that the building was empty, I began making my way outside when I heard a rumble, and the floor shook under my feet. I could see the ceiling start to crack, dust falling.

I knew I had to get out right at that moment, but I was stunned when the sound of an explosion rang through my ears, followed by the heat of the blast.

The power of the explosion was so strong and close to me that it pushed me back into the already cracked window that was behind me. When my back made contact with the glass, it broke, and I fell through. I didn't fall far though because I managed to grab onto a ledge on the building, hanging on and keeping myself from falling the two stories of the tall structure.

"Y/N!" I briefly heard Nakia yell from below me, but it was hard to focus on anything except hanging on, and the pain in my back from the glass.

"Y/N, hold on I'm coming!" I heard a different voice say. The words went in one ear and out the other as I tried to get a better grip and pull myself up, but I couldn't get leverage on anything.

My whole world stopped when another explosion shook the building, and this time it came collapsing down, and I plummeted into the water below me. I tried to swim up, but I was already in pain and pieces of the building fell into the water, hitting me and pushing me down further. It wasn't until one piece of rubble hit me in the head that I passed out, continuing to sink.

~~~

Shuri's POV:

"Aneka, watch your six!" I called out, warning her of an approaching enemy.

My focus went back to the three on one fight that I was in when something caught my eye. Although it was a little far away, I knew that Y/N was in that direction since I always had eyes on her and info on locations. I saw an explosion crumble a building, and my vision focused in on the figure barely hanging onto the side of it.

"Griot, what's happening over there?" I quickly asked the A.I through my kimoyo beads.

"It seems that the building you are looking at has been damaged by an explosion, and another explosion is predicted. The person you are looking is unfortunately Miss Y/L/N." he informed me, and my instantly heart dropped.

"Y/N." I whispered to myself, completely disregarding the people I was previously fighting, and making a b-line straight for Y/N.

"Shuri, we have a problem." I heard Nakia speak through my kimoyo beads.

"I know, I'm already on my way." I quickly responded.

I was only a few yards away from reaching the bottom of the building, "Y/N, hold on I'm coming!" I yelled, but it was too late when another explosion shook the building, and she went falling into the river below her.

That river is not something you want to get stuck in. It's currents are very rough for it only being a river, and watching the rubble fall into the water after her made a wave of anxiety wash over me.

So that's why as soon as I reached the edge of the water, I jumped in after her. It was hard to see, but I managed to catch a glimpse of her hand before she sank further down. I swam towards her, learning that she was unconscious when I saw that she wasn't moving. When I reached her, I held her limp body with one arm as I used the other to swim to the surface, gasping for air when I did.

"Nakia, help me!" I shouted while disabling my mask, desperate to get Y/N out of the water.

She quickly made her way over to the edge of the river, and I swam towards her, handing Y/N off to her so that she could pull her up while I pulled myself out of the water.

While I frantically tried to pull myself up, Nakia checked on Y/N. Putting her ear close to her mouth and nose to see if she was breathing, and then confirming her results by checking the pulse in her neck.

When she put two fingers on the side of her neck, I panicked, "W-what's wrong? Is she not breathing?"

When Nakia found no pulse, she immediately started CPR. At this point, Okoye had finally caught up to me. She had followed me when she saw me sprint off in the direction that Y/N was known to be in.

I watched Nakia rhythmically press on Y/N's chest, trying to get her to breath. I started crying, attempting to take over the CPR, but Okoye just held me back knowing that I would do a sloppy job of it considering my now hysterical state.

"Y/N!" I cried out. There was no way that the love of my life was about to leave me same way my mother did. I already lost her, my dad, and my brother.

Y/N was all I had left.

Okoye struggled to contain me as I fought her grip, practically sobbing for Y/N to come back to me. And my pleads had miraculously come true when Y/N began to cough up water, gasping for air. Nakia turned her onto her side to help her get the water out of her lungs, but she wasn't conscious for long because after she was done coughing, she passed out again. But, I could still see the rise and fall of her chest which was a good sign.

"We've got to get her back to the palace." Nakia said, picking up Y/N and starting to make her way to the Talon Fighter.

"Can I carry her?" I asked, wiping the tears off my face to try and show that I was capable of it now.

"It's okay, Shuri. Nakia's got her. Let's just get her back to the palace so that the doctors there can care for her, okay?" Okoye comforted me and I nodded my head, briskly following Nakia to the aircraft.

When we were boarded, she handed Y/N off to me, letting me hold her in my arms until we got back home. Her body was so limp, and cold. I got Griot to check her vitals, and they were stable for now. The ride home was short, but it felt like days. When we landed, I carried Y/N inside and to the lab, placing her on a stretcher and demanding that our top doctors care for her now, which they did.

I was hovering over them the whole time, and I got concerned when they stopped talking aloud and staring whispering to each other.

"What?" I worriedly questioned, but they didn't answer.

"I swear if one of you doesn't tell me what is going on with my girlfriend right now, I will ensure that the light coming from the ceiling is the last light that makes itself known to your vision." I spoke sternly, and they immediately turned to face me.

One of them spoke up with a sigh, "Although her vitals are stable, due to the lack of oxygen that her body received, and the blunt force trauma to her head, she has fallen into a coma. We are not sure when or if she'll wake up." they quietly whispered the last sentence.

I scoffed in disbelief, "No." was all I could say.

"No. You're joking, right? That is the love of my life laying there, and you mean to tell me that you don't think she'll wake up?" I said, speechless. All they could do was nod their heads.

"Get out." I muttered.

"Shuri-" Okoye started, but I cut her off.

"Get out!" I raised my voice, feeling frustrated and devastated.

They listened to me, knowing that I needed time to process what was just said to me. When the lab was empty, I walked over to Y/N and picked her up to move her to an actual bed instead of the stretcher. I laid her down and pulled a chair beside the bed, sitting down. Tears started streaming down my face again and I grabbed her limp hand in mine. I held onto it tightly, bringing it up to my lips to kiss her hand.

"Baby girl, you can leave me now." I whispered to her.

"The time I've gotten to spend with you isn't enough. It'll never be enough. We're supposed to spend our entire lives together, I was ready to marry you. You can't leave before I get to put a ring on your finger." I spoke to her through my tears.

When all I got was silence in return, I broke down, sobbing into the sheets on the bed.

~~~

34 Days Later

It's been a little over a month since I saw Y/N's bright eyes looking back at me, and I've gone to sit with her every single day.

I'd read her some of her favorite books, turn on a movie she likes, or just talk to her. During the time she's been in the coma, I went over the footage that the camera in my suit recorded the day of the incident. I managed to find the identity of the person who attacked the building she was in, and I've been tracking their every move since.

I have everything I need to make sure they get what they deserve, but Y/N has always been my top priority. So, I've focused on making sure she knows that I'm still with her, even though she's just asleep.

"I stand and hold out my hand. She gives me a skeptical look, but takes it and lets me pull her to her feet." I read from her favorite book.

I went to read the next line, but hesitated for some reason, turning my head to look at her. It felt so strange reading her favorite book to her without her little comments and kisses to interrupt me. This whole situation felt like my worst nightmare came true. We knew the attack was going to happen, and she still somehow ended up in this hospital bed.

I could've saved her if I had been just a little bit faster. But since I couldn't, I was going to make sure the person who hurt her never did anything with their life ever again.

I put the book on the bedside table for later, and leaned down to kiss her forehead, "I'll be back later, pretty girl." I whispered to her before standing up and walking out of the room.

"Griot, tell Okoye and Nakia to come to my lab right now." I told the A.I.

"Right away, your highness." he responded, and a couple minutes later, Okoye and Nakia appeared in my lab.

"You requested to see us?" Okoye questioned.

"Yes, I want you and Nakia to suit up. We're going after the person who collapsed that building and hurt Y/N.

~~~

As there aircraft landed outside of a remote building, I went over the plan one last time.

"We're looking for them," I showed a picture of who we came here to find.

"If you get to them before me, let me know and just keep them restrained until I get there. I want to deal with them myself." I said.

"Yes, your highness." Nakia responded while Okoye nodded her head. We exited the aircraft and swiftly made our way inside.

Going our separate ways, I could hear the commotion of Nakia and Okoye taking out whoever they saw. I did the same, not using all of my strength on them because I was saving that for the person responsible for Y/N's coma.

"Nakia, Okoye, my part of the building is clear. They're near one of you." I spoke using my kimoyo beads after checking the last room.

"I've got them. Griot, direct Shuri to me." Okoye responded, and I followed the A.I's directions.

When I entered the room, I saw the person we were looking for tied up with what seemed to be an extension cord, and Okoye holding them still.

"Thanks, Okoye. Can you wait outside for me, please?" I asked and she stepped out of the room.

I sighed, "Do you know who I am?" I questioned.

"Yeah, you're the new queen of Wakanda." they answered.

"And do you know why I was looking for you?" I asked, stalking around the room.

"Is this because of how we ambushed your country?Listen, it wasn't my idea. I was just doing what I was told to do." they quickly tried to explain themselves, but I wasn't having any of it.

"Partially. Not only did you and your people attack my country, but it was you specifically who exploded one of our buildings." I said.

"I-" they started, but I cut them off.

"Don't try to explain yourself. You are the very reason why someone so dear, and special to me is in a coma that no one knows if she'll come out of. You hurt the love of my life, and now you have to deal with me." I spoke sternly, and close to their face.

I turned my back to walk around the room again, but I sensed motion behind me and my instincts told me to duck, so I did, barely avoiding a swing to my head.

Turning around, I realized they had somehow managed to get out of the restraints. It made me angry how they thought they could hurt Y/N and get away with it.

But now I finally had the opportunity to avenge her, and I was going to do exactly that. Striking them whenever I got the chance, and dodging their attacks as well. I kicked them in the stomach which knocked the wind out of them and caused them to hit the ground.

I let my claws show, stalking towards them and gripping the collar of their shirt, digging the nails into their side.

"I really shouldn't kill you, but it wouldn't be fair if you got to live and my darling girl didn't. I would say it's nothing personal, but it is." were the last words I spoke to them before letting go of their shirt and digging my other set of claws into their neck until they stopped struggling.

I stepped back and thought about what to do with them now. I just decided to leave them there, thinking that they didn't deserve my effort to move them.

I walked out of the room, "I'm done now. Let's head home now, I want to get back to Y/N." I said and Okoye and Nakia followed me.

~~~

When we got back to the palace, I took a quick shower and changed before going to sit with Y/N. I decided to turn on her favorite movie this time and watch it until I fell asleep.

A few hours later, my eyes were focused on the tv until her hand twitched in mine. My head snapped over to look her, seeing her eyes still closed.

"Y/N?" I whispered, but got no sound or movement in return.

"Y/N, I felt your hand move. Can you do it again for me, sweet girl?" I pleaded, standing up.

I chuckled in shock when she moved her hand again, "Oh my god. I see you, darling. I know you're trying to wake up. Can you open your eyes for me?"

Her other hand moved and she made some small noises, "Come on, princess. Let me see those beautiful eyes of yours. Please?" I leaned down to stroke the back of my hand over her cheek.

A few seconds later, her eyes slightly opened, but quickly shut due to the lightning.

"Griot, dim the lights." I quickly demanded. When the light dimmed, she finally opened her eyes.

There were small tears running down my face, "There you are, my love. Hi," my words quivered from the overwhelming happiness I felt.

"Shuri?" was all she could mumble.

"Yes, darling. It's me, I've got you. You're okay." I reassured her, kissing her forehead.

Her eyes scanned the room before looking at me, "What happened to me?" she questioned and I looked down.

I sighed, "What's the last thing you remember?"

She thought for a moment before speaking, "I was making sure I evacuated all the floors. Did I get everyone out?" she asked.

I chuckled, admiring how she was worried about everyone but herself, "Yes, baby girl. You got everyone out."

She nodded her head, "So why am I here?"

"I guess when you went back up to double check, the building you were in was attacked. It exploded and collapsed, you fell into the river, unconscious. I got you out, and Nakia did CPR."

"How long have I been asleep for?" she questioned.

I thought for a moment, "34 days." I responded.

I could tell she didn't really know what to say or think about that, so I spoke up for her, "The doctors didn't think you'd wake up, but here you are. My strong princess." I said and she smiled.

"I know it's going to be a long recovery, but I'll never leave your side. You'll always have me." I comforted her.

"I'm tired." she muttered.

I lightly chucked, "I know, angel. Rest is crucial for recovery, so sleep all you want." I told her.

"Can you lay with me?" she quietly asked.

"Of course I can. You don't have to move though, I'll make use of the space there is." I climbed into bed with her and let her snuggle up to me however she wanted to.

I moved my hand under her shirt to rub her bare back, knowing that skin to skin contact comforts her.

"I love you." I whispered to her.

"I love you too, Shuri." she said before falling asleep.

Her head fell onto my shoulder, and I knew that my arm would eventually go numb, but I didn't care.

All I cared about was that my girl was okay, and now I'll have the chance to hopefully make her my wife like i've always wanted to.

[rickmymanrick]

one rule | chapter two |

[rick grimes x original female character slowburn]

summary: the statewide evacuation is underway and it goes terribly wrong terribly fast. daphne and glenn undergo an impromptu rescue mission and soon their group of two becomes a group of 5.

note: twd-typical gore starts now. there's vivid descriptions and mentions of vomit among many other things. this will be the only warning from now on until we get into the sexual content of this book. but expect anything as gory as what you saw in the show and/or read in the comics. :)

"God, I fucking hate Atlanta."

"Daphne..."

I ignored him, pressing a hand against my forehead and squeezing my eyes shut to try to will the traffic we were currently stuck in away.

"In fact, I hate all big cities. New York, LA, Chicago..."

"What is—?" I peeked at Glenn to see him leaning forward, nearly smacking his head into the windshield.

I chose to complain without a care. "I could really stretch my legs right now..."

"Daphne!"

"What? What?" I glared at him through an eye. I quickly sat up when I saw the horrified look on his face. The fear of what I'd see up ahead paralyzed me for just a moment. I had never ever seen Glenn so terrified in his life.

"We need—" he started blindly reaching out for the door handle, pressing every button on the side door console. "Out. We need to get out right now!"

I whipped my head forward when the screams started and nothing could've prepared me for what I saw.

There was a crowd— no—herd— of people stumbling down the adjacent empty side of the freeway. Some of them were crossing the small median barriers that separated the lanes that led out of the city and the lanes leading towards it, where every single car in the state of Georgia crammed into.

From a distance, it looked just... odd. Then they started to get closer and I realized with a start what was causing Glenn to panic in a way I'd never seen.

These people were... dead.

Flesh hanging off their cheekbones and extremities... a horrid stench of death and rotten flesh that I could smell from a mile away... I instantly wanted to throw up.

I tuned back into my immediate surroundings and found that Glenn was still desperately grabbing at the door, eyes wildly looking at the chaos unfolding around us.

He was saying something— more like screaming something — but my hearing went into a strange state of white noise.

It was my body's fight or flight. The sort of survival instincts I'd never had to tap into before in my mundane life.

I slammed my whole hand on the driver's door console and in his panic, Glenn instantly re-locked the doors with his button. "Goddamnit, Glenn!"

"I'm sorry! I'm—"

"Let's go," I rushed out of the car and made it to Glenn's side in record speed. He was still struggling, halfway out the car, his hands reaching for whatever he could find useful in the car.

"We don't have time for this," I dragged him by the shirt and started running towards the woods adjacent to the highway, desperate to create some space between us and the dead.

A corpse lunged in front of me out of nowhere and a scream ripped through my throat. It tackled an older lady that was trying to grab something out of her car trunk just a few paces ahead of us.

I completely froze, the terror was icy cold and spreading from the tips of my fingers to the bottom of my feet. My stomach started turning painfully —

My arm nearly came off my body from how hard Glenn pulled me away.

We began running, sprinting faster than we had ever pushed ourselves before and I couldn’t even feel myself break a sweat.

The adrenaline pushed me farther and farther away until I was the one leading Glenn by the hand, tearing through the woods and never looking back.

The screams were louder than ever and I could faintly hear Glenn hyperventilating over the pounding in my ears. 

I didn’t let go. I didn’t ease up.

We had to run.

It was only what felt like hours later (it had only been minutes really) that I skidded to a stop, no longer recognizing my surroundings. It was finally quiet, just a faint chorus of beeps and sirens from a distance away.

Glenn fell to the ground and instantly curled into a ball, his hands shielding his head as his back started shaking.

It felt like my heart soared up to my throat and I barely made it a few steps before throwing up everything I had eaten this morning.

My eyes stung, tears streaming down and mixing with the vomit. My nose was running and I was crying all at the same time. I threw up until there was nothing left in my system anymore, just dry heaving and a burning in my throat.

Glenn was still curled up on the ground.

I didn’t know how long we’d been sitting here in our state of shock; it could’ve well been over a half hour.

”You know,” I began hoarsely. “I was supposed to go on a date today.”

This made him look up, bloodshot eyes squinting at me as if he were trying to figure out if I’d truly reached my breaking point.

Maybe I had. Hell, everything I thought I knew about this world was flipped upside down.

As of this morning, there were two things I was absolutely certain of in this world — we, humans, are born and eventually we die. It was the natural order of things and there was no way around it. No do-over, no coming back— that was just it.

Now, now I was questioning my grip on reality and desperately holding on to anything I could remember from my life before this afternoon’s events.

There was life then, and there’s life now.

Maybe Glenn realized that too because as soon as the confusion crossed his face, it was gone and he was laughing.

”This is one hell of a way to stand someone up,” he said, sniffling. “At least you’ve got a valid excuse.”

“Yeah, true. Maybe he’ll be willing to reschedule.”

We don’t comment on the ridiculousness of that statement. It’s very clear to me that Shane might be dead.

”Who was it anyway?” Glenn asked, picking at the leaves under his hands.

I jolted at the sound of a branch snapping. An icy cold sensation gripped my throat and I snapped my head to look in that direction.

It was a squirrel.

”Uh - it was the flirty cop. You know, the one who asked what the best night of my life was like when we met and then - ”

”Then he told you he could give that to you. Yeah, girl, what the fuck?”

This was the first taste of normalcy since the highway.

”He - he’s not that much of an asshole anymore. I only agreed because he promised to take me to Ilio’s.”

”He knows about that place?”

”I told him yesterday morning and I guess he does have hearing for things other than sex.”

He snorted. “That’s some character development.”

”Surprised me too,” I said quietly.

It was silent for a few moments and I had to strain my ears to listen for the screams. They’d died down significantly.

We had to get out of here soon. Maybe go home, find a car if we could. Anything. Sitting here would surely end in our death - through starvation or otherwise.

”I was gonna quit today,” Glenn said suddenly.

I quirked an eyebrow. I stared over at my best friend and he stared back.

”You’re bullshitting,” I denied after a solid thirty seconds.

“I’m dead serious, Daph. I was thinking of becoming a cop, just like you,” he said with that proud bullshitting smile.

“Shut up. I’m not a cop,” I grimaced. “You know I would’ve never stepped foot in a precinct if it wasn’t required in my training.”

“So we hate cops but the flirty one’s alright?”

I rolled my eyes and sat down beside him.

“What about Griiiiimmmeeesss?”

“Oh shut the fuck up,” I shoved the annoying fucker aside, so hard that he landed on his side in the grass.

He fell over in giggles, knocking his hat into the ground and laughing even harder. I couldn’t help but laugh too. It felt bizarre after what we just experienced.

Glenn slowly recovered and it all went silent again.

”What made you say that anyway?” I glanced at him.

He shrugged. “Thought we were saying random things.”

I shook my head in amusement. We sat there for a few more minutes.

”What do we do?” I stared at the ground.

I saw Glenn turn to me from the corner of my eye. “I don’t know.”

”What do you think we should do?”

Glenn's idea ended up being 'borrowing' a car to drive back to our apartment and figure it out there. We'd both refused to go back to the highway and so with burning legs and dry mouths, we trekked through the woods until we eventually hit some concrete again. We stayed along the road, following whatever little signs we could find until we stumbled across an abandoned Jeep halfway on the road and halfway on the grass. It was still on, its windshield wipers moving and the lights turned on despite the bright sun out. 

"Looks like there was a struggle here," I noted. We both stood at a good distance just in case. 

"Which means we shouldn't linger around any longer than we need to," Glenn made a start for the vehicle. "I'm willing to bet one of those geeks are close by."

"Wait - " I followed after him quickly. "Grand theft auto?!"

"Does it even matter anymore? I don't see any law enforcement around here, do you?"

A nearby human-like growl was all the convincing I needed. Surprisingly, Glenn let me drive and I noticed his shaky hands resting on his lap as we sped down the deserted roads. 

When we made it to the complex, it was just as empty as every other road we'd been on. There was some cars here and there but not a single soul in sight. They must've left as soon as the evacuation was announced. I cringed at the thought of our neighbors stuck on that highway from hell. 

I ran my hands along the comforter on my bed, feeling the soft fabric between my fingers because something told me I wouldn't be back in a long time.

For a moment, our little apartment felt like the only safe haven left in the world. I wanted to stay, beg Glenn to help me barricade the doors, but it wasn't possible. The I-85 was too close to our town for comfort. 

Between the two of us, we silently emptied our pantry into the trunk of the half open-door, half window-less Jeep. I tried to shove every knife I could find in the glove compartment, wishing I had more than just a handgun. 

"We should stop the station," I thought out loud. "Maybe they'll let me grab some more ammo. We can warn them if they don't know yet."

Glenn nodded and we rushed to finish packing as much as we could fit. I was grabbing a pack of batteries when we heard the first gunshot. 

Without hesitation, I threw myself to the ground, crouching behind the island as a vase behind me shattered. 

"That's not good,” Glenn stated the obvious. He rushed on all fours and then grabbed me, running toward the front door without hesitation. The bullet had entered through our side window, one of the perks of having a corner unit. I barely had time to grab the keys of our stolen car.

I kept my head down, sprinting to the driver's side and twisting the key in the ignition. 

Glass rained down from the apartment building, windows shattering as bullets entered them with precision. I realized with a start that this wasn't an accident. 

"It's the military," said Glenn as soon as we safely sped away from our street. 

"You saw it?"

"Yes, I saw it," he said exasperatedly. "They're shooting everyone down. Look!"

I did my best to look over at his phone and saw a shaky video of military soldiers raining down rounds on groups of people-- living civilians…

There was a military truck ahead, two lights away, so I turned the wheel into a sharp right. We were already halfway to the police station in the next town over - King County. Our only option was to try to speed through the town square; it was the only exit I knew and maybe I could've thought of more if I wasn't terrified of being shot in the head. 

We raced closer to the town, going well over the speed limit and I was forced to slow down when I finally saw signs of civilization again - people running for their lives, thankfully, no children in sight until --

"That's - that's Shane! What the fuck?" I yelled over the wind, recognizing the back of my coworker as soon as I laid eyes on him.

"Who's Shane?!" Glenn yelled back. 

I couldn't answer, not as I was staring straight ahead at a group of armed soldiers, aimed and locked on Shane and the two others that were with him. 

My consciousness would never let me live if I didn't act fast. I pressed the gas straight into the floor and it felt exhilarating for half a moment. We began approaching the intersection with frightening speed.

I suddenly slammed the brakes and used whatever momentum I had to twist the car around. Right between the military and Shane's group. 

Glenn made a desperate grab at the handle above beside him, screaming something along the lines of me being insane. Shane pulled himself off the ground, releasing Lori and Carl Grimes with a relieved smile.

“Yes, fuck yes!” He cheered as he opened the back door quickly. Carl and Lori climbed in first, breathing so quickly I feared one of them was hyperventilating.

“T-thank you,” Lori reached over and grasped me by the shoulder. Her hands were severely shaking. “Thank you.”

I squeezed her hand back, a bit shocked at the company. Shane came barreling in with a large KCPD duffel bag.

I managed to crack a joke. “I thought you were picking me up, Walsh?” 

The soldiers kept yelling orders from the other side of the intersection and I realized they would start shooting again if I didn’t move now.

Shane leaned forward and grasped the side of my head with one hand, pulling my temple against his lips firmly, breathing into my hair like I was the best goddamn thing that had ever happened to him. I smiled, gripping the steering wheel and shifting into drive just as they raised their guns again.

Shane let me go quickly and the shooting started again. Lori screamed and I saw her pull Carl in close through the rearview mirror. I slammed my foot into the gas, adrenaline pumping through my blood and I remember feeling a sharp pinch in my left leg as I sent the car from 0 to about 100 MPH in record time.

“Where are we going? Daphne, where are we going?!” Glenn panicked from the passenger’s seat.

I wished I could answer him but the only thing my brain was allowing me to do was drive. Survival kicked in and I was doing everything I could to keep us alive.

“Ayala, listen to me. We gotta go in-land. It’s the only place they won’t find us, you hear me?” Shane asserted from behind Glenn. He grabbed me by the shoulder.

I saw an opening between the trees a few yards ahead and without warning, took a sharp left into the wild greenery.

Carl cursed. Lori didn’t seem to care.

It was only until Shane told me we were safe that I stopped on the edge of a cliff, the view of Atlanta in the distance, the endless traffic on the I-85 eerily silent now.

“Holy shit,” Glenn said. “Daphne, your leg.”

“What?” I asked absentmindedly.

I hadn’t bothered to check out that strange pinch until now. Before I could force my head to look down (it had gotten strangely heavier since I put the car in park), my door was opening and Shane was right there, crouching at my side. Lori and Carl had gotten out of the car, one of them crying. Or maybe both of them were— I wasn’t sure anymore.

I was all of a sudden dizzy.

My mind drifted off in a million different directions. Were we the only survivors? Was it just Atlanta and the surrounding cities? What the fuck was happening? What the fuck—

“Hey, Ayala.”

What the fuck —

“Look at me.”

What the fuck—

“Daphne!”

I looked back down at him with a newfound strength. My mind cleared enough to realize the situation.

Shane’s hands were covered in red, ripping at his undershirt and I felt the first sting of pain as the adrenaline wore off.

“Fuck,” I gasped, tempted to clutch onto my leg but he quickly pushed my hands away and began to wrap the fabric around the wound tightly.

“One of the bullets got you,” Shane grunted. “We’re lucky it’s just a graze. Any longer and you would’ve lost too much blood.”

Glenn pushed Shane aside as soon as he was done. When had he gotten out of the car?

He wrapped an arm around my torso and began to help me out of the vehicle.

“You crazy asshole. You can’t leave me like this,” said Glenn dramatically. We hobbled over to a nearby rock.

“I’m not going to die, Rhee,” I slurred.

Glenn looked at me. “You better not.”

“Nope,” I shook my finger. I think the blood loss was getting to me now and I distantly hoped if I passed out, I wouldn’t hit my head too hard.

“Here,” offered Lori as she walked over to us. I squinted my eyes, trying to focus on what Glenn had accepted from her hands.

“Thanks,” I said without knowing. I’m pretty she gave me a smile before walking back to her son.

Glenn thrusted the object in my face—

A go-gurt in all its glory.

”The kid grabbed everything that was in their fridge,” he pointed his thumb at the second duffle bag that laid next to Carl. “You need to eat something.”

I was too tired to argue. I slowly began to rip the top off and made eye contact with Shane.

”What’s up with him?” Glenn eyed him and sat beside me.

“I was supposed to go on that date with him,” I explained. My strength was slowly coming back.

Glenn looked at me and then back at Shane with wide eyes.

“Do you fucking know the definition of subtle?!” I whacked him on the arm, ducking closer to him so Shane couldn’t read my lips.

“He’s the flirty coworker?” Glenn whispered quite fucking loudly.

I rolled my eyes. “I need to stop telling you every little detail in my life. It’s really backfiring on me now.”

I didn’t mean it of course. Glenn was a part of me and me, him. We were pretty much each other’s first everything and we’ve been attached at the hip ever since we met.

”It’s just weird. How we all ended up together… ” I trailed off.

”You know them?” He looked over at Lori and Carl; she had her arms wrapped around her son, holding him close.

I smiled sadly. “Yeah, you can say that.”

“Daphne, I’m going to go scan the perimeter. See if I can find us some tents, shelter…” Shane looked over at Glenn. “You comin’ with?”

My first instinct was to protest. Glenn looked down at his arm, my hand clutching at it like a vice.

”Hey, I’ll be fine. We’ll be back before sundown, right?”

Shane looked between me, Glenn, and my hand. “Right.” He said stiffly.

To our luck, Shane and Glenn found a camping store within the last few hours of daylight.

I’d spent that time talking to Lori, skillfully avoiding the subject of her husband though I was dying to know what happened to him.

Was he alive? Did they evacuate the medical patients in time? 

The not-knowing made me anxious… All in all, Lori Grimes was a really sweet woman, just a few years older than I was and easy to hold a conversation with. I imagined it would be even easier if the threat of death and gloom wasn’t hanging over our shoulders. That was another thing I was desperately trying to ignore, but I was failing horrendously.

Every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was the corpse ripping apart that old lady’s torso on the highway, blood soaking the ground before my feet, intestines spilling like rope from her abdomen as she screamed in agony -

“Hey,” Lori put a hand on my knee. I jumped in fright. “We can’t get lost in our heads. Now now.”

She had an understanding look on her face. I wondered what she’d seen before Glenn and I found them in the town square.

I looked over at Carl and wondered the same thing; he was only a boy. 

I squeezed Lori’s hand and gave her a shaky smile.

“They’re back!” Carl exclaimed. It was the first thing he said since the car ride.

I nearly cried in relief. My leg was still aching, the blood dried up on the fabric of my pants, so I couldn’t get up even if I tried.

Carl ran over to Shane with a smile. Glenn slammed the passenger door shut and came running over.

”How was it?” I asked quietly, keeping an eye on the police officer.

”Could’ve been worse,” he shrugged and I instantly knew Shane had been difficult. “We found some supplies though. A national park shop, it had tents, flashlights, we grabbed it all.”

The first bit of hope flooded through me. Maybe we would survive this. Wait it out until the military found some better way to control the virus.

”And this - ” Shane came out of nowhere, holding a bottle of vodka. I gave him an impressed look, nudging Glenn in excitement. If this was the end of the world, at least we could get wasted one last time.

" - this is gonna hurt," finished Shane. He was looking straight at my leg. My heart sank at the implication. 

”Hey, at least we can drink it after, right?” Glenn cheered. “Be optimistic, man!”

I glared at him, clutching Shane’s shirt with pale knuckles as he crouched at my feet.

"Remind me to never get shot for one of you assholes ever again," I said through gritted teeth. Thankfully, Lori and Carl were distracted by the supplies. I wouldn't want them to think I was talking about them. 

"I'm sure the pain will be reminder enough," Glenn smiled sympathetically. 

Whatever witty response I had instantly died on my tongue at the first drop of vodka. 

next chapter...

[pnshandpull]

hi, it's me. i'm the problem it's me ! hello everyone, 'tis i, sun :') (@its-creed) back here with the second muse i SWORE up and down i wasn't going to bring but like — give me a good premise and pair it with too much muse and TADA! you get this guy!

here is my quick intro to ex-aetnernal now turned figher at daemon, CHA RYEONG !

as with reed — full disclosure with age i have become slow at plotting and in general so if you just want a random starter feel free to throw an emoji in the replies and i'll throw something up! if you are cool with turtle pace plotting feel free to drop a like on this and i will widdle waddle my way into your dms as soon as i can!

born to a long generation of aeternals, it was only fitting (and expected) that cha ryeong would follow in the footsteps of literally each of his ancestors and family members in becoming an aeternal.

for some reason, the cha family always received a little more glory than usual. most chalk it up to the fact that the family lineage has been a strong one with generation after generation of successful aeternals who have served with fantastic results through each of their time.

nowadays, the cha family lives with high prestige and are akin to celebrities with how well-known they've become even amassing a global audience for the work they've done nationally and international when lending assistance to nearby countries in times of need.

cha ryeong's abilities manifest around the typical age that powers are seen and recognized in the cha family around 10 years of age. it does come as a surprise when he shows abilities reminiscent of his great-great-great grandfather who had been one of the more renowned family members for the legacy he left behind.

following the first show of his abilities, cha ryeong is thrust head on into the world of training to become an aeternal. his parents keep him from the spotlight until he makes his debut into society passing the selections of the few trainees that get accepted every year at the academy.

his entire time at the academy and training goes smoothly and is attributed to him being a cha – all family members having displayed extraordinary control over their powers from a young age and succeeding naturally at anything to put their minds to.

two months following his 24th birthday – into the new year – with his exceptional performance and a few words of influence from his family, cha ryeong is accepted as a recruit to become part of the field combat team.

ryeong goes above and beyond the expectations that everyone seems to have. the only problem that seems to arise is that he's aggressively too independent when it comes to getting the job done because of his need to be on top (where he could probably do better with teamwork). regardless, he's compliant at best when it comes to making sure he doesn't get in the way of the overall mission and thus gets away with it a little more than he should due to the results he produces.

things go awry in cha ryeong's second year however when a mission goes wrong. during an evacuation taking place when a villain creates earthquakes, something devastating happens however no one present at that time steps forward to tell the true and full story.

the public is left to come to their own conclusions and speculations when the academy suddenly announces the withdrawal of cha ryeong while disclosing the death of an aeternal who had been present at the scene — the details kept private for the sake of their family.

many people believed that the cha family had a hand in shutting down all news outlets before they could release any articles that would harm their reputation while believing they sued any publishers that had released something before going completely silent.

what others find even more strange is the fact that the other two aeternals who had been present at the scene still haven't stepped up to make any statements about what truly happened that unfateful day. however, whenever asked about cha ryeong their aversion at the mere mention of his name was enough for people to begin with wild speculations again.

with the amount of limelight the cha family already receives on the usual, this situation only pushed ryeong further into the eye of the public. the attention quickly and controversially put him on the map as a hot celebrity topic as long as the full story continued to remain unknown.

currently the public is split between giving ryeong a second chance while the other half has stuck to villainizing him for something they're not even sure of. this has led to a barrage of paparazzi and media outlets looking to get information from ryeong.

cha ryeong's dismissal from the force is seen as the biggest disgrace the family lineage has faced in decades considering everyone had expected him to follow in the steps of the legacy his great great great grandfather left behind.

unable to deal with the overall change in treatment from his family, cha ryeong took it upon himself to move from his family home and into the silverline apartments where he knew his family would have no influence over the second chance collective at monitoring his every move.

with the amount of internalized and unprocessed anger ryeong still has, he's learned how to channel and use the fights at daemon as his outlet while he tries to figure out what his next steps are and to find a new start.

plots and connections

ryeong highkey despises his family and the academy right now. utter one word to him and he'll probably have you pinned where you stand on the ground using his ability.

paparazzi keep flooding the entrance of building and it's making it so annoying for you whenever you're coming or going. you've had too many reporters asking you about cha ryeong and either a) you know him and confront him about it or b) have no idea who he is but hear him in the lobby by chance and air your grievances then and there

you're aware of ryeong's self sustenance ability so when you find him knocked out cold on a bench in the middle of a street it's lowkey concerning

anyone from daemon?

people that ryeong trained with at the academy

possibly someone related to the aeternal that had passed away involved in ryeong's scandal (? i'm still working out the kinks in general for this part of his background but open for brainstorming!)

someone ryeong was close to before the situation but then cut off afterwards within the past few months

someone that/related to someone that ryeong has saved before

a sibling? lmao

[feroluce]

Hello!! I came here because I was informed you had some Wriowinne headcanons and ramblings to share? Would it be alright for me to ask for some 👉👈 (or as much as you want to share please I'm desperate for food)

OH BOY DO I.

I feel you anon, I've been shipping them like...since the PV. So I've been stuck in utter absolute hell, getting nothing but father&daughter content from the fandom (shoutout to @hydrachea for being able to dual wield and letting me talk ship to her, light of my life fr weh). I'm hoping now that 4.1 has been out for a little bit, we'll get some more of them, though. I've dug through our dms, and found a hc that takes place after 4.1. So spoilers for that archon quest, but no leaks are involved!

Anyway, I love thinking about how close they cut it at the climax of 4.1, and the aftermath of it all.

Sigewinne somehow finding out what happened down there at the bottom of Meropide while she was evacuating the inmates, and like. She knows what the stakes were. The Primordial Seawater could not be allowed to rise. Clorinde made the right decision in shooting the gate lock. Even if it had killed Wriothesley, it still would have been the right decision.

That doesn't mean it's not a bitter pill to swallow.

Sigewinne can usually put it out of mind during the day, especially when she's busy treating patients, but it's harder when she's asleep. She dreams of the evacuation, and the alarm blaring, and waiting and waiting and waiting, and Clorinde walking past, alone, with her head down and her fists shaking, until Neuvilette finally approaches. Wriothesley isn't with him.

And Neuvilette's face doesn't really show much. It never does. But Sigewinne is close enough to the surface that she can hear the absolute downpour raging outside as Neuvilette tells her that he's sorry, he's so so sorry, and he gives her a gray and black and red coat, so soaked through with Primordial Seawater that he'd been afraid to let anyone else touch it, and the fur collar is matted and wet against Sigewinne's face when she clutches it close-

Sigewinne jolts awake, grasping at whatever is in her reach, which just happens to include Wriothesley's arm. His eyes almost immediately fly open, slurring out a mix of what's goin' on and what's wrong, and then a do we need to evacuate and poor Sigewinne, she feels awful. He hasn't been sleeping as well since the almost-flood, every little sound wakes him up now.

(There are nights where she'll wake up alone, and if she goes looking, she'll find Wriothesley, still in his sleep clothes and looking exhausted, down under their secret passage and staring at Neuvilette's seal over the sluice gate. Like he's keeping watch over it, or just daring it to try and do something.

Whenever she finds him like this, Sigewinne tells him to come on, come back to bed, and he'll keep his eye on it until the last possible second, but generally Wriothesley comes when called, and he'll let her lead him away. On his worse nights, he'll tell her to go back without him, he can't sleep anyway, he's going to stay down here for just a little while longer. He'll be back later. And she does occasionally go back to bed, but most of the time she stays, because she doesn't like the idea of him alone down there. Sigewinne will tuck herself into his side, or she'll get him to relax his guard just enough to lay with his head in her lap, and they'll stay there like that until Wriothesley finally decides he can bear to leave it alone and go back to bed with her.)

So with all that in mind, when she accidentally wakes him up, Sigewinne quickly gets her breathing back under control and pets his hair until he relaxes again. She tells him it's fine, everything is ok. Meropide is safe. Their home and everyone in it is safe. Go back to sleep. He needs his rest if he's going to go up to the overworld for supplies in the morning. She'll go sleep in the infirmary, she just had a nightmare, is all (the truth), it was nothing, she barely even remembers it anymore (a lie).

Sigewinne doesn't even make it out of bed, though, because when she tries to go, she finds her wrist suddenly caught. She turns back and Wriothesley is squinting up at her face, human night vision isn't nearly as good as a Mélusine's. They sit there like that for a moment, until she can see through the expression on his face that he's come to some sort of decision. Wriothesley pulls her back in and Sigewinne lets him, lets him rearrange them into something more comfortable. It's easy to give up when it's him, she didn't truly want to leave anyway. By the time he makes a satisfied little huff into her hair, Sigewinne is tucked under his chin, her face against his chest, one arm wrapped around her to keep her there. She pats his side and tells him ok, ok, she gets it. She won't go anywhere.

Wriothesley buries his face in her hair and sighs at that, something deeper and more content that hilariously reminds Sigewinne of a dog asleep on the floor. "Good." Wriothesley sounds like he's already half-asleep again. His arm still tightens around her waist though, just to make a point. "How could I sleep, when I know you're off somewhere crying alone?"

Sigewinne touches her cheek, and sure enough, it's wet? She has tear tracks. No wonder Wriothesley had been staring at her so hard. She hadn't even realized. And she opens her mouth to protest because she wasn't crying, some tears in her sleep doesn't count, but. Wriothesley is already asleep again, breathing slow and deep and even, and his arm is heavy and warm around her, and his sleep shirt is soft and comfortable against her face, not at all like the fur-collared coat in her dreams.

Sigewinne gives in again, curls into all that warmth and wraps herself up in it, until it lulls her back to sleep.

[cerys-capricorn]

The country I live in is on fire with millions of acres destroyed and thousands of people evacuated. This is potentially the 2nd time in 4 years that people will loose everything they have (as the 2019 Canadian wildfires were also horrendous). Millions are suffering displacement, homelessness, and health risks due to the wildfires across the country. I live in British Columbia and I remember 2019. This is so much worse. The ENTIRE country is pretty much on fire.

And what do the people of the U.S.A immediately say? “Blame Canada!” “We need to invade them bc clearly something is wrong up there” “Canada fucking sucks!” “Ugh, here is my Timelapse of how smokey the sky is, but apparently it will be gone in 2 days.”

Well Americans aren’t the ones who have to deal with the LITERAL GIANT FIRES SCORCHING THEIR NEIGHBOURHOODS AND FORESTS! They don’t have to pack up everything they own and hope, JUST HOPE, they come back and their homes aren’t burnt to the ground. They don’t have to hope their communities aren’t entirely destroyed. They don’t have to worry if their friends, families, and animals are okay. They are not the ones trapped due to roads being closed and heavy debris falling as the fires become uncontrollable. And they only seem to care when it is them on fire. But if another country is? They don’t fucking bat an eye, and yet the rest of the world helps them when they are in need.

So instead of complaining Americans, how about you fucking help for once? We are thankful you sent some of your firefighters to help us, but in the grand scheme of things, this isn’t enough. The U.S.A as a country is the 2nd biggest C02 producer in the world, which heavily contributes to the worsening of climate change, hence the wildfires. But Americans seem to forget this little fact. They forget that their politics and their environmental policies have literally fucked the rest of the world. So stop being so fucking selfish and actually help for once by contacting your local, state, and federal government(s). Stop voting for absolute idiots that want climate change to worsen so their pockets can be filled. Help by spreading information that will help those impacted, volunteer if you can, and maybe consider donating if you have the means. Or at least have some goddamn compassion and sympathy.

Here are some ways you can help:

• United Way for the Northwest Territories

All money donated goes to those affected by the wildfires in the NWT. Every donation is matched by the Federal Canadian and NWT governments.

• The Canadian Red Cross

All donations go towards those most impacted by wildfires across the Canadian Maritimes "with immediate and ongoing relief, recovery and resilience efforts in response to the wildfires, as well as supporting community preparedness and risk reduction for future all-hazard disaster events within Atlantic Canada”. The Federal Canadian and Nova Scotia provincial government have committed to matching each $1 donation to become $3.

• Donate A Mask

This organization ships free N95 respirator equivalent masks across Canada to those affected by the wildfires and for those who cannot afford high-quality and high-grade medical masks.

• Firefighters Without Borders

Firefighters Without Borders is a organization based in Ontario that provides equipment and training to local firefighters and communities across Canada. This helps in fighting current and future wildfires and promotes prevention. It also supports local firefighters to host and provide equipment to international firefighters when Canada needs assistance.

• Odawa Native Friendship Centre

The Odawa Native Friendship Centre is an organization serving the Ottawa-Carleton region in Ontario by helping Indigenous peoples that have had to evacuate their homes due to the wildfires. They accept money donations and usually accept clothing donations as well, but they are not taking clothing items at this time.

• The Central Okanagan Food Bank BC Wildfires Emergency Food Relief Fund

This organization donates much needed food to those impacted by the wildfires who are currently facing food insecurity. They have expanded to helping the entire province as the wildfires have spread.

For more information and to stay up to date:

[tellmegoodbye]

What would 911: Sunshine* look like?

*Texas = the Lonestar state, Florida = the Sunshine state

LEMON!! This is my dream!!!

And yes 911: Sunshine is absolutely what I would call it!

Okay so first of all, location! I think the city a spinoff would most likely take place in is Miami, but in order for me to really personalize this (it's my dream, I do what I want) I'm going to switch things up and have this take place in my city: Tampa!

This location is interesting for many reasons, but mostly because of its layout and it being on the bay. The city itself is probably where most of the show would take place in terms of emergencies, but there's a lot going on here for a city on the smaller side! Of course, there will also be opportunities to see the rest of the bay area. (Tampa is the city, Tampa Bay is the region)

Here are some potential locations/ideas for emergencies

Skyway Bridge. Visually, it's just stunning, and yes many people are scared to drive on it. It collasped once over 40 years ago and it has safety mechanisms to prevent such an event from happening again, but I'm sure a 911 spinoff would get creative and find another way to make something go wrong.

The airport. Like 3x08 except worse because I have a chaos brain.

The arena where the Tampa Bay Lightning play.

Busch Gardens (a theme park)

Pick a beach. Any beach.

Literally tons of forest area where there could be a wildfire. Also tons of natural springs and rivers where you could have accidents.

Toursists. There is never a shortage of snowbirds being idiots in these parts.

Ybor City. There's a LOT of history here. It's also just a really cool place to explore. They have parades here (I've been in a few of them!) so maybe something goes wrong there.

Alligators. 🐊

Now lets talk major disaster arcs. 911 OG has earthquakes and tsunamis, Lone Star has ice storms and tornadoes, and 911: Sunshine would have a massive hurricane arc.

We kind of have an interesting history with hurricanes in Tampa Bay, at least in my lifetime, where every time we're about to get hit it shifts last minute and everyone who evacuated inland ended up being directly in its path. This happened with Charley in 2004, and Ian in 2022. Both made landfall in the exact same spot after shifting away from the bay area, which is kind of eerie.

I'd say a disaster arc like this would have one finally directly hitting the bay, and it would be a lot like the tsunami in 911. Very angsty, similar scenarios where peolpe go missing, and potential for the kind of water rescues Marjan was talking about doing back in Miami.

One little fun fact before I go. This doesn't apply to the city of Tampa, but I absolutely had to share this. If you venture out into the rest of the county like where I live, the firetrucks and ambulances are a lovely highlighter yellow! Or is it green? I've never been able to tell.

Don't ask me why. I have no idea. 😂

[fictionkinfessions]

They don't have you do this part in-game (at least not on the difficulty setting I play it on, Idk if that changes in higher difficulties), but I remember having to book it away from RDA facilities as they blew up. Katir pulled me out of situations all the time, I owed that ikran my life more times over than I can count. It's honestly really funny, Priya warned me "ok, now this is the last step before the whole thing goes up, so be ready" every time I had her explain how to disable a facility, and I would hear her voice saying that in my head before the last step even when I didn't need her in my ear telling me how to do it.

Sometimes, I could already be standing back (like with the ones I had to shoot something on to finish the job), but sometimes, I had to be right in the middle of shit and sure, things didn't immediately go boom, but it's not like they built in a lot of safety features I didn't disable. They were there to prevent stuff from going wrong, not to slow down the process if things were already actively being sabotaged. Which, you know what, I'm going to say that's fair, you really can't work in too many safety features that, realistically, are for active sabotage situations.

I'll give the RDA credit for one thing and one thing only, their facilities didn't just go up in flames without some real work to screw things up. We didn't just stumble upon previously-unknown facilities that had gone up due to mismanagement or simple screw-ups. Might've actually not been terribly dangerous to work for them if they weren't actively waging war with effectively a whole planet.

Tbh, I do not feel bad for what I did to RDA soldiers. It's not like I killed scientists. On the rare occasion I met one of them, they weren't wielding guns or trying to kill me, even when I was in their facilities actively sabotaging things (I may have had to tie up one or two, but only because they would've raised the alarm and I made sure they'd be found during the evacuation, most of them just sighed and started packing their things, one flat-out said "I'm not cut out for the Resistance, but I'm not going to try to stop you. I just want to pack my shit in peace, if you don't mind", a few defected because of me).

The soldiers were the sort who took pleasure in causing pain. I overheard some talking about intentionally aiming for nonvital areas just because. I may or may not have, once or twice, returned the favor. That, I am not proud of, but in the moment, all I could think was "you thought this was a good enough fate for one of my people". So'lek found out and helped me work through my anger in a healthier way. He pointed out that I needed to not become like them, and he was right.

x