#he then proceeded to joke that we should go back to the good ol days when trans egyptian men just lived as women and died miserable

[drive]

.

[amortentiaparker]

be enough ⇒ p. parker

“Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?”

summary: peter tries to break it off when spiderman gets in between your relationship.

pairing: peter parker x fem!reader

word count: 3.4k

warnings: just one f bomb and a few swear swords sprinkled in

A/N: my first peter oneshot <3 likes and reblogs are appreciated! also, please do not repost anywhere— even if you’ll give credit.

inspired by peace - taylor swift

High school is finally over and New York was surprisingly good to you. The weather reflects the warmth in your heart whenever you think about the days of freedom ahead. You weren’t worrying too much about college, in fact you were excited for the new journey that you were going to take. With Peter attending MIT, thanks to Tony Stark’s so called pull, and you attending Boston University in the fall, you two agreed to make the most out of New York during the summer; despite already having grown up in the city.

Today, you two were set to go to Coney Island. You and Peter prided in the fact that you were New York locals, knowing every nook and cranny of the often romanticized city.

But after watching a certain Olsen twins movie during the time when he forgot his Star Wars DVDs, you two decided that it would be fun to go exploring New York through the eyes of tourists. Just last week, he purchased matching I love NYC shirts for you and him from a vendor across Delmar’s, which earned him odd looks since the residents knew that he was definitely a kid of the city. 

The sky was clear and you couldn’t help but close your eyes, smile to yourself, and bask in the sunshine. You were waiting for Peter by your fire escape, knowing that he will still climb up even without his Spiderman suit. But you knew that he had it on him, no matter where he is or who he was with. 

You found out about his secret identity during junior year, even when you two weren’t together yet. You felt bad that you found out accidentally, through Ned who accidentally showed you a selfie of him and Peter wearing the suit sans the mask. You remembered how red Peter’s face turned and how Ned gave him a sheepish, apologetic smile. Turns out, Peter let it slip to his best friend that he was starting to develop feelings for you which lead to Ned playing wingman.

You felt bad that the discovery happened without it going according to Peter’s terms. His shocked face and stuttering left you wanting to pinch his adorable cheeks and assure him that nothing will change. But of course things did change- but for the better.

The two of you got even closer than before during junior year. By the end of the school year, you were sure that something was definitely there, so it was disheartening when you learned that you were off to some Mediterranean country for the first month of summer break. 

But even after everything, you treasured the summer time because it was when you came back from vacation with your family that Peter asked you to go on a date with him. 

And now here you were, nearly a year later, wearing a blue sundress similar to the one you wore on your first date with your favorite brown-eyed boy. The window to your bedroom was open, ABBA playing softly in the background, and the summer breeze gently blowing your hair to the side. It was serene. 

A ping! rang through the air.

Peter <3: you ready, pretty girl???

And within a second later, your boyfriend was already standing at your fire escape. You smiled at him and Peter returned the loving gaze. His eyes scanned you up and down which made heat rush to your cheeks. 

After grabbing your belongings from a nearby desk chair, you double checked if everything in your room was in place before taking Peter’s outstretched hand to help you out the window. When you two got off the stairs, you took it as the time to check Peter out, just as he did to you.

He looked very handsome in his white button up shirt, levi’s, and blue satin jacket. You smirked when it was his turn to blush and you tugged at his jacket to give him a small kiss on the lips. You intentionally opted to leave your jacket behind so he can give you his for when the summer night breeze settles in later. Peter nudged his nose with yours once your lips have separated. 

“You wore that on purpose.” You whispered teasingly as you tugged at the sleeve of his jacket; the shade similar to your dress.

“You wore that on purpose.” Peter repeated as his hand slightly pushed up the hem of your dress with the palm of his hand. 

You felt that familiar heat on your face return, so you decided to place your head against the crook of his neck and left a kiss by his sweet spot. Giggling, you pulled away when he groaned. 

“We’re gonna be late, pretty boy.” You grabbed his hand and proceeded to tug him along as you skipped down the pavement. 

Luckily, it was a weekday, meaning that even though it was a nice summer day, there weren’t many children around to wreak havoc on the amusement area. There were old couples, but there were also teenagers hanging out with their friends. You and Peter giggled to each other like children when you two recognized some younger students in Midtown that were obviously on their awkward first date.

“Ice cream or cotton candy?” He asks as he snakes an arm around your waist and places a chaste kiss on your shoulder. 

The two of you eventually got some ice cream on waffle cones, but that was after you spent your energy playing games and riding the attractions. You argued that Peter might throw up if you two got the ice cream right before getting on the cyclone. 

The sun has set by now, and the night sky is illuminated by the stars up above. Bright lights overpower the darkness, creating a glow on everybody’s faces. And as you expected, Peter’s jacket was now around your shoulders. It didn’t take a lot of convincing anyways, his heightened senses immediately noticing the goosebumps that littered your skin. 

You two walked hand in hand by the boardwalk, with his thumb occasionally rubbing circles on your knuckles- which the butterflies in your stomach went frantic for.

You two shared a giddy smile, as if an unspoken inside joke had just occurred, but you knew it was just Peter sensing the flips your heart is currently doing. In the back of your mind, there was a voice saying that he’d still know either way if he didn’t have his spidey senses. You found yourself giggling out loud at how adorably ridiculous “spidey senses” sounded. 

“Whatcha laughing at?” Peter playfully squinted his eyes at you. 

“Nothing.” You laughed even harder which caused your boyfriend to tug you closer to him. 

Peter raised his ice cream closer to your face and you squealed and tried to get free from his grasp. He was eating triple chocolate for god's sake! 

“Tell me,” He chuckled and brought the cone closer. “Or else.”

“Is that a threat, Spiderman?” You whispered the last bit. 

The grin on your boyfriend’s face widened and next thing you knew, you felt the cold touch your cheek. You gasped, but didn’t pull away. All you wanted was to listen to Peter’s contagious laugh forever.

The laughter died down, but a look of content washed over both your faces, a faint smile still painted on your mouth. 

Peter brought a thumb to wipe away the ice cream smudge on your cheek. It was as if time slowed down and he was the only thing on your mind.

He has consumed your thoughts and there’s not a day that goes by in which you don’t think about him. You can see that his hand still hovered over the side of your face and his eyes held a sparkle that not even the fireworks that were bound to go off later could match. I’m so in love with Peter, you thought to yourself. 

Pink blossomed across Peter’s freckled face and you knew that you had accidentally broadcasted your thoughts aloud. 

“I’m so in love with you too.” He said, voice soft- but you could hear it clearly above all the noise.

“We should go to the park.” You suggested. Peter knew exactly what you were referring to as he admired the dreamy gaze on your face. 

He nodded and laced your hands together once more. He placed a kiss on your forehead and you sighed in contentment. Life was good, peaceful even. 

The walk was filled with laughter and stories exchanged between you two. Whether it was a memory already told or one that was dug up from the back of your minds.

You quickly spotted the familiar wooden bench and the two of you made your way towards it. It was perched next to a tree which gave the perfect amount of shade, not that you needed it tonight though. 

You ran your fingers over the wood and smiled wistfully, “This is where you first kissed me.”

“Yeah,” Peter nodded before chuckling. “I was so nervous.”

“I know,” You teased. “But you’re big, ol’ strong Spiderman.”

“Spiderman doesn’t kiss,” Peter rolled his eyes playfully. “But so did I, so I didn’t know what to do.”

You couldn’t help but smile at your boyfriend’s sudden shyness. Looking around, you noticed that the park was mostly empty save for the vendors and a few women in business attire. But nevertheless, nobody was paying attention to each other.

You swung your legs over Peter’s, you sitting on his lap as you faced him. His arms found place on your hips on instinct and for a moment, the two of you sat there, eyes flickering from the other’s eyes and lips. 

You only got one kiss in when Peter gently pushed you away from him and he stood up from the bench, alertness and caution evident on his face. 

“I’m so sorry, baby.” He pleaded, guilt dripping from his voice.

“What-”

He quickly pulled you to the side and unzipped his backpack. A frown settled on your face as you saw the teddy bear he had won you earlier next to the familiar spandex suit. Settling behind the large tree, Peter started to undress and got into his suit, frantically looking around to see if anyone was watching. You did the same and made sure there was no onlooker. 

As you were about to express your concern, a sudden explosion filled your ears, causing you to scream. 

“Shit!” Peter exclaimed. His gloved hands pulled you to him. “Are you okay?”

All you could do was nod as the two of you looked over to where black smoke was rising into the already polluted air. An orange glow started to show, but it was not calming like the one back in the amusement park. Unable to speak, you listened to Peter and heard him talking to Karen about the commotion. 

“Y/N,” He pulled you from your thoughts. “Stay here, okay? Don’t go anywhere, not until I’m back.” 

“But, Pete--”

“Baby, please,” You could hear the desperation in your boyfriend’s voice. “Karen already predicts it won’t spread here so just stay, please.”

“Okay,” You frantically nodded. “I love you, be safe. Please, please be safe.”

Tears were starting to blur your vision and the last thing you could properly comprehend was Peter slightly lifting his mask to press a kiss to your forehead before he swung away with his webs. 

An hour has passed, and you were still shaking in fear by the bench. You had clutched Peter’s backpack to your chest and tried to calm yourself down by taking in his scent that lingered on the jacket. A faint scent of smoke filled your nostrils, but you clung to the smell of cinnamon mixed with fresh linen.

You received multiple texts from friends and family, but only gave them a short reply reassuring them that you’re fine. Physically, you were, but your mind was going into dark places. Your thoughts couldn’t stop from conjuring up negative ones. As much as you wanted to check on Peter, you knew that it would not benefit anybody because it would distract him from doing his job. 

“We gotta go!” Peter suddenly appeared in front of you. He didn’t wait for an answer before he pulled you into him, right arm secured around your torso.

You squealed as you two ascended into the New York skyline. You just hoped that your nails weren’t digging holes into Peter’s suit because of how hard you were clinging onto him.

“Peter!” You cried out. You heard him mutter an apology under his breath as he continued to shoot webs from building to building.

You kept your head tucked under his neck throughout the entire journey. You didn’t even know where you two were going but the fear mixing in with the adrenaline held you back from asking questions.

You felt Peter’s momentum slow down and you noticed that it was brighter and louder now. Honks from taxi cabs clashed with sirens from fire trucks. He helped you settle on your feet, and kept you steady when your legs went all wobbly.

You were at your fire escape.

Taking a few deep breaths, your heartbeat eventually calmed down and you took in Peter’s shaking form. You heard him let out a sob and panic rose in your chest again.

“Baby, hey, what’s wrong?” You asked with a soft tone, and started to gently lift up the bottom part of his mask.

His breathing was frantic and you continued to completely take off the mask that clung to his skin. Peter wasn’t meeting your eye and you knew that his senses were still going haywire. You cupped his face in your hands.

“Hey, Pete..” You cooed. “Breathe with me, yeah?”

You two started to synchronize your breathing pattern and you felt his jaw starting to relax underneath your touch. He finally looked you in the eyes and the tears forming in his waterline broke your heart.

“Are you hurt?” You asked, starting to open your bedroom window with one hand while the other remained on his cheek.

“I—” Peter started but eventually let out a sigh. He started helping you lift up the window and helped you crawl inside your room.

You were confused when Peter was still by the stairs and wasn’t budging.

“Come on in, it’s okay.” You reassured him. You knew by the look on his face that he was blaming himself for how your night turned from peaceful to one involving you inhaling in smoke.

“Come here, it’s okay,” You stretched out your arms and started to pull him into your room. You knew that he was complying since you wouldn’t be able to move him by an inch if he wasn’t.

Your arms didn’t let go, but rather tightened around Peter’s figure when he set foot into your bedroom. You rested your head against his chest and let the faint sound of his heartbeat calm you down. A small smile crept on your face his hand rested on your waist and the other started caressing your hair softly.

“I’m sorry.” He let out. You only hummed in return, letting him know that you were genuinely fine with the events of tonight. “We should—”

You kept quiet, waiting for him to finish his sentence. You pulled away when he didn’t.

“We should what, Pete?” You whispered as your hand came up to cup his cheek again. To be honest, you didn’t know why the two of you were whispering. The apartment was empty and you wouldn’t be bothering anyone.

“We should..” Peter trailed off once again. You could hear him swallow because of how quiet it was in your room. “We should break up.”

You immediately retracted your hand, “What?”

“I’m so sorry, Y/N,” Tears were fully streaming down his face now. “But it’s for the best.”

You could not comprehend what he was saying. Something definitely happened earlier by the fire that was causing him to say such things. You never pushed Peter to tell you about things going on with his life as a superhero.

Of course, you ask him to share fun stories and what it’s like, but never have you pushed him to share the horrors that he has seen. You know Peter well enough that he will tell you about it whenever he was ready. And you respect that. But this time was different.

“Peter, what happened?” You asked firmly.

“It’s– it’s me, okay? You being with me is dangerous and I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you.”

“Peter, what happened?” You repeated, crossing your arms. “At the fire. You know that I am perfectly capable of handling myself.”

He lets out a frustrated groan and buries his face in his hands, “I know that! Don’t you think I know that? But.. but out there, there are seriously messed up people that won’t go down from a pepper spray to the face.”

You softly gasped as he started to raise his voice, but you stood your ground, “Peter, what—”

“He said your name!”

The room was quiet now. Silence between you and Peter had always been comfortable, the kind that only two people that truly understood each other rejoiced in. But you didn’t like the silence that followed after Peter’s words. His eyes bloodshot, and the lips you absolutely adored wobbling.

“He said your name, Y/N..” Peter continued with his shaky voice. “Said he knew you.. that you were my weakness.. and then I was filled with so much rage I lost control and he still got away.”

“Oh, Peter.” You cried. Tears were now falling down your face too as you cradled Peter in your arms. He was bigger than you, but right now, a scared boy shivered in your embrace.

You could never be mad at him. Not truly. And you understood where he was coming from. You would find yourself doing the same thing if you two switched places.

The two of you continued to hug each other in the dark, with silent tears running down your faces. But by the time you felt each other’s breathing to calm down, you two got up from the carpeted floor and you helped Peter get dressed.

It was quiet when you helped him out of his suit that smelled like smoke and into some fresh pairs of sweatpants and corny graphic t-shirt that he left by your place.

Eventually, you two settled on your bed, with Peter resting his head on your chest and you running your fingers through his chocolate curls. The silence was better this time around. But still, words need to be said and this was not some argument you two could just set aside for another day.

“Please don’t leave me.” You whispered and you felt Peter tense up.

“Never.” He found himself saying. But it was true. Peter could never leave you, no matter the circumstance.

“I love you so much, Pete..” You started. “And the guy from earlier was probably just some lowlife loser who starts fires with cheap hardware store gas.”

Peter’s contagious laugh rang softly in your ears and you continued your little speech. “So who the fuck cares about what he says? You’re a goddamn Avenger.”

Peter lifted his head and rested his chin by your stomach, “Yeah, but..”

“No buts, Parker,” You tutted. “I can kick some ass myself, ya know?”

Your boyfriend laughed once again and Peter found himself hovering over you. He placed a kiss on your nose as he laced one of your hands together.

“And I can teach you some sweet Spiderman moves.” Peter smiled against your lips and you found yourself mirroring his expression.

“I’m sorry. I’m an idiot for trying to break up with you.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for, Pete.” You reassured him, squeezing his hand that was holding yours for extra measure.

You two fell asleep in each other’s arms after mindless talking and soft lingering kisses on each other’s lips. It was a cold summer night but Peter was right there, keeping your brittle heart warm.

[tommybaholland]

haikyuu (oikawa, kuroo, tadashi) s/o excitedly calls them to come over their apartment, to show them the new song they have learned on the violin and they wanted to show them first

im sorry, this is long :,)

s/o who plays the violin

featuring: oikawa, kuroo, and yamaguchi

i actually played the violin in middle school so i tried to expand a little more on this.. enjoy!

oikawa

you’re a hard worker just like him so he knows how important this is to you

playing an instrument and being in an ensemble is similar to playing on a sports team in that you individually have to do your part in order for the group to succeed

he makes sure that you’re fully confident in your ability to play new and more difficult songs 

he doesn’t like seeing you struggle or be so hard on yourself but he can only speak for himself and knows how it goes

he knows that you’ll always come around when you’re ready

“why, hello there. how’s my s/o?” he answered with his familiar greeting. 

you didn’t even answer his question, getting straight to your point. “toru, can you come over soon?”

he laughed lightly at the urgency of the statement. “hold on, sweetheart. maybe we should go on a date first.” 

your silence was seemingly unamused by his joke. “i’m being serious, babe. i need to show you something so can you please come?”

“you know i just like playing with you, babe. of course. we’re cooling down at practice now and then i’ll be there in 15.”

“yay! i’ll see you then.”

“can’t wait, baby. love you.” 

he let himself into your apartment, like always, and proceeded to where he knew you would be. 

he knocked on the door frame of your bedroom. “is there a beethoven that lives here?” 

you turned around, shaking your head as you strode over to greet him with a hug and kiss. 

“hey, sweetie. sorry i’m a little sweaty.”

“it’s okay. but you know that beethoven didn’t play the violin, right?”

he scoffs, feigning offense. “can you just humor me? i try really hard with the music references, you know.”

“i know, toru. i love when you do,” you reply, giving him another hug. you then pulled away to get back to what you originally called him over for. 

“okay. are you ready?”

“yep. let’s hear it, baby,” he replied, taking a seat at your desk. 

you began playing, facing away from him and towards the window. you liked to play in front of the window in your bedroom as you always liked to say that the natural lighting provided a more peaceful setting. seeing the silhouette of your figure while you played was his favorite part. 

you’ve played for him so many times that he developed a sense for when the music was about to end, much to your surprise. with this, he always claps early so that you’re smiling for him when you’re finished. 

“yes, that’s my baby right there!” he reacts as he gets up from his seat, continuing to clap until he has you in his arms again, giving you a few praising kisses. 

when he pulls away, he keeps his hands caressed over your shoulders. 

“is this why i haven’t seen you lately, hmm? you’ve been practicing real hard? aww,” he coos, hugging you tightly after you nod. 

“well, it looks like all that hard work was worth it,” he remarks. “but let’s go do something now because i have missed you so much.” 

kuroo

he’s very honored that his s/o is someone so talented like you

he likes watching you play the violin as much as you like watching him play volleyball 

even if it’s just watching you tune the instrument or play some scales 

like you just watching him block or serve a ball 

there are times though when he feels you’re not getting adequate rest because you’re practicing so hard 

he hadn’t seen you much at all that week. he tapped on your contact in his phone, hoping that you’d make time to spend with him, given that it was friday night. 

“oh, perfect timing,” you spoke immediately when you answered. “i was just about to call you.”

“really?” kuroo smirked. “well, that’s good to hear. i guess i just have a sixth sense, babe.” 

“can you come to the practice room, like, now?”

“practice-- baby, i thought you were at home. why are you there now?”

“i just wanted to work on this piece a little longer and then i guess time slipped away from me. so can you please come over here now, please?” 

you had repeated please twice so he knew that it was serious. he chuckled at your cute tenacity. 

“of course, babe. be there soon.” 

“oh, good. you’re here!” you remarked as he entered the smaller room. you quickly strode over to him and grabbed his hand, pulling him over to where you were working. he looked around to see sheet music everywhere along with several empty coffee cups and some food wrappers, as well. 

“gosh, babe. it’s like you live here,” he joked. “i hope you’re not sleeping in here too. it doesn’t look very comfortable.”

“i may have dozed off a few times in here,” you answered candidly as you grabbed your violin and bow and fixed the sheet music on the stand. 

“okay. ready?” 

he nodded and you proceeded to play. there was something about how you looked when you played. you were so focused and looked like you could actually feel the music as you played it. that effect spread to others because he could feel it in every inch of his body. it’s a familiar feeling that he’s so lucky that you would share something like this with him. 

when you were finished playing, he found himself stumbling over his words. 

“wow, beautiful. that was...beautiful!” he praised, walking closer to you.  

you laughed at his goofy compliment and thanked him before laying your instrument back in its case. 

“but why didn’t you just play it at your apartment?”

“i felt like i wouldn’t be able to since i’ve been grinding away at it here. i’m sorry.”

“no, kitten. you don’t have to be sorry,” he replied, wrapping his arm around you. “and i know you’ve been working hard but you could play it well anywhere.” 

you nodded gratefully and leaned in to give your pretty boyfriend a kiss, realizing that you hadn’t greeted him properly when he arrived. 

“now, let’s go get you some real dinner,” he proposed as he took your violin case in one hand and yours in the other. 

yamaguchi 

he’s naturally very curious about your life as a musician 

it’s nice energy to have around because at one point, you felt embarrassed when having to carry around your huge case with your instrument inside 

but he didn’t care at all and didn’t want your talent to go unnoticed or without appreciation 

he’s your biggest (and cutest) supporter out there

reciprocity is an emphasized aspect of your relationship and he tries to be as uplifting as you are for him with volleyball

you had been frustrated since you received the latest sheet music for your orchestra group. it was by far the most difficult piece that you had to learn. it seemed like you had an issue at almost every measure and had yet to master vibrato. 

it was plaguing your mind to get it right and when you weren’t playing, you were thinking about how to overcome this block. 

your boyfriend had seen you progress into obsession with perfecting the playing of this song. on one hand, he understood it because it was your sense of pride that pushed you to want to become better. at one point, however, you were so upset that you wanted to quit and that’s when he felt he had to step in.

“this is so stupid,” you huffed, rubbing your hands over your eyes as angry tears threatened to spill over. 

“no. it’s not,” he disagreed. “come here, peaches.” 

he held and comforted you over the woes of not being good enough.

“i know you can do this but i think you may be stressing yourself out too much over it. it’s worth the effort but not breaking down your entire emotional state.”

from then on he was diligent enough to try to help you take breaks when you needed or to give you space when you wanted it.  

“tadashi,” you addressed your boyfriend one day over the phone. “i would like for you to come over so i can show you something.”

“sure, babe! i’ll come right now,” he replied. “does this have anything to do with music?”

“i’m not telling you,” you answered in a sing-song voice. “you’ll just have to see.”

“hey, cutie,” he greeted as he entered your apartment and found you in the living area with your violin out and everything. he walked over towards you as you returned the greeting, where he gave you a sweet kiss.

“so it looks like i was right?”

“yeah. you were,” you affirmed. “what else would it be though, honestly?”

“i don’t know. maybe you just wanted to spend a little time with little ole’ me,” he joked while wrapping his arms around you, giving you a good squeeze. 

“that could’ve also been part of it,” you chuckled. “thanks for coming anyway.”

“of course, my pretty peaches,” he replies, booping your nose. “you call and i am there.”

you respond with a smile and another kiss before instructing him to sit down on the couch. you fiddle with your sheet music and stand before turning towards him again. 

“this is still very much a work in progress but i think i’ve finally gotten somewhere with this one.”

he nods with a cute grin and you begin playing. he recognizes it, after several measures, as the piece that was giving you so much trouble. he smiled at how you looked much more confident in your playing and if you made a mistake, he couldn’t tell. even though he didn’t personally know too much about music, he could relate with volleyball. it’s that satisfying feeling of getting better at something that you’ve been working so hard on and that work finally shows. 

he kinda got lost in the music that he didn’t realize that you were finished and he hadn’t said anything yet.

“like i said, it’s a still a little rusty but that’s the best play through i think i’ve done so far.”

“that was rusty?” he said incredulously. “i thought it was amazing, babe!” 

you thanked him and he got up from his seat to give you some more love.

“aww, come here,” he beckoned, wrapping you up in his arms again and pressing kisses to the side of your head. 

“i am so proud of you, peaches. i love you so much.” 

you love him too and you’re so happy that you have such a sweet and supportive person by your side.  

twas a good one, haikyuu night! send in those requests for next time..

[miastideclock]

Stray Kids Reaction To Their Soft S/O Accidentally Cursing

Hi! May I please get a reaction of Stray kids reacting to their S/O being very shy and soft, but accidentally slips a swear word. Thx love your work! 💞

Word Count: 2157

The length of the bits are quite varying in size, so my apologies for that

Bang Chan

You were sat at a table outside your favorite café during lunch with your lovely boyfriend. The sun was shining and the birds were chirping, only making the early summer day all the better.

"Here is your bagel, as well as your iced latte. And a bagel and americano for you, sir." The waitress spoke as she gently set down your orders. It had been a while since it was just the two of you, so you appreciated him taking the day off for you. With the chaos of their latest comeback, and the fact that he lived with seven other boys- there weren't a lot of time for just the two of you.

"I'm so glad I took the day off to be with you." Chan grinned as he took a bite of his bagel. Being too captivated by his eyes and how much you absolutely adored him, you didn't notice that the waitress had placed your cup down much closer to you than you had imagined. And with that, you knocked your cup over, spilling it all over the table and yourself, drenching your outfit.

"Shit." You let slip as you reached for the napkins. You soon realized what you had said and immediately let your head snap towards your boyfriend. You had never been one to curse, but here you were.

"Please pretend you didn't hear that." You spoke sheepishly as Chan started laughing like a crazy man.

"You should have seen the look on your face when you realized- priceless!" He soon spoke, all while he grabbed more napkins form the dispenser, helping you clean up.

"We're never talking about this again." You spoke in a joking manner, Chan just continuing to chuckle.

Lee Know (Lee Minho)

"Good morning, beautiful." Your boyfriend spoke from next to you. Your entire body screamed for you to just go back to sleep, but you knew it would make Minho sad as you had a whole day planned out.

The night before you and your boyfriend had stayed up late, planning every single detail of your day of fun. You would go to the amusement park downtown, and you would get ice cream, and funnel cake and other park-foods. Then you would go to the movies, and then finish at a restaurant you had been dying to try out.

You pried your eyes open, only for the light to blind you, sending your arms flying to cover them. "Fuck." You muttered, barely audible to yourself. Your boyfriend however, caught it.

"Y/N? What did you say?" Minho's tone was obviously not upset, but he didn't seem to happy either. To him you had always been such a sweet and soft person, one he had never heard curse in the eleven months you had been dating.

You soon realized what you said and sat up in bed faster than lightning, obviously having opened your eyes fully by now. You looked at him, your eyes a bit wider than they usually would be. "That's not very like you." Minho responded in a completely normal tone, getting to his feet from where he was kneeling next to the bed.

"Sorry." You said sheepishly, fiddling with your hands as if you were a child being told off.

"Babe, don't worry. You can say and do whatever you want, I just wasn't expecting it." He chuckled and followed it up with something along the lines of you having to get out of bed to get ready.

"I'll be out in a minute!" You called after him before letting your head fall into your hands in embarrassment.

Changbin (Seo Changbin)

11:47pm

The soft wind from the open window brushed through your hair, but you didn't notice. You were too focused on the task you had in front of you. Your face was illuminated only by the laptop as the clock was soon to strike midnight.

You had worked so hard on a paper, but in the middle of the night, you realized you had forgotten to actually turn it in. Luckily, the deadline was at 12 a.m, but unluckily, your computer was not having it. No matter how much to pressed the upload button, it wouldn't budge.

11:51pm

You felt yourself becoming stressed as you knew that if you didn't turn it in on time, you would fail. You felt movement next to you as your boyfriend took a deep breath. "You okay, sweetie?" Changbin asked with a groggy voice as your fiddling and hard tapping had woken him up.

"Yeah, sorry it just that this bitch of a computer refuses to work." You muttered angrily, your eyes never leaving the screen as you refreshed and tried again. You were so upset with your paper that you didn't even notice that you spoke a word you would usually never use. Changbin wanted to comment on it, but decided to not since you were already so frustrated with the site that wouldn't load.

"Just send it to your professor via email, and tell him the site won't work. He'll see that the timestamp is within the deadline, and he'll have to accept it." Changbin spoke as he sat up to look at your screen. You decided he was right and did as you were told.

When you finally were done, you closed your laptop and placed it on the floor, laying down in the bed next to your boyfriend.

"You know," Changbin started with a whisper. "I've never heard you curse before."

You gave him a weird look and told him he never would either, since that's something you don't do. "No, you cursed just now." He commented again, but you refused to believe him.

"If I cursed, then what did I say and why don't I remember it?" You tried with a scoff. He soon repeated the sentence including the curse you had spoke earlier. You then realized that you had in fact let the word slip. You apologized with a smile, embarrassed as you admitted you we're wrong.

"Don't worry, honey. Let's just go to sleep."

Hyunjin (Hwang Hyunjin)

You ran with everything you had, making your way down the semi-steep hill, trying to escape the hell that followed you. You and your boyfriend had been on a picnic on a hill at your local park, having a good time before all hell broke loose. Two words. Tickle fight.

The grass under your bare feet felt nice, but you didn't have much time to think about it as the one thing on your mind was to escape Hyunjin. You heard the sprinting behind you come closer and closer, making your stomach flip as you knew he was about to catch you. But before he could reach you, an unexpected dip in the ground sent you flying.

You tumbled down the remainder of the hill, luckily there only being soft grass for you to land on. "Holy shit." You groaned as you sat up from the fall, your boyfriend soon by your side to check that everything was alright. As he inspected you of any damage, he let the word "Language." slip. He caught himself and your eyes met, both sets filled with a mix of shock and humor. His comment then made you both laugh.

You had never been one to curse as you were on the shyer side of the spectrum, but your fall had given you more than a valid reason to let the swear slip.

"Wouldn't think I'd hear those words from you. But let's get back to our picnic, shall we?" Hyunjin suggested and reached out his hand for you to grab, and hoisted you to your feet.

Han (Han Jisung)

The sound of rain gently tapping on the wide open window was soothing, and it went well with the smell of nature and the cool air waltzing in the window. 

It was Sunday afternoon, which meant you and Jisung were sitting in the office, doing each your thing. You were sat with a book, whilst your boyfriend sat staring at a sheet of paper displaying lyrics that were crossed out or circled, with arrows going from a to b in a chaotic manner. 

You did this every Sunday, well- not necessarily a book and lyrics, but something. You both did things that you enjoyed or wanted to do, but you did them together. It was your own way of making sure you always had time for each other. 

After a while, the cool air became too chilly for your sockless-feet, so you got up to close it. Without thinking, you got up, your book soon falling from your lap directly onto your pinky toe. 

“Fuuuck.” You dragged out the word you whispered. You soon realized what you said and placed your hand gently over your mouth, as if it would stop your from saying it- like it would change the past. 

You turned to look at your boyfriend, but he hadn’t seemed to notice. You let go of the breath you didn’t know you were holding as you saw he didn’t hear. You then picked up the book and placed on the coffee table, the proceeded to close the window. 

About a minute after your slip up, Jisung finally turned around. “Did you say something?” He questioned, making you shake your head no.  “I could have sworn I heard someone curse. Oh well, how’s it going with the main character?” He continued and walked over to the couch you sat in. 

You chuckled at yourself before informing him that they were closing in on the ending of the adventure.

Felix (Lee Felix)

You stared at the words on the paper, but they didn't seem to make sense to you. It was a recipe, you could tell that much- but not anything more than that. You turned to look at your boyfriend, but he looked just as clueless as you.

You finally had the place completely to yourself, which meant date night. You and Felix were planning on making this pastry-thing he had found on TikTok, but it turned out to be more complicated than anticipated.

"I can get the eggs, that much I can promise you I am capable of." You joked as you turned to get the eggs from the fridge. Felix chuckled at you as he kept staring at the recipe. You opened the fridge, but before you could even think about your next move, the carton tumbled out and onto the ground, sending six eggs flying, making a mess everywhere.

"Fucking hell." You mumbled as you glared at the mess by your feet. You let a sigh escape your lips, your head dropping in defeat. You had to admit that your evening didn't exactly go as you had planned. You wanted it to be cute, romantic and perfect in every way! Making food with your boyfriend, laughing and having a grand ol' time. Especially since it only happened once in a blue moon that you had the place entirely to yourself.

"Did I just hear you curse? You've been listening to me game too much!" Felix commented with humor in his tone as he approached you with a mop, ready to clean up your mess. You apologized profusely, but he was quick to stop you. "Don't apologize. What do you say we just order some takeout and watch a movie on the couch? Making your own food is overrated anyways."

His idea brought a smile to your lips as you nodded.

Seungmin (Kim Seungmin)

The breeze blew softly through your hair as you stood on the small balcony, looking at the passing cars on the street beneath you. There wasn't a lot of traffic as it was about twenty minutes past midnight, but you found yourself looking for a specific white van.

The boys had just finished tour, so your were waiting for them at their place, excited to see them- but mostly excited to see your boyfriend.

A big, black van soon rolled to a stop outside the main entrance, sending your stomach into flips. You ran back inside and out in the hallway, sprinting down the stairs as fast as you could. As you were making your way down the last few steps, you heard the door to the lobby open, Seungmin entering first. The sight of your boyfriend made you forget what you were doing, causing you to trip and tumble down the last three steps of the stairs.

"Fuck." You spat as you hit the ground, landing on your shoulder. You boyfriend soon rushed to your side, mumbling something about how you can't say that word, but it also sounded like he wanted himself to shut up.

"You okay, baby?" He asked as he helped you sit up, having squatted down himself. Even though the pain was excruciating, it all seemed to disappear when you looked him in the eye. You nodded and then launched yourself forward and slung your arms around him, attacking him in a hug,  sending you both to the floor for a second time.

"I'm amazing now that you're here. I've missed you." You mumbled into the crook of his neck. "I missed you too."

I.N (Yang Jeongin)

The place was quiet, all except the sound of Chan and your boyfriend, Jeongin, watching a movie on the couch next to you. You was originally watching it with them, but you ended up having a full grooming session with your cat. You had found tons of knots in his fur, so you had gotten your brush and scissors and gotten to work.

The sound of the movie pausing caught your attention, making you look up from the fur-coated project you had in your lap. "I'm just gonna make some tea, y'all want anything from the kitchen?" Chan asked as he stood up from his seat. Both you and your boyfriend shook your heads no.

While Chan was out, Jeongin decided to sit closer to you and ask about your progress, but before you could reply, you apparently pulled too hard on a knot, making your cat squirm- scratching you in the progress. "You bitch." You hissed at the pain, scolding your cat.

It was as if your life flashed by your eyes for a second, then you turned to Jeongin who sat there with a unimpressed look on his face. You gave him a sheepish look, almost as if you were begging for forgiveness.

Jeongin continued to look at him before he slowly started sitting up. "No, babe, please don't-" You started but were soon cut off.

"Hyung, Y/N said a bad word!"

He snitched.

I honestly have no clue what this is, but it deadass took me four days to write im-

i hope you enjoyed it???

I WAS ABOUT TO POST THIS THEN I REALIZED I FORGOT THE ENTIRETY OF JISUNG WHAT TEH FUCK IS WRONG WITH ME???

-bentley

[jokertrap-ran]

[Stand My Heroes] Case File:研究対象Sの記録 (Case File: Records on Research Subject S) Event Story: Investigation ①～③ Translations

*Master-list is in progress *MC name is retained default Izumi Rei

Part 1 / Part 2 

--I might have been born into this world as a “Being”, but… I do not know the contact of “Others”

“Humans” are also something that I cannot comprehend due to how absurd they are.

That’s why…That’s precisely why, I—

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Interrogation Room ☆⋅⋆

Arakida: I’m asking you if you abducted and confined eight people in an underground facility.

Male Suspect: …I apologize for that. I just wanted to see how they’d turn out in the very end.

Arakida: --

Male Suspect: I mean, aren’t you curious about it too, Mr. Officer?

Male Suspect: Aren’t you curious about what they might be hiding? About the reason fuelling them to attempt escape from the underground facility?

Male Suspect: Is it family? A lover? Friends? Their job? Interests? Or is it a promise they made?

Male Suspect: That reason only exists because they’re “Human”. But what if you were only a “Being”? Isn’t fleeing an instinct?

Male Suspect: I was simply gathering reference material for my next new work under the pen name of “Benio. SF. Takeshi”!

Sugano: (Whew, this guy’s really screwed up in the head.)

Arakida: --Real name: Akao Takeshi. So, you’re admit that you’ve confined these people.

Male Suspect: Like I was saying! I’ve only done this all in light of attaining material for my next sublime masterpiece—

Arakida: …I know of such writers who do that, but you’re a totally different case.

Sugano: (Seems like this’ll be a long and gruelling process…)

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Investigation Planning Division ☆⋅⋆

Natsume: --Oh? They say that the writer “Benio. SF. Takeshi” has been arrested.

Aoyama & Yui: Benio…?

Rei: Is that a pen-name…?

Natsume: That’s right. Seems like hhis real name’s “Akao Takeshi (28)”

Natsume: Arrested on grounds of Kidnapping, Assault and Attempted Murder.

Natsume: He’s a pretty popular young author out there. He’s even No.1 Trending on Social Media.

Rei: Heh…Oh, you’re right. He’s even on the top when I search him up on the net.

I clicked on the records we had on him on my laptop. The words “Investigation Department One” entered my field of vision.

Yui: …I see. “New Generation Writer SF, someone who’s works can also be enjoyed by the Young Generation.”

Aoyama: This is the first time I’m hearing of him, though.

Imaoji: It seems like he first gained popularity through publishing a series of short stories on the net.

Natsume: His popular work’s a science fiction set in the near future where a guy eats the female as a part of the mating routine…ugh.

Aoyama: What morbid taste.

Rei: “His motive was to gather reference material for his new work, and he admitted as such during interrogation.” –Or so it’s written here.

Yui: Looks like the eight people he kept captive all managed to escape just fine.

Natsume: It’s also written here that one of the eight people held captive managed to escape and made it to the nearest Police Box in the area.

Imaoji: Wow.

Rei: The guy who escaped also provided his motive for escaping the place during an interrogation.

Aoyama: “It’s my Wedding Anniversary, so I absolutely had to get out of there”, huh.

Rei: That’s a pretty romantic reason, all things considered.

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

The conversation ended with us coming to a joint conclusion; no matter what had gone down in that place, it was a good thing that all the victims managed to escape unscathed.

--A few days later.

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Inside the Car ☆⋅⋆

Seki: I’m sure you must be tired from walking around all morning. Should we grab lunch somewhere before heading back? My treat.

Seki-san and I had spent the entire early afternoon investigating the area where a new drug was rumoured to have been circulating.

Rei: Thank you so much! I think I’m starting to get a little hungry.

Seki: We’ve been at it all morning after all; good work. We’ve managed to attain some remarkable information so let’s go get a good meal.

Seki: Is there anything you’d like to eat?

Rei: Let’s see…I think I’ll settle for something Japanese. A set meal, maybe?

Seki: Nice. Seems like there are lots of stores around here that sell those too.

Rei: That’s right. It caught my eye when I saw it through the car’s windscreen.

Seki: ----The one over by the traffic light seems like it has a carpark.

“Exquisite Set Meals, 700 Yen~” I caught sight of the flag sparkling under the sun.

Rei: I’m rather interested in whatever their Exquisite Set Meal is.

Seki: Shall we settle for that shop then?

Rei: Okay!

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Izakaya ☆⋅⋆

Shop-keeper: Welcome! How many people?

Seki: Two…

Rei: (It’s pretty crowded in here…)

The store wasn’t very big and one could see that it was a full-house at a single glance.

Shop-keeper: Sorry, will a shared seating be alright with you?

I met Seki-san’s gaze and affirmed him that “I’m okay with that” with a nod.

Seki: We’ll take that, thank you.

Shop-keeper: Thank you very much! Two people; shared seating!

I could hear joyful and enthusiastic calls of “Welcome!” from coming from the kitchen area as we headed to our seats. And then--

Sugano: --AH.

Rei: Ah.

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Izakaya ☆⋅⋆

Sugano-kun and Asagiri-san were seated at the table we were led to.

Seki: What a coincidence.

Asagiri: Indeed. Feel free.

Saying that, they both stood up from where they were seated and moved further in to allow us space to join them.

Rei: Thank you so much.

We proceeded to seat ourselves at the table, only to realize that that said table was devoid of food.

Rei: Did you just arrive?

Asagiri: What sharp inference skills you have. That’s right.

Sugano: The Seasonal Set Meals here are really good and they change every season.

Seki: I’m guessing that that’d be the Fried Oyster Set right now?

Sugano: Yup. It’s crunchy and juicy and absolutely delectable!

Rei: Ahh…I can already taste and feel the oysters.

Sugano: Haha. But the Scallop and Ebi Mixed-Fry set is also a pretty bad boy!

Rei: Ahhhh…I can taste the Mixed-fry set already, but my stomach still has the oysters in mind…

Sugano: Haha!

We chatted for a while before an employee came by to serve us water and to hand us wet towels and the menu.

Seki: What are you settling for, Izumi?

Rei: Hmm, I’m still thinking.

Asagiri: I’ll take the Ramen Set.

Sugano: Tsukasa-san, were you even listening to my recommendations?

Asagiri: I’ve actually been craving ramen all morning.

Sugano: Actually, is there even a time where you don’t crave ramen…?

Asagiri: What a stupid question.

Rei: (He really like his ramen…)

In the end, Asagiri-san took the Ramen Set while Seki-san and I took the Fried Oyseter Set. Sugano-kun decided on the Mixed-fry Set and that concluded our order.

Sugano: Oh, come to think of it. There was that one guy in Benio SF’s short stories who loved ramen and was supervising a shady research facility.

Sugano: I recall that he was portrayed to be able to talk for days on end when it comes to anything ramen-related.

Both: ----

Asaigiri: Don’t go giving out investigation information at the drop of a hat like that— Or so, I’d like to say.

Asagiri: But that was something that had already uploaded onto the internet to begin with, isn’t it?

Sugano: That’s right.

Sugano: Rei and Seki-san, have you guys read it before? Benio’s light novel that’s been the talk of the masses recently.

Asagiri: A Science Fiction that takes place in the near future— It’s nice to hear and all but right now, it all boils down to being a criminal’s childish delusions.

Rei: A Science Fiction that takes place in the near future…

Seki: Is that the story that gave birth to his motive as a criminal?

Sugano: Yes…Oh, right. This shop is really thorough in their preparation of food, so it’ll take some time before our food arrives.

Sugano: Shall we talk about his childish delusions as a makeshift way to kill time while we wait? This time in our own style.

Them: ----

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Research Facility: Hallway ☆⋅⋆

--This facility was where the “Special Ability Programme” took place.

It also housed “Special Subjects” within its compound. This facility will be…

Watabe: We needed a “Special Communicator” in this place. That’s why I reached out to you with an offer.

Natsume: It’s nice to meet you, Number 1230.

Rei: Am I to be referred to my number at all times…?

Yui: There are a lot of subjects housed here. We’ve also got many communicators like you.

Yui: So it’ll be easier if we just referred to everyone by their serial numbers. It reduces the complications involved.

Rei: …Alright, I understand.

Rei: So…why was I called to this facility?

Yui: Allow me to rephrase your question. “Why is a normal Office Lady (OL) like me who works for an ordinary company-“

Yui: “Being scouted by the Special Research Facility that’s being funded by the National Budget?” --How’s that sound?

Rei: Thank you for translating…

Watabe: The answer’s—

Watabe: Who knows?

Rei: Who knows…?

Watabe: No, sorry. We don’t know what the requirements are when it comes to selecting a communicator.

Natsume: In other words, we only know what the job pertains.

Natsume: Communicators generally face the inmates, in other words you’re going to go up face-to-face with the subjects.

Rei: I’m going up against them? …How is it generally like?

Yui: It’s obvious, don’t you think? You’ll do so with your heart, body, and mind. Basically, you’ll be communicating with them.

Rei: Huh…? I understand the part about the heart, but…wait, what do you mean by body-

Yui: Exactly what I just said.

Rei: --!?

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Research Facility: Hallway ☆⋅⋆

Rei: C-Communicating with them with my body…? Regardless if it’s on orders by the country, this is a little…

Rei: I can’t do it! I’ve never met them before in my entire life, and it isn’t even ethical in the first place and—

Watabe: Haha…

Rei: !

Natsume: You’re jumping to conclusions way too quickly.

Yui: Seems like I’ve taken this joke a little too far.

Rei: Joke…?

Watabe: There’s only one job for a communicator,

Watabe: To be chat buddies with the subjects since they cannot leave this facility.

Watabe: It’s a straight-to-the-point job with no questionable ethics in play.

Natsume: Well, you’ll still be eaten whole if you let your guard down in here, though.

Rei: Wha-

Yui: Have you not learnt?

Rei: Ugh…it’s a joke again, isn’t it?

Natsume: Sorry, sorry.

Watabe: You can rest assured. Everyone here isn’t all too different from us who lead normal lives.

Watabe: So you can just talk to them like how you do to everyone without base for suspicion.

Yui: Just treat them like normal humans.

Rei: (The more we talk about it, the more confused I get about what I’m even doing in such a facility…)

Rei: Why are the subjects inmates here anyway? What’s the motive?

???: You’ll best bring that up to the chief.

Rei: Huh…?

???: --

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Research Facility: Hallway ☆⋅⋆

Rei: (Who are they…?)

Imaoji: Nice to meet you, No. 1230. I’m Imaoji, the supervisor of this facility.

Asagiri: I’m Asagiri.

Arakida: …Arakida.

Imaoji: We’ll be protecting you from everything and anything while you’re here.

Asagiri: I’ll bring you to the chief.

Arakida: ……

Rei: I’ll be in your care then…

Watabe: See you, No. 1230.

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Research Facility: Chief’s Office ☆⋅⋆

Imaoji: --Pardon the intrusion.

Arakida: We’ve brought. No. 1230.

???: Right on time, I see.

Seki: Glad to see that you’re here. This is the Hattori, the Chief, and I’m Seki, the Vice-chief.

Rei: I look forward to working with you.

Hattori: Chief is just a title.

Hattori: The real Chief of this place is the one who created this place to begin with.

Rei: ?

Seki: This facility was built to isolate people with special conditions and to shield them away from the rest of the world.

Hattori: In the name of justice and love.

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Research Facility: Chief’s Office ☆⋅⋆

Rei: ……? Special condition? Whatever do you mean?

Seki: I can’t divulge that.

Rei: Eh…?

Hattori: Well, let’s just leave the complicated parts at that—How about you go meet them instead and see for yourself?

Seki: Let’s bring you to a subject to talk to, where you can do your job as a communicator.

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Research Facility: Hallway ☆⋅⋆

I followed the supervisor with no questions asked as he took the lead before finally stopping in front of a door.

Arakida: --Here we are.

Imaoji: We’re normally stationed right outside of the room so we’ll be leaving you here.

Rei: I-I’m supposed to go in there alone…?

Asagiri: We’re able to tell whenever there’s an anomaly in the inmate.

Rei: …Alright, I understand.

Imaoji: Before you enter, there’s just one other thing I have to tell you.

Rei: ?

Imaoji: Having a relationship with an inmate is forbidden, so please do watch out.

Rei: I don’t think a relationship’s even possible, given the atmosphere in here…

Imaoji: Heh. Well then, feel free to open the door.

I sucked in a deep breath and turned to face the door.

Rei: (Behind this is a subject who has become an inmate…)

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Research Facility: Room ☆⋅⋆

???: --Oh! You’re here!

Rei: --!?

???: Come on, come on in. Let’s start~

Rei: (He’s way more cheery and optimistic than I expected…)

Rei: Pardon the intrusion.

???: Haha. You can just sit over there. Are you nervous?

Rei: …Yes.

Sugano: Aren’t you an honest one! Actually, we can do away with the polite speech. No need for that here.

Rei: …Okay, sure.

???: I can’t help but to be in high spirits since this is the first time I’ve ever got a communicator assigned to me.

???: I was so excited that I didn’t manage to get even a wink of sleep last night.

Rei: Oh, me too, actually.

Sugano: You too? –Actually, what’s your name?

Rei: Oh...I’m 12-

Sugano: Not your serial number.

Rei: --Izumi Rei.

Sugano: Rei, then. I’m Sugano Natsuki!

Sugano: Hey, Rei.

He suddenly turned to look straight at me, his gaze turning into one of utter seriousness, as if he had just turned into another person; a twin of sorts.

Sugano: Let me out of this captivity.

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Research Facility: Room ☆⋅⋆

Rei: Wha-

Sugano: Please? I’m about to go stir crazy from being kept cooped up in this place.

Rei: But…

Sugano: I’ll become yours.

Rei: I’m sorry, what…?

Sugano: I’ll give you anything within my means if you help me.

Rei: Even…Even if you tell me that…

Sugano: ----

Rei: Urk…

Sugano: Just kidding~

Rei: --!

Sugano: I’m joking. It’s just a joke~

He mentioned the word “joke” louder the second time round. He turned to look up. Following his gaze, I could see a surveillance camera mounted on the wall.

Rei: (I suppose they’re listening in to all the conversation that goes on within this room too.)

Rei: (…Well, I suppose that’s to be expected. They are inmates, after all.)

Sugano: But, you know. I’m glad to see people who come in from the “Outside”. They’re always like a breath of fresh air.

Sugano: I do talk to people like You-san, but it’s usually pretty boring in here.

Rei: You-san?

Sugano: Hm? Haven’t you met him? The chief.

Rei: Ahh, you mean Hattori-san!

Sugano: Yup, yup. Pretty handsome, isn’t he?

Sugano: Actually, all the supervisors here have a pretty high facial deviation.

Rei: Now that you mention it…I think you might be right. But, I was so nervous back when I met them, so…

Sugano: What about me?

Rei: Huh?

Sugano: How would you rate my looks?

Rei: You’re…

Sugano: Oh, wait. I think I’m better off not hearing it. I think I might just pin you down if you told me that I was worth a 100 points.

Rei: ???

Sugano: Or are you that sort of communicator, little miss comm?

Rei: I-I’m not going to do it with my body!!

Sugano: Ahaha. That’s a nice reaction. It’s really…how do I put this? Hmm…

Sugano: Like a proper human, I guess?

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Research Facility: Hallway ☆⋅⋆

I left Sugano-kun’s room as he saw me off with a farewell line of “Come by soon again!”

Imaoji: Good work.

Rei: Oh, Good work to you too.

Imaoji: I’ll see you to your room.

Rei: Thank you so much.

Asagiri-san and Arakida-san where no where to be found, so I ended up walking alongside Imaoji-san, alone.

Imaoji: How was your first job as a communicator?

Rei: I was a nervous-wreck, overall.

Imaoji: I understand how you feel. The job this time round came by so suddenly, I’m sure you must have it hard.

Imaoji: It’s almost unheard of for a communicator to be privately scouted and hired like you were, so we fully intend to aid you to the best of our abilities.

Imaoji: Do tell us if there’s anything troubling you.

Rei: Thank you.

Imaoji: You don’t have to thank me for it.

Rei: (Whoa…he really does have good looks and a good facial variation.)

For me to be able to think of such thoughts, I suppose my initial nervousness must have worn off. And this must be all thanks to Sugano-kun, since he was such an easy person to talk to.

Imaoji: --Oh?

Rei: ?

In direct line of his vision as he came to an abrupt stop was—

Natsume: I’m telling you, this isn’t anything dangerous at all.

Arakida: Then allow me to check it.

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Research Facility: Hallway ☆⋅⋆

Rei: (The two of them are…having a dispute over something?)

Natsume: It’s fine, isn’t it? It’s not like you have anything to lose anyway.

In his hands was something that resembled a Headgear of sorts, made up of increasingly bizarre and complicated machinery parts.

Arakida: I have. I lost 3 days to sleep…

Natsume: But that was Kotaro-san’s Nutritional Drink at work so that’s not my fault!

Imaoji: What are the two of you standing around here talking about?

Natsume: Ohh, good work.

Rei: Good work today.

I got closer to where they stood and lowered my head.

Arakida: --

Imaoji: Are you asking for experiment assistance again?

Natsume: He’s lumping my experiments together with Kotaro-san’s warped ones!

Natsume: Even though all mine does is to only measure your brain waves!

Arakida: Absolutely not.

Natsume: You seem pretty adamant about it.

Arakida: Tsukasa-san told me to never trust you lot from the Research Department whenever you dish out the word “only”.

Natsume: ……Tsuduki Makoto’s pre-release book.

Arakida: !!

Rei: Wait, you mean THAT famous author?

Natsume: He actually came down here not too long ago seeking data for his new work since it was something science-related.

Natsume: Tsuduki-sensei said that he didn’t mind showing us researchers his new work if we promised not to accidentally leak word of it.

Natsume: So I thought that maybe I could share it with you as thanks for your help.

Arakida: Urk…

Natsume: You heard me, No. 1230. You’ll be able to read it if you cooperate with me; how about it?

Rei: It’s a new work yet to be released to the world?

Natsume: Yup!

Arakida: Damnit…

Rei: But that Headgear…

Natsume: It really only just measures your brain waves. It’s absolutely nothing dangerous at all.

Rei: Then—

Arakida: Wait.

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Research Facility: Hallway ☆⋅⋆

Natsume: What is it; Arakida-san?

Arakida: ……I’ll do it.

Natsume: Huh?

Arakida: I’ll cooperate with you.

Natsume: But I’ve already passed it over to No. 1230-

Arakida: Ngh…

Rei: (I-If he’s making such a pained face over this, then I suppose…)

Rei: I’ll back out if he’s willing.

Arakida: --

Rei: (He looks really happy about it…)

Imaoji: Heh.

Natsume: Is that so? I suppose I’ll have to ask Arakira-san to do the honours then.

Arakida: Of course.

He took the Headgear and plopped it atop his head.

--And when he did, an AI spoke from the device, stating “Activation Complete”. …Suddenly, plumes of smoke started billowing from the device.

Arakida: !?

Imaoji: Smoke is…

Rei: Wait a minute, isn’t this…Isn’t this thing burning!?

Natsume: Huh? Wait, this brain wave measuring device’s…

Natsume: Ah! I accidentally brought the one that Kotaro-san prodded at!

Arakida: OI! I CAN’T GET THIS OFF…!!

Natsume: Oh no. Kotaro-san might be the only one who knows how to remove it.

Natsume: Please run to the Research Lab.

Arakida: THIS IS WHY I DIDN’T WANT TO DO IT…!

The both of them made a mad dash for the Laboratory and disappeared down the hallway.

Rei: W-Will they be okay…?

Imaoji: Of course. It’s a usual occurrence after all.

Rei: It’s something that’s normal…?

Rei: (Now I really wonder if I can survive in this facility…)

I rubbed at my eyes that had gotten slightly teary from all the smoke the device atop Arakida-san’s head had been emitting…

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Research Facility: Room ☆⋅⋆

Sugano: What’s with that! That’s so amusing! I want to be there too to see it with my own eyes.

Rei: You think so…? I didn’t see Arakida-san this morning.

Sugano: He might have just overslept. –Want to go pay him a visit?

Rei: Wait…Can you even leave this room?

Sugano: Sure I can. There’s a condition though.

Ran: A condition?

Sugano: You’ve got to put a collar on me.

Rei: (A collar!?)

───⋅𝕿𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝖓𝖊𝖝𝖙 𝖙𝖎𝖒𝖊…⋆⋅☆

[fan-writer02]

This has been sitting in my drafts for forever, but I finally sat down today and finished it up. Have some happy Haddock family fluff, y’all deserve it after all the angst I’ve put you through lol. :D <3 (I’m gonna place this about a year or so after the third movie ended? Yeah, we’ll go with that. :))

Good Ol’ Days

Hiccup shoved the door open, sending a poof of dust in his wake. He waved it aside with the little flap of his cloak, looking over his shoulder anxiously at Astrid. She, on the other hand, looked unconcerned, with her arms crossed over her slightly swollen belly.

“I think I should do some cleaning before you and the kids come inside.” He voiced, looking back into the small cabin’s interior. It was, indeed, a dust farm. Everything- the walls included- were covered in a thin layer of dust.

“I can help- but I do agree, Zephr and Nuffink should stay out until we’re done-” 

Hiccup turned around and shook his head, “No, no- Astrid, I meant... all the kids, ya know?” He looked pointedly at her stomach.

She stared at him, before breaking into a smile and shaking her head. “Oh, Hiccup.” She said, as if completely exasperated with his behavior. She patted her belly. “I’m only two months along. I’m sure baby Haddock will be just fine.” 

His hands played with the armor on his right leg, with no purpose except to serve as a distraction. He cleared his throat. “I just... Just to be safe. As it is, I still don’t think we should’ve sailed.” He looked up into her eyes again. She looked fine, now, but on the ship he’d noticed she’d appeared a little green. She would never admit it, but he knew she hadn’t felt well the entire trip. And the thing that worried him was the fact that she’d always had good sea legs. It wasn’t like her to get sick.

“Please, Astrid. I can clean just as well on my own, and I’d prefer it if you didn’t inhale a bunch of dust.” He paused, then brightened. “If you watch the kids and sort of direct them as to what stuff they can start bringing up here” He gestured at the door step. “Then I can get the hut clean without-” 

He didn’t even have a chance to finish the sentence before two little balls of energy rushed past them. Into the hut they ran, raising the dust into one giant brown cloud. Toothless landed just then, right behind Astrid, sending a gust of wind into the hut, causing a little blast of dust to explode from the door. The dragon sniffled a confused sneeze.

Hiccup rushed into the hut and plucked the two kids up into his arms, sending them into peals of laughter. Hauling them outside, he plopped them onto the stone steps. “You little ruffians!” Hiccup growled playfully, ruffling Nuffink’s hair as he walked back towards the hut. 

Zephyr laughed and tugged at Astrid’s skirt. “Nuffink started it!”

Nuffink blinked owlishly, then pointed at his sister. “Nuu!” He protested.

“Enough of that.” Hiccup smiled at the two, before looking up at Toothless. “Why don’t you kiddos go play with Toothless?”

The dragon seemed to understand, for he grabbed each of the guilty parties by the scruffs of their vests and hauled them onto his back between his wings. He then proceeded to walk to the shore where the boat was now tethered.

The island was not huge, by any means. Probably about a third the size of old Berk. But it was just right for little trips like these, which were now an annual thing. A few months prior, he along with Tuff, Fishlegs, and Eret had come to build the hut. (Snotlout stayed behind as temporary chief. Hiccup had asked Astrid to babysit him and make sure he didn’t set all of Berk on fire.) It had also given them a chance to say a brief hello to their own dragons.

This trip he’d brought some of the furniture they’d been unable to build last time. Like a rug, blankets, supplies, kettles, a feather mattress among other such things. He wanted to make it as close to a home as possible, and just as comfortable. Especially with Astrid pregnant. 

So, after Astrid finally agreed to start organizing the supplies they’d brought on the ship, Hiccup began hosing down the hut with buckets of sea water. It took nearly all morning to get the job done, but finally he was satisfied. He asked Toothless to come in and pump his wings to dry it out, and, once done, he began hauling up the supplies.

Along with the chairs, blankets, pots and pans and food, Astrid had insisted they take along some weapons, in case of “an enemy attack”. Hiccup had instantly jumped on the idea, a little ashamed he hadn’t thought of it sooner.

"I knew I married you for a reason." The joke had earned him a jab in the stomach.

Later in the afternoon, Toothless’ own children arrived, (which Zephyr and Nuffink had dubbed First, Two, and Bob) and that was more than enough to occupy the kiddos. (the Light Fury watched from a safe distance. She still didn't fully trust the humans, but she made no move to harm them, though Hiccup doubted Toothless would let her even if she tried.) Hiccup and Astrid moved the stuff from the boat to the hut without interruptions. Hiccup had also snuck some parchment along, set on sketching Toothless with his family. He had a few pages to add to the Book of Dragons.

When Astrid inquired about them, holding them in the air with a spark of mischief in her eyes, he'd hurried to explain. "Documentation, Astrid. Pure research!" She laughed and carefully packed them in a crate so they wouldn't get wet. He came to grab it, and pressed a kiss to her cheek before carrying it up to the hut. On his way back down, he looked over to see Toothless nip at First who seemed deterimined to learn how to swim. He picked the little dragon up by the tail and plopped him into the sand, while at the same time blocking Nuffink from taking a dive in the water with his tail. The poor dragon looked absolutely fed up with the entire predicament.

Hiccup smiled, but figured poor Toothless deserved a break. He cupped his hands around his mouth. "Zephyr! Nuffink! Come and help your mama carry your stuffed dragons to the house." 

Both kids came running, with three small dragons scuttling behind them. Toothless sat for a moment, before ambling to his feet and following.

The kids rushed onto the boat, while the dragons jumped into the air, playing tug-a-war over a stick. The Light Fury took after them, and soon, they flew off to the otherside of the island. Toothless trotted to Hiccup's side, a hopeful grin on his face.

Hiccup rubbed his scaley forehead and laughed. "Soon, bud. We're almost finished here, then we'll catch the sunset." Toothless barked eagerly, and for the rest of the evening followed Hiccup to and from the boat until the unpacking was finished. Hiccup smiled and looked over at the dragon, honored that he chose to stay by his side instead of following his kids and mate to wherever it was they went.

As if on cue, Stormfly arrived. Maybe Toothless had called her, but who was to know? Either way, she was there, squawking happily as she paddled her way to Astrid’s side. Astrid called her name happily, running to give the dragon a hug. Toothless seemed pleased to see his old companion, bouncing about her in a circle like he used to do in the old days.

They still didn't know what Stormfly was up to, or if she'd had any babies in the past few years. She had a few more scars then they remembered, but otherwise seemed to be the same old Stormfly. At one point in their last visit, all the gang's dragons had shown up. All except old Hookfang. 

"And Hookfang, Toothless?" Hiccup had asked. Barf, Belch, Stormfly, Meatlug- they were all there. Even Cloudjumper and Skullcrusher. But Hookfang was nowhere to be seen.

Toothless had warbled sadly. Hiccup wasn't sure if he'd understood or not, but either way, Hookfang never showed up. Hiccup had a sad feeling in his chest that he would never see the dragon again.

Hiccup snapped back to attention. Astrid was looking at him expectantly. Did she say something? 

"Ahm... what?" 

"You want Zee or Nuffink?" 

Nuffink jumped up and down. "Mommy, mommy I wan' you!" 

She laughed and held out her arms, picking him up and blowing loud kisses on his plump cheeks. He squealed in laughter. "We'll take turns! I'll take you on Stormfly first, then you'll go with Daddy on Toothless, deal?" another loud slurpy kiss.

Hiccup smiled softly as he picked Zephyr up and positioned her carefully in front of him. Toothless warbled beneath them, his body shaking in excitement, his muscles already tense in anticipation. Hiccup went to position his prosthetic like he’d always had to, but paused when his foot was met by air. That’s right, no saddle. It would definitely take some getting used to.

"Hang on, sweetie!" He warned, cradling her with one arm and hanging onto Toothless with the other. And with that, Toothless could be contained no longer, and they took off into the sky.

[ashfountainfanfics]

Roger Clemmings looks exhausted. The bags under his eyes look like they’re packed enough to make a getaway to Mexico. Bill isn’t entirely sure that he shouldn’t steal the idea from them but he wouldn’t get far now that he’s behind bars. It’s a passing thought though. Bill sobers up as Roger runs a thumb across his brow in an attempt to stay awake.

“Mr. Clemmings-”

“I told you, call me Roger, please. I’ve represented celebrities such as yourself many times and it feels phony to be called Mr anything.”

“Roger,” Bill corrects awkwardly, “We’ve gone over this story for hours. I’ve answered every single question you have in triplicate. You need to sleep.”

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead. I’m sure Satan’s got a suite ready to go.”

“Satan?”

“All lawyers go to hell? It’s a joke, Bill. Jesus. You’d think Richie’s humor would rub off on me but hey, I’m not quitting my day job.”

“Lucky me,” Bill responds through a tight grin.

Roger chuckles a little and Bill isn’t sure if it’s genuine or if the exhaustion is settling in. The longer they sit here the less Bill feels anything is genuine. He’s doing his absolute best not to lie outright. He’s not entirely sure he could sell it. Instead he’s practicing the art of omission. He saw something that looked like an attack maybe by an animal or some creature but he couldn’t stop it.

“The biggest problem we have is why didn’t you report it?”

“I was traumatized,” Bill says flatly and quickly as if trained to respond.

“I’m aware. You’re going to have to find a way to convince a jury of that.”

“Eventually,” Bill sighs.

Bill isn’t completely ignorant about legal proceedings. He did research into writing a realistic crime thriller once but the pacing was too slow for his taste. A case, even a murder case, could take up to two years to get to trial. In the meantime, Bill’s in prison. There isn’t a judge alive that would realistically put out a potential child murderer on bail.

“Eventually my ass,” Roger snorts, “They’ll want to put you away as soon as possible and a small town like this? You best believe they won’t put you on the back burner the way a major city would. Look, not only will I be pushing this case to trial but so will opposing counsel, the parents, law enforcement, hell the town itself will probably be out for blood.”

“What else is new?”

Roger furrows his brow in irritation.

“Okay, that. What is it with that? You and Richie have a hard time in this town or what? I mean, the bully who turned out to be a psychopath I get but you have issues with the entire town?”

Bill doesn’t answer because there’s no point. Of course he has issues with this entire town but Roger isn’t going to understand that. This town was more than happy to sacrifice him and his friends back in the 80's, whether that be to the town bully or grief or their own toxic families. How much had Bill and the other Losers even accomplished by getting rid of It? There were plenty of other monsters waiting in the wings.

The most any of this did was absolve Bill of guilt and stop one of the many predators in this shit hole of a town in Maine. And what good did personal absolution do when he’s sitting here handcuffed to a table?

“Fine,” Roger yawns, “but I’m telling you now that any secrets you keep from me will only hurt your chances.”

Roger gathers up various paper and files into a bag. The man works quickly and the amount of information he’s gathered is staggering though Bill isn’t sure it’s all pertinent. Roger’s efficient and that’s commendable. Bill feels a fleeting urge to share some of the childhood trauma he’s experienced maybe because Roger is so thorough and maybe divulging a few facts wouldn’t hurt. It’s tempting but ultimately Bill says nothing.

“I’ve got a contact that’s working with me on your case. I’ll give him a call, see if he’s still up. Maybe we can finagle an argument for bail. I don’t know.”

Bill feels nervous at the sight of Roger leaving even though he just moments ago told him to get some sleep. Once the lawyer leaves it’s any guessing what will happen to Bill. Sure, he’s in the pokey for now but what if they formally charge him? What if he’s moved to a real prison before morning?

A couple of days ago, my biggest worry was the shitty ending to my shitty movie. How’s this for an ending? Bill slumps back into his uncomfortable metal chair.

It comes back to Bill almost like a punch to the gut. His movie...which stars his wife. He’s got a job and a marriage waiting for him and no one knows the trouble he’s gotten into yet. Not that there hadn’t been opportunities to share this information. His voicemail is full of calls from Audrey and the producers and the director. The movie falling apart isn’t such a big deal to Bill but not once did Bill give Audrey even the slightest clue what he was up to. He just got on a plane and left.

“I’ll let Richie know how things are going if that’s okay, to a point of course, he doesn’t need a full run down. Anything you need from me on the outside?”

Bill nods as his mind searches for Audrey’s phone number.

___

Bev isn’t surprised to find herself at Richie’s door again. She still hesitates to knock given that it’s after ten but then again Richie doesn’t strike her as the type to curl up into bed before two in the morning. When Richie answers it’s clear she’s right. He has a drink in his hand and a cell phone tucked between his shoulder and ear.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Bev whispers, “I can come back later or-”

Richie shakes his head and waves her in. She stands there awkwardly as Richie closes the door with his butt and continues his phone call.

“Tell them I had a death in the family or some shit. I don’t care. I need time off.”

Richie walks towards his bourbon bottle and gestures a glass toward Bev. She quietly replies with a no thank you and Richie doubles down on his glass instead.

“For the last time, I am not on a bender. Fuck. A guy takes ecstasy on accident once and-”

Bev tries to stifle her confused expression but doesn’t manage. Richie tries to assure her by mouthing that it’s ‘no biggie’ before taking a big gulp of his drink. It occurs to Bev that she doesn’t know much about Richie and who he is now. Or any of the other Losers for that matter. Seeing Richie drown himself in cheap liquor doesn’t feel very promising. Richie looks manic too, sweat deflating his hair, and he won't sit down. 

Bev quietly crosses the room and takes the bourbon bottle away from Richie. He barely registers this and instead continues to pace the floor, his drink dangerously flirting with the rim of the glass as he moves.

“I promise, I will never cause trouble like this again. I swear. And I will come back. But I have to stay here for a while and I don’t know how long that is. I’m sorry.”

Richie hangs up and leaves the phone on the end table. He runs his fingers through his messy hair and Bev puts a hand on his shoulder.

“You okay?” she asks.

“Just career stuff. It’s fine. It’s not worth talking about but,” Richie rouses a smile, “I think we should talk about you coming around to my room again. If you’ve got a crush on me I’ve got some bad news, Bev.”

Bev smiles back before taking Richie by the hand and sitting with him on the bed again. It’s a comfortable spot for them now as it seems even Richie calms down upon taking a seat. Bev gives Richie’s fingers a soft squeeze.

“Can I talk to you?” she asks, “It’s going to sound a little stupid but-”

“I swear to God whatever it is it isn’t as stupid as what I did today so- ah, fuck me, nevermind. You first.”

“What did you do?” Bev asks, her interests piqued.

“No deal. You first and then I will give you my exclusive.”

Bev considers this for a moment and decides it may not be bad to allow precedence for herself. She lets go of Richie’s hand and brings her knees to her chest. She suddenly feels like a teenager again both a little ashamed and wildly excited to share her news.

“I slept with Ben,” she says quickly.

Richie hoops and hollers at this. His wolf whistle is impeccable and Bev can’t hide her grin as she shushes him.

“It’s complicated!” she argues as Richie settles.

“Why? Even if I was straight enough to shit football jerseys I’d still say he’s hot.”

“This isn’t about how Ben looks. It’s about Ben being… Ben,” Bev changes the mood by how quiet the end of her sentence becomes.

Richie puts his humor aside and Bev retracts her emotions as quickly as she displayed them. She sits properly and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. The idea of looking openly wounded feels physically painful, even in front of Richie and especially when he’s taking her so seriously.

“I’m still married,” she covers, “But I really do like Ben... I think. We haven’t seen each other in almost thirty years so I don’t really know-”

“Bull shit,” Richie lays back on the bed with a heavy sigh.

“Excuse me?” Bev sounds a bit offended.

“I mean it’s convenient bull shit but it is what it is. I tried to tell myself the same thing about Eddie; how could I possibly have feelings for him when I haven’t seen him in almost three fucking decades? But goddamn, he’s still the same pocket sized little weirdo and I love him.”

“Richie,” she interrupts awkwardly, “I don’t know that I love Ben. It’s not really the same thing.”

Richie turns a light shade of embarrassment across his cheeks. It’s hard to tell underneath those thick frames of his but Bev catches it before Richie throws his forearm over his face.

“Don’t mind me. I’m just a selfish prick. I’ll shut up.”

“Can I get that in writing?”

It’s makes Bev smile to hear Richie chuckle at that. She then decides to follow suit and lies down next to him. The ceiling in his room is covered in aging paint and little grooves.

“So, how do you feel about ol haystack Ben?”

“I don’t know.”

That’s the truth on a larger scale. As to why Bev doesn’t know is more complicated. At some point she’ll have to talk to someone about her soon to be ex husband. The idea of opening that can of worms makes her stomach lurch but it’s a reality she’s doomed to face. It’s not as if she can just put Tom in a box and ride off into the sunset right? It can’t be that easy but then that doesn’t mean Bev can’t try to make it that easy.

“Ben isn’t the kind of guy I’m used to,” she safely skirts the real issue, “and to be honest, I still have some feelings…”

“Well, I don’t know how long you were married to whatever the fuck his name is but you said you were happy when you came to town and yesterday you made your divorce sound overdue. Must be a Six Flag’s level emotional roller coaster you’re on.”

Richie assumed Bev meant Tom. She didn’t.

“His name is Tom. And those leftover feelings aren’t for him. Fuck Tom.”

“Then who..?”

There’s a beat of silence as Richie puts things together. Bev feels ridiculously embarrassed by the fact that he can make the right assumption. At the same time though, it spared her from having to say it herself.

“Bill?” he asks and Bev can feel his eyes on her, “Does he know? Does Ben?”

“Bill and I kissed. Before we headed to the cistern. So I think Bill knows,” she responds flatly.

“Beverly, you saucy minx,” Richie makes an attempt at levity before immediately regretting it, “Sorry. I’m an idiot. Ignore that.”

It’s too late though and Bev feels her defenses cracking. Richie wasn’t trying to insult her but the joke still hits too close to home. Somewhere in the back of her mind Tom’s voice steadily grows stronger. Her father’s voice joins him. What kind of married woman kisses one man and sleeps with another? What kind of whore plays the field? What bitch throws herself at a married man?

Bev sits up and pulls a pack of cigarettes and a lighter out of her bathrobe. She lights up and starts to drain the cigarette on her lips as fast as possible, thinking only of lighting the next then the next.

“Bev?” Richie sits up with her, “This isn’t the 50’s. You can’t smoke in here.”

She ignores him and sucks down nicotine spitefully. Her hands start to steady and the ghosts of her past begin to silence.

“Are you okay?” Richie asks cautiously, “I’m starting to sense that maybe there’s more than a love triangle going on here.”

That shocks her nerves all over again.

Bev debates taking the stump of what’s left on her cancer stick and shoving it into her thigh. She hasn’t done that since high school but she remembers the feeling and her skin has kept track with little round scars. Back then she didn’t know why she would suddenly feel so angry and small but it makes sense now. Bev always knew her dad was bad but now she remembers just how bad and all that pain makes more sense.

The fact that she married Tom, a carbon copy of her father, makes her skin crawl and she’s not sure there’s enough nicotine in the world to make her forget that he’d touched her.

Bev puts the cigarette out on the carpet grinding it out with the toe of her slipper. She then immediately goes to light a second.

“Hey, stop! Stop!” Richie implores her and grabs her by the wrist to keep her from lighting up.

“Don’t fucking touch me!” Bev recoils out of instinct and is now standing, holding her wrist to her chest.

The pack of cigarettes are splayed out on the floor and the lighter lays abandoned on the bed. Richie looks equally abandoned as he stares at Bev. It makes her feel like a freak. The wounded sneer that she’d made dissipates into something almost apologetic.

“I should go,” Bev says quietly.

“Bev… where’d those bruises come from?”

Bev is mortified as she realizes how on display the green and yellow prints are. It’s clearly in the pattern of a hand wrapped around her wrist. It’s Tom’s fingers still pressed into her skin. She quickly drops her arm and lets the sleeve of her robe follow.

“Bev, is Tom… did he-“

Beverly ignores Richie’s attempt to make verbal the very thing she wants to keep secret. She drops to her knees and scrambles to recollect her cigarettes. She throws them into her pocket and makes way for the door.

“Wait! Hold on! Just wait!”

Richie tries desperately to follow her. She knows it’s not his fault. She knows he wants to help but she can’t stand the thought of him knowing any more than he already does. What he’s already pieced together is more than she wanted to give. She had come here to talk about Ben and ultimately gave herself and her fucked up marriage away.

Beverly holds the door closed. She grips the knob with everything she’s got even as Richie tries to open it. He helplessly bangs on the door.

“Bev? C’mon Bev! I’m sorry!”

He stops eventually and Beverly lets go of the handle. Quietly she returns to her room and locks the safety latch. The loneliness of her suite overwhelms her. Her tears are hot, burning and shameful. Her throat makes noises like a hurt animal. Bev’s never felt more ugly in her life.

—-

“Are you sure alcohol is a good idea?” Mike asks Eddie, “since y’know, you’ve got a hole in your cheek?”

“If I can make out with Richie I think can handle a beer.”

“...what?”

Mike doesn’t get an answer though as the bartender comes around with his drink. It’s an old fashioned. The rind on his orange spice looks a bit spotty but he doesn’t say anything. It’s a dive bar after all.

Mike goes to take a sip and Eddie suddenly comes back to life.

“You know I went on a date with him today? Dinner. I went to dinner with fucking Richie Tozier. I don’t know what I was expecting after making out in a closet-“

“Wait a minute-“ Mike tries to interject but Eddie’s rant keeps going.

“I mean I felt something then but this dinner? This excuse for a date was so awkward and quiet. Quiet, Mike. Do you know how weird it is to sit with Richie and he doesn’t say anything? At all?”

“Eddie!” Mike borders on shouting and some of the regulars eye him for it.

“What?” Eddie asks blankly.

Mike carefully assesses the room. It looks like a handful of factory workers and a retired old guy. All of them are sporting stubble, sweat and trucker hats. They’re either hypnotized by the football game playing on the big screen or the pool table. It’s not the worst scenario but it’s not ideal. If it had been a bit earlier in the day they’d be amongst the swinger crowd and this conversation could be louder but they’re not.

“If you’re talking about what I think you’re talking about then you’re going to need to lower your voice. A lot. And follow up question; are you talking about what I think you’re talking about?” Mike says in a hushed tone.

Eddie looks a little lost.

“What do you mean?”

Mike tries not to roll his eyes because he’s pretty sure Eddie isn’t purposefully being clueless. The guy just really likes to talk in a long, ridiculous stream and when he’s cut off it’s like someone ripped the rug right out from under him.

“You and Richie,” Mike says even quieter, “you two are- uh”

Mike feels inclined to make a gesture here instead of saying anything concrete but what gesture to make is beyond him. Instead he helplessly looks at Eddie hoping he’ll fill in the blanks without saying anything out loud.

“Oh!” Eddie’s eyes light up, “yes! I mean no. I don’t know? As it turns out my entire life is a lie so I could be or I may not be. Isn’t this shit supposed to be fluid? I thought I read somewhere that it’s all a spectrum.”

Mike is flabbergasted into silence and it allows Eddie to continue his mile a minute rant. He mentions something about generational differences and a Ted Talk. All of it makes Mike’s head spin. By the time Eddie goes to catch his breath Mike’s old fashioned is gone.

“Eddie,” Mike takes his chance quickly, “I think I’m more shocked at the you and Richie part. Maybe not so much the other…thing.”

“Are you trying to say that me being gay doesn’t surprise you?”

Mike hushes him and makes the effort to subtly point at the burly men sitting within earshot. Eddie is not nearly as subtle as he whips around entirely and stares at them.

“Mike, I have literally speared a demonic spider clown in the fucking chest and given my dying mother a sponge bath. A group of glorified lumberjacks does not scare me.”

If Mike had any drink left he’d have choked on it from that comment. Instead he awkwardly clears his throat. The other men in the bar haven’t noticed Eddie yet and that’s for the best. Maybe Mike is being a bit overly cautious.

“The scariest thing, and I am aware of how stupid this sounds, is that I have no idea who I am anymore. And it’s not just maybe possibly being interested in Richie. It’s my whole life, Mike. I am in a mid life fucking crisis. Oh my God. I thought I was too sensible to have a midlife crisis. Oh God am I going to have to get a sports car? They’re death traps!”

Mike calls to the bartender by name. She’s not wearing a name tag but Mike knows she goes by Mary. Her full name is Marilyn and she’s twenty eight but looks thirty five. She’s still attractive but having a teen pregnancy aged her. Her son is...Adam? Mike is sure it starts with an A. It’s weird how many stories are burned in Mike’s brain and yet he’s featured in none of them.

Mike politely asks Mary if she’ll get down the half empty bottle of tequila from the shelf. She raises an eyebrow at the suggestion but Mike reassures her that he’ll make sure the little guy gets home safe. That’s enough for Mary and she leaves the men with a couple of shot glasses.

“That doesn’t seem safe. Or legal,” Eddie comments as Mike pours them both a shot.

“Mary knows me enough. I don’t drive home. And sure it’s not legal but a small town means a lot of under the table favors.”

Eddie nods as his fingers wrap around the small, slightly overfilled glass. He and Mike clink glasses and throw them back. Eddie coughs a bit as he resurfaces and Mike winces at the burn.

“You’re not sure about yourself,” Mike comments, “I feel that.”

Mike is already pouring the next shot but Eddie hesitates. He’s quiet now and Mike supposes it’s because he’s listening.

“I remembered everything that happened that summer. I never left Derry so the memories never left. I built my entire world around being ready for It.

Everyone moved away so quickly after the first time. It was like destiny. You were the second to last one. Do you remember that?”

Eddie shakes his head.

“Bev went first but that was expected after what happened with her dad. Bill left next. I guess the trip him and his parents took helped them sort their troubles. Ben was never meant to stay more than a year once his dad got restationed. Richie’s dad got a job offer a state over that made twice his current salary. And then it was you and me and Stan. Mostly you and me.”

Eddie concentrates trying to rouse a memory but to no avail. Mike sees the sheepish resignation in his eyes as he gives in and takes another shot.

“It’s okay,” Mike reassures him, “It's not like you all left on purpose. And you didn’t forget out of negligence. It just is.

We all promised to stay in touch but once someone left they never called to leave a new number. It happened with Bev first of course and at first Richie thought it was because she didn’t care anymore. Ben knew better though. He piped up that Bev would never abandon us. So when Bill swore to call and that if he didn’t then it meant something had happened, we knew.

Now we had no idea of knowing exactly what happened when someone left Derry until Ben came up with the idea of getting just far enough from Derry to see if anything happened. We argued for days over the dangers of it. We thought maybe we all died if we left Derry, how were we to know?

So one night I snuck out from the farm and walked. For hours. That was the first time I came across the tribe. I won’t bore you with the details but the short of it is that I learned from them. They kept themselves far enough to not get hurt but close enough to remember. If I had gone any farther out I may have forgotten everything.”

Mike takes his second shot now. The burn is softer this time. He takes the opportunity to check over Eddie. He’s still quiet and calm. It’s like he’s absorbing all this information but what it’s going toward Mike isn’t sure. One of the factory workers hollers in excitement. Mary subtly pushes the bucket of peanuts at the bar closer to Eddie but he doesn’t notice. Mike feels it’s safe to continue.

“Everyone left knew they’d forget once they got out of Derry but it wasn’t anyone’s choice to stay or go. It was life. Except Stan. He was the last to leave because it took him so long to find a way out. He and I would have gone to high school together but he found a program for early college credit out where his aunt and uncle lived. Not that it mattered. Once Ben got the news he was out Stan stopped making a show of sticking around. He wanted to forget. I was surprised he’d even told me goodbye.”

Mike loads up a third shot for himself and Eddie takes his second. Once the glass is empty Mike fills it again. The alcohol keeps him weighted and that’s good. With how empty sharing is making him feel it’s nice to have something to keep him from floating away.

“For a while it was you and me and Richie really. Although it was hard to maintain much of a presence between the two of you. You were always arguing. Like a-“

Mike laughs because he suddenly gets it. Richie always teased people but he teased Eddie more. Eddie always took the bait. There was the more subtle stuff too like if one of them said they liked or didn’t like something the other would adjust accordingly. It was an effort to impress each other. Be more likable. Not that either would admit it.

“You two fought like a married couple,” Mike finishes the sentiment, “I guess I never really thought about as you two being, well you know. I thought I blended into the background because maybe we weren’t really good friends but I guess I was just a third wheel.”

Mike chuckles again.

“I probably could have spared myself the savior complex if I’d known that.”

Eddie’s been flirting with the shot glass but he stops now. He doesn’t drink it but he does turn fully toward Mike. His eyes look serious maybe even calculating and it’s surprises Mike.

“What do you mean?” Eddie asks.

Mike stares at the bottle between them finding it less heavy than Eddie’s gaze. The tequila is hitting him now, making his body lighter and the low bar lights fuzzy.

“I guess I figured that saving Derry was the only way I could stay important. Like if I didn’t stay behind and gather everyone when the time came, if I didn’t find answers, then I never really mattered. I think maybe Stan and I both felt like that, like we were the background characters of the Loser’s Club.

We didn’t really know at the time but there was that love triangle with Ben and Bev and Bill and then the tension with you and Richie. I just wanted my friends. I wanted to matter.

Maybe that’s why I didn’t get married or have a family. Not just because of It. I think maybe I was waiting for you all to come home… so I could know that you cared. That maybe y’all loved each other and loved me enough to come home.”

Mike nearly falls off the bar stool as Eddie throws his arms around him. He doesn’t say anything but holds him tight. Mike doesn’t care anymore about the potentially dangerous guys around them or the tequila sitting in front of him. He leans into the embrace Eddie gives. Eddie pats him reassuringly on the back.

“I love you, Mike,” Eddie says into Mike’s shoulder, “all of us love you. I’m sorry we were too involved in other shit to let you know that.”

If ending It wasn’t enough to give Mike peace this was enough and how funny that it comes from Eddie? Little, wheezy but long winded Eddie.

“Also can we go now?” Eddie asks still mid hug, “I feel like my center of gravity just told me to fuck off.”

[draculalive]

“The Pall Mall Gazette,” 18 September.

THE ESCAPED WOLF. PERILOUS ADVENTURE OF OUR INTERVIEWER. Interview with the Keeper in the Zoölogical Gardens.

After many inquiries and almost as many refusals, and perpetually using the words “Pall Mall Gazette” as a sort of talisman, I managed to find the keeper of the section of the Zoölogical Gardens in which the wolf department is included. Thomas Bilder lives in one of the cottages in the enclosure behind the elephant-house, and was just sitting down to his tea when I found him. Thomas and his wife are hospitable folk, elderly, and without children, and if the specimen I enjoyed of their hospitality be of the average kind, their lives must be pretty comfortable. The keeper would not enter on what he called “business” until the supper was over, and we were all satisfied. Then when the table was cleared, and he had lit his pipe, he said:—

“Now, sir, you can go on and arsk me what you want. You’ll excoose me refoosin’ to talk of perfeshunal subjects afore meals. I gives the wolves and the jackals and the hyenas in all our section their tea afore I begins to arsk them questions.”

“How do you mean, ask them questions?” I queried, wishful to get him into a talkative humour.

“’Ittin’ of them over the ’ead with a pole is one way; scratchin’ of their hears is another, when gents as is flush wants a bit of a show-orf to their gals. I don’t so much mind the fust — the ’ittin’ with a pole afore I chucks in their dinner; but I waits till they’ve ’ad their sherry and kawffee, so to speak, afore I tries on with the ear-scratchin’. Mind you,” he added philosophically, “there’s a deal of the same nature in us as in them theer animiles. Here’s you a-comin’ and arskin’ of me questions about my business, and I that grumpy-like that only for your bloomin’ ’arf-quid I’d ’a’ seen you blowed fust ’fore I’d answer. Not even when you arsked me sarcastic-like if I’d like you to arsk the Superintendent if you might arsk me questions. Without offence did I tell yer to go to ’ell?”

“You did.”

“An’ when you said you’d report me for usin’ of obscene language that was ’ittin’ me over the ’ead; but the ’arf-quid made that all right. I weren’t a-goin’ to fight, so I waited for the food, and did with my ’owl as the wolves, and lions, and tigers does. But, Lor’ love yer ’art, now that the old ’ooman has stuck a chunk of her tea-cake in me, an’ rinsed me out with her bloomin’ old teapot, and I’ve lit hup, you may scratch my ears for all you’re worth, and won’t git even a growl out of me. Drive along with your questions. I know what yer a-comin’ at, that ’ere escaped wolf.”

“Exactly. I want you to give me your view of it. Just tell me how it happened; and when I know the facts I’ll get you to say what you consider was the cause of it, and how you think the whole affair will end.”

“All right, guv’nor. This ’ere is about the ’ole story. That ’ere wolf what we called Bersicker was one of three grey ones that came from Norway to Jamrach’s, which we bought off him four years ago. He was a nice well-behaved wolf, that never gave no trouble to talk of. I’m more surprised at ’im for wantin’ to get out nor any other animile in the place. But, there, you can’t trust wolves no more nor women.”

“Don’t you mind him, sir!” broke in Mrs. Tom, with a cheery laugh. “’E’s got mindin’ the animiles so long that blest if he ain’t like a old wolf ’isself! But there ain’t no ’arm in ’im.”

“Well, sir, it was about two hours after feedin’ yesterday when I first hear my disturbance. I was makin’ up a litter in the monkey-house for a young puma which is ill; but when I heard the yelpin’ and ’owlin’ I kem away straight. There was Bersicker a-tearin’ like a mad thing at the bars as if he wanted to get out. There wasn’t much people about that day, and close at hand was only one man, a tall, thin chap, with a ’ook nose and a pointed beard, with a few white hairs runnin’ through it. He had a ’ard, cold look and red eyes, and I took a sort of mislike to him, for it seemed as if it was ’im as they was hirritated at. He ’ad white kid gloves on ’is ’ands, and he pointed out the animiles to me and says: ‘Keeper, these wolves seem upset at something.’

“‘Maybe it’s you,’ says I, for I did not like the airs as he give ’isself. He didn’t git angry, as I ’oped he would, but he smiled a kind of insolent smile, with a mouth full of white, sharp teeth. ‘Oh no, they wouldn’t like me,’ ’e says.

“‘Ow yes, they would,’ says I, a-imitatin’ of him. ‘They always likes a bone or two to clean their teeth on about tea-time, which you ’as a bagful.’

“Well, it was a odd thing, but when the animiles see us a-talkin’ they lay down, and when I went over to Bersicker he let me stroke his ears same as ever. That there man kem over, and blessed but if he didn’t put in his hand and stroke the old wolf’s ears too!

“‘Tyke care,’ says I. ‘Bersicker is quick.’

“‘Never mind,’ he says. ‘I’m used to ’em!’

“‘Are you in the business yourself?’ I says, tyking off my ’at, for a man what trades in wolves, anceterer, is a good friend to keepers.

“‘No’ says he, ‘not exactly in the business, but I ’ave made pets of several.’ And with that he lifts his ’at as perlite as a lord, and walks away. Old Bersicker kep’ a-lookin’ arter ’im till ’e was out of sight, and then went and lay down in a corner and wouldn’t come hout the ’ole hevening. Well, larst night, so soon as the moon was hup, the wolves here all began a-’owling. There warn’t nothing for them to ’owl at. There warn’t no one near, except some one that was evidently a-callin’ a dog somewheres out back of the gardings in the Park road. Once or twice I went out to see that all was right, and it was, and then the ’owling stopped. Just before twelve o’clock I just took a look round afore turnin’ in, an’, bust me, but when I kem opposite to old Bersicker’s cage I see the rails broken and twisted about and the cage empty. And that’s all I know for certing.”

“Did any one else see anything?”

“One of our gard’ners was a-comin’ ’ome about that time from a ’armony, when he sees a big grey dog comin’ out through the garding ’edges. At least, so he says, but I don’t give much for it myself, for if he did ’e never said a word about it to his missis when ’e got ’ome, and it was only after the escape of the wolf was made known, and we had been up all night-a-huntin’ of the Park for Bersicker, that he remembered seein’ anything. My own belief was that the ’armony ’ad got into his ’ead.”

“Now, Mr. Bilder, can you account in any way for the escape of the wolf?”

“Well, sir,” he said, with a suspicious sort of modesty, “I think I can; but I don’t know as ’ow you’d be satisfied with the theory.”

“Certainly I shall. If a man like you, who knows the animals from experience, can’t hazard a good guess at any rate, who is even to try?”

“Well then, sir, I accounts for it this way; it seems to me that ’ere wolf escaped — simply because he wanted to get out.”

From the hearty way that both Thomas and his wife laughed at the joke I could see that it had done service before, and that the whole explanation was simply an elaborate sell. I couldn’t cope in badinage with the worthy Thomas, but I thought I knew a surer way to his heart, so I said:—

“Now, Mr. Bilder, we’ll consider that first half-sovereign worked off, and this brother of his is waiting to be claimed when you’ve told me what you think will happen.”

“Right y’are, sir,” he said briskly. “Ye’ll excoose me, I know, for a-chaffin’ of ye, but the old woman here winked at me, which was as much as telling me to go on.”

“Well, I never!” said the old lady.

“My opinion is this: that ’ere wolf is a-’idin’ of, somewheres. The gard’ner wot didn’t remember said he was a-gallopin’ northward faster than a horse could go; but I don’t believe him, for, yer see, sir, wolves don’t gallop no more nor dogs does, they not bein’ built that way. Wolves is fine things in a storybook, and I dessay when they gets in packs and does be chivyin’ somethin’ that’s more afeared than they is they can make a devil of a noise and chop it up, whatever it is. But, Lor’ bless you, in real life a wolf is only a low creature, not half so clever or bold as a good dog; and not half a quarter so much fight in ’im. This one ain’t been used to fightin’ or even to providin’ for hisself, and more like he’s somewhere round the Park a-’idin’ an’ a-shiverin’ of, and, if he thinks at all, wonderin’ where he is to get his breakfast from; or maybe he’s got down some area and is in a coal-cellar. My eye, won’t some cook get a rum start when she sees his green eyes a-shining at her out of the dark! If he can’t get food he’s bound to look for it, and mayhap he may chance to light on a butcher’s shop in time. If he doesn’t, and some nursemaid goes a-walkin’ orf with a soldier, leavin’ of the hinfant in the perambulator — well, then I shouldn’t be surprised if the census is one babby the less. That’s all.”

I was handing him the half-sovereign, when something came bobbing up against the window, and Mr. Bilder’s face doubled its natural length with surprise.

“God bless me!” he said. “If there ain’t old Bersicker come back by ’isself!”

He went to the door and opened it; a most unnecessary proceeding it seemed to me. I have always thought that a wild animal never looks so well as when some obstacle of pronounced durability is between us; a personal experience has intensified rather than diminished that idea.

After all, however, there is nothing like custom, for neither Bilder nor his wife thought any more of the wolf than I should of a dog. The animal itself was as peaceful and well-behaved as that father of all picture-wolves — Red Riding Hood’s quondam friend, whilst moving her confidence in masquerade.

The whole scene was an unutterable mixture of comedy and pathos. The wicked wolf that for half a day had paralysed London and set all the children in the town shivering in their shoes, was there in a sort of penitent mood, and was received and petted like a sort of vulpine prodigal son. Old Bilder examined him all over with most tender solicitude, and when he had finished with his penitent said:—

“There, I knew the poor old chap would get into some kind of trouble; didn’t I say it all along? Here’s his head all cut and full of broken glass. ’E’s been a-gettin’ over some bloomin’ wall or other. It’s a shyme that people are allowed to top their walls with broken bottles. This ’ere’s what comes of it. Come along, Bersicker.”

He took the wolf and locked him up in a cage, with a piece of meat that satisfied, in quantity at any rate, the elementary conditions of the fatted calf, and went off to report.

I came off, too, to report the only exclusive information that is given to-day regarding the strange escapade at the Zoo.

[aion-rsa]

House of X and Powers of X: Key X-Men Comics to Read

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We picked out some key books from Marvel's history to help you understand the big X-Men reboot.

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House of X and Powers of X have done the unthinkable: they’ve made having an encyclopedic knowledge of Marvel X-Men continuity minutiae an asset. Now I have a reason to talk about Xorn’s brother Xorn who was posing as Magneto pretending to be Xorn OTHER than to make someone go away.

This is, of course, a joke. HoX/PoX is remarkably accessible for anyone with any level of background knowledge of the X-Men, from “I like Hugh Jackman” to “remember the time the Sentinels tried to kill the sun because it was causing mutations?” But there is certainly a lot in here that rewards deeper knowledge. And to help you understand it all, we put together a reading list that might help you see the throughlines from Marvel Comics history that help create the comics sensation revitalizing the X-Men books. 

For this reading guide, we’re not only going to tell you what’s good and why we like it. We’re also going to try and piece together how it fits into what Jonathan Hickman and crew are doing in today’s series. Because of that, we’re slapping a big ol’ SPOILER WARNING here: proceeding beyond this point risks spoiling big twists from the first half of the HoX/PoX epic.

  FOR GENERAL BACKGROUND: X-Men: Grand Design

Ed Piskor is the indie comix guy who, prior to this book, was best known for a webcomic-turned-prestige-series, Hip-Hop Family Tree, which told the story of the origins of the biggest genre in music (it’s fantastic, by the way). His acclaim for that book, where he would quite frequently homage superhero covers, eventually garnered enough attention from Marvel for them to take a risk on him. In a fit of uncharacteristic ambition, they allowed Piskor to rework thirty years and 300 issues of X-Men or X-adjacent comics into one miniseries. The result is absolutely stunning.

There are retcons involved, but Piskor manages to turn several eras of comics history into one coherent narrative. Retcons become plot points, characters move rationally instead of for post-hoc rationales and slow-burn payoffs are seeded even earlier. It’s all done with a distinctly underground style, which is refreshing and appropriate, since this is the era when the X-Men became counterculture iconography. 

In other words, if you need the best X-Men comics history lesson imaginable, this is the book for you.

Pay close attention to: Anything with Moira Mactaggert. The revelation in House of X #2 that current Marvel continuity was the tenth time Moira had been resurrected and that she had been planning for six lives to protect the mutant race casts literally the entirety of X-Men history in a new light. So now any interaction with the Professor or his students, like, say, when she was watching Jean Grey become the Phoenix on Muir Island, has potentially new meaning. Grand Design is particularly valuable here because Piskor started before the planning for Hickman’s relaunch did, so you are reading source material that the rebooter himself was probably working off of.

read more - The Best Episodes of X-Men: The Animated Series

You may also like: For tone and craft, X-Men: Grand Design is unique. Despite countless reboots and cleanups attempted in the almost 50 years the X-Men have been published, nothing to my knowledge has been this comprehensive or accessible. However, if you like the characters and the idea of a modernized, streamlined origin-esque story, Jeff Parker and Roger Cruz’s mid-aughts series, X-Men First Class, which tells new stories with the original team of X-Men, is worth checking out. It’s a lot of fun, certainly a lot more fun than reading the original Silver Age issues themselves.

start with the first volume of X-Men: Grand Design here.

TO UNDERSTAND THE BIG THEMES: Ultimate Comics: Hawkeye 

No, I’m not kidding. I am absolutely recommending an alternate universe Hawkeye miniseries in an article about X-Men comics. 

On his way to destroying it, Jonathan Hickman was given space to play around with the Ultimate Universe, and he used it, writing a Thor miniseries and relaunching the Ultimates. Ultimate Comics: Hawkeye was the third prong of his overall story and it focused on a fictional country - the Southeast Asian Republic - as Hawkeye and a team of SHIELD agents arrive on site to deal with a civil war. We quickly find out that SEAR scientists have created a virus to eliminate the X-gene, and a serum that gives their own people a virus-resistant mutation. A “paradigm shift,” as one of the SEAR officials calls it.

That government unleashes both prongs of the plan and promptly loses control of the situation, setting up SEAR as a mutant haven for people taking their serum and thus one of the three prongs of a global conflict that plays out in Ultimate Comics: Ultimates.

Pay close attention to: The Xorns. Not because they’re anything like the ones who have shown up in HoX/PoX - the ones in House of X have only thus far been glimpsed, and the millennial nihilist icon from Powers of X is a corpse in an alternate timeline (probably).

read more - Pryde of the X-Men: The Animated Series We Almost Got

No, we’re watching the Xorns in Ultimate Comics: Hawkeye because the idea of mutants as resources in a geopolitical struggle seems central to the conflict playing out between the Krakoan mutants and the humans in the X^1 timeline of today’s series. With all the talk of omega mutants and alignments, you should be able to get a very good sense of what is to come in the mutant conflict by reading this.

You may also like: Ultimate Comics: Ultimates, Hickman and eventual Secret Wars collaborator Esad Ribic’s story of what else is going on in the world while SEAR blows up. That story is mainly concerned with SHIELD being woefully outgunned by the mutants on one side, and evil Reed Richards’ Asgard- and Europe- destroying hyper evolved Children. It’s really good.

read Ultimate Comics Hawkeye here.

FOR A SENSE OF THE TONE: “Days of Future Past”

“Days of Future Past” is right smack in the middle of what Piskor covers in Grand Design. So why read it separately? Because I strongly suspect this is the foundational text of what Hickman is trying to do with his story.

This is one of the all-time classic X-Men stories by maybe the most well liked team in the franchise’s history. In the far future of 2013, Sentinels have taken control of the US and are on their way to taking over the world, because they see human existence as the flaw causing mutation that they are programmed to wipe out. So they kill most of the heroes and round up the remaining ones into camps. Wolverine, Rachel Summers (in her first appearance), Katherine Pryde (not long after her debut), Colossus, Storm and Magneto all team up so Rachel can send Kitty’s consciousness back in time, take over her younger body and prevent the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (led by Mystique and Destiny) from killing Senator Robert Kelly, sending the future spiralling towards extinction.

These two issues function as an effective preview of the conflict that HoX/PoX explores. Humans are irrationally afraid of Mutants, who alternate between trying to be left alone and trying to dominate their progenitors. Meanwhile, the robots say “you both suck” and (presumably before falling into the sun in the case of Mothermold) just start killing.

read more: X-Men Movies Watch Order

Furthermore, “Days of Future Past” is precisely the kind of dystopia that PoX is pushing. The X^2 future has lot of Age of Apocalypse trappings, but its central conflict is between mutants trying desperately to survive and robots who hate everything biological trying to destroy everyone. Surprisingly, though Nimrod is closely associated with this dark future, he doesn’t actually appear in these issues. He comes back in time about 50 issues later, from that future but not seen in it. 

Pay close attention to: The mood and milieu of this story are the important factors, but it’s also probably worth keeping an eye on Destiny and Moira Mactaggart here. The mutant precog had one very...pointed...run in with Groundhog Lady in her third life, and they come very close to each other here. This may be fertile territory for a retcon.

You may also like: Uncanny X-Men #208-209. This is Nimrod’s big battle with the X-Men and the Hellfire Club’s Inner Circle, as Rachel Summers lays dying in Central Park. It’s nowhere near the bleak, oppressive tone that “Days of Future Past” has, but you get some sense here of the sheer power that Nimrod has at his disposal. Also, he’s clearly insane, and as far as things you want from your robots, insanity is not high on the list.

read Days of Future Past here.

TO UNDERSTAND THE MAIN VILLAIN: “The Phalanx Covenant”

The X-Men crossover that introduced Generation X, the second wave of mutant students after the New Mutants/X-Force, also seems surprisingly important. Originally presented as an offshoot of the techno-organic space mutant Warlock’s race, the Phalanx are half Borg, half grey goo nightmare. In this story, they invade Earth to assimilate and destroy it, but find that they can’t assimilate mutants, so they start trying to figure out why by kidnapping the X-Men and a group of teens identified as potential students. They fail, of course, but not before planting phalanx eggs around the planet and killing off a character who became inexplicably popular a year and a half later (Blink, who existed in the 616 for a grand total of 20 minutes before dying. She’s great, but I don’t get why she endured and not someone like Synch). 

read more: The Many Different Versions of the X-Men Dark Phoenix Saga

The Phalanx are the hive galaxy in the X^3 future being called down by the Librarian to assimilate humanity, and it looks like (at least in whatever life of Moira’s this is), they’re finally successful. 

Pay close attention to: Husk and M. I went back and forth on whether to prioritize this or the other comics you might like, trying to figure out which is more important to the narrative, and what sold me on The Phalanx Covenant is the fact that Husk and M are part of the X-Men strike force attacking Mothermold in space in House of X. They’re also two of the more plot-relevant members of Generation X during this crossover - Monet is the one who finally breaks them out of captivity, and Husk’s powers are revealed because one shell is infected with TO virus. That doesn’t feel like a coincidence.

You may also like: Annihilation: Conquest. This is the second mid-aughts Marvel Space crossover, the first helmed by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning exclusively, and the one that launched this line of books into what would eventually give us the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. The galaxy is reeling from the events of Annihilation, and as it recovers, the Phalanx take over Hala and the remains of the Kree empire. This series is good, pure Marvel Space fun. It’s the exact moment where I fell in love with this line of books. It’s also very thorough in laying out the mythology and rules of the Phalanx. 

read The Phalanx Covenant here.

TO TAKE A WILD GUESS ON WHAT IS YET TO COME: “The Dark Angel Saga”

This run on Uncanny X-Force, ostensibly a side book full of stabby mutants (and Deathlok) brought together first as Cyclops’ wetworks squad, then held together by Angel’s money, is without a doubt the best X-Men comic of the last 15 years. It’s also brimming with Apocalypse lore, which feels like one of a couple things left deliberately unstated by the events of HoX/PoX. 

The gang finds an Akkaba enclave in the desert, discovering that they’ve resurrected Apocalypse and are training the now six year old kid to be the evolutionary destroyer they believe he’s destined to become. So Fantomex shoots the kid in the head.

read more: The X-Men Movies You Never Saw

What follows is an extended superhero musing on nature vs. nurture, while at the same time the Death Seed Apocalypse planted in Angel’s back to turn him into Archangel takes over Warren’s mind, turning him into the new Apocalypse. The story goes through all the reasons for it and has Warren reassemble his horsemen. It functions essentially as a deep dive into the reasons for Apocalypse’s ascension and the role that he plays in the galactic ecosystem of the Marvel Universe.

That’s noticeably missing from Apocalypse’s scenes in the new series.

Pay close attention to: The Celestial stuff. Apocalypse in Powers of X was a heroic figure, leading a suicide mission against Nimrod and the robots to get Moira information on Nimrod’s emergence so she could stop it in life 10. There’s no mention of the role he was originally created for, one that exists separate from the Moira cycle because it started thousands of years before she was born: to guide evolution on Earth so the Celestials don’t return and destroy it. How that plays into the man-mutant-machine war seems like a clear fit, but also completely unmentioned.

You may also like: Uncanny X-Men vol. 2 #14-17. Even though it takes place during the utterly dreadful A vs. X, Kieron Gillen’s Mr. Sinister story is the definitive recent take on the master genetic manipulator, and he’s DEFINITELY coming.

read The Dark Angel Saga here.

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Feature Jim Dandy

Sep 10, 2019

Marvel

X-Men

Jonathan Hickman

from Books https://ift.tt/2ZPW4sO

[boarix]

Wraith in the Ruins: A Fallout 4 Story Part XII

Children of the Wasteland

Trigger warnings: canon violence/language/gun, alcohol and drug use. Suggestive/mature content

Game Spoilers!

Please enjoy!

 “You may kiss the bride!”

Spring had finally returned to the Commonwealth and with it the wedding of Valentine and Ellie. Wraith and Hancock stood tall and proud next to their friends as they pledged themselves to each other. Going all out with her sewing skills, Wraith had managed to make a wedding dress that the demure Ellie not only felt comfortable in but looked incredible in too. Valentine was dashing in a tux and formal hat and the pair presented an image that was somehow both striking and modest.

As soon as she had finished the dress Wraith had turned her attention to Hancock’s coat. He had been reluctant to have her mend it; suggesting that the threadbare look was necessary, “Rugged yet classy. Flashy but grounded. It’s a carefully cultivated affect, sunshine.”

“I think that even the King of the Zombies could occasionally go to a tailor… I’ll be gentle I promise.” She had kissed him to make him feel better, “We’ll go find some trouble sometime after the wedding and it’ll be right back to where it was.”

“Mmm, you me and trouble sounds good.”

Wraith hadn’t been getting into as much trouble as she might have liked. After returning to Sanctuary from the behemoth incident, Curie had grounded her. Apparently, tearing the entire Gunner Plaza apart with bare hands so recently after having a shoulder rebuilt was a mistake.

“Madame, you have been entirely too rough with your new arm! You heal quickly yes but you are not invincible. It requires additional surgery now and I would have you rest until it has mended. No more ripping and smashing until I say so! You understand, oui?”

Wraith had initially protested and told her that it would have to wait until spring but Hancock had finally gotten through to her after watching her try to shovel snow. “Far be it for me to tell ya what to do with one of your own limbs but sunshine, you should see the faces you’re making. If it hurts it hurts! Danse an’ me will take care of the snow, ya feel me?”

Working one-handed had been frustrating but Wraith couldn’t deny the necessity. Cautioned even after she stopped wearing the sling, she had to convince Curie that sewing and working on new tack with Strong and Bear wasn’t going to undo all her hard work.

“It’s perfect rehab, Baby Bird. I’m all caught up with desk work and I’m about to lose my mind. It’s this or I go out and find dragons to fight.”

“I simply cannot understand your attraction to violent excursion.”

“ALPHA GOOD AT SMASHING!”

There was no denying the sense of peace she had felt, while sitting with Panther sprawled across her lap, creating something with her hands. Now, standing next to Hancock in her Minutemen uniform, the past frustrations of the winter melted as the snow.

Valentine and Ellie were married and there was a small reception at Home Plate. Piper, Preston, Codsworth and Wraith had been cooking for days. Incredibly proud of the cake he had made, Preston stationed himself next to its table, eyeballing MacCready and the children if they got too close.

“Do you think he’ll let us cut it?” Ellie’s voice was just loud enough for him to hear but rather than be embarrassed Preston gave her the two finger I’ve-got-my-eyes-on-you gesture while sporting a huge smile.

The partygoers ate and visited, paused to watch the cake cutting (Ellie had rather daintily touched Valentine’s substantial nose with frosting and then proceeded to kiss it just as daintily away which cause a great deal of assorted “awww” noises) and ate and visited some more. Wraith drifted around pretending to mingle but really she was looking for Deacon. She hadn’t seen him since the Plaza fiasco and she was worried about him.

“Hey sunshine, come dance with me.” Hancock was the very definition of dashing in his mended coat. As other pairs moved to the floor, the ghoul led them toward the less crowded edge. When the song ended he pulled her tightly to him with a cunning look in his eye. “He’s not here, love.”

“Who?”

He smiled then kissed her. It was a long, intense kiss that left Wraith breathless and brought a flush to her cheeks. Seeming satisfied by her passionate response, he cocked his head to one side and gave her a self-mocking smile, “There’s only one person, apart from MacCready, that steals your attention from me.”

Now the color on Wraith’s cheeks belonged to embarrassment and she took a step away from him, “Who says I’m not looking for Shaun?”

“You just out-smarted yourself, sunshine.”

Frowning now, she play-punched his shoulder, “Be nice to me!” She folded her arms and glared at him.

His smile vanishing, Hancock snaked an arm around her middle and pulled her back to him. Leaning in close, his eyes shown with a look of open lust that made Wraith’s heart skip, “I’ll be very nice to you. Right now, if you want me.”

For a long second Wraith forgot that she was in a room full of people. Her breath hitching in her chest, she leaned against him.

Two can play at this game.

Her mouth at his ear, Wraith’s voice was wanton and husky, “I want you.” Thinking that she had called his bluff she was genuinely surprised when he pushed her to the wall while kissing her hard and unfastening her uniform.

…tactical error…

He let her push him away, knowing that he had won, “Don’t worry sunshine; I’m not that much of a barbarian.”

“Hmm, I don’t know… You’re not someone I’d play chicken with.”

 Wraith shooed Valentine and Ellie away when they started to help with the clean-up, “Oh no; you guys leave this me! I’ll have some plenty helps so you guys go do newlywed and stuff.” A little tipsy, she made a couple of obscene gestures that made Ellie giggle.

To everyone’s surprise, Valentine swept his wife up into his arms, “I’ll get right on that!” Ellie laughed, delighted as he carried her out the door.

Hancock snickered, “He’s not even drunk! Hasn’t had a drop since MacCready’s birthday!”

Taking a break, Wraith settled in a chair and waved goodbye (perhaps over-enthusiastically) as Piper and the kids left.

“Quite a swinging, goodtime you all had.” Deacon handed Wraith a container of water, “Any cake left?”

“Ah, there’s the shadow master.” Wraith took a couple of sips while she stared at his full, red beard. “Where’ve you been?” Close to sober, she looked at the floor, “I’ve been worried about you.”

MacCready had swaggered up and stood next to Wraith’s chair not unlike Preston guarding the cake, “How’s it going, sunglasses? Nice chin-warmer. It real, or did you shave a dog for it? Haven’t seen you for a while; thought you might have gone to that big ol’ dumpster in the sky.”

Deacon was surprised: MacCready’s body posture and tone were conversational and friendly, despite the fact he initially seemed territorial. “Well, gosh MacSweety! I had no idea you cared so much.”

“Right!? Well, a hero always cares for the little people.”  

“Hey hero, come back o’er here and help me with this fucking table!” Hancock winked at Wraith on their way out the door.

Even with just the two of them, Deacon felt the air was stifling close, “Can we talk on the roof, boss? I want to see the sky.”

It was still early spring and the night was chilly. Wraith sat cross-legged next to Deacon and watched their breath float away like mist, “You seem to be moving around okay…”

“I’m fit as a fiddle… where on earth did that expression come from?”

“Can you tell me what you’ve been up to? You seem... thicker. I like your beard by the way; it’s nicely shaped. You do that yourself? What’s it hiding?”

“Keeps my face warm. I’m a Minutemen caravan guard. Later this spring when you head to the Capital Ruins to pick up MacCready’s son, you’ll be joined by six fresh-faced new recruits. Well… in my case, a beard-faced recruit. My name’s Harley.” He offered her his hand, “It’s an honor to finally meet you, General. I believe I will be of great use to you.”

After a firm handshake he reached into the Minutemen uniform he was wearing and handed her an envelope. “This is correspondence meant for you from the Nyx Morningstar. She has agreed to meet your party and aide in the safe travel of Duncan MacCready.”

“De… Harley…”

Deacon removed his sunglasses and smiled his eyes at her, “Thicker, huh? Guess all those extra pushups did the trick.”

“You’re almost beastly.” She used her shoulder to shove his playfully. “Harley, are we sure these five ‘recruits’ aren’t going to suddenly become coursers midway south?”

Regret flashed across his face, “We are sure, yes.”

“I trust you.” She meant it as a joke but could tell his chuckle was forced. “I sent a letter to Morningstar last fall… how… no, that’s stupid; you know every fucking thing about me! But, do you know how unfair that is?”

“I’m the same age as Hancock. We are both going to be forty-five this year.”

“I adore you. You know that too though, don’t you?”

He let her lean on him, “Yeah.”

 Shaun was furious. Dirty and bruised, the fact that he had been fighting also showed in the mud in his curly hair. He stood before Wraith with his chin held defiantly high and his fists clenched at his sides.

“Why did you push Nat, Shaun?” Wraith tried to maintain a calm, level voice and keep emotion from her face.

“She threw mud at me.” His voice trembled with barely suppressed anger.

“Why did Nat throw mud at you?”

“I told her to stop being a bully!”

“Elaborate, Shaun. Tell me the whole story.”

“This isn’t fair! SHE STARTED IT! WHY AREN’T YOU YELLING AT HER?!”

Wraith let an edge creep into her voice and hardened her eyes, “The only person yelling is you. As for Nat, don’t worry about it. Piper will speak to her. When you cause a scene and are publicly violent, it is my responsibility.”

“Since when? I thought you gave me up to the Wrights.”

“It’s unfortunate you feel that way.”

Ouch, kid!

Wraith sat motionless waiting for him to speak. A game of patience and nerve she didn’t plan on losing. It took some time but he broke the silence first.

“Nat, Pete, Erin and me were playing the ground-is-radioactive-waste with a ball… that’s when you can’t let the ball touch the ground, cause…” Surprised that she hadn’t interrupted he was momentarily flustered, “Anyway, Shang was just… Idunno, watching us and I felt bad. I asked him if he wanted to play with us but Nat said ‘no’.”  Shaun’s face had started to relax as he spoke but now tightened with renewed anger as he relived the memory, “I told her she wasn’t the boss and she got really mad and threw the ball up on the roof of someplace! I said she was a bully and we all weren’t going to play with her ever again! Then she threw mud at me so I pushed her down.” He waved his hands in exasperation, “SHE TACKLED ME WHEN I TURNED AROUND! SHE TACKLED ME!”

“MacCready said he had to pull her off of you, yes.” The fact that MacCready had been laughing the entire time he had told Wraith, wasn’t something she was going to tell the prideful child.

“HOW IS THIS MY FAULT?!”

“I never said it was your fault. Not sure what that has to do with anything… or why you are still yelling. I’m right here and I’m listening to you.” Resisting the urge to cross her legs or arms she took a deep breath, knowing that he’d most likely mirror her. “If you had a chance to go back and change how you handled yourself what would you have done?”

After a deep breath he folded his arms and looked away, “I’d stop Nat from throwing our ball away.”

“I said ‘you’, Shaun, not Nat. What different thing would you have done?”

“I dunno what you want me to say, so just tell me.”

“Nope.”

Anger renewed, he clenched everything and glared at her, “You want me to say that ‘violence is the last resort’, right? Why don’t you practice what you preach, Wraith the Barbarian?! It must be nice sitting up there on your high tower!”

Wraith had to bite her lip to keep from giggling. “I think you just combined ‘high horse’ with ‘lofty tower’.”

Cheap shot but still, ouch kid. Ouch. I can’t get over how much you look like Nate… lighter skin and my eyes but still… You’re breaking my heart…

“We aren’t talking about me. We are talking about you. Judging by what you just said you know full well where mistakes were made.” Wraith stood up and folded her arms behind her back, “Do you know how to play chess?”

“Wha...”

“Did you know Bear came with me? He wanted to see if there was a market here for some of his brahmin tack… anyway, he and Hancock like to play chess together and I think they were going to meet up for an after-lunch game. I want you to go and watch them. You don’t have to tell them about what happened this morning but you do need to be polite. Understand?”

Confusion crawled across the synth child’s face, “That’s it? I just… have to watch Mr. Hancock and Mr. Bear play… But why…”

“Yes or no, please.”

“Yes, grandma.”    

 “Got tackled by a girl, huh? Good for you!” Bear gave the child a hearty pat on the back that made him lurch forward, “Start calling you Lady-killer! Har har!”

Hancock’s face was inscrutable, “How old are ya, twelve? I guess that’s not so early to have a girlfriend.”

“She is NOT my girlfriend!”

A table had been set up in Home Plate for the two ghouls to battle each other. MacCready was sitting nearby, helping to sort guns that had just come in and he snickered at their gentle ribbing.

“I thought Wraith was teaching you judo. How’d Nat get the better of ya?” Hancock hooked a nearby chair with a boot and gestured for Shaun to take a seat, “Relax kid, you’re lookin’ like yer about to pop!”

Slumping, defeated in the chair, Shaun muttered at the floor, “She’s teaching Nat and Ms. Wright too.” He absentmindedly picked at a clot of mud on his jeans. “It’s not like I’m special or anything. To her, I mean.”

MacCready made a noise in his throat and half-stood, ready to come to Wraith’s defense. Hancock waved him back to his seat with a subtle flick of his hand.

“It seems odd for her to waste her time in teachin’ somebody judo, if she doesn’t care ‘bout ‘em, you feel me? Hey, Bear?”

Taking a long drag from his cigar, the enormous ghoul made a show of considering Hancock’s words, “Hmmm, you’re right.” Blowing a few smoke rings, Bear folded his arms and leaned toward Shaun, “You know, I lost my mom when I was a kid. My poor pop was a broken man for a time. Wolf’s family took me in and she an’ I grew up together just like you and your girl, there. We used to get in the worst kinda screaming, punch fights! Phew!”

Shaun’s locked his green eyes on Bear, “Really?”

“Sure enough. Mrs. Wolf would make us hug after; the worse the fight the longer we would have to. Drove us crazy but it did the trick. Teach us to throw hands at each other!” Looking back at the chessboard, Bear knit his brow and frowned, “Wait. Wait… what did I just do?”

“You lose your spot, brother?”

“No! Nope I got this… So young Shaun, you want to learn chess from a master?”

“I know a little bit… Just how the pieces can move and what they’re called.”

“Master, huh?” Hancock moved his queen, “Checkmate.”

“N… no… you… ” Sucking air over his teeth, Bear was ready to let loose with a powerful stream of curses. Hearing MacCready loudly clear his throat, he instead exercised extreme restraint, “Youuuuu… oxygen thief!”

Shaun shared in MacCready and Hancock’s laughter, “Grandma says that too. What’s it mean?”

“It means a ‘useless person’. I demand a rematch! I was distracted.”

“First lesson, Shaun: when you lose, resign your king with grace. What Grandmaster Bear just demonstrated was not a graceful resignation.”

“Hardy har har.”

“Back on your girl trouble...” Hancock smiled at Shaun’s frustrated sigh, “I imagine that Nat cares about you and yer opinion of her. Probably hurt her to hear ya say you’ll never play with her again. Dealing in absolutes is dangerous. Plus, hormones aside, yer getting a little old to be goaded so easily into a throw-down like that.” Raising his brow he leaned forward confidentially, “Don’t get me wrong, rolling around in the mud with a gal is fun and all but like I said, you’re twelve. Maybe just stick to holdin’ hands, you feel me?”

“She made me so mad!” Hugging himself, Shaun confessed to the floor, “I didn’t mean it though.” When he lifted his head, there were tears in his eyes and his voice was thick with emotion, “Was grandma broken? Is… is that why… Oh, I should’ve said that!”

MacCready practically leapt across the room, “Hey man, don’t cry! What did you say?”

Shaun shook his head and wiped his face with a sleeve, “I’m just… I was mean.”

Hancock set a gentle hand on his shoulder, “Listen kid, we all have bad days, right? You know yer grandma will understand. So, chin up and eyes open. Watch me kick Bear’s… MacCready, what am I allowed to say again?”

 “Well, I’m glad you were able to get through to him; he called me a barbarian! Although, truthfully I can’t protest too much…”

“You’re not… that bad.”

“Thanks, Mac.”

“You should have heard ‘em. Everything a proper father should say.” MacCready shoved Hancock playfully, “Maybe, we should start calling you ‘daddy Hancock’.”

Wraith maintained a private suit at the Dugout Inn and after finalizing plans for a morning departure, MacCready, Hancock and she retired for the evening.

Wraith had been brushing her teeth as MacCready sang the ghoul’s praises but stuck her head in the bedroom to make a disgusted face, “Ugh, no! That is, surprisingly enough, one kink I do not have.”

Hancock pulled MacCready to him, “You can call me whatever you want, Robert.” He set his scarred lips against the younger man’s in a dipping kiss that ended with Hancock gently nipping MacCready’s lower lip. All while maintaining eye contact with Wraith.

“Sh… shit.”

“Awww, now with the cursing? Well I guess daddy’s gonna have to teach you a lesson…”

“Please. Please, let’s not have this be a ‘thing’, okay? …guys?” Wraith protested even as the two men quickly shed their clothes.

“Wraith, c’mere and help hold ‘im down!”

MacCready feigned a timid whine, “Who says she’s on your side, huh?”

Giving in to desire, Wraith pulled her shirt off over her head, “Okay, but I’m gonna make you two hug after.”

 Stopping briefly at Sanctuary, Wraith had dropped MacCready off for his first semester of the year. With another winter in the Commonwealth conquered, she set about finalizing plans for an extended leave-of-absence. This included a three-week tour of all Minutemen settlements within the Commonwealth proper, with Hancock and Dogmeat in tow.  Apart from a minor skirmish with a grumpy, just-woke-up yao guai, that involved Wraith running in circles while calling out to a very frustrated Hancock “please don’t shoot the bear!” the inspection went as well as one could hope and she returned home exhausted but hopeful.

“Curie wants to see you at the clinic, when you aren’t too busy, dear.” Sofie rolled her eyes, “Whenever that is.”  

Hancock had nearly fallen asleep on Wraith’s office couch, but gestured vaguely at her on her way out the door, “Make sure you eat somethin’ first!”

Laughing at her when she walked into Curie’s lab with a whole loaf of razorgrain bread hanging out of her mouth, Danse pointed to his lip, “Afternoon, General. You’ve got a crumb… just there.”

Curie giggled at them, “It is good to see that you eating, Madame.” She walked over and began manipulating Wraith’s left arm. “I wanted to check on your shoulder before your journey.” Danse got up to leave the room but Curie waved him back to his chair, “Her clothing will remain on, mon ours.”

“So what’s the plan, General?” Danse’s face turned red and he cleared his throat.

Not to be detoured from his pet name reveal, Wraith’s smile was enormous around her meal and she razzed him unmercifully, “’Bear’, huh?” She chomped and smacked as she ate; making as much obnoxious eating noises as possible, “You know, we already have a Bear. What’s French for moose?”    

“General…”

“Hmm, there is élan, but this is an elk. It isn’t quite fitting, no? Although some anatomy may be…”

“Curie…”

“Oh, ho? You don’t say? Oh my, do tell!”

Danse’s face was nearing purple, “Are you ladies quite through?!”

“Oh mon amour, don’t be such a prune.” She stepped lightly to him and kissed the corner of his mouth.

The large man gave an equally large sigh and smiled at her, “Dearest, I believe you mean ‘prude’.”

“Oh? Very well.”

“You two are too adorable…”

“How is your pain level, madame?”

“Honestly it’s fine. My arm can be a little tight if I move it straight up and down laterally but unless someone plans on using me as a water pump, it’ll be oaky.”

Danse had been brewing tea and offered Wraith a cup, “The plan? You haven’t actually told anyone where you’re going…”

Sitting on the edge of a counter, Wraith took a sip before answering, “It’s kind of a surprise. I actually want to talk to you about some related matters though; so if you can keep a lid on things, I’ll fill you in.”

“Shall I step out of the room, madame?”

Wraith waved the suggestion away, “Nope, it’s not a huge deal just, like I said, keep it hush-hush.”  

The couple pulled up chairs and both leaned forward unconsciously. Their eager faces reminded Wraith of children excited for story time and made Wraith felt particularly maternal.

I feel like I’ve been more of a mother to these two…

“I’m going to take a couple of days to rest here but the plan is to head south. Hancock, MacCready and I are taking a small contingent of Minutemen and going to Underworld, to get Duncan.”

Curie clapped her hands, “Oh, how wonderful! To reunite father and son! Oh, oh I’m going to cry!”

Danse had gone very still, “You’re going to the Columbia Commonwealth.”

“Yes, I am and I wanted to ask if you would like to come along.”

Standing abruptly, he turned his back to her and spoke to the wall, “Do you think that I should? Why?”

“Danse…”

Whipping around, his face was a kaleidoscope of emotion, “I’m not sure if anything that I remember was real! No, I can’t. I shouldn’t.”

“Mon amour, surely you have chapters of your life that need closing? What if Haylen…”

“NO!” Instantly sorry for shouting, Danse visibly pulled himself together and offered the two women a wan smile, “This is real.” He took Curie’s hand and pulled her into a hug, “You are real.” He kissed her, “Right?”

“Oui, mon ours, I am real.”

Wraith stood to leave, “I understand. Oh, Curie, will you have the prosthetic for Henrietta finished soon? Since we’re going to be going that way I’d like to give it to her in person.”

“Oui, Monsieur Sturges and I finished yesterday.”

“Excellent! Oh, like I said, I’m keeping it a surprise until I know for certain that Mac will be ready. He might still need convincing, so mum’s the word.”

Grabbing her hand before she made it through the doorway, Danse pulled Wraith in for a hug, “Thank you. I know I’ve said it before but if it wasn’t for you… I might have never known what ‘real’ is.”    

Wraith patted his back, “I’m glad I could help you bear-man.”

 “Why am I so nervous? Are you nervous? I’m sweating… ugh! Are you sweating, because I am definitely sweating?”

It was early morning and Hancock and Wraith sat at the table in her small kitchen. MacCready had yet to join them and Wraith was letting her anxiety spin out of control.

“I’m not even sure why I’m nervous! I mean, maybe it’s because I’ve spent a lot of time planning this without actually getting his permission. And the fact that I’ve asked him before… even volunteered to go with him but he said ‘no’ like he meant never.”

“It’ll be fine, sunshine.” Hancock took her hand in his to keep her from drumming the tabletop apart, “You should have seen him when he saw that picture… when he heard his boy’s voice…” His own voice deepened with emotion and his eyes where misty with the memory, “He wasn’t ready before but he’s sure as hell ready now!”

“What am I ready for?” MacCready joined them while rubbing his eyes like a sleepy child. Folding his arms on the table, he laid his head on them and mumbled into the crook of his elbow, “What are you two crazy people going to get me caught up in now?”

“Did you sleep upside-down? Your hair is completely vertical!” Perhaps slightly jealous, Hancock’s tone carried a small amount of disgust, “It’s goddamn ridiculous!”

The young man, with dramatic slowness, unfolded an arm and flipped him off. Smoothly and without hesitation, Hancock plucked a mutfruit from the bowl on the table and slid it down over the offending digit.

“Oh mY GOD! WHAT IS THAT?!” Shuddering slightly, MacCready shouted into his elbow: too afraid to look.

Laughing helplessly Wraith shook her head, “You two are the absolute best!”

“It’s a mutfruit, MacCready.” The ghoul’s tone was shrewd and taunting, “I’d think you’d know…”

Lifting it to his lips, MacCready waggled his eyebrows at him while slowly taking a bite, “Not used to one being applied in that particular location.” He winked at Wraith.

“Boy, that got off track before we even left the station...” Wraith cleared her throat and tried to school her features into a poker face Fahrenheit would be proud of. “Okay… here we go. Mac, I wrote a letter to Nyx Morningstar last fall. She and I have made arrangements to meet at a relatively safe location and she’s going to grant us additional protection as we pick up Duncan.” Mistaking his shocked expression for a rejection, Wraith’s face pinched with nerves and she spoke faster and faster while gesticulating, “I know you’ve told me ‘no’ but I think we have come a long way in making the roads safer since then. After all, that was just after we gave the cure to Daisy! There will be ten Minutemen with us, Morningstar’s people once we get close enough, plus Hancock and me. Not to mention you! The behemoth thing was just a fluke and although I’ve no way of being able to guarantee, without any fraction of doubt, that we won’t come across a similar situation, statistically…”

“Wraith! Wraith, stop!” Able to capture one of her waving hands, MacCready stood and pulled her with him. Reaching for Hancock as well, he hugged them both while laughing and crying, “I love you guys. Of course, of course I want…” Giving over to crying, he was unable to finish.

Thank you so much for reading! Like what you read? Looking for more? Please see my Wraith in the Ruins master-link under my bio. Tumblr’s dislike for link-posts is why you’ll see two versions of my chapters. I do my best to keep the master updated and change the date when I do. As always, feel free to throw me an ask if you have any questions/comments/concerns. Anon too! =^..^=

[01littleunicorn]

For the writing prompts 8 U for graybin Please ♥ (am I abusing the fact you told me u could request more than once? Definitely yes)

Hey there!! Not abusing don’t worry, I’m always happy to write for you ^^

For explanation, the lovely person up there is my bff hence why I made an exception to the ‘’only Awakening/Fates’’ rule. She knows exactly where I am in the game and therefore knew not to ask for things happening in the later parts of the story.

Anyway first time writing for Echoes’s characters! Tobin and Gray are two of my favorites so I hope I did them justice ^^’’

8. ‘’I just want to sleep’’

U. Quiet Campsite

Pairings: Gray/Tobin

No warnings, possible spoilers if you haven’t played the game ^^

Enjoy!

The fire had finally diedout and even the remaining ashes were now running cold. A heavy silence was reigningon the campsite, with the exception of the occasional snore coming from one ofthe soldiers. The moon was high in the sky and everyone seemed to be sleeping.

Well, almosteveryone… For what felt like the thousandth time, Tobin turned around on hismakeshift bed, trying to fall asleep.

Tomorrow would be abig day. The Deliverance was going to walk on the Sluice Gate to defeat one ofDuma’s faithful and free Luthier’s sister, Delthea. The fight ahead was notgoing to be an easy one, as those arcanists from Rigel were known to be bothpowerful and vicious, but Alm refused to abandon the young mage to her fate,despite the overwhelming odds.

Coming from a largefamily, Tobin had instantly related to Luthier’s plea to save his sister. Ifany of his siblings had found their way into that kind of danger, the archerwould have begged anyone to help him rescue them. Though, living in Ram village,the dangers he would’ve had to face would’ve been more along the line ofpredators from the woods or the occasional brigands.

In any case, he wasglad Alm had agreed to help save Luthier’s sister, no matter what other membersof the Deliverance might have to say about this decision. Somehow, it remindedTobin that his friend was still the simple man he remembered from hischildhood, even though he was changing more and more into a true militaryleader.

Their battle atDesaix’s fortress remained fresh in his mind and he clearly remembered theevent that took place there. Most of them were too busy celebrating Mathilda’srescue and their victory over Zofia’s traitor to notice, but he had been therewhen Alm found the treasure residing in the general’s vault. 

The sword was beautifullydecorated and automatically caught Tobin’s eyes. However, no matter how hard hetried, the archer was unable to pick it up. Though he might not be as strong asAlm or, even if it pained him to admit it, Gray, he stillknew his way around a sword. And this one was impossible to lift. Yet, Alm thencame and took it like it was the easiest thing to do. While Tobin might not bethe smartest guy around, it was pretty obvious to him that if you can wield aweapon that legends say no one else can lift, that must mean something!

The regal weapon wasnow sitting at Alm’s side like it was the most normal thing in the world, yet hisfriend refused to talk about it to anyone. Both him and Lukas hadn’t uttered aword on the subject, even to Clive, and the archer couldn’t figure out why. Whydid Alm choose to just dismiss this event as if it was nothing? What made himnot mention it to at least his friends?

Tobin didn’t knowmuch about war and strategy and stuff, but something did not sit right withthis situation and he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

With a sigh, thearcher closed his eyes again, trying once more to find some semblance of sleep,when a ruffle nearby caught his attention.

- Pssst… hey…Tobin… psst!

Recognizing the voiceof the annoying mercenary, Tobin simply rolled his eyes, attempting to ignorehis friend by pretending to be asleep. That was counting without Gray’sdetermination.

- Tobin…..Tooooobiiiiiiin…. pssst!!!

Fearing that theother man’s loud whispers would wake up the entire camp, the archer finallylooked at him with an annoyed face.

- Shut up Gray! Ijust want to sleep…

He didn’t truly thinkthis would be enough to really silence the mercenary and the latter proved himright by simply smiling at the exclamation and answering jokingly.

- Bah, you can sleepwhen you’re dead!

Even though he knewthis was just a jest, Tobin did not find it funny and simply responded with adisapproving look.

They were at war anddeath was following them at every step. It could come for any of them, at anytime, and every battle was a new wager with the reaper. Tobin was always afraidthe next fight would be his last, a fear Gray didn’t seem to share with all hisjoking and boasting around.

The mercenary justheld up his hands and simply added apologetically.

- Sorry, sorry… butstill, you must have a bit of time to spare for good ol’ Gray?

Technically speaking,Tobin would have been better off sleeping to regain his strength for tomorrow. Realisticallythough, he doubted he would ever manage to fall asleep any way and was somewhatcurious about what Gray wanted to talk about.

- Fine… what do youwant then?

The other man smiledat his capitulation and proceeded to bring his own makeshift bed closer. However,he sported a more serious look when he whispered to Tobin again.

- I wanted to askabout Alm… I mean… don’t you think he’s been changing recently?

The question didn’tsurprise Tobin that much and it took him back to his recent thoughts. Heanswered with a sigh.

- Of course, he’sbeen changing… but, honestly, everything keeps changing since we left Ramvillage! I barely recognize myself sometimes. Alm is just… more affected Iguess.

He didn’t want tobring too much on the subject. Whatever Alm’s reasons were for keeping secrets,they were his own and Tobin would respect that.

As for Gray, he seemedto think about it for a few seconds more, before adding.

- Yeah, maybe… Imean he’s always been kinda… different, I guess? You know, like he didn’tbelong at the village with the rest of us… I suppose it’s normal he found hisplace here, among all the knights and noble warriors. They’re more his pace, ifyou know what I mean…

There was truth inGray’s words and Tobin had to admit it. While they all had come a long way, Almhad always been the one standing out, much to the archer’s desperation. Alwaysthe brave and strong hero, it wasn’t much of a surprise that he seemed to befitting in his new leader role quite this easily. Maybe it was just his fate,who knows?

- Still, sometimes itfeels like he’s slowly leaving us behind to live this big hero life! He couldat least save some of the glory for his ol’ friends, you know.

Gray had added thatlast part with a wink, making Tobin roll his eyes once more. Gray was often goingon and on about that whole glory thing and the archer knew that was a big partof why he joined the Deliverance in the first place. It wasn’t that Tobindidn’t care about being recognized as a hero, but his main focus had alwaysbeen to bring money back for his family. The fame and glory would just be abonus… if he survived, that is.

- Say Tobe… what doyou think the future will be like for us?

His friend’s voicebrought Tobin out of his thoughts, making him reflect on the question. Truth betold, the archer hated thinking about the future. With every step, they seemedto get more and more involved in a situation that surpassed him and he dreadedwhat was coming on the horizon.

He sighed, turning onhis back to look at the sky.

- I don’t know…Heck! I don’t even know what tomorrow will look like… But, I guess, if I’mstill alive after all this, I would go back to Ram village to help my family onthe farm.

That was the planafter all. Go out there, fight to earn gold and bring it back to his family. Itseemed so simple back then.

Gray looked surprisedby his answer and he added, with an inquiring look.

- Really, that’s all?Is that really what you want Tobin?

There was a rareserious tone in his voice and Tobin was taken aback by the question. What elsewas there to want after all?

- Well… yeah Iguess…

But he wasn’t so sureanymore. Trying to ignore those new uncertainties, he turned his attention backto Gray.

- What about you? Anygreat plans for the future?

The reaction wasimmediate for the mercenary who responded, with a huge smile.

- Easy! I’ll marryClair and we will settle down and have lots of little Grays running around.Maybe I’ll even name one after you, Tobe!

As the darker skinnedman started to chuckle at what he probably considered a hilarious joke, Tobinsimply sighed.

Of course, Clair wasalways the answer. Ever since the young woman had rejoined the Deliverance, shewas practically all the two guys ever talked about. How beautiful she was andwho would win her heart. Tobin had to admit he didn’t have much hope for thatlast part though. If Clair was always chastising Gray about his flirtinghabits, she was at least talking to the mercenary. Beside a salutation duringtheir first meeting, Tobin had never managed to exchange anything more with thePegasus Knight, making his chances even slimmer than the laughing man’s besidehim.

Yes, Clair wasgorgeous, strong… and completely out of his league. He should just give up atthis point.

- Sure… well, Iwish you the best luck then mate… Make sure she doesn’t kill you before sayingyes…

He thought hisattempt at a joke would be enough to stop his friend from prying forward, butGray’s laugh died out almost instantly as he looked at Tobin with concern.

- Since when are youso okay with Clair and I? I mean, I know we agreed not to fight over it but…I mean, I thought you would still wanna have a chance, no?

Being a competitive man,Tobin had always strived to beat Alm or Gray at anything. Yet, he also knew hehad to choose his battles and that was a fight he had already lost.

- What chance? Shedoesn’t even look at me. Compared to Alm, or even you, I have no way of everwinning her heart. She’s a sophisticated noble; I’m a lowly commoner… that’swhat it is.

He then turned tosmile dryly at Gray.

- But don’t let thatstop you from trying for what you really want. Maybe, miracles can come true.

He added that last partmostly as a jape, although the mercenary didn’t seem to catch it. Looking atthe sky and nibbling on his bottom lip, Gray was obviously lost in thoughts andTobin had to call him twice before he responded to his name, with a bashfulsmile.

- Sorry, I was justthinking….

The need to tease wastoo strong to resist.

- I saw that and itlooked hard to do…

- Oh! shut up Tobin!

The archer simplychuckled at the mercenary’s exclamation before asking, more seriously.

- Nah, but really,what’s troubling you? Isn’t marrying Clair your dream?

Gray simply sighed,seemingly searching for his words, before answering.

- Sure… but,like… maybe that’s all it is. A dream, I mean…

He then turned backto look at the sky as he added.

- This journey’salready crazier than what I could’ve ever imagined, yet… I don’t know, maybeI just enjoy dreaming too big…

Somehow, Gray’s wordsfelt really relatable and Tobin could only nod in agreement, whispering back.

- Yeah… I know thatfeeling.

For a moment, the twoboys fell in a comfortable silence, with only the stillness of the nightsurrounding them. In this restful atmosphere, Tobin could feel his eyes closingas he yawned silently, slowly falling asleep.

- Say, Tobin…

Gray’s voice wakedhim up from his sleepy state and he turned his attention back to his friend.

- Hum?

- No matter whathappens tomorrow, or even later… we will always stay together, right?

There was a reallyserious tone in his voice, one Tobin didn’t hear often, and almost a hint ofworry. Gray sounded truly afraid that he might lose him someday and Tobin suddenlyrealised he seemed to be sharing the same fears. At the thought of losing the mercenary;of not seeing him again; of not hearing his dumb jokes once more, the archercould feel a void in his heart and blaming it on their long lasting friendshipdidn’t feel quite right.

But that was too muchthinking for this time at night.

- Of course… westarted this together and we’ll finish it together.

And, with a smile, hejokingly added.

- Besides, no matterhow hard I try, I could never get rid of you anyway.

- Hey!

The exclamation was accompaniedby a playful hit on the shoulder, as both boys started laughing loudly, tryingto stifle it enough to avoid waking their fellow soldiers.

They were both still smilingwhen Gray put his hand on the archer’s shoulder, adding with a familiar smirk.

- And, you know, lifewould be quite boring without you, my Tobi-poo!

The possessive use ofthat appellation and the gesture were enough to make Tobin blush slightly, but hesimply responded with an audible grunt.

- Aw…come on, youknow I hate that nickname.

Gray smirks just grewbigger as he winked at him.

- Oh! I know…

Then, with a yawn anda large grin, the mercenary lay down on his bed, whispering.

- Well… good-nightTobi-poo!

Remaining annoyed by theuse of the ridiculous pet name, Tobin barely answered before lying down again, hopingto be able to fall asleep this time.

But he already knewthis was a lost cause. As he closed his eyes, Tobin could still feel the heaton his face and, in the midst of all his swirling thoughts, all he could seemto think about was Gray, with his loud laugh and his dumb grin…

Damn it!

[pocketsizedsam-blog1]

The Unexpected Perks of Being a Nanny Chapter Sixteen

Pairing: Jared x Reader

Word Count: 2.6k

Warnings: pregnancy

Beta: @my-squirrel-and-moose

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas would soon be there.” You were frustrated as to why Jared had to work on Christmas’ Eve, the holidays were always given off.  Although it only interfered with your plans- the kids would not be in Vancouver until after the new year. They were having Christmas at Nanny and Poppy Cortese’s like Genevieve promised them, so you were home alone, for yet another Christmas Eve. You had felt more tired than normal in the the last few weeks and all of a sudden, you felt a sick feeling in your stomach. You just barely made it to the bathroom before you spilled your stomach contents out into the toilet. Hoping you were just coming down with the flu, you flushed the toilet, washed your face and brushed your teeth. You pulled your cell phone out of your pocket as you curled up on the couch, cuddled into your favorite blanket. You dialed Jared’s number and listened to it ring while you waited for a response.

“Hello.” He answered.

You could hear other voices in the background, which was obviously distracting Jared. And by the tone of his voice, he hadn’t even looked at the caller ID before answering.

“Hey.” You yawned.

“Oh, Hey, Y/N. What’s up?”

“Nothing much… I’m sick.” You frowned.

“Sick… Like how?”

“I just threw up. I’ve been nothing but exhausted and nauseated these last couple of weeks… I’ve got a terrible headache and my period is really off this week. It was late, now it’s like I don’t even have a period. I’m just spotty, crampy and bloated.” You sighed. “Maybe I’m stressin’. All these symptoms can be caused by stress, right?”

“That and pregnancy.” Jared worried.

“Oh, come on, Jared. That’s impossible! The first time we had sex we used a condom, and we haven’t really had a lot of sex since than.” You shrugged.

“Condoms break, Y/N.  Even a pinhole can let the sperm go through.”

“Jared, don’t tell me that….Oh god, I think I’m going to be sick.” You rushed.

In truth, you weren’t ready for a baby of your own quite yet.  Jared and you have only been dating for a year, his youngest is only nine months old!

“I know, I know, don’t worry.  Look, I’m just gonna take the rest of the night off and come home early. I’ll pick up some pregnancy tests on my way and don’t drink any eggnog, just to be on the safe side. Maybe you’re not even pregnant… maybe you’re just stressin’, like you said!” Jared tried to calm you down.

You took a deep breath and gulped, “okay.”

It wasn’t long before Jared was home and he arrived with the pregnancy tests like he said. He was about to greet you with a kiss, but you put your hand up and shook your head no, signalling him to stop.

“I just threw up.” You groaned.

He proceeded to give you a kiss on the forehead before handing you three different kinds of pregnancy tests.

“These things rarely give false positives… So if you get a positive on at least one… we’ll call and make an appointment, okay? We’ll be regardless of the outcome. And my god, Y/N you went to school to take care of kids and I have three of them myself!”

You nodded and took the tests from Jared, then went into the powder room. You came out a few minutes later.

“I couldn’t pee.” Your bottom lip quivered.

“Okay… well let’s get some water into you, Okay?”

You shook your head yes as Jared led you into the kitchen. He sat you down with a glass of water and told you to drink as much as you could.

“Do you need me to help?”

You gave Jared a glare, “no.”

He threw his hands up in the air as if to surrender.

“Nope, Okay. Sorry.”

You, shakily, made your way back into the powder room off the kitchen, and waited a few minutes. You were able to pee the second time, taking all three of the different tests. Jared knocked on the door.

“You okay in there? Did you take the tests?” He worried.

“Yeah, I did.” You opened up the door and let Jared in.

He closed the door behind him and stood behind you and the sink, his arms wrapped around you tightly.

“I can’t do this.” You sniffed.

“Yeah, you can. You know what I see when I look in this mirror? A happy, healthy, independent, hot woman. You’re perfect, Y/N. You know a lot about how to take care of kids and you have a great relationship with my kiddos- and Jensen’s kids-”

You cut him off, “what about the things I screwed up? Adam? Adelaide? Adam barely talks to me and I can’t exactly call Adelaide up on the phone!”

“Those relationships will take time to heal, but they will.”

You and Jared stood in silence until your phone timer went off. When you didn’t look right away, Jared took it upon himself to look.

“They’re negative.” He frowned.

“W-what? You’re joking, r-right?”

He shook his head no. You started to cry and you reached for the tests.

“I am just kidding babe, they’re all positive.” Jared cracked a smile as he showed you the pregnancy tests.

You punched his arm and grabbed the tests. It was exactly like the scene you watched in F.R.I.E.N.D.S when Phoebe told Rachel she wasn’t pregnant… and she actually was!

“You little shit!” You exclaimed, wiping your tears and staring at all the positives. “Oh god, Jare, I haven’t even met your parents yet!”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.”

“Or your sister and brother! Wow, I am a terrible person!”

“You’re not a terrible person, it’s just I haven’t had the chance to take you down to Texas. We can go soon, okay? Just let me get the tickets.”

“Okay.” You rubbed your stomach.

You and Jared washed your hands, then placed the pregnancy tests on the countertop. You headed into the living room and lied down with Jared to watch a movie. How the Grinch Stole Christmas was playing and you started to doze off while watching, cuddled into Jared. You didn’t remember him turning off the movie and you didn’t remember him carrying you upstairs. It was the next morning before you remembered anything, you rushed out to the ensuite and threw up again. To no surprise, you had very little left in your stomach to throw up. Jared must have already been downstairs, you figured he was booking a flight to Texas. You brushed your teeth then made your way down over the stairs and glanced at the Christmas tree. It looked bare. It reminded you of every other Christmas you had growing up.

“Oh, hey.” Jared smiled and greeted you with a kiss. “Good morning, Y/N! Mornin’ Baby.”

Jared rubbed your stomach and smiled down at it.

“Daddy’s super happy you’re in there. I think mommy’s a little bit nervous-”

“A little bit nervous? That’s an understatement!” You giggled.

“But, I know she’s going to do great… ‘cause she’s awesome with your older brothers and sister! Isn’t that right?” Jared looked back up to you. “I got you something!”

“Oh, yeah? I got you a little something too!”

“Let’s open up some gifts and then get breakfast, huh? Then we can have a lazy day, you’re probably not feeling up to turkey.”

“Yeah… I’m not.” You laughed. “Not up for breakfast either.”

“You gotta eat something, Y/N, remember, you’re eating for two! Tell mommy she’s got to try and eat something!”

“Alright, after we open presents we’ll have breakfast.” You smiled, rubbing your stomach.

It was pretty lonely in Vancouver, you didn’t have a lot of friends and the Ackles were gone back to Texas for Christmas.

“So… I was also thinking, you haven’t met all my co-workers yet, why don’t we have Misha and Alexander over before we go to Texas?”

“I’d like that.” You grinned, taking a seat on the floor next to the Christmas tree.

“It’s our first Christmas as a couple.”

“As friends too… remember? We only met in June of the year.” You corrected him.

“Right, right.” He laughed. “I-I got something for you.”

Jared smiled as he handed you a wrapped box. You took it excitedly, but not eagerly. It was wrapped so perfectly, no doubt Jared had done it himself. He also handed you a card. “Y/N” in all capitals was written across the front. You opened the card first. Inside was Jared’s beautiful handwriting, saying, “Dear Y/N, here’s to our first Christmas together.” There was a Victoria Secret gift card inside.

“I guess you can you can use that after the baby comes.” He gave you a smile.

You chuckled and tore the wrapping paper off the box. When you opened the box, you couldn’t believe your eyes. There was a matching set of earrings, a necklace and a ring!

“I know we’re know we’re nowhere near ready to get married, just consider it a promise ring, or just an ordinary ‘ole ring from your boyfriend.”

“Oh, wow, Jared- This is beautiful!” You choked back tears. “I love it!”

Quickly, you grabbed the present you had for Jared. You handed it to him. He took it carefully and started to unwrap it. You felt you should have given him more. He opened it, looked at it closely and flipped through the pages. He frowned when he got halfway through the book. You had given him a photo album that was half filled with pictures of you, him and the kids.

“It’s not finished?”

“I-I figured we could fill it with new memories that we make.” You sniffed, looking to the ground. “I’m sorry, it was stupid. I should’ve given you something else.”

“No, no! Y/N, I love it!” He laid the book down and scooted over next to you.

He pulled you into his arms as you started to sob.

“You really like it?” You sniffed, looking up at him.

“Like it? I love it, Y/N. I couldn’t ask for anything better! I got the perfect present from the perfect girl. I was the one who gave you the stereotypical, materialistic present. You gave me something that was heartfelt.”

You gave him a little smile, “but I love what you gave me! My bra and panty selection is crappy and I have zero pieces of jewelry.”

“Hey, I love your bra and panty selection! I think you look beautiful in whatever you wear!”

“Oh, are you purposely trying to score boyfriend points?” You giggled, wiping your tears.

“What? No… of course not…” He grinned. “But if I was… would it be working?”

“Oh, you sly guy.” You curled into him. “Yes, of course it would.”

You and Jared stayed like that for a few minutes before you opened up the gifts from other people. After that, you and Jared had breakfast, which the baby did not agree with, and you watched movies. Your mind wandered to your siblings who haven’t talked to you in months. You sent them Christmas gifts but you never got any reply to say they received them. You could only imagine the amount of pain they were going through this Christmas, with their father so sick and all. You wished you could help, but Adam didn’t want it. You only got dressed when Jared announced that Alexander, Misha and Misha’s family were on their way.

“Did you want to tell them or should we wait to tell everybody?” You pulled a shirt down over your body.

It was a red shirt with Christmas designs all over it.

“I mean, if you want to tell them, they could probably keep the secret until we’re ready to tell everyone else.” Jared shrugged.

“Well yeah.” You laughed. “I think we should tell him.”

Before you knew it, you heard the doorbell downstairs. You rushed down to meet Alex and the Collins’, getting slightly stomach sick from how fast you moved. You opened up the door and shot Alex, who was in front of Misha, Vicki, West and Maison, a warm smile. You let them all in the house to get out of the cold, harsh Vancouver weather.

“Hi! It’s nice to finally meet you!” Alexander smiled as he pulled you into a hug.

“Wow, such a gentleman!”

Alex was closer to your age than Jared was. He was only twenty-seven whereas Jared was thirty-five.

“Me? Nah.” He laughed. “Merry Christmas! I brought some wine!”

Jared entered the foyer and grinned, taking the bottle from Alexander, “that will be all mine.”

“Would it kill you to share, Jared? He gets like this on set.” Alex teased.

You proceed to give Misha a hug while Jared and Alex spoke.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Y/N! Jared doesn’t stop talking about you.” Misha laughed.

“Actually, Y/N doesn’t drink and she can’t have it anyways.” Jared cut in and placed the bottle on the counter.

You gave Vicki a hug as well, then waved hi to the kids. West and Maison waved hi back. Alex never put two and two together which caused you and Jared to let out a few laughs, but you were sure Misha and Vicki knew what you were talking about.

“What? What’s so funny? Did I step in something? Is something on my face? I feel like I’m on set.” He referenced how the older men always played pranks on him.

“No, no.” You laughed.

“You’re just not the sharpest tool in the shed.” Jared cackled.

You landed a smack on Jared’s shoulder,

“The reason I can’t have alcohol is because I’m pregnant.” You smiled shyly.

“Oh wow! Congratulations you two!” Alex shot you a smile.

“There’s going to be another mini-Jared around here?!” Misha faked annoyance.

“If I’m lucky at all, the little one will be a mini Y/N; the world could use more like her.” Jared said looking straight at you with pride in his eyes.

“Kids are awesome, congrats you two!” Vicki added.

“Oh, trust me… I know.” You laughed.

West and Maison wandered off into the house as if they were at their own house.

“Just don’t tell anyone.” Jared warned. “You guys are the first ones to know and we don’t want you to spoil the surprise!”  

“The secret is safe with me, but…uh.. I don’t know how long this one will be able to keep the surprise.” Vicki said pointing to her husband.

“Me!! Are you joking? Moose here is the one who spoils the surprises when he can’t keep his mouth shut!” Misha said glaring at Jared.

“Fine, that may be true, but with this one, I’m not ruining it.” Jared said, once again staring only at you. And that’s when you looked back up to him, reaching up on your tippy-toes to kiss Jared.

“Now I get why Jensen says that being around you two is gross.” Alex said beginning to walk away from the entrance and in further to the home.

“Aw is Alex jealous that his girl couldn’t come with him?” Jared said after the two of you broke apart.

“You all are such boys.” Vicki said laughing beside you.

“Hey!!” Both Jared and Misha said at the same time, causing everyone to break out in chuckles and laughter.

“Okay okay, let’s go sit, I’ve got snacks in the kitchen if anyone is interested. We can talk about true ages later.” You said teasing Jared and Misha, already knowing that tonight would be a great way to meet the Collins family and Alex.

Tags: @inevergaveuplarry @nanie5 @reachforthestarsgirl @beckawinchester @internationalmusicteacher

[apartofthelosersclub]

Skateboard Beauty

A/N: I’m SO sorry for not writing this sooner, I hadn’t bothered to check my inbox and I have been sleeping on this golden request. Please accept my sincerest apologies. The thing is that, I haven’t been getting any feedback on some of my writings and I kinda felt insecure. But @creativitymouth has helped me feel good about my writing and gave me feedback (Bless her). Also, I’m on break so my free time will be consumed with writing for you guys, making art (Fanart), and partying?{My friends like to drag me out of my cave to have some social interaction}

Also, an AU of sorts? Pennywise never happened? Aged up Losers Club (14-15)

Trigger Warnings include but are not limited to: Profanity and Bullying

“Aren’t you glad it’s Friday, Eds?”

Waiting at the side of the entrance of Derry High School, was Richie Tozier. Derry’s infamous trashmouth. The rest of the losers were on their way, eager to leave and go home.

“Yes and don’t call me Eds. Also for your own sake, stop touching the railing. Don’t you know how many people touch that? How many other germy things they’ve touched before touching the railing? Do you want to catch a Rhinovirus? Do you want to get sick?” ranted Eddie, as they both began to climb down the steps.

“Make way!”

(Y/F/N) (Y/L/N), Derry’s infamous badass, and only tomboy. Girls and guys alike gave her shit for looking and dressing like a boy. However, the thing about her was that she didn’t care about what people thought or said about her. 

She sped down the hallway, students parting at the last second to get out of her way, lest she take them with her painfully. Out of the bulding and getting towards the edge of the step she jumped, skateboard and all, and slid down the railing. Landing perfectly, she jumped up once more; the board flipping until she landed on it. Pivoting herself to the left, she threw her arm and waved to the astounded student body and left. Running after her, was (Y/BF/N).

Eddie could only marvel at the person who was the epitome of badassery. Not to mention the fact that he thought she was beautiful; her personality and the way she carried herself is what made her beautiful in his eyes.

“Holy fuck, what a badass! Maybe I can learn how t-”

“No.”

“Wait up!” (Y/BF/N) huffed, attempting to keep. Their bookbag full of heavy textbooks, weighing them down.

“Hurry up,” you snickered as you began to pretend to put out a foot towards the ground to propel yourself further. You wouldn’t actually go further knowing your friend had asthma.

“You know, I should teach you how to skateboard. Or at least how to ride a bike. What’s going to happen if I get sick or I’m not around, and Bowers and his gang of idiots come after you?”

“I’ve got you, you’ll always be with me,” (Y/BF/N) panted as you both came to stop. You picked up your skateboard and decided that you would walk the rest of the way. 

“How about I teach you how to skateboard, right now, even if it’s just a little bit. I have to make sure you can at least get away, if I get into a fight with him. I can’t have Bowers and Co. hurting you, you’re my best friend. I’m supposed to protect you.”

“The thing about friendship is that, the protection that you give me needs to go both ways. I want to be able to look after and protect you too, maybe not in the way that you do for me, but I want to do someting too.”

“You can look after me by doing one thing for me right now”

“What, I’ll do it right now.”

“You can hop on my skateboard right now, so that I can teach you how to get away if you ever need to.”

“...”

“It’ll seriously ease my mind. Like, this isn’t a joke.”

“Fine, but you have to hold my stuff.”

(Y/BF/N) took off their bookbag, handing it to you. From your own bag, you took out a helmet.

“You have a helmet on hand, yet you never use it”

“I already know how to skateboard; therefore, I have no use for it.”

Huffing, they began to get ready. (Y/BF/N) looked at the board, clearly uneasy.

“If you’re scared about falling, don’t be. It’s bound to happen, rather sooner than later. So, let’s begin!”

“I’m going to run as fast as I possibly can, and you have to be able to get away from me. On my mark, get set, GO!”

You propelled yourself forward, running in (Y/BF/N)’s direction. They had taken off, kicking off and moving forward without falling. The point was to ensure that could get away; even at a moments notice, extremely fast, and without fail. You both had been at this for hours, making sure that they had met the goal. You had been out of breath, and needed a moment.

“Now you know what it feels like to be me.”

“Holy shit, I’ve never been this out of breath since, well, never. Stay on the board, you can keep skating until we get to your house.”

“Why do you think you’ll get into a fight with Bowers? Is it because he picks on Eddie Kaspbrak and his friends?”

You stopped and turned to look at (Y/BF/N).

“I can tell you like him. You keep the other bullies away, and you make sure that Eddie and his group of friends are safe from physical violence. Not to mention the fact that I caught you staring at him once,” (Y/BF/N) teased.

You could feel your face getting hot, and the impulse to look away was strong.

“He’s not like other boys, sure he has some quirks, but they’re what make him different. He’s kind, he loyal, and he supports his friends. Not to mention the fact that he’s adorable,” you murmured.

You had made it to (Y/BF/N)’s house. You said your farewells, and you were off. Taking a detour, you decided to practice some tricks that you had learned not noticing that someone was watching you.

“Aww, Eds! You excited to see (Y/L/N)?”

“Richie, stop. Seriously, or else I’ll tell Stan”

“Tell Stan what?”

“That Eddie’s fallen in love with (Y/L/N) since he saw her by his house yesterday, practicing some sick stunts on her board.”

“Seriously? You like (Y/L/N)? How?”

“What the hell do you mean ‘how’? She’s amazing, how could I not love her? She’s so strong, selfless, she doesn’t take shit from anybody, and she skateboards! The only thing that concerns me is that she gets into fights from time to time. Sometimes with people who are older than her, sometimes stronger than her.”

“Aww Eddie,” gushed Beverly, as she poked his cheek. They all had come together, streets away from the school on their bikes.

“Well, times almost up for mentally and physically preparing ourselves for hell,” sassed Stan.

“You can say that again.”

“Come on (Y/BF/N), it doesn’t take you this long to get ready!”

You had brought one of your old skateboards for (Y/BF/N) to keep. You figured since you were teaching them, it might do them good to have a skateboard to practice with. The door swung open, (Y/BF/N) rushing out.

“Here, I brought you a skateboard. It’s yours, so you can start practicing now by skating with me to school.”

“I like that there I had no choice in the matter.”

“Look here boys! If it isn’t Bucky Beaver, Stuttering Bill, and the rest of the losers. Come out to play did ya’?”

They had made it through the first day of a hellish week, in hell. 

“Go away Bowers,” Eddie spoke.

“What makes you think I take orders from you Fairy?” Henry hissed as he proceeded to shove the other losers away with Patrick, Vic, and Belch. Upon reaching Eddie, Henry harshly shoved Eddie, making him trip over his feet and fall back.

Suddenly Henry stumbled backwards and nearly fell if it wasn’t for the rest of his gang. He had been hit in the head with a heavy chemistry textbook. There came (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N) and (Y/BF/N) on skateboards. Decked out in ripped jeans, a leather jacket with a band t-shirt, with her hair tucked into a hat, and sneakers; (Y/F/N) definitely looked like a boy. (Y/F/N) sped towards us, and at the last second jumped off her board, picked it up, and proceeded to walk towards Bowers. She stood in front of him, board in one of her arms while the other was propped on her hip, effectively blocking us from his view.

“Back it up, Bowers”

“If it isn’t good ol’ (Y/L/N), what a gentlemen you are, protecting a bunch of girls,” Henry snickered.

“If a being a gentleman makes me a man, then that makes me the only man here. Since what’s in front of me is a bunch of little boys trying to act like men.”

A laughter ceased, and Henry threw a punch at you. You took the hit, seeing as it caught you off guard. So you tackled him to the ground and you both began fighting. The rest of his gang began to come towards you both,

“Back it up boys, I have more textbooks that I could put to use. So, let’s not get any closer; yeah?” (Y/BF/N) said. The Losers had stood next to (Y/BF/N), Bill and the others about to join in on the fighting.

Faring well against Henry, you stopped throwing hits. They noticed the and backed off.

“Don’t you ever, come by them or Eddie again; DO YOU HEAR ME? Because the next time, I’m not going to stop until you pass out! Or, I’ll do you one better and tell your dad just what you’ve been doing.”

Nodding his head, you got up and walked towards (Y/BF/N), Eddie, and his friends.

“Let’s get out of here (Y/BF/N).”

“Wait! Let me at help you, your hurt. You’ve got bruises, your bleeding, and you can get an infection if those aren’t treated right away. Besides, you’ve got Bowers blood and filth on you. Let go up ahead and I’ll fix you up.”

You all put some distance between yourselves and where the fight has occurred. The losers, realizing it was late began to head home, throwing knowing glances at each other. (Y/BF/N) gave you a look, before saying their farewells and leaving.

You and Eddie sat on the curb, skateboard by your side and his bike upright and on it’s stand.

He began taking things out of his fanny packs. Gauze, rubbing alcohol, tweezers, medical tape, and more. He started on your face, where Henry landed a punch. Eddie started by taking out the rubbing alcohol and sterilizing the tweezers and then proceeding to put some on the cotton balls. Tweezers in hand, he grabbed a soaked cotton ball and began to dab it on your face,

“This might sting, so tell me if you need me to stop for a bit.”

It did sting, a lot. But this wouldn’t be your first time getting cleaned up after a fight, the clean up worse than the fight itself. You decided to distract yourself. You focused on the brown-eyed beauty in front of you. So focused he was in helping you, so close. You could see his freckles, splayed across his tan face; his cute nose and his full lips. Upon realization that you had been staring at him, he blushed. You felt you flushing, so you averted your eyes.

“Thank you, for what you did. Bowers would have killed us, of course we would’ve fought back, but we wouldn’t have won like you did.”

“It’s no problem, really.”

I was terrified for her, when she went up against Bowers. I thought he would’ve killed her, and he could have. Her right eye was turning blue, she’d most likely have a black eye tomorrow; not only that, her nose was bleeding, and she had a busted lip. I hadn’t even looked at her hands yet. I was trying my absolute best to be gentle with her, to not put her in any more pain than what she was already in. She seemed to be trying to distract herself, and it was after a while that I noticed she had been staring intently at me.

I had blushed and averted my gaze. After I had finished cleaning and bandaging her face I moved to her hands. The knuckles were bleeding, bruised and scratched. The yellows and greens turing into blues and purples, laced with both dry and wet blood. I quickly got to work, not wanting them to get infected, but not wanting to hurt her either. It took me a while, but they were finally clean and bandaged.

I had taken both of her hands and held them in mine. Looking up at her, I had seen the most beautiful sight. Her face, flushed and gazing at me with a warm smile.

“I was terrified out of my mind when you jumped in front of Bowers and fought him. He hurt you, but you got back up; you fought back and you won. You are the bravest, selfless and wickedly amazing person I know. The way you carry yourself and your attitude make you the most beautiful person I ever saw. Would you do me the honor of going on a date with me?”

“Yes, I’d love too,” (Y/F/N) shrieked jumping into my arms. I wrapped my arms around her tightly, happy that she had said yes.

Happy New Years everyone! I wish everyone the best this year, may you prosper and grow in everything. I was hoping to get this done on New Years Day, but meh. I hope you all enjoyed and Here’s are the links to where I researched about Skateboarding Names and a Youtube channel on how to do the Skate tricks 

[prettyblossoms]

Lost in Limbo (A Reddie Fic)

                (Make sure to also read the prologue :D) 

                                   Chapter 1: In a Land of Confusion

 Eddie awoke to the screeching sound of his alarm. While it was only a small piece of technology, it sure was loud. The noise managed to echo off his white walls and penetrate his fucking cerebellum. He reached over to try to turn it off, but it only continued to spiel profanities at him, taunting him. Reaching his boiling point, he immediately clasped onto the alarm and smacked it so hard on his nightstand that the batteries flew out.  'That's for making me almost go deaf,' He inwardly thought to himself. He jumped out of his bed and quickly made his way to his restroom.  

 Upon looking at himself in the mirror, he was utterly taken aback. His hair was unruly. From hours of tossing and turning. He knew. The next thing he noticed was his eyes. Typically, they were vibrantly brown, and Bambi like. However, at this moment all he could see was that they were bloodshot and glassed over. From getting no sleep. Eddie knew.

 He also noticed that he was paler than usual. Sickly pale. So much so that the freckles that danced around his nose were very noticeable. In the past, this wouldn’t have been an issue, but he is on the track team now. Initially, when he joined he did everything to prevent sun damage to his fragile skin by lathering extreme amounts of sunscreen on at a time, the sun still managed to curse Eddie with a decent tan. He knows that his skin should be darker than what it was now.

Knowing that he was on a strict schedule, he began to focus on his purpose for entering the restroom. He grabbed his mouthwash, toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss out of the medicine cabinet. He started his ritual with the mouthwash to eliminate the germs he had accumulated in his mouth when he was sleeping. The floss followed to ensure that anything stuck in his teeth from the previous meal did not end up living in his toothbrush. He then proceeded to brush his teeth, paying careful attention to each one. Finally, he used the mouthwash a final time to guarantee that it was in fact, clean. He smiled into the mirror and noted that his teeth were immaculate.

 Moving onto his next task, he grabbed his brush and began to tame his hair that had been sprawled out in every direction. After a couple of strokes, he deemed his hair acceptable and quietly exited the bathroom.  

 Once he reached his bedroom, he grabbed the outfit he already had picked out for the day. He slipped on his favorite yellow shirt that Beverly had given him this year on his birthday. Next, he pulled his red track shorts over his boxers.  The length was just long enough to cover his boxers, but short enough for Eddie to remain comfortable. He pulled a black hoodie on over his shirt that was a little too big for him, meaning that it probably belonged to one of his friends. His bet was on Stan, seeing as Stan had spent the night last Friday. Not only that, but the sweater was also very clean. A little too fresh for Bill. Entirely too clean for Richie.

 He grabbed his backpack and exited his room, quietly making his way down the stairs. Eddie reached the door and was about to sigh in relief at the thought of avoiding his mother, but someone had other plans.

 “Eddie-bear, dear! Come here, please?” His mother called. Eddie grimaced. He didn’t want to deal with her right now but walked into the living room anyways.

 “Young man, you know you are supposed to let me know when you are getting ready in the morning. You know how delicate you are. You could have hurt yourself, and I would have never known! ” She said with fear and worry in her voice.

 Eddie was extremely annoyed and spoke without thinking, “Just how could I have hurt myself Ma?” She gave him a look disappointment mixed with anger. ‘Well, fuck it,’ Eddie thought, ‘Might as well continue while I am already ahead.’

 “Let me guess; I could have poked one of my eyes out brushing my hair? Or is it that I may have fallen off my bed and broken my leg? Mind you the bed is only a couple inches off the fucking ground.” He added, “Wait, I get it. I have the brittle bone disease now too, huh Ma?”

 Ms. Kaspbrak was shocked. Her own brown eyes pierced through Eddie’s. Her face was red with anger and sweat dripped off her forehead. She attempted to grab Eddie while sitting in her chair, but he backed up to avoid her.

 “How dare you, young man! You would never talk to me before you started hanging out with those dirty kids in the neighborhood. Especially that Tozier boy.” She spat with disgust, “They are a bad influence on you! I think from now on you should stay away from them. I know what is best for you. All you need is me.”

 At the mention of Richie’s name, Eddie lost all of his composure. He glared fiercely at her and shook his head, “How would you know what's good for me? All you do is try to convince me that I am sick when there is nothing wrong with me!  I’ve known that much for years. Now you think my friends, the ones who actually care about me are the ones who are damaging me? You’re deadly mistaken, Ma. You’re the one that is suffocating me.” Knowing that he was in deep shit, he turned around and booked it out of the house.

 Ms. Kaspbrak was fuming now and began crying, “You get back here!  Right now young man. We haven’t talked about this. Wait! You forgot your lunch. You can’t eat the food at school, Eddie. It's processed and bad for you! You will get sick! Eddie?” The only sound she heard was the slamming of the front door.

 Eddie felt a mixture of accomplishment and defeat all at the same time walking out of his house. When he got out from school, he knew he was going to be in so much trouble. She was going to attempt to make him stay in the house forever. He sighed at the thought. He was snapped back to reality when he heard the overwhelmingly loud sound of Guns N Roses from around the corner. Which helped in drowning out his mother, who was screaming at him from the window. He pretended not to hear her and began walking towards the direction where Richie’s car usually came. While the car was nowhere in sight, Eddie knew he wouldn't be walking long. After all, Richie drove like a damn maniac. Only a couple of seconds later, he saw Richie's beat up truck hauling ass towards him. Eddie sighed.

 Richie finally reached Eddie, only slowing down enough to allow the smaller boy to get into the car before speeding up again. Eddie quickly put his seatbelt on out of fear for his life and yelled, "What the fuck, Richie?  We have twenty minutes to get to school! Can't you slow the hell down? You're going so fast that the seat belts could burn our skin. Or you could fucking crash and kill us both! You could-" His sentence was interrupted.

 Richie grinned devilishly at hearing the panic in Eddie’s voice. He always enjoyed messing around with the younger boy, "Why hello there! Ed's, dear buddy ole pal, couldn't I just want to see my best friend's beautiful face on this joyous day?" He said in his best British accent. To this, Eddie smiled a little, his eyebrows raised, knowing a joke would be soon to follow.

 Richie inhaled a deep breath, and Eddie knew what was coming.

The older male exclaimed in the happiest voice he could muster, "I gotta get Little Eds to school, so I can go see her! God, how I've missed your mother's-"

 "Beep beep, Richie!" Eddie cut him off. His brows furrowed and the traces of the smile that had been on his face only minutes ago had disappeared.

 Richie gasped and immediately clutched his heart dramatically with one hand, “Already Eddie? This early in the morning? Oh, my achy breaky heart!”

 Eddie rolled his eyes so hard in his head he could have sworn they were going to get stuck like that. “It's going to be more than your achy breaky heart if you don’t put both of your hands on the fucking wheel, you idiot.”

 Eddie’s threat went unheard. Richie doesn’t listen to anyone. He never does. He is Richie Trashmouth Tozier, after all. Richie is his name and fucking around is his game.

 Immediately he took that same hand and placed it on Eddie’s thigh traveling upwards to grab one of the hems of his shorts, “Hey Eds, aren’t you getting too old to be wearing short shorts?” He yanked on the material a bit before adding, “Also, how the fuck do you wear underwear with these fucking things.” His laughed deepened, “Or are you going commando? You know that is dangerous, death by an atomic wedgie. Ha!” That most surely would get a response out of his favorite hypochondriac.

 Eddie’s heart immediately fell into his stomach as he choked on a gasp. His mind was running 1,000 miles per minute. Any second now, he was going to short circuit and die. He could feel it.

 All because of Richie fucking trash mouth Tozier. He couldn’t think about anything else besides that hand on his leg. The hand belonging to the person who he has been in love with the past two years. So close to him. Too fucking close to him.  He could feel his face beginning to flush. Trying to be as normal as possible, he swatted Richie’s hand away. “I’m in a sport, you idiot! Everyone on the track team has to wear them. You just wouldn’t know anything about that seeing as you aren’t in any extracurricular activities.”

 Eddie’s blush did not go unnoticed by Richie, who quickly cheered, “You are so feisty and cute! Cute, cute, cute, my little Eddie Spaghetti!” He slapped Eddie’s thigh and placed his hand back on the wheel, “I don’t have time for additional sports, Eds.”

 Eddie eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “What? You are full of shit, Tozier. I would know if you were in a team sport at our school. All the losers would.” He was so engrossed with trying to insult Richie that he didn’t notice they had reached the school and the car was parked.

 Richie seriously looked at Eddie, “Well you see, Eds-”

 “Don’t call me Eds.”

 “Anyways, Eds, fucking is a sport. I don’t need a team, and it’s preferred to play in your birthday suit! It is the best kind of sport out there if you ask me.”

 Eddie rolled his eyes, for the second time that morning. Earlier he had thought that he rolled them so hard that they were going to get stuck. Now, he turned them so hard he was sure that he could see his fucking brain. “You’re fucking repulsive. Who gives a shit about a sport using only your wrists?” He teased.

 Richie only laughed at him again as he opened the door and exited the car. He walked over to the passenger side where Eddie remained in his seat.

 “More like a sport using mainly my hips! Though I do use my wrists too.” Richie said as he made thrusting gestures and wiggled each one of his fingers. He thought his joke was so good that he tried to give Eddie an air high five. Eddie scowled at him as he too got out of the car.

 The older male added, “Repulsive? Oh, Eds, what would you even know about sex? Not even halfway through getting blown you would need your fucking inhaler.” Richie joked.

 Eddie knew it was only a joke. Richie would never oppress Eddie if he knew. Still, Eddie’s eyes widened as a wave of hurt and fear came over him.

 He remembered the leaper covered in sickly sores and diseases as it’s menacing voice taunted him, “I’d blow you for a dime.”

Eddie could feel his hands starting to shake and tried to steady them by crossing his arms.

 Richie immediately noticed Eddie’s whole demeanor changed. He locked eyes with the other boys chocolate brown eyes seeing something he thought he would never see again. Pure fear.

 He began to worry as he watched Eddie hug himself. “What’s wrong Eddie?” He grabbed the younger boy carefully and shook him, “Come back to Earth, Eddie!”

 Eddie could feel tears forming in his eyes as he heard the leper say, “Come back here, kid! I’ll blow you for free. Come back here!” He blinked them away and moved from Richie's hold.

 He had to get away. Richie had seen too much. He quickly grabbed his backpack from the passenger and threw it over his shoulder. Before he had the chance to start running, the taller male grasped tightly onto his wrist.

 “Whoa! Eds.” He spoke in his most caring voice, the one reserved for Eddie. “Seriously? What’s wrong? What did you see? Was it-” Realization dawned on Richie, “Did you see It?”

 Eddie's stomach lurched, and he felt like he was going to puke. He pulled his wrist from his friend’s firm grip. “Dammit, Richie!” He yelled with as much venom he could muster, “You never know when to shut up! Just back off and leave me alone.” His voice cracked as he tried to hold back his emotions.

 Not wasting any time, he began to run into the crowd of students, knowing Richie would try to follow him. He pushed his way through the crowd and went into the entrance of the school just as the first bell rang.

 Today was going to be an eventful day indeed.

The story is going to get much darker from this point! 

[contemporarycares]

If you’re new here, please take the time to first read this post HERE before proceeding with the following post.

These posts are in reverse chronological order and they should be read in that order.

---

LA – I see a Spirit Air airplane outside my window and think about all the talk about low cost spirit air flights. Infamous airline – for their great flight deals during a pandemic.

As we are about to exit the plane the woman next to me asks me if this is my first time traveling during “Covid”. I tell her yes and tell her a little about myself and my situation. She shares too as we exit the plane and I learn she is very stressed because she just bought a new house. I tell her good things can happen in a pandemic too, it’s not all bad. I wonder if she got it? I mentioned to her that NM had closed its borders a few days prior. She asked me if she would be able to fly back into NM I told her I am not sure, I am not an expert but it seems the borders are closed on the roadways. I say bye so I can stop and eat one of the snacks I carried with me. I am able to remove my mask while I eat according to airport protocol.  The dreaded transferring of my over packed bags is on the way. I pick them up at the carousel, exit to take a bus to Terminal 2 where I will recheck them.

I exit the airport and look around for where I need to be so I don’t have to walk all that way with my 2 bags. A young man is speaking boisterously on the phone and without a mask. I see him ahead of me because I can hear him before I see him. He walks by me and is suddenly very near to me. I say dude can you back up you’re not wearing a mask. He apologizes quickly and keeps walking.

While looking for the shuttle I encountered some aggression between a white man and black cis-female from what I can tell. She’s driving a big ol’ bus and he’s leaning in asking her questions. She’s over it. He’s asking her about city busses – not her job. He complains to her that they’re always changing things at the airport. I approached to ask her a question. After hearing this I approach him (at a distance) and ask him to move on. I told him “I think she’s done answering your questions.” He looks at me (probably because I’m wearing the mask and he couldn’t understand me ha) and looks back at her and tries to continue. I tell him “move on dude” and she does the same. I had sorted myself out regarding the shuttle but the woman really wants to help me asks me what I need. She says I can find my shuttle in the same place I’m standing. We have an interaction about what just happened. She says “I am always happy to answer people’s questions but he just – and standing there talking to me without a mask??? I can’t” I tell her “good” “good.” She calls me sweetheart. And I continue to give her a thumbs up as she drives away.

I didn’t even realize the man wasn’t masked up. I just didn’t like the way he kept laying in to her. She’s right – an essential worker and she has to deal with people not wearing masks AND treating her rudely? Not okay. It’s all a lot right now for people who are working in airports.

I hop on my shuttle with a kind driver named Rudy. Wasn’t really a hop because of the two-ton bags but it was something like that. Then at my terminal I run to a corner and eat half of my sandwich. I save the rest thinking I may need it later if there are no other food options. I later move to a place where I can charge my phone. Sanitizing all the way at every move I make. When I got to the bathroom I bring my bags with me. One time in the bathroom a girl was crying I offered to help her but she said she was fine. Eventually professionals that assist people in the airport with wheelchairs take me into their crew by offering some of their roped off seating to me since I’ve been on the floor for hours. I arrived at 12:30pm and my flight is at 10:30pm. Later I leave to sit in another spot and thank them for letting me join their crew. They had said earlier too that the airport has been this empty since march. I told them “let’s see what happens.”

Finally when its time to check in I meet the Delta agent named Ralph. There are lots of issues regarding mental health in his family. We talk about it. He said he’s not supposed to be chatting for so long. I encourage him and say it’s okay. I tell him to find people in his life that he could vent to. That will listen. I don’t minimize his concerns about his family I listen.

At security the first check is just checking my boarding pass so I can go up to security. I accidentally brush the agent’s hand when I give it to her. I acknowledge it and say “Oops I touched your hand I’m sorry.” she said “ITS OKAY HUNNY” and grabbed my fingers squeezing them. It felt like a hug. I said “oh my gosh yeah we need it!” she said “it’s no joke darling. bye beautiful.” And that right there was the most ridiculous thing that happened to me the whole trip. Even the agent next to her was laughing at her choice to do that.

In the LAX security it smells like marijuana. It always does there since people smoke outside often before flights. It’s legal there. I get through security quickly telling the agents to stay safe and healthy. They wish the same for me.

I had to lighten my load for the checked bags so I am carrying a lot and suddenly tired. We board shortly after. A woman is disinfecting all of the seating around the gate even asking me to move seats briefly so she can sanitize my area. I say “thanks for sanitizing.” I see a lot of flight attendants boarding especially considering it seems there will only be about 25 passengers on this massive plane.

Before boarding my identity is checked with face recognition technology, no boarding pass needed. I have been wearing my mask for 12 hours at least. I remove it temporarily for the corporate A.I. to do its quick work.

I board. I have the row to myself and all the rows around me are empty. I speak with one of the attendants. He says all international flights usually have about 11 workers. He said it may seem like there are a lot of them since the passenger number is low. “We are carrying a light load today” he said. True that. No joke… I found it interesting that they had a full staff on the plane even in this circumstance. I am sanitizing I am not touching anything that I don’t have to. I sleep for 8 hours laying down comfortably in my row. I watch a few movies and have meals and snacks. In flight wifi is free for messaging so I update my family on the protocol the agents have announced over the speakers. They’ve already said it twice and will say it again once when we land. It’s about how we must comply with the Australian government upon landing.

I say, “They told me the rundown of what we do when we land. They said the health officials will be waiting for us and after we finish w them we will get on the private bus to the hotel. Not sure if that's before or after customs and immigration but I’ll let y'all know 👍🏽”

Before we land we are informed that health officials will board the plane to count the passengers and take date (I think noting down our seating for contact tracing). We are asked to report any symptoms we may have so that we can be taken to the hospital from the airport. An attendant passes out information from the health department.

[spideyyverse]

Story Time - Benverly

Requested by @kitaruhakiashi Thank you for being patient with me! I hope you enjoy it!

Summary: In a modern AU setting, Bill asks Ben and Bev to babysit his younger brother. 

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

“A-and m-make s-sure he’s in bed by n-n-nine. Also, h-he d-doesn’t l-like m-mustard-” Bill began, for the fourth time, as he gathered his things and threw on his jacket. Bill entrusted Bev and I to watch his younger brother Georgie for the night. His parents were gone for the weekend and he needed someone to babysit the younger Denbrough. However, one babysitter clearly wasn’t enough so Bill asked us both.

”Yes Bill we got it the sec-” Bev sighed.

“He can only s-s-sleep with his s-s-stuffed t-teddy b-bear, his s-s-sandwich-”

“His sandwich needs to be cut into triangles, he likes the window open while he sleeps but not more than a couple of inches or else he’ll get sick, he also can’t watch Courage the Cowardly Dog or else he’ll have to sleep with you for an entire month with the light” Bev sighed once again while I laughed silently.

“Tell-”

“Tell him a bed time story but it has to be one that I bring from the library because he only trusts my book recommendations” It was my turn to cut him off as I motioned over to my book bag with books from the library.

“Bill! We’ll be fine! It’s not like Richie is babysitting him!”(Much to Richie’s dismay, the first time he babysat Georgie was also his last time, needless to say). It’s just me, Ben, and good ol’ Georgie!” She smiled.

God, even her smile is perfect.

“M-maybe I s-should c-cancel m-my d-date with S-Stan. He-” He ran his hands through his hair as he worriedly looked over to his younger brother playing with his paper boat.

“Bill! I swear to fucking God! Georgie will be fine!” She tried to assure him but also had a hint of annoyance in her voice. I stifled back my laugh. ”Beverly! Language! Georgie started to pick up on Richie’s sinful mouth-” Before he could continue, a voice spoke behind us. “Ready to go Billiam?” Bev and I whipped around puzzled, not at the fact that Stan was standing there but the fact that he somehow got inside the house. He didn’t even knock.

“I-” Bill began

“Nope! You two are going to have fun on your date! Go be crazy teenagers you two! Have fun!” Bev began to push them out the door.

“Since when is bird watching cra-” Stan started.

“Uris shut the fuck up before I call Trashmouth to crash your guys’ date” I said pushing them out the door.

“Bye Georgie! Love you! Don’t forget-” Bill began but Bev slammed the door.

We looked at each other before breaking into a fit of laughter. “God, and I thought Sonia Kaspbrak was bat shit crazy.” She laughed. I’m not sure what it was but either I was going crazy (More than I already am) or the Denbrough’s residence had amazing lighting. It captured her constellations that are freckles, her laugh, her radiating blue eyes. It captured everything.

 I just wanna kiss her.

“Hello? Earth to Haystack” A hand waved in front of me.

“Hm? What did you say?” I snapped out of my thoughts, I could feel a blush creeping along my cheeks.

“I asked what we should do”

“Oh. Uh, board games?” I suggested.

“Sure thing! Oh Georgie! Wanna play Twister or Monopoly?” Bev called out to the smaller boy.

“Twister!” He shouted excitedly.

-------

“Right hand on Blue Ben Ten!” Georgie giggled.

I struggled but managed to move my hand over to my right hand to blue. We were on the sixth round of Twister, as Georgie played the role of calling which colors one of our limbs needed to be on. Much to his dismay, he had to sit out after the fourth hand because he almost broke his hand trying to reach for red. If there was even a scratch on the poor boy, Bill would lose it. As in, Sonia Kaspbrak finding out Eddie has a blocked nose, lose it.

The site was quite interesting, to say the least. Bev and I looked like a complete and utter mess. One hand was under the others leg while someone’s leg was over the other. “Left hand on yellow Bev! Right foot on green Ben!” Georgie laughed.Then it was game over, for the both of us. Both of us went tumbling down, or I went tumbling down. Bev landed on top of me, our faces meeting dangerously close. Bev’s face began to match her hair as I could feel my face becoming just as heated.

She quickly got off of me and turned over to Georgie, “So George-”

“Woah! Ben and Bev sitting in a tree-” He began but I cut him off, It’s nearing       dinner time. How about I let you eat in the living room and watch TV? Yeah?” I asked in hopes he would oblige. As any eight year old would, he agreed without even thinking about it. He ran towards the remote and put on Power Rangers.

Bev and I glanced at each other, faces still red. “So, who wants to make the sandwich?” She asked quietly.

“I will” I responded and quickly rushed towards the hallway and into the kitchen. I breathed a sigh of relief once I made it then proceeded to follow Bill’s unnecessary instructions on how to make a sandwich. I made sandwiches for all three of us then headed over to the living room.

Do ou love Ben Ten? You look at Ben Ten the same way Billy and Stan look at each other.” Georgie asked, his voice sounded through the living room and into the hallway. 

I stopped abruptly in my steps, my heart began to pound. I was waiting to hear the answer I’ve been craving since I first met her.

“Now, what do you know about love Prince Georgie?” She giggled softly.

Did she avoid the question with a question? That meant her answer was no, right? Of course it does, who would love me? Certainly not her.

“I’ll have you know I know a lot about love Beverly Weverly. My mommy and daddy are in love with each other. Billy loves me and I love him because he’s       my best best-duh. Billy and Stan are in love with each other. Richie and Eddie are in love! Mike loves animals! Is Mikey in love with someone? I’m sure he is! Ben is in love with-”

“I’mn love with what?I asked stepping into the living room, hoping the conversation could be changed.

“Books!” Beverly shouted a little too quickly grabbing the sandwich from my hands. Our hands brushed together, another blush creeping upon our faces.

“Uh huh..” I slowly said looking over to a smirking Georgie.

This kid is good.

It was finally nine by the time Cars was over and we finished our sandwiches. Bev got Georgie ready for bed as I quickly cleaned up and got a book from my book bag.

“Ready for story time Prince Georgie?” Bev softly asked with a smile.

That God damn smile.

“Can I tell my own story instead?” He asked softly clutching his teddy bear.

Bev and I exchanged confused glances as we furrowed our eyebrows but ultimately agreed, “Go for it bud” I said.

“Once upon a time, there was a Princess named Beverly and a Prince named Ben. There was also a joker named Richie but he was sent to the dungeon by Princess Beverly because he made a joke about her mother. Anyways, They both loved each other very much but couldn’t admit it because they were scared. But, one day, King Billy purposely set up the princess and prince and told them to babysit Prince Georgie so he could be with King Stan. Then they kissed and lived happily..ever after.” He dozed off into a slumber as Bev and I looked at each other with shocked faces.

“Wait, Billy set us up?!” She squealed.

“I-”

Ping

SMS MSG FROM “B-B-BILLY”

”I see that it’s 9:10 meaning my great scheme to get you guys together has worked. I’m sure my great apprentice Georgie has told you his story. You’re welcome.”

“Wait-”

Ping

SMS MSG FROM “STAN THE MAN”

”He may seem calm in his message. I can confirm, he’s not. He’s currently panicking over if Georgie brushed his teeth or not.

“I-”

Ping

SMS MSG FROM “TRASHMOUTH”

”Now that you two are getting married, I would like to announce myself as that priest dude that gets you guys married. Also, I would like to give the first speech.”

”Bev I-”

Ping

SMS MSG FROM “EDDIE SPAGHETTI”

”Ignore the dumbass please. Congrats you two!”

”P.S Can we plan double dates now?”

“Ben listen-”

Ping

SMS MSG FROM “MIKE NOT IKE”

”My children. I’m so happy for you :’) My barn can be used for your guys wedding reception. Also, I make a MEAN red velvet cake. It’s vegan though.”

“That’s it!” I shouted but then remembering poor Georgie was sleeping.

“Ben?”

I grabbed Bev and kissed her. She kissed back.

It was the best ending to this fairytail.