#i bet this has been done a hundred times before but i'm not gonna get it out of my head now

[muirmarie]

thinking about if tos mccoy had died before romulus was destroyed, tos spock could've been carrying his not-quite-a-katra during the events of the aos movies

[ilasknives]

THE LONG WAY HOME | One

<- Previous

Hi, hello, it's been. A very long time. Well over a year, I think? I finally have the second part! I'm so sorry it took me so long, life and full time university have been kicking my ass. I haven't done writing in a long time, so it felt stiff and hard to get through, and only half of it is actual whump, but the rest sets up the story. I really missed writing it, though. I hope you enjoy!

CW: BBU/BBU Adjacent, pet whump, pet training, collaring.

1: Nine Hundred and Thirty-Three

After:

"Get on your knees.”

"What? No, please, I don't -"

"Knees."

He drops to the floor to avoid the baton that this man keeps touching the handle of, looking up at him from below with his hands in his lap, fingers twisting into the shitty thin fabric of his shirt. Maybe it will rip. He doesn't want it to. It's the same one he walked in with, and he's getting the feeling that he won't get it back again if it breaks. He digs his fingers in tighter, anyway, unwillingly.

"I need to - please," he tries again. He needs to go home. His voice is hoarse, rough from the night of pleading with the empty room, tucked into a corner, fighting waves of exhaustion with terror, trying and failing to keep his eyes open. He'd scrambled to his feet when the door opened, desperate for someone to talk to, to reason with, to see that he wasn't supposed to be here -

And now he's on the floor again.

He swallows, mouth dry. "This was a mistake."

The handler ignores him, looking over him like he's assessing him for something, then sighs, mostly to himself. "Okay. So, Domestic."

"I'm not meant to be anything-"

"You don’t need to speak unless you’re spoken to."

“Please,” he whispers, but the look the handler shoots him is enough to make him close his mouth. Something flashes, in the back of his mind. A hand through the air, a stinging across the side of his face. He flinches, but the handler hasn’t moved. Every part of him is screaming that he’s done something wrong, that he needs to hide away and wait until it dies down, until it’s safe again - but there isn’t anywhere to hide here. Just white walls and a heavy door. God, he hasn’t felt like this in years. It’s hard to breathe. Like a hand around his throat.

The handler lets a moment pass, and then two, and when he’s been sitting quietly for long enough, he speaks again. “My name is Handler Phillips, I’ll be your primary Handler for the duration of your training. You are WRU Trainee 297933.”

“I’m not.” It’s whispered, terrified, but he can’t just… give up. There has to be someone who will hear him out. There has to be some way to go home. “My name is-”

“You don’t have a name, you have an identification number.” The handler sighs, and crouches down so they’re face to face. “Look. I don’t want to do this the hard way, and I don’t think you do, either. You’re gonna have to work with me.”

“I’m not meant to be here.”

"We're just doing intake today, alright? Do you know what that means?"

"I want to go home." He doesn't want to do intake, he wants to go back to where he lives and curl up in his bed and never take another stupid fucking bet in his life. He's supposed to be walking back through the door and gloating about his victory right about now. Yesterday. The day before? How long has he been here? "Let me go home."

"I can't do that, mate. I have a job to do, and so do you." The Handler stands and unhooks something from his belt. "This is a collar. It will be yours. It's fitted with…"

The Handler's voice fades into the background behind the ringing of his ears and the bile that rises in his throat. A collar. Fuck, no. Fuck that.

"No," he interrupts. "No. No. You're not putting that on me. Let me go. I need to go home.”

Handler Phillips sighs again. “297933,” he says.

“That’s not my name.”

“It’s your WRU identification number. The collar is mandatory; it’s part of your training.”

“No.” The handler’s fingers touch, briefly, the handle of the baton. He draws back into himself, swallowing thickly, eyes on the floor. “Sorry,” he says quickly. The words taste sour. “I’m sorry.”

Another sigh from above him.

“You’re okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” The handler hesitates, like he isn’t meant to continue. “I know this is scary. Take a breath.”

He draws in a breath that burns the whole way down.

“Think you can sit still enough to let me put this on you?”

“I don’t want to,” he whispers.

It happens anyway. The fight just… leaves him. He sits and trembles on the floor while Phillips slides the thick collar around his throat and clips it into place with gentle hands.

*

Before:

They’re all at Nell’s house.

They’re always all at Nell’s house, because she’s the only one of them with dogs, and with a couch, and with more than one shitty, battered Wii controller like Benny has. Nell only has two, but that’s double Benny’s, and the rest of them have none, so Nell’s place is the place to be.

They’re playing Mario Kart while they wait for Benny. Rhys is sandwiched between Luca and the arm of the couch, and one of the dogs has its head resting on his foot, and he can’t even move, because it’s Luca, and he’s got his legs slung over Rhys’s lap and his head pillowed on his shoulder.

Luca jerks his arm, swerves, and runs his Yoshi off the side of the track right as Matteo wins the race. Rhys jabs him in the side. “My go.”

“What – that doesn’t count!”

“In what world does that not count?”  Rhys already knows he’s going to lose the argument, but he entertains it anyway. He rarely actually plays Mario with the group, even though they say they’ll swap controllers after every race. Matteo’s already clicked his controller into the wheel attachment and handed it to Owen. Rhys usually hands off his turn to Luca and watches as he comes dead last every single time.

Luca’s opening his mouth to start the usual ‘I’m going to get it next time’ spiel when Benny waltzes in through the front door with his arms full of Nell’s mail.

Rhys raises an eyebrow at him. “You know that’s illegal, right?”

Benny, mouth full of – something, what the fuck is he eating this time? – says, “Huh?”

“Opening someone else’s mail.”

Benny rolls his eyes and dumps the pile of envelopes – bar one – on Luca and Rhy’s laps. “Helenaaaa.”

Nell’s voice comes back from the kitchen, instantly dry, wary. “What do you want from me?”

“I have something for you.”

“I swear, if you’ve been going through my mail again - ”

Benny darts off, cackling like an idiot, and Nell – also like an idiot – chases after him. Rhys shoves the pile of mail off his lap, and it clatters to the floor, all over the dog.

“… Sorry, Benedict.”

“You’re so mean to her,” Owen says from the other side of the couch. “Come here, baby.”

Benedict heaves all god-knows-how-much of her entire great dane self off the floor and meanders over to Owen. He’s already got Chef curled up with his head shoved under his rollator, and Benedict slumps at his feet and goes back to sleep.

“Thief,” Rhys says. “You’re a dog thief.”

“You dropped mail on her head!”

“Weird mail,” Luca muttered, leaning down to snatch an envelope off the floor. “The hell is this?”

It’s a thick white envelope, decorated in gold trim, a wax seal on the back – and it’s snatched from Luca’s hand as soon as Benny swans his way back into the room.

“Whatcha got there, Luca?”

Luca snorts. “Ask Nell, it’s hers.”

Benny does not ask Nell. He never does, but Nell hates opening her own mail, so she shoots Rhys an exasperated look and slumps down on the couch with Matteo.

“We seem to have abandoned Mario,” Matteo muses as Benny tears open the envelope. He doesn’t even try to remove the seal. Absolute animal.

“Dear resident, we hope this letter finds you well,” Benny reads, pacing in front of them like some grandiose loser. Rhys considers tripping him. “We have recently started a movement to bring clinics to smaller cities, and we’re searching for partici- oh my god, this is that – Pet shit, right?”

Nell makes a face. “Yeah, they’re building some new complex for it, or something, right? I read the first one, some initiative to ‘bring business and economy flow into rural areas’ or whatever.”

“We’re not even rural,” says Matteo.

“I know. God, I thought I unsubscribed from their mailing list. Just tear it up, Benny.”

But Benny’s eyes have gone wide. “Holy shit, have you seen how much money they offer you?”

Rhys snatches it from Benny’s grip. Holy shit was right. The number is in the high ten thousands – more money than any of them have seen in one place in their lives.

“I want it,” says Benny. It’s always Benny who starts this shit. Rhys can practically feel his brain turning.

Luca laughs. “You want to be someone’s house pet, Benny?”

A grin, a shrug. Benny’s never been the type to admit that he’s wrong. “Why not? Cozy up on the couch, no job, no bills.”

“Dumbasses,” says Nell, taking the envelope off Rhys and ripping it in half.

“You can’t tell me you don’t want that kind of money, Nell.”

“What am I gonna do with the money if I’m signing up to their program, Benjamin?”

There’s a lull. It should be the end of it. It should. But Benny is Benny is Benny, and Benny doesn’t know when to stop.

“... I reckon I could get the money, anyway.”

“You’re a coward,” Rhys says, because he’s just as bad as Benny, “and a liar.”

Luca jabs him in the side.

Benny’s eyes narrow, and he squares his shoulders like he always does when he thinks that he’s been challenged.

“Wanna bet?”

Taglist (please ask to be added or removed!): @whump-for-all-and-all-for-whump @whumpinthepot @whumpcereal @whumpsday @whumpworld @littlespacecastle @anonintrovert @honey-is-mesi @warm-my-whumpee-heart @whumping-seven-days-a-week @alexmundaythrufriday

[quietsamurai98]

So, thoughts on Doctor Who Season 1/14/40 now that it's over... MAJOR SPOILERS WITHIN!

It was... fine? I guess?

I've been doing a Doctor Who rewatch between the releases of the new episodes. Holding up the other seasons next to the new one throws some issues into sharp relief.

First and foremost, probably the root of most of the other issues... The episode count. The season was just way, way too short. Eight episodes (nine, including Church on Ruby Road) is just not enough time to fully flesh out the main characters and their relationship and dynamic, not enough time to build a cohesive storyline, and not enough time to pace the story correctly.

Second... I feel like the characters of the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday just weren't explored as thoroughly as they should've been, and definitely not the relationship/dynamic between the two, especially when one episode (Dot and Bubble) has the Doctor and Ruby practically off screen almost all episode, and another (73 Yards) has the Doctor off screen all episode and Ruby basically stripped of all agency. A few more episodes could've done wonders for letting the audience get to know the characters better.

Third... The lack of a cohesive storyline. Yes, there are some recurring things (Susan Twist cameos, the TARDIS growling, the snowing, the pantheon), but it really felt like you could basically take episodes 1 though 6 and shuffle them, with minimal changes made, and it wouldn't make much of a difference. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that something like that happened in production, and that Devil's Chord was originally meant to air significantly later in the season before being moved up for Reasons™.

IMO, the best single season of NuWho was season 10, with Twelve and Bill Potts. God, I loved that season. Bill is probably one of my favorite companions, Twelve was firing on all cylinders,The ongoing mystery of What's in The Vault?, the exploration of Missy's character, and the finale... Actually, let me talk about the finale a bit.

I feel like Empire of Death fell a bit flat for me because it had stakes so comically high that they wrapped right back around to being completely meaningless. If all life in practically the entire universe is ended, there are no stakes left, because you know it'll be undone by the end of the episode. The ending is a forgone conclusion right from the beginning. And I'm sorry, but the twist being "there was no twist! this mythical, extremely important, deeply mysterious character is just some woman!" is just a shitty twist. It's deeply unsatisfying. It's only a twist because people didn't expect the story to be bad. And yes, yes, I get it, "everyone is important, in nine hundred years of time and space and I've never met anybody who wasn't important before, etc", but we've already done that! Twice! Donna Noble and Clara Oswald!

Compare that with the finale of season 10. It had reasonable stakes, stakes that the show could afford to lose without having to retcon everything. It had a satisfying twist with Missy deciding to kill The Master, and then a double twist with The Master killing Missy right back. And then, most importantly, the Doctor loses. He's up against impossible odds, and for once, he actually fails. That's how you do a damn twist in a show that constantly has the Doctor pulling impossible wins out of his back pocket! Of course, that's not the kind of twist you can pull all the time, but still. It's engaging. You're not just sitting there wondering "Oh, how are they going to retcon the apocalypse this time?" So yeah... I'd prefer to see losable stakes in the future. Or at least, stakes that aren't so catastrophically high that the only resolution is "they're gonna have to retcon it within the episode somehow".

For as much complaining as I've done, overall, I have to say that 1/14/40 was fine. It was solid television. A good 7/10. Not an internet 7/10, where anything below an 8 is dogshit, but an actual 7/10. It was better than average, but still pretty middling.

[pure-garbage]

Saucy Speculation? Assumed Experience Of The Straw Hats

The more time passed since Zoro's resolution to forget about his burgeoning feelings for Lana, the more he realized that the task he'd written off as simple was a lot harder than he'd initially imagined. Meals especially became taxing affairs. Sanji flirted indiscriminately with everyone of the opposite gender and Lana had never been an exception. Now, resentment sparked in Zoro every time Sanji turned his attention to Lana, rage stole his composure whenever the cook managed to earn a smile from the lockbreaker.

'Is this jealousy?'

Zoro stopped jumping Lana, the game where she lost unless she could detect his presence and evade. He didn't trust his hands to stay friendly on her body, wasn't completely sure he could keep his lips from claiming the kiss they craved if she was pinned under him.

"Hey, Zoro?"

"Yeah?"

They were both cross-legged on the deck, preparing to fit in meditation as the sun sank low at their backs.

"It's been a while since you surprise-attacked me. Did you stop on purpose, or just forget?"

Pleasant surprise filled Zoro. She'd noticed and she sounded disappointed.

'She's perceptive. She's just let down because I'm neglecting her training,' he scolded himself.

"Maybe I'm just waiting extra long this time to keep you on your toes," he replied coyly.

"Well, I'm not gonna be caught off guard," Lana smirked.

"You're always off guard," he teased.

"I nearly dodged you the last few times."

"Psh! Liar."

"It's true! Ugh, you're so smug! Maybe one of these days, it'll be me pinning you to the deck, smartass," Lana retorted.

Zoro gulped. The image of her looming over him invaded his mind, straddling his waist, her hands holding his wrists firm at either side of his head.

"You've got a long way to go before you can get the drop on me," he informed her, head spinning a little from his brief, intense fantasy.

"We'll just see about that."

Lana's smile didn't fade as she shut her eyes, relaxing easily into meditation.

'Sometimes it really seems like she's flirting with me,' he thought wistfully. He couldn't help but recall a moment from earlier that same day.

Lana had tugged his shirt at breakfast, leaning close. Her hot, soft breath on the shell of his ear had distracted him effectively from his anger with Sanji's typical antics.

"Five hundred berries says our silver-tongued ladies man is secretly the biggest virgin on the crew," she whispered, eyeing Sanji sidelong.

It had taken all Zoro's self-control to hold back his laughter.

"Lana?"

Back in the present, she opened one eye.

"You're supposed to be centering," she tsked.

"I'll center soon. About that bet you mentioned at breakfast... you'd definitely lose on it."

"Huh? How? You know something about Sanji that I don't? 'Cause I'm pretty confident our boy has never even copped a feel."

"No, you're probably right about that... but you forgot Chopper," Zoro pointed out. "If the bet is on who's the biggest virgin, he's gotta be the front-runner."

"Why, 'cause he's young?" Lana challenged. "Our good doctor's a cute little thing. I'd bet good money he must have had an encounter or two with a doe on his home island."

"That's... not a bad point," Zoro realized.

"The real wild card is actually Luffy," Lana went on.

"I could see that going either way," he agreed.

"Yeah. He's so forward... definitely not the type to shy away if he wanted someone that way, but..."

"Knowing Luffy, I'm not sure he'd be interested."

"Exactly. Wild card, like I said."

"Well you've certainly given this subject some thought," Zoro realized, eyebrows hiking with intrigue.

Lana blushed uncomfortably.

"Only since this morning, really. It's kind of fun to speculate about though. Right?"

"Sure. It does make me curious though... have you done any speculating about me?"

Zoro unfolded his legs, extended them in front of him and crossed his ankles, leaning back languidly on his elbows. The posture was highly intentional. Open, inviting. Lana's blush deepened while Zoro studied her expression.

"Maybe just a little," she admitted, ears blazing red as she avoided his gaze. Zoro grinned in satisfaction.

"Come on then," he urged. "Share with the class."

"We're supposed to be meditating," Lana mumbled. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and placed her hands palms up on her knees.

"Aw, come on!" Zoro purred, nudging her knee with his to spur her on. "Don't get shy on me now."

"I'm not shy, and you're distracting me."

"You're the one who started it. Come on, tell me and I'll leave you alone."

"Let it go, Zoro. I don't want to offend you by making wrong assumptions."

"I won't be offended. Promise. Lana... come on, tell me what you're thinking," he pestered.

"Ohhhhhmmmmm..." she intoned.

"Alright, I'll make you a deal. I'll go first, okay?"

"Huh? First?"

"I'll speculate about you. Then you tell me if my guesses are close. After, you tell me your guesses and I'll say if you're right or wrong."

"I... well..."

"Come on, you aren't curious at all?" he nagged.

"Oh... fine. But only to see if my impressions are close to the truth," she sighed in surrender. "Go on then. What's your prediction?"

"Oh. Uh..."

Zoro hadn't actually thought that far ahead.

"Well..."

He cleared his throat, considering what he knew of her past.

'She's a little older than me, too. I forget that a lot.'

"I'm waiting," Lana reminded him impatiently.

"Right. I... well, you're not totally inexperienced," he ventured. 'She's worried about offending me, but I'm the one who needs to be careful. I can't upset her... but would she be angrier if I assume she's too innocent or too worldly? Damn it, I put myself in a tight spot here!'

"Hm. Go on," she encouraged him.

"Well, I suppose... I imagine you've had a lover or two. In the past, that is. Obviously."

He coughed, awaiting her verdict with rare anxiety coiling in his gut. To his chagrin, her expression was one of complete embarrassment.

"I... well, I..."

"Not like I'd ever judge," he assured her hastily. "Making fun of Sanji is fine because he's so... himself. But I'd never seriously hold someone's experience against them. Or lack of... I mean..."

"No, I know, I know," Lana sighed. "It's just... well, I... haven't. Which makes it really rich that I would poke fun at Sanji for being the same way. Potentially, that is."

"You... haven't? Ever? Not even once?" Zoro gaped.

"You said you wouldn't judge!" Lana pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm not, I swear! It's just, you're so beautiful, I just assumed-"

The words slipped out before Zoro could stop them. Lana's pout disappeared, her eyes widening and her hands flying up to cover her mouth, near comical shock overtaking her expression.

"Zoro!" she gasped.

"Um..."

He knew his face was bright red. His mind raced, trying to come up with something he could say as damage control that didn't walk the compliment back so far as to land him in hot water.

"Well... thank you."

Lana's hands fell, revealing a smile so brilliant that its light momentarily blinded Zoro, wiping his mind clear of all thought. By the time he recovered his wits, she was already speaking again.

"But yeah, I only ever had one boyfriend, and we were so young. We fooled around some, sure, but never... uh, anyway, after that, the Seekers kidnapped me and I didn't really have a chance... or rather... ugh. Yeah, I haven't. I guess that's the bottom line."

"Huh. That makes sense."

'This has been even more revealing than I'd hoped,' Zoro thought.

"I guess it's my turn now," Lana said nervously.

"Yep. So?"

"Ok. Well... speculation. So, you've got your rough edges, right? Like, a lot of rough edges."

Zoro frowned, but didn't interrupt.

"... and you're very... um, very... you know."

Zoro raised an eyebrow high.

"I don't," he assured her. "We had a deal, don't forget."

"Ugh, let me find the right words!" Lana snapped, flustered. The suspense of her pondering was killing him. "Ok. You're really strong, right? And... I have a hard time imagining you... well, that's to say... it's just..."

Lana took a deep breath, steadied herself and collected her thoughts.

"Can I just be really blunt?" she asked tersely.

"That's the whole idea, isn't it?"

"Okay. Well, I mean, you know... obviously you could have any girl you wanted, so my assumption is that... you've had... a few."

Lana's face slid into her hands, ponytail falling to obscure her mortification even further. So she missed the way Zoro's amazement left his mouth hanging open.

"Oh yeah?" he asked, a slow grin spreading over his features.

"Yeah. Of course, not in a judgy way, okay?"

"Obviously."

"So? Did you?"

"Have a few girls? Since I could have any I want?"

"Don't be insufferable about it," Lana scolded him.

"Right."

"Well?"

Zoro sighed heavily, flattery melting away as the time came to own up to reality. A promise was a promise, but he found himself wishing he didn't have to shatter Lana's impression that he was an experienced lover.

"Not quite."

"Huh?"

"Truthfully? I only did it once," he admitted.

"Really?!"

"Yep. Sorry to disappoint."

"That's not a disappointing thing to hear. It's more than me, at least. So?"

"Eh?"

"Come on, I shared my reasons."

"Yeah, your reasons for never doing anything! It's not the same!"

"Hey, I've done some things!" Lana protested. "Just not... the main thing. Zoro! I don't need details, I'm just curious! At least tell me how old you were."

'She's... very interested.'

Zoro couldn't deny that her desire to know more intrigued him. Did it mean anything? Or was she just being nosy?

"Fine. I was seventeen. It was after I chased some thugs out of a noodle shop. The woman who ran it was... well, very grateful, I guess."

"Well weren't you gallant!" Lana teased. "A regular hero, huh?"

"I was just hoping to get some free soup."

"Did you?"

"Oh yeah. Plenty of soup."

"Prrrr... so, she was older," Lana assumed.

"No!" Zoro grumbled.

"She was!" Lana gasped melodramatically. "How much older?"

"Meditation time now."

"Zoro!"

"Centering."

"Oh, come on!"

"Ohhhmmmm..."

"Ugh, fine. Let's just sit here, breathe good and not think about anything," she sighed.

Zoro held his composure to avoid being pried for more details, but inwardly, his mind raced. Lana had given him a lot to think about.

After a few minutes, he risked a peek at her. Those lips of hers were parted, steady, measured breaths passing over them.

'If she thinks I could have any girl I want, does that include her? Maybe I could take that kiss after all.'

Zoro closed his eyes again, finally focusing on meditating.

___________________________________________

<== Previous Chapter

Next Chapter ==>

== First Chapter ==

[benkyoutobentou]

31 Days of Productivity Reading: Day six

Before: Last day of job related testing! By the way, remember how I said I was only gonna rehash my goals for the month that one time? Yeah, I lied. Like badly. Here they are again

Finish No. 6 volume 3

Read 憎らしい彼

Read another novel (still probably gonna be 独り舞)

Read at least ten volumes of manga

Read at least an hour per day (still on track!)

Today I'm planning on shifting my focus a little bit. I love the library, but one of my main issues with it is that I always feel pressured to read my library books Immediately and that's not how I roll with my reading (that was probably obvious just by me doing this challenge at all). So, for the next few days, I think I'll be trying to read a volume of manga each day (typically at least an hour of reading, so we're okay there) and then reading Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang, so that I can return it to the library right away. It's in English, but my hold came in, so here we are. This is indeed the book that I picked up in my first update.

After: I'm done with testing! *Confetti* I'm so ready to get back to reading and studying and studying and reading. I still have rehearsals (and shows) until Sunday and next weekend too, but at least now I at least have the other half of my day back.

I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve read a volume of manga, and the font size difference between ぼくちき and No. 6 felt like some sort of culture shock. I felt like I had to put the book right up to my nose to be able to read the little words. I had also forgotten that ぼくちき has furigana so that was a nice surprise.

The cafe was bustling today compared to yesterday and I almost had to sit outside (thank god I didn’t, it started raining, and yes the book raincoat returned).

Okay, somehow I ended up wasting all my time this evening (but you bet your ass I found the time to watch this week's Cherry Magic episode!!!) so I'm just gonna wrap up my day because whoops it's one am. Today I read 120 pages over an hour and fourteen minutes. That's 1.6 pages per minute, or in the ballpark of about forty seconds per page, if my quick mental math is correct (don't make fun of me I didn't have to take any math classes in university), and I'm just over halfway through this volume. I feel like my reading pace was a little bit slower than usual with manga because the cafe was super busy and there were two people a few seats down from me talking super loudly, so I had a bit of trouble focusing. There were definitely times where I had to read the same thing three times because it just was not sinking in. I like to be able to hear a little bit of my surroundings so I don't usually take my noise canceling headphones places, but it's time like this that make me regret it. Especially when I'm listening to Beijing opera, it just doesn't drown out outside noise.

Also, I started reading Natural Beauty during rehearsal today and it made rehearsal feel like five minutes. In the entirety of last year, I felt like I only had one really great read out of all the English novels I read. I already found a really great read last month and hopefully I'll be able to do it again. I'm considering preordering the paperback and I'm less than a hundred pages in. I am hoping to high heavens that I haven't just jinxed myself.

[crashdevlin]

Gone Girl 2- Fight Club

Author’s Note: Here we go, down the Walker hole!

Summary: Cordell gets in a bit of trouble tracking down some missing men.

Pairing: none yet

Word Count: 2853

Story Warnings: mentions of homicides and abductions (Cordy is law enforcement, after all), abduction, being drugged, canon-level violence

~~~~

"The mayor’s son is missing?" Cordell asked as he finished reading the case file.

"From the same bar as our second victim, Daniel Pierce." Micki sat on the edge of his desk and adjusted her belts.

"Guess we should go check out that bar." He stood and smiled down at her. Micki just gave him a bit of side eye before standing and walking away. "So, this is political. We got called in because Richardson wants to make sure his son doesn't end up the same as the others."

"Don't you?" Micki asked. "Don't you wanna make sure no one else has to go through that?"

"Well, yeah, but come on! I hate politics. I hate that those four men in the morgue weren't important enough for APD to ask us to help, but as soon as someone with a bit of clout gets affected, we better be jumping to help."

Micki didn't argue it, just getting in the car and pulling up the address for Black Rock Bar on her nav app. The twenty- minute drive was filled with Walker talking about Stella's soccer team and August's photography talent.

"He'll probably be just as good as his mother was eventually," he said as they got out of the car, adjusting their hats.

The bar was dirty, Walker could tell before he even opened the door. The vibe said 'dive' from the moment they pulled off the highway. "Interesting place for the mayor's son to frequent," Micki said, pulling open the door.

"Maybe he wanted to be around folks who don't care about money, or taste, or…" Walker grimaced a bit as he looked around the inside of the bar. "Dusting or black mold inspections."

"We ain't open yet," a voice called from the back as the door to the musty-smelling bar closed behind them.

"We're with the Rangers. We need to ask you a few questions," Micki called out.

"If this is about Danny," the man said, walking out from the back with a keg in his arms. "I already talked to the cops 'bout 'im."

"Walker and Ramirez...We're Texas Rangers, not police." Micki stood tall as the man dropped the keg and turned to them. "And we are here to ask about Daniel Pierce and Seth Richardson."

"Seth got hisself killed, too?"

"Got himself disappeared. So, you know Seth?" Walker asked.

"He's in a few times a week." The large man scratched at his beard and looked around. "Runs a tab up, starts fights, great guy."

"How big of a tab?" Micki asked.

"Couple hundred. He always settles up at the end of the week."

"And there anybody specific he was starting fights with?" Walker tried.

"Nope," the man dismissed quickly.

"Is there anything you can tell us about either of the men that might be helpful?"

"Nope," he responded again.

Micki and Walker looked at each other. Unhelpful, uncooperative people were nothing new, but it was something that neither enjoyed. They stuck around to ask a few more basic questions, getting short answers for each before they bid the man a good day and left.

"Seems like he's hiding something to you?" Walker asked as they settled in the car.

"Might just have been anti-authority."

He nodded. "Maybe. I think I'm gonna give this place a look after happy hour, see what kind of patrons Richardson might have been picking fights with."

Micki agreed that coming in that night in plainclothes would be the best bet to get some recon done.

His black Stetson went well with his light blue plaid shirt and his dark blue jeans. He nodded at Micki from across the bar. She was wearing a black tank top and a tight pair of jeans, her hair down in waves. There were a handful of patrons at the bar and a few small groups scattered between the pool tables, dartboard, and tables. They seemed like hardworking men and women...except the group of four bikers in the back.

Walker focused on the bikers, trying to get close enough to hear their conversation without drawing attention to himself, but there was no way to do that. He settled for drawing attention intentionally, grabbing a pool cue and approaching the group. "Any of y'all up for a game?"

"Fuck off, pretty boy,” the woman in the middle of the group snapped.

"Come on!" he whined. "I got an hour before the old lady starts blowing up my phone about where I am and I just wanna play a round or two.”

The bikers didn’t bite at his invitation, scoffing and looking away, ignoring him completely as they kept drinking. The fact that they weren’t paying him any mind made it easier for him to listen in on their conversation...which involved drugs, their Harleys, the crazy bitch who’s been trying to get child support out of the largest of the men, and the Mexican outlaw bikers that they seemed to have a rivalry with...but nothing about Daniel Pierce or Seth Richardson.

He sighed and set the pool cue back against the wall, heading into the back to use the restroom. He was barely past the entrance to the dark hallway when pain exploded across the back of his skull and the world went dark.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His head was swimming as Walker came to his senses. Not just a concussion, he could feel that. He knew what a concussion felt like. He also knew what sedative hangover felt like. The heavy limbs, like he was moving through pudding, the way he felt a bit bobble headed, the way his focus was hard to find. He knew he’d been drugged.

He ran his tongue across the top of his mouth, trying to get saliva flowing in his bone-dry mouth as his eyes fluttered open.

“Thank god, you’re awake,” a voice whispered. The voice didn’t seem too excited though. “Fuckin’ huge, aren’t you?”

Walker’s hand went to the back of his head as he sat up. “Where’m I?” He looked around his surroundings. He was in a cage along a wall made of cinder blocks. Down the wall, there were three more cages in a line. Each steel enclosure had a large man in it. He recognized the one closest to him.

Seth Richardson sighed and leaned back against the bars. “It’s where they keep us until it’s time to fight.”

“Fight?”

“Cage matches, man,” one of the others responded. “Bigger cage, obviously.”

“Modern-day gladiatorial combat.” Seth ran his hand down his bruised face. “I hope they don’t put me against you. You work out, right?”

“Wait, they...blindsided me, abducted us...to force us to fight?” Maybe it was the head wound, maybe it was the drugs, but he couldn’t see the reasoning.

“We’re worth a lot of money. They take bets.”

“‘They’? Who’s ‘they’?”

“No names. We don’t even have names now that they got us.” The man in the furthest cage groaned. “They’ll give you an animal title. I’m Bear.”

“Puma.”

“Bull,” Seth said.

“Well, I hope I get something badass. Like a moose or something.” Walker chuckled at his own little joke and licked his lips. “Okay, so...they, whoever they are, make you fight each other? What, to the death?”

“Only after we stop making them money. They give the kill order when we don’t have people bet on us anymore,” Bear said.

“How often does-”

“Stop asking questions! If you don’t make waves, you’ll last longer,” Puma hissed.

Walker sighed, trying to clear his head enough to figure out a way to get out. “Any y’all tried to break out?”

“No, we just sit on our asses all fuckin’ day. There’s no out.”

“There’s always an out.”

“Except when there’s not,” a new voice said as the door on the far end of the room opened. Walker blinked to clear his eyes as a short, balding man walked in. “You’re a big one, Gator.”

“My name is-”

“Your name is Gator. You’re gonna make me a lot of money...after I drug you up and let Bull beat you to shit.”

“Give him a lot, ‘cause I mean...look at ‘im!” Seth exclaimed.

“Don’t worry, Bull. You’re winning this one.”

“Look, man, you don’t need to give me any drugs because I’m not fighting anybody,” Walker said.

The balding man just chuckled. “Okay. You don’t fight, you die anyway.” A gun was suddenly in the man’s hand. “I got no problem putting down a gator.” He took Walker’s silence as fear, so he laughed. “You’ll fight. You all fight for your lives.”

He didn’t have a lot of choice. Not in the sedatives entering his muscle in his arm, nor the bag over his head, or the cuffs on his wrists as he was dragged out of the small cage and away toward the sound of a raucous crowd. He fell to his knees as he was pushed into the larger cage and the bag was removed. The cuffs were undone as the cage was opened on the other side and Seth was pushed in, no bag or cuffs hindering him.

“We don’t have t-to do this,” Walker tried as the cage was closed and locked, leaving just ‘Gator’ and ‘Bull’ in the enclosure.

“You don’t know, man. Shut the fuck up.” Seth’s foot connected with Walker’s chin and his head snapped back.

He did what he could to fend off the mayor’s son, but eventually Walker had no choice but to hit back. His head fuzzy from diazepam and injury, it took him a few tries to get to his feet. In that time, Bull’s fists connected with his cheek and chin multiple times. Seth was pulling no punches as they landed in his gut and Walker’s initial impulse was to hit back with everything he had. The thought that it wasn’t Seth’s fault stayed the Ranger’s hand. ‘Fighting for survival’ was quite literal in the situation Seth and Walker were in.

Cordell’s hand zipped out, aiming for his opponent’s mouth, and caught Seth’s eye instead. The man was stunned for a moment and Walker took the opportunity to grab him, grappling him into a chokehold. Seth scratched and scrabbled, reaching to get a grip and try to get away.

“Stop. Stop, Seth,” Walker grunted into the smaller man’s ear. “Stop fighting. Just...I’m with the Rangers. Stop.”

“Wha-” The words seemed to get through. “Really?”

“Stop. Just stop.” Walker dropped Seth and stumbled backward.

Seth looked up at him, fear and hope in his brown eyes. “Really?” he asked as the crowd exploded into boos.

“What are you doing?!” the balding man demanded, drawing his gun and walking up to the cage. “Fight!”

He didn’t have time to use his weapon against them, though, as the room was suddenly flooded with officers in tactical gear, bearing semiautomatic weapons. Walker let out a heavy sigh of relief, dropping to a knee as soon as his eyes fell on his partner following in the APD SWAT members.

“This whole ‘me saving your ass’ thing is getting to be habit,” she said with a smile.

“How’d you find me?” he asked as she opened the cage and stepped inside.

“They didn’t trash your phone until after they got you here. Rookie move on their part. I followed your GPS,” she said, leaning down to examine his face. “He got some good licks in.”

“Well, yeah but...I was drugged...pretty heavily, actually.”

“If you need to blame the drugs to justify getting your ass handed to you by the rich kid, by all means, Walker.”

“I was winning that,” he defended as Micki went to check on Seth. “Ramirez, I was winning. He was on the mat when you guys came in.” He winced as he stood. “You saw that, right?”

“There’s two more in the back,” Seth said.

“Micki. I was winning!” Walker called after Micki as Seth pointed her to the back area.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh my!" The gasp was loud enough to hear over the Luke Combs song pumping through Side Step and Cordell's eyebrow went up. "What happened to you?" Y/n cooed as she rushed up to him before he had a chance to take a seat at the bar.

"You should see the other guy," he responded, chuckling and immediately wincing when the action caused pops of pain across his abs and bruised ribs. "Could I get a double, neat, of the cheapest rye you got back there?"

"Most certainly not," she answered and his eyebrows shot up. He hadn't been denied a drink in a bar since he was a teenager with a bad fake ID. She put a finger up to tell him to wait and ran back around behind the bar. "Alcohol doesn’t even properly numb pain like that, Ranger."

"Yeah, but it makes me feel better and isn't that the real relief?" he tried to joke as Y/n dumped a hefty scoop of ice into a clean bar mop and took the corners together to make a cold pack.

"Thins the blood, makes for bigger bruises, gives a moment of 'relief' an' then three weeks of trying to hide the thing," she said, coming around the bar again to offer him the ice. "Cold keeps the bruises from spreading. Can't do much for the cuts, but there's an ointment, DerMend, that'll cut the healing time on the bruises down by half. Those look real bad, but...any little bit will help ya."

As he took the ice from Y/n and placed it over his cheek, Cordell couldn’t help but wonder how she got all the information she was giving out. He was a cowboy, a Texas Ranger, a damn rodeo star in another life, and no one had ever imparted the wisdom of bruises to him. How had she learned? Was it something innocuous, like curiosity, or was it necessity?

"How'd you know all that? You a nurse or something?"

Her eyes immediately downcast at the question and she smiled tightly before turning to get behind the bar again. "No. Not-not a nurse. Just...I just know some stuff. Don't know a lot, but I know some useful stuff, Ranger."

"Walker." He smiled what he hoped was a soothing smile as he took a seat on the closest barstool. She didn't really answer that question, deflecting subtly so she wouldn't have to explain her knowledge of heavy bruises. "Can't have whiskey, huh? Can I have a beer?"

"No, sir, you cannot," she responded firmly, starting to wash her hands. Walker took note of the faint lines on her left ring finger and the way she flinched and tensed when the door to the bar opened, relaxing only when two women walked in and the door closed behind them. "I can make you...a Shirley Temple or a virgin margarita. On me, of course. You shouldn't have to pay when you've had such a rough day protectin' Texas."

"Hell, why not? Been years since I had a Shirley Temple."

"Okay. Would you rather the original recipe like my daddy taught me to make it, with the ginger ale, or do you want it like Miss Broussard taught me to make it, with Sprite and orange juice?"

"Dealer's choice."

She smiled as she grabbed a glass and scooped ice into it. He could hear her muttering under her breath, "Ginger, grenadine, cherry, smile." over and over as she moved and made the drink for him. She stuck a straw in the pink drink and smiled brightly, quite obviously fakely, as she set it on the bar in front of him.

"There you go! Shirley Temple."

"Looks great," Cordell started as he set the ice pack down on the bar. "But don't call me 'Shirley'."

She looked confused for a second before she giggled. "Oh! That's silly! You're funny, Ranger Walker. Enjoy your drink!" she said before walking down the bar to help the women sitting on the opposite end.

He watched as she interacted with the other patrons of the bar. She was still stiff and seemed uncomfortable, but her smile never faltered. She was good at putting up a mask of happiness. He had to wonder how she got so good at faking that.

"So, where'd you come from, Miss Salama?" Walker asked, mimicking her proper use of titles as he took a sip of the second Shirley Temple she made him. "You an Austin local?"

"Oh! No, not at all. I grew up in-in Dallas, actually." She pulled the ice pack off the bar and wrung it out in the sink before grabbing another scoop of ice and handing the refreshed pack to Cordell.

"Oh? I have a few buddies from Dallas. Where'd you graduate?"

"Ummm...W. T. White. It, um...was...not the best but it got me through." She looked away and cleared her throat. "Enjoy your drink, Ranger Walker. Let me know if there's anything I can get for you," she said before walking away.

"That’s evasive," Cordell said under his breath. He took a sip of his mocktail and hummed. "Curiosity piqued."

The Kitchen Sink Tags- @flamencodiva @sacriceria @lyarr24 @440mxs-wife @nancymcl @stephv213 @mariekoukie6661 @beachy2014 @alwayskeepfightingsweetheart @cosicas-cuquis @queenoftheunderdark @myheartbelongsintz @squirrelnotsam @akshi8278 @muhahaha303 @agirlwithdemonblood @this-is-me19 @mrswhozeewhatsis

[academy13]

I have a wide variety of characters who are my favorites for many reasons. But the ones I keep rotating are Lois Lane, Tegan Jovanka, and Donna Noble because they're incredibly fascinating characters.

Like... Lois for instance, it depends on the portrayal, but in any case she is in a very male dominated profession and is still top of her field anyways because she acts like she doesn't give a shit. She gives a shit, she's someone who fights like hell for the right thing. She's the literally embodiment of that Captain America and Peggy Carter quote about 'No you move'. She cares a hell of a lot, more than she'll ever really let on or be able to express because her childhood was... messed up. Again, depends on continuity exactly, but she basically is the one who raised her sister. She had to be responsible for things that she shouldn't have had to be responsible for as a kid and her response was to make Shawn Spencer like quips and cracks to hide the insecurities. So most people don't look deeper than that, she seems very sure of herself, she seems self-confident... she's not. She's more used to putting others before herself, almost recklessly so.

Or Donna... Look, I love Sylvia, she's clearly a decent person to have had a hand in raising someone as amazing as Donna, but she's also shown to be a nag. To criticize Donna over far too many things, given that when we meet Donna as a series regular after Runaway Bride you literally see her tune out her mother because she's going on about things Donna has probably heard a hundred times and then proceeding to go check on Wilf out on the hill where he's stargazing because she'd rather be there with someone who will just Be instead of getting on her case, again. Donna's probably the one companion out of the Tenth Doctor era with the broadest range of skills, this woman has done a wide variety of work and is good at it. She actually brags about how fast she can type, plop that woman in front of a computer and tell her what you need her to do, and she can figure it out. I mean this woman memorized the Dewey Decimal System in like a couple days... I get the feeling the classes she did best in were related to math in some way. And her self-worth is in the goddamn toilet, I mean this woman on at least two separate occasions, to the Doctor's face, has asked why she's important. She yells, she's loud to hide the fact that she doesn't think she's all that important. Oh she'll use her White Woman Yelling superpowers for good, like raging against injustice or more recently, fighting for her daughter, but she's also just going 'No you don't get to see any deeper than this'.

And then Tegan... Look I don't know a whole lot of her backstory, and like most of Classic Who it's gonna vary quite a bit depending on exactly what source you look at, but she's somewhere between Donna and Lois in terms of her self esteem and assorted insecurities. She's not shy about her opinions, but she also sometimes goes too far. But she'd rather not have to have people look too closely because that would mean actually letting them get to know her. She's someone who's been burned before, maybe even by some of her family. And that's not even touching on the fact that some of this comes from the internalized queerphobia... because that's a whole other load of baggage to unpack (I'm using queer because I'm not entirely clear on if she's Bi or Gay, because Doctor Who canon is a pick your own adventure book. For all I know she uses a term she picked up from Nyssa or the Doctor). But she's snarky and surly and often yells to hide how deeply insecure she really is. She's easily as compassionate as Donna, but she won't let onto that unless the situation calls for it. She'll also use the excuse of professional distance because I'd bet before getting the flight attendant job she did some other customer service jobs, the ease in which she switches to that professional courtesy and then being grumpy two seconds later when it's just her and Nyssa, Adric and the Doctor isn't something she learned overnight.

[natashawritesstuff]

Track 16: thinkin’ bout me 📼

"I bet I'm on your mind, boy, all of the time”

third-year yamaguchi x reader 

cw. making a bet about dating so angst 

"Ugh!" you exclaim, sighing loudly.

"What's up with you?" your best friend, Kanna asks just as your other friend, Miyu laughs, already knowing the answer.

"I'm so bored!"

"Like with school?" Kanna questions.

"No like with something to do," Miyu answers, "more like someone to do."

"Shut up," you say, rolling your eyes.

"Bored, what about-"

"Dumped him last month," you interrupt Kanna, sighing again, "love is so fucking stupid

"Maybe if you stayed in a relationship for more than three weeks and found actual love, not just lust, you wouldn't say that," Kanna figures.

"What do you mean? Y/N's incapable of love," Miyu laughs.

"I'm not incapable!" you argue, "I'm just immune."

"Wanna bet on it?" Kanna wagers and you smile.

"What's your bet?"

"I think you'll fall in love with the first soft boy you see. Hundred bucks."

"That confident Kanna?" you ask.

"We met when we were five, I know you better than you know yourself at this point," she reasons.

"Ohhh," Miyu echos, "not too late to back out Y/N-chan."

"Never," you say standing your ground, "you're on," you give Kanna your hand, shaking it.

"To make it fair, Miyu, you decide the lucky boy," Kanna suggests.

"Oh, I have just the one."

"Already?" you say, surprised but also impressed.

"I have connections," she smirks, "but you know the captain of the boy's volleyball team, heard he thinks you're cute. ?"

"Who the hell is the captain?"

You wrote me and you say I'm all you think about

"Yamaguchi," you say warmly, "I'm Y/N," you introduce yourself as you hop up to sit on his desk in the moments before class starts.

"I- I know."

Look both ways 'fore I cross your mind

"You know because you think I'm cute right?"

"We've had the same homeroom all three years- who told that anyways- it's true but-"

"Do you wanna take me out?"

Lucky that you caught me in the nick of time

"You're forward," he notes as his cheeks start to turn red.

"And you're not answering."

"Don't you have a boyfriend?"

"We just broke up, lucky you. seven, tonight?"

Count your seconds now, time is limited

"I- I have practice today, we're getting out late."

"What time?"

"Eight."

"So nine?"

"Can I have some time to think about it?"

"Oh yeah, another three years good?"

"What?"

There are more in line, make your best impression

"We all know my reputation, I'm not about to wait for you to make up your mind. So now or never captain."

He takes a couple of seconds to answer and just as you're about to hop down off of his desk, he says, "nine it is."

You smile, lifting his chin up to you before he has a chance to turn away, you make a puckering motion with your lips as you tell him, "good choice."

Listen very well, these are my conditions

It was in fact the best choice both you and him made the whole year. You weren't expecting it, but it was the best time you've ever had on a date. So of course when he asked you out again: again as in wanting another date not that he actually asked you out the first time, you said yes.

After a month, you were seeing him every weekend so you shouldn't have been surprised when he asked, "do you wanna be my girlfriend?"

"Couple conditions."

"Conditions-"

Gotta get permission 'fore you say you miss me

"Find the middle group between being needy and a part-time boyfriend."

"No clinginess...got it."

"Didn't say that," you mutter.

"Wha-"

"Moving on."

Give me all your patience without no complaining

"Whatever happens at the end of this, stays between us, 'kay? I have enough shit being said about me."

"Okay," he agrees, all too quickly and you feel a sense of guilt remembering what this is all for.

I will let you know when you are done with training

"Oh yeah, and when I come to your games, don't look at me before you serve or spike because if you miss it, I'll still have to claim you and I just-"

"You're gonna come to my games?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I wanna see my boyfriend play?"

Throw your money in the fountain, I'll give what you're wishin'

Boy, I wanna make you think about doing

"I- what are you wearing?"

"It's game day," you explain, the reason why you were wearing his extra jersey.

"You- um... you look ni- g-" he stammers and you smile as a small, but noticeable blush sports his cheeks.

Wanna make you see what you're dreaming

"Spit it out, baby," you coo,  and two seconds later, his whole face is as red as a beet.

"You- ahem, you look really nice in my jersey, pretty."

"You know maybe if you think of how pretty I look, and you win.." you pull on his shirt bringing his ear up to your lips as whisper to him.

As you pull away he groans, "Y/N, you're killing me."

Wanna make you think about me

You halfway through the race, how's it feeling now?

By the time the team was back on the bus to go home after the game, everyone already knew the two of you were dating. As if the jersey wasn't enough, you running down to the court after Yamaguchi ended the game with a service ace, almost tackling him, was quite the hint.

The night before you go back to school after the weekend, you get a call from Yamaguchi, and you answer.

"Hey, wha-"

"I'm nervous," he interrupts, and your eyebrows furrow.

"Why?"

"Everyone knows we're dating now."

"That a problem?"

"No, no!... yes."

"Tadashi," you say softly, "toughen up okay, 'cause you're gonna get eaten alive tomorrow."

Breathing heavy, but you got another round

You say you like the heat, but you can't handle this

Yamaguchi stops by your house that morning, and the two of you walk to school together. There were whispers as you walked through the hall hand and hand and you could feel him shaking.

You lean into him, whispering, "I'm gonna give you an out now captain."

"What?"

"You look like you're having a hard time so if you can't do this I-"

"No, I-"

"Just make the decision after school," you say, letting his hand go and walking away.

Burn under my sun, make you a little crisp

There's a knock on your door late at night and you open it to see flowers on your porch with a note, "I'll learn to deal with it, Tadashi ♡"

You smile, whispering, "guess I'm growing on him."

I bet I'm on your mind

Months pass and your relationship proves to stand the test of time. It even got to the point where you were dragging your friends to the gym to watch them practice with you.

"I'm just so proud of him," you gush, "and the season wrap-up is just in time for our six month anniversary so-"

"Six months?" Miyu asks, groaning dramatically as she leans back on the bleachers, "wasn't this all supposed to be one month."

"The time frame wasn't really specified," Kanna reminds her before she points out, "should we really be talking about this here, they'll be back from the locker room any minute."

"Miyu, what are you even talking about?"

"Don't tell me you forgot. I guess Kanna really was right.'

Boy, all of the time

You shake your head, truly being clueless and she laughed just as the gym door swung open and closed.

"Hey Y/N, do you wanna go out for some-" Yamaguchi began to say but stopped himself as Miyu screams, "that you dating that soft boy was a bet!"

"A what?" Yamaguchi asks and your head whips around to face him.

"I-" you stutter and he shakes his head.

"Get home safe, Y/N," he tells you then leaves with his things.

"Shit," Kanna mutters.

Can't get me, get me, get me, get me out

Boy, I wanna make you think about doing

You run out after him pausing as you reach the school gates, not knowing which way to turn; not knowing which way he could have gone. But after hearing a small sniffle, you slowly turn your head to your right and your heart shatters as the two of you make eye contact.

"I'm not crying, it's- it's just cold."

You hesitantly approach him as you do, he avoids your gaze.

"Can I explain-"

"I just wanted to make sure you got home, I don't really-"

"I lost!" you scream and he finally looks up at you.

"Wha-"

"Kanna said I would fall in love with the first good guy I meet and I said I wouldn't," you tell him and take a deep breath before you say, "and I lost."

"You-" he pauses, taking a step closer to you, and you nod.

Wanna make you see what you're dreaming

He leans his forehead against yours as he whispers, "I love you too," and you smile

He brings his hand to cup your cheek attempting to pull you in for a kiss but you pull away. His eyes dart to chase yours and each time he moves closer, you move back; as if you're playing a game.

"Y/N-"

"This is scary," you confess.

"Yeah, love's scary," he agrees.

"But I trust you."

"So let me kiss you," he says and you nod.

He moves in to kiss you again, and you don't move away, allowing his lips to crash onto yours as you smile throughout the kiss. Sure, maybe you lost the bet, and a hundred dollars, but now you have him; that was priceless.

Wanna make you think about me

the playlist📼

Karasuno Masterlist

Return to main masterlist

[berlinini]

Louis mentioning Arctic Monkeys during Faith in the Future promo

Euphoria Magazine interview, Sept 1 2022:

The album immediately switches it up and dives straight into “Written All Over Your Face,” an infectious indie floor-filler that we both agree is reminiscent of the first two Arctic Monkeys albums. “I’m a big fan of that sound, big fan of that energy,” Tomlinson says. “I went into the room with these people I’ve done a few sessions with, and I said, let’s try and take this as punk as I can get away with. I suppose that’s where the Arctic Monkeys reference comes from; there are obviously punk elements within what they do.” At just two and a half minutes long, Tomlinson confesses it wasn’t a song he was trying too hard with. The aim was to create a “punchy energy,” declaring this was another song he could imagine performing live.

Alternative Press interview, Sept 6 2022:

That incorporation of dance melodies is something that erupts on “Out of My System,” a pulsating, punk-tinged Arctic Monkeys-inspired track that recalls the heyday of early aughts indie rock. The day Tomlinson made the track, he had been listening to “Teddy Picker” or “Dancing Shoes” (he can’t quite remember), but he knew exactly what kind of music he wanted to make. “I went in and said, ‘Let's try to write a song that is as punk as I can get away with,’” he recalls. And he led with that kind of intensity and energy from early Arctic Monkeys albums to craft the song. 

Interview for 98.5 KRZ, Sept 19 2022:

[What would your theme song be (a song that would play whenever you walked into a room)?]

I’ve got no idea. No idea! It’s almost like what would be a boxing walk out. Maybe Teddy Picker, Arctic Monkeys?

Jack Saunders Show on BBC Radio 1, aired Sept 25 2022:

Jack: Last time you were here, you were in 2019, [...] and we played this game, called "Keep or delete?". Do you remember what happened during that game?

Louis: Not specifically, I do remember the game.

Jack: Ok. Let's see if this docs your memory [replays the 2019 game which Louis says he would get "delete" Arctic Monkeys' "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor"]

Louis: I must've turned up drunk that day, I must have, honestly. That's a crime! What was The Strokes song? What was it again? Did you know? (...) It's a though pick, but I don't imagine why I picked that? "I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor" is a super nostalgic song for me, to be fair.

(...)

Jack: [The chorus is] the first thing that I thought when I listened to [Bigger Than Me]. I was like 'This chorus feels so big'. For you, those kinda of like big and kinda of indie choruses that you think about, what comes to mind? The ones that you always hammer or sing along? That kinda of thing...

Louis: You know what, the irony is the first thing that comes to me mind in terms of a chorus that I can remember singing, is ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’, which I cancelled the last time I was here, like an idiot!

Jack: [laughs] I'm not surprised, man, that is essential, a banger, isn't it?

Louis: It is, it is!

Jack: You worked with [producer] Mike Crossey on this one (...) Now, look, I've got a list of the credentials to display. He's worked with [lists artists] Arctic Monkeys - you can tell Mike you got rid of one of his songs--

Louis: No, no, I didn't, I didn't !

(...)

Jack: Louis, one more thing before you go (...) I'm gonna give you a chance of redemption

Louis: I like it

Jack: Would you like to bring [I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor] back?

Louis: One hundred percent, man!

Billboard.com interview, Nov 11 2022:

11. What’s your favorite album to listen to from top to bottom?

AM [by] Arctic Monkeys has got to be up there. Probably [their] Favourite Worst Nightmare, as well. Those two albums were absolutely massive for me growing up, so yeah, let’s go with them. Trying to think of a more recent one. The Snuts’ debut album, I absolutely loved. I loved their follow up as well. 

LADbible TV Ask the Audience, aired on Nov 11 2022:

[If (you) were part of another band (which one would it be)]

It’s an hard question to answer, really. I mean, I fucking love Arctic Monkeys, just down the road from where I’m from, Sheffield.

Afterglow on Pandora, aired Nov 12 2022

On his musical influences

Growing up, as you’re kind of forming your opinions on different songs, artists, genres. For me, growing up in the north of England, guitar music was absolutely massive with the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Oasis, etc.

[riku-writings]

ADMIRATION

Pairing: Mitsuya Takashi x Fem! Reader

Summary: Reader likes to fantasize about The Home Economics Club Leader's Hands.

Warnings: Smut with a smol plot, Fingering.

A/n: I am not really sorry about this ꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡,,, inspired by that one megumi oneshot in wattpad that i read ages ago. . .((edited hundred times since i just realized now that some of the smut parts were messed up even though i checked it multiple times,,, I'm sorry for the confusion i hope i got the order right ಠ,_｣ಠ)

Wc; 2k

It started with just an innocent admiration of him being a charming dude, that's all. The guy's a good student, an overall husband material with his sewing and cooking skills. He was heaven sent with his overall visual ( dyed hair, piercings and his eyebrow slits). Everyone knows he's a delinquent because of that Pehyan dude who would fight with Yasuda-San just to excuse mitsuya out of the club. Despite his delinquent bg, Mitsuya was respectful and patient. Making every girl and boy swoon over him.

A bad boy with a soft hubby side. Best of both worlds they would say.

You were part of it. The Home Economics Club, they were lying if the whole club wasn't a simping club for the one and only Mitsuya Takashi. It was only yasuda and you who took the club for extra credits. The others well, you could say they were there to see him. Eitherway everyone was cooperative and hardworking.

Not only were you with him in that club. You were his classmate. Even better, his seatmate. You always get a view of his charming side profile.

You find yourself just staring at his features, from his long lashes to his pointed nose, down to his lips. Sometimes his tongue would dart out, out of pure concentration. (You noticed this whenever you try and get his attention to check your work in the club)

Your eyes always latching itself down to his hands. Not that you're a complete freak but you appreciate it. Like if someone asked you what body part attract you the most. You would definitely answer, hands.

His hands were the prettiest especially when its enclosed with those rings that has a cross engrave on it. It was veiny, fingers elongated and a bit bony. Nails cleanly cut. His wrist always had a silver bracelet on it. You don't know why was that attractive.

You had an unpopular opinion that it was soft to touch. You wonder if your thoughts were true. You can feel yourself blush at the thought of him just holding your hand.

You can't help it but you just stare at them with pure admiration. Due to this, you noticed how he liked twirling a pen around his middle and index finger. Fascinated, you tried it once, though you failed. You not knowing he was looking at your failed attempts. Grinning.

"y/n are you listening?" A voice called pulling you out of your own embarassing thoughts. You look up at the owner of the hands you've been staring at for a while now.

"U-uhm yes?"

"Tell me how did you end up with this then?" Mitsuya raises his brow, your messed up fabric lifted up by him. The girls around you giggled at your clumsy behaviour. You retrieved it. "Ehm, I'm sorry leader can you explain it again?"

"Alright, listen this time dummy" He says with a teasing grin, ruffling your hair gently. He sat next to you. Using the seam ripper to remove your mistakes. You just stared at his fingers pointing at where you should redo it.

You wondered how he would shove it in your mo—

You mentally slapped yourself. As you crossed your legs together at the sudden image that came over your mind. "You okay? y/n?" Mitsuya stared at you noticing how you pressed your thighs together. "Hmhm" You responded.

"Leader! can you check this?" Another called out for mitsuya. He stood up and pats your shoulder.

"alright, I'll leave it to you then" He smiled.

The next days you tried to scold your mind for having intrusive thoughts of Mitsuya and his hands. Unfortunately, your mind developed a sudden kink with it. Making every imaginary situation more. . . . lewd.

"Hey Y/n! Hold up your hand" Your classmate suddenly called you lifting his hand towards yours. You knew exactly what he was trying to do, since he's been busy tryna do that with the other girls this morning. "Eh? I don't want to." You replied.

"Bet if mitsuya did it, y/n would do it!" Another classmate of yours shouted from the back. You raised your middle finger, continuing on cramming your homework.

"Leader~ Can you do that for us~" The boys teasingly called mitsuya. Who was back from his lunch raising an eyebrow at them. Hands pocketed "Do what?"

"We're just comparing hand sizes" They shrugged lifting up their hands. "Y/n won't let us~~"

"Eh? Stop bothering y/n." Mitsuya say in his deep voice his feet landing a hit on their butts, before proceeding to you. The men in the back groaned.

Bending to meet your gaze. He grinned "Now you owe me, work on your missed templates with me later" The lilac haired boy reminded. You just rolled your eyes on him mocking a tongue out. He chuckled. "And I thought you just saved me, leader."

You stayed with him in the club room. Doing your templates beside him. Him just handstitching a bunny like doll. The room slowly darkening as the sun sets. He turned on a lamp beside his table. Slowly the other girls started to leave the club room, waving their goodbye's to Mitsuya.

"Hmmmm you've been spacing out lately, are you okay?" He coughed softly referring to your messed up works recently. Eyes going to you.

"Me? spacing out?" You acted dumb, you scoffed in a fake manner. Brushing your hair with your fingers to shake off your stiffening state.

Not meeting any of his gaze, you just continued to sketch.

Did he figure it out? Did he catch me staring at his hands? Nah I need to stop overthinking.

"Alright then." Silence invaded the whole club room again. Your eyes roamed around realizing the rest of the girls left already leaving you two alone.

"Hold your hand up." Mitsuya suddenly commanded. Eyes going to him, you raised your brow. "I wanna know— our hand difference." He explained raising his hand infront of you. Placing his doll down the table.

"You know the boys in our class are just a bunch of perverts right?" Speaking like a fucking hypocrite, your actions didn't match up with your words. Almost instinctively, you faced him holding them up. He pressed his against yours.

Your insides melt at this gesture. Your theory confirmed that he has actually, soft hands.

"You have cute small hands" His lips curled up, slowly his fingers intertwined with yours, locking it with his. "Well yours rough" You lied, cheeks burning as you looked at your connected hands. "Is that so?"

Abruptly, mitsuya pulled you close to him. Making your other hand rest on top of his shoulder. His face centimeters away yours. Lips almost brushing.

"So is this what they're trying to do with you?" He asks in a low voice his eyes piercing through you. Craning his neck, curious.

"Yeah. . . " You broke eye contact. "Good thing I stopped them." He chuckled, eyes closing. He leaned back. Patting your head.

Funnily, that interaction with him didn't stop your thoughts. Actually it made your whole dirty secret worse. Just seeing him tapping his fingers on his lips as his chin rested on his palm. Made your mind run thoughts about the things his hands would do to you.

You leaned back looking around the morning peace in the clubroom. You were always the first one to go here. Since it's more quiet that way.

You closed your eyes craning your neck side to side. Loosening up a bit.

What would his fingers feel wrapped around your neck— no. no.

You shifted on your seat, pressing your thighs together. Mentally slapping yourself.

Changing your attention, your sight caught your pen. Picking it up you tried to do that cool trick again. Trying to twirl it around in between your middle and index finger.

"Ohhh you're trying to do it again?" Mitsuya popped out of nowhere. You jolted a bit, making him laugh. You clearly didn't see him coming in.

He hovered behind you, his chest pressed on your back as he rested his hand on your desk right beside yours. He leaned in observing your half-done project. "Again?" You asked head turning towards his face.

"Well I saw you trying to do this"

He pulled his other hand up grabbing your pen, his fingers did it in ease. "no need to brag leader-san" You tell him grabbing your pen back. "Looks like you're gonna stay with me again later" Mitsuya mentioned pointing at your work.

After classes you proceeded to your clubroom already, knowing you're gonna take so long with your project. Though you were greeted by yasuda leaving you with her tasks because apparently she also had friday plans like the others. The others always had friday plans that it would leave you, yasuda and mitsuya with the work.

"It's okay yasuda-san! I promise to clean up and remind leader to lock the door!" You assured her, she then finally nodded. "Fine fine— Also don't let that slimy delinquent distract leader" She added, you nodded giving her a big thumbs up, she then waved her hands leaving you all alone with the mess of excess papers and fabric from this morning.

You tied your hair as you clean up the place before doing your own project. You actually sat on the front desk as you look around feeling satisfied. Finally continuing your hand stitch. (You gave up after breaking 3 needles into half with your machine.)

You stay seated on the front desk, comfortably doing your own project. Humming a few songs here in there. The door then slid open.

"I'm guessing yasuda san has plans?" Mitsuya came in seeing you on his desk. "yup" You nodded eyes focused on your stitch. Sudden fingers gripped your knees.

"You should stop manspreading in that skirt" He scolded you pushing your knees together. You shivered at his touch against your skin. Due to this sudden awareness of his hand still gripping your lower thighs— you accidentally pricked your finger on a needle.

"Ouch." You hissed as you saw your finger starts to ooze out blood. "You're so clumsy" Mitsuya clicked his tongue removing the cloth on your hands bringing it down to the side. He grabbed your hand and started sucking on your finger.

"U-uhm" You widened your eyes as you saw the sight of mitsuya sucking your index finger. You blushed profusely at this. "Eh? I- I — you didn't have to do that" He finally let go of your finger.

"I don't have bandages on me—plus that always does the trick" He says wiping it. You just nodded looking around. "Tsk what is it that got you distracted again hm?" He questions furrowing his brows he leaned closer to you. He layed his hands on the table, locking you in.

"Ugh you really want me to say it huh?" You groaned. He craned his neck to the side. Waiting for you to continue. "Okay— I may have a small admiration towards your hands. . ."

"Admiration?"

"Well it was honestly innocent at first until it got all dirty and as much as I wanted to get it out of my head you suddenly do things to me"

"And what was my hands doing?"

"Mitsuya . . "

"No dove tell me" He said as the choice of endearment shoot straight to your core. Making you shift on your seat.

"hm shoving it in my mou—"

Mitsuya shoved his middle and index finger inside your mouth. Your cheeks burn at the sudden action. His other hand held your waist, holding you closer. "You like this?" He asked with hooded eyes. Your tongue twirled around his finger, he slowly discarded them letting out a popping sound as it came out of your lips. Feeling your chest warmed up down to your lower belly.

"Is this why you're so distracted lately? because you're too busy thinking about my hands?" He then held your chin with his fingers as he hummed. Lips inching closer to yours. You just nodded feeling feverish. "Do you want me to kiss you?"

Once again you nodded. You can feel the growing lust underneath your skirt. Pressing your thighs together to relief the heat. Mitsuya following the movement. His eyes went back to pierce through yours.

"Say please" He smugly commanded. You pouted.

He taps your lips. Wetting it with your own spit.

"Please kiss me."

Mitsuya leaned in to claim your lips, you lightly gasped as his lips finally touch yours. Closing your eyes, you melt into his kiss. He smirked at his before his hand on your waist went up to your hair tie, pulling it to let your hair flow against your shoulders.

He then licked your lips, instinctively you opened your mouth allowing him to enter his warm wet muscle inside. You whimpered at this, feeling your feverish state get warmer. Spreading all over your body. He caressed your cheek as he kissed you deeper. His other hand caressing your side, slightly brushing up against your chest. You hummed against his lips.

Biting onto your bottom lip he licked it. Before leaning back, placing a soft kiss on yours before taking in your whole panting visual.

"Do you want me to touch you, dove?" He questions, his thumb now pressing onto your bottom lip. His left hand went down on your thighs, softly pinching them.

"Please touch me, takashi"

With that his fingers indulged inside the band of your damp underwear. "Hm you're so wet, princess" He hummed letting his finger brushed up against your folds. You squirmed under his touch, your pussy clenching around nothing.

"Is this what you're thinking about in class?" He whispered next to your ear, placing a hot kiss on your cheek. You nodded, biting onto your red lips. As his middle finger continued to slide so easily with your wet slick. Up and down teasing both of your sensitive clit and your pleading hole.

You then felt the pad of his fingers teasing circles on your entrance, you looked at him with glossed eyes. He licked his lips seeing you practically begging for it.

His other hand held the back of your knees spreading your legs to gain more access. You leaned back supporting your weight with your hands.

Letting your skirt ride up, He bit his lips as he saw your ruined flimsy panties with his hand in it. You just looked at him with a pout wanting his fingers to penetrate your hole. "Please" You plead him trying to grind into his hand. Without caution he plunged his two fingers in your heat.

You bit back a moan. "Don't hold back now, dove." He said with a smug as he felt your hole clench around his fingers. "I-I can't takashi" You say feeling little under him. He chuckled at your pouting lips before placing a kiss on them. "Acting shy now huh"

Mitsuya curled his fingers inside making you squirm. "Don't move." He warned before pounding his hand into your writhing pussy. His long fingers hitting your soft spot almost immediately. You moaned letting your forehead clash itself against his. "You're taking my fingers so well baby. So noisy" He said referring to the slick slapping sounds of your wet pussy. You blushed at this ashamed on how you were making a mess on his hands.

"Aa you're so lewd— bet you've touched yourself multiple times thinking about this" He said adding another finger in your hole easily. You sobbed at the sudden feeling of fullnes inside "Hmm too much"

"Too much? you're a good girl you can take it" He says kissing your cheek once agaib. He thrusted his three fingers into your hole curling it up to feel your spongey walls clenching into him tighter.

"Mmn t-takashi—k-kiss" You mumbled feeling yourself itching up to your own orgasm.

"You want a kiss baby hm?" He hummed as his thrusts got harder and faster. Knuckles deep, the tip of his fingers hitting your sensitive spot. You purred nodding, He kissed your lips deeply making your moans muffled. You felt hot inside you as you panted trying to comprehend everything that he was doing to you. With that you felt your orgasm continue to build up. Your head leaned back breaking off his kiss, grinding back into his hand. Mitsuya felt yourself tighten continuing to hit on your sweet spot. Your own wetness beginning to drip down.

His thumb finally taking notice of your abandoned nub. He played with it. You squirmed as you feel it burn against his thumb.

"'m close" You squeak biting onto your lips. "Go on baby cum on my fingers" He said littering kisses on your neck, hands pounding into you harshly. With those words and his thumb rubbing your sensitive clit. Your thighs started to fidget. You closing your eyes shut as you panted.

You came onto his fingers. You let out a whiny moan as His fingers slowly ride out your high.

"Good girl" He said pulling his fingers out your panties. Your eyes opened seeing him cleaning his fingers clean with his tongue. He smirked as you lolled your tongue out. He placed his fingers on your tongue, letting you lick and suck them clean.

"You look so pretty like that, dove" He say as you finished pulling his fingers out popping out of your lips. He held your waist with his arms, moving you closer again. Leaning in to kiss you softly this time on your forehead. "How was that?"

"Better than what I imagined actually"

"C'mon it looks like we have friday plans too" Mitsuya said kissing your lips. Bringing you down the table. You smiled.

[spirit-small]

The following is a Ratattorney Special Presentation, which I'm choosing to call Phoenix Wright: Ratattorney in "The Tiniest Turnabout (Part I)". It's inspired by and heavily based on @sa-gt-tarrius' The Tiniest Turnabout, which has the distinction of being the first ever piece of Ace Attorney G/t content I consumed that didn't come directly out of my own brain. So to pay tribute to it as well as Sal's own The Ratattiniest Tourneybout, here it is now, the crossover event of the century. If you have not yet read The Tiniest Turnabout, I highly recommend doing that before returning here, it explains the facets of the case in much more depth than I've chosen to, on account of this being written with the assumption of familiarity. It's also just really fun and well made and I highly recommend it in general.

What had started as a desperate ploy to stay out of jail had morphed into a "Fine, Just One More Time To Save The Show" only to now leave Phoenix wanting more. Craving more. Now that he knew it was possible for him to stand in court (well, stand on Maya standing in court) he couldn't wait to sink his teeth into another case. Most borrowers never got to be this close to feeling like a bean, to really do something that mattered, to actually, really make a difference. And now that he'd done it twice, well. It's not like he had any intention of stopping.

Maya, on the other hand, while she reveled in the grift, was definitely concerned that Mr. Edgeworth might be onto her little charade. But, then again, he might not be that bad, right? Like, he did help a little towards the end of the trial, and nobody who could get that heated over a Steel Samurai debate could be an evil man. Unless they were a magistrate, she supposes.

Still, she did find a certain thrill to it all. And they made a great team. So, she figured the best course of action was to ride this wave as far as they can go. It was kind of hilarious to her just how easy it was to impersonate a lawyer, which, according to Phoenix, is actually a felony. But can you really go to jail if you do something for the bit? She thinks she could talk old baldy down if she used the classic quirky girl defense.

The best way to avoid arousing suspicion is, of course, owning it. The city and the airwaves are plastered with her face. “When You’re Arrested, What Do You Fey? I Want Maya-ttorney!” is her slogan. Very clever, in her opinion. Nick disagrees, but what does a borrower know about marketing?

They had recently taken the case of one Lily Putian, and it was time for Maya’s favorite part of every case - investigating the crime scene. Especially since in this case, it was somewhere she’d probably never get to see otherwise. The laboratory of Dr. Mike Roscope was typically off-limits to the public, and if there’s one thing Phoenix and Maya love, it’s snooping around where they don’t belong.

“Huh. So Dr. Roscope was a microbiologist?” Phoenix reads the case file as Maya flips through it, barely skimming it.

“Guess he woulda been real interested in you, huh, Nick?” Maya laughs and pokes him a little.

“Oh, come on, I’m not that small.” Phoenix pouts.

“You’re pretty small.” Maya carelessly shoves the files into her bag and looks around the room. “Woah... what do you think all this stuff does?”

“I don’t know, probably just tests and measurements. Maybe one of these makes coffee?”

“Oh, come on, Nick, have some imagination!” Maya bounces over to a mysterious machine. “I’m gonna guess this one is... a portal! To like, the moon. Maybe Jupiter.”

“Maya.”

“Nick.”

“That’s a fax machine.”

“...oh.”

“We have one in the office.”

“Why? When was the last time anybody used one? When you were my age like a hundred years ago?”

“Mia said she didn’t like online.”

“Hrmph.” Maya crouches down and points at another machine, pressing a button on top and seeing it activate, now roaming around the floor. “This one’s gotta be like... an advanced military drone! A weapon to surpass metal gear! I bet if I press the other buttons it’ll pop out like huge missiles and bombs! Maybe it plants land mines as it moves around!”

“That’s a roomba. And this is a crime scene, I really don’t think you should’ve turned that on!”

“It’ll be fiiiiiiine.” Maya stands back up and stretches, placing Phoenix down on the desk next to the outline of the victim. “Here, you investigate all this stuff and I’ll go play with more of these funky machines!”

“Be careful, please? You don’t know what this stuff might do.”

“I thought you said it was all boring stuff?” Maya raises an eyebrow.

“It is, but you could start a fire, or a gas leak or something, and I don’t want you destroying all of my potential evidence.” Phoenix walks around the desk, reading the papers strewn about haphazardly. “Geez, this place is a mess...”

Warning: maximum energy capacity reached

“Uh... Nick?” Maya backs away from a now-loudly beeping machine.

“What did you do?”

Exceeding max energy capacity. Current level: 101%. Please discharge.

“Nothing! I... I don’t think?”

“Well undo it!”

“How?!”

Current level: 105%. Discharging excess energy. 3… 2…

A flash of light. And Maya’s nowhere to be seen. Phoenix gasps and rushes toward where she once stood, climbing over stacks of books and important-looking documents, finally finding himself with just a gap of a few feet between him and the machine. He looks around it, looking for any sign of what may have happened, a label, or anything. But all he sees when he looks down...

Is an unconscious, borrower-sized Maya.

Phoenix quickly finds a cable running from the desk to the floor that he can rappel down and rushes toward her.

“Wake up... come on, Maya, wake up...” He shakes her. “Oh no, this is all my fault- Maya, please! Wake up!!”

“Mmmmmrnn... Nnnickk...?” Maya’s eyes open, only for a moment, before closing again. Phoenix helps her up, half-dragging half-walking, when suddenly... he hears it. Footsteps in the distance. Nobody but them should be this close to the lab, which means it can only be... no. Not now. He should be thankful, he supposes, for his extra sensitive borrower hearing. It’s better he gets the advance warning than... not.

“Come on, Maya, we gotta hurry, we don’t have much time.” Phoenix rushes her out of the exposed walking area and under a shelving unit tucked away in the corner. It’s full of scrap metal and various electrical components, not much that should be of interest to anyone investigating, he should hope. After all, he didn’t give this area a second look, so why should...

Edgeworth. Why is he here? Didn’t he get enough earlier? Phoenix lays Maya down in the corner and moves to the edge of the shelf to watch Edgeworth. He investigates for a few minutes, and Phoenix can’t take his eyes off of him. He’s considering just... running out there and asking for his help. They were friends once, right? He helped him. He could do it again. And clearly, Maya needs help. Phoenix doesn’t know what happened, whatever that machine did to her... she’ll probably need a bean’s help to undo it.

But... then again... He’s not the same person he was when Phoenix knew him. Something changed him in the last 15 years, and the ruthless demon prosecutor is probably the last person a borrower should go to for help. And sure, maybe a big part of why he’s continuing this whole lawyer thing is to find out what it was and maybe even help him, possibly even reconnect with him... but is this the time?

“Nnnnn... Nick? Wh... where am I?! Why are you so bi-” Before he can even decide, Maya regains consciousness. Phoenix rushes over to her, covering her mouth with his hand and shushing her, pointing at the impeccably-tailored but terrifyingly-large shoe of Miles Edgeworth, oh so conveniently walking right in front of their hiding place. He gives her a stern look and she gives him back one of a mix of fear and confusion.

Once he’s out of what they hope to be earshot, Phoenix and Maya both let out a breath they didn’t even realize they were holding.

“What the hell happened to me.” It’s a statement, not a question. “What. The hell. Happened to me?!” Maya whispers. She wants to yell so, so badly but the fear of a towering prosecutor has left her without release.

“I-I don’t know! Just... stay here. I’m gonna go...” Phoenix clenches his fists, takes a deep breath and lets it out. “...talk to Edgeworth. See if he can help.”

“No.” Maya grabs Phoenix’s arm and holds it tight. “No! You can’t!”

“Rrgh- Maya! Let me do this! I can't help you, but... but maybe he can. This is a bean problem, caused by some sort of mean bean machine, and... the only other people that could help are all still suspects to me. What if I hand you over to a killer by mistake? You think they wouldn't take the chance to dispose of the only one who could actually convict them? Edgeworth has access to the machine, and at least hasn't killed anyone.”

"That you know of!"

"I'm sure of it. Edgeworth's not a killer. I'll believe that til the day I die."

“Which might be today if you go out there!” Maya looks up at him, tears forming in her eyes. “It’s my job to hide you from him, and I’m gonna keep doing that, even if we’re the same size now!”

Phoenix looks at her, then out toward Edgeworth, and back at her. He sighs and sits down next to her. “Alright. Alright. We’ll figure something out... we’ll find another way through this.”

[vdlest]

Nice to meet you

Characters:

TFATWS Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary:

The restaurant where Bucky always take Yori to eat with him is where you actually work. You've been watching and staring at him for quite some time now, but didn't have the courage to introduce yourself to him. But what happens when Yori asked Bucky to take you out?

Warning:

None

There they are again. You see two familiar faces entering the restaurant you are working at. You've been seeing this guy who is in his late 30s accompanied by an elderly for quite some time now. You don't know if they are father & son, or anything, but one thing's for sure, you like the guy. You like him even if you don't know what his name is, even if you have no idea who he is. His treatment to the elder guy is enough reason to like him.

No one is taking their table so you took the chance to finally have a closer look of the guy you've been liking for quite some time. Whenever they come, you are either busy with another table or assigned in the cashier. But this time, the opportunity is in front of you.

So you took it.

"Hi, ready to order?" you asked them casually, even if your stomach is getting butteflies inside it. Is this his effect to you? You don't know.

The older man stared at you and smiled, "Just call me Yori. I can guess you're calling me "old man" in your thoughts," he joked.

Yori's joke made you chuckle, "Okay, Yori, nice to meet you. I'm Y/N and I'll be your server for today," you said as you get the paper and pen on your pocket to get their orders, but still no luck from the man you've been eyeing, you still don't know what his name is, "What can I get you for your lunch?" you asked them, glancing at the man who's still busy looking at the menu.

"I'll have Fish and Chips, old man's been craving it since last night," Yori said looking at you. Good thing you were able to switch your eyes to Yori, but when he smiled at you, he must've seen you looking at the man beside him. Yori's smile made you somehow nervous.

You tried to act normal and turned to the man beside Yori, hoping that you would finally know his name by the end of this day.

"How 'bout you, Sir? What can..." you weren't able to finish your question for him when his eyes finally met yours. It was only a matter of time before you realized that this man has a gorgeous pair of blue eyes. You cleared your throat, "What can I get you?" you asked him, dismissing the thought of fantasizing about him.

"I'll just have Clam Chowder," he answers you as he handed you the menu, "Thank you."

"Would you care for anything to drink, then?" you grabbed the menu from his hand, "You should..."

"You should ask her out," Yori said to the guy beside him, making your eyes widened in surprise.

His reaction was same as yours, he's almost embarassed to what Yori just said. Your cheeks are burning red in your guess, but you tried to be as professional as possible. One more thing, you don't want the guy to think that you're into him, that'll make things more awkward as it is now.

"Yori," the man glared at Yori before he moved his eyes back to you, "I'm sorry, he's just really like this from time to time."

You are already getting tired of calling him "guy" or "man." You've been wanting to know his name but God knows how?

"It's fine," you replied then you prepare yourself to leave, "If there's anything you need from me, just let me know. Thank you."

"His name is James," Yori said as you turn your back on them, but you pretended that you did not hear it since you're already inches away from them.

Now, you finally know what his name is.

•••

When their order is finally ready, you took a deep breath before heading your way to their table. Things are more awkward now. You wished that you weren't their server so you'll just get to watch and like him from afar. Not like this.

"Here's your order," you tried your best to smile from ear to ear, even though you're feeling embarassed and a bit awkward already. You put down their orders and once you're done you told them to enjoy their meal.

"So what's a pretty lady like you doing here?" Yori asked you.

Oh, great, small talk, you thought.

You badly want to go back inside the kitchen and start serving other customers but you remembered what your manager told you when the customers make a small talk with you — answer them and interact with them, that way they'll have the will to come back.

"I'm just saving up money to start my own business," you answered Yori.

You could see in your peripheral that James is looking at you. As much as you want to know what kind of look he's giving you, you fight that idea.

"I like business-minded people. They are the best in organization and handling things," he complimented. "You got a boyfriend?" he asked you another question.

You shook your head and smile, "No, I don't. I guess that's the downside of being a business-minded, no one dares to date you," you joked.

"I think I'll take that dare."

Your eyes traveled to James who suddenly spoke.

"I'm sorry, you're what?" you asked him.

"You think no one dares to date business-minded woman? I'll tell you, what," he smiles at you, "I like accepting dares."

Is he asking you out?

"Just in case you're puzzled with his words," Yori joined the conversation again, making you look his way again, "He's asking you out."

"Really?" you asked Yori.

Your eyes moved back to James and the way he stares at you makes your heart skip a beat, countless times. Your fingers gripped on the tray you're holding, trying to contain your happiness.

"What time's the end of your shift?" he asked.

You gulped, "I'm out by 6."

"Great, I'll come back at 6 to pick you up, then," he extended his hand towards you, "I'm James Barnes, but call me Bucky."

You reached for his hand, "Nice to meet you, Bucky. I'm Y/N." The touch of his soft hand on yours answers all your untold questions about him.

Ever since you saw him, you kept on asking yourself what it feels like to be his girl, what it feels like to be hugged by him, what if feels like to hold hands with him, and what if feels like to be kissed by his lips. But now, the touch of his hand on yours and the fact that you two have a date later is more than enough.

•••

When he said he's gonna be at your workplace at 6, he meant he's gonna be 30 minutes early. You asked him to sit down on one of the vacant tables, when he did, he handed you the bouquet of flowers he's holding. You didn't want to conclude that it was meant for you, but when he handed it to you, your heart melted like an ice cream under the sun.

As you finished your shift, you and Bucky went on your way. He said he already had everything planned out, so he did not bother to ask you where you want to go. Well, that's how you like it anyway. You want to be surprised.

The two of you ended up in the nearby beach, before you settled down in the sand, you passed by some food stalls and that's where you and Bucky bought food and drinks for your date.

"I hope you like sunsets," he said as both of you sat down on the sand and started munching over the food you guys bought, "I should've asked you abour where you want to go, but..." he seemed a little nervous so you cut him off.

"I like it."

His eyes went to yours and now he's puzzled, "You like what in particular?" he asked.

You smiled, "I like all of these. I like sunsets. I like how you planned this night for us. I like it. I appreciate it." You handed him his drink, "I'm not expert in date ideas as well, so no worries."

He chuckled and that's the only time you noticed how cute he is when he laugh and smile, especially his cheeks reaching for his eyes.

"I haven't dated anyone in decades so that explains my old fashioned ways and ideas," you don't know what he means when he said he haven't dated in decades.

"What are you? A 80 year old man?" you joked.

"Actually a hundred and six."

You burst into laughter but his face remained serious, "You are so funny, Bucky." You sighed as you stare on the sunset in front of you, "You know, some of my classmates bullied me when I was in elementary 'cause they think I'm an old soul or something, so don't worry if someone thinks of you as an old-fashioned or something. It's not really bad."

He frowned, "Why did they bullied you?"

"Because they found out that I'm listening to The Beatles, Paul Anka, Frankie Valli, and not into Britney Spears or something trendy during our time," you explained. You took a deep breath once more, "I guess I just really prefer old and classic songs. I find them amusing and the words that they used in making them feels like they are really talking to you and your soul."

You could still remember back in the day, you asked your dad to bought you a vinyl because you were fascinated by it.

"So what's your favorite song?" Bucky asked you.

"Can't take my eyes off of you, it's really classic," you said before taking a sip from your drink. "That was also my parents' theme song when they got married," sadness took over you when you remembered your late parents, "That was also the song I sang for them during their funeral."

You felt Bucky's eyes on you.

You turn to him and nodded to his unsaid question, "I'm an orphan now. They died because of a car accident. And when they died I used to live with my grandma but she died ad well three years ago, that makes me independent from then on. That makes me alone and living my own life." You tried giving him a smile, "How about you? What are your favorites?" you changed the topic.

But even though you already changed the topic he did not let go of the fact that something changed in your mood when you talked about your parents.

"I know how hard it is to lose both of your parents. I felt them too," he reached for your hand, making you shiver, "But if they'd see you now, I'll bet they're proud of the woman you are now."

You looked down and smile, "Why do you even talk like you already know me?" you asked him. "You and I just met," you reminded him as you look back at him.

"We just met but I've seen you and how hard you work in that restaurant every single time I was there and every time I pass by it," he revealed.

All along you thought he doesn't know you exist, but he does. He's totally aware of your existence and he knows how hard worker you are.

"Don't feel bad for being alone and independent, 'cause you should be proud of yourself. You know how to take care of yourself without depending or relying your happiness to other people. Sometimes living alone isn't that bad, it will let you experience things that will taught you a lot of lessons in life," you felt he squeezed your hand, making your eyes travel to your and his hands holding together.

You learned from him that he's not related to Yori, they are just neighbors and he's just trying to help Yori as the latter is living on his own.

Once darkness consumed the sky, the two of you head back to your apartment, which is only a few blocks away from the place where you work. You asked him if he wants to have a cup of coffee, he said yes but before you guys could enter your apartment, he received a phone call. After he talked someone over the phone, he said he needed to go.

"Is everything alright?" you asked him concernly. You noticed the sudden change of his mood after he took the call.

He nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry I need to go but I promise, I'll call you and text you." Both of you already exchanged numbers so you just got to wait when he will call and text you. But you said to yourself you're not gonna expect anything, "I had a wonderful time with you tonight and God knows I didn't want to end our date like this but I just got to go. It's call of duty."

You don't understand what he mean by call of duty but you have no other choice but to let him go.

"Take care, Bucky," that's all you could tell him.

You could tell in his reaction that he isn't happy with the answer he got from you.

Somehow, you are telling yourself to not expect anything from him. In that way, you won't get your hopes up and you won't end up getting hurt and disappointed. It's better that way.

You were about to close your door when his hand stopped you from doing so.

"Wha--"

Before you could say a word, he walked towards you and closed the space between the two of you as he leaned in to claim your lips.

The sweet taste of his lips makes your knees weak, but his arms rescued you and gently pinned you against the door. It's not long before you kissed him back and enjoy the taste of his lips.

Last night you dreamed of meeting him, of knowing him, and tonight, you'll be sleeping peacefully as you get satisfaction of meeting him, having a date with him, and getting the chance to kiss him. What a progress in a day.

When you heard your neighbor coming out the other door, you pulled away from your kiss.

You and Bucky stared at each other while waiting for your neighbor to evaporate.

Once your neighbor is gone, he kissed your lips one more time. When he pulled away, he smiled at you, "That's the first time I kissed a woman in decades, so if it's that bad, give me the consideration," he joked.

"No," you shook your head, "No one ever kissed me that good before."

His smile grew wider as he gave your cheeks a caress, "I'll see you when I get back."

"Don't promise anything to me, Bucky. Just do it," you said before entering your apartment and closing your door.

Like what you said, you will not expect anything for the coming days or even weeks. You won't do anything about it. You won't get your hopes up and wait for his move, it's up to him whether he'll call you or not. But a little part of you hope that he will.

A little hope wouldn't hurt anyway.

-v.dl

[slafkovskys]

listen i'm willing to bet my life that Beech is like a super affectinate drunk and i wanna be tipsy with that boy. like coming back from a team party and just like lazily getting ready for bed he says some "we'll get brunch in the morning"- all is well in the world, no COVID-19 no NOTHING- just Beecher being soft and playing with his hair till he falls asleep while he hugs you so tight gn

you wake with a start from your phone blaring beside your ear. once your heart resumes its normal pace, you look at the screen. cam’s name was boldly displayed across it and you groan, sliding your thumb across the screen and pressing the speaker option, “what?”

“are you- johnny, quit- are you busy right now?” he asks, seemingly out of breath.

“at one thirty in the morning?” you ask sarcastically. “surprisingly, cam, i’m not. i was just sleeping like a normal person.”

“look i’m sorry for waking you up, but- oh my god. somebody grab him!” there’s some rustling on the other end before he huffs, “i have something that belongs to you that i would like to return immediately.”

“is he drunk?”

“not tanked, he just has a lot of fucking energy right now and he refuses to go home with anyone who isn’t you. believe me, we’ve been trying for a half an hour now,” he pauses, “if you can just convince to get back to our house-”

“no, i’ll come and get him,” you throw off your comforter. “where are you?”

“i’ll send you the address and no rush, but i think he’s about to set out on an expedition to your house if he doesn’t see you soon and i really can’t stop him then.”

you hum before hanging up. you pull on one of his jackets that swallowed you whole and slip on your slippers before walking out of your apartment, keys and wallet in hand.

the house was less than ten minutes away and as soon as you pull up outside, you immediately spot your tall boyfriend sitting on the steps like a child and cam standing beside him with his arms crossed. he spots you and a look of relief washes over his face.

you open your door and before you could make your way to meet them, johnny crashes into you. he wraps his arms around you and stumbles slightly, “baby!”

“hey, b,” you say, thumbing at the scruff on his cheek. “how are you?”

“i want to go home, but with you. ‘m tired of cam and nick and, and the others,” his speech slurred slightly, but you know that he was not, as cam had said, tanked.

“gee, thanks buddy,” cam scoffs, shaking his head before turning his attention to you. “do you need help getting him in your car or anything?”

“no, i think we’re good. thanks for calling me cam,” you smile and he nods before walking back towards the house. you squeeze johnny’s side and nudge him towards your car, “c’mon bub. let’s go home and go to bed, yeah.”

“your house right?” he asks for clarification and you hum. he sits down in the passenger seat and lets you click his seatbelt for him, “your bed is small and my feet hang off, but you’re there so that makes it okay.”

“thanks for letting me know, bub,” you grin. you shut his door and walk around to the driver's side. you pull away from the house and start back towards your own, “are you hungry? do you want something to eat before we get back?”

“‘m good, bubba. thank you though,” he reaches for your hand and you let him grab it. he presses his lips to the top sloppily, “love you.”

“i love you too, johnny,” you spare him a glance to find him already staring at you. you shake your head and focus your attention on the road ahead of you. when you get back to your house, you wrap your arm around his waist to help guide him up the path, “you have to be quiet, okay? sarah’s asleep.”

“sarah’s asleep,” johnny mumbles to himself as he pulls you impossibly closer to his side. you fiddle with your keys before pushing the door open. he walks back to your room easily just as he’d done hundreds of times before. he walks straight into the bathroom, “i need to take a- a shower.”

“and brush your teeth,” you almost gag at the smell of beer lingering on his breath. he makes a noise of objection but you point him towards your shower. you sit on the counter, making sure that he doesn’t slip or fall, and hand him a pair of sweatpants when he gets out.

“‘m gonna- ‘m gonna,” he hiccups as you put the toothpaste on his toothbrush, “‘m gonna take you out for brunch in the morning. is that okay?”

“if you aren’t dying of a hangover, that’s fine with me,” you grin and hand him his toothbrush, leaning against the wall as he does it lazily, his free hand on your knee.

he collapses into your bed easily, curling up under the mint comforter and resting his head on your chest. his arms wrap around your waist tightly as he holds you close, “don’t want you to disappear. i had a dream that you did once, didn’t like it.”

“not gonna disappear, bub. love you too much,” you smile as you run a hand through his messy, brunette locks.

“love you too much, too,” he mumbles, “my mom loves you a lot.”

“is that a good thing?” you ask, tugging on a strand of hair poking straight up.

“very good,” he hums, “g’night y/n. brunch tomorrow. don’t forget.”

“i won’t,” you whisper as his breathing evens out. he always fell asleep so quickly and you never understood it. you don’t last long after him, drifting off with his arms around your waist and your hand cradling the back of his head.

all was well.

[lokis-army-77]

If You Please

Chapter Fourteen

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Word Count: 4440

This is technically a reader insert but without the (y/n) and all that. She also has no name mentioned so feel free to imagine as you please.

Follow the reader through the events of the Captain America movies and experience her love for Bucky Barnes.

Warnings: canon typical violence

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Masterlist

We escaped quickly and descended down into the dark, damp sewer system of D.C. until we came to a steel ladder directly in the middle of our path several minutes later. Maria climbed up first, to make sure the coast was clear then she signaled for us to follow. There was an SUV waiting for us a few paces away from where we had emerged. I slowly trailed behind the others and into one of the back seats. The drive to the base, which seemed to be a rundown dam in the middle of the woods, took us almost half an hour.

After getting out the van we rushed in through a singular gated door at the base of the dam. Nat was still losing blood but the first aid kit in the van helped slow it down. As we walked down the dimly lit hall I spotted a man running towards us.

“GSW,” Maria shouted out to the man. “She’s lost almost a pint of blood.”

“Let me take her,” the man shouted back, still jogging to us.

“She’ll want to see him first,” she said before we reached a set of double doors and hurried through them. Maria led us down a long corridor which opened up to a large room with a section closed off with plastic strip curtains. She reached out and pulled part of the curtain back to let us see inside. There lying down in a hospital bed was Nick Fury, who was supposed to be dead.

“Well, it’s about damn time.” Fury stated in a sarcastic tone. I looked to Steve, Who was holding Nat up, and gave him a quizzical look, which he returned with his own shake of the head.

After the initial shock of seeing Fury alive, Nat was sat down by the doctor who was trying to stop her arm from bleeding. In the meanwhile, Fury was explaining to the group how he was able to fake his death and why he was hunkering out in a dam. This plan also helped him to know which people he could have some trust in, seeing as how SHIELD was now compromised and there was no telling how far the clutches of HYDRA had gotten. Now that people thought he was dead, it would come as a surprise when he inevitably resurfaced.

When Nat’s stitches were done we headed to a table on the other side of the room which had several files and computers scattered about. I took a seat on the far end and put my head in my hands. I could feel a massive headache coming on, which was uncommon for me since I took the serum. It felt like white-hot knives were digging through the back of my skull and into the spot right between my eyes. It was so bad that I completely missed the whole conversation the group was having. I eventually laid my head down in my crossed arms to try and combat it, but the pain never subsided.

A hand came down on my shoulder, startling me out of my painful daze, it was Steve. I saw his mouth move but couldn’t hear anything but the loud ringing in my ears. I just looked at him confused. He tried saying something again but I still couldn't hear him.

“Stevie, I can’t hear anything over this loud ringing in my ears,” I whispered, I knew if I talked loudly the vibrations of my voice would hurt. He gave me a nod and held up his finger, telling me to wait as he walked away. The doctor from before came back with him and sat in front of me. The doctor motioned his hand like it was talking and I knew he wanted me to tell him what was going on, so I did. When I was done, he took a small flashlight out from his pocket and shined it in my eyes. He turned to Steve and said something then turned to me and grabbed hold of my hand.

Both the doctor and Steve led me to a second hospital bed, which was a couple feet away from where Fury had been and made me lay down. As I got situated under the covers, Steve tapped my hand a few times to get my attention and when he got it, he started to tap again. Morse code, he had made me learn it as kids, that way mom could never hear our secret conversations, it even came in handy when I joined the SSR. I watched closely as he tapped out a series of long and short patterns. He was telling me the doctor was going to give me something to help me sleep and that I would be okay. I nodded and tapped back a thank you before the Doctor came back and inserted a syringe into my arm, seconds later I could feel myself drifting away.

I woke up hours later without the searing pain of a headache and my hearing fully intact. I flipped the covers away from myself and turned to let my legs drape off the side of the bed. I hulled myself onto my feet and began to make my way to the table the group was setting at yesterday. Sam was there drinking coffee and talking to Nat, and from what I could tell, it must have been early morning.

“Good morning sleepy head.” Sam sang out. I gave him a small smile as I took the seat to his right, across from Nat. “How ya feeling?”

“Eh. I’m not in physical pain anymore if that’s what you’re asking.” I looked down at my hands and eyed the ring I had been wearing since a few days ago. It glimmered in the light as I took it off and placed it on the table. I then took my locket necklace off and slipped the ring onto the chain. I was lucky I hadn't lost it yesterday, but I wasn’t thinking I would be going into a fight. Now that I knew more fighting was to come, it would be safer around my neck.

“Is that your engagement ring?” Sam asked quietly.

“Yeah. It was Bucky’s mother, Winnifred. He originally proposed with this locket, but a few months later, after talking to her and begging her to keep it a secret from Steve, she finally gave it to him.” I smiled at the memory.

“Wait, I thought Steve knew.”

“He does now. I kind of blurted it out when he tried to stop me from going with him to rescue the 107th from the HYDRA base in 1943, but we got engaged in ‘41.” I took a long pause before talking again. “You know it feels like just yesterday when I lost him, like the pain from him being gone still hurts, but I’ve learned to cope with it over the past two years. Now I have to find out that he is alive, but not himself because he's being used as a mercenary by HYDRA. He looked at me after you knocked him down and that look broke my heart. It wasn’t the look of a man wanting to kill, it was of someone who was scared, someone who had no clue what was going on. He’s still in there, I know he is and I’m going to be the one to bring him back.” I jammed a finger down on the table to make my point.

“Are you sure he’s really still in there? He’s been in and out of cryo hundreds of times throughout the last 70 years, no to mention, he’s probably endured countless hours of brain wiping and torture from HYDRA.” Nat said in a concerned but doubtful tone.

“I didn’t lose hope when he might have been dead in the forties, I won't lose hope in him now. I’ll find a way to bring him back to me.” That was when Steve came through the double doors and into the room wearing his old suit. “Steve, where in the world did you get that?”

“I borrowed it from the Smithsonian. Here, I found your office. Thought you might want it.” He tossed a bag at me and I caught it, slowly opening it to reveal my old suit. “I still have no clue why you keep it in there and not on display with everything else.”

“Thanks, that was very thoughtful of you.”

“Don’t be sarcastic. You’re gonna want it when we go to take out the helicarriers.” He looked at me then to the other two, “Come on suit up, we don't have much time before they launch,” he looked back at me, “I’ll fill you in on the plan after you get dressed. Oh and Maria has your staff, and new guns for you.”

It was almost noon now and Steve, Sam, Maria, and I were quickly ascending the back stairs of the SHIELD base. We made it to the thirty-second floor in no time, only for the door to be locked. We all held our guns up to the door as Maria sent out some radio interference so one of the people in the room would come to check on the dish that was outside. When the door opened the man was surprised and instantly let us through

Steve came to a stop at the PA system and turned it on. “Attention all SHIELD agents, this is Steve Rogers. You've heard a lot about me over the last few days. Some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it's time, to tell the truth. SHIELD is not what we thought it was. It's been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The STRIKE and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They almost have what they want. Absolute control. They shot Nick Fury. And it won't end there. If you launch those helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way. Unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot. But the price of freedom is high. It always has been. And it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not.”

“Always been one for speech haven't you Stevie?” I joked.

“Shut up kid, let's get going.” he shook his head, bemused.

“He totally came up with that on the spot didn’t he?” Sam asked.

“Definitely,” I replied.

We left Maria in the PA room where she would be able to monitor the status of the helicarriers as we tried to take them offline. Making our way down to the docking bay I looked out one of the windows next to where we were running.

“Steve, we need to hurry, the bay doors are opening,” I called out.

“Only a few more floors, we can make it.” After he said that, we started running faster, almost leaving Sam behind.

Finally, we pushed through one of the lower roof doors. I started to sprint toward the edge and before I jumped off, Sam grabbed my outstretched arm and started to fly. He maneuvered us to the far-right helicarrier and then let go of me. I plummeted to the deck and as I made contact with the ground I immediately threw myself into a tumble so I didn’t get hurt. As I sprang to my feet I was met with an onslaught of bullets. Ducking to dodge them I ran off to the side where a stack of crates was lying. I fished one of the guns from the hustler and cocked a bullet into the chamber. Taking a deep breath I stepped out from my cover and shot back at the men.

Two of the seven went down as a bullet went through each of their chests. I went to shoot again but a hand came out from behind me and yanked my right arm down. They tightly brought my arm to my back and grabbed my gun with the other hand. With my free left arm, I swung it back and clipped the person in the chin hard with my elbow. The grip they had on my right arm fell away as they fell to the ground. I turned around and quickly grabbed my gun from his hand and resumed shooting at the others.

I reached to the back of my holster where I had clipped two grenades before we had left the hideout. Pulling the pin and letting go of the trigger, I threw it at the men, who were immediately taken out with the blast.

“Hey kid you good?” I heard Steve's voice come through the comlink.

“Good as I can be. The deck is all clear, where are you?”

“Sam and I are inbound.” as he said that Sam shot up from below the carrier with Steve holding onto his hands. They landed a few feet in front of me and I jogged to catch up to them. “Wow, you took them all out really fast.”

I just smiled and held up the second grenade, “Work smarter not harder. Come on let's hurry up, the fact there weren't that many people on here is making me suspicious.” As soon as I said that we walked past one of the crates and Steve was pushed over the edge of the carrier by Bucky. “Steve!” Sam and I yelled simultaneously.

Sam jumped into action, trying to take off to save Steve from falling to his death, but Bucky grabbed one of the wings of his suit and flung him back. “Go put the chip in, I'll take care of this.” He yelled out to me.

I turned and sprinted to one of the doors that led into the carrier and I was met with two corridors. After looking down at each of them I decided on taking the right one. Reaching the end I heard a soft noise around the corner, I peaked around slowly and saw a man carrying an assault rifle. He was close enough for me to run up on him without him being able to get a good shot in with a gun. So that’s what I did. I ran at an angle from the corner and used my left leg to push myself off the ground and then my right to push off the wall and kick the man directly in the side of the head. He fell to the ground, completely unconscious. Not turning back I continued down the hall until I came to the stairs that would take me down to the systems room.

“Are you both okay?” Sam cut through on the coms.

“Yeah, I'm still on the helicarrier.” came Steve.

“Me too, I’m almost in the systems room. Where are you?”

“I'm grounded, the wings are busted.”

I exited the staircase and walked to the middle of the systems room. The opening to the targeting system was on the other side of the large cylindrical computer that took up the whole center of the room. I made my way around but stopped short when I saw him standing there, glaring.

“Bucky,” I held my hands up and took my finger off the trigger of my gun to show him I wasn’t going to do anything. “Bucky, I know you’re in there somewhere.” He just kept staring blankly. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will in order to get this chip where it needs to be.” I took a slow step in his direction, but in an instant, he pulled his gun and shot mine out of my hand, and started to stalk towards me. I reached over my shoulders to grab the two separated staff pieces from their holsters as I moved backward. Bucky stopped walking and just started some more before he came at me full force. I quickly stepped up onto the railing and did a flip over him, landing behind him. Before he turned around I slipped the piece of the staff in my right hand around his neck and latched on with my left, forcing him to stumble back. This didn’t hold him long because he grabbed the bar and forcefully twisted it over his head, thus breaking my grip. I stumbled a few feet ahead, almost barely missing the punch that he threw. That was when I noticed Steve had made it into the room.

“Steve, a little help here would be great,” I said as I started to run back to Bucky who had turned around to face Steve. I jumped up doing a backflip kick, using Bucky’s back as a kicking-off point and landed back on my feet as Bucky slammed into the railing. Hoping he would stay preoccupied with Steve, I hurriedly ran to the system console and opened the chip holder. I took out one of the chips and placed it off to the side before reaching into my pocket for the new chip. I had almost put it in the open slot before I was knocked off my feet and the chip flew from my hand and over the banister. I turned over off of my stomach just in time to see Steve and Bucky also fall over the banister. I scrambled to the edge to see what was going on as I called out, “Steve the chip fell over.”

“I got it, stay there.” He yelled back before Bucky sent him flying. I watched as he grabbed the chip but it was dropped further down as Bucky came at Steve again. I took my second gun out and started to shoot near Bucky’s legs, in order to try and veer him off course without hurting him. Steve reached the glass bottom of the room and started sprinting to the chip which was nestled in between the glass and a metal beam. I stopped shooting as it became harder to get a clear target without also shooting Steve.

They were fighting now, hand to hand, Bucky had knocked Steve’s shield away and he pulled his knife out in the process. He stabbed Steve in the shoulder, when he fell to the ground Bucky dove for the chip. Steve wasn't far behind him, He latched onto Bucky, choking him then throwing him to the ground.

“Steve, don't hurt him,” I cried out as I watched them struggle on the ground, my hands went straight to my mouth as I heard the loud sound of bone breaking and Bucky’s scream right after. He tried rolling over but that gave Steve an opening to put him in a chokehold. “Steve stop, that's enough, you’re hurting him,” I yelled out in despair as I watched bucky struggle to stay conscious, I couldn't watch it anymore, I turned away. Seconds later Steve yelled my name. I hesitantly looked back over the railing, Bucky was lying unconscious and Steve was jumping up onto the landing under me.

“Here”, he tossed the chip up to me and I caught it. Suddenly a gunshot rang out and I looked to where Bucky was once laying, he was standing now, gun raised.

“Thirty seconds” Maria’s voice came over the com.

“I've got it,” I spoke back, making my way to the control board.

Another shot rang out, this time I heard the impact right behind me before a pain erupted on my side. I turned to see Steve laid out on the ground clutching his stomach, the bullet must have gone straight through him to me.

“Guys, they're going online right now, hurry!” Maria almost yelled into the com. I turned back around, holding my side and took the last few steps up to the console, and securely placed the chip in the open space.

“Charlie lock,” I huffed out, confirming to Maria that I had successfully put the chip in, as I slid to my knees.

“Okay, both of you get out of there.”

“No fire now,” Steve yelled.

“But Steve,” Maria said almost reluctantly.

“Just do it,” he yelled again.

The helicarrier jerked seconds later after being hit with the rockets. I slammed into the railing and was flung over, landing ungracefully in a heap on the glass floor. I could hear shouts of pain echoing, looking around I spotted Bucky stuck under a massive metal beam. Steve apparently had to because he was climbing down to him. He got to him quickly and started to lift the heavy thing off of him. Bucky wiggled out from under the beam and knelt there for a second before Steve said something to him that I couldn't hear, he reared back and swung a punch at him after that. I stood to my feet and slowly made my way to them, stopping multiple times to steady myself as the carrier trembled violently. I reached them just as a large metal cylinder fell into the glass floor, making it give way. I fell through the broken glass and into the cold water of the Potomac River.

I swam weakly to the surface. Once my head came out of the water I took a deep breath in and made my way to the rocky shore, careful to not be hit by any debris. The shore was farther away than I had anticipated and I was almost completely out of breath as I crawled my way out of the water. Laying on my back I looked and the smoke filled the sky.

‘So much for laying low,' I thought to myself. I was broken from my thoughts as a few yards down the shoreline Bucky came out of the water dragging Steve with him. He looked back at me as he dropped Steve to the ground but then turned to walk away. I got up quickly and ran to Steve, making sure he was okay. I took out the tracker Maria had given each of us in case anything happened and set it off. They would come find him now, I gave him a short kiss on the forehead. “Goodbye Stevie, I'll see you again some time,” I whispered to him before taking off my tracker and throwing it into the water.

I started walking in the direction Bucky had gone, He couldn't have gotten far with that broken arm and I was right. I found him slowly making his way through the woods. I stayed away from him, but he never left my sight. I knew he realized I had followed him when he tried to slip away behind a group of dense trees but was unsuccessful. He tried this a few more times before giving up and acknowledging that I wasn’t going anywhere. Finally, we broke out into part of the city, but we kept a low profile, or as low of one as two people in fighting suits and a man with a metal arm could. I kept inching closer to him as we walked and twenty minutes in I was almost next to him.

“Quit following me” He let out gruffly without looking back at me.

“No,” I argued.

“Quit following me, now,” He said a little more agitatedly.

“No, I won’t. I’m not leaving you alone and hurting Bucky. I love you, I can't leave you again.” That made him stop in his tracks and eye me down.

“Don’t know who you are.” his voice sounded uncertain.

“Yes, you do.”

“No, I don’t.

“I have proof that you do.” I yanked the necklace with the ring and locket over my head and marched to him, holding it out. He took it hesitantly and looked at the ring first then opening the locket he just stared at the picture of the both of us together. I saw something flicker in his eyes before he gave the necklace back, it almost looked like he remembered something. He started back walking but didn’t say a word when I kept following, just let out a long huff.

It took us an hour to reach Ronald Reagan Airport, and I finally understood what his plan was. “So your plan is to hijack a plane?”

“You aren’t coming.”

“I don’t know why you want to argue with me, I’m coming with you.” He gave me another glare after that.

We were walking through the small wooded area across the road from the runway when suddenly Bucky stopped. There was a small metal sign secured to one of the trees to the right, in big bold letters it said ‘NO TRESPASSING’. Bucky pulled on it and it opened like a small door into the tree where a keypad was nestled. He typed in a series of numbers and a few seconds later the ground started to move several right next to us. I jerked my head in the direction of the commotion only to see the ground opening up to a narrow staircase that descended into the earth. Bucky then closed the sign and started down the stairs, I followed suit.

It became darker the further we descended, the sounds of cars faded into the steady dripping of water. By this time I was thinking to myself that we weren't hijacking a plane, but I was proved wrong as the stairs leveled out to flat ground and Bucky turned the hanger lights on. There in the middle of the room was a black jet with a red HYDRA symbol on its side.

Looking around the room there were papers strewn about, dust even covered some of the desks along the walls. The place looked like it hadn't been used in years. To my left, I spotted Bucky grabbing all sorts of weapons from a rack on the wall and shoving them in a tattered duffel bag before zipping it up and heading to the jet. I trailed behind him.

He raised his hand up and pressed on part of the back flap to the jet, a small handle shot out and he pulled on it, which opened the back hatch of the jet. When it settled on the ground Bucky and I climbed up the ramp and into the cabin. Bucky tossed the duffel bag onto one of the benches and headed for the cockpit. He hit several buttons and switches before sitting down in the pilot's seat.

“Where are we going?” I asked softly as I sat myself down in the copilot’s seat.

“Romania.”

Tag List: @ginger-swag-rapunzel @underc0vercryptid-reads @geek-and-proud @intothesoul @leyannrae @starkleila @andy-is-gay

[ladyartemesia]

Babe, ok so first of all, can I briefly lament over the fact that I SWEAR I was following you, but tumblr must've yeet'd you off my dash. I KNOW I've read and thoroughly enjoyed oreos and electroshock therapy before! Like way before mark of yun-ki and I cannot believe the big T did me dirty like that! 😭😭RUDE!! Anyways, here is some long winded commentary, buckle up it's a ride! I loved your characterization of jk in this piece. Like he's such a BRAT, and so competitive, but also very protective and I willingly get down on my knees for a protective man 😩 hnnnng oreos!jk is the perfect blend of confident, caring, and sexy and I love him!! The way he folds the arrest report into a paper airplane is SENDING ME tho... A small detail that was fun and very appreciated! And mc... I AM ALL FOR A STRONG BADASS FEMALE LEAD!! She's smart and clever and doesn't need a man to do her job! I adore that she's the top marks person in the precinct and I bet it kills jk a lil (re: a lot) inside haha ok and I'm also a big time sucker for witty banter... I feel like it must be so hard to pull off, but this piece delivers in SPADES!! The dialogue after he catches her in her thirst haze is pure gold. "We both know you don't have feelings. Says who? Gina from forensics... Wendy from missing persons... Jimin's sister. HAHAH I'M HOWLING! Jk really be the precinct thot huh?? Rip Gina, Wendy, and Jimin's sister tho 😭😂" Spare me Jeon. If I wanted to learn about baboon mating habits, I'll watch Animal Planet." CACKLING I'M FUCKIN CACKLING. but damn... "if you were even the tiniest bit weaker, you would have cuffed him to the lift rail and addressed his statement explicitly." like girl, I FELT that in my loins. And the scene when they go to the bakery... OF COURSE seokjin is the baker and OF COURSE the signature red velvet is trademarked 😂 I really appreciated the way you wrote protective jk and the jealousy cus it came off endearing but not overbearing since there's a fine line between healthy and unhealthy jealous behavior. Well done!! "Okay. That's enough of that. There was a firm tug on your elbow and you collided hard with jungkook's chest... (you are still slightly dazed from looking directly into seokjin's eyes) but suddenly Jungkook and seokjin were staring each other down... Frankly you had not envisioned a scenario like this when you reported for duty this morning... Surrounded on all sides by pastries and angry beautiful men. This scene?! This is what my dreams are made of. I literally go to sleep praying for this. "Come along now, Poodle." I'm screaming hahaha this is my fave line of the whole fic. Like all the dialogue in this piece is peak comedy... You must be really funny in real life to pull this off! And just when I think this piece is just about great banter and sexual tension, you hit us with the feels™️ during that confession scene. " are you hiding anything from her?... Yes. I am... I do eat your last Oreo... I don't even like Oreos that much... Our paths don't often cross, but when you find me to yell at me about the Oreos... It's the best part of my day." omggg my heart 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 "There hasn't been anyone else since the moment we met... There's only you." I FELT THAT IN MY CHEST. Like someone lasso'd my heart and tugged with the force of gravity 😩😩😩 and when it's her turn and she's asked if she loves him. The way JK is so resigned to being electrocuted cuz he doesn't think she's going to pass. And more than that, he's really to accept that she doesn't feel for him the way he feels for her. That hurtled... Big time. But I'm glad they got their happy ending!! I'm just so enamored with this piece and this couple and the banter and the tension between them. One last thing, I was a fan of Smallville too! And the premise of the fic is so familiar, but I cannot remember it!? Help a girl out, was it Oliver Queen and Mac?? What episode was it?? Thank you for sharing this couple with us! I hope you are well and, as always, sending all my love 💜💜

Oh my gosh.

Like-

MARRY ME.

This has got to be one of the most thourough, epic, gorgeous, glorious, phenomenal pieces of feedback I have ever received. I am in AwE. I am SENT. MY heart is POUnding. I can’t even begin to tell you how much this meant to me. I read it twelve times and I’m prolly gonna read it twelve hundred more times. I adore you. Thank you. This seems inadequate, but I would literally throw you a parade if I could.

If you only knew... when I first published that story... no one read it. I was only a month old on tumblr and I had MAYBE 30 followers if that. And I published it and got like... nothing. But as time has passed people have discovered it and really given it some love. It holds such a special place in my heart. I worked so hard on it. And it means so much to me that you love it like this. I’m screaming. Thank you!!!!

So the Smallville episode this is based on is early in season 8 (one of the best seasons IMHO) and Lois and Clark are the ones strapped to the machine. Clois was the first fandom I ever participated in so this is very nostalgic for me 🥺

Lol you probably were following but tumblr does love to unfollow spontaneously. Serious. It unfollowed one of my favorite authors for me last month 😐... this site is nuts.

Again. I cannot begin to tell you what this means to me. It’s everything. It’s EVERYTHING. You found everything I loved about this story - every thing I hoped others would love - and you cherished it. What a gift you have given me.

[whumpookies]

Merlin one shot, bit of humour can be found here

"No boat huh?"  Matthew muttered, scratching his head in slight confusion 

It was one thousand years later, and what would have been water was now fields, yet the Isle of the Blessed still sat on a hill in all its glory- the same hill that Talia and Matt stood facing. 

"No boat. That’s global warming for you," Talia shrugged easily as she placed down her longbow, making Matthew roll his eyes 

"So, what are we doing here?" Matthew asked as he sat on the hill looking down to the isle.

"Remember the last time we were here?" She asked, joining him sitting on the hill, their knees touching as they leaned back.

"Screaming vale, Doracha, cranky old woman, scarification of a soul to close the vail, Lancelot being an idiot, you warning the old hag..sure hard to forget, really. Why?" Matthew grinned cheekily. 

"Well, time for..revenge," she smirked. 

Matthew blinked..and blinked. "We're what?"

"Going to get revenge, well we ain't but..you’ll see," she half shrugged, laying back into the grass enjoying the rays from the warm sun.

"How? Or should I say why?" Matthew asked, looking over to her.

"Because I promised Lancelot I wouldn't get revenge...back then...didn't say anything about helping get revenge." Her eyes closed, unable to see the disbelieving look Matthew gave her. "You know he's gonna have kittens knowing what we're doing." She shrugged again, standing brushing the grass off her shoulders, Matthew following her actions. 

"That's why we'll tell him after we deal with the old crone," she grinned before grabbing Matthew's collar, dragging him down the hill towards the island.

"Just how are we doing this?" Matthew muttered climbing down the embankment.

"With a dragon." She answered, following him down the silence followed as Matthew stared at his best friend in shock. "A...dragon?"

"Yes, Merlin let me...borrow Kilgharrah"

"Borrow?" His eyebrows rose skywards, scepticism gracing his features. 

"Okay, not borrow...more like the dragon has it in for the hag, so we made a deal." Talia rolled her eyes before continuing along the field as Matthew huffed, "I don't want to know do I?"

"Nope." She answered, snickering. They carried on towards the Isle of the Blessed with a sense of mischief in their hearts.

"Just how did you get our swords and the longbow past the airport checkpoint?"

"You're really asking that now, Matt?"

"I'm curious, it’s not like you can say 'Hey officer, don't worry, just going to get revenge on Cailleach the old hag, then call a dragon, watch him eat her. Just ignore the swords, oh please don't check the blade, it's sharp. Oh look there goes your finger, don't matter if you hurry, it can be sewn on again!" Matthew counted off on his fingers, sarcasm dripping off his words.

"You finished?" She asked, rolling her eyes, once again asking herself why to the heavens. Surely deities were listening.

"Oh no, I've just started!" she sighed before clambering up the steps of the dry dock. "I actually said we're part of a cosplay team…"

"You what?!" 

"Now I bet you wished you never asked!" She cackled, walking down the dock, leaving a groaning Matthew. 

"You have no idea," he sighed.

It was as if time had stopped. The walls were damp, cobwebs spread in abundance, corridors dark until they spotted the light at the end of the tunnel leading to the altar. "How are we getting the old crone to come here? Not like we're sacrificing anyone...why are you looking at me like that?" Talia grinned at a very worried looking Matthew. "Don't worry, no scarification needed. Luckily Merlin knows a few tricks nowadays."

"Yeah, well he could at least get a haircut and a shave!"

"I think he's got the wizard look right down" she glanced over at him. 

"I still think Tolkien met him."

"What, to get the whole Gandalf look down?" She asked slightly confused

"Hell yes! Come on, both Merlin and Tolkien's characters have the beard and long hair… plus look what happened when you asked him to dress up at Samhain!" Matthew grinned, shaking his head. 

"Yeah..that was interesting," she agreed, her forehead creasing slightly.

"Tal, he declared Gandalf as a half-baked wannabe with a guilt complex the size of Albion."

"Point taken," she chuckled, shaking her head.

"Then Lancelot laughed that much he nearly passed out."

"Wait till this year at Halloween you'll love it…"

"If you say Merlin and Lancelot as themselves, I'm so going to be there to watch," Matthew said. 

"Nah, I gave up on that, thinking Harry Potter and Dumbledore." 

The laughter echoed down the empty passageway as they broke into the altar area; it was still large and lush with green grass swaying with the wind.

"You know Talia if this place wasn't linked to the old religion it would be perfect"

"I've nothing against the old religion, just the old hag with a god complex."

"Well let's do this, it's gonna be a long drive back."

Walking around the altar, Talia's hand running along the cool stone as Matthew stood leaning against the wall watching her. 

"How are we doing this?" He asked. 

"Easily, Cailleach is listening to the old hag and is too nosy not to! You ain't getting a sacrifice to some old hag. So come on let's have this out!" She yelled the last part, her voice echoing around the walls as she jumped up on the altar, sitting on the edge. 

"Are we really pissing her off?" Matthew asked.

"I don't get pissed off," the voice croaked behind him. 

"Bloody hell, you old cron don't do that!" Screeched Matthew in a high pitch voice that would make an opera singer jealous as Talia doubled over laughing. Cailleach stood behind the young man all in her dark glory. 

"What do you want, guardian?" She said.

"Oh come on, Cailleach. No hello? It's been, what, one thousand five hundred years, give or take a year...or ten," Talia shrugged, grinning ear to ear as she crossed her legs on the altar."The last I saw of you guardian...you threatened me, and I don't take well to threats," Cailleach accused, her eyes squinting at her.

"I don't take well to you trying to kill Arthur, Merlin or Lancelot," Talia shrugged easily, surprised  by her anger

"It is not killing.."

"Really? A sacrifice to close the veil isn't killing?. Don’t you have enough souls in the underworld?"

"Not yet," she grinned, looking to Matthew 

"Dream on hag, we're taken," Matthew muttered, walking over to Talia by the alter, sword in hand. 

"So it seems that you are, child." Cailleach mourned at the loss of another soul joining her.

"See, I promised someone I wouldn't get revenge on someone else." Talia brought the conversation back on track. "Lancelot." 

"Yes Cailleach, Lancelot, but I spent the day with a very large green-scaled dragon and it seems he still holds a grudge," she smirked, evilly sitting forward. 

"Oh look, Talia, I think it just dawned on her?!" Matthew laughed as Cailleach searched the skies above her as the wind picked up.

"So it seems Matt. Heads up hag, we've got a visitor!" Jumping down, Talia grabbed Matthew, dragging her friend towards the wall as wings came into view. 

"Done my part. Good luck Cailleach," Talia yelled over Kilgharrah's arrival.

"Amazing how hard it is to get a dragon to meet the gatekeeper," Talia muttered as she pulled Matthew into the gatehouse. 

"We are not gonna watch?" Matthew asked.

"Have you ever seen a gatekeeper and dragon go at it?"

"Well...no."

"Me neither, but Kilgharrah said to stay out of the…" A crash and crackle of magic hitting something stopped them.

Both looked to the door. 

"I think I get why now." Said Matthew worriedly looking over at her before a crash followed as rocks flew past the doorway. 

"Oh, that's one pissed off dragon." 

Talia nodded, sitting on an abandoned table. "Wouldn't you be? That old hag nearly killed Merlin, tried to stop the path of Arthur."

"Let's not forget the whole vail crap." 

Sparks struck the door frame as Matthew jumped back. "Oh, the whole Veil needs a blood sacrifice and all that crap. She has real issues with wanting blood." 

Fire bombarded the area passing the door; the heat could be felt with ease. 

"Damn, should have bought marshmallows," Said Matthew bemoaning the loss of a good crispy marshmallow.

"Next time."

"I'm bringing the sausages as well then!" She shook her head as Matthew watched the show as close to the door as possible.

"Well, the old hag needs a peg knocking out of her." 

"Duck!" Matt yelled, boards, bursting, showering bits of wood in all directions.

Talia ran to the door shouting around it. "Kilgharrah get a move on you overgrown lizard! That almost killed us!" 

Matt stood brushing debris off his coat moving away. 

"Bit close," he sighed. 

"Just a bit." 

With the table upturned, they sat behind it, flashes of lightning and flames, crashes and bashes, debris flew past the door frame or closer allowing them to duck, roars covered ears and magic was yelled as it all continued...

"How long?" Talia groaned heavily.

"Three hours and five minutes, in other words, five minutes from the last time you asked." 

"Damn"

"Tal, tell them to quit," Matt moaned whilst cleaning his nails with his sword.

"And get my head blown off?"

"Come on, it's getting late, Merlin can only keep him busy so long!"

"Your point?"

"I'm bored, hungry and they’re being.." he pointed to the door as a lightning bolt struck close by, "...idiots, and they’re going to get us killed!"

Sighing heavily Talia stood, brushing herself off and stormed to the door. "If I die, I'm haunting you!" She muttered before diving out the door quickly as a whip.

Matthew listened intently to the point of straining his ears above the yells of casting, roars and the odd flame until…."THAT WAS MY CLAW!" A deep booming voice Kilgharrah echoed.

"Well if you weren't such an arse, I wouldn't have to stab it, you stubborn bloody dragon! And don't you start either you old hag!"

Matthew snickered, leaning against the wall, shaking his head as laughter rippled through him, whilst trying to listen as Talia continued to rant.

"...yes, I know! Get over yourself, Cailleach or I'll run you through old woman…."

Matthew shook his head, wiping the tears away "...oh trust me, I go to that underworld and I'll haunt you so much that you'll be begging to kick me out.."

He had to agree, she probably would. Talia could be annoying as hell, that was for sure.

"..Yea you're pissed at each other, I get that but come on! When Arthur gets released from Avalon you both need him, so give it a bloody rest! Don't start, you overgrown chicken...and don't you start you wrinkled old pug!"

The second bout of hysterical laughter struck the young man bracing himself against the wall, only Talia would insult a dragon and the gatekeeper of the underworld.

"...Right, that's it!!! I'm calling a truce till next Samhain. You, Kilgharrah, home till Merlin wants you, and Cailleach back till the underworld…no, not Halloween, that my bloody time you get Samhain the eve of Halloween!"

Attempting to catch his breath, Matthew began gathering his and Talia's things.

"Yes, I promise I'll call upon you next bloody Samhain...just...behave till then!"

Matthew cleared the doorway as Kilgharrah flew off, no sign of Cailleach could be seen.

"Finished venting?"

"They are like bloody kids I tell you! I ain't cleaning this mess!" She vented, walking over to her friend gathering her stuff from him. 

"meh, we’ll just call Merlin on the way back; he can clean it up," Matthew reassured as the two made their way back out of the old palace.

"Next year we'll bring Lancelot and Merlin. It'll be fun," Talie said. 

"Only if we bring camp stuff and food," he replied. 

"Deal"

"Cool. Hey, can we stop by McDonald's on the way back? I'm starving," Matthew asked as Talia rolled her eyes. 

"Sure, Merlin wants a happy meal anyway"