#i got my other other friend a slug and she said it was the best gift she'd ever gotten. after a few months ago i made a clay figure of

[braincloggedwithcats]

How's your Christmas been?

Pretty good! I finally pinned that moth I found a few days ago, waiting for it to dry to give as a late gift. I got some canvases and a new hoodie, pretty thrilled about that. If we're talking Christmas as an event rather than a day, most of my gifts have been very well received, I think I am very much winning in that regard. So overall very good, I am very pleasantly surprised because I usually find Christmas more annoying than anything

[princessmaybank]

Truth or Dare

Pairings: BestFriend!JJ x BestFriend!Fem!Reader

Warnings: Jealous JJ, stripping, fingering, squirting, etc.

Summary: They play t or d.

Authors Note: I didn't mean to post this so soon, but since it's out already I hope you like it, I'm just stopping it here, if you like it let me know if you want a part 2 :(.

"Truth or Dare?" John B asks darting his eyes to Cleo. "Oh come on man! You should already know the answer!" He smirked and nodded. You were at the chateau in the hot tub that JJ so graciously purchased for you all a few months back. Everyone was slugging down beers and having a big night of fun.

"I dare you to read the last text message you sent out loud." JB said shrugging, showing us that's all he has prepared. "oh man, too easy!" Cleo flung her arms upwards then reached for her phone. After she got to her messages she cleared her throat. " 'What we gonna do tonight?' I sent that to Sarah man." John B rolled his eyes in defeat, secretly hoping she had sent a naughty message to Pope or something.

"Okay Y/N, truth or dare?" She moved on quickly. "Dare of course." You responded, causing JJ to look at you with a slight smile. You and JJ are best friends, and always have been. Of course everyone in that hot tub was your best friend, but JJ was different, you could talk about literally anything for hours on end. He's always been there for you.

"I dare you to prank call Rafe Cameron. Pretend to want him and need him." Cleo ended with a smirk pointing to your phone. You didn't mind the dare but a certain blonde about a foot behind you definitely cared. He wasn't good at hiding his emotions, everything he wanted to say was already written on his face. "I don't think that's a good idea Y/N." You hear JJ say with a stern voice from behind you. "Oh calm your tits Jayj, what's the worst that could happen? I get a boyfriend?" You responded making all the girls giggle.

"It's ringing!" Kiara said out loud so everyone knew what was going on. Kiara was very close to the phone with you but it was pressed against your ear. "Hey Rafe!" You said a little too enthusiastic for JJ's liking. "Hey, Y/N. What do I owe this pleasant surprise?" He asked, gratefully. "Well I really wanted to tell you that I think of you a lot Rafe. It's getting to be too much now. I can't shake the feeling of needing to be with you." Everyone was giggling at that moment, other than one person, I'm sure you could guess who. Your eyes caught JJ's as he rolled them and crossed his arms. You could see how this was affecting him, so why not play some more. "Wow, I've been wai-" You cut Rafe's sentence short. "Rafe, mmmmm I need you so bad right now. Ohhhh." You pretend to moan into the phone. "Oh baby, are you touching yourself to me?" He asked clearly turned on. Kiara gagged and walked a few feet away. "Oh yes I am, but I wish it was you..." You paused for dramatic effect.

"Daddy." You smirked holding back a giggle, hearing Rafe groan into the phone. Next thing you know JJ is standing in front of you hanging up the call, fuming. He was legitimately tomato red. Everyone watched, curious about what he was going to do.

He grabbed your waist pulling you as close as he could while looking into your eyes. "Don't you ever pull that shit again." His eyes never left yours. You wanted to stand up for yourself but the only thing that left your mouth was "o-okay." He leaned down to whisper in your ear. "Good girl." There was that feeling of butterflies in your stomach. JJ never made you feel this way. What was happening? "When this little party is over you're coming to my room, we have things to talk about." He whispered again.

Everyone sat back down choosing to ignore how JJ nearly killed/fucked you right then and there. You chose to ignore it as well even though the tingling between your legs is making it difficult.

Instead of you asking the next question Pope cut the tension and began after Sarah. "Truth or dare?" He asked. Sarah obviously chose the safe route at this moment. "Is it true that even though you and JB are married, you'll still have a huge wedding and legally do it?" Pope asked. Awe of course he would, it's Pope. Sarah nodded "Of course I still want my dream wedding! Don't be silly Pope." She giggled.

"Okay J- Kiara, yeah Kiara. Truth or dare?" No one could look at JJ right now how would they be able to play this game right now?

"I'll say, truth." She smiled lightly. "Ok here's a little would you rather. Would you rather, fuck Topper or Kelce?" Kiara gasped. "Ew, can I kill myself instead?" She gagged. Everyone laughed and accepted that as her answer.

Eventually someone asked JJ the question and he ended up chugging some beer upside down. You still couldn't get those low-flying butterflies to go away. The thought of JJ taking you right there was fogging your brain.

After about an hour longer everyone was headed home or to bed. Pope and Cleo went back to the Heywards and Kiara went back to her house. Sarah decided to stay at the chateau with John B, then of course JJ asked you to go to his room and talk with him.

You sat on JJ's bed after getting your shower, you waited for him to finish up in the shower. JJ left some of his clothes on his bed for you to change into.

Next thing you knew, you were under JJ, making out with him on his bed. You had no idea how you got here but you weren't going to complain.

JJ pulled you onto his lap, never disconnecting your lips from each other. He held onto your hips and pressed down as he grinded up. You moved your hips at a faster pace needing the friction. He tore his lips from yours taking a breath before speaking. "Truth or dare?" He asked as you rolled your eyes. JJ gave you a look that said 'just answer it'. So you did. "Dare." You said with confidence streaming through your veins. JJ rubbed your hips, slowly reaching for your butt to squeeze.

"Strip for me baby." He said as he squeezed. You blushed not knowing how to react. "Come on baby, let me see that gorgeous body you've got hiding under my baggy clothes." When JJ said that, you began to melt. You decided to just take your shirt off while on his lap. You weren't wearing a bra so he got quite the show very quickly. You got off of him as he pushed himself to sit on the edge of his bed. The idea to strip tease JJ came to your mind so that's exactly what you did.

At some point when you were completely naked, you wanted to tease him so you sat on his lap and pulled one of his hands forward to your aching hole. You teased yourself with his fingers, secretly wanting him to continue what you had started. Which he had no problem with doing. He pushed two fingers inside of you causing a gasp and moan mix, to fall from your lips.

JJ's hand raced to cover your mouth. "Shhhh you have to be quiet, baby, or we'll get caught." He whispered in your ear. You nodded and bit your lip as JJ moved his fingers back and forth in your tight hole. JJ was making you so wet, your pussy was so loud that you might just get caught by being fingered. "Tell your pussy to be quiet." He giggled in your ear. "Tell your fingers to stop making me feel so good then." You moaned leaning your head back onto his shoulder.

JJ smirked to himself, knowing he was doing a good job. He sped up trying to make you cum but you suddenly felt embarrassed. "JJ- this f-eels so g-good..but I think I have to go..to the bathroom-" That was music to JJ's ears. His movements only got faster, he moved your hand to your clit so you could help by rubbing yourself.

"JJ- I-I" A loud squeal started erupting from your mouth. JJ slapped his hand across your mouth. One more swift push into your pussy and he pulled out, a gush of fluid came rushing out. You kept moaning into his hand. He continued playing with your cunt until you were done squirting.

"Something tells me you've never done that before baby."

[the0doreslover]

Hi do you still do requests if so i have an odd one for you.

Ravenclaw reader has a headache and asks for a remedy from one of the Gryffindors, Fred gives her a Potion in a bottle that she drinks all of it. It's not until her second lesson that she starts feeling funny, she realized it's a combo of LSD and water so she trippin. She normally quite shy and reserved. Realising she cant concentrate she skips her lessons and stays at the tower where's she meets Theodore Nott and is giggling like a child. He finds it amusing and she confesses he situation.

chemical romance

it may of been the fact that you hadn’t been sleeping very well for the past couple of nights but you woke up with a splitting headache, causing you to wince in pain at every slight movement you made.

You had just about made it out of bed and into the great hall when you took a seat at whatever table was closest.

you ended up on the gryfindor table surrounded by some of your friends

“you look like shit” ron laughed

“thank you ron, always so sweet”

“what’s going on with you?” hermione asked genuinely curious for her friend

“my head is killing me” you explained

“freddy don’t we have something for that?” george asked his brother with a smile

“are you talking about our new and improved headache remedy” fred replied a bit to animatedly

“i’ll honestly take anything”

“anything?” they asked at the same time making you regret your statement

“don’t do it y/n you can’t trust them” harry piped in

“thanks for your concern harry but i’d literally take slugs if that got rid of this headache”

“if you want we can give you slugs as well” george smiled

“don’t test me”

after breakfast you followed the twins to their dorm and sat quietly on george’s bed while you waited for them to cure you

a few minutes later they came out with a bottle, after pouring it into a cup you were shooed out of their dorm

“so i just drink this?”

“yeah, drink you won’t know what hit you”

you were about to ask what they meant by that before you saw the door being shut in your face

“well, thank you” you shouted at the door hoping they could hear.

wasting no time you quickly gulped back the liquid and started walking to your class.

Potions, one of the most long lessons in your timetable.

you were currently trying to brew a sleeping draught with seamus finnigan while also waiting for your medicine to take effect.

once snape assessed your potion you sat back down and closed your eyes for a second

“hey y/n what are you doing after classes?” you heard seamus ask you

opening your eyes you froze at the change in scene, your vision started going fuzzy, you blinked a few times to try and fix it but instead it made it worse. Now things were breathing?

you couldn’t focus on what seamus was asking you, and instead were just trying to understand what was happening to you.

“i was wondering if you would like to hang out?” his voice echoed like a loud microphone

you looked down at your hand and watched as it left a trail as you waved it. Looking back up remembered a book you read last year on muggle-

those ginger twits gave you drugs.

luckily for you it wasn’t that high of a dose but despite that you still were finding it hard to concentrate on anything.

“so what do you say?” seamus asked again while that question rung in your mind sounding quite odd

you laughed, not on purpose, you swear

“you don’t have to? no need to laugh at me” he grumbled

you quickly shot up attracting some eyes of other students

“sir i need to leave” you said with a smile looking at a random student who looked a lot like snape.

“i’m over here miss L/n, what is the reason?”

you tried your best to locate where he said that from and quickly thought of an excuse

“i’m not feeling well!” you laugh and accidentally said to loud before giving up and quickly grabbing your things ready to shoot out the door.

snape had just about excused you, not believing your situation as you laughed in his face, once you had been allowed to go you wandered the hallways shouting insults aloud

“stupid weasleys, that’s illegal!”

“how dare they give me drugs”

“i’m going to kill them”

despite your anger you couldn’t stop yourself laughing

you shortly found yourself at the entrance of the astronomy tower.

finding no point in going to your next lesson you went up the stairs.

you found looking at the floor quite interesting to be honest, the way the tiles were moving was quite calming to you

you were still grumbling insults towards the twins when you got to the tower

“you alright?”

you jumped at the voice and quickly looked up, despite your vision being a bit off you could make out the face of the slytherin, Theodore nott.

“yeah” you laughed

“alright”

you both started at each other in awkward silence before you burst into laughter yet again

“did i say something funny?” he looked amused

“not you” you smiled

“this is the most i’ve heard you say in all the years i’ve shared classes with you”

“haha very funny” you said trying to be sarcastic but ending up laughing your ass off “i’m sorry, i really am sorry”

“no way” he said, his eyebrows raising and mouth turning up into a grin

you of course could barely make out the objects around you

“what?” you asked

“you’re on drugs!” he said and this time it was his turn to laugh

“no no no” you said trying to keep a straight face but failing miserably starting a chain of laughter between the two of you

“i cannot believe this! Y/n L/n is on dr-”

you quickly shot forward and tried to put your hand on his mouth, but ended up covering his eyes

“no one can ever know this” you whispered while he nodded

“what did you take?” he asked

“i…. don’t know?” you grinned

“you’re funny” he replied

“trust me, i’m not i’m only interesting right now because i’m on drugs… wait am i going to become a drugaholic? shit i’m a drug addict!” you panicked suddenly not finding the situation funny

he sat down leaning against the railing while you followed.

“you’re definitely in the panicking stage but don’t worry i think you have to drugs everyday to be a drug addict” he smiled “you’re fine”

you smiled back and almost forgot, you were actually talking to a slytherin!

almost forgot

“i shouldn’t be talking to you” you said turning away from him

“oh yeah? why’s that”

“you don’t like my friends” you answered

“can’t i not like you’re friends and like you?”

“it doesn’t work like that” you said looking back at him now

“why can’t we make it work?” he said softly

“you know i have barely been able to see your face this whole time” you laughed changing the subject

“why’s that?” he asked

“your blurry”

you both bursted into laughter again

“we should go somewhere else, there’s a class in here next”

“we? no i’m going to sleep this off, have fun going somewhere else” you said beginning to walk away. You felt him grab your hand, turning to face him he smiled

“for the record i always found you interesting”

he let go then walked right past you

you watched his figure go down the stairs and stood frozen for a minute

“wait theodore! i can’t go down these stairs, i could just about go up them, i’ll fall and die!”

[archangeldyke-all]

prologue to the next ao3 fic i'm writing! it's childhood friends to enemies (to lovers) with sevika! hope you enjoy <33

30 years ago

Sevika trudges through the streets, kicking a rock along as she goes. Being ten fucking sucks. 

At the time, Sevika always thought that six would be the worst year of her life. That was the year her mom died. It was also the year her dad started drinking. But now she’s older and wiser; finally big enough to work in the mines: and Sevika’s beginning to suspect that life just gets worse and worse until you’re lucky enough to die.

Seven was worse than six. Seven was when Sevika learned that if she was going to steal and scam to feed herself, she was also going to have to fight. Sevika got her nose broken four times when she was seven. 

Eight was when she got tall and smart enough for her dad to feel threatened by her. It was the first time her nose had ever been broken by him.

And nine was when her childhood cat died. She found poor little Ladybug in the back corner of her dad’s closet, cold and stiff, curled up on top of her mom’s favorite red poncho. 

But even in those years Sevika wasn’t constantly sore, and her feet weren’t always blistered and bleeding, and she wasn’t coughing up dust all the time. 

And now she is. For less than a hundred bucks a week. 

Still. She has found one nice thing about being ten. 

“Sevika!” You squeal as you sprint up to your best friend’s side. Sevika tries to bite back her smile. She’s pretty sure she succeeds. 

“Easy.” She grunts as you launch yourself into her arms. You’re clinging around her waist, uncaring of the fact that she’s covered in soot. When you pull away to grin up at her, your cheek is smeared in black dust. Sevika chuckles and wipes it clean for you. “Hey, Honeybun.” She greets. The nickname makes your smile impossibly wider. 

“How were the mines today?” You ask as you haul your old flour bag over your shoulder. You’re so tiny, still only seven, and the bag is half your size. Sevika sighs, easily lifting it out of your grasp and hitching it over her shoulder for you. 

“Eh. You know.” She shrugs, trying to act tough, like she wasn’t just on the verge of tears from exhaustion. “How’s your Gramps?” She asks. You shrug, digging around in the little satchel you keep slung over your side. 

“He says to say hi to you. He said if I sell all these buns I can take five dollars of the profits.” You gesture to the bag hanging off Sevika’s shoulder. “Wanna help? We can use the money we earn to get some spicy slugs from Jericho’s!” You offer. Sevika grins. She’d say yes even if you weren’t buying her food. 

“I got nothin’ better to do.” She says cooly as you pull a bundle of fabric out of your bag. You unravel the scrap, and Sevika knows what’s wrapped in it before you can even unveil it. She can smell the cinnamon. You reveal the pastry to her with a grin, and her belly growls. Sevika briefly wonders if the sound is from her hunger, or if it's from the bugs that always seem to be crawling around in her stomach when she’s with you. She snatches the treat out of your grip and tears into it, trying to distract herself from the fuzzy feeling in her chest. “Cinna-roll for my Cinna-Sev.” You sing-song. Sevika rolls her eyes, nudging you with her elbow and huffing an embarrassed laugh. 

“Fuck off.”

She follows you blindly, letting you lead her up the winding streets of the Undercity and toward the docks. You’ve got a few spots around the city you frequently visit to sell baked goods, and judging by the way sailors are grinning and waving at you, this is one of them. 

“Bread girl!” A woman hauling a net full of fish off a boat calls. You giggle and wave at her. 

This has been the best part of Sevika’s days as of late: passing out bread to strangers with one hand, snacking on treats with the other,  as you exchange and count coins and loafs with your adoring customers. 

Sevika first bumped into you three days into starting work at the mines. You came down to pass out rolls to the miners dismissed at lunch time, and a few teenagers were giving you trouble. Two of them were throwing your bag of rolls over your head in a cruel game of keep away, while the third teen was snooping through the little coin purse you’d dropped. You were pathetic, and clearly about to be robbed blind, and Sevika was tired. But… She couldn’t help herself, and she stepped in to defend you.

You both ended up getting beaten to a pulp, and you still got robbed; but she earned your friendship. 

You’ve been there to pick her up from work when she gets off every day since then. She gets teased endlessly for it. She’s ten, and you’re only seven. All the kids she works with want to know what she’s doing with a baby like you. But those kids haven’t tasted your grandpa’s treats. And they’ve never made her laugh like you do. 

Sevika watches you work with a small smile. She wonders if you know how cute you are and play it up to sell more buns, or if it’s really just you. Bugs start crawling around in her stomach again, and Sevika tears her eyes away from you, looking up at the sky instead. 

It’s rare that she ever gets to see so much sky. Down in the Undercity, the sky is sliced into thin slivers, only visible from the right angles. Up here you can’t escape it. The sun’s starting its slow descent, and the blue sky’s turning a sweet yellow. A storm’s brewing in the west, dark clouds starting to cover the very edge of the horizon. 

In the river, the dock starts to fill up with fishermen and tug boats docking for the night. The swell of sailors and seamen quickly buy up all your buns, but you’re in no rush to leave the docks, and Sevika’s never in a rush to get home. 

So, she kicks off her shoes and socks and rolls her pants up, sitting beside you at the end of the dock, both of your feet gently kicking your feet in the river below. You’re counting your earnings on your lap, and Sevika watches with a cringe as coins start to slide off your legs and toward the water below. She reaches out and catches a few. “Thanks Sev.” You giggle, reaching for the coins and putting them in your satchel. You snap your bag closed then sigh, leaning over to rest your head on her shoulder. Sevika freezes for a second, and then she rests her head on top of yours. 

“How’s your dad?” You ask. Sevika swallows the lump in her throat. She’s never talked about him with you… or anyone, really. But you seem to know anyway. 

“Eh. Fine.” She shrugs. You kick her ankle in the water, and a tear falls down her cheek. It's quiet as both of you allow the lie to be true for a while.

“Do you wanna run away to my house? Gramps won’ mind. Y’know he loves you.” You whisper. Sevika’s heart swells, and she wraps her arm around your shoulders and pulls you to her chest, hiding her tears from you by kissing the top of your head. You’re so young. Nothing’s hurt you yet. Sometimes, Sevika scares herself thinking of all the things she’d do to keep you safe.

“I’m alright, Honeybun. You don’ gotta worry about me.” She whispers. 

Across the bay two men chat, waist deep in the water and clinking bottles of ale together as they bait their fishing hooks. You and Sevika watch the pair for a while, one broad tall man, one skinny and short. They seem to be in a deep conversation, and occasionally their laughs will carry across the river to reach the two of you. 

“They’re not gonna catch anything. Storm’s comin’ in, the fish’re all hiding.” Sevika says. 

“You’re full'a shit.” You giggle.

“‘M tellin’ Gramps you’re cursing.” Sevika threatens. You jam your elbow into her side, and Sevika cackles. “C’mon, let’s go to Jericho’s before it starts raining.” She says once she catches her breath. 

Before either of you can rise, shouts float across the water. The fishing friends have started fighting with one another, their rods forgotten as they shout, splash and tussle. “Are they… playing?” You ask.

Sevika studies the scene. An animalistic roar floats across the bay, and the big man shoves the skinny guy's head underwater. Her stomach drops and she springs to her feet, gathering your shoes and trying to tug you away as quickly as she can. “We need to get outta here.” 

“Sev.” You whimper, pointing. Sevika’s eyes catch on what’s got you scared: a growing splotch of red staining the water where skinny arms are flailing and clawing at the hulking figure holding him down.

“C’mon, Honeybun.” She grunts, trying to pull you away from the docks. The sky opens up, the first drops of the storm starting to fall.

“S-Stop!” You squeal. Sevika lets go, worried she’s hurt you, but when you fall to your knees and start screaming across the river Sevika’s heart shatters in her chest. “You’re hurting him! Y-you’re gonna k-kill him!” Your screams are ignored, carried away by a strong gust of wind before they can reach the other side of the bay. Sevika’s tugs on your arm cease, she collapses to her knees beside you.

“Honey, let’s go home.” She begs, her voice wobbling as her hands try to guide your face away from the scene ahead of you. Your eyes keep darting between hers and the fight where the skinny man has stopped struggling completely. The surface of the river is still beside the small echoing rings of raindrops falling. 

“S-S-Sevika--” You cry as you lean forward, burying your face against her chest. A crack of lightning flashes in the sky. Sevika puts her hands under your armpits and hauls you up, keeping you tucked against her as she drags the two of you as far away from the docks as she can.

Right before she ducks around the corner, a clap of thunder booms, and a skinny arm bearing a knife breaches the water.

taglist!

@fyeahnix @lavendersgirl @half-of-a-gay @thesevi0lentdelights @sexysapphicshopowner

@shimtarofstupidity @chuucanchuucan @badbye666 @femme-historian @lia-winther

@ellsss @sevikaspillowprincess @emiliabby @sevikasbeloved @hellorai

@glass-apothecary @macaroni676 @artinvain @realgreeniebeanie @k3n-dyll

@sevsdollette @ellieslob

[xoxoch3rry]

Through Sickness and Health

@ xoxoch3rry do not steal or translate my work.

Word count: 680

────

Carl Grimes x best friend!reader (Set in s4)

Warnings: Mentions on blood and sickness, a little sad but other than that none.

Summary: Carl comforts the reader on patrol when the reader's mom gets sick.

────⊹ ࣪ ˖⋆˖ ࣪⊹────

I awoke to the sound of someone coughing. I rolled over and saw my mom stumbling out of our cell. I quickly got up out of my bunk and ran over to her. “Mom, mom, are you okay?” I asked as she collapsed on the floor, spitting up blood. “Somebody help please,” I yelled out, making Rick, Daryl, and Michonne run out of their cells and over to us. “What happen?” Daryl asked, making me look up at him with tears in my eyes. “I think she's sick.” I looked down at the floor, letting the tears fall from my eyes and onto my dirty white shirt. “Ok, let's get her to cell block A,” Rick said, lifting my mother off the floor bridal style. “Go back to bed, okay, we can take care of her.” Michonne looked at me as I was still sitting on the floor watching Rick carry my mom down a hallway. I quickly gathered myself and wiped my face with the back of my hand as Michonne helped me off the floor and back into my cell. I laid back, resting my head on my pillow, while Michonne covered me with my blanket. “Just go to sleep; it's okay,” she said, petting my hair. I didn't want to get up and do anything knowing that my mom is sick and in a room full of other sick people. I slugged my legs over the edge of my bed and slowly stood up. I walked over to my pile of clothes and picked up a black tank top and a pair of jeans and put them on. I laced up my shoes and walked out of my cell and over to Carol. “Hi honey, how are you doing?” she asked, looking at me. I just shrugged my shoulders and grabbed a plate that had bacon and eggs on it and walked over to the table to take a seat. I looked at my food and pushed the eggs around with my fork. I looked over at Beth, who was holding Judith and feeding her. “Do you want this?” I asked, motioning toward the plate of food. “Are you not hungry?” she asked, looking from the plate to me. “No, not really,” I said, pushing the plate towards her, standing up from the table, and walking outside. The bright sun made me squint my eyes a little, looking for a certain someone. Spotting him, I began my walk to the other side of the yard. “Hey,” I called out, making him turn around to look at me. “Hey,” Carl said, walking towards me. “My dad told me what happened; how are you feeling?” he asked, examining my face. “Fine,” I looked down at the ground. “Carl, you're supposed to be on patrol” Maggie yelled from across the yard catching both of our attention “right,” Carl said putting a thumbs up at Maggie. “Can I join you?” I asked, looking over at him. “Yeah, sure if you want,” he said, regaining to walk along the fence as I followed behind him. We walked in comfortable silence for about five minutes till he spoke up. “I'm sorry,” Carl stated, looking over at me. “For what?” I questioned. “I wasn't there for you last night when you were alone and needed someone.” “I wasn't alone; Michonne was there.” I looked over at him. “I mean, I would have liked to have my best friend there,” I glanced back down at the ground. He stopped in his tracks and turned towards me. “I know, I'm sorry,” he hugged me. I embraced him back, burying my face in his shoulder. “I just hope she's going to be okay, because she's all I have,” I cried, allowing tears to stream down my face and wiping them with my hand. As he just rubbed my back, soothing me. I drew back from the hug and smiled at my best friend, “Thank you, Carl”. “Of course what are best friends for” he grinned back at me as we began to finish the patrol.

[powerpuff-ali]

Yellow! Just got back into ppg and saw your rrb hc's (love them!) Can I ask what do you think the rrb will have as a superpower pet? Like how the girls used to have bullet before she left.

Would a puppy be awkward for them? (Does Mojo count?Jkjk)

Thank you! I love this so much. It's literally taken me days to put all my thoughts together because of how much I over thought this.

First, I know you said jk but they absolutely would terrorize Mojo about him being a monkey chimpanzee and their punishment would be getting sent to Him’s realm so they only do this sparingly. “We don’t take orders from dumb monkeys.” *insert long repetitive rant about how he’s a chimpanzee while he dials up Him about their insolent boys* 

In all honesty, I've never thought about them having pets. I've always kinda hc’d the boys as nomads going between Him and Mojo and wherever else they decided to crash. Since they don't have a set home or even the concept of what a home should be, luxuries like having a pet or even the luxury of having something to be there consistently would be lost on them. Granted they have each other but just trying to get through each day together is hard for them let alone having a pet to add to that.

BUT they're kids and I don't think I've ever met a kid who doesn't like animals or even dogs.

I think the boys could be the type to pick up a stray dog. Maybe Brick would take a similar attitude about pets to Buttercup in “Cat Man Do” (S1Ep19) where he thinks he’s gonna get stuck with all of the responsibility but in the end he can’t resist loving it. “Do you idiots even know how to even take care of a dumb dog?” “Do you?”.

They would definitely argue over who the dog loves most. “Stop taking him from my bed!” “I found him!” “He’s staying with me since I take care of him the most!”

You already know it’s gonna have a name like Rockit or Bezerk since they can’t spell correctly.

They’d also argue about if the dog was female or male but I think like the girls, they wouldn’t be able to tell and stick with it being a “boy dog” because they can’t have a “sissy” dog. Y’know, “man’s best friend” and all that misled mindset.

If they ever found out about Bullet having super powers, there would be many attempts to steal chemical x from the Professor’s lab because the girls can’t have a cooler pet than them.

This can only go horribly wrong with either the destruction of Townsville (if successful), another brawl between them and the girls or a horrible experiment gone wrong when they try to make their own Chemical X.

There would probably even be chemical x infused insects (good luck, girls) that they’d end up creating.

I could also see the boys having random pets that are either wild or strays. Kinda like in “The Boys Are Back In Town” (S5Ep5) how Butch had that random slug on him, they would totally just take in random animals or try to.

Like they’d definitely attempt to have the animals attack fuzzy or even get them to steal. Think flaming poop bags everywhere especially towards Mojo, the girls and the Mayor.

Also keeping their evil alignment in mind, I could also see them terrorizing some animals they come across like trying to ride them or chasing them around to start trouble.

Of course, they become chickens when the animals attack back.

Maybe they'd even have a fade or two with Bullet in the forest. Bubbles absolutely warned the forest animals about the boys.

This was the most concise I could make my answer because there was just so much that came to mind.

[issie-https]

Working Mom

Dave Grohl X Reader

A/n: Just a little something while I work on the requests❤️ I recently got into a show called ‘Workin Moms’ on Netflix and I love it! I defo recommend giving it a watch.

Word count: 1091

Warnings: Daddy Grohl(not in a sexual way tho👀), angst, swearing

Masterlist

༺✩༻

“Y/n, wake up," I heard Dave whisper. I woke up and looked at the clock beside me and it read '7:02am'. "I can have five more minutes," I groaned. "You told me to wake you up at seven, it's two past seven," he replied. "Three more minutes then," I yawned. "Y/n. Get. Up." He said, nudging me to the edge of the bed. Then our baby, Alfie, started crying. "Alfie needs boob. I don't have any," he said, kissing my cheek. I groaned loudly and slugged to his room.

He came into Alfie's room mid feed and whistled. "You're so gross," I rolled my eyes and held back a laugh. "Says the one that eats food off her shirt," he replied, standing behind me and massaging my shoulders. "Would you rather me waste it or drop it on the floor," I said. "How much does this kid eat?" He asked. "However much he feels like every two to three hours," I replied. "I could eat that much," he said. "You do eat that much," I laughed lightly, "can you burp him?". He took Alfie and started patting his back. "Us drummers need their energy," he said. "And us mummy's need our energy but i don't empty the cupboards within five hours of the shop being done," I replied, going out the bedroom and into our room. "Maybe we should be an ingredient household," he mocked. "You'd eat flour," I said, changing into my blouse and skirt. Just as Dave was about to say something, Alfie burped, making Dave laugh.

"Okay, I'm off now. I've briefed you and once again, only call if he is dead or on fire," I said, grabbing my car keys and bag. "What happens in the death is in progress?" He joked. "David Eric Grohl," I scolded. "Have a great day," he said, kissing my lips. "You too. I know you can do this," I praised, heading out the door.

"Look who's back!" My work and best friend, Nicole, cheered as she ran over to give me a hug. "Back and more ready to work than ever," I smiled, squeezing her tight. "Sorry to ruin your mood but we have a meeting first thing," she said somewhat carefully. "And I'm already fantasising about killing Andy," I rolled my eyes as we headed to the meeting room.

"Ah, Y/n, welcome back! How's Dave and Alfie?" My boss, Andrew, said. "Dave is amazing, loving being a daddy. Archie is loving Dave. I'm loving... food, mainly," I replied. "Well, thank you for coming back. Let's jump right into the meeting," he said.

The meeting was very bland, just something about partnering with another company for a project.

I finally got back to my old office. I've missed the view. Through the completely glass windows, I could see the cityscape, windows glistening, cars dashing around and people tending to their everyday needs. My first piece of work since coming back was now on my desk, getting my blood flowing to get back to work.

Ten minutes after my lunch break and pump, my work phone started ringing. "Hello, you've reached Y/n at-" I started. "Y/n, help. He won't stop crying. I- I don't know w-what to do," I heard Dave say, distressed and tears evident in his voice. "Honey, what happened?" I replied, concern getting to me. "He won't stop crying and I've done everything. Feeding, diaper change, nap, play time, book. Everything," he cried. "Has he hurt anything or got nappy rash or got any more teeth coming through?" I asked, searching for a reason our son was literally wailing on the other side of the phone. "No, I've checked," he replied out of breath. "Okay, give me fifteen to twenty minutes and I will be there. Stay strong, handsome," I said, shoving my things back into my bag. "Okay. I love you," he said and hung up the phone.

"Andrew, I really need to go home. I'm so fucking sorry but Alfie is literally screaming murder," I rushed. "I understand. Will you be in tomorrow?" He replied. "Yes! Thank you!" I replied, yelling as I ran to the lift.

I got into my car and sped home, most likely earning myself a few speeding tickets on the way.

"Dave, angel, I'm home," I yelled from the front door, hearing Alfie screaming as loud as possible. "Help me," he cried, handing our son to me. "Look at me. You're doing fucking amazing, lots of people don't have dads because they can't handle it. But here you are, you're doing amazing," I praised.

I stripped Alfie down to his nappy and checked him all over for any indication of what could be making him make me and Dave go deaf. I lightly pressed on his stomach and I could feel the gas in his stomach. "He's got trapped gas," I sighed. "How? I burped him," he also sighed. "It happens to everyone, honey. He needs a little massage or some crap that I read in that stupid book," I said. "Teach me because if I have to go deaf from a child, I will shove my drumsticks in my chest," he sighed.

I showed him how to get the gas un trapped or whatever and the second he farted, he was silent. "Thank you so fucking much. I love you," he smiled tiredly, hugging me and kissing me. "Well, I'm home for the rest of the day and it's two forty-seven now. What should we do?" I asked, putting Alfie's outfit back on. "He missed nap time and I'm going to cry if I don't sleep soon so how about a nap?" He said, rubbing our sons back. "That sounds amazing I need to change into my pyjamas first so you have a little cuddle with the velociraptor," I replied, handing him the fucking dinosaur that came out of me. "I'd say he's a pterodactyl," he said, kissing our son on the head. "True. How about you put him to bed while I change," I suggested. "Deal," he agreed.

I changed into my pyjamas and saw Dave sprawled out on the bed in just his boxers. "Baby got back," I sang, slapping his ass. "How the tables have turned," he laughed as I pretty much just collapsed into bed. He pulled me to his chest and stroked my hair, kissing the top of my head. "I love you so much," he whispered. "I love you so much too," I replied, closing my eyes.

[as-above-rp]

Do you have any pets? If so, what are their names? What are they like personality-wise? Can we see them?

(( real talk, i planned a WHOLE art piece to go with this, but got super frustrated with it and stopped halfway through--maybe you guys will see it one day kzjbkjdsv ))

Questions that the Muse can Answer!

"Oh, DO I?! Yes please, come and see them!!

(pic of Linguini will be kept under the cut for those adverse to snakes)

First up is my first animal I got after I got set up on the farm - Linguini! He's technically not a pet though - he's the garter snake that lives in my garden! He keeps it free of slugs pesky bugs, and sometimes he'll come up to me when i'm gardening to hang out. Occasionally I'll put him in my apron pocket while i'm gardening so he can get a better view of the garden!

The second one I got is Oreo! She's my Valais blacknose sheep - I saw that another farm had some for sale, and Mack (@save-slot-a) said I could get one. Technically I had already purchased it before asking, so it was a good thing that he said yes! She's very sweet, and she always follows me around when I'm doing my gardening or crop work. She used to headbutt me when I didn't give her enough treats or pets, but she's mellowed out a lot as she's grown...!

This is Major, my Irish Wolfhound--he's only a year old, but he's already three feet tall at the shoulder! He still thinks he's a lap dog and tries to sit in everybody's laps if they're sat down. He has his own little couch dedicated to him in the living room, but if I'm there, he insists on laying on me or at my feet. He's a big ol' momma's boy, but he's such a good watchdog for the others! He and Oreo are best friends, and watching them play in the yard is the cutest thing in the world I promise you.

Cayenne -- Or as I usually call him, Spicy Baby -- is a special circumstance. He's a red bull, which Mack doesn't like to keep as cattle, so he thinks his momma was flirting with the neighbor's bull while he wasn't looking. When Mack was trying to get his tag on and get his shots sorted out, his mom kept trying to charge and headbutt him! I nicknamed her 'spicy momma', and so this lil guy came to be known as 'spicy baby'! Spicy momma started getting really grumpy with Mack after that, so i'd help out with getting her and Cayenne taken care of....and I got attached. When Mack suggested that he'd be eaten or sold at some point, I couldn't help getting a little upset over it. So Mack said he wouldn't eat him or sell him, so long as I took over taking care of him full time. And that's how I end up with a red cow on my porch sometimes!"

Linguini under the cut (cw: snake):

[nuatthebeach]

Oh, I hope you don’t mind but I’ve got multiple ships for the ask game:

1) Ginny x Michael

2) Ginny x Dean

3) Ginny x Harry (can’t exclude my favourite pairing)

4) Harry x Cho

5) Hermione x Victor

6) Hermione x Ron

7) Ron x Hermione

i need to crack my knuckles for this one. (and i don't mind at all!)

ALSO I APOLOGIZE FOR GRAMMAR/SPELLING ERRORS, I JUST WROTE AND POSTED

Ginny x Michael

first puppy love! it's cute that they met at the yule ball, especially when ginny was basically treated as last option that even neville ended up settling for her. at least michael saw her, ya know?

house unity! prideful gryffindors teaming up with prideful ravenclaws is quite the combo, but they did it.

ginny trusted michael enough for him to join the DA. that means something, people.

Ginny x Dean

both exceedingly artistic and creative. ginny can write, dean can draw; together, they'd make the best comic books known to man. move aside, marvel.

dean is such a nice dude, as we see from the way he respects harry since day 1 all the way up to DH while the trio were eavesdropping. even tho harry swooped in and "stole" his girlfriend freshly a week later. ofc, this niceness can be to his own detriment (helping ginny through the portrait hole), but still.

they're sexually attracted to each other. the way they were snogging fiercely in the corridor that ron and harry caught them in is proof enough. it was certainly enough to trigger harry's chest monster when ginny and michael couldn’t.

Ginny x Harry

you would think that two hotheaded, stubborn, impulsive people would clash tremendously, but interestingly enough, they don't. at least from the few scenes we've seen. like when ginny told harry off in the lucky you scene, or when harry told ginny the hbp book is nothing like tom's diary. he was thoughtful and learned his lesson.

similar interests. they both believe that quidditch is more than a game, and for personal reasons too. for harry, quidditch is like a reprieve from his trauma, and for ginny, quidditch is something that empowers her and gives her independence.

values and humor. the former is obvious: they value family, love, the greater good, fighting for what's right, all that jazz. and for humor, we have the iconic pygmy puff scene and all the cute looks throughout the books, just to name a few examples.

Harry x Cho

again, house unity! we love a good gryffindor branching out to other houses ship.

harry was pretty attracted to her? like, she was his first crush. for three books. he didn't know much about her, yes, and when he did, there were problems. but physically, it's a different story.

their ship name is charry! which, c'mon, i hate to say it, but it rolls off the tongue a bit better than another ship we know *cough cough*

Hermione x Victor Krum (*we're ignoring the age difference)

victor pining after hermione is so cute. he's such a brutish man, but he's also so emotionally confident in himself? i can see why hermione picked him over a certain someone. (during that TIME.) and she was the person who he would miss the most, so it was real. for him, at least.

it came out of fucking nowhere, and that's fucking brilliant. the levels of irony in this pair: hermione not giving a fuck about quidditch and ron being OBSESSED with krum. you just can't top that.

they've kept in touch! that's pretty wholesome, ngl.

Hermione x ...wait, i'm confused. you said ron x hermione in the next one, so... did you mean Hermione x Harry? if so...askfjsdlkfjsdlkfj

Ron x Hermione

frictional best friends to lovers. they drive each other insane, but it's practically foreplay for them. they enjoy making each other pissed off. which, couldn't be me, but it seems to work for them.

ron remembers her so much. he defends her during the troll scene in ss, the slug scene in cos, thinks about her when she's taking a million classes in poa, stands up to snape for her, and those are just in the earlier books. plus, when he cried after he killed the horcrux in DH, thinking of her? or when harry pointed out that maybe dumbledore gave him the deluminator because he knew that ron would come back? or his speech when he did come back? i lowkey teared up a bit too.

they're extremely passionate people, but in a the-other person-can-relate sort of way. like, they both get jealous when they see each other with other people. which, yeah, is not necessarily great, but it's relatable, ya know? it's not like they can accuse each other for things they do themselves.

[itspdameronthings]

Never Letting You Go Ch9

Summary: Here it is! Another chapter. Lots of stuff happening. Drama, tears ,and new characters!! Cant tell who they are! Hope yall enjoy! since its late my brain is fried to type a proper summary!

Look in William's blue eyes tells everyone in the room he is serious. Santi nods as he goes to pack. That doesnt go well with you. How can he just leave you like that! Need both of them here! Wailed," I need you here! Not going off to be a hero! Will can go alone! Seems like there is some kind of danger. You leave! Can you for once stay put!" Kneeling down in front of your now sitting form. Took your hands into his large ones," I have to baby. Not like before. Want to keep you safe. Have to do this. Not gonna be like before. Have.." Not wanting to hear any of this. Pushed him down rushed into the bathroom. Locked the door. Benny rushed over. Knocking on the door," Baby girl, it's me. Not gonna be alone. I'm here. Never gonna leave ya. Have alot of people in your corner. Remember? Part of a large family now. Come out so I can hold ya in my arms. Pope too. Even ya are pissed at him. If ya like? I can try to reason with him." Listening to what he said was true. You're not alone. At this time you need your husbands. Want to be selfish. Can't Santi see where you are coming from? Want some distraction for your mental trauma.

Gemma arrives to her former home. Looking around. Things look different. House looks modern. From paint to the fixtures. Even the courtyard. Black gates that lead upstairs to your room. Close her eyes and remember the good times. Where you used to play outside. Diane SWlooks out of her kitchen window. Being unterly pissed off. She goes outside yelling," Better get off of my property if you know what's good for your sorry ass. Oh forgot. Ya don't. " Gemma had enough of this. Goes over to Diane ready to fight," Gonna fight me wimp? Ya never can throw a punch to save your life. Such a nice oh so proper girl. Raised to not to fight." Diane had enough. Not much a word from Gemma. Diane slugs her in the face. Knocked her down," Ya were saying? I do know how to hit. Thank my sons for that. Consider that a warning. Now go!" Got up to rub her jaw as she stands up again," oh you want to go down that road? Bring it on!" Shouts coming from outside caused Jack to rush outside . Pulling his wife out of the way. Grunting," Enough! Ya better leave if ya know what is good for ya! This is a private property. Means the house ya called home is mine. Now leave!" Gemma leaves not before yelling" I'll find her! Mark my words! I fucking will!"

An unknown car parked not far from the property. Saw everything that transpired. Took a few pics of Gemm's truck. On the phone. The person replies," Fugitive has been spotted. Call back when I have more to report "

Meanwhile You haven't come out of the bathroom. Others were at wits end on what to do. Shouts from both Will and Santi exorcited, causing Benny to let out a mighty yell, " All of this yellin isn't helping matters! We have a fragile soul in that room that's scared shitless.Which is now our mission to get her out of there. I'm the one to do it." Santi rolls his eyes as he plops into his old, smelly chair. Not wanting to hear that Benny knows you longer than he does. Has more experience in his young age. Will stands next to his friend. Patting the chair," Don't let it get to you man. Sure you have a bond with Sunshine. Something rather special. I remember the story ya told me. This situation is so delicate. Let Benny do his thing.

Benny did his best to finally let him inside the bathroom. Site of your fragile form made him breakdown ,and cry. Hair all wet and mangled from the tears. Practically shaking from all of the crying. All there was to do was lay your head on Benny's lap. All he could do is send some much needed comfort. Rubs your back," Shhhh… baby girl. I'm here. Let me take care of ya okay?" Sniffling at his reply caused you to cry again," All I need is you to hold me baby boy. Can't… go .. out there.. you know… Santi would leave me…."

Benny knows that too.That is how Santi is. Wants to save the day. Protect his family. Hope his brother can talk him out of it. Sounds of your wimper caught his attention again. Looking down to see his fragile baby girl asleep . What he did was to get up,but not to cause you to wake up. Kissed your still damp forehead,” I got ya darlin. No need to worry. Just rest “

" So what's the plan Ironhead? Go over there. Follow her till she screws the hell up?" Santi at this point getting back to his old habit. Not thinking things through. All he wants is to protect his precious Sunshine from a woman he has never met. Does he want to? Will sits on the edge of the messy bed. Rubbing his bearded chin," No, just the opposite. Recon first. Then.. visit the police. Not wanting a fucking repeat of Columbia man! My baby sister is crying on the fucking floor crying all because her husband wants to leave her! I know you want to go ,and play the hero. Not this time okay? Matter of fact. I know a certain sheriff that might help."

Sounds of the door opening caused both men to look at Benny holding you close to him. Santi was ready to rush over to them,but was met by Benny shaking his head,” Not a good idea okay? She needs to rest. Thinkin she might not be ready to see ya .” Santi didn't listen to him. Goes over to rub his finger against your cheek. Taking a deep breath,” Breaks my heart to see her like this… wish … she understands why I have to do this.” Benny lays you down. Covering your body with the blanket that contains both of their soothing scents for comfort. Closed the door . While they can talk downstairs.

Hanna arrived at the Millers . Thought about how long it had been since she was here . Too long. Last time it was for a get together with her parents. Before her mother left. Oh how she missed her. So does her dad. Which doesn't say much. Right now is to chat with the Millers about the run in with Gemma. Jack sees her right before knocking on the door,” Come on in honey. Sit down while I go ,and fetch Diane.” She looked around to see some recent pictures of her friends, Will ,and Benny. Both of them look so happy. Good for them. Sounds of footsteps caused her to shake her head. Diane hugs her,” So happy to see ya hun. I take you have some info to share. “ Clearing her throat as she sits down,” Yes I do. My father wanted to come over,but a situation came up. Seems like this woman in question is wanted for killing a FBI agent in California. Also involved with a bad group of bikers. They deal with illegal gun activities. I'm here to offer y'all some protection. “ The couple wasn't a bit surprised. Gemma was always a bit wild. Even before her husband left. She cheated on him. Just like he cheated on her.

“ So let me get this straight. Will your goin home to do recon alone! Are you nuts?! What would happen if there was a situation ya cant get out of!” Will rolled his eyes. Benny wasn't really listening to the plan . Took a breath,” I'm not going alone. As much as I want Pope to come . Gonna ask Fish to tag along. I know Pope. You want to go. Have to stay. “ Santi nods,” I agree now I see where you are coming from. Still we need another person to help “

Will was about to answer his question when his phone rings. Accepted the call to see who it was. His cousin , Jake Mills.

[allthingsfangirl101]

Only For You–Steve Harrington

Steve walked into his house, not bothered by it being empty. He was used to it. The only person he actually wanted to see was at her own after-school job. He kicked off his shoes and sat on the couch. He barely let out a breath when his front door was roughly opened.

"Steve! I need your help!" Dustin yelled as he ran into the room.

"Nothing you say is going to make me get up," Steve grumbled as he draped his arm over his face.

"Oh really?" Dustin teased.

"Really," Steve said, copying his tone. He scoffed when he heard Dustin clearing his throat for dramatic effect.

"Y/N's in trouble."

"Son of a bitch!"

                                * * * * *

"Explain to me again what these things are that could be eating Y/N?"

"Do you remember Dart?"

"You mean that creepy alien slug that you found?"

"Yeah," Dustin laughed, "him. Well, it started with him eating my cat. . ."

"What?"

". . . and then he escaped. I asked Y/N for help and. . ."

"Wait, why did you ask Y/N and not me?" Steve asked.

"No offense but she kind of handles all of this better than you," Dustin said, glancing at him.

"I'm not offended," Steve scoffed. He lowered his voice as he added, "I'm too busy struggling to ignore the fact that you willingly put Y/N in danger."

"She's a badass," Dustin laughed. "I'm sure she's fine."

"You were just telling me how these creatures use a hive mind," Steve said, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. "And how Y/N went to be live bait to get them away from the gate.

"Yeah," he shrugged, "but I also said that Y/N's a total badass. Isn't that why you fell in love with her?"

"What?" Steve scoffed. "I'm not. . . I don't know why you would think. . . That's crazy. . . Why would I. . ."

"If you're done stuttering like an idiot," Dustin laughed, "I could tell you to shut up. We all know you are crushing on Y/N. Hard."

"That's. . ."

"In fact, the only person who doesn't know about your never-ending love for Y/N is Y/N," Dustin cut him off. "Seriously, dude. When are you going to grow a pair and ask her out?"

"I can't," Steve snapped. "Y/N and I are. . . We're just friends, okay? Nothing more."

"Bullshit."

"It's not bullshit," Steve defended. "She's been my best friend since we were like seven. I can't ruin that."

"Who says you're going to ruin it?" Dustin said, the previous teasing gone from his voice. "You could actually make it better."

"That's if," he sighed, "and it's a big if, she feels the same way about me. Which she doesn't."

"How do you know?"

"Because she's too good for me," he answered harshly. "I've known it since I knew. . ."

"Since you knew what?" Dustin asked, the teasing coming back.

"Since I knew how I felt about her," Steve said under his breath. He glanced over and instantly glared when he saw the way Dustin was staring at him.

"Shut up," he scoffed, turning back to the road.

"For the record," Dustin said, "I think you should tell Y/N how you feel. You'd both be a lot happier if you finally told her what she meant to you."

The two drove the rest of the way to the junkyard in silence. Dustin was thinking about defeating these demodogs while Steve was thinking about Y/N.

He couldn't help but wonder if Dustin was right. Of course, he'd be happier if he got to be with Y/N. But would she be happier? He hopes so. He'd do anything he could to make her happy. He already spends every day protecting her. He would give up anything to ensure Y/N's happiness.

They pulled up to the junkyard and got out, Steve's mind still on the pros and cons of telling Y/N how he felt. Dustin turned when Steve didn't follow him.

"What are we waiting for?" He sighed.

"Just give me a second," Steve snapped. He unlocked his trunk and reached in. Dustin rolled his eyes when Steve pulled out a baseball bat.

"Seriously?" Dustin scoffed.

"Hey," he snapped. "This baby protected us from the Demogorgon. And now it's going to protect Y/N from the Demodogs."

The two started walking up the hill but stopped when they heard screaming. They looked at each other before running the rest of the way.

When they got to the top, there was an old school bus. Inside the bus, they could see the faint sight of their friends. Outside the bus were several Demodogs surrounding the bus.

"No," Steve whispered. His breath got stuck in his throat when he saw Y/N exiting the bus. She was using the end of a shovel to defend herself and to protect the kids. She was doing a pretty good job of keeping them safe.

Except, she didn't notice the Demodog creeping up behind her.

"Get to the bus," Steve instructed Dustin. He fixed his grip on the bat before running as fast as he could toward Y/N.

"Y/N!" Steve yelled. He swung his bat at the Demodog and stepped up behind Y/N.

"Steve?" She gasped when she noticed him. "What are you doing here?"

"You didn't think I was going to let you fight these things alone, did you?"

Another Demodog charged them but Steve instantly swung at it. The two stood back to back as they protected the kids inside the bus.

"I had this handled," Y/N said as she hit another Demodog.

"I don't doubt it," Steve chuckled. "That doesn't mean I can't help."

"Steve. . ." Y/N said his name shakily. He looked over his shoulder, past Y/N, to see several Demodogs coming towards them. He instantly grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him.

"Bus," he mumbled. "Get to the bus. Now!"

He tightened his grip on her hand and pulled her across the junkyard, toward the bus. The kids opened the door for them and quickly closed it once both Y/N and Steve were safe inside.

Steve pulled Y/N into his chest and shielded her as they heard the Demodogs throwing themselves against the bus. His breath got caught in his throat when he felt Y/N tuck more into his chest. He instantly tightened his arms around her.

"What are we going to do?" She asked under her breath.

"It's going to be fine," Steve tried to reassure her.

"But what if they get through?" She started to panic as she pulled out of their embrace. Y/N kept her voice low so the other kids couldn't hear. "What if we can't protect the kids?"

"We will," he corrected. "I'll always protect you, Y/N."

Steve's breath got caught in his throat when Y/N looked up at him with a different look in her eyes. The confusion slowly turned into a smile.

"So I've noticed," she whispered.

"You'd both be a lot happier if you finally told her what she meant to you."

"Y/N," Steve whispered, "if we live through this, there's something I need to tell you."

"We'll live through this," Y/N agreed.

                                * * * * *

Well, they lived through it.

They were back at the Byers' house, keeping an eye on Will. Steve looked up to see Y/N in the other room, talking to the kids. He remembered their conversation before the fight escalated. With what little courage he had, he stormed over to her.

"Y/N, can we talk?"

"Of course."

Steve caught Y/N off guard when he grabbed her hand and led her into the kitchen.

"Is everything okay?"

"Back at the junkyard, there was something I wanted to say to you," Steve started. "Actually, I've wanted to say it to you for a long time but I've been too much of a wimp to say it. Not anymore. Not after watching you risk your life to protect the kids."

"Steve?" She gently cut him off.

"Yes?"

"Can you just say it? You're making me a little nervous. If something is wrong, please tell me. I can't. . ."

"I'm in love with you."

"You're what?" She stuttered.

"I've been in love with you for as long as I can remember," Steve whispered, stepping a little closer to her.

"Wow," she stuttered. "I mean. . . That's. . . I had no idea. . . Wow. . ."

"If you don't feel the same, I completely understand. . ."

"I'm in love with you, too," Y/N blurted, cutting Steve off.

Steve smiled, never feeling happier than he did right now in the Byers' kitchen. He gently grabbed her face and brought his lips slowly down to hers. Y/N's breath got stuck in her throat when Steve's lips finally touched hers. They got more comfortable as their lips slowly started moving in sync.

"I can't believe you love me back," Steve whispered, breaking the kiss.

"How can I not?" Y/N giggled. "You walked into a fight where we were hugely outnumbered. It was your textbook suicide mission. What made you think it was a smart idea?"

"You," he said like it was obvious. "I had to jump in. To keep you safe."

"You are such an idiot, Steve Harrington."

"Only for you."

[wreywrites]

Tiger Shark

Part 2: The Sea

Chapter 11

We watch in silence until the hovercraft has removed the last of the three bodies. I add three X’s to the Dead Chart, then decide it is as safe as it will ever be to refill the empty water bottle. Besides, only Taffeta and Tychus are left of the Careers. Zalea is still out there, and she made it very clear that after the stampede, things were no different between us. She’s formidable, but against two of us, I am confident we would beat her. And that just leaves the boys from Three and Twelve, neither of whom I have seen since the bloodbath. They could be anywhere, doing anything.

And then it hits me. There are only seven of us left. I return to the cave with the water bottle and grin at Mako as I go to our backpacks to add the tablets to the water. “They’re going to interview our people.”

He raises an eyebrow.

“Top eight,” I say, still smiling, opening the box of tablets. “Bring out the friends and family. Well, top seven, actually, since Tychus took out that other girl… Oh no.”

“What?” Mako is on his feet and at my side in a second. “What’s wrong?”

Silently, I hold up the second empty box of tablets.

His face sinks. “That’s not good at all.”

Before Elsie and Merritt said they’d gotten some, I’ve never heard of a tribute getting water-purifying tablets from a sponsor. I suspect that’s one of their ways to keep the Games from going on forever. If we can’t get drinkable water, we’ll get desperate fast, and then we’ll start fighting each other for anything we can get. It would sure speed things up if Mako and I were to now find ourselves without drinking water.

“We could boil it, you know, like how you purify salt water if you’re desperate.” Mako says, though from his tone I can tell he already knows what I’m going to say.

“The only one of the many items we need for it that we have is the pot.” I take a deep breath. “We’ve got two bottles. That’ll last a while if we’re careful. Enough time to plan the best course of action, figure out who’s most likely to have a way to get clean water, find them, and kill them.”

But as the day drags on, we realize that, for all we know, no one has a way to purify water. It would explain three tributes slugging it out by the river, being watched (and finished off) by a fourth, who did seem very interested in taking anything he could find off their bodies.

“Maybe that’s why Tychus killed Seven. Maybe she had some tablets. Or maybe they were running low and with her dead that’s one less person to share water with,” Mako says. “But if that’s the case, why wouldn’t he go back and kill Taffeta right away and then not have to share with anyone? Or kill her before he left? No, the cannon always sets everyone on edge, so he would’ve had to wait until after. But then why hasn’t he done it yet?”

As Mako settles in for bed that night, I add the twelfth tally to the wall and scratch an X under Six, Seven, and Eight. We are no nearer to figuring out who has water, and we have only one bottle left. I am tempted to just drink some of the river water. Maybe it’s fine. But maybe it isn’t. It’s just as likely to be full of some horrible bacteria or something as it is to be drinkable.

~~~                               ~~~                               ~~~

The next morning I double-check my math from the night before. I don’t exactly trust my brain in matters of math while on watch, but I am confident I am right. I leave the cave and find Mako starting a fire. He plans on trying to boil the water and seeing what happens. I don’t approve of this plan, but he doesn’t seem to care.

“Happy birthday, old man,” I pat him on the back as I walk by.

He snorts. “Thanks. Never thought I’d live to see nineteen.”

“Well you’re sure cutting it close with this whole water thing, but you’ve made it.”

We spend the day sitting in the shade of the trees, eating blackberries, drinking as little as humanly possible, and trying to come up with a plan. Finally, while the anthem plays the end of another deathless day, we decide to go after the Careers.

The next morning, we pack everything in the backpacks and hide them up trees. We scatter our firewood back around the tree patch and dump the coals out of the pot, which we then smear with mud and hide up another tree. We eat a breakfast of only blackberries because the rest of the food we have is dried or salty or both, which in no way helps our dehydration situation. Finnick hasn’t sent us anything since the binoculars, but I am kind of glad about this because I am sure bread, especially the sweet stuff, would make me thirstier than I already am. Though I wish I had something to eat other than blackberries.

We each take only one spear, hiding the other four in a hollowed-out fallen tree. Having run out of ways to delay the inevitable, we each take a last sip of water and start across the plains toward the cornucopia. We don’t even know if the Careers are there, but we don’t know where else to start.

Halfway to the cornucopia, a tiny parachute lands in front of us.

I open the box. Inside, wrapped in some sort of thin paper to keep it from bouncing around and breaking, is a vial about as big as my thumb with an eye-dropper lid. I stare at it, confused, then hold it out to Mako.

He snatches the vial and twists the lid off so desperately I’m afraid he’s going to drop the whole thing, spilling its precious contents, whatever they are. I only know they are precious because the Games have been going almost two weeks and the vial is small, both of which point to it being very expensive. But Mako does not spill any of it. He holds the eye dropper under his nose and takes a delicate sniff, then smiles.

“We can go back,” he says. “We’re good. Let’s go back.” And he turns and starts back toward the cave.

I jog after him. “What are you talking about?”

“It’s for water. I forget the name, but they’re drops. You just put a couple in, let the water sit for half an hour or so, and you’re good to go. Just like tablets. But this should last us,” he holds it up to the sun, gauging how full it is, “ten days or so, probably.”

I let out a sigh I didn’t realize I’d been holding. “Thanks, Finnick.”

“And thanks to whoever paid for this. We owe you one.”

~~~                               ~~~                               ~~~

Four more days pass. By my count it is the seventeenth day of the Games. Unprecedented. And I am getting tired of fish, blackberries, and buffalo jerky. Finnick hasn’t sent anything since the drops for the water. In fairness, I can’t remember any Hunger Games lasting this long. I can’t imagine the price of a bag of crackers, let alone some cream cheese rolls. It’s a good thing we don’t need medicine or anything crazy like that.

Fires are becoming commonplace. Every day we see three or four scattered around the arena, never in the same place twice. I think we all have the same idea: lure the others to us, fight them on home soil. It’s weird to think of the little patch of trees and the cave as our home, but I’ve grown quite attached to this place.

 The next day we hear shouting on the plain, but never a cannon.

“I wonder what the people at home said about us,” I say that night as we put out the fire and gather the coals in our pot.

“All good things I’m sure,” Mako says. “I’m more curious who they talked to. Our parents, obviously.”

“Jade and Coral.”

“The fishing crews.” He laughs. “Can you imagine old Reefer on every screen in Panem?”

I snort. “Maybe they got him and Rizz at the same time.”

“And both drunk, if we’re lucky.”

Still chuckling, I crawl into the sleeping bag and drift off.

The night is uneventful. Mako says that a few buffalo have been wandering around the trees when he wakes me, but nothing worth worrying about. They’ve always left us alone in the past.

My watch passes just as quietly. In the morning there are several sets of hoofprints on the shore and around our fire pit area.

Mako rebuilds the fire, then wades out into the river until he’s up to his knees. We’ve had more luck spearfishing than regular fishing.

“I think I’ll go get more firewood,” I call, already heading into the trees.

“Sounds good. Don’t go too far.”

“I won’t.”

I wander through the trees. We’ve picked the area clean of fallen branches, so we actually have to cut firewood now, which is difficult with only a knife. But the work is better than staring at the fire all day.

I am on my way back to the shore with an armload of firewood and a precarious grip on my spear when I notice how quiet it is. How quiet it has been. It’s been several minutes since I heard any birds. I walk around the blackberry patch on the edge of the trees. The branches fall softly to the ground. I open my mouth, but the only sound is the sword slicing through Mako’s neck.

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[mysteriesmuse]

Houseboat Holiday!🌊⛴️☀️!

There was nothing more exhilarating than a long awaited summer vacation with your childhood best friends. The annual houseboat holiday with your three families. The Bakugous, Midoriyas, and L/Ns. This tradition started a long time ago when your parents were all young adults fresh out of college. In fact, the tradition started out as a lifestyle where your mothers had all decided to split the cost of a houseboat rather than dealing and living in the inflated Japanese apartments at the time. Plus, life on the water had less crime and was safer for a bunch of single women. And now it’s become a tradition for your expanding families.

And Now here you were fresh out of the college semester for the summer. A young single and educated woman just like your mothers were, and here you were. The only representative member of your family coming on the trip this year. Your parents being called for some emergency quirk training for your nephew who just inherited a quirk much like your fathers.

A 2-year old with some form of x-ray vision was definitely cause for missing a vacation. Your poor brother and sister-in-law kept you regularly posted on the terrible twos. So when your family shared the news that only you could make it everyone understood.

“Oh! Inko, darling, get up here it’s Y/N!” A familiar shout greeted you as you saw familiar figures moving around on the family houseboat. A blonde woman made a mad dash off the boat and down the wooden planks - thats when you dropped all your luggage.

You flew into her embrace, “Auntie Mitski!” “Look at you! Your Mamas little girl!” She stood back and held your arms, peering around at you every which way, “let me get a good luck at you!” With a giggle you did the routine and pushed your sunglasses up, flashing your big sparkling eyes and thick fluttering lashes.

Mitsuki let out her rackous laughter and slung and arm around your shoulders steering you to the boat, “Could still make my boy hand over his desert like when you were kids with those eyes.” you rolled your eyes gently nudging her in the ribs.

“Oh - right . . .” your aunt turned to the boat and shouted for her husband, you still in tow, it was same old, same old. You passed him on the boat as he went to grab your luggage’s mouthing your routine ‘thank you’ as he went to grab your bags and Mitsuki talked your ear off. “ - like I said in my text, the boys are probably gonna be here late tonight -“

“I just got off the phone with Izuku and he said that they were well on their way to the city by now, so they might be earlier . . .” you gasped, your auntie slipping her arm off your shoulder so you could embrace your other aunt who just came around the corner. “oh my gosh Inko you look incredible!” “She’s been working out son the weekends with Izuku. Such a dutiful son. Now she’s got that summer body back!” “oh it’s not been that big a deal,” she blubbered, “I mean look at our girl’s baby girl. You’re so gorgeous.” you pulled back as she dabbed her eyes with tissues that you know Mitsuki must have supplied to her behind your back. “But honestly, Aunt Inko you look great. Im super proud of you.” she sniffled as Mitsuki slug an arm around the both of you, “hey and you know she’s been back in the dating scene and you’re never gonna guess who she’s getting lucky with y/n.” “Mitsy!” Inko turned bright red. You gasped, “uh Aunty Inky excuse me? I haven’t heard anything about this from mom. Who is it?!” “oh I’ll let her tell the whole story herself later tonight,” Mitsuki ensured, chuckling with her best friend and daughter of her other best friend at her side, “you haven’t gotten a pedicure have you?” “nope, just as promised, I know the ritual.” ————

Then later that evening came. With your Uncle Masaru dutifully supplying y’all with snacks: charcuterie, popcorn, chocolate truffles that were to die for, and a splashing of champagne as you participated in the matriarchs first night get-together ritual; painting each others nails. . . Auntie Mitsuki raised her glass to her lips with a coy smile as she encouraged Aunty Inko to spill the tea about her recent dating life to you. The three of you flopped onto the couch. Inko inbetween the two of you brandishing a bottle of orange mandarin nail polish. She had the steadiest hand and they’d always given you the honor of going first, especially as the only daughter out of three. your freshly shaved legs were thrown over Inko’s lap with a smattering of charcuterie goodies on your plate. Meanwhile Mitsuki held onto the bowl of popcorn. “so y/n, it really all started back when Izuku started school - “

Mitsuki shoved a handful of popcorn into her friends open mouth, “ - it’s a real slow burner.” she swiped the polish over your nails, “ahem as I was saying it started back then. This dashing man who had become a teacher and mentor to Izuku at school had started coming over monthly for house checks when they had all those villains at the school. Of course I got updates from Izuku - thristy.” Mitsuki grabbed a glass from the table with a straw and held it to her mouth.

you happily crunched away on your cheese and crackers as Masaru peeked his head around the kitchen, “you ladies need more drinks?” “yes please!” You chirped as he brought you another bottle of soda. “- anyway, the school continued these meetings even when the students moved to the dorms and eventually within some time I realized he had such a interest and love for my son that I couldn’t help but wonder about the man himself. And well, then we started chatting about our life’s our interests our hobbies, everything under the sun and not just Izuku. But I was too shy and embarrassed to date a man like that. A retired hero!” Mitsuki poked the bottom of your foot with her ‘this is the good part’ face. “I mean he’s an icon! All Might. The All Might had been visiting me for two and a half years now, loved my son, and showed nothing but kindness, admiration, and respect. Well, after last summer I decided I wanted to bring some of that confidence back and so Izuku and I started walking every weekend and he helped me start a at home workout routine. Oh- He’s huge now, my Izuku! Never would have thought, but that’s what it takes to be a hero.” At this point your eyes were as big as saucers as you stared at Mitsuki for confirmation. To which she only nodded. “So you’re telling me that you two haven’t been dating this whole time?” You asked incredulously. She looked up from her lap, “What no, of course not! We’ve waited for Izuku to graduate and then for me to feel ready to be comfortable to date.” “I can’t believe this. Izuku’s been telling me that y’all have been dating since his last half of highschool!” “WHAT?!” “oh Inky you really ought to have seen it from his perspective. It was so obvious to the rest of us!” “wait what? Really?!”

Slam. The three of you barely heard anything between your playful teasing, but Masaru had heard and gone upstairs to help the last holiday guests arrive. “hey!” You shouted as popcorn flew across the air, “No fair I have zero ammunition!” you were getting pelted with popcorn. Inko in the cross fires. “Well isn’t this a delicious battle zone!” Inko giggled catching the assaulting popcorn in her mouth with a crunch. More thuds moved down the stairs.

“Oi.”

“Mom! - Mitsuki! Y/N!”

“ - already yelling without us, huh, what’s life come to?” Mitsuki vaulted off the couch to pull her son into a loving headlock, “Oh my adult brat has come home!” It’d been about two maybe three years since you’d last seen them, between graduation and training camps the last few summers consisted of your family and their parents. Now you had you admit they both looked totally grown up. And almost intimidated-ly so . . . you blinked trying to take it in. Katsuki still dressed like he had a rap album to drop. Thank ‘might he grew out of that one goth phase. Sporting a tight, really tight fitting black t-shirt and matching joggers. And Izuku wore an equally tight “Shirt” shirt with khakis. Always much more summer appropriate. The t-shirts left none of their reps to guess. None of there victories or losses unaccounted for. you blinked, you knew about these, heck you’d seen pictures of them but the different scars littering their bodies still caught you off guard. It’s nothing compared to seeing the real thing. It made it much more real. I mean it still surprises you that these two kids you’d grown up with were real heroes.

. . . until you watched Katsuki let his mom wrestle him into a noogie before throwing an arm around her as she rested her head on his shoulder. well, Mitsuki could wrestle just about any giant. Meanwhile, Izuku walked over to the couch and gave his mom a hug. so they were the same childhood dorks you’d grown up with. you giggled as your legs got caught between, “Hey Izuku!” He broke away from his mom, “And Y/N wow! It’s so good to see you!” You grinned opening your arms for an Izuku hug. As he pulled back he smiled sheepishly, scarred fingers gently brushing through your hair, “you’ve got popcorn.” “yeah I’m not as talented as your mom.” “oh yeah, no one can beat her at her own party tricks,” he shrugged. Your blonde childhood friend sauntered up beside the green bean. immediately the house lights were blocked out from their, still surprising, bulky pro-hero frames. “Hey n/n, good to see ya’.” you smiled up at katsuki, “nice to see you too. Hey wait - where’d you get that Kats?” In his hand was a chocolate truffle that wasn’t done yet. You could have sworn that Masaru was still whipping those up in the kitchen. Katsuki grunted, “doesn’t matter to you,” before hastily plopping the treat into his mouth and crossing his arms as he chewed, “can’t let you make that face anymore, it won’t work on me.” “Aw come on Katsuki, we’ve been waiting on those and you just got here. Plus what ever happened to ladies first?” You teased. he turned his face away, “nope, can’t make me. I won’t get you anything from the kitchen this time . . . and neither will “

Izuku already disappeared muttering to Masaru in the kitchen to fetch a tray, “she’s trapped my mother in a pedicure and she can’t even get up because her nail polish isn’t dry.” Katsuki hissed in defeat, “damn you nerd.” meanwhile the rest of you cheered thanks for Mr. Bakugou for baking and Izuku for being kind enough to help bring a batch in. “ oh my god honey these are to die for ~ !” “shut it ma’ you say that every single time he makes them.” “hey! it’s true!” “yeah, plus that’s her catchphrase sweetheart.” “and so another year, the same Bakugou family script. It’s gonna be a wonderful trip,” Inko giggled, now flanked by you and Izuku who feed her a truffle. “that it is.”

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

In light of the idea that Ingo and Mai extend their warden duties to include rescuing eggs/offspring of raging alphas, maybe Mai was not only full of shit when she said she'd had been raised with the munchlax from birth, if questioned she planned to say that you misheard her and that she had raised the munchlax since it was born.

Gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss, that's her motto when it comes to the galaxy team. They probably do actually give her a lot of trouble since most of the survey people are probably in the fieldlands, and I think the ride pokemon and their wardens are supposed to be guides to people they run across who need help? That's as best I can guess anyway, since we don't actually know what wardens, y'know, canonically do. But if that was her role, then she'd certainly be kept busy rescuing survey corp members from shinx on the daily lol.

Though I do like the idea of Ingo and Lian starting around the same time and Ingo giving him the goomy to protect himself, probably fairly early on in their tenure, because that means in the time it took Lian to raise his goomy to level 15, Ingo got three pokemon (actually likely his full team of six but he only battled with three the first time because that's what you do on the Singles Line) that he raised to level 40. Which is an unfair comparison because Ingo is a professional and Lian is 12-ish, but it's still kinda funny to me. Although there is the chance that maybe Lian just doesn't actually need to use his goomy much and that's why it's so low leveled, because when he goes out Lord Kleavor goes with him in order to protect his tiny, squishy, infant warden. He is very unimpressed with the idea that goomy, who is also a tiny, squishy infant could protect his warden, he'll just do it himself, thanks.

mai really does seem suuuuper unimpressed with the galaxy team as a whole the first time you talk to her. she really doesn't think highly of them after watching all of them fail to stop one singular kricketune, and if you back out of the battle with her by saying "not really" when she asks if you can handle your pokemon in battle she'll literally say "how unsurprising" lmao. which, if munchlax is actually not her real partner, it makes way more sense why she's so judgmental of the security corps for failing to beat a kricketune that she also clearly cannot beat, glass houses mai. normally it wouldn't be an issue, if it weren't for the terrible timing!

@ixtaek also pointed out that in the massive mass outbreak questline she fails to tell munchlax apart from a zorua after being like "of course i can identify my partner!" which is true and makes that SO much funnier lmao. on the outside she was like "naturally this will be no challenge at all for me" but internally she must have been going "shit shit shit shit"

re: goomy being Squishy it could also be that goomy (and by extension, munchlax) are so weak still Because they're babies! in other fics, i've written it that pokemon don't know moves from birth and don't even start battling until they've matured a good bit. so it could be that both of them only recently hit the age where they can battle and start being trained. in that case, ingo might have given lian goomy in particular not because he thought it would be a strong partner, but more just bc it needed special attention and he was already dealing with other young/recovering pokemon from other alphas. so he just killed two birds with one stone, and gave lian a potential partner in the process. (and lian accepted because despite being a warden he is still a 12 y/o boy and ingo handed him a gross slug and told him to be best friends with it, of course he loved it)

also re: ingo's insane level jump compared to other warden fights, i actually think that the first time you fight ingo in the main questline he was doing the subway thing and actively holding back, so it's not just level 40 i think his pokemon were already level 70-something lmao. tangela is an exception on account of it not being evolved and probably the most recent addition, but the other two. the rest of the wardens otoh just don't know how to, do that, because they are not former facility bosses. there's nothing really to support this theory i just think it's fun

[holdingforgeneralhugs]

Bitter Pill to Swallow

Chapter 22 (Masterlist)

I know it's been ages but I'm finally back with a new chapter and I hope you all enjoy it ❤

"Hey, Mr intelligent intelligence officer, please tell me you know when it's gonna stop goddamn rainin'."

"It seems you've confused the job of an intelligence officer with a weatherman there Val," Lew chuckled, a wry smile on his face.

"Then maybe you can tell me how much longer we're gonna be in this goddamn woods," she quipped, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Well why don't you head across that road there and ask the Krauts how much longer they're planning to stick around."

"Touché," Valerie laughed, bowing sarcastically in defeat. She huffed out a disbelieving laugh when she noticed Lew lifting a bottle to his lips and taking a deep slug from it. "Jesus Lew, tell me you're not drinkin' a bottle of Schnapps in the pissin' rain in the middle of active combat."

"What can I say, it just fell into my hand," he smirked, taking another long swig from the bottle, "would be a shame to let it go to waste."

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't see that," Dick sighed as he approached them through the trees, his shoulders tense. They'd been under almost constant fire for the majority of the day, and Dick had been doing his best to keep the show running. Ultimately though they'd had to pull back into the treeline, and he'd been on edge ever since. "I sent a Sherman to try and take out that Tiger Royal we spotted earlier but no dice. Damn Tiger took him down with two shots, then took a potshot at one of the others and got that too."

"It's gonna be a long night, isn't it?" Valerie sighed in dismay, meeting Dick's pitying gaze with one of her own.

"Afraid so Val," he replied, "I'm gonna need you to check in with your mortar squad, make sure they've got enough rounds to keep them going. We can't let up the pressure on the highway."

"You got it boss," she agreed, giving him a lazy two finger salute as she headed off through the trees. Dick watched her go for a moment before turning back to Nix with a disapproving frown, but he chose not to say anything to his friend.

"Glad to see you and Val have kissed and made up," Nix commented as he swigged from his bottle. Dick rolled his eyes at him before responding.

"We talked," he said pointedly, "and we're all good."

"She admit why she was angry?"

"Well...not necessarily no" Dick sighed, refusing to meet Nixon's amused gaze. She'd been incredibly cagey when he'd questioned her, but he hadn't wanted to push any further lest they end up in another argument. But that didn't mean that Nix's theory was right. Maybe it was just something really personal that she hadn't wanted to tell him about. There could be a thousand reasons as to why she'd avoided his questions.

"Right," Nix commented dryly, "well at least you're friends again. Now all you need to do is pull your head out of your ass and tell her you like her and all will be well in the world."

"Nix," Dick huffed in exasperation, "I already told you..."

"Yeah yeah, I know you did," Nix butted in, clapping him on the back before making his way towards the trees, "told me all about honour and duty and all that other crap." Dick shook his head in exasperation, refusing to even dignify Nix with a response. Nix to his credit didn't seem inclined to wait for one.

"Nix?" Dick called to his friend as he watched him amble off through the trees, "Take it easy on the Schnapps. And please try not to get caught with it." Nix gave him a half-hearted wave before continuing on his trek through the trees, Dick watching him go with concern.

~~~~

"Hey, Lieutenant Landry,"

Valerie stopped in her tracks and waited for Shames to catch up to her. He'd been with her in third platoon since they'd dropped in Holland, and Valerie found they got along well enough together. He'd been nothing but nice to her since they'd met, and she appreciated his competency in combat.

"Everything alright Shames?" She asked as they fell into step beside each other.

"All good," he replied, "just checked in with the mortar squads and made sure they were stocked up on ammo."

"Great, one less job for me to do," Valerie chuckled, clapping him on the shoulder, "I'll check in with the machine gunners and the others, you go on and have something to eat."

"Thanks Valerie, I'll check in with you again later." With that he was off through the trees again, and Valerie changed her course slightly to find her machine gunners.

"Hey Smokey, how are things lookin'?" She asked as she slid into the foxhole beside him and More.

"No real moves yet, just firing mortars back and forth across the road," he sighed, leaning his back against the edge of the foxhole.

"Gonna be a long night if that's the case," More chimed in, shaking his head, "Any chance they might just get sick of it and piss off?"

"No telling at this point I'm afraid," Valerie sighed, patting them on the back before pulling herself from the foxhole and continuing down the line.

"All good Shifty?" She asked as she passed by him, "you need anything?"

"Yes ma'am, all good here," he replied, giving her a small smile and a short nod. She moved to the next foxhole, and so on until she was satisfied all her boys were ok. Only then did she take a moment alone to catch her breath. She slid into her own foxhole with a weary sigh, leaning her head back against the side of it. Closing her eyes she settled herself into a more comfortable position, hoping she could squeeze in a few hours shut eye before she was needed on the line again.

~~~

Ironically, Alton More got his wish in the end, when in the early hours of the morning the Germans pulled back from their position across the highway.

"Pack it up third platoon," Valerie shouted wearily, "we're moving out." By the late afternoon Easy and the rest of the 506th were on the highway and marching back towards Uden once more. The rain pounded down on them relentlessly, and it served to exacerbate the already tired mood of the company. They'd only been in Holland for a week but it had been nothing but hardship ever since they'd gotten there, and the moral of the men had fallen low.

"Alright boys settle in," she called as they trudged their way into the town, "we're here for the night and maybe tomorrow so make the most of the rest while you can, you've more than earned it. I know the food situation isn't great right now, but if you're real nice and polite to the locals, they might take some pity on you and spare you some rations. I hear a whisper of one of you bein' rude to a local and there'll be hell the pay y'hear me?"

"Yes Ma'am," they chimed back wearily. Once she was sure third platoon were settled in she wandered down the main street of Uden. She spotted Dick and Harry heading into a house so she followed them, traipsing over the threshold and down the hall towards what she assumed was the kitchen.

"Don't suppose there's any good food lying around?" She asked as she sunk into one of the chairs around the table, "man what I wouldn't give for Maman's shrimp 'n' grits right about now."

"Oh don't even start on food," Harry groaned, resting his head against the tabletop, "Kitty makes the best chicken pot pie you've ever had in your life."

"Well there's good news and bad news," Dick commented as he rifled through the cupboards, "Bad news is there's no shrimp, grits, or chicken pot pie. Good news is there is some stale bread that doesn't seem to have any mold."

"What a feast," Harry snorted, but he still picked at some gratefully, "beats army rations that's for sure."

"Hell Harry, just about anything edible beats army rations," Valerie chuckled, picking at the crust of the bread. There was a comfortable silence for awhile as they each ate their share, before Harry proclaimed it was time to hit the hay and wandered off down the hall to find a bed. Valerie and Dick shared a look, silently questioning if they should also get a kip in, but neither of them made a move to go.

"Do you ever wonder what the hell we're doin' out here Dick?" She asked with a weary sigh, and he ached at how bone weary she looked in that moment.

"I wonder about that at least once a day Val," he replied, shaking his head and leaning his elbows on the table.

"You'd never realise it with you though," she mused, "you always seem so put together, so in control of yourself and everythin' else too. Meanwhile I feel like I'm startin' to crack and everyone's gonna see it sooner or later."

"Is this because of Veghal?" He asked, and when she nodded he sighed, "I promise you, we've all been struggling since that night. We're all worn out and hungry so trust me, nobody would think any different of you for feeling a bit weary from it all."

"You really think so?" She asked, a hint of vulnerability in her tone.

"I know so. And anyway, you wouldn't be saying I was put together if you'd been in Uden," he snorted, an almost shy look in his eyes as he made the admission.

"I find that hard to believe," Valerie snickered, her curiosity piqued, "care to share?"

"Well.." he started, his cheeks reddening, "the whole thing was quite stressful and I...well I...I chewed out a British Lieutenant for abandoning his tank for a cozy tea, then I...I dragged Harry out of a pub by his ear and chewed him out as well for sleeping on the job."

"Aw hell Dick" she laughed, her eyes crinkling, "I'd've paid good money to see that."

"I bet you would," he chuckled, "Harry was certainly taken by surprise that's for sure."

"See that's the thing with you," she mused, a teasing glint in her eye, "you're so quiet most of the time, so it takes 'em by surprise when you lose your temper. Not me though, I've known all along you had a mean streak."

"Oh is that so?" He snickered, raising an eyebrow at her sceptically.

"Sure is," she grinned, "but then again, I'm a special case. I seem to know just the right buttons to push."

"You certainly are a special case," he replied, a soft smile on his lips. Valerie smiled back at him, her eyes lingering on his for a beat too long before she looked away shyly and cleared her throat, her cheeks beginning to heat.

"Well I dunno about you but I think it's time I tried to get some sleep," she proclaimed, standing and dusting the crumbs off her pants. She stepped around the table but paused and glanced at Dick once more.

"Goodnight Dick," she said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder, "and thanks for the chat." She gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze before continuing out of the kitchen and down the hall towards the staircase.

"Goodnight Val," he murmured back, his eyes following her retreating back all the way down the hall until she disappeared up the stairs.

~~~~

"Lieutenant Landry, wait!"

Valerie turned around and smiled when she saw Vest jogging over to her, a letter clutched in his hand. "Aw great, we're finally getting mail."

"Its about time I know," he laughed, handing it over and giving her a salute before turning on his heel.

"Hey wait," she stopped him, "you got one for Doc Roe? I'm headin' his way so I can pass it along if you do."

"Oh that would be great thanks," he smiled, rifling through his mail bag before pulling out a matching envelope to hers and passing it to her. She bid him goodbye and made her way over to the medical tent. She was glad to see it was rather quiet in the tent, a good indicator that everyone was doing OK for the time being.

"Hey Chouchou," she called as she walked into the storeroom, throwing her arms around him in a tight hug.

"Always good t'see you Chérie," he replied softly, giving her a tight squeeze and resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I've got  surprise for you," she grinned as she pulled back, holding the envelope out to him between two fingers.

"About time we got some mail around here," he laughed wryly as he plucked it from her grasp and moved to sit on the side of a cot, opening his letter without delay.

"It's nice to see her writing," Valerie sighed wistfully, "almost like I can hear her talkin' to us."

"If I close my eyes I can just about imagine we're sittin' in the kitchen waitin' for her to get home with the groceries," he sighed, a tone of melancholy in his voice.

"Do you think she'd be proud of us?...of me?" Valerie asked quietly after a moment of silence, her thumb rubbing the ink on the page until it started to smudge a little.

"Course she is," Gene replied, his brows furrowing, "Why would you even say somethin' like that?"

"Well you....you're out here lookin' after people and me...well sometimes I wonder if she'd be proud of the things I do."

"You kiddin' chérie?" He exclaimed incredulously, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her into his side, "you're out here lookin' after people too. You're their Lieutenant, their leader, and when push comes to shove and shit gets heavy they look to you. They rely on you because they know that no matter what you've got their back out there. You're smart, you care, an' I know maman would be proud if she could see you now."

"Aw hell Gene," she sniffled, wiping her eye with the back of her hand, "you didn't need to go and say all that."

"I meant every word of it, and you best believe it," he insisted, "no more doubting yourself chérie, this company is lucky to have you and don't you forget it."

"Thanks for havin' my back Chouchou," she murmured, "thanks for always bein' there when I need it."

"Always chérie," he replied, kissing the top of her head gently, "from the Bayou to Berlin, and don't you forget it."

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Clone Wars: Episodes 1-11

Introduction:

Hello there everyone! As I mentioned in my introduction post, this is my first ever time watching the Clone Wars. I’ve spent the last couple of days writing reviews for the episodes, and I decided to share them here for all of you! I hope to do this for every episode so I can document my thoughts as I watch and have something to look back on. I hope you all have fun reading my thoughts and honest reviews.

Enjoy! ✨

Episode 1: Ambush

Rating: 5/10

I didn’t understand a lot of this episode, but I loved all the teamwork learned and shown through the clones.

Episode 2: Rising Melevolence

Rating: 5/10

Great episode full of action! Still trying to catch up with the lore a little bit, but this episode made me excited for what’s to come!

Episode 3: Shadow of Malevolence

Rating: 7/10

I loved this episode. It was full of battles and aircraft. The only reason I gave it a seven was because Anakin kept ignoring and dismissing Ashoka. Appreciate her!!!

Episode 4: Destroy Malevolence

Rating: 9/10

C3PO was the highlight of this episode. I love how the Rodger droids get pushed around. Also, the “Hello there,” said by Grieveious was super cool on his own, but if you notice, the next thing said after that greeting is “General Kenobi” (also said by Grievious). I thought that was clever. Although I definetly think that there will be episodes to top this, episode three is defienetly one I’d rewatch.

Episode 5: Rookies

Rating: 8/10

A clone centric episode! This episode was so chaotic and sad at the same time. Heavy scrificing himself was devestating. I love how the clones interact with oneanother. Great episode!

Episode 6: The Downfall of a Droid

Rating: 5/10

This episode was basically Anakin being angry and yelling at people the entire time. I understand where he’s coming from but Anakin needs to chill. R2 is a strong droid; he’s alive. And stop yelling at Goldie!!!

Episode 7: Duel of the Droids

Rating: 9/10

This episode was so fun! I can’t believe that Goldie was a bad guy this entire time! There were some parts that I thought were a little bit boring in this episode, but there were definetly more things that were entertaining rather thant unengageing. I loved the fight between Ashoka and Grievious, and the fight between R2 and Goldie was hilarious. “R2 isn’t just a droid; he’s a friend.” was one of the best things that Anakin has said this entire season.

Episode 8: Bombad Jedi

Rating: 10/10

This episode reminded me of how much I loved Jar Jar as a kid. He’s super funny and oddly resourceful. I loved the different perspectives of this episode. Jar Jar being called a Jedi was funny, C3PO is an icon, and Padme is so sweet to everybody. I also loved the moral of this episode. It just goes to show that “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. (I also really like the swamp caterpiller slug thing. So cute!)

Episode 9: Cloak of Darkness

Rating: 10/10

I love it when women take initiative. No but seriously this episode was awsome. Ashoka taking the lead, Luminara learning to trust someone younger and less experienced than her, Ventress!!! this episode had it all. I was entertained throughout and had a good time watching this one.

Episode 10: Lair of Grieveous

Rating: 10/10

Kit Fisto! He’s so cool! This episode was awsome. I loved the message, and the fight scenes were top notch. Also I love Grieveous’s medical droid. I was sad when he died.

Episode 11: Dooku Captured

Rating: 10/10

I really liked this episode! You could really see the familial connection between Anakin and Obi Wan in this episode. They bicker all the time but really they’re there for each other to the very end, which was great to see. I also liked all the scenes with Ashoka. She’s got a lot of sass too and helps out whenever is needed, always doing an excellent job in the process.

Conclusion:

I really like this show so far! It’ll be interesting to see how season one develops and references the prequels. Overall, I’m very excited to watch more of this series, and I hope to do more in depth reviews of certain episodes on their own in the future. Thanks for reading!