#i really should’ve posted this last friday

[raijin-tribe]

✦ Let's Celebrate Raijinshuu Day!

October is almost here, and that means it's almost time for the first annual RAIJINSHUU DAY! A day to celebrate Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow as the amazing characters and team they are!

All too often they are overlooked as fodder or nothing more than Laxus’ personal cheer squad— but they are so much more than that! Each of them are unique, strong, and loyal members of Fairy Tail, and their admiration for Laxus shouldn’t take away from the fact that they are also his closest friends.

✦ Why October 8th?

Originally, Raijinshuu Day was planned for Dec. 17th, when FT Vol. 13 was released in Japan. But, after a bit more research, it turns out that October 8th, 2008 is when chapter 106 was first published in Weekly Shonen Magazine.

Titled ‘Harvest Festival,’ this is the chapter that officially introduces the Raijinshuu and pretty much kicks off the Battle of Fairy Tail! October 8th also fits with the canon timeline, as they were revealed a week before the Harvest Festival was set to begin. (Oct. 15th.)

✦ General Participation Guidelines

There are two ways to participate. You can either submit your post to this blog or post it to your own. Just make sure to put #RaijinshuuDay in the first five tags of your post! Or feel free to @ this blog just to be safe.

There is no limit to what kind of content you can post, be it fan art, fanfiction, edits, headcanons, etc. There will never be any prompts, so be as creative as you want!

Keep in mind that this day is supposed to be about the Raijinshuu and their team dynamic, so please keep it appropriate. Anything explicitly NSFW or ship-related will NOT be reblogged.

DO NOT steal, trace, or alter anybody else’s work! Plagiarism will not be tolerated. The use of official art for color or edits is fine as long as you credit the original artist/source. (i.e. Hiro Mashima, Kyouta Shibano, etc.)

Have Fun! This event is supposed to be a lighthearted and fun way to give these underrated characters the love and appreciation they deserve. Even if you don't participate, help support others by commenting, liking, and/or reblogging their work! It's always appreciated!

And don’t forget that late posts are always welcome! No matter how late they may be, as long as they’re tagged/submitted, they can still be featured here!

Finally, it would be very helpful if you would consider rebloging this post to help spread the word! This blog is still fairly new, but I am grateful for all your support. I look forward to celebrating Raijinshuu Day with you all. <3

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

The art featured on the banner comes from the back cover of the spin-off manga, Fairy Tail Gaiden: Lightning Gods by Kyouta Shibano.

[queenie-ofthe-void]

Confessions

Steddie || ~2.3k words || rating: T || tags: post vecna, references to stancy, angst and fluff, robin buckley just being herself

~~~

Eddie and Robin were just finishing filling the snack bowls and mixing drinks when they heard a knock at the door. It’s a Friday night– and not what Eddie would consider a late hour–but they weren’t expecting anyone to join their weekly movie night at Steve’s. 

He glances at Robin who shrugs, shaking her head. As he rounds the kitchen counter towards the foyer, Steve’s voice carries down the hallway.

“Nance?” He sounds surprised too.

“Steve, I’m sorry I know it’s late, but I’ve been meaning to talk to you and I can’t wait anymore,” she says. Eddie can’t see her, but she sounds anxious. 

“This can’t be good,” Robin huffs. He agrees, if the sinking pit in his stomach is any indicator.

“Look, Nance, now’s not really–”

“Steve,” she barrels over him, sounding desperate. “I’ve been an idiot trying to convince myself that I haven’t missed you since we broke up– and before you say it, this isn’t because Jonathan left after we closed the last gate. When we were stuck there with Robin and Eddie, the way you looked at me was how I’ve always hoped someone would love me. You looked at me like I was everything to you, like you could look at me forever and never get tired of it. I feel wanted, and loved, and safe when I’m around you.” She takes a deep, steadying breath before pressing on.

“Last time, when we were together, I took all of my grief and anger out on you. I blamed you for  what happened to Barb because I couldn’t face it myself and I knew you loved me enough to hold the weight, and I resented you for it. You wouldn’t stand up to me, and I resented you because you loved me anyway.” Eddie can hear Nancy sniffling, small sobs carrying down the hallway. “You loved me at my worst, and you didn’t deserve that. You’re amazing, and strong, and kind and everything I could ever ask for.

“Steve, what you said in the Winnebago, I just, I can’t stop thinking about you. About us”

The silence that follows is stifling and Eddie feels bile climbing up his throat. Arms wrap around his shoulders as Robin tucks her head into his neck. Only a small comfort while months of gentle moments with Steve flash behind his eyes: soft hands brushing his curls, stolen glances, lingering touches, and warm smiles. Now Eddie’s forced to stand vigil as it’s all washed away by Nancy's whispered pleas.

“Nance, please–”

A spark of hope after a late night confession weeks ago– swiftly blown away.

“Steve Harrington, I lo–”

“Nancy,” Steve interrupts, his tone firm yet soft around the edges, “I’m in love with someone else.”

Robin gasps into his neck. Her arms around his shoulders squeeze tight, anchoring him to reality in the wake of Steve’s confession. His chest is so full he can’t breathe. 

“Oh,” Nancy whispers before another, deeper sob leaves her breathless. He never thought he’d hear Nancy Wheeler cry. Even though they’re apparently both in love with the same man, he’s grown close with her too and can’t help the urge to comfort her. Eddie’s grown to love everyone in his new found family. But Nancy is right. 

“Yeah Nance, I’m sorry. And they’re kind of here right now, so,” he says gently.

Steve Harrington is everything. 

And they’re kind of here right now…

Hope flames in his chest, blooming with warmth. Eddie doesn’t hear the conversation end over the buzzing in his own head and Robin’s frantic giggling until they hear the click of the front door and Steve’s footsteps coming towards them.

“Oh.”

Steve’s standing in front of them, wide-eyed like a deer in headlights. Eddie’s realizing he and Robin maybe should’ve hid before Steve rounded the corner to find them eavesdropping. 

“So,” Steve stammers, a fierce rouge burning his ears, “how much of that did you hear, exactly?”

Robin quickly stands, clearing her throat before Eddie can think of an answer. “Is that the microwave? Did anyone else hear the microwave ding? I think the popcorn is done, so I can go check that right now. Yeah, right now. I’ll just, umm, be in the kitchen checking the popcorn. For the movie.”

She practically sprints down the hall, and although she wasn’t subtle, Eddie’s still thankful for the privacy. Steve’s shaking his head with a small smile on his face.

“Everything,” Eddie answers. “We heard everything.”

“Oh,” Steve says again. He sounds anxious and unsure, something Eddie’s compelled to fix, because all he wants in this world is for Steve Harrington to be happy.

“It’s ok.” He takes Steve’s hands in his own, tracing his thumb lightly over his knuckles. “We won’t say anything to her about it, and we won’t tell anyone what she said. Nancy’s in safe hands with us. Mum’s the word!” And as Eddie mimes zippering up his mouth, he hopes that Steve won’t take the easy way out. That he won’t use the life-raft Eddie’s just thrown in his direction to keep him from drowning. 

“Right,” Steve says. He runs a hand through his hair, biting his lip as he gazes at the floor between them. The silence as Eddie waits for Steve’s next words grows long and tense. He can’t hear any movement in the kitchen, making him more anxious now that he knows Robin’s listening. Which, he’d be a hypocrite to be mad about.

Maybe he has this all wrong. Maybe Steve just needed a way to get her to leave, so he lied about having a date over. Maybe he didn’t know what to say, and just said the first thing to pop into his head. Maybe it’s got nothing to do with Eddie at all. 

Eddie realizes he’s still holding Steve’s hands, his grip tightening the longer he spirals. If it hurts, Steve hasn’t said anything. But when Eddie looks at his face, he seems dazed and lost in thought. As fast as if he’d been burned, Eddie drops Steve’s hands and takes a step backward.

“So,” Eddie stammers, voice shaking, “I’m going to go help Birdie with the popcorn. You want to get another movie started?”

Hands still frozen in the air, Steve finally lets his clenched fists fall to his sides. Eddie can see the whites of his knuckles. He hears Steve sigh, exhausted and frustrated, but Steve’s nodding with furrowed brows and taking a step backward towards the living room– away from Eddie. Too far to reach out to.

Turning away, Eddie’s in the middle of forming an escape attempt when he opens the kitchen door to immediately be swept up in Robin’s arms. Of course she’d been listening. He’s grateful for it, now that he doesn’t have to explain himself. As he buries his face into her neck, he finds a wet patch and wonders what kind of accident she got into while prepping snacks. It’s not until she starts gently shushing him that he realizes he’s crying, tears soaking into her shirt. 

“It’s gonna be ok, teddy bear,” she says, running her hand through his curls, “he’ll get there, I promise. He’s working on it, you know that.”

He nods. He does know that. Steve’s been out to Robin for a few months, but only to Eddie for a few weeks. He deserves the space to figure it out, and the grace of those around him to do so at his own pace. Still, Eddie can’t help his growing impatience alongside the increasing severity of his crush. At least Robin’s here to support the both of them.

The two of them finish gathering the snacks in silence. She was full of awkward jokes to try to lighten the mood, but when it was clear Eddie was stuck in his head, she’d stopped. He feels bad about it. He’ll make it up to her later, plus he knows she’s not upset with him. Eddie suspects they’ll be getting together sometime tomorrow to rehash everything that’s happened– after she’s finished consoling Steve, of course.

When they leave the kitchen, Eddie’s surprised to find Steve exactly where he’d left him. He’s standing frozen in the hallway, lip pulled between his teeth and hands still clenched. But when he lifts his gaze to meet Eddie’s, there’s resolve behind his eyes.

“Eddie,” Steve says, “I think I’m falling in love with you.”

“Oh my god! Finally!”

Eddie jumps violently at Robin’s shouting, almost directly into his ear. She’s flushed red with embarrassment decorated with a manic grin so wide he wonders if it’ll just keep stretching like taffy. There’s popcorn poured out onto the floor from where she clearly threw her hands up in excited exasperation. He watches as her eyes grow wide, her smile morphing into shock, her lips forming a perfect ‘o’, as if to say ‘oh shit, I just interrupted the most important moment in my best friends’ lives because I’m so excited and impatient that these two dinguses finally figured their shit out’.

She kicks the scattered popcorn towards the wall, like that’ll somehow hide the mess, before awkwardly passing them both down the hall towards the living room.

Eddie loves her so much.

“Huh,” Eddie chuckles, “well that was–”

“I’ve known I’ve liked you since last summer when you let me help you into my pool onto Holly’s rubber duck floaty so you could finally go swimming after you finished physical therapy.” Steve sounds out of breath, words running into each other with misplaced breaths in between. Like if he stops, he knows he won’t start again. 

It’s the only time Eddie’s felt the urge to keep quiet– when he’s not fighting for his life.

“You were so nervous,” Steve plows on, “but you said you felt safe with me, that you wanted only me to be there. You said you trusted me to help without laughing or judging you. Fuck, Eddie, you were so goddamn cute once we got you settled in with a Coke with a crazy straw in it. We were listening to ABBA and you didn’t even complain and you were so sunburnt the next day. It was the happiest I’d ever seen you.”

The memory leaves Eddie shocked. He did trust Steve to help, didn’t even consider asking anyone else because Steve just felt like the most obvious answer. He’d been there through the worst of Eddie’s post-PT work to make sure he ‘kept form’ on his exercises. They’d lounged in the sun all day, and it was the first time Eddie watched Steve relax since his final Upside-Down battle. 

Eddie feels his lip quiver, eyes burning, knowing they’d felt the same that day. Judging by Steve’s watery eyes, he guesses they feel the same now, too. 

“But love,” Steve whispers. He swallows as he takes a step closer, reaching out to grasp his hands. “Eddie Munson, I knew I was in love with you yesterday.”

His shoulders tighten as he recalls yesterday, surprised because they hadn’t seen each other at all, one of the rare days where their schedules didn’t line up. It was the first time in months they’d gone longer than thirty-six hours without seeing each other. Sure, they’d talked on the phone while Steve worked, but it’s not the same.

“I know,” Steve laughs, clocking Eddie’s confusion. “I thought about you all day. Couldn’t stop, no matter how hard I tried. Robin had to work with the customers because all I kept thinking about was tonight. If you’d get here before Robin, so we could sit out by the pool and smoke. Where we’d sit for the movie and if we’d get to share the popcorn bucket. If you’d pick a movie I hadn’t seen, so you’d lean in close and tell me a million random facts, even when you know I don’t really get it. But I just like when you’re close, next to me, and–” he hesitates– “I think that’s why you do it.”

Steve lifts their joined hands, wiping a tear from his eye using the back of Eddie’s knuckles. He returns the gesture, wiping what Eddie’s guessing is a mix of tears and snot off of his own face with Steve’s sleeve. 

“I think you lean in because you want to be close to me, too, and you don’t actually care about the movie either. Eddie, I think you ask for my help because you trust me in a way only Robin does. You give me cute nicknames like ‘sweetheart’ and ‘pretty boy’ because you’re teasing me, but I think it’s mostly because you really mean it.” Steve’s stepped closer now, and Eddie can feel the warmth of shared air between their gasping breaths. 

“I think you tease me and lean into me because you want my attention,” Steve whispers, brushing his nose alongside Eddie’s as their foreheads touch. “But Eddie, you’ve always had my attention.”

Eddie surges forward, capturing Steve’s tear-soaked lips between his own in what has to be the snotiest kiss either of them has ever had. But he doesn’t care. How could he? Eddie’s kissing the man he’s been in love with for almost eight months. 

Steve drops Eddie’s hands in favor of running one through his dark curls, while the other grips tightly at his waist. He can’t help but cup Steve’s cheeks, running a gentle thumb along his cheekbones. 

It’s soft and messy and everything he’s ever hoped for, because Steve Harrington is his everything, and he’ll do anything to keep him. Right now, he doesn’t have to worry about what they’ll tell their friends, or how they’ll explain this to Nancy, or even if Robin’s listening behind the door– he’s sure she is. No, right now, he lets himself bask in the glow of Steve’s love and soak in the comfort that Steve feels loved in return.

[les4elliewilliams]

Ellie is away... // e.w

Chapter 5 – 2006, Senior year college

a/n: I'm so sorry this took me ages to post. it was actually ready I just kept forgetting to. this is the last chapter, BUT I'm considering making an alternative last chapter. why you may ask? figure it out on your own. MDNI.

cw;wc: 1.3k ; mention of alcohol, angst.

summary: a time before skype and facebook, windows xp just came out and Windows Messenger was the thing of the moment.

➥ part four

brickmaster has signed in

ynshere: babe hiiiii

brickmaster: hiii brickmaster: how's it going gorgeous?

ynshere: better now ynshere: i missed you :(

brickmaster: i know baby brickmaster: we’ll see each other soon, promise

ynshere: will you come over? ynshere: this weekend i mean

brickmaster: sorry baby, can't brickmaster: going out with Riley and her friends brickmaster: if that’s okay?

ynshere: oh ynshere: but you already hung out with her last friday…I haven’t seen you in a while

brickmaster: yn brickmaster: come on, i promise. next friday i'm all yours brickmaster: i really wanna go out, i am allowed to have fun once in a while… I study my ass off every day, i'm stressed as hell

ynshere: i know, i just miss you. that’s it

brickmaster: maybe you could hang out with us? I’m sure she won’t mind

ynshere: you sure?

brickmaster: yeah, positive

ynshere: if i'm not a bother then yeah ynshere: i just wanna be with you :(

brickmaster: you're never a bother baby brickmaster: see you this friday?

ynshere: see you this friday :) ynshere: call me later, maybe? If you got time

brickmaster: yeah, will do brickmaster: i love you

ynshere is typing…

brickmaster is away

ynshere: i love you too

brickmaster has signed in

ynshere: mi amor hiii ynshere: babe? ynshere: hellooooo???

brickmaster: sorry angel brickmaster: i'm here brickmaster: was chatting with Riley lol brickmaster: how you doing?

ynshere: yeah. Riley. of course i'm gooooddd ynshere: missing you tho ;(

brickmaster: me too, pretty

ynshere: wanna go out on a date this weekend? ynshere: just you and me ynshere: no Riley around… we haven't spent time alone in like forever

brickmaster: yeah sure brickmaster: what do you wanna do?

ynshere: hmmm not sure maybe go out for dinner?

brickmaster: sounds like a plan brickmaster: Riley almost got in trouble today in class

ynshere: it's always about Riley lmao what did she do?

brickmaster: basically she snuck alcohol in class brickmaster: she just put it in her water bottle and she goes around with that thing brickmaster: art teacher almost caught her today, we were literally crying brickmaster: i was laughing so much that my stomach started to hurt

ynshere: oh lol

brickmaster: yeah it was exhilarating, you should’ve seen her

ynshere: did you drink as well? ynshere: in class

brickmaster: just a bit..i mean everyone was, sooo

ynshere: you shouldn't drink in class Els ynshere: you don't have to do something just because everyone is doing it

brickmaster: please don't give me the mom attitude brickmaster: this is why i can never tell you anything

ynshere: :/ i'm just looking out for you because i care. you do you

brickmaster: yeah whatever, see you this weekend

ynshere is typing… ynshere: no wait i'm sorry i love you

brickmaster is away.

ynshere: where's my i love you :(

brickmaster has signed in

ynshere: baby ynshere: hi

brickmaster: howdyy

ynshere: howdy? lol is this Joel

brickmaster: lmao no, Riley says it every second brickmaster: I thought it was funny

ynshere: oh haha ynshere: happy 1 year and 5 months together :)

brickmaster: oh yeah shit brickmaster: i forgot. sorry, pretty girl brickmaster: happy anniversary-monthiversary brickmaster: i love you

ynshere: i love you toooo ynshere: i just realized i haven't heard it in a while :(

brickmaster: well yeah i mean you're not supposed to say it every second

ynshere: haven't heard it in months, El

brickmaster: oh please brickmaster: always so dramatic brickmaster:  anyways, i'm going out brickmaster:  i'll call you later brickmaster:  i love you!!!!!

brickmaster is away

ynshere: are you sick of me? love you too

ynshere has signed in

brickmaster: omg babe babe

ynshere: love of my lifee ynshere: what's upp

brickmaster: i'm going to a concert this weekend brickmaster: i'm so happy omg omg

ynshere: oh really? let me guess ynshere: deftones?

brickmaster: yes!!! Freaking Riley surprised me with a ticket this morning, i genuinely cried brickmaster: god she's the best

ynshere: what about me? that's so sweet of her :) ynshere: you think i can tag along too?

brickmaster: sorry babe, i doubt it brickmaster: thickets are all sold out

ynshere: aww shame :(

brickmaster: i knowww but shit fuck i'm so excited

ynshere: i'm happy for you Els ynshere: think it's okay if i come see you next friday? haven't seen you in a month

brickmaster: of course angel

ynshere: yay okay ynshere: my roommate needs my computer real quick ynshere: i'll call you later alright? i love you soo much

brickmaster: talk to you laterr, love you

ynshere is away.

brickmaster has signed in

brickmaster: babe hi

ynshere: hey

brickmaster: how's it going?

ynshere: good, currently studying for an exam. what about you?

brickmaster: just chilling in my dorm brickmaster: it's been a hell of a week

ynshere: right

brickmaster: hey, you sure you alright? you seem off

ynshere: i'm good

brickmaster: yn what's up?

ynshere: it's just ynshere: last week...when i hung out with you, Riley and her friends, i noticed you act so different around them ynshere: and i've been wondering which version of you is the real one

brickmaster: i think you're overthinking it brickmaster: i'm just me

ynshere: you're just distant idk ynshere: you seem more cold, like you don't enjoy spending time with me

brickmaster: it's not like that though brickmaster: you're overthinking

ynshere: alright then, forget it ynshere: i'm going out

brickmaster: thought you said you were studying?

ynshere is away.

brickmaster: alright then.

brickmaster has signed in

brickmaster: hey yn

ynshere: hey

brickmaster: how are you doing? brickmaster: it's been a while

ynshere: yeah i know, i’ve been busy ynshere: i'm doing okay though, thank you for asking ynshere: what about you? brickmaster: yeah me too

ynshere: got plans for tonight?

brickmaster: i think i’m going out with Riley

ynshere: ah cool.

brickmaster: what are you doing tonight?

ynshere: going out with Emma

brickmaster: that's nice

ynshere: yeah

brickmaster: Dina came to visit a week ago brickmaster: she asked me about you

ynshere: oh really? ynshere: what’d you tell her?

brickmaster: well, the truth brickmaster: that we broke up months ago brickmaster: i’ve always assumed she already knew

ynshere: haven’t talked to her in a while actually ynshere: i barely catch her online ynshere: and i'm always busy, so

brickmaster: yeah right brickmaster: i guess that’s why she asked about you

ynshere: most likely

brickmaster: i gotta go now, going out in an hour

ynshere: alright, see you

brickmaster is away.

ynshere has signed in ynshere: Ellie hi

brickmaster: hey

ynshere: how's everything going for you?

brickmaster: everything’s alright

ynshere: can you believe that college is almost over?

brickmaster: yeah it's crazy

ynshere: we’re almost adults

brickmaster: doesn’t feel like it’s been 4 years

ynshere: do you miss high school?

brickmaster: not really brickmaster: i’d rather not think about the past though

ynshere: well, okay ynshere: what are you doing after graduation?

brickmaster: probably moving in with Riley brickmaster: i don't know if i told you, we started dating a couple months ago

ynshere: ah congrats

brickmaster: sorry maybe it's too much?

ynshere: i'm still in love with you nah it's fine ynshere: was i too boring? was i not good enough? how’s your week been going?

brickmaster: it's been alright, just busy

ynshere: what’d you do today?

brickmaster: just school and now homework

ynshere: so, how’s school?

brickmaster: it’s alright. same old same old

ynshere: gone to any concerts lately?

brickmaster: not really, i've been busy with school you know

ynshere: will we ever be the way we were watched any good movies lately?

brickmaster: no, not really

ynshere: is this it for us? how’s Joel doing?

brickmaster: he’s doing alright, thanks

ynshere: i miss you that’s great :)

brickmaster: i think i’m going to go, yn. goodbye

ynshere: please don’t leave me okay, bye Els

brickmaster is away.

¡! daily click・palestine masterpost・do not buy any game from naughty dog, neil druckmann is a zionist・more daily clicks. ¡!

taglist: smelliewilliams onlinelesbo itsbecomeblue macaroni676 tearouthearts diddiqueen liasxeatt seraphicsentences 4ftergloww @benthoee liasxeatt satellitespinner tphmnv kaiilectric bready101 (sorry if i forgot to add anyone)

[illiterateaffairs]

DISTRACTIONS SCENE BETWEEN | STAY LIKE THIS FOREVER

pairing: jamie tartt x f!reader (ted lasso)

rating: T

word count: 1,190

summary: the first time you spend the night at jamie’s place. this takes place between chapters three and four of distractions. 

A/N: here is the first missing scene from distractions! sorry this is posted so late but it’s still monday for me! i plan on doing a few of these here and there, and will be posting another for ted day tomorrow. please let me know if there are any other moments, either mentioned or implied, you’d like to see from distractions! because i had a busy memorial day weekend, i haven’t had the chance to get chapter seven of distractions in a perfect place, so want to make sure you guys have some small things to hold you over. chapter seven should be out friday!

distractions masterlist 

There were a lot of things that brought you to Jamie’s door that night. 

One was homesickness. You had made the mistake of going on Facebook - a mistake in and of itself - and happened upon pictures of your extended family at a get-together for God knows what. It really didn’t matter. It was just a reminder of what you were missing, even before moving to another continent. You could count on one hand the number of times you got to go home to see your dads in the last few years, and lately it's been hitting you harder how much you missed them.

The second was also Facebook's fault. As you continued scrolling through the app in a depressed haze, you’d happened upon a post from Mason’s mom. God you really needed to unfriend him and his whole family. She had posted pictures of their family; Mason and Chloe included. Without even thinking, you’d clicked on Mason’s profile and saw his updated status.

In a relationship.

He and Chloe were Facebook official. 

While this didn’t surprise you, it still didn’t make you feel good. It was embarrassing the hold he still had on you, even though you’ve long since realized you deserved better than him. It just wasn’t fair that he got to flaunt his perfect, new relationship even though he fucked up and cheated. Eventually, you knew you’d stop caring, but right now all you needed was to get your mind off of your ex and his new girlfriend immediately. 

The third reason you came to see Jamie was a bit more complicated, and you didn’t even fully understand it. The reason being that you just really wanted to see him. You chalked it up to being lonely and horny, and didn’t dwell on the swirling feelings any longer than you should’ve. 

You knocked on his door around 10PM. You were worried he might already be asleep, or out training with Roy. You felt more relieved than you should when you heard the pads of his feet approach the front door. When he opened it, his first reaction was one of surprise, before his expression became pleased. He barely had time to formulate a greeting when your lips were on his. Jamie didn’t need instructions. He immediately hoisted you into his arms and carried you to his room. 

While you were used to Jamie’s generosity in bed, he was extra giving that night. You’d quickly learned it was because he’d sensed your tension. After round three or four - you couldn’t keep track - you and Jamie were laying side by side. He’d slowly turned to face you, and pulled his sheets up to cover you both. He gently thumbed your chin, coaxing you to face him as well. 

“Are you alright?” he’d asked softly. 

“Why wouldn’t I be?” 

Jamie shrugged, “You’re quieter than usual.”

You chuckled, “What? I wasn’t loud enough for you before?”

He rolled his eyes, but smirked slightly, “No, I mean, you’re usually more talkative.”

“Are you saying I talk too much?”

You realized his hand was still making contact with your face when he reached down to lightly pinch your shoulder, “Stop it. I like when you talk, but you’ve barely said a word since you’ve been here. And while I definitely do not mind the surprise visit, you’ve never come to my place before. Just wondering if something happened.”

You sighed, no longer able to meet his eye. “It’s really nothing. Was just feeling off today.”

Jamie hummed, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“I don’t think so,” you shook your head, “Not right now.” 

“Okay. Do you want to talk about anything?”

“Hmm,” you basked in his attention and the way he was playing with your hair for a second, “What did you want to be when you grew up?”

“What?” Jamie let out a confused laugh. 

“You know, like when you were a kid, did you always want to be a football player, or did you want to be something else?”

“Huh,” Jamie thought for a beat, “I feel like I don’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be a footballer. After my mom got me into it, I never looked back.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” you mused.

“What about you?” he asked after a few seconds. 

“I think in kindergarten I wanted to be a ballerina because I watched Barbie Swan Lake.”

“Of course.”

“And then when I was 9 or 10 I wanted to be a meteorologist. Or no, a storm chaser!” 

Jamie laughed loudly, “What? Why?”

“I don’t know. I watched the Wizard of Oz and thought tornadoes were cool as hell.”

“I think that’s the opposite of what you’re supposed to think.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not like other girls,” you both laughed. “But then in middle school, I took my first creative writing class and I was hooked. I felt like I could write forever.” 

“Is that what you did before you came here?” he questioned.

“Sort of. I wrote for an advertising agency, but I wasn’t passionate about it. What I really want to do is be an author,” you admitted quietly.

“Yeah? That’d be so cool.” Jamie whispered, still twisting your hair between his fingers. 

“I think so, too,” you smiled a bit, “But I just haven’t had any inspiration lately.”

Jamie nodded, “Well I bet when you do start writing again, it’ll be great.”

“How would you know? You’ve never read my writing.”

“I just know.” After another few beats of silence, he continues even quieter, “Would you ever let me read something of yours, when you do?”

You studied him through your lashes, before giving him a tiny smile of your own. “Maybe,” you respond coyly. “You have to promise to lie to me and tell me you love it even if you hate it, though.”

Jamie huffs, “I doubt that’ll happen, but I promise.” 

“Thank you.”

You and Jamie kept chatting for a few more minutes before your eyelids grew heavy. As you drifted off, you note how comfortable and at ease you feel with Jamie. Whether it's when you’re hooking up, or just enjoying each other’s company, you feel nice and safe. It was a new feeling, and you didn’t know what it meant, especially when you were half asleep, but you liked it. 

The two of you slept soundly, wrapped up in one another, until around 4AM when you heard pounding coming from the front door. Without opening your eyes, you groan as you feel Jamie pull himself out of bed and out of your arms. 

“I’m sorry, it’s Roy,” he whispered, “I’ve got to get to training.” 

You let out another noise of protest and Jamie chuckled quietly. 

“Next time we stay at my place where Roy can’t find us,” you mumbled tiredly.

“Sounds good to me.”

You barely registered what must have been Jamie kissing your cheek before you’re falling back asleep. 

You were fully out again as Jamie quickly and quietly got ready. Before he jogged downstairs to meet Roy, he indulged himself with one last lingering look at your sleeping form. 

God, you were cute.

A/N: once again, please let me know what you think!! and if there are any other missing scenes you’d like to see! <3 p.s. anyone who asked to be on the taglist today/yesterday I will make sure you’re included in my post tomorrow!

Taglist: @atabigail @boundtomyfate @sammysgirl1997 @lil-tracys @shephard17895 @alaspice @itsbarbraann @redpool @drmeghanjones @straightforwardly @alex-sulli @aiyaiy @artemismaximoff @roadtoself-love @theloud-yet-quietone @forcesofgrief @kirisimpster @geek-and-proud @grippleback-galaxy @lalla-04p @gabbycoady13 @royalestrellas @qardasngan @creationcitystreet-em @percysaidnever @emily-b @mrfitzsimmons @k-n-e @agentstarkid @legobatmans9thab @mrsprongs25 @escapismqueen @sokkigarden @for-fuck-sake-im-alive @dollfaceyourfear @dicgohargreeves @heyitz-julia @vampirodelascajas @grxcesmind @lizziel1410 @bcon24 @looooooooomis @queen-of-dumbasses @moseyluvs @alipap3 @amachira @respondingtoshowerthoughts-blog @daphneblakeswife​ @chelseamount​ @k0z3me​ @lickitandsendit3​ @miakreid​ @shimmeringfrenchie​  @meg-ro​ ​@spookysins @a-sweet-little-fangirl @optimisticsandwichgladiator @marveltg365 @ringpopdust @gcidrvsh @beardsplitter @scaramou   @ibong-adarnaaa @piper570 @eviemae263782 it wouldn’t let me tag the last few of you, let me know if its something with your settings, otherwise i can keep trying in future updates! <3  ​

[sillybaekgu]

Drenched under the moonlight

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Pairing: non-idol!riki x gn!reader

Genre: fluff, extremely sweet, friends to something, awkwardly cute, very cringe too

Warnings: none

Summary: As raindrops kissed their skin, words flowed quickly into the night, confessing your love was never easy but midnight rain gave you the courage to do so.

Word count: 1.4K

a/n: FIRST POST OMG I’M SO NERVOUS. Hope you like it, I feel like it’s very cringe but I really didn’t expect to do better since it’s my first post,I tried my best so yea, enjoy<3

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It was just another regular friday night for you and Riki. Since you two lived in the same neighborhood you’d usually walk together back home after spending the afternoon with your friends.

As you walked calmly through the dimly lit streets, Riki decided to break the silence “Are you doing anything later tonight?” He asked looking at you. “Uhh…besides sleeping? I don’t think I have any plans” you answered, not really paying attention to the strange question. “Oh…cool” Riki answered quietly. There was a strange feeling in your chest, a hunch telling you to ask more but you decided to brush it off. As you reached your house you faced Riki and said “Thanks, Riks, I appreciate it! You know, since it’s late and walking at night…alone…can be dangerous” you gave him a warm smile “Anytime..” he smiled back, you couldn’t help but feel like there’s something he wanted to say, and even if it bothered you, staying silent was your best choice or your cheeks would burn up anytime. It was no secret that you had developed a crush on Riki and no matter how hard you tried to hide it, you had this loving gaze towards him that gave away all your feelings. As both of you waved goodbye, you entered your home, greeting your family in the process and immediately going to your room.

Time passed by quickly and before you noticed it was almost midnight, you sat quietly on your bed wondering if you should’ve said something to Riki when you had that strange feeling, wondering if he’s ever felt the same way you do right now. The atmosphere you created in your room wasn’t heavy but it made your poor heart uneasy at the thought of being entirely wrong and mistaking his kindness for something else. The more you thought about it the heavier your chest felt until a weak sound pulled you out of your trance.

clack…clack

You stood a few inches away from the window scared to see what’s on the other side.

clack…clack

You slowly approached the window, carefully looking through the glass only to find a familiar pair of brown orbs and a soft smile accompanying them.

You opened your window hurriedly “Riki? What are you doing here? It’s very late and it’s cold” your voice came out immediately, he giggled softly and stared back at you “Yeah, I know. Remember I asked you about what you were doing later today?” He asked looking at you expectantly, you clearly remembered it since it’s what has been occupying your mind the last few hours “Yeah I do remember” he gave you a mischievous grin and asked “Do you wanna go get some snacks? We can eat them at the park, it should be empty right now” you felt the adrenaline rush coming to you, after all, it’s not an everyday occurrence for your crush to come ask you to hang out in the middle of the night.

You couldn’t give your feelings away that easily, that would hurt your pride, so you stayed quiet pretending to think whether to accept or not. After looking inside for a brief moment you smiled and said “Let me grab my coat” You ran to your closet and grabbed your warmest coat, knowing that it could never compare to the warmth you felt when you were with Riki. Silently walking down the stairs you fixed your hair before quietly grabbing your keys and opening the door meeting finally the boy who made your heart skip a beat ever so often.

As soon as Riki saw you his face lit up with the brightest smile ever. “Took you long enough, I thought I was gonna freeze out here” he said teasingly, you rolled your eyes and started walking towards the store “Are you just gonna stand there? Let’s go” he smiled once more and started chasing after you, soon it turned into a race to see who could get to the convenience store faster. Unsurprisingly, Riki won and you, out of breath, accepted your defeat. As you regained composure you looked at the sky hoping to find a beautiful starry night, instead all you saw was heavy gray clouds, your face immediately tainted in preoccupation alarmed Riki “What happened? Why do you look so worried suddenly?” His expression concerned “Oh it’s just the sky looks a little too cloudy tonight, I wonder if it’ll rain…we have no umbrella” you quickly changed your expression to a more relaxed one, you looked at him and said “anyway let’s not worry about that right now, what should we get?” And soon enough you two came out of the store with snacks and drinks on your way to the park. Arriving to the empty park was definitely unsettling at first, wondering if you’d encounter something paranormal but as you settled on the benches the atmosphere soon became much lighter while you talked about everything and nothing at the same time. Being with Riki started a fire in your heart, the warmth you felt when you were with him was unrivaled and you just wished time would stop and stay in this little moment forever. After a while, ending your perfect moment, a few droplets fell from the sky, you immediately noticed but letting go to find somewhere else because of the rain wasn’t something you felt like doing, so you ignored the rain and hoped it went away. Riki also noticed, he wanted to stay but he worried about you, he didn’t want you to get sick because of him, unwillingly he finally said “we should get going, I just felt some droplets from the sky” your heart screamed telling you to stay put but you knew better and said “yeah, we definitely should” as you cleaned up and threw the trash away the weather had other plans for you as it immediately started pouring down heavy rain and puddles forming everywhere. Riki swiftly took your hand and started to walk looking for shelter until you suddenly took his hand between both of your hands, you felt bold and this whole situation felt just right to confess your feelings. The way his blond locks stuck to his face due to the rain, the dimly lit park, the warmth of his hand, it seemed like true love possessed you as you looked at him “Riki, I need to tell you something. I know right now it’s not the best moment but I need to get this off my chest” Your heart pounding so hard you could hear it from miles away, slowly looking at him you felt how he now held both of your hands. He looked at you expectantly, a shine you could only find in his dark eyes. You held him tightly and said “I have never felt this way before, the way you make my heart flutter, the time we spend together, it all slowly became part of who I am. Without me noticing you became a part of me that’s so precious it makes me feel overwhelmed” You were right here, right now with him, holding his hands and confessing while getting drenched under the moonlight. Riki’s cheeks quickly tainted with a rosy tone, he held your hands even tighter and said “I was supposed to confess tonight but it seems you were ahead of me. Every day we spend together makes me realize I love you, I hated the idea of confessing, I thought you’d never feel the same way but now that we’ve come clean about us I want to be with you, discover this something together” He pulled you close, even if it started getting colder all you could feel was the warmth of his embrace. You slowly pulled away looking at him before saying “I love this but we’re so catching a cold if we stay under the rain for longer” Finally your chest felt lighter and everything seemed a bit more colorful, perhaps it was the rain or the midnight euphoria but this was the beginning of something special.

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[velvetjune]

Alan Wake 2 Lake House DLC spoilers/review (also spoilers for Control):

Had a lot of fun with this DLC! It’s short (unfortunately expected this), but sweet, although I wish I didn’t watch the trailer for it. It would’ve been amazing experiencing this with no knowledge. As a massive Control fan, I was practically thriving off of all the reading and FBC style. I have some sympathy for fans of Alan Wake who might hate Control, but these games are far more than a crossover by now and moving forward. I can see how this wouldn’t work for people who dislike that.

Personally, Remedy has done well at connecting their stories without it clashing! The AWE dlc for Control was a mixed bag for me, mostly because the story wasn’t really there and the darkness mechanics were bland. This could be because I’m very biased towards Control, but this was a great example of how to merge the settings and traits of both games in an interesting way.

The marital and mad scientist drama was terrible in the best way. I was dying every time one of the Marmonts was “hmmm Wake says we’re going to die horrifically and become monsters, but im personally better than that.”

DR DARLING… <3 He should’ve had more appearances </3

After all the deserved hate directed at AI and producing content rather than art, it was heartwarming to see promotion for Poe. I don’t know the details, but she’s barely been able to release music over the last 20 years (some songs here and there), so having an entire area dedicated to her with links to a (fingers crossed) site about an upcoming Poe project was lovely. Lots of love put towards artists in this.

Ed being there was and thinking he was in an immersive experience was incredibly funny. I’d have to look it up, but was the manuscript page in his room detailing when he was taken HERE and not him dying to taken? Was this DLC happening during the start of aw2 or right before?

I’m in love with Kiran Estevez. She can be judgmental and tries to maintain a level of calm over the situation, but her disgust, fear, humor all shine through in funny ways. Hope that she, along with at least Saga, get to be in Control 2.

Only found this out after checking Reddit (which imo is too harsh over both Night Springs and this DLC), but apparently the Dylan part is skippable. It was SUCH a highlight of this DLC. The shifting environments, the Not-Oldest House, Dylan in the “panopticon” post-Control, etc. was surreal and captivating. Usually with set ups teasers, I don’t particularly care (e.g. the AWE dlc ending was alright!), but man. The way to get it was perfectly strange. Poor Dylan. Just like Control’s “hidden” ending cutscene, this really seems to put Control 2 in the wider NYC.

Having a “person who’s only seen Boss Baby” moment: thought of tma (the podcast) with the tapes, archives, panopticon, all the weird shit. It didn’t influence this game, but I was getting flashbacks to when I listened to it (stopped caring for it, but the first few seasons were fun in a creepypasta way)

I liked the calendar puzzles. I’m not a huge fan of puzzles in games, but these were easy enough to follow without dragging on. however I did spend five minutes confused just because I got Friday and Saturday mixed up :(

The boss fight was easy in story mode lol

Diana brutally killing the taken Jules was one of the only “gross” moments of Remedy’s games and it was great! It’s not much gore, but I’ll take it.

I accidentally pressed the option to instantly destroy (?) the painting :( So im so sorry to Rudolph and I’ll be replaying this dlc soon to see what the other option is.

For my problems, I was sad that the paint monsters were mainly annoying to run from (also they’re cute). I don’t know if it was an issue on my end or a bug, but even once I went to story mode, I still wasn’t finding healing objects until the last fight. The reason I switched to story was only because my low-ish health kept instant killing me by the Painted 😭 Maybe it’s because I haven’t replayed Alan Wake in a while, but this DLC was wildly difficult. If Remedy didn’t add a whole list of assists, I’d be more frustrated, but thankfully it’s there. The map also would keep question marks and loot up even when I interacted.

I prefer the Night Springs DLC, but this was a great look into Estevez, Control, and what art is. Now, Alan Wake 2 is officially done!

[maniacalgenius]

labor day weekend 2024 (8/30–9/2)

hey y’all! as i mentioned in my last post, my allergies were really bothering me on thursday, so in friday i skipped my only class which was genetics in the morning in order to get some rest and feel better. i weighed the pros and cons before deciding to skip, and considering the facts that it’s my easiest class, there’s no attendance, and i was (and still am) ahead, i decided this particular 50 minutes wouldn’t be worth the sensory intensive process of getting ready and going to campus rather than staying home and taking care of myself and getting stuff done in a chill way so i could start to feel better. then yesterday was a holiday so i basically had a four day weekend 🤩 so here we go!

academic:

🧬 learned 1 letter codes for amino acids

🧬 pretty much learned all the 3 letter amino acid codes too

🧬 practiced matching amino acid structures to name and vice versa (have almost all of them down really solidly!)

🧬 practiced drawing out amino acid structures from 3 letter codes (again have almost all of them down! histidine, tryptophan and arginine and tripping me up)

🧬 i submitted a request for a peer notetaker for micro because i simply cannot comprehend what this man is saying and also get it all down on the slides. i really like the prof but his particular style of lecturing is really hard for me to follow)

🧬 did week 2 notes for genetics

🧬 submitted gene chapter 3 hw attempt 2 of 2 (got 100%!!)

🧬 biochem quiz 1 (got an 88%! pretty happy with this even though she was open notes)

🧬 watched biochem pre-lecture videos for class today

health:

🌺 slept in a couple times

🌺 ate some good breakfasts (no pics this time cause they were messy)

🌺 took medicine to feel better

🌺 generally took it easy

personal:

🧚 laundry

🧚 dishes

🧚 watched disney movies while doing notes and studying amino acids all day friday

🧚 went grocery shopping

🧚 had dinner with my best friend on friday

🧚 hangout with bible study group friday night! should’ve brought homework to casually work on while yapping. def will do next time

🧚 went to a sporting event for my university on saturday evening with the bible study group. everyone else got together beforehand but my best friend was working around lunchtime and i wasn’t feeling great so we showed up at the very start of the game and left halfway through!

🧚 went to the first part of the service for my primary church choir job on sunday and then scurried over to my regular church

🧚 (tw: grief) sunday marked five years since my mom and i lost my dad, so in the evening my roommate/big sister watched gravity falls with me. i had a few episodes left of season 2 (was familiar with the premise of the show and the characters prior to this but didn’t know all the plot) and we watched all but the last one but i wasn’t super paying attention so yesterday morning i decided to rewatch them

🧚 whilst watching the show i fixed my roommate’s cardigan that had a gap in the collar where the two panels had unraveled from each other

🧚 one of my adopted littles from my choir came over to study and yap (mostly yap) yesterday morning. she hadn’t seen my apartment yet at all so it was super fun to show her everything esp since we just decorated our living room!

🧚 went to michaels w big sister to get embroidery thread because she decided she wanted me to embroider a heart on the sleeve of her cardigan and do a matching one on one of mine 💞

🧚 @sleeping-academic came over and we went and got tea, studied some, then went and picked up dinner and she finished watching the end of gravity falls with me. i was so so normal about this children’s show! absolutely nothing to have seen, move along. she also got to meet my roommate for the first time and we all got to talk which was super nice!!!

1. amino acid structure practice!

2. big sister’s new plants

3. mushrooms growing in the potted plants outside my mom’s house

4. tea with @sleeping-academic!! thank you friend <3

🎶 song on loop: “vigilante shit” - taylor swift. entering my mad girl/bad b*tch era—in a nutshell, i’m learning to be a lot more conservative with my energy and time and emotional resources (as well as the importance of doing this in the first place) and i’m no longer sorry about it 😂

📖 current book: —

🕰️ time focused: idek but i got a good amount of stuff done!

have errands to do and a bunch of micro to read today. stay tuned!!

xx

[xxsksxxx]

Almost Heaven

Summary:

Mulder’s attempt to find more exciting cases to investigate while stuck in the bullpen turns into another weekend trip to the forest.

Meanwhile, Scully is faced with a tempting offer that could change both her future and their lives.

This story is complete, and I’m going to post one chapter a day.

AO3 | Back to the Beginning | @today-in-fic

Chapter 2: I Should’ve Been Home Yesterday

Washington D.C. Scully’s apartment Friday, November 27th, 1998, 5:30 pm

Scully unlocked her door and stepped into her silent apartment. She carefully placed her coat into the armory by the door and pulled off her shoes, slowly moving into the kitchen and filling a glass with water.

She took a sip and closed her eyes, tired after an exhausting day full of report writing and mundane phone calls. The quiet of her apartment offered a sense of comfort that made her relax and started her thoughts to drift.

Her mind replayed the day’s events, and her thoughts returned to Mulder’s question about her weekend plans. Did he mean to invite her over? Maybe another movie night? Laughing, drinking beer, joking, and sitting a bit too close. She smiled and felt the happiness of their changing relationship envelop her.

Scully moved to the living room, sinking into the soft cushions of her armchair and letting her thoughts drift to the subtle shifts in their relationship lately. Or maybe not so subtle, she thought.

She couldn’t pinpoint exactly when she’d started to touch him more intimately—she hadn’t really given it much thought back then. They’d been working tirelessly long into the night on a case, and at the end of four seemingly endless weeks, the perpetrator had finally been put into custody.

Mulder and she had given each other tired smiles while trying not to fall asleep at their desks. It had been all too natural. She had wearily packed her things and walked over to him. He had still been sitting at his desk, unmoving. His red-rimmed eyes had lifted to hers, and she had just put her arm around his shoulder and drawn him in. She had quickly brushed her hands through his hair while he pressed his cheek against her stomach, humming softly.

“You should go home and get some sleep,” she had said softly to his bent head, letting the soft strands of his hair glide through her fingers. He had chuckled softly and nodded against her stomach before lifting tired eyes back up to her.

She’d smiled warmly back and made her way home, tired to the bone, but somehow feeling more at peace than the harrowing last days should’ve allowed her to be.

So when they were sent to Virginia on another case only a few days later, she hadn’t even thought about it when she did it again.

Mulder had been pacing her motel room like a caged tiger, his hands firmly planted on his hips. She had been watching him, sitting on her bed, trying to understand what he wanted her to see, when suddenly he turned to the door, ready to run after whatever he thought was out there. She had jumped up and put her hand on his forearm, where his dress shirt had been rolled up to his elbow. She had given his arm a soft squeeze, and he had immediately stopped and looked down at her.

“Don’t. It’s not going to make a difference if you run after him now. It’s just going to give him an advantage. We can look for him first thing tomorrow after we’ve got the lab results back, and we’ll find him. I’m sure.”

He had given her a long look before closing his eyes and nodding, giving in.

“Let’s get some sleep, Mulder.”

He had given her hand on his arm a quick squeeze, laughed, and left for his room.

She had slept peacefully all through the night for the first time in weeks, and the next day they had indeed arrested the man, giving Mulder the satisfaction he had been looking for.

Now, sitting alone in her apartment, going over those moments, Scully couldn’t help but wonder. They’d always touched a lot. Right from the beginning. She laughed wryly, thinking back to that very first case. She’d been lying in his bed, dressed only in her robe, listening to him tell her one of his most intimate childhood horrors while she had caressed his forearm for comfort.

No, the touches, the trust, the closeness—that had always been there. What was new, though, was that they’d started to feel a lot less friendly and a lot more romantic as of late. It didn’t help that they had nearly kissed in his hallway only a couple of months ago, she mused. And that moment was what had lingered in her mind since then—the ‘what if’ like a tantalizing promise just out of reach.

Nearly dying of cancer, after having nearly died being abducted, brought things into perspective. Life was short, and she was done waiting. She wanted what she had always wanted and what had slowly drifted out of her focus in the last few years: She wanted to make a difference in her work, and she wanted to have a personal life while doing so.

Scully took another sip from her glass and stretched out her calves, wiggling her toes. At least it’s the weekend, and I have plenty of time to set things in motion, she thought. Whatever Mulder’s intentions were earlier, she was going to find out.

If things were going as they usually did these days, Mulder would be calling her later tonight—another habit that they had intensified recently. And just like the touches and the physical contact, this one had also been there nearly from the start. Mulder’s first late-night call had also been after their first case. She’d been already in bed, Ethan snoring next to her. But she hadn’t been able to sleep. What she’d seen, what she’d heard—it all had just been too exciting. Mulder must’ve felt the same because he’d called her like it was perfectly normal to call your new coworker in the middle of the night to share your thoughts. And she hadn’t thought anything about it, either. It was just them, right from the start.

But lately, those calls have also changed. Instead of just calling after intense cases or when he was bored, Mulder had started to call her every night, like clockwork. And she’d begun to look forward to it as a nightly ritual. They’d laugh and joke and banter, and she’d fall asleep with a smile at his antics soon after.

Just like I am smiling now, sitting in my armchair home alone, she realized and snorted softly. Daydreaming wasn’t something she did, but apparently, that was also something that had changed. She wanted to believe that these changes meant something to Mulder as well, that he felt like her, that they were worth exploring.

With a shake of her head, she got up and moved towards the kitchen to put some water in the kettle. Maybe it is time to take a chance, Dana, she pep-talked herself. But first, what she needed was some tea and later a nice relaxing bath with a glass of wine, she decided.

9:30 pm

Sully thoughtfully put some cream on her face and throat and worked it into her skin. She checked herself in the mirror one final time before leaving the bathroom and walking back into her living room. She felt much more relaxed now and ready for the weekend—and Mulder’s call with whatever he had in mind.

Scully glanced at her phone, just as it began to ring, startling her, and reached for it, her heart pounding slightly.

“Hello?”

“Agent Scully, this is AD Skinner,” the familiar voice of her former boss caught her by surprise. “I hope I’m not calling too late.”

“No. No, sir. It’s fine,” she replied, straightening up unconsciously. “What can I do for you?”

“This may come as a bit of a surprise, but I’ve been approached by Section Chief Hastings. He’s got an interesting assignment, and we happened to talk about you.”

Scully blinked, not sure what to say. “An assignment, sir? Mulder and I are assigned to Director Kersh right now. Does that involve any of his cases?”

“Actually, no,” Skinner continued. “I’m calling you unofficially in this matter. He paused, and Scully waited for what else he’d have to say. Her heart was pounding. Was this finally their way back into the X-Files? By way of an opportunity, Skinner had come up with?

“Section Chief Hastings is creating a new division in the FBI’s Forensic Science Research Unit. With your background as a medical doctor, a forensic pathologist, and your investigative experience, he thought you’d be perfect for this role.” Skinner paused. “I agree.”

Scully’s thoughts were spinning. How did this new department connect to the X-Files? Were they going to be taken over? What about Spender and Fowley, who were working on the X-Files right now? Would they also be transferred? If this offer included working with Agent Fowley and Mulder as a team, she’d hand in her resignation within a month, she thought grimly.

Scully took a deep breath to settle her nerves and felt her heart slowing down. “And what would be my responsibilities, sir?”

“You would be part of a team dedicated to solving unusual cases. These cases will mostly require advanced forensic methods to uncover the truth behind some of our more exceptional cases. Some of these have been considered unsolved for years. You would be part of getting justice for the victims and closure for their families,” Skinner continued.

“What about Agent Mulder, sir? What would his role be in this department?”

There was a brief pause before the tinny sound of Skinner’s voice came back through the line. “This offer is extended specifically to you, Agent Scully. Agent Mulder will remain under Director Kersh’s supervision.”

Scully’s heart sank. This assignment was exactly what they had been looking for. A way to get back to uncovering the truth. And now Mulder wasn’t even considered. She wanted to tell Skinner how she felt about this offer at the expense of Mulder, but she couldn’t ignore the tiny voice inside her head that reminded her of what she’d been thinking of earlier. It would be a chance to finally get them back to looking for the truth, a chance to make her work matter again. And now, at this very moment, she was presented with exactly what she’d been hoping for—except for Mulder.

“Scully? Are you still there?” Skinner’s voice brought her back to the present.

“Yes, sir. Thank you for the proposal. I’m sure you’ll understand that I’ll need some time to think about it.”

There was another pause, and she heard Skinner exhale. “I know what you’re thinking. I had the same concerns when Hastings approached me. But this offer seems genuine. This isn’t an attempt to split you up to cover the truth.”

“And yet that’s what this would mean.”

Skinner was silent. “I know. If there was any way I could get Mulder in on this offer, I’d be doing it already. Trust me, Agent Scully. But as it stands, that’s not possible. And this might be your best chance to get back on cases close to the X-Files.”

Scully didn’t reply. She felt like everything was moving in slow motion and sped up at the same time. They are trying to split us up again.

When the silence dragged on, Skinner cleared his throat. “I know you’re conflicted, Scully. But don’t hesitate to think about this. I doubt it will be long before other ‘individuals’ in the FBI will also show interest in this new role.”

“Thank you, sir,” Scully replied. “I will get back to you as soon as possible. Have a good night, sir.” She hung up without waiting for a reply and stared motionless at the phone in her hand. Her mind was spinning with conflicting thoughts, while her stomach felt like it was filled with lead. She needed to think this through. But what about Mulder? her mind reminded her. If she told Mulder about this now, he’d immediately suspect some sinister plot to keep them from the X-Files, she knew. No, she needed to get her own perspective on this first before she told Mulder, she decided. This could be their best chance to get back to working on uncovering the truth, even if it meant that they’d have to approach this unconventionally.

11:13 pm

Scully finished brushing her teeth and took a quick look around before turning off the light in the bathroom and walking into her bedroom.

She settled into bed and reached for the medical journal she’d been looking forward to reading all day when the phone rang. Mulder, she thought and was embarrassed that her heart skipped a beat in happy expectation.

“Hello?” she answered, trying to make her voice sound neutral—like she hadn’t been waiting for his call.

“Hey, Scully,” Mulder’s familiar voice came through the line. She heard a noise in the background, and something fell to the floor, accompanied by Mulder’s muffled curse.

“Mulder? Are you ok?” she asked, perplexed, trying to figure out what he was doing.

“Yeah, I’m ok,” he replied distractedly. “I pushed a few books over by accident. Sorry about that. Are you already in bed? Did I catch you at a bad time? Or a good one?” he joked.

“No, not at all,” she replied, a smile tugging at her lips. She loved those nightly calls more than she was ready to admit. Especially to Mulder. And she could hear his return smile through the phone.

“So, any exciting plans for the weekend?” he asked, his voice playful. “Or are you going to spend it working on another essay for one of your medical journals again?”

Scully guiltily looked at her nighttime reading material and chuckled. “I might. Or I might not. Why do you ask?”

“Well, I was thinking about going on an adventure,” Mulder replied mysteriously, adding a pause, no doubt so she could ask what he was talking about. Scully grinned.

“An adventure. And what kind of adventure are you talking about, Mulder?”

“An adventure you might find interesting yourself,” he joked. “And it would require you and me to spend the weekend investigating a fascinating phenomenon.”

Scully felt her heart speed up. So she’d been right. He did mean to ask her to spend time together. I didn’t expect the whole weekend, though! she thought and tried to ruthlessly push her excitement down. He’d mentioned a fascinating phenomenon, and that meant only one thing in Mulder’s world. An X-File.

“A fascinating phenomenon, Mulder? Fascinating for you, or me?” she asked flatly.

“Let’s just say it’s something where your scientific perspective would come in handy,” he teased, his voice warm. “But most of all, your company.” Mulder waited for a beat, and when she didn’t reply, he continued, hopefully. “So, should I pick you up tomorrow morning?”

Scully gave up on seeming disinterested and grinned. “Alright, Mulder. You got me. Pick me up tomorrow morning.”

She could hear Mulder’s happy smile through the line before she hung up the phone. Scully felt a mix of excitement and happiness, and her thoughts turned quickly to the job offer she’d received earlier. She felt guilty for not having mentioned it to Mulder yet but then dismissed the thought. She’d have plenty of time to discuss it with him when they were seeing each other tomorrow—and she’d had some time to think this through. Speaking of, tomorrow wasn’t that far away, she thought, watching the LED display of her alarm clock jump to 11:23, its red light flickering every few seconds.

Suddenly, she didn’t feel all that tired anymore and contemplated her medical journal once again. Mulder would probably be at her door before the sun was up. She smiled softly into the semi-darkness of her room, shaking her head slightly. His habits were anything but predictable. As much as he joked about being mysterious and spooky—to her, he felt more like an open book.

Well, most of the time. Sometimes she wasn’t sure what he was thinking at all. She frowned slightly and shook herself out of her reverie. Why was she once again thinking about Mulder? It was late, and he needed to get some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be busy. She determinedly closed her eyes, turned on her side, and consciously slowed her breathing, turning her face deeper into the pillow.

[gingerale2017]

i’ll be your favorite toy

Angst

Fandom: The Lunar Chronicles

Pairing: Kai x Cinder (kaider)

Setting: Modern au, one day post breakup.

Based on the song “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys”

Words: 1.3K

Quick note: I literally just wrote this on a boat.

AO3 link

The voices in her head, seemingly, told her to call rain on their days of wild.

Kai downed the rest of his glass until the ice bumped his nose. The week started so good. On Sunday, he woke up to her on his shoulder. Monday, he brought her lunch. Tuesday, she invited him over. Wednesday, they spent the day together in the city. Thursday, they visited her sister. Friday, she canceled on him last minute. Saturday, she broke up with him. And now it’s Sunday again, and he’s drinking at some random bar during his lunch break. What even happened?

If it were anyone else he’d feel used, objectified, or even abused. If it were anyone else he’d be cursing them out and smashing glasses with golf clubs. But he feared this was the love of his life. The only one for him is Cinder Linh. She could treat him like a toy if she wanted to. He’d let her.

He was her sickest, cheap army doll purchased at the mall. Her rivulets descend his plastic smile. But you should’ve seen her when she first got him.

Stars, how her eyes lit up. She couldn’t stop sharing. Kai remembered the embarrassed pink on her cheeks when they locked eyes. Not to sound cockt or anything, but he was used to people staring at him. This time, though, he was just as equally stunned as her when their eyes met. If she stuttered, then he was tongue-tied. Cinder was never embarrassed, though, and he was never speechless.

They kept meeting because of their mutual friends until they started hanging out on their own. She didn’t have many, though, and he was one of the only people she became completely honest with.

He found out why much later! His girl (well not anymore apparently), only breaks her favorite toys. He was the king of the sand castles she destroyed.

He knew why though. They fit too right. They were too perfect for each other, like puzzles in the dead of night. He should’ve known from the moment she curled his hair between her fingers with an enlightened curiosity that it was only a matter of time.

“Excuse me, sir?” The bartender interrupted his inner rant.

“Sorry.” Kai apologized. “What happened?”

“Your phone is ringing.”

He cocked his head to the small electronic device vibrating on the table. He barked a chuckle. How did he not notice? It danced around the table unashamedly. Like it was broken or something. Then he winced. Cinder was good at fixing broken electronics. Very, very good.

He thanked the bartender and answered the phone.

“Dude!” Kai shuddered. He really didn’t want to hear his newly broken-up girlfriend’s best friend’s voice the day after she ended things, but Thorne was kind of his best friend too. Never date within your friend group kids! Take this situation as an example. “What the hell happened.”

“You think I know,” Kai growled.

“Well yeah! She’s your girlfriend!”

“Was.” Kai sighed deeply and put his head on the counter pathetically. The bartender motioned for another drink and he nodded. Maybe this drink will numb his feelings.

Thorne paused. “You sound horrible.”

“I didn’t sleep last night.” Kai groaned.

“Are you working today?”

“I’m drinking on my lunch break.”

“What?!” Thorne yelled. “Wha- when does your lunch break end?”

“An hour ago.”

“Dude. You’re taking this very bad.” Concurred Thorne.

The bartender slid another glass of whiskey. Kai shifted so his cheek could take in the cool marble counter and stared at his drink.

“Actually, I think I’m taking it pretty well. I could’ve blown up her mechanic shop.” He joked.

“You okay man?” Though Thorne sounded completely genuine, Kai found himself getting irritated. The man was closer to Cinder than he was to Kai. Shouldn’t be all over her.

“Why don’t you make sure Cinder’s okay? And leave me alone! You guys are closer anyway.”

“Wait- Kai- Wait!” Kai hung up to Thorne rambling about some crap he didn’t care about and sipped the brown alcohol.

He sighed and turned off his phone, leaning back on the high chair.

“I think I’ma head out,” Kai said to the bartender. He nodded as Kai gave him a card with a $30 tip.

He finished his drink and walked out in the afternoon sky, probably drunk as a skunk.

There was a litany of reasons why they could’ve played for keeps this time and- Stars Above! He was just repeating himself!

If he was a toy, he was her toy, and he deserved to be put back on his shelf. Or, rather, her shelf, preferably. But, first, pull his string and he’ll tell you that she runs because she loves him. She was only scared, that’s all.

You should’ve seen her when she first saw him! Love at first sight! His girl (yes, his girl) only breaks the things she loves the most. She loved him. She had to. Why would she cradle his head im her arms if she didn’t. Cinder was no villain

He laughed at himself as he tried to balance himself on the crack of the sidewalk. Maybe he’d go home to his apartment instead of work. Kai couldn’t possibly show up like this. You could practically see the whiskey scent around him. Ironic, since Cinder introduced him to whiskey.

Good thing his home wasn’t far from his new favorite bar. Hey, that rhymed! Once he managed to close the door, he dropped the façade and collapsed against the same door behind him.

He was king of her beaten-up cars because they were the most loved. She left him because he knew too much. He could see the revelation in her eyes whenever he traced her body. There was danger in the heat of his touch.

She saw forever so she smashed it up. He began to sob her name. Drunken tears appeared on his polished shoes. He was so polished, why was he so polished? All the damn time! She was never polished. She must have hated it when they showed up at that restaurant n his new suit and in her overalls.

“We’re too different.” Her soft voice echoed in his head. “It’s me, not you. I’m sorry, Kai. We won’t work out.”

The hell. THE HELL?!! Every line she said was a lie. She didn’t meet his eyes because she knew that he’d know she was lying. They fit so well, like the pipes she’s always reassembling. He was picturing their life together and you’re telling him this whole time, she wanted out?! It must be him for sure, then. Then. Then what did he do wrong? He’d been replaying their whole relationship all last night and at the bar. Sure, they had their fights, but what did he do wrong?

He should’ve fought. He should have been clawing at her door. He should’ve yelled at her. He should’ve grown a pair. Instead, he walked away, mumbling an apology.

“Once I fix me, Cinder.” He whispered, a tear falling down his cheek. “You’re going to miss me.”

“Once I fix me. You’re gonna miss me.” Another glass shattered against the apartment wall.

Come back. She didn’t mean it. Come back, Kai. Just say when, Kai, she'd play again. Please Kai, she was sorry.

Kai was her best friend, like kids at a sandlot. She used him, but she didn’t mean to! She was just confused.

Cinder had felt more with him even when they played pretend than with all the Ken-like men surrounding her workplace.

Why? Why?! Because he took her out of her box.

She sobbed, slowly falling to her knees as her hands covered her face. She pulled at her hair. Why did she do that? She let her fears win and now he’s gone. He left without a fight though, so maybe he did love her as he said he did.

No, don’t be stupid, Cinder. She told herself. You chose to do it after work for a reason, so he’d leave without a fight. You were afraid he might change your mind.

He stole her tortured heart. He left all these broken parts. She said he was better off.

But they weren't. No, they weren’t.

So Cinder had to do what she does best. She had to fix this.

A/N: This is a completely new story, not even a draft. I’m still on this boat.

tagging: @just2bubbly @cinderswrench @cindersassasin @the-wee-woo-royal @deprivedmusicaljunkie @crescentchat @notjacinclay @wheresmymom-imlost @salt-warrior @rapunzelfromthemoon @briggycat @impossiblesuitcase @kaider-is-my-otp @definitelynotisabel @wassupnye (these are for my kaider ONLY fics so please ask if you want to be tagged or removed <3)

[aeolianblues]

I took 4 hours to make a stew today. I also listened to five different Johnny Borrell interviews in the intervening time. I think the two might be connected. I should be packing my suitcases instead.

I have been toying with the idea of reaching out to Razorlight management. They just put out an album, Planet Nothing on Friday. I have been thinking about this for a whole MONTH. In defence of my delusions who else is clamouring to interview them in Canada? This continent knows two songs (America and In The Morning, maybe Golden Touch at a stretch). Besides their management has liked my posts about them twice. So feed my delusions. I’ll try and reach out even though the album is now out. Worst case I won’t hear back, which is normal.

If they did say yes though, imagine that. It would make them one of the highest profile guests I’ve had, but that’s also good reason to be nervous. What the fuck do I know about touring the world, being in showbiz, doing telly, festivals, you know what I mean? You have to know about something yourself to ask questions about it.

And there’s say that Johnny is apparently a notoriously hard interviewee, though I’ve only ever heard him be delightful and insightful in interviews. Man doesn’t have a phone though, he’s like old-school old-school. He doesn’t trust social media which is valid and based. But I also find it’s easier for such people to fall out of touch. Like. What do I do if this guy shows up completely uncomfortable with the concept and practice of using Zoom? They aren’t touring Canada, any interviews will most likely be remote. This has literally happened before, where an interviewer in 2020 was like ?? Buddy you’re taken aback seeing yourself on the screen on Zoom, again, valid but like. Have you never used FaceTime or any such thing before? You’re in your forties. And he’s just like nope, never had an iPhone, don’t have one now, it’s borrowed for the interview, don’t trust it.

Man I want to talk about music? Let’s not get stuck here. He is completely right about how social media is killing creativity though, it doesn’t give you a chance to be bored and think, dream. Still, it does mean that we’d start things off on quite different pages, and then I’d also be working to pull him onto the same page, or meet him somewhere halfway. Whatever.

He was even asked about his supposedly difficult and standoffish persona, and he said he’s never had a tough time talking to music interviewers, you know music journalists from radio, music magazines, whatever; anyone who actually wanted to talk about the music itself, but because Razorlight got big quite fast and found themselves miserably thrown onto like art, culture lifestyle and celebrity programmes and magazines, and the interviewers would ask them inane questions, and Johnny just doesn’t seem like the kind of person that had the patience for that rubbish. He apparently groaned and moaned about having to go to the BRIT Awards because he had no interest in the façade of importance the music industry builds around itself, but the management had said yes before he ever had a chance to decline the invites and didn’t want to look like a dickhead pulling out at the last minute. That’s pure artist, and always a tricky interview— but one that could go really really well!

Here’s one interview Johnny gets criticised for, from I think 2007? Johnny gets asked questions regarding press about him, and he gets quite uncomfortable and says he’d rather not do it at all. All I see here is someone setting down firm boundaries over something he isn’t comfortable with, which should’ve been applauded! Instead almost universally the mood in the studio (and in the 16 year old comment section) is sour, there are people calling him a diva for politely saying he’s uncomfortable with and doesn’t want to dignify lies about himself written in the press— some of which the interviewers say they’ve made up for a laugh. Johnny says he’d rather they moved on, and they’re like 😐 we don’t have any more questions, we have a minute to fill.

Like that’s not Johnny Borrell’s job? Good on him for standing up for himself, the interviewers should’ve had backup questions. It’s so awkward, not because a musician set down boundaries but because the interviewers then made it awkward! Goodness, if that happened to me I think a TV Interviewer would never see me again. This is the kind of shit that made Godspeed stop doing interviews entirely.

In contrast, here’s an interview Johnny did with Face Culture in 2018 where he’s perfectly forthcoming and extremely pleasant (it’s more recent as well, which could be a confounding factor). He even said at the end when he’s called away for soundcheck, that’s a shame, I could’ve talked longer, I really enjoyed that, thanks for the intelligent questions.

I think he gets unfairly maligned in the press, and it’s a bad cycle that keeps spinning faster— one bad interview and suddenly journalists (especially non-music ones) are approaching you with that predator-out-on-the-prowl attitude and you’re cooked then because they can write what they please. They can make things awkward where there was no right to be awkwardness. Things like that.

So i think Johnny is okay, and particularly as campus radio, as someone with literally 0 agenda other than I want to talk about music to you, and as someone who is digging deep now and doing my homework, I think I should be fine. So I want to reach out (scared), if we do get the interview I hope he’s feeling great! He’s an interesting fella and if it works out, this could be the biggest interview of my (nonexistent) career so far.

[mangoisms]

i'll be the dangerous ledge (you be the parachute)

━ chapter two: out of my depth at this altitude | read chapter one | read chapter three

━ pairing: tim drake x f!reader

━ word count: 4.4k

━ warnings: none

━ masterlist

━ a/n: this fic is supposed to be updated once a week on fridays but the reception has been so nice, i couldn't help myself from posting a bonus chapter before then. as a treat. also... would anyone be interested in a tag list for this fic? let me know, and enjoy!

You joked about it but, really, Tim Drake is a quick study. Not that doing your laundry is that hard to begin with — well, if you have no idea where to start, it is, but once you know the basics, it’s all fairly self-explanatory. You get to ask about the fabric softener when you two go back to put your clothes in the dryer and he mutters something about them feeling weird afterward, which you valiantly try not to laugh at. By the way, he sighs at you, you are not successful. 

But after that? Well… that’s kind of it and you step off the elevator at one in the morning with a basket full of warm and freshly-folded clothes, feeling a tad disappointed that it’s all over with. 

But then Tim says, “See you next weekend,” and the feeling disappears quickly. 

Fate, you quickly learn, also seems to be looking out for you. 

The next day at noon, you’re waiting to head downstairs, eyes narrowed on your compact mirror as you roll on a darkly tinted lip balm. The elevator doors open, but you’re distracted with the lip balm, so you don’t notice who else is in there. Not until Tim calls your name, surprising you so much your hand jerks and a light smear of the tinted lip balm shines on your cheek.

He sputters a laugh. “Sorry!”

“This is payback for all my jokes, then, is it,” you say, stepping in and, seeing the button for the ground floor pushed, start digging through your tote bag for the small pack of makeup wipes you usually carry with you.

“It’s not,” Tim says, smiling. “The jokes were a fair tradeoff for you teaching me the ways of laundry.”

You nod sagely. “Indeed.”

He chuckles. “Where are you off to?”

“Grocery shopping,” you say, cleaning off the streak on your cheek, then making sure you didn’t smudge anything else around your lips. “You?”

“Same, actually. Well, just for the detergent. Speaking of, you know, I realized sometime last night I never got the brand from you. They turned out pretty good.”

“Like your butler did it?”

“I never should’ve told you that.”

You laugh, putting away your makeup wipes, the mirror, and the tube of lip balm. 

You realize, then, that Tim is dressed in something other than sweats and a t-shirt — which is an excellent look, definitely, but he’s in his outside clothes, in jeans and a thick jacket much like you are to fight off the early February cold. 

He looks like a model, to be honest. You spy the brand of his jacket. Patagonia. A Patagonia model, then. Jeez. Patagonia’s expensive. But to him, it’s probably nothing. You managed to thrift yourself a slightly worn Columbia parka which has served you well against several years of bitter Gotham winters.

He tucks his hands in his pockets, cornflower blue eyes trained on the red numbers that tick by for each floor you pass. His side-profile is disturbingly perfect. So not fair.

“Where do you do your shopping, then, if you don’t mind me asking?” he asks, glancing at you and making you look away. 

“Stalking me?”

“That’s why I said if you don’t mind me asking. So, we didn’t have to do that.”

You laugh. “Nah, don’t worry about it. I figure a… mostly high-profile figure like yourself can’t be in the business of being creepy. Reputation and all that. Though I suppose you could pay people off. Or call a hit on them.”

But while the other notable rich families of the city have all kinds of skeletons in the closet, the Wayne’s don’t. Mostly. No whispered rumors of them paying off sexual harassment rumors or other morally reprehensible shit. 

“Oh, please. And what’s this about mostly high-profile figure?” He almost looks offended but you spy a playfulness to him, so it’s more of a mock offense than anything. Like he doesn’t actually care. He probably doesn’t.

But still, you go along, smiling apologetically as you shrug.

“Weeell… it’s not like I recognized your face.”

“Some do.”

“But I did recognize your name. So. Mostly high-profile. See, if you were, say, Lex Luthor —” he wrinkles his nose in deep disgust and you choke out a laugh “— then yeah, I’d recognize you immediately.”

“Fair enough. And also, please don’t ever compare me to him again.”

“What, you don’t like him?”

“Do you?”

“Fair point, fair point. Anyway,” you chuckle, “I’m going to ShopRite.”

“The one off Schnapp Ave?”

“That’s the one.”

“Oh. Me, too. Are you in the parking garage?”

You snort. “No. I bike. Not great for bulk shopping but what can you do?”

He pauses, seeming to think hard. You raise an eyebrow as the doors open and the two of you step out, heading for the lobby.

“I could — I mean, since we’re going to the same place…” he gestures a little awkwardly; it’s not the request itself that trips him up, you think, it’s something else — probably not trying to come off creepy. “I could give you a ride?”

“A ride, huh?”

Tim spreads his palms. “I’m not trying to kidnap you or something, I swear.”

“But a would-be kidnapper would say that, would he not?”

“I don’t know,” he says, awkwardness easing out for vague amusement. “I think a would-be kidnapper would be, well, better at this whole thing. Like not taking you out from the main entrance.”

“Think about that a lot, do you?”

“Text a friend where you’re going,” he says, smiling. “And let me give you a ride so you can bulk up on your groceries without worrying about getting it back here.”

“You drive a hard bargain.”

But of course you’re going to say yes. You consider yourself a fairly good judge of character.

There is much to be said about Tim Drake. 

As mentioned before, the adopted son of billionaire Bruce Wayne; his parents — you shamelessly looked it up last night — used to own Drake Industries, a company that specialized in medical equipment and supplies before it eventually closed down. Both of them passed away, his mother first when he was younger, then his father later; Bruce Wayne adopted him in his teens. 

He had a brief stint as figurehead CEO of Wayne Enterprises when he was seventeen, was also apparently engaged to Tamara Fox, the daughter of the current WE CEO, Lucius Fox, and also had an assassination attempt on him. This is followed up with being, like, regularly held hostage for ransom. 

A lot of drama, basically, but not much about him himself. 

You expected — and you’ll admit this — a much haughtier persona than the one you are currently encountering. After all, he could have taken offense at your teasing about the laundry and refused your help. But he let it happen — not hesitating to add his own jokes at his expense, too. 

And here he is now, offering you a free ride and free use of his car’s trunk for your grocery shopping pleasure.

Maybe you are about to be kidnapped. 

But at least it was in the name of bulk shopping.

He scratches his head. “I also have a Costco membership if that sways you?”

You’re practically in love.

“You know the way to a woman’s heart,” you sigh dramatically.

“Free trunk space and Costco?”

“Free trunk space and Costco.”

You text your brother for good measure, though.

It’s not serious. Mostly, it’s you having your fun.

i’m going grocery shopping with tim drake. if i don’t text you back by five, call the cops

WHAT

WHAT???

WHAT!!!!!!!!!!

You just smile and put your phone away. 

You have nothing to worry about. 

Well, you knew that but over the course of the day, as you first hit Costco and buy toilet paper, paper towels, detergent, and other groceries in bulk, then you go to ShopRite to get the rest of the stuff, you realize Tim is actually… a lot of fun.

He has this snark to him that comes out in the most unexpected moments and you would be lying through your teeth if you said you didn’t like how it keeps you on your toes.

Plus… it’s fun to grocery shop with someone else. Maybe that sounds weird but… you don’t know. You like the companionship.

(And that, of course, could be the gnarled loneliness inside of you finally being soothed away in the company of a person who doesn’t have to be here with you, yet is.)

The sun is setting when you two get back to the apartments. The parking garage is adjacent to the building and they have little carts people can use to take up their groceries more quickly.

“I mean,” Tim starts, easily lifting the case of water bottles from the trunk and dropping it into the cart. “At the risk of sounding creepy again, I don’t mind helping you take this stuff up.”

“In that case, I owe you.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it.”

“Aw, come on. You let me monopolize your trunk, your Costco membership, and your time.”

“Believe me, I didn’t have anything planned for today. This is a much better use of my time.”

You don’t know how to handle that. Which is why you insist.

“You know the Indian place on Cameron? On me.”

“They do have good biryani,” he muses. “Alright. Why not.”

You manage to haul everything into two carts. He only got the detergent, which he says he’ll just take upstairs with him after.

You dig out your keys on the elevator ride up, the two of you deciding on what to order.

“Just leave the carts near the door,” you say when you get to your apartment. “And take off your shoes, too, please.”

“Sure.”

You unlock the door, belatedly realizing you did not prepare your place for guests but you are assuaged by the reminder that you’d cleaned last night like you always do, so, there’s that. 

Your apartment is an open floor plan, with the kitchen immediately to your left and then the living room to the right. Your bedroom and bathroom are off to the side of that. 

You scan everything quickly as you kick off your shoes. Your coffee table is the only thing not quite suited for visitors, with your laptop and graded papers scattered over it. Right, that reminds you, you need to finish those for this week and get the grades inputted…

“Nice socks.”

“Huh?” You blink, turning and spying an amused look on Tim’s face. Your eyes flicker to your socked feet in the next second, barely remembering you had put on a pair of black socks with a pattern of the Flash’s symbol on them.

You grin proudly, looking back at him. “Thank you. I think he’s pretty cool. Well, I think most of them are cool…”

“League supporters are hard to come by these days.”

You roll your eyes. “I know. But I don’t care for the government’s posturing about what they should and shouldn’t do. They’ve saved the world, like, a bunch of times. They should be grateful.”

“Hard to accept they need the help.”

“Yeah, then they go pouring my tax dollars into the military when it can go literally anywhere else. Jerks.” 

Tim takes off his shoes and sets them aside while you shut the door behind you. He stands up, taking in your apartment with clear curiosity.

“Welcome to my humble abode,” you say, gesturing to it. By now, more than six months after moving in, you’ve made it your home. Picture frames on the walls, a few choice paintings, some old drawings from when you worked at Gotham Elementary right after graduating. Decorating the TV stand and various surfaces are little figurines and pieces of pottery you’ve made. You do pottery classes twice a month at the rec center in Chinatown. You’ve been doing it since you graduated three years ago. 

His eyes spy your twenty-gallon tank against the wall, behind the couch and beside the bookshelves.

“Reptiles?” he guesses, squinting to get a better look.

You smile, stepping forward and beckoning him with you.

“No, they’re hermit crabs. I needed some pets like me.”

He snorts, then bends forward to peer inside. A thick layer of substrate covers the bottom. You have two ponds of freshwater and saltwater on opposite sides of the tank, a handful of sanitized shells scattered about, moss pits, a little holder suctioned to the glass with a fish net attached to it so the crabs can climb into it, and then various fake plants and pieces of driftwood and hollowed logs. 

“This is their crabitat,” you inform him. You point to a crab with a pink shell mottled with brown, currently climbing the fishnet. “That’s Sid.” Then to another crab with a tan shell speckled with red moving into a hollow log. “That’s Diego.” And finally, a crab with a darker shell, with black spots chilling by a plant. “And that’s Manny.”

You both are bent forward, peering into the crabitat. Tim scrunches up his face and looks at you. “Did you… name them after the characters from Ice Age?”

You grin widely at him. “Yes.”

He laughs. He laughs for a while, actually, enough so that you start to feel a tad embarrassed.

“Hey!”

“No, no, no, I’m not making fun of you,” he quickly says, a little breathless, cornflower blue eyes bright with mirth. “I just… Talk about a blast to the past. I think the last time I saw those movies I was a kid.”

“Well, see how it makes an impact? You remembered their names.”

“True,” he says, chuckling. “Haven’t they come out with a bunch of movies since?”

“Mm, yeah, and they’re okay, except for the most recent one. That one is just a total mess because a handful of the actors didn’t come back for it. And also they tried some new animation and it looks so bad.”

“Kids probably don’t notice that,” he points out teasingly.

“Well, they should pay their respects to the original movies! All my childhood media was enjoyable for me and sometimes for my parents, too, because they always had adult jokes in it. Like in Spongebob. Or the earlier seasons, anyway.”

“I was never allowed to watch that,” he admits.

“Ugh, you aren’t the first person to tell me that. Some of my old college friends said their parents didn’t let them watch it because it would ‘kill their brain cells.’ You know what’s not just killing brain cells but indoctrinating them, too, these days? Paw Patrol.”

Tim lets out another loud laugh. 

“I don’t watch it, either, okay! I just watch Spongebob sometimes and I guess it thinks I’m a child so it plays, you know, commercials geared towards kids and god, the amount of Paw Patrol commercials I get is so annoying.”

“I’m surprised you lean toward it,” he says, the two of you going over to the carts. “Since you’re a teacher’s aide.”

“Well, that’s the good thing about middle schoolers. They’re out there watching TV and movies that they probably shouldn’t be watching, so that’s not what I’m hearing about.”

“I’m not sure I’ve heard the words ‘good’ and ‘middle schoolers’ in a sentence before.”

You snort, then feel bad immediately. Your kids are good. Annoying sometimes, sure, but they’re kids. Everyone is annoying every now and then. Plus…

“I wasn’t too keen about being saddled with the six graders, either,” you admit. “But I’ll tell you what Ms. C — the teacher I help — told me. Maybe the reason middle schoolers are so… not fun to be around is because they can tell their teachers and practically every other adult in their life doesn’t want to be around them, either.”

He tilts his head. “Fair point. But also — puberty.”

“There is also the puberty,” you agree.

Tim chuckles and the two of you get to unpacking the groceries. You tell him he doesn’t have to — seriously — but he simply says he might as well help out. Of course, the process is made doubly longer by the fact that he has no idea where anything goes and you have to point him in the right direction but just like earlier, you don’t mind.

After, he pulls on his shoes, grabs the container of detergent he bought, and tells you he’ll take the carts back downstairs and put his stuff away, then come back. 

You let him go and call in the order to the restaurant, then feed your crabs and collapse onto your couch. Your weekends are usually for resting your abused feet, since during the week, you are moving and standing constantly, but you don’t mind today’s aches, knowing it was accompanied with… one of the best days you’ve ever had in a long while. 

With that, you decide to let your brother know there is no need to call the cops. 

hi i made it unscathed

haha just kidding today was so fun

i went to costco!!! my tp is stocked for Days

Hello????

hello

Don’t do that. What on earth are you doing hanging out with Tim freakin Drake?

I don’t think that’s his middle name. Isn’t it jackson?

You can faintly recall that from when you unashamedly googled him last night.

A knock on your door. You heave yourself from the couch and open it. Tim steps inside. 

“Hey, what’s your middle name?”

He raises an eyebrow. “Jackson. Do you want to know my mom’s maiden name, too? Maybe the street I was born on?”

You grin, going to sit back down. “I don’t know. I mean, if you’re offering.” 

He shakes his head at you, then hesitates. You gesture to the couch. “Make yourself at home, seriously. After today, we’re practically BFFs.”

“Should I be worried about you?”

You wave a hand. “That’s just the crippling loneliness, don’t worry about it.”

“You’re…” He shakes his head again and sits down. You have the TV on, one of the various streaming services you shamelessly leech off your brother for pulled up. The page for Ice Age is there, too, waiting for you to hit play. 

“You said you didn’t have anything else to do and I took that to heart.”

“I can see that,” Tim says dryly, but the quirk of his lips belies the tone. 

You glance back at your phone where your previous text is. You snort. 

“Your middle name really is Jackson?”

“Yes…” he says warily. “Why?”

“You have three first names.”

He lets out a choked laugh. “You’re the worst.”

You giggle and pick up the remote, pressing play. “Sorry!”

“Whatever. I do all this…”

“Hey!”

He grins and glances at the kitchen. “You mind if I grab a green tea?”

“Only if you grab one for me, too.” 

He stands. “I guess. Even though you’re bullying me.”

“I’m sorry, you just make it so easy.”

Tim rolls his eyes good-naturedly at you and crosses to your kitchen, opening the fridge.

“There’s ice in the freezer since they’re not cold yet. And the cups are in the cabinet to the left.”

“Got it, thanks.”

You take a second to watch him shut the fridge, then step to the side to open the cabinet, pulling out two glasses. You’re crazy for thinking it, you know, but you don’t… terribly mind the sight of Tim in your kitchen. You really don’t.

It’s a good thing you two are friends, then.

Wait.

You are friends, right?

“Hey, Tim?”

“Yeah?” 

“Are we friends now?”

Maybe it’s elementary to ask but… communication is important and all that. You would hate to think of you two as friends only to later realize he thinks you two are just… you don’t know, acquaintances? 

He turns, smiling faintly. “And here I thought my offer to let you use my trunk and Costco membership said that clearly.”

“I didn’t want to assume!”

“I don’t just let anyone do those things, you know. Not strangers. Only for friends and strange girls who judge me for not knowing how to do my laundry and make fun of my name.”

“I am buying you dinner.”

“Do you buy dinner for strange guys who don’t know how to do their laundry?”

“No,” you admit. It really does say it, the fact that you even let him inside your place. Let him commandeer your kitchen for green tea, too. 

Your face warms and you look away. “Alright! I’m just making sure, okay…”

“Yes,” he says, and when you glance at him, he’s smiling at you. “We’re friends.”

The butterflies in your belly go a little crazy at that. You have to look away again.

“Cool,” you mutter.

He chuckles and turns back to pour out the drinks.

You split your attention between him and your phone. He doesn’t stand in front of the counter but allows the glasses with the ice to be in plain view. For your sake, you’re sure. 

we’re friends. just discussed it. i made a friend!!!

…….. He’s TIM DRAKE

so?

Jesus christ

Tim returns with a now-cold glass of green tea, ice clattering around inside, and you hit play on the movie. Your dinner arrives shortly after. You were right, of course, in that the very first Ice Age movie is more than a little amusing even for adults. Especially for adults. 

“What other movies do you like, then?” he asks. 

“Hmm. I’m partial to Mamma Mia. I like ABBA. And Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried. You know, I almost named the boys, um, Sam, Harry, and Bill.”

He blinks at you.

“You know, the — the guys! The baby daddies!”

A slow shake of the head.

“You’ve never seen Mamma Mia?”

“I’ve seen… The Devil Wears Prada?”

You pause, raising an eyebrow. 2000s dramas don’t seem to fit him but honestly you’ve never actually seen the movie, so maybe it’s different from what you think. 

“I’ve never seen that one.”

He gives you a look, saying See? You, too.

“Alright,” you say, grinning. “You have to see Mamma Mia and I have to see The Devil Wears Prada.”

“We could just do it now,” he says, glancing at the TV, where the credits for Ice Age are rolling. The second movie, Ice Age: The Meltdown, is being advertised as the next movie you should watch.

“Which one? I think we should watch Mamma Mia.”

“Well, I think —” he stops as something vibrates. You think it’s your phone initially but then he slips his out of his pocket. It’s already nine. He grimaces. “I think we’ll have to make that decision another time.”

“Hey, no worries. I’ve taken up enough of your time. I should probably be getting ready for bed, too.”

Though, the good thing about Gotham Pointe being a newly-opened and very funded charter school is that, in a move to distinguish itself from the other charter schools in the city, school starts at nine instead of seven-thirty. It was a point that they wanted to move the starting time later, in an effort to heed the countless research that kids were better off starting their school days later rather than earlier. It still ends at four like the other ones, too.

But you have to be there at eight. Which is still a better alternative than anything else, of course. 

He types something into his phone, lips pursed, then stands, collecting the trash from dinner and putting it back into the bag. 

“You don’t have to —”

“Least I can do,” he says, tying off the bag, your coffee table now clear of trash. Your laptop and stack of… shit, not graded papers sits in the corner. You still have to do that. Damn. Oh, well. This was too much fun. 

“So,” he starts, lips pursed, thinking quickly as he runs a hand through his hair. “I’ll take a raincheck. I’m thinking you can host for Mamma Mia and it’s only fair if I host for The Devil Wears Prada?”

“Oh, you mean —?”

“If you’re comfortable with it,” he quickly says. “If not, we can do it here. I just, I don’t know. Want it to be fair so I’m not always hogging your space.”

I don’t mind, you want to say.

You don’t.

Instead, you smile and shrug. “You haven’t kidnapped or killed me yet, so, sure, I’d like that.”

“Well, you see, I need to build trust first.”

“Ohhh, of course, of course. Makes sense.”

He grins at you and picks up the bag. “I’ll see you later.” 

“Yeah. Have a goodnight.” 

You sit up to pull your laptop and the papers to you, picking up your blue glitter pen. The kids tease you about it but you think they secretly like it.

“Oh, wait,” he says, straightening after pulling on his shoes.

“What?”

“Your number,” he says, shaking his head. “I was about to leave when I realized I don’t have your number and you don’t have mine.”

You stand, picking up your phone. “I completely forgot, too. Here.”

You pass off your phone and squash down any hesitancy in him handling it, with the yellowed clear case and a couple cracks in your screen protector. Then you gingerly accept his, sleek and new, the display bright and flowing smoothly as you type in your phone number.

“Please don’t leak my number to the press,” is what he says when he passes his phone back to you.

You laugh. “I promise on my Justice League sock collection.”

“Now, that’s serious.”

You back away, giving him a two-fingered salute like you did last night. “I’d never betray them.”

He smiles, bids you one last goodnight, then steps out. You lock the door behind him. 

Then you step away, staring at it for a moment, a silly grin full of giddiness growing on your lips.

You look back at your phone, then burst out laughing when you see how he did his contact.

First Name: Timothy Jackson

Last Name: Drake

A poke at you for that comment about his name, you’re certain.

Not like it matters, anyway. 

You are far too pleased to have his name in your phone.

Not because he is Timothy Jackson Drake, twenty-three-years-old and one of Gotham’s most eligible bachelors, but because he is Tim, your friend who can’t handle spicy foods but eats it, anyway, who likes The Devil Wears Prada, and who has so much more about him that you cannot wait to find out. 

Your friend.

What a thought. 

reblogs are appreciated!

[qlala]

tagged in this @ao3commentoftheday WIP post by the wonderful @crestfallercanyon, with whom i absolutely agree: sometimes a work in progress wednesday can be a friday, too <3

serendipitously, i couldn't sleep last night and ended up working on my sequel to my coldflash undercover-at-a-rave fic, "black on black," for the first time in a while!

this is a bit more than a snippet, but i was enjoying myself too much :) hopefully this isn't a piece i've shared before!

~~~

Barry slid his gaze back to him on an unimpressed look that only put Len in a mind to wipe it off his face. “Are we really going through this again? I’m here to stop the meta. You’re not—”

“Supposed to be here,” Len repeated, rolling his eyes. “Thought you’d be grateful. Always telling me what a good man I am, and now…” He spread his arms and turned a slow circle on his heel. “Here I am. Offering to help.” 

“Uh-huh,” Barry said. “And you don’t have any selfish reasons to want the CCPD to stop the warehouse raids out here?”

He was clever; Len would give him that. But he was also easily flustered, and Len diverted easily with another slow once-over that ended on the leather harness crossing Barry’s chest and drawled, “One or two.” 

It worked like a charm. Barry crossed his arms and glanced away again, but the tops of his cheeks darkened in the shadows, and his gaze wasn’t nearly as stern as he was trying to make it when he looked back at him. “Are you really planning on helping this time?”

Len tilted his head with polite disbelief. “Call keeping you from getting whammied last week ‘not helping?’”

Barry dropped his arms, exasperated. “Leonard.” 

“That little blonde number is starting to interfere with my life one way too many. I have a… vested interest in keeping their body count from getting any higher.” 

Barry visibly weighed believing him for a moment, as if he had better options for backup, then nodded, once, decisively. 

“We have have a name for them now,” Barry offered. “Some kids have caught on to what’s happening, and they’re trying to find the meta. Like, on purpose. They’re calling them…“ He shook his head, with an expression that told Len that he had clearly lost an argument at some point, then he tossed a hand out in defeat. “The 'angel of the rave scene.' Cisco has been making Phantom or the Opera jokes all week, but…” He shrugged. “‘Angel’ kind of stuck."

It was a lot of charming information that Len hadn’t asked for and didn’t care about, and he told Barry as much. 

“You wanted to help,” Barry reminded him. “If you hear someone mention it inside, you should know who they’re talking about.”

He was right, but one part of that sentence had stood out to Len, making his nose wrinkle in distaste. “Inside?”

~~~

Inside was exactly as bad as Len had remembered: oppressively hot, deafeningly loud, and sticky. The air was even thicker with fog machine smoke than the time before, and Len had a passing thought that he should’ve brought an oxygen mask. He’d come somewhat prepared, though; along with the pistol in the back of his jeans, he’d brought his least favorite jacket in case Barry decided it was a tactical decision to rid him of it again. 

Barry didn’t make him wait long on the stripping front. They skirted the crowd that time, hanging close to the edges where it was a little cooler, but Barry still shrugged out of the patterned shirt he was wearing unbuttoned over that goddamn harness as they went.

Len’s attention snapped back from scanning the crowd. He watched the shirt slide off one shoulder as Barry pulled an arm free, then the next, but didn’t waste a moment watching it drift to the ground. Because the muscles in Barry’s back were far more worth looking at, shifting lean and powerful in the strobing light and reminding Len how it had felt to have them under his hands. 

The sharp shadows cast by Barry's shoulder blades crossed with the stark lines of the harness, which was calling to Len stronger than every cigarette in the building. There were two rings on the back, one on each side where the straps from over his shoulders and under his arms met the strip of leather across the back. It suggested a matching set in the front that must’ve been covered up by the offending shirt, and Len didn’t stop himself from putting the toe of his boot down, hard, to catch Barry’s heel on his next step. 

Barry twisted to look back at him with an offended little frown that Len couldn’t have cared less about. Because Barry’s movement had given him the confirmation he’d been looking for: the same dark straps and matte o-rings on the front, framing Barry’s chest in a way that was borderline obscene. 

Christ, want wasn’t a strong enough word. Len’s skin was prickling with it. He was of half a mind to leave the job for another day, skip the glitter-bombed bathroom and just take Barry back to one of his safe houses from the start. Hell, tell Barry to take them back to his place instead, let him find out how hard it was to get eyeliner out of pillowcases—

It was a stupid thought and all the reminder that Len needed to remember which head he was supposed to be thinking with. Leave the job for another day? He had six and a half million dollars in untagged cars sitting in a warehouse three blocks away, delivered the day before the CCPD's raids had started. His contact was getting jumpy—wouldn’t move them, didn’t want them to stay—and he was starting to make noise about Len getting Mick to just take care of the inventory. 

So no, Len didn't have another day, much as he might wish that he did. He gave Barry a smirk for tripping him up instead, accepted the exasperated look he got in response, and followed him deeper into the warehouse. 

Not that it ended up taking them much longer to find 'Angel,' in any case. Wasn’t hard, when a glance up at the stage found the kid perched on the edge of the DJ’s set-up, bleached-out hair full of glitter and reflecting back every flash of the colorful lights that throbbed over the crowd. 

Unfortunately, Angel didn’t have any trouble finding them, either. Because when Len tracked his gaze back up from where Angel was bouncing one long leg to the beat of the blaring music, they were looking right back at him. 

Angel's gaze slid to Barry, and their smile went hazy and beatific before they looked back at Len. They lifted one hand and wiggled their fingers in coy greeting. Then, when Len didn't wave back, they turned their hand over, palm side up, and crooked one finger in an unmistakable come hither gesture. 

Len caught Barry’s arm to stop his forward momentum. (It took a heroic amount of restraint to not grab him by the back of the harness instead, not that Barry seemed to notice or care). When Barry started to turn again, Len indicated the stage with a lift of his chin and pushed in close enough to be heard over the music.

“We’re being summoned.” 

[robertsmithclone]

I Wait For You (Its What I Do)

Xavier Thorpe x Female Original Character (Sade Ricci)

Sade Ricci’s fangs just came in two weeks into the school year, so that means a transfer to Nevermore academy. (Does not follow show plot)

1.9k words (part three)

TW: cigarettes, vapes, mention of pills, blood, mentions of making out, falling and becoming unconscious, eating disorder if you squint, weed, smoking

Posting to Ao3 under wonde_rr and Wattpad under SHADYGROVEE

Playlist: it’s in the works

chapter three masterlist

“So, Sade, why don’t you wear glasses like Yoko? I mean, I never really asked why she wears them…have any of us? Yoko’s usually with Divina nowadays…”

Having Ajax as a partner in Thornhill’s class was not Sade’s favorite part of Nevermore, and she doubted it ever would be.

Sade liked Ajax. He was nice, funny even, but sometimes he wouldn’t not stop talking and asking questions. Sade would bet most of her money that he was high right now. Despite that, she hoped they would make good friends now that Xavier convinced her not to remove herself from the group the other day.

That was Monday, which meant it was Friday. Sade couldn’t wait to get out of third period. Staring at the back of Xavier’s and Wednesday’s heads while they worked on the assignment together was making her sick.

“Sade?”

The girl turned to see Ajax staring at her. She smiled slightly.

“Sorry, Ajax, I zoned out.”

The gorgon smiled back at her. “It’s all cool. You’ll have to provide some answers to my questions another time.”

“Oh yeah…” Sade wasn’t sure what to say, she almost felt bad (mostly for the fact she wanted to drain his blood. Only slightly, though).

She quickly scribbled down her phone number in her notebook and ripped out the paper, handing it to Ajax. “Here. Text me later.”

Ajax looked confused for a moment when he picked up the paper, before grinning at her again. “You don’t have snapchat or instagram?”

She just kind of looked at the boy and he laughed. “I’ll take that as a no. Jesus, I’m hungry. Do you think anything in here is edible?”

Sade tuned him slightly out again, focusing more on the assignment than anything else. She was smart, yes, but she knew she couldn’t focus on trying to stab both Wednesday and Xavier with her eyes the whole period. Plus Ajax certainly wasn’t getting much done.

“Is it because you’re like a baby vampire? Y'know, the blood pills and shit?”

The vampire sighed.

——

“…Dude, you’ve never seen How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days?” Ajax had a bewildered look on his face and Xavier wanted to shoot himself.

“No, Jax.” The artist sighed as he watched his best friend take another hit of his blunt.

“Enid made me watch it back when, y’know, she wasn’t out of the closet. It’s actually so good. I should’ve told you about it before so you could’ve used Ben’s sexy tactics to get with Wednesday. Wait, I think she’s dating Enid. Hey, where’s Rowan?”

Xavier sighed again, before inhaling the smoke Ajax was letting out. “I don’t care about Wednesday anymore. Rowan is probably with Sade at this rate.” The boy ended with a sour look on his face, feeling extremely jealous.

Ajax looked at him. “Wait, did you seriously just get over Wednesday like that? I mean Sade is attractive, but we’ve known her for like, not even a week yet.”

Xavier shook his head. “I’ve been getting over Wednesday. She made it obvious she wasn’t interested back in like, sophomore year. Her getting with Enid was the last push I needed.”

The gorgon looked at him skeptically. “You sure it wasn’t Sade?”

“Yes! I’m sure! This isn’t about her, or Wednesday, or Bianca, or Tyler!” Xavier burst up from his seat in the corner of the dorm. He had a hand on his hip and one rubbing his temples.

Ajax put his hands up in defense. “I’m sorry dude, you know I didn’t mean it like that,”

Xavier looked up at the boy before Rowan walked in. Both their heads turned to him, his lips seeming slightly swollen and his hair mussed up. “Hey, guys.”

“Christ, what happened to you?” Ajax questioned.

Rowan flushed as they heard loud music start, flowing in from the window.

All three boys went to look out of it, seeing a window from the girl’s dorms open, and out of it flowing an Italian melody. A sweet voice singing the Italian perfectly started to flow over with the music.

Xavier slammed the window shut and the other two boys flinched. The artist stormed away from it to the other side of the room and started pacing.

It was silent for a moment before Xavier spoke. “So what, Rowan, you were just with her, weren’t you?”

Neither boy had to ask who the taller boy was talking about, it wasn’t even a question.

“…It-it’s nothing serious…just…fun…?” Rowan spoke and it sounded like a question. Sade had made it clear to him that she just wanted to make out. That was it. What Rowan hadn’t expected was a cut along his lip and a small hickey on his upper jaw.

Xavier was fuming and Ajax looked slightly frightened.

“What fun?” He spoke with venom in his voice that felt thick.

“She told me she just wanted to make out, I dunno. I doubt it’ll amount to anything if that’s what you’re worried about, Xavier.” Rowan sighed. “She’s all yours.”

Ajax looked between the two boys before taking another hit of the blunt and texting Enid what was happening. The girl had sent various emojis before responding with actual words.

Enid

this is almost council meeting worthy!!!!!!

Enid

like what do we do about Sade

Enid

i hate to say it but she’s been messing?? things up a little bit. rocking the boat if you will

Ajax

yeah

Ajax

really nice tho

Ajax

we’ve all been in a routine with each other for so long and she’s just altered it yk for better or worse

Enid

EXACTLY!!!!!

Ajax put his phone down to see Rowan had gone into the bathroom and Xavier had sat down again, but he was sulking. Not too unusual.

“Dude, we kind of knew Sade was flirty, I really doubt it’s anything.”

Xavier didn’t say anything for a minute, just sitting with a jealous look on his face.

“I know I can’t control her, but I already really like her. If she’s just running around doing shit with guys for ‘fun’ then how am I supposed to try and get with her anyways?”

“You’re overthinking it! You just gotta try. If she’s not into it then you can’t do anything about it. We just met her, she could be the devil for all we know. Chill out and if it’s meant to be, it’ll be. I’m sure we’ve all made out with people before without it meaning anything…hormones, Dude.” Ajax provided surprisingly good insight and Xavier looked at him.

“You’re right. I can't take this shit out on Rowan…I’m just scared I guess. I’ve already taken this liking to her and I don’t wanna lose what I don't even have yet.” The boy sighed, running his hand through his hair.

Ajax nodded and pat Xavier on the shoulder. “This shits tough man, I get it. Your past romances don’t help. You deserve something good. Let this be good!”

Xavier looked up at his best friend and smiled slightly before looking down to his phone.

——

Saturday came around and Sade found herself in the woods again. Her jeans and sweatshirt weren’t exactly suited for the rain and a damp vampire was not a happy one. Her umbrella would have to suffice.

She was upset because of the rain, itching for a cigarette, her stomach was growling, and she couldn’t find anything to help her thirst for real blood. Sade knew the blood pills would help that over time, that’s what they were meant to do, but she couldn’t be bothered to listen to her Dad anymore.

Her Dad was a vampire and she didn’t know her mother, so she was probably some sort of half-breed, the reason for her not knowing she was a vampire till her fangs came in and her lack of sunglasses so she didn’t go blind. This was her working theory, but she had never asked her Dad. He didn’t like to talk about her mother.

“Christ I need a cigarette…or a vape…something to stop this headache.” Sade muttered, cursing herself for leaving her cigarettes in her dorm.

After finding nothing to drain the blood out of, she stumbled upon Xavier’s shed again. There was no one in it and Sade was desperate.

She picked the lock with a stray bobby pin and started rummaging through anything and everything to find some semblance of nicotine.

Eventually Sade found an old vape, thrown in a drawer with a few crumpled pieces of paper. She hit the vape a few times, which surprisingly wasn’t dead, before she calmed down. What felt like animalistic urges were gone.

The vampire threw the vape back into the drawer, closing it quickly. She stopped for a moment before opening the drawer back up and taking out one of the crumpled up pieces of paper. Sade unfolded the paper, straightening it out on the desk as she saw what was on it.

Fangs, eyes with slight red penciling, lips, and hands with long fingernails. A look of confusion twisted on the girl's face as she took out more of the crumpled papers, seeing similar things on all of them.

Sade looked at the drawings laid out in front of her, biting the fingernail of her thumb before crumpling them all back up and stuffing them in the drawer. She took another hit of the vape before slamming it shut.

The vampire stood there for a moment before spinning around in horror as she heard laughter and footsteps begin to draw closer.

“Merda, merda.” She mumbled under her breath, unsure of what to do.

Her mind seemed to move on autopilot as she quickly took off her shoes and slipped out of the crack in the door, abandoning her umbrella where she left it outside. The voices and footsteps were getting closer and closer. Sade stuck her shoes down the front of her sweatshirt before running to the nearest tree. She climbed it quickly and with skill. Perks of vampirism.

Xavier, Ajax, and Rowan had approached now, confused at the sight of the umbrella and unlocked door. Sade watched from above, not daring to breathe. She seriously didn’t wanna fuck up the already fucked up friendships she had going on with these guys, especially Xavier. She knew he’d be pissed.

“Jesus, things were going well after last night.” Xavier was pissed alright. “Is someone in there?!”

The boy stormed into his shed, Ajax and Rowan looking at each other before following after him.

Sade could hear what was going on inside, another perk of vampirism! There was shuffling, the voices were muffled but she could tell Ajax and Rowan were trying to calm the artist down. She was fairly certain she hadn’t left anything out of place, not touching anything but the door and the drawer with its contents.

Xavier stormed out of the shed, his two best friends right behind him. He started looking around the nearby woods as Ajax and Rowan tried to come up with explanations.

Sade hoped she was occupying the only place they wouldn’t look; up.

The combination of all three boy’s blood almost made her want to jump to the ground and—she needed to focus.

It was hard, though. Last night she had cut open Rowan’s lip ‘on accident’ with her fangs while making out with him. She had tasted exactly what she had been craving, and she would bet her life—not that she really had one, in a literal sense, she was technically dead—that Xavier’s blood tasted even better than sweet Rowan’s.

That was the last thing she thought about before slipping out of the tree and falling to the ground. It was all black.

——

translations

merda - shit

—

tags:

@solacestyles

@wxnderingthoughts

[darkgorerat]

Hey. My name is Gore Rat. This’ll sound so cringey and weird. I don’t know WHY I thought clicking on a random fucking link on a random fucking twitter post was a good idea, but hey. Make me an example to never click on SHIT without looking up the source.

It was your average Friday afternoon. I was in my room, scrolling on Twitter. I came across a post – linking to a website I didn’t recognize. I decided to read through the post, just to see if this website was worth clicking on.

“I found this weird Sonic game just lying around on the web. Played it for a bit – actually pretty damn cool. Instead of Sonic or Tails or any of the big popular characters, you can play as Silver and Blaze! There’s also a villain story – kind of like Sonic Adventure 2. Just thought I'd share it around the internet.”

Weird. It’s a classic Sonic game... but with Silver, Blaze, and a villain story? The longer I looked at the tweet, the more I wanted to click the link. Damn you, internet.

So, I did what any person would do. Opened Discord and hopped into a call with my two friends, Sasha and Riley. We boot up the link and immediately see red flags. The SEGA logo flickered? That’s not normal. I didn’t notice it at first – but Sasha did. She pointed it out, but my computer is trash as hell so I brushed it off as it processing the code weirdly.

The game played pretty normally, for the most part. Playing as Blaze was pretty damn cool, given we were never meant to play as her in the classic sonic mode. Sure, there were glitches here and there – some of the assets were unloaded. Looking through the recorded footage, we should’ve realized that was NOT normal.

The minor glitches only really happened in Green Hill. It didn’t matter much; the game was still very playable and fun. They died down in Chemical Plant. This, as far as we were concerned at this point, was just a fangame made by some Sonic ‘06 fanatic.

The next red flags, which were slowly getting more apparent as we played through the game, were the pop-ups. Things like “Warning - this game might have a virus!” and “Warning - suspicious activity within Classic_Silver_the_hedgehog.zip.” MAJOR red flag, but I guess we were too caught up praising the Blaze sprites to care.

Speaking of those, her sprites were kind of broken. Glitchy and the coloring was off. That’s why we were paying so much attention to it. It’s a dumb reason to ignore the red flags waving in our faces, but whatever. It was, like, three am. Our brains were too focused on how pink she looked rather than the off coloring and saturation of the background and the enemies, or lack thereof.

That was the next red flag. Where the hell were the enemies. We were meant to be fighting Eggman, but he just... wasn’t there? The game crashed after that. We all kind of agreed that was odd but we opened the game up again and decided to play as Silver, just to see how his powers would be implemented. Silver’s version of the game, good god was this shit BROKEN. Glitches, saturation, ZERO enemies, and there were flashes of words we couldn’t read because they lasted FIVE FUCKING SECONDS. This was probably the BIGGEST red flag.

We all agreed that we would continue playing in the morning since it was now four in the morning and Riley had things to do the next day. So, I closed out the game, left the call, and crawled back into bed.

Thinking about the situation, it kind of reminded me of that one news thing that happened when I was young. This guy named Kyle found dead in his house, his friend Tom following with a Sonic disk in his hands. Broken, at that, but that story always freaked me out. What murderer kills two guys and blames a Sonic the Hedgehog disk for it. Freak. Whatever, I eventually fell asleep.

We all got up the next day, and when Riley was free from the grasp of his dentist, we hopped on call. We booted the game up again and continued playing Silver’s route. Once more, let me say, HOLY FUCK, this game was BROKEN. The glitches got worse every single level, and the flashing words made me lower the brightness on my computer to avoid wanting to rip my eyes out. That’s how bad it was.

Sasha managed to go through the previous day’s footage and get the stuff from the flashing words. “HELP US,” “WHY WON’T YOU DIE,” “STUPID SLUTTY BITCH.” These sentences were so fucking... vulgar. And for what? A kids game? I swear, they were NOT warranted for whatever they were targeted to.

We got to the boss part and the game crashed again. I was actually going to start freaking out, cause when we opened the game, it mentioned me BY NAME. My computer’s name is DarkGoreRat. NOT my name. Freaked me out. I have NOTHING that refers to me by my actual name – my friends literally just started calling me Gore Rat.

I deleted the game, obviously. I’m not fucking stupid. I’m not keeping a game that knows my full name when I don’t even have it fucking saved.

If the creator of that fucked fangame reads this: You are an asshole. Spreading your game directed towards people and breaking their computers. Get a life, dickhead. But, otherwise, that’s all I can share until we can get everything figured out.

[thisisyourprincipalspeaking]

So…..apparently we’re back to the bs medium articles. 🙄 “Those” PR blogs claim “Elijah” wrote a one worded article last night and deleted it, even took screenshots of their bs. 😂

An anon stated how the BUA will be published by People Magazine not medium, in response to a team real troll mocking the medium mess, then one of those blogs replied with……

“Probably. I know the date not the publication.”

So now we have one claiming they know the publication, cool. I’ll sit and watch and see how they dig themselves out of this.

Im over here, like since they are so bold, post the damn date so we can get there and get NOTHING!

Chris has damage control to do, Chris needs to take accountability, Chris needs to understand how terrible this looks. He married a racist, the pr gf I could partially forgive, but to make that chick your “wife”. 🤨

You fans of color are going to need an explanation sir!

But I’m really curious to see how this ends and how Chris handles it. I don’t believe this man is racist, but what’s happened is done, broke up the fandom in multiple ways and all we have are speculation and theories based on what they CHOSE to do. This should’ve ended when the racist posts were discovered and when she leaked her shower nudes, but instead they doubled down and months later……”marriage”.

But I’m just curious to know if said ending really will happen, not expecting it, but won’t be mad if it does, this entire thing is stupid.

They say Wednesdays are break up day in Hollywood so let me guess, it’ll either be tomorrow the 24th, Next Wednesday, since it’s the last day of July, or we’ll get something this Friday or next Monday….oh the unlimited possibilities.

Am I really expecting something……. Nah. 😆

I’m expecting excuses from some people here though. 😝

*mocks* “he SiGneD AnOther ConTrACt, we KnOW BeCAUSE wE sAiD sO”

[freewayshark]

Fuck It Friday!

Tagged by @sibylsleaves and @rewritetheending ☺️

Continuing my fuck it Friday tradition of sharing something I started and then more or less abandoned. I’ve posted pieces of this before, early last year I think? For various seven sentence sundays, but I figured I may as well post the whole 4.7k I have. This is an au for the show From, and who knows, it comes back for season 2 in April so maybe my interest in it will return

Tagging! @elvensorceress @fiona-fififi @gayhoediaz if you feel like sharing something

It says a lot about the last few hours that Eddie’s day is already well and truly fucked even before the car crash.

The accident is just the cherry on top, really, the pièce de résistance to this shit-tacular day.

The tree across the road should’ve been his first sign that things were about to go south, but he brushed it off. Trees fall. It happens.

The black birds filling the sky didn’t exactly set him at ease, but they’re birds. Birds fly around.

“Did you know a group of crows is called a murder?” Christopher had helpfully supplied from the passenger seat of the RV Eddie had spent a stupid amount of money renting for the Diaz Boys’ Great Summer Adventure.

“I did not. But hey, maybe they were ravens,” Eddie had said as he’d carefully turned the RV around to find a detour.

“An unkindness then.”

“What?” He’d asked, distracted as he tried to get the stupid vehicle turned around on the narrow road without getting stuck in a ditch, but he got it done, and had looked at his son, the seven year old’s face uncharacteristically serious.

“A group of ravens is called an unkindness.”

And Eddie didn’t know then, why that had unsettled him worse than a murder, but by the time they’d driven through the same tiny town for the third time, passing by the same unsmiling faces, it starts to make a little more sense.

The near collision with a speeding Mercedes stops them from driving through a fourth time, as does the tree that spears through the windshield and traps Eddie in his seat, clipping so close to his ribs on the left side that it tears his shirt and probably takes some skin with it, but miraculously doesn't impale him.

He’s disoriented, a warm trickle of blood on his brow reminding him that he smacked his head on the steering wheel on impact. He blinks, the medic skills ingrained in him already running a checklist over his body. Possible concussion, likely mild, superficial cuts and scrapes from broken glass and the tree, his right wrist hurts like it might be sprained, possibly fractured, and there’s the matter of the RV being on its side, but he’s otherwise unharmed.

But very, very stuck.

He jerks his head to the side, panic rearing when Christopher isn’t in the seat next to him. His brain catches up, and he remembers sending Christopher to sit at the dinner table the second time around, when he’d stopped and asked a man for directions, only receiving a blank look in return.

“Christopher,” he gasps, voice breathy and weak with fear. How could he be so stupid as to send his son into the back of a moving RV, where there are no seatbelts. He hadn’t allowed it the whole trip, so of course the moment he does they’re in an accident.

“Christopher!” He tries again when he gets no answer. He takes a couple of breaths, forcing himself to remain calm. He stayed calm on the ground in Afghanistan, he can stay calm here.

He tries to twist in his seat to look into the back, but the tree hasn’t left him a lot of room to work with, and gravity in a sideways RV isn’t helping him either. He draws in a deep breath and shouts, “Christopher!”

There’s a moan, and the sound terrifies him and electrifies him in equal measure. “Daddy?” Christopher asks, sounding so small.

“Hey, hey, I’m here, buddy. Are you hurt?”

“My—my leg hurts, and I can’t move it.”

“That’s ok, if you can’t, don’t try to. Are you hurt anywhere else?”

“My head hurts a little. I think I hit the table, but it’s not bad.”

“Ok, that’s good, Christopher. Can you see what’s wrong with your leg?”

There‘s a pause, and Eddie has to fight down the instinct to start throwing himself against the tree to try to get back there, but then Christopher answers him. “I can’t see. I’m on my belly, and when I try to look it hurts,” he says, and Eddie can hear the tears and pain in his voice.

“Ok, don’t try to look anymore, I’m gonna call for help.” Eddie’s phone is clipped to the dashboard, easily within reach when there’s not a tree pinning him to his seat, but achingly far now. He curses himself for never enabling hands free mode when he last upgraded. He strains against the tree, reaching as far as he can, wrist flaring with pain, and his fingers brush the corner of the phone, but he needs another inch to grab it. He stretches harder, grimacing at the pressure on his ribs, but he manages to push himself up just enough that he’s able to snag it and pull the phone out of the clip, ignoring the burst of pain in his wrist. He leans back, ignoring the dull ache in his chest that’s sure to be a hell of a bruise tomorrow and unlocks his phone.

“Fuck,” he mutters under his breath. No signal. It doesn’t even say emergency calls only. He tries anyway, punching in 911 and holding it to his ear, but there’s just silence as the phone attempts and fails to dial out, connecting to nothing. “Fuck,” he says louder, and it speaks to Christopher’s state that he doesn’t tease his dad for swearing.

He pulls up the phone’s camera and switches to selfie mode, wincing when he gets a look at his face, more blood than he’d realized caked down the side. He allows himself one quick look at the cut above his eyebrow, deems it nothing pressing, and then holds the phone up, angling it this way and that, searching for his son on the screen.

It takes a moment, but when he finds him he sucks in a breath.

There’s a piece of debris jutting out the back of Christopher’s thigh, a dark ring of blood circling it.

——

Buck’s heart had sank when the RV had rolled through town the first time, but he hadn’t been able to stop himself from sending up a prayer to any god that will listen that he wouldn’t see it come through again.

It did, of course. And he’d watched as it stopped, and the window had rolled down, revealing an absolutely gorgeous man. He’d listened as the man had asked the closest person how to get back on the highway, and his heart had sunk further, remembering just two years ago when he’d leaned out the window of his jeep and asked the same question.

He’d watched as the RV had come through a third time, turning around at the diner and going back the way he’d come, just like they all try at some point.

The RV doesn’t come back immediately this time, and Buck doesn’t think a lot of it because that too, is par for the course. The man is probably pulled over on the side of the road, consulting a map, or trying to get a signal. If he doesn’t come back before long someone will be sent after him, probably Buck, and that’ll be that.

But then he sees the bloody woman.

“Oh fuck,” Albert says, sitting up straighter on the porch steps they’d been lounging on, and Buck’s up like a shot.

“Go get your brother, or Hen,” Buck demands, and Albert takes off, heading for the small clinic. Buck goes the opposite direction and intercepts the woman. Her knees buckle just as he reaches her, and he’s barely able to morph her collapse into a slow sit down.

“Miss, can you tell me what happened?” He asks, brushing her long red hair out of her face to try to find the source of all the blood. It’s almost funny how quickly he falls back on his firefighter training despite rarely having cause to use it in the past two years.

“RV,” she manages, her eyelids fluttering.

“Did your RV crash?” He asks, looking back down the road where she’d come from.

“Almost hit the RV. Both of us crashed,” she answers, and then passes out.

Buck’s hands go numb. She can’t possibly mean that she wasn’t in the RV. Two cars on the same day? It’s never happened before. He’s not sure there’s ever even been two in the same week. In the two years he’s been here only five cars have come before today, and the last one was months ago.

“What’ve we got, Buckaroo. Did that RV crash?” Chimney asks, dropping to his knees next to Buck and the woman, Albert right on his heels with a backboard.

“Yeah,” Buck answers in a daze. “But she wasn’t in it.”

Chimney and Albert’s attention snaps to him in unison. “What?” Chim asks disbelievingly.

“Before she passed out she said she almost hit the RV, and they both crashed. Fuck.” He shoots to his feet, his brain finally catching up with him. “There’s just a couple hours til sundown.” Buck looks at the sun and grimaces. They’ll be lucky if it’s even two full hours. “Albert, help Chim get her to the clinic and then get Athena and a med bag and come find me.”

“Where are you going?”

“To find that RV.”

——

It’s not hard, thankfully. The stretch of road doesn’t go very far in either direction outside of the town proper before you’re looped back in on the other side, and the woman’s Mercedes isn’t hard to spot wrapped around a tree. Buck checks it to make sure no one is inside, taking a moment to pop the trunk and grab a small first aid kit and roadside toolset before taking off again. Not much further he finds dirt kicked up in deep tire tracks, and if he peers through the trees he can see the back end of an RV on its side.

He slides down an embankment and runs towards the front of the RV.

“Hello?” He calls.

“Oh thank god,” someone says, and Buck recognizes the voice as the man who’d been driving. Buck’s got a half-formed thought that he hopes the man is the only person inside when the man dashes that by saying, “Please, can you help my son?”

Buck stops in his tracks and closes his eyes. The guy hadn’t looked much older than Buck, so his son must be a child. Buck wouldn’t wish this town on anyone, but a child? Fuck. He won’t be the first, and almost certainly not the last, but it aches to think about regardless.

Buck takes a steadying breath. “Yeah, I just gotta figure out how to get in there.”

Buck tosses the first aid kit and tool kit onto the side of the RV now serving as the roof, backs up a few steps, and then runs at the RV, jumping and grabbing anything he can hold onto to pull himself up. He looks around, but there’s just the driver’s door, the camper door presumably now on the ground. He carefully makes his way to the driver’s door, grimacing when he sees the tree speared through the windshield, sure he’s about to get a gory eyeful, but he’s thankful when he looks in the window and finds the tree has just trapped the driver and not run him through.

His eyes find the man’s face, sees the gash above his eyebrow, and the blood, but it doesn’t look too bad, and the man is lucid, his eyes clear and bright.

“Hey, my name is Buck. Are you hurt?”

The man shakes his head. “Not really, just fucking stuck. My son though…” he trails off, and he gets the sense that the man doesn’t want to say it aloud, whether he feels like that makes it real or if he doesn’t want his son to hear, he doesn’t know. “I’m Eddie. My son’s name is Christopher.”

“Ok, Eddie, I’m gonna get you guys out of here.”

——

Buck does not get them out of there. He climbs over Eddie and checks on Christopher, and Eddie hears him talking soothingly to his son, returning to the cab after a couple of minutes.

“How bad is it?” Eddie asks quietly, cutting right to the chase.

“It’s not great, but it could be a lot worse. I’m confident the debris missed the femoral, and I don’t think it hit bone either. But it’s all the way through and embedded in the RV. It’s going to have to be removed before we can get him out.”

Eddie won’t be truly satisfied until he’s out of this fucking seat and checking on Christopher himself. He eyes Buck, really taking him in for the first time, and his eyes narrow when he reads Buck’s t-shirt. “You seem to know what you’re talking about. Guess I’m lucky to be run off the road by LAFD. Awfully far from home though, huh?”

Buck looks puzzled for a second before glancing down at LAFD emblazoned in large letters on his chest, and then his eyes widen as he catches up with the rest of Eddie’s statement.

“Ah, no, I wasn’t driving the other car. A woman was, she managed to walk back into town.”

“Is she ok?”

“I don’t know. I left her in the care of one of our doctors, so hopefully. She told me the RV crashed, so I came running.”

Eddie’s brow furrows, and he feels a fresh round of blood squeeze out of his cut. “You live in this place, but you’re wearing an LAFD t-shirt. Are you even a firefighter?”

Buck shrugs and starts testing the tree for weakness. “As in, am I certified? Yes. Am I currently employed by a fire station? No, because we don’t actually have one. It’s—complicated,” he finishes, finding a weak spot where the tree forks. He pulls a small crowbar from the toolkit and goes to work, and after a few minutes of both of them pulling and pushing and levering, the smaller portion of the tree cracks loose and falls against the passenger side window, allowing Eddie to get free of the driver’s seat. He’s barely got both feet planted before he’s rushing to his son’s side.

“Hey, buddy, I’m here now.”

“Dad,” Christopher breathes, relief coloring his tone. “It hurts,” he adds, turning his little head to the side to look beseechingly at Eddie.

“I know, honey. We’re going to make it better as soon as we can.” Eddie feels Buck’s eyes on him as he carefully checks Christopher’s neck and spine.

“You a doctor?”

“Former army medic,” he answers, moving down to Christopher’s leg now that he’s satisfied he doesn’t have a spinal injury. The debris appears to be a twisted piece of metal, maybe part of the table, Eddie’s not sure, but it’s like Buck says, it’s embedded all the way through Christopher’s leg clear through to the wall of the RV beneath him.

The blood soaking into Christopher’s jeans has barely expanded since Eddie first saw it, and that’s good. Buck seems to be right about the femoral artery not being hit, and he’s pretty confident it hasn’t hit bone either. But getting it out is going to suck, and they’re going to need more than the little first aid kit Buck has.

“I couldn’t get a signal to call 911, can you go back to town to call for help?” He asks as he takes Christopher’s hand and runs his fingers through his hair, his heart aching as he takes in the tear tracks on his face.

“Albert should be here any minute with a med bag,” Buck says, as if that’s reassuring or a response to what he’d said..

Eddie blinks at him. “A med bag? That’s—no, we need to call an ambulance, get rescue out here with equipment, and an ambulance to get him to the hospital.”

Buck grimaces. “Yeah, so, that’s not really possible.”

Eddie shakes his head. “I know this is in the middle of nowhere, but someone will come. We can keep him comfortable until then.”

“No, Eddie, you don’t understand, I can’t go call for help. You had to have noticed you drove through town three times while driving in a straight line.”

Eddie snaps his mouth shut, because, yeah. But that’s not how the world works, that’s the stuff of cheap horror novels. “I just kept missing the turn is all. Must’ve been a switchback road, and the curve was so gradual I didn’t notice I was circling back around.”

Buck’s eyes crinkle with so much compassion that Eddie wants to puke. “Yeah, that’s what I figured too.”

“What the fuck are you saying?” Eddie demands, but before Buck can answer there’s the sound of someone coming through the woods.

“Buck?” A voice calls, and Buck stands, moving back into the cab.

“We’re in here, Albert!” Buck calls.

There’s the sound of someone climbing up on the side of the RV, and then Buck steps back for a young Korean man to climb down, a med bag thrown over his shoulder.

“Where’s Athena?” Buck asks, taking the med bag and dropping to his knees on Christopher’s other side.

“She’s coming, she said she had to get something. Buck—” Albert cuts himself off and both Eddie and Buck look up at him expectantly and he sighs. “It’s going to be dark soon.”

Eddie doesn’t miss the way Buck pointedly doesn’t look at him when he answers, “I know, Albert.”

Buck digs through the med bag and produces a small pouch. He pulls out a syringe and a vial, holding it up so Eddie can see that it’s a sedative. Eddie nods, and Buck fills the syringe with the appropriate amount.

“Hey, buddy, I’m going to give you a little shot that’s going to help you feel better, ok?”

Christopher’s face screws up, unhappy, but u fortunately the kid is already far too accustomed to needles for someone so young. “Ok,” he answers, and squeezes Eddie’s hand as Buck administers the shot.

There’s the sound of someone else approaching, and Albert scrambles up out of the RV to help a small but imposing Black woman climb down. He assumes she must be Athena.

“It’s getting dark, Buck,” she says, and Eddie watches as his shoulders tighten.

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” he asks, but that just makes Buck’s shoulders tighten further.

“These woods get dangerous at night,” Athena says, but Eddie knows they’re all hiding something, and although he’d found himself wanting to trust Buck from the moment he saw him, he feels like he’s on the defensive now.

But he buttons down his distrust. These people are clearly hiding something, but they do seem like they want to help. And he’s currently in desperate need of it.

“Can we move him? Get him to the clinic and deal with his leg there?” Athena asks, observing the scene.

Buck shakes his head. “No. The debris is pinning him to the wall of the RV, and it’s not as simple as just lifting him off it and carrying him out. Even without femoral damage we don’t want to risk that kind of bleeding.”

Athena nods. “Alright. What’s the timeframe then?”

“It won’t be done until well after dark,” he says, and Eddie watches as he and Athena seem to exchange some sort of silent communication. Athena sighs, and digs something out of her pocket.

“Guess you’ll be needing this then,” she says, letting the item drop from her hand. It’s a talisman of some sort, and it hangs by a piece of string from her middle finger.

Albert’s eye widen. “Will that work here?”

Buck grimaces, but accepts the charm from Athena. “No way to know but to do it. You two better go home.” Buck finally looks at Eddie again, meeting his gaze head on. “You need to go with them.”

Eddie can’t help it, he laughs. “Yeah, like hell.”

“Eddie, Athena’s serious. You don’t want to be out here at night if you can help it.”

Eddie raises his eyebrows. “You think hearing that will make me be willing to leave my injured son? With a stranger? Over my dead body.”

Buck looks like he wants to argue but Athena just says, “Buck,” and shakes her head when he cuts a look at her.

“I’ll stay too,” Albert says, and Athena barely gets out a snort before Buck’s arguing.

“No, you absolutely are not.”

“What if the talisman doesn’t work, Buck? I could help.”

“No you can’t, and you know it. Chimney’s probably going to be at the clinic tonight with the woman from the Mercedes, so you can help by staying with Maddie. But do not tell her where I am. The last thing we need is her storming off in the middle of the night to try to drag me home.”

Albert scoffs. “Like she won’t figure it out when I show up instead of you.”

“Then you’ll just have to make sure she stays put, won’t you?”

Albert looks like he wants to keep fighting, but it’s clear even to Eddie that it’s a lost battle, and Albert’s shoulders slump in defeat. “Fine.”

“Glad that’s settled,” Athena says. “But let’s get the windows covered before we go.”

“Good plan. Eddie, do you have any camping lanterns?”

——

Buck can read the helplessness written all over Eddie’s face. He’d told Buck where to find the lanterns and had sat, silent and stony faced, holding Christopher’s hand as Albert and Athena had stripped the bed for sheets and blankets to cover the windows with. He’d remained quiet as Albert had climbed out, as Athena had pulled him aside in the cab to squeeze his shoulder and mutter a quiet be careful, Buckaroo, and make sure he is too before hanging the talisman on the tree and accepting Albert’s hand to climb out.

It’s only once they’re gone, and Buck has returned to kneel at Christopher’s side, that Eddie speaks again.

“We have to focus on getting this thing out of my son’s leg. But once we have, you’re going to talk, and you’re going to tell me what the fuck is going on in this place.”

Buck meets his eyes, reads the determination there and knows there’s no getting out of it. Besides, Eddie probably hasn’t caught on yet, but they’re not leaving this RV until morning. There will be plenty of time to talk.

“Let’s get to work then,” Buck says, so they do.

It’s rough, and time consuming. The sedative Buck gave Christopher isn’t anesthesia, so he isn’t saved from the worst of the pain. More than once he sees Eddie wiping his own tears away seconds after wiping away Christopher’s.

Buck can tell it’s killing Eddie that he can’t be much help, but Buck takes on look at Eddie’s purpling wrist, on his dominant hand, of course, because why wouldn’t it be, and vetoes Eddie providing much more than moral support and occasional instruction.

It’s unfortunate, because as a former army medic Eddie most likely has experience with injuries like this, and while Buck did have to have emt certification to be a firefighter in Los Angeles, he’d only been on the job for two weeks before he’d gotten a call from Pennsylvania that had culminated in being stuck here.

But, eventually, it’s done. It’ll most likely need to be cleaned again in the morning when they can get to the clinic, and he’ll need antibiotics, but the obstruction is removed and the wound closed and wrapped. Buck sits back and wipes the sweat off his brow, glancing at the tiny gap in the sheets where the tree made it impossible to block the windshield entirely and is met with pitch black darkness.

“We’re not leaving until daylight, are we?” Eddie asks as he carefully arranges Christopher in his lap, the boy curling against his dad’s chest.

“We wouldn’t make it ten feet out of this RV,” Buck answers, gaze automatically finding the talisman. He hasn’t heard them yet, but he knows they’re out there. They’re always out there, once it’s dark.

“What is it? Bears? Wolves?”

Buck can’t help the bitter laugh. “Bears and wolves are survivable. No, this is something–something else,” he shrugs. “I know you want answers, and I’ll tell you what I know, but the first thing you need to understand is there are no answers. Least not any we know.”

Eddie’s jaw works for a moment. “Ok. Tell me what you know then.”

So Buck talks. He starts with his own story, how two years ago he’d just started as a firefighter in Los Angeles when his sister had called him from Pennsylvania, needing help. He leaves out the details of that, but he talks about how he went, loaded her up in his Jeep, and set out for California, when maybe twenty miles past the Pennsylvania state line, there had been a tree in the road.

“We detoured because of a downed tree too,” Eddie says, and Buck nods.

“We all did. Did you see the crows too?” Eddie hesitates, and then gives a jerky nod. “We all saw those too. And we all turn around, and we all drive through this tiny town. And then we all drive through it again.”

“When you say all…”

“I mean all. No one is from here, we’re all from somewhere else.”

“None of this is possible. You said you were just outside of Pennsylvania? I was in Colorado.”

“And Albert and his brother Chimney were in Oregon. Athena and her family were in Arizona. Everyone here was somewhere different when we drove into this town and never left.”

Eddie shakes his head. “That’s impossible,” he repeats.

Buck shrugs. “Yes, it is. But it’s also true.”

“Say I believe you about that. What’s with the talisman? What’s in the woods?”

Buck takes a deep breath. This is the hard part. If Eddie’s having a hard enough time believing him about the town at large, he’s not going to believe this next part at all. But he’ll have proof soon enough, because Buck knows it’s just a matter of time until they start circling the RV, it’s a wonder they haven’t already.

“There are things out there that only come out at night. We don’t know for sure what they are, only that they look like us, but they aren’t. These talismans keep us safe, keep them from coming into our homes unless we open the door for them.”

“Why would anyone do that?”

“Because they talk, Eddie, and they ask us to. And it can be pretty fucking hard not to listen.”

“You know what you’re describing sounds an awful lot like vampires.”

Buck nods. “Don’t say that in town though, makes people jumpy. I don’t know if that’s what they are, but they’re definitely similar. But if they catch you out after dark you’re not going to have two little mosquito bites on the side of your neck. They’ll tear your ribcage open and eat your heart.”

“Jesus.”

“I’m not saying any of this to scare you. You need to know, because you’re stuck here like the rest of us now.”

Eddie looks down at the child sleeping on his chest. “I don’t believe in shit like this.”

“I didn’t either, not really. You learn to adapt.”

Eddie looks past Buck at the talisman. “What happens if it doesn’t work for an RV?”

Buck doesn’t respond for a moment, weighing the repercussions of honesty here. But he can tell Eddie needs the truth, and can handle it, so he says, “We pray it’s quick.”

——

Eddie is awoken by the sound of nails scraping against metal. He doesn’t remember falling asleep, but the crick in his neck tells him it’s been a while.

He sits up, careful to not dislodge Christopher. Buck had turned off all the lights but one, but it’s enough light to see Buck standing a few feet away, crowbar clutched in a white knuckle grip.

“Is it—” he cuts himself off when Buck holds a finger up to his lips and nods.

The scratching moves along the side of the RV, and Eddie is all too aware that he can’t hear the sound of footsteps on the dry leaves, despite everyone else’s approach being announced by the crunch.

“Eddie.”

He jumps, because that wasn’t Buck’s voice.