#it was eight months expired but whatever

[peachdoxie]

Today was pretty sucky food-wise because of The Disorder but at least I remembered I had a packet of Gatorade protein powder in my backpack so I could at least get some extra protein in my diet.

[orions-choker]

The Killing Moon (Werewolf!James Hetfield x Reader NSFW)

Werewolf!James Hetfield, Rough Sex, Size Difference, Forest Sex, Big Dick, Werewolf sex

Word Count: 5,831

Reader is tired of living in this dreary damp town with stories of monsters in the forests. Lucky for her James is the only monster out to get her.

(Cross posted to AO3, this is just Werewolf!James smut, ty ty)

Rain drummed against the roof in endless waves. It had been weeks since this town had seen sun. Streets cast in a perpetual blue haze, water collected in murky pools, the ground growing soft and muddy. The clouds only cleared at night, allowing the cool rays of the moon to greet the earth once again. 

Y/N hated it. Each day she regretted moving here for college. This little rundown town was just a twenty minute drive from her college campus, rent was cheap and she thought she needed a change of pace, god was she wrong. 

She had moved here two months ago now, each day more painful than the last. Growing pains, that's what she called it, she was homesick, no friends, a multitude of reasons why she couldn’t make this place her home. Now she was convinced it really was her own personal slice of hell. 

With a groan she rummaged for her key ring, deep in her raincoat pocket. Fumbling she finally found it, shoving the correct key into the lock and sliding the door open. As she stepped inside she pulled her hood down, shaking the water from her body as best she could. The building was dark and empty. She hated opening shifts. What kind of place opens at four in the morning? 

This was the only job she was able to land here, a little run down convenience store and gas station on the outskirts of town, just bordering the deep forest. Truly it was always dead, except for the occasional farmer who preferred driving the deep dirt roads than venturing into town for their jerky and gas. She had to be here at three-thirty each morning, it seemed redundant when all she had to do was flick the lights on and turn the open sign, but hey it paid the bills. 

She shuffled behind the counter, flicking on the coffee pot that was already set up and ready to brew. Her next order of business was to check the expiration dates of the coolers, turn the lights on, and sit there for the next eight hours buried in her book. 

It was still dark outside, the sun not yet cresting upon the mountains. She hated being out here all alone in the dark. Her eyes darted to the corner of the store, ensuring the old shotgun still rested there. Even under normal circumstances she would hate being out in the dark, outside of an expansive unknown forest all by herself. But the situation was not made any better by the rumors swirling around town. 

It was typical animal attacks, hikers going missing, pieces of flesh and blood found deep within the forest trails. Classic horror movie shit. The rational part of Y/N reasoned it was bears. Hell there were a lot of bears out here, she had them in her backyard on more than one occasion and she actually lived within town limits. But the townsfolk were not so sure, as an outsider Y/N was inclined to believe they were fucking with her. But the more she heard the tales of beasts, not human, not animal, deep within the forests and mountains in these parts, the more she believed. 

With a shiver she poured herself a hot cup of coffee, warming her hands on the steam that drifted up. She had seen it, she was sure, the glow of inhuman blue eyes following her, through her backdoor window at home. The low rumbling of a growl from the brush each morning she came to work. Whatever it was it never got close, stalking her like prey, waiting for the right moment to pounce. She hated this town. 

Tucking her hair behind her ears, Y/N pulled her book from her bag. She settled into the worn chair behind the counter, kicking her legs up as she flipped to her bookmark. There was a pleasant hum from the staticky radio in the corner as she sipped slowly on her hot drink. The nice thing about this job is it gave her plenty of time to read, to study, and finish homework.

Slowly as she turned the pages the dim lightning of the early morning sun rose through the windows of the store, still filtered by the dark rain clouds.  Any light outside was better than nothing though. It was nearly six in the morning, three hours after she had gotten here before she heard the rattling of a truck coming down the road, her first customer of the day. 

Y/N placed the book down, eyes drifting up to the window before widening in surprise. She stood up suddenly, body stiffening as she watched the driver hop out. A tall mess of blonde hair, tight jeans and denim vest. James. The only good part about her time spent here was this boy. 

James was the second eldest son of one of the town's farmers, a family long rooted in the history here, one of the backbones of the entire town. Apparently the Hetfield family had been here since the first settlements, spanning two hundred years back. Safe to say everyone here knew them, respected them. 

He was different though, more wild, untamed. James was very vocal about his intentions, he wanted to leave this fucking town behind, move down to california and join the music scene there. Y/N wasn’t sure what was stopping him but she wasn’t complaining if it meant she got to spend more time with him. He was the closest thing she had to a friend. 

The door bounced open and much like a puppy James came barreling towards the counter. “Mornin’ Y/N!” He greeted her with an untapped amount of enthusiasm, his voice a little gravely and low from sleep still. He leaned over the counter into her personal space with a wide smile, all teeth. 

“Take it down a notch James, waaay too loud for six in the morning.” Y/N groaned with a smile, reaching forward to playfully push his head away. “What’s got you all excited this morning?” She asked as she moved languidly to the coffee pot, preparing his usual order with practiced ease. 

James whined as he was pushed away, following her down the counter to watch her work. “Goin’ hunting this morning.” He explained, reaching out to gratefully take the to-go cup from her hands. She never charged him for the coffee. “Been awhile since I blew off some steam.” He mimicked the shooting of a gun. 

No matter how much he complained about living here, there were still some things permanently ingrained into him, the love for old trucks, dirt roads, and shooting guns. Normally Y/N would never be into the whole americana lifestyle, but something about James was just so endearing she couldn’t help but gravitate towards him. She shuddered, sticking her tongue out. “God you can be so barbaric sometimes.”

“Gotta eat somehow.” James shrugged, leaning casually against the counter. His piercing blue eyes traveled up and down her body and she shivered under his gaze. He often had that effect on her. He looked at her like he was going to eat her. “You should really come with me sometime Y/N.” He hummed, shooting her smile. 

Y/N shook her head quickly. “No thank you, I like not seeing the meat I eat being killed, I need that disconnect or else I’d be a vegetarian.” She frowned at the idea of taking the life of a living breathing creature. “Plus too much shit goes down in those forests, I worry about you going out there.” She tapped her fingers against the counter anxiously. 

James scoffed, “Don’t tell me you actually believe all that bulllshit,” He laughed deeply. He rummaged around in the pockets of his jeans for his wallet, pulling out a couple twenties for his gas. “There's nothing supernatural out there.” He wiggled his fingers playfully. “Nothing spooky about dumbass hikers who don't know the trails getting lost or animals eating each other.” 

“Fuck off show some sympathy, those people had families.” Y/N groaned, her fingers aggressively pressing against the till as she retrieved his change. “I’m just telling you to be careful James, let me care about you.” She frowned, shoving the coins into his hand. 

His eyes softened, fingers grazing hers briefly. “Fine, fine I’m sorry, I’ll be fine Y/N.” He sighed in defeat. “You don’t have to be worried about me getting hurt out there, trust me.” There was something predatory behind his words that sent an uneasy feeling crawling up Y/N’s spine. 

Pressing her lips into a thin smile she nodded at him. “You better, your the only person worth staying around for in this fucking place.” She joked. She waved at him through the window as she watched him fill his tank before hopping back into his truck, instead of turning around and driving back down the road he drove further into the forest road. 

The rest of Y/N’s shaft dragged on, relief flooding her body as she saw her replacement enter. Another young girl, a highschooler, she was the granddaughter of the owner. Y/N didn’t like that such a young girl worked the closing shift but at the same time she knew these parts better than Y/N did and seemed unfazed by the spookiness of it all. Y/N was quick to sling her bag over her shoulder and book it out the door to her car. 

She had classes this afternoon that if she was being honest she didn’t want to attend, but any moment she spent outside of this town was worth it. The college town wasn't much bigger, but certainly filled with more life. It was always refreshing to see people her own age wandering around, familiar name brand stores lining the streets, unfortunate that the rent to stay here was astronomical. 

Her classes didn’t end until eight that night, sky already darkened once again as she got back in her car. God she missed the sun, she never got to see it anymore. The drive back was always the worst, transitioning from well lit highway roads to dark, twisting tree lined roads. Y/N shuddered as she flipped her high beams on to see better. 

It was then, out of the corner of her eye she saw it, the flash of a deer bounding across the road, being followed by something…big. Bigger than any wild animal she had seen before, bigger than the grizzlies in her yard. A wolf, a dusty yellow color, huge, nearly as big as her car. She screeched, hands gripping the steering wheel as she turned away from the animals. 

Her car skidded as it went down the side of the road, riding in the shallow ditch until it came to a complete stop, sputtering. Her eyes were wide, chest heaving aggressively as she attempted to take back her air. She looked around, the road completely dead aside from her shining headlights. No sign of the animal she had just seen. Had she imagined it? 

Y/N swallowed heavily before reaching down to put her car in reverse. Her tires spun helplessly before she gave up. Of course she got stuck, just her fucking luck. She groaned, head falling forwards to smash against the steering wheel, the sad sound of her horn going off echoed in the dead night.

Slowly she turned her car off removing the keys from the ignition. She threw the door open, stumbling on the uneven ground as she crawled out. The idea of hitchhiking wasn't too thrilling to her, but surely someone would be coming down this road at some point.

The air was cool against her skin, freezing raindrops fell against her skin. Y/N shivered, cursing herself for not bringing her jacket with her. Hesitantly she started walking, arms curled around herself in an attempt to stay warm, his long hair growing damp and sticking to her forehead. 

It was silent, too silent. Not a single sound from the forests surrounding the roads. The trees were never quiet, not a single chirp of a bird, hoot of an owl, crunching of leaves or sticks, nothing. Completely silent aside from her own heavy breathing. “Fuck,” She mumbled, eyes darting to the side as she stared into the dark abyss.

She saw it then, those blue eyes, gleaming under the glow of the moonlight. She could see more this time, large snarling jaws, drool dripping from the jowls. It was unmistakably the same creature that stalked her outside her home, the same one that had just run across the road. A wolf, no, a monster. She stumbled backwards onto the road, falling on her ass as a scream ripped its way violently from her throat. 

Her shrieking seemed to stop the creature for a moment, its mouth snapping closed, ears twitching lightly before it turned, diving deep into the forest. Y/N’s eyes stayed fixated on the spot it once stood, shock and horror etched into her face. Her nails dug against the asphalt beneath her until the flesh surrounding was bleeding. Scrambling to her feet she booked it, running down the road with adrenaline coursing through her veins. 

It seemed as though she ran forever before she saw any signs of life, headlights barrelling towards her on the other side of the road. She ran towards the middle of the road, waving her hands wildly to grab the driver's attention. The night air filled with the sound of brakes screaming as the truck came to a halt just inches before her. She knew this truck. 

“Holy fuck, Y/N? Are you okay what the fuck are you doing?” James' panicked voice hit her ears as the driver's side door was pushed open violently. James looked wild, pupils blown wide, skin red and blotchy, his clothes disheveled caked in mud. Tears sprung to her eyes as Y/N tossed herself at the man. “Fuck get in, get in.” He hurried, taking her around the side and shoving her into the passenger seat. 

Quickly he hopped back in the truck, with a rev of the engine James pulled a sharp u turn, getting them back on the road towards town. His brows were furrowed, jaw locked tight as he gripped the steering wheel. Seeing him closer now Y/N noticed light scrapes and dirt embedded into his skin. 

“What are you doin out here, how did you know?” She whispered gently, worried that her voice would only fuel his anger. Her hands shook as she clutched at her soaked arms, her hair dripping against the leather seats. The only other sound, the whooshing of the windshield wipers working overtime to combat the now heavy rain. 

James didn’t respond for a long moment, clenching and unclenching his hands on the steering wheel as he calmed himself. He looked at her from the corner of his eyes, the glint of the moonlight catching them and all Y/N could think was how familiar those eyes looked. Not in the way they usually did, they didn’t look like James’s eyes.  “I stopped by your place to drop off some groceries, you weren't home, it was late.” He said carefully, it was off putting James never struck her as a careful man. 

Y/N nodded, mind whirling with thoughts. She didn’t want to seem ungrateful but she was sure she had never had him stop by before, how did he know where she lived? “I saw it, I think.” She mumbled, eyes trained on the road as they entered town, she had been so close. “The monster they say is out in the woods.” 

She could see his body tense beside her, he took a sharp turn down her road. “There’s no monster out there Y/N, it was probably a bear, you're lucky nonetheless.” His voice was harsh, biting like the cold winds that whipped the side of the car. The truck jumped across the bump dirt road, jostling over each rock as they passed by her neighbors houses. 

“No, No this wasn't a bear James.” She shook her head, whipping water everywhere across the interior of the vehicle. “It was a wolf I think, but huge, it stared right at me.” She explained as the truck lurched to a stop in front of her home. She was still shaking as she looked up to James, the truck going silent as he put it in park. 

Wordlessly he hopped out, moving around to the side to pop her door open and help her out. He walked her inside, oddly she didn’t think she left the door unlocked. Her house was dark as the two entered. James sat her down on the couch, shrugging his heavy denim jacket off and wrapping it around her shoulders. “Y/N.” He said softly, placing his hands on her shaking shoulders. “There's no monsters in the woods, you’re fine, you’re safe, get some sleep.” Finally he smiled at her for the first time that night. His teeth seemed bigger, sharper. “I’ll swing by in the morning and we can go pull your car out of the ditch, kay?” 

All Y/N could bring herself to do was nod slowly. Eyes wide as she watched James leave her house. How, how did he know where she lived, how did he get in, most importantly how did he know she had driven her car into the ditch. She had been far down the road by the time he showed up. 

Her sleep was restless that night, each slumbering moment filled with flashing images of those big teeth, those eyes, and James. He had never made her feel unsafe, so why was his presence so terrifying now? She woke that moment to gentle rapping on her front door. She rolled out of bed, hair frizzy and wild, deep purple bags under her eyes. 

Shuffling across the wooden floor in her fuzzy socks, she hesitantly opened the door. To her surprise she was greeted by the sun. Warm rays cascading down across her and warming her skin, golden light filtered through, creating an almost angelic halo around the man standing in front of her. 

James looked far more put together than she did at that moment, his regular goofy smile plastered on his face. He was dressed for the weather, in nothing more than a tank top, jeans and some sweatbands. She figured it was still too cold outside for that. She noticed his truck running behind him as he hadn’t bothered turning it off. “Morning sunshine’ ready to get going?” He teased her. 

His enthusiasm was infectious and she smiled back at him, albeit wearily. “I’m not even dressed James.” She complained as she slipped on a worn pair of sneakers. Reaching behind her to tie her wild hair back into a messy ponytail with the scrunchy that never left her wrist. She grabbed his jacket off the hanger on her wall, going to hand it back to him but he shook his head, gesturing for her to put it on. She wouldn't complain, it was perfectly oversized, comfy and smelt like pine, dirt and charcoal, like James. 

“You can go back to bed once we get that car off the road. Wouldn't want anyone trying to steal it.” He opened the passenger door for her. Holding her hand to help her climb in. “Coffee?” He offered her a to-go cup in the center console as he hopped in. She nodded gratefully and took a long sip. He remembered the way she liked it. She sighed, leaning her head back against the headrest. 

A hesitant silence fell over them, the questions Y/N had from last night still circling the tip of her tongue. “James.” She started cautiously. “I’m…confused, I, how did you know where I lived last night, how did you know about my car?” She asked, fear laced her words as she saw a flash of anger pass over his face. 

The silence continued, James tongue pressed to the inside of his cheek as he drove towards the sight of the crash. “I saw it, the crash.” He explained voice was a bit strained. He sounded…worried. “And i've uh…followed you home before.”

Y/N turned her body to him, confused. Despite the weird admission she couldn’t bring herself to be afraid. “What do you mean you saw it? You didn’t come until later.” She asked incredulously. They were pulling over across from her car still in place from last night. 

James shook his head, looking towards her with the guilt of a kicked puppy. “No I was, there I saw it…I caused it.” He admitted, his thumbs nervously rubbing across the leather of the steering wheel. “I uh, when you've heard…the stories of the  monsters in these woods, what do they usually call them.” 

“Werewolves.” Y/N whispered in disbelief. It clicked, her eyes dropping from his blonde hair, to those damn eyes. It was him. “Holy fuck.” She gasped, pressing herself as far as she could into the door of the truck, hands frantically attempting to unlock her seatbelt. 

A pained look came across James face. His hand raised in surrender. “Please, Y/N, hey just calm down I’m not going to hurt you, I never have before have I?” He tried to reason with her. He looked more vulnerable than she felt at the moment. 

Y/N’s voice raised, her breath quickening on the verge of a panic attack. “You, you stalked me outside, my house, the hikers, oh my god the hikers.” Tears welled up in her eyes. She curled into herself in an attempt to protect herself from the man across from her. The sweet man who looked scared himself right now. How could he look at her like that?

“Fuck, Y/N can you let me explain please?” He pleaded, his hands went to reach for her but he stopped himself short, pulling back to make sure he didn't frighten her further. “I..yeah I was outside your house, lots I just, I really like you man.” He groaned, rubbing his face aggressively. “You’re so pretty and sweet and you like talking to me I just, it wasn’t the right thing to do I know.” 

Y/N frowned, peeking out to look at him curiously. “Why wouldn't you just ask me out you creep? I would have said yes, and that doesn't explain the fact you killed people!” she shouted, waving her hands in exasperation. 

James' eyes lit up at the admission. “You would have said yes?” He asked excitedly, funnily enough Y/N swore she could see his tail wagging. 

“James, Murder! Dead Hikers!” She snapped at him, directing his attention to the more pressing matter at hand.

He winced, recoiling back like he had been stabbed. “There’s not much for me to explain that away if I'm being honest.” His shoulders slumped at the admission of guilt. “I can turn at any time, but on full moons I have no control over it, any consciousness I hold is gone and anything in my path is on the chopping block, except for you.” 

Tilting her head to the side Y/N urged him to explain further, despite her better interests her walls were falling again. Despite the incredulous situation the man sitting across from her was still James, still the sweet James who came to visit her every morning at work. “What do you mean except me?” 

A blush rose to his cheeks. James stumbled over his words slightly, something she had never seen him do before. “It's uh, your first shift at the store, full moon that night, you showed up at three that morning and I saw you.” Y/N shivered as he recounted the story. She remembered that first shift, the first time she had been truly alone in the woods. She remembered the echoing howl in the distance that sent her scurrying inside the store. “I don’t know what stopped me, it was the most aware I had ever felt on a night like that. I just want to protect you.” 

Silence blanketed them once more, the only sound the occasional car flying past them, rattling the windows. “So when you went hunting?” She asked, he responded with a nod. “When you told me not to be worried.” He nodded again. Y/N hummed thoughtfully. “Can I see it?” 

James sputtered in surprise. He had the audacity to stare at her like she had grown two heads for asking the question. “You want to see it?�� He clarified. “I don’t…that's not the best idea Y/N.” he frowned. Yet still, he moved, getting out of the truck with her as she backed him further into the woods. 

“You said you wouldn’t hurt me right?” She asked, the forest seemed a little less intimidating now. “I need to see it to believe it.” she reached out, grabbing his hand soothingly. “Is it like a full wolf? Or wolf man style?”

That earned her a strained chuckle from James. His large hand shook within her own as they walked further into the brush. “Both I guess.” He explained, leaves and sticks crunching beneath their footsteps. “Mostly full wolf I guess, I have a halfway form but it's less than pretty.” He grimaced. Soon the two of them were far away enough from the road that James stopped. “Here is fine if you really want to go through with this.” 

Y/N nodded, taking a few steps back from him. He gestured for her to turn around. “You don’t want to see it happen.” He mumbled, pulling at the bottom hem of his shirt and tugging it off. As soon as his chest was exposed Y/N turned around with a squeak. She hadn’t seen so much of him before. 

It started with a groan, then a sickening snap, bone breaking and contorting violently. She shuddered, squeezing her eyes tight. Then the sound of flesh ripping hit her ears next and a guttural animalistic growl. Silence. Before Y/N could turn around she felt something soft nudging her back. Slowly she looked behind her, stilling a scream as she came face to face with it. 

“Giant fucking wolf.” She mumbled in disbelief. He seemed a lot less intimidating in the daylight. Sure it was a giant wolf but nowhere near as monstrous as it seemed in the moonlight. His big blue eyes stared up at her patiently, those were definitely James’s eyes. Slowly her hand came down on its head, disappearing into the soft fur, “Can you understand me like this?” She asked. 

He nudged his head against her stomach in response, she grunted in surprise. Both her hands came down to his head in an attempt to hold it in place. James sat back on his haunches, tail thwacking against the forest floor. He had to be as tall as her just sitting down, she would hate to see him standing on his hind legs. “Well fuck me sideways, you werent lying.” She studied him in disbelief, pulling gently at the blonde fur, running her fingers along his teeth and nose. “What does wolfman form look like?” she joked. 

In a flash she was pushed down, back pressed against the dirt. “Something like this.” A low growl sounded in her ear, James' voice seemed lower, more raspy than usual. She strained her neck to see. His long blonde hair fell in cascading curtains around them, his eyes were a more piercing blue, teeth were larger and deep claws dug into the ground next to her. He had ears, that was the biggest surprise to her, standing at attention on the top of his head. 

“You’re naked.” She mumbled dumbly, acutely aware of his body above her. Hands reaching up to tangle in his hair, rubbing gently at the base of his ears. He seemed a bit bigger, already he towered over her but now it seemed he completely engulfed her. Boldly she leaned up, pressing her lips to his own. 

The groan that came from James seemed powerful enough to send shivers down her own body. The way he kissed was all encompassing, devouring her like he hadn’t eaten in years. His knees pushed outward, knocking her legs to the side as he came to settle between them. He pulled back with an animalistic snarl that sent heat rushing between her legs. “You’re not naked enough.” He snipped back. His sharp nails dug gently into her flesh through the fabric of her clothes, waiting for her permission. 

Y/N giggled. “As much as I would love for you to rip these off me, I need something to wear home.” She sat up as much as he would allow her, shedding her clothes with an urgency she didn’t know she had. As soon as the entirety of her skin was exposed to the forest air he was back on top of her. “Fuck James, slow down.” She gasped as the wind was knocked from her lungs. 

His tongue lapped at her skin, rough and wet. “Can’t, don’t know how long I've wanted this.” He grunted, his hips rolled forward roughly, bringing the head of his cock to press against her, mixing their leaking fluids and spreading the wetness across the skin of her inner thighs. He whined at the feeling, fucking forwards again as he slipped between her thighs, brushing against her clit. 

A startled gasp was forced from Y/N, instinctively her legs coming up to press together tightly as James started a relentless attack against her, hips bucking against her skin as her wetness and the leaking trails of his pre-cum smeared across her. “James, oh my god.” Her fingers dug into his scalp at the base of his wolf ears. “G-good boy.” she stuttered out, testing the waters with the affectionate name. 

His hips stuttered for a moment, looking down at her, eyes wide and fucked out already. “Y/N,” He whined, head dropping down to the crook of her neck. “Fucking call me that again.” He nipped at her skin with his teeth. His thrusts grew more violent, more needy. With each thrust between her thighs she could feel his balls slap against her, creating a sickening wet slap that echoed through the trees. 

“Yeah? You, my good boy?” She rasped out, back arching up as his playful bites trailed down her body, stopping to scrape gently at her exposed nipples. “Wanna fuck my pussy like a good pup?” She grinned at the moan that stuttered out from his lips. She tugged at his hair desperately. “Cmon baby,” She urged him, wiggling her hips on his next thrust so his head got caught on her hole just for a moment. 

James’s sharp nails came to press into the fat of her thighs, prying them open as he desperately bucked forward until he landed. His cock engulfed by the warm heat of her entrance as he bottomed out all at once, not giving Y/N a moment to adjust.

Y/N screamed, body lurching back as she tried to escape the sudden burning pain as she was impaled, each inch stretched her out to accommodate an impossible size. “T-too much!” She whimpered, hands coming up to press against his heaving chest. Her body felt as though it was on fire as she felt their hips press together, his dick prodding at her back walls and splitting her open. 

James panted above her. “You can take it pretty girl, I know you can, so good, made just for me.” He grumbled. He lapped at the tears that rolled down her cheeks. He tried his best to show some restraint, hips twitching in anticipation as he waited to pound her into the ground. She squeezed around him, leaving him shuddering at the sweet tight heat. “Fuck, can I move now, please, please.” 

She couldn’t catch her breath, each twitch felt like a new wound opening, but the pain was addicting. “Yeah, fuck okay, fuck me.” She relented, body bracing for impact. It forced another squeak out of her as he pulled back, nearly all the way before snapping forward once more. That's how it continued a relentless drilling of his hips into her own, somehow hitting deeper with each thrust. She was convinced her insides were bruised, her tummy bulged lightly each time he was fully seated inside her. 

“Oh fuck, Y/N, Y/N I’m gonna cum, inside, need to be inside.” He moaned, his nails dug deeper into her skin as he pulled back. She could see him in all his glory now. His wild blonde hair stuck to his forehead and neck with sweat, chest glistening in the leaf filtered sunlight. His tongue lolled out to the side, as he stared down at her. He manhandled her body like it was nothing more than a cheap toy for him to blow his load into. 

Y/N was left breathless, only able to wordlessly nod at him as he chased his relief. Her toes curled as his cocked dragged along the soft spongy wall inside her that left her body spasming, her release spilled out onto his cock and the dirt beneath them. The extra wetness provided the extra slide needed for him to follow suit. She could feel his load coating her insides, a wave of warmth inside her as his hips came to a sudden stop. 

The moan James let out was more like a howl, far from anything human as he fell forward, caging her body underneath him as he rode out the high. It seemed his release was never ending, cock spasming inside her with each spurt. “Y/N” He managed to whine pathetically, nuzzling deep into her neck, inhaling her scent like his life depended on it. 

She wrapped her arms around him tightly as he finally came down from his high. Their chests moved in sync as they steadied their breathing together. Suddenly the stretch inside her seemed less painful, James seemed less large. When she looked up his ears had disappeared, leaving just the same sweet mop of hair and tired smile she was used to. She smiled back at him tenderly. He kissed along her jaw in apology for the damage he had caused there. 

“Y/N?” He asked softly, pulling her to his chest softly. “I was wondering if maybe you would want to go on a date sometime, or maybe be my girlfriend?” His voice was tired and hopeful. 

“You idiot, I'm pretty sure you just ruined me for any other man.” She laughed, punching his chest playfully. “Yes I will be your girlfriend, on the condition you pull my car out of the ditch yourself.” She sighed, kissing his acne scarred cheek tenderly. “I don’t think I’m walking anytime soon.” 

[ladykailitha]

Sweet Home Indiana Part 5

Hey all! Heads up for those that missed my previous announcements, I'm going on vacation starting today for about a week.

No WIP Wednesday tomorrow as it's my niece's graduation, but it should be back on next week, depending on how late I get in.

We finally hit pinnacle douche Eddie and the beginning of his turn to the lovable Eddie we know and love.

Pt 1 Pt 2 Pt 3 Pt 4

****

Steve walked into his house after a long day at the shop to find Eddie in the kitchen making dinner. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked behind him at the door he clearly unlocked to get in and then back at Eddie.

“How the fuck did you get into my house?” he growled, throwing his keys in the dish by the door and kicking off his shoes.

Eddie didn’t even bother looking up from his dicing of vegetables. “Robin always forgets her keys, so you have to have a spare for her to get in, and because she’s so forgetful it has to be in the same spot.”

Steve let out an annoyed huff. “Under the second flower pot with duck.”

“Right in one, darlin’,” Eddie said, looking up at him with a grin.

“So is this your new strategy to get me to sign the divorce papers?” Steve asked pulling out a beer from the fridge. “Buttering me up?”

“Well,” Eddie said going back to his cutting, “since we’re still married and all with you refusing to sign the papers, I figured I’d just move back in.”

Steve dug around his crock drawer for the bottle opener. “Like you’d give up your cushy tattoo job up in Seattle.” He popped open the lid and took a sip.

He immediately went to the sink and spat it out. “What the fuck is that?!”

“Craft beer!” Eddie said with another grin. “It’s all the rage out on the West Coast. But anyway, I was in town and stopped by the furniture shop because that couch is hideous and has to go. And of course we're going to need a bigger bed.”

Steve scoffed and shook his head. “Whatever, babe. It’s your money.”

Eddie stopped chopping and said with all the innocence he could muster and said, “But Stevie, I thought it was our money.”

Steve who had opened a bottle of his own beer and was drinking it, suddenly froze. His throat still moved, swallow after swallow but the rest of him was stock still.

“I bet the words ‘joint checking account’ are flashing through your mind right now,” Eddie sneered.

Steve emptied his bottle and threw it into the sink with a loud crash. “How much did you take?”

Eddie turned around and faced him, crossing his arms over his chest. “All twenty-nine thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven dollars and fourteen cents.”

Steve’s jaw formed a hard set line and he clenched his fists. “You put it back, right now.”

“Why don’t you use it for something useful, Steve?” he asked, waving his hands in front of him. “You have a shop, why aren’t you putting the money toward that? Christ that is almost life changing money.”

Steve stormed out of the room and was back before he could even raise a protest. “This is what it’s for, asshole and if you don’t put it back I will never forgive you. Do you understand me?”

Eddie looked down at the papers in his hand in confusion, gingerly taking them from Steve. In big bold letters were the words NON DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT.

“Am I allowed to read this?” he asked with a gulp.

“It expired five years ago,” Steve bit out. “So yeah, otherwise I wouldn’t be giving it to you, would I?”

Eddie nodded and began reading. The date was roughly three or four months after he left and god was it a mess. It chronicled Susan Hargrove’s addictions to drugs, alcohol, and sex. And that if Steve wanted custody of her daughter, Maxine Maxwell he had to jump through so many hoops, including signing the NDA. His hand shook as he turned page after page of what boiled down to fifteen page document.

“The money is part of the settlement from the court,” Steve said through gritted teeth. “I put it in the old account because I didn’t feel like opening another one and forgot your name was still on it. It pays for her schooling, rent, and food until it’s gone.”

Eddie’s lip quivered. “Shit, Steve, I’m sorry. But I’m still in contact with most of the kids. Even Max and no one told me about this. Not ever.”

Steve frowned and took the pages from Eddie’s trembling hands. “I thought you knew. Hell, it was more than a nine day wonder here in town when the dust finally settled.”

Eddie thought for a moment, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth. The more he thought about it the more it actually made sense. And fuck if that didn’t hurt like a kick to the ribs.

One of his worst parting shots was that the kids would be fine on their own. They had parents and friends and other people who cared about them. But that fucking NDA proved him to be the biggest asshole in that regard. Because it irrefutable proof that he had been dead wrong about that.

“Fuck,” he whispered, drawing his hands over his face. “It’ll be back in there by tonight, I swear. I’m so, so sorry, Steve. I swear I am. I know you won’t believe me and that’s okay. But I would never do anything that would harm those kids. Not if my life depended on it.”

Steve’s bottom lip quivered and then he pinched his nose and rubbed the end. And fuck if that didn’t break Eddie’s heart. That was Steve’s little tell that he was fighting back tears.

“You really didn’t know?” he asked, his voice cracking.

Eddie shook his head. “I didn’t know. Here...” he pulled out his phone and immediately transferred the money back. He had transferred it in several small amounts as to not trigger that that Fed law thingy and reversed every one of them. “All back.”

Steve let out a shuddering breath. “Were you really going to blackmail me with the money to divorce you?”

Eddie hung his head and let out a sigh of his own. “I can’t tell you why, but me and Chrissy are on a timetable and if we don’t get married by certain date, things can go very badly. So yeah. I was going to do whatever it took.”

Steve’s bottom lip quivered so him bit down on it to stop it shaking.

“Come on,” Eddie murmured. “Let me finish making dinner and we’ll talk. I think there are a lot of things between us left unsaid. I thought it was all on my side, but I’m starting to think there has been a lot of things that I haven’t been told about what’s being going on with you and this town.”

Steve nodded.

****

It took Steve a fair bit of breathing techniques to get his heart rate back to normal after that little stunt. And if he was honest, he couldn’t say had their situations been reversed, he wouldn’t have tried the same thing.

But there wasn’t anyone in his life right now that measured up to Eddie. Or at least that starry-eyed boy he fell in love with the first time.

Eddie had actually made his favorite meal. Manicotti. He had been cutting up the vegetables for the bolognese sauce that he poured over the top.

They sat down on the hideous neon green sofa while it went into the oven to cook.

“This sofa really is grotesque, Steve,” Eddie muttered, bringing one knee up so he could turn and face him.

Steve threw back his head and laughed. “That’s what everyone has said once they’ve seen it.”

“So why keep it?”

He ran his fingers over the worn surface thoughtfully. “Because despite how ugly it looks, it’s soft and comfortable. Great for naps and movie nights. If I spill something on it, I won’t freak out about it getting ruined.”

Eddie’s heart sank to his stomach. That was something that had made having movie nights over at Steve’s parents’ house such a nightmare. No feet on the sofa, no drinks anywhere but on the coffee table with a coaster, no dips or salsa, nothing red or orange, drinks or otherwise. It was the biggest house with the biggest screen, but it was a museum and not a home.

He actually looked around him for the first time, taking in the homey surroundings, the pictures on the wall of not just Steve and Robin, but all the kids. Birthdays, graduations, dances, you name it, if Steve was there with a camera, it was there up on his wall in some way.

The house was neat, but in a lived in sort of way instead of the strict tomb quality of his parents’ house. Christ. He had been joking about wanting to move back, but now he actually did. He could see himself slotting himself into this home as easy as breathing.

Eddie cleared his throat. “Right. So how long have you had this place?”

“About three years now,” Steve murmured. “That’s about when the shop started making a profit and not just coasting along above red.”

“I like it,” he said with a fond smile.

Steve gave his shoulder a shove. “You do not. You don’t need to pretend with me.”

Eddie grasped his hands to his chest. “Ah! I doth protest!” He paused for a moment and tapped his lips thoughtfully. “You’re right, I don’t like it.”

“See?” Steve scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“I love it.”

Steve stared at him for a moment before blushing and looking away. “So how long have you and Chrissy known each other?”

“Two years,” Eddie replied. “She came in for a tattoo to cover up the name of her ex-boyfriend and we became really good friends.”

“And she’s a paralegal?” Steve asked.

“Legal assistant,” Eddie said. “Don’t ask me what the difference is, I don’t know. But she’ll always correct people when they say ‘paralegal’.”

Steve nodded.

“So, is it just you and Robin?” he asked, looking around the house for clues there was another person here. Either for Steve or for Robin.

“Yeah,” Steve said with a sad smile. “But not for much longer. She’s starting school in the fall. She just needs to pick which one she wants and let the other know she’s pulling out.”

“Yeah?” Eddie asked. “What are her choices?”

“NYU and University of Washington,” Steve said. “I don’t get wanting to go to either except to get as far away from Hawkins as possible and still be in the country.”

Eddie laughed. “Well can you blame her?”

Steve leveled him with a glare and Eddie gulped.

“Right, sorry. That was a shit thing to say,” he said ducking his head. “I ran away and kept running away and you didn’t deserve that.”

“So why did you? Run away, I mean?”

Eddie ran his fingers over his face and let out frustrated sigh. “I thought it was what I wanted. The fame, the fortune, the screaming crowds every night. And maybe it still is, but the other guys got tired of it. Of the being away from family and on the road all the time, so by the time that all fell apart, it was just too much.”

Steve cocked his head to the side and regarded Eddie fully. He took him all in and not just the cursory glance he got at the bakery.

Eddie had filled out in a good way. He would always be thin, but he was no longer that waif he was in high school. He had more tattoos, which made sense considering his job. His hair was still as wild and untamed as always. He had stubble on his jaw and on his upper lip. There was a weariness to those dark brown chocolate button eyes.

“What was too much, Eddie?”

“The amount of pain I put you through,” he said softly. “And continued to put you through. You didn’t deserve any of it, sweetheart. You deserve a white wedding with all your friends and loved ones around you. You deserve to have someone standing by your side as an equal partner. You deserve someone who isn’t going to run the moment things get rough.”

“I always thought that would be you,” Steve admitted.

Eddie nodded. “So did I, once upon a time.”

“But not anymore?” Steve asked, breathless.

“No. Not anymore.”

****

Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10

Tag List:

1- @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @ravenfrog @zerokrox-blog

2- @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @messrs-weasley @goodolefashionedloverboi

3- @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog @vecnuthy @irregular-child

4- @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @anne-bennett-cosplayer @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1

5- @littlewildflowerkitten @genderless-spoon @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt

6- @useless-nb-bisexual @disrespectedgoatman @counting-dollars-counting-stars @tinyplanet95

7- @blackpanzy @amazing-spiderkeys @oldpinghai @raisedbylibrarians @kultiras

8- @swimmingbirdrunningrock @steddie-as-they-go @captain--low @micheledawn1975 @thespaceantwhowrites

9- @mac-attack19 @blondie1006

[vivalas-vega]

match // new perspectives universe // jake 'hangman' seresin x reader

heyooo - i'm back from the dead - it's been a while since we've seen these two and for this one we're going back in time !! this is kind of a rewrite of something that’s already happened in the main chapters 🤭 i haven't written jake and jupiter in what feels like forever so this feels rusty to me lol but hopefully you enjoy!

match // new perspectives universe // jake 'hangman' seresin x reader

add yourself to my taglist

part of my new perspectives series !! it will make a lot more sense if you're caught up on these two:

prologue - one - two - three - four - five - six - seven - eight - nine

word count: 4.8k

warnings: language, mention of alcohol, college/med school/residency inaccuracies (I didn't go to college and it shows lol any and all knowledge on any of this comes from tiktok or greys anatomy)

Sitting at your vanity (if you could even call a plastic set of drawers with a handheld mirror duct taped to the back a vanity) you briefly thought to yourself that you should be excited… and you were, for the most part. Today was one of those days that marked the start of a new chapter. You’d been lucky (or unlucky, depending on how you looked at it) to have had a few of these already… first opening your acceptance letter into college, then med school, and now you were getting ready to find out where you had been matched for residency.

The excitement and nerves you were feeling were subdued because really the only thing you could focus on was the fact that the only person you wanted here wasn’t… and you didn’t know where he was. He could have been on a ship halfway across the world or at a base a handful of hours away but in the end it didn’t really matter much… he wasn’t here, and that was just part of the deal. You knew what this was long before it got to this point, and that point was only accentuated by the floppy haired boy walking into your dorm just as you stood from your spot in front of the window to change.

“Well, don’t you just look darling,” he teased and on another day you might have laughed… struck a pose and had a witty comeback, something about ratty college tees and soffe shorts being on all the runways these days, but it wasn’t another day. It was today and your future was hinging on something written in an envelope waiting for you across campus and this boy wasn’t the one you wanted teasing you today. 

You undressed and stood with your back to him, a silent request for him to help zip your dress and he obliged just as quietly. There was an expiration date on you and Matt, this much you knew… but the way his fingers trailed down your arm and the lingering question he’d been asking all month told you he wasn’t on the same page. He had a vision for his life, one that very much included you and perhaps you felt a little guilty for continuing to keep him in your orbit but the more logical part of you reminded you that the vision you had for your life had been set in stone long before he showed up. He saw residency right here in California, with you by his side. He saw you switching your area of focus to general medicine, something less demanding to create room for starting a family, something you’d do within the next few years. You hadn’t had the heart yet to tell him that sounded like your own personal hell.

Your vision was Boston, in a cutthroat surgical residency program before moving on to whatever hospital offered the best fellowship for your chosen specialty… that was the one area of your life you’d yet to nail down. Most of your peers pursuing the surgical route knew what they wanted to focus on, some vying for cardio or neuro, others trauma or general but not you. That was the one thing you were leaving up to fate, deciding to instead let yourself make that decision a few years into residency… and if that fellowship happened to come along where the boy you missed more than anything was stationed? Well, you wouldn’t be one to complain. The vision didn’t include Matt, it never did. 

And so, as you turned to face him with a tight smile you wanted more than anything to tell him this was over, that it would be best to head into residency as individuals but then you saw that look on his face and you couldn’t do it right now… not right before finding out whether or not you were getting everything you’d spent the last eight years working towards (seven for you, but you wouldn’t point that out to him anymore than you already had). You’d wait until after, even if that meant walking into the ceremony with someone you had already decided you wouldn’t be seeing after today. 

“Hey, did you guys get settled okay?” you asked your parents as you set your bag down on the table and exchanged quick hugs. You’d already seen them this morning when they’d arrived and they’d decided to give you a little space to get ready. 

“Your mother has taken photos of about a dozen things at the hotel, taking notes for our upcoming remodel which… I was just informed of this morning,” your dad said and you laughed. Matt said his hellos before going off to find his own parents and you rolled your eyes at the look your dad fixed you with. “He’s still around?”

“Oh hush,” you replied. Your purse started ringing and you fished around lip gloss and old flashcards to find your phone, immediately feeling more settled at the voice on the other end.

“Hey you,” Jake said and you actually let out a sigh of relief. “How are you feeling?”

“Oh me? You know, cool as a cucumber. Not freaking out at all,” you answered with a small laugh and he just chuckled.

“Of course not, not like there’s anything big going on today.”

“Definitely not, just a normal day around here,” you said.

“I just wanted to call and tell you to breathe, because you forget to do that sometimes-”

“I do not-”

“Yes you do, and to remind you that no matter where you end up you’re going to be just fine.” 

“Thank you,” you said softly. “I know you can’t say where you are but I hope you’re flying safe today,” you added.

“Always do, sweetheart. I’ll call you tonight, yeah?” 

“You better.” you said with a smile as you hung up and put your phone on silent just as the announcer gave the two minute warning. You could practically feel the rising tension in the room, a mix of nervous excitement and pure dread. So many fates contained within tiny envelopes and as you picked yours up you found the whole notion of this rather silly. You felt bad for anyone who got news they didn’t want today, having to find out in a room full of people celebrating and you prayed to a god you weren’t sure you even believed in you wouldn’t be one of them. 

“I think I’m going to, uh…” you started, looking at your parents and then back at the envelope in your hand. “I’m going to just take a minute and open it myself, if that’s okay?” you asked hesitantly and they nodded.

“Whatever you want, honey,” your mom replied and you turned around as the announcer told everyone to open them. You took a deep breath, because you did forget to breathe in times of stress, and with shaking hands practically ripped the envelope apart to pull out a folded piece of paper… a piece of paper that you hoped contained two specific words. 

Massachusetts General. 

Your shaking hands persisted as you read and reread what was right in front of you. Massachusetts General. You blinked and read again, did it really say that? Massachusetts General. 

“Oh my god-” you started as you turned around to show your parents with the paper facing outwards but they were gone. Really they’d only stepped a few feet to the side but they, and everyone else in the room, may as well have disappeared because all you could focus on was him, standing right there in front of you in his dress whites looking so proud as he read the words in your hands that quickly fell to the floor in shock. “Jake?” you asked so quietly, your mind still not catching up but it didn’t matter, in an instant you were launching yourself at him and he caught you with ease as you wrapped around him.

“Hey you,” he repeated his words from just a few minutes ago on the phone and you let out a sound that was mixed with a laugh and a sob as you clung to him. “You did it, I knew you would.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” you asked as you pulled away slightly to look down at him and he just beamed up at you.

“You didn’t really think I’d miss this, did you?” he replied and you just smiled, but it was quickly wiped away as you heard someone clear their throat behind you and you didn’t need to look to know who it was as you slid down Jake’s body to the floor and turned to see Matt, who was looking at the pair of you skeptically.

“Jake’s here,” he said, trying to muster some kind of enthusiasm but it fell flat, “yay.” You stifled a chuckle as you looked at him expectantly, “I matched here, what about you?” You knew what was coming as you took the paper your dad held out for you and Matt nodded softly when he read it. “I thought we talked about staying here for residency?” You didn’t miss the way Jake scoffed behind you, clearly disgusted that that was the first thing out of his mouth.

“You talked about it, Matt… I was always clear about my goals.” you said firmly. “But this is what we’ve both been working for. Congratulations, really,” you said, wrapping him in a tight but quick hug. “Go, celebrate with your family. I’ll see you at the party later.” you finished, nudging him off and  when you turned around Jake was giving you the most unimpressed look.

“Don’t even, I will not be seeing him at the party later, if you must know.” 

“Is that so?” he asked with a smirk and you rolled your eyes as he chuckled.

“Congratulations, sweetheart,” your mom said, pulling you in for a hug.

“We’re so proud of you,” your dad added, pressing a kiss to the top of your head and you went to respond, to thank them for everything they’ve done for you but they didn’t give you the chance. “Go celebrate and spend time together, and have fun at the party tonight.” 

“What? No, you guys flew all this way… I thought we could go out for dinner-”

“Hush, you two have some catching up to do,” your mom replied. “Besides, I think whatever celebrations you get up to tonight are best kept from us,” she added with a knowing smile and you tried to fight your own. 

“We’ll do breakfast, just the four of us like old times… but we won’t wake you too early,” your dad said and you watched as Jake gave them hugs before they slipped away. 

When they left he turned to look at you, all pride and adoration, and you flushed under his gaze as you gave him a look that said what? “You fucking did it, Jupiter.”

“I fucking did it,” you replied, your laughter bright and uncontrollable as he lifted you from the ground and spun you around.

“How’d he take it?” Jake asked as you entered your dorm, and you chuckled as you took him in, sprawled out across your bed, one leg hanging off the side because he simply didn’t fit. 

“About as well as could be expected,” you said and he laughed as he sat up.

“So… not well at all?” He laughed again when you nodded. “Tell me about this party we’re going to.”

“It’s pretty standard, I expect things will go as they always do with a campus party… just a little more celebratory with a slight drinking to numb the pain vibe from some.”

He nodded, “all your friends got what they were hoping for?” 

“For the most part… a few didn’t get exactly what they wanted but that’s kind of how it goes… matching is about a little bit of hard work and a shit ton of luck.”

“So, I’m guessing dress whites aren’t the vibe for tonight?” he asked, watching as you discarded your jewelry onto your desk and you chuckled as you turned and walked towards him, stopping in between his legs.

“Not at all,” you said with a shake of your head and you laughed again as he pouted and rested his hands on the backs of your thighs. “But they were a nice touch, you look very official and handsome,” you added on, hoping to turn his frown upside down.

And you did, he looked up at you with that same look he’d given you in the event hall. “I know you know this, but I really am so fucking proud of you, J,” he said and you softly smiled, feeling crimson creep onto your cheeks and you quickly diverted, trying to break some of the intimacy of the moment by pulling the hat from his head and plopping it on your own.

“Well, you should be, cowboy,” you said, stepping back and grabbing two beers from the mini fridge that doubled as a nightstand, handing one to him and he looked at you expectantly as you both cracked them open. “Because your best friend got into the fucking brig,” you said as you clinked the cans together and he let out a few cheers before taking a generous gulp. 

He stayed by your side as you got ready together, only engaging in a few quarrels due to the lack of space that only got smaller when your roommate Katie showed up, and you couldn’t help your amusement as the two of them got on each other's last nerves. Their relationship was very akin to that of siblings, they’d scream at each other through the phone on facetimes when the other was pulling too much of your attention and on the rare visits Jake managed she’d spend the whole trip pouting about how no one else existed when he was here.

“Are we not going to this party together, Katie?” you said, interrupting her latest spiel about Jake’s evilness, as she put it, and she held her hands up in surrender as you laughed. She put on a good show but you knew she liked having Jake around, it meant she got to see more of her favorite version of you… party Jupiter. And party Jupiter was in full effect as you strolled down the street lined with fraternity houses. The parties you attended these days were typically on the other side of campus and not quite as rowdy, you couldn’t even remember the last time you’d been down here but it had been negotiated that the frats held parties for the med students this year, to give you all one more truly college party before everyone went their separate ways into a new journey of adulthood. 

“You’ve been here before, right?” you asked Jake as you watched him mix you a drink and he nodded.

“Mmhm, your third year of undergrad,” he answered and you snorted.

“Oh god, yeah,” you briefly reminisced on that party, one with no cause, and the shocked look on Jake’s face most of the night. As it turned out, you had actually been understating just how much Stanford kids like to party that day on the phone all those years ago. You mingled with Jake in tow, socializing with friends you hadn’t seen since the beginning of the year to due rotations and interviews across the country, and really emphasizing the fact that you wouldn’t see each other for a number of years after tonight in your drunken states much to Jake’s amusement.

You weren’t much of an emotional drunk but that didn’t seem to be the case tonight… Probably something about the finality of it all, going from college to med school didn’t seem like a huge transition for you because you stayed in the same place, but this was different. After graduation next week you’d be packing up and moving across the country, to somewhere that couldn’t be more different than where you were, and you would officially be a doctor. 

Jake watched as you let loose, cackling with friends about professors or that one time you stole a dozen mice because you couldn’t bear the thought of them being used for research (and you maintained that you’d been in the right each time it was brought up). The last time he’d come to visit you’d been so entrenched in your coursework he actually became worried, watching you study for hours on end from your bed as he realized this is what your life was. You’d always done a good job at completing everything before he arrived so you could focus on the fun but that visit just wasn’t the case… There were exams to prep for and applications to be sent out and interviews to be scheduled, and all he could do was half-heartedly read a book he’d plucked from your shelf about internal medicine and force you to come up for air every now and again.

But this time was completely different, there was nothing to worry about because you were done. You’d gotten to the end of your journey here at Stanford and were in that blissful reprieve period where there truly was nothing to fret over, and it simultaneously warmed Jake’s heart and broke it to see. On one hand, you were finally getting a true break after years of achingly hard work… but on the other that break would only last a few days before you went into a tizzy packing to move cross country and start your residency. He knew you were happy, and that you would be happy in Boston but he also knew things were only about to get harder, and that a few days of true relief weren’t enough.

Granted, this wasn’t how you felt, despite the fact that as you downed your drink and chatted with Katie about her upcoming move to Nashville you had no idea this was going through his head… you felt nothing but joy knowing that you got to spend the next few days with Jake before diving into your future. Residency is what you feel you’d waited your whole life for. You did the hard stuff, you laid the foundation and stuffed your nose in a book for years and now you were finally going to be able to do. 

“I think I might actually miss these parties,” you said as you sat down by the edge of the pool with a sigh, unclasping your heels and actually moaning in relief as you dipped your feet into the cool water and Jake chuckled beside you. 

“I find that shocking considering that after that one your third year you said you never wanted to set foot on this block again.”

“I’ve grown, things have changed,” you protested which coaxed another laugh from him. “God, I can’t believe I’m leaving this place soon. It almost feels like just yesterday I showed up here with nothing but a suitcase and a dream. And you! Mr. Top Gun graduate,” you added, nudging him playfully.

“Don’t let Coyote hear you, he’ll bust my chops even more than he already has.”

“I miss Coyote,” you said, leaning your head on his shoulder. “Are you going home for Christmas this year?” you asked and this took him slightly by surprise, considering it was spring and he didn’t expect you to be looking forward to anything other than residency.

“I don’t think so… the way it lines up I’d have to fly in on Christmas Eve and leave the day after… I think the short trips make my mom sadder than me not going home at all.”

“They do,” you said. “For my parents too. I don’t know why but they do. What do you think about me coming to you this year? If you’re on base.”

“I think that sounds perfect,” he replied, turning to press a kiss on the top of your head. “I’m sorry I can’t stay for graduation,” he said and you lifted your head to shake it, waving your hand dismissively.

“Truthfully I don’t care about graduation, it’s more for my parents and yours. This was the important one,” you replied, giving him a warm smile. “I still can’t believe you pulled off surprising me. How long have you known you’d be able to make it?”

“Since you first told me the day,” he answered and your eyes widened as you hit his chest.

“You asshole! You made me think you couldn’t come and this was your plan all along? I was really sad, you know.”

He let out a loud laugh, “yeah, I know. But it was worth it! The look on your face was priceless.”

“You’re unbelievable,” you muttered.

“Had to get you back for my tap out ceremony somehow,” he pointed out and you sighed, because he did have a point.

“That’s fair. Though, I could argue that it was a surprise for me as well, mine was not premeditated.” 

“To-mato to-mato,” he replied. “So, when do you make the big move?” 

“Well, tomorrow you’ll be helping me scout apartments, tough part is I’ll have to pick a place sight unseen so we’re going to have to be very thorough in our search and then hopefully I’ll be out there within three weeks… My program starts in four.”

“Unless a last minute deployment pops up, I think I can meet you out there… help you get settled and all that.”

“Really?” you asked, eyes wide and full of hope as you beamed up at him and he chuckled, knowing you were definitely drunk right now. “Seeing you twice in one month? I don’t think we’ve gotten that lucky since we were teenagers.” 

“Well, I don’t know about that,” he said with a suggestive raise of his eyebrows and you were startled by your own laugh, not expecting the turn in conversation. 

“That’s right, forgot I was talking to Hangman, eternal stud.” you joked. Briefly you thought joking about it should sting, and deep down maybe it did a little, but this was the first time it’s come up and the sting wasn’t the first thing you noticed.

“You haven’t done so bad for yourself either,” he said and you just gave him a deadpan glare.

“Really? You think Matt was making me feel lucky every time?” you asked and he went through the same range of emotions. He thought it should hurt, and it did somewhere deep down, but it wasn’t the first thing he noticed.

“He wasn’t? Then what was the point?” he exclaimed and you hid your face in embarrassment. 

“Oh, I don’t know! Truthfully it spiraled and I didn’t have time for anything else so…” you trailed off before letting out a groan. “Oh god, I’m a terrible person.”

“Now, how did we end up there?” he asked, brows furrowing in confusion at your statement.

“I knew all along I’d dump him right about now, how awful to not do it so much sooner.”

He shrugged, “maybe… but knowing you he did get lucky every time so don’t feel too bad. Broken heart or not he reached the mountaintop, good for him.”

“That’s a better, if not slightly twisted, way of looking at things.” you mused, resting your head on his shoulder again.

“Tired?” he asked and you nodded. “Don’t quite have the stamina of an undergrad anymore?”

“Shut up,” you said. “It’s been an emotional day.” 

“Wanna go home?” he asked and you nodded, allowing yourself to be pulled up and you awkwardly shook your leg over the pool to rid yourself of excess water, to which he just shook his head in amusement. 

You spent the walk back towards your dorm lost in conversation, giggling about nothing in particular and squealing when he picked you up and tossed you over his shoulder, “Jake! I’m too drunk, don’t make me hurl,” you laughed but he didn’t seem to care, carrying you like it was nothing until suddenly you were on the move again, sliding down to the ground with Jake’s firm hands on your waist to guide you. Your brows furrowed in confusion when you noticed you weren’t at your dorm but instead in front of a shiny car.

“I love Katie,” he started, but was cut off by the questioning look you gave him, “really, I do, but you didn’t really think I was crashing in your dorm, did you?” he asked and he did have a point… the last time he visited she was on rotation so he crammed himself onto her tiny bed and complained all the next day… there simply wasn’t anywhere for him to be this time around. “I have a hotel room a few blocks away, do you want to come stay with me? Or I can walk you back to your room,” he added the last part a little hurriedly and you chuckled, you thought you just caught a glimpse of a younger Jake… nervous and not wanting to overstep. 

“Are you kidding me?” you asked, gesturing towards the door and he was quick to open it for you, “a night away from that thing they call a bed sounds like heaven.”

“And here I thought you just wanted to spend more time with me,” he said after walking around and getting in the driver’s side.

“Well, that’s certainly part of it… just not the main part,” you teased and he shook his head as he navigated towards his hotel and you looked over at him in amusement when you entered the parking lot. “Very fancy, Mr. Seresin,” you said as he opened the door for you and he extended his hand which you gladly took.

“Shut up and come on,” he replied and you did as you were told. Following him through the hotel and to the elevator, where they opened to reveal a cozy and beautifully decorated rooftop bar and you just looked over at him, eyes wide and questioning. “Tonight was a goodbye to your college life, and I thought what better way to end it than here, welcoming in this next chapter?”

“Jake…” you started, the lingering alcohol in your system still present enough to have you feeling a little more emotional than usual. You sat at a cozy loveseat positioned in front of a firepit and thanked the waiter when he brought over your cocktails, gin and tonic for you and something whiskey based for Jake. 

“To you, Jupiter. You’ve worked so hard the past seven years, and you never once wavered when things got hard. You are nothing short of incredible, and being here with you right now, marking this occasion… it means a lot to me, and I’ll never stop being proud of you.” he said, and you felt your eyes well with tears that mirrored his own.

“Stop, you can’t cause then I’ll really lose it,” you warned, laughing softly as you wiped your cheeks. “Thank you… not just for saying that but for being you, and for being here. I was a wreck all morning and then I turned around and saw you and everything felt… settled. You being here means more than you know.” you said and you clinked your glasses together before taking a sip. “I’m really proud of us.” you said added a few moments of silence. “Do you remember the day we decided to break up?”

“Vividly,” he chuckled and you couldn’t help but laugh too.

“God, we were so young, with such big dreams… and going into it all so devastated… I wish we could go back and tell them it wouldn’t be for nothing, that we made it.” 

“We did make it didn’t we?” he asked and you nodded, a smile creeping onto your face. He reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear and you didn’t know if it was the weighty realization that seven years ago you broke each other’s hearts to pursue the dreams you’d just achieved or the alcohol or just the fact that you simply wanted to but you leaned forward and let your lips brush against his. Soft and questioning but he pressed forward and captured you in a searing kiss. Years of pent up emotion and love spilling out, and you smiled when he chased your lips as you pulled away. 

You didn’t need to say anything, didn’t need to acknowledge any of it. You both knew it didn’t change anything, you both might have made it but only to the next stepping stone… it still wasn’t the time. You kissed him once more before scooting closer and resting your head on his shoulder, his arm wrapping around your waist as you just enjoyed the moment for what it was. A celebration of what was to come.

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[storiesofsvu]

The Waiting Game

Alex Cabot x reader Req'd by anon. Warnings: language, alcohol consumption, hurt, angst. For the sake of what happens we're basing this early seasons Alex, it may be a little ooc, but whatever, we're going with it. Just under 2k words.

You’d been watching hot wax drip down the side of the candle into its holder for what felt like hours. Then again, you’d had time to slowly sip through two and a half glasses of wine so maybe it had been hours, you’d been avoiding looking at the time. Waiting on Alex was nothing new, while she was known to be punctual, having her schedule down to a perfectly timed dance, there were often steps that she fumbled, or completely forgot. It seemed like tonight you were one of those steps.

You’d waited at the hostess stand, thinking maybe she was just running late, caught on the subway or something. Eventually your reservation time had come and gone, the hostess letting you know if they didn’t seat you, they would have to give away your table. You’d been dreaming of dinner at River Café for months, the waitlist was huge so there was no missing tonight, at least, not for you. Fifteen minutes passed your reservation time you buckled and ordered a glass of wine, feeling bad every time the server came over, though you could feel the awkward sympathy wafting off her with each interaction. Forty minutes after that you’d gotten another glass of wine and guilted yourself into ordering a gnocchi appetizer, you were starting to feel terrible for holding up a table in the girl’s section.

As you watched another trail of wax drip down the candle in front of you, the flame flickered before snuffing itself out and you felt the tears burning their way into your eyes, knowing that wasn’t the only thing with an expired shelf life tonight. The server came by once more, asking if you wanted a fresh glass of wine and you felt that terrible feeling surge through you once again, you both knew that she’d be making a much larger tip off a couple at your table, one who was probably waiting in the lobby. The self pity morphed into anger as you asked for the cheque, it wasn’t your fault, Alex’s not showing up was what caused this entire awkward situation. And by now, you were done waiting.

Part of you wasn’t surprised at all when you unlocked your shared apartment to find it dark. You’d originally been hoping that moving in together would help solve the problem of Alex never being around. You knew she was busy, that her work required a lot of having dinner interrupted, calls in the middle of the night, or court days going into overtime. But if you lived together she could be doing that paperwork on the couch while you cooked dinner, you’d get the hours of at least eight pm to seven am together. The mundane tasks of everyday life would be brightened by the other’s existence in the shared space rather than trying to find time to meet up during the week only for Alex to have to shift it around three times before her schedule finally calmed down. Instead the apartment was just as dark and cold as your entire relationship felt at the moment.

You stepped out of your heels, hanging up your coat and plopped the to go bag down onto the kitchen island before you moved through the space, flicking on a couple of lights and grabbing a cardigan from over the back of the couch. You poured yourself a glass of wine, settling in at the island. While you weren’t really hungry, the waitress had taken pity on you when you asked for the untouched gnocchi to be packed up and had thrown in a free slice of cake. Solidarity between those who had been stood up. At least someone was looking out for you.

A glass and a half of wine later and you finally heard keys clinking in the lock, the door swinging open a moment later and Alex finally graced you with her presence.

“Hey.” She greeted, a small, tired smile on her cheeks while she slid out of her coat, her bag finding a home on the small table in the entrance.

“Were you stuck at a crime scene?”

“No. No new cases all week, I was getting ahead on paperwork when Liz came by with a couple of law journals for the Henderson case.”

“When does that one go to trial again?” You asked, exhaustion seeping through your body.

“God, with the way his lawyer’s pushing motion after motion probably not for months.”

You pushed away from the island, expertly avoiding her embrace as you moved past her toward the hallway, “wow. I think I would’ve preferred you be cheating on me.”

“What?” Her brow furrowed, her brain finally catching up to realize that something was wrong, there was more going on than just her coming home late. “Why are you so dressed up? Did I miss something?”

“Clearly nothing important!” Your voice raised as you disappeared into the bedroom, hastily tearing the dress and fancy clothing off your body, to replace it with leggings and a tee, pulling a hoodie on top of it all. “Would it kill you to look at a fucking calendar for once? You were the one who wanted it colour coded so you wouldn’t miss things!”

Alex’s head swivelled to look at the fridge, her heart sinking into her stomach as her eyes swept over the last two weeks. There were more than two notes written in pink that she’d completely missed, no wonder you were upset.

“I’m sorry.” She sighed, turning back your way as you re-entered the main part of the apartment, “work’s just been a bit hectic this week.”

“Don’t start. For the love of God. You just said you were getting ahead on paperwork and your next trial isn’t for months.”

“Where is this coming from?” Her hand reached out to grab your forearm and it took all your power to not shove away from her, “you don’t act like this…. One dinner and one movie night. I’ll make it up to you this weekend.”

“You don’t get to tell me how I act.” You took a shaky breath, “because you’re never here Alex! You barely even know who I am anymore! I ‘don’t act like this’ because every time you miss a date, are late coming home or maybe you’re physically here but you’re mentally not I just let it slide. Because it’s always work!”

“So you’d rather me be cheating than have a heavy work load?” She fired back and you huffed, so she had heard that after all.

“Honestly?!” You raised a brow, “yeah, yeah I would. Because then I would know what to do. But instead you’re not here because you’re off saving the world, putting rapists behind bars, holding victims hands while they panic over testifying. I can’t even remember the last time you actually held my hand.”

“I can���t help that I have a demanding job!” Alex could feel her blood beginning to boil now, to her, this was coming out of nowhere. You’d always been good at talking your issues out, especially when it came to each other, she’d already had a long week and it was only Wednesday. She was frustrated with defence attorneys, judges turning down motions, she was tired. She’d been looking forward to a quiet night, a nice glass of wine to wind down with but instead you were getting up in her face.

“That you chose, I know. But you also chose to have a girlfriend Alex, or have you forgotten that? Because I’m starting to feel like you have.”

“I always come home to you.” She protested and you rolled your eyes with a groan, which riled her up even more.

“You come home here because these are the apartment keys you have.” You shook your head, tears threatening to spill down your cheeks, “I’m just an extra body in the apartment, the weight on the opposite side of the bed that you’ve gotten used to. And I’m fucking sick of it. You didn’t just work late tonight, you completely forgot about dinner, about me, left me feeling like an idiot in a fancy restaurant and it wasn’t the first time you’ve done so. You make me feel insignificant. Isn’t your significant other supposed to be important, a crucial part of your life? But you, you’ll run off at any hour of the day, any hour of the night to go be the highly esteemed, important big girl lawyer that needs to save the entire world. You’re not a fucking super hero. You ever think of that? Ever think that maybe an actual human being who you claim to love, should come before your fucking career?”

“Did it ever occur to you that nothing is more important than my career?” She was pissed now, sure she’d been frustrated before but you were doing nothing but dig into her, your words sharper the longer you went on, “you’re acting like a fucking child!”

“So that makes me insignificant? Your job really means more to you?”

“Nothing! Not even you!” The words slipped from her lips before she’d really thought about what she was saying. That maybe now was the time for a proper, full meaning apology, that the right kind of words could solve this. She needed to be on your side, understand where you were coming from, talk things out strategically, right now she was just going for blood.

But she’d said it.

She couldn’t take it back.

Even if she wanted to, she probably wouldn’t, because in that moment she realized it was true. Not specifically trained on you, but she did value her career over everything else. It was why she let it consume every ounce of her life. She had to prove she was good, capable, that she could do anything she put her mind to.

The room froze. Your head was spinning. You’d never expected Alex to just go out there and admit it, but here she was, apparently all it took was a little bit of push back from you. Maybe you should have had this fight earlier.

“Wow…” You whispered, slowly stepping back from her in the direction of the door, “that’s cold. Even from you.”

“Sweetheart…”

“No!” You yelled, “you said what you meant and you meant what you said.”

“We can try and fix this….”

“We’re way passed that point by now. You’re married to your job, just accept that. And maybe lead with that point for anyone in the future, let them know they’re not going to be anything more than a side piece because we all know what you actually care about.” Two more steps and you were scooping up your bag, hand on the door handle, “goodbye Alex.”

Your final words to her were whispered, knowing if you tried to say it any louder she would hear the shake in your voice, that you wouldn’t be able to hold back the tears. You needed to at least make it to the elevator, you refused to let her see you cry, refused to be tricked into her embrace. You would break, the warmth of her arms fooling you into a false sense that something like this would never happen again when you knew within a matter of days it would. You needed to stand your ground.

Alex watched the door swing shut, the gust of air from it poofing through the room, a wave of coolness following it and she shivered. The moment you stepped out of the apartment you’d taken all the warmth with you and she suddenly realized exactly what you’d been saying. She’d become so adjusted to having you silently around it was as if you were as inanimate as the glow of light from the lamp in the corner of the room, the warmth seeping from your side of the bed to hers.

No matter how long she waited, the heat never kicked in, the apartment had never felt so cold.

__________________

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[adultswim2021]

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters | April 13, 2007 | Feature Film Premiered on April 10, 2007 in New York City

Before I start, I just want to point out that I was aghast that this wasn’t available on HBOMax for streaming, so I watched my DVD copy. Later I found out that the entire movie is on adultswim.com, but it’s 4:3 and letterboxed and I’m guessing it’s edited-for-television and might require a cable log in. It expires later this month. So if you’re in a similar boat but don’t have the DVD, watch it soon.

My general rule for what I cover here is any Adult Swim original comedy production that aired on Adult Swim proper. Things that don’t qualify under the “aired on Adult Swim proper” provision sometimes get relegated to special event weeks Like Space Ghost week, or the standalone week I just covered the first five episodes of Home Movies. Other stuff I stick under Ephemera Corner, a sub-feature where I cover stuff like special promos or bumps or DVDs or other extras that pertain to Adult Swim shows but didn’t air on Adult Swim. Sometimes I use it to cover different versions of an episode where relatively minor differences occur.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters is a motion picture that debuted in theaters. Which means if I wanted to be a dickhead, I could call this ephemera and not spotlight it as much, or wait until it’s actual television debut to write it up. That doesn’t seem right to me. Also consider this: do I really want to dedicate the same amount of detail as I do for an episode review? They’ve been getting lengthy lately, haven’t they folks? Okay, let’s say I roughly type three paragraphs for an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Does that mean this, which is roughly eight episodes of the show’s worth of content, deserves at least 24 paragraphs? AM I IN FUCKING SCHOOL OR SOMETHING?

A compromise: I acknowledge that this is such an event that it absolutely deserves a significant spotlight. Did I not write-up the Sealab and Aqua Teen and Brak Show and Harvey Birdman pilots because they debuted stealthily on Cartoon Network, before Adult Swim began? Some things deserve special treatment. And this movie, no matter whatever else you can think to say about it, at the very least deserves special treatment. It’s a movie-film for theaters for fuck’s sake.

Also: I’m already misusing the word “ephemera”, or at least polluting it by dragging it down to the perspective of treating cheaply-produced-television-as-important. Commercials, Bumpers, Promos, Website banner ads, promotional-tie-ins, trailers, etc. those are very much ephemeral. Up until somewhat recently, television was considered ephemeral. To make a movie is to make a statement that you’re making something that isn’t meant to be ephemera. It’s something you’re supposed to pay closer attention to than television. So, I won’t insult it by calling it ephemera. But don’t expect as extensive of a write-up. 

The other reason: I don’t know if I could summarize the plot of this movie in a truly rewarding or fun way. A lot of shit happens in this movie. In fact, it feels less like a movie and more like a writing exercise to just make a movie using the same pace as an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force. The movie slows things down to a certain extent, but sometimes it feels like the ending is juuuust around the corner, because this is Aqua Teen and Aqua Teen is 12 minutes, tops. Sometimes it’s 23 minutes if it’s being weird. 

The plot is basically the Aqua Teens build a piece of exercise equipment of mysterious origin. It turns out to be a robotic alien that takes over the globe while also making Carl get ripped, who is strapped to the thing and getting an automated workout of a lifetime. This all ties into Frylock’s recurring nightmares that hint at an Aqua Teen origin story. Turns out the machine was built by Dr. Weird, and part of the reason was so that he could get Carl all buff so he can cleave the muscles off his body and wear them like a suit, making him stronger, and able to fight Frylock when he gets lead down this path. More stuff gets revealed, such as why they exist. All the backstory and explanation is as dumb and as absurd as any other joke on the show, and then at a point they just start making fun of the whole idea of giving an actual shit about this.

There’s new characters like Walter Mellon, voiced by a famous guy, probably (looks it up). Oh, nevermind. He kinda helps make the movie like a typical “monster of the week” episode of the show, sorta. Really, the movie has a lot of tangents in order to give moments to some of the show’s more popular villains, like Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past, the Plutonians, the Mooninites, Dr. Weird and Steve of course. There’s also a scene with M.C. Pee Pants which could easily be cut, but it’s honestly one of the better and more memorable appearances by him. Supposedly nearly every villain is featured even it’s a brief cameo or in the background somewhere (the one I remember getting most excited about was Willie Nelson, who quickly crawls out of the attic when the Aqua Teen’s roof gets torn off). 

Oh, since we’re talking about cameos (and apologies to Cameo, who was cut from the film): one of the best fucking things in the movie ever is a quick cutaway to Space Ghost getting hit by a wayward missile. He’s watching 12 Oz. Mouse on his monitor, even. Fucking wonderful seeing this on the big screen. Oh yeah, I’ll talk about seeing the movie at some point. 

We get a lot of nods to the closing credits montage we’ve been seeing on television as though they were a tease for this film this entire time. The scene with Lincoln towards the beginning of the film is hysterically funny, and starts the film off on a strong note. There’s a LOT of hilarious stuff in this movie. It opens with a parody of “Let’s Go Out To The Lobby” but it’s freaking metal, putting the film in some particular canon of other films that also did that (Run Ronnie Run… the unproduced “Saturday Night Live: The Movie”... probably others). 

I feel the movie is a little exhausting, and it barely feels like a movie. I love a lot about it, though, and roughly consider it good. No, really! Despite it’s problems, I genuinely love it. While it could have been better, the movie really did right by it’s fans by making something that is roughly as accessible as a regular series episode and not dumbing itself down entirely. And they even get to cuss! It really is a fun fucking ride, and is much better than it ought to be. But movies that are nothing but absurdity can be a little much to take. Sorta like eating candy for every meal. 

A good example is there’s a part where the characters are having a conversation about the very real scary world-wide threat of this machine destroying downtown and reproducing asexually, and it cuts to Shake who notices the “camera” and moves his hot dog he’s eating down to his grown like it’s his penis and smiles, pleased with himself. I love this kind of thing. One of Aqua Teen’s enduring charms is that the people making it act like they don’t care about it, really. But for an entire 90 minute movie? You need a breather half-way through. A half-hour intermission would be nice. Like the theaters should have had a 30 minute intermission just to show you a local news broadcast. 

When the movie debuted in theaters, I remember a slow roll-out. That is to say, I remember it not coming to my small town. I worked at a movie theater and there was a small handful of us who were fans of the show, including a couple managers. I remember bugging them to bug the regional manager to finally book the film for our theater in Redding, insisting that there were enough young people who loved the show that would come out and see it. One day we got the call: our theater was finally going to get it. We were so excited that we went out and voluntarily put the ENTIRE TITLE on the marquee, which was a tedious process and took forever, advertising the date it opened. We vowed to generate buzz and get every cool kid in Redding to show up for it. We wanted it to be a success, goddamn it. 

Then we got the second call: Nevermind. We weren’t getting it. Chico was getting it. So, we had to glumly take the entire title down. But we were already whipped up for the movie, so we came up with a consolation prize: ROAD TRIP. About 9 of us piled into two cars and all went to attend the Chico, CA premiere of Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters. The movie, I assume, was open matte, because the projectionist didn’t frame it correctly, causing some subtitles to get cropped off (for example, the opening Egypt scene where more and more subtitles litter the screen, the bottom one reading “1492”, was not fully legible; I knew it was a mistake and not a joke because this scene aired on TV letterboxed and is present on the DVD).

On the drive home, I bombed trying to impress a girl by launching into some semi-rehearsed story, I forget what the story was, but whatever it was I considered it a “greatest hit”. One of the other guys in the car had fallen asleep and my voice jostled him awake at one point he groggily yelled SHUT UP! At me. When he got the laugh I was sweatily trying to earn by holding court, I just sheepishly bailed on the story, and apologized for disrupting his nap. He wasn’t even trying to be funny. He literally started snoring right after that. I don’t even know if he knew where he was.

I would not get to see this film again until it came out on DVD a few months later. Imagine it. The indignity! Hell, I remember when movies used to take almost a year to come out on video.

Anyway, I’ve seen this movie only a handful of times, less than a lot of episodes of the show. I guess that says it all. It’s still really good, I just think the ideal form for the show is bite-sized chunks. It felt like an important triumphant event, and I had a great time watching it, and it’s better than most things of this nature. But I’m glad that I let a few years go by between viewings, and I would even say it was better than I remembered.

UHD version please. You can’t even buy this on blu-ray. Pathetic!

EPHEMERA CORNER

The movie had a fair amount of ephemera to go along with it, and I’m covering stuff I think is extra notable. There was also a few trailers, regular TV spots (I think?? I mean, there must’ve been more traditional type promos for the movie that aired outside of Adult Swim, but I don’t remember them if I saw them), a soundtrack album (featuring Meatwad singing with Superchunk and other fun stuff). Those are the things that normally go with the release of a major motion picture, so I won’t focus on them too much (NOTE: I have a bad track record with covering Adult Swim music releases; I knew Meatwas singing with Superchunk as a DVD menu backing track). But here’s some stuff worth mentioning:

Boston Bomb Scare (January 31, 2007) 

To promote the film, Adult Swim had people in various large cities go around and place a Lite-Bite-esque light-up display of the Mooninites. On January 31, 2007, the city of Boston went crazy thinking that these things were bombs, causing the people who placed the guerilla advertisements to get arrested. They gave a press conference (above) where they deflected the question by talking about haircuts of the 1970s. What a couple of goofy guys! A real Matt and Dave in the making! I tell ya!

Fun Fact: I live mere blocks away from a liquor store that has the Portland Mooninite in it.

Matt & Dave’s Favorite Episodes Week (April 9-12, 2007)

Monday-Thursday the week before the movie opened, Adult Swim promoted the movie by airing a half hour of Aqua Teen Hunger Force with little host segments from Matt and Dave. These segments are also found on the Volume Five DVD set.

Dana Bugs People at the Movie Theater Promos

Couldn’t tell you when these actually premiered, but I’m guessing they aired all April. Dana Snyder accosts people at the movie theater and is rude about people seeing the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Movie! These are on the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie DVD.

Danny Mothers promos

Danny Mothers, host of I Love Movies on Channel 5. He’s from the Awesome Show universe, and I forgot all about this until my friends started talking about it! This is a really funny bit. When I rewatched it for this, it started ringing bells. These might have aired as promos in small chunks, but I don’t actually remember this. This is available on the Movie DVD, or you can watch it in crappy quality on Adult Swim’s official YouTube channel.

Fake Endings

On the movie DVD there’s a collection of fake movie endings. I’ve pieced together what I think seems right as far as the origin and intended use for these: some were posted on Youtube, an Aqua Teen fan site, and as part of The Worst Game Ever (aka Go Right!), where the prize for completing the game was a clip of the movie’s ending. Most of them debuted on adultswim.com after the initial rollout. First time I saw them was on TV; when the DVD was coming out, Adult Swim did an ATHF marathon that included a lot of these and other stuff from the DVD between the episodes.

The Worst Game Ever/Go Right! 

Okay, I don’t quite remember if this game was made to promote the movie or not, but I THINK IT BASICALLY WAS, and it should get mentioned somewhere, so why not here? It’d be too much of a pain in the ass to try and date it, anyway. I think what happened is this: the game debuted on adultswim.com, possibly not to promote the movie. Then the official movie website, kingcolon.com, also had the game on there, but maybe it was modified to include the “fake ending” prize?

ATHF Responds to the Critics

Found on the Volume 5 DVD. These aired after opening weekend, and it features the characters yelling at everyone for not seeing the movie enough, urging those who were loyal to the film opening weekend to go see it again, or even just pay for a ticket and not use it. I am assuming that they were made before the movie premiered. I’m guessing Matt and Dave anticipated that the movie would be struggling to find a large audience.

ATHF Movie Premiere with Space Ghost

This is a special one! This is another one you can find on the Volume 5 DVD, but in a truncated form. It’s the same one found on youtube. Originally this was streamed live on adultswim.com, and for a while they had an archive of the event up. George Lowe dressed like Space Ghost is hilarious and charming for the entire thing, bugging people on the red carpet and vamping when nobody worth talking to is around. He’s self effacing and jocular and always on. Just one of the funniest guys to ever exist, god bless him.

I asked Kon to recount a storied bit from our past and he did a better job describing the above live-stream, bless him:

Hello and happy 2023 to all the Adult Swimfans out there, it's me Kon with a trip down memory lane to a fateful day in April 2007, when George Lowe hosted the ATHF movie premiere party. Adult Swim livestreamed it on their website, and George was hosting in the full Space Ghost costume. He was a very high energy host, kind of taking on an ironic persona of an old-timey showbiz emcee/carnival barker. Very intentionally corny and schtick-y. And: HILARIOUS! This was a very funny stream as I remember it and George was great. But it's one particular moment that I really want to discuss here…

The premiere was mostly attended by Williams Street staffers and ATHF animators and voice actors and such, with a few other Adult Swim-related people, including the Venture Bros guys, Seth Green, and Moral Orel's Scott Adsit. Scott made for one of the funniest moments of the evening. When he interacted with George, he seemed to be doing a bit where he played at being awkward and shy about the whole thing. George seemed to not really register that Scott was doing a bit and went louder and brasher and laid the old-time showbiz schtick on thick. Him going so big seemed to actually put Scott off, which in turn seemed to make George kind of feel like this guy was hanging him out to dry. Their brief interaction seemed to leave both of them unimpressed by the other. NOTE: This is all based on my memory of an webstream I watched once 16 years ago and may be inaccurate or just completely wrong. (SIDENOTE: if anyone with access to the Williams Street archive is reading this, please somehow leak the full livestream. Hell see if you can leak the entire Super Deluxe library too.) 

This interaction was so funny to me and I loved the dynamic of two funny, similar-seeming guys being so worlds apart comedically. I thought they should have a show that captured that dynamic and devised a sitcom for them called BALD DUDES. The idea (all of which was conceived after the title) was that George Lowe and Scott Adsit play two aged bachelors who are nonetheless already lucky with the ladies, who each decide to move to the suburbs to take advantage of heightening divorce rates and the proliferation of hot single moms in the area. Independently of each other, they move into the same neighborhood, in houses next door to each other, on the same day. Each recognizing the other as a threat to the dating pool, they become enemies, and every episode is the two of them pulling pranks on each other to keep the other one from getting any cougar tail. Ideally this would air on late 90s USA network, but if not then late 00s Adult Swim will do.

The one thing I must add: I remember this bit very well, and I used to imagine the opening basically being that Cosby Show opening where they’re just dancing against a generic JC Pennys photo studio backdrop. It’s just the two dudes dancing a mild hip-hop dance with a lot of “urban” head wobbles. Also they are dressed in all denim and both of them are wearing hats as if to suggest they are both self-conscious about their baldness. Also they are having a good time, suggesting that they are friends in real life (though they are not, actually)

MAIL BAG

whats the deal with you say "eagle-eyed" all the time. Is that a space ghost reference or something?

What a weird guy you are: it is an “official saying” and the eagle is a national pet for America. The fuck planet are you on?

Will you be willing to do some random shoutouts on your blog. Can you shoutout my friend Muddy from San Bernardino. He's cool and he use to watch Aqua Teen with me when we were still doing shrooms in his moms basement. Miss you, Muddy. RIP

RIP Muddy thank you for being everyone’s friend and I hope they have Aqua Teens in heaven or hell

Can you rank your Top 5 Chris Kattan movies. I'm kind of on a Kattan kick (see my review of Monkeybone on letterboxd!)

I am embarrassed to admit that I’ve never seen Monkeybone. It’s one of those movies that my group of pals talk about as a future movie night movie. I’m basically saving it for that, I think. We don’t do movie nights a whole lot lately, but it’s so tailor-made for us that I wouldn’t dare watch it on my own.

As a result, I’ve seen only 6 Chris Kattan movies. Here they all are, ranked:

1. Walter Mellon’s Big Movie (2007) 2. A Night at the Roxbury (1998) 3. Corky Romano (2001) 4. Crazy Enough (2012) 5. House on Haunted Hill (1999) 6. Delgo (2008)

I saw the Roxbury movie while visiting Universal Studios. They randomly rounded up a bunch of people for a test screening and our family was very much an SNL family so we bit. I remember telling some kid at school about it, and he DID NOT believe me, and I had to explain the entire concept of a test screening to him. So I literally told him the entire movie from memory just to prove it for when he eventually saw it. 

Corky Romano stinks. Fun fact: the movie was so bad that several people showed up and shot up various theaters showing it, but this went unreported because nobody else was in the theater when it happened.

Crazy Enough was a movie night pick, and it sucks diiiiick. There are some jaw-dropping moments in it. Delgo was another movie night thing, and I have no memory of it, so Delgo winds up at the end by default.

House on Haunted Hill was sort-of an awakening for me: I saw it and thought it was uniquely terrible. I was with a bunch of friends and I remembered being like “holy fuck, that might be the worst movie I’ve ever seen in my life” and they all looked at me quizzically and everyone else in my friend group “what? I thought it was pretty good” and I was astounded. I was so alone in my assessment of the film that I honestly thought maybe I was going crazy.

[keenregine]

Just to keep the boat sailing.. Oh wow seven months ago, how can I ever top that amount of time. Seven months?! Geez. Anyways, let's just do this and move along. It has been almost a year since I moved from the hospital accommodation to the other house, can't say current because after eight months of staying there, I moved. . again. We'll get to that later. For now, we will just call the first house 'Audax', nothing special there, it's just the street name. I was together with three of my other cohort, it was a four bedroom, two tier house. I'm trying to search what type of house it is Google is not on my side today. But it looks very similar to a terraced house, only less fancy, less decorated, laced with pale bricks without those Victorian era chimneys, very industrial looking. The rent was at a decent price of, . . I'd rather not say, but it includes all the bills and internet. Good deal if you ask me, especially after the number of rejections we've been through. I chose the double bedroom on the second floor with shared bathroom, two person each floor. We don't have a designated receiving area because we converted that into a bedroom. The kitchen also became our common area, big enough for the four of us to fit in. There's also a beautiful garden at the back with a small shed or cottage whatever, great for hanging out or just to hide away. I'm not a fan of Taylor Swift, but I'd like to say that maybe, just maybe 'It's me, Hi! I'm the problem, it's me.' See what I did there, just to put a spin on my boring old narrative. Before moving in, an issue came about between me and my other cohort who immediately became my friend arriving here in UK. I will not go into further details since I won't forget that moment anyway. To summarize, we stopped talking from the first day we moved until this today. And I believe, it will not be fixed in the nearest future because we don't live in the same house anymore. We made it so easy avoiding each other while in the same roof, imagine how much easier it is now that were completely apart. In the recent years, I always found myself caught in these situations (for different reasons). It dawned on me that maybe I'm the problem. Well, life has to go on. First ever Christmas in the UK, yay 'twas great. Also, my first snow experience ever. I don't mean to sound pretentious or anything (which I think I am, but not on this matter) the snow didn't really excite me or maybe because I'm sick during these times and had to work taking out all the fun feeling within me. Lol. Felt like it was just snowflakes falling from the sky, the aftermath aesthetics though really hit hard. The best thing out of all the tragedy was Alex had a month-long vacation here with me, I'm just so glad that he took care of me, cook proper food for us, maintained my sanity and sustain my diva and baby like attitude. But ofcourse, I took him to all the major attractions that London has to offer which was loadsss by the way. And I realized how big this city is, there are over thirty-two boroughs and from each borough is a center, like an 'unofficially' declared center. Now, before I go any further and leave the most exciting 'parts' of my journey, after being in the UK for several months (I'm pertaining to myself), I managed to get a Schengen visa. Yay! it's way more convenient to travel to Europe (geographically) now that I'm here. Like, whenever I have long rest days, I could quickly go and fly across the channel. No drama, no bullshit. Went for his birthday on October, went again for my birthday on November. What a joy! The Spanish consul was generous enough to give me six months valid visa, which is already expired at this time. Getting an appointment is seriously like finding a lost treasure at sea, ridiculously difficult. The first time here in the UK (I feel the strong need to clear this, may I remind you about the time where I cried in the Spanish embassy in Saudi? yeah, that. good times) was fairly easy but with moderate effort, I was just lucky to get it at first try. Back in Saudi, everything was done for me by an agent, all I need to do was to pay and attend. But now, I need to do everything myself which is okay, but dude the appointment these days as I've said was close to none. I go online almost everyday at different times, trying to see if I could catch the fish. For a few weeks I was not very lucky, so I decided to take the convenient way, the 'what-would-Regine-do' way. I caved and paid for an appointment, ONLY for the appointment, getting the whole package would cost nearly £400-600. A great idea for business, seem like a scam because people aren't actually supposed to pay for an appointment alone. But since I don't want the hassle anymore, I end up here and believe me, I tried my best.

[hayleycna]

Whatever You Need to Know About Indiana CNA License Renewal: A Step-by-Step Guide

**Title:** Everything You Need to Know About Indiana CNA License Renewal: A Step-by-Step Guide

**Meta Title:** A Comprehensive ‌Guide to Indiana CNA License Renewal Process

**Meta Description:** Learn all about the Indiana CNA​ license ⁤renewal process with this step-by-step guide. Find out the requirements, benefits, and ‌practical tips to ensure a smooth renewal ⁤process.

**Introduction:** If you’re a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) in Indiana,⁤ ensuring that⁤ you keep your‍ license up to date is crucial to continuing your career in ⁢the healthcare field. License renewal is a necessary process that helps maintain the standards and quality of care provided by CNAs. In this article, we⁤ will walk you through ​everything you need to know about​ Indiana CNA license renewal, providing a ​step-by-step guide to help you navigate the ‌process with ease.

**Indiana CNA License Renewal Requirements:** To renew your CNA license in Indiana, you must meet‌ certain requirements set by the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH). Here is​ a breakdown of‍ the key requirements:

1. Completion of Continuing Education: Indiana ⁤requires‌ CNAs to complete at least ‌twelve hours of continuing education every‍ year. This education must be approved ⁤by the ISDH and cover topics relevant to the healthcare‌ field.

2. Work Experience: You must also have worked for pay as a‍ CNA for⁤ at least ​eight hours in the past twenty-four months to be eligible for license renewal.

3. Background Check: A background check is required during the renewal process to ensure that you ‍have not been convicted of any disqualifying offenses.

**Step-by-Step Guide ⁤to Indiana ⁣CNA License Renewal:** 1. Complete ‌Continuing Education: ⁢Make sure to complete the required twelve hours of continuing education⁣ from an ISDH-approved provider ⁤before starting the renewal⁢ process.

2. Gather Required Documents: Collect ⁣all necessary documents, including proof ⁤of continuing education completion, work experience verification, and a valid form of identification.

3. Submit Renewal Application: Complete⁣ the CNA ​license renewal application form provided by the ISDH. Ensure that all required​ information is accurate ⁣and up to date.

4. Pay Renewal Fee: Submit the renewal fee along with your application. The current renewal fee for CNAs in Indiana is $50.

5. ⁤Undergo Background Check: Consent ⁤to a background check as part of the renewal process. This check will be conducted to verify that you meet the eligibility requirements for renewal.

6.‍ Await License Renewal: Once you have submitted your application, paid‍ the‌ renewal fee,⁣ and passed ⁣the background check, your ‌CNA⁤ license will be renewed, and you will‍ receive ⁢your new license in the mail.

**Benefits of Renewing Your CNA License:** 1. Job Security: Keeping your CNA license up to date ensures that you have job security and ⁣can ‍continue working in the healthcare field.

2. Career Advancement: Renewing your license opens‌ up ​opportunities for career advancement and specialization in areas of interest within the healthcare industry.

**Practical Tips for Indiana CNA License Renewal:** 1. Plan⁢ Ahead: Start the renewal process early to avoid any delays or complications that may arise closer to the expiration date of your ⁢license.

2. Stay Organized: Keep all required documents and information in a safe and easily accessible place to streamline the renewal process.

Indiana CNA license renewal is a straightforward process that requires meeting specific requirements set‍ by the ISDH. By following this ​step-by-step ⁣guide and being proactive in⁣ keeping your license up to ⁣date, you can ensure a smooth ⁣renewal process and continue ⁤your career as a Certified Nursing ⁢Assistant in Indiana.

Remember, renewing⁣ your CNA license is not just ⁢a ⁣formality but⁤ a necessary ‍step to maintain the ⁢quality of care⁤ and professionalism in the healthcare industry.​ Stay informed, proactive, and organized to ensure a successful ⁢renewal process every year.

https://cnatrainingcertification.org/whatever-you-need-to-know-about-indiana-cna-license-renewal-a-step-by-step-guide/

[newstfionline]

Saturday, September 23, 2023

Jimmy Carter’s Final Chapter: Peanut Butter Ice Cream and His 99th Birthday (NYT) Maybe it’s the peanut butter ice cream he still enjoys. Or the fact that his first-place Atlanta Braves are cruising toward the playoffs and he wants to see another World Series. Or as many of his loved ones and former advisers suggest, maybe he is just too stubborn to follow anyone else’s timetable. Whatever the reason, seven months after entering hospice care, Jimmy Carter is still hanging on, thank you very much, and is in fact heading toward his 99th birthday in just over a week. While nearly everyone, including his family, assumed that the end was imminent when he gave up full-scale medical care last winter, the farmer-turned-president has once again defied expectations. Mr. Carter was already the longest-living president in American history, but his staying power even in hospice has captured the imagination of many admirers around the world. It has generated an extended farewell, one that was unplanned yet remarkably affectionate for a president who was turned out of power by voters after a single term yet transformed his legacy with decades of service that earned him the Nobel Peace Prize. “He’s got so much joy in seeing his presidency and post-presidency revisited,” said Paige Alexander, the chief executive of the Carter Center. “In many ways, that keeps him going—along with peanut butter ice cream.”

U.S. braces for costly government shutdown in eight days (Washington Post) In only eight days, the U.S. government is set to shut down, unleashing real and wide-ranging financial hardship on American families, workers and businesses. The lapse in funding would mark a fundamental breakdown in an ever-divided, intransigent Washington, where lawmakers this year have struggled—time and again—to fulfill their most basic fiscal responsibilities. At the heart of the stalemate are renewed Republican demands for deep federal spending cuts, more than three months after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) finalized a deal with President Biden that was supposed to prevent this very brinkmanship. Far-right lawmakers have blocked the House this week from adopting a short-term measure that would sustain federal spending at its existing levels and buy more time for the two parties to work out a longer-term arrangement. If Congress fails to resolve the impasse by Sept. 30, federal appropriations will expire, bringing many agencies to a halt and forcing the sprawling U.S. government to operate at a mere shell of itself. Anticipating the worst, the Biden administration has started to revise and publish a set of intricate blueprints for how agencies should proceed if funds run dry.

Border crisis (NYT/wire services) The U.S. is facing another border crisis. The country’s southern border saw an increase in unlawful crossings this week. According to Brandon Judd, the head of the Border Patrol agents’ union, over 8,000 arrests were made at the border on Monday, the highest since they peaked at 9,500 in May. The influx of people seeking asylum in the U.S. has seemingly overwhelmed Border Patrol holding facilities, prompting the agency to simply leave people stranded in nearby communities after processing their papers in order to free up beds. “The Border Patrol essentially is releasing people as they process them to decompress their facilities,” said one migrant shelter director. “It is leading to street releases all over the place.” In the tiny city of Eagle Pass, Texas, the situation is reaching a tipping point. The city of 28,000 declared a state of emergency on Wednesday after the number of migrants within city limits grew to over 2,500 on Wednesday.

South America, particularly Brazil, will experience a scorching end to winter (Washington Post) It’s the end of winter in South America. But in parts of Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Bolivia, it will be feeling more like midsummer, with afternoon highs regularly passing 110 degrees in the hottest zones. In addition to numerous daily records for maximum and warm minimum temperatures, monthly and all-time hottest values are also at risk. This blast of heat caps off a winter that barely felt like one in several South American countries—something also seen in other parts of the hemisphere. It’s also coming amid what will probably end up being the world’s toastiest September on record.

Pope Francis visits Marseille as anti-migrant views grow in Europe with talk of fences and blockades (AP) Pope Francis is visiting the French port city of Marseille, for centuries a multiethnic and multifaith melting pot, to amplify his call for the Mediterranean to be a place of welcome for migrants. It’s an increasingly lonely voice in Europe, where some countries are turning more and more to border fences, repatriations and talk of a naval blockade to keep a new influx of would-be refugees out. Francis is presiding over the closing session of a gathering of Mediterranean Catholic bishops, but his two-day visit that begins Friday is aimed at sending a message well beyond the Catholic faithful to Europe, North Africa and beyond.

Ukraine hits headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol (Washington Post) Ukrainian forces on Friday fired a barrage of missiles at the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, in occupied Crimea—striking a target thought to be heavily protected and demonstrating Kyiv’s growing ability to attack Russian military infrastructure throughout the peninsula. Ukraine’s Air Force posted a statement saying that “around 12:00, the Ukrainian defense forces successfully struck the command headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in temporarily-occupied Sevastopol,” located on the southwest tip of Crimea, which Russia invaded and annexed in 2014. No further details of the strike were given, but the commander of Ukraine’s air force issued a statement that appeared to mock Russian claims that all of the missiles had been shot down by air defenses. While the Ukrainian claims could not be independently corroborated, video posted to social media on Friday, verified by Storyful and confirmed by The Washington Post, showed smoke rising from the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet. Damage to the building would indicate a remarkable failure by Russia’s air defenses.

Kosovo so awash with fake euro coins they are accepted as payment (Reuters) At a cafe in Kosovo’s capital Pristina, staff have given up checking whether the 2-euro coins people use to pay are genuine, as such a high proportion are fake and as the high quality of some counterfeits makes it almost impossible to tell. “We don’t check anymore... we may be taking fake money or may be giving out fake money. It is all the same.” The number of fake 2-euro coins in circulation has seen a massive increase this year, according to law enforcement agencies. Kosovo and neighbouring Montenegro are not part of the Euro Zone but nevertheless use the euro as their currency. For a Pristina supermarket manager who declined to give his name, and who must deposit his daily takings at the bank, it is easier to pass the 2-euro coins on to other customers rather than risk prosecution by taking them to a bank. “I don’t deposit these coins at the bank because I know they will call the police and I may end up being arrested... I give them back to clients next morning and then take more during the day,” he said. “We always complained in Kosovo that we don’t have our own currency, well it looks we have now—fake 2-euro coins.”

Indian anger against Canada grows over perceived support of separatist Sikhs (Washington Post) Canada’s announcement that India might be behind the killing of a Sikh separatist was a bombshell to much of the world, but for many in India the death months ago of someone they saw as a wanted terrorist was about a more urgent matter—Canada’s tolerance of Indian separatists. The allegations by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday brought the tense relations between the two countries to a new low. India has in particular objected to the existence of a vocal Sikh separatist minority in Canada. The anger at Canada’s perceived support of groups seeking an independent Sikh state called Khalistan in India’s Punjab region is putting Canada on the same level, for many Indians, as arch-nemesis Pakistan—which many Indian security officials believe provides refuge, money and arms to Sikh separatists. “Canada is becoming to the West what Pakistan is to the East,” said Aseem Arora, a screenwriter who has worked on several spy thriller scripts for movies and shows. “Canada has to look in their own backyard. They have to look at what they are allowing to grow, what they are allowing to bloom.”

India suspends visas for Canadians as row escalates (BBC) India has suspended visa services for Canadian citizens amid an escalating row over the killing of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil. Visa service provider BLS posted a message from India’s mission blaming “operational reasons” for the decision. Tensions flared this week after Canada said it was investigating “credible allegations” linking India with the murder of the separatist leader. India angrily rejected the allegation calling it “absurd”. Analysts say relations between the countries, which have been strained for months, are now at an all-time low. The move comes a day after India issued an advisory urging its citizens travelling to or living in Canada to “exercise utmost caution” in view of the “growing anti-India activities and politically-condoned hate crimes and criminal violence in Canada”.

U.S. revives Cold War submarine spy program to counter China (Reuters) The U.S. is conducting the biggest reconstruction of its anti-submarine spy program since the end of the Cold War. The revival of the multibillion-dollar effort, known as the Integrated Undersea Surveillance System (IUSS), comes as China has ramped up military exercises around Taiwan, heightening concerns about a potential conflict over the democratically ruled territory, which Beijing wants brought under its control. The IUSS revamp project involves modernizing America’s existing network of underwater acoustic spy cables and retrofitting a fleet of surveillance ships with cutting-edge sensors and subsea microphones, moves aimed at boosting the military’s ability to spy on its foes. The United States has agreed to sell Australia similar technology. The Navy’s plan includes deploying a fleet of unmanned sea drones to listen for enemy craft; placing portable “underwater satellite” sensors on the seafloor to scan for submarines; using satellites to locate ships by tracking their radio frequencies; and utilizing artificial intelligence software to analyze maritime spy data in a fraction of the time human analysts would usually take.

Dubai (Skift) By the end of the year, Dubai will have more hotel rooms than Las Vegas after a 6.4 percent increase in the number of rooms. As it stands, Vegas has 151,771 hotel rooms, a global record, but by the end of this year Dubai will have 154,000 hotel rooms for travelers, beating out Sin City. They’re also being used; in July, the occupancy rate hit 82 percent, up from 74 percent the same month a year ago. It’s gotten to the point that Dubai is simply building more beachfront so that it can make more beachfront hotels. By 2027, the city is expected to have 163,700 hotel rooms.

The point is profit (Atlantic) If you have a credit card, you might be familiar with “airline points.” These points are credits that airlines spin out of thin air, which you can earn when you make purchases on an associated credit card before redeeming flights or other rewards with them from a given airline. While you might think that point systems are just a side hustle for the nation’s largest airlines, they’ve actually become much larger than the business of flying passengers around. According to analysis by the Financial Times, United’s MileagePlus program was worth $22 billion in 2020, while the airline itself was worth just $10.6 billion. Now, it seems that airlines are looking to squeeze more profits out of their rewards programs. Last week, for example, Delta Air Lines announced changes to its SkyMiles program making it harder to earn points, and American Airlines made a similar change recently. It’s not hard to see why: this year, it was revealed that a full 1% of U.S. GDP is charged to Delta’s American Express credit cards, meaning there’s a massive amount of money in the airline points business. In order to cut down on the number of free flights they have to redeem, airlines are making their points harder to earn.

[3dstls]

Strong Sword (No glue, assembles smooth! Also a story about banana bread)

Are you a sword enthusiast who knows a thing or two? Well, I'm not, and this was never about swords for me. It's always been about banana bread. This all started two months ago when my friend, an actual clown, asked if I could print them a specific sword from Naruto. I haven't seen Naruto, and—as I said—I know nothing about swords, but I'm not one to shy away from a challenge, so I said "sure!" Come to find out, Zabuza's sword is eight feet long. EIGHT FEET. It took me an entire month, two rolls of PLA, and thirty-five interlocking components to finish the project after a bunch of failures and mistakes on my part. It was a mess. I got literally sick from PLA fumes. Whatever, I'm not here to talk about THAT sword. I got it done, the clown bought it, and it's out of my hands now. See, the problem is that I got confident afterwards. I'd printed an eight foot sword. It rocked. What else could I do? I did what every confident man does, and I wrote about it in my Tinder bio. That's right. I said something corny like "anyone can buy you flowers, but I can make you a sword." I thought it was funny, and what was the worst thing that could happen? I'd have to print another (smaller) sword and meet someone new because of it? Sure enough, someone matched with me soon after. Their bio said they were perfecting a recipe for banana bread, which is a huge part of why I swiped right. I like me some banana bread. Naturally, I proposed a trade: A sword for a loaf, a loaf for a sword. And to my delight, this deal was struck between us. I sprang into action, opened up my license-expired Fusion 360 window (fun fact: they can't kick you out of the program if you keep the window open when your license expires), and began a new custom sword design. There's something to be said about starting from scratch, and I really let my creativity loose on this thing: Spiral extrusions, wide revolves, and chamfers galore. Best of all, the Zabuza sword taught me how to make it all fit rigidly together without glue. Small pins join sections of the blade, and its two halves meet in a narrow dovetail. The hilt slides down over the blade, locking in place with the threaded handle. Not to toot my own horn, but this thing came out real elegant. Eager for that sweet, sweet banana bread, I got back on Tinder to arrange a time and place for our trade, but alas! My match vanished. Unmatched me. No clear reason, just gone. So here I am, loafless, with a sword I never wanted but can't bear to waste. May you enjoy it more than I have. If you do, I would greatly appreciate any tips sent to my Paypal link via the blue 'Tip Designer' button. All tips will go directly to banana bread. giedzinski

[kazzyboy]

Andriel As Gamers (Kinda)

Andrew (@HolierThnThou03)

- Personal channel, separate from his team/exy life, so he can post whatever the fuck he wants

- And what does that mean?

- Chaos. Pure, unbridled chaos.

(Like the notes I made for this spontaneously at five this morning)

- Either shows up to stream in a complete, put-together outfit, carefully-done messy eyeliner, fresh out of the Maserati; or shows up in sweats and one of Neil’s old Jurassic Park shirts. He has three of his piercings in. One of his socks is missing. There is no in between

- Barely responds to chat, except when someone’s being fucking annoying (and not in normal fan sense, in horrible person sense) to publicly pause his game, stare directly at the screen, and psychologically demolish them for ten straight minutes. The mods (Typically Renee, Nicky, and Robin) calm everyone down and give the user a warning. If they say something horrible like that again, they’ll be kicked and blocked. No one ever gets to the second bit.

- Stares directly into the camera when he dies like he’s in The Office

- Mostly horror games, occasionally aesthetically-driven Minecraft builds

- Sort of stiffens and goes wide-eyed when he’s well and truly scared

- More often than not does story-oriented games

- Gets cancelled for saying shit like,”Disgusting. Horrible. Kill yourself.” When he gets nervous while playing horror games (except nearly everyone reacts like “he can’t be cancelled!!!” Which he can’t, because he was telling the game to kill itself, which his poor mods had to explain for several months after the initial pandemic.)

- Sarcastic, poetically-driven commentary. Gets memed for it, constantly (“Humor be like-“ picture of Andrew, blank-faced, while someone gets swallowed whole by an alien on camera,”the inner workings of my mind are an enigma”)

- Leaves randomly, midstream, for snacks. Doesn’t even pause the game. His chat goes insane every time

- Guest stars include Renee, Robin, King, Kevin, and occasionally Nicky and Aaron

- @/BetsyTheBee shows up in chat sometimes and no one knows who the fuck it is, but he thinks it’s funny so he waits till people start asking if they’re dating to tell them she is literally his therapist and basically his mother.

- Streams and posts lengthy, unedited content (bc he’s lazy, but he says it’s because his editor sucks. No one knows who it is. It’s Neil. Neil did not sign up for this responsibility.)

- Rock music constantly in the background

- Occasionally does a crime podcast with various Foxes, called Gravedigger -The High Road To No One

- Constantly the victim of copyright strikes, thanks to his posters, music, and shirts, and he wins every time. Constantly claims it’s the reason he chose to major in Criminal Law (or whatever it was, cheeky little shit)

- He purposely holds his controller weird when he uses one to piss people off

- Coffee. Just, so much coffee.

- Cries at the end of Rrdr2

Neil (@TheFoxSaysNJos10)

- Semi-professional channel, in which it was supposed to be professional but the PR managers had to fight Neil’s loud mouth and lost

- Constantly argues with chat (His mods, Allison, Matt, Dan, and occasionally Andrew ((undercover)), have to block so many people bc they actually try and start shit over his jokes. Not because Neil cared that they were insulting him, but because if they mentioned the Foxes he’d fucking kill them. And get away with it.)

- Professional exy player for Pro Palmetto State Foxes, Coached by Dan and Captained by Kevin Day (you can’t @ me I’ll die on this hill)

- Promotes stuff for the team by wearing/using it on stream/in interviews/events. To this day, it’s a mystery how no one realizes he wore Andrew’s hoodie three consecutive interviews in a row, his sweatpants in another, and Andrew’s stuff is literally all over his apartment (from random visits, made up of broken traffic laws and horrific gas prices)

- His poor, poor PR managers. ManagerS. There’s more than one. The trauma is too powerful

- Clips from exy games, interviews, and practice (Him and the Foxes sometimes react to compilations, from fails, funnies, and fights)

- Every time someone asks about his scars his story gets more ridiculous. He got smacked in the face with a flying jellyfish at the zoo when he was seven. He became self-aware before he was born and took a chunk out of god’s hand, so he was cursed. He tripped on a crack and broke his mother’s back. Neil what the fuck

- Collabs with Kevin’s conspiracy channel, posted at three in the morning somehow everywhere? There are a million mugs on the desk. Are they in a news station? A single light is on? What are they trying to summon???

- When he does post gaming videos, they have like a millions cuts thanks to all of his cursing, to the point that people think they’re actually just clips of him playing the same game

- He does randomly stream, which is beyond the power of professionalism

- He normally plays shooter games, and is deathly attached to Halo.

- No one wants to play multiplayer with him, though, even online strangers, because his insults are unnervingly accurate. How did you know I have forty eight tea cans on my desk. Lurking. Jail

- Sir!! He once devotes an entire three hour stream to playing games with Sir, to the point that he occasionally does Sir Sundays

- Plays random games out of nowhere (Wobbledogs, puzzle games, literal board games that he drags others into)

- Neil doesn’t get a mic on his headphones bc he’s too loud.

- Their fans constantly ask for Andrew and Neil to collab, thinking it’ll be a total bomb show, since they haven’t talked since college and they hated each other

- Because they are completely unaware of the fact that Andrew and Neil have been married since their third year of professional exy, thanks to one too many unauthorized hospital visits

- And no one knows that they’re waiting for Andrew’s five-year contract with the New York Lions to expire so he can move in with Neil back in Columbia and become a co-coach for the professional Foxes

- All the while, Andrew is helping Renee with a Shelter For Homeless And Troubled Youth, called The Fox Den.

[theysayitscrazy]

Speed Racer

This is my first contribution to #FanFicFriday. Inspired by this post here. So this is my first time doing something like this. I haven’t posted much of writing over the years, mostly because I write for myself and hardly ever finish anything. @rebelwrites​ has me inspired with these weekly challenges and I figured it would be a good way to get the creativity flowing again.

So here’s this week’s contribution:

Clay x Reader

Inspiration photo:

Speed Racer: 

It was late. You were exhausted and had just came off a fourteen-hour shift. You didn’t have time for this. All you wanted to do was get home to your apartment and climb into bed with your boyfriend. He was wheels up at o-eight hundred for a two-month deployment in Afghanistan and you just wanted to hold him one last time be he shipped out.

Your boss had other plans though. So you got stuck shitty working a double and then some. Then when you went flying out of the parking lot doing Mach 5, you weren’t even thinking about the cop that usually sat in the parking lot of the Fire Station at the bottom of Randall Hill, clocking people all day and night.

You went from pissed to scared really fast when he said he clocked you doing 70 in 35 and was going to press for reckless driving. Then your registration sticker on the license’s plates were expired, by two months. What the actual fuck? The asshole cop was on a power trip and was threatening to haul you in.

You had no choice but to call your boyfriend.

You sat on the curb on the side of the road, phone clutched in your hands, while the cop wrote up whatever tickets he thought were sufficient and waited for your boyfriend. He was going to be so pissed.

But he wasn’t. The look on his face when he pulled up in the Nova was of concern. When he got out, he was decked out in a Navy hoody with Bravo patches on both arms. The SEAL insignia was gold on his left pectoral. The black, backwards ballcap also had a trident on it.

You got to your feet as he headed your way.

Clay ignored the cop and walked right up to and pulled you into his strong arms. “Are you okay?” he asked. His voice was gravelly from sleep.

You let out a shuddering breath and shook your head against his chest. Your fingers gripped the back of his hoodie tightly.

“It’ll be okay,” he murmured, and pressed a kiss to the top of your head. He rubbed your back reassuringly.

Boots slapped the pavement, you turned your head, but didn’t let go of Clay, to see the cop walk over with papers in his hand. He took an assessing glance over Clay and paused. “Frogman, huh?” he asked, glancing at the 6B9 patch on Clay’s left arm.

“Yes, sir,” Clay nodded respectfully to the officer.

“Jason Hayes still on Bravo?” the cop asked.

You furrow your eyebrows together in confusion. Was this guy for real, right now?

“Sure is. Bravo One, now,” Clay replied.

The Cop smiled and nodded thoughtfully, “Yeah, I figured he’d end up there. He always was questioning authority,” he chuckled. Then he ripped the papers in his hand in half and said, “Why don’t we just forget about all this mess,” he held up the torn-up papers and glanced at you. “Maybe slow down a bit?”

Clay chuckled and rubbed your back. “In her defense,” he spoke up before you could address the cop. “I do ship out in the morning, and she was in surgery all day today.”

The cop nodded once, but said, “I get that I do. I’m just trying to my job here,” he added.

You finally let go of Clay and nod at the cop. “So, I’m free to go?”

“Yeah, go on,” he said.

Clay kept an arm wrapped around your shoulders and guided you back to the front of your SUV. “Come on speed racer. Let’s get you out of here before you go all Fast & Furious on me,” he chuckled.

Finally, you grin and say, “I’ll race you home.”

[bellafarella]

angst 17 and/or fluff 13 and/or misc 1

choices 😉

Thanks for sending me these!! I wrote for all 3; the angst one is a fic on it’s own, and the fluff & misc are in a fic together. 

The sentences came from this post 

You can also read both of these here: angst & fluff/misc

**********************************************

Put your arms around me

Angst #17: “If you don’t hug me right now I think I might fall apart.”

Ian and Mickey have been taking care of Franny for the past three months. Debbie took off with her loser, new girlfriend and she promises she’ll be back in another two months. She was going to take Franny with her but Mickey offered to let them watch her. Franny got all excited, begging her mom to let her stay with her favorite uncles. Debbie relented and took off the next day. Ian and Mickey have a second bedroom in their new apartment that they were going to convert into a guest room anyway so this became Franny’s room until Debbie comes back for her child. 

Ian picks Franny up from school, meeting her in front. She rips her mask off as she runs over to him, hugging his legs. “Hey Fran,” he greets her, tapping her back.

“Hi,” she says in her tiny voice. “No uncle Mickey?” she asks when she lets go, looking up at him and shrugging her shoulders. 

“Not today, he had something to do,” Ian tells her. “We’ll meet him back at home later.”

“Okay,” she says simply. She takes his hand when he offers it to her and the two walk off school grounds. He asks her how school was as they make their way to the ambulance parked down the street. Ian has Franny ride in the back, strapped in so that she stays safe as he drives them back home. 

They get inside the apartment, Ian locking the door behind them as Franny runs in. “Go wash your hands, Fran,” he yells after her.

“I know!” she yells back in her little voice. 

Ian walks to the kitchen sink to wash his own hands. As he dries them off, he feels his phone vibrating in his pocket. It’s from a private number so he picks up just in case, “Hello?”

“Hello, is this Ian Gallagher?” the person on the other end asks.

“Um, yes, who is this?” he asks, making his way back to the living room where Franny is now dumping her stuff from her school bag on the coffee table.

“I’m calling from South Shore Hospital. We have a Mikhailo Milkovich that was brought in today and -”

“What happened? Is Mickey okay? I’m his husband,” he says in a panic, realizing they must know he’s his husband since they called him.

“Yes, sir. Mikhailo was in an accident, he’s okay, but he’s asked us to call you,” the person tells him. 

“I’m on my way now,” he tells him before the person tells him where exactly he is and then he hangs up. “C’mon Franny, we gotta go get uncle Mickey.”

“Can I bring a toy?” Franny asks.

“Just one,” Ian tells her. 

Franny grabs one of her toys quickly from her room before the two are back out the door and in the ambulance. Ian doesn’t park too close, seeing as this is still a stolen ambulance, and the two walk the rest of the way to the hospital.

Ian finds the nurse’s station of who he spoke to on the phone before she leads him to Mickey’s room. Franny’s holding Ian’s hand as they make their way inside and see Mickey laying on the hospital bed with his leg in a cast. 

“Oh my God, Mick,” Ian says, tears threatening to fall already.

Franny lets go of Ian’s hand to run to Mickey’s side, she looks at him and he says, “Hey, kid.”

“Are you okay, uncle Mickey?” she asks so softly he barely hears it.

“I’m okay,” he tells her but he looks up at Ian, nodding his head softly, reassuringly.

Ian joins them closer to Mickey and leans down, kissing him softly on the lips. He pulls back and asks, “What the hell happened?”

“Some jackass wasn’t looking and hit me with his fuckin’ car,” Mickey tells him. “Fractured my leg. They said I’ll be in this cast for like six to eight weeks.”

Ian looks down at his leg in the cast and how this could have been so much worse. A fractured leg is nothing but had this car hit him harder or at a different angle and - 

Ian starts tearing up and Mickey says, “Hey, Ian, I’m okay,” his hand grabbing his where it’s resting on the bed beside him.

“If you don’t hug me right now I think I might fall apart,” Ian tells him, letting the tears slip down his cheeks.

“Come here,” Mickey mumbles, pulling him closer. Ian leans down and Mickey wraps his arms around Ian awkwardly seeing as he’s sitting up in bed and Ian’s crouching down.

Ian shoves his face in the crook of Mickey’s neck and lets the tears fall, breathing in his scent, and praying to whatever God there is that his husband is okay and here in his arms.

Ian feels Franny hugging his legs so he pulls back and lifts her up. Mickey pats the bed next to him, away from his broken leg, and Ian puts her down next to him. Ian sits in the chair, pulling it right up beside the bed and waits. The doctor comes in not much longer to explain to them both what Mickey can and cannot do for the first couple of weeks and how recovery will go, before they are free to go. 

Ian wheels Mickey out of the hospital in a wheelchair with Franny walking closely beside him. He brings Mickey all the way to their stolen ambulance in the wheelchair, helps him into the vehicle and tells them both to wait there before rushing back to return the wheelchair and running back to get them all home. 

That night while they’re lying in bed, Ian sleeping on the other side of his fractured leg, he snuggles close, resting his head on his chest. “I felt like my heart was going to drop out of my ass when I got a call from the hospital saying you were in an accident,” Ian whispers.

Mickey’s arm is wrapped around him and he’s soothingly running his fingers up and down Ian’s arm. “I’m okay,” he says softly. 

“It could have been so much worse though, Mick…”

“It wasn’t though. I’m right here,” Mickey reassures him.

“Uncle Mickey?” they hear from the open doorway. 

“C’mon in, Fran,” Mickey tells her. 

“Be careful of uncle Mickey’s leg,” Ian reminds her. 

Franny slowly climbs onto the bed, Ian moving over so she can get in the middle. She snuggles right up against Mickey like Ian just was and says, “I’m happy you’re okay.”

“Me too,” Mickey tells her, kissing her forehead. 

Ian snuggles up behind her, reaching his arm over so he can hold Mickey’s hand. Mickey squeezes his hand and the three of them fall asleep together, thankful that Mickey’s okay.

/////////////

A teenage crush 

Misc #1: “All I do is drink coffee and say bad words.” & Fluff #13: “Are you flirting with me?” “You finally noticed?”

Ian hates his warehouse job. Well, he doesn’t hate one part about it, which is his very grumpy but very hot supervisor, who on his first day meeting him was told, “All I do is drink coffee and say bad words.” It immediately made Ian like him. 

Ian hasn’t had a legal job since he worked at the Kash’n’Grab when he was like fourteen. So much has happened in the last ten years. Most of it bad but also some good. He was able to finally get stable after being diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder like his mother and he found himself this job. It’s been about six months that he’s working for Amazon and the only good part about coming to work every day is seeing his supervisor. 

Usually people don’t develop massive crushes on their superiors but not Ian. The first day he started and he met Mickey Milkovich, Ian thought his heart would jump out of his chest. He’s never felt this way before. He’s been with plenty of men in his short lifetime but there’s something about Mickey that - mmph. He makes Ian act like a teenager with a crush again. 

Mickey is abrasive. He has crude knuckle tattoos. He has the most fowl, dirty mouth Ian’s ever heard. He has piercing blue eyes and black hair. He’s been at the center of Ian’s dreams for the past six months. 

He has no idea what Mickey’s sexuality is. They don’t hang out. Mickey’s the warehouse supervisor, he’s his boss. They chat here and there but it’s never anything more than pleasantries. Mickey doesn’t do small talk and has told him multiple times to ‘shut the fuck up and get back to work, Gallagher’. But Ian has his suspicions. He’s noticed Mickey’s eyes wandering his body when he comes into work in tight shirts or if his jeans are a little more snug than he normally wears. 

Ian tries to get Mickey to notice him more than just his employee. He wants to spend time with him outside of work. He wants to bend him over and fuck him, give him the best dick he’s ever had. 

Ian snaps out of it, trying to get back to work. He continues going through the box, making sure the products aren’t expired. It’s not the most thrilling job Ian’s ever had but it’s a stable job, a stable paycheck - even if it’s minimum wage - so it’s giving him the security and stability he needs in his life right now. 

“Gallagher,” he hears and knows immediately it’s Mickey. He smiles to himself before turning around to see the shorter man making his way over with his trusty clipboard. He looks so good today. He looks good everyday but today he has on some dark blue jeans and a burgundy crewneck sweater that’s rolled up his forearms.

“Hey, Mick, what’s up?” Ian says, going for nonchalant and not like he was just checking his boss out.

Mickey rolls his eyes slightly like he always does when Ian says Mick. No one else calls him that but he doesn’t tell Ian to stop so he doesn’t, he likes the tiny smile he sometimes gets from him when he calls him that. “When you’re done with those, come see me in my office,” he tells him.

Ian gets a sudden wave of nausea and panic. Mickey must notice because he clicks his tongue and says, “Man, calm down, you’re fine. Just - come see me after, yeah?”

Ian nods, mutters out a, “Yeah,” before Mickey walks away. 

Ian works quickly, wanting this over with so he could see what Mickey wants. He said you’re fine so this can’t be a bad thing, he can’t be getting fired… right?!

Less than an hour later, Ian knocks on Mickey’s open door. He has a tiny office in the corner of the warehouse. It’s not much but it’s his own private space so that must be nice. “Hi,” he says softly when Mickey looks up.

“Come in, shut the door,” Mickey tells him.

Ian nervously steps inside, closing the door behind him before walking over to the chair on the other side of Mickey’s desk and sits down. Mickey says, “So I have a job opportunity for you.”

“What?” Ian asks a little louder than he expected.

Mickey smiles softly before it disappears. “Yeah, man, what did you think I was gonna fire your  ass?”

“Kind of,” Ian tells him honestly, making Mickey laugh.

Mickey clicks his tongue, “I told you you were fine, man.”

“How fine?” Ian tries to flirt.

It fails because Mickey’s eyebrows shoot up and he asks, “What?”

“Nothing, so a job opportunity?”

“Uh, yeah, so I’m leaving and they need a new warehouse supervisor and figured you should do it,” Mickey tells him.

“Wait - what? Where are you going?” 

“Another job opportunity elsewhere for more pay. So, you interested or not? You get a higher salary and benefits.”

“Why me? I’ve only been here six months,” Ian asks confused.

“It won’t be for another couple months or so but - look, you’re a hard worker, you don’t take any shit, you work quickly and efficiently and you’re always on time and never call in sick. I was told to choose a replacement and I chose you,” Mickey explains, shrugging a little right at the end, looking a little nervous.

Ian smiles softly. Hearing Mickey say these things about him - things he’s noticed about him, it makes him feel really good. “Fuck yeah - I - sorry, yes, I’m definitely interested in the job,” Ian stammers.

Mickey smiles at him and nods. “Good so there’s like paperwork and shit you’re gonna need to fill out. Do you have anywhere to be right after your shift or can we do that then?”

“That works,” Ian grins.

Mickey nods again before saying, “Cool, now get the fuck out of my office and get back to work, Gallagher.”

Ian can’t get rid of his grin as he stands and leaves his office. He’s getting a promotion and Mickey won’t be his boss soon so he needs to try and seal the deal soon. Spending some time together after work is exactly what Ian had been hoping for since he started this job.

Ian’s working late tonight, doing some overtime since a few people called out today so by the end of his shift it just seems to be him and Mickey left in the warehouse. He quickly uses the washroom, making sure he doesn’t look too much like shit before heading to Mickey’s office. Just like earlier, the door is open so he knocks on the side lightly and says, “Hey,” before walking in and going to sit across from him.

“Hey, did everyone else fuck off yet?” Mickey asks him.

Ian can’t help but chuckle lightly. “Yeah, just us.”

Mickey hums, eyeing Ian. Ian sees this look, appreciates it, and definitely wants to jump on it but before he can, Mickey looks down at his desk and grabs a stack of papers. “So, this is what you gotta fill out. Mostly stupid information shit we already know and just some other forms mostly for you to keep that shows proof of your increase in salary and the benefits you’ll get. Just need to make sure you sign the copies for us and the rest you keep,” he explains.

Ian takes it from Mickey’s offering and quickly glances through it. “Do you need this back right away?” he looks up to see Mickey watching him.

“Nah, just bring our copies back whenever,” Mickey tells him. He thumbs at his bottom lip gently and Ian just wants to bite it. “Don’t wanna keep you if you got somewhere to be or whatever.”

Ian smirks, “Are you flirting with me?”

Mickey smirks right back and says, “You finally noticed?”

This shocks Ian. “Sorry what?! When did you ever flirt with me before?” he asks.

Mickey rolls his eyes, “Maybe it ain’t obvious or whatever but I’m your boss, man… can’t just straight up tell you I want you to fuck me in my office.”

Ian’s heartbeat speeds up and blood rushes straight to his cock, it twitching in his jeans. “You - I -”

“Just get the fuck on me already,” Mickey says, putting him out of his misery.

Ian stands, pushing his chair back. He walks around the desk in time for Mickey to stand before  he’s grabbing his face in his hands and kissing him hard on the lips. Mickey moans into the kiss, his hands grabbing onto Ian’s waist and pulling him hard against him. Ian brings his right hand down Mickey’s side and to his thigh, lifting it slightly and pushing Mickey up against his desk before he hops up and sits on it, Ian getting in between his legs.

“Wanted this for so long,” Ian tells him as he kisses his way down his jaw and to his neck. 

“Mmm, me too,” Mickey says, running his fingers through Ian’s hair and keeping his head where it is, sucking on his neck.

Ian pulls back slightly, looking into those piercing blue eyes that he’s fantasized about looking back at him just this way. They hear a noise from outside of his office so Ian steps back. Mickey jumps off the desk and makes his way to the door. He looks out and turns back to Ian, “Just the cleaning crew. We should probably -”

“You wanna come over? Um, if you want to like pick up where we left off?” Ian asks hopefully, a small smile on his face.

“You live alone?” Mickey asks, eyebrow cocked.

“Um… no,” Ian says, sadness creeping in that his one shot with Mickey got ruined.

“I do. Grab your shit and let’s go back to my place, Red,” Mickey flirts.

Ian grins, doing exactly what he’s told before the two of  them rush out of there and Ian gets exactly what he’s wanted for the past six months, Mickey Milkovich, more than just his boss.

Send me some sentence prompts 

[cantteachanoldguardnewquotes]

It's Too Early For This

No warnings apply

Read on AO3

"Who took the car out?" Joe asked walking into the kitchen and giving Nicky a quick good morning kiss on his forehead.

"Hmm? I'm not sure, you're the first person I've seen since I got up around seven."

"Maybe Nile and Quynh took it. I thought they were planning something last night but I figured they'd tell us before they went anywhere."

"I'm sure they'll be back soon." Nicky said.

"I doubt it." Booker said joining them in the  kitchen and getting a coffee mug from the cupboard. "Look at the text Nile sent me." He showed them his phone, revealing a selfie of Nile, Andy, and Quynh outside a restaurant with the caption 'this better be worth the four hour trip.' under it.

Joe huffed. "They drove all that way and didn't even ask if I wanted to go?"

Nicky tried not to laugh at his husband's dismay but couldn't stop his amused grin. "I'm sure they meant no offense, maybe next time you can join them."

"When did they even leave? Who goes and gets food that far away? I mean they still have to drive all the way back." Booker shook his head in disbelief.

"I can see Nile and Quynh doing something like that, but Andy?" Nicky asked.

"I'm sure Quynh didn't have much trouble convincing her." Joe said with a grin.

"True." Nicky and Booker said at the same time.

"Guess I get the remote all day." Booker said.

"Not if I get it first." Joe took off for the living room with Booker close behind him yelling threats in multiple languages.

Nicky chuckled and went back to making breakfast.

**

(Earlier that morning)

"Andy." Andy heard Quynh call her name but it was such a faint whisper she was sure she was dreaming.

"Andy." Quynh said again this time with the lightest shake of her shoulder.

Andy sat up with a jolt. "What's wrong? Is someone... Nile? What do you need?" It was so dark out Andy didn't have a clue what time it was, only a faint glow from the hallway allowed her to see Quynh and Nile's outlines.

"Shh shh, nothing's wrong everything's fine." Quynh reassured her. "We just wanted to let you know we're leaving to get some breakfast, you're welcome to join us but you don't have to.

Andy rubbed her eyes trying to process what was going on. "Breakfast? What time is it now?"

Nile bit her lip. "It's, uh, four a.m." She said sheepishly.

Andy groaned and flopped back down on the bed. "I hate you both."

"Quynh pecked her on the lips. "No, you don't." She said with a sly grin.

Andy cracked an eye open, half her mouth quirking up in a smile. "No, I don't." She sighed looking back and forth between the two of them. "You're crazy. What's even open at this hour?"

Nile's grin somehow looked even more sheepish. "The place doesn't open till eight but that's fine cause it's four hours away and it will be open when we get there."

"You're telling me going to drive for four hours? For breakfast?" Andy asked shaking her head.

They nodded in unison, neither of them giving any indication they would change their minds.

"It's alright." Quynh gave Andy a reassuring pat. "Like we said we only wanted you to know where we are, no need to get up."

"Oh, you're not getting rid of me that easily." Andy said, as she pulled off the covers and stood up. "Let me change and then we can go."

"Yes!" Quynh asked too loud in her  excitement.

"Shhh. You'll wake the guys." Nile said bringing her finger to her lips.

"Sorry." Quynh whispered. "Really? You're not too tired?" She asked.

Andy snorted. "Yes, really, I might be mortal but I'm not an invalid. Besides, I have to see for myself if this food is worth it or if you both are going on a wild goose chase."

Quynh laughed and kissed Andy's cheek. "It will be an adventure either way!"

"I'll go start the car." Nile said with amusement.

**

After hours of would you rather, guess my animal, who can finish the alphabet first by collecting letters from license plates and signs, and non stop singing, Andy was finally pulling off the much anticipated exit they needed.

They all needed to go to the bathroom and Nile and Quynh were so hyped up on energy drinks Andy didn't even know how they were sitting still anymore. She'd only had two coffees the whole trip and was feeling every second of the long car ride.

"There it is!" Nile shouted poking her head between the driver and captain seat pointing in her excitement.

Andy cocked her head to the side at the sudden noise in her ear, but chuckled all the same at Nile's unbridled enthusiasm. She parked and they all got out, happy to stretch their legs and backs.

"I hope you're hungry, dear." Quynh said grabbing Andy's hand and leading her towards the door.

It was eight in the morning, but the restaurant was already busy. 

Andy flipped open the menu to study it. They hadn't even told her what type of food this place served.

"So, the reason Quynh and I picked this particular restaurant is because it has a huge breakfast and if you finish it in an hour by yourself you get it for free, and we wanted to see how far we could get. Of course you can get whatever you want that's just what they're famous for." Nile explained eyeing the menu as well.

"It ends at ten so we wanted to get here early, since they can get really busy and we didn't want to wait." Quynh added.

"Well if that's what they're known for I'll give it a shot." Andy said.

"Should we choose a prize for the winner?" Quynh asked, leaning forward like she was conspiring.

"The losers each have to buy dinner for the winner, whatever meal they want." Andy suggested.

Nile laughed. "We're not going to want to look at food for a week after this."

"No, expiration date. We'll want to cash in eventually." Quynh grinned.

"Deal."

"Deal."

They ordered and the food just kept coming even Nile and Quynh who had read about the breakfast seemed surprised by the large portion sizes. They were served eggs, bacon, ham, sausage, pancakes, waffles, fruit, hash browns, and coffee. It all looked delicious and smelled heavenly.

"You have an hour to finish if you want your name on the wall." Their server said gesturing to the far wall. It already had a few names on it but not many.

They all shared excited glances, then dug in.

"They have different flavored syrups too." Nile said happily dousing her pancakes in blueberry syrup.

"Is blueberry syrup your favorite?" Quynh asked.

"I like them all, it just depends on what I'm feeling."

"Would you like some coffee with that cream?" Andy teased as Quynh added a ton of vanilla creamer to her coffee.

"You have no room to talk, you put ketchup on your eggs." Quynh shot back grinning and handing her the bottle of ketchup.

"That's how they were intended to be eaten." Andy argued with a smirk.

Nile made a disgusted face. "No, eggs are best with cheese."

"You can still put ketchup on that and it's delicious."

Quynh and Nile shared a 'not on a million years would that taste good' look and laughed.

They ate so much they all felt like they might explode. They were forty-five minutes in and only Andy was still going strong.

Quynh was still giving it her best shot but she had slowed down a lot.

Nile was only picking at her food by now but she had finished a lot more than she thought she'd be able too.

Right before their hour was up their server came over to check on them.

Andy was just putting the last bite of waffle in her mouth.

Quynh and Nile still had some food left over unable to take another bite.

"Looks like we have a winner!" Their waitress said. "Just follow me and you can sign your name on the wall."

Nile and Quynh followed Andy over to watch.

Andy hesitated for a split second trying to decide which name to write then chose Andromache.

"Yay!" Nile cheered and clapped.

Quynh gave her a kiss and congratulated her.

"And if it's alright, we'll take your photo and keep it on the wall for a month." The waitress said.

Andy shook her head. "No pictures, but thank you."

Before Andy could reach the car Nile said. "I'll drive home."

Andy nodded, climbing into the backseat, and laid down. "Thanks, I'm not going to be able to stay awake after all that."

"We'll keep the noise down." Quynh reassured her, sitting in the front seat so Andy would have some more room, and she could keep Nile company.

"Appreciate it." Andy mumbled already drifting off.

Quynh smiled fondly, giving Andy's knee a gentle squeeze. "Sleep well." She murmured.

They started the long drive back to the safe house talking about nothing in particular, music playing softly.

"Was it worth the trip?" Nile asked Quynh.

Quynh thought about how much fun they'd had on the way down, the delicious meal, all the shared laughs, and Andy sleeping peacefully in the backseat. "I would do it again in a heartbeat." 

"Me too."

[hogwartsmarvelmommy]

Fallout of the century 🌑💔

Part 3 🥜

Read part 1 & part 2 here 😌

🌼🌸Masterlist🌼🌸

Word count: 3.2k

Warnings: angst, car accident, moving on

The ride to the airport was quiet. I wasn't sure how Harrison managed to get tickets so soon, but I didn't question it. We made it through security and were almost ready to board when my phone rang. I looked down to see Sam's name across the screen, I answered it almost instantly, an uneasy feeling washing over me.

“Sam?” I asked.

“You need to get to the Hospital Y/N,” he was crying. I felt my head get light as a million thoughts ran through my head. I didn't say anything, I just turned and ran until I got outside. Leaving my bags and Harrison in my dust. I called a cab and went straight to the hospital. I ran in through the big revolving doors and found Tom and Sam sitting in an empty waiting room. As soon as they saw me they both wrapped their arms around me tight. It was bad, but I wasn't sure how bad.

“Where?” I asked, my voice not seeming to work.

“Surgery,” Tom sniffled, while urging me to sit. I sat down and they explained what had happened. A car had hit him in a crosswalk, while he was looking down at his phone. Guilt washed over me and consumed me. I probably cried for an hour straight, although it felt like a century. I couldn't seem to catch a breath. At some point Tuwaine and Harrison both showed up, but I didn't pay them no mind, I was to busy being consumed by my worst fears. 

Surgery took almost eight hours. Eight hours with no update. Eight hours thinking that Harry was gone. Eight hours of agonizing guilt and torture in my mind.

“Holland family?” a man's voice called from behind us, Tom, Sam, and I ran over to hear the news that the doctor had. “All of you are family?” the doctor pondered.

“Twin, older brother, fiance” Sam told him.

“OK, well we were able to get the bleeding under control, unfortunately I can't promise he will wake up, but if he does, his injuries won't prevent him from living anything less than a normal life,” It was a mixture of good and bad news, but he was alive, ad that was enough of a bright side for me.

“Can we see him?” I asked.

The doctor brought us to a recovery room where Harry was laying, lifeless looking on the bed. I felt tears rush back to my eyes and I was sure I could not breathe. I walked over to the side of his bed and grabbed his hand, I leaned down and kissed his forehead. “Don't you dare leave me,” I whispered, tears escaping my eyes.

The waiting game was the worst. Sam and I sat in the room for hours holding Harry's hands, waiting for a flicker of life to become present. Tom had left to go get their parents from the airport.

“You guys need to put this behind you,” Sam said quietly. I looked up to see him looking at me with sad eyes. He was right, this game of cat and mouse had to come to an end.

“I know, I’m done with this whole run around.” I told him. “I want to be with him, I want to marry him, and grow old with him. If that means forgiving and forgetting, then that's what I'll do,” I said between sniffles.

“You still want to marry me?” His voice was hoarse and sounded dry, but it was his. Both Sam and I shot our gazes to Harry's now open eyes. He was staring at me, with his dopey smirk.

“You're awake,” I cried, getting up from the chair and leaning down to hug him. I lifted my head from his shoulder and found his lips, kissing him softly before backing up to let Sam give his brother a hug.

“This whole time, all i had to do was get hit by a car?” He asked in a joking manner. Both Sam and I laughed.

“Shut up you idiot,” Sam laughed. “I'm going to go get the doctor, so he can come check you, or whatever they do,” He told us before leaving the room.

“Hey,” Harry whispered. I sat on the edge of the bed pulling his hand in between mine and listening to him. “I'm sorry about everything. I only slept with her that one time. I was just trying to hurt you,” He paused and moved his fingers so they were intertwined with mine. “Give me another chance, and I'll never hurt you again,” His words were sincere and filled with love.

“Okay,” I whispered. Leaning down and kissing him once more. “Your parents should be here soon,” I told him.

“Oh boy,” He groaned.

The next few days were spent in the hospital, so I refused to leave Harry's side. Luckily nothing had been broken so other than a scar from surgery and some minor cuts and bruises he was walking away from a run in with a car practically unscathed.

I got a text from Harrison as I was packing all the Get well cards and animals into a hospital tote bag.

‘Hey just wanted to see how you were doing, I heard he's going home today. That's great! Hopefully we can talk soon. Just to clear the air?’

I didn't respond right away. I wasn't exactly sure what to say. Sorry I led you on? Sorry I left you at the airport? Sorry I had you take care of me for the last seven months while I was broken and damaged? I didn't know.

“Are you coming home?” Harry asked me as I finished packing all the stuff.

“To help you, or for good?” I asked him, not turning around.

“Either?” He wondered.

“I don't want to go back to that apartment, Harry. I can't.” I sighed. I turned to face him, and he had a smile on his face. “What?” I was confused as to why he was smiling at me when i had just told him i wasn't coming home.

“Let's get a different place,” he told me, stepping forward and taking my hands in his. “Let's just start over,”

“What about right now?” I asked him.

“Your place?” he proposed.

“I guess for a few days that would work, but for the love of god. Do not start fighting with Harrison. Please?” I begged. He rolled his eyes and kissed my cheek.

“I have no hard feelings for him going after a prize like you,” he told me, making me roll my eyes.

“Let's go,” I laughed. We walked out of the room and out of the hospital where Sam and Tom were waiting with the car. Luckily neither of us had anything here so there wasn't much to pack back.

“Home?” Sam asked as we climbed into the back seat.

“Only so I can run up and get some clothes,” Harry said, making both of the other Hollands turn around to look at him questioningly. He shrugged his shoulders, “She doesn't want to be back at the apartment, I'm not going to make her go.”

“So does that mean-?” Tom started to ask but Harry interrupted him before he could finish.

“You'll know when I do,” He told Tom. and with that we drove to my old apartment, somewhere I hadn't been in seven months. Tom and Harry got out and went to go get a few of Harry's things, while me and Sam stayed in the car.

“So what's going to happen? Are you guys going to start dating again, or are you going to reschedule the wedding?” Sam wondered.

“I'm not sure. All I know is I want him in my life. So I guess we take it one day at a time,” I told him as I stared out the window.

“And Harrison?” Sam asked the question I was dreading.

“I love Harrison, he's my best friend, and he stepped up and took care of me when I couldn't even take care of myself. And maybe in a different life we would have ended up together, but I can't see a future with him the way I can with Harry. Even after everything we have been through, it's still Harry I see at the end of the line,” 

I sat on the floor of my bedroom folding the clothes Harry had shoved into his bag. He never was one to fold his laundry so I wasn't even surprised when I opened the bag to find clothes just crumpled in. “You don't need to do that,” He laughed from where I had made him lay on my bed.

“It'll drive me nuts if I just let your unfolded clothes get all wrinkly in this bag,” I told him as I continued folding his shirts. I grabbed a pair of pants and a small white box fell out, a box I instantly recognized. I picked it up and opened it to see the ring that I had worn on my finger for nearly a year. There was a small folded up piece of paper in the box as well. I looked up to see if Harry was watching me, but his eyes were closed, so I unfolded the paper.

I know I messed up.

I'll live with the fact that I hurt you for the rest of my life.

I've known since that first time I saw you in that club that I wanted to marry you.

The first time you yelled at me for folding the towels in the apartment wrong.

The time we went to the lake and you told me to put sunscreen on my nose because you were afraid I was going to burn.

When I introduced you to my family, you didn't even second guess that you were now a part of it.

How when I took you to the pet store, you insisted we get a rescue dog instead of a puppy, because they deserved to have a good life.

How even after I did what I did, and said the things I said, you still sent me messages checking on me.

Making sure my laundry was done.

Asking if I had gone grocery shopping.

Checking to see if I had finished the milk before its expiration date.

But i think my favorite is when you texted me excitedly that one of my favorite movies was playing at the little indie theater we used to go to.

A movie I know you hate.

My heart was made for you.

We can't end this way.

I'll fight for you until it kills me.

Because at the end of the day, a life without you, is a life I would rather not live.

I sniffled as I folded the paper back up. “You were supposed to let me read that to you, not read it yourself. You know for dramatic effect,” Harry said from where he was now sitting on the bed.

“Sorry,” I muttered, wiping the tears from my eyes. “You brought this?” I asked him, referring to the ring in the box that was still in my hand.

“Thought i might need it,” He said.

“For dramatic effect?” I asked teasingly. He rolled his eyes at me. I stood up and walked over to the bed sitting beside him.

“Things aren't going to be the same,” He whispered. “Do you remember the fight we had before you left for that business trip?” I looked at him, thinking about what he was referring to.

“And why does it always have to be you?” He shouted at me as I packed my suitcase.

“Because it's my project Harry, I'm the one that organised it so i have to see it through,” I told him, keeping my calm even though he was livid.

“You were gone all last week, you have only been home a day and they're already making you go back, doesn't that seem a little unfair?” he asked me.

“Unfair to who harry? To me, or to you? You told me to go after my dreams, you told me you'd support me no matter how hard it would be. We're building these kids better lives and I get to be a part of that,” I told him as I took his hands in mine.

“I'm proud of you, for following your dreams, I am. I just feel like you're losing sight of everything you already have to chase something you want,” he pulled his hands away from me and walked out of the room leaving me alone thinking about what he said to me.

“I remember that fight vividly, and you were right. I had lost sight of everything I had, and once we finished the project, I was left alone and broken, with nothing to show for all my hard work,” I sighed as I laid my head on his shoulder.

“I should have been more supportive and understanding. I fell in love with a woman with a strong will and a good work ethic. I knew what I had gotten myself into,” he told me as he put his hand on my thigh. “I've missed you Nut, like really missed you,”

“Me or my body?” I chuckled.

“Is it wrong if I say both? Or is that the right answer?” He laughed.

There was a knock on the bedroom door. “Yeah?” I called out. Tuwaine opened the door with a grim look on his face.

“I think you're going to want to see this,” he handed me his phone which had a screenshot of an Instagram post. “My mate sent it to me asking if i knew the girl cause he was sure he'd seen us all out together at parties,” on his phone was a picture of Olivia, with a pink bow around her swollen belly captioned ‘Its a Girl!’ I looked at Harry whose jaw was practically on the floor.

“What the fuck,” was all i could think, and say.

Would life ever be easy?

I was standing at the kitchen counter, my knuckles had gone white from how hard my grip on the counter was. “Are you doing alright?” Harrison's voice startled me, but I didn't react.

“Nope,” my voice sounded like it was a million miles away. I was trying to stay calm, and not freak out, but my body was quivering with anger and I felt like my blood was boiling. Harrison put his hand on my shoulder, probably in an attempt to calm me down, but it did the opposite. “You know, I am the most genuine person. I am loving and caring. I'm respectful even if people don't deserve it. I'm always willing to lend a hand to people, even if they don't do the same. I literally work for a nonprofitable organization making next to nothing because that was my dream. I deserve a break, I deserve happiness!” I wasn't meaning to shout at Harrison, and I was sure he knew that.

“So it's his?” he guessed from my angry outburst.

“I don't know. He called her and i couldn't be in there to hear the conversation, i refuse to do that to myself,” i sighed. I leaned over the counter and rested my head on my hands.

“What if it is?” he asked.

“I don't want to think about that right now Haz,” I groaned.

“I mean, I don't blame you, but that's kinda a big deal.” he said while rubbing my back.

“I didn't sign up for this. If he had a kid prior to us getting together then it would be different. But this.. This is like the epitome of a shit show,” I told him.

I heard footsteps come down the stairs and I knew from the sound it was Harry. I didn't bother looking up. “Can you give us a minute mate?” Harry asked Haz. Harrison walked out of the kitchen leaving me and Harry alone. I couldn't move, I didn't want to look at Harry afraid his face would confirm my worst fears. “So that was an interesting conversation,” he said.

“Was it?” I asked.

“I've been avoiding her calls for months,” he said.

“Spit it out Harry,” I snapped.

“She's not positive, she said there's a chance it's mine, and a chance it's the other guys,” he said quietly.

“If it's yours?” I asked, as I stood back up.

“Huh?”

“If it is yours, what does that mean for us?” I asked him. He stood with his arms crossed, looking at me as I stared at him, waiting for an answer, but dreading the one I knew I was going to get.

“Does it have to mean something for us?” he asked in a quiet, barely audible tone.

“Harry, I know you. Well. too well. I know that if that is your child then you are going to want to be there, as a dad, and I respect you for that. But I didn't sign up to be a stepmom, I'm not even ready for my own children, let alone a child of the person I despise most in this world. I would resent that child, even if I didn't want to. I would.” I felt the tears falling down my cheeks as I said the words, feeling like an absolute monster.

“So this would be over, for real then?” He asked.

“It would,” I nodded.

“She said she would do the DNA test, and we could do it next week, so can we just forget this until then? Can we just spend the week living in a bubble?” he asked me. I looked at him, and all I could see was the boy I met at the pub almost six years ago. Goofy, an awful dancer at the time, and so full of love. So ready to give all of himself to someone, and somehow that someone was me.

“Can I get you a drink?” A voice asked from beside me. I turned to see a hot redhead next to me. The club was dark but I could make out most of his features, especially his curly, crazy hair.

“Sure,” I smiled at him as he sat down next to me at the bar.

“Can we get a beer and a,” he looked at me waiting.

“A peanut butter cup,” I told him.

“And a peanut butter cup,” He told the bartender, who got to work.

“Peanut butter alcohol drink, huh?” he asked me.

“It's good, but I just really like peanuts,” I giggled, pulling out my keys showing him the peanut key chain I had had since middle school.

“That's cute Peanut,” he said, already assigning me a pet name. I blushed as the bartender brought our drinks to us. We sat for hours talking, eventually moving to the dance floor to compare our equally awful dance moves. My phone started to ring and I noticed I had about a million texts from Olivia demanding we leave now.

“My friend,” I gestured to my phone. “I have to go,” I went to walk away but he caught my wrist in his hand.

“Will I see you again, Peanut?” he asked me.

“You will...,” I paused realizing i had never gotten his name.

“Harry. Harry Holland,” He grabbed my hand shaking it.

“I'll see you around Harry Holland,” And with that I left.

I walked over and pressed my lips to his. I didn't want to lose him. Harry Holland was my person. The one I would choose every time. Despite anything that could ever happen, it would always be him. Today. Tomorrow. Next year. Always.

Was I willing to toss the love of my life away because of something like this?

Was I willing to live with the consequences of his actions forever?

part 4

[electricbluebutterflies]

Could you do an 'I didn't know I was pregnant prompt' where somehow Abby, who's a doctor and won't ever live it down, doesn't realize that she's pregnant until she's in labor. Possibly with it being conveniently when she's alone bar delinquents, and someone has to go track down Kane and inform him of what's going on.

Canon-divergent from early s3 ish. Also featuring Raven being awesome and Clarke trying not to have a breakdown, so hopefully I wrote those two darlings okay. Content warning for vague / non-graphic and questionably medically accurate descriptions of childbirth. PG13ish for that and also swear words. Also on ao3.

The thing about quiet is it doesn’t last. She should’ve knownbetter.

It’s been a year, maybe a little more than that. Time flowsdifferently here, but one of the kids – and Abby knows they are not that anymore,most of them are so much more capable than her, but in her mind they are stillso small – is pretty sure they saw a snowflake yesterday. So, bit more than ayear. And about a year since she broke down and let herself be reckless and…

All of this hits her in the worst way as she realizes whather body is doing. This pain is not cramps, but she can’t blame herself forgetting confused, it’s been a while since she’s had her normal cycle and-

Yeah. This is what she gets for ignoring her own body aswell as she does. Dammit.

The worst part is, Abby thinks as she paces across herworkspace because so help her she is not letting this nor anything else stopher, she justified everything. Her last implant had expired shortly after shewas widowed, and she’d passed on getting another one because she was on theedge of forty and had zero plans to ever let anyone else touch her and she didn’twant to waste resources like that, and she’d just… forgotten about that detaila year and a half later when she’d gone and taken a new lover anyways. With orwithout the implant, her cycles were always erratic and she stopped trying topredict that ages ago. Nausea got justified when she wasn’t the only person whoate bad meat (turns out mutant might’ve-descended-from-a-raccoon needs to be cookedlonger than that attempt was); a little weight gain because she iseating more, because that’s a possibility now. Said weight pooling in herabdomen is normal enough for a woman her age, right?

She justified everything, she was wrong, and now she is-

Fuck.

Okay, so right now pants are a mistake. They’re soakedthrough anyways, and somehow the idea of someone wandering in and seeing hernaked from the hips down is one of the less embarrassing details of this wholedisaster. Normal people have seven or eight months to process imminent parenthoodbefore it comes. She won’t even have that many hours. Supposedly births getquicker the more a person has had, and given her track record there…

Another wave of pain hits and she grabs the edge of the tablefor support. At least she’s having this crisis – she is trying to use everyword for it but what it is, and she will go through the guilt spiral later – inmedical. Ideal place for this nightmare. If she has to give birth on herown, as is looking more and more likely, at least she is doing so in a safeplace. That’s about the only thing going right here.

There is, after all, the small issue of her partner havingno damn clue about any of this.

Last she checked – and she tries not to hover, she is notthat kind of woman and their more recent trust in each other has eliminatedsome of her tendencies – Marcus is out on a hunting / scavenging daytrip. Whichmeans he may or may not be back before this is over. Either way, explaining howshe managed to be oblivious for close to nine months about something so significantis not going to be a good time and she is more than a little nervous about thatand-

Abby hears the door open behind her. Great. Now thenightmare is complete.

“Are you…” Raven, thank goodness, at least the intruder issomeone who occasionally has common sense. “Screw that, you’re not okay.”

“How willing are you to believe things right now?” Abbyasks, turning her head to look at her friend. Group bonding across generationsis rough, but she sees a different kind of potential in the younger woman thanmost people do. Like this one, if she doesn’t accidentally kill herself beforeshe turns thirty, has some serious untapped leadership potential. And moreimportantly right now, Raven is extremely well-connected and has a highertolerance for crazy than most people. So, again, ideal person.

“From you, pretty cooperative,” Raven shrugs. “What happenedslash who do I need to electrocute?”

“I somehow managed to ignore being pregnant and… it’scoming.” And saying it out loud sounds even more damning than realizing it herselfhalf an hour ago, dragging another person into this mess with her and puttingthat weight on someone who doesn’t need it. “Feel free to judge me.”

“Nah. Not sure what you need me to do but…”

“Get someone. Anyone. Nothing against you as a person but Ido not trust you to-“

Another contraction hits before Abby can sufficientlyexplain why she’d rather not have someone who interacts with technology betterthan people as her backup here. Great. If she factors in the number of timesthis has happened that she really did think were cramps, and how long it’s beensince closing her legs felt like a good idea… shit. Yeah no. There will be noexplaining this to her partner before it’s too late.

“What I’m hearing is radio your idiot and tell him to gethis ass back here as soon as humanly possible but do not tell him whybecause that’ll break him, grab the first person I can find who I’d trust tocatch something and send them in here to help you, and go through the storageroom and hope there’s still baby clothes in that one box I found some in lastmonth. Anything I’m missing?”

If Abby were more mobile, and/or felt less like her body wasabout to explode, she would hug Raven right now. “Yes. I… yes. Thank you.”

“And try to keep this on a need-to-know basis. Far as anyoneelse is concerned, you figured out you were incubating at a normal enough timebut you decided to keep quiet about it because you hate attention. That work?”

“I’m not sure that’s going to be believable when-“

“It’s believable if you’re a couple weeks before your duedate and you can pass that particular dramatic shitshow off as being more aboutthe timing.”

“I’m not sure if you’re an angel or an evil genius.”

“I’d like to think I’m both,” Raven laughs. “Now, if youthink you have enough time here for me to do that, I’m gonna go.”

Abby assesses herself quickly. Unless something somehow goeseven more wrong, she’s got at least half an hour here. “I’ll be alright.”

And again she is alone, she thinks as the door closes behindher. This is… not an absolute worst-case scenario, but pretty damn close. At best,she’s got a lot of explaining to do when it’s all over. At worst…

Describing this as an accident is a serious understatement. Therehas been no conversation about whether or not to have kids together. It neverseemed necessary. They’re older enough that the risk seemed so low, and therearen’t restrictions on that here, and she didn’t think…

She didn’t think. That’s what this all comes down to. A temporaryvacation from her normal instincts and look what that got her. No time tomentally prepare for a tiny vulnerable creature, no time to think about theimplications for her relationship, no time to even find out if her partnerwants this enough to stick around for it, no time to-

Getting closer. She is not attempting to measure herself butshe can feel the process. Timing-wise, she probably is a few weeks earlyhere, in that comfortable space where that won’t mean any problems for thelittle creature and a normal person’s biggest concern would be not being quitedone with their preparations. Whereas she has done no preparations, whatlittle of her fate isn’t in her own hands right now has been entrusted to atwenty-one-year-old who has even less of a baseline for this, and-

It’s all too much, and Abby starts crying. Most confusedemotional release she’s ever had, not sure if it’s stress or fear or pain oranticipation or probably all of those at once. Overload enough that the nextcontraction feels muted by comparison, overload enough to overlook how uncomfortablethis all is.

It’s just a little ironic that this started bent over atable and it may well end that way too, at the rate she’s going. That’ll be funny,in a couple months when any of this can be, maybe.

She hears the door open again and this time multiplefootsteps, this time she is too exhausted to even turn her head, this time-

“Mom? What the hell?”

Limited options, Abby reminds herself. Limited options ofpeople she would trust to be her backup here, and her own – possibly soon to beolder? – daughter is one of them.

“Clarke, I can-“

“Raven filled me in,” Clarke mutters, sounding so familiarlydisapproving. Abby’s always thought her daughter takes much more after her latehusband, but sometimes there are familiar flickers in there. “You basicallyneed me to catch it.”

“Basically, yes. There should be some towels in-“

“I know where things are. Learned my organization systemfrom you.”

“And I can grab stuff,” Raven adds. That would be the secondset of feet, the bright-red jacket Abby can see in her peripheral vision. “Iwould rather not see the nightmare fuel here but I can hold things or whatever.”

“Any luck with-“

Abby swears she can somehow hear Raven roll her eyes. “Wrongperson picked up, but we tried. The group at least knows something is goingdown here and hopefully I yelled enough to-“

The next pain is strong enough to blur Abby’s vision. “Nextone is it.” She’s amazed she can even talk clearly right now, but her presenceis not going away just because she’s in a crisis. She’s gotten through worse. Rarelybeen on this end of it, rarely felt so helpless, but she will not let anythingstop her. “Be ready.”

Around her, the girls attempt as much prep as they can. Abbydoes not know what they’re doing, does not think about it. There is only this. Thereis her, and the little creature that is about to exit her body, and her olderchild who is surprisingly calm about all of this, and another member of theirfamily who is at least trying to do the same, and a black hole where herpartner should be and-

She screams.

She lets it be a blur. She does not want to remember thesefew moments.

She knows one of the girls is hovering under her with alarge towel in hand, and the other one is yelling, and she doesn’t know whichis which and she doesn’t care. She knows that this is at least a familiar pain,and the first part is the worst, and the little creature – now officially hersecond child, she will let herself process that later – is slick andcooperative and how the child of two such stubborn people is so easy to dealwith in its first moments she does not know but-

“I have a little sister,” Clarke says somewhere in thebackground.

Abby wants to collapse. Wants to sleep for a very long time.She focuses on her body, on all the things she knows. There is still pain, waitingfor the afterbirth to come out. She suspects she’s torn but not as badly as itcould’ve been, and her breasts ache and at some point soon that too will beuseful, and-

She fades out. Exhaustion is a wonderful thing. She knowsher body will do what it needs to, and she trusts the girls enough, and… shecan’t do this anymore.

When she wakes up, she’s somehow been moved to the cot –which means someone else has seen her questionable condition, great, just whatshe doesn’t need – and she’s in a clean shirt and someone has placed cold clothbetween her legs to help the hurting and-

“You really didn’t know?”

She’s not awake enough for this shit.

Abby turns her head and yep, there is her partner (but howmuch longer can she call him that, she wonders) in a chair someone must’vebrought in, looking at her like he does not know where to start but he has alot of questions. It’s been a while since she’s had to interpret that look, andshe is concerned.

“I didn’t know,” she repeats. “You’ve known me since we werechildren, you know I can justify anything, I thought-“

“Alright.” And now for the scary-calm. That particularversion has evolved over the past year and a half or so, as Marcus has learned howto be more of a person, but she still knows it too well. He’s harder to readthis way, and more dangerous to those around him. “When I found out… I thought…”

“Do you really think I would’ve hidden this from you if I’dknown?”

“I had to ask.”

“I wouldn’t… I just went through hell,” she hisses. “Involuntarily.Again. And I wouldn’t have had to if I’d paid more attention to myself but youknow I don’t-“

“I believe you.”

She’s not sure she believes him right now, but she isstill too exhausted to move so that fight can wait a day or two. “Where is…” Shedoesn’t know the right word. My daughter? Ours? Which of those will hold longer?

“Raven’s looking after her. You needed to rest, and… I canlook after you here, Raven can keep the baby in her workshop except when sheneeds to feed.”

Abby rolls her eyes. Yeah, keep a newborn in the mostdangerous place in the settlement, great idea. On the other hand, Raven’sspace is at least warm. “And you’re…”

“Still processing,” Marcus finishes. “Someone tried to radious but we were a few miles out, and when we got back I didn’t have time tothink before someone shoved what looked like a bundle of towels in my arms and…”

“It is yours. If that was going to be your next question.”

“It wasn’t. But good to know.”

“I just… I ignored everything, and I…”

He reaches out for her hand, and even that feels like toomuch physical contact right now but it’s a nice gesture anyways. “I’m notblaming you.”

“Well that’s new,” she mutters. He’s been decent for a year,she should have more faith, but… “Are you going to stay?”

And now for the look of stunned horror, the wide eyes and haltedbreaths and for a moment she’s broken him. “Am I… how is that a question?!”

“You are aware how many bad choices I’ve made here…”

“You’ve always been a little impulsive,” he counters. “And stubborn.And usually right. And I don’t know why you think this kind of innocent mistakewould push me away.”

“It’s a screaming liability of a mistake?”

“It’s ours. And I want… if you want…”

“Yeah. You’ve never done this before. You do not realize thehell you’ve just volunteered for.”

“I’m with you. How bad could it be.”

He leans down and kisses her forehead, and the scratch ofhis beard is way too much, and… yeah. They’ll be okay.