#legit has to set an alarm for three every night to get up to get him to the bathroom in the middle of the night

[rahullkohli]

someone should pay for my coffee every damn morning while my dad stays with me

[aliasimagines]

One Hell of a Night // Luke Patterson

a/n: HAPPY HALLOWEEN Y'ALL, it officially passed midnight here.Are you guys going to celebrate Halloween at home? And if so are you going to dress up? Tell me all about it lovelies, I wanna hear it ❤️. prompt 18 nad 15 from this list🎃 this fic is chaotic, hope you enjoy😊

word count: 2692

warnings: a few (three i think?) curse words, and a..uhm a line of dirty talking (I'm sorry I'm not like this all the time I promise 😅) and scary stories

The dry, colorful autumn leaves creaked under hiking boots as you walked into the woods. A smile appeared on your face as you heard some noises. Only a few seconds later you spotted the source. The Sunset Curve. The boys worked on getting the campfire lit while joking and laughing loudly. You stopped by a tree and leaned against it. Alex just hit Reggie on the back for just sitting around and not helping with putting logs and dry leaves on the fireplace. Thanks to Alex, Reggie swallowed the huge marshmello he had in his mouth and started coughing. 

Bobby was trying to light his lighter again and again but it just didn't work. That's when Luke threw a pack of matches at him causing the rhythm guitarist to stumble back and fall into a pile of leaves. You started laughing quietly and walked up to them.

"That wasn't nice of you, babe." you said from behind Luke. He jumped, not noticing you creeping up on him.

"BAH! I almost got a heart attack, y/n!" he shouts pouting. You giggled and placed a small kiss on his cheek. 

"That's what you get for not waiting for me." you smirk. Luke looks down embarrassed and goes to scrape the back of his head. 

"Yeah…Sorry about that. I was too eager to set up the camp." he gestured at the two tents. Both were full of blankets and pillows. It looked super comfortable. You also spotted his acoustic guitar, and a whole bunch of food in you guys' tent. 

"You did a great job."you smiled before walking over to the other boys." Hi guys! What's up?"

"Y/N! Finally! Tell Alex to stop hitting me!" yelled Reggie. You shook your head laughing. 

“Stop being so childish than Reginald!”

“Boys, come on!! It is halloween, have some fun!” and with that you fished out a huge bag of candy from your backpack and threw it into Reggie’s hands. He looked up at you like you were some kind of miracle maker. 

“Is this..is this all candy?” the dark haired boy asked, still in awe. You laughed, nodding your head slightly. 

“Yeah. I don’t really want to think about how much money I spent on sweets.” 

Soon after everyone got to work (this time for real) and the fire was lit in no time. Just as it started to get darker. All five of you sat around the campfire. You sat next to Luke, opposed to  Reggie and Alex. Bobby sat beside them in a camping chair. Thanks to the warm californian weather you didn’t need jackets just yet, despite being the end of october.

"It's getting dark. I think we could get started on the ghost stories?" asked Bobby looking up at the sky then around the little clearing in the woods where your tents were set up. Reggie munched on some candy corns but immediately stopped upon hearing those words. 

"Ghost stories? Don't mind if I do." he sat his candies aside and prepared to tell a story that would send shivers down your spines. You leaned over to Luke, placing your head on his shoulder. He looked down at you with a smile before turning his attention back to the bassist. 

"One day, a little boy, while walking around the woods, found a big toe on the ground. He ran home with it and-" 

"-his mom cooked it in the soup which revolted in the toe's owner haunting them." you suddenly cut Reggie off. He gasps, offended. 

"What? I knew the story. Was I supposed to just sit around?" you ask, earning a soft laugh from Luke. Reggie huffed and gestured at you. 

"Alright then, take it away y/n. See if you can do better."

"Not to be that person but she definitely can. You only said like two sentences." Alex jumped in, not wanting to miss an opportunity to roast his friend. 

"Because she cut me off!!" 

The woods, once again erupted with the boys' laughter as you stared into the fire, waiting for them to quiet down so you can start your story. 

"I was only a small kid when this happened, around five,maybe six, but I still remember it like it was yesterday. My mother was out of town for the weekend because of her work, so naturally, it was my father who read me a bedtime story in the evening. Everything was great, he was reading from my favorite book but right before he could finish the chapter we heard a quiet tapping noise from downstairs. My father looked puzzled and put his finger against his lips, signaling me to stay quiet so he could listen. The tapping didn't stop, it got louder before turning into banging and a final loud crash which sounded like the front door flying open. I looked at my father, scared to death, not knowing what to do." you kept your voice low, your face straight and never removed your eyes from the fire."He grabbed me and quickly ran with me to the small bathroom that was connected to my room. He instructed me to lock my door and only open it when he says so. I don't know what happened after that, but heard my father going down and some muffled noises before hearing him climb back up the stairs. I remember his voice. It was just so nice and comforting. He said it was a false alarm and I could come out. I reached for the doorknob but then he leaned down and looked inside through the keyhole. My little hands stopped midair. I kept staring at his eyes. He repeated that it was safe to come out and that everything was fine. But I did not believe him. Because that wasn't my father. He sounded exactly like him, but his eyes… They were a different color. Not my father's welcoming eye color. So I just stood there. For minutes. Maybe hours. He wouldn't stop talking, reassuring me but I still didn't unlock the door."

Reggie leaned forward with a worried and scared expression.  

"What happened next?" 

You lifted your gaze, slowly to look at the spooked boy. 

"He started tapping. It sounded just like it did on the front door. And it wasn't long before he started banging his hand against the wood." 

"Oh my god.." Reggie whispers. 

"He is hitting harder and harder until finally the door breaks and flies open. And the creature, no longer looking or sounding like my father, rather like a tall bloodied figure with sharp teeth, jumps at me, opening his huge mouth and SWALLOWS ME WHOLE." you shout the last part causing Reggie to scream and the others to jump just a little. 

"Fuuckk, i think I peed myself!" exclaims Reggie. You only laugh, seeing all the boys being a bit paler. 

"So who's next?" 

"I'll go." Luke said beside you and you shifted away from him, knowing that he will need the space to gesture along his story. You watched as he started to speak. His expression changes with every sentence as he introduces his characters. His frown as he talks about a creepy night in the woods. Your eyes wander down to his lips, too busy just staring at them to actually listen to the words that make them move. You distantly hear various curse words from the guys as your boyfriend goes deeper into detail with his horrifying story. With eyes still glued to Luke, you smile slightly. 

"../n...y/n...Y/N!" you hear making you jump and almost falling backwards on the log you have been sitting on. You see all the guys staring at you. 

"How are you not scared? Did you not hear Luke's story?" Reggie asks, earning a knowing laugh from Alex. 

"No, she did not. She was too busy staring at his lips." as your friend's words hit your ears you feel your face heating up. 

"Dude..,alright I might have zoomed out. A bit but I am here now. Where were you, babe?" 

Luke looks at you, amused. 

"I finished like 3 minutes ago. You 'zoomed out' for legit 20 minutes." 

Looking up at the sky, you realized they were right because it got pitch black since you last looked up. Your lips curved into an 'o' shape before mumbling a sorry.. 

“We should put more wood on the fire. It's starting to weaken.” says Reggie. Bobby points into the dark woods.

“Suit yourself, man.” 

“What? I am not going alone. Someone come with me.” he whines. Alex visibly changes his posture and sits into a more comfortable position.Luke puts his muscular arm around your shoulder grinning.

“You’re on your own, man.”

“No! Please??”

You bite back a laugh and carefully remove Luke’s arm from you. 

“Alright, I’ll go with you.” 

“Thank you!You are amazing!” 

You grab the basket ,that’s been laying on the ground, for the twigs. You also reach into your bag for your flashlight. 

“Ok, I’m ready to go.” you step towards Reggie but Luke grabs your hand and places a small kiss on it. 

“Be careful, love.”

“Always.”

The two of you start walking towards the woods.

“Try not to pee yourselfs guys!” Alex calls after you in a sing-song voice.

“Ha ha, very funny Alex.”

To be honest you were a little spooked but didn’t show it.Not like Reggie who was literally shaking beside you and jumped up at every little noise he heard as you got further into the woods. You picked up a few sticks and bigger twigs, slowly filling the basket with them. Or rather, you tried but when Reggie stoped right in front of you you accidentally dropped it spilling the stuff everywhere.

“Dude! I am trying to help you here!”

“Shhhhh! Didn’t you hear that?” he whispers, voice panicked. 

“Come on, Reg. This isn’t going to work on me.”

He turns to look at you.

“No, y/n! I am serious! I heard a whisper! I’m sure of it!”

You roll your eyes, not believing your friend.

“You gotta be more convincing next time. I dont scare that easily..AH” just as you assured Reginald how it takes more for you to get spooked, someone, or something grabbed you from behind and started to pull you while shouting ‘WAA’. The flashlight landed on the ground too as you let out a bloodcurdling scream. You kicked your attacker(s?) wherever you could. 

“Ahh! WHoo, stop, it’s just us.” you suddenly hear your boyfriend's voice and feel the arms around you letting go. You turned around your fear vanishing and turning into anger.

Reggie behind you falls on the ground,clutching his chest while he tries not to cry.

“ARE YOU GUYS INSANE?!” you shout at Luke and Booby. Alex is nowhere to be seen, he probably stayed next the fire to keep an eye on your stuff. Luke's eyes immediately  widen upon hearing you raise your voice.

“I..I am sorry we thought-”

“What?! Lucas Patterson I am, so, so mad at you right now” you say shaking. You hear Bobby giggle quietly. You snap your head in his direction. “And don't even get me started on you Bobby...Bobby..uhm” you stop to think about his surname, only to realise you don’t know it. For a moment you let go of your anger. “What is your surname?”

He only scoffs and smiles. Alex must have heard the shouting and come to investigate with a flashlight in one hand and a drumstick (as a weapon?) in his other.He soon puts them down tho as he sees that you are all in one piece. Luke looks at Bobby with a puzzled expression.

“That is actually creepy, cause I don’t know it either.”

“What?! How? He has been in a band for, what? A year and a half? And you never actually asked his last name?” you ask, more interested in the mystery of Bobby’s name than shouting at them now. Luke shrugs.

“Do you even have a last name?” you hear Reggie asking from the ground. You all turn to him with questioning looks.

“Everyone has a last name Reginald.” says Alex.

“Not celtic gods, no.” he responds.

“What?” Luke exclaims clearny not understanding the bassist.

“Bobby is not a god.” says the drummer annoyed. “ He is a normal teenager like us.”

“Is he tho?”

Meanwhile Bobby leans back against a tree and stares at Reggie.

“You are creeping me out...Please stop creeping me out oh majestic god of...what are you the god of?”

Booby just smiles mysteriously. 

“Oh for f…’s sake.Y/N back me up here, there are no gods and even if there were, Bobby is not one of them.”

“Thanks Alex but I am not offending a celtic god.”

“What is wrong with you guys?!”

Luke doesn’t know who to look at in this chaos. Soon he decides to pick up the twigs and collect more while you, Reggie and Alex argue whether Bobby is a god or not. Bobby bends down too, to help the lead singer.

“You do know my name is actually Wilson, right?” 

“Yeah. Of course I do, I think Reggie does too, he just forgot.” the two boys laugh. 

You all walk back to the camp and Booby, upon seeing Reggie still looking at him suspiciously walks over to him.

“I am not an ancient god, you know.”

“That is exactly what I would say too.”

Not hearing Reggie’s nonsense reminds you of what Luke did so when you feel him wrapping his arms around you, you push him away.

“I sorry, bae. I was an asshole. I shouldn’t have. Please look at me?” he stands before you so there is no way you can avoid him.

“Don’t do this again.” you said with a firm tone. You can't help but smile, seeing Luke’s shit eating grin. He opens his arms once again but waits for you to hug him first. You do, and for minutes you just stand there in his embrace. The silence was broken by the familiar sound of the acoustic guitar which was followed by Reggie’s voice as he started to play some country song. 

“Dude, no, put down my guitar.”Luke ran off to get his instrument or to, at least convince him to play ‘normal’ music. You laugh and walk over to Alex and Bobby.

“Hey, y/n, I am sorry about scaring you.”

You wave your hand. 

“It’s fine. However don’t be surprised when I get back at you.” you say before sitting down next to Reggie and giving him a hug because let’s be honest he was pretty traumatised in the woods too.

“Woo,hey! Why does he get a hug?” Luke asks, upset he couldn’t change Reggies mind about playing country songs. And from the fact that his girlfriend was hugging him.

“Maybe because you decided that it was a funny idea to scare the living shit out of him and I.”

“Stop guilt tripping me.” he pulls you up and away from the fire, closer to the tents. ”I said I am sorry. And you are right, I shouldn’t  have scared you. Besides…” he leaned closer to your ear “I know more fun ways to make you scream.”

You gasp upon hearing his words and right when you are about to react Alex walks by casually. 

“No, no. With the tents it’s like we are sleeping next to each other. If you guys try anything I will murder you myself.”

Both of you look after him, blushing before breaking into laughter.

Luke’s watch showed 3:58 when you all agreed to call it a night.You put out the fire with the help of Bobby while Luke went to pack away the trash you all left out.

Reggie yawned and looked up at Alex.

“I am still pretty scared...Can I cuddle you Alex?”

He looks at him like he heard it wrong.

“Absolutely not.”

“What about you Bobby?”

“No way, Reg.”

Despite them saying this, all three of them woke up hugging each other in the morning.

[cyberwolfwrites-fanfiction]

quiet day

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30435417

words: 4,462

summary:

In which Peter has his quiet days and some bad days.

And meets some people on those days.

(Might become more than a one-shot in the future.)

Peter sighed in relief as the car door shut behind him, muting the sound of the rain and hundreds of teenagers rushing out of the school. The post-school day rush usually didn't bother him anymore, but he'd woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. He'd been up all night finishing his English essay after a particularly rough patrol, and he'd woken up nearly an hour before his alarm was due to ring because of the couple two floors down fighting.

It wasn't just the sleep deprivation that had him all out of sorts, either. Living with little to no sleep was the life of a high school student (and a friendly neighbourhood superhero), and was relatively easy to deal with. However, Mr and Mrs Fights-A-Lot's loud disagreement had set the mood for Peter's day—loud and intense.

Ever since the spider bite, there were days where his senses seemed to be dialled up to eleven (more so than they already were, that was). Every little noise would just seem just a bit too loud, just a bit too grating on his ears, the usual smells of New York would make his stomach churn, the sun would just seem a little too bright and the clinical-like lights at school just a little too intense. The day, most often than not, ended up with him curling up in a ball of misery with a migraine.

Today was no different despite the rainy day. Rainy days usually calmed him. They meant curling up in Ben’s old chair with Ben’s old blanket, with Ben’s special hot chocolate (the secret was a small scoop of vanilla or chocolate ice cream), and movie marathons with May (since Ben was gone). Recently, the rain typically meant a reprieve from the loud sounds and smells of New York, but today all it managed to do was make every bad smell, every clinical-like light in school, and every sound seem so much worse and grating against his senses.

“Hey, Happy,” Peter mumbled after crawling into the car. He curled up on the leather seat and rested his forehead against the cool glass of the blackout windows, which blissfully blocked out most of the grey-filtered light from outside.

“Hey,” Happy greeted him. He’d become much more friendly with Peter ever since they (meaning Peter and Tony) started to have lab days together at the Tower and Happy ended up driving Peter to and from school at least three days a week. “Don’t forget your seatbelt.”

Peter fumbled with the seatbelt as Happy pulled away from the school before curling back up in a ball and huddling into his hoodie.

As Happy’s car was modified by Tony, that meant that the windows were tinted, it was sound-proofed, and it somehow managed to smell like fresh, cool air. All of this was bliss to Peter’s oversensitive senses, and by the time they reached the Tower, Peter had managed to drift into a light sleep.

"Kid, you mind if I drop you off out front?" Peter startled at the sound of Happy’s voice and his migraine came back full-force. "Boss needs me to pick up some things for him."

"S'fine," Peter mumbled groggily, having to force the words out as he tried to gather his bearings. He slung his bag over his shoulder and reluctantly dragged himself out of the car and into the cold downpour outside. He shivered and pulled up his hood, but it was no use—it was raining cats and dogs outside and he was already soaked through the moment he stepped out of the car. Due to this, Peter didn't bother rushing into the Tower, simply not able to muster up the energy to do anything other than shuffle to the door.

It opened at his presence and shut behind him, gaining the attention of some of the staff. One of the desk clerks—the one Peter could never get along with—glared at the puddle of water he was trailing in and made a rude comment under her breath that he could hear clearly despite his migraine. Peter would have apologized for the mess but he couldn't form the words; it felt like they were lodged in the cotton-like feeling that had taken residence in his mouth. Instead, he just self-consciously tugged his wet hoodie sleeves over his hands and headed to an elevator tucked away in a corner of the room. It was one of the only ones that had access to Tony's personal labs, the Avengers's old floors, and the penthouse.

Like the front doors, it opened at his presence, but only because Friday gave him access. As far as Peter was aware, only Tony, Ms Potts, Happy, May, Colonel Rhodes (who Peter had yet to properly meet), and himself had access to this elevator. It had drawn him some odd looks when he first started hanging out with Tony, but now no one gave him a second look.

"Hello, Peter," Friday greeted him once the doors slid shut behind him. Peter closed his eyes and leaned against the cool metal doors, trying to ignore how the walls threatened to crowd around him.

"Hi," Peter managed to force out. His voice was quiet and strained, even to his own ears. It felt like he was being strangled.

"Where would you like to go, Peter? The penthouse, perhaps?" Friday suggested with a tinge of worry in her synthetic Irish-lilted voice. While not as warm or curious as Karen was, Friday was still kind and caring in her own way, even if her voice tended to sound reserved at times. She really only spoke openly to those Tony was on good terms with, and Peter could still remember the cold yet snarky comment she made to Senator Ross when he kept hounding Tony for something about the New Accords.

"Mhm," Peter hummed as a response, thankful that Friday was intelligent enough to not need verbal commands, which meant that he didn’t have to force more words out of his mouth. He tugged at the wet sleeves of his sweatshirt again in an attempt to self-soothe the anxious feeling creeping up inside of him. The hoodie was big on him even though it had belonged to Tony when the man was his age. Peter wondered if Tony had gotten it in a few sizes too large to bring him comfort from being away from home and attending college where everyone was older than him.

The thought made him feel marginally better.

It didn’t take long for the elevator to reach the penthouse and Peter clenched his eyes shut as the lights automatically turned on, hissing out a pained breath. Without having to ask, Friday automatically dimmed the lights for him. Instead of forcing himself to speak, Peter rested his fingertips against his lips before pushing his hand down, signing “Thank you” to Friday since it would’ve been rude not to say anything since she thoughtfully dimmed the lights for him.

“You are welcome, Peter,” Friday said, her voice much quieter than earlier. She had no doubt picked up on the fact that his senses were overwhelmed and he felt gratitude well up in him. “Would you like me to inform Boss of your arrival?”

Peter just shook his head and stumbled in the direction of the living room. He dropped his backpack and shivered slightly before his eyes fell on one of Tony’s hoodies laying on the back of the couch. After a few moments of deliberation (in which he determined whether it was worth the effort of making his heavy limbs move to pull off his wet hoodie), Peter just stumbled over to an armchair and pulled a throw blanket over himself. It smelled like Tony—coffee, motor oil, and a faint whiff of no-doubt expensive cologne—and it had Peter relaxing marginally, the behind his eyes almost seeming to dull at the face of the scent he’d started to associate with home and safety. He cuddled into the warmth of the throw, not able to bring himself to care that he was getting it and the armchair wet, and allowed his eyes to drift shut.

Only to be startled awake after what felt like five minutes. Peter couldn’t help the frustrated whine from leaving his throat, and to his horror, he felt his eyes prick with tears. He was so freaking tired and frustrated and he had a migraine and his senses felt wrung-out and he was so exhausted and every time he tried to sleep, someone woke him up! First, it was the couple from a few doors down, then it was Happy (not that Peter blamed him, the man had only been doing his job), and now it was whoever was talking extremely loudly.

When the voices became louder, Peter huddled into his blanket and sank further into the chair, hoping that it would swallow him up and make the voices stop. He clenched his eyes shut at the pounding in his skull and wished that whoever was entering the penthouse would shut up.

“Why are the lights so dim?” an unfamiliar voice asked.

“Fri?” That was Tony. Something in Peter eased at the sound of the man’s voice but his eyes continued to burn and his throat tightened.

“I believe Mr Parker is dealing with a ‘code eleven’, Boss,” Friday informed Tony, her voice as hushed as it had been earlier.

There was a pause and then Tony rounded the corner. “Pete?” Tony asked as he spotted him curled up on the chair. Peter wanted to say something, anything, but he couldn’t. It was like his voice had been stolen like he was Ariel from The Little Mermaid and he swallowed against the tightness in his throat as he peered up at Tony with stinging eyes.

“Intense day, bud?” Tony asked him, his voice hushed.

Peter’s jaw wobbled as he worked it open and closed, trying to form the words to tell Tony he was fine. Tony didn’t have to worry about him, it was only a little headache, but he couldn’t bring himself to speak. He wanted to let Tony know that he was fine, that he was just being silly, and that they should go down to the lab like they were supposed to do. They had a project due in a week for his internship—it had been made legit a few months ago—because they were already so behind. Last week, a wrench had slipped out of Tony’s hands and had clattered against the metal table, and to Peter’s enhanced senses, it had sounded like a gunshot. He had frozen, his mind flashing back to Ben, and he’d freaked out. They hadn’t gotten anything done for the rest of the day because Peter had been a baby and cried.

God, he was pathetic. Tony probably hated him, it was his fault that he would get in trouble for not turning in the project. Ms Potts was a real stickler for that since Tony spent so much time messing around with him in the lab. He couldn’t even make his vocal cords work to apologize.

Some of his inner turmoil must have been visible on his face because Tony crouched down and cupped the side of his neck with a warm hand and said, "No, don't apologise. You don't need to say anything, Pete. You're allowed to have bad days. Okay, bud? I'm not mad. If you’re upset about the project, don’t worry, I can move the date back."

Peter curled in on himself at Tony’s words—so understanding and nonjudgemental—and suddenly everything seemed so much more intense. The sounds of the Tower exploded in his eardrums, the whirring of machines, the ticking of clocks, and the buzzing of the lights sounding like crackling thunder. The minimal lights in the room burned his retinas and he clenched his eyes shut, which only made the discomfort of his damp clothes more apparent. His wet jeans grated against his skin and he felt like his sweatshirt, which clung to him, was suffocating him. He threw the throw blanket off him, nearly ripping it in the process, hoping that it would lessen the suffocating feeling.

His exhale shuddered, not really a sob but nearly there, and his hands clamped over his ears to try and muffle the suddenly intense sounds. Tony muttered something that Peter couldn’t decipher as he moved into the chair beside him—the armchair he was in was massive, almost as if it had been made for the Hulk, and there was plenty of space for Tony to sit next to him—and he choked out a sound as Tony’s warm, calloused hand tightened on his neck for a moment before he was being pulled into the man’s side. Peter’s curled into the warmth that was Tony, his fingers grabbing ahold of the threadbare fabric of his old band tee—the man must have been in the lab before he came up to the penthouse, otherwise he’d be dressed in office clothes—and he tried to stop the whine that was building in his throat.

One of Tony’s hands carded through his wet, messy curls before a set of headphones slid over his ears, blocking nearly every little intense sound from Peter’s ears. The relief from his most troublesome sense made it feel as if he blacked out for a moment and it took him a moment to realize that he was trembling. His fingers tightened in Tony’s shirt and his shoulders shuddered in a mixture of relief and the cold feeling in his skin and the anxious, panicky feelings that had been running through his veins like adrenaline for what felt like days.

Tony’s thumb rubbed against the corner of his jaw in a soothing motion and slowly as the panicky feeling drained from him, he loosened the tight hold he had of Tony’s shirt and the furrows between his brows smoothed. His fingers loosened their tight grip on Tony’s threadbare shirt, lying flat against his chest to feel the man’s steady heartbeat.

Thud-thud, thud-thud, thud-thud.

Tony’s chest lifted and fell against Peter’s hands as he inhaled and exhaled, seeming almost exaggerated. Instinctively, Peter began to sync his breathing with Tony’s. When his parents had first died, and when Skip happened, May and Ben had taken him to a child therapist. He had been prone to panic attacks and one of the ways his therapist taught him to calm himself was to sync his breathing with someone else’s. And so, feeling the expanding and contracting of Tony’s lungs beneath his hands, Peter’s own unsteady breathing began to level out.

After a few more minutes of feeling Tony’s soothing heartbeat and matching his breathing, Peter reluctantly leaned away from him and slid the headphones off one ear.

“Stai bene?” Tony murmured. Are you okay? Peter translated easily. He swallowed and tried to speak but the words still caught in his throat. Tony’s thumb brushed against the corner of his jaw again, and understanding that Tony didn’t need him to speak, Peter just nodded. He tugged at his sweatshirt sleeves and made a slight face as the damp fabric dragged against his cold and numb skin. Tony noticed. “Your clothes are wet,” he said with a frown, rubbing a hand against his arm in an attempt to warm him up. “Aren’t you cold?”

Peter sniffled slightly and he looked up when a sweatshirt—a red threadbare MIT one—moved into his vision. He started at the sight of who he recognized to be Colonel Rhodes, otherwise known as War Machine—or did he go by Iron Patriot?—or, most importantly, Tony’s best friend. The man wasn’t wearing his War Machine armour and he wasn’t wearing a military uniform, instead, he was in a long-sleeved thermal shirt and a pair of jeans, which were encased by the man’s leg braces, but Peter could easily recognize him from the pictures Tony had around the penthouse.

“Here,” the man said in a gentle voice. Peter blinked at him and realized that the unfamiliar voice he’d heard belonged to him, and now that he thought about it, he was probably who Tony asked to get his soundproof headphones as he was pretty sure they had been in his bedroom. His jaw worked slightly, he wanted to say thanks, but Tony did it for him.

“Thanks, Rhodey,” he said, clapping the man on the shoulder when he stood. Tony then turned to Peter, who slid his soundproof headphones around his neck. “Why don’t you go shower and change, bud? Those wet clothes don’t look comfortable.”

Realizing that Tony was giving him out, at least for a little while to gather himself in private, Peter did as he instructed, taking the sweatshirt from his hands and heading down the hall to the room that was designated as his. His shoulders met his ears as he felt eyes on him and he felt embarrassed for the event Colonel Rhodes just witnessed. Pathetic, his mind whispered. He tried to shove the thought away.

“What’s a ‘code eleven’?” Colonel Rhodes asked when his door closed behind him. Peter could hear the concerned words easily and he stilled, wondering what Tony’s response would be.

“The kid has bad days,” Tony told him in a soft voice. “He’s been stressed recently and he’s got sensitive senses, so a bright light or a loud noise probably triggered a sensory overload. He’s probably been dealing with it all day.” There was a beat of silence, an exasperated sigh, and Peter had a mental image of Tony running a hand down his face. “He’ll be fine after some rest and quiet.”

The tightness in Peter’s throat had diminished when Tony calmed him earlier, but it tightened again and his eyes pricked with tears at how understanding the man was. He’d easily guessed what was wrong, what had most likely set him off, and knew how to calm him down. He swallowed thickly and stopped listening as their conversation turned to other things.

Peter’s shower was longer than it usually was. He stood in the dark—the bright lights and the buzzing sounds of the lightbulbs were still too much for his eyes and ears, even dimmed—and allowed himself to cry. He knew that the tightness and the emotions wouldn’t just go away and that Tony wouldn’t comment on the redness of his eyes when he got out. Colonel Rhodes seemed too polite to comment on it, either.

Instead of pulling on one of his own hoodies or another shirt, Peter tugged on the hoodie Colonel Rhodes had grabbed for him, the one that he’d debated on wearing earlier. It smelled like Tony’s cologne and dryer sheets, and Peter figured that Tony had probably only worn it for a few minutes before taking it off. The comforting smell threatened to make tears prick in his eyes again but he’d all but cried himself out in the shower, so he just pulled the sleeves over his hands.

When he tugged on a pair of sweatpants and some socks, Peter just stood in his bedroom, debating on what he should do. Tony and Colonel Rhodes were talking in the other room, and knowing that Tony had been eager for his friend’s visit, he debated on whether or not he should bother them. But Tony had wanted him to meet Colonel Rhodes, that was part of the reason he was here today, and so he grabbed his soundproof headphones just in case and shuffled out of the room quietly.

They didn’t hear him walking down the hall—Peter had had a lot of practice being stealthy so he didn’t wake up Aunt May after patrol—and so he had a few minutes to watch the two men interact. They were talking about something inconsequential, simply chatting amongst themselves about something. Peter caught Ms Potts’s name, so they might’ve been talking about the company or how Ms Potts was. Tony was smiling that warm, happy smile he got when he was alone and not in public, and the sight of it made the tight feeling in Peter’s chest lighten. Tony was here, he was happy. A dark thought threatened to cross his mind, about how he was a burden and that Tony didn’t want him here, but Peter shoved it away. He was tired of the bad thoughts already. Tired of everything, really, but especially at the depressing thoughts. He was here because Tony wanted him here and that was what mattered.

“Hey, kid.” Tony happened to glance at the hallway and spotted him. He had a slight, reassuring but concerned smile and his eyes scanned Peter, looking as if he was looking for a hidden injury. Peter gave Tony an awkward quirk of his lips and he tugged at his hoodie sleeves nervously when Colonel Rhodes looked at him.

Peter waved slightly and Colonel Rhodes smiled, seeming a little amused. Tony urged him further into the room.

“How about a proper introduction?” Tony said rhetorically. “Peter, this is my best friend Rhodey, otherwise known at War Machine, so try not to fanboy too hard.” Peter rolled his eyes slightly even if he was fanboying on the inside, now that he could think clearly. War Machine~! Tony turned to Rhodey, throwing an arm over Peter’s shoulders. “Rhodey, this is The Kid.”

There were capital letters, Peter could hear it. Colonel Rhodes could, too, if the amused smile on his face was anything to go by.

Colonel Rhodes held his hand out for a handshake, which Peter took. “It’s nice to meet you, Peter, Tony’s told me a lot about you,” he said. Peter glanced at Tony in surprise. He’s told Colonel Rhodes about him? Peter opened his mouth to say something, but the words got caught in his throat. He still couldn’t talk. He didn’t really want to, either.

"Speechless, are we?” Tony teased lightly, though the glint of concern in his eyes told Peter that he understood. He’d had his own quiet days before. “Alright, kiddie, so I was thinking that we could have a movie day today,” Tony said, changing the subject. “Rhodey and I were thinking about the new Harry Potter movie and pizza, you in?”

Peter grinned and made a thumbs up. He’d been wanting to watch Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them since it came out.

Tony grinned back and ruffled his head. “Good, go take a seat. I’ll get the popcorn. You too, Rhodes.”

Peter followed Colonel Rhodes into the living room, curling up in his usual spot on the couch. There was a slightly awkward silence before Colonel Rhodes shifted in his seat, turning to face him.

“You’re good for him, you know,” Colonel Rhodes said. Peter looked at him with furrowed brows and the man elaborated. “Tony. He was a mess after Germany, I was afraid that he’d go back to drinking.” Peter frowned slightly; he knew of Tony’s past, it had come up often enough in the news and in magazines when he was younger and he’d been an avid Tony Stark fan even before the man became Iron Man, but he couldn’t imagine Tony turning to alcohol. The man barely drank around him, maybe a beer or two during movie nights, but there was no expensive, fancy liquor anywhere in the penthouse. Colonel Rhodes caught his expression and he smiled somewhat sadly. “I don’t like the thought, either. I was kind of surprised when he told me that he was taking a break from hard liquor, but then he told me about you and I understood.”

Peter was confused. What did he mean?

“Tony’s never really been one for big responsibilities,” Colonel Rhodes told him. “He’s good at his work, brilliant at it, but it was more of a chore at times than not. The first big thing that he felt responsible for was Iron Man, he felt he had a duty to protect after all of the lives he’d taken.” Peter was slightly conflicted. He could understand the duty to protect, he’d become Spider-Man for that very purpose, but he disagreed that Tony had been the one to kill all those people with his weapons. His name might have been on them, but he hadn’t been the one to fire them, to target all of those people. Colonel Rhodes gave him an understanding smile; he no doubt agreed with Peter’s thoughts.

“Then came Pepper and the Avengers, but you saw how that last one turned out. Helping me with my braces distracted him for a while, but I was afraid of what would happen when I was doing fine on my own. Then he surprised me by starting to talk about you. Eventually, he’d be mentioning you in all of our phone calls; ‘I’ve got this intern, he’s brilliant,’ or ‘The kid’s coming over today, we’re making a robot,’ or ‘Peter came up with a good way to stop your braces from locking up after standing for too long.’” Colonel Rhodes rapped his knuckles against his braces and said, “Thanks for that, by the way, they haven’t locked up since Tony upgraded them.”

Peter’s neck burned at the sincere thanks and he smiled shyly. Colonel Rhodes became serious again. “The whole point of this thing is that you’re good for him, Peter. He’s as sober as he’s ever been, healthy as he’s ever been, has been sleeping through the nights, and he’s not having as many three-day lab benders as he used to have. So thank you, Peter.”

Peter swallowed thickly. “H-He’s helped me, too,” he managed to say around the tightness in his throat. The only thing that belied Colonel Rhodes’s surprise at him talking was a single blink.

“You’ve been through more than the average teenager, haven’t you?” Colonel Rhodes said with keen eyes. Peter nodded and the man smiled slightly. “Well, then I’m glad that you’ve helped each other.”

In the kitchen, the popcorn stopped popping and the microwave beeped. Tony came out seconds later and raised an eyebrow at the two of them. “What were you two talking about?” Tony said suspiciously.

“I was just talking to Peter about my leg braces,” Colonel Rhodes said, scooting over to give Tony room to sit. Tony’s eyes narrowed slightly as if calling his friend’s bluff but sat down, giving them each of their snacks.

“Alright, let’s get this show on the road. Friday, can you play Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them?”

As the opening scenes of the movie played, Peter and Colonel Rhodes exchanged a look of understanding. Peter still didn’t feel well, he was still tired and felt wrung-out, but knowing that he’d helped Tony more than he thought made him feel better. He leaned against the man and stole a handful of popcorn, smiling slightly at Tony’s playful indignant squawk.

This one-shot took me a ridiculous amount of time to write! I got the idea like two weeks ago, started writing it like two weeks ago, and ended up only adding a few hundred words each day, sometimes only like thirty or so. I'm happy I got it done, and while I don't particularly like the ending, I like the whole feel of this.

Here are some scenes that I cut out but couldn't bring myself to completely delete:

1.

"Tony cares about you in a way that I knew he was afraid to feel—Has he told you about Howard?” Colonel Rhodes asked. Peter frowned slightly at the mention of Howard. Tony hadn’t explicitly told Peter what his father had been like, only a few mentions here and there, but Peter knew how to use context clues and how to extrapolate data, so he nodded. “Well, he likes to say that he doesn’t like children, that he’s not good with them, but he ‘s afraid of turning out like his father.”

Peter balked at the thought. Tony wasn’t like Howard!

“Exactly,” Colonel Rhodes said with another look of understanding. “Tony’s afraid of turning out like his dad so he tried to stay away from children, but somehow, he got attached to you. You’re making him happy, happier than I thought he’d ever be after everything that happened."

2.

Tony was murmuring soothing words to him, some in English but most in Italian. The man had taken to speaking to him in Italian ever since he heard Peter talking to May in the language. Peter had first learned the language when he’d moved in with May and Ben; it had been a way for them to distract him from the grief and he’d gotten over his selective mutism—this was a common thing for him, the not speaking, not being able to speak—by learning it.

“Starai bene, mimmo,” Tony was murmuring. You’ll be alright, baby.

The whine Peter desperately tried to hold onto was pulled from his throat at the phrase. It was something May always said to him when he was sad or upset, but it felt different coming from Tony. May was kind of obligated to care for him—not that it made her comfort any less comforting or appreciated—but Tony was Tony.

3.

A tear fell down the bridge of his nose. "He said I killed Ben," Peter said in a soft, quiet voice, "and that he died to get away from me. And my parents, too. And that-that May left for her conference or training seminar or whatever it is to get away from me. Everyone I love dies or leaves me, Tony, I don't want you to go, too."

4.

"Oh. Quiet day, baby?" Tony asked softly, the pet name May usually used seeming to slip out.

[1mr34lb0r3drn]

Chapter Six

“Why are mornings such shit.” Lyla grumbles, quickly getting ready to book her way to the airport, this would actually be the first time in a few months that she would use her car which is sort of common in New York. She runs over her mental checklist in about ten seconds flat, checking off everything she has, finally making her way out of her apartment.

Jenna would have the key to her apartment so she would be able to take care of the dogs while she was gone, only having a three day break since Victoria would come around.

As she made it out to the underground parking lot and it’s dim lights, she decided to take a photo with her suitcase in hand, posting it to Instagram with the caption; "Cincinnati here I come!"

It was bound to get over three thousand likes within the first two hours, maybe even more since many are always hyped when she goes on tours. However this was just to stop in her home state and perform there, unlike her actual tour later that year in London, England, stretching to Berlin, Germany.

Those German lessons are about to totally pay off.

She chuckles at the thought after slamming her trunk shut, rushing over to the driver side and sliding in. Making her way to the airport.

As she makes her way down the highway she quickly overhears her phone that was in the passenger seat buzz to life non-stop. Many were probably liking her photo she sent out at legit four in the morning. Though her flight is at five, so why was she rushing? Well maybe it was that she forgot to set an alarm so Jenna calling her was the wake up she needed. Lyla still chuckles at their conversation over thirty minutes earlier, it was basically about if she was ready to go or not and rechecking things, making some jokes here and there.

That was definitely going to be a story for the show tomorrow.

The airport was in the distance as the night didn’t move an inch from where it sat over the horizon. It’s bright lights twinkled in the night sky, making it fairly glow and creating a nice fade to the clouds and stars.

It seems that Lyla was the only one on the road since there weren’t any cars around, she was tempted to do some Fast and Furious type bullshit but killed off the idea as she really didn’t want a ticket right now. So instead she starts speeding up a little and turning up her music which causally was set on Time of our lives by Pitbull and Ne Yo.

She thinks about over a thousand things, this car is usually where she comes up with Ideas for almost anything. Sometimes she would just take her laptop with her and sit in the back of her car, listening to music as a new story idea comes into mind. But one of the main things that was on her mind was Jenna.

Maybe it was the fear that she could wreck her precious apartment but that probably won’t happen, Victoria was more likely to but then that means she has to clean it up with getting no tech rights if she didn’t do it.

Lyla was sort of like a mom.

A short mom in fact, when she was younger her role in her friend groups was that she was either The Mom, The Crackhead, or The Therapist. Or just a mix of the three, but when she was the mom role she would live up to that role, fixing every problem that was in her power to fix, giving relationship advice to the others who were in love, since she out of everyone had the most experience, helping out with work here and there, and most of all, making sure things were due on time. Well, most of the time.

There were other times that she would just help people with their problems and give them advice and other times she would just be crazy and entertaining, just the way some of her friends like it.

When she pays her toll for her car to stay in the long term area she rushes to get her things and head inside, making sure she has her phone with her. As she locks her car and starts to walk towards the elevator, her hand grabs something from her coat pocket, it was a face-mask, one that they had to wear all the time during the pandemic that hit a few years back in 2020. By at least ’23 or ’24 they eradicated it and everything was mostly back to the way it used to be. Some even adopted the style of wearing a face-mask as a type of fashion which the girl found weird and gross. She hated face-masks with her entire life, loving it when she got to go outside for class when she was younger.

Stuffing the mask back into her pocket she gets to the elevator and stands there, waiting till her floor is reached. When the doors opened she quickly looked at her phone, the time displayed ‘4:43’ which means she has exactly seventeen minutes to get registered to board the plane, and customs shouldn’t take as long since they let her in because of her nexus card.

“Hey Lyla, are you leaving already?” Ian was one of the Nexus customs officers and someone that the girl was very close to.

“Ha, yep, leaving for my Ohio mini tour.”

“Alright, I know you don’t carry weapons on you but do you have anything else to declare?”

“How about you declare your love for your boyfriend.”

“Oh hush up.” Both of them chuckle with smiles as she passes through.

“And Ian!” Lyla shouts, the other perking his head towards her voice. “I’ll bring you and Evan another few rounds of buckeyes when I get back.” You could see the glee in his eyes as he cheered a little, pumping his fist in the air as he whispered happily.

Lyla turns back and starts to get onto the plane, finding her seat and sitting down, pulling out her headphones and plugging herself in for the next hour and twenty one minutes.

The first song to be played was Crush by Tessa Violet.

[warsmith-38]

How I would do RWBY pt.9

Season nine

RWBY and JN(P)R and the jobbers are all prepping to take the fight to Salem.

Big military invasion is planned targeting the Grimmlands.

Atlas is used as staging ground.

Atlas military, Ilia’s White Fang, SDC militia, Raven’s bandits, Mistral defense force, Menagerie commandos, and more are there to help.

Everyone even vaguely connected to Ozpin’s Council sends aid.

Vacuo’s defenders will lightly pepper the southern coast to make it seem like they’re still planning on attacking from Vacuo.

Everyone has scenes together about emotions and fears and whatever.

Invasion begins.

Goes well. A beachhead is established, casualties are minimal, and grimm are curtailed rather easily.

Normandy was a success.

They have to do what they came to do as fast as possible before Salem’s grimm from the south cross the continent.

The distraction did its job, but now they’re on their way.

That’s when the offensive grinds to a halt because nothing is ever that fucking easy.

Skirmishes become common, but no greater progress is made.

Then the casualty reports keep coming in.

Everyone except Ozpin reads them.

Morale is lowering, which in turn makes the grimm stronger, which lowers morale further and so forth.

Ironwood says that they need a big symbolic victory to restore morale and get things back on track.

Idea is a blitz, push as hard and fast into the Grimmlands as possible, consolidating as much territory as possible along the way.

Myrmidon is the only real strategic obstacle in the way.

Time is of the essence so plan is a go.

Night before the blitz.

Ruby gives a speech to WBY and JN(P)R.

Says that they’re all the best friends she’s ever had and that, even with all the problems going on, the time they’ve spent together has been the best time of her life.

Everyone has a few more scenes together.

Tai has a moment with his girls.

Raven tries to further apologize to Yang in her own way.

Weiss and Winter have video call with Willow and jailtime Jacques.

Blake has a moment with her parents who came with the Menagerie Commandos.

JN(P)R vow to each other that they’re going to either get Pyrrha back or put her to permanent rest.

Qrow and Ruby have moment together.

Ruby says she’s both out of her mind terrified and incredibly excited to kick ass at the same time.

Qrow says that that’s about right for Summer’s daughter.

Day of the blitz.

Coalition forces charge forth with the fury of…an uninterrupted carpool. What the hell?

There’s no fucking grimm.

The entire army is advancing into hostile territory completely unopposed.

Jaune and Ironwood realize what’s happening at the same time.

Sometimes the best defense is an overwhelming fuck you of an offense.

Pyrrha had withdrawn as many grimm as she possibly could in the timeframe and condensed them into two massive combined hordes.

And she’s sending those two hordes, in a pincer maneuver, directly against the sides of the coalition blitz’ spearhead.

Swarms of grimm hit them like a tidal wave.

The offence halts right then and there.

Fighting is brutal and ground is taken and lost at an alarming rate.

RWBY is shining beacon of hope against the darkness.

Killing droves of grimm as fast as the laws of physics allow.

Pyrrha gets involved.

JN(P)R intercept her.

Fight goes similarly to the last two but with one major difference.

Jaune, in his desperation, takes a blade to the leg and wraps Pyrrha in a bear hug, flooding her with his healing aura just to see what happens.

He doesn’t know what the hell it’s going to do, if anything, but it’s all he has at this point.

Pyrrha tosses him off but is visibly stunned and starts convulsing.

Her human parts are being affected by Jaune’s healing.

This gives them enough time for Ruby to blast her with white fire.

Pyrrha gives Jaune a sad look of longing before she collapses into his arms, once again dead and fading away into the wind.

JNR is sad at seeing their friend die… again.

The grimm lose all cohesion and even begin infighting a little at the complete removal of coordination.

The blitz continues all the way to Salem’s Sanctum.

They encircle and lay siege.

Salem and Ozpin communicate.

It’s finally here, isn’t it? The moment they both’ve dreamed about.

Chaos or order. Which will win in the end?

The day of fate has fin’ly come.

The siege is going rather poorly after about a week or so.

No headway is being made on being able to directly assault the Sanctum.

Artillery has little to no effect due to a magic bubble shield.

Swarm of incredibly powerful grimm operate as a sort of moat preventing infantry incursions.

Flying grimm lead to similar results on aerial attacks.

RWBY and JN(P)R are involved in latest offensive.

It fails. Pretty hard too.

Every day that goes on the more people get killed by the grimm.

This lowers morale.

This causes more, stronger, grimm to show up.

Same problem as before the blitz but with even more stressed logistics.

Scouts report that the grimm horde from the south is going to show up in under a week.

The worst part is that it would take just over a week for coalition forces to pack up and retreat.

Goodie.

Cinder has a moment of actually having a conscious and says she has a solution.

She knows of a way past Salem’s defenses and directly into the Sanctum.

The Cavern of Remembrance. (Yes, I’m nabbing the name from KH2FM, roll with it)

Rumor has it is that it’s a tunnel full of vengeful spirits of the departed.

Many have gone mad attempting to go through it.

Tyrian was the last to make it through, probably because he was pretty crazy to begin with.

Salem does nothing with it because the vast majority of people that go through there don’t make it out and those that do are either easy enough to kill on the other side or are susceptible to recruitment.

Ozpin makes the plan to send a strike team through it.

Should they survive, Ozpin will have Raven open a portal to give them a clean shot at killing Salem.

Nobody really likes this plan but they have few alternatives.

Decide that RWBY, JN(P)R, and CEMN would be the best options for the strike team.

Most of them (particularly Ruby and Jaune) cringe at the idea of working side by side with Cinder but roll with it because Salem is a much higher priority.

The teams get ready to go off.

Tensions are high.

Cinder leads them to the entrance of the cavern.

Everyone takes a moment to steel themselves and enter.

The great majority of the walk through the cavern is just that, walking.

So far it’s just a fucking cave tunnel.

Ren and Nora disappear.

It’s a straight, almost featureless, tunnel so they have no idea what the hell just happened.

Emerald and Mercury disappear next. Then Weiss, then Jaune, then Blake, then Neo, then Penny.

Ruby, Cinder, and Yang are alone now.

Yang gets a little angry, thinking that Cinder set them up.

The argument stops when they see a completely out of place cottage door ahead of them.

They enter it and are shocked to see Summer Rose, happily sitting with a pot of tea ready to pour.

The cavern is a font of old magic. It allows those who enter it one chance to speak to the departed spirit of someone emotionally close to them. Not necessarily a loved one, but someone important, good or ill.

As it turns out this has the habit of often making people want to ‘reunite’ with their loved ones or get killed by the spirit of the one they hated.

Ren and Nora are talking to their respective parents. They tell them that they’ve made it after all.

Weiss is talking to her grandfather. Calls him an old fart that history will only remember as a huge cunt.

Blake is talking to Adam. Specifically, depressed Adam that has lost the psychopathic streak.

Penny is talking to herself, the version of her that Cinder killed. Very trippy and self-reflective.

Emerald is talking to her mother. The last genuinely good influence she’s ever had before going good.

Mercury is talking to (read: says three words to and then starts fighting) his father.

Neo is…okay not talking, but with Roman. He teases her for going legit.

Jaune is talking to Pyrrha. Big happy lovers’ reunion.

Conversations range from tear soaked reunions to vitriol filled shouting matches to straight up fights.

Important bits, aside from emotional closure are as follows:

Mercury doesn’t get his semblance back from papa but awakens what would have been a second one.

It’s Armstrong/Greed style body hardening.

Jaune and Pyrrha have a moment properly saying that they love each other but are cut off prematurely, showing that Salem has resurrected her again.

Jaune has a new plan.

Everyone either connects again with the deceased and gains new resolve, or get pumped by telling the dearly departed dickhead to fuck themselves.

Ruby and Yang get confused as to why Cinder is there with them.

Cinder mouths off like a rude fuck.

Summer scolds her and calls her ‘Cinder Rose’.

Do the plot-twist dance, c’mon. (This was the thing that the Mad Scientist tried to reveal to Ruby)

As it turns out, Cinder is Ruby’s long lost fraternal twin that was stolen by Salem and raised in a horrible orphanage until Salem could come and ‘save’ her.

It was almost a contest between Ozpin and Salem.

Ozpin’s kid living in a well-structured and sheltered place with Salem’s living in a shitty environment with constant hardship. The one who’s system made the better kid, wins.

C+R+Y mutual BSOD.

After a few good shouts and some crying Summer tells her girls that she’ll always love them and be proud of them.

Summer and the cottage fade away and C+R+Y are really unsure as to what to make of this revelation.

Cinder is in the worse emotional shape she’s been in in the series.

They all agree to keep it quiet and just get on with things.

Repress now, react later.

Eventually everyone gets through their meetings and meet up at the exit of the cavern.

They’re right at the base of the Sanctum with the entrance to it in front of them.

Ruby shares brief secret words with Neo, Blake, and Emerald as everyone else is distracted.

They send a radio signal, Raven opens a portal and she, TQ, Ironwood, Glynda, Winter, and Ozpin come through.

Everyone moves into the Sanctum.

They enter the main foyer and Salem is standing atop the stairs waiting for them all dramatic and shit.

Says thank you to Cinder for giving her the opportunity to kill Ozpin.

Cinder calls her a bitch.

Says that she’s going to kill her for her mother’s sake.

Salem says that that’s easier said than done.

Myrmidon attacks with a shitload of grimm, including very crude resurrections of Tyrian, Roman, Adam, and some other jobbers.

It’s almost insulting how poorly done they are compared to Myrmidon.

Salem put all her time and effort into Myrmidon.

Big battle royale extravaganza.

The various resurrected try and fuck with people psychologically. Roman saying he never loved Neo, Tyrian bragging about killing Summer, and such like that.

This works on no one and the resurrected get decked but at least they tried.

The Council, baring Ozpin, get tied up against grimm.

JN(P)R distract Myrmidon and get her away into a separate room.

RWBY and CEMN get at Salem directly.

Salem boss fight start.

JN(P)R manage to redo the plan to knock off Myrmidon’s helmet.

Myrmidon believes she knows what they’re planning to do.

JN(P)R know she knows this and have planned around that plan she planned against their plan.

It makes sense, shut up.

Jaune kisses her and floods her with as much healing semblance as he can.

She almost dies, y’know, again, but the grimm taint is healed away from both the healing semblance and Jaune’s aura jumpstarting her aura again with the power of love.

N(P)R’s aura’s flood into Pyrrha as well because friendship and jury rigging Penny’s artificial aura system.

Pyrrha is unconscious, scarred, and in very poor shape. But she’s alive again, truly.

Not that they’d try it, but attempting similar plans with the other resurrected would have just destroyed them due to their comparably shabby creation.

JNP(P)R’s story is now wrapped up.

Yay!

RWBY and CEMN vs. Salem is still going on.

Lots of fire of both orange and white.

Fuck it, black fire too from Salem.

Summons and hallucinations.

Rage mode and NANOMACHINES SON.

Clone decoys and illusions.

Salem is enraged that she’s losing, decides fuck it and starts just blowing shit up with magic.

Ozpin comes in with the assist when Salem has taken a few hits.

He wants to kill-steal like a noob.

Ruby smiles as her own plan has come together.

Fight goes on, big spectacle, you know the deal.

Big crazy god powers combating each other.

TL;DR Salem and Ozpin stab each other at the same time.

Ruby had Neo, Blake, and Emerald fuck with both of their perceptions with their semblances to as many degrees as they can, making mutually assured destruction… assured (shut up).

Ruby even brags to both of them about it.

“There is no need for gods that only take,” –Asura (A really angry dude)

Calls both Ozpin and Salem bitches.

Both are enraged but the prophesy is fulfilled. Only one can kill the other so both now die.

So die the two worst mass murderers in the history of the planet.

It’s a BIGASS explosion.

Ruby wakes up at home, hoping to unholy fucking hell that this whole thing was not just one long dream after the Fall of Beacon.

It wasn’t.

Everyone is there to see Ruby and tell her that, yes, Salem and Ozpin are super dead.

Everybody wins.

Everyone else lived (She’s especially happy to see Pyrrha) and even got her flowers.

The one that draws her eye is the one that people say is the newest, a black rose.

It has a note saying ‘Ruins of Beacon. One week. –C’.

One week passes.

Ruby goes to the ruins of Beacon, alone, armed as she usually is.

Cinder is waiting for her.

Ruby doesn’t really want to fight Cinder now. She’s even talked to whatever authorities remain about getting Cinder a level of amnesty for helping in the last couple seasons.

Cinder tries to bait her into getting angry and attacking her but Ruby calls her bluff and tells her to just be honest for once in her life.

Cinder says that due to her upbringing she needs to contextualize events in a specific way.

Ruby needs to beat her in a fight. Properly.

No berserk insanity, no grimm arm weaknesses, just the definitive one on one show of strength.

Only then can she accept the reality where it’s possible for her to be sister to such a good entity as Ruby.

Otherwise she’s just going to fuck off to parts unknown, content with her stupid worldview.

Ruby tells her to stop being such a chuunibyou, but admits that she still has some shit to work out herself and the best way she knows to do that is a fight.

Ruby vs. Cinder.

Vergil 3 motherfuckers.

The definitive, badass, rival match, season and series final boss fight.

The wheel of fate is turning, heaven or hell, let’s rock!

The fight goes through everything.

Going from shooting, to melee, to fire duel, back to melee, to hand-to-hand, ending in a MGS4 style exhausted slugfest, all interlaced with flashbacks and shit, culminating in a mutual cross-counter.

Final punch, both of them nail each other on the cheek.

They glare at each other for a second, each other’s fists in their faces.

Cinder falls (ha) over first.

Ruby declares victory before collapsing next to her.

They have an absolutely exhausted heart-to-heart.

They reflect on the events of the series and accept each other as sisters.

Cinder accepts the name, ‘Cinder Rose’.

Four months later.

World is recovering from the conflict well.

Grimm still exist.

As long as negative emotions exist, Salem’s grudge will also. But without centralized control, the grimm are just hyper-combative and aggressive animals that crop up now and again, but can be curtailed easily enough if direct threat is posed.

Hunters still need to exist, but grimm aren’t world ending level threat anymore.

RWBY has been enjoying a little time off together as they do minor logistical work.

JNP(P)R have been palling around doing the same as RWBY, very much enjoying having Pyrrha back.

Team CEMN is now official with its members working as a sort of penal squad to work off their respective sentences.

They’ve got house arrest in their downtime though.

Only exception is when they’re working or have supervision from someone trustworthy.

Better than prison or doing the hempen jig so... take what you can get.

Kingdoms use the framework of Ozpin’s surveillance system as a communication and connectivity network instead of a ‘big brother’ type system of control.

Big get together with everyone.

Beacon is about to reopen under Headmaster Qrow Branwen.

RWBY and JNP(P)R decide that getting the Hunter GED equivalent might be the best option for them, considering they’re infinitely more experienced than any first year has a right to be.

Agree to a grad-student type arrangement to still be involved, though.

Everyone’s having a good time. Everyone’s connecting and blowing off steam.

Ruby peaks out and goes off on her own for a particular reason.

Ruby has final moment of series, talking to Summer’s grave.

Turn around and sees all her friends, family, and teammates.

Says she loves them all, half talking to the audience as well.

Red Like Roses plays as it fades to statues of Team RWBY in a cathedral or altar type place.

Fin.

Season nine done.

War arc done.

Series done.

Boom-shakalaka.

 Season of mini-episodes mostly for the fluff, fun, and because I say so.

1. Cinder awkwardly bonding with her new family, despite her best efforts.

2. Raven having a moment with Tai and Qrow about Summer.

3. Pyrrha reuniting with her family post-resurrection and dealing with the fallout of Myrmidon.

4. Weiss and Blake visiting Jacques and Sienna in their respective prisons.

5. Ironwood, Glynda, and others talk about Ozpin, reflecting that he really was kind of an asshole.

6. Team CEMN on mission, very slowly becoming actual friends.

7. Team CFVY make plan to transfer back to Beacon during sparring match with SSSN.

8. Flashback episode for team RWBY when they were children and still had much to learn.

9. Ilia and Blake talking about the restructuring of the White Fang.

10. Un-incarcerated Schnees talking about the future of the company.

11. RWBY and CEMN little sparring fun for stress relief.

12. Flashback thing with team STRQ, going through their forming and breaking.

13. Cinder going on an apology tour. (Pyrrha still hates her guts but not enough to kill her).

14. Qrow and Raven have big over the top dork duel because they’re both dorks.

15. JNPR has moment of “Wow, we REALLY didn’t sign up for that but we made out fine enough,”

16. Team SSSN wondering just what the holy hell all that was about.

17. Ciel and Penny reaffirm their friendship with each other, even though their team is long gone.

18. Flashback to Salem and Ozpin’s original falling out, showing that they were assholes even back then.

19. RWBY are made official huntresses and start a proper career of grimm killing and peace keeping.

20. Flash forward a generation or three later and someone telling their kid/grandkid team RWBY’s story.

 I did this because I felt the need to and nobody could stop me. Too many aspects of the show pissed me off just a little too much and I know that all this amounts to is my insane ramblings, but I did it anyway. Will I ever be put in charge of an actual RWBY reboot or something of that measure? Fucking no. Will this change anyone’s minds? Probably not. Was this entertaining to read? I certainly hope so. But, in the end, I had a ton of fun doing this and have made the points I wanted to make. That’s just about all I care about in the end.

I regret nothing.

[krispydefendorpolice]

Once Upon A Miraculous - Part 2

Ok before we even get into the story here’s yet another warning to think twice before you continue. Jason dies. He dies in a gruesome, traumatizing event and even though I think I went over it very lightly I still think it’s pretty fucking graphic. I’m the writer and I. Had. To. Fucking. Stop. And take a break before I could continue with the story.

Violence and the results it can have on the body ahead. Madness from the pit and angst from hurt feeling of being replaced ahead. For the last time. You’ve all been warned so read at your own risk.

I’m going to trust that you all know your headspace well enough and for those that choose to read anyways? Thank you for going on this journey with me. I hope the falls between here and the end are worth the river journey and the lake we reach at the end (yes those are f*ing metaphors. I’m feeling philosophical at the moment)

Previous Masterpost list

————————————

“It’s me Nettie. I’m alive”

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

Jason was 14 years old when he met the Batman. He came across an unwatched batmobile. The tires on it could be sold for more than the average car and he had the tools on him.

One last check and he got to work. He was already thinking about the things he could buy for himself and his street siblings that he forgot the number one rule. Always keep a lookout.

The Batman caught him red handed with three wheels off and the fourth half done. After being forced to return the wheels to the car Jason was taken to the underground batcave. He met Alfred and the unmasked Batman. Bruce “fucking billionaire” Wayne.

Less than a month later he’s living in the manor and has been “adopted”. He doesn’t trust it. Rich men don’t want son’s and there are too many kids with stories about the horrors that “nice family’s” hide behind closed doors. But he’s got a roof over his head and food in his stomach. If Wayne thinks that will be enough to buy him he’s going to find out how wrong he was.

Jason starts small at first. If he can just get the man angry enough to throw him out he won’t have to worry about being brought back. Setting all the alarms in the house and making them unfixable was a bit of a challenge. Seeing Bruce’s face when he changed the passwords was brilliant.

It continued that way for a few months until Bruce finally decided if Jason was gonna be a little shit he could learn to fight better instead. Jason decided that if he was going to learn to fight he would take over the abandoned Robin role too.

Dick was not happy. The first time Jason got to meet the man was after he was seen as Robin. He came to the manor and yelled at Bruce, saying he had no right to give his costume and name to someone else. Jason listened from the second story.

As angry as the two men got neither came to blows over it. Dick ended the fight by storming out and he put the older hero on radio silence for months after but neither had any injuries from their disagreement. If Jason had ever even looked at his old man funny as a kid he would have a black eye and welts on his back to show for it.

Maybe Bruce could be trusted after all?

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

At 15 years old Bruce is engaged to Selina Kyle. Their on again off again thing as hero and thief where they danced around each other had been driving Jason and Alfred batty. It was nice to see them actually settle into their thing as each challenged the other and kept them on their toes.

When Selina said she was going to be spending the summer with the daughter of an old schoolmate of hers Jason didn’t think much of it. He knew she had a legit degree she used to assess the potential spoils of her criminal activities.

He arrived at Wayne Enterprises a little early for their lunch meeting. Bruce had told him they’d meet in the lobby so after greeting the receptionists he looked for a place to sit. In one of the chairs facing the doors a small girl looked up at the windows before going back to her book and writing something. No she was probably drawing with long pencil strokes like that.

Curious he walked over to see if he could look at her drawing. He could see what looked like an image of the stained glass windows on the page but the lines through them gave it a softer, almost flowing shape. Which was weird cause glass wouldn’t follow those lines.

“What are you drawing?” He found himself asking her.

She jumped so he’d obviously surprised her. His thoughts were captured by her bright blue eyes. In the light coming from those stained glass windows she’d been admiring they almost seemed to glow.

She said she was designing a dress while she waited for her guardian and the fiancé to return. This must be Selina’s friends daughter.

Lunch was a fun affair where the girl shared she would be designing costumes for Jagged stone to wear during his concert tour this summer. She would stay with Selina in Gotham from Monday to Thursday while she designed and created clothes she would fly to whatever city Jagged was playing in from Thursday to Sunday to be on hand during the concerts for any costume repairs that would be needed.

Bruce volunteered Jason to show Marinette around the city since it wouldn’t be safe for her to be alone. Jason agrees because it’s summer break and he likes the Marinette he talked stained glass windows with and wonders what other beauty she will see in his dark city.

**

He is breathless by the beauty she sees all around her. The joy and happiness she shines as easily as she breathes. Everyone she meets becomes a new friend. Even the tamer of the Rogues and the Siren’s who meet her are enthralled by her smile and her charm.

Kissing her was a completely spontaneous action. He had thought about it for weeks by then but she had said there was a guy back home she sort of still had a crush on though she wasn’t happy with how they wanted to deal with the liar situation. So he was resigned to keeping his budding feelings to himself so that he could see her happy.

It had been the night of the last concert. Jagged had Marinette come on stage where he officially introduced her as his designer and the creator of all the tour costumes to the world. She had beamed with a smile so wide that when she threw herself into Jason’s arms after walking off stage he had just pulled back and placed a kiss on her lips.

He froze when he realized what he did. Marinette had stood on her tiptoe to start their second kiss.

For a week they were blissfully happy and free with their affection. Multiple paparazzi got pictures of them holding hands, kissing each other or just cuddling when they were waiting. Jasonette and the Sunshine of Gotham blew up on social media.

Saying goodbye to her was a really hard thing to do. So Jason went shopping for something he could give her to remember him by. They had decided they would try a long distance thing but he was afraid it wouldn’t be enough. If they did fall apart from distance he wanted something she could use to always fondly remember the summer fling they had.

It was perfect. He knew it might be impractical but he was convinced that it would be the perfect gift for her someday.

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

They made it work. They had talked everyday and he spent every chance he could in France with her. He met her parents and they met Bruce as well. Marinette had her school situation resolved following her return.

He was proud of her for sticking up for herself when all her classmates seemed ready to abandon the liar just because Marinette had a connection they could use again. Nathaniel, Rose and Juleka were all artsy like Marinette and he could see how their creative energies inspired each other and themselves.

He was a week away from his departure to spend the summer in France with Marinette and her family when it happened. A false lead led to his capture by the Joker.

(Begin Angst)

The first break hurt but it was bearable. He had broken bones before. His bio dad had broken them frequently when he was still alive. The fifth hurt as bad. He also had a concussion and several burns at that time as well.

What felt like days, weeks, years... minutes?, passed in a haze as he jerked with every new hit. He was a mess from vomit, blood, piss and shit when his body couldn’t follow his commands any longer.

He held to the belief that Batman would come for him. That his father could still save him.

When the Joker left, Jason was lying on the concrete floor looking at the bomb countdown. He knew he had to get out of there, he pushed his battered body past the point he could feel pain and struggled to the door. He pulled on it but it wouldn’t open. The rattle of chains on the other side told him why.

He collapsed to the floor, tears streaming as he watched the numbers countdown.

10, 9, 8...

I’m sorry Alfred.

7, 6, 5,...

I’m sorry Bruce.

4, 3,...

I’m sorry Nettie.

2, 1,

I love...

(End Angst)

He was only 16. He would never see 17.

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

It was dark. It was small. It was hard to breathe. He was in some kind of box. He screamed and hit the walls around him trying to get out, trying to find some air.

It surprised him when cold pieces fell from above him. It had a new smell. He focused his determination on that spot. More of the new thing came down into his cage. He pushed it away from him and continued. There. Briefly a breath of clean, fresh air.

With new determination he pushed harder towards the life giving air. He was able to pull his head and shoulders out of the box. He rested for a moment swallowing greedy gulps of air into his starved lungs. When he was able to continue he pulled himself from the ground and looked around. As far as his eye could see were stones standing from the ground around him and beyond those trees and underbrush fading into shadows.

He picked a direction at random and began to walk.

**

It was familiar. Grab an item, run. The actions came without conscious memory. The streets were cold but he was big enough to scare off the worst of the predators. There were a few small people, kids, that came to him for protection from the bigger people. He did what he could but it never seemed to be enough he thought, as he stood over another small, broken body.

“I can give you a way to protect them.”

He looked up. She was beautiful but her eyes were cold. Empty and unfeeling. But she had promised to give him a way to protect the little ones. He was willing to try anything for that power.

What was his name? How old was he? He didn’t know.

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

Jason.

He remembered his name as he lunged from the sickly green waters that Talia had led him to. He remembered Bruce, his father, but he didn’t save him from the Joker. He remembered the Jokers laughter ringing in his ears as he stood over another broken child on the streets. And the new shadow following the shape of the Batman when he was an amnesiac wandering the streets of Gotham.

He had been REPLACED!! He fumed. The anger and resentment over Bruces inability to save him, to avenge him and his replacing him as if Jason meant nothing, festered and boiled in his mind.

When he left the League of Shadows his only plan was to go back to Gotham and get revenge for his own death and to hurt his so called father as badly as he could. If Jason meant so little to him then he would show how little Bruce meant to him.

**

(Mild violence ahead)

Their first reunion was in a fight over drug dealers selling heroin to kids. Jason looked directly at the bat, pulled his gun and shot the dealers in the forehead.

(Violence over)

“These are my streets now. I won’t tolerate kids getting hurt on my watch.”

He disappeared before Batman could restrain him.

For weeks they danced around. Batman trying to catch him and Jason using every trick he learned from the Bat himself to avoid him.

Blood flowed freely from the wicked and the corrupt. He was a villain in his own right bringing judgement and execution down upon the criminals of Gotham.

Batman always appealed to the better side of him, to stop his madness. Didn’t he understand that part died? The child that trusted in heroes to protect the innocent died at the hands of a monster. A monster that his father couldn’t chase away.

The RedHood was risen from the pits and unleashed upon the evil of Gotham.

He was 18 years old.

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

Months of their back and forth dynamic between RedHood and Batman passed. The Batman couldn’t arrest the RedHood but the RedHood couldn’t stop tweaking his cape to get a reaction.

Didn’t he care? Wasn’t he going to stop him? He was doing everything wrong so why wouldn’t Bruce do the same for him that he did for all the other criminals in Gotham?

It was when Jason had the Joker at the business end of a gun that he got his answers.

“Don’t do it Hood,” Bruce pleaded. “It will change you beyond what you can come back from if you do.”

“I’ve already killed, B,” his words caught as he gasped, fighting back tears of rage. “My hands are dripping in blood.

He laughed madly then, “‘Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?’ Who knew that bitch knew what she was talking about.”

“It’s the madness that’s done it Hood. You’ve barely held control before. But you’re fighting the killing urge and directing it to those that do deserve it.”

“And yes,” he interrupted before Jason could argue, “no one deserves it more than Joker for what he’s done to you. But if you do it then the madness will win. Please I can’t lose my son again,” he begged.

“WHY DOES THAT MATTER NOW?!” Jason screamed. “He killed me. I was dead in the ground and you let him walk. WHY COULDN’T YOU KILL HIM?! AM I THAT MEANINGLESS TO YOU!?!!”

“I COULDN’T!” Bruce yelled back. “If I killed him I wouldn’t be able to stop killing. It wouldn’t just be the Joker that died, it would be every criminal in Gotham who dared step out of line. I wanted to. I still want to. He took my son from me but I know that once I start I won’t be able to stop. I’m sorry that I’m so weak, but I couldn’t.”

The Batman, no Bruce Wayne, stood before him, head bowed in defeat as he admitted to his greatest shame.

Jason looked away before dropping the gun and walking away. He knew Bruce would take the Joker back to Arkham so he just needed to get away and think.

**

They worked to build their relationships anew. He couldn’t be the son Bruce remembered anymore, too much had changed, but he could be the son he was today. He could do what he could for the Replacement and make sure the kid didn’t get himself killed on the streets. The girl that joined them got the same measure of protection though she was better able to defend herself.

When he finally let go of thoughts of revenge he could think about a time when a stray spark of living Sunshine found its way to cold, grey Gotham. He finally looked up news of Marinette to see how she was doing. He broke down and cried when her wedding announcement to the son of a Parisian fashion house was the first thing to pop up.

Selina, Bruce and Alfred all encouraged him to take a trip to France anyways to get some closure, to say goodbye. But he refused, the smile in her eyes as she looked at her new husband in the picture convinced him that she was happy. And that was all he ever wanted for her, even if it couldn’t be him giving the her the world.

He was 19 years old when he made peace with his past.

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

He was 20 years old when news of the villain Hawkmoth and his defeat hit the international press. He was livid to realize that his beloved Nettie had been in so much danger just living in a city that should have been safe. That the Justice League had done nothing when the citizens pleaded for help.

It felt like the period after his revival in the pit as he stormed the halls of the WatchTower. His vision was in various shades of red and his thoughts just kept turning back to how Marinette might have been killed in one of the villain’s monster attacks. Hell, she probably did die once or twice only to be revived by the hero’s magic.

If he ever got to meet LadyBug he would shower her in appreciation for defending the city his Nettie lived in.

The door crashed and nearly fell off the hinges when he threw it open and stormed through into the Leagues council room.

“RedHood,” Batman said calmly as he stalked up to the table.

Slamming his hands down and leaning over the collected heroes he asked what he’d wanted to since the news broke.

“Who. Screwed. Up?”

“When footage of the attacks first reached the League, investigations were done. No lasting damage was left from the attacks so it was written off as a publicity stunt and subsequent messages were ignored,” Batman explained. “It was a phone operator that fielded these calls. They went based off the assessment done by the League and deleted them.”

“She could have died B. I was dead and couldn’t do anything but you should have been keeping an eye on her. You know what she means to me.”

Batman nodded, “I should have. The messages never reached me but I should have been keeping a watch on her regardless of that.”

“You’re going to make amends to those heroes for ignoring them,” Jason stated. “All of you are,” he added, including the other heroes in the room in his statement.

“Yes,” Batman agreed.

Jason jerked his head in a nod and left the room. Going back to the cave where he can do his own check and make sure Marinette was safe.

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

It wasn’t just the League that failed Marinette. Jason knew he was as much to blame. If he had gone to Paris? If he had seen her? If he had told her he was alive? Would she have suffered under Hawkmoth? If, if, if.

News of the divorce of up and coming fashion designer MDC and the son of the fashion mogul and former villain Adrian Agreste hit airwaves like lightning. In the beginning people claimed it was Marinette who left because of Hawkmoth’s identity. Adrian was fast to shut that down and own that he was the one to ask for the divorce for personal reasons. With what seemed to be an amicable break up the world turned its attention to the next sound bite.

He’d failed her again. Jason just sat by his empty grave as he cried when he learns about it. He argues with Alfred and Selina when they bring up him visiting Paris afterwards. This time Bruce supports his decision. He doesn’t approve and lets Jason know it, but he supports him.

Returning to the cave after patrol, Jason was the last to arrive. He didn’t know why everyone was gathered by the computer so he went to take a look. He didn’t hear what Alfred said as he walked over. Momentarily blinded by the helmet as he removed it, he froze when he finally saw what, no who, had his family’s attention.

She had grown since their first meeting, not in height but in maturity. She had traded the fun pigtails for an elegant braid, and jeans for a sundress obviously of her own design.

“Hi, Monsieur Alfred introduced the others but I haven’t gotten your name yet. I am Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” she introduces herself as if she were meeting a stranger for the first time.

It hurt his heart that she would do that with him, though he realizes why she did. She didn’t know. She couldn’t know that it was him under the mask.

The words wouldn’t come though when he tried to find them and tell her. He finally settled for showing her, hoping she would believe her eyes.

After she gasped in reaction to his reveal he thought maybe his approach was a bit boneheaded after all. Nothing to do but go forward from there though.

“It’s me Nettie. I’m alive.”

Marinette teared up but instead of breaking down and crying she ran to him and jumped into his arms. Burying her face in his neck she just murmured “You’re alive” over and over.

“Yeah,” he admitted. He held her as tightly as he dared. A little worried he might hurt her by accident.

When she pulled away he reluctantly let her go but it was worth it.

She gave him the biggest smile and he saw it again.

He was 21 years old and the sun was shining in cold, grey Gotham once more.

————————————

So I really got into the structure I used for the first chapter and exuded to use the same for this one. They end at different ages because Jason’s a few months older and this happened in that in between time (the real reason is sections were getting too busy so I add another year to his story. How do I rationalize it? Well birthdays are a thing so there you go).

I hope everyone enjoyed this wild ride. I do plan to do an epilogue chapter but that will have to wait until next weekend. Anyone have any ideas you can send it to me.

@pepelachanel @mellownieice @kris-pines04 @zebrabaker @two-faced-biatch @vixen-uchiha @mandy984 @shamefullove @mycupisbroken @dawnwave16 @abrx2002 @mochinek0 @tbehartoo @fertileleaf @thanks-captain-obvious @ravennightingaleandavatempus @hinata3487 @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @hypnosharkrebeldreamer @zalladane @dast218 @miraculous786 @18-fandoms-unite-08 @moonlightstar64 @mooshoon @ladybug182 @iggy-of-fans @legendaryneckjudgestudent @megawhitleycalderonpaganus @finallyaniguana @tog84 @mystery-5-5 @evil-elf16

[themusicplayedherlife]

Some Sugar

Part 1: just keep breathin’

pairing: sugar daddy!steve rogers x reader characters: reader, steve rogers, cassandra jones (oc), selena (oc), bucky barnes, sam wilson word count: 3k+ warnings: angst, family issues, money problems summary: you need to just remember to breathe a/n: give me validation please and let me know what you think 

prev || all || next

There’s a steady stream of customers all night, nothing like a few nights ago, but it’s definitely better than it’s been for a while. While you want to be happy for Cassandra, your mind keeps going back to your Aunt Magdalena’s threats, most recently a note slipped under your door, that you thankfully found before Esmeralda could. 

It’s no wonder why your mom (and dad) kept communications with her to a minimum—which only adds to the mystery of why she went to her of all people for money.

“Excuse me,” a deep voice calls for your attention, it’s strong yet somehow nervous. When you look up to smile at him, you’re greeted by stormy, blue eyes illuminated by the lights behind you on the shelves and mirror. He’s handsome, alarmingly so with brown hair cascading down to the top of his broad shoulders—cheekbones sharp and chin dented right at the end and covered by mild scruff.

Holy fuck … what you wouldn’t give to spend a night with him. It’s been so long since...

Hey! You’re at work, and work means focusing!

You push your warring thoughts aside and manage your best customer service smile. “What can I get for you?”

“Three beers,” he says, eyes falling to the taps behind you, and with a quiet and unsure voice, he orders three Mirages. 

You smile reassuringly. “Good choice.” When he eyes you curiously, you explain, “Local brew.” You turn your back to him and grab the glasses for beer as Cassandra squeezes by you to reach the register at the end of the bar to charge a group.

You fill one of the glasses and set it aside while you absentmindedly fill up another, the sound of the soothing trumpets playing through the speakers washing over the bar. 

Eleven thousand dollars. How are you going to pay that much money in two months?

“You okay?” Cassandra asks, watching you carefully, eyes drifting to the glass in your hand.

You’re quick to switch to the final glass when you realize you’re about to overfill the second. With a tired smile you say, “I’m fine.”

She frowns, shaking her chocolate curls, but before she can say anything, someone saunters up to the bar and orders a drink. She gives you a look that says—I’m not done with you—and starts making the drink for the customer.

With the final glass filled, you spin on your heels to face the male that ordered the beers and are surprised to find he’s no longer alone—two men are flanking him.

They’re just as tall and wide as the brunette—a contrast of skin between them, the one on his left a beautiful shade of umber—dark and rich. Black hair short and buzzed, and a thin beard making his face seem slimmer than he appears to be, apple of his cheeks high and round when he smiles at something his companions say. Handsome in a simple white tee and black leather jacket.

The other man on his right is white, almost pink and peach with the low lighting of the bar, nothing like the tanned brunette between them. If his friends are handsome, he’s beautiful. Golden hair slicked back with a semi fade on the sides; muscles tightly wrapped and bounded by a blue Henley that you’re certain is a size too small; lashes, long and thick brush against his cheek bones; face clear of scruff and dark shadows; lips pink and pretty—something almost boyish in his smile that makes you crack a smile of your own.

Shit. You’d take any one of them home!

Three pairs of eyes land on you as you set down their beer, and you freeze, locking with blue eyes—bright and alarming, specks of hazel and greens around his iris making his eyes pop in the dark bar. Something flashes within them, and there’s something familiar about them that you can’t quite place.

What is it?

Cassandra makes a noise from beside you, like a hum and a snicker and you realize you might’ve been staring at him for far too long. Shit.

Clearing your throat, you drag your gaze to the brunette between them and smile politely. “Here are the first two, let me just get the last one.” A sleek, black card comes into view after placing down the final glass, and you take it, a little embarrassed. “Open tab or closed?”

“Keep it open,” the blonde says, a familiarity directed at you that has you raising your eyebrows, but you ignore it. “Just in case.”

“Of course.” You don’t really look at him or his friends after accepting the card, scurrying away to swipe his card to make sure it’s good, and input his first order under the last name on his card—Rogers. Storing the card for the meantime, you go back to cleaning the bar.

“You sure you’re okay?” Cassandra tries again. 

“Cass,” you warn with a sigh, eyes trailing over to the men that have decided to settle on the bar-stools instead of an empty table—the three too busy engaged in their own conversation to listen in on yours.

“As your boss and friend, I have every right to worry about you,” she says, resting an elbow on the bar and leaning forward. “Your head has been up in the clouds lately. And more than usual. Did something happen to your mom? Is she okay? Is her arm not healing properly?”

“She’s as okay as a chemotherapy patient can be,” you snap harshly, rubbing at the bar fiercely. She blinks at you surprised and doesn’t retort—shame immediately creeps up on you. “I—I’m sorry. I didn’t—I didn’t mean—“

“Hey. Hey. I know,” she affirms gently. “It hasn’t been easy for you, but you know I’m here if you ever want to talk.” She makes a gesture to herself and your eyebrows knit.

The glasses clink as you put them away. “Thanks. She’s getting better,  but I’m not ready. Not yet.” 

She nods solemnly. “I understand, but I’m here whenever you are. You hear?” she says, pointing a finger at you before taking the empty tray to the back.

You watch her leave with a sigh. You really shouldn’t be taking out your frustrations on others, you mentally scold yourself. 

As you continue wiping down glasses, your phone vibrates in your back pocket, slipping it out discreetly, a notification of a new message appears on the lock screen.

Selena⛱☀️: Went over the docs. You free to talk?

Just those simple words are enough to steal your breath away; dread filling your bones. She didn’t add an emoji, you realize; no emoji usually meant trouble.

Your grip tightens around your phone.

Skyscraper: gimme min

Stuffing it back into your pocket, you look around the semi empty bar—the group in the back, the three men at the bar, a couple by the entrance. Biting your lip, you look back at the door Cassandra slipped through, cautiously. Your phone vibrates again, and it’s enough to push you towards it.

Twisting the knob slowly, you poke your head in and find Cassandra near the merch taking inventory, and your coworker, Matt cleaning up the small kitchen by Cassandra’s office.

Rapping on the wood, the two drag their attention to you. “Cass, do you mind if I make a quick call?”

She blinks, a worried frown stretching itself across her ebony skin and her shoulders tense. You shake your head when she raises an eyebrow. 

“Personal,” you tell her. “Kind of.”

Her shoulders drop and a small smile replaces her frown. “Yeah, go ahead. I’ll man the front while you’re away.”

“Thank you.”

You slip into the small hallway connecting the bar to the two gender-neutral bathrooms for customers. You lean against the locked door leading into Cassandra’s office, never used since you started working here, and stare at the door leading out into the dirty alleyway. 

The phone rings against your ear, the faint music from the bar encasing the small hallway too, it’s soothing in a strange way, with its slow beat and sensual saxophone solo.

“Hello?” Selena answers, a loose mix of a Californian and Australian accent seeping into her words. She’s only been living in California for a little over a year and she’s already picked up the accent faster than she did yours—traitor.

“How’s the Californian sun?”

“Golden,” she answers readily, a grin apparent in her voice. “Better than New York’s, that’s for certain. Though, not quite like home.” Keys clicking in the background float to your ear. “I looked over the documents—“

You straighten, lifting your thumb to bite your skin. “And?” 

She hesitates, clothes rustle and she takes in a deep breath that you try not to read into. “It’s all legit.” Fuck. “Usually, we can exploit mistakes or loopholes, but your aunt was completely thorough with her agreement.” Your head hits the wooden door. “I’m sorry. I know it’s not what you want to hear.”

“It’s fine.”

“Look, I have a thousand dollars saved up right now—“ You’re quick to stop her by calling her name, but she won’t allow you to interrupt her. “And I could probably get another $500 soon—“

You clench your eyes closed. “You don’t have to do that, Sel. I could always get another loan from the bank and--“

“Will you shut up and let me finish? I know your pride won’t let you accept my money for free.” You slide down the door, head hanging as you listen to her. “You can always pay me back, at your terms. Ten, twenty a month, a year, fuck, I don’t care. Whatever makes you feel better. But I’m not going to let you take out another loan! You’re still paying off your mom’s hospital bill and that dumb loan you got for Esmeralda’s school fees!”

“Selena, you really don’t have to—“

 “I know I don’t have to,” she snaps harshly, voice full of tough love. “I want to. You and your family helped me through a tough time and I want to help you guys too. I’m in a place where I can help, and if you won’t accept my help, then fuck you, I’ll tell your sister and I’ll send her the money.”

You choke back a sob.

“Listen,” she starts, her voice soft as you hold back sniffles, “1500 isn’t a lot, or even half of the money your aunt is demanding, but it’s a start. And I have a plan, okay? I asked Camille and Jason to whip up a new contract, using the 1500 as a down payment of sorts. I can’t guarantee it’ll work, but we’re going to negotiate with her, fight for it. It’s not over yet.”

“God, what would I do without you?”

Her voice cracks as she scoffs a laugh. “Good thing you don’t have to find out, huh?”

The music fades into the background, loud laughter cuts through the noise. Cassandra’s voice rings out loudly, announcing last call. “I feel so hopeless, Sel,” you admit to her, words laden with grief and exhaustion, and in some ways guilt. Guilt that you can’t do more for your family. Guilt that you didn’t do more to stop JC from leaving. Guilt that you’re such a horrible daughter and sister.

“Oh, darl’...”

“The hospital bills, Esme’s school, even the bare necessities—it was hard to scrape by, and now this? I just—why can’t we catch a break? Esme doesn’t deserve this. Fuck, Mom doesn’t deserve this!” Maybe if you had fought harder—tried harder, none of this would be happening.

“You don’t either.”

She might be right, but it does nothing to ease the guilt that’s slowly starting to grow in your chest. “I’m sorry, Selena. I should let you go. I’ve asked enough of you already.“

“Hey! None of that, okay? I should be the one apologizing  for not being there to hand you tissues and force feed you those ice lollies you like so much.” You let out a wet snort that she mimics. “I want you to know, no, I need you to know, that even if I'm miles away, I’m always here for you if you ever need me. No matter what.”

You rub the heel of your hand against your eye. “I know. Thank you, Sel.”

“You’re welcome.”

With whispered goodbyes and cheesy “I love you’s” you hang up. Curling up, you cover your face with your hands, shuddering breath escaping your lungs as you will yourself not to cry.

“Ma’am?” It’s soft, careful and almost stern like, kind of like Captain America from the hospital. “Are you—are you all right?” No, not kind of. It is Captain America from the hospital!

Your eyes snap up, heat licking your skin at the embarrassment of having been caught crying twice by—eyebrows knead together as they take in the blonde costumer with the black card that can certainly not be your Captain America… right? 

Rogers. Rogers… Roge—fucking shit. Wait a minute! He’s the real Captain America? You’ve been caught crying by Captain fucking America? Not once, but twice? That’s fucking worse! “It’s you… you’re really… Captain America?”

He smiles, it’s kind and sweet—warmth. “You remember me.”

Of course you remember him! You just can’t believe he’s the real Captain America, history book figure, war hero Steve Rogers. You feel like an absolute idiot for not having noticed!

“Kind of hard to forget when you caught me ugly sobbing in a hospital courtyard,” you find yourself quipping back as you make to stand, quickly rubbing away your tears. “Thank you for the handkerchief, by the way. I didn’t bring it with me—“ Not that you were expecting to see him again, anyway, but you had been carrying it around just in case.

“Don’t worry about it. I told you I have more at home.” Heat crawls up your neck—because of course he does. He’s Steven Rogers, Captain America. An Avenger. A loaded Avenger in every sense of the word. He chuckles, ducking his head, but then he sobers up, smile replaced by a small frown. “Are you okay—I heard—I heard,” he pauses to swallow and you realize that he’s heard more than your crying. Fuck. “Crying. I heard you crying. Again,” he adds the last bit like a second thought.

He’s a shit liar, but you still appreciate his effort. “Fine. I’m fine, thank you for worrying about me,” you tell him softly, trying to push a smile forward. Probably looks more like a grimace. “You probably have a lot more important things to worry about than me.”

Just as you have more important things to worry about.

Peggy Lee’s voice fills the hallway with her soft, haunting crooning—“I was always a fool for my Johnny,” she sings and it jerks you. For just a moment you forget where you are; you’re suddenly eight years old again, watching your mom teach your brother how to play the guitar as your dad records them with the handheld camera. 

Your mom looks at you and asks you to sing along with them, but you refuse, embarrassed that she’d even suggest you should sing! You can’t sing! But she and your teasing dad somehow coax you to screech the lyrics along with your brother’s playing, and by the end of it, you’re completely overheated and embarrassed that your dad got it all on tape, even your impromptu performance of dancing around the living room like a maniac.

But as soon as the memory comes, it’s gone. Fading to the deepest pit of your mind as you once more find yourself in the small hallway of your workplace, Steve Rogers’ frown growing deeper, lines making themselves at home on his forehead as he watches you contemplatively. “Do you—Would you like to exchange numbers?”

His request comes completely out of left field, it’s practically enough to shock whatever tears were still threatening to fall to dry up. It’s a welcome distraction. “Why?” falls from your parted lips.

He scratches the back of his head, ears turning pink as he turns away. “I just thought—uh—too forward?”

A little, you want to say, but your inner Cassandra and Selena are calling you an idiot, urging you to give him your number. Should you? You’re not going to lose anything by giving it to him. You’re probably not going to gain anything from it either. But how many times will you ever be able to say that an Avenger asked for your number? That Steve Rogers asked for your number? “Okay.”

His head snaps up and something within his eyes stir, you don’t know what it is or even come close to understanding it, but it sends a weird hum through your body that you try to ignore. Noticing your staring, his melts and gives way to his earlier softer look—kind and warm. “Here.”  He gives you his phone after unlocking it and you take it, inputting your number and name before handing it back to him. He says your name aloud—and you physically resist the urge to react to him saying your name—and his lips tilt upward. “Nice to officially meet you.”

“Hey, Steve, we should—“ Steve moves his head to look over his shoulder as you lean to the side to find who you’ve come to the realization must be another Avenger—Falcon. His earthy eyes move between you and Steve, a small smirk tugging at his lips. “Am I interrupting something?”

Your lips roll into your mouth to hide the grimace you’re mostly likely sporting. “Ah, no, we—I was just—thank you again, um, Cap? Steve?”

“Steve,” he tells you, smiling reassuringly in your direction before turning to Sam with a semi serious expression. “I’ll be there in a moment, Sam.“

“It’s fine,” you interject, moving your gaze from him and his friend to stare over their shoulders’ and out into the warm lit bar. “I need to get back to work, anyway.”

“Right, of course,” Steve says, stepping aside to let you through. You smile at him briefly but before you can pass by him, he stops you with a shy smile. “You wouldn’t mind if I call you?”

You falter slightly, taking you a moment to recover, but once your muscles relax, you flash him an unguarded smile. “No, I wouldn’t.”

[withyounct]

What’s wrong kid? (7)

Reader x Single dad!Jaehyun

Genre: Fluff

Words: 4k

Prompt: You notice a child crying at a school playground. You decide to see what’s up and meet an extremely stressed/extremely handsome father.

Prev | Next

A/n: Sorry that this took forever... Enjoy!

Fall flew by faster than you would have ever hoped, and the cold desolate winter reared its head your way. You loved the winter. It was a magical time where you could wear all the sweaters you wanted, drink all the special flavored coffee drinks with Jaemin you could stomach, and frolic around the snow with Mark.

Winter however, brought unbearable stress and pain with her. Mid-terms lightly rustled you up while finals tried to kill you. The week leading up to it you were permanently stuck in the library. Living on the 9th floor designated for all sciences surrounded by rows of books and rivers of silent tears. You were on your tenth breakdown of the week; too tired to even quiet down your loud sobs that rang through the floor when Kun found you.

You looked up at your roommate with tear filled eyes and broke out another sob. His condition wasn’t quite like yours, but you could see that the stress was getting to him too. Wordlessly, he sat down on the floor next to you, taking the book that was in your shaking hands, and leaned your head on his shoulder.

“Please sleep.”

You woke up on the library floor alone wrapped in one of Kun’s old sweaters. Sitting up, you found a box of snacks both healthy and unhealthy with a note from Ten.

Kun told me where to find you. I didn’t want to wake you, so here’s a present! I know Kun is the pep talk one, but you’re one of the smartest individuals that I’ve ever met, so don’t stress too much. It’ll ruin your pretty face. – Your fav mom friend <3

“I can’t believe you came into the genetics final looking like the grim reapers bride and made a fucking A.” Yangyang groaned.

“She was legit crying while taking the English one, but was the first done.” Haechan picked up a fry and threw it at you.

“Y/n dramatic nature when it comes to tests doesn’t matter, we’re free!” Jaemin beamed. “What are our holiday plans?”

“I'm stealing Yangyang and we’re going to China with my family.” Renjun informed with a vey happy Yangyang nodding. The rest added that they were doing their regular holiday shenanigans and spending Christmas day with family. You usually spent the days leading to Christmas with them and Christmas morning with Lucas’s family since you went over there a lot as a child.

“What about you Ms. Taken? What plans do you and Jaehyun have?” Jaemin leaned in a smirk ever evident on his face.

“What plans?” You asked confused. Their collective faces fell, and every side conversation was silenced.

“Okay he has to die. What do you mean ‘what plans’? He hasn’t asked you to spend your first Christmas together with him?” There were only handful of times you’ve seen Jeno genuinely upset in all the years that you knew him, and it surprised you every time.

“We haven’t had the conversation. We’ve both been busy.” You murmured playing with your food, unable to look at your friends.

“Well my family and I would love to have you over if plans don’t pan out.” Lucas reassured while swinging his foot with yours.

“Thanks Lucas.”

You were helping Hyunjin put up lights in the living room after dinner. She still had a week left in school, but was through the roof excited for the holidays. It didn’t take much convincing on her part to make you buy stuff early and help her. She batted her lashes, pouted, and suddenly you were ready to sign away your life to her.

You were pinning the last string when she asked you what you were doing for Christmas.

“I don’t know.” You answered honestly, jumping down from the chair you were standing on. She looked at you confused and tilted her head. You had to bite back a giggle at how much she resembled a little puppy.

“Will you like to spend it with us?” She asked cutely twiddling her fingers.” Daddy wants to ask you, but he's shy.” She told.

“Is that so?” You laughed, kneeling so you were eye level with her. She nodded and looked at you with worry in her eyes as if you would say no.

“Hyunjin, I would love nothing more than to spend Christmas with you and Jaehyun.” You smiled, lightly petting her head. Before you had the time to react she threw herself on you and knocked you onto the floor. You tightened your grasp on her, so she didn’t hit the floor. She pulled up and kissed you on the cheek. Looking down at her smiling face, your heart melted at how happy she was.

You pushed yourself off the floor with her still in hand and the two of you continued to decorate the room. The task seemed to be too daunting for one day and after a few hours Hyunjin started to get tired. You glanced at your phone and decided to call it a day and got her ready for bed. She was out before the first book was finished and you stayed a bit longer petting her while she slept. From your place on the bed, you heard the front door open. Carefully, you exited the room and ventured into the living room.

You were greeted with the presence of Jaehyun being supported by Taeyong and Yuta while they dragged his swaying figure. The three stopped and looked up at your confused face.

“We just had dinner with the other head honchos and shareholders because the university project finished and was revealed successfully.” Yuta informed.

“They kept pouring Jaehyun drinks, so he's incredibly drunk.” Taeyong finished. Jaehyun very cutely raised one fist into the air and yelled in victory. Your chuckling at his cute antics grabbed his attention and his face lit up. He sloppily pushed off his friends and pulled you into a bone crushing hug.

“We did it.” He slurred, kissing all over your face. You giggled, but put no effort in pulling away.

“Yes, you did. Renjun snuck me into the building and it was amazing.” You confessed between the kisses Jaehyun was painting your lips. You held his face still for a second and turned to his friends. “Thank you for bringing him home safe. I got the rest.”

Yuta had to physically stop Taeyong from taking pictures and drag him out the house. You heard a ‘but they’re so cute!’ before the door was closed. You took a second to really observe Jaehyun; how his face and ears had a slight red hue to it and how even though you were supporting him up he was still swaying.

You sat him down on the couch and his lips were on yours again. Laughing into the kiss you pulled away and started to undo his tie, which proved difficult since he refused to be more than two centimeters away from you.

“Jaehyun. Give me a second please.” You asked softly. He pouted, but stopped regardless. You quickly pulled off the tie and kissed him as thanks. He pulled you onto his lap and buried his face into your neck.

“We should get you to bed.” You sighed as he placed sloppy kisses around the back of your neck.

“No, don’t leave me.” He mumbled as he tightened his hold on you. You slightly shifted so you were sitting sideways on him and carded your fingers through his already messed up hair.

“I'm not going anywhere.” He leaned his head on your chest as you continued, and you saw his breathing level out. You stayed like this longer than necessary as you watched him dozed off.

There was a calm wave that washed over you in the quiet of the room, the only noise filling it being yours and Jaehyun’s soft breathing. You were lost in the background hum when a thought ran through your mind.  You looked down at him. He was peacefully drifting off on you, lips curled up in a small smile, and hands tightly wrapped around you with no wants of letting go. Your heart did something it never did before and it scared you a little.

Glancing at the led clock across the room and realizing that it was well after midnight, you shook Jaehyun awake and convinced him to let you drag him to his room. After several close calls and sorrys on your part, you sat Jaehyun down on his bed. You stood up to catch your breath and scanned the room. You walked into his closet and picked out a random t-shirt and returned back to him.

Kneeling in front of him, you started to unbutton his dress shirt. It was weirdly intimate, and you glanced up to find him smirking in his drunken state. You quickly finished, flicked him on the forehead, and threw his shirt at him. As he pulled on his shirt you contemplated your options. You had no intentions of staying the night. You and Haechan had plans in the morning, but Jaehyun’s ‘don’t leave me’ played in your head. Quickly deciding against going home, you told Jaehyun that you were going to take a shower and would be right back. You got back a muffled okay as he wormed his way under the covers.

You took the shortest shower of your life and stole one of Jaehyun’s shirts to change in. You set an alarm for the morning and found your usual place under the covers next to Jaehyun. You expected him to be asleep, but was proven wrong when arms wrapped around you.

“You smell like me.” He whispered eyes still closed.

“I think you meant to internally monologue that, but yeah I used your body wash.” He let out a weak laugh and kissed your forehead.

“Love you, goodnight.” He kissed your forehead one more time before pulling you to his chest.

“Goodnight.”

Curses filtered out your mouth at how loud your alarm rang. Scrambling to the side table you practically threw your phone across the room. You buried your face in your pillow and softly groaned. The arm that was still on you moved and you saw Jaehyun stir awake.

“Ugh my head.” He whined moving his hand to cover his eyes.

“Morning handsome.” You chimed.  His head cocked to the side and the surprised was evident on his face.

“Whoa y/n.”

He told you that the last thing he remembered from yesterday was getting into Taeyong’s car. You nodded and informed that Taeyong drove him home and Yuta brought his car. Nothing much happened after, but Taeyong probably has blackmail photos of him now.

A string of apologies spilled out and you hushed them with a kiss.

“Don’t worry, you’re a very cute drunk.” You laughed. “Hyunjin outed you by the way. Christmas?” You waited for the confusion to turn to horror.

“She betrayed me.” There was a comical level of disbelief behind the statement that was followed by a visually nervous movement of the lips. “So, um you probably already said yes because who could say no to her, but if you’re not doing anything would you like to spend the holiday with us?” He asked shyer than he need to be.

You held your chin as if you were giving it some thought before breaking out into a smile.

“I would love to.”

You told Jaehyun to stay in bed and not leave until you said he could while you went to go make breakfast with Hyunjin. Her constant excitement when she sees you in the morning had to be one of your favorite things ever. After she was done brushing her teeth and washing her face, you gave her a piggyback ride to the kitchen. You told her that you needed her art expertise for the breakfast plans of the morning. While you were making pancakes, she was getting the colored icing assorted. You gave her one and she got started drawing a building. She took her time and was meticulous about every detail, so you took your time making the rest of breakfast and decided to try your hand at making Jaehyun’s coffee with the French press no one touched.

Hyunjin announced that she was done, and you applaud her on her work. You topped it off with ‘Congratulations’ written around it and Hyunjin went to retrieve her father. You just finished setting the table when they walked in. Hyunjin ran to you and you both screamed ‘surprised’.

Jaehyun had to hold a hand over his mouth to stop the chuckled that came out. He removed it and a smile was plastered wide. He walked over to you both and scooped his daughter up, kissing her cheek before placing one on your lips.

“How did I get so lucky to have such wonderful and beautiful girls?” The love that poured out the statement made your insides go soft.

Breakfast was filled with its usual banner along with Jaehyun whining about the great betrayal his daughter inflicted on him. You were laughing at how cutely Hyunjin called her dad a softie when you got a text from Haechan.

‘Eta 15 mins.’

“Oh shi- snap I gotta go.” You hissed. You placed your plate in the sink before kissing both Hyunjin and Jaehyun on the cheek. Jaehyun yelled that he was off, so he would pick up Hyunjin. You yelled okay before leaving and hopping in your car.

“Wow twenty minutes late. I thought you stood me up.” Haechan deadpanned while handing you the matcha latte he bought you.

“Sorry. I had to run home to change.” You said apologetically. Haechan sighed, but wrapped his arm around yours regardless.

“Forgiven. Let’s go we have shopping to do.”

You both did your annual Christmas shopping together every year. You both agreed long ago that doing it early and getting it out the way was adulting at its best and became a yearly ritual. You were browsing a store Haechan pulled you into when a yellow polaroid camera caught your attention.

“New hobby?”

“No. Hyunjin said some time ago that she wanted to start taking pictures.” You smiled. “Jaemin might have some competition.”

After another hour of shopping you decided to stop for snacks. You told Haechan about Hyunjin inviting you for Christmas and drunk Jaehyun over your shared cinnabons. As you recounted the night you saw the look in his eyes soften.

“I know me and the guys make you happy, but I’ve never seen you this happy before Y/n. I'm not going to lie other than Lucas, I was probably the most worried about you and Jaehyun, but I'm glad you guys are a thing.” He confessed. Your eyes widened at how sentimental he was since it was out of character for him.

“Thanks. That means a lot.” Your eyes matched his and the air around you was disgustingly sweet.

“Okay gross. Come on we have more shit to buy.” He cleared his throat, tossed the trash, and pulled you to the next store.

 “Someone’s gotta die.” You sighed as you looked at the pile of wrapped boxes in front of you. You spent way more than you needed and refused to look at your bank account. While you sat on the floor and ponder on what friends you could possibly kill to spend less, Ten and a dying Kun walked into the apartment.

“Y/n do me a favor and kill Ten. When I feel my feet again I’ll hide the body.” Kun panted stepping over boxes and crashing onto the couch. You looked between the two and thought about it; Ten’s gift was pretty expensive, before deciding against it.

“What happened?”

“I tricked Kun into going to an intense Zumba class with me.” Ten said proudly.

“You probably shouldn’t be so mean to the person who makes the majority of your food.” You laughed picking up another box to wrap.

“It’s cool. He loves me too much to actually kill me.” Ten waved off.  

“No, I don’t.” Came a muffled reply from Kun, who had his face into the cushion.

You let them do their usual back and forth banner and continued your task. Ten picked though a few boxes and you informed him that you weren’t keeping his or Kun’s in the apartment, so to keep his hands off.

“What did you get Jaehyun and Hyunjin?” Ten asked.

“I got Hyunjin a camera.” You pointed at a small box to his left. “But I didn’t get Jaehyun anything because I don’t know what to get him.” You sighed putting the last wrapped box in the pile.

“Well you still have time. Ask his friends.” Kun offered. You glanced down at your phone and decided that since it was still early in the day that you would make a stop. You turned and kissed Kun’s forehead before jumping to your feet.

“Thanks, favorite mom friend.” You sang and saw the look of betrayal on Ten’s face. “Going out, I’ll be back later. Ten stop trying to kill Kun please.”

When you got in your car you looked down at your outfit and pondered on if you should change. It was similar to the one you wore the first time you entered the corporate building, just winter approved. Shrugging, you turned on the engine and drove. The seriousness of your mission might have been conveyed as confidence as you walked through the lobby and flashed your badge without looking at the receptionist. When you arrived at the top floor Jaehyun’s secretary, who thought you were the cutest thing, told you that they were hiding out in conference room two.

Knocking only once you entered the room and was welcomed with shocked faces. You walked up to the round table and sat yourself down. The atmosphere was tense and ominous.

“I need your help.” You stated simply.

“This is terrifying. Please continue.” Sicheng implored. You glanced at them and pouted, successfully ending the tension.

“I need help figuring out what to get Jaehyun for Christmas.” You whined slipping down in your chair.

“You could have texted.” Johnny snickered.

“I have a lot of time on my hands today.” You waved him off.

“Sorry Y/n we’re not much help.” Taeyong sighed. “Jaehyun never really wants anything. It’s a struggle every year for us.”

“One year I asked him what he wanted and he said my love. I almost punched him in the face, Johnny had to hold me back.” Doyoung rubbed his temples obviously irritated.

You groaned and let your head hit the marble table. You were a bit disappointed that they didn’t have an answer for you, but happy that you weren’t the only one suffering. You were thinking about possible gifts to get him whilst visualizing how scared Johnny must have been when he had to hold a rage filled Doyoung back, when Taeil offered some advice.

“Simple is best when it comes to Jaehyun. He's the type that prefers to give than receive.”

You left as disheartened as you came and groaned at how slow the day was going by. Since you didn’t have anything better to do you drove to Jaehyun’s place and waited for him and Hyunjin to get back.

It was a weird feeling, letting yourself into the empty house. Bored, you went around turning on all the lights you and Hyunjin put up and went to get coffee and hot chocolate brewing for them since it was freezing outside. You made yourself tea and took a seat on one of the stools. You were mindlessly browsing through amazon when the front door opened.

“Y/n!” Hyunjin called when she entered the kitchen. She was submerged in her puffer jacket and looked like a marshmallow.

“Hyunjin!” You yelled back, getting down from your chair to help her out the jacket. “Jaehyun!” You yelled when he entered the kitchen as well. He laughed at your silliness and sent Hyunjin to change out of her uniform. You told her that you would have her hot chocolate ready for her when she came back.

“How was your day?” Jaehyun asked as he handed you the bag of marshmallows. You told him about the shopping adventure and confessed that you stopped at his office to ask the guys about ideas for a gift for him, but turned out with nothing. So, deciding to cut out the middleman you asked Jaehyun what he wanted for Christmas.

“Umm, I don’t really want anything.” He declared after giving it some serious thought.

You saw why Doyoung almost punched him.

“Hyunjin, sweetie!” You shouted, turning to go find her. She had just exited her room when you scooped her up.

“What should I get your dad for Christmas?” You asked as you slowly traveled down the hall.

She thought about it with the same serious matter as her father before confidently saying she didn’t know. You stopped dead in your tracks and fake wept into her chest.

“Oh no.” She said and started petting your head. “He doesn’t like getting gifts, so when I ask he says my love is enough.” She pouted. You wiped your fake tear and told her that was very cute.

“What do you want?” She questioned suddenly as you continued down the hall.

“All the kisses on the cheek in the world.” You said with no hesitation.

“I can do that!” She smiled and gave you an early gift. You melted at how cute she was.

Jaehyun had her drink ready on the table when you arrived back in the kitchen, you placed her down and she ran to it. Jaehyun handed you a cup that he prepared for you and you thanked him.

“Did you get any help from the bean?” He smirked.

“You’re enjoying my suffering a bit too much. I might mess around and get you nothing.” You threatened.

“That would be preferred.” He retorted sipping on his coffee. Thoroughly done with him, you placed down your drink and did the same to his before chasing him. With the help of Hyunjin you cornered him and hung onto him. Hyunjin returned back to her drink feeling parched while you hugged Jaehyun.

“Give me something to go on.” You mumbled softly into his chest.

“God why are you so cute.” He smiled. “Okay. Something practical and simple that I could use daily if I wanted too, but has a hint of you.” He smoothed out your back.

“Thanks, I can work with that.”

“Christmas sex.” Jaemin announced. You and your friends were hanging out at Mark and Haechan’s apartment for the evening; surrounded by assorted snacks and Mark’s playlist softly playing in the background. You were laying down, head resting on Lucas’ back.

“Jaemin isn’t allowed to speak for the duration of the night.” You declared.

“I got to agree with him though.” Haechan added.

“And just like that Haechan has lost the ability to speak.” You sighed. “I had that thought for half a second before I murdered it.” You confessed.

“There’s one thought you haven’t brutally murdered yet.” Mark said. You shifted your head to look at him and bit your lip.

“Yeah.” You muttered. “But other things have to go with it.”

“Not necessarily true; it’s more about the moment than anything else.” Jeno advised.

There was a collection of confused faces and Mark and Jeno told them if they didn’t know then not to worry about it.

You stared at the ceiling as your mind ran around letting the side conversation fade.

“Okay. Haechan lets go.” You sprung up suddenly and dragged him out the apartment before anyone could ask.

“Y/n what the hell?” Haechan had his best ‘I'm judging face’ on as you held up ties.

“Navy or black?” You asked.

“You dragged me to the Men’s Warehouse to get the lamest gift ever and you expect me to help you.” He hissed. You looked at him and nodded.

“Navy.” He sighed putting the black one back on its rack.

You smiled and went to find an associate.

The older gentleman was very kind and patient with you as you drew the design for a tie clip that you wanted to special order.

A simple gold bar with a moon crescent on the end.

[angelamurkrow]

We are two weeks away from the new Pokemon DLC and I just really want to believe that we’ll be getting at least one more piece of official information before Oct. 22nd. (an essay follows, and leaks are mentioned.)

First, I think it is important that Isle of Armor went two weeks before release without giving us any new “official” information. With it being the only precedent for DLC, it is currently our baseline to predict DLC news. If we’re going to predict off of that, then I guess I’ll see y’all on October 22nd.

However, it was revealed that the base games PLUS the DLC will be available for sale as cartridges two weeks later. It’s very likely that Nintendo will treat this as the yearly “Pokemon Game Release” and market it as such. But the question is, which release date will get the most hype? Oct. 22nd or Nov. 6th?

It’s entirely possible that they’ll treat this with respect to the Nov. 6th release. What was the pace of information last year before SwSh came out? In reverse chronological order and keeping in mind a Nov. 15th, 2019 release, we got new information on November 11th, November 8th (in a YouTube video that is now marked private), Nov. 6th, and a trailer with no new information on Nov. 1st. Now if we’re only projecting for the dates between Oct. 22nd and Nov. 6th this year, then the only other days of note for SwSh new info would be October 28th, 2019 and October 25th. This was the pattern that I noticed: info on the four Fridays prior to release, info the Monday before release, and info the second Monday prior. 

How does this model translate to 2020? First, think it’s important to acknowledge that Nintendo has been making most official announcements this year on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. This past announcement was on Wednesday the 30th, and the announcement prior, Tuesday June 2nd. So it makes it unlikely that we can easily assume one year’s Monday information as the following year’s Tuesday information. With all of this being said, that doesn’t mean that they won’t follow last year’s “every Friday”/”every other Monday” schedule.

Friday October 9th is a prime date to release new information. First, it would be fourth Friday before the Nov. 6th release. Second, the Pokemon anime is moving to it’s new time on Oct. 9th at 18:55 JST, or 6am EST. And third, there are a series of event Pikachus being shared through the month--we KNOW the dates that each code will be released

If we take the the first point, and assume the every Friday/every other Monday schedule, then I think we can expect information on the following days: Oct. 9th, Oct. 16, Oct. 19th, October 23rd, October 30th, and November 2nd. This is also assuming that they would continue the trend of releasing news the Monday prior the game’s release. Coincidentally, that would give us some sort of information the Monday before each release date. This also leads to my second point, the Pokemon anime was moved to Friday nights in Japan.

Let’s start off by mentioning that tomorrow’s episode centers around a Raid Battle with the Legendary Pokemon, Zapdos. With Legendary Raids being a main focus of the DLC, it isn’t that much of a leap in logic to believe further information could coincide with the episode. Frankly, it’s the least likely option and the soonest to be disproved, but with the hubbub around the time slot change (ex: event Pikachu in Pokemon Go), I’m not ruling it out. 

If we look at this how Pokemon treated USUM and the anime, then we can take a look at October 2017 and we can see that they began a new “season” of the anime on Oct. 5th with information around the “sequel” games coinciding. Serebii’s archives show that there was some information revealed on the 4th, but it appears Oct. 5th carried more substantial information (though accounting for time zones--some news in Japan was revealed early in the morning with more that followed in the evening). 

While it’s hard to point to precedent for DLC, I think it’s worth looking at release information for a November remake that has relevancy to the anime. I don’t think the two are entirely dissimilar. One thing to keep in mind: the anime would air at 18:55 JST or 5:55AM EST. If news followed the episode, then East Coasters might want to set an alarm for 6:30AM. It could also get pushed back to follow the more recent convention of releasing info at 6AM PST/9 AM EST/2PM BST/10PM JST.

Going back to this year, two of the three following episodes specifically focus on elements of plot found in SwSh--the Slumbering Weald episode is projected to air on October 23rd and Darkest Day likely airing on October 30th. But that third episode-- Operation: Dub Pikachu Half Marshtomp--doesn’t rule out a connection to the DLC. According to the datamine back in June, it is all but confirmed that the Hoehn starters will be in the game. Could we see a confirmation by Nintendo on Oct. 16th to coincide? Mark your calendars. 

Let’s now take a moment to consider the third point, the release pattern of event Pikachus. The first and second Pikachu got released with the various Pokemon news that day but two hours apart, around 9AM EST and 11AM EST. (Most of this is still homepage of Serebii) The Hoehn Cap Pikachu and third code was released during the Oct. 2nd Pokemon Anime livestream at approx. 6:15AM EST. We are expecting a code for a new Pikachu on the following dates: Friday Oct. 9th, Oct. 16th, Oct. 18th, Oct. 23rd, and Oct. 30th.

Right off the bat, Oct. 9th--considering the last code was revealed during an anime livestream at 6:15AM EST and we’re expecting a new episode of the anime at 5:55AM EST, then there’s the possibility some news may be shared with that next code for the Sinnoh Hat Pikachu. (Sinnoh remakes confirmed.)

October 16th? Another anime episode. Could just be the code, could continue their pattern of Friday announcements. Could just be a code for Unova Hat Pikachu.

But what’s up with October 18th? What’s planned for that Sunday? Pokemon has found a vehicle for each of the prior codes. With a precedent of the Hoehn Cap Pikachu, I assume that will stay true for the 9th, 16th, 23rd, and 30th. But no episode is set to air that day. The only other precedent would be using news about the DLC as the vehicle for the code. Then if you consider the episode prior involves a Marshtomp and a Marshtomp can evolve into Swampert. Meanwhile the code given on that day will get you a Kalos Cap Pikachu. AND KALOS is the region that introduce MEGA EVOLUTIONS AND SWAMPERT GETS A MEGA AND

“But Angela Murkrow,” you may say, “that’s a Sunday and outside the typical every friday/every other monday schedule. Or even the only tues, weds, thurs pattern.” Yes, that’s valid and it’s a good thing I’m only hypothesizing anyway. I am not a prophet, just a detective for a case that’ll be solved regardless of my input. Who knows what’s a hint and what’s a red herring, but I still think the Friday/Monday pattern can still be honored, with a code released on Sunday Oct. 18th--the code is released late afternoon Oct. 18th in EST, but the morning of Monday Oct. 19th in Japan.

But how do we get Friday involved if the DLC is coming out Thursday Oct. 22nd? Well, according to this Eurogamer article Oct. 22nd is the release for North American (and I assume Central and South too?). Everywhere else will get access to it on Friday Oct. 23rd. It’s very likely that we’ll get that Monday/preview to Friday/game release after all, but I also think that means that people in EST shouldn’t expect to play until some time between 7pm and midnight.

(I don’t feel like rambling on much longer, but I anticipate news regarding Gmax Melmetal and Pokemon Go/Home connectivity by Nov. 2nd.)

Finally, I just want to end on one note. Actually game journalists will likely get to play some form of a preview before the 22nd, so at least we can look forward to some legit secondhand information by Oct. 20th.

[halfemptygirlrps-archive]

Feelings about the most recent episode of Siren and the SS Polymarine update:

So I am late on this but I had a lot of feelings to articulate and sort through. These posts are not important to anyone but me but they make me feel good so I will keep making them.

Maddie. 

SIGH. I know Fola has no say in the writers room but she’s really feeling more and more ooc. It’s not about not listening to Ben it’s about not thinking about the secret she is meant to protect. Even Xander has risked a lot to keep it safe and for Maddie to bring Robb to the warehouse was really careless. People are gonna be like HOBOY MORE MADDIE HATE I BET SHE’S A RYN/BEN SHIPPER and not that I need to justify myself to anyone but I care so much because since episode one Maddie and her amazing smile that makes my heart explode and her melodious laugh has been my favorite character and they opened up more of her personality and history in season two only to kinda undo it now. You wanna see a new guy? Fine, explore even though it breaks my effing heart and my ship but dont trust him so easily. Also a few episodes you said you still love Ben and Ryn but now you’re acting like she’s just your friend which I hate cause those idiots who have been saying they’re like sisters are getting what they want now. I hate seeing just Ben and Ryn together and it’s like... I know you kissed her on the lips but are we going to see Ryn spending the night with just you at your place any time soon or are they really legit phasing you out? They’ve always given Ryn equal time with Maddie but now it’s like they hired the writers from Supergirl and much like Kara “forgot” she told James she loved him and fought for him so hard and was like lol we’re better as friends and I wanna date a white slave owner they’re making Maddie act really strange considering she outed them as in love. I also don’t like that she’s yet to tell Robb that she kinda has a gf which is unfair to him. Even if I dont care about him it’s just the rules of being poly to disclose that. It’s not “private information”if you’re getting involved with someone because that this point they’re dating and she knows he likes her and is setting up shop to be closer to her so she owes it to him to say something about Ryn unless she really is ending with Ryn too and only being her friend which again MAKES ME SO ANGRY. I said it from the beginning that Ben didn’t need to have a gf if the goal was Ryn , and they also didn’t need to do a while season about them being in love and making people get attached and feel seen and heard only to rip it away from us. I wish they wouldn’t be so cheap about drama like this but I hope the three of them find their way back to each other as a unit and not whatever the hell they are now because it was the core of the show.

Ben. 

Boo if you can’t see that you have a problem idk what. He’s acting like a straight up junkie and people are like noooo but you clearly haven’t seen junkies in movies cause this is it. Shoot up mermaid cells and running tests on yourself alone? Are you insane? You don’t know the side effects and you already experimented on your own mother and yet none of this is setting off any alarms. We already see that Ben has obsessive tendencies and rather than seek help he’s doing whatever to himself instead of trying to focus on Ryn and Maddie and his father about to start a massacre. I get that he’s a scientist but there’s a time and a way for that and he should no better. Maddie’s been helping Ryn 10 times more lately while he’s turning himself into the merman Mr. Hyde and he’s the one getting all of Ryn to himself while side eyeing Maddie when he should be trying to help them deal with this crisis called Tiamat and not trying to become a hybrid. I’m just so over him at this point and it’s just like in season 2 where he jumped to try to save Ryn in the tank while she fought Katrina. She’s a powerful creature who doesn’t need you to save her like she’s a dainty princess, she needs you to be a rock and emotional support which you cannot do sitting in a bathtub. Everything that the people in your life need you to be, you aren’t being. You aren’t helping your mom like you think you are, you aren’t helping your dad cope and understand and not become a murderer, you aren’t helping Maddie understand why you did what you did and you aren’t helping Ryn by taking the corpse of her family and treating it like an animal the way Kyle did. Just because you didn’t know *that one* doesn’t mean it’s okay. It wasn’t okay for Donna and if Ryn died and the military excavated her body to run tests and used the “well, wel didn’t know her personally and it’s for science” excuse you’re using would you go “oh damn you right “? No you’d lose what little of your mind you had left. Boy if you don’t get your shit together...

Xander. 

Ugh I hated him the first 2 seasons and he’s redeeming himself. I get that he was upset his dad died and had every right to be but to come back from that and not only forgive and befriend Levi but help the mermaids and lie for them and cover up bodies? He’s a better man than Ben is right now. I also love(d) that he made a new lady friend and didn’t pounce on her like a douche. Honestly for a moment I thought “damn a new love interest already?” even though my gaydar was like WEEWOO WEEWOO THERE’S ONE WE GOT ANOTHER ONE, GIRLS and she’s cute af like top me you soft butch stud you  but the moment she saw Katrina I was like I WAS RIGHT AGAIN JUST LIKE I WAS ABOUT MADDIE’S SIDE SHAVE IN SEASON 1 so I was like this is great, another black queer girl and Xander is being chill af with her and them broing out was gold, I loved it but I didn’t see her seeing Levi coming, which shook me cause I didn’t know what was gonna happen and Xander really stepped up and I loved that he risked his future career and a friendship for this as well as her career. When he saw Ryn in the library (and that was such a pretty library) I honestly wish she leaned up to kiss him even if it was just on the cheek cause he did so much for Ryn and the rest and really deserves more credit. Plus I lowkey live for the little moment between them like her holding his hand at Donna’s grave or when she sat with him at the wake because it just shows so much character growth for both of them and I love the trust that they built and that he treasures even though they have had so little interactions. It’s one of those moments that shows bad actions can be redeemed and restores faith in humanity while so many people are out to harm them.

Helen.

Honorable mention for you being the coolest lady. You should have been treated better with Sarge but the fact that you know so much in spite being 1/8 and not in that hybrid colony just makes you so cool. And now you’re out here trying to edumacate daddy Pownall even though he’s crazy as shit and probably gonna try to kill you. You a real one, Helen. 

Ryn.

You poor thing, having to give up your baby. It’s been a rough go for you lately or....the whole series, I guess, and now your colony was attacked and shit. Again she’s done no wrong and is trying so hard to learn and can’t catch a break. The one thing I do fault her for is not knowing that she shouldn’t have said the bit about her baby being eaten and whatnot because she’s been on land a year and change no and should know human habits better LOL. It was still classic Siren humor tho.

This post is long enough so I wont address anyone else and doubt anyone got to the end but UGH.... I just want Polymarine back. I miss them watching movies in bed and being secure and cute and fluffy and I just need that so much right now.

[lost-your-memory]

Old friends, aliens and curiosities - Part III

Listen, I can’t stop thinking about this gifset made by @lonely-night in which H.G Wells (Warehouse 13) & Lena Luthor (CW Supergirl) are old friends and working together in the present to retrieve a curiosity (A ping, darling) meant to kill Lena.

So this is VERY AU-ish and with a crossover no one knew we needed but well, we do. Here’s the third part (it covers the fourth gif, I think) with a little help from Winn and Claudia. Also, I’m making the plot up as I go, sorry about any inconsistencies.  Next up, Myka finally arrives to National City and meets the infamous Lena Luthor. 

---

The voices rising behind the doors of her office pull Lena away from a very urgent email and she lets out a quiet curse, in Irish. She groans and reaches out for her interphone.

“It’s alright Jess, just let her in. She won’t take no for an answer anyway,” Lena sighs, already letting herself fall against the back of her chair. 

Sure enough, Helena Wells enters her office, dramatically pushing the double door open before striding straight to Lena’s office. 

“Hand it over.” 

Lena arches a surprised brow.

“Good morning to you too, HG ... “ She retorts, irony dripping from her tone. “Now, what is it I’m supposed to hand over to you?” 

Helena looks pissed, the frown above her eyes deep and permanent. 

“The artefact, Lena. The one you designed yourself, apparently,” Helena replies, curtly.

“I did what now?” Lena gapes, taken aback. 

Helena’s frown deepens, much to Lena’s amazement. She didn’t think it was possible.

“L-Corp is the company behind some kind of … alien detecting device, programmed to recognise any non-human DNA,” Helena states, slowly and cooly. “It’s what has been modified to kill you.” 

Lena lets out a chuckle.

“That’s not possible.”

Helena’s frown disappear as she arches a brow of her own.

“It’s not,” Lena insists. “That device was created to help identify non-human, it’s harmless. You just put your thumb on a button and the microchip processes your DNA. It turns green if you’re human, red if you’re not.”

“It doesn’t sound like a weapon,” Helena nods but she still looks annoyed. “Could the microchip be reprogrammed into something else?”

Lena goes to reply but then pauses, looking thoughtful. 

The chip was designed to host a tiny software the L-corp bioengineers programmed in association with a team of highly skilled developers but only to process DNA, to recognise markers and transmit the information as to whether or not it was human. 

“I don’t think so, but I can’t be sure. I’ll have to ask around,” Lena retorts, slowly.

“Well, don’t ask the team that originally worked on it, maybe?” 

“Why not?” Lena protests, not liking the insinuation. 

Helena gives her a pointed look.

“Someone clearly managed to do something to the device to make it so it would kill, but not anyone. You specifically …” Helena explains, thinking out look. “Until we know more about how it happened, I’d say maybe we don’t pull any alarm … I know the level of skills you put in your products so, to be able to hijack it like that and make a weapon out of it ... the person behind the artefact must be some genius too. Like maybe … the ones you employs?” 

Lena doesn’t reply but the thought doesn’t sit well with her. Helena keeps looking at her with suspicions in her eyes and it’s extremely annoying.

“Alright,” Lena sighs, unhappily. “I still need to be sure it can be reprogrammed so I’m going to call … a friend of mine. “

Surprise takes over the suspicion in Helena’s eyes, before it mutates into mischief. 

“You have friends? Beside me, I mean?”

Lena rolls her eyes. She’s walked right into this one.  

Still, Helena is nothing if not single-minded. She crosses her arms over her chest and then sighs “Just hand over the artefact, Lena.”

“How many times do I have to repeat myself?” Lena growls, pushing her chair back so she could stand up. “I don’t have the artefact.” 

She walks around her desk and heads for her liquor cabinet. 

She understands where her friend is coming from but she’s tired of being accused of things she didn’t do. In between the Super, the government, the DEO and the dead Luthor heirs piling up in National City cemetery, she’s been accused of pretty much every evil on the planet. 

“Bit early for a drink, don’t you think?” Helena muses from behind her and Lena just flips her before pouring herself an unhealthy amount of Scotch. 

She brings her glass back to her office and then reaches out for her phone. She searches for a specific name in her contacts and then dials.

“Hello Winn,” Lena greets warmly as soon as Winn picks up. “I need an engineering favor, could you drop by L-Corp at your earliest convenience?” 

She smiles when Winn replies he’ll be there in twenty. He doesn’t sound too surprised, just excited at the prospect of working with her again. 

“Who’s Winn?” Helena asks when Lena hangs up.

“A friend,” Lena replies with a smug smile. “Yes, I do have friends beside you. Winn used to work at CatCo but nowadays, he’s ...“

Lena pauses and wonders if Helena is aware of everything that’s been going on in National City lately. 

“Ever heard of the DEO?” Lena asks, knowing full well she could get in trouble for even mentioning the name of the organisation. 

“Yes,” Helena shrugs.

Lena smiles because of course Helena knows about the DEO. After all, they’ve both worked for the Warehouse, another extra normal government organisation doesn’t seem like a big deal. Not even one that works and deals with alien.  

“Well, he’s one of their tech guy,” Lena explains with a wave of her hand. “He’s extremely smart, far more than they give him credits for. I’ve always wanted to poach him for L-Corp but he’s loyal to a fault, he’s going to stick with Supergirl until the end.”

“Supergirl, uh,” Helena muses, sounding a big distracted.

“She’s everywhere,” Lena nods before sipping at her Scotch.

“I’m going to call Claudia,” Helena states, seemingly out of the blue.

“Erm, sure?” Lena blinks, looking a bit thrown off.

“When your friend arrives, I mean. They’ll have a look at the chip and nerd around together, we’ll get our answers,” Helena explains and Lena watches as she pulls what looks like a --- 

“Helena Wells, is that an iPhone?” Lena gasps, mockery lining her tone.

“Shut up,” Helena groans as she calls her friend. 

---

Half an hour later, Winn is bent over the coffee table and Claudia’s face is occupying the entirety of Lena’s huge TV. 

They’re talking too fast, exchanging orders, ideas and suggestions while using a vocabulary that even Lena sometimes doesn’t get. Pieces of the device are scattered all across the table and Winn sometimes moves the tablet so that Claudia could see better. 

“I need access to the software, can you plug me in?” Claudia asks, her slightly disembodied voice echoing through the office. 

“Sure, one second,” Winn replies, pulling out a laptop from his back and setting it up on a corner of the table. He’s fast and sure and Lena watches, a little mesmerised, as he plugs everything together.

“All good, let me know if it works?” Winn asks but Claudia is already squealing in delight as she enters the software.

“Oh whoa, this is … top notch code,” Claudia breathes, sounding very admirative.

“Why thank you,” Lena laughs, amused. “Now, the important question is … can it be hijacked and turned into a weapon?”

“Easy tiger, let me work my magic first” Claudia mutters, hands flying over her keyboard so fast it crackled across the office. “So, while I am at it, did you two bang, in the 17th or 18th century? I can never remember which one …” 

Lena swears under her breath as Winn lets out a strangled gasp. His eyes become so wide they look about to bulge out of their orbits. 

“Whaaaaaat?” 

“Whoops, sorry I thought you knew!” Claudia winces, her face slightly distorted by the format of the TV. “Sorry!”

“You’re … from the past?” Winn asks, looking at Lena as if she suddenly had three heads.

“Aren’t we all?” Helena laughs next to Lena, looking utterly amused by the situation.

“No I mean … you … 18th century?” Winn squeaks, clearly struggling to stay conscious.

“Breathe, Winn. Breathe,” Lena sighs, motioning for her friend to follow her lead. She inspires and then exhales and watches as he does the same. “Yes, I … was around in the 19th century.”

“19th! I was way off,” Claudia laughs but when all eyes turn to glare at the tablet, she shrugs and focuses on her work.

“It’s … complicated. I got bronzed for centuries but at some point, the system malfunctioned and I was suddenly free, but in the 21th century” Lena explains, eyes traveling back between Winn and her decanter. 

“How did you … managed to have such an extensive and lively background then?” Winn asks, frowning. He looks pale but his eyes are shining with wonder. “I mean, you’re supposed to be the daughter of Lionel Luthor, infamous sister of Lex Luthor … Not to mention your mother, who was a piece of work … No offense.”

“None taken,” Lena lets out a dry chuckle. “I made a deal with Lionel Luthor. I handed over a big part of the fortune I had amassed while being in the bronze and he created some really plausible story for my existence.”

Helena arches an impressive brow but Winn shakes his head.

“No one ever dug deeper? I mean, you do look extremely good for someone who’s over two centuries old but come on, no one ever asked why you never aged?” 

“You never did,” Lena counters with a smirk. “You’re the DEO most talented IT guy and yet, when you checked my background, everything was legit, everything added up. So why would anyone else bother?”

“That’s …” Winn pauses and then relents “... accurate.”

“Sorry to interrupt this lovely story, although you still didn’t reply to my earlier question,” Claudia chimes in, looking very amused. Lena only rolls her eyes but Helena chuckles affectionately. “Anyway, I found something.”

Lena, Helena and Winn focus back on the TV, on which Claudia is now sharing her own screen. Lines of code are scrolling down until she highlights something. 

“See this?” Claudia asks, moving her cursor above a few lines that seems innocuous enough. “It’s like a backdoor to the code, something that allows access to anyone who knows where to look. I don’t know exactly how it works, it seems to be really specific but it’s the answer you wanted. It is possible to access the software on the microchip and from there, anyone who knows how it works can reprogram it. To turn it into a weapon tho, it would require some really specific engineering skills …”

Winn steps forward and the way he looks at the code makes Lena think he’s seen it before. He’s frowning and searching for something.

“You know who’s behind it, don’t you?” 

Winn startles and fidgets with his hands, looking slightly uneasy. Behind him, the lines of code disappear as Claudia’s face returns to the screen. 

“Winn?” Lena insists, taking a step toward her friend. “What is it?”

Winn looks torn and Lena figures it’s because he is loyal to Supergirl first. It stings, but she doesn’t waver and she takes another step. She’s barely taller than him, with her heels, but she still towers above him.

“It’s …. I’ve seen this code before, but I didn’t think …” Winn starts to ramble, nervously looking around. “It’s … the same code that was used by Lord technology, I found something similar in the drones he’s sent to … spy on … Supergirl, years ago.”

Lena frowns.

“Maxwell Lord? Didn’t he left years ago after Myriad?” 

“So we thought, but he’s nowhere to be found …” Winn replies, his voice rising a little from how nervous he was. 

“Maxwell Lord was a very public figure and I heard rumours about him still mooning over Cat Grant, his disappearance is a little strange don’t you think? Did someone investigate this?” Lena pushes, knowing that at least Alex Danvers must have asked about the former tech CEO.

“Alex tried but then with everything that occurred …” 

“Right,” Lena sighs. 

Cadmus took over pretty fast after Myriad and then, it had been one shit storm after another, until Helena Wells all but barged into her office a few months ago. No time to dwell on the absents. 

“Do you still need my help or can I return to my chess game with Myka?” Claudia suddenly asks, startling everyone in the room. 

“Myka’s back?” Helena muses, sounding both surprised and slightly dejected. 

“Yeah, since yesterday,” Claudia answers. “Pete’s still in Chicago though. According to Steve, it’s not exactly going well.” 

“Of course it’s not,” Helena scoffs and to Lena, the underlying jealousy is deafening. It’s well hidden behind disdain but Lena has been around Helena enough to recognise the signs. “You could join us, if you’d like? I have a feeling this is going to require some kind of intervention, soon enough … Your help, along with Myka’s, would be greatly appreciated.”

Lena bites the inside of her cheeks to stop the laughter that threatens to burst out. 

She’s never seen Helena try so hard to catch someone’s attention, it’s a little embarrassing. Even Winn looks a bit uncomfortable, shifting from one foot to the other and fidgeting with his hands.

“Oh, uh …” Claudia stammers. “Listen, I’ll ask Myka. I’ll text you the answer. Gotta go, bye!” 

Before anyone could answer, the video link goes off and the news immediately resumes back on Lena’s TV. It shows Supergirl saving a bus full of young children and Lena instantly reaches for the remote to turn the screen off.

“Well, that answers it,” Lena muses to no one in particular. 

She finally caves and goes to her decanter, offering Scotch to both Winn and Helena. They both accept and after a minute, they all sit around the couch with a glass in hand.

“Winn, will you investigate the mysterious disappearance of Maxwell Lord? I don’t think it’s him but still …” Lena says, seemingly lost in her drink. “I still don’t know what I could have done to make an enemy of him but then again, it’s not a surprise.”

“So popular,” Helena sasses from her side of the couch, in between two sips. 

“I’ll get on it right away,” Winn retorts, finishing his drink and standing up. “I gotta go, duty calls but I’ll keep you posted. If your friend Claudia comes around, will you let me know? I’d love to pick her brain about a software I’ve been working on …”

“With pleasure,” Helena nods, offering a tight smile to Winn. He nods and then waves at Lena before exiting the office.

“Who’s Myka?” Lena asks as soon as the door closes behind her friend. She keeps her eyes on Helena and doesn’t miss the sparkle that shines in the inventor’s eyes

“She’s … an agent, she works for the Warehouse with Claudia,” Helena says over the rim of her glass.

“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” Lena rolls her eyes. “I meant, who is she to you? Don’t try to deny it, I’ve seen that look in your eyes before.” 

For a moment there, Lena thinks Helena is seriously about to ask what look but then the inventor shakes her head and sighs, looking melancholic.

“She’s … fascinating,” Helena admits, her voice lowering as she gets all dreamy. Lena barely resists the urge to pull up her phone to snap a picture. “She’s smart in ways I can’t quite comprehend, her mind is quick and remarkable and she’s one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. Her heart … She tries to protect it, behind walls made of protocols, laws and orders but it’s pure and generous, giving.”

Lena can only stare, taken aback by the raw affection in her friend’s tone. 

The only person she’s ever heard Helena talk about in that way, all soft and loving, was her daughter Christina.

“I’ve hurt her, multiple times,” Helena confesses and her voice breaks ever so slightly. “I’ve almost killed her once and then … I kept running away. She’s chased after me for a long time but I was blinded by … grief, despair, anger. I didn’t realise how … dear she was to me, not soon enough anyway.” 

The words are like an echo of her own feelings and Lena’s heart aches for her friend. She knows the feeling well. She had National City’s most beloved hero chasing after her for month, trusting her, believing in her and constantly supporting her, no matter what. She’d slowly started to believe it, that’s the worst part. That until it all crumbled under the poisonous revelation her fake-brother offered her before she pressed the trigger. 

Lena leans forward and places a comforting hand over Helena’s thigh. 

“Believe me, I understand. More than I could ever tell …” Lena whispers, thinking back on a pair of bright blue eyes filled with hope and loyalty that told volume of faith and trust. Those are eyes she can never trust again. 

“Supergirl?” Helena inquires, looking at Lena with understanding shining in her brown irises.

“Yeah,” Lena nods, removing her hand from her friend’s lap. “I still don’t want to talk about it though.”

“Fine by me,” Helena simply replies.

They finish their drinks in companionable silence.

[prorevenge]

You threatened me? Good luck with being fired and losing your work visa. (long)

Ah, my mother, a wonderful woman she is. I love her to death, and she loves me just as much, back. But fuck with her two kids? You might find yourself losing your job.

This comes with a little bit of a backstory. Well, a lotta bit of backstory, if imma be honest. And the ever so loved, "Sorry for weird formatting, I am on my phone." comment, and TL;DR at bottom.

When I was 18 months old (a year and a half old), I was diagnosed with type one diabetes. It's a hard disease to live with, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, except for people who make those stupid "I'm gonna get diabetes if I eat another cupcake," comments, and similar stuff to that (plus those stupid jokes, too. I hate those with a passion). Because then they wouldn't joke about it, or make those smart fucking remarks.

When I was 11, I started sixth grade with an insulin pump. It did wonders for my bloodsugar and I! And, I was also diagnosed with celiac disease during the summer, so it kinda got all screwy when I started the gluten free diet, and I went from a child's medium, to a women's extra large in shirts in a little over four months. I was growing tall and fast because of the diet, and my pump was there, able to keep my bloodsugar levels from rising and falling way too often. All of my teachers knew of my diabetes, so I got exemptions and special privileges because of it (this is important).

In seventh grade, my school introduced this thing called "alternates." If your teacher, for that period, would be absent, they would leave the work they wanted you to do out on a chair in the hallway, while you and three other students went to a completely different classroom to sit in and do the work needed. And it was never the same teacher you had to go to, either. I remember my first class alternate was with the choir teacher, my third and fourth period alternate was with the 8th grade math teacher, and so on for all seven periods of the day. They didn't fix that problem until the next year, but we're focusing on 7th grade. And yes, even my alternate teachers were told about my diabetes, and they were lectured that if I wasn't allowed the special privileges that comes with being a Certified Dumbass Diabetic, then they can and will be put on Adult Suspension (a punishment less harsh for the alternate teachers because they're not my regular teachers). Which is just suspended from working for a few days, with no pay, I think.

My last period of the day was in social studies. The teacher was more likely absent than there, because of a lot of familial issues she was dealing with at the time, so I, and two other students, would take our assigned work and go to the French class.

The French teacher (who I will call La Garce, The Bitch, from now on) was an...engaging teacher. She was loud and funny and got her class to genuinely enjoy the lessons and what was taught, but she was also strict with rules. And she was an enforcer with the 'no phone,' rule. If she saw an outline of a phone in someone's pocket, she took it and held it until after class, and gave it back then.

So at the end of the day, after being all sweaty from gym class, climbing up two flights of stares, only to find my teacher was absent, grab the work and go to my locker (I was only one of a select few of students who got a locker at my middle school, but that's not important) to grab my Social Studies textbook, and hurridly walk down two flights of stares, yet a again, and through the hot March Sun to the area where the french classroom was, I was on autopilot mode.

My pump has a setting where it can vibrate if it alarms, but if you don't silence the alarm after a while, or if the problem it was facing wasn't fixed, it would audibly beep. And I usually kept my pump sites in my thigh/stomach, so my pump would stay in my pocket at school. But I couldn't really feel the vibration if it was going off, so if I thought it was vibrating, I'd check it to make sure what it was vibrating for, even if I wasn't sure if it did vibrate.

So on autopilot mode, I didn't feel my pump vibrating in my pocket, until the middle of the class. I don't remember the alert, but I think it was because the battery was low? I don't really remember.

Completely forgetting to press the button that acknowledges the alert, I raise my hand to ask if I could go to the nurse. La Garce says sure, just sign out first (it's to keep track of who enters and exits the rooms because of past lockdown problems revolving around guns), and I can go. I get up, and in the middle of signing out, my pump audibly alerts me, and I nearly fucking shit myself, because it genuinely scared me. I silence it, hoping to get out of the classroom without La Garce noticing, but wooo boy, did she notice.

La Garce: What was that noise?

Me, a dumb bitch who had undiagnosed anxiety at the time, and couldn't speak louder then Volume level 2, also holding my pump in hand as I silenced the alarm: oh, it was my pump. I'm sorry, it won't ha-

La Garce: if I had half a mind, I'd rip that thing right from your hands, throw it on the ground, and stomp on it until it is dust.

Me, shocked, but not really bothered: Okay, La Garce.

And so I leave the room, go to the nurse, fix my pump (she has spare batteries, extra pump supplies, extra insulin, a glucagon, and snacks in case of emergencies), and come back within ten minutes.

What La Garce had said really sunken in, and I realized, "Holy crap, did this lady just threaten me?" So I wrote a note asking if my friend (we had the same last period alternate, thank god) heard the same thing as I did, and she wrote back saying, yeah, she did. She even got it on recording, too.

Since our Social Studies teacher has a habbit of not slowing down or stopping her lessons, when she's there, my friend always sneakily turns her phone on right before she enters the room, and records the entire lesson so she can go back and fill out the stuff she misses in her notes. I guess in our hurry to get to La Garce's classroom, she forgot to stop the recording, so she was accidentally recording the French lesson.

I didn't really know what to do with this information, until ten minutes later, I'm in my mom's car at dismissal, and I tell her what happens. My mom slammed on the breaks, reversed back into the parking lot, parked her car, and drug me inside the school. We get to the front office, and everyone knew my mom, and they could tell she was pissed the fuck off, even though she was keeping a pretty neutral face.

I didn't even get to tell her that my friend had the interaction recorded until after my mom threatens to do something Court related to the principal if she didn't do something to punish La Garce. Then we had to wait an hour and a half until after the bus dropped my friend off at her house (she had to take the bus that day because her mom was working and her dad couldn't pick her up, and she was also the last stop for her bus), for my friend to get a ride back to school to show the principal the proof.

I didn't even want to tell the principal about this. I just told my mom, because I thought she would give me some advice with how to deal with the situation. My mom was the one who originally wanted revenge on La Garce, for, inherently, threatening my life. (We couldn't afford regular needles, and we definitely couldn't have afforded the long-acting insulin that I would have needed to take at night and in the morning if La Garce had, in fact, stomped on my pump until it was dust, like she said she would have).

My mom threatened to sue the school when she found the punishment that my principal would give La Garce unfit. My principal asked what she could do to prevent that, and my mom told her to fire La Garce. My principal said she would fire La Garce the following Monday.

She fucking lied.

La Garce searches for me during Lunch, and legit tells me "I'm sorry that you couldn't understand that I was joking."

She was not joking when she said she'd smash my pump to pieces. She was serious when she said it, angry even, to the point that when she said the threat, she was red faced. She wasn't joking, so she's fucking lying through her half-assed apology. I don't even say anything, I'm too stunned because La Garce is still here. Not fired.

I go to the bathroom immediately after the interaction, and call my mom with my phone. She's livid, but I begged her not to come to school, to not sue, and to not show her ass again, because I got it. She, obviously, reluctantly agrees, and she doesn't come to school.

The last week of March, the Social Studies teacher quits abruptly, causing her students to have to go to alternates for a week as the principal searched for a new teacher to hire.

So, I have to spend a week in La Garce's classroom. No biggy. I planned on making her life a living hell while I'm stuck there anyway.

If I unscrewed the cap on my pump, that keeps the insulin cartridge inside of it, it will alarm. Something I can do easily, and sneakily. I also took my pump off of vibrate, and put it on the loudest setting it would let me.

So, I caused my pump to alarm mulitple times in her classroom. She would get so angry every time her teaching was interrupted, but she couldn't do jack shit because she was already on thin ice with me.

Of course, her students suffered, but that was a small price to pay for the ultimate revenge on this woman. I didn't even want to get her in trouble in the first place, but for her to come up to me, unannounced, and called me stupid? Yeah, no. Only I get to call myself a dumb bitch.

Her classroom is outside, and when the bell rings for the end of the day, students pour out of the doors and have to pass by her classroom door in order to get to the buses, and so do the teachers who oversee the bus stuff.

So, on the third day of this, right as I walk out the door, La Garce tries to grab me by the arm and forces me to turn to face her so she can chew my ass out. But, what she really does, is she ends up ripping my insulin site out of my arm (one that I had just put in during lunch because some dumb fuck accidentally ripped it out of my other arm during lunch).

She doesn't realize she ripped the site out of my arm as she grabs me, until I started to scream. First of all, she ripped off a shit ton of tape that kept it inside of me, and second of all, this was back when I was using the actual metal needle pump sites, so as she gripped my arm, she drug the needle through my skin, before it fell out once it reached my elbow. I keep my sites, when they're on my arms, up closer to my shoulders, where I have more fat so it doesn't hurt when I have to put it on.

She drug the needle down from my shoulder to my elbow. It HURT. There was blood everywhere, because although the needles are kinda small, THEY STILL GO HAVE TO GO INSIDE OF MY SKIN!!!

The vice-principal (a man who's only complaint I have of, is that he almost gave me detention for forgetting to tuck in my shirt and wear a belt with our uniform on the last day of middle school), had just passed as this happened, so he saw the whole thing. I was screaming and crying, clutching my bloody arm, La Garce was stood in shock as she just...watched me as her hand was covered in my blood, my best friend was trying to stop the blood flow, all the students had stopped and were now watching me as the VP instructed one of the teachers to bring La Garce to the front office as he picked me up and carried me to the nurses office as he called 911.

The nurse had wrapped my arm up as best as she could before the paramedics arrived. I was rushed to the ER because I apparently needed stitches? Because it was a long, singular, cut, I guess? It wasn't that deep, so I guess got them to ensure that it would heal properly? I can't really remember, because my mom didn't arrive at the hospital until after I was giving some Good Shit and given stitches.

La Garce was immediately fired as soon as she reached the front office.

I was approached by police, because apparently it looked like she did it on purpose, but I didn't want to press any charges on her, much to my mother's disagreement.

That wasn't my plan on how to get her fired/get her to quit. I wanted to annoy her, make it harder for her to teach, to the point where it gets so bad, that the only peace she'd get was by quiting.

I was unable to write for the last two months of school, unable to carry my own backpack, unable to be apart of my band's end of the year concert (we worked on some extremely fast paced piece that was really troubling me, and I had practiced it so much that I memorized it, but all that practice went to fucking waste I guess), I have trouble raising my arm and carrying heavy things, even after physical therapy (which is a plus, because in one of my previous comments, I mention how one of my favorite parts of my day is after I shower, because my mom loves playing with my hair, so I let her blow dry it for me (which she also loves doing)). It's also really hard for me to insert sites now, because the needles make me have panic attacks and I even vomited a few times, because all I could remember as I got that pain of inserting a site, was the feeling of it ripping down my arm. A few years later, in my Sophomore year, after I went into DKA (long story short, a site needle somehow got kinked while in my leg, and my pump was unable to deliver insulin properly, so I almost died), I was given this cool new site that only uses a needle to insert the tubing inside of my arm (like an IV needle uses an actual needle to insert a plastic needle inside of your arm, and then removes the real needle), so I haven't had needle-related infusion site problems in a while.

Last week, I ran into the principal, and I was finally able to find out what happened to La Garce.

Since she was fired, she lost her visa, and she was forced to go back to France.

TL;DR, the french teacher at my middle school threatened to break my insulin pump because it went off in her class, mom threatened to sue if she wasn't fired, principal said she would fire her, but doesn't. Then, after basically calling me stupid, she accidentally cuts open my arm with my infusion site after she got fed up with my plan to annoy her till she quit, gets fired, and loses her visa.

i got my revenge, but not in the way I had originally planned.

(source) story by (/u/shiroagainstshaladin)

[glorious-blackout]

Summary of Junior Doctor Life Part Six:

If we’re ever in danger of being overwhelmed by the supposed glamour of this job, there’s always a catheter or PR exam around the corner to bring you back to Earth.

I once overheard a patient telling one of the nurses that she trusted me with her life (she was delirious at the time to be fair). Given that I’d just narrowly avoided breaking my own neck by tripping *up* the stairs, I think her faith might be slightly misplaced.

Managed to take some blood from a lady with infamously horrible veins the other day, only for my sense of achievement to be wiped out in an instant. The problem? The test was a clotting screen, which requires a completely full bottle or the lab will reject it (usually with a snarky comment). This lady’s veins gave up the ghost when it was a mere 80% full. Selfish bastards.

I made up for it later by successfully taking blood from another lady with poor veins while a nursing student was observing. Given that my attempts at giving a demonstration usually end in failure, I was rather pleased with myself after that one.

Our hospital has a fire-alarm test every Wednesday. Coincidentally, the two legit fire-alarms we’ve had were also set off on a Wednesday. Which is why we all just carried on with our jobs without a care in the world, besides the odd remark of ‘they’re really dragging this one out, aren’t they?’

I recently agreed to add an extra five hours onto my shift to cover for a sick colleague. Any notion that I did this out of the goodness of my heart is ruined, somewhat, by the fact that I was desperately trying to come up with an excuse to get out of it until the rota-lead told me my hourly rate would be a stupid amount of money (far more than we’re usually paid, to say the least). Honestly if she’d just said as much in her initial e-mail to all the juniors, she probably wouldn’t have needed to call me out of desperation in the middle of the afternoon.

One of my seniors asked me to do an Arterial Blood Gas on a lady... on her birthday. This involves sticking a needle directly into the radial artery (rather than a vein) in order to get more accurate info about oxygen/CO2 levels in the blood. And it *hurts*. I still wonder if the reason he made me do it is because he was her favourite doctor and he didn’t want to be the one to hurt her on her birthday.

She was a trooper thankfully and told me it didn’t hurt at all. I’m not sure I believe her, but I was allowed some cake afterwards!

Confirming a death is one of those jobs that used to fill me with dread, but have now gotten used to in a strange way. There’s still a little bit of apprehension when the family choose to stay in the room; it can feel like you’re intruding on someone else’s grief and the process feels far more methodical than it needs to be. When the family agree to leave, however, it ends up being a much calmer process. That said, it’s still not the best of omens for the rest of your night-shift when you’re asked to confirm two deaths before the clock has even struck midnight.

Night-shifts are still rather enjoyable - antisocial hours aside - but a noticeable downside is that the frequency of trivial pages increases. The fact that you’re the only first-year doctor there to deal with the dogsbody jobs means that in between genuinely urgent calls like “can you please review this gentleman’s cardiac chest pain” and “this lady *still* has low saturations despite being on 98% oxygen” you get calls like “hey, can you prescribe this man a nicotine patch?”

Which is fine - it’s part of the job and it’s often a relief when a page turns out to be something simple. The problem is that the people paging you don’t know just how often your pager has gone off during the shift, which is why they page you again when you’re in the middle of reviewing a sick patient to ask why you haven’t looked at a lady’s chest X-ray yet.

My next block is Surgery (a lawless, chaotic specialty for juniors apparently) and we still haven’t received our rota despite the fact that it starts in three weeks. Which means that my answer to the question ‘What are you doing at Christmas?’ has taken the form of a gradually more exaggerated shrug every time I’m asked. Ah well.

[voidlitmoon]

Moon -_- isn't it like 2:12am for you? Why wont you sleep? Sleep is good for you -💜💚

Hmmmm in my defense!

We are on a really big break period where we stay home due to the quarantine, and actually technically I'm still on spring break, my school dosnt start its online schooling yet

I have found after years of experimenting im actually a nightowl (what a surprise for the person with Moon as their internet name?) if I stay up late into the night and wake up late in the day, I actually am more rested and get more energy than going to bed at a socially reasonable time. Remember kids, time is a social construct

I always go to bed around 2-3 as a limit unless I'm doing something or I dont realize the time

This is not a new thing going to bed so late and waking up later, I have done this every summer (not including weeks when camps are going on) during the summer my mood also improves not just because the stress of school is gone, but because I actually get decent hours of sleep

Funfuct on a normal day I cant fall alseep till past 11, if I fall asleep at 9 or 10, please know I'm probably either sick or completely exhausted. Last night I actually went to bed about 2 (I have Doscord proof) I just reblogged a few things before bed.. which I just layed in bed for the next hour, because my body legit hates falling asleep. This has always been a problem, it's not new, the time where I actually couldnt get my body to fall asleep for 72-96 hours (three nights in a row) still haunts me

So it's not even I'm in the dark (though I wish lol the night is much easierto handle light wise), I actually have reasons and some experiences

Actually I'm pretty tired right now, because just happened to be today my body woke me up for no reason at 7:20ish :/ I have no alarms set, I didnt wake up from a dream, I never wake myself up at 7 because I have no internal clock aka time has always been a social construct. I'm going back to sleep after looking at notifications XD

[hustlemeanokay]

So, I finally got my prescriptions. On one hand, I’m glad... on the other, a little worried that my new doctor just... kinda took my word for what I take? She just... no previous records just straight up prescribed me my lyrica, celebrex, bupoprion, and this weird powder stuff that is supposed to help my stomach chill the fuck out. That last one isn’t so concerning but the others are. Like, I mean... I’m legit with my meds but I coulda not been? Ya know? 

(So... this post got kind of out of hand... lots of venting and personal bitching below... just... yeah)

On another note... I’m fairly certain my remaining ovary has a pretty large cyst on it and will probably have to be removed, just like my right one did. And, I’m fairly certain I have a pretty bad infection in my mouth because my teeth are crapping out on me at an alarming rate... I swear it’s like one part of the body tells the other “psst, hey... it’s about to go down, you in?” and the other part is like “fuck yeah, I’m in!” 

So, I need to get into a dentist to have my teeth just fucking pulled - seriously, I’m done with them. I’ve spent over four thousand dollars and they’re all crap. Unfortunately, I can’t afford dentures at the moment but we’re hoping the house sells soon. But, I’m going to go ahead and make an appointment to at least find out exactly how much 16 extractions are going to cost and a full set of dentures. I’m nowhere near being able to afford the last quote I got to have implant supported dentures (this dentist looked me straight in the eye and told me it would be $40,000... to which I was like “dude, you’re on a totally different planet...” but whatever). 

This isn’t one of those posts begging for money or anything just me venting. It’s frustrating living with a body that’s trying to systematically shut the fuck down around you. I’m exhausted all the time yet I can’t fucking sleep because I’m in pain from literally head to toe (literally, my forehead hurts... what the actual fuck?). I’m hoping that being back on my meds will start to make it bearable. Lyrica and celebrex were helping before, they didn’t make the pain go all the way away but it at least made it bearable. 

Also, we live in a third floor walk-up (another thing that is so changing when that house sells) - I take my kids to school every morning (different times so that’s two trips) and pick them up every afternoon. So, every Monday through Friday, I’m going up and down three flights of stairs at least three times a day. If we go grocery shopping or anywhere after my husband gets home - that’s another whole set of stairs. We’ve lived here for over a year, you would think that I’d be... I don’t know... maybe... used to it? Or at least able to make it up or down without my knees screaming at me. Or maybe I’d be in better shape, yeah? Nope. 

Naturally, they weighed me at the doctor’s office. I’ve gained twenty pounds in the past year. What the fuck. I literally cannot eat anymore than a handful of food before I’m full - and twenty-thirty minutes later I’m in the bathroom so stuff goes right through me, I can’t be absorbing very much.... I don’t drink sodas, I don’t regularly eat sweets (I have some candy now because Halloween)... I rarely eat breakfast and when I do, I don’t eat lunch - and I eat dinner and another small meal later in the night because I can’t fucking sleeps so I’m up until like 2 or 3 am every god damned night. I’ve counted calories for months and I struggle to hit even 1500 in a day. So, how the fuck am I gaining weight. 

I’m usually a pretty toned down person when it comes to talking about myself, I don’t like to draw attention over here. I’m just one of those behind the scenes kind of people... but damn I’m getting frustrated. 

I literally cannot remember a time without pain, without insomnia. My Mom took me to the doctor when I was like fucking ten because I was tired all the time, sore all the time, and yet couldn’t sleep. At first they thought I was anemic. Nope. 

That leads me to another part of my frustration. My lab work, blood tests etc, all always come back normal. I’ve had x-rays from head to toe to rule out RA or anything like that - nothing - everything was “normal”. I know every lab has their own range of normality but damn, come on. 

Over the past five years or so, I’ve started growing a fucking beard. Like, facial hair, dude... with that, I am just fucking done. Yet doctors are all “well, you’re levels are normal”. Bitch, I don’t fucking care! Look at my fucking face! Something is clearly not normal. For quite a few years I would gain 10 pounds, drop twenty, gain fifteen, drop thirty... without changing anything at all, nothing. Not my diet, not my activity level, nothing. And they were all “you’re perfectly healthy”. Dude, random sudden wild ass weight gain and loss is not healthy. Something is clearly wrong. 

I wish, just once, a doctor would treat the symptoms, not the test results. As such, I’ve been saddled with the “we don’t fucking know anymore” diagnosis of Fibromyalgia, which is a recognized disability. But, like nearly all chronic pain conditions, it’s often just brushed aside because it can’t be seen. 

I don’t know where I was going with this, I’m just bitching - I guess. I’d just like... ya know, for once... to just be able to exist without something hurting. To be able to actually exist without my mouth hurting. To be able to smile or go out in public without extreme pain (my partial denture fucking hurts and to get a new one is fucking pointless because all the remaining teeth need to come out...). To be able to just... sleep. Just go to sleep. And wake up actually feeling like I went to sleep! That’d be a fucking miracle. 

And that’s not all! Because apparently my uterus fucking hates me, ever since I had to have that ovary removed, my periods are insane. I don’t cramp around my abdomen like I did before (and I mean this stuff started period one after that surgery)... instead, I get stabbing sharp pain in my outer thighs... it starts in the right and moves up and around the back and down the left... and! Omg, fucking gross. Clots. Massive, huge, fucking gross clots. I go through a super tampon in like a fucking hour and it’s fucked up. It’s just all fucked up! 

So, that’s probably why I’m venting. Right now I’m hurting all over, exhausted but can’t sleep, bleeding like a fucking dying animal, can’t eat without hurting... just fucking miserable. 

[hellobengski]

THAILAND: POST COLLEGE ADVENTURE 2017

The last time I felt clouds in my presence was in the year 2012, month of December, in which the airplane landed to Hong Kong. The dilemma of life and death in an open space was merely forgotten, where everything you could see was tranquility. I never wanted to stop looking at cottony clouds. They made me feel safe. It was 5 years later when I felt it again.  I remember how it feels to fly without wings, appreciating the beauty of nature beyond what I imagine.

           Thailand was the next stop on my travel bucket list all over Southeast Asia. It was a place that had similar atmosphere with my very own country. EDSA was the first thing that came into my mind when I walked outside the airport. I heard various honking of buses and cars, but in a more disciplined way, I guess. But more than that, I had a view of a new horizon of tradition and culture.

My mom, sister, and aunt had to travel 2 hours away from the airport so we could check in to the hotel where my sister booked through the online. I was assuming somehow it could be near a quiet place, or maybe a road of consecutive coffee shops, but I failed. It was entirely different than what I anticipated. Khao San Road was a place where small bars and party houses were all located. Abstract shirts, different items with elephant designs were displayed along the narrow road of which tourists could experience a good bargain with merchants. I have seen discrete races all over the world who stayed for quite some time in their respective hotels. I could turn my head 360 and whichever direction I bumped into, I could always see unfamiliar but lovely faces.

We met Ms. Nancy, our tour guide for the 1st day. She had a medium short hair, showed a very long glittery eyelashes in her face, and a pale pink lipstick on her mouth. She had a pleasing personality, I could say, or maybe she needed to be because it was part of her job. She was shorter than me, maybe an inch, and was in her typical shirt and pants with Chuck Taylor shoes to stay comfy.

I only had 2 hours to prepare and fix my baggage before I travel with Ms. Nancy. I swiped the card through the doorknob, allowing me to embrace a very relaxing and convenient 1 single room with 2 large soft beds and pillows. I put my sister’s make-up kit in front of the mirror with a hairdryer beside it. My personal hygiene necessities were located just outside our bedroom, in the midpoint of two comfort rooms, so it would be easier to grab just in case we’re in a hurry to take a bath. My aunt placed some leftover biscuits all the way from Philippines next to the huge flat screen TV. My mom being my mom, tried to clean some of her stuff, but there was no enough time left. Angela, my sister, did some of her retouch on her face to make her feel fresh even when she already felt exhausted. We left the room and ate one of the most popular Thai food called, “Pad-Thai” along the road.

The value of respect of Thai people for their King was the very first thing I ever noticed. As I was riding in an outsized van, I spotted some black and white colored curtains hanged outside the gigantic temples of the individual kings who passed away, and for the royals who are still living. Ms. Nancy shared some of her ideas about Thai’s history, telling us that these long curtains represent grief and condolences for the King who died due to his old age. And this will last for a year, until they go back to the feeling of relief.

I went inside historical temples of different images of Buddha, taking pictures for a remembrance to my relatives when I get back home. I tried eating coconut ice cream for P50 baht, which savored my starving throat into something refreshing. Tuk Tuk, a classic Thai vehicle, impressed me with its three wheels, although Ms. Nancy recommended us not to ride on it. Even if I wanted to stay longer in a certain place, we only had limited time to grasp some of the stories that were in there.

Alarm clocks in our own phone woke up us too early. I didn’t have enough sleep. Maybe because of too much excitement, or maybe because of the extreme coldness inside our room. I woke up at 4 in the morning holding my phone, checking some news and updates in the Philippines. It was a never-ending extra judicial killings on my newsfeed, letting me feel the frustration and agitation for my government’s administration. And few days from now, ironically, I would be home in a place where I wouldn’t feel safe. I didn’t want to think about overthinking, so I tried to wake up my mom. I went directly to the bathroom, thinking about the plans and places Ms. Nancy listed for us the day before she left us in the hotel. Everyone else seemed to be freaking out when I finished taking a bath, considering the only time we had to eat for a buffet breakfast. I chose to wear an orange shirt and shorts with floral design, supposing it would match the places we would be visiting.

Just by the time the restaurant open its door, I hurriedly walked into the different kinds of food. I was truly overwhelmed seeing complete set of breakfast that made my stomach perfectly full.  Sausages on my left, croissants and toasted bread on my right, a problem of choosing between fried rice or pasta, and slices of watermelons and pineapples were put into my plate. I wasn’t even contented at all, I made my own coffee to match my croissants, even bother to get cucumber juice just in case coffee wouldn’t give me satisfaction. The question of time never crossed my mind when all these food were prepared in front of me. Although it was a must to rush, a Thai man, who works with Ms. Nancy in the same travel agency, fetched us. It was a group tour, consisted of two couples, one from America, and the other from Malaysia.

The tour started by introducing Mr. Thai’s name. I forgot, though. He considered making jokes out of telling stories, associated with historical Thai’s exotic food too. He is a 55-year old man, who has 3 kids. All I could remember was every time he gets to see me smiling, the memory of his daughter blissfully retains in his mind. He shared about how he got involved into a travel agency, which I think a lot of Thai people are working at. He was not as chatty as Ms. Nancy, nevertheless, he was entertaining. He showed us the famous Floating Market in Thailand, where tourists needed to ride on a boat to purchase some stuff. I have seen amazing paintings in all sizes, carved vases, coconut ice cream with nuts for its toppings, “lansones” which was sold by an 85-year old woman, weaved hats, and a lot more. The biggest Eureka moment was, all I thought Thailand has only one floating market. By the time we had to leave the place, Mr. I forgot-the-name actually revealed that in every town, has its own one. Well, not a thing was bought during the boating experience, all I know was my heart was fulfilled seeing people enjoying moments that could only last once in a life time.

The magical performance in theater happened at night after the tour in Floating Market. We entered a huge closed room with people wanting to witness such beauty in arts and entertainment.    Siam Niramit, is a state-of-the art theater yielding one of the largest stage productions in the world. It’s a captivating adventure through Thailand’s history and culture in high-flying fashion, with live elephants, acrobatics, pyrotechnics and stunts – all performed by a troupe made up of thousands  of performers adorned in great costumes. I would never forget my mom’s unexplainable reaction and experience throughout the entire show. She wanted to cry out of joy most of the time. It’s as if she didn’t want to go home in the hotel. I never saw rejection from her face, telling me that next time she comes back, it would be with my dad. We captured moments with several actors and actresses after, leaving us a souvenir with elephants, making this as her favorite art of the travel.

Off my bucket list was also riding an elephant. One of the many animals I have always wanted to experience, carabao was supposed to be the first. I think elephants were made to listen closely to everything, to everyone. They were made to be friends with people most especially when you treat them with care and respect. They love watermelons and coconuts. They like being splashed with water after taking us into a routine. They were also trained to take pictures with various poses of their trunks, and that’s how they get to be attractive for locals and foreigners.

The famous Thai massage will never be forgotten. So my brother’s friend who happens to work in Bangkok accompanied us after a very long day in market. This has got to be the most effective massage in my whole life. At first I thought it was brutal, since it was my first time the legit Thai massage. I was taking it easy for the first few minutes but later on, it kinda felt horrible. In a matter of seconds, the compress became weapon and I was literally cringing under the pressure. I actually found myself concentrating on regulating my breathing. The way they provide Thai massages are with entire body. They leverage their own body weight with certain movements in order to provide enough pressure to the body. I did fall asleep several times but still ended with a very soothing cup of tea.

Of course, our vacation wouldn’t be complete without the “party.” Prior to shopping in Chatuchak Market, my sister and I had been planning to socialize with people. We were really after drinks and fries, although it wasn’t our first time doing this, we wanted to make sure to at least meet good-looking guys from Europe. Our mom was subtle with her words but still she allowed us to explore. By the time we went down from our room, that’s when the party started. I thought we were courageous enough to do things beyond our control, but surprisingly, we were like high school students who just stayed in a corner of the street to observe how a street party works. There were people who literally danced as if it was their last day on earth, girls and guys French kissing each other while tossing their drinks, Asians and Americans twerking as if they’re showing off to every person they’d bump into. There was also robbery that happened in 7 Eleven Convenience store, unknowingly grabbing sodas and fresh milk from the fridge, to ease their drunkenness. After all, I saw emptiness. I felt emptiness. The superficiality of society where people wants to fit in to get accepted because after all, no one wants rejection. The façade of being proud “in” but in reality, they’re slowly dying. And for me, street party seemed to be an outlet of frustration, sadness, anxiety, and depression. People always long for something in the end.  But life should be more than a night of drinks and smoke. It should be more than meeting temporary people.

Four days and three nights was a short term goal achieved in knowing and living the life in Thailand. More insights were added to my unending learnings in life. It was more than the feeling of being grateful of what the life has more to offer for people like us who seek for journey mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. Life is really full of surprises and adventures and I couldn’t wait for my next destination. Until next time, Thailand!