#like am I just so insanely glad to call you my friend and colleague or is it more

[starlightxsvt]

Guilty | sibilance. 3

synopsis ➳ ❝ after months you see Wonwoo at the annual party. lines are crossed, accusations are made and just after, your colleague voices out a crazy proposition.❞

pairing ➳ lawyer fem!reader x rich badboy!wonwoo (ft. Jeonghan)

genre ➳ angst, smut, drama

word count ➳ 4.5k + 900(patreon bonus)

warnings ➳ cursing, toxic ex vibes, slight love triangle, rough sex, unprotected intercourse, dom!wonwoo, big dic!wonwoo, messy makeouts, dirty talk, degradation, cream pie, no aftercare, so much drama.

previous chapter

The weather is misty today. Winter has passed quickly over the past three months, and now spring is starting to ease the chill from the air. Yet, you still feel just as tired, if not more so than before.

A break is an imminent necessity, but you will not be getting any until you wrap up your current case. It is a huge one, viral on social media due to its scandalized nature, but most importantly, your client and his opponent are extremely exhausting. It is like managing toddlers, and you are ever so grateful that Jeonghan is also handling this case with you.

It is a particularly sensitive case because your client is the owner of the biggest textile company in the country and also, Chairman Jeon’s good friend, Mr Kim. Last month, he married his daughter off to another huge chaebol family in the country and the issue began with the catering service for the wedding, owned by Mr Kim’s ex business partner and current rival. The guests all got food poisoning right in the middle of the ceremony and the bride had an allergic reaction, throwing Mr Kim into a fit as he claimed it to be an attempted murder to get revenge on him.

Things have been chaotic since then, keeping you on your toes.

Despite being snowed under your work, a particular rumour floating around the Jeon Corporation caught your attention and has been a constant form of distraction ever since you heard it.

Word on the street says that Chairman Jeon is set to announce a new CEO at the annual party of the company taking place this weekend and apparently, one candidate is his own son and the other is a completely new hire. Six months ago you would have laughed at the rumour of the Chairman’s son, Wonwoo— who you know personally, taking over the company but now, you can say nothing for sure.

It has been nearly three months since you last saw him, partly due to your hectic schedule and also due to the lack of work at Jeon Corporation. Since you have not visited the headquarters recently, you have not been tortured by the sight of that infuriating man but you have to admit that thoughts of Wonwoo have been plaguing your mind. They pop up randomly in your head and you hate your mind for betraying you like that.

You are supposed to move on. And it was not even an actual relationship so why are you still thinking about that stupid, spoiled brat?

“Your drink.” Jeonghan places your coffee on your desk, snapping you out of your reverie. You turn from the window in front of which you were standing and walk back to your desk, taking a sip of your latte with a grateful smile. “I still cannot believe you got my order exactly right on the first try. Thank you.”

It is truly insane. A month ago one day, as your work started piling up, you stopped taking your usual coffee breaks and instead asked Jeonghan to grab you something, forgetting to mention how you like your coffee. Unbelievably, when you tried what he brought for you, you were astounded to the point of silence.

Turns out you and his sister have very similar tastes so he got lucky with that.

“You are most welcome.” Jeonghan smiles, throwing a cheeky wink at you. “Just knock on my door if you need anything.”

“Will do.” You pause for a moment. Just as he is about to close the door behind him, you call, “Jeonghan, you’re attending the party this weekend, right?”

The man steps back into your office. “Yes. Actually, I am glad that you brought it up.”

You wait, looking at him expectantly.

“Would you be my date for the evening?” 

You smile. “Gladly.” Everyone you know already has a plus one so you were dreading showing up alone. As always, Jeonghan has come to the rescue.

“I am honoured.” Jeonghan smiles, his eyes crinkling beautifully. “I was worried Mr. Pi would ask me to be his plus one. I mean it was either going to be you or me.”

You snort a burst of laughter. “I know, right? But he will not get off our backs when he figures out we’re coming together. You know he has that weird obsession of pairing us together like a couple.”

Suddenly, Jeonghan’s face grows serious.“That isn’t a bad idea, you know.”

A soft sigh falls from your lips.

“You should move on from him. It has been long enough, don’t you think?”

“I am over him,” you reply, almost defensively. “Listen, if there is one thing I have learned, it is, not to date where you work.”

Jeonghan chuckles softly. “Office romance is quite fun you know.”

You arch a teasing brow. “Someone seems experienced.’’ The man smiles secretively before stepping closer to the door, pulling it open with one hand. “Just giving you a heads up, you haven’t seen me in a suit yet.”

“I see you in a suit every day, Jeonghan.” You sass.

The man rolls his eyes. “You know what I mean. A proper three piece suit. A tuxedo. Prepare to have your mind blown.” He shakes his palms for dramatic effect.

You sip your coffee. “Mhm, stop pestering me now. I have so much work to do.”

The man flashes a smile before pulling the door closed.

You still have a grin lingering on your lips as you open your files and start skimming through them.

—

On Saturday night, Jeonghan is in front of your house sharply at 7.

You rush to the door as you receive his text, putting on your heels and scrambling to get your purse and phone. 

You are going to be late but hey, at least you will be fashionably late. 

Buying this emerald green dress impulsively six months ago was not a bad idea, you now realize, because you love how the dress fits you. With your hair and makeup done, it is almost a completely new you and you may have taken too long admiring yourself in the mirror.

Jeonghan’s jaw goes slack as he watches you step out of your apartment building. His expression makes you laugh and you cannot help but shake your head at his overexaggeration. 

“Wow,” his eyes move up and down as he steps closer to you. “Fucking hell. You look absolutely stunning.”

Shyly you avoid his gaze. “Thank you. You’re not too bad yourself.” You gesture towards him, waving your hand up and down his height. The coffee-coloured three piece suit is truly a fabulous compliment to his brushed back blond hair.

The man shakes his head. “You were the one who should have given me a heads up. I have the prettiest woman in the party as my date.”

This man sure has a way with his words.

“I can see why you are such a successful lawyer, Mr. Yoon.” You saunter past him. “Let’s get going now. We’re already late.”

“Yes madam,” he rushes past you to hold open the car door, making you smile.

—

The venue is crowded when you arrive.

It takes no more than five minutes for your colleagues to spot the two of you and five more minutes later, you are graced by Mr. Pi’s holy presence. He gushes over the two of you and when Jeonghan escapes the conversation by saying he’ll get drinks for you, Mr. Pi corners you.

“Are you sure you are not dating our dear Mr. Yoon?”

You resist the urge to roll your eyes. “No, Mr. Pi. Come on now, let it be.”

He hums and then nods thoughtfully, pushing his sunglasses up his nose bridge.

Who knows why he is wearing that indoors and at night.

“I understand,” the man rubs his chin slowly and seriously as if he is pondering the most critical issue of life. “Our chairman’s handsome son left a lasting impression on you.”

Even before you realise it, a soft, almost wistful sigh escapes your lips. “Can we not talk about him? At least not here?”

Mr. Pi looks at you from above his sunglasses, “This is the place to talk about him. Tonight people will talk about him.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll see.”

Wait, what?

“Mr. Pi—” You reach out for him but he spots an old colleague and walks over to him, ignoring you with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Right then, Jeonghan is back with two flutes of champagne in his hands. You snatch one from him and immediately gulp it down. Then, you narrow your eyes at him. “Nice job, jerk. Leaving me alone with him.”

The man cheekily shrugs his shoulder, unable to fight off the knowing smile blooming on his lips. Grinning at you, he sips his champagne. 

With a shake of your head, you go around the room accompanied by Jeonghan, mingling with old and new faces. The stage is being set up for the upcoming speeches by the top executives of the company. The closing speech will, of course, be Chairman Jeon’s. The grand hall room increasingly grows crowded as you finish two more glasses of champagne while socialising, everyone eager to hear the big announcement.

“I think you have drunk enough for now.” Jeonghan blocks your hand when you reach for the fourth glass as a waiter passes by. You pout, “Oh come on. Socialising takes a lot of energy. I cannot talk to these boring people about boring things on a Saturday night while being sober.”

A scoff of amusement comes from him and he opens his mouth to say something but his vision shifts, focusing on something behind you. His expression changes and you turn your head back to see what he is looking at.

Not what. Who.

Wonwoo stands a few feet behind you, looking unfairly stunning. The contrast of his black blazer against his crisp white shirt is stunning and with sharp features and his hair brushed back, he is a scene stealer.

He, however, seems not to attract attention as he remains on the edge of the hall room, near where the lights are dimmer. As your eyes meet his and the raging beat of your heart loudens, he holds your gaze before taking quick steps towards you.

Within a couple of seconds, he is right in front of you. 

“We need to talk. Privately.” He says, his posture slightly rigid, and he looks around the room as if making sure no one sees him.

You don’t have much time to process his words as he ushers you away by tugging your wrist. You look back at Jeonghan almost helplessly and the man gives you an understanding nod. “I’ll be here, don’t worry.”

You are quickly rushed out of the grand room and pulled down a hallway at the end of which there are a few private rooms. Wonwoo pulls you inside and shuts the door behind you.

The room is messy and if you are not wrong, it seems to be his dressing room.

In your mind, an equation starts to form as you take everything in.

Finally, your eyes land on Wonwoo after scouring the room and you find him looking at you attentively.

There is a hard lump in your throat that you have to swallow.

“Hi.” The man says quietly, almost shyly.

“It has been a while,” you murmur as a greeting, trying to keep your voice as flat as possible. 

“Way too long,” he replies, his voice much quieter as he enunciates each word slowly and carefully. You wonder if it is your mind playing tricks on you or if the depth of his eyes just increased tenfold.

Whatever, you cannot let yourself get caught up in this again. The tension in the air is thickening by the second.

“Why did you bring me here?” You avoid his eyes, your gaze settling on the skin peeking from underneath his shirt as the two buttons are undone.

“Right.” Wonwoo blinks as if breaking out of a trance. “I wanted to tell you something. I mean…it will be announced later but I thought you out of all people should hear it from me first.”

The way he speaks, his eyes skirting around, his hands fidgety tells you what the news is. You voice it out for him. “You are taking over the company?”

You see his pupils widen. After a moment's pause, he says. “Yes.”

Hm. He is dressed too fancy to attend as a mere employee anyway.

You are proud of him for sure. He has grown as a person since you last saw him. But at the same time, there is dread in the pit of your stomach. With him now taking over the company, there is no escaping him. You will be seeing him, whether you like it or not. 

“Congratulations.” You hum. “I appreciate you informing me separately but it wasn’t necessary. We don’t have any personal contact. I am just another employee, Jeon…Chairman Wonwoo.”

Wonwoo looks at you with surprise and you wonder if it is your icy demeanour that makes him frown.

“Still…I have to thank you. You had a huge part to play in getting me here.”

Oh really?

For a brief moment, your mind flashes back to earlier this year when you were seeing each other. The late night talks about his future with the company. You find yourself wondering how he managed to earn his father’s trust so quickly because you remember him telling you his father would never let him take over. Due to his unrefined behaviors, of course. But it seems that he has grown out of them which is good for him.

“I better get going. Jeonghan is probably waiting for me.” You step towards the door but Wonwoo grabs your upper arm, pulling you back with a gentle tug.

“Do you not miss me? Not one bit?” His voice is so thick with emotion that it feels foreign to you. Like his, your throat closes up, and you hate how a few words from him make tears burn in the back of your eyes.

“It doesn’t matter. Just let—”

“It does! There is something else I have to tell you.”

“I don’t care!” You yell, jerking yourself free from his hold. “You can not act all familiar after so long. We are not like that anymore! Why can’t you understand?”

In the semi darkness of the room, you see his eyes glimmer. 

The very next moment he is kissing you.

And you are kissing him back. 

Just for tonight, you tell yourself as your resolve slips. You are going to give in just tonight. Just one last time. You truly don’t have it in you to turn away from him now, from his warmth, touch, and embrace when this is what you have been longing for the past few months.

Maneuvering your body with his, he pins you against the wall, trapping you with ease. And tonight, there is nowhere you want to escape to.

"I missed you." He whispers like a mantra, devouring your mouth like a starved man. He trails kisses down your jaw as his hands remove your straps from your shoulders, revealing the entire expanse of your shoulder and neck for him to play with. In between heated kisses, his hands explore your breasts, playing with your soft mounds over the fabric of your dress. 

No words are exchanged between the two of you. 

Your hands move over his chest, feeling the firm muscles under your fingertips before pushing his blazer off his shoulders. The lines are hazy just like your mind as you cannot decipher who pulls whom closer. In the dense cloud of lust, you can only fathom the opening of the buttons of his shirt and his warm body pressing next to yours. 

“I need you,” Wonwoo murmurs against your lips. One of his hands moves expertly down your thigh before he grips the back of your knee and places it around his waist. You pull him even closer, smashing your lips against his, hot and heavy as your tongue meets his.

Briefly, you hear the groan of his zipper being undone. You lift your dress, standing at an angle that helps him comfortably slide between your legs, his unrelenting grip on the back of your thigh.

"Put your hands over my shoulders and hold tight. " His whisper is a command as he positions himself at your entrance, pushing your panties to a side.

And before you can blink, he's inside you. The stretch of the intrusion makes you jolt and let out a loud, breathy groan of pleasure that makes you squeeze his shoulders and bite your lip. 

This. This is exactly what you wanted. Exactly what you needed.

You feel every delicious inch of him, moving in and out of you, familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. making your body shake from the onslaught of pleasure. Your hold on his shoulders tightens as little squeaks escape from your lips and your legs wrap themselves around his body tighter when you start to taste your release.

"Gosh, you're so tight. I missed you.” He grunts with each thrust. “Letting me fuck you against a wall, in my dressing room. Tell me, did you miss this? Did you miss me like I missed you?" Wonwoo demands, a hand reaching up to squeeze your cheeks, forcing you to look into his eyes.

“Look at me and tell me you did not miss me,” he pants, a snarl etched in his tone as he removes his hand from your face and grips the back of your throat, pulling your face closer to his.

"W-Wonwoo," you try to moan. Wonwoo keeps watching you with a darkened gaze, his pace matching the fierceness in his gaze as he continues to drill into you. He shakes after giving you a particular hard thrust, that makes your toes curl and your eyes roll back. “You are still that dirty girl. You're still my filthy slut."

You hate how much you missed his filthy mouth. 

"P-please," you pant, breathless trying to grind your clit against his pelvis. One touch on your clit and you're gonna come. "Please, let me come, Wonwoo."

The man smiles, and it almost appears cruel and cocky as he grabs your wrists in one hand and pins them hard on the wall. He increases his pace, thrusting in and out of you so hard that your back starts aching. However, you are way beyond complaining because the next moment his release is filling you up, triggering yours. Your cry is loud and unceremonious as you cling to him and ride out your high, feeling your release in the deepest fibres of your being

A short moment later, Wonwoo’s grip on you loosens. With a slightly hazy mind, you watch you grab some tissues, cleaning up you and him. With the haze of lust disappearing gradually, you find your head clearing up. The silence in the air now feels suffocating and you find yourself playing a guessing game.

Why is he so quiet? What is he thinking?

As Wonwoo buttons up his shirt and fixes his jacket, his gaze meets yours and you see his eyes fall on your lips. Pressing your fingertips around your lips, you realise your lipstick is smudged. Quietly, he hands you a tissue paper and you walk to the mirror, using it to dab the lipstick stain around your lips.

In the mirror, you watch Wonwoo watching you. All throughout, another strange, suffocating silence persists. As you toss the tissue in the bin, the silence is finally broken by his quiet, somber voice, “My father arranged a marriage for me.”

Your body grows ice cold.

For one long, horrible moment, you stop breathing, thinking, praying that you heard wrong.

“What are you…what— what do you mean?”

“He wants me to marry a chaebol heiress— Yuna Lee, sometime next year.”

Suddenly, you are scrambling to get your thoughts in order. It is always like this with him. One moment it is quiet and the next you are hit by a full speed freight train. 

“You should not have done that. We should not have done that. Why didn’t you tell me that before?” 

“Well, I tried—”

Suddenly, your blood is boiling and you are seeing red.

“What was this, a goodbye fuck?” You hiss, fixing the straps of your dress.

“What?” Wonwoo scoffs. “No! I have been thinking about you for months! Trying to figure out how to approach you—

“With all that thinking you sure did one good job!” You find yourself turning towards the door. 

“Oh come on! I…I missed you. You drive me crazy. You know damn well my brain stops working when you are near me.”

“No, Wonwoo. I don’t.” You grit. 

The passion, the emotion that you have been holding back all these months comes out in tidal waves. “In case you don’t remember, during our relationship, you were always so nonchalant, so detached. You did not give a shit about me. Not really because I was a fuck buddy to you. A girl getting paid to get your ass out of trouble every time and also someone available for a quick bang!”

Wonwoo’s demeanour shifts. You visibly see him get defensive. “Well, it's not like you professed your love to me! You did not ever hint that you were in love with me.”

Your mouth falls open at the absurdity of his words.

“You… you did not treat me with the minimum respect. You would disappear for weeks, Wonwoo, completely out of the radar only to show up when you needed my help.” You pause. “Never mind, it is pointless to argue with you.” You turn, reaching for the handle of the door.

Wonwoo stops you by roughly tugging on your arm. His grip is iron solid. “You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to leave without hearing my piece!”

You place a hand on his and use it to remove his fingers from your skin. “The time for speaking was months ago. Not now in a dressing room, minutes before you are about to be announced the new CEO.”

“I finally have my life together!”

“Do you?” You take a step closer to him with a challenge. “Do you really?”

Wonwoo remains silent, his eyes sparkling with thundering storms and clouds of emotions.

You continue. “I was your comfort zone. You used me when you needed me and then forgot about me when you were not in the mood. It would not have mattered if I professed undying love for you. You did not love me, not in the right way. You did not and you don’t right now. This is you trying to find comfort in something familiar…me.”

A twisted, unironical smile appears on his lips. “Oh, so you are what now, a therapist?”

You remain silent, watching him without blinking.

The man shakes his head, scoffing. “If you only knew how I truly felt…” His fingers card through his hair as he takes a step back. “You have no idea how I feel. In fact, right now, I don’t think you even know how you feel!”

Your lips part, ready to interject, but he goes on. “You are right. This was a mistake. I should not have told you about my dad’s plans of getting me married. No, because you would have liked to just straight up receive my wedding invite, huh? I should have just married her and showed up with her one day and introduced you as a special friend, no? Would you have liked that? Would that be the right thing to do?”

Each syllable coming out of his mouth burns like acid. Tears blur your vision but you force yourself not to cry in front of him.

“I fucking hate you.” You breathe, uttering each world slowly. “I hope you have a miserable life with her, you asshole. Never show me your face again.” Gathering your dress with one hand, you march towards the door, not stopping when he calls out your name or tries to hold onto you.

He can go to hell.

Your steps are quick as you pick up pace, running down the long hallway of the private rooms and then down a common corridor before you come to the large foyer in front of the elevator. With your skirt fisted in your hands, you dash for it but a voice makes you pause.

You turn back to find Jeonghan calling your name and jogging after you. As he comes to a stop in front of you, his eyes go up and down the length of your body, taking notice of your dishevelled appearance. 

“Are you okay?” His fingers gently touch your arm but you don’t let him pull you closer.

You need to leave.

“I need to go home.” You whisper, voice wobbly.

“Why are you running?” He steps closer to you, a desperation in his voice that matches the look in your eyes. “That bastard keeps hurting you and you keep running from him. Go and fucking… I don’t know— cause a scene! Drag him on stage and smack him once or twice.”

You are not in the mood for this.

“Stop it, Jeonghan,” you grunt turning away but the man steps in front of you.

“No! I won’t stop when I see you repeatedly suffering because of him.”

If you were not so overcome with emotions, you would roll your eyes.

“Just let me go.” You hiss, stepping past the man blocking your way. As you cross him, however, a harsh grip on your wrist forces you to stop. 

“Go out with me,” Jeonghan says in the calmest manner, the hold of his fingers on your wrist steadfast like his voice.

You almost make a move to yank yourself free but the diction of those words stops you in your tracks as if a thunderbolt has just struck you. You slowly turn your head back to meet Jeonghan’s eyes, wondering if he really said that. The strength you had moments ago to break your hand free suddenly dissipates as you meet his piercing gaze.

Along with your heartbeat, time stops.

You forget to blink, feeling the subtle tightening of his grip on you. As the silence hangs longer in the air and the depth of his words settles into the empty grand hall and every crevice of your tattered heart, you find yourself motionless, thoughtless, speechless.

“Date me. You know I’ll treat you better.” He states, again.

You feel like you are hyperventilating. A shaky breath comes from your lips and after that, each breath is a struggle. 

Suddenly, everything is too much.

Too much light in this hall. Too much noise in the background.

Too much sincerity in his words.

For a moment, you genuinely find yourself considering.

And as your gaze strays from your colleague for the smallest moment, you notice Wonwoo standing a few meters behind him. 

The look in his eyes is inexplicable but you feel every emotion radiating off him and you immediately know he heard everything. He doesn’t move, however. As the silence persists, his gaze darkens, watching you like a hawk, almost as if he is waiting to hear your verdict.

At the same time, the longer you look, his gaze appears vulnerable, betrayed.

And you feel…guilty.

Want to know how Jeonghan actually got the reader's order right? Read the special scene here!

series masterliest

[himblebo]

She called me wonderful today why the fuck did that make my heart go all warm what is the reason

[cuecrynsleep]

Reconnecting the Past

Amangela | Reunion AU!

Chapter 15: Routinely Calls

Amanda and Angela start to fall into a routine with Amanda later texting Shayne about news.

Disclaimer: This is not meant to be a representation of those in Smosh, rather a fan made perspective on the characters they portray online. Remain respectful.

← Ch. 14 | Ch. 16 → | Masterlist

────────────────────

"Okay I am starting the car," Angela, all but announced the moment the call connected.

"Thank you for the play by play Angela," Amanda teased. "I really needed it."

"Well, I don't know what else to say," she uttered. Shuffling was heard over the speaker, a light beeping noise coming from Angela's car as she presumably reversed out of her driveway. "What are you up to, anyway? It's early."

"I'm doing my hair. I finished getting dressed and my makeup earlier." Amanda said, her phone set down on the sink counter as she brushed through her long hair a final time.

"What the?" Angela said. "You're already ready? Doesn't your thing start at like 9?"

"Yeah, but it's fine. Tommy and I will probably arrive early," Amanda shrugged. She gathered up her stuff, checking through her bag a final time. "I'm used to waking up early for this, so might as well."

"I think you're just insane," Angela commented. "I understand getting ready early, but you know you can just stay behind in your hotel and watch TV."

"It feels awkward to do when I have filming today," Amanda said, her phone to her ear and off speaker as she made her way to the elevator. "I like leaving stuff like that for after work."

There was a brief pause before Angela spoke. "Oh, I get that. I feel like it's easier to start doing stuff like that in your downtime once you have a better work and personal life balance."

"True," Amanda commented. "I'll be better at it once I'm back in California."

"Sometimes I forget you do still live there," Angela admitted. "Like we started talking again and then suddenly you're in Canada."

Amanda texted Tommy as another person entered the elevator, she shuffled deeper into the corner, her voice softer as she spoke. "Well I'm bound to be back there within July," she paused. "Hopefully."

"Tell your work they suck at scheduling," Angela teased.

"Trust me, they know."

"How's filming nowadays?" Angela asked.

Amanda couldn't stop herself from sighing. "It's fine all things considered." She ended up leaving it at that, waiting for Angela to either comment or change the topic.

"Jesus Christ," Angela mumbled, her voice still clearly heard despite that not being her intention. "There's way too many cars here."

"You're driving in LA, Ange. That's a given." Amanda replied, as she navigated her way through a busy hotel lobby. She initially planned on waiting in one of the chairs but based on the multiple people checking in and out, she decided to cut her losses.

There was another pause, a brief car honk heard in the background. "Are you outside already?" Angela asked. "You really want to get there early."

"Oh, quiet," Amanda rolled her eyes. "What are you up to nowadays?"

"Well, you know, filming for the second short film and the improv group. The usual," Angela said. "I am getting closer to the people in the improv group though, so I'm happy for that."

"I'm glad, it's always good to make friends or at least colleagues in stuff like that."

As minutes passed by Amanda waited for Tommy to join her out in the front. The uber already ordered for the two five minutes ago. Throughout the call Angela ended up rambling about this one improv scene she absolutely loved doing. As Amanda listened, the corners of her mouth twitched upwards into an uncontrollable smile. She sucked her lips into her teeth, simply enjoying the moment.

There was just something about listening to Angela ramble about something she loved that was comforting. Her glances at the road waiting for the Uber to arrive becoming less frequent. As she let herself be lulled into a story about an admittedly funny scene, she failed to notice the door opening and the approaching footsteps.

"Who has you smiling at your phone like that?" Amanda heard Tommy's teasing voice, a hand on her shoulder bringing her back to the present.

"Oh my god!" Amanda practically yelped, unintentionally interrupting Angela. She turned towards Tommy immediately. "I did not see you coming."

Tommy chuckled. "Yeah," he said. "I can see that."

Angela's voice is quietly heard over the phone. Amanda isn't even sure if Tommy can hear her. "Amanda? You good? Mandy?"

"So," Tommy said, he pointed to her phone. "A friend? Boyfriend? Hookup?"

"The first one," Amanda said, just about to reply to Angela.

"You'll be busy soon. I'm going to be hanging up now." Another quiet shuffle is heard. "Good luck in filming."

Angela left the call, Amanda being left by herself before she clicked off. "Well, I was going to introduce you two, but guess not." She checked the time, failing to realize how much time had passed. "Then again she does have to get to filming soon.”

[katronautt]

KAT'S 2022 YEAR REVIEW & THANK YOU NOTE

well hello there everyone. i'm not sure if this is still a thing this year because i haven't seen anyone doing this (or i just wasn't tagged in one at all sdjfkfkf) but that won't stop me from writing another year review and saying thank you to my wonderful internet friends!

at the end of last year i finally moved out of my parents house so i've been officially living alone for a whole year now and i'm proud to announce that i still live haha its not easy sometimes and it's hella expensive but i enjoy it nonetheless. i continued decorating and furnishing my apartment and it slowly but surely became my comfy little corner on this earth and im very proud of it :3

i know i said last year sucked and i was hoping for a better one in 2022 but boy oh boy was i wrong lmao

this year was shite. like utter shite. i didn't get a job that i enjoy doing or pays well BUT at least i still have a job lol the job sucks and sometimes i wanna jump out from the 3rd floor window but i managed to make wonderful friends among my colleagues so i'm definitely thankful for that. i only work there for 7 months but i already feel like we've known each for years and they definitely make working there bareable.

this year i also finally get to meet my bff (braincell for life), Ariana (@queenofthefaceless) in person and i am very much grateful for that. i'm sad no more meeting could happen in the rest of the year but maybe in the next one 😉❤

towards the end of the year i started working out again because i gained a little bit of weight and altough i became much more confident this year, it started to bother me so i'm proud of myself for not letting it slide and now i'm mostly focusing on getting my strength back i used to have instead of being the couch potato i was all year lol and one of my new years revolution for 2023 is to eat healthier and work out even more.

and yes i am still not over the fact that you guys putting out those wonderful fics for us for free. you still rock !! 💜💜

next year i will continue to hope for a better job, one that i enjoy and pays better (or at least one of these lol) and to be even more confident and open to new things ( and finding a rich husband 🙏)

ALRIGHTY NOW ONTO THE THANK YOU NOTES:

⭐@queenofthefaceless i still love you bro sm. you rock & i can't wait for another year with you (and your amazing fics)💜

⭐my dearest cee @fuckyeahdindjarin. you started writing for the pedro fandom earlier this year and you decided to start it all with a bang haha. i was hooked on consent after the 2nd chapter and was never let go. your writing is brilliant, my favorite thing is how you can amazingly combine comedy, angst and smut in one chapter in such a kickass way i found myself rereading sentences and conversations just so a chapter would last longer. i loved that series and i cant wat to see what you will bringing into 2023! 💜

⭐ i am so honored to call you my friend kc @avennger. and i'm now so glad that i had the courage of sliding into your dm's and start incoheretnly screaming at you (YOU KNOW AFTER WHICH CHAPTER).. because that started our conversation and i love love love chatting with you and bonding over our disaster saurondriel couple haha. you are one of the most talented writer i've met and you have such great potential i'm honestly in awe. the research and work you put ito your works is absolutely mind-blowing and i hope i'll get to read many many amazing works from you in the future! ily 💜

⭐ @foli-vora foli, you continue to amaze me with your amazing fics and your wonderful and friendly personality. please never change and here's to another year filled with insane horniness towards middle aged man 🥂💜

⭐ i think we can all agree that cristina @pedropascalsx is the nicest and most supportive person on this hellsite right? you always surprise me with the insane amount of goodness you have for the people you care about and you showed nothing but supportiveness and kindness towards me too and for that i am so so grateful. you are a wonderful and talented person and i hope you'll have just as wonderful year in 2023 🥰

⭐ @sirtadcooper ruth, even tho you spent a good amount of 2022 taking a break from tumblr (which i completely understand, believe me) like i said before, i was so happy seeing you back on my dash, you were always so supportive and i hope you won't stop making those amazing edits of yours 😘

⭐@mandosmistress mari, you wonderful, wonderful friend.. i was honored to be your best reader of 2022 very early in the year and here i am hoping to achieve the best reader of 2023 next year just as quckily while we continue our horny brainstorming in the dms because i love doing that with you 🤭💜

⭐@ithinkhesgaybutwesavedmufasa i love and miss our late night (& horny) conversations so much. you are such an amazing and nice person katryn and i hope we get to chat again in the new year! ily 💜

and here's tagging the rest of y'all who i owe my life to because once again your amazing fics give me absolute joy and i know i will never be able to pay it back to you beside the support i'm always trying to give back in reblogs and reviews and promotions and such. here's to you all!! 🥂❤ (i am forever sorry if i missed someone):

@absurdthirst, @the-darklings, @softpedropascal, @write-and-buried, @oonajaeadira, @honestly-shite, @outercrasis, @qveenbvtch, @javier-pena, @toomanystoriessolittletime, @storiesofthefandomlovers, @lellowberry, @frannyzooey, @charnelhouse, @krissology, @juletheghoul, @dincrypt, @f0rever15elf, @the-ginger-hedge-witch, @astroboots, @brandyllyn, @littlemisspascal, @radiowallet, @just-here-for-the-moment, @letterfromvienna, @amywritesthings, @the-scandalorian, @whataperfectwasteoftime, @orcas86, @saintmurd0ck, @demonscantgothere

HERE'S TO 2023!!! 🥂💜

[iobsessoverfictionalmen]

The Temptation of the Immortals (2)

Warnings: cursing, canon typical violence for the Percy Jackson series, spoilers for the Percy Jackson series, nightmares, the gods being absent parents, references to Greek Mythology, mentions of starvation and trauma.

“I can’t believe you said I would do this Piper.”  You scowled at your friend and colleague when she told you about the call that she received last night as she was finishing her shift.  “When did I give you or anyone else any indication that I know what I’m doing when it comes to babysitting children?”

Piper shrugged unrepentantly, “You looked after us on the Argo, at camp and during both wars.”

“That was different and it wasn’t babysitting!  We were similar ages!  If you’re so keen on the museum expanding its focus into childcare, why didn’t you say that you would babysit this kid?”

“For the last time, it’s not babysitting.  It’s tutoring.”

“The question remains Piper, why didn’t you say that you’d do it?”

“Because I have a date tonight with Shel.”

“Oh, okay.  So I’m available because I’m single.”

“Glad we understand each other,” Piper beamed.  Seeing your unconvinced face, her smile disappeared and became a pout. 

“Don’t do the face.”

“What face?”

“The face that makes me feel bad for saying no.”

Piper’s eyes sparkled, “So you’ll do it?”

“Yes.” You groaned, rubbing at your eyes.  “I must be insane for even entertaining the thought of doing this.”

“Apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree then.”  Piper quipped as she left your office.

You grabbed a piece of paper, balled it up and threw it after her.  Just like your hopes of convincing her to change her mind about this plan of hers failed, your paper ball missed its target.  Later in the day, once you had finished your shift and you were on the way out of the museum, you stopped by Piper’s office and she gave you the address of the boy that you would be tutoring. 

“The child you will be tutoring is Alexander Kneef.  Surely you’ve heard of his father, Bryan Kneef.”

To her surprise, you had no idea who she was talking about.

“He’s one of the top litigators in Chicago.”

“And Annabeth is one of the best debaters and architects in New York, what’s your point?”

Piper rolled her eyes and shooed you out of her office.  Feeling slightly nervous about your task now, you made your way to the address and knocked on the door.

The door opened immediately and you took the opportunity to study the man standing opposite you.  Admittedly yes, he was handsome with his green eyes, brown hair and impeccable blue suit that probably cost more than you would ever make however, you could practically taste the arrogance coming off of him in waves and deep down, you hoped the child you were tutoring wasn’t like his father.

“Are you just going to stand there?”

You inhaled deeply, “I was taught that it was rude to barge into another’s home without receiving permission to do so.”

The lawyer scoffed, “I hope you’re not expecting a gilded invitation.  You won’t get one.”

“Perfect.  I’ll turn around and go on with my day.  Take care.”

You pivoted on your heel and walked back the way you came.  “Why in Hades would Piper agree to this?  She had to have some inkling as to what the man is like; she was the one to talk to him on the phone and knowing that she still suggested me!”

“His lunch is at twelve precisely.  It’s on the countertop ready for him and I told him that you would be working on his reading.  Alexander is avoiding reading at every possible opportunity and I am concerned that he will begin to fall behind if this behaviour continues.”

You paused with your back to the lawyer, “You’re talking as if I’m actually going to set foot in your apartment.  Did you miss the fact that I’m walking out of the building?  I can continue so that you get a better understanding of my actions.”

“I will be back in two hours.”  Bryan Kneef continued as if he hadn’t heard you.  “That is if this school is as efficient as they claimed to be over the phone.”

“This school?”  You questioned.

Now it was Bryan’s turn to breathe deeply, “My son’s previous school informed me that he is no longer welcome at their institution.  I’m sure that your colleague told you who I am.  If that information becomes public knowledge, I will come after you will the full force of the law.”

Sympathy for the boy welled up inside of you despite his father’s threat.  How many times had your mother said those exact words to you about a school that you had attended?  All over something you couldn’t control.

“This is a bad idea.”

You faced Bryan, “Today’s focus is reading?”

Surprise flitted over his face at your words, “Do you have a hearing problem?”

Choosing to ignore that comment you pushed on, “What book in particular?”

“He’ll tell you.  Alexander takes after me so of course he’s going to be clever.  You may address me as Mr. Kneef or Bryan if you must.”

As you passed each other in the hallway, you could have sworn that a quiet ‘thank you’ passed the lawyer’s lips.

[amalgamationillustration]

This is the nuance I feel so many people are missing these days, especially online. People jump immediately with anything to 'they must be a bigot' no matter what context they do or don't have for the situation and immediately hop on the offensive either directly to that person or indirectly by telling everyone things like "reminder: this person liked this post or tweet or follows this person on Instagram or twitter and that person said made an off colour joke about something like how it's weird that call center staff in different countries use fake english names and 'whats the deal with that?!' 3 years ago and haven't made any jokes like that since and if you support this person after learning that then you're scum" and then a week later you see a call out post going around about random twitter user 592725 saying "reminder: twitter user 592725 follows this celebrity who is bestest best friends with this other celebrity because they liked a few of their posts and this celebrity is a NAZI and a BIGOT." And it goes on and on.

I've literally seen entire threads where someone has linked a dropbox full of screenshots and receipts about someone else in a fandom and I've sat and read the entire thing and have not been able to work out what this person did wrong exactly and then it's revealed that actually these people are all like 17 and it's weird as fuck that they're just casually dumping 1gb of screenshots of this other minors private messages and thoughts and feelings which half the time don't seem to even be particularly controversial. Like I am so glad I grew up with web 1.0 and not this, not to sound fucking old but back in my day you fucked up online and bricked your pc with a virus or you didn't get any likes on deviantart. Now your utterly cringe takes at 12 years old are screenshotted and used as evidence that you're irredeemable and must be removed from an online space immediately. As though we didnt all have incredibly bad takes at 12, as if we were all incredibly open minded and understood the human experience beyond our own and the nuance of systematic oppression of people who are different to us. As if we know that 'haha gay' wasn't a punchline at 12, as if we didn't just repeat half the shit we heard from our parents or friends!!

I saw a post recently about one of the ghoulettes from ghost who is Jewish sharing some pro israel video and she was obviously immediately told hey uh... Don't? And it seems like she made follow ups to clarify she's always been pro Palestine and doesn't think what Israel are doing is right at all, but that her point was meant to be was more specifically pro Jewish in saying that please don't let what's happening to Palestinians convince you that they Jewish population of the world at large wanted this or support it and she's scared of the stereotyping of Jewish people given the historical implications of that. While I agree with her base point it obviously feels like a poor time to center herself in this, I also can tell she's clearly not actually pro genocide nor in support of what's happening but literally everyone just said she was a pro israel genocide denying douchebag and I saw people going so far as to say the other ghoulettes and ghouls that were openly friends with her must also be pro israel by association?! Which is insane to me like theyre colleagues and may work together again in the future, and they're friends, of COURSE they're going to have more understanding and try to be more nuanced in listening to their point and they also know them personally so can personally attest to them as people. What's hilarious is when one of the male ghouls started dating a trump supporter everyone cancelled other fans that were friends with her but people were quick to defend him as just unaware or in need of protecting which feels... Interesting? Like oh it's okay if it's your favourite precious baby girl but not if it's one of the actual women in the band?

Anyway, when I tried to state that people were missing the nuance of what was happening with what this ghoulette was saying with regards to her post about Israel, people immediately jumped to "there's no nuance about genocide what the fuck" and of course immediately i realised I had now also fallen into this trap because the nuance I mentioned was about understanding what people are trying to say, actually hearing their explanation and putting yourself in their shoes instead of assuming the worst of people and people immediately assumed I was calling whats happening currently in Palestine a nuanced situation instead.

Anyway I deleted twitter at that point because it seems impossible to have nuance and be on twitter so I was clearly wasting my breath on it but I'm just so over people hearing a few things or seeing one or two things and jumping to these huge conclusions about people's entire moral compass and rather than doing what OP did here which is try to offer another perspective or confirm that some of what they've heard is incorrect or straight up lies and fear mongering, rather than immediately go to "HEY FUCK U LADY" because literally no one has ever learnt or grown or become a better person by hearing "FUCK YOU". And I'm not saying we should try to redeem every piece of shit, some people know what they're doing is hateful and don't care, but so many just don't know and so many are scared of doing or saying or liking the wrong thing because we're so quick to label everyone a bigot instead of trying to actually communicate.

At the lesbian meetup, met a kind of transphobic woman. Started gearing up to get fighty and then realised... she wasn't an actual terf. She was just older, genuinely didn't know stuff, had heard some terf talking points in passing and had been made kind of anxious by them, but hadn't made it her entire personality. She was open to learning that trans women weren't actually roaming around coercing unwilling cis lesbians into sex, thanked me earnestly for giving her a basic explanation of what "non-binary" meant and truly seemed to be relaxing bit by bit the more she heard. Obviously I'm aware that I can't be sure I've given her a sufficient dose of anti-transphobe vaccine to immunise her permanently against the shit that's out there, but overall it made me hopeful. Most people just aren't dyed-in-the-wool bigots. People can be curious and relieved to hear the fearmongering they've been exposed to is untrue. Telling people this stuff isn't a lost cause.

[fizzyphan]

helllooo

by now u must've already had ur audition so how did it go!! did u get the part of adelaide? are u excited 👀 i loveee the name adelaide it's so pretty. ooh and i shall check out guys and dolls when i have some free time soon. and how was the christmas party, did u have good food and some games?

hehe thank u 💗 i'm not gonna lie getting second prize at a game i've never played before has definitely given me an ego boost im gonna walk around claiming i'm a pro at bowling 😬

ooh which songs were ur top three last year and on the same note which ones were ur top three this year? i surprisingly liked my wrapped this year because it was more or less what i expected but i am aware that this year spotify messed up pretty bad. i feel like being a 1d girlie never goes away it's just something that hits u out of nowhere. and oh my god noah kahan!! actually seed was the one who introduced me to him and i have been insane about him ever since. i know it's a hard question but which noah song is ur favourite?

ooh that sounds amazing! i'm so glad u enjoyed txt's concerts. i have a friend who's a kpop fan and they were telling me about how hard it is to get tickets for kpop artists in uk/eu/usa because they sell out very quickly. as for my concert stories, so no one really comes to my home country and so when i went to the uk i literally went to as many shows as i could afford to 🫣 but my favourite concert was actually 5sos, niall coming second to them. i actually bought an extremely last minute ticket for 5sos and i got it for ridiculously cheap but god they're so much fun live! but i think love on tour 23 will always be a fond memory for me, it was like a pocket in time and i'll always miss it!

my week has been good so far, got a major part of my work done, got a box of chocolates from a sweet colleague. what about u, how was ur week? have u done all of ur christmas shopping or do u still need to run some last minute errands?

- s

heyy!! my audition ended a bit ago but unfortunately i didn't actually get to sing or dance because we didnt have enough people sign up to start auditions for that specific show, we've moved them to the beginning of rehearsals in January, so kinda bummed but at least i got to watch amazing auditions for other shows at my theatre today before the party!

we did have good pizza and sang a song from Les Miserables at our party, we also did a gift exchange and i got a hot coco + coffee + mug set!

i relate with the bowling ego! i won a game of mini golf awhile back and felt like a pro golfer loll

last year my top three songs were all 5sos, 1 was voodoo doll, 2 was lost in reality, and 3 was heart break girl! this year my top three were Cocaine Jesus by Rainbow kitten surprise, Its called: freefall by Rainbow kitten surprise and Stick season by noah kahan! although, Northern Attitude is probably my favorite Noah kahan song!

yes txt was so amazing! it is difficult to get tickets tho lol! most people stay up with the page refreshing to get first pick!

ugh 5sos sounds so fun!! my sister went to a one direction concert when she was younger with 5sos as the opener! and niall wow that sounds amazing!!!

my week has been pretty good! ive gotten all my sisters presents and some of my brothers, still working on the rest though, although i did get one of my theatre friends a couple gifts today so im excited to send them to her! me and my mom and sister will finish our Christmas shopping in the next couple days! I actually love christmas shopping, especially getting a coffee or something beforehand to shop with hehe

hope youre doing well!! im so happy to have you to talk to! ❣️

[kittyprincessofcats]

Good and bad stuff going on my life that I need to make a post about

GOOD - the small things literally keeping me going:

- I’m so hyped for Nimona. Haven’t watched it yet because I wanna finish the comic first (and with everything going on I find it hard to sit down and read), and also because I wanna watch it with my sisters when I visit them next week - BUT STILL I’M SO HYPED. I’m so glad to hear it’s good and that everyone’s loving it! And AAAAHHH have you seen Nate’s new art??

- I finally found a DnD-group and we played a One-Shot together on sunday. It was super fun and I can’t wait to play something longer with these guys.

- I recently made my first ever custom FunkoPop (as a b-day present for my sister) and it was SO insanely fun. I’ll post pictures here soon because I’m super proud of it.

- I recently visited my sisters I’m excited to see them again soon.

- My friend’s wedding was nice.

BAD - just too much stuff:

- Have a colonscopy & gastroscopy appointment on friday and I’m nervous. I mean it’s good that this is finally happening, but I’m also annoyed that I had to *ask and insist* because the doctor was going to rush me out with a premature IBS-diagnosis instead. It was only when *I* asked “Don’t you have to check for inflammatory bowel disease before making that diagnosis?” that she admitted “Yes, technically you’d have to.” Well, then why aren’t you doing what you “technically” have to? Why did I have to ask you to do your job properly?

- Same doctor did an ultrasound of my stomach area - turns out I have gallstones. (Just why, universe? Didn’t I have enough problems?) She then casually started talking about gallbladder removals, like... I’m right here, don’t just drop stuff like that on me, how am I supposed to go back to work and not break down there now?

- Had to ask a collague (who is nice, but I don’t know her that well) to pick me up from the doctor’s and drive me home on friday because I live alone, don’t have friends here who have a car and she was the only person I could think of. (She agreed and was really nice about it, but still.)

- Just... in general, health stuff is so much harder when you’re also lonely and have no one phyiscally here to comfort and hug you.

- I called my dad after that doctor’s appointment despite currently being low-contact with him and not really wanting to talk to him, just because I don’t know shit about whether gallstones are super bad or not and this was an “I need a parent” situation... which I wish either didn’t happen or that I had some better parental figure to ask.

- Visiting my sisters is unfortunately also a package deal with visiting my parents. I booked a hotel last time instead of sleeping at home just to I could limit my time with them - it was the right call, but still felt like too much time with them. I felt completely drained at the end of the day.

 - My shitty colleague from this post hasn’t talked to me since and now my boss randomly wants to assign me to different clients... almost as if she did ask not to work with me anymore after all. (But really, that’s a good thing, I was going to ask for the same thing.)

- The work’s council took 6 weeks to get back to me about this and because 2 of them are total a**holes, they’re now telling me I don’t have to right to refuse projects for Russia (not true, I did my research) - and they did so in an e-mail that didn’t even properly answer my questions and made me feel like they hadn’t gotten my actual problem and weren’t taking me seriously. Just pissed at them rn and don’t know what to do. If the works council isn’t on your side during a dispute with your boss, then who can help? I don’t fucking want to lift a single finger for shithole-country, what’s not clicking?

[ivythebisexual]

Chained up

Authors note: this is a jake x reader WARNING: spoilers for the end of season four and beggining of season five so beware.

___________________________________________

"I would like to call the next witness. I call to the stand Miss Evelyn Barnes." Lieutenant Hawkins lawyer told. The girl gladly waltzed to the stand ready for the questioning. Shocked looks were displayed on all of the face of the nine-nine squad, especially Jake's considering this was his girlfriend whom he had been dating for a year. "What is going on?!" he whisper yelled to a very confused Rosa. "Miss Barnes please state your relationship with Detective Peralta." the judge ordered. "I am Mr. Peraltas ex girlfriend. We had been dating for a year before he cheated on me with a mutual colleague of ours Amy Santiago." it was Amy's turn to be shocked. "And what do you know about the crimes Detective Peralta commited?" the judge asked. "Well, Mr. Peralta tried to convince me to rob the banks with him just like he convinced Miss. Diaz, but once I said no he threatened to kill me if I opened my mouth. I needed a reason to leave him so when he cheated on me I escaped, and I am so glad he got caught before he could commit another crime." she lied trough her teeth faking a stray tear that rolled down her cheek. "This is insane!" Jake yelled standing up as Evelyn left the stand. "Order in court. Detective Peralta please speak only when asked to." the judge requested. He quickly became quiet as he sat back down. The beautiful girl he once called his lover gave him a cold glare wiping the stray tear.

After another thirty minutes or so the judge finally made a desicion. "Jake Peralta, Rosa Diaz the court finds you guilty on all charges. You are sentenced to fifteen years in prison" he banged his gavel as the reality of the situation finally settled on Rosa's and Jake's shoulders. It dawned on them that they were going to fifteen years in prison for a crime they didn't even commit all because of a betrayal of a close friend.

"What the hell Evelyn!?" Amy confronted her once they were out of the courtroom. "I did what I had to." she responded coldly. "You sent them both to prison. I thought we were your friends!" Amy yelled with a few tears slipping down her cheeks. "Good. I hope they rot." she spat venom showing absolutely no remorse.

"I like what you did there." Lieutenant Hawkins told her once they were out of the earshot and away of the courthouse. "Thank you Lieutenant." she responded. "How would you like to join my task force?" "Gladly." they shook on it before parting ways.

"Alright, we go in and we go in fast. Evelyn you will be in charge of crowd control." Lieutenant spoke handing her a mask and fully loaded gun. "Right." she responded pulling the mask over her head. They parked in an alley near the back and as soon as Hawkins gave the signal they rushed out of the van and into the bank. "Everyone on the ground! This is a robbery if you move you're dead!" Evelyn yelled shooting a few bullets in the air as Hawkins and the rest of the team started working on opening the safe.

After a couple of minutes the safe was opened and diamonds secure in the bag. "Alright lets go." Lieutenant ordered and in no time everyone was back in the van. "Great work guys a few more of these and we will be all set." she smiled viciously removing her mask.

In a couple of months more of these heists happened. Evelyn president in every single one of them. She didn't enjoy them but she needed to continue to bust her boyfriend out of prison. The days were hard and long especially because she couldn't spend time with her family in the nine-nine and couldn't feel her boyfriend touch or hear his voice because he was locked behind bars. But today was the day. She gathered enough evidence to put Hawkins behind bars and free her friend and her lover. "Good morning everyone." she greeted the precint and the people of it with a cheery smile plastered across her face. "What are you doing here traitor?!" Boyle yelled at her jumping from his chair. "I'm here because I want your help." she said walking around the bullpen. "Oh so now you want our help after you put two of our friends in jail?!" Sergeant Jeffords jumped. "I have enough evidence to put Hawkins behind bars for good." she slammed the big box of evidence on the Sergeants desk. "What the-"

"NYPD put your hands behind your head your under arrest!" everyone yelled as they stormed the Lieutenants headquarters. "Barnes?" Hawkins questioned confusion evident in her voice. "Your going behind bars Hawkins. For good you bitch." Evelyn hissed putting the cuffs on the Lieutenant.

"Jake!" she ran into her boyfriends arms but he was quick to push her away. "Don't come near me you are the reason me and Rosa are behind bars." he growled. "I'm also the reason you are no longer behind bars. I got you and Rosa released from prison." she smiled. "What? But why?! You put us behind bars in the first place!" he yelled. "I needed to. She had a lot of evidence against you and if I wanted evidence against her I needed to gain her trust. You were gonna go to prison either way but because I testified against you I gained her respect and attention. I started working with her and in a couple of months I gathered concrete evidence to put her behind bars and to free you." she laughed with joy happy to see her lover after the time they spent apart. "I love you Evelyn." he whispered hugging the girl. With his index finger he lifted her chin to plant a sweet and soft kiss one her lips. "Jake I love you too bud the beard has got to go." he planted another kiss on her lips laughing into it.

[orangeswithsquirrelfaces]

Okay, I have to know, what criteria does a lamp have to meet to be labeled a “fucked up evil lamp”? It’s a lamp. What did it do to hurt you? Should I be afraid of this lamp? Is it going to steal all of the quesadillas from my house when I’m sleeping? Oh dear lord, not the quesadillas. (This is comedic, I hope it does not read as angry, but I am genuinely curious what lamp the original poster of that one post was envisioning, and terrified at the same time)

@despairingdevotee thank you so much, this was the best possible thing I could have woken up to! I was honestly hesitant to post my quesadilla lamp rant at all, and ended up cutting it a bit, but I’m quite glad I posted it! Thank you for your kind words and fascinating introspection! Here is my response to your response to the quesadilla lamp rant:

I also have a few other ideas of what might deem a lamp highly malevolent! These highly malevolent lamp pastimes include, but are not limited to:

Covertly releasing salt into every drink the house owner left unattended, not anything too bad, just salt. The lamp would start by releasing small amounts of salt into, say, their coffee, but would gradually ramp the salt content up until they noticed, and then start over.

The lamp could sprout fourteen chicken legs and disrupt every (if any) parties they hosted, just slinking out, and they’d have to be like “Sorry, I gotta go deal with my lamp.. It’s acting up again.. You must understand, I’m sure y’all’s lamps do this too.. right? *lamp dashes out on fourteen chicken legs like a pig at a state fair, (bonus points if it is covered in baked beans)*

the lamp could max out the house owner’s credit card on illegal Craigslist lampshades

Here’s a terrifying fucked up evil lamp idea for you: Between the hours of- y’know what, this would better be read in very (okay, it was a bit longer than expected) short horror story format;

Bethany had always been suspicious of her lamp. Her friends called her insane, and told her to just get a new lamp if she hated the old one so much, but Bethany didn’t listen. Something compelled her to keep that lamp. It was a very ornate, beautiful vintage piece, and she felt like getting rid of it would be the most idiotic move of her life. She never trusted her gut, Logical and pragmatic as she was, she found it senseless to get rid of a seemingly perfect lamp just because of a bad feeling. She had never been superstitious, and neither had any of her few colleagues. Maybe logic attracted logic, she supposed. It was another late night, and Bethany found herself studying once more. She knew that pulling all nighters was never good for her, but she also knew that university was expensive, and she damn well wasn’t going to be able to afford it twice. Illuminated with the soft light of her trusty- (maybe not trusty, per se, as she didn’t trust that lamp for a second) lamp, she found herself writing in her journal once more. This was a soothing pastime for Bethany, as whilst she never wanted to admit it, she was a bit perturbed by the things that went bump in the night. Journaling took her mind off of things, and journaling was a good outlet. Eventually, she found herself growing exceptionally weary, and decided to brew some coffee. Walking down the hall, she remembered something she had forgotten. Something important. She had left her journal open, which was not ideal, as she had a very nosy, if sleeping, roommate. Bethany quietly tiptoed back to her dorm, and peeked into the adjar door, as her eyes widened. She stared at her journal, transfixed, as the words appeared to be floating off of the page. Floating toward the lamp. The light of the lamp began to absorb each word Bethany had written down, and soon, there was nothing left on that page. Slowly, the next page began to turn… Bethany kicked the door all the way open and rushed into the dorm, to the alarm of a now very much awake and drowsy roommate, who looked at her, confused and a bit terrified. “Bettie.. what is it?” Soon, the roomate followed Bethany’s gaze and also saw the Fucked Up Evil Lamp, which Bethany was now rushing towards. Beth quite literally knocked that lamp’s lights out, but soon, it came back, and Bethany felt herself strangely pulled into the ever brighter light. That lamp wasn’t just fucked up, it was hungry.

I’m not going to lie, I completely improvised that, feel free to not read it, my writing is abhorrent. Yours is great, though, and I also tend to use excessive commas, so we are in the same boat. Here is a funny mental image on the note of that awesome one act play idea: What if the character was dating the lamp? That’s relatively fucked up, I’d say!

And, really, what is a lamp? If it really is just a man made object that provides light, then a flashlight is a lamp, a computer is a lamp, a window is technically a lamp, a laser pointer is a lamp.. you get the point, but, surely at least some of those definetly aren’t lamps. But, if we add more parameters, we have to be quite careful, or some things that are lamps won’t be considered lamps anymore, like, if we say that a lamp is a singular light fixture attached to a long rod, with a lampshade, then we are excluding short lamps, those cool shelf lamps, and really a bunch of awesome lamps. But if we just say that a lamp is a light fixture attached to something, then a light saber is now a lamp. I’m not opposed to the idea, but, it doesn’t necessarily scream lamp to me, y’know?

But yeah, a lamp that betrays you would be terrifying! I’ve had many ideas on such, which are slightly more humorous than horrifying, but still. What about a lamp that starts strobing and playing dubstep music at random intervals? I’d say that’s equal parts funny and completely and utterly malicious. You can no longer trust that light not to disrupt your studies, or worse, and then flash in Morse code to say “it’s just a prank bro” also, I love the Owl House referencing, analogies, and just genuine awesome stuff! Also, I adore Luz’s light symbolism! I guess light has always been a bit of a double edged sword, whether in The Owl House, when Luz gives the light glyph to Phillip/Belos accidentally, or in our own realm with fire, a source of light and warmth, but also of great destruction and pain. As what we are, it is our nature to cling onto light, onto safety, onto what we deem as known, even if it isn’t actually as safe as what is waiting for us in the dark. Many evil CEO’s (yeah bezos is awful.) never stepped out into the unknown, via choice or not, and thus never learned what it was like for those away from the comfort of their commodities, and never learned what sacrifice was like, and never learned why making the right choice was important, because at their heart, they are children just like the collector. Children with an immense amount of power and a not so immense amount of maturity. I’m not saying they are good, and they are not the same, either, by any stretch of either terms, they are still not great people, but I think it is interesting to relate them to the collector and see glimpses of our reality in our favorite shows. thank you so much if you read this far, but tldr, EVIL LAMPS and their unexpectedly existential implications on our world. This has been quite wonderful, also, your monologue was very coherent and you can’t convince me otherwise! :)

characters of all time

[euterpessi]

Romance Manhwa/Manga Recommendations:

Historical Manhwa/Manga:

Death Is The Only Ending For The Villainess

I’ve reincarnated as the reverse harem game’s villainess, the one and only adopted daughter of the ducal Eckart family.

But the difficulty just has to be the worst!

Everything I do will only lead me to death.

I must be paired with one of the main male characters from the heroine’s harem before the ‘real daughter’ of the duke family appears!

Two older brothers who always pick a fight with me on every little thing.

The insane crown prince whose route will always lead to my death.

‘I only see the heroine and no one else’s wizard, and also her loyal slave knight, too!

‘First, let’s take some of them which I see no hope in, out of the list!’

“I didn’t know my place up until now. From now on, I’ll live as quiet as a mouse so you wouldn’t care the slightest bit!

But why do their interests in me keep on rising every time I draw the line?!

The Villainess is a Marionette

Cayena, the Imperial Princess, was known as the most beautiful woman in the Empire. She was a woman who knew nothing but evil and luxury.

However, she was destined for ruin: she would be used as a chess piece by her younger brother to secure his throne and killed by her crazy husband.

“I’ll make you the Emperor.”

“… Sister, are you referring to me?”

“In exchange, give me freedom.”

She had to change things before she became that Cayena.

The Reason Why Raeliana Ended Up At The Duke’S Mansion

Poisoned to death by her own betrothed?! Eunha didn’t wake up in a novel’s story just to get killed off again as an unfortunate extra! To change her story she needs a cover… 6 months pretending to be the fake fiancée of the novel’s male protagonist, Duke Noah Wynknight. But will this cold-hearted, angel-faced demon of a man really help her avoid another ill-fated ending?!

Your Throne / I Want to Be You, Just For A Day

The story follows main characters Medea Solon and Psyche Callista, who become archenemies after competing for the position of crown princess of the Vasilios Empire. On the day of the Yearly Prayer, Medea and Psyche accidentally switch bodies.

The Remarried Empress

Navier was the perfect empress, however, the Emperor wanted a wife, not a colleague. And so, the Emperor abandoned Empress Navier and placed an enslaved girl beside him. That was fine until Navier heard the Emperor promise the slave the Empress’ position. After many ups and downs, Navier decided she would accept being the Queen of the neighbouring country and remarry.

Kill The Villainess

Eris Mizerian was the villainess of a novel. The only daughter of a marquis, she got executed after scheming against the pure and lovely protagonist, Helena. My only goal, after possessing her, is simply to leave this world and go home. I am prepared to face even death, but the laws of this world keep stopping me.

A changed Eris begins to draw the attention of three men who once loathed her; the Crown Prince, the High Priest, and the Knight.

"It doesn't matter. I will never be able to love this world."

Even if the only way out is death,

even if the only way out is make a deal with a witch...

I will absolutely leave this world!

This is the story of the villainess who defies fate, Eris, and her escape from this world!

The Way To Protect The Female Lead's Older Brother

I accidentally took possession of someone in a 19+ reverse harem novel.

The problem is that I became Roxana Agriche, the older sister of the sub-villain. My damn father kidnapped the heroine’s brother. Now, is the only thing left to meet a terrible end from the vengeance of the heroine?

But what if I can avoid that horrible development?

“I’m also interested in this toy.”

“I’ll protect you until you can get out of here safely.”

The heroine’s brother, Cassis Pedalian, will definitely be able to pay me back later.

Shadow Queen

“Can you be my daughter for me?”

By his offer, Elena became Duke of Franceschi’s fake daughter.

She became the queen and gave birth to Crown Prince’s son.

Then suddenly, Princess Veronica who was assumed dead came back.

She was only just a toy.

But eventually, Elena gets her son taken and is murdered.

However, she went back to the past.

“I’ll destroy all of you.”

I’ll never live as a toy again.

Elena decides to seeks revenge.

Under the Oak Tree

The daughter of a duke, the stuttering Maximilian, married a knight of lowly status at her father’s coercion.

After their first night, her husband departed for an expedition without another word.

He comes back three years later, this time as a famous knight in the whole continent.

How would Maximilian face him on his return?

"The more I think of you, the more lonely and lonely I become. I don't know why I can't quit even though it's so painful."

I'm Stanning The Prince

Angela’s fanfic became such a sensation that it even reached the Imperial Family, leading her to get arrested on charges of treason. Nevertheless, her fanfic improved the First Prince’s image, and his sister, the Princess, decides to take political advantage of this and keep Angela by their side. 

The heroine who can now fangirl to her heart’s content, and the Prince who doesn’t know how to act around her. As they bicker back and forth, they start growing closer…

Miss Not-So Sidekick

Hyejung loved to read to escape her daily stress. But that’s before she woke up inside the bizarre world of her favorite novel! Instead of the main heroine who courts three eligible men, she is now Latte Ectrie – a minor villain that everyone hates?! One way or another, it’s a chance to live out her most beloved storyline, with popcorn in hand to watch all the drama! Taking charge of the narrative takes on a whole new meaning!

Even Though I’M The Villainess, I’ll Become The Heroine!

I wasn’t able to overcome the harassment and took my life, but I was reincarnated with the perpetrator? The perpetrator is the heroine, Florre, and I am the villainess, Dahlia, who’s going to die horribly.

“They said you are a villain with neither blood nor tears, but unlike the rumors, you often shed tears.”

“Your Highness must believe all the nonsense the idiots are talking about, huh?”

Grand Duke of Cervian, the half brother of the Male lead and who will be punished for treason afterwards. He approached me. I can’t lose the man who will be my greatest ally.

“Your Highness, would you marry me?”

“Now…… what did you say?”

“And take revenge together.”

A similar situation, a fixed ending. The heroine is not the only one who knows the ending of the novel. I took a long and arduous path of revenge.

Who Made Me A Princess

The beautiful Athanasia was killed at the hands of her own biological father, Claude de Alger Obelia, the cold-blooded emperor! It’s just a silly bedtime story… until one woman wakes up to suddenly find she’s become that unfortunate princess! She needs a plan to survive her doomed fate, and time is running out. Will she go with Plan A, live as quietly as possible without being noticed by the infamous emperor? Plan B, collect enough money to escape the palace? Or will she be stuck with Plan C, sweet-talking her way into her father’s good graces?!

The Villainess Reverses the Hourglass

With the marriage of her prostitute mother to the Count, Aria’s status in society skyrocketed immediately. After leading a life of luxury, Aria unfairly meets death because of her sister Mielle’s schemes. And right before she dies, she sees an hourglass fall as if it were a fantasy. And just like that, she was miraculously brought back to the past.

“I want to become a very elegant person, just like my sister, Mielle.”

In order to face the villainess, she must become an even more wicked villainess. This was the new path Aria chose to take revenge on Mielle who murdered both her and her mother.

The Evil Lady's Hero

Junipe Magnolia, a villainess friend of the heroine in this novel called Rael Cania.

The Junipe inside the novel has always loved the male lead, Iseed. To the point where she harassed Rael out of jealousy because she's loved by Iseed.

And thus, Junipe is destinied to die in the hands of the male lead of this novel.

But one day.

"Why did I become Junipe?!"

But let's think about it, it's still one year away from the time Junipe is going to get killed by Iseed. So, I have to meet Iseed and Rael first, I'll be able to find a way out of my death if I do so.

Yeah, let's meet them first!

But, this man is just so tender-hearted and kind. Would Junipe be able to escape from this man?!

I Tamed a Tyrant and Ran Away

God gave me a chance to relive my life. Before the rebirth, I had been used for the past 400 years as the empire's sword. And so, I swore to destroy the empire. I found the young prince of the country and became his teacher. I taught him how to become a tyrant and asked for the country.

"I will do the lady's will."

He conquered the whole empire for me, and I ran away.

"I came to take you, Charlize Ronan." Dylan became a perfect tyrant and searched the entire empire for me.

"You tamed me, so why did you run away?"

Untouchable Lady

“Please, Hilise. Please die in place of Gabrielle.” My always dignified brother begged me for the first time. He wants me to die for our stepsister, whom we don't even share a drop of blood with. “For the first and last time, I ask you this.” I've always been miserable, and there is no exception this time. The seventh time that I was betrayed and killed, I was completely free of lingering feelings. “I'm glad that you're a scumbag until the end.” I won't be swayed by love anymore. It's my turn to abandon them first.

I’ll Live On As A Villainess

I reincarnated as the villainess in a book!

The one who dared to commit attempted murder on the heroine is the owner of this body?

Let's just live in a quiet place where we have fun and eat! That's what I thought for a while.

It was so, so, so cold here in the north, where I was kicked out as a punishment.

Before I froze to death, I called the Great Demon of Fire and set fire to the fireplace but...

Why isn't he going back? If you've done the job, shouldn't you go back?!

I was flustered to find out that I had signed a life contract with a demon just to start a fire but to think that I'd be responsible for relieving his desires!

The bickering romance between a big puppy demon and a small villainess lady!

It Looks Like I’Ve Fallen Into The World Of A Reverse Harem Game

When I opened my eyes, I was in a different world. I had become the game’s villainous princess who was feared by all. Not to mention… Completely naked men I didn’t even know were approaching me left and right! “Are you cold? Shall I warm you up with a hug?” “Oh? Have you not had enough yet?” Seriously, what’s up with this situation? And just how the hell am I going to get out of this freaking game?!

Father, I Don't Want to Get Married!

I’m Jubelian? The daughter of the duke and the villainess of this novel?

I managed to avoid my death with some previous knowledge about my life, as this was my second time at it. Now, I should be able to live a peaceful life!

“I’m not going to marry a man unless he has everything. I want the most wealthy, famous, and competent man there is.”

I dreamt of a glamorous life as the daughter of the duke, but my father tells me the Crown Prince who is known to be a lunatic is to be my husband! As an extraordinary measure, I couldn’t help but start a contract relationship. That is, with a handsome side character that looks better than the main one.

“Why are you trying to avoid being engaged to the prince?”

“He’s scary. I heard that he even kills his own entourage if he doesn’t like them.”

A few days later, the prince sent a terrible letter to me.

“I will not kill you.”

Oh no, did I set up another death trap for myself?

Like A Wind On A Dry Branch

"Hi, You."

Count Casarius fell victim to a plague and died suddenly, leaving behind a will stating that Rietta, his beautiful young widow of the manor, whom he tried to use as a concubine, be buried alive alongside him. Just before Rietta is buried, Archduke Axias, rumored to be a cruel tyrant, arrives at the funeral to collect the enormous debt Count Casarius still owes him.

“Everyone here seems to feel sorry for her, and I still have a debt to collect from Casarius… If I take her instead of debt, I think all of you here should be happy," he smiled.

"Hello, Temptress."

Everything was a Mistake

Roa Valrose reincarnated as villainess in the book. In order to avoid the fate of being burned at the stake, she approaches the hero, Nocton Edgar.

It hurts every time she gets closer to him. Nevertheless, for her survival, she does everything he wants her to do.

“Come again, Valrose.”

The mysterious Nocton unexpectedly sought her out every day.

Then one day, her friend for 10 years says something unknown to her.

“Actually, I have a dream. The Duke of Edgar is a terrible villain!”

He is not the hero, but the villain?

As soon as she realized that she had misinterpreted the role, she decided to get away from Nocton.

“Let’s not meet anymore.”

But the villain’s reaction was strange.

“Don’t go. You’ve always been special to me.”

She was suspicious of his sudden change of attitude.

Will she able to get rid of Nocton safely?

I Became the Tyrant's Secretary

I became the secretary of a tyrant in place of my clumsy brother to survive.

But I have so much potential for it. I’m so darn good at my job. Because I served the tyrant so well, ‘Everyone has a happy ending’.

Well then, shall I quit being a secretary and live a leisurely life now?

“Rosaline, tell me what you want.” He asked as he stepped down from his chair.

“I want to quit.”

His eyebrows twitched slightly.

“Do you want to die?”

Your highness, you never hold on to people who want to leave, so why’re you being like this to me?

Seduce the Villainess Father

After being in a bus crash, I woke up to the world of my favourite web novel.

Not only that, It was before the protagonists were born, to their parents’ world!

To stop the incoming multiple bad events.

I tried to prevent the kidnapping of the sister who is pregnant with the female lead!

But I got kidnapped instead?!

It's depressing to be kidnapped, but my body couldn't handle the mana and became a sunfish-like state

But... if I am next to the emperor who kidnapped me, my body becomes normal!

Right! The way to save that man from marrying a witch and getting killed by his son, and for someone who is vulnerable to mana such as myself to live, is for us to get married!

The Villains Savior

Set on a path to tragedy and misfortune from a young age, Aseph Randell is doomed to die a villain. That is, until the mysterious Elzay Tiathe appears in his life with a promise: "I can save you." After having vivid visions of him for so long, can Elzay untangle the twisted fate tied to Aseph... or will they both be dragged down together?

Contemporary Manhwa/Manga:

Night Crying Crow

This woman; who is she?

If something was action, it'd be action. If something was romance, it’d be romance. The A-list actor Cheon Woo Kang, who's great at every (genre), had his heart stolen away by an unknown woman who’d broken into his house!

“We'll meet again.~"

Woo Kang contracted an over imaginative illness as he drew the woman, whose name he didn't even know. In front of Woo Kang, she reappeared as the police officer Park Tae... Could the shadow of the crisis that appeared in front of them be a coincidence?

Raise wa Tanin ga Ii

Yoshino Somei would have been a normal high-schooler if not for the fact that she is the granddaughter of the leader of the Osaka-based Somei Group, the Kansai region's largest yakuza organization. One day, Yoshino hurries home after hearing of the news about the unification of Kansai and Kanto's biggest syndicates, the Somei and the Miyama groups. This, according to the article, will result in a marriage of the leaders' grandchildren—one of whom is Yoshino herself! Despite her best efforts to annul the arrangement, Yoshino has to go to Tokyo to visit her fiancé, Kirishima Miyama, who is unexpectedly nice and charming.

During their first meeting, Yoshino is swept up in various events and becomes unable to refuse moving to Tokyo, which is why, half a year later, she now lives with the Miyama group. At school, she soon realizes that Kirishima is very popular, so her relationship with him garners the hate of his fangirls and subsequently results in bullying. To make matters worse, Kirishima could not be further away from her prince charming since he, after all, was born to be a yakuza member.

Raise wa Tanin ga Ii follows Yoshino and her new life in Tokyo that is filled with nothing but troubles connected to the underworld. However, though she wishes to be as far from it as possible, this isn't Yoshino's first time dealing with the world of the Yakuza...

Positively Yours

To Hee-won’s dismay, the BFF she crushed on and her other BFF are now dating! Seriously bummed, Hee-won decides to go wild just one time, and find solace with a handsome stranger. A very satisfying one night affair has now turned into more — she’s pregnant! Fate brings them together again, and now the regimented Doo-joon is determined to do the right thing and marry her. But they’re basically strangers! Except... their bodies have been very intimately acquainted. What’s this mother-to-be to do?

True Beauty

After binge-watching beauty videos online, a shy comic book fan masters the art of makeup and sees her social standing skyrocket as she becomes her school’s prettiest pretty girl overnight. But will her elite status be short-lived? How long can she keep her real self a secret? And what about that cute boy who knows her secret?

Cheese In the Trap

Hong Sul is a ordinary college student. Yoo Jung is the school's most popular upperclass man. He's good looking, rich, smart, and even nice. However, Hong Sul thinks there's more to Yoo Jung than what meets the eye…

SPY x FAMILY

The master spy codenamed has spent his days on undercover missions, all for the dream of a better world. But one day, he receives a particularly difficult new order from command. For his mission, he must form a temporary family and start a new life?! A Spy/Action/Comedy about a one-of-a-kind family!

Doppio Senso (18+)

“What are you thinking about?”

“I’m thinking about a guy.”

KyungHyun stopped in the middle of a deep kiss and sighed. His lips began to form a smile, but his fierce glare said otherwise. Possessiveness and jealousy spread across his sculpted face.

“Will you tell me his name?”

His easygoing and languid voice reached her ears.

“Why?”

“So that I can shoot him down.”

[wfanfic56]

Neighbour | Woods x Reader

"What's with that sad face man? You're finally going to visit your family after a long time." Mason said it while driving them to Woods childhood house.

"If they are fucking alive Mason. I ran away when I was a kid, and that was 40 years ago. And if they are alive, then they wouldn't like to see me."

"C'mon Frank, don't be like that. They will be happy for sure. But still, you're not sad because of them, aren't you?"

"Neighbour..."

"Neighbour? What about them?"

"Love problem..."

"Wait a minute, you're in love with your neighbour? Woods why didn't you tell me that you have a love in your neighbourhood."

"Well she doesn't know about that. She's 15 years younger and she doesn't know that. And it's too late for that, anyway. She found someone for sure."

- At Woods house -

"Oh, my precious child. He was all over the world all by himself."

"Mum, I wasn't alone. I had my buddy and my colleagues by my side."

"And I'm glad you did. You have very good friend. Mr. Mason, would you like some more?" Woods mother pointed at the half empty cup of coffee.

"No, thank you ma'am. So tell me, Mrs. Woods, you live all on your own?"

"Ahh, yes. After Mary and Frank left, I'm all alone, but Y/N takes care of me the day she finished high school. Such a wonderful child. And when she got a little older she always called him Francis, never Frank. She likes the full name, but she never met him. She only knows him through our family album." Mason looks at Woods, thinking about Woods situation.

"And may I ask, who's Y/N?"

"Oh, that's our neighbour." Woods started blushing a little bit at mother's answer.

"Mrs. Woods, I came. I brought you groceries you asked for." you went in the living room and saw three of them sitting at the table. "Gentlemen" you greeted them. "Mrs. Woods."

"Thank you, dear. Frank you know her very well, and Mr. Mason this is Y/N, our neighbour we talked about."

"Mr. Woods, Mr. Mason, I'm glad you came here."

After a while, he wanted to talk to you on private. His friend stayed with Mrs. Woods, and you two left for a walk through nearby forest. There was a swing attached on an old tree. You two made it together, but after he left, you didn't even visit this place.

"I thought that children from our neighbourhood had destroyed it. It brings old memories Mr. Woods."

"What happened to Francis?" he smirked "I'm not that old, am I?"

"Francis.." you repeated it slowly "No, you're not. I just.. don't know how to call you anymore. By your full name, first name, last name, Sir or Mr."

"Same here. Will I call you Y/N, L/N, Miss or Mrs. Woods?"

You step away from him. Shocked at his question. You had some session but you never thought he will be with you. You always thought that he doesn't care about you that much, but this is new for you.

"Y/N, I didn't ask you to kill someone."

"How long have you planned this? Francis this is insane if you decided it this moment."

"I decided it the moment we attached this swing on this tree, but I never had guts to tell you my feelings then. You do know that I will die for you no matter what, don't you?"

"That's simple Francis. Here's a real question: Would you live for me?"

"I guess there's only one way to find out."

[machine-gun-casie]

Co-Stars

request: Hey cutie! I love your writing and i was wondering if you could write a Pete imagine where he and the reader are in a movie together where they play a couple and he falls in love with her. Pretty please! ♡♡

wc: 2.6k

a/n: i made her the love interest for the king of staten island cuz i just watched the movie and its so good!! but dw no spoilers

You walked onto set with your iced coffee in hand and your earbuds blasting music in your ears. The set for this movie was probably the most fun and relaxing set you’ve ever been on. Except when Marisa Tomei or Steve Buscemi was there. It was only intimidating to you because of how new you were to the acting scene and how iconic they were.

But you had almost no scenes with them, all of your scenes were with Pete for the most part. Technically, you didn’t even need to come on set today. You just couldn’t stop yourself.

“Hey!” Maude called out to you when she saw you, motioning for you to come over. “Didn’t think you were needed on set today.”

“Oh, I’m not.” You replied and shrugged. “But I’ve got nothing better to do.”

“Really?” Maude raised her eyebrows at you. “You’re staying in New York City and you took the free ferry ride to Staten Island? Because you had nothing to do. In New York fucking City?!”

You furrowed your eyes and looked up in thought. “Well, when you phrase it like that…”

“y/n, it’s gonna sound weird no matter how I phrase it.” Maude chuckled.

You shoved her shoulder lightly and laughed with her as you explained. “I have no friends here, I have no one to hangout with.”

“Mhm, okay.” Maude teased you. “So we’re gonna pretend this isn’t about you-”

“Shut the fuck up Maude.” You hissed. “Shut up or I’ll tell your dad.”

“Tell her dad what?” Judd asked from behind you. You jumped slightly as you turned to face him as Maude snickered next to you. “Why’re you on set, y/n? We don’t need you today.”

“Because y/n has a crush on Pete.” Maude sang like she was teasing you on the school playground. 

“Maude!” You snapped at her. “He could hear!”

Judd laughed and shook his head. “Don’t worry, he’s filming.”

“In the firehouse?” You asked and your eyes lit up when Judd nodded. “Thanks Judd!” You yelled as you ran off to the front doors of the firehouse. 

“They really think they’re hiding it?” He asked his daughter.

“I think so.” She nodded, joining her dad in watching you run up the stairs. “If they’re not together by the time we wrap, I might strangle one of them.”

“Not if I do it first.”

You smiled and waved at the firefighters in the station today. Because the firehouse that was being used was still a functional one, the actors and the firefighters all became pretty well acquainted. You skipped over to the back room where you could hear them filming.

Bill and Pete were sitting at the table in front of the camera. You stood over by the sound guys and just watched them play out the scene. 

“What take is this?” You whispered to the closest person to you.

“Fourth.” They replied. “I think we got it, though. Fingers crossed we take fifteen after this.”

You nodded and leaned back to enjoy the show. Your favorite scenes to watch were when Pete and Bill were bickering. It was so clear that they both enjoyed it because they could improvise some jabs at each other. You noticed that Pete absolutely adored including the handlebar moustache during these scenes.

“Cut!” Someone called out. “Everyone take lunch!”

Pete looked around and made eye contact with you when the camera cut, smiling when he saw you. He turned to Bill and said a few parting words before coming up to you.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” He asked, leaning his shoulder against the wall to face you. “You don’t have any scenes today.”

“I don’t.” You nodded. “Came to see you.”

“You just can’t get enough of me, can you?” Pete smirked.

You rolled your eyes and turned slightly. “I’ll fucking leave, Pete.”

“Hey, no no no!” Pete stumbled over his words as he grabbed your arm. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding! Thank you for coming all the way out here for me. I am very very grateful.”

His hold on your arm slowly slid until he was holding onto your fingers, you curled your fingers into his and held his hand loosely. “You better be.” You scoffed. “Come on, let’s go grab lunch.” You gently pulled on your intertwined hands and led him out of the back room towards the front.

“Where do you wanna go?” Pete asked as his steps fell in tandem with yours. 

“You’re the local, you decide.” You looked up at him and swung your conjoined hands lightly in between you. “Surprise me.”

“Oh, so we’re doing romantic type shit now?” Pete laughed, raising his eyebrows at you. 

“Romantic type shit is my favorite, you know this.” You giggled, smiling and playing along. This little act you had going on was strange but somehow comforting. You would go on these ‘dates’ that were never called dates. And neither of you would discuss the logistics. But you both knew. And that’s what was comforting. There was no lying or hiding, just collective evading.

“I’ll take you to this place Casey and I would go to when we were kids.” He paused when he opened the door and motioned for you to go first. You walked down the stairs together and started walking along the sidewalk. “The owner knew my dad, so he used to give us free ice cream sometimes.”

“You think we can get some free ice cream today?” You asked, somewhat joking but also. Free ice cream.

“Not sure, but if he sees you we might.” Pete laughed and shook his head. “Last time I took a date there was during junior year. You should’ve seen his face, he was so fucking happy for me.”

“Junior year Pete was getting laid, huh?” You asked teasingly.

“Pfft, he fucking wishes.” He snorted. “Junior year Pete would pass out if he was here in my shoes right now.”

“I bet he would.” You hummed. “This movie is insane.”

“Not what I was talking about.” Pete said with a tight lipped smile on his face. You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion, looking at him for an answer. He simply looked down at your interlaced hands.

“Oh.” You smiled shyly, warmth blooming in your chest. “I thought the sappy stuff was my department?”

“I can contribute.” He shrugged as he came to a stop at a crosswalk. “It’s that one over there.” He pointed to the classic pizzeria looking joint right across from you.

“Thank god, I’m starving.” You sighed, stomach rumbling at the thought of food of any kind. 

You walked in and followed Pete as he led you to the booth in the back corner. You peaked behind you to look through the windows at the front and saw what Pete no doubt took notice of before you. A guy with a camera up to his face was on the sidewalk adjacent to the one you and Pete were walking on. Lovely.

The paps were a problem you weren’t expecting to face in Staten Island, but Pete warned you otherwise. They were a hindrance on set, but they were even worse off set. A few times you were followed when you would go to get food on your own or you were heading home for the night. Pete promised you to always accompany you whenever he could after that, not wanting you to deal with the paps alone.

Cozying up in the corner booth, you were almost sure they couldn’t see you from outside. You let out a sigh of relief and leaned back, letting your shoes bump into Pete’s. “So, what’s good here?”

“They’ve got this eggplant tower thing that barely tastes like eggplants. It’s crazy good.” Pete told you, hands going up to show you how big it would be. “Should be good for both of us.”

“Great, we’ll take that then.” You smiled and nodded, glad to not have the anxiety of looking over a menu for the first time and take forever to read through it only to end up with a cheese pizza or something basic like that. 

After flagging down a waiter in the semi busy restaurant and ordering the food, Pete dropped his arms onto the table and looked over at you. “Maude give you shit today?”

“I think she writes it down in her schedule.” You replied and laughed. “I think she means well, though.”

“She’s like my real little sister now.” Pete nodded as he spread open his palm next to your hand on the table. “Her and Casey have joined forces.”

Lifting your hand gently, you traced the lines on his palms with your fingers. “How is Casey? She excited to shoot next week?”

“Yeah, yeah. She’s a little nervous.” Pete replied as he held your hand in his, trapping your tracing fingers in between his. “She’s going back and forth on whether she wants to come or not.”

“No, she should come!” You said, whining at the thought of losing that scene in the movie. “She’s gonna be great. Did you tell her that she’s my favorite character in the movie?”

Sighing, Pete rolled his eyes and nodded. “I did and she won’t shut up about it.”

Lunch included lots of jokes and laughter, with your hand in his the whole time. Neither of you said anything about the hands, or the fact that you trapped one of his legs in between yours under the table. No lying or hiding, just collective evading. 

Both of you only managed to eat half of the truly gigantic eggplant tower, so you decided to have it packed up for later. You called over a waiter, a different one this time who seemed to be a teenager by the looks of it, who clearly recognized you or at least Pete. They quickly nodded and smiled, taking the plate of food from your table and the empty glasses. You saw them skitter off and whisper to one of their colleagues along the way, no doubt telling them that you were here.

“I think we’ve been caught.” You whispered to Pete. He looked over to where you were facing and sighed.

“I think we have.” Pete chuckled. “Watch, Andy’s gonna come out any minute now.”

Exactly as Pete predicted, a tall man with a huge grin on his face came out from the back. He marched over to your table with open arms. “Peter! It’s been so long, young man!”

Pete stood up and gave the man a hug. “Hey Andy, how are you?”

Andy pulled away and gave Pete a heavy pat on the shoulder. “I ain’t any younger pal, I can tell you that.” He said with the heaviest New York accent you’ve ever heard. He sneaked a few glances at you as he spoke, clearly curious. “Who’s your friend, Peter?”

Pete’s cheeks grew a little red as he cleared his throat. “Andy, this is y/n. She’s my co-star in this movie we’re shooting.”

“Co-star? Is that what they’re calling it nowadays?” Andy mumbled as he turned to look at you as you stood up to face him. “Is he treating you good?”

You laughed and nodded. “Of course he is, Pete’s a great guy. You should know, Pete says you’ve known each other since he was a kid.”

“I have, I have. Used to give him free ice cream. I bet he didn’t tell you that.” Andy pointed at Pete accusingly. 

“He did, actually.” You hummed. 

“Good, ‘cause you’re getting some today too.” Andy nodded before turning to face the kitchen. “Sammy! Get me two ice cream cones, mixed!”

“No, that’s alright-” You started before Andy interrupted you. 

“It’s my treat, kid.” Andy said with a kind smile. “For Pete and his co-star.”

With your ice cream cones and bag of leftover food in hand, you and Pete said your goodbyes to Andy as you left the restaurant. You kept close to Pete as you walked down the sidewalk, the same pap from earlier could be seen in the corner of your eye. But he didn’t seem to be following you, so you calmed down slightly. 

“Holy shit!” You gasped when it hit you, eyes wide. “We’re late! I didn’t even feel the time.”

Pete glanced at his watch and saw that it had been way more than fifteen minutes. You had been off set for almost forty minutes at this point. He looked at you and you both paused for a second before bursting into laughter. He shrugged with a frown. “Oh well.”

You continued your stroll in a comfortable silence as you both finished your ice cream. You spotted a little playground hidden behind a few trees as you popped the last bit of the crunchy cone in your mouth. “Look Pete, swings.” You pointed.

“You wanna go on the swings?” He asked and you nodded. “You’re not worried about Judd on set?”

“What set?” You asked with faux confusion. “I wasn’t called on set today.” Pete laughed as he let you pull him towards the swings.

Neither of you were swinging really, your younger self would have been disappointed at your lack of enthusiasm. You were both just swaying next to each other, holding the two chains in between you to keep yourself from swaying too far away. 

“Isn’t it weird how normal people don’t have to make things official?” Pete asked all of a sudden. “With relationships, I mean. If they figure that shit out with each other, that’s it. They don’t need to post something stupid on Instagram or whatever.”

“I guess, yeah.” You nodded. “But who do you consider to be not normal?”

“Us.” He said, eyes downcast at the bag of food he put on the ground between the swings.

You paused to articulate your thoughts. “We don’t have to do anything if we don’t want to. Fuck Instagram. We are normal people.”

Pete laughed at your tone, defensive but not against him. “We are.”

This time you looked down at the ground and avoided Pete’s gaze. “Is this… Is this about us? You and me?”

Pete didn’t answer. His silence on this topic has never scared you until now. Was he thinking of being serious with you? Or the opposite? Was this his messed up way of letting you down slowly? The collective evading was no longer comforting but frightening. Was he just playing around with your feelings while you thought it was a slow start to something you didn’t know you wanted?

“I think I’m in love with you.” 

With wide eyes you looked back up at Pete, seeing the anxiousness in his eyes. “What?” You asked softly.

“I-I wasn’t sure, but then I was talking to-” You cut him off with a kiss, pulling his swing closer to yours and placing a hand on his cheek. He moaned lightly into the kiss and placed his hand on your waist, turning your swing to face him properly.

You pulled away slowly and sighed. “I think I’m in love with you, too.”

That was your first kiss with Pete. The thought made you laugh. “What’s funny?” He asked.

“That was our first kiss.” You said and he nodded. “So you’re saying that you fell in love with me before we even kissed?”

“Yes?” Pete furrowed his eyebrows. “Is that a bad thing?”

“Not necessarily, no.” You shook your head. “But what if I was a bad kisser?”

Pete clicked his tongue and pulled away with a laugh. “You’re not a bad kisser.”

“But what if I was?” You retorted, giggling. “Would you still love me if I was a bad kisser?”

“First of all, yes.” Pete pointed out. “Second, you wouldn’t be a bad kisser.”

“But what if I was?” You repeated.

“We would have lots and lots of practice.”

[sweet-symphony0]

Despair

  Hey hey, guess who’s back and finally had time to write! Happy Twin Tuesday! This one is...current, I’ll say. That’s all I’m going to say.

Summary: 01/06/2021. Rami and Sami can’t believe their eyes. They cope the only way they know how.

 Tags: @the-real-ramimalekpeen @xmxisxforxmaybe @killerqueengigi @txmel @laminy @ramimedley @rathernotmyname @ramilicious @sherlollydramoine @edteche2 @hah0106

---

Sami’s phone was ringing, he could hear it vibrating in his bag from he stood next to his desk, surveying his thirty students, their attention quickly diminishing. He ignored it, even as it rang a second time. 

“Alright guys-hey, don’t pack up yet, this is important-reading for tonight is chapter 12, your essays on Slaughterhouse Five are due Friday, so don’t forget.” There were groans heard from around the room, and Sami continued, “and no, I won’t be accepting any late papers; I gave you a month and a half for this. That’s more than generous, get it done.”

There were more groans and Sami smirked inwardly to himself as the bell rang and students began shuffling out the door, with a few calls of “see ya, Mr. Malek!” and Sami smiled. “Yeah, have a good day guys. Nice work today.”

When the last student was out the door, Sami took a moment to himself, glad he now had a free period before his next class. He cleared his throat, and began erasing the notes from the smartboard in preparation for the next round, when his phone vibrated and he remembered someone was trying to reach him, idly wondering what was so important that someone would call him at work.

Skimming his notifications, he frowned. Three texts from Rami, a missed call from him, and two texts from friends which he ignored for the time being, instead reading Rami’s messages:

“I know you’re at work, but you need to see this.” and underneath, in a separate message, a link to a CNN article that read “Rioters break windows and breach US Capitol.”

Sami stared, bewildered, and then read the third message Rami had sent.

“Turn on the news.”

Sami reread the headline, clicking the link Rami had sent, and he skimmed the article, his mind reeling.

“What the fuck...?”

Rami’s response was instant:

“You need to turn on the fucking news. Now.”

Sami wasted no time in rushing to the staff room, thanking his stars he had a break for the next forty minutes. It didn’t surprise him that nearly a quarter of the staff were already there, and he slipped inside, spotting a few of his colleagues from the English department. Even though the second bell had rung, no one in the room bothered to move, their eyes transfixed on the news coverage blaring from the TV. And as Sami turned his gaze to watch too, he felt his stomach sink in dread.

There were a cacophony of murmurs around the room, Sami catching tidbits here and there.

“What are we going to do?”

“There’s nothing we can do right now-”

“No, we can’t just-someone has to explain to the kids-”

“No, they’ll find out soon enough, we keep teaching like normal-”

“This is a high school,” one of Sami’s friends in the history department finally sighed tiredly. “You really think those kids don’t know by now? They have social media and cell phones. They know. And we can go about like usual, but this is something we’re all going to be talking about tomorrow.”

Sami’s eyes drifted back to the television, watching intently as he drowned everyone else out. They were inside the building now, hoards of them, a never ending sight. Sami watched with wide, disbelieving eyes, horrified as people scaled the building walls, smashed through windows, and he couldn’t help but think frantically: why wasn’t anyone doing anything?

He snorted to himself. Right. You know why.

He didn’t think he’d be able to go back to work after this. Slowly, one by one, his colleagues filtered out as most of them had classes to attend to that period and couldn’t push being late anymore. Once he was alone, Sami sank into one of the chairs, eyes glued to the newscast, feeling frozen from what he seeing.

He felt sick.

He texted Rami back and forth, a steady stream of furious conversation, not even realizing when the bell rang. Scrambling out of his seat, he rushed back to his room, just in time for when kids started filing in.

“Hi guys,” he pasted a smile on his face. “Settle down, and we’ll get started.”

He taught on autopilot, the forty minutes going by without him realizing, and before he knew it, kids were standing up and he was calling out the same thing from before: “read chapter twelve tonight, your essays are due Friday...”

Whatever previous intentions Sami had about sticking around the rest of the school day to get his work done, he threw right out the window. Racing home, he dug through his fridge for a beer, and then after better judgement, grabbed another, before he turned his TV on and called Rami.

Sami didn’t even let him say hi. “Are you safe?”

“Yeah,” Rami nodded. He was moving through his apartment, Sami could see, presumably to get to a quieter spot, and his gaze was off to the side, watching something. “I’m fine. Nothing here has happened yet, thankfully.”

“Listen,” Sami said urgently. “Stay inside okay? Don’t go out today if you don’t have to. You don’t-no one knows what will happen. Please.”

“I’m not moving,” Rami said. “I can’t-fucking after this, I can’t concentrate. I’m supposed to be rehearsing lines for tomorrow but fuck that. This is insane.”

Sami watched as the mob of people made their way inside the Rotunda, and he sank onto the couch. Then a few minutes later, they were inside the Senate chamber, pushing things around, and when he changed the channel to find another possible view, there was a photo up of a man carrying a confederate flag.

“Oh my fucking god.”

Rami’s voice was low. “I know. It gets worse.”

“Oh no, don’t say that.”

“They-they took down the American flag,” Rami said with barely restrained rage. “And replaced it. With a fucking Trump flag.”

Sami choked. “You’re not serious.”

“I wish I weren’t. And our president,” Rami scoffed. “is encouraging it. Fucking-” he stopped short, thinking for a moment on whether or not to complete what he wanted to say, before he shook his head in exasperation. “It’s all so exhausting.”

“That’s unconstitutional,” Sami murmured, flipping channels again, and he dropped his beer when he saw the constructed noose on the other side of the Capitol, staining the carpet, but he didn’t care. “Who is that for?! What the fuck!”

“What? What am I missing?”

Sami didn’t answer, still rooted on the spot, watching as officers finally brought out tear gas. “Fuck...is there any update on the Senators?”

“Not that I can tell. Though they are saying a few Republican ones are agreeing with this bullshit.”

Suddenly everything clicked, and Sami realized why today, of all days, this was happening. As he watched the coverage of Trump’s tweet, the rally earlier that morning, he idly wondered how much damage had already been caused, and whatever else he’d missed.

“I’m not drunk enough for this,” he sighed, and Rami chuckled flatly.

“I’ve had a bottle of wine open for the last hour. Wish you were here to join me.”

“Well,” Sami stood up, grimacing at the mess he’d made from the spilled beer. “I can join you from afar. What are you drinking?” Rami gave him the name of a Cabernet they were both fond of, and Sami grinned triumphantly when he found a spare bottle in the back of his wine cooler. Propping his phone up on the counter against the block of chopping knives, he made quick work in opening and pouring himself a generous glass. “Cheers, man.”

“Cheers. What are we cheers-ing to?”

Sami hummed, licking the bit of wine that had dripped down his finger. “To the compete and utter fuckery that has been...the six days of this new year.”

“That works,” Rami was silent for a moment, both of them lost in their thoughts, watching the news again. “You know, I...obviously after the last four years there’s been a lot of unrest and contempt. But to this extent, for thousands of people to..to believe-”

“Say an election is rigged and then stop the process in almost every way they can?” Sami took a generous sip of his wine. “To destroy the Capitol? Yeah. I know.”

“Unbelievable,” Rami said succinctly, and after a moment: “I should’ve stayed in London.”

“They’re not much better,” Sami snickered, glancing at his twin. “Besides, London doesn’t have me.”

Rami laughed. “You think I plan my life around you?”

“What, you mean you don’t? I’m shocked. That hurts.”

“Definitely not,” Rami smirked and Sami laughed.

“Alright hot shot, don’t let that hair gel go to your brain too. There’s enough on your head already.”

“Oh, fuck you,” Rami was grinning, and Sami grinned back.

“Just trying to keep you humble, you know. I don’t give a shit if you have a shiny gold toy now.”

“Wow,” Rami muttered. “You wish your hair looked as good.”

“A greasy mess? Yeah, no thanks.”

Rami laughed again, and Sami grinned, pleased at the fact, sipping his wine again as they turned back to the news. “Fuck, it really is a shit show isn’t it?”

“I’ve always said he would leave the White House, but he’ll burn it down with him as he goes.”

“Yeah,” Sami sighed, his anger boiling all over again. “Looks like it. I wish you were wrong.”

“Me too.”

Glancing at the clock, he saw it had been a hour since he’d gotten home, which meant it was around 4pm on the east coast. Tuning back to the coverage, the mob outside the Capitol had grown, more people were scaling the wall to get inside, and Sami couldn’t help but think how all too easy it was for them.

“So uh...where’s the tear gas? The rubber bullets? The arrests?”

Rami snorted. “You’re fucking kidding, right? C’mon. Like that applies to them.”

Sami snorted too, and then laughed weakly, which turned into a laughing fit, and he could hear Rami calling his name. “Sorry...it’s just...fuck all of them.”

Rami raised his glass in a toast before he downed it in one go, pouring another serving. “Amen.”

“God, how am I supposed to explain this to my kids? You’re telling me I have to go to work tomorrow after this?”

“Same here,” Rami said. He was moving again, and Sami could see he was back in the kitchen too, digging through his refrigerator. He produced a bunch of grapes, a platter of salami, and a block of cheddar cheese, and Sami watched as he began to assemble an antipasti platter for one. “I don’t want to head to work. Seems pointless, after this.”

Sami bit his lip thoughtfully. “It’s not...useless. Use it. You’re angry-”

“Angry? No, I’m well passed pissed off at this point.”

“There you go. Use it, use that rage towards your scenes and whatever your character is. It’s...” Sami shrugged meekly at Rami, who was watching him intently. “It’s the only thing we can do at times like this, right?”

“I suppose,” Rami muttered, a tired expression on his face, and popped a grape into his mouth. He turned around, opening the fridge again and came back holding some hummus and olives in his hand. “I imagine it’ll be the only thing anyone will talking about for the next week. Rightfully so.” He opened the olives, laying a few of them out next to the salami, and stuck the jar back into the fridge. 

Sami was bemused. “How much are you eating?”

“As much as it takes to get through this shit show. I’m supposed to be on a diet right now, but I don’t give a shit. If I’m going to wine and dine watching this, I might as well do it properly.”

“Now I really wish I were there.”

“Yeah, me too. It would make it more bearable. But...this will do for now.”

Sami went silent, watching the TV again, which was now reporting about gunshots and a woman wounded. “Jesus Christ.”

Rami was muttering under his breath. “Shit, shit, shit, shit-”

They didn’t speak after that, both of them too lost in watching the news coverage, and Sami gripped his glass tightly as took a breath in to ease his anxiety.

Swallowing, he poured another glass, knowing he wouldn’t be finishing the bottle, and instead capped it and placed it in the fridge for tomorrow. It was an odd feeling, one that “scared” wouldn’t be able to cover. It was a looming, threatening feeling; something like this was so deeply entrenched in the fabric of the country. It wasn’t something that would go away on January 20th, as much as he wished for that. He wasn’t surprised that people had so much hatred for anyone other than themselves were coming out of the woodwork, blindly following what their commander in chief told them. The repercussions of this day would be something that would take a long time to repair.

“I’m tired,” he said suddenly. Rami’s voice was quiet, and though Sami didn’t elaborate, Rami seemed to understand what he meant perfectly.

“I know. So am I.”

---

When the crowds eventually thinned out, and Sami went back to work the next morning, he read the highlights of things he’d missed, flipping through the photos of the wreckage before the first period bell rang. When students trickled in, he was met with a sea of somber faces, and he knew he wouldn’t be teaching his regular lesson plans for the day. He felt enraged all over again.

Instead, he hopped up onto his desk, sitting cross legged and observing his students. “Alright. I would be...a very poor educator if I didn’t bring up what happened yesterday to all of you. And I know you’ll hear about it later in the day, I’m sure, but what we do here as teachers affects you guys for the rest of your lives. Now I don’t really care if you can’t tell me the imagery themes in The Great Gatsby, but I do care if you can’t think for yourselves. You’ll be reading and hearing a lot different things in the next coming weeks from people who think they’re right. And you’re all old enough, in my opinion, to have your own opinions on this. That being said, we all know what the banned book list is, correct?”

There were students nodding, and Sami nodded too, and he hopped off the desk to pull said list up. “Good. Pick a book from here, read it. There’s a reason all these books are banned from certain school curriculum, and I want you guys to pick one, and tell me why. It’s January. For every book you manage to get through from now till June, if you give me a one page analysis on your thoughts, I’ll give you extra credit that counts towards your final.” His students perked up at that, and he smiled inwardly. “Five points for every book, sound good?” There were murmurs of approval, and Sami continued, “it’s not mandatory, so don’t feel pressured to this. But I would...appreciate it if you did.”

“What if we read them all?” Someone asked.

There was always one.

Sami’s lips quirked up in amusement. “Good luck. You’ll notice there’s plenty of books on there we’ve read already.”

His students started chattering excitedly, and Sami cleared his throat, glancing at his copy of The Color of Water, which is what they were studying now. They would be finishing that tomorrow, the test for it was Monday, something which Sami had to make over the weekend. He hadn’t decided what to teach next, his gaze drifting to the copies of To Kill A Mockingbird in the back of the classroom, which was what he was planning to start Monday, after the kids took their test.

He debated on it, and then Rami’s words came back to him from the night before.

“He’ll leave the White House, but he’ll burn it down with him as he goes.”

He cleared his throat. “Guys, we’re just going to finish reading for the rest of the period, and we’ll go over the whole book for tomorrow before your test. So if you’ve got your books, take ‘em out.”

Later, once his classes were over for the day, he headed to the library, intent on finding Maria and asking for his next lesson plans.

“Hey Sami,” she greeted. “Back again? How’d they fare with Color of Water?”

“Not bad,” Sami said. “We’re finishing it up, test is Monday.”

“So, you’re here for Mockingbird?”

“No I’ve got Mockingbird,” he murmured, scanning the bookshelves. “That was what I was going to go with originally, but I’ve had a change of heart. Do you know if any of the faculty is teaching Orwell at the moment?”

“The freshmen, some of them are doing Animal Farm. But none of the AP classes right now. Which one?”

Sami spotted what he was looking for, and based on the piles of books they had, no one else had taught it yet, or he was late to the game.

“1984.”

[the-girl-in-the-box]

Can You Imagine? II

A/N: Answers are finally coming, a bit! Freydis has some adjustments to make, but she’s beginning to adjust, and we’ll get to learn more about what exactly is going on here... Let’s find out, yeah? Skål!

Summary: Freydis was dead. At least, when she’d lost consciousness, she’d been sure she was. But now she has woken up in a cold, sterile environment, one she is certain is not Valhalla, and the world as she once knew it has changed. People now have strange abilities, some of them, and people they call ‘scientists’ are trying to give them to her. The bigger issue, though, is the fact they have also woken the very man who killed her. Ivar the Boneless lives again as well, in the same way Freydis does, and if they want to survive... she may have to learn to trust him again.

Warnings: Hospital-like environments, mad science, injections, needles, bloodwork, human experimentation, etc. Old Norse in Italics!

Masterlist

--

The Room Where It Happens

Freydis woke in yet another room, this one almost a mix of the two she’d woken in thus far. The bed she was laid on was made of a strange material, with a papery sort of material separating her from the bed itself. It was dark in the room, but not as dark as the room with the comfortable bed- this was due to the window in this room, from which light came through. However, there were still all sorts of strange things in the room, some of which had strange sounds coming from them, much like the first room.

She noticed after a moment or two that there was a hard thing covering one of her fingers, and a tube ran up to her opposite arm, ending in something sharp- a needle, it looked like- that was inserted in the crook of her arm. Some sort of liquid was being dropped into the tube, and she wanted to jump at the sight, to pull the needle out of her arm. But, however much she wanted to, she felt… too tired to really do anything about it. A small groan left her, and she turned her head to look straight up at the ceiling.

There was a vague awareness in her that she should be panicking, but for some reason she couldn’t bring herself to- just as she couldn’t bring herself to pull out the needle. Everything felt slow, including her movements as simple as blinking her eyes. Instead of the cry for help she wanted to let out, she started to giggle.

This whole thing was absurd actually, wasn’t it? Perhaps she had survived Ivar’s attempt on her life, and was now in a very strange dream, waiting to wake and discover she still lived. Or maybe, maybe Ivar had never tried to kill her. Perhaps everything before the birth of their little Baldur was true, and she hadn’t even had him yet. Perhaps when she woke, her belly would be swollen with child, and she would have that child, and bear a perfect son that Ivar would be proud of.

All of this, it would pass as a very strange nightmare that one day she would tell him of. And the fear at seeing his chest fill once more with breath, it was all a product of this strange dream. When she woke, she would be delighted to see that all was well, and nothing had ever gone wrong.

The thought that she was being silly to be so afraid made her begin to laugh even harder, her eyes slipping shut. ��You gods…” she began, grinning. “Loki, is this you behind this dream? It must be, I cannot think of any other tricksters in all Asgard who would do such a thing.”

When the door to the room opened, the woman in the strange coat, along with the man who she understood, stepped inside, Freydis laughed more. “And now you send these beings to… It cannot be to torment me, they say they are my friends,” she mused. “To tease me? I did not know I was of such interest to you.”

The two shared a concerned look as they saw her seemingly talking to herself. “Queen Freydis..?” the man prompted tentatively. “Are you alright? Who are you talking to?”

“Shhh,” she hushed, her eyes going dramatically wide. “I am praying to Loki. He must be the one behind all this, and I would like to wake now. I want to wake and be with my baby and with Ivar.”

The man blinked a few times, before turning to speak to the woman with him. They conversed for a few moments, in a language Freydís did not know, and she frowned deeply. “It is.. it is rude to speak secretly before your Queen,” she chastised. “I demand to know what you are saying. You must be talking about me, or you would let me hear you.”

The man swallowed. “My apologies, Queen Freydis. My colleague, Dr. Schmidt, doesn’t speak Old Norse. You don’t… you don’t remember that from a few hours ago?”

Freydis huffed slightly. “Of course I remember,” she said. “But I have determined this is only a dream, and as such, I think she should be able to speak Norwegian. It is stupid that she cannot.”

“You are the one who doesn’t speak Norwegian, I’m afraid,” he said. “You speak Old Norse. Norwegian is something of an evolved form of that language.”

Freydis made a sound that indicated her attention was lost. “Loki is being very creative in this trick, I see,” she said. “Oh well. It will soon be over.”

The man exchanged a few words with the woman, who Freydis now knew was called Dr. Schmidt, and then nodded. Dr. Schmidt came closer to her and began to mess with the bag fron which the liquid dropped into the tube, which flowed into her arm. More of the liquid began to drop down, becoming a more steady stream.

“You’re right, Your Highness,” the man said. “This will all be over soon.”

Freydis gave a little giggle, and nodded. “And I will tell my husband of the strange thing Loki did to me tonight,” she said, just before drifting back into unconsciousness.

Dr. Schmidt and her professor colleague shared a look. Then, once they were certain Freydis was completely unconscious, she changed out the liquid that she was administering to Freydis. This one was of a rather golden hue, and she only put so much into her. She took the time then to start an IV in Freydis’s hand, one that would stay until they no longer needed it.

Once all the liquid had drained into the Viking, Dr. Schmidt removed the IV in her arm, and called for some of the workers in the facility to return Freydis to her ‘room’. It was truthfully more of a cell, but they wouldn’t be calling it that to her. She didn’t need to realise she was a prisoner.

It was back in that room, with the most comfortable of the beds, that Freydis woke again. Her entire body ached from the inside out, as it she had a fever, the sort that rendered large warriors unable to leave their beds. She curled in on herself, shaking slightly under the blankets that had been laid over her.

Now that she’d recovered her mind, all of her wanted to cry out, to weep for whatever she was going through, for fear of the fact Ivar lived again. If he found out where she was, no doubt he would come and try to finish what he had begun. The very idea terrified her.

But, she could show these people no fear. So she swallowed thickly, and hardened herself to whatever horrors she had yet to face. The burning in her body didn’t ease, but she still tried to make herself become more used to it. She rolled onto her back, groaned a little with the effort under her fatigue. When she laid her hand up by her head, she finally noticed a slight stinging sensation.

Freydis moved her hand to look at it. There was a little tube protruding from it, twisted around and somehow held against her hand- bandaged, from the looks of it. She frowned a little, poking at it, and the door opened. It was the man once more.

“I wouldn’t poke at it,” he told her. “It’ll only make it hurt. Trust me, I’ve made that mistake plenty of times.”

Freydis narrowed her eyes. “Trust you?” she questioned. “You have given me no reason to trust you. Why should I?”

He chuckled a little, and grimaced. “Ah, I don’t suppose I have, have I?” he asked, almost sheepishly. “My name is Professor Andersen. I’ve been studying Old Scandinavian culture for most of my adult life- specialising in the early Middle Ages- so, the 500s through the 900s. This… includes the Golden Age of the Vikings. Your people.”

“You speak as if it is many years since this time,” she said. “Is it?”

“Yes…” he answered, grimacing. “It is currently the year 2021.” Freydis looked at him as if he was insane.

“What is in you that you speak such things?” she questioned him. “This cannot be. That would be over a thousand years after I lived in Kattegat.”

“Well… it has been,” he said. “You were found dead by the Sons of Ragnar after the Siege of Kattegat. No one really… knows how you died, but it’s assumed you must have died trying to defend the Kingdom, since you were entombed as a hero. Is that true?”

Freydis swallowed hard as she recalled her death, at the hands of the husband she had once loved more than anything, the monster she created. Telling this man what really happened could end up resulting in the same fate again. If she did anything to displease them, they could use his presence against her. No, she had to behave as though nothing had happened between them. Nothing like that.

“It is,” she lied. “And I would do it again.”

Professor Andersen nodded. “That’s why we found you entombed with your husband, then. Records put his death in the Battle of Edington, documented by a man called Athelstan.”

Freydis put on a hurt face, as if hearing how Ivar had died made her chest ache. It didn’t. In reality, she didn’t feel as though she cared overly much.

“I am glad to hear he died in battle,” she said. “That is what he had always wanted.”

Professor Andersen smiled. “And now, he lives, just as you. And we’re making you both far better. I think you’ll like what we have in store for you.”

“Do you?” Freydis questioned. She barely kept herself from saying he must not have been paying much attention, if that were true.

He nodded. “You both seem to have been quite amazing warriors, to have been buried how you were. Athelstan noted your sacrifice for Kattegat, and your husband’s leadership of its military, after the death of King Harald Finehair. Apparently, he also saved the people from turning against each other.”

She decided then that this ‘Athelstan’ must have been a fanatic of Ivar’s, to hail him as such a hero.

“It makes me proud to hear his accomplishments,” she lied yet again, and Professor Andersen grinned.

“Good,” he said. “Now tell me, how do you feel, hm? Are you doing alright?”

“I feel feverish,” she confessed. May as well try and get some assistance, if he was going to offer. “My body aches with it.”

He nodded, opening a notebook and writing in it. “That is to be expected,” he told her. “Unfortunately, it will need to run its course, to have the desired effect.”

Desired effect…?

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Oh, I mentioned that we were… making you better, yes? Enhancing you?”

Freydis nodded skeptically.

“We’ve already started this with you,” he answered. “We’re going to be administering a serum once a week to you, and later that week, checking your blood to be sure it’s taking to you as it should. If it has, we’ll continue, if not, we’ll need to analyse your blood, figure out why, and try again. You received your first dose of it today.”

Freydis looked at him as if he were mad. “How can you enhance me beyond how I have been formed by the gods?” she almost demanded.

“They didn’t give you the best way to defend yourself, to help others, did they?” he pointed out. “Otherwise, you’d have survived the Siege of Kattegat. So, we’re giving you that ability. After a few doses, you should have enough that you’ll be able to see the effect of it.”

“And that will be all?” she questioned hesitantly, which made him chuckle.

“Oh, of course not,” he said. “Then we’ll be able to learn from you, so we can improve the serum, and maybe one day use it to create a better military. Don’t worry, though. This isn’t without incentive. If you go along with this willingly, we’ll… have a special surprise for you. A good one, I promise.”

“And if I don’t?” she pressed.

Professor Andersen gave a small shrug. “Then there’ll be a bad surprise. I really do suggest you comply, Freydis. It’ll be better for everyone.”

Somehow, she got the feeling he meant Ivar.

—

Weeks and weeks passed, and Freydis learned quickly indeed not to try and resist anything these people wanted to do to her. She had begun to understand more of the language- especially as many of her hours were spent with Professor Andersen, being taught to speak in Norwegian. It was easy enough for her, since it was so similar to Old Norse. But she missed the way her mother tongue sounded on her lips.

“How are you feeling today, Freydis?”

The consequences of this were that she could now understand Dr. Schmidt, who currently had a needle in her arm, taking the blood from her. She swallowed, and shrugged.

“The same as always,” she answered. “I didn’t burn as much this week.”

Dr. Schmidt smiled at this and nodded, switching out the vial so she could take another sample. “That’s good,” she said. The woman had a strangely maternal way about her, and Freydis found that she didn’t dislike her the way she had when she’d first arrived.

Once she’d taken enough blood, she shook the vials up, and told Freydis she’d return shortly. It was the same every week.

The Viking woman rubbed at the bandage now wrapped around her arm, and sighed. This was the part where Dr. Schmidt always returned, told her they weren’t quite there, and had her returned to her room, where she’d wait on Professor Andersen. Her routine had grown rather boring, if not reliable.

When the doctor returned this time, she seemed far more pleased than she’s ever seemed yet. “I need you to follow me,” she said. “We’ve finally reached the point where there should be some real change.”

She waved for Freydis to follow her, as requested, and started toward a door Freydis had not yet been allowed through. Freydis frowned slightly, but got up and followed her.

Through the door was another one of what Freydis had learned was called an ‘observation room’, and then there was an empty room that it observed.

Well, mostly empty.

There were some blocks, boxes, and various things of the sort, all that looked rather soft. She didn’t know what their purpose was, and tilted her head slightly. “Go on in there please, Freydis,” Dr. Schmidt said. Freydis nodded and again did as told.

She stood silently in the room, waiting until she would be told what to do. After a few moments, she was given directions.

“Okay, can you focus on that pile of foam bricks for me?” Dr. Schmidt requested. Freydis turned to look at them, and focused. “Really focus on them, that’s right. Put as much focus into them as you can. Focus on their size, their build, how they look, how you think they’d feel… until you can actually feel them.”

“I cannot feel them,” Freydis said. “I’m not touching them.”

“I know,” Dr. Schmidt replied. “I want you to feel them without touching them.” Freydis frowned, but did the best she could to fulfill the request made of her. “If you need to, go ahead and put out your hands. See if that helps.”

Freydis nodded and did this. She let her hands flex a bit, trying to feel the bricks as instructed. Whether it was her imagination or not, her brows creased a little. Dr. Schmidt smiled and wrote something down. “Now lift them,” she was instructed. “Feel them, and without moving toward them, lift them.”

This only brought even more confusion to the woman, but she did all she could to do as she was asked. Something began to pour out of her fingers, something that looked much like a red smoke, and her heart jumped. Not letting herself stop, Freydis moved her hands, guided it almost instinctively, until the smoke surrounded the blocks.

She lifted her hands, and one by one, the blocks moved with them. The red smoke surrounded them, bent to do what she wanted, and she finally realised this is what Professor Andersen meant when he said she’d be enhanced. Somehow, they had given her abilities she could only imagine a god having. A god or…

Or a Völva.

These people had made her a Völva, from the looks of it. The bricks were floating in the air still at her command, and she blinked a few times. The blinking broke her concentration, and they fell.

“I- I lost my focus,” she said. “Let me try-”

“Oh, no, that was incredible, Freydis,” Dr. Schmidt interrupted. “I couldn’t be happier with your progress. Go on back to your room and rest, I’ll have something sent over early for you to snack on.”

Freydis nodded a little, still slightly dazed. She didn’t know what had just happened, but she got the feeling these people were messing with things and forces they couldn’t understand.

And giving a prisoner abilities like this… that was only going to backfire.

Taglist: @youbloodymadgenius, @katfett, @zuzus-sun, @heavenly1927, @punkrocknpearls

If you want to be added to the taglist, feel free to reach out either by commenting, reblogging, DMing me, or sending an ask, and I’ll be more than happy to add you!

[angelkurenai]

Imagine having to pretend to be a couple with your boss, Dean, for a case of a serial killer who targets couples and you have to make out the whole while.

“Alright, that's it. If the news say that they also got a letter after this-” you pointed at the photos projected on the white screen in front of the whole team “Then I'm out. I'm not going to be hunting zodiac's ghost now, that's not my department and I'm definitely not paid enough for it. Serial killers I'll take, any day, but their ghosts is a no-go.”

“What? Not a fan of ghosts there, (Y/l/n)?” Gabriel said, loving to tease the living heaven out of you, but you only shot him a glare. You'd have thrown him the object closest to you at the moment but that happened to be your badge and you were sure that if he got his hands on it, he wouldn't return it just to earn a good laugh out of the situation you'd get in. Despite how much you loved the guy as family, he had an impeccable way of getting on your nerves with his jokes. And you weren't the only one.

“Wanna figure that on your own, Gabe, or what? I have my gun right here in case you'd like to try walking through walls, you know.” you challenged back, raising a casual eyebrows as you leaned forward.

“Oh get in the line, honey.” he chuckled “I never took you for one to believe in the supernatural, though.”

“I know I will regret asking, but why is that so?” your best friend, Sam, asked from his seat next to you.

“Well, simple.” Gabriel leaned back in his seat, legs propped up on the table in a way that made you want to roll your eyes. The best team of cops in the entire police station, definitely the entire city and even the state itself and yet... a bunch of five-year-olds. Kids. You worked with kids. “Because she hasn't slept with me to know the ultimate experience of-”

“You finish that sentence then so help me, Gabriel.” this time it wasn't neither you nor Sam, who much like an older brother figure wouldn't hesitate to be protective, that spoke up. It was a much more rough and deep voice that belonged to none other but the leader himself, Dean Winchester. “I'll let you know that (Y/l/n) is not the only who has a gun in this room. So unless you'd like to try another supernatural experience of your own, alone, then keep it shut for the rest of the briefing too.”

At his words, and the tone in his voice, you couldn't help but glance at your chief. His words had indeed made Gabriel shut up, only because he knew that if he pissed the man off about something concerning you then there would be hell to pay. Others had learned so the hard way. The members of the team were different, you were a family after all these years of working together, so it definitely meant Dean was a bit more soft towards them. As much as soft could go on this line of work and with such a case hanging right above your heads. The pressure of a serial killer on the loose had you all on edge, the team and whole station too, but even more so the detective himself. Another murder had been reported but you had not gotten there in time to get the killer and the frustration was obvious on the gree-eyed man you had come closest to.

Said green eyes that were red-rimmed and tired, dark circles from lack of sleep very much obvious and making your heart ache. It wasn't easy getting attached to someone in this line of work – and what you felt for Dean was much more than just an attachment – not to mention get involved with someone who was also part of the job himself. But at the end of the day you couldn't help the pull on your heartstrings. His suit jacket was resting on his seat, his white sleeves rolled up, his tie lose around his neck along with a button or two undone. A scruff had started to form, obviously no time for things such as shaving anymore. All signs that he was beating himself up for yet another victim were right there.

The man looked in your direction and you held his gaze if only for a few seconds so as not to make it too obvious to both him and the rest of your friends and colleagues.

You cleared your throat and put on a small smirk, glancing at Gabriel and saying what would hopefully be the last line about the issue “It would have been a unique supernatural experience indeed. Me falling asleep the first three minutes. Quiet the magic you'd have pulled there, seeing as I have never once in my life been able to fall asleep so fast naturally.”

You grinned even more when you heard a small laugh come from Jack's direction. Despite his young age, he had remarkable abilities on the field and quickly had proved to be a valuable asset to the team. Besides, he was more family in the first place before he decided to follow in his adoptive father's – Castel's – steps and become a colleague too, all also thanks to his bright mind.

“Oh someone's in the mood today.” he smirked, unable to stop himself from commenting. And even though, by the looks of it, he had more to say he refered from it because of the sharp look Dean gave him.

“I'll be in the mood only when I go on vacation. Which I need real bad but because of this asshole seems to be even further away from now.” you sighed, crossing your arms over your chest as you leaned back in your seat “And I definitely don't get paid enough for this.”

“If you're looking for a change of career then I always have the perfect suggestion for you, darling. All you have to do is ask.” the smirk was as clear as the accent in the man's voice and you raised an eyebrow at him. He was no part of he team per see, because he wasn't a cop, but being a man who did business in the dark meant he had ears and eyes around when the crime really took place the most and therefore was of great help to you.

“Work... Work for you? But then what could she be do-” Jack started with an adorable frown. Despite how smart and skilled he was on the job, he seriously lacked social skills much like his father.

“Stripping.” you shrugged, face blank “I never get to play that role when it comes to cases, by the way.” any of the words you said were not meant seriously but that one sentence was. Only because someone, green eyes, full lips, tall and firm built, and your superior was always being over-protective and even possessive even though he had no right to. So if you could piss him off for it, then so be it. “So yeah, work as a stripper. Most probably. At least I hope? Because I swear, if you're thinking of making me a hooker, Crowley I'll personally kick your-”

“Alright, kids. If you're done fooling around then would you mind if we kept going with the briefing or are we interruptingyou?” sarcasm was nearly dripping from his lips and you raised an eyebrow at him “But we have a serial killer on the loose and a clock ticking that says we should catch his the soonest possible.”

“Whom-” you started to point out “We would have caught had someone decided to listen to my plan the previous time. But you're still glad you didn't let me go through with that, aren't you?”

“Which involved you nearly getting killed and don't tell me I don't know that!” he pointed out, raising a finger to stop you from talking, his voice deep and authoritative when the next words came from his lips “Don't you dare. Because it would mean you getting face to face with a man who could easily shoot you without a second thought if he realized you're a cop. You couldn't have handled it, nobody could, and you bet your ass I'm glad I didn't give you my permission to go through with that.”

And as that, with only a few words, you forgot all about how much you wanted to comfort the man and take some of the weight off his shoulder. With only a few words you almost forgot just how much you cared for- well, scratch that. You almost forgot just how much you loved the man and the only thing that you could feel, for the man and in general, was endless frustration. He could drive you insanely mad with anger just by using a couple words. And despite knowing how much care was behind hose words, despite how much good he wanted to do, he managed to do the opposite almost every time. Like this one.

“Well good for you, chief!” you nearly exclaimed “Now go ahead and add another body to the long list and let us all wait and see how many dead people it will take for you to listen to my plan. Which, by the way let's be honest, is the closest we'd be able to get to him and we both know it, Dean.”

He held your gaze, his anger bubbling up as well as he clenched his jaw. It was almost like a staring match, ready to see that whoever broke the look first then they lost the argument. He scoffed, in the end, tearing his eyes away from yours before he started rubbing them “You know what? I'm not doing this with you. I'm too tired to try and convince you it wouldn't work. Not without consequences.”

“And I am too tired trying to convince you that just because I am a woman, doesn't mean I can't handle things like everybody else! Doesn't mean I can't be a good cop and doesn't mean I-” you hadn't realised when your voice started raising but in such a match, it could never get more scary or powerful that Dean's roaring one. Much like now when he cut you off.

“Well, much fucking better than being dead! And I can't have that- I won't have that and you know it. Not with anybody in this team and especially not with you!” he nearly made you jump in your place because, and even if it was scary, you appreciated that when it came to yelling at you or in general kicking your ass as any boss should, he took no consideration of gender (unlike previous chiefs you've had) and made no discriminations “So-” he continued in a lower but just as dangerous voice “You can go and hate me all you want but I'll take it, just like I'll take another death take it all on me, because – and you can call me a selfish bastard for this if you want to, fine by me – I'd much rather it be someone I don't know and not you.”

The silence that followed after that was so thick you could almost cut right through it. You felt your eyes burn and upon realizing it was unshed tears, you forced yourself to look away from him. You could only hear his heavy breathing and you could almost see him, resting his weight on his chair as he gripped the back with both his hands in firm fists. Nobody said a word for a good few seconds and although you could feel their eyes, it wasn't what made you uncomfortable – if uncomfortable was what you felt that is. You couldn't place your finger on what it was yet. They were somewhat used to this, for sure it wasn't the first time, but it was the first time with such a dangerous killer out there and so many victims. Dean did take it all on his shoulder but it was affecting all of you and it clearly was wearing off on your nerves.

“Alright uhm-” Sam was the one to break the silence this time, clearing his throat softly “What Dean is trying to say is... this is hard, for all of us. Having another victim on the list is-” he let out a shaky sigh “It's on all of us, but mostly him and I. And for that, and for the poor young soul that was lost, we have a plan to put an end to him once and for all.”

Leave it to the second in command to put everything back in order and get the detective, and brother of his, and everybody else back on the game. It certainly had your attention.

“And... what will the plan involve?” Castiel who had kept silent until now, spoke up with a frown.

“We've uh-” he glanced at Dean as if asking for a permission to inform everyone, not that he really needed it, but he asked and got it with a nod “We've noticed that the past month has been a pattern. Besides his MO which was obvious from the first kills, we only now saw there is something similar to a pattern. A pattern that lasts a whole month, despite the kills, and we only now got to notice: it's the place he prays. Four months ago, for an entire month, this is where the kills took place. Three months ago it was here.Two months ago, here. And this month-” he kept pointing spot after spot on the map as he kept speaking, until he finally showed the forest just on the outskirts of the town “Last three deaths, all on this very forest.”

“That's- that's where he is, where he stays and where he prays.” the words left in a gasp from your lips “So we- we're going to just... go and find him? And that's- that's it?” the excitement was hard to hide.

“No, no we're not.” it was Dean's low voice. You still wouldn't look at Dean, arms crossed over your chest and eyebrows pulled into a deep frown. “We'll follow a different plan. Another way.”

Sam sighed a bit “There have been cabins or old warehouses in all of the places he's killed, too secluded for anyone to notice. And we have our eyes on one in this forest as well but we can't blow our cover in case we don't catch him there. No, we'll let him think we're still in the dark and... let him come to us.” that earned more than a few raised eyebrows from all of you “We'll lure him out, let him do what he does best. Or at least get close to it. There is a plan, a bit of an alteration to (Y/n)'s.” you were surprised how Dean didn't comment something on that but he was suddenly far more serious than before “There will be a car there tonight, there will be a couple and he will want to strike. Our people will be there, the team only at first with the rest on alert, all around but definitely hiding while... you, (Y/n), will be in the car.” ah of course.

Your back straightened and your eyes immediately fell on Dean who look more stiff than ever, and now you also knew why “And you're ok with this?” he knew you were speaking to him so he looked up to meet your gaze. He didn't have to say anything because it was clear as a crystal that no, he wasn't and didn't want to put you in danger even if were alright with it. You sighed, nodding your head “So, if I am to be in the car I'll have to be with another man, right? He goes for couples and I'm more than fine with playing my part – especially since the business doesn't let me get any – but what? Will we just get an actor or something?”

“If only it was that easy. We're not putting civilians in the line, obviously. It'll be another cop. More specifically... another member of the team.” Sam explained and you frowned a bit more.

“O-oh ok.” you shifted a bit in your seat, not too glad to get that kind of close to the men you considered brothers, all but one but he was out of the question “That's... also an option.”

“Oh well, if you're looking for a volunteer then I'd gladly-”

“Don't you even think about it.” although in a low voice, Dean's words were very much scary.

“It's-” Sam sighed, glancing at his brother “The most dangerous position as you can tell. You didn't want you to be there either but this is our last chance and uh in case something goes wrong and the backup is not there in time then the ones inside the car will have to fight him off on their own. So uhm in order not to risk anybody else's life more than nec-”

“I'll do it.” Dean's gruff voice echoes in the room, having cut Sam off and made everyone stay silent, and it makes you feel shivers run down your spine and your breath get caught in your throat “I'll be with you in the car, (Y/n). Play the part.” his eyes met yours and you could swear you forgot your own name too.

“And somehow I am not shocked to hear that.” it was Crowley's turn this time but you couldn't bring yourself to look at him. You couldn't in fact bring yourself to look anywhere but Dean.

Dean sighed but didn't comment on it. Instead he straightened his back and said “Sam will inform you all about the rest of the details and your positions. He will lead the team on the field. I have to meet with Shurley about some final details and...” he paused at the door, turning just a bit to glance at you “I want to see you in my office to discuss a couple thingsin case this takes a bloody turn, ok?”

“Sure” was the only thing you could whisper, knowing too well that that was the most important part for him. Your safety.

~*~

It was getting hard to breathe. Was it always so hard to breathe when inside a car? You contemplated opening a window but you knew that it wouldn't be the best idea. Plus, you realized that it was only because of how close Dean was sitting and because that distance would soon be gone. Glancing at your watch you realized the moment was fast approaching and you could feel your heart leap to your throat.

“Alright lovebirds, I'm throwing this in before you get too distracted and before I hear something that will scar me for life.” both you and Dean visibly rolled your eyes “The sun is getting down and soon you'll have to play your parts. We are all in position and backup on their places too. Good luck and have fun!”

“The real fun will only be when I put some tape over that mouth, I tell you.” you grumbled and saw the corner's of Dean's lips lift into a small smirk. You could swear you also heard him say something to the other man through the walkie-talkie. And then back to silence... or not.

“You haven't been getting enough sleep.” you caught yourself whispering when you saw the man rub his eyes tiredly.

It took him a couple seconds to react but he spoke in the end “No I haven't.” he knew there was no point in denying it or trying to deflect it, especially not with you “But I will once we get the son of a bitch.”

“That's not the right way to deal with it, you could just break down any given moment.” you couldn't stop yourself from sounding as if you were scolding him, but a fight was not what you were going for “But I suppose it's ok.” you admittedwith a soft sigh, almost tired one.

“To break down?” he asked after a good few seconds and hearing the smirk in his voice made you grin.

“Being on edge, I mean. Like, not that it is healthy, but it's impossible to relax either. None of us has been able to these days so I understand you.” you tried to relax further in your seat “And if only this damn car could make it easier. Where's Baby when you need her.”

“Don't worry.” his voice had taken such a soft tone it made you melt on the inside. When you felt the contact though it made your heart still in your chest. It took you a couple seconds to realize you were actually more relaxed than before, although of a higher temperature than before. “Once this is over I promise to take you on a long ride, with as many burgers as you want, wherever you want.”

“I like the sound of it.” you whispered, glancing at his hand holding yours and his thumb rubbing softly over your knuckles. But despite how beautiful it was and how good it felt, there was a feeling at the pit of your stomach that was deep-settled fear. “If we end up making it out of here, that is.”

“We will. You will, I'll make sure of it.” his voice sounded firm and looked away from you, staring straight ahead of him “Whatever it takes.”

“I mean-” you shrugged softly “Even if I go tonight... it won't be such a bad way to go, you know?” that made him look at you but you kept your gaze straight ahead “Watching the sunset from a great place is something I haven't done in so so long. Being with someone... close to me, the family that you are to me, despite how mad you drive me sometimes.” it earned a low chuckle from him and you turned your head to look at him “It's true. But hey, at least, I'll be able to brag to every girl I know in the after life that I kissed Dean Winchester. That's pretty dope, isn't it?”

He smiled gently at you, his forehead was leaning against yours before you even realized it. But when his lips pressed on the corner of yours, it certainly was a feeling you'd never forget “Please. Heavily make out, for sure.” he grinned and you giggled before you could stop it “And I'll be the one bragging.”

“Do you think...” you started softly, moving so that you could rest your head on his shoulder “There is a chance we... we win this?”

“Tell you what.” he took a deep breath “I am not sure but if we do then... everything will change after that and I hope... I pray it's in a good way.”

“I hope that too.” you whispered, looking out to see the sun had set for good and darkness was all around you “Here we go.”