#mama it was just a rev test

[anisespice]

“ headshot ” || tokyo rev. 

synopsis: how the bonten execs. would react to a gun being pointed at you/your head. 

pairing: bonten x fem!reader

warnings: mature language, gun violence, reader cries in some, mentions of bodily harm (only on the antags), and i think that’s it

notes: thought of this while on a car ride, staring at trees…not sure what that says about me, but here she is lol i’m a little iffy on mikey’s since i think his was the shortest, but i liked keeping some of these open-ended. hope you enjoy!

manjiro ッ 

Wouldn’t react much on the outside, but on the inside that man could probably melt a building with his rage alone. It occurred during a small gathering amongst investors, corrupt and all. You had been by his side throughout the whole night until you left to go to the bathroom…that was several minutes ago. He’s already a paranoid man, so the moment the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, he gave Sanzu a pointed look—Find her.  

However, that wouldn’t be necessary. 

Before the cotton candy-haired gangster even had time to get excited about the potential hunt, some bootlicker came barreling through the crowd with you in a headlock, and a gun pressed into your temple. Both of you looked disheveled, no doubt your doing from putting up a good fight, he proudly noted. The fucker probably ambushed you in the bathroom, taking his opportunity when you left Mikey’s side—Pussy-ass bitch. He didn’t know if the guy was bold or just plain stupid standing smack-dab in the lion’s den, threatening the only life Mikey found precious. 

“Nobody moves! Or I’ll blow her goddamn brains out!”  

Didn’t matter, though. He’d surely pay with his. 

sanzu ッ

Over a game of poker, some guy whose luck just wasn’t on his side decided he deserved retribution—And you were unfortunately the one to pay it forward. You were perched on Sanzu’s lap, sitting prettily as you laughed at the silly men crying after taking a heavy loss from your man. For him, it was like nails on a chalkboard hearing you mock the table alongside that crackhead, his inferiority complex spewing venomous thoughts in his head that you needed to be taken down a couple notches. 

A death wish. That dumbass had a death wish. 

He abruptly stood, knocked the table over and aimed his sorry excuse of a gun right at you, rendering everyone else speechless. Sanzu barely reacted but felt you startle, cooing softly in your ear as he lovingly tapped you on the thigh in reassurance. You relaxed instantly, eyeing down the barrel of the gun with mirth as the guy began to shake. Blame it on the alcohol, blame it on the heat of the moment, or even the bottomless debt he just put himself in, but one thing was for certain—He fucked up big time, no rush. 

You couldn’t see it, but Sanzu had murderous intent hidden behind his calm exterior. And everyone at that table knew it as they scattered from the scene. Probably wasn't the smartest choice to bet his luck against yours, though. For someone who was already absolute dogshit at poker, Sanzu figured he’d be doing this guy a favor anyways. 

“How ballsy of you. Guess I’d better cut ‘em off.”

ran ッ

Not gonna lie, whoever decided to test his gangsta like that would surely need to evaporate IMMEDIATELY after because there’s absolutely no SHOT of them, they mama, they second cousin, or even that one neighbor who used to live by them, surviving this man’s wrath.

Especially if they tried it in his own home.

The poor guy didn’t even get to make his demands, Ran was on him so quick he damn near broke the laws of physics. You’d never seen a grown man beg for mercy to the point of literally pissing himself before, but it definitely lightened your mood. You even pointed and laughed, despite the tears still falling down your face from the unpleasant experience. Ran merely grinned adoringly at you as he twisted the assailant’s arm in three different ways.

“There’s my favorite smile ♡. I’ll make sure this fucker suffers for almost taking it away from me, angel.”

rindou ッ

It’s always the younger siblings that are the more unhinged. He already don’t play that bullshit when it comes to you, your safety becoming one of his main priorities the moment you agreed to be with him. Anyone who dared to compromise that would fuck around and find out.

And eventually, someone did.

To be fair, the guy who pulled the gun on you didn’t know any better. As far as he was concerned, he was doing his job in making sure unauthorized civilians in the building were to be eradicated immediately. Especially those who claim to know anyone from Bonten without some sort of proof.

Because your relationship was hush-hush to most, if not all staff, it was no wonder homie didn’t believe you. But, it didn’t matter. As soon as Rindou found out the commotion going on in the lobby had to do with you, and some dumbass subordinate holding a gun to your head???

That walking mullet made that guy’s trigger finger into a necklace and forced him to wear it as a reminder.

kakucho ッ

A wild card, truly. He can’t afford to be anything but mr. calm and collected, especially in hostile situations. On one hand, he knows that getting worked up will do neither of you any good. And on the other hand…

When he got the video of you being held for ransom by some backstreet lowlife, gun pressed to your temple as you’re forced to read out their petty demands, Kakucho wanted to set the whole city on fire. His entire being vibrated, teeth clenched so hard you’d need a crowbar to unhinge it. Even Mikey eyed him sideways for a moment before reassuring him that you would be found, and that those amateurs would be handled. Kakucho growled lowly, dual-colored eyes piercing through the souls of every subordinate in the room.

“If she doesn’t make it out of this alive, none of you will.”

© 2022-2023 anisespice ッ all rights reserved. likes, comments & reblogs much appreciated!

[alyjojo]

Love Reading 🦞 - October 2024 - Aries

(Blessed by the kitty paws that walked all over it, she’s my own Queen of Wands familiar 🐈 If you didn’t know Queen of Wands usually has a witchy cat on the card, now you do.)

Singles:

Who is Coming In: Strength rev & 10 Cups

Regarding: The Sun

Long-Term Potential: Knight of Wands rev

Clearly an ex, probably one you broke up with yesterday, because they’re so intense in your energy I don’t think there’s room for anyone else. It’s like yeah sure, new person, the idea is hardly entertained, but you’re technically single. You could have a baby with this person already, or they’re pregnant, or someone has had an outside baby even…hope not but could be. No judgement, idc what you do, with love ❤️

They see you as 10 Cups and The freakin Sun ☀️ You’re everything, the picket fence and the kids, happily ever after. Fuck boy/girl rev shows no outside people if they’re currently/recently pregnant, that’s…very important. No, they are not playing with you 💯 You could test anyway because everyone deserves to know for sure, right? No shame in being certain, and I think that’s a message for you here with the 9 Swords rev being at the bottom. I personally think it should be mandatory but no one asked…idgaf & I’m sure you relate to that 😁 Do what you have to do to ease your mind. This could be the ex of your current partner too, especially if they have kids together. It feels kinda chaotic & crazy here ngl.

Long term is ick. They stress you the hell out. A King of Cups is here: hurt, wounded, cautious and guarded. They’re either this person or the person’s ex they have kids with. Long term they could very well be running back to a baby mama/daddy, you are, or even long-term…even having every answer and checking every box, you still aren’t sure about this person. Or you are just stuck dealing with the ex that never fully goes away, though you avoid them like the plague, could be that too. Kid drop offs and whatnot, kids are definitely involved with the story this month. If you got no babies or they don’t, it’s probably not for you. Or your next person has kids & some drama.

Side story: If you’re single because this person is shady as fuck, could be, cheating is debunked by the cards but…they’re still a snake 🐍 in other ways and no, that won’t end. It’s not described how - it’s just not messing around romantically/sexually but I mean, they could sell crack so… whatever eases your mind from worry & stress is what matters most here, 9 Swords rev. Messages flew out like crazy.

Messages:

- Surprise, baby!

- I feel bound to you.

- I love the way you look at me.

- Fuck Boy/Girl rev

Oracles:

40 Resurrection

Reconsider a project or recall a person from the past to resurrect an idea.

Signs you may be dealing with:

Leo, Scorpio, Sagittarius & Pisces

Couples:

The relationship: Ace of Wands

The problem: The Wheel of Fortune rev

What to do about it: Page of Cups rev

I don’t see this as done exactly, but you’re in the middle of a difficult conflict/cycle with this person. Definitely karmic 💯 The negative kind, with Wheel of Fortune being reversed. The relationship being described as Ace of Wands can show you both moving on, if that’s your story, 9 Wands clarifies to show hurt and pain that’s been caused. They’re very guarded. It can also show pure anger, rage, inspiration and passion. Fire is fire 🔥, it heats and it burns, passion/anger is all the same with fire, and this person has a fire under their ass. You too probably, I say them because of the messages - blaming you. Probably. Sort of.

The message “you hurt me first” could indicate this person has done something to “hurt you back”, and there’s immature behavior here with Page of Cups rev in what to do about it, maybe that’s what they’re doing and you’re left to respond. The problem is in splitting up, alone time maybe if you’re still working on things…either alone time that makes you feel good and you can’t get this person to like, do their own thing for awhile? Or alone time in that this person/you told the other to kick rocks and is being egotistically “happy” about it. Like no one is happy about this shit ok, 5 Swords at the bottom is just purposeful wounding. Proving a point. Being a dick. Or what’s here are the consequences of a situation like that, the retaliation or rebuttal of that. Tit for tat.

What to do…what can you do? Even this says it. Now if this is *telling you* to make an emotional scene, don’t let go and lovebomb the shit out of this person - that’s 5 Swords, then you’re the problem love ❤️ If this is what they try to do, they might, now you know. 5 Swords still at the bottom, they can lovebomb all day but the reality is this tit for tat conflict. This can be showing it’s immature and unrealistic to even try. Or with 4 Cups running the reading, and the message of the Oracle, it could be that there are major lessons to be learned here that…maybe you haven’t learned, because you don’t give a fuck - 4 Cups. Apathy, discontentment, boredom. That’s either towards this person and their bs or towards your own faults in this connection that you don’t want to take action on or face, so the Wheel of Fortune spins reverse and hands out karma. With the messages, Not Ready Yet showed up in reverse but didn’t drop out, and Ace of Wands is here, it looks like you’re both ready for something new…with each other or not idk, everyone has a different outcome & free will. Hardly any majors here except the consequences or karma, that’s Spirit. What you do about it is you.

Messages:

- Over It.

- You hurt me first.

Oracles:

42 Courage

Have the courage to see all lessons in all situations and face them constructively.

Signs you may be dealing with:

Heavy Sagittarius, Pisces, Virgo, Cancer & Leo

[n0thingiscool]

Senator Nina Turner's Famous DC Speech

“Sisters and Brother, Brothers and Sisters, I counted all joy to be here with you on this rainy afternoon and I’m so glad that Reverend Al did not stop this, because this gives us just a little taste of what our ancestors had to endure. Now, we got troubles, but we don’t have middle passage troubles. We got troubles, but we don’t have selling your Mama, your kids, and your Daddy on the block type-troubles.

This moment reminds me of a spiritual song in the African American tradition, “How I Got Over”. ‘My soul looks back and wonders how I got over.’ Now Sisters and Brothers, we know we got over by the blood, the sweat, and the tears of “she-roes” and heroes, some whose names we know and some whose names we do not know. But I’m going to tell you something: We have been here before.

Now, the only difference is we got some company, Rev. We got our Gay Lesbian Sisters and Brothers with us this time. We got our Hispanic, Asian, Native American Sisters and Brothers with us this time. I think Dr. Reverend Martin Luther King said, ‘We may not have gotten here on the same ship, but we are in the same boat right now!’ We have been here before.

And I know that you might be disappointed, but I want you to take solace in these words. ‘We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope.’ The valley may be lower, but we’ve been before. The mountain might be higher, but we’ve been here before. Because our mission for social justice and economic justice and political justice -- and oh, by the way Sisters, we want our whole damn dollar, say whole damn dollar.

You see the mission is so high we can’t get over it, and the mission is so low we can’t get under it, and the mission is so wide we can’t get around it. We might be disappointed, but we have been here before. And as sure as there is a God in Heaven, he is stronger and more powerful than any man. We cannot forget where we have come from.

So, Sisters and Brothers, I want to leave you with these three things: Number one, the creator of this great Universe has given us two hands, one to reach forward and one to reach back, lifting as we climb. Number two, and most importantly, we can’t ask other folks to do more for us than we are willing to do for ourselves.

And, lastly, in the words of my grandmother, who was hailed from the South, born in 1913, Grandma could not read or write, but she could count her money. She kept her money in the Southern Ladies Bank and Trust with a handkerchief, ya’ll know what I’m saying. When I asked Grandma, ‘What does it take to be successful in life?’ she said, ‘All you need are the three bones: the wishbone, the jawbone, and the backbone.’ She said the wishbone will keep you hoping and praying because hope is the motivator but the dream is the driver. The jawbone will give you courage to speak truth to power. But the most important bone of them all, the supercalifragilisticexpialidocious bone, hey, is the backbone. ‘Cuz it will keep you standing through your trials and tribulations. And guess what Sisters and Brothers? We can’t have a testimony without a test. And we are being tested right now. Whether or not we’ve got courage enough, hope enough, fight enough, life enough to do what is necessary. Hallelujah, somebody." - Nina Turner

[jcmarchi]

Legacy Software Modernization Services: Key Steps & Strategies - Technology Org

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/legacy-software-modernization-services-key-steps-strategies-technology-org/

Legacy Software Modernization Services: Key Steps & Strategies - Technology Org

Ever felt like your old software is like that vintage car in the garage that looks cool but sputters every time you rev it up? That’s where we step in with our software product modernization services. It’s all about giving that old clunker a turbocharged engine and a shiny new paint job to keep it zooming on the information superhighway. And who does this with a wizard’s touch? Sombra, that’s who!

Software testing, code development – illustrative photo. Image credit: Danial Igdery via Unsplash, free license

Now, here’s the tea: about 90% of businesses are stuck in the digital Stone Age ’cause their tech is older than the fossils in a museum. And guess what? Over half the big-shot IT bosses are pulling their hair out because they can’t keep up with the cool kids on the digital block��all thanks to their ancient tech.

But hold your horses, ’cause modernizing isn’t just some walk in the park. It’s a major makeover. We’re talking serious TLC, but when it’s done right, you’re looking at slicing costs like a hot knife through butter, getting more customers, and leaving your rivals eating your dust.

So what’s this modernizing mumbo jumbo? Picture this: you’ve got an old app that’s about as slow as molasses. Legacy app modernization is like hooking it up to a rocket. We might tweak the code, move it to a swankier platform, or sprinkle in some new features that’ll make users grin from ear to ear.

Why should you care? Because clunky old software is about as helpful as a screen door on a submarine. It costs a fortune to keep running, and adding new bells and whistles is like trying to teach an old dog to text. With Sombra’s magic, you can shake off those old software blues and keep pace with today’s tech without tossing out all the good stuff you already have.

Let’s talk about the perks:

Maintenance? Piece of cake.

Old-school software is like a block of concrete—change one part, and you’ve got to redo the whole darn thing. We slice it into neat, manageable pieces that are a cinch to update. Think LEGO, not concrete.

Security that’s tighter than Fort Knox.

If you’re using software that’s as secure as a tent, you’re basically inviting hackers to a picnic. With our help, you’ll sleep like a baby knowing your data’s as safe as in mama’s arms.

Integration is so smooth, it’s like butter.

Our modernization mix means new tech plays nice with the old. It’s like making friends at a new school on the very first day.

Now, don’t just take our word for it. The numbers talk: boosting customer happiness is the big cheese for nearly half of the businesses who’ve jumped on the modernization train. And only a measly 1% said, “Nah, didn’t do much for us.”

If you’re all in, here’s the game plan in five easy-peasy steps:

Architecture Audit:

Think of it as a thorough check-up under your software’s hood.

Code Audit:

It’s like combing through your code with a fine-toothed comb to catch any gremlins lurking in there.

Refactoring:

This is like Marie Kondo-ing your code—it sparks joy by making it neat and tidy.

Performance Testing:

We put your software on a treadmill to see how much it can handle before it huffs and puffs.

Quality Assurance:

Last but not least, we’re all about that QA. It’s like having a guardian angel that ensures everything’s working like a dream.

So, there you have it. With Sombra’s software product modernization services, it’s like hitting the refresh button on your tired old software. And when it comes to staying ahead of the game, we’re not just playing— we’re changing it. Ready to join the party?

[jongkillz]

.

[milliumizoomi]

𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐑 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒

➣ SUMMARY. ; Random TR headcanons I thought of

➣ FEATURED. ; Various Tokyo Rev. Characters

➣ FORMAT. ; Headcanons

➣ GENRE. ; Crack

➣ WARNINGS. ; Cursing + Manga Spoilers

➣ NOTES. ; all of these are completely right and ion want no discussion abt em 🗿☝🏽 /hj ,, i was planning to do a part 2 so pls let me know if I should,, hope you enjoy !!

REBLOGS ARE APPRECIATED.

MIKEY…

𖢇 there’s no room for discussion wit this one

𖢇 he goes thru AT LEAST 3 pairs of Jesus steppers a day

𖢇 try to change my mind

𖢇 with all them flips and kicks and the way he be gripping them hoes ain’t no way he wearing just one a day

𖢇 AND THEY FLIMSY TOO

𖢇 they be popping,, on the regular 🗿

𖢇 like even in that moebius fight episode

𖢇 HE HAD FLIP FLOPS ON AND KICKING PPL IN THEY HEAD

𖢇 ik them shits was obliterated as soon as he started running from the police

𖢇 he abuses these floor slappers on the regular

𖢇 and he do this to ALL the ones he have

𖢇 so,, in conclusion,, by the time the sun set he be walking home barefoot

DRAKEN…

𖢇 PLS ok so

𖢇 he thoroughly rubs the bald sides of his head

𖢇 that’s it.

𖢇 that’s the headcanon.

𖢇 I believe EXPONENTIALLY that this man head get cold on the regular

𖢇 so 24/7 you him catch rubbing it

𖢇 and it look so funny too

𖢇 like y’all know when people run their hands through their hair to kinda fix it

𖢇 ok imagine that but him vigorously rubbing the sides of his head

𖢇 and he don’t even be realizing when he do it anymore cause he do it so much

𖢇 he’ll be in room just 🤜🏼🧑🏼‍🦲🤛🏼

𖢇 and when ppl see him doing it they just gotta stop and stare cause??

𖢇 PLEASE AND IT SOUNDS SO ASHY TOO

𖢇 The gang DEFINITELY laughs at him when he subconsciously does it while with them

𖢇 he says that he won’t do it again

𖢇 *spoiler* he continues to do it every second of the damn day

IZANA…

𖢇 y’all gon hate me for this,, but when the man was homeless he def had lice

𖢇 IDC WHAT YALL WANNA SAY

𖢇 the man was itching and scratching all over

𖢇 smelling like the garbage

𖢇 absolutely horrendous

𖢇 he’d scratch and they’d just fall out

𖢇 all up under his nails and EVERYTHING

𖢇 eugh

𖢇 scaring the children

𖢇 Looking like a yeti toooo

𖢇 the man was just a walking mess

𖢇 free him from the chains

KAWATA TWINS…

𖢇 sigh

𖢇 i’m sorry to make this unfortunate announcement but from the ages of 6 to 10 they were booty scratchers

𖢇 Both of em

𖢇 Absolutely

𖢇 smiley was first, angry tested it out and all of a sudden they were both ALWAYS elbow deep—

𖢇 Like no shame in it either

𖢇 They at the playground? No problem they just 🤌🏽

𖢇 At school? 🤌🏽

𖢇 SHOOT IN THE GROCERY STORE WIT THEY MAMA? HEAVY ON THE 🤌🏽

𖢇 Just anywhere they would be holding each other hand and just got the other one like 🤌🏽🤌🏽🤌🏽

𖢇 wherever and whenever they would just.. sigh

𖢇 those were dark days

RAN…

𖢇 mm how’s the best way to put this,,

𖢇 ok so he chews his nails

𖢇 BUT that’s not all

𖢇 the man will spit them at people

𖢇 like just LAUNCH them

𖢇 no matter if they’re long or short he’s going to literally bite them off then look directly at the person he’s gonna launch them bitches at

𖢇 and will deliberately keep looking at the person so they know it was him

𖢇 and they can’t even do nothing

𖢇 cause he’s ran haitani

𖢇 the bitch gets away with it everytime

𖢇 those poor innocent people

𖢇 the boys been doing it since rindou was ankle high

𖢇 at school, in public, AT HIS OWN FATHER

𖢇 he don’t leave anybody unscathed

𖢇 except his mama

𖢇 cause chileeee

𖢇 ik he gotta be scared of her

𖢇 so in conclusion,, the man is a nail spitting canon

RINDOU…

𖢇 he’s a legendary kicker of the back of ppl foot

𖢇 piss him off?

𖢇 ok

𖢇 y’all know the back of y’all knees right?

𖢇 that one lil spot

𖢇 mhm

𖢇 he will kick the shit out of it

𖢇 full force

𖢇 sending your ass flying into the floor

𖢇 with absolutely no remorse

𖢇 he’ll watch you face plant right into the floor and then leave you right there

𖢇 the nigga doesn’t give a damn at ALL

𖢇 and he’ll laugh at you too

𖢇 whether he does it all up in your face or he’s walking away and snickering he gon laugh

𖢇 very disrespectful

𖢇 and he’d take a picture if you fall especially funny

𖢇 then he’d show ran

𖢇 and they’d both laugh🧍🏽‍♀️

©2021 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED — MILLIUMIZOOMI. Do not modify, repost, plagiarize, translate or claim any work posted on this blog without my permission.

TAGLIST: @develith @kej1me @unfazedrose @kiribis-confesion-page @darylthekidd @blackweebtrash @erensbbg @shamwizzy @klodyisdepressed @namjoonswifeyy @cosmiclvsh @bakuhoes-bxtch @megurulvr @dukina @crushsoli @dat-black-bish323 @plutosexc @temsm @kloesklarity @aizawash0e @plxnetjeezy @sukunasbabymama @royalelusts @denkisbaby1 @beezebub @reelogy @myhoodacademia @xseogar @luv-calcifer @we-simp-here @neqtzs @chopp4hehe @mikasacumslut @ccxiia @micahgalore @forwardpair @sageth3w0rld @manjiroarchiviste @1-800-baddie @sir-haitani @lvlydray @crapimahuman @1bravehooman @sscarchiyo @yakifuyu @http-ch1fuyu @flylis @matsukashi @cigarettest @bajisb3loved @satindraco (Open ! click here to be added!)

[blessedboo]

Mama | Oscar Diaz.

Oscar Diaz x Reader

Summary: You’re pregnant. The announcement to Oscar doesn’t go so smoothly. 

Requested: Yes - “Hi I love your work so far! I was just wondering if it would be okay for you to write an Oscar Diaz imagine with the prompt #10 you’re going to be a dad? But change it up slightly by highlighting his fears of raising a son. Seeing as how it runs in his family for boys to join the gang. Sorry If it’s a strange request!! Much love x”  [Anonymous]

Prompt: Yes [My 150 Prompts] -

10. “You’re going to be a dad!”

Warnings: Angst to fluff. Pregnancy. 

Word Count: 1.9K

A/N: This prompt was on the FLUFF list, but we’re switching it up and going for an initial ANGST route. I’m trying to tackle these requests dawg, please forgive me for the delay. 

The quiet sound of plastic crashing against the bathroom floor amplified in your head. 

It felt as though time slowed and the rattle of the pregnancy test slowed with it. 

Thud. Thud. Thud. 

It was taunting you, a reminder that you had to tell Oscar sooner or later. It wasn’t abnormal for you and him to spend sleepless nights talking about the future.The possibility of marriage, owning a house and, of course, having a baby were ideas you aspired to. You two always bickered about the minor details of the life to come:

“Rustic? Really, baby? I was thinking modern and marble. Dream big, live bigger.”

“Fine, maybe five dogs and three cats are a little much. How about three dogs, two cats and a turtle to compensate?” 

However, if there was one thing you both agreed on, it was that you would wait until you had children. Specifically until you were both financially stable, married and far away from the dangers of Freeridge. Emphasis on far and away. 

That was the plan, a good one too. But you were taught that things don’t always go as planned, and you were now living that notion. 

Your sunken eyes stared into your reflection, worry etched into your tear-stained cheeks. The way-too-bright white light of the mirror’s bulb illuminated your concern mockingly. After a few sniffles of self-pity, you dabbed at the puffiness laying under your bottom lashes as you wiped away any residue. 

Your breaths were shaky, attempting to maneuver around the nail you were biting on while you paced back and forth. The atmosphere got hotter as the four surrounding walls seemed to close in on you, the floor swaying under your feet. It was too hot for comfort. Too hot. 

Sweat. Trickling. Wipe.

The tight space was suffocating, the lump in your throat felt larger than before. Tighter, tighter. Too tight. 

Breathe. Door. Open. 

You gripped onto the handle, gasping as the cool air of the hallway eased you into its soothing arms. Every ounce of panic, everything you over thought increased tenfold. Your mind ran laps intrusively. You were creating doubts you hadn’t considered and problems you didn’t want to face. You wanted to make it stop, but you didn’t know how. And the one person that could was the one person you hoped to avoid. At least for a little longer.

That was when you heard the door knob click, keys shifting in its place. Oscar’s here. You froze, cursing the universe for making your unspecified wish come true. 

“Shit. Shit. Shit!” You murmured under your breath. 

He barely got the chance to properly step into the house before you ran up to him.

Without thinking it through, your arms enveloped him into a hug. You let your heart grasp the solace it needed in that moment. Oscar was your safe haven, and in times of conflict, it was instinct for you to gravitate towards him and the comfort he provided. 

Using his own to reciprocate the embrace, they wrapped themselves around you like a warm blanket. You sighed, inhaling long and deep.

He placed a gentle kiss on your hair before taking your chin in between his thumb and index to tilt it upwards. 

“Hey—” He paused and took in the current state of your features. Your eyes were glossy, lids droopy, shoulders slumped. You embodied the definition of lackluster. That sweet smile, that infectious spark of energy he craved … It was missing, and he didn’t like that. “—¿Qué pasa?” 

“Oscar, do you love me?” You blurted out. 

He pulled back a little, eyebrows furrowing at the unexpected question. Thinking he misunderstood, he tilted his head. Your lips parted as you moved your hands to cup his face.

“As if you have to ask,” his lips curved into a half-smile. “Yes. Of course, Y/N. Why?”

You nodded, diverting your attention to anywhere other than the worry in his eyes. You took your hand in his as your fingers intertwined seamlessly. Your hands were clammy, and you knew he could feel the spots of dampness from the way his palm shifted at the feel of them. You anxiously led him to the couch and sat him down. 

The realization that this pregnancy could  either make or break your future together started to dawn on you. The thought of him leaving you had your stomach churning and your throat tightening. It wasn’t something you wanted to imagine, let alone become a reality. 

“I’m not going to beat around the bush. So, here it goes,” you breathed out in a tone that was almost unintelligible. “I-I’m … You’re …  Uh, me. Fuck,” you hissed. Your hand flew to your thigh to try to stop your leg from bouncing, but that only led to your nails lightly scratching the skin in repeated motions instead. 

“You, you. Youaregoingtobeadad,” you squeaked as your head dropped down.

Raising an eyebrow, he shook his head at you, unable to make out the incomprehensible jumble of word vomit that spewed out of your mouth. 

“A little louder, nena,” he squeezed your hand reassuringly. 

You gulped. “Oscar Diaz. You’re going to be a dad, mi amor.” 

His jaw slacked. Any muscles that worked to hold up a familiar, comforting expression fell. 

A canvas having its paint wiped away into a blank nothingness was the best way to describe the way he looked at you. The loving touch of his fingers around yours was replaced with emptiness as his limbs retracted closer towards his body, and farther away from yours. 

You couldn’t decipher the emotion that hid behind those eyes. There were no telltale signs he conveyed, no words either. You could hear the heavy rumble of your heart ringing through your ears, the thump of the drum eating at you in anticipation. 

“Say something, damn it!” You croaked in a voice so fragile, so brittle. You wanted—no, you needed—him to do something. You were vulnerable and overwhelmed, feeling as  though the force of a thousand stones weighed on your chest. You wanted him to hold you, console you, ease your anguish. Something. Anything. 

You hadn’t even taken notice of the tears welling up in your eyes until they trickled down your chin, black spots forming one by one on your gray sweater. 

He blinked stoically before looking away. His handsome features coldly hardened into a look of distaste as he shunned you. Your palm rushed to cover your mouth, miserably concealing the broken sputters and gasps; he couldn’t even look at you and it was soul-crushing. Every inch of him clenched with anger, from his fists to his teeth.  

Before you knew it, his heavy footsteps trailed a scorching path towards the door. The slam of the wood against the frame thundered, causing your sobs to pour out of you in a heave. 

As you swung the door back open, your clouded vision was met with a blurry, deformed sight of Oscar’s silhouette near the vibrant cherry red shape of his car. Rage roared within you through the depths of your core. 

You couldn’t believe him. 

After everything you two had been through, this was the moment he chose to leave. The only difference now was that he wasn’t just deserting you, but his unborn child too. 

“You said you loved me, you lying son of a bitch!” You bellowed. Completely distraught, you fell to your knees and continuously wept your disappointment, your ever-growing pain. 

And just like that, his engine revved as he took off into a destination unknown. 

—

Minutes felt like hours. Hours felt like days. Days felt like forever. Forever felt like a long time. 

In reality it was five hours. Five tiresome hours. Five too many, five too long. No calls, no messages, nothing. That went for you too, you did absolutely nothing except wallow in your melancholy. 

Wrapped in a blanket burrito, you cradled yourself into the fetal position as you clutched onto your stomach. You held onto your belly as if you were actually holding onto your child. But considering Oscar left, you might as well. 

Groaning, you rolled over and stretched before blankly staring at the ceiling. You paid attention to the gentle whirring of the fan above. Soon enough, the sight turned into a hallucination of a baby crib mobile instead. You envisioned what the life ahead would be like as a single mother - buying toys and cute clothes, breastfeeding, pre-school, all of it. 

You sighed, closing your eyes and smiling softly as you soothed your mind. Stroking your stomach, you whispered to the little creature: “Don’t worry, baby. We got this.”

“Yeah, we do.” 

Your eyes shot open as you sprang upright, your head darting towards the direction of the low, soft-spoken voice. In front of you, the man stood slightly hunched in the doorway. His demeanor was tense, yet seemingly weak. 

“Jesus Fucking Christ, Oscar!” 

The buttons of his shirt were now undone, a sleeve rolling down his shoulder. With a hand rubbing the nape of his neck, his lower lip trembled, eyes glossy and a little red. You had never seen him look so defeated. Whether it was guilt, fear or frustration, you didn’t know. But whatever it was, it clouded his entire being in that moment.

“Cariño, I’m so sorry,” he croaked. 

“Go away.” You started to blink back tears, the anger flooding back at the sight of him. 

He shook his head as he approached you, arms opening up as if to plead for your forgiveness. When he realized you weren’t going to accept his embrace, he distanced himself by sitting at the edge of the bed. Oscar sighed as his head dropped into his hands, mumbling words you couldn’t hear. 

“Y/N, I love you. I love you more than anything and anyone. I’ve never loved like that, and I haven’t been loved like that,” he gulped deeply. “Not until I met you.” 

You uncrossed your arms as you focused your gaze on the slow rise and fall of his back. 

“When … when I left earlier, I was scared. I didn’t think I was ready to be a father. Frankly, I don’t think I’ll ever be ready. I will always have my doubts and fears, they follow me wherever I go. But with you, I won’t have to deal with them on my own.” He turned to face you, holding out a shaky hand for you to grasp onto.  

“Please,” he mouthed silently. You nodded, reluctantly taking his hand as he brought you closer to him. 

“I fucked up with Cesar by bringing him into all this gang shit. I brought an innocent kid into a life he didn’t deserve. I grew up having to be a father to a brother without ever being a son—”

“—But I’m not Ray. I’d never walk out on you, on us. On all of us,” his gentle fingertips caressed your belly as his lips curved into a loving smile. He looked up at you with such sincerity and pure adoration, as if an epiphany was hitting him right then and there. 

You were the mother of his  child, the woman he wanted to cherish for the rest of eternity. Nothing else mattered more than to be with you, his everything. 

You cupped his cheek as your foreheads connected, noses meeting at the tips. 

“I’m going to marry you, Y/N. I’m putting a ring on that finger and we are raising this family together. I’m going to be a good father, a better man than mine ever was. Lo prometo, mi vida,” he whispered, his thumb delicately tracing your cheek. “It’s you and me against the world, always.” 

“I can’t believe we’re really doing this,” you murmured. 

“I can’t believe we made a baby,” he chuckled. Leaning forward, Oscar placed a sweet kiss on your soft lips. “Congrats, mama. We did it.” 

____________________________________________

Spanish translations - [Correct me if I’m wrong]

¿Qué pasa?  - What’s wrong? / What happened?

Nena - Baby. 

Mi amor - My love.

Cariño - Sweetheart.

Lo prometo, mi vida - I promise, my life (my everything/darling etc.)

[murmursdraconic]

(for whoever)

"Arrite. Here's how this's gonna go, yeah?"

The chair was hard wood, the restraints tight; probably tighter than what was safe for proper blood flow, but Bruto didn't care. He'd had people slip out before, and it wasn't going to happen again. Not this time. He wasn't gonna fuck it up again.

Back to them, facing a table as he set out his tools, he continued talking.

"I'm gonna ask you a question, and you're gonna answer. If you don't answer, or you gimme one I don't like, I'm gonna give ya a cool new scar. Ya dig?"

Accompanying his little speech was the quick rev of a drill, then a clatter as he set it down, spun, and approached the chair.

Taking ahold of the duct tape, harshly ripping it from their lips. Dropping it to the floor, settling into his own chair facing backwards as he got closer.

"What's yer name and what were you doin'?"

/@claenr

She stared. She didn't move.

Shay didn't know where she was, or who this Ursaring of a man was. If looks could kill, this man would have been a pile of ashes on the floor. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to get her anywhere. Her fingers flexed on the end of the chair, testing how tight the duct tape was. She could only flex her wrists around a bit.

She did not let this man out of her sight. The tools were the sign of a professional, or someone with too much time on their hands. She wasn't going to test which one of those theories was correct. Dealing with dangerous entities that could manipulate the very matter of reality was one thing. Dealing with human monsters was another.

Cool new scar? He's either terrible at being threatening or phrasing it like that on purpose.

Shay wasn't sure what she was more enraged at; being caught in this situation, or having to play nice with someone who was going to get teeth around their throat if a certain someone of hers found out. Either way, she was stuck.

Breaths were even and slow, one to help keep her from saying something that would no doubt get her a 'cool new scar', and also to take in the smells. Musty, rusty, dark and dank. Industrial adhesive... old wood... Remember everything she could... take in all the details. Stare long, blink fast, and remember.

Get the oxygen to your head and think smarter, Shay.

Her neck stiffened, hardly moving when her muzzle was removed. Her lip stung, skin breaking in the corner from some dryness she had yet to address. She let the blood be.

Most people would be terrified. Most people should, but Shay had a specific fear response when it came to humans: pure anger. It wasn't her finest quality, but she wasn't about to go get herself killed because some of her brain cells were beating the primal pots and pans together.

It also helped that Shay had a metaphorical ticking time bomb in a ball if things went south, wherever she was. Benefits of training exceptionally dangerous Pokemon with a Mama Bear complex.

Begrudging cooperation and biting her tongue back, Shay looked at whoever her assumed captor was for a long moment, her cold expression refusing to budge.

This guy could have found my ID, so there issn't time to gamble on a fake name. Keeping it short, and to the point, and not asking questions... just keep it to the base truths. Don't over complicate your answers.

"Shay." An answer, short and curt. "Bushcraft survival drills."

Chalk this up to the worst camping trip ever.

@claenr

[roninhunt0987]

The Birth of Lil Geni The Fox

The Birth of Lil Geni The Fox

By: Roninhunt0987

X3 finally after posting a bunch of pics and etc I now have the time to do the fic of Lil Geni's birth... =3 this is her here btw if ya forgot: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/42450002/

anyway the last one I did with the 7 kiddos of Gen'ichi and Ninjara there was a 6 year time skip... O.o for this one will be a 3 year time skip meaning on that the 7 kiddos will be 9 while Lil Geni will be around 3 years old... O.o so yea... anyways sit back and enjoy the hilarity

Characters(C)belongs to their rightful owners

-Kato/Prower residence-

Ninjara: -in the bathroom doing a pregnancy test as she just woke up while the others are in the living room watching cartoons-

Gen'ichi: -relaxing with Suzuki-

Suzuki: -watching cartoons-

Ran, Rei, Reiko, Rika, Miwa, Nori and Gen'ichi Jr: -watching tom and jerry-

tv: -shows tom getting hurt as the iconic Tom screaming sfx is heard in the background-

Ran, Rei, Reiko, Rika, Miwa, Nori and Gen'ichi Jr: -laughs-

Suzuki: XD hehehe

Gen'ichi: XD heh

Raph: -in the kitchen making homemade pizza- hmmm

Mikey: -reading comics which are the IDW sonic comics which is issue 24 and winces because of reading the bit where whisper is crying- ohhh geeze

Whisper: -looks over Mikey's shoulder and winces a lil because of that pain of a memory she had to go through-

Tangle: -same- Mikey: -looks to them- O.o whats wrong??

Whisper: -breathes in and then out- this... well uhm

Tangle: believe it or not mikey this actually happened.... like years ago before sonic and co moved to Station square city to help with Dad and the others...

Mikey: oh geeze i'm sorry I never knew that

Whisper: mmhmm... about a year ago Tangle and I got adopted on the spot when we saw the comic issue for the very first time....

Jared: -walks on over- thankfully around issue 29 or so things got back to normal... or well least the start of it... sonic went missing and landed somewhere at the Sol islands... he later returned to the main land when blaze used her abilities to send sonic back to help... plus the fact I was told Omega was uhm... .w. busted up as he was only a head at the time

Mikey: you mean like Lopez from red vs blue

Jared: O_o wait what??

Mikey: ya not kidding -gets out issue 25 and shows the page where cream and whisper were having a chat while omega was yammering on and such-

Jared: -looks at it- O_O oh crap I did not notice that

Omega: -looks over and looks at it and facepalms because the fact he did behave like lopez when he was only a head which was detached from his body at the time-

Jared: -looks to him- O_o ya did notice and realized that did ya Omega: affirmative I was indeed behaving like that SP Vector: .w. well least ya didn't speak spanish like Lopez Omega: Derogatory insult: SHUT THE F**K UP YA STUPID CROCK OF S**T!!!

Jared: O_o;;;;;; uhhh... rouge

Rouge: -from the kitchen- Ya?? Jared: O_o since when Omega can swear

Rouge: -from the kitchen- uhhh I dunno couple weeks ago when he was looking at random youtube videos of the swear words and such as well as other stuff

Jared: O_o got it just checking -walks off- geeze louise now Omega can swear like a sailor now gawd

Mikey: O_o oooookay

Donnie: -walks in- O_o hey what happened I could of sworn I heard E-123 omega started swearing

Leo: -walks in from the kitchen- thats because he did cuz SP Vector said something stupid insulting to Omega

Donnie: O_o owch

Ninjara: -comes out of the restroom with the pregnancy test being positive and is behind Gen'ichi and shows him that she is pregnant again- ^///^ Gen'ichi: -notices- ^^ hehehe

Suzuki: hu??

Ninjara: X3 kids just so ya know ya mama is pregnant ya may expect a lil sibling to look after which makes ya as big siblings now

Ran, Rei, Reiko, Rika, Miwa, Nori and Gen'ichi Jr: X3 YAY!!! Suzuki: XP and another kiddo for me to spoil

Gen'ichi: ^^ yup

SP Vector: O_o oh no

-first 3 months-

Ninjara: -has music playing and has the earphones on her tummy so her child can hear it-

SP Vector: -about to say something stupid until he gets a Kunai to his head- oh s**t -drops dead- X_x

Ninjara: -relaxing-

-second 3 months-

Ninjara: -eating chicken Terraki with Peanut butter on it-

SP Vector: how are ya eating all that

Ninjara: -glares- rrrrrrrr

SP Vector: O_o geeze screw you too lady

Suzuki: -doing that same Alastor moment as she is smirking like him and has a chainsaw as she revs it-

SP Vector: oh s-

Censored screen: -CENSORED: DEAR GOD NOT AGAIN!!-

SP Vector: -screaming from behind the censored screaming in bloody murder as he is getting sawed up with a chainsaw- AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

-final 3 months: the birth-

-Megaville City Hospital-

Ninjara: -squeezing Gen'ichi's hand-

Gen'ichi: .w. this is fine -from his mind: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!-

-at the waiting room-

everyone: -waiting and etc-

nurse: -wheeling Ninjara in with a lil girl 3-tailed fox girl-

Gen'ichi: -smiles-

Ninjara: -smiles-

Ran, Rei, Reiko, Rika, Miwa, Nori and Gen'ichi Jr: -gathers round looking to their lil sister for the first time- ohhhhh

Suzuki: X3 hehe

Nori: X3 whats her name mommy

Ninjara: X3 this is Geni

Donnie: O.O oh wow an albino... O.o pure white 3-tailed fox girl

Lil Geni: -opens her eyes for the first time to see she has red and blue eyes and the look of saying hu- ?

Suzuki: -smiles as she holds her for the first time- ^^ hehe hey there i'm ya aunt Suzuki

Lil Geni: mew -nuzzles-

Gen'ichi: X3 awwww

Lil Geni: -looks to Gen'ichi- X3 mew mew mew mew

Gen'ichi: -chuckles and gets her from Suzuki carefully- ^^ hehe

Lil Geni: -nuzzles on her daddy for the first time- mew

Raph: -chuckles- hehe

Lil Geni: -random sticks her tongue out at Raph- Blep

Raph: O_o uhhhhhhh

Mikey: -busts out laughing at Raph- XD hehehehehehe

Raph: >< WHY YOU- COME HERE!!! -chases Mikey- Mikey: OH GEEZE RUNNING TIME!!! -runs-

Raph: MIKEY!!! -chases him-

Frenchie: 3 years l-

Karl The Fox-bat: NOPE!!! -kicks Frenchie out of the way and clears throat-

Frenchie: -offscreen groaning in pain-

Karl The Fox Bat: :3 3 years later

Ran, Rei, Reiko, Rika, Miwa, Nori and Gen'ichi Jr: -all 7 of them are now 9 years old as its fathers day which also happens to be Lil Geni's third birthday-

Lil Geni: X3 hehe -eating her cake with her dad-

Suzuki: -smiles as she has something for Geni-

Lil Geni: -notices the old plush- O.o whats that Aunt Suzuki

Suzuki: ^^ well... this was an old plush I have when I was about your age... =3 her name is Scrub... X3 I am passing her to ya now kiddo its all yours take care of her always... X3 come to me if ya want me to maintain her oki

Lil Geni: X3 oki thank you -hugs Scrub the plush- ^^

Raph: -about ready to give her b-day punches which he is gonna do carefully and then gets a cake splatter on his face from SP Vector- ._.;;;;

SP Vector: -laughs like Nelson- HA HA!!! Raph: -glares as he gets the cake off his face- YOU ARE SO DEAD CROCFACE!!! COME HERE!!!

SP Vector: OH CRAP AHHHHHH!!!!!

Karl The Fox-bat: :3 2 hours of asswhooping later

SP Vector: -in a full body cast- oooooggghhh

Leo: .w. never splat cake in raph's face

SP Vector: -muffles- oh bite me

Leo: ._. -does a karate chop on SP Vector- WHAP!!!

SP Vector: -his body cast breaks in two and has the look of utter pain on his face and insert Mamaf**ker SFX: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edry0kuy8bo– MAMAF**KER!! Stupid Mario: -offscreen and yells it also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edry0kuy8bo - MAMAF**KER THATS MY A LINE B***H!!! SP Vector: >< WHATEVER!!!

Scene: -does a small fart noise of blacking out-

TFS Nappa: .w. the end

-XD END XD-

-RH0987 PRODUCTIONS 2021-

@otakuneko-lotus

[multiharlot]

home (TLTL2) / s. reid

summary: spencer is more than determined to win back the heart of his last lover. even if it means being a little unethical. 

warnings: i dunno? i don’t think so? okay, who’re we kidding. violence. cursing. also mentions of blood.

part 1

masterlist

spencer’s pov

“i mean, what does she even see in a guy like that?” i scoff, gulping down my last bit of coffee. 

“i mean, he does look like he belongs in a calendar.” jj says, staring dreamily at the buff sheriff. 

“you’re married.” i deadpan, and she laughs softly. 

“yes, spencer. i know. thank you for reminding me.” she smiles sarcastically. 

i watch closely as he throws his head back in laughter as something the deputy said. 

“there’s something off about him. he’s too...calm.” i glare, and jj lets out another sigh. 

“spence, the only thing off about him is that he’s sleeping with the woman you’re still in love with. and i love you, i do, but if you do anything to mess this up for her, i will personally be...very angry at you.”

“what a threat.” i scoff, and she hits my shoulder lightly. 

“i’m serious. she’s finally happy and back on her feet. don’t mess that up for her because you can’t handle the idea of somebody else finally doing what you couldn’t.” jj scolds, picking up her now empty cup of coffee and walking off. 

i’ll figure you out, daniel.

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

y/n’s pov

“bye park! have fun with the overnights.” i smile, patting the doctors shoulder softly. 

“oh you know i will.” he glares playfully, making me laugh. 

“have a good night.”

“you too, y/n.” he smiles, waving goodbye as i walk out of the ER doors. 

while humming a small tune, i fumble through my purse, searching for my keys. my eyebrows furrow as i realize they’re missing from my bag. 

“did i-”

“looking for these?”

my head snaps up and i see daniel, leaning against my car door with my keys in between his fingers. i hold my hand to my chest as a gasp escapes my lips. 

“jeez. you scared me.” i laugh, walking forward and wrapping my arms around his torso. 

“sorry.” he smiles, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to my lips. 

“what’re you doing here?” i ask, pulling away from him. 

“i’m taking you home, come on.”

“in your car?” i ask, questionably glancing at the patrol car parked behind mine. 

“yeah.” he nods. 

“baby i can’t just leave my car here.” 

“except you can. just...come on.” he urgers, grabbing my bicep tightly. 

“ummm...ow. daniel, let go. i’ll just follow you and meet you at your house.”

“there’s no time for that. i have a special night plannes and i just...need you to trust me.” he pushes, and i pull my arm from his hold. 

“daniel. no. i’ll drive home first. plus, i want to change i-”

suddenly, he lifts me off the ground, his hand over my mouth. my things fall across the floor and i attempt to wiggle myself out of his hold, screaming as loudly as i could. but the sounds were muffled by his large hand. my head hits the top of the door and i’m immediately knocked cold. the last thing that registered through my mind was the sound of the seatbelt clicking and his engine revving. 

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

spencer’s pov

“she’s gone” daniel breathes out and he runs into the station in a panic. 

“who’s gone?” hotch questions, walking towards daniel who was currently in hysterics. 

“y/n...she’s gone. i went to the hospital to bring her her spare keys and her stuff was all over the ground and her car is still there. oh god...” daniel groans, gripping tightly at his hair. 

“hey, we’re gonna find her. don’t worry.” his deputy says, immediately coming to his side. 

“we need all units out on patrol to keep an eye out for y/n. she’s been taken from the er parking lot.” the deputy says into his radio, the feedback pouring in almost immediately. 

“you’re never going to find her.” daniel breathes out, throwing his hands down to his sides in frustration. 

my eyebrows furrow and i look over at jj, who seemed to notice the same thing i did. 

“we’ll find her, man. she was our friend once too.” morgan says, patting his back. 

“let’s head to the emergency room and check the security-”

“they don’t work. they stopped working about 5 months ago.” daniel sighs, running his hands over his face. 

“we’re going to find her, daniel. if it’s the last thing we do.” i say, staring him right in the eye. 

his right eye twitches for a moment, but he takes a deep breath, nodding his head. 

“i left everything the way it was when i found it. you guys go look...i need to go home for a minute. i...i just need a minute.” he mumbles, walking out of the station. 

hotch turns to jj, blake, and i and before he even lets out a word and i speak out. 

“he’s hiding something. he targeted us specifically when he said we were never going to find her. and on top of that, who wants to go home and rest when they’re girlfriend has just been kidnapped?” i say, everyone pauses for a moment, but by my surprise, hotch nods in agreement. 

“you, jj, and morgan follow where he’s going. have garcia track his patrol unit. blake, rossi and i will head to the hospital.” hotch nods, and we all nod our heads ready to take off before hotch grabs my arm. 

“spencer if you need to step away from this case then i understand-”

“hotch...i’m fine. i just want to save her. give me that chance.”

the three of us parked across the street from daniel’s home. as he walked in, morgan’s phone rings out. 

“whatcha got for me babygirl?”

“so, turns out, those hospital cameras don’t actually work, but they didn’t stop working 5 months ago like the sheriff originally explained. their transmission feed was cut off about an hour before y/n was scheduled to get off of work. so i logged into the daniel’s patrol unit’s gps systems, and guess where he was right as the camera’s were shut off?”

“the hospital.” i finish, morgan and jj looking between us and back towards daniel’s house. 

“alright, thanks mama.” derek sighs. 

“you guys bring her back, alright? and you tell her she still owes me a coffee.” garcia says, her frown audible in her tone. 

“over my dead body.” i mutter, as garcia hangs up the phone. 

as we’re watching the house, i squint my eyes towards his car, pointing my finger out. 

“guys is that...is that a dent above the passenger door?” i squint. 

morgan and jj leans forward, nodding their heads. 

“i- i think it’s a dent.” i say, unbuckling my seatbelt. 

“spence don’t-”

“it’s fine. just...go to the door and tell him that you want to ask him some questions about y/n and keep him occupied.” i say. 

they sigh, getting out of the car and walking with me to the door. i squat down behind his car and don’t get up until i hear the front door shut. i stand, walking over the passenger door where i look over the door. and lo and behold, there was a dent with fresh blood still on it. my breath catches in my throat as i send out a text to hotch and morgan.

there’s blood on his passenger door. it’s him. 

i wait a moment before i hear crashing from inside the house. daniel runs out the front door and morgan tackles him onto the lawn. 

“are you guys fucking serious!? my own girlfriend!? this is because of that fucking popsicle stick isn’t it? he couldn’t possibly stand the sight of her with somebody else, so he’s trying to pin this on me!” he shouts, trying to wriggle his way out of morgan’s hold. 

“we found blood on your car, dude.” morgan scoffs, ushering him into the car. 

hotch pulls up beside us, handing me a small plastic baggie with a cotton swab inside of it. i swipe the blood with the swab and stick it into the bag, handing it back to hotch. 

“...what if it’s hers?” i ask after a small moment of silence. 

“if it’s hers, then we do our jobs, and we find her.”

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

the interrogation was going nowhere, and the entire station was less than cooperative with us after we had brought in their own sheriff, that was, until the test results came back from the lab. 

“the blood was hers.” hotch confirms, making daniel’s deputy stare up at us with wide eyes. 

“w-what? no. that’s...he’s being framed.” he says, shaking his head. 

“deputy rivera, i understand the personal conflict with this case, but all the evidence is pointing to him. he’s been the one to find all the past victims bodies. he specifically requested for us to come and assist with this case, despite acting as though he had no idea we were the team coming in. and more than anything, he fits the profile.” hotch explains, and rivera lets a short breath fall from his lips.

“but...his own girlfriend?”

“we think that was used to taunt me. y/n and i...y/n and this whole team have a history. so we believe that he took her in order to taunt us as though he was smarter than us. one step ahead.” i say, and rivera’s eyebrows shoot up. 

“oh my god...you’re the genius ex-boyfriend. aren’t you?”

i pause for moment, before nodding my head. rivera’s eyebrows furrow before he scoffs. 

“oh my god...it’s him. it’s you.”

“me?”

“yes. well no. i- daniel hates you. and i mean...hates you. y/n used to talk about you a lot. well, she referenced you. i don’t think she did it on purpose or maliciously, but it used to make daniel so angry. and once she told him what had happened between you two-”

“when did he tell her?” blake asks, and rivera shrugs. 

“i dunno, probably about...a month or two ago.”

we all exchange looks, probably all thinking the same thing. 

“that was the trigger. he needed to channel his anger into something, so he started killing people who resembled you or maeve in some manner. wether that was intellect or looks. and now, he feels the need to prove himself. prove that he’s better than you...” rossi explains, turning back to the board.

“wait so...you think he did all of this for her?” rivera asks, still trying to get a grip on his new reality. 

“yes. and if we’re ever going to find y/n, we need your help.”

rivera nods his head, and i pace back and forth. 

“did daniel every have anywhere where he could go, other than his home? was there some place he frequented? it’s a small town, there can’t be many places to go.” i say, laying the map flat against the table. 

“not that i know of. he usually spent all of his time at home, at y/n’s place, or at the rec center.”

“rec center? what was he doing there?” i ask, marking down the locations he had just named off. 

“outreach programs” he answers quickly, and i nod my head. 

morgan quickly pulls out his phone, undoubtedly dialing garcia’s number. 

“give me somethin to do that ain’t you, sugar.”

“i need you to check through the list of kids who participate in the outreach programs at the rec center and see if their parents own any plots of land or empty buildings.” morgan says, and i hear the clicking from her keyboard through the phone. 

“okay...well, it looks like...oh.”

“oh what?” hotch asks, leaning into the phone. 

“it looks like daniel had made a...generous donation to a family about three months ago-”

“yeah. to the jackson’s. they owned a canning facility down by the wharf. they’re one of the founding families of the town, so when the recession hit, we all helped gather the funds to keep them afloat for the next few months. daniel was the one to give it to them. but after their son died, they decided to skip town and start fresh somewhere else.” rivera explains. 

“garcia we need the address for that warehouse.”

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

y/n’s pov

it was cold and it smelled wet. this cold metal chair was extremely uncomfortable and the rope was burning against my wrists. i groaned as i began to come to my sense, my vision flooding in little by little. i struggled against the restraints, but i couldn’t seem to pull myself out. my head still throbbing and the tears began to cascade down my face. 

“daniel?” i croak out, but nothing came in return. 

i shouted out for someone. anyone. bu no one came. a sob escaped my lips as i continued to try and pull myself out of the rope’s hold. so many thoughts ran through my head, but only one was prevalent at the front of my mind. i wanted spencer. 

“spencer...please find me.” i whimpered, as i struggled, the twine breaking into my skin. 

blood began to stain the rope as i pulled harder and harder. my wrists began to bleed heavier and that’s when i heard the sirens. 

“y/n!?”

“spencer!” i shouted as i pulled harder at the rope around my wrists. 

the door is kicked open and spencer runs in, morgan standing by the door, guns drawn. spencer fall to his knees in front of me. 

“spencer.” i sobbed as he pulled his knife out, cutting away at the thick rope. 

“you’re okay, baby. you’re okay. i got you.” he whispers. 

he cuts through the last restraint around my ankles and i throw my arms around his neck. he lets out a sigh of relief as he wraps his arms around my waist. 

“i love you. i love you so much, i never should have left. i’m so sorry.” i cried into his shoulder. 

he rubs my back softly as he calms his rapid breathing. 

“no, i’m sorry. i was too caught up in maeve and myself to focus on you. i’m so in love with you. if i had just gotten over it like i was supposed to, this would’ve never happened.” he sighs, pulling away and wiping the tears from my face. 

we stood there, looking at each other for just a moment before he places his lips on mine. the familiar bunch of butterflies erupting in my stomach as he held on tightly to my face. we pulled away, and he chuckles awkwardly. i lean my head, smiling over at dererk.

“hey derek.” i smile.

“hey mama. come on, let’s get you checked out.” derek smiles softly. 

i nod, and spencer wraps his arm around my waist, walking me out. i sat on the gurney as the paramedics disinfected and wrapped my wrists cautiously. eventually, we make our way back to the station, where i stood awkwardly as i gave the team my statement. 

“so...what happens now?” i ask, looking between the group of fairly tall individuals. 

“well, i believe you own garcia a coffee date. so we’re going to have to bring you back home with us.” spencer smiles softly, looking down at me with hopeful eyes as he intertwines my hand in his.

“home...yeah. home.”

(pls tell me if you want to be added to my taglist! i have no clue if you want to be here if you don’t say anything!)

@dreatine @slytherinintj13 @mileven-reddie @eleventhdoctorsangel

[lonelypond]

Nico Attacks: A Campfire Tale, Ch. 1

Love Live, NicoMaki, 1.8K, 1/4

Ayase Eli, Sonoda Umi, and Nishikino Maki are making their way through the woods around the Nishikino mountain camp during the annual Muse Autumn camping trip. Will they be tripped up? How afraid of the dark is Eli? What will happen next?

Chapter One

The sun had set. Late September warm light was done and October chill had crept in. Soldier Game, braving the night, had set out, backpacks and thermoses, to track the trail left...Eli’s jaw throbbed. The shivers would start there. Tighter grip on the flashlight, speed up to be closer to Umi and Maki. Too close, Umi screamed and jumped back, batting at the air over her head.

“What happened?” Eli screeched.

“Nico.” Maki hissed, as she pulled at something, her voice grim, her flashlight shining on the thing in her palm.  She held a small doll, dark blue black hair, empty eyes.

“Of course, Nico. She never forgets anything” Umi groaned. “This isn’t going to be fun, is it.”

“Not for us.” Maki sighed, as music, a slightly out of tune piano playing Bach, started to filter through the trees.

“I need a drink.” Eli sat, grabbing the thermos, pouring out dark liquid with a shaky hand, but screaming and spitting it out as it touched her lips. “That’s not hot chocolate.”

Maki took the mug with a smile, “That’s because my wife packed the food, not yours. And I love cider.”

“Stay alert.” Umi ordered, her eyes still on the forest. She’d switched her flashlight to the red bulb, “We don’t know what we’re walking into.”

Eli rifled through her backpack, finally finding a chocolate bar, “Just give me a minute.”

“C’mon, Umi. This is a joke. We don’t have to worry. Eli gets a little scared…”

“Hey!” Eli grumped through a mouthful of chocolate.

Maki continued, pouring herself more cider. “We find where they’ve camped, have a laugh, kiss and make up, see what our children have carved into their pumpkins.”

Umi was creeping ahead, testing out the path cautiously. “Nico’s taunts and texts seemed more...devious than other years.”

Eli swallowed her chocolate, “What did you do, Maki?”

“Everything is fine between me and Nico-chan.” Maki sounded shrill.

A howling wind noise started intensifying and the music picked up a chorus of howls.

“Sure it is.” Eli zipped up her jacket. “Hey, Umi, are you liquid proofed?”

“Why?”

“Just a feeling.”

“This is ridiculous.” Maki bulled ahead, swinging her backpack over her shoulder, strides confident until she tripped her way through a pile of leaves, twisting as she stumbled down the path. Suddenly orange flickering eyes lit in the gaps between the trees, so many Maki couldn’t immediately count them. She’d barely registered that they were carved pumpkins when they started to foam, fluorescent green fizzing as it seeped out and spread from both sides. Then there was a rustle a few steps ahead, and a huge pop, Eli screamed, and Maki heard things speeding through the air. And before she could figure out what was happening, Umi had tackled her from behind, and Maki was face down in a fluffy pile of sticky sweet soda foam.

Umi held them both down until she was sure there was not going to be another explosion.

“I think she left.” Umi whispered.

“She?”

“Someone had to dump the Mentos.” Umi had managed to avoid a facefull of the foam Maki was scraping off her cheeks. “What did you do to annoy Nico this time?”

###

“Mom!!! Wait!!!” 8 year old Dia was rushing as fast as she could, while trying to be quiet and keep up with Nico, who was nearly hopping with glee, giggling, as fellow 8 year old Tora danced along next to Nico, having inherited some of her mother, Hoshizora Rin’s speed.

“Don’t drop the camera, bun.” Nico stage whispered.

“I won’t.” Dia’s indignant tone carried.

Nico figured they’d gotten far enough away from the trail that they could slow down. She didn’t want to be near Umi’s deadly aim when there were pumpkin guts close at hand. She crouched down, pulling Tora in and waiting for Dia.

“That was so cool.” Tora spun, arms in the air, “Let’s do some more. Auntie Maki looked so silly.” Tora dove at the ground like Maki falling into the pumpkin foam.

Nico glanced at her watch, “I promised your moms I’d get you back to camp. It’s time for roasted sweet potatoes.”

“Those are Ruby’s favorite.” Dia announced as she pulled Tora up.

“Nico knows.”

“I can lead us back. It’s that way.” Dia flung out an arm, in a direction Nico realized was the opposite of the camp thanks to trail signs she’d left. Dia wasn’t the best with directions. She’d gotten lost in Tokyo’s train station recently.

“C’mon this way, Dia.”

“What about Mama? Won’t she be lost?”

“Nico has a few more tricks. But we need to get you back to camp.”

“I’ll take them.” A low growly voice boomed out of the trees near Dia and Tora, as hands grabbed their shoulders, Tora jumped and grabbed Nico, Dia running behind her mother.

Nico squeaked and jumped, “NOZOMI!!”

Nozomi laughed, hugging Tora, while Nico turned to embrace a shaking Dia. “Can’t let you have all the fun this camping trip, Nico-chi.”

“Just get them back to camp, okay.” Nico knelt next to her daughter, taking the camera, “Give Ruby a kiss for me, bun.”

“Okay, Mom.”

“Nico loves you.” A hug and Nico watched two little miracles follow Nozomi back to where the rest of 𝝁’s was having a more fireside adventure.

###

Maki had gotten most of the pumpkin off. Umi was searching for traps and Eli was searching for a reason.

“So, you don’t remember, Nico, your wife, a walking neon sign of emotions, being annoyed at you. Spent any nights on the couch recently?”

In this light, it was hard to read Maki’s face for a blush.

“Maki?”

“Not recently, all right,” Maki kicked through pumpkins, further soaking her boots. “For some reason, Nico got upset a couple of months ago when I mentioned Ruby was growing up and we were slowing down. I thought we were past that.”

“What EXACTLY did you say?” Eli knew part of why Nico was a walking neon sign was that Maki was sometimes impervious to hints or clues.

Maki rubbed the back of her neck. “Nico was maturing. And being a mother was a good look on her.”

“You said Nico was maturing?”

“An obvious lie.” Umi deadpanned as she returned to the group.

“It was romantic.”

Eli shook her head.

“It was supposed to be.”

“Okay, the trail seems clear ahead.” Umi prompted, as the conversation lulled, “We let Maki take the lead…”

“Why?” Maki whined.

Eli and Umi glared in response.

Maki sighed, “Right.”

“And we proceed as if we have everything under control, no matter what happens.” Umi decided. The rest of Soldier Game nodded their agreement.

Three flashlights, three friends, three sets of boots stepping bravely forward. The illusion of confidence lasted until Eli’s flashlight flickered out, followed by Umi’s, then Maki’s. There was almost solid darkness blanketing everything, wind creaking whistling warnings, and Eli suddenly had Umi in a bear hug from behind.

“I am not carrying you.” Umi grunted.

“Or holding your hand.” Maki snarled.

“NOZOMI!”

###

Tora was back. Hanayo relaxed. Nozomi had brought her back to the campsite, along with Dia, who was stacking a s’more, sitting next to a sleepy Ruby. The Kurosawa née Yazawa-Nishikino family had been camping over much of the world, and the American camp staple, s’mores, was one of the girls’ favorite treats. Now, Hanayo only had to worry about Rin, who had just taken Eli and Nozomi's oldest twin, 10 year old Vik, into the woods to meet Nico for some more mischief.

“It was so cool, Mom.” Tora was bouncing, too revved up, but Nico-time was a shot of adrenaline, “We dropped the Mentos, there was fizzing and WHOOOSH.” Tora spun, “Goop everywhere, Auntie Maki looked so silly, sliding” Tora went to leap, but Hanayo caught her, reflexes honed from decades of keeping up with Rin.

“Auntie Hanayo.” Dia was in front of Hanayo, frowning.

“Yes, Dia-chan?”

“When are my parents coming back? Ruby’s tired.”

Ah, Hanayo had planned for this. “You both are going to sleep with Tora and Rin and me, tonight.”

“Oh cool! PILLOWFIGHT!” Tora grabbed a stick and some marshmallows, “Make me a s’more first, Dia-bolical.”

Dia hesitated, staring at Hanayo. “Ruby might get scared.”

“We’ll make sure she doesn’t, right Dia-chan.” Hanayo soothed, “I know some good stories.”

“Ruby likes stories.”

A worried Teddy threw open the tent flap where she and Kaito and Kotori were playing Animal Crossing. “Mommy, Aunt Nico’s new video message is about Mom’s flashlight dying. She sounds mean”

Nozomi growled and grabbed her phone, texting, “NICO-CHI? No flashlight?”

A quick answer.

N: Have a plan. Stand down. Don’t text me.

Kotori, her hand on her 5 year old son Kaito’s shoulder, followed Teddy out. “Is there a problem?”

“Just Nico.”

Kotori giggled, “Good. Umi needs some inspiration.”

Smiling, Hanayo shook her head, surprised by how even now, surrounded by their children, in the middle of the night, in the middle of the woods, sometimes, just sometimes, it still felt like those sunny afternoons in the Idol Research Club.

###

Screw it, Maki thought, once she was near the main house, it was going to be a bath. A long, hot bath. Alone. Soda mixed with pumpkin guts was --no surprise - disgustingly sticky and if Nico, the person responsible for this, thought Maki was planning to get anywhere near her any time soon, she could think some more. Maki was going to be alone, in a flannel bathrobe, watching cartoons, eating leftover lasagna as soon as she could.

“Maki.” Umi hissed in her ear.

“What?” Maki snapped.

“This is your property. What’s the quickest way to camp?  Staying on the trail is only making us targets.”

Maki was pretty sure there was a small clearing coming up, one they’d often used to camp when it was only family. From there, it would be easy to plot a path to the house.

Light flickered ahead. Eli suddenly sped up, pushing between Umi and Maki. Umi grabbed for her and missed, hissing, “It’s a trap.”

“Don’t care.” was Eli’s reply as she rushed by.

Umi grunted, “We need to be more careful.”

“Yeah, Nico-chan’s tricky.”

Umi snorted, “Devious, diabolical, duplicitous. These are all more precise choices.”

Maki ignored Umi, grabbing a stick to prod the ground in front of them.

“HE…” Eli started to shout and then there was no voice.

Umi and Maki glanced at each other, hearing dragging noises, watching the light flicker ahead of them, shadows of movement obvious as the path narrowed, trees leaning in with a prickly tease, before they stepped in to the clearing.

In the middle of the clearing, on a slight hill, stood a tilting scarecrow, leering face carved out of a pale gourd, spotlight illuminating Eli’s coat draped over its shoulders.

A/N: Thanks to the IdolFanfic Heaven Discord server for an October full of prompts. I'll be posting these in 5-7 days chunks so enjoy. If you want to check out the server, here's a link: https://discord.gg/SGfJm6

The children are the same as in my Idol Protection Program AU, although Eli and Nozomi's twins are only two years older, not five.

[alyjojo]

Love Reading 🛐 - June 2024 - Aquarius

Singles:

Who is Coming In: The Lovers rev & 2 Pentacles

Regarding: 5 Swords

Long-Term Potential: Wheel of Fortune rev

No. You seem to agree on the no, probably for different reasons. They’re petty af, cruel even, ready to strike at any moment. They’ve hurt you, you see them as deception and/or toxicity, and though they swear they have changed their ways, overcoming The Devil (which is kind of a big deal) - you have zero interest in healing this connection, even if you do hear them out or talk about things. They want to reunite, you don’t. They could even settle for friends, that’s for someone. Like please just be in my life? You won’t. This is not your person and you know it.

What I am getting through, this IS a past life connection you keep running into - and for this life specifically there’s negative karma you both will experience and heal…probably by force. It’s meant to happen. There could be some powerful 12th House or South Node aspects between you in synastry. It’s upsetting, sad, very disappointing - this experience is ultimately going to lead you in the right direction, 9 Wands at the bottom…you could feel like you’ve been through hell by that point. This person coming back around feels like a test. Can we work together and fix things?

Can we “start over”?

No. You can’t start over because they haven’t learned a damn thing, they’re the same person. If anything, karma could be kicking their ass and they think working with you is going to fix that or something. There’s no Ace, no Fool, no genuine intention with this person. 5 Swords has ulterior motives, they’re nice to your face and snide underneath.

They just are 🙏 You can do better.

Messages:

- Over It 💯

- In every lifetime, I always come back to you.

GIRL WITH A SNAKE 🐍

- Charmed or Used

- Enable Boundaries

In other words, meditate.

Signs you may be dealing with:

Capricorn, Sagittarius & Aquarius

Couples:

Them: The Hermit, 2 Swords rev, Death

Regarding: 10 Wands rev

Some of you could be done, the relationship is 1000% done, but you’re still tied to them either financially, through children, maybe just legally. Or there is a 3rd party that is not welcome in this connection, could be family or, more likely, some ex - you may or may not coparent with. Probably on their side. Page of Cups clarifies, there’s another Page at the bottom, these could be children. Your person may have abandoned you and the kids, or maybe they have kids with this other person and they just have no desire to fight for custody, fight to be in their lives, at all. But they’re still paying for them? Or like…legally they should pay but the other parent keeps the kids away, could be switched where they never pay and also abandoned everyone. They see it as “giving up”, and Old School is giving “overwhelmed” with this 10 Wands rev. There is a certain way to do things and your energy shows that’s not happening, you could baffle this person. Or make them feel like they don’t have control, which is something they need to feel secure in themselves.

Same applies for the baby mama/daddy story or anyone else involved. They can’t handle them or don’t want to deal with it even, The Hermit is a conscious choice for this person, they don’t want this other person involved or around. If an ex, the ex could be flirty or always trying to get them back or something, and this person absolutely refuses, they don’t want it. That’s why they left. Death is done, and while they are trying to seek answers in themselves regarding their whole life and direction moving forward, when it comes to outside people or situations, done is done. You are probably the one with the issue with it, they just want to let it go already. If the ex sends messages that are sweet or flirty even, trying to get their foot in the door, trying to keep their place in this person’s life, your person could give af less. It drains them and that’s the only real emotion going on here. I’m also getting an lgbt story where a trans person is trying to afford - or putting themselves in the poorhouse by doing it anyway - a surgical transition. That would be you, if so. This would be an ex that now feels like they don’t even know you and maybe never did. That could apply without the trans story too, but that’s what I’m getting.

Messages:

- Baby Mama/Daddy Drama

- You confuse me.

OLD SCHOOL 👵🏻

- Outdated Thinking

- Conditioning

- Replaying Events Over in Your Head

C’mon inner peace, I don’t have all day.

You: Ace of Swords, 9 Pentacles rev, Knight of Wands rev

Regarding: The High Priestess

You feel like you see the absolute truth of a situation or person, it pisses you off greatly, but you stay quiet about it. Shy comes out in the messages, so you avoid direct confrontation about anything really, and probably put up with a lot of bs for the sake of keeping the peace. What follows this truth is unreliability, financially stupid decisions, impulses, manipulation and puppet master tactics, any level of mental/emotional game playing bs, and reckless decisions on all fronts. And you’re losing your patience with it, it makes you angry, Temperance rev shows you wanting to smack this person upside the head like “what the literal fuck is wrong with you??” But you don’t. You want to call them out, maybe you already have. The Hermit is a choice for this person, if this is between you. If a third person, you’ve said plenty but hide just how much it irritates you. You focus on what they actually do that’s harmful or stupid and leave out your feelings, which are angry, impatient, and sick of this bs. Someone is very in & out of your/their life that’s probably broke, manipulates tf out of you/your person, always up to some kind of scheme or bs and you want nothing to do with this.

For the trans story, this is more about people generally and their shitty tactics or actions towards you. It’s possible you’re really jumping the gun financially and this reading is a warning. It’s not that you can’t, it’s just you *can’t* right now and doing so is really going to put you in a tough spot financially, debt, things you can’t work with - but you’re heated, impatient, and don’t care about that. The Oracle would be about your outside matching your inside, outer Buddhy vs. Inner.

Messages:

- Shy ☺️

- I don’t know how to communicate!

COFFIN ⚰️

- New Beginnings

- Liberation

- Reborn & Transition

- Tragic Endings

Cultivate inner Buddhy (rev)

Mutual: Ace of Wands rev, 3 Pentacles, king of Wands rev

Regarding: Ace of Cups rev

There is just no desire. No love. No genuine intentions. No one is making the effort to work together, either literally you two have nothing going on between you anymore, or them and this past person are absolutely done. King of Wands rev is either a lack of taking charge and making shit happen - no desire - or it’s a flirty fkboy/girl energy looking to start shit, loves drama and attention, seeking that from…probably your person. You have nothing to worry about if that’s the case. If there’s a coparenting relationship then that’s all it is, and they don’t even want that really. At the bottom is having healed from the past and whatever commitment this once was or involved. If family, they’re over that too. If gender, they’re over that too, or you are. What once was no longer is - period. It’s done, it’s over, time to move forward and attain some inner peace - in that respect your person has a good point. For the transition story, this person will absolutely not work with you in any way, shape, or form, if it’s a coparent you’re trying to give a fk - they don’t. If you want them to step it up - they won’t. If some third person is trying to create drama, it’s not going to work - at least for them. You? That’s on you, and perspective is needed regardless. It’s a done deal here.

TALKING 🗣️

- Interested

- Awaiting Messages

- Texts, Calls, Email

- Talking More

Don’t let dumbasses get you down.

Signs you may be dealing with:

Heavy Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces & Aquarius

[thevmontgomery]

Wake Me Up When It’s Over

Summary: Vanessa and Vince take Rocky to get the two boys’ DNA test done when things take an unfortunate turn.

tagging ––– @vincevanbro

Vince: he never gets anxious, rarely ever anticipates anything anymore. butterflies in your stomach can be hard to feel when you accept bad news as your norm, and strife and misfortune seem to rule your existence. but in this moment, as he waits for vanessa to come bounding out of the house with his prospective child in tow, he grips the steering wheel tight and sighs and jiggles his foot impatiently. maybe it’s the confusion of it all that’s got him so uneasy, the fact that he’s not sure what news he’s hoping for—that he’s rocky’s father, or that he isn’t. the sight of them makes him sit up a little straighter on instinct, always wanting to seem in control and relaxed and like nothing ever gets to him. dark hues do a final scan of his interior for blunt ashes and weed crumbs, not wanting to give vanessa anymore reason to believe he was an unfit parent. “hey little man” he greets the toddler first, can’t help it, can’t stop looking at him with all his wild hair, and vanessa’s eyes, and what he starting to think is his nose. and once he’s all situated and vanessa slides into her spot in the passenger’s seat her says hello to her too, but softer, more confidential, the way adults talk. calloused fingers shift the car into gear, and they’re off. no turning back now.

Vanessa: "and if you're good and still the whole time, i'll take you to Cold Stone and you can get /whatever/ you want. even sprinkles," vanessa grinned, getting the boy into his shoes. vanessa wasn't too sure how she felt about everything going on. her head had been spinning around this topic for weeks that now it just felt like a relief to finally know. vanessa wouldn't be in the dark regarding her own secrets finally. there were pros and cons to vince being rocky's father. they'd be under the gang's protection for life, tiny would be an amazing uncle, vince made steady money, and vince would do his best to actually be a father and not end up like his own; but at the same time the gang would be obviously still around, vince's impulses were sometimes violent, and the biggest one for vanessa was none of the pros had to do with her. she wanted to be with whoever rocky's father was longterm. she didn't want him dealing with stepfathers or her to forever be considered someone's baby mama drama. the second she heard the knock, rocky took off to the door, thankfully waiting to open it for his mother. "vince!" rocky greeted. vanessa allowed rocky to follow vince to the car, giving her time to set the car seat up and in her surprise see the car actually clean for once. "hey vince," she replied meeting his tone. if she wasn't ready before, she sure was now. "ready?" she asked, hoping he was in the slightest as nervous as she was.

Vince: “as I’m ever gonna be” he remarks with eyes trained on the road and music dialed up just slightly. “oh, I forgot—“ he points toward the glove compartment in front of where vanessa sits. “little girls were selling some girl guide cookies on the way over here, said I’d get some for the little man but only if you say he can have em’” she is, after all, his mother. despite however much she denies it, tries to cast it out, or who the father is. they approach a stoplight, slight squeak of his brakes reminding him to get those checked. a car with dark tinted windows pulls up to the passenger’s side, starts revving the engine, and at first he thinks they want to race. he chuckles and nods to vanessa at his side as if to say, not with his “girl” in the car. but they’re unrelenting, and starting to aggravate him, so he rolls down the window to shout, “chill!”but when the driver in the other car follows suit and he gets a glimpse of a familiar set of eyes he freezes. “oh fuck no”

Vanessa: vanessa was shockingly surprised to see the offering vince had brought. she grabbed them from him, offering a genuine smile before looking over the ingredients. the boy in the back was already whining 'please' before vanessa was able to open the box. "you only get two now, okay bud?" she spoke softly. vanessa was so wrapped in making sure rocky was good and not making a mess, she didn't even notice the revving around her. it wasn't until vine shouted out her window that she got worried. "vince...." her voice lingered, the fright apparent in her point. she didn't know right now who she was more scared about, but she knew she'd sacrifice herself before anything happened to rocky. "fuck no, what? vincent maurice bell, do /not/ do what i think you're about to."

Vince: the next few moments go by in slow motion. he reaches for the gun tucked underneath his seat but by the time he can the driver of the black camaro has a barrel pointed toward vanessa, and the only thing more menacing than his finger on the trigger is the gold-toothed grin he wears. “get out the car, alla you get out the car!” he barks, and vince can’t think anything besides why this had to happen today. when things weren’t necessarily good but at the very least supposed to be about family. slow motion turns into think fast, and he shares a glance with vanessa that says to do what he says. trust him, even now when he deserves it the least. he says nothing about rocky, just prays he stays quiet as a mouse in the back and doesn’t witness anything foul. he gets out of the car, but not without tucking his pistol into his back pocket. the thug, who vince knows in the streets as o-dawg, chuckles triumphantly. and another goon hops out the back seat to inspect, “sexy ass” he comments to vanessa under his breath, eyes her in a way that violates. there’s a car approaching, signaling the beginning of the end, but it’s when he starts nearing the backseat, and o-dawg is too busy talking his shit that vince shoots at the man in the driver’s seat, wounding his shoulder. just in time for goon #2 to fling the backdoor open and find baby rocky. desperate, he grabs the baby and stuffs himself back into the camaro. “drive, drive” is all they can hear and before vince can fire off enough bullets they speed off in spite of the red light. and maybe he is his kid, because the rush of devotion he feels in this moment puts him back in the driver’s seat. “let’s go!” he tells vanessa, who is undoubtedly traumatized from what she’s just seen, but vince doesn’t have time for fear, knowing right now seconds were crucial to whether rocky comes out alive. “we’re on they ass” he says, putting petal to the medal.

Vanessa: and just like that vanessa was back to that small child looking to vince for answers as she moved slowly out of the car. vanessa kept her eyes on vince, away from rocky to make sure that they didn't bother looking towards the back. anything to keep them focused on vince and vanesa and not her baby in the back. her hands were shaking as one of the men circled her, catching the way his eyes lingered on her for far longer than she normally would want. it took everything in her to hold back her spit-fire tongue and just let it all happen. vanessa nods to vince, trying to listen as they do and follow his movements. he'll figure it out. he'll keep the same, he promised. that is when the world crashes in and gun shots run through her head. vanessa doesn't think twice and runs to the backseat but is stopped by the other guy who already has rocky. "nessa! nessa!" the little boy screams as he's pulled into the other car. "rocky! rocky! let him out! let him out!" vanessa's banging on the door as it quickly speeds from under her. her vision is blurred by her own tears as the car continues to zoom past them. vanessa jumps into the passenger side door, "you promised! you fucking promised!" vanessa screams as the car takes off. her heart was pounding at a million miles a minute as it felt like the distance between their car and vince's only grew. that attachment that she thought she'd never feel for rocky was growing and that mother instinct of fight or flight was trying to kick in. all the walls and coldness she had worked so hard on completely broke at the idea of losing rocky.

Vince: he’s doing his best to race down the road after them, bobbing and weaving between cars, little beads of sweat gathering on his forehead. “fuck vanessa, do you think i planned this!” he counters frustrated and trying to focus, because the distance between the two cars is growing no matter how much he floors it, pushing his mercury to speeds it’s never reached before. but he can’t catch them. they’re too far gone, and he realizes when the black camaro turns onto the expressway and they’re stuck behind two cars at a red light that this chase is futile. “fuck!” he exclaims, punching the steering wheel. “im sorry v, i’m so sorry” words he isn’t sure he’s ever uttered before in his life, perhaps he knew all along to save them for a moment like this. the deep and dying breath of their chance at a family.

Vanessa: Vanessa's body froze over for a moment. It felt as if everything emotion she had ever held back was finally hitting her and Vanessa couldn't stop herself from completely falling a part. She just stared at the red light before a ball of tears came down her face. The flood gates had opened as she curved into herself. She could hear his sorries as she lifted her head up for a moment, her head falling into his lap as her tears continued to fall.

Vince: he wants to say that he’ll get him back, that rocky will make it out alive and unharmed but he’s made too many promises that have fallen through lately, and he can’t make another. so instead he just holds her, the way he knows she needs to be held, and quickly wipes at the single tear that falls from his face.

[spookysanta]

Cece’s Pizza. (e.d.)

in which Ethan’s on Daddy duty with his little princess while (Y/N) is out with the girls.

Pairing: Ethan DolanxReader

WARNINGS: like 3 swears, fluff,

dad!Ethan

Just a little blurb that I put up so I can be productive and apply to college :)

UNEDITED

(it’s ironically so hard to find baby pictures on google.)

***

“Okay, E. Her bottles are in the fridge, just warm one when you need one. And if, for whatever reason she drinks five bottles, her puffy stars are on the counter.” I rushed into the living room, watching my boyfriend rock our daughter and not paying attention to what I’d been saying. “Ethan.”

“Hm?” He hummed, eyes not leaving the baby’s.

“Did you hear what I said?”

“Bottles. Fridge.”

“And?”

“Heat them.”

“No, Ethan! You’re supposed to—“

“(Y/N), angel, you act like we haven’t been parenting her for the past six months.” He spoke quietly, eyes actually meeting mine. “Go out. Have fun.” He stood up slowly, shifting her in his arms so she could sit up. “Say “bye, mama”.”

“Bye, sweet pea.” I kissed her forehead and cheeks, then I kissed Ethan’s lips. “Bye, Daddy.”

He smirked. “Don’t be out to late— I wanna have my fun with you, too.”

I opened the front door and he followed me out to my car. “And, please, come back to me. In one piece and sober, preferably.” I got in and slammed the door shut, revving the engine and rolling down my window. “Don’t let your friends get you plastered.”

“None of us will be drunk by the end of tonight, alright? You don’t have to worry.”

“Alright. I’ll take your word for it.”

I put the car in gear and backed out of our paved driveway, honking the horn before I sped off to meet the girls at a restaurant for dinner.

***

Ethan

“Alright, Cece! What are we gonna do about dinner?” He asked the bubbly girl on their walk back inside. She gurgled for a moment and he chuckled, “Pizza it is.”

He went into the living room and sat on the couch, taking out his phone and ordering a large pepperoni and pinapple pizza from UberEats.

Her tiny hands grabbed at his phone, eventually taking advantage of it being held so loosely in his grasp and taking the phone for herself to gnaw on. “No, no! Cece,” he groaned. “you can’t eat Daddy’s phone.”

He took the phone away from her and set it on the couch beside him. She studied his face and her bottom lip started to tremble and she started to cry.

“Shit.” he muttered. “C’mon, Cece! No crying, shhhh. Here, you want your monkey?” He grabbed her stuffed Curious George and waved it in front of her. She took the monkey and held it tight while Ethan grabbed one of her bottles of milk and warming it in the microwave. He tested it on the back of his hand and made sure it wasn’t too hot before handing it to her, praying to God above that the milk would be lulling enough to make her sleepy.

Together they watched cartoons on the television before the doorbell rang. He went to the front door and opened it after checking the peephole. “Ethan?”

“Yep. That’s me.” He responded to the blonde girl at the door that was currently ogling him. “You got my pizza?”

“Oh! Oh, yeah.” She attempted to say seductively. “Here ya go.”

“Thanks, have a good one.” He turned and closed the door.

He paused and looked down at the baby girl asleep in his arms, one hand holding her bottle and the other one fisting Ethan’s Thrasher tee. He sat back down on his beloved couch and proceeded to eat his pizza as he cradled his princess.

***

I shoved my keys in the lock, trying to be quiet as I entered my house. Just when I was about to wonder where Ethan was, I found him fast asleep with Cecilia sprawled across his upper body.

I chuckled to myself at the laziness the two of them possess. I gently picked up our daughter and carried her to her room, placing her in her crib and tucking her in. I made sure I turned on her nightlight before closing the door quietly and going back downstairs. “Hey, baby.” Ethan groaned as he stood to stretch. “How was dinner?”

“It was good.” I shrugged. “I missed my babies though.”

“We missed you too.” His arms lazily wrapped around my waist as I stood on my tippy toes to hug his neck. “Where’d she go?”

“I put her to bed.” I chuckled.

“Oh.” He yawned. “Okay. Well, I’m goin’ to bed.”

“Now? It’s still early.” I looked at my phone. “It’s only ten.”

“Really?”

“Mhm. And I was promised some fun when I got back.” I smirked. “So here I am, in this dress that I’m defintely gonna need help getting out of.”

His eyes widened. “Oh word?”

“Yeah.”

He hummed, mouth going to my neck and hands roughly grabbing my asscheeks before smacking them. “I’d be happy to help you. Only if you help me, though.”

[ficdirectory]

Disuphere Universe miniseries: The Early Years: Dominique

Jaimie Carter first saw Michael Williams in first grade.  Mrs. Samsel’s class.  1977.

She was outgoing, precocious, fun.  He was shy and quiet.  Could barely get his name out of him when the teacher took roll call in the morning.  Looked fit to pass out when he was picked to be leader for the day, while Jaimie said her daily “Here!” with gusto.  Pride.  While Jaimie led the Pledge of Allegiance, never needing to be told her right hand from her left.

Michael never did either.  He always knew.

They didn’t really talk.  Boys and cooties.  (Cooties were real, 6-year-old Jaimie was positive.)  But when she tripped over her shoelaces and fell on the playground, and all the other kids laughed and pointed?  It was Michael who came and tied her shoe for her - double-knotting it like a pro.

Then asking “You okay?” and offering her a hand up.

Jaimie told him yes, she was.  But didn’t take his hand.

But she remembers one time.  There was a spelling test, and Michael, definitely the best speller in first grade, had that fit to pass out look again.  Sweating.  Shaky.  Breathing fast.

Before the test started, Jaimie nudged him, whispering:

“Y-O-U A-R-E S-M-A-R-T.”

Hoping none of the other kids could spell as fast or as well, and none would overhear.  None did.

And Michael calmed down.  And he aced that test.

--

Jaimie didn’t see Michael Williams again until high school.  

So much had changed.  She had changed.

But the best parts of Michael hadn’t.  She remembered being surprised seeing him at his locker the first day of school - the one right beside hers.

“Hey.  Remember me?” he asked quietly.

And for the first time in years, a genuine smile grew right there on Jaimie’s face.

“Of course,” she nodded.  “Yeah, I remember you.”

They caught up between classes when they could.  They didn’t have any together, but Jaimie wished they did.  Like, really wished.  She did have plenty of classes with Rozariah Miller, her best friend, since the fourth grade.  She had a twin brother, Royal, and the three of them hung out.  A lot.

The thing is, now, Jaimie was kinda wanting Michael to come hang out, too.  But she wasn’t sure how Roz and Royal were about to take it.

“Oh, Michael Williams?” Royal asks, lighting up when Jaimie tests the waters.  “He’s cool.  He’s in my Honors English class.  Knows every single answer.  You want me to see if he wants to hang?”

--

By sophomore year, they’re dating, though Jaimie’s mom was firm on the idea that she not date til she was 16.  Jaimie invited Michael over, so he and Mom could get to know each other a little bit.  So Mom could feel more at ease around him.

“I don’t want y’all going anywhere just the two of y’all and gettin’ all hot and heavy…” Mom warned.

“No, ma’am.” Michael answers, before Jaimie can utter one embarrassed word.

“We were just gonna hang out with the Millers.  You know, as friends…” Jaimie insists.

“As long as you kids stay together.  No sneaking off.  You hear?”

“Yes, ma’am.  I hear you,” Jaimie nods.  “Love you, Mama.”

“Love you, baby.  Michael, you seem like a sweet child, but if I hear one word about you treating Jaimie wrong, you’re gonna wish you hadn’t,” Mama warns.

“Yes, ma’am,” Michael nods.  “I mean, no, ma’am.  I’d never treat her wrong, ma’am.”

--

Kids at school were mean.  To Rozariah and Royal, especially when they started going out as a whole group - the two of them - Jaimie and Michael.  Kids said the twins were dating each other.  Jaimie and Michael knew it was ridiculous.  Roz and Royal knew it, too, but their words still hurt.

They tried not to let it bother them as they’d go to the movies or for ice cream.

Before Jaimie knew it, it was the summer before senior year.  She and Michael had been dating 15 months.  Well, hanging out as a group, but still, it counted.

Michael had a way of paying attention to detail.  Of getting Jaimie exactly what she would have gotten herself.  He came into their aisle with a large bucket of popcorn, a Butterfinger and a Coke, all dropped off for her, as they settled in to check out this new Tom Hanks comedy, Big.

“How’d you know?” Jaimie asked, incredulous.

“I’m still pretty S-M-A-R-T…” Michael whispered in her ear.

Jaimie smirked, as he settled in between Royal and Roz, and Rozariah whispered in her ear.

“He knows what you like to eat!”

“Would you shut up?” Jaimie laughed.  “I know he knows what I like to eat!  We been dating each other more than a year.  If he didn’t know by now I’d be a little concerned.  Watch the movie…” But Jaimie’s heart still stuttered that extra beat thinking about how sweet it was.  For Michael to pay such close attention like he did.  That he cared so much about what made her happy.  Even if it was a giant tub of popcorn, a giant candy bar and a Coke.

“Fine,” Rozariah settles back in her seat and they watch.  All the while, Jaimie, tuned into Michael’s laugh.

At the end of the movie, they exit the theater, feeling that odd disappointment that it was time to face the real world again.  Jaimie went to Roz’s car, and before she could even open the door, Michael was there.

“I got it.  I got it.”

“Thanks.  And thank you...for the snacks…” she said, their faces just inches from each other.

They both leaned in, instinct.  Their lips touched.  “Mmm, you taste like grape soda.”

“You taste like Butterfinger, popcorn, and every one of my dreams, Jaimie Carter.”  He said, meaning every word.

Jaimie blushed and looked away.

“Okay, break it up, break it up,” Royal insisted comically butting between them.  “Michael, let’s go.”

“I’m going,” Michael echoed but remained rooted to the spot, staring at Jaimie.

“You wanna stand here in the parking lot while Jaimie, Roz and I go back home?  That’s cool,” Royal said easily, getting in his own car and revving the engine.

“See you back there,” Michael murmured.

“See you.” Jaimie whispered, her hand to her lips.

--

“You know, we dated for almost a decade?” Michael asked, alone in the dark of their first apartment.

“I do, in fact, know that,” Jaimie nodded, snuggled up to him in their too-small, perfect sized bed.  “It’s about time we did this…”

“What?  Got married?” Michael asked, leaning down to kiss her again.

“Mmm-hmm.  So happy Roz and Royal could come,” Jaimie remarked.

“Jaim, I love me a little R & R, okay?  But the two of them?  Have been on every single date with us.”

Jaimie wrinkled her brow.  “They have not.  We didn’t even go to college together.  It was you and me.”

“And you calling Rozariah every night after every single date.”

“Can I help it if she’s like my sister?” Jaimie scoffed.  “You called Royal.”

“He’s my man,” Michael said, feigning hurt.

“We don’t have to make our marriage a twin-free zone, do we?” Jaimie asked.  “I don’t wanna be one of those couples who has no friends outside of each other.”

“Nah, babe, I don’t want that either,” Michael agrees.  “But we’re best friends?”

“Always.”

--

Two years later, in October, Jaimie goes into labor at home.  

Thank God it’s a Saturday.  Thank God Michael’s there.  Because there is no way Jaimie would be able to do this alone.

Turns out, their baby waits for no one.  Not even her Mama to get to the car.  Jaimie stops as contractions seize her.  And cannot move.

Michael calls 911 because he can see the head.

“Michael Williams, don’t you dare pass out on me,” Jaimie gasps in the midst of contractions.

“They’re saying don’t push,” he says, and it’s ludicrous, because Jaimie is not in control right now.  

“She’s coming, Michael.  I have to push!”

She’s out in three.  Three pushes is all it takes to deliver their sweet baby, Dominique Nora Williams.  6:23 PM.  In their living room.  The ambulance arrives minutes later.

Dominique has a healthy cry.  She looks big.  (And weighs in later at a healthy eight pounds even.)  She has dark hair and beautiful brown eyes, which she opens to stare right at Jaimie.

They go home again as a family two days later.  The nursery she and Michael worked on together is perfect.  Decorated with pale yellow, white and gray.  Giraffes and elephants on the wallpaper border.

Jaimie doesn’t take naturally to being  a parent.  It’s hard.  Breastfeeding hurts - they never tell you that!  But Dom bites, especially when she starts cutting teeth.  Jaimie’s got all kinds of hormone problems, crying all the time, like Kirstie Alley in that Look Who’s Talking movie from the year they graduated high school.

(Oh, well, at least Jaimie knows she’s kinda normal.)

It helped that her mom was here to help the first couple weeks - thrilled that baby Dominique has her first name as a middle name.  Michael’s mom comes, too.  Later, and any help they can get is appreciated.

It takes until Dominique is about eight months old for Jaimie to even start feeling like she has a handle on things.

It hits her how lucky they are.  Dominique’s happy.  Babbling.  Eating well.  She’s loved.  She cries when she or Michael (especially Michael) even goes into the next room.  It’s hard on her that Daddy goes to work.  And she looks out the window each afternoon, slobbering on the glass in the window, pounding on it, screaming, “BabababaBABA!” until he gets there, swinging her into the air and making her giggle.

--

Her first real word comes just after she turns 1:

“I love you, baby,” Jaimie greets her, after naptime, one day.  (The same thing they say to her first thing in the morning, at night before bed, and several times throughout every day.)

“Awuy, bay-bee,” Dominique repeats, hugging Jaimie around the neck hard.

She reaches for Michael, who, thank God, came in behind her:

“Awuy, bay-bee,” she repeats, reaching and reaching for him.

“Dominique Williams.  Did you just say, ‘I love you, baby,’ to Mama and Daddy?” Jaimie asks, incredulous.

She nods, her head resting on Michael’s shoulder.

--

Jaimie doesn’t think much about it, until she has no choice but to think about it.

She’s mentioned it to Michael.  Briefly.  In a “a lot can change in eight years” kinda way in college when things started moving from kissing to more than kissing.

“Stuff happened to me.  As a kid, Michael.  And I don’t wanna talk about it.  Don’t know how to talk about it.  Just be careful.  And please don’t ask me.”

He’d respected that.  All these years and he’s never asked about it once.  He does ask if she’s okay, when she gets quiet, or worried.  But he’s never seen her panic.  She’s never seen it herself, ‘til it happens.  One day in January, 2001.

Two-year-old Dominique’s in the stroller, talking a mile a minute:

“Mama, I have gum?  Please?”

“Baby, I don’t want you having gum.  It’s gonna get everywhere,” Michael balks.

“I wanna have gum,” she whines.  “The ball kind.”

“Okay.  Let’s discuss it together, should we?” Jaimie interjects.

“Yes.  ‘Scuss it.  Annen I have it.”

“If we tell her what to do with it, she’ll learn.  Or she won’t,” Jaimie encourages.  “We can’t keep her in a bubble, Michael.”  

“But I want to,” Michael objects, sweetly, giving Jaimie a kiss.

“I know, but she’s a child, not a toy.  We gotta let her experience stuff.  Even gum…” she wrinkles her nose.

They talk to Dominique about gum.  Jaimie explains it’s a special candy that you chew.  “Not swallow.  When you’re done chewing, you spit it in a tissue.  Understand?”

“Yes, ma’am!” Dominique smiles.

“Good.  Now, you hang in there.  Do your best to be very good, and then on our way out, we’ll get a gumball.”

“I want yellow!”

“We don’t get to say what color we get,” Michael warns.  “Might be yellow.  But it might be another color.  Make sense?”

“But I want yellow gum, Daddy.”

“I hear you wanting yellow gum, babe, I do.  But Daddy can’t guarantee you yellow gum.  I’m sorry.”

“Yes, you can!  You big and strong!  For making yellow gum! ‘Kay, Daddy?”

Jaimie’s in the cereal aisle trying to pick out plain Cheerios without Dominique wanting every sugary kind there is, when she glances up.  Sees somebody who looks just like….

Her vision goes dim.  She can’t breathe.  Drops the cereal.  Turns desperate eyes to Michael.

“What is it?  Jaimie?” he asks.  

But she can’t answer.  Her eyes are full of fear, darting.  This is the part of life she never told Michael about so how will he know how serious this is?  Will he get it?  Will he believe her?  Help her?  God, she needs to get out of this damn store.  

Twenty-nine, and feeling every bit the child she’d been then.

“Okay.  It’s okay.  Jaim.  Leave the groceries.  We’ll go, okay?” he promises.

Jaimie clings to his arm as they leave the store.  Dominique’s sobbing and lunging at the gumball machine as they pass it.

“I bery good, Mama!  I bery good!” she sobs.

Jaimie’s crying, too.  

Somehow, Michael gets them all in the car.  Somehow, above the din, Michael can be heard, singing I Like to Be Told from Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.  Dominique is a big fan.  And Jaimie and Michael are big fans of songs that help Dominique sort out what she’s feeling and why.

It fits for Jaimie, too.  Everybody could use a little warning before their life gets spun and turned on its head.

Michael takes the time to explain to Dominique, who he is sure, even if she can’t understand every single word, understands more than they think she does.  Says he knows she likes to be told what’s happening.  And sometimes surprise things happen.  

“Big feelings come, poof!  Like magic, and change our plans.  Even for mommies and daddies.  Sometimes big feelings come too fast to tell each other.  But we all love each other still.  And it’s gonna be okay.  Daddy says it’s gonna be okay.”

“I want yellow gum,” Dominique says, quiet, in between gasps.  Tears still drying on her face.

“I know you do, Dom. and I know we said you could.  Mommy’s having some big feelings right now, so we gotta be with her.  And I won’t forget your yellow gum.  I know that matters to you.”

“Mommy, you havin’ big feelings?” Dominique asks.  “You cry?”

Jaimie can’t answer.  

“She’s having some big feelings.  But it’s okay to have big feelings, right?”

Dominique hesitates.

“What do Mommy and Daddy say when you’re having big feelings?”

Dominique fidgets with her carseat strap.  

“We say, ‘It’s okay.  Your big feelings matter,” Michael tells her, giving Dominique the words.

Jaimie feels like such a failure.  She can’t do anything.  She’s scaring her baby.

Dominique is still whimpering as Michael pulls into the local Dollar Store parking lot.  Jaimie’s frozen in the seat, not ready to get out and face anybody.

“You gonna stay here?  Dominique and I are gonna be right back.”

Jaimie can’t imagine what Michael’s buying right now, but they did just leave all their groceries behind.

In minutes, they come back out.  Dominique singing, I Like to Be Told with Michael now.  In her little hands, she’s carrying bubbles.

When they get home (which Jaimie can’t recall) she, Michael and Dominique all hang out on the deck.  Michael blows bubbles and Dominique shrieks and runs around popping each one.

It’s the day Jaimie decides she’s gotta get some help.

--

Dominique turns 3 at the end of 2001.  Has a Dragon Tales party and then gets to sleep over at Grandma Nora’s for the first time.  She comes home talking about Sesame Street and gingerbread cookies and Garfield sleeping bags.

Produces pages and pages of paper where Dominique has printed, in all caps, the sentence, I AM DOM.  She is beyond proud of herself.  Beaming.

“I’m three and I can write now!” she shares.  “Look at all this I wrote!”

“That’s so good!  Dominique, we’re so proud of you!  Did you and Gran have a good time?”

She nods, snuggled up against them.

Jaimie and Michael hang up every single paper.

--

In 2003, sometime after Dominique turns 4, the teacher calls Jaimie and Michael in for a meeting.

“You know your daughter’s printing?” the teacher asks.

Jaimie can’t read her tone.  It’s cryptic.

“Yes, we encourage her at home,” Jaimie offers.

“You know she’s reading?”  Now, it’s clear.  The teacher, maybe 22, is scoffing.

“Starting to, yes,” Michael nods.  

“She’s yelling out words during storytime.  It’s disruptive.  And her boasting about all the words she can print is hurting the other children’s feelings.”

“Are you suggesting we discourage her?” Michael asks, and Jaimie puts a hand on his arm.

“I got this.  Ma’am?  Dominique’s a good girl.  She really is.  She’s just proud of what she’s learning.”

“Maybe this isn’t the best place for her,” the teacher responds, finally coming to the point of the conference.

“You know what?” Jaimie asks.  “Maybe it isn’t.”

Michael follows her out, after Jaimie makes it official and withdraws Dominique.

In the car, he finally asks:  “So, what now?”

“I’m done with my counseling.  I can get a job anywhere, and you did just get that great offer in San Diego.  Maybe it’s time to make a move.”

He turns to her, and smiles, nervous.  “You know I don’t do change well.”

“I know,” she nods.

“But I’d go anywhere with you...and our gifted and talented daughter.”

She leans over.  Kisses him gently.  Briefly.

They get home and Dominique runs into their arms.  “Did my teacher tell you how smart I am?!” she asks, braids and beads bouncing everywhere.  Grandma Nora appears behind her.

“How smart are you?” Michael cues, knowing Dominique is asking to fill in this blank:

“S-M-A-R-T!”

“That’s right.  And your teacher told us you are so smart, you get to go to a whole different school!  What do you think of that?”

“With you and Mama, and Gran?” Dominique checks.

“Absolutely.  All of us together,” Michael reassures.

“Yay!”  Dominique cheers.  “We’re going on a adventure!” she wiggles to get put down and takes off.

“I think we made the right choice,” Michael muses.

“I think we did,” Jaimie smiles.  “I think we did.”

[jakkosisle]

The Battle For Lordaeron:  Part V - Momentum

By the time Jakko and Spritzie made it to the Southern Courtyard, there were plenty of Horde, but no Alliance.  Jakko tapped a random dreadguard on the shoulder.  “Yo - where’s the Alliance?” he asked.

“They haven’t reached us yet.” the dreadguard replied.  “Last I heard, Windseeker Durja and his forces managed to intercept them.  They’re buying us time to prepare.

Jakko nodded and jogged over to where Spritzie was - chatting up with Soozee as the latter powered up her void-buster mech.

“There you are.” Spritzie said as she twirled her rifle.  “You ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.” Jakko said as he withdrew his swords.  He spied Johriah riding up and down the line atop his deathcharger, addressing his troops.

“Stand ready!  The Alliance will be here any minute now!” he shouted.

It was then that a pair of large bats flew towards Johriah on the battle lines, morphing back into troll druids.  “Da Alliance be comin’!” one of them shouted.

“Where’s Durja?” Johriah asked.

“Dead.  His entire force got wiped out.” the druid said.  “We da only ones who got away.”

“He held ‘em back as long as he could.” the other druid said.  “But…Lady Proudmoore is wit’ dem!  She be powerful and she be pissed and she be comin’ our way!” the other druid panicked.  The death knight slapped him with the flat of his sword.

“Get a hold of yourself, man!” Johriah barked.  He turned to the rest of his platoon.  “Do not lose heart!  We still have the advantage here!  This is where we shall stand our ground!  For the Horde!”

“FOR THE HORDE!” the crowd echoed.

The Horde army waited nervously for the Alliance to arrive, checking and rechecking their weapons.  Then, the Alliance poured into the courtyard, charging into the Horde lines.  The Horde charged right back.  The two armies clashed hard in the middle of the courtyard.

Spritzie was in the thick of it, cutting down Alliance troops with her shotgun, howling in fury.  Her riverbeast, Bruce, was impaled by Alliance pikes - a death that did not go unavenged.  She spared the animal’s body a brief glance before whirling around on the Alliance and firing more.  Sorry, Bruce, but I don’t have time to grieve you.  Right now, mama’s got a battle to win…

Elsewhere along the front, Soozee laughed maniacally as her void buster decimated the Alliance soldiers.  Humans and dwarves fled before her as the mech hounded them with bullets and void bolts.  Soozee paused in her megalomania to check her mech’s readings - the Void Buster had never been pushed this far before, so she worried it might overload.  But according to the readings, everything was operating within acceptable parameters.  Satisfied that there was no immediate danger of that, she resumed her maniacal cackling.

As Jakko disemboweled a particularly unlucky kaldorei ranger, he paused and looked around, taking stock of the battle.  He could see massive explosions of fire and ice on the other side of the courtyard - Jaina Proudmoore, no doubt.  Jakko had no intention of getting that close to the legendary mage - she was someone else’s problem as far as he was concerned.  Despite Proudmoore’s presence, the Horde was holding the line surprisingly well.  Maybe this battle could still be won, but Jakko remembered what happened last time he got his hopes up.  He was still ready to grab his sisters and make a break for it the moment things go tits up.

And it seemed that moment was upon them, as a large, dark portal suddenly appeared on the Alliance’s side of the battle, elves leaping out and joining the fray, along with several gnomish war machines.  “Oh fuck, are those what I think they are…?” he muttered to himself.  And sure enough, the way they ‘glowed’ black, as oxymoronic as that sounds, made it impossible to mistake the newcomers for anything else.

“Void elves…” Soozee growled as her mech stomped up to Jakko’s side, confirming the druid’s fear.  Her machine’s wrists twirled and its claws flexed, ready to grab something.  “The Alliance must be getting desperate if they’re calling in THEM.  Damn the High King, he doesn’t realize he’s playing with fire!”

This was bad - between the gnomish ordinance and the void elves’ unnatural powers, the Horde forces were getting torn to shreds.  If somebody didn’t do something about them and soon, it wouldn’t be long before the Alliance breaks through the defenses and wins.

Jakko had to do something.

“Keep those void suckers away from Spritzie!  I got an idea!” Jakko said as he morphed into a bat and flew off.

“Roger that!” Soozee said as her void-buster’s engines revved up.  She’d been meaning to study the ren’dorei for months now, and this was the perfect opportunity to ‘collect some samples.’

“Peekaboo!” Tendalel shouted as he appeared behind a tauren that Marbelma had been locked in melee with, thrusting both daggers into the massive creature’s spine before it fell over like a great felled tree.  “Hey kid - miss me?”

“Tendalel?” Marbelma asked.  “What are you doin’ here?  I thought SI:7 was done with this battle.”

“SI:7 was, but not the ren’dorei.” Ten answered.  “After you guys started assaulting the main gate, Alleria herself rallied the void elves together to form a cavalry force, should things go tits up.”  He then looked around the courtyard.  “Which evidently, they have.”

Indeed, even with Proudmoore by their side, the Horde wasn’t budging an inch.  The Alliance was beginning to run out of steam and the attack would’ve failed.  But with the timely arrival of the ren’dorei, the Alliance forces had been granted a second wind.  They’ll yet win this fight!

It was then that Tendalel noticed a large, modified goblin shredder charing into the ren’dorei forces, trying to grab someone in its claws.  He patted the young dwarf on the head.  “Keep your head down, kid.” he said as he disappeared into shadow - he’d always had a talent for stealth as a blood elf, but the talent was taken to new heights by his recently-granted powers over darkness.

He leapt onto the mech’s back and ripped off a panel, looking inside at all the internal circuitry.  “Okay, uh…..This looks important!” he said as he grabbed a red wire and ripped it out.  The mech didn’t cease its assault, but the canopy DID open to reveal its goblin pilot.  Awesome, now he just needed to climb inside, kill the pilot, and presto - no more mech.  He climbed up the mech’s back…

Only to get hit by a void bolt its pilot had somehow conjured.  The force of the impact knocked him off the mech and tumbling across the ground, but the rogue was quick to recover.  The goblin turned her mech around to stare him down.

“You, my friend, have just volunteered to be my new test subject!” the pilot shouted.  Tendalel didn’t know what that meant, but it probably wasn’t anything good.  This was confirmed by the machine gun on the mech’s wrist unloading on him - he ripped open a spatial rift to get out of the way and into cover behind a fallen pillar.

“You think your void powers will save you?!” the goblin shrieked.  “Well, you void elves aren’t the only ones with power over the Void!” she fired a round of missiles at the pillar, obliterating it.  Ten leapt just before the missiles detonated, but he felt the blast area tinged with an energy that he was, by now, intimately familiar with.

“Were those VOID missiles?” he shouted back.

“Yes!” the goblin replied.

“I didn’t even know you could MAKE missiles with Void!” Tendalel shouted.

“Of course you don’t!” the goblin replied.  “I’ve been studying the Void for YEARS!  I had to WORK for my power over it, while you were just HANDED your power on a SILVER PLATTER!”

“I sense a bit of jealousy.” Tendalel said.

“You void elves are like children with guns!” Soozee replied.  “You’ve no true RESPECT for the Void’s powers!”

“I respect it enough to know how to do this.” Ten quipped before disappearing into another spatial rift.

“Hey!  Stop doing that!” the goblin demanded.

While Soozee was keeping the void elves busy, Jakko flew up to the bastion where Stoneheart landed.  The hippogryph was still there, and even still had those five bombs attached!  Perfect!  He morphed back into his troll form and mounted the beast and snapped the reigns.  The feathermane cried before hopping off his perch and flying back to the courtyard.

Jakko flew over a crowd of void elves firing void bolts at the Horde forces where he dropped one of the bombs.  The bomb detonated in a shower of fire, shrapnel, and bits of purple goo that used to be ren’dorei.  The druid cheered.  “Take that, shadow-suckers!”

Satisfied with having taken a good chunk out of the ren’dorei’s numbers, Jakko flew over to rest of the Alliance front, dropping another bomb, this time on the regular Alliance infantry that were coming in Spritzie’s direction.  Another detonation and bits of armor and gore erupted into the air.  “Spritzie!  Get outta there!” Jakko shouted.

“No!” Spritzie shouted back.  “If I run now, they all died for nothing!  I’m seeing this through to the end!”

The ground shook with the force of the explosions that killed the ren’dorei and Stormwind footmen.  “Up there!” someone shouted, pointing to a hippogryph up above them.  It dropped a third bomb on top of a dwarven steam tank, destroying it.  “Is that friendly fire from one of the Teldrassil riders?”

“That’s no night elf…” Marbelma growled.  It was that troll that escaped her during the bombing run.  The one that killed Cinderwing.  Seems like he decided to finish what he started.  She looked around, looking for an elevated position - she spotted a wall that was partially collapsed.  Perfect!

She ran for the collapsed wall and started hopping up.  One wouldn’t think of dwarves as being particularly agile climbers, but one doesn’t survive long in the mountains without being sure-footed.  The dwarf hopped, skipped, and jumped her way up the pile of rubble onto the battlements, where a squadron of undead archers were giving the Horde covering fire.

Marbelma swung her hammer in a wide, horizontal arc, blasting a wave of fiery light at the archers, reducing them to ash before they even realized she was there.  She stood on top of the bastions and watched the hippogryph.  “Come on…come on…” she muttered as she conjured a hammer of light in her hand.

…Now!

She tossed the hammer at the hippogryph.

Jakko’s little bombing campaign was going well enough.  He only had two bombs left though, so he had to choose his targets-

CLANG!

A glowing hammer flew out of nowhere and struck Stoneheart right on the head.  The unconscious hippogryph began falling like a brick, towards one of the walls that separated the southern courtyard from the rest of the city.  The hippogryph landed on the wall with a crash, skidding across the floor until finally slowing to a stop halfway along the wall.

Jakko growled out a few choice curses in goblin.  He took he landing hard and nearly everything hurt.  He rolled sat up and rolled his shoulders trying to soothe his aching muscles.  He checked on his hippogryph.  “Stoneheart?” he asked.  “You okay?”

He wasn’t okay.

Stoneheart’s beak hung open while his eyes fogged.  He checked his neck for a pulse, only to find the neck was broken.  The flying hammer didn’t knock him out.  It killed him.  It killed a noble beast that had been serving him since the Cataclysm.

“Sorry, buddy.” he said as he closed the beast’s eyes.

Piksap.  Marbelma heard that word before.  The first time she heard this troll said it, she thought it couldn’t possibly be him.  But after hearing it again, clearer this time without the din of battle to drown it out, it was unmistakable.

For the first time in years, her blood ran cold.

The troll stood up and looked over his shoulder, staring down the dwarf paladin, who now had her hammer out.  “…Okay.” the troll said in decent common  In a goblin accent, no less.  No doubts now, he was definitely the one.  “I get it.  I kill your hippogryph, you kill mine.  So, we even?”

“Not even close!” Marbelma shouted.  “Ten years ago, you ruined my life!  And now, as a reward for my faithful service to honor and duty, the Light has blessed me with this - my chance for revenge.”

“…The fuck are you talking about?” the troll asked.

Marbelma forcefully removed her helmet and tossed it aside, staring down the troll with a hate-filled glare.

As soon as the dwarf removed her helmet and revealed her face, his mind suddenly flooded with memories.  Memories of a far more evil life.

It was back when he was a rogue, long before he heard Shirvallah’s call.  He’d been hired to assassinate a captain of the Ironforge Mountaineers.  He infiltrated his cabin in Dun Morogh and killed him.  Two more dwarves bore witness though, so Jakko had to kill them too.

…And there was one more dwarf.  A girl.  Couldn’t have been older than twelve years old.  Scared out of her mind, seeing the big scary troll standing over the corpses of her family.  Paladin came in out of fucking nowhere, and Jakko bailed.  It was one of his messier jobs.

…It was her.  That same girl.  Ten years older and clad in armor, but there she was.

“Just my luck.” Jakko commented aloud.  He pulled down his hood and face mask, figuring that he should return the dwarf’s courtesy and reveal his own face.  “I always figured one of my previous mistakes would come back to bite my ass one day.  Gotta admit though, this isn’t quite how I pictured it.”

“Funny, because it’s exactly how I pictured it.” the dwarf replied.  “You and I, meeting on the field of battle where you and your damned Horde finally meet your end by MY hands…”

“…Have you been practicing that speech in front of a mirror?” Jakko asked as he pulled out his swords.

“I’ve been practicin’ it for ten damn years…” the dwarf snarled before charging.