#many injured in bus accident

[lovelytsunoda]

the sixth sense | jake "hangman" seresin

summary: after a car accident totals her car and leaves her with the ability to see ghosts, an anxious police desk sergeant learns to live with the ghosts haunting her home, and the crush she has on the hot pilot who lives next door

pairing: jake 'hangman' seresin x reader

warnings: car accidents, ghosts (but they're very funny ghosts!), sexual innuendos/advances made by a ghost, if you can recognize the names of the detectives/station staff and can correctly tell me what tv show they are from, you get a metaphorical cookie. jake is a very involved neighbour.

author's note: my f1 fics for this collection have been on the struggle bus lately, so here's hoping my top gun one does better

sargeant y/l/n wouldn't say she hated her job, exactly, but there were many days where she wasn't always thrilled with it. take today for example, her desk piled high with requisition forms for fingerprint checks, traffic camera footage, autopsy reports and more.

it wasn't that she didn't like the work. no, she found catching murderers to be most rewarding. it was the people she worked with. detectives who didn't see her as an equal, but as a machine, dropping files on her desk with a demand and an impossible deadline.

"yn, how busy are you for the next few days?"

she raised her eyebrows at the detective across from her. "for you, detective disher? i won't be free until at least the end of the week."

detective disher raised an eyebrow. "how much work are they piling on you? you aren't their servants, you can speak up and tell them you're too busy."

she rolled her eyes, chewing the end of her bic pen. "usually they hightail it out of here before i even have a chance to open my mouth. some of them don't even speak to me or give instructions, they just drop a file on my desk and assume that i know what to do with it."

detective disher frowned. "we really need another desk sargeant."

"you think?"

it was long after sundown when she left the office that night, overtime she probably wasn't going to get paid for. she hoped that leaving at 6:30 was worth it to have a clean desk in the morning, one almost free of files long enough that she could breathe. of course, by the morning, all of the late shift detectives would have dropped all of their files off for her review.

she was about halfway home when traffic started to pick up again, the glow of the led headlights making it difficult to see out of her side mirrors. her glasses claimed to be glare resistant, but what did someone without astigmatism know about glare?

she turned right at the next set of lights, descending down the hill that would lead to her small, cosy neighbourhood. she was still a fair distance away as she watched the light change from yellow to red, taking her foo toff the gas. the car ahead of her seemed to be slowing, but not by much, and the car behind her was uncomfortably close. she sped up slightly, ready to put her foot on the brakes whenever neccesary.

wait a minute, are his break lights out? he's stopping!

she slammed her foot on the brakes, watching helplessly as her car continued to slide forward, her front bumper colliding with the rusted tail hitch.

her head jerked forward from the impact, banging against the steering wheel before it all went black.

she came to in the hospital, where audio was blurry and vision even worse as the doctor explained the symptoms of a concussion to her.

“it was a bad scene all around. you’re lucky you weren’t injured further.” the doctor insisted. “legally, I can’t allow you to drive for the next few days. is there someone we can call?”

realistically, the only name that came to mind was detective dishers. her parents were two cities away, and she didn’t want to disturb them. her sister was on vacation, and she didn’t want to bother any of her friends.

disher picked her up by the main doors, a matchbox twenty song playing on his stereo as she groggily slipped into the passenger seat, a plastic baggie full of prescription drugs in her hands.

“just take me home, randy. I don’t want to talk about it.”

the detective sighed. “okay. But you know you don’t have to come into work tomorrrow, right?”

great. no work meant no leaving the house. no leaving the house meant that her thoughts drove her to the brink of madness.

she simply couldn’t win.

as she slipped into her bed, she must have been slowly losing her mind as she swore that she could hear voices in her room as she was drifting off. she didn't think much of it, chalking it up to exhaustion as she let sleep claim her.

the following morning, she groggily puttered around the kitchen, assembling a light breakfast as she called her captain to explain why she couldn't come to wrok.

"hey captain, i was in an accident last night-"

"i know. randy called me. are you doing okay?"

"no concussion, but the doctor wants me to monitor for signs, so i'm not super hopeful. disher drove me home, and i'm supposed to hear from the mechanics about the state of my car later today."

"well, take care of yourself, yn. if you need anything at all, you have my number, and you have randy's. but don't call adrian, he's probably just going to make things worse."

she sighed, rubbing the skin on her forehead, fingertips teasing the edge of the bandages from where she'd hit her head on the steering wheel. "thanks leland."

"my my, you look a little worse for wear, don't you?" the voice came from nowhere, very thickly british and definitely not familiar.

she spun around, spying a figure in the kitchen doorway. his long hair dusted the shoulders of his leather jacket, and his skinny jeans were ripped to oblivion. she screamed, reaching for the metal ladle in her utensils jar.

"how the fuck did you get into my house?"

"your house?" the man looked confused. "sweetheart, i've always been here. i wouldn't throw that at me, if i was you. you'll just damage the wall behind me."

"who the fuck are you?" she stammered. "you're not real, this is just concussion brain, i should call the doctor back and go another scan-"

"you're seeing ghosts, honey." this voice was older, deeper. kinder. and significantly less british. another body materialized in her kitchen, sitting at her breakfast counter. she was round and plump, with a rosy face and sweet, kind eyes. she wore a nun's habit over a white blouse and a long navy skirt. "rick over there died in 1984. i'm sister katherine, and i died in 1961. lovely to meet you properly."

"the fuck do you mean i'm seeing ghosts?!" yn screamed, the sound reverberating through her skull. "you're not real!"

"i understand that this is a lot to take in." sister katherine insisted "but it must have something to do with the accident you were in last night."

"how do you know about my accident?" she pushed, brandishing her metal spoon as a weapon.

rick rolled his eyes. "because we watched that detective bring you home last night. tell me, are you two sordid lovers? if i wasn't dead i would love to get a piece of your-"

"enough, richard!"

"what the hell is happening right now? has he been watching me in the shower?" yn hissed under her breath, starting to pace back and forth in front of her stovetop.

"if you've got a head injury, you should really sit down." the nun kept trying to reason with yn, but nothing in this situation made one iota of sense.

she shakily sat down in one of the ikea chairs in her kitchen, and noted how badly her hands were shaking. she dropped the ladle on the table, clasping her hands together. she refused to look at rick and sister katherine, instead focusing on where her shellac manicure had begun to chip.

she really should book herself in for a fresh one.

"we have visitors!" rick's voice carried, his ghostly body reappearing next to yn. she startled in the chair, refusing to meet his eyes. "he looks annoyed, and he's wearing mechanics coveralls. i wore a pair of those on stage once. ladies love 'em."

"he was in a very unsuccessful hair band." sister katherine clarified.

"i need both of you to stay quiet for a second." she sighed. "he must be from the body shop."

she closed the front door behind her, although that was unlikely to do much against two beings who could walk through walls, but a girl could try.

"are you y/n y/l/n?"

"sergeant y/n y/l/n." she corrected. "san francisco pd. can i help you?"

"i'm from clint's garage, detective disher brought your car in last night."

that didn't sound good. behind her, she could hear a car door slam in her neighbour's driveway. oh good, jake was home. she tried not to let her eyes wander, waiting with bated breath for what the mechanic was going to say next.

"the front bumper was totally smashed, caved in where you hit the trailer hitch. the hood is also bent back a bit from impact. the good news is that the airbags didn't go off, which means your car can be fixed. the bad news is that it's going to cost more than your car is worth."

she could feel her headache coming back, her legs beginning to feel weak. she knew her car wasn't worth much due to it's age. but the city didn't pay her enough for her to be able to take on the payment for a new car outright, even if she was buying used.

she felt unsteady, and her body was starting to list to one side as two strong arms picked her up.

"i've got you, just keep breathing." the smell of cologne was overwhelming. there was no way in fuck that was rick, and it wasn't the mechanic.

she'd know that texan drawl anywhere. and that meant that right now, she was in navy pilot jake seresin's arms.

and that idea made her feel a little more faint that normal.

jake seresin had lived in that neighbourhood longer than her. she'd moved into her rental house just over four years ago, and he'd bene there on viewing day in a tight white tank top and jeans, getting all sudsy as he washed his silverado in the driveway. she couldn't resist watching from the window as he got into his truck in full navy fatigues before he went to work, or when he worked out shirtless on his front lawn since the porch took up most of the back.

she cleared her throat. "can i get an estimate for the repairs? will it cost less than buying a whole new car?"

the mechanic sighed. "look, even at randy's mates rate, it would still be more advisable to buy something new. go to a dealership and look at the preowned lot, anything less than 20k will serve you a lot better than getting this car fixed up would."

she couldn't form words, mind going fuzzy from the feeling of jakes hand on her lower back, and the thought of going back inside and facing the ghosts again.

"thanks, man. she can't drive for a few days anyway," jake started "but i'll bring her to the car lot when she's better and help her find something nicer."

jake helped her back inside, where the ghosts were watching giddily with their heads through the kitchen wall.

"you didn't have to do that." she insisted, avoiding eye contact with sister katherine while she spoke to jake. "i really can't afford a new car."

she could hear sister katherine in the background, whispering to rick. he's a hot one, and a real gentleman too!

"but you can't drive that one either. it's almost twenty years old, yn." jack frowned. "treat yourself. finance if you have to. take the scrap money and run, that's what i would do. you think the navy pays me well either?"

she fought the urge to bury her head in her hands and slump down on the table. "can you drive me to my follow up at the end of the week? he just wants to make sure there's no brain damage. i was going to get detective disher to do it, but if you have the morning off its less hassle."

jake looked puzzled. "why would you want me to do it instead of your boyfriend? shouldn't that be his job?"

"why the fuck does everybody think i'm hooking up with randy?" she shouted. "jesus, jake. he's my fucking boss."

the pilot's face was red as he carded his fingers through his hair. "he just seems to be over here a lot. he drove you home from the hospital last night and i just assumed."

"he's over here a lot because his girlfriend threw him out so sometimes i let him sleep on the daybed in my spare room while he finds a new place. we've been friends for years, we were at the academy together. i could be where he is if i wasn't too chickenshit to go into the field."

jake paused for effect. "well, this is awkward. are you sure you never thought about it."

despite herself, yn laughed. "we hooked up once back at the academy. we were sooo not compatible."

"i fucking knew it!" she heard rick shout in the background. "men and women can't just be friends!"

"richard!" sister katherine cut him off. "let the girl speak and mind your own business."

"lucky for you," jake grinned, totally unaware of the ghosts arguing behind him, every syllable of their argument making yn cringe inside "i happen to have the day off on friday. i'll take you to the doctors, and if everything is good, we can go to the car lot where i bought my truck. the guy will give you a good deal."

"i want a volkswagen. that's non-negotiable." she warned.

"that's fine. we can even stop by the garage and pick up your scrap money to put towards a deposit."

her chest felt tight with everything jake was offering to do for her. it was a slight anxiety, but a positive one. nerves that sprung to mind when she thought that maybe jake was offering to do all of these things for her because he wanted to be more than just her neighbour.

and as incredible as she knew it would feel to have a special place in jake seresin's heart, she'd been out of a relationship for so long that being in one again scared the ever-loving shit out of her.

true to his word, jake picked her up promptly at ten am the following morning. she had stressed about what to wear all morning, dodging criticisms about her outfit choice from sister katherine ('seriously, what on earth are they selling in the clothing shops these days? tops are supposed to go to the top of your jeans! what happened to dressing respectably?) and outdated sex tips from rick (which came with a knowledge of the ghost's kinks that she wished she could erase from her memory).

"just to be clear, you guys are bound to this house, right? you died here and now you can't leave?"

sister katherine nodded. "that is how being dead works, my love. we have to stay here while you go out gallivanting with your fancy man."

she stifled a laugh. "jake is not my fancy man. and neither is randy."

"whatever you say, cutie." rick winked. "and if you ever find yourself being undead in the walls of this house, give me a call and let me rock your world."

shaking her head with a laugh, she closed the front door behind her and headed over the grass to jake's house. he was waiting with two thermoses of hot chocolate and looked like he had just finished vacuuming the inside of his truck.

"good morning sunshine, let's go get you a clean bill of health!"

the wait to see the specialist was longer than the appointment. it lasted no longer than half an hour while the doctor took another brain scan and declared that there was absolutely nothing wrong with y/n aside from some superficial bruising to the skin on her forehead where she hit the steering wheel. jake insisted that her clean bill of health was worth celebrating, ushering her back into the truck and refusing to tell her where they were going.

"you know i'm a serving police officer, right? one call to captain stottlemeyer and there's a all points bulletin out on your truck."

jake laughed heartily. "i'm not kidnapping you, sweets. damn, you really don't like surprises."

"can't say i'm a fan."

minutes later, jake pulled off a secluded country road and into a parking lot lined in mulch. for a place that was so out of the way, the parking lot was packed to the brim and jake had to park the silverado what felt like miles away from the building itself. like a true gentleman, he helped her down from the truck's cab, one hand on the small of her back as they walked towards the large country store.

"a farmers market?" she giggled. "big bad hangman frequents farmer's markets?"

"how do you know my call sign?"

"you have it written on a metal sign in your garage."

jake winked at her, opening the heavy glass door. the country store was in a large refurbished barn, with the hayloft having been fully converted into a small cafe. his hand was warm through her cinnamon colored t-shirt as jake guided her towards the stairs to the cafe.

"do you like cinnamon buns?"

"of course i like cinnamon buns. who do you take me for?"

laughing to himself, jake had a large smile on his tanned face as he guided her towards a window seat. "make yourself comfy, sugar. i'll be right back."

she hated to see jake seresin leave, but she loved to watch him go, shamelessly watching the rippling muscles underneath his tight levis jeans.

he came back a few minutes later, two white china plates in hand, each one with a steaming warm cinnamon bun on top. as he passed her a plate, the cowboy made the bold claim that these were the best cinnamon buns in san francisco.

"i'll be the judge of that." yn said with a laugh, trying to pick up the sticky pastry in her hands in the most dainty way possible. the buns were large, mostly taking up the small plate.

"need a knife for that, sarge?"

"shut up, hangman."

"you know i outrank you, right?" jake joked, a sly look in his eyes.

she stuck her tongue out at the pilot, wishing she had a third hand so she could give him the finger. "bite me."

"all in due time, sugar."

she tried to hide the blush taking over her face, busying herself with taking the first bite of her pastry while she tried to ignore the images that jake's comment had conjured in her mind.

of course, the moan that she let out upon tasting the pastry did nothing to ease the sinful thoughts creeping into her mind. she could tell jake noticed, his breath momentarily catching in his throat despite the smile never breaking on his face.

"am i right or am i right?"

"fine." she playfully rolled her eyes. "you were beyond right. these are incredible!"

she beamed over at jake, wiping up some of the warm glaze on her chin that hadn't fully dried before she'd taken a bite. he was sitting across from her at the small table, and had yet to touch his cinnamon roll.

"you've got a little something..." he started, reaching a warm hand over the table to brush against her lips, wiping up some cinnamon that had been left behind.

her breath caught at the action, her eyes catching jake's blue ones. he truly was a beautiful man. time seemed to slow, jake's eyes slowly moving from her own to her lips and then back up again, her cheeks heating under his gaze.

"yn, can i kiss you?"

"yes."

he leaned over the table, gently rising from his wooden chair as he pressed his lips against hers. he was soft at first, almost apprehensive until she gripped his wrist where he was caressing her face, tilting her head back to give him a better angle and kiss him harder.

kissing jake seresin was everything she'd wanted it to be and more. if this was a movie, there would be fireworks going off behind them, and a sappy pop rock ballad playing as background music. perhaps something by lifehouse or matchbox twenty.

her lips felt sticky as jake pulled away, a goofy smile on both of their faces.

"you haven't touched your pastry." she said shyly.

jake grinned. "that's because you taste a lot nicer."

they stopped at the dealership on the way back, after having picked up the scrap money. yn test drove a volkswagen, fairly new with few miles on it. she decided to make it a point to come back within the end of the weekend, having already fallen in love with the little car. she felt like was, for lack of better words, walking on sunshine as jake pulled into his driveway, one of his large hands resting comfortably on her thigh.

he helped her down, looking forlornly over to her house, almost as if he'd enjoyed himself and didn't want the night to end.

"i have to go into work early tomorrow, and you've probabaly got heaps of work to do as well, so i'll let you get back to it." jake sighed, scratching at the back of his neck. "but, if you're up for it, i can stop by tomorrow and make you something for dinner?"

she smiled up at him, reaching to take his free hand in hers. "i'd love that." remembering her ghostly guests, she hesitated. "but maybe we could do it at your house instead?"

"i would like nothing more, sarge."

"good." she pressed up onto her tiptoes, kissing jake softly.

his hand snaked around her waist, slipping into the back pocket of her jeans as he deepened the kiss. she hummed contentedly, gently stroking his face with her thumb, hand resting on his cheek.

"i can't wait." she winked at him before she cut across her front lawn, backing towards her property. her southern gentlemen saluted her as she unlocked her front door, slipping inside the foyer.

"soooooooo." rick's familiar english drawl began. "how did things go with john wayne over there?"

and despite herself, yn was very much looking forward to sharing details of her budding romance with rick and sister katherine.

things were coming up roses for sargeant yn yln, and she was so excited to see what the future had in store.

[bet-on-me-13]

Dr's Assistant Danny

So, Danny has to run away from Amity after deciding to tell his parents about his powers. They acted like they accepted him, but when his back was turned they shot him with one of their Inventions and dragged him into the Lab for Study.

They think he's been taken over by a Ghost and decide to be "Surgeons" by opening him up and removing the Ghost by hand. Throughout all of this, they are just telling Danny that they are qualified doctors and can definitely do this perfectly. But they don't even use Anesthesia, and don't know the first thing about Surgery. But their delusions of being perfect Doctors have taken a hold of them, and they can't even comprehend the idea that they are doing it wrong.

After a week of "Surgeries", they mess up and forget to lock his Cell, and Danny manages to escape, hopping on a Bus headed to New Jersey.

He ends up in Gotham, hiding in an Alley to avoid Civilians and to bandage himself up. Thankfully his parents stitched him up fairly well after the last session, but he is still really hurt. And the cuffs restricting his powers don't help either.

He passes out in the Alley and wakes up in a Doctors Office. He panics, thinking that his parents found him and took him back to the Lab. Thankfully, the resident Dr rushes in to calm him down.

It's Dr Leslie Thompkins, and she really wants her patient to stop struggling thank you very much.

She manages to calm him down, and explains that she found him in the Alley, but that he was seriously injured. He was out for 4 days.

He explains what he can, that he told his parents that he had powers and that they didn't take it well. Not the Ghost thing, but he does explain that his parents could charitably be referred to as "Mad Scientists", and Dr Thompkins figures it out from there.

Since he doesn't have a place to stay, she let's him stay at her place. It's not much, but it's enough for 2 people.

After a few days, he starts helping out in the Clinic as a way to repay her.

After a few weeks, he starts taking on the bigger jobs and starts learning about medical aid

A few months in, and both Danny and Leslie realize that he has basically become her Personal Assistant. So she trains him in the legitimate way, teaching him all she can about being a Doctor and basically everything he would have learned in Medical School, which really helps with his trauma over the whole "constant unethical surgery from people who claimed to be licensed professionals" thing.

He still has those Restraining Cuffs on, they could never figure out how to take them off and they were basically unbreakable, but he was fine on his own.

And a note to add to this is that all of this is taking place in the early Years of Batman, like Years 1 and 2. So it's certainly a shock when Danny walks in for work and sees The Batman lying on a Cot.

Over the many following years, Danny gets used to his life in Gotham. He managed to contact Jazz, and his friends as well, even if they needed to keep it very secret for fear of his parents finding out.

He manages to get on friendly terms with most of the Bat Family from their many, many, many visits to the Clinic.

He never does reveal his past to them, he knows that they would never not poke their noses into it, so he tried to keep it on the down low around them. He even hid his Cuffs all these years. (He doesn't want to attract his parents attention)

But that all changed one day.

He messes up. He accidently calls Jazz outside of their scheduled safe times and his parents just so happen to be visiting her new house at the time. They pick up the call for her, and Danny, not knowing it's not Jazz on the other end, says "Hey Jazz, it's Danny. Just wanted to let you know that I'll he busy with work for a while so I won't be able to call as often".

When he gets no response, he gets concerned and asks "Jazz? You there?"

His parents immediately begin to trace the Call, but before they can get an exact location Danny wises up and hangs up. Buts it's too late, his Parents know he's in Gotham now, even if they don't know exactly where.

Danny doesn't know that they tracked him down though, but he quickly figures it out when Red Hood is rushed into the Clinic a week later after being attacked by "A big guy in an orange jumpsuit with a laser gun", who was joined by "A tiny lady in a blue jumpsuit with a baseball bat"

The Drs Fenton reached Gotham and immediately began tracking any Ecto-Signatures they could find. And Red Hood just so happened to be the closest one.

Now Danny has to find a way to deal with his parents without his powers. Since the Anti-Ecto Laws are still in effect, they aren't technically doing anything Illegal, and their Government Contracts would protect them either way.

He needs to figure out how to get rid of them. Due to the high concentration of Ectoplasm in Gotham, there are many unknowing Liminals in the City. His parents could end up attacking many innocent Civilains in search for him, maybe even subjecting them to the same things he was subjected to.

The only way he can think to do that is to give himself up.

Of course he knows Dr Leslie would disagree, but before she can stop him he sneaks out in the middle of the night, leaving a note thanking her for all that she had done for him over the years. It explains that the people who attacked Red Hood are his infamous Parents, and that they are searching for him. They could end up hurting alot of people if they stay, so he needs to nip this in the bud and is going to turn himself in to them.

She immediately takes the note to Batman.

She still vividly remembers the state she found Danny in. He still has the V-Shaped Scar on his chest from his experiences with his parents, and she'll be damned if she' going to let that happen to him again. (She kind of adopted him as her son a while ago)

She tells them everything. How she found him in the Alley, his injuries, how she nursed him back to health, his story about Meta-Hating Mad Scientist Parents, the unbreakable Cuffs he always hid, all of it.

Now it's a race to find Danny and save him from his Parents again.

[blackenedsnow]

GIRL, HOW DO YOU GET SO MANY REQUEST IN SUCH A SHORT TIME?!? It's scary but also beautiful!! 😭🤍 anyways I remember my requestss, so hear me outt.

Itoshi rin!Reader playing on the famous football team and shadow who's just a ultimate lifeform but also her big brother, they got on well because since both of them are cold and serious(i had actually thought for myers but shadow made more sense afterwards..!) Reader was constantly working hard to attend national matches and was winning the matches ahead of her,of course shadow always reminded her to not work too much hard but she didnt listen and shadow always find her training herself on the behind their luxury home, but right in the auditions,she injured herself because of her enemy, rouge..she was a cheerleader but she copied reader by the time pass (not mommyrouge),she could not be selected for the team because of her badly injury and of course months later she and rouge got matched in the football team again and this time shadow was watching.

They had won the match, but the stadium was also a big fight after her enemy was trying to objection, so the match was disqualified and the enemy side won.

Suddenly a blood splashed around the stadium grass, everyone screamed in terror while they tried to stop and while some of tried to escape.. Thats when shadow realized A bad, very bad thing happened of both them they, reader and her enemy, stabbed each other "by mistake" while they both holding on to their collars, their hand and neck veins could be seen bu gripping so hard. And somehow they bring a knife with them? And of course reader was first one to pass out.

How would shadow react?

(This is kinda rushed bc I'm pretty tried from school and etc.)

Take care of yourselfs mi amorr! :3

blood and bonds

WARNING: Graphic injury descriptions, blood, violence, angst, and hospitals.

PAIRING: Brother! Shadow the Hedgehog & Sister! Reader

NOTE: Hi lovely! <3 Omg, first of all, I DON'T KNOW LOL!! Second, your request is wild and I absolutely LOVE IT. Make sure you’re taking care of yourself too, okay?

SUMMARY: After a brutal clash on the football field leaves you gravely injured, Shadow is forced to confront his greatest fear: losing you.

Shadow had always known you were relentless. Determined. Obsessively driven. You were like him in that way, and in a twisted sense, that’s why he felt at ease with you. You understood each other’s silences, the unspoken expectation to always be better.

Your career as a football player on the national stage was more than a goal—it was your entire existence. Every match was a war you had to win. Shadow admired that intensity, but he also feared it. Because he knew the cost of ambition unchecked. He’d seen it before. He lived it every day.

So, when he found you late at night, training under the cold moon behind your sprawling, luxury home, sweat-soaked and exhausted, he’d say the same thing:

“Enough, (Y/N). You’re overworking yourself.”

You’d never listen. You’d just flash a cold, determined look and say, “I can’t stop now, Shadow.”

And, in that quiet way of his, he’d stand by you, never saying more, but always watching. Because that’s what big brothers did.

The day of the auditions arrived like a storm. You were laser-focused, the crowd’s roar white noise in your ears. Everything hinged on this. But so did your enemy’s hopes.

Rouge—the smug, calculating cheerleader who’d copied your every move, not out of admiration, but to beat you at your own game. Shadow couldn’t stand her, but he trusted you to handle it. You always did.

But fate, or perhaps jealousy, had other plans.

One moment you were going past defenders, swift and deadly as a blade. The next, pain exploded in your knee. Rouge’s outstretched foot, an intentional trip disguised as an accident, sent you crashing to the turf. Agony radiated through your leg. You barely registered the gasps from the crowd.

Shadow’s eyes narrowed from the stands. His fingers curled into fists. He knew.

When you failed to get up, his chest tightened. Trainers rushed to your side, but you already knew. The dream was slipping away.

Your injury was severe. You weren’t selected. And just like that, everything you’d worked for unraveled.

The months after were bleak. The fire in you dimmed, but never fully extinguished. Shadow kept close, trying to shield you from your own despair. He reminded you of your worth, of your strength, but his words felt hollow against your silence.

Then, the news came.

A rematch. The same team. The same enemy. Fate had handed you another chance, and this time, Shadow would be there, watching your back.

The match was brutal. Every kick, every pass was filled with rage and precision. You were back, stronger, faster—unbreakable. Shadow’s eyes followed your every move, pride and worry fighting for dominance in his heart.

When the final whistle blew, victory was yours.

But victory was fleeting.

The objections started immediately. Rouge’s side refused to accept defeat. Words turned to shouts. Shouts turned to shoving. The air crackled with hostility.

Shadow’s instincts flared. He moved to the edge of the field, ready to intervene.

And then—

A scream.

A splash of red.

Time froze. Shadow’s eyes locked on the scene: you and Rouge, hands clenched around each other’s collars, faces twisted in rage and pain. Blood dripped from both of you, staining the green grass. The glint of a knife—two knives—slipped from your grips and clattered to the ground.

You staggered, eyes wide, hands trembling as blood bloomed across your side. Rouge crumpled too, clutching her shoulder.

And then you fell.

Shadow’s world shattered.

“(Y/N)!”

He was at your side in an instant, his hands hovering over you, unsure where to touch without making it worse. Blood soaked into your jersey, pooling beneath you. Your breaths were shallow, your eyelids fluttering.

“No, no, no—stay with me!” His voice cracked, fear slicing through his usual stoic demeanor.

You tried to speak, but only a weak gasp escaped.

Shadow’s teeth clenched. His hands shook with helpless rage. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He was supposed to protect you. And now—

Paramedics swarmed, pulling him back. He resisted, his red eyes blazing with fury. “Let me go!”

“Sir, we need space—”

“I said let me go!”

But even the Ultimate Lifeform couldn’t stop this.

They lifted you onto a stretcher, your body limp. Rouge was carried away too, but Shadow barely registered her. His entire universe narrowed to you.

The hours in the hospital were endless. Shadow paced the sterile hallways, his mind a storm of guilt and rage. Your stubborn determination, your refusal to rest—it had led you here. And he hadn’t stopped it.

Finally, a doctor emerged. “She’s stable, but it was close. She’ll need time to recover.”

Relief crashed over him, leaving him weak. He pushed into your room, his heart twisting at the sight of you��pale, fragile, but alive.

Your eyes opened slowly. “Shadow…?”

He took your hand, his grip firm, anchoring you. “I’m here.”

Tears welled up, spilling down your cheeks. “I’m sorry… I messed up.”

“No,” he whispered, his voice rough. “I should’ve protected you.”

You squeezed his hand, weak but determined. “We protect each other.”

Shadow’s throat tightened. He leaned in, pressing his forehead to yours. “Then let me protect you better this time. No more pushing yourself past the edge.”

You nodded, tears mingling with his. In that quiet, fragile moment, you both understood: strength wasn’t just fighting alone. It was knowing when to let someone stand by your side.

And Shadow would always stand by yours.

[book--brackets]

Summaries under the cut

Emily by L. M. Montgomery

Emily Starr never knew what it was to be lonely—until her beloved father died. Now Emily's an orphan, and her mother's snobbish relatives are taking her to live with them at New Moon Farm. She's sure she won't be happy. Emily deals with stiff, stern Aunt Elizabeth and her malicious classmates by holding her head high and using her quick wit. Things begin to change when she makes friends: with Teddy, who does marvelous drawings; with Perry, who's sailed all over the world with his father yet has never been to school; and above all, with Ilse, a tomboy with a blazing temper. Amazingly, Emily finds New Moon beautiful and fascinating. With new friends and adventures, Emily might someday think of herself as Emily of New Moon.

Savvy by Ingrid Law

For generations, the Beaumont family has harbored a magical secret. They each possess a "savvy" -a special supernatural power that strikes when they turn thirteen. Grandpa Bomba moves mountains, her older brothers create hurricanes and spark electricity . . . and now it's the eve of Mibs's big day.

As if waiting weren't hard enough, the family gets scary news two days before Mibs's birthday: Poppa has been in a terrible accident. Mibs develops the singular mission to get to the hospital and prove that her new power can save her dad. So she sneaks onto a salesman's bus . . . only to find the bus heading in the opposite direction. Suddenly Mibs finds herself on an unforgettable odyssey that will force her to make sense of growing up-and of other people, who might also have a few secrets hidden just beneath the skin.

The Last Apprentice by Joseph Delaney

Thomas Ward is the seventh son of a seventh son and has been apprenticed to the local Spook. The job is hard, the Spook is distant and many apprentices have failed before Thomas. Somehow Thomas must learn how to exorcise ghosts, contain witches and bind boggarts. But when he is tricked into freeing Mother Malkin, the most evil witch in the County, the horror begins...

The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg

How has Mrs. Olinski chosen her sixth-grade Academic Bowl team? She had a number of answers. But were any of them true? How had she really chosen Noah and Nadia and Ethan and Julian? And why did they make such a good team? It was a surprise to a lot of people when Mrs. Olinski's team won the sixth-grade Academic Bowl contest at Epiphany Middle School. It was an even bigger surprise when they beat the seventh grade and the eighth grade, too. And when they went on to even greater victories, everyone began to ask: How did it happen?

It happened at least partly because Noah had been the best man (quite by accident) at the wedding of Ethan's grandmother and Nadia's grandfather. It happened because Nadia discovered that she could not let a lot of baby turtles die. It happened when Ethan could not let Julian face disaster alone. And it happened because Julian valued something important in himself and saw in the other three something he also valued.

Mrs. Olinski, returning to teaching after having been injured in an automobile accident, found that her Academic Bowl team became her answer to finding confidence and success. What she did not know, at least at first, was that her team knew more than she did the answer to why they had been chosen.

The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

When Alyss Heart, newly orphaned heir to the Wonderland throne, flees through the Pool of Tears to escape her murderous Aunt Redd, she finds herself lost and alone in Victorian London. Befriended by an aspiring author named Lewis Carrol, Alyss tells the violent, heartbreaking story of her young life. Alyss trusts this author to tell the truth so that someone, somewhere will find her and bring her home. But he gets the story all wrong. He even spells her name incorrectly!

Fortunately, Royal Bodyguard Hatter Madigan knows all too well the awful truth of Alyss' story - and he's searching every corner of our world to find the lost princess and return her to Wonderland, to battle Redd for her rightful place as the Queen of Hearts.

Misty by Marguerite Henry

"You'll never catch the Phantom," says Grandpa. "That horse is fast as the wind. She's escaped from every roundup on the island!" But Paul and Maureen want the beautiful wild mare for their very own. "I'm going to capture her myself," says Paul.

When Paul finally overtakes the Phantom, he makes a surprising discovery. Running at her side is a brand-new, silvery-gray colt - Misty!

East by Edith Pattou

Rose has always been different.

Since the day she was born, it was clear she had a special fate. Her superstitious mother keeps the unusual circumstances of Rose's birth a secret, hoping to prevent her adventurous daughter from leaving home... but she can't suppress Rose's true nature forever.

So when an enormous white bear shows up one cold autumn evening and asks teenage Rose to come away with it--in exchange for health and prosperity for her ailing family--she readily agrees.

Rose travels on the bear's broad back to a distant and empty castle, where she is nightly joined by a mysterious stranger. In discovering his identity, she loses her heart-- and finds her purpose--and realizes her journey has only just begun.

The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman

The girl known only as Brat has no family, no home, and no future until she meets Jane the Midwife and becomes her apprentice. As she helps the sharp-tempered Jane deliver babies, Brat--who renames herself Alyce--gains knowledge, confidence, and the courage to want something from life: "A full belly, a contented heart, and a place in this world." Medieval village life makes a lively backdrop for the funny, poignant story of how Alyce gets what she wants.

Circle of Magic by Tamora Pierce

With her gift of weaving silk thread and creating light, Sandry is brought to the Winding Circle community. There she meets Briar, a former thief who has a way with plants; Daja, an outcast gifted at metalcraft; and Tris, whose connection with the weather unsettles everyone, including herself. At Winding Circle, the four misfits are taught how to use their magic - and to trust one another. But then disaster strikes their new home. Can Sandry weave together four kinds of magical power and save herself, her friends, and the one place where they've ever been accepted?

Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman

Catherine feels trapped. Her father is determined to marry her off to a rich man--any rich man, no matter how awful.

But by wit, trickery, and luck, Catherine manages to send several would-be husbands packing. Then a shaggy-bearded suitor from the north comes to call--by far the oldest, ugliest, most revolting suitor of them all.

Unfortunately, he is also the richest.

Can a sharp-tongued, high-spirited, clever young maiden with a mind of her own actually lose the battle against an ill-mannered, piglike lord and an unimaginative, greedy toad of a father?

Deus! Not if Catherine has anything to say about it!

[ts19009]

Hong's Anatomy: Part 1

Pediatrician surgeon!  Joshua x pediatric surgeon!  Female Reader 

Synopsis: Coming to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital wasn’t on your bucket list, that’s for sure, but when you meet the head of your department, Joshua Hong, it's one of the only things that constantly brightens your day. 

Warnings: swearing, made up medical terms and procedures, i have no idea if any of this is medically accurate it’s just for story, flirting, no smut…yet?

Words: 3.5k (not quite 5k words, but I had to end this part like this)

NOT EDITED, SO I MAY GO BACK AND EDIT LATER (teehee)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Julia Harring, fifteen years old, kidney failure. Waited six months on the donor list and today is finally the day,” Surgical intern Jonah read, as Julia nodded.  

“Why do both of you have to work on me? I thought it was only one big fancy surgeon per patient?” Julia asked, referring to both you and Joshua. You chuckled and checked her monitor to record her stats. 

“This is a bigger surgery Julia. You should be grateful that Doctor Hong and I are both making sure that your transplant goes well.” Julia rolls her eyes and smiles. 

“I have to go see another patient, but I’ll see you in the OR,” Joshua smiles, as you nod and Julia waves, before making his way down the hall. 

Julia smiles and looks at you from the corner of her eye, “he’s hot.” 

“You think so?” You joke back, as she nods. “Doctor Hong is quite popular here, so I’m sure you aren’t the only one that thinks that.” 

“Including you?” 

You pause in the middle of changing her I.V to look around the room. Luckily there was no one, but if anyone did here, it would be incredibly embarrassing. 

“I think Doctor Hong is a lovely person and an incredible surgeon, I haven’t paid attention to his appearance,” you state resuming changing the I.V as she scoffs. 

“Please, you were both making eyes at each other the whole time. Don’t tell me you don't like even thinking of becoming a thing with him?” Julia said, lifting her arm both for the I.V and to shrug. 

“I don’t have time to make it a ‘thing’ with Doctor Hong Julia. If I was a ‘thing’ with Doctor Hong, I wouldn't have time to help you,” you say inserting the I.V causing Julia to wince. “Don’t touch the I.V for a bit, I’ll get someone to catch up with you right before the surgery.” Julia nodded, as you left the room and asked Green to check up on Julia’s vitals before the surgery and report to you before your pager went off to go down to the pit. 

“What’s going on?” You asked, watching a whole bunch of people benign wheeled across the pit and placed in the rooms. 

“School bus accident, dozens of kids were injured,” Joshua exclaimed rushing to room one, “go to room five.” 

You nodded and put on a fresh pair of gloves before making your way into room 5. “What’s their case?” 

“Mikayla Thurthey, nine years old. Broken arm, broken rib, punctured lung. If we move the fractured rib or anything on the right side the lung starts leaking and fluid can flood the lung,” Mingyu said, working busily around the room. 

“Shit,” you muttered under your breath, watching the little girl in front of you crying. “Can we get an OR?” We need to fix the arm and fix the lung right now?” Mingyu nodded, and started wheeling Mikayla down the hall to the elevator. While you were running down the hall, you saw Joshua giving a boy CPR and pulling out a crash cart. 

“Clear!”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Okay, can you work on the lung. I can do the arm?” Mingyu asked, as you nodded and started washing your hands. 

“How many more kids were like this?” You asked quietly. Slightly terrified of the answer. 

“Just two. Mikayela and Justin, the boy Josua was working on. The rest were hurt, but with a few broken arms and legs or whiplash. These two were at the back and got the grunt of the force from the accident.” You nodded, and took a deep breath.

“Let’s do this,” you said, as you both headed into the OR. 

Once you had gotten to the lung you noticed the puncture and started thinking about what to do. You moved quickly and removed the debris and instructed Green to keep consistent suction on the site to prevent the fluid from flooding the lung while you started working on repairing the site. 

“More suction Green,” you calmly asked, as Green got closer into the site. “Mingyu?” 

“Yeah?” He asked, not looking up. 

“She’s hypotensive, can you back off the arm from a second,” you said, as Mingyu backed away from her arm and looked over to see you working on trying to steady her episode. 

“Green? What do you do when someone is hypotensive?” You asked, as Green paused for a moment, but quickly responded. 

“Ensure effective manual ventilation of the lungs,” He responded confidently. 

“Yes, but she’s already on ventilation, and it’s not helping,” you challenged. 

“I don’t know then,” he confessed as you nodded. 

“That’s okay, we’re going to get you to not only suction but also apply some air pressure on the site to make sure that it’s getting ventilated properly. It’s okay that you don’t know, this doesn’t happen very often,” you reassured him, as he nodded and started applying the pressure. A few moments later, her vitals went back to normal and Mingyu resumed working on her broken arm again. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the surgery, you were given a lunch break, so you decided to eat outside in the ‘greenhouse’ section of the hospital. Once you got there you saw Joshua sitting on the bench you’ve claimed, crying. 

“Joshua?” You asked, slowly approaching him. He quickly spun around and wiped his tears away. 

“Oh. Hi, sorry,” he started, “I was just leaving.” 

“No, please don’t go,” you reached out, “are you okay?” 

You assumed it was because of the boy, Justin, was the reason Joshua was crying, but you wanted him to tell you. 

“I should be better with losses. I’ve had a ton of them,” he sighed, “but Justin was so scared when he was awake, he kept asking for his dad and asking me if his friend Mike was okay.” You empathetically nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder as he started to cry more. 

“You did everything you could,” you tried to reassure him. 

“I know I did. I always try my very best and it wasn’t enough. He died scared and alone,” he sobbed. “He didn’t die alone,” you interrupted. 

“You were there with him, Rose was with him, there were people who cared about him when he died. He wasn’t alone.” Joshua took a deep breath, trying to calm down his breathing, and nodded. 

“How did your surgery go?” He managed to stay in stuttering breaths. 

“It went well. Managed to fix her punctured lung and broken arm and I had a teaching moment with Green,” you said, as Joshua wiped his nose and nodded. 

“That’s good.”

You both sat in comfortable silence watching the clouds move above your heads, before his pager went off. 

“I have to go check on Julia. Her surgery is right after your lunch, so I’m gonna go make sure everything is okay,” he said, wiping his nose one last time and standing up, wiping his hands on his pants. 

“Okay, I’ll be there right when I’m done,” you smiled, as he nodded and started to head in before pausing. 

“Thanks for letting me talk and comforting me like that. I’m supposed to do that for you.” 

“We can treat it like a currency, I’ll comfort you, if you comfort me later?” You joked, as he chuckled, and looked down at the grass. 

“So I’m in debt, great. Haven’t dealt with that in a while,” he joked back before heading inside. Leaving you alone to think about the vulnerable moment you just shared. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Doctor L/N?” Joshua asked, coming up to wash his hands right next to you. 

“Doctor Hong?” 

“Would you mind keeping our interaction, more specifically the… crying aspect of the conversation, private?” He whispered, as you nodded and shut off the water. 

“Of course. I expect none the less when it comes my turn,” you said as he turned to see you and smiled, before putting on his mask.

“Let's go save a life.”

You nodded and walked into the OR to see some nurses you've never worked with before. Jennie, Yuna, and Jake, and a new anesthesiologist Jay. 

“Hello everyone, let’s save this girl's life,” you said, as everyone nodded in agreement and started getting to work. Joshua made the first incision while you made sure the bleeding was controlled and moved a few organ’s around. Jonah had just gone to receive the kidney, since it was very delicate and had to be handled carefully and in a timely manner. 

After about thirty minutes of Joshua making sure everything was okay, you started to make an incision on the lower abdomen to make room for the new one when Jonah came into the room with the new kidney. 

Joshua took the kidney and slowly took it out while you back up a bit to let Joshua fit it in the new cavity. He placed it in when all the sudden the monitor started beeping rapidly. 

“What’s happening?” Joshua asked, trying to not move too quickly and damage the kidney. 

“She’s clotting and bleeding out!” You said, grabbing the suction and trying to clean up the pool forming. “Push Coumadin and get me some rag’s please!” You instructed Yuna and Jennie as they nodded while Jay worked on adding the Coumadin. “Put the kidney back, it’s gonna be a bit.” Joshua nodded and carefully put the kidney back and started moving to stitch up the bleeding. 

You waited a few moments for the blood thinners to kick in but they weren’t working quick enough. 

“Push more Jay!” You exclaimed, as Jay nodded and added more. Finally her blood started to thin out and her vitals were getting better. Joshua quickly finished up the stitches and picked up the kidney again placing it in the cavity and working on attaching it properly. 

Right before closing Julia up you noticed some of her numbers weren’t looking quite right and didn’t want to stitch her up with unbalanced numbers.

“Can we test the kidney before we close?” You asked Joshua, as he nodded. You watched it, waiting for the color to appear into the kidney, which normally took up to two minutes after being placed in the body. 

“Shit.” Joshua said, looking up at the clock. It had been about four minutes and the kidney was starting to look gray, instead of coloring. “It’s dying!”   

“We’ve opened up a spot for her though,” you mumbled, trying to think of a solution when all the sudden the machines started beeping.

“She’s crashing!” Rose said, as everyone started running around. 

“We did everything right! What’s going on?” Joshua confessed as you heard the machine flatline. “Shit, get the crash cart!” 

You started compressions, and whipped your head to look at Joshua who was looking at her vitals wondering what was going wrong in the surgery, wile Rose handed you the paddles.

“Charge to 300. Clear!” You said, as Juila convulsed, but no heartbeat. 

“Clear!”

350, “Clear!” 

400, “Clear!”

“Charge to 450,” you exclaimed as Joshua sighed and looked at you trying desperately to save Julia. 

“Y/N,” he muttered, “she’s gone,” he said. Trying to pry you from her body. 

“No, she was in here for a kidney transplant, not a heart failure!” You cried, looking around the room to see everyone with their head down. 

“Time of death, 17:21.” Joshua said, breaking the silence. You looked to Joshua to see him covering the incision and started to feel sick. 

“Can you close alone, Doctor Hong?” You asked, as Joshua nodded. You quickly took off your mask and gloves and darted out of the OR.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Y/N?” Joshua asked, walking up to you at the Ped’s desk. You were looking over Julia’s charts again. 

“I don’t get it. She was fine, they wouldn’t have given her the kidney if she wasn’t fine, why did her heart just stop like that? The blood thinners don’t stop your heart like that, it must have been something else,” you exclaim, not looking up from your tablet. 

“You’ve been here for a long time, you need to go home. You can do some more research when you get back,” Joshua pleaded, trying to take the tablet from you. 

“Joshua…” 

“No, Y/N. You had two long surgeries, you’ve been here for twelve hours. You legally have to go home now,” he chuckled, but you could tell he was serious. Technically, he was your boss. So you listened and slowly put the tablet down. 

“Julia was my first loss. I’ve been here for almost a month and she was my first loss,” you quietly confess. Joshua wouldn’t have heard it if he wasn’t facing you.

“You’re very lucky you’ve gone this long without a loss,” he answered. 

“I know. My last job, I lost two kids on the first day, but it doesn’t make this loss any easier.” 

“Of course,” he said, “the hard part about this job, right?”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Letting the loved ones know that they just lost their person is always the hardest part and unfortunately, that was Joshua’s job today. Julia’s parents were in the waiting room and her father was pacing around the room. 

This was also the hardest part of the job. 

“Excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Harring?” Joshua asked the couple as they both nodded and stood up. 

“Is Julia out yet?” Her mother asked. 

“There was an unfortunate complication during Julais’ surgery. We were performing her transplant when her heart suddenly stopped beating,” Joshua explained, “we tried everything we could, but we couldn’t save her. She unfortunately passed away.” 

Julia’s mother covered her mouth whilst letting out a sob, and her father furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and held his wife. 

“What? I thought she was in there for her kidney? How did her heart stop?” Her father asked, tears also running down his face. 

“We aren’t sure, the operation was going extremely successful. Neither I, nor Doctor L/N could figure out why. We tried everything we could though to try and start her heart again,” Joshua explained again, as her mother turned around and buried her face into her husband's shoulder, crying even harder. 

“I’m so sorry for your loss.” 

“Thank you Doctor,” her father choked out, before turning and burning his face into his wife's hair and crying as well. 

Joshua waited for a few seconds before heading back to the desk. He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair before grabbing his tablet and started filling out paperwork. 

He had lost two patients that day. He was also ready to go home. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So, how’s your new job Y/N?” Your therapist asked. 

You had been going to the same therapist ever since you graduated college. She was a lovely woman that you met when you lived back in South Korea. She really helped you during your internship and residency. You managed to keep in close contact with her even after you moved. 

You sighed into the phone and took a sip of wine. 

“It’s going well, I really like my coworkers. I’m still getting used to it and I haven’t made any real friends,” you confess. 

“Why haven’t you made any friends?” She asked, you could hear her typing away on her laptop. 

“Well at first I was just trying to keep up with the pace of the hospital. Then I was trying to just be liked by everyone. I never took time to get to know anyone,” you said, “I did ask someone out.” 

“Oh! That’s good. Tell me about them,” she exclaimed. 

“He’s technically my boss? Kinda, he’s the head of the Ped’s department, so we work together quite a bit. On my first day he asked me out, then the next day I asked him out, but we haven’t hung out since.” 

“Are you wanting anything romantic out of him?” You sighed, and took a minute to think about the question. Not quite sure if you knew the answer. 

“I don’t know. I mean he is very attractive and we do have pretty good chemistry,” you blush, “but again, we work together. So it’s complicated.” 

“That doesn’t sound like a no.” 

“Jisoo,” you warn, “it’s not a no, but I don’t want to rush into anything.” 

“That’s perfectly valid, but you’re all alone in a big city. Romantic intentions or not, you should still try and spend some more time with him,” she said, as you sighed. There was only a few minutes left in your session, so you both called it a night and promised to call again next month. Something you weren’t expecting from Jisoo though, was homework. 

Make one close friend by next month. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You were always the type of person to do your homework immediately. Assigned all the semester's course work? It was done by the end of the month. So when you got homework from Jisoo, you wanted to get it done immediately. Which meant that you needed to get started immediately. 

Joshua wasn’t coming in until halfway through your shift, so that meant that you had half a day to come up with ideas of how to befriend others. 

“Why the long face?” Jeonghan asked. You never really see him in the Ped’s department, so seeing him was a surprise. Now was the time to try and make a new friend.

“I was just thinking how it’s a friday and that I don’t have any plans after work,” you confessed, “do you want to go for dinner after work?” 

“Dinner?” He asked, you could tell he was quite taken aback, but he had a smirk on his face. “I’d love to.” 

“Great. I get off at seven, but I’d like to go home and freshen up,” you said, as Jeonghan nodded. You both exchanged numbers and agreed that he’d pick you up from your apartment at eight, and go out to dinner. 

Good progress toward your homework. 

“See you at eight,” he smirked, before heading into one of his patients' rooms. 

“Did you just score a date with Doctor Yoon?” Jake asked, as you turned around and tried to hide your blush. 

“Maybe, he didn’t call it a date,” you replied. Jake rolled his eyes.  

“I heard that whole conversation. It’s a date Y/N.” 

“What’s a date?” You heard behind you. More specifically, Joshua’s voice. 

Shit.

“Y/N is going on a date with Doctor Yoon,” Jake answered. You looked to Joshua to see a little look of surprise on his face. 

“It’s not a date, I’m just trying to make some friends,” you mumbled, “and Doctor Yoon seems like a good friend.” 

“He is a very good friend, I would know. He’s my best friend,” Joshua said, putting his hands in his pants pockets and crossing his legs. 

Shit. Again. 

You just set up a date with your boss/kinda crushes best friend.

A/N: OMG, this was quite the chapter. I had a lot of fun learning/ making up some medical procedures. I tried my best to be as medically accurate as possible, but google can only tell you so much. Also, Jeonghan has been added into the arena! I love the banter that Joshua and Jeonghan have and I just new that I had to have his smirky/sassy attitude! I really do hope you like this ♥

taglist: @asasilentreader , @myjaeyunn

[worth-the-chaos]

Adventures in Babysitting - Steve Harrington x female!reader - Chapter 10

Chapter Summary: The Russian invasion and the upside down begin to merge as you meet up with the rest of the crew. You are in the fight of your lives as you scramble to try to stop the monstrous creature from the upside down before it destroys you.

Content Warning: violence, upside down, swearing

Word Count: 5.8k

Author’s Note: I hope you enjoy this chapter. Right now I can’t decide if I should start on season 4 or if it would maybe be best to pick up the story after season 5 drops since it ended on such a cliffhanger. Let me know what you think!

Series Masterlist | Chapter 9 | Next Part

***

The five of you exited the bathroom quietly, merging with the crowd leaving the movie to blend in, hoping that no Russians would find you. Your eyes darted around, scanning for any potential threat as you made your way through the crowd. There were so many people, you were beginning to feel claustrophobic. Suddenly, you felt a hand grab your arm, and your heart jumped to your throat as you turned around and prepared for the worst.

You were met with the concerned eyes of a stranger. You recognized him from somewhere, but right now you couldn’t quite place it. You wriggled free from his grasp as he opened his mouth to speak.

“Hey, are you okay? What happened to you?”

“Oh, I’m fine…yeah, I-I just got into a bit of a…car accident a couple of days ago—while I was out of town!” You quickly added at the end. Hawkins was a small enough town that any car accidents would certainly be reported. He looked skeptical and opened his mouth to speak again, but you quickly cut him off, “I really have to be going now.”

Without another word, you slipped through the crowd, putting more distance between yourself and the boy while you tried to connect the dots to figure out where you knew him from. It finally dawned on you as your mind flashed back to the Hellfire Club shirt he was wearing under his leather jacket. It was Eddie Munson. You never got the chance to really talk to him at school, mainly knowing him via the rumors that circulated around about him being bad news.

“Y/n! Where were you?” Steve whisper-shouted as you finally made your way next to him. His mind had flashed to the worst case scenario when you were no longer beside him, and he was ready to fight tooth and nail to find you.

“I just fell behind a little bit…sue me,” you rolled your eyes, trying to stay casual. You didn’t want to tell him about how Eddie had noticed that you were injured. The more low-profile you stayed right now, the better.

“Alright, we just need to get on the bus with the rest of these people, and home sweet home, here we come,” Dustin spoke up. No sooner had he said the words did you recall a very important detail from your conversation with the Russians.

“Uh, Dustin?” You spoke up hesitantly, “yeah, we might not wanna go to your house.”

“Why?”

“Well, I might’ve told them your full name,” Steve spoke up sheepishly. He felt really guilty about it, but he couldn’t really go back and undo it.

“What is wrong with you?!” Dustin seethed, exasperated with the idiot that his babysitter was somehow in love with against all odds.

“Dude, I was drugged.”

“So? You resist! You tough it out like a man!”

“Oh yeah, that’s easy for you to say,” you rolled your eyes as you came to Steve’s defense. You were in the same position that he had been in and you knew for a fact that you had “toughed it out” and it didn’t make a damn difference with that shit in your system.

“Guys,” Robin spoke up hesitantly. You noticed men dressed in black, checking bags as people left the mall. You immediately could tell that they weren’t some low level mall security guys…these were Russians. One of them turned and made direct eye contact with you and your heart began to race again, mind flashing back to what it was like to be tied up in that underground facility.

“Abort! Abort!” Dustin yelled as you all turned to run the other way. You darted to the escalator, hopping up on the divider between the two and sliding down to the lower level. As you entered the food court, you jumped the counter to one of the various food stands, gesturing for your friends to join you.

“Come on!” You shouted. They swiftly moved behind the counter and the five of you sat with your backs to it as you listened to the footsteps of the Russian guards. Steve’s hand gently began to interlock with yours and you held on tightly, trying to ease the panic that was settling in your chest.

“Y/n, we’re gonna be okay—I’m gonna make sure of it,” he leaned in, his lips brushing against your ear as he whispered ever so quietly. You turned towards him, fear in your eyes as you whispered back.

“I don’t know what to do Steve. It’s not like they’re going to give up,” you started, “they’ll leave when we’re dead.”

Your suspicions seemed to be confirmed as you heard footsteps approaching. It sounded like there was more than one of them, indicating to you that they had found your hiding spot. Your breathing picked up as you braced yourself for the worst. The footsteps stopped and a silence fell across the mall. You squeezed your eyes shut as a single tear ran down your cheek.

Suddenly, a car alarm began blaring loudly, causing you to nearly jump out of your skin. You heard the sound of metal being crushed, and you imagined the car flipping as you felt the ground reverberate with each thud of the vehicle against the tiled food court floor. Slowly, but surely, the five of you peaked out over the counter, taking in the sight of the four Russian guards, presumably dead on the floor.

You looked around, taking in the sight of the crashed car before your eyes finally caught sight of Eleven on the railing. The rest of the kids were with her, as well as Nancy and Jonathan. The seven of them ran down the escalator, meeting you in the middle of the mall.

“What are you doing here?!” Lucas yelled at Erica and you cringed knowing it was on you for putting the Sinclair girl in harm’s way.

“Ask them, it’s their fault!” She pointed at you and Steve.

“True, yeah. Totally true; absolutely our fault,” Steve quickly fessed up, not wanting it to turn into a huge argument.

“I don’t understand what happened to that car,” Robin interjected, her eyes wide as she tried and failed to understand the physics of it all.

“El has superpowers,” Dustin answered simply.

“I’m sorry?” Robin responded, clearly dumbfounded by the boy’s explanation. This was the first time in a while that you realized how ridiculous everything that you had went through in the past two years sounded.

“Superpowers. She threw it with her mind. C’mon, catch up,” Steve rolled his eyes.

“I’m sorry, who are you?” Nancy asked looking at Robin.

“I’m Robin. I work with Steve and y/n.”

“She cracked the top secret code,” you chimed in.

“Yeah, which is how we found out about the Russians,” Steve continued.

“Russians? What Russians?” Jonathan asked confused.

“The Russians!” Steve shouted back.

“Those were Russians?” Max spoke up. Clearly you had all be dealing with different shit and after several miscommunications later, you were still trying to catch everyone up on the latest dangers pervading Hawkins. Suddenly, El collapsed to the floor, quickly ending your very confused conversation as Mike ran over to her followed by the rest of you.

“El! What’s wrong?!” He asked.

“My leg. My leg,” she whimpered, as tears began to run from her eyes. Her face was twisted in pain and your heart ached for her. Nancy unwrapped her wound and you all realized that there was something in her leg, watching as it writhed and slithered underneath her very infected looking skin. She began screaming out in pain and Mike continued to talk to her, desperately worried for his girlfriend.

“Keep her talking, keep her awake, okay?” You looked at everyone before darting off to a storefront in the food court. You pulled several drawers open, desperately looking for anything you could use to remove whatever that thing was crawling in the poor girls leg. You finally gathered a knife, a wooden spoon, and gloves, turning on a burner to the stove and sterilizing the kitchen knife in the flame.

You sprinted back over to the group, who had repositioned El, propping her up. “Okay. Alright, El? This is gonna hurt like hell, okay?” You spoke to her softly.

“Okay,” she gasped in pain.

“I need you to stay very still for me. You’re gonna want to bite down on this,” you handed Mike the wooden spoon and he placed it gently in her mouth, her teeth already biting down on the handle as she cried in pain. Everyone was terrified, and your heart was beating wildly. You didn’t know what the hell you were doing, but given all the weird ass shit you’d been through, you knew you had to get whatever the hell it was win her leg out.

You pressed the knife to her shin, drawing it downwards to make an incision, wincing greatly as she cried out in pain. “I’m so sorry, El,” you breathed out, taking your gloved hand and sinking it into the incision. El screamed out while everyone else exclaimed in disgust. Your eyes started watering and tears began to cloud your vision as you attempted to feel for the thing writhing under her skin but to no such avail.

“No! Stop it!” Eleven dropped the spoon and began yelling at you. You quickly pulled your hand away and scooted back. “I can do it.”

Your heart broke at how pained her voice sounded, and she held up her hand above the broken skin. The slug came back to life as it began to slither across the side of her calf, moving closer towards the incision. She screamed and the storefront windows behind you shattered. Steve and Robin backed up as you darted forward, shielding kids’ heads from the glass raining down.

Eleven finally pulled the creature out of her leg and the sight of it made you immediately nauseous. It looked like a mess of bone and flesh and blood, and she tossed it across the mall from you. It began to skitter away before being quickly smashed under the shoe of the one and only Jim Hopper.

While everybody stared at Jim and Joyce and Murray, you rushed to El’s side, pulling her into a tight hug and cradling her head. She cried in exhaustion as she held onto you. “Shhhh, it’s okay; everything’s going to be okay,” you whispered into her hair, trying to calm her down. You were crying too, tears silently falling down your face as you rubbed soothing circles across her back.

By the looks of it, the three adults had experienced some shit too, and you were afraid of what they had to say as they approached the rest of you.

How much more complicated could all this shit get?

***

After about fifteen minutes of explaining, you were all on at least slightly the same page. It was difficult to wrap your head around it all. It was difficult to imagine all of the people that Hawkins had just quietly lost, disappearing over a matter of days.

“Okay, so, just to be clear, this…big fleshy monster thing that hurt El, it’s some kind of gigantic…weapon?” Steve asked, feeling the need to clarify what he had heard.

“Yes,” Nancy answered. Knowing that her and Steve dated often made you feel small in her presence. Especially since things hadn’t ended quite amicably between them.

“But instead of, like, screws and metal, the mind flayer made its weapon…out of melted people.

“Yes, exactly,” Nancy replied again, her tone indicating that she was a bit tired with his clarifying questions.

“Yeah, okay, just making sure.”

“Are we sure this thing is still out there? Still alive?” Joyce asked. You were grateful the adults were here. Something told you that if you tried to tell any other grown ups about all this messed up shit, no one would believe you. You were glad you at least had the chief of police and probably the most badass mom in all of Hawkins on your side.

“El beat the shit out of it, but yeah, it’s still alive,” Max confirmed.

“But if we close the gate again—“ Will spoke up.

“We cut the brain off from the body, and we kill it…theoretically,” Lucas finished his thought. Hopper looked hesitant and you felt the same way. It seemed like all of you kept going through all of this shit just for it to come back. You were damn tired of it coming back.

“Yoo-hoo! Yoo-hoo!” Murray Bauman’s voice rang out, cutting off your doomsday thinking. He frantically waved papers in the air and pulled Hopper and Joyce aside to explain the maps he’d drawn up of the Russian facility. You hovered behind him, noticing how crudely drawn they were, knowing that his estimates were far off.

“…I don’t know the scale on this, but I think it’s fairly close to the vault room…maybe fifty feet or so,” Murray finished explaining the location of the gate. You scoffed trying to bite back a chuckle at how grossly he’d miscalculated.

“More like five hundred,” Erica chimed in, “What, you’re just gonna waltz in there like it’s commie Disneyland or something?”

“I’m sorry, who are you?” Murray spat at the young girl. Geez, he could use some lessons in babysitting, you thought as you rolled your eyes at his condescension.

“Erica Sinclair. Who are you?” She shot back and you couldn’t help but smile. Sometimes her sass really did pay off…so long as it wasn’t directed at you.

“Murray…Bauman,” he answered, his voice trailing off as he wondered why he was even entertaining her question.

“Listen Mr. Bunman, I’m not trying to tell you how to do things, but I’ve been down in that shit hole for twenty four hours. And with all due respect, you do what this man tells you, you’re all gonna die.”

“I’m sorry, why is this four-year-old speaking to me?”

“Um, I’m ten, you bald bastard,” Erica shot back. You grabbed her shoulders to settle her down.

“Erica!” Lucas scolded.

“Just the facts!” She defended herself.

“She’s right. You’re all gonna die, but you don’t have to. Sorry, may I?” Dustin asked as he sat down with the map. “It’s a bit of a maze down there but between me and Erica, we can show you the way.”

“You can show us the way?” Hopper asked incredulously.

“Don’t worry, you can do all the fighting and dangerous hero shit, and we’ll just be your…navigators,” Dustin assured the man. You couldn’t believe that was even a genuine suggestion the boy had, as you pushed past Hopper, slamming your hands down on the table causing Dustin to jump.

“No way in hell. Literally over my dead body,” you shouted, “what the fuck has gotten into you? I can’t believe you would just—”

Hopper quickly cut you off, putting his hands on your shoulders. “Cool it, okay?” He reminded you before turning to Dustin. “She’s right though. Absolutely no way in hell.”

Hopper moved to start gathering materials and you moved to join Steve as he sat on the countertop of one of the restaurants. “This is all pretty batshit crazy,” you spoke up, hugging your knees to your chest.

“It really is,” he sighed looking around at everyone prepping for the worst. “I mean, I just don’t know how we keep getting ourselves into all this shit, you know?”

“I think we just care too much,” you answered laughing. He chuckled back and there was a pause, both of your minds elsewhere as you tried to process all the shit that was inevitably about to go down.

“Hey,” you spoke up again. He looked up at you and you took in the sight of his bruised eye and his busted lip. “Did you mean it?”

“Mean what?”

“What you said earlier…did you really mean it?” You held your breath as his lips turned up into a small smirk.

“Every word,” he responded simply. When you didn’t really smile in return, he was quick to speak up, sliding towards you as he grabbed your hand. “Y/n, what’s wrong?”

“I just…I-I don’t wanna be another one of your girls,” you repeated the sentiment from your fight earlier, but this time it wasn’t accompanied by seething rage. Instead, it was born of pain and fear. Fear that you weren’t enough for him. Fear that he would leave you. Steve’s heart sank and he wished that he could go back and erase his mistakes, but he couldn’t. What he could do was fix them though.

“Y/n, you’re not just ‘another one of my girls.’ I wish you would understand that,” he started, looking you in the eyes with so much sincerity that you felt compelled to look away, but you didn’t. “You are the girl y/n. I don’t want any of those other girls….I mean, why would I when I have the perfect one right in front of me?”

“But, that’s the thing…I’m not perfect,” you countered as you began to tear up. “I yell at you all the time, and-and I get you into these fucked up situations, not to mention the amount of times you’ve gotten the shit beat out of you so that I don’t get the shit beat out of me, and I’m not pretty like the other girls you talk to and—“

“Woah, woah, woah! Y/n, are you kidding me? You’re fucking gorgeous! Those other girls don’t even come close to how amazing you are. And there’s no one I’d rather get the shit kicked out of me for than you, okay? I need you to understand that,” Steve pleaded. You leaned into him, wrapping your arms around his neck as you held him close. He placed a kiss to your temple, and you held onto each other like that until Hopper came up to the two of you, speaking suddenly and causing you to jump.

“Hey, here,” he said tossing a set of keys that Steve barely caught in time, “I need you to take the kid to his dumbass radio or whatever.”

“Of course, yeah we can do that,” Steve replied hopping off the counter as he reached a hand out to help you down.

“Good…and you two—you’re, uh, being safe, right?” Hopper suddenly asked. You looked at him quizzically, unsure what his line of questioning was getting at before he added, “you know, we don’t need any more kids running around here complicating shit.”

You felt your entire face heat up as you caught on to what he was implying before Steve quickly spoke up, “No—I mean, yes! Wait, no. It’s just, we’re not…we’re not you know—“

“We’re not engaging in any activities that would add to the population,” you answered for Steve, rolling your eyes at Hopper’s intrusive question as you added, “so you don’t have anything to worry about in that department.”

The look Hopper gave you told you that he wasn’t buying what you were selling, and you rolled your eyes again, pulling Steve behind you as you grabbed Robin, Erica, and Dustin, heading out to the parking lot. When Steve saw the car he would be driving, his face lit up and suddenly he didn’t mind being on babysitting duty anymore.

“Oh, man, now this…this is what I’m talkin’ about!”

“‘Toddfather’?” You read the license plate, thinking about how stupid men were.

“Oh, screw Todd! Steve’s her daddy now!” The boy exclaimed as he hopped in the driver’s seat.

“Did you just talk about yourself in the third person?” You asked incredulously.

“Did he just call himself daddy?” Robin added, her question focusing on the more outrageous aspect of Steve’s statement. Steve ignored both of you as he peeled out of the parking lot, chuckling as he honked the horn a couple of times.

“This isn’t a joyride! We’re trying to be inconspicuous here!” You reminded him, a scowl etched on his face.

“Sorry,” he replied but he couldn’t quite wipe the smile off of his face. He thought about how perfect this moment would be if the world wasn’t basically ending…and there weren’t three other people in the car. Just him and the girl of his dreams in a fancy ass convertible, driving as if they had all the time in the world.

Time passed and the glee that Steve was once filled with dissipated, as he continued down the same road for what felt like forever.

“How far away is this place?” He asked Dustin, frustrated and hoping that the boy was relaying the right directions.

“Relax, we’re almost there.”

“This Suzie girl must be pretty special if you lugged this thing all the way out here just to talk to her,” you spoke up, turning around as you smiled at the boy behind you. The young love was pretty cute, you had to admit…even if Henderson was a pain in the ass.

“I mean, nobody’s scientifically perfect, but Suzie’s about as close to being perfect as is humanly possible,” Dustin smiled back at you as he explained.

“She sound made up to me. She sound made up to you?” Erica chimed in, unable to believe the fact that the annoying boy to her left could possibly have pulled a girl as perfect as he was describing. No one said anything, and Dustin’s face twisted into a frown as he looked to Steve.

“Why are you hesitating, Steve?”

“I’m—I’m—I’m not! I’m not! I think she sounds real. You know, totally, absolutely real,” Steve spoke up.

“Left! Turn left!” Dustin suddenly yelled out.

“There’s not a road here?” You replied, turning in your seat to look back at the boy.

“Turn left now!”

Steve cut the wheel hard and you slid in your seat, grateful for the seatbelt holding you in place as you shrieked and Steve began ascending the unpaved hill. The ride was bumpy and as gravity began to work against you, you could feel the car beginning to struggle.

“We’re not going to make it!” You shouted at Steve.

“Yes we are! Come on, baby, come on!” The car stopped as its wheels spun. Steve kept revving the engine, but to no avail.

“Guess the Toddfather has its limitations,” Robin spoke up from the backseat. Steve scowled, putting the car in park as you all got out, walking the rest of the way to Dustin’s radio.

As Dustin gave Murray directions, things were pretty boring for you, Steve, and Robin. You had been drugged during the time the kids were moving through the ducts, so you weren’t useful in navigating. So, you laid on your back staring up at the stars as you waited. Being so far away from Hawkins made them easier to see, and you took a deep breath as you reveled in the moment of calmness, trying to forget about the horrors you were facing, just for a minute.

Your moment of tranquility ended sooner than you had expected, as you heard Steve’s voice ring out. “Hey guys.”

You immediately shot up, joining him as he looked down the hill. You could see all of Hawkins from here and the lights on the mall were going ballistic. You all ran back towards the radio and Dustin screamed into the transmitter. “Griswold Family, this is Scoops Troop! Do you copy? Over!”

You heard a monstrous shriek over the radio as an inhuman scream ripped through the air around you. Dustin kept repeating his call over the radio but it was no use. They were in deep shit back at Starcourt.

Steve got up, sprinting away and you were right on his tail as Erica shouted at you. “Where are you going?!”

“To get them the hell outta there!” Steve shouted back.

“Stay here, contact the others!” You yelled, following Steve to the car.

“Stay in touch,” Robin tossed you a walkie talkie, letting you know that she’d keep the kids safe and far from danger as you hopped into the passenger seat. Steve took off down the hill and you gripped to anything you could hold onto as he drove recklessly back towards the mall.

“Steve, I’m scared,” you spoke up, gripping the armrest of your seat.

“I know, y/n. I am too,” he replied, “but if I know anything about the two of us—after all this shit we’ve been through—it’s that we’ve got this, okay? So we’re gonna get them and get the hell out.” You took a deep breath as he said it, nodding. You drove the rest of the way in silence, trying to control your breathing as you psyched yourself up for the hell you were about to face. Steve described it so simply, but you knew it wouldn’t be that easy.

Just as you were peeling into the parking lot, you saw the familiar sight of Billy’s car…speeding straight toward Nancy Wheeler. Steve pressed his foot to the floor, ramming into Billy’s car just in time to knock it off course and save Nancy from getting mowed down. You would definitely have whiplash the next day, but you decided it was very much worth it if it meant that Nancy was unharmed. You and Steve finally looked up, catching your first glimpse of the massive creature scaling the outside of the mall. It looked exactly like the shadow monster Will had drawn, except it was fleshy and bones stuck out at odd angles every which way.

“Get in!” Nancy shouted, as she pulled her car around and the two of you piled in the back. The monster leapt from the building, following as Nancy sped off out of the parking lot. Your heart raced and you buried your head in Steve’s neck as you grabbed onto him, not wanting to look at the creature anymore.

After getting a considerable distance away from the mall, hearing a weird ass musical number from Dustin and his girlfriend, who against all odds really did exist, you realized that the monster that had been following you had turned around.

“It’s turning around!” You yelled out.

“Maybe we wore it out?” Lucas suggested.

“I don’t think so,” Jonathan spoke up, quickly cutting the wheel and turning back towards the mall. Lucas passed all of you several fireworks and you split up, making your ways to different spots on the upper level.

When you got back into position, the flesh monster was standing right in front of El and Billy, reaching for her as you enacted your plan. You threw the first firework, it exploding in a spray of sparks as the creature shrieked, it exploding against its fleshy exterior.

It was really a sight to behold as the mall erupted into bright flashes of color. It was being hit from all sides, distracted from El, as it continued to get knocked from side to side.

“Hey asshole! Over here!” Steve yelled as he lit another firework and chucked it as far as he could. This is absolutely batshit fucking crazy, you thought as you threw another firework. As you threw them, you thought about all that you had been through. You thought about the young kids around you who had to grow up way too quickly. You thought about Will and Barb and Bob Newby and the horrors they had faced. You thought about all of the people that were killed to form the fleshy creature right before your eyes.

You thought about all that you had lost and you threw the fireworks with all your might.

Your stash was dwindling and as you lit another firework to throw it, Steve screamed over the walkie talkie. “Dustin! We’re out of time!”

“Hurry! Close it now!” You heard Dustin’s voice crackle through the receiver, letting the adults know that it was their time to shine. Steve threw your last firework, which went off in a fiery spray of multicolored sparks, before you realized that there were no more fireworks to be thrown.

You could see Billy standing in front of the massive monster, stoping one of its clawed arms as it reached out towards El. More bony arms appeared, slithering out of the creature as they darted forward stabbing into Billy’s side. You stared wide eyed, in shock and unable to look away. You began to hyperventilate, terror gripping every inch of your body as your legs began to give. Steve was quick to grab you before you fell, quickly pulling you to the floor as he sat, cradling the back of your head as he pulled your face into his neck.

“Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look,” he whispered to you and you could hear the terror in his voice as well, “I’m here, y/n. I’m here, okay?” He wanted to tell you that everything would be fine, but this time he wasn’t so sure. He glanced over at Billy as another arm darted forward, piercing through Billy’s chest. Steve quickly averted his eyes, wishing he had taken his own advice and hadn’t looked. Billy wasn’t coming back from that.

Max screamed out to her brother and you sobbed into Steve’s chest. Suddenly the creature began writhing, screeching and snarling in pain as it stumbled around the mall. It crashed into pillars and Steve was barely able to move you both out of the way as it careened into the railing right beside you. It thrashed a bit longer before finally falling to the ground with a resonating thud. You all gawked at it, and even though it sat in a heap on the floor, you couldn’t help but feel unease at the sight.

You didn’t get to stare at it for long before the army was bursting through the doors of the mall, guns a-blazin’ just as Steve had predicted. You all put your hands up to display that you weren’t a threat as the US soldiers escorted you out of the building. You all sat in the parking lot while they searched the facility, finally torching the mall once everyone was out. It was an elaborate cover up but you understood why it had to remain a secret.

Emergency vehicles soon showed up to attend to the fire and the wounded, and you and Steve sat side by side on a gurney. You weren’t really sure what to say. It didn’t feel like there was anything you could say in this moment. It felt like the world had ended and you were just so damn tired.

“I guess we’re gonna have to find new jobs now,” Steve finally sighed as he spoke up, smirking at you after his statement.

“Yeah….maybe ones with less obnoxious uniforms this time,” you smiled a sad smile back as you leaned into him. He threw his arm around you and it all felt so comfortable. You wished it could be under better circumstances.

After getting checked out by the EMTs on scene, your face was looking a lot better; no longer caked in dried blood. Miraculously, a soldier had located Steve’s car keys in the Russian base, and an EMT returned them to him as you sat there.

“That was quite the fire,” the EMT spoke up. You stared wide eyed and clueless for a second as you tried to gather your thoughts enough to play to the narrative that had been constructed.

“Uh, yeah…we were, um, we were really scared,” you breathed out, deciding it was better to focus on half truths at least. You never were the greatest liar.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” the EMT responded, flashing his light to check your eyes. He continued as he clicked it off, “I just don’t quite get how you both would have sustained injuries like this though. I mean, seems a bit odd considering none of the other kids showed up looking like this. And I guess I’m a bit put off by the fact that the US military is here. Hawkins is a safe town, seems a bit extreme for a mall fire.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, man. There was a fire and we got hurt. And I don’t really have a clue why the military is here; I’m just some dude working for minimum wage at a nautical themed ice cream parlor,” Steve spoke up, his tone very much indicating that he wasn’t going to give the EMT any more information.

“Whatever you say I guess. Anywho, you guys are good to go,” the EMT replied, dismissing you from the gurney. Steve and you walked over to his car, and he opened the passenger door for you and you went to get in, hesitating before you ducked down.

“Y/n? Are you okay?” Steve asked, his hand still on the door. You turned around quickly, staring up at him through your lashes. Your eyes met his and you just stared at each other for a while before you glanced down at his lips. He got the hint and began to lean in towards you, one hand going to the nape of your neck as the other wrapped around your waist to pull you closer.

Finally, his lips were on yours, and it was well worth the wait. Maybe you were two broken people who walked through hell and back, but right now it didn’t matter. All that mattered was the way he was kissing you like his life depended on it. You didn’t care about the way your lip was still split and bruised, reveling in the pain if it meant that you got to have him; if it meant that he could be yours.

Your lips moved with his in such a perfect harmony that you felt like you were dreaming. After a moment, he placed a few more gentle pecks against your lips before pulling away. Your lips chased his, desperately wanting more, but you opened your eyes to look up at him. Your heart caught in your throat at the expression on his face. You’d never seen him look at you like that before.

“Steve?”

He opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t seem to find the right words. How was he supposed to tell you that you were perfect? That you were the only thing really holding him together? That you were the reason that he woke up in the morning and showed up to that shitty job and the reason that he decided to stay in Hawkins instead of trying to move away from his shitty parents?

How was he supposed to tell you that you were his reason for being?

He didn’t think he would ever find the words, so instead he settled on “I really love you y/n—like a lot.”

You smiled up at him and pulled him into a hug. “I think I love you too, Steve,” you chuckled, pulling back to plant another kiss on his lips. He smiled into the kiss, realizing that he would never get tired of kissing you.

***

It was three months later and you and Steve were finally, officially dating. You were rocking out to the radio in the front seat of his BMW, singing off key with Robin as Steve pulled into the parking lot of Hawkins’ Family Video.

“You put your mom down as a reference?” Robin asked incredulously as she stepped out of the car.

“Yeah. Why not? She’s like, super well-respected,” Steve argued and you rolled your eyes, biting back a smile.

“You’re such a dingus,” Robin sighed, stepping through the door Steve held open. You stepped through the doorway after, Steve placing a hand on the small of your back as he guided you into the store.

Your nose twitched a bit when you realized that Keith worked here. He was kind of really icky and had asked out just about every girl you went to high school with. You’d never met someone that desperate for a girlfriend before. When you had handed him your resumes, he looked at you all like you were idiots, clearly irritated that you were wasting his time.

“We didn’t get fired, you know,” you spoke up as you scowled, annoyed with the boy at the counter.

“Yeah, the mall burned down, and like killed a bunch of people,” Robin chimed in. In a way, she was looking for pity…most of the Hawkins’ community knew that you kids had been there when shit went down.

“Thanks for sharing. Didn’t know,” Keith deadpanned. “Three favorite movies, go!” He added pointing at Robin.

“Uh....The Apartment, Hidden fortress, Children of Paradise.” She quickly answered.

“You, go!” He swiveled and pointed at Steve.

“Favorite movies?”

“Did I stutter?”

“Uhhh…Animal House for sure…yeah, uh, um—Star Wars!”

“Which one?” You asked, looking up at him, annoyed that he’d just named an entire franchise.

“The one with the teddy bears, duh,” he smirked back at you as you groaned while he squeaked like an Ewok. “No? Uh…oh, the one that just came out. The movie that just came out—the one with the DeLorean and Alex P. Keaton, and he’s trying to bang his mom,” Steve chuckled while he explained it and you rolled your eyes.

Keith couldn’t really believe what he was hearing and he pointed at you and Robin. “You two start Monday,” he said before turning to Steve, “and you start never.”

“Will you just, give us a minute,” you said gesturing to you Robin and Keith.

“Why?” Steve asked, annoyed.

“Steve,” you warned the boy not to make things more difficult, placing a small peck on his lips which was enough to convince him to move along.

“Oh come on! Steve, y/n? Steve?”

“Listen, I know he’s a bit…he’s a bit of an idiot, but that’s beside the point. Anyway, he’s got other qualities,” you argued.

“He’s a douchebag of the highest order, y/n.”

“He was a bit of a prick to us in high school, I’ll grant you that, but he remains…a total chick magnet,” Robin gestured to you, and you flushed wildly.

“And this is relevant to me how?” Keith questioned, done with Robin’s bullshit.

“Uh, earth to Keith….the ladies will come in just to see him. They’ll come in, in droves. We sold so much ice cream they had to get a second shipment from Michigan! Isn’t that right, y/n?”

“Yep. Michigan,” you confirmed her lie.

“And these ladies are hot,” Robin continued, “they are so very hot. And there are too many of them for little Steve, especially now that he’s unavailable. He needs your assistance Keith.”

“What’s in it for you? Are you guys some sort of weird ass thruple?”

As soon as he said it, Steve clumsily knocked down a cardboard cutout, awkwardly trying to fix it.

“Gross, no,” Robin replied, “we’re just friends.”

Steve turned around the cardboard cutout recognizing immediately the movie it was from. “Oh Fast Times! Fast Times, ever heard of it? Top three for me, Keith.”

You and Robin laughed, and Keith groaned. “Fine, but if he screws up, it’s on the two of you.”

You knew he was gonna screw up, but you didn’t care, running over to him as he pulled you into a hug. “You ready to be coworkers again?” You asked as you smiled up at him.

“I mean, we do make a pretty kick-ass team.”

***

a/n: I hope you enjoyed this! If I end up going on hiatus, send me some requests! I’m definitely interested in continuing writing for Steve as a character. Reblog if you’re feeling generous ;)

taglist:

@season4steve @sassyheroneckgiant @tangledinthegreatxscape @maeve-wileyy @palachannie @chaerfull @usaguisenpaisblog @emilieluckwood @sabrinadelreyy @mochminnie @xprloki @kitdjarin1

[darkinfinity]

Happy 28! Here are all the fics I read and enjoyed this past month!

☁ Call out my name by lesbidirection (E, 101k)

Apparently, it's bad PR to fall in love with the omega you hired to help you through your rut.

Harry Styles begs to differ.

A soulmate AU where two lovers find each other entirly by accident, featuring photoshoots, Gucci suits, too many takeaways, having sex and feeling sad, an alpha who feels lost, and the omega that finds him. It shouldn't be this easy, but it is.

☁ don't be afraid to love (and love again) by @voulezloux (T, 83k)

All Louis’ life, he’s known he’s been different. There’s always been something at odds about how he felt.

As the eldest daughter of seven kids, he knew something was wrong with his body. Something was off, he just couldn’t quite put his finger on it. His mum dressed him in dresses and tights, plaits in his hair as he wandered around with the local neighborhood boys. They called him a girl, called him she and Rosemary when his name is Louis. He had told the boys as such, but they would tell him Louis is a boy’s name, not a girl’s.

Louis is a boy. He knows he is.

or the one where louis is trans and afraid, harry is cis and brave, and being 100% yourself is easier said than done.

☁ Wither & Bloom by @dizzy-pixie17 (E, 65k)

No one knows that legendary Harry Styles is an omega. The record label, the fans, and even his family have no idea, leading to a very isolated and very lonely life for Harry. He knows it's for the best. Otherwise, he'd never have the career he wanted and he contents himself in the knowledge that he's not the only one. But when Harry injures his voice during a performance, his manager hires a new vocal coach to help put him to rights. Cue Louis Tomlinson, the sweetest, sexiest, kindest alpha in the world, stepped right out of Harry's dizziest daydreams. While Louis tries to figure out why there's something so incredibly un-alpha-like about 'Alpha-King of Pop' Harry Styles, Harry is busy trying to control his omega's undeniable urge to throw himself at the object of his infatuation.

Amid an accidental misgendering, getting slick in public, tour bus snuggles with awkward boners, and unprovoked drops, Harry will have to choose whether he wants to keep living a lie for the sake of remaining in the spotlight or if he'll sacrifice everything to be with the man he loves… Assuming Louis ever comes back.

☁ Give me love by @falsegoodnight & @soldouthaz (E, 41k)

Despite being an omega, Louis’ always had a blatant dislike of alphas.

Or, Louis doesn't feel like a good omega, Harry doesn't remember how to be an alpha, and they figure it out together.

☁ Freeway of love (in a pink Cadillac) by @mizzhydes (E, 33k)

Louis was on his way to Miami to visit an old friend. Harry was going there for a little R&R and take in the sights and sounds. A sudden upgrade in seating brought these polar opposites together. The universe works in mysterious ways and they are unknowingly about to embark on an adventure they will surely remember for a lifetime.

Prompt 107: Sugar daddy AU inspired by this tweet: “going to sit next to the richest looking middle aged man on my flight and scroll through my nudes for three hours straight” with rich daddy Harry and bratty baby Louis

☁ this brokenness inside me might start healing by @loveislarryislove (T, 29k)

Louis grew up in a tiny town, where everyone knew everyone -- or at least, they think they do. Then he left, and became a successful singer-songwriter, a star that everyone in the country knows -- or at least, they think they do.

But when Louis returns home for the birth of his first nibling, he meets a librarian who doesn't know him at all. And that's all Louis could ask for.

☁ Cuddlebug by sun_flowr (Not rated, 19k)

When the call from the adoption agency finally calls, Harry and Louis are surprised to discover that they have been tentatively paired with a young pup named Rami, who suffers from a multitude of issues stemming from the abandonment he’s suffered. But no matter the challenges, they know they will do everything they can to care for and love this pup as if he was their own.

Prompt: a/b/o established relationship where they finally go adopt a child and find a toddler with touch depri/abandonment issues and they build him a nest and comfort him

☁ Stars will align for us by @2tiedships2 (Not rated, 15k)

"The serial monogamist is single," Niall said by way of introduction when he sat down across from Harry in the canteen.

Harry sipped his chocolate milk. "What are you going on about?"

"Your alpha dream boat," Niall said. "That tiny little footie player? I heard from Hannah that he's broken it off with his boyfriend so he’s single and ready to flamingle. Now's the time to make your move."

Harry sipped his chocolate milk harder to keep himself from replying.

Or the one where Harry is an omega at a loss of how to get past his pining and gain the attention of Louis…especially considering the alpha is always in a relationship.

☁ now i'm tracin' all my steps to you by @alwaysxlarrie (T, 5k)

Of all the things Harry was prepared for this summer, Louis Tomlinson and his wonderful, wonderful scent isn't one of them. It probably shouldn't be as shocking as it is that it makes Harry want to nest. There's only one slight problem -- Harry and nesting aren't exactly on familiar terms. At all.

This does not stop Harry from borrowing ("borrowing") Louis' things all throughout summer, though. Oops?

☁ Send me your pillow (the one that you dream on) by fairytalefemme (G, 3k)

Harry is embarrassed to realize he's nesting but can't stop stealing Louis' things for his nest.

Short fluffy o/o gaybo drabble with lots of cuddles and softness and sock stealing <3

[christinesficrecs]

hey! Love your blog. I'm looking for this fic where stiles and the whole lacrosse team is going for some event in a bus but then it meets with an accident and derek and scott are there trying to help the injured. For some reason they're late and stiles is stuck under the bus and derek tries to help him and take his pain but the paramedics also make it hard once they reach. That's all I remember mostly. They do take him to the hospital and melissa is there but there's a rush due to the bus crash and the many casualties. It could be that the crash was supernatural, I think some explosive was involved. But I'm not fully sure. If someone can help, would love it

Hey!

I think it might be this one.

Caretakers by em2mb | 277.9K | Abandoned

Now Lydia sees the white room clearly, Stiles sitting cross-legged on the nemeton in his lacrosse jersey, squinting at a chessboard.

That’s when Lydia realizes her vantage point makes her Stiles’ opponent — and she has him in check.

Her instinct is to push her own king into danger, but Stiles grabs her wrist. “Come on, Lydia,” he says dryly, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Chess might not be your game, but surely you know that’s against the rules.”

Lydia tries to squirm away from him. “But you’ll die,” she insists, his grip tightening so much she’s certain his long fingers will leave bruises.

“Say it, Lydia,” Stiles urges. “Checkmate. Checkmate. Checkmate — ”

[girlactionfigure]

Morning Israel News Summary

ISRAEL REALTIME - Connecting to Israel in Realtime

♦️MAJOR COUNTER TERROR OP.. IDF drone strikes a terror operations center in Nur a-Shams (Tulkarm area).  5 terrorists eliminated, including 1 (another report says 3) released in the last hostage deal.  Multiple semi-official statements that the IDF has started a major multi-week counter-terror operation throughout Judea-Samaria.

▪️KIDNAPPING INCIDENT IN SAMARIA at Tapuach Intersection, cleared.  The IDF: the suspicion of kidnapping has been ruled out.

⭕ ROCKET STRIKES by HEZBOLLAH in Ayelet HaShachar in the north hit homes and start a large fire.

▪️MANY ANGRY.. people, leaders and evacuees from the north are VERY angry that the government and IDF only performed a major strike against Hezbollah once Tel Aviv was threatened.  In a sarcastic response, a number of towns have replaced their town signs with “Tel Aviv”.

▪️USING HUMAN SHIELDS.. IDF spokesman in Arabic:  90% of the launches carried out the night before last by Hezbollah were launched from the heart of a civilian population and near civilian facilities.  In the attack, of the about 230 launches and about 20 suicide drones, 90% were launched from the heart of a civilian population, near civilian facilities - mosques, schools, UN compounds, and more.

▪️PROTEST - FOR A DEAL.. Demonstrators affiliated with the 'Headquarters of the Kidnapped Families' blocking Ayalon south near the Shalom interchange this morning.

▪️BEWARE SHEIN CONTACT LENSES?  Ch. 13 reports of people arriving in the emergency room due to quality problems with contact lenses order through Chinese discount site Shein.  

▪️GAZA POLIO VACCINE DANGER?  An unusual notice from Israeli health professionals - the polio vaccine sent to Gaza by the UN WHO is an experimental live attenuated vaccine that has the possibility of spawning actual polio cases - which can then spread.

▪️BUS vs. CAMEL.. an accident on Negev roads, bus vs. camel.  Drivers in the Negev and headed to/from Eilat are warned to beware wild camels, particularly at night.

▪️TERROR - STONING AMBUSH - SAMARIA.. Lynching attempt in Hawara: Arab rioters attacked a car driven by a Jewish woman from both directions and pelted it with stones. The driver managed to escape from them and miraculously was not injured (the car, however, badly damaged).

▪️JUDGES.. High Court of Justice in the decision against Justice Minister Levin:  If you do not convene the committee, you will receive a ruling in September that will oblige you to do so.

.. The minister responds: the decision is expected, conflict of interest and lack of authority. They are their own judges, actually taking over the committee completely, refusing to accept anyone who is not from their own inner circle.

🔹ANOTHER IRANIAN AIRSPACE NOTICE.. effective September 1, 2024, at 00:00 (midnight) - for 3 days.

🔹US Joint Chiefs of Staff:  The chances of an all-out war in the region have decreased after the attack carried out against Hezbollah.

⭕ 2 rounds of ROCKET attacks by HEZBOLLAH at northern towns overnight.

[jacksdinonuggets]

Not So Little Injuries: Chapter 2

Vaggie was released from the hospital the next day. There wasn’t anything too serious that they needed to keep an eye on and there wasn’t really anything they could do to help it other than pain meds. Since lots of hellborn and imps came to sloth for the hospital, they didn’t want a bed to be used that didn’t need it.

 She was very eepy from all the pain meds when she was carried to her wheelchair. She was snuggled up with her stuffy the best she could with the long cast going up to her thigh. She couldn’t remember much, just getting rolled out of the hospital and getting carried into the Morningstar’s limo before falling asleep. Charlie couldn’t put her into her car seat because of her new injury so she had to position her so her leg would be elevated on her lap.

“Come on, Vaggie~ it’s time to wake up, we’re here,” Charlie gently shook her. Vaggie slowly opened her eyes and whined, not wanting to wake up. The pain meds were starting to wear off so anytime she wasn’t unconscious, she felt her leg throbbing in pain.

“Annndd scoop!” Charlie lifted her up out of the limo. Vaggie let out a small whimper and squeezed her stuffy when her leg and feathers were jostled.

“Sorry, baby, I know it hurts,” The princess said, carrying her inside. Razzle was behind them, carrying her wheelchair. They would definitely need the wheelchair for when Vaggie gets out of bedrest, but for now, it’s best that she be carried.

When they first stepped into the lobby, they were bombarded by the residents, asking where she had been and what had happened. Apparently, Charlie didn’t exactly tell the residents that Vaggie had gotten injured and would be staying at the hospital. She had just sent a quick message that Vaggie had gotten into an accident and didn’t know when they would return.

“Guys! Please step back! You’re overwhelming her!” Charlie announced once she realized that Vaggie started to curl up and seemed to be getting overwhelmed. She whimpered, as she was never good with crowds.

Everyone seemed to chill and step back after that. They noticed that Vaggie was feeling very little and realized their mistake of crowding around her.

“Now, If you excuse us, I need to go get Vaggie’s room ready,” Charlie said before taking her upstairs. 

Normally, they would share a room, but Charlie thought it would be best for her if she had her own room. It would make it easier to care for her without having to share. She didn’t exactly tell Vaggie about this plan because she knew she wouldn’t be very keen on the idea. Vaggie always wanted to be near Charlie but she feared it would slow down the recovery if she was either getting woken up by her, or trying to help with stuff.

When they passed their usual shared room, Vaggie whined. She didn’t

“Mama? We passed da room,” She pointed to their bedroom. The princess sighed.

“Baby, I know you won’t like this, but you’re going to be resting in another room,” She explained. Just as she figured, Vaggie didn’t like this.

“Bu, why?” Vaggie whined.

“Cuz If we share, there will be many distractions that will make it hard for you to rest,” She said, opening the door to her new room. She made sure that the room was nice and perfect for maximum recovery.

“Mmm, fine,” Vaggie pouted.

She placed the injured little angel down on the bed. Currently, she was in just her hospital gown and her padding. Because the cast was up so high, Vaggie wouldn’t be able to get shorts or normal underwear on easily and would most likely cause pain. So until she was healed, she would likely have to wear her little stuff. Being big and having to wear her protective padding would no doubt be embarrassing. Not to mention that most of the time, it made her feel really small, and she didn’t feel like repressing. So being little for most of the next month was going to be her plan. 

Charlie helped change Vaggie into her very comfortable onesie so she didn’t need to be in itchy hospital clothes all day. Luckily, she had already changed her diaper before they left so they didn’t need to do that. 

Once she was all set and comfy, Vaggie fell back to sleep. Those pain meds were pretty strong, even if they were starting to wear off.

When Vaggie awoke again, all she felt was pain. Her leg was throbbing and all her previous injuries flared up. Her wing felt so sore and tired. It was laid on so that probably was why. She quickly tried to wrestle the wing out from underneath her to elevate it and hopefully get rid of some of the soreness.

However, she couldn’t get rid of that god damn leg throbbing and phantom pain. For her back, lying on her stomach helped, but everytime she turned or moved, her broken bones would flare up even more. There was nothing she could do to get rid of it. She considered calling for mama but she had already helped her so much that it felt like she would be burdening her. That mindset quickly changed though when she had accidentally kicked her cast while trying to ease up some back pain.

The tears were flowing by the time Charlie got up there. She heard her baby yell for her and swiftly made her way upstairs. She crouched by the bed, next to where Vaggie was curled up in her blankets, gripping them hard. She didn’t want to rip a hole in her stuffy because then she would no doubt have an absolute meltdown and be scared that she killed her teddy. So she gripped the blankets instead.

“Hey, sweetie, what’s wrong? Are you in pain?” Charlie spoke softly and gently, to not scare her. Inside, Charlie was panicking. Alarms were going off and she was internally screaming. She really hated seeing her cry. It was so sad and pitiful to see.

“Uh *hic!* huh!” Vaggie sobbed. She was hiccuping now, unable to breathe properly.

“Okay, baby, I’ll give you some meds but you have to breathe for me,” She took Vaggie’s hand and squeezed it. She squeezed back and started to take some deep breaths. Once she was no longer hiccuping or hyperventilating, Charlie gave her a few pills and her bottle. Vaggie rapidly downed them but was confused when she didn’t feel immediate relief.

“Mama! It isn’t wowking!” she yelled.

“Shh, shh, shh, it will, just give it some time. Let's watch a movie while we wait for it to work, okay?” She pulled out her tablet and sat in bed with her. She put on one of Vaggie’s favorites and cuddled her to help her calm down. She fed her the bottle with water in it, as it was important that she stay hydrated. Although she whimpered and tried to bury her head in Charlie’s stomach for the start of the movie, the pain did ease up and she seemed to be doing a lot better by the time they finished the movie.

Finally, the pain seemed to ease and she was able to fall asleep again when she had her paci. Once she did go to sleep, charlie realized that she had missed the chance to change Vaggie. She did a little check to see if she needed to wake her up or if she was good for a couple more wettings or the other type (in a sfw way though. some people gotta do it while bedridden). It didn’t squish too much so she still had some room left. That was good. She made the plan to change her once she woke up again. But for now, she was going to let her little one sleep safe and sound.

[dailyanarchistposts]

Cars & People: The Road Safety Myth

Until the 1930s road safety was not seen as a problem caused by motorists. But as traffic increased in volume and speed, people began to get concerned. Road safety ideas were brought in based on education, engineering and enforcement. Ever since, ‘road safety’ has been the territory of professionals such as road safety officers, road and vehicle engineers, traffic police, doctors, lawyers and the Department of Transport. The road safety lobby has succeeded in suppressing the earlier anger and hostility against motorisation by legitimising the danger it creates and then creating an industry dedicated to reducing the number and severity of accidents.

Because of their pro-car bias, many ‘road safety’ measures in fact produce the opposite effect: “Everything that supposedly produces more danger in fact produces more safety… and everything that is supposed to produce more safety produces more danger… Better roads, better sight lines, fewer bends and blind corners, less traffic; better lighting, better weather conditions… make greater danger… because every “nonrestrictive” safety measure, however admirable by itself, is treated by drivers as an opportunity for more speeding, so that the net amount of danger is increased”. The lobby’s method is to use excessive detail to obscure the human and economic costs of motorisation. The real cost of motorisation is at least £30 billion more than motorists pay. While costs for congestion, accidents, road-building and maintenance are included, the loss of revenue to public transport, the business and health costs of stress, air pollution and noise are not. The health dis-benefits of mass car use dwarf the numbers injured and killed on roads; they are not included in road safety research and discussion. The rules of the game are biased in favour of the motorist and against the rest of society. Although speed is a major cause of accidents, the DoT regards speed reduction as bad because it creates frustrated motorists who act “aggressively and irresponsibly”. Pedestrians “may take liberties with slow-moving traffic that they would not take with faster traffic. A mother who would never dream of wheeling her pushchair across an urban freeway may be tempted to do just that in a city street”. What a cheek – a pedestrian trying to cross the road! The DoT’s motor bias leads it to stand truth on its head. It says, “Travelling by car or bus is safer than walking”. Safer for whom? In 1990, three other road users were killed in accidents involving pedestrians. Cars killed 1014 pedestrians.

[chuuyaposting]

Ignore

I feel like one slight move and I'm gonna jinx everything like i can't even listen to music bc something tells me something bad is gonna happen if i do. I cant even enjoy tunes anymore. Music is one of my biggest passions and i still cant fucking listen to it because my brain is like "listening to music is why yall got in that car accident and it ruined a lot of things, listening again will cause everything to be ruined all ovwr again" and my brain shows me everything bad thats gonna happen when i get even a memory of a song stuck in my head. If i watch a short video with background music in it for too long i get anxious, if i see a amv on instagram i get anxious, i just wanna be normal i wanna listen to music and feel at peace i want everything to be ok but im so scared that if i do even one simple thing, everything is gonna fall apart like this domino effect like "yeah you'll lose your apartment, everyonr will leave you, you'll never get out of here and someone is going to die and everyone will get injured and these sudden horrific things are going to happen again if you so much as THINK about a song or are in a positive mood for too long. Everyone you love will fail at life because of you, they'll lose everything and every opportunitythey have will fucking fall apart and itll be your fault, they will get into a car/bus wreck or be attacked or robbed if you are happy or content for a second too long and it'll be all your fault because you're so selfish you couldn't stop thinking positively or stop yourself from being optimistic and you jinxed everything for everyone around you because you're a breathing ball of bad luck and misfortune and that is all you will ever bring upon others if you do not repeat the same cycleof grief and pain and endure it quietly" and im like fuck okay?????? But its putting a lot of pressure on me because i feel like I already fucked it all up i feel like o already fucked everything up and im awaiting the consequences of being happy/optimistic/content for even a fucking moment. I feel like i need to make myself suffer in order to "keep the peace" like balance things out and make sure nothing bad happens, like bad things Must happen to me???? Thats why they always did and they always will? Because if they dont, more bad things happen, and they are so much worse. I was happy and optimistic, i was listening to music and writing music again, then all of these bad things happened out of nowhere and Im so paranoid i have so many thoughrs on this i feel like the world is out to get me. Sorry guys, thanks for watching! Be sure to like and subscribe and hit that bell icon to be notified when I'm normal again.. my bad. Heads spinning and ive got the urge to explode.

[mysterybooks-world]

what the hell man

I set one rule myself

That I respect any kind of fan story or fan art and I respect their opinion

But if there is something I don't like

I Simply comment (I don't like it) That's all. Because I don't want to cause problems or hurt their feelings

for example

I like Frowny Fox But they hate him

Who do I mean they?

meowzerkia on TikTok

I was looking for AMV or TikTok about Frowny Fox

When I found this Videos

Usually I don't make wars on the fandom Rather, I stop fighting on the fandom BUT darling.kia..fandoms made Frowny Fox a bad person

Oh yes poor dogday And I was like what WHAT…

Yes, I know there are characters, some people like it and others they don't like, however

I would like to ask them: Did you even witness the episode?

first: Good design on they characters gacha I give them that

second: It wasn't funny to make this kind of video about Frowny Fox Yes we get it, you don't like Frowny Fox

I will be honest I'm not very interested in smiling critters. I was interested in game poppy playtime

And let me say poppy playtime 3 the playing was crazy I was literally ready for all sorts of jump scares

For example, if I heard a sound or anything in the shadow, I became prepared mood

How many times have I had to lift my heart from the ground because of this tension in the halls?

And Don't get me started on the radio

It was like someone was talking to me on the radio

when I saw catnap I was like Oh no, here comes the nightmare.

Anyway

I didn't have a favorite among them Even though I read the fans story About them and like the fan art About smiling critters.

but when GameToons made Frowny Fox

He has become my favourite smiling critters.

So yeah I guess what really bothered me They made Frowny Fox seem like a bad person.

Even though Frowny Fox is the victim in the first place

The REJECT CRITTER… (Cartoon Animation) REVENGE of the REJECT CRITTER… (Cartoon Animation) HAUNTED by the REJECT CRITTER… (Cartoon Animation)

I have read comments on (REVENGE of the REJECT CRITTER& HAUNTED by the REJECT CRITTER)

You want a new episode about the smiling critters apologize to Frowny Fox and And they become his friends Like the episode of (The REJECT of BANBAN)

But there is a difficult thing to forgive people for what they did to you

Why do I feel Deja vu؟

Let me clarify some things

I don't think Happy is not true friend to Frowny Fox

Yes I know

I know what you're going to tell me

Happy was the only person who cared About him But is this really the case?

Happy She wanted to throw the cupcake at dogday because he hurt her friend Frowny Fox. but dogday use Frowny Fox as a shield

Did you see dogday's face, how happy he was behaving?

and he supposed be the leader of the smiling critters. If he behaved like this, he does not deserve his title as a leader

REVENGE of the REJECT CRITTER

Yes I know it was an accident. Happy Didn't mean for this to happen. she Didn't want him to fall in incinerator

But she didn't do anything Like how she knows he's dead, he might be alive there and he's injured

For example, turn it off the incinerator And check it If he is still alive But no She just cried and said sad words and left

And did you see a reaction of DogDay & KickinChicken

They did not care that they killed him, but rather they cared about themselves. They were afraid they would get into trouble

not only this. In this scene

HAUNTED by the REJECT CRITTER

KickinChicken: we have to destroy frowny Fox again

DogDay: but there's no way to destroy him without destroying hoppy too

They don't care about him

And after they locked him in the vacuum.

hoppy: yeah thanks, guys I can't believe I fell for frowny Fox's trick

KickinChicken: it's okay hoppy we're safe now frowny Fox won't bother us ever again

Okay, wait a minute, why is this a scene?

Why do they say this as if he is an evil person here.

They bullied & Abuse him but When frowny Fox wants to fight back Suddenly they act like victims here

in the REVENGE of the REJECT CRITTER In this scene (4:59/8:17)- (5:43/8:17)

Did you notice the sweating on frowny Fox head?

I don't think he wanted that either.

He doesn't want to hurt anyone, but he is angry and lost because of the betrayal of his only friend

But maybe if hoppy did jump in the incinerator

frowny Fox will come to his senses And saves her

He says sorry hoppy, I don't know what happened, I was blinded by my anger. I'm sorry.

I know some of you ship Frowny Fox with Hoppy But hear me out

And Don't get me started on hoppy behavior.

in the REVENGE of the REJECT CRITTER 3:29/8:17

her behavior was right to be angry Both of them

But her behavior was wrong in (HAUNTED by the REJECT CRITTER) in the scene from 1:14 to 1:20 She was really sad for him

But what shocked me?

this the scene 1:33 suddenly she became happy to play with KickinChicken

The same person who hurt her friend

The same person who bullies her friend

She didn't even do a Grave for Frowny Fox

but in (CATNAP'S SACRIFICE)

They did a grave for catnap Because they care about him

and in episode: The SMILING CRITTERS are DEAD

catnap did funeral for them

But did happy perform a funeral for Frowny Fox? No, she did not

She was simply sad for him and moved forward In her life

Not even a day has passed and she simply forgot about him And play with people who hurt him

I mean come on If you had the same friend as this, would you forgive them that easily?

I don't know why Frowny Fox give me vibes like Villainess Manga Character

I read some of the comments about Frowny Fox for example

He was rushing to judgment. hoppy didn't mean to do this

Frowny Fox is a Emo

Frowny Fox is exaggerating things Just Get over it.

And I want to respond to all of them this:

ME: Let me remind you guys In the episode The REJECT CRITTER

the leaders of Playtime Co decided to come up with a brand new smiling Critter one that went in a New Direction

(In an advertisement)

you've seen other cheery smiling Critters like Dog Day and Bubba Bubba but you've never seen anyone quite like FrownyFox the brand new smiling Critters or should I say unsmiling Critter

while the others Giggl and play FrownyFox rests alone contemplating life's big questions unlike others he's sensitive a great listener and more than anything longs to be understood

FrownyFox cuz you can't have rainbows without a little rain

they were sure that he would be a valuable new member of The Smiling Critters Lineup a bold innovation that would allow them to tap into a whole array of human emotions.

It's not his fault he's made like this

FrownyFox is supposed to be sensitive

His name literally starts with Frowny

I think I know what's really bothering me about meowzerkia videos

they Make him like an evil character in a gacha video.

but Frowny Fox is the victim here, not Smiling Critters

What do you guys think about that

Tell me your opinion in the comments

[mothpile]

bus i was in got rear ended so i had to walk like 20 minutes back home with the weather threatening to rain. And i have to say.

getting in car accident, no one injured or anything? Must be embarrassing as fuck when it was clearly you who did it because you were following too closely & quickly and couldn't stop in time. Lucky enough, it was on residential streets where sure maybe not many people walk or drive by and see.

But you hit a fucking bus? Everyone started streaming out of there when the words "the bus got rear ended!" started being said. Everyone goes out and looks at your stupid ass getting out of the car (thankfully safe) and they get out their phone and get a picture of your stupid crumpled car vs the completely fine bus. Everyone sees your blunder. Everyone gets a picture to send friends and family. Absolutely Shameful.

[abubblingcandle]

Trick or treat! 👻

Ah thank you! I'm still working on the Jamie Stalker fic so I don't have many more snippets BUT for this instead I'm going to give some sneak teasers of upcoming whumptober fics that I am excited about!

Day 8 and 22 - Roll Call

Colin is the least injured in a major road traffic accident involving the Richmond team bus. He struggles to track down all of his teammates and friends to make sure that everyone is safe.

Day 10 - In The Emotional Suburbs

This fic is following Jamie when Zava comes to Richmond and has Zava trying to basically bully Jamie to get in line and Jamie panicking that Zava's arrival is a sign that Jamie is about to get put on the transfer list.

Days 11 and 21 - untitled Kidnapping fic

Denbo and Bug accidentally kidnap Jamie when they are trying to rob him. Rebecca gets a call that if she wants her star player back then she needs to fork out.

Day 19 - Degrees of Separation and in Childhood Trauma

Roy's sister tries to help Roy stop worrying about Jamie's emotional wellbeing by introducing him to academic journals. This does not help Roy stop worrying but does help Jamie.

[beardedmrbean]

When Boubacar Touré and his flatmates heard a sudden, thundering crash beside their apartment, they thought it was an earthquake. But then they opened the windows of their kitchen, where they were cooking dinner, and one shouted: "A bus has fallen."

"We ran down to the spot where the bus was on fire and I heard a woman screaming, 'My baby, my baby,'" 27-year-old Boubacar, who is from The Gambia says, his eyes heavy with exhaustion.

"I managed to pull her through the window and then pulled out her son, who was badly burnt but still alive."

The bus, carrying tourists back to a nearby campsite after a day in the historical centre of Venice, had been driving along a busy overpass when it suddenly careened off the side on Tuesday evening. It smashed through the barriers and plunged several metres towards a railway track where it burst into flames.

At least 21 people died. Of the 15 who are injured, most remain in intensive care. Some of the victims were children, including a baby.

Warning: This story contains descriptions of distressing scenes

Among the dead are nationals from seven countries, the Venice mayor's office says, including Ukraine, Germany, Romania and Portugal.

Boubacar describes how he grabbed the fire extinguisher from the bus to help quell the flames - but that wasn't enough.

"Passers-by were giving me other extinguishers but nothing helped, we had to wait for the firefighters", he recalls. "So I pulled others to safety, a woman and a man and a child. People were bleeding from their heads, there was so much blood."

His flatmate, Odion Eboigbe from Nigeria, was with him, pulling others through the wreckage of the mangled vehicle - an electric-powered bus whose batteries are thought to have caught fire.

"We were able to save many but unfortunately others died", he says.

"I wasn't scared, I didn't think of my own safety because I saw people with their heads split open. Today my colleagues asked me: 'what were you thinking when you went towards the flames,' and I told them I just had to save the women and children."

Once emergency workers arrived, they spent hours dousing the flames and helping the injured.

The fire was so intense that DNA samples will need to be used to identify some of the dead.

At the spot on the overpass where the bus took its final catastrophic turn, the guard-rails are smashed apart and fragments of glass lie on the tarmac. A passer-by has laid yellow flowers.

Authorities say there was no sign of a sudden braking by the bus. Indeed, CCTV from the moment before the crash shows the vehicle steadily climbing the overpass and then apparently slowing down before inexplicably toppling against the barriers and off to the side.

The driver, Alberto Rizzotto, had worked for the bus company for seven years. The most likely cause, say the authorities, is that he had a sudden medical problem that made him lose control. In his last Facebook post, he said he was "running a shuttle to Venice."

Relatives of the victims have started arriving in Venice from abroad. Among the injured are nationals of Ukraine, Germany, Croatia and Spain.

According to local media, they include two German brothers, aged 7 and 13, who lost both their parents. There were "entire families, grandparents, grandchildren, spouses" on board, said Chiara Berti from the Angelo di Mestre hospital.

The tragedy has already raised questions about the state of the barriers on the overpass, which were clearly rusting and aged.

Domenico Musicco, the head of an association for road accident victims, called it "a tragedy foretold".

"Italian road maintenance is poor. Too little is invested in road safety. It is estimated that 30% of accidents are down to that," he told the news agency AFP.

Venice has declared three days of mourning for a tragedy that has profoundly shaken this city.

Boubacar and Odion say they haven't slept since the crash.

When I put it to them that some would call them heroes, they shrug. "If saving people makes you a hero, then maybe", says Boubacar.

"But when somebody needs help because they're dying, you can't just walk away."