#more stories to come about hot neighbor! (none as exciting as i want unfortunately...)

[zmothrium]

another confession of mine- a little while ago now we got a hot tub and I finally had the day to myself... and the jets... fuck... powerful 😭😵‍💫😵‍💫 the instant i was in it the first time i just thought of it blasting my clit and ffffuuuckkkkkkk..... it was so hard not to scream into the neighborhood.... I hope my hot neighbor was watching ♡

[sparklywastelandmentality]

So, this is the first time I have done something like this as far as -actually- deciding to just vent. I love to write and I love to journal and unfortunately sometimes shit happens in life that really just gets under my skin, or I just had a thought about nothing in particular that my mind goes down rabbit holes on that I happen to find interesting. However, I don't always have my journal and pen with me whilst I'm out and about. Sometimes, that shit's a bummer. So yeah, essentially I have decided to come here and talk through some stuff.

Probably like most people, I have problems with emotion management. Anger, more specifically. For as long as I can remember, I have lived most in anger. I imagine I am not alone in this boat. Having been in and out of therapy off and on since I was a teenager, they have all concluded that I have Manic BiPolar Depression. I guess that's different from 'regular' depression somehow? Granted the way I perceive an emotion (whatever it may be) could be different from how my neighbor or husband feels the same emotions. Everyone's different. Living with BPD feels like you're a visitor in your own body. It feels like you're only allowed to pop in and say 'hi' when it gets bored or tired. When I feel that feeling I get a small glimmer of relief until it decides that it wants me to go back in this little box in the corner of my mind. All the high days are great when they happen and low days are still pretty rough, yet have become easier to manage (without medications) as time has continued to drone on. Feeling like I'm not allowed to have control over my emotions and feelings further perpetuates and deepens the loop of what most would call "self-sabotage".

As time has gone on, I have found it easier with time for me to get along with myself for a lack of a better way of putting it. Much like the rest of the world, my upbringing was fucking bullshit. I can't and am REFUSING to speak for anyone else when I say that my flesh portals into this realm were absolute, hot garbage. Both are also to blame for ALMOST EVERYTHING wrong with me. When it came to handling anger, my father had no issue telling you what was on his mind and how dumb you were for trying to do shit that was ill-explained in the beginning prior to starting tasks. He was a screamer and leaned towards the physical side of expressing this emotion in particular. If I were to -try- and take the time to explain to you some of the stories; this post would never end. My mother, on the other hand, when dealing with her anger she's a massively petty and childish individual. Just imagine the stereotypical high school mean girl, add meth and about fifteen to eighteen years and there ya go. Some of the fights we have had in the past had ended with me walking away because I don't want my fucking heartbroken by literally the one person we are all just supposed to trust from day one, by saying and quote, "I was only a bad parent because you didn't come with the instruction manual when you were born." Like, excuse me, bitch? CHILDREN HAVE NEVER EVER come with instruction Manuel's and it should NEVER be the oldest siblings' responsibility to 'step up' to the plate and raise the other sibling(s). Unfortunately, none of us got that choice. And if you were/are in a situation like that, I'm sorry and my heart hurts for you. As forementioned with my father, my mother would probably have to have her own post... DON'T DO METH KIDS!

So yeah, with those two 'shining' examples of homosapiens getting me started in life and watching the way they handled their anger, that's what I thought was okay and acceptable, and having to spend so far eighty-six percent of my life alone, I am having to work super fucking hard to make sure that I don't end up like them and I would say so far so good. Growing up I had a dream about becoming a professional wrestler and I am so thankful to whatever ultimate power there is out there, that I actually get to wake up and be excited about life because I get to say I am the only one in the immediate family that has had a dream as crazy as this (maybe they did, I don't give a shit.) In a weird way, I feel like I'm above them. That may sound crude to those who only read this and will never have the misfortune of meeting my mother (father died, just waiting on the last one to go at this point.) "You shouldn't talk about her that way, she's your mom." Yeah well, just the same as she shouldn't have picked meth over her kids. If she decides to get clean, good for her, if not, still no skin off my shoulders there pal. I'm living my dream, she smoked hers away. She had the chance when she was a junior in High school to become a full-out actual model. She fucked that off by getting her a tattoo just because she wanted it -in the moment- without it thinking about the toll it would have on her life later down the road.

Yeah, I know we're all fucked up, shaken never stirred and always sit a little too far over to the left, and everyone has issues that are similar if not pretty close. I just don't know anyone in real life that I feel I can talk to about these types of things. I would talk to my husband about it but I stopped doing so when I started listening to myself as I talked. Repetition, Repetition, Repetition. I got self-conscious about talking the poor man's ear off about the same stupid shit. As his wife I am supposed to be there and make sure his life is positive and not the other way around. I guess in a weird way, it would be kind of nice to know that I'm not alone right now. In my day to day activities I am the only person I know of who has BPD. Shit is lonely. Almost isolating.

Sorry for the long post if you made it this far, neat! Thanks for indulging me, friends.

[cinnamoonsworld]

Two Worlds Collide - Chapter 9 [Aizawa x fem!reader]

Hi guys!  There are very few chapters left at the end, and this chapter (which I loved writing) will be ultrafluff! Thanks to my boyfriend for the translation, enjoy <3  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------  Previous chapters: ch1 | ch 2 | ch3 | ch 4| ch5 | ch6 | ch7 | ch 8 You can also find me on Ao3! Word count: 1885  TW: none, pure fluff  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- "(Y/N), is this chord ok??" Azai asked you by playing a chord with the guitar. "That’s exactly what I had in mind, very good Azai!" You said smiling. December had already started a few days ago, and the Christmas air was starting to feel more and more in the air. You liked to walk around the street and see all the decorations and lights that seemed to wrap around shop windows, trees and street lamps. Besides, you were very happy to see the decorations every day since you had to go to the rehearsal room to try with the band you had found together with Present Mic. In mid-November, Present Mic invited you to its radio show. He had decided to interview you and, during the interview, to make an announcement to find a band that would support you during the famous U.A. Christmas party. You were very concerned that your former manager had been spreading rumors in order to hinder you as much as possible, instead, a few days later, a flood of musicians appeared. After a long audition, and a long discussion, you and Hizashi chose the musicians who, in your opinion, found themselves more in touch with you to play. The time was short, and there were many things to do. In a month you had to write at least six new songs, with lots of music and arrangements together with the members of your new band. You felt happy to work with someone who dictated his choices to you and gave freedom to your tastes and opinions. The songs were taking shape, although you couldn’t find the lyrics to the sixth and final song. You used to crank up your thoughts trying to knock something down, but you just couldn’t. Aizawa also noticed this block. Usually, while you were correcting your homework, you would suddenly stop with your face glowing, and you would rush to get the notebook that you had in your work bag and then start writing quickly so you wouldn’t lose the ideas that you had just come up with. Aizawa didn’t blame you if you momentarily left in half what you were doing, he understood perfectly that what you were experiencing was a crucial moment for your career. "Well guys, that’s enough for tonight!" You happily announced. "Thank you all, we were very good all as usual! I’ll see you tomorrow night." You all applauded for the job well done and greeted each other. You were thinking about the shopping to do before going back to the dorm (with all these commitments you often did not remember to have an empty fridge), when at the entrance of the studios you found a figure familiar to you that controlled lazily the cell phone. "Shouta?" You asked a little out of your mind. "What are you doing here?" "I was on my way, and I thought I’d stop and wait for you." He replied with his usual tired tone. He actually asked Hizashi where the rehearsal room was where you went every day, and he decided to surprise you. He had this weird urge to see you, and since he didn’t have to go on any rounds that night, he decided he wanted to spend some time with you outside of school. Even though he was wearing a heavy black coat and a pair of jeans of the same color, you still thought he was beautiful. You immediately turned red in the face to think that of your superior, and tried to hide your face inside the scarf. "How would you like to go to dinner somewhere?" the hero suddenly asked. "Since it’s already dinner time now..." "G-going out to dinner? You and m-me?" You stuttered trying to hide badly the embarrassment and emotion that were taking over you. Aizawa stared at you with his obsidian eyes, perfectly concealing the panic he was experiencing at the time. He didn’t understand where all that courage was coming from, but he decided to play it all. "Of course." You said, finally, with a big smile in your heart that you felt it pounding in your ears. "With great pleasure." Aizawa was a very rational person, and he almost couldn’t get over how he kept thinking about you all the time. These new feelings a little scared him, but he was curious at the same time. So it was happening to you too, that you had never felt such a strong attraction to someone even though you were always a person who almost never followed logic but a lot of instinct. As you tried to keep your embarrassment at bay, the raven stopped in front of a family restaurant, carefully pondering whether it was the right place to take you or not. "Shouta." you chased him, seeing him in trouble. " I have no problem eating anywhere, I’ll settle for a bowl of ramen." Feeling relieved, he made his way into the restaurant. As much as it was a family restaurant, the environment was cozy and very reminiscent of a country house. A smiling waitress welcomed you and took you to a smaller table than the standard ones. It was full of families with small children, all very excited about the arrival of Christmas and the gifts that Santa Claus would have found under the tree. After studying the menus and ordering, you and Aizawa stayed quiet for a while. You didn’t know where to start, everything in your head seemed stupid and you didn’t want to look stupid in front of him. "Excuse me for asking (Y/N)." Aizawa said, ending the silence "Why don’t you ever use your Quirk?" Here, the question straight to the stomach like a punch. "It’s not that easy..." You sighed, looking for the exact words with which to answer. " Here...see...I don’t know where to start exactly." While inside you the panic began to rise, Aizawa noticed and took you by the hand. He didn’t understand why he did it either, but that instinctive gesture seemed like the right thing to do at that moment to calm you down. You began to feel the fear waning feeling the warmth of his hand over yours. "As beautiful as the Quirk of telekinesis can be, it is very difficult to control." You told quietly. " In addition to training for many years, you must also be a person who does not get caught up in strong emotions. Unfortunately I am not one of them." "Did your manager ever help you control your powers?" asked the raven. "Unfortunately, no...it was not uncommon that many times I destroyed the dressing rooms in anger, frustration or stress. He was willing to pay handsomely to keep people quiet about how destructive my power could be. But it’s much better now, I’m much better and I’m much quieter." As soon as the speech was over, the waitress came with your orders. "Have you ever had problems with your Quirk?" You asked for a bite. "In high school, I thought my power was useless." Aizawa replied, sketching a smile. "Until I realized, after a bad accident, that my friends were right about me, that I was strong but I was afraid I wouldn’t live up to the expectations of others. Then in the third year I decided to become an independent Pro Hero...and now here I am, teacher and independent Pro Hero." "Now I understand why you always encourage kids to improve and overcome their fears." You spoke with a smile, and Aizawa felt her heart tremble. The dinner went on with your stories and anecdotes of life, surprising you both of how well you were with two totally different personalities. Aizawa knew perfectly well to intimidate many people with his apparently cold and detached character, so he did not care to deepen the acquaintance with someone. With you, it was different. Your sunny character attracted him almost like a bee is attracted by honey. He never got tired of you. You, on the other hand, found this character of him fascinating, a bit rough on the surface but so kind. His low, warm voice made you feel wrapped in a soft blanket. After dinner, you went to the dorms together. Sometimes you stopped showing Aizawa some light or Christmas decoration that you particularly liked. "We should put something inside the dorm too." You sighed as you watched a Christmas tree. "Well...you can ask Nezu if you can do it." Aizawa said with a little smile. " I’m sure the kids will appreciate it too, it’s not a bad idea." "Y-you mean it?" You answered the hero smiling. Aizawa didn’t like Christmas decorations very much or in general, but seeing you with such a dreamy look just couldn’t say no to you. As you turned to look at a particularly beautiful decoration, your phone fell out of your coat pocket. You were about to pick it up, when Ereserhead was about to do the same, and your hands touched. You looked straight into each other’s eyes, with you getting even redder than usual and he feeling his heartbeat soaring. "Look... before I did not asked you... can I hold your hand?" Aizawa asked, trying to best disguise his embarrassment.  "Of course." You answered without the slightest hesitation and smiled gently as you began to blush conspicuously. Aizawa’s hand, callous as it was, was warm and big. You would have wanted to sink your face into his hand. You wanted those big, hot, callous hands to caress your whole body... Hand in hand, you arrived at the U.A. dormitory, on the way you had talked a bit about what Aizawa wanted to do as a program in class before the Christmas holidays and the last dreadful surprise task that he would have found on the 1-A desks in two days. You had a lot of laughs about what to put on the test, and some faces that the kids would read certain questions. "So tomorrow we’ll meet right after the lessons that we finish writing the paper for the boys?" asked the raven holding your hand again. "Of course!" You replied smiling "I have rehearsals in the late afternoon anyway, so there are no problems." Even though you were room neighbors, he walked you to the doorstep of your bedroom door.

"Then good night Shouta.- Pronounce yourself trying to shake his hand as much as possible." Thank you for a wonderful evening."

"Thanks to you." Pro Hero replied in turn, sketching a little smile. Before he left your hand, you gave him a kiss on the cheek. You ran immediately inside your room and closed the door immediately. Your heart was racing, and you felt warmer than normal. Even though that was a rash gesture, you were happy to have done it. 

Aizawa was impaled for five minutes good at touching the point of his cheek that had come into contact with your lips. He was trying to figure out whether what had just happened was real or not. And that’s when the light finally came to you. You knew what would be the last new piece you would present. The song you cared about the most and wanted to use as a battlehorse. Without even getting undressed, you rushed to your desk and started writing in a flash.

[multiplefandomfics]

Change for the better

Pairing: Henry Cavill x OFC!Amelia

Warnings: cheating, angst, smut, swearing, sub/dom undertones, sir kink, size kink, unprotected sex

Words: 2169

Moving to London hadn’t been easy. Leaving friends, family and everything that had been familiar behind to start fresh. But it had been necessary. 

Let’s start a few weeks earlier, shall we?

“Darling? I’m home. I made it earlier than I thought. The surgery fell flat. Patient died before I could cut him open. Such a shame. Would have been a really cool surgery.” Amelia called through the two story townhouse. 

“Jake? Where are you?” she followed the music to the bedroom door and pushed it open. She stepped inside and heard giggling and laughter from the en suite bathroom. In that moment she knew exactly what was going on. Still she wanted to confirm it so she opened the halfway open bathroom door fully and there they were. Her fiance Jake and Amelia’s favorite scrub nurse Olive in the bathtub together. 

“Are you fucking serious? I work 15 hours everyday to finance your lazy ass and that’s how you thank me? Screwing my OR nurse? You are unbelievable, asshole!! I’m done with this- with us! I’m leaving.” she yelled furiously. She grabbed most of her clothes and other things, threw them in suitcases and duffel bags and crammed them into her car. 

“Baby wait!” Jake had stumbled out of the house behind her. “I’m sorry this was a one time thing. I love you. We are getting married in 6 weeks. Surly you don’t want to blow that off.” he tried to convince her.

“You think I still want to marry you after you fucked that little whore in my house? And that’s what it is by the way. MY house. I want you out by the end of the week you can leave the keys on the kitchen table. I never want to see you again. Goodbye Jake.” and with those words she had gotten into her car and left him standing there in his bathrobe.

She was seeing red and did not have a goal to reach. She did not want to see her parents because her mother was an arrogant bitch who only thought about what the neighbors would think about her breaking off the engagement. Her mother would probably make her marry the cheating bastard anyways. 

So she kept on driving. 16 hours and a ferry boat ride later and she arrived totally exhausted in London. She always wanted to see the town again and now was the time. 

She had found a hotel where she could park her car in a garage and went to check in. 

“Good morning. I’d like to check in please.” Amelia asked, friendly.

“Good morning. Of course. Do you have a reservation?” the desk clerk smiled broadly.

“No, unfortunately not. I came here spontaneously. Is that a problem?” 

“Not at all Miss. I just need your ID or Passport and Credit Card to check you in.” she kept on smiling so sickly sweet.

“Alright, sure. Here you go.” she handed her cards over. 

20 minutes later she had her car parked inside the garage, her stuff in her room and was face planting the bed. She fell asleep almost instantly.

When she woke up the sun was almost setting but she felt rested and decided to find a bar or pub to drink and maybe get laid.

She took a shower did her hair and make up and put on the hottest dress she could find before asking the desk clerk in the lobby for the closest and coolest bar around. 

Turned out that that pub was exactly 200 metres away from the hotel and was already relatively crowded at 9pm. 

Amelia found a stool at the bar top and got the attention of the bartender. 

“Hi what can I get you?” she asked.

“What can you recommend for a woman who has been cheated on by her fiance in her own house with her favorite co worker?” she sighed.

“Wow that sounds like a story I’d like to hear completely. You know what? I’m gonna mix you something and you spill your guts. You will feel much better afterwards, I promise you.” she had already grabbed a tall glass and was pouring various kinds of alcohol inside. 

The night progressed like that. Melissa, that was the bartender's name, handed her drink after drink but slipped a few shots of water in between once in a while. Which Amelia was too drunk to notice. They talked for hours. 

At around midnight someone sat down next to Amelia and ordered whiskey. Amelia had already sobered up a little and recognized the voice instantly. 

Her head snapped to the left and indeed there he sat- Superman- The Witcher himself: Henry Cavill.

“Holy crap, you’re Henry Cavill!” she exclaimed breathlessly.

“Yes I am. Nice to meet you.” he smiled warmly. “Can I buy you a drink?”

“I am Amelia and yes you can.” she turned her body now fully toward him. 

“You seem upset. Care to tell me?” he suddenly asked after chugging his drink.

“I have told this story already today. Melissa would you be so kind as to tell Mr. Cavill my shitty last 24 hours?” she almost begged the bartender.

“Of course my dear.” Melissa winked. 

“Well, long story short:her  fiance was an ass and cheated on her with a coworker in her own house. She left instantly and drove 16 hours straight through and came to London.” Then she walked over to another customer on the other side of the bar.

“Wow, I’m sorry to hear that. It’s a riddle to me how someone can cheat on a woman as beautiful and obviously intelligent as you. Such a shame. But maybe luck for me?” he winked and seemed very sure of himself. 

“I didn’t pick you out to be such a flirt. But I like it.” Amelia had nothing to lose. For the first time in ages she felt free and if that ended in her getting to sleep with the really hot actor which is Henry Cavill she would definitely go for it. 

They talked about this and that and by the time last call came around she knew so much more about Henry than magazines and the internet could have ever told her. 

“I’m sorry to break this up guys but you will have to leave now. It’s 6am and we are about to close.” Melissa came around the bar.

“Alright Mel, see you tomorrow maybe.” Henry said and tipped her generously.

Henry and Amelia walked through the streets. “You want some coffee? Sober up a bit more? Keep talking? I really enjoy talking with you.” he finished.

“Yes sure. You know a place not too far which is open?” Amelia smiled at him.

“Of course. It is 6am in London. I know the perfect Deli for breakfast and coffee. Let’s go.” he grabbed her hand and pulled her over the street and towards a brightly lit Deli. 

They both got inside, ordered coffee and sandwiches and sat down in the almost completely empty Diner. 

“These are really good.” Amelia pointed to her sub.

“I know, that’s why I like coming here after a night out.” he agreed.

Then Amelia’s phone rang. She took it out of her jacket pocket and groaned. 

“It’s him isn’t it?” he asked and she nodded annoyed. “Here, give me that phone. I’ll talk to him. He will leave you alone after this.” he smiled and she again had nothing to lose. 

“Hello. Amelia’s phone. She cannot come to the phone right now. She is very busy right now. Who I am. That is none of your business anymore. As far as I know, you cheated on her and she left you. So now she is free and can do whatever with whoever she wants. Goodbye douchebag and never call this number again. Oh yes, I am supposed to remind you that you have a week to move out.” with that he hung up and Amelia couldn’t stop herself from laughing so loudly other customers were starting to look.

“Thank you Henry. That was epic. But I think I’m still going to block him on all channels so he keeps away from me. And I wanted to marry that son of a bitch. How unbelievably stupid of me.” she buried her head in her hands. Suddenly her mood had changed dramatically.

“Hey.” he laid his hand on her cheek and forced her to look at him.

“Hey.” he repeated himself. “It is not your fault that he is a cheating bastard. You were working hard to support his ass and he did not appreciate that.”

“But maybe I should have taken more time with him. Maybe then he would not have cheated…” 

“Stop it! It is not your fault. It is exclusively his. Stop thinking about it. You dodged a bullet, beautiful.” 

“You are right. I should be grateful that he is gone.” she looked into his beautiful eyes and kissed him. She just jumped into cold water. 

“My hotel isn’t far. Wanna go?” she whispered against his lips. He nodded energetically. 

The walk there was quick. Only a few 100 metres stumbling, kissing over the sidewalk. 

“Which floor?” out of breath after the elevator doors had closed. 

“8th.”she mumbled. 

He grabbed the key card out of her hand and unlocked the door. 

She stumbled inside before him and he caught her before she could fall, carrying her to the bed. 

“Strip for me darling.” he demanded.

“Yes, sir!” she saluted at him 

“I like the sound of that.” he smirked naughtily.

She stripped obediently and waited for him to remove his clothes as well. But he didn’t budge. 

“Get on your knees!” he commanded. There was a quiet understanding between them. The question whether she was okay with this or not was only asked by his eyes and she obediently dropped to her knees. So he continued with opening his pants and pulling out his dick. “Now open up sweetheart and don’t you dare touch yourself.” his voice was stern but he had a mischievous glint in his eyes. 

Amelia opened her mouth wide and stuck out her tongue. He grabbed her hair into a ponytail and slowly pushed his length into her mouth and down her throat. She had to work hard to suppress her gag reflex. “Shit, babe. Fuck you’re a natural.” he groaned. It was music to her ears. She took him deep and stroked what couldn’t fit in her mouth with her hands. Bobbing her head up and down. Sometimes her throat constricted around his girth when she had to swallow which made him let out the most amazing noises.

Suddenly he pulled her off of her. “Stop! I don’t want it to end too soon.”

He pulled her up and kissed her deeply. “You are amazing. Now on the bed with you. On your back. Legs spread wide. I need some space.” he winked and again she obeyed.

She was so excited. Her juices were flowing freely down her thighs and ass cheeks. 

He kneeled between her legs and swiped his dick head through her folds. Catching on her clit ever so often. “Oh shit Henry. Please don’t tease me.” he smirked. “Beg for it then. Tell me what you want.” 

“Please, sir I need you so bad. I’m so wet for you, only for you. I need to feel you.” Before she could say anymore he lost his last bit of composure and pushed inside her.

“Damn! Holy- Fuck. So deep.” she moaned. His thrusts were hard and slow giving her the right amount of pain and pleasure. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head when she neared her end. She clawed her nails into his shoulders and was only able to moan a mixture of his name and curses. “Cum for me darling!” he whispered into her ear kissing down her neck and that was all it took for her to let go. Then he lost it too. 

When he had caught his breath he rolled off of her. “That was great!” she panted. 

“Yes, it was. We definitely need to do this again. Did I hurt you?” he suddenly asked concerned.

“Only in the best way possible. That was really hot.” 

That is essentially the story of how Amelia moved to London. She wanted to be close to her new future. She never heard from Jake again and after Henry had talked to him on the phone he had moved out really quickly. So Amelia could sell her house and get a position at a hospital in Britain's capital city. Even her mother shut up about the broken up engagement after Amelia had told her who her new boyfriend was. 

In the end, Amelia finding out about her stupid idiot of an ex-fiance cheating on her, was the best thing that could have happened to her. 

[seriouslyhooked]

When We Collide (Part 2)

Emma Swan has always known one thing: trust no one but yourself. Unfortunately she forgot her one rule and now she’s paying for it. One bad decision led her to the monstrous ‘Crocodile’ a mobster in New York who goes by the name Gold. Hope seems lost until she meets another person in this underworld, Killian Jones. Despite the place they find each other, a true love blossoms, and they manage to get away. But what will happen when Emma discovers who Killian really is? Will love prevail? Um, yeah, I’m writing this, so duh – it’s all love all the time. Fic features motorcycles, hot guys in leather cuts, and a bit of action/drama. Will end happily, and despite the first chapter, will be light on angst. Part 1. Available on FanFiction Here and AO3 Here.

A/N: Hey everybody! So first and foremost, thank you all so much for your responses to the first chapter of this fic. It has been exciting to wade into new waters, and this AU is exactly that for me. As promised last time, this chapter represents a jump into the future, and many of you might think to yourselves, wow, Emily, you really skipped a lot of stuff here. No worries, there will be some flashbacks and plenty of explanations going forward. I just don’t love angst so much, and wanted to get us to a better place before we relive some of the earlier parts of this CS love story. Anyway, thanks to you all for tuning back in and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Three Months Later

Packing up the last of his things in this shithole apartment, Killian was struck by how easy it was to say goodbye to a place he’d lived for months on end.

It was no hardship to close this chapter and to bid farewell to this hollow and lifeless space. Oh it had flair and style, and many would see it and acknowledge that by New York City standards this flat was a castle in the sky, with clean white lines and ample room considering the density of the city. But it would never be his style. His home – his real home - was nothing like this. It was free and open and warm. It was removed from the hustle and bustle, nestled away in a place of calm. Not like this place.

From the jump, Killian made sure to keep nothing of value stowed away here. There were furnishings included when he signed the lease, ones that spoke to his higher status in the syndicate, and which gave the right air of self-importance, should anyone ever come to check up on him. Yet there were no traces of him at all, despite the privacy and protection the place provided. He brought no remnants of his past or his real life to New York. There were no pictures, no mementos, nothing that he looked at and saw any real value in. Everything here was part of a façade designed to keep up with the lies he told to stay alive, and even that was kept to a bare minimum. Lies were easier to manage when there were less of them to own, and to an outsider, this place looked exactly like what it was – the crash pad of a man with very little time and little attention to decorative details. That never bothered Killian though, as this place was not important; it was merely a means to an end.

That end was grounded in one goal: kill the man they called the Crocodile. It was the only reason he’d ever come to New York, the reason he’d started this descent into the underbelly of society. It had driven him for years, the need to get revenge on a beast so sinister he couldn’t even be called a man. Slowly but surely, Killian had ingratiated himself into the world of this monster, climbing up the ranks of the man’s operation, earning tiny morsels of Gold’s trust, and getting ever closer to a moment where he could kill his enemy, ridding the world of one of its darkest beings. But then something unexpected happened – in the midst of total darkness, he’d found an angel, the only one capable of pulling him into the light. Emma.

Emma Swan was a rare gem in the midst of soot and ash. In the New York underworld, where Killian had been operating for over a year, he had never run into anyone like her, but three months back, when he was returning from a run, he’d encountered her for the first time. It was all a matter of chance really. He had only just arrived from his assignment monitoring a shipment of guns from the Irish to the Crocodile. His job was to survey the transaction, to make sure the Irish held up their end, and to ensure the guns made it from point a to point b. Then, right as he was reporting back for duty, another member of the crew was busted for skimming profits by Gold. Gold’s normal enforcer was tied up with a cartel issue, necessitating Killian’s retrieval abilities to be used for the first time. It was at first a sign from a higher power that he was moving up the ranks, and Killian appreciated that movement if it meant justice would come sooner. But then he saw Emma, and in the sight of such a heavenly gift, his whole world shifted. He hardly deserved her, stained as he was from the choices he had made and the things that he’d done, but from the moment they met, he was dead set on trying to be better for her and for the sake of their future.

Closing his eyes even now, he remembered that night so clearly. Emma was dressed in the bar’s uniform of a short black skirt and a revealing gold top. It was barely decent, designed to be leered at by patrons, and certainly not made for the long, grueling hours that she worked. But as he watched her strut about the place in those matching black heels no woman should be able to maneuver, Killian felt the pierce of cupid’s arrow at his breast. Her long blonde hair hung loose around her in cascading curls that tempted his fingers. He wanted to run his hand through it and see if it felt as silky smooth as those golden strands appeared. His eyes trailed down her body and he’d taken in her mix of slender curves and undeniable allure. Then he looked back to her face again, struck by its charm and classic beauty.

Just the sight of her was enough to leave him breathless, but when she looked at him and he watched her cheeks flush and her lip catch between her teeth, he was gone. She didn’t seem aware in the slightest of the situation she was causing just by existing. Maybe she thought she was attractive, she must, given the ogling eyes that emanated from every corner of the Lair, but the truth was Emma was temptation made flesh. It was like a star made of hope and possibility had come down from heaven and graced this dismal place with one of its own. Though the bar was dark, every light seemed to find its way to her and the rest of the world faded away. For a moment Killian had wondered if he were suffering from some kind of hallucination, but after blinking a few times Emma remained where she was. Thank Christ.

That first night, their meeting was too quick. They had no time to delve deeper or see if the spark of their first interaction was more than a moment, but Killian knew it was. The second he touched her, a thrill coursed through his veins, lighting him up in ways he’d never been before. At that moment, he realized he could never truly walk away from this woman. One subtle graze of skin on skin and he was hooked, addicted to her light and vibrancy. That made leaving her that night and every other night the past few months so damned regrettable, but now that was over. Tonight they’d be leaving New York, never to come back to this hell on earth, and for the rest of his days he’d stay with his Swan, protecting her, adoring her and loving her forever more.

Those thoughts of forever stayed with him as he double checked the apartment one last time. A final scan revealed what he expected – there was nothing of import to leave behind. His whole life fit in one small rucksack, and that was for the best. He didn’t want to prompt suspicion as he left, and his neighbors were used to seeing him with bags of this shape and size. It needed to look like any other night, and thanks to his carefully plotted attentions, it did.

Sitting behind the wheel of the vehicle he’d been using this past year, Killian started it up and heard the tell-tale purr of its sport ability. It was purposefully subtle, but anyone who knew cars knew this model was a beast on the road. Made for daring speeds and fast getaways, this car had been an accessory to a number of questionable moments, but none held the stakes he was facing tonight. He pulled out of the car park and drove, his awareness at an all-time high as he looked down at his watch. He had an hour to get somewhere twenty minutes away, but he used every minute to make sure he was safe and undetected.

Though no one was following him at any point of the drive, Killian made sure to take precautions. He took mostly side streets and alleyways that he’d studied now for weeks. Gold knew all the details of this car, and he was notorious for keeping track of his soldiers, so Killian had to be prepared. Gold had a connection to the police department and an all access pass to their street-search camera grid. More than 90% of the city was hooked into this means of surveillance, but Killian had studied that grid for weeks, and by now knew how to avoid nearly every camera.

When he finally arrived at the drop site, he was certain that no one had followed him and he was confident his movements were not noted. He then moved to the side of the dilapidated building he’d parked behind and took out his supplies. He had a crowbar to remove the license plates, and a blasting gun to cut out all trackable VIN numbers and different parts identifiers. He eroded those trackable features and then took the gasoline can he’d hidden in this building days ago and doused the car. He lit the fucker up, and watched the flames rise. With a blaze this high there was always a risk, but he knew this was out of the way and the burn would hurt nothing and no one. In ten minutes enough damage would be done to destroy any evidence, but even that wasn’t enough. His contact’s men would be here tomorrow to drag the wreckage to impound and have it compacted. There’d be no trace left of this car for anyone to find.

When enough time had passed for Killian to be certain the blaze would stay strong enough to work, he walked half a mile to the nearest bus stop. He traveled five stops rather quickly given the time of night, and then walked another quarter mile to the warehouse where he was set to meet the man who could get him out of here. By the time he walked up to the back door, the timer he’d set on his watch buzzed. He was exactly on time, but from what he could tell, he was the first to arrive.

Moving forward, Killian saw the shoddy looking tarp along the back wall and smiled. He moved to the object with purpose and pulled off the covering to reveal his bike. Damn he’d missed the old girl. He couldn’t keep any trace of this motorcycle while on his quest for revenge, but he couldn’t bear to give her up. Call him sentimental, but this machine was too beautiful and capable to abandon. It was the first splurge he’d allowed himself when he got out of the service, and the closest key to freedom a man could possess. For a long time, this bike had been his greatest love in life. But remembering that fact struck him in the gut. Now that he thought about it, that was pretty pathetic. He had never really understood love until Emma, and this moment made that all too clear.

“Is this the part where you tell me you’re having second thoughts?” a voice asked from behind Killian and without turning he knew it was Will Scarlet, his ticket out of what would otherwise be a sticky situation. Killian cursed at his lack of attentiveness. For Will to be able to walk in here without him knowing was not good, even if Will was a specialist at doing exactly that.

“Never,” Killian replied, finally meeting his friend’s gaze.

“Well, if you’re going to righteously piss off the most powerful man in New York, you might as well have conviction,” Will joked. Killian couldn’t join him in the lightheartedness, because he understood that under the teasing tone was all truth. The Crocodile would be pissed, but it didn’t matter. He’d be weighed down in a trap too strong to break out of, and while he wrangled with the crumbling of his empire, Killian and Emma would break away once and for all.

“You get the files?” Will asked, his face searching for good news. Killian laughed and produced the small flash drive Will had given him a month ago. He tossed it across the room to Will’s waiting hands.

“Have I ever failed you?”

“Not once,” Will said truthfully. “Makes me happy you changed your mind on all this. I know this wasn’t your first plan.”

Will was hinting at Killian’s original intention, which was to kill Gold, not turn his allegiances to the feds. Once upon a time a legal take down of this monster had been considered deeply unsatisfying. The only thing Killian thought he would ever accept was the knowledge that Gold was dead and by his hands, but that all changed with Emma. He couldn’t have his revenge like that and have her too, for a multitude of reasons. For one thing, logistically he’d never survive an assassination against the Crocodile. The man was highly guarded with too many fail safes in place for it to be a clean and easy kill. For another, he’d never be able to look his sweet Swan in the eyes again if he killed in cold blood. He’d taken lives before, but never in vengeance. It was always for honor, to protect the living, not avenge the dead.

“Plans change.”

“That they do, especially when there’s love involved.”

Killian didn’t even try to argue with that assessment from Will. He made no attempt to hide his feelings for Emma. In fact, he’d been candid from the start. When he reconnected with Will three months ago, a few days after meeting his Swan, he was honest from the start. He would help to bring Gold in, but his price was absolute.

“Did you hold up your end of the bargain?”

“You know I did,” Will said, producing papers that Killian looked over, knowing they’d be burned in a matter of minutes.

They said everything he needed to see – official signed approval from a judge that he had total and full immunity from all actions he’d taken as a member of Gold’s crew. An exemption of identification from the impending trial, and a promise that he and Emma would never be called to testify. Their names were so far out of this, the FBI had no server that held their names. Will had told exactly no one who they were except the judge, and the judge was clean and able to be trusted.

“It didn’t hurt when he saw your military record,” Will admitted, causing Killian to flinch. No one was supposed to see that. His work was always too classified for anyone to know. “But don’t worry, all history of that being accessed were completely erased. I used data protection NSA couldn’t crack.”

“And the reward money?”

“The funds have all been wired to the specified account. Emma is the only one with access, all of it under her new last name.”

Killian lit the pages on fire, trusting all of this to be above board. He didn’t dare to take them with him as they were traveling and he knew Will would have deposited needed copies somewhere they’d be safe. In the meantime, Will produced a pouch with new passports and IDs as well as a stack of cash. Killian raised a brow at the money and Will shrugged.

“I wasn’t sure how much you were taking with you, and that’s 3 months of CI pay I never gave you. Maybe you can stay in some half decent places. Treat your girl to something better than a Motel 6.”

Killian didn’t bother arguing with Will. He didn’t need the money, he’d brought plenty already, and he had more than enough stashed back home. But he accepted Will’s generosity and knew he’d use it to spend on Emma. God knew she deserved it, and he would find a way to make her happy, providing him the only reward he could ever want.

“What’s the temperature looking like this evening?” Will asked, and Killian took the question for what it was – Will wanted to know how much heat Gold and his men would be packing.

“Six Hungarians, two Russians, and the Irishmen. Anywhere from four to seven. Gold will be there, but not his son.”

“Neal fall out of favor again?” Will asked.

“He’s leaky,” Killian said, repeating Gold’s exact words.

The irony was not lost on him – it was only though Gold’s son that Killian had managed to get access to the server Gold kept hold of containing all of his extensive blackmail accounts for decades. Even with that though, there had been a need for hacking the system and Killian had needed Neal to get that done. Gold’s son was given just enough to think he mattered, but nothing near the whole scope of any issue. Still, the bust was going to focus primarily on the things Gold’s son did know, and subsequent prosecutions of Gold and his allies would be explained away as revelations that came from those initial breadcrumbs.  

“Can’t deny that. His big mouth is the bedrock of this whole case. Well at least it was, until this. I owe you for this, Killian.”

“And I owe you. Without you I couldn’t have done this. For Emma and for me.”

“Well, the bust goes down in thirty more minutes. And you’ve got places to be. Wouldn’t want to keep the little missus waiting,” Will said, and though the words slammed into Killian, he had to push through. If he wanted to make that title a reality for Emma, not just on the papers they’d been given, they had to get out of here. The stakes were too high for them to mess around.

With a last goodbye to Will, Killian revved up his motorcycle and shot out into the night. He had one last spot to go to, and he just prayed that when he got there Emma would be there safe and sound. It was a risk, what he was asking her to do tonight, but she was so damn smart and savy, and above all, she was a survivor. He had to believe that she could do this and that it would all go exactly as it should.

What if she was discovered leaving? He thought, as he got closer to their hideout. What if the Crocodile has somehow discovered our plan? Hell, what if she’s changed her mind, or if she’s realized that she is worth so much more than a man who bears the scarring of a criminal?

These thoughts plagued him as he raced to the abandoned garment factory that was ten blocks from The Lair. It was way too close for comfort, but just outside of Gold’s highly surveilled radius. Ten blocks in New York at night was a worrying trek for anyone, but for Emma, a ‘ward’ of Gold’s who owed a debt, it was potentially fatal. The fear at what might happen if she was caught grabbed hold of his heart, and when his anxiety was about to take him over, he heard the soft echo of Emma’s knock on the wooden door. It was a sound pattern only the two of them knew and his heart leapt in relief as he moved to let her in. When he saw her there on the other side of the door, safe and looking like she could hardly wait to go, Killian felt like the luckiest man alive.

“You’re here,” he whispered, pulling her into him, his arms encircling her and pulling her close so he could breathe her in and convince himself he hadn’t dreamed her up.

“Of course, I’m here,” replied sincerely, her hand coming up to cup his cheek as her eyes searched his. Her smile was the most beautiful thing the world over, as was the soft laugh she let escape in the fact of his needless worry. “You promised me forever, Killian, and I intend to collect.”

Her words pushed him to action, and without thought to the fact that they needed to get going as soon as could be, Killian kissed her. It wasn’t a tame expression of his love either, but a scintillating symbol of his unyielding devotion to Emma and her pleasure. He would live every day of his hopefully long life worshiping her and trying to make her see how much he loved her. She was a miracle – his saving grace – and if he could make her feel even a fraction of the joy and happiness she brought into his life he would be happy. All of that promise he threw into this kiss, and when they finally broke apart, Emma’s responding expression told him she’d understood him completely and that she wanted him just as much.

“Forever isn’t enough,” Killian said honestly. “No amount of time could ever be enough with you, Swan.”

“I know,” Emma whispered before pressing one last soft kiss against his lips. “So let’s not wait any more. Let’s go home.”

Killian loved the sound of that, and though he had to keep his wits about him as they left the city, Killian couldn’t recall ever being so happy. With Emma’s hand in his, he felt like the king of the world, and when they both got on his bike, with her body pressed tightly against his back as they sped off in the night, he knew he was invincible and that he’d do whatever it took to get them out of this darkness and towards a life truly worthy of his love.

Post-Note: So there we have it. I know that these first two chapters have been shorter. I think there’s a very good chance that the chapters will get longer as the story develops. I just wanted to get us out of the darkness before I really delve in. Next chapter we will also go back to Emma’s POV and we will get her perspective of what freedom means to her, and what she wants in a life post-Gold. I am still really excited for this story, and I think it’s offsetting my muse well. Going back and forth between this and ‘Feels This Way’ which is like the opposite story line, is awesome, and I hope it keeps me on a good path writing wise. Anyway, I want to thank you all so much for reading. I would love to hear what you think, and as always, hope this chapter finds you well and enjoying your weekend!

[etlunainmorte]

✒ P.S. I Love You ✒

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I

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"Ah - ah, ah! Ah - ah, ah! We come from the land of the ice and snow. From the midnight sun, where the hot springs flow. The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands to fight the horde, and sing and cry,

Valhalla, I am coming!"

The poet looked up from his book, unable to concentrate on his reading due to Nico's loud and obnoxious singing, not to mention her nasty habit of cigar smoking. The poor and abused speaker in the van has been blasting Led Zeppelin since the minute they left Dante's shop and it was taking a toll on both his ears, his nerves, and his sanity.

V preferred silence, honestly. He just doesn't have the heart to tell her. She was so excited upon knowing that she could tag along that she didn't even notice the bleak weather and the growing dread all over the place. And as they drove towards their destination, the lively and colorful buildings of Red Grave became fewer and fewer by the minute, the wind beginning to sound more and more like an agonized howling.

All in all, a perfect scenario from a horror movie that could be considered cliché and overused.

And when Nico screeched to the Immigrant Song for the tenth time that day, Griffon's feathers stood up and his multiple golden pupils dilated.

"FUCKING SHIRLEY! I'M OUTTA HERE!" The poor demonic bird squawked as he hastily hid back inside the poet. V's other familiar, a huge feline called Shadow, bared her fangs at the woman, hissed angrily, and returned to him as well.

V ignored the woman and his urge to slam the speaker with his cane and looked out of the window, observing the old fashioned houses that came into his view.

"We're almost there." Nico told him, her move to turn off the speaker finally blessing his ears with some much needed peace. "To be totally frank, I've never been in this part of the city before. This place has a reputation, ya know."

"Reputation, you say?" V repeated the word as he curiously looked back at his female companion.

Nico waved a single hand as her eyes rolled. "The place is nice, so are the neighbors. But, ya know, this place was rumored to be cursed. Had an endless chain of unfortunate events since the 1900s."

"Like what kind of unfortunate events?" This really caught his attention.

"Oh, nothin'. Just a few deaths here and there, rich neighbors goin' bankrupt all of a sudden, wives being left by husbands due to third party relationships, wives being left by husbands permanently, if ya know what I mean. Yeah. That kind of thing." Nico explained with slight amusement in her tone. "But, I believe none of them curses. Or in fate. It's just how ya live yer life. If ya do good, then no harm could be done to ya. If not, well," the woman chuckled as she sucked on her cigar once more, making V duck from the smoke she just blew. "... shame on ya."

A few minutes more of driving finally led them to the place they were looking for. As V came out of the vehicle, he took a good long look at the house before him: two - story, a little old - fashioned, with a little garden on the side, and very simple. He waited for Nico to come out, and when she finally did, he started making his way towards the tiny patio of the house. He faced the door, idly evading the cozy - looking knitted mat that says welcome in it, and tapped the end of his cane thrice against it.

A few moments later, the door was opened by a kindly looking elderly woman in her late sixties wearing what looked like a brown gingham that was seemingly plucked straight from the 1900s.

Who knew Avery still lived with her grandmother?

"Oh, we have been expecting you!" The kind woman smiled at them as she opened the door wider to make way for them. "Come in! Make yourself at home."

"Thank you." Nico awkwardly answered as she followed V inside.

They were made to sit on a sofa amidst numerous pastel colored cushions, and as they began to settle down, they noticed the warm and cozy atmosphere of the house. It's as if it was impossible for it to be haunted in the first place.

"And just in time for tea and cookies!" The kind grandma sang as she brought a huge plate of chocolate chip cookies from the kitchen and placed it before V and Nico.

"We have ea - "

"Of course! Of course! Thank you so much." Nico blurted out, ignoring V's scornful look after receiving a painful nudge from her.

V watched helplessly as she took a cookie and received a cup of tea from the generous woman. And as he rubbed on the spot where Nico just nudged him, he spoke to the woman. "We would not want to impose on your,... kindness. If we could talk to Ms. Edwards right now, we could handle the business,... like how she instructed me to do."

To his surprise, the woman only raised a confused eyebrow. Despite her clear confusion, the smile on her lips never left her kind face.

"I believe you have the wrong house, my dears." The old woman croaked.

Nico almost choked on her tea after hearing those words from her. "S - sorry?"

A few embarrassing moments later, V found himself staring at a very intimidating and sprawling old mansion just across the street from the old woman's house. And unlike the cozy home they've just been accidentally invited into, this mansion looked like it was teeming with all kinds of restless evil spirits with its dark atmosphere and depressing status. No wonder Avery needed all the help she could get. He looked back at the gate of the house they were at and finally noticed the number on it - 749. 749. Avery's address is 794. Freaking 794.

"The Edwards live there, although the only one left is their daughter." The old woman mentioned, and with a wave of her hand, she bid them good luck and closed the door of her home, leaving the two outside and on such a cold weather.

"Okay, let's do this one more time." Nico muttered a few minutes later as she and V faced the massive wooden door. V did the honors and knocked as hard as he could, seeing that the brass knocker ( in the shape of, of course, a gargoyle ) was broken, and almost injured his knuckles.

And after what seemed like an eternity, Avery finally opened the door.

"You're late!" The young woman nagged, making V wish he was back at the sweet old lady's cozy house.

"We do apologize." The poet said as he felt the chilly air pass through the open door to his skin. And it made his hair stand on end. The weather outside was cold but,...

... the temperature of this house should not have a reason to be lower than that.

Something was really off about the place, and V could feel it in his bones even without entering the premises. It was as if some kind of dread has made its way to his chest and clutched tightly at his heart, making it heavy and painful. His head felt like it was slowly bloating, and the concrete beneath his feet suddenly became mushy. He was not entirely sure whether Nico felt the same but, he strangely felt so sick and sad all of a sudden.

And that was before he could even enter.

So when Avery finally forgave them and let them in, V knew, deep within his sane mind and his insane subconscious, that they're in for something truly malicious and insidious,...

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✒ @la-vita and @micaelagua . ✒

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✒✒✒

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[lonelyandlovelorn]

Stranger’s Bed

A/N: This is my first reader insert fanfiction I’ve ever written, so I’m sorry if it sucks. 

Genre: fluff, comfort

Warning: swearing, reference to being drugged

Words: 2500

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x fem reader

Summary: You wake up in a bed that definitely isn’t yours and try to figure out why your super handsome neighbor is here. 

Masterlist

You weren’t sure where you were. You knew you were in a bed, but you were also pretty sure it wasn’t your bed. It smelled different. Not bad, just kind of… manly? It was a familiar scent, you just couldn’t put your finger on why. All you really knew was that you were in a stranger’s bed, and that it didn’t make sense to you.

The first thing you checked when you woke up was that you weren’t naked in a stranger’s bed, because that would just be another level of bad. Thankfully, you were, in fact, fully clothed. The next thing you checked for was that there was no one else in the room with you and that you had your phone with you. Both of these were true so you had to pause and figure out what to do. Who had put you in their bed? And, since you obviously hadn’t had sex with whoever it was, why did they put you in their bed? Knowing that just staying wrapped in the mysterious stranger’s comforter wouldn’t help you get answers, you got up and started to walk down the hall of an apartment that was pretty similar to yours. You guessed this meant someone in your building had let you in.

It wasn’t until you neared the living room and noticed a picture on the wall that you realized whose apartment you were in. Right there, next to your face was a picture of two guys who were way too attractive for their own good, one blond and the other brunet. You vaguely knew Steve from how often he visited the apartment. Bucky’s apartment. That meant that somehow, Bucky Barnes, God’s gift to women, had let you in and put you into his bed. You knew you were a little tipsy last night, but you definitely didn’t have that much to drink.

“Morning,” you heard a gruff voice from behind you, startling you into a small scream before you caught yourself.

“Jesus Christ, thanks for the heart attack,” you muttered, trying to calm your breathing. Incredibly embarrassed by the entire situation, you glanced up at Bucky through your lashes and asked, “How did I get here last night? I don’t think I drank enough to not remember inviting myself into your bed.”

His face hardened a little from the kind mask that he had worn to greet you, but he fixed it fairly quickly, not wanting to frighten you. “Well, I went with Steve to the bar down the street, where I saw you. There was some creepy guy hovering next to you, and it just didn’t feel right so I walked up to see if you were okay. I don’t know what that asshole did, but you could hardly stand, and you didn’t exactly act like the drunk Y/N I know and love to meet on occasion.” At this, he smirked at you, knowing that when you were drunk, you got really flirty. However, both of you lost your sense of humor at the thought of what could have happened to you last night. He picked back up his story after a moment, “Anyway, I offered to walk you home, but when we got to your door, you couldn’t find your key and I didn’t really want to grope you to find it, so I just brought you in here instead.” He held his hands out in a mix between a “ta-da” and a shrug.

You were pretty embarrassed by the shape you were in, but very grateful to your handsome neighbor for taking care of you and saving you from God knows what. The more you thought about it, the more it scared you. You let out a heartfelt, if slightly shaky, “Thank you”, before you started to panic a little. If Bucky hadn’t been there, hadn’t cared enough to worry about you, this morning could have been very different. You were on the verge of tears when he pulled you into him and wrapped his arms around you, comforting you and holding you up all at once.

“I just feel so stupid. I was feeling a little down and a little lonely, so what did I do? I went to a bar alone, like an idiot. To top it all off, I was obviously an idiot who accepted a drink from a stranger. Horrible things could have happened and it would have been all my fault.” At this point you were sobbing into Bucky’s chest.

“Hey, this is not your fault,” he said softly, grabbing your face gently and looking you in the eyes. “Maybe you shouldn’t have gone alone, but the fact that that guy was a creep is not your fault. Horrible people doing horrible things is never anyone’s fault but theirs. Do you hear me?” You let out a half-hearted nod, still berating yourself for your poor choices, but feeling a little calmer after staring into his gorgeous blue eyes.

He comforted you for a few more minutes before offering to make you some breakfast. “What do you want? Eggs, bacon, omelettes?” He was listing off things, none of which really appealed to you, until he said, “Waffles?” You smiled and nodded excitedly. Waffles were something you didn’t get to eat that often, but you really loved when you had them. He smiled at you indulgently and moved towards the kitchen.

You stopped in the hallway after he left to gather yourself. You were still freaked out by what could have happened last night, but knowing that Bucky had been there for you was like a balm on the freak out that had been building. There was also the fact that your super hot neighbor that you had a major crush on had saved you and let you sleep in his bed. You didn’t want to look too far into that because you knew that he was honestly just a really great guy who would help anyone he saw in danger. But a small part of you wanted to believe that he had brought you here because he might care for you too. Realizing you were getting nowhere with your thoughts, you followed him in to the kitchen.

While watching him move around him kitchen with surprising ease, a thought sprung to mind. “Where did you sleep last night?” You realized he had given you his bed, which meant he had to have slept somewhere less comfortable.

He just shrugged. “The couch.” He could see immediately that you were going to apologize for doing nothing wrong, so he said, “Hey, I put you in my bed and chose to take the couch, don’t feel bad about it.”

“But you’re way too tall for that couch! I could have fit just fine,” you argued, though you realized in the back of your mind that there was no point now.

“I would never let a lady sleep on my couch while I was in the bed, I’m too much of a gentleman,” he said with a grin. You couldn’t help but smile back. Bucky was always attractive, but he was definitely cute when he was happy.

You sat at the counter, watching him prepare the food and hoping he couldn’t hear your stomach growling. For a man who was quite large, he was very graceful in his movement, never faltering with his hands or making mistakes. You were honestly a little jealous of how comfortable he was with his body, before you remembered the look on his face you sometimes saw when people would notice his metal arm or comment on it.

When you first met Bucky, you honestly didn’t notice the fact that his hand was literally made of metal for a couple of days. Even when you did notice, you never commented on it. Everyone has their own insecurities, and while you weren’t sure in the beginning that that was one for him, you never wanted him to feel like you thought he was weird or different. Sometimes though, when you saw Bucky out in public, somebody would notice his arm and stare at him like he was just a statue put there for them to gawk at. In those moments, you could see Bucky’s discomfort in his own body. You also honestly wanted to punch those people sometimes, tired of how they treated him.

You were pulled out of your thoughts by a cup of coffee and a plate of waffles placed in front of you. They smelled delicious and you smiled gratefully at Bucky before digging in. You didn’t realize how starving you were until you took your first bite of heaven, after which, you practically inhaled your food. You heard him chuckle a little next to you but ignored him in favor of enjoying your breakfast.

“Wow doll, when was the last time you ate?” You blushed a little at the term of endearment but shrugged.

“Sometime yesterday, I guess.” You didn’t want to admit that you had been feeling kind of down yesterday about being alone and your friend canceling plans on you that you didn’t really eat anything after breakfast.

“Alright, I gotta ask, why were you alone at a bar last night? You’re obviously a smart woman, and smart women don’t tend to go to a bar without company and accept drinks from strangers.” He was watching you, trying to figure out why he had found you in that condition. Unfortunately, you didn’t really want to admit why you went alone.

“Ah… it doesn’t matter, don’t worry about it.” You hoped he would let it go, but when you looked over at him, you saw that that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. “Alright fine, my friend cancelled plans with me last to go on a date. I was excited to see her because it’s been a while, but she just ditched me for some guy. I was already at the bar though, so I decided to drown my loneliness and self-pity in a couple of drinks. And then this guy comes up to me an actually pays some attention to me, so my lonely ass decided that I should drink the thing he gave me. After that, I don’t really remember anything, but I assume that’s where you came in.” You finished your story with a sigh, having dropped eye contact with him when you started talking about how lonely you were. You were his neighbor, you knew Bucky didn’t suffer loneliness as much as you did, if you were basing it on the company he had over.

Bucky’s hand came into your line of sight as he grabbed your hand where it was resting on the counter. You were kind of forced to look up at him, because that was obviously what he wanted. When you looked up at him, you saw exactly what you didn’t want to see in his eyes: pity.

“Doll, we all get lonely sometimes. But you’re a gorgeous woman, it can’t be that you don’t get any attention from men.” You laughed a little at that. “I’m serious, there’s no reason a gal like you should be alone.”

“I mean sure, I’ve been asked out before,” you said, shrugging a little, “but it’s never by a guy I want to ask me out.” The last part came out quite softly, hoping that he might not hear it.

“Who do you want to ask you out, then?” asked Bucky, an obtuse male in a sea of obtuse males. You side-eyed him a little bit, but refused to answer aside from telling him that it didn’t matter. “Any guy would be lucky to have you, doll.” After that, you heard him mutter “I would be lucky.” You didn’t think you were supposed to hear that, but it shocked you. You quickly looked at him. He must have realized that you had heard him, because he was blushing under your stare. “I mean, uh… can you just forget you heard that?”

Okay, if you thought happy Bucky was cute, a flustered Bucky was absolutely adorable. You couldn’t help but giggle, but you also were just in disbelief. There was no way that this actual model of a man was interested in you. It would be silly to get your hopes up, so you decided he probably didn’t mean it. You were quiet for a little too long, you realized, as Bucky started stuttering and trying to fix it.

“I-I mean, not that I wouldn’t be lucky, but it’s just that any guy would be lucky, like I said, not just me. And you can just pretend that didn’t happen so that we can stay friends because I don’t want you to be worried that I’m just your friend because I think you’re cute, it’s just…” You saw him panicking, but you got very stuck on one particular thing.

“You think I’m cute?” you asked, interrupting his stream of explanations. You weren’t trying to make him feel more awkward, you were genuinely curious. Your head was cocked to the side and you just looked at him with an open expression.

“Well I thought that was pretty obvious,” he said, blushing and still flustered. After he calmed down a moment, he studied you. “Wait, you really didn’t notice? Doll, I’ve been tripping over you since the first time we met.” He seemed to realize though that he didn’t mean to reveal that much. “This doesn’t have to make things awkward, I won’t try anything, don’t worry.”

“Why won’t you try anything?” you asked, disappointed. That seemed to stump him, obviously not being what he expected. After a moment, though, you saw a small smile on his face.

“Did you want me to try something, doll?” He was smirking at you now, leaning in a little. You nodded absently, watching him come closer, before a thought came into your head that made you pull back.

“I’m not just an easy lay am I? The vulnerable girl that you can fuck and forget the next day?” You really hoped he would say no, but if that was all he wanted you to be, you wouldn’t be able to go through with it.

“What? No, of course not. Doll, you’re the sweetest person I know, and beautiful to boot. I see the protective way you glare at people when they look at me funny and you’re always nice to Stevie,” he said earnestly, looking you in the eyes so you knew he meant it. “And besides, I’d at least like to take you on a date first,” he joked, trying to lighten up the atmosphere.

A smile broke out on your lips as you leaned in to kiss his cheek. As you pulled back, you made eye contact and he gently grabbed your face before pulling you into a sweet kiss. You had long since grown up from expecting fireworks with kisses, but damn his lips were soft and he was so sweet with you. You savored the moment before pulling back.

“So about that date?” He just grinned at you and leaned in to kiss you again.

[draconida]

Shance Fic Recs (Part three)

More Shance! With Kuro and Sven too. 

82- Mysteries Become Reality by FullmetalDude1 [M/M/M/M, Sven and Kuro]

The world is full of mythical creatures that are slowly but surely being integrated and accepted into society, but a couple of hate crimes and BS still happens.

Lance is a human in this world, doing his best to help Mythics out even if he's got a bad history.

Then he meets 4 super hot Mythics in collage and he is gone, but he'll never admit that.

At least, not until he's been held for ransom by a gang of haters.

83- i don't have too much but i know enough by quiddative

Lance shot a panicked look at Keith but the asshole just laid there uselessly. “Don’t look at me like that,” he snorted. “They’re your kids, after all.”

What?

“What?” Lance and Allura yelled.

Allura turned to Kolivan with narrowed eyes. “Explain,” she demanded.

Kolivan looked very much like he wanted a drink. “The two of them appear to be the Red and Black Paladins’ children from the future.”

(Or: Lance and Shiro's children appear from the future and emotions ensue.)

85- Remember Me by boredomsMuse

Back before Kerberos, Lance and Shiro had been close. Boyfriends, type close. Boyfriends who'd meet each other's parents, all of them, type close.

Except, none of the Paladins know that. Not even Shiro.

86- Starlight Starshine by stirlingphoenix

'He’s beautiful', was the only thought Shiro’s mind could process as he watched Lance in person for the very first time. Those two little words repeated themselves on a loop over and over, making sure he’d never forget this moment. He’d always thought Lance to be exceedingly attractive, but seeing him in real life, as opposed to the TV screen or a movie poster nearly blew his mind.

Shiro had every intention of getting out of there before he ended up doing something embarrassing. Nevermind the fact that Lance wouldn’t know who he was, he still wasn’t too keen on potentially making a fool of himself. But just before he could make a beeline for the exit, the sound of his proper last name echoed throughout the air, forcing him to stop dead in his tracks.

“Excuse me, Mr. Shirogane?” The nervousness that plagued his caller’s voice hit Shiro’s ears wrong, yet it was still oddly familiar to him, as if he’d heard that same tone over a hundred times before.

As it turned out, he had, just never like this. Turning around, he came face-to-face with the lead of the production, the one and only Lance McClain himself, standing before him with a curious, perhaps even anxious expression covering his face.

87- Hi by Nevermoree

"in a world where you have your soulmates’ first words tattooed in your skin, he, obviously, has… well, that."

88- Te prefiero a ti by Nevermoree [Explicit and only spanish]

Lance has been in love with Shiro since he can remember, so when he have the opportunity to spend the night with Shiro, he have decided not to waste it. It's supposed to be a one-night deal, but things do not always work out the way you plan.

89- How to get a hot, shape-shifting dragon-man to fall in love with you by charlotteXOyates [Explicit]

Discovering a new species is a dream every reptile expert can relate to, so Lance's excitement upon meeting Shiro, a man with scales and a dragon tail, is understandably through the roof. What's less understandable, however, is Lance's sudden desire to help the dragon-man with his rut…

90- Daycare, Toddlers, and a bit of Love by starryrosez

Lance falls in love with the father of a boy he looks after in daycare.

91- Claws by AshesTheTerrible [Explicit and omegaverse] Lance had clawed his way through the Galra military ranks. This was the most important day of his entire existence. He was being assigned to a commander. One of the most ruthless commanders in the Empire. He had to make a good impression.

It would be just his luck that he'd be stricken with the beginnings of a ruthless heat. He knew the suppressants made him sick, but he took them anyway. Anything was better than a fucking stupid heat. He couldn't very well look strong with his heat boring down on his shoulders.

But puking at the feet of your new commander doesn't exactly make you look like a model Galra either… hindsight Lance supposes. 92- Lance's Guide on How to Embarrass Yourself in Front of Your Insurance Adjuster by Eilera

“This is for my mama, Hunk. She was so worried about this whole thing. They just finished renovating. I’m not gonna let her down. If my name isn’t Lance fucking Hernandez Martine-holy fuck he’s gorgeous.”

“Oh no. No. Lance do-“

Lance didn’t even hear him because there was a fucking gorgeous god walking up the path to the front door.

(In which Lance is helping his mama with an insurance claim and he was not prepared for the smoking hot insurance adjuster.)

93- designated drivers anonymous by kalakauuas

"It’s halfway through his sixth attempt at a puppy-filter pic that the bathroom door whooshes open wider than Lance’s mouth trying to prompt the puppy tongue onto the screen. Right when Lance screeches in surprised terror, he takes the picture.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t know it was occupied,” says the person who threw the door open, his hands rushing to cover his eyes quicker than Lance would run from his mom’s chancla.

The good thing is, aside from vaguely humiliating selfie poses, there’s nothing to see here."

Lance and Shiro meet through a shared hobby, if you consider hiding in bathrooms during house parties a hobby.

94- Tris for Guys by quiddative

“Um, my name is Lance McClain-Reyes and I have a personal training session,” Lance said, though it came out as more of a question than a statement.

The girl hummed and typed something on the computer. “Ah, right on time,” she said. “Looks like you’ve been paired up with Shiro. If you’ll just take a seat, he should be out in a few minutes.”

Shiro?, Lance thought as all the gears in his brain suddenly screeched to a halt. I must have heard wrong. There’s no way—

“That’s okay, Pidge, I’m already here,” said a deep and familiar voice just behind Lance.

(Or: What do you do when the guy you've been crushing on turns out to be your personal trainer for the day?)

95- easier to lose by quiddative [Explicit]

Shiro is at the peak of his NHL career. Unfortunately, being famous has its downsides, particularly when it comes to dating. And that’s on top of the fact that he’s still in the closet. However, a chance meeting with college student Lance, who seems to be the only person in the entire city who doesn’t know who he is, gives him hope that maybe he won’t die alone after all. Just as long as he can keep his identity a secret.

96- A Halloween Tail by Cathwren

Lance just wanted to have a fun Halloween night, but when homophobic idiots give him trouble he makes a new friend in the dashing young knight that swoops in to save the day. Secrets are shared and Lance can easily say he got a night to remember...and maybe even a boyfriend.

97- 13 stories for Halloween by liddie [Explicit]

A collection of 13 Shance stories for the month of October featuring (but not limited to): vampires, kitsune, werewolves, demons, cursed scarecrows, ghosts, merpeople, oni and whatever else comes to mind!

98- Head Start by SuccubustyKisses [Explicit]

Werewolves. If there was one scent Lance knew above all else, it was Werewolves. Being born from a werewolf father and a human mother Lance knew werewolves. So when he got to the Galaxy Garrison and smelled werewolf in his class his first thought was to make peace with the other wolf.

Sure, Lance was only a half blood, and the closest to transformation he'd ever gotten was sharpened canines and claws during a full moon, but he was still wolf. As such, wolves should stick together. He left his family pack behind to come to the Garrison, maybe he'd be able to form a new pack here.

99- Forgotten Gods and Scales Like Jewels by keir [Explicit and Dubious Consent]

Lance has spent his entire career searching for the elusive and forgotten god of war and lust, a god made of part man, part snake. The pieces are there, and once Lance puts them together, he and his team discover the long forgotten temple dedicated to the naga god, but more lies in store for Lance than he could have ever dreamed of discovering.

100- Of God's and Fae's by MommaVanillaBear

A fae of the ocean, casted aside and alone made the dangerous trek to the festival of lights, and though the way back should have been easy, his steps become lost and the ocean he searches for is replaced by thick foliage and towering trees. Caught by a creature that claims to be an Earth fae, the one of the ocean must spend a month living in the forest or else the God who watches the forest will become aware of him. And there was no way the ocean fae could fight or hope to escape the wrath of a god.

101- Pornstar Lance by Ryuani [Explicit]

Lance used to work as a pornstar but space kinda stopped that.

102- Take a Chance by nuuuge [Fem!Shance]

Lance really just wants the hot Basketball prodigy to notice her.

103- Yearning Touch by CirqueBordello (CircusTalia) [Explicit and Sven]

Sven volunteers to be part of an experiment. But when that experiment makes a change in his body, Lance is there to support him but also realizes he likes the new Sven.

104- The Shirogane Triplets by MermaidLance [Explicit, Trans Lance and the title]

Three Boys

One Lance

He's in for an adventure.

105- Next Time, Pack Them Separately by Quiddity

“So, uh, you in Detroit on business?” Lance asks. The guy glances at him and for a second Lance thinks that he’s terribly misread his mood and he’s about to be snubbed in the worst way. Then he notices the dark circles under his eyes. The man’s totally exhausted. “No,” the man says, shuffling together his papers and securing them together with a wicked looking alligator clip. “I’m headed to New York.” Lance perks up. “Oh! Me too! I’m headed there to meet up with- uh…” Lance is cut off when his neighbor unbuckles himself, stands, and pushes into the line of passengers with a muttered apology. Lance sits there, dumbfounded as the man opens the overhead compartment and pulls down his- Nope. That’s Lance’s bag he’s strapping over his shoulder. That’s his palm tree name tag, that’s his laptop, that’s his senior film project he’s been working on for the past six months and his external hard drive with only back up of three hundred hours of work just shambling down the aisle and off the plane. Oh no.

106- The Knotty Omega by keir [Explicit, omegaverse and little All/Lance]

Lance never saw himself doing porn, but the opportunity fell in his lap with a wicked smile and the smooth talk of Lotor, a producer. The omega finds himself at the center of attention for many horny alphas as he does the most taboo and engages in heat sex for the camera.

107- Double Trouble by liddie [Explicit, Kuro and Shiro]

When Lance agreed to help out at his grandma's flower shop during summer break, he didn't know that it meant managing the shop singlehandedly for months while she went adventuring off to Europe.

Sure, he needs to practice his magic with living things...and yes, plants are a good way to do that without bodies stacking up if something went wrong. But Lance can't even keep a dandelion alive to save his life, so how the hell is he going to keep the entire stock of his grandma's enchanted flower shop alive and healthy for four months?

The answer is simple. He's going to summon himself some help using the dusty old spell book he found in the attic.

It's too bad Lance's handwriting looks like chicken scratch on a good day…

108- To Drown In You by Val_Creative [Explicit and Trans Lance]

Humans are a fearful race, unable to conjure anything other than simpler, volatile emotions, or so Shiro’s mer-clan has taught him. Lance’s compassion and his openhearted empathy deepens Shiro’s need for more. And he’s only know Lance for the turn of a moon.

109- How Deep is the Love We Think We Know by mizufallsfromkumo [omegaverse]

It had been a considerable while since Shiro nested.

So long in fact he didn’t even realize he was doing it.

Until he yanked one of the Castle’s lounge couch cushions out from behind Pidge. No regard for the fact that she was using it. He just knew he needed that one because it was the softest of all the other cushions. Pidge’s surprised squeak as she toppled to the side didn’t even register with him for a moment.

Or at least not till Keith called him out.

110- Repayment by SuccubustyKisses [Explicit and omegaverse]

“I need you to do me a favor Coran.”

“Anything for you, son.”

Lance stepped forward, digging his wallet out of his pocket and slamming it down on the desk in front of him. “There is a man here, an alpha named Shiro. He lost his arm in a car accident.”

“Yes, Takashi Shirogane. It’s a shame what happened to him.” Coran looked away sadly.

“I want you to take this credit card and give him everything he needs. The best, top of the line products.” Coran looked down at the credit card pressed between Lance’s hand and his desk then back up at Lance. “Please?”

111- Dream a Little Dream by thinkpink [Explicit]

Shiro is an adult- he knows how feelings work. He definitely knows his own feelings. Right?

112- Telltale Blush by thinkpink [Explicit and Dubious Consent]

“So why don’t we just skip the part where you throw lines at me and I pretend not to be interested, and you can suck my dick instead.”

113- Dress to Impress by thinkpink

How did Shiro even get sweatpants in space? And why are they so god damn thin!

114- A Dragon by liddie [Explicit]

On the day of his wedding, Prince Lance is carried away by a fearsome creature of old. The remote island is a prison and the dragon his keeper, although Lance is not completely alone. A mysterious man named Shiro is also a prisoner of the dragon, but as Lance learns just who he is, he comes to realize there is more to Shiro than he first thought.

115- In Flagrante Delicto by gwendy1

in flagrante delicto (adverb)

Definition of in flagrante delicto: 1 : in the very act of committing a misdeed : red-handed 2 : in the midst of sexual activity

116- Black's Deal by SuccubustyKisses [Explicit and little Klance]

I’ll give you what you need to get what you want, but you only get two quintent. Do you agree?

“Yes.”

Or the story of Shiro taking over Keith's body in the time of his disappearance between seasons 2 and 3.

117- The Beast Of Pirate's Bay by SuccubustyKisses [Explicit and Major character death, but don't scary you. Happy ending]

A loud shriek filled the air, causing him to fall back onto the damp metal of the ship floor. “I’m sorry.” He whimpered, covering his ears as the sound continued to ring out.

As instant as the sound came it quickly disappeared, leaving Lance to tentatively uncover his ears. “Please,” he begged, tears escaping his eyes as he looked over the side of the boat again. “I won’t even enter your territory if you just bring me a juniberry flower!”.

118- The Lion, The Witch, and the Cursed Ghost by SuccubustyKisses [Explicit]

When lance goes to Kogane forest in search of the cat he saw plastered all over the news he ends up with a lot more than he bargained for. But he's not complaining.

The ghost floated up, arms crossed as he looked over the trees. “I’ll make you a deal.” Lance’s eyes brightened, he knew his excitement was obvious. But, he didn’t care. “If you can find me in this forest before the sun sets, I’ll take you to see Shiro. If not, you will leave this forest without a fight.” He turned and lowered down to Lance’s level again, holding out his transparent hand. “Do we have a deal?”

Shiro must be the cat.

Lance reached out, taking the hand, surprised when he actually felt contact. “Deal.” Before he could even shake the hand properly it was gone, along with its owner, only the flutter of leaves in the air showing he had even been there. Snatching up one of the leaves, Lance grinned. This ghost vastly underestimated him.

119- That's not a phone by CrypticGabriel [Explicit and Trans Lance]

Lance had a part-time job at the movie theater. During his job, he liked ogling at a frequent flyer named Shiro. But he never expected to catch him doing the unthinkable while watching a movie. And no. It didn't involve a phone.

120- Let's Play A Game by liddie [Explicit]

About to leave for a little vacation time at his grandfather's seaside cottage, Shiro gets a text from Allura asking if he can drop her friend Lance off at the beach on his way. He agrees, but is entirely unprepared for everything that Lance is.

121- How Do I "Casual"? by The_Busy_Beee

Sometimes Lance loves living in the same building as his best friends.

Sometimes he hates it with a passion.

Usually only when Keith's involved, however.

Or:

Lance brings home a guy and isn't sure how to handle the "morning after" situation. Keith is exhausted and thinks Lance has murdered somebody.

122- Spilling Secrets by The_Busy_Beee

Everyone knows the past never stays in the past.

Or:

Shiro finally meets the Blue Lane crew, Lotor is a shit, and Lance really just wants today to go well.

123- Good Girl by strawberrylovely [Explicit and Fem!Lance]

Shiro hears Lance masturbating in the team bathroom. He’s not sure whether to help or run away, so Lance makes the decision for him.

124- Beautiful Breed by Blue_Queen662 [Fem!Lance]

Kept in captivity for years, Lance had not had any contact with others like herself in a long while.

Shiro had been gone from the sea for years. From being separated from his pod for a long time, he had forgotten how it feels to be loved by a mate.

Shiro has been chosen to be Lance’s mate. For his strangth, speed and intellect; it was decided amongst guests at a dinner party that the Champion will mate with Zarkon’s prize pet.

125- my boyfriend's back (and you're gonna be in trouble) by heavenlyrare

The Galra and the Alteans haven't been at each other's throats, thanks to Prince Lance's and Commander Shiro's relationship.

Unfortunately, the rest of the universe doesn't seem to know that.

126- Missing Pieces by AshesTheTerrible [Explicit]

Shiro comes back from two tours overseas a changed man. He has one less arm and a lot more nightmares. His best friend Keith convinces him Yoga is the perfect form of meditation to help with his PTSD and he's skeptical at best....that is until he sees the instructor and is instantly in love.

127- Full Moons and the Mornings After by Impetus

Lance really needs to stop letting stray wolves into his apartment.

128- My Best Friend's Brother? How Cliche by orphan_account

Lance has been pining after Shiro since he was 14, and the last time he saw him before Shiro left to go to veterinary school had been embarrassing as hell. But, things were different now. 3 years had passed, Shiro was back, and Lance was a new and improved version of himself. This time, Lance wasn't afraid to do what he wanted to.

OR that one where Lance hasn't seen Shiro in years but when he goes to drop some food off at Keith's house he walks in on Shiro working out.

129- How To Use a Long Rest by avoidingavoidance [Explicit]

In which the team's game of Monsters and Mana isn't actually a game, and Lance takes good care of Shiro. Several times.

130- Just Take That Breath in Your Lungs by mizufallsfromkumo [Omegaverse]

When Shiro was younger, and freshly presented as an Alpha, he use to think about how things would be when he claimed his mate for himself.

Ideally it would be their wedding night, but it wasn’t a necessity. Shiro was fine with whenever moment arose and felt right. And when his intended mate would find it, Shiro would turn on soft music. They’d maybe dance a little, or speak soft words of love. Then the night would progress in a slow, gentle, and loving path towards claiming.

Because yeah, Shiro was a hopeless romantic at times.

Sue him.

But that was the furthest thing that was happening, Shiro thought as he and Lance flopped into the nest both of them had constructed over two weeks ago.

131- Can You Find the Path that Leads Back to My Heart by mizufallsfromkumo

Lance was just left to sulk in the cockpit. And wonder just where his relationship stood with his mate, who had his soul transferred and fused into a clone's body. A clone Lance had just continued on courting like nothing ever happened, because he didn’t know his mate had even died in the first place.

Lance never thought going to space would be filled with so much drama.

Much less, drama that made his life sound like really bad telenovela plot line.

132- Some Good Shooting by AshesTheTerrible [Explicit and Trans Lance]

Lance and Shiro had been nothing but a hurricane of spats and frustration since the switching of lions. And then quite suddenly...they weren't anymore. Hunk couldn't figure out what had changed between the blue and black paladins but the rest of the team just seemed happy the two were working together. Maybe a little too well in fact.

Unbeknownst to the others, really all it took to change the two paladin's attitudes toward each other was one hard kiss in the hangar doors.

Parts 1 / 2 / 3 

[jxstiice]

Stephanie Beatriz, 32, cis female, she/her. 🗽 looks like that’s AVA BURNS reporting for duty. they’re originally from QUEENS, NYC, so i wonder if working as a DETECTIVE for SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT ever gets old. anyway, i heard that they’re UNDAUNTED but also kind of HOT-HEADED, which is why i guess they always remind me of TIGHT LEATHER JACKETS, WAR STORIES OVER WHISKEY AND CIGARETTES, and A HARD EXPRESSION BROKEN ONLY BY THE PRESENCE OF A DOG

HELLO! I am sara and i got REALLY carried away because i had like 8 hours of boring meetings today. please feel free to ask me for a TLDR! Come plot! I love my girl and i love some ANGST!!

tws: death, assault, war, ptsd

YOUNG & LOVED

Matías and Mariana Burns were high school sweethearts from Queens. they didn’t move far once they married fresh out of high school, to a nice house in Richmond Hill. from there, Mariana worked to become a nurse, and Matías went straight into the academy. they were an eager young couple, but it wasn’t long until their first child came around-- a surprise, but one they took in stride.

Ava was rambunctious, and always wanted to be like her father. she took various martial arts classes growing up, played soccer for a time, her energy never seemed to fade.

Her mother worked as an ER nurse, and her father became a truly prized member of the NYPD, so selflessness and hard work are hard-wired in her system. 

Ava is the oldest of three, her sister and her sibling mean everything to her, and she took it upon herself to make sure they were okay through everything. with two busy parents, she never questioned helping out as she got older. 

WHEN EVERYTHING CHANGED

When she was 15, Ava's life flipped on end. What started as a normal day at school turned into the worst day of her life when she was pulled out of US History and told her mother had been the victim of a hit and run in Manhattan. she was killed instantly, and Ava felt her world fracture before her.

things were hard after that. once she got back to school, she was acting out. she took the shift in the household hard, and though she stepped up even further for her siblings, instability was setting in. an anger formed in ava she wasn’t familiar with. sure, she was always tough, but after that she closed off.

one day, the same day Ava and Matías had a particularly bad fight, ava hit a breaking point and proclaimed she was leaving. Matías never expected everything to go so badly, even sent a friend on patrol to go follow her. he knew she ended up at a party with friends, called the patrol off, and figured she’d be back in the morning. they had a similar temper, and she’d even sent him a text later to tell him she’d be home. 

he was called to the 16th precinct at 3:30am to find his 17 year old daughter in an interview room, borrowing a hoodie and sweatpants with tears dry and fresh staining her face.

the party got wild, and Ava and her friends weren't trying to get too wild. ava wanted to just get out of the house for a few hours. none of them expected to be followed outside the frat house and cornered, but they were. two high school girls cornered by 5 frat boys wasn't going to end well in any of the girls' minds. Ava's years of self defense took over, but it wasn’t enough.

the two men that Ava actually ended up hurting in the struggle went on to press charges for their broken noses, but the truth came out in the DNA. The men took a plea and it never followed them past their community service and fine. Ava didn't recover so easily.

Matías struggled to make sure Ava got the help she needed. she was resistant to therapy and often skipped it. she got more aggressive and outspoken in school. her grades dropped. she graduated, but barely.

FINDING A PURPOSE

By the time Ava graduated from high school, depression was deep and responsibilities of being the oldest sibling of three was setting in. College seemed like a far off dream between her family. Ava running into a recruiter outside her neighborhood boxing gym was pure chance, but it changed everything.

When Ava told her father she wanted to join the Marines, he struggled. On one hand, he saw a fire in Ava that he hadn't seen for a couple years now, and he wanted more than anything for that fire to stay. on the other more obvious hand, the idea of his first daughter going to war was terrifying. It was Aarav's sergeant that finally convinced him. A veteran himself, he saw a lot of similar emotions in young Ava. she shipped off for bootcamp during the first week of September, just a few months fresh out of high school.

In the Marines, Ava excelled. the structure helped her thrive, and her drive was exemplary. from the start, she made it clear she was never someone to be messed with. It brought back confidence she'd lost since her mother’s death and her assault, and she clung to it as she once again became sure of herself.

In 2006, Ava Burns was deployed to Afghanistan to the front lines. she served overseas for 6 years with outstanding performance. her fellow troops called her a tank as she never backed down from running into situations if she knew she could help. Ava was a good soldier. her family was proud, and would welcome her home warmly each time she came.

NOT JUST A SOLDIER

In 2012, Ava and three others from her unit were captured by enemy forces after a roadside bomb caught them off guard.

They were held hostage for two months. during this time, it was everything they could do to stay alive and there for one another. They were physically beat and hounded for answers about the operations of the US armed forces. The three soldiers gave up nothing. All three were rescued.

When rescued, Ava's leg was broken and she was flown home for the recovery. It didn't take long for symptoms of PTSD to set in. This time, though still a little weary, she accepted therapy easier. after all, if being a prisoner of war for two months didn't constitute a little therapy, what did?

things got more frustrating though, and Ava could not hide the symptoms. her higher ups noticed, and Ava was offered an honorable discharge and a purple heart. She was told she would not return to active duty, and taking the leave now would save potential catastrophe on the battlefield. begrudgingly, mostly after her siblings and father talked her into it, Ava accepted. they say once a Marine, always a Marine. Ava doesn’t always feel that too much.

HOME ANEW

Ava's next steps happened quietly. she didn't even share with her family once she decided, simply shared it one day about a month after she was cleared to walk again with no crutches. with her coffee in hand, she announced simply: "First day at the academy today. Exciting, huh pops?"

Matías, was beyond thrilled.

Just like the army, Ava excelled once more, and she stuck out from the crowd in more ways than just her name.

By that point, Matías was a lieutenant at a precinct in Queens and known throughout the NYPD for support for community initiatives, but Ava was firm: never give her special treatment because of her father. she didn't need it, and if she found it was the case, she'd refuse it. 

Working as a beat cop seemed like the perfect balance for Ava. She was known in Richmond Hill certainly, and there were many neighbors that welcomed her as a cop warmly. With the slowly growing strife regarding police, people wanted cops they could trust. Ava was one, and prided herself in it. It also offered her the action she'd come to excel at in the Marines.

Fast forward four years, and Ava is hungry. It's never been a secret that Ava's fire made her advance, and after months of weighing, she decided: Ava Burns wanted to be an SVU detective. After her experience, it seemed right deep in her core.

Now, Ava has been an SVU detective for six months. She's constantly searching for ways to excel, but it's harder work as a detective. Now, she's working on balancing her impulsive nature with a more thoughtful process.

WANTED CONNECTIONS

Partner -- TAKEN by BEATRIZ GARCIA

Veterans: I imagine Ava has (occasionally) gone to support groups, as well as just made some friends that served in the past and get it. I’m open to various dynamics, only requirement is your character was a solider at one point or another. Bonus points if they served together!! OR if they were one of the people ava was held hostage with! gimme dat good good angst

Old Partner: Ava was a beat cop for four years, so she’d have had at least one partner! Open to dynamics, lengths, stories, anything!

Serious Ex: This was a relationship that Ava was very serious with, and they maybe even toyed with the idea of marriage. Unfortunately, this would have happened while Ava was recovering from her discharge 6/7 years ago and she was in no place for a healthy relationship.  

Flings: Ava is a bisexual queen and copes with things physically. she likes sex a lot and doesn’t put that much seriousness into one night stands. Open for various dynamics, come at me!

Mentor: I’m very very open to the dynamic, I have so many possible ideas. Someone ava’s known since she was little? someone that promised her dad theyd look out for her? her old/current partner? SO MANY POSSIBILITIES!! please just give ava guidance she needs it. so bad.

Childhood friends: Ava’s mom worked at a hospital and her dad was NYPD so I’d absolutely love some people from Ava’s childhood stemming from those!! also any other Queens kids would be cool!

Any! All! Come to me!!

[lexacourtney]

Hey Jen!

I can’t believe I’ve been reading Jen’s books since 2012. I remember the first time I ever met her – it was in Boonsboro at Turn the Page (Nora Robert’s bookstore). I honestly can’t remember if my friend and I went up for Jen, or for Nora, but I know we both left with copies of Obsidian and Half-Blood. My mom was heading up to Frostburg (Maryland) for a high school reunion and luckily Boonsboro is on the way, so we managed to convince her to take a detour for this signing.

Upon arriving at my grandparent’s house, my friend and I promptly sat down and started reading. I don’t remember which book I started with – probably Obsidian because my friend insisted that we read the same book at the same time.

From then on, I was a fan. We were fans. We scoured bookstores on and near release days for the next books and they were always read instantly. At the time, our local Books-A-Million always had our most anticipated books out a day early and we always bought them. (This was well before either of us were aware of release week sales and how they impact making best seller lists) We were avid readers and had found a new favorite author.

I’ve been a fan of Jen’s books since a Senior in High School – I’ve been reading them for quite a long time. Her stories often feel like coming home. I know if I pick on up, there’s like a 99% chance that I’m going to enjoy it. Her books are often the ones to get me out of reading slumps.

Since Jen is semi-local, I’ve been fortunate enough to see her at a bunch of events – from the Baltimore Book Festival, to launches, conventions and her own creation: Apollycon.

My friend and I went to the first one in Philly in 2015 (I think), and then to the fourth and fifth ones in D.C. in 2018 & 2019. And I’m going again next year, 2020!

(Pic – left: 2018, right: 2019 with Drew Leighty and Jennifer L. Armentrout and my bff / I definitely prefer 2019’s pic more)

Apollycon is always fun – you can see my recap of 2019 here! I always enjoy going and seeing Jen and all the other amazing authors. I usually have bruises on my shoulders by the end of the weekend. But even if Jen were the only author there, I wanted to see, I’d still go. I’ll support Jen and her books for as long as she’s writing. I love them and her so much.

(Pic – left: 2018, right: 2019 with Drew Leighty and Jennifer L. Armentrout / I definitely perfer 2019’s pic more)

I’m fortunate to consider Jen a friend and any way I can support her, I will. I remember finding her books. I remember how the light filtered through curtains as I laid on a bed at my grandparents and fell in love with her characters. I remember the anxious anticipation for the next book in her various series and showing up to each event with new copies of her books for her to sign. I love her characters, her stories, her worlds and I will read and reread them for forever.

I’ve been reading and supporting her for years now and I love doing it. I love promoting her work and getting people to fall in love with Daemon, Aiden, Seth, Luc, Roth, Zayne and the various other hot, swoon-y love interests she’s created over the years. I mean, who doesn’t want hot and snarky alien neighbors, or Greek God descendants with kick ass powers or a Prince of Hell and his Gargoyle opponent? She writes anything and everything and has you wishing that these characters were real.

Let’s finally jump into the reason you probably clicked on this post – the books! I’m going to be eternally broke if Jen’s books keep coming out with revamped covers, because I need them all. All these books currently occupy almost an entire shelf (minus 3 spots). It’s a long shelf too, like 6 feet and basically a shrine to Jen’s books.

I thought I had a lot of Brigid’s books…Jen’s occupied 2 bags and it was beyond difficult to carry both down the stairs. I managed, because there was no way I was making more than one trip. I also fought my glasses trying to slide right off the end of my nose the entire time. Setting them up on the banister and trying to fit them all in and have them look good was a challenge as well. It’s funny how, on a shelf they don’t look as numerous, but the minute you take them off and stack them up, it’s glaringly evident.

A quick run-down of Jen’s books – (This is going to be anything by quick, but here we go!)

Phew. Typing them all out also puts the number of books she has into perspective. I don’t own every single one of her books. Besides the de Vincent books and the Anthologies (not a fan tbh) I’ve read everything else. I opted to post a screen grab, over actually typing them out in WordPress because this post would have been a mile long otherwise.

Okay, I’m going to start with my favorite, the Covenant Series! Here I have pictured the original paperbacks (bottom),then the new paperbacks with the gorgeous covers – I still need to buy the rest of the series (middle). Then I have the UK edition of Half Blood (purple spine) and finally the Titan Books. These aren’t necessarily part of the Covenant Series, but they’re a direct spin-off!

Here are some links – make sure you check them out!

Covenant / Titan

Pic: (top to bottom) The Return / The Power / The Struggle / The Prophecy / UK Half Blood / Half Blood (New US) / Pure (New US) / Deity (New US) / Daimon / Half Blood / Pure / Deity / Elixir / Apollyon / Sentinel 

Next up, the Lux series! I’ve since added a finished copy of The Burning Shadow to my collection, but unfortunately it’s not pictured. I took all these pictures weeks ago when the weather was still guaranteed to be nice. Which is a good thing since it’s rained for days here. I love Katy and Daemon and they will always have a special place in my heart. Here I have pictured the original paperbacks (top) I need to get the new covers. Opposition is the redone cover to match the first four books. Then Oblivion is Obsidian from Daemons POV and Obsession is an Arum novel. Then I have the US ARCs for The Darkest Star and The Burning Shadow , and finally a finished copy of The Darkest Star. 

Here are some links – make sure you check them out!

Lux / Arum  / Origin 

Pic: (top to bottom) Shadows / Obsidian / Onyx / Opal / Origin / Opposition / Oblivion / Obsession / The Darkest Star US ARC / The Burning Shadow US ARC / The Darkest Star 

Next we have the Dark Elements Series – which is another favorite, shocker! I have the second one on my TBR to read before the end of the year, just because. It’s time for a reread. I love Roth and Zayne and these books are just fun. Here I have pictured the new US covers (top) I freaking love them. Then the original covers, plus an ARC of Stone Cold Touch (my first ever Jen ARC!) and then a US ARC of Storm and Fury plus a finished copy. I’m super excited for the next book in the Harbinger series as the first one left me with my jaw dropped.

Here are some links – make sure you check them out!

Dark Elements / Harbinger 

Pic (top to bottom) White Hot Kiss (New US) / Stone Cold Touch (New US) / Every Last Breath (New US) / White Hot Kiss / Stone Cold Touch US ARC / Stone Cold Touch / Every Last Breath / Storm and Fury US ARC / Storm and Fury 

Then we have the Wicked Trilogy and these books are great! I loved Ren and Ivy and I can’t forget Tink and his Amazon Prime addiction. New Orleans, fae and tons of drama and romance, you don’t want to miss these characters or this world Jen has created. It’s fantastic. These books are definitely due for a reread and I would honestly love nothing more than to drop everything I’m currently reading to do so. Here I have pictured the original paperbacks, plus the 1001 Dark Night’s novellas, and there’s a third on the way!

Here are some links – make sure you check them out!

Wicked Trilogy

Pic (top to bottom) Wicked / Torn / Brave / The Prince / The King 

We’re coming down to the wire – two photo’s left!

Next is the Wait for You Series. The great thing about these books, is that you can read them in order, but they’re also standalones and can be read in whatever order you want. I love these books, my favorite being Stay with Me, but I do have one gripe, you might be able to see what it is from the picture.

These books aren’t stacked in order – which is listed above in the backlist photo. The mass market paperback style seriously annoys me to no end. That, and there are various pubs and none of them are uniform. Shelving them is a nightmare. But anyways, I have the whole series, with Trust in Me (green spine) being a novella, as well as the 1001 Dark Night’s novella Dream of You (bottom).

Here are some links – make sure you check them out!

Wait for You Series

Pic (top to bottom) Forever with You / Fall with Me / Trust in Me / Wait for You / Be with Me / Stay with Me / Fire in You / Dream of You

Finally, we are at the end. This stack is a mix of YA standalones and some NA.

The Dead List is probably my favorite of of this stack of books. I read it back when she published it on Wattpad. It’s definitely a bit of a thriller murder mystery and it’s so fun!

You really can’t go wrong with any of these books and they all range in genre! That’s one of the things I love about Jen and her books – she writes everything and they’re always pretty good and easy to get lost in.

Here are some links – make sure you check them out!

de Vincent / Till Death / The Dead List / Frigid / If There’s No Tomorrow / The Problem with Forever / Don’t Look Back / Cursed 

Pic (top to bottom) Moonlight Sins / Moonlight Seduction / Till Death / The Dead List / Frigid / Scorched / If There’s No Tomorrow / The Problem with Forever / Don’t Look Back / Cursed 

Phew! The scary thing is that this collection is only ever going to get bigger. Jen’s latest release The Burning Shadow just came out earlier this month, and the cover for Rage and Ruin was revealed, it’s gorgeous! I cannot wait to read it! If you haven’t yet fallen into the world that is Jennifer L. Armentrout, you’re missing out and you should fix that immediately. I would recommend starting with the Covenant Series (I have a whole review for the entire series here) but if you were to ask my best friend, she would insist on the Lux series. So, really you can’t go wrong with either!

Book Collection: Jennifer L. Armentrout - there's a lot. #newpost #blogpost #bookpost #bookblog #books #blog #blogger #bloggerswanted #bloggerstribe #bloggingcommunity #bookish #bookcollection #jenniferlarmentrout Hey Jen! I can’t believe I’ve been reading Jen’s books since 2012. I remember the first time I ever met her – it was in Boonsboro at Turn the Page (Nora Robert’s bookstore).

[intobangtan]

Shower Duets 2nd Pt.

Type: One shot turned into a short story (Fluff 🌼) | NewNeighbor!AU

Pairing: Jeon Jungkook x someone - maybe you, maybe any other army ok (1st person POV)

Warnings: none (mild cursing maybe)

Summary: Jungkook is your new neighbor. You never talk. Your showers happen to be on opposite sides of the same apartment wall. When you finally shower at the same time, you sing duets.

》》 previous - next 《《

"Had I been hallucinating?" I wondered, sitting at the edge of my bed.

Maybe I was the only one singing and I just imagined that he joined. No. I ain't a freak like that. But why would someone ignore the person he had intimate moments with.

Singing in the shower was extremely intimate and romantic. Maybe we had been in different showers. With a wall in between us. Maybe it was weird.

Ok, it definitely was weird. Ugh. Why was this bothering me this much? And why did I want it to happen again tonight.

I couldn't hear him do things in his apartment, I only heard stuff in the bathroom. But he would hear me now that was for sure. I stood up, turning on my bluetooth speakers. The volume was as high as it could get.

Some random songs blasted through the speakers and I sat back on my bed. Thinking how to cause noise next. Then I heard it.

He knocked on the wall. Did he really think that would stop me? Oh no. He had to ring at my door - talk to me, if he wanted me to turn down the music.

The knocking got louder. I ignored, carrying on with some stuff I had to do.

The third song was playing by now. He had some patience. I would have broken through the wall already, if he did what I was doing. But then the door bell rang.

I jumped around like a little girl excited as I wondered what I'd tell him. I looked at the mirror, fixing my hair before opening the door. I tried to pull the most ignorant pose I could but it was as if I stared into space. There was nobody at the door.

There was no handsome neighbor in front of me. My eyes wandered lower to meet the ones of a 7-year-old Jimin. He lived with his mom right under my apartment in 8th floor. I groaned annoyedly.

"What the hell are you doing here?" This came out louder than intended but the too small gamer kid, didn't bother to look up from his Nintendo.

"My mom said, you turn the volume down or -?"

"Or what?" I snapped back. Then I heard a door shut. I frowned, looking to the next door.

Had this jerk been listening? I bet he was making fun of me right now. Great. How more embarassing could things get?

"And Jungkook said, your taste in music sucks." Jimin added, turning around to leave.

"Who is Jungkook?" He pointed at my hot neighbor's door.

Ok, I guess, I had digged my grave myself, right? I didn't even know what I tried to accomplish with this. I stepped back into my apartment, turning off the music. Unfortunately, I had to avoid this Jungkook to make him forget all the embarassing things I did.

Sighing, I went to the bathroom. I quickly took a shower since I didn't know what I would do if he'd be right behind the wall right now. I had embarassed myself enough tonight.

When I finished, I stood in the bathroom with only a towel around my body when I heard his beautiful voice. I sighed, closing my eyes. This was a way too angelic voice for a demon like him.

And why did he even start singing again? I decided to remain quiet to see how far it'll go. I stood still, listening.

Have you been drinking, to take all the pain away?

I wish that I could give you what you deserve

'Cause nothing can ever, ever replace you

Nothing can make me feel like you do, yeah!

You know there’s no one, I can relate to

I know we won’t find a love that’s so true

Wow. I was at loss for words. This boy should be singing in the studio not in his bathroom.

He turned on the water. Great. He was showering and I was here listening. What a fool I was.

Only fools fall for you, only fools

Only fools do what I do, only fools fall

Only fools fall for you, only fools

Only fools do what I do, only fools fall

What's up with him coming with songs that had the word I had last thought of. Maybe all these soulmateAUs I had read by now were not so stupid after all.

I jumped up when my phone started ringing. No, no, no. This was not the right moment. I dropped some cosmetics as I tried to reach for my phone quickly.

He had stopped singing.

I blushed heavily. He didn't even see me but I felt exposed. Why did I even care? He'll ignore me anyways.

I put my phone on silence, not even daring to move an inch as I waited for him to do something.

Then he knocked on the wall. I pressed my lips together fighting a laugh. What comedy was I living in? He hit the wall to check if I was behind it? I was not the only weird one in this.

Things were already awkward so I had nothing to lose. I sang when he knocked a second time.

Hello, it's me

I was wondering if all these showers you'd like to meet

I paused for a moment, waiting for his reaction. I changed the lyrics a little bit and decided to skip a few parts.

Hello, can you hear me

I'm in my bathroom dreaming about who we could have been

I ended up saying the last bit not managing to pull the melody.

He bursted out laughing. I didn't know if that was good or not. Then he took a deep breath,

Hello from the other side

I joined in, smiling.

I must have called a thousand times

To tell you I'm sorry for everything that I've done

But when I call you never seem to be home

We finished the song with passion and enthusiasm. I had sung my soul out. So did he.

My heart hammered against my chest. I was still wrapped in my towel, sitting on the toilet seat lid.

He had turned off the water by now. I wondered what he was doing. Changing? Walking around nacked? Watching his beautiful face in the mirror?

His phone rang.

"Yeah?" Silence.

"Nothing much, hyung. Just took a shower."

His voice got quieter. He was leaving. What.

Some mumbling was audible. "sing in the shower." Again some mumbling and chuckling.

He left.

Good. I'll be leaving too, mister Jungkook. I slammed the bathroom door shut.

The next morning I was late to work. I hurried around in my apartment and everytime I was in a hurry, I would be forgetful. I ran around in my apartment, not knowing what I was missing.

Groaning, I opened the front door. The more I lingered around the more I was likely to freak out. I hated being late. I stepped out, noticing some red paper under my shoe.

What was this now? Was Jimin playing a prank on me?

My footprint got onto it. I opened the paper too harshly, tearing off one corner. I stared at the writing confused, making my way to the elevators.

"Have a nice day at work, my grumpy, annoyed, cringy yet pretty and fun underwater duet partner. ;)"

Then I looked at the little piece in my other hand,

"- JK"

I squeaked.

Cringy? Grumpy? I rolled my eyes.

But all I saw was the pretty.

I found myself twerking and dancing in the elevator. Stepping out, I went to work with a big smile.

~~~

~~~

~~~

I don't know how this turned out to be honest but hey, here it is (: I hope you enjoyed.

masterlist

[kog0ruhn]

A Layman’s Guide to Vincent (a.k.a. “If You Deadname Me One More Time, I Swear to God...”)

Vincent is actually a “fandragon” of sorts I made for an OC for a different fandom of which I am very heavily involved: Fallout. Specifically, he was my Fallout 3 character, who wasn’t the Lone Wanderer because I thought the story in Fallout 3 was boring. How did he get shoehorned into my Flight Rising den?

I don’t know. I saw a Skydancer on the AH who made me think of him. So, you know, here we are with a hoodie-wearing transman dragon who chain smokes and used to steal shit recreationally.

Vincent was born in the backwoods of Nature territory, which is impressive since the entirety of Nature territory is “backwoods” in some way. He was one of several children of some honest, hard-working dragons living in a tiny, close knit, and rather religious community. They weren’t very tolerant of things that went “against the grain,” so to speak, and Vincent always had a knack for doing just that, especially considering the fact that he had some pretty wild habits like “claiming she was a man” and “flirting with the neighbor girls.”

Basically, being transgender in a closed-minded community is hard.

He was always a headstrong guy, though, and rather than suffer being called “Dazzle” one more time, he packed up his things and decided he’d just go somewhere else. Anywhere else. He was young and woefully unprepared for how harsh the wilderness could really be, but fuck it. Being devoured by cannibalistic wildclaws was preferable, all in all.

Through a comedy of errors, he stumbled headfirst into a somewhat primitive tribe of dragons led by Chandra, a transwoman Guardian who took one look at Vincent and said, “I like your spunk. Welcome home.”

I have a desperate need for this dragon now...

Chandra taught him a lot of things: fighting, foraging, and the basics of survival. She taught him confidence and acceptance of one’s self and, once he was a right cocky jerk with the right tools at his disposal, set him loose upon the world. She expected him to do great things with himself.

Uh... about that.

He Totally Became a Raider

The problem with Vincent is just what Chandra liked about him: his desire to succeed. This is unfortunately counterbalanced by a Plague-like drive to survive at any and all costs, and morals tend to get thrown out the window in favor of convenient ways to make ends meet. Without his family or Chandra to guide him on a better path, he was quickly swept up by a band of raiding dragons called the War Dogs. They were a roving band of berserkers with roots in the Scarred Wasteland, but they were prone to wandering wherever pickings seemed plentiful. Thankfully for Vincent, they were in Nature territory at the time.

Hooray.

To be honest, though, he wasn’t only quick to join them because “easy money” and “oh, look, they have food.” His primary motivation was his untapped libido and the fact he developed the hots for one of their members from a distance. Her name was Sadie, and they could write songs about the wild adventures they had.

Don’t get your hopes up. This ends badly.

Sadie was the Batman to his Robin. The bacon to his eggs. They had a wild and passionate affair amidst a crime spree that spanned every northern territory in Sornieth. He would have moved heaven and earth for her, all the way until the War Dogs found themselves receiving a taste of their own medicine. Shortly after taking their act to Dragonhome, their raiding camp was, well, raided, and anyone who couldn’t make it away in time was killed rather brutally. 

Well, except Sadie. She just vanished into thin air. Vincent was adamant that this meant that she was alive and kidnapped, but none of his fellow War Dogs would pony up the resources to help him go after her. He decided to go at it with the one guy who’d throw him a bone--his best friend, Riot--but they lost track of the abductors and got lost in the deserts and badlands.

Riot vouched to find his way back. Vincent was disillusioned and refused to return. He went back to the old, destroyed raiding camp and plopped himself down, waiting in hopes the perpetrators would come back to scavenge.

They didn’t. So he just waited indefinitely.

Then Along Came a Spiral...

Vincent was eventually found by somebody who came stumbling across his camp, but it wasn’t Sadie’s abductors. No, it was just a clan of dragons called The Outlanders, led by this irritating green Spiral named Shriek. She wanted directions, he’d kind of learned his way around while foraging, and then she decided she didn’t want to leave him behind. While he wasn’t exactly looking for friends, she made the convincing argument of “I can feed you” and “we’re trying to make an alliance with some clans in a nice canyon to the north.”

Which... by that point, Vincent realized he was probably going to die in the desert before he found Sadie’s killers. After a life of huffing and puffing and fighting and struggling, settling down with three square meals a day in a place with commerce and resources seemed like a dream-come-fucking true. Sure, yeah, he’ll go with your band of misfits and live a cozy life.

Thus, he ended up in Irthskaar with The Outlanders when they were inducted into The Abandoned. Neat, huh?

Uh... No. Because Flauros Happened.

I know that The Flauros Incident is something I’ve beaten into the ground on this blog, but it’s big and important. Evil dragon used a Not-Dragon to try to take control of Irthskaar and kill off The Abandoned and yada yada yada. In all honesty, Vincent would have never been affected if not for the fact that his life of fighting and killing and stealing and sneaking and all that illicit stuff that is normally bad didn’t end up being very useful when fighting a coup. When Snap of Clan Elsewhere, self-appointed War Leader during the crisis, caught wind of Vincent’s special talents and dark past, she made him an offer he couldn’t refuse because if he refused she would kill him.

Thus, Vincent became an impromptu assassin.

What did he accomplish? A lot of underhanded murder.

What did this underhanded murder do? He’s not sure if it had any longstanding effects for the clans as a whole, but it sure pissed him off and left him exhausted.

And when the Flauros Incident ended, did he receive any recognition?

Uh, not really. Snap thanked him. He got payment for the jobs he completed. He went home bitter and rolling his eyes. 

Then Elder Happened.

... But thankfully Vincent wasn’t around to really deal with the rising of Elder and his minions.

You see, The Outlanders--who played a major role in the quelling and containing of Flauros--ended up on the bad side of pretty much everyone in Irthskaar because they refused to destroy Flauros. She became their leader’s little trophy pet, and everyone started stiffing them. When Elder showed up and began to wreak havoc, The Fifteen (and especially Snap) blamed Flauros for it without any proof, and The Outlanders were all convicted of treason and exiled.

So, while Elder was thrashing everyone in the canyon, Vincent was watching from a cushy seat on the outskirts, probably screaming, “Kick ‘em in the face!” every time he witnessed a skirmish.

Of course, when the siege ended and Elder was ousted and Flauros became a hero for her actions (whether or not she really understood them), The Outlanders were allowed to come on back home. And so Vincent... went home.

All in all, it was a very uneventful time for him.

So, What’s the Jerk Up To Now?

Well, he basically does mercenary work and hits on a Pearlcatcher named Lazarus from a new, exciting clan who recently came to Irthskaar and joined their alliance. The clan in question is a bunch of former raiders, too, which means he relates to them on a level not many other dragons can.

And he wants to relate to Lazarus. In bed.

H...hot?

Years have passed and he’s older, more learned, less impulsive, and a bit more restrained. He still has his acid wit, dark sense of humor, and dubious morals, but is in general a pretty easy guy to get along with so long as you play by his rules. He spends a surprising amount of time, when he’s not doing dangerous oddjobs, teaching members of The Outlanders how to protect themselves and survive.

Part of it is because he’s quietly become more like Chandra as he got older, and part of it is because if something new and awful happens in Irthskaar, he wants to be left out of it. They can defend themselves. Fuck you, Snap.

[nycmckinleyrpg]

meet noah puckerman.

age // 29 position // Middle school band teacher, guitar club advisor, fight club sponsor birthdate & zodiac // october 23, 1989. – scorpio sexuality & gender identity // bisexual & cisfmale

   — about puck

❝  Growing up Noah Puckerman was nothing more than a statistic. A stereotype. The cliche story of a kid without a father who acted out for the sole purpose of getting attention – it was the only way he’d get noticed. Any anger he felt was buried deep inside of him, replaced by a strange sense of pride that came with every exciting story he could tell. His daredevil antics, desire to take on any challenge, and sheer tendency to cause mayhem earned him a reputation from a young age, and the glory that came with it fulfilled him in a way he never thought possible. He fed off the rumors that swirled about him, only getting darker and more dangerous as he aged.

When he was younger his behavior was written off – a rowdy boy, too much energy, too much time on his hands, he’ll grow out of it. But he didn’t. Much to his mother’s dismay, Noah inherited his father’s destructive nature and general lack of accepting responsibility. High school was a nightmare, both for his mother and the teachers that were forced to try and discipline the boy who laughed off consequences. He was untouchable.

Until he wasn’t.

First came minor incidents. Being brought home in the back of a cop car after getting caught with a spray can, or a baseball bat, actions that the local police were glad to write off as boys will be boys. Then came girls. Noah Puckerman’s downfall. His kryptonite. If there was one thing that could simultaneously get his motor running and steal his focus, it was a hot ass and a pair of pouty lips. Petty theft and vandalism were suddenly child’s play once he learned how to tickle a girl’s inner thighs. Needless to say, he was racking up notches on his bedpost whenever the opportunity presented itself. The quintessential bad boy, he was beneath the girls he liked the most yet they couldn’t resist him.

One in particular would be his demise. Blonde. Independent. Pure. The perfect cheerleader to corrupt, but it was more than that (though he’d never admit it). Unfortunately, his luck ran out, and what was supposed to be his greatest triumph ended in an unexpected pregnancy. Not wanting to be like his chump of a father, Noah vowed he’d be there, that they could be a family and, most importantly, happy. But he was too much of a mess, drawn to things he’d seemingly never quit – bringing a baby into the world was a huge commitment, neither of them were ready for it. Adoption was the only answer, in her opinion, and ironically giving up the baby was the thing that sent him running.

They hardly associated during the rest of their high school years and he barely walked away with a diploma, but by some miracle he donned the gown and made his mother prouder than she ever thought he would. College was out of the question for him. His grades weren’t there, and while he did possess talent in a few sports, he didn’t have the drive or dedication to truly work at them enough to compete at a collegiate level. But there was something he was good at, his natural prowess for shredding on the guitar.

Noah was in and out of bands all throughout high school, it wasn’t something he took seriously at all. Music was pure fun. He could jump around his garage, playing punk rock loud enough to wake the neighbors, break shit, set it on fire, whatever. It was all the joy of his chaotic behavior, done purely for entertainment, and other people loved it. He was drunk, possibly high, when he and a couple casual buddies of his decided to put a band together - for real this time.

They were losers. The kind of guys who had no chance of making anything of themselves, who still creeped around high school parties, who were suffering from a real case of denial if they thought anything would come from their hobby. They played in crappy pool halls, for free wings and endless beers, or open mic nights just for the hell of it. It wasn’t supposed to be anything but a few bros partying and getting laid, but for the first time in his life, Noah Puckerman was in the right place at the right time. Some fancy music executive showed up at a bar Noah’s band frequented, purposely hunting down the seediest place with the sole intention of hiding out from his in-laws, and actually enjoyed their set. A Green Day number, some high energy Van Halen, a sprinkle of The Clash and a true blue Noah Puckerman original was the perfect recipe for success.

He went from dive bars to music festivals, and eventually found himself behind a mic in the studio recording an album. The entire ordeal is a blur to him, a fever dream – everyone always told him he wouldn’t amount to anything, they were wrong. Noah’s star rose fast. His mohawk, sexual energy and general badassness skyrocketing him high into the world of punk rock, thought of as a dying genre by many, but desperately loved by the fans. And Noah ate it up. He was born to be a rockstar.

Their first single became grossly overplayed on the radio, but he loved every second of it. Fame was glorious, and though he hated having to somewhat reel in his crazy ways, money, women, and exposure were worth it. They marketed him to death, putting him on every talk show, having him make every possible public appearance, there were even Noah Puckerman condom and guitar pick combo packs available at local music stores. At the height of his fame, he stepped into the roll of Will in the Broadway run of American Idiot. It was short-lived, he only performed for a month during the show’s run, but the reviews of his performance were worthy of his mother’s fridge back home. He was finally making her proud, and more importantly, making enough of a living so he could support her.

Sadly, that wasn’t the only thing he was supporting. After the excitement surrounding his Broadway appearance died down, pressure for more music started coming from the label. Noah didn’t like pressure. The first album was a breeze, no one had any expectations, but now he had a following, and none of the singles from the first album held up to the standard the first song set. He turned to alcohol, not that he wasn’t already drowning himself in it beforehand, but a contract looming over his head pushed him to drink more than he admitted.

Like so many rockstars before him, Noah was forced into a stint in rehab. Once his issues started coming to light, things went downhill alarmingly fast. Rumors started circulating about him and he was forced to answer for things he assumed would disappear once he started making the big bucks. Questions about the pregnancy years before came up, accusations about him performing drunk started making their rounds, the same Noah Puckerman that plagued the halls of his high school was now under the bright lights, and the music industry wasn’t as forgiving.

For years he tried to reinvent his initial success, confused as to how at twenty years old he was a hot shot, but at twenty five he was already washed up and irrelevant. A one hit wonder in every sense of the word. His bandmates had the bright idea of getting out of there before things got any worse, cutting their losses, but Noah was too stubborn. Convinced he still had what it took to make it big, to stay relevant and have a long lasting career. He kept putting out music, solo this time, and writing songs, trying to make something of himself. A few of his songs went to other artists, which he considered a win, but his fifteen minutes of fame were over, and any chance of him replicating it were long gone.

He turned to the bottle again, after another series of failures to get his work, from his voice, out there. He was a rockstar, not a writer, but he was the only person who saw himself that way. Noah was in denial about his problem, telling himself that because he wasn’t dabbling in hard drugs he wasn’t sick, he didn’t have a problem. It was just alcohol.

It took a second time in rehab to really open his eyes. Noah was talented, but not the one in a million star he thought he was. He happened to get himself out there at the right time, solely by fate, but he wasn’t meant to be a rockstar forever. At 27 years old he didn’t imagine himself throwing in the towel and turning into one of the “those who can’t do, teach” people, but he wasn’t left with much of a choice. McKinley Prep was something special, an elite school that he didn’t belong in. Half of the student body was smarter than him already, and even the other faculty members talents overshadowed his own, but he could play guitar like no one else, that fact still remained. He mastered piano over the years too, and learned just enough of everything else to be the perfect candidate to teach band.

Now a contributing member to the prestigious private school for two years, Noah’s surprised at how content he is. He chose middle school because it was the only option at the time, but now he wouldn’t have it any other way. He gets them right at the perfect age, before they become complete assholes and when they’re most susceptible to molding their personalities. He’s especially drawn to the kids he sees acting out or who don’t have the best home lives, hoping he can have an impact on them.

Noah Puckerman making a difference, who would’ve thought?  ❞

 — extra facts

Noah is a two on the kinsey scale. While for the most part he’s attracted to women, there have been more than a few men who he’s had relations with. He’s yet to be in a full blown relationship with a man, but in general relationships aren’t really his ‘thing’ anyway.

His father seems to conveniently pop up in his life whenever Noah’s doing particularly well – when his song first hit the charts, when he made his Broadway debut, and when he first started teaching at McKinley Prep.

I imagine his band’s big song was SR - 71′s iconic one hit wonder Right Now.

                                                      ↬   schoolofpuck

[daemonmatthias]

"Get to know me" meme! 1, 65, 69, 91

1. What images do you have set for your desktop/cell phone wallpapers?

Well, my desktop is set to rotate between several images that represent my nerdy interests. I’ve got 2-3 Beauty and the Beast ones, 2-3 Kingdom hearts ones (and there is one overlap between those two), some Harry Potter/Hufflepuff ones, and 1-2 Studio Ghibli ones.

My cell phone lock screen is My Neighbor Totoro, and my wallpaper is Belle and The Beast dancing (from the new movie).

65. Which do you use more often, the dictionary or the thesaurus?

Definitely the dictionary. I can do the thesaurus stuff in my head, but sometimes I have to check the connotation of the word to make sure the synonym I’m thinking of works in the same way. Also, I have to google words to see what phrasing my students are going to find when they look up a word so that I can make sure my answer choices are not too far off from or too close to what google tells them.

69.  What’s the most memorable class you’ve ever taken?

You know what? That’s actually a really hard question…. I knew by my junior year of high school that I wanted to be a teacher, so that perspective has always caused me to focus more on the teacher than the class itself when it comes to memories…. and I’ve had a LOT of memorable teachers over the years. Here are just a few…

There was the professor I took two classes with in college. He was a Doctor Who nerd since like the 60′s/70′s and would slip in references (like “wibbly wobbly timey wimey” while talking about a book not in chronological order) even though I was the only one in the class who knew what he was talking about. His Literary Theory class changed my whole perspective on life/literature in the best way possible, and he fucking tore every paper we wrote to shreds to make us better writers. (He made it up grade-wise with stupidly easy reading quizzes with tons of bonus point opportunities- like fill-in-the-blanks for his favorite joke, which was “a skeleton walks into a bar and orders a beer and a mop”, btw- and we could keep turning in the essays for better grades as many times as we wanted.) I worked my ASS off on his last paper and got a B on the first try. I have never been prouder. I also took his American Novel class where I read some of the best and absolute worst books I have ever read. Rabbit Run was the WOOORST, but I never ever would have read Winter’s Tale or The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao without that class. And, I certainly never would have read Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chaing without him. It’s something I never would have found/noticed on my own, and I loved every single word of those stories. I still haven’t found another writer that can mix science/math, literature, and psychology in the same ways. I’m currently re-reading the entire collection, as I’ve been wanting to since I heard Arrival was coming out.Side note: You should have seen me when I first heard of Arrival. I hadn’t heard anything about it until the trailer came on while we were watching TV. Poor Robert. I cocked my head to the side like a dog and started to say, “Why does this seem so much like that story I read?”, but only got as far as “Why does-” before BASED ON THE STORY BY TED CHAING flashed across the screen and I just fucking lost it. “IT IS, ROBERT, IT IS!!!” “Is what?” “THAT WAS MY FAVORITE ONE IN THE WHOLE BOOK!!” He was so confused and I had to backtrack and explain because that class was like the first or second semester we knew each other and this was the first time I had been remotely excited by anything in months.

There was also that Short Story class where the prof told us she wanted it to be a discussion class even though she’s terrible at discussion classes (her own words). That whole class was a hot mess. We discussed things so thoroughly that she couldn’t figure out how to write tests because she wanted them to be over what we hadn’t discussed about the story. We once had an essay test that asked us about “male enlightenment in Kate Chopin’s “The Storm”.” She started passing them out and everyone was like, “typo?? female??” “No. Male. Like the boy characters.” And we were just like…. uhhhhh ok then….” and when we left three of us got barely out of earshot before one asked us, “so what shit did you make up???” (I had bs-ed something about becoming enlightened to the fact that if mamma ain’t happy ain’t nobody happy.) The entire class pretty much bonded with mutual sarcasm over how awful the class was. It was a very unique environment because we all did actually enjoy discussing the stories with each other and we really got to know each other because the bond made us share more than we usually would with strangers. 

In high school I had the same teacher for AP Psych and APUSH. He was exactly my kind of sarcasm. I kept a “quote book” in high school, which was about 10% inside jokes and stupid shit we said, and about 90% Mr. A quotes. It was stuff like, “So we had the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente. What does “entente” mean? Alliance. So we had the Triple Alliance and the Triple Alliance- BUT IN FRENCH.” I had both classes with him the same year, and he always connected the two by drawing on historical people for examples in Psych and mentioning (or using!) the Psych to teach us history. It helped me a lot in both classes. We also had to watch Phillip Zimbardo videos in Psych and we complained every single time because “He looks like SATAN and he scares us!!!!!” 

The was also the AP English teacher my junior year who most people hated because she was mean. (My friend who knew a bunch of upperclassmen said, “Oooh, you got The Wass. I’m sorry.” when he saw my schedule.) Only I got in the class period with the like 10 most sarcastic people in the entire grade and it seems like we were the only class to figure out that she wasn’t really mean- she was just one of the most deadpan sarcastic people I’ve ever met. We had a lot of fun because we realized she was really just sarcastic and would be sarcastic back. She asked us one day, a test day, after absolutely refusing to tell us how she was going to test us since we all read different books, “Do y’all wanna… draw a picture or do an interpretive dance for your test?” One kid immediately jumped up saying, “I wanna do an interpretive dance!!” and doing some kind of weird wiggle-dance. Her response was simply, “Too bad; you’re drawing a picture.” (And we really were.)

My senior English teacher was also pretty awesome. He completely scratched the normal AP Lit reading list and made a new one. It was full of awesome literature that I probably never would have read on my own and I loved most of it (especially The Tempest). He was also sarcastic and I’ll never forget how he would let us explore the literature as a class. I’ll also never ever forget his first poetry lesson. It was early in the year. He passed out copies of John Donne’s “The Flea” and read it to us. Then he goes, “what does this mean?” *Silence* “What is it about?” about half us are like ?????? while the other half are like uhhhhhhhh. He goes, “It’s ok, you can say it…” so one kid finally goes “….Sex?” “YES! Now how did you know that?” and the half that hadn’t been confused started pointing to certain lines, which he used to make us backtrack until he could give us a name of a device or explain about rhyme scheme or whatever. John Donne became my favorite poet because of his class. (We also read several of his holy sonnets later in the year and watched clips of Wit in class.) There was also the day he gave instructions for a timed write and then said, “OK? And while you do that, I’m gonna keep looking for a care bear costume that isn’t sexy.” We all laughed except one kid who goes, “How do you have a sexy care bear costume????” We all just looked at him until my teacher finally said, “…you know, it’s like lingerie with bear ears?” He also taught me the limited value of page minimums in writing. I didn’t quite make the page minimum once and got like and 85 on the paper or something. When we conferenced he walked me though all his comments about my organization and whatnot. I asked, “Ok, and just for my own reference, how many of these points were taken off for not meeting the page requirement?” He said, “Huh? Oh, none. None! You covered everything effectively and I don’t want to read the extra half-page of fluff.” Absolutely changed my perspective on writing papers and I aspire to make my teaching style much like his (when I’m teaching somewhere that can handle class discussions anyway…).

(Sorry, not sorry. You had to know that one was gonna be long! lol.)

91. What is your favorite word?

I think my favorite word is “persnickety”. It’s fun to say and applies to soooo many situations in the education world. I learned it from A Series of Unfortunate Events and have loved it ever since. :)

[make-drakeandjosh-reunite-blog]

Drake and Josh: Megan Crashes College

Episode 2

Drake and Josh have finally settled into college after a few weeks of classes and living in the dorms. Josh has convinced the housing board to let him move in with Drake and Chad, after recounting horror stories of Greg’s lizards escaping onto his bed. Drake and Chad are lounging around the dorm room playing video games as Josh preps in the library for his business frat rush event.  

Drake and Josh (in unison, camera split on both of their locations): College couldn’t be better!

Drake: To say college is living the dream is an understatement. Girls, beer, video games, pizza - what else could you ask for in life!

Josh: College is absolutely incredible - I’ve never been so intellectually engaged in my life! Exciting classes, world-renowned professors, and endless student groups to join. I’m in heaven!

Drake: On top of all that, I’ve met my BROTHAS - don’t tell Josh I said that - at the legendary fraternity of Pi Kappa Alpha.

Josh: Did I mention San Diego State has an OPRAH FAN CLUB?! Endless hours of Oprah reruns and fangirling over our queen, ah. Life is good

Drake: Now I have a whole frat of boys to wingman me while I pursue the hot ladies of SDSU, not that I need help with this face.

Josh: Even though I have my ah-mazing Oprah fan club, unfortunately, the group isn’t that big so I need to find some more friends. My next plan: join a business fraternity.

Drake: I still haven’t officially received my bid to PIKE yet, Chad and I are currently pledging to show our worthiness to the frat.

Josh: The first rush event is tonight, and I need to IMPRESS! I’m studying up on all the business strategy and networking skills I can fit into my big ol brain before tonight.

Drake: Tonight is PIKE’s biggest party of the semester. I need to prove myself as the life of the party, the cool dude that they want in their frat.

Josh comes back to the dorm room to chill before his big night at the business frat. He plops down on the futon next to Drake and Chad, asking them about their plans for the night.

Josh: So my boys, what shenanigans could you two be getting into tonight?

Drake: Oh, just the most important night of our lives, the night we prove ourselves as true Pi Kappa Alphas.

Josh: Ah, the immaturity of social fraternities. Meanwhile, I myself will be joining a respectable fraternity, a business fraternity by the name of Alpha Kappa Psi.

Drake: Oh look at you Mr. fancy pants! LAME-O

Josh: Oh leave me alone Drake, I need to keep preparing anyways.

All of the sudden there’s a knock on their door. Expecting a hallmate, Drake jumps up to answer it, but as he opens the door he sees the last possible person he was expecting. Megan.

Megan: Surprise bitches!!

Drake: Ohhhh no oh no oh no, you’re out of here!

Josh: EMPHASIS!

Drake: What the hell are you doing here Megan?!

Megan: Mom and Dad are going on vacation for the weekend, and I told them I was DYING to come visit my favorite brothers in the whole world!!

Megan gives a smug little smile and struts right on in, dropping her bags on Josh’s bed.

Josh: Megan you can’t be here this weekend, we both have the most important nights of our lives tonight that will decide the rest of our college careers!

Megan: Don’t get your panties in a wad Josh, I’ll just chill in your room while your two have your oh so important nights.

Drake looks over at Josh, knowing very well that they couldn’t trust Megan to stay here without causing trouble.

Drake: Okay fine Megan, but we’re telling Greg down the hall to keep an eye out for you, and if he catches you stepping one foot of your high school body outside of this hall, you have to spend the rest of the night babysitting his lizards.

Josh: And they are TERRIFYING

Megan: Okay okay, relax people I’m going to behave myself.

A couple hours later, Drake, Josh, and Chad head off to their prospective parties of the night, leaving Megan sitting angelically on the futon watching TV. The boys knew she would be up to something, but had no choice but to hope that she would be good. Just minutes after her brothers left, Megan jumped up and pulled out her two changes of clothes for the night: one professional pantsuit and one skimpy frat party outfit. She laughed to herself as she put on option number one.

The scene cuts to a beautiful white-pillared house, filled with the elite business students of SDSU. Josh walked up the walkway, nervously fixing his tie as he went over in his head what he would say to the members of AKPSI. After an hour of mingling, Josh ended up speaking with the Vice President of the fraternity, Adam.

Josh: It’s such an honor to meet you, Adam, I’ve heard such amazing things about your fraternity and the intellect of your members.

Adam: Ah, yes Josh, it has been a wonderful part of my college career. Why do you think you’d be a good fit for the fraternity?

Josh: Well-

Josh is cut off as a girl taps him on the shoulder. None other than Megan, dressed in business professional, stands before him. Josh’s jaw drops to the floor.

Megan: Oh hi Josh! My friend from down the hall, how good to see you!

Adam: You two know each other? How nice.

Josh: Uh- no um it’s complicated.

Megan: Oh we definitely know each other, we’re neighbors! He was just telling me all about the Oprah fan club he’s a part of at school. Sounds fascinating!

Josh turns bright red and scrambles for words.

Josh: I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m not in an Oprah fan club!

Megan: Are you calling me a liar?

Josh: I ain’t callin you a truther!

Adam: (Laughing) Well Josh, looks like you’ve already found your place with the rather, um, interesting crowd at the Oprah fan club. I must be off.

Josh: Wait, no!

Adam laughs and walks away, turning to other candidates for the fraternity.

Josh: You’re going to pay for this Megan, you’ve ruined my chances of being a real somebody at this school!

Josh storms off as Megan chuckles, heading to the bathroom to get frat party ready for the next part of her plan. She emerges looking just like she walked fresh out of a sorority house, ready to cause some mayhem at PIKE’s party tonight.

The scene cuts to PIKE’s giant fraternity house, smelling of beer and filled with rowdy boys and excited sorority girls. Megan walked right in like she owned the place and began talking with some of the older frat guys (Bradley and Christian). Within minutes she was doing a keg stand in the middle of the party, and Drake and Chad caught sight of her. They run over to get her down.

Drake: Megan! What the hell are you doing here! We told you to stay in the room.

Megan: Who do you think you are? You’re just my hallmate, you can’t tell me what to do.

Bradley: Yeah man, lay off. This girl’s just trying to have a good time.

Christian: Yeah don’t be such a narc, you freshman. Leave us alone to hangout with our new friend, clearly she’s more fun than you two.

Drake: But - you don’t understand -

Christian: GET!

Chad: Ugh, now we’re never going to get our bids, and PIKE are the coolest guys on campus.

Drake: I know, we have to lay off for now if we want any chance of getting our bids, but I’m getting Megan out of here as soon as possible.

Ten minutes go by, and Drake sees Bradley and Chad doing body shots off of Megan.

Drake: That’s enough! You are sixteen! We’re leaving and I don’t care if that means I don’t get a bid.

Bradley & Christian: Loserrrrr! Don’t bother coming back, freshman.

Drake: Whatever guys, at least I have the decency to take care of my sixteen-year-old sister.

Drake and Chad carry Megan, kicking and screaming, out of the frat party and back to their dorm, where they find Josh sniffling in his bed.

Drake: Josh, why are you crying?

Josh: It’s HER! She ruined everything! Told the business frat that I was in an Oprah fan club to embarrass me and they dropped me.

Drake: Ugh, I’m so sorry Josh. She pulled the same thing on me and now I have no chance at PIKE because I was a “loser” for making her leave the party.

Josh: What’s wrong with you Megan?! I understand your pranks at home are all fun and games but this seriously messed up our lives.

Megan: Ugh, well….

Drake: For real Megan, what’s the meaning of this. 

Megan: I guess… I just kinda miss you guys. It’s lonely at home and you both barely call or text because you’re having so much fun at college. I thought…. I thought this would be the only way to get your attention. I just thought if you didn’t have these fraternities that maybe you would call more often or come visit more. I’m sorry guys, I should’ve just told you.

Josh: Aw Megan, I’m so sorry we have been so distant. It really has just been so consuming being in this new world, we didn’t even realize that we were neglecting our family.

Drake: I’m so sorry too Megan, we promise to keep in touch more and come visit you and mom and dad. Who needs PIKE anyways, those guys were assholes! And Josh, you’re better off with your Oprah friends than those pretentious business frat guys.

Megan, Drake, and Josh all group hug with smiles on their faces. Chad joins in awkwardly, patting Josh on the back.

Cut to credits.

[weracetogether]

SwimRun Lake James... and the Whistle. https://ift.tt/2GZXkRo Race reports often start at the start line, but this report is going to start with the story of a whistle... Packed up and ready to go we headed up to Nebo, North Carolina. Yep, we have all of our gear. Yep, wetsuits, newly bought sleeves, newly bought gloves, swim paddles, swim buoys, tether, compression bandage, goggles, swim caps, run shoes, socks, and whistles... oh um... whistles? Well, we thought we had everything, that was until after eight hours in the car when we showed up for check-in. Here are our wetsuits and compression bandage pack, and....now where did we put those whistles. "You got them, right?" This seemed to be the phrase said a lot over the next ten minutes. Just to give you some insight if you don't know what a SwimRun race is, you are swimming and running in remote areas in the wilderness. You are out where a lot can go wrong, so you are required to each have a whistle in the event of such an emergency. Our whistles, a multitude of whistles, were back those eight hours and four states at the house.

Here we are in Nebo, NC at the race venue with no whistle. What to do? Well, go find a whistle before the 1730 Mandatory Athletes Meeting -- how hard can that be? It seemed like a simple task, after all this was  a lake community with kayaking and boating which requires whistles. This logic may have been reasonable if it was May or June and the tourism of the lake would be in full swing. But here at the beginning of April the lake was not a hopping location and the lake front harbor stores were not open for business. We drove on. Next stop a Dollar General- nope.Then a Fire and EMS Department- nope, doors locked. Then an auto parts store- nope. Then a second Dollar General- nope. Then we call a few suggested places- nope, nope, and nope. Then a few gas stations- nope. Then Tractor Supply- nope (but they had baby chicks, adorable, and they make a lot of noise). On the way through the town we passed a Sheriff's station, a last resort; which was quickly making its way to the top of the list. Next stop Wal-Mart (a place we don't frequent in our normal lives)- YES!!! Old school coaching whistles, TWO PACK!! Game on!!!

SwimRun Lake James Photo

We check out and literally run across the parking lot back to the Jeep, jump in, and take to the mountain roads. We cleared the hills and valleys and twists and turns, to arrive back at the park, just in time to get through check-in with all supplies in hand and still managing a smile. Now, let me go ahead and tell you there are extra whistles in the Jeep already. We sat through the athletes meeting about supply stops, blazes (trail markings), and the course. In all honestly this meeting made me a bit nervous. Initially I felt good on the cut off times but as the list of turns and swims and turns added up my math started to fail me and the task at hand was making me nervous. This is where having a calm partner is beneficial. Patrick simply told me, "We'll be fine." Then smiled and we were off to the hotel for a restless night's sleep. About that sleep, it wasn't race jitters, it was the hotel neighbor playing ESPN at top volume through the night. I now know way too much about this baseball season. As usual race morning came right on time. Up, shower, repack, dress... breakfast?? What??? We never get breakfast, especially not at the hotel. But the hotel started breakfast at 0600, and with race time not until 0800 we had time to eat like normal people on vacation.

After breakfast we headed out to the race site. Which unlike "normal" road events, is in the middle of a state park. A peaceful place at 0630. As the sun lit the day, we met other athletes, laughed as our wetsuits were all too small (a common problem each time you put on your perfectly sized wetsuit), and we listened to Tom Petty be cut short by announcements. An exciting bonus to this race was Patrick's Mom was able to come see us leave out (and finish). It was awesome to see familiar and excited faces as we left out on our adventure. The National Anthem played, a deep breath was drawn in, a final kiss to my partner, and GO!!! Right quick let me say, I love race starts no matter the race. I love the National Anthem sing along; I love the vibe; I love the smiles. But in SwimRun (especially mid/back pack) there is another sound- LAUGHTER, more like giggles. See this group is the group that knows we will be out there for a while, but we also know the person with us is our best buddy (for a lifetime or just for the day) and we would not want to be out there with any one else.

As we leave out we are back of the pack. Remember that whole "oh my wetsuit shrunk" comment? Well, for me my wetsuit did not shrink and I did not get bigger, my wetsuit just does not fit. You see Patrick and I don't (well didn't, more on that later) have SwimRun wetsuits that have pockets and front zippers and cool features. What we do have is Patrick in a surfer Seadoo shorty and me in a Blue Seventy tri wesuits with the sleeves and legs cut short. The reason my suit was ideal for cutting was it never fit; not the arms, the legs or the torso, none of it fit. SwimRun was originally a one time race so we felt no need to upgrade. Then on the second go around the idea was, "well this worked last time." So here we are running and swimming in a surfer wetsuit and a too small wetsuit. The factor of my suit being too small, in addition to gloves and sleeves added on took their effect in the first two mile run when I started to overheat a little. Plus I was running in an odd arm due to the new sleeves and poor posture position due to the wetsuit being too short. At about a mile I took off my left glove to help temperature regulation. I also walked for a minute to stretch out. Patrick was giving me grace, which was good because I told him he had to be like our friend L. Bacon who on a ten mile trail run recently was motivational and patient. The phrase I would say to Patrick was "be like Bacon", to "Bacon patience", to "BP". And he was very patient as the athletes in front of us gained ground and I paused to stretched my calves out. Unfortunately, Patrick's mom came by leaving the park as I was walking, but she was still full smiles and kind words. They waved and wished us luck.

SwimRun Lake James Photo

SwimRun Lake James Photo

Soon we could see the bridge that would be the first turn into the woods and would mark that we were only a few more steps from our first dive into the mountain waters. As we weaved through the trees and brush, following the well hung blazes, I could see other teams prepping to enter the water. This race marked the swim outs really well (which is awesome); they were marked with US flags and strobe lights. The flags were easy to see and to judge that you were actually getting closer-- with trees as the only other measure we were glad to have something easy to find in sighting.

SwimRun Lake James Photo

I hit the water first and Patrick right behind me. The water was breath taking- beautiful and cold. Unlike at home where the salt water rushes your senses, you taste it and feel the salt against your face, in the fresh water it is a different feeling and taste. The water is clean but with a hint of mud. I wonder if those first to hit the water tasted it or if this is only after it has been churned up from those before. This first time in the water I kept off my glove (which was shoved in my wetsuit), mostly just not thinking about it. It did not seem too bad, but this was only 800 yards.

At last swim.

We found out quickly that putting on swim caps and goggles with gloves was more difficult than expected, leading to Patrick having goggles that often times did not seal properly. This made finding that happy place where your goggles fill with just a little water to swish and clear the fog very difficult. We hit the next runs and swims with little problems. The segments were longer swims and shorter runs. This would be a theme in the second half of the race as well. I began to notice that this short time on the land was causing me to get cold fast, it seemed warming the water in my wetsuit to keep me warm was draining my body heat. For the first half of the event this was not a big deal but I knew what was in front of us. After about 3 running miles and 1800 swimming yards we were at the first aid station. I was glad to find a smiling face saying we were ahead of the first time cut off. When you are in the woods almost alone, it seems like the drop line is hot on your heels; knowing this was not the case eased my mind. We grabbed Tailwind and water and headed out on the long run. With over seven miles to run I went from being cold to being very warm. The best I could do to help with temperature regulation was to take off my gloves and unzip the wetsuit. Since our wetsuits zipped in the back it was an interesting feat to get it unzipped. Over the bib, under the bib; oh, and then thinking the zipper strap was attaching me. Before the race, Patrick and I had agreed that if we needed to take off layers or make adjustments we would stop to do so just to be safe. Guess what I did not do? Yep, I was running behind Patrick while making adjustments. I got the zipper unzipped and went to take off my gloves in that moment a root jumped out of no where and attacked me. Okay, maybe that's a bit dramatic, but as I was headed head first into the trees and briars my glove let loose, I may have said a curse word or two, and Patrick asked if I needed to stop. I quick stepped just enough to catch myself with only a single push back from a tree. Nope, I was good to go- except for the other pesky glove I needed to take off. Gloves off and stuffed down my wetsuit, I was back to "normal".

SwimRun Lake James Photo

This long run took us through beautiful woods, quiet woods. We ran and walked and ran some more, Patrick always remembering to approach the situation with "BP". In this stretch we hit the route elevation, up and down and up. It was nothing like the climb we had for SwimRun NC but it did prove a challenge. We also went past abandoned houses with satellite dishes, camp grounds, and fire roads. I hummed songs, like the theme to Gummy Bears and Walking on Sunshine. As we approached the end of this long run we found ourselves facing the longest swim for the event, just under a mile. Once again we got notice that we were ahead of the cut off and not at risk of getting pulled. There were still a few teams behind us, making us not feel alone in the quiet. There were times we would hear the other teams talk or laugh, times when we would see a glimpse of green or orange through the dense trees. It was nice to know we were all in this together.

SwimRun Lake James Photo

We approached the long swim just behind another team. The kayaker pointed to a flag in the distance and a strobe light that could barely be seen, then made the comment, "Its just over there, sight the mountain". I just smiled and pointed, "over there". Ok let's do this. We had gear all back on and were zipped back up. Step, step, step... and swim. This was a large lake crossing, 1600 yards. I had to laugh a few hundred yards into the swim, because what land people and kayakers don't realize is that at water level the mountain gets hidden behind the trees quickly. It seems like a great idea to start with but the hint of heading for the side of the island ended up being a much better spotting point. In the middle of the lake a boat passed in the distance.  Given that we swim around boats frequently this part we were will trained for, in minutes the waves came over us and rocked us back and forth. Unlike back home the waves were consistent as there was only one boat and they were smooth since there was no wind to complicate things. After a few pauses to adjust goggles we made it across the lake. Cold we stumbled a little up the bank and into the woods. Here is where things got a little more "interesting".

Last Swim

Again the quick land masses led way to water again. Each time our bodies warmed water in our wetsuits it was drained out by the land crossing leaving space for the cold water to come in again and again as we dove into the water. Fill and drain, fill and drain. The time on the islands was only minutes. Of course I used this land time to make a fool of myself. As we crossed one island I was looking at the next swim out and stepped down the bank carefully as Patrick had told me to do, just not carefully enough. As I laughed sitting there on my butt in the clay/mud, I stated, "well, that's going to bruise". I guess it was loud enough to make the team behind us chuckle then I heard one partner say to the other, "we should be careful here." At least I was helping others!!

Last Swim

In this over hill and dale section we came to a point where there was a buoy but no visual of the out point. All of a sudden some how we were totally alone. We eventually waded out in the water to be able to look around the point and see the out. "Found it," I yelled to Patrick. Once the swim was over he mentioned recalling something from the athletes meeting about there being a buoy to swim to and then we would see the out. Hey we found that spot, too bad we forgot about that conversational point until after standing on the shore for a few minutes.

Last Swim

After this we ran past the final check point still ahead of time. One more long swim (1300 yards), two more land crossings, two more short water crossings, and one final hill to run up to the finish. It seems like a lot but we were nearing the end. As we approached the water for the 1300 yard swim we spoke to one of the race directors, Kristen, who appeared comfy in the Fish and Wildlife Boat. She was friendly and made sure we were okay. It seems we always run into a race director near the end. This is one of those things about the SwimRun events that we have done that I appreciate- the RDs are on the course not only for safety but to be a support and a friendly face in a much needed moment. We headed out into the water, last long swim. On this swim we were accompanied by a kayaker and then two. Along the way Patrick was fixing and clearing his goggles, which made the kayakers a little nervous. Maybe because after a long day in cold waters a swimmer who was floating face down for a moment then flipping on his back seems like a swimmer in trouble. I assured the kayaker that my buddy was okay and that it was just a need to clear his goggles. I was happy for their protection but I had to laugh a little, mostly because it was late in a long day and even if I had to drag him we were finishing this on our own. But I knew I wasn't going to need to drag him but if we hung out in the water longer he might be needing to drag my ashore.

Yes I was laughing at his fall.

Up on land after this swim it was clear we were close. A half a mile run, then

New Zone 3 suits- Ready for Next Time

water, then a skip on land, then we heard it the finish line. More so what we heard was Patrick's mom yelling, "there they are!!!" She was so delighted which made me smile. Of course in true team Decision-Making Paradigm" fashion I entered the water gracefully (ha ha ha) and Patrick hit his head on a small branch distracting him from the branch in the water he tripped over. We started this race laughing, we would finish the same way. Across the last of the water and up the steep boat ramp hill. Kristen was there cheering and encouraging us-- oh and telling us that our next SwimRun we would be dawning new wetsuits form Zone3. Super excited about this win!!

That's Kristen running up the hill too.

The finish line came into view at the top of the hill. I can here Patrick's mom cheering behind us. As we hit the gates leading us to the finish I reach out my hand to Patrick and again hand in hand we cross the finish line. This is my favorite part of the day. Not only is it the end to a long day or an accomplishment of making it through this challenge, but for us it is one more notch on our belt of marriage. I can't imagine spending this time with anyone else I know now one could be so patient or make me laugh so hard. I suspect one day he will want to race tied to a faster and quieter partner, but for today he has ME and he doesn't seem to mind.

We crossed the finish line smiles and hugs and yes again laughter. Oh, and burritos!!!! SwimRun Lake James was an exciting adventure with mud, briars, canopying trees, clear waters, and fun. Over 14 miles of running and 3.5 miles of swimming for SwimRun Lake James. Each running mile filled with the beauty of spring buds and the swimming miles smooth. We hope to return next year to SwimRun Lake James and to do a few other races of the SwimRun sort. We ended our trip with snow and family!!!