#now i gotta push a case to friday. and knowing my luck 3 more cases will come in friday morning

[wetslug]

funeral homes can catch these hands. why they dropping off bodies w just their last name scrawled on a wrist band. bro there is 3 guys last name smith in the fridge rn

[arandompostarchive]

Inure - Ch. 2

SAVED WORK

Summary: To some, The Specter is a serial killer. To some, a hero. But to everyone, you were entirely a mystery. You had no history, just a list of victims a mile long. No matter how many people searched your name, they could find anything. If only they had the spelling right. Now, you’ve come across some unfortunate information that drives you out of your usual shadows and into the path of the Avengers. Including two of the more reclusive members of the team. And it’s hard to pick only one of them.

***

“Howard, I’m not sure this is a good idea. SPECTR isn’t ready to show the public yet, much less reporters who will make up a million theories on how we’ll use this.” You argued. You sat across from Howard as you looked over the machine’s blueprints. Howard had suggested that it was ready for a test run, which was completely wrong. It was far from perfect.

“I’m not saying we have to keep it running, but we’ve got to show people something!” He said, getting frustrated. You began to get frustrated too.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have bragged about it to every media outlet in the country, then. You told them about SPECTR, now you have to tell them it’s not ready. It’s that simple.” You didn’t look up at him.

“C’mon. One test, we don’t have to test all it’s features, let’s just turn on its most basic setting. Just show that it works!” He said. You stood, walking toward the control panel you had set up. The machine was behind glass in a testing room. If you turned it on right now, you weren’t sure what the reaction would be, so you insisted it be put safely away from you.

“But it doesn’t work.”

“They don’t have to know that! I just gotta show them something.” You were tempted to give in. To let him bring in his media crew and you would have if it weren’t for the dangers SPECTR presented.

“Turning it on right now could endanger lives. We need to stay safe about this.” He rolled his eyes. He hated your safety rules which you had only implemented because he would run around the lab doing stupid things otherwise. “Look, I get it. I’m excited about this too! We’re making life-changing stuff here! But let’s save it until we know it will actually change lives.” You bent down and unscrewed a panel on the control board. You had missed the upset look on Howard’s face, not that you couldn’t guess what it looked like.

You continued working while he made a call or two in the background. You jumped a bit when a spark came out of the panel. You stood up, opening the door to the test room to check the machine itself. You could feel Howard staring at the back of your head.

***

You jolted up, sweating a bit. Most of your dreams were memories now. At least, all the dreams you remembered were. At the time, that memory didn’t seem so bad. It just seemed like two friends arguing and that’s what you thought it was. You wished you could go back. Tell yourself to listen a little closer to his phone calls. Double check that he really wouldn’t get a dozen reporters. Instead, you trusted him. That had been a grave mistake.

You pushed yourself off of your bed. Your room was nice to say the least. Leave it to a Stark to make things look expensive. You had an apartment-like area. There was a bedroom and a small living room and kitchen hybrid. It had a tv, a couch and the bare essentials of a kitchen.

You walked into your kitchen area to make tea. “What time is it?” You wondered out loud, seeing the darkness outside your windows. “I need to tell that Captain more about what I know, maybe the team would stop talking about me. Or at least do it in a more private setting.” You grabbed an electric kettle and filled it with water, waiting for it to boil.

“It’s 3:44 am, and I can remind you, if you’d like,” A voice offered. The sound of another person in your space made you jump, but when you looked around you couldn’t spot anyone.

“Hello?” You said loudly, unsure of where the person came from.

“Hello.” The voice said again. You stepped closer to the couch and looked around, still, no one was in sight.

“Who are you?” You asked. Trying to locate the voice.

“I’m FRIDAY, Mr. Stark’s AI system.” You almost laughed. Of course.

You were still curious though. She was really AI? Had she passed the Turing Test? How had he made a completely functional system? How was she built in, is it just in certain rooms, or did he manage to put her everywhere? You had questions to ask Stark about his inventions, though you were dreading having to talk to Howard’s son. He couldn’t be that much better than his father and you weren’t ready to spend time with Howard 2.0. You’d seen Tony on the news and even spent your own time watching over him, but you’d never had a real conversation.

“FRIDAY, huh? And how do you work?” You asked. Admittedly, it felt weird talking to the air. There was no where to focus, so you really just ended up staring at the ceiling. It felt odd.

“I was implemented to help Mr. Stark after he lost his previous AI. I’m a network of different systems Mr. Stark has created. I’m not allowed to share all the details, but I’m sure Boss wouldn’t mind showing you.”

Of course she calls Tony “Boss”, seems just like a Stark to put themselves on a pedestal. “Well,” you began, “Thank you FRIDAY. I can remember to talk to Captain Rogers, though. I don’t really have much else to do.”

“Alright, Miss.”

“Just call me Spectr,” you told her, smiling at the ceiling.

“No problem, Spectr.” There was a soft whistling behind you and you stopped the kettle before it got too loud. You took the tea along with a bit of honey and sat down on the couch, slowly sipping it. It felt odd to have a ‘home’. A TV, couch, bed, kitchen, even the weird body-less AI felt comforting. Something you hadn’t felt in a long time.

***

Coming downstairs to get breakfast was one of the most awkward experiences of your rather long life. You had come down late, hoping the Avengers ate early. To your dismay, most of the team were in their kitchen, chatting about something or other, though it seemed like a few of them there only to talk to the group.

When you walked in, book in hand, their conversation immediately hushed and all eyes turned to you. The team was terrible at pretending not to stare, but you did your best to ignore them.

“Um, Spectr.” The Captain spoke up. His voice stayed steady, but you could tell he felt odd asking you anything. You turned around to face him, silently telling him to continue. “Join us, we’d like to get to know you.” The sentiment was nice, though you knew what he was doing. If they could befriend you, they’d have a permanent ally or maybe even stop your ‘crime spree’. Or maybe they wanted a reason to justify working with you. Maybe they felt guilty putting a serial killer on the team, even temporarily, and thought that maybe, just maybe, if you were a kind person they’d feel just a little bit better. But the much more likely option was that they wanted a way to take you down. They wanted to know exactly what made you tick just in case you got too hard to handle. You wished them luck, you had died decades ago.

“No, Captain, you don’t want to talk to me. I’m a possible threat in your house. You want to learn whatever you can about me. That’s fine, I understand.” Everyone at the table was avoiding meeting both your eyes and Steve’s. You didn’t really have anything against Rogers, but you weren’t here to become best friends, you were here to stop a threat. Then you could leave and go back to your old life with no record of your crimes. Not that the city papers wouldn’t have a field day.“But you don’t want to talk to me. Don’t pretend you do, it’s rude.” You didn’t get a response, so you assumed you guessed right.

The team went back to your hushed conversation and you scanned the room. You grabbed a cup of coffee from the fresh brewed pot and sat yourself on a couch in their living room area. A man was sitting across from you also buried in a book. You didn’t mind the lack of conversation, though his book choice was interesting. Shakespeare’s The Tempest, certainly a good read.

You looked down at your book, staring at the page but still focused on the man in front of you. You recognized him, though you weren’t certain from where.

“The team seems to have deemed you a villain as well.” He said, barely glancing up from the pages. Usually, you’d be angry. You’d leave and find somewhere else so you could be alone. But for some reason, you didn’t.

“You’re getting the same treatment?” You asked, somewhat skeptical. From the outside, he looked like just another team member.

“It is to be expected after what I did. They still do not trust me.” This time he looked up at you, fully meeting your eyes. Then, you recognized him. Loki. The guy who wrecked New York.

It wasn’t your style, but it did end up taking out one of your targets for you and he seemed nice enough.

“I see. Well, can’t exactly blame them for not liking me either, then.” You said. He kept a straight face. It looked practiced, like he knew exactly how to keep his emotions hidden. But you knew that look in his eyes. The very silent desperation that maybe, maybe you could relate to him. Maybe you could be outcasts together. You weren’t sure you liked that idea. Being alone in your new ‘room’ seemed much more favorable.

“I’m not exactly clear on what you did.” He closed his book, keeping his thumb between the pages and setting it on his lap. You did the same.

“Well, I kill for a living. Sort of. It’s not the most high paying gig out there, but ‘heroes’ don’t tend to appreciate serial killers.” You tried to state that in the most lighthearted way possible, though there wasn’t really a nice way to phrase it.

“Do you simply kill anyone?” He asked, clearly trying to piece together why a murderer is currently trying to help save the world. You smirked a bit.

“Not exactly. All my victims are the people who’ve escaped justice. Maybe they got away with murder maybe the court just isn’t moving fast enough. Or they’ve got connections and keep walking free. I never miss a target.” You said, proud of your work.

The Avengers didn’t see it how you did. You were correcting the world. Bringing back hope, even if no one would cheer for you out loud.

“And the Avengers feel you are doing the world a disservice by ridding it of evil?” He seemed confused by the concept. As far as he was concerned, it sounded fair. Harsh, but fair.

“They don’t like the whole ‘murder’ part. Well, torture and murder part. They think we should let the system handle it. But the system isn’t working, so here I am.” You said, taking a large sip of your coffee.

“And if authorities catch you? Will they put you to death over such a thing?” You shrugged in response. In all honesty, you hadn’t really looked up what consequences you’d face. You didn’t care. “You do not seem scared.” He noted.

You laughed a bit. “Death is an old friend.” You took another sip of your coffee and he seemed to acknowledge that he wasn’t going to get any more than that. You spent a little while longer in a comfortable silence, both reading your respective books.

Soon, you finished yours and stood up. Loki nodded to you and you nodded back. You wouldn’t call him a friend, but he certainly wasn’t an enemy and that’s the closest thing you had to a friend right now.

You walked back to the kitchen, dropping your now empty coffee cup into the sink and washing it, placing it on the small drying rack they had there. Some of the team was still in the kitchen and you heard their conversation quiet. You had better hearing than average, but it wasn’t anything to brag about. And since the team was mostly super-soldiers, you could hear their extremely quiet whispers. Whatever they were talking about, they were being careful about it.

You grabbed a few granola bars from the cabinet when you spotted a bottle of whiskey that had been left on the counter, probably by mistake. You suspected Stark, Howard would leave your bottles on your table when he went to your house, why would Tony be different? You grabbed a glass and filled it, not bothering to look at the brand of whiskey.

“I like a good drink myself, but, uh, that’s a full size glass and it’s 10 in the morning?” Tony said, looking slightly concerned. You scoffed a bit.

“I’m starting that late, huh?” You asked, drinking a bit of the glass and walking toward their training room. The drink  wouldn’t do much, your heart had stopped, well, working after you died. Everything had. As far as you knew, you were essentially a walking, talking corpse. The only reason you had to breathe was so you could talk, so when you lived alone you didn’t find it necessary. Your alcohol limit was high to say the least, you were almost certain you could out drink Thor. And now that you lived in the same house as the guy, you were kinda tempted to try it.

Since all of the loud members of the team were at breakfast, including Thor and Tony, you settled for getting exercise. Their training rooms were huge. Starks always went big. You could hear someone else and you groaned at the thought of human interaction. Like living with a bunch of do-good superheroes wasn’t enough, now you had to actually talk to them.

You walked in anyway, hoping it was one of the quieter members, like Vision. Though you didn’t see why a floating android would need to work out. Instead, it was Steve’s friend, Bucky Barnes. Although Steve and Bucky didn’t know you, you knew of them. Peggy had talked about Steve a bit, so you knew a little bit about their life in the army. You had even comforted Peggy once Steve crashed into the ocean.

The closest you had ever been to actually talking to them was consulting when Howard was designing possible shields for Steve. Bucky on the other hand, you had only heard about once or twice. Mainly about how he had gone missing.

You tried not to make eye contact with him while you went over to the weights. He was practicing what looked like knife throwing, so he wasn’t really focused on you.

“You created that machine, right?” You hadn’t even crossed the room before he addressed you. You internally groaned, not liking the idea of a conversation right now. Especially with someone who would quiz you on all your weaknesses.

He looked at you and offered a knife out of the small chest full of them. You took it and resigned yourself to questioning. It would be easier to manage if it was only one of them.

“Me and a friend. We thought it could do good, but it was never finished.” You said, throwing the knife at the target. Knife throwing wasn’t your specialty, but you weren’t terrible, so it landed off-center. Bucky still looked impressed though.

“Not bad. That machine was made to heal people, right?” You nodded and he threw his own knife, landing dead center. It looked like he was making a ‘X’ shaped pattern out of them. “So how’s he going to use it to hurt anyone?”

You had considered that before. But, considering the… malfunctions the machine was capable of, you didn’t doubt it could harm people as well as heal. “Trust me, it can kill without a problem.” You said, not liking the topic he had chosen. You tossed another knife at the target, this time landing further off-center than the one before. You internally sighed at your lack of focus.

He considered what you said and nodded, seemingly understanding that there was more to your statement.

“I don’t think you’re a threat, if that’s what you’re worried about.” He said, pausing in his knife throwing. You scoffed.

“You don’t, huh? Then why exactly are you talking to me?”

He shrugged a bit. “You seemed lonely.”

You continued throwing knives discussing members of the team. It seemed you had two not-enemies in the tower.

[saventhhaven]

Breaking and Entering

Pairing: None

Tags: scared!reader, tired!reader, awkward!Sam, baseball bat

Word Count: 1,528

A/N: Thanks to @spn-imagines-nation​ for the prompt!

(Gif not mine)

It had been a hellish day at work. After your eight-hour shift had turned into a twelve-hour shift, you were about two seconds away from quitting your job and becoming a stripper instead. Hell, that had been your backup plan for as long as you could remember, but lately, you were more serious than you ever had been. You couldn't wait to get the hell out of there. As soon as you got a raise at your full-time job, you were gone. Quite frankly, that day couldn't come soon enough. Even as part-time, retail was ridiculous. The number one rule was "the customer is always right," and they knew it, too. The especially difficult ones would come in with an un-returnable product and then throw a fit when you couldn't give them anything back for it. In your opinion, someone should put a law in place that forced everyone to work a retail job for at least a year. Maybe then you wouldn't be treated like shit so much.

You were exhausted when you got home - too exhausted even to eat, which was seriously saying something. As soon as you got back home, you had gone upstairs, taken off all clothes aside from your panties and bra, and collapsed into bed. Thankfully, it was a Friday night, and you had the next two days off. Your weekend plans consisted of sleeping from Saturday to Sunday if needed, and pretty much nothing else. That is until a noise from downstairs had your eyes popping open. Instantly, you were wide awake, despite your tiredness when you lay down. For years, your dad had nagged you about installing an alarm system in your house, but you never had seriously considered it, unfortunately. It would definitely come in handy right now.

As you reached over to grab your phone from your nightstand, your heart sunk in your chest. Seriously? Where the hell was it? Obviously, not where it usually was, but still, you couldn't believe your luck. You had to bite your tongue to keep from swearing as you remembered the location of your cellphone. Last night, you had plopped it down on a console table next to the front door with your keys. Peachy. If anything else happened, you were going to start thinking the misfortune of all those busty girls in the hoaky horror movies were for real. Here you were, alone in your house, in your underwear, and your phone was downstairs along with the intruder. Really, this was just perfect.

Swinging your legs over the side of your bed, you were careful not to let the floorboards creak beneath you. You were pretty much already toast, but even more so if you made any noise sneaking up on said intruder. It was moments like these that always made you question your life decisions. For example, not owning a gun, or even a FOID card, for that matter. No, instead, you were stuck with an old aluminum baseball bat from when you were in middle school. Not the worst weapon, in retrospect, but definitely not your first choice either.

As you padded down the (thankfully) carpeted stairs, you tried to keep your heart from beating too loudly, without much luck. At this rate, if your knees knocking together didn't give you away, your loud-ass heartbeat sure as hell would. You glanced around the corner of the wall at the bottom of the staircase, straining your eyes as you peered into the dark living room. The silhouette of a hulking figure moved around the back of your couch, facing away from you. You could tell by the build of the figure that he was a man, but what was he looking for? Too bad for him, it was going to be lights out before he found it. You reared up your bat above your shoulder, letting out a battle cry as you rushed him. Hearing you come up behind him, the man whirled around, ducking your makeshift weapon in the nick of time. You made a note to yourself: no battle cry in the future.

"Scumbucket!" you screeched, swinging the bat around wildly.

"Y/N, hey, it's me!" As the tall man dodged your strikes, something clicked in the back of your brain. You knew that voice.

“Sam?" As you finally realized who was in your home, you flicked on the light.

"Hi," he said with an awkward wave. Narrowing your eyes, you allowed the bat to fall to the floor with a loud clang.

"'Hi?'" You smacked him hard in the arm several times.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, backing away.

"You scared the shit out of me!" you hollered at him.

"Yeah, I can see that," he replied. He gestured to you, clearing his throat uncomfortably as he made an effort not to look. "Y-you... you're, ah..." You glanced down at yourself, half-surprised to see that you were still in your underwear. You had sort of forgotten about that part. Squeezing your eyes shut, you made a face as you shook your head.

"I just can't catch a break, can I?" you muttered. Sam reached for the pile of clean laundry you had been meaning to put away, snagging a shirt and pair of shorts.

"Here," he said, still not making eye contact. You smirked at him as you took the clothes, pulling them on.

"Oh, come on, Sam," you teased. "It's not anything you haven't seen before." The man went beet red.

"W-well, that's-" he stammered. "I-I mean, I-" You snorted.

"Relax. I'm kidding." Sam seemed relieved, letting his shoulders relax. "Listen," you started again. "Not that I'm not happy to see you - I am, seriously, I'm super glad you're not a burglar - but what are you doing here at..." Glancing at a clock on the wall, you sighed. "Four in the morning?" For the first time since he arrived, you got a good look at him, squinting in confusion at his apparel. "And why are you in your FBI gear?" Suddenly, it all clicked, and you held up a finger at him. "Oh, no. No. You did not come here and break into my house at the ass-crack of dawn, by the way, for a case!”

"Look, I'm sorry I scared you," Sam apologized, "but you were a huge help last time, and I could use a hand." You shook your head again as you began to pace. The last time you helped the Winchesters, things got ugly. Like, had to lay low for two months and move away ugly. Because of them, you had to totally uproot your life and start over, and that was something you were not doing again. But the last time you helped the Winchesters, you also saved lives. You helped people, you killed a bad guy, and the world had become a little better because of it. You couldn't just sit idly by knowing that more people might die if you didn't help out.

"And this case is in town?" Sam nodded.

"Yeah. It's the owner of that general goods store down the road." He laid a hand on your shoulder as he looked you in the eye, forcing you to come to a halt. Damn him. He knew you were a goner for those puppy-dog eyes. "I've gotta be honest with you here. It won't be easy, and I hate that I would be putting you in danger," he confessed. "But I can't do this by myself." You gnashed your teeth together.

"And your brother can't help you?"

"No," Sam replied. "He's in Oregon dealing with a poltergeist." You would be lying if you said you weren't at least a tiny bit intrigued.

"What is it?" you questioned. "Vengeful spirit? Ghoul?"

"Vampire," he answered, earning a surprised look.

"Vampire?” you echoed. "Huh. That's a new one." You had to admit, ever since the boys had left town, life had been painfully boring. "Damn it," you grumbled. With a final huff, you pushed his hand from your shoulder and headed toward the kitchen. "All right." You reached for the coffee pot. If you were going to do this at this hour, caffeine was a must.

"Does that mean..?" Sam asked, hopefully from the living room. You had to hide your eagerness as you turned back around to face him.

"Yeah, I'll help you." Instantly, he let out a breath of relief. "Get in here and give me the rundown before I change my mind and go back to bed." Seeming to call your bluff, he tilted his head, the hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

"Well, if it's really too much trouble, I can just go," he offered. As he turned to leave, you grabbed onto his wrist to keep him in place.

"All right, you got me," you revealed. "I'm weirdly excited. Things have been too... normal since you and your brother left." Sam chuckled. "Now sit your ass down while I make some coffee." Once the coffee began to percolate, you sat down across from the youngest Winchester at the kitchen table, allowing your enthusiasm to show in your eyes. "So. Tell me about our monster."

Thank you for reading! <3

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[kian-bera]

It was senior year of high school and Dean Winchester had been given the title of quarterback of the football team. Of course the cheerleaders were all over him, but what they didn’t know was he already had an eye out from a particular one. Dark raven hair, and blue eyes that glimmered like little waves when the sun hit them at the right angle. A few months prior, his dad had finally found the demon that had killed their mother fourteen years ago. John went down with the demon, so their uncle Bobby had taken the boys under his wing. For the first time, the boys had a chance at a normal life, and Dean finally had a chance with one of his crushes. Sam made fun of him for it, but Dean didn’t care. He knew his little brother was teasing.

The practice that day was cut short due to an incoming storm, while everyone was upset due to the big game coming up, they had no choice. The school and the coaches call the end of practice.

“Good luck boys, we don’t have another practice until game day, so go home, stay safe, and I’ll hopefully see you boys tomorrow. 1...2..3..”

“GO ANGELS!” THe team shouted before breaking apart to go home.

Dean slid his way over to the cheerleaders who were huddled in a tight circle until Dean came over. All the girls tried to push past each other and talk to him, but Dean walked right through all of them. He made his way over to the one male cheerleader and sat down.

“Hi, name’s Dean…” Dean flashed his winning smile, but he could feel himself getting flushed.

“Winchester, I know. You are kinda the quarterback. Everyone knows your name.” The other boy gave Dean a shy smile and continued packing up his practice bag. “Cas...Henry Castille.” Henry swept a piece of loose hair away from his face.

“Oh...Well uh there is going to be a party after the game friday night, I was wondering if you would like to come with me?” Dean asked awkwardly. He had never had trouble asking someone out before, but here he was, stumbling over the words from his mouth.

“I am actually busy friday night, family stuff ya know? Gotta love family.” Henry gave a nervous chuckle and gave Dean a small smile.

“Yeah I do understand, that sucks. It’s going to be a fun party.”

“DEAN!” A young voice called from the side of the bleachers. Both Henry and Dean glanced up at the young boy. His long brown hair was all messed up and his lip was bleeding. “Dean!” The boy made his way over to his older brother and plopped down in his lap.

“What happened Sammy? Who did I need to kill?” Dean asked, smoothing out Sam’s hair.

“His name is Gabriel. He is so annoying and he keeps playing pranks on me. The teachers just say it’s harmless fun so they won’t do anything about it.” Sam complained.

“Question about this tall, blondish hair, green eyes? Has a small scar on his face right about here.” Henry asked, making a slashing motion in front of his ear.

“Yeah, you know him?” Sam asked.

“Unfortunately…” Henry’s voice went flat as he narrowed. “That is my brother. The not so responsible one. Don’t feel bad Sam, he does it to all of us, but of course dad won’t say anything to him about the pranks. Then again, no one has heard from dad in ages.” Henry shook his head in frustration. “Anyways, as I said, family business after the game.”

“Oh is he your new boyfriend?” Sam asked, looking up at Dean. Dean elbowed Sam in the side and gave a nervous chuckle.

“We should be going. They didn’t cut practice for no reason.” Dean told Henry standing up, grabbing his bag.

“Yeah you’re right. Uh nice talking to you>” Henry said walking off. He gave Dean and Sam a wave and went to his car where several of his brothers were waiting. They all piled into a mini van and drove off.

Dean sat Sam in the passenger seat and took a first aid kit out of the trunk. Dean had never bothered to clean it out just in case for some reason they needed the supplies. Dean quickly closed the trunk and came back over to Sam who was playing with a video game console Bobby had gotten him for Christmas.

“What ya playing?” Dean asked as he cleaned off the dried blood to clean the cut.

“It’s Mario. I am so close to saving Princess Peach.”

“Is that right?” Dean gave a small chuckle as he pressed the alcohol soaked cotton ball against Sam’s lip. Sam jumped a little and let out a small squeal.

“That hurt.” Sam complained.

“Why do you think I was talking to you.” Dean countered, ruffling Sam’s hair. “So how was the student council meeting? Does our ninth grade president have any smart ideas?”

“I did, but the pesky upperclassmen shot me down. They said my idea was baby and childish.” Sam told Dean as the older brother put the first aid kit back in the trunk.

“I’m sure it wasn’t Sam, what was your idea?” Dean questioned, getting into the car.

“I suggested they get another computer lab because more and more places are starting to use them. So it would be useful if we knew how to use them ourselves. All i got in response to that was ‘Sam, it’s not like computers are going to take over and replace us at everything, plus, the teachers like the old school handwritten papers anyways. So next…’ I’m going to laugh when we all end up doing everything through computers. I mean you have to brace the new technology to advance into the future. They are the stupish and childish ones by not understanding that concept.” Sam gave a small laugh and smiled over at Dean.

“You are probably right, you tend to be so. I bet you end up marrying a computer.”

“Well you know, sometimes I think technology is more reliable than people anyways. I mean you have your car don’t you.”

“Hey Baby is a classic treasure. You can’t insult perfection.”

“Exactly.” Sam retorted. The two brothers shared a laugh before Dean blasted their cassette tapes all the way home. The storm clouds had rolled into town, and thunder sounded off in the distance. BY the time the boys got to Bobby’s, it was pouring down rain, and they spirinted inside, backpacks in tow. Bobby gave them a towel to dry off with and asked them how school was.

“Well all of the older kids are idiots.” Sam said, “but did you know that snails have no gender. Well they do, but they don’t. Anyways next week we get to cut up a fish.” Sam smiled and ran upstairs to do his homework.

“That kid scares me sometimes.” Bobby told Dean sitting down at the kitchen table.

“You and me both.” Dean told him, chucking his book bag to the back door.

“You don’t have any homework son?” Bobby asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No, I don’t…” A flash of lightning from outside illuminated Dean’s face as he tried to wiggle his way out of his math homework.

“Boy get your homework out or no game on friend.”

“But Bobby….”

“Dean...Now.” Dean grunted in response and got out his binder for school. It was a complete mess unlike Sam’s who was completely organized and colorcoded.

“How do you find anything in that mess?” Bobby asked.

“It is organized, in my own way.” Dean told Bobby, taking out his math book and some paper and a pencil. Dean began to scribble down some problems on a notebook as a roll of thunder shook the house, causing the lights to flicker. Dean glanced up and shrugged his shoulders. When he glanced back down, Bobby was gone, but Sam was standing there with a pair of scissors. “What are you doing?”

“The sleeves on my shirt are too long, they are getting in my way, and you do it better.” Sam said, giving Dean the scissors and his arms. Dean gave a small laugh.

“Well you need to change into a different shirt. Go on, change into a different shirt and come back.” Dean took the scissors and set them on the table. He got up to find the small sewing kit he kept in his bag. He used to give all of his shirts that couldn't fit him to Sam. Sam didn’t like the very long sleeves, so Dean would cut and fix them for Sam. Dean felt a little weird as he sat there and threaded the needle. He sometimes wondered what the other guys would think of him, since everyone thought he was the cool guy. Then he remembered that he was doing it for Sam, and he didn’t care what they would think.

Before Sam came back downstairs, the lights went out from the storm outside. Dean found some flashlights and candles and lit them. He placed them around the halls and the kitchen so he could see and Sam could make it back to the kitchen without falling over anything.

Sam eventually made his way back downstairs with a new shirt on, and the one with sleeves to long in his hands. He gave the shirt to Dean and smiled. Dean put the sleeve up against Sam’s arm and put a pin at where it would fall on his wrist. He cut the fabric off a little bit over that area. He gave the extra fabric to Sam who kept it for whatever reason. Dean was never quite sure what Sam actually did with the scraps, but he never questioned. After another thirty minutes had passed, Dean gave the shirt back to Sam.

“Here is this better?” Dean asked, as Sam slipped the shirt back on. Sam glanced down at the sleeves which were no longer too big for his small arms.

“Thank you Dean.” Sam gave his brother a hug, which Dean reciprocated. The storm went on and through the night, but was clear by the morning. Which was good, because that would mean the field would be dry by the big game that was coming that evening. The school was abuzz with excitement since the game determined whether they went to state or not, and school was cut short for a big prep rally at the end of the day.

Everyone came over to Dean and some of the other football players during lunch to congratulate them and wish them good luck. Eventually Henry made his way over and gave a sheepish wave.

“Hey good luck with the game tonight, I hope you do well.” The cheerleader told Dean.

“Oh uh, thank you. You too. Uh keep those poms poms waving.” Dean told him giving awkward finger guns. Henry finger gunned back and walked away trying to figure out why he did that. Dean glanced down at his hands before back up to the other players who were sitting with him at the table.

“Dude, what was that?” One asked, tilting his head at Dean.

“I have no idea.” Dean replied, trying to keep his face from turning red, but the other had started to pick up what was going.

“Dean and Henry sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, wait is that even legal. I don’t think that is legal. HA imagine being with someone and you can’t even get married because it’s against the law.” Everyone else at the table started laughing, so Dean just got up and left. He didn’t feel like dealing with their bull crap. Dean located Henry across the lunchroom by himself. Dean started to head over there before he got ambushed by a bunch of girls. He did his best to get away, but by the time they stopped talking, the bell had rung for them to get back to class. Dean passed by Sam who was heading to lunch and gave his brother a small wave. Sam waved back as a group of people surrounded him congratulated him on his victory. Dean tilted his head, but Sam shrugged it off.

Dean stopped by his locker to grab a book for his next class, just to find his locker had been vandalized by some of the other guys. They left a bunch of sticky notes on his locker with some degrading words and insults. Dean quickly took them down and grabbed his book from inside the locker. When Dean got to class, he tossed the wad of sticky notes into the trash can and took his seat. Their teacher walked in right as the bell rang. Dean felt something hit his head and turned around to find a paper airplane on the ground.

“Passing notes now are we Mister Winchester?” Mrs.Smalls asked. She took the note and opened it in front of the class. “Dean Winchester is a big ole F- Who wrote this? I demand you speak up now or I am giving this whole class detention.” Mrs.Smalls glanced around the room but no one spoke up. Mrs.Smalls shrugged. “Ok I will be seeing all of you except Mister Winchester after the prep rally. Three hours. And hour per letter for that terrible word.”

“Good thing we didn’t write what we were originally going to write.” Someone in the back of the class whispered.

“What was that?” Mrs.Smalls asked. She had many things wrong with her, but her hearing was not one.

“Nothing Mrs.Smalls.” James Quaker told their teacher. James was one of the other players on the team. He never liked Dean much to begin with, so anything he could find to drag Dean through the mud with waas fine by him. Mrs.Smalls let free the rest of the class for detention except James and the boy sitting next to him, David.

“But Mrs.Smalls we have practice.” David complained.

“Well maybe you should have thought about that before throwing the paper airplane.” The class was eventually let out for the prep rally and Dean made his way to the locker rooms in the gym where they were waiting to be introduced. Dean found Henry sitting by himself. Henry seemed to be crying as Dean quietly sat next to him.

“I’m so sorry.” Henry whispered through tears.

“What no, hey it wasn’t your fault Henry. The guys are just jerks okay. Don’t pay them any attention.”

“Don’t pay them any attention? Even the girls are in on it, and I can’t do anything or it would be considered abuse.” Henry looked up for the first time and saw some scratches across Henry’s face.

“Henry I…” Dean put his hand up, but Henry shrouded away. “Henry please at least let me help.”

“I’m not about to let you walk me to the nurses office. Then I would have to explain what happened…”

“I have a first aid kit in my car. We could walk out…”

“Thank you Dean, but once again no.” Henry just gave a small smile and got up since the cheerleaders were announced first so they could introduce the football players.” Dean grabbed Henry’s hand and let them linger there for a second before he walked away. Dean just sat there fiddling with his helmet. Being the quarterback, Dean was introduced first. He ran out between the cheerleader who he could hear snickering at him as he ran by. Dean just put on a smile as he waved at everyone and ran over to the spot where the team was going to take a picture. Once everyone was there, they snapped a quick picture before continuing with the rally. The cheerleaders did some routines and the theater department came out and did a dance routine they made up. Sam was dressed up as a little Angel and Dean let out a small laugh.

After the rally everyone was dismissed to go home. The football players made their way to fuel to get in one last practice before the game. The coach told everyone that if they didn’t stop with all the ruckus he heard about today, he would forfeit the team for the game. For a while, everyone was quiet and focused just on the practice. Afterwards however was a different story. Dean didn’t know how to deal with it, so he just went and sat in his car. He made sure all the doors were locked and windows rolled up tight. After a few seconds he hated the silence so he blasted ‘Eye of the Tiger’ and just sat there hitting the steering wheel like a drum.

Dean eventually opened his eyes when he heard tapping on the window. He thought it might have been Sam, so he just turned down the music and opened the passenger side door.

“Hi Dean.” That wasn’t Sam’s voice though. Dean sat up straight and turned off the music.

“Oh hi Henry. Are you okay?” Dean asked.

“Do you still have that first aid kit?” Henry asked, rubbing his face softly where the scratches were.

“Yeah of course, stay here.” Dean got out of the car and quickly grabbed the first aid from the trunk. He came back and started to talk to Henry like he did with Sam to distract him.

“So how was your favorite class today?” Dean questioned.

“Oh good. We learned the art of avacodo’s number.” Henry told him laughing.

“You mean avogadro's number?”

“Yeah that….owwww.”

“Sorry...sorry yeah I know this probably stings.”

“Castiel what are you doing?” A voice asked. A tall woman with short brown hair randomly appeared in the backseat.

“Castiel?” Dean asked.

“Naomi!” Cas jumped before sighing. “Dean, Naomi, Naomi, Dean. This is my...boss…” Cas told Dean.

“How did you get here? You’re...you’re not a demon are you? Because if you are, you are in for quite a surprise.” Dean told Naomi.

“No, the opposite actually. An Angel and so is Castiel or as you know him Henry.” Naomi glared as Cas who was sitting there with his head down. He had no idea what to do or say with Naomi there. “I sent you here to watch over Dean Winchester, not fall in love with him Castiel.”

[artificialqueens]

My only god is the sea (Shalaska) - Catrina

A/N: Guess who’s back back back back again? Me, and my Shalaska shit! Because one wasn’t enough… I wrote this really fast on a punch of inspiration and is highly based on one of my favorite songs: Sun by Two Door Cinema Club, which I really recommend. Weird fact: the title is taken from another song of Two Door Cinema Club called Sleep Alone. IF YOU LIKED IT please please please tell me! I really love hearing your opinions. Thanks for reading!

Summary: During a trip, Alaska realizes she’s in love with her roommate and best friend, Sharon.

“It’s just a couple of days, right?” Sharon asks again, her eyes glued to the magazine in her lap as she sits with bent legs over the bed.

Alaska stares at her for a second before leaning to take the last pair of shoes she needs to pack from the floor, carrying them to the other side of the room to her suitcase. “Yeah” is the only response she gives.

“And are you excited because Mr. Handsome wants you to take this case?” her friend’s lips curl into a smile, looking up at her.

Every time Sharon jokes about her boss, she tries her best to laugh, even when she’s annoyed out of her mind. Since Alaska mentioned how pretty her boss’ hair was Sharon took that as a beginning of a crush, naming him Mr. Handsome to mock her as much as she could.

Alaska wishes Sharon knew how wrong she is; she’s not interested in her boss. She thinks she isn’t even interested in men since she has never loved one, but her mixed feelings are too weird to explain. Alaska knows is better to shut the fuck up and just ignore the jokes.

“Stop!” she chuckles. “I’m going for work only. This is a very good chance for me to grow in the company”

Sharon’s playful eyes make her know she doesn’t believe it. “And get laid! Mr. Handsome is going with you, isn’t he?”

“I’m going for work” she repeats slowly. Her friends rolls her eyes and nods.

“Yeah, I said that every time I went to the supermarket to ‘buy more paint’ when actually I was just to see Phi Phi, and now look at us!”

Alaska sighs deeply, focusing on closing the zipper of her suitcase so she doesn’t have to listen to Sharon speaking of her girlfriend. The fact that she’s happily taken with a cut throat brunette makes her squirm uncomfortably because she doesn’t like Phi Phi and she knows Phi Phi isn’t a great fan of hers neither. They’re both constantly fighting for Sharon’s attention, which makes Alaska wonder why is the idea of sharing it so annoying.

She shrugs, moving the suitcase from the bed down to the floor so there’s room for her body. “I’ll sleep now, it’s late and tomorrow I’ll leave early”

“Sure, I’ll leave you alone” Sharon takes her magazine, gracefully standing up from Alaska’s bed. “How early?”

“At seven. Why?”

“To set my alarm. Do you think I’m gonna let you go without saying bye?” she tilts her head, grinning. Her sweet tone is music for Alaska’s ears, who only can smile and accept her proposal. “Goodnight, Lask”

Sharon leaves to go to her own room, and her perfume stays in the air all night.

-

the roads I knew

became a city

and I wonder

will you wait for me?

Alaska knows Sharon is stubborn and that she never losses a fight, so when she asked if she could go to the airport with her the next morning, she said yes immediately. In the middle of a footling chat, they waited until it was time for Alaska to approach the plane.

“Cerrone and I are gonna miss you” Sharon assures, hugging her tightly. “And don’t worry, I already took note of the days I have to water your plants. I got you covered”

She winks and Alaska can’t help but giggling. Even when she would never admit, the fact that she can spend some time away from Sharon turns out being great; she needs to think of her feelings on the other girl, and there seems to be any better way to do it than being alone.

“Thanks. I’ll call you once I’m in the hotel” she promises.

They check Alaska’s list of things she should be carrying and her papers —including her plane ticket and a map of the city she’s going to— before the blonde walks away.

There’s a feeling telling her to look back before stepping on the plane. What she sees when she does is the best she would’ve wanted to see; Sharon is smiling, eagerly waving at her and mouthing ’good luck’.

Alaska’s heart jumps in joy as she smiles and waves back.

-

With a sigh, Alaska carries her suitcase inside the hotel room she’s designed to. It’s small yet pretty, and she wonders what would Sharon think of it. She makes a mental note to send her a picture of the place later as she places her stuff next to the bed and lays to rest a little.

Instead of sleeping, which she needs more than anything right now, she pulls her phone out her pocket and texts her mother, her cousin Trixie and Sharon. The three of them reply almost immediately, but Alaska only opens Sharon’s texts.

[From: Noodles]

I’m happy you got there well Lask <3

How is Los Angeles treating you?

[From: Alaska]

It’s pretty, I kinda love this place. I should stay here forever lol

[From: Noodles]

Nooooo!! If you do I’d miss you so fucking much! :(

though I’m far away

I know I’d stay, I know I’d stay right there with you  

Alaska tries to ignore the butterflies fluttering in her stomach as she types in answer.

[From: Alaska]

Well, I can change my mind if you ask nicely!

[From: Noodles]

You better stay here because otherwise I’m afraid I’ll have to sneak into your suitcase and follow you everywhere !

Someone knocked the door and I thought it was the pizza but it’s actually Phi Phi :( I’m hungry

Sorry Lask, I gotta go. We talk later? <3

Have fun in LA !!

(but not so much fun without me!)

(jk have a lot ot fun!)

The only thing Alaska can do is delete the text she was already typing and sigh with disappointment. Her mind can only focus on imagining what Sharon and Phi Phi might be doing, her heart aching with jesouly at every possible answer.

it might be too late

what would you see?

what would you say?

what would you do?

-

The days in Los Angeles are short and boring, in the office and out of it. Alaska thought working there would be the best of her career, but there isn’t much besides a beach and streets that although are crowded, Alaska feels they’re just full of nameless faces.

She misses Sharon. Her voice, her presence, her eyes, her food, her laugh; she misses everything she’s used to have a home. And when Alaska realizes that when she says home she isn’t refering at her apartment but at Sharon, she’s scared. She feels confused being alone and angst eats her chest every time she stops to analyze it.

This is not normal, she thinks. Something is happening to me.

Earlier, Alaska had taken advantage of her free day all she wanted, drinking vodka in her room and watching Golden Girls until she realized she was a little bit drunk and lamenting about her life on a Friday night.

Trying to get any negative idea out of her mind, she takes the vodka bottle and storms out of the hotel. She rushes to the beach, enjoying the beautiful sunset Los Angeles gives in the way.

She walks with no destination until she reaches a point in the beach where there isn’t a lot of people. Sitting on the sand, she hugs her legs and rests her chin on her knee.

we fell like rain

got lost into the sea

if I don’t know

the wind will carry me

The weather these days have been changing from sunny to sometimes cloudy, and now Alaska is happy the sky is grey and the wind softly blows her hair and the mist helps to dismiss the few people in the distance. It calms her down, but even then Sharon stays in her thoughts. Alaska knows it’s where she belongs.

I’ve run

I’ve waited for the rain to come

Alaska finishes the vodka bottle as she stares at the sea for what seems an eternity. It’s blue, deep and beautiful, and under the spell of alcohol it seems to move magically.

Suddenly, a figure appears by the seashore, making Alaska frown. Her eyes are attracted at the mysterious body moving towards her spot, putting her hands on the sand to push herself up in any moment by pure instinct.

The very known face of a woman takes place on the figure, making Alaska lose her breathing.

when through that mist

I see the shape of you

“Sharon?” she asks, squinting her eyes in an attempt to look better.

I know, I know

that I’m in love with you

The figure with Sharon’s image smiles a second before it disappears into the air, blending with the mist.

[emilyplaysotome]

Dating Diaries - Chapter 6 - Boomerang

Inspired by real events, Emi enters the dating world after her long term relationship ends. Determined to move forward, she starts dating and quickly finds herself in over her head.

In case you missed it, here are the previous chapters:

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5

On Wednesday, three days after my awkward encounter with Makoto and my Dear Kazu letter, I received a TalkTime message seemingly out of the blue. 

“Hey hey. How’s your week going?”

I must have stared at the message and its sender for a good five minutes before I fully processed that perhaps things were not as “done” with Makoto as I’d thought. I felt confused to say the least considering where we’d left things and the fact he’d gone from texting me everyday to radio silence after his typo ridden message.

Below the texts from Mako were two from Kazumi (who had yet to reply to my email as promised). Seeing as how he hadn’t said anything of substance, I’d stayed strong and left his messages “read” but unanswered.

To be honest, it was difficult not having that person to interact with everyday who acted as a boyfriend proxy of sorts, but I knew it was for the best.

Sitting in that silence as a single person had proven to be difficult. I missed the attention and the accessibility to a friend that being in a relationship provided, but I did my best to start thinking about a night alone as an opportunity to do something fun or get something accomplished that would make me feel better. 

The first night I’d cleaned out my closet which was a not-so-sexy task on my to-do list that had been there for months. The second night I’d rented a few girly movies I’d missed in the theaters and got really yummy takeout. The third night I finally finished the novel I was reading on and off for the past month.

I began to notice that as time went on, sitting with silence began to get easier, and even though it hadn’t been that long upon seeing that text I suddenly felt shaken out of my newly “single and free” headspace and thrust back into utter confusion.

Mentally determining that both of these relationships were over had caused me to shift gears and accept my “singleness” in a way that I hadn’t been able to do before. I was not only prepared for nights of total solitude, but more importantly had actually planned a week for myself around it with that as a theme of sorts. I’d planned to play some otome games, reconnect with a few friends, and really give my apartment a good scrub down.

I also realized that until I was really single and free, I wouldn’t be able to properly heal and learn what it meant to be selfish for me.

Makoto’s text hung in limbo for a bit, until I determined that I wasn’t ready to fully close the door on him (or at least wanted closure if he was going to send a “breakup” text). I waited until I was finished with work, and sitting on the subway with nothing better to do on my commute home I drafted a few responses until I finally replied with, “Hey - it’s good. Busy! How have you been?”

I sat there, the signal on my phone going in and out as the train hurtled between stations, holding my breath as I waited for what I assumed would be an obligatory, “Sorry I’ve been out of touch...after doing some thinking I don’t think we’re right together” type of follow up.

Fifteen minutes later, three stations away from my stop, the phone chimed.

Same :) when do i get to see you again?

I was so stunned, that despite being in public my inner phono-semantic monologue of “Uooh-eh?” tumbled from lips louder than I would have liked on such a crowded train. The woman sitting next to me glanced over at my phone, then me, and shot me a knowing and sympathetic look which indicated she’d experienced hew own fair share of confusion at the hands of the men she was dating.

Taking the lessons I’d learned during my three days of being completely “single” I did not want to prioritize Makoto above myself, or plans I’d already made with friends. My singlesness had inspired me to schedule things up until Sunday night, so I figured I’d offer up that free block time and see what happened.

Hmmm...maybe Sunday? This week is kind of jam packed with friends and work.

My friend Ayoto is having a small holiday party that night. You could come if you’d like? Or if you’re free Friday, someone I know is having a show at a gallery of his photos and it should be casual and fun. I thought we could swing by.

What time Friday? I’m supposed to meet my friend for dinner and to be honest I’d feel a little weird crashing your friend’s intimate holiday party.

It’s 7 - 11 on Friday.

Yuri and I had made plans to meet around 6:30 for dinner that day. 

I figured that usually took 2 hours at most, which meant I could head over after and meet Makoto. Not wanting to be rude, I sent Yuri a text and asked her if that could work and if she might want to join me at the gallery, seeing as how it seemed like an open event.

If I was going to meet some acquaintances of Mako’s who would no doubt size me up, I figured I might as well see if she’d be interested in scoping him out for me.

Naturally Yuri agreed, and as my train pulled into my station I toggled back to reply to Makoto.

That can work so long as we meet around 8:30 when Yuri and I are done with dinner.

Cool...Yuri. You’re not planning to bring a handsome Russian man to this are you?

LOL no, Yuri is a pretty Japanese lady but I can see if she wants to join me. Is that ok?

Haha. Yeah. I’m just glad you’re not having dinner with another guy before our date.

My eyebrow twitched with irritation as I entered my apartment.

There it was again.

The insecurity and jealousy from Makoto that had caused him to be weird in the first place. I took a screen shot of the message and sent it to Yuri, letting her know that I wanted her to join me because I needed her assessment of him ASAP.

And with my Friday plans in place, I put my phone away and enjoyed another night of being fully single.

I continued to ignore Kazumi until Thursday evening when he sent me the saddest text I’ve ever gotten from a grown man.

I was in the middle of painting my nails and watching Terrace House when his message came in.

Sunshine...I feel awful that you’re avoiding me...and that you’ve stopped liking me :(

I knew Kazumi well enough to know that he was genuinely affected by my silence. I also knew him well enough to know that he was dodging everything I’d brought up in my email.

It’s a funny thing how men are sometimes selective about when they’re “good” at communication. In the past, I’ve wanted more from Kazu but accepted what he was capable of.

Yet, now that I held some power he was suddenly around and ready to engage with me in a way he’d previously claimed to be incapable. This fact was not lost on me, though it annoyed me greatly. With that said, I still liked him but I had to wonder if I was beginning to like him a little less these days.

I haven’t stopped liking you. But I gave you my thoughts in an email and you haven’t said anything I can respond to.

I know...I’ve read your email so many times but I just don’t know how to reply to something so beautiful and sad.

Sunshine...please don’t stop liking me.

Kazu...I like you so much but I don’t want to compromise my heart or allow myself to be hurt. I had to be honest with where I’m at. You don’t have to reply. As time goes on, I just know this is going to be harder and so I’d prefer to say goodbye now and have these nice memories.

Sunshine, no - that’s too sad. Please. I like you so much and this whole week I’ve felt awful, deep in my heart. I feel sick at the thought of losing you.

It makes me happy that my feelings are not one-sided, but I just...I struggle with you because I really think I need to be on my own but at the same time I want to be with you.

And I start to get attached and feel weird and jealous and I don’t like that. It’s hard to focus. I just think it would be easier to walk away now.

Emi...logically you’re right but why not just give this some time? Can’t we just keep talking, seeing each other, and see how we feel?

I have not felt this way about anyone since the girl I told you about. The one that really broke my heart. I haven’t felt this kind of “like” in many, many, many years. I will do whatever I can to make you understand that.

You say that you are not ready for a relationship and to be honest, I am not ready for one either. I am willing to think about what you said and potentially start one with you but I don’t think that’s what you want?

No. It’s not. I’m not ready.

So what do you want?

I don’t know.

When you do know, tell me and we can figure it out. But please, don’t run away.

You are very special and lovely and I like being with you. Losing you these past few days was incredibly painful which was a sign for me. You fill something in me, and I want to have you in my life as long as you’ll have me.

Thanks for this Kazu. I have to go though. I’ll think about what you said, and what I want.

Ok Sunshine. I’ve gotta try and meet Kotoko’s deadline for some pages. She’s been killin’ me lately - between the tour and the new book schedule I’ve been so stressed. You running away was almost the final nail in my coffin!

Haha you’re so dramatic. Good luck with your work. I’ll always root for you no matter what happens with us.

I wish I could kiss you.

hahaha Kazu why are you always shirtless when you send me selfies???

Because I always work in my underwear.

You’re such a weirdo lol good luck with your writing

Send me a picture when you can. I miss your beautiful face. I miss you.

I couldn’t help but smile.

Kazumi knew exactly the right combination of weird, sweet, charming, and fun that could make my heart flutter a little. Hearing how much he liked me and that he wasn’t prepared to give up after I pushed him away made me want to keep him in my life for a bit longer.

Yes, he had disappointed me to a degree but no one was perfect and to his defense, I really didn’t know what I wanted from him.

It would have been simple if all I wanted was for him to be my boyfriend but in the time we spent apart, I’d started to think about what that would look like exactly. We wouldn’t be in the same city, and even if we were one day, he would constantly be on the road for his work.

While was charming and fun, he also was incredibly damaged emotionally from his past - both losing his parents at an early age and having a bad relationship that scarred him deeply. He had a hard time staying still which is why his nomadic life suited him to a degree, and in many ways talk of the future stressed him out.

It struck me as ironic that all the things that made him so irresistible to me also made him terrible as a boyfriend. His spontaneity made him great in the moment, but terrible long term. His trauma made him fascinating but also incredibly difficult to handle emotionally.

At the end of the day, the more I’d thought about it, the more I’d determined that Kazumi Kagami as amazing as he was could never be the kind of boyfriend or husband I wanted...

...but I didn’t want to say goodbye either, which is why this was so hard.

As I wrestled with what I should or should not do, I heard that voice telling me it was ok to be selfish, and so I did nothing.

I turned my phone off and I went back to painting my nails and watching Terrace House.

On Friday, Yuri met me at our go-to dinner spot and after going a little crazy with our order of beers, fried chicken, and ramen all talk quickly turned to my love life.

Yuri knew how stressed out I’d been throughout the week, juggling Kazumi and Makoto, then catching the feels for Kazumi before finally deciding to let him go. Being the good friend she was, she’d indulged me more than she needed to and I was grateful that she seemed excited about the notion of getting to meet one of the contestants in my faux reality show - Emi’s Next Top Boyfriend.

“I’m not going to lie,” she said after slurping down a bunch of noodles, “I’m pretty excited to size this Mako character up.”

“Good because I need help. I thought this was over and then all of a sudden he’s back and I just have no idea of where he’s at or what he’s thinking.”

“Do you know if his friends are going to be there?”

“I don’t and to be honest, I didn’t really think we were there...the whole...meeting the friends.”

“I guess you’ll find out when we get there.”

“Yeah, and I know you just thrive at these kinds of things.”

Yuri flashed me a confident smile before snagging a piece of fried chicken. 

“I thrive at any event with free wine.”

Even though she was just joking, Yuri had a knack for these types of social situations. She was one of those people who had the ability to roll into a party where she didn’t know anyone and had no reservations mingling until she’d made a few new friends.

Whereas this kind of event stressed me out, I knew that I would be able to not only hang out with her and Makoto, but that I could leave her and go off with him and not have to worry about how she was doing. Seeing as how Yuri was such a delight at these events, I had no doubt that her presence would only make me look better to Makoto.

Tonight he would see that not only am I a total catch, but that the people I consider friends are cool, pretty, sociable, smart, and fun. On top of that I felt incredibly relieved to finally enter into one of these situations with a friend. In so many ways dating was uncharted territory and I was excited to finally have a wing-woman who could offer a second opinion. 

My phone let out a chime, and Kazumi’s name flashed on the screen.

“Oh no...I thought that was over?”

“Not exactly...”

“How did he worm his way back into your good graces this time?”

I let out a sigh. 

I knew that Yuri was not a fan of Kazumi’s. It made sense, considering the story I told her which was not entirely fair to him. It also made sense based on the fact that he was a difficult man, and as my friend she wanted to shield me from the “fucboi bullshit” he brought into my life from time to time.

With that said, there was nuance to our relationship which wasn’t easily explained over text. I figured that seeing as how I wasn’t quite ready to let Kazumi go, I might as well give Yuri the full story.

“It’s a little more complicated than I’ve been making it I guess,” I said, as I struggled to explain the fact that I didn’t fully understand what I wanted from him.

I filled her in on the fact that while I had started to really fall for Kazumi, I knew that he was not boyfriend material. After Shizuo, I didn’t want to waste my time trying to make the wrong man right, but it was hard when I had such strong feelings for someone I knew I had the potential to love in a way that I might not be able to love Makoto.

As I broke down all my problems with him, Yuri softened a bit as she understood that Kazu was not simply some Casanova who was manipulating my emotions but that I was aware of what was happening and confused as to how I wanted him in my life.

“Damn girl,” she finally said. “I mean...I still don’t care for the things he pulls with you, but I’m glad to hear that there’s been more to this.”

“Yeah.”

“So what have you decided to do?”

“Be selfish...and do nothing for now.”

“Mmm.”

A comfortable silence passed between us, the table littered with the remnants of our dinner. Our waitress returned with our check, and after throwing down some money Yuri lit up and nudged me playfully.

“Well...time to scope this guy out! Shall we?”

The gallery was pretty crowded, and we pushed our way through the crowd as I looked for Makoto. Seeing as how he was tall I figured I’d be able to spot him fairly easily and sure enough I saw him towards the back with a group of people.

“Yuri - that’s him. Over there...”

“The blonde guy?”

“Girl no...you know I don’t like blondes. The tall one. With the plaid shirt...who just saw me and...hi.”

I responded to Makoto’s awkward wave with one of my own and approached him with Yuri in tow. “Hey! How’s it going?” he asked all smiles.

Truthfully, he looked cuter than I’d remembered him being. He was wearing a nicer shirt for the occasion, and he reached out to give me one of those familiar side-hug things that people do. “Hi,” I said, suddenly feeling a bit self conscious as I looked over at the circle of friends Makoto had stepped out of to greet us. They were also tall and handsome for the most part, and I recognized two of them as Ayato Hidaka (the actor) and Takamune Kitame (the soccer star). “You must be Yuri - I’m Makoto,” he said effortlessly, still wearing that same warm smile of his. “Nice to meet you!” Yuri exclaimed, giving him no indication that the sizing up process had begun. “Sorry, sorry. I’m bad with introductions,” I said feigning bashfulness. Makoto and Yuri exchanged a few pleasantries, and after a few additional introductions where Yuri and I met his friends, he encouraged us to go get a glass of complimentary wine from the open bar. 

Yuri waited until we were finally out of earshot on our way to the bar before giving me her first impression of Makoto.

“He seems very nice, and I get the vibe he likes you quite a bit.”

“You think? He’s always changing the pictures on the app though...”

“Yeah but like, that doesn’t mean much. I mean...look at him. He keeps glancing over and smiling at you.”

“I don’t know...”

“Well, I will continue to observe but that’s what my gut is saying at the moment.”

“He’s cute right? I forgot how cute he was...”

Yuri laughed at me in a way that only a good friend can. It was a laugh that told me I never change, and a laugh that made it obvious she was rooting for my happiness.

I drank too much free wine that night. 

The good news was that I felt as if I was being my usual, charming self and did not come off as a drunken mess to his friends. If anything, Makoto was the one who seemed a bit sloppy and nervous as he actually spilled a bunch of his wine while chatting with me and Yuri.

I teased him about being a disruptive drunk and he abashedly got a refill, returning to the circle of his friends instead of where Yuri and I were standing until his embarrassment waned. 

It was a funny thing, seeing him again after having convinced myself that we were totally over. To be honest, the more wine I drank the more I wanted to touch him - covertly taking his hand in mine or grabbing onto his sleeve when we went to get a drink together (and left Yuri behind with his friends).

I came to learn that his brother was the photographer behind the opening, but thanksfully didn’t have the pressure of meeting the family so soon as Riku spent most of the night speaking to agents and potential clients. 

Overall, the night was pleasant and before I knew it Yuri was giving me her final assessment as Makoto made the rounds and said goodbye while we got our coats (and his) from coat check.

“He definitely likes you a lot.”

“But...”

“You’re on the apps too...I don’t know. Based on what I saw he seems pretty smitten.”

I paused, slightly concerned that if I believed Yuri I might get my hopes up prematurely.

“He’s cute right?”

“Yes...you said that already,” she said with a chuckle, “but I think he might be a little boring for you. I know I’d probably get bored with him.”

I knew Yuri well enough to know what she was saying, even though her comment at face value seemed harsh. 

She and I were cut from the same cloth to a degree when it came to the men we liked, and even though our steady boyfriends tended to be nice guys who were head over heels for us, realistically we gravitated towards men who were far more complicated and interesting.

It was precisely why I liked Kazumi more despite all his messiness - he was many things, but he was never boring.

Everything I’d been holding myself back from doing came forth the second we were in the cab, and after giving the driver my address I essentially threw myself at Makoto. It had been some time as a grown woman that I’d made out in the backseat of a cab but I couldn’t stop myself from doing so. Kissing Makoto was fine, but it just didn’t have the same kind of fire I had with Kazumi. I found myself getting a bit frustrated, teasing him almost as if to challenge him to step it up a bit and ultimately found myself interrupted by the cab driver who politely let me know that we had arrived.

Back in my apartment the momentum died down a bit, and I found myself talking to Makoto about what he’d been up to as well as the fact that he’d really liked Yuri. He suggested setting her up with his friend Taka (who we’d met), and the four of us having a double date to which I found myself nowhere near ready for that.

I didn’t know how he felt about me and worse, I didn’t know how I was feeling about him. On paper everything was so perfect but I still just felt that there was something missing in our sexual chemistry. 

Nevertheless, that didn’t stop me from going to bed with him (in the name of science) and after what I would describe as a 7/10 experience found myself lying on his chest as we continued our conversation before I’d attempted to derail my merging of worlds prematurely via seduction.

"I’m really glad I got to see you again,” he said softly as he stroked my hair. “It felt like a long time...”

“I know, but it was really only 5 days.”

“Such a long time,” he joked.

“I mean, it is considering before that I think 3 days was the longest.”

“I haven’t gone on any other dates.”

“That’s not my business Makoto. I already told you, you can if you want.”

“I know, but I’m so busy lately and then when I have free time I was hoping to see you.”

“Ugh. I always forget how cute you are.”

“That’s not fair. I don’t forget how pretty you are...”

I could feel how soft and loving my gaze was on him in that moment, and he smiled before he pulled me towards him. In that moment his kiss was soft and loving, and when I pulled back he asked, “Wednesday?”

“Hmmm?”

“Can I see you on Wednesday? Five days was too long.”

“Ok. Wednesday.”

He kissed me again and then got dressed. I probably should have offered my bed overnight, but I just wasn’t there with him for some reason. I knew if he stayed I’d get no sleep and so we did what we’d done before, except this time I had no doubt that I’d see him again.

In my skimpy pajamas I walked a fully dressed Makoto to my front door where he playfully grabbed my butt and kissed me a few more times before leaving.

As I closed the door, I thought about the fact that I was lucky.

Even if Makoto wasn’t “the one”, I was still lucky that this was the kind of person I’d met. For years my single friends told me what dating was like on these apps. Their experiences in many ways influenced my own expectations insofar as what I assumed this would be.

I had assumed with both Kazumi and Makoto that they would ghost after two or three dates (or perhaps after sleeping with me). I constantly assumed that these fragile, new relationships were teetering on the edge of being over. I waited for the texts that my friends showed me - the ones in which the man takes the high road and expresses the fact that while he had fun, he doesn’t see a future together.

With Kazumi I had assumed my letter would be the end of it. I had assumed that he would express that my role in his life was nothing more than a fling versus anything to fight for (be it friendship or more). This week I had learned that for Kazumi I was more than just a fling. He might not care about me enough to put in the work to dig through his feelings and answer my email, but he cared enough to do what he was capable of in this moment in time.

He cared enough to fight a little bit...and seeing as how I didn’t know what the hell I wanted, I was at least happy to know that the strong feelings I had towards him were not completely one sided.

And then there was Makoto.

I’ll never understand what happened that night that caused him to pull back and change his pictures, but being with him in person confirmed that he was the cinnamon roll I remembered. Yuri’s read on him meant something to me, because when I was with him I felt that he really liked me.

Now that we had plans for Wednesday, it felt like it did when we first met. It felt like he wanted to keep our momentum going and not let me go.

I was very lucky.

I felt very loved...or at least, very liked.

As I got ready for bed, I thought about what it meant to be selfish right now. Perhaps it meant continuing to see a man who I wasn’t sold on in addition to one who wasn’t right.

Maybe it was just about letting these things play out, and realizing that I had a say in the matter.

I didn’t have to wait around and wonder if they’d ghost or not. I got to say what I wanted, how I wanted it, and create my own rules for myself out of that.

My eyelids grew heavy, and I decided that tomorrow first thing I would wake up and spend my Saturday morning coming up with my own Terms & Conditions for dating.

Because at least then, I’d have a roadmap and it would be completely my own.

Continue to Chapter 7

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[spnbaby-67]

Chapter 3

Summary: What happens when you work for a company that suddenly changed the rules on you, and you had no idea about it. Things change all the time, and sometimes changes lead to a good thing. But sometimes, it can lead to trouble.

A/N: This is my first fanfiction that I am happy to bring to you, I’m nervous as hell, but as the summary says. Changes happens all the time. Please no hate to Danneel or JJ, I love them both dearly and one day wish to meet them, but for the sake of the story Jensen is single. My work is to NOT be PUBLISHED on any other sites without my consent, Gif’s are not mine and thank you to the ones who do them. ALSO a MAJOR THANK YOU for Lee @wheresthekillswitch for the time she took to help me beta this chapter, Go check out her blog, amazing stories to. Also to @secretlyfurrydragon for her help to keep pushing me on. and @impalaimagining for the awesome aesthetic she made for me. And all of you awesome writers who have inspired me to write. THANK YOU! My heart goes out to everyone whose in the hurricane’s paths. stay safe. 

Warnings: None other that a bit of language here and there. (I cuss sorry)

Craving You,

Chapter 3

Once I finally made it back to the office I must have had one hell of a smile on my face, because when I got off the elevator Abbie, our receptionist, looked at me. She had a look on her face like the kind you see on someone when something great or unexpected happened, and they want in on it.

“You must have had a good break, what happened?” She looked at me with questioning eyes.

I went over to her, “It was the normal everyday thing, other than they messed up my order twice. I mean, come on, how in the heck can one person, who’s been there for a while now, mess up on a Vanilla Bean Frappuccino?” I took the last sip of what I had left, before tossing the cup and straw in the trash next to us. “Are they ready for a meeting or what?” I asked, trying to avoid her asking any more questions.

“You might want to fix your shirt first.” She giggled looking at me.

“Oh crap, I forgot.” I smiled embarrassingly as I remembered how I got the beautiful shirt.

I ran into the bathroom by my office, took the top shirt off, then my shirt, which clearly you could see the big coffee stain, then I put his shirt back on. It was a green short sleeved Henley that felt so comfortable against my skin, at least it didn’t look bulky or feel tighter like before. It was just perfect, just like he was. I inhaled the scent of him, and it was so mesmerizing that I laid my head back against the wall to picture him standing there. Big mistake, because Abbie came in and saw me.

“{Y/N}! I knew something happened, and you’re going to tell me before you leave today. But right now you got five minutes to get in your office to gather your notes for the meeting. Mr. Singer is counting on you.” She pulled on my arm to put me in front of her, only to push me to walk faster.

“Ok, ok Abbie. I get it, I’m going.” I picked up the pace a bit and went to gather my notes, but the thought of his candy apple green eyes still haunted my vision.

About 3 pm everyone decided to call it quits for the long Labor Day weekend. Getting an early day, and an extra day off next week? Sign me up. I have loads of laundry, and a small apartment to clean. The meeting, which Mr. Singer was present for, went really well. He pulled me aside after to tell me how happy he was with the way I presented our final product to a firm we'd been trying to hook for a while now. Before he left, he congratulated me again on a job well done, and advised me to "keep it up". I gathered my purse with a smile on my face, not stopping for Kali when she tried to ask me about my shirt. How I got the shirt was none of her damn business, and the bitch could stew for the long weekend for all I cared.

I got home, and checked the messages on my machine. Course same ol’ same ol’, bill collectors, family and friends begging me to come this weekend. I really didn’t want to go anywhere, but the thought of going to Jo’s house this weekend was really tempting. She had a beautiful 6 or 7 acre land in Texas filled with all sorts of animals, including horses. I love horses they’re my favorite animals, next to dogs. I used to have one growing up, but my dad got into bad gambling debt. Him selling off my only friend to help pay off what he owed left me heartbroken, and that’s why I threw myself into books that summer.

My father drank a lot, and when he did, he was abusive in so many ways. Reading and escaping to the loft in the barn was my outlet. Especially, on bad days which at times, got real bad. You’d think having an older brother and three older sisters, would be a comfort. Turns out it wasn't. I dunno if it was because we were from different marriages, or maybe they just didn't like me. Either way, anytime they wanted to get someone in trouble, I was the target. Siblings, they say you gotta love ‘em, but I'm not so sure “they” were right.

Lynyrd Skynyrd, singing Simple Man, drags me back to reality. I look down at the display, the photo of Jo and I from our last get together stares back at me, and it puts a smile on my face. I slide the bar over to answer. "Hey you."

“Hey, I’m so hoping you will come down this weekend. We are having a huge BBQ, very Texas style, and I want you to be here. Please say you will.”  She practically begs.

I giggle softly, because she doesn’t know I’m already packing and had booked my flight. “I dunno Jo, I mean I only have three days off; and that won’t be enough for me to have any kind of fun to be back at work on Tuesday.” I go to my closet to pull out some sundresses, Texas is hot right now.

“{Y/N}! Please, you have to come. I’ll even buy your plane ticket. I have some reward points I can use for you. You just have to be here.”  She was graveling now.

“Jo, I honestly can’t. We have a short week next week, and I have a presentation next Friday.” I walk to the bathroom to grab some shampoo and such. I’m so bending the truth a bit, but I want to surprise her.  

I almost swear I hear her near tears. “Fine! I’ll remember that {Y/N}. I had some things planned for us, I guess we’ll have to cancel them.”  She sounds so heartbroken.

“I’m sorry Jo, really. It’s just bad timing and all.” I secretly smile, because she’s going to shit when she sees me there.

“Ok, promise me you will at least make it to my bachelorette party next month. I mean you are my maid of honor, so you really have no choice to be here.”

I zip the small carry-on luggage closed, and smile. “I will be there, I already have time off for that.”

“Ok, you have a great weekend, even though it won’t be that great without you here. You could be having loads of fun right about now.” The country music blasting in the background almost drowns her out.

“I know babes, but it’s Netflix and ice cream for me this weekend. Don’t worry I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” I grab a few things, and my passport wallet that I put in my purse on the way out.

“Fine! I’ll call you later.”  Her dejected tone is muffled by a sniffle.

“Ok, tell Jeff to behave now. Love you both.”

“Love you too, {Y/N}.”  She hangs up, and my heart literally breaks. But in the end I know she will be so happy to see me anyway.

I look around the apartment to see if I forgot to pack anything. I grab my carry-on and add my laptop, just in case I need to do some work next week while I’m away. Before I left for the weekend I asked Mr. Singer for the whole week off, so I could have some time in Texas. He agreed, on the condition that I would be on standby. Mr. Singer is awesome, he's the one I would talk to about the Kali thing, if I ever get the nerve to. But we shall see, probably by the time I get back, I'll have calmed down.

After one last look around, I turn off the lights, and set the alarm. I smile knowing that in a few hours, six to be exact, that I will be back home in Texas. Austin was my home, and at times like this I really missed it. But the heat, I roll my eyes just thinking about it, let’s say I’m glad I packed a few pairs of shorts and tank tops.

I arrive at the airport, clear security and go to my gate to wait to be called to board. I had saved enough to get first class this time, because heck why not, I worked for it. I’m in a good mood and that rarely happens, but today bumping into that beautiful stranger named Jensen, then the meeting going great, today turned out to be fantastic in the end when you think about it.

When I board the plane there are only maybe four people in first class. At least the flight attendant will have her job easy tonight. I get settled in my seat, and wait for the plane to push back. Right before the doors are about to close, an announcement comes from the cockpit, the pilot has been instructed to hold the plane for a guest. When I look up to catch a glimpse of the jackass who waited until the last minute to board a plane, my eyes grow big. It’s him, again. Twice in one day, but will he remember me?

I sit back to read a book, and my cell phone rings. I forgot to turn off. I quickly turn it to silent mode, it’s only Jeff, Jo’s husband, he knows I’m coming in and needs to know the time I’m landing. I text him quickly and turn my cell phone off, feeling embarrassed.

“Hey, I know you.” Jensen says, as he sits beside me.

I turn to look his way. “Hey, twice in one day. Must be my lucky day,” I try not to blush.

He smiles, and I melt. If he only knew what he does to me. I don’t see a ring on his finger or a shadow of one, but knowing my luck though, he’s engaged or has a girlfriend; but the flirting is fine by me. I can pretend he’s mine for six hours anyway. There’s no rule or harm in that, right?  

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[eridianshores-blog]

Bitchin’ Haul - Starships Style

Here where I live, in the WF, there isn’t all that much east or north of town, so I make my rounds to what is there less frequently.  To the south we’ve got Raleigh and all its hugeness; to the west is Durham which definitely has a few spots worth checking out once or twice a month; southwest is Cary, and Cary can be a great place for finding new stuff...sometimes anyway.  If you go east far enough you’ll hit Selma, which I went to by accident after turning the wrong way out of a parking lot, and they had an amazing Walmart.  Further east is Smithfield, of some renown for its outlet mall, and it features a Toys R Us Express, which is like a crappy strip mall version of TRU.  We went there once...for some reason it was blazing hot in there and the trip was a 100% bust.  If you just barely go east you’ll end up in Knightdale.  There’s nothing much to write home about, but there is a Walmart and Target worth checking and it’s not that far.  Southeast is Zebulon, and I don’t really know of anything down there except for one of the last remaining Roses, but my son did find some pretty neat stuff he’d been looking for for a long time.  I’d tell you what he found but it’s a lot to explain.  Now north...well...there really isn’t anything north.  Maybe Oxford, but that’s quite a drive.  The one glimmer of hope is a Walmart in Louisburg.  And that’s where I went this morning.

I had to meet the ex at a Post Office in Louisburg so that she could get passports made for the kids for a cruise she’s planning for summer, or maybe Spring Break.  So we meet up and she’s got the full brood in tow: all 4 of her kids (hey now, only ONE of them is mine!) and 2 smaller children she was babysitting.  So the ex did all the important stuff, all I had to do was flash my license around and sign some shit.  My son and I played with one of the babies, while the oldest kid took care of the second youngest who was pushing the youngest around in a stroller.  The ex had the final baby strapped to her back.

Somehow or another we got through our hour-long visit to that cramped little post office without much screaming or crying and absolutely no dirty diapers.  I’ll admit I had a little bit of fun playing with the teeny tiny babies, and I think I actually impressed my son a little at my ability to handle them.

Now the Louisburg Walmart is “technically” on my radar, but it hasn’t yet yielded anything amazing.  I went in today with zero expectations and walked out 20 minutes later, $70 lighter.

Not a bad score, eh? I'm tellin' you, those Mandalorian Talons sell like crack on eBay!

Can you see what I found?  For the record, I snagged 2 of the 2017 Hot Wheels Retro Entertainment pieces, the Batmobile and the Back to the Future DeLorean in Hover Mode.  Cool huh?  Just the tip of the iceberg.  As I started looking at displays on the ends of aisles, I saw just how many Hot Wheels Star Wars Starships they had.  Sure, it was the usual mix of Imperial Shuttles and Rey’s Speeder that tend to clutter the shelves of some Walmarts, but wait a minute - Mandalorian Talon Fighters!  I already have one of these, but back when they came out, they were scarce and people were desperate to buy them off of eBay.  Back then I was able to scoop up 7 or 8 extras for $5 each and I offloaded them in a matter of days for $10 a pop.  In and of itself that’s not a bad idea, however, these things have managed to stay rare, and people are asking anywhere from $15 to $64 (not kidding) for a single ship.

Of course we gotta be smart and look at one they’re actually selling for.  Most are falling in the $10 to $20 range with a few $25′s and damn, one poor bastard who dropped $50 on one.  Right now the lowest priced one for sale is $16.49 plus free shipping.  Honestly I would be more than happy to catch $15 a piece for these guys as long as I can move ‘em relatively quickly.  That covers the whole cost of my purchases and puts me up $5!  I guess I failed to mention it, but in case you didn’t do the math, that’s 5 Mandalorian Talons I’ve got under my belt!

The rest of what I found I have never seen for sale in a store, anywhere.  I bought 2 TIE Strikers (I have one from Hasbro’s Titanium Series and I have a battle-damaged one that came in a 2-pack), 2 AT-STs (are these official “Chicken Walkers”?), and 2 AT-ACTs (AT-ATs with a brick of orange cargo in the middle).  That’s a damn decent haul if I say so myself.

I still haven’t had any luck with the 2-pack contain the Millennium Falcon and TIE Interceptor, and from the back of the AT-ST I just found out about another 2-pack featuring the AT-ST and that Imperial Hovertank thingy from Rogue One.  Friday my kid has early release, so I plan on resting up good and doing some serious searching with our afternoon.  I definitely want to do my Cary rounds (TRU, a very worth Target, and the B&N where I found that freakin’ ARC Fighter), plus there’s allegedly a Roses nearby (can be really great for rare stuff that no one ever grabbed and/or shit that’s been outta production for a while) and there’s that weird old K-mart right there on the edge of Cary and Raleigh which totally has some weird and unexpected shit every few visits.

I’d really like to squeeze in Durham as well, but that whole circuit can be grueling.  We’ve got a TRU, an eclectic Target, and a sometimes-awesome Walmart in the area.  If we pack on a few more miles, we can get over to Southpointe, which has a decent B&N (first place I saw a Jyn Erso car in the wild!) and then a toy store in the mall that I think has some potential if we can hit it at the right time.  There’s also a Target nearby that has consistently had some of the newest toys to be found anywhere, often times weeks before I see the stuff anywhere else.  Rancor 2-pack?  Carbonite Han?  Imperial Freaking Guard!?  I gotta know.  The hunt is on.  Good news is that we can go hunting Saturday and/or Sunday too (more like or, 3 days in a row is a bit much even for me, of course it all depends on how successful you are...massive success can bring about satiation, though it can also be inspiring and energizing...failure can leave you dejected and doubtful about continued searching, then again it can also be inspiring and energizing).

Ideally I’d like to do my hunting during the week if possible, when way less people are combing through toy sections ready to buy anything their kids point at.  Fridays are generally alright, but it seems like lots of families or parents willing to grab a toy for their kids start pouring in late Saturday morning, and from there it’s all downhill.  Of course there are other collectors out there too, and I’m sure we’re snatching shit out from under each other’s noses all the time without even knowing it.

What’s been eating me up lately though is that Luke / Rancor discovery.  Had I seen it pop up on eBay a week later or even 2 I could write it off as good luck.  But with no other sellers and the bidding getting so high, my mind is constantly doing flips just thinking about what the hell might be sitting on a shelf, right now, and how close someone who wants it might just be.  That Boba / Bossk pack is just as weird; ultimately I’m grateful (I think) that I was able to snag it for only $30, but I wonder how high it would’ve risen to?  And what about Carbonite Han / Jabba? Are there a couple of these 2-packs just floating around out there too?  Maybe whoever got ‘em doesn’t have a thing to do with eBay, which is 100% plausible.  IT HURTS ME BRAIN.

Oh well, I really should be thankful.  Hell I might be the only person outside of any Hot Wheels insiders that has both the Rancor and Bossk 2-packs...wouldn’t that be cool...?

Stay tuned ladies and gents.  I’m ‘bout to do some serious bitching regarding these goddamn “Japan-only” amiibos...

Update: As I took the time to put the finishing touches on this post, i.e. straightening out the HTML, adding the pic, etc., I've already sold 2 of the Talons!