#since I’m in a landlocked state

[gravyhoney]

My charms are supposed to get in today. I swear to whatever god exists out there, if they aren’t in the mailbox by the time I’m home from work I’m going to throw myself into the ocean.

[try-set-me-on-fire]

Hiiii 💕💕💕

For the wip game (the highlighted ones)

-❤️🪐

Hello!! For you since you’ve been interested in it for awhile and i promised you a scene ages ago and only just now finished it: big heart, I wanna let it bleed, aka buck joins the team younger fic! Here’s a complete drabble about them running into Phillip on a call…

They’re not in an enclosed space but, somehow, the kid’s laughter is still echoing around them. Bobby tries to bite down on his smile as he calls a vaguely warning “Buck,” though he’s not too worried about professionalism seeing as the surfer — who’s trunks are truly mystifyingly tangled on his board — is cracking up even harder. He’s sort of… hung up there, board stuck nose down in the sand, man dangling up on the back end of it. They seem too far up the beach for a wave to have done this, but what does Bobby know, he’s from a landlocked state.

“Sorry, Cap,” Buck wheezes. “Do we, uh… need the ladder?”

Bobby takes a measured inhale as he hears some kind of frantically smothered squeak sound coming from — is that Chimney? One of the paramedics, anyway — and shakes his head. “I think we can just lower the board down, if you’ll give me a hand. That sound alright to you, sir?”

The surfer gets through a few more wheezing chuckles before he can say “Yeah dude, lower away.”

They manage it pretty smoothly, with him and Buck on either side and Hen and Chim ready to catch the weight of the surfer. Hen starts off the next small round of laughter as she tries to de-tangle the swim trunks to move their vic, but everybody manages to calm down as they get to the actual medical examination.

As Hen and Chimney poke and prod, Buck chatters. “I learned to surf a few years ago, over in the Carolinas.”

“No shit?” The surfer grins. “Like Charleston? I gotta cousin over there.”

“Yeah, Folly Beach sometimes, but mostly went up to the Banks.”

“Sick.” The surfer gestures to where Hen’s wrapping some gauze around his bloodied elbow. “What’s your worst wipeout?”

Buck laughs again, a little delighted sound, always happy to be included. “Oh man- My first time out on the water, like the second wave I ever caught, just tossed me right off completely.” He tugs up his shirt before Bobby dawn shake his head not to, and twists around to show a jagged old scar on his lower back. “Landed on some rocks, needed fourteen stitches.”

The surfer whistles as Hen shakes her head. “I don’t think you’ll need any stitches for this one, but there’s enough debris in there I’m gonna recommend we take you to the hospital so they can get it all out.”

“Sure thing,” the guy says, looking more relaxed than Buck taking a nap on the couch after second helpings of mac and cheese. “Thanks man.”

“No problem,” Bobby says, definitely no trace of a chuckle in his voice no matter the delighted glances his team sends him.

The surfer tries to twist towards Buck once they get him on the gurney, winces, and then just turns his head. “You ever surf out here?”

“Have a few times, but I don't have a board or anything.”

“Man, you should come out and join us! We got a group most weekday mornings, I'm sure somebody could get you set up.”

Buck looks happy as a dog with a bone, glancing at Bobby with a mile wide grin. It's a familiar kind of look, though it takes until they're almost at the ambulance — Buck chatting away all the while — for him to place it, and it nearly makes him stumble when he does. Robert would give him that look when he made a new friend on the playground and got invited to hang out. Please, Dad, can I go? He's sure Buck didn't mean anything by it. Bobby doesn't have that authority in his life, nicknames and Springsteen concerts nothing that adds up to a tangible connection. And the kid- well, he's not a kid. 25 years old, can arrange his own playdates perfectly well. Still, Bobby feels a little off kilter as they load the ambulance.

“Rad, man, see you around.” The surfer is grinning at Buck, two happy little suns shining at each other. “Ask for Stevey,” he says, loosely pointing at himself. Steven Barney, he'd given as his name to dispatch.

Buck smiles, waves goodbye. “I'm-”

“Evan?”

Buck turns like a man in a haunted house, startled at an impossible sound with all the color draining out of him. The apparition takes the appearance of a white man a little older than Bobby, wearing neat, pale clothes and a sort of constipated, caught expression. They see that look on calls sometimes, with men who are going through an emergency with women who are not their wives and who are still trying to pretend they've done nothing at all untoward.

“D-” Buck blinks, a few times, hard. “Dad?”

Bobby can't help joining in Hen and Chin's shared oh shit look. There's not an overly familiar resemblance between the two — perhaps a shared stake in forehead real estate — but the man doesn't refute it. “I'll let you get back to work,” he says, glancing towards the sea, the ambulance, eyes landing briefly on Bobby before jumping away again, startled.

“Wait, wh-” Buck steps forward, hand wandering out in front of him before dropping back to his side. “What are you doing in LA? Did you have- a-a work trip?”

Buck's father clears his throat. “It's Brian’s birthday.”

“Oh,” Buck says, blinking again, rapidly this time, a fish thrown in new water. “He- he lives in California now?”

“No, no,” the man says dismissively, like he doesn't know why anyone on earth would choose to live in California. “He’s retiring early, wanted to make a weekend of it.”

“So-” Buck scrambles, visibly, and it makes Bobby aware of the small audience of first responders (and surfer), so he closes the ambulance door despite Hen and Chim’s wide eyes and shaking heads, and thumps the back so they pull away. Buck doesn’t seem to notice either way. “You’re- you’re here for a few days? We should- we could go get lunch? I-I have to work until tomorrow morning but-”

“It’s a busy weekend,” the man grumbles, doing a motion with his hands almost like he's patting himself down to make sure he has his wallet, the movements of someone making sure they're good to leave. “I won't have the time.”

Buck stands there, looking more wounded than any of the times he's been banged up on calls. “I- haven't seen you in- in like four years-”

“And who's fault is that?” His father laughs dismissively. “If you want to run off and throw your life away you can't complain about it later.”

“I-I didn't, I like what I- I have a job, I- I found…” Buck frowns, and Bobby worries for a moment he's going to cry out here in front of his father and colleagues and the beach goers of Santa Monica. He holds it together, though. “I like it here, and I like my job, and I'd like to tell you about it-”

“I won't have the time, Evan.” He doesn't even consider for a moment backing out of his obvious lie. “You can call next week if you want. Your mother will be glad to know you're in one piece.”

“Okay,” Buck says, shoulders sinking down and turning in. He goes from a 6’3” wall of muscle to a lost child right before Bobby’s eyes, hell of a magic trick. “Sorry,” Buck says, as Bobby does some math, works backwards a little. Fourteen stitches, definitely more recent than four years ago. He thinks about the laws of physics, or at least traffic, he’d break if he knew Robert was bleeding in an ocean somewhere in the world. “Sorry,” Buck says again — why, why should he be apologizing — and nods a few times. “I’ll- I’ll make sure to call.”

His father nods back. “We still work, so-”

“Yeah, after five, I know.”

“And your mother has book club on Tuesdays.”

“Okay.” Smaller, and smaller. Bobby remembers reading Alice in Wonderland to Brook, wonders how big Buck’s pool of tears is to shrink him so much. “I’ll just-” Buck clenches his fists, just for a moment, and then hides them in his pockets. “I’ll just try. If you’re busy you don’t have to pick up.”

Oh, God, give an inch and they’ll take a mile. Buck’s father looks visibly relieved at the offer of plausible deniability. “Alright.” He doesn’t move to hug his son, doesn’t even reach out for a handshake, staying a careful several feet away. “I’m sure you need to get back to your job,” he says, raising eyebrows in Bobby’s direction. It makes him bristle, he doesn’t want to be a forced coconspirator in judging Buck for something he hasn’t even done wrong. Buck wilts even further beside him. His father gives one final nod. “Goodbye, Evan.”

He’s already walking away by the time Buck says “Bye, Dad.”

And then they’re all just standing there. Hen and Chimney went off to the hospital, sure, but there’s still a handful of firefighters lingering around, either trying to make a lot of eye contact or no eye contact at all. Buck stares firmly at the ground. Bobby clears his throat.

“Alright, let's pack it up.” If they were operating under any other circumstance Bobby might compliment his crew for how quickly and quietly they get loaded into the trucks.

The ride back to the station is quiet, too, usual engine chit chat locked in everyone’s throats. Bobby’s pretty sure he sees Nichols subtly and somewhat frantically typing on his phone. Mostly, though, he watches Buck in the rearview. The kid is staring resolutely out the window, but Bobby would bet he’s not seeing a thing. His leg bounces on the seat, and Rodriguez doesn't even do the polite cut-it-out cough. Bobby wonders how many of Buck's stories he's overheard, if he's also now watching them tilt, shift, rearrange in his head. Dumb little boy stuff, skateboard-bike-motorcycle stunts, climbing up trees to fall out of them, all told with class clown energy, wasn't I stupid but wasn't it fun, wasn't it funny? Bobby got up to some shit when he was a kid, trailing after Charlie and taking any ill-advised dare the older kids tossed out to him, but he got hurt and he went home, his mom kissed his scrapes, even his dad would ruffle his hair and grab the first aid kit on his good days. Bobby looks at Buck looking out at nothing and tries to count the broken bones scattered between the big grins and his audience’s corresponding groans, tries to imagine Buck — all his silliness, all his sunshine — going home hurt to parents whose care comes with office hours.

When they pull into the station everyone flees the engine like there’d been a chemical spill, leaving Buck standing alone silhouetted against shiny scarlet paint. Bobby hesitates, one foot still up on the truck bed. He doesn’t want to overstep, but- he can’t stop thinking about how far away Buck’s father stood. The kid deserves someone to come closer. He only wished there was someone better than himself around to do it.

“Hey, kid-”

“I never knew what I did wrong.” Buck is frowning into middle distance, shoulders still tucked in around him. “I- I know I was stupid in- in high school, and college, but-” he looks right at Bobby, eyes wide, and he looks- oh, kid, come home. You’re hurting, come home, you’ll be taken care of, I got a first aid kid at least and I’ll learn to do better than that. “It was always like this- I-” Buck shrugs and here, finally, come the tears. “What did I do wrong?”

“Nothing,” Bobby says, and it's only two steps over to him, and he’s never even casually side hugged this kid before but Buck sinks right into his arms.

“You can’t know that-”

“I can.” Buck’s so tall. Bobby’s not sure the last time he hugged somebody taller than him. He wonders how tall his dad was, looming so large in memory but an unknown in actual imperial measurement. He wonders how tall Robert would’ve gotten. “You were a kid. You were their kid. There’s nothing you could have done that was so bad they shouldn’t have loved you anyway.”

Buck shudders against him, and his shoulder is getting wet, and the ambulance will be back soon and there’s firefighters milling about and, always, work to do.

But they can take a little time here. Bobby’ll bend it around, if he has to. The laws of traffic, the laws of physics. It startles him, scares him a little, but- he’d break them for Buck, too.

[jungblue]

SEVEN DAYS | PREVIEW

pairing: jeon jungkook x reader

genre: beach town au / fluff, angst, eventual smut

word count: 1,755

description: You thought that it was just going to be be a normal vacation to the beach. Seven days of hanging out with your parents before moving away for grad school. It was supposed to be that simple. However, when you meet a local boy that wants to show you how life is lived by the water, you don't realize just how quickly you can be dragged under.

note: Hello, everyone. It’s been a very long time since I’ve posted anything writing related on this account, but getting back into things that made me happy has really been helping me. I know it says multi parts and this is just a preview, and I’m not the most reliable person ever lol. But I just want to put some creativity back into the world, and this is a story I wanted to write years ago that is just now coming to fruition. Thanks for all the support!

Day 01: Sand Dollar Budget

Day 02: Shark Teeth Over Seashells

Day 03: Jason's Woods

Day 04: Legend of the Lighthouse

Day 05: New Moon

Day 06: Lightning in a Bottle

Day 07: Lost at Sea

“Are you gonna stay underneath that umbrella the entire time?”

Your jaw clenched, toes nestling themselves further into the sand, as if that would somehow anchor you in place. The constant crash of the waves in front of you had induced an almost trance-like state, so the sound of your mother’s voice had thrown you off completely.

“You know I don’t like the sun,” You responded, turning to face your parents who were just a few feet away, relaxing in their lawn chairs. “It’s hot, and I enjoy the ocean a lot more when I don’t have to squint while looking at it.”

“It’s called sunglasses.” Your mom tapped her face, showing off the simple fix to your complaint. “And the sun kind of comes with the territory of being in Florida, dear.”

“Yeah, yeah,” You mumbled.

“Go in the water then. You haven’t been in all day. You’re gonna waste your whole time here.”

You sighed heavily. Wasn’t the point of vacation to spend it in whatever way you found pleasurable? And if for you that was relaxing beneath the shade, what was so wrong with that? Plus… your fear of the ocean and all of its infinite surprises lurking beneath might also possibly be a factor. You were from a landlocked state, after all. Did she forget that your closest interaction with the ocean until now was through pictures?

Though, when you really thought about it, maybe being dragged away by some possible sea creature with sharp teeth would save you from the pit of anxiety you had been drowning in for some time now.

Colorado to California.

In just two weeks you were going to be moving states away from all you had ever known. No friends, family or even acquaintances waiting for you on the other side. Of course, you knew you should be grateful for this opportunity. It was a prestigious program that was tough to get into. But regardless of understanding your lucky position, it didn’t change the festering fear clouding your head. Fear that was apparently so strong, it was actually driving you into thinking a shark attack might be ideal.

Only dramatics of course, because your next move was standing up to proclaim, “Fine, I’ll be at the pool.”

“Not what I meant, but better than nothing.” You couldn’t see your mother’s eyes, but you knew they were rolling into the back of her head.

You fought your way up the sandy hills. Each step having your feet slipping beneath the grains. And after a lifetime of this you finally made it to the wooden dock that led from the private beach to the beach house you were staying at for the next seven days.

It was a beautiful sage-green house that stood on top of wooden stilts, and an outside staircase that brought you up to the front door. It was only one of many that stood in an endless line down the beach front as far as the eye could see in either direction.

You got interrupted in your admiration of the different houses as you did an awkward run across the blazing hot wooden path. Definitely should’ve grabbed your flip-flops, you thought to yourself.

“Ow, ow, fuckin’ motherfuck,” You whispered as you finally landed back on a patch of grass on the other side of wooden planks. You breathed a sigh of relief as you dug your feet into the cool dirt before walking towards the back of the collection of beach houses, where a community pool was.

Most of these houses were owned by snowbirds who only lived in Florida during the fall and winter when the northern states became too cold. This left hundreds of houses all over the south of the state open to people from everywhere in the country to have a little week of ocean paradise.

Paradise.

That is what you needed to treat this trip like. No worries about moving and having to start over. Just being here in this moment for the short amount of time that you were here. You decided that was going to be your new mindset moving forward as you opened the gate to the pool.

The pool was quite large, but there was a group already huddled up in one corner of the shallow end. You counted two boys and two girls as you scanned for an open lawn chair to lay your things down.

You couldn’t help but notice how attractive they were as you started to take off your bathing suit cover. It was only amplified as you got closer while wading down the steps into the water. You were lost in this thought when the group suddenly turned to face you. You froze up just expecting a simple friendly wave of acknowledgment. However, that was thrown out of the window when one of the group began to drift towards you.

“Hey, nice to meet you!” One of the boys said as he extended his hand while you settled waist deep into the water.

“Oh, nice to meet you as well.” You shook his hand, not used to such sudden introductions.

“Jesus, Jimin. What’ve we told you about ambushing people like that?” One of the girls said, lightly smacking his shoulder. “Sorry about him. He was never taught manners. My name’s Reina.” She smiled.

“How the hell’s that any different than what I just did?” The boy, apparently named Jimin, asked while crossing his arms in annoyance.

“Well you already broke the ice without giving her a second to breathe, so I had to.”

Jimin looked like he was about to say something back until the other boy in the group came up and looped both of his arms around their necks, pulling them closer together. “Alright now lovebirds, you’re scaring the tourists.”

Ah, that explains their playful squabbling. “Oh, you guys are dating. You look super cute together,” You said.

Jimin immediately stood up taller, grabbing Reina closer. “Yeah, I accidentally caught a fishing hook in her hand when we were fourteen and she’s just been tagging along ever since.” He smiled, peppering kisses on her cheek.

“Well, it showed me how bad at fishing he is, so I knew he wasn’t gonna be one of those guys out on the boat for hours ignoring their girlfriend.” She grinned during the insult before getting her head dunked underwater.

“I’m gonna kill you!” She yelled as she swam towards Jimin who was already jetting towards the deep end of the pool.

“That’s what you get!” He laughed as she caught up with him and began splashing at him.

You smiled watching them together. You weren’t lying when you said they looked cute together. Though your smile faded after a few seconds, because seeing them reminded you of your own situation. Not only was the idea of grad school itself weighing you down, but it had actually been the downfall of your longest relationship. After you found out you were accepted into the program in California a few months back, things took a turn for the worse in your love life. He was not able to see a future in a long distance relationship spanning a few states, so unfortunately you had to call it quits after three years of being together. You started to dwell on these thoughts when you were thankfully snapped out of it by the guy who had tried to stop Jimin and Reina’s bickering a few minutes prior.

“Sorry about them. Taunting each other is their favorite hobby. I’m Namjoon, by the way.” He smiled, dimples popping out as the sun reflected off his almost platinum blonde hair.

“No, it’s no problem. It’s pretty cute actually.”

He shook his head. “Trust me, the charm wears off after more than a decade of having to watch it.”

Wow, a decade, you thought to yourself. And the comment actually made you remember something. “Oh, that reminds me. You called me a tourist.”

His eyes went a little wide as an apologetic look crossed his face. “Sorry, totally didn’t mean for that to sound rude. I know some people can complain about tourists, but we love meeting you guys.”

“No, no, I wasn’t mad about that,” You said, waving off his concern. “I just meant that means you guys actually live around here full time.”

“Born and raised by the water, baby.” He raised his beer.

The last person you hadn’t been introduced to yet then swam over towards the two of you. “Well, except for me. I’m Lisa, by the way… It’s actually my last full day before we’re heading back home.” She looked sad as she said that, lips pursing as it set in that her time here was almost over.

However, it looked like some people had not seemed to realize she was almost set to leave, because immediately Namjoon turned towards her, mouth open.

“Oh my god, I forgot you were leaving tomorrow! It feels like you just got here like two days ago.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Lisa said, dipping her head beneath the water for a few seconds.

“Well, this will absolutely not be how you spend your last night in this town.” Namjoon stood up, making his way up the stairs so that he could stand over everyone in the pool. “Announcement!”

“Yes, oh great leader,” Jimin yelled from the deep end of the pool, where he and Reina seemed to have made up.

“It’s Lisa’s last night, so I have an idea.”

“Oh, oh, oh!” Reina explained as she began kicking her way back to the shallow end. “Jungkook’s band plays at Blue Tiger tonight after he gets off his shift at the marina.”

Namjoon clapped his hands together. “Read my mind Reina!”

Everyone got immediately excited and began pulling themselves out of the water.

“Jungkook?” You asked, still standing in the pool.

When you asked about this mystery man, some of the members of the group looked at each other and gave a strange smile.

“Uhm, just another one of our friends that lives here too.” Namjoon suddenly reached his hand down to you, silently asking for you to take it. “He’s really good. Wanna join?”

You were surprised by the offer, since you had only met these people ten minutes ago. But you thought to yourself, this was exactly the type of thing you needed to distract yourself from all the stresses from your life. Plus, this Jungkook character sounded intriguing enough.

With that, you reached up for Namjoon’s inviting hand. “Sure.”

[hearttsck]

my name is POPPY AUGUSTA STERLING … and i am from HELLTOWN  and i’m a LAWYER . i lived in helltown for  18 YEARS, BEEN BACK ONE MONTH  because  THE STERLING FAMILY HAS DEEP ROOTS AND DEEPER SECRETS . i am 29  my pronouns are  SHE/HER  and i am  OUTGOING, METICULOUS, DEVOTED  though some may say i’m  OBSESSIVE, SECRETIVE, HYPOCRITICAL . i also hear i look a lot like  VICTORIA PEDRETTI  but, i don’t know if i see it. i’m here because  MY MOTHER’S GHOST WON’T LEAVE ME ALONE  but, maybe there’s more to it than that. you never know with helltown.

BIO | MUSINGS | CONNECTIONS | PINTEREST

ORIGINS & FAMILY:

Name: Poppy Augusta Sterling 

Nickname: Pops, P 

Birthday: February 7, 1995 

Place of Birth: Helltown, Ohio

Places Lived Since: New York, New York; Durham, NC ; Washington DC

Current Residence: Helltown, Ohio ( begrudgingly ) 

Notable Family Members: Ottilie Juliet Sterling ( daughter, age 5) ; Violet Sterling ( younger sister ) ; Rose Sterling ( older sister ) ; Daphne Sterling ( mother, deceased April 2024 ) ; Julian Sterling ( father,  deceased 2004 ) ; Nicholas Sterling ( uncle, missing since summer 2014 )   

PHYSICAL:

Faceclaim: Victoria Pedretti

Height: 5’3

Build: slim 

Hair Color: currently blonde, naturally brunette 

Eye Color: dark blue 

Jewelry? Tattoos? Piercings?: both ears pierced , many hidden tattoos that will be expanded upon in a post to come 

Scars: tbd ( there are stories here ) 

Unique Mannerisms/Physical Habits: twisting her rings, eyes suddenly losing focus, avoiding corners, running when things get messy 

PERSONALITY:

Occupation: Lawyer 

Level of Education: BA Columbia University ; JD Duke Law School 

Languages Spoken: English, Spanish, French, Latin 

Positive Traits: outgoing, charming, devoted, meticulous, resourceful 

Negative Traits: obsessive, paranoid, avoidant, secretive, hypocritical

Likes: the east coast, a particularly tricky legal argument, the oxford comma, early 2000s romcoms, a crisp diet coke

Dislikes: lazy writing, landlocked states, the legal ambiguity of deals with the devil, cliches, feeling trapped

Aesthetic: perfectly crafted citations; falling asleep to the comforting sounds of the city; this house is not haunted - you are; collecting scars as penance for your sins; the turn of a page in a silent library; intimacy like a drug, these hands on your body are the only thing separating you from your ghosts; your daughter's laughter carried across the breeze; craving the ephemeral taste of early spring because it will not last; is it worse to be doomed by the narrative or haunted by it?

BIO ( coming soon )  Tldr - grew up in helltown, middle child of three, perfectionist and outgoing and obsessive - prom queen gunning for a full ride to an ivy energy. there was An Incident her senior year involving her sisters and resulting in the Death of her uncle. poppy got the fuck out of ohio. undergrad at columbia, went to law school at duke. came home for thanksgiving 2017 during her 1L year and had a fling/one night stand/something { wc } that resulted in a pregnancy which she fully hid from her sisters/everyone in helltown until her daughter was born august 2018. Been living in DC as a single mom since law school, came back when her mom died a month ago.

[newstfionline]

Sunday, June 30, 2024

Biden acknowledges age, bad debate performance but vows to beat Trump (Reuters) President Joe Biden said on Friday he intended to defeat Republican rival Donald Trump in the November presidential election, giving no sign he would consider dropping out of the race after a feeble debate performance that dismayed his fellow Democrats. “I know I’m not a young man, to state the obvious,” an ebullient Biden said at a rally one day after the head-to-head showdown with his Republican rival, which was widely viewed as a defeat for the 81-year-old president. “I don’t walk as easy as I used to, I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to, I don’t debate as well as I used to,” he said, as the crowd chanted “four more years.” “I would not be running again if I didn’t believe with all my heart and soul that I could do this job. The stakes are too high,” Biden said. Biden’s verbal stumbles and occasionally meandering responses in the debate heightened voter concerns that he might not be fit to serve another four-year term and prompted some of his fellow Democrats to wonder whether they could replace him as their candidate for theNov. 5 U.S. election.

Ballooning U.S. budget deficit is killing the American dream (USA Today) The government’s deficit problem is creating an income problem for Americans, economists warn. Last week, the Congressional Budget Office raised its estimate for the government deficit this year by a whopping 27%, or $408 billion over its February forecast, to $1.9 trillion. Paying for that debt can divert money away from private investment, which in turn may dampen wage growth, economists say. “The exploding debt could cause as much as a 10% reduction in wage income within 30 years,” said Kent Smetters, a University of Pennsylvania Wharton School professor and faculty director of the Penn Wharton Budget Model. Based on the median household income of about $75,000, that’s as much as a $7,500 reduction in income in current dollars for the average household every year, he said.

Bolivia’s President Arce finds new strength after seeing off military coup (Reuters) Bolivian leftist President Luis Arce told Reuters on Friday support on the streets had strengthened his government after a failed military coup just days ago and that he would keep working until his last day, in one of his first interviews since the dramatic attack. The quiet economist was thrust into the global spotlight on Wednesday when rogue military units seized the central square of La Paz and rammed a door of the presidential palace with an armored vehicle to allow soldiers to rush in. Flanked by armed soldiers, a rogue general, Juan Jose Zuniga, had demanded a shake-up of the government. Arce had warned that the landlocked country of some 12 million people was facing a coup and called for supporters to mobilize. Face-to-face he ordered the general to stand down, and hours later as support for the coup disintegrated the soldiers pulled back. The attack is the most dramatic attempt to overthrow the government in Bolivia in recent years, despite its mottled history with around 190 coup attempts in just two centuries.

In an Argentine court, Venezuelans testify to alleged crimes against humanity under President Maduro (AP) Frustrated by the limits of the laboriously slow International Criminal Court and determined that the security officers who allegedly killed their loved ones not enjoy absolute impunity, Venezuelans have brought their crimes-against-humanity case to a federal court 3,000 miles from home—in Argentina. In a first for Venezuela under the repressive rule of President Nicolás Maduro, a federal court in Buenos Aires concluded two days of testimony from Venezuelan victims on Friday as part of an investigation into probable human rights abuses they claim were committed by security forces in 2014, the year after Maduro took power. Earlier in the year, Argentine prosecutors moved to revive a criminal complaint lodged in 2023 by the Clooney Foundation for Justice on behalf of survivors and the family members of those killed in what lawyers called a “systematic plan” by the state to crush dissent. Prosecutors declared that the crimes committed by high-ranking members of the Venezuelan National Guard were of “extreme seriousness” and required an immediate investigation.

Squatters take London’s housing crisis into their own hands (Reuters) In the shopping streets and housing estates of the south London town of Croydon, some once-derelict buildings are slowly coming back to life. At a former school, peeling walls are getting a fresh coat of paint, and laundry hangs on a line to dry. Over at a disused youth centre, there is laughter in the gymnasium-turned-dormitory, and a vase of purple flowers decorates a scrubbed kitchen counter. The Reclaim Croydon collective, a squatters’ group, has taken over disused commercial premises to provide beds for the homeless, saying it is providing a community-based solution to a broken housing market. Britain has long lacked enough housing, but a 22% jump in private rents in England over the last five years has left growing numbers of people struggling to find anywhere to live. Housing routinely appears in the top five issues that pollsters report as the most important for voters ahead of Thursday’s general election. The high rents and unaffordable house prices have meant people in their 20s or 30s are still living at home with parents or in house shares. At the most acute end, growing numbers are sleeping on the streets and in empty buildings, official figures show.

Russia presses its offensive in Ukraine and issues new threats as the West tries to blunt the push (AP) Slowly but steadily this summer, Russian troops are forging through Ukraine’s outgunned and undermanned defenses in a relentless onslaught, prompting the West to push for new weapons and strategies to shore up Kyiv. That, in turn, has brought new threats by President Vladimir Putin to retaliate against the West—either directly or indirectly. The moves by the West to blunt the offensive and the potential Kremlin response could lead to a dangerous escalation as the war drags through its third year—one that further raises the peril of a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO.

Iran goes to a runoff election between reformist Pezeshkian and hard-liner Jalili (AP) Iran will hold a runoff presidential election to replace the late hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, an official said Saturday, after an initial vote saw the top candidates not securing an outright win in the lowest turnout poll ever held in the Islamic Republic by percentage. The election this coming Friday will pit reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian against the hard-line former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili. There were signs of the wider disenchantment of the public with the vote. More than 1 million votes were voided, according to the results, typically a sign of people feeling obligated to cast a ballot but not wanting to select any of the candidates. The overall turnout was 39.9%, according to the results.

US removes Gaza aid pier due to weather and may not put it back, officials say (AP) The pier built by the U.S. military to bring aid to Gaza has been removed due to weather to protect it, and the U.S. is considering not re-installing it unless the aid begins flowing out into the population again, U.S. officials said Friday. While the military has helped deliver desperately needed food through the pier, the vast majority of it is still sitting in the adjacent storage yard and that area is almost full. Aid agencies have had difficulty moving the food to areas further into Gaza where it is most needed because the humanitarian convoys have come under attack. The U.N., which has the widest reach in delivering aid to starving Palestinians, hasn’t been distributing food and other emergency supplies arriving through the pier since June 9. The pause came after the Israeli military used an area near the pier to fly out hostages after their rescue in a raid that killed more than 270 Palestinians, prompting a U.N. security review over concerns that aid workers’ safety and neutrality may have compromised.

US has sent Israel thousands of 2,000-pound bombs since Oct. 7 (Reuters) The Biden administration has sent to Israel large numbers of munitions, including more than 10,000 highly destructive 2,000-pound bombs and thousands of Hellfire missiles, since the start of the war in Gaza, said two U.S. officials briefed on an updated list of weapons shipments. Between the war’s start last October and recent days, the United States has transferred at least 14,000 of the MK-84 2,000-pound bombs, 6,500 500-pound bombs, 3,000 Hellfire precision-guided air-to-ground missiles, 1,000 bunker-buster bombs, 2,600 air-dropped small-diameter bombs, and other munitions, according to the officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly. While the officials didn’t give a timeline for the shipments, the totals suggest there has been no significant drop-off in U.S. military support for its ally, despite international calls to limit weapons supplies and a recent administration decision to pause a shipment of powerful bombs.

‘Carry your son and run’: Gaza families describe fleeing Rafah under Israeli fire (AP) Displaced Palestinian families in Gaza’s south have fled what they said was intensifying Israeli fire in northern areas of Rafah to seek shelter elsewhere, describing a chaotic night as the sounds of fighting drew closer and prompted the difficult decision to evacuate. “Just carry your son and run, we don’t have anything with us,” said one man, Mohammad al-Hadad. Some who fled overnight were able to return Friday, throwing their belongings atop vehicles or wagons pulled by donkeys and setting off. “We do not know where we can go,” said a woman, Ghada Qudeh. “Since yesterday, we have not found food or drink.” She said her family fled after Israeli forces fired missiles at a house where they were sheltering Thursday. The people fleeing Rafah are some of the last holdouts in a city that was once filled with displaced Palestinians. However, Israel’s ground invasion since early May has driven nearly everyone who sought shelter there to leave. The United Nations estimates 1.3 million people have been displaced out of Rafah—more than half of Gaza’s entire population—and only 65,000 remain.

[abbatoirablaze]

Down The Rabbit Hole, Chapter 21

Word Count: 1.4k

Warnings: nothing major

“Oh my god, there’s a class called basic grifting!” Annie exclaimed happily as she clapped her hands together, “guys, should we all learn how to be grifters together?”

“Sounds fun,” you smiled, “count me in!  I need some down time, and a class like that sounds perfect.”

“What do grifters do again?” Frankie asked.

“I got this,” Elroy smiled, turning towards her, “I’ll tell you for five bucks!”

“NO!”

“You better sign me up!” Elroy frowned, looking at Annie.

“Abed you in?” you asked.

He smiled, looking up at you, “I’ve wanted to learn grifting ever since I saw the Grifters, featuring John Cusack, Anjelica Houston, and almost no grifting.”

“Don’t take a grifting class,” Jeff almost begged as he crossed his arms and looked at you, “if you want to end up confused and broke just follow Britta around for a week!”

“Jeff!”

“HEY!” Britta exclaimed.

“You’re gonna get grifted,” he pointed out, “even more so than by that oceanography class.  Only none of you will get a goldfish.”

“You guys took an oceanography class?” you asked with a frown, “what did you guys expect to learn in an entirely landlocked state?”

“Exactly my point,” Jeff frowned, “they ended up out a few hundred bucks and with goldfish that died that week, when the professor had promised to take them on a deep sea exploration mission.”

“Baby kickpuncher didn’t stand a chance!” Abed frowned.

“All I’m saying is that if you guys take that class, it’ll end badly and you’ll all end up crying, coming back to me!”

“Why you?” Britta asked Jeff.

“Yeah, why you?”

“Let’s face it,” he shrugged, “I’m the closest thing that Greendale has to an experienced grifter.”

“Ohhhh,” Annie cooed, “this is one of those things where Jeff gets jealous of something dumb.”

“That’s what it sounds like!” you agreed, nodding along with Annie, “are you jealous of a grifter, honey?”

“Jeff’s jealous of a grifter!” Chang sang out, “because he wishes he was still a grifter.”

“I mean you did grift my heart!” you smiled at him.

“Awww,” Annie cooed, “you guys are too cute!  You need to promise me that after you guys get married, you’ll still be like this!”

The rest of the group started laughing, to which Jeff scoffed at them, “is that supposed to be offensive?”

“That’s something that even I can mock, and I live in an RV!  I’m just saying.  My table folds down from the wall!”

“I say that we take the grifting class together, have a great time, and rub it in Jeff’s face.  Who’s in and can you cover me?”

“I’ll get it from your parents!” Annie agreed.

“I’ll pay you back!”

“At which point I’ll pay your parents back!”

“Which will be never!” she smiled, attempting to high five Annie from across the table.

But she only shook her head, answering with a smile instead, “I’ll get a high five from your parents!”

“Each student should bring a briefcase!” Abed read in the course description, “I don’t have a briefcase!”

“We’re gonna grift with briefcases?” Elroy asked, “basic my ass.  That’s advanced.”

“Are you really upset about it?” you asked, turning your attention to your fiancé.

Jeff gave you a look, but you could read from beneath the cool, collected exterior layer, “what?”

“I can tell from your face…you’re bothered,” you sighed, reaching out.  He let you take his hand and lace your fingers with his, “if it really bugs you that much, I won’t take it.”

“Aww, Tawney, you have to!” Annie  begged, cutting into the conversation, “don’t let Jeff ruin the fun.”  

“I have a few extra briefcases!” Frankie offered.

“Shocker!” Britta scoffed.

“I’ll get over it,” he frowned, “you can take the class with the group if you want.  I know you miss the shenanigans…”

“Or maybe we could have a few shenanigans of our own with the extra free time…” you hinted. 

Jeff all but lit up with the implication of what you were saying.  His brow raised, “I’m listening…”

“I’m just saying…we’ll have some extra time that we’ll be on campus waiting for them to get done with class if I don’t tag along…and I think that there are plenty of things we could do in that time.”

“I think the real question is my office or yours?” he smirked.

“I don’t have an office buddy!” you reminded him, “got that nice big office all to myself…”

“Tempting,” he smiled, “this week in yours, next week in mine?”

“Hey…I was thinking about dinner toni-who on earth are you?” you asked as you walked into your fiancé’s office.  Only, it wasn’t your fiancé sitting at his desk.  It was a man in a white suit, with shaggy hear and a full beard and mustache.

“Well, hello there, kitty galore.” The man all but purred, giving you a flirty look, “and who might you be?”

“Why are you sitting at my fiancé’s desk?” you asked, “where is Professor Jeff Winger?”

His brow raised, “you’re engaged to the man sitting at this desk?”

“No, I’m engaged to the man who normally sits at that desk!” you answered dryly, tired of the antics from the obvious con man, “who are you?”

“Professor Roger DeSalvo, at your service,” he smiled as he poured himself a glass of Jeff’s whiskey, “I’m the new visiting professor.  I teach the grifting class!”

You frowned. 

Britta had come to your office straight from class and had begged you to talk to Jeff about helping them get even with the man who was supposedly grifting them right out of the gate.  You’d made a mental note of it, hoping to open the conversation after you told Jeff about how you got reservations at his favorite restaurant.

“The grifting professor…”

“And what, pray tell, has you coming to your fiancé’s office?”

“None of your business!” you replied, grimacing at him, “speaking of which, you should get away from his desk, and stop drinking his whiskey.  I bought him that for our anniversary.”

“How sweet of you!” he smiled, taking another long sip of the beverage.

Your stomach turned just looking at the man.  You couldn’t shake the feeling that the slimy man was giving you, so with another sneer, you left the office, hoping that you’d run into Jeff in the hall.  But when you didn’t, you were quick to make your way back to your office, texting your fiancé to come to yours the second he had a chance. 

“You really don’t have to come with us…”

“No, no.  I want to!” you smiled, holding Jeff’s face in your hands, “it’ll be fun.  A little cross the state trip with the group…”

“Tawney…I think it’d be better if you weren’t stuck in a camper all day with the group…they can get pretty crazy,” he sighed, “not to mention our current…situation…the last thing you need is to be locked up with those psychos…and if they found out…”

You looked down at your stomach.  His hand was gently caressing it your non-existent bump, “Jeff…this might be one of the last times that we are able to do something crazy or silly with the group.”

“Do you really want to be stuck in a camper with morning sickness, while Frankie, Britta, and Annie are asking you a million questions, and the dean trying to rub your belly the entire time because ‘baby Winger’ is going to be here in under seven months.”

“I guess you’re right!” you admitted, “that honestly, sounds pretty horrible.  But you guys will be smart, right?  No goofy shenanigans?”

“It’s all business, trust me,” he confirmed, “we need to unload that stupid hand before the dean buys something even dumber.”

“Alright, be safe…and text me every chance you get.”

“I will.”  

“I’m so glad I talked Tawney out of this…”

“You talked Tawney out of coming with us?”

“Yeah,” Jeff admitted, “and after this, I’m glad that I did.  The last thing that she needs to deal with is being locked out in the cold.”

“The last thing that any of us need is to be locked out here with how the temperatures are dropping.”

“I shouldn’t have come!” Jeff said quickly, shaking his head at the thought, “I should have stayed at home, with Tawney and looked at houses like we talked about.  I should have been talking about ideas on what color to paint the nursery.  Or planning my wedding.  Not-“

“Jeff…did you just say something about picking out colors for a nursery?”

Jeff froze, the conversation halting every thought in his mind as he admitted to the group that he and Tawney were pregnant.

“Shit…” he frowned, realizing that he had told the group without his fiancé present.

“Jeff…are you and Tawney...going to have a kid?”

The group stared at him, waiting for an answer.

“Yeah…” he admitted breathlessly as he said the words aloud to his friends, “I-I’m going to be a dad.”

Chapter 22

Tag List:  @lohnes16, @mckeeee-1

[briillicnt]

“ pizza? “ he scrunched his nose. he had way too much pizza on the road — and he probably had diner food just as much but, at this point he kind of preferred diner food over a pizza, there was just more choices. “ guess i’ll have to check the cafe out before i leave then. “ he hummed, his gaze still on the waves in front of him. it had been awhile since he had seen the ocean, and it was just a nice change from being in small rural towns in the middle of landlocked states. 

“ you’re right — i’m not a local. “ he stated, finally looking back over at the male. “ i’m from washington, originally. “ not that it mattered. it wasn’t like he was going back there anytime soon. sure, he had a home there in the middle of one of the many forests but, he hadn’t been back there in months. for all he knew it could’ve been gone or inhabited by some wild animal or something. “ i don’t really have an exact destination, i’m just traveling… for work. “ 

"I don't mind so much." Flynn shrugs. It's not like they do it often, and not like he would stop them from doing something they enjoyed. Still, the other is right. They could have picked something he could do as well.

At the question, Flynn turns his head away from the call of the ocean towards the other. "There's a good cafe the next street over, or I think the pizza place is open by now too. Depends on what you want." Both viable options -- and now Flynn was thinking about lunch. "Where are you going back to, if you're headed out soon? Seems like you're not a local."

[twistnet]

overwhelmed [ connor rhodes ]

SUMMARY ─ it’s your first time back to work since bringing your son home for the first time, and connor’s worried you may be pushing yourself too hard

PROMPT ─ [ ways to say i love you 75 ] "you're overworking yourself... please take a break."

WARNINGS ─ female!reader, tw [ mentions of pregnancy ], slight angst [ overworking + tiredness ] + general fluff [ hurt // comfort, reassurance + kisses ]

the seven weeks of maturity leave didn’t seem like enough time, yet you had been greatful for the time you got to spend with your son -- even if it had been like diving off into the deep-end of the pool and figuring out how to float.

connor had been with you through each little step, offering any aid he could and taking over whenever he saw you pushing yourself too hard, instantly reminding you that you aren’t alone in this process and it’s okay to feel overwhelmed at some times.

you were always thankful when he took over for a few hours, letting you take time for yourself and get a little breather before returning more refreshed and gathered. and given most of connor’s experience in the emergency department, babies were always a delight to have, but even he sometimes found himself struggling to figure out what the cry meant.

and by some stroke of luck, the night before you were set to return to work, your son had slept through the night. almost as if he had known the big day awaiting for you. after getting him dropped off at the daycare within the hospital, you kissed connor briefly, wishing him a good day before traveling up to your floor, where you were greeted by your nurses and fellow doctors with bright and welcoming smiles.

yet, the amount of happiness that initially started the day had tapered off quickly, and you had found yourself struggle to keep up with the work load -- wondering how the floor had been managing with your absence for the past seven weeks. your schedule was filled with back to back patient slots, and you seemingly hopped between exam rooms like a june bug on the front porch.

your nurse had followed you through each room, each patient, and each consult with a smile on her face. encouraging you when she could during the short lengths of down time between patients, “you probably weren't expecting such a full day on your first day back, huh?”

you shake your head, flipping through your next patients folder with a heavy sigh, “you’re telling me. did all of my usuals opt to wait until i came back to work to come in?” you question with a slight laugh before knocking lightly on the wooden door to give notice of entry before filing in with your nurse.

you manage to get enough time to grab something to eat -- really only about fifteen minutes of time off your feet and enough to eat your lunch. you chatted with a few other doctors, commenting on the day before a familiar face popped over from the doorframe, “how’s my favorite doctor?” connor questions, smiling as he slides into the seat next to you, pressing a kiss to your cheek, “how’s your first day so far?”

“busy. pretty sure patients purposefully scheduled their appointments the first day i came back, so it’s made for a very busy day, which will most likely last the rest of the week.” you state, disposing of your lunch and before you have the chance to finish up your conversation, your nurse drops into the doctor’s lounge with a sad smile, “doctor rhodes? you’re three o’clock is here.” you nod quickly, shooting connor a sorry smile,  “i’ll tell you more about it later tonight, promise!” before taking off down the hall with your nurse.

connor is slightly stunned, but doesn’t take the interruption to heart knowing your day has been busy. he stands from his seat, heading back down to the emergency department where maggie smiles at his entrance, “how’s our girl doing on her first day back?”

“landlocked with patients. didn’t even get two minutes with her before the nurse we coming to get her for another patient. maggie makes a face, shaking her head, “i’m sorry to hear that. hopefully the patient load lightens up towards the end of the week.” and connor nods in agreement.

however, the patient load doesn’t, and you are still running around rampant while trying to not fall behind on times -- knowing of a few doctors who were behind by almost twenty minutes due the staggering amount of patients coming through the doors.

and saying you were exhausted was an understatement. between late nights with your son, and a full twelve hours of running between rooms, you were quickly becoming burnout and overwhelmed with everything. your nurse had picked up on it, and right before you managed to have a full-blown breakdown in the middle of the floor, she had ushered you into the doctor’s lounge before having reception call down to the emergency department, “tell them to send up doctor rhodes, and tell him he’s needed urgently in the doctor’s lounge.” the lady behind the desk nodding quickly, phoning down to maggie, who quickly got connor up to speed before he took off.

he nodded softly at your nurse, before entering the doctor’s lounge and finding you with tear soaked cheeks barely holding it together before he’s quick to slide onto the couch beside you, “i’m sorry... you’re probably busy. and i should get back to work...” you hiccup through your words, only for connor to shake his head.

“no... you're overworking yourself... please take a break." he mutters against your temple, letting you cry into his shoulder. his hands smooth along your back in a calming motion, uttering soft words to you as your breath slowly begins to even out, “we just brought our son home, you spent seven weeks caring for him -- something far from a vacation. it’s okay to take a break and step back for a little bit.”

you nod against his shoulder, sniffling softly before you’re drawing back away from him. wiping away your tears as connor’s hand runs along your shoulder, “i’m so proud of all the work you do, but don’t overwork yourself to make up for what you missed.”

it takes a few more moments, before connor guides you out of the doctor’s lounge, pressing a kiss to your forehead before he’s departing with a loving gesture. your nurse comes up behind you, offering you a gentle smile before pulling you in for a tight hug, “we’re gonna spread the rest of the week out, scheduling is already working through the next few weeks to see what can be altered.” you smile gratefully at her, looking over the schedule you move onto your next patient, taking connor’s words and applying them to the rest of your day. 

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[shih-coulda-had-it]

#10 for the first list, afohiko if you’re still taking prompts

anon, there's four number 10s on that list, so i took the liberty of choosing which.

10. hiding their face in the other's neck | afohiko | wc: 805

a/n: honestly, you could read this as an alternate scene from dfohiko verse set during the years Toshinori was off in the States. tw for mentions of human trafficking and off-screen abuse of a captive?

//

The disapproving click of a tongue has Sorahiko stirring from his half-conscious state. He knows that sound; he associates it with long-distant memories about running the nascent League of Villains for an asshole he used to call husband. When a base-level villain inevitably overstepped or showed delusions of grandeur, Sorahiko heard that little ‘tsk’ and arranged for a body-drop.

“Sensei!” cries an eager, youthful voice. “I’m so honored you came!”

“Well,” says All for One silkily, “how could I resist the offer of a flight Quirk?”

Sorahiko tries to calculate how long he’d been held captive. There’d been four of them, all equipped with Quirks tailored for capture: netting, some kind of knockout gas, magnetism, and an aerial ace in the hole that Gran Torino had mistaken for a landlocked racer.

He’s woken up sitting in this coffin of a closet… twice now.

Accessories confiscated, limbs bound, and after he’d mouthed off (and gotten unceremoniously roughed up for it), gagged--Sorahiko still can’t consider this a professional attempt at Quirk trafficking. It used to be so much more violent. More humiliating too, since they’ve left him in his jumpsuit.

Kids.

“It’s an old-timer,” says the magnetism guy, who seems to be aiming for a clinical tone. They always want to impress All for One with a calm and collected face. “Dressed like a pro-hero, but we didn’t see him on any media outlets.”

“Hits like a bastard, though.” Voice number three. Sorahiko doesn’t recognize it, and he can’t make a guess as to which idiot it belongs to. His head hurts. His ribs hurt. They’ve somehow missed the fact that Jet pumps the air out of his lungs via the plates on his shins; Sorahiko can feel that air circulating.

“Did anyone in this clever group find out his name?”

Voice number four. “He had that belt buckle…” A quick snapping of ungloved fingers. “That English letter! ‘G’! For, uh… [gramps], maybe?”

“Maybe you’d prefer to take a look for yourself, sensei?” asks the first voice. Footsteps. Sorahiko braces himself, shoulders against the closet’s walls. The metal click of a padlock undone, the rattle of a chain--

“Such a spectacle made for one inconsequential--”

As the doors open, All for One’s dry comment disappears altogether. The flood of white fluorescent light has Sorahiko slamming his eyes shut, his breath hitching in pain, a rolling wave of it that elicits a pathetic Jet. He’s grateful that Toshinori is blissfully ignorant and happy in the States right now.

One of them ought to be.

All for One says, soft, “Well, now.”

“It’s a strong Quirk,” the first voice tempts. “Worth a lot, right?”

Footsteps. The sense of a shadow falling over Sorahiko, possibly blocking out the room’s light. He flinches at the careful touch to his cheek, fingers skimming a bruise, but All for One--and it has to be All for One--simply slides his hand to the nape of Sorahiko’s neck.

He cracks a bleary eye open.

All for One’s red eyes gleam with something like triumph. He says, not to Sorahiko, “A priceless catch. Tell me something… Which Quirks were essential to catching him?”

There is a tense silence. Sorahiko wonders if the wannabe villains understand what’s at stake here. How close are they? Will they sell each other out, or volunteer themselves like fools, thinking they can earn All for One’s favor?

“It was a group effort,” voice number three tests, and Sorahiko lets his vision go dark again, sighing through the gag. Morons.

“How inefficient,” says All for One, and squeezes Sorahiko’s neck in reassurance before letting go. A rustle of fabric as his husband straightens to his full height. “I remember none of your Quirks are capable of dealing physical harm. There’s no reward for damaged goods.”

He moves swiftly. There are certainly times when All for One makes a show of gifting or retrieving Quirks, but when time is of the essence, it only takes a sweep of the palm.

Choked-off screams. Thumps of limp bodies hitting the floor.

And after all of it, the return of All for One’s hand on Sorahiko’s neck ushering him forward, gentle, until his face is pressed up against All for One’s neck. It’s warm. Enticingly so. Sorahiko stutters on an exhale and feels first the gag loosening, then himself being carefully scooped up into a bridal carry.

“My things,” he rasps.

“Easily replaceable.”

Sorahiko snorts. “By you? Unlikely.”

“I’m a generous man,” All for One says, faking hurt. “And what could they cost? They’re hardly top-of-the-line products, Gran Torino.”

Fine. Why not pull out his trump card. This is already a hellish situation. Sorahiko pretends that he isn’t hiding his face by shoving it further against All for One’s neck, and he mutters, “They took my ring.”

“... I’ll make sure the cleaners comb this safehouse thoroughly.”

[thefamilyeldritchabomination]

Chapter Five: The Shrine/The Argument Pt. 1

The tavern was a welcoming reprieve from the cold as the polished wooden interior welcomed William and Dolly inside as they took their seats up at the bar. The lighting was low in the tavern, being kept lit by lamps and the fireplace as the tavern owner grinned as he got their orders in for the drinks. William glanced a bit over at Dolly who was enjoying a mug of warmed spiced wine as the question he had turned over a bit in his mind.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, but wasn’t sure how to approach this. You don’t look like the rest of your family and you don’t look like an Amestrian at all. Were you adopted or did you take after one of your parents more than the other?” William blurted out before silencing himself as the words sounded wrong after leaving the mouth, Dolly chuckled a bit at that.

“Oh no, it's alright, I mean I really do stand out a bit, don’t I? But since you asked, I’m adopted.” Dolly stated as she looked into her mug a bit as a wistful expression drew upon her face.

“Oh, so do you remember your parents then?” William asked as curiosity got the best of him.

“I don’t think I even had parents if that makes sense? I was extremely young when I was adopted, but I do have some vague memories of living on an island with other kids in what I think was a communal child rearing? I’m sorry this doesn’t make sense..” Dolly said abashfully as she sipped a bit of her wine.

 William raised an eyebrow at that. Growing up, William had always raided his parents’ library and never once before had he read of an island culture like the one described to him. What confused William even more was that large bodies of water were incredibly far away and none of the local islands in the country fit that custom. Picking up the cinnamon stick, William stirred his hot ale flip for a bit before looking over to Dolly.

“That’s a pretty far distance away, we’re a landlocked country. How’d you manage to get all the way over here?” William was becoming intrigued about this story as Dolly took her time to think a bit. 

 “That’s the part that confuses me too, I remember having an argument with my older sibling, over a story book I had wanted to hear and the next thing I know, I was out in a blizzard in a land I didn’t know.” Dolly shrugged a bit, trying to shake off just how awkward the answer was.

“Wait, so they left you behind over an argument in a blizzard?” William asked, taken aback a bit from what he just heard.

Sure William’s parents were certainly not model parents, but, even they wouldn’t have abandoned him over something so small either as he sat right up wanting to hear a bit more. Dolly sipped her wine a bit more gently as her eyes seemed to shift a bit in the light, looking over to William.

“I honestly don’t know why no one ever came to find me, is it bad that a part of me is still waiting for them to come find me?” Dolly admitted to herself, half smiling weakly a bit as she stared in the mug for a while.

“I don’t know myself if I’m being honest here. Look, I’m sorry that I brought up a rather hard topic there like that.” William said as he sipped his drink, sort’ve brewing over the conversation a bit.

“No, it's alright, you were curious and wanted to know. Anyway, I’ve taken up a bit of the topic here, what about you? What’s the southern part of Amestris like? I rarely get to travel, so getting to hear about new places is a bit of a treat.” Dolly asked William to change the topic a bit. 

William thought for a bit as he put his drink down, it was a tricky topic at best. Certainly, William knew saying ‘Well my parents are body stealing parasites’ wouldn’t exactly fly over well in conversation. Taking some time to carefully piece together an answer, William looked over to Dolly with a smile now that he knew what to say.

“Well, it's quite a bit warmer down there than it is up here. There are a lot of pastoral lands there that just seem to go on into eternity. However, the capital is pretty spectacular to be in.” William started off on an easier thing to digest before getting into other details.

“Wait, have you seen sheep then? I’ve always wanted to see one in person, but you know, this climate isn’t productive for sheep rearing.” Dolly asked as she perked up at the pastoral part.

“I have, they smell terrible and have gross mouths, but the meat is good though.” William said as he sipped a bit of the warm drink, not realizing how weird of a comment that was.

“I’ve heard they were a good sweet meat, I haven’t gotten a chance to try it out myself though.”  Dolly said, ignoring the terrible smell and gross mouth comment.

“It is, I have to say, I do enjoy cooking every now and then. Perhaps if I have a chance, I could make a lamb roast.”  William said with a bit of a smirk on his face.

 “You’re lucky that we don’t have a cooking staff at home, I would love to try that. We normally have local game here for our meat with the rare occasion of imported beef and poultry every once in a while.” Dolly said, her eyes shined at the thought of trying a meat like that.

William raised an eyebrow at the no cooking staff statement before chuckling a bit at the response as he relaxed more upon Dolly’s reaction to hearing about sheep meat. Everything seemed to be going smoothly when the dreaded question came up, causing William to nearly choke on his drink.

“So, what are your parents like? I assume they’re nice like you are.” Dolly asked, curious to know about William a bit further.

“Oh..my parents..they gave me a nice childhood, lonely sure, but it was nice. I don’t really interact with them much nowadays. Mom’s always changing her looks to keep up with the latest trends and Dad is aloof at best, but incredibly good at alchemy.” William answered calmly as he looked into his drink a bit.

 “That sounds terrible, I’m sorry that you had a lonely upbringing. It must have hurt a lot.” Dolly said as she gave a pained expression towards William.

 ‘You have no idea.’ William thought to himself as he finished his drink as he slowly got up with a rehearsed smile on his face.

“Thanks, look if you want, I have some time to kill before I have to do some out of school studies. Would you like to walk around town with me?” William asked as he paid for the drinks.

Dolly carefully climbed down from her seat as she looked up at William with that warm hearted smile, “I’d like that, where would you like to go?”

“Perhaps to see the telescope?” William offered as that was the first thing to pop into mind.

Dolly’s mouth was moving, but her voice was not coming through. Instead, the loud voice of Lust as she said “Envy it's almost noon, WAKE UP!” 

William wanted to stay as he reached his hands out for Dolly when he got pulled from the memory and back into the waking world….

=======================================================================

[biscuitbakerbecca]

It’s been a solid while since I’ve added to the chaos:

— Eh, details

— daughter of an immigrant I’m built like a truck

— nOT THIS TIME

— your priorities are so random

— long mickey isn’t real he can’t hurt you

— THEYRE TURNING THE FRICKIN FREIGHT TEAM GAY

— FALL INTO MY ADDICTION

— you were trying to smash about two seconds ago don’t bring your birthgiver into this

— See I know we’re friends because we fuck with each others sleep schedules

— imma be a wreck tomorrow

— I DIDNT PLAN ON CRYING TONIGHT BUT FUCK ME IG

LOVE YOU TOO

— IS THAT A HICKEY

— fictional gay ppl on the brain

— ✨pain✨

— She DID forgor

— the sex is so nice I had it twice

— Co-god

— Something something gal pals

— I might be scared but boobs make it easier

— Omg color theory <333

— haha penis

— Also I’m flirting with death rn

— ✨placed in the timeline accordingly✨

— Abracadabra the sapphics be upon ye

— I didn’t even notice

But also I’m not sober

— We’re so good at this

— am I supposed to give it a fuckin skirt?!?!

— Behold, a good mother

— Idk I need to shower I’m greasier than a teenager from the 70s

— Ah so James is good at blowing

— AM CLEAN

— It’s illegal to hunt whales in Utah

a landlocked state

— THEY HAVE LESS LABOR TAXESSSSS

— HOMIEPHOBIES

— laundry is a torture from hell

— They are babysitter with benefits for a solid while

Oh that sounds bad out of context

I’ve been waiting for google docs to load for the past half hour so I though I would share some out of context messages that @h0n3yk1tt3n and I have sent each other. I started collecting these after the gem that is the first entry and yes I do have more saved

- always in distress, never the damsel

- all the grace of a newborn giraffe on roller skates

- tall women <3333333

- LET LESBIANS EXIST

- GET HIS BISEXUAL ASS

- hol up if I nearly killed him that means I give him an apology kiss right????

- makes me snackies???

- NO TIME FOR CLONING BISEXUALITY IS MORE IMPORTANT

- I Wrote This Instead Of Sleeping is a tag for a glorious reason

- ✨Graceful yeet✨

- I’m so weak and frail

- said in the most bored tone ever probably

[iboatedhere]

My take on what 2.3 should have been....

---

“I miss you.”

TK leans back on the uncomfortable cot and looks up at the dreary ceiling of the tent as he listens to Carlos tell him that he misses him too.

They’ve been fighting this fire just outside of San Angelo for nearly three weeks now. It’s the longest he and Carlos have been apart in both time and distance since they met and phone calls have been few and far between.

It’s been miserable, honestly. He’s tired and he doesn’t think he’ll ever get the smell of smoke or the layers of dirt and soot off his body and hair no matter how many times he showers.

Still, he knows he’s one of the lucky ones. There are crews here from all over Texas, surrounding states, and even a handful from Mexico who will have a more than a three and a half hour ride back home when this is all over.

“So…” TK says, “what are you wearing?”

Carlos laughs. “You sure you should ask me that?”

“Probably not,” TK says. Privacy is impossible to come by and right now there are at least fifteen other firefighters in the tent with him right now.

“I mean, I’ll tell you,” Carlos continues, “it wouldn’t take me very long to answer.”

“Fuck,” TK says softly and Carlos laughs again. “You’re gonna get me in so much trouble. I’d get up and find somewhere private but I don’t think I have the energy.”

“Is it rough out there,” Carlos asks, “are you staying safe…being careful?”

“As careful as I can be,” TK promises. “Honestly, it’s kind of boring. We do the same thing for hours and hours but it never feels like we make any progress. It’s supposed to rain at the end of the week and they told us not to count on it but I am. I can’t wait to get out of here.”

“You’re doing a good thing by being there. I’m sure everyone in that town appreciates it.”

“I know,” TK says with a sigh. “What have you been doing? Keep it PG, please, for my sake.”

“Working, mostly,” Carlos says. “I went to my Tia Lucy’s on Sunday and last week I got a call from Grace Ryder. She invited me to dinner and I got a lot of stories about Judd so if he’s ever giving you a hard time…”

“I know who to come to,” TK says with a smile.

“Exactly. I also saw your mom.”

“So you’ve got stories on me too, then?”

“So many,” Carlos says. TK can hear the smile in his voice. “We went out to lunch, it was nice. She said she hadn’t been feeling well for a few days and blamed it on the sushi she ate.”

“That makes sense.”

“Texas is not a landlocked state, I don’t know why you’re all afraid to eat fish.”

“We are miles from the ocean, babe,” TK says with a laugh. “She was feeling better though?”

“Apparently. She finished her meal and dessert with no problem. It was impressive.”

“That’s my mom,” TK says quietly. “How was Tim’s service?”

“It was nice,” Carlos tells him.

“How was Nancy?”

Carlos takes a deep breath and the guilt that TK’s been feeling about not being there grows.

“She was as expected,” Carlos answers delicately. “Michelle was there so I think that helped.”

“I feel awful that we weren’t there for her.”

“It’s not your fault. I’m sure she knows that you’d be there if you could. It’s not like you started the wildfire. Things happen.”

“It’s nice that you went.”

“I liked Tim, he was a good guy. Weird, but good.”

TK sighs and drags a hand down his face. “Have I told you that I missed you yet?”

“Once or twice.”

“How about that I love you?”

“I could always hear that again.”

“Oh, Carlos…I love you so much.”

TK lifts his head and sees Judd standing at the foot of his cot making kissing noises and batting his eyes.

“You’re so cute and I miss you so much,” Judd continues, southern drawl flattened out and rolling into something that could be considered an East coast accent. “I can’t wait to see you again.”

“Hey,” TK snaps, “you better be nice to me, Carlos had dinner with Grace.”

Judd’s face falls and TK nods.

“That’s right. That means he knows stuff which means I’m gonna know stuff.”

Judd clears his throat and squares his shoulders. “There ain’t nothing to know,” he says but his eyes dart around the tent nervously. “Anyways, you gotta hang up, Cap wants to see all of us.”

“Give me a minute.”

“Nah,” Judd says as he tugs on TK’s boots, “Cap said--.”

“Okay,” TK huffs as he sits up. “I’ll be right there.”

Judd saunters off and TK lifts the phone back to his ear.

“Babe--.”

“You have to go?”

TK sighs. “I miss you and I love you and I’ll see you soon, okay? Pray for rain.”

“I will and I love you, too.”

The rain comes in on Wednesday.

It comes down in buckets for an hour before it tapers off into a steady drizzle. The tents leak and the blowing wind reveals how drafty they are but TK’s sure he speaks for everyone when he says he’s never been happier to be cold and wet.

They crowd into one of the nicer tents that the higher ups are staying in and get the news they’ve all been waiting for. A few houses will be asked to stay behind, just in case there are any more flare ups but the majority can go home.

“We’ll head out in the morning,” Owen tells them when they break away from the larger group.

“Why not now,” TK asks and his father laughs.

“Because it’s almost midnight, everyone is exhausted and we have a three and a half hour ride back to Austin. Plus there’s still work to do. Maybe the fire is out but all this--.” He gestures to their basecamp. “This all has to get broken down. We can’t just leave in the middle of the night.” He puts his hand on TK’s shoulder. “I know you’re anxious to get home but you’re not the only one who has someone waiting. Be glad that the fire is out and that I didn’t volunteer to stay longer. Now get some sleep. We’ve got work to do in the morning.”

It’s still raining at dawn and TK skips breakfast so he can get a jump on packing up the truck and breaking down the camp.

It’s annoying, that everyone doesn’t seem to be in as big a rush as he is, and by the time they’re ready to leave, he’s managed to piss off most of the crew.

“Hey Cap,” Judd asks through the radio, “any chance we can drop your son directly off at Reyes’? It’s gettin’ a little cramped back here with his big attitude.”

“I would love that,” TK tells him, “but Carlos is working which is something he wouldn’t have been doing if we left last night.”

“You want to go straight to Carlos’,” Owen asks, “I figured my son would like to spend some time with his father now that they’re both out of danger and his mother that he hasn’t seen in weeks.”

“You son wants to get laid,” TK deadpans but at least it gets the rest of the crew laughing.

Buttercup is there to greet them when they pull into the firehouse and TK’s bad mood lifts just slightly as the dog runs straight for him.

“Hey, Buddy,” TK says as he kneels down to sink his fingers into Buttercup’s fur. “Did you miss me?”

“Your mom asked me to drop him off.” TK’s head snaps up at the sound of Carlos’ voice and it takes about half a second for TK to spring to his feet, cross the room, and throw himself into Carlos’ arms.

There’s half-hearted applause from the guys, who are both too tired and still too annoyed to really care.

“You’re here,” TK says before he pulls back and looks down at Carlos’ uniform. “But you’re working.”

“I took a little detour and I’m definitely on borrowed time right now but I wanted to see you.” Carlos pushes TK’s hair off his forehead then slides his hand down so it’s cupping his cheek. “Hi,” he says softly, “I missed you.”

“What time do you get off?”

“Seven.”

TK hums and smoothes his hands down the front of Carlos’ uniform. “I’m going to take an hour-long shower,” he says as he fiddles with Carlos’ nameplate, “then I’m going to take a nap and then I’m going to go to your place and wait for you. I would suggest eating before you get home because you’ll need your energy and we are not stopping for snacks for a long time.”

Carlos presses his lips together as he nods. “What if I wanted to work some overtime?”

TK unbuttons the top button of Carlos’ uniform. The backs of his hands brushing against his throat making his breath hitch. “I can’t tell you what to do but good luck concentrating at work while I’m in your bed and---.” He leans in, ready to whisper absolutely filthy things into Carlos’ ear when his father clears his throat behind them.

“You are still at work, TK,” he says before he nods to a flushed Carlos. “Officer Reyes, it’s good to see you.”

“Captain Strand,” Carlos answers, somehow managing to sound professional even with TK hanging off of him. “I’m glad you all made it back safely.”

“And yet none of us got this kind of greeting,” Paul says, clapping Carlos on the shoulder as he walks by.

“I don’t share,” TK calls after him. He takes a step back as Carlos’ radio chirps to life and Carlos gives him an apologetic look. “Go,” TK says, “thanks for being here.”

“I had to see you,” Carlos says. “I guess I’m gonna be seeing a lot more of you later on.”

TK laughs and leans in for a quick, work appropriate kiss. “You have no idea.”

[felix21im]

"Ice Cold", a Leon Kennedy x reader fanfiction

As an Art and Design student all you want to do is just knuckle down and finish that one goddamn piece you've been working on for months. Too bad your time is constantly stolen by your Waiter job with minimal pay, but hey, at least the tips are good if you unbutton your shirt that one more time.

Masterlist

Chapter 8: Alone

You woke up early the next morning. The sun shone through the big window next to your bed and warmed your skin. You slowly opened your eyes and looked over to Leon. His breathing was calm so you figured he was still sleeping. You made sure to get up quietly, making sure not to wake Leon up.

You went to the bathroom to have a quick shower and change into something nice to wear. Since the weather was good you chose a white polo shirt and some shorts. After brushing your teeth and styling your hair you went back to the bedroom and sat down on Leon‘s side. You brushed some hair out of his face and placed a kiss on his forehead. You felt him move and he slowly opened his eyes. “Good morning, Sleepy. I hope you don't mind me waking you up.” Leon covered his eyes with his arms to prevent the sun from shining in his face. He didn't answer you but instead grabbed your wrist and pulled you into his arms. You chuckled lightly as he hid his head in your chest, reminding you of a little kid. You two lay there for a few more minutes before you sat up again next to him. “Come on now, Leon. You wanted to go out to eat breakfast, right? So get up!” You turned around to see him lying on his stomach and hiding under the blanket. You shook your head and laughed as you began pushing him out of the bed until the thud of him falling on the floor was heard, followed by subtle laughter. Moments later Leon lay on the ground beside the bed looking as tired as ever. You were laughing too hard so you didn't even hear him standing up and grabbing a pillow from the bed. The next thing you felt was the soft cushion hitting your face, stopping your laughing. You looked at Leon surprised and opened your mouth to say something but before you had the chance to, another pillow was thrown into your direction. You stood up from the bed and grabbed the two pillows Leon threw at you before. Instead of throwing them at him though, you ran around the bed and started hitting Leon with them. Leon was able to take one of the pillows out of your hand and tried defending himself. At some point you two were laughing too hard and didn't have the strength to continue fighting anymore. You lay on the bed together, legs hanging from the side. You turned and looked at Leon who was now also looking at you. “I love you, Leon.” You said with a smile on your face without even thinking twice about it. Leon looked at you surprised before saying it back after a short moment. He kissed you on the cheek before finally standing up and going to the bathroom. You let out a deep sigh as he closed the door behind him and closed your eyes for a second. You then decided to clean up the mess the two of you created and put the pillows and blanket into the bed again. After you were done you grabbed your phone and fixed your hair again. You didn't have to wait long before Leon came out of the bathroom. He was wearing some dark jeans and a light blue button up. His hair was also looking as perfect as ever, no signs of the pillow fight from before. You grinned at him as you stood up.

“Ready to leave, Buttercup?” He asked as he grabbed his wallet and his fancy sunglasses. You nodded as you put on some sneakers and put your phone in your pocket.

You realized you didn't bring sunglasses so you looked at Leon and pointed at his pair. “You don't have another pair of sunglasses by any chance, do you?”

Leon let out a small laugh and shook his head. “You didn't bring your own? Give me a second, I think I actually have another pair.” He turned around and went over to his suitcase to look for them. A few minutes later he came back to you and handed you some fancy looking round sunglasses. You thanked him as you put them on and opened the door. You two left the room together and walked the long hallway to the front door.

As you left the building the morning sun was already hot and warmed your skin. You took a deep breath as you looked around the front yard.

Your face went back to Leon as you heard him unwrapping a piece of paper. As it turns out it was a map of the city, which made you laugh. “A map? Really Leon? You know we both have working phones, right? If you wanna go somewhere I can just look it up online.”

You went to grab your phone out of your pocket but Leon stopped you. “I want this day to be phone free. I just want to enjoy the time with you. And also using this map feels more like a vacation, don't you think?”

You let out a small laugh again as you nodded and put your phone back. “Alright, whatever you say, Mr. Kennedy.” Leon also smiled now and soon after began walking into one direction. You quickly followed and put your hand in his to keep up.

Leon led you through the streets and as the day started more and more people filled the streets around you. He ended up leading you to a small bakery and brought you to a small table outside. It felt like you had been walking for days when realistically it was only a few hours. “Perhaps some breakfast will help you walk a bit faster?” Leon chuckled as he poked at your slow walking pace.

You rolled your eyes as you sat down at one of the tables outside of the bakery. “Not all of us are superstar athletes, Leon.” He still continued his laugh as he sat down too. “Oooo! Pastries!” You got excited at the selection of foods available, back home it would always be quickly bought junk food as neither you nor your roommate had time to cook.

“You like pastry?” Leon looked up from the menu. “You could have just asked Angel if that's what you ever wanted, we would have bought it specifically for you.”

Your face went hot from the embarrassment. “Oh please no, I’m honestly so grateful when Angel cooks for me, I don't want her to think I’m taking advantage by ordering something specific…”

“How about I ask then?” He smirked as he then looked back down at the menu. “I think I'm going to go for the brioche and some coffee.” He announced as he then tucked his menu back to where he found it.

You smiled at him as you began to read out what you were struggling to pick from. "I’m not sure if I want to go with the pain au chocolat or the cornetto…”

“Well the first one is actually French so that depends on if you want to stick to italian foods or not, but personally…” He scratched the back of his head. “I think both.”

“Both?” You flurried your eyebrows. “I’m not that hungry Leon, a-and these are expensive! Twelve euros for a coffee?!” You whisper-shouted for the last part, sure they were extortionate prices but maybe it was worth it?

“Really, Buttercup? You do realise that money isn’t an issue, right?” He smirked.

“I just feel guilty spending your money, that’s all..”

“Trust me, Buttercup. I like seeing yo-”

“Buongiorno!” A small woman exited the front of the bakery with a notepad and a pen in her hand. “What can I get for the two of you?” She asked as she looked at Leon so he went first.

“Would I be able to get the brioche and a shot of espresso?” He asked politely as he gave her his million dollar smile.

“And for the compagno?” She asked as she wrote down Leon’s order.

Just as you were about to state your order Leon did it for you. “They’ll have both the pain au chocolat and the cornetto, with a moka coffee please.” Leon then turned his head to smile at you as you chuckled and smiled back. The waitress nodded her head and then went back into the bakery, preparing your food. “Now you get to try them both.”

“I have had them both before, you know…” You shook your head at him.

“Oh… Well now you get to try them… Italian style!” He smiled again as he dramatically waved his hands, emphasising the ‘Italian style.’ You simply rolled your eyes at him and smiled. The two of you waited quite a while for your food but it didn't annoy either of you as it simply meant that it was being made fresh for you, besides it also gave you time to look at the view of both the ocean and Leon. Considering you never left the US and you stayed landlocked you've never actually seen the ocean before, sure you saw big lakes and stuff but this was so much more intense. Not only was it humongous it was almost crystal clear. “How about we go snorkeling or something once I'm back?” Leon suggested.

“I would love that.” You nodded your head and just as you answered your waitress came over with your dishes and drinks. You simply squealed to yourself as your senses engulfed the food that sat before you, not even stopping to talk to Leon once. Eventually you looked up at him and you noticed he was simply smiling at you, lost in his thoughts as he watched you eat. “Leon?” You lightly waved at him and you raised your eyebrow.

He then snapped back to reality. “Sorry, just thinking about how at first you said you weren't very hungry.” He chuckled as he took a bite out of his own food.

“I guess pastries just do something to me?” You replied to him as you went back to eating your food. Leon simply took his time, he slowly drank his coffee and ate his bread as he looked at both you and the view on his left.

“Much different than the view at home. Here we get flowers, the ocean and beautiful trees, whereas at home we get a jungle… a concrete jungle..”

“How about in twenty years time when you retire, just move to Italy?” You joked at him in response to his little monologue about the different landscapes. “You can get a beautiful little villa on the mountain side that looks over the ocean, all you would need is three kids and a beautiful wife so that you can have the american, nuclear-family, dream.” You copied his hand gesture from earlier and chuckled.

“How would that be the american dream if i'm living in Italy?” He questioned as he placed his empty cup on the metal table.

“That was what stuck out to you about that entire bit?” You raised your eyebrow at him as you wiped your hands with your napkin. “Are you not going to eat your food?” You asked him as you looked down at his plate, him only being about halfway through.

“Sorry, sorry.” He picked up a piece. “I just wanted to take my time so we could be together longer. Just before we got here I got a text from Chris saying I had to meet him after we ate, thought I could drag it out as much as possible.” As he spoke he held out his free hand on the table, wanting you to place your hand in his. Obviously you accepted and he lightly squeezed it. You let him continue eating his food as the two of you sat in comfortable silence until the waitress came and collected the dirty dishes, replacing them with two new coffees for the two of you.

You took another sip from your mug as you noticed how Leon's eyes scanned the area and he seemed to be deep in his thoughts again. You put your mug on the table again and searched his eyes. He didn't notice you staring and only reacted when you mentioned his name. "Leon? You still there?" You snapped your fingers in front of him, making sure he was listening.

Leon turned his head and faced you. "Oh, sorry Buttercup. Did you say anything?"

You shook your head in response before talking again. "I'm worried about you, Leon. Even though we're here together, you seem so far away. Are you really okay?" You looked at him with puppy eyes and reached out to his hand. He just shook his head and looked away again. You sighed and felt hopeless. It was the first time Leon took you with him on a big mission, so of course you were worried. You always were when he was away, even though it wasn't the first time for him to do this stuff. Whatever it really was that he was doing now.

"Leon, please don't do this now. Tell me what's going on, maybe I can help you, distract you or whatever. Anything to help you, okay?" It took Leon a minute before finally giving it. He sighed as he rubbed his forehead.

"It's just.. this mission is different. I didn't get much information beforehand and I don't know. Something feels odd. And now that you're here, too, I'm just.. worried about you. Maybe it was the wrong idea to bring you with me." He said the last sentence more to himself than you, but you still understood every word of it. Even though he probably didn't mean it like that, you felt hurt. Did he think you were a helpless child who would only cause trouble? You didn't really know what to say but you had to do something about his mood.

"Leon. Listen to me. I don't know what you do all the time when you're gone, but you always manage. I'm sure everything will turn out fine, alright? And you don't have to worry about me. I'll stay inside the hotel or around your big bodyguards, I'm sure they could take care of tons of bad guys." You gave Leon an optimistic smile, hoping he would lighten up a bit.

"Yea, you're right. I guess. I just never.. had someone close to me in this kind of situation."

"Everything that matters now is that you're concentrated, Leon. If it helps you can tell me the information you already have, maybe we can work on this together. And who knows, maybe I'll end up being a better agent than you." You jokingly said and finally Leon let out a laugh as well. As you waited for his response you saw a pen on the table behind Leon so you ran to grab it, getting ready to write your notes on a clean napkin.

"Yea sure, whatever you say, Buttercup." You two continued joking for a while longer before ordering something else to drink. As the drinks were delivered to your table, you noticed someone sitting at a table close to you. You didn't know why exactly he caught your eye so you shrugged it off and continued talking to Leon. Soon he began talking about his mission and all the information he had. Which was, as he said before, really not much. All he knew was that someone in this city intended to initiate a virus-breakout similar to ones Leon had to fight before. You wrote down what he said but it wasn't really the equivalent to much. You sighed as you tried your best to help him out. Sure, he was a professional, but it was worth a shot. Especially if you could make him smile with your stupid ideas. In the end that's all that mattered to you, anyways.

You two continued chatting a while longer before Leon's phone suddenly rang. He excused himself, showing you who called. Chris. Leon stood up and left the table to talk to him in a more quiet place. You watched him walk away as you noticed the man from before staring at you again. He seemed to have seen you noticing since he suddenly looked away. You raised an eyebrow, a bad feeling growing in your stomach. Even though you were worried slightly, you didn't want to tell Leon. Maybe you were just starting to imagine things and you didn't want to make Leon worry any more. Speaking of him, he finally returned to the table. He didn't seem too happy though, so you knew what was coming next.

"Chris is already waiting for me. I guess I really tested his patience today. I'm sorry that it has to end so abruptly, Buttercup, but I really have to go now. We have new information and it seems like quite a big deal." Leon grabbed his wallet and handed it to you. "Get yourself something nice with it if you want. And don't forget to pay for our breakfast. I really need to go now, please be careful on your way home." He gave you a kiss on the forehead but you stopped him before he went to leave. "I love you, Leon. Don't worry about me and please come back soon.." He nodded lightly and gave you another kiss, this time on the mouth. You didn't want this moment to end but you knew there was no other option. You watched him leave and suddenly felt so alone and lost. Sitting down again you waited for someone to bring you the bill.

A few minutes passed until someone came over to your table, grabbing the last dirty cups. You asked them for the bill and after paying a ridiculous high amount of money for breakfast you left the table and went back to the main street. You sighed as you thought about what to do for the rest of the day since it was still not that late. With no destination in mind you just started following the street and seeing where it would take you.

Leon carefully closed the door behind him as he was escorted into the home. “Couldn’t have picked a basic home?” He shrugged as he looked over at Chris who was sitting at a table in the kitchen. “This mansion is fucking huge.”

“The fuck you mean?” He snarled at Leon as he pushed back the chair adjacent to him for Leon to sit in. “We’re in an upper class neighbourhood, it blends in.”

“Where’s Angel and Daisy?” Leon asked as he sat down in the chair and gestured at the two empty ones opposite him.

“Miss Badawi and Miss Chu are doing some recon.” He passed over a singular folder and Leon opened it to the first page.

“You call me by my first name, why not those two?” He always thought it was weird but now that it was just those two alone he actually was able to ask.

“Neither of them have passed the required rank for me to call them my equal, meaning they haven’t deserved the right yet."

“They’ve both saved your life countless times-”

“-Oh please! You think we care about validation from some old white man?” Angel laughed as both her and Daisy entered the room and sat down at the table.

Now that all three of them were sitting opposite Chris he could begin his briefing.

“We’re going to be heading to a small provenance called Valtorta, there’s no such thing as tourists there which means this is a stealth operation. Miss Chu, your favourite.” Daisy smiled and lightly clapped her hands together as she heard about the standards of the operation.

Angel raised her hand. “Miss Badawi?” Chris accepted.

“Where is Valtora?” She asked.

“Near the border of Italy and Switzerland.” He replied as he flicked Angel’s folder to the map page. “Around a two hour drive from Milan which is where we’re going to be starting after a three hour helicopter ride. Which means a five hour trip so that you kids can catch up on your podcasts or whatever it is that you guys do nowadays.”

“I’ve been listening to this really interesting podcast about a woman who kills her boss because he didn't give her a payrise… Pretty inspiring if you ask me.” Angel smirked as she looked towards her boss, Leon.

“Depends on how good you do after this operation, and if you can get some pastries for us to bring back home.” He replied as he looked up from the folder and at Angel.

“I think that’s a very fair trade, croissants for an extra one hundred percent markup on your pay?” Daisy smirked at her girlfriend.

“How about we focus on our jobs rather than the pay?” Chris interrupted them. “So the woman we’re looking for is Leona Capulet.” He placed a photo of the woman holding a small child onto the wooden table. “Forty five, six foot tall and batshit crazy.” He then placed another photo on the table. “For the last four years she’s been attempting to recreate another virus, called the LC-020-Virus. Ever since we found out about it we’ve been calling it the ‘Loco-virus’.”

“Let me guess…” Angel interrupted. “Rather than it turning you into a zombie it just makes you go crazy?”

“Bingo.” Chris nodded as he placed another picture on the table. “Blueprints of the town, and the suspected laboratory Capulet has been working in.”

“How have you got so much information?” Leon asked.

“Inside man.” Chris replied. “Capulet’s son, Valentino, has been helping us. Once his mother tried to use him for a human trial experiment he had enough and tried to shut her down. After failing he turned himself in and he’s been helping us for around four months now.”

“And you trust him?” Daisy asked as she looked at the picture of Leona. “How do we know it isn’t a trap?”

“The boy is a millionaire and he gets nothing out of betraying his family, it's personal to him.” Chris picked up his pictures from the table and placed them back into his folder. “But that doesn’t mean we can fully trust him, we all need to stay vigilant.” Chris stood out of his chair and tucked it under the table. “Our mission is to capture the target Leona Capulet, destroy any trace she has of the virus and figure out where her funding comes from. Any questions?” All three of them nodded their heads as they looked at Chris. “Great. We’re heading out at nine A.M. tomorrow morning, I expect everyone to be ready with a maximum of two standard issue duffle bags with the essentials needed for the maximum of two weeks.”

“A fortnight?” Leon asked. “I was told only three days.”

“A maximum Leon, just in case. If we all work well enough we can be back here within two days so let's all get some sleep so we can make that happen.” Chris left the three of them at the table. Angel and Daisy just began chatting amongst themselves about what they were going to do once they were back and could enjoy their time together in the countryside, whereas Leon was thinking about you. He pulled out his phone and called your number but to his surprise you didn’t answer, he looked at the time and saw that it was around seven at night so he thought that maybe you were in the shower, at home you usually showered at that time. So rather than calling you again he simply sent you a text message.

‘Done with work for the night so give me a call when you can. Leon <3’

The sun began setting as you felt your stomach growl. You've been walking around for so many hours, you didn't even think about stopping somewhere to eat or drink anything. Thankfully, you weren't somewhere in the woods but rather close to the city. Your phone battery died a while ago, so you didn't have a chance to just google where to go now or call a taxi. "I should have taken the map from Leon earlier." You muttered to yourself as you scratched the back of your head. Instead of giving up though you tried to follow the signs all around the streets. Most of them were in Italian but you still managed to find your way back.

Even though it wasn't that late, or so you assumed since it was not dark yet, there weren't many people outside. You hoped to find a store to get something to eat and drink and maybe ask for the time or your current location but it felt like you were going in circles and as the time passed you felt really tired. Suddenly everything felt like too much and you had to sit down. You almost fell to the ground, feeling the effects of not eating or drinking for a few hours in the heat. Your head was spinning and your vision blurred and you just barely saw a silhouette walking in your direction. You rubbed your eyes in hope of seeing clearly again. A young man stood before you, reaching a hand out. He soon seemed to notice that you didn't understand what he was saying, so he repeated himself in English. "Are you okay? You look really pale and I'm assuming you're not from here, right?" You slowly nodded your head and tried forming words in your mouth.

"Water.. Do you have water?", was all that came out in the end. The man let out a small laugh and nodded. He pointed towards a house just on the opposite side of the street before helping you get up.

"That's where I live. There aren't any stores open around here so that's all I can get offer now. If you feel comfortable with it you can rest a while before continuing your way."

You looked at the man and thanked him as he supported you walking. The two of you slowly walked towards his house and you waited in silence as he opened the door for you. You walked inside the small house and looked around. It was something completely different from the hotel you slept in last night, but it seemed very friendly. The man led you into the living room and you sat down on the old couch. He left the room to get you something to drink and shortly after returned with a coke, a bottle of water and some cold lasagna.

"This was my dinner today. I'm guessing you are hungry, the way you look. Please eat as much as you like." He went over to a cabinet and got a plate, a fork and a knife. He placed it on the small table in front of the couch as you gulped down the coke. You already felt better as the sugar spread through your body.

"Thank you so much. Where I come from most people wouldn't care for strangers, like you're doing right now. I don't know how I can repay you." You said as you put down the can and took a piece of the lasagna. The man put up his hands and shook his head. "Oh please, don't worry about it. This is nothing, I'm just glad to be helping." You smiled at him in return and enjoyed the rest of the lasagna in silence as your body finally regained strength. After you were done you leaned back on the sofa and sighed. "Now that was a really good lasagna. I definitely need the recipe!" You said jokingly and the two of you laughed.

You two talked for a while longer before you noticed the time on a clock hanging on the wall. It was almost 11pm. You opened your eyes in shock and stood up abruptly. "It's so late already?! I'm so sorry, but I think I really need to go. Please, if there is any way to thank you, tell me." The man now also stood up and walked you to the front door. "Like I said before, I don't want anything in return. I'm just grateful to be of help." You smiled at him and went for a hug. It just felt right at that moment. He returned the gesture but you soon parted again. You unlocked your now almost fully loaded phone and checked the route to the hotel.

"Thanks for letting my phone charge as well, I don't think I would ever find my way back without it." You laughed as you stepped outside. By now the moon was shining high in the sky, making the night light up.

"If I'm not mistaken your way back shouldn't be too long. Please text me when you're back so I don't have to worry." The man said as handed you a piece of paper with his number. You smiled as you added him to your contacts.

"Oh, I don't think I've gotten your name, did I?" Now it was his time to laugh. "That's right, I believe. My name's Leonardo." You couldn't believe what you were hearing and let out a laugh. "No way. That's kind of a funny coincidence, my boyfriend is actually called Leon."

"Oh, well.. That really is a funny coincidence." Leonardo scratched his head as you two laughed again.

"Well, it was nice meeting you Leonardo, but I really have to go now. Maybe our paths will cross again." You waved him goodbye as you put in your earphones and followed the route that was presented on your display.

As you followed the instructions you felt like you were being watched. You looked around, not seeing anyone. Shaking your head you began walking faster, the feeling of being watched never vanishing. Just when you thought the feeling of being watched had gone you heard some footsteps behind you. You slowly pulled out your earphones and looked back. Nobody. "Jesus.. What is wrong with me?" You could already see the tall building you left earlier this day and felt relieved. Only a few more minutes and you were safe. From whatever it was that you felt afraid of. Not realizing you started walking faster again you suddenly tripped and fell to the ground, your phone sliding away. "Fuck.." You rubbed your knee and felt blood on your fingertips in return. You stood up with a pain filled groan and slowly went over to your phone. Just before you were able to reach it something hard hit the back of your head, sending you in a realm of darkness...

----

Taglist: @trinswhimsys @dixanadu @oppsie--channie

[thissortofsorcery]

I posted 814 times in 2022

That's 814 more posts than 2021!

32 posts created (4%)

782 posts reblogged (96%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@shieldofiron

@heartbuckley

@ariesbilly

@imsodishy

@vhagar-apologist

I tagged 129 of my posts in 2022

#harringrove - 35 posts

#billy hargrove - 25 posts

#billy x steve - 9 posts

#mine - 7 posts

#billy antis dni - 5 posts

#sorcery says - 5 posts

#steve harrington - 4 posts

#personal - 4 posts

#max mayfield - 3 posts

#so cute - 3 posts

Longest Tag: 135 characters

#i’m not sure what the rules are for interacting with minors in fandom are but let it be known i’m 27 if that makes anyone uncomfortable

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Harringrove social media AU (in a season 2 setting because that is my paradise land) where Billy makes surfing TikToks as a teenager, with a really good following and a promising career as a pro surfer. Until Neil moves the entire family to a landlocked state, and Billy knows it's to punish him.

There could be several reasons for this:

-Billy is becoming too independent from Neil;

-Someone questioned a bruise Billy didn't cover up well enough and now it's all over the internet;

-Billy was caught with a guy he was seeing;

-Billy's mom saw his TikToks and tried to get in touch, Neil had been keeping him from her;

And now Billy's in a town in the middle of nowhere, Indiana, two months into the school year, and everybody expects him to, what, be chill about it? Not care that Neil can just ruin his life and his career on a whim, and there's nothing he can do about it? Billy's raging, Billy's seething, Billy's hurt, and no one wants to or can help him. Susan won't lift a finger or say anything against Neil, looks down every time his dad raises his voice or his hand to hit Billy. And Max- Max is furious with him, blames him for the move like he was the one who decided to pack everything, like he was the one who sold his board and packed the cars and bought the ugly house on Cherry Lane.

What the hell is Billy supposed to do now? He's a senior and he had no plans of going to college, hasn't even thought of applying anywhere. His account is going to die out if he doesn't post anything, and who can guarantee he can raise it from the dead in a year if he makes it back to California once he's eighteen? He needs the TikTok money to make it back to California anyway. He's screwed. He's so screwed.

On the other side of this, is Steve. Steve is a gaming streamer and youtuber, or was- is. He's trying, okay? But ever since- everything, he can't play horror games anymore. He used to stream horror games pretty much exclusively, had whole events for it, charity streams, sponsorships, and then the whole Upside Down thing happened, and he knows his role in it was minor, okay, he knows he was there just for the tail end of it, but a seven-feet tall monster with a flower for a face coming out of the ceiling of the Byers house was both his starting and breaking point, apparently.

His channel was pretty good. Pretty stable. Then he tried to stream Blair Witch about a week after everything and had a panic attack on stream. Things didn't get better after that.

Nancy got him into Animal Crossing, because it's soothing, so he streams that now. And The Sims. Needless to say, his channel took a pretty big hit, as did his reputation. Like Tommy H. says, he turned bitch.

But it's fine, everything's fine. He's got Nancy, he's got a loyal online community that stayed after everything, even if it's small and no one's anywhere near Hawkins. He's got his SAD (Steve After Dark) Streams for when he can't sleep. Halloween is coming up and he's maybe sad he's not doing Spooktober this year, but. Maybe on the last week. Maybe on Halloween Day. If Nancy doesn't want to go to Tina's party.

Billy and Steve collide pretty much the same way. Steve is on edge and Billy is on edge, then the world's ugliest dogs are let out, and Maxine sneaks out, and Billy finds her in a house full of boys and an 18 year old washed out streamer who lies to him about it. Next thing Billy knows he's waking up in a half-destroyed kitchen with an empty syringe two feet from him, car gone, and not a single person in sight.

On Monday, Harrington's face looks bad. It's been a while since Billy's felt this guilty about putting a bruise on someone's face, but he knows he lost it a little, that night. Went too far. He doesn't remember most of it, and Billy doesn't know if that's from whatever drugs Maxine shot him with or from just- anger. Remorse just clogs his throat and he can't breathe. He decides to stay the fuck away from Harrington.

And then Tommy H. just has to take pictures of them, make a damn video, post it to Instagram and TikTok and tag them both. Of course it goes viral.

Billy spends a full week in a state of panic. He fully expects Harrington to press charges now. 

(Steve, similarly, is panicking. He streams family friendly content now. He can't just get into fights. He can't stream until his face heals as it is.)

Billy feels even more like shit when his follower count goes up and his account sees more activity than it has since the move. Like it's a reward for beating up Harrington, or something. It's not right. 

(The same happens to Steve.)

So Billy has an idea. He wants to apologize to Harrington. Wants to make it up to him. Maybe he can help him get his popularity back, get his channel to how it used to be, somehow. And if it keeps his own account alive, well. 

It takes a little convincing, but Steve agrees. Dustin is trying to get him into his nerdy games, but Steve isn't sure he likes them. Steve's been having a hard time, since the second round with the Upside Down. He can't sleep, can't focus, Nancy went off with Jonathan. So maybe he wants a distraction, okay? Maybe he wants something that isn't life or death.

So Billy and Steve start a partnership of sorts. Steve films a couple of youtube videos playing co-op games with Billy. Branches out to TikTok, maybe. Starts bringing Billy to his streams, at first just to hang out and then to take over and play some stuff. Billy manages to burn down Steve's entire 9th generation legacy mansion on The Sims in 30 minutes. Billy and Steve play Dead By Daylight together, and Steve feels increasingly comfortable playing horror games with Billy around. 

It's working so well for Steve, he decides he wants to pay it back. So he teaches Billy to ice skate so they can make content for Billy's TikTok. Steve takes Billy sledding when it snows. Billy films Steve falling asleep in unlikely places during the day and not waking up when Billy piles things on him. 

Steve hunts down and finds Billy's old surfing board that Neil sold and buys it back.

At some point, Steve becomes Billy's best friend. If he could- If they could, Billy would- They could be more, Billy thinks. But they're all over the internet, and Billy doesn't think Neil watches their content, but word can get back to him really easily. People like to speculate as it is. It's a small fucking town. 

The climax would be, of course, getting Billy out of Neil's house. Getting Neil arrested. So Billy can be free.

(Feel free to explore and play with this AU as you like!!)

225 notes - Posted November 15, 2022

#4

Billy tried not to, is the thing. But it’s like his body has a mind of its own. It’s often like that when it comes to Harrington.

It was an accident at first. Harrington tripped just as Billy had been walking by, and his chest had crashed straight into Billy’s. The surprise of it had nearly sent them both to the ground, but Billy had managed to hold them both up somehow, grip tight on Harrington’s elbows.

He was so warm.

Billy had shoved him off, barked out a “Watch it, Harrington!” and walked away.

A month later, Billy can’t call it an accident anymore.

If Billy times it just right, he’s walking back from the nook where the vending machines are hidden just as Harrington’s walking towards them. More often than not, Harrington will trip on the uneven tile or be distracted with conversation. More often than not, he’ll bump into Billy.

Billy’s started to count down the minutes to this accidental touch everyday. He tries not to. But when the hands of the clock start inching closer to their lunch period he starts remembering it: the warmth of Harrington’s skin through his clothes. The hair on his arms when his sleeves are rolled up. The hardness of his bicep when Billy grips it to hold them both up. If he’s lucky, Steve might steady himself with a hand on Billy’s chest, right where his buttons are undone.

Billy shifts in his seat.

He didn’t use to be like this, during basketball season. Now that that’s over he finds himself looking for Harrington everywhere, hungry for a glimpse of his mop of brown hair, craving accidental touches.

Not so accidental, on Billy’s part.

Ms. Garret’s still talking about homework, at the front of the class. The clock hands are ticking, always closer to lunch, but never fast enough.

Billy’s leg bounces under his desk. The teacher’s going on about exercise sheets Billy’s not gonna turn in. He leans back in his chair, looks out the window. Casual. He’s not antsy. He’s not.

The bell rings.

Billy’s out of his seat like a shot. Harrington’s classroom is closer to the cafeteria. Billy takes large strides to the cafeteria, doesn’t stop by his locker on the way.

When he crosses the wide cafeteria doors, he slows. Tries to pinpoint where Harrington is. Like a sixth sense, he sees him a few feet behind him out the corner of his eye.

Harrington’s wearing the red sweater today, sleeves rolled up. His hair looks extra floppy. He’s talking to Wheeler, pointing to the vending machines.

Billy sets off.

It’s quick work. Shove coins in. Get soda. Watch out the corner of his eye for Harrington.

Here he comes.

Billy turns around.

One step. Two. Harrington’s sneaker catches on the broken tile of the cafeteria floor, and he crashes into Billy, a quiet “shit” murmured under his breath. Billy grabs onto him, one hand on a lean bicep, the other on a hairy forearm. Harrington gets his feet under him, but they’re still pressed close, hips nearly touching. Harrington’s hand is splayed on his chest, fingers wide, nudging under his open shirt.

“Watch it, Harrington,” Billy says. Not barks, not yells. Just says. His voice is rough, like he gargled glass. Their faces are close.

“Sorry,” Harrington mumbles, face going pink. He’s just an inch or two taller than Billy, but it feels like nothing. They’re so close. Harrington’s eyes flicker to Billy’s mouth, so quickly Billy might’ve missed it if he hadn’t been watching Harrington’s face so intently.

Without his permission, his thumb strokes Harrington’s forearm. Steve breathes in sharply.

Somewhere beyond them, someone drops their lunch tray, and the clatter lurches them apart. Like they’d never touched at all, Billy heads to the cafeteria doors, Steve continues to the vending machines.

At the threshold, Billy glances over his shoulder. He can’t help it.

Harrington’s heading back to Wheeler, Coke in hand. He sidesteps the broken tile expertly.

When Billy looks up at Harrington’s face, he’s looking back at him, with a little smirk on his face. It can’t be- Can it?

Billy shakes his head. Nah. No way Harrington would go out of his way just to bump into Billy.

He goes to his car to smoke it off.

272 notes - Posted December 13, 2022

#3

It takes a while for Billy to notice, but there’s something to the warm feeling that spreads across his chest whenever he sees Steve.

He knows he can’t get enough of Steve. Can’t get enough of how he looks at Billy from under his lashes when he’s flirting, of how he tosses his head back when he laughs, of the long line of his neck, of his moles.

But there’s something else to how their eyes meet across a room, a light to Steve’s eyes when they land on Billy, like-

It takes Billy a while to put his finger on it. It’s been a long time since someone’s looked happy to see him.

Every time Steve looks at him, it’s there. That glint in his eyes like, hey, there you are. It’s different than looking at Billy like he’s hot, Billy knows he’s smoking, but Steve looks at him like… Like his presence is something good. Like he wants him there.

Billy’s not used to that.

Steve’s sitting with Robin and Dustin in the corner booth at the diner when Billy comes in with Max, and he’s laughing at something they’re saying, but when his eyes land on Billy his whole face changes. His smile looks like it… grows, somehow.

He leans his whole body towards Billy and says,

“Billy, hey!” In that bright voice he gets when he’s happy, Steve’s happy.

Happy to see Billy walk in the door.

Billy’s sure his face is doing the goofiest, sappiest expression, looking back at Steve. Just grinning at each other like fools in the middle of the diner.

Just happy to be there, where the other is.

290 notes - Posted December 7, 2022

#2

Billy’s just put his jacket back on. His boots go on next. His earring dangles in his ear with the movement, and his back and ass ache when he rises back up. Sore.

It’s dark in the entryway of Harrington’s house at three in the morning, quiet and still hours before the sun rises. Billy hadn’t meant to fall asleep. But Steve had barely rolled off of him, one leg tangled between his, nose in his hair, and Billy was so warm and comfortable- He hadn’t meant to. It was a mistake.

He shouldn’t be there when Harrington wakes up, Steve would regret it for sure.

Steve wouldn’t want anything serious with a guy. With Billy.

He’s got his keys out of his jacket pocket when he hears it,

“Where are you going?” Steve’s voice comes from the stairs, hoarse with sleep, making Billy jump.

Steve’s in the middle of the steps with only his underwear on, the line of hickeys down his chest and halfway to his stomach that Billy put there fully exposed, a grumpy confused frown on his face. Arms crossed like he’s cold.

“I’m just heading out,” Billy says softly, unwilling to break the cover of the dark. It feels like they’re inside a dome, here in the entryway, close together but far apart.

Steve comes down the steps slowly, and his feet barely make any noise on the carpet. Billy doesn’t look away from his eyes. They’re not clouded with sleep, anymore, and they’re honed in on Billy like lasers.

“It’s the middle of the night, man,” He says, like Billy hasn’t left in the dead of night countless times before. Like they’re not used to hookups in their cars.

“Yeah,” Billy steps back, because Steve just keeps coming closer. “I’ll get out of your hair, princess. Go back to bed.”

He means to say it mean, but it comes out- soft. Like a whisper.

“Billy,” Steve says, and he’s smiling. Why is he smiling.

Steve’s hand touches his chest where Billy didn’t bother to button his shirt, his pinky nudges a nipple on purpose. Billy’s breath hitches.

Billy knows his eyes are wide, his mouth is open. He looks up from Steve’s hand to his face, and Steve looks so fond, so- He’s looking from Billy’s eyes to his mouth like he wants to kiss him.

He does kiss him.

Billy drops his keys. The need to get his hands on Steve’s face is sudden, urgent, like he has to hold on to him or he’ll fade away, or change his mind. He needs to hold Steve’s face to his or he’ll lose the press of Steve’s soft lips, lose the tongue pressing in to curl against his own.

Steve’s hands are clutching at his jacket tightly, pulling Billy in at the same time his body wants to press Billy into the door. It takes Billy a minute to realize Steve is trying to yank off his jacket, pulling roughly at his shoulders. He has to let go of Steve’s face to take it off, but he does it one hand at a time, and he trades it for pressing biting kisses into Steve’s mouth at the same time. He’ll hold on with his teeth if he has to.

Distantly, he hears his keys jangle against the floor, like they’ve been kicked away.

“Stay,” Steve pulls back to pant into his mouth. His eyes look right into Billy’s. There’s a look to them, half-scared, half-shy. Steve’s hands are tight on Billy’s waist. “Stay with me.”

He presses a kiss to the corner of Billy’s mouth, licks between his lips. Billy surges up, catches his bottom lip in his teeth, bruises a kiss on his mouth so intense Steve’s head moves with his nod.

“Yeah,” He says, and rests his forehead on Steve’s. Their noses brush together. “Okay.”

333 notes - Posted December 9, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Billy doesn’t know it yet, but a lot of things in his life change because of Steve Harrington.

Billy’s hiding in the library when he overhears it. He’s ditching calculus because he can’t stand Mr. Hermann’s voice on a good day, the way the old man talks like he’s shouting, and Billy’s head is still ringing from where Neil hit it on a shelf last night because he was late getting Maxine home for dinner.

Billy would normally spend his voluntary free period smoking outside, but it’s fucking snowing today- just one more thing to be grateful about December in goddamn Hawkins, Indiana.

That’s why he’s sitting at a table that’s kind of out of the way in the library, hidden behind the biology section. He yanked out a book about the ocean to look at the pictures to distract himself until next period.

That’s when he hears them talking. Harrington and Wheeler.

“Mike says Dustin’s driving him crazy,” Wheeler’s saying softly, from across the shelves hiding Billy. “He won’t shut up about you.”

“We’ve been hanging out,” Harrington says, just as quietly, and his voice sounds like it’s coming out through a smile. Billy tries not to picture it in his mind. “He’s cool, you know, for a middle schooler.”

Harrington says it like he’s annoyed, but his tone can’t be anything but fond. It’s ridiculous. Billy’s seen Harrington driving around the dweebs Maxine’s friends with, has seen them at the arcade and at the diner, so he knows Harrington’s been hanging around them like an overgrown mother hen. Billy can’t make sense of it.

“You seem better,” Wheeler says, after a moment of silence, and there’s something hesitant about it. “Lately, I mean. Lighter.”

Harrington doesn’t answer, and Billy wishes he could see what his face looks like. He’d noticed Harrington had been looking rough since November, even after the bruising had faded, with bags under his eyes and hollow cheeks. A blank stare, like he was somewhere else in his head.

“Dustin’s a great kid,” Harrington repeats, kind of distantly. Then in a rush he says, like the words will disappear if he doesn’t get them out, “He’s been calling me in the walkie some nights. He can’t sleep either.”

“Oh, Steve…”

“So we talk a lot. About, you know… Being there for him, it helps.”

They go silent. It’s clear something happened to the kid, and to Harrington, and Billy doesn’t care- except something happened to Max, too. She’s been quiet, and spooked, since That Night. Billy wonders if whatever happened to them happened then, after they left him drugged on the floor.

“I always wanted a little brother,” Harrington cuts through the silence. Wheeler makes a soft noise like she’s listening. “I hated being alone all the time. I thought it would be like having a friend for life, you know. Then I got older, and my dad… I don’t think… I think that if I had a brother, my dad would make us resent each other,” He says, like a confession, and it sits like a stone in Billy’s stomach.

“You can’t know that, Steve…” Wheeler says softly.

“No, I know. It’s just a feeling,” Billy hears Harrington shift, then the shelf wobbles, like he’s leaning on it. “You know what my dad’s like, with me. I keep thinking, if I had a brother… He’d be comparing us all the time. Pitting us against each other. Makes us tell on each other. To make sure we were alone. I don’t know,” He huffs, and mocks himself with a little laugh. “Like you said, it’s stupid.”

Billy has to swallow past a lump in his throat. His hands are clenched into fists. It sounds a little too familiar, Harrington’s feelings about his father. Neil knows how to be an asshole too, especially about Maxine, and being a good big brother. Makes a point of disciplining Billy about it. Except all it does is make him hate Max.

“Maybe it’s not,” Wheeler says, and her voice is firm this time. Maybe she’s holding Harrington’s hand, even. “He really is an asshole.”

Harrington snorts, but it’s still a little sad, “Thanks, Nance.”

Billy sinks lower in his seat, careful not to make noise. He feels suddenly exhausted. The ringing in his head feels worse than ever.

“This is better, with Dustin,” Harrington says. “He’s awesome. And the other kids too.”

And my dad can’t touch him, he doesn’t say, but Billy hears it all the same.

Eventually, Harrington and Wheeler leave and Billy’s alone again behind his bookshelves, with the marine biology book he hasn’t looked at in half an hour. Harrington’s words don’t leave him though.

Billy knows his resentment of Max mostly comes from how his dad treats her, he’s aware enough of that. He hates that she never suffers the consequences of the shit the does, that she can do no wrong in Neil’s eyes, that she and Susan make up Neil’s idea of a perfect family and Billy doesn’t.

It hadn’t occurred to Billy that Neil could be doing all of it deliberately. This whole time he thought his dad wanted him to like Max - wanted him to be a good big brother. He never thought it could be all a part of a different game, to make him hate Max and make Max hate him.

What was it that Harrington said? To make sure we were alone.

Easy to control.

That’s what Neil likes, isn’t it.

Billy ends up ditching the rest of the day. He can’t stomach the thought of sitting in a classroom listening to teachers droning on about shit while his head’s buzzing with memories trying to reorganize themselves. This can’t be right. He can’t have gotten it this wrong. Billy’s too old to be this dumb, to fall for this shit.

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418 notes - Posted December 8, 2022

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[lmanburs]

hey I haven’t had an interest in the dsmp for like two years but now I’m curious. what does Utah have to do with this

Sorry I'm just thinking about how insane this may seem to people who haven't been keeping up with the lore

Basically during Wilbur's finale stream, he finally tells Tommy where he's been planning on going since the beginning of his Apology Tour arc. Turns out, c!Wilbur is canonically from Utah and worked at a gas station for 16 years before eventually moving to the Dream SMP. Now he wants to return to his roots, which he plans on doing by sailing to Utah by boat, a landlocked state. He has, in fact, accomplished this and was teleported into a random desert in Utah. So... happy ending I think

[thegeminisage]

The night before she was due to be released from the hospital, Beth made her decision. All her life she'd been hearing people say no one gets out of the life, sometimes joking, sometimes somber—well, none of those people were Elizabeth Elkins. If she was going to be given a second chance, she refused to squander it chasing monsters for no reward and little thanks. Her dreams came with no guarantees, and it was time to seize those she could still reach. Determination got her body upright and moving towards the door.

A voice in the hallway said, "Elizabeth?"

She turned to meet Bill's inquiring eyes, one hand in her suitcase and the other holding the bandages across her empty belly. "I'm leaving," she blurted. "The life. The family. All of it." Bill wasn't an Elkins by blood, but he had been by their side for years, and Beth suddenly faced the unpleasant prospect that she would be leaving him behind too. "I'm sorry."

Bill nodded slowly. "Can I ask you a question first?" he said. Beth bit her lip to stave off the prickling feeling in her eyes and nodded back. Then he did something she would never have expected in a million years: he knelt down, opened a small box, and said, "Can I come with you?"

Much later, he confessed that he'd prepared an entire speech, but in the moment Beth didn't give him time for any of that—she grabbed him and said yes, kissed him within an inch of his life, and pulled him out into the open air where no one could follow them. They fled town that night and found a courthouse the next morning, where Bill Turner made Beth Turner his lawfully-wedded wife.

"Like time-turner," said Bill, because he has always been an enormous nerd. He held her hand the entire time. "We're starting over. A new beginning."

1. these dumb heterosexual ocs invented romance 2. we switched it to a harry potter reference because of uhhh everything that...came out about that later...and then it turned out that LITERALLY wasn’t any better fuck. that being said, we did leave beth with her love of the sea - a reference to potc, partially, but also tragic since she lives out the rest of her life in a landlocked state (who would think to look for her there?).