#sure ill participate for a couple days why not

[turboemmy]

the villains...

[fanttasttica]

One plus one makes three

Rhysand x reader

After your one night stand with the High lord, you hadn't expected to see him ever again, but fate had other plans. You are pregnant, carrying the High lord's first child and you need to tell him. How is he going to react? And what will that mean for you?

Warnings: nothing (I think.. If you find anything, please let me know :D )

Words: 4129

Authors note: Thanks for participanting inthe voting! Since this idea got the most votes, i wrote it first. My next story will be on theme "enemies to lovers" :D

You weren't that type of a girl who got drunk every weekend and had a sex with males whose names you haven't bothered to learn. No.. So why was the universe punishing you for this? It was one night, only one. You were celebrating your birthday with some friends at Rita's, when you spotted the most beautiful male that ever existed. He was tall, seemed strong and there was this dark aura around him. He was undoubtedly powerful, but instead of fearing him, something dragged you to him. After some time you were watching each other from afar, he came up to you and asked you to dance. It was during your time on the dancing floor, when you found out it was no other than High lord or the Night cour, your High lord. It was the first time you saw him, the first time you talked to him and you thought it would also be probably the last. Maybe you ended up in his bed that night, but it was supposed to be only a one night stand, but fate decided otherwise. 

You weren't feeling well for a couple of days. Your friends were pushing you to see a healer and today you finally gave in. You visited your healer on the other side of the town, thinking she will brush it off, tell you to rest for another couple of days and eat chicken broth, you hated, but no. This wasn't only some illness you could get rid of after a few days. This would last for at least a couple of months and then the real fun would begin. You were pregnant. Carrying an heir to the Night court in your womb. Your stomach was still flat and if it weren't for your morning sickness and tiredness, you wouldn't have noticed you were pregnant yet. After finding that out, you thanked and said goodbye to your healer, leaving in a hurry. As if running from her would also mean that you would run from your situation. Unfortunately for you, that didn't happen. Symptoms still bothered you in the following days, reminding you about how screwed you were. 

“What are you going to do?” Your friends were curious, of course. And honestly you were too. “I have no idea. I am.. I only saw him once.” You answered her while running your hand through your hair. “Yeah, you saw him once. You slept with him once and you ended up pregnant.. I can't believe your luck.” It was hard to say if she was speaking ironically or not, because you wouldn't call yourself lucky. This wasn't some blessing. You weren't against children, you actually liked them and hoped one day you will have one, this was simply quite early for you and certainly with the wrong man. He maybe was a High lord, but you were an ordinary fae. He probably already forgot about your existence. “I don't even know how to contact him. Should I go back to Rita's in the hope I will meet him there? Should I send him a letter and tell him about this? And what should I write in it? Do I really have to tell him?” Not telling him anything and running to another court was an idea you were also toying with. “You can not possibly mean that! He deserves to know. And besides that, lies or secrets are always exposed in the end. He is the most powerful High lord of all times.. Do you really think you can keep this as a secret your whole life? Your kids' whole life?” You sighed in defeat and shook your head. “No, that's stupid.. I.. I just need another few days to collect my thoughts and think about ways to contact and tell him.” 

Few days passed by and you still weren't sure what to do. Why does it have to be so complicated? If he weren't the High lord, you would already have told him. It would make everything so much easier for both of you. It was pointless to cry over a spilled milk, but you couldn't help yourself, blaming it on your hormones. One day, you had enough of it. Enough of hiding in your room, crying and cursing on him and yourself. You were determined to find him, tell him about this and return home, so you could finally have some good rest without constantly thinking about this, because currently you were losing your head. You decided to try to find Rhysand again at Rita's. It seemed better to ask him for a minute there than marching to his house and demanding he would see you. You friends were supportive, not leaving you to be all alone. There always was at least one of them by your side, although you weren't finding it necessary, it was a nice gesture you appreciated. The first night you spent here looking for you, you hadn't had any luck, likewise the second or third night. But after sitting on the bar stool for the fourth night in a row, you finally saw him. He was talking to his friends, with a smile on his handsome face, unaware that his life was about to change drastically. 

Your heart started beating faster than ever before. In normal situations, you were a calm person, but obviously not today. “You should hurry and go speak to him, before other girls start to throw themself on him.” You swallowed hard.“Yeah.. I am going right now.” You tried to put on a neutral face and started walking towards him, even though everything in you screamed to run away. Suddenly, you were standing right before him and his friends, who were measuring you with interest in their eyes. You simply nodded at them in greeting and looked at the High lord. “You probably don't remember me, but we met here a while ago.. And I need to speak with you. It's urgent. ” At first you were worried he was going to send you away. He raised one eyebrow, but nodded and put away his drink, following you outside. Cold air hit you immediately, so you hugged yourself, before turning to face him. “I remember you, don't worry.” You weren't expecting that. “Yeah.. that's good.” It made a few things easier for you. Now you know there isn't a need to explain to him when you met and what you did together that night. “So? What did you need to tell me?” He was curious, of course. Maybe expecting you to try to seduce him, as many girls certainly did in the past, but there was nothing that could prepare him for this. “I am pregnant and it's yours.” 

There weren't many people who managed to surprise the High lord of the Night court. And even the least people managed to surprise him so much that he couldn't think of a reaction for the first few seconds. He was stunned, looking at you as if you were from another unknown world, so you took word once again. “To be honest.. I expected a worse reaction..” You sighed and looked at the ground. “I don't want anything from you. I want and will keep the baby, but if you don't want to, you don't have to be involved in the baby's life. I have people who will help me and also have enough money to take care of it. So.. It's up to you.” And with that, you left him standing outside alone, returning to your friends.

“How did it go? Did he take it well?” Immediately after your return, you were flooded with questions. You shrugged and drank water from your glass. “He was clearly surprised. I told him I don't expect anything from him and assured him it's his choice, if he wants to be involved or not and then left.” They laughed. “You told him this and just left him standing there alone? Oh my Cauldron, I would pay to see his face.” Maybe you would also laugh at this, only if it weren't you who was in this situation. You put one of your hands on your stomach. It was weird and also.. magical, knowing that right now, you are creating a new life. “He returned to his friends and is talking with them.” Your friend whispered to your ears. You could feel several pairs of eyes watching you. Shaking your head, you smiled at them. “Let's talk about something else for a while and try to enjoy this night.” You desperately needed some distraction and opportunity to think about anything else. In the end, the reason why you were here today was done and you deserved some break from this too. 

The next day, you were woken up by the Sun. After you forgot to close the curtains last night, there was nothing that could stop morning rays from tickling your eyes. Like any other day before, you were thinking, if you weren't dreaming this whole time, but morning sickness was clear evidence that in fact you were not. After brushing your teeths and hair, you dressed up, put on black leggings and your favorite jumper, you were ready for the day. For the last couple of days, you took time off from your job. It wasn't that hard,since you were running a small bakery with your friends and they almost forced you to stay at home. But today, you were determined to return. You wanted to start living normally again. There isn't a chance that you will spend a whole pregnancy locked in your room. You will take things slowly, so there is no chance for something to happen and it will all be good. 

Your day has been going just fine. After coming to work, you could finally be able to feel like a few weeks ago, like nothing was going on. Well, that was until the bell rang, announcing the arrival of another customer you should greet. After you look up, you find no one other than the High lord himself. “Shouldn't you be resting?” You raised your eyebrow. “Hello to you too.. I assure you I am rested well enough.” He came closer, the only thing between you was a counter, behind which you stood. “You don't need to work. I will take care of both of you.” You shook your head. “There is no need for that. I can work, what's more important, I want to work. I love my job.” Something in his face told you, he took this as a challenge. “You are pregnant with my child. I think I should have a say in this matter.” This whole conversation was uncomfortable for both of you. You both were very determined to do it in your way. And the fact that you were strangers had not been helping at all. You didn't know how to treat each other. “Then I guess we need to find some compromise.”

You weren't exactly thrilled with how some things turned out in the end, but on the other hand, it could be worse. After a long talk with Rhysand, how he told you to call him, you end up agreeing to stop working when you are halfway through your pregnancy, but that is not all. During those few weeks you will still be working, there will always be someone with you, during your shift. Practically, members of Rhys's Inner circle were supposed to babysit you. You knew it would be very unusual for you, but you were hoping that in a couple of days you will be able to ignore them or befriend them. You also agreed on moving in with Rhysand and his Inner circle, three weeks before the baby was supposed to be born and staying for at least a couple of months. “Honestly, I am surprised that you want to be so involved..” You mumbled. You two were talking almost your whole shift, which was coming to the end right now. “It's my baby, of course I want to be involved. We have to take care of her or him. Which brings me to my last point today.” He took your silence as a cue to continue. “We should get married.” You weren't sure what you were expecting, but this was certainly not it. Almost dropping a tray with two last gingerbreads, you turned to face him. His face was serious, there was no sign that he was just kidding, but you laughed lightly even so. “Good one. I am not marrying only because I am pregnant.” But he didn't let you brush that off so easily. “Why? It would be better. You would live in luxury for the rest of your life and I would have an heir.” Without this union, this baby would only be a bastard in the others eyes, you were aware of that, but you couldn't do this. “I already told you, I am comfortable with the life I am living. I don't need jewelry or fancy dresses. I was always determined to marry for love or not at all. And I am not changing my mind.” 

The weeks passed one by another. As Rhys promised, from the very next day, his friends started accompanying you, during your work. Sometimes, it was Morrigan you befriended quite quickly. It was because of her friendly personality. She was treating you like a friend from the start, promising you to always help you with the baby. Almost every time she came, she was bringing something for you or the baby. You It almost didn't make sense for you to go shopping for things for the baby since she was the one doing it. Then there were Cassian and Azriel. They also were friendly, but it took a little longer to get used to them, but after you started feeding them sweets from your shop, they warmed up to you and you were chatting like an old friend. The last person who you saw maybe two times was Amren. She wasn't rude, but when she was there, she was doing her own work and since you didn't want to disturb her, you hadn't talked so much. As for Rhys, he was visiting you every other day before and after your shift. The communication between you two was better and sometimes, you caught yourself staring at him, when he was talking to his friends and since that was exactly what got you into this situation in the first place, you weren't happy with yourself. 

“This is your last day, isn't it?” Morrigan was sitting on a table, smiling at you as you were counting the money before closing the register. “Yeah.. I still can't believe it.” You were half through your pregnancy and your bump was already showing a little. Fortunately, the morning sickness and tiredness have passed you by now. You were feeling great. “I don't know what I am going to do with my free time.” She shrugged. “You can read.. Paint.. Shop for the baby..” You chuckled at the last thing. “Thanks to you, the baby has more than enough clothes. And I pursue all my hobbies even when I am working.. Rhys is thinking that I will only lay in bed, eat and sleep, but that's simply not possible. I would lose my head after one week.” She smiled at you sympathetically. “My cousin behaves sometimes like a mother hen. I believe you, when you say it's annoying.. But you have to endure it only for another couple of weeks..” That wasn't helping. “I am not like a mother hen. I don't know what you two are talking about.”  You only noticed Rhysand, who was leaning against the door frame, now. “Yeah, you are worse.” You mumbled, after recovering from the shock he gave you. “You are hurting my feelings, dear Y/N.” You pursed your lips at him. “How are you going to recover from this?” His laughter filled the room and forced you to chuckle a little bit too. “When will you two finally get together? You are perfect for each other.” Neither of you answered her. 

As you expected, you were bored only after a week of not working. Sure, you had your friends and also new friends from Inner circle, but it wasn't enough. They also had work and their lives. So you decided to go bother the man who was responsible for your boredom, Rhysand. You already visited his home, he gave you permission to come and go as you pleased, so you decided to pay him a visit today with some sweet desserts from the bakery for him and a jar of pickles for you. The other symptoms of pregnancy passed, but this one, love for pickles, remained. You knocked twice on the mahagon door that led to his office and waited for his response, before opening them and walking in. “I am bored and it's your fault.” Rhys leaned back in his chair and narrowed his eyes. “How is that my fault?” He obviously wasn't understanding your logic. Maybe it was because he was a male or maybe because his brain was not affected by hormones. “You didn't want me to work anymore, so I don't have anything to do and in addition to that, I am already sick of some things that I normally like! It's frustrating.” You sat on the chair across from him. “I need to finish these papers, but once I am done, I actually know what we could do together.. Until then, you are welcome to stay.” You thought about it for a while and nodded. “Okay, I will wait. And I would almost forget. This is for you. Morrigan told me you like this.” You moved the dessert tray across the table in front of him. He looked surprised and also very happy. “Thank you, it's nice of you, but you didn't have to do that.” You shrugged, picked up one pickle and ate it before replying to him. “I wanted you. Sweet is good for the nerves. And you'll need a lot of nerve to put up with my moods.”

There was a comfortable silence. Rhys was working, you were eating pickles and watching him. During this time, you found out some other new things about him. For example, every time he tried to concentrate intensely, he furrowed his brow, when he was thinking about something, he tapped his pen on the table.. “I didn't know I was so interesting to you.” You blinked a few times, before you realized he probably noticed that you were staring directly at him for the past few minutes. “I was just thinking how can I protect our child from inheriting your crooked nose.” He chuckled and looked at you, still smiling. “Your love for me is touching.” You rolled your eyes playfully. “Are you almost done? I am running out of pickles.” He put the papers aside and nodded. “Lucky for you, yes. We can go now.”

You had to admit that his house was beautiful. It was so spacious, but cozy at the same time. It felt like home. During the tour Rhys gave you, you were imagining your life here. Imagining a little girl running around the corridors and Rhysand following her, while they are both laughing.. “There are only two other rooms I want to show you.” You offered him a small smile, “Okay, lead the way.” After climbing a few stairs, you reached the next floor of the house Rhys walked to the end of the corridor. “This is my room and right next to it..” He opened the door and let you walk in first. You gasped at the sight before you. It was a nursery. The walls were white and decorated with painted gold stars. Everything was ready. Closets full of baby clothes and other necessary things. Crib was in the middle of the room, filled with some stuffed animals and more blankets than needed. Tears welled up in your eyes. “It's so beautiful! Did you do it by yourself?” You asked, turning to Rhysand who was watching you with a happy expression. “Most of the things, although Cassian and Azriel had to help me to build the crib.. I am the most powerful High lord, but that thing is terrible.” You laughed at the idea of ​​the three strongest Illyrian warriors having trouble assembling a crib. “And Morrigan got the clothes.” You nodded, recognizing some pieces. “Thank you, really.” He walked towards you and carefully took your hand to his. “You don't have to thank me. I was happy to do it. After all, I promised you that I would spoil both you and the child.” The fact that your child was going to be spoiled was certain. And probably no amount of strictness couldn't prevent that. “As for spoiling you.. I also have room ready for you.”

It wasn't until Rhys pointed them out that you noticed a door not far from the crib. “This door leads to your room. And the door opposite.. to mine, so I can come and help you with the baby during the night or you can easily come to my room, if you would need it at any time.” It was practical, better than having to run to the hall and knock on his door there. “Are you ready to see it?” With this, he caught your attention once again. “Of course.” 

You fell in love with your room the first second you walked in. Rhys made sure the walls were painted in your favorite color. There was a table, not so far from the window. On the other side is a bookcase with a rocking chair next to it. The walk-in closet was the same size as your bathroom, which was as luxurious as everything else. “Okay.. Now I am really looking forward to moving in here.” You joked and lay on your big bed. Blanket was so soft you wanted nothing else than getting tangled up in it and never getting out. Rhys sat on your bed, watching you with a grin. “And I thought you said you didn't need a life of luxury..” He said playfully. As a response, you slapped him gently on his hand. “I don't need it. But I have to admit, it's nice.” You sat up and rested your head on his shoulder. He hugged you, with one of his hands, around your waist and placed his hand on your stomach, stroking it gently. “Only the best for you.”

Many weeks passed and now.. As you predicted, you were holding a baby girl in your arms. Your and Rhysand's baby girl. Your birth was quite easy, thankfully. You were happy. Rhys was all over the moon, not leaving you alone for one minute. The others were not better, they pushed each other away, only to get a better view of her, before Madja told them to leave, since you need to rest. So now, it was only you, Rhys and your little star. “I know I already said it.. But thank you.” You looked in his eyes and smiled. “I thank you. Afterall, this takes two.” Although most of the job was done by you, Rhys was amazing to you this whole time. Treating you like a queen. “I am really.. glad for this. Finding out I was going to be a father was shocking, I will not lie, but.. I am just really happy.” Hearing this made your heart jump with joy. “Yeah.. I am too. I am glad I met you. And I have to admit.. I grew fond of you.” He chuckled deeply and kissed the top of your head. “Does that mean you will marry me then? And I assure you.. I am not asking out of some obligation, because we have a child together.” Rhys was ready to give you time to think, but you didn't need it. It wasn't love at first sight with him. You were falling in love with him for a while, but now you were sure that he was your happy ending. Well.. him and your daughter. That's why there wasn't a trace of hesitation when you answered him, “I will.”

[calmcoldevening]

Sup! What do you think Bubba would be like (maybe his family too?) with a reader that is really compassionate but with frail health (gets sick easily, kinda weak, etc)?

Bubba Sawyer x reader with frail health

• Bubba cares about you very much and worries when you feel bad. He is a rather soft-hearted and kind man, so your health and safety are above all for him. You're part of the family, and Bubba doesn't like his family to suffer.

• Bubba always tries to keep you out of danger and overload, so sometimes he fights with Drayton, who insists that you participate in family life, do various chores and even help catch victims. Bubba knows how bad it can be for you and tries to show it to Drayton.

• At first, the boys really didn't understand why Bubba was so desperate to keep you and take care of you, because you were quite weak and too kind, you cried almost because of the murder of each victim. It often got on his nerves.

• Over time, Drayton also got used to you. He began to realize that for a person who has such poor health, human meat is not the best food option. Perhaps unconsciously, or perhaps out of pity, but Drayton began to bring home good, really healthy food more often. For example, some kind of fat chicken that he cooked in the best way especially for you. After all, he's a good cook and has a pretty good understanding of nutrition.

• The twins didn't really like the fact that you could be so easily brought to illness, because it meant that you weren't even involved in the simple capture of victims. But they're also used to you. You have become a caring older sister/brother to them.

• You were by nature a kind and merciful person, so you can say that you became the parent of all these men. You may not have been able to do all the work, but you always greatly improved their mood, helped them in any way you could, and just made them feel happy and loved.

• Maybe they were all a little crazy, but they really loved you and got attached to you.

• If they came across a particularly violent victim, the twins always made sure that no one hurt you. If this did happen, they finished the victim on the spot. Nubbins was particularly vindictive and sophisticated in this regard, he would make sure that after a while the victim would begin to beg for forgiveness. And after that, he will certainly make sure that everything is fine with you, and hint that he is waiting for praise.

• Yes, they all love these men when you praise them. Nubbins and Chop Top usually wait for a kiss on the forehead/cheek or stroking on the head. Drayton doesn't mind hugs, as the oldest and most collected. Well, Bubba, he always craves your affection and approval. Kiss him gently, hold him closer to your warm body, call him your good boy. Tell him that he did everything right, that he did a good job for you and the family.

• You often showed mercy to victims, and sometimes it went sideways. The first couple of times you even freed them, and they almost escaped. The boys were arguing for a long time then, but Bubba tried to shield you from them with his big body. He was mumbling nervously and just trying to calm you down, because you were already starting to cry.

• That's why most of the time, when there are victims in the house, the boys don't leave you alone. Although you didn't let anyone out of the basement anymore, you had to be safe.

• Perhaps one day, out of your kindness, you even left a small toddler of some victim. The toddler was so small and innocent, you just couldn't let them kill him. You held it in your arms for the rest of the evening, cradling him gently and whispering lullabies to it. Bubba fell in love with you like the first time.

• Bubba takes great care of you when you get really sick. He starts running around you and your bed like a hen with eggs. The boy blames himself for making you sick. He will carefully adjust your blanket, change the damp cloth on your forehead and bring you light food like chicken soup and warm tea into your room. And he'll make sure that while you're sick, the victims don't make a single loud sound. He doesn't want to disturb you.

[asongofstarkandtargaryen]

SOME THOUGHTS ON JON IX, ASOS

I've read the battle at the Wall a couple of times but this is the first time it hit me how much tiresome was for all the black brothers who participated in it.

Jon's point of view gives us a realistic perspective inside the mind of a soldier. He barely even has time to sleep and even when he does, the fighting haunts his dreams. And how could it not? When the fighting is so loud that even the rare moments a soldier has to relax, they can still hear it:

Day and night the axes rang.

Jon could not remember the last time he had slept. When he closed his eyes he dreamt of fighting; when he woke he fought. Even in the King's Tower he could hear the ceaseless thunk of bronze and flint and stolen steel biting into wood, at it was louder when he tried to rest in the warming shed at top of the Wall. Mance had sledgehammers at work as well, and long saws with teeth of bone and flint. Once, as he was drifting off into an exhausted sleep, there came a great cracking from the haunted forest, and a sentinel tree came crashing down in a cloud of dirt and needles.

Most of them are simply sleeping on the Wall as it would take them too much time to travel from Castle Black to the top of the Wall everytime they desperately need to relax. Of course, this fact makes their sleeping breaks less relaxing as they take place in the middle of the potential battlefield.

Few of them ever left the Wall these days. It took too long to ride up and down in the cage. Castle Black had been abandoned to Maester Aemon, Ser Wynton Stout, and a few others too old or ill to fight.

Taking into consideration what I've discussed so far it makes sense for Jon to mention that all these black brothers are too exhausted to even have conversations between them:

No one spoke. They were all too tired to talk.

I feel the need mention here and during these agonizing moments for all Black Brothers, Jon is still injured and using a crutch to walk around. What is more, he's their de facto leader so he has to put a brave face and be someone who can inspire and reassure the rest of his brothers.

He's insightful enough to realise that some unorthodox jokes of some of the brothers make ( mostly Pyp) let the rest of them feel better. While such japes would be considered unacceptable and offensive by other previous leaders ; Jon's allows them. Because what matters the most is to elevate the spirit of his soldiers, even if that means using unusual methods.

To give you the context here these japes and how they affect the soldiers:

"Here come our breakfast arrows" Pyp announced cheerfully, as he did every morning. It's good that he can make a jape of it, Jon thought. Someone has to. [...] Jon had to think that it was better for them to smile at Pyp's jest than brood over Alyn's corpse.

The brothers had even started wagering as to which of the straw sentinels would collect more arrows before they were done.[...] It was Pyp who'd started naming the scarecrows after their missing brothers, too. "It makes us it seem as if there's more of us," he said.

" More of us with arrows in our bellies," Grenn complained, but the custom did seem to give his brothers heart, so Jon let the names stand and the wagering continue".

Jon also makes sure that his men are all well rest ( or at least as well rest as they can be under these conditions). That's why he urges Grenn to go to sleep when the latter admit that he hasn't rested. And how the tables have turned! Because in the past it was Jon's superiors who had to force him to take care of himself. And now he's doing the same thing for someone else. ( it's small bits like this ones that show the growth of a character).

Speaking of a character's growth, Jon on this chapter also tries to take care of himself too. He forces himself to eat his meals because he knows that he needs his strength in order to be able to lead the men he's responsible for. His survival is no longer sorely personal matter, his survival also guarantees a better chance of survival for the men who follow his orders.

As himself notes the other brothers are waiting for him to give them orders:

Satin, Horse and the others were looking for him, Jon knew, waiting for his orders. He was too tired, he hardly knew anymore. The Wall is mine, he reminded himself.

And so, the teenage injured boy who still walks with a crutch and hasn't participated in previous battles continues to lead his black brothers.

If we take into consideration his lack of experiences and the fact that they were outnumbered by far then the resistance black brothers showed under his command was impressive. Jon Snow was born to lead men as this chapter ( among a couple of others) proves!

[sfb123]

Hands Down - Prologue

Pairing: Liam x Riley

All characters belong to Pixelberry

Summary: Can Liam and Riley still find their way to each other despite Riley turning down Maxwell's invitation to Cordonia?

Rating: G

Word Count: 1,945

Song Inspiration: Hands Down - Dashboard Confessional

A/N: I am participating in @kingliamappreciationweek Day 5 (Friendships/Relationships/AU, all of which apply to this prologue), as well as @choicesflashfics Week 29, "That's all we/they are now. A memory. A faded picture. A failed potential." It will appear in bold below.

A/N 2: It's been a minute since I've posted anything, let alone started a new series. I've had bits and pieces of this story forever, but could never figure out how to put it all together. Then my aunt died (IYKYK), and I've been working on this ever since.

A/N 3: Thank you to those of you that I have been bombarding with ideas, snippets, and complaints. They're still going to be coming, probably now more than ever. But I appreciate you listening and humoring me. Especially @txemrn for looking over this prologue and making sure it was okay.

Tagging my usuals, if you'd like to be added or removed just let me know!

Liam was in a daze as he returned to his hotel suite, still thinking about her. They had only spent a couple of hours together, but it was all Liam needed to know that he was destined for so much more with Riley Brooks. 

He fell back onto the couch and pulled out his phone, texting Maxwell to see if he was still up, and if he would join Liam in his room. He was, and he would. 

While he had his phone in his hand, he opened his camera roll and looked fondly at the picture that they had taken together. Liam told her that it was because he wanted to remember his trip to the Statue of Liberty, but more than that, it was because he wanted to remember her. Not that she wasn’t permanently imprinted on his mind the second they locked eyes, but he wanted to have a photo of her, to have tangible proof that she wasn’t a dream. 

A knock at the door pulled Liam’s attention away from his screen. He stood, returning his phone to his pocket as he answered to find Maxwell grinning on the other side. 

“Well well well. Have fun, your highness?” His friends crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the doorframe.

Liam chuckled, he couldn’t help it. “More than you know. Please, come in.” He moved aside and motioned toward the sitting area. 

“Soooooo… tell me everything. You seemed pretty smitten, I’ve never seen you like that before!” 

“Maxwell, I’ve never felt like that before. She’s incredible. I’ve never felt more carefree, more happy.” Liam sighed at the memories of his evening. “That’s why I need your help.” 

Maxwell’s head tilted in confusion. “Me? What can I do?”

“Ramsford doesn’t have a sponsor for the social season, correct?” Maxwell nodded slowly, still not sure where this was going. “I want you to sponsor Riley, to bring her to Cordonia.”

“Liam… are you sure? I mean we’re not prepared for that. We weren’t expecting to sponsor anyone.” Maxwell hesitated. He wanted his friend to be happy, but he also knew his family’s financial state, and he wasn’t sure they would be able to support a sponsee. 

“Maxwell, I know your house has been having some… difficulties financially since your father took ill. I would be more than happy to pay for anything she needs. Discreetly, of course.” 

Maxwell studied Liam’s expression, he had never seen his friend like this before. The textbook definition of stoicism, the young prince was never one to show his emotions so openly. But now? He could see the desperation, the need clear as day on his friends face. 

“You really have it bad for her, don’t you?” 

“More than I ever thought possible.” Liam answered. 

“I’ll find her tomorrow morning before I head back.” He patted his friend on the shoulder. 

***

Liam stood in the receiving line greeting the suitors one by one. It was the first night of his social season, but all he could think about was her. She was all he had been able to think about since the night before. 

I hope she had a safe trip. 

She’s going to look so beautiful. 

I wonder if she’s been thinking of me the way I’ve been thinking of her. 

I need to move through this line faster. She’s in it somewhere, I need to see her again. 

Before long, the final suitor dipped into a courtesy and made her way back to the party. Liam looked around the room. Perhaps she had just gotten caught up in something and didn’t make it to the receiving line in time. 

“Liam? Is everything alright?” 

He turned around, to respond. “Yes father, I was just taking everything in.”

Constantine chuckled. “Well, enjoy it son. This is all for you. It’s the beginning of a whole new chapter.” 

Liam nodded, looking past his father to the bar where Maxwell was ordering a drink. “Father, if you’ll excuse me for a moment.” He didn’t wait for a response before stepping away. 

“Maxwell.” Liam greeted his friend as he stood next to him at the bar. 

“Oh, Liam. Hey!” Maxwell shifted uncomfortably on his feet. “Happy social season!” He held up his drink, smiling awkwardly. 

“Where is she?” Liam asked, anxious to see her again.

“Riley?” Maxwell asked, trying to buy as much time as he could. Dreading having to deliver the news. “She… well, she’s not here.” 

“Why not? It’s the first event of the season, is she running late?” Liam began rambling, a knot forming in the pit of his stomach. “Was there an issue getting her a gown? I could…” 

“Liam,” Maxwell interrupted. “She’s not here as in, she’s not in Cordonia. She didn’t come.” 

“What… why?”

That Morning

“Riley!” Maxwell jogged up to the familiar figure as she unlocked the door of the bar. 

She turned to face him as the door opened. “Oh hey, Maxwell, right? Did you forget something last night?” 

“No, I actually had a proposition for you.” Riley furrowed her brows. “Do you have a minute to talk?” 

“Sure, come in. We don’t open for another hour, so I can spare a few.” She walked into the building, and he followed behind. 

As she approached the bar, she pulled down one of the stools and signaled for him to sit. He took a seat and she stepped behind the bar, grabbing an apron and tying it around her waist. 

“So, you and Liam seemed to hit it off last night.” Maxwell said, wanting to gauge Riley’s take on the evening. He wanted to make sure Liam didn’t misinterpret, or misunderstand her side of the outing. 

A slow smile spread across Riley’s face, the same one Liam had on his the night before. That’s when he knew the feeling was very mutual. 

“We did. I’ve never met anyone like him before. Hell, I didn’t think guys like him existed in real life. I hope whoever wins that social season realizes how lucky they are.” She said wistfully.

Maxwell grinned, this was going better than he had hoped. “What if you were the one to win it?” 

“Ha-ha, yeah right.” She replied, shaking her head and turning to empty the dishwasher. 

“No, I’m serious.” He assured her. “Each noble house sponsors a suitor. Since we don’t have any sisters we can pick whoever we want. And I pick you!” 

Riley froze and turned back around looking at Maxwell with a shocked expression. “You,” she pointed at him. “Want me,” she turned her finger to point at herself. “To come with you to a county I only just found out about like twelve hours ago, to join some fancy royal version of The Bachelor to try to marry a prince?” 

“I wasn’t going to word it quite like that, but more or less.” He shrugged. 

“But… why me?” 

“Riley, Liam couldn’t stop talking about you. He was so happy last night. Happier than I’ve ever seen him, and we’ve known each other forever. His life is full of meetings, and stuffy dinners, and boring things he does because it’s his duty. He gets to break away and have fun sometimes, but those times are getting less and less now that he’s ramping up to become King. He’s such a good person, he puts everyone else ahead of himself. He deserves to be the kind of happy you make him all the time.” 

Riley was silent, examining Maxwell’s expression. He seemed to be sincere. “Maxwell, that’s really sweet of you. Liam’s lucky to have a friend like you looking out for him.” She started. “But be realistic, even if I came with you, I’d have to quit both of my jobs and put school on hold. Basically quit my life to travel halfway across the world for the chance to be with Liam. It wouldn’t even be a guarantee.” 

“He asked me to sponsor you!” Maxwell blurted out. 

Riley’s breath caught in her throat, she hadn’t been expecting that. “But why? He doesn’t even know me.” 

“He knows enough to believe that there could be something between you two.” 

She blinked back the tears that had started to rise. She felt it too, but it was a major risk. Riley Brooks didn’t take risks. “Yeah, but even if I did come with you, that doesn’t mean anything. He told me about the social season, it’s not like he’s going to be able to just send the other girls home the second he sees me. Everyone gets a say, and I'm a nobody from America. I know nothing about your country. I don’t know about your customs. Hell, I don’t even like fancy foods, I’d probably make a fool of myself and be laughed out of the country at the first dinner.” 

“But Riley…”

“Maxwell,” She reached across the bar, placing her hand over his. “You’re such a good friend to come here for him. But my answer is no. Maybe if we were in a different time, or a different place, but we’re here. These are the cards we were dealt, our lives are just too different for it to work.” She swallowed over the lump in her throat. “I need to get things set up to open. Have a safe trip back.” She turned and walked to the back, leaving Maxwell alone. 

“I’m so sorry Liam. I tried, I really did.” Maxwell said sympathetically. He could see the pain in his friend’s eyes, despite his attempts to remain composed. “I don’t know if it helps or hurts, but she had the same dreamy look on her face when she talked about you that you had when you talked about her. Everything you felt last night, she felt it too.” 

Liam cleared his throat, “Thank you Maxwell. It was a longshot, but I’m very grateful to you for trying. If you’ll excuse me.” He nodded solemnly to his friend before walking away, moving to the double doors that lead to the balcony. 

He stepped outside and breathed a sigh of relief that he was alone. He approached the balustrade, leaning his forearms against it as he gazed out to the garden maze. He thought about Riley, what she was doing right now, if she missed him as much as he missed her. 

Perhaps he had just gotten caught up in the magic of the evening, he had overromanticized their connection. He took his phone out of his pocket and pulled up their picture. He examined their faces, they both looked so happy. He placed his thumb and index finger on the screen, dragging them apart to zoom in on her face. He was trained to read people, and everything about her, both in that moment, and in the photo, told him that she had been feeling exactly what he had been. Even Maxwell had noticed it the next day when he went to talk to her. 

It just hadn’t been enough. 

“That's all we are now. A memory. A faded picture. A failed potential.” He lamented as he continued to stare down at the picture, remembering their night together. 

“Liam.” His father’s short tone startled him so much that he nearly dropped his phone off of the balcony. 

“Father,” he turned, discreetly returning his device to his pocket. 

“What are you doing out here by yourself? You should be in there spending time with your suitors. The season is going to go by quickly, you need to take every opportunity to get to know your potential brides.” 

“Yes father.” Liam closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to get Riley out of his mind. 

**********

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Liam:

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TRR:

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@choicesficwriterscreations @choicesflashfics @kingliamappreciationweek @lizzybeth1986 @sazanes

[italeean]

Hello ^^ I’m honestly pretty late, but may I partake in the event?

Name— Suzuni or nickname of Suzu

Description— I enjoy writing stories (though I more often than not find myself daydreaming about what I could write instead lol) and artistic activities such as painting/art & ceramics. Ofc I suck at my hobbies 👍👍 (I think so anyway)

I like,, honestly I have no idea. Daydreaming/picturing scenarios in my mind? I do it rlly often lol, so ig I probably like it? As for dislikes, myself— And rudeness and arrogance lol 

I try to surround myself with people who are both playful/teasy but also decently observant (Warning for mental illness mention— I have depression and consequently may make darker comments at times). I also tend to use a lighthearted and casual tone when talking about serious topics relating to myself (e.g., warning again here, self-death)

Oops that got long, sorry about that :’l

I’m a lee, and as for fandom, either Haikyuu! or My Hero Academia if that’s alright ^^

Relationship— romantic because why not lol

Preferably a male character

Anyhow, have a nice day/evening ^^

Hiiii!! Sorry for the inactivity... again 😅 istg this period is driving me bonkers but I'm also having lots of fun!! Anyway, thanks for participating, I hope you'll like who I matched you up with ❤️🍡 *hands you the usual dango to eat while you read*

🔮 So, for my event your pair is... SHINSOU

🔮 Why did I choose him for you?

1. Sneaky, fairly smug and a little mysterious. Perfect ler material if you ask me 😌 2. I see him as a very caring and careful soul, who doesn't bond with everyone but holds extremely close the ones who manage to gain his trust 3. He would be able to understand if you need help or are struggling mentally, and he'd be there 24/7 for you 4. He could use his quirk to induce relaxation and/or make you fall asleep... obviously if you're comfortable with it and give your consent 5. He would totally get involved in your hobbies! I already see you two painting or doing ceramics together 6. You probably have made a "couple sculpture"... like a heart broken in half and each one of you keeps a half in their bedroom 7. He trained with Aizawa. He knows how to be silent. Expect surprise tickle attacks from any direction at any time~ 8. He'd be extremely happy to read your writings and give you a review about them!! He'd probably use tickling to convince you to let him read them hehe 9. Tickles whenever you say that you suck at what you do! He doesn't tolerate when someone talks badly about someone he loves (even when it's you talking badly about yourself) 10. He finds it extremely cute when you space out and daydream, so instead of interrupting you, he would cuddle up to you and hold you in his arms while you imagine any kind of scenario 11. He probably volunteers cat shelter, and sometimes you join him. Seeing how gentle he is with cats made you fall in love with him all over again. 12. When his insomnia hits hard, he comes to your room and you two end up hanging out together all night long. Or if you fall asleep, he just cuddles you and watches over you, as if he could keep bad dreams away.

🔮 Tickle scenario

Everyone liked weekends, but you surely had one more reason to enjoy them. Both you and Shinsou were free from school, which only meant one thing: date!

You always did something different: watching anime, making sculptures, painting, chatting, taking walks... one time you even tried to crochet, but he made a mess and got so grumpy that you decided to drop that activity.

That Saturday, you two decided to go at the cat shelter to do some volunteering. It was a really unusual date, but you loved spending time with each other and a ton of purring furballs. Also, the happy, adoring expression on Shinsou's face was so endearing...

The owners of the shelter were extremely nice with you, and they adored how you spent your free time on "volunteering dates". Obviously they made you work a little, but then they let you play with the kitties as much as you wanted! Actually, they let you play until it was closing time... or else you would've never gone back home.

"Hey baby I'm done with Kai, we can go home." Shinsou called for you after leaving a 5-month-old kitten to sleep, but he got no response. He saw you sitting on a chair, your back was facing him. "Baby didn't you hear me? We got-" "Shh!" You suddenly interrupted him.

He raised an eyebrow and approached you, and he couldn't believe his eyes. The new refugee of the cat shelter, who refused even to approach the sweet owners, was cuddled up on your lap and peacefully asleep. "Would you look at that..." the tall teenager smiled, "seems like this little rascal finally chose someone to trust." He was overjoyed to see that furball finally open up.

"Too bad that this human is already busy with someone else~" He reached out to grab the kitten and put him back in his sleeping pillow, but you swatted his hands away. "You're not ruining this moment..!" You whisper-yelled to not disturb the sleepy little angel, "It took me the whole day to get to this point, now we're staying here." You stated, more assertive than ever.

Your boyfriend raised an eyebrow, clearly amused with your antics, "Oh really? Then it would be a shame if a sudden earthquake disrupted your peace~"

You didn't have time to ask him what he meant. A tingly feeling spread throughout your body, making you almost jump and throw away the poor kitten. "Shinsohohou!! Stahap ihihihihit!!" You did your best to keep your legs still and not wake the little furball, but at the same time you desperately tried to swat Shinsou's hands away from your sides.

"But I'm doing nothing, honey... it's just the earthquake." He mused, close enough to your ear to make it tickle, and then blew a raspberry on your neck for good measure. He had to admit, he was a little surprised by how much you were resisting the impulse to squirm away. In other circumstances, you would've already jumped away and hidden somewhere, maybe curled up in a ball.

"Wow, not so squirmy now that you have the little rascal on your lap, huh?" He asked as his fingers played with both sides of your ribcage as if it was a piano, "I think we should name him Giggles... a fitting name related to a wonderful memory like this one..." He thought out loud with the clear intent to tease.

However, the fun had to come to an end. The owners were closing up and you two had to go back to school. He chuckled evilly and without wasting time, he drilled softly under your arms. This time, you couldn't hold back the squeal, which woke up the cat.

"Ah... you're finally awake, Giggles. Did you have a nice rest on my girlfriend's lap?" The violet-haired guy slowly approached the cat, "Now it's time to go to your actual bed, though. But we'll be back soon, alright?" He picked up the little one and laid him on his sleeping pillow and waited for him to fall asleep, then he looked at you and helped you up.

"Come on, say goodbye to giggles and get ready to go, or else I'll let you alone in Aizawa's clutches if we arrive late to UA." He told you with a smug grin on his face. You quickly got ready, not wanting to be scolded by the strict teacher, said goodbye to the owners and got on your way with your boyfriend.

"So... did you have fun on this date, Giggles 2?" Shinsou asked, laughing at how red your face turned, which made you smack his arm in utter embarrassment.

"Shut up..."

[jerzwriter]

What Happened in Vegas: Chapter 5: ...and that's a promise.

Book: Open Heart (Book 2)

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Casey MacTavish)

Rating: Teen

Warnings: Some suggestive content, not explicit; cursing; drinking.

Category: Series - AU

Words: Approx 4,900

Series Summary: Casey & her roommates are heading to Vegas, intent on taking down Declan Nash and Panacea, but this time, Dr. Ethan Ramsey is in tow.

Chapter 5: It wasn't planned... but they said I do. While Ethan finds he's OK with it, Casey's not so sure. Some time with her friends gives her perspective, but what does she decide. It seems everyone - including Ethan & Casey - is in for another surprise.

A/N: Hey, everyone; I hope you enjoy this installment. Some have asked how many chapters are left. I'm thinking 2 after this, but I've been known to be wrong before. lol I am participating in @choicesjanuarychallenge - Day 24 - all three fit in a way - Give, Take, Friends

Series Masterlist My Main Masterlist

There are moments in life when you can feel time come crashing to a halt. When everything seems to stand still, and you walk away a little different from the person you were just moments before. Casey had already experienced a couple of these moments since landing in Vegas. It’s not every day that you wake up to a marriage certificate with your name… that you don’t recall signing. Nor watch yourself recite the most loving, eloquent vows… but there is no recollection of saying them at all.   That was plenty, she thought. She had enough of those moments to last her for a while. But fate, and Vegas, apparently had more in store.

She stood there, stupified. Her face unreadable, mouth agape, the only movement she could muster was looking between Ethan’s face and his hand gently wrapped around her wrist. Never in a million years did she expect him to react like this. She considered asking him to repeat himself, just to be sure… but she knew what she heard.  

Ethan attempted to remain patient as he wordlessly watched her every move. Hoping for the slightest sign of how she’d eventually respond. He understood her shock, he was still shocked himself, to be honest, but he couldn’t deny nothing had ever felt so right. He didn’t have a single regret, but he knew her answer could change in an instant.

So he waited… allowing time to stay suspended… for so much longer than he thought possible. He was beginning to consider checking her for signs of shock when he felt her cold, clammy hand slap across his forehead without warning.

“Ow!” He grimaced. “What are you doing?”

“Checking you for a fever. It might be heat stroke.”

Pushing her hand away, he smiled. “Casey, I don’t have heat stroke.”

“Well… a stomach bug, perhaps? Norovirus! Everyone picks that up in places like this! I’m sure you must….”

“Casey,” he interrupted, taking both her hands in his, “I’m not sick. I just want an answer… will you stay married to me?”

Her nervous laughter filled the room, and her body quivered. She wondered if perhaps she was the one who was ill as the room began to sway. She pulled away from Ethan once more and began to engage in her new favorite hobby… pacing.

“If you’re not sick, then you must have lost control of all your senses!”

“Why?” Ethan demanded. “Why do you say that?”

“Stay married? Stay married?” She yelled. “You’ve gone mad!”

“I don’t think so.”

“Well, if you want to stay married, then in my professional opinion, you have!”

“Can you honestly tell me that you’ve never thought of us getting married?”

Still pacing, her hands began to flail. Flabbergasted, words couldn’t be found, but it didn’t stop her from trying. “Wha… huh… that’s…. I…”

“You OK?” he teased, proud of himself for keeping his cool while Casey unraveled.

“NO! I’m not remotely OK! And whether I’ve thought of it or not is irrelevant! If we did everything we thought about, I might be president of the United States! Or… maybe a stripper at a club here in Vegas!”

His face scrunched in disbelief. “You what?” 

“Don’t change the topic, Ethan!” She blurted. “The point is, we all think things at times… but that doesn’t mean we should act on them all!”

“So on a scale of one to ten, with one being… you’re now a stripper… and ten being you’re seated in the Oval Office, where does staying married to me rank?”

Casey’s eyes narrowed as her pacing ceased. About to comment on the ridiculousness of his words, she stopped herself when she realized he had only repeated what she had said. With a shake of her head, she sat beside him on the bed.

“Ethan,” she replied lovingly. “You made it very clear that you were not a fan of marriage. You weren’t even a fan of commitment… look at how long it took for us to get where we are now.”  

“When did I tell you I was opposed to marriage?”

“The first time was when we tested the fMRI machine!”

“That was a hypothetical situation!”

“Then there was the time when Dr. Borgas and the nurse from 4… what’s her name?”

“Julia.”

“Yes! When Dr. Borgas and Julia got engaged, what did you say then?”

“I don’t remember?” He shrugged. “Congratulations?”

“Not to their face Ethan! What did you say when they walked away? You said, ‘God help that fool!’”

“Yeah, because in their case, it’s true! Everyone knows Julia is rebounding, and if that hot surgeon she was dating from Kenmore popped back in the picture, she’d forget about Borgas in an instant!”

“Wait!” Casey startled. “How do you know all this gossip? Who are you, and what have you done with Ethan Ramsey?”

Ethan smiled warmly, placing a loving arm around her shoulder. “You seem to forget who I have lunch with most days. With Naveen in my life, I’m going to know garbage whether I want to or not.”

“Fine,” she surrendered. “But answer one thing… before this trip… did you ever seriously think of asking me to marry you?”

“No,” he hesitated, “But….”

“But nothing! You had no intention of proposing to me, much less marrying me. That’s not the way to start something that’s supposed to be forever. I get it. Our emotions are all over the place right now, but when they settle down, you’ll realize this isn’t a good idea.”

“Well, I disagree.”  He shifted so he could look her in the eyes. “You’re right. I never thought much of marriage. Was I planning on getting married now? No. But… when I heard us say our vows… without any preparation? Casey, the only way we could have said those words to each other, drunk as we were no less, is if they’re true.”

Casey’s eyes met his, and it appeared as if she was going to speak. But the emotions were too overwhelming, her mind too muddled. She lowered her eyes and turned away, but Ethan wasn’t about to let the moment pass. Reaching over, he stroked her cheek, turning her head back in his direction. Then, with a gentle buss on her forehead, his campaign began anew. 

“Do you believe we spoke the truth?”

“Ethan,” she whispered, caressing his chin. “I know we did, but….”

“No buts! I never wanted to spend the rest of my life with anyone… but I want to do it with you. Besides, the idea of having annulment papers with our names on them, our names,”  he swallowed, and Casey could see the pain in his azure eyes. “I never want to see that. Do you?”

She took a shuddering breath, her head and heart running in opposing directions. She couldn’t bring herself to confess how many times she had laid by his side, dreaming of this very future with him. It would be so easy to surrender to it. So easy to give in, but…

“It’s not like we’re breaking up. We’d just be going back to what we were yesterday, and what we were yesterday was great. We’re still in love, we’ll still be together… and if marriage is something you’re open to now, well, who knows what the future holds.”

“I can’t explain it, Casey. But now that we’re here… I don’t want to go back. I want you to be my wife. Today, tomorrow, always.”  

Her face crumbled, and Ethan knew he had his answer. Still, he allowed hope to burn bright until he heard the words.

“Ethan,” she consoled. “I need… I … I just don’t see how this could work. We just had to stage an elaborate ruse to convince my friends we’re not dating… and now… we’re going to be married?”

Rising to her feet, she did her best not to meet his eyes.

“I’m… I’m sorry, Ethan, it’s just… we can’t.”

Deflated, his head fell, and his shoulders sank as he watched her walk to the door. He knew it was a long shot, and he knew she was making sense. Still, the bitter sting of rejection hurt as much as it ever did, which is why he never put himself in this place.

“Well…” he lamented. “I guess that’s it, then. I’ll make some calls to see how we can have this… undone.”

“I think it’s for the best. I… I should probably go and check in with my friends. I’m shocked Sienna hasn’t called out a search crew as it is already.”

“Yeah,” Ethan replied, his voice soft and broken. “I suppose you should.”

She turned back as she opened the door, and for a moment, he hoped that she had reconsidered.

“I’m sorry, Ethan. You know… nothing changes. I still love you. You know that, right?”

“I know,” he said with a painted smile. “I know.”

Wrapping her arms tightly around herself, Casey turned and walked away. Her mind was more muddled than ever as she stepped into the elevator. This changed nothing, right? They’d be just fine. Everything would be OK. But as she pushed the button for her floor, one thing became evident… she no longer had to fake being sad when she saw her friends. Because, now, she truly was.

~~~~~ 

Casey gingerly opened the door to the suite. It was much quieter than expected, and evidence of why presented itself very quickly. Bottle upon empty bottle lined the floor, the tables, the counters, and the general disarray made it clear they all had a night to remember. She was about to begin cleaning when she saw Bryce sprawled across the couch; Jackie gently snored not far away on the floor.

Couldn’t even make it to their rooms, she thought to herself. Knowing the noise would wake them, she abandoned gathering bottles and headed to her room. The thought of a hot shower and collapsing on her bed was beginning to fill her with glee. But just as she pulled her shirt over her head, there was a gentle tap at the door. Sighing, she put her shirt back on, delighted to see a friendly smile on the other side of the door.

“Hey, you’re up!” Casey smiled at Sienna.

“Yeah, couldn’t sleep well worrying about you.”

“I’m sorry, Si,” she faltered, filled with guilt. “I didn’t want to worry you. I hope you managed to have some fun.”

“Oh, we did!” Sienna assured. “But I decided to stay sober; I needed to keep an eye on everyone.”

“Yeah, I noticed an empty bottle or two out there,” Casey teased.

“It would have been much worse if I wasn't here!”

“Where do things stand regarding Panacea? Have you heard anything more?”

“All the information is in the right hands now. But they won’t keep us privy to the investigation. But all sources say this is not going to just go away.”

“I hope so,” Casey worried. “I just don’t trust these things until they’re over. I’ll feel better when I see Declan in a nice orange suit.”

“Yeah, orange is not his color,” Sienna giggled. “I understand being leery, but everyone says it will be a slam dunk. Honestly, the recording Ethan got from Charlotte just….” Sienna’s voice tapered when she realized what she had just said. “Oh, I’m… I’m so sorry, Casey… I didn’t mean to….”

“No, no!” Casey brushed it off with a wave of her hand. “You can say their names; it doesn’t change anything.”

“I know,” Sienna gently took her friend’s hand. “But if you’re hurting, the last thing I want to do is remind you.”

Casey hung her head. Lying to her best friend is something she would never get used to. Especially now when she could really use her advice. She considered letting it all out, telling her the whole truth, and letting the pieces fall where they may, but in the end, she didn’t say a word.

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on with you and Ethan,” Sienna whispered. “But I’m here if you ever need to talk.”

“I know, Si,” Casey sighed, “and I appreciate it, but Ethan and I are just… it’s so… complicated.”

A line appeared between Sienna’s brows. 

“It always has been. But I really hoped….”

“Hoped what?”

“I really hoped, after we almost lost you, that you guys would find a way to work it out. I know he cares for you… very much… and I wish….”

“I know,” Casey smiled, squeezing her friend's hand tighter. “It’s just… I… I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” Sienna assured. “But if the day comes when you’re ready to talk. I’m here.”

The two friends embraced warmly just as a sluggish Bryce schlepped past Casey’s open door. Half-asleep, he stopped before her door. Rubbing his eyes, he managed to get up a pained grin.  

“Ladies, you know better than this. If there’s going to be girl-on-girl action, you’re supposed to call me,” he laughed, but that quickly turned to a wince.  

“You are such a jerk,” Casey laughed, hauling a pillow in his direction, and though it barely tapped him, he let out a howl when it hit. “Rough night?”

“The night was terrific,” he insisted. “The hangover… not so much.”

“Well,” Casey sprung out of bed. “Luckily for all of you… I have all the ingredients for my handy-dandy hangover cure in the kitchen!”

“You do?” He marveled.

“Did you think I was coming to Vegas, of all places, without? Be reasonable, Lahela.”

As she strode past him on the way to the kitchen, he gently grabbed her wrist. 

“All joking aside,” he asked with sincerity. “Are you doing OK?”

“I am,” Casey smiled sadly. “Everything will be OK… one way or another.”

“That’s my girl,” Bryce grinned. “Now, please go make your buddy Bryce that remedy before he dies.”

“I’m on it!”

~~~~~

Several hours later, the gang was gathered around a table at International Smoke. The atmosphere was so light and festive that Casey sometimes forgot her troubles for a moment or two… but they always came back. Still, she was enjoying one of the best steaks she had ever had.   

“Now, this is the way to celebrate!” Elijah enthused, pouring a glass of champagne.

“I don’t even know how you can even look at that stuff!” Aurora soured. “I’m never drinking again!”

Across the table, Jackie rolled her eyes with a scoff before taking the bottle from Elijah’s hand, “Amateurs!”

Casey looked around to ensure no one was in earshot, then spoke softly to her friends. “I’d offer a toast, but should we even be talking about… it… publicly yet?”

“The ball may be in motion, but I doubt anyone knows it’s happening yet,” Jackie shrugged. “So it may be better to keep it quiet for now.”

“Yeah,” Bryce agreed. “Unfortunately, I know a thing or two about these sorts of investigations go down. Right now, the gruesome twosome is likely in the dark. They’ll want them to slip up. But don’t worry, they’ll get theirs in the end.”  

“In that case,” Casey raised a glass as Aurora cringed. “Oh, Aurora!” Casey laughed, “just toast with water! As I was saying… let’s toast to a successful trip. We all got what we came for.”

“Hear, hear!” Elijah cheered.

“I’ll drink to that!” Sienna agreed.

Bryce took a sip of his champagne, but his eyes stayed focused on Casey. “But, did we?” he asked.

Casey looked at him nervously. “So, you don’t think this will stick?”

“No, it will. I’m talking about you… did you get all you wanted from this trip?”

“Sure,” she said, taking a si of champagne. “I’m here for the same reason as you.”

“We’re you?” He asked pointedly. “Casey, you’re among friends; you know we’d never judge… and your secret would be safe with us.”

Casey’s eyes nervously darted around the table, trying to determine what each person knew.

“You’re kind of the worst-kept secret in Edenbrook,” Aurora agreed. “But when asked, we all insist you’re just close coworkers…. But it’s not like we didn’t know better.”

“Yeah, we’ll always have your back, Case,” Jackie agreed.

“Guys,” she sputtered nervously, “what are you talking about… what do you think we….”

“Casey, you were with your med school friends last night to get your mind off Ramsey. We know that,” Elijah concluded.

“Oh, uh… yeah, but… it’s not like that at all… between us… it’s just that….”

“You should really give him another chance,” Sienna said softly. 

“What!?!”

“He was just trying to get information, Casey… he didn’t want to hurt you.”

“Yeah,” Aurora agreed. “And you did say you were OK with it in advance. We can’t blame you if it was harder to witness than you thought, but we can’t blame him either.”  

“Guys, why are you doing this?” Casey asked.

“Because we don’t like seeing you sad,” Sienna offered. 

“We called him to see if he wanted to join us last night,” Elijah offered. “And Bryce called him again today to see if he’d come to dinner today.   I mean, if anyone deserves to celebrate, it’s him.”

“Damn straight!” Bryce insisted. “If I had to cozy up to that snake, I’d need all the booze in the world to wash that memory away, and I’d want the reward for being tortured.”

“But he wouldn’t come either time,” Elijah continued. “The only thing he was worried about is you. Especially today.”

“And it’s not the first time,” Sienna chimed in. “We all saw him at your trial last year. We saw him the night of the attack; the man seriously cares about you, Casey.”

“I mean, we have eyes,” Aurora chuckled. “Look, he dated my aunt on and off for years, and I never saw the look he has on his face when he’s around you.”

“Guys… why are you doing this?” Casey asked.

“Because we know he’s a good man,” Jackie replied. “And we know you’re happy when you’re with him. Hell, he’s even willing to subject himself to this bunch of losers….”

“Hey!” Bryce hollered. “Speak for yourself!”

“That was geared toward you, meathead!” she scoffed before turning back to Casey. “I’m just saying take your time and think. Don’t make any rash moves, OK?”

If anyone noticed Casey choke on her drink, they didn’t show it. Rash moves? If they only knew. But her friend's words affected her more than she let on. And thoughts of their time together began flooding her mind. Whenever life seemed at its darkest, he came through for her… and she did the same in return. No, they hadn’t planned on getting married… never even discussed it… but she knew she’d spend forever at his side as long as he wanted her there, and he just asked her to stay there, forever, as his wife… and she said no and ran away. She couldn’t stop seeing the look on Ethan’s face when she ran away from his room, no matter how hard she tried. She wanted this man. She fought for this man when he tried everything possible to push her away. Casey MacTavish was no glutton for punishment. She did it because she knew. She knew they were inevitable… they were meant to be. Now, fate stepped in and delivered them a surprise… and he wanted to stay married to her. He wanted her to be his wife… his forever.   He loved her that much, and she ran away.

“Casey,” Sienna said, waving a hand in front of her face. “Did you hear a word we said?”

“Did… did I? No!” she exclaimed. “I didn’t hear a single word, but… I’ve got… I’ve got to go!”

She took off without further explanation, and Bryce raised his glass once more. “To Casey… go get it, MacTavish!”  

~~~~~ 

She didn’t call him; it was nothing she’d want to discuss on the phone. But she needed to see him as much as she needed to breathe. She ran down the hallway and into a waiting elevator, cursing silently to herself as it stopped on every floor. When a tour bus full of enthusiastic senior citizens began piling in, Casey reached her breaking point. 

“Excuse me,” she yelled, pushing through the crowd. “I’m sorry, I need to get off!” she insisted, making it out just before the doors shut. 

She was only four floors away; she could handle that! She took to the stairs taking two at a time in her haste to reach Ethan. The smile on her face doubled when she reached his floor. Rushing down the hallway, she ignored the stares of other guests as she whizzed past them. They didn’t matter… nothing did… except getting to him.   

Finally, she reached his door and knocked furiously, but there was no answer. She knocked again, smoothing her unkempt hair nervously as she waited… still, nothing.

“Ethan!” She hollered with one final rap on the door. “Ethan, it’s me! Open up!”

Damn it! She should have called. Then a lightbulb went off… he gave her his room key! She fumbled in her purse, but it was nowhere to be found.

“Come on!” she groaned, pushing lipsticks, coins, and receipts to the side, but she still came up empty.

Discouraged, she was about to walk away when the door finally opened to reveal Ethan, dripping wet, wrapped only in a plush white towel, standing on the other side.

“Casey! What’s going….”

“Shhh!” she pushed her way through the door and locked it behind her. “Shhh.  Don’t talk. I need you to listen.”

“I’m listening….”

“So, you think we could make it work?”

“Make what work, exactly?”

“If we stay married… it would still have to be a secret… right… it could still jeopardize us….”

“Maybe initially, I haven’t given it much thought… since we’re getting an annulment… I don't see the need for us to waste energy on that."

“Well, you better start using energy on that. We’ll be back in Boston tomorrow, and we need to figure out how to make this work because you’re my husband, Ethan Ramsey, and there is no way I’m ever letting you go.”

“Wait,” he gasped, eyes bulging and his smile shining bright. “Are you serious? You don’t want the annulment… you want... to stay married?”

“I’m serious as a heart attack!” She reached up and ran her fingers through his damp, tousled hair, gently smiling as his bewilderment turned to delight. “You’re right… it wasn’t planned… but nothing about us ever was, yet, it’s perfect. I love you… so much… how could I ever want to undo this?”

They stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity, then Casey grew impatient. Pulling him close, her lips crashed against his and he pulled tighter than she ever thought possible. Their kisses, which began as sparks, now burst into flames, engulfing them as their hands grasped passionately at each other. Casey could feel him smiling against her lips, and when she pulled back, she found his towel had fallen to the floor.

“Well, look at you,” she smiled as her eyes raked over his body. Biting at her lower lip, she leered at the man who was now truly, truly hers. “I am one lucky woman!”

“And I’m one lucky man,” he grinned, taking her hand. “You're sure about this?”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything. I love you, Ethan.”

“Well, then, there’s only one more thing to be done.”

“Oh yeah,” she teased. “What’s that?”

“We haven’t consummated this union yet… and being that this is Vegas… is the marriage even legal if we haven’t?”

“I’m not sure,” she giggled, her hands running over his muscular chest. “But we wouldn’t want to jeopardize the legality, now… would we?”

“Absolutely not. But there’s a problem.”

“Oh?”

“Your clothes, Casey. They’re still on.”

“Oh, that,” she laughed, pulling away and tugging each item away. “I can take care of that, but quick!”

Ethan’s head tilted, eagerly appreciating every inch of skin she bared. “Hmm… anxious? Not going to show me those amateur striptease moves you dream of?”

“Of course I am!” She said, pushing him onto the bed. “But you’re my husband now, Dr. Ramsey. You have a life of stripteases and lap dances waiting for you. But right now… I need to consummate this thing! FAST!"

“I really am the luckiest man on earth,” he said with a kiss. “I love you, wife….”

“I love you, husband. Now… consummate me!”

~~~~~

"What do you mean they know!?" He ignored the stinging of his hand as it slammed into the mahogany table, the ice in their drinks rattling in its wake. "How the hell do they know!"

"I... I'm not certain... but I have a lot friends, in a lot places, and when they hear things that involve me… they make sure I know.”  

"Good! Then your friends… they can fix this. Right?” he scoffed. "Isn't that how it works?"

Picking her glass up from the table, she took a long sip. Silently closing her eyes, she centered herself before speaking again.  

"I'm afraid that's not how it works. If it was just a story at the New York Times, I could have it quashed within an hour. But did you miss the part where I said it’s already in the hands of the Justice Department? I have influence, Declan, but not that much influence!”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Declan tugged at his cropped hair as he walked in frantic circles. Charlotte was doing her best to keep her cool, but she could feel panic settling in. Turning away from Declan, she stepped onto the balcony and lit a cigarette. But he was quick at her heels. 

“How did they find out?” he demanded.

Charlotte took a long drag of her cigarette as she surveyed the Vegas landscape. She didn't slip up. She could count on one hand the number of times she had slipped up since she was in grade school... and never like this. And for what? A man! Ashamed, she turned away. 

“Wait a minute….” Declan scowled in an accusatory tone. “You were with Ramsey!”

“Declan, there is no way to know if that had anything to do with this!”

“Oh, sure! It’s all a coincidence! You’ve been so damn desperate to get into his ridiculously long trousers you lost your damn mind. Now… what did you tell him!”

“I didn’t tell him….”

“WHAT did you tell him!”

“I don’t remember. I had a lot to drink, and I don’t remember! OK?”

Declan collapsed onto a settee behind him, his head falling into his hands. 

“You’re right,” Charlotte lamented. “You’re right… he has to be involved. When the hell have we ever even seen him at one of these conferences! He came here for a reason, and like an idiot, I fell right into his trap!”

“I told you… you should have fucked the cabana boy, Char… get it out of your system, but no.. no, you’ve got to….” Declan raised his head, a look of wonder in his eyes. “Repeat what you just said?”

“That I’m an idiot? That I fell right into his trap? You know I already feel like shit. Do you need to rub it in?”

“No! No! Not that part! When did we ever see Ethan at a conference like this?” Declan’s eyes were glowing now as he reached for his phone.

“What are you getting at… I don’t know how that….”

“I have,” he interrupted. “Once, I saw him at a conference… in Miami.”

“Yes, he was there to score a cure for Naveen. He always has a reason… which is why I should have known better!”

“That wasn’t his only reason,” Declan handed Charlotte his phone, a devious grin on his face. “Only scroll right, babe. I wouldn’t want you to see what’s on the other side.”

Ethan and Casey on the balcony… talking, laughing, then a few where his hand cupped her cheek, a kiss, a stare, Casey straddles him on a chair….

“Holy shit!” Charlotte exclaimed. “You have pictures of him fucking her?”

“Well, not exactly, but it seems to be that was implied once they closed that patio door. After all, the good Dr. Ramsey was sharing a room with his nubile little intern.”  

“That sanctimonious piece of shit,” Charlotte grumbled. “Always acting like he’s so high and mighty. But why didn’t you do anything with these sooner?”

“Why would I?” He shrugged. “We got the contract with Edenbrook.  Once I had that in hand, getting a dozen more top hospitals to sign on was easy. I just kept these for insurance… and now… I think I’m ready to cash this policy in.”

“Hello!” Charlotte mocked, knocking her fist against Declan’s head. “Earth to little Deccy… what part of it is with the freaking DOJ did you miss! Those photos are lovely souvenirs, but they’re not giving us any leverage now.”

“Oh, no shit. I will be on the phone with my attorney in ten seconds and suggest you do the same. That… or escaping to a lovely island with no extradition treaty… they’re our only avenues of protection right now. But… if that son of a bitch and his little piece of ass are responsible for taking us down… I’m going to make sure they fall right beside us.”

Charlotte poured two glasses of whisky, and their glasses clinked after she handed one to him. “I love the smell of revenge in the morning. And… if we can watch their reputations and careers destroyed aboard a yacht in the Maldives… better yet.”

“You know, I think I have a call or two to make before I call my attorney. I want to guarantee the little lovebirds a rough landing back in Boston.”

Perma: @a-crepusculo @animesuck3r @annoyingmillenialnewbie @crazy-loca-blog @differenttyphoonwerewolf @doriopenheart @fayeswiftie @genevievemd @gryffindordaughterofathena @inlocusmads @jamespotterthefirst @jennieausten @kingliam2019 @liaromancewriter @lucy-268 @onikalover @openheartforeverinmyheart @potionsprefect @quixoticdreamer16 @rookiemartin @secretaryunpaid @socalwriterbee @tessa-liam @trappedinfanfiction @jerzwriter-reblogs-asks @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

More tags in reblog.

[endcant]

its almost every day that i work out and think about one incident in high school. my marching band had finally organized a block for injured/disabled kids to stretch and do yoga-like warmups instead of high impact warmups like jogging, running, and sprinting. the kids in “injury block” told me i should join bc of my asthma, and it made my practices way better.

this was because it granted me the ability to choose WHEN my asthma attacks started during rehearsal. instead of starting every rehearsal with an asthma attack, i could save my daily mandatory asthma attack for the very end of the night, when we would march our show for several minutes at a time nonstop and then be forced (not asked or permitted) to run from our instruments and grab water and run back.

weekday band rehearsals usually started around 3 and could last until 10 pm, and on weekdays i also had dance class, where i would have already gotten in my day’s serving of cardio in the form of dancing or running. so it wasn’t like running with the band was the only source of high-impact cardio jostling my lungs each day.

if i had an asthma attack at 3:15 PM, i would be woozy and sleepy and mentally and emotionally fried during the entirety of rehearsal, including blocks where we would stand still and practice the music. if i had an asthma attack at 9:50 PM however, i could get almost 7 full hours of actual high quality practicing and rehearsal in without feeling like i had half the usual amount of braincells and jello in the place of muscles. it was a huge game-changer for me as a drummer. suddenly i wasn’t making stupid mistakes that i couldn’t explain! suddenly i was able to retain new marching coordinates and exercises! suddenly i was able to march under the weight of the heaviest drums for hours without wobbling!

of course, after a couple of months of me participating in “injury block” and getting a lot out of it, our band director noticed me there and told me i needed a doctor’s note. i told him i have asthma and i have an inhaler perscription i could show him. he told me that that would be fine this week, but every rehearsal afterwards i would need a new signed and dated doctor’s note. i knew instantly that this was ridiculous and financially prohibitive. i tried to explain the asthma attack math. he did not care. so i went back to running and having asthma attacks at the beginning of each rehearsal and throughout parts of rehearsal that i now knew didn’t have to be that hard for me.

i had friends in band who would ask me on the field to chill and take a break because my asthma attacks were scaring them, but i was quick to inform them that my asthma wasn’t considered an important or serious injury or illness by the band director. it really made me bitter and i constantly found myself having out of body experiences during band in junior and senior year.

i still work out to this day and think about how few asthma attacks i have now that i am allowed to control when and how frequently i focus on high-impact exercise. and also since i no longer have to do that running on a dusty track with 100 other kids dragging their feet in front of me. i also think about how that band director was, generally speaking, the most hands-off band director i’ve ever met. he didn’t know a damn thing about marching or playing and rarely was present or tried to give us advice. his job was basically just to hire people who had specific knowledge. but still, that day, he decided to walk out on the field and specifically target me for god knows what reason and interrogate me about why i was doing yoga instead of running in circles.

i wasn’t mad about it at the time, even. i was very trusting as a kid. i’m mad about it now, though. and whenever i attend a group workout class and and the instructor tries to tell me i can cure my asthma by “pushing through”, they can be sure they’ll never see me again.

i guess part of what maddens me about it is how nearly every adult who ever taught me anything in any of the physical activities i chose to participate in treated me like i was lazy because of my asthma. and i just believed them. so i just worked harder than i should have. at the cost of my ability to actually perform well in the activity they were supposed to be instructing me in.

the incident that made me start to realize that something was wrong was when i couldnt lunge quickly for a visual move with my drum on because the drum harness fit me wrong. the drum instructors blamed it on my lack of core strength, and i believed them, even though i could feel the drums swinging and hitting my forward leg. a huge bruise-then-bump developed that was eventually visible through shorts. this did not bother me and i showed it off to friends proudly, much to their concern. one day i went to do the move and the swing of my drums knocked me right over. i don’t remember how much it hurt, but i guess i was down for awhile because a parent who volunteered with the band ran up and took my drums off of me. this guy, some other kid’s parent, saw my leg and cursed at the drum instructors for awhile until they agreed to try to fix my harness. i felt embarrassed and was certain at the time that if i had just been more firm in my core then there wouldve been no one yelling at anyone on my behalf.

i now feel bad that i let myself be so trained out of questioning why i was in pain that my drum insteuctors had to take the fall for it. i mean, the pain of that leg injury was nothing compared to having asthma attacks every time i had to rehearse with the full band.

[wanderlustt-101tn]

Music City Polar Plunge!

February 24,2024

500 people came out to participate in the pluge which led to a break in records for Special Olympics Tennessee!❤️❤️❤️

Being able to participate in a polar plunge has always been on my bucket list just never thought I could due to my chronic illness POTS and knowing that I was able to cross it off just gives me the confidence to get through life.

It was a beautiful day to change lives

🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵

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

I waited for a few months for this day and ended up being way better than expected. I'm amazed at how many people came out, to plunge and even cheered on us plungers. I've never witnessed anything like it before! They don't call Tennessee “The Volunteer State” for nothing y'all! 500 people came out to The Nissan Stadium and plunged and the parking lot was filled with a crowd, a chili cook-off, a couple of radio stations, and even the news station there, I saw quite a few people up on the Pedestrian Bridge! It was truly incredible and a day I'll never not want to talk about.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the wise words of La Knight “Let me Talk to ya! YEAH!!”

I now have another great event I can look forward to while living here in Tennessee! If you suffer from joint pain or even mental health, swelling Etc. I would suggest One cold plunge a month! & let me know if you notice a difference

We originally had planned on watching the other plunges after we were done, but thanks to POTS sometimes day-to-day plans can be changed. I'm not sure what else to really say other than looking forward to next years!

———————————————————————

Some important things to know if you decide to plunge.

Check-in doesn't start till 10:30ish, followed by a chili cook-off and beer garden opening at 11 then kicking off the Polar Plunge with award ceremony and plunges!

Plungers meet behind the little stage and line up. Once in line, you'll be asked for your Team name, your captain's team name, an intro song, and the reason why you are plunging. I was a little bummed that the announcer didn't do that this year but probably because of how many people were there.

You get a nice little 3.2.1. Countdown and that's it! The water was 50 degrees while the outside temperature was 48 with some wind. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, I strongly recommend wearing socks if you don't want to get that initial shock reaction, they also help you to not slip or slide when coming up after jumping in. While it wasn't as cold as I expected the cold water did turn my hands red and lost feeling and circulation in both, meanwhile my mom still had feeling in her hands they were just cold. Just goes to show how different things can be for someline like me! 🩵💪🏻

[briamichellewrites]

36

Kevin was visiting Bria with Howie. She was sleeping, so they were in the cafeteria talking. He admitted that they had slept together the day of the accident. They were also engaged in a sexual affair. Howie thought something happened between them because they became close very quickly. He didn’t hate him for it. The reason why he was telling him was because he couldn’t live with him not knowing. He thanked him for being honest with him.

Were they dating? They had gone on a couple of dates, but they weren’t officially dating. He liked her and wanted to make her his girlfriend. What he was waiting for was the right time. Kevin made sure he knew what he was getting himself into. She may never be able to be independent. Rather, she would need around-the-clock care with nurses coming in and out of her home.

He wouldn’t blame him if he wasn’t ready for that, though he shouldn’t walk away from her. She needed him as a friend. He could be that for her. Yes, he did think about what he was getting himself into. It wouldn’t be a normal relationship. He would have to take care of her. With that in mind, no. He didn’t want her to believe there was a romantic relationship between them. Instead, he was happy to remain in her life as a close friend.

He felt guilty because he loved her and it wasn’t her fault. Kevin thought she would understand. If he needed help talking about it with her, he recommended having Mike there because he knew her better than anyone. He would do that.

Mike was invited to join them when he got to the hospital. After hearing about the conversation, he fully agreed that Howie should not feel obligated to be involved in a relationship he wasn’t ready for. He also felt that he should continue to be involved in her life as a friend and support system. That he would do. Maybe she could watch them rehearse or something. She would enjoy that.

She would also enjoy going on errands with him. What about church? He didn’t know. She might be interested. Even though she wasn’t religious, she would respect that he was. He would ask her if she was interested in that. She didn’t have to participate, she could just listen. Kevin thought they should all research Lou Gehrig’s disease, so they could know what she would need help with. Yeah, they would do that. She was at risk of being diagnosed with the disease.

The more they learned, the better they could help her. Would she go into assistive living? Mike shook his head. No, he could see her wanting to stay at home. It was familiar to her and she would want to keep her cats. They could ask about water exercises to help her muscles. She had an indoor swimming pool. Even just sitting with her in the shallow end would probably be a good idea.

They would probably have to buy a life jacket for her. Mike was thinking about talking to her about filing to become her conservator. He looked into it. It would mean he could make decisions for her, talk to doctors and nurses; and pay her bills. In the worst-case scenario, he legally couldn’t do anything because he was just a friend. That would be a great idea. Since they already had a friendship, he could prove he wasn’t doing it for the money.

He would let her have a say in what happened to her, of course. Maybe he could also have his parents sign on too. She knew and trusted them. They could be on call if he was on tour or otherwise unavailable. Howie’s sister died from Lupus in 1998, so he had some experience with having a loved one with an illness. As did Kevin. His father died from cancer in 1991.

Mike expressed condolences to them. Thank you. When they got back, she had woken up after a short nap. Her eyes lit up when she saw the three of them together. They smiled at her, as they came over to her bedside. Howie held up her letter board for her. She spelled out their names. Yes, that was correct! How was she doing? A-w-a-k-e. Awake. P-a-i-n. Pain. H-e-a-d. Head. Did her head hurt? Yes. Kevin volunteered to get a nurse.

Mike thanked her for telling them. A nurse came in and examined her. How bad was the pain? They translated for him. The pain was mild. He would get some Tramadol. Thank you. Mike took her hand and rubbed it. The nurse would make the pain go away. She looked at them. Her mouth wanted to move, but her brain didn’t know how to make it happen.

The nurse came back with a bag of medication. He hooked it up to her IV. It was a small dose since it was a powerful opioid. It would take a little bit for it to work. T-h-a-n-k y-o-u. She was very welcome. If she had any other pain, even if it was small, she should tell them. It could mean something was going on. She moved her fingers to give a thumbs up. Okay. While they continued talking to her, she felt her pain going down. B-e-t-t-e-r. Better. Good! They were happy to hear it.

Paris, what you did will affect me for the rest of my life. I had a brain hemorrhage that I needed surgery to repair. I also had surgery to remove excess fluid in my heart. You chose to use drugs and then get behind the wheel of your car. You could have killed me or someone else. It was not an accident. I hope the judge gives you the sentence they feel is appropriate for you. You will be able to walk away from this, while I will need around-the-clock care for the rest of my life. I will never be able to live the life I once did and it’s because of your selfish decision. While I have forgiveness in my heart, that is all I am willing to give you. I hope when you close your eyes at night, it’s me that you are haunted by.

Paris pleaded guilty in court. She was sentenced to drug counseling, community service, and probation for two years. It was a slap in the face for Bria. Mike attended the hearing. He had a prepared statement that he and Bria had written together. Before the judge handed down her sentence, he went up to the podium and read it out loud. The media was there taking notes on everything.

He was devastated and angry when he heard the verdict. Bria deserved so much more. Paris would be able to do things she couldn’t. It was a joke. How could the judge look at her charges and not see how serious they were? He wanted to cry because he was so angry. This was not justice. But, he bit his tongue. It was not the time or place to get upset. Kathy and Richard were there for their daughter. They should be at the hospital visiting Bria.

While walking out, he couldn’t even look at them. They called out to him. He took a deep breath before turning around. How is Bria? He shook his head to control his emotions. How was she? She was trapped inside her own body. They would know if they visited her. Where was she? She was in the intensive care unit of Cedar Sinai Hospital.

When he got back, she was talking with Kevin and Howie while using her spelling board. I am sorry. Howie thanked her, though he had already forgiven her. When they saw him, they noticed the look on his face. It wasn’t good news.

What happened? He told them everything. They were as upset as he was. He took her hand and kissed her forehead. She looked at him with sadness. He rubbed her hand and he told her it was okay to cry. With tears going down her face, they let her cry. It was so unfair. He wiped the tears from her face. She tapped at the piece of paper, so Kevin held it up. T-h-a-n-k y-o-u. She was very welcome.

@zoeykaytesmom @feelingsofaithless @alina-dixon @fiickle-nia

[confetti-critter]

actually aside from not calling me my preferred name, it's also bothering me that at my employee review they were telling me "make sure to be at your desk RIGHT when breaks end!" because I go and take a piss after my break before starting back with work. I didn't tell them this cuz I think its fucking stupid to have to explain myself like that. So fine, I'll piss right before my scheduled break and then go on my break. Its 15 fucking minutes I'm not gunna waste it going to the bathroom when I'm allowed to go to the bathroom anytime (SUPPOSEDLY). I'm so fucked up in the head that if someone comments on this change like "thank you for making the effort!" just because I'm at my desk at 3pm and not 3:04pm ill get pissed n maul them to death (in my head). But most likely they'll be like erm we've noticed you leaving your station early and uhhhhhhurzitxkgxitsfhb

AND WHILE IM AT IT they were talking about the pace at which I work and saying I could work faster (BUT STILL without making any errors!!1!) I've honestly been working at a good pace and can get like 3 orders a day done assuming we actually get product in (that's a different story), which is the same as every other person in distribution. When I showed them my notebook where I wrote down everything I did in a workday since the beginning of april (because I have problems), they seemed surprised and were like "oh. Well we're more talking about preparing you for when it really picks up in the fall" ok so why did you try and make it seem like I'm not working fast enough right now?

They said "oh well we want blah blah blah units moved in a day in total and we actually get around blah blah" ok so is that a feasible goal or is it just higher-ups not knowing how things work in the warehouse and just wanting the 4 people max (who you LITERALLY admitted is much less than you used to have) to just magically work like machines (but still not make any errors!!)? One of them was literally like "ok I dont know how it all works down there but-" ok so maybe get a clue first before running your mouth.

And they ended by asking "and what do you think about cake day and pizza parties and awards where you get gift cards?" It took all that I could to not tell them it's a piss poor excuse for not paying employees enough, or allowing unionization, and while I'm at it forcing ppl to participate in "spirit days" is fucking stupid as well, and this entire "culture" surrounding workplaces makes me want to stick razor sharp glass shards into my brain.

But of course when they asked if I'd like to learn how to do another thing I was like "well if you need extra help, I guess" because if I dont play along for a couple more months I won't be able to get health/dental. 🙃

And no talk of a raise of course (min. wage is going up 70 cents soon after all!!)

The working environment and subsequently the society+social rules that come with it and I do not get along.

[ah0rmone]

dazai osamu x fem! reader

warnings: nsfw, minors, dni! dubcon if you squint because the reader finds dazai annoying but attractive, non-consensual touching (at first), enemies/rivals to fuck buddies I guess?, fingering, vaginal penetration.

there are literally two self-defence techniques from here and here

"Why it has to be you?" you grumbled looking at the person who stood in front of you.

"Oh, who else would you like to see as your teacher? Kunikida-kun who's doing everything according to instructions, even fighting? Ranpo-kun who won't lift a finger unless it's a murder case? Or Tanizaki-kun who's always followed by Naomi-chan?"

The obnoxious man in front of you was called Osamu Dazai and, to be fair, you'd actually prefer any other agency member over him. Sure, he definitely had combat experience and, probably, wasn't that bad at teaching, given that Atsushi was still following him. But something about him was off and you didn't like it. Nor that you had any choice, Dazai was there for a reason and that reason was Fukuzawa's order.

"Whatever," you sighed. "Can we get to it already?"

Today was the day when you were supposed to learn some self-defence techniques. Your ability wasn't really of a combat type, so you never participated in fights but it didn't mean that you had a zero possibility of running into problems. It was your own request to be taught how to protect yourself.

However, you didn't feel quite confident at all. You genuinely hated conflicts and tended to avoid people, so all of this was a somewhat essential but still itchy experience. Your sporty shorts and a skintight top wasn't helping the situation either. Especially, since a person with who you were going to get quite close physically was a rather attractive young man. You and Dazai weren't that close, just colleagues who barely communicated. For you he was just as attractive as he was annoying - you wouldn't mind having a fling with him but nothing more. Maybe it was the way he carried himself: overly cheerful, loud and noisy. Or maybe it was the things he was hiding: his true mischievous, manipulative personality.

Taking a deep breath you reminded yourself that it was your idea, something that your survival depended on and that you just had to get over it.

"Usually you're not the one who fights, y/n-chan. So what are we doing here?" Dazai asked, a teasing smile on his lips.

His eyes were gleaming with a vicious sparkle. Your power imbalance was uncomfortable to you. You shrugged, the feeling that he was a big cat and you were his meal strongly sat in your guts.

"I'm here to learn how to defend myself. Like some easy techniques. I'm not very strong, keep it in mind," you reminded with a well-controlled flat voice but some notes of irritation would have been apparent even to the densest person.

Osamu didn't answer, instead, he let his fake smile turn into a smirk. For a moment the room fell into silence and you could swear that your heart was beating too loud. Both of you just stared at each other for some seconds until the smile returned on Dazai's lips and the man joyfully clapped.

"Okay, gotcha! First of all," he took a step closer. "The most important thing in fighting is a stable stance. Stand like this," he put the left leg forward and motioned you to follow him.

Hesitantly you mirrored his stance, the feeling of embarrassment washing over you. It wasn't even the physical activity that you hated but the way Dazai was gazing at you. Predatory eyes were gliding over your skin like he was analysing your tiniest movements. Like he was about to pounce.

Just as you anticipated, once you've finished copying him, Osamu clicked his tongue and stood up.

"No, y/n-chan, you're doing it wrong."

You were about to argue but Dazai was already behind you. Suddenly painfully aware of the warmth of his body you tried to move from him but he was quick to put a hand on your hip.

"Let me help you," his hot breath ran over the shell of your ear making you flinch a little.

While you were contemplating whether you should allow him to be that close, Dazai had already brushed his palm down your leg. Now he was standing next to you, your bodies touching.

"There," he encouraged, moving your leg a little further by the back of your knee. His other hand was still placed on your hip and such a position was taking away any personal space you had before.

"Thanks," you muttered, feeling the light smell of his cologne.

"Now you're standing rather steady, aren't you?" he beamed with his hand still on your leg.

"Ah, yeah," you muttered, grabbing him by the wrist and pushing it off yourself then taking a step back. "Guess, we can move to the actual stuff now."

"Y/n-chan!" Dazai exclaimed. "The stance is very important, I didn't show it for fun!"

You saw the man's lips curl into a pout but either than that he didn't display any sign of irritation by you pushing him away. Keeping that in mind you decided that even though he might not have any ill intentions you should stay on guard.

Something dropped behind the door and as you inverted your gaze to the sound you felt your hair being grabbed.

"What," you didn't even have the chance to end the question instantly being pushed to the wall.

Your colleague's right hand was holding firmly your hair, the other one gripping your waist. You tried to push back, but to no avail - his whole body was pushing you to the wall.

"Dazai," you growled.

"Too bad, y/n-chan," he cooed. "How can you protect yourself when you have such a short attention span? Look at you - one move and you're helpless."

The sting of resentment piercing through your heart encouraged you to grumble through the teeth:

"I told you I'm weak."

"And stupid apparently," he gibbed.

"Listen," you tried to free yourself but instead just shook your hips clumsily. "If you came here just to insult me, let's end it, I'll ask Fukuzawa-san to send someone else," voice full with venom, you wanted to be as far from Dazai as possible but instead felt with dread as your hips bucked into his. You jolted forward fighting for the tiniest bit of space.

If Dazai noticed, he didn't show it as there was no reaction whatsoever. However, your little touch wasn't the only thing he ignored:

"Let me instead show you how to deflect it," he proposed, paying no heed to your words.

He backed up and you got a chance to glance at him with unhidden irritation. He met your gaze with a cheesy smile like he wasn't a person degrading you a couple of seconds ago. However, giving it a little bit more thought you exhaled and nodded. After all, you should've picked up something from this lesson, not just the revelation that Dazai was a total dick and you wouldn't want him to be near you ever again.

You moved from the wall and this time he gripped your hair slowly.

"What you want to do now is to grab my hand by both of yours, then stand back to the stance I showed you earlier, turn underneath the arm, so that you twist it and when the person lets go, just bolt. Got it?"

You hummed in acknowledgement. Perhaps it wasn't that difficult. Perhaps, at the end of the day, the lesson would be fruitful.

"Try it then," he prompted and then tugged at your hair lightly.

Following his instructions, you grabbed his hand and as you were about to go underneath his arm, he spun you. His arm was firmly holding your throat.

"No, y/n-chan, I've told you your stance was wrong," he whined. "Let me show you again."

"What just happened?" you asked confusedly but he already was spreading your legs.

Osamu didn't answer, too busy putting you in the right stance. And you tried your best to concentrate on how your legs were placed instead of his fingers brushing over your ass a couple of times, once getting a little bit too close to your clothed vagina.

"Just like this," he said and his hand slid up from your knee to your waist getting under the top a little.

From your point of view, the skinship was completely irrelevant but you decided to keep your sharky comments to yourself. For now, you were going to follow his instructions and maybe you could avoid the conflict.

Maybe not.

This time around when you were trying to deflect his arm, once again he outpowered you. You cursed as he said with disappointment in his voice (you were pretty sure it was the fake one, he was enjoying it, that bastard):

"You're too slow, y/n-chan. Do you think attackers would just stand there and watch as you crawl your way out of their grip as a turtle in slow-mo?"

"Dazai, I'd appreciate it if you-"

"Again," he cut you harshly, puppeting you around like you were nothing but a doll.

His attitude towards you was so demoralizing you were fighting the urge to end it here and there. Losing all the motivation and looking exhausted, you tried to go through the motion again but Dazai wasn't having it.

"Hm, y/n-chan, kinda feels like you're not trying hard enough. Should I give you a motivation boost?" he exclaimed cheerfully but before you could say that he should go fuck himself he had already pushed you to the wall. Again.

You were expecting harsh words pouring from his mouth, but instead, it was the kisses as he roughly pulled your hair baring your neck for him. The hot tongue travelled from your shoulder to the globe of your ear, prompting you to jolt. Once again you attempted to push him away but could barely move. His left hand was pinning your wrist and his right one was painfully tagging at your hair, cranking your head to the side.

"Dazai," you wanted to let him know that you understood his intentions but he needed to stop when a not so gentle bite quickly shut you up.

He was licking and nipping leaving hickeys at your poor neck. You were squirming and whirling under his touch not giving up yet, so he thrust his hips into yours. There was no way you could keep any sounds in, so a whiny moan escaped your lips. You felt Dazai stopping, a satisfied smirk on his lips, then without saying a word, he continued torturing your sensitive neck. Two things were clear to you: a strong lust was taking over your body which meant that you were slowly losing yourself and that Dazai had just started playing with you, there were more to come.

Dazai. Dazai! Realising who was the man behind you, you tried to gain back control. Osamu was just being a bully, whywere you letting him see you in such a state? He certainly didn't deserve nor your moans, nor your hips grinding his.

You were thinking this but it took everything in you to not just give in to his touch. While you were having an internal battle, Dazai pulled away with a loud pop.

"Five."

"Five what?" you mewled weakly.

"There are five hickeys on your neck," Dazai murmured. "You look so good, all red and moaning. When you can't even do anything. You've been definitely enjoying it, sure you still want to continue learning self-defence techniques?"

You widened your eyes at his words.

"Excuse me?!" you exploded. "What the hell are you implying?!"

With all force, you shoved him in the side with an elbow. Dazai hissed and even though the attack was fairly weak he let go.

"I mean, no kink-shaming," he put hands in the air surrendering.

"What's your problem?!"

It was hard for you to overcome your desire of slapping him but no way in hell you were staying in one room with him for another second. You bolted but Dazai was quicker, catching your hand.

"Where're you going? For a moment there I thought you didn't agree and wanted to continue," he quipped. "Come on, that was just one technique."

"Dazai, let me go," you growled yanking your hand free. "I've had enough of you today, I'm leaving."

You had already turned to leave when he pulled you to the ground. You snorted in frustration, your legs fiercely kicking but the lack of strategy played against you and there you were - trapped under him. Osamu was sitting between your legs with his arms pinning yours to the ground.

You felt unbearably hot and weak, your cunt throbbing against his groin. His face was hanging right above yours, so close you could feel his breath. Unintentionally your eyes focused on his lips then you looked up. Only now you noticed how lustful his gaze was. He clearly was a winner today and he was about to enjoy his prize. As you licked your lips, your recognised your mistake - now your eagerness was more than obvious.

"I'm just parched," you faltered but it sounded pathetic even to you.

"I'm sure you are," Osamu whispered, sitting back. "One more technique and I'll let you go." His fingers gripped your thighs.

Since his weight was off you now, you felt kind of cold. Not knowing where to place your arms, you were about to put them next to your sides when Dazai commanded you to keep them still.

That position was too sexy for your liking - arms are placed next to your head, legs spread. All of it without his control felt like you were offering yourself to him. Like you were submitting. The man was clearly savouring it because his gaze was so intense, in the end, you even had to avert yours.

Dazai clearly didn't like it, tapping your left thigh:

"Look at me, y/n-chan, how else are you supposed to learn?"

You slowly turned back, embarrassed as your eyes darted all over him until they abruptly stopped at his crotch. There was a visible boner in his pants. When Osamu followed your gaze and loudly chuckled you felt your cheeks grow hot and desire growing stronger.

"Concentrate, y/n-chan," Dazai said amusingly but the only thing you could concentrate on was the wetness between your legs. You feared it might start to be visible through your shorts.

"Look, if someone got you into this position," Osamu continued like both of you didn't want the same thing and that thing was to fuck. "You have to keep your arms straight and put them on your shoulders, like this," he gently took your hands and placed them as he instructed. "Then you should put your leg on my hip," he tried to do it for you once again but your leg was wobbly. All the strength you had was wasted on keeping your arms straight.

Dazai sighed theatrically but he couldn't keep a vicious sparkle in his eyes.

"Y/n-chan," he whinged. "You're such a bad student. Weak. Stupid," his fingers were slowly stroking your thigh. "Having a short attention span. Don't you think that you should have concentrated on learning some stuff instead of thinking about my cock?" With this question his arm groped your ass, pulling you closer.

He gripped your hips and you let out a moan. Now you weren't trying to hold back. You were already a loser, might as well enjoy it. Being a tease he was, Dazai wasn't ready to give you everything right then and there but you were having none of it. You hooked your legs around his waist and pulled him closer by his collarbone. Osamu certainly wasn't ready for such a force so he confusingly complied.

"Call me stupid one more time and I'm leaving," you warned him, a confident smirk playing on your lips.

Dazai's face quickly changed from surprised to a perverse one. He dropped down on you, pinning you with his whole body and slammed his hips into yours. As you moaned he caressed your face, lovingly brushing your hair, and then whispered:

"I'm gonna break you, pretty doll."

With one swift motion, he put your wrists in one hand pinning it above your head, his tongue running over your lips then dragging you into a deep kiss. As you two were hungrily kissing each other you felt his fingers crawling under your waistband. You jolted, an instinct of placing your hand over his acting up but he was still holding you firmly. He ran one finger over your cunt but you were already shaking, silently begging for more.

"Dazai," you moaned desperately asking him to get down to business.

"You're so wet, y/n-chan," he licked your earlobe making you writhe. "I wish I teased you a little bit more," he started to kiss your jaw getting lower and lower. "I said that I'd break you but it seems you're already at your limit," he chortled, helping you to take your top and bra off.

"You look so beautiful," he murmured once you were almost fully naked in front of him.

Suddenly his gaze turned soft and you felt even more aroused than you before. Gladly the man wasn't planning on wasting any time as he started to lick, nip and bite one of your nipples, playing with his fingers with another. Moaning lewdly and rutting your hips you put your hand into his hair, curling soft strands in your fingers.

When he finished playing with your tits, he wanted to go further down, to place kisses on your lower stomach, but you decided to get back at him. Placing your straight hands on his shoulders, you put a leg on his thigh just as he instructed and squirmed out of his grip.

"You talk about me but look at yourself," you shoved a knee between his thighs, pushing it at his boner. "You were hard even before I started to feel something else besides irritation."

Now it was Osamu whose breath hitched. You were savouring your little win when he looked back at you with a dangerous grin. That was when you realised you fucked up. He quickly grabbed your leg and turned you over on the stomach. Laying down on you, he harshly seized your hair and hissed:

"A+ for learning the technique, but your attitude towards you teacher," he took off your shorts with pants nearly ripping them. "Needs some correction."

That was when the sound of a loud slap broke the silence of the room. You jolted, a gasp leaving your lips. You tried to crawl from him but his grip on your hair was strong.

"Come on, y/n-chan, it was just one slap. Don't you think you deserve it?" The hand that hit you was stroking your bruised ass cheek.

"It fucking hurt," you spit.

"Was it?" Dazai chuckled. "Say that you're sorry."

"For what?" you raged but another hit was your answer.

"Dazai, stop," you sobbed.

"Wrong," he retorted slapping your ass again. "Plus, if you don't like it why are you leaking so much?"

You embarrassingly bit a lip at his remark.

"A little bit of masochistic, are you?" Dazai noted. "Well, if you insist, I can keep on going."

You knew that both of you were barely holding it, so you decided to submit. Just this once.

"I'm sorry!" You squealed after another hit.

"Good girl," Osamu placed a soft kiss on your back still not letting go of your hair. "Now it's time for a treat."

And with that, he finally pushed the first finger into you. Since you were so wet there was a little pool under you, Dazai successfully pushed another finger shortly after. You quivered and jerked your hips begging him to move. This time around your colleague decided not to tease you.

As his fingers were pumping in and out of you, you were trying to push your head down to steady yourself but Dazai didn't let go. You were completely at his will.

"'m close," you mewled, your eyes rolling back.

Dazai hummed in acknowledgement and withdrew his hand. You groaned offendedly but heard the sound of a condom wrapper being ripped and then felt something else rubbing at your entrance.

Finally, Osamu positioned himself behind you and pushed inside, your pussy stretching obediently. The fullness made you gasp pervertedly. As he started moving your mind went completely blank. The only thing that existed for you at that moment was Dazai and his cock inside of you. He let go of your hair, one hand now was holding your hips and another one was giving attention to your clit.

You had no idea how he was still holding on but once your sensitive bud got stimulated you quickly come undone.

"Once more," Dazai panted while moving and playing with your clit simultaneously.

Even though you were tired, you had actually felt desire growing again. Osamu was just way too good for you to resist. You thought that the only thing he was chasing was his high, but he didn't cum until you orgasmed again denying himself every time he got too close. That's why when you cummed for the second time you did it toghether.

He rolled off you, but you couldn't move even a finger, for a moment you've gone completely numb. Your chest was going up and down with heavy breaths, your heart was racing. None of you spoke because you didn't know what to talk about. Especially, since you, personally, felt way too embarrassed to admit that you had just cummed two times because of an annoying Dazai Osamu.

"Looks like we ended in time!" Dazai chirped after some time and you looked at the clock realising that you spent here one hour. Just like it was promised.

"Wish I had actually learned something though," you remarked lazily, trying to pull on your shorts back. You just had to make it to the shower room and then wear your casual clothes. However, your pants were completely ruined.

"Well, if you think that you need another one, just let me know," you looked back at Dazai and his smirk told you that he wasn't meaning the self-defence lessons. You felt your cheeks grow hot again.

"Yeah, sure," you muttered, awkwardly leaving the training room.

From now on you intended on avoiding Dazai whenever it's possible.

Little did you know he had other plans.

[notafraidofredyellowandblue]

Flake's podcast - Blood

Published 2022-11-08, songlist in this post

One of my secret wishes is that Flake invites one of his bandmates one day as a guest on his podcast, and a podcast with topic 'Blood' seemed the perfect one to invite Till to (as Till often writes/sings about it), but nope, it didn't happen (not so sure that Till would even want to participate ofcourse). But.. Flake does play (1h13) the song 'Blut' by 'Lindemann', as far as i remember the first time he used one of their songs, because (as he says it) "It is called Blut and I wanted to hear what the colleagues are up to' 😊

Before that he mentions enjoying visiting cemeteries and reading tombstones (in Berlin there's one with just 'Mutter' (Mother) on it, which leads to the Lindemann song), but he also mentions one of his favorite tombstones with a Mercedes S model on it (Flake is a car-enthusiast, if we didn't already know it). His favorite phrase on a tombstone is "I told you I was ill" (he muses on about how you could put anything on it, like your World of Warcraft score (which he doesn't play, just read about it in a Bushido bio), I wonder if he already knows what to pu on his own 🌺).

After the Lindemann song he reminisces about his school days when Blutsbrüder (Blood brothers) was on tv and when Flake decided to become blood brothers too, a classmate wanted too, so that met in the schoolyard, Flake brought a pocketknife, and they wanted to cut up their arm like in the movie, but as in turned out human skin is quit thick so they didn't manage it (or maybe the East-German pocket knives just weren't that good). Flake then scratched open a mosquite-bite that he had, the friend also scratched something, but in the end they didn't bleed much and the bloodbrother thing didn't happen. He hasn't seen the friend for about 50 years 😁

Flake also plays Rammstein (at 1h00), 'Wiener Blut', fitting the theme, after it he says "ah, beautiful song" (and you can tell he means it) and talks about having to come up with an act for it when they wanted to play it live, so Flake came up with the idea of starting with using an old-fashioned recordplayer, but that wasn't as simple as it seemed. Flake played the violin sound on his keyboard and they mixed and scrambled to make it distorted. A friend then made an actual vinyl from it, and then came the challenge to go through antique shops to find recordplayers that looked the part and still worked. And when those were found, there weren't enough needles for the players. Someone told him to use cactus-needles instead, so he took his mum to a gardencentre, and with a pair of scissors snipped off a few needles. Then back to bandpractice, trying it our, many needles snapped, but in the end it worked out and the recordplayer was used in the act, although often you couldn't even hear it properly. For the act they also used dolls that were lowered from the ceiling, these were a bit difficult to see (dolls were too small) so they built in some laserpointers and used jalousie (curtain) motors from the hardware store to lower them. Or as Flake says "Guys who like to do DIY will feel right at home with us". 😄

Couple of nice songs and anecdotes; at 1h20 he plays Eisbrecher, another band in the 'Neue Deutsche Härte' genre. Also U2, ofcourse with 'Sunday Bloody Sunday', or as Flake says (at 0h43) from a time when they were still cool. He already mentioned in previous podcasts not being a U2 fan, this time he reveals why: actually he still thinks they're cool and likes the music, but he really resented the Apple iTunes story when a new U2 album was forced in all user's devices. Flake thinks that was very wrong and pushy, everybody should make their own choices in what music to hear. But he thinks they redeemed themselves a little to promote a new album in Berlin, actually in the 'U2' which is a line of the Berlin U-bahn (subway).

Flake occassionally is very outspoken about topics, and it happens this time too, starting at 1h34, he talks about what a rubbish car the 'Volkswagen' is, not just from historical perspective (the world war II past) but also quality-wise he thinks those are really bad cars, bad construction, bad making, stuck together without love, maybe there are worse cars, Flake doesn't know, but certainly not worse cars that cost as much, and the worst customer service who lie and cheat, totally unacceptable. The tirade seemlessly continues in a rant against political parties, like the AfD (Alternative für Deutschland, a relatively new right-wing party in Germany), who support the wrong cars and not worthy causes like artists. Artists who are generally considered to be left-wing and Flake agrees on that, those who make art are those who go through the world with their eyes open, watches, improves things. No artist would ever vote for the AfD. That people in their discontent and anger vote AfD he somewhat understands but thinks is very bad. Someone who votes AfD can't be Flake's friend, it's impossible. If you buy a Volkswagen you can still be Flake's friend, he's not as strict there, but you can't complain afterwards that you've spent all that money and have a bad car. This whole rant is over 4 minutes long, but I think it gave a good insight in two topics that Flake clearly feels very strongly about.

On a lighter note, and as it's a long post again, i'll end with a small band (he doesn't mention, but i think it's Rammstein) anecdote at 0h27 when they played as a supporting act in Prague for AC/DC and Brian Johnson came over to have a chat with them, very friendly person, very well-behaved (as far as Flake can tell), and he told them about Angus Young having shortened his guitarsolos, because they were a nightmare before. They were so long that Brian would go offstage and 'Fucked me one'; Flake doesn't really now if that means he jerked off or he actually had sex, and if he did so with every song... Flake hopes one day they'll play with AC/DC again so he can ask him. 😄

🎹

more of my takes on Flake's podcasts

[jilyawards]

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[butterfrogmantis]

Doin’ a little uh, 

Aceston revamp here- Mind if I just- 

Lots of stuff below the cut

Ace decides to return to Sodor to see Thomas - well tbh, Thomas is one of the only friends he’s ever had, and his adventures with him and Nia had made him realise that. He considered the other racers his friends but … well after seeing the way Thomas had gone after her, he kinda realised he couldn’t count on them the way Thomas and Nia had. Uh, excuse him - what he actually means is that he was living free and easy and just HAPPENED to be in Sodor on his journey ofc! Well anyway he doesn’t see why he can’t stay for a while, to look around. As he’s cruising around the roads one day he happens to spot a little chauffeur standing by an interesting little rail car. Ace is a big fan of cars, so out of pure curiosity he stops and begins to enquire about it - mostly how fast it can go. The other man is a bit surprised by the stranger but he’s going to be waiting for Sir Topham for a while and he was raised to be polite, so he stops for a while to talk about the car and compliment Ace’s. The two exchange names and Ace asks if he’d want to try out a “real” car, offering to show him how fast he could be driving if he wanted to. Winston does have a bit of a him that thinks it would be very exciting but… he’d rather not, he’s not sure he can trust this man he just met after all and Ace seems so … cool, compared to him. Ace doesn’t really think anything of it, and continues his sightseeing journey.

Throughout the week, he spots Winston a few more times, it’s not hard to do when the Fat Controller is all over the island after all, and each time he has a friendly chat and “offers” a ride in his race car, to which Winston politely says he needs to get on with his job. Well a couple of weeks go by and Winston has a free day, and happens to run into Ace at a cafe this time. Not having the excuse of work, Winston “somehow” finds himself in the passenger seat of Ace’s car going for a joy ride on racing tracks. And sure, it’s exciting! Maybe … a bit too exciting - actually he starts to feel really quite ill and once they’re done Ace takes Winston back to his house at his request and whilst his original attitude is “pft spoilsport” he decides to stay with him to um, make sure he’s alright, he did look a bit green after the ride after all and “making sure he’s alright” turned into spending the whole night, and some of the next morning.

Well Winston isn’t entirely clear what happened after that, but they spent Ace’s last few weeks on Sodor together most evenings, once Winston got off his shift. It was … quite nice. Really, Winston had never had anyone pay this much attention to him before, and Ace was so … out there. He’d had so many adventures and seen so many places and done so much stuff Winston could only dream of! And somehow Ace found HIM interesting enough to spend time with. And then … he was gone. Not even really a goodbye, Winston just heard one day that Ace had gone on to his next adventure. Winston wasn’t surprised by the leaving, he knew Ace was going off soon but … he was hurt that he’d done it so coldly, just when Winston was starting to feel really special, and he kinda felt used :,D Well, sometime later, Winston hears of a race happening on the main land, and finds out from Thomas that Ace is participating. Winston goes, intending to confront him and ends up signing himself into the race, hoping to teach Ace a lesson. Ace is very surprised by that, because he knows Winston doesn’t really like the speed and tries to get him to back out, but now Winston is mad at him for “protecting” him when he was the one that left. So, stupidly, Winston keeps his mouth shut and goes to the start line. The first part wasn’t too bad, he even made it round the first bend ok - and you know what? Winston maybe started to see why Ace enjoyed the speed so much. He was having fun! And that relaxation lost his concentration. He started to veer dangerously to one side, and would have had a prettty serious accident - only, another driver basically sacrificed their car to protect him. One second he’s about to smack into another car, the next, he’s .. he’s ok. Bruised and quite shocked, but fine. The other two cars … not so much. It’s then he realises that Ace had pushed his car out of the way and taken the full damage. Some medical people come and take Ace and the other driver to hospital, and Winston goes there asap where he gets some bad news. The other driver is mostly fine, but Ace has … sustained some more serious injuries. The doctor explains that it will be a while until he’s fully back to normal, but that a recovery looks promising due to his health. Winston doesn’t even hesitate to offer to let Ace stay with him, if he wants, and the racer does. Wheelchair bound, then crutch bound, then slowly starting to walk again, it’s almost a year before Ace is back on his feet, but as the doctors hoped, he’s doing well  and of course with news of his recovery, the other racers want to know if he’ll make an epic come back to racing. Ace is excited by the prospect but … well to be honest, Sodor almost feels like a second home to him now. See, when he left Winston originally it wasn’t out of him being cruel but because a goodbye would have been hard, he realised he genuinely cared, and now - does more than ever. He’d had some flings after Winston but he didn’t know what it was about him that was so special, maybe because he’d never cared about his reputation but was genuinely curious in his hobby and him as a person, something Ace realised not many others were. At the time he felt he couldn’t have both his free and easy life style AND something with Winston so he just … left, to make it easier for himself. He still wants to race, but he’ll be a bit more “easy” than free, after all he doesn’t want to get too hurt again now he’s back to normal. And as for Winston? Well … he doesn’t mind giving Ace a more permanent residence in between his less dangerous adventures, just as long as Ace knows he ought to fly ‘home’ soon. Winston and Ace (c) TTTE / Thomas The Tank Engine And Friends

[batsandbugs]

A Kiss With a Fist

AN: Hey everyone another fic coming at you! This is for the Maribat Drabble Exchange hosted by @eat0crow I’m so excited to be participating! My fic was for @pixiebuggiewrites​ who wanted a Daminette soulmate fic. Sorry I couldn’t squeeze anybody else in here it was already getting pretty long! I hope you all enjoy! You can also read it here on ao3! (Pictures are NOT mine)

Damian stormed away from the hotel, aggressively zipping his coat. He didn’t care where he was going, only that it was away from here.

He didn’t want to be in Paris. He didn’t want to watch out for incompetent amateurs. He didn’t want to ‘control your anger, Damian’. He wanted to be sent home.

The calm night taunted him, the Parisian streets were too bight and too clean, resembling nothing like his dark city. He missed patrolling, he missed his animals, hell, a part of him (a small, barely negligible part he would never admit to) even missed his siblings. But no, he was stuck here, under his father’s orders until the situation in Paris drew to a conclusion.

Considering it took five years for outside help to be even called in, he had no clue how long the mission would last. He still hadn’t met the so-called-heroes of Paris, but the research he conducted showed they were ill-trained, undisciplined, and relying on so much luck it was a fucking miracle their city wasn’t a smoking ruin by now.

He sighed, sticking his hands deeper into the pockets of his coat. He regretted not grabbing his gloves in his storm out. He’d been so irritated at his father that even though the man was on the other side of a screen, half-way across an ocean, Damian needed to physically leave to calm his anger. It left him little time to grab essentials for a chilly winter night like a hat, or gloves. He considered himself lucky for remembering to grab a coat at all.

He wandered for a solid hour, the cold sinking into his bones chilling the raging inferno that always seemed to bubble inside him. By the time he no longer wanted to scream at anyone, he was sufficiently lost, considering he hadn’t taken his phone with him either.

Coming to rest on a bridge he took a seat on a small bench. He puffed a warm breath of air into his chilly hands rubbing them together. Nighttime in Paris was so… different compared to Gotham. While big cities never truly slept, this was positively peaceful in comparison to what he was used to. He hadn’t even heard a single sound of ruckus or distress, which seemed strange considering the city was currently besieged by a magical butterfly terrorist.

Damian inwardly scoffed. Butterfly terrorist. True, being a Gothamite meant no room to judge, but he found it hard to think of a stranger string of words.

He sighed; Damian didn’t even know what his father wanted him to do here. Sure, he knew French and was a proficient fighter, but what could that even lend to the situation? They needed a detective, and, as much as he hated to admit it, Drake would have been the better option in that department. Unfortunately, he was off-world. Grayson was dealing with a problem in Hong Kong with Cass. Brown was paired with the rest of the Sirens taking care of Gotham along with Batman, and Todd…

Well, even he recognized what an awful choice Todd would be against a villain who literally used strong negative emotions as his weapon of choice. Damian had a temper; Todd was a ticking-time-bomb.

A high-pitched screech cut through the night air, before being noticeably muffled. Damian was on his feet and running before he even mentally acknowledged it. The thud of his boots on the cobblestone bridge sent small shocks through his legs. Another large clatter directed him off to a side street a couple of feet away. Three men had cornered a tiny slip of a woman, who held her purse like a weapon.

Damian saw red. “Hey, why don’t you pick on someone your own size,” he yelled in French. There was one benefit to being in a foreign city, Damian did not have to play the part of a clueless rich kid who couldn’t hold his own in a fight.

The brutes turned to him and grinned mean smiles. One guy stepped forward. “Come on man, we’re just having a little fun. You can join if you-” Damian cut off the disgusting words with a jab to the nose. Then he spun around, sweeping the second guy’s feet from underneath him, hitting him with a punch to the face to knock him out cold. The first guy hadn’t lost consciousness, but he was doubled over which allowed Damian to knee him in the stomach. Another punch to the face and he was out cold too.

He turned to finish off the last guy, only to see the woman roundhouse kicking him to the head. The burly man fell with a thud. The alley turned eerily silent, the only sounds coming from the sharp breaths of both Damian and the girl. His pulse fluttered fast; the heat of the battle warmed his chilled limbs.

A red purse laid on the ground near his feet. Picking it up he walked over to the small woman, no teen she looked about his age, who was still sharply breathing.

“Here, this is-” a blur is all he saw before a sharp pain spread across his nose.

Did she-

Did she just punch him in the face?

The shock of it sent him sprawling onto the ground, and he blinked away the tears forming in his eyes. Damian cradled his throbbing nose, anger bubbled once more under his skin before-

*Zing*  

The connection hit him like a train. A deep well of rightness spreading through him. He looked up through bleary eyes to find the woman staring at him in similar shock.

“You’re my soulmate,” they sputtered at each other.

Damian inwardly groaned. The League made initiates kill their soulmate should they ever find them to prove their loyalty. He grew up never wanting to find his soulmate, knowing they would serve as nothing but a distraction and weakness. Even when he joined his father, the idea seemed an unneeded liability. Sure, his brothers found their soulmates within the superhero community, but what were the chances he would too?

A small whimper escaped the mouth of the guy lying unconscious on the ground, knocked out by the woman the universe thought would be the perfect match for him. Damian tilted his head. She might not be a superhero, but maybe the universe knew him better than he first imagined.

“OhmygoshIamsosorry!” the flood of words spilled from his soulmate’s mouth, her face a deep shade of red. “I was just-”

“Acting on instinct and adrenaline? Appropriate, considering the threat you just faced,” he said without anger. “Your right hook is sufficiently adequate.”

“Um… thanks? Are you alright though?” She extended a hand to help him off the ground. He took it, his larger hand enveloped hers, but she showed a surprising amount of strength as she pulled him up. The contact sent another *zing* through his body, smaller and more subdued though. Damian found himself reluctant to let go.

“Yes, yes, I’m fine.” He suffered worse in training before. With the initial pain dissipated, all that was left was a dull throbbing that would be gone by morning. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” she said with a bright smile. He took the chance to finally observe his soulmate. She was small, couldn’t be more than 5’2, which meant at 6’1 he towered over her. She was of mixed descent, with dark hair spilling over her shoulders, and bright blue eyes. Her arms and legs were toned with muscle, and she held herself with grace and confidence. She wore a face of tasteful makeup and was clothed in a short red dress and a pair of strappy heels with no jacket in sight. He had no clue how she wasn’t freezing to death.

Her smile dimmed a bit. “Actually, no, I’ve had better days. Today has kinda been a perfect disaster; first I’m late for school, then I forgot my homework, and my class bully decided it was a pick-on-Marinette day. There’s a three-hour Akuma fight, involving mind-control, which is always a total drag. I finally get home to find my parents worried sick about me because I hadn’t answered my phone which got destroyed at the beginning of the fight. I go to my class’s senior Valentine’s day dance hoping to finally confess to the guy I’ve had a crush on for years, only to get humiliated because he already has a girlfriend, and everyone else in my class knew and decided not to tell me. When I get away not to cause a scene, not only do I forget my jacket, but I also get attacked by three bumbling idiots with more mouths than brains.” She chuckled, hollow and verging on manic.

Damian stood there, unsure how to take all of that. He filed away the fact she was being bullied, and that she commonly dealt with Akuma attacks. Both equally important, as far as he was concerned.

“Now, here I am, standing in front of my gorgeous soulmate I punched in the face, after beating up said earlier idiots, rambling my mouth off because I don’t know the meaning of the word chill. Yep! I’ve certainly had better days. Ohmygoshimatotalmesskillmenow.” She muttered the last part into her hands, but Damian understood her all the same.

He would come back to the gorgeous thing later.

“…Do you want my jacket? You look cold.” It wasn’t the smoothest thing he could have said, nor the most appropriate considering the mess of a day she’d had. However, the manners Alfred drilled into his brain came knocking and if he was cold with a turtle-neck long-sleeved shirt and a jacket, she must be freezing in all that… nothingness. He averted his eyes from her exposed skin, looking at her face instead.

His soulmate looked at him for a long moment, before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

“You know what, yeah, a jacket would be nice,” she said in a tired voice. Damian shed his coat quickly, not minding the sharp sting of cold that hit him. He helped his soulmate into the sleeves and took an odd little pleasure in seeing how tiny she looked in the folds of his jacket.  

“I’m Marinette, by the way, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” She wrapped the jacket closer cuddling into the heat. “Sorry for kinda freaking out on you there.”

“The kind of day you’ve had has surely broken lesser mortals. Any coping method is your due. I’m Damian, Damian Wayne. It’s a pleasure to meet you Marinette.” He smiles, although the gesture feels odd, trying to appear non-threatening. While his soulmate (and maybe he was coming around to this faster than he thought possible) was obviously skilled at dealing with a variety of stressors, he didn’t want to add any more and risk her being akumatized.

“You as well Damian.” She shivered despite the added protection of his coat, as a gust of wind swept through the alleyway. “As much fun as this conversation has been, it might be best for us to get out of the cold.”

“Indeed. What will we do with these inconveniences?” he asked, poking one of the guys with the tip of his boot.

She sighed, picking her purse from the ground where he’d dropped it. “We’ll call the police to come pick them up. They’ll be cold, but fine.”

Damian scowled, “It’s better than they deserve.” He sneered at the guy who offered for Damian to join them. Join them in assaulting this tiny, bright girl, who’d been through enough. His soulmate. The bubbling rage began anew, and he wished he’d done more than just knock them unconscious, they deserved far worse for thinking, daring, to touch-

A small hand rested on his arm, dragging him out of his violent thoughts. “I’m fine Damian. Even if you hadn’t arrived, I would have been fine. I can hold my own in a fight. This is Paris after all.”

“Tt,” Damian scoffed. “Fine. We’ll leave them to their fates.” And if their fates happened to involve complete ruination of their online lives, credit scores, and secure information? Well, that was hardly his fault, now was it?

“There’s a good café opened late around the corner. Would you- would you like to go there?” Marinette asked.

Damian smiled at the tentative offer. “I would very much enjoy that, yes. I’ve been out for longer than I should, coffee would be great right about now.” She giggled and he felt his stomach flutter. Funny, giggling always annoyed him, but that bright clear sound... he could grow used to that.

Walking out of the dark alley, listening to Marinette talk to the police on her phone, Damian sighed. The streets no longer felt too clean, or the lights too bright. Yes, he was colder, and yes this was a complication, but for some reason, Damian could not bring himself to care.

Maybe Paris wouldn’t be so bad after all.