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manikas-whims · 4 years ago

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Shadow & Bone, The Crows & everyone's complaints

So now that I'm on my 2nd watch of the show, I wanna speak on certain things about the Crows in the show, which have made many people mad and some of which I didn't like either..but which I can still see as tying up with the canon.

⚠ Spoilers for both the Books & Show ⚠

Here we go:

• Kaz accepting the 1M Kruge job

Now ofc we all remember the book Kaz who bargained with a Mercher and raised his prize to 30M. But Leigh, Eric & the Crows Cast has been pointing out since day one that these aren't the same people we know from what we've read. This is a sort of prequel to those characters and just them figuring out their dynamic with each other.

Remember, the book opens with Inej saying Kaz is a feared man in the Barrel without hesitation, she introduces herself as the Wraith who can't be stopped even by gravity on certain days and Jesper as the amazing sharpshooter and charmer.

Now as a new reader, I found that chapter sort of funny because how are you claiming all this without showing me their process of becoming these formidable people? But as I read through, the thought that inded these are 6 dangerous outcasts, settled in my mind.

But before that 30M job, they must've had many smaller conquests too right? Ones which slowly built-up their experience, confidence and relationships.

Since this is a prequel, consider this as another day in their Barrel life, as them going on another of their regular jobs. And just think of this as a learning experience for Kaz. That its the dangers that they got into travelling to a different country that made Kaz learn his and his crew's worth. And prepared him for the negotiations he did with Jan Van Eck in SoC.

• Kaz brought to his knees by Pekka

While Kaz being bested by two mere lackies of Pekka was kinda annoying to me as well, why do we believe that Pekka can't harm him or the others? PEKKA ROLLINS WAS THE BARREL KING BEFORE KAZ.

Remember on the Ferolind when Oomen tells them he was ordered by Pekka Rollins to take down the Dregs? They all were shocked and somewhat worried. And it was brought up later on when Jesper said they were going against Pekka Rollins and Wylan explains for Matthias sake how Pekka is not to be messed with.

It was only Kaz who wasn't concerned at all, who consoles Jesper by saying Pekka is just another Barrel Boss.

And what were we even expecting Kaz to do when Pekka brought him to his knees? Didn't Kaz express in the books enough how a simple beating won't make it up. He promised to take his revenge in small steps— building up his gang, stealing customers from Pekka's clubs, etc. BRICK BY BRICK.

So Kaz can be brought down to his knees too. And Pekka can easily do it if he wishes so. But no one wants outright Gang Wars; Pekka because he is far more experienced and knows when and where to put pressure or when to let go of a job. He even advices Kaz to forget Inej and drop the idea of going against a Mercher in SoC last chapter, because it is a foolish thing to do.

And Kaz wouldn't want gang wars because he knows the Dregs aren't big enough to face the whole of Dime Lions. Besides he already plans to bring down Pekka brick by brick.

But no one threatens Kaz Brekker, so consider this "on his knees" scene as a set up and another reason for Kaz to strike back and pay back tenfold.

It will also serve as an amazing parallel if we get to see him make Pekka beg on his knees.

• Kaz and Inej are too obvious

Are they? Haven't they always been like that when in each other's company or when around the other Crows? So of course they're expressing alot in front of Jesper.

But note that there are was no incident in the show where Kaz expressed his slowly developing feelings in front of his enemies, namely Pekka. In fact all Kanej moments happen only between them or in Jesper's presence. So there's nothing wrong with that.

Are they too obvious? No. As I said before and as we all know Kaz and Inej ALWAYS share deep conversations whenever together even in books— "i will have you without armor", "i would come for you", etc.

So show Kaz telling Inej "no saints have watched over me like you.." was not much different from their canon alone conversations.

Have they shown too much already? NOT AT ALL.

We only saw Kaz putting the Crow Club on collateral but his reason behind it wasn't shown at all.

We only saw Inej kill a man to protect Kaz. We don't know why she chose to kill for him. You can't immediately translate that to love. It can very well be considered her trying to pay back because he saved her from the Menagerie.

Remember in Crooked Kingdom Chapter 4, Inej says: "their lives had been a series of rescues ever since, a string of debts that they never tallied as they saved each other again and again."

So consider these moments as their endless back and forth of saving each other.

*Another thing to note in the show is when Inej gave her knives to Kaz. She says: "as a friend once said".

She has started considering Kaz a "friend" and she knows he feels the same way even though he won't say it. They're only starting to open up and give way to friendship. And not just Kanej, Jesper too.

People can care for and have each other's backs without it having a romantic aspect. The show gave the viewers a peek at what Kanej are willing to do for each other and showed that there's obviously sparks flying but no clear motto. We still didn't see Kanej's first encounter at the Menagerie or Kaz staring at Inej sitting on his window. These are just small moments to set up the ship.

• The Crows only there for comic relief

NO. I don't agree to this at all.

I'm gonna go back to SoC Duology. Now we know both the books have a sort of a dark setting. But both of these books also had hilarious moments.

Right in Chapter 2 of SoC, Jesper joking about spelling with his bullets and Kaz joining in on the joke. There's also the "this whole shoot me thing is starting to worry me". Inej & Kaz's banter about "greed is your god".

Almost every chapter had atleast one moment that was either comical or to lighten the mood or just straight up banter between the Crows. And all those moments were all always entagled with serious ones.

The show did exactly the same. We were given their crime life because they were after all, on a job to capture and sell off a person. But the show lightened it by adding the Crows banter and certain comical moments. And for the finishing touches, they sprinkled in some vulnerability.

• Kaz not being ruthless enough

I AGREE. I DO.

What the fuck is wrong with us all wanting a sinister man being ruthless? 😂

There's not much I can say about this but that even in books, Kaz isn't always ruthless.

He is mostly giving out orders and scheming schemes. But in those rare moments in the book when we get to see Dirtyhands, we are given a view into some really intense moments.

When Kaz dislocates a man's arm in the Ice Court Prison, he himself admits it that he didn't do it as much to make himself look intimidating to the other criminals but more to remind himself that he can do it, that he isn't some helpless man.

The only such thing we got in the show was the brief scene between Kaz and that Inferni where he had that scary look on his face as he crushed that inferni's arm and slammed his face.

WE DID DESERVE MORE OF THAT.

But maybe it was a good moment to set him up for more violence in the coming seasons. *crosses fingers*

• The Crows not stealing from Alina

Okay whilst Inej wouldn't do it, Jesper may only consider, Kaz would definitely do it!

Remember Kaz kazually conversing with Van Eck and Pekka but also stealing their stuff in those moments with his slight of hands?

Yeah, the showrunners had a perfect chance at the end to do it but they missed it 😐

This is probably the one thing that I'm unable to settle with 🤧

So..that's it!

I don't want everyone to agree with me but I hope everyone can be a little less aggressive and more kind to the show. It was still amazing, if not a proper adaptation then at least good as a standalone show. And the showrunners already did say "high budget fanfiction"

#shadow and bone spoilers #six of crows #shadow and bone #the crows #kanej #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #jesper fahey #crooked kingdom #grishaverse

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softcallofdutyimagines · 4 years ago

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What kind of pet(s) do you think the Cold War crew would have and what kind do you think they'd be allergic to? (I'm extremely allergic to cats 😔, but I still love them)

Sure! I feel that though, I'm allergic to hay but I love horses!!! It's ok though I suppose, I just turned into a car girl instead since I never got my pony growing up lmaooo

Anyway, I digress. Enjoy and thanks for the ask!! 💖

Adler

This feels kind of random, but I strongly headcannon that he'd have horses????

There's just something about the idea of Adler doing some of that good old "honest work" back home that feels right

His day job is just so messed up and crazy in general, so it feels good to come home to a completely different life

Besides, horses require a strong but gentle hand to train and care for and I'd say that's right up his alley

Not to mention horses are quite therapeutic, especially when you're out for a ride

He takes rides often, just to truly escape for a little while

Adler is allergic dogs

This works out fine though, considering dogs scare his horses

Bell

Bell definitely owns something exotic

Or maybe more like "exotic" idk haha

Anyway, Bell owns a snake

A big one

Other people are really freaked out, but Bell's snake is actually a sweetie

You will hardly ever find the snake kept in it's habit, as Bell likes to let the big guy explore and slither around

This includes letting the snake crawl on and around Bell

Honestly, I'm not sure there's any super deep connection though

Bell would just be that person to own something that most people would be too scared to even go near lol

Coincidentally, Bell would also be that person to have a weird allergy

They are allergic to anything with fur, so cats, dogs, horses, ect

Hudson

If Hudson were to own any pet at all, it would be something like ULTRA low maintenance

So probably either fish or a lizard, as long as it's not a creepy crawly one lol

If it's fish, he has exactly one goldfish chilling out in a tank in his bedroom

If it's a lizard, it's something big like a komodo dragon

I could see him bonding better with the lizard though

In a strange and perhaps not exactly flattering way, they're more similar then you'd think

Chill, unbothered, tough skin, cold blooded

Also hairless, as Woods and Mason like to remind him

Hudson would ALSO have a weird allergy lmao

He's allergic to birds

Lazar

Oh you KNOW Lazar owns cats

He's basically just a big cat himself, so it makes sense

Have you ever taken a nap in a patch of sunlight?

If not, you totally should bc it's awesome

Usually his cats will sleep on top of him to get their slice of sunlight too

Lazar owns at least one piece of merch that says something along the lines of #1 Cat Dad

He is highly allergic to dogs

It's almost funny, as it just adds more to the theory that he is actually just a cat in human form

Mason

Mason, very specifically, owns a pair of malamutes

They may look scary, and if you threaten their owners/property they can be!!

BUT!! 99% of the time they're just two big floofy boys who love playing and being petted

Alex takes them sledding once in a while, just because otherwise the dogs get antsy for something high energy

Mason is allergic to horses, which sucks for him because he'd love to ride

Park

Much to the annoyance of her neighbors, Helen owns some budgies

They're a bit loud, but she doesn't mind at all

She lets them out fairly often, even though they have a very spacious cage, and they love her lots

While she's at home, she is almost never without a bird on her shoulder

They also know how to do some basic tricks!

It was sort of an accident, as she was just trying to play with them, but it's pretty cool nonetheless

She loves to sing to them too and it's extra special when they twitter along back

Helen is allergic to rabbits

This is an absolute tragedy to her, considering she'd 1000% own at least two if she wasn't

Sims

Sims also owns a dog, but his is far more scrappy looking then Mason's

It's some sort of mutt, maybe a pitt bull mix

But she is the sweetest thing

He rescued her from a junkyard while he was out salvaging supplies for the team and they've been inseparable since

Due to her previous abandonment, she gets depressed quickly when she's alone, so Sims brings her to the bunker often

Despite her rather intimidating appearance, she has a cute name: Dolly

Plus, she's even learned how to fetch certain tools for him, so despite Adler and Hudson's protests, there's really no reason for her to not stay

He is allergic to cats

It's ok though, considering Dolly gets nervous around them

Woods

Frank also has a rescue dog!

Are any of you familiar with the pixie and brutus comic series by pet_foolery on instagram?

Because I could only see Woods owning a dog like brutus lol

A roughed up, retired military dog

He still has plenty of spirit left in him, but that doesn't mean he's all that hyper or anything

Woods loves him because they're just so similar in personality

Also, although he'd never say this... It sort of feels like he and the dog have a connection of sorts, you know?

Like even though they can't really speak to each other, he feels like the dog understands him completely

It's very soothing for when he has to unload some baggage he's seen out in the field

Particularly to have the old guy around once Woods himself retires

Frank is also allergic to cats

This doesn't really impact him too much, considering he doesn't have the patience to own one

#black ops cold war #call of duty #frank woods #russell adler #helen park #jason hudson #eleazar azoulay #alex mason #lawrence sims #cold war bell #call of duty headcannons

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salvatoreschool · 3 years ago

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Kaylee Bryant On "Legacies," The Importance Of Queer Rep On TV, Hosie, And More

"I have so many people constantly telling me that watching Josie on the show has made them feel more comfortable in themselves."

This week, Kaylee Bryant squeezed us into her schedule to talk about their role as Josie Saltzman on Legacies. As a huge Josie fan, I couldn't think of a better way to spend a morning than talking to Kaylee about The Vampire Diaries, Hosie, our favorite books, and more! Here's everything we talked about:

1. What was your audition for Legacies like?

My audition process was very interesting because they kept a lot of it a secret. I had no script and a fake character name. And then I had my second audition, a chemistry read, which Jenny Boyd [Lizzie] wasn't even at. I walked in and immediately just flat-out asked, "This is for the twins, right?" So it was long, but short and intense at the same time.

BuzzFeed: Wait, did you know which twin you were going to be playing?

I initially auditioned for Josie, and then during chemistry reads, they started asking me to read for Lizzie. And then we had our final callback where I finally met Jenny and we both read for both roles. They never told us [who was playing who] until Jenny had her appointment to go dye her hair blonde.

2. What's a typical day on set like?

Gosh, it changes every time. If it's a busy day on set, we're talking like 8 a.m. call time where we spend about two hours on hair and makeup and go straight into rehearsals. If it's a big sort of episode that involves stunt work and wire work, you're talking about doing maybe two scenes in a day. But if it's an average day, we can do anywhere from three to five scenes and we can start at 8 a.m. and wrap at 8 p.m. It really depends. I'm surprised if I'm not surprised.

3. You’ve said you’re a huge fan of The Vampire Diaries. Josie played Elena in the musical episode — what was that like?

It was surreal for sure. They had talked a little bit about doing a musical episode since Season 1. And I always thought that they were joking when they talked about doing Salvatore: The Musical!, so when they said Josie would obviously play Elena, I was like, "Hahaha." And then I got the script and realized I actually was playing Elena. The musical aspect of it was the easy part. The difficult part was, I think, getting into the iconic Elena attire and trying to feel normal. Because we have a lot of crew members that worked on The Vampire Diaries, and they kept coming up to me being like, "This is weird. I feel weird."

4. Do you have a favorite scene you’ve filmed with Courtney Bandeko (Finch) this season?

I really did love the scene that we had in the town square [when] we got on a moped. There were so many fans in the town square that were huddled in the rain — it was pouring rain, freezing cold — trying to snap photos of us. And it was kind of one of those surreal moments where it felt full circle, that I was on a Vampire Diaries spinoff in town square. It was a lot going on, but it was a lot of fun. It's always fun working with Courtney.

5. You and Danielle Rose Russell (Hope) also have amazing chemistry — what’s your favorite scene you’ve filmed together?

Oh gosh, we have a lot that are pretty amazing. Honestly, I'd say [Season 3] Episode 14 — we finally got to do a lot more scenes together. And it's always fun, especially when it's Josie, Lizzie, and Hope, because we have so much history character-wise. Any time you really get to dive into that, we love it.

6. I know Josie and Finch are working through some things right now, but I gotta ask — how do you feel about Hosie?

I love it. Danielle and I loved the idea of Hosie starting from Season 1, and we kept asking and asking and asking for it. So it's kind of funny and full circle that now the fans have kind of taken our side with things, and now they won't stop asking for it. All we want is this beautiful, dynamic relationship. And I think that the fans want that as well.

BuzzFeed: Yeah, I mean, people have even been asking me about Hosie, and I don't work on the show!

Oh, I'm sure! [Laughs] Obviously I love it, though.

7. Is there a particular Josie moment you’re really proud of?

Josie has a scene coming up in Episode 18 — or 19? — I don't know, but it's good. It's sort of the pinnacle of everything that Josie has felt over the past three years kind of culminating into one moment. So, I'm excited for people to see it.

8. You recently came out as queer. How has playing Josie, who’s pansexual, impacted you personally?

I felt a lot of pressure when I initially booked Josie because I was still figuring out who I was and what my label was. And playing a character who was so comfortable in who she was, it was inspiring [to me] in a way that I think a lot of other people watching the show have been inspired. I have so many people constantly telling me that watching Josie on the show has made them feel more comfortable in themselves. It's kind of amazing that we all have the same experience in that having queer representation makes you more comfortable.

9. You’ve been vocal about your Asian identity, and your character has spoken Japanese on the show. Did you have a hand in incorporating that into Josie’s character?

No, not at all! So, I spoke Japanese a few times on the [Instagram] Live and one of our writers, Penny Cox, saw me speaking Japanese and immediately went to Brett [Matthews] and was like, "We need to make this happen somehow." And then all of a sudden, I had a script in my hands. So it was a surprise, but a fun one.

BuzzFeed: Are you fluent in Japanese?

Gosh, no! I'm barely fluent in English. [Laughs] I would say I speak at the level of maybe a second-grader on a good day, though.

10. If you could pitch any storyline for Josie, what would it be?

I always joke that I want an episode that takes place overnight. That way, we all have to be wearing pajamas the entire episode. I just want to wear some comfy clothes for a whole two weeks, that's my main goal. So we can have a pajama episode, that's my pitch.

11. What's it like getting into character for Dark Josie scenes?

It's different in the sense that I know Josie so well. And knowing Josie in turn makes me understand Dark Josie. I have a whole different playlist of music that I listen to for Dark Josie — and I have the wig, which helps a lot with getting into character.

BuzzFeed: Well, now I have to ask what music is on that playlist!

I think "Bury a Friend" by Billie Eilish is a great one for Dark Josie. Also, "Villain" by K/DA is a prime example of a perfect song for Dark Josie, so I listen to that one as well.

12. What's your go-to Starbucks order?

Plain black iced Americano. Aria [Shahghasemi, who plays Landon] says I drink coffee like a sociopath. [Laughs]

13. What TV show are you currently binging?

I just finished watching Alice in Borderland, which is a Japanese show on Netflix. And I know Feel Good Season 2 just came out, so I think that's my next binge.

14. Damon or Stefan?

Stefan! They're both beautiful and I love them very much, but I'm Team Stefan when it comes to Elena.

15. If you could work with anyone from The Vampire Diaries, who would it be?

Ian Somerhalder has a lot of dogs. So, maybe I want to work with him for the sole reason of just talking about dogs. [Writer's note: Kaylee revealed she has two rescue dogs, one whom was sleeping right next to them during the interview! Kaylee described the dogs as "both complete and total nuts," but said she misses them about five minutes after getting into the car to go to work.]

16. Do you think you’re most similar to Josie, Lizzie, or Hope in real life?

I would say I'm an eclectic mix of the three. I can be very headstrong like Hope, very outspoken like Lizzie, and I try to be as loving as Josie, but sometimes that doesn't always work. But I'd like to think all three.

17. Is there a role people would be surprised to learn you auditioned for, but didn't get?

I've been auditioning since I was eight, so there's quite a few Disney Channel shows and movies. And I'm sure people would be surprised because I think I auditioned for like, all of them. It's very funny, one of the first jobs I ever booked in television was Kickin' It with Leo Howard [Ethan]. Talk about full circle — going from being 12 years old and having no idea what I'm doing to being a series regular on [Legacies] and welcoming Leo to the set.

18. Who's your favorite Disney princess?

Oh, I love Mulan so much. She was, like, my first crush ever. I also love Moana, but it's Mulan 1,000%.

19. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I mean, I do eat rice every day. So maybe just white rice — you can make rice into candy and...yeah, let's go with rice.

20. If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only bring one book, what would it be?

Oh no! I recently read The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, and I really enjoyed that book. Oh god, Is that the one that I want to bring, though? I mean, I really enjoyed it and it has many different aspects to it. I don't know. Or should I go with Harry Potter? I go through different genres too, like right now I'm in a big sci-fi phase, but other times I'll go the opposite direction and only read biographies. Yeah, that's super hard. I don't think I would know!

21. On that note, what's your Hogwarts house?

Initially, when I was younger, it used to just be straight-up Slytherin. And now, I recently took the Sorting Hat Quiz and I got Ravenclaw. So I'm going to go with Slytherclaw.

BuzzFeed: What's Josie's house?

Josie would be Slytherin. She tries very hard and, you know, not everyone in Slytherin is evil. She just, you know, has her way of going about things.

22. Has anything super funny or embarrassing happened to you on set?

I trip a lot on set. I get scared very easily — if I come around the corner and somebody is walking the other direction, I get scared. Everybody knows to walk slowly around me because I get scared so easily.

23. What's your wildest fan story?

I've had people cry before. And I'm an empath, so if somebody starts crying, I immediately am like, "Please don't cry, because I'm gonna cry." And then it turns into this whole thing. Once we were shooting in the town square and this young girl with her mom started crying, and I just hugged her and I didn't know what to say. So there's a lot of that. There's also the occasional, "Where's your twin?" and...I don't have one, sorry! But yeah, I would say the people who cry always throw me for a loop.

24. How do you unwind after a long day?

I have an hourlong drive home from work, so I usually listen to a lot of music. And by the time I get home, taking off all of my makeup is very therapeutic. Because over time, we're working 13-hour days, 16-hour days, and it's just powder constantly building up on my face. So, washing my face is always very therapeutic. And then just laying back and reading a book and petting my dog is the best.

25. Is there a celebrity you get told you look like a lot?

Most recently, Sara Waisglass [from Ginny & Georgia and Degrassi]. We follow each other on social media now and I completely messed up because I don't know how Twitter works at all. I forgot that there's a DMing interaction, so we followed each other and I was like, "Oh, that's nice." And then just recently, I saw that she had messaged me being like, "We're twins! We should be friends!" And I immediately messaged back, "I'm so sorry, let's be friends!"

26. Who's your biggest celebrity crush?

Oh, I have so many. But consistently since I saw Orphan Black, Tatiana Maslany. Hands down.

27. Finally, have you ever caught someone watching a TV show or movie that you're in on a flight or anywhere else?

We were all, as a cast, flying to — was it New York Comic Con, or San Diego Comic Con? — one of the Comic Cons. And we were all sitting there and we saw that Legacies was actually on the airplane as an option. And we were all just uncomfortably staring at each other. Yeah, that was surreal.

Be sure to catch Kaylee in Legacies, which airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW!

#legacies #theoriginals #thevampirediaries #tvd #kaylee bryant #josiesaltzman #siphoner #witch #gemini coven #lizzie&josie #saltzmantwins #salvatoreschool #mysticfalls #julieplec #thecw #queer

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hathawaydontrunaway · 3 years ago

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omg.... I remember the anti rose hathaway hashtag. it was just the same five adrian stans going after her. And they would call her trashaway or some sh*t, and sl*t shame her.

Note: this is kind of petty, and I might delete later.

That delusional, dumba*s group were all Adrian stans. And proves my point about how when women stan men, their inner misogyny comes out. They are the perfect example. They were Rose stans, then switched. The way some of those people were trying to lecture us on feminism is so funny to me. Or worse, they are men talking about women like that. I still have some of their posts. There’s so much to debunk. Most of those accounts are inactive, or who knows, maybe they will see this. I don’t care if they do.

When they said that Rose was making fun of Sydney’s eating disorder... oh man, what a line. And a lie. No one knew she had an ED until the spin off series. Rose was just amused that Sydney was so scared of her kind, that she couldn’t eat front of her. But then she began to sympathize with her, and even offered to sleep in another room when she realized Sydney was having trouble sleeping with Rose in the room.

Also, Sydney only helped rescue Rose because Abe Mazur was blackmailing her. (I didn’t read the spin off. I looked this up a couple of years ago) I guess Abe hurt Sydney’s sister r*pist. And in turn, Sydney owed Abe a favor. Not sure why this account is acting like Sydney would have done this willingly. This isn’t a Sydney attack. Just facts.

Sooo much to unpack in this next one. Not sure who Rose “sl*t shamed”, must be another delusion in their pea brains. But if I’m wrong, please tell me. Rose has saved Eddie’s life... twice. Because of that, Eddie felt indebted to her. Also, he’s just a loyal friend and would do anything for Rose. Nobody forced him to help Rose break Victor out of prison. And because he was there, he ran into Dimitri and his strigoi crew who nearly k*lled them all because Rose didn’t want to come after Dimitri. Something Rose couldn’t tell him about because no one knew for sure if spirit could bring back the undead.

I’ll admit, Rose Hathaway is harsh towards Natalie at first. But then they became friends. And she even admits to feeling sorry for being mean to Natalie, and says she is enjoying her company. But Natalie also tried to k word Rose, so.... there’s that. (She was manipulated by her father. He’s who you should hate.)

Let’s keep going. As for Rose cheating, yeah that was messed up. And like I’ve been saying.. a lot of stuff in Last Sacrifice was rushed and set up for the spin off series. Rose should have broken it off a long time ago. But I also hated that Adrian basically negotiated Rose dating him. In exchange, he would give her money to help her. So, i guess they are both using each other for their own personal gain? I think Rose’s speech was supposed to foreshadow that Adrian would end up finding someone who would appreciate him and his “brilliance”. Still not sure why Richelle thought that speech was a good idea 😭

And also, I would just like to say that... if people don’t like Rose for how she is: that’s valid. In fact, if you don’t like her for being a fighter, that’s all you. (Even though that’s literally her job, and the point of this series, but anyways) Totally get it. Not for everyone. But Rose has only been “violent” towards people who have actually hurt her, or Lissa, or any of her friends.

^although, Lol Tasha was an abuser. She k*lled people, and framed Rose for a crime she didn’t commit.

Rose didn’t abuse Adrian, wtf? He’s admitted to having an addictive personality, and likes resorting to alcohol and cigarettes for his pain. So him going back to Rose even knowing she’s not entirely into him, is really sad. But not sure why this is Rose’s fault? if we wanted her to break up with him before she cheated, Adrian is saying he would still go back to her🥴

Didn’t read Silver Shadows, so idk if it’s true that Rose didn’t save Sydney. But was it that she couldn’t? Or didn’t want to? Because I know Rose is still Lissa’s guardian, and can’t leave those duties. And I remember reading on wiki about how Lissa still found it risky to save Sydney from the alchemists. But with her power, she was able to. The Sydney stans like this don’t like Rose, but yet they want her around? They claim to not like her violent streak.... but want her to break into alchemist headquarters to save Sydney? Lmaooooooo. You can’t have it both ways.

Note: The irony in the last one, who is a Kylo Ren stan 🥴🥴 and who also seems to forget that Adrian kissed another girl. But he was sad, and missed Sydney so I guess this is okay 🤪🤪🤪

#va #thank you anon this was therapeutic #bloodlines #anti Rose Hathaway #vampire academy

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chaseatinydream · 4 years ago

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pirate king (60) || atz

“You shouldn’t have done that, Wooyoung-ah.”

At the sound of your voice, the head gunner turns away, completely silent, dark anger boiling beneath his skin. He’s clearly not in the mood to have a talking to now. But you have no fear, not anymore, anyway, and seat yourself next to him on the bed. Your bed, you realise.

Wooyoung’s mouth is pressed in a tight line, edges of his lips curling white in something crossed between a frown and a sneer. There’s a big bruise on his cheek, presumably put there by Jongho again, and he’s looking away very determinedly, set on not meeting your eye.

Unfortunately for him, your stubbornness more than rivals his own, and you’re not about to let him off the hook so easily. He punched his captain, for god’s sake. That’s not typical Wooyoung behavior. “We can sit here all day, you know? I have all the time in the world.”

You really don’t (haha brain, very funny joke), but fingers scratch irritably over the cover of your pillow, Wooyoung chancing a quick glance at you before his eyes have flitted elsewhere. The tension is so thick it’s practically suffocating the two of you alive, but you’re not about to give in anytime soon.

You wait.

Waiting doesn’t take long. Wooyoung’s personality loves comfortable silences or noise. Awkward silence? Not so much. He opens his mouth once, hesitates, closes it, and opens it again with a swallow.

“How... how’s your hand?” He’s still not looking at you.

“This?” You raise the empty stump, the phantom itch still throbs strangely. You’re strangely calm for someone who’s just lost their hand, but knowing death is right on its tail really puts things into perspective. “I’m fine. I was injured by Gunho during the battle and, well, you know the rest.” you shrug, turn away yourself. He really doesn’t, but it’s easier not to go into the specifics.

Wooyoung flinches a little, but you see it. Then an angry growl leaves his chest, fingers digging so hard into your pillow they turn white. “I should have killed that bastard when I had the chance.”

“You couldn’t have known what he was going to do.” You tell him gently, glance out of the porthole and watch the sky outside slowly turn from inky black to midnight blue. Silence lingers between the two of you for a moment before Wooyoung finally puffs out a breath, licks his dry lips.

“How’s Captain?”

Your captain snorts a little as you dab water at his nose. “If Wooyoung had been serious about beating me up, I’d have a lot more than a broken nose.”

“Well,” you shrug, bringing your knees up to your chest, “you nearly broke his nose, gave him five different bruises, very big ones, I may add, and almost gave Master a heart attack.” Wooyoung makes a satisfied noise, patting his raw knuckles fondly.

“He deserved that much, at the very least.” He mumbles, drags a hand across his face, but he looks relieved. “Five bruises was letting him off too easy.” You glance at him for a second, turn back to the world outside, the sky and sea separating as the first hints of day draw a line of light across the horizon. Beyond the heavy wooden door of the sickbay, orders are called, the thud of boots resounding across the deck as the crew rush to carry out said orders.

“I’ll be fine, really.” You find yourself saying, though he hasn’t asked. His eyes find yours and more words start to spill out of your mouth unchecked. “I might have lost a hand, but at least I’m not dead, am I?”

The second you say that, you feel like you’ve somehow slapped both Wooyoung and yourself in the face, metaphorically, of course. At least I’m not dead, your heart gives a little self deprecating chuckle, and you resist the urge to cut off that loose tongue of yours for its stupidity.

Great job, you.

“Get ready to storm the island! I want every one of us to find that Captain Kang and drag him to the Treasure by the knees! Do you understand me?” You hear Mingi shout from behind the door of the sickbay and you make to rise to your feet, “we should go check out what they’re up to-”

But you’re stopped by a familiar hand. “Wait.”

Frowning, you turn back, arch an eyebrow. “Why?” You ask, a little confused. Wooyoung glances up at you with deep green eyes, soft and serious with emotion, and one by one, his fingers lace around yours, squeezing gently. Your heart skips, tumbles a beat, but you keep your eyes on his face. “Wooyoung?”

“Just listen to me for a moment.” He says, voice pleading and for some reason, it makes you nervous, like you’re not ready for whatever emotionally weighted words he’s about to unload on you. “I just need to say something.”

The two of you probably really should get going, but something about the way he’s talking makes you pause, nod for him to go on. “When I was on that island... and we realised that it was a trap for the Treasure...” a shudder runs down his spine, the pad of his thumbs tracing small circles on the inside of your wrist, “I can’t begin to say just how damn terrified I was. And while I was running back to the ship, all I could think about was just how stupid I realised I had been.”

“You couldn’t have known it was going to be a trap, Wooyoung.” You remind him firmly, intent on stopping him from blaming himself just like his captain did, gods were all of them going to be like this? “No one knew, not even Captain, and we all came out fine, so there’s no harm done-”

“That’s not what I meant.” Wooyoung interrupts. The chains rattle as his hand falls to his side, as heavy as his words. “What I meant was... pushing you away, thinking that by distancing myself, I was keeping you safe, but in reality I was just a coward who didn’t have the balls to face my feelings.”

What?

“When I was running back to the Treasure, one thought kept replaying in my mind.” He bites on his lower lip, an agonized look crossing his eyes as he stares at you so longingly, so painfully. “What if the last thing you remembered of me was leaving you alone on that mast and removing myself from your life without knowing how I really felt? What if...” he chokes, head bowed, “what if the last thing you had thought of me was that I hated you, and you died without knowing just how untrue that was?”

You don’t even know what you’re hearing right now. The words, you hear them, but you don’t really hear them. Wooyoung doesn’t hate you, that... that’s amazing to know, but why do you feel like that isn’t the end of it quite yet?

“Chin Hae.” He looks into your eyes, so piercingly you couldn’t look away even if you tried. “I’m scared of women. I’m terrified of them. I have scars all over my body, and I can’t forget the way they touched me, how I was forced to serve them until Captain rescued me. After I left that life behind, I played women like toys because I wanted to convince myself that I was no longer the victim, no longer the powerless.” He takes a deep breath, searches you with a defeated smile. “But it seems like I was wrong, and I find myself powerless in front of a woman once again.”

Your thoughts swirl like the raging waves, a jumble of noises and words and so much emotions. “Wooyoung, what-”

“I love you, Chin Hae.”

“Wait, give me a moment-” You try to collect yourself, but Wooyoung smiles gently, squeezing your hand lightly again and that affectionate, familiar gesture grounds you like a lifeboat in the middle of a storm.

Gentle eyes meet yours.

“You don’t need to love me back.” He tells you, smiling a little wistfully. There’s peace in that lopsided grin, as if a massive weight has finally been lifted off his shoulders, as if he hasn’t just dropped the emotional equivalent of his 42 pound cannon right into your arms. “I just wanted you to know. You... you’re really precious to me, Chin Hae.”

You try to find words, and only one comes to mind. “Buh...” You’re immediately disgusted by your own apparent inability to form complete sentences. What is your brain made of, clay?

...probably.

At your flustered state, Wooyoung breaks into peals of laughter that resemble an entire pod of happy dolphins, slapping his thigh in amusement. Fumbling about, you throw your headrest at him, only making him laugh harder when it bounces off the wall next to head. “Wooyoung!”

“I’m sorry!” He laughs, not sounding sorry at all. You glare at him, not amused, but squeeze his hand back, like you always have.

“I don’t know how I feel yet.” You tell him honestly, linking your fingers together. Wooyoung nods earnestly, purple hair falling into his eyes. “You... you might only be saying this because you almost lost me, so I want you to think about what you feel again, after all of this has calmed down... before you tell me this again.”

Wooyoung shrugs. “I know what I feel, but if it makes you feel more assured, alright then. I’m fine with waiting.”

A breath of relief escapes you, and you nod seriously, but before you can say anymore, there’s a knock on the door, and it swings open to reveal-

“Captain.” Wooyoung rises to greet his captain a little awkwardly, scratching his head. The corner of Hongjoong’s lips lift in a slight, weary smile at the sight of the two of you seated on the bed, pausing slightly at the door.

“Am I interrupting something?”

“Not at all.” You wave your captain over and Hongjoong takes a step, but his toe dances lightly at the door right before it crosses into the room, and stops to squint a little at his head gunner.

“You’re not going to throw another punch at me the second I step into this room, right?”

Wooyoung lets out a humored chuckle. “God, no, even if I wanted to.” The ice broken, he bumps shoulders with his captain and Hongjoong finally cracks a smile, although it seems a little... off, somehow. “Though I still think it would have been an improvement to your looks if I’d broken a few things on your face.”

Your captain gives a good-natured snort for someone who’d just been beaten up less than half a day ago. “Well, it’s good to have you on the same side again. I was wondering if I could borrow your gun and your eye in,” he glances out of the door onto the deck with a grim smile, “maybe about a few minutes or so.”

Something about the way he says that has something sinking in your chest.

“Just my gun and eye?” Wooyoung tries to lighten the tension by joking with a raised eyebrow, similarly on edge at the tone of his captain’s voice, his fingers shifting towards the long flintlock at his hip as he gestures at himself. “You know you have to get me too, right? We’re kind of a package deal.”

“I might throw in a bonus if you come along.” Hongjoong shrugs, still gazing out of the door. The angle the two of you are at, you can’t quite see what’s happening on deck, but the shouting from outside is loud enough to reach your ears and you’re immediately tensed.

“Appreciative enough to spare me bilge bailing duty for a week for rearranging your face?”

“Maybe. If you ask nicely. Actually, no.” Hongjoong replies, turning to look at the two of you with a smile that’s a little too strained for your liking. “Well, someone has just approached the ship from the island, and-”

“Captain Kang says he wants to talk.”

#ateez #ateez fanfic #ateez fanfiction #hongjoong #seonghwa #yunho #yeosang #san #mingi #wooyoung #jongho #ateez pirate king #w; ot8 #w; pirate king #w; fanfiction

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justanotherwriter-fangirl · 4 years ago

Text

He´s My Son (K. S.)

Words: 4,420 words

Warnings: Mentions of abuse, gangs, drugs and cheating, a little bit of violence and a couple curse words but overall I think it’s friendly.

Request: Can you write a imagine where kelly's girlfriend has Aiden her 5 years old son and kelly's been his father figure since he was two and then the reader's ex comes back and wants to be in Aiden's life and go to the firehouse where kelly is with Aiden to take the little boy with him because the reader doesn't want him in his life because he is involved with gangs and drugs so kelly tells him that Aiden is his son and that he won't take him and all 51 support him? You finished, please...

A/N: Hi!!! I’m so happy with how this turned out, hope you all enjoy it and like it as much as I do so let me know how you feel about it.

Gif obtained from Google. All credits to its owner.

Thanks for reading

_______________________

Life had never been easy with you, leaving your home in a small town at age 17 to ran away from a place where nothing ever happened, arriving to the big city of Chicago where you didn’t know anyone with barely any money, looking for a job as a waitress to afford the expenses of your new life and last but not least, meeting the man who would later turn into your worst nightmare.

Once you arrived to Chicago and settled in a little apartment you could barely afford, you decided to enroll in Chicago’s Community College to become a nurse, it had been hard with a lot of double shifts at weekends and many many nights awake studying but finally you did it and got a nice job at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center, that’s where you met the person who you thought you would spend the rest of your life with, Ryan.

He had entered to the ED after a motorcycle accident and you immediately felt attracted to him, it was crazy, he was your patient and there was more important things to think of, like taking care of his multiple wounds, mostly cuts and scratches, but still, you couldn’t fell for a patient, that was basic.

But life’s funny like that so after Will cleared him off to leave the hospital, he asked you out, you tried to refuse even when you didn’t really want to saying that he was a patient and it was wrong, but he insisted, he wasn’t a patient anymore, he had just been released, so with that argument and a little flattering of his part, you agreed to go out with him.

One date turned into two and then three and without realising it suddenly 2 years had passed by and you were moving together. You loved him, you really did and that was the main reason why you stayed with him, even after learning that he was part of a gang on the southside of the city and his day job was selling drugs, yes it was bad but he had always been so good to you.

A year later and things started to change, every cell in your body often told you to run away from that guy, that he was bad news and he was going to get you killed someday but your heart couldn’t bare the idea of leaving him. You had passed many sleepless night trying to figure out what to do, always trying to convince yourself to leave but you couldn’t, you were sure you could change him and get him out from that life, after all, that was your job, to help people. That thought was kept you going every day, despite all your fights and all those times he would grabbed your arms so hard that you'd have to wear long sleeves to work to hide the bruises, despite the nights he would come home so high or drunk that he could barely pronounce your name and all the nights you knew he was cheating on you, because, after all, it wasn’t his fault, right? It was all the drug’s fault and the people he hang with.

And one day, right when you thought nothing was going to change, you took that pregnancy test, two lines staring back at you giving you the hope you needed, that little person growing inside you was going to be the light at the end of the tunnel, that little baby was the answer to all your prayers.

But that wasn’t how Ryan thought at all, when you told him the news he was so furious, yelling at you for being so sloppy, for getting pregnant to tie him up and finally for cheating on him because there was no way that baby was his. After that he just left with his friends, probably to get high again and sleep with some other girl, leaving you at home alone and crying your heart out.

You felt destroyed, how could he said all those things to you? You always were faithful, you always forgive him and, more importantly, you always stayed until suddenly something changed, your tears stopped and you realized now you really had to leave, if not for you then for your baby who now depended of you so grabbing a bag you started to pack all your stuff, leaving nothing behind that could be a sign that you ever lived there.

Once on the street, with the air hitting your face as you put everything in your car, you felt the weight of the world being lifted of from your shoulders for the first time in a very long time, taking your phone out to call April, your best friend in the world.

You had met her when you first started working at the ED, from the beginning she was nice and helped you to get used to the craziness you had to deal with everyday. Being the sweetheart she was, she let you stayed at her place through all your pregnancy, you insisted to stay just for a couple days, just enough until you could found another apartment but she didn't let you go, completely excited with the idea of being the aunt of your baby.

Time flew by and when you least expected it, Aiden was born, the whole ED crew by your side, April and Will holding your hands, Natalie making sure everything was going fine and Maggie supporting you from the side with her encouraging words.

In that moment, with your little baby boy in your arms and all your friends around you, life couldn't be better.

After Aiden turned 1 you moved to a nice little apartment near the hospital where you met Kelly Severide, he was April's childhood friend and went with her at the housewarming party. He was sweet, charming and so handsome and you both really hit it off immediately but after Ryan and everything you had gone through you were a little bit wary of going back to the dating world, specially now that you had your little boy with you, Aiden being your number 1 priority. You knew Kelly was nothing like Ryan but that didn’t change the fact that you had some trust issues regarding guys.

It was really hard to say no to him when the boy was so persistent, going to visit you at the hospital whenever he had time in between calls when he was working or going to your place with some takeout to help you take care of the baby.

Slowly but surely, he eventually won your heart, having all those little details with you made you warm up to the idea of dating him and break down all the walls you had around your heart.

One rare night when you had the opportunity to go to Molly's with Maggie and April after shift, he showed up, flowers in hand and a huge smile on his face, to ask you officially on a date, how could you ever say no to that? He was the perfect gentleman and more importantly than anything, he accepted you with all your baggage, trust issues and Aiden, willing to be his father figure.

He soon started to be there in every first of Aiden, his first tooth, his first steps, his first word, the first time you ever took him to a zoo or his first day at daycare, staying with you at night and helping you whenever he woke up at 3 am crying or taking care of him when he wasn’t on duty and you had long shifts at the hospital.

He was fully committed, not only with you but with Aiden too, so much that one day when you had stopped by the firehouse with Aiden to pay him a quick visit you caught him at the table of squad 3 reading a book about ��100 things you need to know about babies”, the sight melting away all doubts and fears you ever had, leaving nothing behind but love because that was the moment you realized you loved Kelly and it was such a strong and powerful feeling you had never experienced before.

Time flew by and before you realized it you were throwing Aiden’s fifth birthday party, the theme: firefighters. Ever since he was aware of what Kelly did for a living and understood what it was about, all he wanted was to be a firefighter, rescue people and be lieutenant of the squad just like him and every time he would mention it the smile on Kelly’s face would only get bigger full with pride.

“Happy birthday to you…” you all sang to Aiden in front of his fire truck birthday cake, the whole firehouse and Med staff there to spent the day celebrating with you.

“Blow out the candles, champ” Kelly said ruffling his hair.

“Don’t forget to make a wish!”

“Done!” he yelled before blowing the candles while everyone laughed and clapped, the boy having everyone in the room wrapped around their little finger.

“So... tell us, Aiden, what did you wished for?” April said

“I wished…” he said slowly creating expectation in the room “to be just like dad! A firefighter!” he screamed before hopping off his chair to go play with his friends, everyone on the room celebrating and laughing without realizing what had just happened. They couldn’t know it but that had been the first time Aiden called Kelly his dad, bringing happy tears to your eyes.

Even though Kelly had been there for you both since Aiden was almost two and Aiden couldn’t remember much before him, you had always told him the truth, letting him know that Kelly was your boyfriend and his biological father had disappeared long before he was born, it had been a little bit difficult to explain it to a 4 years old boy but with Kelly’s help you managed to do it avoiding all the ugly parts of the story and letting him know that no matter who his biological father was, you and Kelly would always love him.

Since he was a toddler who was barely starting to speak you had taught him that honesty was the best policy so you always tried to teach him by example even when it came to situations like that, once you explained it all to him Kelly and you made sure he knew that you were his family no matter what, trying to clear all fears from his little head when he asked if Kelly would leave you just like the other man did, the question almost breaking your heart and leaving you without an answer, fortunately Kelly immediately told him that he would never leave either one of you, that he loved you both and that we wanted to be his dad if he let him.

Around a year has passed since that day and you were more than happy to know that finally Aiden’s fears had gone away and he was ready to call Kelly his dad, sure that he would never leave you.

In that moment you felt Kelly’s strong arm around you waist making you come back to reality, proud and happiness all over his face as he looked down at you, that one look being more than enough to let you know what he was thinking, that moment in time being the proof that it was all worth it and without the hardest and darkest moments in your life you wouldn’t be standing there surrounded by the people you loved most.

“Who wants some cake?” you heard April in the background “Kelly, be nice and hand me some plates, please” she said while cutting the slices without realizing you were just having a moment when suddenly the doorbell rang.

“I’m coming” you said.

“Hey, (Y/N), if it’s Capp he better be standing behind that door with a really big present for Aiden, we will not tolerate him arriving just in time for the cake” Herrmann said making you laugh.

“I’ll let him know” you said opening the door still laughing.

“Miss me?” said the man at the door, his voice sending a chill down your spine and making you want to grab your son and run.

He hadn’t change a bit since the last time you saw him around 6 years ago but now all you ever saw in him transformed into disgust and fear.

“R-Ryan?” you stuttered closing the door as much as you could so nobody could see him “What are you doing here? How did you found me?”

“Well, it certainly wasn’t easy, especially since you left no trail behind you that time you left me but a couple days ago a friend of mine told me he saw you entering this building, I thought I would pay you a visit to check on you, see how are you doing now”

“I’m fine, thanks for the visit but I have to get back inside” you said trying to hide your nerves and closing the door when a rough push from his hand stopped you.

“Aren’t you going to invite me in, (Y/N)? It’s not like everyday your son turns 5 years old” in that moment you felt like your soul had left our body and all color drained from your face.

“I-I don’t… don’t know what you’re talking about”

“Don’t play stupid and let me in, (Y/N), I want to meet my son” he said threatening when it reached you from the inside the sound of Aiden’s laugh, making you snap out of your fearful state.

“He’s not your son, you made that very clear 6 years ago when I told you I was pregnant” you said firmly taking back all your power, your mother instinct kicking in instantly. “So now leave before I call the police” you finished before closing the door in his face, still shocked from your outburst.

It took you a second to recompose yourself, still trembling from the encounter with the man that some nights still haunted your dreams.

“Babe, do you want some cake?” said Kelly approaching you when he noticed the state you were in “Hey, what happened? Are you okay? Who was it?” he quickly questioned putting his hands in your shoulders to look at you and make sure you weren’t harm.

“He’s back, Kelly” you whispered, the lump in your throat barely letting anything out “Ryan’s back”

"What?"

"It was him at the door, he said that he wanted to meet Aiden. Kelly, what am I going to do? What if he wants to take him away?"

"What we are going to do is talk to Antonio, hell we’ll talk to Voight if we need to, we'll put a restraining order and make sure there is no way he can get close to you again, you're not alone anymore, (Y/N), you have all of us, you have me"

"I'm scared"

"I know" he said enveloping you in a hug as if that way he could protect you from all the bad in the world.

“Mom, hurry! I want to open my presents!” said Aiden running to you and tugging at your hand. With your head still buried on Kelly’s chest you took a second to breathe and push all your worries to the back of your head, making sure to put in a smile for Aiden.

“Let’s go, honey” you said stepping back, grabbing Kelly’s hand and letting the kid guide you to the living room where everyone was sitting around a big pile of presents.

“Okay, champ, open up mine first” said Kelly sitting in the floor next to him and passing him a box.

“Kelly…” you said, you had told him that it wasn’t necessary at all, he had already helped a lot with the organization of the party.

As Aiden ripped the paper and took the lid on a big red firefighter helmet came into view.

“Mom, look!” Aiden exclaimed putting it on “Now I’m a firefighter!”

Everyone laughed, he was so happy and that was what mattered the most. He continued opening the rest of his presents: clothes, a superhero cape and a bunch of toys.

It was around 7 when you and the girls could finally just sit down in the living room to talk and drink some wine, the guys at the kitchen with some beers and a mess of chips and popcorn around them and the rest of the kids and their parents gone.

Aiden had fallen asleep in your arms half an hour ago with his firefighter helmet still on and you wished everything could stay just like that.

“Hey, Antonio, I need to ask you a favor” said Kelly taking him apart for a moment.

“Yeah, of course, tell me”

“I don’t know if Dawson ever told you anything about (Y/N)’s ex boyfriend, Aiden’s father”

“Not much, she once mentioned he was into drugs and gangs but not much more, he’s not in the system”

“Well, he came by earlier saying that he wants to meet Aiden and (Y/N)’s afraid he might want to take him away, is there anything we can do? I was thinking about a restraining order but I don’t know how much that can help considering his background”

“Well, we can start with that but there’s not much we can do without any evidence”

"Okay, thanks"

“If anything happens let me know, okay?”

“Sure, thanks Antonio” Kelly said going back with the rest of the guys.

When you least expected it it was already 10 pm and everyone was going, it was saturday but that didn’t mean anything being a nurse, doctor, detective or firefighter, most of you having to work the next day.

“Aiden was so happy, I think we did something right today” Kelly told you while you were getting ready to get in bed.

“Yeah, I swear I could see his little face lighting up when he opened your present, thank you, Kelly, for everything”

“It was nothing, really. I saw it the other day on my way back to the fire house after a call and I thought of him”

“I don’t know what I’d be doing without you”

“Handling it like you always have, sweetheart, I’m here because you want me around, not because you need me”

“You always have the right words, don’t you?” you said laughing a little bit.

“I hope so” he said getting into bed and extending his arms for you to crawl with him.

“What are we going to do tomorrow?” you asked once you were both in bed, your head on his chest and his hand playing with your hair “You have shift and I have to be at the ED”

“I can take him with me, come pick him up after your shift, we can even have dinner together there”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to cause you any trouble”

“Totally, I’ll speak with the chief and whenever we have a call he can stay with Connie, she’ll love him, don’t worry about it” he finished pressing a kiss on your forehead, the feeling of his fingers playing with your hair relaxing you and making you feel sleepy.

“Okay but if anything happens or you need me to go get him, just call me, okay?” you said suppressing a yawn.

“Just sleep, babe” was the last thing you heard.

That night was probably the worst you’ve had in a while, images of Ryan, your past together and him taking Aiden away constantly awakening you and keeping you from resting properly so you were more than happy when you noticed the sun was rising from behind your curtains.

Trying to not wake up Kelly you slid out of bed and headed towards the kitchen, coffee being your only thought after the horrible night you had.

Once you had a cup of coffee in your system you went to the bathroom to take a shower, the caffeine and the water helping you to feel completely awake and ready for the day. After you finished and put your nurse uniform on you found your way back to kitchen to start breakfast and since it was sunday you choose to spoil your boys a little bit with some nutella waffles.

You were halfway done when you heard steps coming from the hallway and then a pair of strong arms wrapped around your middle, Kelly resting his chin over your shoulder and leaving a small kiss on your neck.

“Morning” he said in a low husky voice.

“Good morning, babe. Can you go wake Aiden up, please?”

“Are you sure you want me to?” he said now peppering your shoulder with small kisses.

“Not exactly but you both need to get ready to go to the firehouse” you said giving a squeeze to one of his hands before going back to your current task “Puls, don’t forget that tuesday’s our day, we’ll leave Aiden with Matt and Gabby and then it’ll be just us to do whatever you want”

“Fine” he said finally letting you go “Can’t wait for it to be tuesday though” you heard him saying from the hallway.

You were setting the table when you heard laughter coming your way, Kelly appearing with Aiden on his back, the red firefighter helmet once again on his head matching his fire truck pajamas.

“Hey Aiden, tell mama what I was just telling you” Kelly said putting Aiden down on a chair and sitting next to you.

“I’m going to dad’s job today!” Aiden yelled raising his arms, a light on his eyes you would do anything to protect.

“That’s right, buddy, now eat your breakfast so we can get ready to leave”

An hour later you were saying goodbye to your boys and heading towards your car, ready for the day ahead.

“Ok, Aiden, let me give you the tour” Kelly told the 5 year old once they reached the firehouse, the toddler hand on his while they walk to the front door.

“Hey! Look who’s here” yelled Herrmann from the inside, the rest of the house coming out to receive Aiden.

“Look, I’m one of you” he let go of Kelly’s hand to go running to the guys, showing them his red helmet again.

Everyone there loved the little guy, he had won their hearts a long time ago and it was obvious as they all show him around and let him get into the fire truck, never treating him as Kelly’s partner son but as if he was his own because for anyone who ever had the pleasure to meet the three of you all they could see was a family, not mattering blood but the real connection you all had.

“Hey, Aiden, I need to tell you something” said Kelly in a moment of quiet, kneeling down to be eye level with him “Listen, champ, because it’s important, okay?”

“Okay” he said putting on his serious face and trying to cross his little arms over his chest almost making Kelly laugh.

“There will be a moment when the sirens will go on and we’ll be call to go do our job and I won’t be able to take you with me so you are going to stay with Connie, okay? She’s nice but you have to listen to her while I’m gone” he said pointing at her who was going over some papers at her desk.

“Ohh, I like her” he said now relaxing and getting closer to Kelly “She once draw with me while you and mom were busy but told me to keep it a secret” Aiden whispered to him and put his finger over his lip.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone” Kelly said playing along.

“Is that him? My son?” was suddenly being heard from the front, Kelly well aware of who was the owner of that voice and fire started to run down his veins.

“Hey, why don’t you go with Mouch to watch some cartoons? I’m sure he was looking for something new to watch” quickly said Kelly to the boy, Aiden running to the inside excited to show someone else his new favorite show and unaware of anything else.

Standing up and turning around he met eye to eye with the man who had hurt you so much many years ago and now was trying once again to do it.

“Leave, now” Kelly said angrily

“I’m not leaving anywhere unless it’s with my son”

By now everyone had already noticed the tension between the two and were getting around them, ready to back their lieutenant up or keep him from doing something stupid.

“Are you out of your mind? He never was and never will be yours”

“I have rights, he’s my son and I demand to see him” said getting closer to Kelly.

“You have no rights here, pal, you’re in my territory now and I’m not scared of you so before you do something you might regret just leave and leave my family alone because he’s MY son”

“Your family?” Ryan said before laughing “That dumb bitch will leave you just like she did with me, she’s not worth all the trouble, man”

“What did you just said!?” exploded Kelly pushing him back, everyone ready to break them apart.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you” said Matt getting in the middle when Ryan was about to push Kelly back.

“Yeah man, just leave” added Cruz, a halligan in his hands.

That’s when they both took a second to look around, almost everyone was there including chief Boden who was watching everything from behind, the only ones missing were the girls and Mouch, taking care of Aiden.

“I’m not done yet” said Ryan when he realized he was outnumbered.

“Yes, it is. Now leave and don’t ever come back” added Herrmann from the side.

“Whatever, we’ll see about that” finished Ryan before leaving the fire house.

“Are you okay, Severide?” stepped in chief Boden.

“Yes, sir” he said breathing and running a hand down his face.

“Good, now I suggest we let CPD know about this situation, it must be enough for them to do something. Back to work everybody”

Kelly knew it wasn’t going to be that easy but he didn’t care because no matter what he would always be ready to fight for his son, for his family.

_______________________

Masterlist

#writing #writer #Chicago Fire #chicago med #chicago fire imagine #one-shot #oneshot #one shot #One Chicago #Kelly Severide #kelly severide imagine #kelly severide one shot #kelly severide x reader #imagine #chicago fire one shot #drabble

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words-writ-in-starlight · 4 years ago

Note

Untamed TAZ Balance AU? Don't have to write anything, just consider that (is Wen Ning Lucretia in this or is he too nice for that)

NHS IS LUCRETIA, NHS IS ABSOLUTELY LUCRETIA, I HAVE THOUGHTS, my girlfriend yelled at me for these thoughts. Hell this got long, I’ve literally been saving it in my drafts until Tumblr fixed the Read More issue.

WWX is Taako, JC is Magnus, WQ is Merle, JYL is in the umbrella (became a lich to keep her brother from doing it), WN is the Red Robe (became a lich because he thought it seemed reasonable), NHS is Lucretia, XXC is Davenport, LWJ and LXC are mutually Kravitz (LXC sets his bro up with the death criminal wizard), Wen Zhuliu is John Vore, LSZ is Angus but also a baby Reaper

ONE

So Wei Wuxian isn’t really a wizard, is the thing. Like, he does the wizard magic, and apparently he has strong Wizard Vibes because wherever he travels, people ask him if he can solve their magical bullshit problems, but he’s, like, barely a wizard. He’s an inventor, technically, except that a few years back some stuff went explosively awry while he worked with this traveling show and–yeah. So he’s working as a wizard because, hey, he can cast Magic Missile and he needs to eat and he’s an Evocation specialist, anyway, so it’s not like he’s out here making food from rocks. He’s hired on with a couple other random jackasses, a fighter who took a dislike to Wei Wuxian right off the bat and a cleric with a bad temper and an itchy Sacred Flame finger, and they’re doing a job for some dwarf, or whatever. The dwarf has a guy hired on as muscle, but he doesn’t look like much, all wide eyes and baby face. He calls himself Qionglin, no last name, and stares at Wen Qing like he’s never seen a cleric before, and Jiang Cheng spends the entire trip to Phandolin messing with his whip, which is the stupidest weapon Wei Wuxian has ever seen.

Well, then everything immediately goes horribly wrong, though, and turns out that Jiang Cheng is pretty okay with that whip. Qionglin (Wei Wuxian spoke to the man all of one time, but he was sweet, if a little awkward) gets himself kidnapped by a bunch of goblins, and their employer is gods-know-where with whatever a Black Spider is, and suddenly this very boring escort mission is a very not boring rescue mission.

There’s a skeleton in the cave. Wei Wuxian takes an umbrella from it, and it crumbles into dust beneath its red robe. There’s a very annoyed man with a sword who calls himself Song Lan and speaks in static, and he’s somehow not the weirdest part of this whole day.

Phandolin doesn’t survive its brush with the Zidian Gauntlet, and neither does Qionglin. Wen Qing screams when he dies, and Wei Wuxian grabs her under the arms with Jiang Cheng and books it for the empty well in Song Lan’s wake, and they just hide.

And then they go to the goddamn moon, apparently.

TWO

The goddamn moon is run by an older man with hair still a glossy black, toying with a beautifully painted white fan in his hand. He calls himself the Director and–after some testing–hires them more or less on the spot. Something flickers over his face when Wen Qing, bemused by her own upset, makes an offhand mention of a man named Qionglin who died when the Gauntlet brought down so much lightning that it turned Phandolin into black glass. But it’s not Wei Wuxian’s problem, so he doesn’t worry himself over it too much. He takes the payment offered to him by the Director’s aide, a blindfolded, stunningly handsome man in Bureau blue and white who rests his hand on his own chest and says “Xiao Xingchen” and not another word.

The Bureau is–weird. They’ve got a giant jellyfish and a store run by–something Wei Wuxian Does Not Trust and a dorm. Wei Wuxian laughs and kicks Jiang Cheng cheerfully in the ankle and says “Just like college, huh?” and Jiang Cheng gives him a dark look and snaps “I never went to college.”

“Yeah,” Wei Wuxian says, blinking. “Me neither.”

Whatever. They go on a train adventure and there’s a kid, a kid who blinks and stares at Wei Wuxian like he’s seen a goddamn ghost and immediately walks up to introduce himself as Lan Sizhui, boy detective.

Wei Wuxian fucking loves this kid. He’s not sure why this wide-eyed fifteen-year-old latched onto him so hard, but he’s smart, funny, loyal, and extremely easy to pick on. 13/10 child rating, in Wei Wuxian’s book.

(Sizhui, for his part, more or less kicks down the door to his father’s offices in the Astral Plane the second the Reclaimers are gone and shouts “I HAVE A LEAD ON WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WORLD.”)

(His father, Lan Wangji, the Grim Reaper, is very interested to hear all about it–especially when his son casually name-drops three of the biggest bounties that the Raven King, his adoptive elder brother, has ever sent him after, with the exception of that absolutely insufferably sweet-tempered lich Wen Ning.)

THREE

So…the Crystal Kingdom.

Is it Wei Wuxian’s finest hour, shouting obscure tentacle-related threats at the second crystal construct they’ve seen in the past twenty minutes? No, probably not. But it’s been a stressful day, they’re already down one Regulator and Song Lan is fuck-knows-where with Mianmian and, again, this is the second menacing crystal construct they’ve seen in twenty minutes. Or maybe it’s the same one?

Whatever, doesn’t matter. They’re here to hunt down Meng Yao, a scientist who’s been dicking around with some seriously ill-advised necromancy and also the Philosopher’s Stone, and a crystal construct or two isn’t going to stop them.

Wei Wuxian actually physically cannot help himself, though, when the Reapers appear in the mirror, a matched set of beautiful men, and he grins broadly at the one glaring at him most viciously. They get let go on a technicality, along with a conduit still containing Meng Shi’s memory of a vision beyond the cosmos, and Meng Yao leaves with his life and not much more.

Later, Lan Wangji is absolutely betrayed by the realization that his brother willfully set him up to be the primary go-between for the completely breathtaking deeply irritating wizard-by-way-of-death-criminal. And that’s before the whole lich revelation. (He does get a kiss, though, after he watches his brother pulled under by the Hunger. That’s nice. He hopes Wei Wuxian will mitigate the death crimes now that they’re dating.)

FOUR

The seven Relics are as follows:

The Zidian Gauntlet, which can generate a lightning blast so powerful that it can obliterate an entire city. (Jiang Cheng–he watched the others try to lay in protections, try to make their Relics harmless, and he knew it wouldn’t work. All the Gauntlet does is damage. It can melt a city down to black glass, but it can’t be twisted, it can’t be made into any more of a nightmare than it already is. He’s a fighter. He knows all about damage, knew all about what he was making. That doesn’t mean it didn’t kill him by inches to watch it leave a path of destruction–so much that his beloved jiejie tried to seal it away.)

The Oculus, which can make any construct real. (Xiao Xingchen–Nie Huaisang didn’t take everything. He doesn’t remember the mission, or his own past. Something strange got confused in the process, and he lost most of his speech. But he remembers how to fight, handles his sword as cleanly and effectively as ever, and he remembers that he doesn’t think much of Nie Huaisang’s combat skills. Or maybe it’s just really obvious that Nie Huaisang isn’t much of a fighter. Regardless, Xiao Xingchen insisted on accompanying him, before–before. Then they went into the Felicity Wilds, and…Xue Yang is honestly delighted. He’s never managed to ruin someone so badly on the way into Wonderland before. It’s just a shame that Nie Huaisang sent Xiao Xingchen away before they reached the doors.)

The Healer’s Sash, which can manipulate natural forces like the wind, the tides, and tectonic plates just as easily as it can manipulate a heartbeat or a pair of lungs. (Wen Qing–she prays to Pelor, the Dawnfather, the healer and Lord of Light, but she’s long since lost her faith in him as anything but a contracted boss. It’s a shock to everyone including her when she’s granted a right arm made of glass and magic after losing it. She was so determined to make a Relic that could be used for good, but–well. She supposes she should have known better.)

The Philosopher’s Stone, which can more or less transform anything into anything. (Jiang Yanli–she’s a Transmutation wizard, she’s been feeding the crew of the Starblaster for a hundred years on whatever she can pull together. If the right person found the Stone, it would have ended world hunger. The wrong person found the stone. Jiang Yanli tried her damnedest to hunt it down, but she found the Gauntlet first, and, well–she already became a lich to stop one younger brother from doing it. It’s not a struggle to decide that she’s going to take responsibility for saving Jiang Cheng from his own guilt. Then things go horribly wrong, and she spends the next twelve years in an umbrella.)

The Temporal Chalice, which offers complete control over time. (Wen Ning–he was a strict scholar until his sister was contacted about the IPRE’s creation, but he always did want to travel, and his theories about bonds were too good for Xiao Xingchen to pass up having on his crew. Everything he’s done since they lost their home system has been about trying not to leave his family, about trying for second chances, he became a lich for them, he’s done everything to stay with them, of course his Relic is a second chance generator.)

The Animus Flute, which offers control over the spirits of the dead and, in the hands of a sufficiently competent expert, the living. (Wei Wuxian–he’s watched his brother, his sister, his friends, die so many times. He’s terrified of immortality, but he’s most terrified of being alone. He meant to make something that could keep the dead present, so that they would never have to fear being left behind again. Watching it rip Jiang Cheng’s soul clean out of his body in Xue Yang’s hands is the worst thing Wei Wuxian can remember, even after everything is over.)

The Bulwark, which Nie Huaisang never did explain to anyone, but took the shape of a hand-painted fan. (Nie Huaisang lost the only person who mattered to him when the Hunger ate their home, and then as he slowly, painstakingly, rebuilt something like a family, he had to watch them suffer and die for a hundred years. And then he watched them win, and grieve like dying all over again for the winning. He’s sorry they suffered for his actions. He’s not sorry for what he did.)

FIVE

Wen Zhuliu didn’t mean to make his whole plane give up. But he had spent his whole life being used, and it all just seemed so pointless. It all just seemed so pointless. There was always someone stronger, always something bigger, always a rule he couldn’t break, always something, and he started talking, started telling people as much, and--

Wen Qing is about the farthest thing in the fucking world from a peacemaker by nature, if you ask her, but she’s a healer first, last, and most of all. And, she thinks as she watches the sun sink with a very tired man crumbling away at her side, she might be the only person in the worlds who ever noticed that Wen Zhuliu needed a healer.

(They aren’t from the same plane, but--some of the others have found distant family, on their new home. It’s an unanswerable question, if they might have been family, a few dimensions removed. Wen Ning still thinks about it.)

#the untamed #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #taz balance #taz au #starlight writes stuff #*sprints into the room with this au multiple months late and completely out of breath* H E R E #this has been languishing in my drafts for. mm. ever.#i don't even remotely remember enough of my original thoughts about it to provide a lot of tags #but i do have a case for why wzl is john vore (and it's NOT just that i think he's interesting)#i could've made jgy the hunger BUT the plot of taz requires some...reconciliatory ending structure?#and honestly nhs still being something of a puppet master means that i couldn't justify that with jgy #i needed a villain less close to nhs' heart. so i thought about xue yang but i like him as the wonderland lich TOO MUCH.#so instead i thought about who i should make the parlay person--first instincts were jyl and wn because they're Nice #but then i decided that i didn't actually need Nice nearly so much as i needed Invested #and by god can wen qing Invest #so okay--if she was going to do the parlay then i didn't need someone who could be talked around i needed someone who needed a healer #so: wen zhuliu #i don't have to justify myself to you fools #also jgy is always everyone's biggest bad so he can let someone else have a turn #jyl develops a crush on a completely socially awkward rogue from inside an umbrella by the way!#pour one out for jzx because he is NOT equipped for an ethereal woman of violet fire to blush at him #a queue we will keep and our honor someday avenge #thishazeleyeddemon #asked and answered

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bellakitse · 5 years ago

Text

The One Where TK Strand Meets The In-Laws

Four times TK Strand meets and charms a Reyes woman.

Written for Lone Star Week Day 1 - Family

A/N: At the end of the story click on each of the girls names to see what I imagine they look like. Spoiler alert* Every Reyes is beautiful.

TK Strand knows his boyfriend has a big family. One of four kids – the youngest of the siblings with three older sisters and a mother who baby him – Carlos tells him with a bashful smile that TK finds precious. There are pictures of them around Carlos’ apartment, he knows all about them, he just hasn’t met them.

They’ve only just made this thing between them official, and they’re taking their time enjoying each other before they bring family into the mix.

Even with his dad, who already knows Carlos, TK has made sure to keep things as separate as he can between work and their personal life. He wants this time to be about them as they settle into the relationship. This is why he’s taken by surprise the first time he meets Valentina, Carlos’ oldest sister, since the last thing he expected was to meet her in Carlos’ apartment when his boyfriend is still at work, with TK walking into his place hoping to surprise him with dinner.

“Uh – hello?” he gets out, caught off guard by the very pretty woman with long black hair scrolling through her phone as she lays back on the leather couch in the living room. He watches her lower her phone from her face, raising an eyebrow at him as he stands nervously by the door. He recognizes her instantly from the pictures, but even if he didn’t, he could see the family resemblance. She’s beautiful like Carlos, same brown eyes, and expressive eyebrows that are currently judging the hell out of him.

“And just who might you be?” she questions as she sits up. “Walking into my baby brother’s apartment with a key,” she looks pointedly at the hand where the keys tangle from.

“I’m TK,” he answers as he takes a steadying breath, shifting the groceries in his hand to close the door. “I’m Carlos’ boyfriend, and you’re Valentina, right?”

Valentina’s eyebrows climb a little higher if possible. “Yeah.”

“Carlos has told me about all of you, and shown me pictures,” he explains, heading for the kitchen instead of continuing to stand by the door like an idiot. He hears her standing up, her shoes clicking on the wooden floor as she follows him. He turns around to find her leaning on one of the counters, watching him with an assessing look while he takes out the veggies he needs for the fajitas he has planned.

“That’s funny,” she starts, still looking at him skeptically. “He hasn’t mentioned you.”

TK gives her a half-smile that seems to surprise her. “That’s not odd; we are still pretty new.”

Going by Valentina's expression, it’s obvious she doesn’t quite believe him, given that he let himself in with his own set of keys and is moving around Carlos’ kitchen like it’s a common occurrence – which it is – he understands the look.

“The title I mean, of boyfriends,” he explains. “That’s what’s new; it took us a while to get it right.”

Valentina nods, giving him the benefit of the doubt. “So, your name is TK?”

“Yep, TK Strand,” he answers with a bright smile, sticking out his hand for her to take. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too,” she says with a quirk of her lips as she shakes his hand. “So, how did you meet my baby brother?”

“On the job,” TK says as he leans back against the sink to face her.

“Are you a cop?” she asks, curious.

Shaking his head, he smiles. “No, I’m a firefighter, my crew answered a call he was on about six months ago, and we’ve been trying to figure this out since.”

“Six months?” she exclaims, her eyes widening at the time frame. “I can’t believe he’s managed to keep you a secret for this long. Carlos shares everything with us.”

TK lets out a wince, suddenly feeling bad. He hadn’t really thought about Carlos keeping quiet about him because it’s what TK wanted.

“I was going through some things,” he hedges. “I wasn’t ready for a relationship, and Carlos was very patient with me.”

Valentina looks at him unconvinced, and TK feels a trickle of worry run through him. The last thing he wants is for Carlos’ family not to like him now when he’s sure about his feelings, and all he wants is to be with Carlos.

“I’ll tell you what,” TK starts, deciding that it’s time to get to know the important people in his boyfriend’s life, starting with his sister. “I’m making Carlos dinner, that’s why I came over. He should be home in about an hour; the only thing is I’m not the greatest cook,” he continues, hoping she’ll agree to his idea. “He usually handles the dinners. Help me not fuck it up, and you can grill me all you want.”

Valentina stares at him for a moment before she smirks at him, the expression on her face wickedly amused. She points a finger at him. “If I make you cry – ” she warns.

“We’ll blame it on the onions,” he jokes back at her, pleased when she lets out a laugh.

֎֎֎

Valentina is in the middle of telling TK about the time Carlos decided that he was going to ‘rescue’ the neighborhood dogs when Carlos walks in.

“He stole them!” she exclaims, and TK is laughing so hard tears are running down his face. “Lured all of them with treats, then when Mami demanded he return them, he said that if the people were better dog owners, it wouldn’t have been so easy to take the dogs from their yards in the first place. He was nine.”

TK laughs loudly, turning his head towards the door when he hears it open.

“Baby?” Carlos calls out, stopping short as he spots them still in the kitchen, Valentina sits on top of the counter while TK finishes cooking, she’d been guiding him through every step of making fajitas. “What’s going on?”

TK has a grin on his face as he makes his way over to him, he gives him a soft kiss, and though Carlos is still surprised to see him hanging out with his sister, he returns it, his touch gentle as he holds TK by the waist.

Pulling back, TK gives him another smile. “Valentina was just telling me of your dognapping ways,” he teases, enjoying the groan Carlos lets out as he rubs his face. “I’m going to have to warn dad to make sure Buttercup is safe.”

“It’s a good thing he became a cop,” Valentina declares, a smirk on her face as she looks at her brother. “If not, I fear the master criminal he would have become.”

TK chuckles softly while Carlos rolls his eyes at his sister before making his way over to kiss her on the cheek.

“Hey, Vale.”

“Nene,” Valentina smiles at him, running a hand over his hair tenderly. “I’ve been getting to know your boy here.”

Carlos shoots him a look, and TK can see the concern in his eyes, huffing a laugh he nods towards her. “She’s been very nice, even helped make dinner for you.”

“Valentina, nice?” Carlos questions, raising an eyebrow. “Sounds fake, but okay,” he dodges the swipe of her hand with practiced ease.

“Grosero,” she gripes, shaking her head at him while Carlos chuckles.

“What brings you by?” Carlos asks as he opens the fridge to get some water.

Valentina gives him a shrug of her shoulder. “I had some time off, figured I’d visit, and we could talk about Mami’s upcoming birthday. Instead, I met TK and stuck around to make sure if he’s good enough for you.”

“What’s the verdict?” TK asks, sharing a playful look with her when she smirks over at him.

“You’re way too cool for my nerdy baby brother,” she answers seriously.

TK high-fives her, both of them laughing when Carlos lets out another groan.

“I should have known you’d win her over with a snap of your fingers,” he complains, shaking his head, the smile on his face contradicting his words. “I need a shower, are you staying for dinner, Vale?”

“She is,” TK says quickly when Valentina hesitates. “She has to tell me more stories about baby Carlos.”

Carlos watches as they share a grin, and shakes his head again, resigned to his fate. “Won’t that be fun.”

֎֍֎

“How could you have never been to a state fair?” Carlos asks him as they walk hand in hand through the crowded carnival. Neon lights flash from the rides and games, all around is the roar of the crowd.

TK shrugs his shoulders, pressing himself closer to Carlos when a group of kids run by them so fast they almost make him drop his cotton candy. “I don’t know,” he says, taking a bite of the pink and blue fluff. “I mean, I’ve been to Coney Island, but that’s always there. If the state fair came to New York, and I’m sure it did, I guess we just missed it.”

“Besides, this has a very wholesome vibe to it,” TK waves his hand around the place. “That is kind of missing from the city.”

“Are you having fun, though?” Carlos asks with a little crease between his brows as he looks around the chaotic place with concern. “We can always go and do something else if you don’t like it.”

TK stops to face Carlos, he raises his hand and presses his thumb between Carlos’ eyebrows, trying to smooth out the frown. “I’m having fun,” he assures him, mimicking Carlos frown teasingly before giving way to a smile. “Really, this is something I’ve never done before, it’s great.”

Carlos’ face clears as he smiles back at TK, looking back at him happily. TK leans into Carlos’ frame, pleased when Carlos brings his hand to TK’s waist, holding him close to his body.

“I have you, and my cotton candy,” he gestures towards his treat. “Both of which are sweet and taste delicious,” he continues, smirking when Carlos’ eyes drift down to his lips.

“Which one tastes better?” Carlos asks, his brown eyes glistening under the fair lights, and TK has to take a steadying breath at the sinfully playful look on Carlos’ face.

“Well, I have been eating the cotton candy for the last fifteen minutes and haven’t kissed you,” TK starts as he brings his hand up to Carlos’ neck, pulling him closer. “I have to taste you again for a fair comparison, you understand.”

Carlos nods, eyes dancing with amusement, his lips inches away from TK’s. “For science.”

“Exactly,” TK says, letting out a soft needy sound just as Carlos covers his mouth with his, licking his way into TK’s mouth without hesitation.

TK holds on to Carlos as he all but melts into the kiss he gives him. It’s all tongue, heat, and sugar from the candy they’ve been sharing. TK has a history with substances, but he knows right now that no drug will ever make him feel as good as Carlos Reyes kissing him like it’s the only thing he wants to do.

He moans softly into the kiss, feeling Carlos’ slight shake as he grips his waist tighter in an effort to get even closer. TK is ready to end the kiss just to tell Carlos they need to find some dark corner, now, when someone calls their attention.

“Making out like a horny teenager, Carlos. So much for being an upstanding officer of the law.”

TK feels Carlos freeze at the words, pulling away from him with a jerk. TK is breathing heavily as he turns around to find a beautiful woman with wild curly hair, golden brown skin, and familiar expressive brown eyes watching them with a straight look on her face. Next to her is a little girl no older than ten staring at them with large eyes.

“Sofía, hi,” Carlos gets out kind of stammering and blushing, and TK instantly realizes it’s Carlos’ second oldest sister. “Mari,” he continues, looking down at the little girl, losing his awkwardness as he smiles at her. “Hola mi amor.”

“Hi, Tio Carlos,” the little girl greets back, stepping forward when Carlos holds out his arms to her. TK watches as Carlos gets down to hug her, smiling when she kisses Carlos on the cheek. TK looks up from the sweet display as Carlos asks Mari how’s school, to find Sofia studying him like a bug under a microscope.

“So, you are the white boy my little brother is smitten with,” she questions, the corner of her mouth quirking upward when Carlos’ head snaps up to her from talking with his niece.

“You didn’t really think Valentina kept to herself meeting him or the dinner you guys had, did you?” Sofía rolls her eyes unimpressed when Carlos gives her a lost look. “It’s like you don’t know us.”

“Tia Lola, Tia Valentina, and Mami have been facetiming talking about your boyfriend,” Mari volunteers as she looks at TK curiously. “Titi Vale said you were really cute,” she says shyly, and TK is instantly charmed. “She was right.”

TK grins down at her, crouching down like Carlos had done to meet her eyes. “Thank you, Mari, but I’m not as cute as you though,” he answers, getting another shy smile. “I’m TK,” he holds out his hand for her, smiling when she takes it. “How old are you?”

“Nine,” Mari says proudly, and TK nods before standing up to look back at Sofía.

“TK Strand, the ‘white boy’ boyfriend, or the gringo like Valentina called me,” he says, holding out his hand for her too, flashing her a smirk when she gives him a reluctant smile at his words.

“Sofía Reyes, older sister of this one,” she points at Carlos. “The quietest of the Reyes clan and therefore the one you should fear the most,” she says menacingly. “Lola will say it’s her because she’s nuts, but she adopts every stray that comes her way. I’m the scary one.”

TK reins in the urge to grin, knowing it’s the wrong thing to do in the face of an obviously fiercely protective older sister, and instead, lets himself feel a wave of satisfaction at knowing that Carlos is so cared for by his family.

“I will make a note to let her know it’s not her when I finally meet her,” TK assures her.

Sofía raises an eyebrow at him. “You think you’ll get that far?”

“I don’t see why not,” TK shrugs; as far as he’s concerned, he’ll eventually get to know all of them. “I met Valentina and liked her very much; you seem nice too. Makes sense I would meet Lola too, she’s Carlos’ other sister,” he looks over at Carlos, who is staring at him quietly and a little nervous like he did when Valentina was at the apartment. “After all, I’m not going anywhere, so meeting the rest of Carlos’ family seems inevitable, and I look forward to getting to know everyone important to him.”

Sofía stares at him for a moment, and it’s obvious that she’s making up her mind about him. He stands up straighter, hoping she doesn’t find him lacking. Finally, she smiles at him, now more welcoming.

“Valentina said you were smooth,” she says with a smirk.

“I’m really not,” he answers, getting a playful roll of her eyes.

“You are,” she says again. “But you also come off as sincere, so it’s sweet. Are you enjoying the fair?”

TK nods, looking back at Carlos. He holds out his hand to him, smiling softly when Carlos takes it. “I’ve never been to one, it’s nice.”

“You’ve never been to a fair?” Mari exclaims, appalled by his lack of life experience, and the three of them have to keep from laughing at how offended she sounds. “Have you gotten on the rides?”

TK shakes his head, biting down on his lip when she makes a disgusted sound. “Can you keep a secret?” he says in a loud whisper, focusing on Mari, so she knows it’s just for her. He’s charmed by the way she nods her head quickly at him. “I’m kind of scared of them, and really what I want is for your uncle to win me a big teddy bear.”

Mari lights up at the suggestion, turning from him to Carlos. “Tio, you have to!”

Carlos smiles down at his niece, tilting his chin in the direction of the games. “You pick which one we should play.”

Mari grins happily, turning towards the games.

“I didn’t know you were afraid of the rides,” Carlos questions softly, smiling at the blush on TK’s face as he shrugs his shoulders.

“Carlos is afraid of the Ferris wheel,” Sofia offers, grinning when Carlos scowls at her, before following her daughter, who has started walking towards a knockdown pins game.

TK is amused as he takes a step to follow them, but Carlos stops him with a hold of his hand. He turns back to look at him, his breath catching at the soft, vulnerable look on his face.

“Did you mean it?” Carlos asks quietly, looking down at their linked hands, blinking back up at him when TK squeezes it.

“Yes,” he answers just as softly. “I’m not going anywhere,” he continues, knowing that’s what Carlos is asking about, his heart pounding hard under his rib cage as a bright smile takes over Carlos’ face. “As long as you want me, I’m staying.”

Carlos nervously licks his lips, pulling him closer by the hand until TK’s front brushes against his. “And if I want you to stay forever, what would you say to that?”

TK smiles so hard; he’s sure his face will crack. “I would say I’m the luckiest guy in the world because that’s exactly what I want too.”

֎֍֎

“Are you sure this is what you want to do on our one night off together?” Carlos asks him as they stand inside a small art house downtown.

“It’s the last night your sister’s exhibit is on display, and you haven’t had time to come see it with all the overtime you’ve been doing,” he reminds him.

“Yeah, but I also haven’t had time to be alone with you,” Carlos counters with a slight pout, his bottom lip sticking out too adorably for a grown man. TK has to bite down on his lip to keep from letting out a breathy sigh. His boyfriend is ridiculously hot and cute all at the same time; it messes with TK’s senses.

“We’re spending time alone right now,” he answers, and this time he can’t help the grin when Carlos rolls his eyes at him.

“You know when I say alone time I mean naked, Tyler,” Carlos complains, causing TK to let out a laugh, feeling light, happy, and in love.

Yeah. Those words have been running through his head, and on the tip of his tongue for a while now.

“But you look so hot in what you’re wearing,” TK teases though he’s not joking. Carlos is dressed black on black; a thin fitted sweater with an open collar and a pair of slacks that hug his ass perfectly, when he picked him up, TK almost swallowed his tongue at how hot he looked.

“I can’t wait to take it all off you later.” He leans in, his lips brushing against Carlos’ ear. “I think I’ll use my teeth.”

Carlos turns his head, pressing his face to the side of TK’s neck. “You’re such a tease, you better keep your word,” he says, his voice low and rough, sending shivers through TK.

He pulls back to look at Carlos, finding heat in his eyes that he’s sure matches his own. “I promise. First, you will be a good brother, and then I’ll be a very good boyfriend later.”

Carlos lets out a slow settling breath, that does nothing for the lust he sees in his eyes. “You’re a menace.”

“You love it,” TK shoots back with a grin, his breath catching when Carlos gives him a deep piercing look, nodding slowly.

“I do.”

“Carlos, I – ” TK lets out a shaky breath at the implication behind Carlos’ words.

“Mano!”

Carlos breaks out in a smile, turning around just in time for a small woman with waves of black hair and a massive smile on her animated face to jump into his arms. Carlos wraps his arms around her, lifting her off her feet.

“Hey, Loca,” he murmurs as he holds her in a tight hug, earning a laugh out of the girl.

TK is enjoying watching Carlos with his sister when her eyes land on him, and they widen comically.

“Holy shit! Is this the dreamy gringo you’ve been keeping all to yourself?” she exclaims as Carlos puts her down.

“Otherwise known as TK, my boyfriend,” Carlos rolls his eyes at him, and TK has to grin, taking his hand in support.

“Excuse the fuck out of me,” she says sarcastically. “But it’s not like you’re going out of your way to introduce us to him. Valentina and Sofía met him by accident; to us, you’ve been hiding him.”

“And yet I brought him to your art show, Lola,” Carlos answers exasperated, sighing when she gives him a big grin.

“Because I’m your favorite, right?” she asks smugly. “I knew it.”

She turns to him, sticking her hand out for him to shake. “I’m Lola Reyes, the best sister.”

Carlos shakes his head. “No, she’s Lola la loca, she just gets confused,” he says dryly, scowling when Lola slaps his arm with the back of her hand.

TK laughs at their antics, enjoying this playful, sarcastic side of Carlos. “Loca means crazy, right?”

“Oh, Carlos,” Lola lets out a deep breath, pressing a hand over her heart. “He’s precious, can I keep him?”

“No,” Carlos scowls again. “I’m keeping him, me.”

Lola waves him away dismissively. “He’s the baby of the family, spoiled rotten. Don’t listen to him, you and I are going to be best friends,” she says with a bright smile as she links her arm through his. “Manito, go get my new best friend and me something to drink. I have art to show my best friend.”

TK bites down on his lip to keep from laughing when Carlos glares at his sister for a moment before relenting.

“I’ll get you some mineral water,” Carlos turns towards him, TK goes to say thank you only for the words to get stifled by Carlos giving him a hard kiss. He gasps into it, and Carlos uses it to slip him some tongue, making the kiss dirtier.

“Damn, Carlos,” Lola whistles low when he ends the kiss. “I was just messing with you; he’s yours, you don’t have to pee on the kid.”

TK looks up at Carlos, slightly panting, his eyes meet Carlos’ and they hold. “What was that for?” he whispers.

“To remind you what I have to offer when she freaks you out with her craziness,” Carlos answers, ignoring the rude noise Lola makes.

TK tugs Carlos back in for another kiss, this one light and soft. “I’m not going anywhere,” he whispers against his mouth. Carlos nods, pressing his forehead against his for a second before he pulls back. He shoots Lola a warning look, which she answers with a dazzling smile that has Carlos huffing as he walks away.

“It’s always a blast to rile him up, but it’s never been this fun,” she grins at him. “So, art?”

TK shakes his head, genuinely amused. “Lead the way.”

She takes him to a medium size painting of two bodies wrapped in an embrace, on the corner of the painting light seems to filter through creating shadows over the bodies, all in bursts of different colors blending like a kaleidoscope.

“Holy shit,” TK swears in awe of the beauty of the painting. “Carlos said you were amazing, and he was right.”

“He said that?” Lola asks softly.

TK looks away from the painting to look at her, finding that she’s smiling but not teasingly like before, this smile is softer, almost bashful.

“He says you’re the most talented person he knows,” TK tells her. “His crazy, gifted artist older sister.”

Lola smiles beautifully, and there is a rosy blush over her cheeks. “He’s sweet when he wants to be; it’s why we keep him.”

He chuckles quietly at her words. “He’s sweet to me all the time.”

Lola’s expression turns wicked. “Yeah, I noticed just how sweet he is with you,” she answers, and it's TK's turn to blush. “Has he played for you yet?”

TK looks at her confused, shaking his head.

Lola smiles again, she leans in, ready to share the secret. “I’m not the only artist in the family, my new best friend. I can paint, but Carlos plays guitar, and he sings.”

TK raises an eyebrow, excitement coursing through him at the new little piece of information he’s gotten. He sees Carlos walking back towards them, with two waters and a beer in hand, and he turns back to Lola, who is smirking at him knowingly.

“You’re right, Lola. As of right now, you and me?” he points between them, returning her smile just as Carlos reaches them, he looks at him for a second, his amusement growing when Carlos gives him a questioning look. “Are the best of friends.”

Carlos looks at them with wide eyes, letting out a resigned ‘fuck’ that sends him and Lola laughing at his expense.

֎֍֎

He hears about the accident halfway through his shift from his dad. Owen has his jacket ready in his hand, and Paul is in his car with the engine running to drive him over to the hospital before he can even think of what he needs to do.

The ride to the hospital is both quick and takes forever. Paul doesn’t say much other than to tell him it’s going to be okay, and when they pull up to the entrance, he manages to get out an ‘give him our best’ before TK is running through the main doors.

He can only imagine what wild look he has on his face as he demands of the poor woman at the front desk to tell him where Officer Reyes is located, which has her pointing to her left and quickly telling him a room number. He thinks the fact that he’s still in uniform is the only reason she doesn’t ask him for ID. He mumbles a hurried apology for his rudeness before he all but runs towards the room she gave him.

He bursts into the room to find Carlos sitting up on a bed; his shirt off shows the left side of his body is one big bruise. He makes a noise, he’s not sure what it is, but Carlos snaps his head to where TK is standing, using the door frame for support.

“TK,” Carlos whispers, his expression going gentle as he takes him in. There are a couple of butterfly stitches above his brow. “Baby, I’m okay.”

TK freezes in place, replaying what he knows. There was a high-speed chase, Carlos’ cruiser hit a divider and ended up flipping. Nothing about that is okay.

“Come here, Tyler,” Carlos tells him, his voice is still soft but firm, snapping him out of his fear spiral.

He’s in tears by the time he reaches Carlos’ side, and Carlos tucks TK’s head into the crook of his neck, shushing him softly as he rubs a hand up and down his back. “I’m okay, baby,” Carlos whispers into his ear again. “It’s okay.”

TK shakes his head, the man he’s in love with is in the hospital, and his heart is pounding so hard that he fears it’s going to burst out of his chest.

“Look at me, TK,” Carlos continues, pulling back to make sure their eyes meet, his thumb wiping at his cheeks. “I swear it looks worse than it is, the doctor already checked me out, and I’m fine. Some bruising and I’ll be achy for a bit, but nothing is broken, everything is going to be okay.”

“I was so scared,” TK gets out, another wave of tears breaks through despite him trying to keep them at bay. “Dad told me about the accident and got Paul to drive me, my hands were shaking so much to do so myself, and all I could think was – ” he pauses as he tries to take a breath. “I thought, what if I lose you, and I didn’t tell you.”

“Tell me what?” Carlos’ hold on him tightens, his eyes are wide and hopeful as he looks at TK with so much love.

“You know what,” TK whispers, reaching up to touch Carlos’ face, his heart squeezing tight at the way Carlos leans into his hand. “I love you, Carlos. I love you so much.”

Carlos closes his eyes for a moment; when he opens them again, there is a beautiful smile on his battered face. “I love you too, Ty.”

TK lets out a shuddering breath; he goes easily when Carlos tugs him forward again, pressing his lips softly against his, making sure he doesn’t hurt him further.

“Love you,” he says quietly again, now that it’s out he wants to keep saying it, especially if Carlos’ answer is that beautiful smile of his every time. He goes to repeat it because he can, when someone clears their throat, drawing their attention back to the door. A small stylish woman with silver-grey hair down to her shoulders and a youthful face stands there watching them. TK recognizes her instantly as Carlos’ mother, not just from the pictures but from the fact that her eyes are the same gentle eyes he gets to look into regularly.

“I found you some te de manzanilla, mijo,” she says, stepping into the room with a steaming cup. “To relax you.”

TK takes a step back so she can hand Carlos the cup. Her eyes stray to him, her lip quirking upward as she studies him. “Though you look much more relaxed now than earlier, bebé.”

TK feels himself blush at her words, while Carlos lets out a sigh. He’s thankful when Carlos takes his hand in his.

“Mami, this is TK. I’m sure the girls have told you all about him,” he says, rolling his eyes when his mom raises an eyebrow at him. “TK, this is my mother, Carlota Reyes.”

TK sticks his hand out for her, giving her soft hand a shake. “Nice to finally meet you, ma’am, though I wish it were under better circumstances.”

“And you, TK,” Carlota answers, she doesn’t let go of his hand as she studies him, her expression motherly and kind. “Are you okay, mijo?”

“Huh?” TK asks, confused at her question, blushing when she points at her own face. “Oh, man, I must be a mess,” he says embarrassed, quickly wiping at his face. “Sorry about that.”

“You’re beautiful,” Carlos interrupts, retaking his hand. “You’re always beautiful.”

TK feels himself melt at the words, and he doesn’t seem to be the only one, the look on Carlota’s face is one of happiness and wonder.

“Es este tu amor, mi corazón?” Carlota asks as she looks at Carlos, her eyes filling with tears, a tender smile on her face when Carlos gives her a soft nod.

“Si, Mami,” Carlos answers, looking at him as he squeezes his hand. “El es amor de mi vida.”

TK holds his breath, he knows enough Spanish to understand that Carlos just called him the love of his life.

Carlota lets out a watery laugh, her eyes shining, she turns to look at him with so much affection TK is blown away by it. “I’m so happy to finally meet you, cariño.”

֎֍֎

“Are the drinks chilled?” TK asks as he straightens up the pillows on the couch.

“Yes.”

He looks around the living room, looking for anything out of place. “And the bread is in the oven, right?”

“Mmhmm,” Carlos assures him as he steps up behind him, circling his waist with his arms.

“What if we don’t have enough food,” he questions worried, letting out a sigh when Carlos kisses the back of his neck.

“TK, baby, breathe,” Carlos says softly against his throat, and even though they don’t have time for this – Carlos’ mother and sisters are due for brunch at any moment – he tilts his head, giving him more room to work with.

“I want them to like me,” he whispers, letting out a soft moan when Carlos’ tongue runs over the delicate shell of his ear.

“They already do,” Carlos promises, holding him close. “They all adore you, almost as much as I do.”

“I know,” TK says because he does. It’s been a month since Carlos’ accident, and in that month he has spent more time with the Reyes women, he adores all four of them as much as Carlos says they feel for him. But this is still the first time they’ve invited all of them to eat with them, and he’s nervous.

“What can I do to calm you down?” Carlos asks suggestively, his hand playing with the button of his jeans.

“Not that!” he screeches, stepping out of Carlos hold quickly. “Don’t pout at me,” he scolds when he turns around and finds that Carlos is doing just that. “We don’t have time for that, and I refuse to let your family walk in on us with my dick in your mouth.”

“Spoilsport,” Carlos grumbles, though there’s a smirk playing on his face.

“And you say I’m a menace,” TK shakes his head at him, reluctantly smiling when Carlos lets out a laugh.

There’s a knock on the door that startles both of them for a moment. He looks over at Carlos and finds him giving him a tenderly supportive look. Stepping into his space, TK gives Carlos a quick kiss. “After they leave, okay?”

“I’m holding you to that,” Carlos murmurs against his mouth, his voice full of promise.

TK nods, biting down on his lip as he takes in the heat in Carlos’ gaze. He walks over to the door, and with a calming breath, opens it to find four smiling faces.

He takes in the four most important women in his boyfriend’s life, all looking at him with affection and finds himself smiling back, happy to have them in his life too.

“My Reyes girls,” he greets them, smirking when he hears Carlos call him a suck-up, and the smiles on Valentina, Sofía, Lola and, Carlota grow bigger as they share amused looks with him that promise an entertaining afternoon. “Welcome.”

#911 lone star #911lonestarweek #911lsweek #tarlos #tarlos fic #911 lone star fic #my writing #Day 1 - Family #tk x carlos

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runenc03 · 4 years ago

Text

Til the light goes out (and after) - part 1

Writing date: I started in October ‘20, got scared by the amount of personal issues I put into “the reader” and procrastinated. I eventually finished in January ‘21, lol.

Genre: Angst, I guess? But not too badly, it’s fine.

Warnings: Insecurity (to everyone reading this, you are worthy!!)

Word count: 3.6k words

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

"I remember when I reached the age of 25 and I had this jarring quarter-life crisis. I felt like I wasn't at all where I wanted to be: I wanted to be deeply in love and almost married to my soulmate. (...) I also wanted to be a publishing author. Yet I was single, and had never put a book together, even after writing hundreds of poems, journal entries, and essays in my life. I felt like I was just wasting my time, and that felt terrifying. That was three years ago. I look back at that time in my early to mid twenties so differently now. I see many beautiful poems written. Deep conversations with cherished friends. Night walks, early morning walks. Dinners with my family and birthdays, going around the table saying what we love about each other. (...) None of it was wasted. It was beautiful, and the life I had lived was so meaningful and precious. I wish I could go back, and tell myself that, so the younger me could appreciate each moment, rather than comparing where she was to where she wanted to be."

~Katherine Cimorelli Straneva

-----------------------------♡--------------------------

"I think Miss Swann over there should have the role."

Your hands stopped their movements to free you from your pirate costume, and you looked up. Your entire group of colleagues was staring at you, expectantly.

You see, you worked at a theme park, and it was just about the most amazing job ever. Every holiday period, it opened its gates, ready to shower people of all ages in everything magical. You were part of the actors crew, which basically meant that you acted out entire stories at fixed intervals and filled the rest of your time with walking around the theme park in costumes, doing small acts on your way. Often you ended up improvising, dancing with your guests, and of course posing for pictures. If you could, you would live in the theme park. Really, there was just something so entrancing about the atmosphere there, the music coming out of the lanterns beside all the roads, the roller coasters, the beautifully decorated buildings. A big part of the magic was because of the work you and your crew put into your characters and its stories though, you shouldn't underestimate that, which was exactly the reason you weren't too keen on taking the lead role in your next story. The pressure to create the biggest part of the magic was something you didn't know you could handle.

"I'm...not too sure about that. Ariel always plays the lead role, why shouldn't she now? I've never even done a lead role."

'Ariel' was one of your colleagues you were probably the closest with. She was funny, kind, and seemingly good at everything she did, acting included. Her real name wasn't Ariel, but you never called each other by your real names. It was like a tradition within your crew to call everyone by the name of the character they were currently playing. Seeing as she had had the lead role in your newest play, a crossover between Pirates of the Caribbean and The Little Mermaid, her name had been Ariel for the past two weeks, and yours had been Elizabeth.

Your friend wriggled herself out of her tail, her eyes still on you. A smirk was playing around her mouth, and your stomach gave a swirl. She had actually meant it when she proposed to give you the lead role.

"Because, dear Elizabeth, you wrote the play, and you did so beautifully! Your talent is ridiculous, and I think the entire thing is going to come across as much more honest if you play the biggest part in your own story. Isn't that logical?"

The other members of your crew nodded in agreement, and while you couldn't help but smile at their faith in you, the nerves in your stomach grew. You started to untie the laces of your pirate boots as you voiced your concerns.

"I'm not too sure about that. It's a love story, remember?"

The grinning on Ariel's face turned into a warm smile, but her eyes showed determination, and at that point you knew that you had lost this particular battle.

"I remember, and I also remember that you're the biggest romantic out of all of us. Come on, we all know you're going to be fantastic."

Another colleague of yours spoke up, telling you that he'd been in awe of the script you'd written, and another joined, claiming she'd even cried a little at the end. Your doubts slowly folded themselves back up again.

"The story belongs in this place, just like the lead role belongs to you, Elizabeth."

The words were spoken by the most timid guy in your crew. He never talked in your plays but provided the music in them, and even though he was terrific at adding that extra touch of magic to your stories, he never contributed to conversations about their content. You thought he just didn't really mind, as long as he could play his music. If he was willing to speak out loud about it, it must mean you really were meant to follow your crew's judgement.

You smiled, a blush blossoming on your cheeks, and you knew your eyes twinkled when you finally gave in.

"I'll do it."

_______________________________________

"Hey!"

You plopped down next to the music guy in your group, feeling extra cheerful today. You would start rehearsing the piece you had written today, and now that you'd been able to get over the initial insecurities you'd had, you felt really excited about this first rehearsal.

"Good morning, Jade."

You grinned at your brand new name, rummaging through your bag. Tossing aside a water bottle and some elastic bands, you found what you were looking for. Your eyes scanned over the words, making sure you had taken the right document out of the stack you had brought with you, before stretching out your arm in the direction of the music guy. He looked in your direction questioningly. Your grin turned into a warm, although somewhat insecure smile.

"If you're okay with it, your name is Sam from now on."

He read your script in silence, a small smile appearing on his face.

"Who says I can even act?"

"Who said I was able to play the lead role of my own story?"

He threw his head back in laughter, and you watched, surprised you were able to get such an exuberant reaction out of him.

Your alarm chose that exact moment to go off, the bright letters "START REHEARSAL" instantly reforming the knot in your stomach. You frowned at yourself. Weren't you over it by now? It was time to start the whole thing and you were still nervous, for God's sake.

"Hey, you'll be fine. Even better, you get to kiss the guy everyone wants to marry. You should relax more, maybe you can enjoy acting again then."

You tore your eyes away from your phone and onto Sam's face. His comment didn't help at all, and your face must have shown it, because his eyes went from warm to panicked, and your guilt punched the knot of nerves in your stomach. What a mess you'd made of all of this, already. You managed to send a tired smile in his direction, trying to salvage as much as you could from whatever it had been that had made him open up to you a bit.

"Thanks for trying to calm me, really it means a lot. I think I'll calm down once this rehearsal is over though. Are you ready? You're in the scene I want to start the rehearsal with."

He nodded again, awkwardly showing you the flute he was holding, and followed you to the middle of the room where you beckoned everyone to come join you so you could start.

Taking one last deep breath, you started.

"Hi everyone! As you know, we're starting our rehearsals for my story today. If everything went well, you've all received the script for the character you're playing. I actually wanted to start with one of the last scenes,..."

Everyone nodded at you encouragingly throughout your little speech, and as you realised that these were all your friends who genuinely cared about you, you felt the knot in your stomach slowly untie itself.

The first scene you rehearsed was actually the ultimate confrontation between the good and the bad in your story. Your friend Ariel, whose name was now Ruby, played the villain in your story, and you played Jade, the lead character. This scene basically consisted of the fight between Ruby and the main character's love interest, Dante. The story situated itself in the medieval times. Dante had come to Ruby's tower to rescue Jade, who he believed was kidnapped by Ruby, but upon arriving, he - and the park's visitors - would discover that Jade wasn't actually kidnapped and Ruby had made it all up. Then, Jade would realise everything just in time to go up to Ruby's tower as well and rescue Dante, instead of the other way around. What could you say? You'd always been a feminist at heart. Dante was played by a great friend of yours, and you'd actually written this piece thinking he could play the male love interest, while Ariel would play the female lead role, but things had, evidently, taken a turn. The two of them had been friends way longer than you'd been friends with any of them, and even though the three of you were really close, you couldn't help but marvel at the chemistry the two of them had, something you and Dante would very much lack, or at least that's what your insecurities made you believe.

However, you didn't want to rewrite the entire thing just so you wouldn't have to play each other's love interest, and you had showed the script, including the initial cast, to everyone anyway, so it wasn't really something you could get out of without a whole lot of awkwardness.

The rehearsal started off well enough. Ruby was, as you'd expected, really, a brilliant villain, and apart from some minor corrections from you, everyone executed the script exactly the way you had in mind. You were starting to believe in this.

That was, until the very end of the play, in which Jade and Dante would get all cute because of the whole we-just-survived-a-villain-attack-and-thought-we'd-lost-each-other situation. You thought you'd mentally prepared yourself, really, you had, but apparently it hadn't been enough. The awkward tension was palpable, your own movements, usually so fluent, were now stiff, your rigid body seemingly forgetting how your limbs worked. No one said anything about it, but you felt it and you know the others did too.

And you tried to pull out of that awkward moment, tried to chase your insecurities away, you really did, but they seemed to cling to you, and the longer it lasted, the worse your mood became. When you almost fell off of the stage because you'd instinctively set a step backwards when Dante had tried to pull you into his arms, you knew you couldn't continue like this.

Hastily, you grabbed your jacket, quickly telling everyone you would have a 15-minute break and that they'd done a good job, before hurriedly walking out of the building, and into the cold.

_______________________________________

The wind quickened your tears, and you angrily wiped them away before they could hit your neck, mad at yourself for allowing them to fall down. You knew you'd had to get back inside your rehearsal room eventually, and while everyone had a good image of what you were doing, you weren't looking forward to letting them see the evidence.

Most of all though, you felt vulnerable. Vulnerable because you had failed, and because everyone had witnessed you doing it. Vulnerable because your biggest insecurities had just come true.

"Hey, what is up with you?"

You looked up, watching as Ruby flopped herself down on the bench you were sitting on, turning herself so she was completely facing you. She wore an expression of confusion, and worry.

You let go of your eye contact, your eyes drilling holes in the soil beneath your feet. You owed her the truth. In fact, you owed your entire crew the truth. Being completely honest with yourself, you knew that was the only way this play would end up being a success. You took a deep breath.

"I'm just....not equipped to play Dante's love interest."

You couldn't look at her, too ashamed, but her voice conveyed honest surprise, which, in turn, made you surprised. Didn't she realise how obvious it all was?

"What are you talking about? You were fine until you had to reunite with Dante, and if you didn't like physical contact or if you were extremely hesitant for anything romantic, I'd agree with you and say you should probably focus on roles you are very good at, but you, you're a hopeless romantic at heart, and you like physical contact. Why is it so difficult then? I'm not making fun of you, I genuinely don't understand."

You scoffed, too caught up in your own head, annoyed at her lack of understanding.

"How can you not? I've never had a boyfriend, and that explains everything. Don't you see? It's not that I don't want to play a character that's in love, and I'm sure that if I managed to calm down I'd even enjoy it, but whenever I come close to Dante I feel like "forever single" is practically inked on my forehead."

You had, by now, managed to look at your friend, your annoyance chasing away a bit of the previous insecurity and shame. Her face morphed into a look of understanding, and you didn't know if that made you feel better of worse.

"I know it's a bit intimidating to play Dante's love interest, and I know that, like, everyone wants to date him, or at least gushes about how good-looking he is, but that doesn't mean that you can't play his love interest. Stop thinking you're too ugly to be around beautiful people."

If you hadn't been feeling so terrible, you might have literally facepalmed. Maybe you should've seen this coming, but Dante being known as the Adonis of your group really was the least of your worries.

"Wait...what? No, this has nothing to do with him being attractive, you know he and I are only friends. In fact, I think you would be great as his girlfriend, I would totally ship that. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that he's just a friend and it's not about playing his love interest, it's about playing someone's love interest in general. I just...what if it looks completely stupid? I know it looked stupid now. I can imagine all these cute things in my head, but then when I have to execute them, the only thing I can think about is that no one wants to do this with me in real life, and that just...I don't know. You all one by one find the love of your lives, or at least good partners you're happy and in love with, and it...it just makes me wonder if I'll ever be good enough to have that myself, as well."

"Oh, honey..."

You felt Ruby's arm wrap around you, her hand stroking your back, and you eyes filled themselves with tears again. She wasn't a physical person and therefore didn't like touching people, but she did now for you because she knew that you were. The tears started falling again.

"I mean, I knew you were ready to have a boyfriend, or like, to commit to someone and be in love with them, but I didn't know you were so insecure about not being in a relationship, and now I wish I'd realised that earlier. But you have to realise that while you're insecure now because you think no one is going to want you, you're going to be insecure about not deserving a boyfriend when you have one. Trust me, the insecurities don't go away, they just change. I guess what I'm trying to say is... don't wait for that moment that you're someone's girlfriend, the insecurities aren't going to magically disappear then. Now's the time to work on them. And, this shouldn't matter, but for the record: I fully believe that you are very worthy of being someone's girlfriend, and when the right person comes along, you'll give your all, because that's who you are, and it'll go a lot better than most of the relationships you wish to have yourself now. For now though, just have fun. You get to kiss Dante and make lots of bratty girls jealous!"

You chuckled at her attempt to cheer you up. You were really grateful for her. The two of you were complete opposites, and her radiance sometimes made you insecure, but right now, with her words, you believed yourself a worthy person again, and that meant more than you could express.

"That's what Sam said, too."

Ruby's eyebrows went up at lightning speed, her eyes wide.

"Wait, he talks? And he told you you'd be a good girlfriend?"

You rolled your eyes, but also noted how you had to fight the blush off of your cheeks.

"No, dummie, he told me I'd be able to kiss the guy - and I quote - everyone wants to marry. I guess he's not wrong, a lot of female visitors do seem to want to faint whenever he includes them in improvs."

Your friend chuckled, and, her laugh being so infectious, you chuckled along with her. Then, when you didn't expect it, she jumped off of the bench, beckoning you to follow her. As she entered the rehearsal room, she yelled that you'd come with her, and as the rest of the group started cheering, you realised that that had been a good choice.

_______________________________________

"Dante, hold on, I'm coming!"

A few of your younger spectators started whispering excitedly as you stepped into view, quickly climbing a long, round staircase to get to platform on which Dante and Ruby were battling. You were busy concentrating on tripping and falling off of the stairs. That had happened once during your rehearsals, and if you hadn't still been in the lower half of the stairs and if Sam hadn't discarded his flute to catch you, you probably wouldn't have been able to play Jade. While that scenario would've actually sounded appealing a few weeks ago, you had to admit now that you loved playing the lead role in this play.

You threw yourself in the battle, pulling just about the bluntest sword out of its holder around your waist, and clashing with Ruby's. Needless to say, Ruby was no match for you and Dante together, and with a dramatic last breath of air - and a smirk only you and Dante could see from so high up - she fell backwards, tumbling down. This part had actually taken quite some organisational talent. Right in front of the platform you were battling on, there was the staircase, while there was some kind of wall behind the platform. Ruby always fell down behind the wall, where multiple thick layers of soft material made her fall softly and unharmed. The visitors, however, only saw her tumbling down the platform, which made for a very dramatic effect. Of course, Ruby, out of all people, loved it the most.

While the enthusiastic applause intensified, you and Dante fell into each other's arms. You separated a bit, and patiently waited as Dante pulled a lock of your hair behind your ear, something that was in the script. Then, he leaned down slightly, pulling you in for a small, but cute kiss. This wasn't your first time enacting the play, and so you'd gotten used to kissing Dante, and even though you both really didn't have romantic feelings for each other and this was only just a play, you found that the enthusiasm during that kiss from both the kids and adults who were watching, had cured a lot of your insecurities over time.

Hand in hand, you walked down the stairs. Beneath you, the crowd started cheering again, and Dante squeezed your hand, smiling at you. You knew he was congratulating you for once again bringing the play to a successful end. Every time the two of you walked down those stairs, he did it, and every time, you were really grateful.

Once down, your entire crew formed a line, taking each others hands to make a collective bow. You were already holding Dante's, and reached with your other hand to Ruby, but to your surprise, Ruby completely dodged it and went to stand next to Dante on his other side. You were about to grin, your hopes at getting them together once more reviving, before Ruby looked at you and sent you a wink. You were puzzled for a second, until you felt your fingers being intertwined with someone else's, a warm, and, let's be honest, a bit of a clammy hand. Normally, your entire crew held hands with closer fingers, kind of a palm-to-palm thing, so this was a surprise. You were quick to turn your head, and looked straight into Sam's warm eyes. He flashed you a shy smile, and congratulated you on your performance. You smiled back, bowing down with the rest of your crew.

When you got home tonight, you wouldn't slip off your smile along with your costume, for you finally understood that you were just as worthy of a fairytale as all the princesses, goddesses and fairies you had played along the way.

#crushxreader #crush x reader #love #themepark #colleagues to lovers #crush #imagines #oneshots #acting #actor!reader #music #musician!crush #theatre #oneshot #xreader

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abigailnussbaum · 4 years ago

Text

Harley Quinn, She-Ra, and the redemptive power of friendship

I watched the first episode of DC Universe’s Harley Quinn cartoon last year, and concluded that it was well done but not for me. The show seemed a little too in love with in-your-face violence, a little too deliberately outrageous. The positive reactions convinced me to give it a second look, and as it turns out Harley Quinn really is as good as everyone has been saying. You do need to accept a cheerfully cavalier attitude towards a lot of gruesome violence as the show’s buy-in, but I was actually impressed by how deftly Harley Quinn walks the line between humor and violence, while still stressing that some things are out of bounds for (some of) its characters. Add to that a well-crafted portrait of Gotham complete with a lot of familiar faces, some great storytelling and character work, and impressively gonzo set-pieces, and it’s easily one of my favorite superhero stories ever, not just in animation.

I was struck, while watching the first season, by the similarities between Harley Quinn and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Obviously, the two shows are very distinct despite both being female-led animated shows. She-Ra is an all-audiences series with an earnest tone and a strong emphasis on heroism. Harley Quinn is entirely unsuitable for children, and nearly all of its characters are villains. But both are also series about the redemptive power of friendship, and female friendship in particular (also, from what I’ve heard about Harley Quinn’s second season, a friendship that eventually turns romantic). In Harley Quinn’s opening episode, she escapes Arkham Asylum with the help of Poison Ivy, after waiting a year for the Joker to rescue her. Ivy helps Harley realize that the Joker never really cared about her, and that she can be a better and more successful supervillain without him. The rest of the season concerns Harley’s attempts to prove just that.

I found myself thinking that Harley Quinn addressed a lot of the problems I had with how She-Ra depicted this theme, while at the same benefiting from its distinct tone and subject matter. I’d like to talk about some of the things it does better.

For starters, Harley Quinn treats friendhip as an ongoing process. Harley and Ivy are already friends at the beginning of the series, and it’s their friendship that gives Harley the strength to break with Joker, and to believe in her own ability to become an independent supervillain. But Harley also backslides over the course of the first season. She takes the Joker back and regrets it. She ignores Ivy’s advice, especially about the types of people she should be associating with and the organizations she strives to join. And when she achieves professional success, she ignores the needs of not just Ivy, but of the crew she’s recruited over the course of the season. Harley’s journey throughout the season is one of realizing that she’s been a bad friend to the very people who have helped her to grow beyond the Joker, and of figuring out how to be better to them - in other words, the very things that She-Ra lets characters like Catra or Entrapta off the hook for.

At the same time, Harley Quinn also condemns toxic relationships and argues for their dissolution. This is most obvious in the case of the Joker, who repeatedly makes overtures towards Harley only to betray her. But if the Joker is too obviously untrustworthy, engaging in classic abusive behavior such as gaslighting Harley, belittling her abilities, and working to isolate her from her friends, there are also other characters throughout the season whose relationships with Harley initially seem more nurturing, only to reveal themselves as predatory. Harley bonds with the supervillain Queen of Fables over the difficulties of being a female supervillain, but eventually realizes that the other woman will happily stomp over her to achieve her own goals. And she tries to reconnect with her family, forgiving her gambling-addict father’s past exploitation of her, only for him to turn around and try to make money off of her again. Again and again, the show concludes that there are some people whom it is right and proper to shut out of your life - even to extent of acknowledging that when Harley apologizes to Ivy for letting her down, it is entirely possible that Ivy might still decide to end their relationship. To me that’s an essential corollary to She-Ra’s emphasis on friendship and second chances, the recognition that some people aren’t worth the effort.

Harley Quinn doesn’t pretend that becoming a better friend makes you a good person. This is, of course, my core problem with She-Ra, the way that it conflates personal friendship with a more global morality, and allows characters who have done a great deal of evil on the latter front to skate off with hardly any condemnation or consequences, because they’ve become someone’s friend. Harley Quinn is better at realizing that the two don’t really have that much to do with one another. To be clear, this is much easier to do when you’re telling a comedic story about unrepentant supervillains, than in a straight-faced story about heroes saving the world. But another way of putting that is that She-Ra fatally splits its focus whereas Harley Quinn wisely narrows it in a way that more successfully brings its message across. All of the show’s supervillain characters are capable of emotional growth and of choosing to be there for the people they care about (though a lot of them, like the Joker, choose not to do that). But this has nothing to do with their willingness to kill, maim, and cause general mayhem, because how you treat the people closest to you often doesn’t say much about how you view humanity as a whole.

Finally, and despite the above, Harley Quinn doesn’t ignore the difference between good and evil. One very easy approach to take in a story that prioritizes personal relationships above all else and sets itself among villains is to make the “good guys” look just as bad - corrupt, or inept, or priggish. That’s the approach She-Ra creator Novelle Stevenson took in her graphic novel Nimona, in which the league of superheroes are basically keeping themselves in a steady supply of villains by engaging in autocratic, abusive behavior. Harley Quinn could have easily taken this path, but it doesn’t. Though superheroes appear only rarely in the show, they are uniformly depicted as positive characters, good at their job and usually on the right side of things. When they say that Harley and her crew should be sent back to Arkham, you can’t help but conclude that they’re right, and the only reason we don’t want that to happen is that we like Harley. More than that, we like watching her relationships with Ivy and the rest of her crew develop and deepen. Again, this is the show walking an incredibly narrow line, getting us to root for a villain on emotional grounds, without ignoring the actual evil they’re doing. Harley Quinn is almost certainly never going to pivot its title character to full-on good guy status (even when Harley does heroic things, she usually only saves her friends, not the rest of Gotham), and that’s fine. We can enjoy the show as a story about one woman’s growth towards better emotional health (not to mention, a funny and violent cartoon) without pretending that she’s something she isn’t.

#harley quinn #she-ra and the princesses of power

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superman86to99 · 5 years ago

Photo

Action Comics #692 (October 1993)

In this issue: Superman goes to the doctor and finds out why he's not dead anymore! But, before that, he's clearing some of the debris left by his fight with Doomsday when he finds... Clark Kent? Lois Lane is very happy to see Clark again, but Superman himself doesn't look very thrilled in these panels.

Turns out Clark wasn't dead as everyone believed, he was simply trapped in the basement of a collapsed building! The basement happened to equipped with plenty of food and gym equipment (explaining why he's still jacked, like Superman), but unfortunately not a single pair of scissors (explaining why his hair is now long, like Superman's).

Later, Superman bumps into Lex Luthor Jr., who demands to know where Supergirl is, but Superman gives him the runaround. Hmm, where could Superman's good friend who can change shape and pretend to be other people be? Anyway, Superman then meets Lois and Clark and... holy crap! Mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent is secretly Supergirl!

So yeah, Supergirl pretended to be Clark for a while just so he and Superman would be seen together and no one would question why both are suddenly alive again. Then Supergirl leaves and we move on to the second dilemma solved in this issue: How the hell is Superman alive again? To address that question, supernatural DC character (and fellow Jerry Siegel/Joe Shuster creation) Doctor Occult appears out of nowhere and rudely teleports Lois and Clark to a black void, where he replays moments from Superman's life... and death.

Occult explains that Doomsday DID punch Superman's spirit out of his body, but there was still solar energy keeping the body just barely alive. Superman's ghost ended up stuck between the living and the dead, attracting some nasty soul-eating demons. Fortunately, Pa Kent happened to be dying of a heart attack at the same time, so he and Superman teamed up to fight off the demons (as seen in Adventures #500). Superman’s soul returned to his near-corpse, which was taken to the Fortress of Solitude by the Eradicator and lovingly nursed back into health. (Okay, more like “coldly,” but you can’t argue with the results.)

Anyway, the point is that Superman's resurrection happened due to a convoluted series of events that could never be repeated, unless someone's willing to sneak behind Pa Kent and blow an airhorn in his ear or something. As the mystical exposition dump ends, Occult teleports Lois and Clark to Smallville, and the issue ends with the Kents finally reuniting. A tender moment...

...until two seconds later, when Ma smacks Clark in the back of the head for taking two whole issues to come see them (or that’s what I’d do).

Plotline-Watch:

Doctor Occult reveals that the moment when Bibbo shocked Superman’s body with a hyper-charged defibrillator in Adventures #498 actually helped keep him alive. Once again, Bibbo is the real hero of this saga.

Supergirl has a lot of experience posing as Clark, since she was stuck in that form between 1989 and 1992. That was also her in the only other photo of Superman and Clark together, taken in Superman #34.

While Superman is being interviewed by a news crew after rescuing "Clark", that lawyer from Action #689 barges in and demands that they stop calling Superman Superman, since that name is now trademarked by Superboy's manager. Damn, maybe he's gonna have to start calling himself "Supreme" or something?

Aww, Lex is happy to see Superman again. Sure, it's only because he wants to be the one to kill him, but still.

S.T.A.R. Labs is examining the Eradicator's corpse when they realize he's alive! Sort of. Later, Doctor Occult remarks that the Eradicator sacrificed himself "in mind, if not in body". Hmm. The doctors overseeing his condition are Kitty Faulkner, who can turn into an orange She-Hulk called Rampage after a workplace mishap, and a new character called David Connors, the only S.T.A.R. employee without superpowers. So far.

The JLA returns from the little space vacation the Cyborg sent them on, and we get the first instance in all of comics of Guy Gardner admitting he was wrong. Character growth! Don Sparrow says: “Nice to see some follow-up to the characters around the DCU and how they react to Superman’s return. No mention of the fact that they got suckered into a mission into space that went nowhere.”

When Doctor Occult shows up, Superman is like "aw, not this guy again!", referencing that classic tale of Superman's first encounter with the supernatural... which hasn't come out yet. Don: “It’s a neat forward call-back (is that a thing?) when Superman references his first encounter with Doctor Occult, given that we won’t see it happen until 1995, when DC does a line-wide ‘Year One’ series of stories. And wouldn’t you know it, that story is written by none other than Roger Stern (and even involves tentacles, as in the thumbnail image)!” #rogersternplaysthelonggame

Don Sparrow's section, on the other hand, can be read NOW, after the jump!

Art-Watch (by @donsparrow):

We open with the cover, and it’s one of the top ten best of this era, for sure. Drawn by Kerry Gammill and Butch Guice, DC used this drawing on the “Return of Superman” cards. I tend to favour simpler, iconic covers, even when they don’t necessarily represent the story within, but in this case, it’s showing exactly what the heart of the story is about: Clark Kent is back.

Inside, we open with a full page splash of Superman’s shield, through tons of rubble, and it’s a great image, but without the face, it allows us to focus on the title of the story, a callback to the speech introduction of the old Fleischer Cartoons.

I don’t know if it’s from the writing, or the artist, but Action Comics has always seemed the most romantic of the Super-titles, and this one is no exception, as Clark and Lois have their hands all over each other for basically the whole comic. While it is a bit weird to remember that it isn’t Clark that Lois is caressing (more on that in a bit) in the early part of the story, it always feels intimate and romantic more than it feels graphic or titillating. A tricky balance that this team pulls off well, particularly in their “reunion” on page 3. [Max: Every time I read this issue I think it’s Martian Manhunter posing as Clark and when they start flirting I’m like “ew”. Then I remember who it is and I’m like “nice”.]

I always enjoy seeing Superman flying upside-down, which I consider to be a Byrne innovation—I don’t remember him doing it pre-Crisis. It always seems so joyful and carefree, and it’s nice to see Superman savouring his powers.

Jackson Guice uses tone very well in the scenes with Lex Luthor II in his aviators, and I quite like the sense of motion to Superman’s pose as he approaches the helicopter—almost like he’s swimming in the sky rather than floating.

It’s a good drawing of the Eradicator getting the post-Hoth Luke Skywalker treatment, with David Connor and Kitty Faulkner getting an eyeful. My copy has a slight colouring error that makes it look like the Eradicator is awake in the tank, even though he’s supposed to be catatonic. [Max: Still looks like that in the collections. Maybe he’s one of those people who sleep with their eyes open?]

Superman embracing Lois after the ruse of “Clark Kent” is very cutely drawn, as is the Ghost-like backward embrace on the following page.

The entire sequence replaying Superman’s death and rebirth is drawn well throughout, especially the dreamlike staging, and the darkness as Lois knocks the flashlight away. It’s also moving that Superman can see the heroic lengths that Bibbo went to try to save him once Superman succumbed to his injuries.

Lastly, it was wonderful to see Clark reunited physically with Ma and Pa, especially with the nice touch of the poem by DH Lawrence as the only narration. Stern was always the best at referencing secondary texts in his stories, and it’s well used here.

STRAY OBSERVATIONS:

Is it me, or is Matrix/Supergirl a little too into this Clark Kent act? I get that making their performances light and funny keep it from seemingly overtly dishonest, but “Clark” is pretty tender in these scenes. Lois does a good job of playing along, but it’s hard for me to fully forget that all this canoodling is actually with Supergirl. So as a helpful tool, I created these graphics: [Max: Nice.]

It was cool that Lois specifically mentioned that Jimmy got a shot of the returned Clark Kent next to Superman, I always like it when that can happen.

In previous posts, I’ve talked about how creepy it is that Luthor has a sexual relationship with Supergirl/Matrix, when she is in so many ways (mainly mentally) a child, and I can’t help but read the scene where Lois chooses Superman over “Clark” this way. The laughing and clapping has a whole different feel if you think of her as mentally diminished somewhat.

So it’s not exactly a continuity error that Clark says on page 13 that he has to call Ma and Pa to let them know that “Clark” is alright (even though he already called them in a previous issue). It could be that they want to tell the Kents the cover story of Clark’s return has now taken place, and they can act like their son is alive again when they go to the corner store, etc. [Max: Yeah, that’s how I took it. It would be awkward if their neighbors saw them all cheerful while their son is still “dead”.]

I like to imagine that Dr. Occult looks and sounds like Robert Stack. [Max: It’s impossible for me to hear him as anyone other than Humphrey Bogart after Lois calls him “Sam Spade”.]

We’ve mentioned previously Jackson Guice’s tendency to use photo reference for his characters. In this issue, Superman looks a lot like Jason Patric to me, who would have made a pretty great Superman had there been movies being made in this time.

I also appreciated this issue explaining both the physical and metaphysical reasons Superman was able to return—and that there’s no back door to the story—if Superman ever died again, he would be unable to return.

#superman #roger stern #jackson guice #denis rodier #supergirl #justice league #guy gardner #rampage #eradicator #doctor occult #pa kent #ma kent #bibbo bibbowski #S.T.A.R. Labs #cat grant #captain marvel #roger stern plays the long game #nice

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super-btstrash-posts · 4 years ago

Text

Soulmate Marks (Maknae line)

*Jimin*

You sighed as you finally plopped down on the bed in the hotel room. Your best friend had drug you to Korea for a BTS fansign. She wanted to come the whole week and explore. You didn’t have a problem with it other than the fact that you had went to exploring two hours after you landed.

“So what are you going to wear tomorrow?”

She asks.

“I don’t know. Probably a pair of skinny jeans and that top that I got earlier. Nothing special.”

You say, shrugging.

“You can’t just wear a pair of jeans tomorrow. You could meet your soulmate tomorrow. I brought an extra sundress that you can wear. You can’t show up to possibly meeting your soulmate in a pair of jeans.”

She says.

You roll your eyes and grab a pair of pajamas and your face wash.

“Whatever. I’m going to go and take a shower and then get some sleep. I’m knackered.”

You say.

She nods and you walk into the bathroom.

—————

You woke the next morning to your friends alarm going off. You groaned and ran a hand through your messy hair. You then gently shook your friend’s shoulder.

“We have to get up and start getting ready if we are going to do this today.”

You say.

She sits up and brushes hair out of her face. You got out of bed and then went to the bathroom to brush your hair and teeth. You walked back out and your friend threw a dress at you. You caught it and held it up.

“Are you really going to make me wear this?”

You ask.

“Yes. This is a big event and you could meet your soulmate. Just please wear it for me.”

She says.

You sign but nod. You grab your makeup bag and then went back into the small bathroom. You got changed and then added a little bit of makeup to your face. You then walked out and pulled on your old pair of white converse. It worked with the sun dress that your friend had let you borrow. You walked back out and grabbed your phone and made sure that your mother had not texted you. She hadn’t. You knew that she was probably still sleeping. You then sat down on the bed while your friend went and got changed.

————————

You had finally got into the venue and you were now waiting for the boys to come out. You knew that the boys were going to hold a panel of some sort and then answer questions before they started to do the actual signing. You found yourself laughing and cheering when the boys said something that you found funny. You could tell that your best friend was having a lot of fun which was the whole reason that you decided to come with her. It finally came to the time for the actual signing. You were getting pretty close. You could almost touch the first person. It was Jin, then Namjoon, Hoseok, Taehyung, Jeongguk, and then Jimin. If you remembered their names correctly. You tightly held your copy of their newest album. You could feel your palms sweating. The boys were really sweet. You had finally made it to the end after giggling with Jeongguk and talking about Overwatch when he saw your lanyard which had an Overwatch pin. You took a deep breath and moved onto Jimin. He had quickly been the one to draw you in and you were nervous to meet him. You then sat down in front of him. He gave you a big smile.

“Hello!”

He says.

“Hi.”

You say, meekly.

He giggles.

“There’s no need to be shy. I’m not going to hurt you.”

He says.

“I know. I’m just nervous. You’re my bias so this is hard.”

You say, feeling the blush spread on your cheek.

You then gently moved a strand of hair out of your face. You hear a gasp and you looked up to see Jimin intensely staring at your hand. He then gently took your hand and stared at the mark on your pinky finger.

“What are you-“

You were cut off when he held out his own hand and showed you the mark that matched your own.

“I never dreamed that I would be able to find you.”

He whispers.

He then pulls you into a huge hug and buries his face into your shoulder. You could feel his tears slowly dripping down onto your shoulder. The security for you a chair so that you could stay with Jimin knowing that the bond would be a lot more stronger now. It would be almost impossible for the two of you to be apart.

*Taehyung*

*pretend that it is on the back of the forearm

Your best friend had been hired on to Bighit to be one of the makeup artists. You had also been hired but you were just going to be her assistant getting things when she needed it. Today you were going to be going to the zoo for an episode of BTS Run. You knew a good bit about BTS because you had listened to them when you were younger. You knew their names and who did what. You hadn’t listened to them in years though. School kind of got in the way and you didn’t really have time for music as much.

“You ready to go?”

Your best friend asks.

You two live together so it made it easier to get to work considering that you could carpool. You walk out to her car and you climb into the passenger seat. She would drive one week and you drive the next. You sighed when you saw the morning traffic that was always annoying. You finally made it to the zoo and the boys were sitting in the makeup chairs already, playing on their phones. You followed your friend over to Taehyung. She turns to you.

“You want to start on his hair while I do makeup?”

She asks.

“Sure. Good morning Taehyung. You seem bright this morning.”

You say.

He chuckles.

“Yeah I’m pretty excited. We get to see the otters today. They are one of my favorite.”

He says.

You smile and start gently brushing the tangles from his hair before heating up the flat iron.

“Otters are pretty cute I must admit.”

You say, thinking about your soul mark that was currently hidden behind your cardigan sleeve.

“Yeah. Did you know that they hold hands while sleeping so that they won’t be able to drift apart?”

He asks.

You smile again, separating his hair into different sections so that you could flatten the small waves that had formed while he was asleep.

“Yeah. I actually took some classes about zoo animals when I was still in college. Just some elective classes really.”

You say.

“Wahhh that’s sounds so fun.”

He says.

You laugh and finish up his hair gently parting it down the middle and adding hairspray. Your friend had long finished up his makeup.

“Thank you.”

He says.

You smile.

“It’s no problem. It’s kind of my job remember?”

“Yeah I guess so. Well I better get going before they start calling for me.”

He says, sliding his phone into his pocket.

“Okay I’ll see you when it’s time for touch ups.”

You say.

You smile as he skips off to join his friends for filming.

“He really has taken a liking to you.”

One of the other makeup artists says.

“He’s got a kind heart. Do you think they would notice if I snuck out to look around?”

You say.

“They said we could. As long as we stay out of the way of filming then we are good.”

One of them says.

You squeal and immediately head to the map to find out where the aquatic animals were. You wanted to see some of the seals, penguins, and otters. During your school years, you had spent a lot of time here. You volunteered there a lot helping with the animals. You always tended to be with the otters and penguins. That’s why you weren’t surprised when the otter soulmark showed up. You finally made it to the otters and smiled as you watched them swim around in the small river that had been made. It was a little warm so you pulled your cardigan off and tied it around your waist. You heard the boys come running towards where you were. You moved to the back wall to watch the otters so that you would not be in the way of the filming crew. You smiled when you saw Taehyung come bounding in the area, a huge smile on his face. He giggled as he watched them cuddling in the water. He then noticed that you were standing in the background and then his eyes locked on the soulmark that you were gently tracing your fingers over. He immediately dropped his pamphlet and walked over to you. The camera crew followed him. He finally made it over to you and pulled the sleeve up on his button up shirt. He then showed you his soulmark. It matched your own.

“I knew that there was something different about you. I felt the bond as soon as I saw you but I wasn’t sure what it was. I didn’t want to say anything until I knew something for sure.”

He says.

“Yeah. I noticed as well.”

You say.

You could see all of the boys smiling and the cameras still rolling as Taehyung pulled you into a tight hug. You could feel the warmth of the bond running through your veins.

“I’m so happy.”

He whispers.

“I am too. I never thought that I would find you this quickly but I’m not complaining.”

You say, snuggling into his necks.

*Jeongguk*

You work at a small animal shelter just outside of Seoul. You had moved there after a bad breakup. You had taken Korean classes for years and you were pretty fluent so it just seemed like a good idea. You walked into the shelter and placed your badge onto your scrub top.

“Today we are going to have a special guest. You will be showing them around and let them play with puppies. They are going to be trying to raise more awareness for shelter animals. We will be bringing out Minnie, Mochi, Anabelle, Tinkerbell, Trixie, and Gerum. Then we will just see which dog takes to who and they will be playing with those.”

Your manager says.

You nod.

“Okay. I’ll get them ready. Should I give them a bath first?”

You ask.

“Yes. Use one of the hypoallergenic shampoos. I don’t know if they have any allergies and I don’t want to risk anything.”

She says.

You nod and go to get the dogs ready for a bath. You were finally finished with all but Gerum. He was a little nervous still. He was one of the newer dogs that had been rescued from the streets. It looked like he had been there for years. You really hoped that this tv show that is being filmed will help him get adopted. He is really sweet once he warms up to you.

“Okay Gerum we have to get you a bath. There are going to be some really nice people coming today and you are going to be playing with them.”

You say.

He gives a little yip and follows close to your heels. You bathe him quickly and get him dried off. Once you were done you were immediately called into the backyard play area. You gather all the dogs onto leashes and walk outside. Your eyes slightly widen when you see BTS sitting in the grass talking amongst themselves.

“Hello, I’m Y/N. I’m a caregiver here and we have picked out some of our dogs that have been here for a while so they are the most comfortable. They are ready and willing to play as you can see.”

You say, as the dogs jump around and wrap their leashes around your legs. You could see the cameras filming and you mentally thank yourself that you had put on makeup and did something with your hair.

They all give bright smiles.

“We are BTS. I’m Namjoon, this is Jin, Hoseok, Yoongi, Jimin, Jeongguk, and Taehyung. Our task today will be play with the puppies and tell a little bit about this place. We hope that we can get some people in here to adopt some of them.”

He says, giving a smile.

“Okay, let me get untangled and then I will be giving you guys some treats and then the dogs will decide who they want to spend some time with today.”

You say.

You untangle from the dogs and hand them over to one of the other workers and pull the treats from your pouch. You then hand each of the boys a bag of the treats.

“Okay so everyone has their treats. I’m going to go and take their leashes off and then you guys can try to get one to come to you. They are all really sweet but they may seem a little hesitant at first because you are a new person. Just give them some time.”

You say.

They all nod. You then take the leashes from the dogs collars and they run free. You smiled as you saw the boys eagerly trying to get the dogs attention. You smiled when you saw the Gerum had chosen someone quickly. It was the one that you thought to be Jeongguk. He had a big grin on his face as Gerum sat in his lap and kept trying to lick at his face. The filming was finally over and all of the dogs were tired and satisfied. You took them back inside as everyone got ready to leave. You turned to walk the dogs back inside when someone gently touched your shoulder. You turned to see Jeongguk standing there.

“Is something wrong?”

You ask.

He immediately shakes his head.

“Um no. I’m actually wondering how the adoption process works.”

He says.

“Well, the first thing would be filling out paperwork and getting it approved which only takes about ten minutes. It just is a small background check of sorts and then you would chose the animal you want to adopt and then the adoption papers would be filled out and a small fee for the shots and stuff and the animal will be yours. You’ll get a list of what you should for them and then it’ll be all done.”

You say, hanging up the leashes as you closed the door the indoor playground.

“Well, I want to adopt Gerum.”

He says.

You smile.

“That’s really great. He’s an amazing dog. I hate to admit it but he has been here the longest. If I could have animals in my apartment I would take him in. He will be a good fit for you though.”

You say, going to the front desk with him following close behind.

You go to the computer and take off your jacket and go to print the paperwork but a hand stopped you.

“What?”

You ask.

He then wordlessly holds out his arm where he shows the mark that fits with yours.

“It looks like you will be able to see Gerum a lot.”

He says, grinning.

“I think I like the sound of that. Don’t tell anyone but he is my favorite.”

You say, handing him the paperwork to fill out.

He laughs.

“Your secret is safe with me. So do you maybe want to get some coffee after you get off work. I’m dying to get to know you better.”

He says.

“Yeah that would be great. It’s almost time to close. Once we get all of this done we should be good to go.”

You say.

“Okay.”

He says.

#kim namjoon #kim seokjin #min yoongi #btsfanfic #junghoseok #bts reactions #kim taehyung #park jimin #jeon jeongguk

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srprincess · 5 years ago

Text

Hey look, it’s me! Still on my bullshit!

Chapter 18 of the Spookydoo Au

Fictober (Hahaha remember October? We used to leave our houses back then) Prompt 20 - “you could talk about it, you know”

Shitty breathlessly made his way back to the group and handed the, now handily dog attached, leash over to Lardo. “Haven’t fuckin’ run like that in years,” he managed to huff out as he leaned against the building, hunched over.

She smirked, “Maybe next time you'll go running with me when I ask.”

“Not likely,” Shitty told her with a wheezing laugh. He tilted his head toward the dog. “Next time he bolts I’ll let you can chase after him though.”

“You’re too kind.”

“I assume this is Sammy?” Will squatted down to dog level and held out his hand for inspection before giving the wild haired dog some pats, and getting an enthusiastic face lick in return. Laughing he told the dog, “nice to meet you, little fella.” He wasn’t sure, but he thought he might have heard Nursey mutter about it being a nicer welcome than the one he had gotten.

“That's what we're calling him right now,” Lardo told Will, while she gave the dog a couple of scritches behind the neck. “Had to call him something, and he didn’t have any tags, so-”

“-Figured, Samwell crew trip- Sammy,” Shitty explained, breath thankfully returned.

“I like it,” Nursey said, sneaking his hands in for a couple of pets of his own and asking the happy dog, “Is Sammy a good boy? Oh yes, he is.”

“You and your nicknames.” Will shook his head fondly. “So you just got him? Unconventional souvenir, I’d say.”

“Well, he’s not actually, technically, ours,” Shitty admitted.

Will looked from the dog, with his shiny new collar and leash, back to Shitty and Lardo. He pulled himself back upright, suddenly suspicious. “You didn't steal him, did you? Please tell me you didn’t just make me an accomplice to dognapping.”

“No! Not stolen, found,” Lardo rushed to assure him.

“Rescued even,” Shitty insisted.

“When did you two have time to rescue a dog? We just saw you last night.”

“You know how we were at the cemetery, right? Well, we weren’t getting anything there, even looking in the right spot, so we wandered around a little more and there he was. Hanging around to edges of the trees, a little spooked but I think he was hungry enough not to run. We stayed longer to lure him out-“

“-earn his trust!”

“Yeah, Shitty, earn his trust,” Lardo agreed. “And then this morning we took him into-“

“-Petcetera.” Will finished, as things clicked into place. “I did hear something about you two being over there earlier.”

Of course. That explained the phone call that morning. He had been fishing, Will frowned at the pun even though it was hidden silent in his own head, to see if he could take off and leave the dog handling situation to someone else. At least he had called before taking off for his own fun, but still. He couldn't have just been upfront about it? Said why exactly he was calling? Maybe ask if he'd mind handling this for him? Ugh.

It was probably for the best he didn't hang around that guy much anymore because the next time he saw him he was going to have to murder him.

Okay, maybe not murder. Murder was messy. Also incredibly illegal.

Sink his boat? Hmmm. No. Less messy, slightly, but still illegal.

Let it drop to his mother about how he heard her son was sneaking around with that girl from the island again? Oh. Yes. That would do. Almost guarantee a talking to at their next family dinner. Sweet revenge for duty shirking.

Will knew that his own mother would have said eavesdropping wasn't something to be proud of, but damned if it didn't come in handy on occasion.

Oblivious to the vengeful thoughts racing through Will’s mind, Lardo went on, “Yeah, Petcetera, you know it? The waitress when we stopped for breakfast said it was the best place to try and find his owner.”

“The only place really.” Will told her. “That's our vet, animal control, adoption, and pet supply store all in one. Used to be run by Old Owen, but he passed it on to the younger a few years back.”

“Makes it easy I guess, keeping everything together. Anyway, no chip but he was going to check around. See if anyone is missing him or find him a family. Owen’s supposed to get back to us in a couple hours so we can drop him off either way.”

Will blew out a breath as he pulled himself back to standing. “About that...I can almost guarantee he’d already run through all his guesses about who this little guy belonged to before you even left the shop. He is animal central after all.”

“Maybe he was just waiting to find a place for him then?”

“Or he already found one.”

“Then why-” She looked at him with confusion, and checked her phone screen. “He hasn't called yet. You think we should go back over there?”

“No point, he was headed out fishing.” Will sighed, “probably can’t even see him from shore by now.”

“But if he found a place-” he could see when it clicked in her head, even before Lardo said, “Oh. You’re saying us. He found us.”

“Yep.”

“So he just fucked off?!” Shitty asked. “Who does that?”

“Owen.” Will deadpanned.

“Look, in general, he means well. He cares about the animals. Tries his best, usually. If he didn’t, then the business wouldn't have been passed to him. It's just, sometimes,” Will shrugged, “I don't like to be mean or speak ill, but-”

“Really,” Nursey scoffed, “you don’t like to ’speak ill’? Huh, could have fooled me.”

“Ha-ha funny.” At least Will hoped he was joking. Regardless he had to admit facts. “Fine, Owen’s kind of a flake. He’s been an expert at accomplishing the most while doing the least ever since we were in school. He is good people though. He wouldn't have left the dog if he wasn't sure that he would be taken care of. Assuming that's the reason for the call to me.”

“So, just like that, we have a dog now?”

Shitty looked at her, seeming excited at the possibility of them keeping the dog. Lardo didn't seem entirely against it, as evidenced by the frequent pats and scratches, but did have a look of someone on the edge of overwhelmed at the idea. Not quite sold. Yet.

“You could talk about it, you know?” Will told them. “You’ve still got, what, another day or two here? Take some time to think about it, talk it over. Either way, it’s up to you. And don’t worry, even if you want to leave Sammy here when you go, I’ll make sure he finds a home and is taken care of.”

Shitty and Lardo looked at each other.

“It’s not like we planned on getting a dog anytime soon-”

“But we didn't plan not to either-”

“You did spend all that time earning drawing him in last night-”

“And you always say it gets lonely at the house when I'm working so long.”

As if he knew they were talking about him, Sammy sat back and wagged his tail. Like he was trying to look his absolute cutest, turning his head back and forth and panting, as they discussed his fate.

“We do have a decent size yard-”

“Big empty yard, that we're doing fuck all with.”

“Truth. Could be nice-”

“Coming home to this cute little happy face?“ Shitty stooped down to the dog’s level and looked up at her hopefully.

“Yours or the dogs?”

Shitty smiled wide up at her, “Both, of course!”

“I meant what I said, don't let this pressure you. Either way, I’m going to have some words with Owen. If you need longer to think about it, I can-” Will started to offer again.

He wasn’t particularly looking for a pet, content to throw the odd stick across the beach for any loose dogs that escaped for a run. All the fun, none of the responsibility. He just wanted to make sure they didn't take on something they'd regret, most people had more time to work up to and decide on this kind of commitment. Then he saw Lardo and Shitty look down at Sammy one more time before smiling at each other, and he knew the decision was made.

“You want to come home with us little dude?”

Sammy hopped eagerly between them, and just like that it was settled.

“Congrats,” Will told them, “looks like you two just got a new dog.”

“For better or worse,” Lardo laughed out.

She made sure Shitty had hold of the leash and then turned to Nursey. “Need to borrow you real quick.”

“Oh. Just let me-”

“Now.” She dragged a wide eyed Nursey away by the arm. She started before they were quite out of earshot, “You two? That looked very, well, I hope I didn't interrupt anything.”

Nursey ducked his head down before answering, which had the unfortunate side effect of muffling his voice, and then they were too far for eavesdropping.

Will sighed, hoping he wasn't in for an interrogation of his own, but Shitty seemed happy to go on about the dog. How the pup had been shivering and scared when they found it, but a bag of his favorite jerky - a worthy sacrifice - was enough to bring him in.

“Think the tent might be lost cause though, some things you just can't clean out. Bitty’s gonna freak. Thing’s green couch bad, bro.”

Will nodded, like he had any idea what Shitty meant by that.

A few minutes had passed and then Nursey walked back with Lardo, Will tried to catch his eye. He wished for the psychic ability to find out what she had asked him. And know what the reply had been. But he wasn't a mind reader and all Nursey did was smile. Well, at least he still looked happy, not any worse for the wear, so that was likely good. Almost reassuring, he told himself.

“You tell him?” Shitty asked Lardo. She looked back, lost, and he added, “About Chow?”

“Nah,” Nursey answered for her. “Holster called earlier though. Said Chowder, ummm, got called into work early. Jack and Bits running them to the airport?”

“Yeah, Chowder and Farmer said to give their goodbyes and they'd see everyone at the-” Shitty faltered, “uh, conference? In October. You're still planning on going, right?”

“Course I’m going. Cait’ll be there too?”

“Should be, said she'd try her best at least.”

“Nice,” Nursey said. “So, no car?”

“Not for a couple hours, after lunch at earliest.” Lardo told him.

Will pushed back his questions about what sort of conference would have all their varying jobs called together, and instead offered up his truck to run them wherever.

“Your place again?” she asked. “Ransom said he had somethings to show you. Could get him and Holster over too.”

“Yeah? Sure, why not.” Will told her as she was already dialing.

“Tell them to grab Sammy’s food from the room,” Shitty said, leaning over her. “And us food. Sandwiches!”

“From that place by the pier!” Nurse loudly added. “With the peppers and-”

“Could you let me-” Lardo huffed, as she shoved them aside to get some quiet to finish the call.

Will looked at Nursey in disbelief. “Hungry already? You, literally, just rejected muffins.” He gestured at their, now cleared, table.

“Wasn’t muffin hungry. But sandwiches though.”

“Whatever.” Will rolled his eyes. “Think they could grab a club for me too then?”

“Hmmm maybe. I don't know if they should. You literally just rejected a muffin.”

“Oh, fuck you.” Will shoved him lightly. “Shut up and get in the truck.”

To Lardo, Shitty, and by extension Sammy, he said “You guys-”

“In the back, got it.” Shitty offered Lardo a hand, but she had hung up and was pulling herself up and over the gate already. Sammy quickly followed over with an excited bark and a leap, and they were off.

#spookydoo au #omgcp #nurseydex #fic #fictober19 #because time is fake af #and i realize updating this week of all times is just asking for this to buried in the tags BUT here we are #I thought the world could use a little more (hopefully) quality dog content #and it has been An Age since I've updated #and it gives me an excuse to reblog later #after all the update excite has died down a little #Lou (you know - the ghost in the ghost story) will reappear next update #until then - have some more nonsense!#or - once again - linking to the fic on a03 means i'm not even showing up in the tags #thanks tumblr - so helpful #so reblog if you like it!#otherwise I shall hang out here in the fandom shadows

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crimsonbluemoon · 5 years ago

Note

Sorry my moodboard request is kinda late! Could i ask for a deleted scene with squirrel and ohm interacting? I hope thats specific enough ajskak

Is it possible? Crim got TWO drabbles out in one day? Is this real life? Yes, yes it is. ^.^

Uh so I kinda wrote this starting with Ohm and Squirrel, then tossed in Cartoonz, and made it bro-moments and romantic moments so I hope you dont mind.

Please, enjoy!

“Do it again.” Ohm didn’t let his face show any sympathy when he set himself back onto the ground, wings easing back to rest while waiting for his opponent to rise from the training floor. Being younger did not aid the angel in front of him, Ohm waiting patiently for Squirrel to groan and push himself back to his feet.

“Why do I have to do this again? I’m just a messenger angel!” The fire of the newest addition to their motley crew was evident even when he scowled, showing his dislike of the current predicament with a dramatic roll of his shoulder. Ohm had hardly put any energy into his attacks, meaning that his fellow angel was just trying to play up his protest. Silently, Ryan promised not to let the malleable youngster hang out with Smiity or Mini any longer unsupervised.

“If you plan to continue hanging around strong beings like the Phoenix and Test Your Luck, then you need to be ready for creatures who don’t look at our kind in a positive light. They’ll challenge you, may even try to kill you outside of the bar to make a point. It would be safer for you to not continue staying around here as much as you have.”

“But Nogla’s gonna be coming back from Louisiana tomorrow and he promised me one of those weird fried animals on a stick that humans love.” The excitement on Squirrel's face made Ohm’s frown deepen, taking a step closer while letting his voice lower.

“Has the Council spoken about your closeness to humans yet?” A flicker of fear was barely there, but Ohm honed in on it far faster than his ally could shrug it away. “Squirrel.”

“Probably said something about it last time, but it wasn’t even the Council. Just one of their lapdogs.” Since the battle with Grigori, Squirrel had taken a new perspective on the rule of the angels, which Ohm hated to admit was contributed to by Cartoonz and the others. While he still did his job, and never slacked off in any of his duties, he had found a weird connection with their group that Sat- that other angels never had. Squirrel seemed to enjoy their company, and despite finding humans far inferior, never held that against them. It was a reckless way to think for an angel as young and easily swayed as Squirrel, and Ohm knew the angels would not tolerate the youthful rebellion for long.

“You need to be careful,” Ohm cautioned, trying not to overstep his role in the younger angel’s life.

“Funny, I don't remember adopting another weak scrapper.” But Luke, who dropped an arm around Squirrel’s shoulders and dragged him in for a playful ruffle of his hair, didn’t seem to care about rules and lines not being crossed. “What kind of danger are we pulling this guy out of this time?”

“Aw, not my hair,” Squirrel groused quietly, though didn’t pull back from the arm holding him. Ohm watched the scene unfold quietly, unsure if it was anxiety or something softer making his feathers flutter when Caroonz grinned down at Squirrel.

“Out with it, cupid. Who’s bullying you on the playground now? Those earth elves tripping you in the bar again? The shifters impersonating you? John telling people you wear girl underwear to bed?” The flush on Squirrel’s face proved that he remembered each of the memories vividly, with the last one having… strange results in the bar. Panda nearly set two people on fire by the end of it, though somehow neither had been John. Each time, however, it was either Luke or Ryan that had come to Squirrel’s rescue, though Ohm refused to look into why that was.

“Just the other angels ribbing me about… uh-” The guilt in Squirrel’s eyes turned to Ohm for a moment before his back stiffened, which both Cartoonz and Ohm picked up on.

“About what, kid?” But the tease was gone in Luke’s voice, and Squirrel seemed to know he wasn’t getting out of the bear trap he walked into.

“They’re just saying I’m going to be the next Ohmwrecker.” To his credit, Squirrel tried not to say the name like a slur, or something to be ashamed of. But Ohm knew the truth about how the angels saw him; he was a disgrace to their kind, falling for a demon and letting himself become tainted. It didn’t matter that he’d helped save the world and kept all of them alive. Once the danger of Grigori was gone, their judgment and distaste in him returned. There was no salvation for his title, and he knew that.

But Squirrel was different.

“You need to listen to them.” He knew how intimidating his voice could become when he spoke with his shoulders set and eyes focused, even behind the red cloth. Ignoring the scowl that Cartoonz sent toward him, he poured his attention into Squirrel and continued. “This isn’t up for debate; if the angels are speaking of you that way, there’s only a matter of time before they begin to question your loyalty. You are putting yourself in a position to become compromised by the humans and if your soul becomes blackened or even shaded with their sins-”

“I don’t want to be like them.” The bold claim caught Ohm off guard, Squirrel showing his own form of fortitude when glancing to Luke and giving half a grin. “You two are the bad guys up there, but to me? You’re… kind of my heroes. So if they say I’m like you, I don’t really mind. It’s better than being warped into what the Council tries to make us all be.”

“They’ll kill you if they hear you say that.” Like a band-aid not ready to be ripped off, Ohm’s stomach clenched in pain when Satt’s memory seeped into his head, remembering the consequences of his independent actions. Siding with Grigori was heinous, but the Council’s ability to judge right and wrong when it came to angels always felt harsher than necessary.

“That’s probably true. But at least I’ll be going out happy with myself.” It was sombering to hear Squirrel’s ease at accepting his likely fate, seeming to know his place in the angel’s pecking order far more than angels twice his age. Still, his smile was bright, hiding the hint of tears and fear edging his eyes. “What a human thing to say, right? ”

“Fuck, why are you angels so dramatic?” Luke’s voice was quick to break the moment, his clawed hand dropping on Squirrel’s head again in order to catch both of their attention. His eye only glanced to Ohm for a moment before turning back to Squirrel, serious yet soft in its stare. “If you think I’m going to let the Council of aging up there kill you because you’re turning out to be a little too Ohm-ish for their liking, you can stop that stupid ass thought right now. I happen to like Ohm, if you haven’t noticed, so having more angels like him isn’t a bad thing.”

“Cartoonz,” Ohm spoke softly, but didn’t have much else to say in protest.

“So you keep being you, and let me handle those holier-than-thou chickens up there. If they wanna kill you, I’ll make sure they know they’ve gotta take me out first. You got that?”

“Got it,” Squirrel answered instantly, wings perking up at the wide grin Cartoonz gave before patting his head. It was a softer moment that, a year ago, Ohm would have never been able to predict. Cartoonz was not the demon hellbent on destroying the angel society as he’d been presented for years to Ryan, but the kind Luke he’d fallen for despite his demonic blood. And in moments like these, it was obvious how easily he had fallen from grace to be with Cartoonz.

“Ohm?” Blinking once, he looked up to catch Luke’s arched eyebrow. “You okay?”

“I’m okay.” He answered, surprised with how easily the words came out.

Because for the first time in a decade, he actually meant them.

#Libahunt #Libahunt drabblez #Ohmwrecker #DeadSquirrel #Cartoonz #Ohmtoonz #<3 #BBS #Crimson is on a roll??#fluffy goodness #please enjoy!#percylovesbluefood

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