#there are 6 apartments on each floor plus more on the first floor

[grinchwrapsupreme]

they are currently testing in-unit fire alarm systems in my building and I have to assume based on what i am experiencing that the way they are doing it is by going to each individual unit on all 22 floors and setting off the building-wide alarm for every single one

[pepperyduck]

“roomates” with satoru gojo

 this is part five of my kinktober event!

word count: 2.3k

warnings: nsfw, roomate au, fingering, gojo has a nasty mouth, pwp!, virgin reader, overstim. (18+ mdni!)

notes: i love the idea of actor and roomate gojo so much,,, may talk about it later. uploading early again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

kinktober masterlist | masterlist

having the satoru gojo as your roommate is quite the experience.

it was odd—

you had known satoru in college, always somehow getting stuck in the same overflow housing on campus. you had gotten to know each other well, being forced to live with the other off and on. after he had gotten his degree in drama—and you got your degree in a successful STEM major—he proposed moving in together. you needed a place off campus, and he needed someone to room with, because rent was too high for him to afford on his own as a budding actor.

things were fine for a while, daily routines consisted of seeing one another regularly. but then satoru had his first big gig. he disappeared for months, needed for a last minute replacement. he told you about the role; a younger version of a strong—no, the strongest—sorcerer. apparently, he got to play his part in a dramatic friendship breakup, which you figured perfectly suited the way satoru acted normally.

his fame quickly rose, with the series being released only a few months later. after that, satoru never really came around all that often; you saw him maybe twice a month, if you got lucky. but even after that, satoru stayed in the apartment. you didn’t mind, honestly, he kept up with his side of the rent plus some.

but the really odd part?

your social media feed.

every social wouldn’t shut up about him—“upcoming star, satoru gojo makes an impact in new tv series,” “he’s so hot, i’d let him do whatever he wanted,” “I NEED HIM,”

and yeah, maybe curiosity got the best of you when you searched up the fanfiction—but hey, people seemed like they would kill to be in your position. the creative minds of those online made you see your goofy, struggling artist of a roommate in a different light. the way they wrote about his chest, and how smooth and toned it is, or his sparkly blue eyes and how they could make clothes fall of with just a look. recently, satoru had shared in an interview his fingers are 6 inches, and boy did people go feral over that.

they focused on every part. his soft fingertips, and how lengthy his fingers actually are the more you look at them. the subtle veins that ran over the back of his hand and up his arm. his middle and ring finger, how nicely they slide in and out, hitting that spot, coaxing you toward—

“whatcha readin’?”

the abrupt question shocks you out of your trance, making you yelp and practically throw your phone across the room. it lands face down beside your vanity, earning a loud thud when it hits the floor. your heart speeds up as you turn to face your roommate, internal temperature rapidly rising.

“jesus, satoru! what are you doing home?” you ask, praying that he wouldn’t take it upon himself to grab your phone for you.

“it’s my apartment, too, y’know,” he retorts, throwing his hands on his hips dramatically. “i’m gonna be here for a few days, if you don’t mind.” every word off his tongue is laced in sarcasm. it’s annoying.

and just as you try to reply, gojo swoops to the other side of the room to grab your phone, intently staring at the screen before you can even say, “stop!” you want to run away because you just know he’s reading pure filth about himself that you looked up. but you find yourself unable to move whatsoever, only able to watch in horror as your roommate reads fanfiction about himself. immediately, a sly grin overcomes satoru’s expression, and his eyes flicker from the phone to you over his sunglasses.

“this is pretty detailed stuff,” satoru teases. you’re able to tell he is in fact reading whatever you had pulled up on your phone, because he’s taking his sweet time scrolling and reading through all the divine things said about his hands.

“stop, satoru,” you whine, pathetically reaching for your phone. gojo holds it out of your reach, of course, and even though you almost came to grab your phone that was almost touching the ceiling, you can’t quite reach it. “please just go away,” you sigh, giving up and flopping back down on your mattress. you can only look on, still mortified, as satoru continues scrolling.

after a few heavy minutes and some more comments on your choice of fiction to read, he throws your phone back on the bed next to you, placing his hands on his hips once more.

“how long were you gonna keep that from me?”

“never really planned on telling you, satoru. leave me alone.” you reply, grabbing your phone so it’s out of gojo’s reach.

“you could’ve just asked—,”

“go away—huh?” you furrow your brows and look at the taller man, who’s sassily posed next to your bed, “don’t fuck with me like that.”

“i’m not.” he assures you.

satoru wasn’t joking. in fact, he had never been more serious in his life. he’d always thought you were pretty – more like drop dead, breathtakingly beautiful – but never mustered up the courage to talk to you about it. you were his friend, his roommate. he didn’t want to scare you off. but all chances of him not scaring you off were thrown out the window because he knew you wanted him now.

so, yes, he did what he did with every other girl—encouraging a hot make-out session after you got over the embarrassment of what was on your phone. you hadn’t had a chance to think about all those stories you read online, because it was all happening to you in real time.

with your lips in a permanent lock, satoru takes his time rubbing his hands all over your body, grabbing your waist, flipping up the skirt you had worn in the previous hours to run errands—

“wait,” you labored out, breathing heavy as you pushed your roommate’s shoulders away from you, “i’ve never—i haven’t…” your words are tripping over themselves into silence as you try to explain to your – gorgeous, famous, actor – roommate that you’re a virgin.

queue satoru’s head almost exploding. he swears then and there that his nose should’ve started to bleed, and his face turned an awful shade of red at the news. it was unfathomable in his mind that you, his smoking-hot roommate, was a virgin. he swore he saw you come home with your ex-boyfriend plenty of times…but maybe you were saving yourself, or something.

“stop looking at me like that. you were a virgin too.” you scoff at his ogling, crossing your arms over your chest. you’re still trapped against your headboard, the sheer size of satoru making you stay in one place. your legs are draped over his thighs, not quite straddling but close enough for him to feel the heat radiating off of your clothed pussy.

“do you want me to finger you?”

the crude question rolls off his tongue with ease, and you smack his shoulder with the palm of your hand in return. but again, he’s being serious. it takes you a few seconds to realize he’s being serious, he wants to finger you and it’s written all over his face.

after a few moments and shocked blinks, you nod your head.

satoru’s nosebleed actually happens whenever he gets you in position; you’re laid back with your legs on top of his, knees pressing into his waist. he just stares in utter disbelief at how cute and sexy you look, flustered all because of him. he runs the pad of his thumb over the mound in your panties, relishing in how soft, warm and damp you are. he can’t take his eyes away from how his thumb presses into the flesh, pushing down just to watch how his thumb gets swallowed by it.

“satoru—your nose is bleeding,” you gruffly state, snapping the white-haired man back to reality. one hand stays pressed to you while he lifts the other one to wipe under his nose with the back of his wrist.

low and behold, a few droplets of blood smear on the back of his wrist—but he’s too entranced by you to care. he looks back in your eyes, wiping his face with his shirt grossly.

“i’m okay—can i take them off?” satoru asks, almost politely if he wasn’t bleeding from the nose at how horny he is. his fingers hook into the waistband, eagerly awaiting your nervous little nod that you give him. he rips the thin fabric off your legs, taking it upon himself to lift you up and move your legs so he can toss your panties to the side of the room.

your immediate response is to snap your thighs together, but satoru quickly stops you and holds your legs open, forcing you to show your most intimate area to him. he drools over how pretty it looks, folds spread open and glistening, a perfect display of anatomy. he’s in love with the view alone. a prominent tent pokes in his sweatpants, but he ignores the feeling to focus on the task at hand.

“stop staring,” you meekly speak up, eyes looking anywhere else but at your celebrity roommate.

satoru’s bright irises look up at you before asking, “can i?” with the looks of a child begging for a piece of candy. after another quick, nervous nod, satoru swipes his thumb over your hole, then all the way up to over your clit. the sensation makes you wriggle and gasp, it’s odd being touched by someone else—but it feels good, even better than alone. natural lubrication practically drips off your pussy, so prettily, and satoru continues dragging his thumb up and down, paying close attention to how you whimper or move around when he gets to the bundle of nerves poking out.

you feel particularly needy at his ministrations, they’re so slow and it leaves you aching for more when he moves to less sensitive parts of your cunt. every time your eyes flash to gojo, he’s completely locked on what’s between your plush thighs, making you all the more embarrassed. embarrassment is thrown away, though, when his middle and ring fingers close together and creep up to slowly rub your clit.

your body jolts and satoru silently giggles, god, you’re so sensitive for him, he might go insane. he finds it simply endearing how well you react to him. each small circle he draws over your bud makes your thighs twitch and hole clench, and from his view, he can see it all perfectly. satoru’s eyes look up at you for once, just to see your head thrown back on the pillow and your bottom lip tucked between your teeth to silence yourself.

“don’t be quiet, babe,” he says, and your eyes snap open to be brought back to reality.

“wh—uuht?” you drawl, mind hazy and foggy from just the little bit of pleasure he was providing. but as your mouth is open, he speeds his fingers up, forcing you to practically yell out, “satoru—wait!”

“i wanna hear you,” gojo taunts, his voice light and happy, not at all giving the impression he was playing with your cunt.

he does not wait, or slow down, he only continues to quicken the pace of which his fingers circle your clit. he feels accomplished when you finally begin to let out little moans and suck in air through your teeth, knowing the feeling of his finger pads was becoming all too much. this was the type of thing he lived for—making cute, inexperienced girls (you) lose their mind from pleasure.

it’s the type of pleasure that you weren’t able to achieve yourself; it made the bottoms of your feet tingle, and your legs move on their own—and the familiar feeling of an orgasm was quickly building up. the knot in your lower abdomen grows tighter and more intense, making you whine and thrash below your roommate.

satoru’s other hand comes down to prod his index finger at your tight hole, an unfamiliar feeling to you—especially as it’s being done by someone else. he pushes his finger in, causing another yelp to come from the back of your throat—but it doesn’t hurt. gently fucking you with just the tip of his finger, satoru’s hand focused on your clit speeds up more.

“mm—satoru, think i’m close,” your words are rushed as you warn him, but his movements don’t falter in the slightest.

“yeah? gonna cum on my fingers?” he teases, “gonna cream all my hand?”—and if you weren’t already so close, you would’ve kicked him out at the taunting. instead, you throw your arms over your face and try your best to hold back the feeling—wanting it to last as long as possible. he slowly pushes his finger in more and more, gradually coming to fuck you with one thin, long finger. the first bit he’s fully inside, it’s uncomfortable, but the pressure fades the more he plays with you. the bubble of your orgasm grows and grows until you’re about to topple over the edge.

“i’m gonna cum,” the words come out your mouth in a long, sultry string— satoru’s never heard anyone sound so good while telling him that.

“yeah, that’s it—come on, baby,” satoru encourages you, his voice having dropped multiple octaves to sound a million times more sexy — far from the satoru you’d come to know. his words force the orgasm to crash over you, your body continually jolting and stuttering—beginning to fight satoru because he doesn’t stop.

“i—i finished—stop, satoru—ohmygod—,” you stutter out, and satoru presses his elbows against your thigh, rendering you immobile.

“you’re so sensitive, princess,” satoru teases again, and you catch his eyes in a downright primal stare,

“gonna make you cum on my fingers again, baby.”

[hannibals-favourite-meal]

.⋆｡A Big Night In｡⋆.

Dick Grayson x plus size reader

The one where Dickie and Dove finally have a night to themselves

Warnings: smut, unprotected sex, fluff, mom!reader, embarrassment, sort of breeding kink?

WC: 1.8k

Minors DNI

The Graysons

Library- @hannibals-favourite-meal-library

“Now, if she gets fussy, she really likes the koala with the missing ear. She literally can’t sleep without it.” Dick was panicking, that much was plain to see and Bruce couldn't help but smile. It was moments like this, where his boy was filled with anxiety about something so normal as leaving his 6 month old baby with her grandparents overnight, that made his heart ache in the best way.

“Chum, I know how to take care of Alice, I think the 20 page binder you gave each of us on her needs helps.” He glared at his father, arms tightening around his baby as she sat on his narrow hips, happily playing with the buttons on his shirt.

“Oh leave him alone.” His mother scolded, giving her husband a light slap on his arm. “Don't pretend you weren't even more upset when you had to leave Dick alone for the first time. I seem to remember you calling me every ten minutes to get updates on how he was doing.” A light pink flush spread across Bruce's cheeks at the memory.

Grumbling, his eyes dropped to the floor like a petulant child. “It wasn't every ten minutes.” Dick shot his mother a grateful smile before turning his attention to Alice who didn't seem to share her father's level of anxiety.

It was a big day, her first sleepover without her parents. It would have happened sooner, in fact the first attempt had been when she was three months old. You and Dick needed some 'alone time' and your in-laws had been more than happy to extend their babysitting services. But an hour before they would come to pick her up, you and Dick had a breakdown and cancelled, instead spending the night curled up together in bed, Alice between you.

But, you couldn't put it off any longer. Alice needed to be socialised with other people and you needed to get laid.

So after a tearful goodbye, Dick drove her to Gotham, insisting on a little daddy-daughter bonding time before she was handed over to her grandparents.

“She likes thunderstorm sounds when she goes to sleep. And if she's still fussy, there's some frozen milk in the cooler bag.” Said bag was handed over to the awaiting hands of her grandfather, along with a Wonder Woman themed duffle-bag that held everything else she could possibly need.

“Ba.” Alice spat out, chubby arm pointing to her grandmother. Dick knew he had to get this over with, like pulling off a bandaid.

He pressed a long kiss to the patch of dark hair on the top of her head, inhaling that baby smell she hadn't yet grown out of. “You’ll be good for nana and pops won't you?” She cooed, eyes still locked on the older woman. He sighed, pecking her soft skin a couple more times before she slipped from his arms and placed safely in his mother's.

“Everything will be fine, I promise baby bird. You two have fun tonight.” Dick was quickly shooed out of the manor but not without a vague threat to Bruce to keep her safe, which he brushed off with his usual nonchalance.

By the time he had returned to his apartment in Blüdhaven, his mood had improved, especially with the text he received from you telling him to come straight to the bedroom when he got home.

“Dove?” He called into the darkened apartment, slipping off his shoes as he stumbled forward. A trail of clothes, haphazardly thrown on the hardwood guided him forward. There was a dim glow coming from the room just off of the kitchen, the smell of vanilla like a siren's call.

“Come on Dickie, we have a lot to make up for and not a lot of time to do it.” Your voice called out to him.

Dick groaned and palmed his already throbbing cock- it had been a long time, too long. “You're playing a dangerous game, Dove.” His voice thick with arousal as he called back to you.

His own clothes quickly joined yours, leaving him in just his boxers as he stepped into the bedroom where all the air was knocked from his lungs.

Your perfect, soft, naked body was completely on display for him as you lounged on the bed. 

Your skin glowed in the soft orange light of the room and for a moment, Dick thought that there was no way you were real and that you were his.

“Holy fuck.” He watched with wide eyes as your legs fell open, revealing paradise to him, your fingers already tracing over your clit. “Leave it!” He suddenly shouted, now furiously tugging at his boxers. “That's all mine baby!”

Your giggles quickly turned into moans as your husband's strong body forced you further into the mattress and his lips met yours in a truly desperate kiss. Your nails dug into his muscular back making his hips buck into yours.

“Well, what are you gonna do about it daddy?” You cooed into his mouth, your left hand travelling down his front deliberately slow.

He caught your hand before you could reach his cock and with a dangerous gleam in his eye, he responded. “How about baby number 2?”

The cold metal of his wedding ring against your heated thigh sent a shiver up your spine, making his smirk grow as your nipples pebbled beneath his gaze. His fingers inched towards your centre, quickly gathering the arousal that had smeared onto your skin.

“God, you get even sexier by the day.” You gasped as he finally touched where you needed him the most, both easing and adding more fuel to your lust. His own patience was quickly wearing thin so your husband wasted no time in sliding two thick fingers inside you.

“Dick!” You threw your head back with a moan of his name.

“That's it, that's my pretty dove.” With his other hand planted by your head, Dick watched his fingers pump in and out of you, his skin now shinny with your wetness. “You're so fucking wet dove, must be aching for me.”

Your only response was to tighten around his fingers, your orgasm dangerously close. “Please please.” You begged.

“Do you want to cum on my fingers or my cock?” Dick breathed into your ear but the way that he was pressed so tightly against you, you could feel his thick cock throbbing against your thigh, the decision was already made for you.

“Want you inside, wanna feel your cock again.” His body sagged against you as he groaned from deep in his chest.

“Fuck, you can't say stuff like that- gonna make me cum before we even get to the good part.”

“Then you better fuck me already Grayson.” But the bite of your words was softened by the moan he forced from you as he ripped his fingers from your aching cunt and replaced them with the fat head of his cock.

“If you insist.” The first thrust was always deliciously painful as he stretched you out, making you feel every inch of his perfect length until he was nestled against your cervix and his balls pressed tightly to your ass.

Your groans mingled together in a beautiful lewd symphony, filling the bedroom like music. “So fucking tight.” Dick moaned through clenched teeth. “Need to fuck you more.”

“Yes.” You hissed both in response to your husband and because at that moment, his hips twitched causing his cock to brush against that sensitive bundle of nerves inside you.

“My poor girl, been neglecting my perfect wife. Gonna make it up to you, make you sit on my face till you beg me to stop.” His first thrusts were tentative, almost shy just like the first time you fell into bed with him but as you began to relax beneath him, he switched it up.

He knocked the moans from your lungs as he jackhammered into you, his own desperate need for release blinding him to everything else. “Never gonna let you feel empty again, I'll make sure you're always full of me one way or another.”

You sobbed with a particularly brutal thrust to your cervix and you dragged your nails down his back, leaving bright red marks. “Yes!” You cried.

“Fuck, your pussy is so fucking warm and tight, need to cum.”

“Inside, need it inside.” Your ankles locked around his hips. Your stomach began to pull tight just as Dick's thrusts began to waver.

“C'mon dove, cum for me- please.” And you shattered below him, melting into a puddle of ecstasy as your husband filled you with his cum, prolonging your orgasm.

Your left hand tangled in his dark hair and tugged his lips into yours. Your breath mingled as you both came down from your highs but Dick remained inside you, neither of you keen on having this end just yet.

“I love you.” You whispered to him and your husband smiled against your lips.

“I love you.” He replied with a gentle peck. “Soooooo, round 2?”

——————

“Dick's late.” Bruce's eyes once again flicked to the grandfather clock in the corner of the living room and then to the entryway but once again, there was no indication that his son had arrived.

Looking up from the floor where she had been playing with their granddaughter, his wife rolled her eyes. “Bruce, we've just given them their first uninterrupted date night in months, of course they're gonna be late. And hopefully they spent the night productively.” She said this last part almost to herself as she turned back to Alice who suddenly believed her right foot to be the most delicious thing ever.

Bruce raised an eyebrow at his wife. “What's that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing!” She sing-songed. “Oh look! They're here!”

And sure enough, Dick and a limping you walked through the door, not looking as well-rested as Bruce assumed you would be but both of you had big smiles on your faces.

“My girl!” Of course Dick immediately dove for his daughter, sending her into peels of laughter at seeing her father trip over his own feet in his hurry to get to her. You instead approached your father-in-law, greeting him with a warm hug and kiss to the cheek.

“Thank you for watching her, I hope she didn't give you too much trouble.” Bruce waved you off.

“She was an angel, like always. I thought you and Dick were going to get some rest, you look like you haven't slept a wink.” Dick snorted but immediately stopped when both you and his mother shot him a look.

You cleared your throat and with a look of embarrassment, you avoided Bruce's eyes. “We lost track of time and didn't get to bed until late.” You were content to leave it there but apparently, your husband had other ideas.

“Alice, what do you think about having a baby brother?” You and your mother-in-law sighed heavily as Bruce went pale, the realisation finally dawning on him.

“Oh-oh god. I think I need a drink.” 

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[zegrasdrysdale]

Hey!! Could you possibly write a John Marino x Reader where she has a pregnancy scare while he’s away and debates telling him cause they had a conversation about not being ready for kids? Angst preferably!

[ positively negative ] j. marino

paring : John Marino x fem!reader

summary : (Y/N) thinks she’s pregnant while John is on a short roadie, and she debates telling him about it once he gets home since they talked about how neither of them are ready for kids, though she thinks she might be more ready than she told John she was

warning(s) : angst ! mentions of pregnancy, mentions of abortion, throwing up

author’s note : listen, john marino needs more love on this app so i will absolutely write anything for him 🫶🏼 enjoy, anon

༺═──────────────═༻

Something is very much wrong. When she gets sick, she never throws up.

Now, she's learning over the toilet and throwing up every single thing she ate for dinner the night before. It's nearly five in the morning and she's sick in the bathroom.

John is in Vancouver of all places right now so she can’t even call him because it’s two in the morning and he has a game tonight. She hates disturbing his sleep on game day, even when she doesn’t feel good. She knows he’d answer her call, but she can’t bring herself to do it.

The toilet paper runs out as she dries her lips. It was the only thing within reaching distance she could grab so she goes into the cabinet under the sink to grab a new roll.

What she sees instead scares the hell out of her.

An unopened box of tampons that she definitely bought more than a month ago sits in front of the rolls of toilet paper. She sits back on her feet and stares at the box in front of her.

It was three weeks ago when she and John had a whole conversation about how neither one of them were ready for kids. Not that she’s jumping to conclusions but she’s late for her period. It's probably only by a week but it is still enough to worry her.

She’s never been late. Not even when she was stressing out last season when the Devils made playoffs for the first time in five years.

The unopened box of tampons stares her down until she decides that she needs to get up off the bathroom floor and drag herself to the nearest drugstore and buy a pregnancy test. Maybe multiple to be on the safe side.

If a plus sign shows up on any of those sticks then she has no idea what she's going to do. Obviously she'll tell John and they can make a decision together but he made it very clear that he is focused on his career when they talked a few weeks ago, and she feels like she isn't ready to be a mother.

She doesn't have a steady job and doesn't want John to pay for every single thing if they were to have a baby. She wants to be financially stable, which she is far from at the moment.

As soon as she throws on a pair of black sweatpants and a one of John's red Devils hoodies, she walks out the door with the keys to the apartment.

It's colder outside than she thought it would be. It's been a little warmer outside than it usually is for mid-February, but not today.

The closest drugstore that is open isn't very far from the building she and John live in. She buys two boxes of tests, each box containing two tests each. That should be enough.

Her hands are shaking the entire walk back to the apartment. She has no idea if it's because she's cold or because she's nervous.

She doesn't think that John would tell her to get an abortion if any of the tests came back positive. She doesn't think he'd leave her to raise a baby by herself, but she is certain that he probably wouldn't be very happy about it.

Her phone dings with a text when she walks into the apartment. The first thing she sees is that it's six in the morning. The second thing she sees is that John texted her even though it's three in the morning for him right now.

johnny ♡ - 6:19 am i can't sleep so i wanted to let you know that i miss you. hope you have a good day when you see this <3

(Y/N) frowns and calls him instead of texting him back. He picks up the phone after two rings. "I wasn't expecting you to be up when I texted you," he says on the other end of the line.

"I don't feel good so I've been up for an hour," she admits to him as she walks into the master bathroom that's attached to their bedroom. "Why can't you sleep? I thought the jet lag would've gotten better by now." He's been gone for four days already.

He lets out a breathy laugh. "It's just one of those nights," he replies. "Plus I actually do miss you. I was thinking about you so I sent you that text."

She pulls the tests out of the plastic bag. "Such a romantic," she comments. She knows that there's a smile on his face that she can't see right now.

"You said you didn't feel good though," he says after a moment of silence between them. "What's going on?"

With a soft sigh, she says, "I woke up at five and ended up on the bathroom floor for a little bit. I think I'm okay." She's still very nauseous, but that could be her nerves since she's about to take a pregnancy test. "Um, I was going to wait to tell you this but since I have you on the phone, I am currently standing in our bathroom right now with two boxes of pregnancy tests on the sink because I was throwing up and I'm a little late for my period."

She's met with silence. Total silence. John doesn’t say a single word for about thirty seconds.

“Baby-”

“Don’t say that right now,” John snaps. She has to bite her bottom lip to keep from wincing at his tone. “I thought- we are safe every time. Do you really think that you’re pregnant?”

With a shrug that John can’t see, she replies, “I threw up. I never throw up and I’m never late for my period. I’m just doing this to make sure. I have multiple tests that I’ll take to double and triple check.”

More silence, except this time it’s a shorter moment than last time. “I need to, um, go to sleep,” John tells her. “Let me know what happens.”

“John-” she tries to say, but he’s too quick in hanging up the phone. Her throat closes up and her nausea returns at full force.

She retches into the toilet with a cry. “Fuck,” she cries as she recovers.

The pregnancy tests stare at her from the sink as she throws up again.

Yeah, she really has no idea what she’s going to do if one of those comes back as positive.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

She’s angry.

That’s all she’s been feeling since that morning John hung up on her when she told him that she might be pregnant. That morning was two days ago.

He’ll be walking through the door any minute now. She’s sitting on the couch waiting for him.

If she’s learned anything in the past forty eight hours or so is that she’s more ready for kids than she thought she was. She loved a baby she didn’t actually have. She didn’t tell John the tests all came back negative because she was grieving a child that she wasn’t even expecting.

Keys jiggle in the door around eleven in the morning. It swings open and reveals a tired John Marino. He drags his suitcase in behind him and shuts the door once he and his things are in the apartment.

“Good road trip?” she asks from the couch. “Didn’t hear from you after you hung up the phone on me so I hope it went well.”

John freezes and looks over at her. “I, um … ” he trails off. His eyes fall to her belly. “Are you?”

She chucks one of the negative tests at him. “No,” she retorts as he looks at the test. “I’m not.” She pauses. “I want to know what you would’ve done if I was pregnant. You didn’t even hesitate to hang up the phone when I just mentioned the possibility that I was pregnant.”

He leaves his bags by the door and walks over to where she’s sitting. She’s doing everything in her power not to cry because right now, it seems like they might want two completely different things. Couples who have differing opinions on children rarely ever work out.

John takes a seat beside her with the test in his hand. “I wouldn’t leave you to raise a baby alone,” he tells her. “I also don’t think I was clear in our conversation before. If we were to expect a baby, I would need some time to get myself together but I would love you and Baby Marino so much. I wouldn’t leave either of you. I’m sorry if that came across as me leaving. I’m just not ready to start actually trying for kids.”

A tear spills onto her cheek and her bottom lip shakes.

“You wouldn’t run?”

“I wouldn’t run,” he assures her. “Like I said, I might need a second but I would never ever leave you to raise a baby alone. It takes two to make a baby and it’ll take two to raise one.”

John reaches out to brush away the tear that has rolled down her cheek. She leans into his touch. Usually when he comes back from a roadie, she’s immediately in his arms. Today she had to hold back because of how mad she was.

She blinks a few times and he comes back into focus. He has a small smile on his face. “I think I’m more ready to be a mother than I thought I was,” she admits. “I was so ready to love our baby and was more upset than relieved when those tests came back negative.”

“We’ll have a baby,” John tells her. “I promise. Just give me a little more time, okay?”

“Okay.”

She gives in and moves closer to her boyfriend. He wraps his arms around her instantly and she buries her face in his neck. John kisses the top of her head before he rests his cheek against her forehead.

“You’re okay though?” he questions. “Since you were throwing up.”

With a nod, she says, “I think it was food poisoning. Ate some bad seafood the night before.”

John laughs and shakes his head. “You would mistake food poisoning for being pregnant.”

“Shut up.”

༺═──────────────═༻

MASTERLIST

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[huh-1260]

I'm looking at Train Crash AU and thinking.

Man what if I injured Wars more for more bandages because I pretty sure I didn't give him enough for his severed arm

So what about an angsty reunion with an Adult Wind with Wars?

:)

The few whumps I have aren't angsty enough for my soul

so imagine you grow up after going away from your found family across time and you don't get to meet your brother again, but a younger version of him that doesn't know who you are and you get to watch him fall apart and you don't get to see how he became the big brother you knew him as. Also your father figure is now a brat. This is how Wind feels, because the moment he saw the portal that the shadow used seven years later. He's was excited to see his brothers again, to see Wars again. But no, it seems that fate fucking hates him, because while his other brothers come out perfectly well, with some differences in time passing for others; Legend: two years, Twilight: nine years, Time a month, Four: 5 years, Sky: 1 year, Wild: 6 months post TOTK, Hyrule: 5 years. Wars doesn't come through the portal at all. So while everyone accidentally calls him the captain (he never really saw how the others said he looked like the captain, plus he's in a different timeline he can't be related to him) and so during Sky's wedding, just right before Sky and Sun are about to kiss, a portal opens from the ceiling, and someone falls through on the ground, splattering onto the floor:

_____________

There's blood everywhere, people are screaming, and with the crowd of people running out on the building. Theres something else that came out of the portal as the person. A fading blue blob thing that screams in gibberish looking at the person and Sun. Sky doesn't have his sword on him. Fuck, fuck fuck fuck- this is what he gets for standing in the back waiting for- Oh fuck that either way he could have came! The person that landed on the floor, is dragging their legs to the blob, with their only other arm that's there and stabs it. The thing screams as it fades to ash. The person drops to the floor, but Twilight catches him before he could hit the ground (again). He doesn't get to hear the mysterious person but he could recognize that voice from anywhere, no matter how weak or scratchy it would be.

"Sorry everyone."

That was Wars, as Hyrule was rushing over to heal him.

_________

Okay that ain't angst enough for me so for a more proper "reunion", like a few weeks, no one let's Wind see Wars because they still treat him like the child he was even though he's as old as the others during the adventure across time! So he tries to sneak into Wars temporary room, while Wars tries to escape his room because he's gone stir crazy and yes Time he's fine! Just because he's gone through another war and lost a few important parts doesn't mean he needs coding! He has to make sure everyone is safe! So they bump into each other for the first time since they really last saw each other. (But that doesn't explain why Wind is crying- SHUT UP AND LET ME COOK) So they chat for a bit, like in a joking manner and Wars slips out that "Hey, another war happen and there was still some people across still stuck there." And Wind is mad that Wars just drops this kind of bomb, because why didn't he let the others come help him. So they end up arguing a bit and:

_________

"Why do you keep ignoring that we could have helped! I could have helped!" He yelled.

"If I dragged you there YOU could have died and Artemis wouldnt exist. I WOULDN'T EXSIST!" Wars yelled back.

__________

Now you see the angst?

So oof on both sides, Wars is internal bashing himself on the head, Wind is panicking because he becomes a dad, he's actually related to Wars- OH MY FUCKING SEA BOAT I MARRY TETRA?! And meanwhile Time is standing in the corner with surprise Pikachu face because oh shit Wars is from the timeline he technically abandoned. And like the fucking legend he came back when they needed him most

So that's uh what I have for now again.

[yourmommygay]

Faking it all.

Summary: high school au where colby is the popular guy and y/n is the shy good girl. Will they fall in love im not sure.

Pairings: colby brock x plus size!chloe sanchez (aka you reading this) , sam golbach x Amanda sid, jake webber x Tara yummy.

THIS IS A SERIES, MDI 18+.

Warnings: explicit language, smut, mutual pinning, bullying, fighting, mentions of abuse, colby being kind of a dick at first, Amber being a bully (I love Amber so much, she would never pick on some1 I know but it's just for the story)

It started off as just another day, walking through the school halls when chloe reached her locker. Trying to balance her books in one arm while opening her locker with the other, she heard heels clicking on the floor which could mean one of two things, either chloes day was about to go south or her best friend was coming.

"Hey nerd" she heard Amanda behind her, rolling her eyes at the nickname chloe finally got her locker open. " hi Amanda, where's Tara?" Chloe asked her friend while shoving her books into her locker, "here she comes with jake, sam and colby" Amanda said. Chloe could see Amanda push up her boobs making the non-existent cleavage appear, making chloe giggle closing her locker turning around to lean on it looking at the group coming towards her and Amanda.

"Hey sam" Amanda said playing with her hair, "hey baby, wanna go get some breakfast?" Sam asked her putting an arm around Amanda's shoulder, she nodded and they walked toward the cafeteria, "hey girly, I missed you over the summer" Tara said pulling me into a hug, "you look so different but you look beautiful." She said pulling back to admire me.

Chloe was wearing minimal makeup, a slipknot band shirt, ripped jeans and combat boots and her glasses. "What do you guys think?" Tara asked the guys turning back to them, "oh yeah, I like your outfit" jake said smiling then pulling me into a hug, "yeah you look nice chlo-" colby started but got cut off "oh hi colby!" Amber said walking over.

She gave colby a hug and then pulled away to give me a dirty look "why are you hanging with this freak? Do you feel bad for her? Aw you've always been so sweet" she said praising colby but also insulting me, "go away Amber, I'm hanging out with chloe cause we are friends" colby said shrugging Amber off his arm coming to stand next to me putting his arm around me.

"But colby we are supposed to be together, your the most popular boy, apart from sam and I'm the most popular girl, apart from Amanda. We should be together like sam and Amanda." Amber said trying to persuade colby. "Everybody in this hall, do you like Amber more or chloe!" Jake shouted, a chant of chloe's name started along with people saying things like "she helps me with homework", "she's a good person, Amber isn't", "she always listens to me and gives me good advice".

Chloe started to smile and tear up hearing that she had a good effect on these peoples lives, "you heard them Amber, if I should be with anyone it's gonna be chloe, it makes sense. Jake and Tara, sam and Amanda, me and chloe. Just makes sense" colby said pulling her closer to him.

Truth be told, she had always had a thing for colby ever since they met when they were 3 and their dad's became work buddies, colby had never been a total dick to her. He would make jokes that made him sound like a dick but he was also a dick to those that hurt chloe.

Chloe wouldn't know it yet but colby had felt the same as chloe that's why he would always joke around with her but also protect her, chloe may not remember a thing colby promised her at the age of 6 but colby did and he was always gonna stick to it,

*Flashback*

Colby and chloe had been playing all day outside in the park, their mother's sitting at a bench with each other laughing at some story they were sharing, as chloe and colby were playing tag chloe bumped into another kid, his name is zach. He was the main bully in the school, taking kids toys and keeping them, hitting teachers and throwing things when he wouldn't get what he wanted.

As zach turned around he looked at chloe as if he was about to hit her, as he went to hit her colby pushed him out of the way and kicked him grabbing chloes hand and rushing over to their mom's.

In the back of his mom's car he turned to chloe "are you OK?" He asked chloe moving over towards her, she nodded and quietly replied "yes, thank you for what you did back there".

Colby chuckled "I promise you I will always protect you and I will love you forever" he said grabbing her hand and kissing it fully locking in the promise.

*end of flashback*

Colby made sure to keep to his promise but now loving chloe in a different way he had when they were younger. All colby new was that this year was the year he made chloe his.

A/n I hope you liked this, this was part one of the series I'm not sure how many parts there will be, I might also put this on my wattpad.

[10blue10]

Growing Up Berkian

(Aka my head-canons/world-building of life on Berk in HTTYD, inspired by the ‘Growing Up…’ series on YouTube.)

Houses 

Family homes are passed down from fathers to sons, whilst married women will leave their family homes and move into their husbands home. Thus, homes on Berk contain the sons who inherited it, plus their wives and children. 

Each house has two stories, with a ground floor consisting of a ‘kitchen’ where food is prepared and eaten, as well as the parents’ rooms. Above is a loft area where the children sleep and can also be used for food storage for the winter. 

In a household with mixed genders of children, an old sailcloth is hung halfway across the loft space, with girls sleeping on one side and boys on the other. 

Jobs     

Dragons or not, life in a village is hard work and Berk is no exception. Most Hooligans are farmers or fishermen. There is a blacksmith, carpenters, a butcher, a miller, a potter, shipbuilders, a brewer and at least one law-speaker. 

Even though Berk is egalitarian when it comes to women fighting, as they needed every able bodied warrior they could get to fight dragons, most chores are gender segregated. The men work fields, herd livestock, and go fishing. The women weave cloth, mend and wash clothes, bake bread, cook food and generally run the household. They sometimes learn the healing arts as well. 

All Hooligans get taught how to fight, and the Berk Guard is a militia led by the Berk General. It’s their job to be on lookout for attacks in times of war and be the first line of defence when Berk is attacked, whether by dragons or other Vikings. When not on Guard duty, they go about their normal chores and lives. 

Children  

Mothers are helped to care for their babies by their grandmothers, siblings and elder children. With a baby, everyone is expected to pitch in, whether by caring for the infant directly or doing the mother’s chores for her. A baby is named twelve days after birth, if they survive that long. Some families give names with a common part, like As for the Hoffersons, Lout for the Jorgensons, Nut for the Thorstons and Legs for the Ingermans. Other families have ‘themed’ names. 

Very young children (3 to 5 years old) aren’t expected to do chores and are free to play. This being Berk, miniature toy weapons are popular. Hooligan children become accustomed to their stubborn, violent lifestyles from a young age by being told rather gruesome nursery rhymes and bedtime stories. 

Young children (6 to 8 years old) are taught by their families to read, and sometimes write, runes. This often takes place during the long winter months. Being able to read is considered more important than being able to write, since only some individuals (like the chief and lawmakers) need to write stuff down. 

9 to 12 year olds are mature enough to do chores, even if it’s only a matter of helping with bigger jobs like cleaning the house, cooking dinner etc. As well as being taught to read, they are taught other skills to help them do their chores. Apart from these simple chores, they have free time to play with each other. 

Teenagers 

Teenagers (literally anyone at an age that ends with ‘teen’, so 13 to 19) are apprenticed to a trade, either that of their parents or a friend/family member. They don’t necessarily have to begin said apprenticeship at the age of 13; it can be started later, or even earlier. In general, the sooner the better, though. 

These apprenticeships usually become their adult jobs, so finding one that fits is important. It does less good for the village as a whole if a teenager is bad at their assigned role. For this reason the apprenticeship can change if a more suitable job is found. Or, morbidly, if the previous apprentice has been killed.

[saeskiss]

𝐈𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐄

kazuha x fem!reader. 1.9k wc. 5/6/23. part 1! part 3!

you’re drunk, and you’re ready to make stupid mistakes, and kazuha thinks you’re even irresistible than you usually are.  

✧ make-out sesh, suggestive, childhood friends to lovers, mutual pining, kazuha brings you as his plus one to his mom’s second wedding, alcohol consumption, mentions of groping. (not kazuha doing it). based on taylor swift’s song “dress”. ooc kazuha (maybe???) 

“kazuuuuuuuuuhaaaa.” his name comes out as a slur, the familiar feeling of domesticity fills up kazuha’s heart, and as much as he doesn’t want to admit it, he enjoys this side of you that you’re sharing with him.

sure, you’ve been drunk before and especially in kazuha’s presence but this time it was different. 

much more different from the other three big instances that you were drunk in front of him. 

the first instance was when you guys had first started university together and you were so happy that you guys had both gotten accepted into the same university, (you had silently prayed to the moon every night hoping that the universe would be on your side) and it did end up being on your side. you had gotten a little too excited and rushed to kazuha’s house carrying some of your mom’s wine to celebrate another couple of years with him hoping that you guys could tell each other about the feelings you guys had shared with each other for the longest time. 

and soon you and kazuha discovered that your alcohol tolerance wasn’t high. at all. 

this was a big problem for him. especially when you turned the legal age to properly and actually drink. 

you weren’t such a big fan of parties and kazuha knew this. you didn’t like loud noises and crowded rooms because they were absolutely suffocating. and trying to scare off strangers that were trying to grope you wasn’t exactly your most favorite thing. but this wouldn’t completely stop you from going out and having a little fun with your other friends. (yes, you have other friends besides kazuha, surprise surprise.) 

and this especially wasn’t going to stop beidou from dragging you to go attend ningguang’s parties that she would throw every now and then. (the second biggest and most common occurrence) this doesn’t happen commonly but when it does it brings misfortune for the white-haired male. these situations always ended up with you extremely drunk (you frequently participated in beidou’s drinking competitions even though you guys were both lightweights) (how chaotic and idiotic for the both of you) and keqing giving kazuha a call for him to come and bring you back to his house so that you could sober up. although what did happen was that kazuha would bring you back dead asleep and you would wake up in the morning with a huge headache and both you and kazuha would call in sick for your classes and you would stay snuggled up on his couch catching up on your favorite tv shows while he goes the store to buy you some painkillers. 

the third and his favorite drunk instance with you was when you had seen kazuha with a girl you had never seen him with before and usually, you would’ve taken this as kazuha being a friendly person because he was, much more friendly than you were that’s for sure but this time it was different. or maybe it wasn’t. 

you don’t know what it was in you but something in your heart burned more than the chugging of tequila. you went home and dropped beidou a call and opened your alcohol cabinet (many of the bottles were gifts from ningguang or your parents or kazuha’s parents) and you had downed a whole bottle in the span of two minutes, the sound of your cries could probably be heard by the whole floor, hell maybe the whole apartment. when beidou had arrived she was in shock to see the bad state you were in. after a rough twenty minutes beidou realized that she really couldn’t deal with someone who was drunk when she had an important exam so her last and only resort was to call the only person that you’ve ever really had feelings for. and she knew that kazuha would be able to take of you better than anyone else, but she wasn’t going to mention it because she was afraid the tears would turn into a full-on sob session. 

kazuha shows up at your door with the same reaction as beidou because a couple of hours ago you guys were planning to meet up at a coffee shop to study together even though you guys were majoring in two different subjects, you guys thought the presence of each other would be comforting but then you had canceled on him to study with beidou? he really didn’t understand.

if the white-haired male was going to be really honest, he was kind of frustrated. not at you, but more of himself. it wasn’t a date or anything so he had no right to be upset but here he was. upset that you had canceled plans with him to hang out with someone else. and to be honest, he could’ve drank with you. he doesn’t know why you chose beidou.

but let’s just say that this story ends with a heated make-out session on your island stools in your kitchen and you having a huge hangover the next day not remembering anything that had happened yesterday which had kazuha defeated, desperate for another try. because c’mon, you stole his first kiss and his first make-out session all in one night.  

but that’s enough stories about the past times you had been under the influence. 

back to the current situation that kazuha was worrying about: you getting tipsy over two measly shots that his mother had offered during the dinner that only gave effect after a good 10 minutes and here you were in your hotel room that his mom had booked for the two of you. it was pretty obvious she knew what was going on. and maybe this was all apart of her plan. 

“y/n.” he deadpans, staring at you who has been sitting on the ground next to the bed for the last ten minutes with your head rested onto the bed. “get up from the ground.” he lowers himself to be on the same level as you.

“nooooo. i don’t want to go.” you cross your arms, with a scowl on your face, hearing a sigh from the white-haired male.

a moment of silence passes by before he sighs again, “i’m tired.” your grin starts to turn into a frown.

“come on. get onto the bed. or i’ll carry you bridal style onto the bed.” he says, grabbing one of your arms attempting to get you laying on the bed so he could get a glass of water for you so you could start to sober up.

you squeal as he picks you up from your spot on the ground and carries you onto the bed tickling you making you giggle. 

you get up from your laying position on the bed which makes kazuha groan with his failed attempt to try and get water to sober you up while you lie in bed patiently waiting for him to come back. which was quite literally impossible with you being under the influence. 

“kazuha.” you get serious this time and he stops his whining and complaining to face you and have an intoxicated conversation with you with just you as the one intoxicated and him not so much. 

“what is it y/n?” and the sweet sound of your name makes your heart beat faster and it makes you riskier. it makes you want to do things to kazuha that you wouldn’t normally do if it wasn’t for your inebriation. 

you come closer to his face and your guys’ eyes meet. kazuha tries to stay focus and tries to calm his heart down as much as he can so you can’t hear it because its embarrassing having this big of a schoolgirl crush on someone he’s known since he was in diapers. 

and it’s especially embarrassing on how much anticipation he has in this very moment; you’re unpredictable. and god he wishes he knew what was going on in your head right now because he can’t stop himself from thinking about things that would never happen in a million years. 

“you’re so pretty you know that?” you cup his face waiting for his response but all you’re met with is a flushed face and a frustrated sigh from kazuha.

he doesn’t know much longer he can hold it all in. 

hold in the urge from wanting to kiss you all over again, because god seeing you in that pretty tight white dress is making him go insane. he says a simple, “thank you.” in response. 

“can i kiss you?” you ask him and he doesn’t know what to say because he shouldn’t say no, and he knows he should say no, but he would do absolutely anything to kiss you one more time. but this wasn’t right. 

this was the second time that he would be doing this. taking advantage of you while you were drunk. 

but your scent was so addicting and he couldn’t get enough of it and he was yearning for the touch of your soft lips against his so he nods reluctantly.  

and he knows it’s wrong, and he knows he’ll apologize in the morning this time and confront the fact that he made a mistake doing this with you. 

but as soon as your lips crash, he never wants the sweet taste of peppermint from your chapstick mixed with the raging taste of alcohol to leave his mouth and he starts to not regret the decision he made so much. your lips were so insanely soft against his, your movements are slow yet so intense making kazuha yearn for more. he wanted more. he took a breath of your enthralling scent, your perfume was mixed with strawberries and mint. it was addicting and it sent his head spinning, butterflies emerging in his stomach as you smile into his kiss. you start to move slowly on his lap, his hands traveling down to your thighs. you to let out a whimper at the sudden gesture and that was more than enough for him to get a wake up call and realize what he was doing wrong. 

he pulls away, lips swollen and rough breaths are the only sound being heard in the room for a couple of seconds.

“i can’t. i’m sorry. i’m taking advantage of you and it’s wrong.” he stops with you still sitting on his lap your hands drop to your side.

you frown. “i’m sorry. we can do this when you’re sober. i promise.” he gently caresses your cheek, coming close to your face, his lips lightly touching your forehead.

“okay.” you finally give in and respond, “but can you do me one more thing?” he groans once more, at this point he’s afraid of your requests because if you plead him to do anything he will oblige and you have so much power over him and he is frightened by how much power you have over him. 

“one more kiss? please?” 

oh, kill kazuha right now. you just pleaded and there was no way he was going to decline. 

“mkay.” he uses both of his hands to grip your waist as your lips meet, the exciting sensation rushing through his body and making kazuha’s head spin, wanting more, but he pulls away because he’s well aware of how many boundaries he’s overstepped today. 

“is that it?” you nod, your eyes meet again and the white-haired male is about to explode with how much tension was in the room now and he knew he had to do something to stop himself from doing anything more stupid.

“come on. let’s get you in bed and let me grab you a glass of water.” 

©saeskiss 2023

[highqueenofelfhame]

rowaelin // 5.2k words // masterlist an: i'll add tags later tonight after work, but I wanted to get this posted before i leave <;3 tw: brief mentions of abortion, language

The bathroom counter was entirely covered with various types of pregnancy tests. After the first four showed positive, Aelin had gone back to the pharmacy and bought every type they had available. HCG tests that were no more than skinny bits of paper, typical plastic ones, digital ones. Not a single one had given her the negative she was looking for. Paper results from an emergency room visit yesterday morning showed the same thing, only this time it was there in her blood. 

She hadn’t gone to the ER for pregnancy results— that would have been silly. She went at the urging of Lysandra because since finding out a few days ago, her anxiety made her symptoms even worse. Aelin hadn’t been able to keep down liquids of any sort and dehydration quickly set in. A quick prick of a needle had fluids and anti-nausea medication flowing into her bloodstream. Discharge paperwork referred her to an OBGYN and had a script written for Zofran, a stronger nausea medication so she could keep food and water down. It had become her best friend.

The thought of an abortion had crossed her mind, even in the moments before Lysandra had asked if she wanted to keep it. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be a mother— she did. But it was a dream that happened after she was more settled in her career and in a fully committed relationship. Not while she was opening the second office and had so much hard work ahead of her, not when she barely knew the father. 

It wasn’t an idea she could fully entertain without talking to Rowan first, to see where he stood on it. But she already knew what her choice was, even if he didn’t want the responsibility. She would keep it. As much as her anxiety felt like walking on the wooden slats of a rickety rope bridge over a gaping canyon, a deep love was already blooming in her heart the size of a sesame seed. It would only get bigger with each passing day, that what-ifs of it all dancing behind her eyelids while she slept. 

What are you up to tonight? I’m in Doranelle and if you can swing it, I want to see you

She shot off the text and stared out her office window while she waited for a reply. It had been a lie, she wasn’t in Doranelle. But she needed to see Rowan and talk to him about everything as soon as possible. With a mind full of racing thoughts and unanswered questions, of the half truths she’d given him about her life… the only thing that could truly calm her nerves was talking it through with him. 

All yours after 6. 

A heavy sigh fell from her lips as she glanced at the time— 4:30– then rubbed at her temples. It was going to be a long night. 

~*~ 

It was the first time Aelin had been to Rowan’s house in Doranelle. All of their time had been spent at her apartment so far. In fact, she had only been over to his apartment in Varese a single time, just long enough for him to grab something before they went out on their downtown adventure. 

The apartment was nice, of course, but didn’t seem to hold a candle to the house she was parked in front of. When pulling down the long and winding driveway, her eyes darted between the numbers on the house as soon as it appeared and what she had entered into her GPS. Rowan’s SUV in the driveway assured her it was the correct home, but… 

How the hell did a man on a coach’s salary afford this house plus a luxury apartment in another major city? 

It was new construction, a contemporary home made of dark wood and ebony stone. It was nestled back off the road and surrounded by towering oak trees in every direction. Long curtains were drawn inside, hiding which rooms had walls of floor to ceiling windows. She imagined him laying on his couch after a long day with the curtains open, gazing out at the setting sun beyond the trees. 

It was beautiful. The tranquility of it was amped up to a thousand when she opened her door and stepped out. Somewhere in the tree line a stream trickled along, the soft sound of moving water enough to calm her nerves if only a little. 

Almost as soon as her toes touched the bottom step that led up to the porch, the front door swung open. Rowan grinned at her, a dish towel in his hands while he dried them. Scents of garlic, onion, rosemary, and other spices wafted out the front door. Thankfully her stomach only growled in response and didn’t have her bent  over the railing to empty her stomach into the bushes. 

“Hey, you,” he said softly, meeting her halfway across the porch. Long fingers tilted her head back so he could press a sweet kiss to her lips. 

“Hi,” she whispered back, standing on her toes to kiss him again. Rowan took her hand and led her through the door and toward the kitchen. Even though she offered, he insisted she sit at the bar while he finished dinner. 

“Wine?”

“Water, please.” Thankfully it didn’t raise any questions about why. He filled a tall glass with ice water and slid it over the counter to her before turning to resume dinner. 

“How was your day?”

“Long,” she sighed, nervous fingers drumming against her stomach. One of her legs had taken to bouncing on the wooden footrest and her breaths became shorter, more frequent. Nausea swirled in the pit of her belly but this, she knew, wasn’t morning sickness. Aelin didn’t realize she was biting her lip until she tasted metal, nor did she realize Rowan had moved to her side. 

“Hey,” his bent forefinger guided her face to look at his, but she couldn’t meet his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“We need to talk.” Those four words, four measly syllables were all it took to douse the room in cold tension. 

“Okay.” Rowan nodded, taking a moment to turn the burners on the stove down. He guided her into the living room where he sat her down on a plush gray couch that she seemed to sink into. 

“Can I just—” Aelin leaned forward and kissed him softly, then sat back with her legs folded beneath her. As if on instinct, her hands folded in front of her stomach protectively. 

“You’re starting to frighten me.” He murmured, hand resting on her knee to give her a comforting squeeze.  Aelin wanted to laugh, and almost did. Instead she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, pulled her phone out of her pocket and pulled up one of several images of her bathroom counter and handed him the device. “I’m pregnant.” 

Rowan was silent while she swallowed down her emotions, forcing everything to stay buried under an exterior mask of calm. His green eyes stared, and stared, and stared at the picture, fingers zooming in on the dozens of tests on her counter. 

“Is it mine?”

“I–” Aelin tempered her frustration. It was a valid question. If she were in his shoes, she would have been asking the same thing. “Yes. You’re the only man I’ve been with in the last year.”

It was a little embarrassing to say out loud. The last few years had been busy and she’d seldom made time for a personal life. It was exactly the kind of thing her mother was referring to when she meant that Aelin had a knack for having absolutely no work-life balance.

“How? We used protection. You’ve told me before you’re on birth control.” More valid questions that she herself had voiced to Lysandra in the minutes after taking the first few tests.

“My guess is that it broke? The condom, I mean.  I haven’t missed a single dose of my birth control. I triple checked.” Aelin’s knee began to bounce, that anxious ocean ready to swallow her up whole from not knowing the outcome of this situation. She hated not knowing things, not being able to predict how a person might respond. 

Locking the phone, he placed it on the sofa between them, a muscle feathering in his clenched jaw. Rowan didn’t meet her eyes as he stared forward and tensely asked, “Are you doing it for money.” 

“What?” She sputtered, immediately standing and crossing the room from whatever bullshit that question had been. Of all the ways she had anticipated him reacting, this had not been on the list. All of the nervous energy roiling through her quickly turned to something hot. Like some struck a match and threw it on a puddle of kerosene. 

“Are you doing it for my money?” He repeated, voice flat as he finally looked up at her. Rowan didn’t move from the couch as he stared at her, all the softness she was used to on his face gone. Any of the mirth and joy in his eyes she’d become accustomed to was gone. 

The butterflies he usually filled her stomach with had turned into white-hot rage pouring through every vein of her body. Aelin’s face was hot, eyes stinging as she did her best to force her tears away. It had been a long while since she’d become so angry that she jumped immediately to crying about it. 

Something had changed in Rowan’s face, too, as he looked at everything written across her face as plainly as if she had shouted at him. His eyes softened a little, his hands clenching against his thighs. 

“Why the fuck would I want your money?” She didn’t let him finish before saying, “Ask me what my last names are.” 

“You have more than one?” Confusion had his brows pulled together and wrinkles stacked up his forehead. Rowan stood, taking a handful of steps toward her. Aelin retreated with her fingers pressed against her stomach. “Are you married or something?”

“Ask. Me.” She demanded of him, voice and hands shaking. Tears started to fill her eyes and spill over, her skin so warm they were cool as they ran down her cheeks. Even the tips of her ears had gone crimson, evident in the way they burned beneath her hair. It was the exact opposite of how she had felt the first time she saw those two pink lines on that pregnancy test. A sea of wild, unchecked flame lived within her, pumped through her heart, burned the back of her throat, her cheeks, her ears. 

“What are your—”

“Ashryver Galathynius. My name is Aelin Ashryver Galathynius.” Each of her names was punctuated with that fire, her entire body trembling with so many emotions at once. As much as he was into the stupid fucking sport, he would understand what it meant.

And he did. Rowan’s entire face went slack, those wrinkles disappearing from his brows, his jaw popping open. Even his arms fell motionless to his sides. 

“As in— shit.” 

“My grandfather and my father,” she added for extra clarification, so that he knew it wasn’t a distant connection. It was direct. “Ask me again if I want your fucking money,” she spit the word at him like it burned her mouth to say it. It kind of did. Never in her wildest dreams did she think that his reaction would be so callous and cold, that he would accuse her of getting knocked up for money. What fucking money? Why the fuck would she go after a teacher’s salary when her own checking account was so loaded she, and her child, would ever want for anything? 

“Aelin–” Rowan took a step forward, hand raised as he reached for her. Aelin held up a single finger and shook her head, recoiling from him.

“Don’t.”

“I need to–”

“You need to go fuck yourself, Rowan.” Her footsteps chased her like thunder rolling in for a storm, punctuated by the window-shaking slam of the front door. To give him one ounce of credit, he did follow her, but by the time he made it outside, she was already in her car, pulling a u-turn in his yard, and speeding down the driveway. Nothing but a cloud of dust remained in her wake.

In the rearview, Rowan’s form was blurry from her tears, his arms on top of his head while he watched her leave. 

~*~

It was late. Like, the bar had been closed for an hour already, late. The Neon Moon was empty, save for Rowan, Fenrys, Connall, Vaughan, and Lorcan. They had an off weekend, and a drink was desperately needed by all. When Rowan arrived at the bar half an hour before closing and pounded back enough drinks that it was almost alarming, everyone decided to linger until he started to talk. 

“Dude.” Fenrys poked his arm with an outstretched hand. The response was a slurred grumble in the old language that not even Lorcan managed to pick up.

“What’d you do?” Connall asked, bracing his arms on the counter. Rowan lifted his head, room spinning like he’d just finished doing ballerina turns. Aelin liked to dance. He hadn’t ever seen it but he could imagine her in tights and a leotard, a tutu around her waist. She probably didn’t get dizzy when doing turns. 

Nausea hit him in a wave and he took a deep breath in through his nose, out through his mouth. Closing his eyes made it even worse, so he kept them open and fixed on Connall’s face. Ballerinas did that, didn’t they? Focused on one spot so they didn’t get dizzy or fall out of their tight spins? 

As the nausea abated, he remembered holding Aelin’s hair back for her while she was sick a couple weeks ago. Neither of them knew it then, but she was pregnant. He wondered if she was still feeling sick all the time or if it was getting better every week. A frown took over his whole face, eyes dropping to focus on a dent in the counter. Someone had carved a heart there, and he wanted to scribble over it. 

“She’s pregnant.” Was all he managed to get out, trying his hardest to enunciate his words. Everyone went utterly still and silent, Lorcan moving to sit in the chair beside him. 

“Did she fucking–” he started, leaning his head down to try to look at Rowan’s face. The silver-haired man waved his friend off, shaking his head like an indignant child.

“I’m not drinking because of the baby. Or the woman.” It was true. Rowan had always wanted to be a father, it was a dream of his. Sure, it would have been nice if it happened in a more ideal way, but that wasn’t why he took so many shots as soon as he walked through the door. No, it was the look on her face when he coldly asked if she wanted money. The betrayal that slowly leached over her features, the way she bit back tears until she couldn’t anymore. “I monumentally fucked up.”

“That does usually lead to a baby,” Fen quipped, a sly smirk starting to appear on his lips. As quickly as it started to form, though, it vanished after a hard smack! against the side of his head, courtesy of Lorcan. The fair side to Connall’s dark coin groaned, blindly slapping his hand against his attacker’s shoulder. Another searing look from Lorcan had Fen’s hands falling back into his lap. 

“In what way?” Vaughan had leaned forward to see around Lorcan’s head while he spoke. The wood was cool against Rowan’s cheek as he laid his head on the bar, desperate to stop the spinning of the room. 

“She told me she was pregnant, showed me all the tests from a photo on her phone,” Rowan waved his hand toward his phone that he frowned at, “And then I asked her if she did it for money.”

“Oh, you bloody wanker,” Fenrys mumbled, shaking his head. The man in question was sitting up on the counter, legs dangling over the edge. His foot twitched like he debated kicking him in the knee. Rowan wouldn’t have blamed him. He deserved worse than that. 

“It’s a valid question.” Lorcan’s voice was sharp enough that Fenrys twisted his mouth to the side, eyes narrowed like he might disagree with him, but wouldn’t to avoid further physical injury. Instead, he offered a shrug of his shoulders and kept his mouth firmly shut as Rowan laid his head back down. Something was damp beneath his cheek, cooling his whiskey-hot skin. 

“It really wasn’t. Not when she told me that Ciaran Ashryver is her grandfather and Rhoe Galathynius is her godsdamn father,” Rowan growled. His anger and irritation was pointed to no one but himself. “She doesn’t need my money. I’m pretty sure she still thinks I’m a soccer coach because she was absolutely mind boggled that I’d even ask her such a thing. I don’t even know why I asked, either. The fear of it all, of–”

“Her father is Rhoe Galathynius?” Lorcan cut in, and Rowan wanted to kiss his forehead for cutting off that spiral. 

“Yep,” he replied, the p sound popping more than it normally would. And her cousin is Aedion bloody Ashryver! How did I not see it? They look nearly like twins! They have the same face!” Rowan shouted, palm slapping against the counter between each revelation. Fenrys jolted, eyes widening as he slipped off the bar and an entire seat away. Rowan was too drunk to shoot him an apologetic look for coming so close to his leg. 

“I can’t believe you didn’t figure it out,” Connall said smoothly, grabbing an empty glass and filling it with water. 

“Are you telling me you fucking knew?” Rowan said through clenched teeth, lifting his head so he felt like he was seeing the room through a kaleidoscope. Despite the whirling of the world, he met his friend's gaze. A bit of mirth twinkled in Connall’s eyes, a match for the anger in Rowan’s own head on. Clearly Connall only had loyalty to his brother and himself, if he just threw Rowan to the wolves like that.

“I didn’t know her exact relation, I just assumed. They look too much alike to be anything else. Did I know she was a football princess? No, but she knew too much about the sport when you talked, I figured she was involved in some way.” With a shrug of his shoulders, Connall slid the water toward Rowan. “And she definitely doesn’t know who you are. Earlier this week she was asking me if the boys had any games this weekend because she wanted to see you but didn’t want to interfere with your coaching. She’s never pried about what you do for a living, always took it at face value and assumed you were being honest.”

“I want another drink,” Rowan grumbled.

That was the other thing, wasn’t it? Sure, she had been lying. But so had he. In that initial moment of shock, where he felt like history could be repeating all over again, he’d lost it. Deep down, he knew that wasn’t the case. How timid and nervous she was, how sick she had been, the evidence in the picture of dozens of tests covering her bathroom counter. Rowan had seen it all with his own two eyes and still taken the shitty, cold, asshole route. 

If he was being honest, at the time it felt like the easier road to take. Aelin clearly had a temper hiding under her skin, though. Those remarkable eyes of hers had glowed with the anger he sparked. It had been fire in her eyes, white hot and raging. Maybe it had been the light playing off the tears that welled in her eyes, making her eyes glitter, but he had never seen anyone quite so angry, or quite so devastatingly beautiful. 

That was the mother of his child. A stunning, spit-fire of a woman that it was all too easy to imagine a future with. A life with. Even before finding out about the baby Rowan had imagined ways he could make the long distance work when she went back to Orynth in a few months. Now, it felt stupid. A bomb had been detonated and it was entirely his fault. Because he was the bomb. Ruining everything good that touched him. 

Perhaps he should have been drunk when she delivered the news. Drunk Rowan would never have said that to her. 

“She’s so pretty,” he mumbled aloud, finger dipping into the puddle his ice glass made and beginning to write her name across the bar. Lorcan nudged his shoulder, shaking his head. Right. That was pathetic. Rowan Whitethorn was not pathetic. To prove it, he picked up the glass of whiskey Connall handed him and downed it in one go. 

“I can’t believe you asked Aelin Galathynius if she wanted money.” It seemed that Fen could no longer  restrain his smart mouth. His chest shook with suppressed laughter. “Hate to break it you, mate, but I’m pretty sure–”

“Fenrys,” Lorcan growled, immediately shutting the pup up. Even the laughter in his face was quick to die off. Drunk Rowan was grateful for it. Right now he was toeing the line of punch first, ask questions later. “Let’s get you home. We’ll start to figure this out tomorrow.”

Despite his words, Lorcan still sounded tense. Like he, too, was clenching his jaw with frustration. Rowan imagined it had to do with him not believing Aelin, thinking she knew and was chasing his money or fame. That didn’t make sense, though. Drunk or sober, it didn’t make sense for her to want his money or his fame.

Rowan’s mind wandered on the drive home. If she wanted the fame, it would be easy enough for her to get it on her own. Rowan had learned in the hours after she left that if she had wanted to, she could have been a socialite. She certainly didn’t need Rowan’s help.

Back when she attended matches there were hundreds of pictures of her cheering in her family’s suite, of her on the field offering the players high fives, of her family out to dinner. If it was fame she wanted, she already had a clear shot at it. Besides, she was already a national treasure to Terrasen. The following she on the Fireheart social media pages and her personal instagram alone was more than some of his teammates had. 

Money didn’t make sense either. She was on good terms with her parents and after minimal digging he discovered she wasn’t teaching dance and piano. Maybe she did sometimes, but recently her name and picture had been scattered through the headlines because she was opening a new office for her foundation that she founded, the Fireheart Foundation. There were already multiple locations throughout Terrasen targeting underprivileged youth, to enhance the art programs both in and out of school. Now she was doing it in Varese, her mother’s home city. 

Aelin didn’t need money. She didn’t need fame. It wasn’t about any of that, and he fucking blew it by being a coldhearted bastard.

“Thank you for the ride,” Rowan slurred to Lorcan, who was probably his best friend all things considered. Maybe he should tell him that. Of all the people in the world, Lorcan was usually easiest for Rowan to talk to. He seemed to understand him a little better than the others, even if they were all pretty close. Rowan decided then that if he ever got married, if he could fix this thing with Aelin, Lorcan would be his best man. Yes. That was an excellent decision. 

Rowan hauled himself out of Lorcan’s car, feet stumbling on the street. He barely caught himself from face-planting on the sidewalk, recovering by swinging himself around a street sign and throwing a mock salute toward Lorcan to indicate that he might have stumbled, but he was good. He didn’t need help. Rowan had this.

 His best friend looked at him drily, quirking an eyebrow as Rowan turned to walk to the door and–

Walked directly into the marble exterior of his apartment building. Double over, Rowan rubbed at his stinging face to ease the pain. A glance at his fingers told them there was no blood. Thank the gods he didn’t break his nose.

“For fucks sake,” Lorcan’s voice was suddenly a hiss in his ear, throwing Rowan’s limp arm around his shoulders.

“You’re really fast, y’know that? And tall. You’re gonna dislocate my shoulder,” He slurred, eyes focused on the ground so he could get one foot in front of the other. Lorcan told him to shut the fuck up and walk. Wisely, Rowan did. 

By the time Lorcan half-carried him up to his apartment and dropped him unceremoniously into bed, he was saying silent prayers to whatever god that would listen for him to be able to fix what he had so easily shattered.

~*~

“I know we’re anti-Rowan right now, but I want to know what my niece or nephew is going to look like.” Aelin gave her bestfriend flat look through the camera, but Lys merely shrugged her shoulders. The angle of her phone changed and Aelin knew she was on the hunt. Honestly, she should work for government security. The woman could find anything on anybody. “What’s his last name?”

“I don’t know. I couldn’t ever find the right moment to tell him what mine were, and his just never came up. I never asked.” Aelin rolled onto her side in her bed, frowning at just how puffy her eyes were from crying the last several days. It was ridiculous. If he wanted to be a prick about it, fine. Aelin didn’t need him. It would have been nice, but… 

No. That thought was quickly tucked away elsewhere, somewhere at the back of her mind where it wouldn’t pick and poke at her sensitive emotions until she cried. 

“What did you say he does? A teacher?”

“Soccer coach in Doranelle. He doesn’t have social media as far as I’m aware. I’ve never seen the apps or anything on his phone.” Rowan didn’t give off social media vibes, either. It was hard to imagine him coming up with a witty caption for a vacation photo, or having the desire to post pictures of his life at all. 

“Rowan, Soccer, Doranelle. Lets see what that gives us,” Lys hummed, fingers flying furiously across the screen. From this point of view, Aelin had a great shot up her nose. If she wasn’t feeling so morose she would screenshot it and save it for a rainy day. “Oh my– Aelin Ashryver Galathynius.”

At her full name, Aelin propped herself up on an elbow, frowning down into her phone as she said, “What?” 

“Rowan Whitethorn. Google that and tell me if that’s him.”

“Why does Whitethorn sound familiar?” It both was and wasn’t a question for Lysandra. It was definitely tinkling a bell somewhere in her brain, the name. And as soon as she typed it in and pressed search, she understood why. “No fucking way.”

“That might be why he asked if you wanted money,” Lys said. Millions of search results came back. Photos, articles, interviews, the works. Thousands upon thousands of pictures loaded when she hit the images tab, and her jaw nearly hit the floor. 

Pictures of Rowan in a dark blue uniform with Doranelle’s logo across the chest, a number seven and his name across the back. Images of him from the side, his silver hair french braided with the rest pulled into a bun. There were pictures of him held on his teammates shoulders, of Rowan making a match-ending goal, Rowan squirting water into his mouth on the sidelines. 

“He’s got personal interest in the game, is all,” Connall had told her that first night. A vague memory of Rowan giving the bartender a flat look entered her mind briefly as she closed the tabs and looked back at her best friend’s face. 

“Why is the soccer world so incestuous?” Lys asked her, laughter in her voice.

“It’s not funny,” she hissed back, but there was no bite to it. Maybe it would be a little funny in a few days. There was no doubt in her mind that Aedion and her parents would find it absolutely hilarious. 

“The money thing makes sense now, though.”

“It does,” Aelin agreed, rubbing the heel of her palm into her eye. “But I thought what we had was different. Regardless… even if I had known about all of this I wouldn’t have thought he would react that way.”

“Maybe it’s happened before. Maybe you need to hear him out and let him explain.” 

She did and she knew it. The shift in his behavior happened so suddenly, had blindsided her entirely. It had to mean there was a reason for him to snap like that. It still pained her heart and soul, though. Even if he had the best reason in the world, it didn’t take away the betrayal and hurt she had felt. 

At the same time, she felt silly for feeling so upset. They barely knew each other. Of course he would be cautious of her motivations. It made sense. If it had been going on for longer, would his reaction have been more mild? Would it have been sweet kisses and promises that things would be okay? Did Rowan even want kids? Probably not, given the status he currently held in the soccer world. The man showed no signs of slowing down anytime soon. A baby would just complicate that. 

“That baby is going to be the most beautiful fucking thing.” Lys may have been mostly talking to herself, but Aelin found her lips tipping up at the corners because it was true. It would be. 

Almost against her own will, her fingers pulled up Rowan’s text thread. He sent dozens of messages throughout the week. Most of them were begging for a conversation, asking if he could call her. Some of them from last night made no sense whatsoever, words strung together in a way that made her believe he was drunk. There were six in a row from last night in the old language. If she had been able to read around the typos, maybe she could figure out what they said. The spelling was so badly butchered, though, that some were different words altogether. Complete gibberish, utter word salad. 

Then there was the single one he sent her today that simply read: I’m sorry. For all of it.

There had been other apologies that requested the chance for him to explain, but none of them felt quite as barren and hopeless as this one did. Almost like he was ready to throw in the towel if she didn’t want to speak to him ever again. Though she was angry, it didn’t sit well with her. Maybe she felt a flicker of anger in her chest because he hadn’t been willing to fight for her for more than a few days, or maybe it was because she was frustrated he would stop because he believed it was what she wanted. Either way, she didn’t like it. 

It was then that she decided she would give herself a few more days. A few days to process the pregnancy, his reaction, her counter-reaction, all of it. And then maybe… maybe she would be ready to talk. 

[fyonahmacnally]

I Wish it Was Me...

She sighs, leaning against the balcony railing and staring blankly into the deep midnight sky as she swirls the rich amber liquid in her crystal tumbler. Her eyes have been scanning the horizon for an unknown amount of time, replaying the evening in her mind. 

A part of her feels guilty for leaving so abruptly, but she couldn’t sit there and watch her smile and laugh at him any longer. She knew they were friends, but she didn’t realize they were that close. Intellectually, she knows she shouldn’t feel this way, but tell that to her heart. Plus, why him? Sure, William is an okay guy, but he’s just…boring. She shakes her head, blowing out a huff of frustration as she swallows the remains of the numbing elixir. The last dregs of her second glass of scotch go down more smoothly than the first. 

Releasing yet another defeated sigh, she tries to massage the brewing headache from her temples. She purposely didn’t drink at the bar because she planned on bringing Kara back to hers tonight, planning to finally tell the blonde how she feels. Her eyes close and the scene from the bar rudely reminds her of her place in Kara’s life. Again. Not that she isn’t acutely aware of living in the friend-zone for years. She just wishes her heart would get the memo. Her traitorous brain wanders again.

Meeting her friends at the bar has become a common occurrence for Lena. It’s an almost weekly affair, every Friday they meet up at Al’s for happy hour, dancing, pool, and catching up on the happenings of all their lives outside their superhero antics. Recently, these nights have ended with Lena snuggled in Kara’s arms at either of their apartments. They usually end up going to brunch the next morning and spending most of their weekends together. While she realizes she should put an end to it before she obliterates her own heart, she’s not known for her self-preservation. So, she just continues to be gluttonous for the punishment she knows is coming. Maybe the punishment just arrived in the form of one William Dey. 

The scene keeps playing over and over. Torturing her barely beating heart.

As she walks into the familiar bar, she’s greeted with a series of hellos and waves, but the one that nearly stops her in her tracks is the wide, toothy, cock-eyed smile from her best friend. She thought after 6 years of near daily doses of that smile that it wouldn’t steal her breath and release an entire zoo of butterflies in her stomach. Nonetheless, here she stands, still suffering from both. She feels the heat rush to her cheeks and desperately hopes the dimness of the bar hides it well. Her steps falter when she sees William parked in her chair next to Kara. A sick feeling settles into the pit of her stomach. Attempting to keep her composure, she takes the empty seat next to Nia and across the table from the blonde. When she makes eye contact with Alex, it becomes clear that she didn’t cover her reaction as well as she’d hoped, the telling smirk on the elder Danvers face all the evidence she needs. She rolls her eyes at the redhead and lets her eyes settle on Kara again, barely containing the scowl begging to display itself on her face. 

Everyone quickly falls into their usual conversations, Lena does her best to keep her eyes trained on whomever she’s talking to, but every time Kara laughs or giggles at something William says it pulls her attention away. Each time her eyes fall on the two of them, her chest tightens, her stomach ties itself further into knots, and a lump works its way into her throat. Eventually, Nia drags her onto the dance floor, obviously attempting to distract her from her pathetic pining and barely contained jealousy. 

“You should just tell her, you know.” Nia states bluntly, an affectionate smile gracing her lips. “I promise you, Lena, she doesn’t want him.” They both glance over to the table where the two people in question are throwing their heads back in laughter.

Lena scoffs, her nose scrunching and lip lifting in a scowl of disbelief and disgust. “Really? Tell that to both of their faces and body language, Nia.” She rolls her eyes and turns her back to the table, unable to bear watching them any longer. “Besides, why the hell would I tell her now? She’s obviously either dating him or will be soon. I can’t risk our friendship now.”

Nia rolls her eyes, these two idiots are more oblivious than she initially thought. For a couple of geniuses, these two are dumb. “She feels the same way, Lena. I’m guessing she’s more afraid than you are after your last falling out.” She watches as Kara’s eyes flit over to them, a crinkle of concern adorning her face and her head tilting like she’s listening to something. She rolls her eyes again as she wonders if these two will ever figure their shit out. “She keeps looking over here at you. My guess is she can hear your heart rate spike.”

Lena’s heart sinks, she still forgets that Kara can hear her heartbeat and it makes her feel even more anxious than before. She realizes at that moment that she needs to leave, there’s no way she can spend the rest of the night watching the two of them together. In her panic, she manages to ramble out, “I can’t do this. I need to go, Nia. Tell everyone I said good night.”

Without waiting for a response, she bolts for the door, putting as much distance between William, his distractingly white teeth, and his annoying accent as possible. 

Shaking away the thoughts in an attempt to erase her evening, she heads back inside to refill her glass. She tops it off and makes her way back out into the breezy evening, retaking her place against the railing. It’s clear to her now that she is going to have to find a way to move on from the blonde. It figures that when she finally gets the guts to confess her love for her best friend, she starts dating someone else. She sighs, again. It’s her own fault, really. As confident as she is in many aspects of her professional life, when it comes to anything personal, she’s a fucking coward. Now she’s going to live the rest of her life regretting being such a goddamn scaredy cat. She growls as she knocks back her third glass of scotch for the evening, starting to feel the effects swimming through her veins.

Just as she is about to make her way back inside for the night, the sound of a familiar voice calling her name startles her so harshly that her fingers release the tumbler. All she can do is watch it make its descent toward the cement. The anticipated shattering of glass never happens though. Kara’s deft reflexes capture the highball before impact and sets it on the glass top table sitting next to the open balcony door. 

“I’m sorry, Lena. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Kara says with a crinkle between her eyes. She pauses to look at the raven haired woman standing close to the door, her hand resting over her heart and a wide-eyed, dazed look on her face. “You left the bar so quickly and without saying goodbye. Then you didn’t respond to my texts. I was worried. Are you okay?”

The injection of adrenaline coupled with the three glasses of scotch give Lena a sudden surge of confidence. “I’m fine, Kara. You seemed to be enjoying your time with William so I didn’t want to interrupt just to tell you I was leaving.” She grabs the glass off the table and stalks back into the penthouse without saying another word, fully expecting the blonde to follow. 

And she does, Kara follows closely behind her, stopping on the other side of the island as Lena washes and dries the highball, placing it back in its place. Leaning against the counter across from her best friend, she raises her signature brow in question, making Kara shift nervously. Her shifting movement secretly makes Lena giddy, even if she won’t admit it.

“A-are y-you sure you’re o-okay?” She stutters, unsure what to make of Lena’s demeanor, her sudden aloofness. “We always spend Friday night together and have brunch on Saturday. Y-you left without me.” She pouts, trying her best to stay put instead of running to Lena’s side. 

“As cozy and close as you two were, I figured you’d spend the evening with William. Have brunch with him instead.” Lena scoffs. She shifts her eyes down to her nails, picking at a non-existent hangnail. “I didn’t realize you had become so…close. Also thought you would have told me that you were dating him. Best friend privileges and all.” Waving her hand as nonchalantly as she can, a deep frown settles onto her face, no longer able to contain the sadness.  

“Lena…wh-what are you talking about?” A look of bewilderment and utter confusion sits on her face as blue eyes scan glassy green. “W-William and I aren’t dating. We’re just friends. W-why would you think we’re dating?” Her face scrunches and her head tilts, cerulean eyes still focused on her favorite green.

Lena blows out a raspberry of frustration, unsure how to put her current emotions into words. “Kara, anyone that was around you or saw you tonight would have assumed the same thing. The smiles, the laughter…the touching.” She scowls again as she barely whispers, “He was sitting in my seat.” Barely able to hold back the tears stinging her eyes, she pushes herself off the counter and heads toward her bedroom. Not only needing distance, but to change into her pajamas. 

Kara follows her into the walk-in closet, uncertain where the conversation is going and why Lena is so upset, but definitely determined to figure it out. “I’m sorry, Lena. I-I, um, planned on shooing him out of your seat. I even told him he would have to move when you got there. Then you sat next to Nia and seemed like you were having fun so I figured you were okay with it.” She nervously rubs her hand along the back of her neck, biting her lip in worry.

She dips her head, sighing as her hands reach out for Lena only to drop back to her side, unsure of whether it’s okay to touch the skittish woman in front of her. Still, she takes a few steps closer before softly speaking. “Um, I missed having you next to me. I like being close to you. When you went to dance, I kept hearing your heart rate spike, but I looked back over again and you were gone.” She pleads with her favorite person, eyes boring into raven locks. “Please talk to me, Lena.”  

Lena pauses, her hands fidget with the joggers and t-shirt she pulled out of her drawer while she attempts to gather her swirling emotions. Her head and shoulders slump forward and she releases a quiet sniffle, the tears that were stinging her eyes slowly begin to fall. Trying to channel the remaining adrenaline in her system, she takes a shaky breath and turns to face the woman she has been in love with for years. “You don’t get it?!” She pushes the drawer closed and angrily stalks out of the closet toward the ensuite, leaving a startled and fish-mouthed blonde in her wake. 

Tripping over her feet to catch up, Kara stumbles into the bathroom to an eyeful of her half-undressed best friend. Her eyes immediately dart to the ceiling and her cheeks turn a rosy, heated shade of pink. “I d-don’t understand, Lena. Did I do something wrong?” Her head tilts like a confused puppy as her eyes migrate back down to a still partially dressed Lena. Blue eyes freeze on the sheer expanse of exposed ivory skin as her mouth runs dry and she swallows audibly. “I, um, want to, uh…” Her words trail off as her eyes roam, mentally caressing every full curve and every ounce of exposed soft skin. 

Some of Lena’s ire simmers when she catches Kara essentially ogling her nearly naked torso. She’s still frustrated and the tears are still flowing, but the way those darkened blue eyes are combing over her body ignites something decidedly different. She shakes her head, needing to get herself together for the conversation that is coming. She turns away from the blonde’s roving eyes to drop her bra and pull the t-shirt over her head. 

Crossing her arms and leaning against the counter, she levels fiery green eyes at Kara. “You want to… what, Kara?” A perfectly sculpted dark brow raises, a silent question that causes the blonde to gulp. “You stopped in the middle of your sentence to ogle me. Are you going to finish what you were saying?”

“I was – I di –” She blows out an exasperated breath, realizing she has no excuse. “I’m sorry. That was inappropriate. I was going to say I want to fix whatever it is, but maybe I should just go. I’ve obviously upset you and made you uncomfortable.” She blinks owlishly, trying hard to prevent the welling tears from falling. 

Lena starts to panic. She doesn’t want Kara to leave, that’s the last thing she wants. “No, please. Don’t leave.” She blurts out, reaching for the blonde’s muscular forearm, stopping her movement. “C-can we just get ready for bed and then talk? Please.”

Kara nods her head and heads out of the bathroom to grab the pajamas she keeps at the apartment. Once they’re both changed, their teeth brushed, and faces washed, they stand in front of Lena’s bed in awkward silence. Normally they would crawl under the covers together and curl into each other with a movie or documentary playing in the background. Right now, neither of them know how to broach the ginormous elephant hanging out in the corner. 

Finally, Lena sighs and drags them both into the bed, crawling up toward the headboard. They both sit with their backs leaning back against the frame, pillows propped behind them. She twists her fingers together, a long held habit that still surfaces when she’s anxious. “I’m not used to having to share you with anyone else.” Lena says, barely audible, but she knows Kara hears her. “When I saw William in my seat and…saw him touching you, I just – I was jealous.” Her voice tapers off on the last word and her cheeks heat, flushing a deep red at her admittance. 

Kara’s eyes go wide. She can hardly believe what she’s hearing. Lena is jealous? Of William? Why would she be jealous? Wait…her head whips to the side to look at her best friend. She can’t help but grin at the blush adorning pale skin. She does her best to stifle it, but to no avail. “You’re jealous of William? Lena, he and I are just friends.” She reaches out to stop the twisting and fidgeting of Lena’s hands, placing her palm over them. “This feels like more than that. Do you want to tell me what’s really going on? Please.“

“Tonight was supposed to be special. I-I wanted to tell you something important.” Her eyes sting with tears again, she pulls her hands away from Kara’s wiping tears away in frustration. “When I saw you with him, it, well, it upset me because... because I wish it was me.” She sighs, her hands twisting nervously again. 

The room gets eerily quiet, nothing can be heard but Lena’s rapidly increasing breaths. She waits for what feels like hours, likely only seconds, before she looks up to see teary blue eyes staring back at her. She immediately panics, thinking that she has ruined their friendship. Her tears start falling and she starts getting up. Maybe she'll pack up and move to the U.K. 

Just as she begins pushing herself off the bed, Kara’s hands pull her back. She still keeps her eyes glued to her own hands, desperately avoiding the blues of the woman she just confessed to loving. She wants to avoid seeing the rejection she’s sure is coming. 

Warm fingers settle under her chin, gently lifting until teary azure meets watery green. Instead of the rejection she anticipated, she sees soft affection. They smile, tears streaming down both their cheeks. 

“You thought I was dating William and you wished it was you?” Kara asks, her voice laced with hope. “You, you would want that? To be with me like that?” Hopeful, watery blue eyes stare into anxious, yet hopeful green.

“Yeah. Y-Yes.” Lena nods in confirmation, a look of determination firmly on her face. “Of course, I want to be with you. Why wouldn’t I? Darling, of course I wish it was me.” She lets out a wet laugh, unsure how her night started so horribly and has ended like this.

Kara leans forward, pressing their foreheads together as her own wet laugh escapes. “I wish it was you, too.” Her hands lightly rest on Lena’s tear-stained cheeks, brushing away the fresh ones as they fall. “I’ve wanted it for so long, but didn’t want to risk losing you.”

“You wouldn’t lose me, Kara. No matter what happens, you won't lose me. Not again.” She takes a shaky breath, her hands wrapping around the blonde’s wrists. “I planned to tell you tonight when we got back here, it’s why I didn’t drink at the bar. I wanted you to know it wasn’t influenced by anything else.” She leans back, green eyes bouncing between the blue galaxies staring back. 

“What does this mean, Lena? Are you saying…” Kara swallows the nervousness crawling up her throat. “Do you – what are you saying?” She runs her thumbs across the soft skin underneath Lena’s eyes, never taking her eyes off her best friend's face. 

Lena smiles, leaning into the touch, briefly closing her eyes to take in the moment. She opens her eyes again to stare directly into Kara’s, wanting to make sure the blonde knows how serious her next words are. “I am saying that I love you. I’m in love with you. I’m pretty sure I have been since the day we met.” She breathes out, her head swimming from how close they are, how close their mouths are. Her eyes glance down to pouty pink lips and back before she finishes speaking. “I’m saying that I want to be the one you miss, I want to be the last face you think of when you fall asleep. I want to be yours.”

A soft gasp escapes Kara’s lips, her eyes glittering with fresh tears, and her face breaking into a wide smile as she whispers, “Lena… I love you, too. So much. I want all of those things.” She sniffles, carefully rubbing their noses together, so close that their lips graze causing them both to gasp. She whispers against the soft skin of Lena’s lips, “I’m already yours. My heart has always been yours, I just didn’t really know it until I lost you.”

With the last word, their lips brush again and Lena surges forward, pressing them together fully. The first press is chaste and firm. The second is yearning and desperate, fueled by all the years of self-imposed resistance. By the time they break apart for air, Lena is straddling Kara’s lap with her hands buried in golden locks. Kara’s hands are underneath the back of Lena’s shirt, wide palms pressed firmly into the warm skin of her back. 

“I’ve wanted to do that for years. It’s sooo much better than anything my imagination came up with.” Lena grins against Kara’s slightly parted lips. “There are a lot of other things I’m willing to bet are way better as well.” She smirks and leans forward, pressing another kiss to the blonde’s lips. 

An adorable grin spreads across Kara’s face. “I think we should explore all those things, don't you?” She pulls Lena closer, kissing the underside of her jaw and down the column of her neck. “We have the whole weekend, after all.”

Lena tilts her head to the side, giving Kara more access to her neck. She’s getting lost in the sensation when Kara stops and giggles. Lena leans back, glaring at the woman beneath her. “What is so damn funny? It better be good since you stopped making out with me.” She raises an eyebrow at the blonde, causing her to clear her throat and stop laughing.

“I was just thinking about the bar earlier. Thinking about how if you had stayed, you would have known William and I weren’t dating.” She smiles and places a sweet kiss on the tip of Lena’s nose. A mischievous grin spreads across her face. “He and I spent most of the night talking about work. And you know, his new girlfriend.” She smiles as Lena’s eyes widen and her mouth gapes. 

Kara laughs much harder, barely contained.

“You better be glad I love you.” Lena sighs and shoves the blonde down onto her back. It only takes a few seconds to quiet that smug laughter as it is quickly replaced with soft moans. 

Lena smirks, that's more like it.

They spend the rest of the night getting to know each other in a whole new way.

[bluegalaxygirl]

Ruthless (Zosan X Reader) P7

Plot: Beast off the walking dead series. After the governor attacks your people you head back to help plan an attack back. Luffy's not happy with being left out so ends up following only to end up at the governors town.

Warning: Violence, bad language and medical stuff.

Reader is a gunslinger of the crew and the younger sibling to Rick. This isn't accurate to the show but it does contain characters and plot lines, deaths have been added that aren't apart of the show. Zoro X Sanji X Reader, poly relationship, Established relationship, Reader is GN.

P1 - P2 - P3 - P4 - P5 - P6 -P8 - P9 - P10 - P11

Day 5

Nothing changed that day, their routine was normal and people came and went, Brook stopped by and told you about a show he was going to do with Beth tomorrow night and that he hoped you could be awake to see it. During the night Chopper came in to check on them all, Rick was the only one awake or at least trying to stay awake, he started spending more time with Carl and his daughter which tired him out. Your brother smiles at the reindeer before a look of shock covers his face, Hershel walks in behind the doctor on two crutches now being able to walk thanks to the antibiotics you brought when you first arrived. "Hershel" Rick laughs getting up and hugging the man waking Zoro and Sanji who where asleep in their normal positions. Upon seeing Chopper Sanji got up and sat on the metal chair so the doctor could jump up and do his job. Rick pulls away from Hershel and brings over his seat for the now one legged man to sit down on "I can't believe your up" Rick sighs helping the old man sit down, his white beard and hair have grown longer with all the time spent in bed. "I thought its about time i get my ass up and do some work" The old man laughed before turning his attention to Sanji and Zoro "I'll be helping Chopper look after Y/n, Take some weight off his shoulder" Chopper checks over your bandages before turning to Hershel "I'm glad for the help but i can take care of things" The doctor smiles turning back to you and checking your pulse "You need rest young man"

The old man sighs leaning back in his chair "And as for you three, i think its time we set up something more comfy, your stubborn" He turns to face Rick who crosses his arms over his chest "So i know you won't get up and leave for a night when you can be here so, we'll set something up, sleeping on the floor or on these chairs aren't good for you all" He was worried they would get overly tired or sore, and then he would have more people to take care off, plus he knew he would get an ear full form you if he let that happen. "Thank you" Sanji speaks up getting the old man's attention who nods at him. Zoro stands from the floor and walks up next to Sanji looking at Chopper "How are they?" He asks wanting to know what his doctor has to say now he's done. Chopper pulls the sheet back over you and takes his gloves off "Their good but if they don't wake up by tomorrow then i'm going to put a feeding tub down" Chopper sighs turning to the group with a small smile "But there is some good news if their breathing stays like this we can take the oxygen mask off" Zoro lets a smile form and squeezes Sanji's shoulder who reaches up and takes the swordsman's hand.

Day 6

You didn't wake up but Chopper and Hershel waited till the afternoon just in case. Rick watched over you and told you all about the baby girl and Carl, he even told you how the new farm was going along. When Zoro took over the two had quite a long chat about things, it seems this situation as bonded them a little, seeming to talk to each other more often and give a nod to each other every time they see each other outside the medical ward. Zoro sat on the bed holding your hand until Chopper and Hershel came in with a bunch of equipment but when Zoro didn't move Hershel placed a hand on the swordsman's shoulder " You should go and grab a drink of tea while we do this" The old man smiles only for Zoro to shake his head "No, i'm not leaving them" The green haired man's eyes never left your form but the old man sat down in the chair close to the bed and placed his hand onto Zoro's, getting him to look up finally "I understand your worried son but it's best if you go. We'll take care of them" He wanted to say more but didn't. Its very simple and easy when someone is unconscious and thats the problem, you expect someone to fight back a little at the uncomfortable feeling of a tub going through your nose and down your treat, but they don't and that can really upset people. "Please, Zoro" Chopper smiles getting the swordsman to sigh and stand up "Fine, how long?" Zoro groans slowly letting go of your hand "20 minutes" Hershel voices before Chopper can.

Once Zoro had left Chopper looks at the old man confused "I'll only take us two" The doctor whispers wondering why the man would lie "I know, but he needs a brake, plus it'll give the others time to set up the room without anyone in the way" Hershel smiles moving to sit on the bed, so he can assist Chopper. With the oxygen mask now off and a tub in your nose taped to your cheek they set up a bag to help feed you, Chopper stays on the bed with you while Maggie and Glen come in to help set up the room. They place a mattress on the floor at the end of the bed and cover it in sheets along with two pillows. The chairs are moved out and replaced with two wooden chairs along with a cushion on each. Zoro came back early to see Maggie and Glen coming out pushing the sheet aside "What's wrong?" His first instinct was that something happened to you but his fear faded when Maggie smiled at him "Nothing wrong, they just set up the room, made it more comfy" Hershel hobbles over with his crutches getting his daughter to turn and help him "Come on dad lets go" She whispers before walking with her dad out of the medical ward. Glen sighs and watches the two walk way "If you need anything just ask" The young man nods patting the swordsman on the shoulder before leaving.

The room was much more comfy now and felt a lot warmer, Zoro still opted to sit on the bed with you but used one of the blankets to keep himself warm until Sanji came in. "Wow, when did this happen?" The cook asks getting the swordsman's attention, Sanji looks around the room before looking down at you seeing you breathe without a mask. The cook can't help but smiles and lean down placing a soft kiss on the side of your parted lips. "Glen and Maggie did this" Zoro smiles a little happy to see the cook look less sad, he stands up and wraps the blanket he had on around the blondes shoulders "At least now we can get a good nights sleep" Zoro laughs pulling Sanji in for a hug who happily hugs back placing his head on the green haired man's shoulder. The mattress on the floor caught his eye, he liked being close to you but would often almost fall off or have a fear of leaning on you and hurting you in his sleep. Sanji pulls away and places a hand on Zoro's cheek before leaning in and kissing the man "I love you" Zoro lets out after the kiss before going back in for more, Sanji smiles and leans into it "I love you too moss head" The blonde teases only for Zoro to grab the cooks waist and squeeze a little, Sanji laughs and try's to pull away only for Zoro to pull him closer and start tickling the man. Its very rare for him to do this but the cook asked for it, and they both needed a moment of happiness "S-stop, I-Im so-sorry" Sanji calls out being pinned up against the wall as the swordsman stops.

The cook pants catching his breath while still being tense in case Zoro decides to start up again "Behave" The swordsman laughs placing his lips on Sanji's before walking over to you and placing a kiss on your cheek "You too" he jokes before moving some hair out of your face. After Zoro left Sanji sat in the new wooden chair holding your hand, he didn't have much to tell you so he opted to start reading the book that Robin brought a few days ago, It was some kind of poetry book she found in woodbury. He stopped reading when Rick comes in earlier than normal followed by Hershel "Hay, the show's going to start soon, thought you might want to come" Rick smiles seeing the room and you looking a lot better "No it's ok. I'll stay" Sanji smiles back looking down at the book in his hands "I'll watch over her son" Hershel hobbles in sitting on the other wooden chair and placing a hand on the cooks shoulder "Your captain dragged your boy away to join and i think it would be good if you go too" Sanji places a book mark in the book before closing it and turning to the old man then to Rick "Carl said i have to go but i just wanted to see them before i go" Your brother smiles placing a hand on your head "They look a lot better and Hershel's a good doctor, they'll be fine" Rick turns to Sanji before opening the sheet as the cook stands and places the book on the side table. "I'll be back later mi amore" He whispers placing a kiss on your cheek before leaving with Rick.

Hershel stayed with you for a few hours, the room silent since he wasn't much of a talker. Zoro and Sanji spent some much-needed time together along with the crew, they got to know your family a lot more too. Michonne had been working a lot with Zoro and training with him, but they didn't talk much outside of that until tonight, maybe it was the alcohol or the fresh vibe that got them talking to each other about the past but either way they got to know each other a lot more and had more respect for each other. Sanji liked talking with Maggie a lot, she was a sweet girl and took an interest in cooking even attending two of his lessons and being very good at it. He wasn't surprised when he found out she was in a relationship with Glen, he could see the way they looked at each other and was happy for them, but he was surprised how much him and Glen got on. The two didn't talk much but that night they did and found they had a lot of the same ideals and opinions. Rick spent time with Carl and his daughter and managed to finally chose a name for her, Carl was the one who suggested it and it just felt right. Sanji managed to get Zoro to dance with him during a slow song and took the moment to feel a sense of calm. It was a good night with lots of food, drinks and light music.

Day 7

After last night not many people wanted to do much, the booze from the sunny and what they took form woodbury plus the massive amount of food and late night made everyone want to crawl back into bed. Rick slept in one of the spare rooms in the medical ward after Michonne had to drag his drunk ass to bed while Sanji and Zoro slept on the mattress in your medical cell. Zoro flat out on his back snoring away while Sanji lay on top of him, the blankets all over the place, Chopper woke them up when he came in to put stuff in the food bag and was unsurprised how the two didn't have a hang over. Rick did have a small hangover but after a good sleep in and some coffee he felt much better and managed to get out of bed and sit in the chair in your medical cell "Party'd to hard i see" Maggie laughs walking in with Glen carrying plates of food "Oh i'm so sorry miss Maggie" Sanji stands from where he was sitting on the mattress, he didn't realize what time it was and missed making breakfast "Its fine don't worry, we can handle it for one day." she smiles making him sit back down and handing him a plate of food.

Glen hands a plate to Rick and then one to Zoro "We all got together and thought it would be good to practice the skills you've been teaching us and give you all the day off" The young man smiles going back to stand next to Maggie who puts down another vase of flowers which just so happen to be your favorite flowers. Zoro cracks a smile and swallows the food in his mouth "Where did you get them from?" The swordsman asks pointing his fork at the flowers, Maggie adjusts them a little before turning to the green haired man and then looking at Rick "well a local group came round to thank us for getting rid of the governor and gave us a bunch of stuff" Rick's eyes widen but Glen's quick to place his hand on the man's shoulder "It's ok, It's the group that lives in the mill" A sigh of relief leaves your brother mouth, that place is mostly full of farmers, and they've never caused a problem. "They gave us seeds and flowers plus some scrap metal we can use" Maggie smiles taking the finished plates off the three "Me, Glen, Michonne and Daryl have everything under control, plus the people we saved from woodbury have been helping clear out new areas thank to Andrea's leadership" The girl smile bring calm to the group "How is Andrea, i haven't seen or heard form her since we got back" Sanji asks earning a sigh form Glen who leans against the wall, he gives Maggie a nod letting her know he'll explain while she goes to do work.

The three watch the young man as he starts to explain "She's physically ok but mentally not so much, living with the governor this whole time has done some damage, and she told me that she feels like a failure for not stopping the governors plan. Apparently he's planned stuff like this in the past, but she managed to stop it or find a way to make it harder than it needed to be, so he'd back down. This time she wasn't in the loop so had no idea. She's doing what she can to make up for it, to make it up to Y/N and you Rick" Glen looks up form the floor to their leader who looks a little angry but mostly sad "Is that why she left?" Rick asks clenching his fists on his lap. "Yea, When everyone got sick she tried to convince the governor to help since he had the best doctors and medical equipment, he told her that if she joined his group and didn't tell them why then he would. She was shocked when i told her that we never got any help after she left, she was told they did send stuff but it didn't do any good" Glen looks over at you remembering how everyone yelled at her for leaving and not giving them a reason why yet you didn't, you hugged her and wished her well despite everyone being mad at you after words. "I remember Andrea saying they were close so i thought she would at least come and see Y/N but..." Sanji sighs looking down at you "I don't know, every time i ask her to come with us she refuses" Glen shrugs before pushing off the wall "I'll see you guys later, give you some piece before your bombarded again" Glen laughs before leaving.

During the afternoon people came and went, Nami and Robin came back to check on things along with Michonne and Daryl but there were a bunch of people that Zoro and Sanji didn't know. As the day was ending Sanji slept sat with his back to the wall on the mattress while Zoro was snoring in his lap, his face on the cooks stomach using it as a pillow. Rick sat on the bed holding your hand, you felt a lot warmer which was a good sign, but he was still worried. Some noise outside caught his attention and woke Zoro and Sanji up their heads turning to see the sheet move, "Carl?" Rick whispers standing up to stop his son form coming in only for Beth to step into view with the baby girl in her arms. "What are you doing here?" Your brother asks looking over the three kids "It's been a week, we want to see Y/N" Carl looks up at his dad pushing the sheriffs hat that Rick used to wear back, so he could see better. "Please" Beth's voice begged the man. Zoro got up and stretched before helping Sanji stand "Come on Rick, let them in" Sanji walks over placing a hand on your brothers shoulder, Rick thinks for a minute before stepping back and pulling up the chairs for the kids to it in.

Beth hands the baby off to Rick before sitting down with Carl "They don't look too bad" Carl smiles taking your hand making his dad laugh at the comment as he holds his baby girl. Zoro and Sanji have spent a lot of time with Carl, the boy wanted to help out so during the afternoon he likes to join Sanji's lessons and stays behind to help clean up, he likes to talk to the cook when he's having a smoke break outside since he's mostly alone then, but he also wants to help outside too. He helped take care of the walks by the fence at night but there have been less and less of them lately, so he's taken to helping Zoro take watch, its more of an excuse to get to know one of the man who's dating his auntie/uncle. He looks up to Zoro a lot since he's strong but also doesn't sugar coat anything not even to a kid. As for the baby the two boys only got a good look at her last night, Sanji thinks she's adorable while Zoro acts like he doesn't care but deep down he does thinks she's a cute baby.

Beth reaches over and places a hand on your head running it through your slightly matted hair, she sighs and takes out a brush from one of her pockets and sits on the bed next to your head starting to brush through your hair gently while humming. "They really do look a lot better than you decided" Carl points out looking at the three, Zoro told him more about your condition than his dad did, but he didn't want to call the swordsman out in front of him so the boy mainly looked at his dad who leans against the wall. "They do look batter but i was hoping you would wait a while longer" Rick scolds a little, but he can understand the need to see you, everyone else has, he just didn't want the kids being scared of all the iv's and bandages. Beth finishes brushing through your hair and places the brush down on the table "You should brush their hair daily so it doesn't get matted again" she looks up at the three with a stern look, for a 16-year old she acts more like a mother than a teen but then again she had grown up very fast in this world. Zoro lets out a laugh getting a glare from the blonde haired girl, he clears his throat and looks away "Sorry" he whispers trying to hold in his laughter. She doesn't scare him, but she reminds him of you and how you look at him when your mad. "Yes miss" Sanji slightly bows getting the girl to smile. "That's enough scolding us, lets go I'll take you guys to bed" Rick steps away from the wall walking over to the kids.

"Can we stay here tonight please?" Carl begs looking at his dad as Beth joins him "No- n-no" Rick stutters watching both kids start to give him their best puppy dog eyes, it's working too well, so he grits his teeth and looks away. Sanji grabs two blankets and walks over to the kids "I see no problem in it" The cook smiles putting a blanket around Carl and the other around Beth, your brother sighs giving in as he watches Carl take his hat off and lay it on the end of the bed "I'll take first watch" The young boy smiles leaning back in his chair while Beth takes your hand and lays her head down on the bed while sitting in the chair. "Take the mattress" Zoro walks over to Rick patting his shoulder, with the baby in his arms Rick sits down on the mattress and makes a little blanket circle around his baby, so she can't roll off the mattress before he lays down next to her and covers himself over. Sanji turns off the big light in the room only a lantern in on the side table lighting the small room before sitting down on the floor with Zoro. The two share a kiss before they snuggle up to each others side, Sanji lays his head on the swordsman's shoulder as Zoro pulls a blanket over their laps and places a kiss on the cooks head "Night" They whisper to each other before letting sleep over take them.

[georgiaswarr]

read an excerpt of my unfinished jadeellis fic

i started writing this over a year ago and kind of abandoned it, but with the iwbft reread happening i had to think about some of the scenes again, so i thought i'd post a part of it that i'd already written and really enjoy.

for context: jade and ellis met at a gala for the first time at the beginning of iwbft week and hit it off, ellis had a breakdown in the stairwell and jade calmed her down with chiquitita by abba.

Chapter 2

Wednesday 6 September

Rowan (11.43 am)

the boys&i are back in london now

can you come over soon? there’s a lot i need to talk about to be honest

Jade (12.15 pm)

I’ll come right after work!

Rowan (12.16 pm)

can’t wait! xxx

When she went to the boys’ apartment complex later that day, Jade was surprised to see Jimmy in the lobby in deep conversation with the doorman, Ernest. 

“Hi, Jimjam! Hi Ernest!”

Jimmy turned around and grinned at her.

“Jade!” He rushed up to her and they hugged each other.

“Good afternoon, Ms Omondi!” Ernest said.

“Hi! So all the cool people hang out in lobbies now, do they?”

“Yeah,” Jimmy said. “Lister accidentally broke something and I didn’t feel like dealing with the aftermath of that so I thought I’d catch up with Ernest a bit. But I’ll come up with you. I have to face the music eventually.”

“You know, somehow Lister breaking something in the first week of your hiatus is not very hard to believe.”

Jimmy snorted. “My thoughts exactly.”

The two of them said goodbye to Ernest, who made Jimmy promise to find him whenever things got unbearable in the Ark household, and stepped into the lift.

“So, how are you feeling after everything?” Jade asked on their way up to the flat.

Jimmy shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s all pretty weird right now. I don’t think I’ve fully processed everything that’s happened yet, to be honest.”

Jade ruffled Jimmy’s hair. “I’m sorry things are a fuckhub right now, Jimjam.”

Jade had always felt protective of Jimmy. Back when they both lived in rural Kent, they were two of the only out trans people in their town, so he’d often come to her for advice or when he needed to vent about cis people. Naturally, she’d immediately adopted him as her third little brother.

Jimmy smiled. “Thanks, Jade. We’ll get through it. With therapy and stuff.”

Jade chuckled as the two of them reached their floor and went to face the music.

Rowan, Lister, and, to Jade’s surprise, Cecily Wills, were on the second floor of the flat, standing in front of the crime scene. On the ground was a very expensive painting, knocked off the wall, frame smashed and torn right down the middle. Lister noticed Jade and Jimmy first and smiled at them bashfully. Jade stepped up behind Rowan and wrapped her arms around his waist. He jumped and turned around.

“It’s just me, mate.”

“Jade! Help us,” he pleaded and gestured to the wrecked painting with a look of despair on his face.

“What happened, then?”

“Allister over here just devalued a 10’000-pound piece of art,” Cecily jumped in.

Lister rolled his eyes. “In my defence, I’m the stab-ee with a broken leg, so this sort of thing is to be expected.”

Rowan nodded. “Yeah, it could’ve been much worse, Cecily.”

Lister stared at Rowan, surprised that he’d stand up for him.

“Of course.” Cecily sighed. “Just be more careful next time, babe. That charity auction with Jacques Flaubert was a big milestone in your career so I don’t know how I’m supposed to tell him we just broke his piece.”

“Maybe you just shouldn’t give a shit?” Jade suggested. Cecily raised an eyebrow. “I mean, didn’t you hear about Jacques Flaubert’s blatant aphobia?”

She frowned. “I did not.”

“He said some pretty fucked-up stuff about asexual people and refuses to apologise, so maybe it’s a good thing Lister broke that painting.”

Lister snapped his fingers. “Exactly! We don’t support aphobia in this house!”

“Plus, you’re superstars, so if anything a tear in the painting will increase its value,” Jade continued. “‘Expensive painting broken and patched up by boyband auctioned off for tons of money’ has a certain ring to it, doesn’t it?”

“Jade, you are speaking my language,” Lister said. Jade winked at him, which made his grin even wider.

“Alright, I’ll go put this painting somewhere safe for the time being. Jimmy, make sure Lister doesn’t break anything else on his way through the flat,” Cecily ordered.

“What, why me?” Jimmy said.

“Because Rowan needs a well-deserved time-out to talk to his sister.”

“Are you saying you don’t want to spend time with me?” Lister asked Jimmy. His tone was teasing, but Jade sensed some genuine hurt behind the question.

“Of course not! Come on, let’s go to the kitchen.” Jimmy touched Lister’s back and guided him to the stairs while Cecily picked up the shredded painting and followed them.

Once all three of them were out of sight, Jade turned to Rowan to finally get a good look at him. He looked tired. His hair, which had previously been in twists, was undone and he still had traces of a healing wound where the brick had hit him.

He smiled at her weakly. “Hi.”

“Hi. Wanna play dark souls?”

***

“So, how exactly did Lister end up breaking a 10’000 pound piece of art?” Jade was standing in front of Rowan’s impossibly large window and looking at the London skyline while Rowan was installing the video game.

“He was prematurely trying to be independent and walk up the stairs alone. Next thing you know our flat is in need of some new decoration. You coming?”

“Sure.” Jade took one last good look at the stunning view, then she sat down next to Rowan on his bed, leaning against the headrest, and grabbed the controller he was offering her. Rowan pressed play and the screen started to load. “To be completely honest, though, I would’ve expected you to be much angrier at Lister for that. What happened to the guy who didn’t talk to his bandmate for several months after the suitcase incident?”

“Come on, I’m not that mean. We’ve all been through a lot these past few weeks. I don’t blame him for trying to regain some sense of control.”

“Shit, when did you turn into a psychoanalyst?”

“I don’t know. Scary stuff.”

Jade chuckled. “So… speaking of going through a lot… wanna talk about what’s been happening?”

Rowan nodded slowly and paused the game. “What do you need to know?”

“Well, I haven’t really heard much from you except that you’re okay. Physically, at least. I mostly know what the general public knows.”

“Yikes, Jade, we can’t have you compare yourself to the general public.”

And so Rowan told her everything that happened. From the intimate details of their lives being leaked to the press, to the awful meet-and-greet, them almost being forced to sign their lives away with the new contract, Jimmy running away to their hometown, Bliss ending things with him and how Lister wound up with a broken leg and a stab wound. 

“So yeah, now we’ve decided to go on hiatus for the foreseeable future.”

“That’s a good thing though, right? I mean, you all deserve a shitload of rest after everything.”

“Yeah! I mean, of course. But… I don’t know.”

“But what?”

“Well… I feel like having all this free time might mean we have to… face some stuff. Like, Jimmy and I had the worst fight of our lives, which we haven’t even talked about yet, I have no fucking idea where… everything has left Lister and me, and I just... really miss Bliss. I mean, now that we’d actually have time to see each other it doesn’t amount to anything anymore.”

Rowan. Even after going through the worst week of his life, all he thought about was other people. “But you’re still friends, right? So you will still see each other?”

Rowan shrugged. “We haven’t really talked since. And I think I need a bit of time to get over her, to be honest.” He looked down at his hands and blinked.

“Come here.” Jade opened her arms to her brother and he sunk into them, finally letting his tears fall freely.

“I think it’s good that you’re on hiatus. It means I get to see you more.”

Rowan chuckled through his tears. “I’m quoting this back at you next time you get annoyed at me for throwing a shell at you in Mario Kart.”

Jade laughed. “Oof, dug my own grave there.”

For a while, they stayed in the same position, allowing Rowan to calm down. Finally, he declared, “I think I want to cut my hair and dye it pink.”

Jade raised an eyebrow at him. “So basically like my hair?”

“Um, no… there’s many different shades of pink, Jade.”

“Right, of course.”

“I’d dye it pink even if your hair was a completely different colour!”

Jade threw her hands up. “Yes, yes! Of course! Do what you want!”

“Yes! Thank you!”

Jade snorted while Rowan rolled his eyes, a smile on his lips.

“You know, Alex is gonna miss redoing your twists every few weeks, though. Just FYI.”

“How would you know what Alex would miss?”

“He told me when I saw him the other day. He said ‘Jade, you know what the best part of my job is? Doing your baby brother’s hair. I’d just hate to lose that last shred of joy’,” she said in a dramatic voice.

“Well, it’s not like there’ll be that much styling in this band for the time being anyway. Besides, Lister’s hair really seems to be growing out, so I’m sure he’ll find plenty to do there.”

“Yeah, but that’s white people hair.”

“Good point. I’m still changing mine though.”

“Of course. I’m sure you’ll look great either way.”

“Thank you. I know.” They grinned at each other. “When did you see Alex?”

“Oh, I ran into him at this gala the other week.” Jade thought back to their last interaction. Shortly after listening to Chiquitita with Ellis, Alex texted Ellis that he wanted to leave. Jade didn’t want to intrude so she stayed behind. That was more than three weeks ago and she hadn’t spoken to either of them since.

Speaking of Ellis...

“I just thought of someone who could help you out with that newly empty wall.”

[wuornosblog]

5-8-92

Dear Dawn, Its just me again. Trying answer up to all your letters. Good Mornin by the way its 6:35 A.M. . . . OK! answer to what makes everyone classify me as a Seriel Killer? Well actually no one had. The cops labeled me this on the fact that a number of men where killed . . . For Seriel Killers—Real ones stalk as often as they can. And if theres a cooling off period its only in a matter of days. Not months. Plus there brutal in these deaths. These men where never tortured nor dismembered. Richard Mallory raped me. Where as he tied me to the steering wheel, then proceeded to vaginally and anally rape me. For nearly 2 hours. Then after he was done. He put rubbing Alcohol he had in a visine bottle. The bottom my nose, vagina and anus. This was excurciatingly painfull. But more so in my ass. Because he tore me up bad. I never had sex like that. I never allowed exotic wierd stuff while I husseled. Just Clean stuff. Well after his attack. It wasnt untill 6 months later I’d meet another one. And thee others were 2 to 3 months apart. I was meeting strangers more so then my regulars during the last year of ty and I’s relationship. Because my regulars most of them where at “Desert Storm” now . . . The other question. Is why cant people see it was Self defense. Is because the crooked scum. Started slashing slanderous crap all through the media, and Magazines . . . The producers working with Munster horzepa Thompson and others involved, told them . . . that the public would have to believe I was a Seriel Killer . . . The thing is. The movie is totally a made up lie. And goes 200% against all I told them in my confessions. What really makes me sick, is that every time I was trying to recollect an incident and get into the rape. I was cut off… Only being asked Callous question such as how many times did you shoot him? and where did you leave there bodies? And there cars Where did you ditch them at? . . . They were pissed off every time I tried telling the real realities of the situations which were events that were also hard to remember. Cause I was always drunk during the attacks. I drank in front and with all my clients. I was a beer alcoholic for 14 years. Also in the three hours interview. I was going through withdrawals and slight D.T.s. At one point. I saw what looked like worms crawling on the floor in the corner. Just for a second. Between the pressure of stress, hysteria the trauma of it all, and withdrawing it made me really to upset to relate things coherently or competent. They knew it too. And kept stokien me . . . So this is part of the deal. But theres hundreds more of deception they used against the true facts of Self defense . . . One major one is. I kept all weapons each guy used against me. Which were in storage. If I should ever get caught or turn myself in. The weapons can’t be found. Yet tyria knows they were put in there. Its really sick . . . She knows its self defense. But of course is denying . . . as I said before. A conviction has to occurr, and the public has to believe its Seriel to apply for a box office hit. Whereas you can imagine. Rambo brought in 20 million the first 4 weeks it was out across America. So First Female Seriel Killer. “Got it” OK! Thats the whole deal. Well Dawn last page. I’ve got ya pretty well on a bit of understanding whats going on. Theres so much more though. The crookedness would take days to explain. But its soon to “all” come out in the wash. Through investigations and a book I’ll be writting on it. “Sound off”. Gotta Go Gal. I love you too. By the way buddy! I always cared about you, and thought about you on many many occasions. You take GOOD. care of yourself. 4-now Love Lee

[nokingsonlyfooles]

WTYP: The Shandor Building, Part 10

[Do you like the colour of the fanfic? This is long and if you expand it you're gonna get the whole thing, because Tumblr hates you. Don't say I didn't warn you!]

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9

Part 10: Disaster Roulette: DEATH and Abigail Thorn

[Beware of strong language, mention of all kinds of death, gore, and Lovecraftian horror.]

[SLIDE: Darkness, with the All Hail Gozer logo in the corner.]

A: What the fuck? Isn’t it my pick again? Are we back on the fucking Kursk? [starting to panic] Are we all out of picks? Is this an endless loop? Oh my God… I’m not running Unreal Engine anymore!

D: Hang on, hang on… Laptops open, everyone! Are we all here?

L: We’re here! But, uh…

R: We’re on a sofa.

A: The Kursk doesn’t have a fucking sofa!

[footsteps, rustling]

R: I found a lamp…

D: I’ve got a light switch over here…

[click]

L: It’s a house?

D [annoyed]: It’s a flat.

A: Sort of a nondescript twee little flat…

R: There’s a microwave, and some dishes…

L: Is that Thomas the Tank Engine over there?

A: Where the hell are we?

L: Gandalf, buddy, is this your place?!

D: What does a lamassu want with a sofa and a microwave?

L: Comfort and convenience, my friends. Comfort and convenience!

A: And Thomas the Tank Engine?

L: Maybe he likes trains, I dunno…

A: Do you smell something burning?

R: [sniffing] Smells like… Substandard aluminum composite rain screen cladding?

A: GET OUT RIGHT NOW! DO NOT SHELTER IN PLACE! GET OUT NOW!

[SLIDE: The Grenfell Tower Fire.]

[running, scuffing, door slam]

[coughing]

L: FUCK!

A: Oh, fuck, oh…

R: Stuff that throw rug under it!

D: Who picked this? We wouldn’t pick this! We’d never…

L: We’ve had four picks, right, guys? The Kursk, the Silver Bridge, the Atmospheric Railway and Frankford Junction…

D: So shouldn’t it loop back around to Alice?

A: I didn’t pick this.

L: I think… I think Gozer picked this.

A [resigned]: Yeah. I mean, xe seems very into fire. And strategically speaking…

D: Can you see out the window? Are we over the 11th floor?

A: It doesn’t matter, no one’s coming to rescue us. If it’s any consolation, the smoke will probably get us before… before anything more dramatic happens.

D: Don’t give up! Don’t lose hope! It’s still before dawn, we’ve got time — we’ve got hours! As long as we keep podcasting…

L: Dev…

A: Dev, we barely made it through this one in the first place…

D: But you did make it through! We can do this! We know we can do this! We… We have pitch black senses of humour and indomitable human spirits. There is nothing we can’t laugh at. How… How is this any worse than the existential trauma of hurtling through space on a lonely planet with full knowledge that you and everything you ever loved or cared about will inevitably die? Our situation is fundamentally pointless and absurd, and this is how humanity copes! Fuck Gozer! Somebody make a joke about how many Xboxes you could buy with the government’s totally inadequate restitution and let’s go!

[brief silence]

D: Come on! This isn’t worse than Aberfan! This isn’t worse than fucking Bhopal!

L: We didn’t have to sit in an apartment in Bhopal and stare at some probably-dead kid’s Thomas the Tank Engine.

D: Rocz! You spent over a minute cackling after you found out Ruth Bader Ginsberg just died! Surely you…?

R: While it is often said that comedy equals tragedy plus time, I believe it may be more accurate to express “time” as “distance.” Laughter, as we call it, is the sound of a shock-induced dislocation of the human soul. In a community, laughter is validating; it’s a sign we all understand something is very wrong here, but it’s far enough away not to be hurting us at the moment. With laughter, we affirm our collective purpose and strength. In the matter of Notorious RBG or climate change or the heat death of the universe, we have room to seek that community with each other before the consequences hit. But this… I’m sorry, Dev. This is just too close.

A: It is oddly peaceful, though. I mean, the inevitability.

R: Yeah.

D: This can’t be what kills us! This is only… This is only… the government-sanctioned murder of over seventy human beings in need of housing assistance, at least one of whom was a child who likes trains…

[brief silence, quiet sniffling]

L: It’s all right, Dev. You did your best. We went out swinging.

A: If it’s any consolation, Ishtar’s probably not going to let this stand.

R: Yeah. Just, not much she can do with a pocket dimension.

D: What do you want to do? We’ve probably got hours…

A: Well, I have a few emails I’d like to write.

L: Yeah… I mean, it’s your prerogative, but I’m not gonna tell anyone I’m trapped in a pocket dimension and they can’t help us. Just, ya know, gonna try and keep it positive.

A: Yeah…

[typing sounds]

D: I… [weak laugh] I suppose I’d better let Abi know we won’t be in to record next week…

A: Oh, that’s thoughtful of you, Dev. Thanks.

[typing sounds]

A: Does anyone want to listen to some Mountain Goats?

R: We don’t have the rights.

A: Yeah, [laugh] but, we’re probably not going to get a chance to post this, so…?

[muffled ringing]

A: What’s that?

L: It’s my pocket…

D: Your pocket’s not ringing, it’s the cursed phone!

[beep]

L: Uh, hello?

[muffled, irritated phone voice]

L: Uh, no, they’re right here, though… Dev? It’s for you.

D: Hello?

[unintelligible, but very annoyed, phone voice, which continues intermittently throughout]

D: [sigh] No. No, Abi. I’m sorry. I promise, I did not make you watch the entire Bourne Identity TV series for a prank. No. No, we do not have covid. Or Vigo. No, um, I do understand you can’t do a podcast with one person, but, er… To be perfectly honest, we’re both about to die in a pocket dimension and then Ishtar and Gozer are probably going to have it out, so… Er, Gozer the Gozerian? Um…? No, xe can’t come to the phone right now… Because xe has taken the form of the Grenfell Tower Fire and… Um, hang on…

[beep]

Abigail Thorn (ABI): I SAID PUT ME ON FUCKING SPEAKER! AM I ON SPEAKER?

D: Yes.

A: Hi, Abi!

ABI: [cheerfully] Hi! [back to being annoyed] GOZER, WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?

G: UH, BATTLING THE GODS OF THIS WORLD FOR SUPREMACY? WHO IS THIS, PLEASE?

ABI: MY NAME IS ABIGAIL THORN, I AM THE AVATAR OF ISHTAR WHO IS TALKING NOW, MY PRONOUNS ARE SHE AND HER AND I AM FUCKING ANNOYED!

A: What?

G: Oh? Abi? Hi! [clearing throat] OBVIOUSLY I WAS NOT GOING TO DESTROY YOU OR ANY PART OF KILL JAMES BOND, HA-HA. BIG FAN OF YOUR SUFFERING! SO, UH, IS THERE SOME OTHER PROBLEM?

ABI: YOU’VE GOT TWO-THIRDS OF KJB TRAPPED IN SUBSTANDARD PUBLIC HOUSING AND YOU’RE ABOUT TO SET THEM ON FIRE — THERE’S YOUR PROBLEM, YOU DAFT FUCKING ENBY!

G: WHAT? [slightly lower voice] WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE, AGAIN?

A [automatically]: My name is Alice Caldwell-Kelly, I am the person who is talking now, and my pronouns are she and her.

D: I, er… I’m Dev. Devon.

L: I’m Liam Anderson…

G: SHUT UP. NOBODY CARES.

A [faintly]: Yay, Liam.

G [sheepish]: TERRIBLY SORRY, THEY DIDN’T DO THEIR INTROS.

R: Fuck.

G: BUT NO HARM DONE!

A: I am traumatised and covered in horse viscera.

D: I’m questioning the meaning of my existence. Also, Abi never told us she was an avatar of Ishtar and… I think I’m a bit hurt by that?

A: Yeah. I mean, I assumed she was an avatar of something, but she might’ve specified…

G: ALL RIGHT, A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF HARM DONE, BUT NOTHING IRREPARABLE! DO I, ER, HAVE THE “ALL CLEAR” TO KILL THE OTHER TWO?

A & D: NO!

ABI: STOP TRYING TO END THE WORLD, YOU CUNT! I TOLD YOU, I AM STILL USING IT!

G: [sigh] HANG ON.

Part 11

[zylian]

Current thoughts: Speptical & Subz duo Pokémon trainers au on an adventure around the world meeting other trainers.

—— Story Details w/ everyone——

The story follows Subz & Spep accidentally seeing legendaries, realizing what it meant cause of the stories they heard and decided to try and avoid it by travelling together instead of fighting each other.

They casually adventure together while meeting everyone and seeing huge fights from afar and debating if they want to join in.

They are in their own world and one time Speptical called them main characters jokingly and they got jumped by grunts so now they try to mind their business and vibe.

Literally everyone else deals with the whole world ending stuff and Subz & Spep just happen to be there to help out a little before dipping.

Some facts that have occurred during this thought:

Mid is a professor with her assistant 4c who set Subz and Speptical on their adventure in the first place.

Vortex gives Speptical a Pokémon egg which Speptical freaks out about and when the egg hatches the Pokémon gets attached to Subz instead of him (They left the egg at a daycare cause Subz didn’t want it and Speptical could not leave it in a box)

Poafa got chased by grunts and let Subz and Spep “save” him (they did not have a choice) so whenever they cross paths he tells them about the news regarding what’s happening plus some revives & potions

Cube is the professor that gets held hostage along the way somehow

Ashswag is the one who figured out who the evil ppl were & how they were abusing/using Pokémon to harass others

Roshambo and Mapicc are the duo trainers that constantly argue while trying to go defeat a gym

Princezam is one of the water gym leaders that got dragged out of his gym to adventure with Mapicc & Ro after he successfully stopped their argument one time

Clutch, Planet, Vitalasy & Parrot are apart of the elite four (they barely get along)

Jaron is the travelling gym leader that is extremely hard to track down

Rekrap is in the snowy mountains learning stuff and has a red gyarados, he has no idea anything is happening

Reddoons is looking for legendaries and is stoked to find out Subz and Spep saw some and took them to his gym (he’s a gym leader) to learn more ((they accidentally learn more than they wanted to from this exchange))

Bacon somehow is always getting involved with the grunts, one time Subz & Spep arrived to see Bacon wipe the floor with the grunts and wave at them as they passed by (he also manages the shops occasionally) ((an all rounder))

Minutetech is an ex grunt turned good guy, he has a dramatic story that Subz, Spep, Zam, Mapicc & Ro did not stay to listen to.

JumperWho is on a mission to get back her partner Pokémon that the grunts stole from her. Spep feels bad and drags Subz to go help her raid one of the grunts bases, it’s extremely successful. Subz gets a ghost Pokémon and Spep gets a fairy Pokémon out of it.

Woogie cares too much about Pokémon and takes care of abandoned ice Pokémon, he gets mistaken as the ice gym leader way too often

Branzy own the Pokémon day care but he has way too many detailed stories that make everyone believe he’s hiding something (he’s not)

Terrain is a gym leader that closely cares for his original 6 Pokémon, he’s successfully avoided any and all grunts

Spoke is the one to have a pikachu buddy, he’s constantly around and he shocks anyone for “fun”, he has access to many things and no one knows how. He does have legendary Pokémon Zapdos in his top 6

Leo is the ex champion who used to be the electric gym leader, he’s on vacation through all of this and is only ever on calls giving advice as he’s not in the region (he does not want to fly over no matter what Vitalasy says to him)

Pangi is THE Pokémon teacher, very knowledgeable and has taught almost all trainers. Started the Sandshrew fan club.

Clown is currently participating in tournaments with his Pokémon, he claims that his Pokémon are not only really strong but are also talented, cute and overall better than everyone’s Pokémon.

[yeonchi]

Doctor Who 10 for 10 Part 6/10: Series 6

We’re halfway through this series now, something I never thought I’d see this time last year. Series 6 of Doctor Who saw the series reaching new heights as it became more popular around the world, however it also saw the start of a misstep that led to the series not being broadcast at the same time each year, snowballing to the point where by the end of Chibnall era, we didn’t really know what was going on or have a clear timeframe when the next series would begin.

The misstep I’m talking about is the decision to split the series in two, with the first seven episodes premiering in April 2011 and the last six episodes premiering in August 2011. Admittedly, the wait wasn’t that egregious given both halves were only broadcast two months apart (but what would I know, I’d only just started following the series), but the split in Series 7 would be even more egregious. Anyway, let’s just jump into the retrospective for Series 6.

1. The international appeal

Series 6 saw a renaissance of popularity for Doctor Who in the US with episodes being broadcast on BBC America on the same day as the UK, something that the ABC in Australia wouldn’t see until Series 7 (albeit online at first). BBC America didn’t begin having the rights to the revived series until 2006 alongside a number of PBS stations, which broadcast the series at different times. It was only in 2010 that BBC America finally began to do a fast-tracked broadcast with the Christmas Special, A Christmas Carol.

In an effort to make the series accessible to newer audiences, broadcasts of Series 6 in the US would have a short narration from Karen Gillan as Amy before the opening titles, featuring a montage of footage from Series 5 episodes. This narration would appear in Australian broadcasts as well, among other countries. Although diehard fans didn’t like it because it was stating the obvious, Moffat made it clear that he was asked to write the narration for international broadcast, stating that even RTD loved it as well. I didn’t really mind the narration myself, plus I can see how that combined with the opening titles makes the series seem more like a US show.

A main complaint of the BBC America broadcasts (and also the Canadian broadcasts on CBC and Space, now the CTV Sci-Fi Channel) was the commercial breaks due to them not being public television channels (et tu, CBC), which was why American (and Canadian) fans rejoiced when the RTD2 era was announced to be exclusive to Disney+, not knowing that Australians would no longer be able to watch the same era for free. Is this a small price for Australians to pay for the convenience of the rest of the world? I would say no because there’s no reason why the series should become streaming-exclusive everywhere else when BBC One would still be airing it in the UK.

2. Doctor Who Experience

Doctor Who has had exhibitions in the UK over the years, but 2011 saw the opening of the Doctor Who Experience, the only dedicated semi-permanent exhibition (to date) which has been publicised by the BBC. The Doctor Who Experience initially opened at London Olympia in February 2012 before it closed a year later. It was then moved to Porth Teigr in Cardiff in July 2012 for a 5-year lease before it closed in September 2017.

The Doctor Who Experience had an interactive adventure portion before two floors of exhibitions. Matt Smith contributed to the narrations as the Eleventh Doctor before Peter Capaldi took over the narrations as the Twelfth Doctor from 2014. The exhibitions contained a large number of props that the BBC had in storage, with new props being made available as each series finished broadcast.

It’s such a shame that something like this wasn’t done in the Chibnall era, not that it would have helped it significantly. In Year 10 of high school, I remember talking with a couple of my friends about a potential Schoolies trip where one of the stops would be the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff, but we didn’t have the money nor the willpower to make it happen, plus one of my friends moved schools and we grew distant, to say the least.

3. Death of the Doctor

In October 2010, the Doctor appeared in the SJA episode Death of the Doctor, reuniting with Jo Jones and Sarah Jane Smith, but that’s not what this is about. Elizabeth Sladen died a few days before Series 6 premiered, hence the series premiere was dedicated to her.

While Amy and Rory are watching the Doctor waving at them throughout history, they receive a TARDIS blue envelope with an invitation inside containing a date, time and coordinates. River also receives the same envelope from her cell in Stormcage. The three of them meet the Doctor in Utah on 22 April 2011 and they take him to Lake Silencio, where they have a picnic before the Doctor intended to take them on a trip to space 1969. When an astronaut emerged from the water at 5:02 PM, the Doctor went to it and it killed him by shooting him, then shooting him again before he was able to regenerate. An old man named Canton Everett Delaware III provided Amy, Rory and River with some petrol to burn the Doctor’s body before telling them that they would see him again. River noticed that Canton had a TARDIS blue envelope numbered 4 and wondered who had the envelope numbered 1.

At a diner, Amy, Rory and River discovered that that person was in fact a younger version of the Doctor, who was inexplicably alive, and told him that they were recruited for a mission in space 1969. The Doctor was initially reluctant to go to 1969, but Amy managed to convince him to go. Sneaking into the Oval Office, the Doctor was eventually caught by the younger Canton and President Nixon, who were listening to a recording of a call that a little girl made to the latter. Canton joins the Doctor, Amy, Rory and River as they head to Florida to find the little girl. During this, they encounter creatures that they forget once they look away from them.

Following an accident in a warehouse involving the little girl in an astronaut suit, the Doctor and the others investigated the Silence for the next three months, even staging a nationwide search of Amy, Rory and River by Canton and the FBI while the Doctor was being held prisoner in Area 51. Once they were all sealed in a cell of dwarf star alloy, the Doctor, Amy, Rory and Canton escape in the TARDIS, find River and summarise their findings. The Silence had been on Earth since the beginning of humanity, manipulating its development down to the Moon landing because they needed a spacesuit.

When Amy was kidnapped by the Silence while trying to track down the little girl, Canton managed to take a video of a Silent telling him that they should kill his kind on sight. The Doctor had him splice that footage to Apollo 11 just as Neil Armstrong was taking his first steps on the Moon, ordering the execution of the Silence for generations to come. The Silence were defeated and the Doctor and the others left.

The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon is the first two-parter to open a series. It continues the “Silence will fall” story arc of the last series and ups the stakes by putting the Doctor in a situation that his past self needs to get around. The story was filmed in Utah in a co-production with BBC America to capitalise on the growing popularity of the series’ revival in the US.

4. Prequelmania

Series 6 began a Moffat era tradition of “prequels”, which are short clips made for certain episodes that should really be considered prologues to them. They were released online on the BBC Doctor Who website (with some on YouTube) and later released on streaming services and home media. Other shorts not related to those episodes were also released and are known as mini-episodes, or minisodes. This is another tradition of the Moffat era that was sadly reduced or cut during the Chibnall era.

The shorts provide good bonus content for the series, so I’m not complaining. The only thing I would have preferred is if the preludes/minisodes relating to The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe, The Magician’s Apprentice and The Pilot were actually integrated into their respective episodes.

5. The mystery of River Song revealed

As part of the decision to split Series 6 into two, there would be a mid-series finale and premiere. Apparently this was on the request of Steven Moffat to allow for this series’ story arcs, though there is speculation as to whether this was done to avoid ratings slumps both midway into the series and coming into the summer months. Mind you, based on what the ratings would show, it didn’t really work and ratings slumps would continue to show whether the production team liked it or not. According to Steven Moffat, he considered this split as “two separate series” and considering what we would see the next year in Series 7, I agree with his observation.

The Doctor first suspected something was wrong with Amy after she told him that she was pregnant then later denied it. He secretly ran a scan on Amy and became disturbed to find that she was both pregnant and not pregnant. Later, after an encounter with Flesh Gangers that was not entirely unplanned, the Doctor managed to cut off their signal to Amy, who had been held in Demon’s Run all this time, overseen by Madame Kovarian, and was about to give birth upon awakening.

Over the next month, the Doctor assembled an army to rescue Amy and scare whoever kidnapped her. His army included a Silurian, Madame Vastra; her human maid, Jenny Flint; a Sontaran, Strax; Henry Avery and the crew of the Fancy from The Curse of the Black Spot; “Danny Boy” and two more Spitfires from Victory of the Daleks; Dorium Maldovar and armies of Silurians and Judoon. Rory attempted to recruit River, but she told him that she couldn’t be there until the very end. Production-wise, Moffat wanted to include Jack Harkness as well and have him be beheaded by the Headless Monks so that he would become the Face of Boe, but John Barrowman was filming Torchwood: Miracle Day so he was not available, and thus the theory remains unconfirmed.

As Colonel Manton speaks to the Church Clerics and Headless Monks about the Doctor, the Doctor reveals himself disguised as one of the Monks as his army appear on Demon’s Run. In the course of 3 minutes and 42 seconds, the Doctor and his army managed to subdue the soldiers and capture both Colonel Manton and Madame Kovarian. After the Doctor told Manton to order his troops to run away, thereby claiming Demon’s Run without a drop of blood spilled, the Doctor learns from Vastra and Dorium hacking into Kovarian’s files that Amy and Rory’s child, Melody Pond, is actually part-Time Lord, eventually leading him to realise that she was the little girl he was looking for back in 1969 America. Kovarian reveals that she managed to fool the Doctor twice as Melody is also revealed to have been a Flesh Ganger, the real one having been with Kovarian for some time. River then arrives on Demon’s Run and revealed to the Doctor, Amy and Rory that she was, in fact, Melody, which led the Doctor to set out in search for her.

After waiting through summer, Amy and Rory caught the attention of the Doctor in the hope that he would have news about Melody, but the Doctor was unsuccessful in finding her. Their friend Mels appeared, having followed Amy and Rory, and demanded a ride in the TARDIS, suggesting that they head to World War II to kill Adolf Hitler. Following an incident in which Mels shoots the time rotor of the TARDIS, the TARDIS crashes into Hitler’s office in 1938 Berlin, knocking over a humanoid ship named the Teselecta. The occupants leave the smoking TARDIS before they realise who they just saved. The Teselecta gets up and Hitler shoots at it, but Mels gets hit by a bullet in the confusion, resulting in her regenerating into her River Song incarnation; the last time she regenerated was in New York in 1970.

Following her regeneration, River, who thought that name was stupid at the time, tries to kill the Doctor, only to have her attempts foiled by him. She eventually succeeds in doing so when she briefly pecks the Doctor on the lips, causing him to be poisoned. In the ensuing 32 minutes (or so) before the Doctor dies, River goes to the Hotel Adlon and robs the diners of their clothes while Amy and Rory are captured by the Teselecta. The Teselecta attempts to execute justice on River when the Doctor shows up. Through the Teselecta, the Doctor learns that the group who wants him dead is the Silence, who believe that silence will fall when the question is asked. As the Doctor continues to die, the Teselecta executes justice on River again, but Amy manages to turn the ship’s antibodies against its crew, forcing them to evacuate. River manages to use the TARDIS to rescue Amy and Rory before they are taken back to the Doctor. After whispering something into River’s ear, the Doctor dies. River asks who River Song is and Amy has the Teselecta show her form, which leads River to use up all her regenerations to resurrect the Doctor (but it doesn’t give them to him, which is something more relevant for the next series). River is left in a hospital with a blank diary to document her encounters with the Doctor before she is seen enrolling into Luna University in 5123, studying a degree in archaeology.

A Good Man Goes To War and Let’s Kill Hitler fully reveals the mystery behind River Song and adds some more context for the Doctor’s impending death as a fixed point in time. Admittedly, this is something that the Timeless Child revelation years later ruins because it misses the point of the Time Lords already being above humanity.

6. Bottle episodes and moved episodes

It’s no surprise that each series of Doctor Who is filmed out-of-order to accommodate schedules and locations and things, but there were times when the showrunner had to swap episodes for various reasons. During Series 4, RTD swapped the airing order for The Fires of Pompeii and Planet of the Ood because the latter was a darker episode, then swapped Midnight from episode 8 to episode 10 after Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead because Turn Left came after and Phil Collinson didn’t want two Donna Noble parallel world stories airing next to each other. As such, this meant that Silence in the Library would become the 50th episode of the revived series instead of Midnight, though Midnight was still the 50th episode to be filmed.

In Series 6, Night Terrors was originally filmed as the fourth episode before Moffat moved it to Part 2 due to it being “too dark”. It was swapped with The Curse of the Black Spot, which was then swapped with The Doctor’s Wife (a holdover from Series 5) to be the third and fourth episodes respectively. Production codes for future episodes would no longer be released after this series so we wouldn’t know what episodes ended up being swapped for editing.

Following Night Terrors, there were a number of bottle episodes made to fill up the time before the series finale. Interestingly, both episodes are companion-focused pieces revolving around the plot point of Amy waiting for the Doctor to come back when she was seven years old.

The Girl Who Waited has Amy trapped in the Two Streams Facility when she enters the wrong time stream and Rory has to go in to find her without the Doctor because he would be infected with Chen-7 and die in a day. Rory manages to find Amy, but it has been 36 years for her, leading her to develop a resentment for the Doctor. The Doctor attempts to put things right by saving Amy’s past self when she just came into the facility, but Amy refuses because it would mean that she would cease to exist. Eventually, the older Amy relents and allows the Doctor to save her past self, but when Rory and the younger Amy get to the TARDIS, the Doctor locks the older Amy out, telling Rory that there can never be two Amys because the paradox would be too massive. The older Amy eventually told Rory not to let her in, sacrificing herself so her younger self can live the days she never did.

The God Complex is set in a hotel where its victims are shown rooms of their fears, which led them to “praise him” and be eaten by an alien Minotaur. After initially noting that the Minotaur fed on people’s fears, the Doctor realised that it was actually feeding on faith because by having people confront their most primal fear, they fall back to their most fundamental faith, and by telling them to find the thing that keeps them brave, the Doctor effectively led them to their deaths. When Amy suddenly begins to “praise him”, the Doctor and others hide in a room which turns out to be that of Amy’s fear that the Doctor wouldn’t come back for her when she was seven. Feeling guilty about this potentially leading to Amy dying, the Doctor tells her to forget her faith in him, deciding that they should see each other as they really are. By severing the Minotaur’s food supply, the hotel disintegrates and the Minotaur dies. Following this, the Doctor drops off Amy and Rory at their new home (not in Leadworth for some reason, and the timing of this in continuity is something I will follow up in the next instalment), deciding that this would be better for them instead of him standing over their graves.

7. The parallel Cyber-integration

During the RTD era, each series finale featured a villain that had escaped or survived the Time War. A similar but different tradition began in the Moffat era, where the twelfth episode of each series featured at least one Cyberman. This was reflected in Series 5’s The Pandorica Opens and it is reflected in Series 6’s Closing Time. The Cybermen used in these episodes reused the Cybusmen from the RTD era because they apparently lacked the budget to redesign them in Series 5 (according to Steven Moffat). By the filming of Closing Time, many of the Cybermen costumes were dilapidated, but fortunately it suited the script, allowing them to make one final appearance before being retired in favour of a redesign in the next series.

Closing Time is a double-banked companion-lite episode from Gareth Roberts that once again features Craig Owens in a continuation of The Lodger. Since the events of that episode, Craig and his partner, Sophie, moved house and had a baby, Alfie (who preferred to be called Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All). Meanwhile, after having dropped Amy and Rory off at their new home, the Doctor went on a 200-year farewell tour to avoid his fixed death at Lake Silencio. Near the end, the Doctor made a social call to Craig before deciding to visit the Alignment of Exodor, but he becomes too curious at the electrical fluctuations happening around Craig’s home.

The Doctor ends up going undercover at a department store to investigate the electrical fluctuations and the disappearances that have coincided with them. In doing so, he discovers the Cybermen have been taking people to their ship through a teleport relay. After the Doctor fused the teleport, he discovers a Cybermat, making their return from the classic era. He and Craig stay about after the store closed and follow the Cybermat in order to capture it. They hear the security guard being attacked and the Doctor heads down to the basement, but a Cyberman knocks him out. Heading back to Craig’s house, the Cybermat comes back to life and tries to attack the Doctor, but he knocks it out and escapes just as Craig returns from picking up milk. The Cybermat attacks Craig just as the Doctor is locked out without his sonic screwdriver, forcing him to smash through the window to save him, wiping the Cybermat’s brain.

The next morning, the Doctor takes the now-reprogrammed Cybermat back to the store to find out why the Cyberman appeared in the ship when he fused the teleport. Craig discovers this and heads there with Alfie, leaving him with another employee while he follows the Doctor. The Doctor discovers that the Cybermat came in through a door disguised as a wall behind a mirror. He heads in and discovers a crashed Cybership, which had been there for centuries until the council began laying cables. The Cybermen attempt to convert the Doctor into their CyberController, but he was not compatible; Craig, who had followed him, was, however, and the Cybermen took him and proceeded to convert him. As the Cybermen attempt to begin full conversion, Craig manages to hear the sound of Alfie crying, which allows him to break out as the Cybermen begin malfunctioning, destroying themselves and their ship with it as Craig and the Doctor teleport back up.

After this, the Doctor gave up his chance to see the Alignment of Exodor to repair the damage to Craig’s house. Taking some TARDIS blue envelopes from the fridge, the Doctor says goodbye to Craig, who gives him a Stetson as a parting gift. Just outside the TARDIS, he encounters three random kids and he tells them that he was here to help before leaving.

Closing Time is an amusing episode, but I think the real highlight was the random skits that Matt Smith and James Corden made late at night (or early in the morning) during the filming of the episode, which was aired on the Confidential for the episode. It was decided that the Daleks would be rested for this series, however a Paradigm Supreme Dalek appeared in the series finale for a cameo on the whim of Steven Moffat; it would be the last time that a Paradigm Dalek would be used prominently. And Terry Nation’s estate was sated once again and the Daleks would continue to appear for years to come, then the 2016 break happened and suddenly, I found myself changing my last sentence to say series to come.

8. The farewell tour ends

And so we come to the series finale. Following the events of Closing Time, Madame Kovarian finds River Song at Luna University, now a Doctor, and takes her to be placed in an astronaut suit under Lake Silencio. Meanwhile, the Doctor continues searching around to find out why the Silence want him to die. After defeating a Dalek to extract data from its core, the Doctor finds Father Gideon Vandaleur, who turns out to be a disguise for the Teselecta. Through Captain Carter, the Doctor is led to Gantok, who he manages to beat in live chess before he offers to take him to the beheaded Dorium in exchange for him conceding the game.

Dorium tells the Doctor why the Silence want him dead - “on the fields of Trenzalore, at the fall of the Eleventh, when no living creature can speak falsely, or fail to answer, a question will be asked - a question that must never, ever be answered.” The Silence believe that silence must fall and that the Doctor must never reach Trenzalore. Dorium tells the Doctor what the question is, but we don’t hear it. In response, the Doctor takes Dorium to the TARDIS and attempts to run away, but when he attempts to call Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, he learns from his nursing home that he died, an allusion to his actor, Nicholas Courtney’s death in February 2011, two months before Series 6 premiered. The Doctor loses all hope and ends his farewell tour to go to his death, giving the TARDIS blue envelopes to the Teselecta to be sent to Amy, Rory, River and Canton in preparation for the events of The Impossible Astronaut.

The Doctor sits with his companions at Lake Silencio before he goes out to confront the past River in the astronaut suit. The Doctor reassures River that she is forgiven before he allows her to shoot him, but he doesn’t end up getting shot because River purposefully drained her weapon systems. By doing so, she rewrote a fixed point in time, causing time to begin collapsing as everything happened, stuck at 5:02 PM on 22 April 2011.

After spending some time locked in the Tower of London by Winston Churchill, the Doctor is taken by Amy to Cairo, with Rory under her command and River waiting for them with the captured Madame Kovarian. Presumably due to the crack in her bedroom wall, Amy was able to remember what happened in both timelines and River remembered as well due to being the opposite pole of the disruption. When the captured Silents begin breaking out of their confinement, the Doctor, Amy, Rory and River head up to the receptor room, where River had built a timey-wimey distress beacon to send out a distress call to all of time, much to the Doctor’s chagrin as he insists that nothing she does will work. As such, the Doctor decides to have a quick handfasting ceremony with River, marrying her while also apparently revealing his name to her. As the Doctor and River kiss, time begins to move again and the Doctor is killed at Lake Silencio.

Some time later, River, having just climbed out of the Byzantium from The Time of Angels and Flesh and Stone, visits Amy, who was feeling guilty about killing Madame Kovarian, though River insists that it didn’t happen as it was an alternate timeline. It is then that River decides to reveal the Doctor’s final secret and the revelation that he isn’t dead elates Amy until she realises that she is his mother-in-law.

As Dorium’s head is returned to its pedestal, he learns that the Doctor didn’t die, having been the one to return Dorium’s head. When the Doctor gave the TARDIS blue envelopes to the Teselecta, Captain Carter asked if there was anything they could do, which gave him the idea to fake his death by having the Teselecta copy him while he hid within it. During the handfasting ceremony, the Doctor had River look into his eye, revealing himself within the Teselecta, which she had actually shot instead of the Doctor. Despite this, Dorium warns the Doctor that the First Question is still waiting for him, hidden in plain sight - “Doctor who? Doctor who? Doctor who?”

The Wedding of River Song is a one-parter finale instead of a two-parter finale like in previous series, wrapping up the story arcs of Series 5 and 6 while opening up another thread to be addressed in the Eleventh Doctor’s finale episodes. I suppose the Doctor surviving his death was predictable, particularly if you paid attention to Let’s Kill Hitler. Some people think this is the weakest finale of the Moffat era but I just thought it was alright. I mean, we all knew the Doctor would have to have survived somehow.

9. A different kind of Christmas

The 2011 Christmas Special, The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe, goes back to having a special guest companion instead of having the current companions, particularly given the Doctor’s parting with Amy and Rory near the end of Series 6. It’s the first Christmas Special to have a special guest companion in the middle of an existing companion’s run.

In the prelude, which should really have been included in the episode, the Doctor has his finger on a button that will blow up a ship if he lets go of it. The Doctor tries to get Amy to fly the TARDIS to him, but he forgets that she already left ages ago, so the Doctor ends up getting in a spaceship and falling to Earth while trying to get into a spacesuit. Upon landing, he is met by Madge Arwell, who helps the Doctor get to the TARDIS.

Three years later, Madge’s husband, Reg, goes missing at sea as a pilot in World War II. Due to the bombing, Madge and her children, Cyril and Lily, are sent to their uncle’s country estate. Acting on Madge’s wish, the Doctor goes to the estate and acts as their caretaker to make sure Cyril and Lily have the best Christmas ever. When Cyril opens the Doctor’s present before Christmas, he wanders through a portal into a planet with natural Christmas tree forests known as Androzani trees. As the forest was being melted down for fuel using acid rain, the lifeforce of the trees decided to find a female host who would have them escape the forest.

Cyril entered the forest’s tower, followed by the Doctor and Lily and finally, Madge, who had followed each other through the portal. Madge was found to be strong and the entire forest’s lifeforce entered her as she began to fly the tower’s dome into the Time Vortex. After learning that the dome’s travel depends on thought, the Doctor tells Madge to think of home and she does. She thinks of Reg and gradually finds herself being shown his apparent death at sea. Upon landing at the estate, Madge is about to tell Cyril and Lily of Reg’s death when the Doctor discovers that Reg’s plane had landed outside; he saw the light of the dome and followed it through the Time Vortex to safety.

As Madge and her family celebrate Christmas, the Doctor prepares to leave when Madge sees the TARDIS and realises that he was the spaceman she helped three years earlier. When the Doctor tells Madge that his friends think that he is dead, Madge replies that he can’t let them think as such, especially at Christmas, and tells the Doctor to explain to them. After saying goodbye to Madge, the Doctor visits Amy and Rory at their new home, two years after he dropped them off, and joins them for Christmas dinner.

The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe is a beautiful episode and upon rewatching the ending, it reminded me of the Ninth Doctor’s “everybody lives!” speech from Series 1’s The Doctor Dances (also written by Steven Moffat alongside The Empty Child). The cameo of Amy and Rory was a beautiful and amusing inclusion to the special as well. This would be the last episode of Doctor Who to be shown for the next nine months, starting a trend of excruciating waits between series and specials that would come to be the hallmark of the Chibnall era.

10. The end of Confidential

On 28 September 2011, it was announced that Doctor Who Confidential would be cancelled at the end of its current series; initially, it was reported that the episode for the 2011 Christmas Special was still on but it was later confirmed that it would not be happening. This was due to budget cuts at the BBC, with it resulting in an initiative to focus on original British shows, particularly at the 9 and 10 PM timeslots on BBC Three. There was a petition to save Doctor Who Confidential from cancellation, but nothing came of it.

Behind-the-scenes material was still made for Series 7 and beyond, which was published online and released on home media. Other behind-the-scenes series including Doctor Who Extra, Inside Look, Closer Look, The Fan Show and Access All Areas were also made, but they never really reached the popularity that Confidential had. As I said in the retrospective for Series 2, Confidential is rumoured to return as Doctor Who Unleashed for the RTD2 era, but time will only tell whether it results in anything significant.

Where Series 5 was a continuation of the series format we all knew and loved, Series 6 marked a change in the format as the story arc was told across two runs split two months apart. The mystery of River Song and the Silence was solved and now, all that was left to be addressed was Trenzalore and the First Question.

Series 6 may not have been everyone’s cup of tea, but it opened the show up to new audiences as the hype towards the upcoming 50th Anniversary was starting to build. Stay tuned for Part 7 as we dive into the 50th Anniversary with my 10 takes on Series 7 and its associated specials.