#they would divide and conquer and be chaotic together

[archivistofnerddom]

The Bad Batch and Costco headcanons:

Because I have it in my head that they would be the family that needs to buy things in bulk. Once it was there, the headcanons followed.

Hunter

He’s usually the one responsible for their food purchases. The grocery list he takes is long, extensive, and heavily annotated with everyone’s preferences.

The most tired dad in Costco award goes to him. Trying to corral the rest of the Batch is a losing game, so he’s figured out how to divide and conquer, sending everyone out to pick up certain things. (They don’t always follow through with what they were supposed to get though, hence why he wins the most tired dad award.)

He’s willing to stop and try samples though. Hunter needs snacks to get through this gauntlet with the full family. Plus, focusing on food keeps him sane and his senses in line.

Even still, he’s always down to get a hot meal from Costco’s kitchen after check-out. It’s the only time that day the whole family agrees on anything and is in the same place in the store.

He’s usually in possession of one of the family’s membership cards and definitely has one of their debit cards. There will be few surprise purchases on his watch. (There are always surprise purchases on his watch.)

Crosshair

Disappears almost as soon as they walk in the door. He appears out of nowhere to deposit what he wants in one of their carts (because they have many) and disappears again. (Coffee and dark chocolate are pretty much the only consistent items he adds.)

He can usually be found hanging near the check-out lanes with a mountain of coolers and boxes at the ready for when they’re checking out.

It’s an unspoken rule in their local Costco that no one tries to filch any of the cardboard boxes from his horde. Legend has it he will throw hands to defend his stash. Few dare to test that assumption.

The one responsible for ordering food so that it’s ready to eat once the rest of the family is through the check-out line. Don’t ask how he always times it perfectly. It’s a mystery not even Tech could solve.

Unsurprisingly, he usually garners a following of moody teenagers who just don’t want to be there. He gives off the same energy most of the time, even if he’s just trying to catch a nap. It’s a crapshot if Crosshair actually likes that the moody punk kids want to hang with him. They’re just afraid enough of him to ask.

Tech

Tech can be found in the auto section and the electronics section. He knows precisely what they meet and has already shopped the best deals.

He needs several texts and alarms so that he doesn’t get lost in conversation. (Hunter isn’t above sending Wrecker to go re-claim Tech, if he doesn’t show up after a timely fashion.)

Like Crosshair, he’ll just drop whatever non-electronic items he wants (such as snacks and what have you) into the cart after he’s finished his assigned tasks before he disappears. He usually winds up hanging with Crosshair to wait for the rest of the family.

Tech is only sometimes in charge of the family Costco membership card and debit car. He can’t be left fully unattended though, if only because he’ll go overboard with purchases.

Can be used to distract the moody punk kids who want to vibe with Crosshair, while also having Crosshair use his shoulder as a pillow.

Wrecker

He has to go with Hunter, if only because he’s usually on cart duty. (Wrecker also needs to be supervised, or else he’ll grab all the snacks.) Being on cart duty doesn’t stop him from having a great time. He’s that guy who can push the most improbably packed cart with true expertise.

Guess who will still sneak in special treats and surprises for Omega into the cart? This guy.

Wrecker gets geared up for the post-Costco run family meal. He’ll eat an entire pizza all by himself, if left unattended and unsupervised. (Crosshair buys extra for him because of that.)

He’s the most enthusiastic about trying samples and will always encourage Hunter to stop and try. Wrecker knows when his brother needs a break from the chaos.

Wrecker and the Costco employees who run the sample stations always get along. He’s so nice to them and complimentary to them. This is the guy who will always wind up getting extra samples handed to him.

Echo

He’s usually on Omega duty, if only to make sure she doesn’t sneak off on them.

Echo also is usually responsible for stocking up their pharmacy needs and buying some clothes in bulk for the family. With how hard their lives are, getting clothes in bulk is necessary.

He’s always in charge of one of their membership cards and a debit card. Echo is the most responsible one on that front.

That doesn’t stop him from conspiring with Omega to find some fun things for the cart. It’s always something random, but will brighten up their chaotic lives.

Echo is most likely to pass out once he eats though. He’s happy to get off his feet and to have a chance to relax. Walking around Costco takes effort sometimes, especially with his prosthetics.

Omega

Like Wrecker, she makes friends with everyone who gives out samples. She’s the reason why Echo stays fed before they check-out.

Omega would walk out with so many large squishy toys, if she could get away with it. That’s why she and Wrecker can’t be in Costco together and unsupervised. They’d have so many comfy squishy toys and hammocks if they were.

Somehow, she gets covered in stickers and starts sharing them with her brothers. It doesn’t matter where she got them. Omega has stickers books and she shares them. Little kids love her because she inevitably turns into the feral sticker fairy of Costco. (Who knows how the parents to said little kids feel about that.)

Omega is very serious about making sure her brothers all walk away from each Costco trip with a surprise in the cart. She gets sneaky about getting them past Echo and Hunter. (Wrecker provides distractions as appropriate.)

Remember those moody punk kids who were hanging around Crosshair (and inevitably Tech)? Well, Omega chats all of them up. She’s the best person to embarrass the crap out of her brothers with stories. Omega makes her brothers look either way cooler or significantly less cool when she shares stories with the punk kids.

[toournextadventure]

I was just randomly wondering how birb and her girls all would go to an amusement park and it‘d be al total mess, like the daughters running around and jump on the first rollercoaster they find, Vada getting high in some corner, Lorraine being all insecure abt litterally everything(she wasn‘t even sure she should buy cotton candy bc of the sugar), Wednesday being the annoyed adult and birb taking down all the kids on the bumper cars😈

No stop it would be absolute pandemonium. Lorraine and Phoebe stick together to do the less thrilling things because, listen, there's no need to die on those death traps everyone thinks are so safe

Vada and Tara get high and decide, you know what? They're gonna ride all the rides that make you sick, because those are the best. And then they proceed to get sick because how were THEY supposed to know to be careful?

Harley, Katie, and Ellie ran off the moment they got there claiming "we're mature, we know how to be careful, it's fine!" While Birb is ATTEMPTING to be responsible like "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them!" And then proceeding to lose them within the span of one ride

And Camila and Wednesday tried for all of 5 minutes to keep track of everyone before deciding no, they had to divide and conquer. They tell Lorraine and Phoebe to stay put (which they do) while Camila wrangles Tara and Vada, and Wednesday tries to corral the kids

Birb is found later when everyone is ready to go home. The poor thing was terrified about losing the girls and had been talking to every security guard in the park in an attempt to find them. But really, security just kept BIRB in amusement park Lost and Found until everyone came to pick them up

They all gripe and complain the whole way home because of how chaotic it was. And then later decides they'll just make it a monthly vacation from now on

[nerdyenby]

Purple time :D I’m watching Jimmy

Pre-game

Purples Posies 😭

Jimmy, horrified: “Are you demanding money?” Martyn, without hesitation: “Yes” Jimmy: “Same”

This team is gonna be peak chaos in so down

Also coincidentally the only team I saw do a 4/4 practice session

Scott flirting with Shane and then calling Jimmy and Martyn his husbands, more like purple polycule, am I right???

I didn’t even bat an eye but Scott being awed that MCC is something someone would use Make-a-Wish for is so <333

I am living for this chaos

Martyn: *talking about his wedding* Jimmy: “awww” Martyn: “What are you ‘awww’-ing for, you were there” Scott: “I wasn’t there, I wasn’t Martyn’s bestie at that point” Shane: “I wasn’t born yet” 😂

INSTANT disconnect lmao

Grid Runners

The way Jimmy was running around clueless during the first room and they still finished it first

They popped off, that’s simply all there is to say

“Four bros chillin’ in a hot tub, five feet apart because… one of them’s gay” “You changed that” thanks for noticing Jimmy 😂

Parkour Warrior

It’s fun how close Jimmy, Martyn, and Scott are staying to each other

Jimmy’s doing so well!!

Yeah the snake is so counterintuitive this time, kinda love it tho

Me, who has never played minecraft on pc, backseat gaming like a madman: “just flick the mouse, Jimmy”

It would actually be so cool to see a late pkw, it would suck but it’d be interesting

Shane talking about funky symptoms he got while exercising the other day and it being the exact same stuff I just got a diagnosis for ✌️(I doubt Shane has what I do, I get that literally every time I stand up lmao)

Sands of Time

Jimmy’s so excited to be Sam’s daddy 😭

The synchronized “Hi HBomb” :))

I love Jimmy but it bothers me to no end that he doesn’t fill the timer all the way, I can respect keeping one sand just in case but there’s no reason to not fill all the way when you have nine in hand

Solid performance all around, they had good comms and plenty of time

Ace Race

The way the just started talk-singing Hall of Fame 😂

The Kermit impression is solid

I feel like I haven’t watched a team where no one mutes in a while

Shane and Martyn 9th and 10th!!!

Jimmy 15th overall!! Stop putting yourself down, that’s great!!

Meltdown

Martyn is MIA and Shane is just singing Taylor Swift’s Blank Space as Kermit 😭

Rip, definitely not the worst I’ve seen though

Why are they all doing Mumbo impressions???

Battle Box

I think this team will do well and I’m very excited to see people pop off because the only pov I’ve watched so far is cyan and their bb was… rough…

This team either destroys or gets destroyed, there is no in between

Something about the WWWLLLWWW is unreasonably satisfying to me

Dang it, now I wanna look into what games have the highest coin differentials, obviously pvp games are at top but I’m wondering what’s at the bottom

ALL I DO IS WIN WIN WIN NO MATTER WHAT!! (Fun fact: I only know that song because we played it during football games in my high school marching band)

They’re so chaotic I love them

Sky Battle

“So… where do we wanna go?” “Home… home please” so true Martyn

Fighting lime while in the bubblevator is the most disorienting fight I’ve ever seen and that’s saying something

They’re doing a really good job dividing and conquering and allocating resources

Comms got clogged but they held together, apd went hard tho and I could not for the life of me understand what Scott was trying to say lol

Shane’s keyboard 😭

That ending was so chaotic oh my goodness

Everyone being self-deprecating and Shane just saying “You guys- you guys were there” 😂

Hole in the Wall

I have no idea what all they’re singing but they sound good

This team has such good comms :)

Them all hyping up Shane :)))

Dodgebolt

No 👏 funneling 👏 /pos

Grian’s message :((

“No, not that one, the football one” “I don’t- I’m gay” Scott sounded so confused 😭

Gosh, I love Shane, I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone be so excited for a teammate hitting a shot in a 4v4

Martyn joking that he doesn’t know how to run and Jimmy absolutely floundering “Move your legs and move- move your body in… in order to each other” 😂

Gumi’s dodging is wild

SHES POPPING OFF

Shane hyping up his teammates is everything

JIMMY WINNING SHOT!!!! THATS MY GUY!!!

SCOTT 5 WINS!!! AS HE SHOULD!!!!

My little cringefail loser winning the most statistically competitive mcc in history is so him

Callum’s manifesting worked :)

Jimmy prophet arc real

AIMSEY!!!! I wasn’t expecting him to show up but she has teamed with Jimmy and Shane in the last two mccs :D I love xem so much <333

“‘Martyn, we’re you sick this time?’ Yeah, sick of my teammates” I freaking love this team, their banter is everything

I know too much about mcc these days, Scott can say the last time he teamed with Martyn was when he blew him up with the tnt and I instantly knew they were talking about MCC7 lmao

[love-bokumono-fics]

Hey, question for ya (or any one who follows this wonderful blog!) How does everyone organize their fic notes? I have a many pages of hand written (done at work when I cant be on my phone to be typed up later) and a ton of pages on Google Docs - but cannot for the life of me get it together in an organized manner! Any tips??

Hi Nonny!

As with all things, everyone's mileage is going to vary for what organization tips and tricks work best for them. So what works for me might not work for you, but someone else might have a tip they use that will work wonderfully! So anyone and everyone should feel free to chime in!

For your handwritten notes, I'm afraid I can't offer much help there, because I never handwrite my story ideas. But I think general organizational tips might help there. Get a binder, a folder, or dedicated notebook for only story ideas and keep everything there and together. Use divider tabs (or sticky notes as tabs) for a binder, to subdivide your notes into fandoms, by story, by characters, by genre, by date or however else makes sense to you for keeping ideas separated. If you're using folders to hold scraps of paper together use different folders for different criteria (fandom, story, character, etc.). If you're using a notebook, if possible have distinct notebooks for distinct ideas, or get a multi-subject notebook to have dividers already inserted, or use. sticky notes to make your own.

I think they key there is to divide and label what you have into categories that make sense for you. If anything so that when you're trying to find an idea you already wrote down if you know it's for Fandom A, then you'll look in the folder/notebook/section for Fandom A Ideas.

I tend to jot down any story ideas and notes I have on my phone's notepad app when I'm not close to my computer, and when I do that I make a new note file for every individual story/project I'm thinking about, and I title the note by what story it's for, "Earth and Rebirth Notes" for example.

For organizing a chaotic mess of notes on a computer, again Divide and Conquer (organize) works best for me. I don't write much on google docs, so I can't speak on how their file-organizing system works, but for my writing, I keep everything saved to my hard drive, and a back up flash drive, and I organize with folders upon sub-folders, upon sub-folders. Seriously, I might go overboard, but in my documents folder I have a writing folder, then I have original and a fanfiction folders, and in the fanfiction folder I have more folders divided by fandom, and in the individual fandom folders I have more folders for my multi-chap stories (oneshots just live in the fandom fodler), and then in the story's folder I have a file for every chapter, and a document for general notes and ideas and scenes I wrote but haven't gotten to in the story yet.

I mean, look at the file-tree I take to get to one (1) story's files

It's a lot, but it's also organized.

I'm not entirely sure what your google docs look like, I'm not sure if you have a thousand small files with notes in them, or just one monster file with all of your notes in it, but if that's all you have in the way or organization, I would recommend setting aside a good chunk of time, finding a way to categorize things, and get to setting them off into their categories. For example, if you have ideas that aren't for a specific fandom or story, having a folder specifically for unclaimed ideas is a goo place to put them, and you can further divide up the ideas by having one for Angst ideas, or for Shippy things, Fluff or Comedy, or whatever you feel would be the main vibe of the story. If you have ideas for a specific fandom but haven't dedicated them to a story.

When you're naming your files and folders, having concise but descriptive titles will help you know exactly what's inside. Here's actually somewhere where I know I don't do, because I have about 500000 Chapter # documents among all my multi-chap works in their separate folders, and if they weren't divided up into the sub-folders, I would never know which Chapter 2 was actually the one I wanted. If I really wanted to be efficient about it I would have a shorthand code for the story it belongs to so I would know "ER Chapter 1" is Chapter 1 of Earth and Rebirth.

So that's how I keep my stories and notes and ideas organized and separated on a file-folder level. If you're looking for tips on the organization of a story's Construction, plotting scenes, maintaining an outline, and that kind of thing I am even less helpful because I hardly ever do that kind of stuff. I very much write by the seat of my pants and/or out of order. So I'll write the scenes I'm most excited about first and then figure out how to connect them all later. it's not an efficient way to write, but that's how it works for me. If you're looking for organizational tips like that, someone else will have to chime in, because I am not usually a plotter. (Honestly, the fact that I even made a calendar for Earth and Rebirth to keep track of things is more than I've done for any other story)

I know there are other programs and word processors out there that are built specifically for story writing and organizing things like novels into neater packages/one big document, but I have no experience with them, so I can't speak to their organization and effectiveness. Some of them might have free versions, but I think most of them cost money. Someone else might be able to point you in the right direction where to look into that if that sounds like something that'll work for you.

And that's about all I've got for general organization tips. My go-to method is to Divide, Categorize, and Organize, which, when all you have is a big mess of a document and a scattering of handwritten notes can be an extremely daunting task. Cutting it up into more manageable pieces will help (start with broad categories to begin dividing up the notes, and then as you find the need for something more specific you can continue breaking them down into more specified sections), taking your time to get through it also helps, it likely will not all get done in one evening this will take time, take breaks and remember to be kind to yourself as you work. And starting organizing now with any new ideas gives you a good base to start on and when you have the time/energy gives you a point to catch up to, rather than having things continue to pile up more and more as you keep having ideas but not the time/desire to organize them. You might have to go through some trial and error as you find a system that works best for you, and someone else might have tips that work even better for the way you prefer to stay organized. It will all depend.

But I hope this helped, Nonny! If you have more questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Good luck and happy organizing!

[circus4apsycho8]

I'm sorry if im annoying you, but i really love your writing and i was wondering, what would the ninja be like when playing minecraft with you

𝚊/𝚗: 𝚑𝚒! 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑, 𝚒 𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚒𝚝!! 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗'𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚘𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎 <𝟹 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎! 𝚒 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 :)

𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚏𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚓𝚊 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚌𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚗𝚜

𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕗𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖𝕤: 𝕜𝕒𝕚, 𝕛𝕒𝕪, 𝕔𝕠𝕝𝕖, 𝕫𝕒𝕟𝕖, 𝕝𝕝𝕠𝕪𝕕, & 𝕟𝕪𝕒 (𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕖𝕣)

𝚔𝚊𝚒

you guys mess with each other

will punch you off a cliff and laugh

but whines when you do it to him -_-

always rushes mobs when he shouldn’t

purposely looks enderman in the eyes and then gets scared when they’re provoked

gets a dog and names him tamale

takes tamale everywhere

probably loves tamale more than he loves you

until tamale gets killed by an enderman he provoked

and he gets really sad :(

but then you step up next to him and put your virtual minecraft hand on his shoulder and say:

“we will avenge tamale.”

you do that by killing the ender dragon together

tamale is avenged and kai learns his lesson

…until he smacks another enderman

𝚓𝚊𝚢

does a dramatic little thing:

“(y/n)…will you beat the ender dragon with me?”

you two randomly hyperfixate on beating the ender dragon together

it takes y’all HOURS but you do it at like 4 in the morning

playing with him is lowkey chaotic

he’s so scatterbrained and his mind is running at 4,893,928,420 miles per hour

gets scared of cave noises and hates exploring them

he gathers food and surface resources while you explore caves for iron and diamonds

then you two finally are able to begin your journey to conquer the end!

good with redstone but doesn’t like working with it that much

…unless he gets a cool machine idea

𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚎

y’all just build an aesthetic lil house together <3

either in a pretty forest, cave, flower biome, or mountain biome

he spends a long time planting saplings next to flowers in hopes it will spawn a beehive when the tree grows

surprises you with a gorgeous flower garden complete with a beehive!!

constantly gives you flowers. he loves minecraft flowers

you two take your time beating the game

cave explorations are your jam

y’all adopt a pet fox!!

his name is squirmy

doesn’t care much for the combat in the game but he gets very protective of you and squirmy >:(

𝚣𝚊𝚗𝚎

constantly has a plan

you try to get him to relax by building a cute snowy biome house

he doesn’t quite understand and tries to get his minecraft architect on

he’s also really good with redstone

makes cool redstone things

you two build your house in an icy biome

a lil polar bear lives nearby and vibes with y’all

he has a strategy to defeat the ender dragon

and it works >:)

𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚢𝚍

you two stay up late on the world you already have together

but tonight is different

tonight…you’re beating the ender dragon

it takes a lot of preparation, so the two of you divide and conquer the work

eventually, you’re both able to do it after a dramatic battle

you two celebrate by baking cake in the game

(but also by making hot chocolate and snacking on some sweets)

𝚗𝚢𝚊

ocean biomeeee

you two build your home next to an ocean

you have neighbors – three turtles :))))

you both spend lots of time building a cute house

nya loves exploring the ocean

she brings back an axolotl in a bucket one day!

makes cool redstone things that makes your minecraft life easier

you two also take your time beating the ender dragon – it’s not a priority but it’s a fun challenge for you both

[rhiezus]

❛ i need you, you idiot. ❜ // minhye x jukan

it was a particularly difficult morning to deal with and jukan knew that his husband better than anyone ought to know the things that inflected minhye like nothing else. and for most of it, she was costumed to push forward and don't let it shatter her day-to-day but sometimes it wasn't as welcoming to be her as she was used to making it be. for starters, she wanted to scream at him for saying that, but she also couldn't the deny anything to that ridiculous face he had on; one that gave away the worry in his eyes and the usual brow frowned in comprehension. minhye got up from her feet irritated, it didn't help she was nineteen weeks pregnant but she managed it like it was a natural movement on her part. it wasn't like she didn't want to work, she just didn't have to when her husband was so good at his job and her employees were so understanding and driving, it was the perfect combination of the best team in the world and the most talented of bosses being under the same roof that was their house. minhye took a closer look at the conversation opened in jukan's laptop with the same inconclusive face she used to make for most the work things related, it was the best poker face she ever learned how to do and it often would come naturally when she was just thinking the most obvious things.

"he's being dramatic, that's not gonna work. tell him the contract is off." it was a bluff, of course, she wanted the client to take the bait and calm down to take whatever they were offering him and jukan knew that. now looking at the situation, him being way better at this type of stuff than she ever was, she realizes his whole play was just to get a better look at how was she doing and maybe involve her in some of the work so she wouldn't die of boredom. "you went to business school, i don't think i should be the one to tell you that." now he was also offering her the opportunity to tease him which would make her day regardless of the situation at hand when she looked back to take a look at his eyes, he was grinning back because he knew exactly what she was thinking. "i guess you actually do need me to remind you of you, so you're the idiot." and she was just having to much fun doing it. minhye gave him back the notebook, side-ways glancing at him while she made her way to the kitchen, since she was already up she could at least keep herself busy trying to make lunch.

rather than a pain in the ass being pregnant twice now proved to be quite the boring activity, she was already way beyond knowing the basics, and this time at least they didn't have the separation of a virus between them so they could both involve themselves in and out of the basics principles of being parents. luckily sunny was the sweetest child in the world, she wouldn't complain about not being in her mother's arms all the time although minhye would still hold her all the time even when she supposedly wasn't advised to. and jukan was a great dad, he proved himself to be the most caring and best partner she could ever ask for, although knowing as he always had been for the entire time of their relationship she never once questioned his ability to be exactly whom he was. and of course, they kept struggling to accept the fact they were in there once again, this time two in the way, but it was as chaotic in the way only they could make it. they would delegate shores, divide to conquer, and seize the moments — tasks that proved efficient with time. they were better partners in life than they could ever be anything else so having a business together while being parents together also, were all together: the prime quest of their life.

half way through looking at what they had in their fridge while listening to what jukan had to say, minhye gave up with her hands in the way. "give that, ill handle it! you make me lunch." she demanded, interrupting his monologue and sitting in the stall of the kitchen counter, kissing him quickly on the lips as she did so. she shifted her attention to the computer in front of her, smiling widely. "yes, come to mama." typing furiously, she wasn't even preoccupied in falling right into jukan's trap when in fact she was immensely happy with him for it. she would kiss him all over later, do whatever he wanted... a change of heart quickly as ever, she was feeling incredibly cheerful now.

[memphisfaith]

Hearts of Lust: Chapter 10

Pairing Kim Namjoon X Reader

Genre: Collage!AU, Smut

Word Count: 1.7K

Warning: Cursing, mentions of smut, smut, consumption of alcohol, mentions of violence, violence, crack personality disorders, Chaotic energy.

Summary: College is any young adult's prime years, at least that's what Lee (y/n) and Kim Namjoon thought. The two are infamous for two reasons, by two very different crowds. Among the professors they are picture perfect students with perfect scores, attendance, and image. However, among the student body they're the very essence of lust with amazing bodies, sex appeal, and skill. The two, although strikingly similar, butt heads quite a bit with competitions of everything from grades to who can get a person to drop their pants the fastest. With the two of them ready to conquer the school year it's all a matter of Go Big or Go Home.

Looking down at my laptop I scroll through different pictures of marine wildlife, I sigh and glance down at my sketch book. It had a few ideas of What I wanted to do for the powerpoint, but I didn't know how I wanted to design the leaflet that RM and I would pass out for the presentation, and don't even get me started on what I should do for the 3-D model. 

I thumb through a few notes RM jotted down for me to go off of but it only helps so much. I glance over at said man to see him writing down things before scrolling down on his laptop every few minutes. 

Looking through different animals and jotting down the name with a vague sketch of it before looking for something new. Looking at the clock on my laptop I see the study hall has only just started. 

I drop my pencil before running a hand over my face in frustration. I stand from my seat and stretch before sitting back down. I scroll some more before RM hands me some paper, I scan it to see a list of animals. 

I look over at him to see him close his laptop and scoot closer to me. He pulls my laptop closer to him and opens a clean tab before closing my old one. "That list is a food web of the Epipelagic Zone more commonly known as the sunlight zone." He explains.

"So like...If J-Hope was a part of the ocean." I reference, an amused smirk grew on RM's face at my comment but he nodded anyway. "This section is where Coral reefs grow and have a more diverse population of creatures." He continues. "I was thinking we could do Raja Ampat, it's diversity in species is the richest in the world with 1700 different species of reef fish. It's even home to rare marine mammals." He lists.

"Do they have sharks?" I ask looking over his small list of animals, "Whale sharks and black tipped reef sharks." Namjoon answers. I hum with a small smile, "Noona, we should go to the aquarium that should help you get better references than internet pictures," Taehyung says as he pops up behind me and takes up residence on my shoulder. 

My eyes widen at the idea, "That would be a good idea," I comment over to RM. He didn't get a chance to say anything as the five other males ran over and piled on top of us screaming at him to agree. RM groans before finally agreeing, "I guess we could go this weekend. We could go tomorrow since it's Friday." He suggests. It didn't take much force for all of us to agree.

I looked through my bag one last time making sure I had everything. I got my wallet, notebook, sketchbook, digital tablet and pen, and a few other small things like band-aids and lipgloss. I pull my hair up in a ponytail adding some last minute touch ups to my make-up while I wait for Yoongi to pick me up.

I hear a honk from outside signaling he's here. I walked outside, but I didn't see Yoongi but Namjoon waiting for me. As I get closer to the car I can see Jungkook and Taehyung sitting in the back. 

"Hi there boys," I smile at the two in the back, before looking over at Namjoon. "Jin divided us into groups of four, Since we need to work on a project we got stuck together. He then claimed that we need to take care of our children." He mutters, jabbing his thumb at the two in the back. 

The two whine at his comment, further proving his point, before sitting back with a pout. I roll my eyes, "Then what does that make the rest of them?" I scoff, Namjoon shrugged. "I didn't want to ask." He mutters, "Understandable," I muse turning my head to face the two in the back. 

I look at them for a minute, Why would Jin think they're our children. "Noona, you're scaring me," Tae spoke up, "Sorry Taetae." I muse before looking forward. "So did you have any ideas on how we should make our way around?' I question before digging out my notebook and pin. 

"Somewhat, I made a list of the animals that are from the reef that the aquarium takes care of. We can make our way around the best we can, but I promised Tae and kook an hour for lunch and break." He said and I nodded. "Makes sense we are in charge of them and we will have to drag them around for a while. It's only fair that we give them an hour to do what they want." I agree.

It took ten more minutes before we parked in the aquarium parking lot. When we made our way to the entrance we found Jin, Hoseok, Yoongi, and Jimin. "Look who decided to finally show up." Yoongi scoffs, I flipped him the finger and continued to make my way inside. We each paid for our tickets before we regrouped.

"Okay Jin and I, more like Jin, decided on groups." Namjoon spoke up, "The group you arrived with is the group you're staying with, anyone deemed a child of their respected group is to not wander too far from their group, Anyone deemed a parent or elder of their group is to watch over their respective group. Lunch hour will start at 12:00 and end at 1:00 while free hour will start at 1:00 and end at 2:00." Namjoon announced.

Jungkook raises his hand and Namjoon sighs, "Yes we will go to the gift shop before we leave." He answers, Jungkook's hand falls back down to his side as he flushes red. "Any questions?" Namjoon asks, with no more questions we break off into our groups. 

Namjoon and I looked at a map and to our luck the aquarium has an Indonesia section, which makes our job a lot easier. Jungkook and Taehyung bounced from tank to tank as we made our way to that section. Upon reaching it my eyes blew wide at all the colorful reef fish. I took out my digital pad and pen and began to sketch away.

I made a new folder with one section named Fish, thus far the section has five different pages of brightly colored fish. I made a new section and illustrated the different live coral that is said to grow in that environment.

Namjoon sat beside me as he wrote down different things from the information tablet provided in front of the large tanks. I would stop and glance around to see Taehyung and Jungkook jump from tank to tank. 

After Namjoon and I are satisfied with this subsection of the area we move on, Taehyung and Jungkook drag us down a large tube that goes through the middle of a large enclosure. My eyes widen as a whale shark swims by. I follow it up and down the tank sketching it as quickly but as detailed as I can. 

Once I finished I began a sketch of a black tipped reef shark. Luckily for me it didn't drag me up and down the tunnel like the whale shark did. When we finally moved on we crossed a large glass wall, I looked deep into it and gasped. A manatee, there were no seats so instead I sat on the floor sitting the tablet in my hand. 

I draw the lines slowly and smoothly unlike the sharks, I'm so into it I don't hear Namjoon take a seat beside me. I feel him hovering over my shoulder looking at the drawing, "Did you know when pirates and sailors would dock their ships in shallow water or sail through rivers, they would claim to have seen mermaids when in reality they just saw manatees." I whisper softly.

Namjoon shook his head, "Historians claim it's one of the origins of the mermaid myth." I add gently drawing the large tail. "When I was a kid my mom used to take me to this river and told me if I was quiet and waited long enough I would see a mermaid. But when I told kids in my class they would call me stupid because everyone knew mermaids live in the sea." I smile.

"Yoongi always came with me to the library to read about mermaids but, I'm sure he was just there to read about the pirates." I laugh quietly as I color in the manatee. "I guess that's one of the biggest reasons why I like the ocean," I hum, adding in the wrinkles of their skin with a darker gray.

When I look up from my tablet I find Taehyung and Jungkook had joined Namjoon and I on the floor. "Hey Noona I think you would make a pretty mermaid," Taehyung spoke up with a small smile. I huff but a smile that matches his slips onto my lips. I ruffle his hair before saving the picture and standing up.

My back pops from the strain of leaning over my tablet for so long. I stretch out before checking my watch, "It's almost 12:00, let's head over to the café for lunch." I sigh in bliss. Jungkook and Taehyung are quick to bounce to their feet and dash in the direction of the café. 

"AISH DON'T RUN TOO FAR WITHOUT US!" Namjoon yells after them as he gets onto his feet. I sigh and stuff my tablet under one arm before taking a hold of Namjoon with the other and dragging him along with me to catch up to the two boys. 

By the time we caught up to them they were in the main area deciding which Café they wanted to go to. "Okay," I huff out of breath, "Which one do you want to go to?" I ask. The two boys scan the different Cafes, but eventually they settle on one.

Upon entering the Café we became the center of attention, The two boys who were previously child-like and playful switched their switch and their inner succubus came out. Lustful gazes and sexy smirks in all. Not that they're the only ones, One quick glance at Namjoon and I could tell he's oozing his sexual dominance. I plant a small suggestive smirk on my lips and run a hand through my hair to make it a bit more messy and wild before I cross my arms to push up my breasts. 

As we wait in line I can see everyone scoping us out, Some look like they're going to make a move while others whisper amongst themselves about us in their corner. When it came time for us to order the cashier looked visibly flushed and baffled. 

I smile at them with a well practiced charmed smile. I lean onto the counter giving a few in the Café a good view of my ass while giving the cashier a good view of my breasts. I smirk as they visibly swallow the lump in their throat. 

"What-What can I...What can I get you?" They stutter, "breath darling, we don't bite." I smile calmly, "Not unless you want us to," Namjoon smirks. I shot Namjoon a challenging gaze and he returned it, fine game on. 

I bring my hand up to my lips and draw small subtle circles around my lips as I look up at the menu. When I figured out what I wanted I glanced at the cashier, smirking as I saw then gnawing on their lip harshly while they eye my finger and lips.

I slowly lean forward, careful not to knock them out of the trance I put them in. I hear them whine as I slowly pull their lip out from between their teeth, "Now darling if you're willing I'm ready to order." I spoke calmly in a smooth suggestive voice. 

The cashier nods their head rapidly, lip once again caught between their teeth. I lean forward and pull it out again, "Darling if you keep biting your lip like that I'll have to give you a real reason to bite onto something," I whisper darkly. I watch completely amused as I watch the poor soul catch themself with the counter to keep themselves from falling to the floor.

"I would like a number three with a lemonade." I order softly before pulling away. I take a step back and watch as the cashier visibly relaxes. "Your move RM," I whisper challengingly, taking a step to the side to watch. The Cashier stiffens as soon as RM steps up to order. This should be fun.

<---- Prev // Masterlist // Next ---->

[laurenairay]

Day 12 – Andrei Svechnikov

Trope: Snowball fight

Word Count: 745 words

A/N: Another new hockey guy! I adore Svech and I’m so glad I finally got a chance to write for him.

*

Christmas was a time for family – found or blood – and this year was no different. The schedule had worked out perfectly for Andrei to have a few days off before Christmas Day, for the first time in ages, so you had immediately invited him to come back home with you. Living in Raleigh, and North Carolina in general was great – but there was something about a guaranteed white Christmas, waking up to the thick snowfall and winter magic, that you craved at this time of year.

It hadn’t been a tough sell to Andrei, not in the slightest.

Eagerly, the two of you had caught the first flight out that you could, carry-on duffels only, as you had already shipped out your family’s presents a couple of weeks ago. The plan was that the two of you would be staying at your parent’s house, with a trip out to your aunt and uncle’s place on Christmas Eve, where the whole family would be gathering. There in lay the potential problems. You understood that your family was a little crazy. You were well aware that all of them together was a bit intense. And you knew as much as Andrei said he was excited to meet everyone, that he had no idea what he was getting himself into. You’d tried to warn him, but all he’d done was laugh off your concerns – well, at least you’d tried to give him a heads up.

The moment that your five young cousins jumped on him in the hallway of your aunt’s house, tackling him to the floor, you knew he realised that you weren’t kidding. After a moment of your heart freezing in horror, you couldn’t help but laugh at his wide eyed silent pleading where he was buried beneath them, ignoring your aunt and uncle’s cries of horror to crouch down at Andrei’s side.

“Last one of you outside gets a snowball to the face!” you said loudly.

In a split second, your cousins jumped off of Andrei, stampeding outside with cheers and shouts, only making you laugh again.

“My god you weren’t joking,” Andrei groaned, propping himself up on his elbows, although you could see his eyes were sparkling with laughter.

“I am so sorry,” your aunt gasped.

“It’s okay, they’re just kids,” Andrei laughed.

There he is. There’s your incredible boyfriend. You grinned at him, pecking his lips in a kiss before offering him a hand up. Andrei heaved himself up off the floor with a soft groan, but the smile didn’t leave his face at all.

“I have some snowball vengeance to deliver –I’ll come back inside in a minute?” you suggested.

“Nah snowball vengeance sounds good,” Andrei grinned, “let’s have some fun!”

Your mom rolled her eyes fondly, your dad and uncle just laughing, but you knew this was the best result you couldn’t possibly asked for. Andrei could’ve easily been scared off moments after entering the house, your cousins showing him no mercy despite it being his first meeting, but you should’ve known that he would take the rough affection like a champ.

He truly was amazing, wasn’t he?

“So should we divide and conquer, or go on a full blitz attack?” Andrei mused.

You weighed up the options of the upcoming snowball fight as you walked through to the back of the house, before smiling up at him.

“Full on blitz, and when they start flagging we can pick them off one by one until they surrender,” you said firmly.

“That’s brutal,” Andrei laughed, “you’re amazing,”

You just nudged him with your shoulder, heat rushing to your cheeks. “This is war,” you shrugged.

As you stepped outside into the backyard, you could see a few of your cousins hiding behind trees, and smiled fondly. As chaotic as they were, and as big as the age gap was, you truly did enjoy spending time with them. Where else could you have a full out snowball fight that would only end with hot cocoa and marshmallows?

“Ready?” you asked, scooping a heap of snow into your gloved hands.

“Ready,” Andrei nodded, doing the same.

“FOR MOTHER RUSSIA!”

Andrei burst into laughter at the familiar war cry, your cousins all doing their own war cries as they sprung out of their hiding places, and all you could do was laugh as well. This was Christmas – family craziness with the people you loved, surrounded by snow and joy and laughter. What more could you want?

[tribbetherium]

The Late Glaciocene: 115 million years + 5000 years post-establishment

Divided We Stand: The Fractured Factions of the Postwar Harmsters

As another thousand years had passed since the Great Harmster World War, the entire harmster civilization had been conquered and assimilated into one massive empire of the tundra harmsters-- though at this point they could scarcely be called tundra harmsters anymore, as genetic mixing among their subjugated populations had essentially turned them into an indeterminate number of indistinct subspecies.

The other harmster species have long since gone: eradicated entirely, assimilated genetically into the tundra harmster gene pool, or, to the unlucky survivors of the war, reduced into Brutes: unintelligent, domesticated animals bred for subservience and are now little more than hounds and mules to the race that overpowered them. Slave labor and animal domestication in one, the "taming" of the Brutes would greatly help the tundra harmsters into a new age, as they began building their settlements of stones cemented together, with large Brutes to haul the stones for them.

But the unity of such a large kingdom is fragile: especially with a species as divisive and chaotic as the harmsters. As beings that subconsciously and instinctively hunger for bloodshed, when there is a lack of conflict, they will find a way to create one. And as ideologies spread, geographies divided and genetic and cultural drift grew, so did the rifts between populations-- and gradually the one great tundra empire would fracture into self-governing pieces: dozens of small ones would independently arise all over the ring of land surrounding the Centralic Ocean, but six factions in particular would be noteworthy among all the rest: the Purebloods, the Rockcookers, the Squeakwegs, the Decadents, the Bruteriders and the Frazettas: each with their own way of life, genetic adaptations both natural and artificial, and defining tools that allow them to survive at their society's breaking point.

Most traditional are the xenophobic Purebloods of northern Arcuterra, living slightly south of the range of the original tundra harmsters: one of the last purebred tundra harmsters who desperately cling to their ideology of genetic superiority while the vast majority of postwar harmsters have mixed their genes with other species and subspecies: they retain the original appearance of their ancestors prior to the war. And they still remain in such a traditional lifestyle, breeding true to their original forms, having changed very little, save for one thing: while the individual Pureblood clans still clash, as harmsters are wont to do, they are capable of calling temporary truces, for they, as a cultural whole, fear a massive, numerous common enemy--basically everyone else who are not Purebloods.

This obsession with maintaining the purity of their bloodline has, in essence, kept them trapped in a more-medieval way of life, as it was through hybridization and later the formation of the Brutes that allowed other societies to advance. But the Purebloods would have none of it. They were a higher breed, and actively sought to purge the hybrid menace that encroached into their territory and way of life. So vehement is their distaste for the hybrids that even their own kin who display hybrid traits like recessive dewclaws or brown-tinted fur are killed as pups: even though such traits are not necessarily a result of hybridization, but merely atavistic throwbacks dormant within their own genetics.

Little do the Purebloods know that their fanatical fixation with genetic perfection and the traditional lifestyle is slowly killing off their people. The reduced gene pool has made inbreeding depression a steadily rising problem among them, with an increasing number of their new generations having genetic illnesses such as weaker immune systems and lower fertility rates. And their traditional way of life is threatened by others with the means to advance beyond: the means of tools and armament that the Purebloods, in their narrow-mindedness, refuse to accept and adapt to.

Not all postwar harmsters, however, are so unwilling to advance, as they had kept the sense of curiosity and experimentation that their ancestors once bore. The Rockcookers of southern Arcuterra are the most notable example: arising from the first few hybrid populations from the original experimental era, they combine genes from all three species, and thus are far more resilient and adaptable, as well as physically stronger and with more endurance. The Rockcookers, in their endless curiosity, learned to experiment with tools and weapons using different materials that they found in their environment.

And there was one material that was very abundant in the Arcuterran mountain range that was once home to the now-extinct mountain harmster: a red, brittle mineral that, in their experimentation, yielded a shiny, silvery compound when repeatedly melted in furnaces: metals like iron and copper that the Rockcookers began working with to exploit their durability. While red-hot and smoldering these minerals were malleable, and were smithed into flat plates that could be bound together as armor or sharpened into a point that made a superior polearm head far more useful in warfare and hunting than more brittle materials: while their metalworking was relatively crude, it was miles ahead of other harmsters when it came to the development of their armaments.

Thus the Rockcookers would avidly mine the iron-rich mountain deposits to forge their metals, aided by the labor of their domesticated Brutes that hauled their carts, propelled upon carved logs that functioned as rotary wheels. Industrious, ever curious, and motivated by a desire to outmatch their many rivals, they would continue forging better instruments-- and in the southern Arcuterran deserts, they would make another discovery: the abundant sand, when heated and refined, formed a hard, brittle crystalline material that could be used in many ways: glass. A material that made a sturdy container, but could also break into lethal shards. For while the Rockcookers sought progress, discovery and innovation, there was ultimately only one end goal behind everything: war and conquest. For in the end, they were, after all, harmsters, and like all their societies past and present, to them violence and war were never a crime nor atrocity: it was simply the natural order of things.

While the Rockcookers began creating their own synthesized materials to build and craft, others relied and improvised on natural materials that they found in their natural environments. The Squeakwegs of the southwestern Arcuterran peninsula, in particular, have taken advantage of one of the most resource-abundant ecosystems to forge their society and make a living: the sea.

Descended from the original bands of tundra harmsters that defeated the Raft-Raiders and appropriated their shipbuilding technologies that they reverse-engineered and refined to suit their needs, the Squeakwegs have ramped up their boats and their hunting to all-new levels: combining the Raft-Raiders' marine vehicles with the advanced weaponry of the tundra harmsters, the Squeakwegs would strike out at the most challenging of all prey: the titanic seavers and leviahams all so abundant in the Glaciocene seas and bigger than ever before, exceeding lengths of well over twenty meters in the biggest specimens. But these mighty giants were no match for the fleets of Squeakweg hunting fleets, which took great efforts to chart the migrations of their quarry and ambush them as they travelled through the Easaterran and Ecatorian Straits into the Centralic Ocean to feed during the summers. The risk of hunting marine creatures a hundred times their size was great, but the payoff was huge: primarily the rich fuel their bountiful blubber yielded as oil that could power sources of fire, their teeth that made useful building materials, and the plentiful meat that could feed a fleet for days.

Their seagoing lifestyle gave the Squeakwegs an incredibly wide range: as populations of cricetaceans and leviahams began to dwindle, the Squeakwegs would pursue them further north, and find land: eventually settling into the southeast of Gestaltia and the southwest of Mesoterra: lands already occupied each by a different rival society. However, the lands of South Easaterra, South Ecatoria and Isla Centralis would largely be left alone, due to their rough seas, strong currents, steep cliffs and inhospitable terrain that would persuade the Squeakwegs to leave these lands alone: and mercifully for the wildlife of these islands, they would be spared their wrath.

Most postwar harmster tribes would ever be poised for war and combat as they always were: some rising to new heights while others gradually sinking on a lifeboat of oblivion, but either way still ready for battle so long as their kingdoms stood. But even the mightiest empire eventually suffers a decline: a fact that has slowly been dawning on what was once the most feared and dreaded harmster kingdom of all: the Decadents, the greatest empire of Mesoterra that once reigned supreme, but as of recent decades has grown slowly more complacent and weak under a pretense of their own invulnerability.

With extravagant cities sporting palaces and colosseums built of stone, it comes as little surprise that this society was once the most powerful of empires that was far too mighty to be opposed. But this was of the past, as now the Decadents, true to their name, now lead lethargic, privileged lives, simply commanding their legions of enslaved Brutes to do their hard work for them, plowing the soil, harvesting crops, herding livestock and hauling loads, while all the Decadents had to do was lounge about whipping their beasts to work. The Decadents now revel in an illusion of luxury, their fur flamboyantly dyed, their hedonistic lives motivated with momentary pleasure, with little need for hard work or combat to survive: and in their monarchs, reigning rulers and most privileged of the lot, they have long since depended on servants and guards as, bloated by years of rich food and blissful complacency, now can hardly fend for themselves. From the outside, their kingdoms look unbreakable, impenetrable, intimidating to the rival tribes of Mesoterra. But deep within, in a layer hidden from their enemies, the Decadents, and their empire, are soft and decaying within the core.

That is not to say that the Decadents, weak and cowardly as they are, do not revel in bloodshed, indeed, the instinctual excitement to violence is very much present in their psyche. But now, rather than waging war themselves, they have turned bloodshed into a spectacle, a form of entertainment, with dangerous creatures imported from other lands caged, bred and turned into pawns for their fighting pits, creatures such as the carnohams and beelzeboars of Gestaltia, the slaybers and chernadogs of Arcuterra, and Mesoterra's own apex predator, their distant relative the ripperoo, which they pitted against one another in violent battles to the death, as well as with their own gladiators and with packs of especially-bred fighting Brutes, tearing one another to bloody ribbons while a watching crowd shrieked eagerly in bloodlust. Like all other harmsters the Decadents took great joy in violence: as long as it was someone else doing it.

Though most postwar harmster empires are rooted in one spot, one rising power is slowly on the move: the Bruteriders, a clan descended mostly from hybrids of higher savannah content than most, and have acquired their characteristics of stamina and tolerance to a wider range of climates without getting sick. They had gradually been expanding around the edge of the Centralic Ocean, originating from North Arcuterra as one of the hybrid races extirpated by the Purebloods, but slowly and surely spreading into one of the widest-spanning clans yet.

The Bruteriders, as their names would imply, have spent centuries breeding their captive Brutes for specialized tasks: including ones bred as hunting hounds trained to follow commands to track, attack and return, and far bigger ones that can be used as powerful mounts to carry a rider as well as projectile weaponry. They had also specialized in powerful portable artillery suited for long-range attacks, and like the Pyromaniacs before them would make use of flammable botanical extracts that they used to start fires and drive enemies out of their hiding spots, or corral them into ambushes. And while their breeding of Brutes has served them well, they have begun experimenting with the capturing and commanding of other, larger wild animals, such as the giant tundra and taiga herbivores very common in the Glaciocene.

The Bruteriders are widespread, but fragmented, their own clans having smaller skirmishes among themselves when times are harsh, for harmsters as a species are inherently selfish and pragmatic: quick to turn on allies if it would prove beneficial to themselves and making cooperative truces solely due to benefit. Still, while the Bruteriders are a people divided, they are one of the more successful and widespread clans yet: which means that their wide-spanning territories bring them into clashes with the Squeakwegs in southeast Gestaltia, the Decadents across the Mesoterran land bridge, the Purebloods in the northern Arcuterran tundra, and the Rockcookers along the coast of Arcuterra's Midland Sea.

The Bruteriders owe their success and diversity to their breeding and rearing of Brutes that they had selectively raised into their own war machines. But in the sixth major postwar harmster clade, and one quite as widespread as the Bruteriders, this practice would take on a terrible extreme with horrific consqequences.

The hybrids had formed from crossbreeding with the captive matriarch and savannah harmsters during the postwar age of experimentation, prior to their degradation into the domesticated Brutes: thus they suffered no ill effects, and retained their intelligence. But the sixth group of postwar harmsters, seeking to acquire new traits into their bloodlines in a quest to evolve into a superior species with all the benefits of their outcrossings, attempted crossbreeding with their own domesticated strains of Brutes, which had the minds of beasts at this point-- not that the earlier hybrids, born from drugged and lobotomized sapient prisoners of war, were any more of a pleasant route for their breeding experiments to take.

But here, they would backfire terribly, as their new generations grew ever bigger and stronger, and merge traits of tundra, matriarch, savannah and various breeds of Brutes with increased ferocity and endurance: but slowly, they also became less and less intelligent, due to the selectively-bred genes of the Brutes that limited brain development-- and while they would just barely cling on to sapience, the sixth group would make monsters out of themselves and descend to barbarism, giving rise to one of the most horrific, amalgamated bloodlines in all of harmster history-- the vicious, primal Frazettas.

The Frazettas would degrade themselves to the level of sticks and stones of the harmsters of five thousand years prior: but now they were far bigger, far stronger and fiercer, far more durable and deadly than the early ancestors of harmster kind. At about twice the size of the largest female matriarch harmsters, the Frazettas would become an inconquerable force that spread out through much of Arcuterra and Gestalia, following the other harmster clans that were also expanding at that point: not even as rivals, but as prey. Their enormous bulk required quite a lot of food-- and fortunately for the Frazettas, there was plenty of fresh meat to go around: other harmsters, and the Brutes that had escaped back into the wilderness and returned to a feral existence breeding wild as just another beast roaming the woods.

As the other harmsters began developing advanced arms, however, the Frazettas became outgunned by their quarry, and their wide span would be fragmented into small isolated groups as the rest of the harmster clans independently fought this surge of giant cannibals with tools that bested the Frazettas and their big sticks. Their population would be split apart into scattered groups, though the Frazettas would persist by becoming nocturnal: emerging from their dens in the cover of darkness, to raid settlements as they packed for the night, or to prey upon the now abundant and omnivorous feral Brutes: feasting upon two very different creatures that were both of what they once were.

From all fronts, from all sides, and across multiple continents, the six factions would clash in combat, having small, isolated skirmishes where two populations collided. Their empires grew ever bigger, but broke apart when their fragile unity snapped like a thread-- be it due to ideological divisions fueled by differing beliefs, geographical isolation that separated populations, or genetic differences fueled in part by the tundra harmsters tampering with their own bloodlines. And these divided peoples would push back and forth where their ranges overlapped: either side potential victors in a very unpredictable struggle to expand.

One thing was certain, with all things considered: something far bigger was slowly brewing, and soon, it would be inevitable.

▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪

[leelany-world]

Fuckboi Part 1

This one is inspired by the song Fuckboi by Electric Callboy (feat. Conquer Divide). The first time I listened to this song, I instantly pictured Sixty being in this situation.

[Part 1]  (Link to AO3)

Paring: Sixty/Female Reader Rating: Explicit (Part 2) Word Count: 4168  Warnings: None    Summary: You meet Sixty at Tina's birthday party and you hit it off right away. The problem? His reputation as a fuckboy. But for which of you is that the bigger problem?

Unfortunately, you had to work late, and for a moment you thought about skipping the party you had been invited to. But Tina would have never forgiven you—and in hindsight, you would have never forgiven yourself either. And you really could need some fun and distraction right now.

Tina was one of your best friends, and she had invited a few friends and colleagues to her favorite bar for her birthday celebration.

You knew her since childhood, living only a few houses apart. When she joined the DPD, you also became friends with her colleagues Chris and Gavin. No, calling Gavin a friend wasn’t the right word, but you both tolerated each other for Tina’s sake.

However, this would be the day when you would finally meet her colleagues Connor, Nines, and Sixty. Tina had told you so much about the RKs, but you had never met them until now. And you really were curious after having heard all those stories.

Connor was the most ‘famous’ one. He had played an important part in the android revolution, and he had been all over the news. She had told you about his time at the DPD before and after the revolution. And the cutest thing? He had found the love of his life in that process: a sweet woman who had played a huge role in him deviating.

Then there was Nines, the successor of his series or something like that. Aloof, arrogant, asshole—that were a few words Tina had used to describe him. Nobody knew much about him, only that he had suddenly appeared with Connor at the DPD after the revolution, where he had been partnered with Gavin. Tina was surprised that they both were still alive, with their strong personalities clashing together since day one.

The third one was Sixty. Tina had described him as crazy and chaotic, but in a totally endearing way—at least to you—and as a real flirt. Someone threw a party? Sixty would be there. There was salt in the sugar box? Definitely caused by Sixty. But they said he never spent a night alone, always taking one or more willing conquests home. Despite his reputation, he really sounded like a funny guy to your liking with your kind of humor—you were excited to finally meet him.

When you arrived at the bar, the party was in full swing. It was crowded, regular guests and party guests were talking, dancing, and singing.

The front of the bar consisted of a long bar on one side and a sitting area on the other side. The back opened up to a large open space with more places to lounge, a dance floor, and a small stage with a karaoke machine, that was the highlight of this bar.

You weaved your way through the crowd, greeting friends you met on your way, until you finally found the birthday child on the dancefloor, dancing with her crush Stacey.

“Girl!” you both screamed excited when your eyes met, and you hugged each other breathless.

“Happy birthday, big girl,” you kissed her cheek and pressed your gift to her chest. She took your hand to find a quiet corner to open it.

“No, you didn’t!” Tina sounded scandalized, her face displaying pure disbelief.

“Yes, I did!” you laughed at her reaction.

“You are fucking crazy!” She squealed and threw her arms around your neck to thank you.

“Did someone call me?” An unfamiliar voice—a very nice and smooth voice—suddenly chimed in. You turned around, big brown eyes were focused on you and Tina, a boyish smirk, showing the playful nature behind that cute face. You knew exactly who this was: Sixty. How you could tell him and Connor apart? Sixty had a scar on his forehead, acquired during the android uprising according to Tina—and someday you really wanted to hear that story behind it from him.

“Nah, Sixty. You’re not the only crazy one here, she really comes close to you,” Tina laughed, pointing at you.

“Nice to meet a fellow lunatic then,” he winked and took your hand for a shake.

“Likewise,” you chuckled. His open nature was contagious, and his eyes totally captivating. You introduced yourself and noticed a mischievous flicker in his eyes.

“Oh, no. Not you both!” Tina came between you with a laugh and pushed you away from each other. Sixty never lost his focus on you, while laughing at Tina’s behavior.

“You told us so much about her, now I want to finally meet her,” he whined mockingly, but Tina had her hand still pressed to his chest to keep him away from you.

“No, you will not make her one of your meaningless one-night stands, she deserves more!” She stated in a firm tone.

“Tina, I can decide that for myself,” you chimed in, but she ignored you. She was in full friend-defender mode.

“I can just be friends with people! It's not always about sex. I’m friends with you!” Sixty argued.

“I’m a lesbian!” She waved her arms in the air in an over dramatic way.

“As if that would be an excuse. There have been other women who had thought so, too, or former straight men,” he countered, and shrugged his shoulders. You cracked up at his frankness, and Tina went speechless.

She turned to you, grabbed your shoulders, and looked you deep in the eyes. “You know what they say about him, please be cautious with your feelings.”

You were touched by her concern and nodded at her.

“Does he bother you?” Another deep and smooth voice suddenly came from behind you, and you felt a large figure looming behind your back. Sixty groaned with a roll of his eyes, and shot you an apologizing look.

You then turned to find a man nearly identical to Sixty, except for his broader frame and icy blue eyes mustering you up and down. This must be Nines, then.

“What? No! Why would you think that?” you asked him, a little confused, looking back at Sixty and back to Nines.

“He has a weakness for beautiful women,” Nines told you, tilting his head like he was dissecting you with his gaze. "I'm Richard-Conrad, but you may call me Nines."

Did he choose his name based on his serial number? You wondered if Sixty had chosen another name, too.

“Hm, I guess he's not the only one, the way you're leering at me, Nines,” you countered, mimicking his head tilt with a raised eyebrow while putting your hands on your hips.

You could have sworn there was a minimal twitch in the corner of his mouth, but you were here to have fun, and turned back to Tina. The scandalized look on Nine’s face and the yellow pulsing LED for ignoring him didn’t go unnoticed to you—but so didn’t the amazed look on Sixty’s face.

“Anyway, I hope you have much fun with your present!” you snickered at her and she slapped your arm with it. So much drama and you hadn’t even one drink yet.

Tina must have sensed it. “Go get a drink, you evil bitch,” she giggled, and shoved you towards the bar and away from Sixty.

You turned to ask him if he wanted a drink too, but he was already gone. So you found a free space at the bar and waited for the bartender to get your order.

“Of course, Ti’s crazy ass friend is here, too,” a voice grazing at your nerves greeted you.

“Hello to you, too, Gavin.” You rolled your eyes. “So, you are still an asshole?”

“As much as you are a snippy bitch,” he countered and raised his glass at you. The moment you wanted to give your retort, you were interrupted.

“Your body language shows that this time someone is really bothering you.” Nines suddenly stood beside you again. His intense eyes focused on you.

“Yes, both of you,” you answered, irritated. There, this time it was his eye that had twitched, and Gavin laughed.

“The first woman that doesn’t swoon under Nines advances, that I lived to see that,” Gavin bawled, took his beer and left. Still laughing until he disappeared into the crowd.

“Is Gavin already drunk or just being an asshole as usual?” A voice nearly identical to Sixty chimed in, but this time it was Connor.

He introduced himself and his girlfriend. They looked so damn adorable together.

“I hoped he was just being such an asshole to me,” you stated and introduced yourself.

“Nice to finally meet you, Tina told us so much about you. But unfortunately, no, he is an asshole to everyone,” he smiled back at you.

“If Tina told you about me, you must have a really terrible picture of me. I bet she only gossips about my failings, that sweet bitch,” you snickered. Tina really was the queen of gossip. But you loved her for that.

You had a lovely chat with them, the order of your drink forgotten. That's when Nines suddenly hold a creamy cocktail in front of you. You had totally forgotten about him, too.

“I have taken the liberty to order something for you,” he said in a smooth but arrogant tone.

You eyed the drink and sighed. “Oh, yeah, well. You really should have asked beforehand,” you told him.

“Excuse me?” he drew back with a scandalized look on his face.

“When I drink this cocktail now with all the cream in it, I will spend the rest of the night in the bathroom and the party will be over for me,” you explained with a shrug of your shoulders.

The disgusted look he gave you after your blunt statement was hilarious. Connor's girlfriend took pity with him and took the cocktail.

You waved the bartender to you and ordered something to your liking: Whisky, the smokiest one the bar offered.

“On the other side, I'm really not one for the sweet stuff, sorry.” You raised your glass at him and left after excusing yourself from a chuckling Connor and his giggling girlfriend to meet some other friends.

It felt good to meet them all again, talking about old stories and new gossip. Somewhere in between, Sixty had joined the group. It was instantly clear that you both shared the same movie and music taste, and humor. It was a great basis to talk about your common interests. The people between you moved to be out of your way, when you two put your heads together to talk more about everything and nothing. And the flirting flowed easily between you. No cringe pick up lines, just sweet and funny compliments and teasing.

You were so focused on each other, the surrounding people had nearly faded away. But of course the unpleasant comments couldn’t be overheard.

They taunted you to take a room, or at least the restroom, to relieve the sexual tension between you. But there were also comments about Sixty's reputation that let him roll his eyes a few times, his LED a constant yellow. Gone was the calm blue and light atmosphere.

“The Fuckboy has a new target,” someone whispered.

“He will break her heart like he always does. Brittany is still devastated after he just fucked her once and blocked her afterwards,” another voice was heard saying.

You stood and snapped at them. “What if he is my target for the evening? Huh?” you asked them, but of course they just looked away in shame and stayed silent.

“Thought so. Come on Sixty. We are gonna have some fun now,” you commanded and gestured to Tina, who was about to take over the karaoke machine. You took his hand and pulled him towards the small stage, where Tina was about to draw the first pair who would have to sing.

The pairings were hilarious.

At first, Hank had to sing with Nines. You hadn't seen him for a few years since his son had died. But now he looked happy and full of life again. Their deep voices boomed through the bar, but the performance was a little stiff. The crowd still loved them and everyone sang along.

Then it was Gavin's and Tina's turn. They both barely hit a note, but they had so much fun and put on a hilarious dance routine that wowed the other guests.

Other pairings were also great and entertaining. Sixty and you had fun playing awful and trashy judges the entire time.

Tina suddenly looked hesitant at the both of you, when she held up your names as the next pairing with your song: “The Time Of My Life” from the classic movie Dirty Dancing.

Sixty and you laughed at the coincidence to get paired together—and at that song.

“You know that movie?” you asked him.

His LED swirled yellow, and he looked spaced out for a few seconds. “Now I do,” he smirked at you.

“Alright,” you laughed at him. “Then you know what we have to do, right?”

“Of course,” he chuckled at your crazy idea and winked at you. Then he ruffled his hair and opened a few buttons of his shirt to reveal his smooth chest. You appreciated what you saw and Sixty seemed to bask in your stare. Cheeky bastard.

“Come on, Baby,” he took your hand, the reference making you giggle like an idiot, and led you up the small stage. Both of you took your mics, and Sixty started the song.

His smooth and honeyed voice hit every note perfectly, while focusing on you. It sent shivers down your spine and you almost missed your cue.

A smug grin grew on your face while singing, when you saw his surprise and wonder hearing you hitting every note perfectly, too.

When the instrumental part started, he took your hand and both of you started swaying your hips seductively in imitations of the movie. You didn’t really know the right moves of the dance, you just flowed with him. dancing and singing in perfect harmony.

You were really having the time of your life at that moment, and you cringed a bit inwardly while making that connection. But as usual, you laughed it away. Where was the fun in not being cringe sometimes?

That’s when the saxophone part of the song came and Sixty jumped dramatically off the stage like Patrick Swayze. You had tears of joy in your eyes from his solo show. The crowd parted for him, totally going crazy, with his swaying hips, jumps and swirls, and especially when he turned and beckoned you with his finger to come to him.

“No, they won’t,” Tina breathed.

“Yes, they totally will,” Stacey laughed.

So you jumped down and ran full speed at him, your eyes never leaving his. His arms shot forward, you jumped, and he gripped your hips to lift you smoothly over his head, where you spread your arms to make the famous Dirty Dancing pose.

Your small crowd had totally lost it, clapping loudly and cheering you on. He slowly lowered you back down, looked up at you, and for an endless second you thought he would kiss you right there and then while still holding you slightly above him by the hips.

But he set you down, and you finished the song arm in arm, hardly able to stop laughing.

You both had rocked it, earning an enormous round of applause and your audience shouted in unison for an encore.

Sixty and you bowed to each other in fun, but before you could talk more to him, your friends dragged you both away to different corners of the bar.

“Damn Girl, you still got it! You hadn’t sung for months now. What happened?” Tina asked in wonder.

“Maybe because I finally got paired with a brilliant partner? He was exceptional, and it was so much fun!” you answered her with glee.

“That's true but—”she paused, looking you deep in the eyes while searching for the right words”—you know what I have told you about him, what I have heard about him. He is never being serious and I don’t want you to get your heart broken. Again.”

You put your hands on her shoulders with a big sigh. “Thank you, Tina, for your concern, but sometimes I just want to have some fun, too.” You kissed her cheek, still on some kind of high from your performance, and left her to get another drink.

Later that evening, when the first notes of one of your favorite songs boomed through the bar, you jumped from your seat with glee to join the people on the dancefloor.

Sixty immediately stood out for his size and exuberant movements.

He was dancing with other people—men and women.

But so were you.

At the same moment, he spotted you too, a smirk on his face as he watched you while a stranger was slowly grinding against you from behind—and he did the same to a woman in front of him.

You grinned back at him. Just two people having fun and being happy for the other.

You enjoyed the moment and let your eyes wander over the people. That's when you noticed loud shouting from the side that even drowned out the music: a drunk woman was trying to get into Connor’s pants, while he was dancing with his girlfriend. They fended her off, with a justified yelling part of his girlfriend.

Turning back, you saw Sixty approaching you with a predatory look that made your knees weak. But before he could reach you, the drunk woman from before walked right up to him and threw her arms around his neck. At first he was amused, but then she whispered something in his ear and he let out a long sigh.

He took her hand, and they disappeared into the restroom.

Your heart sank. Well, that was it for the rest of the night for him and you. Somehow you were disappointed that he left you without saying goodbye, after the two of you had hit it off right away. But you were glad that you had finally met him and that the evening had otherwise been amazing. Maybe some other time then.

You didn't feel like dancing anymore, so you went to the bar to have another drink, where you met Connor's girlfriend again. You congratulated her for fending off this woman and she told you that this was not the first time and that Connor was approached every time by people who wanted to meet him—and more.

At that moment, Sixty and the woman walked past you and left the bar. Their makeup was all smeared, and you didn't want to think about what they had done in the restroom.

Connor's girlfriend gave you a pitying look and told you that Sixty was just like that. You shrugged, showing that you didn't mind. At least not on the outside.

Your drinks came, and you parted ways again, but you were stopped when a tall, solid body stood in your way to stop you. It was Nines again.

“He will always leave with the ones that are easy to get. I thought it would be you tonight, he barely left your side,” he commented, again with his head tilted and observing you.

“What the fuck gives you the impression that I'm easy to get?” you stated with a hard glare.

“Why did he leave you?” Nines asked, but it wasn’t really directed at you.

“Maybe I was too boring for him in the end?” you scoffed, crossing your arms in front of you to shield yourself from his gaze.

“No, you certainly are not,” he said, still searching your face for an answer to his question.

The whole situation was too weird for you, but when you turned to leave, Nines grabbed your arm and pulled you to his chest.

“Let me go, this isn’t funny,” you hissed at him, trying to free yourself from his tight grip.

Nines lowered his head when he noticed Sixty coming back. With the door behind you, you couldn't see him, and from Sixty's point of view, your position looked like Nines was kissing you.

“He'll only fuck you for one night and then he'll get bored of you, like he does with every one of his conquests. Instead, you can have me for more than that,” he whispered in your ear in a sultry voice.

You had enough and pushed him away from you.

“First you insult me by saying that I’m easy to get, and now you're hitting on me? I really hope you treat other women better! Sixty was damn good company tonight, but now you're just being a rude dick!” you yelled at him,turning around to get some fresh air and setting your drink down on the next table.

Outside, people crowded the bar's entryway, so you turned into an alley next to the bar to blow off some steam by kicking a few trash cans in your frustration.

“I could arrest you for vandalism, you know.”

When you turned, Sixty stood at the entrance of the alley, watching you with a big grin.

“Would you have to handcuff me?” you asked innocently, slowly approaching him. “And then you'd offer to let me go free if I gave you a blowjob? Or with a quickie on the hood of your police car?” You stopped a few feet away from him.

“That would be such a cliché,” he smirked, and you laughed along.

When the laughter faded, you both spoke at the same time.

“I thought you had left with that drunk woman.”

“I thought you would leave with Nines.”

“No—” you both started in unison again, and Sixty gestured for you to continue.

“No, he is an asshole, and I needed some fresh air.”

“I think you are the first person to reject. I’m impressed,” Sixty laughed.

“What about you then?” you asked him, curious.

He stopped laughing and looked at you with an earnest expression. “I dragged her to the bathroom before she would have puked all over the dancefloor. Then I called a friend of hers to bring her home. She didn’t want—” he stopped himself to think of a better explanation—”she wanted…,” but he couldn’t finish that sentence. Not yet. Perhaps he could tell you about it another time. He didn’t want to ruin this just yet.

He looked very uncomfortable, so you saved him by not asking further. “And I thought she was lucky to be fucked senseless, the way she looked,” you chuckled, trying to lighten the mood again.

Sixty's eyes suddenly sparkled with curiosity, he would have to take the next step carefully. Did you just want to play a game with him? He had never been so nervous—hell, until now he had never been nervous once in his life. But he had to try his luck.

“Looks like we both would be lonely for the rest of the night then,” he stated, his damn alluring smirk on his lips again, when he took a step towards you.

“What if I enjoy being alone?” you teased him, stepping towards him, too.

“You won't anymore after one night with me,” the cheeky bastard countered, making you giggle.

You watched him for a moment, a little more teasing for the cheeky android wouldn’t hurt. But when his LED flickered yellow, you closed the distance between you.

“One night, huh?” you looked up through your eyelashes with a wicked grin.

Sixty shrugged his shoulder, before he cupped your cheek, and pulled you into a fervent kiss. If the sparks between you had been visible throughout the evening, people would have seen a grandiose firework in this alley now.

One of your hands held onto his shirt, the other went up to grab a fistful of his hair. The moan escaping him was a sure sign that he liked it. His other hand sneaked up to your ass, firmly kneading your soft flesh. He seemed to like that, too.

He was a great kisser, and it promised so much more for the rest of the night.

When he released you, you were totally out of breath. Damned to be a human who had to breathe.

“We should go somewhere else, don't you think? I really don't want this to be just a quickie in a dirty alley,” he whispered into your ear and you nodded eagerly.

You could do so many things an entire night long. This wasn't the right place for that. If you could only spend one night with him, you wanted to make every minute count.

What you didn't know, Sixty thought exactly the same. If you were as compatible in bed as you had been the entire evening, this would be the best sex of both your lives.

Since he lived closer to the bar, he took your hand and led you to his place.

[rebelwrites]

OPERATION: Find The Kids!

Bravo Team x Reader

A/N okay so I saw a TikTok yesterday and this gave me the idea for the chaotic fic you are about to read. Seven tier one navy seals looking after four kids. What could go wrong? So I give you nearly 2k words of utter chaos. Trying to keep track of what 11 people are doing is stressful 😂

Join The Group Chat Here - If You Want Tagging Manually Let Me Know 🖤

SEAL Team Masterlist

This Months Writing

Sipping on your coffee, you ran your hand over your face as you try to finish off the paperwork from the last deployment. You tried to get this done in your home office but it was no good when your house was used as base when the boys were home. Or as Metal kept putting it “the home of Bravo” but it did make your life easier meaning you didn’t have to worry about finding a sitter at short notice as you had at least one of the boys crashing at yours for whatever reason.

And at the moment it was a godsend, especially as you were looking after your Brother’s triplets whilst he was going through the divorce. But having four kids under the age of 7 in the house was chaos, but you lived around big kids all the time so you could just about cope.

“Guys, someone has to take the boss some coffee,” Clay said, as he placed the plate of toast in the middle of the kitchen table. “And to swipe the walkies.”

Everyone fell silent. That silent you could hear a pin drop.

“Oh hell no,” Sonny said, breaking the silence. “You know how she gets when she’s doing the reports. And it was your idea Blondielocks, so you should do it.”

“No way,” Clay exclaimed, “I value my life thank you. “

“Guys let’s settle this like adults,” Metal said, with a serious look on his face. “Rock, paper, scissors. We go around the group and do it as a knock out style thing and whoever is left standing has to take the boss some coffee and swipe the walkies.”

So that's how it was decided that Sonny was the one to go into the lion's den, armed with coffee and breakfast to hopefully make things go smoothly.

“Quinn, I see you.” You said not looking away from your screen.

“How the fuck?” He muttered, “I swear you have eyes in the back of your head.”

“You have to when you look after children,” you laughed, “now I’m busy so what do you want?”

“We know you left without breakfast so I thought I’d bring you some,” he shrugged, placing the food and coffee on the table.

“I don’t buy it,” you said, raising your brow at him. “You are up to something.”

“Nope, just bringing the boss coffee.” He grinned, he had already swiped the walkies and needed to get out of here. “You have a good day, and don’t worry about anything, we have it all under control.”

“That’s what makes me worry Quinn,” you glared. “Just don’t burn my house down and don’t lose a child. That’s all I ask.”

“Hard copy, boss.” He nodded before leaving the room.

“Mission success boys,” Sonny shouted walking back into the house, “Oh and final words from the boss were don't set the house on fire and don’t lose a child but she had no idea I swiped the walkies.”

“Well then, time to gear up boys,” Jase said, slapping his legs as he stood up. “Kids have requested we wear our camo bottoms so hurry up we head out at 0900.”

Twenty minutes had passed and everyone was gathered in the living room.

“Right, let's just run through this one more time,” Clay said looking at the list on his phone.

“First aid kit”

“Check”

“Snacks”

“Check”

“Drinks”

“Check”

“Sun cream”

“Check”

“Kids dressed”

“Check”

“All walkies on the same station”

“Check”

“Well boys I think we are ready,” Trent nodded, “So Brock has Cerb and Pepper, I’ve got the bag, so the rest of you get to keep an eye on the kids.”

Your daughter, Riley instantly clung onto Clay like a koala bear, your nephew Joey gravitated to Metal, Sonny scooped up your niece, Amber and Ray took your other Niece, Lola.

“Let’s hit the park,” Jase nodded, leading everyone out the house.

“What could go wrong,” Sonny laughed. “It’s not like we are gonna lose any of them. There’s four of them and seven of us.”

“Don’t say that, you idiot,” Metal said, hitting Sonny around the back of the head. “Don't jinx things, now If things go south it’s your fault.”

“Anyone got have eyes on HVT one?” Jase asked down the walkie, as he scanned the park.

“HVT one is south moving toward the tyre swing,” Metal replied, “I’ve lost eyes on HVT two.”

“I’ve got eyes on HVT two, she is in need of refilling. Lure her back to base Three,” Clay said, as he squinted from the sun.

“Copy six,” Sonny called, as he calmly headed for Amber, who thought this was the best game in the world as her Uncle Sonny chased her. “HVT two inbound,”

“My eyes are peeled,” Jase laughed, as he spotted Amber running towards him.

“For the love of god don’t forget the suncream.” Ray responded.

“Copy that,” Jase said, routing around the bag for supplies. He literally only took his eyes off her for two seconds but by the time he looked up she was gone. “All call signs I have lost eyes on HVT two. I repeat I have lost eyes on HVT two.”

“I don’t have HVT three or four,” Brock sighed “They just vanished.”

“Is HVT one still at the tyre swing?” Ray asked.

“Fuck, she’s gone to.” Metal cursed.

“Guys we fucked up, boss is gonna kill us if we don’t come home with a full head count.” Ray breathed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Three you know this is your fault,” Metal growled.

“How is it my fault?” Sonny snapped. “You're the one meant to be watching HVT One.”

“You jinxed things, idiot,” Metal huffed, “Told you this would happen.”

“Guys, stop fighting,” Jase sighed, “Look just everyone reconvene at base and we put a plan together, they can’t have gone far.”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing, you knew Sonny was up to something when he came in this morning but the big idiot forgot to pick up all the walkies meaning you could hear everything.

Pinching the bridge of your nose, you messed with the station trying to get a clearer sound. You wanted to see how this would play out, they all sounded pretty panicked but they should be. One of the rules was they could do whatever, go wherever but just don’t lose anyone.

“You okay Y/L/N?” Eric asked coming into the briefing room with some fresh coffee.

“Define okay when the boys are looking after the tribe today, Sonny managed to swipe the walkies and now somehow they have managed to lose all four kids at the park,” you sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose.

“Well at least they had the sense to get the walkies I suppose,” Eric laughed, “you know they will have a full head count by the end of the day, they won’t leave until they do.”

“I know,” you laughed, “but I’m gonna get them back.”

“How the fuck have we managed to lose four kids,” Clay said running his hand over his face. “I don’t get it,”

“Because children like to fucking run off,” Jase snapped. “Look, we don’t need to go into how it happened, it happened. Let’s just work the problem and get these kids back before we all get brutally killed. Operation find the kids is a go.”

“Riley likes water right?” Trent asked.

“Yeah, she’s a proper water baby, why do you ask?” Clay questioned.

“She might have gone towards the lake.” Trent nodded.

“Right, Clay and Brock head to the lake and try to get Riley. We all know you are her favourite Uncle Clay so she might actually come back to you.” Ray said, making a call. “We divide and conquer boys.”

“Copy,” Brock and Clay nodded, before running off in the direction of the lake.

“What about Joey?” Trent asked.

“The woods definitely,” Jase nodded.

“I’m on it,” Metal nodded before disappearing.

“Okay so that leaves Amber and Lola.” Jase said.

“Fuck I have no idea,” Ray sighed. “They are both so quiet.”

“We are just gonna have to split up.” Sonny said, “we will find them.”

Two hours had passed and everyone apart from Brock and Clay were back at base. Three out of the four kids had been located and now sitting on the grass with Metal eatting some cookies.

“I’m gonna need a medic,” Clay said, his voice full of panic and cry’s could be heard in the background.

“How far out are you?” Jase replied.

“About 5 mikes,” Brock replied.

Clay looked down at Riley in his arms, she was screaming and the tears kept coming.

“Hey Riley-roo, it’s okay, Uncle Clay has got you. You are gonna be okay.” Clay cooed trying to calm down his god daughter.

“What’s the sitrep?” Trent asked.

“Not sure if it’s a broken wrist or just a sprain. She fell pretty hard on it whilst running.” Clay sighed down the walkie. “It’s official boys, we are dead meat when the boss gets home.”

The house was quiet when you got home, far too quiet. The only sound was the hum from the TV but even that was on low volume. Quickly glancing in the kitchen you rolled your eyes at the state of it. It looked like a bomb had gone off. There were plates and mugs everywhere along with McDonald’s discarded wrappers.

Quietly you walked into the living room to see all the kids awake and all the boys fast asleep on the sofas. Riley was tucked under Clay’s arms, Joey was laying across Metal and Brock, Amber was sat in between Jase’s legs and Lola was tucked under Ray’s arms.

“Mummy” Riley grinned as she saw you. “Look what I got,” she giggled, waving her casted wrist in the air.

“What happened baby?” You asked, crouching down to her level.

“I tripped and broke my wrist.” She pouted, “But Uncle Clay took me to the hospital.”

“Well it looks like you all wore your Uncles out today,” you laughed, “but just cover your ears for me kiddos.”

Once they all covered their ears with their hands, you pushed yourself to your feet.

“Wake up you lazy shits!” You shouted, startling them all awake. “Did we have a good day?” You asked playing dumb.

“Yeah it was amazing,” Jase nodded. “We went to the park.”

“So you did lose any of the kids?” You asked, placing your hand on your hip.

“Nope,” Clay said, with a sheepish smile on his face.

“Well can someone explain this?” You said, pressing play on the recording.

The whole room fell quiet as they heard the conversation playback from early.

“So wanna change your answer boys?” You glared. “I only have two rules and you fucking broke one of them. And my daughter has a bloody broken arm!”

“Sorry, boss.” Sonny mumbled, not making eye contact.

“You better be you idiots,” you laughed, “At least you came home with a full head count. Now Clay move, you are in my seat.”

Once Clay had moved, you settled down in your spot.

“Oh and another thing, I’ve had a long ass day typing up all the incident reports from J-Bad, I swear your band list gets longer each deployment,” you laughed, “but I’m not happy about the state of my kitchen so you can all get in there and sort it out.”

“Yes, boss.” They all said, making you smirk. Not many people could make Bravo team sulk off with their tail between their legs but you could and it always made you laugh.

“And someone make me a bloody coffee, because I am not moving off this sofa for the rest of the night”

@chibsytelford @mrsmarvelous1995 @supervalcsi @talicat713 @disasterfandoms @bravo-four-seal-team @jasonbabymama @jayhalsteadfan-2417 @lotsoflovefromlea @seik-o @velvetcardiganbucky @phoenixhalliwell @pancakeisreading @itsonautopilot @pinkrockstar19 @galaxysanduniversesinmymind @softi92 @abby-splace @theysayitscrazy @thelovelyleo23 @innerpaperexpertcloud

[writingsbychlo]

smoke and fire (09)

word count; 13,103

summary; following up a storm, there’s a crash on one of the highways, and things don’t always go as planned in rescue attempts.

notes; there is going to be some big realisations in this part. it’s angsty, but you’ll love it.

warnings; reference to death, panic attacks, car crashes, near-death experience, mild injury/gore reference.

“Holy shit..” You mumbled, staring out at the scene ahead of yourself on the intersection, Newt’s jaw dropped much like your own as you looked out at it all. Smoke curling up into the air, crushed cars and contorted metal with flames curling up. Blue sirens of other ambulances and firetrucks, the other side of the amalgamation of cars, and you stepped down from the ambulance in shock.

The call that had come over the alert ten minutes ago had been no joke, it was a true disaster, the no longer muffled wails of emergency vehicle alerts, the crying of people in pain, the workings of machinery and metal grating against metal to make you shudder in uncomfortable shock. The firetrucks of your own house pulled up next to you, the ambulance having the edge on this case as it was easier to weave through other cars along the highway, and the same look of shock was mirrored on all of their faces. 

This wasn’t the first car crash you’d dealt with, far from it, but it was certainly the worst. Police and traffic wardens were beginning to divert traffic, all the lanes with cars moving in both directions being stopped, and you planted your feet tightly to the ground and wrapped your jacket more tightly around yourself as the strong and chilling winds that had been the cause of the accident came back to claim more victims. The females roared up, only encouraged by the howling winds, and you cursed under your breath at the cold. 

An oil tanker had tipped over, blocking all of the lanes in both directions, broken fences from where it had tipped and cars had simply managed to smash into it and one another repeatedly as they tried to swerve, leaving the mixed wreckage of at least twenty cars littered across the tarmac. Bumpers, glass and framework, and there were too many pieces to began even starting to try and match them to smashed vehicles. 

Opening your door back up and hopping back up into the warmth of the ambo’ cabin, Newt ran a hand over his hair, scratching at the back of his head lightly as he sighed, gaze scanning repeatedly over the sights before him, and Brenda bumper her hips against his as she came to stand next to him. Twisting the dials on the radio, you unhooked the speaker from the set screwed into the dashboard, bringing it to your lips and listening as it crackled. 

“First responder dispatch centre, how can I help?”

“This is the paramedic of Firehouse ‘21, reporting to a call on the bridge entered-” Flicking your wrist up to take a look. “-eighteen minutes ago. Please notify all local hospitals to expect heavy patient incoming, various degrees of injury. Most likely to be expected is concussions, broken bones, burns and smoke inhalation, as well as various lacerations and punctures.”

“Noted, and the local hospitals will be informed. Thank you for your call.” The buzzing across the radios returned, static to fill the space as the call came to an end, and you hooked the material back up. Reaching backwards and behind your chair, you fished around for your bag, snatching it up in one hand and taking Newt’s with you, the man having paced away to stand with groups of firemen as they waited for their instructions. 

This was yet another call that Vince would take control off, ready to discuss a plan with the other house Chiefs to come up with a plan of action, divide and conquer the scene before you all, everybody coming at it from another angle to handle it. Slamming the door shut and wrapping your arms around yourself tightly once again to shield yourself from the cold. Stepping along towards your partner, your cheeks were already beginning to sting from the low temperature, and you came to stand before him, handing him his bag.

“Thanks.” He took the pack from you, hanging it on his shoulder, just with one strap, and tucking his hands securely into his pockets, bunched up in fists for warmth. “You call it in?”

“Notified all hospitals in the area, and gave them a vague list of injuries to expect.”

“Good call.” He mumbled, and you tried to tune into the chatter you were hearing. From what you could gather, the Chiefs had all divided up the area into sections, a certain number of cars and rescues to make. 

Three other teams on sight, one would deal solely with the tanker, neutralising oil and saving the driver from the cabin while making sure that the punctured and leaking tanker never met fire; arguably the most pressured job of them all as they struggled to fight off the looming explosion. The second and third team would split the cars on the other side, the morning rush who had all been heading into the city leaving far more casualties than those on your side who’d been heading the opposite way, and you would be left to deal with those on this side of the overturned tanker that was covering the entirety of the highway. 

There was so much commotion and noise that you couldn’t even hear the racing of the waters underneath, despite the crushing strength of the icy water running under the bridge below your feet, the rumbling of it normally audible when it was this chaotic, right after a storm had hit, but it was overpowered today. You shook again, the chilling temperatures making everything that much more difficult, the knuckles in your fingers already beginning to go stiff with the cold weather. 

“Alright, team. Listen up.” Your head snapped up as Vince spoke, his hands clapping together, rubbing for warmth before they were tucked back inside of his pockets, and you envied the heavy-duty jacket he already had on. “We have everything to the left of the overturned tanker. We are not - under any circumstances - to venture out of our zone. There is spilt oil, fires, and a lot of jagged metal. I don’t want to hear anyone telling other teams what to do.” He shot a pointed look to Gally, he scowled a little, everyone else chuckling and you supposed there was a story that you had yet to hear. 

Vince continued on, commanding the firemen, but you and Newt were able to tune out as you were left to your own devices, the two of you turning in unison to explore the area with your gazes. There weren’t as many cars to be attended to as you suspected there were on the other sides, but it was still over ten, and you worried your lower lip between your teeth as you tried to establish where to start. There were groans of pain, calls for help, and your fingers wrapped around your bag handle as you gripped on and tried to steady your thoughts.

The most concerning of it all was the van on the edge of the bridge. Clearly spun out, the side was dented and scraped from the collision. The barricades on either side of the van were missing, torn and unstable as one of the front wheels hung over the edge, but it seemed reasonably stable, no wobble or shake to it, even with the howling winds. 

“You wanna’ take that one?”

“Oh, no, that’s a treat for you.” You smirked, turning to look at Newt, and he rolled his eyes, holding out his fist and raising his brows. Matching his pose, you twisted to face him more fully, your fist landing on an open palm. “I can’t read you anymore. You used to suck at this game.”

“I have tactical skills now. It’s all about logic. I’m basically a Vulcan.”

“You’re basically a nerd.” You teased, and he scoffed, his good foot swinging up to kick you lightly enough in your shin that it didn’t hurt, but it still made you tremble as you tried to avoid it. He moved again, stepping towards you, and you shoved at his shoulder as you backed away. “Cut it out! I take it back!”

“Yeah, you better. Just for that, you’re taking the van!”

“Rock, paper, scissors!” You demanded, and he shook his head, turning his back on you and wandering away towards the car closest to himself, and you gaped at him a little, before turning back to analyse the van. It would no doubt need to be stabilised, and yet it was barely over the edge, but it was still concerning, and as you peered inside, you could pick up no movement, finding that there was an unconscious driver inside, if not unconscious passengers, too.

Turning back to find a fireman to help you, you jumped violently in shock at finding one directly behind you, your entire body jerking as you stepped back, and a familiar and raspy chuckle met your ears, held low to hide his brief amusement in a tense situation, and you scowled flashy up at him.

“Fucking hell, don’t do that!”

“I’m sorry.” He grinned, holding up a peace offering and apology that made your eyes widen. “I brought you a coat, so you wouldn’t get cold. Might restrict your movement a bit, though.” Thomas lifted the jacket up to sit over your shoulders, and you dropped your medkit to the floor, pushing your arms through your sleeves and wrapping it up tightly around yourself. For once, with the lack of any fires near yourself, you didn’t feel so overheated by the jacket, and instead comforted by it. 

“Thanks, I was freezing, actually.” He only hummed, letting go of the lapels as you fastened it up at the front, pressing down the velcro seals but not bothering to zip it up in case you needed to remove it frequently for your venture. Grabbing your bag from the ground beside your feet again, you stood back up. He was staring at you, a soft smile on his face but there was uncertainty hidden behind it, and you hated that you were at fault for it. 

You knew he was waiting for some kind of response to his actions of only a few days ago, the sweet touch of affection he had offered you after your visit to the vet. The dog was sitting happily and warm back at the station now, probably curled up on the couch, and yet you were standing here in the cold, trying to work out what to say to the man before you. 

Your mind had been clouded these last few days, spinning with too many thoughts to process. Your job, your friends, the life you’d lived for the last half a decade as opposed to the one looking you in the eye now, and whether you were willing to let yourself open up to that change. You wanted to, you wanted to let them in and to know that you had a true place in this house, but with your track record it was hard, and you were unfamiliar with having a family so intense after years of being alone. 

“I just need to think, okay?” Reaching out a hand when his shoulders slumped, he perked up a little as his fingers curled back around yours, loosely but enough to show he appreciated the gesture, and you squeezed gently. He nodded his head, licking over his lips, and while you knew that the look in his eyes was disappointment, there was also understanding. “I need your help.”

He took a sharp breath, his hand pulling back from yours as ‘Thomas’ disappeared and ‘Lieutenant Stephens’ took over. Jabbing a thumb over your shoulder, his eyes flickered to the van, brows furrowing a little. 

“It’s my job to head into that van, and in the interest of being less reckless, I figured you’d want to hook me up to some ropes before I do.”

“The fact that you even consider going in there without any deeply concerns me, y’know.” You rolled your eyes fondly, shaking your head as he stepped back, but he was spinning on his heel to begin commanding his team. The Truck team were already spreading out across the space deemed to belong to your firehouse, and Newt was halfway inside of a slightly crushed car to reach a patient, while Thomas began to gather equipment and a team for the van. 

Stepping over to said vehicle as you waited, you pressed your hand to the back of the van in a feather-light touch. Skimming your fingers across the cold surface of the backdoor, your fingers hooked under the handle, pushing down on the button and pulling the warped metal out, the door swinging open. 

From what you’d been able to see through the windows along the side, there was no movement, but there was still hope to get a verbal response as you called out. The cabin remained silent, and you peered inside, finding only one person sitting within there, a driver slumped across the steering wheel, airbag deployed and beginning to deflate. You suspected lacerations and possible broken lungs, as well as a concussion and one hell of a headache when they woke up. 

Pulling back, you rounded the car, peering over the barricade over the edge of the road and swallowing thickly at the height of the drop down into the river, the waters raging below you, and you checked the sights of the engine. You were no mechanic, and you couldn't tell much from the outside, but it didn’t look like the metal had crumpled too much, meaning you wouldn't have to cut away metal around his legs to get him out, making your job a lot easier if he wasn’t trapped under an engine that had been forced into the main vehicle compartment. 

“Ready when you are!” Brenda was waving a harness at you as you turned to face her, and Minho was busy planting anchors in the ground. Enough to support you, the passenger inside, and the ropes that would be secured around the vehicle to hold it steady. The team were working quickly and efficiently, threading them through the tyres and around the van in various locations to keep it still while you crawled inside. 

Taking the bundle of fabric from her, you dropped it to the ground, beginning to become familiar with these harnesses now, and you were certain you could get it on yourself. Pulling it up after stepping one foot into each loop, you eased it up your legs, tightening it at your waist and around each thigh, making sure that the straps were secure enough to reassure you. 

“You’re going to have limited rope, alright? So, try not to get it stuck on anything, because we need a lot of these anchors, we’re going to have to stand far back and away from the cracking concrete to have any grip.

“How much rope is ‘limited rope’?”

“About three metres.” She winced, and you turned to look at the vehicle, a brow raising. 

“Bren, this van looks about three metres if not more, can’t we get a longer rope?”

“We need all the rope we have for securing the van.” You knew she was right, there was more distance to be covered there, and it as important to keep both yourself and the passenger safe and secure, but it didn’t make it any easier to navigate the carbon and be able to move when you’d be tugging on a leash with no give. “Take a harness into the van, try to secure the patient inside of it. We’re getting another rope and anchor grouping set up, by the time you tend to them, we should be ready.”

“Gotcha.”

She grinned, holding up her palm flat, and you chuckled a little, before slamming your own hand against hers. It may have been a childish gesture, but something about the silly actions of high-fiving in support of one another had relieved just a little bit of the crippling tension looming over you both in the moment, and so as you grinned to one another, it was worth it. “You got this!”

“You bet I do.” You winked, hearing her let out an encouraging cheer, before she was hanging over the spare harness to you and walking away to take the end of your rope through all of the anchors and support set up to take the weight off of her. Thomas was working on another rope, giving you a simple nod as he watched you go, approval and encouragement you were sure, before you were placing your first foot onto the metal of the van, and then a second, climbing up and into the precariously hanging vehicle.

Once you were balanced within, both feet on the wooden backing of the van, you were left to try and navigate your way through the space. It was cluttered, work tools and plywood, all strapped down for security, and you were grateful to see that at least those restraints were intact; if they’d swung forward when this van had hit the railing, there was a likelihood they would have unbalanced the van.

Setting your bag and the spare harness down on the passenger seat the driver was still strapped in, and as you took another step forward toward him, the breath was forced from your lungs, the harness pulling tight around your stomach as the rope ran out, going taut through the anchors and giving you no budge. 

“You okay in there?”

You turned back to look at Chuck, his eyes scanning over the inside of the van, bright eyes and flushed cheeks as his curls blew around his face in the breeze, and you nodded. Looking over the man before you, your fingers took his chin gently, tipping his head up to sit straight instead of at the uncomfortable angle it had fallen to lay at, and checking for a pulse in his neck. It was weak, and his breathing was shallow, but it was definitely there. 

“Anything I can do to help?”

“You can grab a neck brace and the board from the ambo’, I don’t think this guy is waking up anytime soon.” Chuck nodded, moving away to gather the supplies you’d listed off to him, the heavy sound of his boots scuffling on the tarmac fading out as you focused on the man before you. There was a nasty graze across the side of his neck, a fleshy burn from the friction of his seatbelt against his skin, but he could simply be glad he was wearing it, because otherwise, he would have gone through the windshield. 

The airbag was going down, and you pressed onto it, the hissing of air sounding out as you pushed it to help it deflate, giving you more space to work with, and see what you were doing, trying to reach across his body as you waited for the fabric safety precaution to reside. 

His nose was bleeding and it was swelling with purple bruises under his eyes and across his cheeks, a broken nose that was bad and would need professionally resetting, but that was the only initial examination that you could do with your limited range of motion. 

Tugging a little on your rope again, and hoping it would offer a little more give, you were disappointed as it held strong, trying to work out how to get closer to the patient, to be able to properly reach him, and start examining him for the further injuries you suspected he might have.

“Okay, I got the brace and the board.” Chuck was panting slightly, lugging both pieces of equipment, the support like a surfboard under his arm as the padded brace swung in the other hand, and you chuckled. “Alright, set the board down, I’m not sure how I’ll get him into it, but you can tell Brenda we aren’t going to need the spare harness, he’s out cold. I’ll trade ya’.” He nodded, placing the board down on the ground and letting the brace follow. 

Picking up the edge of the fabric you’d left with your bag, you shifted, swinging it over your shoulder and the van rocked a little at your sudden movement, your blood running cold, but it stopped after only a moment as the ropes that the Squad team had set into place held it steady; Chuck’s eyes as wide as yours. “Maybe no more sudden movements, then?”

“I think that’s a good idea, kid.” You grinned a little, trying to reassure the young candidate despite your heart leaping into your throat with fear. “Now, pass me that neck brace, nice and gentle. Roll it cross the floor.”

He did as told, tucking the straps in carefully and pushing it down the slight slope of the van, watching as the plastic rolled unevenly across the floor before getting wedged behind the passenger seat, stuck just underneath it, but the bright yellow plastic was still partially visible. You reached, the straps around your waist restricting your movements and digging into your flesh, almost to a painful degree, and your fingers brushed over it, but you couldn't grab a hold of it. 

“God, I can’t do anything on this freakin’ leash.”

“Oh, please don’t do what I think you’re going t-” You ignored him, fingers working over the latch on the carabiner that was keeping you secure, and you felt the tension around your waist give way from the second that it was unhooked. “You terrify me, do you know that? Do you have no concept of danger?”

“There is no danger, Chuck, I’ll be fine.” Clipping the band onto one of the poles in the headrest so that you could reach it again easily, you stripped off your coat to give you more flexibility, and left it in the footwell of the seat you currently resided next to. “You guys got this van all roped up, and it’s right there. I just need to be able to move if I’m going to save this man’s life.”

You rubbed sweaty palms against the fabric of your pants to dry them off, your first call was to unzip your bag, and to locate a pair of sanitary gloves, before interacting with him at all. Once the plastic covers were sealed over your hands comfortably, you were settling into a slightly uneven passenger seat to get a better look at him. 

Ideally, you really needed the seatbelt out of the way, but in his unconscious state, doing that would probably make the man fall forwards, and so you tried to work around it. Pressing your fingers gently along his chest under the unmoving strain of a locked safety belt, you pressed for hard patches, finding none under your fingers, breathing a sigh of relief as you found no external signs of immediate internal bleeding, muscles tense but skin not having hardened up.

Moving up to his eyes, you lifted one eyelid open, finding the keyring on your bag and unhooking it, flashing the small torch across his eyes, and watching for any pupil reaction. It was fast, an immediate reaction that was impressive and reassuring, and everything about the situation with the man in the truck was looking up. He was incredibly lucky. You were progressively growing more confused, however, as to why he was so heavily unconscious when so little seemed to be wrong.

Even the nerves in his legs were twitching when given stimulus, suggesting that he didn’t even have any kind of paralysis or delayed response time. His body seemed to be handling the shock and the adrenaline exceptionally well, and he should be awake. 

Reaching under your seat, you leaned forward, finding the brace and tugging it out, brushing it off and undoing the velcro seals that Chuck had put into place as it rolled, the ripping down of the two sides separating filling the cabin. 

“Chuck, time for you to go and grab another fireman, I’m going to work out how to get him loaded up onto a board, and out to you guys.” 

“I’m on it.” He gave you a salute, an ‘aye, aye, sir’ following it, and you couldn't help but chuckle at his antics, a heart of gold in the kid for being able to find amusement in the situation. You assessed the situation, ready to try and get him out of here, so that you could follow swiftly behind him, not wanting to be caught in the metal box any longer than necessary. Once you had him out and being carried to the ambulance, you could properly tend to his wounds. 

You’d need to put some disinfectant on the raw skin where his seatbelt had been, clean up his nose, and do a more thorough bodily exam to confirm your results but as far as you could see, there was no harm in moving him. There was only the trouble of getting him onto the board by yourself, in such a cramped and awkward position. Sweeping your eyes over the vehicle for anything to help, you scanned the chair, raising a brow, and twisting to look at your own. 

It took a moment, but your suspicions were confirmed, a handle on the outside of the chair near the door was present, to adjust the angle that the chair was sat at. Testing it, you reached around your seat, pushing the handle down and feeling the chair spring forwards, the wrong directions, and you huffed. Instead, you tried pulling up next, and it began to retract. The more you inched the chair backwards, the further it went, never reaching a limit as it sat halfway flattened, a good bet that the driver’s seat would do the same, and it was the best option you had so far.

 The door on the other side was a little more battered, the metal warped in, and as Chuck returned with Thomas by his side. He took a single look over the cabin, before his eyes were widening, and then narrowing on you. 

“Did you take off your harness?”

“No!” You moved, kneeling a little, half between the man's chair and half on the passenger as you hooked your thumb under the edge to show him. “I just undid the rope so that I could move around and actually do my job.”

“Are you insane? Do you have absolutely no concept of danger?” Thomas hissed, and you stuck your tongue out at him, moving to get a better look at the gap between his chair and the door, and whether you were going to be able to get your hand to the lever.

“That’s exactly what I said!” Chuck agreed, and you sighed at the pair of them.

“Put your rope back on, right now, or else-”

“Or else what, Tommy? What are you gonna’ do, huh?” You paused, raising a brow at him, and his jaw snapped shut. “You gonna’ come in here and make me? Unbalance the van with all your stomping around as you wrestle me back onto the rope? I think not.” His lips flicked up at the sides, lips rolling together to contain his smile, and his head ducked, but you didn’t miss the quiet chuckle he let out. When his head lifted, however, the amusement was gone, and that same endearing concern was back, making you sigh. “You got this whole thing hooked up with wires, I’m perfectly safe. I trust you.”

He swallowed thickly at your words, nodding his head, before his shoulders slumped a little. “Alright, fine. So, you got a plan or what, sweetheart? Because I don’t see how you’re going to get him onto that board alone, so maybe I will have to come in and wrestle you back into your ropes anyway.”

“Oh, ha ha.” You scoffed, adjusting yourself to be able to reach, and wincing as the screeching sound of metal and the slight wobble at the uneven weight distribution toward the driver’s seat brought back unsettling memories of your time in the elevator month’s prior. “I’m going to lower the chair back, and loosen his seatbelt as best I can. We can wiggle the board under him slowly, I’ll get the neckbrace on him, and push him up far enough for you to drag him the rest of the way.”

Thomas chewed on his bottom lip, nodding slowly as he thought through, and watching as you moved to lean over the man. Your hand was pressed tightly between the side of the chair and the metal as you worked your way down, blindly searching by touch for the lever you needed, and finally, you squeezed your fingers over the handle, but barely able to move to pump it and lower the chair carefully. “No sudden movements, okay? I don’t want any extra stress on those ropes.”

“No sudden movements, I promise.”

You flexed the handle, the chair lowering by an inch, maybe a little more, and you kept it up, your arm beginning to ache from the angle you were working at already, but with each squeaky sound, his chair was lowering more and more, straightening his spine out carefully as he lay down, your other hand resting against his forehead delicately to keep his head straight.

As he was lowered further and further, you pumped the chair as far as it could go, getting his body as streamlined as you could, and you were already making progress with him. Chuck was ready, holding the board up for you, and you nodded your head, letting go of a tense breath and leaning back to rotate your arm slowly to ease the cramp that was building in the muscles and tendons of your shoulder.

Shifting between the seats, and standing hunkered over as not to bump your head against the roof, you positioned yourself before him, Thomas holding one side of the board for stability, and Chuck on the other, watching for your advice silently. Cupping his head carefully, glove covered palm under the back of his skull to keep him steady, you lifted his head forwards just slightly, holding him still and curling your fingers in a motion as though to say ‘come hither’, and the board inched forward. 

As the plastic came into your peripherals, you reached out, guiding it to rest on the fabric of the chair under his head, pressing in until they reached the junctions of his shoulders, and then they stopped. Your palm was held up flat to them in signal, and while it would have been just as easy to talk, something about breaking the tense silence felt wrong, as though it would disturb the concentration you all had going.

Supporting his head still, you moved your other hand to lift his shoulders up, grunting a little at the added weight and strain on your arms in the less than ideal position, but it worked. With each wiggle and shift, they got the board a little further down under his body, sometimes stopping when it got caught on the safety belt or his clothing, but otherwise being completely successful. As the board bumped the backs of his legs, still bent over the seat with his feet pressed to the floor, you placed his head down, facing a whole new challenge. 

“What now?”

“I need you to get in here with me.” His face deadpanned, and you grinned, the blank look on his face amusing you. “Relax, not right up here with me. I just need you to pull him upwards very slowly onto the board while I adjust him. Once he’s on the board, I can strap him securely, and get the neck brace on him. You guys get him out, I get out of this death trap, and I see some other patients.”

“Doesn’t sound too bad.”

“Try to keep his head still, okay? We don’t want him getting any more injuries that we could have prevented.” Thomas only nodded in conformation, before he was stepping up, the van wobbling a little as he did, and he lowered himself down to one knee.

Reaching over the man, and inching two thicker-gloved hands under his shoulders, finding it harder to get a grip than you did in just your rubber gloves. He didn't move, though, waiting to be told to do so as you unclipped his seatbelt, the material slinking away across his body and back into the holder. Just as you prepared yourself for the neck brace, turning back to the passenger seat beside it, you watched his head roll to the side, cheek pressing into the fabric limply.

“What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything!” Thomas' voice raised a little, insistent he hadn't, and you fixed him with a questioning look. “I swear!”

You didn’t get a chance to question him, before a loud gasping was sounding in the van, followed by a groan that bounced from the metal walls of the van, and his eyes were snapping open. Everything was still for only a moment, and you tried to process your words, mind spinning and you didn't have a chance to think before he was sitting up roughly, the car rocking with his movements, and he let out another agonised noise at the motions.

“Sir, I need you to rel-”

“What happened?” His head whipped from side to side, face screwing up before he was wincing, and the blood that had dried on his skin from his nose was soon replaced by a fresh gush of red, dripping over his lower lip and along his chin as he panicked. Sitting up further, the car rocked, and his hands flew out, gripping onto the edge of the van for stability. “What the fuck happened?”

“(Y/N), put your ropes back on!”

Your head snapped up to Thomas, his eyes wide as he pointed to the rope you still had clipped to the opposite chair, and you nodded your head at the precarious rocking of the vehicle. A hand grabbed your wrist, jerking roughly in fear as your attention was brought back to the man, and there was another shout of your name from Thomas, falling on deaf ears as the pleas of your patient drowned him out;

“Are we over the river?”

“I need you to calm down for me, okay, can you do that?” You tried to place a hand on his shoulder, to stop the moving that he was doing, but the whole vehicle groaned under the pressure, the sound of snapping and crumbling concrete making itself known, and then came a tearing, a loud banging against the side of the van, and Thomas jumped a little as he backed out of the van to peer over the top.

“What was that?”

“(Y/N) put your damn rope back on, now!”

“What was that, Thomas?” Your voice raised, demanding again as the vehicle swayed and you struggled to remain upright, his jaw clenching and nostrils flaring. 

“One of the support wires snapped, the movement is too much, it can’t take the weight.”

“The supports are snapping?” The patient sounded more panicked than either of you, and the grip that had been almost bruising around your wrist was released, your hand snatched back to your chest as you gripped it supportively. That same large hand landed on your shoulder, a brief push as he struggled to his feet and pushed past you in a haze of blinding fear and adrenaline, the vehicle moving violently as he tried to clamber his way on shaky legs from the van. 

You fell, the pressure from his push making you stumbled and your legs caught on the edge of the passenger seat chair, your body falling backwards and head hitting against the dashboard, shoulder landing on the handbrake and a sharp shock of pain ran along your entire body at the feeling. The sounds of your team members shouting at you, at the patient, at anyone else all became muffled for a second as your ears rang at the collision, your eyes squeezed closed, and you forced yourself to take a deep breath in and out as you processed the pain and tried to suppress it to be dealt with later.

The car came to a steady rest, no longer moving so aggressively but simply swaying, and you tried to adjust yourself carefully to be able to sit up. Thomas and Chuck were watching, with no sight of the patient, and both of them relaxed a little as you came into view. 

“Is he alright?”

“Is he alright?” Thomas seethed, and you blinked a little to clear fuzzy vision as you focused on your surroundings. “That idiot almost just made this van tip. He ran off to find Newt, I assume. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, just a little achy.” You muttered, the understatement seeming to make the throbbing in your shoulder seem worse. “It’s not his fault, he was in pain and confused, he wasn’t thinking clearly, it’s not his fault, Tommy.”

His anger didn’t seem to die down at all, but his resolve broke, and he choked back whatever he had to say, shaking his head. “Can you reach your rope? We need to get you out.”

You regretted using the passenger seat as your test for the lever one, because even at the most outstretched your arm could get, you still couldn't reach it from here without moving. Shifting up onto your knees, the van jerked again, tilting a little further as a sound of metal on stone so piercing it made your stomach churn and body shudder sounded out, another lurch forwards, another wire giving way, and you still couldn’t reach your rope.

“No! No, don’t move! There are two wires doing four wires’ job right now. Please, just stay still. Let me think of another way to get you out, just give me a minute, I can do this!”

Thomas’ voice was frantic, and you took a deep breath, trying to calm yourself as well as him, knowing that while he was all worked up, his mind wasn’t going to be clear at all. “You need to relax first, you’re going to work yourself into an anxiety attack.”

“Relax? You’re hanging over a river in an unstable van that could go at any moment! How could you possibly tell me to relax?”

“Thomas!” His head snapped up, eyes wide, his gaze steady as his eyes found yours, and you watched his shoulders loosen a little. “Please, just take a breath. I need you to not be Tommy right now. I need you to be my Lieutenant, okay?” He nodded, forcing himself to take a deep breath despite how shaky the inhale was, and letting it go slowly. 

“Yeah. You’re right. Okay.” It was like watching him shift into a new person before your eyes, a single deep breath, before he was letting out a sigh, and he stood up from his hunched-over position to look around the area surrounding you both outside of the truck. He let out a ragged sigh, trying to steady his own nerves, and you were struggling to do the same, feeling you the rushing of blood inside of your ears was almost deafening as your heart pounded, palms growing sweaty. 

Distracting yourself, you peeled off the rubber gloves, fixing flexing when they were free of the latex, and you tried to control your jitters. The van was tipped at an uneven angle now, and as you leaned forward, it wasn’t much of a strain to catch sight of the raging river below. The river was raging, the normally calm and steadily flowing waters were trampling anything in their path; branches, twigs and debris jostled in the rolls of water as the storm floods were washing away all the broken branches and eroded concrete it had created, the barriers up the side almost flooding over as the heavy rainfall you’d had was drained away.

One thick blue rope was pulled to its maximum tightness around the front of the vehicle, caught against the car’s metal insignia across the front, and some of the strings were beginning to snap, one thread of cotton at a time coming loose. 

“Hey, Lieutenant?” He ducked back down, eyes wide as he stared at you, cocking a brow in silent questioning. “Not to rush you or anything, but that last rope is fraying, and I don’t think it’s going to-”

The van screeched against the concrete, dragging forwards a little more, and the sound of several voices suddenly shouting filled what had only a second ago been reasonably calm quiet. You couldn't pick out a single voice, it was a calamity of panicked yells and commanding orders, and Thomas had disappeared from the end of the van, leaving you entirely alone. 

It wasn’t a feeling you liked, sitting in a metal tin as it rocked unevenly, the sounds of the tearing rope becoming louder and more common, the more strain put on fewer threads was speeding up the rate at which the rope was giving way, and there was a burning in the back of your throat as tears threatened to burn. 

You sniffled, cursing yourself for being on the verge of tears when you had bigger priorities right now than crying, but you couldn't help it. You were terrified, you were facing a drop of twenty feet while trapped inside of a van, into water that would be well below zero in temperatures, travelling at speeds you’d never be able to kick your way to the surface within, and it was overwhelming. 

A gasping breath, and another one, before your eyelids were growing heavy and as you shut them, you felt tears begin to leak free. You were barely balanced in the passenger seat, your legs aching and muscles tensed as you tried to hold yourself steady at the uneven angle, and parts of your body were growing numb as the dull pain became overwhelming. 

“How ya’ doing in there, (Y/L/N)?”

You couldn't help the weak laugh that you let out, wiping at your cheeks and looking up to face Thomas, his eyes flickering over with concern, but he kept his emotions steady, handling this much better than you were; but then again he wasn’t the one hanging over the edge of a bridge. “You know, just hanging out.”

“Can’t be that bad if you can still make puns.”

“Oh, I’m loaded with them, ready to drop at any time.” You insisted, silently thanking him for the fact that he was overlooking the tears still running down your cheeks and the wobble of your lower lip, instead just offering you a chuckle at the ironic words you had spoken. “So, how’s that rescue plan coming along, or are you just planning to leave me in here? Just when I thought we were getting over our issues..”

“Well, this would be a pretty convenient way to solve all of that.” He grinned, and you wiped your cheeks clear, skin stinging from the hot salt. “We’re just going to get some new anchors into the floor. If we can get a stabilising rope around this van then we’ll send someone in to get you, okay? Just keep holding on for me, you’re doing great, an-”

You squeaked a little at the tremor that shook the vehicle, your eyes going wide and Thomas’ words dying in his throat. That preamble seemed to be the warning, because only a  second later, the van was jerking again, another foot or so over the bridge and the back wheels were almost over the edge now too. 

Your body fell forwards, side colliding with the edge of the dashboard, ribs flaring up with pain and your leg twisted a little as it was caught in the gap between the chair and the flooring. The van was almost perpendicular now, you were pressed to the glass, the board you’d intended to lift your patient out on had slammed into the glass and it as fracturing in one corner, and despite the fear you had expected to be racing through you at this point, you felt an unsettling wave of calm. 

The voices outside were louder, the two ends of frayed rope hanging by the passenger windows, destroyed and useless, and you swallowed thickly, pushing yourself up a little bit and trying to gain your bearings, a headache forming behind your eyes from the stress and the panic bubbling inside of you, but crying no longer felt appropriate. 

“Hey, Tommy, are you still there?”

“I thought you wanted Lieutenant?” He sounded about as stressed as you felt, and you could no longer see him, all of the weight being held on the rope that Brenda was supposed to be holding for you, and you had no doubt that she must be under immense pressure on the other end of the machinery to hold it steady, but the thinner ropes designed for you weren’t going to hold very long. 

“Yeah, but now I want Tommy.” You mumbled, knowing that he couldn't hear you, and you tried to sort through your thoughts. “I’m scared.”

“I know. But I have a plan, alright? You’re just not going to like it.”

“I can’t say I’ve been all that fond of any of your plans, if I’m honest.” He gasped, a false sound of offence echoing around the cabin, and the weight on your shoulders lifted a little. “You can’t be all that surprised. So far, you’ve had me crawling between buildings on ladders and abseiling into elevator shafts that were dropping. It would seem that me and these harnesses just have some bad luck.”

“Yeah, well, if you’d stayed on your rope both of those times, you’d have been just fine.” He teased, and you scoffed at his statement, knowing that there was an air of both truth and falseness about it. “I’m going to lower another rope down to you, and you need to clip it to your harness, alright?”

“Sounds easy enough.”

“Yeah, but then comes the scary part.” He was trying to sound brave and you knew it was for your own benefit, but you were seeing right through him. “I need you to hold still and let the van drop away. We’re going to cut the rope, and the vehicle is going to drop out from under you. We can’t get any more anchors in the tarmac because of the cracks, so we’re going to have to do this the old fashioned way.”

There was a rope being lowered, and the glass underneath of you cracked a little bit more as you reached for it, fingers brushing against the metal of the carabiner, and you felt relief flood through you at simply having it in your hands. Your fingers worked over the catch quickly, unscrewing it to be able to hook it onto the front of your harness, and making sure that you did it up as tightly as you possibly could with the trembling you currently had. Tugging twice on the rope, you let out a sigh of relief.

“Okay, we’re going to cut the final wire, and you need to slide between the front seats before we do. Don’t try to climb, you’ll unbalance the van and it could drag you over the edge with it.”

Your body tensed as you stayed still, daring to shift fractionally to press your feet to the cracking glass underneath you, and it splintered even more, chips beginning to fall away as it threatened to break entirely. “I’m ready.”

It was a lie, a blatant, stone-cold lie, and yet you knew it needed to be done. Only a second after you’d said it, the ground underneath your feet was falling away, the already unstable vehicle tumbled forward with a groan, and your eyes squeezed shut. The breeze it created as it passed you by, the spray of water that came up from the almost deafeningly loud crashing it made as it hit the surface of the icy waters, and ten you were swinging. 

Dangling precariously over the edge, the muffled shouts of everyone above seeming like white noise as you tried to focus on simply holding off the upcoming panic attack that was bubbling within you, the droplets of cold water on your cheeks a direct contrast to the tears that were leaking free. You felt nauseous, a hand coming down to cover your stomach as the other cupped over your mouth, a precaution as you felt your gut twist into knots at the way your centre of gravity was spinning. 

It was the same way that your stomach would flip on a rollercoaster as it shot down a steep cliff, but continuous and without the rush of thrill, each jerk in the rope as you were tugged a few inches back up towards the surface making more adrenaline surge through your body to drown out the screaming fear that was threatening to consume you.

You waited, simply trying to catch your breath, trying not to let the stress get to you any more than it already had, and as the edge of the crumbled and broken concrete came into sight. The tips of your fingers were stinging and sore as you scrabbled against the stonework of the road pulling yourself up until you were on your hand and knees, head hanging, and head pounding.

It was all too much, your body feeling weak and your mind buzzing as you thought over it all, and the flashing lights around you were almost blinding, but it reminded you of where you were. You reached out, a hand wrapping around your own as you were pulled to your feet, and the flushed face of the man who’d saved your life was standing before you. 

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” You whispered, and he chuckled, using his teeth to pull off his glove and drop it to the ground, before a warm palm was closing over your cheek. The other soon followed, thumbs wiping away tears you had forgotten were even present, and you sank a little into his touch as he held onto you. “You have a job to do, Lieutenant.”

“I can spare a second to make sure you're okay.”

You nodded, sniffling a little, and shaking your head free of his grasp to wipe at your cheeks yourself. There was enough adrenaline racing through you right now to give you the power to fight a pissed off bull, your entire body jittering from head to toe, and you could barely think straight. “Really, Thomas, I’m fine.”

He stiffened slightly, and you knew you were shutting him out, but you couldn't help it, you’d been so scared in the moment, and yet, it hadn't been alone. You were scared because for the first time you could remember in your career, there were people who cared about you, and that had somehow made it all the more terrifying a prospect. You’d never had so much to lose before now.

“I should get back to work.”

The silence felt weighted as it hung between you, and your arms wrapped around your body at the chill of the winds that were sweeping over. You knew he hated the change of topic that you’d made, he was reaching out to you once again, and you were too afraid to return it. “I think Newt is just about done here, why don’t you head back to the ambo’ and get him to patch you up, instead.”

“Thomas..”

“I have a team to run.” His voice was firm again, and you felt locked out. You knew you’d messed up, you had done it to yourself, but you hated that he was disappointed in you. It was an unfortunate turn of events, something unexpected that made everything seem like a risk, and yet you weren’t used to having people who cared around you, to feeling like such a close-knit member of a team that it would affect them all so deeply.

He was walking away from you, a frown on his lips, and you wanted to reach out, but you didn’t know how to.

You turned away yourself, regretting the action as you did, and you wanted to glance back over your shoulder, but you knew he was angry. Still, it didn’t help the pain you felt, the pit in the bottom of your stomach, and every step you took away from him with bad blood still sitting heavy between you made you feel like you were wading through wet concrete. It was odd, how only a few months ago this kind of arguing had been the usual between you both, and yet now, it made you feel like you could barely breathe, a weight sitting on your chest. 

You couldn't take it. “Thomas!”

When you turned, he was glancing back over his shoulder, face sitting neutral and a single brow raised as he waited for you to keep speaking, but as you took further steps towards him, his face softened a little further. He turned to face you fully, eyes widening a little and his jaw dropped to ask you what was wrong, but he didn’t get a chance. A soft sound left him as your body collided with his, your face pressing into his chest as your arms circled his waist, and his breath was rushed from his lungs at the impact. 

You didn’t know what to say, and so you didn’t say anything, because, after a moment of shock, he seemed to silently get the message. His head boxed, his arms wrapping tightly back around you as he pulled you up to his height, his head bowing as he held you just as securely as you were holding him, and you let the tension in your body slip away for a second, to let him hold you up.

“We’re okay, I promise. As long as you’re okay.” You barely caught his words, mumbled into your hair, and it took you a second to process them but then you were nodding, and pulling yourself even closer to him in that moment. He was warm, and comforting, and now that you were actually holding him, everywhere he wasn’t touching felt cold.

His arms loosened around you, coldness sweeping in around your hands as he moved, and you stole a further second in the embrace, before his arms were falling away fully, and you were letting him go. His jacket was shucked down his arms, his eyes flickering over your face slowly before he was lifting the heavy jacket up and wrapping it over your shoulders, pulling it tightly around you, the fabric already heavy with heat and comfort he’d created. 

He waited as you pushed your arms through the sleeves, a hand closing over your hand, thumb brushing over your palm as he held it up, your skin littered with grazes and raw flesh from the broken concrete you had climbed over. “Go and get cleaned up, alright?”

It felt easier to walk away now, his gaze hadn't been so harsh and his smile was burning into the back of your mind as he turned from you again, jogging over to join Minho and Fry as they were using the cutters to pry open the metal on the side of a car that had become quite contorted as it had roughly collided into another. Newt was already waiting for you, tinkering around the back of the ambulance as he waited, and when he turned to find you at the scuff of your shoes on the floor, the scowl on his face melted away, only to return a second later with much more power. 

“You took off your damn rope?”

“I couldn't reach the patient.” You whispered, a growl leaving his lips, and as he hopped down from the vehicle, wincing a little at the sudden pressure on his leg but ignoring it to walk over to you, your body tensed up. You were prepared to be yelled at again, to be chastised by your friend, and your walls were shooting back up in protection. 

“I was scared. Don’t fucking do that. That’s not what ‘bestest friends in the whole wide world’ are supposed to do, okay?”

You couldn't help the relieved laugh that bubbled from you, your head shaking a little as he stood before you. “Yeah, well, it’s not official until you get it stitched on a t-shirt for me.”

“Yeah, well, I’ll get an extra-large one. You and Tommy can share it.” He was smirking now, tugging at the jacket you had wrapped around yourself, and you flushed with heat, but didn’t flinch. Instead, you wrapped it a little tighter around your body, like a piece of armour, and smirked back.

“Oh, you’d like that, wouldn't you?” He scoffed as you walked past him, hopping up into the ambulance to reach for the med bag of his that was sitting on the floor, and he took it from your grasp, a hand on your shoulder as he pushed you back to sit on the stretcher. 

It went quiet after that, as he held each of your hands up one at a time, mumbling apologies as he wiped disinfectant over each twisting fingertip, and cleaning the small cuts and scrapes across your palms. You had torn nails with dirt stuck underneath, and he took his time to file them down gently so as not to catch and tear any further, and you bit on your lower lip.

It was startling to be cared for so lovingly by another person. 

He took a clean wipe and cleared the dirt from your face, the aloe cooling against your skin as he said nothing about the tracks within the dirt you were sure existed, made by your tears, or the raw flesh of your lower lip from nervous biting. When it was all done, he brushed a delicate hand over your head, tucking your hair away behind your ears, and offering you a friendly and reassuring smile, before packing away his equipment. 

“You were right.”

“I usually am, love.” He grinned, closing up the backdoors of the ambulance and locking them tight, ready to make your journey back to the firehouse. Your legs swung under you as you watched him pack away, pouting a little bit as you realised that you’d lost your own medkit, your lucky charm that didn’t quite feel so lucky anymore, but it had at least found you House ‘21, and that's all that mattered now. 

“About a year. I know it hasn’t been a full year yet-”

“Almost has!” He chirped, and you followed him up to the front, taking a seat in the passenger seat and doing up your seatbelt securely.

“What I’m trying to say is.. thanks.” He started up the engine, backing out of the spot slowly as his job was all done, and you were well in need of getting back to the house. “Thank you for making me stick around, Newt.”

“Thanks for sticking around.” It was a simple reply, but you caught the meaning hidden underneath, and clearly, you weren’t the only one who struggled with really putting your thoughts and feelings into words. Newt was one of the best friends you had ever had, and for the first time, you were finding a home in a firehouse that you weren’t immediately looking to escape from, but saw a future within. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Why wouldn't I be?” He shrugged, eyes fixed on the road, but flicking over to you occasionally. 

“You’re shaking a little.”

You glanced down, finding that you were, in fact, shaking slightly. Your hands balled up into fists, and you tucked them a little further within the sleeves of the coat that you were wearing. “It’s just an aftershock. The adrenaline wearing off.”

It wasn't exactly a lie, the adrenaline you’d been flooded with was beginning to slow down, to fade away, and you were left with slight trembles and some nausea that wouldn't go away for hours, but you could handle that. You’d had the same feelings after the elevator drop, and after going into any burning building for at least thirty minutes, it was always scary. 

You just didn’t want to look any deeper. 

He didn’t push further, but there was a frown on his lips, and despite watching out of the window at the scenery flashing by, you could feel his gaze sometimes move over you, studying you, but silence hung heavy. The car was pulled into the docking bay, and you were still trembling, your mind spinning with everything that you’d encountered, and you hated that it was taking so long for your mind to clear. 

Ever since you were little, all you’d ever wanted to do was help people, to save lives, but there were times when you put yourself at risk to do so. You couldn't help it, when you’d spent so long living alone, you forgot what it was like to have to take other people into consideration. You didn't have much of a family to rely on, but every passing day made the crew of Firehouse ‘21 more and more your family, the people who would be there with you for the rest of your life, and that same burning was coming rushing back to your throat, and the ache behind your eyes. 

The door on the other side of you slammed shut, Newt exiting the vehicle, and your bottom lip shook. Your chest felt tight, and you gripped at your chest underneath the material, a hand freeing from the sleeve to press over your chest, your heart beating erratically underneath. Tears pooled in your eyes, and you took a gasping breath, everything suddenly coming crashing over you, and you could barely suck breath into your lungs despite how much you were gasping and trying to. 

The thoughts in your mind were spiralling so much that they seemed to go into overdrive, a  dizzying array of thoughts that made you feel like you were drowning. It was almost blinding, the flashes of thoughts from within your one head making you feel like you couldn't see, couldn't hear, everything was slipping away into background noise as the unsteady race of your heart, and the support of the door you were leaning on fell away. 

Two hands were holding onto you tightly, pulling you out of the vehicle and your legs gave way, a shock running up your body as your knees collided with the concrete flooring. It was a shock of cold, chilled metal and biting winds against ear stained cheeks, and your lungs were burning as you tried to breathe. 

A warm presence to your side, a hand wrapping over your own and undoing your fingers from the clutching that they held, your nails having dug painfully into damaged palms, and you clung to them instead. It was Newt, the shushing in your ear told you so, holding you tight and steady as you tried to focus, tried to clear your mind and sort through your thoughts, until there was nothing left but the sound of your own sobs echoing around the room. 

You were stronger now, and despite the crying that you couldn't seem to stop, you were able to be pulled to your feet, out of the cold and a wash of heat rolling over you as your feet followed the guidance Newt gave to you, the lights in the rec-room flicking on at his motion over the switch, the pair of your being the first of the team to re-enter upon coming back from a call. You settled down on the couch, curling into the cushions, and trying to get a grip on your raging emotions. 

“You wanna’ take this coat off now? Get comfy?”

They were the first of the words spoken to make any sense, to not be a garbled blur in your ears, and it was at least a good sign as you began to refocus. You nodded slowly, sitting forwards enough to peel the coat from your arms, and it was left sitting over the back of one of the armchairs.

He reached for the remote, the television flickered on in front of you, a movie you didn’t recognise playing on the screen but it gave you stimulation to focus on, your head pressing to the cushion as you sat steadily, shoes kicked off and legs pulled up tightly to your body. 

You didn’t understand much about what was happening on the screen, the characters flicking past and the conversation going over your head, but it was stable enough for you to use as an anchor. The doors opened and closed, you heard the firetrucks pull up, and they progressively trickled into the room. Newt was tinkering in the kitchen behind you, the hob flicking on and the sound of pots and pans clattering lowly, and the couch dipped a little beside you as Brenda sat down.

“Hey, how you doin’?”

Her shoulder bumped against yours, and you twisted your head to look at her, shrugging slightly and offering her the best smile you could. “Better now.”

She only nodded, glancing away over your shoulder, and you had no doubt that Newt was giving them a different story, but it was true. At this moment, you may be fragile, but you had a sneaking suspicion that the panic attack you had was unrelated to the accident at all. You were a paramedic, you worked with firefighter’s, risking your life on a day-to-day basis was just a part of the job description, but you’d made a crack in walls within yourself that you didn’t even realise you’d put up.

You had made breakthroughs in your own mind that you didn't realise needed to be made, and it had been so thoroughly overwhelming that you hadn't been able to handle the influx. Brenda moved, her own coat still sitting on her shoulders and she wandered away to get changed, taking Thomas’ coat with her, and she squeezed your shoulder as she passed you by. 

“Made you some tea.”

Chuck was next, a steaming mug held out in front of you, a mixture of herbal essences curling up into the air and you hummed happily at the smell, reaching out to cup the warm porcelain, your favourite mug holding the drink, and you smiled. “Thanks, Chuck.”

“It’s Gally’s. It had the word ‘relax’ printed in large letters across the front of the box, so I figured it might help.” You brought it closer, sniffling it lightly, and the smell of chamomile and vanilla flooded your senses, your mouth watering a little, desperate to taste, but you resisted. Instead, you blew cool air on it, your eyes flicking up over Chuck’s head as a shadow took over. The boy twisted to look too, his Lieutenant glancing down at him, and he took the hint, offering you a final smile, before he was moving away. 

Thomas took his place, and you sipped your drink as you watched him take a seat before you.

“I’m sorry for getting angry at you.”

“I was being reckless.” You conceded, and his head tipped to the side, his gaze fixed on his hands as he played with his fingers. 

“You were trying to save lives, you were doing your job, and I got protective. If it had been anyone else, I would have understood that. I shouldn’t have gotten mad, when I was supposed to be doing my job, being a Lieutenant, not something else.” He gave out a sigh, like he was chastising himself, and you didn’t want him to, even if he was right. 

“I’m not used to having people who care about me so much. I should have thought about that.” He dared to glance up, a nervous look in his eyes, and your voice remained low, a hushed whisper for a conversation only to be shared between the two of you. “I don’t mean to shut you out, Thomas. Especially not after the other day.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean.” You mumbled, a pink heat spreading across his cheeks. “It’s all just very new to me. I know you must feel like I’m playing hot and cold, and I’m really sorry about that, but I’m trying to work everything out. I’m trying to work out how I feel. I don’t know how to act around you, sometimes.”

A cheeky glance passed over his face with that, and you rolled your eyes at him, biting on the inside of your cheek to contain your smile as he grinned. “Oh, cut it out. I don’t mean you, I mean all of you. I’m not used to having a family, or such close friends. I’ve never belonged anywhere before.”

“You belong here, with us.” He was honest now, and a hand was pushing out across the cushions between you both, and offering, and you rested your hand over the top of his own. “So, not even a little bit of it was about me?”

“You’re insufferable.” He was beaming once again, clearly knowing just which buttons he was pushing, but his thumb lifted up, closing over your own. “Maybe it was a little bit about you. There’s something, I don’t know what it is yet, but it’s there. It’s different.”

“It’s different for me too.” He mumbled, and his fingers parted, letting yours slip between his to weave together, and that cocky smirk became more of a bashful smile. At least you know that while he may make you flustered, you had the same effect on him. That smile was back, the one you rarely ever saw, cute and shy as he looked at you, and you felt warm under his gaze, but you were unable to look away.

It was like a weight had been lifted off of your chest as you confessed it all, a rock you didn’t even know was there, like someone had been pushing down on your lungs and you were finally able to fight them off. His hand lifted, moving over the back of the couch, until his fingers were toying loosely with the ends of your hair, a tied back bunch that was falling loose from the stress of the day, and his fingers inched up towards the bobble. 

He waited, checking it was okay, before pulling it loose, fingers working through your hair as it was eased down and out of the pattern you’d put it in, to fall loose around your face. His fingers skated over your scalp, soothing the ache within, and you let your eyes fall closed as you sank into the touch he gave you. 

“That was your right of passage!” You bounced on the couch as Brenda fell into place beside you, unbalancing you a little, and her arms wrapped around you as she twisted you to face her a little bit more. Thomas’ hand fell away as he chuckled, and you didn’t even need to ask her what she meant, before she was barreling on; “You almost died-”

“Brenda!” You grinned at the loud shout Newt let out, and she shrugged. 

“What? She did! She knows she did, it ain’t a secret!” The blond huffed, and went back to his cooking, and you turned to face her again. “As I was saying, you almost died, and we rescued you. You really are a member of the team, now!”

“She already was, you moron!” 

“Newt! Shut your mouth!” She hissed, and he stuck his tongue out, and you felt the cushions shift again, lifting your mug to your mouth to hide your expression while waiting for the next voice to chime in. 

“It’s true, I wasn’t a part of the team until I almost fell into a mince grinder in a factory four years ago when the bridges gave it.”

“Oh, dude, c’mon. We’re cooking.” Fry huffed, and Minho shrugged. “Alright, well, mine wasn’t as exciting. Just a fire where the doorway collapsed, eight stories up. Brenda drove the truck around to the side and Gally smashed the window out, he made me jump out of it to reach the ladder.”

“I caught you, didn’t I?” Gally was stirring his own tea, before he came to sit in the armchair to the side of you all, and your attention turned to him, waiting for his story. “I got trapped in a crumbling building, debris fell on me. Thomas dug me out.”

You turned to face Thomas, his hand still sitting behind your head stretched out along the couch, tapping at the cushions, and he directed his gaze to you when he realised he had your attention. “What about you?”

“My story?” You nodded, and he swallowed thickly. Everyone else seemed just as caught in curiosity, as though they didn’t know the story, and he seemed lost in his thoughts. “Mine is a little different. It came before the firehouse. I was in a house fire when I was younger, my mom was pretty badly hurt, a lot of trauma, she never fully recovered. Newt lived across the road, we couldn't have been any more than six, but he came over the next day, and asked me if I needed a friend. I don’t think I’d be the same person I am if it wasn’t for him, he’s stuck by my side ever since. Does that count?”

Silence hung over you all, and you turned to face him a little more, his eyes locked on yours, despite everyone else in the room, and you nodded. “It counts.”

“So, you’re telling me that I need to almost die to be a part of this team?” Chuck sounded utterly appalled, and you couldn't hide your laughter, the sound mixed with everyone else's as it echoed around the room, harmonious mixing like wolves howling.

“Well, that and passing your exams, kiddo.” You bit your lip upon speaking the words, and the amusement in the room only continued, the hand from behind your body slipping down to rest over your shoulders, and you leaned into him once again. 

The stories continued being passed around, and there was an overwhelming sense of camaraderie as they all relived the moments that had bonded them so intensely. This was what made them a family, and what made them so important to one another. This was what you’d never had before, you’d never fit into a team like this. Every house was different; dynamics and friendships and interpersonal relationships, but you’d never found your fit before now. 

You wanted to fit in, you had wanted it for so long. Craved family and friends and to know that you had a place, and being here with them felt right, and yet it was like dread was hanging over you, sitting on the throne but having a sword on a fraying rope overhead. You were waiting for the other shoe to drop, for something to go wrong, to prove to you that you weren’t supposed to be here, that your life would be spent as a wanderer, and that this was as close as you would get.

“So, what movie are we watching? It doesn’t look very good.”

“That’s because it’s not an action movie, Minho. They’re all you watch.” Thomas sighed, and you shrugged. 

“I don’t know, Newt chose it.”

“Uh, no, wait a damn minute, missy.” The voice was closer than you expected, and Newt came to round the couch, kicking a foot at Chuck and telling him to move up on the other couch, offering you a bowl of pasta by placing it down on the coffee table before you. The gesture went unspoken but not missed, still trying to help soothe you, as though he knew you even better than he knew himself. “I did not choose the movie, it was just what came on when the television turned on.”

“So I can pick something else?”

“No, Min, you have awful taste in movies.” Your partner scowled, snatching the controller from him, and the group began to bicker, discussing what movie you would all watch, as though you wouldn't likely be interrupted by another call, or the end of your shift. You could always hope to reach the end. 

Lips brushed over your ear, and you paused, breath held as you waited to see what Thomas had to say. “What are you thinking about?”

It was a loaded question, the real meaning hidden between the lines. He wanted to know if you were thinking about him, or more specifically, all of them. It all felt too good to be true, too tempting, like a siren song. 

And yet, as warm honey eyes stared at you expectantly, soft and patient, a plate with a freshly-made snack from someone who loved you sitting on the table and a hot drink that was cooling in your hands, you placed the mug down, knowing that right now, you were willing to take part in the illusion, to put all thoughts aside and just accept what you had right now.

“Nothing. I don’t want to think right now. I just want to be here with you all.” He nodded his head, and you leaned forward to put your drink down on the table with your meal. “With you.”

“Okay, angel.”

The pet name made your stomach do flips, his confirmation having a deeper meaning beyond simply acknowledging your statement. He was accepting your feelings, and accepting that you needed time, but that you were processing how you felt. He was just accepting you for your trying, and giving you the time you needed. He leaned forwards, pressing a kiss to your forehead that made something spark in your guts, an excited anxiety at the gesture. 

He backed away, giving you space, and yet you didn’t want it. Shuffling forwards a little more, his face little up in something indescribable as you rested against him, head settling on his shoulder and an arm wrapping around his waist, and barely a second passed before he was holding you back. You didn't want to talk about it, or put any kind of label on it like ‘cuddling’, which Newt would undoubtedly do the next time he got you alone, because you still didn't know what it meant. All you knew was that right now, you wanted it.

For the first time in what felt like decades, you allowed yourself to be truly vulnerable with the people around you.

[gladdyator18]

Character made using this Picrew Background made by me

What is “The Apex Guardians” story about?: The Apex Guardians is about a group of special people working together to take down a very powerful threat that can divide and conquer the entire world. In this world, known as Cliorus, there are four species: humans, Ferals (similar to imps/demons), Divines (similar to angels), and Dragoons (similar to dragons). Ferals, Divines, and Dragoons can use magic, whereas it is rare for a human to be a magic user. However, if a human born or cursed with a Feral eye can use magic, it is a 50/50 chance they’ll be able to control the magic given to them. However, some humans are born with magic, minus the Feral eye. The main protagonists and antagonist(s?) in this story are all magic users. There is a place known as the Apex Corporation, where they are like the law enforcers of Cliorus. Humans, Ferals, Divines, Dragoons, and hybrids alike can apply and become a member of this esteemed corporation, magic bearer or not. The ranking system within Apex Corp. goes like this: Lower Rank officer, Mid Rank officer, Upper-Rank officer/Apex Guardian, Elite. You start as a Lower Rank officer, but if you wish to become an Apex Guardian, you must train to become one and pass the test, or you could climb the ranks, whichever is easier for you.

Meet Lurana Paladin, an Elite officer of Apex Corp. Lurana is a Feral who was cursed by another (that’s why her eyes are different colors; originally both purple). Lurana gives off big sister energy. She treats other Ferals like her family, especially towards Acheron and Emmerell. Lurana is another person who can make Acheron smile. While she’s sisterly and kind, she can be merciless during missions. She doesn’t mind a little bloodshed here and there.

After few years after Lurana was born, she was cursed by her step-sister who possessed “chaotic energy” (as many would call it) and turned her into (what her bullies called her) a freak. Lurana was forced to where an eye patch for a majority of her life because her hair wasn’t long enough to cover her Feral eye. After many years of training to control her chaotic powers, she was scouted out by Apex Corp., and she was inducted into the corporation. For an Apex Corp. member to become an Elite, you must take on a mission solo and complete it within a week. With her powers, Lurana completed her mission in two days and became an Elite.

In Apex Corp., there are currently four Elites: Lurana (Feral, Feral eye), Remi (Human), Ray (Human), and Raziel (Divine).

First of the Elites complete! More to come, so stay tuned!

[p4lparker]

Finding Myself

It had been weeks since Stiles and I had last seen each other alone. I guess we both took to heart what his dad said about cooling off for a little while. I'd texted. I'd called. Hell I'd even made them an edible arrangement. Still nothing.

Stiles avoided me at all costs and if I saw the sheriff, he avoided all eye contact with me. Both stung just as much as the other. I was sick of staring at my phone and hoping for a notification from the youngest Stilinski. I was sick of waiting around for him to pick me back up again, like I was some misfit toy. So the rave Lydia had mentioned earlier was becoming more and more tempting as the minutes ticked by.

Luckily this time; there was no Kanima, or ninja demons, just a bunch of kids fist pumping and wearing masks to look forward to. Obviously, the rave had a theme; masquerade. It was supposed to make the evening more mysterious, or at least that's what Lydia said. And as usual, I just agreed- it was less painful that way. I blew my cheeks out and held my breath, before finally texting the strawberry blonde a simple "I'm in." Before deciding to get ready for the event.

Showering and shaving, before drying off and piling all of my damp hair to the top of my head. I pondered what to wear. My hair was taken care of: out of the way was always the best option on nights like tonight. I searched through the closet, and as I did- I received a message from Lydia.

"Wear the dress." It was a simple command. That sent butterflies hammering against the inside of my stomach and chest. 'The dress' was a slinky black number the queen bee herself had picked up for me. It was short and backless- meaning I would have to forgo wearing a bra, but for one night, I'm sure it wouldn't matter too much. And Lydia had said it was perfect for me. I obviously had no choice but to accept the ostentatious and revealing dress and hide it in the back of my closet. I had refused to wear it several times, deeming it to 'special'. But tonight I was deciding to throw caution to the wind. To let myself loose. And to follow my fashionably infallible friends advice. Applying a light layer of makeup, mainly focusing on my eyes and lips; the two places people would see the most of. A brush of a smoky eye, and a smearing dark lipstick and I was set to go. Pulling on a pair of not as scruffy converse, I pushed my phone, keys and purse into a small bag and set off from my room. Rushing through the apartment to avoid anyone seeing me dressed like this, I waited at the curb for Lydia to pull up in her car; she was the designated driver for tonight, meaning the rest of the girls could drink. Which I was thankful for, as I felt like I needed it. The radio was blasting a bunch of songs to get us in the mood; Kira had made a CD specially for the occasion. And it was working, the fast paced music was getting us all in the mood and excited for the rest of the night. Lydia drove us through the less busy streets of Beacon Hills, and slowly navigating her way through the warehouse district; because obviously the party had to be held in an abandoned warehouse. Soon Lydia pulled over and gestured for us all to get out. Once we were all stationed beside her car, she paced in front of us and handed us all a masquerade mask; all varying, Alison had a black feathered one that covered one side of her face, Lydia herself had a golden mask that covered the majority of her face, Kira had an ornate looking red mask that covered her eyes and most of her cheeks, and mine was a black mask made entirely from lace. They all seemed a little too fussy to me, but that was what Lydia deemed acceptable so we all just went with it. Attaching the mask before we all walked in sync to the entrance; the only thing you needed to get in was a business card with a masquerade mask on it.

Once we entered the warehouse, it was covered with people. Writhing bodies pressed tightly against each other, and the majority weren’t even dancing- they were trying to make their way through the crowds. The music was fast paced and pounding so loudly I could feel the echo within my chest, it rumbled through the ground and seemed to make the people within the warehouse vibrate with its ambience. Lydia looked at us all in turn.

“Time to divide and conquer ladies..” Was all she shouted before turning and grabbing hold of the nearest guy and dragging him further into the crowd. Alison and Kira were the next to disappear, heading off in the general direction Lydia ventured- I on the other hand just stood and basked in the atmosphere. The lights were flashing, lasers making pretty patterns in the air and on the barely visible floor. There was smoke pouring from above, as well as sparks which created a dangerous vibe. And the strobe lights made everything seem like it was going in slow motion- making my eyes feel jerky. I breathed in a deep breath of air before wandering towards the bar. Once I got there I had a better vantage point to observe anything and everything. The warehouse was almost chaotic, its walls holding at least a thousand bodies. If not more. The only problem was, I recognised only three of those bodies to begin with. I was surrounded by strangers, and it was beginning to make me feel very isolated and lonely.

 "Hey there.." Was shouted in my ear, allowing me to hear the words over the booming music. Turning my head in the direction of the voice, I saw a girl about my age. Though I couldn't really tell through the silver mask that covered her face. Her identity was a secret, much like everybody's at this rave was.

"Hey.." I yelled back.

"You looked a little lonely? Over here all by yourself, so I thought you could use the company, maybe even a dance partner!" She exclaimed, moving her head to rest near my ear. I could feel her breathe, like a cool breeze as it fanned against the skin of my neck- in the too hot warehouse, all of the bodies were causing the temperature to rise uncomfortably. The sudden change of hot to cold caused Goosebumps to rise, and gave me a fluttering in my belly. Ignoring the feeling I tried to think of a reply, that wouldn't make me sound stupid. Or more stupid than I looked just standing there not doing anything, I wasn't even sure if I was breathing properly. This mysterious girl was causing my brain to freeze.

"I'm not lonely.. I was just being alone. And watching. I was watching the crowd.. It's kind of mesmerising..." I yelled back, moving my head closer to her ear, almost copying her movements. Before I mentally face palmed. 'Mesmerising, watching'? I sounded like a freak. I watched her profile, though I could only see her eyes and lips I knew she was gorgeous. And the way she held herself, she was confident too, which only made her more attractive. Her eyes were a bright blue, one that almost matched the colour of a the sky on a cloudless summer day- her lips were full and pouty, smothered in a red gloss; making them resemble a juicy red apple. As the thought flittered across my mind, the girl beside me took a bite of her bottom lip. Almost as if she knew what I was thinking, a small smirk tugging at the corners of her delectable looking mouth. Before I knew what I was doing I felt my own bottom lip being drawn into my own mouth. I could feel myself being drawn to the girl; and I momentarily wondered why I wasn’t jealous of the obvious sex appeal she oozed. I watched her, closely- almost too closely and vaguely wondered if she felt uncomfortable with the scrutiny she was under.

“Well maybe a drink now and then a dance later?” The girl murmured into my ear, her head now resting on my shoulder- her pouty lips dangerously close to my neck, sending shivers down my spine. With no words to be found lingering in my mouth or my mouth or brain- I just nodded dumbly. She raised an elegant hand and made a gesture the bar tender seemed to understand. Once our order was place, she turned to look at me. I could feel her eyes trail all over my face, before settling on my lips and lingering there for short while- before shooting back up to my eyes and letting a smile paint her own lips. Our drinks were placed in front of us, we both raised them and toasted, before drinking them. Soon she had ordered us both a few more; how many, I couldn’t remember. But during the time it took for us to drink them; she had let her arm slip over my shoulders, she’d gripped my waist and let her hand trail down my arm to link her hand with my own as we finished off our latest drink. Every time her skin made contact with my own it was like getting a static shock- a tingling sensation over took my skin when it met hers. Soon enough she was pulling on my hand and leading me out onto the dance floor.

It was filled with other people, we were all crammed together tightly- forcing us all to mingle together. The beat was pounding almost as loud as my heart against my rib cage. And the girl who pulled me to the tightly packed space, raised our joined hands above our heads- before swaying her hips and beginning to dance. I stood awkwardly with one arm raised above my head as the girl who was sending shivers down my body wiggled her hips to the music. The girl who was still swaying her hips, dragged me closer to her. She let her hands trail down to my hips, and began to move them in time with her own- once she thought I had the hang of the movement she moved her hands, and let me sway my hips myself. She pulled me even closer to her, her fingers grazing over the exposed skin on my back, dragging up and down my spine. I let my own hands wander as I let go of my inhibitions, they finally found a home in her hair- knotting themselves in the tresses. All the while we were moving, our eyes were locked; her gaze driving into my own, a grin on her lips, I realised my own face must have been doing something similar. I let the music guide me, and she did to.

“What’s your name?” I called into her ear, her own face began nuzzling into my neck. I felt her lips graze the skin in barely there kiss. Which sent my body onto high alert; it was like every touch she gave me was multiplied by a thousand.

“No names. We don’t need to know names- we’ll know bodies instead..” Was all she muttered into my ear before attacking my neck with her lips. They kissed up the column of my throat delicately, before deciding that she needed to make more of an impression. Her teeth came out to play, and bit down on the sensitive skin- sending shockwaves directly into my centre, before she suckled the skin, being sure to leave a noticeable mark. I bit my lip to hold in the moan that was desperate to escape; not that it would be heard by those surrounding us, but it would be heard by the girl who’d allowed her lips to make a home on my neck. I felt her lips trail lower, dragging down on the skin as they travelled lower to my chest. I felt her hands do a similar action as her face nuzzled itself into my chest, her hands tickling gently at the sides of my thighs. She shimmied her way back up so her face was directly in front of mine. Her eyes locked with mine before glancing at my lips quickly. I wasn’t sure if she was asking for permission, but I granted it anyway- nodding jerkily. As her lips made contact with my own, I felt butterflies swarm around my belly. Kissing her, was nothing like kissing Stiles. Her lips were soft and tentative- they tasted of watermelon and the shots we’d been drinking. Her hand, gently brushed against my cheek, and eventually when I needed to take a breath- she pulled away slowly. My lips still pouted, and I knew I wanted to feel hers pressed against them again. I tangled my fingers in her hair and coaxed her mouth towards my own, our lips pressed together gently before I added more pressure. Her lips moved against my own, slicking over them and making me wish I could feel them constantly press against my own. I was beginning to feel adventurous, as her fingers dragged up and down my spine, I let my tongue slip out and gently lick across her full bottom lip.

She quickly allowed me access to the secrets her lips held, but not before she gave my tongue a playful nip. It slipped into her mouth and began a sensual dance with her own; not too unlike the way our hips were moving together. I could feel warmth bubble within my centre, and it astounded me. She’d only kissed me once, and I was dying to have more of her. Taste her skin, and feel other parts of her body pressed tightly against my own. I could only imagine how her fingers would feel stroking up  other parts of my body- I longed to let my fingers stroke over her own body to find out if the skin hidden beneath the shorts and T-shirt she was wearing, was as soft and as smooth as it seemed. Our lips remained firmly pressed against each other, our tongues still tangling together as she gently tugged on my hand and led me out of the crowd; I was impressed as she was managing to do all of this whilst walking backwards in a very populated area, I couldn’t even walk the way I was facing. I didn’t know what she had planned until I felt myself being turned around and my back was pressed against the wall. The coolness of the brick, felt soothing against my too hot skin. The girl finally let her lips leave my own, hers leaving a blazing trail down my neck. She set to work, creating her own masterpieces on my skin, it was like I was a blank canvas for her to decorate as she saw fit. I stood, leaning against the wall- trying to regain some semblance of reality. I needed the wall to support me, as I’m pretty sure my legs were beginning to feel like jelly. She raised both of my hands above our heads and held them against the wall with one of hers.

With her free hand, her fingers walked delicately down my arms, tickling the skin lightly as they went. They continued down the side of my body- moving to settle on my hip before gliding back up to my breast. Gently cupping it, I let a moan slip from my lips- she took that as an invitation to squeeze me, and let her lips flow back to my own and claim them. I felt her tongue slip inside my mouth and tangle with my own; her hand that was holding my own, slipped down my body and rest on my thigh before she pulled it up to rest around her hip, the hand on my breast squeezing more firmly. I let my own hands wander her body, gently feeling the soft skin. I let my hands settle on her hips, letting my thumbs slip under the thin material of it and felt the skin beneath. The kiss was almost violent, our teeth clashed together as we needed to feel more of each other. She let her hips press into my own, beginning to rub against me. Her thigh brushing against me in just the right way, making me wishes we were somewhere more private. I pulled my lips away from hers, just as her fingers trailed from my hip to my inner thigh- I let out a gasp before burying my face in her neck, letting my lips kiss against her slightly sweaty skin. I felt the need to mark her as my own, as the thought appeared in my brain; my body moved of its own accord, teeth nibbling and biting at the delicate skin before my lips suckled it softly. The answering groan, only fuelled my desire, I sucked harder and let my teeth sink further into the supple skin. Her fingers trailed the skin of my inner thigh before brushing gently over the centre of my panties. I gasped as they made contact. Before my mind could even catch up to my body movements, I was ripping my lips from her body and dragging her to the entrance of the club.

I dragged her to the outside of the building, shoving her against the wall. I let my lips find hers and began to kiss her again. Her lips were smooth and inviting against my own. She was pliable and allowed me to have my way with her. Letting my hands grope over her skin almost greedily, I let my hands grasp handfuls of her butt. Squeezing the cheeks in my hands and pulling her body flush against my own. We continued to kiss of some time, in all honesty I wasn’t sure how long had passed. All I knew was I wanted more time with her. I pulled away from her lips almost reluctantly- and her disappointed moan let me know she felt the same.

“We need somewhere more private than against a warehouse wall..” I muttered against her lips before pulling back fully. I gripped her hand in my own and led her to the street, I waited patiently for cab to pull over and notice us- as  I was focused on finding a ride, the girl behind me let her lips smother my neck and shoulder in kisses. I let content sighs slip from my lips and watched excitedly as a cab pulled up in front of us. I opened the door quickly and pushed her in first before settling in next to her, my hand gripping gently on her thigh as she snuggled next to me.

“Where to?” The driver called over his shoulder, his eyes fixed on the way the girl was rubbing her hand over my breast. I felt my brain stutter before I blurted out an address that wasn’t my own. The girl had no idea where we were going, but the driver seemed to know the route well enough- so I allowed myself to become distracted by the beauty who was occupied trying to slide her hands up my legs and into my panties. Biting my lip to gold in my moans as her fingers pressed against the material and rubbed it against my most sensitive skin. Before I knew what was happening, the cab was pulling to a slow and then a stop outside the Stilinski residence. I threw the money through the window and into the drivers hand before pushing out the car and dragging the gorgeous girl behind me. I pulled her up to the door and knocked to let Stiles know we were there. The booze was still sloshing around in my bloodstream and made me think the Stilinski residence would be the perfect place for me to ‘know this girl’s body’. I didn’t think of the consequences of seeing him after so long, I was only thinking of how quickly I could feel her against me. The door opened to a groggy looking Stiles; his eyes were blurry and he was only wearing a pair of sweatpants. I giggled at his appearance, and his eyes widened as he clocked the girl who was biting at my shoulder.

“Y/N… W-w-What’re you uhh what’re you d-doing here?” Stiles stuttered, he was still watching as I turned my head to kiss the girl behind me.

“You weren’t at the rave. Why weren’t you at the rave?” I murmured as I pulled my lips away from hers.

“Uhh no. No, I wasn’t.. This is happening right now…” Stiles muttered, rubbing his hands over his face. I giggled again as he pulled us both through the door and waved at the neighbours who were peeking from their curtains- I peered over Stiles’ shoulder and waved too, laughing loudly as I did. The girl was still letting her hands explore my body from behind; she gripped my butt tightly and began to wriggle my dress up my hips to expose the dark panties I had on underneath. I gasped and tried to shake her hands off. I could see Stiles watching, his chocolate eyes were wide and his mouth was dropped open. I grinned at him, gently tugging on his hand and pulling him towards me. I let my lips kiss gently on his neck. Looking up I watched as his eyes closed and his mouth opened slightly wider, his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. I focused my attention fully on him, I lifted my hand and gently grasped his chin in between my fingers and thumb- coaxing his head in line with my own, and I let my lips meet his in a gentle kiss. As our lips touched, my body felt like it was on fire- in a way only he could manage without even touching me. The girl let out a whine behind me, as Stiles’ tongue slipped into my mouth. Suddenly, Stiles was pushing me backwards and away from him- he kept his hands wrapped around my elbows as if to hold me at bay. He breathed deeply.

“Y/N, what are you even doing here?” Stiles whispered out, shaking his head slightly as if to clear it. I looked at him, partially confused- until I remembered he’d been ignoring me for a couple of weeks. I stepped back.

“I missed you. And you’ve been avoiding me for weeks. I can’t stand it.. I needed to see you.. Stiles, please..” I whispered, the girl came up behind me and attached her lips to my neck and shoulder again. I could feel the skin bruising under the pressure of her lips, and it caused a loud moan to make itself known. Stiles stood, his eyes were glued to the way she was kissing me. I locked my gaze with his own, watching his reactions. I felt the girl smooth her hands up my arms, I looked over my shoulder at her to see her also watching the boy before us. Looking back to Stiles as she slowly pulled the sleeves of my dress from my shoulders. The material slipped from my shoulders and exposed my chest to Stiles- who pulled his bottom lip between his teeth. The fabric fell to my hips and stuck there, until her small hands pulled it down gently. She kissed down my back as she followed the path of the material- sending shivers up my body.

“She’s missed you Stiles.. just look at the way her body misses you..” She murmured over my shoulder as she pulled my panties down my legs too. She stroked her hands up the inside of my legs before they caressed my inner thighs- getting closer and closer to the place I was desperate to be touched. I watched as Stiles clenched his fists by his side, before he pulled them up and crossed them over his chest. The girl let her fingers venture inside my folds; a loud groan echoed around the room.

“Are you going to let her apologise or not?” She called, as she pulled me backwards to the couch, she stood in front of me and gave me a gentle kiss before pushing me down on to it. She followed me down and let her lips caress my own in a soft kiss. Her finger tracing all over my skin before burying them inside my core once more, she rubbed gently on the sensitive bundle of nerves, and spread my wetness over me completely. Her fingers slipped inside me and my answering moan echoed loudly throughout the room. I couldn’t suppress the noises that escaped my mouth as she continued to explore me. She was right; we didn’t need names- she was already familiar with my body, but I had no idea about her. She continued to pump her fingers inside- grinding her palm on my clit and stimulating me further towards the bliss I was desperate to taste. I turned my head to look at Stiles, he was perched on the chair watching the scene before him- one hand covering his mouth and the other was palming at the bulge in his trousers. I moaned, the sight pushing me further towards that edge- as I watched him pleasure himself the girl buried her fingers deeper within me, curving them upwards and tickling that particular spot within that made me see stars. And all of a sudden but not quickly enough; my back was arching from the sofa, my toes were curling, and a near scream was stumbling from my lips, my legs shook and the tight feeling deep within me finally burst and showered me with pleasure.

Once I was finally calm enough, I pushed the girl off of me- we rolled and landed with a thump on the floor by the sofa. We both collapsed in giggles and our lips met in a giggly kiss- full of clashing teeth and warring tongues. I rolled myself on top of her and began to worship her body; kissing any patch of skin I could find until it wasn’t enough. My fingers finding the hem of her T-shirt, pulling it up her body in a rush. My eyes wandered and then zoned in on the lacy bra that held her chest captive from my salivating lips- not bothering to undo the article, just forcing the cups down and off the delicious skin beneath. I didn’t give her time to breath before I attacked her breasts with my lips, tongue and teeth. Nipping and sucking leaving purple splotches all over marking her as my own. I pulled back gently, and stared at the picture I had painted with my mouth. My lips had a mind of their own as they kissed lower over her belly to the waist of her shorts. I frowned, not being able to any further until the offending fabric had been removed. I set to and unbuttoned  and unzipped them before trying to shuffle them down her body; more and more supple skin being revealed to my greedy eyes. She lifted her hips and aided me in my mission to get her naked. I looked at her face to see her biting her lip in anticipation. Once the shorts were finally off, I tugged her panties to the side and let my eyes devour her. I looked to the side and watched as Stiles was leaning forward in his seat; still palming the obvious erection that was yet to be set free.

“Are you going to join us.. or just sit there like you’re watching porn..” I called, giggling as his eyes widened.

“This is really happening.. oh shit. This is really, really happening..” I heard him mutter, but he didn’t move from his position unfortunately for me. The girl below me was losing her patience quickly, she gripped my chin and tugged me towards her face- she kissed me furiously. Her other hand grasped my own and let it slide down her body and to her core. She entered our fingers together; guiding my hand in a way she appreciated from the moans dripping from her lips. I pulled back from the kiss, and let my eyes follow the movements of our hands- if it was possible, I felt myself get wetter at the mere image. Soon she was removing our fingers and she gently grasped my head, before pushing it down her body. I soon had my face in front of her centre; it was dripping and looked ready for something. I wasn’t sure what- until She whispered for me to taste her. I poked my tongue out gently, taking a tentative lick; she tasted tangy and sweet, and it made me want more. I let my tongue explore her inner most mystery, delving my tongue deeper within her. I could hear her moaning above me- I glanced my eyes to see her head being thrown back. I focused my attentions on the sensitive bundle within her- knowing how it felt to have it worshipped. I continued with my work, letting her sounds guide me; until I heard a loud growl from across the room, I looked over to see Stiles standing up from his seat, he stalked over to the pair of us. He kneeled down behind me; I felt his hands attach themselves to my butt cheeks squeezing tightly. He groaned as he manoeuvred himself to lay his chest against my back and gently kissed down the back of my neck and shoulder- before he harshly sucked a hickey onto the skin of my shoulder blade.  

I felt his hand wrap itself in my hair, he wrapped it around his knuckled and yanked upwards- pulling my head from the warmth of our companion. She let out a disappointed groan, as my tongue had left her wanting; Stiles forced my mouth to his and practically devoured my mouth with his in an open mouthed kiss- his tongue was tasting the girl’s juices that still lingered on my own tongue. During the kiss, I heard the girl let out a loud moan- but I ignored her in favour of focusing on the man before me, who was no longer ignoring me. Instead, he was setting a fire deep within me- I tingled all over for him to touch me. His hands found my hips, he hoisted me around so I was facing him fully. He looked into my eyes and I saw the normally comforting caramel brown had been turned almost black- it sent my core into a pulsing frenzy. He thrust his lips at my own and dragged me into a ferocious kiss once more; I let my trembling fingers investigate his warm chest, letting my fingers wander over his washboard abs and trail down to the hem of his sweat pants. Before giving it a tug and letting it pang back against his sensitive skin- throughout my ministrations he let whines slip through our fused lips. I began pushing the elastic from his hips- yearning to see what he was hiding beneath. It had been far too long since I was lavishing him with attention. I was determined to make him feel amazing; I wanted to hear him calling my name and groaning. I wanted him to remember how I made him feel and never want to leave me alone for long again. I wanted to make him feel good, so badly it was almost as if it was a personal need. Stiles pulled his pants down his legs and left them to rest around his knees, he then pulled his boxers to rest near them, slipping out one of the parts of him I had missed the most.

I had missed the way his expressive eyes would gloss over just before he exploded, I missed the way his long and dexterous fingers would torture me and my body before he delved them where I longed for them. I missed the way he would growl my name when I made him feel especially fantastic, I missed the way he would fill me completely almost to the point of being painful. And I was more than ready to experience all of those things with him again, tonight. The residual alcohol had since left my system, and I was thinking much more clearly- I was also more able to please him. He forced me around once more- breaking our kiss, we both breathed heavily trying to calm ourselves down. He pulled my hips to rest near his own before he pushed on my back and forced me to lie my chest on the ground- my face lingering in front of the girl’s dripping and neglected centre once more.

“I need to get something.. Y-you should look after her th-though..” was all he muttered into my ear before he left me abruptly, I yearned to feel the heat of his body crushed against my own again. I turned my head and followed his movements; he jogged up the stairs and I heard clattering and thumping before I heard his feet bounding down the stairs again. His gaze locked on mine and he frowned.

“I thought I told you to take care of her while I was getting something?” Stiles stated, his voice had changed from the one I recognised; this voice he used was low and dangerous, it sent a shockwave straight to my already slick core. I felt my mouth drop open as he stomped towards us. The girl in front of me whined and wriggled her hips as if to gain my attention, I ignored her for a moment longer- until I saw Stiles glare at me in warning. I widened my eyes before diving back between the girl’s legs and tasting her. Her joyous moans fuelled me to work her harder, I let my eyes wander to where Stiles was standing- but he was no longer there. I felt his presence behind me, his hand caressed my back and ass cheeks. Before I felt the stinging pain of one palm, landing on one cheek. I called out at the sensation; it was painful but it sent a wave of pleasure rushing through me.

“I asked you to do something, and you ignored me. Tsk, tsk..” Stiles rumbled into my ear as he drew back his hand and let his palm make contact with my butt again- causing me to moan out loud and jolt forwards further into the girl’s pussy. She moaned loudly, it was close to a scream. And suddenly, I felt her juices fill up my mouth as I continued to lick at her.

“Now, you’ll have to be punished Y/N..” Stiles growled behind me, I could faintly hear him fiddling with something- before I felt his fingers within me. He tickled at my clit before letting his fingers plunge into my core- he picked his pace quickly- quicker than I was used to, before I felt him scissoring me. Soon he withdrew his fingers, and replaced them with his length. He slammed himself into me; causing a whine to rip from my throat, the girl let her legs slip open wider and gripped at my head, to keep my face in the place she wanted it. I kept licking at her, drawing patterns over her clit- and moaning as Stiles thrust into me. His rhythm was fast, and hard and it was pushing me towards my end  quicker than I liked. He growled behind me before dropping his palm against me again, I yelled out as he continued his motions. Thrust, palm, thrust, palm, thrust, palm. This pattern continued until he pushed himself deep within me quicker- at a pace I thought was impossible unless he had supernatural help. I could tell he was nearing his end- the same as the girl and myself. Our cries blended together until; she was screaming, I was moaning so loudly it would shame a porn star.

“Y/N!” Was growled as we all jumped into that pleasure together. Her juices once more coated my lips and chin, Stiles let his load fill the condom he was wrapped in and I felt my own climax dripping down my thighs and onto Stiles’ sweatpants. Stiles ran his fingers down my spine before tugging me up so my back was resting against his heaving chest. The girl laid still on the floor, her legs open wide with a grin on the bottom of her face; the only part we could see. It was then I remembered neither of us had taken off our masks. I giggled and slumped into Stiles’ chest, Stiles let his chin rest on my shoulder and soon joined in with  my laughter. The girl before us, frowning before she shuffled up. She positioned herself in front of me and let her lips meet my own in a gentle peck. She quickly gathered her clothes, and pulled them onto her sweaty body. I watched as she grabbed my bag and pulled out my phone, trying something in and then placing it back in my bag. I too stood up and pulled Stiles with me, he grabbed a blanket from the couch and wrapped it around my body before ridding himself of the used condom and pulling his pants and boxers back into place. We both walked with the girl in silence to the front door, before she left through it she gave me one last passionate kiss- letting her tongue taste my own.

“You have my number in case you wasn’t a repeat..” Was all she muttered against my lips before she walked out the door and down the street- hailing a cab which conveniently drove down the street at that point. We watched as she got in and drove off. Once she was out of sight, Stiles reached in front of me and closed the door, before tugging on the blanket and leading me back into the lounge. He plonked himself down on the sofa tiredly, pulling me down to land on his lap with a quiet ‘Ooof’ as I landed. He pulled my legs sideways and laid them on the other cushion. I settled my head on his shoulder and gently kissed the crook of his neck as he sighed contentedly.

“I’m sorry. So, so sorry.. I thought I was doing the right thing.” Stiles whispered into my hair, his lips pressing against is in soft kisses. “Please, Y/N- forgive me..” He begged in whispered tones.

“I’ll never leave you alone again.. I can’t handle it..” he continued, I just nodded and pressed a kiss to his shoulder, then his neck, his chin and finally the corner of his lips.  He looked down at me, his eyes were sad- until I nodded my forgiveness. He smiled gently before pecking my lips a few times. He curled his arms around my body and stood from the sofa- I let out a small ‘Eeep’ and wrapped my arms around his neck as he carried me to his room- kicking open the door, and then shut again. He walked the last few steps into the room and then plopped me down on his bouncy bed. And chuckled at me flopping around. I stared up at him as he stepped closer to me, spreading my knees I welcomed him between them and let his lips find my own in a sweet kiss. He pulled away a short time later and stepped back, I watched as he left the room and heard his thumping feet as he bound down the stairs. I flopped back onto the bed and let his scent and sheets surround me. When he came back into the room, I was comfortable and edging sleep. I felt him slip under the sheets behind me- wrapping his arms around my tired body and leaving a gentle kiss on my forehead before I finally let slumber claim me. All was well again; I was in Stiles’ arms once more.

[dalekofchaos]

Why The Last Dragonborn is the greatest threat to the Aldmeri Dominion

The Dragonborn is without a doubt the most powerful being in the Elder Scrolls. But no one really understands that he could bring down the Dominion and bring order to a chaotic Tamriel. 

Whether you side with the Imperials or Stormcloaks. I strongly believe that this could be the first stepping stone to becoming Emperor.

If we look at all he is capable of doing, he would get a lot of influence in the Empire. In this scenario let's say that the Last Dragonborn sides with the Empire and completes every side quest in the game. He would be a Legate in the Legion, thane of every hold, Archmage of the College, Harbinger of the Companions, Hero of House Redoran, a member of house Telvanni, the head of the largest thief organization in Tamriel, head of the Dark Brotherhood, head of the Blades, owner of 2 dragons, high ranking member of the Dawnguard or Lord of the Volkihar Clan, herald of all the Daedra, and basically The Last Dragonborn has all the love and support of Skyrim.

Let’s look at the accomplishments of TES previous heroes. 

In Morrowind The Nerevarine unites the five houses of Morrowind and the Ashlanders, brings an end to The Tribunal, stops Dagoth Ur thus completing the Nerevarine Prophecy, completes the Bloodmoon Prophecy(in which he fucking fights The Daderic Prince Hircine!), kills the god Almalexia, gains the corpus disease and becomes immortal and goes on a expedition to Akavir.

In Oblivion The Hero Of Kvatch/Champion Of Cyrodiil finds the heir to the Emperor, helps Martin Septim become Emperor, shuts down the Oblivion gates stopping the Dadera horde, Martin Septim sacrifices himself and becomes the avatar of Akatosh to stop Mehrunes Dagon and ends the Oblivion Crisis. The Hero Of Kvatch becomes The Champion Of Cyrodiil  and is known and celebrated throughout Cyrodiil for what we did to stop the Oblivion Crisis. then finds the relics of the crusader, becomes the divine crusader and defeats Umaril the Unfeathered. And lastly The Hero Of Kvatch goes to The Shivering Isles, does the bidding of Sheogorath, ends The Greymarch, stops Jyggalag and becomes the new Sheogorath.

As for Skyrim, The Last Dragonborn fulfills the prophecy as Dragonborn and stops Alduin from ending the world, stops Harkon from plunging the world in eternal darkness and travels to Solstheim to stop Miraak, The First Dragonborn. I feel that Miraak is the true climax of the story. The First Dragonborn fighting The Last Dragonborn. Fight to the death between Dragonborns. That for me is basically the ultimate culmination of the game.  But I find it dissatisfying because it just doesn’t feel like anywhere near the level to The Shivering Isles or Tribunal. We don’t become a Daedric Prince or immortal. If anything I feel a new story DLC should be given where The Last Dragonborn becomes the new Emperor of Tamriel. Not High King, Emperor. Tidus Mede II is dead, we know nothing of heirs of The Meade Dynasty and it shouldn’t be unthinkable to assume that the Last Dragonborn can’t become The Emperor. Talos was Dragonborn and it was the Dragonblood that made the Septim Dynasty and a dragonborn who made Tamriel united. Skyrim was on the verge of seceding like Hammerfell did, most likely The Imperial side won canonically(which is for the best, Ulfric did exactly what The Thalmor wanted to divide and conquer so the Empire can fall easy in the next war) as for The Blades, the next duty of The Blades would be to guide The Dragonborn on the path of becoming Emperor because what else are they meant to do? What else can they do? Alduin is dead and it is the duty of The Blades to guide The Dragonborn and to protect The Emperor. The Dragonborn as Emperor can make the Empire stronger reunite Tamriel and unite a strong Tamriel against The Thalmor.

And guess how The Dragonborn as Emperor can stop The Thalmor? Dragons.  Depending if you choose to kill or spare Paarthurnax. You either gain Paarthurnax as an ally who spreads the way of the voice to the other Dovah or The Dragons recognize your Thu’um as the strongest and Alduin’s lordship is passed on to you.  Either way after Miraak’s defeat, The Last Dragonborrn becomes the most powerful being in all of Tamriel.

Lets look at the benefits of The Last Dragonborn as Emperor. He is the Harbinger Of The Companions, so The Companions can aid The Legion with their most strongest warriors, The Dragonborn restores The Blades to their former glory. Guildmaster of The Thieve’s Guild, so Thieves can steal powerful artifacts that benefit The Thalmor, Archmage Of The College Of Winterhold, while Nords do not trust Mages, they will trust their Archmage and The Mages’ power of the arcane can rival that of the High Elves. Listener Of The Dark Brotherhood. As The Listener The Dark Brotherhood, he can arrange the deaths of important and high up Thalmor in power. He is the new Lord of the Volkihar Clan(let’s face it, absolutely no one chose to side with the Dawnguard) The Dragonborn is Champion to the Daedra. And with The Dragonborn being in service to  Hermaeus Mora, we have a chance to obtain Thalmor knowledge for our Daedric Prince of knowledge.

Skyrim’s leadership needs to change. The current leadership of Skyrim needs to be destroyed. And that’s because Jarl Balgruuf can’t even maintain his own hold. It’s a crumbling piece of ruins, even before the dragons came back. Whiterun was a shadow of it’s former self. It used to be this massive trade hub, under Balgruuf, it’s garbage. Riften is a den of corruption and Jarl Lalia who has a carriage ready in case Riften falls to Imperials. It’s fitting that at least Riften’s leader survives but leaves it’s people to the mercy of Maven Black-Briar or the dragons. Each Jarl in Skyrim is equally incompetent. If Skyrim becomes independent, they will all be incompetent together meaning the province will fall that much faster. The only potential that Skyrim has to endure for a good period of time is get better leadership. The Thalmor do not want to conquer  men. The Thalmor want to deactivate the towers, destroy the race of men and remake Nirn so that they can be gods again. And it is our duty to stop this. With the Civil War over, Aludin, Harkon and Miraak defeated, what is there for the Dragonborn to do? Become Emperor and bring an end to The Thalmor. In almost ever Elder Scrolls games, the guild questlines are canon, so The Dragonborn kills Emperor Titus Mede II. The Dragonborn can lead to an Imperial Renaissance, allow it to flourish once again. He helped quell the Stormcloak Rebellion. But what could happen is that after the Civil War is that The Dragonborn would be hailed as a hero in Skyrim and in The Imperial City. Then one day, The Dragonborn declares himself the new Dragonborn Emperor of the true Empire of Tamriel. He saw what Ulfric saw that the current Empire was weak and needs change or it will fall to the Thalmor. The Empire needs a Dragonborn Emperor once again. The Dragonborn walks into the Elder Council chambers and declares he killed Titus Mede II and declares himself Emperor. And pretty much everyone is calling for the Dragonborn’s death. But guess what the Dragonborn does next? BEND WILL! The Dragonborn uses the Bend Will shout on the Elder Council and the Elder Council declares you the Emperor of Tamriel. Now not only do we get a new Dragonborn Emperor, but we also have an army of dragons to join us. Paarthurnax could be convinced to join and lead the dragons on the path to the way of the voice to fight for The Dragonborn or if you do kill Paarthurnax, you gain Alduin’s lordship and the dragons will follow you. So you have an army of dragons and Paarthurnax as your ally. Where Tiber Septim had his personal dragon Nafaalilargus, The Dragonborn has Odahving and Durnehviir. So with the combined might of  The Last Dragonborn, Dragons, the guilds and the backing of the Imperial army led by General Tullius. Once again, Tamriel will be united against The Thalmor and  The Thalmor will be stopped and The Summerset Isles will be burned to ashes.  

[muwur]

hii :-) ur writing is so cute!!! could i uhh get some super fluffy mayb a lil suggestive one shot or scenario about being quarantined with oikawa post-time skip? 🥺

quarantining

✩ oneshot ✩ for oikawa

❧ gn reader

✎ 2.2k words

a/n: gotchu! hopefully i didnt take too long ;(( i have trouble getting inspo, it usually will hit me all at once or neverr. hope you like cx

wishin i got some quality times during quarantine, y/n out here rlly living their best n domestic life smh

also, i hope this was fluffy! ik i made it a bit silly and playful so i hope thats ok! lmk if you would like me to attempt again and id be more than happy too cx

requests: open!

So far, it’s been a month into quarantine. Despite having lived with Oikawa’s needy self for the past two years, being stuck at home with him all the time definitely tested your patience, especially when he was bored, seeking attention, and missing volleyball.

“Oikawaaa, hold on, I’m almost done with work. Maybe talk to Iwa for a bit until I’m free,” you suggested as you typed away at your computer, not even sparing your whiny boyfriend a glance as he lamented about his boredom.

“Iwa’s already asleeeppp and there’s nothing to do hereeeee,” he complained. He pulled up a seat next to you and poked your cheek repeatedly. “Having a long distance best friend and an s/o who doesn’t care about you is harddd, why does life give me such a hard time?” he despaired, referring to his best friend who lived in another country, and you, his partner, who was trying to do work so you both could be financially stable in the middle of this pandemic.

You rolled your eyes in response and turned in your chair to face him, grabbing his cheeks in your hands and giving them a squeeze. “Boohoo, I think someone’s gotten a little too used to having fan girls entertain him all the time.” You gave his pouty lips a quick peck. “I’ll be done in 20 minutes, max. Go watch some tik toks or something.”

After you returned to doing your work, Oikawa settled for wrapping his arms   from behind you and resting his chin on top of your head. He hummed to himself some trendy tik tok song he discovered the other day as he played with your hair, and you found the vibrations from his throat and the soft tugs on your scalp strangely soothing.

As much as you rolled your eyes or scoffed at his antics, you loved when he would go out of his way to catch your eye. Oikawa knew what would get to you. He could make you smile, laugh, piss you off, or comfort you in an instant.

You felt your heart soften at a memory from not too long ago.

“Hmmmmm,” Oikawa thought aloud, stroking his chin with his thumb. “Put that one... here.”

“Yes ma’am,” you responded, placing a pillow in the gap between two other pillows. Then, you both took opposite ends of the same blanket, draping it over the array of pillows you arranged on the living room floor and thus completing your pillow fort.  

He eagerly slid inside the castle and patted the spot next to him. “y/nnnn, hurry up and lay here with me so we can watch our favorite show while we cuddle and I feed you~”

You couldn’t help but smile as you obliged, easing into the spot next to him. You both lay on your stomachs, supported by a single, long pillow stuffed underneath your chests. Oikawa hooked an arm around your waist, closing the gap between you two. His free hand reached for a bag of your favorite snacks. He opened it, picked up a piece, then held it up to your face.

Just as you were about to take a bite, your face contorted into an expression of shock and betrayal when you saw him quickly seize the piece into his own mouth. Looking at your gaping face, he raised a mischievous eyebrow. “Oh, you thought that was for you?”

And that was how he ended up face down and star fished on the floor, with you sitting cross-legged on his back and triumphantly munching on your snacks, surrounded by a chaotic mass of fluffy pillows and blankets.

“I win,” you giggle through your bites.

“No fair! That pillow to my face came outta nowhere!”

15 minutes passed by when you finally finished, closed your laptop, and hugged his arms. “Alright, I’m all yours now, what’s up?” you tilted your head back and glanced upwards to meet his gaze, the corners of your lips turning upwards in a small smile.

“Wellllll, I was thinking of sharing a nice dinner together, maybe a fragrant bath...” he trailed off, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“Pffft,” you spit out, shoving his face away playfully and getting up to your feet. “Only if your highness will make me dinner. I’m hungry after a long day’s work of breadwinning. What have you even been doing all day?”

“Uhhh...” Oikawa pursed his lip and looked at the ceiling in faux thought. Then his eyes landed back on you sheepishly, “Nothing.”

Laughing, you gave his cheek a soft pat and took his hand, leading him to the kitchen. “Of course, I expected nothing less of you, Lazykawa,” you jibed, well aware you were using one of Iwa’s classic nicknames on him.

“Fine, fine, I’ll get something ready for us. You just sit your pretty self at the table and watch.”

"I want a close up view, though,” you remarked, snaking your arms under his own from behind as he was investigating the fridge’s contents.

“Works for me,” he winked.

You clung onto him and followed his steps around the kitchen, taking in his refreshing scent and observing judging his meal preparation.

“Mm, yes, instant ramen, quite the challenge, Oikawa. What’s your strategy?”

“Divide and conquer. Watch and learn, y/n.”

He exaggerated his movements throughout the cooking process, which made clinging onto him a bit of a struggle, to say the least. He finally poured the cooked noodles and soup into a large bowl, adding in some boiled eggs, seaweed, and green onion for embellishment. “Voila!” he bragged, carrying the dish slowly to your small dining table as you continued to follow him. Oikawa set the bowl down, “Dig in, honey.”

Unlatching yourself from his back, you took a seat next to him and lay a head lazily on his shoulder. His heart fluttered at the sight of your cheek nestling comfortably into him, and he mentally kicked himself for letting your proximity make him experience those first date jitters all over again, even though it’s been four years since that time. He took in the details of your face, feeling his heartrate quicken when your eyes slowly flickered upwards at him from underneath your eyelashes. Your sweet lips parted slightly, looking like honey could drip from them at any moment. They were captivating, but tread the wrong way and he could be left stung. He wanted them to say his name, longingly--      

“Well, are we going to eat or just sit here and let the food get cold?”

“O-Oh, right,” he stuttered out, taking a pair of chopsticks and dipping them into the bowl. How had his mind strayed so easily? He might act like he could keep his cool all the time, but with you, that was a different story. Four years whipped by quickly, but the thought of you never failed to bring him a sense of comfort, anticipation, embarrassment, and intrigue all at once.

He picked up a few strands of noodles and blew on them gently. The steam from the bowl rose to warm both your cheeks, marking them with a dewy, rosy tinge. Oikawa brought the noodles up to your open mouth, which you received with such delight that he had to refrain from gushing over how cute it looked. He continued to feed both of you, listening as you talked about work, how your friends were in quarantine, and what you wanted to do when things got back to normal. Although he was attentive, making sure to acknowledge your words with some sort of response such as a nod or a reply, he could feel a knot in his stomach begin to tighten ever so slightly. When his mind wandered, he couldn’t help but think about what the future held for you both.

You were one of the most supportive people in his life. You decided to move here in order to stay close to him and support his career and passion for volleyball. You found yourself a job in order to help make a living and adjust to your new lifestyle. You put effort everyday into your relationship, making sure you looked after one another and communicated your needs. Your empathy and understanding were unmatched, and he couldn’t imagine what his life would have been like for the last two years if you never came along with him. Reaching back farther, he was almost positive the last four years of his life and all the good that’s come his way since then was thanks to you.  

“To be honest, that ramen hit the spot more than I expected it to,” you sighed with satisfaction. Then, you looked over at him and noticed the slight furrow of his brows. “Tooru...? Helloo?”

You waved a hand in his face and jolted him from his thoughts. He took your hands and looked into your eyes with a spark of determination. “Y/n.”

“Uhhh... Yes?” you asked, a bit confused.

Closing his eyes briefly and taking a deep breath, he proceeded. “The years we’ve been together have been among the best in my life. You’ve never failed to make me feel safe and happy, and I can’t imagine what my life would be like without you by my side. I need you to stay with me, to look after me while I also take care of you. I know we’ve only fantasized and shared jokes about the future, like when we tell our children stories, you’ll make fun of me and share with them some of the dumbest things I’ve ever done. When we get a pet dog (or cat, or any other pet you prefer), I’ll have to compete with it for your attention, and I’ll probably lose. When I’m old and my knee finally gives out on me, you’ll lug me around on your back. But I don’t want those things to remain little jokes; I want to experience all those moments with you, no matter how big or small. That said...”

Once Tooru realized what he was about to suggest, his cheeks flushed and he accidentally bit his tongue. “Ow, fuck!”

Startled and still caught off guard from his sweet words, your eyes widened as you choked out, “H-Huh?? What’s wrong, what happened?? Tooru?” You tried to convince yourself the heat you felt was due to the hot ramen and your concern for Oikawa.

I was just about to ask for your hand in marriage.

He held his hands in front of his face, waving them around in frantic dismissal. “N-Nothing, I just bit my tongue..!” Gotta think, gotta think of a cover...! What else could I even say that would make sense after having said all that..?!

He took in another deep breath and held up both your hands again, bringing them close to his mouth and giving them a kiss.  “When this is all over... W-Why don’t we take a trip somewhere? We’ll go anywhere you like! Just us two, going on adventures, having drinks, doing fun things.”

You sighed out in relief, releasing your pent-up anxiety. “T-That’s all?! I-I mean, ah yes, of course! That sounds amazing, I’ve always wanted to go to *insert place here lol* and this would be the perfect chance!”

You cupped his face gently and brought him in for a warm, soft kiss. His lips meshed with yours as his hand reached for your jaw. His thumb caressed over your right cheekbone, pulling you closer and giving you a sense of security.

Though, at the back of your mind, you had suspected, Was he about to propose? But then you thought, Nah, if he was considering it, I don’t think he’d do that right now, stuck at home during quarantine. Now, what if I proposed before he did.... Hm...

And his mind was filled with, Oh thank god I caught myself, I don’t know what I would’ve done, I don’t even have anything ready, I never thought about it as seriously as I did in that moment, what was I thinking, also ramen tastes kinda good on their mouth...

A few minutes passed when you broke apart. He spent a few seconds looking into your eyes, which glistened with passion and love. “You’re really sweet, Tooru, you know that?” you said with a smile. He smiled, giving you a kiss on your forehead before standing up abruptly, much to your dismay. But then he offered to wash the dishes, much to your content and appreciation.

He finished not too soon after, then walked into the living room to find you splayed out on the couch and browsing your phone.

“I made dinner like I promised, so into the bath we go!” he yelled, hooking his arms underneath your back and legs to lift your body. You yelped in surprise, dropping your phone on the sofa. You instinctively wrapped your arms around him, laughing as he rushed towards the bathroom.

“Fine, I’ll keep up my end of the deal,” you said, reaching for the bathroom door’s handle and turning it open. Once inside, he kicked it shut with his foot and set you down on the sink counter. He moved towards the tub to turn on the warm water, then came back to the counter and held up two bath bombs. “So, you want rose or lavender?”

But instead, you hooked onto him once more and pulled him into a needy kiss.

Someday soon, when this is over, you’ll be mine forever, y/n.

Despite having lived with Oikawa’s dorky self for the past two years, having to be stuck at home with him all the time had definitely its perks. There wasn’t anyone else you would’ve rather spent your time with, that’s for sure.

a/n: fihuofiejmcg i tried LOL, i hope you liked, honestly was just typing ad goign along till i got ideas! I wouldnt let myself sleep until i finished this sdfghjk anyways. we luv oikawa. also i hope that last thought of his dont sound creepy LMAO

ps i shoulda been filling out my job application but lmaoooo