#yeah I have Feelings about the supposed superiority of French food

[thelastspeecher]

some fucking French chef on Chopped was just like "why are French techniques so important for food? bc they are centuries old"

my guy. you aren't fucking special. techniques from like. every culture are centuries old.

[heardchef]

Ooooh, see, now, I love Syd. BUT, I totally read the ribs/critic situ as us being shown the impatience and green-ness that were told about earlier. Like, she knew what she was doing, 100%. She wanted to work at The Beef because she wanted to work with Carmy; because she thinks he’s super talented. She wanted to impress him with her dish. She wanted his approval. And she got those things. But it wasn’t perfect. Not his response, not the dish. And she’s a perfectionist. So she wanted someone else to tell her it was as good as she thought it was. And it was good — but was it NOMA good? French Laundry good? No, not according to Carmy. 

And in a way, what’s the point of wanting to work with Carmy, wanting to learn from him, if you’re not actually willing to listen to him? Syd’s a great chef. But Carmy’s THE chef, right? And so that’s green. That’s her impatience. I truly believe it’s one of his softest moments, when he’s reviewing her dish. He’s open, he’s complimentary, he’s practical without coddling her. He’s gentle. He wants her to figure it out because he believes she can. Their energies are totally reversed in that scene. It’s a true look at their mentor/mentee potential. It’s one of the most plain examples in the whole show of Syd being young and less experienced and Carmy being her superior. 

So, yeah. I think she gives the dish to the critic on purpose because she’s bad at taking criticism. Everyone in this show is beautifully flawed and this is the tip of the Syd iceberg we uncover in Ep 7.

i think syd and carmy are supposed to learn from each other. like you said, syd wants to work with carmy—not for him zesting metaphorical lemons.

carmy's openness in this instance with syd feels almost transactional? it's genuine but there's something about how he calls the food critic a "fuckin' hack" that taints it—like he's livid that syd overstepped him and got that validation from someone that wasn't him, that only he can be the one to affirm or deny syd. there's an openness that both syd and carmy give to marcus ("if you're into it, then i'm into it. let me know what you need for help, alright?") that i don't think syd fully receives from carmy.

but yeah, i agree. if syd's dish ended up as a special during her conversation with carmy her plate wouldn't have ended up on the critic's table.

syd's approach to cooking is delicious is impressive while carmy's is more along the lines of perfection is delicious. i think syd's dish was one of the first hurdles they had to face in those differing approaches to cooking and neither of them were capable of confronting that in a manner outside of the resulting chaos in episode 7 (which had a lot of different triggers, but i think this is just one of them).

also there's just no way syd didn't ruminate over how she expected carmy tasting her dish to go

only for her to

when everything starts to go the complete opposite of what she envisioned 😭

[lu-undy]

Un-alone, Chapter 12

Here it is!

Lucien flicked his cigarette through the window of the taxi and the ashes fell to the grey pavement. The car was stopped a few streets away from where Lucien cast his eyes.

He knew this day marked something quite unprecedented for him and above all, for his son. But there was no way either of them could keep up the way that things were.

Through the weeks of their regular meetings, Lucien had developed new habits. First, his sleep cycles were a bit better. He would still wake up a few times per night, but he managed to fall back asleep. Then, the food. The last time Fred had seen him, he had complimented him for how better he looked. Of course, not only were the black bags under his eyes subsiding, but his eyes shone brighter too, as Lucien slowly let go of the alcohol. 

He would still enjoy a glass or a few shots when the guilt and the disappointment at his own self struck harder. But his meals grew back to a more reasonable size and his appetite was better. And as they say in French,

Quand l'appétit va, tout va. 

[When the appetite goes, everything goes.]

Lucien had also made a habit of playing on his piano. Every evening, he would spend at least an hour of his time playing with the keys. It would get him tired and hungry. He managed to incorporate other noises than shattered glass, sobs and shouts to his day. It was the radio in the morning, while he was readying himself for the day, a bit of TV in the evenings, while he played, and even after. He learnt to not forget, but distract himself. 

Testing his son further was draining him of his energy. Lucien would always come back home and feel the strain of the day weighing on his shoulders and back. 

He sighed, but the sound of footsteps broke his train of thought and Lucien blinked a few times, landing back in the taxi he had been waiting.

"You made me wait." Lucien lowered the window further.

"I'm on time!"

Lucien rolled his eyes up. 

“Do you have everything you need?” He eyed the bag in Jérémy's hand and the one on his back.

“Yeah.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I am.”

The taxi driver went to take Jérémy’s bags.

"Get in, if you please." Lucien put his cigarette between his lips.

“I’m keepin’ this bag with me.” Jérémy sat at the back, next to his father and the driver resumed his seat before driving off. “So where’re you takin’ me?”

“Your new home.” Lucien answered. 

“Where’s that? Is that gonna be a hotel room like you?” Jéremy's eyes lit up.

“You are starting your training, of course it will not be a hotel room like mine.”

“Oh… What then?”

The taxi stopped at the CIA headquarters building. 

“You will start where you should. Thank you, driver.” Lucien paid what he owed and Jérémy carried his bags to the CIA, following his father. When they reached reception, Jérémy let his father do the talk as always and they waited. 

“What are we waitin’ for?”

“Him.” 

A man entered the reception area and went straight to Lucien.

“L! Glad to see you! Tom from archives told me you were back in action in the area.”

“Tony, a pleasure.” Both men shook hands. "This is Jérémy."

Tony was one of those who sure did look like they were part of the army. Not only was his khaki tee-shirt and camo trousers a clue, but his silhouette looked like that of a bull in human form. He was an inch or so shorter than Jérémy but packed with muscles. 

"Hello."

"Hey." 

Hands were shaken. 

"I am bringing him to you to see if I can train him to do the sort of things that I do." Lucien explained. 

"Alright, I understand. So we go for full tests, right?" Tony was staring at Jérémy, his eyes darting from his face to every bit of his slim body.

"Oui, please."

"Anything I should know about him?" 

"He is fast and his ability to jump is equally impressive." Jérémy smiled proudly at the compliment. "Yet I have not found anything else so far." Jérémy's smile vanished and he frowned. 

"You callin' me stupid or somethin'?" 

“Ah, and I forgot the loud mouth.” Lucien added. 

“Oi!”

“I see.” Tony nodded. “His room is ready here.”

“Can you show him in now?” Lucien asked.

“Sure thing. We’ll start training right after.” Tony turned to a younger soldier waiting a few metres away. “Show him in, yeah? I need a word with L first.”

Jérémy looked up at his father and the Frenchman nodded at him. Lucien then followed Tony to a common room. It was fitted with a kitchen, a few fridges and coffee machines. 

“Coffee?”

“Please.”

Tony started preparing everything. He looked at the door and shut it before going on. 

“I talked to Old Tom downstairs.” Tony started. He put both mugs of coffee on the table with some sugar and milk. “Is Jeremy…?”

“Oui, he is.” Lucien answered and nodded in thanks as he took a spoon and some sugar. 

“I could tell.”

“The resemblance, I suppose?”

“Affirmative.” Tony answered. 

“Did Tom tell you the entire story?”

“No. But he did tell me that it was far from what he would have hoped for you.”

Lucien smiled, albeit sadly.

“It is nice of him to say so.” He took a sip of his coffee. “May I ask a favour of you, Tony?”

“Of course.”

“Jérémy does not know of…” Lucien failed to find the right word.

“He doesn’t know you’re his father?”

Lucien shook his head. 

“It isn’t my place to tell him either.” Tony said with a smile that he wanted to be comforting. 

“Thank you.”

“You have nothing to thank me for. You are his superior, and I’m his coach.”

“Indeed.” 

Both men drank more of their coffees.

“How long does your program of tests take?”

“A few weeks, three usually.”

“Ah. And at the end, what exactly can I expect? I know that the system here in the United States is very different from back in France.”

“Well, first thing is medical tests. Then, if he’s fit, it’s physical. That takes about a week, ten days tops. We usually end with reflexes and logic tests. In the end, it all allows us to have a first guess as to what branch or what field would suit him best. For example, mechanics are good with logic, but a bit less good physically. Snipers are good with reflexes, less so in stamina, and so on.”

“Ah, I see. Where do spies fall in?”

“Usually, their profile is quite balanced, maybe a bit less good physically. An acute sense of logic. We do have this one test that only spies usually crack.”

“Oh, what is that?”

“I’ll call you and you’ll see it for yourself on Jeremy when we get there. You will of course be behind a half see-through window. You’ll see him but he won’t see you, we won’t tell him you’re there either.”

Lucien nodded slowly. 

“This sounds perfect, thank you very much, Tony.”

“My pleasure. These are only the first tests and it’s not uncommon that in the end they don’t mean anything, but it’s a start to get to know the recruits.”

“Indeed.”

They finished their mugs and stood up. 

“Thank you very much, Tony.” Hands were shaken. “I trust you to keep me informed if anything happens.”

“Affirmative. Thank you, L.” Tony added his second hand to the handshake and Lucien raised a curious eyebrow. “It’s an honour to test your son.”

“Well, you may tell me this if his results are outstanding.” The father answered with a chuckle.

“I am sure he will do great and he’ll be as remarkable as his dad.”

“We can but hope.”

-- Later that day --

Lucien had left the CIA headquarters and had refused to take a taxi back home. He was walking in the street, strolling really, with his hands in his pockets and a cigarette between his lips.

He was confident that Jérémy was in the best hands. He still wondered though. Would the young man have the patience to go through rigorous training? 

The Frenchman let his feet do the walking through the streets until some flashy neon lights stopped him. He raised his eyes and winced, and when his gaze met with the name of the establishment, his jaw dropped and his eyes widened.

“Mon Dieu…”

Cold sweat trickled down his spine and his vision blurred. 

“Merde…” 

He looked around and saw a bench. Lucien needed to sit down, his knees were giving up. He wobbled awkwardly to the bench and plopped down on it. He pulled his tie off messily and breathed hard and fast.

He slowly raised his sweat covered brow to the nearby restaurant. The name flashed, repeatedly, and it hurt his eyes periodically. 

"Marie…" He raised a hand to his jumping heart. 

It was the place he had sung in, all those years ago, the place he had met her. God, non… 

The fast beating heart started to ache. Lucien cursed in his breath, his teeth started chattering. Non, non, non! He thought he was over all this! Gone back to eat and sleep!

Now he didn't know anymore. What did he feel? Was it heartbreak? But she had played him! Was it regret? He should have checked her before letting her come close to him. Was it disgust? 

"Putain… De merde…"

[Bloody… Hell…]

He kept breathing with difficulty. He needed to let out this wave of anxiety and counter it, preferably with violence. 

Lucien yanked his gloves away and lowered his head, holding his hair, pulling it as he clenched his teeth. Gosh he wished he could chew something between his jaws. Lucien's eyes darted left and right and the only thing he saw on the bench next to him was his gloves… 

Passers-by did look and stare at the man chewing on his gloves, grumbling and pulling his hair out of his scalp. He was shaking and there was no way Lucien's legs could carry him. He was stuck there! With the blinking, sharp neon flash of his worst mistake taunting him relentlessly.

"Pourquoi… Mais pourquoi j'ai fait ça…? Comment j'ai pu laisser passer ça…?" 

[Why… But why did I do that…? How could I have ever let that slip…?]

The gloves fell off his dry mouth and he blabbered the words between hitched breaths. 

"Ah, merde…"

[Ah, shit…]

Lucien now realised that his fingers were shaking too. He needed to go away. The faster, the better. He didn't care if he had to crawl on the pavement. And as soon as his mind made the decision, he grabbed his gloves and darted off. 

He didn't know how but Lucien managed to make it back to his hotel. His hand found the vodka and he went straight to bed, fully clothed. 

He drank, and drank, and drank. With his body temperature on a roller coaster, Lucien was sometimes lying with his back against the wall, his shirt open and sweat beading off his brow, or completely burrowed under his blanket.

He impatiently waited for the alcohol to take him off of himself, to pull him away from his suffering, to drown his anxieties and smother them for him, because he couldn't do it on his own. Eventually, he fell asleep… 

… Until a phone call pulled him off of Morpheus' arms. 

Lucien grumbled, frowned and at first, he did not fully register that it was the telephone on his night table. He eventually groped for the lamp and then, the phone itself. 

"Allô…?"

"L? It's Tony." 

Lucien's eyes snapped open instantly and his blood froze. 

"I'm sorry to call you in the middle of the night, but you have to come here as soon as possible." 

"Is Jérémy safe?" 

"Affirmative. But we cannot continue this way and need your input." 

"Give me the time to call a taxi, I shall be on my way." Lucien answered. 

"Perfect, over." Tony hung up and Lucien looked down at himself. 

He stood off the bed and arranged the clothes he still had on before chucking an aspirin in a glass of water and downing it. He called the hotel reception and arranged for a taxi. In no time, Lucien found himself back where he had been that morning. Tony was waiting for him at reception. 

"L…"

"Tony, tell me. What happened?" 

"I think it'd make more sense if you saw it. Follow me, please." 

"But of course." 

Tony led Lucien through walls and corridors until they were out of the building and crossing some outside areas. 

"See that building there?" Tony pointed at a large, half a dozen floors tall building, a hundred metres or so away. "That's where we keep the new recruits. Behind that building, we have a large field where we train them physically."

"But this is not where you are taking me?" Lucien asked, seeing that they passed it. 

"Negative. I am taking you to the one beside it." 

Tony pushed the door and led Lucien in until they reached a room. 

"After you." Tony said and Lucien entered. 

The room had nothing but a table, two chairs, and a lamp over them. On one of the chairs, Jérémy was sitting. 

"Oh, hey L…" The young man knew he was in trouble. Everything in his body language screamed of guilt.

"I hope that Tony woke me up in the middle of the night to tell me that you were sleeping outstandingly well…"

Jérémy looked up at Tony. 

"We put all the recruits to bed and, and given that we sleep not far, and the walls are paper thin, we started hearing some… noises." Tony said and Jérémy lowered his head, ashamed. 

"Noises?" Lucien repeated with one eyebrow arched. 

"Affirmative. The kind of noises that we do not imagine we could hear here…" 

Lucien’s second eyebrow joined the first, high up on his brow. His imagination ran wild for an instant and he wished from the deepest corners of his soul that it was not what he thought the young man could be doing in his bed at night…

“Show him.” Tony asked Jérémy and the young man delicately put the backpack that had been laying on the ground on the table. Lucien recognised the bag that his son had kept on his lap in the taxi. He gently opened the zipper and Lucien’s eyes snapped wide when two fluffy, white ears popped out in the room. The rest of the head followed suit and soon, the entire cat exited the backpack.

And the Frenchman frowned. This now explained why Jérémy had insisted on keeping his backpack with him in the taxi, as opposed to letting the driver put it in the car’s boot, with his other bag.

“We cannot keep pets here. Not only are some people allergic to cats, but this is not a daycare for pets.” Tony said. 

“If she goes, I go too!” Jérémy said, stroking the long-haired cat. 

Tony looked from the son to the father. 

“This is up to you, L. I shall give you ten minutes.”

“Merci.”

Tony exited the room, leaving father and son alone. 

“So…?” Jérémy asked. 

“So indeed.” Lucien frowned as he took a seat on the chair opposite his son. He opened his jacket’s button fluidly and sat down. “Jérémy, you have to understand that your life now cannot bear to have any ties with any other living entity. You are to follow orders from superiors and your job, if you pass the tests, will require that you have no ties to this Earth whatsoever.”

“I’m not givin’ Pearl up. This job can fuck off - ouch!”

Lucien's tap behind his son's head was as swift in this impossible hour of the night as it was during the day. 

"Whatever! You can hit me and shit, I don't care, she doesn't deserve to get abandoned!"

"Jérémy…" Lucien put a couple of fingers on the bridge of his nose. "We are talking about building you a life career and you are making your start in this career difficult because of your pet cat?”

“Look, it’s simple. It’s either both of us or no one. I can go, put my stuff back in my bag and leave!”

“And return to the chaos of being bullied by seven older brothers and no perspective of a decent future?” Lucien asked disdainfully. 

“And why d’you care? What difference does it make to you if I get my life together or not?”

Lucien sighed. 

“Why are you so attached to your cat?” He asked back. 

“Meow.” Pearl went to explore the table and came close to sniff the only thing of interest on it: Lucien’s gloved hand. The Frenchman ignored her. 

“She’s… She used to be my Ma's." 

Lucien hid his surprise. 

"Your mother owned a cat?" 

"Yeah, she said that she reminded her of my Da'." Jérémy petted the fluffy feline, who lay on the table as she started to purr. 

"Your… father?" Lucien asked. 

"Yeah. Ma' used to say that my Da' was like her, a white, precious thing, only his eyes were lighter." 

Lucien looked away and took a deep breath before he sighed. 

"Why d'you care so much that I get a job at the CIA?" Jérémy asked. "You just saw me gettin' bullied in the park and boom? You just took pity on me? Pfff, I don't need your pity or this job. Pearl, get in the bag."

"Meow." Pearl refused. 

"C'mon, we're leavin' this place." Jérémy stood up and went to grab his backpack on the table, but Lucien grabbed his wrist. "What?"

Their eyes met. Confident and deadly grey versus young and rebellious blue.

"You cannot keep her here..." Lucien looked at Pearl. 

"Yeah, I know, I got it, that's why I'm leavin'." 

"Jérémy…" Lucien resumed his sentence.

"Jeremy, what? Where d'you want me to put her? She's not goin' in a shelter or anywhere like that."

"I can bring her back to your brothers." Lucien said. 

"Never!"

"Why not?" 

"They hate her! They never think to feed her and they even kick her out of their way or throw her off of the sofa. She's a cat, yeah, but she never deserves that!" 

Lucien sighed. 

"Do not lose this job over your cat, think!" He answered. "This opportunity will never come again!"

"Then you take her!" Jérémy replied. 

"What?!"

The young man picked the fluffy cat up from the table and held her towards Lucien. 

"Here, you take her. You live in a fancy hotel, I guess they won’t say anythin’ about her.”

“Jérémy, I will not care for an animal. I have just enough with you.”

“Oi! Pearl’s not any cat! And she’s better than me. She’s not fussy with food and she doesn’t scratch or bite people. Just… Just treat her right.” Jérémy looked down at her. “You behave with fancypants - ouch! C’mon! I didn’t say anythin’ rude!”

“Oui, you did.”

“Listen, it’s either you take care of her and I stay here or you don’t, and both her and I go.” Jérémy slammed the ultimatum at his father with determination. 

A long moment of silence followed, with Pearl’s eyes riveted on Lucien and her fluffy body dangling from Jérémy’s hands. 

Lucien sighed and grumbled. He put a hand on his face and stood up. He silently pushed his chair back and went to the door. A split second later, Tony entered the room with Lucien. 

“He will go back to training.” Lucien said. “Drop her down.” He looked at Jérémy.

“You takin’ her?” Jérémy asked and obeyed. Pearl’s paws landed on the table and she followed the Frenchman as he went back to the door. 

“This is the last time you wake me up in the middle of the night.” The Frenchman concluded and left, the fluffy feline on his heels. 

[let-it-raines]

your wonder under summer skies (7/?)

Summer in Storybrooke, Maine means one thing for its residents: tourist season. This year, for Emma Swan and Killian Jones, it means relationships ending and friendships changing all the while they attempt to figure out just what their relationship is. It’s somewhere straddling the line between friends and lovers, and there’s no guarantee of a soft landing if they fall into new territory.

rating: mature

a/n: I have been taking a little social media break and will continue to do so, but when I’ve got 90% of this story written (I really have to get to finishing it, haha), it felt wrong to keep it from you guys. So I’m slipping in and posting a new chapter! All my love ❤️

ao3: beginning | current

tumblr: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |

-/-

“Do you want some of my chips?”

“Hmm?”

“My fries,” Killian corrects. “Do you want some of them?”

“Is that rhetorical question?”

Killian sighs and rolls his eyes before pushing his basket of fries toward her. “Half the time that I offer you my fries, you say no because you’d rather have onion rings. Though, a part of me is surprised you haven’t simply taken over and started eating them without asking.”

Emma reaches over and picks up a fry, dipping it in the ketchup before popping it in her mouth. “Look, just because onion rings are obviously the superior side for junk food doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate a well done French fry. And this? This is a well done fry. “Skipper barks at Emma’s feet. “See, Skipper agrees with me.”

“Skipper agrees because he wants you to feed him.”

“He can have my leftovers.”

“Bloody hell no he cannot.” Killian snatches the basket away from her. “I’m sharing my food. You hear that, Swan? It’s mine. You can’t be giving it away to the dog.”

“You should have gotten me some lunch, too.”

“I didn’t know you were coming over.”

“Did I not text you?”

“No, love, I don’t believe I got your booty call.”

Emma picks up another fry and points it in Killian’s face. “This is not a booty call. You’re working, and I’ve got work in thirty minutes. We’re taking the kids to do a relay race on the beach this afternoon, and I don’t think my body can take jumping out the window again.”

Killian chuckles and slides the basket of fries back to him. “I’m going to build you a ladder out of my bedroom.”

“I think that would be a little obvious.”

Killian shrugs. “So, a relay race with dozens of kids. Good to know that I need to avoid the beach.”

“You just wait until we do the weekend festival for Labor Day. Then you’ll really want to avoid the beach.”

“I already have it noted in my calendar.” Killian’s eyes glance up and down her face before landing down at the top of her shirt. The man can be as subtle as a whisper, but sometimes he doesn’t even try. “You know, I can do a lot in thirty minutes.”

Emma scoffs and keeps eating her fries. Okay, Killian’s fries, but he’s sharing so now they’re definitely hers. “I know you can, but I actually look presentable today, and I tend to look not presentable after, you know…”

“After I ravish you?”

Her stomach swirls, and the way Killian’s licking his lips certainly doesn’t help. They could go to the back office or go up to his bedroom right now. It wouldn’t be a big deal. She could let him do all the effort. And as much as she wants to, she really didn’t come here to have sex. 

Then again, she doesn’t know why she came here. There was no way she could know that he was going to have food.

Wait no. She came here because it’s been a week since she’s seen him, and she needed someone to complain to about this family that’s in town that takes up all of the booths at Granny’s at least twice a day. She doesn’t treasure much in her life, but she treasures her booth at Granny’s. 

But she’s gotten her complaining out, filled him in on everything she hasn’t texted him this week, and really, what else do they have to do?

“Where’s Liam?”

“He’s meeting with the harbormaster.”

Perfect. 

“Do not touch my hair,” she tells him. “You do all of the work.”

“Don’t I always do all of the work?”

She tosses a fry at him. He misses it, and Skipper gets up from his spot to get the food. “Considering the fact that I know you like me on top, I’d think not.”

“I also like you on your knees when – ”

The bell to the shop rings behind her, and Emma sees Killian’s face before she turns around. The smirk disappears, his lips falling into a flat line, and all of the mirth in his eyes vanishes along with the crinkles around his eyes. 

What the hell?

Is Liam back? She really hopes Liam isn’t back because she does not want to deal with his icy stares and snide comments today.

And then she turns around on the stool she’s sitting on, fry still in her mouth, and sees Isabella Greene. 

Oh wait, she went by Tink, didn’t she? Yeah, she definitely went by Tink, which is such an awful nickname, but that’s probably not what she should be focusing on. 

Emma’s stomach does that weird flipping thing again and she quickly chews the fry before pushing her hair off her shoulders and straightening her shoulders. What the hell is Tink doing here?

“Tink,” Killian whispers before clearing his throat. “Uh, hello, love. I didn’t – I didn’t know – ”

“You didn’t know I was coming back?”

“I thought you were in New York.”

“I am. I’m not here for the summer or anything. My dad didn’t rent out the house this week, so I’m here with a few friends for the week. You’re not renting out the boat are you?”

Killian can’t stop blinking, and Emma swears that if he didn’t have any semblance of self-control, his mouth would be wide open. 

“Let me check. I don’t think it is.” He turns to the computer, hits a few buttons, and Emma takes her eyes away from him to see Skipper walking toward Tink. Tink immediately bends down and scratches his head, murmuring toward him. “You should be good to take it out. It is rented for next weekend, so you’d have to return it by Thursday morning for maintenance.”

“We can do that. Do I need to fill out any paperwork?”

“It’s your dad’s boat, lass.”

“So that’s a no?” she laughs, and Emma swears the woman bats her eyelashes at Killian. 

Is batting eyelashes a real thing that works on men? She doesn’t think she’s ever attracted anyone by batting her eyelashes.

“That’s a no. You’ve still got the spare key, aye?”

“I do.”

“Then you’re all set.” 

Killian flashes his most charming smile, and Emma doesn’t know if she’s ever felt so invisible. Skipper isn’t even acknowledging her anymore, and Emma is about to demolish all of Killian’s fries in the span of two minutes. Maybe that’s why no one is acknowledging her. She’s some kind of fry hog.

“Thank you, Killian.” Tink leans over the counter in a move Emma’s seen a million times. Hell, she’s done it herself. That works a hell of a lot better than eyelashes. “If you want to grab dinner sometime, you have my number.”

Killian’s eyes finally glance at Emma, but it’s brief. If she hadn’t been paying attention to him, she wouldn’t have noticed. 

“Last time I checked, you had a boyfriend.”

“Last time I checked, that didn’t seem to bother you.”

Holy shit, the balls on this woman. 

Killian’s jaw clenches, and he’s definitely grinding his teeth now. This is not how she thought this conversation was going to go. She thought she was about to end up as a major third wheel when three minutes ago she was going to be the one with her shorts pulled down and Killian thrusting into her. 

But it would be fine if he wanted to sleep with his ex instead. Emma has purposely never learned about his flings, knowing they’re never going to last, but she knew Tink enough to recognize her and to know that if one of them was going to, it was going to be her. She had no idea why it ended, though, and now that she kind of does, she definitely feels like she shouldn’t be here.

Would it be more awkward to get up and leave right now or to stay?

Did Killian know Tink had a boyfriend when he was sleeping with her? Because if he did…oh fuck, if he did she might just have to punch him. She used to think things like that weren’t any of her business, but then Neal and Tamara happened and…no, she’s not going to go there. She hasn’t let her mind fully go there in the month that she’s been broken up with Neal, and she’s certainly not going to do it now. 

“Last time I checked,” Killian grits out, “I was unaware of your attachment.”

Oh. 

“He and I were on a break then.”

“Are you now?”

Tink clicks her tongue. “We’re having some issues.”

Oh God, this really is the most awkward Emma has felt in years, and an entire town knows her boyfriend cheated on her and stares at her every time she walks down Main Street. It may have been a month, but the news just broke last week. It has been like reliving it all over again. 

At least she hasn’t seen Neal. She’s avoided him at all costs. 

Maybe not having her regular seat at Granny’s is a good thing.

“Return the boat by nine on Thursday, Ms. Greene. Have a good week with your friends.”

Tink scoffs, her lips parting, and she leans back and crosses her arms over her chest.

Oh shit, Jones. That was bold. 

And then Tink is turning around and walking out the door, the bell ringing behind her. 

Emma doesn’t know what to say. Does she say anything at all? What can she say? She just witnessed something she definitely wasn’t supposed to see, and she is not good enough with emotions to be able to deal with this. 

Where’s Mary Margaret and her emotional intelligence when Emma needs her?

Even if Emma wants to strangle Mary Margaret half the time when she’s giving some unrealistic perspective on love and relationships. 

She could use some of that right now. 

“How much time do we have until you have to be at work?” Killian asks as he stands from behind the desk. 

“Um, twenty minutes now.”

He tilts his head back toward the office before walking past her and flipping the sign on the door over. “That’s enough time, don’t you think?”

There’s fury in his eyes, and he’s never looked taller to her than he does right now as he looks down at her with his jaw so tight she can see it clenching. He’s angry, she realizes. He’s angry that Tink came in here and tried to start something back up. She has never taken him for the type to get angry about something like that. He’s Killian. He’s got a hell of a temper, gets pissed off when he sees some kind of injustice happening, but he’s always been easygoing when it comes to relationships. 

Maybe she really doesn’t know him as well as she thought. 

Or, at least, maybe she doesn’t know this facet of his life. 

“That’s enough time.”

Killian grabs her hand and pulls her up from her chair. She nearly stumbles, but his grip is strong enough to keep her steady. They walk quickly out of the front office and to the back, where Killian quickly closes the door and turns the lock before he’s on her, caging her in and hovering his lips right over hers while his hands push against the wooden frame. His breathing is so heavy, his chest heaving, and she’s so distracting by it that she barely notices the way her own chest is moving up and down with anticipation. 

“You’re gorgeous, you know,” Killian whispers into her ear. His breath is hot as it tickles down her skin. “I’ve thought that since the day we met, but I’ve never been able to tell you the way that I wanted to.”

“You definitely could have.”

“Aye, but you wouldn’t have taken it well.”

“Who says I’m taking it well now?”

Killian laughs into her neck while he rolls his hips into hers. Emma gasps as heat curls between her thighs, licking across her skin. Her heart is pounding, and her head is still reeling. She wasn’t expecting this, then she was, and it’s been back and forth so quickly that maybe she should stop thinking all together. 

Hell, she definitely should. 

Not thinking means she doesn’t have to focus on the big demons in her head or the smaller ones that are telling her that sleeping with Killian might not be her best idea. 

Not thinking means that she can let Killian run his lips across her neck before his teeth tug down on her earlobe. The moment he figured out that she liked that, she was a goner. 

The moment they first did this, she was a goner for the way that it feels and the way that she can only focus on the feel of his lips and his hands and of every inch of him covering her. Killian keeps rolling his hips into her, and the friction of the zipper on his jeans his hitting just the right spot. 

“Shit,” Emma mumbles as her head tilts back to hit against the door. “Take off your pants.”

“A little busy at the moment, love.”

Suddenly, she notices that his hands are at her waist and fumbling with the zipper on her shorts. She hears it slide down, feels Killian push her shorts and her underwear down, and then his hands are on her exactly where she wants him. 

Well, almost. They’re on a bit of a time crunch, so they don’t exactly have time to take it slow. 

Her hands reach between them as Killian’s lips fiercely press into hers. He’s determined with each slide of his lips and swipe of his tongue. There’s no laziness or slow exploration, and as much as she likes that, this feels too damn good to stop. 

His hand stops hers, and she pulls back from the kiss. “What are you doing?”

“Let me take care of you.”

“What about – ”

“We’ll make up for it at some other time, yeah?”

Emma pulls her bottom lip between her teeth and swallows the lump in her throat. She’s so damn frustrated right now that she can’t imagine saying no. 

Not that Killian lets her. His determination continues as he bends down until he’s on his knees and his hand and his lips are working her higher and higher until air is escaping her so that it’s difficult to breathe. Fuck, he’s good at this, and she doesn’t want it to stop. 

Pretty much ever.

“Just like that,” Emma groans as her head tilts back to the door. Her knees are getting a little weak, her legs shaking, and she reaches forward to curl her fingers into his hair. “Oh, fuck.”

Her releases crashes over her in small waves, and her legs shake a little more until Killian’s free arm wraps around her and holds her up, pressing her further back into the door. There’s sweat prickling at her temples, and her heart is definitely going to do something unnatural that’s going to put her in the hospital.

She would rather die than tell Whale that she’s in the hospital because of an orgasm. 

Damn. Just damn. 

“Swan, if you don’t release my hair soon, I’m going to have a bald spot.”

Emma blinks and releases her hand from Killian’s hair, smoothing it down as he helps tug her shorts up. Slowly, he stands from the ground until they’re almost eye-to-eye, and the idiot has the biggest smirk on his face. 

At least he’s no longer furious. 

“Hey,” Emma hesitates, “so about earlier with Tink – ”

“That’s a story for another time,” he quickly interrupts as he scratches behind his ear. “Why don’t you go to the restroom and straighten yourself up? Wouldn’t want any of the kids asking why you look a wee bit off.”

“Oh, yeah, okay. I’ll go do that.”

Killian’s not in the main part of the office when she finishes up in the bathroom. Skipper is still sitting behind the desk, but she barely looks up when Emma walks by.

Huh. 

She’d go upstairs and look for him, but she really had to go and get to work. Mary Margaret will kill her if she’s late, and she’d really rather not be murdered, especially since David will definitely cover things for Mary Margaret.

It’s not a long walk to the club, so Emma’s still the slightest bit shaky when she gets there. Mary Margaret, Ashley, and Aurora are all there and wrangling kids, each of them in matching t-shirts to coordinate teams. Emma’s the green team, and her kids look like they’ve gone crazy with the way they’re running around. 

No wonder their parents pay an exuberant amount of money to leave their kids with someone else while they lounge on the beach or work from home while indulging in as many margaritas as possible. 

Emma always wonders if these kids care that they don’t spend time with their parents or if they’re too young to truly realize it at the moment. 

“Why do we do this?” Emma asks as she walks up to the deck. 

“Because we like paychecks.”

“And the children,” Mary Margaret adds in with a bright smile on her face.

“You should have been a teacher, Marg.”

“If I had gone to school, maybe I would have. This pays better, though, and like Ashley, I’m about the paycheck.” Her eyes narrow at Emma. “Did you walk here from your apartment? Your cheeks are flushed.”

“It’s a hot day and I haven’t gotten my tan yet. That’ll happen. You guys ready to go?”

The kids end up loving the relay race. 

It’s exhausting, overwhelming, and Emma ends up was an ass full of sand. But it’s so damn fun that Emma doesn’t really care about the craziness of the kids or the way that they didn’t filled up on sugar beforehand. 

Okay, she cares a little bit. 

But by the time they’re finished, the kids are all exhausted, and Emma and Mary Margaret send them back to the kid’s clubhouse with Ashley and Aurora while the two of them go back to their offices and catch up on emails and phone calls before opening up wedding files for all of their couples this summer. They’ve got a weddings and rehearsal dinners almost every weekend until the middle of September, and right there on the middle weekend is Liam and Elsa’s wedding. They’d wanted to do Labor Day, but that was impossible with the party the club does and all of the town’s labor day weekend festivities. Everything was booked, and there was no way Emma or Mary Margaret could have been there as guests even if they squeezed them into a ballroom. 

Elsa said there was no way she wasn’t having the two of them there. Liam would probably not want Emma there, and she swears there was disappointment on his face when they found another weekend.

Ass. 

Emma has to take a deep breath and close her eyes as she looks at her calendar. It’s too much looking this far ahead. It’s too much, and she desperately needs to zoom back in and be a little more narrow-sighted. 

She can do this. 

She’s handled a hell of a lot of stuff that’s been more difficult than this job. 

And this is a job. It’s good pay and stable. She loves her coworkers, and she doesn’t actually mind dealing with wealthy people all day or her awful boss or couples who are way too into each other planning their weddings. 

She hasn’t been bitter about people getting married and her having to plan it for the entire time she’s worked here, and she’s certainly not going to be bitter about it now because she broke up with Neal. In the back of her mind, she used to hope and wish and maybe…but no. She’s never needed that kind of commitment. If you love someone and want to be with them, you make the commitment and you stay. It doesn’t matter if there’s a piece of paper legalizing that commitment. 

Not that Neal was committed. 

Obviously not. 

“Hey, this says you have tomorrow off,” Mary Margaret says as she looks at Emma from over the top of her computer.”

Emma blinks and shakes her head before pushing her hair back in its ponytail. “I worked Monday this week, so I took tomorrow off to make up for it. I’ll be back to our normal schedule next week.”

“Oh, good, because David was thinking of us hosting a barbecue next Saturday.”

“Next Saturday is Killian’s birthday.”

“Oh shit. Is it?”

“Mhm.” Emma rolls her chair across the office to the mini fridge to grab her bottle of water. “So, unless you want to have the barbecue be his party, I think it’s going to have to be another day.”

“I’ll text Liam and ask if they have any other plans.”

“Why not ask Killian? It’s his birthday?”

“Oh, good point. I guess it’s not a surprise. It’ll have to be late since we all work on Saturdays.”

“Supply us all with coffee and alcohol, and I think we’ll all be able to stay awake.”

“Perfect.”

-/-

When Emma finally gets to leave at nine that night, she’s starving. She didn’t get the chance to sneak into the kitchen and steal some food for dinner, and she’d do awful things for a grilled cheese from Granny’s. Emma makes them at home all the time, but it’s never quite the same. After getting her car out of the parking lot for the public beach, she back downtown to, passing by the packed Rabbit Hole and pulling into Granny’s parking lot only to realize whose car she’s parked next to. 

What the hell?

No. Just no. 

She is not going in there are dealing with him tonight. Ruby said he’d been hanging around a lot to spend time with Tamara, but Emma thought that was Ruby overexaggerating. Emma hasn’t run into him once, but here he is. 

Fuck. 

Emma leans down to rest her head against her steering wheel before slowly peaking back up. Neal is right in front of her. He’s sitting in a booth with his dad, Tamara next to him, and Emma nearly vomits at the smiles on all of their faces. 

That’s not supposed to be happening.

Tamara is just supposed to be the girl he’s fucking. She’s not supposed to be someone who he’s smiling with and who his dad has dinner with. 

Emma barely ever did that. 

She didn’t want to. She didn’t trust his dad. She still doesn’t. He’s not a good guy, he creeps Emma out, and she didn’t want to get anywhere near him if his pawn shop does end up being as shady as everyone thinks. 

She worked too damn hard to have good things in her life to get pulled down by association. 

What the hell is Neal doing? 

Was it…did he have feelings for Tamara while he was still with her? Was it more than just someone to sleep with? Because Emma could deal with it when it was just physical. She could push past that. Hell, she did while she still stayed with him. If it was more, though, she’s not sure that she’s up for that.

From the way that her heart is pounding, she knows that she isn’t, that it was more between the two of them.

Fuck. 

Emma slaps her hand down, and the horn on her bug goes off. 

No.

No, no, no, no, no. 

She quickly ducks down and hides herself. They’ve got to be looking out at the parking lot, and maybe if they don’t see her in the car, they won’t think it was her. Her car isn’t exactly inconspicuous, but someone else could drive the same way. The place is full of tourists and outsiders right now. The odds of someone else driving a bright yellow bug have to be pretty good. 

Or maybe he’ll think that she’s at the Rabbit Hole but that parking was full so she put her car over here. 

Or maybe he’ll know that it’s her and that she’s currently hiding in her own car as if she was the one who ruined her relationship. 

What the hell is she doing hiding from him? He should be the one hiding from her, not sitting in her favorite restaurant eating with his dad. 

Of course, Tamara does work there, and it’s not like Emma can get the woman fired. 

Or could she?

No, that’s wrong. Tamara knew Neal was with Emma, but it’s all on Neal. She’s not going to be the girl who blames the other woman and not the scumbag man. 

She’s also not going to be the girl who goes inside the restaurant when she’s had a long day and doesn’t want to fake pleasantries or be the talk of the town’s gossip mill tomorrow. As quietly as she can, Emma turns the key in the ignition and pulls out of the parking lot without looking back at Granny’s. That way she’ll never know if Neal saw her or not, and that’s the only thing that will keep her sane. 

She ends up driving in circles around Storybrooke and goes through a drive-thru to get herself a cheeseburger. It’s not the same as going to Granny’s, but it’s good for now. Really, she should go home, clean up a little bit, and go to bed, but she can’t seem to bring herself to. Instead she uses up half a tank of gas aimlessly driving while trying to control her breathing. It’s pretty much a lost cause when each breath is shallower than the next and soon she finds herself in a service station parking lot with her phone in hand typing out a text she definitely shouldn’t be typing out. 

He answers back within a few minutes, and his car is pulling up next to hers a quarter of an hour later. He’s silent as he slides into the passenger seat, but she appreciates that. She’s not really sure what she wants to say. 

Instead she stares at the tattoo inked across his forearm. 

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better. 

She’s always liked that tattoo of his. It’s mixed within all the angry red scars that map out his skin, and there’s something beautiful about the words coexisting with proof of an accident. Maybe one day she’ll hear the story, but for now, all she knows is those words. 

Emma’s not sure if she’s getting to fail better or if it’s just the same thing over and over again. 

Killian’s slushie is half empty by the time she finally speaks. 

“I’m sorry about Tink showing up at your office earlier.”

“It was nothing.”

“Superpower,” Emma murmurs. “And I don’t even need it to tell that’s a lie.”

“I apologize for how I acted afterward. I shouldn’t have…hell, Emma, I shouldn’t use you like that.”

She twists in her seat and turns toward him, resting her cheek against the headrest. “We’re using each other physically. We both know that.”

Killian nods and mimics her movement. “Aye, I know, but on occasion, when I have the chance to think, I realize that sometimes I can be too gruff and too impulsive. Our friendship is first, and I sometimes forget that when I need to release some of the tension.”

“I don’t mind. I promise. I’m the same way. It’s why this is working.”

“What happened tonight that you called me here? It’s nearly midnight.”

“We’ve been here at three in the morning before. Midnight is nothing.”

A smile tugs at the corner of his lips, but it just as quickly faltered. “Swan.”

It’s so simple, the way he says he last name so frequently, but he could get her to tell him just about anything just like that. 

“What did I do wrong to make Neal cheat on me? I know we had drifted apart at the end, that we weren’t sleeping together as much, but I still didn’t…the thought never crossed my mind to cheat on him. And when I found out about it the first time, I let it go. I figured it was physical. But he’s in a relationship with her, and for some reason that makes it all worse.”

So, she went there. Finally. And she doesn’t know whether or not it feels better to get it all off her chest. 

“The first problem, love, is thinking there’s any fault of your own.” Killian reaches forward and tucks her hair behind her ear before swiping his thumb across her cheek. “As much as Neal had his moments, I thought he was an asshole. You have always deserved better than someone who puts your down and who betrays your trust like he did. It hurts like hell to be betrayed like that, but you’re going to be better for it.”

“When?”

“I don’t know.”

Emma blinks and closes her eyes as she makes another attempt to calm her breathing. “Is that how you felt with Tink?”

His tongue clicks. “I had feelings for her, but it wasn’t like it was for you and Neal. Most of the betrayal there was because of something in my past.”

“Oh?”

“Aye, but that’s a story for another time.” His hand runs along her neck until she can feel him gently tugging on some of the strands on her ponytail. “I’m actually a bit glad to see that you’re upset over Neal.”

She opens her eyes then. “You’re glad to see I got my heart broken?”

“If it can be broken, that means it still works.”

Emma swallows the lump in her throat and tries to keep her eyes focused on Killian’s, but his stare is so intense that she squirms and looks down back at his arm and at all of the ink that scatters his skin. It’s safer there. He can’t read her as easily. He’s always been able to do that and has called her out on her shit when he needs to, and she usually appreciates it. 

She doesn’t know what she thinks right now. 

“Sometimes I don’t want it to work,” she quietly admits as cars keep driving by the two of them, headlights brightening before fading away. 

“But it does, love, and I swear to you, one day you’ll want it to again.”

-/-

-/-

@qualitycoffeethings​ @mrtinski​ @klynn-stormz​ @scarletslippers​ @jonirobinson64​ @snowbellewells​ @therealstartraveller776​ @thejollyroger-writer​ @sherifemma​ @shardminds​ @captainsjedi​ @galaxyzxstark​ @galadriel26​ @idristardis​ @karenfrommisthaven​ @teamhook​ @spartanguard​ @searchingwardrobes​ @itsfabianadocarmo​ @jamif​ @shireness-says​ @ultimiflos​ @nikkiemms​ @resident-of-storybrooke​ @onepunintendid​ @bluewildcatfanatic​ @superchocovian​ @killianswannn​ @carpedzem​ @captainkillianswanjones​ @mayquita​ @jennjenn615​ @onceuponaprincessworld​ @a-faekindagirl​ @scientificapricot​ @xellewoods​ @ultraluckycatnd​ @stahlop​ @kmomof4​ @tiganasummertree​ @singersdd​ @tornadoamy​ @cluttermind​ @lfh1226-linda​ @andiirivera​ 

[theleftovertaco]

Ratel

Someone sent me this amazingly specific ask about a Afro- Caribbean girl at Hogwarts and I loved the idea so this is the result. I would like to preface this by saying that I am not afro-Caribbean. While I did spend a few hours researching Trinidadian, Kenyan and Nigerian culture, food and customs, I am extremely sorry if anything here looks stereotypical or if i get something wrong. Please correct me if I mess up because I would never want to dishonor a person’s culture or country.

ONTO THE STORY

Y/N’s arrival had been a bit of an event. Transfer students were rare, and when they occurred, they were treated as a big deal, since often they only happened for some political reason of the students parents. This was exactly the case with Y/N

Dumbledore had stepped to the front of the Great Hall at the beginning of the year after the first years had been sorted and called everyone’s attention.

“This year, we have a new 4th year transfer student joining us,” excited chatter erupted around the room, “I trust you will make her feel welcome and show her what Hogwarts School is all about. Please welcome Mrs. Y/N  Y/L/N from Uagadou School of Magic in Uganda!” The doors opened and you walked through, head high and looking straight ahead despite the stares that followed you.

Professor McGonagall gave you a smile and instructed you to the stool for your sorting. 

The hat barely touched your head before “HUFFLEPUFF” was exclaimed and rapturous applause came from the yellow and black table. 

As you sat down for the feast, a tall boy with fluffy brown hair reached out to shake your hand, “I’m Cedric Diggory, sixth year. That was quite an entrance. Welcome to Hufflepuff.” 

“Thank you.”

“Are you surprised to be in our house? Honestly with the way you carried yourself I would have guessed Slytherin.”

“Not really. Hufflepuff is the house of the loyal, kind, and hardworking. Just because I’m sharp or harsh looking doesn’t mean I can’t have those traits.”

He looked at you in shock

“You’ve done your research. Yeah, I guess you’re right, a person can be more than one thing. So what’s Uganda like?”

“To be honest, I’m not sure. I went to school at Uagadou but my family is mostly Nigerian, Kenyan, and Trinidadian and most of my life we’ve spent moving around those areas and the Americas. My parents have some sort of business here for the next year or so, and I decided that I might as well try a new school, so they let me come here.” 

“Oh that sounds fun!” A younger blonde girl jumped into the conversation, “Sorry to interrupt. Hannah Abbot, third year.” You nodded her way and shook her hand as well as other Hufflepuff’s began to introduce themselves and listen into the conversation. 

“So,” Susan Bones asked, “Do you speak any other languages?” 

You nodded and listed them off, “Yes. Officially, English is the main language in Nigeria but in Kenya and Uganda, Swahili is also common. I also speak Spanish, Portugese, and I’m familiar with French and the Trinidadian dialects of French as well as French Creole.” A chorus of wows surrounded you. 

“What’s Uagadou like?”

“It’s nice, just very different from what I can tell. They are a lot more loose about how they teach things there. It’s strange, everyone here is dependent on wands.”

“You don’t use wands?”

“We do, but before that we’re taught to use magic with our hands and nonverbally. Helps avoid detection and makes it easy to still use magic if we’re disarmed. Dependence on a wand is pretty strictly European. Almost every other country learns without them first.”

“So you can just do magic, like with your hands?”

“Yup.” You flicked your fingers and the fork and knife in front of your plate did a little dance before picking up a piece of chicken and bringing it too your mouth.”

You looked around and your cutlery show had attracted the attention of a few of the surrounding houses students as well as professor Flitwick’s attention.

“That was marvelous, Mrs. Y/L/N! Would you mind demonstrating some of that again in my class tomorrow?” 

“Sure, I have charms tomorrow at 2 pm so it should work.” He nodded and walked back to his table with the other professors.

The conversation deviated and eventually with dinner over, you were ushered to the coziness of the Hufflepuff common room and dorms. Plants and comfy blankets were all about the rooms. This was exactly the house you belonged to.

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

Breakfast the next day saw a new set of questions and some repeats from other houses students who hadn’t gotten the chance to ask. Word had made it’s rounds by then, and people realized you were exceptionally gifted. 

During your free period after lunch, you were practically assaulted by a set of identical red headed string beans.

“You’re the transfer student right?”

“Yes, I-”

“We heard you’re gifted.”

“I mean I suppose-”

“What else can you do?”

“Can you show us?”

“Someone said you’re already an animagus?”

“OK SHUSH! One. I am not a goddamn zoo animal for you to just ask to do tricks at your whim. Two. One question at a time, for fuck’s sake.” 

Shocked identical looks were followed by sheepish remorse.

“And three. Yes I am and animagus.”

One of them stepped forward.

“Sorry, that was kind of rude of us. We didn’t mean to come off so pushy. I’m George. He’s Fred.”

Fred also apologized and once you accepted, they asked again, albeit a little more gently.

“So, what animal can you turn into?” Fred asked slowly, like he thought he might annoy you again if he asked. 

“You don’t have to talk that slowly, I won’t bite.” Fred laughed some and motioned for you to continue.

“I’m a Ratel.”

“A wot?”

“Also known as a honey badger.”

“Ohhhh.” Fred gasped

“I actually like that better than honeybadger. Sounds nicer.”

“Can we call you that? Ratel?” You shrugged and from there on out Ratel was more your name than your actual one. The teachers, staff, students. Even Dumbledore called you that. 

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

The one group of people you refused to tolerate was Malfoy and his goon-squad. 

It’s the superiority complex for me. 

And everyone. 

“How dare you look at me, filthy little-”

“Malfoy I know you weren’t just trying to beat up another first year.” You marched over to him with Neville, Luna, and the twins behind you. Crabbe and Goyle immediately dropped the Ravenclaw they had hoisted over their shoulders, and the small boy raced behind you and clutched onto your side. Crabbe and Goyle knew not to mess with you. Not after the thrashing you had given them before winter break. 

Apparently Draco hadn’t learned the same lesson.

“Technically, I wasn’t.”

“Not you trying to use that smart shit with me. Why don’t you pick on someone your own size.”

“And if I don’t? What are you gonna do Princess?”

Princess. Absolutely not. 

You stormed over to him, grabbed his pressed collar (fucking prick) and slammed him against a tree. 

“If you even look in the direction of any of the younger kids. If you even look my way, or my friends way, or anyone’s way really. I will shove your own wand so far up your ass your can taste it, throw you to the forbidden forest, chuck whatever is left of you at the Whomping Willow, and then throw the remains in a disintegrating solution. Don’t try me. You know I’ll do it.”

You leaned back, and then punched him in the sternum. He crumpled to the ground before stumbling back up and running off. 

You checked over the first year and then sent him on his way. As you walked off with the others, Neville spoke up. 

“I’ve never heard of a disintegrating solution. Did you just make that up?”

“No, my mother and her twin have this old family book of spells and potions. It’s been passed down through the past few generations and people add to it often.”

“Wicked! Is that how you managed to remove Parkinson’s nose the other day?” Fred asked.

“Yup. She still in the infirmary?” 

George laughed before responding, “Yeah, Pomphrey still can’t figure out how to reattach it and Parkinson refuses to say who did it.”

Everyone laughed as you headed to the library. 

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

“What are you doing in here?” Dean and Seamus stepped behind the portrait in the kitchens. 

“Jesus CHRIST! You scared me.”

Seamus smiled and kissed your cheek, “Sorry, love. So, whatcha making?” He leaned over the pot you were stirring. 

“Trinidadian curry. I missed home, and no offense, but British food has little to no flavor.”

“None taken- Mm! Thasth really goof!” His mouth was full but you picked up the gist. Dean laughed as he also stole a bite.

“Quit it you two. It’s not quite done yet.” 

“Fine.”

“Sorry, Ratel.”

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

“Harry James Potter!” Harry jumped as you stormed into the Gryffindor common room.

“How did you even get in here, you’re a hufflepuff?”

“Don’t change the subject. Why didn’t you tell me you were getting headaches? I just had to find out from Hermione!” 

“Ratel, it’s not a big deal calm dow-”

“Kid. If you’re getting headaches everyday you need to get some help for it.”

“I’m not a kid, and it’s none of your concern!”

“You’re my friend. Of course it’s my concern. And don’t pull all that ‘Oh I’m the Chosen One, I need to do shit by myself’ because it’s dumb, ok Harry.”

He paused, “Fine… I’m sorry.”

“Damn right you are, now sit your ass down and I’ll grab you a headache potion.”

“Ok… Hey, Ratel?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

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

“The mandrake leaf has been in your mouth all month, you’ll all be fine.” Fred, George, Seamus, Dean, Luna, Neville, Cedric, Ron, Harry and Hermione all stood surrounding you in a circle as you held a glass phial. A flask of a potion was passed around and then each of them chanted the needed incantation.

All around you, each of them shrunk or grew as their form took place. 

Fred and George transformed into identical hyenas who turned towards each other and erupted into a high pitched cacophony of screeching and laughing. Seamus turned into a phoenix with bright orange and yellow plumage, while Dean turned into a rather large fluffy golden retriever. Luna turned into a white hare and proceeded to dart around the hill you were on. Neville was now a meerkat. Cedric was a Lynx. Ron was now a roaring lion, Hermione now a river otter, and Harry a similar Stag to his father’s. 

You shrunk down to your badger form and the lot of you rushed around for the next few hours until the sun came up. Racing, messing with each other, 

Hogwarts had turned into home.

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

If you saw something incorrect or inconsistent with any culture PLEASE LET ME KNOW SO I CAN FIX IT. There is such a lack of POC representation in the fandom and as someone who is latina, I love when I see even a scrap of representation so after this I will probably start doing more like this (likely more mexican/ salvadoran cause thats where a lot of my family is from).

Also I’m sorry if this is too long or I wasn't able to get every detail in I hope this was what anon wanted! 

[toomanystoriessolittletime]

Getting away with it (1/?)

Summary: August Walker was dead. At least that’s what people believed for almost 2 years. When the CIA found reason to believe that he was alive they made it their top priority to find him. Including sending one of their best female agents to recruit his twin brother. Walter Marshall.

Pairing: August Walker x Reader (Walker) + Walter Marshall x Reader (Walker)

Warnings: none yet

Wordcount: 1.893

A/N: I swore to myself to never write a series again, yet here we are. Got a feeling that this is going to be a long one. This is more like an prologue. Updates hopefully coming every Wednesday. Hope you enjoy it x

Masterlist

Taglist:

@ladyreapermc / @theolsdalova / @greenmanalishi / @itsmydreamlifethings / @palaiasaurus64 / @celestial-vomit / @penwieldingdreamer/  @notyourtypicalrose / @babypink224221​ / @fanficsrusz / @solariumss / @starlite13 / @ly--canthrope / @mytbel0st / @oddsnendsfanfics / @ravenpuff02 / @sofiebstar / @chamomilebottom / @keiva1000 / @agniavateira / @peaceinourtime82 / @dearlybelovedluke / @vania-marie / @wildwavehc / @fcgrizi / @mary-ann84 / @ayamenimthiriel / @radaofrivia / @ohjules/ @omgkatinka / @xceafh​

@its-jb86 / @singeramg / @mrrightismrreeves (I can’t tag you guys. Sorry)

CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia

“We have reason to believe that August Walker is still alive.” The words seemed to quiet down the room. Swallowing her feelings, she felt the eyes of her superior Agent Miller on her. The man looked at her with caution, his eyes a silent warning. ‘Don’t do anything stupid’ they seemed to say. She nodded once at him before her eyes focused back on the person in front of her who briefed the team on what had happened and was supposed to be happening next.

Apparently August had been spotted in Quebec. Blurry photos had been taken and yes, it could be him. 

She remembered his funeral. A funeral only a handful of people attended after word got out on who exactly August Walker was and what he had planned to do. She still couldn’t understand what on earth ran through his mind when he was planning to steal plutonium. 

Closing her eyes for a brief moment she could see August in front of her, on the morning after they first had sex, him wearing her pink apron as he made breakfast while singing along to the radio. A morning almost 6 years ago. She didn’t know then how things would drastically change in the next years. She was in love with him. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. She knew the man he once was. And she still couldn’t believe she didn’t see the tiny changes in him. How he stayed away in the evenings. How he suddenly had a second phone. How all the passwords of his devices seemed to change regularly. Before she found out he also was John Lark, a terrorist he himself had been helping her to take down. Breathing in and out deeply she opened her eyes again, her stare becoming ice cold.

She would find him. And she would make sure he would pay for everything that he did. 

A thick envelope was waiting for her on her desk when she got back to her office. Looking through the glass wall of her office she could see Agent Miller nodding a her, as she sat down, ripping the envelope open. A big classified case file fell to her desk. It was an old adoption record. Frowning she could see that there was a police file from the Minneapolis police department attached. Opening the file she gasped as she saw familiar blue eyes staring at her. Shaking her head she read through the first page. Detective Walter Marshall, born on June 21nd 1978, divorced, a daughter, working in homicide at the Minneapolis state police. She continued to read, remembering hearing about the case with the twin brothers he had been involved in. She didn’t know how long she sat there, reading. And trying to understand what she was reading. A knock on her door startled her. Agent Miller opened the door, closed it behind him and sat down on the chair in front of her.

“It’s not him.” She said right away.

“I know.” He sighed.

“How is this possible?” She asked.

“You knew August best. You knew he was adopted. That he didn’t know anything about his parents.”

“So August has a twin brother he doesn’t know about?” She asked.

“It seems like it, don’t you think?” The older man looked at her. Looking down at the picture of the man that looked so much like August she sighed.

“You want me to get him, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“What makes you think he would be interested? My guess is you want to use him to find August. Why should it work with him, when it wasn’t when I....” She breathed in deep.

“When it wasn’t working before?” She asked.

“We have to take every possible opportunity and chance to find August. Walter Marshall has a brilliant record in tracking people down.”

“You want to use him, don’t you?” 

“We need all the help we can get. Take a week off, take your daughter and drive down to Minneapolis. Try if you can find him.”

“He works at the police department. Why not use the official way?”

“Because this is not only a state matter, it’s a personal matter for you. Find him, get to know him. Find out if he has any idea about his ancestry. I trust you to know what to do. This might be our chance to finally get him.” 

Slowly nodding she looked at Agent Miller. 

“You want to recruit him.”

“If he is half as good as his brother, he will be an excellent addition to the CIA.”

“You’re not telling me everything, aren’t you?”

Agent Miller chuckled. Ever since she came from he academy she could see right through him. He couldn’t even imagine how she was feeling that she didn’t see all of this coming.

“You’re right. Bring him in, and I will answer every single question you have Agent Walker.”

....................................................................................................................

Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1 week later

“Mommy!” Evie giggled as Walker took a bite from the french fry Evie was just about to eat.

“You have to be quicker, Evie.” Walker grinned, chewing the fry. Evie narrowed her eyes, trying to look intimidating, which made her only look cuter with her blue eyes and dark locks.

“I love you Mommy, but don’t steal my food. Stealing is bad, you said it yourself.” Evie said strictly, making Walker try hard to suppress a giggle.

“Stealing is very bad, you are right. I’m sorry.” Walker kissed her cheek.

“I forgive you.” Evie sighed and continued to eat. Walker watched her daughter who looked so much like her father. She even had the same expression on her face when she ate. She would never understand how he could have left her and Evie on their own. How he could have tried to destroy the world his daughter was living in, just for some insane idea of bringing order to the world. A little part of her hoped she would see him again, just so she could punch him to death for the things she as his wife had to endure after his disappearance. She couldn’t even blame the CIA for thinking she must have been involved in all this Apostles mess. She would blame herself until the day she died that she didn’t notice it sooner.

“Finished.” Evie smiled and Walker noded.

“Let’s go see some sculptures.” Walker smiled, picking up their trash from the bench they were sitting on and reached her hand out to her daughter.

“Will there be bunnies?” Evie asked hopeful, looking up at her mother. Walker still didn’t know what her newest obsession with bunnies was, but it was definitely better than when she whined about wanting a snake a couple of weeks before. 

“Let’s find out.”

.........................................................................................................................

“I’m sorry are these seats taken?” A female voice asked. Looking up Walter was about to say no when he saw that the woman was holding a child in her arms. He guessed the girl was about 4 years old, sleeping peacefully.

“Please sit, I’m almost finished with my lunch anyway.” He gestured towards the chair, making the woman nod thankful as she sat down, the girl in her arm only stirring for a second before she continued to sleep on the woman's shoulder.

“Took her to the sculpture garden today. Didn’t make it back to the hotel before the rain started.” She sighed, making Walter nod.

“Are you visiting the city?” He asked, bringing his coffee to his lips.

“Yeah. Little vacation before I start a new project at work.” She nodded. Walter looked at the woman who was looking lovingly down at her daughter. He guessed she was in her mid thirties, no ring on her finger, but he imprint still visible what either meant she was divorced or widowed. Somehow he thought it was the latter. She looked tired, the bags under her eyes weren’t easy to get within a few days. Her dark hair cling to her face, but that was thanks to the rain outside. Her green eyes seemed to scream of pain as she looked up at him. 

“Can I invite you for a coffee?” Walter found himself asking.

“Oh. I wouldn’t want to hold you up from work, Officer…?” She asked.

“Detective Marshall.” He smiled. “And you’re not holding me up. There’s no way I will get to my car in this rain.”

“In that case… Can I get a tea instead?” The woman smiled.

“Sure. Mrs...” He nodded, looking at her daughter. She looked a lot like Faye when she was younger. The dark curls hiding her face as she was sleeping peacefully against her mother's shoulder.

“Walker.” She said quietly.

“Mrs. Walker.” He repeated, waving at the waitress.

“But friends can call me Walker.” She winked, making Walter chuckle.

“In that case I’m Marshall.” He said.

“Nice to meet you, Marshall.”

It was scary how similar yet different at the same time Marshall was in comparison to August. She almost felt like she was back in New York where she first met August as he was assigned her partner for a case. Her first case. He had taken her out to lunch the first day and they had spend the whole time talking about everything and nothing. A meeting she had repeated so often back in her head it was driving her insane. 

“Walker?” She heard his deep voice.

“Yes? Sorry.” She shook her head, looking up into his eyes.

“You were gone there for a second.” He said, his blue eyes watching her. As she looked at him she could see that there was a hint of brown in his right eye. 

“Yeah. Sorry. Long day.” More like long year. She added in her head.

“You telling me.” He said. “Anyway. I need to get back to work. It was nice meeting you. I hope you have fun in our city for the rest of your stay.”

“I am planning on it. Thank you for the tea.” She smiled a little. He liked how her whole face seemed to lighten up with even the little smile. By now he was pretty sure she had lost someone important to her. There seemed to be a mencholacy in every word she said.

“You are welcome.” He said, getting up. “If anyone makes you any trouble find me at the police station.” He joked making her chuckle.

“Aren’t you busy tracking down criminals?” She asked.

“I would make an exception.” He winked, before he nodded and walked out of the diner

She felt her daughter stir on her shoulder, thankful that she only woke up now. She had taken a risk getting into the diner when she saw him sitting inside. Looking so much like August, yet so different. That wasn’t something her four year old daughter Evie would understand. Why this man looked so much like her father. On the other hand it had been more than two years since Evie last had seen him. Only knowing him from the few pictures Walker hadn’t removed from the house.

“Daddy?” She mumbled, her eyes fluttering open.

“It’s only Mommy.” Walker smiled softly, pulling the dark locks out of her daughters face.

“Sounded like Daddy…” She yawned, making Walker sigh sadly.

“I know he did, Darling. I know.” Walker said quietly, kissing her daughters forehead. 

[erics-meep-morps]

An Imperfect Christmas Eve

A very cheesy self-ship Christmas fic with Lapis and Peridot. If you manage to read all of it then I hope you enjoy! But even if you just read parts of it I hope you still enjoy it. 

Our plans for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were planned out, and while both days would be busy we would have relaxation time at home on Christmas Eve night before heading to Beach City in the morning to visit Lapis and Peridot’s friends and family. Technically they didn’t have family, but they considered Steven and the Crystal Gems to be family. 

We had already bought gifts for each other so at least we didn’t have to worry about that. I got Lapis a fancy pool float so she could sit back and relax on the lake that’s next to our house. For Peridot I got a nail gun, which may seem odd but she had talked about wanting to get one for some of her projects.

Lapis and Peridot were still soundly asleep when I woke up on Christmas Eve morning. I carefully got out of bed to start making my breakfast, which was going to be french toast. However, when I opened the bag of bread there were many spots of mold on it. Disappointed that there would be no french toast and I wasted bread, I threw it in the garbage and looked for something else to eat. Everything I found was average instead of something special for a Christmas Eve breakfast, and I settled on cereal. 

“Good morning,” Lapis said as she walked into the kitchen. “Weren’t you planning to have something different for your breakfast?”

“Yeah, french toast, but the bread got moldy,” I said in disappointment.

“Aw, that sucks. Well, I’m sure lunch and dinner will be much better.”

A few minutes later Peridot was awake. “So what’s the plan for today,” Peridot asked as she rubbed her eyes. 

“Take the train into the city in about an hour, and then we’ll spend as much time as we want exploring the holiday market in downtown,” I replied. 

“Sounds good,” Peridot said with a thumbs up.

After my small breakfast and all of us getting ready for the day, we headed to the train station. Lapis and Peridot rarely rode the train since they could fly, but when they did join me on the train it was always nice. While it was slightly chilly outside at least the sun was out. 

Fifteen minutes later we got to the station, and the train would be coming in around five minutes. It was surprisingly quiet, and I realized there were no other people on the platform. Obviously there wouldn’t be any commuters on Christmas Eve, but I figured a decent number of people would also be taking the train to downtown for the festivities. 

We waited for five minutes and there was no train. Ten minutes passed and still no train. After twenty minutes of waiting I knew something wasn’t right. I noticed a small piece of paper taped to a pole and looked at it. Turns out they were running on a different schedule for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and the next train wouldn’t be here for a couple hours. I sighed and told Lapis and Peridot, and there was agreement to just fly to the city instead. Peridot got on Lapis’s back and Lapis cradled me in her arms. 

There was a breeze that made it a lot cooler flying through the air, and I shivered in Lapis’s arms. 

“Doing okay,” Lapis asked with slight concern in her voice.

“Y- yep,” I replied simply with a shiver in my tone. 

“We’re almost there,” Lapis assured me since she knew I was actually freezing.

I made a mental note to wear more layers when we headed to Beach City since Lapis would be carrying me there and the trip takes a few hours.  

When we arrived in the city there was a hustle and bustle of holiday themed activities going on. The holiday market spanned several blocks with many little outdoor shops selling various foods, drinks, and goodies. The three of us each had $40 to get whatever we wanted.

“Try not to spend all your money in one place,” Lapis said to us half jokingly.

“No promises,” I replied with a chuckle. 

We began our journey through the big holiday market and looked around at the various shops. A lot of it was touristy, but since it was only once a year even the locals were partaking in it. As we walked around we held hands with Lapis being in the middle. 

Not long after we started I was getting hungry, and I wanted to go to the shop that sold goulash in a bread bowl. I tried it last year and it was quite good, and it reminded me of my trip to Budapest several years ago. 

I remembered where the shop was located, but when we got there it was a different shop. Instead of making goulash they were selling scented candles. 

“If you’re looking for the goulash, they aren’t doing it this year,” a random person said as they walked by me. 

“Oh, well that’s a shame,” I said in a disappointed tone. 

We continued looking around, and while there were a lot of food shops, none of them got my interest for something I wanted to have as Christmas Eve lunch. Eventually I got to the point where my stomach was growling and I needed to eat something. I settled on a shop selling British food, and bought myself fish and chips. I’ve had fish and chips many times before and always loved it, but this time it wasn’t that good. The fish was already cold and it had a weird taste to it. The chips (fries) weren’t much better, as they were also cold as well as soggy. On the bright side I wasn’t hungry anymore, but it was definitely not worth the $10 I spent on it.

“How’s the food,” Lapis asked. 

“It’s... not the best to be honest,” I replied. 

“Hm, well there’s always dinner. If needed we can pool our money together so you can get something fancy,” Lapis suggested. 

“Well hopefully I won’t need to borrow money from you two, but I appreciate the offer,” I said. 

I followed Lapis and Peridot to a few shops that were selling art stuff, and Lapis bought a small art kit. Meanwhile Peridot inspected the different art and I could tell she considered her and Lapis’s meep morps to be superior. 

Since it was winter it didn’t take long for the sun to begin setting. Besides the fish and chips and the art kit we hadn’t spent any money, but of course we weren’t obligated to spend all of it that day. However, since I had a lot of money left I decided to get something fancy for dinner to make up for the disappointing breakfast and lunch. 

As the sun set it became slightly cooler to the point where I was shivering again, so I didn’t want to spend too much time looking for dinner. I preferred getting something from one of the small shops, but decided on an Italian restaurant since I wanted to be warm as I was enjoying dinner. However, this restaurant ended up being too fancy for us, as the host pointed out there was a dress code. All three of us were wearing winter jackets and our regular clothes underneath, so we awkwardly turned around and left. 

“Clods,” Peridot said. 

“We saved the world and all they care about is a dress code,” Lapis muttered. 

“Well I think I’m ready to head home, if that’s okay with you two,” I said, feeling slightly unsatisfied about the holiday market. 

“Yeah, that’s fine. Are you ready Peridot,” Lapis asked.

Peridot nodded, and Lapis took off for home. This time Lapis held me closer to her to try to keep me warm. I appreciated her trying, and it felt comforting but with no sun and a breeze I couldn’t help but shiver. 

After getting home we turned on the fireplace, settled on the couch cuddled up together, and watched random shows that we were interested in even though they weren’t necessarily holiday themed. My dinner ended up being a sandwich, but I also brought out my favorite wine and had a few glasses. Peridot didn’t drink, or eat for that matter, but Lapis had a glass with me. 

Suddenly I felt my phone vibrating and looked to see who it was. Seeing that it was Steven on FaceTime, I answered and all three of us greeted him. 

“Hey guys! How was your day,” Steven asked.

“It was pretty good,” Lapis responded enthusiastically. 

“That’s good! Were you guys still planning on coming here tomorrow?”

“Uhh, yeah, why,” Lapis asked.

“Well there’s supposed to be a blizzard starting in the early morning and they’re predicting it’ll last all day.” 

“Oh, I thought it was only supposed to be very light flurries,” I pointed out.

“The forecast just changed. The blizzard that was supposed to miss Delmarva is now supposed to head straight for us,” Steven said.

“Hmm, so I’m guessing trying to fly in that would be a bad idea,” Lapis said.

“Yeah, probably. We’ll just have to get together and exchange gifts some other time. I’m sure soon,” Steven said.

“Sounds good buddy. Merry Christmas to you and the gems,” Lapis said with a smile. 

“Merry Christmas to you as well,” Steven said and smiled and waved. 

“Wait Steven! One more thing before you sign off of your communication device,” Peridot said hastily.

Steven chuckled. “Yes Peridot?”

“We love you,” Peridot said with a big smile. 

“Awww, I love you guys too. Catch you later,” Steven replied and hung up. 

Everyone has one of those days where nothing seems to go right, and unfortunately for me that happened to be on Christmas Eve.  

“Well since we can’t go to Beach City tomorrow, want to just open the gifts we gave each other now,” Lapis asked. 

“Sure! It’s not like there’s a law we have to open them on Christmas Day,” Peridot said. 

We didn’t have a lot of Christmas decorations in the house, and that included the tree, which was just a small plastic Christmas tree I’ve had since I was a kid.  

I searched for the gifts we got each other since several of them were supposed to be for Steven and the gems in Beach City. 

“You two can open your presents first,” I said. Each present for Lapis had a blue ribbon while the presents for Peridot had a green ribbon. Lapis opened her gift from Peridot first, which was a hooded sweater.

“You always like taking Eric’s hoodie so now you have your own,” Peridot said with a giggle. 

Lapis snort laughed. “I love it.”

Next Peridot opened her gift from Lapis, which were gardening gloves. “Now your hands won’t get dirty and gross after working in the garden,” Lapis said with a chuckle. 

“Hm, coverings for my touch stumps. I like them! Thank you Lapis.”

Then they opened their gifts from me. For Lapis it was the fancy pool float that she could use on the lake, and for Peridot the nail gun. 

“Ohhh, I love it Eric! But how does it turn into a chair when it’s in this small box,” Lapis asked.

“Oh, you just have to inflate it,” I explained. We opened it from the box and I tried inflating it, though it was a bit of a challenge. After blowing air into it for awhile it seemed like it wasn’t inflating at all.

“Well that’s strange,” I said and inspected it. Something caught my eye on the material and I looked closer. There was a tiny cut in it, so it was never going to inflate. Upon finding that I sighed deeply. “Well, there’s a cut in it, so I need to get a new one,” I said in a disappointed tone. 

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Lapis said with a slight frown. “Well I still really appreciate it, and I’ll definitely use it a lot when we get one that works.”

Upon Peridot opening her gift that was the nail gun she didn’t seem very excited. “Oops, I uhh, should’ve told you I already bought a nail gun. But I still really like it! Now I have a spare just in case,” Peridot said and did her best to show that she appreciated it.

Once again I deeply sighed and facepalmed. “This is... definitely not my day,” I said in a defeated tone and sat on the couch.

Lapis and Peridot sat beside me on the couch and hugged me. “You still haven’t opened your present,” Lapis mentioned with a smile and got up to get it.

“I hope you don’t mind that this present is from both Lapis and me,” Peridot said.

Moments later Lapis came back with a tiny box in her hand and sat down next to Peridot, and both of them faced me. “Peridot and I have known each other for a long time, but we’ve also known you for awhile too. We’ve talked with some of the gems and Steven about relationships, like how they develop and how strong and healthy relationships get through challenges in life. Some days are bad, but the majority of them are good and that definitely applies to our relationship with you, and well... we were thinking...,” Lapis said with a hint of nervousness in her voice. 

“Let’s get married!” Peridot blurted out. 

My jaw dropped and it felt like my heart just did a few flips.

Lapis opened the tiny box and inside were three rings. 

“If you want to get married that is. We don’t fully understand it, but we know it’s a tradition between humans who are very close, and in Garnet’s case two gems who are very close,” Peridot said.

“We were going to wait for tomorrow, but decided now was the best time to ask,” Lapis said with a comforting smile.

I was still in shock, and all the inconveniences of the day disappeared from my mind. When I was able to finally collect myself I gave a deep breath and hugged them tightly. “Yes,” is all I could say and tears started rolling down my cheeks.

“Oh no, are you sad,” Lapis asked with concern. 

I took another deep breath. “I’m okay, I promise these are happy tears. I’m just so overwhelmed with emotions. I love you two so much and I would absolutely love to get married,” I said while still holding them tight. 

Lapis and Peridot started to get teary eyed and returned the tight hug. “We love you too,” they both said at the same time. 

It was a very emotional evening that lasted awhile with us holding each other tight, and then it became a long conversation about how far we’ve come in our relationship. With a day filled with imperfections, it ended up being the best Christmas Eve I ever had. 

[tazrider]

Allez, pour ta peine : nombres pairs ! Tous.

Ah la vache... Ca fait beaucoup T_T Here we go!

2. How old are you? Between 20 and 40 but not halfway. Might be a multiple of 7. Or not...

4. What is your zodiac sign? Taurus. Been told it’s very fitting...

6. What’s your lucky number? Don’t have a lucky number but I like 3 (dates back to when I first read The Black Stallion when I was a kid and Alec and Black had the number 3 during their first race XD).

8. Where are you from? France, from where France fists Belgium XD (yep that’s a saying here).

10. What shoe size are you? Fucking way too small for my liking, it’s hell to find shoes my style... (37 or 6.5).

12. What was your last dream about? Something super weird (I always have super fucking weird dreams) but I don’t really remember this one. I don’t keep a log on dreams, seems too much work because it always swings between super weird and nightmares so not like it matters much...

14. Are you psychic in any way? Huh nope and don’t believe in these things.

16. Favorite movie? The Fifth Element, it’s not a great movie but it’s like a Madeleine de Proust and takes me back to simpler times. Also fucking funny, sci-fi and awesome music, what’s not to like?

18. Do you want children? Man, kids make me uncomfortable as hell. I prefer horses XD.

20. Are you religious? Absolutely not. I only believe in science and there’s no room in there for an hypothetical superior force, that’s supposed to be all love and shit and yet lets the world in that state.

22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law? Ah, unless you count speeding tickets as getting in trouble with the law...

24. Baths or showers? Showers.

26. Have you ever been famous? LOL nope and don’t wanna be.

28. What type of music do you like? Ooh tricky question, I have rather eclectic tastes in music. Ranges from ancient music and baroque (I love harpsichord, learned to play the piano when I was younger) to post-hardcore / “hard” music and pretty much everything in between. Discovered lately I don’t mind some bluegrass even. What I don’t like would be a way shorter list... XD I’m less a type of music kind of person and more a how that music makes me feel person, regardless of the type of music and the person/band. That said, I abhor bal musette and mostly of what we call ‘nouvelle chanson française’... In general, I like it dark and tortured.

30. How many pillows do you sleep with? 2 and a small one.

32. How big is your house? Tis an appartment and with the new job last year I was able to afford more than just a rabbit hutch! (65m2 yus!).

34. Have you ever fired a gun? Only airsoft and paintball guns, was fun.

36. Favorite clean word? Lately I’ve been saying ‘grave’ a lot, I manage to annoy even myself when I do...

38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep? I think it was 3 days or perhaps 4 and not even due to insomnia.

40. Have you ever had a secret admirer? Eh not that I know of lol Pretty sure I’m not the type of person that gets secret admirers.

42. Are you a good judge of character? I think I am most of the time. As an introvert I spend much of my time on the sidelines of social interactions so I watch and analyze people a lot but I’ve been wrong a couple of times (especially if it’s a pretty girl -_-) and that fucking sucked each time...

44. Do you have a strong accent? In French? Nope, I made sure to erase it because I’m a snob like that. In English? Obviously I have a French one (been told it’s cute... -_-).

46. What is your personality type? INTJ, introvert all the way (is that what it’s referring to?) Because if not, I’ve been told by a psychologist I saw as part of something for my job who said I should get diagnosed for ADHD and autism, so...

48. Can you curl your tongue? Yep. Can make a tube with it, can also turn it over but only from one direction.

50. Left or right handed? Right but training the left to not be useless since childhood (you need to have a good feeling of both your hands if you want to be a good horseback rider).

52. Favorite food? Pasta all the way!

54. Are you a clean or messy person? Both. A clean mess XD Seriously, there are still some boxes I haven’t unpacked from moving in last year... My desk at work is a fucking clutter because I manage like 15 projects at the same time and sometimes the files all end up there... But I always end up fed up of the mess and clean everything like a tornado. Especially when I decide I have enough, I can’t do anything else until I cleaned everything.

56. Most used word? Fuck or ‘putain’ and it’s variation ‘putain de merde fait chier’ in French.

58. Do you have much of an ego? I do, it’s big and sometimes misplaced. I try to not let it get in the way though.

60. Do you talk to yourself? Oh yeah, especially when I fucked something up.

62. Are you a good singer? Nope, doesn’t mean I don’t like to sing very off-key when I’m alone...

64. Are you a gossip? No, not really.

66. Do you like long or short hair? In general? Long hair but I don’t care long or short as long as they’re comfortable with it and it suits them.

68. Favorite school subject? Hands down History and geology (wanted to be an archaeologist before I chose geology).

70. Have you ever been scuba diving? I’m a scuba diver (have my first degree, can dive down to 20m). I fucking love it but life happened and I haven’t been able to keep it up :(

72. Are you scared of the dark? No, I kinda like it. Although I don’t need the room to be pitch black to sleep.

74. Are you ticklish? Yeah and since I don’t always control my strength, it can lead to some kind of injuries to the tickler...

76. Have you ever been in a position of authority? I guess? I taught at the engineering school in geology during my PhD, does that count?

78. Have you ever done drugs? Only weed a couple times. I try to stay clear from anything remotely addictive because I have an obsessive personality.

80. How many piercings do you have? None and not planning on getting some.

82. How fast can you type? Average fast I guess?

84. What color is your hair? Very light brown, bordering on blond (I’ve been told I’m blond and it gets even lighter in the sun...).

86. What are you allergic to? Dust and mold which is just awesome for a horse owner, everyday your nose in hay...

88. What do your parents do? Teachers both. My mother’s a History and Geography teacher which means a childhood spent visiting historical sites during any vacation.

90. What makes you angry? Stupidity, incompetence, injustice to name a few. Currently my neighbors letting the front door bang at any hour when there’s a note asking not to (my bedroom’s right next to that fucking front door)...

92. Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they? Nope nope but I thought about names for my future horse(s) XD

94. What are you strengths? Loyal to a fault, up front, smart, persevering. I’m fucking funny too.

96. How did you get your name? My father always wanted to name his daughter that way. I always thought it doesn’t suit me though.

98. Do you have any scars? Oh yeah... Left shoulder, both knees, right ankle, shins, nose, chin, hands (not counting the tip of one finger I nearly lost 2 years ago), right shoulder blade.

100. Color of your room? Plain white, I rent the flat so not redecorating.

[alonely-dreamer]

The Valuable Sun | Chapter 2

Summary: Brooklynne Stackhouse is Sookie and Jason Stackhouse’s little sister. Like her older sibling, she is a telepath, but her powers are far more stronger and far more uncontrollable than her sister’s. After a series of murders in Bon Temps, Sookie takes it upon herself to investigate, taking her younger sister with her in a club called Fangtasia, where they meet vampire and sheriff Eric Northman.

Pairing: Eric x OC

Warnings: 18+ (language, violence, blood, mention of sexual assault)

A/N: Please, note that I am French so there might be some mistakes here and there.

Words: 6479

Schedule: A new chapter will be posted every Monday. Chapter 3 to 8 are available on my Patreon for early and instant access.

Masterlist

Chapter 1

Sitting at the table in the kitchen, Brooklynne couldn’t look away from the floor. It was clean now, Sookie had made sure all the blood was washed away as soon as the police had gone. But Brooklynne could still see it, as if it were still there, as if it couldn’t be washed away, as if it would always be there and nothing could make it go away. And in a way, nothing could, because nothing and no one could bring back Adele Stackhouse to life.

It was odd for both Stackhouses to stand in the kitchen knowing their grandmother would never stand there again with them. It was hard for Brooklynne to imagine a life without her grandmother. She had raised her, taken care of her, kept her secrets. And now she was alone. Sookie and Jason had a life to get back to. She didn’t.

Neither sisters had talked to their brother ever since that night. The last time they saw him was at the church, when Bill was speaking at the “Descendants of the Glorious Dead” meeting. It angered Sookie, but Brooklynne couldn’t even think about it. Her mind wasn’t her own. Especially not now that a crowd of strangers/neighbors/friends had gathered in her house to pay their respect to Adele Stackhouse.

Food was piling up on the table. With each plate came apologies, condolences, tears… Everything that people were supposed to say and that nobody wanted to hear. Fortunately for Brooklynne, people usually ignored her. They knew it was useless to even try talking to her as she never seemed to hear them, or listen to them. But unfortunately, she did hear them, though she wished she could stop listening. For most people who stepped inside her house just wanted to see where it had happened, trying to find a speck of blood, waiting for Sookie to lose it, to do something weird and freaky. They were all convinced that she had done it. Murdered her own grandmother. Why? Because she was a freak. And that was what freaks did. They killed people. Didn’t matter if it didn’t make sense, if it were their own flesh and blood, their only parent left. Brooklynne heard it all. How it was Sookie who must have done it and not her because she was too ‘retarded’ to be violent. She wasn’t a freak like her sister, no, she was retarded, stupid, crazy, etc. She was too much of a moron to kill someone. Brooklynne didn’t care. Maybe it was because she had been called that her entire life. Maybe it was because she just didn’t care what other people thought of her. It didn’t make her angry or sad. It was how it was. People sucked. And she knew that. Any telepath knew that. They heard things people thought and didn’t say aloud because it was too horrible, because it was easier to lie, because they were hypocrites. She heard things even terrible people wouldn’t dare say aloud. And now, these people were in her house. Judging her, judging her sister, when they had no idea what had really happened. Like flies attracted to garbage. They lived for it. The gossip. The gore. The feeling of being superior to someone else. Easier for Brooklynne to ignore them all.

At some point in the morning, Tara had dragged her and Sookie upstairs after the older sister had yelled at Maxine Fortenberry for touching what was left of her gran’s last pie. But even in Sookie’s bedroom, Brooklynne could still hear every single one of their horrible thoughts. They mixed together, becoming one big headache.

It all disappeared in an instant however, when her brother entered the bedroom suddenly. The door swung open, startling all three of them. Sookie stood on her feet to greet him but she barely had the time to say a word that he slapped her hard across the face, making her fall over on her bed. Brooklynne gasped, not only because of the violence of his action, but because of the violence of his thoughts.

“What the fuck?!” Tara shouted as she got off the bed to push him away.

“It’s your fault!” he yelled. “Gran is dead because of you. It should have been you!”

“Bitch, don’t you lay a hand on her!” Tara stopped him as he tried to take a step forward.

“She’s screwing a vampire, Tara. A fucking vampire!” he growled, making Brooklynne jump.

“Yeah, well, that vampire was there for her when you weren’t! You ought to be ashamed of yourself. Is that how your grandma raised you? To beat on your own sister? Look at you! I don’t even recognize you anymore. Get the hell out of here! Get out!” she yelled at him, pushing him out of the room, slamming the door in his face. “You okay?” she asked both sisters as she returned to the bed.

Brooklynne could hear Sookie think Jason was right. That it was her fault somehow. That the killer hadn’t been there for Adele, but for her. Because, like Maudette and Dawn, she had been with a vampire, and, unlike them, she wasn’t shy about it. Because she had brought Bill to Adele’s life and that if it hadn’t been for her, her grandmother would have never met Bill, and she wouldn’t have invited him to host a meeting, and she would still be alive.

“It’s not your fault,” Brooklynne told her, uttering her first words of the day.

Her sister didn’t reply.

***

Tara had kicked everyone out of the house tactlessly. Nothing Tara did was tactful. But at least it was efficient. She and Lafayette had been kind enough to stay over. They cleaned, took care of all the food, made sure both Sookie and Brooke were doing okay.

Neither women were ready for the funeral. Especially not Brooklynne. She didn’t do well in public. She’d have to hear all of the terrible thoughts of whoever was going to show up. And she’d have to say goodbye to her grandmother for good. She wasn’t ready for that at all.

Sitting between Jason and Sookie, Brooklynne tried to focus on the red-headed woman who was singing before them. Jason looked sick and was sweating profusely on his chair. She knew why. All he could think about was getting more ‘V’. Vampire blood. What an idiot. He was sweating for drugs at his grandmother’s funeral. How could he somehow be worse off than her?

But that stopped to be true as a young man showed up in the cemetery, pushing an old man in a wheelchair towards them. Brooklynne straightened up as she saw him approach them, approach her. She seized Sookie’s hand who squeezed it almost immediately. Her sister wasn’t happy to see him either, in fact, they were both uncomfortable and scared. Not because their safety was at risk in any way, but because his presence brought back memories for them both. Memories they wished would stay buried forever.

The young man positioned their uncle Bartlett next to Jason and Sookie stared at him with disgust. Brooklynne couldn’t even look at the old man.

“What are you doing here?” the waitress asked.

“She was my sister,” he replied with a tired voice.

“You haven’t been part of this family in a long time.”

“Sook, come on,” Jason stopped her. “Give the guy a break.”

His sister gave him a dark look but said nothing. Brooklynne tried as hard as she could to stay out of his mind, of anyone else’s mind, but all she could see and hear were old memories she wanted to bury again. She got up suddenly, well aware of all the pairs of eyes on her, exited the cemetery, then ran back home. The voices faded away as the cemetery disappeared behind her. The house wasn’t far away, in fact, it was very close. She entered her empty home, walked up the stairs, stepped in her bedroom and lay down on her bed where she fell asleep for the rest of the day.

***

Days passed, and even though Jason still hadn’t apologized for slapping Sookie, he came by from time to time to eat their food and steal some silverware. Brooklynne knew why he needed the money, though she hadn’t told Sookie yet. She was waiting, perhaps foolishly, for her brother to sober up and stop being an idiot. But it didn’t look like it was going to happen any time soon.

She heard him come in one night. She was in her bedroom, reading one of her grandmother’s bad romance novels, when his thoughts invaded her own. He was going through drawers, looking under the armchairs and the couches, in between cushions and pillows, hoping to find some cash. He was desperate. He needed V and he needed it now. As he grew more miserable by the minute, he made a decision that Brooklynne knew he’d come to regret, and probably with his life. He exited the house with a destination in mind, a club Brooklynne had been before, somewhere she knew he would find what he was looking for, but he would also find something else, something he wasn’t ready for. And neither was she. She had just lost her grandmother, she couldn’t let her big brother get himself killed like the junkie idiot that he was.

She called a taxi as soon as he left. When she arrived at Fangtasia, she saw her brother’s truck was already there, but she couldn’t see nor him anywhere. He was probably already inside. She paid the driver then walked through the crowd of vampires, ignoring them as they looked at her like she was their next meal. She didn’t know if it would be scarier to hear what they’d like to do to her or if it were better she didn’t.

When she reached the entrance, she found Pam blocking the door. The vampire looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Her eyes slowly moved from her face to her feet, then back up to her eyes. Brooklynne would have felt self-conscious if she had cared. She was wearing a knee-length dark blue dress with long sleeves, nothing fancy, and a headband of the same color, but it didn’t stop strands of blond hair from falling across her face. She was the complete opposite of the vampire who was wearing a black short dress with a very revealing cleavage, as much makeup as she had the last time, with a dark red lipstick and colored cheeks.

“Look who’s back,” Pam said in her usual uninterested tone. “What’s the little lamb doing here on her own?”

“I’m looking for my brother,” she replied, and the lack of fear in her voice surprised the vampire. “Have you seen him?”

“Jason Stackhouse? Tall, blond, cute idiot?”

“That’s him.”

“Yeah I saw him.”

Brooklynne waited for the vampire to tell her where he was and what she knew but Pam stayed silent.

“Um… is he inside?”

“Do you know your brother’s looking for vampire blood?”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m here.”

“To do what, exactly?”

“Send him home.”

Pam smiled as if she were amused. “He didn’t look like he’d go anywhere without what he’s looking for.”

“I’m extremely persuasive.”

“Good for you,” she said as she stepped aside. “Have fun inside.”

Brooke nodded. “Thanks.”

She felt Pam’s eyes on her until she got inside. It was as dark, loud and chaotic as it had been the first time. Somehow, she had felt better outside with the vampires. A crowd of humans was scarier to her than any crowd of undead people. She looked around, trying to find her tall, blond cute, idiot of a brother. It took her a minute or two, but she eventually found him in the middle of the crowd, being dragged away from the bar by a woman she had never met. She made their way to them.

“Jason!”

His eyes grew big as he saw his little sister walk towards him. “Brooke? What the fuck are you doing here?”

She didn’t reply but she wanted to. Formulating the words were difficult. She had to pick them from her mind but there were too many unwanted thoughts in there at the moment.

“Brooke, hey,” Jason waved a hand in front of her eyes, “stay with me!”

“You need to leave,” she told him quickly before she would be unable to do so.

“I need to leave? I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to leave the house alone! Does Sookie know you’re here?”

“No, just like she doesn’t know why you’ve been stealing from Gran and why you’re sweating like you just ran 10 miles!”

“Whoever that is is right,” the woman he was with said, “You’re going to get yourself killed if you keep at it.”

“That’s my sister, Brooke, and who the fuck are you?”

“Jason!” Brooke called her brother’s attention once more. “Go home and don’t come back.”

As soon as she said it, he started to walk away. He didn’t say anything or do anything else, he just did as she asked. The stranger gave a weird look to Brooke before she followed Jason out of the club. Brooke wanted to stop her, but some nasty thoughts and images appeared in her mind, making her jump and lose focus. She brought a hand to her head, then took a deep breath. It was dangerous for her to be alone, especially in a crowd. She could lose focus so easily and end up somewhere without knowing how or without any way to go home.

She turned around, looking for the door, but the noise blinded her. Someone was angry, someone was sad, someone wanted something they couldn’t get. Most people were drunk, some were high, it didn’t make a difference. She could hear them all. She moved, not knowing where she was going, trying to step away, to get as far from the noise as she could. But as soon as she took a step, she bumped into someone. Someone tall and strong. Someone who hadn’t been there a second ago. Someone empty.

“Well, hello there.”

She looked up to see Eric smirking down at her. He looked amused. She didn’t feel like smiling back. She looked around, looking for an exit, ignoring, or forgetting, the vampire. She tried to step away, but he stopped her, placing a hand on her arm.

“Miss Stackhouse, are you drunk?” he asked mockingly.

“No,” she answered, still looking for an exit.

“Why don’t you come with me? I’m feeling a little lonely up there on my own,” he said, gesturing towards the stage where three seats were waiting for them.

She exhaled, trying to focus, but it was just too loud. The music wasn’t helping either.

“I can’t hear you,” she said, and she didn’t mean it like he understood it.

Usually, when people touched her, or when she touched people, it made their thoughts louder and clearer, easier to focus on. But he was different. She couldn’t hear anything from him but silence. She put a hand over his and focused on his empty mind.

But as soon as she took his hand, he moved. One second, they were standing in the middle of the club, and the next, he was sitting on his ‘throne’ and she was on his lap.

She gasped as she felt the movement. Her left hand went to rest on his right shoulder as her right shoulder collided with his chest. She thought she heard him laugh.

“I’m surprised to see you here alone,” he said with a silky voice.

She looked up at him with wild eyes and saw him smirk. The voices were going away, some stayed longer and louder, others were already gone. She tried to focus and remember what he had just told her so that she could give him an answer.

“Wh- what?”

“Mr. Compton and your sister are nowhere to be found.”

“Sookie’s at work,” she replied, though she didn’t know why she’d answer any of his questions. She probably wasn’t safe here alone. Especially on his lap, not when he was looking at her like she was his dinner.

“What did you do to get your brother to leave?”

“I just asked him,” she shrugged as she looked down, hoping he’d buy her lie, then prided herself for lying. She wasn’t used to lying, it was hard to come up with lies when it was hard to think.

“I know a V addict when I see one. They can’t be persuaded away so easily. It was as if… you glamoured him,” he said, his right hand running up her bare leg slowly, sending shivers down her spine.

“I can’t glamour people, I’m not a vampire.”

“Well, you obviously did something.”

She straightened up as she put a hand over his as it reached her knee. His touch had set off an alarm inside her head. “Don’t,” she stopped him. “Please,” she continued in a trembling whisper.

“I may be a vampire,” he said, removing his hand from her knee and taking her chin in his fingers, making her look up at him, “but I’m not that cruel.”

She breathed a sigh of relief then looked away once again as she felt a wave of shame take over her. His hand returned to her leg, beneath her knee. She felt his other hand move above her waist.

“Bad luck with men?”

She frowned. She didn’t have the clarity of mind to wonder why he’d ask such a thing or why he’d think she’d want to talk about it. She shook her head. “When I was younger,” she said. “A long time ago.”

“And what happened to them?”

“Him,” she corrected him, “and nothing.”

“What a shame,” he sighed, “I’d have made him pay.”

She ignored him and looked at the crowd before them, most people were looking at her. Her cheeks turned red as she saw herself in those people’s minds and tried to shut out the horrible things they were thinking. She failed. She looked away and decided to stare at his black shirt instead, focusing on the silence in his mind.

“What do you want from me?” she asked as she started to play with one of the buttons of his shirt.

He raised an eyebrow as she unbuttoned and buttoned it over and over again.

“Just a little fun… And for you to tell me how you knew about the undercover cop the other night.”

“I can’t tell you that. Sookie will be mad.”

“Sookie doesn’t have to know.”

She shook her head and let go of the button.

“Maybe I can guess,” he said. “Stop me if I’m right.”

She considered it, then nodded.

“You’re a mind reader.”

She looked up at him with big eyes, wondering how he knew. He laughed.

“Wasn’t hard to figure out.”

“Then why did you ask?”

“I wanted to see if you’d lie to me. Again.”

She frowned. She should leave now before she said too much.

“Now, tell me. How did you make your brother leave?”

She gave him a worried look, then looked around, wondering if other vampires could hear them talk.

“Don’t worry. They’re not listening. They’re too busy trying to find something to eat.”

“I shouldn’t tell you.”

“Why not?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know you.”

“I can keep a secret,” he grinned playfully. “Can’t you read my mind?”

“No,” she said which surprised him. “We can’t hear vampires’ thoughts.”

“Interesting. How frustrating it must be for you,” he smirked.

She chuckled. “Not really. I can’t control it like Sookie can. And even she can’t really control it either. I think that’s why she likes Bill so much. It must be nice to be with someone and just… enjoy the silence.”

“And are you? Enjoying the silence?” he asked, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

“It’s…” she started to say but then got distracted again. Her eyes moved up to the ceiling then slowly down at the crowd. She shivered. “What?”

“I was asking you if you were enjoying the silence. I guess not.”

“It’s complicated. But it’s easier.”

“I make it easier?”

“Yes. It’s like… instead of your thoughts invading mine, it’s just silence taking over.”

“Well I’m happy to be of service,” he joked. “You still haven’t answered my question.”

She started playing with a lock of her hair. “What question?” she asked, and he wondered if she was doing it on purpose or if she had really forgotten.

“It can’t be easy, having all of these thoughts in your head. Is that why you’re not supposed to leave your house?”

She didn’t even ask herself how he knew that. She was in a state of mind in between distracted and focused. She could hear what he was asking but wouldn’t be able to stop herself from answering any questions she shouldn’t.

“Yes, I get distracted.”

“How did you get here?”

“I took a taxi.”

“Can’t you drive?”

“I’m not allowed to drive.”

“Because you can’t focus.”

She nodded.

“How did you make your brother leave?”

“I told him to.”

“But why did he listen?”

“Because I told him to.”

“Did you glamour him?”

“No.”

“Then how did you make him do it?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “I just did.”

“Do you do that often?”

“Sometimes.”

“What else can you do?”

She shrugged. She never talked about that, not even with Sookie. Her sister knew what she could do and even they didn’t talk about it.

“Can your sister glamour people too?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“We don’t know. We’re different. It’s not as loud for her.”

“What are you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you human?”

“I think so.”

“Are your parents human?”

“My parents are dead.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said, and she laughed. “What’s so funny?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Why are you sorry?”

“Because I lost my parents too, and I know how it feels.”

She looked up at him, finally. She hadn’t expected an honest answer. She locked her eyes with his, like she’d do if she were trying to read someone’s mind. But all she found there was his ice blue eyes and silence.

“My turn.”

“Your turn?”

“To ask questions.”

He laughed. “Okay,” he agreed, amused and curious to find out what she wanted to know.

“How old are you?”

“I’m over a thousand years old.”

“You’re a thousand years old?” she repeated in disbelief. “Have you seen the whole world?”

“Most of it,” he nodded.

“Have you met kings and queens?”

“Some. And some princesses,” he grinned smugly.

“Are you from Sweden?”

“I am.”

“Is Pam your girlfriend?”

He chuckled. “No. She’s my progeny.”

“What does that mean?”

“I made her.”

“You made her a vampire?”

“Yes.”

“How old is she?”

“I wouldn’t ask her that if I were you,” he chuckled.

“I didn’t ask her.”

He smirked, then considered answering. “She’s over a hundred and thirty years old.”

“What’s a sheriff?”

“As vampires we answer to the Authority. As sheriff my job is to make sure the vampires in my area are safe and are following the rules.”

“How long have you been a sheriff?”

“Twenty years.”

“Do you like it?”

“It has its moments.”

She was about to ask another question, but he interrupted her.

“My turn,” he said, moving his legs so that she’d slid between him and the arm of the chair. He caught her with his hand, making sure she wouldn’t fall, and leaned forward so that his face was inches from hers. She shivered as she felt his cold breath on her face. “Would you like to be mine?”

“I… I don’t know what that means.”

“It means…” he started, settling her back on his lap. “That you’d be under my protection. You’d be my human and no one else would be allowed to touch you. Or feed from you.”

“Feed? Why would I want to do that?”

“Why wouldn’t you?” he gave her an arrogant smile.

“How many humans do you have?”

“I don’t collect them,” he told her, amused by her question, “I don’t usually surround myself with humans. But you… I would like to have you.”

“Why?” she asked. She was at a complete lost as to why anyone would want to ‘have her’.

“Because I find you interesting, Miss Stackhouse. You are valuable.”

“So, you want to own me?”

He breathed out a laugh. “I won’t harm you. Or do anything you don’t want me to.”

“What if I don’t want you to feed from me?”

“Then I won’t.”

She frowned. What would be the point then?

“And if I’m yours, and you don’t have anyone else, then does that make you mine?”

He laughed. “It doesn’t work that way.”

“Why not?”

“We’re vampires. We don’t belong to anyone but our makers.”

“That doesn’t seem very fair.”

“Are you negotiating with me?” he asked. He hadn’t expected her to ask so many questions.

“No. I’m just saying. Sookie is Bill’s and if Bill isn’t Sookie’s then that’s not fair.”

“You don’t understand. It’s a way to tell our kind that you are under the protection of another vampire. It’s a way to keep you safe.”

“I don’t really need protection.”

“Oh, but you do, Miss Stackhouse. Someone with your… abilities, is very valuable. Besides… you and your sister have… very distinct smells.”

She frowned. “What does that mean?”

“It means you stand out, and not in a safe way. You smell better than most humans. In truth, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who smelled as good as you.”

She looked at him, really looked at him, trying to see if he was trying to trick her, if he was lying, if he had some bad intentions. But the silence she found in his head didn’t help answer her questions.

“Vill du ha ett nytt husdjur till din djurpark?” (Do you want another pet for your zoo?)

He chuckled. “I wouldn’t call you a pet, exactly.”

She considered it. She didn’t want to say yes, but she didn’t want to say no either.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Please do.”

“I should go now.” She was tired. The noise was exhausting her. Even now that she was on his lap, touching him, the voices wouldn’t go away.

“Leaving so soon?” he said, as if he were disappointed, but didn’t try to stop her.

“If I’m not home when Sookie comes back from work, she’ll be worried,” she told him as she got up. As soon as she was away from him, the voices became louder. She tried to focus and keep them away long enough for her to make it to the door. She wondered if she’d make it.

“I look forward to seeing you again,” Eric said with what could have been a threatening tone, and she didn’t want to tell him that she did too.

She gave him an awkward and shy smile before she turned around. She tried to ignore the feeling of his eyes on her as he watched her walk away. She had to concentrate. She made her way to the crowd, trying not to lose focus. But she had barely made it into the pool of people that she had already forgotten about Eric and lost her way. She kept walking, though not really knowing where she was going. A shirtless woman appeared before her, dark tape covering her breasts. She had short black hair, it looked like a wig, and she was wearing a very short black skirt and very high black heels.

“Hi honey,” she said but Brooke didn’t hear her. “Can I buy you a drink?”

Brooklynne was confused. A voice in her head was crying, another was shouting, someone was very angry and sad, or maybe it was two people and one was angry and the other was sad. She couldn’t tell. Someone wanted V, someone else wanted another drink. Most people were looking for someone to have sex with in the bathroom. Some of them were even looking for vampires to feed from them. She turned around, away from the woman whose presence she hadn’t acknowledged, and stepped away. She brought a hand to her head. She didn’t know where she was. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do.

She barely felt the cold hand that came to rest on her shoulder and didn’t resist when the person dragged her away. She walked through the crowd and exited the club, shivering as the cold night came in contact with her body.

“Brooklynne?” a voice called. “Brooklynne.”

Someone snapped their fingers and startled her, bringing her back to reality. Eric was standing in front of her, waiting for her to reply.

“What? What?” she asked as she looked around. She recognized the parking lot of the club. She was out, the voices were less loud, but they were still there.

“Didn’t you say you didn’t need protection? I could have been anyone. A vampire dragging you out to drain your blood and leave you for dead in the alley.”

“I’d do her. I’d do her good. Teach that fangbanger what a real man feels like, and she’d never go back to those bloodsuckers.”

She ignored Eric and stared at the man smoking a few feet away from them. He was wearing a pair of old, used and dirty jeans with holes in them. Muddy shoes, a khaki shirt and a black leather jacket. He looked old though he couldn’t have been older than 35. His hair was brown, though clean and with a little light they’d probably be blond. He was staring at her. She was staring back.

“What is he thinking?” Eric asked.

She looked up at the vampire, finally acknowledging his presence.

“What did you say?”

“I asked what he was thinking.”

“No, before that.”

“I said you need protection. You couldn’t even leave the club without getting lost.”

“I’m not supposed to be here,” she said. She sounded tired.

“Clearly.”

“I’m not supposed to leave the house alone.”

“Are you sure you want that retard to be yours?”

“Pam,” Eric growled. “Cover for me.”

“What are you doing?”

“Making sure she gets home safely.”

“Why? Just lock her up and make her yours if that’s what you really want.”

“She’s the sister of Bill Compton’s human. I can’t imagine that going well.”

“Since when do you care about Bill Compton?”

“Since I don’t want him to become a pain in my ass. Just do as I say.”

Pam rolled her eyes but eventually turned around and entered the club.

“Nothing nice,” Brooklynne suddenly said.

“What?”

“You asked what he was thinking. It was nothing nice.”

***

When she woke up the next day, it was already late in the morning. She was asleep when Sookie had come back from work and unless Jason told her, she’d never know of her little adventure in Fangtasia.

A week had passed, and she hadn’t heard back from Jason. She wondered if he was still doing V. He hadn’t come back to steal more silverware, so maybe that was a good sign.

Sookie was never home at night, always spending it with Bill, leaving Brooklynne alone. She preferred it and wouldn’t complain. She didn’t have to focus to keep anyone’s thoughts away.

She had spent the whole week wondering if Eric had meant it when he had asked her to be his, and if she wanted to say yes. Of course, she wasn’t going to ask Sookie for advice. She figured she didn’t need protection as she never left her house. Going to the club alone had been a terrible decision, though it had probably saved her brother from some serious trouble. However, she should have been smarter. She should have asked him to bring her home.

Brooklynne was lying on the grass, admiring the sunset sky. Though, now it was completely dark. She had lost herself, once again, in another world. She was whispering song lyrics at the stars, trying to shut out her sister’s thoughts. Sookie was in the kitchen, waiting for Bill. She heard someone approach and thought the vampire had finally arrived, but he didn’t greet her like he usually did. For the past five days he had called her name, asked her if she was okay, asked her what the stars were saying, before wishing her a good night, and joining Sookie inside the house. But this time, the man approached silently and stopped near her, looking down at her curiously. He was taller than Bill and hadn’t come for Sookie. No. This vampire had come for her.

“Well, hello there.”

She grinned at him. “Hi.”

“You’re in a good mood today,” he said as he crouched down.

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to ask for your help.”

She raised her eyebrows as she propped herself up on her elbows. “My help?”

“Yes. I’m in need of a telepath.”

“Eric!”

Brooke turned around as she heard Bill from behind her. Eric stood up as the vampire approached quite angrily.

“Bill,” the Viking greeted with a sigh. “I should’ve known you’d be around.”

“What are you doing here? Leave her alone!”

Eric chuckled. “Maybe she doesn’t want me to leave her alone.”

“What’s going on?” Sookie asked as she joined them. She was wearing a white sleeveless dress and white ballerinas, an outfit similar to her sister’s. “What are you doing here?”

“He needs help with something,” Brooke said as she got up.

“And what makes you think you’ll find help here?” Bill asked.

“I didn’t ask you for help, did I? I asked her.”

“She’s not going anywhere with you,” Sookie told Eric.

“That’s not for you to decide,” the vampire replied as he turned to look at Brooke.

“What do you need help with?” the young telepath asked.

“Business. I just want to make sure my employees are honest with me.”

“She doesn’t work for you,” Sookie said.

“She could.”

“No, she can’t.”

“Again, that’s not for you to decide.”

They all turned to look at Brooke, waiting for an answer. Of course, Sookie wanted her to refuse, but she wouldn’t mind helping the vampire out. After all, she hadn’t left the house in a week, and she could use a little action.

“Okay,” she shrugged. “I don’t mind.”

“Then I’m coming with you,” Sookie said.

“Fine,” Eric agreed. “If you insist.”

***

Fangtasia was exceptionally closed for the night. Inside were only Longshadow, Pam, and two humans. Eric, Brooklynne, Sookie and Bill joined them near the bar. It was odd to see the club empty. Especially for Brooklynne, whose only memories of this place was as a loud box from Hell. Eric invited Sookie and Brooke to sit at a table where one of the two humans were already sitting, waiting impatiently and nervously, while the vampires leaned back against the bar.

“Pam, Longshadow and I are partners in this club,” Eric started to explain. “And we recently noticed that $60,000 has gone missing from our books. And Bruce,” he said as he placed a hand on the human’s shoulder, which made him wince, he was perspiring profusely in his white shirt, and his breathing was unsteady, “Bruce is our accountant. Perhaps you can start by listening to him.”

Brooklynne hadn’t waited for him to say so to start listening to him. In fact, she couldn’t help it. He was practically screaming his fear at her. She already knew he hadn’t done it, nor who had. So, she said so. “He didn’t do it.”

“Well, that was fast,” Pam said with her usual annoyed tone.

“Are you sure?” Eric asked.

“Yes,” she said as she put her elbows on the table and rested her head between her hands, like a child would do.

“Alright then.”

“You trust the skinny human to clear the fat one?” Longshadow asked from behind the bar.

Eric ignored his bartender. “Bring the next one in,” he told Pam.

Bruce took a deep breath, relieved, as if he had just avoided death, and both Sookie and Brooklynne knew he probably had.

“We find who did it, what are you going to do with them?” Sookie asked.

“We’ll report them to the police and let the authorities take it from there,” Longshadow said which made Sookie scoff.

“Hundreds of years old and you’re still a terrible liar.”

“Sookie!” Brooke reprimanded her sister.

“What? You know as well as I do that they’re going to kill whoever’s stealing from them!”

“We don’t know that,” she said. But it was a good point, she had to admit.

“Promise you’ll report them to the police, and we’ll help you,” Sookie told Eric.

“As far as I’m concerned, I don’t need your help. Just your sister’s.”

“Brooke?” Sookie turned to her sister who was confused as to what she was supposed to do.

“Fine,” Eric asked. “I promise I’ll call the police,” he said with a fake smile. “Happy?”

“Yes, very,” the blonde nodded.

Bruce left to give his place to a very skinny blonde woman who was barely wearing any clothes. She was wearing a black leather bra top and very short jean shorts.

“Ginger, these women have some questions for you,” Eric told her. “Be a good girl and answer them, will you.”

“Aye, aye, master,” she smiled.

“Ginger, someone’s been stealing money from the bar,” Sookie asked.

“Really? Uh.”

“Don’t look at me you fucking bitch. I didn’t do nothing. I’ll beat the shit out of you if you say I did. It wasn’t me that took it. It wasn’t me.”

“She didn’t do it,” Sookie said.

“But she knows who did,” Brooke finished.

“What? Fuck you.”

“Shit. How’d she know? I didn’t tell anyone, I swear. Fuck, he’s gonna kill me.”

“She’s scared.”

“Who?” Sookie asked. “Who’s gonna kill you?”

“There are holes in her mind.”

“She’s been glamoured,” Pam said.

“It’s a vampire,” Sookie guessed.

Suddenly, Ginger jumped on her chair and looked with fear at someone behind the two telepaths. Sookie jumped on her feet and turned around, fast enough to see Longshadow jump from the bar. She pushed Brooklynne away and her younger sister fell on the floor. The vampire jumped on Sookie, pushed her against the table, his hands tightening on her neck.

“Sookie!” Brooke called.

But Longshadow barely got the time to do any damage as Bill broke a chair and used one of the feet as a stake on Longshadow.

Ginger started shrieking. It was a horribly loud and unbearable sound. Longshadow started vomiting blood all over Sookie before he exploded and turned into a pool of blood. Ginger’s screams were now accompanied by Brooke’s.

“Humans,” Eric sighed. “Honestly, Bill, I don’t know what you see in them.”

**********

Tags: @thepoet1975 @nerdysandwichqueen @catchmeupimgettingoutofhere @raegan-hale @colie87

[jessica-amber-lynne-fraser]

Sam heughan(Jamie) x reader

Chapter 3

“Well then I hope you don’t mind sharing a bed with me because it seems that neither one of us will be forfeiting this room...” Sam said with an all too smug little smirk on his face.

Hmm so he wants to play it that way huh? Well then GAME ON!

“Ok but let me warn you, you won’t last a night.” I smirked. “Oh and one more thing I don’t always clean up what I mess up...”

So I walked out of the room and went down the hallway to get my luggage and headed back in. I unpacked everything while Sam was exploring the manor some more.

I had one drawer full of my bra’s and panties. And I found a huge walk-in closet! I placed my hot mess sexy dress into a secret compartment. I then began to hang up the rest of my clothes. It was almost 9 o’clock so I took my shower and put on my lace bra and underwear. Then I proceeded to put on my silken robe.

And pretended to be asleep. That’s when I heard the door open and close softly. I heard him shifting around and felt him lay down on the bed with me. I could somehow sense him relax. So I rolled over on my right side so I faced him. I began murmuring in my “sleep”.

I laid my hand across his chest and softly murmured his name. I could feel his heart rate pick up the pace. I pressed my body closer to his. I heard him mutter quite a few strings of curse words.

***I pretended to moan his name and I swear I felt him squirm.

“Christ.” He whispered

Suddenly he got up and went in the bathroom and I heard the shower running.

I got up right behind him, and stopped, leaning against the bathroom door.

“This must be the wildest dream yet.” I said ‘sleepily’

He was in the middle of taking his boxers off.

“Uh Jessica this isn’t a dream..” he backed up nervously.

“Oh all my crushes say that in my dreams so that’s another sign that it is a dream, oh Sam I have to tell you and I’m being honest wether this is real or not... I REALLY like you not as a friend but romantically and I swear if this is real I’m so never going to even talk about this because it’s kinda embarrassing for me to say this aloud...” I said smiling sauntering over to him putting my hand on his chest.

“Umm Jess what are you doing?!” He said shakily.

“What does it look like, Sam?” I laughed. “This IS a dream after all. One in which I hope never to wake up from. Because I know the real you would never be able to see me as anything but a friend and housemate. The real you has a bunch of women at your beck and call. While I’m sitting over here waiting for my Prince Charming to appear.., and I know that it sounds stupid but I believe that he’s out there. And I’ll wait as long as I have to...... well good night Sam I suppose I’ll go to sleep and when I wake up I’ll know it was a dream...” I sighed and walked back to the bed.

Sam proceeded in taking a shower and I imagine it was a cold one. That night he never came back to bed. But when I woke up he was on the bed looking at me.

“Good morning, how did you sleep?” I yawned.

“I slept well what about you?”

“Yeah me too just had a CRAZY dream is all. I hope that dream never comes true...” I sigh and get up.

“What was it about?!”

I stopped in my tracks. And turned around slowly.

“Why do you wanna know?!” I asked my voice quivering. I sighed then sat down on the bed. “It.. it was about me and... y-you. Umm... I uh told you how I felt about a certain topic.” I said standing back up.

“What topic?”

“Nothing it... it’s not your business to worry about anyway...” I said grabbing a pair of clothes and heading to the bathroom.

***I changed into my outfit and ran to the dining hall for some breakfast to my surprise everything was new (food-wise). So I began making breakfast for the both of us.

I thought ‘ why not make a good homemade American style breakfast for the both of us and maybe we could do a Scottish breakfast tomorrow! ‘

So I began making scrambled eggs, bacon, French toast, biscuits, pancakes and some sweet tea and my special Nutrition Blend.

I also began slicing a few apples and put them n the side of our plates. An hour later the dishes were done. I had everything set on the table. One might think this was a breakfast for a family. But I just made a bit of everything because I didn’t know what he would prefer. Just as I was setting out the condiments Sam came into the dining hall. And stood there in shock for what seemed to be at least 5 minutes (actually 15 seconds) before he spoke.

“Wow how did you do all this by yourself in lessons than a hour?!” He said still standing.

“Please sit. Just think of this as an apology for yesterday afternoon. I was being very inconsiderate... and my guard was up, so I was being defensive. But that’s no excuse for my actions.” I said wholeheartedly.

“How do I know this isn’t a trick?! How about this, you taste test a bite of everything and then I will believe you.” He said suspiciously.

“Fine that is a reasonable negotiation.” I taste rested everything like he asked. “See everything is fine.”

“Hmm.. alright I believe you, don’t make me regret this...” Sam said taking a bite then filling his plate. I poured some of my Nutrition Blend in my cup. Then he asked me what it was.

“This is my favorite Nutrition Blend. Homemade recipe. One banana, two tablespoons of peanut butter, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 2 cups of milk, and some ice. Then blend! It’s that easy and no added sugars or flavors!” I said excitedly about my recipe.

“May I have some?” He asked.

“Of course help yourself to anything on the table!” I exclaimed happily.

After the meal I washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen. Whilst doing so, Sam asked me how I knew he liked ketchup with his Scrambled eggs.

I just shrugged it off.

-later around lunchtime-

*Sam’s p.o.v*

I looked around the manor for Jessica but to no avail I couldn’t find her. So I decided she could be in town. I did my morning run and decided to run to town. After all I have to keep in good shape for my profession.

I soon arrived and I immediately began looking for her. I hope she didn’t get lost. I’d get reprimanded by my superiors in the agency.

Suddenly I see her at the stables. It’s looks like she has some special bond with the horses...

[ezilyamuzed]

Crashed

Summary: Sometimes life crashes right into you when you aren’t looking. Sometimes though you just have to be the one to crash.

Pairing: AU! Mechanic! Dean x Reader

Warnings: Fluff and language.

A/N: Supernatural has completely warped my logical thinking, adding Tumblr and fanfics to the mix just made it worse. WHO gets into a car accident, watches the (some hot) mechanics all surrounding her and thinks “This is how bad fanfiction starts”??? The answer is me, apparently. So roughly 50% of this story is based on true events. Any mistakes are my own, and I hope you enjoy! 

(*sigh*, this is photo is all mine)

“Get lunch. Check. Now get air in the tires, get Celeste, finish with Callie’s graduation present and…”

The sound of your daughter’s happy meal shifting to fall off of the passenger seat while you drove your way through the busy parking lot shifted your attention to it. Taking your foot off the gas you looked and reached over, trying to rescue it from the falling onto the dirty floor while cursing under your breath.

You didn’t see it, the yellow concrete pole that stood as a barrier for the fire hydrant it was protecting. It wasn’t until the sound of the crunching of the metal against it rang into your ears as the force jerked you forward that you knew you had royally fucked up now.

“Fuck!” you yelled as you felt adrenaline rushed through every muscle causing your breath to be taken away.

“Are you okay?!?!” You heard a man yelling as you heard the sound of heavy boots pounding against the concrete while making their way swiftly towards you.

“I’m breathing,” you stated as you took in a deep breath in, feeling the now sharp pain strike you along your chest where the seat belt had rested. “God dammit. I did not need this today.”

You reached the handle to open your car door to assess the extent of the damage, but it only moved a couple of inches. The anger fueled the adrenaline still shaking through you, pushing you to shove all of your bodies weight against it, popping it now fully open with another crunch along with the grinding sound of metal rubbing together.

“Whoa, easy now,” the man said now moving to your side as you held your eyes tightly closed, not wanting to see how bad it really was. Hesitantly opening one first you saw it, the concrete pole was now over a foot deep into your hood.

“Fuck!” You yelled while doubling yourself over.

The sounds of others running towards you while yelling to ask if you were okay was all a jumbled blur as you screamed at yourself for being so goddamn stupid to hit a bright colored pole that hard.

Reaching back into your car for you phone, your fingers moved rapidly across the screen to dial your family. They were just supposed to watch your daughter for a few more minutes and then you would be back. Now? Now it was definitely going to be more than a few.

No answer on the first number. No answer on the second. The fact that you were now trying phone number three was only pissing you off more at the situation.

“Ugh! Why have a phone and not answer it?” You growled while holding the ringing phone to your ear, waiting for someone to pick up.

Looking over to the onlookers gathered around the debris, you see a man staring at you intently with concern in his bright green eyes. He was watching you closely as you paced back and forth with every annoying ring out to tell your family what had happened. He had on grease covered overalls, with a name tag promptly displayed on his chest. That’s when the irony struck you. You had just crashed your car in front of an auto body shop. Of all places it could happen. At least the towing would be pretty cheap.

“Hello.” A voice finally stated on the other side of the line.

“Hey. I just ran into a pole. I’m fine, but the car is not. I need you to keep Celeste for a little while longer until this all gets sorted out. I have to go now and call the insurance company.”

“We have her. I’m glad your okay. Call us when you know something,” they replied before you hung up, now seeing the local police arrive. Great.

You groaned to yourself while you saw him slide his way out of the cruiser, eyeing up all the broken pieces scattered around.

“Going a little fast there?” He stated while pulling out a little notebook and pen from his breast pocket.

“She wasn’t speeding through,” you heard the green eyed man speak up. Dean. His name tag said Dean. “Probably at most going 20 mph which is actually slow for most people coming through here.”

“You saw it happen?” The officer asked.

“Yes, sir. I was just finishing up my shift when I saw it. I rushed right over,” Dean stated while glancing to you.

“So what exactly happened miss,” the officer now moving his focus to you.

You took in a deep breath before explaining how you had looked away for a brief second, not seeing the pole that was obviously planted firmly in the ground. He asked you for all of your paperwork which you swiftly retrieved while your nerves wrecked even more at how much the citations were now going to cost you on top of it.

The officer went back into the cruiser, typing away into his computer all of your information while you waited nervously, swaying where you stood.

“It will be okay,” Dean commented quietly. “What were you even doing?”

You shook your head while feeling the tears now welting up in your eyes.

“I was just trying to save my daughters happy meal,” you sobbed, holding the tears back.

A little chuckle rolled through his body while he smiled to you.

“I just thought you didn’t like that pole,” he smirked.

Even with everything going on his comment allowed a small laugh to escape your lips.

“I’m going to be paying out the ass for the car alone,” you nodded to it. “Now whatever he gives me, I’m going totally screwed.”

Dean looked you over, watching you anxiously stare at the officer still working on his report. He noticed the student parking sign hanging from the rear view mirror, while considering the fact you had just a few minutes ago said the word daughter. He sighed before making his own way over to the officer to hopefully sway his discussion about hammering you with fines.

Your phone rang in your hands, displaying the father of your daughters phone number across the screen. 

“Hey, I just tried to call your house. Your mom said that you were in an accident?” He asked with concern.

“Yeah, I hit a pole. Hard,” you stated while scrunching your eyebrows to the sight of Dean sternly talking to the officer.

“You okay? Celeste isn’t there is she?”

“No, she’s at with my mom,” you replied. “Look, there is an officer here so I should really go. Plus I have to call the insurance company.”

“Need me to call a tow truck for you? I think Josh is working today.”

You let out a quick laugh. “No I don’t think so, I actually crashed right next to a body shop.”

You could hear the laughter in his voice as he replied “only you could do that.”

Dean walked back towards you with papers in his hand as you watched the officer now pulling away from the scene.

“Why is he going?” Your voice raised in confusion.

Dean handed the paperwork to you, which included all of your information you had give to the officer.

“Here is his report,” he stated. “He isn’t going to fine you. Just said that someone needs to keep and eye on you from now on, Crash.”

“How the hell did that happen?” You gasped in disbelief.

“I might know a couple of people that may or may not be his superiors.”

“You helped me?” You eyes widening. “Why would you do that?”

“You looked like you have enough already on your plate,” he shrugged.

“Well, thank you,” you stated in sincerity. He nodded on reply as you now really looked him over. Here was a complete stranger, who ran straight to your rescue now in more ways than one. He was rough looking around the edges, his hands grimy from probably years of hard work, but that little shine in his eye while he spoke showed you a glimmer of what possibly hide underneath.

“I need to call the insurance company and get this all figured out,” you sighed. “Figure out what to do with where to move the car.”

“You take care of the insurance and I’ll move it for you,” he said while holding his hand out for your keys. You hesitated for a moment, but handed them right over while thinking that even if he wanted to run off with it, he probably wouldn’t get that far in actuality.

The door creaked loudly open, as he peered in. He reached in grabbing something while you dialed the number on your phone. He turned to you holding up the fast food bag.

“Not a French fry spilled,” he grinned.

You rolled your eyes and turned away from him, seating yourself down on the little curb nearby. The rest of the crowd had disappeared, going back to their lives and jobs. A couple of passing cars would slow down, observing the wreckage. You gave them evil glares as you could see them laughing and pointing.

Dean, with the help of another taller man, worked together and got the car backed away from the pole. More broken pieces now falling down to the pavement. The insurance company had 101 questions about the accident and then some. Were you drunk? Nope. Were you texting. Nope. Are you an extremely stressed out single mother/full time grad student? Abso-fucking-lutley.

Twenty minutes later all their questions had ended and Dean had successfully moved your car with the help of a tow truck. Moving towards him kneeling down and looking at the damage you let out a heavy sigh.

“Is it even going to be salvageable?” You stated, seeing something now leaking underneath.

“I think you have successfully killed an avenger,” he quipped noting the model of your once sleek car. “Nice job Thanos.”

You laughed at his pop culture joke. Even with everything going on, he seemed to be making it easier for you. Almost like he was purposefully going out of his way. “So how much do I owe you for your services?”

“Don’t worry about it,” he shook his head while wiping the grease from his hands with a dirty rag “Whenever the insurance company comes, if they think it can be fixed I will work with you on it. Don’t stress over it now.”

“I honestly don’t know how I could ever repay you,” you breathed.

“Well, I’m sure your husband or boyfriend wouldn’t want to see you stranded like that all shook up,” he stated while tossing rag to the side. “Having to deal with a prick cop while figuring this all out.”

“Why would you assume that I have man?” You inquired while furrowing your eyebrows.

He shrugged his shoulders while peering into the window of you car. “You need to call someone for a ride?”

“Yeah,” you exhaled heavily. “I guess I do.”

“I can give you a ride home if you want,” he offered, making you look at him once again in surprise mixed with confusion. “I was just done for the day and leaving anyways. You won’t have to sit around here waiting on someone.”

For some reason ,although a million horror stories told you that taking a ride from a stranger was a bad idea, you felt like you could trust him.

“Thank you,” you said while nodding yes.

Following him behind the shop, to his black and sleek old Chevrolet, you felt a little star struck while blurting out, “this is your car?”

He smiled while saying yes, also adding to not let her exterior fool you, she’s seen worse days than what you had done to yours.

“Are you the one who does all of the work?”

“Yup. This is baby.”

“You must be a magician with your hands!” You laughed.

Your comment made him blush as he now slide into the the driver's seat. You followed behind, moving yourself to the passenger side. The rumble of the engine coming to life made your whole body shudder. The sound of a muscle car coming to life was your favorite sound in the world, it was the sound that had defined your childhood watching patiently as your uncles worked endlessly in the garage. He turned on the radio which started up whatever cassette was nestled in.

“Stunned by the whiplash I'm a victim of a bad crash I can do nothing right”

He quickly turned it off while you burst out laughing. He looked at your face, stunned by your reaction.

“Irony is a bitch,” you smiled. “What are the chances that ‘Spellbound’ would play right as you are about to drive a random girl home from a crash.”

“You like Ac/Dc, huh?” He smirked.

“Duh,” You quipped back as he shifted into reverse from the parking spot making his way towards the busy road. You gave him the directions as you let the wind coming through the open window whip your hair around your face. It felt nice and relaxing, as your muscles now started to ache. The adrenaline had worn off and the effects of the whiplash were now present. You were surely bruised. Dean watched you out of the corner of his eye while you tenderly rubbed your collar bone.

“Need to go to the hospital?”

“Nah, I’ll just be sore later,” you replied while continuously rubbing. “It will be okay. Next left.”

You pointed to the little house pushed back from the road with the little girl dancing around on the front lawn, your mom standing firmly with her hands on her hips. She was probably trying to get her inside now for dinner.

“That your daughter?” he asked while pulling into the driveway  and moving the car to park.

“Yup that’s the nugget loving firecracker,” you smiled.

“Looks just like you.”

“Yup my mini-me,” you replied while moving your hand to the handle to exit, but stopped yourself to turn to him. “I honestly can’t tell you how much I appreciate everything you’ve done. I wish I could do something for you.”

“Maybe let me take you for a drink?” He asked in nervousness, biting the inside of his cheeks while waiting for your answer.

You gave him a wide smile before moving to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’d love to. Maybe tomorrow night?” You suggested. He nodded in agreement. “See you then, Dean.”

Getting out of his car while walking down the pathway you felt the unfaltering smile plant itself across your face. Sometimes life crashes into you, other times you have to crash to find life waiting. 

My support staff: @waywardbaby @snffbeebee @curly-haired-disaster @waywardnerd67 @dean-winchesters-bacon @jaylarkson @ladywinchester1967 @wildefire @hobby27

[heloflor]

I don't know if you've watched the full S8 finale yet, but what are your thoughts on it?

(Sorry foranswering so late, I was kept busy >_

So I didwatch it entirely and, if it may not be my favourite finale, it’sdefinitely a really interesting and entertaining one (and hey ! It starts withDerpy so it can only be good !). Now, for my thoughts of it, here’s some kindof review :

First off,I like the way they made the story. It’s interesting to have two differentplots, making it possible to focus on the school while still making the Mane 6be active (but I must admit “To Where And Back Again” is my second favouritefinale and the mane 6 are barely doing anything, but it’s true that the contextwas different). Although, the mane 6 plot feels a bit too rushed in my opinion.Like, by the end of the first part, the only thing left in their plot was totake magic to open the door while at the same moment Cozy Glow still hadn’ttaken over the school. But despite it, it’s still a good way to make the plotaround the school and justify the mane 6 absence while still having their questbe shown.

Now, forthe scenario, in the little scenes I saw before the entire thing, one of themwas the scene with Rarity complaining about being unable to brush her tail andI must admit seeing only this scene made it hilarious because this is so much asituation in which you can have 2/3 of ponykind being like “geeze, it suresucks to live like a pegasus or earth pony, you know, what we are -_-“. Buthonestly the episode made a pretty good job to avoid this “unicorns/alicornsare superior” cliché thanks to scenes showing that magic is actually everywherein their world, like how we see Pinkie’s food not lasting or Rainbow sayingshe’s unable to move the clouds. So yeah, it’s another good thing.

As for themagic disappearing plot, it’s an interesting one. It’s great to see howEquestria would actually struggle at all levels without magic (although itfeels like they may still be able to survive, it would just need some bigadaptations, especially in terms of making food last or dealing with anunpredictable weather) and I like how they tied it with Tirek, a magic stealercreature; which makes sense to accuse him. Though, I’m kind of weird out as tohow the artefacts are able to take magic like that. I know Tirek told Cozy howto do it so there must be something behind it but still…and speaking of it, howdoes Tirek know about the power of 6 artefacts coming from species he may notknow nothing about ?? (considering he wanted to take Equestria’s magic in atime when ponies were enemies with other species (Changelings, Dragons,possibly Griffons) or didn’t care about them (Yaks, Hippogriffs) )

Now, I wantto talk about Cozy individually so let’s skip the school part for now and talkabout Tartarus. It’s really interesting to finally see this place after yearsof knowing it exist. However, I kind of have two issues about it. First of, itlooks so small ! I mean, it’s true that there’s some kind of path on the cornerof the screen in one scene but overall it’s just a long corridor with Tirek’s prisonat the end of it ! Isn’t it supposed to be the equivalent of hell or at leastsome big prison ? And my second issue, also partly related to what the place issupposed to be : why are there so many creatures from Everfree ?! What are theydoing there ? Sure, they attacked the ponies but when you think of it they’rejust wild animals living in a forest who is known to be threatening; andhalf these animals have been tamed in the past by Fluttershy who says here thatthey aren’t monsters !

Seriously :

- thechicken thing (Cockatrice in French but I’m not sure of the English name) canbe easily tamed and lives in Everfree which, again, is considered as adangerous place that ponykind should avoid.

- theManticore is the same deal but less dangerous (because you don’t instantly diesby looking at them)

- theTiger/Goat/Serpent chimera lives in a random place full of fire and I’m prettysure not a lot of ponies go there (well, yeah, you have Starlight, Trixie andthose mail ponies but like Applejack they probably know how to remain safes)

- thebugbear seems more of a threat but can still be defeated and sent back toEverfree

Also areyou telling me that random animals are sent in hell because they arepotentially a threat but next to that actual threats like Chrysalis arefree ? Really ? So yeah, I’m sorry but having these creatures here just feellike the creators being too lazy to create new species (although it’s true thatwe see other cages with creatures but they aren’t put under the spotlight)

- and yetthe Timberwolves, the ones who were seen as the most dangerous animals inEverfree, aren’t here

…You knowwhat ? When you consider it, these animals being here actually get rid of oneplot-hole : Everfree being a forest with no creatures and “pretty littleflowers” in “The Mean 6”  X)

But despitethese two points, the scenes in Tartarus are very interesting. The moments withFluttershy are just amazing. Honestly, the scene when she comforts thecreatures and the one with Cerberus are adorable and her expression when sheencourage the creatures is just the best ! Also, when Twilight drains the magicof the others, I find it quite interesting to see them being actual differentseparated animals when magic-less…and then I started to think of how much of azoo it would be if Discord had to give his magic like that and now I can’t stopimagining the bunch of animals that he is all snuggling against Fluttershywhile a grey stallion with a tornado cutie mark (and a grey horn instead of ablue one I guess since the antlers would have given an other animal ?) would belooking away, blushing while saying something like “I swear they all have amind of their own, it’s definitely not my feelings rubbing on them !”. (sorry;I’m a shipper)

Anotherthing I love about these scenes is the moment they decide to weaponize PinkiePie. It’s just always funny when her randomness is used to make people loosetheir shit (and hey ! At least we know that Pinkie still has her magic in sucha crisis !) and, as badass as Tirek can be, it still fits to see him beingharassed by Pinkie. But honestly we need more situations with Pinkie or evenFluttershy being weaponized (and with Flutters, it would be her cuteness, likeher puppy eyes in “Fluttershy Leans In”). Seriously, you know you need toweaponize someone when you have episodes like “To Where And Back Again” inwhich the enemy uses one of the protagonists as a weapon (aka theFluttershy trap).

Now, aboutthe student 6…to be honest, I didn’t find their appearance to be as “strong” asin some previous episodes. I mean, clearly they are the ones saving the schooland we see them working together and all; but, in my opinion, Cozy is the onewho completely steals the show in the school plot. Although, I like how, foronce, we saw a bit more of Sandbar; and I like how his first thoughts againstthe Chancellor was to make sure to be out to get help, giving him kind of aclever side. Also, random detail but I like how he’s called a child but isvisibly taller than the CMCs, reminding that the trio are still pre-teens, like11-12 while Sandbar is probably like 15. And speaking of the CMCs, it’s good tofinally see them in a premiere/finale; but their role is kind of limited,making it a bit sad.

But I mustadmit, the student 6 are still a delight to watch and their interactions arestill great and adorable. Though, a little thing that kind of bothers me is howthey don’t trust Cozy from the beginning. I mean, coming from Smolder or evenGallus, I’m not surprised considering where they come from. But for the others,it just feels like they don’t trust her because they’re main characters; andeven if at one point they show Sandbar liking how friendly she is, if Iremember correctly the feeling is quickly dismissed by the rest of the group.

One last thingI really liked is this shot at the end with the princesses and an entire army,including both day and night guards, which is a good touch. Although I do havean issue about this scene but I’ll talk about it later on the post.

Now, withmost the story said, I wanted to go back to two characters : the twoantagonists (god is this post going to be long)

First off,Tirek. When I saw him in the SDCC trailer, I was really hyped to see him again,and honestly I wasn’t disappointed. Sure, he isn’t as badass and intimidatingas he previously was, but that was the point of it; and if they did add humoraround him, he still feels like a good character. He’s clearly in a badsituation, put into a cell with no way to escape. So when a random pony askshim about how to steal magic, it’s not surprise that he finds it funny andcan’t resist helping her out. After all, he has nothing to loose; and seeingthe mane 6 in a bad situation surely feels like revenge to him (at least untilthey reminded him that they were stuck with him and they deployed Pinkie onhim). And despite that bad situation, he’s clearly in control in his firstdialogue with the group since he’s the one with the answers they seek; and heclearly has fun about it (and even making Pinkie uncomfortable…sighs I swear if people made fanart of Pinkieflirting with the statue in Griffonstone, there’s going to be weird shit aboutthis episode…). However, I found it a bit sad that none of his previousappearance was really mentioned. Seriously, if someone starts the show withthis season (like kids who only watch on TV), all they will no about him isthat he once was a threat and stole magic. But they won’t know anything abouthow he stole magic and was able to use it, about how he manipulated Discord oreven how Twilight had to face him with all alicorn’s magic in an epic fight.The only callback we have seems to be how Fluttershy was the most scared aboutthe idea of Tirek coming back, considering that Twilight and her were the oneswho went through the worst during Tirek’s attack (with Twi having to deal withthe biggest responsibility alone and Flutters going through Discord’sbetrayal); and even so I think she’s shown as being terrified because she’sFluttershy, not because of what happened in the past…

So yeah,good appearance and personality but maybe more callbacks may have been good(and heck, in “Twilight’s Kingdom”, Tirek teams up with Discord before beingbeaten by friendship and here he’s penpals with Cozy. Honestly there wasmaterial for a small callback)

As for thesecond villain, Cozy Glow, gosh is she great ! Honestly it was obvious thatshe’s the manipulative little kid but damn ! It’s almost Gideon’s level(character from “Gravity Falls”); and I just love it ! Especially forone detail I think : she’s powerless. Until now, all antagonists were eithermagic beasts with their own abilities (Discord, Tirek) or had a horn to usemagic (Nightmare moon, Chrysalis, Sombra, Starlight, Stygian). But Cozy Glow ?She’s a simple pegasus. So it’s understandable why she would try to puteveryone on her side, especially considering she actually seeks friendship forpower. And her ways to manipulate are really felt. When she talks to theChancellor or the student 6 in front of the rest of the school, she doesn’thesitate to cut the others and she clearly has full control of theconversations. Also her evil laugh just sounds creepily crazy and it’s great.But um…maybe the skull and the mane 6 dolls were a bit too much…

Anotherthing I really like about her is how she’s the reasons Neighsay had achange of heart through some good cruel irony : during the entire season,Neighsay had been shown to fear the student 6, claiming that they would usemagic as a form of power against Equestria. But suddenly, he finds himself infront of a pony who is doing exactly what he feared (and thenlater on the student 6 helping him surely made him truly see they don’t wishany harm). And speaking of that, little detail but I like how Cozy is actuallymad when the Chancellor push away the student 6 files, because to her they aremembers of the school that she can use.

But yeah,Cozy truly is a good villain who really knows how to keep control over thesituation. Also, it’s kind of genius how they still reminded us that she’sstill a child with how she used fricking duct tape to stick the school’slogo on her crown. One last good thing I could say about her is how she mayeasily go into the category of strong villains and one of the things making itpossible is that, when you think of it, she doesn’t have a backstory (unlikeactually all the others pony threats), making her being evil just to be evil.

As fornegative points, honestly I would give just one : the fact that Celestiadecided to sent her to Tartarus, literally hell while next to that youstill have Chrysalis on the run, Chrysalis who isn’t a child unlikeCozy.

Finally, Iwanted to point out some random details that I find a bit bothering but theyare more stuff like what you may find in a “Everything Wrong With” video so it may be a bit picky :

- Why isYona always the one who almost die ?! Hasbro, what do you have against thatpoor adorable thing ?

- It mayjust be me who wanted it to be more explicit but the way the three days are putis a bit confusing. Like, when they went to Canterlot, it was the first day.But then, when they leave the school, we only see one night happening andbefore it creatures already lost their power so does that mean they went awayon the second day ? Again, it’s being extremely picky but it kind of bothers me(and again, these points are the kind you can find in “EWW” videos who aren’tpopular to never be picky).

-Additionally, it means that the mane 6 took less than 24 hours to reachTartarus, which is who knows where.

- So by thetime they are in Canterlot and get Starswirl’s letter, it’s the first day,which means that creatures still have their magic…I know it has always been abig plot-hole but why couldn’t Fluttershy or Spike call for a noodle godex-machina ? Or at least mention him or saying something like him sending aletter telling them that he refused to try solving their problem if it meantrisking loosing his magic or something (and speaking of this, if the Chaosrealm is affected by what happens, considering the creatures living in it, I’mpretty sure Discord almost died after the second day).

- Twilighttelling Rarity that she finally learned that she couldn’t save the worldalone…um…guys…you’re doing an episode with Tirek in it and yet you forgot about“Twilight’s Kingdom” ? You know, the episode where the mane 6 say about how inthe past they were standing the same way in front of the Everfree forest andTwilight said something like “And at that time I was foolish enough to think Icould do it alone”; or how Twi wanted to warn her friends about the shit happeningbut Celestia told her to keep it secret. So yeah, Twilight learned likefour seasons ago that she needed her friends, and they are aware of it.

- Twilightsays at one point that she went to Tartarus in the past, but when ?? Was itwhen she brought back Cerberus in season 2 or did we miss something cool thatwasn’t shown ?

- How doesTirek know that Twilight is the princess of friendship ? Wasn’t she called thatway after he was defeated ?

- Sandbarbeing out of apples in an apple farm…I’m sorry but he just wanted tokill Apple Bloom (heck, looking at the episode to write that part of the post,he has a fricking anvil next to him !).

- Soapparently there’s a fricking mail system in hell ? And no one checks theletters of the most dangerous creature kept here ? Really ?

- As saidbefore, how can the artefacts take magic like that ? And how can Starlight betrapped in it ?

- The treeex-machina. Honestly I already found it confusing to have the three being underthe school (how did it get here ?? From Twilight’s castle ?) but having himacting and even making the elements out of the student 6 just feels like someex-machina save (although I easily forgive it because the elements being someex-machina stuff has always been a thing)

- Celestiaand Luna being like “An evil centaur trying to steal magic ? A god of Chaos ?An evil king ? meh, let’s get rid of it by ourselves. What ? A child with nomagic took over a school full of ponies who will surely listen to us, theleaders of the country, rather than this kid ? WE NEED THE ARMY !”. Seriously,what the heck Celestia ? It’s a kid ! And she’s not even an unicorn !

- Alsowasn’t it shown from Rainbow that pegasis can still fly ? Why didn’t theprincesses went to the school flying, possibly with some pegasis guards ? Andwhy do they start flying the moment they get their magic back ?!

- Again,they sent a kid to hell ! What the heck Celestia ?! EvenTirek is like “wait what ?” !

Phew, well here are my thoughts about this episode !I hope it’s not too annoying to read considering how long it is !  

[dragonflybelle]

Osomatsu-san PS Vita game translation - Choromatsu-08 - Does Choromatsu dream of electric sheep?

Choromatsu: Hello. Dekapan. 

Dekapan: They're finally complete!! The sextuplet androids who will save the world!! 

Choromatsu: (Sextuplet androids...!? ...Huh? Why am I hiding? Well, whatever. I'll wait for the right time and show my face.) 

Dekapan: With these we'll be fine even if the trend towards an ageing population continues. And we've secured a supply of young labourers too. This is the greatest invention of the century. Winning the Noble Prize is no longer just a dream. I must keep these androids a secret until then. 

Choromatsu: (Hmm hmm... In other words, those aren't cleaning robots, but earning robots... ) No way, I could get a lot of use out of those!! 

Dekapan: Hmm? Did I hear something just now? 

Choromatsu: (Oops, how silly of me, I spoke without thinking. I'll cover it up by pretending to be a cat) Meow. 

Dekapan: Oh, was it a cat? It must have snuck in somewhere. I'm going to buy you some food, so wait here. 

Choromatsu: Meow. 

Dekapan: Hoe hoe, before I do that, I have to hide these androids in the basement. 

Dekapan: That will do. I'm going now, kitty. Wait for me. 

Choromatsu: ...Good, I covered for myself well. And I had no idea that he has a secure underground storage area. I'm sure Dekapan pressed the furthest right button out of these three. Oh, there they are!! Looking at them closely, they really are well made. If I use these, I'll be able to rake it in even if I don't work myself... I had come to ask Dekapan to make a drug that would allow me to graduate from being a NEET and a virgin, but... It's alright for me to borrow these now, isn't it? If I return them when the ageing population problem has reached its peak, he probably won't even notice... Yeah, that's what I'll do!! I'll use these and graduate NEEThood before my brothers!! For the time being, I've got to get these out of here before Dekapan gets back... They are androids, so I suppose they can move by themselves...? Ah, there's a button on their back! I think I'll start with my model... but if the button does something weird it'll be a pain, so let's start with the oldest brother. 

Android O: HELLO. YOU HAVE ACTIVATED THE OSOMATSU ANDROID. ARE YOU MY MASTER? 

Choromatsu: Oh!! That's amazing!! He called me master!! I'd love it if there was a Nyaa-chan model!!!! Then I'd have her call me master!!!! 

Android O: PLEASE ANSWER. ARE YOU MY MASTER? 

Choromatsu: Right, I am your master. 

Android O: UNDERSTOOD. FROM NOW ON I WILL ACT UPON YOUR ORDERS. I AM PLEASED TO BE OF SERVICE. 

Choromatsu: Oh, thank you. (What is this feeling, a sense of superiority like I've never experienced before...! I'll activate all of them and became the master of all six, no wait, their god!!) 

Android O: WELCOME. 

Android K: HOW MANY ARE IN YOUR PARTY? 

Android C: HAVE YOU DECIDED WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO ORDER? 

Android I: A SANDWICH AND A COFFE, IS THAT RIGHT? 

Android J: THANK YOU VERY MUCH! 

Android T: THAT WILL BE 850 YEN. 

Choromatsu: The androids are working hard. aren't they? I think this place pays pay the day... Ah, the wages from six people. It's like a dream. Ah, bring me a chocolate parfait. 

Android C: RIGHT AWAY SIR. 

Android T: MASTER, THESE ARE THE PROFITS FOR TODAY. 

Android K: PLEASE ACCEPT THEM. 

Android O: WE EARNED ABOUT 8000 YEN PER PERSON. 

Android I: 8 MULTIPLIED BY 6 MAKES A TOTAL OF 48,000 YEN. 

Choromatsu: 4, 48,000 yen!!!? Rounded up that makes 50,000!! 

Android J: WE CAN WORK EVEN MORE! 

Choromatsu: Wahahahaha, this is the first time I've ever earned 50,000 yen in a daaaay!! I haven't even won this much at pachinko!! If I can make this much in a day, then making ten million in a month isn't just a dream. 

Android C: THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE. 

Choromatsu: You're supposed to be based on me!! Don't give up like that!! 

Android C: YES. 

Choromatsu: Alright. Well, you guys should make my life even more comfortable. 

Android J: YES SIR!! WHAT SPECIFICALLY WOULD YOU LIKE US TO DO? 

Choromatsu: ...What should I do? 

Android C: WHO KNOWS... WE ONLY FOLLOW MASTER'S ORDERS. 

Android I: ASKING US FOR OPINIONS ONLY INCONVENIENCES US. 

Android K: I DON'T KNOW!! 

Choromatsu: ...I feel like they're kind of getting more and more like the originals...? 

Android O: IT IS JUST YOUR IMAGINATION. YOUR IMAGINATION. 

Choromatsu: Really? ...Well, whatever. Anyway, at times like this I can call that person. Ah, hello. This is Choromatsu. There's something I'd like to ask you about. How do you think I can use androids to make my life more comfortable? 

Option One: Borrow even more androids? 

Choromatsu: Of course... The more slaves I have the better. ...Alright. I'll sneak in to Dekapan's lab tonight and see if there are any more androids.

Choromatsu: The button for the underground storage unit was the rightmost of the three, therefore... the other two buttons must be for other storage units... I'll test it by pressing the button in the middle. Oh! I was right! One came down from the ceiling. ...Huh? But there are only three... That must mean the other three will appear if I press the left button... Yes!! Oops, that was risky. It wouldn't be good if Dekapan found me. Still, coming out from behind a picture on the wall, that's a classic hiding place. It says test model, but they don't look any different from the finished product, I suppose it will be alright. Now I can earn as much money as I like!) 

Dekapan: Hoeeeeee!! The sextuplet androids are gone!! Hoe hoe!? Even the test models!? But the test models have a massive defect. If I don't find them soon, it's going to be terrible!! 

Choromatsu: Come now, work hard for me again today, androids. 

Android J: YES SIR!!

Jyushimatsu: Hello!! 

Ichimatsu: ...Lo. 

Android I: WELCOME. 

Ichimatsu: !!!? 

Jyushimatsu: Huh? Huh? There are two Ichimatsu-niisans!! 

Ichimatsu: There are two of you too, Jyushimatsu. 

Jyushimatsu: A whole lotta me!! It's true!! 

Choromatsu: It's too noisy out here. Who is.... ah. 

Ichimatsu: Ah. 

Jyushimatsu: Choromatsu-niisan!! 

Choromatsu: Why are you here? 

Ichimatsu: Because Jyushimatsu said he wanted to eat a parfait. 

Choromatsu: Do you have money? 

Jyushimatsu: It's alright!! We just won at pachinko!! 

Choromatsu: Ok, I'll let you order. 

Ichimatsu: You seem kind of full of yourself. 

Choromatsu: Because I'm the manager of the androids Matsus who work here. 

Ichimatsu: Android Matsus? 

Choromatsu: Yeah. Androids who can work in place of humans. 

Jyushimatsu: That's why there are two of all of us!! Doppelgängers!! 

Choromatsu: Well, something like that. They’re quite splendid when compared to the originals and they work hard for me. 

Jyushimatsu: Then it's alright if I order a lot! 

Choromatsu: If you have the money you can order whatever you like. 

Ichimatsu: Ok, I'll have cream and red bean paste fruit salad. 

Android I: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 

Jyushimatsu: I'll have, I'll have shaved ice and jumbo grilled chicken skewers and fried chicken and pancakes and a parfait. 

Android J: THANK YO…

Jyushimatsu: And rice omelette and curry and a hamburger and steak and fried rice and. 

Choromatsu: Hey, Jyushimatsu? 

Android J: TH TH TH THANK YOU VER. 

Jyushimatsu: And also, Chinese stir fry and skewered rice cakes with soy sauce and chilli shrimp and fancy tuna!! 

Android J: TH, TH TH, TH TH TH TH TH. 

Choromatsu: Wah wah wah wah, the android seems to be acting kind of strange!! 

Dekapan: Hoe hoe!! Take cover!! 

Choromatsu: Eh? 

Ichimatsu: ? 

Jyushimatsu: Professor Dekapan! Hello...

Choromatsu: ...

Ichimatsu: Cough.

Jyushimatsu: Wow!! It exploded!! 

Dekapan: Hoe hoe... I didn't install the three laws of robotics into the test models yet. 

Ichimatsu: What's that? 

Dekapan: It's for safety and things like that. That's why if the robot's processor can't keep up it self-destructs. 

Jyushimatsu: Self-destruct, self-destruct!! 

Ichimatsu: ...Anyway, the cafe was blown away, so what are you going to do? 

Cafe owner: Choromatsu-kun, I'm expecting compensation for the damages. 

Choromatsu: O, owner!!!? 

Cafe owner: This is how much it will be. 

Choromatsu: One, one one, one hundred million yen!!? 

Jyushimatsu: Choromatsu-niisan, wanna go to pachinko? 

Ichimatsu: Even if you win, it's still impossible. 

Choromatsu: Nooooooooooo!! 

Option Two: Try working yourself

Choromatsu: ... That's right. If all I do is make androids work for me, then I really will become the worst of the scummy NEETS. The androids will support me for sure, so I can try my best to work... 

Choromatsu: Welcome. 

Android T: MASTER, ONE ORDER FOR RICE OMLETTE. 

Choromatsu: Got it! Android Osomatsu, get some water for the new customers! 

Android O: ALRIGHT. 

Choromatsu: Hah, I worked hard again today!! It does feel good to break a sweat working after all!! It's great!! I feel like I'm really alive!! Being a NEET is wasting your life!! 

Osomatsu: Hey, what's with him. Showing off his high self-awareness as soon as he comes home. Surely it's all in your mind. Are you living off you own delusions?

Todomatsu: It is annoying, isn't it? But it looks like he really is working. 

Osomatsu: Eh, seriously? 

Todomatsu: Seriously. 

Osomatsu: Wah, he's really started working!? Isn't it unfair of him to break out from the pack? 

Choromatsu: Oi, I can hear you, you scummy NEETs. And what do you mean by unfair!? NEETs have no need to stick together. 

Todomatsu: Do you think it's ok to call someone a dry monster!? It really hurts. 

Osomatsu: Big brother is hurt too. 

Choromatsu: You guys are really infuriating!! 

Osomatsu: And that's why we're going tomorrow. 

Choromatsu: What so you mean by "that's why"? 

Todomatsu: That's good. Show us more of your high level self-awareness. 

Choromatsu: You're making fun of me!! 

Osomatsu: No, we're not. Ah, we don't have any money, so can you give us a discount? 

Todomatsu: Thanks. 

Choromatsu: I definitely won't give you a discount!? (Those two, they won't really show up, will they..) 

Osomatsu: Ah, I'm thirsty. 

Todomatsu: I want to eat French toast. 

Choromatsu: (They're here!!) 

Android O: WELCOME. 

Osomatsu: Thanks... wait... eh? 

ANDROID T: WOULD YOU LIKE TO SMOKE? 

Todomatsu: N...o...? 

Osomatsu: Eh, why is there another me? 

Todomatsu: Why is there another me? 

Android O:  IDENTICAL BEING IDENTIFIED. WHIRR WHIRR WHIRR

Android T: WHIRR WHIRR WHIRR WHIRR Error, error!! 

Choromatsu: Eh, what's happening? 

Android C: MASTER WAS SET UP IN THE SYSTEM WHEN WE WERE ACTIVATED, SO THERE IS NO PROBLEM, BUT ORDINARILY, IF WE ENCOUNTER ANOTHER PERSON WHO LOOKS THE SAME, IT CAUSES AN ERROR. BECAUSE TWO THINGS WHICH ARE EXACTLY THE SAME CANNOT EXIST IN THIS WORLD. 

Choromatsu: What kind of setup is that? 

Android C: BY THE WAY, IF AN ERROR OCCURS FOR ONE OF US, IT CAUSES A CHAIN REACTION AND WE ALL SELF DESTRUCT. 

Choromatsu: ...Heh? 

Android C: SO FAREWELL, MASTER. 

Choromatsu: No wayyyyyyyyy!? 

Cafe owner: Choromatsu, filling in for the six of them we just lost is up to you. 

Choromatsu: ...THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 

Option Three: Why don't you spilt them up and see if they can be of use to your idol fan activities.   

Choromatsu: ...It's exactly as that person says. If I make a shift pattern for work and idol fan stuff and use the androids, my life will become even more comfortable!! Alright!! 

Choromatsu: Ah, this is happiness. If I use the androids, I can get six of the limited to one per person Nysa-chan handshake tickets. And I can get Nyaa-chan goods without having to line up. This is the best! 

Karamatsu: I'm back. 

Choromatsu: Welcome back, Karama... Who are you? 

Karamatsu: Heh, a sudden incident caused my precious face to become damaged, but my brightness will... 

Choromatsu: Ah, it is you after all, Karamatsu. What happened to your face? 

Karamatsu: Listen carefully, brother. I was suddenly punched by someone when I was walking down the street just now. It was over in a flash so I didn't see their face... But then another guy appeared. He said something like, "That's the guy who always buys up all of the Nyaa-chan merchandise!" I had no idea what he was talking about, but he was probably jealous of my charm. Heh, it's tough being an awesome guy... 

Choromatsu: ...Is, is that so. 

Karamatsu: Come to think of it, our other brothers have been targeted a lot by random attackers recently. You should watch out too, Choromatsu. 

Choromatsu: Uhh... Yeah... Thanks. 

Karamatsu: Hmm? What is it? You've gone pale. 

Choromatsu: Th, that can't be true!? I haven't done anything, I don't know anything... 

Android C: MASTER, I BOUGHT ALL OF THE NYAA-CHAN GOODS. 

Choromatsu: !! 

Android K: I SAW KARAMATSU ALONG THE WAY AND I PUNCHED HIM JUST LIKE YOU ORDERED. 

Choromatsu: Hey, hey hey hey! 

ANDROID C: WE WILL GET RID OF ANYWAY WHO LOOKS LIKE THEY MIGHT BECOME A NYAA-CHAN FAN STRAIGHT AWAY, EVEN IF THEY ARE YOUR BROTHERS. 

Choromatsu: ... 

Karamatsu: ...

Choromatsu: ... 

Karamatsu: ...Oh my brother. 

Choromatsu: No, this is, erm... 

Karamatsu: Androids. 

Android C: YES. 

Karamatsu: Is it possible to change who your master is? Can you? 

Android C: YES, WE CAN. IF YOU GIVE US SOMETHING WE CAN CHANGE OUR MASTER. 

Choromatsu: You conniving androids!! 

Karamatsu: Then I'll buy you some new parts with the money I won at the horse races earlier. Shiny new parts. 

Android K: MASTER!! 

Android C: MASTER!! 

Choromatsu: You!!!!!!!!!!!!

Karamatsu: Choromatsu, this is a punishment for hurting your flesh and blood brothers. I have faith that you can mend your wicked ways. 

Android K: MASTER IS SO MERCIFUL. CHOROMATSU IS A TERRIBLE BROTHER. 

Android C: IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE YOU ARE THE THIRD OLDEST. 

Karamatsu: Don't say any more things like that. My poor brother. 

Choromatsu: Don't look at me like thaaaaaaat!! 

[silverfox9947]

Title: Disasters Don’t Make Good Dates

Pairing: Germany/Italy

Summary: All Ludwig wants to do is take Feliciano on a picnic date. Too bad everyone else keeps it from happening. 

Ludwig checked his calendar. Then he checked what he had written for today’s schedule. Then he checked the weather for the forecast. Then he checked his phone, to make sure that he had a confirmation for today’s plans. Then he rechecked his calendar…

“West, calm the fuck down.” Gilbert spoke up, passing by where Ludwig was frantically running around his office. He paused for a moment, eyebrow raised as he sipped on his beer and watched the way Ludwig’s face turn red.

Ludwig looked up, glaring at his brother. “I’m just making sure everything is perfect.”

Gilbert rolled his eyes. “It will be. And even if it’s not, I seriously doubt Italy will care.”

Ludwig didn’t reply. Too busy making sure that everything was perfect for their picnic date tonight. Although, he was sure that Gilbert was right, that Feliciano would like their date either way. Actually, the date could be the worse thing in the world and he was sure Feliciano would love it. He was just that type of guy.

...It could be kind of annoying, really, when Ludwig was trying to plan dates.

Ludwig let out a sigh. He took a deep breath in. Let it out slowly. It would be fine. It would be fine. He just had to repeat that. Maybe if he said it enough, it would be true.

His phone rang.

It will be fine. It will be fine. Ludwig thought, picking up his phone.

“Hello, Germany? It’s your Boss.”

It will be fine. It will be fine. ItwillbefineItwillbefine-

“I’m sorry to call on your day off, you know I wouldn’t if this wasn’t important, but I have this trade agreement that needs your approval, immediately. And some papers that need your signature. And if you could come to this lunch we’re having with Russia, that’d be great-”

Gilbert took one look at Ludwig’s blank face and laughed. “Boss got you again, West?”

Ludwig let out another sigh, this one more resigned, putting his hand over the speaker part as his Boss kept listing off the stuff he needed Ludwig to do. “Yeah. Could you do me a favor and text Feliciano? I probably,” He paused a moment to listen as his Boss kept going. He sighed again. “Won’t make it.”

“Sure thing.” Gilbert chuckled again, leaving Ludwig to his duties. “Good luck.”

                                                     ~

Ludwig had double checked with his Boss. No phone calls. No last minute appointments. His schedule had been cleared and he was free.

Still, Ludwig couldn’t help but feel anxious as he browsed the cheese selection of a local store. Lifting up two different brands of cheese, he looked over each of them carefully. Which one would Feliciano like? If he picked the wrong kind, Feliciano wouldn’t hesitate to tell him what was wrong with the cheese and which brand was the best and how could Ludwig think that this cheese was good-

Feeling something sticky in his hand, Ludwig looked down and grimaced. He had accidentally squeezed one of the packages a little too hard, squishing cheese out of the wrapper.

Maybe he was thinking too hard about this?

His cell phone rang. Without thinking about it (because he knew, he knew, it wasn’t his boss. There was no way that Boss would call on his day off for the second time). “Hello?”

“Germany? Germany?” A panicked voice screeched.

Ludwig frowned. “France? What is it now?”

“You must come to my house, Germany. Please, hurry. It’s just terrible, I cannot believe that this is happening. You must come, you must.”

“France? France! Come down, speak slowly.” Noticing the looks he was getting, Ludwig quickly moved himself to a secluded corner. “Did you take a few breaths?”

He could hear France trying to calm himself down for a minute. “Yes, yes. I’m calm now.”

“Good. Tell me what’s going on.”

Unfortunately, that just set France off again. “Quel desastre! Germany you will not believe it. Here I was, enjoying my lunch and watching the sights-they were such beautiful sights too, both the exquisite architect and the alluring people, I swear I host such gorgeous people on the planet-anyway, I was just sitting there and eating my lunch when who should come to ruin it? Why that bastard, England!”

Ludwig hummed. So at least it wasn’t an international emergency. Just another silly fight between England and France.  

“So here comes England with that damn smug smirk on his face and I knew it was coming. I knew it. Do you know what he says? ‘Oh, France, I know you’re so much more handsome and better than me but I want to let you know-’ Ok so he didn’t actually say that, but you know he was thinking it-”

“The point, France.” Germany reminded him as he checked his watch. If he could just get France to hurry up with this, he should still have enough time to pick the best cheese before meeting with Feliciano so they could go on their date.

“Ah, right.” France chuckled a bit nervously. Then he paused. “Everyone agrees England is the worst cook, right?”

“I suppose.” Germany agreed. But what did that have to do with anything?

“So you can understand why I would be offended when England commented about how my lunch looked? He even tried a bit before spitting it out and declaring the worst thing he’s ever tasted!” France let out a snort.  

“Sounds like England.”

“Great. Then you can agree it was necessary for me to spend all of my money trying to prove him wrong, right?”

“I gue-wait. WHAT?” Ludwig shouted, startling a couple of nearby civilians.

Face hot, he quickly apologized before returning to his phone. “France, please tell me that you didn’t spend all your money.” Well fuck. This might be an international emergency.

There was dead silence on the other line.

“France!” Germany heaved a heavy sigh. “How-How can you even spend that much? On food?”

“French food is a luxury. Therefore it’s expensive.” France replied back, a little aggressively. “Besides, it wasn’t just on food.There were also some cooking classes.” A pause. “And wine. Lots of wine.”

“How much is lots?”

France hummed. “About enough to get England drunk.”

Germany pinched the bridge of his nose. He needed to calm down because already he could feel his blood pressure rising. Take a deep breath. Count to ten. Let it out slowly. Repeat.

France, possibly nervous of Germany’s silence, continued to babble. “It’s just that. I knew that England would never admit that my food was far superior to his if he didn’t have something to loosen his tongue. But I didn’t want to take him to a bar. I would never do something so uncouth. So I took him to a vineyard. Perfect view, perfect grapes, perfect wine. England being England, of course, he just wouldn’t. Well, he wouldn't’ stop drinking. And I couldn’t possibly allow England of all people to outdrink me. And well. Here I am.”

“Here you are.” Germany repeated, voice completely void of emotion.

Germany could hear shuffling on the other end. Finally, in a small voice, France asked. “So, what should I do?”

Take a deep breath. Count to ten. Let it out slowly. Repeat. Then he straightened his shoulders. Leaving his basket behind, Ludwig started making his way towards the exit. “Start calling everyone. We need an emergency meeting. Hopefully, we can nip this in the butt before it becomes something huge. I’ll book the conference building and the surrounding hotels, usual places we go to. The actual meeting will have to be in a couple of days so we can get everyone here.”

“Oui, Oui, of course. But uh, England-”

Germany could imagine what England looked like-drunk off his ass and regretting his entire life as he was crumpled in on himself, hiding under his covers. The image settled Germany a bit. At least England was suffering for this. “You make England help you. And he is to be forefront in the meeting.”

“Of course.”

As soon as France hung up, Ludwig made another call. Looks like he was going to have to cancel another date.

                                                           ~

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. A light breeze rustled the grass. The sun was shining. The park was one of his larger ones. Scattered throughout were humans playing, walking their pets, and chatting.

Ludwig took a deep breath, letting his lungs fill with the clean air. He needed this.

After making sure that his Boss wouldn’t interrupt him, and making it absolutely clear to the other Nations that he would not be happy if anything came up, Ludwig felt that today was the day. He was finally going to get that picnic date with Feliciano.

Leaning back onto the bench, Ludwig closed his eyes and waited. The picnic basket, filled with fresh food, sat beside him on top of a blanket. Feliciano was supposed to bring the wine and himself. Actually, he should have been here with both by now. But Ludwig shrugged that off. Feliciano was always late.

In the meantime, he people watched. When he got bored of that, he stood up to stretched. Walked around for a bit. Went to take a look at the lake nearby. Then he sat back down and people watched some more.

...Where was Feliciano? Ludwig checked his watch. The Italian was about two hours late. Ludwig was worried; it wasn’t like Feliciano to be this late. Stomach churning at the thought that something had happened, Ludwig reached for his phone. Then he remembered. He left it home, as an assurance that no one could interrupt him.  

Biting his lip, Ludwig debated what he should do. Should he go home, call Feliciano? Ask someone passing by to use their phone? But what if Feliciano was on his way here? What if he was walking here now and Ludwig leaves and then leaves Feliciano all alone? Feliciano wouldn’t be able to handle that.

He should wait. Yeah. Give Feliciano a few more minutes and if he didn’t show up, Ludwig will go back home and call Feliciano from there.

A few minutes turned into half an hour turned into an hour and a half.

Ludwig could see he was scaring people, with the way he was looking straightforward, unblinking, and with a scowl on his face. His fist was clenched, resting against his legs. The food must have gone bad by now. He thought. Then, much more resigned, he added. And Italy is not coming.

Closing his eyes, he let his shoulders slump. Not much to do now but pack everything up and go home. He hoped nothing bad happened-   

“Ludwig! There you are!”

Ludwig’s head snapped up at his name. The voice was not the person he was expecting.

Running down the walkway was Gilbert, Gilbird flying close behind. Stopping in front of Ludwig, he took a minute to collect himself. “Fuck, you’re tough to find.”

Cocking his head in confusion, Ludwig asked. “Gil, what are you doing here? Is something wrong? Did Boss call?”

“Give me a second will you.” Gilbert huffed out. “The awesome me may be in great shape but I’ve been running for awhile.”

“Why?”

“Because your unawesome self decided to be stupid today and left your phone home.” Gilbert gave him a look before straightening up. “Italy called, saying he couldn’t get ahold of you and so I, being awesome, decided to take it upon myself to come find you.”

Ludwig ignored all of that to focus on what was important. “Italy? Why’d he call?”

Gibert pouted at being ignored but continued anyway. ��He said that his brother came by. Apparently, he got into a fight with Spain and came crying to Italy.”

“That’s not unusual. Romano gets into fights with Spain a lot. Actually, I don’t think Spain even realizes that they’re in fights most of the time.”

“Yeah well apparently, this was pretty big. Big enough that Italy called to cancel your date.”

So big then.

Ludwig sighed. “What a waste of a day.”

Gilbert nudged him. “It’s your own fault, leaving your phone at home like that.”

“It sounded like a smart idea at the time.”

                                                             ~

The office was silent except for the sound of a pen scratching against the paper. Ludwig liked the silence. The peace. It’s what he needed to get work done.

The sun had set a few hours ago and still, Ludwig worked. He didn’t mind so much. He understood that these things needed to get done and he was happy to do them. Everything to better his people, right?

Sighing, he looked over the paper he had just finished signing. Everything seemed to be in order for his Boss to began implementing some new ideas. Of course, he would need to sign a lot more paperwork for new rules to go into place, but Ludwig thought that they were needed. Looking over at the stack of paperwork he had, he just wished that his Boss wouldn’t suddenly dump all the paperwork on him at once.

Eh, nothing can be done about it now except to keep working and get it over with.

With that, Ludwig picked up his pen and set back to work.

Only to immediately be interrupted by someone slamming his door open and shouting his name.

Ludwig jumped back, chair scratching against the floor. His hand shot towards the gun hidden underneath his desk. His fingers wrapped around the handle before his brain caught up and he recognized the person.

“Feli? What is the meaning of this?” He shouted back, face turning red as he released his grip on the gun. While he knew that he couldn’t actually kill the other Nation, the thought of hurting him still bothered Ludwig.

Feli blinked at him, smile fading as he began to nervously twitch. “Oh. Is this a bad time?”

“No, no.” Ludwig reassured him. “You startled me is all.”

“Ok, good!” Striding forward, Feli reached for Ludwig’s hand and started to pull on his arm. “Come with me, I have a surprise!”

Ludwig frowned but let himself be pulled along. He’s learned by now that it’s best to just get it over with and let Feliciano show him what he wanted. “Is it important? I have a lot of work to do.”

“Ve~ Yes, yes. You have to see.” Feli looked back to smile at him. The Italian man led Ludwig out of the house, and towards the back. Ludwig followed with a confused frown.

“What kind of important are we talking about? Your kind of important or my kind of important? Because I really do have a lot of work to get to and-” Ludwig stopped talking at the sight before him.  

Gilbert stood there, smirking at him. The yard was lit up with candles. A blanket was set out with a basket and two wine glasses.

Ludwig was left gaping as Feli eagerly pulled him forward. “Wh-how?”

“”I felt bad that our dates kept getting interrupted.” Feli began. “So I decided to surprise you at a time when I knew you were already busy. That way, we won't be interrupted by others."

He blinked. "That's pretty thoughtful actually." Ludwig said.“But you shouldn’t feel bad about our dates being canceled. Most of them were my fault.”

“Geez West, just let the guy surprise you with a date.” Gilbert told him, passing by to pat him on the shoulder. He gave Feliciano a wink. “You need a rest every now and then anyway.”

Feliciano nodded his head. “You work so hard! It’s ok to take a break.”

Ludwig could feel his face heating up. Silently, he nodded and followed Feli to the blanket. The food smelled delicious and when Ludwig took a sip of the wine, it was perfect. Of course, Feli would have the picked the best food. The stars were shining brightly above them. It was a warm night. Already, Ludwig could feel himself relaxing as he sat down and breathed everything in.

“Thank you.” He meant it. Sometimes, he forgot that he needed to do this. Take time off and just enjoy stuff. Not everything needs a plan. Even he could be spontaneous at times.

Feli gave him a small smile, soft and loving. “You’re welcome.” Then he was back to the bright and bubbly smile. “Shall we eat then?”

“Yes.”   

[harritudur]

rpf . jodie comer/jacob collins-levy . 3 155 words . rating M

note: as I promised, here my Jodie x Jacob smut. I tried to not turn this into a gratuitous smutty fic and so, I decided to add some fluff as well lol :) For @thefairfleming​ who gave me the courage to write and to post this shit fic (again, i apologize for the typos and my bad english)

-

Jodie couldn’t remember why she had ever thought it would be a good idea to start in the first place. Sometimes she blamed it on drink, on the nice French Rosé. And then, the annoying voice in the back of her head that sounded a little like her Mum telling her to stop being such a naive fool. She should have been enough of an adult to admit to her mistakes.

The thing was, she couldn’t find it in herself to stop.

-

Two weeks before, Jodie’s computer began to ring with the sounds of a Skype call from Jacob. Her former co-star whom she hadn’t made the least attempt to contact when she was still in the UK and he, in L.A. -or Australia maybe? They were not been in touch often recently. “Hello, Miss Comer,” he said, and then checked his watch. “It’s almost 7pm in L.A.! What are you doing up at such an ungodly hour?” “Working!” she replied proudly, showing to the camera the recent script she received for a new play in London. “What about you?” “Well, I am keep selling my soul in Hollywood for the sake of my career”. There was a hint of something in his voice that she can’t decipher, and yet it made her nervous. "I heard you were in the US recently and you didn’t even call me?” “Well, I wasn’t technically in the US,” Jodie said, taking a sip of her nocturnal tea. (British habits die hard) “I was in New York.” “East coast superiority problem,” he snorted, and he got this unreadable expression on his face. “How is England?” “Damp. And lovely,” she said, smiling brightly. “I will be there soon. To visit my father’s side of the family. It’s been a while… Can I come visit you at some point as well?” Jodie was slightly taken aback. He’d never asked if he could come visit. They’d been mostly cut off from each other since he’d gone to Los Angeles. “Yeah, Jake. Sure. If you felt like it.” “I will,” he said. “You mark my words, I will.”

-

To be honest, she wasn’t expecting him to show up. But, Jacob had always been hyperactive, a touch unpredictable and adventurous (she liked to call him Crocodile Dundee on set, just for the tease), so she was only about sixty percent surprised when he called her from Heathrow. “Jodz,” he said, “why aren’t you here to pick me up?” “Probably because you didn’t tell me you were coming! But I’ll come now.” She grabbed her keys and ran out the door before she could even think about what she was doing. Luckily for him, she moved to London the last week –a better decision for her career. “Finally,” Jacob said as she burst through the door at the airport, scrubbing a hand through his hair like he had just woken up from a long nap. “Finally, she shows up.” “Do you have any idea how far Heathrow is from London, Jacob!” Jodie said, trying to ignore the conspicuous lump in her throat and the way her heart rate sped up a little when he stepped forward and gave her a massive bear hug. “Missed you, Jodz,” he whispered in her ear, and suddenly, yup, there they all were, all those crazy feelings that she hadn’t let herself express for all those months she’d co-starred with him. “Missed you too, Jacob,” she said, and now she regretted not calling him while she was in the US.

-

True to form, he had no interest in actually sitting down for a proper meal, so they managed to navigate the interminable Tube of London for some takeaway Indian food that didn’t look like it would give them food poisoning. They sat on the floor in Jodie’s flat she just rented, cardboard boxes everywhere (and Jacob couldn’t believe how much of an improvement it was over any flat for a comparable -or even more expensive- price in Los Angeles) and chewed down. Just like old times in their trailers.

She brought out from her fridge a bottle of cheap French Rosé and they’d swapped stories about friends, family, one-night stands. He’d let her listen to a few songs on his ipod. She’d teased him about his Californian tan. She’d talked about Glastonbury Festival. He’d regretted to not have been there with her. They’d drunk the bottle dry.

Jodie hadn’t felt much nostalgia or sadness for her many former co-stars, realizing she’d gone off and lost touch with many of them. And more important, she’d had the possibility to meet them in London when she wished to. But now, she was nostalgic and sad -she didn’t know how much she missed him and how much she hated suddenly the Atlantic & the Pacific Oceans (and the Indian one too!). Jodie wasn’t aware that Jacob had been staring at her the whole time as she looked contemplatively in to her rice. “Jodz,” he said, “are you okay?” She exhaled, and looked back up at him. “Yeah, I’m alright. Just… missing the old days, you know?” There was a beat of silence. He smiled wistfully, which was an ability Jodie didn’t believe that people could develop before the age of thirty. “Yeah,” he said. “Me too. That’s why I’m here, I suppose.” “So you came all this way to sit on my floor and eat curry with me, and I suppose you’re flying back tomorrow in time for… your family right? Or an audition maybe? An event? Or a romantic dinner with whoever you are hooking up with?” The twinge of bitterness that Jodie heard in her voice was unintended, and she almost apologized to him right there. He laughed, harsh and bitter, like she’d never heard him laugh before. “God, we’ve been out of touch, haven’t we Jodie? No one is waiting for me in my cold cold bed.” “I’m sorry…” and instinctively, she reached out for him and grabbed his hand. Jacob sighed. “I miss you.” “Same, Jake.” “You’ve done an awful good job of hiding it.” “Oh come on,” Jodie said, reeling. “We’ve both been busy. I’ve been doing auditions and some new projects are in the coming. I’m an actress. It’s my job! I could say the same about you.” “I just thought… I just thought we were…” Jacob said, struggling to finish. Never once in her life, she had seen him at such a loss for words. If it weren’t for the emotional gravitas that she suspected the situation deserved, she would have whipped out her phone and taken a video. “Friends?” Jodie supplied, trying her best to be helpful. “Friends?” Jacob practically yelled back at her, his hands shaking. “Oh, sod it.” He got up and made his way towards the door. “Jacob,” she said, popping up and running after him, stopping him just short of her front entranceway, “what the hell?” “Friends, huh Jodie? Right, because I’m going to fly all the way across the goddamn Oceans for someone who I like as a friend. I don’t understand how you could possibly be so thick!” Quieter, he continued, his sharp blue eyes on her. “Did you really just want to be friends this whole time?”

A pause.

“No…” Jodie just managed, and finally, here, she was being perfectly honest; she was addressing the feelings that Jacob gave her, and everything that she missed about the last year and him most of all. “No, I didn’t not want to be just friends, but I felt that our hands were a little tied. There was this whole unspoken rule about not dating your co-star, and I had commitments in the UK and you had your life in Australia and then… then I just wasn’t around anymore, and you deserve more than a girlfriend half a world away, and you deserve to have a great career as well, and… it’s like life just kept getting in the way. Bad timing or whatever it is. But, yeah, the way I dreamed about you or us or… the things I managed to think up… it was just, you know? Just a dream…”

Based on the look Jacob was giving her at this exact second, Jodie could’t decide if he was going to kiss her, or storm out her flat door. But the next thing she knew he is crushing himself against her, arms wrapped around her waist and lips against hers. She felt his tongue prodding her lips, and she opened her mouth to him and mentally fist-pumped, and then shivered when he ran his tongue across hers and gently slipped his fingers under the hem of her t-shirt. The feeling of his fingers on her skin made her mind spin with anticipation. He pulled away, looked at her kind of funny, and said, “Is someone else dropping by tonight?” What? Oh yes, we are in London, she realized, and a Saturday night, and I have friends in the city. “No. No Jake… there’s not anyone coming, if that’s what you’re implying…” “Good,” he whispered, “because I am taking you to bed and we are not leaving there for a while.” “Oh,” Jodie said, and hoped that she wasn’t making too much of a dopey happy face. Then she was the one kissing him. An impulsive action –and she thought that she still had some part of Lizzie in her head when she did it. They had kissed so many times before. But this, this felt different from the working-friendly snogs they had shared in front of the crew ~for the job. The kiss tasted of darkness and the metallic hint of danger and excitement. It tasted new. She’d say that the drink had made her just the slightest bit reckless, but it wasn’t true. Not entirely.

She walked him back through her rented apartment. He stopped her somewhere in the middle of her living room not far away from their abandoned dinner (waste of good Indian food, she thought) and kissed her again, and something about how his hands were once again under her shirt and rubbing against her low back made her knees go conspicuously weak. Jacob took advantage of that and subsequently picked her up and carried her bridal style to her bedroom. She tossed her head back and laughed and was still laughing when he placed her down on her bed. “You literally cannot be serious about anything for more than five minutes,” she said as he climbed over her. “You’re about to be proved very, very wrong,” Jacob said, and Jodie had a snarky response forming in her head that died on her lips as soon as he kissed her again. And suddenly getting his shirt off was very high on her list of priorities. She gave up on the buttons and just ripped it, then mentally reminded herself to help him sew those buttons back on if they ever got out of bed.

He didn’t seem to care, but there he was, bare-chest, on top of her, with his lips on her neck and she moaned embarrassingly loud. She could feel him smiling against her skin, the bastard. She sat up briefly to aid Jacob in getting her shirt off, and her bra, and then he laid her back down and relieved her of her jeans and knickers. Not to be outdone, she started undoing his belt but he pushed her back on the mattress and settled over her, kissing a trail down her body. He slipped off the edge of the bed to kneel, kissed the inside of her thighs, and positioned his face between her legs. He looked up at her and opened his mouth to ask a question. She somehow (because she had no idea on how her brain would actually been working) intuited what he was about to ask.

“God yes,” half-spoken, half-moaned.

About a second later her head was thrown back as she felt pleasure course through her body as his tongue rolled against her clit. This simple motion made her gasp out loud. The sound seemed to please him, and he growled low in his throat before attacking her with tongue and lips and gentle teeth, until Jodie was biting her lips and forcing herself not to wrap her thighs around his head. One, then two fingers entered her and she literally gasped as they curled inside her. She dug her heel in to Jacob’s back accidentally, and as soon as he reached up and replaced her hand on her nipple with his she involuntarily pushed harder in to his back with her heel. That was probably going to leave a little bruise, she thought, but he didn’t seem to stop or mind, even when she threaded her hand in his hair. He started focusing intently on her nub, and next thing she knew she was arching off the bed and coming around his fingers. Pulling them from her body, he climbed up over her on the bed.  

Jodie wanted to move, to drag him down on her, to taste his lips once more and herself at the same time, and to return him the favor. But instead she watched him strip as he kept a safe distance between them. A part of her wanted to help, to shorten the torture, and to get rid of that satisfied smirk on his face –yet, another part wanted to enjoy the show, to savor each new glimpse of his skin and to memorize them for her lonely nights. But the impatience that curled in her low belly was hard to tame. Socks and shoes, then the belt and jeans followed, kicked off and the boxers flew somewhere and then he was naked, finally.

“Jodie,” he breathed looking down at her. Fuck! her name sounded so good on his tongue. His voice was broken, his Australian accent more marked, and his eyes were darker than anything she’d ever seen; she just wanted to kiss him absolutely senseless, “…do you have anything?”

Oh, that. How unfair that he should ask her where anything (especially something so infrequently used by her nowadays) was in her post-orgasmic haze. “Ummm,” she said to help, and flailed in the general direction of a cardboard-box by her nightstand. In vain. “One second,” Jacob said, and quickly dashed out of the bedroom, which at once was one of the most hilarious and sexy things that she’d possibly ever seen. She really hoped he didn’t trip over anything because she was not doing first aid on his naked… anything. She heard his suitcase unzip and zip and he came back with a fistful of condoms, swaggering triumphantly. “Bloody Hell,” she said, as he deposited all but one on the nightstand, “You totally planned this whole thing.” “The possibility crossed my mind,” Jacob replied. “Allow me,” Jodie said, with a wicked smile, and pushed him back so he was lying on the bed. She ripped the foil open with her teeth, tossed it aside, and rolled the condom on, never taking her eyes off of him. There was something extremely gratifying about the way that his head lolled back and his mouth fell open. Deciding that she relished the sensation of being in control, she straddled him and sunk on to him as slow as she could possibly manage. “God, Jodz… Jodie,” he sputtered out, “just do it already.” His hands moved to her hips and tightened. “Don’t know why you think this is any easier for me Jacob,” she sputtered out, but put on a veil of crazy confident feminine guile and started rolling her hips very slowly. She bit her lip hard, and looked down at Jacob whose pupils were blown out and just looked absolutely wrecked. His thumb found her clit and started rubbing it gently, and then harder, and then right when she was about to come, thanks Jacob, he rolled them over and started thrusting in to her. It was sinfully good to feel his skin against hers. She wanted everything, wanted to lose herself in the warmth of his skin, the taste of his lips, and to pretend that the world outside her flat didn’t exist. That they weren’t betraying any social convention for coworkers –or acquaintances? –or friends? Really? He was gentle, at first, one hand pressing her right wrist into the mattress, the other wrapped around her hip as he thrusts into her. Again and again and again and then he started to lose some of his control, and the hand around her wrist pushes down harder. It felt so good. They felt so good, fitted so well together and moved so in time with each other. Heat built in her and she could feel the rest of the world fading away into the background, and she wanted to close her eyes because there would be sparks behind her eyelids, but he wouldn’t let her out of his gaze. Just as she didn’t want to stop looking at the blue of his eyes. Jacob pulled almost all the way out of her and thrust into her again, deliberate and slow this time, and Jodie could feel the crest of her climax rising to meet his and she chased it eagerly, rocking her hips back against his. Maybe she was a little out of line, but the look on Jacob’s face told her she was doing something extremely pleasing. She buried her flushed face in the crock of his neck and bit down into the pale, pristine flesh of his shoulders and marked it hers. A low moan from him. And then, his hand at her hip loosened its grip and cupped her face instead and suddenly he was kissing her, all sweet tenderness and heat. Jodie kissed him back hungrily, whining into his mouth. So close. She was so damned close– “Let go,” he said against her lips, after pulling his mouth away from hers. “…you’re beautiful like this. So beautiful.” His accent, music to her ears. Then suddenly he was just hitting the spot, and then she was arching off the bed and seeing stars, and she was just barely aware of his hips stuttering and then giving one final prodigious thrust and collapsing on top of her. They just lay there like that for an indeterminate amount of time (Jodie wasn’t going to be counting anything, she knew that much) until he rolled off of her and dealt with the condom. She was still lying on her back when he got back to bed and he curled up beside her.

Taking this as her cue, she wound her arms around him, pulled him against her, felt his breath on her neck and shivered with post-orgasmic delight. He pressed a kiss to her collarbone, then to her neck, making her giggle, and then he kissed her so gently she could almost cry. Jodie wished there was more to this, more than just her London flat and previous stolen moments in trailers. More time. More of him. Her fingers ran through his messy hair and pulled him closer for another kiss. And then another, until she felt him stirring against her again.

“Fuck,” she stated as her hand moved down his body to cup the curve of his arse. “We’re screwed now, aren’t we?”

He didn’t even try to argue this statement. His hands cupped her face and before she could breathe he kissed her. “Oh yes, we are.”

For the first time in a long time, Jodie felt whole.

-

His return ticket had been booked for the next weekend, but he managed to worm his way out of further events and auditions (“My new agent will kill me later” he jested) so that he could stay two weeks. One morning, he disappeared for two hours, but re-appeared with red and white roses so she forgave him the minor heart attack. “Seriously? Jake?,” the reference obvious, but she accepted them anyway. He disappeared as well an whole day, but she knew it was to see an aunt or an uncle in Essex. Easy to forgive.

Later that month, she followed Jacob back to L.A. (“For work!” she had claimed to her friends who were not buying this shit). He was there, of course, waiting at the airport, and he took her to his flat without any questions. Unexpectedly, there was an extra chest of drawers waiting for her. “Thanks. It would make things easier,” she said in a smile. “I’m looking forward to this.” “Me too,” he said, and kissed her.

It was Jacob’s phone ringing that woke them, and Jodie blinked, the California sun already shining through the window. She didn’t realized she was so tired. The Hollywood way of life -and other private exertions. She was vaguely aware of Jacob groaning, his arms unwrapping from her as he stretched to pick up his phone. She turned back, spooning around him and scattering kisses over his shoulders and neck as he talked. “Hello? Oh, Emma, good morning. Yes, yes, I’m fine. I don’t know, we haven’t… Okay. Yes. Yes, she’s still here.” Jodie frowned. Even though she only heard half of the conversation, she knew he was talking about her. Telling Emma she had stayed the night might not be a good idea. “I’ll tell her. Yes. Thank you. Bye.” He hung up after this little talk and placed the phone back on his bedside table, before turning back and wrapping his arms around her. “Hello.” He kissed her nose and she couldn’t help but smile. “Hello. Hmm, what did Emma want?” “Oh, nothing, just be sure everything was alright. She is planning a dinner this week so, we could go? And she says hello.” “Jacob…” She tried to be serious but it was difficult with his hands on her hips, just upon her ticklish spot. “Why did you tell her I was here?” “It’s true, isn’t it?” “I’m not sure she had to know…” “Oh. She already knew.” “What?” He shrugged. “Said it was obvious and that we should have realized before.” Jodie turned pale, her blood freezing as she wondered what she meant by obvious, and who else knew. And then she remembered the many smiles and teasing and eye-rolling from her friends. Was the great actress Jodie Comer so easy to read? “Are you okay?” he cupped her face and brushed her cheeks gently, eyes full of affection. Oh shit. She was in love with this man -maybe she hadn’t realized it all quite yet. Or maybe she had, and this sudden understanding was like letting out a breath Jodie didn’t know she was holding since months. “More than okay,” she sighed, and let him kiss her, and more.

- -

[abahwrites]

Cherie... Part III - I Just Want To Know Who I Was Before (2)

It was a cloudy and rainy morning for Lena and Widowmaker, awaken by a cry and a tight hug, Lena immediately clutch Widow back as if she really needs it after a breakup. Lena didn’t hesitate to do so, although Widow didn’t necessarily need it.

Lena knows she’s in big trouble.

The embrace lasts for three minutes, then Widow speaks up. “Lena… break me out from this cage, Lena… I beg you…” She cried with a muffled sobbing.

“It’s okay, Amé… It’s going to be alright.” Lena tried to calm her. “You can say anything about your nightmare to me, I had such nightmares before I even met you… before Overwatch and all.”

Then Widow spoke, with an ashamed voice. “I must forgive everyone who I hurt and those who hurt me,” she began to embrace Lena even tighter. “Lena, could you help me through this?”

“Don’t worry, Widow. All will be okay in the end, and you’ll get what you want.” Lena rubbed Widow’s back.

“Would I ever go back to where I was before, Lena? I’m tired, I’m sick of this all.” Widowmaker sobbed in anguish.

“Calm yourself, honey. Relax, this nightmare will end sooner than you thought.” Lena embraced her a little tighter, and it was the tightest embrace that she ever gave to her friends, especially Widowmaker. Lena dragged her slowly to the mirror in front of them, then pointed at Widowmaker’s heart. “Amélie Lacroix is still there, Widow. Waiting for someone to release her from the eternal prison of loneliness and despair. You can overcome this like you overcome your altered memories, psychological and biological needs.”

“I think this is taking too much time,” Widowmaker said to Lena while touching her heart.

“No, Widow. This is not taking too long if you’re stubborn enough to face the consequences.” Lena winked while straightening Widow’s hair and clothes. “Try to think and perceive the problem as me trying to fail your mission.”

To forgive and forget someone who had destroyed you or you broke their lives is hard. Even if you know, that’s not your problem at all, if they have a grudge against you indirectly and think that this is all your fault and it’s yours to blame, there will always be some way to end the forest fire. As Lena and Widowmaker walks and strolls through the Parisian street, Widow hands out red roses as an apology and only a few of them feel comfortable with that. Widow walks into the alleyway where she destroyed a pub, now a restored record store with the same owner. As Widow and Lena managed to get inside the record store, she saw the owner scared to death behind the counter, wielding a blade on his shaky hands, Widow approached him.

She lands a beautiful, subtle smile on the old man. “It’s alright, Old Man. I’m sick of killing people and vandalising properties that I shouldn’t vandalise.” Widowmaker said, taking the blade off his hands and hug him tight.

“That little British girl is your enlightenment, Sniper? My God, this is great news for everyone!” The Old Man cheered and taps Widowmaker’s shoulder, he backed up a little and lands an elderly slap on Widowmaker’s face. “What makes you like this, Widowmaker? Something’s going to happen in your life? Or a premature death?” He asked. It sounds so offensive that Widowmaker almost lost her control over the old man… almost destroying his record store… if angry available in her life, but she can’t release it anymore since the Dream.

“I’m… looking for my emotions and feelings, and to get it back and restore what I’ve been lost.” Widowmaker said, browsing the records available on the counter.

“My… it’s worst than premature death, I suppose,” He commented, feeling sorry for her to not experiencing feelings and emotions. “I’m sorry if my first words offended you, but the only thing I know for you is… I will always remember the day when you’re completely changed from an astonishingly scary assassin into the sweetest girl in Paris… regardless of your skin colour. I will always hold you dear in my heart.”

Widowmaker’s stunned with the old man’s words, she never believes that such person exists in this cruel world full of stereotype-driven hate, where everyone thinks that their superiority is far greater than togetherness. She couldn’t hold herself as she hugs the old man even tighter.

That is the most… memorable and emotional experience for Widowmaker, a newbie to feelings and emotions…and  to the so-called life that she never thinks about.

The Man gave Widowmaker an Amaryllis and a White Rose for Lena,  flowers that surpass supermodel’s beauty. It was fragrance and smells like royalty, but maintained its simplicity and elegance. They walked out from the store with a smile on their faces and went to the local canteen.

Lena experiencing a deeper story behind Widow’s personality, Lena often caught her writing on a small piece of paper and Lena never able to get a look at it. Now that they began to get closer and trusting each other more when they wait for their order to come, Lena asked. “What’s inside that paper, Widowmaker?”

Widowmaker couldn’t find a perfect word… she let it all out to make sure nothing’s buried inside her. “This is a list of my victims… I haven’t asked them for forgiveness, but with these roses, we bought earlier, at last, they could sleep peacefully… so I can rest without having a nightmare about them.”

“Wow… you’re such a remorseful fellow. I’m stunned, you know?” Lena laughed a bit to make Widowmaker feel a little better.

“I wasn’t this evil before, Lena. I am not Widowmaker. Like you said earlier at your dorm, I am Amélie, a part that buried so deep that the life itself gave up digging it up.” Widowmaker said, explaining why she’s remorseful by now.

“I told you so!” Lena shared her laugh with Widowmaker. Widowmaker still faking her laugh and smile, but soon she begins to… accustomed to it.

Across the canteen, there’s a lonely blonde who is sitting all by herself, and she notices Lena with her new companion. She began to worry that Lena’s partner, Widowmaker would harm her and endangered Lena’s life, but her wits said to stay and watch the French lady sips her tea and read a book.

The lonely blonde is Lena’s friend and the Head of Medical Research at Overwatch, Angela Ziegler. She watches Widowmaker sits elegantly on such simple chair, with her long hair and perfectly curved mascara and eyeliner. She’s beautiful… I hope she didn’t notice me. Angela hoped in the deepest parts of her heart. Angela tried to conceal her stalking abilities by eating her lunch one bite at a time, but it was too late. Widow saw her stalking and gave a faint, subtle smile – then a wink. It’s super efficient that Angela began to blush. Scheisse! Scheisse! Scheisse! That wink! Did she just wink at me? She thought to herself while toying with her blonde locks. Widowmaker immediately stood up from her chair and ask Lena’s permission to get some fresh air. Angela knows by staring at Widowmaker without her noticing is invading her comfort zone and as she began to lose hope…

“So the doctor staring me?” Widowmaker greeted Angela from behind and immediately sat beside her.

She startled. “That’s not what I meant… you know… you’re a beauty…” she’s flustered by Widowmaker’s inner beauty. “You’re a beauty woman, I tell you.”

“Angela, Merci beaucoup, chérie.” Widowmaker kissed her on the cheeks, Lena then followed her and take a seat beside Widowmaker.

“Bitte schön, Liebling,” Angela replied with a series of blush began to appear on her face. “Wish I am as beauty as you.”

“Beauty isn’t about your outside, it’s all about your inside, chérie.” Widowmaker.

“Yeah, I already knew that, dear,” Angela replied with a smile. “A pleasure to meet you, Widowmaker.”

“A pleasant sightseeing for me to see you again, Angela,” Widowmaker said. “Have I met you?” She questioned Angela.

“Haven’t I met you before?” Angela asked. “We meet somewhere, but I don’t seem to recall.”

“I don’t appear to remember, too,” Widowmaker nodded in agreement. “Where was it?” She asked Lena and Angela.

“I don’t think that I should say this, but it was at the Eiffel.” Lena chimed in.

“Yeah, that was the place.” Widowmaker and Angela chorused simultaneously.

“How in the heavens you know the place, Lena?” Angela asked Lena, shocked by her long-term memory… with a side of ADHD, in exchange of that.

“Well, I was looking at the Eiffel, and that’s the one place that popped out from my mind,” Lena answered. She eats a portion of Angela’s meal. “You know… France is… famous for its Eiffel.” She continued, munching her food while replying Angela’s question.

“Don’t you eat my meal, Lena!” Angela shouted at her and slaps Lena’s shoulder hard.

“Ow! You… bastard!” Lena choked and spill some of Angela’s food to the floor below, glad that no one watches her dropping her food. Widowmaker can’t help herself but to land a smile in between the two and enjoy her lunch, and a small, faint giggling can be heard.

“Widowmaker! I heard you giggling!” Lena shouted it was heard until the far eastern end of the canteen.

Widowmaker shushed Lena. “Shut up, Brit. Don’t make a scene or you’ll regret it someday.”