#you can get a pretty good indication of what i'm reading by what quotes i'll slap onto a like minds edit

[currentlyonstandbi]

[betweenlands]

[ID: Two asks from my inbox. The first is from @12u3ie and reads "Drop the essay, Solar /nf". The second is from @artisticgryfess and reads "wait no tell me about joe being technos hels". /End ID]

holy shit you guys i'm not even a hermitcraft or dsmp blog rn. fair enough this is a longstanding conspiracy theory of mine, though. ok, so. Joe Is Techno's Hels, the not-an-essay (mainly because i'm not going to cite SHIT, this is PURELY in the realm of headcanon/theory except if i explicitly indicate something is supported by canon)

so, the joke theory starts like this: back when hermitcraft/dsmp crossovers were first getting popular, there were a lot of crack theories about "hels!joe is technoblade" because... well, a lot of factors. they're both loosely english majors (i know joe is a history major just humor me), both slightly strange guys who operate by their own logic, both have somewhat similar (ish?) accents, both have a very deadpan sense of humor and incredible delivery on that deadpan, and most of all both of them Cannot Be Killed In A Way That Matters.

however, i am your local Hels Analyst, no like seriously there's so much weird shit about helsknight we haven't discussed yet, and one (implied? this is a theory but i feel it holds water) thing that's always been key to me about Hels versions is... they represent bad traits present in the original individual. whether or not those bad traits are the Objectively Bad ones or the traits the original self-identifies as bad is pretty up in the air right now (welsknight come off anon i just need you to tell me if helsknight likes pineapple on pizza it is absolutely fucking critical to our understanding of hels lore) but we'll be going with the latter, for reasons i'll explain later and by later i mean right now.

so! assuming there are hels versions of more players than just welsknight (i cannot stress enough how much we technically don't know this in canon -- it can reasonably be extrapolated but we really aren't sure!), that brings up an interesting issue with techno being joe's hels.

joe is not a particularly violent person.

"well solar," you say, "what does that have to do with techno being joe's hels?"

"well, strawman i have made up to make this long-ass post more visually broken-up and less formal-feeling," i reply, "hels versions of players only exhibit traits that are present in the original person." and this is confirmed canon, by the way -- wels himself has explicitly cited specific ways he can sometimes suck that are directly visible in the way helsknight acts!

so. joe is not a particularly violent person, and... okay yes listen i know there's a lot of very good writing on how technoblade isn't entirely 100% down for violence all the time and maybe wants to peacefully retire, okay. i get it. i am not calling techno a murder machine all i'm saying is that one of them enjoys pvp enough that he helped train other people and the other one is recording as he always does from nashville tennessee. i am a variety mcyt blogger and the only dsmp essay i have ever written before now is about how the tftsmp metaplot parallels redstoner. just bear with me.

imo joe also exhibits a lot of self-awareness about his own bad qualities as a character, and none of those traits are really... present in technoblade? but here's where it gets interesting.

i am no genius and certainly no master c!technoblade analyst, but if we assume technoblade trained to become a fighter and identified certain of his traits as being Not Ideal for someone who focuses on pvp and being a strong pigman, we can. kind of see those traits in joe, even if we can assume technoblade has learned enough to stop displaying those traits:

will commit to the bit even if it's inconvenient for him

obnoxious about whatever form of literature is closest to him

will start quoting from that work of literature to fit the situation even when it totally doesn't fit the situation

zero bloodlust and an active need to avoid direct conflict; a tendency towards pacifism even

malicious compliance

perfectly timed awful timing

overwhelming amounts of Just Some Guy and also English Major energy

exceedingly stubborn and would rather go through a problem than around it; will also see a tunnel through a mountain and climb over the hill instead

and. hm! yeah that feels like a joe hills description. you could make a joe hills out of this. add to that the fact that both of them refuse to die, but technoblade never dies whereas joe conquers death by dying over and over and coming back repeatedly out of sheer spite -- yeah i'd say joe could very easily be seen as the hels of the two.

and if Hels, the dimension, is the hostile and horrible place that helsknight claims it is -- where "everyone's unyielding and everyone there rebels" -- well, only one of them has a (mostly) canonical backstory that involves struggling through a hellish landscape designed by a hostile architect who wishes to cause pain and suffering. and it's not technoblade.

[doubleedgemode]

that post u made about A.B.A regarding her classic GG quotes is so interesting I had no idea she said that! I haven’t played the earlier games, would u happen to have screenshots of where she says that or where I might be able to see some of her classic/unused quotes ? I just like having that stuff on hand lol. Thank you!

Thanks to you, anon, for making me revisit the screenshots, and sure thing! I'm gonna link the page, keep in mind it's super meaty and covers a lot of characters so ctrl F search will be your best friend to find specific character/quotes :)

I found them in this big quote compilation in guiltygear.ru, click the sentence to go there. (Kudos to @/solradguy's big gg neo.cities archival efforts making me find the page)... BUT before anything, important DISCLAIMERS❗:

1. Some of the quotes in general can get kind of explicit or with double entendres so uh keep that in mind.

2. Something I just learnt after going to find you the translations, it's to keep in mind their author: See, this is better explained in the aforementioned ne.ocities archival, but a lot of the site's translations were made by someone who, without going too much into detail, is... a controversial member of the community, who is known for putting a good bunch of misconceptions and mistakes into their translations. (Also they have, in my opinion, unsavory and even problematic takes about the franchise. Don't try to argue with them, just block, per proper net etiquette) I don't know japanese so I don't know if this quote index suffers from that so in the end, we'll have to take all this quote info with a huge grain of salt.

Keeping all this in mind, this is already probably a wordier answer than you expected BUT since we are at it, I'll ramble about some A.B.A quotes (in no order) that I found interesting about the topic under the cut, if you want to read that.

First and third quotes in this picture are pretty self explanatory about this part of her character. The vs Faust intro... Man, that looks straight out of her strive song. Dunno if they pulled inspiration from that, but it seems even in the classic days they had a pretty clear idea of part of A.B.A's story being existing and thriving in her own unique way.. Which makes me kind of emotional for some reason ;_;

These were NOT unused as far as I can tell, but obviously do correct me if wrong!

I find it fascinating how much of clear glimpses these are are into her law obsession (more on that specific one later) and believing herself to be a high class person and looking above "lower classes" shoulders.

Some of these aren't exclusively about the aforementioned topics but they mention her cooking god knows what creatures (like in that one infamous xxac ending) and just.. being a scared, pathetic individual at heart. Sigh.

There are probably more examples of all this but this post needs to end sometime today.😭 So, returning to her law thing being an obsession in capital letters, look at her ingame overdrives:

But before that, the elephant in the room: People's observations of her instakill looking pretty taxing to her to perform and even making a berserk Paracelsus look like even he thinks this goes too far are not far from the truth. "I might not recover this time... Dying!!!" What else can I say, that's just sad.. and very interesting lorewise about the toll of this kind of summonings. Yeah, people noticed that in strive, she can summon the same exact door as in her insta with no struggle (or at least not the same level for sure) indicates her power or skill have improved which is so so fascinating.. Anyways. Back to the law thing. We've always had a huge sign under our noses: Her saying Evidence in her overdrives. While sure it can be evidence in a more general meaning, like proving facts or something, it does call to LEGAL evidence, too

...Maybe that was super obvious for everybodh but I'm afraid to admit I didn't connect the dots til now haha 😅

I cannot access my xxacp copy right now to see if her saying shouko during her overdrives is correct, but were we to take this as truth and also trust a japanese language study site as solid because. Again I have zero knowledge of japanese... According to Nihongoclassroom..

It can be used in a legal setting.

And with this we can neatly wrap this up... Tdlr I guess she's living up to her creator being a mansion owner (which isn't precisely cheap) and it gets so interesting and double edged (HAH) if you believe her classic games was as self aware while doing this and fooling herself as strive A.B.A is.

AND she has or had a HUGE interest in law (and if u allow me to reach mayyybe morality too?). While probably not as core to her as her key thing, she sure has told the audience almost as much as it.

[transthadymacdermot]

What kind of alcohol do the peasants drink? Is there a variety of types? How young do kids start drinking recreationally?

Okay so this is more of a historical question than a story question but I will try to keep this as writing-related as possible

The peasants typically drink poitín or poteen, a type of illegal (specifically illegal. it's not poitín if it's legal) Irish alcohol made in small pot stills in isolated locations to hide from the authorities. Good fictional depictions of what it is/how it was made/its role in society in the time period that my writing takes place can be found in the book The MacDermots of Ballycloran by Anthony Trollope, or in the early parts of the film Arracht, and the best nonfiction discussion of the role it played in society (and in sectarian conflict) in Ulster in the late 18thc I've found thus far is in the book The Men of No Property by Jim Smyth, in the very early chapters. Read one of those if you want more detail but for now I'll say that it's just generally illegal alcohol of dubious quality -- it might help usamerican followers to think of it as being like if moonshine was Irish (down to the "don't drink that you'll go blind 😡" stuff). And that there are Game of Thrones levels of machinations going on between rival distillers in $the background of the story (as there were with real poteen makers), but the only indication of it in the text is a couple of throwaway comments from Maguire

They pretty exclusively stick to poteen. You might say that there are different types because it... varies in quality depending on who made it and how willing the person drinking it is to drink the shadiest liquid ever produced out of desperation. Also since there isn't really a formal recipe due to the whole illegality thing it's possible that the ingredients vary but the characters don't really make the distinction

I'll admit that I'm not really sure because I've not read a lot of academic writing about recreational drinking amount Irish peasants at the time 😔 but from the general impression I have of society at the time I'd say quite young, maybe mid teens. Don't quote me on that though because it doesn't have much bearing on the story so I haven't done a terrible amount of research on it

EDIT: OH AND I CAN'T BELIEVE I FORGOR THIS they also drink punch. This is more expensive than poitín due to the ingredients and so they generally only drink it on special occasions (like at a wedding that occurs near the beginning, or when they blow up a bridge and want to celebrate). They also get drunker off it because u can just dip your cup right in the communal punch bowl and therefore it's harder to gauge how much you've had (this is something real that various people in the late 18thc complained about wrt punch drinking apparently lmao). Also there's a few times where the drinking of legal whiskey is mentioned because there was a tradition at the time where when the poorest tenants actually paid their rent for once the landlord would be expected to give them a glass to celebrate, to the point where everybody would get really mad if this all-important ritual was not performed. Thank you Maria Edgeworth for teaching me this 🔥

[brushstrokesapocalyptic]

Hi there! Would it be alright to ask about what your plans for the bnha magical girl were? No need to answer this if you still plan on going back to it ofc, but its been a few years since it updated and I know you mentioned in the past you had the general gist of it planned out, so I'm curious about where it would've gone from where you left off. Thank you for writing it btw, its still one of my favorite bnha fics to read :D

Mmmmmmmmm yeah at this point I don't think I'm ever going back to it. It's unfortunate, because I had some pretty extensive notes and a whole ~twist~ planned, and I figured my attention would circle back to BNHA someday, but it just never happened! So sure, I can give a loose summary of what I had planned.

I will say before I get into it that, like some other stories I've started in the past, it fell into a trap that I like to call "Canon But A Bit To The Left" which, as the name suggests, is a fanfic that's basically the exact same story as canon just with some superficial details changed. That's a big part of why I lost momentum, once I reached the part of the series that would've just been retelling canon events but with magical girls— I tried to get creative with it, but nothing fundamentally changed, so it wasn't all that much fun. As such, I'll primarily be focusing on what's actually different/The Twist, because that's what's fun to explain.

So! The twist is that Izuku has a quirk. It's the ability to grant Magical Girl Transformation Objects. He does not know he has this quirk, he's doing it completely subconsciously.

His own Transformation Pen manifested out of nowhere when he was like 4 years old, and it sat in a drawer somewhere until he rediscovered it. The general theme of the other people getting their pens is that something they did impressed Izuku somehow, causing him to subconsciously go "yeah this person is worthy of Power"— Uraraka fights a goose, Todoroki catches a mugger with his ice, and other stuff.

According to my notes, the plan was for Iida to get a pen too, during the Stain incident. Iida would refuse to have any part of the whole Magica stuff, though, because that's ILLEGAL. Izuku figures out that it's a quirk sometime before/during the whole training camp thing, and uses it intentionally for the first time as part of a plan to rescue Bakugou— he can sorta sense where his "chosen" are, or at least their pens.

I went back and forth on whether Bakugou has had a pen all along or if Izuku granted him a pen on the spot; I swear I had foreshadowing indicating Bakugou had one all along but I can't remember which fic it'd've been in. There's some parts I'd rewrite to align better with that if I could, but alas that is no longer on the table.

The most recent arc at the time of me writing BNHA Magica was the one introducing Eri, so that also got included in my vague disorganized outline. The FULL extent of my notes there are a quick little description of Izuku granting Eri a pen so that he can track her the same way he tracked Bakugou.

After this, I resolved to, quote, "CATAPULT MYSELF INTO THE ABYSS" and stop following canon. I then did not write down Any specific events beyond the bounds of canon. Good work, Past Me!

Some more disorganized things, uh... The way the Magical Girl Quirk works on Izuku's Chosen (including himself) is it essentially transfers their own quirk into a magic wand, replacing it with a pile of minor passive quirks. Stuff like mild superspeed, strength, agility, a dash of spidey-sense, aaaaaaaaaand fast healing. Or possibly the ability to share damage between everyone involved! I thought it was a very fun creative idea at the time, and it does suit the actual nature of the quirk being them all getting linked to Izuku, but it's also Really involved. My notes on it mostly involve Izuku getting Grievously Wounded during Training Camp but turning out mostly fine, but all his chosen experiencing Very Intense Fatigue as he saps their energy to regrow all the bones in his left arm. IDK if I'd've kept it in the end.

The other big thing in my notes that I'm not as sure about in hindsight is the idea of Izuku getting One For All after all, just, like, Late. It kinda ties in with the healing thing; I had the idea that he kinda reflexively shares the Overwhelming Power across the entirety of his network so that it doesn't make him Explode, but it does possibly result in synchronized Arm-Breaking. But idk about keeping that, I might've just found the image funny enough to write down.

Aaaaaaaand I think that's the extent of what's worth sharing from my written notes. To cap the post off, here's the (very incomplete) concept art! Not everyone represented here was Actually going to get a pen, I just sorta went wild and/or thought it would be funny.

[screensquared]

The Killer (2023)

Dir. David Fincher

Spoiler free:

Fincher is my favorite director, so I'm probably more than a little biased but I tried to go into it with open eyes. I ended up loving it. A good portion is just waiting and watching with Fassbender's droning monologue, (and a heavy dose of the Smiths' entire discography) but I could have happily watched an hour more. I love character driven stories, and this was so character driven it might as well have been a study. There are some action scenes, but most of the tension and conflict comes from the suspense. Fincher and Fassbender work so well together and I hope they collaborate more in the future.

Spoilers:

Synopsis :

Man, I wish they could have switched out the Smiths for the Cure. It would have kept the tone exactly the same and I'm sure Fincher could have found songs that had the same idea represented. Maybe if I have more time I'll go through and make a post picking the Cure songs I'd use to replace the originals. Maybe we're supposed to read deeper into Fassbender's choices to listen to the Smiths, but I doubt it.

Fassbender plays a hitman who misses his most recent target. In the aftermath, his girlfriend's home in Puerto Rico is discovered and she is assaulted. The rest of the movie is revenge porn where Fassbender adopts various aliases and travels the country killing everyone who played a role in hurting her.

Highlight:

Fassbender's monologue constantly tells us to not care and only focus on what is necessary (paraphrasing), but each time he recites his credo, he's already in the act of breaking these rules. He constantly cares. He mercifully kills Dolores and leaves her for her family to find so they can collect life insurance. He kills everyone responsible for his girlfriend's assault, which may be necessary for his safety, but is clearly fueled by vengeance and not self preservation.

And when it comes to the monologue, the narrative choice was *chef's kiss*. True, it might have been pretty boring to just watch Fassbender watch people for ⅓ of the movie, so the choice to fill the silence was compulsory, but it was written in the best way. Fassbender says so much but tells us nothing. I clocked him as an unreliable narrator maybe 5 minutes into the film when he quotes Aleister Crowley and can't remember to whom to attribute it. At the same time, we are being shown his character without being told who he is. If someone asks me a good example of atmospheric narration, I'd show them this movie.

Lastly, I can't talk about my favorite aspects without mentioning the cinematography by Erik Messerschmidt. I was waiting for Fincher's penchant for green and blue, and while it took a little while to arrive, by the middle of the movie it was there to stay.

Lowlights:

Fincher can't escape the "tint Latin America sky yellow to indicate we are in South America" trips, I fear. Maybe the sky is decidedly blue but I feel like there's a dusty haze to the streets of South America that might be movie magic.

Another Fincher movie, another woman who gets sexually assaulted... David, my guy, you know I love you. You write female characters better than pretty much any other male director. I appreciate your artistic vision. I love your depiction of women. It doesn't even bother me that Fassbender's girlfriend has 0 agency and her defining moment saying "You would have been proud of me that no matter what they did, I never gave you up." (Ride or die problematic slay) However. Just one single movie without a woman being raped. I beg. Do I think the movie would have been just as impactful if she was only beaten? Sure. I'm not going to condemn Fincher for taking it there. Like Lisbeth, Amy, and Ripley before her, (Alien3, my beloved, Fincher's directorial debut, a post for another day) Magdala joins the cast of Fincher's violated women. At the end she's sipping mai tais, so who am I to speculate.

Rating: 🐕‍🦺🐕‍🦺🐕‍🦺🐕‍🦺

4/5 Divas

[kitkatt0430]

Answer the Questions and Tag 5 Fanfic Authors

Thanks for the tag @goldheartedchaoticdisaster :D

1. How did you get into writing fanfiction?

Writing fanfic was something I just started doing because I wanted to have more Voyager stories about Seven of Nine when I was still pretty young. Actually posting up fanfics I'd written? Junior High, I think - so preteens/early teens - when a friend introduced me to the wonderful world of Fanfiction.net; I started reading fic and worked up the courage to actually post my own after a bit.

2. How many fandoms have you written in?

51? I think? It's at least that many, anyway.

3. How many years have you been writing fanfiction?

I joined FFnet in 2002 so let's just go with 22 years. I did write some stuff before that, but none of it was posted and all of it is lost.

4. Do you read or write more fanfiction?

I read more, but I certainly do write a lot. :D

5. What is one way you’ve improved as a writer?

I've gotten a lot better at world building. But also establishing initial characterizations and making character growth make sense.

6. What’s the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

Not necessarily weird, but I've looked up information on various degrees and how long they take to complete as well as different types of power of attorney - yes, there is more than one! - and the different ways they apply.

7. What’s your favourite type of comment to receive on your work?

I like the comments that have reactions to different parts of the fic/chapter and maybe favorite quotes as they read along. Those are the types of comments I like to leave most too.

8. What’s the most fringe trope/topic you write about?

Lol, does writing a Fringe/Flash crossover fic count? ;)

I've got some pretty rare pairs that I've written for - Reverb/HR and Savitar/Reverb and Savitar/Eobard are probably the most rare thus far but I find I enjoy the challenge of rare pairs that are of the ships that pass in the night variety so I may wind up with more very rare pairs as time goes on.

There's been a few experimental-ish fics I've written, like Spiral which… I'm not really sure how to describe the style for that fic.

9. What is the hardest type of story for you to write?

I struggled a lot with the ending to You Must Live (For Me) because it was a bad guys win fic and so I knew from the start I'd be killing off Iris. But it was still difficult to do.

So overall I think fics that kill off main characters in some way? I don't write that often, but even just the aftermath of such a thing can be really difficult to write. Grief is just… hard to write because it hurts so much.

10. What is the easiest type?

Fluffy, silly fics. Things like Buzz Buzz often just flow easily because they're silly and fun.

But often also fics that address things I feel strongly about. Not always - sometimes I get in my own way with those fics - but sometimes that strong emotion will just carry me through writing something until suddenly I have an entire fic. Seeress was definitely one of those where replaying the ending of Final Fantasy 13-2 where the bad guy has basically pulled a 'heads I win, tails you lose' scenario (which the final game rectifies) had me speculating on how some of the foreshadowing in the game indicated there could have been a different ending to things.

11. Where do you do your writing? What platform? When?

On my computer - though a tablet + keyboard combo will do in a pinch. Rarely on a notebook these days because I can't guarantee I'll find the motivation to transcribe it later, though notebooks are a good place for making story notes instead of fic writing.

I'll typically use LibreOffice because it's easy to use and free. I'll also use Notion, which has a free tier and is good for when I want to be able to work on a fic from my tablet or on a different computer from usual.

For my sins… sometimes I'll write a fic directly into Ao3's editor.

12. What is something you’ve been too nervous/intimidated to write, but would love to write one day?

I'm trying to get better at making 'one day' become 'today' when it comes to this sort of thing. I feel like my Flash/Fringe crossover series falls into this because what I want to do for the series is ambitious and so while I don't want to bite off more than I can write (as it were), I don't want to keep putting it off because it makes me worry I won't do it justice. I won't do it anything at all if I don't at least try.

13. What made you choose your username?

My sister picked it out when she helped me make my first email account as a kid and I've been partial to it ever sense. Kitkatt0430 is in many ways as much my name now as my real name. I've used it for FFnet, my short lived attempt at Live Journal, Ao3, Tumblr (though I have Starstruckpurpledragon here too), and a few other places.

@sophiainspace @coldflasher @incorrectcoldflashblog @terrie01 @fezwearingjellybananas & anyone who wants to play :D

[thejustmaiden]

So out of nowhere I was tagged and quoted by a SR shipper for a blog of mine posted in August of last year. Talk about throwback but, hey, gotta appreciate that level of snooping. 😉

Back in the day I actually used to encourage discourse amongst Inuyasha fans- both shippers and antis alike- but I've since realized that it's a lost cause. But for you, @feministmetalgreymon , I'll grant this exception. Just 'cause it's been a while so why the hell not. haha

I want to assure you, however, that nothing you say will ever convince me that Sesshomaru and Rin are meant to be together romantically or that the story intended it so. Nor will you find any validation here. You can ship them for all I care, but please for all that is good and holy while I have your attention try- I mean really try- to understand why it is so many of us Inuyasha fans are so against this pairing in the first place (newsflash: it's not about ship wars), and why we believe a romance between the two of them is completely and utterly out of character.

For those of you interested in reading this, the blog of mine in question that the above shipper mentions in their counter-argument is here for reference. It's titled "Jaken = Rin's Dad?" I'm going to try and keep this short, but I'm also making no such promises. After all, I'm not exactly known for my brevity. haha Now let's get crackin'!

Like you, feministmetalgreymon, did for your recent blog here where you took screenshots of mine to address certain parts, I will be doing the same and dissecting yours accordingly.

[Snippet 1]

I worked with kids for many years as a teacher, and many people in my family have too or still do. Two of them happen to be just over 5 feet which is quite short for the average adult woman living here. I've also worked alongside many a women of short stature, and never did I hear any of them complaining of issues with their students having difficulty differentiating them from their own peers just because they were short as well. I'm sorry but that's just ridiculous. Kids are quite smart and pick up on a lot more than you seem to give them credit for. Height is not the only characteristic they look at to determine who's an adult and who's not, and it's foolish to suggest otherwise. So unless you're a babysitter who's still in their teens and/or who has very childlike features or behavior then I'm afraid what you're getting at is total hogwash. This is just another example of how you shippers offer nothing of real substance to your reasoning, it's only ever cherry-picking or strawmanning from you guys. Stop deflecting from the real issues please, because this certainly isn't one and only winds up being a complete waste of time for all parties involved.

[Snippet 2]

Okay, calm down now. I wasn't insinuating that relationships between parents and children can't change over time in terms of how they get along. Of course that's possible, as all families experience their fair share of estrangement and abuse. What I was speaking about was in reference to the overall dynamic between the two. Because a bad mother or father can still be viewed as a parental figure to their child even if say they're not in said child's life anymore. Since Sesshomaru and Rin share a healthy bond- and just a friendly reminder that in my blog I even said that he doesn't have to necessarily be labeled her father but that a romantic relationship later would still be inappropriate- I didn't deem it necessary to address what you brought up. Plus, it kinda, umm, misses the point?? Please, let's stay on topic. And it's not captured in the screenshot, but stop acting like there isn't a small part of them that idolizes their parents at some point during childhood. Just like you mention later on how it's normal for kids to have innocent crushes on adults that they eventually grow out of? Well, guess what, the same concept applies here. Kids eventually learn that their parents are far from perfect and make mistakes too. Rin is so damn young in the OG series though that we never even get to see her reach that maturity level.

[Snippet 3]

LOL! Alright, okay, so the "unbreakable bond" bit you're mentioning was actually me quoting you sessrinners. Did you not catch that? I literally spelled it out. *sigh* The whole point I was making is that shippers like yourself make hypocritical and contradictory statements all.the.goddamn.time. One moment you guys claim that Sesshomaru and Rin were essentially strangers and meant very little to each other, only to say in the same breath a few seconds later that they were destined to be together and their bond is like no other. I agree, their bond is special, but why must that mean they're going to fall in love?

That is the root of the matter here. Too many animes/mangas have romanticized this older adult man & young girl growing up falling in love trope that it's become way too normalized and widely accepted across the world- and yes, in some cultures more than others. Sadly, you lack the awareness to recognize how this all works. You know how we know that? When we see that you shippers are so desensitized to sexualized images of girls in the media that you share posts like this one below which *subtly* imply a future romance although one half of that pairing is still just a child in the pic and then try and pass it off as cute. That's like super fucking problematic and it scares me that you can't see that (or deny you do). 🤢

After all that's said and done, Sesshomaru leaving Rin in the village with Kaede is to me the strongest indicator more than pretty much anything else he's done for Rin that proves he is her adoptive father. It's so funny to me how you somehow see the exact opposite though. 🤔 What I think is happening is that you got yourself on some squeaky clean ass shipper goggles fresh out of your little echo chamber. Because I hate to tell you, but what you're fantasizing is what you want to see and not what's actually there on screen or was written into the story. I'm strictly talking about Inuyasha and the manga of course. [For the TL; DR version skip to the last paragraph.]

Parents looking after their kids is what parents are supposed to do. A good parent will do anything to keep their child safe and ensure they are cared for, so what he did for her by leaving her there was in her best interests clearly. Besides, as a babysitter, you more than most people should understand that parents aren't always able to be there for their kids so sometimes others gotta step in to help. Haven't you heard of the saying, "it takes a village to raise a child?" Which in Rin's case is literally true! 😂 Sometimes kids are even sent off to stay with grandparents and that's who raises them instead. Or maybe they have to temporarily live with an aunt or uncle because their single parent's job requires they work out of town 4-5 days of the week so they're hardly home. But that doesn't mean that the parents care or love their kids any less, and it's foolish to assume that Sesshomaru must have thought very little of Rin simply due to the fact that he made the decision to leave her in the village. Come on, y'all are acting like he abandoned her there!!

It's just given the circumstances Sesshomaru finally came to learn that Rin traveling with him was no longer safe. I also like to think it's because he wished for her to live a more normal life and to learn how to fully trust humans again. Plus, continuing to travel with him as young as she was would have proven dangerous and unwise. Now for you to know all this and still manage to turn his past actions towards her while she was just a child into a romantic gesture is what boggles my mind. Regardless of how you look at it, from my perspective or your own, Sesshomaru is in the wrong. Either he's a father figure who impregnates his daughter at the young age of approximately 14. OR he's this man she used to travel with who maybe isn't a father to her but who nonetheless basically rapes her since kids her age can't consent to sex with an adult. Idk about you but it sounds to me like nobody here wins with either scenario we're given. In other words, you should be just as mad as we are. If only one side didn't choose to forsake their morals they know we both have in common for the sake of a ship. Welp. 🤷‍♀️

I agree, incest is disgusting but that's not the only problem we have with this pairing. A romantic bond forming between Sesshomaru and Rin would also constitute as grooming.

You realize that over the years he visited her in the village that he brought her gifts too and essentially watched her grow up right before his very eyes, right? I mean, I know you do, but I really shouldn't have to explain further why pursuing a romantic/sexual relationship with each other is plain and simple wrong. And before you say it's not because he didn't have any malintent, please understand that considering their history and power dynamic up to then that yes this is still considered grooming even if Rin supposedly "wanted it" or "made the first move." Whether you consider him her father or not, as the adult who took on a role resembling that of a caretaker in her early life- a critical developmental time for a child- Sesshomaru is obligated to turn down any advances by Rin and most definitely should not initiate any himself. As the first close adult figure she's had in her life since her parents died, it's unfathomable to imagine how Sesshomaru could go through with taking advantage of this young girl who was under his care and supervision since they met. To think he could be capable of betraying that trust sickens me to the core.

This. Now THIS is how a parent/guardian or a similar adult caretaker (babysitter, teacher, etc.) talks to a child. And, in turn, this is how some young children talk to adults. You'd be insane and delusional to deny it! We see it in our everyday lives, do we not? From where else do you think our stories draw most of their inspiration? Yes, obviously these fictional universes have aspects of fantasy that don't exist in the real world, but so how then do you suppose we're able to relate to them? The reason for that being is because these stories are written by people for people, so naturally there are going to be real life aspects embedded throughout. Sure, a little escapism doesn't hurt as we don't need to take everything so seriously, but ultimately we all need to recognize that the messages in the stories we tell matter. Most stories possess a combination of both light and dark themes, but when it specifically comes to the latter we gotta be careful with how we tackle this in children's media since kids are far more impressionable.

So if at the center of a story we have two of the main protagonists whose mom is basically their same age and to top it off she knew their dad when she was just a girl and who just so happened to help raise her, wouldn't you say that's beyond fucked up or at the very least so fucking weird? Like why would we think it's even remotely okay for our children to watch this garbage?? Really think about it. Try and be objective for once and think about how it would sound explaining this storyline to an outsider who's never watched IY or HNY. Well, antis have tried this before many times and we always get the same reaction: Ewww!

Like I said earlier, if you wanna ship it then fine, but 1) please stop seeking our approval or trying to change our minds - your ship wish came true didn't it, so why do you need us to validate it? 2) even though it's not canon, respect that we don't support this sequel portraying pedophilia in a positive light. It's harmful af to not only allow but glorify the continuation of sexualized images of young girls everywhere. And I shouldn't have to say this, but just because this trope is popular as you say does not make it right. Lolicon themes in the media have been an issue forever and it needs to stop. Yes, even some people in Japan or "the East" would agree. Shocker!

We're pissed off and rightfully so because Yashahime's TV rating is 14, not to mention it airs at the prime time kids in Japan watch TV after getting home from school. That's Towa and Setsuna's age, true, but if Rin being the mom when she's like only a year older than them (please don't argue w/ me about the math- antis have so far been right every time with it) is straight-up disgusting and not something we should be supporting or endorsing. Rin's a whole ass child!! Please don't start with the "but times were different then so her having kids at 15 is acceptable" argument either, because we've already debunked that and every other single excuse you guys throw at us. Besides, how or why would you expect young viewers to know these historical "facts" anyway, especially if as you suggest fiction doesn't affect reality so what does it matter? Yet here we are, arguing over a fictional show in real life almost a year and a half into the "Sesshomaru fucks?" sequel being announced. My ass, your ass, hell all our asses fiction doesn't affect reality!

Look, I do apologize if the tone of this blog came off as snippy or condescending at times. I do not wish you any ill will, it's just I'm not really sure what you expected to get out of all this besides maybe getting on my nerves perhaps. haha A lot of you shippers have been desperately scrambling to interact with us, lurking in our tags, jumping onto our posts screaming canon and getting so defensive even though you sought us out first. We've been sticking to our tags, so how about you stay in your lane too. By the way since we're on the topic, have you seen Twitter or Reddit?! SR shippers there are the actual worst and many Inuyasha fans (not just antis) have complained of not feeling welcomed to engage in fandom spaces anymore. Shippers swarm them and scare them off simply because fans don't like your ship and refuse to accept it. It's pathetic, really. No one should ever be bullied or harassed just because they don't like something you might. We're all fans of Inuyasha, aren't we? So let's act like it. Yashahime on the other hand, you guys are welcome to that pungent heap of trash. Fans have a right to criticize it too, but if you like it then good for you, so keep on liking it and don't mind us.

I'm almost done, but real quick back to Jaken! Let's not forget about how the official Yashahime website- which came out after my blog, mind you- described Jaken. This translation isn't the best one available but it's the only version a fellow anti friend could track down. They do recall a better one done by a native Japanese speaker who was also an anti, and that member confirmed that Jaken is indeed called Rin's babysitter. So you see, I was right in my interpretation. In the original post I did compare Jaken to a brother, but after talking to others (some comments can be found under said post) I did acknowledge that he's more of a reluctant babysitter who's not related. And if he's not at least a brother to Rin, then he's definitely not her father.

At the end of the day, the creator Rumiko Takahashi has the final word. Which is guess what? Hogosha. 💖 Probably should've just started out with that and saved us all the trouble, huh? Good day/night to you.

Papamaru bids you adieu now. 🤞

[forsworned]

[♥] academyau!substitute teacher {renguko kyojuro x reader}

Genre: Slight Fluff, Comedy

Categories: F/M

Relationships: Kyoujuro Renguko/Reader, Giyuu Tomioka/Reader

word count: 2,538

a/n: this is a pretty long read, so read at your own risk of boredom. i guess it could also b classified as a "x giyuu" but the title is just way too long and kind of throws the main focus off. might turn this into multiple parts so let me know what y'all think! also this is just a filler for the requests i have rn i don't want to leave you guys hanging

❀⊱┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄⊰❀

"I literally don't know shit about history."

Giyu sighed in exasperation. "You don't need to know anything about history [first name]. The teacher already has a lesson plan and you literally just need to pass out the papers. I just need you to cover for a couple of a days because one of the teachers are out sick."

You groaned as you threw your head back in annoyance, pushing your feet up against the edge of your desk. Even though it didn't look it Giyu was practically begging you to substitute for one of his coworkers. And he almost never asks for favors.

Giyu ran a hand through his hair. "He's super picky with his subs and everyone he's had come in hasn't come back."

"So you're saying that I'm a good pick." You mused, with your head in your hands with an annoying smug look.

"Don't push it."

You scrunched your face in disgust. "I just really, really don't want to Giyu. Middle school kids are the absolute worst. All they do is make moaning noises and forget or neglect to wear deodarant."

Giyu lightly chuckled. Your eyes darted to watch his usually solemn demeanor melted away into a small smile which immediately disappeared when you caught wind of it.

He cleared his throat and continued to speak like nothing happened.

"Anyway, so you'll do it?"

You rolled your eyes.

"Yeah, whatever. I'll do it."

Giyu looked pleased with himself when he heard your answer.

"I mean after all, I do owe you like a million and one favors." You sarcastically mused.

Which you kind of did. Giyu was your childhood best friend and always kept your out trouble in the nick of time. Whether it was you getting chased down by the neighborhood cat, or when you got gum stuck in your hair and you didn't want your parents to find out so he quickly snipped it out of your hair with everything seemingly in place like nothing happened. Yeah you could say you were a bit of troublemaker growing up, but Giyu was like the older brother that always looked after you.

"I'm so glad you realized." He replied cooly. "Be here by 7:30AM. Don't be late, I already have enough on my plate and I don't need you embarassing me."

You used your hand to shoo him out of your office space. "Mhm, you can leave now."

"I'm serious."

"Yup."

He squinted his eyes at you."[first name]"

"Ok! I got it. I'll be there 7:30 sharp." You exclaimed throwing your arms up in surrender.

He smirked in satisfaction. "Good."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The morning air was crisp as the sun shone down on your blurred eyes. You absolutely dreaded waking up in the morning and despite that you still agreed to be here. Oh, how you hated that man.

"Good morning." A familiar voice muffled beside you.

Speak of the devil.

He was munching away at his raisin bread walking next to you in the most nonchalant manner. Typical Giyu.

"Shut up." You mumbled miserably.

"You know, you could be a little nicer."

Your eyes narrowed at him. Expression in full death stare mode, but Giyu was as cool as ever, and as always completely unfazed by your behavior. But before you could retaliate, middle and highschool girls were practically lining up to say good morning to Giyu, blushing like mad when he acknowledged them. You on the other hand, were getting the death stares and whispers instead.

"Must be nice to be the heart throb PE teacher." You teased, poking him with your binder.

Giyu ignored you as you walked into the building, showing you to your classroom. You ignored the stares of kids burning holes through your back as you analyzed everything. Tons of inspirational historical quotes lined the walls, pictures and signatures of past and possibly current students covered one single wall. You inspected closely trying to catch a glimpse of who the teacher you were substituting for. One person in particular caught your eye, and he was hot. With a capital H. But before you could look at the other pictures to confirm Giyu called you over.

"Miss [last name], can you come up to the front and introduce yourself."

You sighed as you approached the front of the classroom and watched as the students all stood up. As their whispers got louder, you had to resist the urge to roll your eyes.

"Good morning class. I'm going to be your substitute teacher for the day as Mr.--"You glanced over at the desk and moved the plaque in your direction. "--Renguko is out sick today."

As the class bowed in respect getting their good morning greetings, some of the children could't help but show their disappointment. You noticed most of them girls.

"I'll leave them to you." Giyu stated, and then looked at the class. "And be good to your substitute. I don't want to hear anyone misbehaving."

They bowed as he exited the room and now all eyes were on you. You sighed to yourself.

I really gotta learn to say no sometimes.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

To say you were exhausted was an understatement. It’s not that you hated kids or anything, but they always just see to have so much energy and well, you didn’t. Not even a cup of coffee could save you right now. You watched as the clock above your desk ticked and felt yourself getting more and more sleepier by the moment. Your consciousness fleeting as you lie under your warm blankets.

The image of that fiery haired man popped into your head and your eyes shot open.

You totally forgot to ask Giyu about that hot guy!

You let out a loud groan, knowing that your timing was off because now he would most definitely be suspicious if you asked him tomorrow. The curiosity of knowing that man itched at your skin. You absolutely had to know who he was.

What if he was a high school student, or worse a middle school student who looked very grown.

You outwardly icked at the thought, closing your eyes and scrunching your face in disgusted.

No way. He definitely had to be an adult. Maybe even a teacher.

“The history teacher!” You exclaimed out loud, shooting your whole body up.

It had to be him. You smiled victoriously to yourself, mentally patting yourself in the back.

And you had the perfect plan set up to find out.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You had to have looked in the mirror for about three hours to make sure you looked absolutely stunning. Hair curled to frame your face perfectly, and make up subtle but very much enhancing your natural features. You rubbed your lips one more time in the mirror before smacking your hands to your face to wake yourself up. Giyu was not going to be happy.

The morning bells chimed and you were seated at the desk welcoming students as they walked in. You discreetly checked your make up in your compact mirror under the desk to make sure nothing was running and not a hair was out of place.

“Perfect.” You whispered to yourself, running a hand through your blow out. All this work for a man that probably wasn’t even a teacher here.

“Miss [last name], what are you doing here.”

You froze at the voice. Nothing could prepare you for the icy glare that Giyu shot down at you. It sent a shiver down your spine. But his glare melted right off of you as you glanced over to the man next to him. Your mystery man finally come true!

“Oh hello, Mr. Tomioka. It’s pleasure seeing you.” You smiled, standing up. You looked right over to the handsome man right next to him. His hair like rays of sunlight with eyes to match. You could barely contain your excitement. “And you must be Mr. Renguko.”

His smile as big as the sun. Scratch that. He was the sun.

Bright, beautiful and fiery. He physically made you warmer just being in his very presence. You could’ve sworn you heard simultaneous female sighs in admiration, but you were way too distracted by how utterly gorgeous he was.

“Yes, I am.” He cheerfully stated. “And you must be the substitute that was in for me yesterday.”

He took your hand in his and you could’ve sworn you melted at his touch. Finely calloused hands, indicating that he worked with his hands a lot. Not that his physique couldn’t already tell you how absolutely fit he was.

“Yes, I am. Your class was wonderful. I didn’t have any problems with them whatsoever.” You couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear. This really was the man and it took every ounce of you not to pinch yourself to see if you were awake or not.

“So are you going to tell me why exactly you’re here today.” Giyu chimed in. This time his icy glare had no effect.

“Oh yes, I thought I was still scheduled for today. I never heard anything back from Mr.Tomioka so I assumed that I would head back in.” You lied right through your teeth and Giyu could see right through it.

He narrowed his eyes at you. “And I remember emailing you last night confirming that Mr. Renguko was fully recovered and ready to work again.”

You couldn’t see it but Giyu was totally spitting out venom with every single word he spoke. It was almost terrifying, but you were way too distracted by the glow of the man that was the literal sun right beside you.

As if the smile on your face couldn’t get any bigger.

“That’s odd. I don’t remember getting an email.” You innocently put a finger to your lip, and looked upward as if you were searching your head for the memory of the email confirmation that you definitely recall getting.

Giyu’s went from you to Mr.Renguko. And then it finally clicked for him. His shoulder dropped in defeat. He did not have the strength required to dealing with your shenanigans today. He turned around heading out the classroom, raising a hand to dismissively.

“Just don’t burn the place down.”

You gave him two big thumbs up. “You got it!”

"So would you like to observe the class since you're already here?" Mr.Renguko interjected. He motioned to the empty seat right beside his desk and chair.

You beamed at him. "Only if that's okay with your class, of course."

"Oh trust me, they are more than okay with that." He grinned at the students. Most of them smiled and blushed looking away from your direction. You sat there in confusion, but before you could inquire about what he said, he shot out of his seat and grabbed the stack of papers on his desk.

"Alright, class we are going to go over your classwork from yesterday and finish the rest of chapter six."

☆彡

It seemed like forever until Mr.Renguko had settled into his seat while he let his students work together on their classwork.

"I can see why my students are such big fans of you." He mused. You looked up from your phone and saw him warmly grinning at your face. This time you didn't fight the blood rushing to the surface of your cheeks.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well," He pulled out a stack of notecards and began shuffling through them. "I always have my students write their own evaluations of my substitutes and yours were outstanding. Lots of compliments about your appearance and how you carried the class."

Evaluation? Appearance?

Your jaw went slightly aslack at his words. The only thing that left your lips: "Evaluations...?"

His grin grew. Mr.Rengoku knew that this had caught you off guard but he continued. "Yes, I like to know what substitutes are doing their job and keeping my students in line and comfortable."

You were almost speechless. "Wow, you must really care about your students."

He smiled softly this time, and fondly looked over at his students working diligently and quietly together. "Yes, I do. They're kind of like my own kids. I want the very best for them."

Just when you thought you couldn't admire him anymore that you already did. Hot and caring? It had to be too good to be true. You pointed to the best teacher of the year awards on his desk. "I guess you didn't get those just based off your looks alone then."

He visibly blushed and chuckled at you statement as he rubbed the back of his head. "Nah, I don't think so."

You raised an eyebrow at him and pointed at the wall of photos and signatures that lined his wall. "That wall definitely says otherwise."

He laughed a hearty laugh this time. "I don't really think that's the case. Like I said I just look after my students like their my own. They really are my pride and joy."

It really was incredibly hard to not let yourself melt into a puddle in his presence alone. But before you could collect your thoughts, the lunch bell rang and students filed out to their homeroom's and handing in their assignments on their way out. Most of the girls shot you dirty looks before heading out as a way of showing their contempt towards you before the smiled at Mr.Rengoku who was collecting papers at the doorway. At this point, you literally couldn't blame them. Their teacher was a total hottie and you were practically stealing him right under their noses.

As the last student handed in their assignment, Mr. Rengoku closed the door behind them and approached his desk to set aside the stack of papers. He pulled put a box of tissues, picking one out and sneezed rather loudly into it. Cheeks were now a hue of vermillion and he slighted groaned while holding his head.

"You don't look so good, Mr. Renguko." You stated worriedly.

He waved you off. "Nonsense, I'm fine. And you can drop the formalities when were not in front of students. Call me Kyojuro."

You sighed as you fumbled through your bag handing him some cold and flu pills and a packet of vitamin c. "Ok, Kyojuro. You can call me [first name], but I'm going to need you to take these for me and get on home."

He blew loudly into his tissue before tossing into the trash revealing his very red nose. "I-I'm fine, Miss [last name]-- I mean [first name]. Really, I'm ok." He stuttered as he tried to collect himself and get up. Unfortunately, he couldn't hold himself up for more than ten seconds before collapsing and luckily you were there to catch him. He seemed to have been mumbled incoherent words as he laid heavily in your arms. You sighed as you slowly laid him down on the ground and reached for your cellphone to dial the one person you knew could handle this situation the best.

"You didn't actually burn the place down did you?"

You rolled your eyes. "No, idiot. Teacher down."

"Ah, fuck."

[echo-three-one]

Whatever It Takes : RELOADED

More safe house shenanigans as the gang looks for leads.

Table of Contents

Previous Chapter : My Damsel in Distress

Delayed Flight 

John 'Soap' MacTavish

Task Force 141 - Disbanded

Safehouse 110197, Brazil

Soap haven't slept like this for quite a long time. He almost felt guilty that he's peacefully sleeping all while the world was in chaos. 

Slowly got up after noticing that Alex and Ghost were still asleep beside him, they looked like they just slept and he didn't bother waking them up for breakfast. Another scan of the room indicated that everyone else is downstairs. 

John quickly tiptoed across the room and swung the door open. On the other side of the door was France who looked focused while carrying two mugs of coffee.

"Oh! You're up!" she said in surprise as her coffee mugs wobbled. John's quick reflex immediately caught her hands and held them tight until it stabilized.

"I'm sorry I surprised you. Are you okay?" he asked worriedly, a smirk escaped his face as he noticed a faint blush from the female's cheek.

"Yeah. I brought you coffee since the hot water was almost out and you were still asleep." she stammered, not making eye contact to him. Soap looked curious, where was the woman that confidently rejected him yesterday? 

"Aww. So you are concerned!" he mused, holding her hands tight, drawing the steaming coffee mug close to him.

"Not really. I just thought that you're the last one to drink some so the kettle would finally be empty. Don't get your hopes too high, MacTavish." she gently shoved him the mug and carefully stormed off. There she was, back on her guard.

"Well, thanks for the concern." He greeted as he stepped down the stairs while sipping his coffee and met with everyone in the living room.

"Aren't we supposed to do recon for Samantha?" He asked, addressing the leaders who were casually reading a newspaper.

"Negative." Jack said, not looking at the Scottish soldier.

"We still have fuel from Nikolai's plane but we can't waste in on suspicion alone. We have to get solid intel." Price added.

"So we're like chilling here. Doing nothing." He said.

"Not exactly nothing. Ghost might have a lead anytime soon. For now, why don't you run some errands. Maxine needs some things for us here." Price replied, eyes still focused on the paper.

"John?" Maxine peeked from the kitchen and both Price and Soap turned to her.

"I meant Price." she dismissed, making Soap turn away from embarrassment.

"Can I come with them instead of making a list?" she asked, Soap could see Roach behind her eyeing on the interaction. 

"Sure. You've got three bodyguards with you. Just make sure you're always with at least one of them." he muttered. Beside him, Jack stood up and placed the paper on the table. 

"All-righty then, I'll lead you to the town just this once. Next time out, you'll be on your own. It's quite a long walk. And you lad, dress less suspicious." he pointed to Soap's camo pants. Soap actually felt scared at Alex's former CO. His very being still intimidated the Scot.

"I'll be back in a minute." he mumbled and dashed upstairs while France walked by Maxine to the door.

~

"I know Price told us to wear civilian clothing but for some reason you still have the ability to stand out and raise suspicion." France announced as the small team of four exited the safe house en route to the nearby town.

"Is it the hair?" Soap quickly placed one of Price's bucket hats and flashed a grin at the two ladies behind him. "Happy now?" he asked.

"Aside from the fact that you're wearing a t-shirt too small for your size? Yep. When did you last buy clothes for yourself?" France replied sarcastically and asked. Maxine giggled as she walked beside her sister, something she started to accept and try to recall.

"You're just finding an excuse to look at me." He muttered as he dashed to catch up with Jack, who was peacefully enjoying the walk.

"I'm amazed as to how you two act like you're not soldiers right now. How do you do it?" Jack chuckled as he rolled his eyes to Soap's direction, trying not to laugh at the Scot. If he was being honest, the hat did him a worse job. It made his head look small and unproportional to his bulky build. He turned back to France and Maxine who were silently signaling him to keep quiet.

The road was quite long and Soap finally found a small puddle of water to look at how he looked. No wonder they were giggling. He looked like a teddy bear who had a small head.

He then shyly took off his hat and glanced back at the puddle. Maybe it was time for him to buy larger clothes.

"Yeah. Guess someone has to help me pick some clothes as well." he muttered, while France paced beside him and gave him an assuring smile.

"I could always help, John." she said cheerfully and their eyes met. John slowly felt the sincerity on her smile, his heart sped and he found himself inching his face closer to her.

"The town's almost there!" Alex yelled from the distance as the two broke their gazes toward each other and quickly caught up with the two.

Awkward silence. They walked together behind Jack and Maxine who were now discussing what Jack's interests were back in the day. Not that it mattered to John, as all his mind was thinking was this pretty lady walking beside him. He wanted to graze his hand against hers, just to feel her smooth touch, he wondered if she'd let him hold her.

But he insisted, France was more of a slow but steady kind of person. She pointed it out to him multiple times and if he really wanted them to work, he had to do it the old-fashioned way. Sure the kiss was sudden, but what they had back at the Gulag was something worth waiting for and kissing her anytime now would never feel the same as the first.

Jack and Maxine quickly split off toward the market while the two of them remained by the center of the plaza. John scratched his head as he stuttered to ask her where to go.

"So… um… where to?" He asked.

"Looks like they got some cool jackets over there! You think you look good on those?" She asked excitedly.

"What do you think?" He asked shyly.

"Hmmmm.. Maybe… I'm not quite sure." She replied. John expected the classic you'd-look-better-without-any joke but she's not that kind of girl, and he's digging it.

When they say time flies by when you're having fun, John resonated with the quote. They spent most of the time laughing over clothes whose designs didn't make much sense and ended up buying most of them. Despite all the things going on around the world, John felt normal when he's with her, something he hasn't felt in quite a while. He'd even imagined that they're actually boyfriend and girlfriend whenever people around look at them. He was happy. He could get used to this.

~

It was about lunch time when they returned to the Safe house, and the scenery inside was the most unexpected thing ever.

Price was sleeping by the couch, his whole head was covered by a newspaper which had "End' times" written as the headline. Ghost and Roach were fighting over a piece of broccoli on the table while Alex sat by the stairs, wearing a shirt with a huge whale printed on it, playing with a lighter, flicking it open then closing it back as he stared at the flames.

"So that's where Smokey went." Soap muttered.

"Smokey?" France asked.

"My lighter." Soap replied confidently.

"Really?" 

"Yep." he said, popping the 'P' as he unloaded most of the supplies to the kitchen.

"What happened here?" Jack asked, taking off his jacket, completely regretting wearing it in a tropical country.

"Roach ate my broccoli!" Ghost complained.

"Ghost ate my pie!" Roach complained back as Jack sighed and placed a palm on his face.

"We had pie?" Soap asked, his eyes beamed at the table, only to be disappointed that there was none.

"Technically it's a tart and it's supposed to be for Maxine." Ghost smiled shyly eyeing at Maxine.

"Well, it didn't have her name on it so I assumed…" Ghost replied.

"You don't have to assume! You should've asked!" he yelled.

Soap was amazed at the spectrum of the team, which ranged from very righteous and courageous warriors to actual toddlers. It made him happy that he joined this little group he could call family.

~

Another day had passed and they still had no leads. But Ghost looked like he was onto something as Soap found him with Price as they discussed matters that sounded serious. He just hoped it was a lead. He's starting to worry about Alex who was constantly moping around. With nothing to work on, all he could focus on was Samantha.

"Guess you liked playing with that lighter so much." Soap leaned by the door, looking concerned at his comrade.

"Hey man. How was the market." Alex asked, his tone was nonchalant, almost lifeless.

"Well, it was busy. Jack led us there because you were asleep all morning…"

"Yeah. I couldn't go there. We shared so many memories in that town. I just can't handle it at the moment." He frowned and tossed him the lighter which Soap caught immediately.

"Thanks for this. And if you ever need someone to talk to… We're here for you, pal." Soap said awkwardly. The term pal was very American and he thought it'd be appropriate.

"Thanks, pal." Alex chuckled and stood up. 

"Let's go get dinner." Alex added, his eyes were fueled with determination. And Soap was happy that he's taking small steps to recover.

Next Chapter : Lurking in the Shadows

Notification Squad my Beloved

@beemybee @smokeywhalee @enderio @samatedeansbroccoli @ricinbach @whimsywispsblog

[pink-peony-princess]

I'll Always Be There for You

“Rise and shine Miniture Mendes,” I heard my older brother’s voice somewhere at the end of my bed.

I didn’t answer immediately, hoping that if I ignored him, he would go away. Realistically I knew I was kidding myself, and this was confirmed moments later, when I felt him sit at the end of the bed, poking my leg until I finally let out a grunt of annoyance.

“And she lives!” he cheered, as if he was commentating a grand final sports match.

“Shawn, it is seven. In the morning. On a Saturday, you better have a good reason for being in my bedroom, annoying me this early.” I warned, pulling the pillow over my head.

“Sure do,” he chimed, fighting to pull the pillow away from me. “Get up, get dressed, you have your yearly check-up today.”

The reaction was instant, and he was quick to notice it. “Don’t start Hailey, we went through this last time you had to come in,” he cautioned, and I could see from his face, that there was going to be no changing his mind.

“Shawn!” I groaned, whacking him with the pillow I had just had over my head. As much as I loved my brother, I hated him equally at times like this. He had just qualified as an attending paediatrics doctor, and was now working at the local hospital with a bunch of his friends. “I’m sixteen, can’t I look after myself?” I begged.

“Nope, last time I let you do that, you nearly ended up dying on Connor's O.R. table, because you thought that appendicitis was ‘nothing’, ” he reminded me, using air quotes for effect.

“Ahhh, don’t remind me. Fine,” I conceded. There was no point, I knew that. It wasn’t even that I really disliked the doctors or the hospital for that matter. I just really didn’t like having my brother in my medical care. I found it awkward, something which he would remind me constantly that wasn’t the case at all. Well even that was a lie, it did come in helpful sometimes.

“Be ready in twenty minutes,” he spoke, getting up, straightening his scrubs, and walking out.

Sighing, I sat up, grabbing my phone. Help! I wrote, sending it to Dave one of Shawn's friends, and a fellow doctor. I had known Shawn's friends, Dave, Brian and Connor since I was little, and considered them to be adoptive brothers.

There was a ping from my phone, as I was in the bathroom, cleaning myself up. He told you then. <3 was the response. I cursed internally, if Dave knew, then it meant that Shawn was serious. After all, most of the time Dave was the one in charge of my medical care.

Dumping my phone back on the bed, I went to the wardrobe and grabbed the most comfortable pair of track pants I could find and paired these with a crop top and a parker. I spent another few minutes faffing about in my room, trying to find ways out of this, but when I heard Shawn grabbing his coat and keys from the hallway, I made my way down stairs feeling defeated.

“I hate you,” I spoke, pushing past my brother and stepping out the from the front door. Only to hit a body, hard.

“Easy there Little Lady,” Dave spoke as he caught and steadied me. “What’s up? Those were some fighting words!” he let my arm go, stepping back to look at me.

“Don’t start D, I hate you too, you knew and you didn’t tell me!” I accused, stepping around him and heading for his car, which he and Shawn usually car-pooled to work in.

“She’s been like this since I woke her, she’s tried to get out of it more than once already,” Shawn fixed me with a stern stare, silently warning me not to cause mischief.

“You make out like I’m such a bad patient, you’re such a drama queen!” I laughed as we buckled in and made our way down the street.

“Maybe you are.” Was the only reply I got. The rest of the car ride was quiet, I couldn’t help but sulk at my predicament.

When we finally got there, I trailed behind the guys, listening to them discussing their schedules for the day. Most of which consisted of making sure that their interns and residents were doing what they should be. I couldn't help but feel a little proud of them as I thought of how far they had come.

“You ready Little Lady?” Dave's voice, pulled me from my thoughts, and it was only then that I noticed that we had made it inside to the front desk, where Amy, the receptionist, and one of my favourite people resided.

“Hi Hailey, how are you sweets?” she asked as she typed on the computer, before addressing Shawn “All good, it’s all set up for you.”

We made our way to the exam room quickly, Dave unlocking the door, and dumping his belongings on his desk and switching the computer on, no doubt so he could check my records.

“Do I have to?” I asked, eying the bed off furiously, once again frustrated at Shawn for making me do this.

“Yes, you do pretty girl, why don’t you just take a seat next to your bro for now, I’ve just got some questions for you first. Grumbling to myself, I slumped into the seat next to Shawn, resting my head on his shoulder.

“I thought you hated me?” he laughed, somewhat confused, but rubbing my scalp comfortingly anyway.

“I do,” I agreed. “But if I’m asleep, you can’t start the exam, because you must have consent to do anything,” I explained, trying to hide the smirk that was now forming at my genius conclusions.

“Touché What you failed to mention though, was that the parentals have given me autonomy over your medical care in their absence since you’re still under eighteen. So right back at you sister,” he sassed, clearly proud of himself.

“Okay, okay, it’s too early for me to have to adjudicate a fight between you two!” Dave laughed, turning to face me. “Okay, Hailey, some of these questions may be a little embarrassing, but answer honestly okay?”

I nodded, feeling apprehensive.

“Do you smoke?” he asked, pausing to look at me. I fixed him with a glare, making him laugh. “I’ll take that a no.”

I put up with the questions, most of them not as bad as I had imagined, until he asked the dreaded one. “What about your period?”

I turned to Shawn, silently fuming at him. “I had to Hailey, you’ve been struggling for months with it.”

“No! You didn’t actually, last time I checked, I was the one bleeding,not you!” I yelled, moving to get up and walk out.

“Hailey, wait honey. I know it’s awkward, but if you can tell me what’s been going on, I’ll be able to fix it,” Dave, tried to reason, waiting for me to sit back down before continuing. "Shawn said you get bad cramps?” he prompted.

“Bad, bad doesn’t even to describe it. I can’t move without feeling like I’m going to faint or be sick,” I told him honestly.

“Last night, I found her curled up in tears because of the pain, I had to get her some fairly strong stuff,” Shawn added, grabbing my hand and giving it a squeeze.

I shuddered thinking back to the previous night.

... Shawn had come home late, and came in to check on me like he always did, but instead of finding me in bed reading like normal, I was curled in a ball in my bed practically rocking as I tried to get the pain under control.

"Again?" he'd asked looking at me with pity.

I nodded, "It's so bad Shawnie," I hiccupped, tears flowing unchecked down my checks and landing in small pools on my bed.

"I'm going to get you some pain relief okay," he'd spoken, moving to brush some of the hair out if my face. "I know it hurts, but try not to get too worked up, the more upset you get, the more pain you'll be in," he explained gently, getting up and going to my bathroom. I could hear him searching through my cabinet before he asked, "What have you taken today Poppet?"

"Just Tylenol," I groaned out as another wave of pain hit me.

"Here take this." he held a blue packet out for me to take.

"What is it?" I asked, not recognising the packaging.

"It's called Napropgesic, it'll help with the pain. It'll help to block the release of some of the hormones that are making you feel so sick and sore," he explained, grabbing the water glass from beside my bed and handing it to me. "Take two," he added.

"Will you stay with me?" I asked, catching his hand as he went to leave the room.

"Of course, honey," he'd said, coming to lay next to me on the bed, allowing me to cuddle into his chest.

"Get some rest," he murmurned, kissing the top of my head.

...

“Okay, so you have it now. Is it like that every time?” Dave asked seriously bringing me back to the present,typing as he spoke.

I nodded, feeling the tears welling up, I was so over having to deal with it, I didn’t even care anymore if I had to tell them embarrassing stuff. “It’s okay Little Lady, we’ll get it sorted, how about we get the rest of the exam done, and then we can get this sorted for you okay?” Dave came to give me a quick hug.

“Hop up on the bed, yeah.” I did so, sitting waiting for him to tell me what to do.

“Right, I’m just going to listen to your heart and lungs,” he told me, after washing his hands. “Just lift your shirt a little,” he told me as he rubbed the bell of the stethoscope to warm it up. “Deep breathes,” he instructed, listening.

Turning my head, I saw Shawn watching intently, sending me a ‘thumbs up’ when he saw me looking at him. “Nothing out of the ordinary there, that’s always good,” Dave spoke, moving to take my pulse.

He was quiet again for a minute, watching the clock. “Hmm,” he finished,"Shawn come here for a second.”

Getting up, my brother made his way over, taking my pulse as Dave had only moments before. I let out a whine at the fact that I was being fussed over, causing Dave to take my hand.

"Your pulse is fast," Shawn spoke, stepping back to look at me.

"And?" I asked, looking between the two doctors.

"Well, it could be a couple of things," Dave started, going to get supplies from a cupboard above his desk. "It could indicate Anemia, which would help to explain some of the period issues, but it could be something like an infection too. And that my dear is something we don't want, especially with you having had your appendix out only a week and a half ago. Just lay back for us," he instructed.

Shawn helped me lay down, before pulling my clothing away from where my scar was on my stomach.

"Ow!" I whimpered as Dave removed the dressing, exposing a red, and somewhat oozy looking cut.

"Sorry Hailey, normally this wouldn't hurt so much, but this is infected."

"Look at that," Shawn pointed out, having gone to get gloves on himself. "That looks like she's had a reaction to the sutures."

" I'll get Connor in here after to assess it, he may want to try leaving in open for a little."

"Open?" I squeaked, shooting up from the bed.

"Hailey!" Shawn grumbled, " What have I told you? Slow movements!" He looked somewhat grumpy, but I didn't blame him. He had already had to repair the stitches once for me.

After explaining the fact that open only meant that they would pack it with medicated gauze, Dave left the room, stating he had to, "Get some supplies."

When he came back I let out a loud groan, in his hand, he was holding supplies for a blood draw. "Come on Hailey, you'll be fine," he encouraged, prepping me for it. " I'm going to let Shawn do it as he's a pro," he told me, moving to sit beside me on the bed.

"Don't look Hailey. Sharp scratch," he warned as Shawn inserted the needle. I couldn't help myself though, and found myself watching the red liquid being drawn from my arm. I could feel myself getting faint at the sight, and before I knew it, darkness hard over come me.

I woke to a light tapping sensation on my face, and someone's fingers pressed to the inside of my wrist. "Welcome back," Shawn spoke, somewhat sarcastically. "I thought we told you not to look."

"I couldn't help myself." I pouted, excepting Dave's help in sitting up.

"Just sit for a second, we don't want you fainting again," he laughed, before walking around his desk and picking up the phone.

Minutes later, the door opened and Shawn and Dave's friends and colleagues Brian and Connor came into the room.

"How's out favourite patient?" Brian asked coming over to hug me.

"You look pale," Connor noted, standing beside Shawn at the bed with a frown.

"She just fainted at the blood draw," Shawn explained, rolling his eyes playfully.

Neither one of them responded, instead sending me sympathetic smiles.

"So, Dave said you've been having sereve cramps with your period?" Brian asked, without a fuss.

I stayed silent for a second, before sighing, and nodding. I loved the guys like I loved my own brother, but there were some things I just wanted to keep private. Especially as Brian was an obgyn. " Where is the pain mostly?" He asked coming over to rest his hand on my lower back. I nodded again, causing him to press with only slight pressure. This slight pressure though, sent pain radiating throughout my whole abdominal area, and into my back, nausea hitting me like a ton of bricks.

"I'm gonna be sick!" I gasped, leaning over the pan that Shawn had rushed to grab off the shelf.

"I'm sorry Sweet Pea," Brian apologised, rubbing my back. "Well I can tell you now, that it's referred pain that's causing you all the problems. Basically, all the ligaments are attached, and as the uterus contracts, you get pain in other places. Some girls get it worse than other's though."

"And the vomiting?" I asked once I had recovered a little.

"That will be the hormones, it's not dissimilar to a pregnant woman and morning sickness," he explained. "Lots of rest, fluids, heating pads, pain killers and some ice cream should do the trick." he winked.

"And iron tablets," Dave added, coming back from the desk where he had remained since the phone call. "Your iron levels are dismal Little Lady, it's no wonder you're having such a bad time of it!"

Lastly it was Connor's turn to check on me. "Just lie down for me again darling," he spoke, getting a set of gloves on. He only had to look at the incision for about thirty seconds, before nodding. "That's infected alright. I'm actually surprised you're not getting other symptoms. When did you first notice it?" He asked as he replaced his gloves, and went to get antibacterial solution and more gauze.

"I hadn't until Dave took the dressing off, but it's really hurting now."

"We'll get it sorted for you, and get you some pain killers and antibiotics just to ward off further trouble. This is going to sting a bit honey," he warned as he dabbed the liquid onto the wound.

"Ah," I hissed, reaching for my brother's hand.

"Nearly done sis," Shawn encouraged, stroking my hair.

When Connor was done, he gave me a shot of fairly strong antibiotics and pain killers, telling Shawn to take me home and watch me closely for any signs of fever, which of course, he knew. I did try to tell them I was fine, but they shut me down before I even got a chance to finish the sentence.

" Hailey, your stitches are infected, meaning that your immune system is compromised, you're clearly in pain, let your brother do his job, and take you home," Dave interrupted seriously. I felt guilty after that, and so didn't complain when Shawn put his arm around me as we made our way back out of the hospital to get a cab home.

When we got there, he set me up on the sofa, with blankets and pain meds, telling me to give him a yell if I needed anything.

"Shawn?" I called, as he made his way upstairs to the office. "Thank you, and I'm sorry I'm a difficult patient," I told him sincerely.

"Don't mention it. I'll always be there for you, " he replied, coming back down the stairs and shifting me onto his lap. That was how I spent the remainder of the day, cuddled up to my brother, knowing that if I needed anything he would do it without question.

[pinkpeonyprincessblog]

I'll Always Be There For You

“Rise and shine Miniture Mendes,” I heard my older brother’s voice somewhere at the end of my bed.

I didn’t answer immediately, hoping that if I ignored him, he would go away. Realistically I knew I was kidding myself, and this was confirmed moments later, when I felt him sit at the end of the bed, poking my leg until I finally let out a grunt of annoyance.

“And she lives!” he cheered, as if he was commentating a grand final sports match.

“Shawn, it is seven.In the morning. On a Saturday, you better have a good reason for being in my bedroom, annoying me this early.” I warned, pulling the pillow over my head.

“Sure do,” he chimed, fighting to pull the pillow away from me. “Get up, get dressed, you have your yearly check-up today.”

The reaction was instant, and he was quick to notice it. “Don’t start Hailey, we went through this last time you had to come in,” he cautioned, and I could see from his face, that there was going to be no changing his mind.

“Shawn!” I groaned, whacking him with the pillow I had just had over my head. As much as I loved my brother, I hated him equally at times like this. He had just qualified as an attending paediatrics doctor, and was now working at the local hospital with a bunch of his friends. “I’m 18, can’t I look after myself?” I begged.

“Nope, last time I let you do that, you nearly ended up dying on Connor's O.R. table, because you thought that appendicitis was ‘nothing’,” he reminded me, using air quotes for effect.

“Ahhh, don’t remind me. Fine,” I conceded. There was no point, I knew that. It wasn’t even that I really disliked the doctors or the hospital for that matter. I just really didn’t like having my brother in my medical care. I found it awkward, something which he would remind me constantly that wasn’t the case at all. Well even that was a lie, it did come in helpful sometimes.

“Be ready in twenty minutes,” he spoke, getting up, straightening his scrubs, and walking out.

Sighing, I sat up, grabbing my phone. Help! I wrote, sending it to Dave one of Shawn's friends, and a fellow doctor. I had known Shawn's friends, Dave, Brian and Connor since I was little, and considered them to be adoptive brothers.

There was a ping from my phone, as I was in the bathroom, cleaning myself up. He told you then. <3 Was the response. I cursed internally, if Dave knew, then it meant that Shawn was serious. After all, most of the time Dave was the one in charge of my medical care.

Dumping my phone back on the bed, I went to the wardrobe and grabbed the most comfortable pair of track pants I could find and paired these with a crop top and a parker. I spent another few minutes faffing about in my room, trying to find ways out of this, but when I heard Shawn grabbing his coat and keys from the hallway, I made my way down stairs feeling defeated.

“I hate you,” I spoke, pushing past my brother and stepping out the from the front door. Only to hit a body,hard.

“Easy there Little Lady,” Dave spoke as he caught and steadied me. “What’s up? Those were some fighting words!” he let my arm go, stepping back to look at me.

“Don’t start D, I hate you too, you knew and you didn’t tell me!” I accused, stepping around him and heading for his car, which he and Shawn usually car-pooled to work in.

“She’s been like this since I woke her, she’s tried to get out of it more than once already,” Shawn fixed me with a stern stare, silently warning me not to cause mischief.

“You make out like I’m such a bad patient, you’re such a drama queen!” I laughed as we buckled in and made our way down the street.

“Maybe you are.” Was the only reply I got. The rest of the car ride was quiet, I couldn’t help but sulk at my predicament.

When we finally got there, I trailed behind the guys, listening to them discussing their schedules for the day. Most of which consisted of making sure that their interns and residents where doing what they should be. I could help but feel a little proud of them as I thought of how far they had come.

“You ready Little Lady?” Dave's voice, pulled me from my thoughts, and it was only then that I noticed that we had made it inside to the front desk, where Amy, the receptionist, and one of my favourite people resided.

“Hi Hailey, how are you sweets?” she asked as she typed on the computer, before addressing Shawn “All good, it’s all set up for you.”

We made our way to the exam room quickly, Dave unlocking the door, and dumping his belongings on his desk and switching the computer on, no doubt so he could check my records.

“Do I have to?” I asked, eying the bed off furiously, once again frustrated at Shawn for making me do this.

“Yes, you do pretty girl, why don’t you just take a seat next to your bro for now, I’ve just got some questions for you first. Grumbling to myself, I slumped into the seat next to Shawn, resting my head on his shoulder.

“I thought you hated me?” he laughed, somewhat confused, but rubbing my scalp comfortingly anyway.

“I do,” I agreed. “But if I’m asleep, you can’t start the exam, because you must have consent to do anything,” I explained, trying to hide the smirk that was now forming at my genius conclusions.

“Touché What you failed to mention though, what you failed to mention was that you need to be seen. So I'll just wait all day if I have to. So right back at you sister,” he sassed, clearly proud of himself.

“Okay, okay, it’s too early for me to have to adjudicate a fight between you two!” Dave laughed, turning to face me. “Okay, Hailey, some of these questions may be a little embarrassing, but answer honestly okay?”

I nodded, feeling apprehensive.

“Do you smoke?” he asked, pausing to look at me. I fixed him with a glare, making him laugh. “I’ll take that a no.”

I put up with the questions, most of them not as bad as I had imagined, until he asked the dreaded one. “What about your period?”

I turned to Shawn, silently fuming at him. “I had to Hailey, you’ve been struggling for months with it.”

“No! You didn’t actually, last time I checked, I was the one bleeding,not you!” I yelled, moving to get up and walk out.

“Hailey, wait honey. I know it’s awkward, but if you can tell me what’s been going on, I’ll be able to fix it,” Dave, tried to reason, waiting for me to sit back down before continuing. "Shawn said you get bad cramps?” he prompted.

“Bad, bad doesn’t even to describe it. I can’t move without feeling like I’m going to faint or be sick,” I told him honestly.

“Last night, I found her curled up in tears because of the pain, I had to get her some fairly strong stuff,” Shawn added, grabbing my hand and giving it a squeeze.

I shuddered thinking back to the previous night.

... Shawn had come home late, and came in to check on me like he always did, but instead of finishing me in bed reading like normal,I was curled in a ball in my bed practically rocking as I tried to get the pain under control.

"Again?" he'd asked looking at me with pity.

I nodded, "It's so bad Shawnie," I hiccupped,tears flowing unchecked down my checks and landing in small pools on my bed.

"I'm going to get you some pain relief okay," he'd spoken, moving to brush some of the hair out if my face."I know it hurts, but try not to get too worked up, the more upset you get, the more pain you'll be in," he explained gently, getting up and going to my bathroom. I could hear him searching through my cabinet before he ssked,"What have you taken today Poppet?"

"Just Tylenol," I groaned out as another wave of pain hit me.

"Here take this." he held a blue packet out for me to take.

"What is it?" I asked, not recognising the packaging.

"It's called Napropgesic, it'll help with the pain. It'll help to block the release of some of the hormones that are making you feel so sick and sore," he explained, grabbing the water glass from beside my bed and handing it to me. "Take two," he added.

"Will you stay with me?" I asked, catching his hand as he went to leave the room.

"Of course, honey," he'd said, coming to lay next to me on the bed, allowing me to cuddle into his chest.

"Get some rest," he murmurned, kissing the top of my head.

...

“Okay, so you have it now. Is it like that every time?” Dave asked seriously bringing me back to the present,typing as he spoke.

I nodded, feeling the tears welling up, I was so over having to deal with it, I didn’t even care anymore if I had to tell them embarrassing stuff. “It’s okay Little Lady, we’ll get it sorted, how about we get the rest of the exam done, and then we can get this sorted for you okay?” Dave came to give me a quick hug.

“Hope up on the bed, yeah.” I did so, sitting waiting for him to tell me what to do.

“Right, I’m just going to listen to your heart and lungs,” he told me, after washing his hands. “Just lift your shirt a little,” he told me as he rubbed the bell of the stethoscope to warm it up. “Deep breathes,” he instructed, listening.

Turning my head, I saw Shawn watching intently, sending me a ‘thumbs up’ when he saw me looking at him. “Nothing out of the ordinary there, that’s always good,” Dave spoke, moving to take my pulse.

He was quiet again for a minute, watching the clock. “Hmm,” he finished,"Shawn come here for a second.”

Getting up, my brother made his way over, taking my pulse as Dave had only moments before. I let out a whine at the fact that I was being fussed over, causing Dave to take my hand.

"Your pulse is fast," Shawn spoke, stepping back to look at me.

"And?" I asked, looking between the two doctors.

"Well, it could be a couple of things," Dave started, going to get supplies from a cupboard above his desk. "It could indicate Anemia, which would help to explain some of the period issues, but it could be something like an infection too. And that my dear is something we don't want, especially with you having had your appendix out only a week and a half ago. Just lay back for us," he instructed.

Shawn helped me lay down, before pulling my clothing away from where my scar was on my stomach.

"Ow!" I whimpered as Dave removed the dressing, exposing a red, and somewhat oozy looking cut.

"Sorry Hailey, normally this wouldn't hurt so much, but this is infected."

"Look at that," Shawn pointed out, having gone to get gloves on himself. "That looks like she's had a reaction to the sutures."

" I'll get Connor in here after to assess it, he may want to try leaving in open for a little."

"Open?" I squeaked, shooting up from the bed.

"Hailey!" Shawn grumbled, " What have I told you? Slow movements!" He looked somewhat grumpy, but I didn't blame him. He had already had to repair the stitches once for me.

After explaining the fact that open only meant that they would pack it with medicated gauze, Dave left the room, stating he had to, "Get some supplies."

When he came back I let out a loud groan, in his hand, he was holding supplies for a blood draw. "Come on Hailey, you'll be fine," he encouraged, prepping me for it. " I'm going to let Shawn do it as he's a pro," he told me, moving to sit beside me on the bed.

"Don't look Hailey. Sharp scratch," he warned as Shawn inserted the needle. I couldn't help myself though, and found myself watching the red liquid being drawn from my arm. I could feel myself getting faint at the sight, and before I knew it, darkness hard over come me.

I woke to a light tapping sensation on my face, and someone's fingers pressed to the inside of my wrist. "Welcome back," Shawn spoke, somewhat sarcastically. "I thought we told you not to look."

"I couldn't help myself." I pouted, excepting Dave's help in sitting up.

"Just sit for a second, we don't want you fainting again," he laughed, before walking around his desk and picking up the phone.

Minutes later, the door opened and Shawn and Dave's friends and colleagues Brian and Connor came into the room.

"How's out favourite patient?" Brian asked coming over to hug me.

"You look pale," Connor noted, standing beside Shawn at the bed with a frown.

"She just fainted at the blood draw," Shawn explained, rolling his eyes playfully.

Neither one of them responded, instead sending me sympathetic smiles.

"So, Dave said you've been having sereve cramps with your period?" Brian asked, without a fuss.

I stayed silent for a second, before sighing, and nodding. I loved the guys like I loved my own brother, but there were some things I just wanted to keep private. Especially as Brian was an obgyn. " Where is the pain mostly?" He asked coming over to rest his hand on my lower back. I nodded again, causing him to press with only slight pressure. This slight pressure though, sent pain radiating throughout my whole abdominal area, and into my back, nausea hitting me like a ton of bricks.

"I'm gonna be sick!" I gasped, leaning over the pan that Shawn had rushed to grab off the shelf.

"I'm sorry Sweet Pea," Brian apologised, rubbing my back. "Well I can tell you now, that it's referred pain that's causing you all the problems. Basically, all the ligaments are attached, and as the uterus contracts, you get pain in other places. Some girls get it worse than other's though."

"And the vomiting?" I asked once I had recovered a little.

"That will be the hormones, it's not dissimilar to a pregnant woman and morning sickness," he explained. "Lots of rest,fluids, heating pads, pain killers and some ice cream should do the trick," he winked.

"And iron tablets," Dave added, coming back from the desk where he had remained since the phone call. "Your iron levels are dismal Little Lady, it's no wonder you're having such a bad time of it!"

Lastly it was Connor's turn to check on me. "Just lie down for me again darling," he spoke, getting a set of gloves on. He only had to look at the incision for about thirty seconds, before nodding. "That's infected alright. I'm actually surprised you're not getting other symptoms. When did you first notice it?" He asked as he replaced his gloves, and went to get antibacterial solution and more gauze.

"I hadn't until Dave took the dressing off,but it's really hurting now."

"We'll get it sorted for you, and get you some pain killers and antibiotics just to ward off further trouble. This is going to sting a bit honey," he warned as he dabbed the liquid onto the wound.

"Ah," I hissed, reaching for my brother's hand.

"Nearly done sis," Shawn encouraged, stroking my hair.

When Connor was done, he gave me a shot of fairly strong antibiotics and pain killers, telling Shawn to take me home and watch me closely for any signs of fever, which of course, he knew. I did try to tell them I was fine, but they shut me down before I even got a chance to finish the sentence.

" Hailey, your stitches are infected, meaning that your immune system is compromised, you're clearly in pain, let your brother do his job, and take you home," Dave interrupted seriously. I felt guilty after that, and so didn't complain when Shawn put his arm around me as we made our way back out of the hospital to get a cab home.

When we got there, he set me up on the sofa, with blankets and pain meds, telling me to give him a yell if I needed anything.

"Shawn?" I called, as he made his,way upstairs to the office. "Thank you,and I'm sorry I'm a difficult patient," I told him sincerely.

"Don't mention it. I'll always be there for you, " he replied, coming back down the stairs and shifting me onto his lap. That was how I spent the remainder of the day, cuddled up to my brother, knowing that if I needed anything he would do it without question. "