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#ALSO we have many international firefighters here helping so thank you to them
cyllaeth · 3 years
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bad enough for you
find it on ao3
“Itʼs a good look on you.”
Itʼs Friday, lazy evening after a long, very tiring shift; theyʼre at Eddieʼs house sprawled on the couch, watching some movie played on TV. Itʼs nothing new, really. Lately, it has become kind of a tradition—because Buckʼs here almost everyday. Eddieʼs not complaining; in fact, heʼs the one who invites him to his house with a simple you coming with me? Buck agrees excitedly and they usually end up on the couch with Christopher, watching TV or playing games 
—and his excitement to spend time with Buck is priceless to see.
This evening was no exception. The only thing thatʼs different is that Christopher is already asleep in his bed and theyʼre alone in the living room. Buck stepped out of the shower like ten minutes ago and he smells like Eddieʼs favourite body wash. His hair is quite disheveled and still a little wet which made them more curly than usual. Thereʼs a nice stubble on his cheeks because Buck hasnʼt shaved for two days and Eddie wonders how this stubble would feel between his thighs. His cheeks are burning at the thought. He tries to think about something else, something other than his best friend in different positions in various states of undress. Itʼs hard, though. Not like his dick when he wakes up in the morning, covered in sweat and frustrated because of the dream heʼs had but still. Itʼs hard because Buckʼs sitting next to him and the dim lights of the lamp standing in the corner make his skin glow. Heʼs in his sweatpants and Eddieʼs old shirt (he has his own in Eddieʼs house but he just likes that particular shirt) that is a little too tight for him but it doesnʼt bother either of them. It does wonders for the blonde because it highlights his broad chest, his biceps and now itʼs a little rolled out and exposes Buckʼs skin.
“What?” Buck asks sleepily and opens his eyes. Eddie realises he said those words out loud.
“Uh... I said itʼs a good look on you. Yʼknow, the curls and the stubble.” He replies sheepishly. He didnʼt want to lie and besides, itʼs completely normal to appreciate your friendʼs good look, right?
Buck runs his hand over his hair nervously but then smiles shyly.
“Thanks.”
Itʼs only one word but itʼs filled with so much joy, Eddieʼs glad he shared his thoughts with Buck.
Eddie wants to kiss him.
 Days later, Buck shows up at the station and Eddie almost drops his phone when he sees him. His friend is already in his workʼs clothes (this navy t-shirt really brings out Buckʼs eyes) but he looks different. His hair is extremely fluffy and very curly. He also has a nice scruff—a little more visible than the other night—and it suits him. And when he notices the Texan is staring at him, he winks.
“Eddie, youʼre drooling.” Chim laughs and he pretends heʼs wiping off the drool from Eddieʼs chin. 
He should be embarrassed, horrified that Chim caught him checking Buck out. The thing is, heʼs not. He doesnʼt care if the rest of 118 noticed that too. Heʼs too happy, too giddy because apparently Buck likes this. 
“Funny thatʼs coming out from your mouth.” Eddie teases. “Youʼre the one whoʼs drooling over another Buckley.” 
“Hate to break it to you, Howie, but Eddieʼs right.” Buck laughs and goes to the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee. 
“If youʼre looking for coffee, itʼs already waiting for you on the counter, red firefighter mug.” Eddie informs him. 
“How domestic.” Chim mutters, rolling his eyes. Diaz pretends he didnʼt hear it but the tips of his ears turn red. Buck takes a sip and groans with pleasure because the coffee is exactly how he likes it. His friend knows him too well. 
“Youʼre the best, Eds.” He says and sits right next to Eddie. Theyʼre so close their shoulders and legs are touching even though thereʼs still a lot of space on the couch. 
“I know.” Eddie mutters. He enjoys their closeness, maybe even a little bit too much. He can smell Buck’s—wait, is that his favourite body wash? It definitely is. And from the smirk on Buck’s lips, it seems like his best friend knows what he’s thinking about.
He feels the heat is slowly taking over his whole body and suddenly, he’s more aware that he sits with Buck like they’re glued together. And they are in a way. It has always been like that. Personal space? Never heard of it. He just didn’t pay too much attention to it at first but over the years he discovered that Buck’s closeness, touch and smile have a huge effect on him. Sometimes it’s still hard to admit it and he tries to deny it but his traitorous body has a different opinion.
Jesus, he desperately needs to regain control over his own mind and not picture Buck sprawled on his couch again. Fire station is not the best place to fantasise about his best friend. 
“Earth do Diiiiiiiaz!” Chim waves his hands right before Eddie’s face and Eddie immediately snaps out of his thoughts.
“You were saying?” He asks and takes another sip of his coffee.
“Actually it was me.” Hen answers; there’s a very knowing, smug smile dancing on her lips and Eddie suspects this woman really can read his mind. “I was asking if you’re free this Saturday, Denny wants to meet with Christopher and I thought it’s an amazing idea. They haven’t seen each other for a while.” 
“Oh, it is a good idea. And we have nothing planned so we can definitely meet.” Eddie states and then turns to face his best friend. “Buck, you’re free too, right?”
Chim looks at him incredulously. 
“What do you need him for?”
“Buck is Christopher and Denny’s favourite and they haven’t seen him in a while too so I figured they would be happy to see him.” Eddie shrugs nonchalantly.
“Wasn’t Buck like literally yesterday at your house? Because I swear I heard you inviting him over. And I definitely saw you two getting in Eddie’s car. Just like everyday.” Chim inquires, looking suspiciously at Eddie.
“Do you keep notes on how often I go to Eddie’s house?” Buck asks, clearly amused. 
“No, but it’s hard not to notice that you basically live together. Albert claims he rarely sees you anymore. He told me that last time you didn’t even sleep in your own bed because he checked it and you didn’t come back!”
“I should’ve known that Albert would be just as nosy as you.” Buck mutters, shooting a very murderous glance at Chim.
“You and Hen have never heard of a sleepover? Never had one?” Eddie asks with a dose of sarcasm in his voice.
“Ha ha, very funny, Edmundo. We have sleepovers... Just not every night like you and Buck. Those kinds of sleepovers I have with Maddie.” Chim responses with a smirk. 
“Oh, you donʼt want to know what we do during these sleepovers.” Buck blurts out. Both Chim and Hen freeze like they didnʼt expect this kind of response. Eddie stifles a laugh because they look hilarious with almost identical expressions on their faces. Heʼs glad Buck found a witty response to shut them up because this conversation was getting more ridiculous. And it was getting harder for him not to think about inappropriate things again.
“I think we broke them.” He gathers.
“Finally.”
Buck’s grinning at him, obviously very proud of himself. He’s usually the main topic of Chim and Hen’s jokes so when the tables turned, it must have been a nice feeling.
Eddie feels the urge to kiss him again and he has to physically restrain himself from doing it. 
This is getting more ridiculous too. He needs to keep it together. Somehow. He has to. 
“Whatʼs with the weird faces?” He hears Bobbyʼs voice who just came up the stairs and looks at his coworkers with curiosity. 
“Oh, Hen and Chim just had a taste of their own medicine.” Eddie explains and points at Buck. 
“Part of me wants to ask. The other part says knowing would be more disturbing than anything I could ever imagine. So I wonʼt ask for details.” Bobby says carefully. 
 The whole shift is a nightmare. Oh, they donʼt have too many awful, difficult calls. Itʼs just a nightmare because Eddie is quite distracted.
“Wise choice, Bobby, wise choice.” Chim mutters and just shakes his head.
Itʼs all Buckʼs fault because Eddie canʼt keep his eyes off him (which is not that uncommon). Hen only rolls her eyes when she notices that he stares at his best friend again. Chim just pretends not to see this even though heʼs clearly curious and he opens his mouth from time to time as if he wants to ask but he decides not to. 
It seems like Buck knows about Eddieʼs inner conflict and he does things  to torture him.
 He definitely loses his control when theyʼre back at the station and they change their clothes. 
All of the touches, looks and smiles are nothing out of ordinary—they share it on a daily basis—but it still feels a little bit different. More intimate, more private. Itʼs just the way Buckʼs lips curl in a smile when he catches him staring and he subtly changes his position to be more seen, like he wants Eddie to have a full view. Itʼs the way Buck shoots him a quick look whenever their arms brush. Itʼs the way Buck bites his lip while looking directly at him. These are all small things, almost a details but Eddie pays attention to every one of it.
Eddie can’t help himself but glance at his best friend when he unbuttons his uniform. He’s seen him shirtless countless of times already but it’s not like he will be complaining about it.
“See something you like?” Buck asks teasingly, noticing that Eddie stares at him.  Again.
“Oh, for the love of—” Chim mutters under his breath and he definitely looks like he’s about to hit his head against the lockers but Hen pulls him away and whispers something in his ear. Then, they quickly make their way out of the changing room and Eddie’s all alone with Buck. 
This is definitely not helping with his internal crisis. He doesnʼt trust himself and he feels like heʼs just one step away from dragging Buckley to a more private place where they could release the tension that has been building up between them for years.
Hell, he could easily just come closer, push him against the lockers and—
“Cap says you two can clean up the fire truck before dinner.” Donnellyʼs voice snaps him out of his thoughts quite harshly and he feels like he was just caught red-handed. He nods at his coworker and turns his head to see Buck.
“We should be quick, I heard Bobbyʼs doing carbonara today.” He says, trying to sound as normal as he can. He hopes that his friend wonʼt notice the blush on his cheeks thatʼs definitely here. 
“Will you just kiss me or youʼre only gonna keep staring at me?” He asks, his voice teasing and amused.
“Please, when were we not quick?” Buck asks with a smile. “Letʼs just get to work.”
 Cleaning up the fire truck goes quite smoothly. Buckʼs right; they are a very good team and they always work very well, no matter if itʼs a rescue or doing more mundane things. They work in silence, solely focused on finishing the cleaning soon. Eddie really tries to keep his mind off Buck and things he wants to do with him but he fails. He glances at him discreetly—or at least he thinks itʼs discreet but after a while, Buck stops working, leans against the car and turns to face him. Thereʼs a very mischievous smile on his lips and a spark in his eyes. 
“I—” Eddie wets his lips and looks at Buck. The question catches him off guard and for a while he does nothing. Buck just waits patiently, still smiling like he knows Eddie wonʼt back out.
And Eddie doesnʼt. 
He takes a step closer until Buck is pinned against the fire truck completely and crashes their lips together. Itʼs definitely better than all of his fantasies. Buck tastes like cinnamon gum and his lips are incredibly soft, softer than heʼd ever imagined. He can feel Buckʼs hands on his belt, tugging him closer. Eddie gasps when Buck rolls his hips and they can both feel how turned on they are.
“Jesus, Buck.” He says, voice all hoarse when they break apart to catch a breath. Buck doesnʼt give him time to think because he already starts to kiss his neck. His stubble scratches a little but itʼs not a bad feeling. In fact, he even enjoys it and closes his eyes, letting Buck do whatever he wants to.
“You know, I kept thinking...” He tries to say but itʼs very hard to focus and not to moan loudly when Buck moves with his kisses near his earlobe. “I really wanted to know how your stubble would feel.”
His best friend stops and raises an eyebrow.
“Oh, really? Good thing I didnʼt shave then.” He grins and thereʼs something in the tone of his voice that Eddie picks up immediately.
“You planned this, didnʼt you? You were fucking with me today on purpose?” He asks with disbelief. 
“Hey, the fucking part is still ahead of us.” Buck corrects him, still grinning. “But yes, I was flirting with you and I did keep the look because I figured youʼre really into it. I just wanted to push you a little and convince myself that I didnʼt make up all of this.” He says, pointing out their swollen lips, flushed cheeks and their bodies tangled up together. 
“You know how hard it was for me to keep my hands off you and not to drag you to the nearest bathroom or closet and do all the things I had in my mind just because you were all cute and flirty? Youʼre a menace, Buckley, you know that?” Eddie says. He still cannot quite believe that he was just making out with his best friend, that it wasnʼt just a dream. But he wants to repeat it, though.
“You and I both know you like it anyway. Just FYI, you can drag me whenever you want and do whatever you want, Iʼm very much interested.” 
“Good.” Eddie comes closer again and before he kisses him again, he adds. “Because Iʼll definitely do it.”
They kiss again for God knows how long; itʼs like once theyʼve done it, they just canʼt stop. Eddie feels like heʼs a teenager again, all giddy and excited and definitely horny but he doesnʼt mind it. Kissing Buck definitely lands on top of the list of his favourite things to do and he suspects he will add a few more very soon. Heʼd do it even now but he still remembers—somehow—that theyʼre at work and they need to wait just a little longer. He does not remember that theyʼre not alone in the station, though, and Chimʼs voice definitely surprises him.
“Guys, where are you? If you donʼt hurry up—Oh my god.”
Chim sounds almost horrified and both Buck and Eddie look in his direction. He covered his mouth with his hand and his eyes widened when he realised what he walked into.
“Sorry, Chim, weʼll be done in a minute.” Eddie promises. He doesnʼt even care that Chim caught them kissing and neither does Buck.
“I really wanted you two to finally resolve this sexual tension but I definitely didnʼt want to witness that.” Chim scowls. “Now I need something to erase this image from my mind.”
“Consider it a repay for all your never-ending teasing.” Buck says smugly. “Just be glad it was only kissing.”
“Ew, Buckley. Next time Iʼll send Hen, I canʼt be the only one traumatised by the two of you.”
“Youʼre suspiciously sure there will be a next time.” Eddie notices. 
“Weʼve seen you dancing around each other for three years, three years of pent up sexual tension doesnʼt disappear suddenly after one making out session. I doubt youʼll be able to keep hands off each other for a long time. Do what you want to but please, give man a warning first.”
“I think we can do that.”
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techno-woman · 3 years
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WELCOME TO THE FRIEZA FORCE, MY DEAR
(FRIEZA X READER)
::The following story takes place after DragonBall Fighterz villains arc. I do not own any DBZ characters. Enjoy the story!::
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It has been over a month since you had returned to your own body after Frieza kicked you out despite you accepting his offer to join him. Honestly you didn’t have much to keep you here on earth anyway since bad luck had a habit of shooting down your spirits. It all started when you had graduated from high school; your dad suffered from a stroke and eventually succumbed to it within two months, your brother was killed in a car crash with your mother two years later, and just recently you had broken up with your boyfriend whom you’ve been dating for four years after finding out that he was cheating on you with another woman. You’ve at least managed to keep your job at a fast food restaurant thanks to your hard working attitude,however; your heart has been closed off since the breakup and you were tired of all the misery in your life so far that it wouldn’t have even mattered if you ended up robbed, murdered or worse.
Then one day you found yourself linked up with Frieza. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how much of an evil prick he was after the way he spoke to you for the first time. He was obviously not a happy camper when he noticed you were controlling his body and not him. Although you couldn’t necessarily blame him since body snatching wasn’t your cup of tea either. Frieza had openly expressed his disgust towards you many times and while his attitude may have annoyed you to no end you somehow oddly find some comfort in it. Perhaps it was because you too had days where you just had to let out your frustrations though it was all in private. You’ve powered through mentally with Frieza because the sting of your ex’s betrayal was still fresh. But working with the tyrant hasn’t been so terrible not when you had experienced his amazing power which would’ve been found in a comic book or a superhero movie. You felt invincible, untouchable almost like a god and you loved it especially the flying part.
The link you had with Frieza had become more stronger with each battle and along the way you encountered Nappa, Captain Ginyu and the Ginyu force, Cell, Goku, Vegeta, Krillin,and the rest of the z fighters. Through them you experienced each of their own unique powers and got along with most of them. Even Frieza was showing subtle signs of him warming up to you which you were grateful for. But deep down you couldn’t help but develop some attachments to the emperor of the universe himself. You weren’t sure if he had felt the same way as you when he had offered you a position in his army after you both took out Android 21 and you knew for a fact that you wouldn’t make a good soldier since part of Frieza’s requirements to joining the Frieza force included strength which you weren’t confident about despite how well you were doing with the link. But of course if it meant that you could start your life anew and leave your misfortune behind then you’d gladly take it. Then afterwards Frieza had warmly welcomed you to join his forces when Android 21 was taken down at last. You smiled at the thought of being in space looking at the stars and planets while riding in a spaceship boldly going where no human has ever gone before. Suddenly Frieza, Cell, Ginyu and Nappa immediately began charging up when their powers had returned to them, getting ready to attack Goku and the gang and before you knew it Frieza chased you out of his body so he could fight Goku without you holding him back. Devastated and heartbroken at the tyrant’s actions you took to the skies leaving Frieza to exact his revenge on his sayian nemesis.
That was the last time you saw him and you never got to tell him how you felt about him. You shook your head as you headed into work wiping away your tears deciding that you were better off without him anyway. You didn’t have much to offer to a guy like that except for your loyalty and love which you doubted that he would be capable of. Two hours in and the events of last month had already been pushed to the back of your mind as you worked hard cleaning dishes, prepping up food, and sweeping up the floor. The lights flickered faintly above and you thought to yourself that the light bulbs must be starting to give out. You were wiping down the tables when a random guy came up to you in an attempt to flirt with you but you ignored him completely.
“What time do you get off, cutie?” The man asked you.
“Sorry sir but I cannot indulge such information to someone I do not know.” You said with a customer friendly tone which surprised you internally to hear such words coming from your own mouth. Apparently you picked up some of Frieza’s elegant speech pattern while you were linked with him.
The man looked surprised in a happy way. “Fancy way of talking, eh? Then how about you let me take you somewhere fancy to eat after you get off?”
“No thank you.” You said as you started to get irritated with him. The lights above you started to flicker.
“Don’t be like that, baby. I can treat you real nice.” The guy insisted.
“Please sir, I have work to do and I am not interested. Have a nice day.” You told him as you kept your tone friendly while your temper was rising. The lights flickered faster causing several of the staff and customers to look in confusion.
“C’mon don’t tell me that a pretty face like you already has a boyfriend?” Inquired the guy.
Now it was starting to get too personal for your liking as the memories of your ex flowed into your mind like a stream of water. Anger was bubbling up as the flickering lights intensified causing everyone to become concerned and even scared. “That is no concern of yours. Now please leave me alone and have a nice day.” You clenched your teeth as you managed to say in a sweet tone while keeping a grip on your temper. You were getting ready to head back into the kitchen when you felt a hand grab your arm and pulled you back.
“What’s the matter, bitch?” The guy hissed. “You think you’re too good to have a good time with guys like me?” He smelled like he hasn’t bathed in a week and his grip on you grew tighter.
Your coworkers and a few customers saw this and attempted to get him to let you go. But the guy insisted that he was your boyfriend and that it was no one’s business.
“SHUT UP JACKASS! YOU’RE NO ONE TO ME!” You yelled angrily at him and at that same time the lights that were flickering above you exploded. Everyone in the store screamed and covered their heads as glass fell upon them. A fire broke out causing several staff members to grab fire extinguishers and put out the fire.
The customers ran out screaming in panic as you were also running out of the store. You didn’t know what was going on but you did know that this had never happened in the restaurant before. So why now? Sounds of police sirens were drawing close as was the firefighters and you just hoped that no one got hurt. Suddenly you felt arms grabbing you by the waist and you were then carried off by someone.
“Hey! Let me go!” You exclaimed. “Put me down! What do you think you’re doing!”
“It’s just us, human!” Said a familiar gruff yet friendly voice.
You turned to see none other than Captain Ginyu of the Ginyu force. “Ginyu!” You cried as you instantly gave him a hug.
“Don’t forget about us, sheila!” Jeice said happily.
“Hey Jeice, Burter, Recoome, Guldo! It’s great to see you guys again!” You grinned as you saw the rest of the Ginyu force. “But how did you know where to find me?”
Ginyu pointed to the scouter on his face. “We detected your ki with these and by the looks of it your ki skyrocketed to another level!”
You looked at him confused. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Didn’t you see what had just happened at the restaurant?” Burter asked pointing back to where your job was.
You felt your heart sink as you came to realize what they were talking about. “I did that?”
“You sure did!” Recoome said with a smile.
“But that’s never happened before. I don’t understand why it would happen now.” You said still trying to grasp the reality of the situation.
Ginyu looks at you with a sympathetic expression on his face. “Perhaps it’s because you were linked with Lord Frieza and that his ki has awakened yours.”
You looked up in surprise. “Really?”
“That’s the only explanation that I can think of. But let’s get you to Lord Frieza first.” Ginyu said taking off into the sky with the others.
“So Frieza wants to see me now after he booted me out?” You said in a sarcastic tone.
“My apologies, huma-“
“It’s Y/n.” You interrupted Ginyu.
“Y/n. Please forgive Lord Frieza. He has been humiliated twice by Goku and needed to get his revenge for it.” Ginyu said.
You huffed. “Did he succeeded?”
“All I can say is that it ended in a stalemate.”
“Figures.” You rolled your eyes.
“I don’t mean to speak out sir but is no one going to say anything about y/n here being a woman?” Guldo asked.
“Is there something wrong with that?” You asked with a small smile.
“No. Not at all. Just surprised is all.” Guldo said.
Minutes later aboard Frieza’s ship....
Frieza stood by the window as you entered with the Ginyu force leading ahead.
“Lord Frieza, we’ve brought the human with us.” Ginyu said as he bowed.
“Excellent work, Captain Ginyu.” Frieza said in a happy tone while turning slowly to face you. “It has been awhile my dear. You look so much lovelier in person.” He smiles his usual smile that you had come to recognize as his causal expression.
“You don’t seem surprised that I am a girl.” You said observering him and then noticed his tail wiggling about almost like Frieza was glad to see you in the flesh.
“I had Nappa keep a close eye on you afterwards since Saiyans can be easily passed off as humans when their tails are well hidden that is.” Frieza said as he approached you.
“Well no wonder why Nappa has been absent lately.” Guldo mumbled.
You turned your head to glare at Ginyu and the others. “Scouter my ass. You already knew where I was at, didn’t you?”
“Easy Y/n, we weren’t lying about the scouters picking up your ki level. Besides even with Nappa we aren’t familiar with the city you were living in.” Ginyu said.
Frieza cleared his throat getting your attention back onto him who was directly standing in front of you face to face. “As I was saying; I had ordered Nappa to watch over you after the Android 21 incident. When you left I sensed a slight change in your ki and made a mental note to look into it after I delt with that damned Saiyan Goku.”
“I was told that it was a stalemate.” You said.
Frieza grimaced. “It would not have been such a stalemate if Cell hadn’t tried to steal my glory for the last time.” His tail curled up much like how a fist would ball up in anger.
“Did you....kill him?” You asked.
“No, of course not. Goku’s eldest son already did him in with Maijin Buu.” Frieza said. “But enough of that. I believe we have much to discuss about your future here on the Frieza force.”
“Thanks but there’s a concern that I’d like to address with you. Namely my sudden ki rising. Captain Ginyu said that it was the result of our souls being linked together. Is it true?” You asked.
Frieza watched you before motioning for Ginyu and the others to leave the room. They did so without hesitation and now it was just you and him alone. “Indeed it is as you were told. The slight increase of your ki didn’t happen when you and I first met but after destroying Android 21 was when it changed. I have surmised that while you were linked with me your ki was being amplified by mine thus causing it to grow with each battle we’ve faced. Though it is not as strong as mine it’ll at least give you a bit of an edge to defend yourself with.”
“How long do you think it’ll last?” You asked.
Frieza closed his eyes and sighed in annoyance. “Don’t you understand what this means exactly? I’m saying this is permanent. That this newly awakened ki is what you’ll be living with from now on.”
You were dumbfounded at this. You now had powers of your own and yet you were unsure about how to handle it. Or if you could handle it. “Oh boy.” You covered your face with your hands as you rubbed your eyes with them. “This is a lot to take in.”
“For you I have no doubt that it is.” Frieza said flicking his tail casually. “Fortunately you will have plenty of time getting use to it in my army.”
“I probably might but there’s also the issue of controlling it. Before the Ginyu force picked me up I was getting upset with this one guy trying to make a pass at me and when I lost my temper the lights exploded above us.” You told him.
Frieza hummed with curiosity. “Certain emotions often trigger such power like yours. Perhaps that will be something we can work on together.” His tail then slowly wraps around your waist as he pulls your body into his. “I’m sure that you will find it most enjoyable.”
You blushed at how close you were to him and even more so when his tail pulsed. “Frieza? Just to be honest with you, I’m still upset with you for kicking me out.”
“I had a score to settle with Goku. You of all people should understand that. Especially with the amount of time that we’ve spent together sharing the same body.” Frieza said in a stern tone as he took your chin into his hand. “It’s Y/n, yes?”
You nodded.
Frieza smiled his mischievous and cruel smile. “Welcome to the Frieza force, my dear y/n.”
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jazy3 · 3 years
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Thoughts on Grey’s Anatomy: 17X15
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
Wow! A lot happened in this episode. It was billed as Jackson’s goodbye episode, but it turned out to be so much more than that. Meredith got discharged and was reunited with her kids, Tom decided to move to Boston to work for Jackson, and we got the show’s first Indigenous doctor and patient storyline! I honestly think Jackson’s farewell was really well done! While it’s true he could do the work he wants to do just as easily from Seattle everything else about his exit makes sense to me. He’s tired of sitting on the sidelines and he wants to make real change where he can.
I loved his conversation with Meredith and how he was the one to sneak her out. I loved Meredith's voice over for this episode and how it followed Jackson's actions and the flashback montage set to music. I thought it was fitting. I would have liked him to have said goodbye to Ben because they were the Plastics Posse until he left to become a firefighter but apart from that I was happy with it. The character has come such a long way during his run on the show and I feel like this episode reflected that.
The editing was really well done too. Especially the shot of him overlooking the lobby. That transition was seamless. I loved his goodbye scene with Meredith. It made me so emotional. I love that Meredith tried to lighten the mood by making a joke about how she won because she's the last one standing. That scene when she hugged the pillow after he left because she misses him and everyone else really got me. I also really liked the conversation he had with Bailey and Richard.
I'm glad he said a proper goodbye to Jo although I didn't find it super emotional. In addition to Ben, I would also like to have seen a goodbye with Maggie. I'm surprised they didn't do that. Maggie was so focused on Meredith's recovery that it's not clear if she even knows that Jackson is moving to Boston. They also could have done a big emotional scene with Catherine. On a lighter note, I am so happy that Meredith is doing better for real this time and has been discharged! I've been waiting for this since the mid-season point.
I loved the scene where she was reunited with her kids and Amelia was panicking about the state of the house and Meredith told her it was fine and that was just how she liked it. Meredith getting Jackson to sneak her out of the hospital felt very in character to me. As her voice over says Meredith isn't one for tradition or big hullabaloos which is why I think the others tried to keep it a secret. I'm not surprised that she ducked out early. While I get why the other characters wanted to do a big send off for her, I feel like they should know by now that's not her style.  
I loved the scene where Amelia and Link found out Meredith might be coming home, and they hugged and then Link said he had to go to work and Amelia started crying and then asked why he was still there. Link was so confused and then Amelia told him she’d be crying off and on like that all day to get her emotions out and that she’d be fine and he needed to go to work. That is so Amelia! But in a good way. Post-tumour and with her addiction under control even in a pandemic Amelia is now able to express her emotions in a healthy way so she doesn’t relapse or spin out of control. That is such huge growth for her. I loved the scene at the end with her and Meredith.
The smile that they share. The look between them. You could see early seasons Private Practice Amelia in that look but also mature and stable new Amelia. I loved that Amelia was all worried about the state of the house and Meredith was fine with it being a mess because as a working Mom she knows what it’s like and all she wanted was to be at home with her kids in her messy house.
At the end of the episode we find out that Tom’s near death experience with COVID has caused him to re-evaluate his life. He feels lucky to have lived to have been spared and he wants to help Jackson make real change in Boston. On the one hand I was surprised by Tom’s exit, but on the other hand I wasn’t. I love Tom and will truly miss his character, but ever since the affair came out and he and Teddy split and she started working on trying to repair her relationship with Owen, Tom hasn't had a lot to do.
I'm sad they didn't do more with him because he's such a great and complex character and I know some people had speculated they might pair him up with Mama Ortiz which could have been interesting. I'm sad we didn't get to see him say goodbye to Amelia, Link, Teddy, Catherine, or Meredith. Tom and Amelia are old friends, he trained her, he took out her brain tumour, and she rushed to the hospital when she heard he had been admitted for COVID-19.
Tom and Link seemed to be getting along as of late and Tom was ready to be a father to Teddy's baby before she got back together with Owen. He found her the perfect apartment and he built a crib for a child that wasn’t biologically his that he was so excited to meet and be a Dad to. All this after his own son died and his marriage collapsed as a result. He treated her like gold and she’s done nothing but treat him horribly for no reason. I don't think I’ll ever forgive Teddy for that.
Catherine and Tom are also old friends that go back even farther. She appointed him as Chief Medical Officer of the Fox Foundation. She told him about DeLuca’s death and took him to the Memorial. When Richard was sick, she told him she wanted him to take over the Foundation in her absence. Tom and Meredith had such an emotional scene earlier this season and he's been praying for her every day. Does she know that? Does Meredith know that Tom has been praying for her and worrying about her? I was expecting a follow up scene to that, so I hope we get one.
I found the patient storyline that Tom, Levi, and Indigenous intern James Chee had really moving. Grey's has never had an Indigenous patient or doctor on the show before and while the dialogue did feel heavy handed at times, they brought some really important issues to light and were trying to make up for lost time so that’s understandable.  
Robert I. Mesa who plays Dr. Chee is Navajo Soboba and the patients that they treat at Coast Salish whose traditional territory encompasses the province of British Columbia, Canada and the states of Washington and Oregon in the United States. It’s really great to see an Indigenous actor bring stories about Indigenous characters to life in a realistic way for the same reason that it’s important to see black, brown, Asian, latinx, and LGBTQ+ actors bring stories about characters like themselves to life. It brings authenticity and ensures sure that white straight cisgender people aren’t taking roles away from people within those communities.
When I found out through Twitter that the show had cast its first Indigenous doctor, I was very excited. I work for an Indigenous organization currently and so Indigenous representation is an issue that is very near and dear to my heart. The first thing that came to mind for me was the Coast Salish artwork you see in the background of so many scenes of the show. From the show’s earliest seasons, you can see beautiful art pieces in red, blue, and black depicting fish, birds, and other animals on the walls of the hospital and in people’s offices.
Yet it is never addressed or mentioned that that is Coast Salish artwork. In order for it to be there someone from the art department must have travelled to Seattle to buy some local artwork to put up around the hospital. While that’s great for making the hospital look authentic to the area by not mentioning its origins or the fact that Indigenous people exist for 16 seasons does all Indigenous people a disservice. Indigenous people are not stereotypes or tokens or simply makers of pretty pictures.
Every group has their own culture, artwork, language, and traditions. I’m glad that Grey’s Anatomy is finally acknowledging the existence of Indigenous Americans and the fact that Indigenous people exist and continue to exist despite repeated ruthless attempts to murder and assimilate them. This is a huge problem in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other nations. While in the last few years Indigenous issues have gotten greater coverage in Canadian media there isn’t as much media coverage of Indigenous issues in the United States.
I love that Tom and Levi treated both the pregnant woman and her grandfather with respect and dignity and didn't dismiss their concerns or mock their traditions. I love that Tom actually had some knowledge of smudging ceremonies and that he referred to Dr. Chee respectfully when needed and allowed him to perform a smudging ceremony for the grandfather. When the pregnant patient’s husband thanks them and says that in the past they haven’t had great experiences in big hospitals that is unfortunately a sad reality for many.
Like other people of people and other marginalized and oppressed groups the concerns of Indigenous patients are often not taken seriously, and they often encounter racism that leads to poorer treatment and death. When the pregnant patient talks about how their centres are under resourced and that they were sent body bags instead of medical supplies that is a real thing. The Trump Administration actually did that in the States and the Harper Government here in Canada did that during the H1N1 Epidemic.
Thankfully, here in Canada the COVID-19 Pandemic response of the Trudeau Government has been worlds better. No sending of body bags and instead medical supplies and lots of relief money has been given to Indigenous organizations like mine to help real people. Indigenous Canadians have also been given priority status for vaccinations and as a result people are alive today that would have died previously. Now that’s not to say things are perfect here. There are still so many issues that need to be addressed including police violence, discrimination within the justice system, and the rate of missing and murdered Indigenous women. But at least some progress is being made.
The fact that they wrote Tom off reminded of an old adage about Grey’s Anatomy that I heard someone talking about at the start of this season which is that if there isn’t anyone significant for a character to date and you’re not an original character your days on the show are numbered. The fact that they wrote Tom off after putting Teddy and Owen back together makes me even more sure that Meredith and Hayes are going to end up together and that their relationship will be a key plot point of Season 18.
If that wasn’t the plan, I don’t think Hayes would still be there. There have been episodes this season where he has been very prominent, episodes where he’s been completely absent, and episodes like this one where he has a few short scenes. He wouldn’t still be there hanging around in the background if the plan wasn’t to set him up with Meredith. To me the only explanation that makes sense is that they are going to put Meredith and Hayes together hopefully before Season 17 ends.
Side note, I bet all of the actors who passed on being Meredith’s love interest or backed out for a movie or tv role on a newer show probably feel real dumb right now. Grey’s is about to go into its 18th season and Richard Flood who plays Hayes is getting paid mad bank whether he’s prominently in the episode or not! Plus, he slays that role. While the path they took to get here was bumpy I’m so glad that we got Hayes as a character and we’ve gotten to see his relationship with Meredith develop.
I would have loved to see more of Hayes this episode. I was expecting a scene in which he visited Meredith and I was a bit disappointed we didn’t get that. I get that the focus of the episode was on Jackson’s departure, Meredith being discharged, and Tom’s epiphany, but it would have been nice to see that. The scenes we did get were great! I love his dry sense of humour and his comments about Jo’s terrible handwriting.
My favourite moment of the episode was hands down when Hayes came to clap out Meredith with everyone else and then Perez came out and they realized that she had snuck out early and Hayes laughed and said, "Nice one Grey, Brillant!" And then he wished everyone a good night and headed out. If Meredith isn't there, he's out. He’s not even trying to hide his feelings for Meredith anymore. It’s an open secret that he likes her and is clearly smitten. Hell, at this point I wouldn’t be surprised if the janitors have a group chat about it.
I love that he laughed about it like it was some big cosmic joke they were both in on. He knows her so well. Everyone else was confused and her sisters were worried when they didn’t hear from her, but Hayes wasn’t worried because he knew she’d snuck out the back and that someone must have helped her. Speaking of romance, I’m guessing that next season they will bring in a new Head of Plastic Surgery for Jo to date. I feel like they will have more luck finding someone than they did when they tried to hire a new love interest for Meredith over the last few years because right now work is scarce.  
Also, in the romance department Teddy and Owen are back together. I'm happy for them, but other than that I don't really have any strong feelings about it. I am happy that they seem to be good and that the fighting and long-drawn-out drama is over. I've never been a ride or die Teddy and Owen shipper, so I don't feel an emotional rush seeing them back together. I loved Tom and Teddy together so I'm sorry that ended especially since Teddy and Owen have always been such a mess.
I think that they should have spent less time fighting and more time rebuilding their friendship before getting back together. We spent the first half of the season watching them fight non-stop and Owen made it clear he wanted nothing to do with Teddy ever again. Teddy treated Tom like crap while trying to win Owen back who clearly didn’t want her. While I’m glad they have reconciled, and the drama appears to be over I wish they had spent less time on the fighting and more time on exploring Teddy’s trauma and having them rebuild their friendship if that was the route they were going to go.
We also get more details about Maggie and Winston’s wedding this episode. I posited on Twitter a few days ago that I thought Maggie might ask both her dads Bill and Richard to walk her down the aisle as she'd want to include both of them in the ceremony. I think having Bill walk her down the aisle and Richard officiate is lovely. It reminds me of when Bailey stepped up to officiate Callie and Arizona's wedding.
I’d like to see more interactions between Meredith and Winston and Meredith and Link in the future as both men have become a part of the family largely while Meredith was sick so it would be great to see them get to know each other and bond. I really loved the scene between Winston, Link, and Owen where Winston was trying to figure out if Teddy and Owen were back together and Winston and Owen were teasing Link about the Sister House. It’s nice to see them all bond. It would be even better if they would all have more scenes with Hayes and for them to bond as well. I hope to see more of that next season.
I get why Link wants to get out of the Sister House, but I think he was a bit unrealistic about the situation. Meredith just got discharged. Amelia and Maggie aren’t going to want to leave her side until she tells them she’s ready and it’s okay for them to go and take a step back. I foresee them going with a hybrid approach next season where Maggie and Winston move to his place following the wedding and Link, Amelia, and Scout move to Link's place, but they still spend time at Meredith's house frequently. I imagine after being away from her kids for so long at some point Meredith is going to want her house back and to spend time alone with her kids.
I'm interested to see Meredith talk about her time on the beach in the upcoming episodes. Richard and Bailey were struggling to figure out how to tell her about DeLuca’s death but we the audience knew that Meredith already knew he had died. When she coded previously, and Ellis Grey passed away the first words out of her mouth were about her mother being dead. But here we see something different. When Meredith wakes up this season the first words out of her mouth are about how much she and Derek love Zola. She uses the word ‘we’ so the audience knows what she’s talking about, but the characters don’t.
It appears that at least a week has passed since the previous episode possibly two and we learn that Meredith hasn’t brought up her time on the beach or her visits from the dead to anyone. I think that she’s keeping that to herself for a few reasons. She didn’t want to leave the beach and telling that to the people who just spend the past three months trying desperately to save her life would probably come across as suicidal and upsetting. The conversations between her and Derek were personal and private, and she may not be ready to share them just yet.
Her conversations with George, Lexie, and Mark were also pretty personal so she might not be ready to talk about that either. In this episode we see her tell Bailey and Richard that DeLuca is okay because he’s with his mother. The scene cuts away, so we don’t know what else she tells them. Hopefully we’ll find out next week. My guess is that the first person she’ll talk to about the beach in the following episodes will be Hayes because he will understand her desire to stay because of how he lost his wife.
He won’t see her desire to stay on the beach as suicidal or crazy because he would probably think about doing the same thing if given the opportunity. We saw Meredith be really vulnerable with Hayes when she first got sick about her fears of dying and falling asleep. They’ve talked at length about their spouses and their past relationships in a way she hasn’t with other characters. I feel like he is the perfect person to talk to about what happened on the beach because he won’t judge Meredith or take her desire to stay personally.
They’ve already established that Hayes is a supportive and understanding person who is happy to sit there and listen to Meredith talk about her experience of dating after death and past relationships and so I think he’s someone Meredith can open to about what it was like to see Derek again, what it was like to realize her ex-boyfriend was dying, what is what like to get closure with George, and gain wisdom from Lexie and Mark. I’m hoping that will happen in next week’s episode and if not in the finale.
We saw Helm having a tough time this episode. I think Helm moving in with Levi and Jo is a good idea. I think it will give Helm the support she needs and I'm glad Levi is there for her. We haven't seen Jo and Helm interact much so far, so I'm interested to see how Jo is going to feel about her moving in. Also, where is Helm going to sleep? Jo and Levi live in a one room loft where Jo sleeps in a large bed and Levi sleeps on the couch. I would have liked to have seen more scenes along the way building up to this as Levi and Helm haven't had a scene all season and now right at the end you see him trying to help her. I also really miss Parker as a character. I wish they brought him back as well as Helm.
Something I didn’t like was that they seem to be focusing on DeLuca, his death, and his absence more than they should. I get that the writers and people behind the scenes liked the actor who played him, but the character himself was pretty widely detested by the other characters for seasons 15 and 16 so having them talk about him like he was such a great guy that everyone was super close to and that they all miss feels hollow to me and kind of annoying.
DeLuca and Meredith were not that close. They weren’t friends and rarely had a scene together prior to Season 15. They stopped talking entirely after he broke up with her in Season 16 and they weren’t friends when he died. So, talking about how he would have been so happy for her and one of the first people to cheer her on is strange. Also, I felt like Jo’s comments to Carina were out of place. I get that when someone dies its customary to say nice things about them to their family and Carina is mentoring Jo and she’s grateful for that, but DeLuca was god awful to her.
They become really good friends after Alex attacked him but then they stopped being friends when she got back together with Alex. They stopped having scenes together after that until he took an interest in Meredith at which time Jo and Alex both made it abundantly clear to his face and behind his back that they disliked him, and they hated the idea of him and Meredith together. All he did was antagonize both of them during seasons 15 and 16 for absolutely no reason and then after Alex left DeLuca walked up to Jo at the Emerald City Bar touched her without her consent and attempted to kiss her and get her to sleep with him to the point that she wound up throwing a drink in his face to get him to leave her alone.
He then told the bartender she was crazy after she told him to get some help. That’s sexual assault and attempted rape and DeLuca should have gone to jail for what he did. Instead we never see it addressed, he never apologizes, and they don’t share a single together after that. My hope is that they will finally moving on from talking about DeLuca and his absence next season. It’s getting a bit ridiculous at this point and it’s time to move on.
Onto next week’s promo! We don’t get a lot of information from this one. We see Bailey talking about how she’s losing surgeons left, right, and centre and she can’t afford to lose anymore and Meredith talking about how she can’t operate if she can’t stand on her feet. She’s worried she might never get back to operating, but this is Grey’s Anatomy so we know she will. Link talks to Amelia about wanting more children which considering that Scout is only a few months old and they couldn’t wait to get out of the house full of children just last week is a terrible idea. Link finally calls Jo on the fact that she clearly wants to adopt Luna who promptly codes! Yikes!
Until next time!
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glenncoco4 · 3 years
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Doctors and Detectives Part 4
Final chapter of this mini-series! Hope you guys enjoyed it!
~~~~~~~~~~~~
She slowly starts to come to, not sure if it’s been 15 minutes or 15 hours. It’s dark that she knows, the only light in the area is coming from a semi-large fire in the corner. Her fingers find the crown of her head where she feels the stickiness of her blood trail from. Judging by how quickly she went out, the blood and the nausea that is slowly making itself known, she can without a doubt diagnose that she has at least a mild concussion along with a possible broken ulna.
Taking a deep breath, she slowly sits up as she assess the rest of her body and once satisfied she’s able, she stands up to gather her bearings. Knowing that her arm will get in the way, she begrudgingly takes off her white coat and blue scrub top, unpinning her father’s ring and slipping it into her pocket before ripping the seam of the blue top to use as a makeshift sling.
She picks up her phone, already knowing that it’s dead, and seeing as though she may be stuck here for awhile all she knows to do is look for others.
The day only gets worse as she’s maneuvering around the rubble and comes face to face with many lifeless bodies that belong to her colleagues. She has no idea how she’s going to recover from this...if she ever does.
A sudden cry draws her attention towards the blazing fire. Getting closer, the cries become louder, she’s examining all around looking for any signs when a head of curly black hair that’s covered in soot hits her line of sight.
Quickly jumping over the steel beam, the doctor races towards the little girl who is probably no more that 4 years old. Tears are falling down her little cheeks, the light of the fire illuminating her ebony colored skin, and the most heart wrenching terror in her brown orbs. “Hey, sweetie. It’s okay.”
“I want my mommy.” She whimpers, her cries dying down as Kensi’s presences calms her a little.
“Okay, we’re gonna find your mommy. Can you tell me if you hurt anywhere?”
“My leg and my tummy.”
She’s never been all that great with kids, I mean her patients sure, but outside of the hospital and her stint with DWB, she’s never really around them. But this little girl needs her right now so she can’t dwell on that. “Okay, what’s your name, baby?”
“Everly.”
“That’s a beautiful name.”
She smiles her tears all but dried up. ‘Thank you. What’s your name?”
“My name is Kensi.”
The curly haired little girl suddenly gasps, her hand flying to her mouth in shock. “That’s my bestest friend’s name.”
“No way.”
Everly nods her head but then winces as the movement causes her abdominal muscles to contract.
“Okay, Everly, is it okay if I check your tummy?”
She nods, cringing as the doctor slowly pulls up her shirt.
The brunette doesn’t even need to test the tenderness her belly to know what’s wrong. The extremely darkened skin tells her what she feared all along...internal bleeding. Their rescue is even more paramount now.  
“Am I gonna die?”
“Not if I have anything to do with it.”
Knowing that they’re in a vulnerable place, the brunette takes a scan around the rubble in search of tools to make a splint for the little girl’s leg. “Okay, sweetie, I need to splint your leg, its gonna hurt but I need you to be brave for me.”
“Okay.”
Grabbing the two pieces of wood and tearing the cloth of her top, Kensi adjusts Everly’s leg resulting in a high pitched scream of pain.  
“You are so brave. You’re doing great.”
“I want my mommy.” Tears pool in her little eyes once again unable to hide how scared she truly is now.
“I know you do, baby. I know you do.”
She doesn’t know how long they’re gonna be stuck down here so she carefully picks up the little girl and walks over to find the sturdiest place possible. The sturdiest place possible also happens to be right next to one of the bodies of her colleagues that she thankfully covered up with her coat. Sliding down against a beam, Kensi cradles Everly in her arms, hoping that help is on the way.
The doctors sees the little girl slowly starting to drift off, she has to think on her feet knowing that she needs to keep her awake. “So, how old are you?”
“Five.”
“Wow, that’s old.”
“I’m almost a grown up.”
“You are. Do you have any tattoos?”
The little girl giggles as if that’s the most absurd question. “No, silly.”
“What about a boyfriend?”
“Uh-huh, I have three.” She says matter of factly.
The brunette’s eyes widen in surprise. “3? How do you keep up with that?”
“They know their place.”
“Oh, do they?”
“Yep. What about you?”
Kensi’s mind begins to drift off as she thinks back to two days ago and how she and her love spent the entire morning curled up in bed together before heading to the beach, only to come back home and end the day the way they started it. She just really hopes it wasn’t the last. “Yeah, I have a boyfriend.”
“Just one?”
The surprise in Everly’s chocolate orbs makes the doctor laugh. “Yeah, I don’t think I could keep up with 3.”
“What’s he look like?”
The woman thinks about the best way to describe Deeks when a grin spreads to her lips. “Have you ever watched Scooby-Doo?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Well, he looks exactly like Shaggy.”
They both start to laugh, but abruptly stop  when Everly winces in pain. All Kensi can do is make her comfortable now as her mind wanders back to the man she loves, wondering where he’s at and imagining the turmoil he’s going through right now.
XXXX
“You gotta let me in there, Claire.” The blonde detective follows the chief firefighter as she continues to help those that are being brought out by rescue.
“I’m sorry, Deeks, but I can’t have any more civilians in there.” She sighs knowing exactly how he’s feeling. It wasn’t too long ago that her wife was being held hostage at the bank and he was the one telling her she couldn’t go in even as a trained medic.
“Kensi’s in there.”
“I know. A lot of people’s Kensis are in there. You gotta let us do our job so we can get them out.”
It’s then that Jake comes over, pulling him away from the thick of the action so that Claire along with the others can get back to work and hopefully bring Kensi out alive. “Come on, man. Come help us over here.”
“I can’t loose her.” He starts to break at the thought of her lifeless body mangled in the rubble.
Jake’s arms wrap around his partner, trying to give his best friend the most comfort he can right now. No doubt if Katie were in there he’d be acting the same way. “I know, buddy. I know.”
XXXX
The silence around only builds with time as it finally sets within the doctor’s mind that they may very well die in here. As the fire only continues to burn hotter and spread, its inevitable.
“Kensi?”
“Yeah?”
“Are we gonna die?”
“No. No, we’re not.” She hates giving the little girl a false sense of hope but she can’t find it in herself to tell this sweet little girl that they’re most likely going to take their last breaths in this place.
There’s a beat of silence when suddenly voices that are not their own can be heard over the cracklings of fire. “Call out. LAFD. If anyone can here me, call out.”
“Over here! We’re over here!” Tears start to flood her mismatched chocolate orbs not only because this little girl will get the medical attention she now needs but once again she’ll be able to look into his beautiful cerulean blues and tell him how much she loves him.
It’s takes about 30 minutes for the firefighters to get her and Everly out. She’s able to walk out of the rubble on her own, her hand never leaving Everly’s as she’s carried out on a backboard. Once satisfied that the curly haired girl is being taken care of and is reunited with her mother, Kensi is ushered over to an ambulance where a medic attends to her injuries.
A few minutes later the medic places the last butterfly bandage across her forehead, as she’s looking across the parking lot, suddenly locking eyes with him. His cerulean blues are full of concern.
She watches as he takes a deep breath before he starts running towards her, zigging and zagging through the crowd of people. Tears threaten to spill from her eyes as he closes the distance between them, his arms opening wide, leaving her to all but fall into his embrace. “God I love you so much.”
“I love you.”
He pulls back slightly from their embrace, cradling her head between his hands while he examines her injuries. “Are you okay?”
God how she loves this man. She’s not really sure what’s going to happen after today but as long as he’s here she knows she’ll be okay. With a small smile, she leans forward, bringing her lips to his, pouring all the love she has for him into the kiss. “I am now.”
As they relish in the feel of being wrapped up in each other’s arms, Deeks’ eyes are drawn to the figure walking up to them, curiously wondering what’s going on.
“Excuse me, Kensi?”
The brunette turns around as she sees the man approach hesitantly. “Can I help you?”
“I’m Everly’s dad.”
“How is she?”
“She’s was rushed into surgery, but the other doctor said that if it wasn’t for you she’d be dead. My little girl’s alive because of you.”
“It’s nothing really.”
“No, it’s everything.” Shaking his head, he can feel the tears build up in his eyes. “Everly told my wife how you kept her safe and wouldn’t leave her side.”
“She kept me safe just as much. You’ve got a strong  little girl in there.”
She sends him a small smile as he almost looks a little lost. “Go be with your family.”
“Thank you.”
Deeks sees that she’s about to loose it, so he takes hold of her good arm and pulls her behind the ambulance. His arms carefully find their way around her and the tension in her body slowly ebbs away, tears now falling from her eyes.
She slowly collapses against him, pulling him to the ground with her as the pain of today lets itself known. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
“I know. All I could think about was never holding you again or seeing your beautiful smile or...”
She looks up at him, reddened eyes full of curiosity. “Or what?”
Reaching into his pocket, the detective pulls out the small object that he’s been holding onto for months now. “Or give you this.”
More tears begin to fall from her eyes at the sight of the delicate diamond ring placed between his fingers.
“I know this isn’t the most romantic of settings but after today, I just can’t wait anymore...Dr. Blye, will you marry me?”
She can’t help but let out a teary-eyed laugh, as she reaches into her own pocket and pulls out the band that once belonged to her father. “Only if you marry me.”
“So is that a yes?”
She burrows her head back into his chest, nodding in confirmation.
This time its a little easier to find the joy instead of dwelling on the sadness.
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winchest09 · 4 years
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The Bunker Party - Debrief
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Hey peeps! 
Our latest bunker party was just amazing. My cheeks and my stomach still hurt from laughing...Supernatural seriously does have THEE best fandom and I’m so glad to be a part of it. 
6 and a half hours we were hanging out for…SIX AND A HALF! But to see so many beautiful faces, hear so many lovely voices and to spend time with new people was just a dream!  The support from you guys for each other, the love in this fandom; I can’t express how much I adore it.
Me and @katehuntington​ love holding these events and we are already planning the next live stream (date to be announced) but it will be in August.
So...to the debrief!
Below you will find:
Everyone who joined - their tags, what’s coming up fic wise and their masterlist.
Announcements - a juicy one this time!
Challenges to join
Blogs who want to help with your writing
Want a link breaker?
Fic & blog recs
So without further ado… *cracks fingers*
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You are the guys that make it the live stream what it is.  So below is a list of everyone who was on the chat last night accompanied by their masterlist and what they have coming up soon!  For your reading pleasure and in no particular order…
@katehuntington​: The new chapter of Ride with Me is out NOW and she is currently working on the next instalment. The Sullivan Series is now scheduled to be posted every FRIDAY so keep your eyes peeled for that and she is going to be finishing All I Want soon too! 
Her masterlist can be found HERE
@flamencodiva​: This babe is currently working on a multitude of things and we are in awe every time she tells us what she has on. She has FINISHED the epilogue of Getting Back To You. She’s working on the next part of What He Lost, What He Found as well as When You Fall. She also has Call of the Ocean and drabbles that are exclusive to her patreon! 
Check out her masterlist HERE
@talesmaniac89​:  This beaut has been working a lot on editing images lately, making aesthetics and dividers for everyone to use! Besides that, she has a new chapter of The Man in Apartment 43 coming out. The next chapter of Missing in Action as well as the next one of Lost. 
She is also working on a Benny/Dean oneshot!
She’s created a fake website called HunT and is creating a social media AU set in the universe. The whole story will be told through text messages and emails. It’s NOT one to miss!  
Check her out guys, her masterlist is HERE
@whatareyousearchingfordean​: Alex is currently writing her next two fictions! With Happiness Begins finished (previously Et Cetera) she has a sequel in the works...as well as her Firefighter Dean AU.  From what we’ve already heard…it sounds amazing! I won’t give away any plot points that we were told just yet but it’s one to be put on your watch list!
Her masterlist can be found HERE
@superfanficnatural​:  This babe is currently working on the next chapters of The Bringer of balance as well as the next chapters of The Choice! He now has a Mafia AU fic in the works and will be collaborating with Alex (whatyousearchingfordean) on “Heavy lies the crown) a Male reader fiction! 
We’re living for it!
Go and give him some love, his masterlist can be found HERE
@deanwanddamons​: This absolute sweetheart is working on a few things at the moment and I have been given a sneak peak at what her talented little mind is cooking up. The next part of Baby Spoon will be gracing your eyes soon enough as well as updates to the rest of her series...The Show Must Go On anyone? ;) 
Her masterlist can be found HERE
@emoryhemsworth​: This beaut has broken her lil hiatus and posted the sequel to Because of You. Piece by Piece is amazing and if you haven’t read it yet, i suggest you check it out. She’s also writing her first chapter of her series called “Losing Sleep” as well as a TWD crossover fic! 
Check our her masterlist HERE:
@waywardbeanie​: This absolute gem of a woman is working on her very first fanfiction called “A Man Of Letters” and it’s an absolute DIAMOND. Dean. Letters. Fluff. Smut. It’s gonna tick all them boxes and it’s a must read!
You can find her masterlist HERE
@janicho88​: This lovely lady is working on some absolute winners at the minute. We have Love on the Sidelines that’s coming up as well as the next part of Come Back To Me! 
You can find her masterlist HERE
@soaringeag1e​: This lovely lady has a lovely full masterlist of things for you to dig your teeth into! There are series, oneshots for Jensen, Dean, Jared, Sam, Misha, Castiel…her new series “Escape” is an absolute MUST READ.
You can find her masterlist HERE
@smol-and-grumpy​: Nat has such a juicy masterlist. We were thrilled sto see her in our livestream again. She has just finished Light My Fire and is posting the eye candy that is Euphoria! Also keep your eyes out for a few oneshots coming your way soon...
You can find her masterlist HERE
@jensengirl83​: Brandy is an absolute doll and we adore her. She is still relatively new to SPN fanfic but that doesn’t stop her from dominating it! She has over twenty oneshots under her belt already!  What he lost, Prom Queen, Letter To Lisa, and Return to Sender are a few you must check out! 
You can find her masterlist HERE
@alleiradayne​: She is new to our bunker party this week and we absolutely adored having her there! She has been participating in a charity auction for writers (info below) in which she has been writing a commissioned piece as well as outlining a new series which is going to be quote long apparently! But we are SO there for it. 
You can find her masterlist HERE:
@mariekoukie6661​: Marie has a quite a few things on her masterlist going from SPN to Marvel so definitely some goodies for you to feast your eyeballs on! 
You can find her masterlist HERE:
Me: The latest chapter of Life for Rent is out NOW and I’m currently working on the next one, which i’m half way through.  I’m also working on Man’s Best Friend as well as a brand NEW series which will be posted once one series is finished. I also have a couple of Dean oneshots I’m working on right now. 
My masterlist can be found HERE:
To the readers…
We want to thank you for your constant support, your feedback, your words, your reactions to what we write. Your likes, your reblogs, your asks. We appreciate every single thing you do. So thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We love you. 
Also, remember guys - we’re all here to love and support you! My inbox is always open if you want to talk about anything and everything. If you wish to start writing...give any of us a shout. We’re here to help! 
@leissa1287​ @teresa-67​ @jules-1999​  & the few nonnies we had!
Thank you for joining the chat and we hope you had an amazing time <3
Go and follow and give them some love!
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In this livestream, thanks to @alleiradayne​, we found out about a wonderful organisation called Ficfasers, an international fundraising group of authors and artists who love Supernatural. They offer thank yous to people who agree to donate to Random Acts by creating stories/art, crafts, and more for winning bidders and ticket buyers!
THIS IS AMAZING!
Unfortunately, it appears we JUST missed out on the June auction but we have been told there is another one around the holiday period!
Want to write for Charity? 
Check out their tumblr HERE
and their website HERE
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Follower achievements! 
Join me in congratulating these amazing blogs as they have surpassed or are close to a follower milestone! @waywardbeanie​ has past her first 100 followers!  
@emoryhemsworth​ is close to 750 followers!            
@talesmaniac89​ is close to 4000 (she may do a challenge...keep your eyes peeled!)   
@superfanficnatural​ has passed 450 followers! 
If you’re not following them already, head on over and show them your support! 
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Want to be the first to read new chapters of your favourite fics? 
 Some of our fabulous livestream participants have Patreon! 
For a small fee a month, you get personalised drabbles, oneshots as well as first dibs on new chapters before ANYONE else! Please consider giving them your support.
The links for each authors Patreon is below:
@smol-and-grumpy​ - Find hers HERE
@flamencodiva​ - Find hers HERE
@soaringeag1e​ - Find hers HERE
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Ooooooo we have FOUR challenges for you to get involved in! 
Firstly, the darling @flamencodiva​ is holding a celebration in regards to reaching 1700 followers!
Not only is she hosting a character take over on her blog she’s also posted a writing challenge for all us writers out there! This challenge is still ongoing!
Check it out HERE
Secondly, the wonderful @deanwanddamons​ & @impala-dreamer​ are holding a joint challenge. The “I Do Understand That Reference” Challenge.
Fancy guiding Sam, Dean or Cas through another French Mistake type event? Take a look at the movie list and get yourself signed up!
Check it out HERE
Thirdly, @smol-and-grumpy​ is holding a “Blogiversary” Challenge! It looks amazing with an array of prompts to choose from...head on over and join in!
Check it out HERE
Last, but definitely not least, @alleiradayne​ is holding a challenge in celebration of passing 1000 followers! It’s called “The Summer Shut-in” and it looks fantastic. 
Again, lost of prompts to choose from and still time to do it. What you waiting for?
Check it out HERE
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We’ve got you covered!
Need to hash out a plot with someone?
The lovely @malfoysqueen14​ has offered herself up to be a plot buddy to anyone that needs it. Stuck on a plot point, want to talk through a story line with someone? Give her a message! She’s here to help <3
Need help with research for a fiction?
The most wonderful @waywardbeanie​ has offered herself up to be a researcher for anyone who wants help with their fiction. She has been a die hard SPN fan forever and she’s like the Ellen of our live stream.
Need a researching buddy? Give her a message! She’s a doll <3
Please note: we’re all super friendly and we’re all here to help you in any way we can, we’re all here to help you! 
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Need a new aesthetic? Line divider? We got you!  Our fabulously talented @talesmaniac89​​ has drawn up so MANY supernatural themed line breakers, headers and more for your free usage!
Just look at some of these!
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She has a few posts full already! 
Check them out HERE! 
Give them a like, a reblog and please THANK HER if you use her work. She’s the most kind hearted, loving soul and a few words go a long way <3
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In our live stream, we want to highlight what we’ve been reading and the amazing authors behind the words. So below is a list of all the fics that we recommend for some good ol fic binging!
Fic Recs
Long Way Home by @supersleepygoat​ Pairing: Dean x Reader
Summary:  The Reader moves back to Sioux Falls after college to take care of the home front while Bobby travels for the summer. She is hoping for a quiet place to avoid her past and figure out her broken future. Instead, she finds new complications when she falls for her neighbour.
She also has some lovely Sammy goodness...you can check that out HERE
Business or Pleasure by @snffbeebee​ Pairing: Alex x reader/ Jensen x reader (eventual)
Summary:  Y/N is a new cast member of the Supernatural family and finds herself caught in between Business and Pleasure..It’s not always a good thing to get into but she thinks it might just be worth it!
The Woodsman by @thecleverdame​
Pairing:  Alpha!Sam x Omega!Reader
Summary: A/B/O Fairy Tale - You’re a sheltered, thirty-something princess on the run from your brother, the newly crowned ‘Mad King’ of France. When you’re waylaid by marauders and left for dead in the forest, a gruff woodsman nurses you back to health.
The Oath by @thecleverdame​​
Pairing: Dark!Alpha!Sam x Omega!Reader
Summary: After an unsuccessful escape attempt, the reader finds herself taken as a spoil of war. She ends up in the bed of a ruthless Alpha, the son of John Winchester, leader of the kingdom of Gilead. She struggles to conceal her true identity and navigate a society where being an Omega means nothing more than serving at the pleasure of powerful men.
Tic Tac Toe by @percywinchester27​​
Pairing:  Sam X Reader
Summary:  The reader shifts into a new city after being offered a dream job by a big firm. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect after an ugly break-up with a douche-bag Ex. But things turn out not as dreamy as she’d want them to be and the only thing that keeps her smiling is a totally coincidental game of Tic Tac Toe.
Doc and Sir by @crashdevlin​
Pairing: Sam x Reader
Summary: N/A 
King and Pet by @crashdevlin​
Pairing: Sam x Plus-sized!Reader
Summary: Y/n is very happy to be Dr. Winchester, happy to be Sam’s wife, but when Jack and Kaia send everyone into new universes, Doc is suddenly face-to-face with a very different ‘Sir’.
Cave Quid Optes by @crashdevlin​ Pairing: Dean x plus-sized!Reader,
Summary:  Everything is great in 2029. Everyone is happy, life is good. What could possibly go wrong?
Firefly by @jay-and-dean​ & @roonyxx​
Pairing: Future Dean x reader
Summary: 40 years in Hell, but he didn’t spend all this time all alone, he had her. Prepare to know what happened during those years Dean never talks about. To immerge yourself in Hell, only lit by the mysterious kid growing here…And to see some of your favorite villains again : Crowley, Lilith, Lucifer… And also Sammy and Jack…
Owe You One by @supernatural-jackles​
Pairing: Dean x Reader AU
Summary:  Dean Winchester has been your best friend and neighbour for the last year. A year of finding comfort in random drop ins and casual conversations, but neither of you know the pasts that the other has. Not fully. Pasts that come back to haunt you, and ruin everything you want in life. Can you find what you’re seeking in a couple of favours and a good time between the sheets or is history doomed to repeat itself?
Till Death Do Us Part? by @amanda-teaches​ Pairing: Dean x Reader Fake Engagement AU Summary:  At a work party with your best friend, Dean, you panic when your new boss asks if you’re couple. Lying to protect your promotion, you wind up fake engaged before you can take it back. When Dean agrees to go along with your lie for a weekend retreat, you end up finding something neither of you had bargained for: love.
With Wolves by @bamby0304​
Pairing:  Alpha!Dean, Alpha!Sam, Omega!Reader,
Summary:  Known as The Omen, your reputation puts fear in some of the most dangerous and deadly Alphas. So when you’re caught and sent to the worst maximum security facility unknown to man, no one expected an unclaimed Omega to walk through the gates in shackles and an orange jumpsuit. Word circulates, and before long there’s a price on your head. Who will claim the untamed Omega?
Blog Rec:
@idreamofplaid​: If you want some Sammy goodness...then this is a must follow blog! Her posts are to die for. 
@kittenofdoomage​:  Kitten has stories that just pull the reader in and gets them obsessed, completely original and fascinating stories.
@bamby0304​:  Bamby has an impeccable sense of plot and character development and she does it masterfully.
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I think that’s it!
Thank you so much once again to everyone who joined the chat, we had 6 hours of laughs and i cannot wait to do it again. I’d appreciate it if you could share this to spread the love of the fics and authors on here!
Keep an eye out for the next date for our next livestream! It will be in a couple of weeks. If you guys have any idea’s or want something included, let us know. If you want to be tagged when we announce, let us know!
See you next time!
xox
79 notes · View notes
letsperaltiago · 4 years
Text
write your story on my heart: come on and make your mark
In the safety of his mom's hoodie Mac Santiago-Peralta quickly learns that his parents are quite alright if not his favorite people in this big, scary world.
or
the skin to skin-contact oneshot no one asked for 🤔
read on ao3
“One last push! You’re doing so good, honey.”
The second his powerhouse of a wife delivers her last push, fully welcoming the newest addition to their family into the world and the safety of his auntie Roro’s hands, Jake feels his entire cosmos shift and turn upside down. It’s a transition, a feeling he thought the million hours of googling and studying parenting books had prepared him for, only now realising that there is no such thing as being prepared for this very moment.
No book, binder, higher power or even the tangled depth of some Reddit-forum he’d once found could possibly have prepared him for the immense, indescribable joy he experiences rushing through every cell of his body when he hears the first, notably loud cries of his son.
Loud cries are a good sign: it means he has strong lungs, Jake remembers.
“Jake,” he’s snapped out of his reverie by the sound of Amy’s breathy whimpers. Surely she’s more than exhausted after pushing a human out of her. “He’s-” she interrupts herself when she heaves resulting in her knocking her head back against the pillow to gain a breath, meanwhile her eyes search Jake’s face for some kind of conclusion.
The strong urge to take care of them both at the same time, his son and his wife, is tearing him in two separate directions. Although he does quickly settle on turning to Amy. He knows and trusts that his newborn is safe in Rosa and, he shudders a bit at the thought, he has to admit, the fire-fighters care when he sees said glorified EMT is checking his son’s condition.
One last time, he comes to realise this will be, he immerses himself in the feeling of being just the two of them; to have eyes only for her because soon, even though he doesn’t mind one bit, his heart will officially be shared with someone else.
“Yeah, he’s here, babe. He’s here,” he lets out in an euphoric mixture of a breath, smile and sniffle as he leans in to kiss his wife’s forehead. Beneath his touch he can feel her trembling from the adrenaline, still very much red and sweaty but oh, how she’s never been more beautiful to him, and although it’s a very close second, not even clad in white on their wedding day.
His lips stay plastered there for a few seconds but somehow feels like an eternity put into slow-motion. Yes, he knows he could be attending so many other, more useful, matters, but there’s no resisting the overwhelming pride he’s currently feeling knowing his incredible wife once again, this time more than ever, has proven to be the superhero he’s always known her to be.
“You did it,” he exclaims joyously through the cry threatening to crawl up and out of his throat once his lips slip off of her skin. From his new vantage point, having pulled back the slightest, he can tell she’s crying along to the sound of their son’s furious wails, and he can’t blame her. It’s paradoxical: somehow the most beautiful and heartbreaking sound he’s ever heard.
“You’re so incredible, Ames,” the words come spilling out of his moth hopped up on adrenaline which results in them stumbling over each other but he doesn’t care. She needs to know how amazing she is.
As intimate as an interrogation room containing their best friend and some random firefighter can be, their moment runs out the second the firefighter lets them know that their baby is perfectly healthy and gently places him stomach down, wailing at the top of his lungs, on Amy’s still heaving chest. Alongside this the two freshly baked parents stare in disbelief: they created this little and so very wanted human who’s now finally, after 9 months of pregnancy and even longer time spent wanting and trying, screaming into the soft fabric of Amy’s hoodie.  
Amy’s hand are immediately drawn in, rushing to cup the tiny being in her hands, one supporting his bottom meanwhile the other his head. It’s all so much: the soft surface of his skin, the vibration coming from his screaming, and more importantly healthy, lungs resonate against hers making everything that more and finally completely real. Every ultrasound scanning, all the fluttering kicks from inside her womb and even the contractions: this kind of real beats everything prior to this moment.  Her son is really here, in flesh and blood, resting against her chest instead of bundled up inside her womb.
“He’s amazing,” she lets out with a sob as she attempts to study Mac’s every feature.
“He sure is,” Jake is quick to chime in placing a hand on his son’s back before leaning in to kiss the tiny head tenderly, of course keeping in mind the fragility of a newborn’s skull, something all the baby books have told him about. He then looks backs to his wife and kisses her lips.
Her crying almost sabotages her ability to kiss him back, but she stables herself just enough by moving a hand to rest on her husband’s cheek and then it hits her like never before that she’s currently, right then and there, holding her entire world in her hands: Jake in one and their son in the other.
McClane Santiago-Peralta. Mac.
He’s a perfect 9 pounds and 21 inches, they’re later told at the hospital; he’s soft, pink and brand new; he’s here and he’s their son.
Caught up in what feels like her life’s biggest whirlwind of a moment, kissing her husband and holding her screaming newborn, she faintly make out Rosa and the firefighter telling them they’re going to leave them alone for a while to go meet the incoming ambulance and and actual EMTs.
Jake and Amy pull apart as the door closes and encapsulates their new little family of three in the interrogation room.
“I love you so much, Jake,” she smiles both with her lips and deep brown eyes which radiate so much joy through the tears that it makes Jake shed a tear too when he tell her “I love you too. So much.”
Their attention shifts back to Mac quietly whimpering for attention having only been partly soothed by his mother’s hold and is still very much upset with the fact he’s been thrown right into such a big, bright world without warning.
“And I love you too, my baby Mac,” she coos in addition to her declaration of love as she lets go of Jake’s face to hold her still naked, probably very hungry and cold son even closer.
Although Amy without a doubt had the birthing suite Hitchcock and Scully had built her to thank for making the birth surmountable, it wasn’t exactly destined to do what it was doing right now meaning that a lack of heat was noticeable.
“Shhh, yes, I know,” she strokes the top of his head in an attempt to comfort the whimpering bundle, “it’s all so big and scary out here, but we’ll make sure you’re okay. We got you.”
Mac’s cries have definitely quieted down, lost momentum, since first appearing in their world just minutes ago but he’s still very clearly voicing discontent and Amy can feel her brand new mom-heart bleed. She mentally turns over every page of every baby book she’s ever read furiously trying to find a solution to her son’s crying and discomfort.
“Your mom’s right, bud. No need to cry. We’re here with you,” Jake bends over the gap between him and the stretcher, down to his son’s eye level as if it’ll convince him to calm down only to comprehend that a newborn probably doesn’t care about his father’s promises. Mac is a man of actions not words.
“Jake,” Amy whimpers hit by realisation, so suddenly set on one thing and one thing only and it of course immediately gains her her husband’s full attention. “Help me put him on my chest.”
A look of confusion dawns on Jake as they share a look, Amy’s eyes pleading for him to understand.
“But Ames, that’s where he already is?”
“No, like on my actual chest. Skin to skin-contact, Jake.”
It comes out matter of factly and memories of many textbook pictures of cute, tiny babies lying against their mother’s bare chest right after birth come rushing back to Jake instantly replacing his confusion.
“Oh yes, that, right! Of course.”
She briefly pauses to think although its hard when her train of thoughts is very much controlled by the worry growing within her every time Mac lets out another loud whine or cry. At least he’s on top of something soft, she thinks in an attempt to reassure herself when looking down at him and her now very messy, gooey NYPD-hoodie and then, all out of the blue, it hits her: the messy but soft and warm NYPD-hoodie. Beneath it she’s only wearing her maternity bra (she’d started wearing them already months ago once her boobs had grown too big for her regulars once: also they were way more comfortable) so surely her idea was worth the try.
“He could probably fit into my hoodie,” she wonders or rather declares out loud. Her son needs somewhere warm and safe, so, regular procedure be damned.
“I mean,” Jake studies the features of the grey piece of clothing, “it’s quite big and if you just tug down the neck whole he could probably fit in there with you.”
So they give it a try.
While Jake momentarily takes possession of his son, immediately tearing up again at the very surreal feeling of holding life, which he’s created, for the first time, Amy unclasps and removes her soft bra. In terms of the last step she tugs open, as wide as physically possible, the neck hole of her hoodie to welcome her son. It’s not pretty nor graceful but the hoodie is indeed really big (especially now that Mac is no longer in her womb) and together they manage to carefully place him to rest against his mother’s skin and under the soft material of the hoodie, only his head, under Amy’s, emerging from the neck hole. They hold their breaths for a second, both internally begging for their invention to be enough to soothe their son completely.
Amy instantly feels better knowing she’s sharing her bodily heat with her son, and, even more rewarding is the fact that it also seems to pay off: after a few more whimpers, slowly fading into barely audible sniffles, a silence lastly settles over them.
From where he’s resting chest to chest, skin to skin, with his mother, Mac finally, for the first time in his life, seems fully content and settles for dozing off as the easiest way to handle being completely knocked out by the intensity of being born.
Jake and Amy exchange a surprised, having feared the worst outcome since today already had followed a certain chaotic discourse, but ecstatic look as all there is left to be heard is the sound of approaching ambulance sirens.
“This feels incredible,” she speaks quietly in an attempt to not disrupt her son’s newfound state of peace, checking on him once more to make sure he’s not being squished by her chin, and although this time there’s fabric creating a barrier between her palms and his skin, she allows her fingers to fall into a sweeping motion across the tiny frame.  
“It looks incredible,” Jake whispers back not believing his own eyes because the scene currently playing out in front of him sure can’t be real. It’s too good, something he years ago wouldn’t even dare to dream of, and although he doesn’t want to be that person, he wants to live in the present, Jake can’t fight the urge to grab his phone and snap a picture, just one that he can make his lock screen picture the second he has a minute to do so. For now he figures it’s enough and puts his phone back into his pocket allowing him to lean in and join his wife in caressing their son.  
“Always told you you look crazy good in hoodies,” he smirks knowingly thinking of all the times he’s told her this only to be met by disagreement and dismissive comments before pecking her temple tasting small beads of sweat, salt, on his lips.
“Even now covered in placenta?” her exhausted eyes manage to throw him a teasing look ahead of redirecting to admiring Mac’s beautiful, finally peaceful being. Jake’s eyes trail behind, staying on her with the most loving look when he utters, “especially now covered in placenta,” before following her lead and looking at Mac.
The sirens from before have faded, disappeared, letting the new parents know that the ambulance must’ve reached the precinct. Despite this fact, they forget and enjoy the quiet before the storm, their first peaceful moment as a family.
All in all Mac seems pleased with his new favorite spot on his mom’s chest. Even as she holds him a bit tighter, securing him to her chest when she’s wheeled out of the integration room by a newly arrived EMT, Jake right beside her to make sure they’re alright every step of the way, Mac doesn’t budge; even in the ambulance when one of her hands leaves his back to hold Jake’s while the sirens make an encore, Mac stays quiet.
This might not be his mother’s womb but he knows he’s home.
84 notes · View notes
seaofashes · 4 years
Text
This one goes out to @stellarstacey for the following prompt:Cyber Punk/Circus/Christopher/Heavy the head that wears the crown/Love(the emotion I'm going with)
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Eddie kept a careful hand on his son as they made their way to the seats. Christopher had been wanting to go to the circus for a while now but Eddie was always busy with work, so when he finally got a day off he thought it'd be a good way to spend it with his son. He'd heard a little bit about Cybertanisa and how impressive it was. All of the animals were completely biomechanical and from what he heard many of the performers were sporting cybernetic limbs and enhancements. Christopher seemed extremely interested in it so what the hell right? Anything to make his boy happy.
They took their seats and waited for the show to start. Christopher was telling him about the biomechanical tigers they use when Eddie caught sight of what he assumed was one of the performers. The man was beautiful, he had blonde hair and piercing blue eyes and a birthmark right above one of his eyes. He was wearing tight black pants and an equally right red and gold vest. The man walked to the center to speak to Ringmaster who nodded to him and blue eyes turned and sprinted off gracefully.
"Isn't that cool dad?" Christopher said as he leaned into his father's side. Eddie felt bad for not catching the last bit of what his son said but smiled down at him seeing how happy Chris looked. "Yeah, that is pretty cool Mijo."
Christopher held onto a little green, bioluminescent rose that he hoped to give to one of the performers after the show. Eddie thought it was sweet of his son and only hoped that he could actually be able to give it to someone.
It felt like hours before it actually started but Eddie had to admit...it was pretty cool. The tigers were quite impressive and able to withstand more heat from hoops and more dangerous tricks. Chris was mesmerized as he watched the tiger stand on it's hind legs and one of the women did a one handed handstand on it's paw before she flipped off and began to do some sort of fire dancing. Her hands were quite literally on fire and Eddie figured that was one of her enhancements. Neat.
Eddie cringed as he watched a man stick 67 swords down his throat but he was pretty impressed. There had to be some sort of cybernetic internal modification. However if it wasn't Eddie was going to be mildly horrified and also most definitely impressed with the man who's name he has already forgotten. Actually Eddie had forgotten all of the names that had been announced tonight and he felt kinda bad about it.
Eddie was listening to Christopher tell him about the twins performing on the trapeze before his breath caught in his throat as the man let go of his sister. A low collective gasp overtook the crowd and Eddie was sure just about every heart in the place stopped before she was caught by someone else swinging in. His legs woven through an aerial hoop as he grabbed her by an arm and launched her to her respective platform before he grabbed the ring and hoisted his legs from the ring as he spun.
"We are proud to introduce the best Aerial performer around, Our very own Evan Buckley!" The Ringmaster called out as Eddie kept his eyes glued to the man who moved through the air so gracefully. He seemed to be a part of the ring he wove himself in and out of dancing in sync to the music Eddie hadn't even realized was playing. He heard Christopher giggle as Eddie watched the man, Evan, hook his left leg through the ring as he swung around the tent in a wide circle.
"What's so funny bud?" Eddie asked his son quietly as he glanced at him. Christopher leaned over closer to him. "You think he's pretty don't you? You've got that look on your face and you've had your mouth open the whole time."
Eddie flushed slightly. "I do not."
"Liar liar pants on fire." Chris giggled as he leaned against his dad and watched the rest of Evans performance. At the end he stood on the ring before dropping down and holding on with his hands, Eddie catching the miniscule hesitation he had before swinging off as someone caught him and he landed safely on a platform.
Eddie couldn't really focus much on the remaining hour and barely noticed when the show has ended until he seen everyone come out and bow. Christopher handed Eddie the rose he had been holding all night so he could applaud everyone, beaming the entire time.
Eddie and Christopher waited until the place was practically deserted before making their way downstairs catching sight of the Ringmaster. "Uh, excuse me sir?"
The man stopped and turned towards them. "How can I help you folks?"
"I'm sorry to trouble you but my son here is...a huge fan of you all and was wondering if he could give this rose to a specific performer? He's been saving it for them for a while." Eddie said as he looked at the Ringmaster who took the two in and glanced around.
"Who're you looking to give it to kiddo?" The man asked Christopher who waved him closer so he could whisper in his ear. Eddie looked at him and raised a brow slightly.
The Ringmaster smiled slightly. "Well you'll find him right over there. Just keep your eyes up and you'll find him. Now you folks have a nice night, hope you enjoyed the show."
Eddie nodded as he followed his son who was looking upwards as he walked and slowed slightly. "M-Mr. Buckley?" Christopher called out quietly as he looked up at the man.
Evan was suspended about 20 feet in the air hanging upside down from his ring. One leg hooked through the ring as he tinkered on his cybernetic leg, synthetic skin hidden as he glanced down and once again Eddie's breath caught in his throat. He was even more beautiful up close. Eddie noticed that the man had eyeliner ringed around his eyes as well as green and gold eyeshadow like many of the other performers.
"Well hello there, how can I help you there buddy?" He said as he looked at Christopher.
"I was wondering if I could give you something Mr. Buckley?" Christopher asked.
Evan smiled broadly as he carefully unhooked his leg and dropped, landing gracefully near the two and walked closer. "Of course you can, and please call me Buck."
"Here you go Buck! I heard that this was your favorite type of rose and Daddy and I found some a while back." Christopher said as he took the rose from his father and held it out to Buck who's smile could rival that of the Suns. Buck crouched down.
"Well thank you, that's very sweet of you buddy. I love it." He said smiling at the young boy. "You are just the cutest kid huh?"
"Thank you I'm glad you like it." Christopher giggled before quietly adding. "You're cute too apparently, at least Daddy thinks so."
"Does he now?" Buck mused as he smirked glancing over to Eddie who was looking at him confused, wondering what his son had said just now.
"You okay with your son being introduced to Lassandra?" Buck asked as he looked at Eddie. Christopher turned to his father and pleaded. "Pllleeaasssseeeeeeeeeee Daddy!!! Can I please see the tiger?"
"Of course Mijo just...be careful okay? I'll be right here Christopher, no running off too far okay?" Eddie replied and the look on his son's face made him melt.
"Hey Chim! Do me a favor and take my new bud Christopher over there to meet Lassandra?" Buck called out as another man came over and smiled.
"Sure thing Buck, come on little man. She's one of the coolest things you'll probably ever see." Chimney said as he walked Christopher over to the pin the tiger was in. Buck walked over to Eddie and held out a hand which Eddie shook.
"So my kid tells me that you're one of the best." Eddie said as he tried not to look over the man shaking his hand.
"Heavy the head that wears the crown." Buck mumbled with a sad smile. "That title came with a heavy price."
"Most things do." Eddie said simply.
"You got a name?"
"Eddie...Eddie Diaz." Eddie answered with a small smile as he watched Christopher touch the biomechanical creature not too far away.
"Well Eddie...you're not too bad yourself." Buck said as he eyed the other man. Eddie flushed.
"I'm sorry?"
"Your kid made the comment that you thought I was cute, you're not too bad yourself Mr. Fireman." Buck said with a lopsided grin. Eddie opened his mouth but Buck spoke again.
"Your shirts not buttoned all the way, caught a glimpse of your badge number and the F.D on your chest. I don't have modded eyes. Only thing not real on me is this." He motioned to his lower left leg. "Lost the real one in a fall a few years back."
"And you're still willing to go up there?" Eddie asked, mildly impressed by the man's observation skills but not commenting on it.
"Don't see why not. Got nothing else to live for outside of this." Buck said honestly.
"You could."
"Not as easy as you think man, we're not all firefighters with a cute kid." Buck mumbled as they watched Christopher laugh as Chimney did something with Lassandra.
"You could be."
"A firefighter with a cute kid?" Buck asked raising a brow.
"Yeah. Don't see why not." Eddie stated calmly as he glanced at Buck who's blue eyes were trained on him.
"Is this your way of flirting?"
"Depends...is it working?" Eddie asked.
"Yeah. Probably only because it's me, doubt it would for anyone else." Buck said with a low laugh.
"I don't need it to work on anyone else." Eddie smiled as Buck laughed again and moved a bit closer.
"You busy tonight?" Eddie inquired as he looked into blue eyes.
"Nope, looks like I have a clear schedule for a while. I just quit my job about .2 seconds ago. Might end up spending my life with this really handsome fellow and his son though." Buck mused as he leaned in towards Eddie.
"That sounds nice." He mumbled to Buck and Eddie closed the distance between them, capturing Buck's lips gently. They broke away laughing slightly as Christopher mumbled, "Ew gross" as he walked back over to the two.
"How about we all head out and go get something to eat?" Eddie said ruffling his son's hair. Both Christopher and Buck nodded in agreement and they headed out into the night of the awaiting city.
(epilogue: Buck becomes a firefighter and marries Eddie and they love happily ever after with Christopher because it's what they deserve)
(p.s. I'm probably going to do a longer fic for ao3 on this prompt if anyone would be interested in that)
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tagsecretsanta · 4 years
Text
From Gumnut
to @scattergraph
I don’t own this, full credit to the author above
Title: We’ll be home for Christmas
Prologue: ‘Twas the week before Christmas
Author: Gumnut
8 Dec 2019
Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS
Rating: Teen
Summary: The boys can’t fly home for Christmas, so they have to find another way.
Word count: 1437 
Spoilers & warnings: language and so, so much fluff. Minor various ships, mostly background.
Timeline: Christmas Season 3, I have also kinda ignored the main storyline of Season 3. The boys needed a break, so I gave them one. Post season 3B, before Season 3C cos we haven’t seen it yet.
Author’s note: This is my 2019 TAG Secret Santa fic and it is a big one ::headdesk:: I hope you enjoy it. I know I have thoroughly enjoyed researching a gorgeous corner of this planet. 
My prompts were:
TAG Christmas pudding contest, points awarded for taste, originality and flammability.
“I don’t care if it’s Christmas…you ARE NOT bringing THAT back to the Island!”
Driving home for Christmas.
I’ll let you work out which I managed to include in this :D
Many thanks to @vegetacide and @scribbles97 for cheering me on and their wonderful support through this craziness. And to @onereyofstarlight for geeking out with me over the setting.
And as always, thank you all for creating such a fantastic fandom. Thundernerds rock! I hope you all have a wonderful festive season. Thank you all so much for everything.
Disclaimer: Mine? You’ve got to be kidding. Money? Don’t have any, don’t bother.
Looking back, it really could have happened to any of them. Hell, now it had happened once, it was even more likely it could happen to any of the rest of them, but of course it had to be Virgil and, of course, it had to happen a week before Christmas.
Fortunately, not only Gordon and Alan, but also John was aboard Thunderbird Two when her pilot folded in half with a groan. The great green behemoth responded to his touch and for a second there, the whole ship tipped sideways.
Alan lost his hard-earned sandwich, and Gordon, who had been half asleep in the co-pilot’s chair, despite the coffee he had consumed not five minutes ago, received an adrenalin spike that was well used in the next half an hour or so.
It had been a hard week. Australia was on fire. Every year the drought dried continent suffered and every year International Rescue did all it could to help. Brains had even designed some specialised equipment, deployed through Tracy Industries to help dampen the eucalypt fuel load, but the change of climate over the last hundred odd years had done its damage and the ecosystem suffered for it.
It was painful to watch.
And tiring to fight.
John had taken to coming down not only for Christmas, but for the fires. He had developed a communications network, tied into TB5, to help coordinate the fire services of the country and pin point the hot spots. At the end of the last outbreak, Gordon had been gobsmacked to find his usually reclusive brother sprawled in a chair beside the Australian Fire Defense Network chief, beer in hand, swapping stories.
It had helped that the chief was the middle of five himself and a communications specialist pushed into management. There was much commiseration.
But none of the past really foretold this little hiccup.
Later when Gordon referred to said incident as a ‘hiccup’, Virgil’s eyebrows had frowned so much, they’d physically climbed off his head and slapped Gordon around his.
Or it could have been Virgil’s hand. Gordon was too busy ducking to really identity the body parts his brother was using.
So, with three brothers aboard, Virgil had plenty of back up.
Gordon was fully awake and stabilising Two before he had even had a chance to draw in a breath. They were halfway across the Tasman Sea, finally on the way home for a well-deserved break.
“Virgil?” John was out of his seat and moving towards the pilot.
“Uh, I’m okay.” The man straightened, still in his silver firefighting suit, minus the helmet. A quick look in his brother’s direction and Gordon could see it was all a lie. Even through the soot on Virgil’s face, his brother’s complexion was pale, almost green. “Just a stitch.”
“Doesn’t look like one from here, bro.” Gordon frowned as John gently nudged Virgil back in his seat. The pilot closed his eyes and lay back, his shoulders dropping just a little. John reached over to the console and flicked a couple of switches. Virgil’s vitals sprang up in all their holographic glory.
Even Gordon could see something was seriously wrong. “You have a fever. What the hell, Virg?”
His brother stared at his stats and frowned. “Just thought I was hot.”
No surprise considering the conditions they were working in.
John sighed. “Your suit has active refrigeration, Virgil, you know that. You should be the coolest of all of us.”
If it had been a different situation, Gordon would have then started a ‘discussion’ on who exactly was the coolest or the hottest of the brothers. As it was, another groan from his engineer brother killed all conversation other than medical concern.
“What is it?” John disengaged Virgil’s seat from the dash, pulling it back and giving him access to his older brother.
“My side.” Virgil’s eyes were squeezed shut.
His lower right side.
Five minutes later and Gordon was beelining Two to the nearest hospital, which turned out to be Auckland near the northern tip of New Zealand.
Less than an hour later, Virgil had his very angry appendix removed.
Of all things.
For the past three days, it had been a mixture of firefly pod and fire exo-suit. His brother had been tossing about massive hoses, shifting huge amounts of timber, excavating firebreaks and water bombing from Two.
Apparently, all while suffering from appendicitis.
When Scott arrived on scene, he was a walking facepalm.
When Virgil woke up, it was all kind words for the first hour or so while he recovered from the anaesthetic, but after that, the tongue lashing Scott delivered was enough to strip the paint off the walls of Virgil’s hospital room.
Grandma ended up dragging the man from the room.
Everyone was quiet after that.
No one liked it when Scott got scared.
Least of all Scott.
But even Gordon had to agree that his eldest brother had a point. Appendicitis wasn’t something that didn’t come with symptoms. Virgil admitted that he had noted some pain, but he had been busy. There had been more important things.
Scott’s response to that was only suitable for mature audiences.
Gordon couldn’t help but agree after having to watch his brother writhe in pain on one of his own hover stretchers while they had been on approach to Auckland.
But it had happened when it had happened and everyone was safe, Virgil included. There were much worse scenarios available considering their occupations and the entire family was grateful it had turned out best it could.
Scott was still livid, though, likely because the man was exhausted. They were all exhausted.
Grandma eyed all of them in turn, cornering each of them in their hotel rooms. It didn’t take her more than half a day to conclude that International Rescue needed a well-earned break. Virgil’s illness made a great excuse and her meeting with Scott was short, sharp and to the point.
The Commander of International Rescue contacted the GDF not long after, advising their aunt that their organisation would not be available for the next week. Eos was tasked with redirecting emergency calls after Grandma grabbed John by the scruff of his neck and with an equally sharp word in his ear, grounded the spaceman beside his brothers.
Virgil received a few glares, but the tired man just rolled over awkwardly and went back to sleep. Apparently, he agreed with Grandma.
Always did, the big Grandma softie.
Except perhaps with her cooking, but that led Virgil to being the biggest victim in that department because despite his incapacity to lie, he would do anything for the woman.
Virgil was released from the hospital a day after his surgery and they helped him back to their hotel rooms and set him up with the holoprojector and an appropriate stash of snacks and engineering journals. Kayo even bought him a sketchbook and an array of art materials.
For two days, the brothers hung out with him or darted out to the shops for convenience’s sake. Copious amounts of takeout were consumed, a treat they were often denied on the Island. But ultimately five usually very active men got very bored very quickly.
They couldn’t go home, because Virgil wasn’t allowed to fly. His operation excluded air travel for at least seven days, which meant, to add insult to injury, they would be stuck on the mainland for Christmas Day.
Their first Christmas off in who knew how many years, and they couldn’t even share it at home.
John distracted himself by linking in with Eos and helping out with emergency calls...until Grandma discovered him and rounded on both him and Eos with the ire Scott had managed to inherit.
Both father and daughter behaved after that, Eos a little stunned at the power of the eldest Tracy.
Alan dove into his computer games and hermitized. Gordon could only swim so much, so resorted to pranking Alan, which ended up in the brawl of the century and half the penthouse draped in toilet paper.
Scott turned to Tracy Industries and began phone calls that lasted hours. Virgil sent Gordon to chase him down.
Scott quite frankly ignored him, which led to Virgil hauling himself off the couch and doing the chasing himself.
That led to a screaming match that ended with both men pale when Virgil twisted angrily and groaned as he pulled at his stitches.
The atmosphere plummeted after that and the whole penthouse floor deteriorated into a sullen gloom.
It was shaping up to be an ass of a Christmas.
Until Gordon had an idea.
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newagesispage · 4 years
Text
                                                                            JUNE    2020
PAGE RIB
FX and Ryan Murphy will bring us season 10 of American Horror Story next year. The cast includes Mac Culkin, Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson, Evan peters, Billie Lourd, Lily Rabe and Finn Wittrock. There will also be a spinoff called, wait for it, American Horror Stories. Woo Hoo!!
*****
Reno 911 is back
*****
I happen to have a clementine in my butt. –Jimmy Kimmel
*****
NASA got their dragon launch. It is unfortunate that they had to compete with the current cycle.
*****
Sam Springsteen (son of Patti and Bruce) has been sworn in as a Jersey City firefighter.
*****
Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood is great. I don’t know how to feel about the fast and the loose and the nice made up endings like Once upon a time in Hollywood.  Will this be a trend??** Another great one on Netflix is, Have a good trip.
*****
Are there biopics in the works for Michael and Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, the Bee Gees and Bowie?? That is the word.
*****
Days alert: Look for Lani to become pregnant. Eli and Justin are both thinking marriage. Claire is back which will bring Shawn and Belle back. Gabi may be kidnapped. Word is that July will have a wedding every week that will lead to a funeral.  Allie Horton is all grown up and heading back with a secret. Will she be like Mom, Sami?? Brady thinks that ruining Titan will get back at Victor. Sonny and Will may get a chance at another child. Eve may be back later in the summer. And, C’mon Xander, do something wonderful to get your woman back. Lucas may be on the way back and Orpheus is leaving. ** Judi Evans (Adrienne) had a serious horseback riding accident on May 16. She had broken ribs, a collapsed lung and 2 chipped vertebrae. The good news was in the hospital they discovered a blood clot so the whole thing saved her life.
*****
Morton Buildings is being sued by 2 women for harassment and discrimination. One incident claims an employee said, “God created women by lining up all the men and castrating the stupid ones.” Another lawsuit was filed in 2009.**Thanks for the tip, Di.
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If you expect elementary school children to endure the trauma of active shooter drills for your freedoms, you can wear a mask to Costco. –Sara Elizabeth Dill
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House republicans have sued Pelosi to block proxy voting.
*****
Seth Rogan, Steve Carell and Ben Schwartz are donating funds to bailout Minneapolis protestors after the death of George Floyd.** The country has been turned upside down as another cop kills another black man. No need to rehash, we have all seen it. I wonder if those four horrible cops are proud of what they have done to their city. Could we finally have a tipping point in this time when racism is spotlighted with our racist President? After many incidents in just the past couple of weeks and everyone on edge with coronavirus, it has boiled over. Scary Clown threatens to start shooting as Minneapolis burns down. Burn down a police station, get a cop arrested (finally)? Seems worth it to me. The way the killer looked into the camera as if he was just so proud is gonna stick with us as it should.  ** A CNN crew were arrested live on the air but released later after Jeff Zucker spoke to Gov. Walz.**  Liberate Minnesota was the Trump tweet, well, they are working on it.** I am hearing people saying in all sincerity lately that it is time for the humans to go, we are ruining each other and the planet.
*****
If you have not seen the Killer Mike speech from Atlanta, you need to check it out.** Netflix, Hulu and Paramount are taking a stand and showing support for the Black lives matter movement.
*****
John Cusack put out video of police coming at him with batons and pepper sprayed him as he protested in Chicago. More than 1000 were arrested and it continues.** In Flint, Sheriff Chris Swanson and other police put down helmets and joined the protestors. Police in Schenectady took a knee and joined the march. The behavior is spreading and look what a difference it makes, could they be starting to get it?
*****
Never thought I’d say this but in light of everything that is happening, the DNC made a big mistake in not backing Berne Sanders. –Pete Buttigieg ** Ok, first, of course he is right but you helped set this all in motion. It is a bit late for that …or is it? Biden is not the OFFICIAL nom, the deal is not done yet. Will Bernie jump back in the race?? Perhaps we will soon see BERNE FOR PRESIDENT again.
*****
American carnage was a self -fulfilling prophecy, alas. –Susan Glasser
*****
Scary Clown 45 has designated Antifa a terrorist organization. ** There is no legal authority for designating a domestic group, any such designation would raise significant concerns. –ACLU
*****
In any season, police violence is an injustice, but its harm is elevated amidst the remarkable stress people are facing amidst covid-19. Even now, there is evidence of excessive police initiated force and unwarranted shootings of civilians, some of which have been fatal. –American Medical Association.
*****
Washington Week had a great discussion about how all the ills in US history have played out in 2020. Impeachment, pandemic, depression and civil unrest are all here at once.
*****
Word is that Trevor Noah has been proven much more popular than the other late night hosts since they have been at home.
*****
I predict the picture of the upside down flag with the backdrop of the burning liquor store will be the lasting image of the Trump Presidency.
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This is the Presidency George Wallace never had. –Max Boot
*****
Spanish flu, Polio, Aids, Covid-19: Why don’t people get any smarter? The masses (and sometimes those in charge) can get it wrong over and over again. From Dr.? Phil and Dr Oz and their cavalier attitude toward death to Rosie wanting her son to take a leave of absence from the grocery store, we just do not learn. Even before that, I can’t forget the woman who wanted to change her vote after she found out Buttigieg was married to a man. Is she even a dem? Do your research people! Respect others, people!! Have compassion, stop being so selfish and use your brains!!** Puerto Rico was a pre curser to the pandemic response.
*****
Amy Cooper Chris Cooper? WTF? Another liberal who is not really liberal.
*****
Crime in general is down and police shootings are up. And yes, now the opportunists are out of control and anger is boiling over but protests against police brutality causing police brutality is WRONG!
*****
Check out the book, What makes a marriage last, from Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue.
*****
Ben Taub, Barry Blitt and Colson Whitehead have won the Pulitzer Prize.
*****
Word is that Nick Cage will play Joe Exotic of Tiger King fame. Of course he will.
*****
I refuse to wear a mask because God did not have us born with one.- Nino Vitali** How many people have you heard say, “The President isn’t wearing a mask, so I don’t have to.”
*****
It looks like Apple will partner with Paramount for Scorsese’s adaptation of Killers of the Flower Moon.
*****
Oh my: Scary Clown is having a twitter feud with twitter!  He has to, of course, lash out and now signs an executive order targeting social media. He is going on about section 230 which gives immunity to social media companies against being sued over content.  It could curb liability protection. Experts say it will only encourage lawsuits because he does not want to be edited.
*****
If Native American tribes were counted as states, the five most infected states in the US would all be native tribes. –Nicholas Kristof
*****
Did ya see that Jeff Epstein doc from James Patterson. It is lays blame in all directions. Why does it seem like all these old guys on there with all that money have such yellow teeth?
*****
Lindsey Graham is urging Federal judges in their mid to late 60’s to step down so they can fill the spots with republicans.
*****
Richard McGuire tried to live at Disney World in a zoological park that was closed down.
*****
Caterpillar, Levi, Black and Decker and others have cut jobs but gave millions to shareholders.
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Axl Rose and Steve Mnuchin had a twitter feud.
*****
China announced plans to introduce a National Security law in Hong Kong. The law enables mainland Chinese National security agencies to operate in the city for the first time. Using a rarely used constitutional method, they bypassed Hong Kong legislature. Since the former British colony became a semi-autonomous region of China more than 20 years ago, they have manages its own affairs. The law will affect media, education, politics and international business. Many acts will now be criminalized. Hong Kong is party to international treaties guaranteeing civil liberties that China is not. The U.S. is urging Bejing to reconsider. Pro- democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong were tear gassed as they yelled, “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times.”
*****
The Michael Flynn charges were dropped.
*****
Holyoke soldier’s home in Massachusetts lost 70 souls to Coronavirus. AP photographer David Goldman got a projector and cast big pictures the vets onto the homes of loved ones. Each one had a story including one vet who was sent to Nuremberg to guard Nazis. He claimed to have filled Hermann Goring’s glass with toilet water.
*****
The swimming Dinosaur, Spinosaurus has been getting a lot of attention.  The Sahara desert which was once massive rivers kept the first intact aquatic dinosaur.  With a snout, teeth and jaw like a croc, it is so far the only known kind of dinosaur that lived in the water.  The 50 foot long bizarre fin-like tail is like a giant paddle.  Paleontologists encourage others to have a look at other fossils to see if there are more.
*****
Octavia Spencer is said to have been telling everyone she is a year younger than she is. She is turning 50.
*****
The $69 million ventilator scam. Really? The White House heard from a guy who told them he could supply the product so the WH told NY to order them and stood behind the guy but it was a scam. Scary Clown sure loves his shady people, intentional or not.** A Florida woman, Rebecca Jones claims that she was asked to fudge the numbers to make reopening look better. ** Georgia moved their dates around on a graph to make their cases seem flattened. ** For 17 months, Florida investigated voter fraud for Trump and Gov. Scott. They found NOTHING!!
*****
Amazon stock price is up 25% yet they have become notorious for the terrible way they treat their workers. Bezos is set to become a trillionaire.
*****
We have to remember that order comes from chaos. True enhancements can come from large scale crisis. What will we learn from this one? This is a warning!!** Universal health care? No more buffets? ** Prices will probably go up everywhere what with the closings and all the extra cleaning. I hope this means that hotel bedspreads will be cleaned after every stay.  It looks like there may be no cocktails or food on planes.
*****
Take a virtual tour of the statue of liberty. All the fun without all the swaying.
*****
Local PBS stations are making it easier to learn. Students will be able to put on a channel for lessons that does not need cable or internet. Woo Hoo!!
*****
Insiders say that Trump threatened to sue his campaign manager because he did not agree with his assessment and the poll numbers in a 2 day rant.** Just one more example of Scary Clown double talk. Then: Less testing, less positives. Now: So much testing is a badge of honor.**Doctors without Borders are now here, not the third world countries that they usually help, it is US.
*****
Haven’t we had enough of powerful men being accused? A female Dem candidate would have been nice and Bernie did not seem to have any baggage that way either.
*****
Will the Senate see fit to ok some more stimulus $? 4 trillion to prop up Wall Street seems per the usual. Enough for them, let’s take care of those small businesses and those really in need.
*****
Thao and the get down stay down is one of the best in this internet entertainment era.
*****
Check out Stars in the House with Tony Shalhoub and others.
*****
The Detectorists on Acorn TV is a great little show!!
*****
Happy Day! There is a new season of At Home with Amy Sedaris!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*****
It looks like Pier 1 will permanently close as well as JC Penney, J Crew, Sears and Neiman Marcus.
*****
Check out the wonderful, This is about Humanity!!
*****
Have U seen the trailer for The King of Staten Island?? OMG Pete Davidson, Steve Buschemi and Marisa Tomei , just to name a few!! I can’t fucking wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*****
Bill Maher looked really high on his 5-22-20 show. This working from home makes him much more mellow!!
*****
3 Russian doctors treating coronavirus have fallen out of windows in about a weeks time.** Russia boasts that it has more ventilators per capita than the U.S. After they made fun of us, on May 22, the first shipment of U.S. ventilators headed to Russia. They are a gift from Trump and the U.S. taxpayers. –Julia Davis
*****
State Department Inspector General Steve Linick is out.  Was he investigating Pompeo?  Trump never knows anything about any of it. Why are all the protectors of the rule of law thrown out?  ** Was Pompeo throwing lavish foreign policy dinners with Reba, Dale Jr. and the owners of that horrid chicken sandwich place? ** The clean water rule has been suspended which cuts protections for most of the country’s wetlands.
*****
The market facilitation program has been helping small farmers over the last few years in a $28 billion bailout. Trump’s sanctions brought this on and the corona virus has made it worse.  Mostly the money has helped bankers and bigger farms. Much like the stimulus $ that was earmarked for small business, there are loopholes that screw up the ‘rules.’ The cap is not being followed like they may say because the $ is going to “investors” in the farm and often not the actual farmer who works on a smaller scale. A small farm run by family members may not get the bailout. It seems to be more important to get a good lawyer who can manipulate the paperwork.  Sad that taxpayer $ is used this way.
*****
Just in time, the Space Force flag and plans for the super duper missile have been unveiled. WTF??
*****
Paula Poundstone is a woman I knew I liked. She was recently talking about not liking couches. I thought I was the only one, People are always telling me how much they love their couches and I don’t get it.
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Jeff Gibbs and Michael Moore are upset after Youtube pulled their doc, Planet of the Humans. After 8.3 million views, there was a copyright claim by Toby Smith of about 4 seconds of footage.  Now , this is not the first time that Moore has had problems with content in one of his movies.  Many have claimed there is a lot of fiction in this latest venture. I think I would just remove the possible copyright infringement and move on. It can now be seen on Vimeo.
A Florida law that restricts felon voting is found unconstitutional by a federal judge.** The RNC filed a lawsuit against California to stop mailing ballots to registered voters.
*****
R.I.P. Little Richard, Roy Horn, Jerry Stiller, Sam Lloyd, Ann Sullivan, Mike Cogswell, Michael Keenan, Shirley Knight, Irrfan Khan, Hana Kimura, Forrest Compton, Jimmy Cobb, George Floyd, Ken Osmomd, all the corona victims, Lynn Shelton, Richard Herd, Larry Kramer, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Anthony James, Fred Willard and Carolyn Busch.
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saxonspud · 4 years
Text
Kidnapped - Chapter 10
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Dutch held you, gently caressing your naked skin, until you drifted off to sleep. He wanted to do so much more, but he didn’t. After the trauma you had experienced, he needed to be sure that you fully trusted him. Besides, he could still see how tender your leg was. You didn't think he’d noticed you wincing, even with the slightest movement, but he did. He also knew at some point Hosea would need to check the wound. You were so innocent and naive, you would likely be terrified all over again, unless you trusted him completely.
Once Dutch was sure you were sleeping, he gently laid you back on the bed, covering you with a blanket. He quietly left the room. He needed to talk to Susan about finding you some clothes. He had no intention of allowing you to wear the clothes that Bronte had bought for you.
Dutch stepped out of the house and headed towards Susan’s tent. He just needed to get you some temporary clothes. Once this was all over, he would take you, and buy you the best clothes that money could buy. Not like the ones that Bronte had bought you, but classy. Then everyone would leave this godforsaken swamp. Travel west, or abroad, Europe, or maybe the carribean.
Dutch was snapped out of his daydream by a scream.
He looked towards the main entrance to see a horse walking in.
Dutch looked and looked again, “what the fuck!” he hissed.
“O’Driscolls!” Bill screamed, “take cover!”
You woke suddenly to the sound of screams and gunshots. You froze, pulling the blanket up to your neck. What was going on? You couldn’t even get out of the bed to look. You daren’t try and stand, let alone walk.
You breathed a sigh of relief as you saw the door opening. That was short lived, when a stranger walked in the door. His straggly grey hair hung down to his shoulder, his face was covered by a grey stubble.
“W...who are you?” you stuttered.
He chuckled, “who I am don’t matter princess, all you need to know is I’m taking you home!”
You stared in horror, “No! Help!” you screamed.
“’fraid that ain’t gonna happen, seems like ol’ Dutch is too busy with my boys to worry about you,” he chuckled, “your lucky princess, if I wasn’t bein’ paid, I’d fuck you just to spite him!”
You carried on screaming as he walked towards you. Without another word his fist collided with your jaw. There were no stars, everything just went black.
The firefight was over not long after it started. The O’Driscolls turned tail and ran. Dutch quickly survey the area, there were no casualties, except for poor Kieran, who’s decapitated body had arrived on the back of the horse. As soon as the shooting had started, the horse bolted, leaving Kieran on the ground.
“Javier, Micah, go bury the poor kid somewhere, I need to check on Emmeline,” Dutch sighed.
Dutch rushed back to the house, he hoped you hadn’t been too frightened. He was thankful you couldn’t walk, the last thing he wanted was for you to run into the shooting.
As Dutch rushed into the bedroom, panic welled within him, seeing the room empty.
He rushed over to the bed, and was horrified to find spots of blood on the bed, the blanket was missing.
“Fucking Colm!” he growled.
Dutch ran out onto the balcony.
“Charles!” he screamed, “get up here now!”
Charles came running into the sitting room, closely followed by Arthur.
“She’s gone, they’ve taken her,” Dutch growled, “I need you to find her, like last time.”
Charles nodded, and quickly headed into the bedroom, then back out into the sitting room then down the stairs.
Dutch stared at Arthur, “it was a distraction, Kieran, the O’Driscolls. This has gotta be Colm!”
Arthur frowned, “Why? Why would he do that? How would he know we even had her?”
Dutch dragged his fingers through his hair, “I don’t know son, but I have to get her back!”
The first thing you noticed when you woke was pain, and the taste of blood. You opened your eyes, but you couldn’t see anything. The man who had hit you, had also now tied you up and gagged you.
You were moving, albeit slowly and you could could hear the noise of water. You must be on a boat.
You didn't struggle or try to cry out. You knew from when Dutch kidnapped you, that it would only result in more pain or discomfort. You must have done something, because your new kidnapper realised you were awake.
“So have you decided to behave yourself, princess.” he chuckled.
You gently nodded your head.
He laughed again, but didn't say anything else.
Before long the boat came to a sudden halt with a thud.
You heard voices in the distance. Then you were being carried.
You tried to make out what they were saying, but you couldn’t understand most of it. Probably because it was drowned out by the noise of your captors boots on gravel. All you could hear was a crunch, crunch, crunch.
The crunch soon changed to a click, and the atmosphere felt warmer. You must be inside.
Then you weren’t being carried, as you felt yourself falling.
The landing wasn't soft. Your body hit something cold and hard, and you cried out.
“Careful you idiot, he doesn't want her damaged!”
Your captor chuckled, “bit late for that, now where's my money, we had a deal.”
“Mr Colm O’Driscoll!” You recognised the voice, but you couldn't quite place it.
“Mr Bronte, how about you pay up, then I’ll be on my way,” Colm O’ Driscoll hissed.
You felt a hand touch your face, you flinched and tried to move away.
“You’ve damaged my goods, Mr O’Driscoll,” Angelo Bronte growled.
Colm O’Driscoll rolled his eyes, “your goods wouldn’t shut the fuck up!”
“Take her upstairs, Mario,” Bronte commanded, “whilst I deal with Mr O’Driscoll.”
You felt yourself being lifted again, gently this time, as you were carried away from the noise. You realised now who the man was. He was a friend of your fathers, the man was always visiting. Bringing you the clothes which Dutch hated so much.
The man called Mario gently placed you on the bed, he removed the blindfold and the gag. You blinked, trying to adjust to the light. It was at this point you realised that the blanket you had been wrapped in was gone. You rolled onto your stomach, trying to shield yourself from the stranger, who was staring at you.
“bellissima!” He purred.
You watched as he walked over to a dresser. He pulled out a nightdress, identical to the one that you had been wearing the night you had been taken by Dutch.
He laid it on the bed, and pulled out a knife, slicing through the ropes that bound your hands.
“Here, principessa. Put this on,” he commanded.
You quickly grabbed the nightdress and put it on. You were slightly surprised that it was a perfect fit.
He quickly grabbed your wrists and retied them behind your back.
“Sorry Tesoro, but I have my orders,” he whispered.
You watched as he walked out the door.
As soon as he was gone, you pulled at the bindings on your wrist, only managing to chafe your wrists on the rough rope. You let out a sob, and buried your face in the pillow.
Why you, why did so many people want you. The realisation suddenly came to you. You were nothing more than goods. You were exactly as Mr Bronte had described you.
Charles and Arthur returned to Shady Belle. Arthur had gone with Charles as he tracked your departure from the old plantation house. Dutch had been right, the raid on the house had been a distraction. They couldnt guarantee it was Colm that had taken you, but Charles had confirmed that it was a man, who he had tracked.  The trail had stopped at a jetty close to the old Braithwaite house. He could only assume that where ever they had taken you, had been by boat.
Dutch nodded thoughtfully, his calmness belying the internal worry that was raging inside him.
“Thank you Charles. Arthur, get John, Lenny and Bill. I need to call in a favour, and we have a call to make!”
The door to the bedroom where you were currently being kept, swung open with a clatter, making you jump.
You turned your head to look. It wasn’t the man called Mario, It was Angelo Bronte. He glared at you angrily.
“Have you any idea how much trouble you’ve caused!” he hissed.
You stared at him speechlessly, which seemed to make him angrier.
He sat on the edge of the bed, uncomfortably close.
“What where you doing in Dutch Van Der Linde’s bed, naked?” He growled.
You stared at him, what was it to him? Why did he need to know?
“W..why am I here?” You whispered, questioningly.
Bronte sneered, then laughed mirthlessly. “Why? Because I own you, Emmeline!”
He grabbed your cheeks and squeezed them hard.
“So tell me, has he corrupted my you? Have you become his whore?” he growled.
Tears began to pool in your eyes, your hear beat wildly in your chest.
“You stupid Bitch!” he growled, as his hand made contact with your face, slapping it hard.
He stood up, “you better to pray to god that Cornwall still wants you for his wife!” he hissed, as he stormed out of the room.
Tears started to flow down your cheeks, as you started to sob. What was going to happen to you now.
7 notes · View notes
winmance · 5 years
Text
Help, I’m alive
Chapter 1
Beta by @readerwriterme​
Smoke. That’s the first thing he notices when his mind starts to come around.
He can’t place where he is or who he’s with. He’s probably working but maybe he isn’t; maybe the fire is in his own house? No, it can’t be; there’s a child’s voice somewhere.
A child. He needs to get to the child. He tries to walk but his body is too heavy and his mind is becoming dizzy. Someone calls his name. It’s Nikandros, he thinks, only he sounds more scared than he ever has.
Does he remember that time they were camping, and a snake came into their tent? They both started screaming so loud that Damen’s dad crawled out of his own tent completely naked, thinking something awful had happened. It took ten seconds for Damen and Nikandros’s tears to turn into laughter.
He should ask Nikandros if he remembers that. Not right now of course, because right now, he’s lying on the floor and can’t breathe correctly. Can’t breathe at all actually. He’s not aware of what’s happening around him anymore. Did he get the kid out before falling? He thinks he did. Maybe he didn’t. He doesn’t want to die for nothing.
That snake wasn’t even poisonous.
It’s time to sleep now.
“Patient 20. Male, thirty years old, firefighter. He was caught in a fire six months ago. We’ve put him in an artificial coma.”
The voice continues talking but Damen doesn’t understand everything. He thinks they’re talking about him, but they said that the patient had burns all over his back, his lungs had been torched, and his left leg is practically destroyed and obviously, that isn’t the case with him. He’s fine. Nothing was hurting, not really. Sure, he’s feeling a little dizzy but that’s about it.
He wants to tell the guy who’s talking but he can’t open his eyes. He can’t move his body either, and when he wants to frown he realizes he can’t move his face. He’s asleep. That must be it. He’s having a bad dream, nothing more.
He hears footsteps and a door closing. Is he alone now? He doesn’t want to be. He needs someone to talk to him, to notice him, anything that could prove to him that he isn’t dead yet.
“I’m Dr. Laurent De Vere. I’ll be taking care of you from here on out,” the man – doctor says. “Your previous doctor wanted to turn your machines off. He said there was nothing more we could do for you. I disagree so he gave me your case. Don’t think it was a gift, it wasn’t. They’re all waiting for me to make a mistake, but I won’t. I’ve never been wrong, and it won’t start now. So, if you can hear me, Damianos, which I doubt, know that I’m gonna save you no matter how long it takes.”
There’s footsteps and a door closing again. He isn’t alone. He isn’t dead yet.
  He’s not always awake. He doesn’t think so anyway. It’s impossible to tell when a day starts and when a day ends, or if his last memory is from an hour ago or a week ago. He hears his doctor’s voice, almost every time he’s awake. Sometimes he hears the nurses who are taking care of him too. Sometimes he even hears other doctors or other patients. He still hasn’t heard his brother, Jokase, or even Nikandros. He hopes his mind will let him be awake the next time they come.
  “Hello, Damianos,” Dr. De Vere says, as he often does. Damen is starting to notice a pattern: his doctor only talks to him when he’s alone. If other doctors or interns are there, he doesn’t acknowledge him, not like he does when it’s just the two of them.
 “Today I had three people telling me how nice the weather has been lately. Three people! Do they think I can’t tell that the weather had been good? Why do they need to say it?”
If Damen could answer, he would tell his doc that people just want to make small talk and that they’re not insulting his intelligence. He would probably smile while explaining it, amused by the fact that his super smart doctor is getting angry about something most people consider amicable.
“I’m sure you’re the type of guy who would say that the weather is good,” his doc mumbles.
He is.
“I’m gonna start a new treatment on your burns next week. It’s an expensive one so you better be fighting for your life because the whole hospital hates me because of you.” There’s a pause but Damen knows the conversation isn’t over. He’s starting to understand the way his doc likes to talk. “Well, let’s be honest, it’s not just because of you; they hated me before too.”
If he was awake, he would probably laugh and tell his doctor that yes, he is fighting for his life, and soon they both will be laughing together at all the doctors who said Damen was a lost cause.
  Nikandros had decided he wanted to be a firefighter after one of their friends brought his dad during “Present your parent’s job” day at school. The man had talked for almost an hour about the time he’d saved a whole family from a car on fire, not caring that he was putting his own life in danger. His coworkers had begged him to stop, but he had refused, claiming that if it was him in that car, they wouldn’t have stopped until they’d gotten him out of there. He’d gotten the five people in the car out and was sent off to the hospital to recover. One of the women he’d saved came to see him a few days later, then the next day too, and the day after that. Not only had he had saved five people that would have been dead otherwise, but he had gotten an impressive and cool scar on his right arm and found the love of his life.
Damen had decided he wanted to be a firefighter after he saw one rescuing a bunch of kittens who were stuck into a hole.
The firefighter ended up adopting all the kittens, claiming that they were his responsibility now. Every now and then, Damen would stop at his place to help give baby bottles to the kittens and play with them.
Their friend’s father had died one year later in a fire trying to rescue an old lady. It was later proven that she was dead before the fire began.
  “Teenagers are a fucking nightmare,” his doc says in greeting.
Damen mentally sighs in relief, a wave of happiness spreading through him. He hasn’t heard his doc for quite a while now, either because he wasn’t “awake” when he came or because his doc simply hadn’t come, he isn’t sure. Through the last one is unlikely; if he believes what the nurses said, his doc had been coming to see him every single day since he was transferred to his service.
“I had to go up to Nicaise’s high school because the little shit put ten bath bombs in the school’s pool while other kids were in it.”
Nicaise? Is he his son? He thought his doc was pretty young, but maybe he’d been wrong. Also, where did Nicaise find ten bath bombs?
“Nicaise is my nephew,” his doc says. “I’ve been raising him for a while now which probably explains why he’s turning into a little shit.”
He wants to protest that putting bath bombs in a pool full of people is pretty cool, but he’s not sure his doc will agree if he said so. Not that he can, anyway.
“It’s… hard, to raise a kid. My brother died seven years ago when Nicaise was only eight and since his mom had never been around, I took him with me. I’m not that much older than him; only ten years, which makes things even harder. How am I supposed to act like a dad to him when I could very well be his brother?” He sighs, “I just want Auguste to be proud of me. I promised him I would look after his son and I… I don’t think I’m doing a very good job.”
Damen doesn’t think that’s true. He doesn’t know Nicaise and he doesn’t really know his doc either, but the fact that his doc cares so much about this kid tells him that he loves him. Isn’t that what his brother would have wanted; for someone to love his child as much as he loved him?
“You’re back is healing really well. We’ve only been using the new treatment for three months, but I can already see the result. It’s really encouraging.”
Three months? Has it really been three months already? That means that he’s been in the hospital for nine months. Shouldn’t he be awake by now?
“I’ll come back to see you before leaving tonight.”
  Someone is in his room. It’s not his doc, he knows that. Laurent – he started calling him that not that long ago, what’s the point of being polite if no one can hear you? Laurent has a particular way of walking, graceful in a way that makes you think his feet barely touch the floor, that suits his personality just fine; but the person in his room right now is walking very loudly. He thinks it’s a man because of the way he breathes, heavily and angrily. He doesn’t like him at all. Where’s Laurent?
He hears someone else stepping into the room, a woman this time.
“Are you sure, Smith? De Vere is gonna throw a tantrum when he finds out.”
“Fuck De Vere! I’m tired of that bitch telling us all what to do and not to do. He’s been using all the money on this patient for nothing. It’s time to put an end to it.”
Damen never wanted to be more awake than right now. Who the fuck does this doctor think he is, insulting Laurent like that?
“You get away from him!” Laurent yells, stepping into the room. “He is my patient, I’m the one making decisions, not you!”
“It’s been a year. One whole year, and still nothing. Not a single movement. Nothing. Nada. His family agreed to have him taken off machines.”
Did they? No. Kastor wouldn’t let him die. He simply wouldn’t. He’s his big brother. They love each other. He wouldn’t let him die like that.
“Because you’ve told them there wasn’t anything more we could do, which isn’t true. Damianos is getting stronger. I can see it.”
“You can’t see a thing!”
He needs to move. He needs to prove to them that he isn’t dead. He needs to help Laurent. He doesn’t want to die yet. He’s too young and there are too many things he hasn’t done. He wants to know what Laurent looks like. He wants to thank him for all he’s done.
 “Yes, I can! Because unlike you, I’m good at my job.”
“You better watch your mouth boy!”
Laurent never left him, and he won’t leave him either.
He can move his fingers. Maybe not his whole hand, he knows that’s too much, but if Laurent would just hold his hand, he could move his fingers and prove those assholes wrong.
“He’s not brain dead. He’s a healthy man, a hero. I’m not gonna stop fighting now. I’ll continue until I decide there’s no chance left.”
“Then take him off his meds. Let him wake up,” the woman says.
“No. He’ll be in too much pain. His body isn’t ready yet.”
“It’s been a year. When is he gonna be ready?”
Do they realize he’s right in front of them? Do they care? He’s here! He’s right here and yet, they’re talking like he’s just a computer waiting to be turned off.
“That isn’t your call to make,” Laurent says. “nor is it your decision. I’m his doctor and unless the Chief tells me we need to cut his life support, I won’t. Now, it would be better for the two of you to leave this room before I call security.”
“Once you realize that you’ve been wrong,” the man starts, “don’t come crying to us because you’ve been fired.”
The door is closed and he hears Laurent coming closer to him. He wants to cry with frustration, to scream at the top of his lungs, to punch something, to see, he wants to see so fucking bad. Everything has been black for so long now. He needs to see.
“I believe in you,” Laurent says. “And I don’t- I know you can’t hear me, but I believe in you. So please know that I won’t let anyone hurt you. We’re a team now.”
He won’t let them hurt Laurent either.
  He dreams of the snake again, the same snake they later found out Kastor had put into their tent. This time though, instead of screaming, he gets down on his knees and holds his hand out for the snake to touch. The snake is scared at first, but slowly, it gets closer to Damen’s hand until they’re almost touching.
Then the snake turns into butterflies, hundreds of butterflies flying around Damen. They’re beautiful, full of life and color.
Had the snake always been that pretty?
   Food. It smells like food. Lasagna maybe? He’s not sure. Fuck, he can’t remember the last thing he ate before the fire. He’s sure it didn’t smell as good as this.
“Nicaise is staying with some friends tonight so I figured I could keep you company.”
Why would someone choose to stay with a dead body instead of enjoying a night alone? No one in their right minds. Still, he’s thrilled by the fact that Laurent chose to be with him.
“I’ve met your brother. In case you didn’t know, he’s an idiot.”
He knows that. He loves his brother to death, but even he can admit that he isn’t what one would call nice.
“His girlfriend isn’t any better. A real bitch. Guess they were meant to find each other, weren’t they?”
Kastor has a girlfriend. He didn’t before the fire. Then again, it’s been over a year. He can’t expect people to just stop living.
“He reminds of my uncle,” Laurent says, his voice dropping. His family is a sensitive subject. “He’s… my parents died, when I was seven. Car crash. I was with them when it happened. I was a mess after that. Who wouldn’t be? I was the only one who came out alive. I saw their dead bodies.
Anyway, Auguste and I were sent to live with our uncle. Everybody thought he was so generous, to take his two orphaned nephews with him, even more, when I started showing signs of PTSD. He sent Auguste away almost immediately. Put him in a boarding school so we could only see each other every so often.
Nights were awful. I would beg him to stay with me so he did.”
There’s an awful feeling growing in Damen’s stomach. He doesn’t want it to be true, doesn’t want to know that some sick asshole hurt Laurent like that. He doesn’t because there’s no way for him to express his anger right now.
“It lasted until I was fifteen. Then I told Auguste that I wanted to come and live with him. He said yes right away, didn��t wait for an explanation. He loved me, you know. Auguste loved me so much and I loved him right back.
“Uncle had stolen so many years from us. So many years where we could have been together, so we tried to make the most of it. We were waiting for uncle to try to get me back, but when I turned eighteen and he still hadn’t done anything, we thought it was over.
“Auguste died one week after I turned eighteen. Car crash. I was supposed to be in the car too, but Nicaise was sick so I told Auguste to enjoy his night out.
“My parents had a hospital. A whole hospital and a whole lot of money, too. It was our heritage but if we had both died, it would have been my uncle’s property and so would have Nicaise. I was already too old for my uncle’s liking.”
Laurent isn’t crying but his voice is shaking, and Damen wonders how many times he’s told this story. Never, probably. He’s the first one to hear it and he’ll take it to the grave with him, he promises that.
“I fought really hard to prove that I was worthy to keep Nicaise. Uncle said that I was unfit, just a spoiled child that didn’t deserve anything. I skipped a lot of class and he used that against me. Said that I was smart, but that I didn’t have any social skills, that I couldn’t give love to Nicaise.
I had zero friends, zero lovers, and zero support. They gave Nicaise the choice and he, of course, chose me. I was so relieved. I would have given all the money and the hospital away as long as it meant keeping Nicaise.
My uncle owns 20% of the hospital. It’s small, but enough that I can’t fire him. I left that hospital when I was twenty-two. I couldn’t deal with seeing him every day. It’s a shame; I really loved that hospital. We’re still fighting. He has a reputation, he’s an excellent surgeon, a respected man and I’m a twenty-five-year-old surgeon that has the reputation of being an iron cold bitch. I don’t even know why I don’t just give up on the hospital.”
It’s unfair. This entire story is unfair. Why did Laurent have to be the one to go? He didn’t do anything wrong. Nothing at all.
“Do that again,” Laurent says suddenly, short of breath.
Did someone else enter the room?
“Damianos, move your fingers again,” Laurent begs. “Please.”
Did he move his fingers? He doesn’t know how he did it. He didn’t even know he did it before Laurent said it!
He feels something. Someone is touching him, holding his hand. It’s Laurent. Laurent is holding his hand. He’s begging him to move and Damen would be damned if he let Laurent down.
He concentrates hard. The feeling of Laurent holding his hand is barely noticeable, but it’s there. How does one move his fingers? It’s something so natural, so easy, that he’s never really thought about it. It’s funny, how you only realize that you should have paid better attention to things once they’re gone.
“Call doctor Travis!” Laurent yells, probably to one of the nurses. Then he whispers to Damen only, “I knew you were still there. I knew it. You can’t hear me, Damianos, but I’m gonna help you. I’m gonna save you. I promise.”
I can hear you, he wants to say, and I’m gonna save you, too.
52 notes · View notes
rubix-writings · 3 years
Text
Punisher Pt. 3
Third part of Punisher. I apologize it’s taking me so long to post these, but want to make sure they’re good for you all. Thank you for the support so far!! This is a Chicago PD/Fire imagine with an original character. I don’t own any of the plot points or characters from the show. Also, it doesn’t follow any particular season or sequence in the shows.
Series Summary: Josephine (Jo) never expected to find support and pure love when she left Los Angeles. She ran away to Chicago and was content with living an insignificant, hidden life. But everything changes when she walks into Molly’s to get a job.
Josephine (OC) x Jay Halstead
The italicized lines are internal thoughts of the character.
Warnings: language, mentions of drinking, long (!)
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Things are going really well at Molly’s. It’s like falling into step during a choreographed dance. It feels odd to say that I’m comfortable and confident when it’s only my second shift. I’m working with Stella tonight, who to say the least had a lot of fun the night before. When she first walked into the bar she looked as if Casper made a stop in Chicago. At the start of opening she kept her jacket on and slammed down cups of black coffee. Her body seemed to stay in a permanent state hunched over the bar top while she only communicated through slow movements with her fingers. I couldn’t watch her pain any longer, so I used my break to grab a cheeseburger and fries so greasy the oil soaked the paper bag. 
“You need to put something solid into your body,” I announce as I plop the white, greased bag on the bar top in front of Stella’s practically limp body. She slowly lifts her head with a deep groan and analyzes the bag.
“I’m a firefighter Jo, my body is a temple. I can’t eat this,” I can’t stop the laugh that escapes my lips.
“Are tequila shots a part of your ‘temple’s’ regimen?” she sniffs the bag and sighs.
“You see, the tequila actually kills all the bacteria in the stomach,” Stella examines the golden fry before taking a bite. 
“Be sure to tell your theory to the doctors that come in later, I’m sure they’d love to hear that.”
“I will,” she says with a mouthful of cheeseburger. 
Just like magic, Stella is back to her bouncy self. It amazes me how much like Hermann she is, she practically floats around Molly’s. She talks to everyone and makes sure they’re having a good time. Stella sets the tone of the entire bar, bringing life to every inch of the place. It’s nice to watch her interact with others, a part of me is envious of how natural it comes to her. A part of me is, also, envious of her relationship with Kelly. His eyes when he looks at her are filled with unconditional love and the way Stella looks at him when he’s not looking confirms that she feels the same. I’ve never had that… or will have it. The bar top serves its purpose as a closed door to the patrons on the other side, I open it as much as I want and they see what I want them to see. I’m in control.
It’s a busy Friday night, the bar filled quickly. The firemen I met last night stroll in with the same vigor as the night before, obviously hurting a lot less than Stella was a few hours ago. Stella plays it off as if she didn’t have a raging hangover, but Kelly quickly throws her under the bus. Cruz yells as he claims he’s known the truth all along, but Mouch steps in to deny it, leading to Cruz listing out facts about how he knew. I place a few beer bottles in front of the guys, trying not to get involved.
“I’m sorry about them,” Matt says.
“There’s nothing to be sorry for. They’re funny,” I smile.
“You don’t have to hear it all day long,” Matt grumbles as he takes a long sip from his beer.
“This is true. I get them in concentrated doses,” I excuse myself to collect empties at the tables scattered around the room. With my hands full I turn to head back to the bar top, but crash into a hard body. I stumble back from the blow and the mystery man swiftly grabs my arms to keep me from falling. Once I get my footing back, he releases my arms.
“Sorry about that. Are you okay?” His voice is like velvet that draws my eyes up to look at his face. Wow. My mind fell into a haze barely registering his question. 
“Um, yeah. Thanks,” he smirks at how long it took me to answer his question. Really smooth Jo. “I should get back to work, sorry about running into you,” I walk backwards a few steps, he immediately steps forward keeping the same amount of space between us as before.
“Let me at least help you with those, I’m heading to the bar anyway,” before I could object, his large hand cradles the numerous beer bottles that were once in my hand. Before my brain can spiral about his large hands, I spin and head back to the bar. I silently weave through the customer’s of Molly’s, I needed to get back to my safe zone to hopefully make his charm less effective. He gently places the bottles on the bar top for me to discard, I smile and thank him. Before I can ask for his order, the firemen and Stella welcome him to the bar.
“Hey Jay, haven’t seen you around here in awhile,” Stella mentions. 
“Yeah I know. Um have you seen my brother anywhere?” Stella shakes her head no. Brother? I try to seem like I’m not listening while cleaning up behind the bar and get any excuse not to look at him again. One embarrassing moment for tonight is enough. Out of nowhere, Will pops up and slaps Jay on the back. They go in for a quick hug before Will says hi to everyone. 
“Hey don’t kill me, but I invited Nat. I know it’s supposed to just be us, but she had a really rough day,” Will whispers, Jay shakes his head to let him know he’s totally fine with it. “Great, thanks man.”
I put two glasses of red wine on the bar top for two women that definitely want to take a firefighter home tonight. After how many women these men turned down the night before I highly doubt they’ll have any luck, but I’m kinda rooting for them.
“Hey Jo,” Will smiles.
“Hi Will,” I say in monotone to mess with him.
“Have you met my brother Jay?” Will slaps Jay’s chest which startles Jay a little, making me smile. Geez, these guys must have gorgeous parents. Will is handsome of course, but Jay... 
“We kinda ran into each other actually.” I smirk.
“Oh that’s great, he’s a really good guy. He’s a cop, detective, sorry,” Will corrects himself, Jay is glaring at him.
“I’m not making you a manhattan,” he slaps his hand against the bar top.
“Worth a shot. Can I get a glass of chardonnay and a beer, oh and whatever Jay’s having,” I nod and grab Will his drinks. He slides me his credit card to open a tab then walks off to see Natalie at the table.
“I’m definitely missing something, why does my brother want a manhattan?” Jay finally asks. 
“Oh Jay it was great!” Stella jumps in to tell a very colorful version of the events that happened between Will and I. As she finishes up she is swept to the end of the bar to take an order. 
“She was drunk last night” I mumble under my breath. Jay smirks, knowing Stella’s retelling was probably fabricated. “What can I get you?” I try to change the subject.
“A beer please,” I nod. “You’re new here Jo?” He phrases it as a question, but it's definitely more of a statement. 
“Yeah, started yesterday,” I hand him his beer. 
“Thanks. Are you from Chicago?”
“No, LA actually, lived there my whole life,” I lean my forearms on the bar top in front of him.
“Wow, big change.” “Yeah, I don’t know if I thought it all the way through to be honest,” he smiles.
“Well let me tell you if you haven’t figured it out already, snow and winter are incredibly overrated.” “Ah yes, that’s exactly what I needed to hear. I can go back to LA now.” “Glad to be of service,” he shrugs. Jay stayed on the same stoll at the bar for the rest of the night. It was strange how easy it was to talk with him, he offered stories about his job and funny stories about him and Will growing up. It’s so beautiful to have those stories, that he’s gone through life with someone that deeply and come out the other side. I tell him that I don’t have siblings and mostly spent time with my mom when I was young. Jay was quick to offer up Will to fill the void.
“I’ll keep you updated on that,” I laugh.
“Are you and your mom still close?”
“Um no, she… she died about ten years ago,” even though her death happened so long ago it still felt so weird saying it out loud. 
“I’m sorry Jo. I lost my mom to cancer a few years back.”
“So you get it,” he nods and offers a somber smile. 
It wasn’t till Will and Natalie announced their departure, that Jay made any moves to leave Molly’s. The bar was slowly emptying out as last call was already declared. 
“I should head out, it was really nice talking with you Jo,” Jay stands.
“It was really nice talking with you too Jay,” I say sincerely. He smiles wide before making a beeline for the front door. I can’t help but stare until he’s fully out of sight, my cheeks start to hurt from fighting the smile on my face. I tuck my loose hair behind my ear and start grabbing the empty glasses from the bar top. 
“Have fun?” Stella questions, I jump slightly not realizing she was standing there.
“Another good night for tips, yeah,” she looks at Kelly who’s the last of the firefighters at the bar. 
“Sure, doesn’t hurt that Officer Handsome was here all night either.” “I… I’m going to wash the glasses,” I pick up the large plastic crate with dirty drinking glasses and head to the back where Hermann showed me where the sink was. Stella didn’t mention Jay again, but it didn’t matter. The damage was done, Jay’s blue eyes and the way he got so passionate during a story were ingrained in my mind for the rest of the night. 
***
Hermann asked if I could open Molly’s for him the next day as he was running late with paperwork at the firehouse. I had a short shift that night anyway and could use the extra money no matter how little. Hermann told me to meet him at the firehouse to give me the keys since they haven’t been able to cut me my own yet. The firehouse isn’t far from Molly’s, a couple blocks on foot. I prepared myself with my warmest coat for the trek since the wind chill makes Chicago brutally cold. I focus on the sound of my shoes against the wet pavement to take my mind off of how cold I really am. 
The firehouse is a ball of color on this cold, dark Chicago day. The plain brick buildings surrounding it emphasize the reds and yellows. It somehow feels untouched by the rest of the city, a true sign of purity. As soon as I walk through the doors of the firehouse I’m met with the sweet smell of food cooking. It’s as if my feet have a mind of their own and take my body towards the magnificent smell’s source. The kitchen was buzzing with people cooking, talking, and playing card games. 
“Jo!” Stella yells, “what are you doing here?” she walks over to me, leaving her conversation with Matt and Kelly, who both wave at me.
“I’m here to get the keys from Hermann, do you know where he is?” 
“Yeah, he’s in the garage let me take you to him,” I try to argue that it could wait, but Stella insists. “Hermman!” she yells once we get into the garage. 
“What?!” he snaps back. She giggles as we both walk towards the outburst. As we turn around the big fire engine, I see why Stella was so insistent about not waiting. “Oh hey, Jo,” he says calmer.
Jay is standing tall with a notepad in front of Hermann. Stella silently excuses herself from the conversation and makes her way back inside. Hermann pays no attention to his surroundings as he’s searching for the three keys I need to open Molly’s. 
“Hey,” Jay smiles.
“Hi.”
“Here you go, I labeled them for you so you know what lock they go into. Once you get inside, lock the front door, just in case,” I nod and take the keys from him. The silver keys have thin pieces of masking tape on them with dark blue sharpie stating what they open. 
“Thanks, I’ll see you there,” I back away from the men to head back to the bar. Hermann nods and waves.
“Hermann we’re done here right?” Jay asks.
“Yeah, let me know if you find anything,” Hermann states somewhat hopeless. Jay puts away the notepad in his back pocket of his jeans and jogs to catch up to me. The sound of Jay’s thick boots hitting the cement fills the sound of the garage. When he finally catches up to me, he moves ahead to open the door to outside for me. 
“So you’re stalking me now?” He jokes.
“Um how did you get to that? Hermann asked me to come here,” Jay quickly fell into step with me, not that it was difficult as he’s much taller than me.
“I was here first,” he says plainly.
“Oh well, with that bulletproof logic…” he laughs.
“You headed to Molly’s?” we stop walking once we get to the sidewalk.
“Yeah, I’m opening today,” Jay slips the keys to his car from his jacket pocket. 
“Let me drive you.” “Oh no, you don’t have to do that. It’s only a couple of blocks and you’re working,” I spew out trying to find an excuse that’ll stick.
“Don’t worry about me. I’m parked right here,” he brushes off quickly. I roll my eyes at his back and get into the car. Jay puts the car into gear and sets off towards Molly’s. 
“So, is Hermann okay?” I ask since I couldn’t get his hopeless tone out of my head.
“His house was broken into, they didn’t get a lot, just some jewelry and a few Alexa’s. His wife came home which freaked them out and they bolted before they did any real damage.” “Jesus. Poor Hermann. Do you think you’ll find his stuff?” “Probably not, that sort of stuff is so small that they may keep it for themselves instead of pawning it, but we’ll try,” the car is silent for a little while till Jay pulls in front of Molly’s.
“Thanks for the ride.” “Course,” I get out of the car and make my way onto the sidewalk. “Hey Jo,” Jay says out of his rolled down window. 
“Hey Jay,” I say while playing with the keys Hermann gave me.
“Are you working late tonight?”
“Not too late, I have a short shift.”
“How about I meet you here later and we get a drink?” Jay says casually. I bite my lip and look down the street in hopes to take my mind off of what he just asked.
“Maybe,” I say as I make eye contact with him again. “See yah Jay.”
“See yah Jo.”
I’m losing control.
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companionjones · 5 years
Text
Bar Night
Requested by: Anon
Request: Can I request a 9-1-1 imagine? Evan Buckley X Reader. The reader works for the LAPD and is a friend of Athena. Athena decides to introduce her to Bobby and the others at a bar or something and Buck is very flirty?
Fandom: 9-1-1 (FOX)
Pairing: Bucky x Fem!Reader, Slight!Athena x Bobby
Warnings: One curse, one very small sexual reference so small you’ll miss it if you blink
Key:
Y/n---Your name
L/n---Last name
H/t---Hometown
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*******
    “Good evening everybody!” Athena greeted her friends with her usual cadence you were quickly growing to love. “This is my coworker, Officer Y/n L/n. Y/n, this is everyone.”
    Trying your best to make eye contact with as many people as possible, you smiled warmly. “Hi, everyone.”
    A man with a buzz cut approached you. “Hi, I’m Bobby Nash. I’m the captain of these firefighters. Pleasure to meet you.” His words were kind, and Bobby stuck his hand out as an offer for you to shake it.
    While you did, Athena sassily spoke out next to you, “You’re not captain of anything here, Bobby. Stop showing off.” She chuckled.
    Suddenly, another man came to the side off Bobby. This one was taller than the captain, and younger, too. The new person had an almost arrogant smirk on his face. “Well, hello there,” he extended.
    Immediately, Bobby all but stepped between you and the younger male. “No,” the man finalized.
    Athena scolded the younger man as well. “Don’t even think about it.”
    The taller male with the birthmark rolled his eyes. “Come on, guys! I was just saying ‘Hello.’”
    “Not to Y/n, you’re not,” Athena stated.
    Then, Athena and Bobby both commanded, “Get out of here, Buck.”
    Buck put his hands up in surrender, and jokingly backed away from the other three of you. However, he did recognize your giggles, and they caused him to smile as he left.
    “I’m guessing that was Buck,” you jested as your laughter died down.
    Another African American woman, this one with glasses walked up to you to respond, “He’s the youngest in our squad. He’s kind of an idiot.” She offered you her hand just as Bobby had, and you shook hers as well. “I’m Henrietta,” the woman continued, “People around here just call me ‘Hen,’ though.”
    “Nice to meet you, Hen,” you returned. You were still internally laughing at Buck’s, Bobby’s, and Athena’s interaction. You also approved of this woman you had just met.
    For the next thirty minutes or so, you mingled with Athena and most of her firefighter friends. Buck, on the other hand, didn’t approach you again until a little later.
    He tried his hand at starting a conversation. “So...where’re you coming from?”
    “H/t. It’s my hometown. I like it out here in L.A., though,” you kindly answered.
    Without missing a beat, Buck replied, “I like it a lot more now that you’re here.”
    “Heh, very funny.” You very much were not buying anything he was selling.
    Buck faked being wounded by your words. “Oh, come on. All I’m doing is being nice to the new officer in town.”
    “Yeah,” you quipped, “and this officer has handcuffs and a taser.”
    He responded, “Well, I don’t know about the taser, but I think we could work something out with those handcuffs--”
    “Hubbup!” you interrupted with the first sound that came to mind. “...Dammit, I set myself up for that one.”
    Buck was full on laughing at that point. “Yeah...You did...You really did...”
    Very soon, you found yourself starting to join in with the boy’s laughter.
    Then, Athena and Bobby reentered the picture.
    Bobby informed you and Buck, “Okay, I think Athena and I are going to head home. Harry needs help with his homework, and May should be getting home from her school dance soon.”
    Athena, glancing from Buck to you, asked, “Y/n? You need a ride home?”
    “Uh...” You wanted to answer ‘no.’ You were glad when you flicked your gaze to Buck, and he seemed reluctant to the idea of you leaving as well. “I think I’m going to stay here for a while longer. I’ll just get an Uber back home.”
    Both parties in the couple across from you seemed reluctant to agree with your answer. However, neither of them argued.
    As Athena turned to leave, all she did was suggest, “Don’t make any stupid decisions.”
    And just like that, you and Buck were left alone again. The two of you were making out in the stockroom within the hour.
*******
Author’s Note: Thank you for reading! Fill up that heart and reblog if you liked it! If you would like to read more, I have more fics on 9-1-1 over on my page, along with other fics on other fandoms. You should go check it out. Also, REQUESTS ARE OPEN. I take requests for one-shots, multi-chapters, headcannons, and preferences. No smut, please. I write for a variety of fandoms. If you’re wondering if I write for a specific fandom, please ask me. Have a nice day, night, or whatever time it is for you.<3
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douxreviews · 5 years
Text
Legends of Tomorrow - ‘Egg MacGuffin’ Review
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"I’m sorry that our first date got ruined by Nazis."
The Legends of Tomorrow episode title game is really on point this year.
Forgive me in advance if this is overexplaining, but I'm not entirely sure how well known the terms are and it's going to become relevant in a minute. If you already know the terminology better than I do, and I'm sure many of you do, I beg your indulgence.
A 'MacGuffin' is the term for a plot device that exists solely to provide motivation to the characters in a story. The example that's most often cited at this point is the titular Maltese falcon statue in The Maltese Falcon. This is a subtly different thing than 'phlebotinum,' which we discussed a few episodes back. Generally speaking, phlebotinum is a made up thing that facilitates the character's journey, for example, polyjuice potion. A MacGuffin is a made up thing that motivates the character to make the journey, for example the sorcerer's stone. Or philosopher's stone if you live in a country where the publisher wasn't afraid of accidentally teaching children the word 'philosopher.'
The real takeaway is that Legends of Tomorrow has now given me an excuse to explain both of those terms, and regularly allows me pretentiously discuss semiotics, and is therefore the best thing ever broadcast. But I digress.
The genius of this week's episode title is that the golden egg that Nate and Zari are looking for at the Adventurers Club is unequivocally a MacGuffin with no significance of its own beyond that (at least this week).  In fact, part of the plot of that storyline explicitly involves Nate and Zari questioning exactly that point, and they come to the conclusion that it is a MacGuffin that Sara planted just to give them an exciting first date. Which is clever because it isn't a MacGuffin within the story we're watching, but it absolutely is a MacGuffin from the outside perspective, and you know it might actually be possible to be too clever about these things. Whatever your personal tolerance for post-modern narrative gameplaying, I really enjoyed it.
Now, in the past I've complained a bit here and there about the fact that the Legends' reduced number of episodes in a season often makes them condense what could be two or three episodes worth of plot into one. I'm not sure if I've just gotten used to it or if they're getting better at it, but I've really begun to enjoy the fast, breezy clip at which these episodes move. Nate and Zari are really just doing an extended Raiders of the Lost Ark homage, and a nice zippy pace is essential for that kind of romantic adventure fiction. The Ark of the Covenant itself, while we're speaking, is another classic example of a MacGuffin. I'm certain that was not coincidental.
In any case, I think I'm pretty well sold on the Zari and Nate romance, and I think it's down to one particular moment in this episode. When they realize that Sara has set them up on a romantic mission, Zari offers to call it a night and return to the ship, and Nate says, 'Or we could see where this mission takes us.' What he's clearly really saying is, 'Hey, I'm open to exploring whatever this is going on between us if you are, but there's no pressure.' I don't seem to go a week without mentioning how refreshingly adult the characters on this show are.
In fact, part of why the aforementioned fast and breezy pace felt so appropriate this week all around is because the show has romance stories on its mind. We have Sara and Ava, thankfully post-argument, making an effort for one another in the little ways. We have Mick and Charlie at Romanticon, attempting to cash in on Mick's authorial alter ego, Rebecca Silver, without actually having to reveal himself to his fans. Which is so completely on brand for both of them that I loved every second of it. God bless Mick, both for actually caring about his fans and for being willing to admit the fact when pressed.
Then finally we have my current relationship on the show, Ray and Nate. I realize I went on a bit about this last week, but I just can't say enough about how great their friendship is. Thank you, whoever on the writing team made the decision that Ray would give up his soul to Neron in order to save Nate's life, as opposed to Nora's. Neron said he would make Ray kill someone he loved in order to break him, and the show went with Nate as that person. Is it possible to platonically 'ship a couple? Because I am totally team Palmwood.
That was an unfortunate first attempt at a couple name. Please leave alternate suggestions in the comments.
Which leads me to the painful part. There were a number of little clues as to what was coming for Gary, but I really only noticed them in hindsight. When Sara is discussing who the murderer could be in book club, she mentions that it must be the dogwalker because of his pent up frustration and being treated like a doormat. The shot transitions from her to the next scene halfway through the line, which means we're hearing her but looking at Gary. The subplot about Vincent the Adventurer's assistant is basically a mirror of Gary's position. And Gary is clearly crying in the bathroom – a thing that he had just told us he often did – when Ray calls him and he drops everything to go help.
Gary Green, on paper, should not work as a character. He should come across as a caricatured doofus, occasionally good for a comic relief moment. But Adam Tsekhman invests him with something undefinable and real, and he just fundamentally works as a tragic figure despite all the reasons that he shouldn't.
Also, whoever planned out that Gary's nipple returning from Hell would be the final temptation that makes him give in to Neron is a mad genius and should be our leader now.
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Everybody remember where we parked:
The Waverider did some proper time travel for the first time in what feels like ages and took most of the team to the Adventurers Club, 1933, in order to retrieve that golden egg. Mick and Charlie, meanwhile, take the jump ship to Romanticon, 2019. Gary uses his time courier to flit between 2019 and the Waverider, and Neron and minion-Gary appear to lift Damien Darhk's old time travel stone from Constantine and use it to leave for destinations unknown.
Remember when time travel seemed like an exclusive and exotic thing?
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Quotes:
Sara: "Honestly, with Neron gone, catching fugitives has never been easier. I thought it was gonna take all week."
Zari: "It was that awkward, huh?" Sara: "Even the mummy thought it was awkward."
Nate: "Excuse me, my good man, could you point me to the nearest facilities? I have an urgent need to… uh... relieve my bowel."
Nate: "Wait. Trip wires. This is going to require one of us to squeeze through these trip wires, maneuvering our bodies in unexpected ways." Zari: "Are you asking me to do that?" Nate: "No, I’m asking you to hold my coat."
Ava: "Honestly, I usually just drink rose and let Mona go on and on."
Gary: "I may not be a master of the dark arts, but I am an intern of the dark arts."
Ava: "Were you guys about to hook up?" Zari: "No. no, no, no, no." Nate: "It was definitely on the table."
Bits and Pieces:
-- This show just doesn't do misunderstandings for dramatic effect. Nora immediately told John that Ray was possessed as soon as she woke up. Neron repeatedly goes out of his way to clarify that he's the one doing evil things, not Ray, even when it would really be in Neron's best interest to let the Legends think otherwise, thus driving them apart. That might be the thing I appreciate most about the writing.
-- It seemed odd at first that Mona didn't already know about Mick being Rebecca Silver, but on reflection it makes sense.
-- Loved the Garima cosplay at Romanticon.
-- How many books has Mick had time to write by this point? I mean, I suppose time travel would help with that, but I lost track of how many different titles they mentioned. I particularly liked Raw Hides.
-- Mick's final speech to the con about how all anybody really wants is to feel a connection was a lovely piece of writing, well performed. And a hell of a good underscoring to what was happening to Gary at that moment.
-- I get why they didn't do it, but it would have been smarter for Charlie to have shape shifted into a neutral third party to portray Rebecca. That said, I adored the Rita Skeeter vibe she had going on with her outfit.
-- Outside of the Rita Skeeter vibe, we also had phoenix feathers and a dragon egg. I'm sure there were a few other Harry Potter nods that I missed beside those. Anyone?
-- And speaking of the egg, it's a neat bit of long term plotting that what was just a MacGuffin this week is clearly set up at the end to be relevant to a different plotline later.
-- It's entirely in character for John Constantine to be rude and speak to Gary like that in a moment of stress, but the whole sequence of events felt sadder to me when I thought about the considerate way that he sheltered Gary's feelings last week.
-- I've noticed that they've gotten into the habit lately of consistently leaving someone on the Waverider to 'Quarterback' the mission. That's not only hugely useful for splitting up the characters and facilitating different schedules, it's also a really sound battle tactic.
-- Note added after the writing of this review.  Apparently 'Egg MacGuffin' is the official name of this sort of thing as cited on tvtropes, and not an original pun coined by the writers here.  Ah, well.  Still a clever title for how it was used here.
I loved this episode from beginning to end.  How can we only have three more left?
Three and a half out of four, and the only reason it's not higher is I suspect I'm going to need a higher number to go to in the next few episodes.
Feel free to mention your favorite MacGuffin in the comments.
Mikey Heinrich is, among other things, a freelance writer, volunteer firefighter, and roughly 78% water.
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summoner-kentauris · 5 years
Text
plotbunny zachfonse coffee shop au that im probably never going to finish but i thought you guys might enjoy it nonetheless!
It’s seven thirty one exactly on Monday morning, and Sharena runs into the café like hel on fire.
Alfonse stops wiping down the counter and does a double take. Sharena has a schedule, but it’s a very particular one. He’s never, ever seen her face before ten am, usually not until eleven-twenty, when she comes scattering in with at least one of her roommates in tow, grabbing a quick latte before grinning and bustling out of the door in a vain attempt to not be late to her eleven-fifteen class.
“Hiya!” she says loudly, and plunks her bag on the counter like it’s full of a ton of rocks. It makes a loud THUNK noise, and Alfonse winces.
“Oh, sorry,” she says, in a whisper that still manages to hover over the tranquil morning atmosphere in the shop.
“Are you late for something?” he asks suspiciously.
The somber girl standing beside and behind Sharena cracks a smile at that.
“Al!” Sharena exclaims. “I would never be late for a midterm.”
“Calculus-” the girl pipes up.
“That was one time-”
“Sharena!”he interrupts, and pats the air gently. This time, it’s Sharena wincing.
“Sorry,”she says again.
She’s certainly gotten herself worked up over whatever midterm this is, though, that wouldn’t be quite unusual. Still, Alfonse is having a hard time figuring out just what has inspired this early morning energetic panic. A study session too, if the weight of her bookbag is any indication. Looking at Sharena’s friend isn’t any help, either. Reese is hard to read on the best of days, and today she is sporting one of her many impassive stares.
“What class?” he asks.
“History.” They both answer immediately, simultaneously, with one unusually distraught groan each.
He’s a little taken aback. “I...thought you both liked your history class? What happened?”
Sharena wiggles a little and then settles into her we-ELL have I got some news posture, only to be interrupted by Reese throwing down some scattered coins onto the counter and grabbing Sharena’s arm.
“New professor, long story,” she says gruffly. “Let’s go Ray, we’re running low on time.”
“The usual?” he’s forced to call after them, as they wind their way to their favorite tall chairs at the corner table.
Reese waves her arm nonchalantly, and then they disappears into a haze of planning and papers.
He sighs, and breathes in, and takes stock of the returning calm quiet. Sharena and Reese are not the only ones swamped by paperwork this morning. All of Alfonse’s regulars are here today. Sitting outside today is the healer, a short nifl man whose light skin is splotchy red from the sunburn he got falling asleep out there yesterday. His godsawful shift at the hospital ends at six-thirty in the morning, and he originally had taken to pacing around on the sidewalk outside until opening like a lost puppy right up until the day Alfonse just shook his head and started letting him in. He’s deep into his third espresso and fourth newspaper. At the table on the other side of the door are the artist twins from down the street. They’re Askran, both with deep magenta hair. One keeps hers in a braid, the other keeps hers mostly cut off, and that’s about the only way to tell the two apart. That and a teeny little scar one of them has about her left purple eye.  Alfonse is pretty sure they come from serious money, given he’s never seen them actually engage in making art, but they do talk nonstop about what they’ve bought. They’re signing energetically back and forth over an intimidatingly tall mountain of photographs. More than once, they’ve gotten too animated and knocked over their drinks. Alfonse wonders idly if he should go ahead re-drag out the supplies out for their long, complicated, terrifyingly expensive order.
Meanwhile, in the middle of the shop there are a few locals on laptops. Then in the front there is his friend Anna napping on her notebook next to a hot chocolate she never drinks. Her curly red ponytail in flopped over her face, and she’d be embarrassed if Alfonse ever told her she snores, just a little. It usually means she’s having...well, she calls them good dreams, but often they lead her to try implementing some hare-brained scheme for the shop. Smushed up with her nose metaphorically against the window is the Múspellian. She’s short, with deep, dark skin and pure orange hair that she keeps slicked back in the most severe and ‘i’m mature’ of ponytails. She’s too young to be from the college, and Alfonse has worried more than once about her. She never talks, though. Alfonse doesn’t even know her name. She came in once with a firefighters helmet though, and as soon as Sharena found out she immediately declared to a doubtful Alfonse that this meant the girl was a firefighter, or perhaps a firefighter intern, whatever such a thing may be.
And then of course in the back there is the new guy. New guy. New guy is tall and buff, intimidating and elegant. He’s got sunkissed skin that is a saturated medium brown, and the one time his large black and gold-rimmed sunglasses slipped he had underneath the most intriguing, defiant pair of eyes. One, a red color that, alarmingly, seemed to almost reflect and refract like a melted gem, the other a faint, rich gold. Alfonse has spent more time hoping New Guy’s glasses would slip again that he would like to admit, but he only hopes it because Alfonse can’t get a read on him otherwise. He doesn’t actually ever get anything other than water, but puts good coffee money in the tip jar. Other than a soft ‘good morning’ and precise pleases and thank yous, new guy doesn’t talk either, none of the Morning Regulars really ever do, but he, less than most. Unlike the other regulars, New Guy is composed in the mornings and completely free of the kinds of small tells and fidgeting details Alfonse would usually use to spin stories about his customers.
He has a routine, of course. He’s there’s every weekday promptly at 7:07, so Alfonse figures he’s taking the 7:05 aetherail into the city. Not only does he have the one Emblian red eye, but he’s also got Emblian hair, beautifully long, tantalizingly fluffy and pastel white. Yet despite the current diplomatic tension, he’s here, in Askr, five days a week. And unless he’s taking the hours-long commute from one country to another, he lives here. More contradictions, he dresses in an oddly formal, precise, businesswear that’s both charmingly antique and blisteringly modern, the kind of coldly fashionable style that is ragingly popular among the high-power suits-and-slacks businesspeople downtown. But, who has coffee uptown when he has to be downtown for work? And he has to disembark from the aetherail to boot, which means he’d have to take the metroway to continue, and everyone in the city takes the metroway from time to time, certainly, but in all the weeks he’s been coming here Alfonse has never seen the man so much as brush up against another person, dodging contact gracefully and subtly even when a collision seemed, to Alfonse’s practiced eye, inevitable…
Alfonse shakes his head and drags himself back to the present. Mystery man is a puzzle Alfonse shouldn’t be so focused on now, or really, ever. New guy has his water for the day, and his single large off-brand e-reader instead of his occasional neat stacks of paper, which means he’s busy, much like Alfonse should be. Midterms hadn’t snuck up on Alfonse, but Sharena’s arrival was a reminder that he needed to be at his most alert for the next few days.
He rolls the momentary tension out of his shoulders, finishes wiping down the counter, and then dives back into the daily work of keeping his little coffee shop running.
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