#Also Lucy’s shirt….holy shit

[hatchetation]

Bet they both tore each other's clothes apart the moment they got home from their little reenactment 😏

oh absoLUTELY they did!!!! I mean in my mind it was a continuation of the reenactment since we know they had a multiple night stand lol

Why was this episode literally unmatched in terms of kacy content tho?! Like the writers had lucy tell us the story of her and kate meeting a while back and I remember being like, damn wish they would show a flashback. And this was basically that!! We get to see how they were AND how far they’ve come 🥺

[dimmadoome]

I am nothing if not a details oriented person. I like to suss them out. I like to see the whole picture so I can paint one myself and of course, I've been looking at the picture of Cooper Howard.

Here are a few things I've noticed. As I've stated before, Cooper is wearing the same outfit as he was in the begging of the show. That blue, white and yellow cowboy outfit. His signature outfit. That's still there, hidden underneath the dirt and the grime and the old, ratty coat, leather vest and bandolier. You can see it in the details of the shirt and the silhouette of the hat. That has been discussed so I'm glossing over that.

Another thing I've noticed is his voice. Specifically his accent. The Ghoul and Cooper Howard have a different accent. Cooper is subdued. He's a regular man with a regular voice. Sure there is a bit if a drawl to it, but not the way The Ghoul has one. Anyone from the south knows what a real southern accent is and what a fake one is. The Ghoul uses a fake one. A larger than life one. That old Hollywood John Wayne fakeass accent. Sure his voice is more fried and that could thicken up an accent some, but that doesn't mean his accent would get more pronounced like THAT.

He's acting the part of The Ghoul. Probably to protect himself in this hellscape that he has been living in for centuries. Its clear that The Ghoul is not who he really is. Its a persona to be slapped over his real one to keep him safe so he can get to his family. I can't wait to see the next season when Lucy and her gung ho, be a good person attitude starts to rub at him more and peel back his layers to press into the soft underbelly underneath. Wether or not he wants to acknowledge it, (which he does. He knoes it already, said it already.) She's his mirror into who he truly is. He might corrupt her to keep her safe (evidenced by the fact that when he cut off her finger, she was given a rotten one in its stead) but she will be the one to pull him back from the brink of losing himself. (It was HER finger he sewed onto himself after all. Her pristine, beautiful smoothskin finger.)

I could also say the arc between Cooper's prewar self becoming disenchanted with vault tec/being betrayed by his wife juxtaposed by Lucy's arc of finding her dad/learning how he betrayed her mom and the world is also a pretty serious mirror as well.

I just.... I've got a lot of feels about Cooper and the symbolism that went into him, plus how he and Lucy are pretty clearly mirrors of eachother. I love it all and I'm gonna need more of this injected right into my brain hole. I need to lick the walls of that studio because HOLY SHIT this show has so much love and care put into everything it does.

[bubbles-for-all-of-us]

✨️Bodhi durran ✨️ that's it.

BUT ALSO

Imagine him being the most amazing boyfriend. I don't know if you have seen lockwood and co on Netflix but that scene where lockwood dresses Lucy's wounds and is looking dead ass deep in her soul smiling, my god bodhi material.

To get to my point if you could write a one shot of bodhi finding out you're injured and going ballistic to anyone that let her out of their sight and got hurt and then finding you trying to wrap your wounds and instantly going all soft and helping I would be forever in your debt

Ps. If you haven't watched lockwod and co it's absolutely worth it.

I haven't watched the show so if this isn't exactly how you pictured this, I apologize✨🤍

Worries

"Where is she?", Bodhi yanked onto one of the recruits, who was in the same formation as you, shirt up. The poor lad looked like he was about to shit himself at best as he stumbled over words. The thing was... Bodhi was fun and games until he wasn't. And that wasn't part come a lot sooner than expected. Considering that the past weeks of him being a section leader had been rather calm. But that sorry fuck just had to show off. Had to break formation. Had to try to prove his piss poor ego and get you hurt.

"You're speechless all of a sudden?", Bodhi shook the guy in his grip, "Answer the goddamn question before you end up like a roasted chicken on the solstice table". You could hear a pin dropping in the background that's how silent the squad had gotten. "I think I saw her entering the building", some other recruit cut in. Bodhi narrowed his eyes, "You think or you saw?", shoving the quivering male he stepped aside sizing everyone up.

"You weak shits better listen and better listen well", he practically growled through gritted teeth. His first instinct was to run after you. He saw the blood gushing from your hand after the coalition. But he also knew his title. Causing a bigger scene than necessary would only turn heads your way. And neither of you needed that. Neither of you wanted to become a target leading to one another. "If any of you will ever do anything similar to what Marco did today", Bodhi grunted. Gods, he felt like Xaden. "I will skin you myself and believe me your dragons will smoke you alive. Dismissed", he practically roared as the recruits hurried away. Bodhi ran a slightly shaky hand through his hair.

"She is up in your room", the voice made Bodhi jolt slightly. Garrick was leaning against one of the pillars. "I passed her, she's fine, man", Garrick continued to speak since Bodhi just stood there, "You did well here too. More and more like our beloved Xaden every day". He knew it was a dig. The two cousins had been compared ever since their interactions were brought to the daylight. "Why don't you go fuck yourself", Bodhi grunted as he walked past his friend. "Gets boring after a while", Garrick chirped in return. Bodhi simply snarled but that of course earned a satisfied chuckle from Garrick.

"Show it to me", the sudden bag of the door practically hitting the wall and the raised voice made you drop the blood-soaked rag. You knew Bodhi was gonna find you eventually. Your dragon was practically counting the minutes for you ever since you had flown back first and dismounted. "Bodhi, it's okay", you tried to keep your voice calm. The wound wasn't all that bad it was the angle and the damaged tissue of the skin that caused it to bleed so much. "Don't you it's okay, me", he grunted, "Show me", his voice was lethal low. He never used that tone with you. It was his section leader's voice. The voice he gave a report in. But it never was showcased around the people he trusted and cared for.

"There's nothing to look at it's...", "I didn't ask, I gave you an order", he cut in, grabbing your upper arm gently so he could look at the damage himself. Bodhi's eyebrows knitted together for a moment, his jaw flexed. "Sit", he muttered motioning towards the bed. "Bodhi", you breathed out. "Baby, I swear to everything holy to me", he exhaled a shaky breath, "you either sit or I am carrying to the healer's wing and will put you on bed rest for a week". You huffed at his threat but you knew that he wasn't bluffing so you followed his orders.

Bodhi was so gentle as he carefully wiped away some of the blood before pressing a clean bandage on your cut, securing it in place. Make sure it's tight for a couple of hours before the bleeding slows down. He would redo it in a couple of hours. Wash it off with a salve he would go ask for. Then another bandage. Then... "Bodhi, I can hear you making plans in your head", you muttered. It was cute watching him fuss at times. It was his way of showing love but you also knew that his head was a wild space and it only took one bad thought to have it all spiraling out of control. "Does it hurt a lot? Do you need something for the pain?", he asked, his concerned eyes searching yours. "Start by giving me a hug and then sit down with me", you said softly, "I promise, I'm fine". You reached out for him, taking his hand into yours, squeezing it.

"I just hate seeing you hurt", Bodhi breathed out, his shoulders drooping. "The feeling is mutual but there are times we can't do anything about it", you reached to run your fingers through his messy curls. That now was completely out of control since he no doubt had been pulling at them. "Do we have a murder scene in the backyard?", you nudged your boyfriend's shoulder, making him snort. "Not yet but we might...", Bodhi exhaled, turning to face you.

"You promise you're okay?", you met his worried gaze but this time instead of answering him you just leaned in and kissed him. Slowly and tenderly. Letting him feel your love. "Good enough proof?", you asked when you two finally broke apart. "Not sure... maybe a couple more kisses", Bodhi thoughtfully nodded his head. You giggled slightly before cupping his face once more.

[whatthebodygraspsnot]

old habits ian in his emt uniform AAAARRRGGHHHHH

[ old habits ]

mickey's halfway to the mailbox when he stops dead in his tracks, his eyes immediately zeroing in on ian chatting with lucy one driveway over. he doesn't give a fuck about lucy on a normal day - but today it's like she's not even there, because ian's clearly just come home from work and holy fuck...

mickey's caught glimpses of his emt uniform, but never out in broad daylight like this - every inch of the well-fitting blue button-down - the shine of his silver badge - the clean cut and crisp lines all tucked perfectly into place and jesus christ, mickey practically drools, his hand reaching blindly into the mailbox almost as an afterthought. no man should look this hot in a uniform.

lucy can't resist the call either. clearly. but lucy isn't getting turned out in ian's comfy bed every other night like mickey is, now is she? no, she isn't! and it isn't lucy who ian's noticing and sending a little wave over to, is it? no! it's mickey! and it's also mickey who saunters his way over to interrupt, happily, with a composed, "ay doc, you got a thermometer in that fanny pack-a yours?"

it gets them both tucked away inside ian's house with a laughably low amount of effort. and now that he's here, mickey can put his plan to action, watching his personal emt emerge from the bathroom with one of those concerned brow furrows. "you got a fever...?"

ian's got the thermometer, but it's the back of his hand that he uses instead, pressing it to mickey's cheek to check his temperature. then softly over his forehead. mickey mumbles something noncommittal. whatever will keep ian's attention on him like this.

"hm..." after his forehead, ian's hand drops to the back of mickey's neck - more comforting than anything - and god damn, does is light him up from the inside out. "you're definitely runnin' hot..."

an understatement of the century.

but mickey is the perfect patient. opens his mouth real good and everything when ian tells him to, keeping that eye contact as he feels the thermometer slip under his tongue. "stay here for me, alright kid?"

uh huh. yup. whatever the fuck he wants.

mickey watches ian move around the kitchen. takes in a greedy helping of how nicely those slacks hug his ass. how fucking snatched his waist is with that thick belt. how his back broadens into strong shoulders under the pressed blue fabric of his shirt. jesus fucking christ, this man. no way motherfuckers ain't passing out on the spot when he arrives on the scene. damn, mickey would do some highly questionable shit just to get him-

beep beep! beep beep! beep beep!

"lemme see."

mickey opens up exactly as asked, the thermometer slipped out from under his tongue.

in front of him, ian reads the numbers, mickey's scheme about to be put to rest once he realizes there never was a- "hm..."

mickey frowns. flicks his eyes to the thermometer and then back up. "what?" he asks. "the fuck you mean 'hm'?"

"you weren't kiddin' - you really got a fever going."

and-... wait a minute. "really?"

"mhm. looks like you're gonna need some follow-up care."

mickey's brain plugs along slowly, trying to wrap around what's happening. "...what-"

but the rest of his confusion is snuffed out as ian moves forward, scooping him up in his arms and getting that bespoke heart attack to set in - gloriously. because he's carrying mickey toward the stairs, "gonna have to be on bed rest for quite a while, i'm thinkin'..." the thermometer with mickey's temp left on the kitchen counter.

99.1

[midnight-vixn]

HIHIHIHI IVE SCROLLED FOR QUITE A WHIEL AND I LIKE IT HERE AND I HAVE SOME IDEAS

○accidently summoning them in a dream, summons them both to where you are and the dream ofc, BUT IMAGINE SUMMONING THEM IN A WET DREAM AND THEM WAKING YOU OUT OF IT BY DOING WHAT YALL WERE DOING,

○I've been listening to a ton of the band Ghost, and I can't stop seeing Luci mostly, but also Diavolo saying "you go down just like holy mary" while giving him head in the student council room 👀

I'm actually writing some stuff myself, but GOD DO I LOVE READING THE GOOD SHIT AND BUDDY PAL YOUVE GOT IT

HI WELCOME IM GLAD YOU LIKE IT HERE IN MY SLUTTY CORNER OF HELL❤️❤️❤️

Also I’m absolutely in LOVE with the idea of “accidental” summoning I actually want to write a fic or maybe some HC’s for the brothers with that!!! Them being summoned out of nowhere and confused and ready to question you but then they realize you’re still asleep. They smell your arousal and hear the very soft moans you make while sleeping and they know! Depending on the brother they may debate on waking you up to help you or they may just rip your pants off and get to work. They might feel a little bad but you did summon them and you’re having a wet dream so you must want them and— fuck that’s hot, they need you so bad. You wake to them balls deep and panting from how bad they want you, so desperate to feel you clench around them. You make eye contact and they groan or smirk at you, happy you’re awake so they can enjoy you more.

BLOWJOBS IN THE COUNCIL ROOM MY BELOVED!!! FUCK! Another weakness!!

I absolutely love thinking about going down on Lucifer or Diavolo in the council room/their office at RAD!! They rarely have free time so if you’re willing to please them while they work they will not pass it up!

Dia is such a big puppy about it, he gets needy, he begs for more but you have to tell him no. He bucks his hips into your mouth (gently), he spreads his legs father apart so you have more room, his head falls back against the chair, his eyes roll back as he gasps when your tongue flicks at his swollen tip. He moans your name until it’s slurred because he can’t think straight, you make him so fucking weak, his head spins when you deep throat him. He forgets where he is and gets lost in the way your throat feels, he moans so fucking loud and it’s so lewd, it doesn’t matter how often you do it to him he always moans and cusses like a virgin getting sucked off every damn time.

Lucifer on the other hand, whoo boy, depends on his mood. If you get him on a good day he’s more relaxed about it. Tie undone and shirt unbuttoned partially because his whole body feels hot, he bites down on one gloved hand to stifle his moans, his eyes stay locked on you when they aren’t fluttering shut, his other hand on the back of your head while he gently face fucks you. He praises you softly so no one outside will hear you two and interrupt, he’s so in love with you and wishes he had more time to be alone. Catch him on a bad day when his brothers have pissed him off and…your jaw is gonna be sore. He face fucks you hard! Both hands on the back of your head, eyes trained on the way his cock slides in and out, degrading you and making comments about how badly you must need his cock to be here on the ground like this. He strips you down partially, jacket off and uniform shirt undone completely so he can see your drool drip onto your chest. He loves hearing your strangled moans and whines, he grunts and growls while fucking your mouth and doesn’t care who hears, in fact he hopes one of his brothers walks by and hears you two.

Hang on I need to lay down 😵‍💫🤤

[starseneyes]

Chenford - Lucy Chen / Tim Bradford - The Rookie - Season 5 - Ep 14

Death Sentence AKA "To Key Or Not to Key..."

SPOILER ALERT: It's about to get real, y'all. So, if you're the kind of person who finds spoilers disturbing, disgusting, or disinteresting (yes, I made up a word), run. This is a Spoiler Zone, and I'll be spoiling the entire episode and possibly everything that came before.

Everyone briefed on the way this works? Fantastic! Let's dive in.

Tim the Boot

Tim's standing in his cargo pants (but not shorts. Sorry first date restaurant) in Lucy's kitchen trying to make coffee in the dark.

And... Oh, I can't go any further. Tim is all domestic at Lucy's! Like, they're not just sleeping together there. I mean, we all knew this relationship was all in from the jump, but here he is making his coffee, getting dressed, and I'm struggling to keep it together because holy shit.

Tim and Lucy have been together maybe two months. They only started sleeping together about three weeks into that.

Back with N*cy was a thing, Lucy didn't want to leave anything at Nolan's. She'd rather go home every morning to keep things casual. Here she is with the love of her life, Tim Bradford... And everything is completely natural.

They have seamlessly made this transition. Yes, Tim does have a go-bag, which we could argue might have clothes in there. But I get the feeling Lucy Chen has cleared out a drawer or two for her man since he shows up later sans-bag. It's conjecture, sure, but it's sexy conjecture, damnit!

And that tumbler looks like the exact one Lucy had when they were brainstorming how to save a kidnapped Angela (after their "almost" night together at Tim's). So... was it Lucy's that she brought home from work to his place that night? Is it Tim's and it's just never gone back to his place? It looks like the same one Lucy had when talking to him at his Desk Job last episode.

Either way, I don't care, because they are sharing a tumbler and it's adorable.

Tim opens a cabinet, maybe looking for a mug for Lucy (it's unclear what his motivation is beyond the gag because he never pulls anything out) but out fall baby Boots. Classic callback to when he moved up to Sergeant.

Tim has been trying so hard to be quiet and not wake anyone. And Lucy planted a noise-maker. There's something so Tim and Lucy about that.

"Did I miss it?" "It's cute."

Awww. This is like them talking about their baby rolling over for the first time and one of them missed it. Also, I love that Lucy likely let him fall asleep, then crept out of bed to set that gag up knowing he needed something out of that cabinet, just so she could prank him.

The Prank energy of Chenford remains! Look, I've seen shows butcher the characters when they get together. For some reason, it's like the ship becomes all that they are and the characters we loved so much disappear into an angry mesh of angst and confusing, unnecessary drama.

Lucy and Tim are still Lucy and Tim. More than any kiss, shirtless scene, or domestic crumb, that is the Writers' greatest gift to us. They haven't sacrificed the two characters we love to serve a story-line that makes little to no sense.

Instead, Tim and Lucy are given the opportunity to thrive separate of one another, but still lean into the relationship they've been developing since Season 1. And we see shades of their phases of relationship throughout their journey in this new one, and that's bloody beautiful.

Seriously, folks. These Writers are crushing it, and I'm so thankful.

"Why are you up so early? I was gonna get a photo of your reaction."

See what I mean!? Think Lucy might've gotten them printed on T-shirts? Or made them her lock screen? Who knows what she would've done, but I love all of it because this is so them!

Photos of her at Midnight. Photos of him with his award. Photos of all the stuff Kojo destroyed. Photos of Tim with his retro radio.

I've heard of photos being a love language, before, but not quite like this. And I love that. This has always been Tim and Lucy's thing. And it still is.

Their wedding slideshow is gonna just be one cringe photo after another, and I low key love that for them.

"The newbie. The Boot." "I'm a sergeant." "Mmm-mmm. You're still a Boot in my book."

I gotta be honest with you, I was never a big fan of the thought of "Boot" being an affectionate name for Tim to call Lucy. Simply because we knew he'd say it to others (like he did with Celina last episode) and it just felt off to me.

But Lucy using it as her pet name for Tim? Love it. There's something so sexy and powerful with her turning that name on him, and us knowing that nobody else could ever get away with that.

She reaches for his jacket (we can barely see it, but that's totally what's happening) to pull her man down to her. And can I say, I love that this is a Lucy thing.

"Did I interrupt something?"

Yes. Yes, you did. AGAIN. Tamara, I swear, we need to put bells on you so we can hear you coming down the hall. Like I know you live here, but can't you see we were about to get new kissage to GIF?

And, Lucy, a sock on the doorknob is not that hard to remember. Gee wiz, people! We need affection, damnit!

Of course, I'm being ridiculous (we don't need physical affection each episode, and it'd be super weird, to me, after whole seasons of them barely touching for it to become the "Chenford Kiss Cam Show"), but it's fun to poke fun at Tamara.

Until it isn't... keep reading to see why.

And I've rewatched this a few times (because I'm psychotic, but also because I'm obsessed with accuracy) and while there's a kissy sound, there's no lip touch from what I can tell. Gosh, that is the weirdest sentence I've ever written.

So, I'm not entirely sure what happened there. I even checked the subtitles to see if I'd missed a "smooches" the first time through watching it live, and it's not. "Door Opens" is, but not "smooches".

So, based on what I can see, I'm going to go with Tamara interrupting them pre-kiss, again, with both of them looking to the door in surprise... again. (They're even turning their heads the same way despite being in a different location in the room).

"You're gonna be great today. Knock 'em dead."

You're knocking me dead with that encouragement! Ahhhh. Tim Bradford is finally with a woman who supports his profession, understands his talent, and encourages him with every ounce of her energy.

And Lucy Chen is finally with someone who supports her profession, understands her talent, and appreciates her with every ounce of his energy.

Finally, Tim and Lucy have their person. My husband is that person for me. When I worked full time at a brick-and-mortar, had toddler twins, and we were trying for another kid, I told him I wanted to go to grad school. His response? "Go."

After 13 months of coursework, one complicated delivery of a brilliant baby girl, and the thesis professor from hell... I graduated with a 4.0 and no debt thanks to a host of scholarships and grants. But none of it would have been possible without my person.

And I can't tell you how stoked I am that Tim and Lucy have found theirs.

Tim says goodbye, but as he's pulling the door closed, he's looking back at Lucy with a small smile that's just for her. Lucy giggles in response. I love her giggle.

And Tamara is giving her a look that Tim can't see as he closes the door that is cracking me up.

"Good morning." "Whatever." "He is!"

This cracked me up so much because it definitely has "Family" energy. Tamara knows how absolutely over-the-top Lucy is being compared to anyone else in her life—but Tamara doesn't know how much Tim truly needs someone to believe in him.

He still has doubts about himself. Not when he's in motion as a cop, but as a man. He's still trying hard not to become the only example he ever had of manhood—an alcoholic father with a wicked right hook and no remorse.

Lucy is the only person besides his sister, perhaps, who truly understands all these facets of Tim. But Tamara has to poke fun a little, because from an outside perspective, it really does feel like a Mom giving her kid that little bit of extra encouragement before the first day at a new school.

"Bradford, this isn't Patrol. This is Metro. Major crimes, terrorism, barricades, hostages. We are an elite unit. Your form's gotta be perfect, man."

The Lieutenant seems solid on him, but the team is definitely giving him crap.

"Don't worry. Happens to everyone. Metro takes some getting used to. You'll get it."

I really like Lieutenant Pine. She's a hard-ass, but she's a smart hard-ass. And I truly believe she means it.

Tim hasn't been on the outside in a very long time, if ever.

Think about it. When you join the Military, you typically have to go through Boot Camp with other new recruits, right? If you Enlist, I mean. So, Tim was at the bottom of the food chain, but he wasn't alone there. He had others on the same level.

Same with being a Rookie in the Police Force. You go to the Training Academy with others who become Rookies, and then you move up. For all we know, Tim's never left his first Station.

This is the first time he's coming into an established team of folks that he's expected to lead and build an instant bond with. This is intimidating shit.

And now he can't even do one simple thing that he's done a million times? He's on edge. Because, work has been the one place he's always been secure in life. And now that he's finally secure in love and friendship, that's the thing that feels unsteady. It's a new feeling, and it's tough for Tim to swallow.

"Lucy Chen, fist of justice." "What are you doing?" "Hi!"

Watch Eric Winter's face in the background of this scene as he approaches. Yes, I'm aware he's Tim Bradford when the camera's rolling, but this is a master actor reacting.

Look, I know the phrase "acting is reacting" can seem cliché, but it's absolutely accurate. I used to call it "listening".

In 2003, I had to go see a play as part of my theater appreciation course at University. The first Act was fine, but the second was so dull I was aching for something to break through. Then, I saw this man out of the corner of my eye. There were 20 people on that stage, but he was the only one listening. Then, he stood and opened his mouth. I remember thinking, "Finally, there's an actor on this stage."

When I went home that night, my Dad asked for my review. I gave it and told him there was one actor who really blew me away. Someone I didn't know I'd nearly met several times in the year before... who I'd nearly meet a few more times before the next month when I would finally meet him... the man I married.

So, Matthew, if you ever read these bloody things, remember that I spotted you as a tremendous actor before we even knew one another. You're just that bloody good, loveyby.

*ahem* Back to Tim. Lucy. Aaron... and an imaginary action figure.

Because Aaron saw her boyfriend coming and instead of warning her he just thought, "Nah, I'm gonna let this play out". Sunshine met Grumpy as she turned around to face Tim, his sole box of work possessions in-hand.

And special shout-out to The Rookie's socials for posting a nice shot of EW carrying the box. We can clearly see his scissors (I love that style. Yes, I'm office-supply obsessed, why do you ask?), a framed certificate, pencils (look like Ticonderoga from here), a baseball glove/baseball (hell, yeah, Little League Co-Coach), and a few other framed items.

That's it. Years and Years at the Station, and he's such a minimalist. I mean, it matches his house. Tim is not a hoarder. Meanwhile, it took four trips to empty me out of my last brick-and-mortar because I had to bring in every bulletin board from home, every clipboard, every lamp, and every post-it-note. The fun of working for a humanitarian nonprofit! Loved what I did. Hated the office supply budget.

"I'm working on my side hustle. Oh, what's on your head?"

She is trying so hard not to touch it. She really just wants to affectionately wipe it off of his head. But he really doesn't want that.

This is his first day and he's annoyed that he's died over and over and over (like poor Judy Hopps in Zootopia—"You're dead fluffy bunny!"). He's been at the top of his game for so long, and now he really is the "Boot" at the bottom of the chain.

And he doesn't want her to know. It reminds me of 5x05 when he was in the hospital and didn't want her to know he was paralyzed. Then, he didn't want her to worry. Same thing, now, just a different angle.

She has so much faith and belief in him, and he doesn't want to let her down.

"It's nothing."

"Nothing" is never "nothing" with Tim. It wasn't nothing when he told Lucy nothing was going on with him. It wasn't nothing when he told Nolan he wasn't doing anything the night before.

And Lucy knows it. Watch her face as he breezes by. She can see that something's up with him, but she's not going to call him out on it in front of Aaron.

"Metro-Police Liaison, best of both worlds."

I love how Lucy leans right alongside the wall at his door, like a high school girl who isn't ready to watch her boyfriend walk into his next class when hers is down the hall.

Tim pushes in, first, but Lucy is quick behind him to get a look at their new hook up space his new office. The generic motivational posters are killing me.

"Well, at least it won't take too long to move in." "No." *giggle*

Tim kicks her out, but she sidles up to the window to get a good view.

Tim in Metro gear is objectively a good view. Like, I'm a demisexual, so I might not feel sexual attraction like some of y'all, but I do feel like Michelangelo might have picked a different model for David if Eric Winter had been around back then.

Aaron and Lucy give the most awkward thumbs up—perhaps their personal call back to Tim's ridiculous habit of doing that in awkward situations—and he gives a patented fake smile before closing the blinds. He looks right at Lucy as they go down.

And Lucy's indignation is sending me. Tim and Lucy are still Tim and Lucy.

Lucy playing Mom to Aaron, then Tamara Calls

Lucy is a bit of a Mother Hen. She can't help it. Caring is built into her personality, and if she sees someone flailing, she's going to throw out the life preserver to help. Some of them take it. Some of them don't, but it's in her personality to want to help.

And Tamara calling makes me so happy. Because, back in the day, Tamara wasn't sure she could count on Lucy. But, now, Lucy is her first call when something is off. That trust is beautiful, and earned, and it's been a really special relationship to watch throughout the series.

"I'm taking a poll. How old were you when you did your first load of laundry?"

This makes me laugh so much. In the early seasons, Jackson, Lucy and Nolan were the OT3. They were Rookies banding together. But by the time they all moved up to P2 and then Jackson died, they didn't have as much reason to be together all the time. They moved on.

But Lucy doesn't let connections go with people she cares about. They are still friends. And I bet she bloody radio'd everyone to ask their ages, which has me screaming because they had to be so awkward for Aaron, and I am here for it.

"Yeah, Bradford, nice!" *Applause* "

You can see Tim sigh with relief as the bell sounds off.

"Well, clearly you've got the goods to be here. And now that you're one of us, you get the company ink."

Look, I was a little confused at the top of this scene with the call for ink. That seems a little... cult-ish. Forcing people to get the same tattoo (and Tim totally called it out). But I can totally roll with the unicorn stickers. My kids all put stickers all over me as kids, so Tim might as well get used to this before he and Lucy extend their family.

Why do I say "extend"? Well, Tim and Lucy already have a family. Their Found Family. And Tamara is a part of it. This little family will grow... someday.

"They're testing you, seeing how far you'll bend. " Yeah, I saw the same kind of thing when I was in the military." "Not about how many stripes on your sleeves with this crew." "It's all good. Team building." "If you're gonna lead this team, they need to know who you are. Show them the Tim Bradford that was tapped to join Metro in the first place."

I really love Lt. Pine. She's letting her Team be who they are, but she's coming in to give Tim the translations after. So, they don't have to break the rhythm they have, but she's giving him the beat so he can find his way into the music.

But Tim's pensive. Being on the outside sucks. And we already talked about how long it's been since Tim's truly been on the outside, if ever. He needs the opportunity to show them who he is, but sometimes even Tim is unsure.

Even during the exercise, they were talking about personal lives. Well, Tim keeps personal out of professional. He has boxes that he keeps everything in, and personal life is checked at the door. But these folks are so tightly woven together that all those crisp, hard lines to which Tim clings start to blur within this team.

It's not going to be easy for Tim. He was so excited about coming over, and I think he still is. But the realities of being on the outside can be tough, even for someone as closed off as Tim Bradford.

"I'm, like, really good friends with the cops here... You can call me, whenever you want, even if it's just to talk, got it?"

Tamara is a really great person. Look, she has made some interesting choices in the past (selling Lucy's car), but she is an incredible person, and I feel like she's passing on the compassion she learned from Lucy.

Lucy's gonna be such a great Mom someday.

And I'm not trying to rush a Chenford baby. But, if we look at Tamara as Lucy's older, first child... we know those younger kids will be just fine whenever they come along.

Lucy and Angela working together

One thing I'm loving about what they're doing this season is changing up who works with whom, so we get a different dynamic with the same characters we love. I adore that it's three powerful women in this scene.

Angela is my #3 of the show behind Tim and Lucy (and Lucy's a strong second). She's showing (again) that an expectant Mom can still be a badass at work.

And as someone who sucks at Stay-at-home-Momming (briefly tried it during maternity leave... I'm not built for it), I'm grateful. I love working. And I'm capable, whether or not I'm pregnant.

"And you're working the night shift somewhere... this morning you were not coming home from a party, not dressed like that. You were coming home from a job. What's going on with you? You need money or something?" "I gotta get that first month, last month and security deposit."

The shock on Lucy's face. She put together that something was up, but I know she didn't expect this.

And the music saying, "Now you're leaving"?! Oh, someone planted that to break my heart a little.

"It's not like I can stay here forever." "Why would you say that? Of course you can." "How's that gonna work? You, me, and Tim?"

How little was Chris spending the night? Like, seriously. Because they were together a lot longer than Tim and Lucy have been, thus far, and Chenford have only been making the two-headed beast for a few weeks, now.

Just a few weeks ago Tamara was offering to blare her music and clear out. But now she's ready to move?! How loud are Tim and Lucy!? Like, I'm sure Lucy can invest in a pair of noise-canceling headphones for you that are higher quality.

I also wonder if the end of the Chris era plays into this. Chris wanted Lucy to move, but he was willing to take Tamara with them.

Maybe the thought of being that third wheel was really unsettling to her, and she was secretly glad when Chris was out of the picture, and she got back to her status quo with her bitchin' cop roommate....

Only for Lucy and Tim to get serious fast. Yes, they took it slow physically (because everyone's definition of "slow" varies), but they dove headfirst into the emotional commitment to one another.

There was never any doubt in either of their minds that this is it for both of them.

So, settling in has been easy for them. They've gotten to skip a lot of the "early dating" tropes because they know one another so well, they know that this is forever, and they know a lot of each other's likes and dislikes.

And I've seen folks complaining that they're not climbing all over each other. If Tamara hadn't walked in, we certainly would've seen some deep kissing from our kimono-clad-queen. Sure. But this isn't the Tim and Lucy show.

I can't remember seeing Wopez climbing all over each other all the time, or Jayla, or even Nolan and Bailey. Like, this isn't that kind of show. That's why we have the beauty of fan-fiction.

Tim and Lucy are in a mature relationship, so they're not going to make out under a blanket on the couch while watching a movie with friends (yes, teenage Rachel did this... do not recommend.). They will be sexy on their own time, and temper it down when around others. They don't need to kiss every time they see one another, and they are secure in their relationship.

Look, I have a lot of Ship Trauma, but I think what we're being given in near-perfect, folks. It's beautiful. It's layered. It's steamy sometimes. Sweet sometimes. Supportive sometimes. To borrow a line from the Musical Quilt, "there are many different kinds of love."

Matthew and I have been together almost 20 years (come August). There are times we are mad passionate, times we are sweet as sugar, times we're frustrated with one another, times we're united in grief, times we cuddle cutely...

Love looks different in every situation, but it's no less love. And what Tim and Lucy have is love.

EDIT: A lot of y'all are convinced there's a Key and one of you might've convinced me in the comments (@noblog2023 pointed out Tim would never leave the door unlocked when he left early in the morning... SOLD!).

So, here's the significance of the key:

First off, I don't believe Lucy's ever given anyone else a key to her apartment. Chris was only in there once without Tamara or Lucy, and that was when Rosalind dropped him off. And we know that psycho bitch knew how to pick a damn lock.

Lucy and Tim haven't been dating that long, and she's given him a key to get into her and Tamara's home.

Because the last person who got a key here was Tamara... and it's been a long time since anyone else had access like that. This was "their" place with the occasional bed-guest. But Tim is not a guest. He's quickly becoming family.

He has even put in the effort to have movie night with his girls.

But from Tamara's side, this is the first person Lucy's let into her world to this degree. This is serious and Tamara can see that. And she's a little spooked that with Lucy's new family, she's not going to want her weirdo roommate hanging around.

Tim and Lucy can build a nuclear family together. The kind of family Tamara once had. And that damn key is a big reminder to Tamara of that truth.

She remembers the security and love of a mother and father and child. So, once Lucy and Tim go that route, where does Tamara fit in?

So of course as she tells Lucy there's no room for her, Tim walks in using his damn key. It's almost like, "see? I told you."

For Tim and Lucy, this level of trust is easy. It's simple. It's second-nature. They are all in, so keys are only necessary to keep the monsters out—not each other.

Tim carrying around a key to her place also means that wherever he goes, he has a piece of her with him. No, it's not the same as when he carried around her ring, but it's still a symbol of connection between them. They now hold twin keys, like twin pieces of their hearts.

And who ever heart of triplet pieces of a heart? No, Tamara's key starts to feel heavy and unfamiliar, because she's missed that she is a part of Lucy's heart.

Tim does know that. If Curried Chris was able to spot that, we know That Tim knows. For goodness sake, he was there when Tamara and Lucy met. He's been there for many of the big moments between them by fate's design.

And there's no way in hell Tim's going to separate the love of his life from her best girl.

"Hi. Sorry I'm late..." "I think I'm gonna crash."

I have been so conflicted with this one, because I voted the kissy sounds out because there was no visual confirmation, but can I do that with the key!?

Just like with the kiss, there's no "keys jangle" on the subtitles. Just "Door Opens".

Like, no, Lucy and Tamara wouldn't just leave the place unlocked. So, it totally tracks that they'd have it locked, and if Tim needed a way in, it'd be because he has his own keys.

And after embiggening on my laptop and staring at Hulu in slow-motion like a madwoman—there's no key. It's an invisible key. Because when Tamara came in, she had a key in her hand. Tim opens the door with his right and closes with his left—no key.

So, a foley artist somewhere is playing with my emotions. I want to get so excited about the prospect of Tim having a key. Before I could see it on Hulu (after watching it live and it going so fast), I did a whole write-up on the significance of Tim having a key.

But there's no key. Remember, I try to write these based on what I can see. Yes, there are time I pick up on things that aren't subtitled ("you're so strong" in DOD, for example), but I don't see a key.

And, look, the creators and showrunner can come in and say, "Yes, there is a key" and then my eyes don't matter. My ears don't matter. Because, it has been declared by TPTB as canon.

I want there to be a key. But if I discarded the kiss at the top because it was heard but not seen, I feel like I need to be consistent. *braces to be murdered in the comment section this week*

"Hey. Sorry. I'm late. Ready for the movie?"

I love how he directs that to his step-daughter. Like, right away, he wants to make sure that she knows she's included, and that this is all of heir thing. He's committed to that, and Tamra just isn't in the headspace to see it.

And Tim liking classic movies is just so on-brand. I love that about him (and I realized this movie is missing in my personal viewing, so I need to fix that ASAP because it sounds amazing).

"Well, I guess it's just us. Popcorn?" "Yeah, sure."

Tim didn't hear the conversation before he came in, so he doesn't know how that "just us" cuts into Lucy a little. Tim isn't good at reading everyone. It reminds me of his line in 5x08 to Nyla, "You're the detective". He lacks Lucy's perception and sensitivity, too.

These aren't character flaws. Simply aspects of his personality that lead to him missing the tension in his girlfriend's roommate.

Also, Tim is making the popcorn.

This is Lucy's place, but Tim knows where enough things are that he can navigate his way around the kitchen, and that's so bloody domestic it makes my heart sing.

Lucy and Tamara

Lucy is making breakfast for the two of them, setting it out and trying to show Tamara that they are a family. Tamara starts asking Lucy questions that normally she would easily answer. But since Tamara has a connection with the family, she's trying to keep it close to the vest.

"Tamara? I'll be parked outside, okay?"

Tamara's not a puppy anymore. She's a grown woman and she's making her own calls. When a kid grows up, that's all you can do. So, Lucy lets her know that she's going to have her back. It's another demonstration of love. Lucy's there for her.

"Thank you. I know I volunteered us for the most boring detail ever." "Of course. You're worried about Tamara. I get it."

I like that Aaron's wordlessly riding along with Lucy. Like, we didn't have to have a conversation or assignment. It's just great to see these two hanging and working together. Aaron has had a nice front-seat to Chenford via riding with Tim, and now he gets to keep up with the gossip by riding with Lucy.

And Tamara learned a lot from Lucy. Now, we're lucky that Deon wasn't violent with Tamara. That could have gone very badly.

Tim Running the Op

He's got a good mix of our folks. Detectives. Officers. Metro. It's great to do this for us as an audience—we're seeing Tim in his new role, getting to know the new folks a bit better, and them getting to see how badass he is, plus keeping our favorites in the action.

It's a really well thought-out scene and episode to get us to this point. We've seen Tim on the outside with the new team. We've seen his unease. We've seen Lucy, Aaron, and Angela covering this from the other side. Now everyone's coming together to save an Innocent. F'ing gorgeous.

"Detective Lopez will be our spotter. She'll provide overwatch." "Why not let Metro provide overwatch?"

It's the first time Tim's being challenged in the field, and that's where Tim's completely secure in who he is and what needs to be done.

"Because we need all our boots on the ground, and there's no one I'd rather have on my six than La Adelita."

Fuck, yeah! Now, from what I understand, there was a real life Adelita during the Mexican Revolution, but the term was used to honor all the women who took up arms to help protect and defend their homes. True Warrior Goddesses. And Angela definitely is one.

That's all it takes for Metro division to stand at attention. Angela's a damn legend. So, maybe Tim does know what he's talking about, eh? Let's take this new team out to see how we do.

Metro Style Camera Work

I love the way this was shot. The way it was directed. The way it was edited. This whole sequence is just gorgeous.

While I was watching the first time, my mind immediately when to how clean-cut the sequence was a few weeks ago with Tim and Lucy rescuing that family. Nothing against how that was shot. It fit the need.

And this sequence is fitting the need of introducing us fully to Metro as its own entity. Yes, Metro has been a part of ops on the show before, but this is the first time we're riding shotgun with Metro, and it's amazing.

Through a combination of tight shots, wide shots, steady-cam that's not-so-steady and drone shots, we're dropped into the action. It reminds me of active combat films and television shows I've watched over the years. Yes, I have eclectic tastes.

Yes, I know this is a Chenford Meta... but this is a part of Tim's story. His first time out with Metro and he gets to do it with his girl? That's what I'm talking about.

Tim just CONKING out the Guy

That made me laugh. I was having Princess Bride flashbacks. Like, yes, it's badass. But I also watch too many shows/movies.

But Tim Bradford is finally getting to show them who he is. On-the-job, he is locked in. It's going to take him a little longer to develop relationship bonds with this group. He's spent a long time surviving in isolation and convincing himself it was enough.

Now he has a family off-the-job and he needs to find a way to connect with his new team on the job. He'll get there, but it's going to be a process.

"Come on. Just take one step."

I love this. Yes, the bad guy could've overheard Tim and it could've been bad for all. But, in the safety of television, I loved that little insight to his head. He's calculating. He's making decisions in real-time. He's protecting their innocent. He's the real fucking deal.

"It's okay. You're safe, now."

And that is who he is, too.

Starting out this episode, Tim was a little unsteady. We've never seen him that way. But by the end he was completely confident in himself, in his team, and in the chain of command.

Tim is getting to excel in a new arena that takes the best of all his training and experience. It's really a culmination of everything that's come before. This is the job he's been training for all his life. And he's the right person for the job.

There's just a learning curve. There's an on-ramp. And that's gonna be tough for Tim for a bit. The tension and angst isn't coming because he's not good enough. It's because naturally connecting with people isn't his thing. He keeps things in nice boxes, but these folks have to form a camaraderie to help them get through the worst of it day-in and day-out.

Tim's days of pulling over drunk tricyclists are long over. It's going to be great, but first he has to get through the bits that are not-so-simple.

Lucy Spreadsheets Poverty

So, you and I know that it's not poverty, but Aaron's got a warped view of life, God bless his heart. But I loved Lucy pulling an Ames from Brooklyn 99 and getting that spreadsheet whipped out.

Amy was my fictional bestie on that show, and Lucy is on this one, so it makes me unreasonably happy to see both armed with spreadsheets. I warned ya I was into office supplies!

"Hey, Bradford. Good job out there today." "Thanks." "They're a good bunch once you get to know 'em." "Yeah, I'll take your word for it." "Nothing against Patrol, but Metro is a different beast. We get called in situations that are already at a boiling point. That kind of stress creates a special bond."

He really looked at them and tried to shimmy away before they noticed him. But Lt. Pine is being a good leader. She's reaching out to the newbie. She knows the skills he has and the potential he has to be a real strong member of this team. But, he has to reach back. And that's not Tim's specialty.

"And I'm on the outside of that" And every single one of them was, too, at some point. Give it a little time." "Okay."

Golly, I feel this. How many times I was on the outside. I mean, I'm a weirdo, so I was never on the "inside." I thought after high school, it would be different, but in every brick-and-mortar job I've had... I was always the oddball who didn't quite fit in.

Right until the end, that is. My humanitarian nonprofit team was really solid, there, and we watched out for each other. But the first few weeks there were an absolute nightmare.

So, Tim, I totally get it. This group reminds me of the PAs at the newsroom I worked at right out of college as a Web Producer. They had so many in-jokes, and connections, and even though I tried to go to the parties and hang out... it just never clicked. Hopefully, Tim has an easier time with Metro, if he gives it the chance.

"You wanna grab a beer with us?" "Do I have a choice? It's tradition. New guy buys a round."

And that was a genuine Tim smile. Gives me hope for the kid.

"Yes, I'm happy to send over my references. And I can start whenever you need me"

How much do I love we switched from Tim to his wife and kid? There've been a lot of episodes ending with Tim and Lucy lately, so we knew that brief trend had to end (it's not the Tim and Lucy show), but I really loved that.

"I just don't want to be a burden." "You're not. Tamara, look, I get it. Your whole life you've been displaced from one home to another, but that's over now. Girl, we're family. You couldn't get rid of me if you tried."

Tamara needs to hear this. Since her parents died, there's been nobody she could really count on. From Swiping to couch surfing to unreliable family members... Tamara's always been the one cast out, the one that didn't belong, that one that was told she was a burden.

Tamara, my dear, you are no burden. You are a beautiful, talented, strong, bad-ass young woman who somehow didn't give up on herself even when the world gave up on you.

In Lucy, you found something you thought you'd lost forever when your parents died—family. And if you ever doubted Lucy saw it that way, too, well, time to stop doubting. You are loved, my dear.

"Thanks. But I will get my own place, eventually. I don't plan to be the weirdo roommate when you and Tim start having babies."

Did you hear Lucy suck in that breath? Because I sure did. *phew* She is not ready to talk about the immediacy of babies.

Let's be clear, Lucy Chen wants Tim Bradford's babies. But she still has a lot to do in her career before starting her family, and then more to do after she does. She and Tim can try to plan out what works for them, and there's no rush on that, yet (especially if she did take up Mama Chen's offer to freeze her eggs).

But can I point out that I love that the Moonstone Ring makes an appearance for this scene where we're talking about Chenford babies?

It can't be in every scene (that'd get super weird and kinda kill its magic), so I wasn't even looking for it, but the light caught it at one point, so I had to rewind. A welcome little Easter egg.

"That's a long way off, but I don't know, maybe it could work out. I hear you're a really good babysitter." "You can't afford my rate." "It's like that." "It is."

I get it. Family doesn't always want to take your kids, and that's perfectly fine, too. I had twins, and most people just couldn't deal with the "multiple babies at once" thing.

But can we talk about the fact that both Lucy and Tamara now have certainty that Tim and Lucy are going to have kids? Like, a few weeks ago, Tamara was asking if they were going to break up because of their work situation, and now she's talking about their babies.

Lucy has never been this serious about any of her on-camera love interests. We don't know what came before, but this is the first time she's used the "g-word" and they were both ready to switch jobs, and they are upending their lives because it's worth it!?

They are worth it. And, golly, I love being along for the ride.

As ever, thanks for reading. I have a few requests in, and one I'm working on. But, as I'm doing much better on the back and life's picking up a lot IRL, I might be a bit slower getting to them.

Have a beautiful rest of your week.

[taraljc]

holy shit, I just figured out how I would break season 2 if I were in charge of Lockwood & Co.

SPOILERS FOR ALL OF THE EVERYTHING I REALLY MEAN IT for The Hollow Boy and The Creeping Shadow ahoy

(I continue to hate that you cannot add a read more link using the stupid app)

So two of the things that had been bugging me. the first thing was that Lucy voluntarily went home to visit her family which clearly telly!Lucy would not do. However, I found a fix for that. The second thing is how do you show the time cut between book three and book four if you are doing book three and book four in the same season? Got a fix for that, too!

So here is how I would do it.

You open season 2 episode 1 with Lucy in her own apartment with Skull getting the knock at the door and it's Lockwood saying 'I need to hire you'.

Then you have the chyron 'six months ago' and we jump back to the middle of Lavender Lodge and its aftermath of the three of them completely knackered and Portland Row is a mess and they are in dire need of more manpower--but then Lucy gets a call from Mrs White that Norrie is awake.

So she rushes back to her hometown where her friend is miraculously ghost-locked no more! except that no-one knows how or why. and it's not every ghost locked person in the country it's just Norrie.

Lucy makes Norrie promise when she is up for it to come down to London so she can meet Lockwood & Co. and because I'm evil you have a flashback in the middle of the flashback of what happened with Lockwood taking George and Lucy into Jessica's bedroom at the end of season 1, and Lucy telling Norrie all about what little they know about Jessica (which includes what she heard when she was Listening after finding the newspaper clipping).

She goes back a day early to discover Lockwood and George have hired Holly, who is the complete stranger who answers the door when Lucy is fitting her key into the lock to come home. Possibly wearing Lockwood's dressing gown just to fuck with everyone.

So that's the end of episode 1.

episode 2 opens with 'this is Holly isn't she fantastic isn't she wonderful everything is clean and tidy now everything is perfect she knows a lot of really important people and we have a real case with a crazy rich lady now who has a haunted staircase'.

Also the reason she is in Lockwood's dressing gown is perfectly innocent--in reality she had simply showered after doing the big clean and she is waiting for her clothes to be dry and ironed because Lockwood would absolutely be ironing her clothes for her because why not he's used to ironing all of his shirts in the kitchen why not this complete stranger's who he's known for 2 days, that's not weird at all.

Then you do the whole haunted staircase episode where Lucy is feeling completely shut out of what had been her family, ending with Lockwood unconscious and bleeding and it's all her fault.

Episode 3 opens with Lockwood with concussion, and avoiding Lucy because she almost died and the realisation that she almost died on his watch and he almost lost her scared the absolute shit out of him. Which is why he is now pushed her away because he is busy trying to put all of his feelings back in the feelings basement.

So then they get called to the Chelsea outbreak-- which they had been talking about in the previous episode--to finally see it first hand, except they find out DEPRAC hasn't been the one that summoned them. Penelope Fittes did after she heard Mrs Wintergarden's glowing recommendation and she is inviting them to be on the lead parade float with her and Rotwell.

Lockwood is incredibly pissed off but also determined to seize upon this bright and shiny opportunity to get good press for the agency. and then of course the parade happens and they actually earn the good press what with the stopping people from killing people thing. End episode 3.

Ep 4 opens where Ep 3 left off--The Golden Blade, Lockwood and Lucy seeing the cavalry arriving over the bridge, and stop swordfighting. While Lockwood and Lucy deal with being mobbed George continues down to where Flo is working, to ask her about what she seen and maybe possibly flirt a little possibly with either the promise of tasty tasty baked goods or even bringing a biscuit tin with him specifically baked for her. After talking with Flo, George realises the pattern is a wave and DEPRAC and all of the agencies are in fact looking for the center in completely the wrong place.

Meanwhile Lucy talks to Norrie who picks up on her jealousy about all the time Lockwood is spending with Holly and Lucy denies it up one side and down the other because she too is dealing with the feelings basement. Norrie also says that Jacob's got shut down but now there's no agency in town and the ghost activity has started getting more frequent. Lucy begs Norrie to stay safe--she only just got her back she doesn't want to lose her again.

George pinpoints the source of the wave and everybody heads off to the knockoff Harrod's built on top of the remains of King John's prison, where they think The Golden Blade has been fucking around trying to replicate the Bone Mirror (red herring--which they learn when Flo tells them the body of the assassin from the parade washed up and she recognised them as a Rotwells agent--except that never makes the front page of any newspaper).

Lucy realizes she is in love with Lockwood (and it's going to get him killed) therefore completely logically quits the Agency, and then we smash cut back to where we started in episode 1, where Lockwood needs to hire Lucy because of a big case: Lucy's home village is mega-haunted by a giant Creeping Shadow and it's Norrie who hires Lockwood & Co on the condition Lucy is consulting.

End ep 4.

Then Eps 5-8 are a lean, mean version of The Creeping Shadow, with no Ealing Cannibal but the added bonus of Lucy becoming the town hero instead of the person everyone blamed for the disaster at the mill. Also Lockwood and Lucy work out their shit vis-a-vis their respective feelings basements and stunted emotional maturity. They don't admit they're in love with each other of course because that would be sensible and lead to loads of kissing. No, that has to wait for the 3rd season.

Anyway it turns out Norrie waking up is actually linked to Lucy's Talent and Skull somehow--I haven't quite figured out yet how I would do it but I would totally do it because you would have so much more at stake if it were Lucy's hometown instead of a random village.

Also, I would have Kipps joining the team (possibly along with Kat and Bobby) after the Poltergeist in Harrod's. it seems to me Ned Shaw's death would be a turning point for that whole team.

Bobby and George being researched buddies and best friends is creepy and weird and no-one knows how to handle it and so they just don't talk about it. Also Norrie thinks Kipps is really fit, which confuses and horrifies everyone. and we find out that Holly's roommate is actually her girlfriend--Kat Godwin (which actually makes a lot of sense and explains a lot).

ETA: I forgot that Holly's girlfriend works for DEPRAC. God, if Holly were older, I'd absolutely love it to be Sgt Wade. But Wade reads as mid to late 20s to me. I'm wondering now how many former agents end up at DEPRAC after their Talent fades.

Then to lead into series 3, you end episode 8 with Penelope Fittes visiting Portland Row and Skully dropping the bombshell on them about Penelope's true identity.

Anyhow, that's how I would do it if I were in charge. This is my white board, these are my index cards. This is how I would set up the third season which would be all of book 5.

[blogevaawrites]

BIG DEAL

Pairing: Chris Evans x Reader

Warnings: smut, cheating, angst

Summary: After being away of you boyfriend for three weeks, you come to Chris’s  house after he had thrown a party where you met a girl you haven’t see ever. The beginning of the relationship was unconventional so you couldn’t do anything else but suspect.

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

There’s something I do when I don’t know how to deal with a situation.

I clean my closet.

I organize it; I try everything on, throw out pieces I don’t wear anymore, or I don’t like. I like to spend time doing this just because I don’t have to think in anything else.

“He’s calling again, you’re not picking up, are you?” Linda asked from the other side of the room. I was surrounded by my clothes and shoes and things, and she was working in her laptop.

“No.” I answered simply and kept doing my thing.

“Isn’t better if you pick up and tell him to stop? This is his tenth call today, and I don’t want to know about texts. This is not right.”

“I’m not ready to think about this.” I muttered. I didn’t realize she got up from the bed and walked to me.

“It’s fine, everything is going to be fine” she said hugging me. Her touch brought tears out of my eyes, but her kindness made me feel safe.

Linda moved to NY a few months before I did, and I could be more blessed because she moved to the next door’s apartment. She has been there since then; our friendship was the kind of you find just a couple times in a lifetime.

“Don’t worry I will be right here. We can clean your closet as many times as you need.”

It’s been three days since I left his house, and my phone has been ringing since then.

I spent my first day watching true-crime documentaries, eating ice cream and drinking wine. The second day I started donating the clothes I wasn’t wearing anymore. And today, I have cleaned the closet three times. Linda enjoyed the first two days, but she hated to organize anything, so she killed time working from my bed.

“That one is pretty sexy. Why don’t we go out to dinner and have a few drinks tonight? Lucy and Vanessa have been calling too.” She spoke.

I thought about it for a few minutes, and I was actually feeling sick of being here.

“Yeah! Why not? I need more alcohol” I joked.

 The night went pretty fun, and I kind of felt better and ready to face everything, his apologies, his face and his voice. Around three a.m I was ready to go back home and sleep my hangover. “Are you sure you don’t need me there? Linda asked when I told her I was leaving, she was having a good time and I didn’t want to spoil her fun. “Yeah! Don’t worry, I’m sick of being depressed, I’m ready to be me again.” She smiled at me and hugged me before I left.

The uber ride was fast, no traffic nor people in the street this made my way home calm, and the driver was quite funny. He waited for me to get in the building and left, leaving alone again. The lobby’s lights were automatic, but they weren’t working very well, I knew the way to my door, so I didn’t bother turning my phone’s flashlight on. Going up stairs, I tried to take off my high heels, but something made me get alarmed. A dark big shadow at the top of the stairs. My heart stopped for a second.

“Holy crap! What are you doing here? Why are you sitting there? You scared the shit out of me, asshole!” I yelled when the light of the hallway turned on and all of the sudden the silhouette of a big man appeared at the top the stairs. My heart started to beat in this normal pace when I recognized his face.  

“I’m sorry that wasn’t my intention. You weren’t picking the phone. I was worry about you.” His hands went up in a signal of inoffensive. His voice was hoarse and his eyes a little bit swollen and red. I could say he had been crying.

“I’m fine, you can go.” I said, walking straightly to my apartment’s door. I looked for my keys in my bag as faster as I could.  

“Can we talk?” he moved to stay behind me while I opened the door. He didn’t get too close to me and I felt grateful for that.

“I don’t want to hear anything, and right now the only thing I want is to sleep.” I got in the apartment and closed the door rapidly. With my forehead rested against the closed door and my hands still on the handle, I listened to him to beg. I missed him, his voice, his smell, his fucking presence made me shake my legs.

“Please, just give me five minutes. I love you and I can’t let you think I don’t. I know I fucked everything up but…” I opened the door before he could finish it. He looked quite surprised when a move away to let him pass.

He didn’t say anything, walked in and moved around awkwardly. I told him to sit with my head. He took a sit on the couch and I didn’t move from the door, with my back resting it in. His eyes stared me few a few minutes, making me feel uncomfortable, defenseless.

“You look beautiful.” He said quietly.

“You have five minutes.” The alcohol in my body brought rudeness out of my mouth. I was tired, kind of drunk and still hurt by him so couldn’t let him get any closer in any dimension.

“I’m sorry.” He said before his hands rubbed his face roughly. “I went to NY to tell you everything. I really did, I felt horrible, and I didn’t want to hurt you, but I knew I had to tell you. Carly thought it too. You know them, there’s no place for any secrete between them. When I arrived in here, saw your face and I felt your arms around me I chickened out. I realize that I couldn’t live without you; for the first time in my life, I was really scared to lose somebody. And that was a feeling I wasn’t used to.” His statements made my heart ache. I wished anything of this had happened.

“So, you lied? Because you loved me.” I knew he wasn’t a perfect boyfriend in the past but that was a shitty excuse.

“I didn’t know how to tell you. When Carly called that night, she heard you in the back then she assumed that you forgave me, and I didn’t deny it. I felt awful but I got into that lie so quickly, I didn’t know what to do.” I sat on ankles, sliding down the wall. I hid my face with my hands trying to avoid him to see me cry.

“I wasn’t joking, honey. You are the love of my life and I didn’t want to lose you. That scare got so real that I couldn’t face it. I’m sorry, I really am. With you everything is different, and I didn’t realize it until that. The fear of losing you got in my skin and it never left.” I didn’t feel him to come closer to me until I felt his hands in mine. As soon as I felt it, I got up and moved away from him. I knew I could fall for him quickly.

“If you have done, you should leave.” I could say walking to the fridge to pour water in glass. My throat was dry.

He looked at me for a while, then took a deep and loud breath and moved to the door.

I saw him walk to the door, to leave the apartment, to leave me. I did understand the scare of losing someone, I had lost a few people in my life, but seeing him leaving it was different, I was losing him, and everything was his fault. That didn’t feel fair.

 “Why you did this to me?” The words left my mouth before I could think about it. He turned around to look at me, but I hadn’t finished “Why didn’t you break up with me if you wanted to fuck somebody else? Why were you seeing Ashley? Why did you play along with her game after the kiss?” my voice got louder at every question. I wasn’t a person who yelled easily but I couldn’t help it.

“Baby, I’m a dickhead, I screw up every relationship I’ve ever had. I don’t know why. I promised I went out with her with any side intention, when she kissed me, I felt that fear again. And at the party, I swear I didn’t invite her, I wanted to keep her away from you, I wanted to keep everything what I did away from us.”

“Yeah! That’s why you took her panties.” I said ironically. “What did you want me to do? Kicked her out of the house, making a scene?” He saw my face burning in anger and he continued. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I hate myself enough for both of us.” Said that he took his way again. I didn’t hate him. I loved him. I was needed for him.

I moved quickly to get him; I could reach him by the arm.

As soon as he turned around to look at me, I jumped on his mouth. He didn’t take any longer to embrace his arms around me, pushing my face more against his, as if that was even possible.

We walked clumsily to the nearest wall; he squeezed my butt before holding me up. His hands flew through my tights, caressing them and reached my wet panties. I moaned when I felt his fingers rubbing me. “I need you.” He whispered in my ear. His fingers went to undo his pants and I could get out of his arms.

I saw panic in his face for a couple of seconds. But it disappeared when he saw me got into my knees. I took his hard member in my hands to stroke it a few times before get it into my mouth. He rested his forehead in the wall, and shut his eyes, leaving me caged by his body.

His breathing changed when he opened his eyes and watched my mouth around the head of his sensitive cock. Clenched jaw and hands making fist, he moaned loudly as he was being relieved of great amount of pressure.

My lips wrapped around his cock, taking as much as my throat could, and my hand gripped the rest. I wasn’t thinking, I didn’t want to think. I was tired and sick of the anxiety that this situation was giving me.

I knew this wasn’t a good idea. I wasn’t proud but I wanted it.

“I love your fucking mouth.” his voice brought my back from my thoughts. I started to suck a little bit harder as he was getting bigger. His hips also started to thrust him into my mouth, making me gag at one particularly push. “Shit! Sorry!” he said, taking my face in his hands and making me get up from my knees. “I don’t want to cum in your mouth.” he responded to my unanswered question. We kissed as his hands tried to get rid of my dress, and mine were fighting with his shirt.

Just in my panties, he pickup me up and put me on the hall’s table. Sucking my nipples and rubbing my breast and ass, he ripped my panties and his dick stormed in me.

I yelled in surprise; I was actually more than ready to take him.

“I loved that ones.” I murmured pretending to be sadly for my lingerie.

“I will make it worth.” He said with smile on his face before taking my calves over his shoulders. His thrusts were deep, rough, and needed, I tired to hold on to the table, but his movements got fiercely, and I could feel my orgasm coming.

The table wasn’t meant to this kind of activities. We realized it very late.

“Holy crap!” he said when he saw the table fall, holding me better in his arms. Everything I could do was laugh. He intended to let me go but crossed my arms behind his neck.

“No! Take me to bed!” I whispered in his ear. He smiled before kissing me.

He laid down on the bed with me over him. “Ride me, baby.” he said holding me from my hips.

I started to move up and down on his cock, rolling my hips. I saw he shut his eyes, a signal he was close, so I started to ride hard on him. His fingers were marking my hips as he pushed me up and down savagely. I groaned at the almost painful pleasure.

I felt his body getting tense as he filled me up with his cum.

“God! I love you!” he yelled.

Something woke up inside me, suddenly I felt dirty and ashamed. I hid my breast with my arms as I stood up from bed. His cum dripping on my inner thigh, made me just feel worst.

He didn’t realize, he was still dazed. He took my arm when he realized that I wasn’t coming back to bed. “Come back, I’m still hard.” He muttered with his eyes closed. I let him to guide my body, he made me lay down next to him and cuddle.

“These couple days have been awful; I’ve never felt that bad.” His lips were right next to neck and made me get goosebumps.” I was so scared of not seeing you again.” He said pecking my neck. He turned my hips a little, just enough to let himself into me one more time. I was feeling guilty, I was using him. I wasn’t forgiving him, but he thought I was.

I didn’t want a confrontation; I couldn’t handle one.

His hand held my face to keep kissing my mouth, and his other one at my hip, holding me steady. “Your so good for me.” he said between kisses. His hand went from my hip to my clit. He worked himself in deeper and rubbed me just in the right way.    

My body was so tensed and my brain so away from the reality that I didn’t noticed he fell sleep.

I wanted to have sex with him, I enjoyed. I shouldn’t feel bad for him, he cheated on me and lied, but I wasn’t like that.

I woke up with his snoring in my ear. I got out of his embrace needy for water, the hangover was taking my body. I saw my clothes and his’s all over the floor and the broken table. I didn’t get to do the walk of shame, it was my apartment, I was living in the shame.

“Good morning, sweetheart.” His voice resounded throughout the entire place.

“Okay! You are really thirsty” he said when I drank the water quickly. I didn’t answer, I didn’t look at him. The situation was awkward, and he noticed it.

“What’s going on?” he asked from behind. I ignored him again. “Hey! Are you okay?” he shouted and turned me over to face me.

“Yes, I’m just still drunk.” I said softly. I tired my best to look unbothered.

“Can we talk?” he asked.    

“Not right now. I have things to do.” I started to pick everything up. “I think you should leave; I really have things to do.” I avoided his eyes. I get repetitive when I feel nervous. He knew it.

“Well, I think you’re acting like a child. What happened last night?” his voice wasn’t loud, but it was hard.

I just could shrug, I felt ashamed, and he was mad.

“Talk to me! Damn! Don’t shut up. You always do that. I fucked everything up, I know. But you kissed me last night, you started everything so, right now please talk! Tell me what is happening!” now he was yelling, he looked mad and kind of sad, the guilt just spread across my body.

“What you want me to say, Chris? I wasn’t thinking properly.” I said, looking how he was getting dress himself.

“So, wasn’t mean a shit for you?” I felt like our roles were reversed. Now he was angry, and I was the one giving the explanations.

“I don’t want to hurt your feelings.” I could say.

“Yes, you do, and to be honest, I understand. I deserved it, but I don’t…” he was wrong, I knew I hurt him but that wasn’t my intention, I loved him, and he knew it.

“I don’t want to hurt you. I’m not like you.” My voice wasn’t soft anymore. We were in the same level, he wanted me to feel guilty, so I was doing the same. I continued “Sorry, but I’m not going to apologize, I didn’t want to hurt you. I felt bad and I wanted to have sex with you, you could have said no, and you didn’t do it. But I didn’t say anything to make you think that I forgave you.” His eyes goy darker with my words. he stared me for a few seconds.

“I couldn’t have said no, you could have given me a glass full of worms and I would have taken it.” I felt he was playing the victim; I could stand it.

“I give you a relationship and you pissed on it.” I said crudely.

The room got in a deep silence and filled with tension and resentment.

“You were right, we shouldn’t talk right now.” He spoke after a couple minutes, he took his jacket and got ready to leave. The scare of losing him went back to my head, but I knew it was the best and this time I stood up to it.

“I don’t want to see you again.” I said when he got closer the door. He looked at me incredulous, but he didn’t interrupt.

“I’m still mad and hurt, so I’m not forgiving you soon. But that doesn’t matter because we can’t be together, I don’t trust you and my insecurity in our relationship will freak you out at some point and it will be worst, for both of us.” I didn’t want to cry but I failed, at least he was weepy too.

I thought he was going to response, but he didn’t, he left my apartment without hesitation, slamming the door.

Tag list: @breezykpop  @calwitch @firoozehmoon 

[therealvinelle]

How many people do u think the cullens have killed?

A lot.

I’ll try to answer on a Cullen to Cullen basis, and make my estimate as conservative as possible. Also, for this estimate I'll look only at direct kills, complicity doesn’t count, which for example means I won’t add Royce King II & friends to Carlisle’s count, even though he made himself complicit when he helped Rosalie plot their murders.

Without further ado:

Alice has had her accidents, plural, so 2≤ humans. After joining the Cullens, mind you, we don’t know how she lived as a newborn. I’d guess her visions told her to feed from animal blood early on, to accustom her to it sooner rather than later so life among the Cullens would be easier. The interesting thing about Alice having a body count is that her gift should be helpful in avoiding these kinds of situations, meaning that Alice’s accidents have caught her unawares. So, we have at least two humans, and considering the newborn army the number might be higher. Might. Jasper tried his damndest to keep Alice safe in that fight, so it stands to reason he killed anyone who got close to her. Alice might not have had the chance to kill any newborns. If she did, and counting kills she helped with, then I’d put my estimate at a conservative 0-1. Then we have Rosalie, who says she has the second best streak in the family, second only to Carlisle. Rose killed 5 humans (she corrects herself a bit later to 7, but this doesn’t make a difference. She’s still second best to Carlisle). She admittedly doesn’t mention Alice, but if Alice had a better record than her she likely would have. Which jumps Alice up another few steps, to 8≤.

Bella hasn’t killed anyone. 0.

Carlisle had a perfect record until the newborn army attacked. So, no humans, but most likely newborns. When Carlisle attacks Bree in “The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner”, it’s a fast and brutal attack. I’ll just paste the scene: A blond vampire glanced at me, meeting my gaze, and his eyes flashed gold in the sunlight. (...) I turned and really ran for the trees (...) I was a few feet into the trees when a force like a wrecking ball hit me from behind and threw me to the ground. An arm slipped under my chin. (The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, page 91) For the record, holy shit Carlisle, that was so brutal! I can’t believe that the minute Bella steps off screen the guy rips off his shirt and becomes the Terminator. Damn. ... Point being, Carlisle was an active participant in that battle. It makes ethical sense for him to be, the newborns had to die, it would have been hypocritical to tell his family “you guys go roll in the mud, I’m too saintly to get my hands dirty”, and if he didn’t pitch in his family and the shapeshifters would be in danger. It becomes morally just to join in the battle, and with a zeal at that. Or at least that’s how he appears to have reasoned, because holy shit, Carlisle took the gloves off. So, Carlisle can reasonably be assumed to have killed at least 1 newborn, likely more. I’d say 3 at the most, though there’s the possibility that he co-opted some kills with the others. (I have more thoughts further down).

Edward left for four years to eat people. At first he ate junkies and homeless people, they did not taste good. Would this have motivated him to eat more than one every fortnight? Alas, I’m keeping my estimate conservative, so let’s wager no. So, one human per fortnight for four years. 26*4=104. That’s the lowest possible estimate of people Edward killed, though I’m inclined to think higher. Given his mission to stop evil, if Edward found a rapist it’s not like he’d go “aw shucks, I can’t kill him yet because it hasn’t been a full two weeks!” Add Victoria to that count, and we’re at 105≤.

Emmett killed his two singers, but considering Rosalie’s statement he too falls under the 8≤ number. He helped kill James, which adds +1 to the vampire tally. Then comes the newborn battle. Bree sees him kill one of the newborns, so we know he got some action. I’ll make the same assumption as I did for Carlisle, which is 1-3. So, 2-4 vampires total.

Esme is explicitly stated to have a worse record than Rosalie. She has killed 8 people or more. As for the newborn army, I’m not sure I can picture it. If Esme did kill anyone, I imagine it was along with others. Let’s put her down for 1.

Jasper my poor guy, he’s in another league. Turned in 1863, he lived with Maria until 1938, then met Alice and became a vegetarian in 1948. He’s had a few accidents since. From 1863 to 1938 I think we should assume one person per week, as strength was paramount in the world of newborn armies, blood was a reward for soldiers, and Jasper won Maria a lot of territory. They would not want for blood, and he recounts she rewarded him often. So, 52*75=3900 dead humans. Jasper then runs off with Peter and Charlotte, presumably eating at a normal rate of every other week. We don’t know when he split off from them, but let’s assume an even split and that he left after five years, leaving another five years of lone wandering where he tried to starve himself. So, 26*5=130 for his years with Peter and Charlotte, then assuming he made it a month each fast before surrendering, 13*5=75 for the lone years. We then have accidents. He’s had more accidents than any of the other Cullen children (I don’t think it’s every actually specified that he’s had more accidents than them all, meaning Esme could still have slipped more), putting him at 9≤ accidents. Then comes the vampires he’s killed. We know he killed Nettie, Lucy, and James, so that’s 3. Newborns take time to train, but to make up for that we have a lot of armies. Let’s assume Maria’s army got into one battle every six months. Let’s assume Jasper always killed at least 1 vampire. (See what I meant by conservative? In my defense, Victoria’s army was huge and not at all representative) That’s 130≤ vampires. Jasper also mentions that as a newborn he kept getting into fights with his brothers-in-arms, he killed several. So, let’s assume 4≤, since it sounds like it was certainly more than 2. More numerous are the vampires he executed. Jasper’s gift meant Maria could have a lot more soldiers than most, and he doubled her army’s numbers. His first major accomplishment was to make her an army of 23 newborns. Assuming he kept up this good work, knowing as we do that Jasper was the only vampire Maria never replaced, and assuming some newborns were lost to infighting or battles, we can assume a replacement cycle of Maria needing 20 vampires executed on a yearly basis. 20*75 = 1500. Which... does feel a little high, but Jasper’s backstory is extreme. As for the newborn battle, let’s assume 4.

Renesmée hasn’t killed anyone either, 0.

Rosalie we know for sure, 7 humans. Let’s assume as with Carlisle and Emmett that she took out 1-3 vampires.

(NOTE: When it comes to how many newborns from Victoria’s army each Cullen killed, all we can do is estimate:

The Cullens divided evenly with the shapeshifters. There were 16 newborns at the battle, giving us 8 newborns per Cullen. There were 6 Cullens present, meaning at least 1 each. Jasper did more than his fair share, and Alice and Esme can both be speculated to have been smaller parts in this battle. I think it’s fair to assume Carlisle, Emmett, and Rosalie killed at least 1 newborn each, though likely more, especially if we take shared kills into consideration. I think 1-3 is a fair assumption, and I’m tempted to assume Jasper killed was everywhere and it feels like lowballing to estimate 4.)

Total:

Alice: 8≤ humans, 0-1** vampire. 9 total

Bella: 0

Carlisle*: 1-3**, all vampires.

Edward: 104≤ humans, 1 vampire. 105≤ total

Emmett: 8≤ humans, 2-4** vampires. 10≤ total

Esme: 8≤ humans, 1 vampire. 9≤ total

Jasper: 4105≤ humans, 1638≤** vampires. 5743≤ total

Renesmée: 0

Rosalie*: 7 humans, 1-3** vampires. 8≤ total

*with both Carlisle and Rosalie we have an upper limit. Carlisle’s body count can’t be higher than 15, and Rosalie’s can’t be higher than 22 (I get the number 15 from 16-1 newborns, as there’s one vampire we know for a fact was killed by Emmett alone) and that would be in an extremely contrived scenario where he or she was somehow everywhere at once.

** when adding up the total of vampires killed by Cullens at the newborn army, regardless of the composition of who killed who, the sum is (assuming an even split with the shapeshifters) 8.

Added together, this gives us:

4240≤ humans and 1643≤ vampires.

If we remove Jasper’s past from the equation, because newborn army George who spent 75 years in a newborn army killing every day is an outlier and should not have been counted, then the tally becomes: 

144≤ humans and 10 vampires.

If we remove Edward’s rebellious era from the equation, as he was not a Cullen at the time, the human tally sinks to: 

40≤ humans. (This is counting Rosalie’s revenge. There have been 33≤ accidents.)

This is the lowest possible estimate. The number is likely higher.

Special thanks to @theunexpectedness​ on the Twilight Forever discord for digging up her copy of “The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner” for me so I could get my quotes straight.

Also, feel free to point out errors in the math. I’m sure I’ve made some.

[frostfireft]

Can you do Freed headcannons please?

Yes I can! and you'll be getting more Freed headcanons later because there's another ask about Freed(+Laxus, Bickslow, and Evergreeen) headcanons! Some of these are really angsty so I’m sorry in advance. (also slightly inspired by some of my friends HCs, they know who they are <3)

-Freed’s parents were overly religious assholes, so when he turned out to have a type of demonic magic... well it didn’t go over too well. 

-There were many allegations of child abuse from their neighbors, but not one of them went through. The Justine’s were “too Noble” for that, and the more it escalated the more it was ignored. Eventually, they went as far as to try and exorcise him, and when it didn’t work, they let priest after priest try it.

-this is why he knows holy water can burn him if he’s not wearing a runic protection against it 

-Long story short, he ran away at about 9 years old, and was just trying to get by on the streets. Unfortunataly, this is what caused the townspeople to start comparing him to a real demon, and they send out a request for the guilds to “deal with him.”

-Laxus was lucky enough to take the quest, and he befriended Freed and brought him back to Fairy Tail after a lot of fighting and some talking.(mostly fighting) 

-Freed was really reserved when he first joined, and it took a a long while before he trusted anyone, let alone opened up. However, He got the closest to Laxus. He’s the one that brought Freed to Fairy Tail, which is the most welcoming place he’s ever been in.

-He has very few friendships outside of Laxus until Bickslow and Evergreen join the guild, and he’s responsible for bring both of them to the guild. Laxus’s kindness rubbed off on him, and he offered them a place on their team.

-Over time, he also becomes close friends with Cana, Rheedus, Levy, Erza, Mira, Gray, Natsu, and Lucy, and he keeps up those friendships for years to come

Cana and Gray are easy to talk to or to hang out with in silence if one of the three of them needs it. They’re casual drinking buddies once they’re older.

He practices sword fighting with Erza every Thursday that he’s not away on missions. She’s unpredictable and it keeps him sharp and on his toes. It does the same for her, because he’s just as unpredictable, and his rune barriers giver her a nice challenge.

He spars often with Mira for similar reasons to Erza. She also tends to have all the juicy gossip that’s going around, and he’s not going to miss out on that. She’s also gets lots of gossip about important people from Freed in return. 

He looks through ancient archives and tombs with Lucy and Levy, and he values their contributions greatly. They’ve been the reason he finds all the information he needs on several occasions and vice versa. They go through so information in so little time when working together.

He has a major appreciation for Rheedus’s art and magic, and trusts him to create 3D models of artifacts he’s studying or of places he and Laxus (later the entire raijinshuu) have to go. Rheedus also enjoy’s drawing Freed in his more complex outfits or even just drawing his runes. It gives him practice with detail work

Natsu, being the son of the king of dragons, knows a massive amount of information about Dravic society and all it entails to be their prince, and Freed finds it fascinating. They talk through it while sarring, which later helps Freed with Laxus’s more dravic instincts, and helps Natsu process some of his own trauma.

-Freed wears clothing that covers his entire body because of the burns from the holy water he got as a child. it takes years of hearing Ever, Bicks, and Laxus tell him that they’ve faded a lot and that no one will care to wear the speedo Ever got him as a gag gift. 

-But once he wears it the first time, he takes to wearing tank tops and shorts while training, or even casually around the guild. 

-If he finds out that anyone speaks another language, he learns it so he can speak with them. He considers Isvani (which he learned for Gray) and Dravic (which he learned for and from Natsu) to be the most difficult languages to speak verbally, and demonic languages the hardest to write in. 

-Natsu cried when he asked to learn dravic because he thought he’d never get to speak it again. Freed fully expected that.

-What he didn’t expect was Gray crying the first time he spoke isvanian to him. Gray was still very emotionally closed off at that point. 

-He and Mira speak in demonic languages to scare the shit out of strangers. 

-After Asuka is born, he lets her paint his nails all the time. it’s streaky and sometimes clumy at first but he wears it proudly anyways. 

-He/they pronouns. it took a long while to realize he was Non-Binary, but he accepted it pretty easily. 

-Freed has one of the best fashion senses in the guild, and Ever often comes to him to double check she looks okay..... and to talk shit about Laxus’s god awful sense of fashion. Who wears a giraffe print shirt???

-he’s really really good at card games. that’s why he lays so often with Cana, Gray, Natsu, and Loke. Many bets are won, and many bets are lost. 

-he’s not a light weight or a heavy drinker. he’s right in the middle. 

[creativeashproductions]

In the Beginning // Alive!Luke Patterson

Summary: Reggie (Rhodes)’s older sister is the epitome of cool in his, and his friends, eyes with her in a band. Pushed by a hazel eyed brunette with a huge crush on the eldest Rhodes teen the boys decide to start a band. While at first the band is for Luke’s dream of landing you he finds his passion with music.

Warning: Swearing, angst, fluff, dad!Luke

Words: 4.1k

A/N: I couldn’t resist writing another alive!Luke fic with Luke crushing on his band mate’s sister. Ugh, just imagine Luke suggesting a band to impress his crush only to fall in love with music instead.  For my fics it will be Alex Mitchell and Reggie Rhodes until JATP reveals their canon names. 

Masterlist

Los Angeles, 1992

The guitar case was a familiar heaviness as you walked into the home for the first time in months after a practice. You ached from the long travel, and all you wanted was your bed. The yawn came first, then the startled yell at the living room.

Four pairs of eyes met the girl standing in the entryway, surprised at a sleepover with her brother and his full friends. Eyebrows coming together you shook your head wondering why they had come here instead of the typical Patterson home.

“Hey!” Fourteen-year-old Reggie beamed towards his older sister excited she was back from her weekend band practice. Your eyes blinked at his usual upbeat personality before switching to the brown eyes from Bobby, too shy to full meet yours.

Spread around the living room watching a movie was Reggie’s best friends; the socially awkward Alex, the shy Bobby, and the Patterson boy Luke. The young typically spent their time at Luke’s place, so seeing them in your home was strange.

“Reg, what’s up?” You asked crouching to untie your shoes confused at the sharp audible gasp coming from Luke. Standing straight up, you saw Luke awkwardly looking away with bright red cheeks.

“How was practice?” Reggie inquired with the smile he got from your mom and his dark hair from your dad.

Reggie usually wasn’t interested in your band leading you to wonder what the hell was going on with them. Being sixteen you didn’t socialize with Reggie’s friends, thanks to the two year age gap, but you were happy he had good friends. Well, less than two years between you and Luke.

“It was good. Since when are you interested in Crimson Queen?” You questioned moving more into the room with the four young teens, “You haven’t even touched your bass in years.”

One eyebrow raised you individually looked at the boys in the room all with sheets of paper around them. From a distance, you couldn’t tell what was on them, but it couldn’t be homework. They all attended the same high school while you had done correspondence with the band and a tutor.

“Luke’s parents got him a guitar,” Reggie spoke gesturing to the decent brand new acoustic guitar on the floor beside the Patterson. Luke’s hazel eyes widening as you came closer to the group.

Your hand picking up the guitar to look it over finding it was decent for a beginner, but it was definitely not tuned. The sheer sound made you wince.

“So, you guys want to be a band?” You questioned sitting on the floor beside Luke. The boy shifting nervously, you weren’t blind that he got shy around girls, “Do you guys even play instruments?”

“I got the bass, Bobby can play rhythm guitar, Alex plays dru-“

“I wouldn’t call it proper drumming. It’s just something my therapist suggested with my anxiety and frustrations.” Alex raised his hand leading to everyone in the room looking at the tall male, recently had a growth spurt, with the backward black hat.

“And Luke will learn guitar as well.” You added, looking at the quiet, “How well can you play?”

“I don’t even know how to properly tune it,” Luke admitted playing with his fingers adorned with a ring.

Luke had chosen a cutoff shirt in an attempt to gain your attention to his arms he hoped had gotten more muscled. He had a massive crush on you but with the guys your own age he had step up; he started working out. He actually enjoyed it, but he’d enjoy it more if you were checking him out.

“You’ll need a place to practice.” You mumbled glancing out the window at the ocean waves thinking. The house was on the prime real estate edge of the beach all thanks to your well off parents; Dad, a doctor and Mom, an interior designer.

Your fingers tapped on the ripped blue jeans you had chosen that day with the flannel shirt opened over the black AC/DC t-shirt. You started standing up, grabbing Luke’s hand to pull him up as well; the boy’s cheeks grew pinker, and his heart fluttered.

“What?” Luke spluttered, staring at his hand, caught in yours in sheer awe.

“You’ll need a place to practice.” You answered, dropping is head to reach in your pocket for your key chain.

The key chain had a few keys on it: one for home, one for your car, one for the band van for gigs, one for the garage, and lastly one for the house the garage belonged to. The boys piled into the car, apprehensive for where you were taking them. The only sound was the radio playing local greatest hits, your foot slammed on the brake at the house of your bassist.

“Well Marty, this song has blown up on the charts. New band Crimson-“

“Holy shit.” You breathed staring at the radio. Your door opened as you sprinted down to the steps that led to the garage. The footsteps of the boys following.

The garage was open already with your band members lounging around the space filled with instruments and amps. Their heads swivelling as you frantic turned the radio on.

“Come on.” You mumbled, turning the radio station to the right one, “Guys listen!”

“-Crimson Queen is an LA-based band making waves in the LA Nightlife and hit the top ten with their newest song Sorry Now.” The radio host spoke, “If you haven’t heard the song before, this is the band’s new single.”

The song was blasted from the radio leading to the four girls screaming the song out dancing around the room. Euphoria was the only way you could call the feeling rising in the bodies of the girls in the place. The room burst into more screams as your drummer. Faith switched the radio station.

“Today history was made, Crimson Queen is an all-female rock band fronted by Y/N Rhodes. They started as a hobby at fifteen, but a year later at sixteen they’ve made waves.” A hit radio station, the second one so far, was talking about your band. Holy shit.

“Lucy, this band is going places. My daughter is seven years old, and she’s telling me this band is the talk of her school. I can’t tell how much Lucy listens to their demo.”

Your eyes saw Reggie having a meltdown of excitement for older sister and her band, and you were so unbelievably happy you should care the moment. You rushed over to Reggie to pull him into a hug.

“Girls…and boys.” Mrs Taylor spoke furrowing her brows at the young boys in the garage her daughter had begged to use for the band. Shaking her head, the middle-aged woman turned her attention to her daughter.

“Hey, Ma.” Dawn, your bassist, spoke spreading her pink painted lips to her perfectly straight teeth too hyped up on energy, “What’s up?”

“First congratulations on the single. Secondly, we’re gonna need to get a personal line for the band because our phone is blowing up.”

A sharp gasp from Dawn before the three of the four girls rushed to the house of the Taylor’s. You hung back to look at your brother and his band.

“So? What do you think?” You inquired with the group, “This idea of yours has to be one hundred percent what you want. It won’t be easy in LA, it will come with hardships, and Reggie Mom and Dad won’t let you drop out.”

The four boys nodded their heads because the excitement they saw in your big break was something they wanted. To be able to connect with people cemented their decision.

“Feel free to hang around.” You suggested glancing around the garage that started it all, “I’ll be back in a bit.”

The Orpheum, Los Angeles, 1995

The crowd screamed as Crimson Queen, the song that started this road played with the girl crouching to grasp the hand of fans. At the beat of the chorus, you stood up eating up the energy of the last show of the tour. You went jumped on the drum riser rocking on the guitar as Faith did her magic.

Dawn on her bass made her way to rock with your rhythm guitarist Sara sharing grins with you still feeling the euphoria of this success. As the song came to an end, your entire band went to the front of the stage.

“We’d like to thank our fans for the last nine months of our world tour. We started this band in LA in 1991, so we thought it fit to end our tour at The Orpheum.” You spoke to the crowd, feeding off the energy as the concert came to an end.

The road crew would load your instruments up in the van to take home after months of travelling. You were so excited to see Reggie, who would be seventeen now, having celebrated his birthday while you had been in Europe. Too excited were shocked as Reggie backstage.

“Reggie!” You exclaimed tugging the teen into your arms, leaning back to take him in, “Damn you grew!”

Reggie grinned not giving a shit you were coated in sweat from performing your setlist, but your eyes went over his shoulder. Standing close and just as excited was Reggie’s friends. Alex was taller, Bobby looked more confident, and Luke could meet your eyes. Luke also had changed, no longer baby faced.

“Sunset Curve.” You spoke, stepping back to look them over, “I haven’t seen you guys in months, how did you change so much!”

“That’s what happens when you go on tour for almost a year.” Luke teased tugging you into his arms for a tight hug.

It was odd seeing Luke taller and more muscled than when you left for tour, and the confidence was honestly hot. You had seen Luke as anything other than your brother’s friend, who tended to stare a little too long.

“You played the fucking Orpheum!” Alex screamed, holding your shoulders with a wrinkled nose at the damp red thin flannel shirt. The girls wandered up behind you each with a grin at the guys.

“Well if it isn’t Sunset Swerve,” Sara spoke swinging her arm over your shoulder with a teasing smirk plastered on her face. Her blonde hair swept up in a bun high on her head from a recent shower.

“Sunset Curve!” The male quartet snapped at the name before they fell back into a happy demeanour. Luke and you both staring at each other with a pink-hued face.

Faith was quieter in the group leaning closer to your band to whisper in your ear, “Jay scored us some drinks. But MJ got us into a party.” Faith’s textured hair tickling your neck.

Grins split the three girls at the suggestion each excited for the party with fellow musicians and plus ones. Sure, the parties had drugs and alcohol, but they were fun and part of the scene. Half of you wanted to go, but the other wanted to spend time with your brother.

“I’ll think I’ll pass.” You spoke up to the girls motioning to the guys, “I’ll head back with them. Meet you at the house later?”

Your black vans moving backwards as you moved to be closer to be flush against Reggie’s side grinning as he bumped his hip against you. Sara, Faith and Dawn each raising an eyebrow at your response since you often dragged them to parties.

“Orrr…we could each take one of them.” Faith cajoled mocha skin gleaming in the light with her hands, tugging her hair into a thick braid.

“You want me to take my seventeen-year-old brother and his friends-“

“-I’m like two weeks from being eighteen-” Luke cut into the conversation buzzing at the possible date, but not date, with the girl he had been crushing on for years. He was pretty sure he was in love with you at this point; he did date a little, but nothing stuck.

“-To a party in Hollywood.” You finished pinning your gaze on the three girls ahead each with mischievous grins. Your cheeks puffed as you breathed out, thinking of the positives and negatives.

Bobby was bouncing on his heels with Reggie leaving Alex shifting uncomfortably in his place. His partially relaxed when Luke squeezed his forearm through the distressed black jean jacket that bought his outfit together. Luke himself was apprehensive on your decision because either way, he got to spend time with you.

“Come on.” Dawn implored, pulling out the big guns with her ocean blue eyes widening into the puppy gaze that did you in each time. Her curtain of short dyed pink hair framing her heart-shaped face.

“I’m going to pass this time. Do some shots for me! Not tequila though, that was a huge mistake.” Faith’s grin widened at having you carry you out of the house in the early morning after a wicked party.

“Did you ever find your tho-“

“Faith!” You hissed turning a bright red at her revelation that you definitely didn’t want Reggie to know. The atmosphere turned awkward as everyone realized what the sentence would end with.

Okay so maybe you had hooked up with a few people over the last three years but nothing permanent. It was fun, drunk fun, but still fun and nothing had gone wrong. Your eyes avoided looking at Luke for a reason you couldn’t decipher.

“I’ll see you later.” You spoke motioning for the guys to follow you to the dressing room you had settled in early in the day. The corner of your lips quirked at the awe on each of the boys’ faces.

“I’m in the dressing where bands become legends.” Reggie gasped circling the room with wide-eyed interest. Alex was interested in the band posters on the walls from previous performers.

Luke, however, was more interested in your curves covered by your sweaty stage clothing that stuck to your form. His Adam’s apple gulped as you grabbed your shower bag moving towards the connected bathroom.

“I’ll grab a shower, and we can head out.” You supplied, “I’ll just need to stop at Rudy’s office for our portion of the concert.”

The guys mumbled a response finding a place to wait without hushed conversations of when they would get to play. Luke’s eyes found yours at the low call of his name from the bathroom; a crack opened he walked over.

“Do you have a sweater?” You mumbled at the taller teen with widening eyes as he realized that you were naked behind the door.

Luke stumbled over his feet, retrieving the black pullover Crimson Queen merch he had had for months now. He had saved up money to buy the merch to support the band. The door closed as you tugged the sweater in the bathroom momentarily before walking out.

“Thanks Lu. I forget to pack a shirt.” Luke awed as your nose scrunched up adorably to the amusement of his friends, “So, do you wanna hit the beach? Or maybe give me a concert in the garage?”

Luke intertwined his fingers in yours as he tugged you out of the room with your bag in hand. His heart fluttered as you held on to his hand even in the little office of the Orpheum’s management for the thick envelope of money.

“Thanks, Rudy!” You called over your shoulder at the short, stout man going over the financials and upcoming performances.

The smell of Sunset Boulevard brought a smile remembering the first time you performed and the small group that had waited outside. The first night of autographs and recognition.

“So, Reg how’s my car?” You questioned the teen who impishly grinned tugging the key chain from his black jeans. You had given him the keys when you revealed Crimson Queen had a world tour.

“Right there.” Reggie pointed leading the group of five to the car that would take them to the garage. Reggie drove with Alex in the passenger while you were crammed between Bobby and Luke; Luke was delighted in your warmth against his side.

While your band members partied, you got a first-row seating to Sunset Curve’s talent in the garage where you had started out. It was amazing to see how much they had accomplished in the three years since they started.

The sudden knock on the door had you flailing off the couch onto the floor with a sheet of paper stuck to your cheek. Your spine cracked as you sat up glancing at your watch, finding it was after midnight, only an hour of sleep after inspiration for a new song.

The door was knocked on once more and coming close the sound of crying could be heard, and you wondered if it was Luke. He had been over a few days in the night following a fight with his parents and needed to crash; helped you were giving dating a chance after his well-rehearsed speech.

Imagine your shock when it was Reggie sobbing, “Reggie.”

“C-can I stay here?” Reggie whimpered cuddling himself into the leather jacket he received at Christmas from you. You had inside in your arms in moments, “I couldn’t sleep.”

“Are they fighting again?” You murmured to your younger brother content to hold him as he cried. Bringing him to the living room, you held him as he cried humming under your breath the first song you ever let him see.

“Yeah. The music doesn’t work anymore.” Reggie murmured leaning back to wipe his tears off, “Sorry for crashing. I can go stay with-“

“Here. Reginald, you can always stay here.” You soothed the seventeen-year-old boy with sad eyes and a sombre look. His sad eyes shattered your heart, knowing he had suffered the fighting for months alone, “This house is empty Reg. You can move in here.”

His lip quirked up, “Can we play country music?”

“And eat breakfast at night.” You teased him grinning as his lips pulled up into his trademark grin, “The guys can come over whenever they want. I’d actually prefer they know they can stay here, they deserve a safe place to stay.”

You knew that Alex endured living with his parents, who had gone out of their way to avoid him after he came out. Luke couch surfed at your old house, never at Alex’s home; after coming out, Alex didn’t feel comfortable bringing anyone over.

“Good, because they’re outside.” Reggie sheepishly admitted raising his thumbs-up, “Go thinking ahead!”

Snorting the human version of a golden retriever you opened the front door to the house finding two guys in strange positions. Alex was inspecting the light fixture, and Luke was leaning against the wall with his elbow, foot across the other.

“You guys need lessons in the art of pretending you weren’t eavesdropping.” The sigh fell stepping aside for the two to enter the home—each carrying a backpack and small duffle bag for wherever they would have crashed.

The male trio got comfortable in the living room curiously glancing at the mess of papers, sticky notes and pencils. While with good intentions, they didn’t follow boundaries well, even for Alex.

“Whatcha working on?” Luke inquired, leaning closer to a sheet of paper. His pout coming over his face when you quickly tidied up the papers.

“Nothing. I fell asleep on the couch. The label wants new songs.” You groaned rubbing your eyes, “I got inspired last night. Oh! Hey, I took a message for you guys.”

Jogging to your office studio for the band you quickly grabbed the envelope along with the note that you had been given.

“So, Rudy called me, and I had a meeting with him.” You started sitting on the coffee table in front of the trio. The trio leaned forward.

“Rudy?” Luke questioned, pursing his lips together at the male name. While you and Luke were dating it wasn’t official, he was just really nervous with his dream girl liking him back.

“He’s the management for a venue. He asked if our band was available for a concert, but we collectively decided to focus on songs and recording, which you can’t tell anyone about, but he’s in dire need. So, I might have given him something. Specifically a demo of yours and knowing your home situations I gave my information.”

“Okay…so?” Alex questioned, leaning forward. His eyes growing wide as you pushed the envelope in his hand.

Alex quickly opened the cream envelope finding inside a paper along with a mock-up promo poster with Sunset Curve. The squeal was shocking from the teenager as he read the letter and note out loud.

Y/N,

I gave the demo a listen, and we usually wouldn’t do this, but Crimson Queen has been gracious with us. Always mentioning where the band got its start and closing the tour here. To repay the favour, we would formally like to invite Sunset Curve to perform. In the envelope is a mock-up poster as an option for the promo. Get the Sunset Curve’s people to get in touch. I can get the word out to some friends from some labels to come for a listen. Get in touch as soon as possible.

Manager of The Orpheum in Los Angeles,

Rudy West.

 “The Orpheum?” Luke screamed, yanking the paper from Alex to re-read it in complete shock, “We don’t have people!”

“But Crimson does.” You smirked, “On a temporary basis Crimson Queen formally offer our manager’s help.”

In his excitement, Luke lunged to pull you into a kiss freezing the room in shock.

“He got the girl.” Alex breathed elbowing Reggie in the side who’s mouth was open at his best friend kissing Reggie’s older sister. The older sister who was the driving force behind Luke wanting to form a band to impress her, “We need to tell Bobby!”

1995 was the best year for Luke Patterson. He got the girl, his band made it, his parents finally saw his dream was worth it.

The sound of music hypnotized the woman as she wandered down the hall to the open door of the large home. Nothing too over the top like Bobby’s mansion, but it was a nice size in a gated area. Your neighbours being Reggie on one side and Alex on the other side with his partner Willie; Willie had skated into Alex and into a love story pretty much.

Resting against the door edge of the designated home studio you saw Luke had moved a rocking recliner in. Softly playing in the room was a soft acoustic song recorded months previous as a surprise for you.

“When are the lessons starting?” You questioned bringing Luke’s attention to your soft smile and the love in your eyes. Luke’s grin widened glancing down at the miniature version of his love-filled eyes.

“Given her legendary parents, I think at two.” Luke chuckled shuffling the baby to the crook of his arm shifting, so you could curl into his side as well. Both eyes gazing at the little baby you had welcomed what felt like yesterday.

Stevie could fall asleep only to the lullaby her father had created during the pregnancy, and he had written. Stevie had Luke’s eyes, and so far her blonde hair had yet to darken so the question of if she’d take after your hair or his hair was unanswered.

“Hey sweetheart.” You whispered to your daughter falling asleep to the sound of her father’s voice in the room. An adorable yawn pulled from her little body as she nestled into Luke’s arms.

“She’s so gorgeous.” Luke breathed tears welling up as he could understand the reasoning behind his parents’ opinions in his teens. He truly felt terrible at hurting his mom now that he felt the love for his child.

“We did good Patterson.” You murmured back to the man who had held your heart since you were nineteen and back from tour. Your finger tracing Steve’s soft cheek, “I think she has your mom’s mouth.”

Luke’s lips lingered on your cheek heart full of love for his family with you and his little girl. He had known since his eleventh birthday he would marry you even if you were a year older. A year that made the difference when he was months older than his friends, so the year felt like two for you. At eighteen when was tentatively dating you, he knew he would marry you. He never anticipated the sheer amount of adoration for the little girl he would have at twenty-one.

God, he loved his life. He made up with his parents, his best friends, had the girl of his dreams, the most beautiful daughter and it all thanks to music. Can you see why he lives and breathes music?

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[wagner-fell]

“So then Catra writes on this note ‘hey Adora’ and Adora is like ‘grrrr’ and so they do this whole passive aggressive dance where you could have cut the sexual tension with a knife. Oh, and then-”

“I. Hate. History. Class.” Mari slammed their plastic lunch tray onto the table.

“Oh thank god,” said Kevin. Listening to Mari rant was much preferable to hearing about the Princess Prom episode from Astrid. Again.

Blessica hit Kevin and gave him a pointed look.

“I mean it’s bad enough I have to write essays about fucking colonizers. But now I have to sit next to this white-ass American boy? No thanks.”

“You know,” began Astrid, “if you wanted, I could kill this new guy for you with, oh I don’t know, werewolf po-”

“No!” they all shouted in unison. Astrid was mundane with the gift of the slight but she didn’t think of it like a gift. What was the point of being able to see this fantastical reality if she couldn’t be a part of it? What was the point of having three werewolves as your best friends if they refused to turn you into one?

Blessica tried to tell her that, as a downworlder, she would face a lot of discrimination. But what kinda excuse was that? Astrid was a Korean lesbian who, for most of the time, lived with her single mother. At least this branch of marginalization gave her freakin’ superpowers. The only superpower Astrid currently had at her disposal was not having to date men.

Astrid angrily took a bite of her cinnamon roll and Mari followed suit. Blessica tried to pat her arm but Astrid swatted her away.

“American?” Kevin asked. “I don’t remember any Americans. Is he new?”

Mari nodded through a mouthful of baked goods. She tucked her tie into her black-and-white uniform sweater vest so they didn’t stain it. Normally she wouldn’t have bothered but laundry had been a living nightmare lately. They promptly realized that her sweater vest was also going to get food on it. In removing it, their stomach flashed briefly. She stuffed it in her bag and set an alarm on her phone so they wouldn’t forget to put it back on before the lunch bell rang. Like that time Miss Yang made them jelly doughnuts and she got detention for a week. Mari really hated this school sometimes.

When she looked up to see half the surrounding area staring at them, they looked down at her collared shirt to see if she had gotten fresh cinnamon bun gooeyness on it already.

Astrid laughed. “It’s because you exposed your six-pack.” She moved her fork around in circles, making sure the ranch covered each piece of lettuce in her salad. Astrid loved ranch. She kept a gigantic bottle of it in her bag at all times. “You know, one time this guy asked me if you got them tattooed on. Cause girls can’t have abs and all that bull.”

“And what did you tell him?” asked Mari, amused.

“No.”

“Thank go-”

“I told him the truth. That the only tattoo you have is of Consul Lightwood’s face on your ass.”

“Oh, fuck off.”

“The world deserves to know.”

“You're a hazard to society.”

“Awwwww. Mari! I love you too.”

Astrid smiled and shoved a mouthful of salad into her mouth as Mari rolled their eyes.

“Holy shit,” said Blessica, staring at something over Mari’s shoulder. “That is the second hottest man I have ever seen.”

Kevin glanced in the direction she was looking at then back to her. “What? Who?” he asked at the same time Mari drawled, “second hottest, who’s the first?” with a single eyebrow raised.

Blessica blushed as Kevin continued his search. “M-magnus Bane. Obviously.”

“Riiiiiiiight,” said Astrid, looking between her and Kevin.

Blessica blushed deeper. “Shut up.”

“Wow,” said Kevin. “That him?” He pointed and this time Mari turned around…to face Kit fucking Herondale.

Blessica, still red in the face, nodded.

“Wow indeed,” agreed Astrid.

“Aren’t you a lesbian?” questioned Blessica.

“Blessie, darling, I may rather suck on a cactus than suck on a dick but hotties can admire their fellow hotties. Gender is irrelevant in this scenario.”

Mari slammed their hands down onto the table. “Ladies! We are better than simping, even just hottie wise, over an American, white boy! We have standards! And Kevin! I know that” disgust dripped from her voice, “is your type, but resist!”

He rolled his eyes. “Jesus. You hook up with two blonde nephilim and suddenly it’s your type.”

“Yes,” said Astrid slowly, as if explaining something to a very dim child, “that’s how it works.”

Mari felt like they were missing something. Her three friends began discussing where they wanted to go tomorrow for Blessica’s birthday but they were stuck on Kevin’s statement. Something about it wasn’t quite right. It took her longer than she was proud of to figure it out.

“Wait, hold up, did you say nephilim? Kit is a Shadowhunter?!”

They all exchanged a look. “Uh, yeah. Didn’t you see the Mark on his hand?”

Mari turned back to him again. He was sitting by himself at a few tables, scrolling away. And on the hand holding his water bottle… was a voyance rune, clear as day. How did they miss that? “What is a Shadowhunter doing here anyway?”

Kevin shrugged. “Perhaps he’s here to check out London’s up-coming werewolf. I hear she’s a hazard to society.”

Astrid’s head shot up. “Really?!”

“No, sorry sweetie,” interjected Blessica. Astrid finished her cinnamon bun with an annoyed ‘hmph’.

They chatted more about Blessica’s upcoming sixteenth birthday before Kevin came up with the dumbest idea ever. Which was an extremely difficult title to earn amongst the 11th years at St. Lucy’s Academy.

“We should invite the Shadowhunter.”

Mari scoffed. “The whole pack’s gonna be there! Like hell they would let a Shadowhunter crash it.”

“Oh please. Once they lay their eyes on McDreamy, they’ll all forget about his angel blood.”

Astrid gasped. “Is that a Grey’s Anatomy reference? Are you finally watching it?” They all ignored her.

“I think it might be fun,” said Blessica. “And it’s my party so…” She stood up and walked over to Kit’s table, Kevin right behind her.

Astrid picked up her salad with one hand and her second cinnamon bun with the other. “Come in,” she said. “What’s the worst that can happen. You fall in love?”

“Haha,” said Mari, slinging her bag over their shoulder and joining the others.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @adoravel-fenomeno @im-not-ruined-im-ruination@thechangeling @thomas-gaypanic-lightwood @sofiatheskeleton @cncnbr @its-taff @ithurielkeepsgettingkidnapped @noah-herondale-lightwood @maxboythedog @arangiajoan @shelvesofgold @illusions-give-reasons-to-live @book-dragon-not-worm @the-blackdale @the-wckd-powers Lmk if you want to b adde/removed from the tag list!

[theramseyloft]

3/30/21 Loft Notes

Sprinks didn't lay last night.

Nobu, Komodore, and Nettle are 5 weeks old.

Alex is driving Dodger. Looks like they're getting ready to try again for reals this time.

So much peep drama this morning!

Dio, and Lucy are mad at all these peeps trying to get in my lap.

Patch is the most insistent about getting knee time.

If Rogue's attempts to get up here anyway are any indication, she will be very happy to have a lap she doesn't have to compete for.

Got some decent shots of Komodore.

Nobu and Nettle have been harder to get.

Nobu keeps getting run out of my lap by Dio, Lucy, or Patch.

And Nettle has places to be.

Angel has also been a bastard to the peeps because he wants to be tread on my knee or tread my hands and feet.

Currently, Lucy is on my left shoulder, gently preening my ear, Dio is loafed on my right thigh, Mj is on my left knee-  Leela just got chased off of my right leg, and now Hoss is on my foot.

Aaand Dio chased him off.

HOLY SHIT, FARTHING FINALLY TREAD LUXIE!!!

Dio is guarding my lap from Hoss.

Ginger tread Farthing, when he presented for Luxie and she didn't get on top.

Tandy chased Dio off my knee for her turn.

Now Nobu has snuggled in for theirs.

I'm in love with their little cheeks!

And now they're on my shoulder.

Angel got on my knee and demanded attention.

We have reached equilibrium.  I basically treat him like a side chick and don't let him tread me. About like the Cocks treat Farthing.

That seems to mitigate the stress of feeling ignored.

A shy little Chiffon has cuddled onto my left knee.

Dio finally getting that dedicated cuddle time.

Until Chiffon pulled her tail and refused to budge when Dio snapped at her.

Nettle is taking a nap in the corner by the mirror.

Lucy is loafed on my left thigh.

Chiffon wanted to preen my fingertips, but did NOT want me to pet her little cheek.

Angel may be the next Farthing.

He is now hopping up on my knee and waiting for me to pancake him.

Nettle is still napping.

Dio has loafed on my right thigh to nap.

Nobu has loafed on the shelf behind my head and keeps reaching to preen my ear.

Angel startled Dio off my lap wanting to be a pancake.

So she has gone to loaf next to Nettle.

Most of the flock is napping right now.

Came back out.

Now have a lap full of Nettle.

And Suki!

Angel tried to fight that Nettle and Nettle fought him back.

Nettle is now playing gently with my shirt.

And Angel is pacing, trying to work out the right angle of approach to throw them off what he considers his treading platform.

Farthing and Luxotica have taken up residence in the nest Ginger and Danica used to want.

Ginger is being a great dad.

He's been dutifully changing guard with Nica.

Nobu preened their way all the way up onto my head.

They seem to really like playing with my hair.

Amiga has not attempted to get into my lap yet.

Couture hasn't either, but they just seem to go from their nest to food and back.

There is a Rogue in my lap!

A knee was clear for a few seconds, and she hopped right up.

We are working on "You're allowed to be there." Right now.

She's keyed (by her bigger flock mates) to think anything moving in her direction is chasing her.

So I'm working on "I'm not after you", "you're ok" and "You're allowed to be there." when I have to move my hand in her direction. When she leans away, I pause and give her one of those reassurances, then praise her when she relaxes.(edited)

She is also learning that "Want up?" means I'll move my arm out of her way so she can climb more easily to my shoulder.

Most of them learn this sort of thing through osmosis, but especially little babies may not get the opportunity because of the bigger birds telling them no.

So I'm careful to be clearly protective of and gentle with them while they are little.

Nettle, for example, will defend their right to cuddle and don't really need extra reassurance.

What Nettle needs is to be allowed to play with a still hand to realize that they don't need to fight it.

Dio is very communicative with me.  Very skilled at getting across a message as nuanced as "Stroke my cheek, upper neck, and the back of my head gently with one finger."

She loafs on my wrist and reaches to grab the finger she wants when she wants to be petted.

Then she directs by nudging or tugging and relaxes when I have the pattern down.

I am allowed to experiment within those parameters, because she has come to trust that all it takes to stop me is reaching back to gently grab.

Not bite. Not preen.  Hold in her beak like a stick.

I ask "No?" And go back to what she did like.

If she grabs again, I'll ask "No? Are we done now?"

If we are, she usually stretches, gets down, and goes off to do something else.

If she wants to keep cuddling, but is done with pets, she will push my fingertip away with her beak and loaf back down.

So the younger babies are picking up that nuance by observation.

Yay!

Rogue just slapped Dio for trying to chase her off my knee!

Dio is a lot bigger, older, and more aggressive. But it just now clicked, having watched me shoo other adults and aggressive babies away from the ones that wanted to cuddle that she has the same right to cuddle with me that every one else has.

Nettle just worked out that "Want help up?" is also an offer to support bigger, heavy babies with my hand or arm while they climb.

And, after watching Dio ask for pets and specify what she wanted, both Nettle and Nobu asked for my fingertips to cup their little chests when they paused on their way to my shoulder to see my phone screen.

Wrfeqeqdxs

Dio says hi.

[lady-wallace]

Whumptober Day 17: JJBA

*STEEL BALL RUN SPOILERS* (It’s an AU ending)

You can also find me on: Instagram or Ko-fi

~~~~~~~

Day 17: Field Care 101

Prompts Used: ‘please don’t move’ | hemorrhage | dread

Fandom: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 7

Character: Gyro

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Read on Ao3

Read on FF.net

~~~~~~~

Johnny took a moment to breathe. This fight had taken more out of him than anything else had through the course of this whole race.

Tusk still hovered there over him, looming, and Johnny finally dragged his head up, looking around frantically.

Lucy was lying on the beach, unconscious, but Valkyrie was still standing in the shallows.

Johnny pushed himself over to the horse, hoping that he could at least find Gyro's body. Please, please, let it be there…

A hand floated above the water, and Johnny grabbed it, hauling until Gyro's body emerged from the water. Johnny choked back a sob as he dragged him to shore, leaving a trail of blood in the water behind them. When they finally got up onto the beach Johnny nearly collapsed on top of Gyro, clutching his coat in his hands.

"Gyro," he croaked, bowing his head until his forehead rested in the crook of the man's neck. It had all happened too quickly. Valentine had shot him right out of the saddle. After everything, for him to go out like that…

Tears slid down Johnny's cheeks, still remembering Valentine's proposition. It made him sick how close he had been to almost taking it. But it wouldn't have been the same. It wouldn't really have been Gyro. He knew that, and that was why, in the end, he'd managed to say no. Though it had been a close thing. It really had. He'd felt so alone since his brother died, even more after he'd lost the use of his legs. Gyro had been the first friend he'd had in years.

And for it to lead to this.

A scream of rage and pain tore from Johnny's throat, one fist clutched in Gyro's coat, the other slamming down against his chest, useless anger directed at the only person stupid enough to stick around him, even now.

His fist slipped in wet, hot blood that was still pouring from Gyro's chest, mixing with the water.

Which was…odd.

Even through his grief, Johnny raised his head and glanced down at the hole in Gyro's coat, seeing blood still pouring from the wound.

You didn't bleed when you were dead.

Holding his breath, Johnny pushed himself upright and tore open Gyro's coat and shirt, seeing the bullet wound and the blood bubbling up inside of it.

Johnny pressed shaking fingers to Gyro's throat. This had to be a fluke. Surely, he couldn't actually be alive. He couldn't….

An extremely faint and stuttering pulse fluttering under Johnny's fingers and he gasped in wonder.

"Holy shit," he breathed shakily. "Holy shit, Gyro, Gyro!"

He shook the man, but Gyro didn't stir. He must be hurt badly, Johnny reminded himself. He stopped and turned back to the wound, trying to see what had happened, pressing around the bullet hole in the center of Gyro's chest.

More blood bubbled out, but he also noticed that Gyro's chest and stomach felt hard, slightly swollen. Johnny rummaged through the little he knew about medical things and came up with internal bleeding. The bullet must have hit an artery inside, leaving Gyro mostly to bleed internally.

Now Johnny felt even more frantic. He knew his friend was alive, but he had no idea what to do. He didn't even have Gyro's medical knowledge. He just barely knew what was going on.

He was startled when Tusk moved closer to him. He'd almost forgotten about his Stand now that the fight was over, but for some reason, Tusk was still there, hovering at his side. Johnny looked up as Tusk reached out, handing him something.

Johnny's eyes opened wide as his Stand handed him one of Gyro's steel balls. As he watched, it started to rotate slightly in Tusk's palm. The Stand looked over to Gyro and back toward Johnny.

Johnny swallowed hard. "I can't, I don't know how to use it!"

Tusk pushed the ball toward him insistently and Johnny finally reached out and slowly took it up, the orb still spinning in his hand for a couple seconds before it settled, still.

"Look, I'm not trained like Gyro! I don't know what to do!" He shouted at the Stand.

Tusk simply looked at him, cocking his head and pointed at Gyro, then the ball.

More tears slid down Johnny's cheeks, feeling helpless. Despite everything he had achieved he still couldn't save his friend.

He turned back to Gyro, holding the steel ball in his hand, remembering how he had seen Gyro work it when he was healing. There had to be a way. He knew it. After what he had achieved to defeat Valentine, he should be able to do this. After all, what good was his power if he couldn't use it to save even just one life?

He wiped his face roughly, and bent over Gyro, holding the ball in his palm. "Okay." He said. "Okay, we're gonna do this, and Gyro, you're gonna live. You hear me, asshole? You're gonna live!"

He took a breath and oriented himself, picturing the Golden Ratio as he felt the ball start to rotate. There was a brief pause as he made sure it was going steady and then slowly lowered it toward Gyro. He placed it in the center of the man's chest.

Tusk leaned over, his hands meeting Johnny's at the fingertips so that they were mirroring each other. The Spin strengthened and seemed to be doing something. Gyro's body shuddered and twitched. Because of the connection with the spin, Johnny could almost feel the change in Gyro's blood pressure, blood returning where it was supposed to go. Gyro's skin turning pinker again, warming under Johnny's hands.

And then his eyes flew open and a look of panic flashed across his face as he gagged.

"Gyro!" Johnny cried, startled himself. It was only thanks to Tusk that he didn't lose his concentration.

Gyro flailed suddenly, more of a spasm and Johnny reached out and grabbed his shoulders. "Gyro! Please don't move!" he cried.

That was when Gyro started choking. Blood and water poured from his mouth and Johnny watched in horror, wondering if he had done something horribly wrong.

Then something instinctive had him struggling to turn Gyro onto his side where the man coughed up everything, but didn't choke on it this time. Cautiously, Johnny continued what he was doing with the spin until Gyro was breathing steadily, if not a little more shallow.

He settled into the sand, eyes closed, still just breathing. Johnny sat watching him, terrified that any second he might stop again. He carefully lowered his hand with the steel ball in it and had no idea what to do next.

Then Gyro stirred again, coughed weakly and his eyes opened, searching. "J-Johnny?"

Johnny let out a shuddering breath and bent, resting a hand on Gyro's shoulder. "I'm here," he said, fighting back yet more tears, though this time of relief.

"Wha' didja do?" Gyro asked.

"Honestly, I don't know. But…did it work?" Johnny asked.

Gyro huffed a laugh, wincing slightly. "Feel like I got trampled by a stampede, but…think it worked—whatever you did."

Johnny grinned with another sob and couldn't help leaning over and pulling Gyro up into his arms, trying not to squeeze him too hard but needing to feel his heart beating and the breath expanding his lungs. Something, he had been terrified for a moment that he would never feel again.

"Johnny," Gyro said softly, looping a weary arm around the younger man's shoulders. "You did good."

"I killed the bastard," Johnny growled against Gyro's shoulder. "I killed him."

"See? Guess you never needed me," Gyro told him.

"That's a damn lie," Johnny snapped, pushing away. "If it hadn't been for you, then I never would have been able to do any of this. You're the one who taught me, Gyro."

But the older man shook his head. "I would never have bothered if you hadn't had the talent. But I am a bit disappointed. Usually you're the one who falls off your horse. I have a reputation to uphold, after all."

Johnny snorted and settled back on his heels, scrubbing his face. "That reminds me," he said and held out his hand. "Do you feel up to finishing this damn race?"

Gyro grinned, the light glinting off his gold teeth. "I think it would only be right that we do."

[sleepy-baby-puppycat]

I love your writing 🥺 could you do demon brother headcanons with an MC who looks alot like them (if that makes sense)

I had to bend this a little to get an idea, but I like it!

The brothers with an MC that has similarities to them

Lucifer

MC has black hair and wears a lot of black and red

The other brothers think it’s funny

“They’re a mini you!”

Luci doesn’t want to admit it, but he thinks they’re absolutely adorable

He buys MC a cloak to match his and now they’re hooked on him

MC likes to impersonate Luci for the brothers entertainment

“MAMMOOOOOON! Do I sound like him?”

He’ll get his revenge on them later

Mammon

MC has tanned skin and white hair

They dyed their hair for him

“What?! You tryin’ to impersonate me or somthin’?”

Actually he thinks they’re cute

Mammon let’s MC wear his jacket and sunglasses so he can take a bunch of pictures of them

Defiantly tries to use them to play pranks on his brothers

“Trust me, no one will hurt ya! You’re too cute/handsome to injure!”

They both get in trouble with Lucifer

It was worth it though

Levithan

MC has purple hair and wears headphones around their neck

Levi is intrigued

Fellow otaku?

“What music do you listen to?”

“Vocaloid—“

“HOLY SHIT!”

They sit in his room with a Vocaloid playlist on loop

Levi lets them wear his jacket since his room is kinda chilly, though it’s kinda big on them

Flappy sleeves~!

He melts

“So cute!!! You look just like meeee!! Soulmates do exist!!”

Satan

MC is blonde and likes wearing green

Satan actually doesn’t notice MC looks like him until Asmo points it out

Still doesn’t really say anything until he catches them in his room reading some of his books

“I guess you are my clone~”

Satan sits with them and they read books together

He’s happy to find out MC likes most of the same genres as him

“So do you like animals?”

“Cats are my favorites!”

Satan immediately goes to buy a bunch of cat headbands for them

Asmodeus

MC has light brown hair and loves painting their nails different colors

Asmo gets SO excited

“Ooh! You’re like a 3D mirror!”

He steals MC for spa dates in his room so he can give them makeovers to look even more like him

He adores styling their hair and doing their nails to make them feel pretty

Asmo takes them on a lot of shopping sprees so he can buy matching clothes for the both of them

“If it looks good on you, it’ll look GREAT on me~!”

Beelzebub

MC has orange hair and has violet eyes

They also have an appetite on them

“You’re like me but tiny...”

Beel is in love

He loves to carry MC around and introduce them as his lil clone

He likes letting them wear his shirts and jackets, which are big enough to look like dresses on them

Beel shares food with them too. The happy face they make when they eat warms his heart

“You’re so soft and sweet! Like a cinnamon roll~”

MC is happy to receive all the love

Belphegor

MC has dark hair covering part of their face and they carry around a pillow

The brothers tease nonstop about this

Two soft sleepy babies!

Belphie is a little salty about this at first

Until he sees MC asleep on top of their pillow and cuddling it

“... damn you and you cute face!”

He can’t help but lay down and nap with them because they look like such a soft and perfect cuddle buddy

The brothers find Belphie and MC asleep cuddled together

Then take pictures Belphie will definitely kill them for later

[ladyhallen]

So Damned, So Pretty

Read on AO3 | FFN

 It had been a week since Sansa turned into a strange sea creature, a mermaid - the fishes whispered.

It still felt surreal for her, the sudden freedom in the water, and she half wandered everywhere she could go. Her fins were strong and powerful, and with one flick of her tail, she could move faster than any horse ever could.

Memories of being a lady was still with her and sometimes, she would stare at the raw fish she was eating and would feel the strange urge to vomit, even if the fish was delicious and appealing to her. Then the memories would fade, and she would return to being happy.

Sansa wandered to a group of islands and made it into her home, the corals plenty and abundant and the freshwater river doing lovely things to her hair.

She had long since shed her lingering thoughts about covering herself up. Even if she did put on clothes, swimming with one was just impractical. Cloth weighed a ton. Sansa would know. That was how she died.

The memory of an overturned boat during a seastorm made her shiver and she blinked it away.

Sansa comforted herself with eating an extra fish.

Then, a few days into making her nest - her underwater cave - beautiful, blood started polluting the water as the people of the island started screaming.

.

.

Two days and three nights of guerrilla warfare with Niflheim, and one bastard finally got a lucky shot in.

Bleeding from his thigh, Nyx cursed the gods, his ancestors who signed a pact with the Lucis’s Caelums and all of his enemies’ grandmothers.

He dragged himself to the water under the cover of the darkness. It was risky to go there, but the sea had always been kind to Galahd, even if Leviathan was a bitch.

The touch of saltwater made him bite back a very loud swear. After the initial sting, it started to throb steadily, the salt cleansing the wound. He pulled back and limped to the rocks, binding his leg with a spare shirt and a lot of cursing.

“Shit, damn Bahamut and his scaly balls,” he cursed as he tightened the bandage. “Fucking damn the Leviathan’s tits. Shit, that hurts. Fuck that Niff bastard and all his ancestors.”

“That’s a lot of cursing,” a conversational voice said, making him jerk and curse when that made the wound throb hotly.

“Fuck, warn a guy,” he hissed. He turned without his kukris in his hand, mostly because no one who wanted to kill him would actually bother talking to him.

There, lurking on the sand and looking like a dream, was a mermaid. In the light of the moon, she glowed like a pearl. Her red hair was dark with water and her face looked incredibly beautiful.

Nyx rubbed at his eyes and blinked a couple more times.

“Am I dreaming?” he had to say.

The mermaid smiled, an innocent smile that made her eyes glow blue. “You’re not. But why are you cursing so much?” she asked.

“My thigh hurts,” he admitted. “A lucky bastard got a shot in.”

Her brows wrinkled. “Bastard,” she repeated softly, which just sounded wrong.. “Right, can you answer a question for me? Why has there been so much blood in the water?”

Hearing a mermaid curse was doing ridiculous things to Nyx’s brain. And what was more, a mermaid was asking about politics and war.

Either he was hallucinating due to the blood loss, or this was real. Nyx leaned in more for the hallucination, and he answered, because honestly, what did he have to lose?

“Empire of Niflheim, cold country about there,” he gestured. “Wants to conquer Lucis. Has been in a feud with Lucis for ages. Galahd, this place. Conquered by Lucis a couple centuries ago, technically crown territory. Now, Niflheim attacked in the dark of the night a three nights ago, like the bastards that they are, and we’re fighting back.”

Her eyes were serious. “So you are the unconscious victims to the war between giants?”

That was actually a very nice way to put it. Practically poetic. “Collateral damage, yeah.”

“Has your Lucis sent help?” she asked.

Nyx shrugged, relaxing against his boulder. “I’ve heard rumors that the Immortal will arrive tomorrow. If so, that man is like a bomb all by himself, we’d likely be able to push back the Niffs then.”

Her eyes narrowed. “But if we wait longer, more blood will be in the water,” she said. Which. Nyx was trying not to think about that.

“I will help,” she declared, before vanishing into the water with barely a splash and a flare of blue fins.

Nyx blinked at the ripples she left behind and put another mark in the hallucination tally. Honestly, what could a waterbound mermaid do against airships and MT’s?

.

.

The answer, it turned out, was a lot.

Nyx blinked at the impossible storm brewing over the airships that kept dropping MT’s. He looked at the ridiculously large waves churning and the lightning striking the airships unerringly.

“I heard that the Fulgarian favored Galahd,” Cor Leonis said in that bland deadpan he’d been using ever since he showed up out of nowhere with the dawn. “But I never believed the rumors.”

Nyx, who had heard those rumors too, scoffed. “Neither did I. But I don’t know if it’s just the Fulgarian.”

The marshall’s eyes went straight to him and the sharp intensity of it made Nyx shiver. “What do you mean, Ulric?”

Nyx scratched at the back of his head. “Well, marshall….last night…either I had a hallucination, or I was really talking to a mermaid.”

As if to punctuate the statement, the fucking Leviathan emerged from the sea with a roar and started making the sea into a weapon, spouting geysers and biting at the airships.

The marshall gave a slow blink. “I think you did have a conversation with a mermaid,” he said. He sounded amused. “Look there, by the Leviathan.”

There was, indeed, a flash of red hair there. Brighter than he thought in the daylight.

“Hot damn,” he breathed with a smile.

Cor gave a small smirk. “Stop dawdling, Ulric,” he ordered. The fucking Immortal took a running leap and jumped up to an airship using one tree as a boost. It was insane. Nyx checked his mouth for drool.

“Holy shit,” he muttered, shaking his head.

.

.

Nyx was man enough to admit that it was a good thing he was sitting down.

Sitting by the sea with Cor Leonis and an incredibly beautiful mermaid was doing things to his libido.

“Thank you for your assistance,” the marshall said. “How did you convince the Astrals to help?”

Nyx shook his head. Right. Focus on the invasion and not the pretty people in front of him.

The mermaid gave that innocent smile again. After Nyx saw her give that same smile and then summon the gods, he trusted it not one bit.

“What do you mean?” she asked. “I just told them what they were doing wrong.”

The marshall raised his eyebrows. “Do you mean to say that you scolded the Astrals for not helping?”

The mermaid scowled and crossed her arms. Nyx determinedly kept his eyes on her face.

“I wandered to these islands after a long while of swimming and made it my home. I felt your gods and asked them, why they were there? And they said they were watching over their people,” at this, she gave a harrumph. “If they claimed people, then it was also their responsibility to do something if their people were crying out. So I just informed them of that fact. And if they did not do their duty, then they did not deserve their people.”

The declaration was such a Galahd thing that if Nyx didn’t already like the mermaid, that would do it. He wanted to fall down on his knees and give her homage.

The marshall, Cor, smiled toothily, and said, “Do you claim these islands as yours, then?”

The mermaid sniffed. “We can arrange visitation rights.”

Cor Leonis laughed. It made him look a decade younger and somehow made him more handsome.

Nyx stifled a whimper.