#I didn't have much commentary that wasn't covered by asks

[jq37]

I've largely been thrilled with the amount of sister content for Adaine and Aelwyn in Junior Year considering that Aelwyn's main arc was more or less completed last season and she could have easily been benched like so many other NPCs were this season. The only thing I was hoping would come into play but didn't was the Nemesis Ward. Even if it never comes up though, I still love it so much as a point of characterization for her. That action says so much about who she is as a person. That she would take a piece of magic specifically intended for evil and make it good in the same way that her protective magic which should have been good was twisted to be used for evil the first 18 years of her life? Mwah. Chef's kiss.

[roosterforme]

The Younger Kind Part 29 | Rooster x Reader

Summary: Bradley was deploying, and your insecurity started getting the best of you. He wanted to leave provisions for you and Noah, but you didn't want him to think you were taking advantage of him. As you initiated role playing and goodbye sex, you realized you were trying to guarantee he'd be thinking about you as much as you would be thinking about him. But Bradley was considering a lot more than that.

Warnings: Angst, swearing, fluff, smut, and age gap (18+)

Length: 6500 words

Pairing: Single dad!Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x babysitter!female reader

Check out my masterlist for more! The Younger Kind masterlist.

With just a few days left before your boyfriend's deployment, you found yourselves touching each other at every opportunity you were given. When you cooked meals, Bradley's hands were on you as he stood behind you, whispering sweet nothings or amusing commentary. After Noah was in bed, you were undressing each other. And all of the times in between, you and he were holding hands or sharing kisses with such earnest sincerity, you didn't know how you'd make it weeks without him.

There was a small part of you that feared Bradley was expecting round the clock sex before he left. How were you supposed to keep a deployed boyfriend faithful to you unless you let him do whatever he wanted? You'd heard horrible things about guys in the military. Yet he wasn't initiating sex with any more frequency than before. And when he said he wanted to snuggle with you, that's exactly what happened. 

You spent most of your time in his arms, just talking about what was important. "We should figure out these jobs, Princess," he said one night, sipping a beer on the couch and patting his thigh. 

You were frustrated and having a hard time deciding which job was best for you, but as you settled down in his lap, the tension melted away. Bradley wrapped his arm around you, and when he pressed his lips to your neck, you stole his beer and took a sip.

"What are you thinking?" he asked softly, running his fingers leisurely along your body until you handed him back his beer. 

You sighed. "I know which job I want, but I don't know if it's the best decision to make right now."

His eyes were so sincere, you could tell he was focused on your every word even though you were straddling his thigh. "What are you unsure of, Baby?"

"I just..." you said, trailing off and looking at the scars on his neck. "I have a lot of loans to pay back. I did everything by myself after I turned eighteen. And the job at the hospital pays more."

"You said you'd constantly have different shifts. Sometimes you'd work at night?"

"Yes," you confirmed. "So I wouldn't get to see you and Noah as much after your deployment. Between my commute from my place, plus the times I might be staying here, I'd be in the car a lot." You wanted to move in here with them permanently. Your place felt like a rental; his felt like a home. But you were hesitant, still concerned he would think you were trying to take advantage. 

Bradley examined your face, his expression neutral as his hand on your body pulled you a little closer. He sipped his beer before finishing the rest of the bottle and setting it aside. 

"I don't want you to worry about your loans," he told you as his other hand settled on your thigh. "We got that covered, okay?"

"But-"

"No," he said a little louder, cutting you off. "You want to take that job with the private practice. I know you do. You told me days ago that it seems like a better fit. So what's holding you back?"

Your gaze dropped to his chest as you muttered, "The loans."

"Stop talking about the loans, Baby. Pretend they don't exist." His voice was a little rough, and you had to squeeze your thighs around his leg to keep from moaning. "And while we're at it, let's assume you'll be doing all of your commuting from right here."

"Right here?" you asked, trying to make him laugh, because he sounded very serious. "From your lap?"

He pulled you close with both hands, and you squeaked, bracing your hands on his shoulders as his lips met yours in a hard kiss. When his tongue slipped between your lips, you tasted his beer. He was relentless, with one calloused hand at the back of your neck, as you moaned against his mouth. 

He released your lips, but kept you so your face was centimeters from his. "Right here. My house. My lap. In my arms. This is where you belong. Okay? You take the job you want more, Princess. And I'll take care of the rest."

"Daddy-" you gasped, already feeling the need to protest. 

He rubbed his fingers along your neck, and you let your forehead rest against his. "You do so much around here, and you ask for nothing in return. Stop arguing with me. Accept the job you want. It has better hours. It's closer to Coronado. Sure, the pay is a little lower, but it has great benefits, which will help in case we ever have a baby."

"Oh," you gasped, kissing him before you really realized what you were doing. You knew another child was something he had been thinking about. He told you he would be excited if you got pregnant. But just knowing that's what he was thinking about right now was making you a little lightheaded. 

A minute later, he had you underneath him on the couch. His cheeks were flushed, and his lips and breath were just barely almost touching your neck. You needed more, but he wasn't going to give you anything else until you gave him some answers. 

"You gonna call and accept the job you want?"

"Yes," you gasped. "I'll call them tomorrow."

"You gonna stop worrying about your loans?"

You hesitated, and he started to pull away. "Yes," you whined until his nose brushed along your sensitive skin. 

"You gonna move more of your stuff in here?"

"I will, Daddy," you confirmed, and you were rewarded with the soft pressure of him sucking on your pulse point. 

"That's a good girl," he praised, pushing your shirt up and kissing your belly. "I want you here. You can have as much space as you need. Nothing is off limits. Tons of room up in the attic."

But you were barely listening as his fingers found your zipper, and then his mouth was on your pussy. You realized as you started begging him to make you squirt that in a lot of ways, Bradley was more cunning than you were.

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

When Bradley was leaving for work the next morning with Noah in his arms, you were dressed in one of his old shirts and sipping coffee from his Trust me...I'm a pilot mug. He was delighted to hear you say you were heading up to the attic. You claimed you wanted to see how much room was available to store your textbooks, and he thought that was a very good sign. Then he reminded you that you could sort through anything you wanted, but not to throw away anything pertaining to Noah without running it by him first. 

You kissed Noah before reaching up to kiss Bradley as well. Then he paused to grab his checkbook and you snorted.

"What?" he asked. "I need to pay the daycare for this month."

"You can pay on your phone. Using an app." Now you were raising your voice like he couldn't hear you. "Do you want me to show you how, grandpa?"

Bradley kept his expression neutral as you giggled and almost spilled your coffee. "First of all, my name is Daddy. Second, I don't like using apps for everything. And third, I was going to leave you my checkbook so you could pay Noah's tuition next month. But if you're going to make fun of me-"

You kissed his lips with a big smile on your face. "I can pay with a check next month," you assured him. "You better go before you're late. I love you, Daddy. Love you, sweet Noah."

Then Bradley dropped Noah off and continued to base. He had one of those days that was just too busy for no reason, and he wasn't getting anywhere with the things he needed to get done before he left for deployment. Your credit card hadn't arrived yet, and Tracy hadn't contacted him about the order of protection paperwork. 

"Hey," Jake drawled, walking over to annoy Bradley during lunch when he was trying to read the texts you'd sent him. Apparently you found an old polaroid camera in the attic and wanted to know if you could mess around with it. 

"What do you want?" Bradley asked Jake while he let you know you could do anything you felt like. 

"Just wanted to see if you were going to need any help with Noah while you're deployed."

"I would sooner trust my child to babysit you than the other way around," Bradley replied with a smirk. 

But Jake was undeterred as he smiled and said, "Nat told me your babysitter is going to be all alone at your house, watching your kid. Just thought maybe I could swing by and check on her. Give her anything she might need."

Two months ago, Bradley would have been ready to throttle his coworker. But now he just smiled back. "And what do you have that you think she might need?"

"I can think of one thing," Jake replied with a shrug. 

Bradley rolled his eyes. "I've seen it in the locker room, and I doubt she would be interested."

"Well, maybe I'll let her decide for herself while you're away."

You wouldn't even humor Jake, and Bradley knew it. You promised it would never happen. You'd barely even spoken to him when you were at the Hard Deck. You belonged with Bradley. But the idea of another guy with his hands on you, fucking your sweet pussy...he didn't like thinking about it at all. Especially not Jake. 

"Enjoy the rejection," Bradley snarled as he went to get some lunch.

Now he was annoyed. Jake could get under his skin too easily, and he was in a bad mood because of it. And to top it off, Tracy told him she had no updated information when he texted her. He just wanted to get home to you and his son and his delicious dinner that he would clean up after.

When he picked Noah up and carried him to the Bronco, he was already whining for you and some ants on logs. "Honestly, bub, I feel like whining for Princess, too. Let's just get home."

When Bradley got home and unlocked the front door, you called out, "Hey, boys!" You weren't even in the living room, but the sound of your voice excited him. He and Noah both ran for the kitchen where you were pulling a lasagna out of the oven that smelled so good, Bradley's stomach growled louder. He recognized that you were wearing the dress you had on the day he met you, and your lips were glossy and perfect. "Hi, Daddy."

Fuck. He couldn't wait to get his hands on you later. Pull your dress up and kiss off your lipgloss. 

"Hey, Baby. How was your day?" he grunted.

"It was so good!" You had one of Noah's brand new coloring books out with some crayons, and you pulled out the chair for him to sit. "I moved more of my stuff in. I hope you don't mind," you said with a little smirk.

Bradley looked at you with one eyebrow raised and gently backed you up to the counter. "Mind? You know I'd be happiest if you moved all of your stuff in here." Hadn't he made that clear? He wasn't about to change his mind about you.

"I know," you whispered, draping your arms casually around his neck and kissing him. You just wouldn't give him a firm answer either way, which was infuriating. "I also accepted the job that we talked about." 

He grinned as you kissed him. "You excited?"

"Very. I start a few days after you leave."

"Damn," he whispered. "I won't even get to be here to drive you on your first day and pack you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch."

You giggled as Bradley ran his hands down along your dress. And then Noah asked, "Princess? Can I have some ants?" 

"Lasagna first," you told him. "Then some ants."

Bradley cleaned the kitchen after dinner while you played on the driveway with Noah and the bucket of sidewalk chalk. When he came back inside looking cute with pink and green chalk smudges on his face, Bradley took a few photos of him before escorting him to the bath. "Why don't you relax, Princess. I'll get him in bed."

"I'll be in the living room," you told him with a coy smile before you kissed Noah goodnight. Bradley watched you walk away, and he knew you had something up your sleeve. 

He tried not to be impatient, but by the third book, Bradley insisted Noah close his eyes and go to sleep. "Seriously, bub. It's time. Love you."

"Night, daddy." And as usual, his son was asleep before he was out of the room. Bradley pulled the door closed and made his way into the living room where you were standing, waiting for him with a smirk on your pretty lips. 

"Daddy," you whispered, and he was right there kissing you. 

He grabbed your ass in both hands, and between kisses he asked, "Did you use the old camera that you found?"

"Mmhmm."

"Did you take some dirty polaroids?"

"Yes," you replied, suddenly pulling out of his grasp. "But those are strictly for you to take away with you."

He grunted in approval and watched the thin strap of your dress as it slid down your shoulder. But when he reached for you again, you backed away and shook your head. "What?" he whined. "I wanna fuck you, Baby."

Your teeth sank into your plump lip, and you moaned. "I know you do, and so do I. But I have an idea. And I think you might like it."

"You gonna tell me?" he asked softly. 

Bradley was plainly hard in his jeans, and when he put his hands on his hips, you glanced down and grinned. "Okay... I've... never done this before," you whispered, and he throbbed for you. "But I thought you might enjoy some... role playing?"

His brain short circuited. All of the thoughts in his head were gone as you worried your lip with your teeth. It suddenly made sense why you were wearing that particular dress. Role playing. Role playing. You wanted to try some role playing. With him. Right now.

"Tell me more," he rasped, and you took a step closer to him. 

"Well, I already know you have a thing for your babysitter..."

"That's an understatement," he whispered, his voice harsh and his heart pounding. 

"You can be as rough as you want," you whispered. And then he watched you take a deep breath before you cleared your throat. "Oh! Mr. Bradshaw! You're back early. I already put Noah in bed for the night."

You were looking up at him with a somewhat nervous expression as you ran your index finger along your bottom lip. Oh fuck. You were going to let him role play all the filthy shit he thought about when he first hired you to babysit for him. 

"Hey, thanks for watching him tonight. I know it was short notice," Bradley said, and you looked up at him through your eyelashes, somehow looking even more innocent than you usually did. 

"I didn't mind at all, sir. I like babysitting your son. And I... like it when I get to see you, too."

Oh hell, you were too good at this already. And when Bradley reached out to run his knuckles softly along your cheek, you whimpered softly. "I like getting to see you, too, Baby. Getting to look at you was the best part of my day."

Bradley watched you run your fingers down your neck and across the tops of your pretty tits which were on display in that dress. "You're so handsome, Mr. Bradshaw. I think you're sexy."

When he took a step closer, you turned away from him shyly, gazing up at him over your bare shoulder where the strap had fallen down. Bradley got as close to you as he could without actually touching you, and he whispered, "You're gorgeous. Will you let me touch you?"

You whimpered for him. "Yes, sir."

Bradley slowly wrapped his hands around your hips and pressed himself against your ass. "You always smell good. Like wildflowers." He pressed his lips to the side of your neck. Jesus Christ, had he been thinking about this shit from the beginning with you? Pretty close to it. He couldn't believe you were letting him get away with this. 

"Sir?" you whimpered as he brought his hands around to the front of your body, bunching up the fabric of your dress. 

"Tell me," he whispered next to your ear, tasting your neck before brushing his mustache along your pulse point. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen," you whispered, and Bradley's lips paused. 

He kissed you once and cleared his throat. "Princess, can we crank that age up a little bit?" he asked, out of character now. "I mean, it's bad enough that you're only twenty four."

"Okay," you replied with a soft laugh. "I'm twenty one, Mr. Bradshaw."

"Twenty one," he grunted, kissing a path down to your collarbone where he licked you, grinding his erection against you. Then he spun you in his arms so you were facing him. "Pretty face like that, you could get any guy you wanted. Make them do anything you wanted them to do. Love you just the right way."

Your eyes fluttered closed as he brushed your neck with his fingers, and it didn't seem like you were having to try too hard to play along. Which was great, because Bradley was loving this. 

"I don't know about that, Mr. Bradshaw. I've only ever kissed one boy before."

Bradley grunted and wrapped his hand around the front of your neck, angling your face up and stroking your chin with his thumb. "What else did you do with that boy?"

Your eyes were wide as you whispered, "N-Nothing, Mr. Bradshaw."

"Nothing?" he asked, cock throbbing as he waited for you to answer.

You just shook your head gently and said, "No, sir. I'm... I'm a virgin."

The way you were so goddamn convincing was really fucking with him. He would have believed you if he didn't know better. But he was ready to beg for it right now. "Baby," he groaned, wrapping his fingers around to the back of your neck. "I don't want you to think about him anymore. I want you thinking about me." Then he rubbed his nose along yours and listened to the pretty sound you made. "You gonna let me kiss you?"

"Yes." 

His lips met yours, and everything felt familiar and yet totally different. You weren't his girlfriend right now. You were his new, virgin babysitter he was about to fuck the living shit out of. Bradley pulled you close, let you really feel his hardness against your belly, and you moaned into his mouth. 

"You're so sweet, Baby. You gonna let me take you to bed?"

"I want you to, Mr. Bradshaw!"

"Fuck." His hands were up under your dress, easing it higher and higher, confirming you wore no underwear. He kissed you rough and hard, his tongue tangling with yours before he pulled your dress over your head and dropped it onto the floor. Then he proceeded to touch you everywhere. Every pinch of your nipples and soft caress of your ass had you grinding your pussy against the front of his jeans. 

"Daddy!" you whined, and oh, that didn't sound like you were playing along at all. 

He pulled your bottom lip between his and sucked on you as he pressed his fingers to your clit. You were soft and silky. "You're so wet for me." And as he slipped one finger inside you, he whispered, "You gonna let me fuck you, Baby? Show you what you've been missing?"

You looked up at him with parted lips and wrapped your arms around his neck. "Will you be gentle, Mr. Bradshaw? I'm so nervous."

"Oh yeah, Baby. I'll be so gentle." Bradley had no plans to be gentle with you tonight, and he took one of your smaller hands in his and guided it to the fly of his jeans. "I'll stretch you out and fuck you slow. Take you for my own. Make you mine."

You were clinging to his shoulder and riding his hand as you rubbed him. "Mr. Bradshaw," you whined softly. What a sight.

Bradley pinched your clit and asked, "You ever sucked a cock before?"

Those pure, innocent eyes were back, and when you shook your head, Bradley started pushing you down to kneel in front of him. "Good girl," he crooned. You watched him unzip his jeans, and you licked your lips. When his cock was free of his underwear, you gasped. 

"I don't know how," you said, and Bradley almost laughed. You were so good at sucking his dick, it was just impressive. 

"Just give it a try," he whispered, and you took him slowly between your lips. "You're smart. Such a good girl. I'll teach you."

But he didn't need to, because a minute later, you were expertly giving him head and running your own fingers through your pussy. It was mesmerizing, and he tried to stay in character. "That's it. Nice and slow. Suck a little harder. Perfect."

He didn't want to cum in your mouth, even though it felt so good. So he hauled you up to your feet and said, "I want you to show me how you touch yourself in my bed."

You nodded and said, "Okay, Mr. Bradshaw," and then he was carrying you to his room. Once he had you on your back, you came apart further at your own touch, and Bradley started stroking himself. 

You moaned and said, "I think you would do a better job, sir. You always make me cum with I daydream about you." 

Bradley smirked and spread your legs wide before he lowered his face down to your pussy. You pushed your wet fingers back into his hair as he got you clenching almost immediately. He was going to make you cum on his tongue. And then he would fuck you, get himself off with your body just the way he needed to right now. 

When he put a little more pressure on your clit, you cried out. He could feel you gushing, and your cum ran down from your pussy to your asshole. "You're a fucking angel, Baby," he grunted, and you just moaned as he kissed along your slit and started begging. "I need to fuck you. I need to feel your pussy. Please, Baby? I need to be the first one inside you like that."

"You promised you'd go slow," you managed to say. 

"Of course. Anything you want." He kissed his way up your body until his lips were on yours. "You ready for me?" When you nodded beneath him, he ran his cock through your wetness. God, you were probably leaving a spot on the bed. "It might hurt, Baby." And then he pushed himself inside you slowly until you took all of him

You moaned in pleasure, back arching off the bed as you tugged on his hair. He started out nice and slow, giving you time to adjust. "Think you can take a little more? Get a little rough?"

"I-I think so, sir," you whimpered. 

He fucked you hard and fast, and you kissed his lips. "Mr. Bradshaw! You said you'd be gentle with me!"

"I don't think you want me to," he replied, bucking harder against you.

"I-I don't?" you gasped, wrapping one leg around his hips.

"No, that's not how you need it. And you feel too fucking good to go slow. Such a tight little pussy," he growled, pushing your legs wider. "Look at you. Taking me so well for your first time." He was rocking into you harder now. "Breaking you in, just the way I like."

He took your nipple between his lips as you whined, "Daddy."

Then he sucked on you hard until you tugged at his hair. "Come on, Baby. I'm still your boss," he said, withdrawing from your body and getting you onto your hands and knees with your butt in the air. "Let's be professional." He landed a solid smack to your ass and added, "Call me Mr. Bradshaw."

Then he ate you out from behind, his lips and tongue connecting with your pussy until you buried your face in the pillow, your cries of pleasure muffled. God, he was painfully hard now as he got himself in position to take you from behind. As he fucked you, he wrapped his hand around your neck and gently guided you back until your face was away from the pillow. He peppered kisses along your shoulders and the back of your neck as he rode you hard. 

"Shit, Baby. I'm gonna cum," he groaned, grabbing at your hips as he ran his nose along your spine. The slapping sounds were so pretty, he started losing himself now. But he kept it together the best he could as he asked, "Are you on birth control?"

"No, sir," you gasped.

"You want me to cum inside your pussy? Or on your ass?" He squeezed you there as you whined. 

"Please, Mr. Bradshaw. Inside me."

His thrusts were erratic as he felt himself reach his peak. "You better hope you don't get knocked up."

"Oh!" you groaned. "It doesn't matter. I wanna feel you do it inside me."

Bradley filled you up with his cum as he braced himself above you, palms planted next to yours on the bed. As you caught your breath, he pressed kisses to your neck and rubbed his nose along your ear. 

"Did you like that, Daddy?"

He didn't know if you'd ever understand just how much he liked that. "Probably too much, Princess." Carefully, he eased you down on your back next to him, and you curled up on his chest. 

You yawned and whispered, "It was hot. We can do it again sometime. If you want to."

Bradley kissed you and whispered, "I love you," over and over until you fell asleep.

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

Over the next few days, you had taken to calling him Mr. Bradshaw. Every time you did it, you looked at him like you had no idea why his cheeks were flushed pink. Bradley really loved roleplaying with you. He made sure he told you several times just how much. 

But as the days wore on, your insecurity returned. Part of the reason you initiated the virgin experience for him was to try to keep his interest. He was leaving soon, and you wanted some sort of guarantee that he would be thinking about you beyond just your ability to care for Noah. Having a serious boyfriend was one thing, but having a serious boyfriend in the military was starting to make you nervous. What if you weren't enough when he was deployed? What if he lost sight of what was waiting for him at home?

While you were making dinner, he wrapped his arms around you from behind. "Your credit card's here," he whispered, setting the purple card with your name on it on the counter next to the cutting board.

"Thanks," you whispered, suddenly even more insecure. "I can keep track of when I use it, especially for things for myself. And I can pay you back in a few weeks."

"That's not what we agreed on," he said, voice laced with frustration. "Look at me, please." You sighed and set down the spatula and turned around in his arms. He was quiet until you met his eyes, but then he said, "You're smart. I trust you with my kid and my house and my Bronco for extended periods of time. Why would I not trust you with a credit card, Princess? I'm leaving you with a lot of responsibility here, and I need to know that you're buying everything you and Noah need or want. And that includes coloring books, Skittles, pizza, you name it. Whatever you want."

You opened your mouth to respond, but you just kissed him instead. It was hard to get used to the idea of someone caring about you and wanting to take care of you. "I'll just use it for the stuff we need."

"No, you won't," he whispered. "You'll use it for everything. Please."

The way he kissed you had you melting into him. You could probably do what he asked of you, just for two months. And when you finally agreed, you were rewarded with a pretty smile from him. 

You whispered, "I just don't want to take advantage of you."

"You're not."

You closed your eyes and added, "And I'm worried you won't be thinking about me."

Bradley froze, brow creased in confusion. "What do you mean?" Then you immediately wished you'd said nothing. You were embarrassed, but he wasn't going to let it go. "What do you mean, Baby?"

"You know... while you're away."

Bradley started chuckling. His shoulders were shaking with amusement as he tipped his head back. His laughter grew louder, and even Noah looked up from his coloring to see what was going on. 

"Are you making fun of me, old man?" you asked, elbowing him in the side as he roared with laughter. 

"You're a riot, Princess," he finally said, pulling your reluctant body against his. "I don't think about anything else. Just you and Noah on repeat." And then all the laughter was gone from his voice as he ran one big hand down your back. "And isn't that why you pulled out the role play the other night? To try and guarantee that Mr. Bradshaw wouldn't be thinking about anyone else?" he asked softly before kissing along your cheek. 

"Maybe," you replied softly. 

"Hmm," he hummed, his other hand coming up to cup your cheek. "You didn't need to pull out the virgin babysitter to get that guarantee, but I'm glad you did. I'll be thinking about that a lot. I'll be thinking about you all the time. I went a year without sex before I met you. I intend for you to be my last."

The way you whimpered at his words had you slamming your lips together so Noah wasn't distracted again. But that night, when he took you to bed, Bradley worshipped your body. His lips were everywhere, and he was in no hurry. You had no idea how long he kept you in bed, using his lips and words to get you soaking wet. 

"I love you."

"I want you."

"I need you, Princess."

"Let me make you feel good."

"Let me take care of you."

You were at the point of no return when he whispered, "Come sit on Daddy's face."

"Oh," you gasped as Bradley lounged on his back and waited for you with eager eyes. "Won't I hurt you? Or make it hard to breathe?"

"No," he said right away, stroking himself through his underwear. "I'm gonna love it." 

As you crawled over to him and carefully straddled his face, he wrapped his strong arms around your thighs. When you lowered yourself down, you asked, "Is this okay?" But Bradley pulled your pussy snug to his lips and ran his tongue along your slit, and after that, you had to work really hard to keep your volume down. 

You were shaking with overstimulation by the time you realized what he was doing. When you tried to pull away, he tightened his grip on your thighs. "But Daddy-"

It was too late. You squirted for him, getting his mustache and lips soaking wet. He lapped you up which made you shake harder. When he helped ease you down on top of him, you tasted yourself on his face. 

"I'm gonna miss you," he whispered as you ran your tongue across his mustache. "I love eating you out. I love making you cum. I love spending time with you."

You gasped and kissed him softly. "How am I supposed to go without you? How am I supposed to get off without you?"

"Use your hands," he replied. "That's what I'm gonna have to do. Just use your fingers. Or buy some toys with the credit card." He paused before adding, "That's actually a really great use of money. You should buy some toys."

"Stop trying to be my Sugar Daddy," you whispered, lounging on his chest and playing with his hair. 

"I don't want to."

Good. You kind of didn't want him to.

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

The weekend went by in a blur. Bradley helped you move more of your clothing to his house so you'd have it on hand when he was gone. He wrote out phone numbers for Penny, Maverick, Amelia and Nat. And then you called him old and poked fun at him for handwriting something you could have just added to your phone. And then he kissed you until you were moaning for him and insisting he actually wasn't old at all.

He spent the whole day on Sunday with you and Noah. The three of you went to the beach, and Bradley got to see you in a bikini. He insisted on taking some pictures of you. When you got bashful, he whispered that they were for his locked photo album, and he was going to use them in conjunction with his hand. 

"You're filthy, Daddy. You can't get enough."

You weren't wrong. 

As Bradley built a sandcastle with his son late in the afternoon, you and he went over the final list of things he needed for when he left in the morning. He saw you try to discreetly tuck an envelope into his duffle bag last night, and when he went to check, it was sealed. And you had written For My Daddy on the front of it. It took every ounce of his self control to put it back where he found it and pretend he didn't know it was there. 

After the beach, the three of you picked up dinner and watched a movie together, and then Bradley put Noah in bed for the last time for weeks and weeks. He stayed in there a little longer than usual, watching his son sleep and counting his blessings. He had sole custody. You had temporary guardianship. The orders of protection had come through for you and for Noah. Tracy had been correct that he would be denied, but it didn't much matter. He was about to be isolated on an aircraft carrier with only naval personnel in sight. He would be just fine.

And then Bradley fell asleep with your hands wrapped around him and your soft voice telling him you loved him. But the next morning, it was a different story. Noah didn't fully understand what was going on, he just knew Bradley would be gone for a while and that Princess would be staying with him. But you on the other hand had tears in your eyes as you made breakfast in one of your cute little dresses. And you kept your arms wrapped around Bradley as frequently as you could. 

"It's going to be okay," he assured you. "You have the orders of protection, and the credit card, and the checkbook. You can use the Bronco. You and Noah have everything you'll need."

You cried and looked up at him like he was very dense. "We won't have you!" The sound of the little sob at the back of your throat made him tighten his grip on you. He wanted to tell you that everything would be fine, and that you and Noah would have each other, but part of Bradley loved the way you needed him. 

He held your hand the whole way to drop Noah off at daycare and even while he gave his son a final goodbye kiss. He held your hand as he drove to the shipyard where the aircraft carrier looked enormous in the water. And he was still holding your hand when you crawled across the seat to straddle his lap. God, you were perfect, shedding tears quietly and telling him you loved him. 

"I love you, too. We can handle this," he promised, and you nodded as you traced the scars on his neck with your soft fingers. 

As he ran his thumb along your cheek and kissed you there, he felt your hands drift down the front of his khaki uniform shirt. "One more time? Please?" you asked so softly as you pressed your core against his rapidly hardening cock through his pants. 

Bradley glanced to his left and his right where the parking lot was starting to fill up. "Baby, I don't know if we should-" he started, but you already had his pants unzipped, and you were guiding his length toward your warmth. "Oh, hell."

You guided him up inside you, the illicit activity barely covered by the flimsy fabric of your dress. Anyone who could see would know what was going on inside the Bronco right now, but Bradley didn't care. He loved you. He was going to miss you. And you were sending him off with your sweet tears, lingering kisses and a slow fuck as the sun peaked over the tower of the carrier. 

"I'll miss you, Daddy," you whispered, your lips brushing his mustache as his hands found your bare hips beneath the fabric. He cupped your body, guided the soft roll of your hips, and his mind drifted briefly. He imagined filling you with his cum with the added intention of getting you pregnant. He imagined you asking him to do that. He imagined getting married. 

"Princess," he groaned, kissing along your chest as your pussy clenched for him. "I need you. All the time." He met your soft eyes as you came undone in his arms, your jerky little bounces drawing out his orgasm as well. There was only a minute left to clean up, and then you and he were walking hurriedly to the dock hand in hand. 

He kissed you long and hard, trying his best to leave no doubt in your mind that you were everything. He let you cling to him as long as he could, but then he had to leave you behind with his cum in your pussy and his kiss on your lips. "I love you, Princess!" he shouted from the top of the ramp. "I love you so much!"

Your smile was just for him, and he knew it.

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

Oh, her nerves are getting the best of her. He doesn't want anyone else. But she thinks she has something to prove to him. Hope you enjoy your fic, @beyondthesefourwalls And thank you @mak-32 !

PART 30

@hotch-meeeeeuppppp

@swthxrry

@chassy21

@yaboid19

@solacestyles

@avoirlecoupdefoudre

@daisyhollyxox

@throwinsauce

@awesomebooklover17

@wintercap89

@whosyourgnomie4

@rosesinmars

@blog-name6996

@bcon24

@wishfulwithwine

@backinwonderl4nd

@tetragonia

@gingerbreadandpaper

@emptyloverofmine

@chaoticassidy

@missmirandafe

@changlingkhat

@sugarcoated-lame

@avada-kedavra-bitch-187

@katiebby04

@marantha

@averyhotchner

@abaker74

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@heli991113

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@noz4a2

@tallyovie

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@little-wiseone

@ccbb2222

@lilyevanswhore

@o-the-o-grim-o-reaper-o

@xoxabs88xox

[vivwritesfics]

Waiting For The Sun

Chapter One

Rhett Abbott has been hearing his soulmate in his head for ten years. She's the sweetest thing, nicknamed Muffin after her love of baking. Rhett doesn't know who Muffin is, doesn't know where she is, but hearing her voice always makes his day better. But then Trevor Tillerson is killed and Rhett's life is thrown into chaos. Through it all, Muffin in there for her soulmate. She wants nothing more than to find him, even through the chaos.

Soulmate AU Warnings: talks of religion

Series Masterlist

She’d been hearing the same voice in her head since she was fourteen years old. It had been jarring at first, hearing someone else's commentary from a rodeo she wasn't even attending. Whoever this person was had some really strong opinions about the bull riders they had been watching.

So jarring, in fact, that she went running to her mother, terrified. "Momma!" She cried as she ran down the stairs of the family farmhouse. "I'm hearin' voices!"

Her mother said nothing as she folded her newspaper and looked across the room, looked to her husband. Fourteen years old was too young to be hearing the voice of your soulmate, they both thought. But they couldn't have been much older when the writing first appeared on their own arms.

Her sister laughed. "That's your soulmate speaking to you, idiot," she said as she looked up from her book for just a moment. Normally, her mother would have scolded her for such language, but there were bigger fish to fry.

"My... what?" She asked, still standing on the bottom step of the stairs.

Her mother shuffled over, creating some space for her on the couch. She patted the space between herself and her eldest daughter, signalling for her youngest to come and sit between them. "Sweetie, it's time somebody told you about soulmates," she said gently.

As her youngest sat, she rolled up her sleeve, revealing the raised skin her of own soulmate mark. It used to be a tattoo, the first words her soulmate would ever say to her marked on her skin in black ink. The mark was supposed to remain there for the rest of her life, but tattoos were something she was against, something she and her husband saw as a sin. She had the tattoo removed, leaving raised skin as the only races of what was. "What did it say?" Her youngest daughter asked as she hesitantly lifted her fingers to trace over the raised skin.

She sucked in a breath and read out the passage from the bible that her husband had used to win her over. "'Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all'," she said and pulled her sleeve back down to cover up her past sins. "Those were the first words your father said to me, and that was how I knew he was my soulmate."

She looked across the room, at her husband. He was usually quiet, and this was no different. He said nothing as he watched them, so still his wife wondered if he was even listening.

"What has your soulmate said?" The eldest daughter asked. Her bookmark was in her book, which she placed down on the little round table beside the couch. "Has he at least said anything interesting?"

The youngest of the two shrugged her shoulders. "Nothin' too interestin' yet," she said and her mother gave her the side eye. She cleared her throat and tried again, this time pronouncing her G's. "I think he was at the rodeo," she mumbled and fiddled with her fingers. "Seemed to know a lot about bull ridin'."

Suddenly, her sister was sitting a little straighter. "A rodeo in Amelia County?"

She shrugged her shoulders.

Before the girls could continue with this conversation, their father cleared his throat, making his presence known. Well, his presence was always known in that house. "Time for bed, girls," he said in his usual gruff voice. "We've got church in the morning."

Both girls bowed their heads as they walked up the stairs and disappeared into their bedrooms.

***

That was ten years ago, the night her soulmate first spoke to her. She didn't speak back to him right away, didn't know how. As soon as her soulmate realised that someone else was there, trying to talk to him, he taught her how.

Neither of them had shut up since, it seemed.

Mornin', came the groggy voice of her soulmate.

The moment his voice filled her head, she couldn't help but smile. It had become a routine, waiting for him to wake up and then grinning when his voice filled her head. Morning, sleepyhead, she said, not looking up from her flowers. Are you aware that it's ten in the morning?

It is? Ah, shit.

Language, she scolded, but she knew he could hear her laugh. It was something he said every day, several times a day. Each time she scolded him, and each time he called her cute.

There was a break before he responded. She could see it in her mind, a faceless man rolling out of bed and pulling a shirt over his muscular chest. He'd place a Stetson on his head, a black on, pat his dog on the head, and go out to work on a ranch.

What is my Muffin doin' today? He asked as she used her trowel to dig a hole in her flower patch.

She looked up as her neighbour climbed out of his truck, where he'd undoubtedly slept. Rhett Abbott. There was a time, back when she was eighteen, that she thought Rhett was her soulmate. But those thoughts, that... hope, didn't last long. Not when she saw the way Rhett looked at Maria Olivares. There was no doubt in her mind that they, Rhett and Maria, were soulmates.

She didn't answer his question. What she was doing was boring and uninteresting. So, instead, she asked, Do you ever think about how it's been ten years and we haven't met yet? I mean, I don't even know if you're in-

But her soulmate didn't hear the rest of it, couldn't hear the rest of it. They'd figured out the rules quickly. they couldn't say names, places or any physical descriptions. Nothing that could aid them in finding each other. They'd meet when the universe was good and ready for it. That was God's plan, after all.

It wasn't the first time she'd said it to her soulmate. And, every time, he knew exactly what to say. Muffin, it's okay, he said to her. When we meet, I'll take you out for dinner. Breakfast for dinner, he promised.

She couldn't help but laugh. You always know just what to say, she said to him as she put her trowel down and pulled her gloves away from her fingers (it was so hot in Wyoming, she couldn't stand to wear her gardening gloves for very long. Not unless she wanted her hands to be all sweaty and pruney).

Go on, Muffin. Tell me what you're up to, he said, his voice sounding like a mumble in her head.

She held up the sunflower she had been growing for the last few weeks. Do you remember the sunflower growing competition I'm holding with the youth group? She asked and he let out a hum. Well, I'm planting my sunflower in my garden.

Holy fuck, he immediately said. You're so damn cute.

Language! But, again, she was laughing. But then the laughter stopped. Oh shoot! I got soil on my dress and now it's all dirty, she grumbled as she stood and brushed the dirty away from the blue skirt of her dress.

He let out another hum. Bet you still look great, he said in her mind.

It had been ten years. Ten year of them knowing each other without ever meeting. They'd learnt everything there was to know about each other, without knowing who the other was. And he knew exactly how to push her buttons, but in the best way. He knew exactly how to get her giggling like a school girl, not like the twenty four year old woman she was.

They talked through the morning, as they did every morning. When his employer had him counting cattle, she helped to keep track of the numbers. But then she was heading inside, grabbing the grocery list her mother had stuck on the fridge, grabbing her keys, and heading out.

You should get those cosmic brownie things you like, he said as she started her car.

It took a moment of turning the key before the engine came to life. Not on the list, she said as she began driving away from her family's property. You know how my mother gets.

I know, Muffin, he replied as she drove up the rode, drove past the Abbott Ranch. And there was Rhett Abbott, riding on his usual black horse. She gave him the polite smile and he tipped his hat, a sign of two acquaintances that barely knew each other.

As soon as Rhett had ridden off, her soulmate was back in her head. But you deserve a treat!

She let out a hum of her own, a habit she had picked up from him. I'm gonna make muffins for bible study later, she said as she drove into town.

Flavour? He asked as she pulled up outside of The Handsome Gambler. She'd never stepped a foot inside, might have been one of the only people in Wabang that hadn't .

A smile played on her lips as she walked into the store, reusable bag stuffed into the tote bag on her shoulder. Walking around the store, she had never felt so naked. All because of some damned stain left by soil. Muffin? You still there? He asked.

Shit, sorry.

That's my girl.

There was no point in trying to hide her smile. Blueberry, he said, answering his question from earlier.

Having her soulmate in her head while she was grocery shopping wasn't easy, not in the slightest. He threw out suggestions that had her damn near reaching for the stuff. Stuff that wasn't on her mothers list, stuff that would have had her mother angry.

Twenty Four year old and still scared of her parents. It was pathetic.

Not pathetic, Muffin. I don't wanna be hearin' that shit.

She couldn't help but apologise, even if he wouldn't hear it. How many times had he said 'my Muffin don't apologise for nothin'' over the years? When she wandered over to the checkout, he was quiet, let her count the cash in her purse. And then, as she loaded the groceries into the car, he was humming. It was a song she didn't recognise from the tune alone. But it was sweet and it was comforting.

It was him.

If you enjoyed this, please feel free to buy me a coffee

Rhett Abbott Taglist (OPEN): @writtingrose

WFTS Taglist (OPEN): @finnydraws (you don't get a choice)

@nurse-sainz (you don't get a choice)

[fountainpenguin]

Scott, Gem, and Martyn Secret Life Ep 1 commentary:

"Geez Scott, why are you so creepy?" / "Everyone needs a hobby <3"

Crying at Scott booking it across the grass to break up Scar and Jimmy as fast as humanly possible and they just start huffing and grumbling.

Scott after running into Pearl, Cleo, Jimmy, and Martyn - "I've bumped into every single one of my exes already..."

slkdjf Skizz apparently cut himself saying "I just wanna cause problems" out of his own POV but Scott got it all on tape

Skizz staying within 10 blocks of Gem is even funnier from Scott's POV because he needs Gem to hold his hand while he follows Scott around a corner... The delicate balancing act of obeying Scott's come hither but also pulling Gem along.

The dead silent push in on Scott's face when he notices Gem inching her base away from his and he's dreading starting his "obnoxiously attach your base to someone else's" task over.

Impulse: "Scott, is my cottagecore-ing okay? :)" / Scott, sweating his pretty little head off as he speed-builds so Gem doesn't catch him in the act, not even turning around: "Yep- looks great!"

Gem, emotionally trudging across the map with Skizz and Scott hanging off her.

I appreciate Gem's commentary of "How much room does this man NEED??"

Gem watching Scott un-merge their bases: "Oh, thank you" / Scott: "What do you mean by that. Why is that a relief to you."

---

Impulse and Gem going over the cliff is funnier with the context that Gem's task was to convince someone to "take a leap of faith while also ensuring they take no damage."

Mental image of Gem begging Impulse to take a flying jump into the water while Impulse is grabbing her by the shoulders and trying to force her into a cherry wood boat because it's cherry wood it's amazing Gem come on slkdjf

Gem: "How much more iron do you need for a chestplate?" / Impulse, taking a moment to pretend to count: "... 8 :)"

Gem, addressing the viewers: "And Skizz follows me around for an uncomfortable period of time."

In Scott's POV, he's just watching unhappily from the distance as Gem starts taking down her wall, but in Gem's POV she actually asked him if she can move her base over and he's just like "Yeah... Yeah, you can if you want to :')" slkdfj

Underappreciated irony in Scott being the one to make a big deal about how clingy Skizz is when he's literally fusing his base's roof with Gem's

It's spawn egg-topia!!

Scott: "I'm making the executive decision to separate our cottages." slkdjf Scott recovers from being possessed by the spirit of clinginess and wakes up like "What HAPPENED last night?? What is this garbage??"

---

Holy cow Martyn dropping from 30 hearts to 12 within like 20 minutes.

lksdjf Martyn: "Let's see if there's any response in the chat to my Cover Me With Diamonds achievement :)" / Gem, Scott, and Impulse immediately triple enchant / Martyn: "Oh :'D"

??? Custom zombie spawner? Neat

He started at 30 and went down to 5.5 hearts?? Geez, dude.

It's funny because in Double Life, I didn't notice Martyn taking that much damage compared to anyone else, but I feel like now I understand why Cleo was so irritated with him lskdjf

Martyn at the start of this episode: "Ew I don't want cherry wood" / Martyn trying to complete his secret task: "Where is all the cherry wood??"

Martyn speedbuilding in panic and quiet, then Joel cracks a joke and Martyn laughs and you hear Bdubs offscreen going "You got Martyn with that one" <3

sdfklsjdf I like how Martyn's idea of copying Lizzie's house involved rushing over to hers and destroying her bed to match the fact that his copied house did not have a bed

Wheezing at Impulse being just 2 steps from pushing the success button but Martyn starts trash-talking cherry wood and Impulse immediately goes "Take that back, take that back right now!" with this guttural snarl and starts stomping towards him because he wasn't cured from his cherry wood obsession yet... Beautiful.

[elizabethwritesmen]

I once was poison ivy

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Part 2 but now I’m your daisy

Older!Fireman!Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

Synopsis - You've spent your entire life taking men who intend to manipulate you and manipulating them instead. It's the only way you know how to survive. Then, one day, you meet Steve Harrington and you realize love and lust are so much more than survival.

A/N - This will be a two-parter. Maybe three if it runs too long.

Warnings: Fluff, sexual themes, smut to come in the second part, talks of using men for their money, vivid description of a car accident, drunk driving.

╚══ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══╝

I've been breaking hearts a long time and Fooling with them older guys Just playthings for me to use

The napkin on my lap was in pieces.

I'd been tearing it apart, whether out of anxious habit or sheer boredom I wasn't sure.

The man sitting across from me just would not stop talking. He started the second I met up with him in the parking lot and hadn't closed his mouth since. I nodded along and provided just enough commentary to seem present, but my brain was miles away.

He cleared his throat, staring at me pointedly until I met his eyes, a saccharine smile gracing my face.

"Are you alright, doll? I know all this shop talk can be a lot for a pretty girl like you to keep up with," he stated with all the confidence in the world, and I fought a scoff at his condescension.

"Oh, I'm fine!" I grinned wildly, almost childlike, "To be honest, I'm just in awe of you. Absolutely fascinated. I keep asking myself what I did to deserve a date with you!"

The lies cut through my teeth like butter, slick and smooth. I knew they worked when he puffed out his chest and a red tint covered his full cheeks, "Well darling, if you keep talking to me like that, you'll get more than one date with me!"

"There's nothing I'd love more!"

I know I should've cursed him for all he was worth, but that's not how my lifestyle worked. I didn't care how much of a pig a man was, as long as his money was louder than his mouth. And this man's money definitely was.

You see, he was older, a business man. He worked at some high end finance job, and he was most definitely the boss. I met him through my own job. I was a waitress and he frequented my corner booth on his lunch breaks. He knew my schedule and came to eat every single day I worked at 12:00 sharp with a new story about his job, his divorce, or his 1970 Chevelle. On the days I didn't work, he stayed away, claiming I was the only girl there worth looking at. And, every time, he left me a crisp 100 as a tip.

The last time he'd come in, he'd ended his lunch by asking me on a date. He told me he wanted to pick a dress out for me and treat me to the nicest dinner I'd ever had. Poor thing had no idea he wasn't the first millionaire to offer that. I agreed happily, pushing down any reservations and forcing myself to look forward to it.

So there we were, at one of those restaurants where you have to dress formally and use certain etiquette. I hated those places, I knew I didn't belong there, but it was what I had to do and I always did it with a smile on my face.

He continued talking and I began fiddling with the Versace dress adorning me, tugging on the hem. I only heard snippets of what he was saying. After hearing a million men tell the same stories, I thought there was no reason to pay any real attention.

Our waitress startled me out of the trance I'd fallen into, dropping the check off at our table.

"Here," he smiled, placing $200 neatly in the little black book, "That's enough for you to add a cheesecake to-go for my beautiful companion, and to buy something pretty for yourself!"

The girl's eyes widened and she grinned, staring at the generous amount she'd been given. It took her mere moments to bring by a bag with the cheesecake in a box at the bottom, and I was finally done.

"I'll walk you to your car," Mr. Boring offered in a way that I couldn't possibly refuse.

Well, almost done.

Once we reached my Passat, he pressed me lightly against the driver's door and planted a sloppy kiss on my lips. I cringed my way through it until it was finally over, and he opened my door for me.

"Maybe we can go out again next week?" he proposed, "I'll call you and we can set it up."

"Of course!" I nodded, eagerly climbing into the seat.

"Oh, and before I forget," he sighed, pulling his wallet from his pocket and fishing out two more crisp hundred dollar bills, "This should cover gas and the rest is a thank-you for making an old man feel young again. Seeing you in that dress made my evening."

I smiled at him as he walked away, my expression dropping the second he was out of sight. And then, I was finally headed home.

Something happened for the first time In the darkest little paradise Shaking, pacing, I just need you

It was about a 30 minute drive to my house, and I had the music cranked up the entire way. I was passing through the last intersection before my highway exit when I saw something out of the corner of my eye.

It was an SUV, much bigger than my car, headed straight for me. It was going so fast but in that moment time slowed down. It was too late for me to stop or get out of the way, I knew I was screwed. I yanked the wheel to the right, hoping they wouldn't hit me directly. I thought that if they caught the back end of my car it would hurt less.

They slammed into the back driver's side door, just barely missing me, sending me careening across the highway and into the ditch. I screamed as my head slammed into my window, blood running down my temple and onto my neck.

Finally, everything stopped. My car was, beyond all rationality, still playing music. I turned it all the way down, looking around.

The SUV was upside down on the highway, engulfed in flames. I saw a man laying about 20 feet away from it on the asphalt. I prayed he was okay, and that nobody else was in his vehicle.

Then, I examined myself. Glass had shattered everywhere, and there was a pile of it in my lap. My poor Versace was tattered and bloody, and I frowned momentarily in a small fit of grief. The back of my car was completely done for, and I was shocked my airbags didn't go off. Of course, there was no impact to the front of my car.

It only took minutes for sirens to overtake the scene. There were two ambulances, a firetruck, and several police cars.

I slipped my seatbelt off, groaning at the pain. It felt like I'd been hit by a truck. I guess I had, in a manner of speaking. My body was suffering from the turmoil.

Shockingly, my door opened when I pulled the handle and I climbed out, falling to the ground with a cry and a sharp wince.

"Hey, hey, hey!" the voice was deep, and I glanced up to see the fireman it belonged to running in my direction, "Don't move, just stay still. Please, stay still. God, you could've died trying to climb out of that car. Too tough for your own good!" He kneeled beside me, his arms holding me up, his eyes scanning me for all signs of injury. "Here you go, calm down. It's okay now, I've got you."

His voice was soothing me, and so was his thumb as he rubbed calming circles on my hip.

"Please," I cried, my voice almost too small to be audible. I squirmed, trying and failing to break free, "I need... I need..."

I wasn't sure what I was pleading for. I just wanted relief. My bones felt like they were combusting.

"I'm gonna get you some help, sweetheart, I promise. You're safe with me." He called the paramedics over to have a look at me. They ran straight for us and he lifted me up placing me comfortably on the stretcher.

As he began to walk away, I called out meekly, "Please stay with me!" and reached blindly for his hand. He gave it to me and nodded, squeezing my palm lightly as he helped them wheel me to the ambulance. They got me inside of it and starting poking and prodding, asking me questions.

"I don't want to go to the hospital," I whined, "I'm fine, I don't need a hospital."

"We gotta get you to the hospital, sweetheart. I'm sorry, I know it's scary, but you're tough though, huh?," his voice was still so soothing, and I nodded, holding tighter to his hand that was still intertwined with mine.

"Will you come with me?" I stared up at him, my eyes wide and pitiful in a beg.

"I can't, I have to get back and help clean all this up," he told me, his voice regretful.

"Please," I was whimpering at that point, desperate. I hated begging but he was the only thing keeping me from an anxiety attack. The only thing grounding me. The only thing keeping me from asking questions like, what if I'm seriously hurt? What's going to happen with my car? Is my cheesecake okay? How am I going to replace this dress?

Okay, some of the questions were silly but cut me some slack. I'd just been hit by a truck.

He chewed his lip in thought for a moment before sighing, "Let me talk to my boss and see what I can do."

He was gone for about five minutes, but when he came back, he was only in a white T shirt and his turnout pants. He set his jacket and hat on the bench seat next to me and climbed in beside me, grasping my hand again.

"Thank you," I whispered, and the sweet smile he gave me warmed my tummy.

Hours passed in a flurry of medical stuff I didn't understand and tests being run. When everything calmed down, I was sitting on a bed in an ER, a thick medical grade bandaid on my temple where I hit the window and some pain killers in my system. Fortunately, I wasn't hurt badly at all, just extremely sore and shaken up. I had a concussion, but that was the brunt of it.

"Okay, Miss L/N. I've got a prescription here for painkillers, it should help soothe your soreness and your headache. Other than that, you're free to go," the doctor walked in the room and told me jovially. He was nice, he made me feel comfortable. I was thankful to have him instead of someone colder. But what really made me feel comfortable was the firefighter, whose name I'd discovered was Steve. He stayed right beside me the entire time, even when I was first admitted. He even called my mom for me when I was first admitted, and that's the only time he let go of my hand.

"I think that's all, thank you," I sincerely responded.

"Great. Then I'll leave you be. If anything else happens, come back. Concussions are no joke. But I'm sure Steve knows that, so you're in good hands. He'll take care of you," he gave us a pointed look, glancing from mine and Steve's interlaced fingers to our faces.

"Bye, Joe," Steve dramatized, rolling his eyes.

"Bye Steve. Bye Y/N," the doctor responded between laughs, taking his exit.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Steve turned to me, his hard features softening the second his eyes met mine.

"Have you heard anything else from my mom?" I asked, trying to keep the hope in my voice at bay.

"She checked on you once, about an hour ago. I told her I was taking care of you."

"Oh."

His eyes were boring into me, searching. I'm sure it seemed odd to him, a mother not immediately rushing to her child's side when she hears there's been an accident. Wasn't very strange to me, though. My mom had never spared much time for me.

He cleared his throat, speaking more quietly, "She said she wants me to get you home safe, so that's what I'm gonna do. One of the nurses is gonna give us a ride to the station and I'm gonna drive you from there."

"Well it's settled, then. Let's go," I beamed, grabbing his hand and hopping off the bed. I didn't make it very far, though, nearly collapsing the second my feet hit solid ground.

Steve was quick, catching me and holding me steady. I lifted my eyes and they met his, inches away. I could feel his breath, warm against my skin.

"Be careful there, Super Girl. You're too weak to take on the world just yet," he sighed, and I had to fight the urge to lean in.

He was handsome. I'd noticed it the second he ran over to me, my knight in dirty turnout gear. I'd noticed it again in the ambulance when he told me he could go to the hospital with me. And I noticed it as his arms squeezed me tighter.

"I can walk," I mumbled.

"I'm sure you can, but you aren't. Come on, I've got you," he stated, as if there was no room for argument or disagreement. One of the arms around me slipped down to the crook of my knees and he lifted, pulling me securely into his hold. I gasped, grasping tightly to his shirt, my nails leaving imprints in the soft fabric.

"Steve, I'm heavy!" I screeched, and he chuckled.

"Even if you were heavy, I can handle it," he said, like it was obvious. My stare stayed skeptical and he sighed, "Sweetheart, you're not heavy. You're nothing compared to the gear I wear and haul, and the people I have to carry out of buildings."

I stayed stubborn for a moment longer before giving him a slight nod, "If your back starts to break, put me down!"

"I don't have any plans to put you down, sweetheart," he winked, and with that, he was carrying me to the ambulance bay where an Altima was waiting for us. One of the nurses was leaning against it. She was pretty, like a young Angelina Jolie. Her scrubs hugged every curve and jealousy pinged in my gut at how perfect she was. It turned to discomfort, though, when I saw the way she was looking at us.

There was a scowl plastered onto her face, full of judgment. Her eyes were stuck on Steve's arms around me, and if looks could kill, she'd have me dead in a second.

"Can you open the door for me, Bridget?" he asked, frustration laced in his voice from the way she was staring at us instead of helping.

"Of course, Stevie," she cooed, doing as she asked. He helped me in the back seat, going as far as to buckle the belt around me. My breath hitched as he did so, the proximity turning my cheeks bright red.

Bridget's face dropped as he slid in beside me and shut the door behind himself. She opened it right back, "What are you doing, Steve? Your spot is up front!"

"I'd rather sit back here with Y/N and make sure she's okay. Come on, we should get going. I'm sure she's ready to shower and rest."

She huffed, her anger embarrassingly evident, but she gave a slight nod and slammed the door, climbing into the driver's side and speeding off. My head was pounding, so I leaned on Steve's shoulder the whole time. Every now and then he'd shield me from the sun with his hands or run his fingers through my hair, keeping me as comfortable as he could.

Once we got to the fire station, he helped me out and we waved goodbye to Bridget. She gave me one more dirty look before leaving, and I hoped I would never see her again.

"There you are, Steve!" a voice joined into the mix, and I turned around to see a man about Steve's height with long curly hair approaching. He had a bag in his hand.

"Hey, Eddie," Steve greeted, "Thank you for covering my shift all night."

"All night and all morning. I'm assuming you won't be back after you take her home."

Steve looked bashful. It was cute, his cheeks turning red and his eyes averting downward.

"I promise I'll make it up to you, man. I just couldn't leave her, she needed me," he rushed out an explanation and I couldn't stifle my giggle.

"Yeah, sure she did. Come on, dude, I'm not mad. I needed the hours anyway and I'm not like you, I don't have a ton of beautiful women begging me to escort them to the hospital. My Friday night was all free."

"I don't have a ton of them either," Steve cried out defensively, "Just the one."

"Well then get her home before she decides she doesn't neeeeeeed you anymore," the other man, Eddie, winked then and turned to me, "Oh, by the way, I'm Eddie. Steve's best friend, confidant, life saver, shift coverer. I'm the reason he could be with you all night."

His tone was joking, so I played along, "Oh, well thank you so very much. I would've just died without him. As a matter of fact if he leaves my sight I'm sure I'll faint."

"Marry her," Eddie deadpanned, turning to Steve with the most ridiculously serious look on his face. The only response he got was an eyeroll. "Okay, whatever, get out of here. Here's the rest of your stuff, and what we managed to get out of Y/N's car. You can make the shift change up to me later." He handed Steve the bag and glanced my way, "And Y/N, I'm sure I'll be seeing you again. Until then, I'm glad you're okay."

Steve pulled his keys out of the bag, clicking them. A truck beeped across the parking lot and he wrapped his arm around me, helping me over to it.

The last we heard of Eddie was a scream over the parking lot, "Oh and Steve, put some clothes on that poor girl!"

He glanced down at my ripped up dress and blushed.

"Here," he handed me his turnout jacket, "Put this on."

I did as he asked and slipped back into his arms, allowing him to lift me into the passenger seat. I liked the way the material felt on me, warm and loose. It smelled of smoke but it also smelled of cinnamon and something muskier, all Steve.

As he pulled away, I decided to make small talk. It was a ten minute drive back to my house and I didn't want it to be awkward. Not that a single moment we'd already spent together had been. Steve had a way of making me feel like I was finally safe at home.

"Bridget and Eddie seemed nice," I commented. Obviously, I didn't mean the first part but I had a sinking feeling that Steve and Bridget were something of an item and I didn't want to upset him.

"Eddie is a great guy. We've known each other forever, and he's always had my back." He paused for a moment, "And Bridget was awful to you today. You don't have to pretend she wasn't."

"I just thought you and her were probably friends, or maybe even a thing, and I didn't want to say anything mean about her just in case," I smiled softly, apologetically.

"We're not. But she wants to be. She's a uniform chaser. She doesn't know the first thing about me other than my job."

"Do you get that a lot? Girls that are only interested in you because of what you do?"

"More often than you'd think. But it's okay. I guess it's better than not being wanted at all."

"You think if you were something else, something more boring, girls wouldn't want you?" My brows were furrowed in confusion. How could a man so wonderful have such a gaping insecurity?

"I didn't feel that way at first, but I guess I've become cynical over time."

"Well, I'm cynical with the best of them and I'm telling you that you're wrong," I started, "Don't get me wrong. The turnout gear is ruggedly sexy. Straight out of a calendar, really. But I wouldn't have wanted you to come to the hospital with me if you were any other fireman. I wanted you there because of how you made me feel. Safe, and taken care of."

Silence filled the air. I don't think he knew how to respond.

"What about you?" he finally asked, "That was a nice dress before it was ruined. You must've been on quite a date."

"I wouldn't call it that," I stared at my lap, color rising in my cheeks.

"Didn't go well?"

"It's not that, it's just... I wasn't really interested in him."

"What was wrong with him?"

"You ask a lot of questions," I breathed out a laugh, wanting a subject change. I felt shame, like if Steve found out the kind of men I date and why, he would drop me off and forget about me. I didn't want that. I craved more of him. More of his time, and his headspace. I hadn't known him long, but it's hard not to swoon over a man who spends hours of his time taking care of you.

"I'll stop. For now."

Shortly after he said that, we pulled into my driveway. He helped me out of his truck and into my house, commenting on how cute he thought everything was.

"Where's your bathroom? I'm gonna get the shower running for you," he turned to me and said.

"Oh," I blushed, "You don't have to do that. Really. I can manage to get around."

"I want to. I told you I would take care of you, and I'm not doing it halfway. Now should I go looking until I find it or are you gonna tell me where it is?"

"My room is down the hall, the bathroom is in there," I smiled shyly.

He didn't waste a second, pulling me back into him and let me lean on him the entire way there. I leaned against the sink as he looked around, taking the room in.

"A bath would probably be better than a shower. You're still weak, I don't want you to slip and hurt yourself."

I didn't respond, I just watched him as he turned the faucet on and felt the water, adjusting until the temperature was perfect.

"Thank you," I finally said as he finished up and stopped the drain.

"Of course. You gonna be able to get from the tub to the bed?" he asked me.

I giggled, nodding, "I think I'll manage."

"Okay... if you have any trouble or need anything, you're welcome to call me."

"How am I gonna do that without your number?"

His face went red, a silly smile crossing his lips, "Of course. You're right. Here."

He slipped his phone out, pulling up the screen to create a new contact and handed it to me. I quickly typed in my name and info and handed it back. He called me once, hanging up as soon as it rang, and nodded once affirmatively.

"There. Now you have mine, too."

"I'll call you, Steve."

"Yes, if you need anything at all."

"Okay."

He seemed reluctant to leave, and I was reluctant to let him, but he finally mumbled a goodbye and let himself out. I grinned into my hand, the butterflies still not settled.

I was not the kind of girl to feel things like I was feeling. I had a process, a way of getting through life, and it didn't involve getting hung up on the first handsome fireman I meet. I willed myself to come back to reality, but it was difficult. His face was stamped into my mind.

My phone pinged and I glanced down, his number filling my screen.

"I left my jacket. Can I stop by later and get it? And bring you dinner? I'd like to check on you anyway."

Any hope of coming back to reality flew out the window. I typed quickly and pressed send before I could talk myself out of it.

"It's a date."

[shewhotellsstories]

People say Eloise is a self centered white feminist who enjoys the privileges that come with being a Bridgerton and although that's true, she is also a sheltered teenage girl who needs to learn about the world.

Her feelings of marriage are valid and while she needs to learn that desiring motherhood and marriage doesn't make a woman lesser, it's part of growing up and learning true feminism. She's a baby feminist but viewers don't want her to grow. How many teenage girls in today's day and age are all-knowing about feminism theory? Her friendship with Theo taught her about the working class and that connection to the outside world could have been a great learning experience for Eloise. Yes she has the privilege of being a Bridgerton but that safety net is exactly why she should be allowed to advocate for things the way she wanted Whistledown to(not a critique of the character but rather the writing and the fandom)

Penelope did some selfish things as Whistledown, abusing her power (cause it wasn't just about being gossip girl for the bag) and rather than acknowledge that we're expected to sweep it under the rug. I LOVE flawed characters because the writing acknowledges their wrong doings and yet certain characters get away with murder.

Eg s1 Blair was awful to Serena and while she had her reasons for doing so, revenge and her own self worth and abandonment issues, the show acknowledged this and we wanted good things for Blair. Serena slept with her best friend's boyfriend and covered up a mans overdose but we still root for her because she is a good person and is trying to grow.

If Penelope doesn't acknowledge her wrongdoings how can she grow as a character.

"Okay publishing a burn book is wrong but I love writing and I'm good at it, maybe I should become Jane Austin or something."

(throwing in how Edwina was raked over the coals for being angry with Kate and while the half sister comment was uncalled for, she wasnt given the same grace Penelope has been given)

I'm sorry for how long and all over the place this is.

No, I get it. The issue is that some characters are given grace while others are crucified. Some characters have their circumstances considered when examining their behavior while others don't. I hate it that some characters get novellas dedicated to defending their bad behavior while others should've just known better.

And that's totally the way I see Eloise Bridgerton. She's a baby feminist! She is in her just watched Ironed Jawed Angels and has maybe read a few zines era of feminism. When I was 17, I remember saying in class that I didn't think it was possible to be a SAHM and be happy and now my opinions have radically shifted because I'm not a kid anymore. Now, if you'd ask me I'd say it's a vulnerable position to be in economically because your security is tied up in your marriage working out and or your husband never dying, but it's your choice ultimately. What a difference a fully developed brain and college professors who require you to read bell hooks and Audre Lorde can make.

But seriously, the sad irony of Eloise being raked over the coals for "doing nothing" is that she was trying to become more informed and it blew up in her face. Spending time with Theo and other members of the working class was really good for her. Sadly, Penelope should've known better than most that she was genuinely trying to expand her worldview, but Eloise is the only person getting the bad friend allegations.

And yeah, as much as I love Kate and Anthony, people were way too hard on Edwina in season two. No one wanted to hurt her, but who in her position would toss confetti?

Plus, I'm really glad someone else is seeing the endless Gossip Girl comparisons that can be made here!

P.S. If you're interested one of my favorite Kanthony fics ends in Anthony and Kate encouraging Eloise to become a fiction/social commentary writer.

[darkmasterofcupcakes]

In hazbin hotel, being Gay has no bearings on going to Hell or Heaven (the "vile and blasphemous" line was because Charlie is Lucifer's daughter) , so I don't think Vaggie would feel too weird about being attracted to women, especially once more openly gay, Trans etc people arrive.

For the first century and some of her life? Sure.

But I think she would be accepting of it in the last 80-90 years of her time in heaven, especially since the Sisterhood of the Exorcists is promoting a very violent mindset and killing sinners in secrets, it leave little room for interactions outside of the group, cue experimentations.

Also, considering how Agatha annoyed Lute for not being "proper" regarding the "out of wedlock baby" and single mom status, I think it would fuel her desire to accept Vaggie's gayness.

I can even see Lute appreciate how it can make Vaggie feel more like a part of the group on the more pragmatic side, or at least use it as an argument for people who are bothering her on it and that she won't just ignore or scare into silence.

I never really thought about that, but you do have a point. I think a lot of people assume Lute is homophobic (and maybe she is) because of her line about Charlie and Vaggie's relationship, and well as one of the comments about Angel in her solo during "You Didn't Know" but you could argue that, like you pointed out, her issue with Charlie and Vaggie dating could be more based on Charlie's status as a demon/Lucifer's daughter than them both being women. And the thing with Angel could just be a commentary on him being so willing to have what is implied to be casual sex in general, regardless of the gender of his partners. Obviously those are still not good views to have, but they are possibly alternatives.

I do think that Vaggie would still struggle a bit for a while, though part of it would be her just kind of making the wrong assumptions regarding why her mother was essentially judged behind her back? At least when she was young. Because she heard occasional whispers (and the one time she asked about her grandmother and why she'd never met her, Lute did explain that Agatha didn't like the fact that Lute wasn't married to Vaggie's father) where people would say pretty insulting things about her mother when Lute herself wasn't there to hear, regarding the fact that she wasn't even in an official relationship with, much less married to, Vaggie's father. And young Vaggie initially made the wrong assumption that the issue was more about the fact that her mother wasn't in relationship with a man, period, rather than the truth, which is that the issue was that Lute was an unwed single mother by choice.

But Vaggie did likely figure it out more as she got older and especially after officially joining the Exorcists....at least in part due to the reasons you pointed out. With how secretive the Exorcists are supposed to be, while it's probably not impossible that some of them have partners outside of the group who just are told cover stories for what they do for work and/or what they're doing when they're gone during Extermination Day, a lot of them likely just have relationships among each other to avoid any of that. And in my AU at least, while Charlie was Vaggie's first serious girlfriend, I will say her first kind of trying out a relationship with anyone was likely with another Exorcists, probably one who joined around the same time she did. She likely did still feel weird about it for a while, and didn't fully realize she was a lesbian until a fair bit later.

Lute likely was more accepting of Vaggie's sexuality than some might expect, partially out of spite regarding how hurt she was at how her own parents, especially her mother, who she had been very close to before Vaggie was born, basically cut her out of their lives for her decision to raise Vaggie on her own. So while she obviously couldn't be as accepting as she wanted to tell herself she would be - she does still find the relationship between Vaggie and Charlie shameful, sadly - she is fully accepting of her daughter being gay. Also helps that I might actually headcanon Lute as not actually being straight, but rather gray-ace or demi - she's pretty much only interested in Adam in regards to sex or romance (though the romance part even she's in denial about).

[loremaster]

BOBA AU - CHAPTER 1 EXTRAS

I had actually drawn a few more things than could fit within the 30-image-per-post limit. Here are the ones that didn't make the cut, with commentary!

(tw: mild animal abuse, n*zi mention, suggestive themes)

Zilch's animal companions. I named Carmina Burana and Tortellini, Gucci and Bosch were named by my friends - though Bosch was supposed to be called Hieronymus, it just didn't fit on the nametag lol

I wanted to illustrate some examples of Zilch casually mistreating/neglecting the animals but this was as far as I got. I don't think he would be a full on animal abuser, just... the type of person who likes having a bunch of pets to show off but doesn't really think about properly caring for them. He likes the aesthetics of animals much more than the logistics.

This was gonna be the chapter cover and I forgot. Oops.

This was just practice drawing the church characters from their sprites.

Zilch: I must say, it's an unexpected pleasure to run into another kindred spirit around here. I'm Zilch~

This scene was actually cut deliberately. I drew it before I decided exactly what the Nun's issue with Zilch would be and then once I did, I felt like it didn't fit anymore. Zilch is still excited to see someone else with ears and tail like him, but in the final version, he's a lot more derisive about it.

I imagine the Nun is, like, an actual animal-human hybrid whereas Zilch is a furry with a wallet that can afford bioengineered bodymods. (One day, my friends... one day...)

Zilch being flippant and Halara being dismissive/tsundere. Couldn't really find a place to put it but I still like the drawing - even if I did accidentally give Zilch human ears.

By the way, you might notice Zilch hasn't been wearing his cap. There are two reasons. One is to show off that his ears aren't actually connected to it. If I had the time to go back and redraw the prologue with him wearing it - so Halara's "holy fuck" reaction makes more sense here - I would. (Not really worth trying to fix though, not until the rest of the story is done.)

But the other reason is that upon looking closer at Zilch's original design, I thought it was a little too evocative of Nazi imagery and wasn't really comfortable with it. It's not really the same style of hat, sure, but combined with the swastikas in his eyes??? yeah no way is that not intentional. (I redesigned his eye symbols to be catlike slit pupils instead.)

I get he (or, the hitman, I guess) is supposed to be a villain, and a minor one, in the original game... but here I'm gonna flesh him out a bit more. So I guess in that sense the removal of the hat symbolizes his growth as a character beyond his terrible awful fascist upbringing lol (more on that in the Gumshoe Gabs soon)

If I were making this an actual game it would be fun to have Yuma get a fun little added gameplay element of using Zilch's Forte like he does with Halara's. He gets some little animal friends!!!

I imagined Zilch would ask to be carried, but Halara won't do it without getting paid an exorbitant amount. And then Zilch forks over the cash on the spot. Yuma screams internally. If he had that the whole time why were they even trying to negotiate over the coat???!? Why does he still have his own debt to pay if Zilch could just cover the whole thing up front????

Halara has to pretend not to be enthusiastic about this opportunity.

Shinigami is... there, I guess.

Martina my wife driving around her little parasite of a boyfriend. Ms Electro please call me

Was originally gonna have Seth say that out loud but then I remembered he doesn't want to lose his job. (It's okay, he loses it anyway.)

(Also yes this is pre-Vivia-DLC.)

And then the mystery is solved!

Zilch feels indebted to Halara for saving him from the Nail Man, and wants to follow their example, turn it around, treat his animals better... his act of goodwill here is extremely performative, though. But, hey, everyone's gotta start somewhere!

Ultimately I cut this scene after coming up with the cat bed idea. (Was very tempted to have Halara cruelly taking the coat from the boy, but just decided to skip it instead.)

So Zilch kinda idolizes Halara now... which is fine... but then the morning after he really lets his simp flag fly.

Congrats on your furry boyfriend, I guess?????

A doodle from the margins of this comic way back when.... which finally has a place to belong! \o/

Zilch's fursona. His "zursona," if you will.

Thanks again for reading! I love everyone's comments in the tags and I'm so glad you all like my version of Zilch especially. Excited to develop him some more in future chapters >:)

[bbyteach]

Hi hi. I have been thinking about this good morning artwork since you posted. https://www.tumblr.com/bbyteach/757072025688866816/good-morning

It popped into my dreams last night fully animated. I just love it so much. The quiet intimacy. The shadows and colors. The softness conveyed by sharp and delicate line variations.

Getting back into drawing again after years of not and would love to know more about your process and materials. How you sketch. Do you use models? I cannot get over how real bodied these men are in your panels and illustrations.

Love following your work here and on your main blog. Appreciate your talent so much.

hey sorry i've been letting this one sit in my inbox for a bit while my life was a bit chaotic with work - but I do love this ask and talking about process! and i very much appreciate the love for the drawing, thank you for the commentary on the quiet intimacy!

For me it's a combination of starting from a reference, or, sketching out a pose and checking with a reference. I save a BUNCH of ref photos, and I'll pull up a few to look at to check on anatomy. i also have a huge camera roll of weird ref photos I take of myself. I do little checks with my own hands to see what's actually physically possible and such. I also try to keep in mind proportions and how that can be obscured by the lens in photos, so I also use guides on average human proportions:

also can't beat just good old fashioned pencil measuring to check

but outside of the basics, the general proportions of bodies are basically the same at different sizes, it's just getting used to knowing & looking at different bodies! I think this resource seems good - x

def recommend life drawing classes if you have any in person, but I think there's a lot online too. and draw your friends. draw real people you know (with permission). don't only look at people who will be on a cover of vogue or marvel heroes or whatever.

And i sketch a lot. my sketches kind of suck and normally don't look great. lol. i have an astigmatism so it takes a bit of rendering and trial and error to get it to feel like it looks... 'right'? if that makes sense. but also I did a few years only sketching in pen to get more comfortable just doing Lines. i have so many sketchbooks with very sketchy pen work that I would do between work/meetings/whenever I had any real time to do anything that wasn't those things. In recent years it's been great to really get back into drawing again. It's okay if you didn't do it as much or at all for awhile, it's always something you can do more of and refine over the years. 💖

it means so much to recieve so much love on my silly drawings and get a request on my drawing process because I still don't feel like i'm nowhere near where I want to be, and I think that's just the eternal problem for every artist. but I have a compulsion to keep drawing regardless and i just love to make stuff and I like talking with folks who also love to make stuff! I hope any of this helps or wasn't saying anything that felt too repetitive to any other advice or ideas you've heard before. 🙏

[didoldacc]

oh boy (wonder) ● huening kai | chapter one

this work contains violence and smut, MDNI!

warnings: sound of gunshots, curse words (i don't know if this one even should be in warnings) let me know if something is missing!

+this is not a dark fic, warnings are only there because it is unavoidable in a superhero setting. but this chapter is one of the lighter chapters.

smut warnings: none

word count: around 1.4k

"they say the new vigilante wondering around devil's tongue is gotham city's boy wonder." you said while chewing your pen. you were definitely stressed. all of this had a very high chance to boost your path to climbing up career stairs yet the worries you had about your city made it impossible to focus on promotion ensured with the story of blue bird that you have been working on.

"nightwing?" your co-worker fulton asked.

"yes, him. i really hope he doesn't bring gotham's curse on us. you know our crime rates are record high, we are almost as fucked up as gotham but what blüdhaven needs is not a vigilante running around. i don't think it helps gotham city, either. he should go back where he came from." you felt an urge to argue even though no one was saying anything. even confused looks towards you was covering fulton's face.

"well, tell me where do you see a problem in this? you are in need of a good story for your next sweet paycheck. and it comes by itself to you. you can still add commentary in your stories, it can gain a lot more attention but other than that, you shouldn't put your thinking cap on." he argued back, sounding like he didn't get your point at all.

you decided to avoid having a prawle with him. "whatever... i asked for pictures of him to be taken, do you have them?" you asked. "yes, i have them. you know even though you never bothered to learn my name, you have no idea how far i would go to capture pictures for your stories." he said jokingly but you knew there is no smoke without fire.

you frowned "hey, give me some credit. i of course know your name, fulton." trying to object what he said.

"that's my surname, i am talking about my first name." his protest immediately daffed by you. "is that really important? that's all the information i need for a respected co-worker." hoping he would get the hint.

"let's get working. and also we need to get read for this night. i suggest we follow him."

"welcome to our precinct, rookie. you are for sure going to feel unwelcomed here but don't get scared! they will start to treat you like a human being in no time." a random officer said. kai wanted to roll his eyes. his low-key attitude was definitely not suitable to a cop his age and experience.

"no worries, i survived gotham. i am pretty sure that some socially awkward stiations isn't going to be my cause of death instead of a psychotic clown terrorizing the whole gotham." he headed to his desk after giving him a sarcastic and dismissive response.

"look at the newbie over there! he looks so dreamy!" said a senior officer who didn't look much older than kai. "is he kai kamal huening, the adopted son of bruce wayne? i heard he lost his parents when he was a kid and adopted by the billionaire playboy." they started gossiping as if kai wasn't there. "poor guy, but lucky."

kai couldn't help but smirk to those women talking about him. even though they were obstrusive, he was used to it. gossips were unavoidable if you were a wayne. it was okay as long as they didn't know the batman and robin. yet he didn't worry about it due to very limited observation skills people had.

kai started to place his belongings to his desk. this was a new beggining to him, a chance to become a different man than his surly adopted father, an identity that had nothing in common with bruce's darkness. lost in the thoughts, kai stopped thinking once he saw his captain walking towards him. he hoped that she was just coming there to welcome him. kai immeadiately stood up. but once she started talking all of his hopes was in vain. just being there to welcome him was further away from the truth with the worlds slipping out her mouth. "isn't that a great coincidence the successor of the wayne fortune started his career as a dedective with a high ranking. i will keep my eye on you. anyways i am actually here to remind you that you can take the documents for your first case from my secretary." she left without giving him a chance to reply.

he went up to secretary's desk to take the file. the secretary seemed a nice sweet girl unlike everyone else around. "oh, you are here to take the 'blue bird' files, right?" kai felt his heart racing with his luck but he managed to stay nonchalant. "yes, i guess so? isn't his name nightwing? why the file is called blue bird?" the secretary's lips slightly opened for a minute then she pressed them together before answering. "i wouldn't know, sorry." kai smiled. "no, i am sorry. i was just talking to myself. it was rude." kai explained himself. he had a feeling that she was the one he wouldn't hate to be around. "guess i better get started." he said before leading to his desk. the sweet secretary waved good bye to him, both of them forgetting to exchange names.

kai wanted to give himself a break and not to go to patrol this night but later decided to do so because he was in desperate boredom due to lack of human connection he had. before he left he wanted to call barbara. his hands were about to dial the contact name 'babs<3' yet he stopped himself. if he called her, bruce would know and the last thing he needed was bruce knowing kai was alone like himself. kai was never a grumpy and serious person like bruce. he had a phase where he was constantly mad due to his parents' passing but thanks to alferd and his more open-minded and fun-loving nature. yet kai was still afraid that he someday would turn into a bruce or the batman. so no he wasn't going to call barbara and she sure could outlive few weeks without talking to him.

"god i am really hoping that the new vigilante is on a patrol this night. otherwise we are fucking up our sleeping schedules for no reason." fulton complained.

"stop whining like a baby. if i am going to be the next lois lane i need this story." you sounded stern while saying it.

"or you could be the next vick vale." his sarcasm in his voice made you sick for some reason but you didn't chew on. "or her yeah." you mumbled.

you stared at the roofs where the so called nightwing hanged out the most. what was his deal? was he really robin? if he is, why did he leave batman? you needed all those answers for your story.

suddenly you heard a gunshot. the adrenaline taking over your body, the only thing you were managed to think was whether or not if this story was worth risking your life yet you still ran toward the gun sound, coming down from the ladders as fast as you could. you were certain that it was your lucky day when you heard more gunshots coming from there. "this will definitely get nightwing's attention."

a/n: i know reader and kai may seem a bit annoying but they will have character developments and kai's character may seem just dick grayson named kai but don't worry it will be a mix of kai's and dick's personalities. i added this note cuz it bothered me while reading but then i remembered my plans for this fic.

[sizzlingsheepcheesecake]

⭐️⭐️

For the director’s commentary thingy :)

Also some stars just for you because I fucking love your fics 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thank you so much for the ask! I hope this is interesting, you mentioned wanting to hear about 'The camera speaks the truth that I couldn't' so I'm just gonna ramble a bit about the before and after!

I love outsider POVs of relationships, you might notice I nearly always have some form of the other characters commenting on/noticing/walking in on my ships in my fics haha. So I loved the thought of seeing bokris through Damon's eyes a little. I also loved the potential for lots of sexual tension in the photoshoot set up. And Damon being an absolute menace with his Instagram flirting was so fun, and I also love him crushing on them and describing how hot they are separately. I especially loved the idea of them acting so coupl-y and having such tension that Damon thought they were dating, but they weren't. On that note, for some context on their dynamic before the shoot: when they say they've kissed 2.5 times before the shoot, I imagine those kisses as: the 'maybe it doesn't count' new year's eve kiss when Kris was about to turn 17, a drunk kiss when they were around 20 that I imagine happening maybe before they fell asleep when they crashed at the same house after a party, and when Bojan pulled Kris out to the smoking area of the gay club the first night with Damon. Basically all of them happened with the safety blanket of drink/the NYE excuse, and plausible deniability. I don't think they ever talked about any of them the next day. In some of my other fics Bojan in particular struggles with his sexuality, but I don't think this was an issue here, I think they just were so close as friends that they didn't want to mess that up and were afraid to go there, and felt more shame (although that's too strong a word) about the fact that it was eachother than the fact that they were both guys. They definitely knew they were close to each other in a different way than the rest of the band, and I think they leaned into that, allowed themselves to push those boundaries and indulge in the extra affection without actually facing it or being brave enough to talk about or name it. The rest of the band knew as well, that Bojan and Kris went together, that they were a package deal, that there was something deeper there. I think they teased them occasionally, but it had been going on for so long and was so normal and taken for granted that they almost stopped noticing it. It wasn't even a question that they would share hotel rooms, sit beside eachother, etc. But when Bojan kissed a girl at a club or Kris flirted with a waiter who gave him his number at lunch one day the whole band found it pretty jarring and uncomfortable. And I think the whole Bojere thing at Eurovision was actually quite stressful for everyone in the band, even though they're pretty sure Bojan never actually slept with him. After the photoshoot, between the first shoot and the coming out shoot, I imagine the timeline went something like this: Bojan and Kris went back to their apartment and locked themselves in the room for like three days to just fuck, constantly. I think after finally allowing themselves to go there after literal years of tension they felt they had a lot of time to make up for and also just couldn't keep their hands to themselves. The others were happy for them but also kind of disgusted, and grudgingly impressed by their stamina and the fact they weren't seeming to get bored of eachother any time soon. I imagine some sort of sex toy being delivered in pretty non discreet packaging and Jure throwing it at them with his hand covering his eyes lol. I think there was no slow transition to a relationship, once they finally admitted those feelings they were immediately boyfriends and didn't even think to label it until one of the band members asked them. I do think they probably kept it quiet from everyone except the band and Damon for a month or two though, and then told family and friends. When they were ready to come out publicly they immediately thought of Damon doing the shoot, and I think they also immediately had the discussion of a threesome and were both enthusiastic and it was almost an unspoken expectation they had anyway.

Thanks again and if anyone wants more info let me know! :) <3

[watcher-comic]

okay hi

did i promise to make an art... lore dump post literally last month? yes. did i not do it for nearly a month? also yes. and im Very Sorry.

anyway! onto the ranting

So starting off with the obvious, Nanehi's color scheme is based off of the Shawnee tribe's flag!

Obviously more desaturated, but the blue sweater and two yellow stars were meant to show that he's native.

Alright, going in page order I'm just gonna throw around some easter eggs or fun facts or commentary...whatever....

Because this is the only good image I can find of it, Nane wears his parents' wedding bands on a necklace. Because his parents are divorced </3

On page 2, Nane has a poster up on his wall which is my current sketchbook cover in my art class. I believe it's somewhere on my art blog

Nane has a ziptie on his backpack! It doesn't mean anything.

Page 6: The white text that says "what?" is actually a reference to the first debut of Nane - an askblog!

(technically his first word was "huh" but i changed it to what for plot's sake)

Continuing with the black spaces on page 6, the panicked eye doesn't really mean anything. However, the twisted light switch was supposed to represent the noose that shows up at the end of the comic.

For page 7, there's obviously the audience design to talk about, but the things I actually wanna focus on are:

The doodle on the top left, which is Nanehi saying that he thinks he has tinnitus [which he then goes on to immediately deny in the next page]

And the doodle on the bottom right. His fursona is a bunny and if I could, I would've tried to fit more bunny imagery into the comic. But alas :pensive:

Page 13: All the different colored text were the responses I got from a select few people. I showed them the previous panels of the page and asked them what they wanted [there is one distinct person I didn't ask but I will get to them later].

I also want you to keep the... 3rd shade of green in mind [the "i want to see where this goes"]

For this panel on page 15, I wanted it to be known that Nanehi isn't a real person, and they know it. Everyone else's face is squared, even the simply doodled character in the background and the barely visible person in the foreground. Everyone except Nane.

Page 16: Man that's just mold on his shower curtain.

Page 17: There's actually a lot I want to talk about with page 17. Firstly, the design of The Audience. It changed, clearly. Before it was that weird circle thing, but now it's more humanoid - to the point of having hair similar to Nanehi's. The reason being, it's not entirely The Audience anymore. It's The Creator too. Nanehi was based off my fear of being watched and constantly having an audience. The little amount of comfort that the figure gives was... sorta supposed to be an apology to the character- as cheesy as that sounds.

(Also the fact that their text originally said "didn't they already answer that" but was crossed out to say 'we'. The Creator disguising themself as The Audience. And truly, what is to separate them?)

Another thing I want to point out is the dark grey panel. It's the same shade of grey I used for the askblog, and he's smiling in that panel, because during the askblog he was much happier around the audience- or the concept of them, rather.

And then of course, the dark blue text that reads "I know how this ends." That actually wasn't a response I took from someone, but rather a piece of... I guess dialogue, that I felt like someone would say. That specific someone being my friend Classi, who was the only person besides me that knew how Watcher ended. Purely because she had a very similar character and we thought that they'd be buddies.

On page 18, we have 3 entire panels in a different style. That being the style of the askblog.

(some examples)(the last image is where the avatar came from, haha)

On page 19 we have this panel, which you can probably assume what it is. It, I suppose, could both be seen as Nane standing, back to the audience, or as Nane hanging without the noose. You choose.

And of course, the last page. For some reason this fucks me up. Because this is The Creator talking to Nanehi. The Creator knows that Nane has no say in how their story ends, but they're given the illusion of control, because that's all they've been looking for. They wanted control over something, so the only way to prove such control was to show The Audience that they could end the story whenever they wanted. He doesn't know that he was talking to The Creator, he just assumed it was still The Audience. He doesn't know that he didn't really have a say.

This was what he wanted. That's how he's ending the story

[weclassybouquetfun]

Don't Do call it a comeback.

The Golden Globes - the least respected awards show, but one that the industry loved because of the fawning, star-f*cking Hollywood Foreign Press Association and, hey, who doesn't a party and free flowing drinks - returns after the industry had to put on a time-out because of controversies surrounding their leadership.

While there were some film and television critics who called on press to not write about the event as they didn't feel the HFPA has truly addressed their failings, and celebrities who didn't even comment on their nominations because to do so would seemingly mean that they have forgiven the HFPA, there was still a good bit of star power on hand. And I must say I am pretty happy with the winners.

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA The Fabelmans

*It's Spielberg so it's a well-made film, but it wasn't extraordinary. As I exited the screening someone ahead of me turned to their friend and said, "Well, not all of his films can be epic.". Spielberg has the hard task of topping himself. Upon reflection though, I appreciate the film more. Yes, I think he should have chosen to either focus on the familial relationship and his parents' marriage (the most interesting part of the film) or focus on a teen chasing his love of filmmaking - honestly, Spielberg's documentary exists so this film needn't cover both. But it's a brave thing for him as a son to examine their parents as mere humans and come to a place of understanding and acceptance of that (in reality it took Spielberg much longer than his film counterpart to come to peace with his parents' failed marriage).

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE Steven Spielberg (The Fablemans)

BEST MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY The Banshees of Inisherin

MORE WINNERS

BEST ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin)

*The award was always Farrell's to lose and while I love he won, I was also pulling for Ralph Fiennes (The Menu). In typical Colin Farrell fashion he gave a wryly funny and heartfelt acceptance speech (which he started out big-upping Ana de Armas for her work in BLONDE), thanking Martin McDonaugh, his cast and his two sons James and Henry.

James is 19 already!

BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE Martin McDonagh (The Banshees of Inisherin) *McDonagh thank his cast including "new friend Barry Keoghan who almost stole the movie and Kerry, an old friend who did steal the movie."

McDonagh attended with his partner Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

I wonder if Waller-Bridge bumped into Donald Glover. The two were to star in Amazon's TV adaption of MR. AND MRS. SMITH - a project that Glover brought to the streamer. He brought in Waller-Bridge who he became close to when they made SOLO (he also feted her when she won her BAFTA-LA honour). But in 2021 it was announced they had creative differences and she left the project. When Glover wrote about it in his self-interview in Interview magazine last year he wrote, "I still like her. I assume she still likes me." Waller's replacement is Maya Erskine of PEN15.

BEST MOTION PICTURE – NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE Argentina, 1985 (Argentina), Prime Video

BEST ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA Cate Blanchett (Tár)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE Justin Hurwitz (Babylon)

BEST ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA Austin Butler (Elvis)

*Austin was asked about his still present Elvis accent. He says he doesn't think he sounds that much like Elvis anymore, but says it is now in his DNA. Maybe when he does commentary for the DVD?

BEST MOTION PICTURE – ANIMATED Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio *A great film and deserving but I have a soft spot for PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH. I highly recommend it.

BEST ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) *First major award win for an MCU project.

Her 1994 win vs. 2023.

Bassett and husband seemingly gathered their son after he participated in a TikTok prank ans told them Michael B. Jordan died.

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN AN MOTION PICTURE Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

*I think Ke Huy Quan's return to acting has eclipsed Brendan Fraser's role in THE WHALE as this awards season feel good story. Quan gave an emotional and enthusiastic speech, shouting out Steven Spielberg who cast him at 7-years old in INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM and later GOONIES which Spielberg executive produced.

While Quan has recently reconnected with Harrison Ford at last year's D23 (where Ford was stomping for the next Indiana Jones film and Quan season 2 of LOKI),

Quan and Spielberg has kept in touch over the year. After not finding acting work Quan began working behind the scenes in film as a stunt choreographer and assistant director. and Spielberg would frequently invite him to his film sets.

And while THE GOONIES cast has often reunited over the years like for their DVD commentary and other things, the one Goonie Quan remains the closest to is Jeff Cohen who played Chunk who has been Quan's lawyer for years.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE “Naatu Naatu” (RRR)

*This whole time I thought "Naatu Naatu" was the end credit song of RRR, but no, that's "Etthara Jenda", which to me is the much better song. Some people speculate it's a bit too political which is why the studio didn't put it forward for consideration because you have to remember, India did not put RRR forward for anything - its American distributor is running this campaign. It's that distributor who has put it forward for Best Picture for the Oscars.

How big is RRR here in the states? Los Angeles based Beyond Fest announced they were selling tickets for a IMAX screening and cast Q&A and the tickets sold out in 98 seconds.

BEST TV SERIES – DRAMA House of the Dragon

BEST TV SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY Abbott Elementary

BEST ACTOR IN A TV SERIES – DRAMA Kevin Costner (Yellowstone)

BEST ACTRESS IN A TV SERIES – DRAMA Zendaya (Euphoria)

BEST TV LIMITED, ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR TV FILM The White Lotus

BEST ACTOR IN A LIMITED, ANTHOLOGY SERIES, OR A FILM MADE FOR TV Evan Peters, Dahmer (Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story)

*Years ago I went to a panel Evan was on IIRC it was when Evan did the American Horror Story season of CULT and Evan talked about how supportive and caring Sarah Paulson is because AHS darkness often takes a toll on him and Paulson held enough awareness that she could tell when things were getting too rough on him and she would step in if the director/s were making him do too many retakes or if shooting went on too long. I hope in that time he has built up the armor he needs to not get worn down if he's going to keep playing in Ryan Murphy's toybox.

BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED, ANTHOLOGY SERIES, OR A FILM MADE FOR TV Amanda Seyfried (The Dropout)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – TV LIMITED SERIES/FILM Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – TV LIMITED SERIES/ANTHOLOGY/TV MOVIE Paul Walter Hauser (Black Bird)

*I am just going to assume Taron made this special post to show people that there are no hard feelings over PWH not thanking Taron during his speech.

Taron (in Giorgio Armani with his mum) was nominated for a SAG Award.

BEST ACTRESS IN A TV SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary)

BEST ACTOR IN A TV SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY Jeremy Allen White (The Bear) *Very happy for White but I really wished he had been recognized during his SHAMELESS years. He was as good as the often recognized William H. Macy and Emmy Rossum.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – TV SERIES Julia Garner (Ozark)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – TV SERIES Tyler James Williams

[spider-xan]

Thoughts on Hyde's death in LOEG?

I think it worked and fit the character as Moore chose to write him for the comics, and I find it fascinating in terms of the contrast between how Hyde wasn't doing it for heroic reasons - by his own admission, he just wanted to fuck up shit, and if you read between the lines or look into Moore's commentary, he also had a death wish, and this was about as good an opportunity as he was going to get to solve both problems in one go - and how the British government twists it into state propaganda when memorializing him as a hero later, made more messed up by the fact that while his sacrifice did allow for the Martians to be defeated and save humanity, it was only through buying time for biological warfare that killed hundreds of civilians whose deaths were covered up.

In terms of Hyde specifically, I did like the interesting contrast between how violently unrestrained he was versus still being intelligent and cultured in terms of his singing the song and correctly analyzing the design flaw in the tripods having three legs - whatever other choices Moore made that may have been questionable, I would say that at least shows a good grasp on Hyde's character as being both savage and smart, as at the end of the day, he's really just Jekyll with his impulse control and moral compass excised, but his intelligence is still there, however much Hyde by the time of the comics has grown into his own power.

That said, I could have really done without Hyde asking Mina if he could grope her breasts as a final request bc while I get that Moore was probably going more for him wanting to feel her heartbeat and that was his characteristically crass way of phrasing it rather than a creepy titty grab for self-gratification, given the context, the comics really did not need more off-putting sexual weirdness like that, especially with all the sexual violence against women Moore is a little too fond of as that seems to be the only way he can think of exploring misogyny at its worst, and it was jarring in a way that didn't improve the storytelling.

[claudiajcregg]

i'd love to hear any behind the scenes you have on 'say it's here where our pieces fall in place' bc i read it and loved it and i want to know about it 💜

Welp, I've been thinking about this since you sent it and I feel I won't do it justice! I feel like I could say a lot if I went chapter by chapter, but many tabs of unread fics stare back at me. I'll skim and try to say something, though.

Some commentary on say it's here where our pieces fall in place under the cut! I am sick and rambly. And lbr I can never shut up anyway, but this might be too incoherent even for me. (Original ask post here)

It was sort of an unofficial NaNoWriMo project, in that I set myself a goal to tackle “longer fics” or ideas I wanted to cover but hadn't. From my notes, I had this idea to write a ficlet per year because I always enjoy this kind of story, and I know I'd tried to approach different ones in the past. I started writing in late October/finished in Nov 2021. (The other fic I started was never finished, even if dammit, it hits.) I posted it in January, so it wasn't that bad, considering I'll often take months.

It's maybe important to note that I had only finished writing “The Monster (affectionate)” (aka the 148k-ish word IM AU) in early September and I felt a bit burned out after spending five months writing that (would’ve been less but the struggle was real for the last third of the story. Oddly reminiscing of you-know-what story these days). This arbitrary deadline helped me get back into writing. Granted, I wrote a couple of fics in those five months, but I wanted to try another multichapter.

Anyway. I picked some random, perhaps not obvious choices for the vignettes. It was partly to avoid writing something I might have potentially covered at one point, and also a challenge. Some are also strange (the dream!), but I kinda loved it? (Fun fact: the fic references the Sherry-Netherland, whose exterior is the establishing shot in Internal Displacement. I swear there is some thought put into my writing.) And as the A/N I wrote to myself, I definitely wrote and rewrote bits and pieces of this on my way to and from therapy, haha.

Let me find a fun fact about each of the chapters, if I can think of any.

1998: actually repurposed some campaign fic idea I distinctly remember writing in spring 2018, while I was still in uni. It also has GLOVES. I live for that.

1999: I like the idea of exploring Danny and Abbey's relationship! They presumably have a good one and yet, I don't think we ever see them interact. (And god. Danny's recent, pre-campaign breakup is a recurring theme in my campaign stories too, loool.)

2000: Danny and Josh are an underrated friendship, and I like the references to Rosslyn. There was so much in those months in Midterms that we didn't see, and I like thinking Danny visited his friend.

We also got two back-to-back chapters focused on Danny - I remember trying to make it even, so that the focus was more or less evenly split.

2001: the Manchester fuckup! And it's one of the dream chapters! There were two of them? (We're 3 out of 4 in which I was surprised by the focus, but now I kinda want to re-read it all properly?) I'll say that I can see some vague, unconscious inspo from Freefall by KadeeFalls in this chapter (esp since I was just talking to you about it)... But I'm mostly obsessed with the magical realism (there's another term that my foggy brain cannot think of rn) of dreams, and how it can help us clear our heads.

2002: I remembered this was set after Simon! I know it's probably an odd, controversial choice but they both tried to move on (at least, we know CJ did), and it felt disingenuous not to include it. There are moments when she almost admits to her previous (?) feelings for Danny, but stops.

As with most thus far, there were fluffier and probably better choices for 2002 (Christmas!!), but... My brain wanted it to appear like CJ couldn't really bring herself to think about Danny.

2003: Aw, the specialty store is inspired by a franchise over here that had Goldfish (not many flavors) and I took a dramatic license and added it over there. I also added a small flashback because I love thinking Danny doesn't think they're all that but likes them. (But will tease CJ about it.) Plus, some more resolution to moving on!

2004: Yeah, the formatting is weird. (This is one I'd have to go back and do a blockquote or something.) Danny winning a Pulitzer for the Shareef stuff is a mostly accepted headcanon. CJ seeing his picture on the paper and having feels is just something I love, especially if he mentions someone else. (Look. I'm all for letting him pine, but he deserves to move on and fail too.) Plus Josh teasing her!

2005: The Sherry-Netherland! fwiw, I'm sure I had finally figured out this was the place and decided it would be so cheeky to add it here. I'm so sMaRt. Flowers when she gets promoted! And my spin (in this story) of CJ vaguely shunning him. This is the angst before the fluff.

2006: I remembered this one was a dream at some restaurant! (Again the formatting is not great, but I didn't want to tip my obvious hand.) The same way I think CJ's dream in 2001 was about her wondering how Danny would have reacted, this is about Danny realizing he needs to reach out to her... But with the added family ~tale~. Def inspired by that lyric in "Sad Beautiful Tragic."

2007: I feel like having it at some random dinner with Josh and Donna was an odd choice, but I loved the idea of a double date! The scarf scene is just so! And the chaos siblings energy is great. It was a reprieve from the angst.

Meeting at LAX was right there! I had written a story or two trying to do it justice, so I'm guessing that's why it's not. And fwiw the airport story I wrote shortly after that is the one being posted ~soon~. (A rewritten, slightly expanded version.)

2008: Pregnancy mood swings! It hurt to make them fight, but it's so fluffy otherwise. From what I remember, it has various references to things that happen in the story (particularly from the first two chapters) but it still manages to close it rather nicely, showing how strong their marriage is. I hope.

Okay. This has gotten way too long and it's probably useless.

I've always said I could have written another 11 chapters using different scenes, because there are just so many, even outside the obvious ones... Though I feel I wouldn't be able to recapture the magic.

I do definitely want to reread this for real. As with many fics, it's one of those I used to reread often before posting it (especially the last quarter/third) and then just ignored after. See some other recent examples, such as memoir fic, Portland fic.

Thank you for asking, Ally! God, I used to be a good writer. What happened?!??!

[asktheplethaura]

If Only , If Only - Unicorn Wars Fanfiction

((Chapter Thirty))

((Is it Tonga time? I think it's Tonga Time))

~~

AUTHORS NOTE: 

Hey, I recieved a bit of a personal message from a fan of my works and I wanted to have a short- real chat with you all about your commentary, my books, and my lack of common communication. I don't ignore your comments just to ignore them. I am sorry it comes off that way. I am elated to see everyone's commentary and it always makes me happy to see theories in the comments or even just small notes or compliments. 

I don't respond to the comments as much, because I personally think I get a bit annoying to talk to. I will start responding more, I promise. I just didn't want to drive anyone off because of how weird I can be outside of my literature works.

~~

  Caricias finally entered the medical building, locating the conjoined rooms that his troops and the strangers were in. Opening the door, he heard an irking creak as the un-oiled hinges of the room's barrier screamed his presence to everyone in the room.  He just finished opening the door, so it would quiet down- a clear expression of annoyance etched across him.

"Sargento. There you are." A short golden-brown and white bear walked over to the sergeant- her brown eyes seeming to be screaming out her nervousness. "Here is an overview of what you have to deal with."

There was an ongoing list of this, that, and the other. Several broken fingers, sprains, potential severe PTSD, emotional disconnection, being severely underweight, a severely damaged leg,  a lost arm lower-arm, a missing eye, and many re-stitched scars.

Caricias leans against the wall, looking at the seven beds and multiple chairs spread through the room. Most of the troops that were from Troupe Lone Owl were awake. A couple of them talking Pandi as the black and white bear was quite social from the get-go. Pandi was currently talking with an ash brown bear with intense orange eyes. Something about the eyes was off-putting though. It was as if the young bear never blinked. 

Looking over the files again- Caricias compared the file he found with the young soldier. The ash brown bear seemed to be named 'Pherne'. Speckled white marks on some parts of his face made him look a bit like a deer. 

The thing that Caricias was taken by though, was the profile picture in the profile for him. The left side of his mouth- all the way down to the center of it- was completely seutured shut. This factor, in itself, seemed to highight why he wore a bandana. Caricias shook his head, trying not to stare. It wasn't his business after all... he couldnt just say something about it.

Closing the door with just about as much noise it took for him to open it- Caricias sighed- trying to avoid triggeringany  of the young soldiers still in their hospital beds. He intended to give them a couple weeks before he actually asked any questions. He already dreaded the fact he would need to get several statements from them- as to why they all made a decision to shoot their own commanding sergeant.

Not like his own troops weren't tempted to do the same thing. Honestly, a little longer and the bigger bear sergeant would have liked to do the same thing to Sergeant Scruff- but in a more painfully long way.

Achuchones and Sonrisas were playing cards on Coco's bed- over a small table that covered the blonde bears leg- for a steady surface. Specifically when he was eating or drinking something. His damaged limb, on the other hand- was elevated off to the side. 

Coco didn't really seem to mind- keeping himself from smoking as much as possible while he was in the building. Specifically because of the younger bears in the hospital beds nearby. 

Despite all of them showing signs of at least trying to eat to re-regulate their weight- the younger soldiers all seemed distant and a bit disturbed. Perhaps talking to them the day after would be better- that way they all had time to process everything, before more overwhelming questions. In this regard and sergeant and his troops were all on the same page. 

These bears were barely old enough to be considered adults and now they have witnessed things that almost no adult could ever fully recover from. 

It was all sorts of wrong and no matter how many times someone complained about how the world was unfair, it would not change the fact that it had happened and the only thing they could try to do from there was find the best way to try and ease yourself of the pain- and move on in life. Even if it is difficult. 

"Goldfish." Achuchones smirked, sticking out his tongue as Sonrisas's smile seemed to quiver for a second. The orange bear was loaded up with cards, and Achuchones only had two left in his hand. Coco was just watching them play for now- impressed by the fact that Achuchones wasn't even cheating. The fluffier bear was either just that good with the deck or he was that lucky. 

It was one of the two. 

"Alright, do you have an eight?" The orange bear sighed, handing over his card- before flopping his head into the table with a bit of a groan of frustration. 

The green-blue bear only laughed a little bit, patting the other on the head while putting the two cards into a pile on his side of the table. "Now now, Sunrise, don't take this so hard, I am just good at the game is all. You should see me play poker. I get told that I am quite the menace." Achuchones looked at his last card, before a sly smile played on his features. "Your turn."

Sonrisas looked through his many cards, and flopped down his head in disdain. "Do you have a queen?"

With a satisfied glint in his eye- Achuchones grinned, before making a dramatic pose and blinking his eyes in a bit of flirty way. "Oh come on now. Of course I do." This seemed to make Sonrisas more frustrated- before the other extended out his paw to grab the card with another deep sigh. However, he never received it. This caused him to look up expectantly. To this, Achuchones only smirked and stuck out his tongue, before laughing a little and striking another pose. "I am the queen. You seem so distraught in my presence, it bringeth me shame..."

Achuchones pretended to make hurt gesture of holding his hands over his heart, before pretending to faint.

Sonrisas seemed to cheer up immediately before laughing with the other, and mocking a bow to the other. "I deeply apologize, your majesty. I have seen the error of my ways, and promise to do better. I bring you no shame, nor ill will my liege."

Coco laughed a little bit at the scene in front of him, before leaning back in his bed. 

"Touching as this is, I am not bowing with you, Sonrisas. Just put in a good word for me, okay? I am going to bed..."

The rest of the night was just a wide range of the soldiers all comforting each other, and attempting to have fun and lighten the mood. 

Caricias even joined in every little while. For a moment, this hell-prison they called a military camp could have even been called a place that felt like home.

((To Be Continued))