#We went to see it in for gavin apparently

[crovoroh]

It was my rat son's birthday yesterday!!! Him and Nines went out and Gavin got only a little drunk, theyre in love and married uwu happy birthday my favorite trash bastard!!!

Gavin has a second arm i just didnt feel like drawing it lol

[jq37]

The Report Card – Fantasy High Junior Year Ep 16

Kipperlilly Copperkettle and the World's Smallest Violin

Welcome back to Fantasy High where everyone’s graduating with A pluses and we’re *finally* figuring out what the hell Kipperlilly’s deal is! 

But, before we get to that, we have some loose ends to tie up. You’ll remember that the Bad Kids just demolished the Last Stand Exam and dropped Gavin Pundle off at the Council of Chosen office in Bastion City. It’s the day before Spring Break so hypothetically they should be relaxing–they don’t have a Spring Break project like everyone else because of the Last Stand–but these are the Bad Kids. They don’t get breaks. 

First order of business when they get back to Elmville is to check the crystal they left recording at the crime scene. They see a massive figure--14 to 15 feet--wearing a hood approaching Buddy with their back to the camera. The stones behind Buddy glow with Ankarna-style light so they check to see if Bakur is escaping the gem he’s trapped in. He isn't but Riz using his spy tie can tell it's def something Ankarna related based on the magical mDNA he's clocking. Based on the footfalls, it seems like something big and humanoid (though not like a tabaxi or dragonborn with their digitigrade feet. Giant is def on the table though).

The figure moves closer to Buddy and Kristen thinks they’re about to slap the symbol on Buddy’s chest but Buddy’s body spasms and blood spatters as his organs seem to crush. He jolts awake with a pained roar and then says in his southern drawl, "Dang, y'all. I worship a nameless god of rage." The figure kneels over Buddy and they both vanish. 

So, yeah. Good call setting up some CCTV. 

Fig right away speculates that maybe all the Rat Grinders died and were brought back to life in that way. Maybe in the Mountains of Chaos, Fabian adds. Kristen points out that KP has been angry since Freshman Year and they all finally get around to digging into the file that Riz stole. Has she always been a follower of Ankarna or was she scouted at some point because of how insanely aggro she is?

Everyone piles on buffs to Riz’s already stupid Investigation score so he gets a 32. I’m going to bullets to organize all of this info:

Her Freshman and Sophomore Year accomplishments are pretty meh. She was doing quests but pretty low level, easy ones

We find out the reason KP hates Riz so much and it’s his tragic backstory. In a meeting at the top of Sophomore Year, they see KP complaining that it’s so unfair that Kalvaxus killed Riz’s dad. She’s too suburban and normal and she hasn’t been able to find any sordid secrets in her lineage that would make for good plot hooks essentially. Her parents went to *Mumple* for Cassandra’s sake! Over the course of Sophomore year she started having rage outbursts. and saying that kids with tragic backstories had an unfair advantage in adventuring and their grades should reflect that. 

She talks about how much she loves her party. The way she speaks, she's def the leader (which we kinda already assumed from the vibes). She seems especially fond of Lucy and says that she's the only one who sort of "gets it". Apparently, KP came up with the name "High 5 Heroes" and Lucy was supportive of that because it meant a lot to KP. Rat Grinders was a name that Ivy and Oisin came up with (they're the other pair of besties in the group which checks out because they were the ones hanging out and playing beer pong together). Ruben voted for the change to piss off KP and Mary Ann voted for it as well and refused to elaborate (on brand). 

In her Junior Year she gets even more unhinged. She talks about wanting to straight up murder Kristen. She thinks Kristen is going for President as a joke and won't even do the job when she's elected. And she he hates Fig for boxing her out from confronting Kristen.   

There's a note that, for Spring Break, they're going to the Mountains of Chaos for the second time. The last time they went was a week or two after Spring Break last year, right before Lucy died. They had a school chaperone because it was too high an adventure for their abilities in the school’s view and no prizes for guessing who that was: Jace Stardiamond. 

As we kind of already know, KP has been gathering Bad Kid info via Jawbone--specifically, stuff about the Prompocalypse/Kalvaxus fight and the Yes! Stuff. These questions are coming Sophomore Year, post the first Mountains of Chaos trip. 

With a dirty 20 Insight, Fig sees that, starting at the end of Soph Year, there's a change in KP's language where it goes from, "I don't think X is fair"/"I think they get special treatment" to just straight up, "I hate them."

The group wonders if Jace is the mastermind here and scoped out which of the students were susceptible to rage poisoning or if maybe he died during that mountain trip and got taken over just as much as everyone else. As far as they know, he was super chill prior to this. 

They take a brief detour to razz Fabian about The Incident in his dance class with some excellent puns and then another brief detour to IRL razz Murph because he makes the grave mistake of saying the phrase, “honor the cock.” And then, Kristen has a brain blast. She wonders if maybe the difference between someone who gets a crystal put in them and comes back as a rage person (eg: Buddy) vs someone who is left in limbo like Yolanda and Lucy is that you get a choice and you can either come back full of rage or refuse and stay dead with the mark on your chest. Brennan doesn't even make Ally roll for it, Kristen just gets it in one. And everyone realizes it makes sense. Yolanda was super principled and Lucy always stuck to her guns according to Ruben. [Note: This also offers a potential reason that Ivy wasn't shocked to see Lucky at the party–maybe she thought she finally took Ankarna’s deal.]

Another list of info just to keep things neat:

They check the tape from the Coliseum and see that there's a ten minute gap between the Bad Kids leaving and the figure coming to rez Buddy so that’s a bit of a timeline established (assuming no chronomancy BS I suppose). 

They also get the thing about digitigrade feet I mentioned earlier at this point but I just thought it fit better with the other tape stuff above. 

Ruben has deleted most of his social media presence from a little bit before last year but they can see from photos where he's tagged with his friends that the emo thing started after spring break of Sophomore Year, confirming what we assumed from his old Yearbook photo. Before that his vibe was more soft rock/folk pop (based on the musician they reffed who I've never heard of but just Googled--Jack Johnson). 

The Bad Kids think they might have to waste yet another Spring Break, this time chasing the Rat Grinders into the Mountains of Chaos, but before that, they have in-town business and downtime to attend to. 

Everyone's parents and guardians are so happy and proud of them for their Last Stand victory. 

Sklonda asks Riz if there's anything she can help with and he asks if she can look into Bobby Dawn. She says  Bobby used to go to Aguefort (info that has come up before according to Brennan though I don't remember it) and asks if Fig knows he's teaching there. It seems like a non sequitur until she reveals (via Emily figuring it out at the table with very impressive swiftness) that Bobby Dawn was at the center of Sandra Lynn's sordid past! For those of y’all who don’t remember, we learned in Sophomore Year that Sandra Lynn joined a party when she was young as a replacement member. There was a married couple in the group who were older and more powerful than her. She fell in love with one of them and when it all came out, she was kicked out and slandered (even though it takes two minimum to tango, as we all know). She was basically blacklisted from adventuring after that which is why she joined the rangers. Well, now we know who that couple was: Bobby and Pamela Dawn! 

Which, ugh what an upgrade Jawbone and honestly even Gilear are from Bobby Dawn.

(Also, as an aside, we learn Pamela is the chief paladin of the church of Sol which, como se dice, yikes. That whole pantheon needs better reps. Tracker is doing all the heavy lifting herself.)

Gavin checks in to say that the Council of Chosen is looking into things but the body is missing. The Bad Kids, who already knew this, share their footage because they have to do EVERYTHING around here. Gavin also lets them know that they’re completely free from academic requirements other than filling out a teacher eval and attending graduation (which is odd considering they aren’t graduating but Aguefort is a weird school and Brennan never went to trad high school so shrug–we’ll see if that’s just a weird Aguefort thing or a something suspicious).

Back to Riz and Sklonda, he asks his mom if she's ever heard of Eugenia Shadow and she tells him that she's a granddaughter of one of the founders of the Society of Shadows (which was named after their last name--it's literal AND a metaphor. She offers to drive him to the cemetery in Ashgrove which is about 90 minutes away. 

Wilma and Digby are exuberant as always about Gorgug's success. They’ve finally fixed up the Hangvan for him and give him the keys. He thanks them and then asks about why Frosty Fair picked their tree as the new event site. They think it's just because they're heavily in the Frosty Fair circuit and also someone (who we know is Ruben) vouched for them. But they mention that the FF reps had a lot of questions about their tree including whether the tree was a Root Warden. They don't have a Druid or Ranger who would know but Kristen gets a Nat 20 (and Cass is a sylvan goddess so it checks out that she would know some stuff about trees). 

A Root Warden is a tree that is so magical that it's a little more alive  than a normal tree (without fully being a treant) and has an Int of like 1 or 2 instead of zero. So it's basically the big, old tree that guards the other trees in the area and tells them when to have their guards up and protects them from general bad mojo. Brennan calls it a sentinel. The Thistlespring tree is the Root Warden for the trees in all of Elmville county.  Gorgug rolls too low to tell if the tree is corrupted but his parents do tell them that the people who came by to check on the tree dropped something into the roots with eye droppers that was absorbed. Everyone is worried about rage pollen, especially since it’s the middle of spring. And once he’s looped in, Riz can see on a map that Loam Farm is significantly outside the tree network that Thislespring tree is a part of. It seems clear that they were trying to make sure they were not only operating within the network but poisoning its very heart. 

Fabian gets a proud message from his dad now that they’re synced up with infernal/material plane communication. Gilear asks Fabian about baby clothes so, naturally, he burns them all. He also gets another 20k gold allowance because his life is full of intense highs and lows and that’s about it. 

Kristen’s parents text her to ask her to make sure Bucky is going to his classes. Suspicious! She agrees to check up on him. 

Aelwyn has accepted the job at Leviathan so she starts coming by the mansion again since there's a door/portal to the library which saves her the spell slot. Adaine tells her she can just come back home if she wants and Sandra Lynn agrees. Aelwyn asks if all her cats can come and everyone says yes, even if it means kicking out Kristen (which is a joke…mostly lol). So yay, Aelwyn is back in the bunk beds baybee! And during the month of my birth irl and in canon. Ty Brennan. Kristen tries to verbally spar with her because she knows Aelwyn is uncomfortable with people being too openly nice to her but Aelwyn accidentally claps back too hard and sends Kristen running back to her room near tears. Sorry, K! She’s working on her people skills! Fig of course has her President’s back and gives Aelwyn a wet willy which majorly grosses her out but she doesn’t sling any retaliatory spells. Progress! 

Gorthalax makes sure that Fig knows he’s always a resource for any help with anything infernal. Meanwhile, Adaine has a couple of spells she wants to cast. She makes a Simulacrum of Kristen, to make it confusing for anyone who wants to go after Kristen. It’s a clone of her with half her HP which is slightly British and slightly straight. She casts Legend Lore on Kipperlilly and gets no info which means she’s a basic ass bitch. (Riz, in comparison, does get a ping but it’s for being the 5th person to summon the Night Yorb so he is keen to do better than that). Finally, she casts Scry on Kipperlilly and doesn't get anything because she has Nondetection casted on her. She realizes that all of the Rat Grinders do at all times which is 18 third level spells a day which is crazy. Clearly, they’re scared. 

Graveyard time! On Saturday, they head to Ashgrove and find the grave of Eugenia Shadow who died at the age of 111. Adaine swaps to Ethereal Vision to try and find her but Riz (with his Blindsense) is the one who finds her (she’s carefully ducking behind Adaine to dodge her line of sight). Eugenia is annoyed to have two students find her in one year but very happy to drink, smoke, and do drugs with the Bad Kids(just go with it). 

Despite being dead, Eugenia knows a lot about stuff that's going on and congratulates them on passing their Last Stand. Riz asks her about what "the Rogue teacher found her" re: Kipperlilly means and Eugenia says that KP somehow found out that she was dead (despite the fact that as far as Shadow knows, the only records of her death exists in Aguefort’s office) and showed up at the grave with a rented backhoe, threatening to dig her up unless she showed basically. Which, yes, is grave desecration and messed up but is it any more messed up than the concept of a rogue in general? Like, I hate KP as much as the next person but this feels like normal rogue behavior. As Eugenia says in this very scene, rogues do crimes! Anyway, Eugenia reiterates something we already knew about Kipperlilly:  that she's obsessed with technicalities and loopholes. We learn for a fact that she's a Mastermind Rogue and Eugenia says that she's a lot like Riz but walking a darker path. 

As they're speculating how KP could have gotten into Aguefort's office (via Jace maybe?) Mazey comes up since she's acting principal and Eugenia reminds them that Aguefort is not a normal school with normal positions. Things are set up so that whoever is VP has to follow whatever the Principal says no matter what since Kalvaxus is supposed to be in that position as a prisoner. Equally importantly, Aguefort is more than a school. It's a hotbed of very important magical threads that Aguefort had going and they'll unravel without someone at the helm. That fact and the fact that killing her would mean chaos and not a simple transfer of power to another party is probably the only reason no one has tried to assassinate her yet. At his friends’ urging, Fabian texts Mazey to hang out, to help keep an eye on her. 

Eugenia tells them to keep their guards up and that she expects to see all of them in Rogue classes next year. She gives Riz an eval form and Fig asks about a Landscaping Company that KP contacted (which I think must be in cut footage because this is the first time it comes up in the ep. Eugenia says that the name of the company is Loam Landscaping which gives everyone pause for obvious reasons. 

Speaking of the Loams, they're on the same death clock as Lucy since it's been a while since they died and Adaine wonders if they can Plane Shift to where they are if they can figure out where that is. Brennan says that the vibe is that Yolanda and Lucy are probably with Cassandra, wherever Cass is. 

Downtime before Spring Break!

Fabian is up first. 

He rolls a 27 for Popularity. People are hoping he's gonna keep up lofi study nights over the summer and they're so psyched that his birthday is the same day as the election (the 31st). Adaine realizes that THIS must be the bday party/election victory she keeps having visions about and tells him he has to do it. For his second track, he asks Mazey out on an official date to Krom's Diner. She says yes and, on a 20, we get a very sweet scene where Fabian has a nice normal date with a genuinely nice, down to earth person.

Even though she's not supposed to play favorites, she tells him that Kristen's basically demolishing Kipperlilly in the election so far (which she is impressed by because she didn't think Kristen was going to take it seriously). She also lets them know that technically any place (including a big house party perhaps) can be a polling place as long as someone from the school admin is present (which could potentially be Mazey or Riz). 

Mazey gives him a goodnight kiss (getting his kisses in!) and we move on to his third roll which he uses to try and mend fences with Kristen for Gertie’s sake. He offers her any satisfaction she wants from an apology to combat and she chooses combat. With a 30 to her 16, he handily defeats her and she considers her honor satisfied. They'll chill now. And he even gives her some tips on flirting with Kristen. Trying to make sure his girl gets her kisses in too I see. 

Corsica and Terpsicore find him to give him eval forms. (Also, on a Nat 20, Fig steals RIz's eval and changes his one negative comment about her doing drugs with her students into a positive one because of course Fig loves her).  He just barely gets his Owlbears roll with a bardic and that's his last roll. 

Adaine is up next. She uses a portent to get a 29 on mystery to learn about the Astral Plane and figures out that when a god is dead in the Astral Plane there's still some level of intelligence, like how a mortal can die but then have Speak With Dead cast on them and answer questions. She also finds some weird linguistic trickery in a passage about how where gods die, where they go, and where they're borne--not born, borne as in carried. Imagine the laws of the universe hinging on a pun. Wild. They wonder if that's what Bakur was trying to do/if the proper location would have been the Mountains of Chaos.

Brennan also says she gets some interesting stuff about the Mountains of Chaos and its history and is left with the question of, "When Ankarna was said to have 'died' in the Red Waste, what does that mean?" Adaine decides to roll to learn some spells to help her party survive in the Astral Plane if they need to go and on a 29 spell she learns one new spell of each level. She also talks to her teacher (Tiberia Runsetaff) who, in addition to giving her an eval to do, says she's been talking to Aguefort (Chronomancy) and when she mentioned that she was having problem getting supplies for wizarding, Ayda left her a geocache. Runestaff gives Adaine the coordinates and she texts Fig so they can go together because she assumes Ayda left stuff for both of them.

Next, she wants to roll Relationships and throws an ice cream party for the whole manor which everyone really enjoys. She chats with Sandra Lynn who tells her that the Mountains of Chaos have been nuts lately and social animals like wolves have been killing members of their own packs as of the last few weeks. That sounds very rage-y to Adaine so she tells Sandra Lynn everything they know (except for the Bobby Dawn stuff so Fig can be the one to break the news). 

Adaine asks if Sandra Lynn will take them to the mountains since she knows the area so well from work and Sandra Lynn says they might have to sign some liability waivers but she's down as long as her bosses are down. They also have a very sweet conversation where Adaine says she’s very grateful to them for taking her in and she admits that she's not very good at being a kid. Sandra Lynn says that she's always available for any conversations that Adaine wanted to have with a mom and couldn't (on account of her mom being a raging bitch and also being chased by the Vands of course). Adaine thinks she's about to give her a talk on periods and dashes away, much to Sandra Lynn's bafflement. 

Fig does her evals for her teachers including Lucilla who is weeping over her not remembering her name and just calling her "Attractive bard teacher", Porter who is irked to be sharing a sheet with Zara, and Zara who wants to see Fig because she send her a flap of flayed skin with writing on it (the contract from Bill). Valid concern. 

Adaine wraps up her downtime by rolling to Scry on Jace and gives him a 1 to make sure he fails. She sees him sitting quietly working in his office where he's Fantasy Googling the Complicated Women podcast. Adaine doesn't see what else he's working on with a low Luck roll but on a 17 Perception, she sees that he's starting to sweat in his toasty office. He takes off his scarf and, as he does, she catches a glimpse of him in the mirror, revealing a deep ragged scar in his chest. He looks at the scar and, for a moment, his eyes flash red. 

Detention

Kipperlilly for All Of That

Girl are you KIDDING ME?

“Oh boo hoo. Riz is so lucky. School is so easy for him because he has a dead dad to avenge. Some people have all the luck.”

Man, kick rocks. And she was like that *before* she got involved with Ankarna. 

Also, sidenote, it’s not even like Riz ended up killing Kalvaxus because of his tragic backstory. He didn’t even know there was a connection going in. He just wanted to find his missing babysitter and the other missing girls! You’re a Mastermind Rogue. You want a plot hook? Nancy Drew it up, bitch!   

You want Kristen dead? You want her DEAD? You’re jealous of Riz who lives in a household where sometimes you have to eat your cereal with water because there’s not enough milk to go around? Truly, get a grip.

Honor Roll

Kristen for Making a Clutch Connection

This should really go to Ally but yeah. What a great leap figuring out that staying dead is an option and that’s most likely what happened to Yolanda and Lucy. 

This very likely explains a longstanding loose end from much earlier in the season. Ivy didn’t look shocked to see “Lucy” (Fig in disguise) at the party even though we know she was dead. With this new info, it seems likely that Ivy assumed that Lucy had finally given in and come back as a rage acolyte. 

Anyway, baller connection and she got there before I did. I love it when Brennan is so impressed he doesn't even ask for an Insight roll. 

Random Thoughts

Here is a super useful timeline of events Re: the Ratgrinders by @ratgrinders. 

I’ve seen a lot of people assume that the RG’s died in the Mountains of Chaos but I’m not convinced that happened. Because that was way before Lucy died and we know that once she died, she refused to come back as a rage person. And we know you can take a rage crystal without having to die first. That happened in the mall fight with the wizards. If they TPK’d there and Ankara offered to bring them back, then they would have come back without Lucy because she would have said no.

Here’s my current theory: They went to the mountains with Jace. They either stumbled into information about Ankarna or were led there by Jace if he’s proper evil and not just taken over. They were offered a deal and everyone went for it but Lucy. KP really wanted Lucy to join them–esp cause she considered Lucy her best friend. She tried to strong arm her into it (maybe even forging her god change form) and, when she stuck to her guns, she organized everyone to kill Lucy, forcing her into a position where she’d have to say yes to Ankarna in order to stay alive. In KP’s head, Lucy would do this and maybe be annoyed for a bit but in the end see it was for the best and forgive her–maybe even thank her. But she miscalculated the strength of Lucy’s conviction and voila. Dead Lucy. 

Edit: Wanted to come back and edit to note that it is of course possible that in the mountains everyone died except for Lucy and that's when they took the Ankarna deal, but even if that's the case, the rest of the theory would proceed as written. I was mainly thinking that while what we saw with Buddy is a strong possibility it's not the only possibility. If they died then they're a bit more sympathetic because self preservation is an understandable motivator and taking the deal doesn't make them craven--it just makes Lucy and Yolanda extremely principled. However if they just took the deal because it was offered to them then that's more eyebrow raising. Even though I'm skeptical, I'm kinda hoping their hands were forced because I think that's more interesting and we've had straight up petty power grabbing already from Penelope. But anyway, just being thorough.

"Flash of Stupidity” is so funny. 

It's not surprising that Ivy and Oisin are one of the pairs of besties in the RG's--they were introduced playing beer pong together--but I'm super curious about what their dynamic is. And ditto for Lucy and KP. Was it like a high strung one/chilled out one kind of thing? I really wish the Bad Kids had been a bit nosier about their whole deal.

Do we think KP maybe wanted to make sure the BK's died in the last stand alongside Buddy and Pundle so they'd all come back as rage people? Maybe that crossbow bolt was laced with some rage mojo?

KP being mad at Riz for trying to pickpocket Jawbone of her file when (1) she’s literally a rogue as well and (2) she pickpocketed Kristen and Buddy of their revivify diamonds is insane. 

I love Lou committing to the bit of being appalled at the thought of half-siblings via Gilear because I know he knows that every time he explodes it becomes even funnier which means it’s more likely to happen but he can’t stop because he’s Committed To The Bit. Classic Lou. 

Wizards casting Legend Lore on themselves as the in-universe equivalent of Googling yourself. 

I love the detail that Mazey’s family lives in a Labyrinth in the Red Wastes. 

Kinda bummed we didn’t get to do more with the Relationship track so the special ability never came up and Brennan had to just reveal it (it can reduce stress but also increase it). 

I am so stressed about the bylaws and also Bucky. They keep coming up and then falling off of everyones’ plates and we’re running out of runway here. 

Adaine really said, “You didn’t just kill your parents? Skill issue.” She really is Aelwyn’s sister. 

The VP has to do anything the Principal says, right? And Mazey is the Principal, right? There’s gotta be a way to exploit that, especially now that Fabian is in her good graces.

When did Aelwyn get FIVE MORE CATS?

Answered and Partially Answered Questions

Last week I made as thorough a list as I could about what info we were missing and I wanted to note the answers we got this week. 

1) Why the move to Loam Farm for Frosty Faire? (The Thistlespring tree is a Rootwarden) 

2) How is Jace involved? Why is he manipulating Ruben? (We know Jace went w/ them on the trip but that's not a full answer) 

3) What were the exact circumstances behind Lucy’s death? Who was able to put the rune on both of their bodies and what exactly was the goal there? (We know the mark is from getting a rage crystal but rejecting it but we don't officially know who did it or what the goal was though you know my guess.) 

4) How did KP find the rogue teacher? (Threatened to dig up her grave. Info that she was dead was only in Aguefort's office so maybe got that from Jace?) 

5) Also what’s her damage? Why is she obsessed with Riz? What are her anger issues about? (She's a petty basic bitch) 

6) Why wasn’t Ivy surprised to see Fig in disguise as Lucy who was at the time fully dead? (Most likely because she thought she finally chose rage zombie resurrection) 

7) What’s up with the party vision that Adaine has now had at least twice? (We know this is election night and Fabian's bday now) 

8) What made the Rat Grinders become the Rat Grinders when they started as the High Five Heroes? (We know it was a vote led by Ivy and Oisin and joined by Ruben and Mary Ann but not the why behind it) 

9) Where exactly is Cass right now? (We still don't know for sure but it seemed like a realm within Ankarna’s dead body which is prob in the Astral Plane. We do know Lucy and Yolanda are prob with her as of this ep.)

As an aside, we still don’t know how Oblivati Mori was broken to write Ankarna’s name before the Bad Kids found it but is it possible that the person who wrote it was Ankarna herself? Because Ankarna is still “dead” right now, right? Because she’s been active all the same. Oblivati Mori disallows others from speaking your name but does it disallow the god themselves from speaking or writing their name if mortals find them somehow? Kind of a stretch but I’m wondering if there’s enough wiggle room there to make something happen, especially since this episode Brennan said that gods retain some intelligence even when they’re dead on Adaine’s high roll. I dunno, just spitballing. 

(Also, I don’t remember where I saw this but remember how Aelwyn said KP is randomly loaded? The previous best guess on that was money from Oisin–the boy who was just gonna give Adaine diamonds–but is it possible that she’s spending the embezzled Frosty Fair money? We don’t know much much it was so hard to say if it was enough to be funding whatever this is. But wanted to throw that out there since we’re tying loose ends as much as we can.)

Anyway, can’t wait for next episode which I’ve been told will be more than THREE HOURS LONG and Brennan said in the AP that it’s gonna be a doozy. Excited, trepid, and preemptively bracing for another long haul review. See you then!

[letsgetrowdy43]

Boys night in—

Request: Sunny bonding with the UMich hockey team and them taking her under their wing. They actually enjoy her company and find her funny and apparently kicked Luke out of being the beer pong champ. Adam and Luke feels left out.

Au Masterlist!!

Sunny was quite reserved, much like her oldest brother, the only boys on the Umich hockey team who actually seemed to know anything about her was her brother, her boyfriend, and a few of the sophomores who had visited the lake over the summer.

So when a snap from Luca popped on her phone with Rutger's dorm room number, asking her to stop by for drinks, with no mention of Adam or Luke, she could do nothing but stare in shock. She sucked up her nerves and threw a few drinks into her tote bag, did her hair, and made her way up the two flights of stairs to the boy's dorm.

Luca grinned as he opened the door to see her awkwardly stood with furrowed brows and an expression of something that resembled anxiety. "Glad you could make it Sunshine," Rutger grinned as he waved for her to join them, the only other boys in the room being Gavin, Kienan, and Seamus who smiled and offered her a seat.

"Why am I here?" she looked around at the random grouping of boys who stared at her with innocent smiles, she sat down next to Rutger who offered her his phone for aux. "It's boy's night in!," Luca shrugged as he took a seat next to Shea, "My brother and yours like to hog you, we want to get to know you," he said offering her a beer to which she declined and pulled out her own drink from her bag.

The night started tense and mellowed out as the drinking went on, giggles filling the room as Rutger and Sunny danced along to the boy's horrible rendition of ABBA's greatest hits. She fit right in, grinning as Gavin and her gossiped about some of the girls who lived in their building, and going shot for shot with Seamus as the boys cheered the girl on.

The real 'deal breaker', as Shea put it, was cup pong. A game the boys had been trying to perfect since frosh week when the seniors obliterated them and never let them live it down.

Sunny hid her face in embarrassment as she missed the first cup, Rutger laughed at her flushed cheeks and handed her the second ball so she could try again, but this time she sunk the ball right into the cup and grinned as she looked up at a surprisingly scared looking Kienan.

The boys stood shocked as it moved to her turn again, sinking both balls and gaining balls back, to which she sunk both of them again. Kienan stood in shock as she finally missed one and pointed at him to drink up. "Shit sunny, you're better than your brother," she shrugged and laughed as Kienan missed the cup both times. "Comes with the competitive Hughes genes," she mused as she sunk the last four balls she needed to and jumped up to hug Rutger who was jumping, equally as hyped as she was.

"You're so much cooler than Luke!" Rut joked as he spun her around, giggles filling the room as the door swung open.

"Can I have my girlfriend back now?" Adam asked as he maneuvered his way around the messy dorm to be next to his girlfriend who hugged herself into his side. Luca groaned, "how you know she was here?" he laughed, drunkenly as his young brother watched him with amusement. "You posted her doing shots with you like an hour ago," Adam pulled up the video of Luca's private story that made Sunny laugh in his chest.

Rutger nodded, "you can have Sunshine back," he said as he patted the girl on the crown of her head, "but we really like her, so don't break her heart, or ill have to kill you," Rutger winked at the girl who nodded and sent him a wink back. "I promise!" Adam said walking the girl back to his empty dorm.

"Did you have fun?" the boy asked as she perched herself on the edge of his bed, allowing him to remove her mascara, and help her get dressed as she stared at him in a sort of haze. She nodded softly, "your friends are some of my favourite people," she mused with a smile as he placed a kiss on her temple, a smile on her face at the warm feeling spreading across her body. "I'm glad," he said stripping her of her clothes and pulling one of his large shirts over her frame, grinning at how the article swallowed her up whole.

A laugh left the girl's lips as she finally looked down at her phone, a plethora of messages from Luke, the last one a simple, "I can't believe I didn't get an invite, you're all bitches," he joked making the girl snort at his whiney tone. She tucked herself into Adam's bed as he started getting himself ready, he walked out shirtless which made the very drunk sunny grin to herself as she moved over to make room for the boy.

She kissed his shoulder and snuggled into his side as he finally relaxed, "thank you for introducing, me to your friends," she whispered as she peppered a few more kisses to his chest. "Love you," he mumbled and wrapped his arm around her to pull her into his chest. "Love you too," she whispered before falling into a deep sleep.

-

-

-

[cuttergauthier]

Snowed In

Jacob Truscott x Female Brindley Reader

Warning: against, Cussing, Fluff

word count: 0.7k

let me know what you guys think🤍

I’m supposed to meet my brother at his captain’s house. Everyone was supposed to go there after class to hangout since there was a snow storm starting and they all wanted to hangout. I'm friends with everyone on the team except for Jacob, for some reason he never liked me.

It’s already snowing pretty bad when I got there, so I ran for the door and knocked. A few seconds later Jacob answered

“Why are you the first one here?” He asked, annoyed, making me roll my eyes.

“My classes finished earlier and I didn't want to be stuck alone at my place in case the storm got worse. Can I come in? It’s freezing out.” I say, he opened the door wider so I could walk by him.

“Thank you” I said before taking my boots and coat off.

“Yeah, whatever” he replied making his way to the living room

I followed behind him and sat down on the couch.

“What are you watching?” I asked when he sat down on the other end of the couch.

“Hockey highlights”

We both sat there in silence waiting for the boys and his roommates to come over.

About 30 minutes later, my phone rang. I looked over and saw that Gavin texted me that the roads were really bad so none of the boys were going to be coming over, and he suggested I just stay at the seniors house since he didn’t want me to drive in the storm.

“For fuck sakes” i said sighing, Jacob looked at ne confused.

“What now?” He ask annoyed

“None of the boys are coming over, apparently the roads are really bad, and he suggested I stay here… is that going to be a problem?”

“Fuck sakes… I’m texting Phil and Steve to see if they're coming home.” He said taking out his phone and sending a text to the guys.

His phone rang right away.

“Dammit!”

“What?” I ask

“Steve’s staying with the sophomores and Phil is staying with his girlfriend, apparently Gavin was right the roads a pretty bad”

“So i’m really stuck here alone… with you” i asked annoyed

“ Yes you are, is that going to be a problem princess?” He said smirking

“Don’t call me that” i said angry

“Why not? You basically are one”

“I’m not a princess Jacob”

“You always act like you are”

“ How the hell would you even know, we never talk, you’re just always rude”

“I’m not always rude”

“You know what, I don’t care if i have to walk, i’m not staying here with you” i said angrily, i got off the couch and started making my way to the door so i could leave.

I felt Jacob grab my wrist, I turned around to look at him.

“Jacob, let me go”

“No, and you are not going anywhere, the roads are bad you’re crazy if you think i’m letting you leave in that” he said worried

“Fine… but stop being an ass” i say and he chuckles

“I promise i’ll try” he said, i nodded and we made our way back to the couch

We both went back to being quiet and watching the hockey highlights

I don’t know why he has to tease me all the time. Why does he hate me so much? I've always had a crush on him, I just wish he wouldn’t always be rude when it comes to me, and for him not to see me as Gavin’s older sister.

After a while I thought I might as well talk to him, since we are going to be stuck together for a while.

“Why do you hate me so much?” I asked him.

He looked at me surprised.

“I don’t hate you, i just deal with Gavin enough i don’t need to have to deal with you also being annoying” he said making me scoffed

“What? Jacob, maybe if you’d actually make time to get to know me instead of being rude all the time, you would know i’m nothing like my brother” i said annoyed.

“I guess you’re right, i shouldn’t have assumed”

“Yeah, you really shouldn’t have”

“Okay then, I'm sorry… how about we actually get to know each other then, since we’re going to be stuck here together for a while” he said smiling

“That would be great,” I said smiling.

Jacob and I talked. He told me what made him choose Michigan, he talked about his life back home, I did the same.

He’s pretty great when he isn’t an ass to me.

“I guess you were right. I shouldn’t have made assumptions just because of Gavin, you really are nothing like him.” he said chuckling. I smiled at him.

“Told you” i said

“When the storm is over, is there any chance you’d let me take you out on a date?” he asked nervously. I smiled shyly.

“On one condition” i said

“What’s that?” he asked, smiling.

“You don’t tell Gavin, he’ll freak out” I said. Jacob laughed.

“Agreed” He said.

“Perfect”

[glxyqst]

AI Art vs. Human Art - Irreplaceable

"Why isn't it done yet? It's been a week."

"You're gonna get replaced by AI, haha."

"I'm not paying $10 for a drawing, bro."

Any of these comments sound familiar? If they do, you're either an artist, a supportive friend of an artist, or the ignorant asshat sending such comments to an artist. An artist who: - Has spent YEARS of their life practicing and improving their craft, honing their skills, and otherwise DEDICATING themselves to what they love. "Talent is cheap. Dedication is expensive." - Spends time to create something for you, when they also have: other clients, other projects, other jobs, other things going on in their lives as do we all. They aren't your personal bitch, and EVEN IF you were paying them MORE MONEY FOR MORE CONTROL, at the end of the day YOU went to the THEM. THEY are the artist, THEY are the professional, THEY are the expert. Shut the fuck up and don't try to break them away from their integrity. If they don't want to do something for you, either thank them for their time, or take 50% of your payment back and start your own personal art lessons. It's only too late to learn a new skill if you're dead. - Is doing something that you sure as fuck can't do, because otherwise why would you be asking them? - Is a person and deserves respect, even if you don't like their style or can't afford to pay what they have determined to meet their basic wage requirements so they can create.

An artist is a person and deserves respect, even if you don't like their style or can't afford to pay what they have determined meets their basic wage requirements so they can create.

Don't ask me why, but I desperately desired artwork of Android Cat Gavin wearing water wings and splashing in water. I already knew who I wanted to commission (the fabulous @cptjh-arts, powerhouse artist and amazing person).

Apparently, water wings are actually DANGEROUS and you shouldn't use them. So there's that. But I digress. https://swim2shore.com/the-false-security-of-water-wings/

My concept drawing for Android Cat Gavin with water wings.

For the purposes of this post, I used two AI https://magicstudio.com/ai-art-generator/ and https://hotpot.ai/ai-image-generator/create (two free sites that do not require accounts).

First AI prompt: cat with water wings

Second AI prompt: cat with water floatation device

Third prompt (which is the specifics of my commission request): cat android gavin from "detroit: become human" wearing swimming floatation devices on his front legs, splashing in water, Nines holding him.

Are all of these AI-generated images cute? Sure as fuck they are. Were they free? Yeah, they were. Fantastical elements aside, do they all follow the laws of physics / imitate life? NOPE. Don't recall asking for Catvin to have two weird tails up there (Also I am scared of the flood apparently happening inside my house?). And that one flotation device does NOT look sea-worthy.

Crop of the commissioned artwork from the amazing @cptjh-arts. <3 See the full image here: https://www.tumblr.com/cptjh-arts/710889609313255424/just-finished-my-latest-commission-for-the-lovely?source=share

Absolutely fucking PURRRRFECT. Exactly what I wanted. And all it took were brief conversations of excitement and clarification with my artist. Win-win all around. I get fabulous art, they get paid for doing what they've dedicated their lives to doing, and we both get a pleasant social interaction.

AI-generated art will continue to be refined, but it will never replace a sentient human being.

I am a sci-fi and fantasy fan. I love stories of robots, of true artificial intelligences---or rather, artificial sentience---of "different, not better". When Connor Detroit or Sonny or Data come around, I will be the first in line to greet them and look at their created works with awe. We aren't there, though. And in the meantime, artists are being shunted aside in favor of AI-generated art managed by non-artists---people who do not understand dedication or creativity. AI-generated art will continue to be refined, but it will never replace a sentient human being.

If you can't afford to pay an artist, that's okay. They understand, because they too have bills to pay in this capitalist society that puts money before people.

What's NOT okay is when you talk to them dismissively, disrespectfully, or degradingly.

Grow the fuck up, get over yourself, and go support your fellow human beings.

[whereianonymouslypostfics]

The Flip Side Part 8

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x reader

Word count: ~8.4k

Summary: Your motivation to continue working as a mobster in Chicago is dwindling after the birth of your daughter.

A/N: Here’s the next part where we find out who is behind all of the madness! Things get worse and unfortunately they’ll continue to get worse. Enjoy! 😁

Warnings: Angst, break ins, injury, and ER visit

Lab results still weren’t in by 36 hours, and as Gavin had said, you and your cellmates had been transferred to the state prison for however long they could hold you. You had grumpily submitted to another search and an even uglier outfit before being not-so-kindly escorted to a jail cell that was already occupied.

You had been given no information about her, but just looking at her you hoped to God that she didn’t know you. She was covered in gang tattoos and despite actually being shorter than you, you got very little comfort from this. When you sat down on your cot you just stared at the floor in front of you, and prayed that you got out of here quickly. You’re almost grateful that you’re instructed to change and get ready to work in the yard a little later. The silence is tense and you would love to escape it for the silence outside. You end up doing the only yard job that there really is at the moment. Despite hating yard work, you pull weeds like it’s the most fun you’d had all day. Honestly it was the most fun you’d had in almost two days. Miraculously shower time goes fine, albeit uncomfortable, no one tries to assault you which you’re grateful for. You feel self-conscious of your body, and you try to shower as quickly as possible. You stay turned toward a wall so you can’t see anyone looking your way as you try not to think about the scars that litter your body. You have so many at this point that you don’t remember what they all came from. Work certainly, but you stopped keeping track after the first 6. You’ve been shot a couple of times and cut more than that. It was just another reason why you’d like to leave your job for good. You’re not sure how much more abuse your body could take.

Lying down at the end of the day was a relief you didn’t think you’d really needed. The moment your head hit your pillow, you remembered that you hadn’t slept the night before. You were exhausted, and despite the somewhat intimidating presence in the cell you’re able to fall asleep easily. The rest of Wanda’s day had been relatively uneventful. She’d spent the night watching sitcoms and cuddling with her dogs and occasionally bickering with her brother. He’d wanted to go out and get food, but he hadn’t wanted her to leave, so they both just ended up pouting for the night before they went to bed. Wanda had decided to let one of the dogs sleep with her, not on the bed, but in the bedroom and this quickly became two. She should have known better than to try to leave Boone out. He’d practically howled when Wanda tried to shut the door in his face, and Rogue had just panted happily as he settled at the end of the bed. Now, as Wanda wakes up to the sound of her phone ringing when it’s still way too early to be up, she realizes that at least one of the dogs is on the bed with her.

“Bad dog. Get off the bed.” Unsurprisingly, they don’t listen, but Wanda’s more concerned about making her phone stop ringing to worry about that right now. She’s barely awake enough to find it let alone see what the screen says, so she just allows muscle memory to answer the call.

“Hello?” Wanda shifts to get a little more comfortable as she tries to figure out which dog snuck onto the bed with her. She sees black and brown fur in the dim light of her phone and she realizes it’s Rogue. She’s about to try and urge him to get off, but the voice she hears makes her start in surprise. “Wanda? Sorry to call you so early, but there’s been a break in at the restaurant.” Maria had been sleeping when she received a call from the security company that monitored the restaurant. Apparently, the alarm had been set off and an intruder was spotted on the premises. It sounded like they moved some things and took a couple, but nothing major had happened. Nothing valuable was stolen from what they could tell, but they’d called the police to follow procedure. Maria had been called since she was listed as the primary contact while Wanda was only working part time, but she’d of course called Wanda. The brunette is already getting out of bed to get dressed because she can’t help but wonder what the hell was going on. Did this have something to do with you, or was this just a random occurrence that happened to coincide with your shitshow? Wanda had learned to not believe in coincidences since meeting you, and she was already trying to figure out how to get there right now. Checking her phone, she realized it was only 5 in the morning. Later than she thought, but still too early to leave the house. She had to either wake up her brother or take care of Natalya before she left, and she wasn’t sure which sounded more unappealing. Delay her arrival at her restaurant or have to wake up her brother who would certainly be grumpy? Her decision is taken from her when she arrives to the kitchen and starts to warm a bottle for Natalya before going to check on her. She’d told Maria that she would be there as soon as possible. Apparently, she had just arrived and the cops were only just getting there as well. Wanda turns to go to the nursery when she sees Steve standing in the hallway like a creeper. She gasps, and a hand flies to her chest as she jumps in surprise. Neither of the dogs had followed her out here, but one of them sticks their head out the door to see what the commotion is about. Steve shoots her an apologetic look that quickly becomes questioning as he tries to figure out why Wanda was up so early. “What’s going on? It’s a little early.” Wanda just groans in agreement before she motions for Steve to follow her to the nursery. She’d rather talk in there so she doesn’t wake up her brother. She waits until they’re inside before explaining what’s happened and Steve has a dreaded feeling that he’s going to be leaving with her soon. “Maria called. There’s been a break in at the restaurant. The cops are there and everything.” Steve considers this just like Wanda had and he comes to a similar conclusion. He knows that if Wanda’s going to check on things he has to go with her. As Wanda picks up her daughter and gently starts to rock her awake, he realizes that she needs to bring her as well. He’s about to ask about this when he hears whining from outside the door. Wanda beats him to it though and she goes to open it and check on the bottle she’d left in the kitchen. “Hey, bud. Sorry, we were waking up your sister.” Rogue sticks his nose up and sniffs her briefly before heading toward the kitchen. He probably thinks it’s time for his breakfast as well. She supposes she can feed him a little earlier than usual. The sound of metal bowls being filled with food cause Boone to come running out of the bedroom and toward his breakfast. Steve had offered to hold Natalya while Wanda goes to let the other dogs out for food as well. She smiled before handing her daughter over to her uncle. “Boys, slow down you’re going to vomit.” Wanda just rolls her eyes as she’s completely ignored, and she hears someone hacking only a few seconds later. She turns her attention back to Nat and Steve and she asks what she knows he’s already considered. She doesn’t want to take Nat out immediately when it’s still barely light outside and her daughter should be sleeping. She figures that Steve’s going to accompany her to the restaurant whether she likes it or not, so she won’t even bother telling him to stay behind. “Maybe Pietro can watch her while they both wake up, and then bring her to the restaurant later? I’m not sure how long this will take.” So that’s what they ended up doing. Wanda had been brave and knocked on her brother’s door and opens it when she hears him groan in response. She was bouncing Natalya who wasn’t quite hungry yet because she’d rather sleep more. Understandable. “Pietro?” Another groan is what she gets as a response, so Wanda decides to get to the point. She tells him what’s happened and by the time she asks him to watch Natalya, he’s sitting up with a yawn.

“She hasn’t eaten yet, but there’s a bottle ready for her on the counter for later. You can come meet us if we end up being there longer than an hour or two. I’ll even make you breakfast.” After handing her daughter off and quickly getting ready, she and Steve head for the restaurant. She calls Maria again to get an update, only for her to be talking to the police. She listens in and makes sure that the police know that she’s there as well. She asks Steve to drive faster and they make it there in record time to find Maria and a couple of officers sitting in the dining room. Wanda hurries to hug the older woman while trying to figure out what was left for her to do. Wanda watches as Steve begins to wander around before she sits down next to Maria. “I’m Wanda Maximoff, the owner of this restaurant. What can you tell me about what happened here?” One of the officers is clearly nicer than the other and he explains everything that he’d already gone over with Maria. He tells her how the security company would send over the available footage to the police and they would see if there is a good enough image of the thief. Wanda smiles at the prospect of catching someone on film, but she can’t say she’s too optimistic. She’s also a little preoccupied with what they’d want from her anyway, other than money the only valuable items in the restaurant were all of the appliances. She turns to the other cop who’s still watching Steve suspiciously, but she doesn’t pay him any mind at the moment. “Do you think they left any evidence, finger prints or anything like that?” When she’s told that they were wearing gloves, she realizes there’s nothing more the police can do other than wait at this time. The person had arrived in the dark and cameras show them walking down the street until they disappeared from sight. Wanda’s not super optimistic about this, but she’s at least glad that nothing worse has happened. As long as no one was hurt and nothing too expensive was stolen, she’ll call it a win. “Okay, thank you, officers. I assume you’ll be in touch?” Once they’re gone Wanda turns to Maria and wraps an arm around her shoulder. She can tell that the older woman is shaken even if she won’t admit it. She decides that the best thing to do is try to reassure them both that everything is fine. Maybe they’ll run through the kitchen and the back to make sure nothing else is amiss. “Are you alright? I know this is a little scary.” Maria has to admit that she’s a little spooked by the whole thing. Since starting here with Wanda back in the day, there had only been a couple of incidents at the restaurant. The first was when they were opening and someone had shouted a slur at them before throwing a bottle through their front window. The second time was a year after opening and it had been a robbery that cleaned them out of the day’s tips. Maria had been here alone after hours counting when someone broke in and robbed her at gunpoint. Since then, nothing had happened due to their better security system, and their policy on keeping all cash in a safe in the locked back office. Wanda wasn’t open about it at all, but Maria had seen enough over the years to realize that you might have something to do with the decreased amount of crime that affected the restaurant. Despite not being legally connected to it in any way, all of the papers were in Wanda and Pietro’s names, Maria knew that you made sure that things ran smoothly here. You kept criminals away from the entire block and although she had no idea how you accomplished this, she’d say that being one of the top criminals in the city probably had something to do with it. It was hard to not figure this out when Wanda had come to her not long after meeting you. She didn’t have anyone to talk to about you since her brother was not a fan of yours and she hadn’t made many friends at this point. So Wanda had come to her to ask for advice about potentially dating someone like you. She’d let it slip that you weren’t on the right side of the law, and understandably she had a lot of reservations about this. Maria did too, but as she saw how much happier Wanda got each time she saw or spoke of you, she realized that it might not be as big of an issue as she thought. At the very least, you might prove to be worth it. Then you’d started drinking too much and Wanda’s mood had begun to tank with each bender you had. It had been a difficult couple of years and Maria was actually still surprised to this day that Wanda had stuck around. She’d known earlier that she wanted to get married and have a family with someone that would support her decision to work at a place that she loved for as long as she wanted to. You had seemed to be on board, but your own life was a bit of a mess.

Maria had tried to get Wanda to reconsider her relationship when things got so bad that Wanda was miserable most of the time. She’d been reluctant to leave you especially when things were so tumultuous, and once you started to make progress, she decided that she would commit to you fully. “It’s just been a while since this has happened. I’m glad I wasn’t here for this one.” Wanda smiles at her friend before helping her to her feet. She looks over her shoulder to see that Steve’s finished his own sweep before deciding that they could all at least use some coffee. “I’m very grateful that you weren’t. How about we get some coffee and maybe something to eat? I did promise to bribe Pietro with food, and he’s going to bring Natalya by soon.” Wanda and Maria head for the kitchen that’s already lit up from the police and then Steve looking through it. Wanda starts the coffee as she glances around to see if anything is obviously missing. It honestly takes her a minute to find that anything is misplaced until she opens up one of the cupboards looking for coffee mugs. They’re all there, but there’s something else in there that catches her eye. “Have you seen this before?” Maria turns away from the coffee machine to see that Wanda’s holding up what looked like an engagement ring. Both Steve and Maria are frowning in confusion and Maria shrugs before she reaches out to take a better look at it. It’s pretty, if a little dated, but either way she doesn’t recognize it and has no idea where it came from. Wanda watches as she puts it on the counter before offering to take one of the mugs as the coffee began to brew. “We’ll ask the kids later.”

The second day you spent out in the prison yard was much worse than the first. Not only was it ridiculously hot outside and you were sweating profusely, but your cellmate apparently did know who you were, and she’d woken you up by trying to smother you. After throwing her off of you and kicking her until the guards came to pull you apart, you’d been denied breakfast and told to get to work. Now you were hungry, grumpy and slightly sore from bending over for so long. You’re piling your weeds together and throwing them in your bag when you hear someone walk toward you. You’re sure it’s not another inmate because you’d been told to steer clear from them which is why you were on the side of the yard with the prickly weeds while they dealt with the clover. “Y/L/N. A friend is on the phone for you.” Pietro stifled another yawn as he drove his niece to breakfast. At least he thought he remembered his sister saying that she’d cook for him. He couldn’t be 100% sure. The only things he really heard were ‘break in at the restaurant’ and ‘feed Natalya’ everything else got lost in his sleep-addled brain. He pulls into the parking lot slowly and turns around to face Natalya where she’s starting to wiggle impatiently.

“Ready to go see your second favorite Maximoff?” When Pietro walks into the restaurant he immediately smells his sister’s cooking and he smiles widely. Everyone’s in the kitchen so Pietro doesn’t waste anytime heading there. Steve’s standing by the door drinking coffee while he watches Maria and Wanda cook together. From the looks of it they’re almost done, and they both turn at the sound of the door opening. “There she is! Wanda, here take over.” Wanda just rolls her eyes but does as she’s told as Maria wipes her hands on her apron before grabbing a cup and pouring some coffee into it. “Here, I’ll trade you.” Pietro would be ashamed of how quickly he gives up Natalya if anyone reminds him of this later, but for now he just needs caffeine and whatever the duo had been cooking. He watches as his sister continues to stir the food with a stifled yawn. She reaches for her coffee only to find it empty and she frowns. Pietro stops short of grabbing plates when he sees this and he changes direction to grab the coffee pot. “So it doesn’t look like anything was stolen.” Wanda sighs as she shrugs before leaning over to kiss Natalya’s cheek as Maria walks her over. She’s definitely more awake now and Wanda’s already thinking about how squirmy she’ll be when they sit down to eat. Pietro pours her more coffee before grabbing plates to set beside the stove. “Not that I can tell, and they might have left a ring?” Wanda points toward the ring that Pietro just noticed was sitting on the counter beside the carton of eggs. He picks it up and squints in confusion before setting it down as he shoots his sister a look. “It’s not yours?” Wanda shakes her head before holding up her left hand to show her rings. She just laughs as her brother waves her off before walking over to Steve with a yawn. He’ll need about three more cups of coffee to make up for his lost sleep. “Anything else?” Wanda just shakes her head as she plates the food from the pan and turns off the stove. Pietro smiles at this and makes a point of leaning in to look at breakfast. He’s surprised his stomach isn’t growling. “That’s all for me, right sestra? You’re going to make everyone else more?” Wanda sighs in defeat but she decides to humor her brother at least a little bit because he did wake up at the crack of dawn for her. He’s also been helping out a lot lately which he usually did, so she supposes she’s just grateful for him. Especially for the fact that he seems serious about trying to be nicer to you. She turns back on the stove and grabs the squeeze bottle of oil she’d been using. “Alright, Pietro. For you I’ll do it.” When Wanda realizes that the bottle she’d grabbed was empty, she just sighs inaudibly before grabbing the second one. She’s starting to get a little tired now that the adrenaline of this morning’s phone call had started to wear off. She was still worried and curious about what happened, but she’s also thinking about you. You’ve spent too many nights in jail and it was almost the 48-hour mark. Hopefully you’d be freed soon. Wanda is still thinking about this as she tilts the bottle over the pan to drizzle the oil. She realizes that something’s not right as soon as it comes pouring out, and the smell tips her off only milliseconds before the liquid touches the pan. Pietro and Steve are standing by the door, and Maria has Natalya near the fridge when the stove is engulfed in flames. Pietro drops his mug and Steve jumps into action when Wanda screams and falls back away from the stove. Maria hands Nat to Pietro before quickly grabbing a towel to put out the flames. “Wanda!” “Out of the way, out of the way!” She’d thrown her arms up as soon as she saw the flames, but she still felt heat on her face and an unbearable amount on her arms. She staggers blindly toward the sink and doesn’t even realize that her shirt is on fire until Maria’s patting her down with a towel. She hears the sink being turned on and she hisses in pain as her arms are suddenly doused in lukewarm water. “Ow, shit, shit!” “I’m going to call an ambulance.” Wanda’s no longer on fire and Steve’s smothered the fire on the stove, but even from across the room, Pietro can see how red and angry the skin on his sister’s arms looks. He pulls out his phone and dials 9-1-1 before rushing over to his sister. She has tears in her eyes and she’s shaking as she holds both arms under the water. There’s a small area of her face that’s burnt as well, but she barely notices as she tries to calm her breathing. Pietro’s speaking frantically on the phone and Steve’s grabbing the bottle that Wanda had used and sniffs it to confirm his suspicions. “It’s alcohol.” Maria’s eyes widen as she looks to the bottle that Steve’s holding. She doesn’t have time to comment before Pietro’s speaking up and reaching out for his sister. Natalya is starting to get fussy and she tries to reach out for her mom, but she’s a little preoccupied so she starts to cry. Pietro bounces her while he does his best to keep both mom and daughter calm. “An ambulance is on the way, Wands. Just hold on.” You hadn’t realized how late it had gotten until you walk into the building and catch a glimpse of a clock. It’s almost lunchtime and you’re hoping that you get to eat. You follow behind the bored looking guard with a silent groan, and you’re still thinking about what you’ll get for lunch today when you arrive to the phones. You sit down at the little cubicle that he points to and you smile and grab the phone to talk to Gavin. “Gavin, please tell me you have good news.” After Wanda was rushed to the hospital, the police were called again and they returned to do a more thorough investigation while the fire department made sure that nothing mechanical caused the fire. Despite keeping the bottle of alcohol for them to see, they had wanted to double check which made Maria angrier than Pietro had ever seen her. Steve had ridden in the ambulance with Wanda and Pietro was prepared to follow her when Maria mentioned calling you. You were in jail and probably wouldn’t be out today, but you deserved to know about what happened. If you found out that you weren’t told fairly shortly after it happened, you’d be furious. Pietro agreed that you’d be called, but he wanted a little more information first. He wanted his sister to get examined and treated before he tried to field your many questions. Somehow Bucky had gotten the honor of calling you after arriving to the hospital to meet Steve once Wanda was triaged. She was in a lot of pain, but she was seen fairly quickly given how early it was in the day. She’d suffered second-degree burns on her arms, her right being the most extensive, and a small one on her chin. She was currently lying in a bed in triage trying to find a way to comfortably lay her arms down in her lap. Pietro arrives soon after, but since he can’t bring Natalya back to see Wanda, he switches places with Bucky. However, before Bucky can leave, Wanda starts to cry which stops him cold. He exchanges a worried look with Steve who just decides he’ll do whatever Wanda asks of him. He doesn’t realize how difficult of an ask it is until Wanda tells him what she wants. “S-someone needs to call, Y/n.” That’s how Bucky found himself outside near the ER entrance with Natalya. He can tell that she’s upset and he wished that Wanda could hold her and calm her down. Unfortunately, he was the best she was going to get for a while. “Gavin, please tell me you have good news.” This nearly makes Bucky want to hang up but he takes a deep breath before turning toward the parking lot as an ambulance comes roaring up the road. Maybe this wasn’t the best place to make the call. You clearly hear the sirens and you’re sitting up a little in your seat in surprise. “Hello? Gavin?” Bucky heads back inside because he can’t hear what you’re saying and you undoubtedly won’t hear him. He tries unsuccessfully to hush Nat who begins to squirm again as he walks down a hall to nowhere in particular. “It’s Bucky. Y/n there was an accident at the restaurant this morning. Wanda’s okay, but she’s in the ER after getting pretty badly burnt.” You’re not sure how long you sit in silence after Bucky breaks the news. He didn’t ease into it which was fine with you because anticipation was already killing you when you heard the ambulance in the background. Hearing that Wanda was at the restaurant already hadn’t surprised you too much, but she certainly would have taken Nat with her, and if there was a fire… “W-what happened? Is Nat, okay?” You listen in horror as Bucky tells you about how Wanda was with her brother, Steve, Maria and Natalya in the restaurant this morning making breakfast when it literally went up in flames. There’d been a break in last night and your wife had gone in to check on things and she’d brought her entourage. Everything had appeared fine and not much if anything was stolen. However, while cooking, Wanda had picked up a bottle that had been switched out with alcohol and poured that unknowingly on a hot pan. “Wanda’s the only one who was hurt, but the fire department’s there now speaking with Maria and they’re doing a more thorough investigation.” You run your hand through your hair with a groan at the thought of something like this happening. First the massacre at the docks, and now this? Someone wasn’t just targeting you. They were targeting your friends, your family, and you were just sitting in jail thinking about lunch. “Fuck. Do they have any idea who was behind it? Did they catch anyone on camera?” Bucky mentions what the police had said and that the security company was on it. He wasn’t sure how long it would take, but he promised to tell you as soon as he had anything useful. You are still in shock as you just nod absentmindedly. You want to get out of here and see your wife. You want to hold her and promise that you’ll make whoever did this to her pay. “I can have Gavin reach out.” You nod in agreement because as much as it would be nice to see another familiar face, you wanted Bucky and Steve to stay with Wanda and Nat. Especially now that Wanda was hurt. “Thank you. Once Wanda’s out of the hospital, can you make sure she goes home and stays there?” Bucky’s already nodding because although he had things to do today, more after this happened, he was going to make sure Steve got the message. There was no way that they’d let something like this happen again. They would keep her in the penthouse until you were released and then maybe even after. “Of course.” You sigh in exhaustion before realizing that you need to call Gavin. You need to figure out if you’re getting out of here. Instead of focusing on that right now you decide to ask Bucky for another favor. “Can I talk to her, Bucky? Is she awake?” Bucky stops in his tracks before turning around and heading back the way he came. Nat had just started to settle a little and he hoped that passing her off to Steve wouldn’t upset her too much. He’s already nodding as he pulls the phone away from his ear and goes to his texts. “Sure, let me text Steve so he can watch Little Nat.” A couple of minutes later, Bucky is back by Wanda’s bedside and he frowns when he sees how uncomfortable she still looks. They’d put the IV for her medication and fluids in her hand and she probably doesn’t want to move her arms much at all. He decides that he’s going to have to hold the phone for her. “Wanda, Y/n wants to talk to you.” Wanda sits up quickly with a pained hiss but she ignores the way her arms ache as she reaches for the phone. Doing so tugs at her IV and its starts to beep so Wanda just drops her arms and shoots her friend a questioning look. He just nods and circles the bed to hold his phone to her ear. “Thank you, Bucky” Wanda takes a deep breath before she speaks up and she has to keep herself from crying at the sound of your voice. It had only been a couple of days, but she missed you so much. “Detka?” You sigh in relief when you hear Wanda’s voice come through the phone. You lean into the table in front of you as if it will help you get closer to your wife and you smile widely. You hate that you can’t be with her right now. “Wands, how are you doing? How do you feel? Are you in a lot of pain?” Wanda can’t help but smile at your obvious concern, your borderline panic and despite how poorly she feels at the moment she doesn’t want to worry you too much. She only briefly glances at her friend and brother before shaking her head in response to your question.

“I’m okay, Y/n. It’s stings more than it hurts, but it felt pretty horrible when it happened.” You don’t doubt this and you’re not sure how you would have fared being burnt like this. You don’t want to think about it because you’d rather focus on your wife. The fact that your mind keeps imagining Wanda in her kitchen cooking one second and then being overwhelmed by fire the next makes you break out into a cold sweat. “I’m so sorry that happened to you, Wanda. I’m so glad you’re okay though.” Wanda shifts a little on the bed and can’t stop herself from wincing at the movement. Her arms ache and looking at them makes her feel worse. She hadn’t asked because she didn’t want to seem vain, but she also felt self-conscious of the fact that she could be scarred from her injuries. They were pretty extensive and she was already worried about how they would heal. She’d been told how to continue treating them at home with regular bandage changes for 5 to 7 days before keeping them uncovered. She could take over the counter pain medications, but the doctor had recommended taking home some oxy. She’d immediately rejected that option because she didn’t want opioids. She was understandably averse to addiction. “Me too. I miss you though.” You wipe your eyes with a frustrated scowl. You’re annoyed by how emotional you’re getting, but you can’t help it. You’ve been in prison for two days now and you missed your family and you were stressed about the chaos that was happening in your absence. You knew your time was coming to an end for both this call and for being in jail, but one couldn’t come quickly enough. You sigh in defeat before you return your wife’s sentiment. “I miss you too, Wands. I’ll be home soon, and then I promise we’ll figure out who did this.” Wanda nods in understanding and she slowly lifts her hand to wipe her eyes. She’s crying and she’s afraid you can tell when she sniffles quietly before responding. “Good. I love you, detka.” When you hear the guard clear his throat behind you to remind you of your limited time remaining you decide that your next call will be to your lawyer. “I love you too, stay safe until I get home, okay? I’ll see you soon.” Wanda promises to do this and she waits until you hang up before she looks to Bucky with a grateful smile. He puts up his phone before deciding to see if he missed anything while he was with Natalya. “How long do they want to keep you here for?” He’s mostly asking so he can make sure things are taken care of for her at home. The dogs should be fine, but he should maybe have someone go shopping for her so she doesn’t have to worry about that. She might not want to cook for a while which is understandable, so he’ll make sure they pick up something that’s already prepared. Wanda looks to her brother for this answer because he had been paying more attention than she was. She was studiously trying to ignore her pain at that time and that included not listening to someone talk about it. She’s regretting it a little bit because she wishes she could go home sooner rather than later, but she feels very unprepared for it. It’s just occurred to her that she will need more help taking care of Natalya until her arms feel better. The idea of picking up her daughter right now makes her cringe in pain. “They wanted her to stay for at least the day. If she’s feeling better, or at least not worse by then they’ll send her home with meds and more meds.” Wanda sighs at the thought but she doesn’t protest. She looks to her arms that are covered in bandages that make her itchy. She wonders if she’ll be sent home with this or if she’ll need to go out and buy it. These thoughts are cut short by Bucky’s phone beeping signaling a text message. He reads it quickly before deciding that he he’s going to head out now. “Okay, well one of us will take Natalya home, and Steve can stay here with you until you’re discharged. We’ll get some things arranged so you’ll be all set when you get home.” Wanda wants to argue that she doesn’t need a babysitter, but she’d already argued against a lockdown yesterday and look where she was now. She figured that she should just take the help and say thank you so she doesn’t suffer any more bodily harm. “Thank you, guys.” Yelena’s pissed when she arrives home after a long 24 hours of running around for answers. She hadn’t found out anything about the attack that she hadn’t already known. No one knew anything or they simply just weren’t telling her which was frustrating to say the least. She’d started with the others that had survived to hear what they had to say, but they’d mostly been focusing on avoiding the spray of bullets like her so they had no leads. She knew it was near impossible for a group of that size to ride in, shoot up everything, and then disappear without a trace. She’d retraced her steps and then gone down multiple possible routes to see if any of the businesses on these streets had cameras with a view of the roads. It proved fruitless, and Yelena was in the mood to punch something and throw back a couple bottles when she finally sat down to rest. Her leg didn’t hurt too much as she ambled through her front door that was opened for some reason. She was immediately greeted by her three dogs and she smiled widely as she reached out for them. This smile was short lived as she heard someone shriek from upstairs, and almost immediately after there were loud, heavy footsteps on the stairs. “Yelena! Is that you!?” The blonde looks up at her fiancée prepared to respond with a sarcastic remark, but she’s cut off by a swift slap to the face. She curses under her breath before turning to glare at the brunette who’s breathing heavily from her run down here. Yelena’s about to complain but Kate beats her to it, and when the blonde spots movement out of the corner of her eye in the kitchen she realizes she really is in trouble. “Where the hell have you been!? You can’t just disappear after you’ve been shot!” Kate slaps her again, but not as hard this time and Yelena holds up her hands in defeat as she shies away behind one of her rotties, Rose. “I was trying to figure out what fucker shot me, but there’s nothing! No trace of them.” At this point, Nat’s come to stand a few feet behind Kate with her hands on her hips and a pissed look. Yelena avoids it like the plague as she shuts the door behind her so the dogs don’t escape before she shakes her head in anticipation of the next question that one or both of them are going to ask. “I’m fine by the way. Barely limping after all the walking I’ve done.” Yelena realizes quickly that this is not what she should have said because Kate somehow looks even angrier. She contemplates slapping her fiancée again but she knows it won’t do anything but annoy her, so she does the next best thing and storms off. She heads toward the kitchen for a drink figuring that a couple of hours or more of the silent treatment will be a good start to the blonde’s punishment.

Nat’s still glaring at her sister as she takes a couple of steps toward her to close the distance. Yelena doesn’t even flinch because she knows that her sister isn’t likely to hit her like Kate. The brunette usually reserved the right to knock sense into her. Fiancée and all. “We could and did do that for you, Yelena. We found nothing, but a lot happened while you were gone. You really shouldn’t have gone dark on us.” Yelena frowns at the thought of something else happening while she was gone. She wants to say she would have heard about it, but she was a little preoccupied and she’d silenced her phone after the first 12 times Kate called her. She tilts her head slightly as she steps away from the door to glance into the kitchen. Kate’s preparing dinner with a deep scowl. She was fucked. “What happened while I was gone?” By the time dinner rolls around, you’re so anxious that you’d isolated yourself and barely eaten a bite. You can’t stop thinking about what happened to your wife, and more importantly what could be next. You hope that she’s able to go home soon, you’d feel better if she was there so she can relax and be better protected. You knew Steve would watch her and keep her in the house, but you still couldn’t stop your mind from running wild. The thought of something else happening made you want to run for the nearest exit and keep running until you found a way out. Despite how impossible this would be, you kept looking around you as you stabbed something on your tray. You’re not even sure what it is. “Y/L/N. Your lawyer’s here.” You spin around so quickly you nearly fall out of your seat, but you don’t even care. You stand up grabbing your tray and trashing it before following the guard. You aren’t sure what Gavin has to tell you, but you hope it’s good news. Gavin shifts slightly in his chair as he looks back to the photograph in his hand. He’s convinced the guards to let him bring this in here because it was the only clue they had about what was going on. The only evidence from any of the three incidences that could point toward who was responsible. He passed the photo to his other hand as he waited for you to arrive. He was told it’s dinner time, but he’d wanted to come here as soon as he’d received this. He was sure you’d forgive him for interrupting your dinner if this proved fruitful. He's still staring at the picture wondering who it could be when the door opens and you’re in front of him. He temporarily forgets what he wanted to show you as he takes in your appearance. You’d only been here for a couple of days, but you looked exhausted. He figured your stress was understandable given what had happened to Wanda this morning. Honestly that was another reason why he was here so late. He wanted to give you the good news that you were going to be released tomorrow. He tried to pull strings to get it done tonight, but he’d been given a bullshit answer about abiding by a set schedule for releasing inmates. Since Wanda was sent home from the hospital a bit ago and Steve and Pietro were planning to stay with her, he figured that it wouldn’t make that much of a difference. As much as he’s sure you want to see your wife, one last night hopefully won’t break you. “Gavin. Please tell me I’m getting out of here. Or at least that you have something for me.” Gavin doesn’t realize what you’re talking about at first, but the only thing he has for you is the picture. Wanda hadn’t been in the right mind to give him more of your meds. She was drugged up herself and she apparently immediately went to sleep. He watches as you move to sit down in front of him, just noticing that he was holding something in his hands. He decides to get to the point because he really should let you go back to dinner. “I do. Two things actually.”

Gavin tells you about how you’re getting out of here tomorrow morning, first thing. You smile widely and quite possibly for the first time since you spoke with your wife. You honestly don’t think that he could have given you better news than this, and you’re tempted to hug him. You’re sure it’s against the rules, but you don’t care. You are considering standing back up to do it when he holds up something, a picture in his hand and speaks up. What he says makes you stop and you have to remind yourself that it would be rude to reach over and grab the photo from his hand. “Also, I spoke with the security company, and they got a shot of the person who broke into the restaurant this morning.” Time seems to slow as Gavin flips the photo around and slides it toward you. You look down at it and see someone who’s wearing a hoodie, a pair of sunglasses, and a wide smile. You realize that she’s brunette because some of her hair peeks out from under her hood, but it’s the smile that does it for you. You feel your entire body stiffen as you realize who this is, and that she’s here in your city. She was in your wife’s restaurant. She’s found you. Wanda was asleep by the time that Natasha came by with some food for her. She was mostly checking in on her, but she figured she wouldn’t be cooking herself dinner so she picked up something on the way. She arrives a little after 7 and finds both Steve and Pietro in the living room with Natalya on the ground asleep. She was actually sleeping mostly on one of her shepherds, and with her thumb in her mouth she looked like the cutest thing. Natasha had to remind herself who she was here for, and that pictures would have to wait. She sets the dish on the counter before looking between the two tired men. “How’s everyone doing?” A loaded question if they’d ever heard one. Pietro groans under his breath as he looks to his niece who really does look precious. He’s glad that she’s sleeping because she’d had a long day of being out of the house. She hadn’t spent so much time away from Wanda in a while and she’d had another crying fit on the way home when Wanda couldn’t hold her. She was in too much pain and she’d also been so drugged that she was afraid of dropping her. “Well, Little Nat and Wanda are asleep, but here we are. Is Yelena, okay?’ Nat can only shrug at this because she can’t be sure at this time. She doesn’t want to get into it with them because they have their own thing going on. They don’t need to know that Yelena skipped out and disappeared for a day. “We’ll have to see. She’s with Kate, probably being ordered to rest. I heard that we had good news?” Bucky had told her most of it so far, but she wanted to hear what Pietro and Steve had to say about it. She’d seen the photo on Bucky’s phone, but she hadn’t recognized the brunette either. She figured that these two didn’t know her either, but she moves to sit beside Steve as he shakes his head. “We caught a face on camera, but they’re still trying to match it. We have no idea who she is.” Pietro nods in agreement. He hadn’t expected to recognize who it was, but it was still a little disappointing. He’s just glad to be out of the hospital and at least sitting down on something comfortable. He’d love to go to sleep, but he feels the need to stay up in case his sister needs anything. He doesn’t realize that she’ll likely be out until morning, maybe longer given the drugs she’s on. He sighs as he sits back and tries to get more comfortable as he stifles a yawn. “Yeah, and Y/n will be getting out of prison first thing tomorrow. We’ll pick her up at 9.” Nat smiles at the good news and she sighs in relief as she considers how your time in prison may have gone. She feels bad for not reaching out to you, but she’d hoped to see you a little sooner than this. She’s glad that Gavin is able to visit you, and the justice system isn’t doing too much to fuck you over at the moment. She was still terrified that they wouldn’t let you out. She hangs out for a little while to catch up, and she’s almost on her way out to let the boys relax when she realizes they’re almost asleep already. She considers what else she has to do tonight before deciding that it wouldn’t hurt to delay it for a bit. “How about you two try and get some rest? I’ll watch over things for a bit.” You don’t realize you’re sweating until you reach for the photo with clammy hands. You haven’t said a word and Gavin is a little worried by how stricken you look. He supposes it would be useless to ask if you recognized the woman, and he tries to figure out how to break the silence. You’re still lost in your horrifying thoughts of your abusive ex when Gavin finally speaks up. Your head snaps up and you watch as he shoots you a questioning look. “What would you like me to tell your family?” You don’t respond immediately because you’re stuck thinking about how you’re going to have to tell everyone, at the very least Wanda about this. You’d kept this secret to yourself for so many years, and you still weren’t really ready to talk about it. Somehow over the years, during all of your drunken benders, you’d never mentioned the woman to anyone. You were certain that everyone would be a little taken aback to hear about how you really ended up in Chicago all those years ago. “Please tell them that they all need to be careful. Things are going to get worse if we don’t find her.” Gavin doesn’t like the sound of this at all. He can tell that he’s about to lose you because you keep staring at the photo and getting a haunted look on your face. Although it’s not strictly necessary, he knows that everyone will ask so he figures he should try to have an answer for them. He’s not sure that what you tell him is of any real use though. “Who is she, Y/n?” You can’t bring yourself to answer him immediately. You open your mouth to respond but your breath catches in your throat. You haven’t said her name in nearly 13 years. You’d gotten around saying it during therapy despite talking about her a lot. You have to squeeze your eyes shut to keep yourself from panicking as you take a deep breath. You really never thought you’d have to say her name again. Not even after having that dream last week. “Her name is Hela. If you can remember me at my worst? She’s on a whole different level.”

Masterlist

[joes-sha-la-la-la-girl]

Love Bites: Chapter 11

Series Masterlist

It was no secret between Def Leppard and Ultraviolet that Joe and Y/N were seeing each other. They decided however, not to let members of the crew find out, mostly to protect Y/N’s reputation as she was still technically with Doug. 

The two of them spent every moment they could together, Joe even went on Ultraviolet’s tour bus a few times. When he was there, Tammy noticed the difference in her best friend’s behaviour, Y/N was more outgoing and confident around Joe. Everyone could see it.

However, Y/N had been so caught up in Joe that she had forgotten to call Doug in days. She was dreading the next phone call to him, having to pretend that everything was okay between them and that she wasn’t seeing Joe. Doug was already suspicious that Y/N was cheating on him and she had no idea how to hide that she was.

When they finally stopped at the next venue, Y/N decided to bite the bullet and call Doug.

“Where are you off to love?” Joe asked as Y/N wiggled her way out of his arms.

“I have to call Doug.”

Joe smiled sadly at her. “Do you want me to come with you?”

“I would say yes but I can’t let him know that I am with you and when you’re around I can’t stop smiling. He’ll hear it in my voice.” Y/N told him.

“Okay sweetheart. You know where I am.” Joe gave her hand a squeeze before letting go of her so she could call Doug. 

When Y/N dialled the familiar number, she was met with the answer phone. It was a bit of a shock to her because she didn’t realise that they had one, but she just shrugged it off that Doug had gotten one so he wouldn’t miss calls when he was out. Y/N left a short message on the phone before hanging up and returning to Joe.

“That was quick.” Joe spoke as he accepted her back into his hold.

“No answer.” She told him plainly before leaning up to peck his lips. Joe deepened the kiss, pulling her close to him by her waist. However, they were interrupted by mock gagging.

“My poor innocent eyes.” Phil joked covering his face and pretending to bump into things. Steve followed behind with uncontrollable laughter.

“There’s nothing innocent about your eyes Phillip.” Joe told him, slightly annoyed that they had been interrupted. Phil just looked at him in mock offence before he too burst out laughing. The two guitarists then left the room, off to who knows where, leaving Joe and Y/N alone again.

“We best get ready.” Y/N whispered as Joe moved to connect their lips again.

“Yeah, in a minute.” Joe then moved forward to kiss her again before eventually pulling away. “I’ll see you in a little while.”

*

A few days later they were in California. The one thing Y/N found about touring was that she was always so tired after spending nights on the bus. Nothing could take her excitement away, but she looked forward to the times she could spend either in a hotel or naps backstage if they arrived early.

California was better than Y/N could’ve imagined, Apparently Johnny was excited too because much like on the plane to America, he hadn’t shut up. Y/N wished that she could’ve joined Def Leppard on their bus just to get away from the over excited drummer. Their first Californian show was in Irvine. They were performing there for two nights before going to San Diego. 

Y/N still hadn’t managed to get a hold of Doug. She had tried to work out time zones so that she wouldn’t end up calling when he was asleep or at work but she could never seem to catch him. It wasn’t until after their first show in Irvine that she found out why.

Once Ultraviolet finished their set, like always they showered up and went back to watch Def Leppard perform. Y/N felt off for some reason. She felt like there was something different about this particular show compared to all the ones they had done before. It wasn’t until Gavin came around the corner that she realised what. 

“Look who I found.” The Ultraviolet manager announced unenthusiastically.

“Hello Y/N.”

*

Tammy had kindly said that she would tell everyone where Y/N had gone whilst she went to talk to Doug. 

“What are you doing here?” Y/N asked, obviously annoyed with her boyfriend’s presence.

“What, you're not happy to see me?” Doug asked with a smug grin on his face. He knew that Y/N didn’t want him on tour and he took much joy in the fact that he had given her no choice.

“How did you even know we were performing here tonight?”

“Well a guy from work mentioned about how his cousin had tickets to the first show in California so I booked a few days off of work and got last minute tickets. Though you should probably refund me, being your boyfriend and all.”

“That’s why you haven’t been answering.” Y/N said more to herself than anyone else.

“Anyway, aren’t you gonna hug me or something.”

“No. You should have told me you were coming. We have no room for an extra person. Or the money to accommodate them.”

“Not even me?” Doug asked with a faux pout.

“No. Not a single other partner has come along on tour. Not one person has invited themselves along either. What makes you so different?” 

“I need to keep an eye on you.”

“What?”

“Well it’s obvious Y/N. You don’t want me here so that you can sleep with whoever you want. I’m here to stop that from happening.”

“Is everything alright out here?” Y/N looked back and saw Joe make his way towards them. She could feel the nervous sweat pouring down her brow.

“Everything is fine. Isn’t it Y/N.” Doug wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She quickly moved away from him and closer to Joe. Not close enough though in her opinion.

“Actually it isn’t. Doug I can’t do this anymore.”

“Can’t do what?”

“This. You followed me halfway across the world to check on me, after I told you not to come. You dragged me out of a pub because you got embarrassed. You couldn’t even be happy for me when I started to get modelling jobs and that's only to name a few things.” Y/N took a deep breath. “I can’t do this anymore. We’re over.”

“You don’t get to decide that.” Doug laughed.

“Excuse me?”

“You don’t get to decide we’re over. Not after everything I’ve done for you.”

“This isn’t up for discussion Doug.”

Doug took a threatening step forward, however Joe stepped in the way. Up until that point he had kept quiet but he couldn’t let this idiot near Y/N.

“You heard her. Go.”

“Fine, I’ll go. But you're not getting anything out of my flat.” Doug tried to aggravate Y/N.

Before she could answer, Joe beckoned over security that the venue had and told them to ‘get rid’. 

“Let’s go find Tammy love.” Joe encouraged her and moved her back to the green room. 

After Def Leppard found out that Doug was there, they all gathered to wait for Y/N to come back. When her and Joe entered, Y/N immediately burst into tears in Tammy’s arms. Joe filled everyone in on everything.

“I’ll get my sister to get your stuff out of the flat before Doug gets back. Spare key still in the same place?” Tammy asked her as she passed the crying girl over to Joe so she could phone her sister. Y/N just simply nodded as she cried in Joe’s arms. 

Taglist:

@genxrocker

@elliotts-personal-property

@friccinfricks

@i-love-def-leppard

@vintagerocknrollgirl

[itisaterriblelove]

GIVING ELLE SPACE WAS PROBABLY a better idea than spending any one on one time with her. But the fucking truth was that it probably wasn’t Elle who needed the fucking space—the opposite, actually, considering the whole damn fight was about me ditching her for Tyler—it was me. Maybe I just needed to get my head on straight, because it was starting to feel like everything was turning upside down and I was helpless to do anything but watch it spin.

I don’t know what the fuck happened.

Elle and I had always had a dynamic friendship, pretty much since grade school. She’d been one of the weirder kids, and a lot of the others had made fun of her for it. But I’d thought she was fucking fascinating, even then, and not much had changed since.

It was never a sexual thing, not with Elvis. Some people were just too fucking awesome to complicate shit with sex. She was special to me, and I’d never made any qualms about admitting that. Not to her and not to anybody else, either. After years of the same, everybody seemed to understand that about us.

We’d been fine. We’d been perfect. Elle and I had been coasting on a perfectly functional relationship for years. Until recently.

I liked girls. I liked hooking up. I even liked relationships. It was fun to see how two people gelled together and what stupid shit we managed to get bent out of shape about with each other in the process. What shit eventually ended it. But the thing all of my relationships had in common? Yeah… They all fucking ended. Mostly on good terms, but me and the girl were sure as shit not best friends before or after it. And it was okay when those girls came and went. When things changed… As long as the big things stayed the fucking same. And Elvis Hirsche was one of those big things.

Which was why—without ever really talking about it—Elle and I had decided to avoid that whole fucking messy minefield. It had never needed a conversation before.

So why the fuck did I feel like it needed one now?

Maybe it was just me? Maybe I was making a bigger deal where there wasn’t one. I couldn’t be sure. It suddenly felt like I couldn’t be sure of anything where Elle was concerned.

“Gavin?” The sound of my name on her lips let me know that she’d said my name more than once while I lost myself in thought about her. Elle’s impatient face confirmed that assumption. “Am I playing this right? It sounds off?” 

I tried to listen as Elle strummed on my guitar, but all I could hear was the rushing sound of blood in my veins as I watched her bite down on her bottom lip in concentration. And it was mother-fucking distracting, to say the least.

I cleared my throat and forced my eyes away from her cute little body, bent over my guitar on the sofa in my living room. Today’s lesson had been longer than anticipated, and it was all my fault, I knew it.

“Sorry baby, do that one more time for me.” 

I had to clear my head if it was the last thing that I did. There was something off track in me when I couldn’t seem to stop thinking about how it felt to wake up with Elle curled up in my arms, with the scent of her hair pressed against my nose.

I liked my girlfriend—a lot. And I didn’t see that changing any time soon. So I really couldn’t understand where the frustration had snuck in from. 

Elle strummed the series of chords again without complaint, effectively pulling me out of myself long enough to concentrate on the music. It was a rare fucking day where music didn’t have my full attention, but apparently I was going a bit against the grain today.

She was right, actually, about something being off. But it wasn’t because she’d done what I showed her wrong. Quickly, I realized my own mistake. I was supposed to be teaching her a new song, but my mind was so off topic that I hadn’t even played it right for her to learn from me.

“It seems like it should go more like this…” She played in a way that better rounded the music, creating a more complete tune with barely a mistake. For a moment I could only sit in stunned silence as I processed what had just happened. It wasn’t like Elle was playing by ear—not exactly—because I was teaching her something that I wrote. And so she’d taken my mistake and fixed it, then somehow managed to make it sound even better without my input.

“Gavin?” She prodded me with her foot, lifting her face from the guitar to stare at me. One of her eyebrows arched and I realized that I had been silent for too long. “Where is your mind today?” 

“I only just taught you those chords last month!” I knew it sounded like a complaint, but I really couldn’t help myself. “Fuck, Elle! Maybe I should stop teaching you, before you become a better guitarist than me.” 

She beamed at me, all the smugness splayed across her expression, and shrugged. “Better watch your back, Gavin Porter.” Elle tapped my guitar gently and shot me a warning look. “I might be taking your spot in the band soon!” 

“Hey, hey!” I cupped my heart in mock-offense. “That’s so fucking rude.” I shook my head at her. “I thought we were starting our own band. What happened to that?” 

“Oh, yeah!” Elle actually wiggled on the sofa with my guitar in her lap, she was so excited by the thought. “I could play the bongos and we could travel in one of those campers.” 

“Now that’s the life.” I laughed at the genuine gleam of excitement in her eyes; it was hard not to take her seriously when she said outrageous things like that. I suspected she actually meant them all.

“We could live off love and a tip jar,” she announced with a sage nod of her head. 

My smile softened as I agreed with her. “Sounds good to me, baby. Sign me up.” 

She shifted, settling my guitar down next to the sofa, propped up against the end table. “What do you think we should name our band? And can I finish my fashion design degree first?” 

Yeah, okay. She was probably fucking serious. I shrugged. “You should definitely finish your degree first. Garrett and Amy would never let me hear the fucking end of it if I ran off with you and didn’t let you finish school. You know, they think I’m a bad influence on you?!”

Elle scoffed. “It’s like your parents have never met my parents before…” She shook her head, but the smile on her face gave away her actual appreciation of my parents’ assessment of our friendship. She snapped her fingers at me in the way people do when someone’s being too slow about something. “Names, bucko!” 

I blinked at her. “Uh-uh.” I shook my head. “You’re better at that stuff than me. You pick.”

She squirmed again, and I could practically see the wheels turning in her head. “I’ll have to think about it, then. And you’re not allowed to veto anything that I pick! Since you’re not contributing.” 

“Those are some steep terms, Elle.” I regarded her seriously but she didn’t even flinch. “All right, fine. But no boy band references!” I had to at least have that much assurance. “Non-negotiable.” 

She pouted at me. An honest to god, serious fucking pout that had me nervous all over again. Fuck. Everything. “Non-negotiable, baby.” I repeated, refusing to be swayed. 

I shouldn’t have been surprised when she threw herself in my lap. I mean, fucking honestly. I should have seen it coming, because this was Elle, and this was just the shit that we did. But damn.

I was on the floor, a notebook opened on the coffee table in front of me, and literally at Elle’s feet from where she sat on the sofa. And one second she was there, pouting, and the next she had launched herself onto my lap like it was no big deal.

It shouldn’t have been—it wasn’t always—but it really fucking was.

It wasn’t a sexy thing that she did. I mean, it wasn’t supposed to be… She was in some regular jeans and a hoodie and nothing fucking special, and I had held her in my arms a hundred thousand times. So it should have been run of the mill.

Except it was Elle, all warm and soft, and smelling like vanilla for some fucking reason. And when she wrapped her arms around me, all I could think about was sliding my tongue up the curve of her neck, and it was really fucking me up.

My heart started going a hundred miles an hour, which was just so fucking dumb. But I was a hundred and fucking ten percent sure she tasted better than she smelled, and all I could think about was finding out for sure. 

“I’m sorry we fought last night.” Her breath and her hair tickled along my neck, as I carefully wrapped my arms around her. “It was stupid. I hate fighting with you. I’m sorry I ruined your date.”

I tried to tell my heart to calm the fuck down but it just wouldn’t listen. I breathed, slowly in and slowly out, before even trying to respond to her. “I’m sorry I ditched you, baby. It was my fault.”

It wasn’t.

Elle had been less than gracious about Tyler from the start, and I had been pretending not to notice all along. But shit, I was noticing now.

“What's your problem with Tyler?” Elle shrugged and I felt, more than saw, her shoulders rising with it.

“I don’t know. I don’t have a problem with her?” She tipped her head back so that she could look at me. Which was a horrible fucking thing for her to do, because it just put her face that much closer to mine. If we shifted, I could have her on her back in a few seconds. Out of the hoodie, out of the shirt, just my hands on her skin. My mouth.

It was soft—Elle’s skin—and smooth and tan and taut. She’d probably let me do it, too. I thought she might.

Un-fucking-believable. I couldn’t focus for three seconds.

I swallowed and leaned my head just slightly back. It took a moment for me to get my thoughts back on track, to reorient myself to the topic of conversation. Girlfriend, right. One that Elle did not like. “I think you kind of do, Elle.” My tone wasn’t as light as I expected it to be, because my tone was usually always light. Soft, uncommitted. But at the moment everything was heavy and filled with tension. Even my vocal chords. 

Elle sighed. “I guess I’m just… jealous.” I could see the word was hard for her to push out, and it was even harder for me to hear. It caused a tightness in my chest that I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with. And I must have looked like something—I don’t fucking know what—but my face was telling Elle something that she apparently did not want to hear. I knew this when she pulled away from me and scooted onto the open space on the floor beside me. She pulled in to herself, drawing her knees up, and rested her chin against them.

I’d been uncomfortable with her right up on me, but I was fucking hating the space that she’d created once she moved.

“I mean… You have someone and I don’t.” She sort of shrugged without looking at me, and her voice had gotten smaller. That tightness in my chest increased, but I couldn’t understand exactly why.

“I think I just need a boyfriend.” At that word—boyfriend—all of my muscles tensed. Like a coiled spring, every part of me clenched together. I was fucking speechless, and breathless too.

For some reason, the idea of Elle needing a boyfriend sucked all of the air out of the room.

“I mean…” she blinked, and her big eyes zeroed back in on my cornered expression. “I spend almost all of my free time with you. And I’m practically graduated college and yet I’m still a virgin! That’s crazy, right?!” 

I couldn’t have answered her if I’d wanted to… Every fucking word in the English language had just erased from my mind.

I must have been quiet for too long, because Elle twisted her body to look at me and arched one eyebrow again. “Gavin?” She prodded my kneecap with her pointer finger. I caught her finger and tugged, encouraging her to come back to me. This time her legs straddled me on either side, and we sat there, face to face for a moment where I really wasn’t sure what I was going to do next.

I settled my hands on her hips and let out the breath that I’d been holding. “Don’t have sex with some asshole just to say you did it, Elle.” There was my voice, and it wasn’t even shaky. It was some kind of fucking miracle. “I would hate that.” The longer I looked at her—this close to my face—the surer I was that I was going to kiss her. Just fuck the consequences, I was practically desperate to feel her lips on my skin. I wasn’t proud of the realization, but I knew for sure that I wanted my tongue in her mouth.

If she moved, if she even breathed hard enough. 

“You should make sure it’s the right asshole, okay?” There was no reason for me to be whispering, except the obvious… That I was still thinking about kissing her, still deciding if I was going to do it. She nodded and it was almost my fucking breaking point.

I could push her hips to my hips, I could slide my hands underneath her shirt. She would definitely let me. I couldn’t even feel my heart, it was beating so fast.

“And you’re not allowed to spend less time with me. I’d miss you too much.” It was meant to be a joke, meant to lighten the mood and create that bit of space I really needed to break this fucking hold she had on me at the moment. But it didn’t work. When I said it, it sounded too much like flirting. And, fuck me, it sort of felt too much like flirting, too. 

“Relax, Gavin,” Elle patted my shoulder reassuringly. She leaned back, so I shifted and she stood. Thank fucking God. She ran her fingers through her hair and rolled her shoulders. “It’s not like I’m going to do the next jerk I go on a blind date with or something. I just mean maybe I should date.” 

She shrugged like it was no big deal, and maybe she was right with that. Maybe it wasn’t. 

But I still felt like something invisible had wrapped me up in a vice-grip and I couldn’t get free.

[mightyflamethrower]

consequences of illegal behavior, systemic mediocrity follows.

Under toxic National Socialism, Stalinism, and Maoism, millions of cronies and grifters mouthed party lines in hopes that their approved ideology would allow them to advance their careers and excuse their lawbreaking.

The same thing has happened with the woke movement and the now-huge Diversity/Equity/Inclusion conglomerate.

Grifters and opportunists mask their selfish agendas under the cloak of neo-Marxist care for the underprivileged or victimized minorities. Meanwhile, they seek to profit illegally as if they were old-fashioned crony capitalists.

During the disastrous COVID-19 lockdown, California governor Gavin Newsom pontificated about leveraging the quarantine to ensure greater equality: “There is opportunity for reimagining a [more] progressive era as it [relates] to capitalism…We see this as an opportunity to reshape the way we do business and how we govern.”

Meanwhile, Newsom did not seem very “progressive” when he was caught in one of California’s most expensive restaurants dining with sidekick lobbyists while violating the very mask and social distancing rules he had mandated for 40 million others.

Newsom also bragged about social equity when he signed a new California law mandating $20 an hour for fast-food workers—while many of his own employees at his various company-controlled eateries made only $16 an hour.

And he allegedly gave a unique exemption from his wage law to one particular bakery/restaurant chain, Panera, whose owner is an old friend and major campaign contributor.

Newsom apparently feels that the more progressively he postures, the less he’ll be called out for his own hypocrisy and self-interested agendas.

In another egregious case, the now-imprisoned felon, Sam Bankman-Fried, may have been the greatest con artist in American history. He siphoned billions of dollars from his cryptocurrency company, destroying the fortunes of thousands when his multi-billion-dollar Ponzi empire collapsed.

How did Sam and his two Stanford law-professor parents manage to accumulate millions of dollars in resort properties and perks without getting caught until after their empire collapsed?

Answer: Sam showered millions of dollars on left-wing politicians to advance their progressive crusades. His parents justified this family giving as a form of “effective altruism.”

That catchy phrase masked the reality that his crusade for social justice was just an incredibly effective get-rich-quick scheme.

The Bankman-Fried family apparently reasoned that their devotion to this woke form of “altruism” would translate into riches for themselves, albeit bankruptcies for investors.

Another example: in Georgia’s Fulton County, District Attorney Fani Willis ran for office, promising to indict supposed right-wing monster Donald Trump.

She raised campaign money on her woke credentials. Often, when challenged, she played the race victim card.

Meanwhile, Willis hired as a special prosecutor her secret paramour, the incompetent Nathan Wade, although he had never tried a single felony or even criminal case.

She and Wade then went on expensive junkets. She claimed that she reimbursed him with cash that was, of course, unverifiable.

Given their woke ideology, both assumed they were entitled to splurge at taxpayers’ expense, offer likely-false testimony under oath, and violate canons of professional behavior for lawyers.

She wasn’t alone in her corruption. After the death of George Floyd, the founders of the left-wing Black Lives Matter movement went on a house-buying rampage. The more corporations filled their coffers with millions, either from guilt or as protection money, the more new homes the directors purchased.

One co-founder, Patrisse Khan-Cullors, a self-described Marxist, splurged by spending $3.2 million in BLM money to buy herself four upscale residences.

And the most radical Democratic members of Congress—the so-called Squad—apparently feel that the more they level accusations of racism, the more they can profit without fearing any consequences for their wrongdoing.

One squad member, Rep. Ilhan Omar, redirected $2.8 million of her office’s allotted government money to her husband’s political consulting company.

Still another member, the radical leftist Rep. Cori Bush, often harangued the country to defund the police. Now the FBI is investigating her for stealthily paying tens of thousands of campaign dollars to her own husband for “security.”

Woke and DEI activists may not necessarily be any more innately mediocre, corrupt, or conniving than other politicians and activists.

But they seem so, because they loudly broadcast that they are for “diversity,” “equity,” and “inclusion”—and thus assume themselves to be exempt from all scrutiny and free to profit in any way they please.

The woke/DEI project is enticing thousands of shysters, careerists, and mediocrities, all keen to enrich themselves on the premise that they are noble fighters for social justice who deserve immunity from any scrutiny.

How odd it is that America is wasting billions of dollars hiring DEI czars and electing woke politicians who so often accuse others of a multitude of sins, largely as a way of enriching themselves, hiding their own culpability, and making a mockery of the law.

[elijahtheghostof]

Venturiantale Jimmy Casket x Gavin Toast fanfic!

WARNINGS: gore, killer things, criminal things. Kidnapping

After breaking out of one of the most highly secure prisons in the world, Gavin only had one goal in mind. Incognito, the master criminal traveled to America, to a town in North Carolina.

It had been so long ago that he began this bad habit. It could all be attributed to one fateful day in his boyhood, many years ago.

He had been made to visit his twin brother, (he hated him) who was studying in America.

Gavin had come to understand that during his brother’s time away from the palace, he had taken in a stray. Upon meeting him, He couldn’t possibly imagine why his brother even bothered with his strange American pet. Gavin didn't see the appeal, at least, not until he met Jimmy…

It had happened on one of those very rare, much appreciated instances where Gavin’s annoying, near identical twin wasn’t present. Grandmother had asked the twin princes to make a royal appearance at the White House, which was a short private plane ride away from where they were staying in some nowhere town in North Carolina. Gavin, with the family reputation of ‘the bad child,’ had refused.

‘Ghost’ (Gavin still didn’t believe that was the boy's real name) wasn’t going, because apparently, he didn’t do well with crowds.

Since they would be home alone together, his brother Johnny had begged and begged him to spend some time with Ghost. Gavin didn’t know why, but on that fateful day he had listened, and he had learned about Jimmy Casket’s little ‘secret’

In the beginning, it wasn’t very hard to draw Jimmy to the surface. He just had to lure Ghost away from his twin brother. Sometimes, this involved impersonating Johnny. Oh, how upsetting, confusing it must have been for the dimwitted American when his supposed best friend, his support system, suddenly shoved him to the dirt. “Johnny! What are you doing?!” Gavin just ignored him. Sitting on the younger, smaller, and malnourished boy to keep him down, The prince pulled out his pocket knife.

A few cuts was all it took, the sight of blood.

He laid off once the unappealing screaming and crying turned into an adorable giggle.

The little body below him went limp and relaxed. Messy brown hair was in his eyes, (honestly, had he ever heard of jel?) but the smile was evident as he tilted his head. “Hiya Gavin! Nice to see you again! Thanks for waking me up to play!!” Jimmy Casket giggled. “Sorry about ol’ Gregory, he’s such a lameo!”

“Welcome back Jimmy,” Gavin had stood up and offered the boy a hand and a satisfied smile. “It wasn’t an easy feat.”

Jimmy took the boy’s hand to stand. “Can we go out and have some fun?!” He screeched, vibrating with excitement. Now, Gavin could see his eyes. They weren’t the boring brown that Ghost’s had been. No, Jimmy’s eyes, his tell tale sign, were a deep maroon, the color of blood.

“Oh, most definitely.” Gavin chuckled.

As time went on, it became harder to wake Jimmy up. One day, when he had frustratingly cut Ghost’s arm up raw and the only thing it earned him was Ghost’s runny nose and sniffling from his sobbing, an enraged brother, and a grounding, he decided he needed to change his methods.

The next time Gavin visited his ‘dear’ ‘dear’ brother and his pet American, he had stopped at a pet store, and bought a Guinea pig.

He had started it for him, but once Jimmy was awake, he kept switching between stabbing the creature well past the point of death, and giggling and ooing and awing at how pretty the blood supposedly looked on the Guinea pig’s fur.

To Gavin, it was all egregiously overkill, like striking a rat with a lightning bolt. “We’ve already killed it, Jimmy. Come on, there’s way more fun things we could be doing.”

“Really?!” Jimmy squealed, fists under his blood soaked face in excitement. He had the biggest smile on his face, and Gavin had all of his attention now. “Like what?!”

Gavin chuckled, a thoughtful hand on his chin before he reached over and scruffled his maniac’s horribly messy hair. “Oh, I could think of a few things.”

Animals worked for years, but eventually, once they were teenagers, not even cats and dogs were cutting it anymore. It was quite the annoyance to Gavin, he blamed all the ghost hunting Johnny and the boy had done, it exposed him to too much, made it harder to scare him. Or maybe, his friend Jimmy just demanded more bloodlust to come out. Greedy bastard.

The only alternative after that was humans.

They must have been having *too* much fun, as eventually, things started catching up to them.

Jimmy did something stupid, and as a result, he got caught red handed, literally.

It was only Gavin's royal family’s maddening amount of money that ensured Jimmy was going to an insane asylum instead of jail, and that he was only going to be there temporarily.

Ghost’s time in the madhouse had been awful. Gavin was terrified that the doctors and the nurses were going to flush out any trace of Jimmy out with mind numbing pills. It was particularly annoying that Johnny and his pet had finally become aware of Jimmy, and actively tried to suppress him. This was what first prompted Gavin into dabbling in what later would become one of his greatest talents, breaking out of places, (or conversely, into them.)

He didn’t have to worry about Ghost’s panicked, hysterical screaming, nor his cries for help. Who questioned such a thing in a madhouse?

He had waited for a nurse to come around, open the door and do a nightly check in. By the time a man shined a torch light inside, Gavin was already hidden against the other side of the door. Ghost screamed for the man to run away, but of course, he didn’t listen. As opposed to the UK, America had always been so convenient in allowing Gavin to access guns. A silencer on his weapon, Gavin had shot the nurse before he ever saw him.

Their reunion had been a beautiful night.

“Hmm, I sorta like the sight of you in that straight jacket.” Gavin teased the killer, stepping closer to pet his hair. Fuck, he had missed this boy…

Jimmy practically bit his fingers off in retaliation.

“Ow! Hey!” Gavin reacted, pulling his hand away and giving the boy a stern look.

Jimmy only giggled like a maniac.

Suddenly, Gavin harshly grabbed Jimmy by the jaw. His fingers dug in so deep they squished the brunette’s cheeks as he forced Jimmy to look at him. “I know something you can do with that mouth of yours that’s better than biting.”

“Really?” Jimmy asked naively, then excitement took over, “what?”

And that was when the two of them shared their first kiss.

For once, Jimmy was silent. He looked mystified and confused, his face pink in the moonlight that shone through the cell window.

“Did you like that?” Gavin asked in a hushed voice, like he was worried about breaking something. His face was also red. His thumb lingered under the boy’s chin.

“Uh—uh, y-yeah…” the killer with the messy mop of brown hair stammered, “even more than biting…”

Jimmy’s face broke into a smile, and Gavin smiled back.

“Alright then,” Gavin stood up, “time to get you out of that thing.”

He undid Jimmy’s straight jacket, and then, he realized something…

“They put you in a nappy?” Gavin asked incredulously. He sounded judgmental, like it was somehow Jimmy’s fault. But on the inside, he was horrified and disgusted. It made his blood boil that anyone dared treat Jimmy so poorly. It seemed of so little importance to Gavin that the killer probably used any bathroom breaks as an excuse to attack people. He was the maybe bloody boyfriend of the prince of bloody England for fuck’s sake! He should be treated with some god-damned bloody respect!

“Jimmy Casket’s good with STAB—stabbing” his head twitched aggressively to the right, “people, and not so much straight jackets!” His hair was a mess and his eyes looked feral. He seemed a little more…*crazed* than usual, it was the only indication Gavin got of how upset Jimmy was by it all.

Gavin wasn’t going to push it. He had respectfully turned away as Jimmy kicked the thing off.

Then Gavin took Jimmy by the hand and off into the night. The night was anything that Jimmy wanted. They robbed a seven eleven, Jimmy had his fun killing the employee, and he was overjoyed when afterwards, he discovered that Gavin had stolen enough candy for him to make his teeth rot. They went on a killing spree where Jimmy got to take as much time as he wanted to. Drawn out kills usually irritated Gavin, and in the past Jimmy had not been spared from his complaints. Gavin saw killing as something necessary for his crimes, but not something he particularly felt strongly either way about. (That was why having Jimmy around to do his dirty work in the past was so appealing to Gavin.) In short, he personally thought it was a waste of time. But, he knew that Jimmy lived and breathed bloodlust, so Gavin didn’t complain that night. The only thing Jimmy would hear from him was his laughter at the brunette’s ridiculous banter at his victims.

And once Jimmy had had his fill, the two of them laid in the grass and looked at the stars together.

It was quiet for a while, say for Jimmy’s twitching and his audio ticks ‘stab stab stab!’ That he kept whispering under his breath.

But eventually, Gavin sighed, “I’m going to have to sneak you back in before sunrise.”

“What?” Jimmy sat up and looked at the boy frantically. “Why?! I don’t want to go back! It’s the opposite of fun!” He protested, he looked like he was about to cry.

Gavin remained calm. “It would be different if they planned on locking you up longer, or if they were going to kill you, but you only have to wait two months. I have a plan for us, Jimmy, just you wait and see. And if you listen to me, one day, we’ll be the most notorious criminals alive.” He was looking to the stars then, reaching for them.

“Oh ok….” Jimmy relented, pouting like a child.

“Besides, it’s your fault you’re in there in the first place.” Gavin tacked on maliciously.

“Is not!!” Jimmy retorted like a child.

It seemed that the knowledge that their time together was limited only made tonight all the more precious. The two boys suddenly felt the urge to become as close to one another as possible. It began with holding each other, pressing their bodies together so tightly. And then they were kissing all over again, only it was much longer, much saltier, Jimmy tasted of irony blood and Gavin smelled of deep cologne and cigarettes. Eventually, even their clothing became too much of a barrier between the two boys. How could they let that divide them, when bars and locks and straight jackets, an entire ocean and country borders, would be doing that later? They stripped each other in the cold grass, skin made contact with skin, and the two teenage boys had another first that night.

Afterwards, the two simply held each other close and cuddled.

“If we’re going to start making this a regular thing, I can’t just kill the nurse every time to trigger you.” Gavin whispered like this was normal pillow talk. Staring into Jimmy’s maroon colored eyes, he gently trailed a hand up and down the smaller boy’s back.

“Trigger me?” Jimmy asked, confused

“Wake you up.” Gavin explained. “The point is, you’re going to have to start getting better at fighting for control, I can’t exactly drag a victim in after me when breaking into a mental hospital.”

“I’ll try to fight, but Gregory fights back!” Jimmy whined

Gavin suddenly grabbed Jimmy by the jaw and made him look at him. “Well, if you don’t fight hard enough, we won’t be able to play together.” He spoke in a language that Jimmy could understand.

“I will!” The childish killer insisted, “I promise!”

He took Jimmy out into the night as often as he could, but that could only happen so much without either of them getting caught. So sometimes, Gavin would impersonate his twin brother and meet Jimmy the normal way.

It was hard to find even a moment when his incessant brother wasn’t visiting. Even then he only had a fifty fifty shot of Jimmy actually being there. Gavin could hardly stand pretending to be his brother around Ghost.

On one such visitation, it was apparently dinner time. Gavin had been led to a small white room where he found Jimmy, or Ghost, sitting at a table, straight jacketed, with his feet chained to the ground. He had been refusing to be fed an unappetizing smelling pea soup by an overly cheery nurse. It was evident by all the green stains on his straight jacket.

When the brunette saw him, he rolled his eyes. “What do you want with me today, Toaster?”

Yup, it was his Jimmy alright.

It amused Gavin immensely that Jimmy fell for it. He played off the smile on his face for one of Johnny’s friendly, cheerful ones. And with that charming smile, he fixed his waistcoat in the way his perfect golden child brother did. “Nurse Hildegard, do you think maybe I could try? He might be more comfortable if we’re alone together for a little while.”

When the nurse left, the sunshine and rainbows on his face had dropped instantaneously, “Jimmy, eat your pea soup.” Gavin ordered sternly, shoving a spoonful in his face.

Jimmy’s eyes lit up in realization. “Gavy!!!” He cheered. He tried to jump up and hug him, but of course, the straight jacket and shackles wouldn’t allow it, so Jimmy just grinned at him like an idiot and giggled.

“Yeah I know, took you long enough, now eat.” He kept up that sternness, but something akin to…amusement? Had crept into his tone as well.

Instead of listening, Jimmy jerked his head, and another spoonful of green soup ended up staining his straight jacket.

“What I really wanna bite is people, not peas! Gavy! Why don’t you take me out to play?” Jimmy whined excitedly, like a dog just begging for a walk. ”I wanna tell them my seeeecret!”

“Not today, Casket. Now come on, open up, you’ve gotten skinnier than usual, don’t you want to be big and strong so you can kill people?”

After a few months, Jimmy was a free man. The next few years went on like normal. The two juvenile delinquents had their fun, but Gavin always made sure they were careful about it, to Jimmy’s dismay.

Once the two of them had grown up, There had been those glorious years where Jimmy had basically kidnapped his vessel and ran away, and there was nothing that Johnny or Ghost could do about it. Jimmy had become the world’s most renowned murderer, but he wasn’t the only rising star. Gavin had been stripped of his title as prince for his crimes. He was wanted by the entire United Kingdom, an iron fisted ruling brought down by his Grandmother herself, and the rest of his royal family. It was funny, really, he had always been the bad child…

Jimmy and Gavin became partners in crime, and partners in life. A strange, slightly criminal and murderous, domestic bliss encapsulated the two of them.

Now that they were adults, Jimmy still acted like a child. In many ways, he *was* a child, or at least as smart as one. The longer he was able to front, the more Gavin realized that Jimmy didn’t know how to do anything other than kill people. He didn’t seem to understand the limitations of his body. Gavin had to remind him to do simple things like eating and sleeping, which the killer usually refused anyway. Jimmy just got so damned jittery at night, *especially* when Gavin wouldn’t let him kill. Eventually, Gavin just skipped the argument about bedtime. The giant instead opted to sneak up behind the 100 pound man and sling him over his shoulder. He’d flop into bed with an arm around the killer’s thin waist. Jimmy would squirm beneath his weight for a while, bite at his arm, but once it became futile, he’d shift to complaining, threatening to ‘stab stab stab!’ Gavin and tell him his secret. However, the rambling would eventually fade away once Jimmy’s body crashed on him and he realized how exhausted he really was. Either that or Gavin would throw a pillow over Jimmy’s face.

Babysitting Jimmy was difficult at times.

He quickly discovered that if Jimmy didn’t get his bloodlust fill, he’d turn the knife to HIMSELF! If Gavin had to guess, it was probably the sight of blood that made Jimmy do it. He was like a junkie for murder. He watched his own damned kills on tv with popcorn.

On a few rare instances during those years, Ghost would suddenly take control. It would usually start with Jimmy acting strange. Well, stranger than usual. He’d mumble to himself angrily, cringe like he was in pain.

“Jimmy, what’s wrong?” Gavin asked in concern.

“Oh, it’s nothing, just stupid Gregory in my head…”

It wouldn’t be long after that that Ghost would pop up. The struggle lasted anywhere between Gavin taking down Ghost where he stood, to Ghost managing to run halfway down the abandoned street from whatever secluded building they were staying in. But every time, Gavin was thankfully able to catch the bastard.

And then of course, Ghost would start crying for his precious Toast. He was so annoying and stupid that Gavin would have to lock him in a dog crate in the basement. He probably should have kept an eye on Ghost, but his whining was so troublesome that Gavin often left him to his own devices. When he returned a few hours later, Jimmy was usually back, sitting boredly in the dog crate.

When he saw Gavin, excitement shone in his blood red eyes. He’d grasp for the bars, like a dog that wanted to come out and play. “Thanks for saving me there, Gavy! It’s so hard to have a normal person in my head!!” The killer pouted

All good things come to an end though, and eventually, his brother used his ghost hunting skills to hunt Ghost. He tracked the two of them down, kidnapped Jimmy, got Gavin fucking arrested, and left him no trail to follow once he had broken out.

Nowadays, he had to kidnap Ghost to get Jimmy back.

It was always the very first thing he did after breaking out of whatever ‘world’s most secure’ prison he was locked in for his myriad of crimes. He’d nab Ghost. Then, he’d find some secure place, an abandoned building out in the middle of nowhere, the basement of a secluded Airbnb. He’d lock Ghost in a dog crate.

Sometimes, luring Jimmy out was as easy as simply being in Gavin’s presence, he only had to taunt Ghost. But other times….such as right now, Oh, Jimmy demanded blood sacrifice extravagance.

And as Gavin mutilated people for his love, Ghost watched on in horror. There was a struggle in his eyes, as Jimmy and Johnny both so desperately vied for control of the body. Maybe that was why it was sometimes so hard to trigger Jimmy. Ghost was fighting to save lives, meanwhile, Jimmy was only fighting to play.

At one point, Ghost vomited in his cage. Disgusting, Gavin was going to have to get Jimmy to take a bath later….But, he knew that Jimmy was getting closer when Ghost began to convulse, when his features twisted in horror as maniacal laughters that were not his own escaped him, and he began spouting out the most random Jimmyisms. Like, ‘My secret is…I *LOVE* flowers!!!’

Gavin crouched down beside the cage, a large smile split between his lips as he watched his lover return to him. And Jimmy, he was revved up and crazed like a wild animal, ready for the kill.

Gavin kept his eyes on the beautiful boy as he worked at unlocking the cage. Once the laughing maniac was free, Gavin looked into his eyes and cooed, “I brought you some candy”

[silver-ink-iron-words]

I know you've only just posted part 5, but please continue A Touch of Magic? I'm loving it!

That makes me so happy :)

Hope you like Part 6

-------

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

A Touch of Magic, Part 6

By the time their group reached an inn, Lysander was ready to fall from his horse.

He couldn’t remember a time he’d run faster than he had with those bandits on his heels, and while carrying another person no less. And once they were finally in the clear, and Lysander had checked that Gavin had no major injuries, they’d still had the long ride to contend with.

Lysander lowered from his horse, and held out his hand to Gavin. The other boy failed to notice, and dropped down on his own. He lifted his pack, hefting the weight over his shoulder with a grimace.

“I can – ”

But before Lysander could offer to carry the bag, Gavin was disappearing into the building.

He wondered for the twentieth time if Gavin was angry.

“Watching you two is painful,” a voice said.

Lysander turned and saw Duncan, one of his knights, leaning on the wall of the inn.

“Is that meant to be encouraging?”

Duncan tilted his head. “I’m curious, Your Highness. Was that your first kiss?”

Lysander straightened, face growing warm.

Duncan sighed. “I always disagreed with the king’s choice to never let you get involved with anyone.”

“I was destined to be with the enchanted child, Duncan. Courting anyone else would have been a cruel waste of their time.”

“But it means that you’ve had no practice. And now you don’t even know how to flirt with a boy.”

Lysander flushed. “I don’t need that kind of skillset.”

“Right. Because your stiff board strategy is working wonders for you.”

Lysander had a biting retort ready, but . . . maybe Duncan had a point. It would admittedly be nice to not constantly feel like he was messing things up with Gavin.

“Fine then,” he said. “Since you’re apparently so experienced, how would you flirt?”

Duncan grinned. “I thought you’d never ask.”

----

When Lysander entered his room, Gavin was already there tending to the fireplace. The prince noticed that there were two separate beds, and his shoulders sagged in relief. It was as though some merciful god had taken pity on him.

With a weary breath, he eased onto the nearest bed. He watched as Gavin worked life into the flames, before moving on to his pack. He pulled out clothes, his little leather book, a waterskin. He tossed the objects onto the blankets as he went.

“What’s in there?” Lysander asked, motioning to the book.

This had been Duncan’s first bit of advice. “Ask him about himself,” the knight had said. “People love to talk about themselves, and it shows that you’re interested.”

Gavin spared a glanced at Lysander, and then the book. “Sketches.”

“May I see them?”

“No.”

An awkward quiet fell between them.

Gavin pulled out a nightshirt, and with a yawn began unbuttoning his top. He then halted, his gaze flicking to Lysander. “Could you, um, turn around?”

“Right! Sorry.” Lysander turned to face the other wall, his face heating.

Had he been staring? God, he’d been staring. Was Gavin uncomfortable? Duncan had said to make lots of eye contact, but it seemed that bit of advice was out the window now too.

“I’m done now,” Gavin said. Lysander peeked, and sure enough, the other man was settling onto the mattress in his night clothes.

Lysander took in a breath, and gripped the fabric of his pants. One last attempt at taking advice.

“Compliment him,” Duncan had said. “Make him feel wanted and special.”

“You’re very handsome,” Lysander blurted.

And then the silence stretched.

Fuck.

He hadn’t hoped to turn Gavin into a blushing mess with one compliment (okay, maybe he’d hoped a little), but he’d at least wanted a positive reaction. Anything other than the way Gavin closed his eyes, as though summoning patience.

“There’s something you should know,” Gavin said. “Before we go any further.”

Lysander’s muscles went statue still. He was never listening to Duncan again. “Yes?”

“There’s this weird thing about me.” Gavin looked to the ceiling, and Lysander’s pulse kicked into gear. “I, um, don’t feel attraction very quickly.”

Lysander blinked. “Wait, that’s it?”

“Yeah. I guess I just have to get to know somebody first. Feel an emotional connection. That’s it.”

“Gavin, it’s perfectly normal to want to know someone before you’re intimate with them.”

Lysander thought he was being comforting, but this was apparently the wrong thing to say.

“You’re not getting it.” Gavin ran a hand through his hair. “It’s like . . . okay look. Have you felt attraction before? That sort of giddy feeling? And then maybe on top of that, you feel horny for the person?”

It was almost funny that Gavin was the one asking him this. “Yes, I’m familiar with the sensation.”

“Okay. And, ignoring whether or not you actually decide to sleep with them, because that’s besides the point, you can experience that feeling without really knowing much about the person, right?”

Lysander considered for a moment, and then slowly nodded. “I think I understand now.”

A bit of tension left Gavin’s posture. “Okay. Good.”

“What does all this mean for you?”

“Well, it means I’m not very experienced, for one.” Gavin leaned back on the headboard, and sighed. “It’s hard for me to find people I’m into. And by the time I do develop those feelings, more often than not the other person has already moved on.” His eyes were sullen, and Lysander was certain that he was thinking of someone specific. “It also means that it’s sometimes a struggle to relate to my friends.”

“I don’t think I’ve met anyone like you before.” Lysander supposed that, given how special Gavin was, it made sense that he’d be unique in this way too.

“You know what’s funny?” Gavin said, his voice darkening. “For the longest time, I thought people like you were the ones in the minority. I always assumed that I was the normal one.”

Lysander paused, and tried to imagine what that might be like. If he’d had to, bit by bit, slowly piece together how different he was. Had to feel like an alien within his own home.

“Why can’t you be both different and normal?” Lysander asked.

Gavin glanced at him, eyebrows raised.

“I, uh, just don’t see why they have to be mutually exclusive,” he went on. “You called yourself weird, earlier. But Gavin,” he met the other boy’s eyes, “nothing could be further from the truth.”

The corners of Gavin’s mouth quirked upwards, and it was the first genuine smile Lysander had ever received from him. “Thanks.”

With a little breath, Lysander smiled too. It seemed like he could do something right after all.

-----

Taglist:

@coolninjavoid , @itsleighlovelove , @rose-0f-winter , @dmitrinfinite , @nexfox-art , @aethernorwood , @takingawildbreath , @waddlethepenguin , @the-magpiesystem 

[invisibleicewands]

Lord almighty!” a middle-aged Welsh woman says in the first episode of Michael Sheen’s steelworks drama The Way (BBC1, Mon). “Isn’t the deal meant to be that we’re hit with just one crisis per generation? Like a war, or a crash, or a pandemic? My daughter … she’s had one of each!”

Now I hate to be pedantic, but I’m not sure that one crisis per generation ever was the deal, cosmologically speaking. “Sorry,” the Great Fire of London didn’t say to the Bubonic Plague. “I’ll just let you finish up.”

Still, you can see the point she is trying to make. Climate emergency, AI apocalypse, far-right lurch: it is a bit crisisy out there, isn’t it? It’s not hard to see why an ambitious TV writer might feel an urge — a calling, even — to try to make sense of a world that seems to be spinning out of control.

Just look at the TV schedules this week as The Way went head to head with ITV’s medical drama Breathtaking, which offered the delightful prospect of reminding everyone just how bleak the Covid-19 crisis was.

The Way is centred on the Port Talbot steelworks, which is so crisis-ridden there’s literally a crisis there right now. But such hyper-topicality is double-edged. For viewers actually living through this stuff you can see why, say, dogs getting cute haircuts on Instagram might be more enticing.

Still, this three-part series about a workers’ uprising has a dream team feel. It’s Sheen’s directorial debut (he also stars as the ghost of a coalminer). The script comes from James “State of the Nation” Graham, and the maverick documentary maker Adam Curtis completes what Sheen has described as an “Avengers assemble” line-up.

The Way makes much of Port Talbot’s dramatic skyline, as well as its status as a last bastion of industrial power. We have steelworkers falling into vats of molten slag, foreign owners indifferent to local communities, smatterings of Welsh folklore, and the rather good line “The British don’t revolt, they grumble”. Curtis’s influence is immediately apparent in the ominous electronic soundtrack, the flickery archive footage and a sinister pouting penguin that on closer inspection appears to be a bin. Perhaps the most Adam Curtis bin ever.

At its centre is the Driscoll family, estranged parents and warring adult kids who find themselves pursued by the British Army through Afan Forest Park, having become accidental revolutionaries. It might be the volume of drugs ingested by Owen Driscoll (Callum Scott Howells), but things escalate fast. The mood shifts from portentous to hysterical to OK this is really quite silly now. The result is Gavin & Stacey meets The Road: a misfit family of Welsh fugitives on the run in a hostile England where suddenly — inexplicably — the merest hint of a Welsh accent is enough to have you lynched by private security forces. I don’t know, I missed Uncle Bryn.

We’re supposed to find the family endearing, maybe even amusing, but honestly there were more laughs in Curtis’s seven-hour dissection of the fall of the Soviet Union. Overall it reminded me of children’s TV dramas from the 1980s. Was it the archival footage? The ancient sword? Or maybe just the hammy crowd scenes? It’s a strange project for Sheen, Graham and Curtis, who have all excelled at verbatim dramas or documentaries that hew close to the facts. The best thing that I can say about The Way is that it’s reassuring that something this eccentric can still make it to screen. Better a mad human mess than more algorithmic mush.

[...]

Which leads us to The Baftas (BBC1, Sun). By strange coincidence last week’s award ceremony was also overshadowed by a Michael Sheen joke that overstayed its welcome. The show’s opening skit was an excruciatingly long prerecorded bit in which this year’s presenter, David Tennant, tried to wriggle out of dog-sitting Sheen’s pup, Bark Ruffalo. Little wonder a bemused Claire Foy described the event as “very LA”.

[starlitangels]

(Hopefully) An Enormous Amount of Guilt

So... I saw that title and that thumbnail and I knew it wasn’t gonna be angst because it’s Soft Boi Winter but I was vibing with some angst so... here we are. 1.6k words

CW: referenced argument between characters, actual heated verbal argument between characters

—

The fervent tattoo of a knock jolted me out of the half-asleep stupor I’d been in, almost bedded down for the night.

Gavin jolted beside me. “Warm aura. Fire Elemental,” he mumbled.

“What’s Damien doing here this late?” I whispered, throwing the covers off and snatching my robe from the hook on the wall.

“I’ll get it,” Gavin said.

“No, no. You go back to sleep. I got this,” I insisted.

Gavin plopped back down onto the bed, apparently needing no more convincing.

I wrapped my bathrobe around me and tied it tight. No need for Damien to see my obvious lack of pajamas. Rubbing my eyes, I slipped out of our room and down the hall to the front door.

A quick glance through the peephole revealed it was, in fact, Damien.

I slid the deadbolt and opened the door. “You usually call first,” I said around a yawn. I jerked my head backward. “Come in.” I opened the door wider and stepped back so Damien could come in. He stepped over the threshold. I shut the door behind him and indicated toward the couch in the living room, yawning again. Damien sat. I went to the kitchen and brought back a glass of water for each of us. “So. What’s wrong?”

“What makes you assume anything’s wrong?” Damien retorted sharply.

I leveled a sharp glare at him through tired eyes. “Damien,” I said. “You turned up here, no warning, at one-AM. You’re the guy who goes to bed at eleven on the dot if you have to get up for school tomorrow. And you do have school tomorrow. So do I. So what’s up?”

Damien sighed through clenched teeth. “Huxley and I got in a fight.”

I froze where I’d been taking a sip of my water. I lowered the glass. “Come again?”

“Hux and I got in a fight.”

I groaned in complaint. “Only you would be able to figure out how to get in a fight with a guy like him,” I muttered. I rubbed my eyes with my free hand and set the glass on the coffee table. “What’d you fight about?”

Damien cleared his throat. “He took care of me on the solstice. I... I don’t need him to take care of me on the solstice. I’m a grown man. I can take care of myself.”

“So you picked a fight with the most patient and caring person on the planet. Gotcha.”

“Freelancer—”

“No, Damien. No protesting. Shut up and listen.” I leaned forward, making sure my robe was still secure. “How long is it going to take to beat into your thick skull that people care about you and want to care for you just because they can, huh? It’s not just Huxley. It’s me, and it’s Gavin, and it’s Lasko. You’re our friend. Hell, you’re our family. We love you. 

“Gav and I kept an eye on Lasko during the solstice too. More so Gavin than me. My powers are always all over the place on the solstice so I’m not necessarily the most reliable caretaker. But the point stands. 

“Huxley loves you, you moron. And the people who love and care about you want to do what they can to show it. Especially Huxley. Acts of service and quality time are the man’s damn love languages. So pull your head out of your ass and get with the program on that. Because he’s never gonna stop for as long as you’re dating.

“And if you want to drive a wedge between the two of you by picking a fight about it every time, then I’m not going to be your relationship counselor when that all falls apart. Because it will be your own damn fault.

“Trust me, if I wasn’t already dating Gavin in some form at the time, I would have snatched Huxley up in a heartbeat. Do you know how rare hearts like his are? You are so damn lucky that he chose you.”

Damien growled and shoved his hands through his hair. “Look, I know, okay?!” he snapped. The temperature in the room shot up a few degrees. It had been steadily climbing through my lecture but this was a far more noticeable spike. “I know I messed up and I know I’m an idiot and I know it’s my fault. I already feel terrible for hurting him and you are not helping! But what more do you want from me?”

“Me?! I don’t want anything from you. Go apologize to your boyfriend, numbskull!”

“I... I don’t think he’s ready to talk to me.”

I blinked owlishly at Damien. “He... Huxley is your boyfriend! How do I know him better than you do?” I demanded. “He’s probably waiting for you to come home but trying to give you time to blow off some steam. Any second now—” I flicked my wrist. My phone zipped from the bedroom and into my hand. “—he’s probably going to call me and ask if I’ve seen you. Trying to make sure you’re okay.”

As if on cue, my phone started ringing. 

Incoming Call... Huxley🍃

I showed Damien my phone screen with an I told you so expression before answering the call. “Hey Hux, what’s up?”

“You sound a lot more awake than I expected,” Huxley remarked. “Have you heard from Damien at all in the past couple minutes?”

I yawned. “Mmhmm. Got quite an earful, actually. He’s right here on my couch.”

“Is... is he okay?”

Huxley absolutely would notice my hesitation before I answered, “In a manner of speaking.”

“W... what’s wrong with him?”

“Hopefully an enormous amount of guilt,” I replied matter-of-factly. Damien scoffed and rolled his eyes. I flipped him off. He returned the gesture. “Wanna talk to him?”

“Yeah. Of course. But... face-to-face. Tell him to come home? Please, Freelancer?”

“You got it, big guy,” I said.

“Thanks.”

“No problem, Hux.”

“I’ll let you go. Bye.”

“See ya this weekend,” I said around another yawn before disconnecting the call.

“What did he say?” Damien asked, sounding eager, reluctant, sad, and hopeful all at once. I snorted. Lovesick puppy if ever I’d seen one.

I cleared my throat and loosened the muscles in my vocal chords to do my best Huxley impression. “‘Tell him to come home, please, Freelancer?’” I quoted, mimicking his inflection pretty accurately too.

Damien sighed. “He really said that? You’re not just pulling strings to get me to apologize?” I narrowed my eyes in a sharp glare. Damien put his hands up. “Okay, okay. I believe you. If you say that’s what Huxley told you, then that’s what he told you. Yeesh, Freelancer.” He gave me a look that was bleeding attitude. “Do I need to apologize to you too?”

“Nah. You and me are good. You know that. Go home to Huxley, moron.”

Damien got up. I did too. I held out my arms. He sighed and gave me a hug. His skin was still hot but it was rapidly cooling. “I am sorry, Freelancer. You’re right about everything,” he said softly.

“Nothing to be sorry for, Damien. I know you. I know how you are. I knew how you’d react before I even started talking. I don’t take it personally. You’re doing better at keeping your temper in check, and I’m proud of you for that. And... well. Better for you to take your frustration out on me than on Huxley.”

“I shouldn’t take it out on either of you.”

“No. But we’re human. We can’t help it when we snap. I pushed so that you’d snap and dump it on me. Same way I did after the Inversion. You needed to release it, and I could take it.” I shrugged. “Now get outta here and go home to Huxley before you embarrass either of us by apologizing for something I invited.”

Damien gave me a look through his black bangs. They were getting long again. “You’re my best friend, you know that, right?”

“Besides Huxley, I hope?”

“Yeah but he’s in a different class of best friend.”

I snorted. “Fair enough.”

“But, seriously, you know that, don’t you? You’re a far better friend than I sometimes deserve.”

“Thanks. Now go home, Damien. Your boyfriend is waiting. And, coincidentally, mine is waiting for me.” I gestured vaguely toward the bedroom.

The temperature in the room spiked again as Damien looked away. “Sorry for taking you away from Gavin.”

I waved dismissively. “We’ll both live. This was important. Even if it did just amount to me telling you to pull your head out of your ass.”

He chuckled and gave me another hug, completely unprompted. “Goodnight, Freelancer. And thanks for setting me straight.”

I thought about making a joke about his word choice but decided against it. “Goodnight, Damien. I’ll see you this weekend too.”

“See you then.”

He ducked out the front door to the apartment. I locked it behind him and went back to bed. Gavin rolled over the second I shed my bathrobe and climbed back under the covers, wrapping his arm around me.

“How much of that did you hear?” I asked.

“Whole thing. But we can talk about it tomorrow.”

“That would be welcome. I just wanna get to sleep.”

“Sounds good.” He kissed the back of my neck and fell back to sleep quickly.

I followed faster than I thought I would.

—

Tag list: @thegoldenlittlerose @darlin-collins (this counts as hurt, right?) @zozo-01 (you’re not on my DAMN Fam tag list but I told you about this one so you’re getting tagged whether you like it or not)

[enkisstories]

The son of a military officers, Connor has never developed a feeling for how large the galaxy is. Thanks to hyperspace technology, the Sonderan family had been at Arkanis today and at Mua Pel’am tomorrow, always on the move, and every planet had been just one command away.

And now as an adult, Connor only needs to reach out through the Force to tell his father that he is still alive.

Or that has been the plan. In practice General Sonderan’s mind turns out to be too well protected to get targeted by a long-distance call from one who is still learning. How Lord Kylo can so easily contact Princess Rey is beyond Connor’s understanding. Maybe the master of Ren is just boasting...

Instead of reaching his father, Connor’s thoughts get pulled into a memory. The Force wanting to show him something, maybe?

Back when they still had been a family, the Sonderans… never really had been, Connor now realizes. Ever since his birth, Hank and Barbara had only ever argued, as their differences, that they had managed to tide over before, were now fully surfacing.

Ever so often the parents had handed their child over to different officer cadets for babysitting. There had always been cupcakes and soft drinks aplenty for both the toddler and the sitter to appease both.

In the particular memory Connor re-lives, that babysitter is a lanky, red-haired and incredibly tense boy, who had sneezed from the soda, a drink he apparently was unfamiliar with.

Armitage: “Here’s an easy maneuver, it’s called… something too complicated for you to understand. Just try to hold on while I wiggle around! You win, if you don’t fall off my back.”

Connor: "Yippieh!"

Armitage (to himself): “Shit. I can perfectly execute it with any vehicle with a silouette of up to four as per the Anaxes classification, but I forgot the maneuver’s name. I REALLY need to rehearse for that exam, but I’m stuck with the little tick. Saaaaay… don’t we have a bag of fleas in the house, that need to make themselves useful?”

The babysitter had then grabbed his study notes and taken little Connor to a nearby gymn. Sitting at the sidelines, he had left the instructors to deal with the Sonderan heir.

And this was how Connor had gotten introduced to the young stormtroopers for the first time. Of course back then, they had just been "other children, how awesome" to him.

Connor is well aware that there must have been dozens of recruits in the gymn that day, but in his memory only the girl CH-100 and a boy, whose number he has forgotten, stand out.

When the cadet’s father had heard about his son’s shirking of his duty (and especially the soda and the cupcakes) later, he had beaten the boy senseless. Connor had never learned what happened to the cadet later, or to any of his early playmates except for CH-100, who in the present went by the name of Tina.

On second thought, Connor has no idea at all how Tina is faring and whether she has survived the battle for Batuu. Connor knows that Gavin is alive, and the ward around his father’s mind is proof that Hank, too, lives. But Tina…?

Once again Connor reaches out, this time to a mind that is almost equally familiar to him as his father's, albeit unprotected. His presence very nearly reaches her, but suddenly bounces off something digital, a coarse obstacle in the flow of the Force...

Connor: Was that IT-08 just now? Alright, little Eightball, I'm glad you made it through the war, too. But, wow, blocked by a droid, that shouldn’t even show up in the Force? Not my best day...

(Note: I sneaked in two canon characters, young Hux and baby Finn. We’ll see more of them in round five. Connor, as a former First Order member, of course knows Hux, he just never made the connection between the babysitter and the General.)

[heaven-s-black-box]

Trip- ensemble

Return to File

Recovery date: July 22nd, 2020

Description:  vacation to Khura’in

Notes: An entry from my 2020 research project into the universe of Ace Attorney. You can find the next entry here.

Word count: 584

Back to directory

“Daddy! Where’s my fall jacket? Ema says I’ll need it,” Trucy yelled from her room, across the hall.

“It’s in the coat closet, same as always. Mind bringing me mine?” Phoenix yelled back.

“Nope!” Trucy said, as she stepped out into the hall and skipped off to the door. “When’s uncle Miles coming? Who else is driving with us?”

“He should be here soon. Maya and Pearl are coming with him.”

Trucy poked her head into his room and handed him his jacket. “What about the others?”

“Uh, I think prosecutor Gavin was driving Athena and Simon, you know, less cars the better.” Trucy nodded before returning to her room.

The Wright’s were currently packing their suitcases for a trip to Khura’in to see Apollo, along with everyone else. It’d been almost a year since Apollo decided to stay in Khura’in, but only a few months since they’d last seen him. He’d come back to L.A for christmas and new years. So, they were going to take a week vacation to see him. It wasn’t a surprise visit, just a regular, fully planned visit. Trucy even had a plane ticket both ways.

Although it was technically summer in the northern hemisphere, Ema and Apollo had warned them it was still pretty cold. Apparently, Khura’in very rarely got above ten celcius.

“Hey daddy?” Trcuy poked her head back in.

“No you can’t bring your knives, if you can’t get it past security, it’s not coming,” he laughed before looking up and seeing a relatively serious look on Trucy’s face. “Something wrong?”

“I was just wondering… is mom coming?”

“I don’t know, why?”

“It’s just, I feel like Polly wants to get to know her. Well, I mean, we talked about it together, and we both want to- I guess… give her a chance. But Polly is living in Khura’in so it’s hard for him, and I thought…”

“If she isn’t coming this time, we can maybe arrange a visit for just the two of you.” Trucy smiled. “But for now, let’s finish packing. Miles should-”

“Nick!” Maya yelled, as she opened his front door.

“Aunt Maya!” Trucy, bolted towards the entry.

“Finish packing!”

The car ride to the airport was hectic, to say the least. Maya spent the ride catching up with the two men in the front seat, while Pearl and Trucy discussed school. Thankfully though, airport security wasn’t too hard. Phoenix had unknowingly held his breath the whole time Trucy went through, just waiting for them to find a knife. He could tell Miles did the same when they checked his bag. “With my luck either Kay, or a dead body will be there,” he’d said.

Once through, they made their way to the waiting area. Earlier, Miles had mentioned the others were already at the airport, going through security. Apparently, Athena had texted him in annoyance at the work for Simon’s katana. She hadn’t even been sure it was possible. Now that they were through, they found that the three weren’t the only ones waiting. Trucy dropped her suitcase immediately, and tackled her mother.

“I hope you don’t mind Mr. Wright, Mr. Edgeworth, Apollo asked me to join you,” Thalassa said, still hugging Trucy.

“Not at all,” Miles said, “The more the merrier as they say.”

“Please go to gate 3 for boarding of the 12:30 flight from L.A to Khura’in,” a voice came over the PA system.

“Let’s go!” Athena cheered. “I wanna get this flight over with.”

[bruce-wayne-simp]

Ok im watching pirate radio/the boat that rocked because I'm a Tom Sturridge stan now

(The movie follows Carl (Tom Sturridge) a 17 year old who got expelled from school for doing drugs. His mother sent him to live on a boat with his godfather Quenton and the band of DJs who run the pirate radio. Shenanigans ensue, the British government tries to take them down, its a good time. Also its set in the late 60s)

I'm like 15 minutes in and it's awesome so I'm gonna liveblog i guess

This is gonna be very Carl-heavy (see 'im a Tom Sturridge stan' above)

Also spoilers if you care about being spoiled for a movie that came out in 2009

From the summary i thought Carl was gonna be some tough-guy rebel but he's just so smiley and innocent and respectful and it's rly sweet. Idk if it's a British thing or what but yeah

The guys are all very stereotypical "guys" and i honestly kinda love it

The one scene where Carl is kinda settling in on his first day and he comes into the Count's DJ space(?) is so funny. Hes like 'are you nervous' and gives Carl a hug then slaps his ass and tells him to get the fuck out

The f-word scene is BRILLIANT. Go watch the clip on youtube it's so good

Carl just revealed hes only been to all boys boarding schools and as a result he is a virgin and has also never kissed anyone. I know enough about this movie to know it comes up later. Also the way he can barely say 'sex' is adorable

Also Carl is very relatable

Midnight Mark is kinda hot ngl

Oh Jesus christ 🤦‍♀️

Apparently 'later' is NOW

Secondhand embarrasment galore oh my god 😭😭😭😭 poor Carl

Dave tried to trick his hookup by letting Carl have sex (basically rape) her so he could lose his virginity. For what it's worth, Carl is reluctant because of the morality of it (and he's an impressionable 17 year old) and she turns the light on and sees him and they both scream

Omg we're at the scene where we meet Bob. Poor Bob does the show early in the morning and nobody ever sees him so when he comes down in the morning everyones like 'who tf are you'

Thick Kevin: what was his name again?

Young Carl: Really?

Oh btw Thick Kevin and Young Carl are roommates on the ship

Aww Quenton gave Carl a date w his niece, Maryanne, for his birthday

Lmaoo he literally said hi to Maryanne and then left and is asking Dave for a condom

'Do you know how it works?' Carl, babe, your answer doesn't sound very convincing

Carl, my love, you JUST MET HER. I cannot overstate how naive he is.

Dave is an asshole. That's all. (He almost fucks up Carls chance with Maryanne and then sleeps with her while Carl is looking for another condom)

'Maryanne, I see you.' Heartbreaking 😭😭

Honestly there are some very sweet moments and this is one of them 😭😭😭

Harold and John bring Carl tea and biscuits while he's sitting on a bench, upset. They don't say anything but by the end of the scene Carl is eating a biscuit and smiling and Harold gives him a hug 😭😭😭😭😭😭

(Link to the scene bcs its so sweet: https://youtu.be/66U9Kfr4UhE )

And honestly when Gavin gives him the condom was kinda sweet too. Like he's proud of him and gives him advice (bad advice, but still it's the thought that counts)

I fucking love Felicity. She's the only woman on board full time and that's because she's a lesbian. I hope she gets her girlfriend ❤️

Omg Midnight Mark was having an orgy lmaoo

Simon is so sweet😭😭 He went to Carl and Kevin's room and told them he's getting married and I'm pretty sure just asked Carl to be his best man??

'HANDS OFF, YOU LESBIAN' Love it

STAG PARTYYYYYYYY

Omg he's known her for 2 weeks

This entire sequence is very British 😭😭

Oh God they're all hungover

Ooooh who is Carl's father???

God he's so pretty in this scene

Link to gifset (if ur a sandman stan you've seen it before):

'I think sometimes i should be called Clever Kevin. What do you think about tha-' *falls out of bed*

THE WAY CARL DIDN'T EVEN FLINCH AT KEVIN FALLING 💀

Aww Simons speech to the listeners about his wedding was sweet

THE WEDDING

Simon holding Carls hand and Carl being like wtf and walking away

Quenton: We are gathered here in the sight of God, apparently. Which is, I don't know, scary?

Carl is smoking while being Simons best man i love him (Protip: looking for Carl in a scene? Look for a cigarette first)

Oh god Simons new wife just told him she's in love with Gavin

Oh no she only married Simon to get on the boat to get with Gavin :( Poor Simon

Top tier music choices all around though

Harold is such a good friend

Everyone here has two brain cells between them (yes im at the Chicken Game)

Aww Gavin apologized to Simon

Lmao they're basically playing never have i ever

Aww Carls mom is coming by

'Just in case you wanted to brush your hair or hide that stack of pornography you keep on that shelf' QUENTON

Oh god he's dreading seeing her

Aww Kevin wished him luck 😭😭

He asked if Quenton was his dad and his mom was like 'uh no wtf'

Its BOXING DAY

'It was a shag well shagged the night you made this little fella' Dave to Carls mom

DAVE SAID CARL IS ONE OF THEM AND THEY WANT HIM TO STAY FOREVER AWWWW

The posh government people on boxing day im sobbing its so funny and silent

Oh god Bob is Carls father (Bob gave Carl a message earlier and he told her right before she left)

She was like 'How old are you' and did the math from there lmaoo

CARLS MOM SLEPT WITH MARK HAHA

'Telll Mark it was a lovely night!' 'NO! NO!!' lmfaooo

Carl is telling Bob hes his dad oh my god its so sweet

JOHN DON'T INTERRUPT. FUCK

Parliament just created an act making pirate radio illegal as of new years day

Quentons like 'pirate radio is dead' and everyone else is like 'nope'

The Count pulled the 'Murica card lmaoo

'Obviously im in. You're the only people in the world who like me' IM GONNA SOB GIVE CARL A HUG RN

OMG MARYANNE IS BACK

And her friend Margaret

Carl ur so fucking cute (he ssked if she wanted to play scrabble or something 😭😭😭)

OUR BOY IS DOIN IT

omg is Felicity gonna sleep with Margaret??

Lmfao the FUNNIEST SCENE

Ok so Carl comes out of his room in the morning, he turns around and the entire ship is standing there cheering, The Count is on the air and the nation (20 MILLION PEOPLE) are waiting with baited breath as to if Young Carl lost his virginity

The Count is asking him if he did it lmaoo

The Count: -and remember, the reply 'i don't wanna answer that question' means yes

Young Carl: im certainly not going to answer that question

Lmao John is reporting it as news 😭😭 'a nice young man has lost his virginity in the north sea'

Lmao Felicity and Margaret are popping their heads out of another door and everyones smiling GOOD FOR HER

Lmao they're leaving and Felicity is holding a huge sign that says I love you

Listen its the 70s lesbians gotta do what lesbians gotta do

Omg the govt raided the wrong ship 💀💀💀

Holy shit the engine just exploded on the ship as they were sailing away

'Ok the good news is the engine has just exploded and we're all going to die' Quenton NEVER misses

(The bad news is theyre gonna drown/freeze to death in the North Sea btw)

Theyre asking fans for help

Gavin: Here's a rather long record. I hope I'm here at the end of it.

FUCK

They're all grabbing the shit they can/stuff they want and can carry

Carl just ate shit oop

Oh wow the government isnt gonna save them bcs of 'costs'

Midnight Mark is a badass. Going through a sinking ship in leather pants?? Unmatched. Icon.

Lmao Angus is like 'i know nobody here particularly likes me but I'm glad to have known you all' and Simon is like 'no!! Everyone here likes you. Raise your hand if you like him'

And everyone does except Dave who tries and can't make himself do it so Simon says to be honest and everyone puts their hands down lmaoooo

Oh no where's Bob? Also Carl literally says 'where's my dad?' And i just wanna know if everyone knew beforehand or if that's how they found out who Carls dad is

Omg Bob had no clue the boat was sinking because he was listening to music

Bob just let go of your fucking case you are both DROWNING

Aww Dave saved Carl bcs he felt guilty about sleeping with Maryanne

God they're climbing up to the top of the ship now

Oh no the Count is gonna go down with the ship

Lmao Carl said fuck

FANS ARE COMING TO THE RESCUE

Theyre jumping in to swim to the rescue boats and Bob and Carl held hands to jump in together 😭😭

Gavins doing a backstroke lol

MARYANNE SAVED CARL (and kevin)

The rest of the ship is going under

THE COUNT RETURNS

EVERYONE'S ALIVE WOO

And the movies over, bye lol