#every time i think of this scene i start chewing through cables

[viinas]

life is too short and love is too long

[allandoflimbo]

Ashens (Part 3)

Summary: She falls in love with Bucky Barnes from the moment she sees him. Bucky, still in love with a woman from his past, hates Y/N and plans to make her life miserable. To both their dismay, they are assigned together to go undercover into The Capitol for six months. There, they develop a heartbreaking friend with benefits agreement. Dystopian.

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Chapter Word Count: 3,036

Rating: M for Mature, E for explicit. Enemies to lovers trope, sharing a bed trope, friends with benefits trope, temporarily unrequited love, heavy angry sex, heavy on the angst, and very strong language.

Full Masterpage

Month: February

Year: 2021

It had been three years since you saw your parents being murdered in your living room and since the civil war started.

Society had fallen.

First, it was the fight for the cure, then it was the fight for protection. Next, came the riots, the fight for food, and eventually, it all became a survival of the fittest.

Electricity and communication were no more. You don’t even remember the last time you saw a working TV. Family was no more. Violence and dishonesty were now the brutal answer.

These days, protection came in the form of clothing you owned and how much you had of it. After it became apparent that this virus was actually a bacteria born and flesh-eating disease, everyone did what they could to try and keep their skin protected as much as possible. It ate through the skin and took over your body like a plague. Heavy clothing equaled less chance of being infected. It didn’t take very long for clothing stores to be looted along with the grocery and drug stores.

Eventually, you’d have to make use of any clothing you found on dead bodies that were killed by assassination and not by the virus itself. You couldn’t risk that.

But even that was rare to come by. Everyone jumped at the opportunity of a clothed dead corpse. Whether it was for the scarf, the pants, shoes, or socks.

During the riots, most of the homes had all been destroyed either by fire or vandalism. Some tainted by dead bodies; murder scenes. Some eaten by the virus. You didn’t want to live in a home that was infected. Destroyed homes were ruined by the winter’s harsh snowstorms and the summer’s heavy rainfall. Because of their collapsed ceilings mixed in with the weather, it all eventually began to mold and collapse.

Life was no more, happiness and serenity were gone, except for in The Capitol.

No one could get inside The Wall. You heard rumors that it was guarded by heavy military and machine guns, and all of Hydra.

The Capitol was a place where your parents had planned for every single one of you to make use of to help you survive and live a happy life. It was supposed to be a safe haven, not this.

It was now the place that had been savagely stolen by Hydra and the evil rich. The migration into The Capitol had happened very soon after your parent’s death. The rich, elite, privileged, and only some certain politicians, were taken in.

The other politicians, you heard in rumors, had either killed themselves or were killed by other government officials, just like your parents had been. You heard rumors that this had been an undercover mission for years. They all knew how to take over the moment it was necessary.

Even the doctors and scientists had been taken with them. And you wondered if it was at their own will. Meanwhile, everyone else - people like you and Will and simple middle-class families with children - were forced to fight each other to stay alive.

A bloodbath.

The first few months you and Will had refused to fight anyone for food. That wasn’t in your moral plans. But it had eventually come a day when neither of you had eaten in three days, and the only thing left, in a dirty store off Route 95, was a loaf of bread. You, Will, and this random girl all argued until you eventually agreed on splitting it into three pieces.

The girl had been chewing her piece, devouring like she hadn’t eaten in days when her eyes landed on the tattoo on your neck, and immediately you knew she knew who you were. Her eyes grew dark and she jumped at the chance to attack you when Will came from behind, hitting her on the back of the head with a heavy bucket, making her pass out.

You knew that no one really knew what happened to your family. They all think it was your parent’s intentions for all of these horrible things to have happened. They blame you and your family for this. This only made you want to avenge your parents even more and even Will knew. This life wasn’t what they wanted, and it’s not what you wanted either.

You had been sitting one night, in the middle of a forest in Connecticut around a blazing fire, eating a fish you had just caught with your handmade spear. It had fed you both for many months. Will smiled over the fire at you, licking the meat off the bone clean.

“We’ll get there, Y/N.”

You stared at the fire in a daze. You hadn’t lost hope. Or at least you don’t think you did. Your feet had been bare for weeks and they were starting to chafe and bleed.

You wouldn’t admit it, but part of you did lose a little hope. You feared the first snowfall of the year. It was almost comical to you how your last worry at the moment was frostbite.

You took a deep breath, enjoying the taste of the Tilapia. You wrapped your heavy scarf over your shoulders.

“I know, I’m just tired. I wish I had more strength, I wish we had more strength. There’s two of us and thousands of them, Will.”

It was the first sign of doubt you had shown in months, and it surprised Will slightly.

“I know, but we can do it. I know we can.” he licked his fingers clean and then laid down on the wet and cold grass, his hands behind his head.

Could you do it? You weren’t sure anymore. You knew you wanted to kill Hydra and you wanted to overtake The Capitol. But were you two really capable of doing that? Have you two been delusional this entire time?

“Its been three years. Three years.” You said softly. Exhausted.

“True, but we’re young. And we’re smart. We have an advantage they don’t. That.” He bent one of his legs and stared up at the scars, a small smile tainting his lips, “We could always call The Avengers.”

You scoffed, running your hands through your hair as you threw the bare spine into the fire. You were a bit sad you finished it, your tummy still turning in hunger.

“What Avengers? Hydra destroyed their home, everything. They tried to fight and they lost. Worst than when Thanos beat them. And to make matters worse, this is a virus, it’s not something they can necessarily control. They’ve become overpowered, even the damn Avengers are overpowered now by Hydra. This is like a horror movie that will never end. It’s time we face the facts.”

Will smirked.

“I don’t know if I buy it. You mean to tell me even Bruce fucking Banner couldn’t break that damn wall?”

You gave him a glare.

“I don’t think the goal here is to break The Wall. If anything that would ruin the purpose, don’t you think?” you picked up a small and harmless rock and threw it at his chest, making him cringe, “dipshit.”

Will continued to stare up at the stars.  The night was midnight black, and now since there was no longer any electricity, you could even see the milky-way.

“I don’t see this ending badly.”

You wish you had his good heart and good soul. You furrow your brows at him.

“What do you mean?” You ask.

“This whole thing. We’ll fix it, I know we will. I don’t know how, but it will happen. I’m sure of it.”

You consider his words and nod. You slowly take your time to get up and walk over to where he is. You pull your heavy apocalyptic-style hood over your head and scooch over closer to him. You cross your own arms behind your head, also looking up at the stars. They looked beautiful, and for the first time in a while, you allowed yourself to feel even a little bit serene.  This is why you enjoyed Will. He was your best friend and your guardian angel.

“You really think so?” You ask.

Will turned his head over and looked at you. You did the same thing, staring back into his eyes.

You were suddenly afraid; afraid of losing your friend. What would you do without a good soul like him to keep you sane and strong?

“I do.” There was no trace of doubt in his voice.

Still, you tried to believe him, you really did.

You and Will began to fend for survival. You often thought of killing your parent’s murderer when you would both be laying under a tree in the cold of the night trying to fall asleep. You would never forget that face.  You and Will would both alternate between being watchmen to guard your food and weapons. You mostly used the weapons just for hunting, but you never knew what could happen. Still, you remained alert and vigilant.

You both never ventured too much into the city, trying to stay on the outskirts as much as you possibly could. But one day you had cut your hand while trying to spear more seafood in a riverbed, and the cut ended up being deeper than you could manage. Not only did you fear it to get in the way of your hunting, but you also didn’t want your blood seeping in through your clothing, making it more versatile to the virus.

You both found a looted, but in not-too-bad-of-a-condition, dollar store just off the freeway. You both climbed over some of the abandoned cars, making sure to look in each one just in case there was something worth taking.

You got to the entrance of the store, and Will told you he would be outside waiting and keeping guard while you looked for some bandages.

The store was almost completely empty, yet you found your way into the med isle, stepping over fallen light fixtures and useless items like beanie babies and dusted up Happy Birthday cards. You were rummaging through some boxes when you heard it.

A scream.

Will.

Your heart jumped into your throat and you acted on autopilot. You didn’t second guess, you ran through the doors and over the fallen cable wires without hesitation. Your eyes searched the eery and abandoned parking lot. You didn’t see him and you screamed Will’s name over and over again, running around the deserted parking lot. You knew it was dangerous, but you had to find him. You heard a groan and you quickly saw him lying against the curb off to the side of the highway, his arm wrapped tightly around his waist.

You feared the worst.

“No, no,” you repeated to yourself. You tried to be careful to not slip on the black ice beneath your leather boots.

You ran towards his fallen body and the first thing you say was how pale he was. His face was emotionless. Most likely shock. You crouched down next to him and you pulled his arm away from his chest. You saw a knife sticking out from his upper abdomen and blood.

A lot of blood.

He was panting and it didn’t take you long to look up across the street. There was a man faced down into the pavement. You swallowed thickly, knowing there was a fight and Will had gotten hurt.

“He saw you and he kept saying he wanted your coat, he was a loon and he had a machete, and he — and he—” Will panted.

“Shhh, shhh.” You hugged him tightly to your body as you rocked him back and forth.

“I wanted to protect you.” “I know, Will. I know.” You cried, closing your eyes tightly together and holding him closer.

He barely coughed out, his eyes rolling back.

“It hurts.” He cried.

You saw heavy tears cloud your vision and you felt a sense of impending doom.

“I got you, Will, I got you.” You don’t know if you were speaking to him or yourself.

He stretched his arm up and grabbed yours, pulling your embrace tighter around his body.

“We’ll get them, Y/N. We’ll avenge your parents, I promise. I’m too strong for this.” He squeaked, “I won’t die.” He said through clenched teeth.

Tears ran down your face as you watched him grab his own open abdomen.

“You are, Will. You are so strong.” Your face tilted to the side as more sobs racked through your body, “Please, don’t leave me. I can’t be alone. I can’t do this alone.”

You felt his nimble fingers dig into your elbow, smearing you with his blood.

“I’m so sorry.” He whimpered, some blood escaping his lips this time.

“Please, please.” You cried over and over again, holding him tighter to your chest.

It didn’t take much longer for you to feel him go limp in your arms. Your body shook with your cries when you repeated it back to yourself: Will was dead.

You didn’t allow yourself to cry for too long. You wanted to but you knew you needed to keep moving, and being this exposed could only cost you your life.

You quickly found a nice area, the nicest you could possibly find in an arena of death, and you carefully laid Will’s body down. Ironically, it was in a field of dead daisies. You delicately draped his arms over his chest and you whispered your goodbyes to him. You took a moment to cherish who he was. He was a lonely son of a construction worker and an accountant. His bother died two years ago after being infected. He had been in pain for a long time, but he had a good heart, and he strived to stay at your side to help you. You let your tears fall on your hands as you held his for just a few more minutes.

No more than a half-hour later after finding some bandages, you were back in the woods, continuing your journey south. You pulled out the compass that Will had given you, just to be sure. It was close to dusk when you heard the sound of a river running down below. Your stomach grumbled, suddenly feeling very hungry again. You had been out of luck today, finding not even one squirrel or deer. Not even a bird.

You hadn’t eaten since that morning when you and Will had split a couple of spare pumpkin seeds. Your chest tightened at the thought of him again. You felt awful for just leaving him in the field like that. You knew someone would find him soon and take the clothing off his body to keep for their own. But you had no choice. And there was no time for a proper burial, at least not in the middle of a city like that.

You continued your walk more and more, the boots that you had stolen off a girl’s body, squishing in the mood and dirt beneath your feet. You were thankful it hadn’t snowed yet this year. The cold was already unbearable as it was, if there was snow it would only make your journey worst. You couldn’t take it for granted.

You don’t know how much farther you walked since you had no watch. No one had watches anymore. Time didn’t exist anymore. But, it would help in order for you to estimate your location and how far you had left in your journey. You were guessing, realistically, it had been about an hour, judging by how much darker the sky now was.

You knew you needed to find a corner to settle in and build a fire. You needed a place to sleep for the night. Food would have to wait until tomorrow, you would go to sleep hungry again.

You take a deep breath and rest your hand on a large tree. You were extremely fatigued, in desperate need of water. You had been dehydrated for a while. You knew your canteen was running low so you had to savor as much as you could.

You took necessary sips here and there.

You drift your eyes over the horizon and through the broken branches until your gaze lands of a patch of grass that looked decent enough for a rest stop. You would lay your dirty rag you call a blanket there and get some rest.

You slowly started your walk, tucking your canteen back into your bag.

You heard owls in the sky around you and you grew worried as you began to realize that with Will now gone you were truly alone. There was no way you could avenge your parents alone. You couldn’t go into The Capitol alone.

You had no chance.

Your hands grew clammy and you started feeling worried sick, your mind now in overdrive.

You were screwed. You were all alone and screwed and there was no chance in hell you were going to come out of this alive. Suddenly, you find yourself angry at Will. Angry for lying to you and saying that everything would be okay.

How could he say that? How could he lie to make you believe it was true? You wouldn’t be capable of doing this alone? Even the Avengers couldn’t do this, even the Earth’s mightiest heroes could not win against Hydra, yet here you were trying to overthrow an entire city filled with them?

You remember the people talking about how their compound had been bombed and destroyed. They didn’t have a home anymore. They had three missions where they tried to overthrow it and failed miserably. It pained you to see that your parents hope for the future had become a living hell of blood and war. How could Will have so much faith in you? You remember the feel of his limp body in your arms and your sadness is unbearable.

More tears found your eyes and you rubbed your wet nose over the back of your sleeve. Something heavy caught the tip of your boot, and with a shriek you found yourself tumbling down and down.

Then, everything went dark.

[ikeromantic]

Curiosity

Mitsuhide finally gets his answers and it’s more than he bargained for!

@yukina-otome who’s comment inspired this continuation of the scene from

Mitsuhide and the Mystery (of a Woman’s Purse)

Mitsuhide Akechi main route start of Chapter 5, fluff, around 1500 words. This ended up longer than I intended but it was a lot of fun to write. 

First: Mitsuhide and the Maiden

Previous: Mitsuhide and the Mystery of a Woman’s Purse

Mitsuhide felt ashamed of himself. The little mouse had bested him at his own game, and worse, seen right through his carefully crafted mask. Despite her flushed cheeks and galloping heartbeat, she’d told him she wanted nothing from him. That she would answer all his questions without any persuasion.

The hollow victory was deflating, but at least he would have the answers he sought. And her cooperation. That was the most important thing. His little mouse would be safe, and Mitsuhide would be able to continue his carefully laid plans without her interference. 

They sat across from each other. Teacups steamed in front of them, lending a sense of comfort to the uncomfortable conversation. The items from her strange bag were laid out across the desk. His little one looked at him intently. “Please understand that everything I’m about to tell you is true.”

And then she launched into the most ridiculous, convoluted fable Mitsuhide ever heard. It was like nothing he’d ever heard. Worm holes in the sky. A world where buildings and lights blotted out the stars. Where metal carts rolled horseless through smoothly paved streets . . . But she seemed to mean every word. He contemplated the objects between them, wondering where they fit in her narrative.

“You still haven’t explained these -” Mitsuhide gestured to the desk.

The chatelaine yawned. “Oh, I forgot. So that -” she pointed at the strange sack, “is a purse. Women in my time carry their personal things in it.”

“What is it made of?”

“A poly-blend.”

Mitsuhide looked at her blankly.

“Ah, like plastic? You don’t have it yet but -” she struggled for the best way to explain it. “It’s cheaper than wood or leather, and keeps water out. In the future, we use it for a lot of things. Probably too many things. My purse is a blend of plastic fibers and cloth - that’s why it keeps its shape.”

Mitsuhide picked up the bag and squeezed it experimentally. “And it keeps what is in it dry?”

“Yes . . .”

The warlord set her purse down and picked up the smartphone. “And this dark mirror? What is it for?”

“It’s for -” she paused, chewing at her lip thoughtfully - “for talking to people far away and looking at pictures and playing music. It does a lot, actually.”

Mitsuhide held the plain rectangle to his ear and listened. He shut his eyes, trying to focus but he heard nothing in it. 

“That’s not how it works,” his little mouse giggled. 

He set the thing down, blushing. “Then show me.” 

“Like this.” She squeezed the side of it whispering, “Please be charged. Please be charged. Come on.” 

The mirror lit up with an array of colors and then glowed a steady blue. She slid her fingers across it in patterns, and the colors changed, resolving to a picture of her with two fingers up, the ocean behind her. 

“It is magic,” Mitsuhide whispered. Kyubei had been right to suspect. Here was proof. 

“No,” she laughed again, “It’s a smartphone. All I did was turn it on, but there’s not much battery left.” She handed it to him carefully.

The warlord looked closely at the image. It was a near perfect replica of his little one. “So this was painted on your . . . smartphone? Who painted you?”

“It isn’t a painting, it’s - let me show you.” She scooted around to his side of the desk and put her cheek against his. “Smile!”

Mitsuhide did not smile. The clicking sound surprised him and he would have dropped the device if the chatelaine had not also held onto it. She touched the front of it a few more times, and then he saw himself. And her. Just as they were a moment ago.

“This is . . . amazing. You said it talks to people as well? Far away?”

She nodded. “Yes but, well, there’s no one else around with one for me to call. So I can’t show you that. But I can play you some music from my time!”

Mitsuhide gave a nod of assent. He was curious what music would sound like in 500 years’ time, though it would have been more interesting to see how the communication with it worked. He could think of a lot of uses for a magic that was faster than horses or boats. 

His little mouse tapped away at the thing again, and more colors shifted. Then a strange, discordant sound began. The beat was fast, and the singers’ voices were high pitched and cheery, yet he couldn’t pick out the instruments in the melody, or identify many of the words they sang. “What - what is this called?”

“It’s a pop song. Very popular right - well, 500 years from right now.”

Mitsuhide listened to it until the song came to an end. He couldn’t decide how he felt about it. He considered himself well versed in music and poetry, but this was outside his knowledge completely. “How is it played?”

“Ummm, probably a keyboard, a guitar . . . I’m not very good with music. I just like listening to it.” She slid her fingers along the glass again. “I should probably turn this off. The battery is almost dead.”

“It is broken?”

“No, it just needs to be charged. I can’t really do that though.” She squeezed the sides of the smartphone again, and it went dark.

Mitsuhide picked up the thin rope with metal ends. “Then let’s move on. What is this? Is it some kind of weapon women in your time carry?” He held it up to show how he thought it could be wrapped around a throat and felt very clever about figuring it out. At least, he felt clever until his little mouse laughed again.

“No, oh - most women - we don’t carry weapons. That’s my - my charger cable.” She got the words out between giggles. 

“For the, ah, the smartphone?” 

She took the rope from him and showed him how one end fit into it. “The other plugs in, but there aren’t plugs I can use here.” She shrugged and set it down. She picked up the other small case from the purse, one that looked like leather but wasn’t. “And before you ask, this is my wallet. These are bank cards - they have money, in the future. Or they would if I had a good job. And this is my ID.” She held up a shiny rectangle with writing on it, and her image painted to one side. Another excellent likeness.

“Not a painting either. A photograph.” Mitsuhide took it from her, still in wonder over how the images were made. 

“Yes, exactly.” She beamed. 

It was awkward to be the student, Mitushide reflected. Yet he was getting the answers he asked for, even if they were so far beyond his expectations as to be fantasy.

“And this - this is my makeup kit.” She popped open a slim container. In it were a variety of powders in several colors. 

This was something Mitsuhide recognized, though the case was odd. “Ah, for a stage performer or an entertainer.” His eyebrows went up, considering his little mouse working as such.

She must have seen his thoughts on his face because she flushed pink to the tips of her ears. “No, no, no. Most girls in my time wear make up. Not like that - not like . . . anyway -” she set the case down and reached for the painted scroll. 

“Ah, now this object. This gave me many questions. Some of which you answered in your story. But why are all these men . . . hot? Is it summer painting - ah, photographs?” 

If she was pink before now she went crimson. “Y-yes! Summer! Hot summer!” She rolled the scroll up and shoved it into her purse. “There are lots of umm, scrolls like this. We call them magazines. They have pictures and stories. This one . . . it’s a tourist guide. About the warlords from this era.”

“And I am in it.” 

“Mhmmm.” His little mouse looked like she would rather talk about anything else. Curious. 

“And it is about me, in the summer?” Mitsuhide raised an eyebrow. Something was not adding up in her explanation. “The . . . guide . . . didn’t mention summer. It did mention my ‘silver white hair and golden eyes’. And the term heartbreaker?” 

“D-did it?”

“Yes. Along with the physical attributes of the other Oda warlords.”

She was still sitting on his side of the desk, and now she inched away from him with every word.

Mitushide gently took the purse from her and opened up the magazine. The first page was about his lord. He held it up and read the first line. “Nobunaga is a hottie? Do explain, little mouse.”

She actually squeaked. “It - it means attractive. Good looking.” The chatelaine wouldn’t meet his eyes. “It’s about all - all the most attractive . . . historical . . .”

Mitsuhide leaned forward and tipped her chin up with a finger. “And I am one of them?”

“Yes?”

“You consider me a . . . hottie?”

His little mouse scurried over to the other side of the desk, not afraid but - embarrassed? Yes, that was definitely it. 

She stared down at the other items still on the desk. “You shouldn’t ask a girl things like that. Now . . . what else are you curious about?”

Many things, the kitsune thought, but he kept them to himself for now.

Next: One Kind of Temptation

[harryandmolly]

Ten Years - Part One

summary: ten years after 2007 Warped Tour, Shawn and Val come face to face in London

warnings: Language, that good yearning

WC: 3.3k

A/N: this is a post-epilogue miniseries of I Could Write It Better Than You Ever Felt It. I recommend you read that first or this will make you go 🤔

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

Shawn has never felt further from his 19-year-old self than right now, squished into what has to be the world’s tiniest lift with Val and Alice and Alice’s very large, fancy pram.

The rickety lift slowly drags them up to the third floor of the old building. In the mirrored doors, Shawn watches them, saved from Val’s returning gaze as she focuses on making faces at her sleepy baby. Her back is pressed up against his chest. He can smell the achingly familiar citrus scent of her hair. But he can barely recognize the boy that ran away from this girl.

The lift stops with an alarming little jolt but Val looks unbothered. She hands the pram off to Shawn to steer while she fishes keys out of her purse. Shawn walks slowly, gazing down at Alice’s round and curious face. Who are you to be taking up my mommy’s attention? She seems to say. Shawn’s lower lip twitches. Who, indeed.

Val lets them into the dark flat. It’s roomier than Shawn expected, having seen the modest building from the outside. As Val flips on lights, Shawn’s hungry eyes suck in as much as they can, committing it to memory for further study.

The walls are a rich shade of deep, deep red. The furniture is modern but comfortable. There are bookshelves in every corner, packed full of fantasy, art texts and music biographies. He stumbles over a stuffed colorful caterpillar toy. It makes Val chuckle.

He looks up at her and watches as she drops her jacket onto a hanger and kicks her boots into a corner next to a teeny tiny pair of cleats that make him smile.

“Already got her on a club team?” he rasps, finding his voice has failed him slightly. Val graciously ignores it and glances over at the cleats.

“Aren’t those hilarious? Raf sent those for her a few weeks ago. They were his daughter’s when she was Alice’s size.”

Shawn smiles and tucks his hands into his jacket pockets, rocking back and forth. He’s gazing around, memorizing as casually as possible, when he feels her warmth again. He looks down to see her smirking up at him. He ducks his head and chuckles. There never was any hiding from Val.

“Wanna stay for dinner? I was going to order takeaway.”

He grins at her British -ism and bites into his lower lip, nodding at her fridge. “I can cook if you want.”

Val’s eyebrows lift. Shawn’s laugh is low and gravelly. His voice is still not working quite right. He thinks it’s prolonged exposure to her coming out of nowhere. He doesn’t really mind. She could always understand exactly what he was saying even when he was babbling helplessly, even when he wasn’t speaking at all.

“You can… cook?”

Shawn rolls his eyes and shucks off his jacket, placing it on the back of a barstool at her modest kitchen island.

“I did grow up a little in the last ten years,” he sighs, wandering into her kitchen curiously.

“I noticed.”

Shawn freezes almost comically. His hand is halfway to the fridge handle. He blinks and turns his head slightly to look at her. She’s wearing the smile that’s haunted him for ten years, the one that’s so signature Val -- it’s a dare and a promise all in one. He swallows so hard his throat visibly bobs.

She’s fucking flirting with him. And she doesn’t look like she did it accidentally.

His motor function comes back enough to open the refrigerator and look around, and also hope the cool air will reduce the pink burning in his cheeks. Val busies herself with freeing fussy Alice from the pram, holding her against her hip after shedding all her tiny little layers down to a pair of leggings and a long sleeved tee with the Arsenal FC logo on it.

Shawn studies the contents of the fridge. It doesn’t take long. He looks up at her, frowning disapprovingly.

“You don’t cook,” he says plainly.

Val snorts, which makes Alice wriggle against her chest.

“I don’t cook. Never have, never will. It horrifies my mother, who sends five pounds of frozen homemade empanadas every month packed with dry ice.”

Shawn groans and lets his head loll back. “Fuck, I love your mom’s empanadas.”

A moment later, his head snaps up. His eyes widen. He claps a hand over his mouth.

“I’m so sorry!” The sound is garbled against the skin of his hand. He removes it to Val’s amusement.

“Don’t worry,” Val hums, pressing her nose and lips up against Alice’s patch of dark hair above her little ear, “I swear around her all the fucking time. Don’t I, nina?”

Shawn grins and turns back to the fridge. With a sigh, he unloads a carton of old Waitrose eggs, some wilted spinach and a bag of shiitake mushrooms. He snuggles the ingredients into his arms and nudges the door shut with his foot, glancing at her reproachfully.

“Don’t judge me on this, it won’t be my best work. But I have limited resources.”

Val takes a deep, calming breath, watching him start to sort out a cutting board and a pathetically dull knife at her kitchen counter. Because Shawn Mendes is cooking her dinner.

It’s been a weird six hours.

Val props herself up on a stool, planting Alice in front of her, holding her by the waist so her floppy, energetic baby doesn’t squirm onto the floor. Alice also serves as an excellent shield between herself and the man in her kitchen she can’t stop staring at.

She listens to him chop and crack eggs and melt butter like making dinner for her is some kind of Food Network challenge. She tries to tamp down a goofy smile at the thought. Alice smacks her tiny palm against Val’s lips for her attention. She holds her daughter’s hand and mimes nibbling at her fingers, making Alice squeal with laughter. Val peeks over Alice’s shoulder to see Shawn grinning at a frying pan, expertly flipping an omelette. Val’s stomach flips with it.

“So,” Val coughs, “How’ve you found London so far?”

Shawn slides the omelette sizzling onto a plate and cracks pepper over the top. He slides it over to her with a fork, slinging a dish towel over his shoulder while he gets to work on the second. Val mouths thank you, sealing it with a wink as she lifts the baby into a high chair and pops open a can of mashed carrot and swede from the countertop.

“I love it,” Shawn murmurs, nodding, “I’ve always really liked it here. My mum has family here. I’m over here a lot for work.”

He slides his tongue over his lower lip, making the black enameled ring quiver as he thinks about the comment he left out -- he’s long been considering getting a place here. Many of his favorite producers are based out of London. He and the guys love working out here. Forefront has remained more popular in the UK after the scene faded in the US. It makes sense.

“And… how long are you staying?”

Val hopes the eagerness doesn’t cut too deeply into her voice. If Shawn notices, he’s mercifully cool about it.

“I’m leaving Thursday to go home for the holidays.”

Val’s jaw tightens. She straightens up and stares at Alice, watching as she takes a fist of Val’s hair and shoves it into her mouth instead of the spoon of food Val is offering.

“I’ll be back after New Years to write the new album. Gonna spend a few months here.”

Val’s stomach swoops. She jams the spoon into Alice’s cheek by accident, reaching for her bib to wipe the food away before Alice can protest.

“That’s nice,” Val replies airily.

Shawn plops into the stool next to her with his plate and eyes her as she takes one bite of her food and feeds her daughter with her other hand.

“Ever accidentally mixed up the spoons and eaten baby food by mistake?”

Val barks a laugh. “Happens like, once a week.”

Shawn, Val and Alice eat in comfortable silence. Shawn chews a little slower than usual because he knows he’s probably getting kicked out after dinner and he’s not really ready to let go of this just yet.

This.

What is this?

Shawn shakes the thought before it can sprout in his brain. He’s not going to freak out over this. This is fine. It’s dinner with an old friend and her baby. Nothing weird can happen with a baby around, right?

Val stands and scoops a squirming Alice out of her high chair, walking toward the nursery with a glance over her shoulder.

“I’m gonna get her changed and put her down for the night. Want to open that bottle of wine there?” She nods at a bottle of cabernet and Shawn’s eyes get a little brighter.

“Yeah,” he responds enthusiastically, nodding, “Good night, Alice!”

Val beams and flaps Alice’s little hand at him. “Night night, Shawn!”

When Val emerges twenty minutes later with the baby monitor, Shawn has the dishes cleaned and the wine breathing with two glasses out on the counter while he flips absently through his phone.

“I’m gonna get changed, too,” Val says softly, gesturing down at her leather pants and chewing on the inside of her lip, trying not to read too much into all the different cozy-cute outfit ideas in her head.

Before she can overthink it, she swaps out her urban mom chic look for clingy charcoal leggings and a black camisole with her favorite cable knit cardigan over top. She gives her hair a flip in the mirror and pinches some color into her cheeks.

You know, just because.

When she walks back into the living room, Shawn has the wine poured. She tips her glass against his and murmurs “cheers,” willfully ignoring the way Shawn is trying not to check her out.

They sit at the bar. Shawn watches Val cross her long, slender legs, her bare, black-lacquered toes glinting up at him. He hums a chuckle and sips his wine.

“What?” she giggles.

He nods at her. “You. Your black nail polish. Some things never change, I guess.”

The words feel heavy as soon as they leave him. It swirls around them, all that has changed, all that hasn’t.

It would be easy to look over at Val now and see a stranger. It’s been a full decade. The amount of life experience packed into the ten years between 22 and 32 could have made her an entirely different person. But Shawn’s been watching her, listening to her all day. She’s still Val.

It’s a comfort and a curse, he thinks. It’s not like he hasn’t wondered about her, about how much the years have changed all the things that drew him in. It hurt to think she was changing and he didn’t even know it, couldn’t see it. And now he knows just how… Val she still is.

This night won’t last forever, even if they did just open a nice bottle of wine. He’ll go back to the hotel, he’ll leave London. He’ll be stuck with knowing the woman he loved is still every bit as incredible as he remembers her. Hell, she got better. He can’t believe it, but Val Moreno got better with time.

He shakes his head and pushes a hand through his hair. “Wow,” he mutters.

Val takes a gulp from her glass and nods. “I’m kind of feeling that, too.”

“It’s just…” Shawn hisses, finally cracking with the help of the fine cabernet, “It’s been… ten fucking years.”

Val looks over at him. She’s silent for a few long, slow seconds.

“So tell me about them.”

Shawn looks at her as she stands and reaches for the bottle and her glass, heading for the couch.

“Didn’t we do that all afternoon?” he laughs, standing and ambling after her.

Hey moron, he thinks to himself, Do you really want to give her a reason to make you leave sooner than you have to?

To his relief, Val persists, swinging her legs up to fold beside her and patting the cushions. He settles in and continues sipping from his glass for courage.

“Well,” she starts, looking a bit uncertain as she gazes into her glass, “If your ten years has been anything like mine, you have a list of things you’ve been wanting to tell me, saving up for if we’d ever see each other again.”

Shawn’s fucking fingers tingle. She’s been making a list. For him.

He nods. “Y-yeah. I mean… yeah.”

Val smiles. It’s soft and encouraging. “Ok. I’ll start.”

Shawn’s heart softens its battering ram motion in his chest. He bobs his head.

“I was… so scared when I got pregnant with Alice. God, it was the most frightened I’ve ever been of anything. More scared than when I told Raf I was leaving Streets, even more scared than when I was pregnant with Rafael. Because I felt so ready this time. If she was taken from me… god, I swear to god, I held my breath the entire nine months with her. Even after she was born, I just stared at her. Like if I blinked, that would be it. She’d be gone. I think it’s only in the last six months that I’ve started to fucking relax.”

Shawn’s body surges with affection and protective instincts he barely recognizes. He nods eagerly.

“I think it’s amazing you decided to do it on your own. I mean, I bet you hear that all the time. But…”

“But you know better than most how much of a risk I felt I was taking,” she says softly, leveling him with her gaze.

Shawn is quiet remembering the night she finally released it into him, a flood of words he was too young to hear, to feel, to accept. It was the night they said ‘I love you.’ It was the night he ran.

“Your turn,” Val whispers, refilling their glasses. Shawn drinks eagerly.

“Uhm… I… fuck. The closest I ever came to calling you was six years ago, after Making Midnight. I felt like shit. I think I knew all along it wasn’t right -- none of it. It wasn’t me, it wasn’t us. It was a bad album. I had no business being as pissed as I was that it sucked and everyone hated it. But I was so angry with myself. I just felt powerless. It took me so long to be ok with speaking up and saying when I thought something was wrong. It took me so long to find a way to be a leader. I think that’s the way I’ve changed the most in the last ten years.”

Val watches him thoughtfully. She takes a short sip and shakes her head.

“Maybe that’s one of the ways. I’m not sure it’s the biggest. I think 19-year-old you wouldn’t have lasted through a walk in the park with me and my kid. 29-year-old you held her for over an hour. I think you fell a little bit in love with her.”

She chuckles but she’s not joking. Shawn goes crimson.

“She’s… god, Val, she’s amazing. You’re so lucky. You… you both are.”

Val’s eyes drift shut. She drains her second glass. When she opens her eyes again, Shawn’s warm honeyed eyes are watching her. He doesn’t look scared. He doesn’t look anxious. He looks a little lonely.

Val fills their glasses again. She’s warm enough now to slip out of her cardigan and leave it beside her on the sofa. She watches Shawn watch her toss her hair over her shoulders. He chews on his lip until it’s red and swollen.

“Say it.”

He looks up from his already half empty third glass. He blinks quickly. “What?”

“Say it, whatever it is.”

Her voice is calm and smooth. He swallows.

“I was just… wondering if you’ve been in love in the last ten years.”

Val’s head tilts. “Honestly? I didn’t really try. I didn’t want to be. I just wanted Alice. Even before I was ready for her, though, I wasn’t all that interested in looking around. I guess I figured it would fall into my lap when it was right.”

“Why didn’t you look?” Shawn asks, a little too quickly.

Val notices. She takes a slow, deep breath. Shawn watches it inflate and deflate her chest as his tightens. With a resigned smile, Val reaches out and cups his cheek. Her whole body is warm, humming with alcohol in her veins. Her fingers have him choking down a gasp.

“Do you know what I think is really the most incredible part?” she breathes. He blinks at her again, dumbstruck.

“We were together less than three months. It was Warped Tour. We were… fuck, we were kids. I never expected that I’d be hung up on it after all this time. That years later, I’d be on dates and thinking of you. That I’d be sleeping with other people and still thinking of you. I thought this is something that would fade. When I saw you in the garden today, it felt exactly the same as waking up next to you in my bunk on that stupid tour bus, like it was 2007 all over again.”

Shawn’s eyes have fallen shut. He’s overwhelmed, breathing heavily. He turns his face to nudge his lips against her thumb, leaving a gentle kiss.

“God, I still write songs about you. Like, all the time. I thought I was crazy. Maybe I am. I don’t know. Maybe we both are.”

Val waits a beat, then drags his lips to hers. Her kiss is firm but sweet. Her face softens as soon as his mouth touches hers. His fingers curls into the ends of her hair as he edges closer, carefully, dropping himself headfirst into the kiss because who knows if he’ll get another.

They break apart, panting for air. Val plants her hands on his shoulders and wastes no time hauling herself into his lap.

Shawn whimpers, gasping into her mouth. She feels… perfect. Fuck, he’s on fire. It’s been so long. Her tongue slips against his, she groans into his mouth. Her arms are slung around his neck so all he can see and hear and feel is her. How did he go without this for so long? How did he let her go? How could he leave?

But he knows why he left. He left because he was a kid. It took every ounce of strength and maturity he had to walk away when he let himself realize it. He left for him.

Shawn inhales deeply and scoops his hands around her cheeks, easing her back gently. Val’s eyes are heavy. She’s panting.

“Wait… wait,” he grunts, shaking his head as he breathes heavily, in synch with her, “It can’t be like this this time.”

Val feels his words snapping into place in her head. She looks down at the baby monitor she dropped next to her sweater. She lets her head fall forward as she laughs breathlessly.

“Ok. Add that to the list of things you wouldn’t have done ten years ago.”

Shawn grins and tugs her forward until her head rests against his shoulder and his arms drape around her back.

“You deserve so much better than what I gave you last time,” he says softly. It’s not pained or self-deprecating, it’s simple and honest. “I want it to be real.”

She turns her lips against his neck and sighs. The same scurry of goosebumps she remembers she always left on him marches across his skin.

“Then let’s talk about it in the morning,” Val murmurs. Carefully, she unfolds her body from his, takes his hand, and leads the way to her bedroom.

-----------

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Taglist: @smallerinfinities @the-claire-bitch-project @achinglyshawn @infiniteshawn @mendesoft @singanddreamanyway @alone-in-madness @abigfatmess @shawnitsmutual @awkwardfangirl2014 @september-lace @grittyisaho @sinplisticshawn @rollingxstone @yslsaint @randi-eve @fallmoreinlove @heyits-claire @itrocksmysocks @parkerspicedlatte​ @embracehappy @peacedolantwins2 @kitykatnumber

[hardnoctlife]

Sneak Peak

Been working on my new OT4 fic and I am SO STOKED to share it, so until it’s in any shape to be posted, here’s a sneak peak of one scene, inspired by @mysteriousbean5‘s “Slingshot” fanart, which I think was the doodle that made me start following her. (I’ll link the fic in a repost once it’s up on AO3!)

“Ugh—maybe that funnel cake was a bad idea,” Prompto moaned as he leaned over the trashcan. The last few spins on the tilt-a-whirl had him reeling, nausea pulsing in his belly. Noctis didn’t look much better. The prince had both of his eyes closed as he concentrated on not hurling, one hand on the back of a nearby bench to steady himself.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I feel fine.” Gladio flexed both arms above his head, grinning like a behemoth on the hunt—predatory.

“Hey, how about this? If you and Noctis can ride the slingshot without blowing chunks, I’ll owe you. Whatever you want. Then we can go on the Ferris wheel and call it a night.” Noctis squinted one eye open, never one to pass up a dare, but Prompto was shaking his head furiously from side-to-side, only stopping when he felt his stomach lurch.

“Gladiolus,” Ignis tsked, eyes skimming over Noctis and Prompto worriedly.

“C’mon Prom, new year, new you. Let’s make Gladio eat his words,” Noctis urged, putting on a brave face as he straightened and inhaled slowly.

“Okay, fine. Where is this ride, anyway?” Prompto questioned, lifting his head to look.

Looking as smug as a coeurl, Gladio pointed directly behind them. They turned, eyes fixating on the structure that loomed over the rest of the carnival attractions, a simple design composed of two metal poles with wires attached to a seat meant for two. Both Prompto and Noctis watched in horror as two riders were launched high into the air from the ground, tumbling head over heels the entire way up and down. The screams pierced the night, and Prompto looked to Noctis nervously, hoping the prince would change his mind, but instead he pulled his shoulders back and stuck his chest out.

“You’re on.”

Prompto gulped, following Noctis to get in line, using the time to try and settle his nerves and stomach. The wait had the reverse effect from what the birthday boy hoped it would—by the time they got to the front, he was so jittery that his hands were shaking, anxiety making him sweat despite the fall weather. Gladio and Ignis were watching them from outside the metal barriers, leaning on the railing. Prompto watched as Gladio gave a little wave, wiggling his fingers tauntingly.

“C’mon, we got this Prom,” Noctis said as they climbed onto the platform, allowing the ride operator to strap them in and secure their harnesses.

Prompto was nervously chewing on his bottom lip, not speaking, which was how Noctis knew he was really scared. Without saying anything, Noctis grabbed Prompto’s hand where it was clinging to the handlebars on either side of his head and squeezed.

“Gladio is gonna owe us big time, you’ll see. It’s gonna be cake, baby.” Noctis winked and Prompto forced an uneasy smile, wishing he had his confidence.

They felt their seats sinking down, the cables growing taut as they pulled back. Prompto focused on his breathing, adrenaline pumping through his veins at the tension that came from the expectation of what was coming next. Any moment now, they would be catapulted hundreds of feet into the night sky, with only a lap belt and shoulder bumpers keeping them from flying out of their chairs.

Prompto was mid breath when his body began to move, swooping upwards at speeds no human was meant to travel at. The scream was coming out of his mouth before he could process what was happening, unable to tell what was up and what was down. Noctis let out a wild whoop, fearfully delighted, and Prompto’s eyes squeezed against the air rushing past his head, hyperventilating.

“OH MY GODS—I HATE YOU—I HATE YOU!” Noctis was cackling through Prompto’s shrieks, both of them breathless as the world spun dizzyingly.

“Yeah, but you love me!”

“YES, BUT I ALSO HATE YOU!” Prompto clenched his teeth as everything he had eaten in the past several hours threatened to come up, tucking his chin into his chest as all of his senses were assaulted from every angle.

Eventually, they started to slow, the bounces getting shallower until they came to a jagged stop.

Prompto felt hungover when he unclipped from his harness—head pounding, walking the thin line between needed to vomit and needing to pee, and off balance so that he stumbled from the enclosure and into Gladio’s waiting arms.

“How was it?” he chuckled, trying to keep a straight face and failing.

“Fuck you,” Prompto groaned.

“Is that an official birthday wish?”

Prompto didn’t have time to decide, because at that moment, his dessert wanted out. Mortified, he pushed Gladio aside and retched into the grass where he had been standing seconds earlier, a moan escaping him.

[justanotherloveaffair]

The Layover (Part 2/2) - Chadwick x Reader One Shot

LINK TO PART 1

Summary:  You’re finally together but the interruptions continue.

Warnings: smut, oral sex, language, NSFW

Word Count: 6,877

Author’s Note:  Let it be known I have no idea what filming a movie or being on set is like and am sure all of those details are horribly inaccurate. 

Also I didn’t have a lot of time to edit this so I’m sure there are a ton of mistakes...

Taglist: @brianabreeze @sarahboseman @kumkaniudaku@grandadchadwick@supersizemeplz, @purple-apricots, @deliciousstreetkidcroissant, @ashanti-notthesinger, @onyour-right,  @maverickabull, @lavitabella87,  @fullonfrenzy,  @builtalongthewayside, @belauriette, @jaeee-http, @airis-paris14,  @fortuitoushappenings , @queentearra, @h-challa @90sinspiredgirl @wildaboutchrisevans@theunsweetenedtruth @stevesthot @afraiddreamingandloving @killmongerrss@nah-imjustfeelinit @tchallaholla @a-heretic-child @simplyyamberr@tacohead13 @heyauntieeee @big3gocandykahn + sorry if you didn’t want to be tagged, just ignore.

With the morning sun came perspective on just how much snow had fallen over night.

Outside of Chadwick’s place, several feet of snow blanketed the sidewalk and street, still collecting volume from the outpouring that continued from the heavens. Boot tracks cut through the middle by brave pedestrians who needed to get by. On the street, parked cars had a fresh, snowy makeover that would have looked beautiful if it wasn’t so inconvenient for their owners. 

You woke up to dim, grey light from the sun’s rays filtered through heavy clouds and still falling snow. To those outside trying to go about their day, the weather was wreaking havoc. But from the warmth of Chadwick’s bed, there was a quiet, simple beauty to it. A coziness that made you snuggle closer into his side.

His contented sigh when you did it alerted you that you weren’t the only one awake, taking in the quiet morning. You peeked up through your eyelashes for your first glimpse of Chadwick that wasn’t blanketed in darkness. 

There was just something about being in his embrace that fulfilled a deep yearning. FaceTime did the job, but robbed your senses of all that made him real - touch, colour, scent, feel. He was a work of art by a master’s hand, vivid perfection in every line and stroke.

He returned your look with the same quiet reverence and you both broke into cheesy smiles.

“Lovely morning,” you bit your lip, grinning.

Chadwick’s finger trailed a line down your spine, all the way down to your butt where he followed with his gaze. “Lovely indeed,” he murmured, his eyes glazing over as he drank in every part of you he could see. 

He slipped his finger underneath the garter around your waist. “Present for me?”

“Surprise,” you announced. You shuffled forward to kiss his prominent cupid’s bow, in the act giving his hand more access to the lower parts of your body for him to cup and squeeze. “Sorry I fell asleep baby,” you whispered. 

His palm was warm on your ass and he couldn’t resist giving it a hard squeeze. You had a delectable round ass, and anytime it was near Chadwick, his hands were on it, even in public. 

“Yeah you’ll be sorry alright,” he teased, playfully biting your bottom lip into his mouth. 

At that moment you both heard an electronic vibrating sound nearby. 

It was coming from Chadwick’s phone, face down on the nightstand which forced him to pick it up to see who it was. 

He sighed.

“I have to get this, it’s the director.”

Frowning at the interruption, you scooted down his body to hold your arms around his middle and listened intently as he answered the phone. It was so quiet in the room you could hear the entire conversation. The more you heard, the more you sat up, your mouth opening in protest hoping Chadwick would acknowledge your indignant expression.

Apparently the snowstorm had given them the perfect day for shooting one particular scene and they had to do it that day.

“No!” you hissed in the background.

“Isn’t there any way to do it another time? You know I’m off today – I wasn’t even supposed to be in town,” Chadwick was calm but stern in his response.

You could hear the voice on the other end and he wasn’t budging.

“Come on man,” Chadwick gave it one last shot, ending with a dramatic sigh and pressing his hand to his forehead. “Please. Just one day.”

Your blood boiled at the muffled “I’m sorry” in response. 

Chadwick’s lip was curled up but he kept his tone professional with a curt, “I’ll be there in an hour.”

He ended the call while you curled your hands into your face, holding back tears of anger and frustration.

You felt his palms touch the sides of your arms. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” you croaked.

“Maybe this is God’s way of punishing us for having premarital sex,” he joked and you dropped your hands to make a face at him, but found his little smile and stupid joke breaking through the cracks of your angry demeanor.

“We’ve sinned a lot,” you agreed, warming and Chadwick pulled you closer to him. 

“We’re gonna sin a lot more tonight when I finally get you to myself,” his voice rumbled in his chest. Warm kisses found their way onto your neck and along your jawline, up to your ear.

“Do you really think you’ll be gone all day? What am I gonna do here?” You pouted.

He leaned back to give you his impossible to resist pleading, puppy dog eyes. “Come with me, to set. I know it’s not exciting for you, but at least we’d be near each other.”

You huffed looking outside, every inch of you protesting having to go out in the snow and having your fantasy of spending all day with Chadwick ruined. But the idea of being alone in the house without him wasn’t appealing either.

“Okay, I’ll come.” 

You couldn’t help but smile at his excited expression. “There’s just one small problem. I literally only brought one outfit…” you looked down at your lingerie with a shrug and a suggestive smile. “I didn’t think we’d be leaving this bed.”

Lost in staring at your body, Chadwick blinked the distraction out of his eyes and his gaze slid towards the ceiling in thought. “Hmm... think you can wear one of my sweaters as a dress?”

“I guess,” you laughed and he jumped down to hunt around for something appropriate. You accepted a green knit sweater and went to the bathroom to wash up and change, deciding to keep the stockings and garter on underneath. 

Together you descended the stairs and grab your jackets. Your scarf was dry and you wrapped it around your neck multiple times, covering the lower half of your face. Chadwick took similar precautions against the cold and also gave you a pair of his gloves to wear, even though they were giant on you.

A wall of snow met your mostly bare legs on the sidewalk and you yelped, trying to seek out the path others had made to avoid the snow touching you, while Chadwick began clearing the powder off of his car. 

Inside the car, the leather seats were cold and you could see your breath. Chadwick started the car while you rubbed your hands together. Once you joined traffic, it was slow going with the slippery driving conditions. 

He drove into an uncovered parking lot while you observed the nearby action. Living in New York, you were used to seeing movie sets. Big bright lights, backdrops, film cables, production assistants in bright vests, craft services tents and trailers for hair, makeup and wardrobe, as well as private ones for the bigger stars.

Thankfully, that included Chadwick who quickly led you from the car over to a large white trailer.

“You okay to hang out in here for a bit while I head to wardrobe?” 

You looked around at the sleek interior with a little private bar, books, a TV and a comfy bed and nodded.

Chadwick slid his big hands over your cool cheeks, his warm breath gusting over your lips as he kissed you. “I love you. I’m sorry.”

“I know,” you smiled. “I’ll be right here. Go on,” you kissed his forehead and watched his face until he closed the door and left you to wander around, once again snooping all over Chadwick’s other space away from you. 

You found an interesting book in his pile and were just getting absorbed in its pages when a gentle knock came at the door, followed by the door opening. Hovering in the gap was Chadwick’s immaculate face, his beard freshly groomed and his skin flawless. 

“Hey, did you want to come with? I’m heading over.”

“Oh, yes,” you jumped to action, pulling your arms through your coat and following with the scarf and gloves. 

As you followed Chadwick, you couldn’t help but think how terribly ordinary making movie magic was in reality. You took it all in as you navigated towards a black tent where a cluster of people who weren’t standing in the elements, actively setting up lighting equipment or cameras, were chatting near black chairs.

You felt a little shy even though everyone was totally normal and friendly as Chadwick introduced you around with his hand on the small of your back. Once the round of introductions were made, he turned to you.

“There’s a tent over there with some food, why don’t you go get something to eat? When you get back you can have my chair and watch.”

Your gaze followed where he was pointing and at the prospect of coffee and food, you lit up. You hadn’t eaten since you left New York and the coffee withdrawal headache was starting to kick in.

“Okay,” you said obediently and he leaned down to kiss your cheek, giving you a wink before he gently shoved you towards the white tent. You gathered your coat around you and half walked, half jogged between tents, marvelling at how the snow was continuing to fall.

The whole shooting area was in an abandoned street, where the entrance was being tightly controlled by police and production assistants to keep it clear from the public. An empty brick building was the backdrop for the scene they were shooting, which you watched with interest while chewing on a dry muffin.  Chadwick’s distinct frame was easy to spot and you watched him perform the same few movements and lines over and over until your large coffee was long gone.

The longer you were still, the colder you felt, even after you took shelter under the black tent with a fresh coffee. The frigid air on your mostly bare legs made you shiver so bad your knees were knocking together.

You started to feel your bravery and patience slipping until finally, you saw him walking back to you after the director yelled “CUT!” 

When he got close enough to you to see your body shaking, he frowned with concern and closed the distance at a jog.

“You’re freezing,” he grabbed your face.

“I’m o-oka-a-a-ay,” your teeth chattered.

“TAKE 20!” You heard a loud voice behind you, which was followed by relieved groans all around. Chadwick turned back to you as people vacated their chairs and wandered over to the white tent in search of lunch.

He cast a look over his shoulder at the retreating crowd and then turned to you, lowering his face next to yours. “Come with me,” he whispered, finding your hands and tugging you along with him away from everyone, towards his trailer.

The way Chadwick was hurrying had you suppressing a smile at what you were sure was about to happen.

The trailer door slammed shut behind you, closing behind you the cold, the wind, and the rest of the world.

As you were gripped and lifted onto a high surface, a grunt escaped you as your butt made rough contact. There was no time for questions or protest. Chadwick was already sucking on your pulse point and groaning at the taste of your skin, the feel of his tongue and lips making your body temperature rise in an instant. He dumped off his jacket, aiming and throwing it behind him, and when his hands came back to you, they began working you out of yours.

“Fuck, Y/N....” his lips broke from your skin as he ogled the sight of his hands running up the sides of your stockings, discovering the ribbons of your garter belt you were still wearing. “So sexy,” he hissed, fingering the thin straps. 

At the touch of his hot hands on your upper thigh, you arched towards him, rubbing your silk-covered center against his pants. It occurred to you that you were grinding on his character’s costume and if Chadwick didn’t care, neither did you. 

It had been too many weeks since the last time and you were overcome with need, so you weren’t exactly feeling delicate and careful about removing his clothes. Chadwick had to take over from your ripping and pulling to remove the pants and button up shirt of his costume as rapidly and efficiently as he could. While he did, you lifted the sweater over your head and savoured Chadwick’s expression at seeing you braless underneath.

He sighed on your neck. “I wish we had more time,” he moaned with regret. Your legs circled his hips and pulled his naked lower half against you, relishing in the press of steely warmth of his trapped dick against your panties. 

“Plenty of time later,” you murmured as he nibbled your neck and began to grind himself against you. Gratifying yourself on the animal need for each other was all you would have time for right now. You reached down and pulled your panties aside, and Chadwick was there, holding himself still to guide himself into you. “Do it Daddy,” you whispered encouragingly in his ear, “Give me what I’ve been missing.”

You both groaned loudly when he thrust suddenly forward. Your nails bit into his back while you whimpered at all those inches you weren’t used to anymore. 

“You okay baby?” His hips grinded slightly in a circle, deep inside you.

“Oh, yeah” you breathed out, awed by the sensations he gave you that made your toys, your only companion for the last month, so disappointing in comparison. 

Once Chadwick was sure you were fully adjusted, he didn’t hold back. His large hands gripped your body to keep you still and all you had to do was hold on for the ride. He soon had your breasts bouncing, your voice straining in high pitched gasps, your skin slapping against his as he grunted and gave you his all.

There was no way the trailer wasn’t rocking from side to side, nor was it possible anyone in the vicinity weren’t hearing your screams. 

Chadwick’s face was between your breasts, his fingertips clutching on your skin pulling you towards him and you were sure you were going to pass out from the intense fucking. Your orgasm was within reach, with just a slight move of your hips, his angle started to grind your clit and your hands flew to his face, your mouth dropping open in a O. 

“You gonna cum on this dick, huh? You gon cum for Daddy?” You heard him grunt and you started to unravel the second you heard his words. 

“Ye—eeeesssss!!” You, Chadwick, and everyone nearby were privy to your loud cry of pleasure. Holding your thighs around him, he slammed deep in you and unloaded as your inner muscles gripped him. His sounds of pleasure joined yours, the trailer filling with the intermingling cries of relief from two lovers who’d been separated too long.

You eased your body backwards, each breath coming almost painfully from effort and Chadwick’s eyes twinkled down at you. You both smiled around your ragged breathing, a shared moment of connection you couldn’t wait to repeat later.

The moment ended too soon. He stepped back and quickly dressed, the twenty minute break almost up. You had no interest in getting dressed again yourself and going back out into the cold, especially now that the trailer was steamy from sex.

“You okay if I hang out in here?” You swayed your stocking-clad legs side to side.

Chadwick paused in his haste to kiss you and run his fingers over your cheek, while his other hand stole a squeeze of your ass. “Course. It’s freezing out there. I’ll come get you when we’re done.”

“I’ll be waiting,” you nipped his lip. 

When he was gone, you pulled the sweater back on, grabbed his book and wandered over to the bed, where you collapsed with happy satisfaction and drifted off into a nap after only reading a few sentences.

You were amazed to find that after waking up from a two hour nap, Chadwick still hadn’t come back. The first thing you noticed when you sat up was that the snow outside had stopped. 

You considered going back outside, and ultimately decided to but only because you already missed his face.

You shrugged on your coat, and returning outside you could have sworn it had gotten colder, even though the snow had stopped and the clouds were starting to clear. 

From the looks of it, the production was still in full swing. From getting to know this strange world through Chadwick, you appreciated your office job more than ever. Standing outside in the cold all day, waiting for hours and shooting take after take was much more bland and boring than anyone realized. 

You spotted him at the director’s tent, sitting in his chair watching a monitor with narrowed eyes that opened in surprise and delight when he saw you. 

Even for as long as you’d been together, giddy excitement still possessed you at the sight of him. Your heart pounded that much faster as the smile spread across his face, and his arms reached to snatch you up and pull you into his lap.

You laughed, feeling a bit self conscious at the attention as he nuzzled you, his lap already warming the backside of your body.

“We’re almost done Y/N,” he murmured at your ear, making you tingle. “Just watching some footage. Have a good nap?”

“I did,” you accepted his snuggles and attention while in front of you, a monitor attached to expensive looking portable equipment was showing scenes shot that day. Surrounding you were a handful of people sitting in chairs or standing in a huddle which thankfully blocked out some of the wind. You were the only non-industry attendee and nobody questioned why you were there. 

A few minutes later, the director stood from his chair and turned around, cupping his hands around his mouth. “Alright, great stuff today everyone, that’s a wrap!” He clapped his hands together, prompting cheers and applause in a wide circle all around you. You and Chadwick joined in more enthusiastically than anyone, because it meant you could finally go home and fuck again.

As you were climbing down from the chair with Chadwick’s hand firmly in yours, the director turned to him. 

“Oh hey Chadwick, I was hoping we could chat a bit – I don’t mean to take more time away from your lady, but can you spare a few minutes?”

You felt his body stiffen next to yours, as you did the same. 

He hesitated and looked to you, searching your face for either disapproval or permission. You couldn’t dictate either way, so you settled for a noncommittal shrug.

“Ok, sure, I have a few minutes,” he responded with emphasis on the words a few minutes. 

“Promise it won’t be long. Can I just show you something I noticed?” he started walking back to the monitors and when his face was turned, Chadwick made you smile with one of his patented eye rolls so sassy it used every muscle in his face. 

You lingered nearby watching everyone around you pack up equipment and half-listened to the low, serious tones of Chadwick’s intense conversation, not really paying attention to the words. They were still talking as film cables were rolled up onto giant wheels, loaded into the back of white trucks that soon drove away. The debate continued until hardly anyone remained and you were once again shivering, teeth chattering at the cold breeze swirling up your coat.

You were just about to head back to the trailer to seek warm shelter when finally their conversation wrapped up.

Chadwick turned to you and immediately wrapped his arms around your shivering body. “I’m sorry…” he looked remorsefully down at you. “I’ll make it up to you.”

“Y—y-o-u k-know of a-a-n-y wa-a-ys to w-w-warm me u-up?” You tried to sound suggestive and sexy but your chattering jaws made you stutter and you both laughed. 

“I do,” he answered smoothly, wrapping one arm around your side as you both began to walk to his car. “I’ve got a hot bath with your name on it when we get home.”

Under the glow of street lamps, you walked hand in hand from the car to his front door step. He let you in first, then firmly shut out the cold, frigid air you’d been standing in for half the day. The chill had set in to your bones, a damp, wet cold typical of the East coast winter that was hard to shake.

Chadwick hung your jackets, then spun you around so you were facing the stairs, his warm hands on your shoulders and the tickle of his beard at your ear as his honey-smooth voice murmured into your neck, “Now go up and get naked in the bathroom. Daddy’s gonna run you a hot bath.” 

He gently smacked your behind while you bit back a grin. Finally, you were going to have him all to yourself. 

You hurried up the stairs and you both made a beeline for the bathroom. He bent to turn on the water of the deep, jetted tub while you whipped the sweater over your head.

“I’ve been dying to use this tub,” he thought out loud. “Been thinking of all kinds of ways I wanna have you in here.” 

“Oh? Like what?” You raised your eyebrow, pleased at hearing how much he thought about you.

He looked over his shoulder from where he was kneeling next to the porcelain tub, a hungry look raking over your body from your toes to your chest. “You’re about to find out,” he smiled. 

Right now, you couldn’t think of anything better than hot water and Chadwick’s glistening, naked, wet skin surrounding you.

You raised your foot onto the edge of the tub, presenting your stocking covered calves and thigh. “Will you do the honors?” You tugged on the garter strap, pulling it loose from the top of the lace.

Chadwick’s smiling lips met your upper thigh where he left a dirty french kiss with plenty of tongue as his fingers peeled back the silk until it was rolled all the way down your leg. He gently lifted your other leg to do the same thing, his teeth raking slightly on your sensitive inner thigh and you shivered. 

The tub was half full already and he quickly finished undressing. It had been too long since you’d last seen Chadwick naked. Your eyes went right to where his abdomen tapered down into a V, to his thick, beautiful dick. You were longing to treat it with the attention and love it deserved. 

He stepped over the lip of the tub and reached for you. With both your hands in his, you daintily stepped into the hot water, and followed his lead to sit down as he arranged his limbs behind you, encouraging you to rest back against his chest. 

As soon as you were in place, using his shoulder as your headrest, with his much bigger thighs and knees next to yours and the water covering both of your bodies, he reached out to crank off the tap and the water slowed to a drip. At that moment, true contentment finally settled into your bones. Your previously freezing skin was now warm and sweating and Chadwick had his arms crossed over your belly, hugging you tight, his breath next to your ear. You had the whole night ahead with him. Everything was right with the world. 

All you heard was the occasional plink of water from the tap, Chadwick’s breathing and your own. Silence and contentment took you both. There was plenty of time for sex, right now was about the intimacy of your bodies, reconnecting in a steamy cocoon. 

Your fingertips traced the skin of his arms and he responded with kisses on your neck. Occasionally he would make the slightest little moan or sigh that you felt through your whole body. You wanted to pinch yourself, thinking about this moment where you were finally in his arms after missing it for so long.

As if hearing your thoughts, he murmured, “I’ve missed you so much.” 

You hugged his arms under the water and he squeezed back. “I’m useless without you. I’ve been a wreck.” 

“I can’t wait to come home.” He lifted his hand out of the water, spreading his fingers and you pressed your palm to his. Chadwick’s fingers were so long, they completely engulfed yours. 

He lowered his hand onto your body and cupped your soft breast, the silky feel of his touch making your eyes lull closed in pleasure. He wasn’t satisfied with one breast and soon filled his other palm, gently massaging both. Your nipples became hard and he lazily toyed with them, pinching in teasing passes. Immediately, arousal started to electrify your core and make you want more of his fingers elsewhere, and your legs fell open to encourage it. 

One hand broke away to travel down your belly towards your crotch. No matter how many years with him passed, the anticipation for the touch of Chadwick’s hand on you still made you lose your breath. His fingers slid down until he covered your pussy fully. He pressed down firmly and rubbed up and down in a flat handed gesture that made your clit sing with each pass. You grabbed Chadwick’s thighs and grinded up against the pressure as you gasped. He knew your body well and what it took to make you come fast, and was close to giving you your first of the night.

Confident he had the rhythm down, he let his other hand roam and palm your breasts while his lips explored your neck, fanning your wet skin with hot breath mixed in with his groans. Hearing his voice in your ear was a weakness of yours. You held on to him, happily succumbing to his controlled, skillful touches. He was rubbing faster now, still grinding in little circles while your hips moved with him.

It was almost too easy to reach your first peak. As you were feeling the sweet spread of bliss in your body, he added to the sensations by sliding two of his fingers inside and fucking you slow, drawing your orgasm out to twice as long and intense as you bucked on him. Chadwick had turned making you cum into a beautiful art, each time different and spectacular. 

As you finally stopped quaking under his hand, you rubbed his thighs and knees and became aware of how hard he was behind you, pressed into your back. All you could think about was taking him inside you and you didn’t care if you were in the bath, on the floor, or anywhere else.

You began to reach for him when he stopped your wrist. “Hold up. There’s something I wanna do first.” His fingers, wrapped around your wrist, held you still as his hot mouth moved to your ear to breathe, “Will you let me lick that sweet pussy from the back?” 

Your stomach tightened. “Fuck,” you swore around clenched teeth.

“That a yes?” He asked breathily, starting to guide your arms forward and water began shifting around your bodies as he started to move you into place.

“I don’t… yes.. okay,” you said dumbly and allowed Chadwick to arrange you in the tub so you were on all fours, your ass above the water, right in front of him and your head was hovering just above the surface in your kneeling position.

You felt how slippery your pussy was as his two fingers slid back inside. Chadwick groaned and bit the apple of your cheek, then repeated it on the other as his fingers gave you some of the penetration you needed, but not all. Wanting more of him, you pushed back, and water sloshed around your bodies at your greedy movements. Chadwick spanked your butt, not hard, but loud enough to bounce off the tile walls of the small space.

His fingers withdrew to spread your cheeks open and you felt a soft, wide tongue at your entrance, teasing you with little flicks. You weren’t prepared and made a loud whimpering sound, your hips stilling immediately as you waited breathlessly for the next touch. He gripped your thighs and pulled you back on his tongue, plunging right inside of you. You cried in choked surprise, “Chadwiiickk fuuuuuuck!” 

He did it again, fucking his tongue in and out of your hole firmly but slowly, so you felt everything and then he began circling over your pussy in wide laps. “Shhittttt!” you squealed. It felt so luxurious, and you pictured how he looked, face grinding into your pussy, his lips and tongue sucking and swirling and your cream dripping all over his gorgeous face. 

Each pass of his tongue overwhelmed you and you struggled to stay on your shaking limbs, above the water.

“You need to stop,” you gasped and crawled forward, breaking your bodies apart so you could turn around. 

Chadwick wore a lazy smirk along with your juices glistening on his face and beard. You crawled over to attack his lips with yours, licking your flavour from him ravenously as your hands shot down to his dick. 

In your shifting around, you must have kicked the plug out because you both heard the sucking sound of water draining around you and the water level began to recede. 

“Whoops,” you grinned, but not really feeling sorry about it, because you were done with the bath anyway. 

Chadwick rose up to his full height, taking you up with him.

You both negotiated your way carefully out of the slippery tub to dry yourselves and each other off with towels until you were dry enough not to drip all over the carpet on your way to the bed. 

The towels were discarded on the floor, and you both climbed up on the bed, turning to each other with lust and excitement. 

Chadwick cupped your cheeks and kissed along your bottom lip. “What do you want baby? Sweet and slow? Hard? Fast?” His lip lifted in a smile, “want me to send you back home with a bruised ass tomorrow?”

You laughed, cherishing his face with your hands.

“I know this is boring,” you looking up at him with hopeful eyes, “but I just want you on top of me. I swear we can do kinky shit the rest of the night,” you followed quickly. 

He lifted your knuckles to his lips. “We’ve got all night and we can fuck however we want.”  His eyes settled on yours with a playful intensity. “I’m not even close to tired so I hope you’re ready.”

Heat throbbed in your body at the thought. 

“I’m ready to go all night, I don’t even plan to sleep.” You proclaimed with pride.

“You talk a big game,” he smirked. “I’ll be reminding you of that if you try and tap out on me later….” 

“I’ve never done such a thing,” you lifted your chin, enjoying the banter while your hands were roaming his upper torso.

He looked upwards in recollection, his hands stroking your arms, “I remember a certain Saturday you promised a full day of sex until you claimed I broke your pussy after two rounds.”

“Chadwick!” You squealed, recalling the day perfectly and shoving him as he rolled his eyes. “My pussy was sore because your giant dick had no mercy that day, I swear you took some performance enhancing drugs that morning. That erection just would not go away and you were pounding me like a sex doll for hours.”

“No drugs needed with you around,” he said sweetly and you narrowed your eyes.

“That hardness was unnatural, Chadwick.”

He shrugged, a secretive smile spreading over his face. “Alright, I took something that morning … just to see what would happen.”

“Chad, you fuckin’… liar!” Your expression was a mixture of shock and amusement. He lifted your legs suddenly and you squealed, laughing as you bounce landed onto the mattress and he immediately laid down to cover you.

At the press of his body you began to sigh as his hands started moving over you as yours did the same. The mood quickly turned changed and you reached for him, eager to be taken while he looked in your eyes. 

You didn’t stay up all night, but you damn near tried. 

It was way past midnight when you both succumbed to exhaustion. After  intimate, face to face sex and a languid period of recovery, you took advantage of his energy to have him in as many positions as you could think of. Your feet on his chest as he plunged deep in you. On your knees. Flat and face down on the mattress, trapped under his heavy weight while he plundered you. And on, and on, until you had only the strength to pull each other close and fall asleep.

You awoke the next morning with the disappointment that it was Sunday.

In the warm daylight of the early morning, you had lazy morning sex, in a spooning position where Chadwick drew out your orgasmic gasps holding your thighs apart with his face in your neck, whispering softly in your ear as you came.

Neither of you wanted to acknowledge the impending goodbye and made the morning last as long as possible. You had coffee on the couch, with Chadwick sitting on the floor next to you plucking at the strings of his guitar. 

When it came time to finally address that it was time to go, Chadwick helped you get your small bag of things together, a cloud of melancholy settling over you both.

He drove you to the airport under a bright, winter sun beaming in a clear sky down onto the frost-covered landscape, making the snow twinkle so brightly you both had to squint. If only you’d had this weather one day earlier, the film production would have left your boyfriend alone.

Noticing the familiar stares in the airport, you tried to insist Chadwick turn back before there was a mob for photos and autographs, but he kept your fingers enclosed in his as he waited with you through check in. Only when you reached a point he couldn’t continue at your side did you turn to hug and kiss each other goodbye.

“Hey,” you smiled, tracing his cheekbone with your finger as it sharpened from his smile, “maybe next time let’s tell each other if we’re planning a surprise visit, yeah?”

“Then technically it’s not a surprise, but I see your point,” he agreed, kissing your finger. “It all worked out in the end, though. Don’t think I didn’t notice you limping around today,” his eyes glimmered.

Your thighs, calves and butt were burning and sore, and there were other souvenirs, little bite marks, on your body under your clothes.

You laughed, cupping his face and feeling an overwhelming surge of love in your heart.

“Another four weeks until you’re home.” You pressed a kiss to his lips. 

“I know.” He let out a sigh. “Call me when you get in.”

You nodded and forced a smile, trying not to think of the next four weeks of loneliness waiting for you at home as you hugged goodbye.

[scifigeneration]

Waiting for an undersea robot in Antarctica to call home

by Jennifer Walsh

One of two underwater gliders is deployed from a research ship into Antarctic waters. NOAA

“Call! Just call!” I think loudly in my head. “Did something happen? Are you okay?”

I might seem like a worried parent waiting for a teenager to report in from an unsupervised outing. Rather, I’m a research biologist with the Antarctic Ecosystem Research Division at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It’s late February 2019, and I am waiting for an autonomous underwater glider in Antarctica to surface and call me via satellite, so I can give it new diving instructions. The longest it’s supposed to go without surfacing is eight hours, and it’s now been nine.

Did it get stuck under an iceberg? An underwater ledge? I feel so helpless; I’m 9,000 miles away in San Diego and all I can do is chew my fingernails and think, “No. This can’t happen. We can’t lose this glider so close to the end.”

The survey area where gliders measured Antarctic krill populations. NOAA

Our research team is two-and-a-half months into a three-month-long mission just north of the Antarctic Peninsula. This is our first time deploying gliders so far from home, and our hope for a successful field season – not to mention a great deal of research – depends on recovering the two gliders our group deployed in December 2018. The gliders are now full of oceanographic data that will help us provide scientific advice on how best to conserve the Antarctic ecosystem as the area around the peninsula warms faster than almost any other region on Earth, which may adversely affect the animals that live there.

9 hours, 30 minutes: No call

For over 30 years, the NOAA group I’m part of has conducted studies to estimate how many Antarctic krill, small shrimp-like creatures that support the diverse Antarctic food web, live around the Antarctic Peninsula.

Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, can grow up to about 2.5 inches long. Uwe Kils/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

Krill feeds penguins and seals that breed in this area every summer and whales and fishes that feed here year-round, while also supporting a major fishery. You may have seen bright-red dietary supplements made from krill oil prominently displayed at the pharmacy. Our data help establish catch limits for the krill fishery, ensuring enough krill remain in the ocean to maintain the population after all people and animals take what they need to make a living. Without good data to support fishery-management decisions, krill fishing could undermine the food web for which Antarctica is so well known, as demand for supplements and other krill products surges.

10 hours: No call

Until three years ago, my program chartered a research vessel for a month each year to sail around the Antarctic Peninsula and estimate the biomass of krill. But after 2016, rising vessel costs eliminated our surveys. For our program to continue, we had to find a creative way to collect our data in Antarctica without actually going to Antarctica.

An autonomous glider in the ocean. NOAA

Our solution was to use autonomous underwater gliders, which can be deployed in just a few hours by a small team from a ship in Antarctica, and then recovered months later. Gliders can dive to 3,000 feet, cover thousands of miles and follow commands from anywhere in the world with a laptop and an internet connection. Their batteries last six months, which means that they can collect much more data for much less money than a bunch of scientists on a research vessel.

The gliders resemble torpedoes in appearance, but contain three massive batteries and an array of scientific sensors that collect much of the same data we used to collect from a ship. Although the gliders are able to transmit small amounts of data via satellite throughout the deployment, the most valuable data are stored on the glider. If we lose a glider, which is always a possibility when you let something roam free in the ocean unattended for months, then we also lose the data.

We had effectively replaced ourselves with drones. But would they work?

12 hours: No call

For most of our team, the transition just a year ago from annual research voyages to the aquatic versions of C-3PO and R2-D2 was exciting. Secretly, though, I was terrified. I had spent my career as a scientist collecting krill samples from research vessels for biochemical analyses of their tissues. Suddenly I found myself ousted by oceanographic robots full of cables, wires, circuit boards and all sorts of other technological gadgetry.

These are not what you’d call smart robots. A bit like human toddlers, they have some degree of self-awareness, but would destroy themselves without semi-constant monitoring and instructions on how deep to dive or where to go. Outside supervision is especially important in the Southern Ocean, which is full of seamounts, canyons, strong currents and, most importantly, icebergs.

You can’t glider-proof the ocean the way you can baby-proof a house, so I had to forget everything I knew about biochemistry and learn as much as I could about glider piloting in 10 short months.

13 hours: No call

All that training and practice felt like 10 minutes by the time we finally packed up the gliders and shipped them to the Southern Hemisphere for their first Antarctic deployments. The commands for how deep to dive and where to go seemed simple enough, but the gliders responded as unpredictably as the ocean itself.

A near-disastrous practice deployment in San Diego revealed how slowly they maneuver, particularly in strong currents. Piloting them felt like trying to drive a remote-control semi-truck through a go-kart course, which reinforced our apprehension about driving these things through the ocean all the way across the planet, in one of the most remote and treacherous oceans on Earth.

Never mind the wind and the currents and the icebergs. What made this deployment far scarier was that if things started to go horribly wrong, we had no way to get the gliders back. It was like dropping a toddler off at college on another continent: What if he needs you and you can’t get to him?

14 hours: No call

Almost exactly 10 months from our first day of glider training, we carried the gliders across the Drake Passage on a research vessel bound for the Antarctic Peninsula. The deployments were flawless, and over the next few days, our confidence began to build. We quickly learned that icebergs were enemy number one, and they were formidable opponents. Satellite images of icebergs were available every couple of days, and we overlaid maps of planned glider tracks onto those images so we could steer the gliders around any ice in their way. The trouble was, even the newest images we received were already a day old, and the ice had already moved.

On this chart of the South Shetland Islands, one intended glider path is marked in straight gray lines. Circled in red in the middle is the iceberg the researchers called ‘Yacu.’ NOAA

Smaller icebergs were usually avoidable, but around three weeks into the deployment, “Yacu” appeared on the scene. Inspired by a mythological South American snake that eats everything in its way, that was the nickname we gave a 12.5-mile-wide iceberg from the Weddell Sea that drifted right into the path of one of the gliders. Yacu stuck around for the rest of the deployment, every few days spawning smaller (but still huge) icebergs that posed a constant and unpredictable threat to gliders already at the mercy of currents, tides and wind.

If a glider gets trapped under an obstacle and senses that it’s been underwater for too long, it drops an emergency weight to rocket itself to the surface for an immediate recovery. Once a glider drops its weight, it can’t dive anymore. So if it is trapped under ice, it’s likely to stay trapped under ice. And one way to know if a glider is trapped is that it stops calling in, because it can connect to satellites only when it’s at the surface.

15 hours: No call

And then…

Ding ding! Ding ding! My laptop screams at me after 16 long hours: The glider is at the surface.

It is well past 9 p.m., but every member of our five-person team has been glued to a computer since early afternoon, and we collectively sigh with relief. We now think the glider probably surfaced after the first eight hours, failed to connect to the satellite and resumed diving, which can occasionally happen. The reason for the gap is unimportant compared to our elation. A couple of weeks later, we successfully recovered both gliders on schedule and completed our first autonomous Antarctic field season.

One key finding is that we can, in fact, replace a vessel-based fishery assessment with a glider-based one in less than a year. With gliders, we can get krill biomass estimates comparable to those we would expect from a ship. That means we can use gliders to continue to provide critical data for managing the krill fishery.

This is a profound accomplishment for us and for NOAA, and it also has far-reaching promise for the future of fisheries research globally. The cost of science keeps going up, and autonomous instruments offer an affordable way to collect critical data for effectively managing ocean resources and conserving fragile marine ecosystems worldwide.

Our gliders are like toddlers in one final way: They’re advanced technology, yet they’re still in their infancy. Their ongoing usefulness to understand our changing planet in real time will depend on new sensors and instruments yet to be developed. What we accomplished is only the the tip of Yacu compared to what the future of autonomous oceanographic research holds.

About The Author:

Jennifer Walsh is a Research Biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

This article is republished from our content partners at The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. 

[letmehearyousayyeahh]

Postage

Another Brittana attempt to keep writing. Also on FF.net.

The recesses of the half-open curtains did let the golden glimmer of mid-afternoon sunlight into the room. Bright roads where flecks of dust flew, fluttering in a circular dance, over the scene that was unfolding in that room, where a blonde, blue-eyed woman, sitting on the floor in the Indian style, reviewed belongings and junk surrounded by cardboard boxes and souvenirs.

Brittany, 29, struggled to focus on the mechanical task of pick-examine-save/throw-repeat, trying not to think about why she had to do it, or the consequences of recognizing the reality that lived in the form of memories between those papers. Her aunt Stephany, the woman who had raised her after her parents' death, had passed away after a long and painful illness; and it was Brittany's job, as the only family she had left, to take over her belongings; the one who had the job of determining what was going to the trash and what was left, in the form of a memory, to torment her.

Cleaning was, however, the least important thing. Once finished, the boxes would return to the storage room from which they should have never left and Brittany would try again to live in the new reality that the death of her aunt had created: an empty apartment, a lounge without an armchair under the spring sun (she had found her sitting there, already corpse, a few weeks ago very early in the morning; after her aunt, that chair was the next victim), and, ultimately, a new life marked by loneliness and a house too big for a single woman and so many memories of other times; if not happier, at least more in company.

Brittany was not what what we could define was extrovert, no: in her 29 years she had managed to gather a brilliant record of friendly failures, some failed attempts of romance; and a noble but sensitive heart that had to cover itself with a thick cloak to emerge more or less unscathed from the life that she was told to live. Brittany, however, was pragmatic: she did not disdain good company when she had the opportunity to take advantage of it; it was simply that the blonde had more appetite for a quiet afternoon with a good book or playing cards with her aunt than for nights full of bustle, strobe lights and sharp screams, meaningless exchanges and empty conversations. It was not isolation, it was ... well, maybe it was, she sighed inwardly, closing the box on which she was working, already full of unnecessary papers, but which she had decided to keep nontherless; and moving on to the next one.

This introversion had not been a problem for his professional career; On the contrary: Brittany was good at what she did, whatever it was, because she took each job with passion and dedication, and her desire to do it well, whether it was washing dishes, serving tables or correcting manuscripts; That ended up by attracting the attention of her bosses and guaranteeing her good job prospects. "Whatever you do, do it well", her aunt always told her. She allowed herself a small smile as she opened the last box, but quickly busied herself erasing it from her face and concentrating on the content of the last pitfall between her and the empty room next door. Seeing its content, however, she could not prevent the smile from returning to her face, and this time she did not fight against it.

In that cardboard box her aunt had kept her collection of comics: Batman, Spiderman, X-Patrol, you name it; all the comics her aunt bought for her every and other week, as a reward for her good behavior. Brittany loved to review those old pages, full of characters so familiar to her, but at the same time so old, much more than her; and it comforted her to think that she somehow connected with other worlds while she navigated between their pages, thinking of all the boys, now men; who they had also laughed and cried with the adventures of their favorite heroes.

Following this impulse, her hands went unconsciously to the first section that she always read as a child: correspondence. Tradition today disappeared, these old youth magazines were accompanied by a section where their young readers could send letters, poems, riddles or little jokes to be published in the section; and Brittany was sure that many of them still kept, with secret pride, that particular comic book where their small contribution was published.

Her favorite part of this section was always the exchange of letters: a piece of paper, an address and an universe of possibilities available to anyone's pen. At that moment, Brittany sighed. She had never been encouraged to write to any of the addresses that appeared in her comics, either because she never connected with any of the letters that were published there; or in some other case, out of shame, and fear to express her illusions of finding a related soul in a paper and that the letter would return unopened. Or worse, to never get a response.

Remembering those doubts, which made her debate in front of blank sheets of paper that eventually never took the form of a letter, Brittany noticed one of the columns of the magazine in front of her. There, one Marvin W. Hodges wrote to the world to offer his friendship to everyone who shared his passions for Batman (the best detective in the world), videogames and reading. Being fifteen years old at the time (Brittany verified that the publication date of the magazine was 1985, right now that Marvin was already a man about her own age), the letter and its contents were quite the use of a teenager in general; but it was the last phrases that caught the attention of the blonde beyond her memories: "Although I like to read everything and give any story a chance to conquer me, I never read or read better or bigger phrase than" In my world, Great Expectations only live between the pages of a book. ' A literature lesson in the heart of a few letters. "

Brittany was not ten years old anymore, shame was the least of her worries now. But the death of her aunt Stephany had left her in a state of emptiness, of emotions contained by the thickest of walls to keep her from falling into utter despair. That phrase, well known to Brittany as a young woman and even as an adult, got what her aunt's advice had not achieved during all the previous years: that those feelings of modesty before the rejection of a stranger seemed the biggest nonsense . Recognizing in other letters the words of one of the lines of her favorite book, Brittany thought that she had finally achieved the impossible until now: find someone like her, with whom she could connect through some letters, or some notes, or the simplest nonsenses that the brain invents. Someone like her aunt. Someone she knew it was out there, but who insisted on not letting herself be found. Until now?

Determined, she squeezed the magazine between her hands and lifted her chin, a resolution gleaming in her cerulean eyes that had not been there since the morning of Stephany's death. Why not? The worst that can happen is that nobody answers, she told herself as she got up effortlessly from the floor, still holding the magazine, and went to the desk under the window to start a new adventure. Which, she hoped, distracted her from the pain of Stephany's absence for a while, before she had to get used to living without her.

The sound of the closing door echoed through the walls of the empty apartment. With a sigh, the brunette woman left her keys on entrance's table and balanced herself to remove her coat without releasing what she was carrying in her hands. If she left the bag full of groceries on the floor, she knew that she would end up dragging them through the floor to the kitchen later. Practice makes perfect, and she managed to keep the bag and the correspondence that she had just picked up from the mailbox in one hand still stable, while with the other she hung the coat on the coat rack; and went to the kitchen to release ballast.

Once she had crossed the threshold, she carefully placed the bag on the table and went to the other side of the counter, where the only window in the room was, to quickly review the contents of the mailbox. The placement responded to a double motive: March in Lima was beginning to behave as usual, and at 4 o'clock in the afternoon the storm could be chewed in the air. The dark clouds obscured the little light that the twilight already left on the city, and the kitchen was almost in complete darkness; but the brunette refused to spend energy on the five minutes that would take to verify that the letters were either advertising or bills. After this, she would throw them into the trash can that she had right under her eyes, the #2 for her placement in the kitchen. Review-wrinkle/save -repeat, simple. Then, since it was still early, she would have a good shower and then dinner.

Thinking about whether the aubergines would not be too heavy for the last meal of the day, she left the last cable bill on the countertop to keep it in place with the others later and then noticed the next letter, one of the two they had to look. Suddenly, she forgot about the shower and the aubergines when she opened the envelope and took out the cardboard card, broken white color and full of printed pink ribbons, that was addressed to her in printing calligraphic typography and exaggerated italics. To Santana Lopez / +1.

Unconsciously, she rolled her eyes before finishing reading the invitation to the wedding. Right now she did not remember who she was exactly, but the name tickled her memory, they were classmates at some time in the past. Middle school? High school? It couldn't have been at college, I would remember ... or not? I can't put a face to the name either... it can not be that chubby girl...? She whispered, to herself, while reading that Mindy and Hugh were happy to invite her to celebrate with them the happiest day of their lives, and urged her to be at the Lima Presbyterian Church on Sunday, May 5 at 11:00 o'clock in the morning. to be a witness to their liaison, and later attend the meal that will take place to commemorate such a great event for the couple, relatives and various friends. Many greetings from Mindy and Hugh. RSVP.

She had a few seconds of hesitation, she had to admit it. But finally the impulse got the better of her and she broke the card in four before throwing it away. Maybe it was the remorse, or simply that the day invited to melancholy, but she remained for a long time looking at the broken cardboard, which seemed to shine against the black plastic bag. She could not explain why, but that invitation had given her a good kick in the ass. She had even left her for a while without air in her lungs. Why? If she did not even remember that girl anymore, she did not care at all if she got married or pierced her nipples. Then why? Having answered no to the invitation would have been enough. May you be very happy and all that, and we will see each other in the next life. At that moment, Santana sighed. Without wanting to do it, she had found the why.

Wish you happiness. May it go well for you, I wish you a prosperous and happy marriage. Blah blah blah. And after the parade, back home, alone. To work; to decide if the aubergines are good at night. If she should turn on the light or not for ten minutes she'll be in the kitchen. To live with a lot of room in the closet and a bottle of pills in the first drawer of her nightstand to close her eyes and not feel trapped in a life that no longer recognizes as her own..

When is that you get used to be accustomed to life? It is a question that Santana asked herself many times. When does you stop believing in the stories of the books, full of decisions and consequences? Full of something, period? And when you get used to the fact that life really is a succession of days, with its nights, in which the emotion of decisions and mistakes come out of yourself, instead from coming from the outside? Where the hell was that succesion from which everyone leaves and enters at will around her? College, work, house, marriage, children, grandchildren? And the weekends out? And the retirement in Florida? I had the college degree, I had the job, I had the house, and I had a succession of minutes and hours as my life, nothing more. What it's left for me to do?

Sighing, she allowed herself one more moment of tribulation before moving on to the next letter, the last one; to throw it away, whatever it says, to start your shower plan, dinner and we will see next. Strong emotions, indeed. What Santana still did not know, while opening an envelope that she had not noticed too much, was that this letter was not for her. And that, even so, it was going to give her what she had been asking for so long in silence.

Dear Marvin:

I hope you do not get scared when you receive a letter today, after so many years, but it was precisely today when I found an old copy of the #35 Detective Comics where your address came from; and when reading your letter to the magazine I have needed to write you these words. I do not even know if you will receive them, maybe you are dead, or you no longer live there... but I had to try. Because in fifteen years it has been passed, your letter has managed to encourage me to write to other people, something that fills me with fear, but at the same time it moves me, thinking about all the possibilities that this can entail; and why did you end your letter quoting one of my favorite writers, David Martín; and, by its mouth, the great Zafón, in The Angel's Game. Marvin, my great expectations also live between the pages of that book, and I only hope that this letter, in some way, reaches you; and feel the same thing that I felt when reading your words: that, somehow, having found us, even if only through an old magazine, we could get to exchange some thoughts or ideas, to try to get those hopes from between the pages and bring them to the real world.

Again, I'm sorry if this catches you outright, and I understand if you do not want to answer; Even so, I wish you all the best, and I hope you have found some hope, however small, outside the books.

Take care,

Brittany

After reading the letter, Santana blinked slowly. Once. Twice. One more time. I still did not understand very well what I had just read. Disconcerted, she took the envelope from the counter and searched for the sender. That was it, she had opened the envelope without realizing it, and that letter was not for her. Marvin W. Hodges. 154 S Metcalf Street Lima OH 45804. She had been living in that apartment for at least five years, and she knew from the real estate agency that it was been in the market for so long, so that Marvin must have lived among those walls more than twenty years ago.

To think that she had a personal handwritten letter in her hands, after years of not receiving any (although this one had not been for her either, really? Would this be a crime?), that stirred something inside her chest. A rare ... emotion? Yes, to think that someone had been rummaging through some old magazines and had found something that had turned her insides up so much, to take her to write to a stranger ... It was something new, something she would never have expected. Something that removed her insides too.

But what caught her attention the most, that managed to put a sincere smile on her face, was the literary reference. God, how many years had passed since I read that book ... It featured one of her favorite characters, which she counted among her most intimate friends, and she continued to identify strongly with her, her strong will and the courage she displayed throughout the series to pursue her destiny. Although, Santana thought with some bitterness, imitating her with fifteen years seemed easier than now with 30. Distracted by her thoughts, she went to the living room without paying much attention to the shopping bag she was waiting for her at the kitchen table. She had more important things to do. How to get rid of the idea of answering that letter that was not addressed to her. Or convince herself to sit at the table, take the paper she had and the first pen available and vomit over the paper all her thoughts: that this stranger had achieved, with just one letter, stir all the sadness that had kept inside her chest for years. She did not really know which of the two she would choose at the end.

Dear Brittany:

I apologize for my audacity in answering this letter that is not addressed to me, but seeing the effort you have put into your words, I felt responsible in some way, so I have decided to answer you. Marvin Hodges no longer lives here. I do not know what happened to him, because I came to this apartment five years ago, and from what I know of from the real estate people, it took a long time between rentals, so I guess it would have been the house of his parents at some point, which Marvin left after putting your contact address in the magazine. I'm sorry if this disappoints you, but the truth is that I can not say the same. Brittany, reading your words has been like opening the window to a new world that I thought was buried in my memories. I have also read Zafón's books many times, and many others later, but Great Expectations quote is still the best for me, because it is still the one I identify with the most.

I apologize for this diatribe, in which a bored thirty-something years old complains about life is going and going around her, while she remains stuck in her memories of other happier times, but somehow I know that you will forgive me and, I hope that, somehow, you understand my desire to start living and stop surviving.

I know I'm not Marvin, and we really do not know each other and surely this will seem crazy, but I think that even with all this, we could try to catch some of those great expectations from those pages and try to mash them together, see if is there is something worthy in them for us.

Again, thank you for your letter ("your letter." Anyway, I hope you are ok with this, wherever you are, Marvin), and I sincerely hope to read you soon.

Sincerely,

Santana Lopez.

Three years later…

Brittany was busy closing the last boxes. She still had to collect half of the bookshelf, pack the rest of the books and take down the boxes, so that tomorrow they moving guys would pick them. Taking a breath, she passed her forearm across her sweat-beaded forehead and sighed, tired. The summer sun fell on her because it was coming in full force through the windows, sans curtains anymore. It had been the first thing she had packed, and now she was paying for it suffering the heat.

After hearing the front door close, the noise echoing through the walls of the almost empty apartment, she got up quickly and went to the bookshelf to finish emptying it. While placing ordered by size and weight the volumes on the floor, next to the box where they tended to fit; she took one in her hands which she had not read in a long time. Standing there, she smiled nostalgic. It had always been one of his favorite books, but for almost three years now it had another meaning, much deeper than her teenage readings and the memories of distant days that those pages brought her.

Keeping her smile, she turned with the book still in her hand when she felt a presence behind her. There, at the door, Santana was waiting, leaning against the frame, with one hand holding her six months bump. She could not help but smile when she saw her wife, it was automatic since that distant afternoon when she received the first letter and Brittany disarmed her for the first time. But now the smile widened when she saw what she had in her hands.

No words were needed. Many had already been said. Brittany simply put the book back on the shelf and approached her wife to kiss her gently on the lips, and caress her belly with one of her hands, which entwined it with her wife's at the bottom of her belly.

It had been years since their Great Expectations no longer lived among books' pages.

fin.

[marvelhead17]

Miracle (Original Female Character x Cable Fic)

Chapter 11

Summary: “How did you fix it?” he asked. “Ask Ellen the Teenage Warhead,” Wade shrugged as he stood up, “As for baby Hitler he ended up having a diaper change, funny story I was actually going to call Cable since he was so keen on killing Russel, I thought this would be like taking candy from a baby, if that means replacing it with a bullet that is,” Warnings to cover the whole fic: Graphic depictions of violence, use of weapons, mild to strong language, mentions of rape, mentions of pregnancy and miscarriage, referenced torture and psychological abuse/manipulation, nightmares and night terrors, sexual humour, sexual content.

Word Count: 1.9k

The Future

“DADDY!” she leapt into his arms and he hugged her so tightly that she squirmed and giggled, “Daddy you’re squeezing me too tight!” he let her go slightly and kissed her several times on the head.

“Sorry sweetheart, I just missed you, a whole lot,”

“I missed you too Daddy,” she let go and he did as well, rather reluctantly.

“I’m just going to talk to your mom sweetheart, don’t go anywhere, alright?” he smiled and brushed her hair from her face.

“Alright Daddy,” she grinned and watched as Nathan walked away to her mot her standing a few feet away.

 “I’m taking her out so don’t try and come back and insist that there’s something important with you and Chet so that you can take her, this is my weekend with her and I intend to spend every minute I can with her,” he said with an air of confidence that he himself was surprised at.

“Nathan you can’t just-”

“She’s my daughter too, I have the right to see her,” he strode to his daughter and scooped her into his metal arm and grabbed her packed bags with the other.

“Yay weekend with Daddy!” she cheered, he smiled as he flung the bags over his shoulder and opened the door before slamming it behind him.

                                                          * * *

  Present Day

“Jesus Christ!” she placed her hand on her chest as Nathan popped into the room unexpectedly, a small girl and bags in his arms.

“Hope, this is a friend of mine, Hades,” he said as he lowered her to the floor.

She stared up at Hayden with excitement, ��That’s such a cool name! My Daddy told me you’re taking us to a carnival, we heard about them in school, are they really fun?”

“Um…” Hayden looked dumbfounded as she stared at Hope.

“Hope sweetheart, why don’t you go have a seat over there for me, I’ll join you just now,” he pointed to the couches.

“Okay Daddy,” she bounded off and hopped onto the nearest couch.

 “Wow, a kid. She’s, wow. Yours,” Hayden couldn’t formulate full sentences.

“She’s beautiful isn’t she?” he smiled.

“I- yeah, me taking carnival?” she said stupidly as she looked over at Hope and then back at Nathan.

“Yeah- I was actually meaning to ask if you could come with us, I have no idea what’s good or not at a carnival, and having someone who is more socially appropriate around will make things easier for me,” he said sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck.

“I-” she shook her head, “Yeah I’d love to,” which made Nathan smile again, “but one condition, I’m bringing Wade along as well.” She said, Nathan sighed. “But only because he’s going to whine worse than an actual child about not going to a carnival, he loves them,”

“Fine, just keep him in check and make sure that trap of his doesn’t curse around my little girl, and we have a deal,”

“Deal,” she stuck out her hand and they shook in agreement.

                                                               * * *

 “I still don’t see why you brought me along on your date; we can go to the carnival anytime we want,”

Hayden elbowed Wade in the ribs, “It’s not a date idiot; his daughter is here too,”

“That’s exactly why it is a date my Dear Hayden- Hades,” he corrected himself as she gave him a look, “Single parents have to take their kids with them on dates to see if the relationship that they want to get into has potential depending on how well they get along with the kid,”

“That’s crap, you so made that up right now,”

“It’s so not!”

“Hey, are you two coming or what?” Nathan called to them, his daughter Hope standing at his side and holding his hand, she was looking all around her trying to take the colourful scenery in.

“Cool your jets old man we’re coming,” Wade said as he walked through the entrance.

 Hayden stared up at the entrance banner, it was bright and colourful and inviting, and she turned her gaze to the crowds and took in the scene before her. It was noisy and busy, something she would normally not walk straight into; however, today she was in good company and felt safer than she had been in a long time.

“Haydes?”

“Yeah, I’m coming,” she smiled and walked to Wade, they caught up to Nathan and Hope, she was bouncing on the spot impatiently.

“So, where to first?” Nathan asked Hayden, she looked to Wade for help.

“Uh, why don’t we start over there and work our way around?” he pointed to a water themed booth.

“We’re following your lead,” Nathan said, Hope turned to see where Wade was pointing and immediately ran to the booth, Nathan moved to follow her with a worried expression on his face.

  Hope’s hands held the edge of the booth that was named as ‘Aqua Snipers’ and she peered over, the attendee smiled and leaned over to talk to her.

“Hope, don’t run away like that, there are too many people here, I don’t want to lose you.” Nathan chided.

“Daddy the man says that it’s five dollars to play one game,” she looked at him hopefully.

“Alright,” he pulled out a few crumpled notes from his pocket and placed it on the table, “How do we play?”

“Why it’s simple sir, all you have to do is aim this here plastic gun at the clown’s mouth over there, and once the balloon attached bursts you win,”

“Seems easy enough,” Nathan shrugged but Wade grabbed the money on the table.

“Hold on Carnie, what’s the catch?”

“No catch, just a two minute time limit,” he held his palm out.

“Hmm, fine,” Wade placed the money in his hand; the attendee closed it quickly and put the money in his tin, “Let’s kick some butt.”

                              They were each given a plastic gun that was attached to a water filled tank, Nathan showed Hope how to hold the toy properly and then the attendee started the game; the three of them were easily filling the balloon given their experience with guns. However, Hope was struggling to hold it with it being so heavy and shooting a strong spray of water, and the three of managed to pop their balloons while Hope’s balloon fizzled out.

She put the toy gun down and looked unhappily at the ground, Nathan quickly rubbed her backside and told her it was okay that she didn’t get it the first time, then he put more money on the table before showing her how to hold it steadier for her turn again. This time she won and she grinned happily.

“Thank you Daddy!” she giggled as she walked holding her new stuffed panda, the others each holding their own stuffed toy that they had won.

“Don’t thank me Hope, you did it all by yourself,” he ruffled her hair.

“I think my heart just grew three sizes,” Wade teased with a hand covering his heart, “And here I thought you were always a hard- butt. Hard-butt,”

Nathan grunted, “Nice save.”

Hayden smiled at seeing Nathan interact with Hope, Wade was right he normally was a bit of a hard ass but seeing this softer side of him, it made her feel at ease for some reason.

  They played the Basketball Bonanza next, the adults playing before Hope so that she could see how the game worked, when she tossed her first ball she missed by a great distance. Nathan didn’t want her to be discouraged so he lifted her up in his muscular arms; he winced briefly enough for Hayden to notice, with the added height she was able to score and won another stuffed animal prize.

After dominating the Ring Toss Extraordinaire with use of some super abilities and calculative cyborg vision, they defeated the Milk Bottle Slammers, Hope was overwhelmed with all the stuffed animals that she now had for her collection, and although she hadn’t been very good at the games herself she enjoyed watching the others play.

They seated themselves on the outskirts of the carnival that was made into a makeshift hay-bale farm style courtyard specifically for the food booths. Hope was attempting to suckle down on a large candy apple, Wade happily chewed down on his seventh chimichanga, Hayden opted for the classic caramel popcorn and Nathan settled for a corndog (after Wade insisted that it was a must-have for ten solid minutes).

 “So did you enjoy your first carnival?” Wade asked after swallowing another bite.

“It was awesome! The games were so fun and the people are so loud and everything is so fun in the past! I wish it was like this back home,” Hope said and gave her candy apple another lick.

“Oh, that’s nice Hope,” Wade looked down at Hope and then looked back up again, “but I was actually asking Haydes,”

Nathan turned to Hayden, “This was your first carnival too?”

“I- uh, yeah,”

“That’s why you brought Wade along, because you didn’t know what to do at carnivals.” He said in realisation.

“Well sue me for not having a normal childhood, I suggested it because Wade told me that one was coming to town and I, I just wanted to know what the big deal was,”

“And?” Nathan asked.

“With you two idiots and Hope, I could do it another hundred times over,”

“She’s a lot more fun than Mommy,” Hope said with a grin, “I like her.”

 “I like you too Hope,” she smiled down at the girl.

“Hope, it’s not nice to say mean things about your mother,” Wade chided making the other two turn their heads, “On the other hand your father-”

“Daddy is the best Daddy in the world, I could never say anything mean about him!” she seemed shocked by the very idea, “But Chet-”

“Who’s Chet?” Wade asked taking another bite of his snack.

“Chet is… my ex-wife’s new husband,” Nathan said with a hint of bitterness.

“You’re divorced?” Wade asked surprised, “The way you talked about her I- sorry man.”

“And I hate him,” Hope continued, crossing her arms. “He always sends me to my room so he can be alone with Mommy and the baby,”

“Hope-” Nathan started.

“No, let her talk it out,” Hayden said looking at Hope with full attention, “Hope?”

 “I feel like Mommy loves the baby more than me, it’s like she doesn’t want me anymore,”

“Sweetheart, your mother still loves you, they’re just excited that the baby is here,” Nathan assured her.

“But I’m here, they’re replacing me,” a tear fell down her cheek.

“No one could ever replace you,” Nathan touched her face gently, “Do you understand? A lot of attention is going to be towards the baby now that it’s here because it’s too small to take care of itself, not like you, you’re my big strong girl aren’t you?” he wiped away her tears.

“Yes,”

“Look at me,” he lifted her chin, “Your mother and I still love you, we just don’t love each other anymore, but just because we don’t love each other anymore doesn’t mean we’re leaving you behind, alright?”

Hayden felt unconvinced about Nathan not loving his ex-wife anymore as he had emphasised the ‘we’ a little too much for her liking.

“Alright Daddy,” she managed to smile.

“Aren’t you glad I suggested she talk it out?” Hayden asked smugly, “Hope, don’t be afraid of telling someone you trust how you’re feeling, alright? Sometimes it helps you to feel better,” she looked at Wade who smiled with a mouthful of chimichanga and nodded.

________________________________________________________________

>> Chapter 12 <<

[dfnews]

Episode Recap of "An Explosive Reveal"

First Aired August 20, 2018

1. The show opens up in Laredo with shots of Jeremy throwing darts at a photo of Trump (I wish) and of a small barbed wire border fence that is symbolic of Jinger's cultish upbringing. She may look more free but looks can be deceiving. Jeremy has two surprises for Jinger on their first anniversary, one good and one bad. She's getting a piano and a visit from some of her family. This show is getting less and less about the boring married couples and more about how to sneak the sexual predator's parents back on. Jeremy makes the lame excuse that sneaking Jim Bob and Michelle back onto the show is because Jinger is homesick. Ummm, if this was filmed last November, their anniversary, that was only a few weeks after Jinger went home for Joseph's wedding. PLUS, Jinger was just in Arkansas taking the little girls' photo for their album where she announced her pregnancy. That must have been only days before this was filmed. It's like they think no one follows this family.

2. Jim Bob and Michelle jump on the family's big plane with most of their sons and Tyler. I guess Jim Bob has to keep an eye on his male servants. I don't know why the brothers came. They didn't even help move the piano.  I'm still amazed that the media doesn't make more of a fuss about how Jim Bob has every one of his adult sons working for him. Josh, Josiah, Joseph in the family used car lot. John as the family's pilot and construction worker. Joe and Josiah also dabbling in the family real estate and house flipping businesses for their dad and Jeer, Jed and Jason also helping in all of those businesses. Not one of them in college or getting any kind of training. Jed is said to be dabbling in politics but that is also a family business venture. I just hope these young men will be able to care for themselves and a large family once the overseer is gone.

3. As JinJer go out on a date, the Duggars invade their little house snooping into everything. Jeremy digs into his dish and dishes out compliments to an insecure Jinger. I really hope the side he shows on TV is the same as in real life. He just seems kind of slick to me. Back at JinJer's house the guys and Michelle sneak into the bedroom where a long cable cord is hanging down the wall and attached to a cable box sitting on the floor. It looks like Jeremy removed a TV from the wall. Can't be caught by the cameras having a TV in your bedroom after Jim Bob and Michelle spent years preaching about the hazards of TV watching. Jim Bob whispers, "Don't squeak the bed." to the boys and I feel dirty. JinJer arrive at home. Jinger is led to her surprise new piano that she picked out herself in an earlier episode. I'm pretty sure she knew she would get it because she knows how TLC gifting goes. Jinger acts all appreciative like Jeremy actually bought the piano but we all know he can't afford that on a small town pastor's tithing lifestyle. Then the second surprise pops up and Jinger meets her family again like it's been years instead of days. Jinger is a better actress than I ever dreamed. She cries her eyes out as she hugs Michelle. What the heck? It's actually pretty concerning how she acts when seeing her parents after only a short time away. Is Jeremy treating her okay? Michelle says she cried too but I think she was just faking it as she usually does. Luckily, Jim Bob says they're there for a short time. I hope they left that night and allowed the anniversary birds to have some privacy that night but I bet Jim Bob slept in JinJer's bed as the lovebirds napped on the piano stool.

4. JoyStin assemble a crib and get the baby's room ready. Good to see they bought their own instead of using a chewed up Duggar crib. Austin is offended by instruction manuals. Joe agrees. He'd rather just look at the pictures and Kendra chimes in with a hilarious, "He doesn't like to read." Ain't that true. I've never seen a Duggar man with a book other than the Bible and I know they can't read that right. Jessa says she's a stereotypical man in that she throws away the manual and Ben reads it. Good for gender breaking, Seewalds! I've learned through too many mistakes to read the manual with a fine tooth comb because I AIN'T DOING IT TWICE! Joy teases Austin about his building skills and they talk about not knowing the sex of the baby. I'm glad they broke the mold in that area of not wanting to know. Most Duggars want to know so they can begin gender stereotyping before the child even takes its first breath.

5. Oh, geez...they didn't go home. They did sleep on the piano bench. Michelle and Jinger discuss food aversions. Jinger says she had an aversion to the smell of coffee but I think she actually was going through caffeine withdrawal. Jinger was totally addicted for years. Jinger mentions using the birth center in San Antonio which is a two and a half hour drive. They decided on that pretty early in the pregnancy. In the meantime, the Duggar boys and Jeremy go grocery shopping in order to buy the ingredients of some infamous Duggar meals they want Jeremy to try. Poor Jeremy. First up is barbecue sauce and tuna fish sandwiches. I actually tried this once. Just a small bite and I give it a thumbs down. Jeremy tries it and says he likes it but we don't see him take more than one bite and he has a drink in his hand pretty quickly after that. Jim Bob jokes about never having had to cook before when he starts to help in the making of tater tot casserole. Many men love to cook but Jim Bob thinks the job is only for girls. He's missed out on a great joy in life by being a sexist pig.  The meal is tossed together and baked and everyone eats it, carbs and sodium overdose and all.

6. Joe and Kendra and John have an ultrasound to find out the sex of their baby. John gets the secret note from the doctor. He says the note will determine if the room will be painted pink or blue. Sigh... I always hated pink and I'm a girl. What the hell does a color have to do with anything?

7. Josiah walks out of daddy's house, gets in a daddy owned car and goes to the home of a girl daddy picked out. He's going to formally ask for Lauren's hand. He's a grown man why does he need to ask....oh yeah, he doesn't own anything of his own so I guess that means he's not quite a grown man yet. Dwain has three questions for Josiah. 1. Does he know Lauren's love language? I'm guessing this was a slide show presentation at homechurch that they recently had. Si says he does.  2. Don't go to be with wrath. Will Josiah be diligent to not wrath in bed? He says he won't. He had a lot of practice with his siblings. 3. What are your plans as far as life's work? Si says, to continue working for daddy. So no real plans except to slave for the master. He better hope the economy holds up. Businesses can fall mighty quickly. Dwain gives his blessing of course. Maybe Josiah can go work for Dwain and his business. Dwain has the better house and property.

8. Another party at the Duggar house. It's sex reveal day for JoKen's baby. The boys are back in town because this happened months later in February. John sets up a powder target in the shooting fields they own across the street from the penitentiary. He will shoot a box and send blue powder flying. I hope the fetus was wearing ear protection. Blue powder flies. It's a boy named Garrett David. Jill and Derick are hidden in this scene but Jim Bob is holding Izzy. Derick!!! You said you wouldn't allow your family to participate in the show anymore. Liar!  

That's it. Nothing new. Anniversaries, babies, engagements, bad food and trapped kidults. Next week, more of the same. Unless there is another scandal to break up the boredom. Please let there be another scandal!

[florrickandassociates]

TGF Thoughts: 2x06-- Day 443

Sorry for the delay, guys. I liked this episode but for some reason I found it super boring to rewatch and kept putting off writing this. (I think you will be able to tell that I was writing this just to write something.)

A chair sits in a brightly lit, half unfinished room. This turns out to be the studio where Adrian is recording an interview with Cable News (they say it like it’s a proper noun in this episode so I’ve decided it is). Adrian looks uncomfortable doing this—the strange room, the logistics of the interview, the soundcheck, the unmanned camera.

We only hear Adrian’s side of the interview, and we have no context for it, so it sounds awkward. He misgenders someone (he can’t see the rest of the panel) (this is just like s5 Alicia!) and makes a comment about a case and then it’s over.

When Adrian arrives at the office, he’s wearing a black baseball cap. I am not sure why but it’s a look.

Marissa applauds him when he gets off the elevator—apparently the ten words he said were super impressive. Marissa also informs Adrian that Diane and Julius are in his office and there’s a visitor there for him. What, exactly, is Marissa’s job?

There are still boxes left over from the party. That’s a lot of booze.

“The next time they ask me to be a pundit, tell me no,” Adrian laughs, thinking he made a fool of himself.

“Wait, wait, wait, we’ve got to discuss Lucca,” Diane says as Adrian starts to leave. “We can’t ask her if she’s pregnant. It’s illegal,” Julius explains. “And Lucca’s not saying anything,” Adrian understands. The partners quickly realize that Lucca’s not saying anything specifically so she isn’t bumped from “the biggest case of the year” which goes to trial in two months.

Julius’s solution is to “talk to her friend Maia” to get info about Lucca’s pregnancy. Well, that’s shitty. Also, where is Liz? In this episode, but also in this scene specifically. We get Julius for this but not the name partner who is a mother?

The dude involved in the Peeper case Adrian referenced on Cable News shows up in the conference room, wanting Adrian to represent him.

And it’s Adrian’s lucky day, because a prominent Chicago lawyer we’ve never heard of is in reception too! Diane seems more impressed by him than I would think, since I was long under the impression that Diane Lockhart was supposed to be one of the biggest names in the Chicago legal world.

Ok I take that back, this Franz dude says “And Diane Lockhart, I know you,” when after introducing himself to Adrian. Ok, good.

He also knows Julius. Where has Julius been these past few episodes? I thought he was a series regular. Maybe he went for a visit to the New York office. Or he was spending time with the six children he has.

Franz was impressed with Adrian’s Cable News appearance too. It apparently has 300,000 likes.

Franz tries to stand while everyone from RBL sits, and Adrian won’t let him. I’m reminded of the Supreme Court Superlawyer in W4x09 who preached at Diane, Will, and Alicia. Adrian remains standing, so Franz can’t literally talk down to him.

Then some weird pantomiming of fighting happens. I am unsure what is going on, but I do know that Adrian’s air punches have been gifed and are on GIPHY or something, because on my commute home one day this week I looked up for a second and saw a gif of Adrian from this scene on someone else’s phone screen. (Sadly, he selected another, non-TGF gif to use in his conversation.)

Oh, we are talking about Wilk Hobson again. I didn’t realize he was in multiple episodes—I only remembered him from 2x05—but he popped up last night when I was rewatching 4x17, and IMDb says he’s also in 2x10.

Franz wants to talk about the lawyer killings. In fact, he informs RBL, “the big six firms have been meeting over the past few weeks to discuss how to address this problem.” I’ve never heard of the Big Six firms, but I guess that makes sense. If all firms in Fictional Chicago go through as much turmoil as LG always did, I can definitely believe there’s an alliance of six firms we’ve never heard of before.

Franz extends RBL an invitation to meet with the Big Six, because he saw Adrian on Cable News.

After the meeting, Diane and Adrian are shocked and Julius is so excited he’s had to leave the room (lol no he’s just disappeared without an explanation again). “What DID you say on Cable News?” Diane asks.

Now we get to see the Cable News panel from the other side, and I’m still not sure why what Adrian said is impressive. It lasts for about five seconds and he offers some mild pushback. That’s it. I feel like if you’re going to bother with showing something from one perspective and then later filling in the blanks, the scene should make sense the second time around. It still seems awkward and abrupt to me, and even though I’ve seen the episode and know what Peeper is, I don’t get what Adrian’s talking about. I am not sure what would get this clip 300,000 likes?

Diane and Marissa (who’s popped up because… idk she has) encourage Adrian to go on Cable News again.

The fact that Adrian has a framed picture of himself with Obama is fantastic but it doesn’t really help me believe that his office is anything other than Diane’s office, redecorated. Just swap out the Hillary/Diane pic for an Obama/Adrian one…

Adrian was doubting his Cable News abilities, but not anymore!

Julius goes to talk to Maia about Lucca’s pregnancy. Maia is at a table rather than a work station and Julius asks why. “I got here too late,” Maia says. Why would you tell your boss that, Maia? I can’t imagine RBK is chill with people strolling in whenever they want (though actually, maybe they would have a flex hours program) and you probs shouldn’t tell a partner that you arrived to work too late to grab a desk.

Julius asks Maia about Lucca’s “condition” and they both know what he’s talking about. “I think she wants to be thought of as a lawyer and not an expectant mother,” Maia explains. Yeah, something like that. And Lucca’s not even slightly wrong to assume her pregnancy would affect things.

Case in point: seconds after Maia says this, Julius doubles back to ask Maia to take the lead on the next step in Lucca’s big case. Maia is stunned and runs after Julius to protest her new assignment. It’s Lucca’s case, after all. When Maia asks why she’s been put in charge of the motion, Julius says “I’m a partner, and you’re an associate, and I want you to take it.” Good ‘ol Julius. I think he takes pleasure in lording his power over underlings.

“Is this about Lucca’s condition?” Maia asks. Um, yes, it obviously is. Equally obvious is that Julius would never say that out loud.

“No. It’s about you having a chance to be first chair,” Julius replies.

“Does Lucca know?” Maia asks next. “No. Go ahead and tell her!” Julius tells Maia. Seriously, he sounds delighted to give Maia this task.

Maia immediately goes to inform Lucca. “You are different since your ride-along,” Lucca observes after Maia makes a comment about being fine without a desk. What? First Maia was different after prison, now she’s different after her ride-along… can we stop saying Maia’s changed so much? And if we’re going to stick with that narrative, can it at least be consistent? I don’t even understand what her ride-along would’ve changed or how her comment about desks is possibly related to it.

Lucca jumps right into talking about the case, and Maia hesitantly tells her about what Julius asked her to do. Lucca asks why, and Maia says she doesn’t know, but Julius was asking about her “condition.” Lucca just goes, “Oh, fuck.” She’s not thrilled that the partners are assuming things about her work performance.

“You haven’t even told me, and I’m your friend,” Maia says. … Lucca is v obviously pregnant (she’s showing!). But, as she says, it’s not that she’s unaware that others can tell—it’s at least in part “just having those words [I’m pregnant] come out of my mouth. It feels weird.”

“Now, here’s the other worry. I’m on the partner track. For the first time in my career, I have some traction. And now I’m worried they’ll use… this to penalize me,” Lucca explains.

This prompts Maia to say what may be the smartest thing I’ve ever heard Maia say: that the partners can’t legally penalize Lucca for her pregnancy, but if she continues to keep it a secret, they can blame “performance” and make moves against her without being liable.

I do not remember much about the opposing counsel in the COTW, Amber Wood Lutz, but I remember that she was on last season and I expected her to become a recurring player. And here we are again.

“Every time a new lawyer is killed, I think of you,” she tells Adrian. I definitely don’t remember this rivalry. It was probably a thing. I just don’t remember it.

Mike from Veep is a judge now! He keeps saying that trials are nothing like what we see on TV. He even makes the same comments twice. The point—which could’ve been conveyed in far fewer lines, IMO—is that this trial is going to become extremely theatrical (even by TGW/F standards) since Adrian’s in Cable News mode.

This case is not that interesting. It could be, but it’s not much more than an excuse to talk about the alt-right and neo-Nazis. So, I probably won’t comment on it much, if at all.

Diane and Adrian head from court to a meeting of the Big Six Plus RBL, which is being held in a space that looks like the Cheesecake Factory but for people who think they’re too classy for the Cheesecake Factory.

Amber Wood Lutz is also in the Big Six. Adrian believes this is because they are “pretending to be diverse.”

I really don’t know how I’m forgetting this Amber/Adrian rivalry from last season. It’s quite intense.

Oh God, I’m only just at the credits? Can you tell from how sloppy my writing is that I just want to get this written? This episode wasn’t bad and it wasn’t great. It wasn’t even that interesting. I like writing about things that give me a lot to chew on, and I like writing about things that are so terrible I can rant for pages. Recapping something boring… is boring.

This episode was written and directed by women! (Finally.)

RBL is asked to donate $40,000 pretty much immediately after they sit down at the table. The widow of a wealthy lawyer needs $40,000 donations from seven firms? Why the fuck does she need $280k?

“We are being hunted,” Franz says. The show would like us to believe, at least to an extent, that the lawyer killings aren’t being investigated thoroughly because the police and lawyers aren’t friendly and everyone hates lawyers.

Now we get a rehash of the debate about giving the police your firm’s client list that we already heard in 2x03. That reminds me, when do we get to learn more about Liz’s husband?

Adrian comes up with a good next step for the Big Six. And then he’s on Cable News again (okay, it’s called Review of the Day). This time, he isn’t doing an interview remotely, but it’s the same show. If the show was in Chicago this whole time, why was Adrian doing the interview remotely from a studio in the first place?

There is another black man on the panel that night—“I’m the young, angry activist. You’re the older Obama statesman. That’s the only way they keep two black pundits on the panel, if we both stick to our lanes,” the other panelist warns. Adrian waves this advice off.

There’s been another lawyer killing, only this one may be racially motivated as well. Or, at least, that’s what Cable News thinks. This goes about as well as anyone who has ever watched a panel on actual cable news would expect, which is to say that people start screaming at each other about racism and making claims they can’t support based off of baseless assumptions they’ve made.

Adrian then insults Asshole Panelist and says he’s being overpaid to “ignorantly yap your mouth off.” Heh. I get why that one might go viral.

This makes the other panelists mad. Asshole Panelist thinks Adrian is playing high and mighty and the other black panelist accuses him of intentionally coming after his job. Even the host isn’t thrilled: Adrian mentioned money, and you’re not supposed to mention money.

Adrian’s second appearance is poorly received by some of his peers, even though this time, he was sure of what he was doing. Diane (playfully) accuses Adrian of intentionally stirring up trouble, and Adrian doesn’t deny it. Instead, he smiles and laughs.

For some reason there is a young woman who wants an autograph in reception at Adrian’s office. Don’t y’all have security?

Case stuff happens.

Lucca waits nervously to talk to the partners. She chats with Marissa a little and informs her of her pregnancy. “I’m telling everyone now,” she says. Marissa says she’s going to throw Lucca a shower—with a stripper. I want to see that! The shower, not the stripper. (Though…)

The partners congratulate Lucca when she shares her news. It seems genuine enough, and I’d love to believe that the partners won’t hold Lucca’s pregnancy against her. It’s certainly possible not to! I just need to see it to believe it with these people at this firm on this show.

“The birth date is scheduled for May 22nd,” Lucca says. It’s SCHEDULED? Honey. I’ve never spent any time around babies and even I know that you can’t make a baby obey your schedule. Lucca claims she’ll be back at work on the 25th. I’m curious to see how Lucca’s priorities and expectations shift over the course of the season. I think it’s very reasonable that she would want to keep working and I definitely don’t expect—or want—to have that choice invalidated. But a lot of what Lucca’s saying right now sounds more like denial of the realities of being a parent and nervousness about losing the things that are part of her identity than an actual plan for parenting.

Julius Cain is the father of six. I am assuming he doesn’t spend much time with any of his SIX kids given that there are six of them, and in nine years we’ve never heard about a single one. Poor Julius. The writing for him seems to consist of excuses for why he’s been absent and revelations that are out of left field. (Though I do buy that he’s the father of six. If you told me he was the father of six and he was very involved in his kids’ lives, I might have a problem believing that.)

Yeah, the partners are just putting on a show. They’re still going to watch Lucca very carefully. And they’re going to keep Maia ready to step in. If this case is so big, why is MAIA the backup plan? No offense to Maia (or maybe offense to Maia)—she hasn’t proven herself capable of this so why would the partners trust her with a big case?

The Big Six are back at Fancy Cheesecake Factory because that’s their favorite spot. I don’t even know what’s going on. It’s about police suits. I don’t care, since I know this whole conversation is lead-up to the reveal about Franz trying to woo RBL into dropping their police brutality suits so he’ll get more business from the police. It’s also a theoretical debate about issues I can’t have a stance on because they’re created for the show. Are the police failing to investigate lawyer killings? I mean, IDK, because the lawyer killings are fiction.

JULIUS wants to pursue police brutality cases and DIANE wants to drop them because “it’s worth every fucking irritation in the world!!!” to sit with the Big Six? What kind of opposite land is this where the Trump voter wants to hold the police accountable and the Hillary voter who gives no fucks is obsessed with status? (I don’t think it’s out of character for Diane to consider trading her values for status. I just think it’s weird that right now Diane is concerned with status, and also that she’s literally screaming at Julius about this.)

ALSO WHERE IS LIZ?

Lucca and Colin are in court with Judge Friend (hello!) and Colin tries to move the trial out by four months, to the week Lucca’s due in May.

OH FOR FUCK’S SAKE WRITERS, DID YOU NAME THE EPISODES AFTER REAL-TIME DATES JUST TO DRIVE ME MAD? Lucca and Colin hooked up after the Rindell case (202), but that was five months ago, even though it was the 415th day of the Trump administration and this is the 443rd day. And the 443rd day is in April, but May is four months away. Writers. If the dates aren’t going to have any bearing on the timeline of the show, maybe pick a different gimmick? Plus, it’s fucking annoying to memorize numbers.

Lucca and Colin fight in an elevator about the timing. Colin is more than a little annoyed that Lucca seems to be expecting him to ignore her pregnancy. While I agree that Lucca is expecting everyone to just ignore it, I feel like maybe if Colin wants Lucca to be more open with him, he should be supportive of her and her decisions and not incessantly propose to her (when it should be obvious to anyone who has ever met Lucca she would not want that) slash lash out against her in court.

Apparently Colin knows—or Lucca believes he does—that Maia would be the one to try the case if Lucca couldn’t. Why would Colin know that? And again, why would this fall on Maia?

Marissa hatches a plan because she believes Franz has ulterior motives. In a cafeteria, she chats with his assistant. His very chatty assistant. Turns out he wants the business of the police.

Case stuff happens. The jury is totally captivated by Television Personality Adrian Boseman, and the judge isn’t having it and tries to tell Adrian not to play to the jury. Diane objects and asks what, specifically, Adrian is doing wrong, and for the judge to rule on her objection.

“To quote a lawyer that I respected, ‘I want a ruling that I can appeal,’” Diane explains. Awwww, it’s a Will reference! (Will says this in W116, to Judge Lessner). IMO, these small, subtle references to Will are meant to show that Diane’s thinking about her former partner. And how could she not be thinking about him each time another lawyer is murdered?

Diane did not witness Will asking for a ruling he could appeal, so I imagine he must have told her the story at some point. Since there’s already a scene in W116 where Will recaps his case to Diane (he’s talking about auditioning for Bishop and groveling), it’s so easy to picture a conversation between them about this moment.

Back at Fancy Cheesecake Factory, Adrian and Diane fuck shit up by announcing that Franz is trying to land the business of the police (and that’s the only reason he invited RBL to the meetings in the first place). When the lawyers start arguing over one another, Diane and Adrian, satisfied with the mess they’ve made, leave. Hehe.

Lucca and Colin haven’t settled on a court date, so Lucca decides to tell Judge Friend that she’s pregnant and Colin’s the father. I don’t have much to say but it’s a really fun scene.

Colin shows up at Lucca’s office and explains his motivations. He didn’t want Lucca off the case: he wanted Lucca to be able to relax and not be stressed about the case! “This was for your benefit!” he says. “Oh my God. I didn’t think this could get any worse, but here we go,” Lucca responds accurately.

Colin is concerned Lucca might miscarry if she’s stressed. He asks if he can be even a little concerned, and she says that he can’t. Especially not if he’s going to express his concern that way!! Lucca also says she regrets having sex with Colin, and Colin’s all “I didn’t regret it.” Sigh. Lucca’s turned him down so many times. If there’s a way to win Lucca over—and there might not be!—this is definitely NOT it.

Anyway, Colin has info to help in the Peeper case. Which means that more case stuff happens and RBL wins.

Adrian calls Marissa (at work) to thank her for finding dirt on Franz. And to give her a 10% raise. “This is the first raise I’ve ever gotten,” she replies. “First of many, I’m sure,” he says. Aww. I like what they’re doing with Marissa and Adrian this year. It’s clear she respects him, and also clear that he’s recognizing her work when she does a good job (also clear is the fact she is doing a good job).

Adrian goes back on Cable News and finds out that J.D. (the young black man) is no longer on the panel.

On the panel, Asshole Panelist starts crying reverse racism. Adrian decides to burn all bridges with the show and its inanity, and he tries to stir shit up by getting the white panelists to say the n-word. Heh. Diane watches the clip (with a glass of wine and, likely, some drugs) at her desk and laughs.

Then she swivels around in her chair and hallucinates the Trump Mask People fucking. She laughs even harder. How many scenes of Diane laughing loudly is too many? I don’t think there could ever be too many scenes of Diane laughing.

I love Adrian not giving a fuck about what the host of the show has to say. He tells him off and then the ep ends with Adrian looking at himself in the mirror. This is a much better Adrian-centric episode than last week’s effort.  

[katdvs]

Lucas Friar moved back to Texas at 17, now he’s running for Mayor of Rosewood Springs so best friend Zay and little sister Gigi decide he needs a little help from a political consultant. Riley Matthews found her calling, she found a fiancé, but she never expected to find herself here, of all places.

Cross-posted to FF.net | Soundtrack | Past Chapters

Author Note: Seriously thank you so much to everyone who is still reading this, you guys are amazing in ways you will never know. Something comes up in this chapter that I 100% have planned for a while, I was writing the scene when I saw the news tweet about it and was like eek! Oh, I’ve got a reader survey going and it would be amazing if you could take the time to fill it out. Everything is 100% anonymous, I’m just a little curious about a few things so I thought why not ask. So if you fill that out, thank you!

-loss of my innocence-

“Come on guys get this room cleaned up.” Riley looked at the crew that had been working on the renovations of the lodge.

“Yes Boss, we should have the room cleaned up in twenty minutes or so. We’re just finishing to install the television, and we’ll get this place cleared up.”

“Thank you.” She smiled, “We start painting tomorrow.”

“We’ll be cleaned up and ready for you to paint.” The foreman told her.

She rubbed her forehead, “Thank you Alec, I know I gave you guys a short deadline but you’ve been great so far.”

“Well we want the rest of the jobs, we know if we mess up you’ll replace us.” Alec shot her a smile before he finished with the television, turning it on, “Should be good to go.”

“Thanks” Riley took the remote control from him and turned the set on, pulling up her favorite cable news channel.

“Your patrons will want to watch sports.” Her husband’s smooth voice danced in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her.

“I’m just making sure the TV works.” She leaned into him, “You this anxious to go to the football game tonight?”

“Riley, this is Texas, it’s Friday night, we do football.” He smirked, “Haven’t you figured that out yet?”

“I have,” she smiled as she put the remote down behind the bar, “How’s this look so far?’

“Amazing, and it’ll look even better once it’s painted, and you have actual guests.”

“We’re on schedule for a Valentine’s Day opening.” She ran her hands through her hair as she looked at her husband, “You ready for tonight? Things are really picking up; the election is barely a month away.”

“I sure am, the trunk is full of buttons and stuff. I also have a basket of stuff for dinner, I got your hoodie in the car.”

Riley paused for a moment as she looked around, “I gotta get my purse from the office. Give me a minute.”

“No problem.” Lucas turned his focus to the news as Riley left.

“And today in New York, son of business mogul Stuart Minkus, Farkle Minkus announced his candidacy for the recently vacant seat in the Senate.”

“Is that Farkle?” Riley’s voice was cloaked in bitterness.

Lucas turned to his wife, her eyes wide with a fire he’d never seen before, “Looks like it.”

“That fucking asshole!” She threw her purse down on the ground, “He and his wife, force me out of the business I built, the business I worked my ass off at, the business where I subjected myself to months, years really away from my family and friends, and then he runs for office?”

Lucas put his hands on her shoulders, “Hey, honey, you have every right to be upset.”

“I don’t understand why they forced me out, this isn’t what they told me.” She blinked back the tears in her eyes.

Lucas pulled her towards him, he could feel her tears already seeping into his t-shirt, “Farkle hasn’t returned any of my calls, and Zay said he hasn’t spoken to either of them since right before you went to New York.”

Riley pulled back, wiping her eyes, looking up to see Farkle on the screen giving a speech, and then she saw the chyron at the bottom, IRSM Consulting dissolved in August. Riley Lawrence left the company to move Texas and start a new project outside of politics.

“Why are they even mentioning you?” Lucas looked back at the screen.

“I don’t know none of this makes sense.” She picked up her purse and stared digging through her purse for her phone.

“Today the FDA announced a recall for the birth-control ComHil.”

Riley froze, as she looked up at the TV again. Her mind racing as she held her phone in her hand.

“Ri, you okay honey?”

“Yeah, um, found my phone. I’m going to call Maya in the car, see what she knows.”

Lucas cupped her face giving her a smile, “Hey, you know what as much as it hurts, as much as it stings that Farkle and Smackle did you dirty like this, but they freed you as well, think about it. You decided, you choose to come here, to be with me, to build a life with me.”

Riley gazed into his green eyes for a moment, “That is true.”

“So, you call Maya, see what she knows and I will get us to the football field.”

“You are the best. How did I get so lucky to find you?”

“The subway jolted and I pulled you into my lap.” He smirked before reaching around the bar for the remote and turning off the TV.

She took a deep breath, trying to relax herself even though she had far too many thoughts running through her head. She had to find out what was going on with Farkle and Smackle, why they had lied to her.

Lucas guided her out of the lodge and to his SUV, he knew she was upset, he couldn’t blame her for being so. He didn’t understand why Smackle and Farkle did what they had, and he couldn’t fathom why. The thing that really got him was that they lied to her, even what she told him when she finally had, didn’t feel right.

He took a deep breath before opening the driver’s side door, he could already hear her talking to Maya.

“What is going on with Farkle, what the hell are he and Smackle up to?”

“I don’t know Riles, they won’t talk to us and I’ve been trying. I even went to the offices, which FYI are all closed up. It’s like creepy abandoned.” Maya’s voice came over the speaker phone almost causing Lucas to jump as he started the engine. “Riles, where are you? Please don’t be driving right now.”

“I’m in the car, but Lucas is driving.”

“Hi Maya.” He glanced to Riley, sure her best friend as going to have a snarky comment.

“Whoa he speaks, I was starting to wonder.” Maya teased. “So, what are you to up to, a hayride or something like that?”

“Football game, it’s Friday night. What are you doing?”

“Movie night, we’re watching Trolls—again, Fallon and Drew love it. One day Riley you’re going to get married and have kids, and it’s not football games or square dancing or whatever it is you all do down there, it’s sitting at home watching something off Netflix for the fifteenth time that week.”

Lucas smirked, he couldn’t help but enjoy the knowledge that Maya didn’t know he and Riley were already married, “I don’t know Maya, that kind of sounds like our Saturday nights, we watched Trolls just last week.”

“Ugh, you would Ranger Rick.”

“Blast from the past.” Lucas chuckled, as he turned into the entrance for the high school. It was still early and he found a good spot quickly.

“Maya, will you please just ask Farkle what his damage is if he does talk to you. They haven’t taken my calls, or answered my emails.”

“I’ll do what I can. But they’re avoiding all of us.”

Riley sighed as she watched Lucas get out of the truck, “I don’t like the way they did this. What gets me is, if they had really just talked to me, we could’ve worked something out.”

“But would you have the settlement you got?”

“The money doesn’t matter to me, okay, yeah its allowed me to do a few things that I might not have been able to otherwise, but it just feels dirty, it did then, but even more so now.” She heard the trunk open, she glanced back to her husband, “I gotta go and play devoted fiancé.”

“Get married already, Lucas ask her to marry you.”

Riley chuckled, “Good night Maya.” She hung up before her friend could continue.

Lucas laughed as he unloaded stuff from the trunk, “She’s gonna kill us.”

Riley shrugged as she got out of the car, “I like what we have, it works for us.”

“It sure does.” He gave her a quick kiss as he pulled out the picnic cooler, “Ready?”

“Ready.” She took his hand, and picked up the bag of campaign swag before they moved to the high school.

Gigi sat in the doctor’s office, chewing her thumbnail as she waited for the doctor to return. She felt like each minute that went by took an hour.

A nurse came in to check on her, offering a supportive smile, “Dr. McGuire will be with you in just a few minutes, it’s a little crazy today.”

“Thanks” Gigi wished she had brought a magazine with her, this couldn’t take too long, but the nerves were building. She tried to think, if she was, what were the possibilities.

She couldn’t remember if she and Deacon had used condoms early on, the only time she knew she’d used them in the last few months was the night with Zay.

At least if she was she didn’t have to worry about who the father was.

She rubbed her hands over her face, her heart racing, how had things gotten to this point?

“Okay Gigi,” The doctor popped her red-haired head into the room, “you ready?”

“I sure am Aunt Rachel.” She sighed watched the older woman come into the room.

Rachel sat down on the stool and looked over the chart, “Good news, you’re not pregnant.”

“Oh, thank God.” Gigi breathed, “I mean I didn’t think I was, but with the recall of my birth control, I figured I should check.”

“Good idea, I’m guessing you and the fiancé have been active.”

“I haven’t told Mom yet Aunt Rachel, please don’t tell her. I’m waiting for when she and Dad come into town for the holidays.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I won’t say a word to my sister.” She looked back down at the chart making a note, “So I’m going to try you out on a different prescription, but I do suggest either wait a week, or use a condom until then.”

“Okay, I can handle that.” Gigi slipped off the table and started getting dressed again.

“How’s Lucas, I know I haven’t been around much.”

“Aunt Rachel, we know you’re busy, besides you were off helping women who needed it. You’re an inspiration.”

Rachel rolled her eyes at her niece, “You don’t have to suck up, I won’t tell your Mom.”

“No, I mean it.” Gigi shrugged, “And Lucas is good, he’s very happy with Riley and campaigning, and planning his wedding for March.”

Rachel looked up from writing out the prescription, “Wait, hold up, Lucas is engaged?”

“Oh right, you just got back like a week ago.” Gigi cringed, “Lucas is engaged to Riley Matthews.”

“Wait, the girl from New York?”

“Yeah, her, they’re beyond happy.”

“How did that happen, I thought she was working in politics thanks to her Uncle Eric.”

Gigi stared at her Aunt, “How do you know that, Lucas didn’t.”

“Eric must’ve mentioned it.” Rachel shrugged.

“Wait, you know her Uncle?”

“Yeah” Rachel looked at her niece, “We were college roommates. So, she and Lucas are engaged huh?”

“Yeah something like that.” Gigi grabbed her purse, “I gotta go fill this prescription, meet them and Deacon at the football game, are you coming by tonight?”

“Actually,” Rachel gave her niece a smile, “I think I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Okay, have a good night Aunt Rachel.”

“I’ll be right back.” Lucas gave Riley a kiss on the cheek just as Gigi was sitting down next to her.

“You guys really are sappy.” Gigi groaned.

Riley ignored her, “Where are you going?”

“I left the hoodies in the car and the air is starting to chill, I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Okay, we’ll be here.” Riley watched him for a moment before turning to Gigi, “Where did you disappear to?”

“Doctor, I had to get a new prescription for birth control.”

Riley turned to her concerned, “Why, what was wrong with what you were using, wait you were using something right Gigi?”

“Yes, but the stuff I was on got recalled, some mess up in the manufacturing or something. But Aunt Rachel got me on something new.”

“Wow my Doctor is named Rachel as well,” Riley looked out to the field, “My Uncle is like best friends with her, so I have an appointment next week just for a checkup and stuff.”

“Rachel McGuire?”

“Yeah, why?”

“That’s our Aunt.” Gigi shrugged, “Small world, huh?”

“Yeah, it is.”

“Okay, thank God I had these or Mrs. Miller was going to talk my ear off.” Lucas sat next to his wife and handed her the hoodie he’d been carrying.

“Oh thanks.” Riley took it, and pulled it on realizing immediately it was brand new, not the Abigail Adams High one she’d been wearing since she got to town. She looked down and saw Rosewood Springs printed on front, “Lucas what is this?”

“I know it’s not the hoodie, but I thought since you live here now, and we’re at a Rosewood Springs game, it might be better if you wore something from here.” He waited, hoping he hadn’t done the wrong thing.

Riley took a deep breath, “I love it Lucas, it just doesn’t smell like you.”

He put his arm around her, “Yeah well, it’ll smell like you.”

Riley breathed in his scent, “This will just have to do.”

Gigi made a gagging sound, “You guys are awful.”

Lucas looked up to his sister, “Yeah cause you and Deacon aren’t full on with the public displays of affection.”

Gigi blushed, “We are nowhere near as bad as you two.”

Deacon slipped in the seat next to Gigi, “What’s the score?”

She turned to her fiancé, “It hasn’t started yet, you got here before kickoff.”

“Awesome.” He looked to his boss and his fiancé, “Hello guys, hey could I got a new Vote for Lucas button? Mine got destroyed on a house call this morning.”

Lucas looked at the younger man, “Of course, what happened?”

“Mitzy the goat tried to eat it.” Deacon looked down, “I had it pinned to the shoulder strap of my bag. I set the bag down while I was examining Trixy and when I looked over Mitzy had the pin her mouth.”

Lucas’ mouth hung open, “I have no words, but you’ll have more stories like that as the years go on.”

“I’ll give you a bag of pins to keep in case you have another run-in with goats.” Riley shook her head as the PA system blared with an announcement.

The crowd around them came alive as the band began to play cheerleaders began to cheer.

Riley was still getting used to this part of her new life. She loved watching the enthusiasm of the crowd, it could be intoxicating. In high school, she hadn’t gone to many sporting events after Lucas left. She’d thrown herself into her work at the bakery, saving every penny she could, studying.

Never in a million years had she expected to be here. As she felt Lucas put his arm around her, pulling her close to him she couldn’t imagine being anywhere else for the rest of her life.

Gigi breathed a sigh of relief as she parked her car, thinking about her appointment earlier as she got out to run into the house and grab a few things before going over to Deacon’s.

It was easier each day, the more time she spent at his place, the less chance she had of running into Zay, though from the sounds of it he was spending more and more time at the apartment above the bar then here.

The door flew open just before Gigi could put her key in to unlock it, as her eyes adjusted to the sudden bright light flooding from inside she gulped.

She stepped inside after glancing to see if Riley and Lucas were home, but she didn’t see either of their cars.

“Georgianna Darcy Friar, where on earth have you been?” The voice was accusing, harsh, but also loving as well.

She turned to the door of Lucas’ office and saw her mother Bonnie Friar, with her strawberry blonde hair in a classic bob cut, a nice pantsuit for her flight so she looked put together but still comfortable.

“Mom, it’s Friday night I was at the football game.” She moved to give her mother a hug, wondering why no one told her she was coming, “Lucas didn’t mention you were coming.”

Bonnie waved her hand, “He doesn’t know.” She moved around the house, running her hands over the furniture expecting to leave trails in the dust only to discover she didn’t, “I see your housekeeping skills have improved.”

“Oh that wouldn’t be me keeping house.” Gigi slipped her left hand into the pocket of her jacket, “So where’s Dad?”

“Upstairs taking a shower, we had a long flight from London.” Bonnie paused at a picture on the mantle, “What is this doing out, I didn’t know Lucas still had pictures of her.”

Gigi looked at the picture of Lucas and Riley, it was from high school, a dance, they were posed together, gazing into each other’s eyes. “They look so in love in that picture.”

“High school romance, they never would’ve made it to graduation if we’d stayed in New York.” Bonnie put the picture down, “Riley was always a bit spacy. You know has your brother given Dixie a chance.”

“No, Lucas is never giving Dixie a chance.” Gigi rolled her eyes when her mother turned away, “Dixie is a psycho-bitch.”

“She is a very nice young lady, from a very well-respected family here in town, they own the property right next to ours.”

Gigi paused for a moment, “They used to, it has new owners, who are working to revitalize the property, and create a better resort.”

“Pish-posh Gigi, the Carmichael’s especially Dixie did quite well with it.”

“I would love to stick around and see how this all plays out, but I’m going to go get some stuff before I leave.” Gigi started going towards the stairs.

“Gigi, where do you think you’re going? It’s late where could a respectable girl like yourself be going this late at night?”

Gigi straightened up, “Over to Deacon Hughes house where I’m going to crawl into bed with him, probably have sex, and spend the night.”

Bonnie reached for her daughter, “Like hell you are! Is this what happens when we leave you in your brother’s care, you become the town slut?”

“Sorry Mom, I don’t think spending the night with my fiancé is going to make me the town slut.” Gigi held her left hand up, “So yeah being in Lucas’ care has left me with finding the man I’m going to marry.”

Bonnie’s face shadowed over, “You’re engaged and didn’t tell me Gigi, but why?”

“I knew you wouldn’t approve, besides it’s not like you care. You call but mostly talk to me for like two minutes before asking to talk to Lucas again.” Gigi started up the stairs, ignoring her mother following her.

“Gigi, talk to me.” Bonnie pleaded as she watched her daughter stuff clothes into her bag and grab a few things, it was then that she realized how empty the room had become, her daughter was slowly moving in with this man.

“I have to go Mom, but hey I’m sure you’ll have plenty to talk to Lucas about.” Gigi pushed past her as she moved down the stairs, going straight out the front door just as Riley and Lucas were coming p the steps, “Good luck.”

“With what?” Lucas called out before turning around and seeing his mother in the doorway. “Mom?”

Bonnie stopped going after Gigi when she saw her son, wondering how he could have the audacity to bring a woman home. But as they came up the last step she realized who was with him.

She looked to her son, “I cannot believe you have the stupidity to have this girl here. What are you doing Lucas, you will never become the Mayor if you have this New York trash on your arm. I thought you were smarter than that Lucas, I thought you would finally wise up and realize that it’s time to settle down with a good southern girl. You what decided to open old wounds and bring back this simple little waif?”

Riley was stunned, she’d always thought Mrs. Friar liked her.

Lucas couldn’t believe what his mother was saying, he could only imagine what she’d said to Gigi.

“What do you have to say for yourself Lucas?” Bonnie kept her eyes on her son, she had expected him to say something back to her.

“I want to say it’s good to see you Mom, I do wish you had called before coming. But how dare you speak to Riley like that. What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Get this trash out of my house Lucas.” Bonnie went to the door.

Lucas blinked, “Actually Mom, this is my house. Riley lives here with me. If you have a problem with her, get the fuck over it, or find someplace else to stay.”

[fly-pow-bye]

Powerpuff Girls 2016 - “Mini Golf Madness“

Written by: Haley Mancini

Written & Storyboarded by: Alicia Chan, Grace Kraft

Directed by: Nick Jennings, Bob Boyle

Mulligans are not necessary here.

The episode starts with an establishing shot of Wooly’s Ragtime Mini Golf, the Wooly’s clearly being a replaced word. Totally Not Old Man McGucket, or Wooly for short, tells everyone to have a “golf-tastic time”. Then he gets hit by the Wooly’s sign, revealing that it used to be owned by Rico. Is there a point to this? There might be, but it's never outright stated.

The golf course is filled with animatronics of 1930′s cartoon characters...and Top Cat! A very rare appearance of a Hanna-Barbera character not named Scooby Doo on modern Cartoon Network. I wish it was less rare. Unforunately, these robots are breaking down too easy, which could be our first hint that’s something is not quite right about this place. Bubbles doesn’t seem to mind, though. It’s still cute to her.

Buttercup plays a round of mini-golf, with her sisters helping out. Bubbles is the wind checker, checking the wind using her pigtails. Blossom is keeping score, and because she’s a nerd, she also suddenly talks about the history of the golf course. It was based on the characters from an old 1930′s cartoon called Owly Boop, an obvious parody of Betty Boop. Before Blossom can talk more exposition than necessary, Buttercup shoos her away while she readies her shot.

It lands in in animatronic’s trumpet, which then breaks down, dropping the ball right into the hole. Blossom tells Buttercup that her score is a -7. Buttercup scoffs that her score is a negative number because she’s doing so great, but Blossom reminds her that negative scores in golf are a good thing.

Buttercup: Well, it’s time for Buttercup to do terrible!

Too easy. Also, running gag.

After a montage of Buttercup “doing terrible“, Buttercup faces a giant animatronic Owly Boop at the “Final Hole“. Buttercup has gained enough of a crowd to get the janitor to act as a commentator, because she’s the first person at this mini-golf place to ace every hole so far. Judging by, this is her first try, too.

She swings super hard at the golf ball, making it fly. It hits the animatronic’s ear, an airplane, and a generic sign that says “Generic Sign“. The animators couldn’t get rid of the placeholders in time. It lands right between Owly Boops’ legs, rolling right into the hole.

Bubbles, now acting like the reporter as the janitor is busy with this episode’s poop joke, congratulates Buttercup on her first time perfect game, and asks her what she’s going to do next. Unfortunately, since this is Cartoon Network and not something that owns world famous theme parks, they can’t complete the obvious reference. Instead, Buttercup says she’s going to take her game-winning lucky ball back home.

Wooly isn’t too fond of that plan, as this golf place was built before the concept of having a final hole that is essentially a glorified ball return place. He menacingly tells the girls that all balls must be returned...OR ELSE! Buttercup asks, but he’d rather keep it a secret. He then does a villain laugh, because he's the suspicious guy!

Buttercup goes up to the ball return place, assuring Blossom that she’s a good girl and that she’ll return it like the man says. Of course, Buttercup has a diffterent plan. She just happens to have a gumball in the same shape as one of the mini-golf balls...which she then starts chewing so she can think harder. I’ll admit, that’s an okay joke.

Buttercup’s actual plan is to steal one of Bubbles’ reboot pigtail beads and use one of the blue balls as the replacement. Hey, they finally made Bubbles’ new design useful! We get an ominous shot of the Owly Boop robot opening its eyes while the Powerpuff Girls talk about how creepy Wooly and his course is, making it a bit too obvious what’s going to happen next.

Buttercup cherishes her lucky golf ball, as she and her sisters go to bed. While sleeping, Blossom hears a big explosion. Apparently, even Blossom has gotten used to the lack of crimefighting in this series, as she thinks the explosion was Bubbles farting. Bubbles says it wasn’t her, and then she actually farts. Because this is a piece of children’s media in 2017. I’m surprised there isn’t a pee joke to complete the trifecta.

Blossom tells Buttercup to get out of bed, and she wakes up the other two to show them what she’s seeing:

A shadowy giant singing robot that looks oddly familiar destroying the city. The Powerpuff Girls get out of bed and tear off their pajamas, revealing their usual clothes. Yes, they do apparently shed off their bare feet to reveal their shoes. Don’t even ask how.

It turns out, it’s the giant robot Owly Boop that guarded the last hole on the golf course, tearing apart the city in search for something missing. In her words, which she sings in the style of Betty Boop:

Owly Boop: Hooty-hoot, who’s got it? Hooty-hoot, who’s got it?

She dances around, sings in a jazzy style, and there’s shots like the one above, which fits with the Betty Boop theme of the character. Mostly, she just lifts buildings, leading to jokes like comforting a man who felt his room was too stuffy with that pesky ceiling, and the classic “reveal a woman bathing, causing her to scream“ joke. This is a throwback episode, so it fits.

Highlighting one scene in particular, the robot lifts City Hall like one of those step-on garbage cans to find what she’s looking for, grabbing the Mayor. This leads to The Mayor commenting that she looks just like Ms. Bellum except for her face. I’m glad that Ms. Bellum isn’t completely forgotten, though comparing her to a Betty Boop parody tells me they still don't see her for her personality.

He then cries, because he misses her, with Bubbles having to comfort him. Later on, there’s a cutaway where Bubbles reads him a bedtime story in the same way Ms. Bellum did in one of the flashbacks in Bye Bye Bellum. A more obvious callback to a previous episode? Who would have thought that would happen?

Blossom immediately knows what’s going on, and tells Buttercup that this is happening because she stole the golf ball. Buttercup tells Blossom that she earned it by being "terrible", and says she would do the same thing in her position. To Blossom, she's the epitome of morality, and she would never steal a thing. Guess she forgot about those golf clubs.

Buttercup, not willing to give up her lucky golf ball, decides to do what she actually does worst: actually beating up monsters in this reboot. To be fair, even in the original, if it would break the story, the Powerpuff Girls could, and should, not defeat the Monster of the Week. Catastrophe? The slime monster keeps reforming. Uh Oh Dynamo? Better have that monster be suddenly invincible so they can get in the robot!

The main issue, and I've written this before, is the lack of contrast. There's very little Girls Punch, Monster Down to establish the Powerpuff Girl's powers in the reboot, unlike the original where episodes often open with Townsville under attack and the Powerpuff Girls saving the day. It's a good thing Cartoon Network's website has original episodes as well, or we might forget that the Powerpuff Girls are supposed to be ultra-super-powerful.

Of course, robot kick, girl down. Womp womp, hooty-hoot-hoo. The way she does it isn’t too bad, though: she telescopes her legs to the sky, and then while Buttercup is confused, she kicks him in a way resembling Betty Boop’s dance moves. I like the way the robot is animated in this episode; I wish I made more GIFs.

Wooly shows up, not really concerned that one of his animatronics is destroying the town, but is concerned that whippersnapper is a thief. He tells Buttercup robot will not stop until what she has stolen returns. Huh, he sure seems to know a lot for being an innocent golf guy. He does a lot of evil laughs, too.

Despite everything, Buttercup still feels that she doesn’t need to give up that golf ball that she earned. Besides, it’s not like the city is totally destroyed! Cue the ironic panorama shot!

Wah, wah, wah, waaah.

Buttercup, having no choice, goes on top of a ceiling. She asks Bubbles to check the wind speed, and it’s apparently so strong that it blows Bubbles away. I guess the Powerpuff Girls are now weaker than wind. Buttercup repeats the same golf ball bounces everywhere gag from before, and the ball lands right into her mouth, shutting her down.

They all get ready for the once-an-episode apology scene, until the robot comes back to life with the startling twist! I won't entirely spoil it here, but you can add this episode to the massive pile of episodes that make Blossom look foolish.

Foolish enough for a wah-wah trumpet!

I will give this episode credit: despite consantly making him seem that way, they never really out Wooly as the villain that's the cause of all of this. This episode actually leaves an interpretation to the viewer, and that’s actually nice in a reboot not familiar with the word “subtlety“.

Does the title fit?

Madness is caused by a stolen mini-golf ball.

How does it stack up?

I didn't come to this episode expecting much, but I left rather surprised. The Owly Boop robot is charming, some of the jokes actually work, and it's great to see an episode involving superheroics. In Buttercup's way of thinking, this episode is "terrible". In other words, it's good. Wrap your head around that one.

Next week, the Bro Sharks. Oh, (Man)boy.

← A Star Is Blossom ☆ Summer Bummer →

[ibijus]

My spin on "Lotor corner the Voltron team and wants Lance in exchange of their lives" ;9

I’m very curious about how Lotor will turn to be in the series, to tell the truth I’m 90% sure he’ll obsess over Keith, but the Lotor wants a piece of Lance thing has produced so much cool content!!

(I’ll be using female pronouns for Pidge here, ok?)

I’m more tired than I thought so it’s actually pretty ridiculous and I wrote it really quickly. I’ll say it’s a “come for the laugh, stay for the explosions” kind of deal.

Let's go down swinging

Pidge wasn't moving, lying a few feet from where Keith was trying to hold Lance straight when he himself almost couldn't stand. Hunk had cut communication for a while now, he and Coran were ambushed by the Galra and the last thing they heard from them where they panicked screaming before silence. Allura wasn't in a good shape either, but she stood on front of them, barring Lotor and his guards from getting too close, the princess was the image of a lioness protecting her pride.

The scenario was very picturesque: at the top of the castle, which was full of sentries, beaten and cornered by the bad guy in a planet with the most beautiful blue sky, just like Earth.

"Paladins of Voltron... You've been defeated."

Lotor wasn't smiling, rather seeming disappointed, but his words stung. Allura's glare wasn't enough to stop him from taking his next step closer, which started a short fight between the two. She was a good fighter and had great motivation to win, seeing her friends and new family lives at risk but Lotor hadn't spent the last hours desperately fighting, in a last move he pulled his gun and shot Allura in the stomach, making her double and fall while holding herself in pain.

Her eyes still followed him, full of promises of pain while he got past her and closer to Keith and Lance. They had nowhere to run, sentries had their guns pointed at them from every side and Pidge was still down. Even if they had a clean patch, neither could run at the point. Keith was in a slightly better shape than Lance, but didn't look like he was about to leave any of them behind.

As soon as the devil was close enough he made his proposition.

"Even after such shameful display, I can be merciful. Live to fight another day. My word is my honor and all I ask if for the Blue Paladin to follow me."

Keith tightened his hold on Lance's shoulder, who felt the world spinning. It could be pure confusion in front of whatever the hell he was hearing or from a concussion. He did hit his head pretty hard in his last fall.

Broken head or not he had to act soon, Keith was positively growling and Lotor was probably counting the seconds to shot them like he just did Allura.

"If I go with you they'll be free, right?"

Now Lotor was smiling and Lance felt his blood run cold. He really must had a concussion, because he was about to do something very stupid.

"I'll go."

"No, you won't!"

Lance slowly got away from Keith, getting free from his hold and not looking at him, his arms were heavy and he limped closer to their enemy, Keith had wide eyes and was standing at the ball of his feet, ready to jump at his defense, but in a second Lotor was holding his prize. Possessive arms holding his in his tired feet, all smile while looking at Lance.

"You made the right choice."

"I know."

The knife didn't get too deep past the armor, but the surprise in Lotor's eyes was a true gift for Lance. He had taken the weapon from Keith before stepping away and put all his luck in this last move. He couldn't go for the neck and the armor wasn't a decorative piece, it really did a good job in protecting Lotor, but he had done some damaged.

The bastard was bleeding, face now full of disgust, and Lance hoped the scar never faded and every time he saw it he remembered that a Paladin of Voltron did that to him.

Lotor took him by his neck and threw him far away, Keith screamed for him as he fell over the edge of the tower. Now they were the last one standing and Lotor ignored him, taking the knife from his wound to have a better look at it.

"I think I'll keep that. It'll remember me how easy it was to get rid of you."

Keith took a deep breath and was about to jump against him, already hearing the sentries guns charging, when something caught their eyes.

An escape pod rose in controlled flight, Lance crouched on top of it with a sharp smile. The front panel turned from pitch black to clear and Keith saw the exact second when Coran hit the control panel to open fire, his shots destroying sentry after sentry while Lotor and Keith threw themselves to the floor, Keith aiming to cover Allura.

Coran only stopped when every single sentry was down, Lance still holding himself on top the scape pod while at his back there was the striking view of the Galra's mother ship being relentlessly attacked by the yellow lion, smoke and small explosions happened while the huge ship began its fall.

The red paladin was stuck in place watching the turn of events, getting off of a heavy breathing Allura, he felt time going slow as he turned to see Lotor looming over him, gun pointed to his face, ready to shot.

"Not today, satan!"

A high voltage shock ran through Lotor and he fell, Pidge was standing by a control panel with her bayard still raised. Her image and the one of herself lying on the floor flickered until the immobile one disappeared and the real green paladin remained, battered but smiling. With a final hit to the panel the security system come to life fuelled by the redirection power, the cleanup began from the inside as doors were locked and guns popped from hidden panels up to exterminate the many sentries.

Having done her job, Pidge ran to Keith and Allura in time for Coran to land, he and Lance joined them on checking Allura. The Princess still held her wound and gasped for air and without excitation Coran lifted her in his arms ready to take her to the infirmary. In that second of distraction, Lotor got up once more and run to the edge, jumping and falling on top of one of his small ships that soon where too far to be seen.

Lance straightened up and filled his lungs, screaming "Copycat!" before folding himself in pain. Coran left, focused on taking the heavily injured Allura to a cryo pod, while the three paladins took a second to breathe.

At the corner of his eye Keith saw his blade, left on the floor. Reunited with his weapon, once again he found himself watching Hunk facing the Galra. Now full of determination, he turned to his companions.

"Hunk is doing a great job, but he may need help. Pidge, can you run?"

"Yes. I'll get to him in no time!"

As soon as Pidge was gone Lance wavered in his feet and Keith got a hold of him and so they started to limp their way inside. It only took a few steps before Keith turned to the other.

"How did you know it was going to work? Stabbing Lotor, Coran being where he was, Pidge and Hunk and... How?"

"I didn't. I'm as surprised as you are."

One sentry sparked a few times before being able to lift it's gun, shakily pointing it at the two slowly walking young man. It was about to shot when a yellow mouse fall on its head, covering its visor. Two more fell on its arm hard enough to shake his arm out of aim, and a last one was biting at exposed cables on his neck, chewing enough of them to finally make it turn off and stop moving.

The four little warriors cheered another victory!

I was so generic with evil Lotor you can probably do a bingo on it lol (and I misspell his names as “Lotos” EVERY SINGLE TIME omg) I just wanted to do the thing where Lance gets close enough to stab him with Keith's knife, the rest of it blossomed from there... So basically I was bs-ing as I wrote. It is so cliché holy fuck, I'm lame. I'm lame and I have a need of Coran saving the day, all right? A MIGHT NEED. (and the space mice scene was necessary btw very necessary it’s probably the most important piece of the whole thing)

And I may not be good with life lessons or anything like that, but if a space psycho tries to kidnap you holding your friends lives (and the safety of the galaxy) over your head… Stab them. Stab them hard. Take all your fury don’t care if you have to use a toothpick to do the job STAB THEM

[xthoughtsandthornsx]

to my dear bunny, beet beet:

today was your last day on earth. as i have wished, i was with you when you took your last breath. 

i am so sorry. i am sorry i have to make this very painful decision to let you go. seeing you breath your last was probably the most painful thing i’ve ever been through. 

holding you in my arms was the best damn thing ever. you gave me warmth and comfort whenever im feeling low. when im lonely, you were my best companion. when i need to rant, you were my best listening ears. these two years was not the easiest years of my life. but with you around, everything seems so much better. 

there are so many things i love about you beet. i love the way you lick my fingers to show affection. recently, you even lick my face. i love the way you respond to your treats. i love the way you force your tiny little face under the hands to request for sayangs. i love the way you lie down all the way flat like a pancake. i love the way you eat berries and papaya. i love the way you drink from a cup. i love the way you throw tantrum whenever i annoy you. i love the way you bite the hay and spit it out whenever i try to feed you some. i love the way you stare at me. i love the way your ears goes up and down to listen to any noise. i love it when you lie beside me for hours. 

baby im sorry i did not get you treated immediately i noticed the lump. baby im sorry i should have brought you into the vet earlier to do your yearly check-ups. baby im sorry i should have taken better care of you, spent more time with you and loving you more. 

i hope you are still in the house, running around, hiding under the dining table, under the sofa and visiting me occasionally. 

i still remember the day i brought you home. i was throwing a tantrum on the sofa of our house, i kept pestering my mum to get me a bunny. when i went to the pet store, i knew immediately it was you i want to bring home. you were still a baby, palm size one-month old bunny. without hesitation, i carried you in your new cage and walked a good 30 minutes home. it was tiring as f. but i was so overwhelmed with happiness and was so excited about spending the rest of your years with you that i quickly got over the tiredness. 

for the first few days, i woke up earlier than usual, without an alarm, to play with you. you were so cute. i still remember.. your first few toys were some toy balls with bells on it. i still remember how you swing it left and right and up and down while standing on your twos. 

fast forward a few years later.. my relationship with ma worsen. ma moved you out of the house, into the corridor every night because of the fur you were dropping and causing a mess in the house. i was so heartbroken and angry at ma. i brought you home every night.

after a few weeks, i stopped doing it.. and baby that was the thing i regretted the most. im sorry baby for not letting you be a free roam bunny earlier.. though you chew on our slippers, chairs, tables, cables and sometimes digesting it and i see them coming out of your poo, you were a very very good boy. 

last two weeks of your life, i see you suffer more than anytime. you refuse to eat or drink and is less active than before. you prefer to sleep than do anything though you still respond to the sound of your treats. oh boy it hurts me so much to see you suffer. and every time i see you suffer, trains of memories with you just flew past my mind. 

two weeks ago, on the 4th of july, i dreamt that you were struggling and you somehow signalled to me that the surrounding was too noisy for you to handle. you were so stressed out and constantly coming to me as if asking me for help. true to the dream, on the 5th of july, your first episode happened. you were grinding your teeth in pain, looking so restless and constantly having mushy poo. you were in so much pain back then so i took you to the vet in the middle of the night at 1am and the vet gave you a pain relief jab. you stabilised and then worsened..... two days ago, i dreamt of death, under the dining table and you were just lying beside urns. it was a nightmare. i woke up in horror, heart still beating fast. other than these bad dreams, i had a flash image of you smiling at me, hopping around and seemingly asking me to not worry about you too much and that you are happy. somehow, i had a feeling that you are holding on so much because of me.... 

the last night of your life, i got an instinct that you were going to go.. you weren’t looking that good and i prayed to god and you to stay with me till the morning. i brought you onto my bed, and on the last night of your life, i finally got to spend a night with you. i couldn’t care less if you pee or poo on my bed. i didn’t want to regret. and i am proud to say im glad i did it. i barely slept. i wanted to be with you when you breathe your last. so i kept jerking up from my sleep at the thought of you leaving me. morning came and your condition seem to have worsen. i knew it from the start that when i bring you out of the house now, i will not be able to bring you home again. in the taxi, i was constantly telling you to stay with me till we reach the vet. 

when we reach the vet, i couldn’t control myself when the recep asked what had happened to you. i burst out crying when i said ‘i think he is dying’. and thats when i knew.. im a selfish bitch who doesn’t want you to go. i wanted you for the rest of my life. the huge amount of care and concern i got from the vet’s staff was overwhelming. they were all going out of their way to calm my broken heart. 

after the talk with your vet, i was left alone to make a decision. to let you go.... or to try to treat you. treating you will be a long torturous process and it took me a looooooooooooong time and buckets of tears to finally decide to let you go. when i walked out of the vet to get some fresh air, i couldn’t control myself again, i burst out crying in agony, in pain.. i was so so so heartbroken. i couldn’t bear to part from you. i don’t want to say goodbye to you. i want to bring you home. 

baby boy please don’t blame mama for making this difficult decision. i really really hope that you are at peace now and free from all the sufferings and pain. 

today i cried so much in front of my dad because of you beet. dad has never seen me cry so much in my life before..probably not even ma. i cry when i think you of. i cry when i think of the last moments before you die, when you was in my arms. i cry when i think of the scene when the doctor injected the anaesthesia into your blood stream. i cry when im at home, looking for you at your favourite spots but you were nowhere to be found.

but im going to give myself one more week to mourn your death. one week later, i hope i will cry lesser...

baby beetbeet boy, you will always always be in my heart and nobody can replace that spot. never ever. i love you always, forever and ever. i hope and believe that we will meet again. and in our next lives, if you are still a bunny, i would want you to be my lovely companion again. and if you are, i promise i will take better care of you, 1000000 times better. 

xoxo. with loving memories from the 11 years of companionship. 

[marvelhead17]

Miracle (Original Female Character x Cable)

Chapter 25

Summary: “How did you fix it?” he asked. “Ask Ellen the Teenage Warhead,” Wade shrugged as he stood up, “As for baby Hitler he ended up having a diaper change, funny story I was actually going to call Cable since he was so keen on killing Russel, I thought this would be like taking candy from a baby, if that means replacing it with a bullet that is,”

Warnings to cover the whole fic: Graphic depictions of violence, use of weapons, mild to strong language, mentions of rape, mentions of pregnancy and miscarriage, referenced torture and psychological abuse/manipulation, nightmares and night terrors, sexual humour, sexual content.

Word count: 1.7k

One Month Later, Early Afternoon

“So we need to get pop tarts for Wade to shut his trap, Colossus needs a new sketchpad, again, since he’s been drawing like crazy, what we are we-” Hayden paused as they were walking and stopped as she eyed someone walking passed them.

“Hades?” Nathan turned raising a brow as he realised she was no longer next to him. “Hades?”

Her head had turned as far as it could naturally so she turned on her heels and started walking in the direction that the person was going in. She weaved her way through the crowded walkway and kept her eyes focused on the man as his pace quickened, and she noted his sudden notion of ducking into the nearest alleyway between two buildings.

   As she turned the corner sharply after the man, her arms had been grabbed and she was forcibly pinned against the brick wall, her wrists being held down against her backside by cold metal while the other human hand pressed firmly against the back of her hand and made her face squash against the wall.

“Why are you following me?” he questioned aggressively, “Who sent you?”

Hayden twitched her left arm and loosened the man’s grip on her wrists which surprised him and then she grabbed his metal wrist before pinning him to the wall the same way he had done to her just moments before.

“Nobody,” she then let him go, “Don’t you recognise me?” he turned around quickly to face her, his icy eyes scanned her before he shook his head.

“No, should I?”

   Nathan rounded the corner and was relieved to find that she was not causing some kind of scene, they didn’t need the public attention after her incidents last month. He found her staring angrily at a man with dark shoulder length hair, he was roughly Hayden’s age and slightly taller than her.

  A metal arm?

  He glanced at his own arm briefly and shook his head.

   “You’re telling me you don’t remember anything?” Hayden asked him.

“What is it you want me to remember? I’ve never seen you before in my life,”

“Do you remember Hydra?”

“I- yes, they… brainwashed me and controlled me for some time, how do you know about Hydra?”

  “Hades what’s going on?” Nathan asked as he stepped closer, seeing her getting angrier with every question she asked the man.

“You’re telling me you don’t remember what you did to me?”

“What I did to you?” the man frowned, “No, I- I really don’t know who you are, I’m sorry”

“Stop lying,” she hissed and grabbed his throat, lifting him from the ground and pinning him to the wall.

“Hades- he clearly doesn’t know you,” Nathan came to her side and touched her arm cautiously, it relaxed slightly but she still stared the man down with hatred in her eyes. “Put him down and let him go,” he silently thanked whoever was looking out for him that the others weren’t around to hear him say this to her for a second time, “Please,”

  She stared at him in disbelief; Nathan gave a brief and simple nod and then brushed his hand down to her wrist, encouraging her to lower the man down to the ground. She gave in to his wishes begrudgingly and released her grip as well.

“Ya ran'she byla tvoyey myshka,” she suddenly spoke in Russian, the man only frowned at her.

“I’m sorry; I don’t know what you’re telling me.”

“I should have known,” she sighed, “Sorry, this was a waste of time,” she walked out the alleyway hurriedly.

“Hades!” Nathan called before turning to look at the man, “Well- whatever you did I’m sure karma will come to get your ass, if not then I will,” he warned before running after Hades, leaving the man confused and alone in the alleyway.

                              He finally caught up with her as she stood in front of the Walmart where they had been heading to in the first place, seemingly waiting for him as if what she had just done had never happened, and he frowned and lifted his hands in the air.

“What the hell was that all about, huh? You want to end up in jail again?” he asked angrily.

“It’s- I’ll explain later, it’s not something you talk about out in the open,” she said calmly, the opposite of what she had just been moments earlier, “I’m sorry I just couldn’t… contain myself.”

“But it involved Hydra again; those bastards really fucked you up huh?”

“Your choice of words is impeccable,” she chucked slightly as he frowned and turned his head, and then she turned to him, “Now let’s get this shit over with, I hate shopping,” she walked through the automatic doors and Nathan followed behind closely.

“Even if it’s for food?” he asked, hoping changing the subject might ease the tension that still hung in the air.

“It’s only worth it if it’s for food, otherwise hell no,”

   He smirked at that, he had caught her on occasion binge eating after days of fasting, he didn’t think it was very healthy but she insisted her body needed only a bit of fuel to last for days at a time and that it wouldn’t be harmful unless she didn’t eat for longer than a week.

One of the things he learned was that she could practically thrive for days on just eating a jar of sugar and yet she still remained healthy, admittedly still quite curvy in some areas. He shook his head, his thoughts were derailing in the middle of a department store, and he was now aware of the fact that he had been staring at her backside as she walked ahead of him.

                                                           * * *

  Late Afternoon

They returned to the mansion and gave everyone their requested goods before settling down on separate couches, nothing had been said during their travelling back and the questions that were burning through Nathan’s mind had finally annoyed him enough that they all came tumbling out at once.

  “Who was that guy? What’s with the metal arm? What does ‘mush-kah’ mean? And what did Hydra have to do with either of you?”

“That’s already too many questions, do you have to know right now?” she sighed as she connected her earphones to her phone.

“Yes, the curiosity is killing me,”

“Ugh, fine.” She threw her phone to the side and crossed her legs on the couch, “That man’s name is Bucky Barnes, the metal arm is because he lost his during a mission way before I knew him - myshka is a Russian term of endearment, which you said terribly wrong by the way, and Hydra- I’m not going to explain that right now, I’m getting flashbacks that I didn’t want to begin with already,”

  “Did I just hear you say Bucky Barnes?” Wade asked carrying a box of poptarts and plonked himself next to Hayden, chewing on an uncooked pop tart happily, “That piece of shit dickhead who raped you in Hydra?”

Her eyes widened as she stared at Wade.

“What? Oh shit, I didn’t think I said that part out loud-” he stood up quickly.

“I’m going to fucking end you!” she yelled as she rolled her sleeve up and got up from the couch after him.

  “Wait,” Nathan grabbed her wrist as she was about to make contact with Wade’s jaw. She turned to him with a mix of expressions on her face that included anger, shame and fear. “He raped you?”

She yanked her hand back from him and looked away.

“I wouldn’t have stopped you from killing him if I had known-”

“I didn’t want to kill him! I just-” she breathed out a little shakily, “I just wanted to get answers from him, and then maybe torture him if I really needed to,”

“Answers, like what?”

“Oh no,” she stretched out the last part, “I think I’ve shared enough for today, I’m going to my room,” she grabbed her phone and ran upstairs before the men could say anything more.

  “She was raped?” Nathan sat down, his mind racing, thinking back to the bar where she completely wrecked that man who tried to make a pass at her, “How long ago?” he swallowed hard, uncertain if he actually wanted to know the answer to that.

“I- maybe she is the one who should answer that,” Wade mumbled awkwardly.

“I don’t think she’s going to talk about it at least a month, I can’t wait that long,”

Wade sighed, “It was thirteen years ago, going on fourteen soon,”

“Wait, she’s twenty-eight-years-old, you’re telling me she was fifteen when that bastard-” he couldn’t bring himself to say the words, to think the words he wanted to say.

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“Holy fuck,” Nathan breathed out.

                                                          * * *

  Evening

Nathan watched as she sat by the kitchen counter and spooned another mouthful of Nutella into her mouth, letting the chocolate linger and melt before swallowing and spooning another load in.

 “You’re staring,” she suddenly spoke making him jump, “Wade told you, didn’t he?”

“Yeah,” he paused and he took the seat next to her, “You were so young,” his eyes softened and he focused his attention on the jar so that she would relax a little.

She glanced at him, “I know, but it was my fault,”

“How in the hell was it your fault?” Nathan asked in disbelief.

“I was in love with him,” she drew her hands over her face and sighed, “Stupidly in love with him.”

“That doesn’t mean he could ju-”

“I let him,” she said irritably, “I consented, but then it went too far, multiple times. I thought that’s what love was,” she stared down at the jar in front of her and played with the spoon.

“Because your father had told you that love is hard, and the more it hurts the stronger it is,” Nathan recalled from seeing her memories.

“Yes,” she swallowed, “So I didn’t understand that it was wrong, not at the time. Anyway, that’s enough outta me tonight thanks, see ya in the morning.” She got up from her seat and took the jar with her as she walked out the room.

“Yeah, see ya,” Nathan said quietly.

  He felt guilty for the fact that he had pressed such a sensitive topic for her, but he was glad she opened up more to him, it only made his feelings to protect her even stronger. And he swore to himself that the next time he saw that Barnes character he’d make him sorry for ever laying a finger on her. That was a promise.

________________________________________________________________

Translations in order:

“Ya ran'she byla tvoyey myshka,” - I used to be your myshka

>> Chapter 26 <<