#except he was the one who basically carried me to the nurse's office

[nuoyipeach]

Carry My Name

Chapter 7

Park Sooyoung X Nakamoto Yuta

Stress was all Yuta could feel. He halted all other business his entire family’s network had for the time, called in every guard possible, basically bringing almost their entire empire to a standstill. Nothing was of any importance as his wife’s safe keeping, especially now with the new-born baby.

Sooyoung had given birth a month ago, and throughout the week she was in hospital Yuta never once left her side, always having one hand on her for his own reassurance. And of course with his new daughter finally being in his arms, a new found personality built itself inside him. From the moment the nurse passed him the crying baby, Yuta vowed he would jump in front of bullets with no hesitation for his daughter.

The birth had taken a toll on Sooyoung’s health for some time, but of course he was ready to drop everything the moment she would call for help, even if he was in the shower he would come out at just a call of his name. He was always by their side, and would promise it every night.

Now his worst fear was coming true. From the final letter from three months ago with a picture of Sooyoung pregnant walking outside, to the most recent case where there had been an attempted break in at her office, Yuta was sure her father was ready to harm her any minute. He still couldn’t figure out why the older mafia leader was doing so, and he would have fought back earlier, but seeing they knew about the baby now, he did not want to risk the lives of the two most important people in his life.

There was only one thing to do for him to deal with everything, while keeping Sooyoung and Yumeko out of it, something he was not ready for.

“No.” he stared at Sooyoung as she gave her unwanted answer, her face evidently hiding the pain she felt. He had no choice but to tell her the truth from the start, and following up with what’s to come next. Needless to say, she was thoroughly unpleased. “I am not leaving you behind to deal with my father like this, Nakamoto.”

“Sweetheart please…” Yuta could only sigh, sitting across her on their bed as she glared at him. “I promised you a life where you stay out of mafia business, and I intend to keep it. For you and now Yumeko.” he shifted closer and grabbed her hands in his. “It’s only for a short time. The safe house is unknown even to the men except for those who guard it, and the moment I’m done with your father I’ll come back to you.”

“No!” Sooyoung pushed his hands off and stood up, stomping like a child. “If we must hide like this come with us!”

“Sweetheart that’s no-“

“I DON’T CARE!”

“Damn it Sooyoung!” Yuta stood up angrily. He knew he shouldn’t lose his temper, not when she’s in postpartum, and this sudden bomb dropped on her was already too much. But he couldn’t help it with her being so stubborn. He softened immediately when seeing her terrified expression, took a few breaths before moving closer and grabbing her arms.

“Listen to me, please.” he kept a strict but affectionate gaze on her, noting her quivering lips. “He knows about Yumeko, that’s bad. He’s already tried to get to you at your office, but you luckily weren’t there. I can’t take the risk, and neither should you. He’s the one who broke the contract, and remember, our group is stronger no matter who leads it. I can guarantee you we will take care of him, but I don’t want to do it with the risk of your safety knowing I can prevent that.” a soft cry left his wife’s lips, and he quickly pulled her into his embrace, keeping a tight hold around her weakening body.

“I hate to do this sweetheart.” he placed soft kisses in her hair, allowing a tear to drop when hearing her cry even more. “I can’t stand the thought of being away from you like this. But I promise it’ll pass by very fast, and I never break my promises, you know that.”

“I don- don’t wanna go… not without you… Yu-san please…” his wife’s cries pained him deeper. Slowly, he sat back on the bed, pulling her onto his lap, and cradled her while she continued pushing herself closer into him. “I’m so sorry…”

Her sudden apology caught him off guard, and Yuta pulled her out and cupped her face to look at him. “For what sweetheart?” his eyes met her tearful ones, her hands gripping his shirt tight as if letting go meant losing him.

Sooyoung shook her head before pulling him close again, wanting to rest against his shoulder until she spoke again. “If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have to go through this with my dad… if you hadn’t married me, he wouldn’t have been an issue… your baby would have been safe…”

“Don’t even think it.” Yuta cut her off, arms tightening their hold around her body. “You don’t hold responsibility over your father being a pain in the ass, especially when he barely raised you in any way. You’re your own person. And should I remind you I’m the one who proposed to the daughter of an older rival? I fell for you and took you knowing well there’d be risks for me, but those are ones I’m willing to take.”

He pulled her out and cupped her face. “What I’m not willing to risk is the safety of my wife and child over her stupid father who so easily let her go because he’s an old asshole only to come back after this long attacking her for money. You may have been your father’s daughter, Sooyoung, but right now you are my wife. No matter who you were tied to or where you came from, you are now mine to love and protect.”

They stared at each other in silence, his thumbs rubbing away the tear streaks off her cheeks as she slowly went quiet from crying any further. After a few more sniffles, her eyes moved down to her hands playing with his pendant, his family emblem always chained to him.

“Do you…” she finally spoke, albeit voice cracking. “Do you promise… we’ll be back together fast?” he peeked down seeing her fingers twist the chain, almost smiling at the adorable act.

He knew this whole ordeal shouldn’t be such a big issue, it was a common thing they both had seen before. But Yuta also knew that they were different, they genuinely loved each other and didn’t plan their life around this underground life. But with that difference never came the thought of how it would be for them to be separated in these situations. Considering he even took her along to every single travel related job, the couple barely spent time away from each other besides the few hours they would be working. All that plus being a completely new mother, she was bound to have extreme feelings against being separated from her husband.

He grabbed around her waist again with one hand, pulling her closer so their lips barely touched. “I swear on my love for you, we will be together again soon. But you have to promise me something too.” he looked into her eyes, to which she sheepishly nodded. “Take care of yourself and our baby. I can’t live knowing you two are suffering in sadness, so please promise me, you will stay strong for yourself, Yumeko, and me.” he waited a little until met with a slow sad nod, but it was enough for him.

Deciding to make every second count, he moved them back to lay in bed as his arms tightened around his wife, holding her close to himself as much as he could. “I love you sweetheart.” he mumbled into her hair, leaving kisses on her.

Sooyoung pushed herself into his chest more, hands gripping him tight, afraid of letting him go. She couldn’t find her voice to speak anymore, but he knew her feelings whether or not she says anything back. Just as how he knew that right now, and for the next two days, all he had to do was comfort her, giving her all his attention and affection.

>>> 

[yuhaholic]

i just ascended into the astral plane

[akakeiiji]

Headcanons for how the boys will react or what will they do when their S/O is sick but hides it from them? (For Tobio, Bokuto, Oikawa, Ushijima, Iwa) please

-`,✎ Kageyama, Bokuto, Oikawa, Ushijima and Iwaizumi’s reaction to you hiding your fever from them

Kageyama Tobio

You would arrive at school flushed and tired, dressed in many layers but your ever so clueless boyfriend wouldn’t actually suspect anything

He’d greet you as usual and ask if you were cold or something despite the relatively warm weather

You didn’t want him to worry though so you just agreed with him and went on with your classes like normal

As the day went on though, your symptoms would start worsening

During lunchtime, you wouldn’t have the energy to leave your desk

Kageyama would go looking for you when you failed to arrive at your usual meeting place and found you fast asleep in your classroom

He’d scoff and call you a dumbass to himself but when placed his hand on your head and felt your warm temperature the small smile on his face would immediately turn into a frown

He’d shake you awake and the first thing you’d see is his concerned face

“Are you an idiot or something?”

He’d pull you up and support you as he walks you to the nurse’s office his admirers would stare at you two angrily the entire time

you can’t tell me he doesn’t have at least a few fangirls, i mean have you seen him??

He’d lecture you angrily the whole way to the infirmary

Though he’d mostly just be repeating “Dumbass!” and “You should have told me.” over and over again because he’s so worried and can’t focus on forming coherent sentences

You were sent home obviously and Kageyama would wait by your side at the infirmary the whole time till your ride came to take you home

He’d still be pouty and grumbling, upset over the fact that you forced yourself to school

But at the same time, he’d be feeding you a bit of your lunch, little by little so as to not upset your stomach

Once you were home, he’d be even more distracted and antsy during class than ever before

He wouldn't even be thinking of volleyball, just of you

HE’D SKIP PRACTICE FOR YOU

THE KAGEYAMA WILLINGLY MISSES PRACTICE FOR YOU, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT

He’d stop by the gym though and ask Sugawara or Daichi what he should get for you because he has no idea what to get sick people

He’d buy you your favorite snacks and drinks on the way to your house and spend the evening with you

He doesn’t really know what to do tbh, you’d have to instruct him on how to help you

He doesn’t get sick very often and whenever he does his sister usually takes care of him so he’s never been in the position of caring for someone else like this

But he tries his best and that’s what matters

He’s just an adorable little blueberry okay? Pls protect him

Bokuto Koutarou

Your disheveled appearance and lethargic state would literally fly over Bokuto’s head

He’s mainly focused on how happy he was to see you again, like how he always is in the morning before class

After a while though, Bokuto would notice that something was off

He’d tilt his head to the side and ask you if you were okay, concern evident in his eyes

You could already see Bokuto’s reaction if he found out how sick you actually were so you just told him you were a little tired

He’d frown and tell you not to overwork yourself,  he’d then pull you into his chest to hug you in hopes that it would cheer you up or give you some energy

He’d freeze though, feeling just how high your body temperature was even through your layers of clothes

He’d pull you away and examine your face and finally realizes just how sick you were

Panic ensues

I shit you not, Bokuto would literally scoop you up in his arms and carry you all the way to the infirmary

“MAKE WAY PEOPLE, EMERGENCY HERE!”

“KOUTAROU! YOU DON’T HAVE TO CARRY ME—”

Akaashi would be walking to class and witness this scene from afar and just nope the fuck away from you two

He is literally so concerned, he knows that you just have a fever but he still can’t help but worry

He wouldn’t leave your side the entire time while waiting for your ride home, his hand never leaving yours

He’d beat himself up over the fact that he didn’t notice that something was wrong right away

He’d be in dejection mode the whole time during the rest of classes, his hair would get droopy and his little pout would never leave his lips

He’d spend most of his classes staring out of the window, sighing wistfully, thinking about you

He’d try to function normally and go to practice but Akaashi—knowing that it would be virtually impossible to pull him out of his moods this time—would send him home

He’d be moping the whole way home before an idea suddenly popped in his head, he should just visit you!!

He’d run all the way to your house, practically bouncing with anticipation

He’d be like a loyal puppy as he takes care of you, he’ll bring you literally anything you need, just name it and he’ll find it

He doesn’t care if you’re sick, he’s going to hug and kiss you all he wants

Needless to say, he ends up catching your fever as well and you two end up sick together

The volleyball team goes to visit you two after classes the next day and you two are basically just two red-nosed, lumps wrapped in blankets and heating pads

Konoha still has pictures and likes to show it to the team when they get sad

Oikawa Tooru

Good luck trying to hide your fever from him, he may not look like it but he’s hella perceptive even outside of the court

He’d wait by your lockers as usual in the mornings, probably chatting (and failing to wave off) some fangirls when you’d walk in wearing a thick sweater and wrapped in a scarf to hide your face

The small smile on his face would drop and he’d immediately be by your side, examining your face

“Tooru, what are you doing—?”

He’d place a hand on your forehead—ignoring your protests—and click his tongue, a hand coming up to rest on his hip

“What am I doing? What are you doing? You’re obviously sick.”

Dramatic brat, i love him so much

He’d grab your hand and march you all the way to the infirmary, telling you off the entire time

He’d tell you all about having to take care of your body and prioritizing your health over studies or something, as if he were such a great example of taking care of one’s body but you decided not to bring that up

He’d kind of be like a mom really as he watches the nurse take your temperature, his arms crossed and a concerned look evident on his face

You were obviously sent home not even after fifteen minutes of being in school

Oikawa would seem normal to most people, going about his day like usual but those who know him well can tell that he was bothered

His foot would be tapping rapidly the entire time during classes, his eyes always drifting to his watch to check the time

The minute that classes were dismissed, Oikawa was on his feet, bag already packed and ready, practically sprinting out of the building

“How’s my little patient doing?”

He’d refrain from kissing and hugging you though, unlike Bokuto he has some semblance of self-restraint despite wanting to do it sooo badly

He missed you a lot

Okay, fine, he gives a few kisses here and there

After taking care of you, making sure you ate and drank and stuff, Oikawa would fill you in on all the stuff you missed during classes

If you had the energy, he’d tutor you on all the lessons you missed

He’d also be the type to spoon-feed you your favorite food or soup, even if you insist that you could feed yourself he will still do it no matter what

A firm believer that laughter is the best medicine so he tries his best to keep your mood up

Ushijima Wakatoshi

Another clueless baby

He isn’t the best at reading people—especially outside of the court—so he doesn’t really notice anything wrong at first

He’d pick you up at your dorm like usual so that you could have breakfast together

You’d be visibly sluggish and flushed but he’d just assume you were tired or overworked

“Did you not get any sleep last night?”

You’d just wave him off, telling him that you were perfectly alright and that he didn’t need to worry

He would drop the subject but would make sure to keep a close eye on you

You wouldn’t eat much at all during breakfast which would just feed more to his worries

Then while you two were walking to class, you started getting lightheaded and had to lean on the wall for support

Ushijima was able to catch you as you stumbled, a deep frown on his face as he takes you to the infirmary, practically carrying you the whole way

“Why didn’t you tell me you were sick?”

He immediately disregards the fact that he’s gonna be late for class and stays with you at the infirmary

It isn’t obvious but anyone who knows Ushi well can tell that he’s really concerned and worried about you

The nurse instructs him to bring you back to your dorm and head to class

He only does the latter and literally skips classes for you

You would try to get him to go back to class but this boy is stubborn, he doesn’t want to leave you alone and wants to take care of you

I say take care of you loosely, he’s just like Kageyama, he has absolutely no idea what to do

He knows he needs to get medicine, get some food and water in you and stuff but asides from that he’s clueless

He’d go to Google and you two would spend some time researching on how to properly care for someone sick

You two end up falling into a rabbit hole of weird articles and get distracted

Ushijima will make sure you never have to leave your bed except for when you need to use the bathroom, he doesn’t want you up

Most of the time would be spent in silence, you two doing your own thing because Ushijima wouldn’t want to risk catching your fever

He has to take care of his body okay? He can’t play if he’s sick so he’s probably going to wear a mask when he’s with you and will always have a bottle of rubbing alcohol with him at all times sakusa is proud

He wouldn't get upset over the fact that you hid your fever from him but he just doesn’t understand why you chose to hide it from him and force yourself to go to class

When you explain that you don’t want to miss any of your lessons and fall behind, Ushijima would just shake his head and tell you a matter a factly that you need to take care of yourself

“Your health should be your top priority, (Y/N). Next time you’re feeling unwell just tell me.”

HE CARES SO MUCH OKAY, PLEASE MY HEART

Iwaizumi Hajime

You are not going to get past Iwaizumi and you knew that so you’d try to avoid him the morning before class

Iwa has a sixth sense when it comes to these sort of things, it’s how he always knows when Oikawa is overworking himself or when his teammates are down

He’d immediately seek you out and once he sees you he can tell that you’re sick instantaneously

I feel like Iwa is an older brother and knows the symptoms when he sees them because he takes care of his siblings all the time

He’d touch your forehead, throw his blazer over you and rush you towards the infirmary

He starts lecturing you immediately, calling you an idiot for not taking care of yourself but you know he means it out of love

He’d give you a list of instructions to do when you get home, typing it rapidly on his phone at the same time making sure to send them to you in case you forget

“—drink a lot of water okay? Make sure you have a bottle by your bed. I’ll come by after classes, just text me if you need anything, I can drop by the store on the way.”

Basically Iwa is a super mom, okay? He knows just what to do for fevers, he knows the best medicines to use and the best food to eat

He may not seem like it but he is super caring also probably the most normal out of these boys

He’d check his texts after classes and as promised, would drop by the store and buy whatever you asked for along with stuff you need to deal with fevers (electrolyte drinks, meds, soup, etc.)

He’d walk into your room and immediately check your temperature and make sure you’ve already eaten and have been drinking water

He’d use more traditional home remedies to help you get better because that’s what his family always did

He’d also take out a Vicks vaporub and start slathering you in that shit

Half-Filipino Iwa? Half-Filipino Iwa.

He’d be like Ushijima and try to keep his distance from you at the same time, he doesn’t want to catch your fever

But at the same time he always finds himself back by your side, he just can’t help it

Constantly asks you if you’re okay, if you need anything, if the room is too hot

He’ll do anything to make your life a little easier and make sure you’re comfortable and resting well

His main priority is to get you up and well in no time, he doesn’t want to see you bedridden any longer

Basically Iwa is the epitome of “aggressively cares for you”

It may not be obvious but Hajime has one of the biggest hearts in the series and he deserves the literal world 

i love him so much please i can literally write a whole essay about how much i love this boy

[spyrothesquish-0006]

Can I ask about the brothers visiting an MC in a coma, assumedly sometime after they left their 1 year school year at Devildom? Also would it be bad to ask for a platonic/familial relationship instead of romantic?

How the brothers react to visiting GN!MC in a coma (platonic)

Warnings: None besides hospital and coma mentions, also if you're uncomfy with platonic kisses I'm sorry 😢 I see Asmo as very touchy-feely so even if it's a strictly platonic/familial relationship, it would not be rare for him to kiss your cheeks. And platonic requests are always fine! I hope you enjoy!😊

Lucifer:

• surprisingly was not the first to find out, but once he did, he was quick to be at your side

• depending on how you got to be in a coma changes his reaction

• if it's because someone hurt you, Lucifer will be on a war path to make whoever did it pay dearly for hurting someone in his family

• if it's because of an accident, his worry over you will increase, never wanting to see you in such a state again

• will take whatever measures necessary to make sure you stay safe once you wake up

• if the coma is due to an illness, Lucifer will do everything in his power to get you the best treatment possible

• only the best doctors and nurses are fit to care for his family

• if allowed, he will move you to a devildom hospital to be treated

• will not be leaving your side any time soon

• if you thought this demon didn't sleep before, it's even worse now

• he will stay by your side and hold your hand until he sees your eyes open again

• the paperwork in his office might pile up, but honestly he couldn't care less

• you become his #1 priority

• would often pet his hand over your hair and talk to you at night

• even if you can't hear him, he still tells you how important you are to him and his brothers

• "We're all worried about you, MC. You need to wake up. Please.."

Mammon:

• the minute he knows you're in the hospital he takes off, not even stopping long enough to learn why or that you're in a coma

• completely loses it when he sees you in the hospital bed

• it's a mix between fear of losing you, and anger at whatever it is that put you in that coma

• even if it was in no way his fault, he still blames himself for not being there to protect you

• still feels a bit guilty even if it's something completely out of his control, like an illness

• will be by your side any chance he gets

• definitely tries to curl up in the hospital bed with you

• if he isn't allowed to/there isn't enough space, he will curse until the entire hospital knows infernal curse words

• nothing gets between him and MC, that's his family!

• if for some reason he has to leave your side, his crows are stationed outside your window until he gets back to watch over you

• would call in any favors he has to if it means paying for the best medical care, or finding healing potions

• he remembers Satan once saying how if someone is in a coma, that they can still hear

• he often talks to you as if you're awake and responding, late night conversations lessening his worry about you, but sometimes these end in tears if he gets too carried away, knowing you're not responding and might not any time soon

• "Be a good human and wake up, won't ya? You got us all so worried, and it ain't fair."

Levi:

• once he hears the words "MC" and "Hospital" in the same sentence, he has the worst panic attack imaginable

• accidentally summons Lotan and destroys part of the HoL in his panic

• races to the hospital, not caring who he has to talk to or push past to get to you

• all he cares about is his Henry being okay!

• hospitals aren't really his favorite place, being filled with people and germs, but he will stay by your side until you wake up, no exceptions

• he basically moves into your hospital room

• brings his and yours favorite handheld games and plays them all hours of the day and night

• doesn't want to fall asleep in case you wake up

• even though it makes him a blushy mess, he sits on the edge of your hospital bed and keeps his tail firmly wrapped around your hand to "hold" it while he plays video games

• even if you aren't awake, he still watches your favorite animes with you, hoping that maybe the sound of it will make you want to open your eyes

• "Hey, MC, this is your favorite episode right? Do you think maybe you could open your eyes and watch it with me?"

Satan:

• once he knows you're in a coma he rushes to the hospital and immediately sets to work questioning every doctor and nurse that's treating you

• wants to know everything, why you're in a coma, for how long, what can he or any of his brothers do to help you?

• if the doctors treating you are not to his standards, he will throw a temper tantrum until better ones are brought in for you

• refuses to even entertain the idea that you might not wake up

• he gets very irratible with everyone and everything, but it's only because of how worried he is about you

• he may be pissy and quick to let his temper flare, but he's nothing but gentle with you

• he always holds your hand, sitting by your bedside and reading to you to calm his wrath and worry

• he picks only your favorite books, eyes flicking expectantly between the pages and you when he gets to your favorite parts, hoping that just maybe they'd excite you enough to wake up

• "MC, I brought your favorite again. We left off on chapter 6 right? I know your favorite part is coming up, so give my hand a little squeeze once we get to it, okay?"

Asmo:

• nearly faints when he hears you're in a coma

• once he's at the hospital, he demands to know everything

• Who, what, where, when, he accepts nothing but the most thorough answers possible

• is so wracked with worry that he actually forgets his own routines while he takes care of you, not bothering with his lengthy skincare routine or his beauty sleep, instead focusing on yours

• even if you're out cold, you still should be looking your best and be taken care of!

• after all, he would never leave his family helpless to take care of themselves

• he often talks to you while he brushes your hair or does your skincare for you, never wanting to let you fall behind on the gossip

• talking to you also keeps his nerves in check, often falling asleep while he fills you in on what everyone has been up to

• if he doesn't fall asleep while talking to you, he most likely ends up sleeping while scrolling through devilgram posts, curled up in your bed with you so he can still cuddle you until you wake up

• while he holds you he often peppers your face in gentle kisses, murmuring his affections for you and saying how much all of his brothers care about you

• he'd often call you sleeping beauty at night, but now that nickname leaves a bitter taste in his mouth

• "Do me a favor darling and wake up, hmm? It's so boring without you to talk to. If you wake up soon, I'll take you on a shopping spree, alright?"

Beel:

• worried sick once he knows you're in a coma, rushing to the hospital and refusing to leave your side

• he doesn't even feel hungry as he watches over you, far too worried about you being okay to think about eating for once

• seeing you so fragile looking in the hospital bed reminds him too much of losing Lilith

• plants himself by your bed and is incredible gentle while he holds your hand

• he knows how strong he is, and seeing you in a hospital bed makes him even more wary about accidentally hurting you

• he does have to eat eventually, almost snacking on things in the hospital room before a worried nurse got him some food from the cafeteria

• it may not be the best quality, but he honestly doesn't care that much

• if it means he can stay by your side, he'd eat dirt

• despite how worried he is about you, he keeps a brave face and is always smiling and laughing as he talks to you, telling you about all the things him and his brothers have done after your year at RAD ended

• he always brings your favorite snacks when he sits with you, hoping that maybe you'll be hungry enough to wake up and eat with him again

• "MC, I brought your favorite snacks again, I'm sorry I ate them last time...if you wake up before I get hungry they're all yours though! I can get you more if you're still hungry after."

Belphie:

• to everyone's surprise, he was the first to know you were in a coma

• he often visited you in your dreams after you left RAD, making sure you didn't have any nightmares and to just chat with you

• so when he went to visit you in your latest dream, you told him how you were in the hospital and couldn't wake up just yet while your body healed

• he promised to relay the information to his brothers and was quick to be at your side

• he's less worried about your condition than his brothers, only because he can still visit you while you "sleep"

• just because it's not as bad doesn't mean he has no worries though

• part of him is scared that one day he'll try to visit you and you just won't be there dreaming anymore

• because of this fear, he sleeps as often as he can

• self care isn't exactly his strong hold, so he figures his brothers will take better care of you than he can

• instead of helping you physically, Belphie helps you mentally

• he makes sure you never feel lonely in your coma

• he keeps any bad dreams or negative thoughts away, and he never lets you lose hope about waking up, no matter how long your coma lasts

• to make things more fun, he often alters your dreams so you two can go on adventures

• if you feel like flying? He's got you. Wanna be pirates for the day? There's a sword an eyepatch waiting for you

• even though he can still spend time with you in your coma, he still insists on being at your side physically too

• would bring your favorite blankets and pillows and plushies to put in bed with you so you stay comfortable

• is another brother who would curl up in the hospital bed with you, even letting you use his pillow until you wake up

• snuggles you like a koala 25/8 and sleepy mumbles into your ear are common

• "mm, MC? I know it's fun and all, but you gotta wake up at some point dummy. Don't make me go in there and drag you out."

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Guiltrip

So, my week has been hell. In addition to working night and day on final essays for my classes, I've been really busy at work lately, and the second COVID vaccine shot really took a lot out of me this week. And that's not even getting into the bureaucratic nonsense that comes with applying for the MTEL which is slowly making me wonder if I actually want to teach in the first place.

But, despite all that, there was a single light of hope this week that almost made it all worth it.

STAR WARS: THE BAD BATCH, BABY!

OH MY GOD, THIS SHOW IS AMAZING! I ALWAYS LOVED THE CLONE-CENTRIC EPISODES OF THE CLONE WARS, AND NOW WE GET AN ENTIRE SHOW ABOUT AN ELITE TEAM OF THEM? KICKASS! AND IT TAKES PLACE AFTER ORDER 66 WITH GRAND MOFF TARKIN AS THE MAIN VILLAIN? SWEET MOTHER OF GEORGE LUCAS, I CAN'T WAIT! I DON'T EVEN CARE THAT THEY TRADED IN THE COOL SNIPER CLONE FOR SOME LITTLE GIRL CLONE, I ALREADY WANT TO SEE MORE THAN THE TWO EPISODES WE GOT SO FAR! GOD, I LOVE THIS SHOW!

Oh yeah, there was also a new episode of Miraculous Ladybug that aired on the same day too, I guess. It was pretty good. Hell of a lot better than the past three episodes I've sat through.

Let's get into the fifth (chronologically the eleventh) episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fourth season: Guiltrip

We start off in the middle of class where we see Marinette looking at Adrien lovingly.

Because the writers are still trying to push the Love Square on us as if they were trying to sell us some death sticks. And yes, expect a few Star Wars jokes in this review. This episode did premiere on May 4th after all.

Rose suddenly gets a headache, and asks to go to the nurse, saying that “Miss Dora” is back. While walking there with Marinette, she explains that it's a code name she gives when her head hurts and can tell Miss Bustier without letting everyone know. She probably felt a name like “Maya Grain” would just give it away.

At lunch, Juleka gets a text that really upsets her, so Marinette tries to cheer her up. Keyword being “tries”.

Okay, yes, this is referencing the previous scene, where Rose refers to a certain snack at the nurse's office she eats to recover her health whenever “Miss Dora” visits called “Mr. Coffee”, but it's just bad timing. I get Marinette has a habit of not reading the room, but why did she have to use the term “Miss Dora” when she knows what it's being used for? Sure, she doesn't know that Juleka knows, but did she really have to say “Miss Dora”? She couldn't have used any other name instead? It's like making a chemotherapy joke when you just found out someone close to you has cancer. Even putting the context aside, what is this joke's punchline supposed to be? That “Miss Dora” will visit Juleka if she eats her lunch? Even by the humor standards of this show, the joke fails spectacularly.

Marinette bumps into Adrien, and although she stutters a little with a little exaggerated body movement, she does manage to take things seriously so she can have an actual conversation with Adrien about Juleka, who wants to be alone. She explains that the text she got was from Rose, who was sent to the hospital because of her sickness, and the entire class finds out because Marinette texted everyone to come to check on Juleka.

Goddamn it, Marinette. I usually defend you for getting screwed over by the writing, but you really aren't on your A game today.

Juleka explains that Rose got this sickness when she was little, which naturally worried everyone else. To make things worse, Juleka also says Rose made her swear to not tell anyone about her to worry her. Everyone else swears to not let Rose know that they know, and the act of support is actually enough to drive away an Akuma targeted at Juleka.

Unfortunately, nobody ever said anything about being overly affectionate to Rose, so everyone in the class tries to do things for Rose like carry her bags, giving her a pillow to sit on in school, helping her take notes, letting her cut in line at lunch, and giving her apples.

All of this makes Juleka remorsefully tell Rose that she told everyone else, which worries her because she hates all the special treatment, so she goes to tell them all about her illness. While they seem to accept her, the next time she sneezes, they overreact like, uh... how can I make this joke in a tasteful way?

Rose says she's had enough with all the treatment, which makes Juleka feel guilty. In the bathroom, she gets akumatized into Reflekta (yet again) with a Sentimonster named Guiltrip. And then Reflekta immediately gets sucked into the Sentimonster, which will cause it to go out of control. Nice job, Shadowmoth.

While it might not look like much, this is easily my favorite Sentimonster by far. Granted, that's not saying much, given all we've gotten so far for Sentimonsters is bootleg Mothra, sentient candy, a robotic doll, a frog with a body count, yet another evil doppelganger, and an eye, but my point still stands. Rather than actually confront the heroes, it's basically a portal to another world where it can trap people in bubbles that represent their regrets and despair, and turn them into copies of Reflekta.

It's a really strong metaphor which reminds me of the villains from Kamen Rider Wizard, who tried to drive their victims to despair in order to turn them into monsters. Ironically, that show's main villain is also some asshole in white who was risking countless lives just to save someone close to him. In general, the area inside of Guiltrip is visually stunning, and easily the highlight of the episode. It's just so surreal, and it really sets the tone the episode's going for.

Ladybug and Cat Noir arrive on the scene, and also get sucked into the portal, seeing some of the victims before they also start to fall into despair. And I can't believe I'm saying this, but this is one of the few times where Angstdrien Depreste is thematically appropriate. Cat Noir points out that if they had simply defeated Shadowmoth by now, none of this would be happening, which is a good point. He even attempts to kill himself using his Cataclysm, but unlike RWBY, they don't try to glorify it.

This also leads to Rose managing to fight off Guiltrip's powers with her optimistic personality (so I guess you could say she's A New Hope for the heroes), inspiring Ladybug to compliment Cat Noir. While I'd normally be pissed that this is yet another way to boost his ego, it does fit in with the episode's theme of positive thinking. Well, with the exception of one line where she points out what her time as Ladybug would be like without Cat Noir...

BEING A SUPERHERO IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE FUN. Yes, there are certain benefits to being a superhero, but it is not a fun game you play when lives are on the line. Why are the writers so dedicated to validate Cat Noir's beliefs that being a hero is just a fun extracurricular activity? Has there ever been a superhero who shares a similar mentality and isn't treated like a complete jackass?

So Ladybug and Cat Noir break free of the bubbles, and after summoning her Lucky Charm, a pickaxe, Ladybug realizes she needs more positivity to break free from Guiltrip. As such, she pulls out the Pig Miraculous and gives it to Rose, who transforms into Pigella. Funny how she forgot her little headache condition when she bangs her head like a death metal singer while transforming.

The design is... wait, she's not wearing a skin-tight jumpsuit? She's actually wearing something different?

Yeah, I really like the Pigella design. There's a good mix of pink and white, and the skirt really brings the whole thing together. It really reflects Rose's optimistic and bubbly personality.

So the three heroes find Reflekta, who has been consumed by tons of bubbles. Pigella uses her superpower, Gift, to show Reflekta what her heart wants the most right now. So it's basically a more specific version of the Fox Miraculous? In fact, what do pigs have to do with optimism?

Whatever reason, it works, which helps Reflekta to break free of Guiltrip's influence, letting Ladybug de-evilize her. But because we need to have a fight scene in this episode, the Reflekta clones start to attack the heroes, but Ladybug uses the pickaxe to climb out of Guiltrip and purify the Amok.

So Rose hands the Pig Miraculous back to Ladybug, and the episode ends with everyone treating Rose normally in class, realizing she isn't as delicate as she thinks she is.

So yeah, I really like this episode. Aside from a few stupid things Marinette said this episode, I honestly don't have a lot of problems with the episode here.

I also really like the lesson this episode is going for. It doesn't shame Rose for rejecting the help, and it doesn't shame the class for being to overprotective of Rose either. It tries to find a middle ground, which is an important lesson to learn, not just for dealing with a loved one who has an illness, but for disabled people and other kinds of situations where someone has a disadvantage. Even as much as I ragged on Marinette for the text, it's clear that she isn't the only one to blame. In fact, nobody really gets blamed for anything this episode. It's more of a misunderstanding, and both sides find a balance on how to treat Rose.

It's overall a really good episode, and the second best one so far this season. And you know what? This episode taught me the importance of staying positive, so with that in mind, maybe I shouldn't be dreading “Queen Banana” when it comes out this week.

Wait, what? It got pushed back two weeks? Oh, THANK GOD! Now I feel like dancing. And I know exactly what song to dance to...

[imagine-this-fandom]

The Rescue: Black cat Aizawa x Fem! Reader

Part 2 off the Rescue series: first part here

Inko led you back to the main room, absolutely giddy with excitement. You had to admit, it was a bit contagious!

She pulled you to a stop in front of the sleepy black cat from earlier. He was large but kind of lanky with black fur and intelligent yellow eyes. What drew you in however, was a scar under his right eye. Poor thing... you wondered how he got it. As you got closer, he opened a single eye to observe you, but didn't move aside from that. Despite his apparent lack of interest, you could see that he was wary. He had all the appearance of being at ease, except he was just a little too stiff, his body was poised to move if he needed to.

"This, is Aizawa. Don't mind his attitude, he's a real sweetheart once you get to know him. But he's really laid back and loves to sleep more than anything. And he's really smart! I think you two would get along splendidly!"

You bit your lip as thinking hard. He didn't really seem to like you, but that's probably because you were new to him and a possible threat in his eyes... maybe he just needs a little push? You smiled gently at the cat and kneeled to his level, offering him your hand to sniff.

"Hello Aizawa, I'm (y/n) . It's a pleasure to meet you."

He looked at the offered limb and then at Inko before focusing on you once more. He reached out a paw and placed it in you hand and gave the deepest meow you'd ever heard in your life. It had an a tired rasp to it that was so unlike the meow you were expecting. The smile melted off your face and turned to one of shock. You could have sworn he looked smug at your reaction before he pulled his paw away and stretched before hopping down and winding his way between your legs, seeming to approve of Inko's choice in you as a perspective owner.

"Awww! See? He likes you too! You should definitely take him home!"

You reached down, scratching the top of his head. As unusual as he was, he was also the cutest cat you'd ever seen. So of course you had to say yes.

"I'll take him. I'd love to take him home with me."

"Perfect! I'll just get you some of the basics! Oh, and don't forget his scarf, he loves that thing."

You nodded and reached down, carefully scooping the cat into your arms before reaching for the pile of thin fabric he had previously made his bed. He seemed to relax in your arms, fairly laid back for a cat. It seemed like he didn't really care what happened to him so long as he wasn't jostled or bothered by your movements.

"Come on sleepy boy, let's go home." He settled down and promptly fell back asleep, head resting on your shoulder as your footsteps rocked him to sleep once more.

*timeskip*

"Aizawa! I'm home!"

Coming home the first night, you  assumed that he was really laid back. And that's true in a way, but he was also extremely stubborn. He had decided that he had to sleep on the bed. You were lucky to have a decent sized mattress, because he made himself right at home in the middle of it. Attempting to move him lead to a scratched hand and an irritated cat. Meanie. After that, you just kind of let him settle where he pleased. That meant that sleeping contorted around him the first night rather than risk moving him again.

"I hope you appreciate this, brat"

You got a hiss in response but just responded with a childish hiss of your own. You were cold and tired from your long day and did not want to put up with a stubborn feline. You debated taking him back to Inko that night just for his attitude, but ultimately decided against it. It may just be the fact that You were a stranger and the surroundings were still new to him. Maybe he just needed time to adjust.

Sleep was difficult, but you did eventually drift off, tucked against the side of the bed. Waking up you found yourself now in the middle of the bed with Aizawa tucked against your side. Crap. Any previous misgivings about keeping him melted away at the sight of his peaceful form. The little jerk was adorable. You smiled sleepily carefully running your fingers over his back. He stretched and made a cute trill like noise as he started to wake up.

"Hey pretty boy? Did you sleep well? "

You pet down his back as you watched his eyes open and focus lazily on your form. He yawned before angling into the pets so you  would get the top of his head. You happily obliged, giving him some good head scritches before rubbing his chin, earning some purrs from your  administrations. As soon as they started, they stopped though as he pulled away from your touch, almost looking embarrassed by the sound he made.

"Awww, someone a little shy?"

he gave an unimpressed look before getting off the bed, tail flicking in what you assumed was annoyance.

"Oh I see now... You're too mature for affection, huh? We'll see how long that- wait. No get down, don't you dare."

While you had been teasing him, he had made his way onto you dresser and now sat with his paw outstretched, poised to knock the lamp off.

"Aizawa I swear if you knock that over... "

The little jerk seemed to grin at you. He looked straight at you with a smug toothy expression that screamed he would absolutely wreck the lamp.

"Bet."

He knocked it down.

You groaned, running your palms down your face in exasperation.

"You sir, are a freakishly smart cat. I'm going to clean this up, take a shower, and then we are going to start over and have breakfast, Mkay?"

He gave a deep meow and trotted off into living room, satisfied that you wouldn't tease him again. His work was done, the brat.

Meanwhile, you did what you said you would and cleaned up before getting ready for work. You hummed to yourself as you walked to the kitchen, hair tie between your teeth as you pulled you (h/c)  hair back. Once you were satisfied that you were put together and ready, you turned to face the little dark monster who was seated at the table, just watching .The expression he wore was bored but intelligent, and was kind of creeping you out. It was unnervingly human.

"Alright sir. I can see now that you're not like a normal cat. You don't like jokes or teasing, so here's the plan. You don't break anything, and I'll keep things professional, okay? Now  will you behave?  I have to go to work. I'll be back this afternoon. Explore, make this place your own. But please, don't break anything, okay?" You felt ridiculous talking to a cat, but hey he seemed to understand. He gave a curt nod and walked back into the bedroom, presumably to sleep more.

You couldn't help feeling bad leaving him on his own, but work was important. You felt a little better with the knowledge that you had the day off tomorrow, so that meant you could get to know him more then.

You filled his bowl, stopping into the bedroom to pet him one last time before going to step out. "Bye Aizawa, see you later. Have a good day."

You had been hopeful for the day ahead, but once you left your apartment... things went down hill.

Work dragged and the customers were rude, noisy, and messy. It wasn't long before you were far beyond ready to go home. You worked as a server at a relatively nice restaurant, but sometimes the guests were just too much to deal with. Towards the end of your shift was the icing on the cake for an awful day. You were distracted by the building noise as you headed for the dining room and almost ran into another coworker who hadn't announced themselves as they came around the corner. This lead to a step back to avoid them as you were carrying a large tray. The step you took ended up being into a floor drain. While you were able to keep the tray upright without dumping anything, you scarified your ankle for it, having stepped wrong and sending a jolting pain up your leg. Your eyes were watering with the pain and you were relieved when someone took the tray so you could analyze the damage.

It wasn't too bad, but it was definitely sprained. One of the other servers took the  tray and served your guests while you sat in the office nursing an icepack against the offending joint . Luckily, it was at the end of your shift so your boss just decided that you could go home. However, this brought a new obstacle to attention. Unfortunately, you walk to work.

As you sat and pondered you next move, the man who caused the incident, Taro, sat down next to you

"I am so sorry about that. Are you sure you're okay?"

Now Taro wasn't the best human being in general, but he'd always been weirdly nice to you , so you didn't mind too much.

"It's okay, really. I just need to get home and rest it."

You offered him a small smile and looked at the route home on your phone, deciding if it would be worth it to limp you way home in the snow.

" Do you need a ride home? I Mean, it's the least I can do, especially because it was my fault."

He seemed really eager to help, and you didn't live far, so you decided it should be fine.

"Fine, but just this once. Alright. Then we're even."

He smiled widely and offered his hand

"It's a deal!"

TW: (Nothing intense really happens, nothing sexual, but he does ignore boundaries and doesn't listen to reader's protests. If this upsets you, please skip to the marked point which will look like this: ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ to continue with the story)

He helped you gather my things and led you outside to where his truck was parked. You prepared to hoist yourself in, but Taro was having none of that, opting to pick you up, insisting that he help you in. Once you were settled, he got in the driver side. You really didn't like that he picked you up, but it his actions made sense. He was just eager to help after getting you hurt, right?

As You set off, he tried to make conversation but you were too tired and in pain to really be into it,  so you  just let him talk and zoned out as he drove. It didn't take that long to get to your apartment, but you were still relieved to finally be back. You were beyond ready to chill on the couch with an ice pack on your ankle and a blanket wrapping you into a snuggle burrito on the couch. When you arrived Taro quickly hopped out and picked you up bridal style before you could protest much.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna drop you! I just want to make sure you're keeping weight off that ankle." He gave a big smile and carried you to your door.

"Thanks? Um, I just, You can put me down. I'll be fine now, really."

While he was trying to be nice, it was getting to be too much. You were home, you could handle it from here. Before you could voice these thoughts aloud, he had taken your keys  from the bag you had been cradling and was now unlocking your front door for you.  You didn't know what to do. If you tried to wiggle out of his grip, he'd drop you, but you really just wanted to go inside and put a door between the two of you.

"Please put me down. I'm really fine on my own now! "

"No (y/n). You're gonna hurt yourself again. Just let me do this for you, okay? I'm trying to help. "

The lock clicked and he pushed the door open with his shoulder before carrying you inside, much to your growing displeasure.

"Okay, I'm inside, you can put me down now! "

He heaved a long sigh and set you on the couch, watching you settle on the plush surface before smiling.

"There we go! Home safe and sound. But your ankle really doesn't look so good. I'll go make an icepack for you. Kitchen is this way right?"

He barely looked for input before starting to move about, exploring the kitchen for supplies. You watched with wide eyes, a sense of panic starting to pool in your stomach as you watched this man you barely knew stroll about your house like he belonged there.

"Taro, I appreciate you taking me home, but you should really go. I can handle this by myself. Please leave." You tried to keep a stern tone, but your  words wavered more than you would have liked as your anxiety at the situation grew.

"Ah! There are the ice packs!"

He seemed to be ignoring You so you struggled to your feet in an attempt to force him to leave. This backfired spectacularly as he saw you up and moving and was immediately displeased.

"Oh no! (y/n), You should be resting. Sit down."

As he moved to walk back towards you a black form leaped from on top of a shelf to land between you both. Aizawa stared up at Taro and hissed, a long warning yowl left him as the fur on his spine raised, tail puffed up in rage. Taro took a step back before shaking his head.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~-~-~-~-

"Furball here doesn't seem to like me. But that's okay, I'm just here to make sure you'll be alright."

"And you have. Now leave. I am fine and I would like you to go. Now."

You spoke with all the confidence you had at that moment and glared at him to reiterate your point. He moved to take a step forward, but quick as lightning, Aizawa sprang forward and clawed his ankle with a fury.

Taro cursed and kicked out, sending Aizawa flying before booking it to the door.

"I was just trying to help and your crazy little cat ******* attacked me! What the hell!? I'm getting out of here!"

He shot one last angry look at you before storming out. As soon as the door slammed shut, you were hobbling in the direction Aizawa had gone. You were relieved when he came running back for the door, as if to fight round two if needed. Once you were sure Taro was gone, you collapsed back onto the couch. More than ever grateful that Taro hadn't pushed and used his quirk against your pet.

"It's alright Aizawa, he's gone."

The cat hopped up onto the couch beside you and sniffed at your ankle, examining you with a concern uncharacteristic of a cat. You patted the space next to you and sighed happily as he walked over.

"Thank you. I don't know what I would have done without you. He was starting to scare me there."

You scratched the top of his head affectionately and placed a kiss between his ears.

"Thank you Aizawa. You're my hero."

You carefully wrapped yourself in a blanket and pulled him into your lap. He seemed content to sit there as you pet him, occasionally glancing back to check on you.  Although you didn't dare say it out loud in case he took offense, he was absolutely adorable like this.

You two spent the rest of the evening like that. He slept in your lap as you pet him and watched movies on the couch. You don't know when it happened, but you eventually fell asleep like that.

This quickly became a routine. You would come home from work, you'd have dinner, and then would migrate to the couch to read or watch TV. Aizawa would find his way into your lap and you would pet him while he napped. This was your normal. While you still think he's freakishly smart for a cat, he had absolutely grown on you. His grumpiness was still there, but you started to understand it more and how to deal with his moods. Mostly he just wanted to sleep, but when he was active, it was almost scary. Cats are predators, but it was just really jarring to watch him shift from this lazy sleepy cat to an intense and precise weapon. You'd only seen it a few times with minor threats like a bee that flew in or the one time a rat had come in while you were  bringing in groceries. And he was especially cautious when you came home and would check you over as soon as you walked in the door to make sure you were okay before letting his guard down.

Regardless of the threat, Aizawa would always make sure he had it covered. Afterwards, you were always quick to reward him with a treat and his now familiar nickname of "hero".

Even though there were real heroes in this world, Aizawa was your hero. He was there for you any time you got injured, always there to press his head against your cheek after a rough day of work or a particularly sad movie. He was your constant and you had to admit, you really loved the little jerk.

At this point, you'd had Aizawa for about two months now, and life was going well. You figured you should pay a visit to the pet store to see Inko soon. You talked a lot over the phone, but you wanted to thank her in person. You had come to the decision that you would make her some cookies and stop by, wanting to repay her for the wonderful tea she provided you on that special day and her friendship. You especially wanted to thank her for giving you Aizawa. After all, you couldn't picture your life without the black furball now.

You were in the process of making said cookies when you heard a knock at the door, which was strange considering you didn't  get many visitors. You hurriedly = placed the tray in the oven before giving Aizawa a curious look and  starting towards the door.

"Hello, what can I do fo- Oh. It's you Taro."

This time you let your displeasure at his presence show. Ever since he took you home that day, he had been just short of outright hostile to you at work, sending glares your way and spreading nasty rumors. Apparently that nice gesture he made was an attempt to get you to like him.  A ploy to get you to see him as your knight in shining armor and accept his advances. Now that you could see him for what he was, you were kicking yourself for being so stupid as to accept his help in the first place. Now he stood on your porch, wearing a smug grin and looking too confident for your pleasure.

"I just came to apologize for the other day. I guess I came on a bit too strong there."

"Look, I really don't want to talk to you. You didn't listen to me then, and I don't trust you to listen now. Good day."

You tried to close the door on him, wanting to just get back to my normal life without him ruining such a good day, but you weren't able to close the door. Looking down, you realized with dismay that he had wedged his foot in the door, preventing you from closing it.

"Taro stop, leave me alone! I am not interested, just go!"

You desperately tried to push his foot out of the door with but were unsuccessful. Now he had a grip on the edge of the door, holding it with no intention of letting it close. Vaguely in your panic, you heard a strange pop sound in the  apartment, but that was hardly your main concern as you tried to come up with a plan on how to get rid of Taro.

"Oh come on cutie, just give me a chance. Why are you being such a *****?"

You were about about to respond before you felt a weight settle against your waist, it felt like an arm.. and something warm and heavy found its place on your shoulder. Frozen stiff, you vaguely noted that the weight on your shoulder belonged to a black haired figure, his stubble lightly tickling against your cheek as he leaned over to look at the confused man behind the door. When the figure spoke his tone was somehow icy in its calm anger.

"She told you she's not interested. So I suggest you get lost before I lose my patience."

You shuddered, the deep voice of the man rumbling against your shoulder.

Taro looked absolutely furious, but took one last look at the man behind you and stomped back to his car, whatever he had seen on the mystery man's face was obviously not something he wanted to mess with.

While you were relieved that he had left, you had a new and very scary concern to face. You closed the door and turned around before looking at the ceiling with a squeak, almost giving yourself whiplash with the speed at which your gaze shifted. The mystery man who had saved you, was in fact very much naked.

"Who the hell are you? How did you get in here? WHY ARE YOU NAKED?!"

His response was a deep chuckle, which should not have been as attractive as it was, given the circumstances.

"Really kitten? You can't recognize your hero in this form?"

You looked down, careful to keep your eyes high on his person as he smirked at you , arms crossed across his chest. He had long black messy hair, and kind of an unkempt look to him. His torso was littered with scars that had faded with time, he was lithe and muscular, making you think of a panther in his quiet power.  While he was very handsome, like, unfairly so, he also looked permanently exhausted. He was very nice to look at, but what caught your eye the most was the scar under his right eye. Exactly like your cat, Aizawa.

"That... That's not possible. Are you seriously trying to tell me that you're my cat?!" You burst out, ignoring the urge to let your gaze wander further. You quickly looked back at the the ceiling. "Also, put some clothes on! I can't talk to you like this!"

He sighed in annoyance and grabbed a blanket off the couch, wrapping it around himself.

"Better?"

Now that You could actually look at him without distraction, you began to see a startling similarity with the cat who was somehow nowhere to be seen even though he would never have let a stranger be alone in the room with you.

"If you're my cat, then prove it. What is something only my Aizawa would know?"

He thought for a moment before an amused smile crossed his face.

"You sing in the shower. Yesterday morning you were belting this song about electric love or something. One of your bottles fell and scared you and I'm assuming you slipped because there was a loud thud sound and then you started laughing. Which was kind of creepy by the way."

Throughout his explanation, your eyes got progressively bigger. No freaking way. Just, How?

"Holy ****. You're Aizawa. You really are my cat. But how? And how are you human?"

The man, Aizawa, gave a tired groan and sat on the couch before reaching out and tugging you down onto the couch next to him

"The name is Shouta Aizawa. Pro name, EraserHead. I've been a cat for a little over three months now due to a villain attack on a school trip from UA. One of the villains had a transformation quirk and managed to get the drop on us. He had some sort of quirk enhancer in his system."

I watched him speak, very much confused but also very intrigued to learn about this man. "I think I heard a bit about that... Some big outcry a few months back... But if you're a pro, how did you get caught?"

"Usually, my quirk allows me to cancel others' quirks when I look at them, but this one was difficult. He seemed to be struggling, as if whatever quirk enhancer he was on was painful. I almost had my capture weapon around him before everything was consumed in this strange smoke. It was suffocating and I couldn't fight it off. Everything started to spin and I passed out."

He frowned as he continued, hand finding yours and  holding it carefully in his own as he spoke, gently running his thumb over your knuckles.

"When I came to, I was in that pet store. Apparently the principal had sent out a search mission and found us. He likely guessed what happened and relocated us to a place that was less conspicuous for the time being. The owner of the store is the mother of one of my students who was caught in the blast. She's been guarding over us. But apparently, she saw something special in you. Enough to trust you to take one of us home with you."

His tired eyes focused on yours and you couldn't help but be taken aback with the intensity in them.

"Why me? I'm nothing special."

His gaze softened fondly and he reached forward, pushing the hair out of your face and letting his fingers trail over the side of your face affectionately.

"Oh, I disagree. You are absolutely special, kitten. More than you will ever know."

Your eyes fluttered closed at the sensation and you reached up, holding his hand against your face and leaning into the touch. The touch was unfamiliar but you felt like it just fit, his warm hand cradling your face gently.

"I'm going to miss having a cat, but I think I'm going to love getting to know the human Aizawa."

He chuckled and pulled you against his chest, the intensity back in his eyes.

"And I am going to love being able to do this."

He readjusted his touch, gripping your chin instead, tilting it gently before placing his lips over yours in a kiss. Your ands went around his neck as you carefully kissed back, melting against him before pulling away for a breath, resting your forehead against his so you could stare into those gorgeous dark eyes of his, memorizing every feature of his newly human face.

"I love you, my Hero."

"I love you too, kitten."

[haileyyanneupton]

bullet

✦ HAILEY UPTON X JAY HALSTEAD ✦ 

WARNINGS: MENTION OF BLOOD, GUN VIOLENCE, HOSPITAL, MENTION OF DEATH

There was gunfire coming from every direction, the sound echoing so severely that it left anybody within a mile radius deafened. The smell of gunpowder was overwhelming, and despite the fact that there were much easier targets to go after, Hailey Upton had her eyes fixed on only one. This particular suspect had slipped Detective Upton's grasp one too many times, leaving the woman more determined than ever to put him in cuffs and send him up to Cook County prison. Her determination had left her blind to any other potential dangers — she had tunnel vision, and it was about to catch up with her. 

Hailey hadn't even realised she had been shot at first — the adrenaline rushing through her had temporarily stopped her from feeling let alone acknowledging the sharp pain in her side. It was only when the suspect she was chasing shot at her again, her vest catching the bullet, that she was knocked off of her feet, the wind being knocked out of her as she struggled for breath. She knew better than to try and sit up — playing dead was her only chance at survival in that moment — leaving her to close her eyes until she could be certain the suspect had left. After a minute or so, she managed to crawl her way behind a car before collapsing back onto the curb, her sight cloudy as she fought to keep her eyes open and her mind sharp. It was only then that she saw the trail of blood following her — glancing down, she saw that the blood was coming from a gaping wound just above her hip. 

Hailey could only describe the force of a bullet shooting through her being strangely similar to that of a hard punch. The initial impact didn't hurt, but it was when the pain caught up to you that it throbbed, ached, stung and stabbed through your entire body. Hailey found herself seething as she cursed herself for getting shot and not being able to take this suspect down — it had been her fault that he had gotten away the first time, and she couldn’t believe she was letting it happen again. Her heart was pounding; every time she looked down at her hands, there was more and more crimson red blood staining her skin. Her vision blurred and grew dark around the edges as she felt her consciousness begin to slip, only to hear someone call out her name in a strained scream that ran right through to her bones.   

"Hailey!"   

She felt strong arms pull her body into someone's chest, but she didn't have to open her eyes to know who it was. Just like how you never forget the words to your old favourite song, Hailey would never be able to forget the sound of Jay Halstead's voice or the way her body slumped into his. She would never forget the feeling of his hands pressing against her wound to keep her alive, or the way he clutched her so close to his chest as if she could vanish into thin air at any moment. Every second remained frozen in time as she blinked her eyes open to see Jay kneeling over her with droplets of what could have been tears or sweat rolling down his freckled skin, her hand finding his arm before gripping onto it tightly.   

“5021 George, we need an ambulance to our location now!” Never had Hailey ever heard the man sound so panicked. “My partner’s been shot! Officer down — I repeat, officer down!” 

Hailey grimacing in pain bought the man’s attention back to her as she tried to pry his hand off of her to take over holding pressure. Jay refused however, either oblivious or choosing to ignore whatever his injured partner was trying to get him to do. 

“He’s getting away, Jay,” she managed to force out, her vision growing darker and darker with every waking moment. “You h-have to go —“ 

“Hailey, there’s no way in hell that I’m leaving you here alone!” 

“We’re gonna lose him —“ 

“I’m not going to lose you, Hailey!” 

Silence filled the already tension filled air for a few long seconds as Jay frantically tried to stop Hailey from bleeding out, only to cry out in frustration — nothing he was doing seemed to be working. Hailey wasn’t exactly sure when, but at some point he had stripped her of her vest to allow him to hold more pressure on the wound above her hip before tossing it to the side as he tried to find a balance between putting enough pressure on the wound and not hurting Hailey any further. She looked so small and fragile as her skin slowly drained of all colour and her eyes slipped closed once again— Jay screamed for somebody, anybody to help them. Nobody came. Nobody seemed to even hear him. For the first time, it dawned on him that saving his partner who was lying lifelessly in front of him was entirely up to him. Jay wasn’t one to get scared often, but in that moment? He was absolutely terrified. 

“Hailey, stay here, stay with me,” Jay sobbed, his body shaking as he tried everything to wake Hailey up again. “Come on! Hailey! Goddammit Hailey, this — this isn’t funny anymore! Wake up! Wake up, wake up, wake up!” 

He felt like a helpless child.   

When he heard sirens wailing in the background after calling out on his radio at least another three times, he was surprisingly angry. What took them so long? Hailey was laying there, unconscious, and they were taking their sweet time. “Did you stop for coffee on the way or something?!” Jay exclaimed, his throat raw from screaming for so long. “Help her!” 

Jay felt a hand on his shoulder pulling him away from Hailey’s body as the paramedics whisked her into the back of the ambulance to stabilise her, the same hand helping him stand upright as he rubbed his face anxiously. His heart was pounding and his chest was tight, the man feeling as though the life was being squeezed out with him as he watched them force a mask over his partner’s mouth and nose. A small squeak left his mouth as he furiously wiped his tears off of his cheeks — he hated crying. 

“Hailey. . .” He spoke her name in more of a whisper. “Please! Please be okay!” 

Behind him was Kim, who was wearing a stressed expression while being comforted gently by Adam. Vanessa was standing by Kevin with tears in her eyes, but the one standing by him, was Voight. Voight’s eyes usually seemed so cold and distant — but not that day. That day, Hank Voight’s eyes held worry and concern for Hailey as well as sympathy for Jay, who was crumbling worse than he ever had in front of his unit. Everybody watched on, waiting for somebody to say something — that was until a paramedic poked their head out of the back of the Ambulance and looked directly over at the Intelligence unit. 

“Which one of you is coming with us?” 

Nobody argued when Jay practically launched himself into the back of the ambulance, nor was anybody surprised. Just because both Jay and Hailey were blind to their attraction to each other, it didn't mean everybody else was too. They could see how infatuated they were with each other, they caught them staring longingly at each other from across the bullpen even when they didn’t realise it. Jay and Hailey had been working up to an exploding romance since the day they met — this was sure to be the tipping point. Jay had gotten hurt on the job so many times, leading Hailey to become a mess every time — this was the first time Hailey had gotten herself into a situation where her life was hanging in the balance.   

It was safe to say that Jay knew how she felt now. ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ The bullet Hailey had been hit by normally wouldn’t have done as much damage as it did, but with the woman not realising she had been shot and continuing to chase after the suspect, the bullet had slowly but surely made it’s way to her pelvis and had come into contact with blood vessels there. The thing about the pelvic area was that when there was a significant trauma to it, there was always a risk that a person could bleed out due to the amount of blood vessels intertwined together. Not only that, but the fact that the pelvic cavity could hold more than the entire amount of circulating blood in a human body meant that the doctors at Chicago Med had to work quickly. 

Will had come in late that morning, yet he knew as soon as he saw his brother being restrained by a couple of nurses and another doctor that something bad had happened. Jay wasn’t one to lose his cool and not be able to bring himself back, so seeing him being basically carried out to the waiting room was a sight that left him sick with worry. His first priority suddenly became his brother and working out what the hell happened — as he approached the man, Will grew more and more concerned as his blood stained clothes became more apparent.  

“Jay,” Will placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder as Jay searched around the room frantically for some kind of answer that he wasn’t going to get. “Jay, look at me. What happened? Are you hurt?” 

Jay numbly shook his head. He didn’t know how to say anything except her name. 

“Hailey.” 

“Hailey’s hurt?” Will’s eyes went wide; it was staring to make sense. “What did they tell you?” 

“I — She — You. . .” 

Jay always had something to say. He always had an opinion, a remark — something — yet at that moment, he was completely and utterly lost for words. His mind had hit a brick wall named Hailey, and until he knew that she was okay, he wasn’t getting past it any time soon. The fact that his brother was standing in front of him with such a panicked expression only panicked Will too, leaving the doctor to walk his dark haired brother into a chair as he caught eye of Voight who was walking in with the rest of the unit hot on his tail. After passing his brother off into the capable hands of his Sergeant, Will headed right into the emergency room to find out what was going on and exactly how bad it really was. 

Hailey had almost coded once when her blood pressure bottomed out, but before she could go into full arrest the doctors had hung a few bags of blood on the rapid transfuser which bought her back enough for them to take her into emergency surgery. It wasn’t easy, but they had managed to remove the bullet and repair the blood vessels in Hailey’s pelvis, leaving her stable enough to head to the ICU while the rest of the blood she had lost was being transfused. Will had done his best to keep Jay updated, but his brother had quite literally lost it when he heard that Hailey had almost gone into cardiac arrest and was being taken up for surgery — it took the strength of not just Adam, but Kevin and Vanessa too to hold him back from running after the surgeons. When Natalie had gotten hurt, Will could remember how painful the not knowing was. Jay was feeling just the same. 

As every minute ticked by, the seconds felt like they lasted longer and longer. Jay felt like he was watching people walk in and out of the emergency department faster than it was taking for anyone to give him any news on Hailey, the man about ready to explode. It was only when Will came out with a small smile on his face that Jay felt some of the rope that had been tied around his chest loosen — a smile was a good sign. Right? 

“She’s okay, Jay,” Will told him gently. “She’s awake and wants to see you if you’re up for it.” 

Jay practically pushed past his brother and towards the elevator on the other side of the emergency department as he impatiently pressed the button that Will had called out as he slipped in beside him. The fact that Hailey was in the ICU scared Jay a little bit, but the fact that she was awake was enough to calm his trembling hands just a little bit. He hated feeling so uneasy and unsteady, as if he could fall to the ground at any point — if this was how Hailey felt every time he had gotten shot, Jay was never leaving the district again. 

As he walked into Hailey’s hospital room, his breath was knocked out of his lungs for a split second as he took in her appearance. The pinkish tone she had to her cheeks was coming back and her lips were no longer a pale white, her hair spread messily across the pillow as she opened her blue eyes with a smile.

“How does it feel to have an uno reverse card pulled on your ass?” 

At last, the rope around his chest disintegrated into nothing, Jay finally able to let out a sigh of relief as he smiled gently. If Hailey was making a joke at Jay’s expense, then she was feeling herself. That was all he wanted.   

“I’ll be honest,” Jay sighed lightly, rubbing his face absentmindedly. “Not great.”

Hailey gave a lopsided smirk as Will left the room, giving Jay and Hailey some time alone as Jay took a seat in the chair beside her bed. 

Hailey truly thought that she was going to die when she slipped out of consciousness that last time. She fought for as long as she could, lived on borrowed time that wasn’t hers to take, but only because in that moment, she realised something that would change everything for her. As she felt herself drifting further and further away, she realised that she wasn’t afraid of death. In fact, death seemed kind of peaceful in comparison to half of the things she had had to deal with in her life. No, what she feared more than anything else was being without Jay because without him, there was no sunshine. There was no happiness. Without Jay, Hailey felt like a giant piece of her was missing and she couldn’t bare feeling that kind of empty for any longer than she already had. There was no way. 

By the time Hailey looked back over at Jay, she was shocked to find that he had his head in his hands as his body shook gently in the chair next to her. They were faint, but small sobs could be heard escaping the man’s lips as she felt her heart squeeze in a painfully uncomfortable way — she wanted to make him feel better, but she genuinely had no idea what to do. 

“Jay,” Hailey’s voice was soft yet still raspy as she called out to her partner sadly. “I’m okay. I promise I’m okay.” 

“You nearly weren’t though,” Jay countered, his tone not nearly as hostile as what part of her had expected it to be. “I was so. . .” 

“I know.” 

“I thought you. . .” 

“I know.” 

Jay’s watery eyes found Hailey’s, the sight making her own eyes sting too. Not many people realised or even knew that Hailey was a deeply empathetic person — in order to shield her heart though, she had to put up a cold exterior sometimes to protect herself. She normally had no problem keeping up that exterior, practicing it for so long that it came  to her like second nature — that was until she was laying across from her partner, her best friend, watching him fall to pieces. 

In one swift moment, Jay was up on his feet and had wrapped Hailey up in his embrace, her hair absorbing his tears as he held onto her with all of his might. Now that he had her in his arms once again, he couldn’t physically bring himself to let her go — he was petrified that if he did, she would just disappear. Hailey could feel just how fast the man’s heart was beating as she too wrapped her arms around him, only solidifying further just how much of a wreck he truly was.

“I’m sorry for scaring you,” Hailey whispered into her partner’s ear. “I didn’t even realise I got shot, Jay, otherwise I would have called for help earlier. I only came down because he shot me in the chest and my vest caught it, but. . . I guess you already know how hard that can hit you.” 

Jay didn’t say anything for a moment, the only sound coming from him being small sniffles as he tried to pull himself together. When he finally did answer, the words that escaped his mouth not only shocked Hailey but frankly, Jay too. 

“Hailey,” he started, pulling away from the woman slightly to stare at her properly. “I love you.” 

Hailey’s eyes went wide for a moment, taken aback so much she thought that her heart might stop and it would set off the monitors all over again. “Jay —“ 

“Never mind, I don’t — I don’t know why I said that. I — I’m sorry, I. . .” Jay paused for a moment, staring into blue eyes for a few heartbeats. “Actually, you know what? I’m not sorry. I do love you Hailey. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anybody in this world.” 

Butterflies erupted in Hailey’s stomach as she stared, stunned. Little did she know however that Jay was freaking out just as much as she was, feeling as though he was a high schooler asking out his very first girlfriend all over again. He suddenly forgot how words worked and he needed to be reminded what a coherent sentence was.   

“The thought of losing you for good is just — it’s too much. I can’t do it. We aren’t guaranteed tomorrow Hailey — I could walk out of here and get hit by a bus — I’m tired of shoving these feelings away when all I can ever think about is you. When I wake up I wonder if you’re awake too, when I go to sleep I wonder what it would be like to be laying there next to you. I love you, Hailey. I love you, I love you, I love you.” 

Hailey’s eyes were wide. “I-I thought it was just me.” 

“Are you kidding me, Hailey?” The hint of a smile broke out onto Jay’s lips. “I’ve been obsessed with you since the day you got here.” 

Nerves ran through Hailey as she debated her next move, eventually deciding to come right out and do it. Do what she had been waiting years to do. Hailey placed a hand on Jay’s cheek as she gently guided his face closer to hers, connecting her lips to his at last. After a few moments that felt as though they lasted forever, the two of them pulled away, their foreheads brushing lightly as they stared into each other’s eyes longingly. 

“I’m sorry, I probably should have let you finish or at least asked before I —“ 

“Hailey,” Jay breathed out her name, never taking his gaze away from hers. 

“Don’t you dare stop."

TAGGING: @lissethsrojas​ | @ruzek-halstead​ | @justanotheronechicagofan​ | @juu-series​ | @agnesgranberg97​ | @anna-justice​ | @puckluck28​ | @thetwit​ | @mapamohu | @detective-buttercup​

[hemmoangel]

Dr. Gay Dreamboat Pt. 1

AN: I am giving the people what they want! Here is my comeback one shot’s first part. I hope you all enjoy it because this series is going to be STEAMY! 

Basically, Ashton is a doctor and Luke is his hot femboy nurse who has the hots for him...enjoy 

Warning:There will be smut and mentions of smut throughout the series! Bottom! Luke and top! Ashton, of course.  DO NOT READ IF YOU HATE GAY STUFF! Also, be sure to like a reblog if you enjoy! 

Here’s the link for ao3 :) :

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29210262/chapters/71721195

Working as a pediatric nurse had its perks. For example, Luke enjoyed socializing with children—they always had interesting stories to tell, and he liked wearing comfy clothes to work every day. He felt so professional in his little white scrubs. He also enjoyed stealing the candy from all the jars at the receptionist's desk. They always kept lollipops or gummy bears for the children who had a hard time handling vaccinations. But perhaps, the most exciting part (for most of the nurses, in fact) was how attractive he found his boss.

It wasn't the reason he had initially wanted the job. He was excellent with kids, and the registered nurse position required only a three-year degree. It paid more than enough to support his dog himself. It was a lovely job all around. The people were friendly, and there was such a diverse clientele that Luke met people from all over Sydney. It was social job with excellent pay; he couldn't ask for more. Except for the fact that his boss was a dreamboat.

They met at the interview—Luke was a blubbering mess. He wasn't exactly the smartest interviewee, so he rambled any time the man with fluffy brown hair and deep hazel eyes asked him a question.

"Are you from around here, Luke?" His voice had hit Luke's ears like velvet. It felt like a question he would receive at a gay bar, but he definitely wasn't imagining this guy at a gay bar during something as important at a job interview. Right?

"Oh, yeah. I grew up here...all my life," Luke swallowed thickly. He watched the doctor's hands, searching for a wedding ring. He didn't find one.

He's probably too busy for a love life, he thought and bit his lip.

"That's great. You'll easily relate to the patients then. They need someone kind and familiar with the area. It soothes them. I think you'll make a great nurse," The doctor, Ashton, assured. Luke had never heard such eloquent words in his life. He wanted to marry this man and have kids with him. But then, Luke realized that he had only answered two questions. Were his responses really that good? He was a dumb twink with nothing in his head except this doctor's dick for crying out loud!

Maybe Dr. Ashton Irwin saw a bright future inside of him too.

After that, Luke made it his personal mission to get on the handsome doctor's good side. Any chance that he had, he would ask his opinion or ask how to pronounce the name of some ridiculously long prescription just so Ashton would allow their arms to brush. Sometimes, Luke could smell the aftershave or cologne that he wore. It made his head spin.

He was always looking for new ways to get close to him.

"Dr. Irwin, I really love the new murals that you've picked for the examination rooms. The kids are going to love all the pretty colors!" Luke gushed, snacking on one of the children's lollipops in the office break room. He sucked it to stain his lips red.

"Oh yeah? I think so too. I was a hyper child, so I'm sure I would have loved all of the mind-numbing rainbow," Ashton laughed, looking over at Luke, "Hey, isn't that one of the lollipops we give to the kids?"

Luke blushed, "Yeah...just one. I really like the cherry ones," he felt like a child being scolded. It almost  was electrifying. He was hoping that his scrubs made him look particularly attractive today. They always did give his bum a certain heart shape.

"That's funny, Luke. You always light up the office," Ashton said softly, unaware that he had just made Luke's entire week. Oh, what he wouldn't do to sink to his knees right there in the break room and risk this man's entire PhD.

The room was thick since they were alone. Luke could hear the coffee machine whirring and the hands on the clock slowly tick tock. He ached to hear more of Ashton's praise. And maybe he was delusional, but Ashton only ever spoke so softly about him. It caused him to fantasize about being the doctor's fem-boy wife. They would have so many kids. Ashton was so thoughtful when it came to children, Luke was positive that he would want a million with him. Plus, what could be better than a man who already knows where the prostate is? Maybe he needed a therapist, but he was only human. When he saw the stretch of veins in the doctor's forearms or caught the glimpse of a sweet smile stretch across his lips, Luke felt true love.

"Yeah, I am pretty thrilled with the rainbow myself. I love representation," Luke pretended to flip his hair.

"That's why I chose rainbow walls. We deserve to be well accounted for in the office just like everyone else," Ashton flashed Luke a sincere smile.

Luke was a puddle. Just like at the interview, he was unsure of how to answer. The love of his life was at least a little gay too! He diverted his eyes back to his sucker, crossing his legs and trying to fight back a burning blush. He couldn't help but hope that Ashton had been flirting with him at least a little bit. They always shared carried good conversation and cracked small jokes between the two of them. His heart wished for the best, but his himbo brain warned him of being too rash. He loved this job, and he didn't want to lose it over an assumption.

But in that same vapid brain, devoid of all thoughts except cock and becoming someone's breeding bunny, he thought of a plan.

Luke was going to seduce his boss.

"Well, our lunch is over, Luke. Time to head back," Ashton threw away his trash from lunch, washing his hands before putting his white coat back on. Luke liked the sight of the doctor's figure in his scrubs.

"Yes, sir, Dr. Irwin," Luke stood, making sure to bend over a little when he threw his sucker stick into the bin. He listened for any sounds of disgruntlement, but all he heard was Ashton's footsteps as he walked to the door.

Luke followed, grateful that Ashton had waited to hold the door for him. Could he get anymore dreamy?

"You're with me in room 5, Luke," Ashton said, "Just a 9 month old's check up, but I need a nurse to help me when they get their first round of shots. Usually when the mums try to help, the baby ends up crying more. No biggie. It's still slow since school isn't back in session." He was checking over the baby's medical record. Luke was checking him out. His future husband knew everything. He had to be good in the bedroom.

"Yes, sir, Dr. Irwin," Luke gushed, correcting his tone when he heard himself. He hoped he didn't sound too smitten already. He had a hard time controlling himself around Ashton, especially when he was talking all smart about doctor stuff.

"Luke, don't call me sir. That's for when we're alone in the break room," Ashton teased without looking up from the paperwork in his hands. Luke gasped under his breath, feeling his cheeks burn hot.

Maybe his plan wasn't so vapid after all.

[vdragon-creations]

More Danganronpa Headcanons!

Why? Because I can! And I have to wait for a Commissioner to get back to me about a WIP I just sent!

I Think I’m gunna try my hands at making some Headcanons for Mondo, Ishimaru, Leon, Kazuichi, and Kiibo this time a round! Just cause I wanna try and explore new characters. (And totally not because I fell hard for a certain Robo Boi! WHAAAAAAAT! YOU CRAZY GURL!) I’m still loyal to my man Yasuhiro! But I gotta spred the love! Cause these boi’s need it! Also, wanna mention that these are more like...Non-Killing Game AU Headcanaons. So yeah! ^^ 

Let’s do this!

Mondo:

Is a Semi decent carpenter, but there was that one time he fucked up the legs on a chair, and now one of Asahina’s shorts has a rip in it where there was a stray nail sticking out.

She wont let him live that down. And neither will Sakura.

Get’s pretty embarrassed/pissed off if someone touches his neck! The dude’s jacket practically covers that entire part of his body, so he’s not used to feeling anything touch him there!

He once let out a girlish scream when Leon poked him there once to wake him up during class! The rest of them are surprised Leon wasn’t killed right then and there.

Once he participated in a little competition between the classes to see who was the arm wrestling champ. He got pretty far till he had to go up against Gonta. He lost by a landslide, but he felt better loosing to a dude like him at least. 

Totally escorts any female classmate or student home on his bike if they ask, or he sees some creep hanging around them. 

He does get embarrassed about it though, and ends up yelling at them. This results in one of three things.

The girl runs away!

The girl just politely declines, and walks away kinda creeped out!

Or a mix of all, with the addition of the dude sees this, and get’s spooked himself, and fucks off

Ishimaru:

Has a bit of a panic attack and dies inside if he sees someone leaving the men’s restroom without washing their hands!

Carries scented hand sanitizers with him! At all times! No matter what! And must offer some to every single one of his classmates! 

Once he tripped in the halls while chasing after another rule breaker, and had to be carried to the nurse’s office. Now that alone wouldn’t have been a bad thing, except Sakura was the one who did it, and she carried him bridle style, much to his dismay. 

Mondo and Leon teased him about that one for months.

During Christmas, he’ll start screeching about PDA anytime he sees a Mistletoe, or people under it who are about to kiss! 

But will ultimately be the first one forced to stand underneath it by is classmates.

Stays behind after school hours to either clean, or poke his head into every class room to see if the teachers need help with anything.

He’s totally that guy who during the Gym Class or Sports festival, is bitching about how short the girls shorts are, but not realize he’s staring. There by making HIM the creep! 

Leon of all people was the one to point this out to him, only adding to the shame.

Leon:

It’s not hard for him to start catching feelings for basically any girl meets.

Totally has an Instagram where he posts shirtless pics! He’s pretty popular thanks to that, and his Baseball Skills.

Purposely taught himself English so he could flirt with some of the American and British chicks who visit his profile and leave comments.

He’s pretty used to going from girl to girl, so it’s safe to assume he’s used to getting dunked on by the girls he’s dumped. Getting called a pig, dirty looks, even some of them going so far as to pour their drinks on them at lunch. This he can handle!

Wanted so badly to start a band with Sayaka, Ibuki, Kaede, and Kazuichi! (Probably due to the punk look Soda always puts on!) But he was promptly let down by all of them! Cause Ibuki had her own shit to deal with, Kazuichi because he had no experience with music (at least any good ones, Stay tuned for that! ;3), Sayaka cause she’s already part of a group, and Kaede because punk wasn’t exactly her thing.

But what really stresses him out is when one of his Exes just.....doesn’t really seem to care! It feels so outta place to him, and it actually makes him pretty paranoid. Wondering if their plotting for revenge or some shit! So he’ll spend days after breaking up with a girl like this, just kinda....being a little bitch! XD

Secretly, I’m pretty sure they all turned him down because they thought he was coming on to them to a degree. 

Kazuichi:

Is a lot like Yasuhiro, he doesn’t like birds, but not because he thinks they work for the government. It’s because he doesn’t like most animals, they remind him of Gundham.

Miu makes him HIGHLY uncomfortable! Sure, she’s hot and stuff, but she’s a whole other level of fuckery that he wants no part of! She’s banned from entering his workshop, and so Kiibo is usually the one who comes in to grab something if Miu needs it. He completely get’s Kazuichi feeling put off by Miu.

However, Kazuichi is still pretty insistent on asking Kiibo if he can take him apart every time he comes to get something for Miu. Making the poor robot very uncomfortable!

He’s pretty jealous that Miu get’s to play with the Robot and he doesn’t. Get’s kinda salty about it.

Teruteru once gave him the idea that he should try to serenade Sonia. And so he did! Or at least he tried to. He got over the fence to the girls dorms, ripping his clothes in the prosses. Then when he got to the window (he thought was) of Sonia’s room, he threw a rock that was a bit too big at it, cracking the window and scaring the girl in the room! Waking up the whole dorms and he booked it out of there! 

He attempted this one more time, and was better prepared. But Sonia opened her window to see a Kazuichi dressed in a Ghillie Suit and wearing an army helmet holding a guitar! When he started to sing and play, it was now obvious why Ibuki refuses to let him sing along with any of her music! 

A girl from a neighboring room called the campus security to repot a strange dude outside the Girls dorms, while another one poked her head out of her window and began to throw things at him. 

He left soon after, but was caught by security and reprimanded. Now he refuses to listen to Teruteru has to say about anything.  

Kiibo:

Often get’s bossed around by Mui to get her things. He finds it rather degrading, but when she’s not being bossy, she’s helpful to him. So he puts up with it, as a way of saying thanks. 

One of these tasks he’s asked to do a lot is going over to Kazuichi’s Workshop to barrow tools and such. He hates doing it though, since Kazuichi is always wanting to take him apart. So he does his best to make these visits quick!

Miu gave him the ability to remove some of his heavy armor so he can wear clothing like normal. Surprisingly, This was his idea! He wanted to be able to enjoy the comforts of soft fabrics like most humans. And it would help him blend in a bit better.

Gonta and him get along very well! Mainly due to both of them having a hard time understanding things like sarcasm, harsher jokes, and certain social cues. This usually leads to them both learning at the same time when they hang out!

Miu is his wingman, weather he knows it or not! She’s always wanting to add new functions to him to make him more appealing. One of these is a thin velvet like coating on his armor that’s meant to make his metal less harsh on the skin if you touch him.

Another one of these features is a type of diffuser at the top of his skull under his hair! It releases a pleasant scent into his hair, similar to pheromones. The scent changes based on Kiibo’s emotions. 

Kokichi likes to openly mock Kiibo in front of new people. Like a lot!

Kiibo actually releases steam when he get’s too Angry or Embarrassed, but this is really rare. 

Get’s really curious about Occult, Paranormal, or Religious things. Sure, he finds some of it to be very silly, but he can’t help but wonder why some humans like those things! 

Some holiday traditions he finds weird too, and in some cases, a bit Robophobic. Like giving candy or sweets out on Valentines Day, when....well, he can’t fucking eat it! So he feels excluded in times like that.

He’s really confused about most PDA! Especially kissing! So humans just like...put their mouths together? And that’s like....supposed to mean deep affection? What’s so great about swapping fluids like that? Couldn’t they get sick? QUESTIONS! ANSWERS! HE MUST HAVE THEM!

His Ahoge doesn’t just change shape and move to show emotion, but it also tends to point in the direction that he’s attention is drawn too. Even when he’s trying to pretend he’s not looking at something! His hair is a dead give away!

Has a built in “Cellphone” in his head. Miu added it so it would be easier to contact him if needed. 

Everyone in his class has his number, except Kokichi! And it will stay that way!

.......Until Gonta gave it to him by being tricked into doing it!

And now he has a small panic attack every time his “Cellphone” rings. Praying to all that is good that he doesn’t hear “HEY KIIBOOOOOOOY!~<3″ on the other end!

[herofics]

Love in the fire rewrite

So Idk how many of you have read my first fic, but this is a rewrite of that. I cringe when looking at the first version, but I really wanted to make it better so this is my attempt at that. You can find the original here. I’ve never done a rewrite so Idk if I’m doing this right, but hey, it’s my fic I can do what I want with it. Also gender neutral reader in this version. If you compare this one to the original, I feel like you can also see that I write Bakugou differently, since so much time has passed and there has been a lot of character development between then and now.

Here is the description of the reader’s quirk: So basically it’s a fire healing quirk and I based this on the way a classic phoenix works. So the reader can burst out in flames and have great healing powers. Their tears can heal others and they can heal themselves at night. The wounds start burning and it’s really painful but it’s also super powerful. The bigger healing stuff happens at night, but smaller wounds repair pretty quickly. The quirk can’t regrow lost limbs or stuff like that, so you can kill them by suffocation, beheading and major blood loss, but it has to be a lot of blood.

It all happened in a blink of an eye. You hitting the ground, the villain looming over you with his blade and Bakugou turning around just in time to see the villain bring the blade down to your shoulder. The villain ripped the jagged blade out of your shoulder and brought it down again and again. You could see what was happening, you even struggled against it, but you didn’t feel any pain, which you thought to be very odd. The only thing you really felt, was that warm, wet feeling of your blood spreading through your clothes, an unfortunately familiar feeling for you.

Bakugou was terrified for you, the pain you must have been in, the terror you must have felt. He was trying to get to you, but the other villains kept getting in his way. Bakugou was blasting them away left and right, but there seemed to be no end to them. He knew you wouldn’t die because of your quirk, but that knowledge surely didn’t make it any easier for either of you.

However, you didn't feel any pain, none at all, you felt like you were on the verge of passing out, but it just never happened. The villain seemed to finally get bored of stabbing an unresisting body, and left to attack Bakugou. With the last of your strength, you grabbed the man’s ankle. Your grip was very weak, but enough for him to notice something was holding him back. The villain looked down on you, almost with pity in his eyes, but that was soon replaced by enraged glee. He knelt down and with one final swing, he plunged the knife into your wrist. The pain hit you like a lighting bolt. It was like all the pain you hadn’t felt in the moments before, came down on you, it felt like you would be in pain forever. You weren’t even yelling, you were just gasping for air.

“Oh, finally my quirk wore off” he said and clapped excitedly. “It’s a pain amplifier, if you were wondering. It reserves the pain for a while and then hits you with all of it at once, wonderful isn’t it?” he laughed.

Bakugou was probably the most angry he had ever been, but he also felt incredibly helpless. He couldn’t get to you, the one he loved and was supposed to protect. Then it pierced the air, your scream. He looked towards you and saw you writhing and screaming on the ground. At that moment he didn’t give a shit if he put someone in a coma for the rest of their life. He would do anything to make sure you would get out of this alive, so he bulldozed his way through the group of villains in front of him.

“Die you fucking bastards! Get the hell out of my way!” he yelled.

When he finally managed to clear all the villains out of his way, he ran to you, he ran as fast as he could. When he got to your trembling form, he realized how badly you were hurt, the amount of blood around you was immense. You had stopped making any kind of noise and were now just trembling on the ground. Bakugou picked you up and started running towards the school, he knew the only one who could ease the coming night for you was Recovery Girl, and he feared even she wouldn’t be much help. When he finally got to the school, you had fallen terrifyingly limp in his arms. He ran straight into Kirishima in his frenzied state.

“Bakugou? What the hell happened? Why do they look like that?” Kirishima asked, with clear panic in his voice.

“Move!” Bakugou growled at his friend and kept running.

When he finally reached the nurse’s office, he threw the door open. Recovery Girl jumped a little at the sudden noise, but when the elderly lady noticed what Bakugou was carrying, she jumped down from her chair and hurried to him.

“Lay them on the bed” she said while pointing to her right. “I’ll start the treatment immediately”

Bakugou was quiet, which was quite uncommon for him. He was seething with anger, sure, but he also felt helpless, it wasn’t a new feeling for him, but one he hated. He watched quietly as Recovery Girl finished with her treatment. When the elderly lady turned to him with a pained look on her face, he knew, he knew what you would have to endure tonight.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t help them. I’m familiar with their quirk and I am sorry they have to go through that again”

“No! No!” Bakugou yelled and hit the table at the end of your bed, denting it. “You were supposed to help!”

“I did what I could. You are aware of their quirk, yes? I know it will be hell tonight, but they will be alright”

“Yeah, I know. Thanks for nothing” he hissed.

Bakugou was ushered to the corridor, while Recovery Girl and another nurse cleaned your wounds and stitched and  bandaged you up. He was sitting on the floor and banging his head against the wall behind him. When Recovery Girl stepped to the hallway, she told Bakugou she would inform the principal of what had happened. He was allowed back in the room, but he should avoid unnecessarily touching you.

You looked so pale laying there laying there. You were breathing very shallowly and you looked like you could drop dead at any moment. He knew what the next night would hold for you. That unbearable pain of your quirk putting your body back together, wound by wound, cell by cell. He hadn’t seen it himself, but you had told him about it before. The last time your quirk had to activate and heal you, he could hear the screaming outside the school building and he had been nowhere near the nurse’s office at the time.

Bakugou sat down next to your bed. He felt tired now that all the adrenaline had worn off and he hated it. He hated that he wasn’t able to spare you from the pain to come. Someone opened the door and the little noise it made, made Bakugou look up from you. It was that damn Deku and the rest of the extras.

“Get the hell out!” he yelled at them, but none of them listened.

Most of the class bursted into the room, speaking frantically and asking Bakugou what had happened. He hated the thoughts these people brought with them. Not the fact that your friends had come to see you but the fact that it made him think like this. Like anyone else could’ve saved you on time. 

“Bakugou, what happened?” Todoroki asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.

Bakugou hated himself the second the words left his lips, but he said them anyway. “It’s their own damn fault that they can’t look out for themselves. I��m not their fucking protector” But he should be, right? He was allowed to be.

“You know what the next night is going to be for them right?” Midoriya asked, with worry in his voice.

“I fucking know, can everyone stop asking me that. Now get the fuck out, all of you!” Bakugou yelled.

None of them moved to leave. None of them cared that Bakugou was yelling his lungs out, telling them to leave. Everyone was worried for you, and when Bakugou finally stopped yelling, he stomped towards the door, and slammed it shut behind him. Midoriya was sure it would break from the force of the impact, but nothing happened.

Bakugou had left, and no one knew where he had gone. He couldn’t even look at you anymore, he couldn’t bear to watch what was going to happen, so he roamed around the city, trying to find the one who had done this to you, since it had come to his attention that the main villain had gotten away from the police. He was working pretty much on instinct, running around the back streets and alleyways near the crime scene, but he found nothing. He found no one, and all he could do was yell at the evening sky.

When Bakugou was making his way back to the school, it was almost dark, the sun had almost set and he knew it was almost time. He had decided he wouldn’t be with you. You probably didn’t want him there anyway, it was his fault that you were about to go through so much pain, he wasn’t able to help you on time, he wasn’t able to prevent this. He knew it wasn’t his fault that you had decided to protect him from the villain, but he was convinced it was his fault that he wasn’t able to help you.

He was walking towards the dorms when it started, the screaming. He knew it was you, who else could it really even be. He knew that the pain you had felt hours before was nothing compared to your body healing. He couldn't bear to listen to it. He just wanted to make your pain stop. Before he even realized it, he was sprinting towards school doors, towards you. He had just decided he wouldn't go to you, but there he was, running to you, always to you.

When he got to the nurse’s office, everyone had left, all except for one. Deku was still there, holding your hand and trying to calm you, but it was in vain. Bakugou rushed to the other side of the bed and took your other hand to his, giving Deku a bit of a death glare, which he took as his cue to leave.

You were screaming, or at least you thought you were, you couldn’t really be sure, since all you could hear was the humming and roaring of the flames as they healed you. That was your quirk, that was your healing fire, extremely useful, but incredibly painful. You had hated this side of your quirk for as long as you could remember. The fact that it healed little wounds and bruises with almost no pain and no time at all was useful, but when you got seriously hurt, it was hell. There was only really one good side to your quirk that you had found, your tears could heal others, but that was about it. The healing would’ve been much easier if you could’ve at least passed out, but your quirk wouldn’t even allow that, it was merciless in its intensity.

You could feel someone holding your left hand, the person was saying something, but you couldn’t hear it over the humming in your ears. Your vision was blurry and unfocused, but you could make out colors. You saw a head of green hair, so you assumed it was Midoriya. He has stayed with you, even though you really wouldn’t have wanted him to. You hated when people saw you like this. Then there was another moving shape in your field of vision, this one was blond. Then someone grabbed your right hand, and squeezed it tightly. The hands that were now holding your right hand were soft, but you could feel scars on them. The grip on your left hand disappeared. You assumed your angry to boot boyfriend had kicked Midoriya out. 

Now there were just the two of you. You, writhing in agony on the bed and Bakugou holding your hand. At some point you realized he was talking to you, very loudly. At first you couldn’t make out what he was saying, but since he kept repeating the same thing, you eventually figured it out.

“Everything is gonna be fine! You hear me you fuckin idiot?!”

And that’s how the night went, him holding your hand and you feeling like it was all some surreal fever dream. At some point in the very early hours of the morning your screams had dwindled into just occasional whining and groaning. You knew Bakugou was there with you, he hadn’t let go of your hand the whole time, but it was all a bit of a blur. What you could remember best was his red eyes, and the tears that streaked down his cheeks.

The morning finally came and the flames were gone, leaving behind dozens of light scars and you out of breath and sweaty. The fire had melted away the special stitches, but the fireproof bandages remained, and you were covered with them.

You looked at Bakugou, who squeezed your hand and got up, heading for the door.

“Katsuki? Where are you going?” you asked shakily and sat up.

“I don’t fuckin know, somewhere other than here” he said.

“Don’t you dare leave me alone right now, you were here all night, so please… don’t leave me now” you pleaded, holding back tears.

“Why the fuck do you want me here? If you had just taken care of yourself, none of this would’ve happened, you wouldn’t have had to go through this shit… because of me”

“You think this is your fault?” you asked quietly. “Just… come here Katsuki”

Bakugou walked back to you, but he didn’t raise his head to face you. He didn’t want to look at you, he couldn’t. You had been so badly hurt, and he was to blame for not helping you in time.

“I… I’m so sorry” he said, his voice wavering.

You were a tad confused. Of course it had crossed your mind that he would find a way to blame himself, but he seemed seriously distraught.

“Why the hell aren’t you saying anything?” he growled, his voice now mostly back to normal.

He was now looking at you, he was finally looking at you again. He looked angry, but there was also something else shadowing his face, it was sadness. Your Katsuki looking sad was quite new to you.

“What am I supposed to say? I don’t understand why you’re apologizing to me in the first place” you answered, taken aback by his pained expression.

“Like I fucking said, it’s my damn fault you had to go through that. If I was just stronger, you’d be fine”

“Oh nononono. The only person whose fault this is, is that damn asshole who stabbed me. So don’t you dare even consider that this was your fault”

He didn’t really know what to say so he just kept looking at you. Your eyes, your shoulders, your arms, all those scars scattered across your upper body, that your shirt wasn’t hiding. He reached his hand towards your shoulder, stopped before actually touching you.

“Can I” he asked.

“Sure, they might still be a bit warm though” you smiled.

“You know I’m no good at talking, so I’m probably mostly gonna shut up after this, but I promise to find the bastard who did this to you, and beat them senseless” he huffed.

“Don’t go overboard, I don’t want you to end up in prison” you chuckled.

“Fuck that, I’m never gonna be away from you again you idiot” he scoffed.

“Well that’s good to hear” you said with a smile.

Bakugou loved your smile. It was so bright and warm. He moved from the chair to your bed to sit next to you and pulled you closer. He started kissing your neck and shoulders very gently. He laid you down on the bed so he was on top of you and you slipped your hands into his hair and pulled on them a bit, so he’d lift his head to face you. You kissed him on the lips. The kiss was rough, as it usually was with him, but it was also gentle. He didn’t want to push you after the hellish night you’d had but he wanted you. Your lips parted as he moved his back to your neck and started peppering kisses down your neck to your chest. Bakugou was always careful not to hurt you or make you uncomfortable, but he also took what he wanted, as long as you were willing to give.

You bit his ear very gently and whispered to him: “I love you Katsuki, remember that”

“I love you too” he panted, with his face buried in your neck. “And I never want to see you hurt again”

“Can’t make any promises on that” you chuckled.

Bakugou lifted his head to look at you, straight in the eyes. He had a serious expression on his face and he said: “Don’t fuckin joke about that”

“Guess I need someone to protect me when I get in trouble then” you smirked mischievously.

“Guess so” he said and kissed you again.

Bakugou swore he would never let you get hurt again, not if it was up to him.

[luna-eclipse2000]

Shingeki no Danganronpa

Chapter 1, part 1

So I started this story last year when the Danganronpa craze happened but I still wanna post it because I think it’s a pretty alright take on the game. I put a hashtag of the name of this series so the parts are easy to find. (ie. Shingeki no Danganronpa Chapter 1)

——————————————————————————

Hope’s Peak High. A school so large that it towers over all the other buildings in this bustling urban area. Some people say that the school is like it’s at the centre of the world, which I agree to. Except, it is at the centre of the entire world. Everyone knows about this school and how prestigious it is. Anybody who’s anybody dreams of getting that fateful acceptance letter from administration. They say that if you come here and manage to graduate, you’ll be set for life. I’m not the most interesting person in the world, so it was a complete shock when I got a letter saying that they want me to attend. The only award I’ve ever won was a runner’s up ribbon in a fishing tourney. My letter told me that I’m the ‘Ultimate Lucky Student’, which sounds like complete horse shit in my opinion.

I get good grades, sure, but nothing as skyrocketing as some of the people who get in for a purpose. I still accepted the opportunity because I’m not an idiot. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and there’s no way that I’ll give it up because I feel like I don’t belong there... which I definitely feel like. I would’ve just assumed that they got the wrong person but they don’t send acceptance letters to the wrong house, it hasn’t happened in the fifty years the school’s been running for, and I’m pretty sure that the name (f/n) (l/n) isn’t common in this area. So here I now stand, in front of the massive school. It’s even more impressive and intimidating in person. Before I arrived, I did a small Google search on who was going to be in my class and it ranges from more mundane things like the Ultimate Cleaner to the Ultimate Strategist. But, despite my uncertainty of my presence, I put on a brave face and walk through the entrance gates... only to start feeling dizzy and nauseous, like I’m in one of those crazy amusement park rides where you spin in a circle very quickly and the floor drops. No sooner do I start feeling this way, do I black out.

~~~~~

“The hell just happened?” I ask myself as I open my eyes and take a look at my surroundings. I seem to be in a classroom because of all the desks and the blackboard up front, but there’s no windows. Just big metal plates with even bigger bolts and screws holding them in place. “Huh. Weird. Maybe that just shows some new part of the school they’re building and they don’t want any one to see it until it’s finished?” I wonder as I stand up from the desk. I look around but don’t see any bags, even mine is gone. When I turned back to my desk, I notice a slightly folded piece of paper on it, so I pick it up out of curiosity.

Hey there, new kid! The next semester is about to start. Starting today, this school will be your entire world.

“Knew it was the centre of the world.” I think to myself and then place the card down. It didn’t look very professional as it was written in black and red pencil crayon, but it’s a high school so I doubt there are any kids. And if there were, I would have to report them to cops for child labour. I look up at the clock and see that’s it’s eight. “How long was I out for? An hour probably, maybe less. Wait, doesn’t this school start at eight? Where’s all the students? And the teachers? Maybe I read the time wrong on the letter.”

I then go out of the classroom and notice the weird magenta and purple look of the halls and cringe at the contrast. “Ok, what the hell is with this hallway? And, again, where are all the people? I know that eight am isn’t very early, at least not so early that it’s a ghost town. Oh, shit, maybe there’s an assembly!”

I begin to race down the hall and pass by a red door that feels too eerily out of place but I shake the feeling off and head towards the main hall. Once I arrive, I see that everyone else is already there. “Hey, look! Someone else is here!” Someone says. “So that makes fifteen of us.” Someone else points out. “So, you’re all new as well?” I ask them. “No, we’re here for shits and giggles.” A boy with black hair and sharp steel grey eyes rudely answers. I laugh awkwardly. “Who shoved a stick up your ass?”

He clicks his tongue in annoyance. “Anyways, I’m (f/n) (l/n).” I introduce myself. “Sorry I’m late. When I entered the school I just blacked out or some shit. It was really weird.”

“You too?” A short blonde girl asks. “That’s what happened to the rest of us! At first, I thought it was just nerves. But then everyone started to realize that we all blacked out.”

“Yes. This is rather a strange situation.” A boy with blond hair that’s tied back a bit and glasses says. “I’ve never heard of fifteen people blacking out at different times at the same place on the same day.”

“We were drugged!” Someone speaks up. Everyone goes quiet as we turn our attention to the person who spoke. She’s rather tall and has brown hair, and wears glasses. “Oh, come on! I was just joking to lighten the mood! And ease the tension that’s growing because it’s making me a biiiit uncomfortable.”

“So then how about we just introduce ourselves then?” A black haired boy with freckles suggests. “That way we can ease the tension without freaking everyone out.”

I immediately feel calmer after he speaks. He’s got some kind of... energy or something around him. The first person I go up to is the short blonde girl with blue eyes. “Oh, hello! I’m Krista Lenz.”

Krista Lenz. She’s the Ultimate Volunteer. She volunteers all of her free time to shelters, reading to kids, helping the city, going in to retirement/nursing homes, helping out in hospitals and keeping veterans company. She’s even gone abroad to help build homes. She’s known online as Angel, and I can totally see why. Not just because of her noble acts, but because she looks so pure and innocent. Like a little angel. “Well, it’s actually Historia Reiss but that’s hard for kids and seniors to pronounce and spell so I just came up with the fake name.” Krista explains. “No way, seriously?” I ask her. “Doesn’t it bother you that you’re popular with a name that isn’t technically yours?”

She giggles cutely. “Singers do it all the time, don’t they? Katy Perry’s last name is actually Hudson but she didn’t want to get confused for the actress, Kate Hudson.”

“Oh, right, yeah.” I say awkwardly and then move onto the next person.

I decide to go up to the the boy who suggested introductions. “Hi! I’m Marco Bodt. It’s nice to meet you!”

Ah, yes. Marco Bodt, the Ultimate Peacekeeper. He tries to help different countries bring peace to them so no more wars break out. He’s also proposed that they follow England in having a special force of officers who carry guns while the majority only carry nightsticks. He’s also won a Nobel peace prize. “So, what are you here for?” Marco asks me. “Oh, nothing special. I’m not that important.” I say. “Nonsense! You were accepted, right?” Marco says. “I got chosen by chance to be the lucky student.” I tell him. “See?” Marco says. “Out of everyone in the world that they put into chance, you got chosen! Not Diana across town. And the letter even said you were the Ultimate Lucky Student as a result, that accounts for something, right?”

I smile thankfully and go to say something else but hear shouting instead. “What the fuck did you call me, you suicidal bastard?!”

“I called you a horse face, horse face!” The other person responds just as angrily. “Oh, geez.” Marco says. “Sorry, I’m gonna go break them up so there isn’t a murder or anything.”

Marco then heads off to go calm the two boys down. I roll my eyes. “Teenage boys. Why are they like this?”

I head off to another boy, but he doesn’t have any hair. Or at least very little, short, stubby hairs. “Hi, I’m Connie Springer!”

Connie Springer is the Ultimate Prankster. He’s pulled pranks on a various number of people, none of which were very tame. He’s pranked politicians and celebrities. He’s helped talk show hosts prank their audiences and even pranked a military general. I honestly don’t know how he got away with his life for that one, especially since I heard how strict and unforgiving the general is. “It’s nice to meet you, Connie.” I say. “How’d you even escape General Shadis after putting Veet in his shampoo and then switching his toothpaste for actual sewerage?”

“Not easily, I’ll tell you that.” Connie responds with a laugh.

I then move onto the next person. A girl with black hair and grey eyes standing beside a boy with brown hair and beautiful turquoise eyes that I’m honestly jealous of. “Hi. I’m Eren Jaeger and this is Mikasa Ackerman.”

Eren Jaeger. The Ultimate Freedom Fighter. He leads various protests to allow people more rights and be more free, and he also runs different projects that aid in getting people free from their situation. Mikasa Ackerman is his adopted sister and is basically known as his knight in shining armour because of her saving Eren from all the aggressive people he’s encountered. She’s the Ultimate Protector. She protects students at school from bullies, and protects her brother, Eren, from everything. She’s been known to intimated police and SWAT teams, who are already trying to get her to join their force. Marco’s even been seen with them from time to time when he knows it could get very ugly. “What you’ve been doing is quite admirable, Eren.” I compliment him. “It’s great of you to stand up for complete strangers.”

He bashfully puts a hand on the back of his neck with a light blush and smile. “Thanks. Everyone deserves to have freedom so I just stand up for those who’s voices are drowned out by every day noise.”

I turn to Mikasa. “And you’re pretty brave to tell SWAT officers off.”

She just shrugs. “I don’t see it as brave.”

I nod and then go to the next person. Well, group. A tall boy with dark brown hair who seems to be sweating a lot, a blond boy who’s pretty buff, and a short blond girl who gives off as much warmth as an iceberg in a blizzard. “Hi. I’m (f/n) (l/n).” I introduce myself to them. They all look at me and I see the blond smirk. “Nah, cute is what you are.” He says to me. I can feel my cheeks start to burn at his pick-up line. “Oh, well, uh, thank you.”

“I’m Reiner Braun. This guy here’s Bertolt Hoover, and this is Annie Leonhart.”

Reiner Braun’s the Ultimate Blacksmith. He looks much more like a sports guy but when you see what he makes, you know that his talents lie with making armour and weapons. He makes them professionally for people who want a real replica of what medieval knights had, cosplayers, and medieval dinner shows. He’s won more than fifty competitions for blacksmithing. Bertolt Hoover is the Ultimate Deceit. He’s gotten away with a bunch of different crimes because of his shy and timid nature that makes him fade more into the background. Annie Leonhart is the Ultimate Fighter. Her father put her into boxing when she was a kid and beat the instructor on her first day so she started to train professionally. “So, what do you think about us being a thing when school really gets started, huh?” Reiner flirts. “Reiner, shut up.” Annie orders her friend. “Thanks for the offer.” I say. “It’s really tempting, but I have to decline.”

I quickly leave the trio to go introduce myself to a girl with auburn hair tied up into a ponytail. “Hi! I’m Sasha Braus!”

Sasha Braus runs a successful food critic website and tries food from all over the world including octopus, fried spiders and escamol. She’s friends with a bunch of different famous chefs like Gordon Ramsey and Rachel Ray. She’s also judged on a number of cooking shows and won every eating contest she’s competed in which is why she’s the Ultimate Foodie. “So, uh, when do you think we’ll get to eat?” Sasha asks me. I think for a second. “Not sure. We’ll probably have the orientation meeting and then be given a tour of the school, which will take a while, so probably not until at least eleven.”

She pouts. That’s when I notice a smell. “What the hell is that?”

“Oh, it’s a potato.” Sasha says and pulls out a whole baked potato from her jacket pocket. “Where the hell did you find a potato?!” I ask her. “Well when I woke up, I was really hungry. But my bag wasn’t with me that carried all my snacks. So before I came to the main hall, I decided to go find the dining hall. The potato was just kind of... there. Like it was waiting for me to eat it.” Sasha says and then breaks off a piece. “You want half?”

I look at the piece and see that it’s more like a quarter but I’m not hungry anyway so I politely decline. “More for me then!”

I laugh at her and then turn and see the black haired male with the stick up his ass. “Let’s get this over with.” I think to myself as I make my way over. “Hi.” I greet him. His cold eyes land on me and I instantly feel like I committed a felony or something. “Levi Ackerman.”

Levi Ackerman, distant cousin of Mikasa Ackerman, according to tabloids, who’s the Ultimate Cleaner. Apparently he grew up in the shittiest part of the city where the rats are almost the size of feet, which is where his obsession for cleanliness came from. He cleans up any vandalism from the streets and enforces no littering. He’s run mass city, beach and ocean clean ups. I decide that it’s best to leave him alone so I turn to the brown haired girl beside him who’s wearing glasses. “Hiii! I’m Hanji Zoë! The Ultimate Scientist! Also I’m non-binary, just so you know.”

Hanji Zoë definitely lives up to the title. They found a new element when they were ten and they had to do their science work from home so a university chemist and biologist could come tutor them. They even created a new cell that can protect the body from diseases like TB, certain cancers, and certain joint problems. She also won a Nobel prize. “It’s nice to meet you.” I say. “Great job on getting that Nobel prize for your cell creation!”

“Thank you, but it was nothing.” Hanji brushes my compliment off. “I don’t need an award to tell me that I helped millions of people for me to know it. Sorry, did that sound cocky?”

“No, no! It’s ok! I understand what you mean.” I tell them and then go off to the blond boy with glasses. “Hi. I’m Armin Arlert.”

Armin Arlert. The Ultimate Strategist who came up with his first strategy to get out of the orphanage he was placed in and go completely unnoticed when he was eight. After that, he started working with the military and with him on their side, there are much fewer casualties for them... but not for the other side. “So, your strategies are pretty damn good.” I say. “How on earth do you come up with them?”

“Oh, I don’t know. It just kind of happens.” Armin says awkwardly. “You get nervous about speaking about your brain, don’t you?” I ask him. He chuckles with a small blush. “Was I that obvious?”

“It’s ok. I get it. You help the military to make sure that they don’t lose as many soldiers as the other side.” I say. He nods shyly, so I move onto the next person. She has brown hair tied back into a flat ponytail. “Hi. I’m (f/n).” I introduce myself. “Ymir.” She introduces herself.

With the lack of a last name, and not hearing about her at all online, I just nod my head awkwardly and go introduce myself to the final person. He’s talking to Marco and has interesting hair. It’s ash blond with a brown undercut. “Hi, I’m (f/n) (l/n).” I introduce myself. The boy turns around and I get bit startled by his amber eyes. Eren has pretty eyes, but this guy is a full on pretty boy. He gives me a grin and I can tell he knows it, too. “Hey, Jean Kirschtein.”

Jean Kirschtein is the Ultimate Equestrian. He’s been riding horses ever since he could walk because he grew up on a farm. He entered his first equestrian competition when he was seven and has won first every year. He helps take care of horses from his own to others and even helps beginners with picking out which horse they should ride first. He even runs riding lessons at the farms for said beginners. “So, I heard that you’re the Ultimate Lucky Student, eh?” Jean asks. “Could I have some of that luck to take you horse riding?”

“Keep it PG at school, horse face!” We hear Eren mock. “I don’t have a horse face!” Jean shouts at him. “And I wasn’t implying anything!”

He’s obviously a bit embarrassed and flustered. “Alright, alright. Calm down. He’s just doing it to rile you up.” Marco says to Jean. “If it’s any consolation, I don’t think you look like a horse.” I tell him.

Just as I finish saying that, a bell goes off. “Ahem! Ahem! Testing, testing! Mic check, one, two! This is a test of the school’s broadcast system! Am I on? Can everyone hear me? Ok, well then...!” A voice speaks through the PA system. “Ahh, to all incoming students! I would like to begin the entrance ceremony at... right now! Please make your way to the gymnasium at your earliest convenience... That’s all. I’ll be waiting!”

“Is that voice not sitting well with anyone else or is my stomach feeling squirmy because of the potato I stole?” Sasha asks us. “No. It definitely feels odd.” Marco agrees with her. “We don’t have time for this, brats. Let’s just get on with this so I can clean. This place is absolutely filthy.” Levi says monotonously with a hint of disgust as he walks away from the group and towards the gym. I look at Jean and Marco and the three of us follow him, followed by everyone else. We all make it to the gym in a few short minutes. I see Hanji go towards the trophy case and look straight at this gold and purple katana. “Oo, pretty!” They exclaim and then touch the handle but immediately retract their hand. “Damn, that thing is absolutely coated in gold dust! My hand looks like El Dorado!”

“Um... anyone else find it weird that the hall’s are completely empty?” Krista asks as we enter the gym itself. “I haven’t even heard any other classes going in the classrooms.”

“Yeah, man. I’m getting weirded out, now.” Connie agrees with her. “And did anyone else notice that there were machine guns in front of the entrance which looked like a vault door?” Eren asks. “It’s probably nothing, Eren.” Mikasa says. “Why would they have machine guns in a school?”

He nods but I see him shift uncomfortably. “Hey there, howdy, hello!” The voice from earlier greets. “Is everyone here? Good! Then let’s get things rolling!”

We all look towards the stage which has a podium in the centre and the school crest above it, which are two wings; one white and one blue. As we await our headmaster to walk on stage, a black and white teddy bear pops up and lands on the podium. I hear Connie snort back a laugh. “A teddy bear?” Krista asks in confusion. “I’m not a teddy bear!” The bear says lowly. “I... am... Monokuma! And I am this school’s headmaster!”

I try to wrap my head around what’s happening. A teddy bear- er, uh, Monokuma is our headmaster who’s mouth doesn’t even move when he’s talking. I look around at all my classmates, particularly Connie, to see if this is a joke of his, but everyone looks just as confused as I am. Except Annie but she’s devoid of all of emotion. Hell, even Levi has an eyebrow quirked at the oddness. “Nice to meet you all!”

“Ok, Connie.” Reiner says. “This was hilarious, best prank you’ve ever pulled! But can you turn off the teddy bear now?”

“I’m not doing this, I swear! You guys can search me for a remote or whatever.” Connie responds. “I don’t think he has the intelligence needed to build that. No offence, Connie.” Armin says. I see Connie look slightly offended at the words. “I told you already, I’m not a teddy bear... I’m Monokuma! And I’m your headmaster!” Monokuma shouts angrily as he moves his arms up to display further emotion. “AH! It moved!” Sasha screeches. “No shit, Sherlock.” Levi mumbles. “Oh, calm down, everyone! It’s obviously just a remote controlled toy!” Hanji says. “How dare you compare me to a child’s plaything!” Monokuma says. “You’ve cut me deep. Deeper than the Mariana Trench... My remote control system is so complex, even the folks in the Military Police can’t recreate or even comprehend it! Then again, that place is full of nitwits! Now then, moving on! We really must hurry and get started... Everyone, stand at attention and bow! And... good morning!”

Marco does as he’s told. “Good morning, sir!”

“Marco, stand up.” Jean whispers and pulls the boy up from his bow. “Don’t fall for this shit.”

“Now then, let us commence with a most noteworthy and memorable entrance ceremony!” Monokuma says. “First, let’s talk a bit about what your school life here will be like. Now, ah, make no mistake- you few students, so full of potential, represent the hope of the world. And to protect such splendid hope... you will all live a communal life together solely within the confines of this school. Everyone will live in harmony together, and adhere to the school’s rules and regulations. Ah, now then... regarding the end date of this communal life... there isn’t one! In other words, you’ll all be here until the day you die! Such is the school life you’ve been assigned.”

“Until we die? What kind of fucked up bullshit is this?” Levi asks. “Oh, but fear not!” Monokuma assures us. “We have quite an abundant budget, so you won’t lack for all the common conveniences.”

“That’s still not very comforting.” I tell him. “You gotta be screwing with us!” Connie says. “I am not screwing with you!” Monokuma shouts angrily. “I am no liar, of that you can be 100% sure. Ah, and just for your information... you’re completely cut off from the outside world. So you don’t have to worry about that dirty, dirty land beyond these walls ever again!”

I feel my pockets for my phone. “They took our phones!” I announce. Everyone then starts to check themselves for theirs, too. “So, then... all those metal plates all over the school... they’re there to keep us trapped in here?” Reiner asks him. “That’s exactly what they’re there for.” Monokuma confirms. “No matter how much you may yell and scream for help... help will not come. So with all that in mind, feel free to live out your life here with reckless abandon!”

“Come on, what the hell is this? It’s not funny!” Eren asks. “You all keep saying this is a lie, or a joke.” Monokuma says. “A bunch of skeptics, all of you. But I guess you can’t help it, huh? You all grew up in an age where you’re taught to doubt your neighbour... Well, you’ll have plenty of time to find out whether or not what I say is true. And when that time comes, you’ll see with your own eyes that I speak the undeniable truth.” Monokuma answers Eren.

“I don’t want to live here forever! This is bullshit!” Jean shouts nervously. No one else looks pleased with the news. “Come, now. What’s the matter with all of you? You decided of your own free will to attend Hope’s Peak Academy, didn’t you? And now, before the entrance ceremony is even finished, you’ve already decided that you want to leave? Oh, but you know... I guess I did forget to mention one thing. There is one way for you to leave the school...” Monokuma leaves us in hopeful suspense.

“Spit it out, already.” Annie orders. “Ok, ok! Calm down!” Monokuma says. “As headmaster, I’ve crafted a special clause for those of you who would like to leave! I call it... the Graduation Clause! Now, let me tell you about this fun little rule. As I mentioned, in order to maintain an environment of harmony here, we rely on a communal lifestyle. And if someone were to disrupt that harmony, they, and they alone, would be allowed to leave the school. That, my students, is the Graduation Clause!”

“So by disrupting the peace, all we need to do is fling shit, literally, at people and we can just... go?” Levi asks with a hint of skepticism in his voice. Monokuma laughs. “No. Not exactly. But... if someone were murder another. (“Murder?!” We all repeat in shock) Stabbing, strangling, bludgeoning, crushing, hacking, drowning, igniting, how you do it doesn’t matter. You must kill someone if you want to leave. It’s as simple as that. The rest is up to you. Give it your all to achieve the best outcome in the worst way possible!”

The air goes suffocatingly thick as we all process the situation at hand. We’re trapped in here for life unless we commit murder. There’s no way to contact the outside world, all the windows are boarded up with giant plates of metal, and our headmaster is a complete psycho. No one wants to believe this. It’s something straight out of a horror movie or a TV show created by someone seriously fucked up. Monokuma’s laugh brings us all out of our stupor. “I bet that got your brain juices flowing! Beats the heck out of a human catching a salmon, huh? Like I said before, you guys are the hope of the world. But you know... taking that hope and seeing it get murdered creates a darkened shadow of despair. And I just find that so. Darn. Exciting!”

“You’re insane!” Krista exclaims as she starts to cry a bit. “You guys just don’t get it, do you?” Monokuma asks. “‘Let us go, let us go!’ You keep on saying the same thing over and over and over and over...! Listen. From this moment on, this school is your home, your life, your world. Got it? And you can kill as much as you wanna kill! So go ahead! Go on a kill-kill-killing spree!”

No one makes a move, or a sound, for a good few seconds until Mikasa walks up to the podium. She just stands there. “Eh? Well what do you want?” Monokuma asks her. When he finishes speaking, she grabs him by his little bear neck and lifts him off the ground. Monokuma waves his arms up and down. “I don’t know if you’re a toy, and, frankly, I don’t care, but you just threatened myself, Eren and everyone else here with murder. If it’s murder you want, it’s murder you’ll get.” Mikasa says and pulls out a pocketknife from her pants pocket. “Waah! Violence against the headmaster is in violation of school regulations!” Monokuma shouts. “You never said that before.” Mikasa says stoically. “And all we need to do is disturb the peace to leave, right? So all I need to do is pull out your stuffing and I’ll get to leave. And since you won’t be around, I’ll take everyone here with me.”

He doesn’t respond except for some kind of beeping. “Is he shutting down?” I question. The beeping then gets louder and more frequent. I then hear a gasp come from behind me. “Throw it!” Hanji instructs. “What?” Mikasa responds. “Throw the damn bear! He’s gonna explode!” Hanji explains. Mikasa immediately throws the bear away and then throws herself onto Eren so he doesn’t get hurt as Monokuma explodes.

I jump from the sudden sound and hear Krista squeak in surprise. “Well, shit. That really throws the reality of this situation in our faces.” Levi says with his usual emotionless voice, but there’s a hint of nervousness behind it. “Wait, guys, Mikasa still killed it!” I point out. “Yeah! The bastard bear’s destroyed!” Eren cheers. “Uh... I-I wouldn’t be so sure...” Armin speaks up as Monokuma reappears on the podium. “Nice try! But it’ll take a lot more than a silly explosion to kill me!”

“Oh, come on! What the hell is this?!” Reiner shouts. “So I was almost killed for nothing?” Mikasa asks. “Of course! You violated one of the school regulations, after all. I’ll let you off with a warning this time, but you’d better be careful from now on. Any naughty boy or girl who violates my rules won’t get off with just a little swat on the butt.” Monokuma threatens. I swear I see a vein on his forehead pop out from the anger. “Wait... if you exploded... and you’re back... does that mean that there are more of you?” Hanji asks him. “Mhm! Yup! There’s also surveillance cameras installed everywhere so I’ll be able to see if you break the rules. Then it’s bye-bye birdie! Now that that’s out of the way, to commemorate your joyous entry into our school, I have a little something for you...” Monokuma says and then flat tablets appear before each of us from the ground. “This is your official student handbook! Pretty cool, huh? As you can see, it’s fully digital. So naturally, we called it... the E-Handbook!”

“Wow... I wonder how many brain cells it took to come up with that?” Hanji says sarcastically. “Ignoring that rude comment, this handbook is absolutely vital to a healthy school life, so don’t lose it! When you start it up, it will display your name. Always make sure you have the right one! Now, this is not your everyday notebook. It has so many more uses than that! Also, it’s completely waterproof. Splash it, wash it, drown it, it’ll keep ticking! And thanks to its space-age design, it can withstand an impact force of up to ten tons. It’s very resistant! It contains all of our school regulations, so make sure you review them thoroughly! You’ll hear me say this a lot, but any violation of school regulations will not be tolerated.”

“This is gonna get pretty fucking annoying.” Ymir groans. “Well, then, don’t violate the rules and you won’t hear it often, sweets. (“Sweets?! Why you-!” Ymir growls but refuses to move so nothing else happens.) Rules restrict, yes, but they also protect. Society, for example, would be utter chaos without laws. (“It’s got a point...” Annie agrees with Monokuma). The same thing applies here! Which is why it’s crucial that we have strict punishments in place for violators. Ok, well... that brings our entrance ceremony to a close! Please enjoy your abundantly dreary school life! See ya!” Monokuma says before disappearing.

With him now gone, we all have time to properly process what we were all just told. I can feel the fear lingering in the air. This school is wrongfully named after Hope. Like he said, the opposite of hope is despair... which is the state that all of us are currently in.

[ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes]

Field of Poppies Part 9

Summary: After being apart for six years, childhood friends Tommy and Amelia reunite under odd circumstances. Tommy is an outspoken young man and Amelia is pregnant and out on the streets. The bond of family can be unbreakable but it is tested often. Especially when Europe descends into war.

Part 9: The subject of family is very fragmented in the Shelby household, but it doesn’t mean it can’t be repaired and maintained. 

             “There he is, grown-up and responsible Tommy. A family man now, aye?” Barney Thompson grabbed Tommy the second he came into the betting shop and put him in a headlock to rile him up. “You ain’t gonna be fun, anymore are ya, Tom?”

            “We’ll have Mel walking up and down the streets of Birmingham all hours of the night looking for him.” Danny laughed. “She’ll drag him home by the ear.”

            Tommy shoved Barney off and punched him in the arm.

            “Eh, Barney’s just jealous ‘cause he could never get a girl to even look his way.” Arthur used the newspaper in his hand to smack the young man.

            “How do the numbers look today?” Tommy asked, leaning over to glance at the ledgers.

            “Going well, Greta’s outside waiting for you though. I told her you’d be down soon.” His brother answered.

            He frowned. “Did she say what it was about?”

            Arthur just shrugged.

            Curious, Tommy stepped outside of the shop where Greta Jurossi was waiting for him. She looked up at him with a polite smile.

            “I heard your son was born last week.”

            Tommy nodded. Despite the inconsistent timelines, it was generally accepted by everyone except close family and friends that Tommy was the biological father of Max. It made things easier and, in a way, it drew attention from Amelia’s past. He wanted to protect her from any ruthless comments, like the ones she got from her parents in London. If he had to take the heat for having a child out of wedlock, then he would do that. But he had a feeling that people in Birmingham were wise enough to know not to bring it up.

            “What did you name him?”

            “Max,” Tommy answered. “After a friend of Amelia’s.”

            “Such a cute name.” She glanced down at the paper in her hand. “Well, I hate to bother you, I know you’re probably busy with him and everything else.” She unfolded the newspaper and handed it to him.

            “What is this?”

            “Information about the revolution that’s going to happen in Russia. They want to overthrow the monarchy, let the government be run by the people, for the people.”

            Tommy wasn’t overly optimistic, even in his younger years. He’d seen enough hardship to know that the world wasn’t fair. “Is that so?” He took the paper from her. It appeared to be somewhat of an organization’s print instead of a national newspaper. He scanned the first few lines. “And you think they’ll be able to pull it off.”

            “They have the people’s support.” Greta shrugged. “I suppose it’s a bit what we’re looking for, isn’t it?”

            He glanced up at her. “We’re looking for better working conditions and labor laws.” He reminded her as if she’d forgotten what she’d dedicated so much time and effort toward.

            “And that can be accomplished by allowing the people to decide what’s best. Not those who are wealthy who’ve never worked a day in the factories. Who’ve never lived in the slums.”

            He nodded. It made sense. His sense of justice and integrity was all for it. “What can I do?” He asked.

            “You’re causing a stir in Birmingham.” She noted. “Everyone’s talking about the betting shop and the caps. The name’s caught on, by the way. The Peaky Blinders.”

            “Are they afraid of us?” Tommy folded up the paper to hand back to her.

            “No. At least, not the people here who need you. I think they’re sick of waiting for the Commons to make things better. They see you as a man of the people. They want you to succeed. Don’t you see, Tom? You’re the right person to make this happen. You have the skills to gain influence.”     

            A soft wailing sound from an open window upstairs carried down to the street. Tommy felt conflicted. He had tried to assure Amelia that he would make things better for everyone. If he gained influence and power was he better than any of the men sitting in the Commons? Would that give his son a better life?

            “I’ll be at the next meeting.” He promised her. “I’ll let you know what I think.”

            She smiled hopefully. “Thanks, Tommy. And good luck with the baby.” She stepped back from the betting shop. As she went to walk away, she coughed into a handkerchief.

~~~~~~~~~ 

            Tommy returned to the betting shop and found Amelia had come downstairs. Arthur was holding Max looking like a proud uncle. The baby boy had stopped crying and looked content in his arms. It made sense. Arthur had basically raised all of his siblings.

            Amelia had a smile on her face but it looked partly forced. When she saw Tommy walk in, it faded slightly. Tommy was worried she had overheard his conversation with Greta.

            “Can I talk to you for a moment?” She asked.

            “Uh…sure.” Tommy ignored the snickering from the rest of the men as he followed Amelia into the kitchen. He closed the curtain shut. “You trust them with Max?”

            “You don’t?”

            Tommy shrugged and sat down at the table. “They can be thick.”

            Amelia didn’t respond. “Were you ever going to tell me Polly had children? Or that they were taken away?” She asked in a hushed voice.

            He grimaced. The topic was a particularly sore one in the family. Polly refused to talk about it and would not listen to anyone talk about it. Even though it was unresolved, it was best to not speak about it. “She told you?”

            “No, a neighbor told me while I was out walking with Max.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Why wouldn’t she tell me? Why wouldn’t anyone tell me?”

            “Because no one in the house talks about it, Mel.” He ran a hand over his face. “It happened just last year. Michael was born the year you left. Anna was born a year later.” He explained.

            Amelia’s brow was wrinkled with worry. “What happened?”

            “The police took them. They had no fucking reason; Polly was a great mother. They just targeted her because we’re gypsies.”

            She slowly sat down next to him; a bit taken aback by the story.

            “They said she could get them back. We’ve tried everything. They won’t tell us where they are, where they were brought. One police officer even said there was no record of them anywhere.”

            “If I had known. I should-”

            Tommy shook his head. “Don’t mention any of it to Pol. She can’t handle it. She copes by not speaking about it.”

            Amelia chewed on her lip. She couldn’t imagine raising Max for a couple of years only to have him ripped away from her.

            And it seemed like Tommy could see that fear in her eyes. “It’s not going to happen again.” He promised her, gently taking her hand in his. “No one will ever take Max from us. And I’m going to bring Michael and Anna back home.”

            She nodded, too concerned to speak. She just leaned forward to let Tommy kiss her knuckles and pull her into his arms.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~

            “You’re doing so well with him.”

            On the first snow of the winter, Polly and Tommy were up early, sitting together in the kitchen. Max was in Tommy’s arms, having woken up the whole house at the crack of dawn. Everyone else had grumbled, turned over and shoved a pillow over their heads to block out the noise.

            But Tommy was up to grab his month-old-son. Max nursed while Amelia was half awake, leaning against the headboard. Meanwhile, Tommy got dressed in the small space and took his son after Amelia was finished. The new mother went right back to sleep, too exhausted to get up.

            Polly was already in the kitchen, preparing to go to an early mass before she worked on the accounts in the betting shop.

            Tommy smiled. “He’s easy, don’t ya think? Much easier than Ada was.”

            Polly sighed at the memory of Ada being colicky so often as an infant. “Much easier.” She agreed. “But still, I’m very proud of you. You’ve stepped up and have been very good to both of them.”

            “Thanks, Pol.” Tommy let Max grab a hold of his index finger.

            “So,” His aunt sipped her tea. “When are you going to marry her?”

            “Pol!” Tommy’s eyes widened in shock. “What are you on about?”

            “Thomas, you cannot hide things from me very easily. You lie the exact same way your mother did. Terribly. Now, I’m only asking because I’d like your union to be witnessed by God. Don’t want you two eloping behind my back.”

            It was too early to argue about God with Polly. But Tommy had a feeling she wouldn’t drop the subject of marriage so easily. “She’s just had Max; I think she deserves a bit of time before she has to make another big decision.” He said defensively.

            “But you’d be willing.”

            “W-I…why are you bringing this up now? I don’t care what people think.”

            “It’s not about what other people think. It’s about you, Tommy.” Polly gently touched his arm. “I know you’re in love with her. I know she’s in love with you. This flat is too fucking small not to notice the way you two are together. But I think you’re denying yourself this commitment because you’re afraid.”

            Tommy looked down at Max. The newborn was slowly starting to fall asleep, his eyelids fluttering a few times before sliding shut. “We’re raising him together, Pol, I think that’s enough of a commitment.”

            “Then marriage shouldn’t be a big deal.” She shrugged.

            He hesitated because he knew she was trying to snag him on a technicality. “I suppose it isn’t. But it’s about what she wants. Pol, she’s been through a lot since she left. The pregnancy, how it happened…” He knew he couldn’t tell his aunt because he’d swore to Amelia he wouldn’t tell anyone what happened. “She’s not overly trusting right now. I think…y’know maybe she’s relying on trust we had before. When we were just kids. But it’s different now. I want to make things work but I think we have different ideas for the future.” He admitted. Max let go of his finger, lifting his little fist up with a yawn before settling again in his swaddle. “She said I should work with horses and just…forget about the betting shop. She’s worried I’ll get hurt.”

            Polly could understand the young woman’s dilemma. It was the same issue she had with the start of the shop. But she’d begun to realize that they were Shelby boys, not choir boys. They would get into trouble no matter what. A pretty face couldn’t sway them from that. So, Polly figured that, if they had structure, a proper operation, maybe it would help them. Maybe it would keep them safer if they were let loose. She wasn’t perfect either. “Then maybe you two ought to figure out how to settle these differences. I know no one could ask you to change, Tommy. They’d only be wasting their breath. You have a plan and you want to see it through to the end. I suppose the only thing I can do is ask you to think about your family first. That family includes her and the baby now.” She reminded him gently.

            Tommy nodded. “I know. Family comes first.” He echoed in agreement. “Always.”

 ~~~~~~~~~~           

            It was a tentative arrangement and happened very slowly, to begin with. But when Max was born, Tommy and Amelia found it was difficult sleeping in two separate bedrooms. He wanted to help out as best he could even if it was the middle of the night. As time went on, Amelia got comfortable with having him in her space. When initially she was wary. It started out with Tommy coming in from down the hall when he heard Max cry. Sometimes Amelia would assure him everything was okay, or she’d ask for some help. Tommy would either go back to bed in John’s room or sit in the rocking chair by Max’s cot. When things were quiet again, he’d return to bed down the hall.

            Then, the nights became longer and sometimes he’d fall asleep in the rocking chair with Max in his arms. Sometimes he’d sit up on the floor near the cot, watching Max fall asleep. And oftentimes, watching the newborn fall asleep would make him doze off too.

            Eventually, Amelia noticed Tommy started to complain about his neck or back in the morning. She knew it was because the majority of the night he wasn’t sleeping in a bed. She felt bad but allowed herself the time to get comfortable with him.

            One night, when Max had settled down, Tommy had started to nod off in the rocking chair. Amelia got up and scooped Max out of Tommy’s arms so she could lay him in his cot.

            “Tom.” She nudged him gently.

            “Hm? Yeah?” He stirred and opened his eyes with a yawn.

            “Come to bed.”

            “Yeah, yeah, I’m going.” He stood up and stretched. He reached into the cot to affectionately touch Max’s cheek before heading to the door.

            “No, just…” Amelia grabbed his hand before he left.

            He looked back at her, a bit too tired to read between the lines. “Hm?”

            “Just stay here.” She didn’t want to sound like she was begging for him to stay, but she really was. After reassuring herself that Tommy would never harm her, she understood her deep need for his affection. A chaste kiss or holding her hand every once and a while wasn’t enough. Now that they were settled with Max, she wanted to grow their relationship.

            Tommy’s eyes flicked to the bed. “Are you sure?” He asked. It had been months since they were huddled up together in the vardo that summer at the fair. He had longed to be close to her again for longer periods of time in the day. But it was such a small flat and he knew his siblings could be merciless with their teasing. He didn’t want Amelia to be self-conscious about their relationship. So, he kept his distance and waited patiently for her to allow him closer.

            She nodded. “Yeah. I think I need you to stay.”

            “Alright.” He held a hand out to the bed, allowing her to lay down first so she could get comfortable first.

            But she didn’t let go of his hand, pulling him with her to the bed. He followed her lead, laying down beside her, his chest pressed to her back. She adjusted his arm, making sure it was locked around her waist and their hands were intertwined.

            It felt perfect. Tommy was suddenly wide awake, his heart beating too quickly to fall asleep.  

Permanent Tag: @papa-geralt-of-cirilla @giftofdreams @biba3434 @kimmietea @karmezii @enrapturedbythemoon @vampgirl1997 @tarafaithe

Tag list: @shelbyblinded

Masterpost

PB Masterlist

[anika-ann]

Nothing but the Truth - Pt.8

The Resolution

Pairing: Steve Rogers x reader        Word count: 4070

Summary: A fake dating AU.  You’ve been moping for two days now; despite some surprising visitors in your hospital room, there was one person who haven’t made it yet. It’s just your dumb luck it was the one person that mattered very much.

Warnings: swearing, light angst, brief mentions of violence, fluff, extra dialogue-heavy chapter

Story Masterlist

The first thing your foggy brain registered as you woke up was that you must have a flu. There was no other explanation for how you felt.

Every single muscle, every single joint in your body, simply everything hurt and was so, so heavy… confusing images flickered through your mind, images of a dark room and the burning blue of irises, the pain and the poor attempt at a smile, the ring and leather straps, the maniacal grin on the vendor’s face—it was all adding to the splitting headache that was keeping you from opening your eyes; because no, no sharp light, thank you very much-

“Hey there, sleepyhead,” a velvety voice caressed your ears, gentle fingers lightly squeezing your hand. “You had us worried.”

Mind still fuzzy, you groaned, attempting to squeeze the warm hand back, but with zero result.

God, why is it so, so hard to move--

“I’ll call a doctor, yeah?”

Grunting something incomprehensible in disagreement, because fuck it, I just want to sleep, you drifted back into blissful ignorance, not having a care for the world.

When you woke up again, it was to Sam’s concerned gaze and you did not like that expression on his face one bit.

To your utter shock, he was soon replaced by Tony Stark; though Sam still stayed in your corner while the billionaire gushed about how you had led them right to the bad guy.

“He was crazy, alright. His brain was a like bag of cats and that coming from me? Real deal. Anyway… we couldn’t save anyone else. He was… eh, systematic. Putting trackers into the rings, stalking the couples and then he moved onto his mission of testing the true love bullshit and everyone failed, so he had the shocks to-“

Sam cleared his throat meaningfully as you winced, the ghost of the very unpleasant sensation running through your nerve endings, biting chill curling at the base of your spine, flashes of Steve’s face, the mask, the vendor, the chairs and the electricity crackling-

“Sorry. Just wanted to say… you did really great. You saved a lot of lives by helping us to lock him away. You basically entered the hero kindergarten,” Stark announced almost brightly, earning another ahem from your friend.

You smiled at the genius tiredly. “I’m not planning on joining your superhero group, Mr-“ you faltered when he made a face, “-Tony. And… I’d feel better if we could have—if the people who were taken-“

“Hey. Not your fault,” Sam interrupted you swiftly, voice as serious as his face. “You did amazing and I hope you’re never getting into this kind of shit ever again.”

Now he looked like a father torn between being proud of his kid punching a bully to their face and being exasperated because the said kid had earned an exclusion from school for it. To be fair, he possibly felt exactly like that.

“Yeaaaah, I guess that’s my cue,” Tony backed out with an awkward grin, stopping in the doorway to toss few more words over his shoulder. “Oh, I’m sorry for the delay. The deactivated trackers took us a while. Get better, hon!”

You couldn’t but grin at his demeanor, but your mood instantly shifted back to grim when you saw the look on Sam’s face. The air of an overexcited genius which Stark was carrying around was sucked out of the room, suddenly making it hard for you to breathe as the horror images filled your mind once more.

You shook your head and gulped, trying to push them back to the corner, focusing on something else entirely; namely on the black eye which Tony was nursing, one of which had a good idea how happened.

“You gave him the black eye, didn’t you?”

Sam’s furrowed brows rose at the probably unexpected remark, but he didn’t bother lying. “Damn right, I did.”

Who would have guessed that two days, only 48 hours, could last an eternity?

You would.

You knew; you had your fair share of experiencing that. Still, every hour crushed your chest as Tony Stark visited once more, Sam was at your bedside at nearly all times, Irma came to see you, hell, even Natasha freaking Romanoff stopped by and yet, yet, no Steve in sight.

Sam had told you he was busy; you could imagine. He must have probably been filling out mission reports, recovering himself, had to answer to authorities, to reporters-- and your eyes filled with stupid and pathetic tears when you thought of the reporters every single time.

Recalling your own encounter with the sensation-hungry sharks, the intrusive memory of the interview wormed its way to your brain and more importantly, to your heart; a memory of the time when everything had seemed alright, better even, almost as if there could be something more —and then Steve had said yes--- and then-

Then all you had was a hazy memory of his voice at your ear when you had been pulled out of unconsciousness, a wistful dream, a fata-morgana which you made up to console your mind when your body couldn’t quite comprehend the exhaustion and pain tearing you from your sleep only to slip back again.

He hadn’t come.

For two full days, he wouldn’t as much as shoot you a text, send flowers or something awfully sweet and Steve-like and you were starting to question just how much of what had happened down there you only imagined.

You were almost certain he had said he loved you, you would swear on it even; but if it truly happened and Steve was still not showing up, well… then it opened a whole new number of possibilities of what his motivation could be.

You refused to believe he didn’t care at all. However, you had met Steve a while ago and if you understood something about him, it was that his sense of duty was just a tiny bit inferior to his sense of loyalty. In other words, he would look out for his friends, as much as they would look out for him – more even.

So, even when Steve was supposedly busy – unless he was out of the country, naturally – he would let himself to be dragged out of the gym, out of his office, dragged away from anything that seemed urgent, yet not urgent enough for him to refuse Sam or anyone else who was concerned and insistent enough.

Hence you coming to the conclusion that he simply didn’t want to spent a single second in your presence, because he had in fact figured out that you had been about to confess your feelings to him and now he was doing everything to avoid you, because he had somehow tricked the machine when saying that stupid ‘yes’ and he had no clue how to turn you down gently now-- because Steve was nothing short of gentle.

Yep, that was your elaborate theory.

Say yay for your super-inventive brain, you thought darkly. And try not to choke at the thought of Steve ghosting you for the rest of your life.

Burying your face in the pillow and letting it soak up with your tears, you lulled yourself to sleep, grateful there was no one in your room at the moment to witness your break-down.

You were woken up from your slumber by three swift knocks on your door. It snapped you to full consciousness at instant, mostly because there weren’t many people who bothered to knock; it was quite common for them – and that included the doctors – to simply enter.

That difference in approach was essential, because your mind traitorously drifted towards the idea of Steve finally paying you a visit and it was both exciting and mortifying.

Also, it gave you hope of which you were certain would be crashed the moment the door open, so there was that.

The knocks echoed in the room once more, this time softer, as if the person behind the door worried about intruding your sleep.

Huh. Cute and considerate. How could you not get your hopes up at that?

“Uhm… come in,” you encouraged the mystery person cautiously, your heart nearly giving out when a blond head hesitantly poked in.

Yep, it’s Steve.

Or maybe I’m just high and I’m imagining him.

Hard to tell.

He offered you the weakest of smiles as if he could hear your thoughts and whispered a very shy ‘hi’.

You felt your heartbeat pounding in your temples in panic and excitement.

“Steve… uhm. H-hey. What-eh- what are you doing here?”

You would have been ashamed for stuttering like an idiot, except you were too busy freaking out over looking like a hobo, having red-rimmed eyes and chest filled with dread at this encounter, feelings spoken and unspoken sitting heavily in your ribcage—and well, generally just losing your mind.

Also, Steve was unable to speak like a normal person as well, so that helped. “I-uhm… came to check up on you.”

He stepped fully into the doorway and you expected him to come all the way in. Instead, he wavered there, not quite entering and it only caused your chest to tighten. You swallowed against the lump in your throat, trying your best to seem collected and not like desperately looking for a clue, anything to give away a single of his thoughts.

Was he hesitating because he wasn’t sure if he was welcomed after ghosting you or was it because he wanted to have an escape route open? He was a strategist, after all; it would be wise to have a chance at escaping the moment he sensed the situation going off rails.

A somewhat torn expression crossed over his face, followed by an expectant one, and you realized he must have been waiting for you to lead.

Again.

Ever the gentleman.

You would have appreciated it and possibly melt into a puddle of sappy goo, because Steve was a sweetheart always… except you hadn’t a clue what you wanted and where you wanted this to lead—well, you did know, but you doubted that would happen.

Your heart ached, a reminder of his confession possibly not being sincere and you being left on your own in your pining.

Shaking your head to free yourself from the cage of your own mind, you attempted a small smile, one that probably came off as super-awkward.

But he needed to cut you some slack, alright.

“Oh. I’m fine,” you finally said, answering the question not quite asked. “I mean… my head spins a little-“ And you’re not helping. “-but mostly I’m here because Tony Stark is being an overbearing ass. I don’t think he would admit that, but he probably feels guilty.”

It was another conclusion your brilliant mind had come to. You know, apart from the fact Steve was ghosting you because he was waking up in cold sweat dreaming about you being interested in him and all that.

But why were you telling him about Tony? Were you really that desperate to see him for a bit longer that you babbled? So desperately trying to postpone the inevitable conversation for later, because once it happened… God only knew what the outcome would be?

Your ears might have been playing tricks on you, but you would swear you heard him murmur ‘I know how that feels’ under his breath.

Hm.

“Good,” he stated, nodding his head as if he needed to assure himself that it was indeed good. “Uhm… it’s good that you’re almost fine.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah.”

He was still standing in the doorway and your eyes started burning with unshed tears.

Small talk. Awkwardness. Things unsaid, hanging in the air, heavy and suffocating.

Was this how it was going to be between the two of you now?

And what else did you expect it would be like after you pretended to be a couple? After you kissed? And got tortured together, just in the case you forgot about that?

“What about you?” you forced yourself to ask, willing your voice not to crack. “How you’ve been?”

“Huh? Oh, uhm. Good. Yeah, good. Busy.”

“Right. I-- uhm… I bet-“

“No, actually… that’s a lie.”

You blinked, utterly taken aback at the blatant admission. It was so unlike Steve to be this cruelly honest that you barely registered that his words felt like a punch to your face.

Not that you had ever been punched to your face. Only nearly electrocuted. Which you guessed wasn’t any better.

“Oh.”

Steve shook his head, chuckling bitterly, still not moving from the fucking doorway and you wished you were in his place, so you could just flee.

“I spent half of the time staring at a wall in my office.”

“Oh… uhm.” And like an idiot, because you were one and you had no clue how to react besides bursting into tears, because he hadn’t come to see you and had been staring at a wall instead, you said: “I mean… I guess Stark Tower has some pretty interesting walls.”

This time when he chuckled, the sound was just as breathless, but lighter. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and gestured towards the chair by your bed.

“May I?”

No. Nope. You let him in here and the more you look at him and do small talk, the more you’ll want to cry. Tell him no-

“Sure.”

Idiot.

Closing the door and finding his seat, he spoke again.

“Thank you. I… I should have visited. But… I spent hours and hours wondering how to apologize, and I know that it isn’t the best excuse, but I- you--“

You tried to blink away your tears, grateful for Steve staring at the bedsheets and not watching your face when talking. That would be pretty humiliating if he saw your awe-struck, humiliated and entirely confused face; this already was enough.

Apologize? For what? For lying and getting away with it? For telling the truth and then ignoring you? For pretending to care? For caring and suddenly not caring enough? Or for what?

What, what, what-  

“-what happened in that basement-“ he continued and the tone he spoke with was already too much to bear— you knew at instant that you didn’t want the answers to your questions.

Not if it meant that you‘d have your heart broken, a wedge driven into the already wide enough raw crack in it.

“Steve-“

“I got you hurt. And I’m sorry,” he whispered hoarsely, leaning his elbows onto his thighs, fingers interlacing as his hands hang loosely between his knees. Wait, what? “I am so, so sorry. That never should have happened-“

Your heart skipped a pleased and relieved beat.

You shouldn’t be getting your hopes up just yet – this wasn’t about what you thought it was, he wasn’t telling you he hadn’t been lying down there, but this possibility hadn’t even crossed your mind. It should have, it made perfect sense that he was feeling guilty, because he was the captain of the team, responsible for them—

You were so wrapped up in your own head, clinging to the fact he admitted he loved you (or not, who the fuck knew), that you hadn’t even considered this.

The revelation explained so much and sounded much more like him than you could imagine and your mind started racing with new possibilities. Maybe… maybe he didn’t—or did he- this was far from him denying that he never wanted to talk to you again and had literally nothing to do with your little truth-or-lie issue, yet you felt an enormous weight fell from your shoulders, a blanket of lead that had been lying on your chest for a while now lift.

You wiggled up so you could sit straighter in the bed.

“Steve, that guy was insane. He drugged you with god knows what, he had you-- wired to something-“

“We shouldn’t have been there in the first place.“

Oh. Oh.

You gulped, your head pounding all over again, ribcage constricting.

Yeah. You supposed that was true. It didn’t mean that it hurt less; no, hearing him to say it out loud hurt more, actually, however, you tried your best to focus on the problem at hand, which was giving Steve whatever forgiveness he craved, no matter it wasn’t his fault in the first place.

“Well. I was the first to agree, if I remember correctly and you were radically against. So if anything, I kinda got us into that mess, so-…”

His cerulean eyes bored into yours, sorrow, self-torment and stubbornness incarnated, as he interrupted you.

“Maybe, but I agreed then and I promised to protect you. You trusted me and I failed you,” he accented, anger lacing his voice. He sighed then when he took a note of that and slowly breathed in and out, sounding much softer when he spoke again. “I’m sorry.”

It was as if you hadn’t said a word in the past minute.

“Steve, you’re… you’re just human. Serum or not, you’re- hell, even superman had his kryptonite and he’s fictional. You’re just— what--what he did to me--- after which I’ll be alright, by the way – that happening doesn’t make you any less of a hero,” you explained sincerely, minutely forgetting your weeping uncertain heart. “I know that you did everything you could. You don’t need to apologize for that.”

The implication that there was something else he should apologize for hang heavy in the air.

“I… about what I said down there-“

“Steve, don’t. You don’t need to explain anything. Whatever happened, however you managed to do that-“

“You think I lied,” he stated dully and you avoided his gaze at that.

You didn’t respond.

If you were being honest, you weren’t sure what to think anymore. Everything was just so damn confusing; his yes, his apology, his sorrow, him avoiding you… it was making you dizzy and it all the wondering had you honestly exhausted.

“I’m a coward.”

That got you snap your head back to him, hundreds of question marks in your eyes. “What?”

A humorless chuckle was the answer.

“I didn’t lie. I mean, I did lie down there once, and the machine caught that. And I got you hurt-“

You wanted to protest, because you’d been over this, but his previous words rang in your ears, confusing and disgustingly hopeful.

He hesitantly reached for your hand, gingerly taking it between both of his own, thumbs tenderly caressing its back. You swallowed the choked noise threatening to escape your throat at the soft touch; deliberate, yet seemingly not uncomfortable to him.

“I was forced to admit how I felt right after I got you hurt and I had no single clue what to do with that. Still don’t. I-I spend hours just sitting here and staring, trying to figure out-“

You successfully – ha, you wished – tuned out the first part, focusing on the latter one, not any less surprising.

“You’ve been here?”

He seemed distracted by that question. “Yeah, uhm-“

“Were… were you here when I woke up?” you asked, another foggy memory flickering in front of your eyes, a memory of him in the chair, the concerned frown on his face, dark circles under his dry eyes, raspy voice-

“You… you remember that? You weren’t even conscious for a full minute. You were out again before the doctor arrived, both times.”

‘Both times.’ He had witnessed you conscious twice.

Just how long had he spent here by your sleeping form?

“I thought-“ I though that I dreamed that up. Apparently, you hadn’t. He… he had been there with you. Oh. “I—so you- oh.”

He waited patiently before all of his words registered in your brain; including the ones about-

“You… weren’t lying?” you asked breathlessly, astonished and warmed from inside out for the second time in the past few days as the realization took roots in your brain, finding the remnants of your previous belief and euphoria.

“No. Not when I- when I said-”

“-yes,” you finished for him, your lips parting in amazement, your heart fluttering in joy.

There was no need to specify which question you were talking about – it was clear as day; about the only one that truly mattered.

“And I’m an idiot. I hurt you again, letting you think that I didn’t care at all and I should have come here, but I had no idea what to do next and if you-- what did you think about it- and I got you hurt-“

“We’ve been over this. Not your fault,” you chastised his distractedly, staring at his face because he was breathtaking and he… he-

His Adam’s apple bobbed nervously and you couldn’t but give him the reassurance he was no doubt seeking; you knew you would in his place.

“I… I was about to say yes. And it wouldn’t have been a lie either,” you offered quietly, a slow smile spreading on your lips.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

He gave you a watery smile, tears still crinkling in the corners of his eyes as he carefully raised your hand, watching every micro-expression on your face, searching for the tinniest trace of disapproval; finding none, his lips brushed your knuckles with the gentlest kiss.

You melted into the pillow, feeling warm all over, your smile turning goofy as you finally, finally got your answer and wanted to scream it at the top of your lungs, because it was delightful.

Steve loved you.

Steve loves me.

And you loved him.

There was a mess for you to deal with for sure, a lot of explaining ahead, but… what else than the fact that you loved each other was important here?

Nothing. Not really, not at the moment at least.

Something told you this might be the true start of a beautiful relationship.

The non-faked kind.

--and you hunch turned out to be true.

The next day, the very hour of your discharge from the med-wing, Steve was waiting for you; all ready with a car to drive you home, a bouquet of cream-colored tulips in his hand to make your day downright wonderful and for some reason, also with daggers in his glare whenever he sized up the nice doctor who had been keeping you company until Steve arrived.

It earned Steve a kiss on his cheek as he led you to the car with his palm lightly resting on your lower back and if your lips brushed his before you got in, well, no one needed to know.

“Mr. Wilson, you wished me to tell you when the confessions would be made. They were just now.”

Sam glanced up from the screen and stopped scrolling mindlessly through his phone, letting out a long exhale.

Judging by the not-so-ominous tone of the AI – nope, he would never get over the fact that an artificial intelligence could speak in different ways and be sassy on top of everything – the talk didn’t end up tragically. At least Sam hoped; he didn’t think there had been much space for messing it up worse, to be honest.

“Thanks, Friday. It was about damn time. How did it go?”

A record of the infamous interview, showing his two friends making out on live TV lighted up his phone—fucking rude to hack his phone like this, especially showing him that.

“About like this, Mr. Wilson,” Friday explained nonchalantly as if that fucking thing wasn’t in control of his phone.

Sam breathed through the shock caused by the intrusive AI, focusing on the good news before planning on giving Stark another black eye because what the hell, SOME privacy left would be nice and very much appreciated-

“Didn’t exactly need the visual,” he muttered, adding a louder ’but thanks.’

His screen returned to normal and he found himself too tired to get up and find Stark right now; he could always throw it to his face later.

Speaking of planning on throwing words and things at someone’s faces…

Sam realized he had to stand up anyway, because he had a different job to do, now that the two idiot friends of his finally made it past the mutual pining phase and actually got together.

Shoving his phone to the pocket of his jeans, he went to polish his guns; just in case that the big blond dumbass planned on making Sam’s favorite almost-sister cry again.

Note: White Tulips – representing purity, innocence, forgiveness and respect, they would be a great flower for a wedding or to give with an apology. (Cream-colored tulips are closely related and have also a meaning of commitment.)

Tags:

@mermaidxatxheart​ @bobertswagert​ @kakakatey​ @ccolz88-blog​ @joeyrumlow​ @lovemeterwrites​ @jessyballet​ @bellaireland1981​

Thank you for reading and leaving likes! You’ve all been amazing :-* Special thanks for commenting and/or spreading my work, it is greatly appreciated ❤️

If you enjoyed, check out my other works and if you by any change wanted to be added to my S.R. fanfic taglist, let me know and I happily will :-*  

[cha-melodius]

The Definition of Madness Chapter 7 (Finale)

The Definition of Madness Chapter 6

Whumptober No. 29: Emergency Room

Fandom: The Man from UNCLE (2015)

Pairings: Napoleon Solo/Illya Kuryakin, Napoleon Solo & Illya Kuryakin & Gaby Teller

Summary: They say the definition of madness is doing the same thing and expecting a different result.

Or, Illya gets stuck in a very whumpy time loop.

Ao3 Link

And now, the thrilling conclusion! 😆

*****

Previous Chapter

This time, they trick their targets into believing that Napoleon is the one who is resetting the day, and they find themselves in a familiar standoff. Well, familiar to Illya, anyway, except now he’s the one holding the gun at the man in charge while Napoleon is forced to his knees. He hadn’t realized it during the previous loop, but the guards actually bring two doses of the antidote with them and pass one to the man in charge.

It explains why they didn’t just shoot Napoleon before, because clearly their adversary was suspicious enough to not trust that they had the right person until after the antidote had been administered. Once it has been, though, they’ll know they’ve been duped this loop, and there will be nothing stopping them from killing Napoleon.

The man in charge also gets handed another vial of liquid, this one an odd greenish color, with some kind of aerosolizer fitted to the end of it, like an inhaler. It must be the drug itself, the substance that somehow imparts the ability to reset the day, and Illya knows that under no circumstances can he allow it to be deployed.

The guard carrying the antidote approaches Napoleon, syringe at the ready, and the two partners share a meaningful glance. They talked through a few scenerios, but never one in which there were two antidotes in play. Illya isn’t even sure that Napoleon knows there is; after all, he’d missed that fact when he’d been the one forced to the ground.

Illya would really rather not do this day again—would really rather not have to explain this sequence of events to Napoleon again—so he has to make this count.

He waits until every eye in the room is focused on Napoleon, watching for whatever happens when the antidote is administered. Even the man in charge lets his guard down for a moment, a wide grin spreading over his face, and this is when Illya acts.

Lunging forward, he makes a grab for the drug and the antidote, both held in the man’s left hand, but unfortunately the man reacts faster than he expected, twisting away and leaving Illya holding only one of the vials. There is at least a little luck on their side, though, because when he opens his hand he sees the odd green liquid glinting there. The drug.

He doesn’t have much time to think about what to do with it. Napoleon yelps as the guard plunges the antidote syringe into his shoulder and injects, and somehow the man in charge knows immediately that they’ve been duped. He snarls, wheeling on Illya, and leaps at him in a desperate attempt to get the drug back. Two bullets to the chest somehow aren’t enough to bring him down—granted, neither of them were very accurate under the circumstances, even at close range—and he collides heavily with Illya, sending them both sprawling to the floor. The vial is clenched tightly in Illya’s fist, safe from the man’s prying fingers, but Illya loses track of the antidote until a needle jams right into his thigh.

Fire spreads rapidly through his veins and he can feel it leaving his body, knows without a doubt that if he dies this time it will be for good. The pain of it briefly overwhelms his senses, but it ebbs as rapidly as it came on and he’s left reeling and feeling oddly empty.

“Kill him! Kill him now!” the man is shouting desperately, and Illya doesn’t know if he means him, or Napoleon, or both of them.

Turns out, neither do the guards. The ones nearest to them stand there uncertainly, and it probably doesn’t help that the man is on top of Illya and thus blocking most of their shots. Illya can hear the sounds of fighting from somewhere in Napoleon’s direction, so he assumes his partner has taken advantage of the chaos to get free and turn on the guards around him, and this in turn draws the attention of the two guards nearest Illya. They raise their guns toward the other side of the room, and Illya knows he has to end this now.

Finally, he manages to wrench his gun free from where it is pinned under them, jams it against the man’s head, and fires. He pushes the limp form off of his body and scrambles off the ground, dropping both guards with the remaining bullets in his clip. There is still another, farther across the room, still focused on where Napoleon is struggling with the last two guards that had held him. Illya watches as the third guard takes aim when the fight swings around to offer a clear shot of Napoleon. There’s no way Illya will be able to take him down before he fires, and so he does the only thing he can do.

Launching himself across the remaining space, he smashes into Napoleon and the guard, sending them both sprawling to the floor, just as he hears the gun fire twice. The bullets slam into his left shoulder and chest, sending a too-familiar white hot pain lancing through his body, and it almost feels like just another loop except it’s not.

Dying has become old hat, for Illya, but living is an entirely new proposition.

He slumps toward the ground, distantly hearing the sounds of fighting and bullets firing around him again until finally those seem to fade away. The vial of the drug slips from his hand, clattering to the floor and rolling off under a table.

Pain stabs through him again as someone—Napoleon, it must be—presses on his wounds, but the world around him is rapidly fading.

“Fuck! No no no, Illya, you idiot—”

*****

Illya has flashes of something like lucidity.

The heat of an explosion. A spike of pain as he’s lowered to the ground. Bright lights and frantic voices. A warm, solid mass pressed against his side.

He’s not sure if they’re real, dreams, or something else entirely.

*****

He wakes, for the first time in over a month, in a different bed.

At first the world seems like it’s nothing but white light, and he thinks maybe he’s finally actually dead, but then the walls and ceiling materialize around him. The air is filled with the soft hums and steady beeps of medical equipment, and the scent of antiseptic and bleach. A hospital, he thinks distantly.

Illya tries to push himself up in the bed, but that quickly proves to be a terrible idea. He hisses as pain sears through the left side of his chest, and the abortive movement sets several of the machines to a far more rapid beeping. Hurried footsteps echo into the room, and for a few minutes he just sits there as skilled hands fuss over the IV lines and his bandages. One of the nurses must administer some morphine, because a moment later the pain begins to ebb.

When he finally opens his eyes again, there is a familiar face standing at the foot of his bed.

“You do know you’re not actually immortal, right?” Gaby scolds him, but the fond, relieved expression on her face takes all of the weight out of it.

“Was never immortal,” Illya mutters, crossing his arms in front of him defensively.

“Napoleon told me what happened, in the office. You could have died. Permanently.”

Napoleon. All at once Illya realizes that he’s not here, and why would he not be here unless—

Gaby must see his sudden distress, because she moves quickly around the bed and places a steadying hand on his arm. “He’s fine, Illya, he’s not hurt. He just stepped out to get some food. It’s been nearly impossible to get him to leave your side. The nurses want to throttle him, I think. He’s gonna be so pissed that he wasn’t here when you woke up.”

“What happened?” he manages as he takes deep, slightly painful breaths, still trying to get his panic under control.

“Well, after you tried to get yourself killed, Napoleon took out the remaining guards and carried you out of the building. I thought you were already dead when I saw you, Illya, but thank god you’re a stubborn bastard. We blew the chemical building into atoms and stole a car. I don’t know how you didn’t bleed out on the way to the hospital. The doctors said it was basically a miracle.”

Illya huffs out a humorless laugh at that, wincing again at the pain it elicits. He opens his mouth to ask how long he’s been out, but the words are cut off by the sound of someone practically sprinting down the hall. Moments later, Napoleon appears in the door, wide-eyed and disheveled. Clearly someone—almost certainly Gaby—had at some point made him go shower and change his clothes at least once because he’s not wearing his tactical gear anymore, but his clothes are still a rumpled mess. He’s also, quite obviously, deliriously happy to see Illya awake.

“Oh god, Peril, how long have you been awake?” he asks frantically as he rushes over to Illya’s side. “I’m sorry, I was here but then Gaby told me to go get something to eat even though I wasn’t hungry—”

“I just woke up, Cowboy,” Illya interrupts, uncrossing his arms so he can reach out to grab Napoleon’s hand, lacing their fingers together.

This little gesture puts a smile on Napoleon’s face that lights up the room and fills Illya’s chest with a fierce warmth. He gives a little tug of suggestion and Napoleon bends readily down to press a kiss to his lips. It’s brief, a brush of mouths that lingers just long enough to promise so much more, and Illya feels his heart ache with happiness.

Because until that moment, Illya wasn’t entirely sure how much of it had been real. Obviously the operation at the compound had happened, but he couldn’t be certain of even that morning, of holding Napoleon tight in his arms and kissing away his tears.

“It was all real,” he breathes in wonder as Napoleon sits down on the bed next to him. “You remember.”

“If you’re asking if I remember you walking into the kitchen of the safehouse the morning after we arrived and kissing me like your life depended on it, yes, I remember,” Napoleon says, a tiny smirk twisting his lips. “As for the rest, well, we pulled off an operation that never should have been possible, so…”

“We haven’t mentioned any of it in our debriefs,” Gaby tells him. “Not even Waverly knows.”

The reason why is obvious, of course. Such a claim would no doubt trigger a mandatory psych eval and some serious skepticism about Illya’s mental stability. He can’t blame them, but at the same time he knows what happened to him was real. At least, he knows now.

“Thank you,” he says quietly. “For everything.”

Gaby smiles, soft and sincere. “You need to rest,” she tells him as she bends down to kiss him gently on the forehead. “Dying that many times has to take a lot out of you.”

“That is quite an understatement,” Illya grumbles.

She squeezes his arm fondly. “I need to go tell Waverly you’re awake, but I’ll try to keep him away until tomorrow at least.”

Illya knows she’s just making up an excuse to give them some time alone, but he very much appreciates it nonetheless. When she leaves, closing the door to the room behind her, he looks up at Napoleon again, and the sheer amount of affection in his partner’s eyes is breathtaking.

“Stay with me?” he asks, squeezing Napoleon’s hand where it’s still wrapped around his.

Without a moment of hesitation, Napoleon kicks off his shoes and climbs up onto the narrow hospital bed, which is really not large enough for the two of them, but he fits his body next to Illya’s like it was made to go there. He pulls one arm up under his head and gently pushes a lock of hair off Illya’s forehead, pressing a kiss to his temple as he curls his other arm over Illya’s stomach.

“Always, Peril,” he whispers. “Always.”

[blackswaneuroparedux]

Anonymous asked: Like many from across the pond in the USA I have been astonished at the amazing story of Captain Tom Moore who at the age of 99 years old walked back and forth across his garden to raise a fantastic amount of money for your national health service (NHS) and into the hearts of your nation. It’s the kind of eccentricity we love about the British. The British media referred to him as Captain Tom Moore so as a former army veteran yourself I wanted to know do you get to use your officer rank after you retire from the British Army? Did you keep your rank after you did your time?

For those who don’t know who Captain Tom Moore is let me briefly recap. On 6 April 2020, at the age of 99, Captain Tom Moore - an army veteran of the Second World War - began to walk around his garden in aid of NHS Charities Together during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the goal of raising £1,000 by his 100th birthday. By 26 April he had raised over £29 million. He quickly became a popular household name in the United Kingdom generating much interest in his life story, and earned a number of accolades. After the his amazing feat, he featured in a cover version of the song “You’ll Never Walk Alone” with proceeds going to the same charity. The song topped the UK music charts and made him the oldest person to ever achieve a UK number one. At present there are plans to celebrate his 100th birthday with the honour of a RAF flypast and a postmark. There is also public pressure for the Queen to knight him - a worthy honour indeed.

I would use many superlatives to describe what Captain Tom Moore’s did - heroic, marvellous, and bloody brilliant comes to mind - but one thing I would never call what he did is eccentric. There is nothing eccentric in his outstanding example. Rather I think it typifies the British character to a tee. I think the way the British people have responded to Captain Tom Moore’s heroic example is partly indicative of how the British still like to see themselves in a time of acute crisis. His example rightly inspires many and reminds us of who we are too. Forgive me but my intent is not to sound too jingoistic because I’m also broadly impressed with how the French have responded to this crisis (since I live in Paris) with being good and helpful neighbours and showing grace and easy humour; indeed every night at 8pm sharp we residents all over France faithfully clap from our open windows and balconies in support of front line workers. The French, like the wonderful singing Italians and the other Europeans, have their own strength of character to get through this awful pandemic.

Perhaps it may sound corny to some but to me it gives me faith that even as Britain has gone through a bitter fight over Brexit and our uncertain place in the world I know that when disaster strikes us all with our backs are against the wall we come together. We don’t panic. We just get on with it with little fuss. Keep calm and carry on is more than a meme. If you don’t believe me Captain Tom Moore’s example is one of many people from all walks of life doing what they can to raise money for charity. There are so many people who have taken the creative initiative to do what they can to raise money for the work of our amazing front line workers (doctors and nurses and support staff). Some are doing online challenges - push ups or squats for charity. I know of many veterans who have responded to the call to come back and support the NHS. My eldest brother, a veteran, has been a volunteering with Team Rubicon UK, a military veteran charity, who are now helping to co-ordinate other veteran volunteers to use their skills to support hospitals in the logistics of delivery of medical and food supplies. There are so many mini-Captain Tom Moore’s out there. It’s heart warming.

And so to your question.

Do British military veterans keep their rank after they leave or retire? It’s complicated. There’s no legal reason why they can’t, but the more junior the officer rank, the more gauche and pretentious doing so it is perceived as.

In the old days - according to my grandfather who was a very senior officer in the army - customs were dictated by social class. A commissioned officer such as Lieutenant was considered to be a Gentleman and therefore allowed to use two titles: either ‘Mister’ or ‘Lieutenant’. The rank of Gentleman is considered to be socially superior and so Subalterns (2nd and 1st Lieutenants) were generally referred to as Mr Smith, rather than Lt Smith, even when they are still serving. Once they left the Army these junior officers would drop their socially inferior rank and go with being addressed as ‘Mister’. If an officer became a Captain then he was considered equal in rank to an Esquire and so a Captain was never addressed as ‘Mister’. But using the title Captain after leaving the army was also seen as gauche and so many didn’t - unless others showed them that due deference rather than they insisting upon it.

When we get to the more senior ranks the customs change. Senior field officers like a Major or Colonel were allowed to use their rank after they retired. You quite often found a Maj (Ret’d) Smith, for example, working for a military charity or writing angry letters to the Daily Telegraph or the Times or even more popularly turning up in a Agatha Christie drawing room murder mystery.

When an officer becomes a General officer - from Brigadier (one star general) onwards to Field Marshal - they retain their rank in retirement from the army because they really have earned it.

So all this old school but I think the the rule of thumb used today is that anyone using their rank below the rank of Major is considered bad form.

These days almost no ex-officer retires from the world of work. No one really gives up work and becomes a pensioner, pottering about in the garden or playing golf. Many of course move into a second career, where it simply is not the custom to be addressed by your rank in your new civilian place of work. I suppose an exception might be the private security and defence industry where rank is a signifier of experience and professional competence.

I know I have never used my officer rank in my civilian life as I don’t think it’s socially appropriate nor advantageous to do so in my line of work (no one would frankly care). Of course it comes up in social settings or when I’m entertaining corporate clients but I swat it aside as quickly as it’s raised by downplaying it. I feel genuine embarrassment because even if they are ignorant of this military etiquette faux pas, I am not - and that bothers my conscience.

In the village my parents live there is a retired brigadier and retired general and everyone, including myself, have gone out of our way to address them as such out of respect.

In the building I live here in Paris one of my French neighbours who lives below me is a retired highly decorated army general. I always address him as ‘mon Général’ out of deference.

He has crusty aristocratic manners and can come across as a fussy old fart. He’s a widower and a proud old soldier seasoned in the bloodiest of wars. He’s not easy to warm to but the effort is worthwhile.

I volunteered to get him his food shopping during this pandemic and at first he was too proud to ask but I persisted. And he’s very particular about his food and so I have to trek to particular boutique shops to satisfy his gourmand palate.

He scowled in polite disapproval when I told him I was in the army and saw action as he’s old school and doesn’t believe women should serve on the front line. But gradually I have been winning him over. I sometimes cook for him or he cooks for me and we chat about military history and politics and we play chess regularly (whilst respecting social distance). We have big disagreements about certain battles or military campaigns for instance but he respects that I can hold my ground….until he pulls rank on me when he’s clearly backed into a corner (!) but again out of deference I let him have the last say as I bow down to ‘mon Général’.

It’s interesting to note that Princess Anne’s former husband Captain Mark Phillips was often derided for choosing to use his military rank in civilian life. But I’ve been told by Donkey Walloper** officer friends that cavalry etiquette is unique to their horsemen heritage and so it was common for Cavalry officers to keep their rank into retirement.

Now to get back to Captain Tom Moore. He has never served in the Cavalry regiments because as I understand it he served with the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment and later with the Royal Armoured Corps. So I suspect the newspaper media were ignorant of the existing etiquette and basically mainstreamed his veteran status and labelled him as Captain Tom Moore. No harm no foul as they say. Because in my book after his walking heroics he can call himself whatever he likes. Truth be told I hope he does get knighted because he is deserving of it.

Thanks for your question.

**Donkey Wallopers is the nickname of cavalry regiments.

[rejectclone]

I’ve been meaning to update the mini bios for my OCs, it took me some time to try to condense their core aspects and backstory stuff into smaller paragraphs but I’m finally done!

NAME: Jared Clements

AGE: 28

GENDER: Male

SEXUALITY: Bisexual

RACE: White (is of Hispanic descent)

OCCUPATION: Detective/Deputy

ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Good

SHORT BIO: Who was once one of the greatest detectives in Neo York City’s police branches, now a shattered former shell of himself after the Incident. Physically and emotionally mauled from the explosion that killed his partners and his reputation, he now ruminates at the station, plotting for his revenge against the criminal organization that led to his fall. Formerly known to be the most kind and upbeat member of the station, he has become cold and callous to everyone, but the new recruit might pull him from his self-imposed darkness.....

NAME: Devon Cox

AGE: 25

GENDER: Male

SEXUALITY: Straight

RACE: ‘White’/Ambiguous (HEAVILY mixed, but he identifies mostly with being Italian)

OCCUPATION: Trainee Officer, former illegal bloodsport boxer

ALIGNMENT: Neutral Good

SHORT BIO: The bastard son of a seedy bookie and a mother who clearly did not take good care of herself, along with being the only mute member of his family, he was deemed a unwanted child. Eventually, his parent’s actions caught up to them one night out, and as they were slaughtered, their son was left alone at home. Soon adopted by his uncle on his father’s side, he was essentially forced to ‘repay the debt’ by becoming a bloodsport fighter, regardless if he wanted to do it or not. As a adult, the illegal ring has fallen due to on-going corruption, he is now again left alone as his corrupt uncle got hauled off to prison. Left to his own devices and lamenting his actions, he now wants to pave his own path by repaying his own debts by joining the NYPD. Unknown to his new coworkers, he has spilled blood numerous times and won’t hesitate to do what must be done in some situations.....

NAME: B055 M4N

AGE: 24 in 4027 (BEFORE DEATH) 80 in 4083 (POST RESURRECTION)

GENDER: Male

SEXUALITY: Straight

RACE: White

OCCUPATION: Lieutenant

ALIGNMENT: Lawful Neutral

SHORT BIO: He was supposed to be the next gleaming star in the NYPD’s legacy of lieutenants, all from the same bloodline spanning across decades...... until he was assassinated at his induction ceremony in front of the general public. Ironically, his fate was not sealed there, as a week before his induction, he was coaxed into signing up for a ‘organ donation program’, to a incredibly specific experimental medicine company. He never expected his corpse to be used in a unethical program to create a supercomputer, devised of a human consciousness instead of a AI, to ensure that it will have a good stance on logical proceedings of organization and the law, and will not suffer from conflicts of interest. Unfortunately for him, the total conversion to a machine was semi-successful, as they could only resurrect his head...... Now doomed to be a severed head in a jar filled with PFC and the inability to speak (well, at least without using text-to-speech), he has been forcibly instated to be the permanent boss of the station. His true appearance is a facade to essentially everyone, as the ‘higher-ups’ creates false non-existent lieutenants to be instated every few years to keep the act going, except a very select few know of his current situation.

NAME: Lydia Hall

AGE: 25

GENDER: Female

SEXUALITY: Lesbian

RACE: White

OCCUPATION: Psychiatrist, uses ‘personal nurse’ as a cover

ALIGNMENT: True Neutral

BIO: She is considered to be one of the ‘greatest’ newer psychiatrists to ever grace the continental US, but nobody expected her to suddenly disappear off the face of the earth, upon getting a ‘promotion’ one day. Unknown to almost everyone, she was coerced into the psychological monitoring of one of the company’s most experimental projects, the undead severed head turned database at the local NYPD station. His previous care taker had to be laid off due to ‘concerns’, and thus she now must monitor him on a near daily basis, cleaning out his tank, making sure he is still sane, and to just stay there to entertain him basically. She never expected her career to be basically reduced to a personal nurse, and yet here she is. Unfortunately for her, the true nightmare unfolds when a certain hazmat wearing being stumbles into the picture.

NAME: Lawrence Grey

AGE: 47

GENDER: Male

SEXUALITY: Straight

RACE: White

OCCUPATION: Geneticist

ALIGNMENT: Neutral Evil

BIO: A famed scientist who has been working for ages for a experimental medicine company. He was renown for his research in advancing certain projects, some more well received than others however. A overall stoic man, his coworkers reluctantly follow his command, never fully knowing what he thinks of them. Dedicated to his work, the higher-ups gave him access to a incredibly hidden cloning program, regardless if he wanted to work there or not. Not wanting to bond to his ‘projects’, he continued his intimidating aura, until one of them in particular piqued his interest. It would have been better if the clone never showed any promise however, as the impeding transport to another lab will lead to his escape, and his ‘father’s’ coma.....

NAME: [REDACTED]

AGE: [REDACTED]

GENDER: [REDACTED]

SEXUALITY: [REDACTED]

RACE: [REDACTED]

OCCUPATION: [REDACTED]

ALIGNMENT: [REDACTED]

BIO: ……………… he wasn’t meant for this world. The forced byproduct of a illegal cloning procedure, made to be a rejected failure on purpose. As for why? The higher-ups of the organization believed that the more malformed and sickly the clones are, the higher the chance they might carry new genes that can cure said sicknesses. The #439th clone to be made, he seemed to be another waste of flesh and blood. If it wasn’t for his ‘caretaker’, he would’ve been euthanized after a month. Desperate to ‘spare’ this subject, the caretaker demanded him to be transferred to another laboratory base, as rumors began to spread that the project has been leaked to shareholders. That fateful night, he was given a technologically advanced hazmat suit to conceal his inhuman appearance, and was shipped off to his new ‘home’. Alas, as fate would have it, the hovervan he was in along with his ‘father’, crashed, leaving him to wonder aimlessly in the pouring rain, hiding in a alleyway until he was spotted by two odd looking officers, trying to close-off the crash site. He was taken in to the station, where somebody claimed it was his ‘son’. Taken up to the lieutenant’s office, much to the confusion of many, this clone will blend into daily happenings of the station.

NAME: Ren Nakamura

AGE: 22

GENDER: Male

SEXUALITY: Robosexual

RACE: Japanese

OCCUPATION: Future heir to the head of a crime syndicate, doubles as a criminal lawyer as a cover

ALIGNMENT: Lawful Neutral/Evil

BIO: The next in line to his family’s criminal syndicate legacy, he is reluctant at first, but must come to terms to what he must do. Raised up to be cold and unrelenting towards his underlings and other syndicate bosses, he will never back down from a fight, always striving to be on top. However, nobody really expected him to come up with a plan to undermine other syndicates, by actually studying criminal law and becoming a legitimate defense attorney in order to coax his clients into exposing future plans (in which he will immediately inform his father of...). Recently he was assigned a personal body guard, who has a ‘unique’ physical composition and will surely make a great hitman. The two of them go along quite well, considering their popular opposites in personality.

NAME: Deangelo Moore

AGE: 25

GENDER: MALE

SEXUALITY: Gay

RACE: German-American

OCCUPATION: Cybernetic hitman, uses ‘criminal lawyer’ as a cover

ALIGNMENT: Lawful Evil

SHORT BIO: Neither fully man nor machine, this once respected art dealer has gone fully into the seedy underbelly of Neo York. As a escapee convict test subject from a experimental ‘liquid metal’ cyborg program, he is a con man on the run, until as fate would have it, he was accepted as a personal ‘body guard’ for one of his former clients’s son. With no real home to go to anymore as his public reputation has been disgraced, he now gleefully takes in stride that he is a ‘ghost’ among the populous, a potentially unstoppable killing machine who is only curbed by his greed and urge to be respected by other powerful beings. His former life now gone, he now works for his employer as if they were blood relatives, and even agreed to do a surreal operation, to directly siphon information from other rival ‘organizations’ by acting.........as public criminal lawyers who defend them..........

NAME: ‘John’ (he was never properly named by any of the scientists, so he named himself. His ACTUAL name is Specimen - 1257)

AGE: 21

GENDER: Male

SEXUALITY: Straight, but questioning

RACE: Literally nothing

OCCUPATION: Chemist, radiobiologist

ALIGNMENT: True Neutral

BIO: After two nuclear wars ravaged the Earth, odd things will happen to all sorts of life. This is one of them, a human who has the unfortunate pleasure of having their physical composition be mainly nuclear radiation. Much about his early past is kept under wraps by the US government, who sent him away as a infant to a remote chemical research base in Alaska, in fear of him being the next nuclear detonation. Left without proper social interaction and is just seen as a genetic anomaly, it left him with a warped view of life. With incredibly poor socialization skills but a surprisingly large scientific intellect, he has been reduced to hidden-away lab worker, who’s aware of essentially being a captive but is shocking content with it. After all, if he were to be released, the genral public wouldn’t take too kindly to a mannequin-like being with stark white skin and exposed green goo leaking out of his facial orifices, with a near constant glowing aura.

NAME: ‘Mark’ (he was never properly named, and this is just a name given to him by ‘John’. His ACTUAL name is Specimen 1258)

AGE: 21

GENDER: Male

SEXUALITY: Literally doesn’t care at all

RACE: Literally Nothing

OCCUPATION: Convict, former hitman

ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Evil

BIO: What’s more strange than one severely irradiated human being with physical nuclear radiation as flesh and blood? His red colored doppelgänger. With a past even more shrouded in mystery, this ‘man’ seems to originate from the wastes, the former parts of the US that were scarred from the previous two wars. Claiming to be the next step in human evolution, he is incredibly cruel and harsh, and when introducing himself to the criminal underworld as the ‘best’ hitman, he was severely feared by many. Even other rival hitmen who genetically or cybernetically augmented themselves saw him as a legitimate threat to themselves, as after all, he’s a actual living biohazard. They all chipped in together to pin him against who they believe is true my IMMUNE to him, another ungodly hitman with a liquid metal composition. The plan worked, as letting him just step foot into NYC triggered radiation alarms, thus exposing him to the government for the very first time. After a short stint at a supermax prison, he was given a deal: stop irradiating the guards and convicts, and we’ll move you to a more private place where you can do basically almost anything you want. The place in question? A remote research base in Alaska.....