#he is so happy to be there and so proud in his England kit

[walnutmistjamie]

fave Ted Lasso moments 14/? : Hello Uncle Roy!

[iwritefandomimagines]

WRONG DECISION — ROY KENT

masterlist

pairing: roy kent x footballer!reader

description: you’ve just finished negotiating a contract to sign for arsenal, and the first thing you do is excitedly go to tell your boyfriend. you forgot, however, to factor in how he’d react to your choice of club. [based on a request]

warnings: swearing, jokey argument, a lil fluffy too

author’s note: kinda short and sweet but i hope you enjoy regardless !!! this is the first roy fic on the blog so i hope it’s okay. x

“I have news!”

Roy raised his eyebrows silently, waiting for you to blurt out what it was that you were so excited to tell him, you’d not even said hello first.

“Go on then,” he urged, and something in his face told you he already knew what you were about to say.

You perched yourself on the edge of your shared couch, where he was sat leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

“So you know my contract is coming to an end and I said I wasn’t going to renew given the terms they wanted me to agree to?” you bit your lip, and he tilted his head, “Right.”

You’d just made one of the biggest decisions of your life and signed for one of the biggest clubs in England, and yet here you were suddenly terrified to tell your boyfriend the news.

How had you not considered that your boyfriend was a Chelsea legend and you’ve just signed for fucking Arsenal?

Sure — you were positively ecstatic at the opportunity, but you knew he wasn’t going to be all too impressed even if he did want the best for you.

As far as Roy was concerned, Chelsea were the club you should’ve set your sights on.

“I’ve been trying to keep my discussions with clubs secret from you in case they fell through, but I’ve just signed for fuckin’ Arsenal!”

You watched him grit his teeth for a moment before he forced a smile that was nothing short of sarcastic, before he then managed to muster a smile that could have appeared genuine if you didn’t know him so well.

“You’re mad,” you folded your arms across your chest, a teasing smirk on your face as you tried not to giggle at his petty irritation.

“Mad? Me? I’m not mad,” he replied, gulping, “This is big news, I’m proud of you.”

You quirked your brow at him, “Might wanna tell that to your face, babe.”

You watched his face switch through a number of expressions in a matter of seconds as he overthought how he was appearing right now.

He looked down for a moment, “I am proud of you,” he paused for a moment before looking back up at you, “But Arsenal? Really?”

“You’re just pissed I didn’t sign for Chelsea,” you tutted, “They didn’t even want me!”

“They fuckin’ did,” he countered, “They told me they did! They said they were going to try and make you an offer!”

You laughed, shuffling a little closer to him and placing your hand on his arm as you watched the veins on his forehead begin to appear as you made another confession, “Yeah, okay you’re right. They did.”

“You what?”

“They made me an offer…”

Roy went to interject, but you weren’t going to let him do so before you finished.

“But Arsenal made a better one,” you shrugged, not mad at his reaction but just rather amused, “I love you, babe, but I’m not going to just sign for Chelsea to keep you happy, you grumpy old sod.”

“Fair enough.”

You were silent for a moment, watching him fight the urge to make a comment until he no longer could, “It’s turning my stomach just thinking about you having to wear that kit, you know.”

You rolled your eyes, “Don’t watch then!”

“Well I have to! I can’t not support my girlfriend, I’m not a total prick,” he grumbled, to which you quirked your brow, “I said not a total prick.”

“Then grow up and get over it, I guess. I’m a gunner now, baby! And you can’t stop it!” you singsonged as you walked away from him into your shared kitchen, hopping up on the counter and swinging your legs as you took a sip from a glass of water he’d left on the side.

He shot up to follow you, parting your knees so that he could stand between them and holding them still.

“I am really fucking proud of you, love,” he smiled, “Even if you have made the wrong decision here and picked the wrong club.”

You shoved his chest softly in jest, scoffing, “Shut up!”

“Alright, alright,” he conceded, lifting his hands in surrender before cupping your chin with them, “I’m proud you’ve signed a better contract, and I will get over seeing you in that godawful fucking kit.”

“Hmm,” you hummed, pressing a quick kiss to his nose and watching him roll his eyes as you did so, “Better. We’ll work on it.”

He didn’t say anything, kissing you now in such a way that made it clear he really was proud of you.

Roy knew how hard you worked and how much you loved football, and to see how well you were doing for yourself made him immensely proud.

Sure, he was less than impressed that he’d have to spend at least the next season or so in the home end at the Emirates stadium cheering you on.

But for you, he’d do anything, really.

———

sorry this was quite short but i liked it as it was and didn’t want to add superfluous filler for the sake of it so kept it short and sweet <3 hope u enjoyed and thank you again for the request x

if you’d like to request anything, feel free — and in the meantime, here is my masterlist!

[my-own-walker]

the request, in short, reads: 'what it would be like Kit's birthday inside Briarcliff, in celebration of this sweetheart's special day coming soon?! I love how in-depth your stories tend to be and I think you would do great with it! :D'

Waiting For What Once Was

note: happy bday kit! (may 9). we luv u

warnings: angst, sadness, squalor, the like.

+++

Before there was Alma, Kit celebrated his birthdays at home with his family. Just a small gathering. Him, his parents, his siblings, all huddled around a home-baked cake. The same tradition for each member of the family.

His mother would carefully wrap his yearly gift in the day’s newspaper. Tie it off with a string of twine. She’d deliver it to his lap in the family room with a grin so bright it paled in comparison to summer sunlight. They’d all huddle around to watch him carefully open the package, mindful to leave the paper in tact. He saved it every year. Kept in a little letter box under his bed.

The gift itself didn’t matter. His mother and father were so proud of themselves for what they agreed upon giving him. That was a gift enough for Kit. The warm May air would drift through the windows, singing lazy songs in the key of the sweetest, fairest colors of the daisies in the garden. The whispers of summer coming in echoes from the rustling of the leaves on the trees.

It was peaceful. In their little New England home, the family was happy. For one night and one night only, the world seemed to change its orbit to revolve around him. Kit Walker would lay his head down on his pillow, and as the sweet rumblings of sleep overcame him, he would feel nothing but all-encompassing love.

+

Kit wasn’t privy to the passing of time anymore. It had been months since the upheaval of his life and subsequent imprisonment in Briarcliff. He was none the wiser to how long it had been.

9 months and 9 days.

The days ran monotonously in the cold cement walls of the asylum. Kit found himself at the end of a long tether, hanging on for dear life. His fingers were growing red and raw, losing circulation, but against his every human instinct to let go, he tightened his grip. The metaphorical rope that was keeping him from sinking into utter despair was hurting him. Trying to retain some semblance of humanity was grating on him more than he was willing to admit.

'Who am I, and why am I here?' he would ask himself. A daily reminder to stay alert. Awake. He spent his days catering to people who acted like he was full of air. His story meant nothing to them. He existed merely to prove his innocence. It felt like his morals were gone and what had disappeared was never really there. Maybe he was a murderer.

In blatant ignorance of his inner turmoil, time marched on. So as it was, Kit's birthday arrived quietly. It slipped in the back door while he was asleep. It seemed that its entrance was so stealthy, the rest of the world was oblivious to it as well.

Briarcliff was so casually cruel to all of those who resided there. The staff had no regard for special days. You were a number to them, not a person. So it was fitting that the usual filth and misery of the place did not spare Kit on today of all days.

+

He was just a kid. He hadn't seen the world yet. He dreamed of road-tripping across the country with Alma and the kids someday. The perfect nuclear family existing in their little bubble of peace. He planned to spend his birthdays just as he did as a child. In a tiny home with the love of his life. He led with his heart, not his head. He was turning 24. Just a 24-year-old kid. Notions in his head and so much love left in his heart.

But instead there he was. In a cramped, sterile room in Briarcliff Asylum. Meeting with the head shrink assigned to the case of a crime he didn't commit. The room smelled of mildew. A pipe in the corner of the room leaked water onto the floor with a drip, drip, drip...in sync with the tick of the clock on the wall over the door.

His hands and feet were bound. Like he was some kind of animal. The leather straps dug into his skin spitefully, like they had a personal grudge against him. A heinous criminal like him deserved nothing more. All he was afforded was clothes made of paper-thin fabric, sheets that smelled of mold, and leather straps that bound him not only to this place but also to himself. The memories of the night his world turned upside down.

'Are you even listening to me?' Dr. Thredson sneered.

'Uh, gosh, sorry doctor,' Kit croaked. He didn't even realize he was lost in thought.

'So we're clear here?' Thredson asked. 'When they come asking questions, keep your mouth zipped, son. Not until I figure out what to do with you.'

Kit nodded in reply. Thredson began gathering the papers he had scattered on the desk in front of him. Details of Kit's life, what he supposedly did, how he did it. Leafing through the papers, he paused looking at one of the papers with a furrowed brow, stopping quickly only to say, 'Oh, Happy Birthday Kit,' before packing the files away in his briefcase and standing to leave.

'Th-thanks,' Kit mustered. The air left the room. It became a vacuum chamber for him and his thoughts, the world around him standing still. Images of his mother's smile as she passed him his annual birthday gift, a home-baked cake, Alma's smile, and rustling green leaves on trees, flashed in front of his eyes. A wave of an indescribable emotion coursed through him.

'Let's GO, Walker!' Frank shouted on the right side of Kit. He was standing by the now open door. Kit shook himself out of his trance. ‘I don’t have all FUCKIN’ day, Kit.’

Kit stood, not without a struggle due to his restraints, and shuffled to the door. Frank pushed him in an attempt to hurry him up. Not all there, though, mind a million miles away, Kit lost his footing and came crashing down onto his stomach in the middle of the dim hallway.

On the ground, there was no cool spring breeze. No smell of vanilla cake. No sunlight peeking through the windows of a warm home. No laughter. No love. Just cold, rough, wet concrete.

And for a brief, fleeting moment, his grip on the tether that kept him connected to reality loosened.

+++

OKAY FUCKIN FINALLY THIS TOOK ME FOREVER!!! Happy bday Kit bby <3 thank you for this super in-depth and creative request.

[auxiliarydetective]

Fandom List

Yes, there are some weird ones. I do not control the hyperfixation

The A-Team · Band of Brothers · Dawn Of The Dead (2014) · Descendants · Die Drei ??? · Five Nights at Freddy's · Ghostbusters · Hogan's Heroes · In Space With Markiplier · Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer · K-12 · Night At The Museum · Le Petit Prince · One Piece · The Orville · Die Rosenheim-Cops · Sanders Sides · Star Wars · Star Trek · Steven Universe · Who Killed Markiplier · The Umbrella Academy · VoicePlay

ATTENTION, my ask box is currently broken! Avoid sending anon asks if possible. Check this tag for updates.

OC Masterlist

Caution: Long post! But there are treasures awaiting you, my friend...

Q&A for my OCs and fanfics is always open!

All OCs are listed with their age at their introduction

Side note: I wish I could put collapsable thingies in posts, then it wouldn't be so long

The A-Team (1983 - 1987)

A. Karma "Kit" Kelley, 24, nonbinary/genderfluid + omnisexual

Character Tag: x

Love Interest: Templeton "Faceman" Peck (Ship Tag: x)

AO3: The Changeling

Faceclaim: Kristen Stewart

The official reason for Kit's nickname within the team is because they can make incredible transformations using a makeup kit, but it's an open secret that it's also an excuse to compare her to a kitten. A former trapeze artist, she's strong, agile and decently flexible. Kit absolutely loathes being referred to as a woman unless they're consciously presenting as female for a mission (but I still mostly use she/her when writing fanfic because it's the 80s). Her most defining feature are the large birthmarks on her face, shoulder and thigh that you can see here.

The A-Team (2010)

Karma "Kit" Kelley, 20s, trans male + omnisexual

Character Tag: x

Love Interest: Templeton "Faceman" Peck

Artist, soldier, troublemaker. Hand-picked by Hannibal despite his rebellious reputation, Kit Kelley is a member of the A-Team, an elite military unit that has gone eight years, eighty successful mission. That is until a mission in Baghdad goes awry and Kit's career as well as his right to live his truth is torpedoed. With a spectacular chain of prison breakouts, the A-Team's mission to clear their names and reclaim their honor begins.

Band of Brothers (2001)

Anita Reed, cis-female + bisexual

Character Tag: x

Love Interest: Donald Malarkey

AO3: WIP!

Faceclaim: Ana de Armas

Anita is hard-working and energetic. She joined the WAC to do her part, to finally feel like what she does can move something. Her path eventually leads her to working as a parachute rigger in Aldbourne, England. There, she meets the paratroopers of Easy Company, which is bound to change her life forever.

Descendants (2015 - )

Diana, 15, cis-female, pansexual

Character Tag: (x)

Faceclaim: India Eisley

Diana is the daughter of Diaval and maybe the worst villain on the Isle - meaning she's horrible at being a villain. She just can't help it, it's in her nature to be kind-hearted. While her father is proud of her for it and her friends at the very least tolerate it, others aren't as happy about it. Among those is Maleficent. When Mal, Evie, Carlos and Jay are invited to Auradon, she sends Diana with them, transformed into a pet blackbird, as a last chance to prove her worth as a villain.

Claire Frollo, 16, lesbian

Character Tag: x

Faceclaim: Renée Rapp

Claire Frollo is rebellious and anything but religious, but she'd be lying if she said the imagery of it all didn't appeal to her.

Ghostbusters (1984)

Chandrah (all pronouns)

Character Tag: (x)

Faceclaim: Anthony Turpel (male), Juno Temple (female)

Chandrah is a demon, summoned by some kids in the middle of a parking lot. Now trapped in this dimension, it decides to explore a little, eventually stumbling upon the university lab of the doctors Spengler, Venkman and Stantz. Disguised as the human male "Charlie Drake", he befriends the three scientist, accidentally getting himself dragged into hunting his fellow spectres and undead.

Good Omens (2019 - )

Philomel, Embodiment of Love

Character Tag: x

Love Interest: Crowley & Aziraphale

Faceclaim: Jane Levy

When Philomel was born in the Garden of Eden, birds sang and they say that angels and demons were at peace for that moment alone. Crowley and Aziraphale were the first people she met and fate - or perhaps her own nature - kept sweeping her back towards them time after time throughout history. Especially after her fall (that she still believes to have been a misunderstanding), she is practically glued to them by the hip. They were with her in the beginning, so why shouldn't she stay with them until the end? And so, Philomel, known to humans as Venus Acidalia or Melanie Sapphice, proceeds to try and stop the end of the world, if anything to give her two lovers the chance to confess their love instead of having to kill each other... and because she has fallen just a little too much in love with the world herself.

Hogan's Heroes (1965 - 1971)

Viktoria "Vicky" Brandt, 24, cis-female + bisexual

Character Tag: (x or x)

Love Interest: Corporal Peter Newkirk (Ship Tag: x)

AO3: Vicky Allen

Faceclaim: Marilyn Monroe

Vicky is the wife of a young SS General... and also secretly an SOE agent by the name of Zoe Allen. To make things even more complicated, she's in a secret relationship with a prisoner at the POW camp she's working at. That's not a lie, she's working at the camp - just not actually for the Germans, but for Colonel Hogan and his Heroes.

Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer (movies, 2018 + 2020)

Helena, 13(?), cis-female

Character Tag: (x)

Faceclaim: Holly Earl

Helena grows up on a tiny island with two mountains, a smaller one and a bigger one, that has barely enough space for the houses of its residents and a train station plus rails for steam locomotive Emma. Her father Lukas is the engine driver, but her interests lie much more in reading and other quiet, precise tasks. If anyone takes over his job one day, it'll be Jim, the adoptive son of shopkeeper Ms Waas. When the king of the island declares that Emma has to leave to make space for houses for the kids for when they're adults, Lukas, Jim, Emma and Helena leave the island, beginning the adventure of their lives.

K-12 (movie, 2019)

Honey Penelope, minor, demigirl, sapphic

Character Tag: (x)

Faceclaim: Isolda Dychauk

Image: Artbreeder, edited by me

Honey is the daughter of Miss Penelope, one of the teacher's at school. Just like her mother, she never speaks, but uses her powers to change her gold necklace into the shape of words if necessary. Nobody knows whether her name is really Honey. It could just be because the liquid gold looks like honey when she transforms it.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

I've reached the image limit 😭

Varsha Devi, ?, bisexual

Character Tag: (x)

Love Interest: Dr. Henry Jekyll

Faceclaim: Banita Sandhu

Varsha is a pure mystery to the League when they first meet her. There's something about this beautiful woman in her fine saree and jewelry that's vital to the Nautilus, but nobody knows what it is. Nobody except Nemo, of course, but he keeps his mouth shut almost as tightly as Varsha, who never speaks a word. But when everything starts falling apart in Venice, Varsha's facade, too, shatters.

M*A*S*H (1972-1983)

ENTER PICTURE HERE ONCE I'M BACK ON DESKTOP I've reached the image limit

Euphemia Iris Winchester, 20s, bisexual

Character Tag: x

Faceclaim: Amanda Fix

Iris is charming, open-minded and cheerful, beloved by practically everyone at the 4077. With how popular she is, you wouldn't think for a moment that her and the less than social Charles Winchester are related - until they start bickering and full-naming each other, of course. A known enabler of chaos, her and Hawkeye get on like fire and gasoline and if Hawkeye won't provide her with shenanigans, she'll just provide Klinger with a new dress and her jewelry instead.

Mario Universe; Mario & Luigi Series (2003 - )

Princess Sherry

Character Tag: (x)

Avatar Maker by: AzaleasDolls

Sherry is Peach's younger sister, raised away from the palace and given a magical amulet to protect her from Bowser. But when a plot against her sister is unveiled, Sherry is finally allowed to step into action.

Night At The Museum (2006, 2009, 2014)

Bára Heiðradóttir, physically around 16-18

Character Tag: (x)

Love Interest: Ahkmenrah

AO3: The Völva

Faceclaim: Frida Gustavsson

Bára is a völva, a Viking witch, but also one of the many exhibits coming alive at the Museum of Natural History at night. A motivated helper for Larry during his nightly duties, she's free-spirited and witty - and in love with the Pharaoh, even though she has never seen him.

Le Petit Prince (TV show, 2010-2017)

Sonata (of the Utopians)

Character Tag: (x)

Faceclaim: Anna Lambe

Base by: katsu-bases (I think)

Sonata is the younger sister of the Utopians' diva Euphonia. Her voice isn't as strong or beautiful as her sister's, but she loves to write poems and songs - with magical properties!

One Piece (1997 - )

(note: Names are written in the last name - first name format; faceclaims are given just in case I need them after the live action movie comes out)

Aether Luna, 18/20, cis-female + straight

Character Tag: (x)

Love Interest: Vinsmoke Sanji (Ship Tag: x)

Faceclaim: Elle Fanning

Base by: Destinys-Heart

Luna is a moon spirit that somehow got caught up in the Straw Hat's shenanigans. Before she knew it, she fell in love with the crew and head over heels for their cook. From then on, she sticks with them like a guardian angel.

Charlotte Inari, 14/16, cis-female + ace + panromantic

Character Tag: (x)

Faceclaim: Joey King

Base by: Louane-Knight

Inari is the twin sister of Charlotte Pudding, Sanji's future fiancé. But she doesn't know all of that. Dragged away from home because of her devil fruit powers, she grows up all across the Grand Line, finally ending up with Enel and being saved by the Straw Hat Pirates. By law of her devil fruit, she has to stay with them now - and casually gives everyone a heart attack when she mentions she's Big Mom's daughter.

One Piece Live Action (2023 - )

*Curse you, image limit!*

Akaito Coraline, 18, cis-female & bisexual

Character Tag: (x)

Faceclaim: Jenna Coleman

Part of a long legacy of tailors, Cora is a childhood friend of Sanji's. She's kind, caring, and compassionate but freezes at every touch.

The Orville (2017 - )

Raevyn Caelia Maumahara, 26, cis-female + bisexual

Character Tag: (x)

Love Interest: Gordon Malloy (Ship Tag: x)

AO3: All Our Yesterdays | The Emissary

Faceclaim: Alexandra Daddario

Image: Artbreeder, edited by me

Originally Alara's successor as Chief of Security on the USS Orville (note: I made Raevyn before Talla was introduced), Raevyn is transported back in time on accident. After dealing with Pria Lavesque, Raevyn has to explain herself to the Orville crew of the past. Since there's no way to send her back to the future, she stays on board. This gives her plenty of chances to do things she was simply too late for in her original timeline or that went horribly wrong, including a fresh start on her relationship with a certain helmsman. Half terrestrial, half aquatic Tehiko, Raevyn is an excellent swimmer and has electrokinetic and telepathic abilities. Sometimes, they do her more harm than good.

Die Rosenheim-Cops (2002 - )

Eva Gardner, 31, cis-female + pan

Character Tag: (x)

Love Interest: Michael "Michi" Mohr

Faceclaim: Isis Valverde

Eva appeared out of nowhere. One morning, she just showed up and now the homicide division has an apprentice from the US. Or trainee. Assistant? Assistant seems like the most fitting word since Eva dislikes being trained and likes throwing in ideas. Sometimes a little aggressively. Aside from having a young, motivated coworker, Eva's presence has the added bonus of there being someone else besides Inspector Hansen who doesn't understand the Bavarian dialect - and of taking some work off Michi Mohr's shoulders.

Sanders Sides (2016 - )

Eve "Imagination" Sanders, basically a child but ageless, genderfae

Character Tag: (x)

Faceclaim: Keira Knightley

Eve represents Thomas's Imagination. She's not a side, but the embodiment of the concept. Thomas associates imagination with a little girl playing in a flower field, so that's why she's feminine-lloking. On top of this, Eve is also younger than any of the sides because it took Thomas a while to get an understanding for what imagination was. Everyone's little sister, Eve is also responsible for letting Thomas interact with the Sides and for the mind palace - which can sometimes lead to her getting possessed by one of them if they need more control.

Squid Game (2021 - )

Lee Byeong-ho, cis-male + gay

Character Tag: (x)

Faceclaim: Ahn Jae-hyun

Byeong-ho is an old lover friend of Sang-woo’s from Joy Investments. He used to work there in a low position until Sang-woo helped him reach his dream of becoming an actor by financing his education at university. However, this caused them to have to go into a long-distance relationship. In this time, Sang-woo went into debt and Byeong-ho fell victim to a gambling addiction, further pushing himself into debt too. They both lied to each other about this. But when they both join the Squid Game, it throws them both into turmoil.

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

*Once again, image limit*

K'Rala, nonbinary + pansexual

Character Tag: x

Love Interest: Tasha Yar (& others)

Faceclaim: Emma Corrin

K'Rala is half Vulcan, quarter Betazoid and quarter Aenar, making them an extraordinary telepath. But their biggest passion lies in engineering, leading them onto the Enterprise under Captain Picard. Raised under the watchful eye of their traditional Vulcan mother, K'Rala maintains a professional, logic-driven air, suppressing their telepathy and all emotions. Only one person on board can claim to have seen them genuinely smile - Chief of Security Tasha Yar, who they have some less than logical feelings for. But when that bond is tragically broken, it's up to the crew of the Enterprise to put their friend back together because nobody is alone on the starship Enterprise. Through the cracks of their grief, K'Rala emerges as a brand new person, easing into their emotions and determined to give back what love their friends gave them ten-fold.

Star Wars (1977 - )

Lan "Lani" Skywalker, 19, cis-female + aroace

Character Tag: (x)

AO3: The Rule of Three

Faceclaim: Amrita Acharia

What if the children of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidale had been triplets, not twins? And what if the third child had been raised by Ahsoka? Lani was a special case from a very young age, being the most emotional one of the twins and struggling with using the force on command. Still, she's the only one getting Jedi training throughout her teenage years. Just when she thinks she's on a great path to becoming a Jedi knight, Ahsoka disappears and Lani is left to fend for herself. Meeting her siblings again turns her life upside down and she starts losing control again. Still, her goal remains the same: All she wants is to make her father proud.

Steven Universe (2013 - 2020)

(old image, definitely needs a redo...)

Indigo Pearl, sapphic

Character Tag: (x)

Base by: TFAfangirl14

Indigo used to be a Pearl in Pink Diamond's court before her "shattering", during which she lost her owner. Upon being integrated into Blue Diamond's court, most of the pink hue was drained from her system, gaining her her signature indigo color. Due to her past of belonging to Pink, Blue kept her very close, keeping her as a second personal pearl. Wanting to take revenge for her original diamond's shattering, she ends up on Earth, becoming caught up in the Crystal Gem's business.

The Umbrella Academy (2019 - )

Kassandra Hargeeves, 30, cis-female + asexual

Character Tag: (x)

Scene Rewrites: (x)

Faceclaim: Kaya Scodelario

Kassandra, also known as Number Eight or The Seer, has the power of telepathy, with the unfortunate handicap that she can't tell anyone about any secrets she finds out. With her powers rendered mostly useless to Reginald Hargreeves, she uses them mainly to be there for her siblings and comfort them. When this becomes too much for her to handle, she leaves, but she can never let go. Years after she leaves, her father dies and the family comes together again, leading Kassandra down an emotional journey. Also, the world is ending.

Vocalization (My VoicePlay fanfic)

Evelynn Carter, 21, cis-female + bisexual

Character Tag: (x)

AO3: Vocalization

Faceclaim: Danielle Rose Russel

Image: Artbreeder

Young, childish and insecure. Those are the three words that describe little Evelynn. That is until she meets five men on the way back from a bad party. From then on, fate glues her to them and she goes from an unpopular, scared loner to a cheerful acapella singer in less than six months.

[taylorgraymoore]

January 8, 2024

A week since my last entry. Well, that’s probably healthy. Not like I haven’t been working on this, though—for that week, most of which was taken up by 2-9:30 evening shifts, I was working on the Montreal content. Wake up, write, go to work, come home, write, go to sleep, wake up, write… etc. I got sick of it and needed to step away. Now I can take steps back again.

Since yesterday have started thinking about my short story collection as a whole work, too. It is absurd, oversized and pretentious. I want to put a quote from Journey to the End of Night in as an epigraph, and it is so long that I doubt anyone would consider publishing it as a debut work. On top of that, most of the stories don’t even make conventional sense. But it’s my work, the way I want it, and that makes me happy. 

What else did I do? I did do a couple other things.

Last night, went to Bimini’s for a friends birthday, last minute. I abandoned a lamb chop and a bottle of wine, because it was his birthday and I hadn’t seen him for ages. Getting there was a trial—I hate number seven bus, I hate it passionately, and no further comment—and the experience I had with the establishment itself was lukewarm figuratively and literally, but it was good to see Alex. We went to the Woodstove Festival in Cumberland together in 2022. We set up a little table on a street corner and sold my book, gave out free coffee. A wonderful experience, that. He once did an illustration to go with a poem I got published in an online journal. It will always be good to see Alex.

Today, the weather got truly miserable. It snowed a little bit in the morning, although it did not stick. The rest of the day was simply miserably cold. I was on till at work the first half of the day, and my exterminates went numb from being so close to the door. I had been going to have salad for lunch, but I caved and got Chinese BBQ on rice because I needed to eat something hot. The rain had mostly slowed by the time I finished, and was on my way to have dinner with Aby at Nuba in Kits. It was even pleasant, if chilly, to walk from the 99 stop at MacDonald to the restaurant at Balaclava. Food was fantastic; conversation was fantastic—I was a bit sleepy, especially at first (waking up at seven after a week of evening shifts that half force you to sleep in until nine is not fun), but I perked up with tea and lamb kebab in me. Always good to see Aby.

Got home, looked at narrowboats to rent, with grandpa. The two of us are going to England and going about the canals later this year. 

Now I’m here. It’s 11:30 and I’m too tired to be writing. I have said that before: this is often when I do end up getting this done. I’ve written it for the sake of writing it. A written word is never wasted.

I have mixed feelings about all the Montreal stuff I counterfeited over the last week—it was written so long after it happened, it isn’t real in the same way this is. I can sense the difference in timbre. But I had (have) the gut feeling that it was important to get it down when it was still fresh enough that it could be counterfeited at all. I’m proud of the work. Maybe I’ll do something more with it one day. Maybe if I go to Expozine another time and have a table, I’ll self-publish it as a book—sell people a book about Expozine at Expozine, how does that sound.

I’ve written enough of it that there are no true gaps left. The last couple of days need to be fleshed out, but something is there of them. A full continuity of events, and I feel confident enough that I could come back to it and finish the work later without much important being forgotten. There’s also the entry for the 9th, when I saw Cali, that I want as sort of an epilogue. That one will probably involve more artifice. Too soon to think about it—I want to spend time with other projects for now. 

[babygirlbenji]

Winning For You - Ben Chilwell

A/N: this was literally so much fun to write, i love writing for ben SO much!! i hope u enjoy this hehe happy bday king ily

You knew how challenging Ben’s season had been. From not getting as many starts in the England team as he wanted to being sidelined from Chelsea games, his motivation to even go to training was at an all time low. You had never seen him this demoralised. All you could do was support him and assure him that he had you, no matter what.

The day of the Southampton game dawned with weak October sunlight seeping in through the blinds of you and Ben’s shared bedroom. You rolled over to Ben’s side of the bed, groaning when you saw him already out of bed and getting into his training kit.

‘Babe, five more minutes?’ you grumbled, your voice croaky with sleep. He leant on the bed, smiling at how adorable you looked, all snuggled up in the duvet. Even with messy hair, bleary eyes and pouty lips protesting his absence from the bed, you were still the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

‘You know I’d rather be there with you, angel. I’ll see you at the Bridge?’ He stroked your hair back from your face and kissed your forehead as you nodded, but the pout remained on your lips.

‘I’ll be sitting by the goal for when you score.’ He scoffed. He couldn’t help it; it came out too quickly. Your shoulders sagged as you realised just how much his confidence had dipped. ‘You will score! I am speaking it into existence!’ He just laughed, shaking his head.

‘I’ll see you later, honey.’ He kissed you quickly before hurrying out of the room. A few moments later, you heard the front door open and close.

*

You sat nervously in your seat, twiddling the zip on your jacket. Kick off was imminent, and your heart had burst with proud when Ben was announced on the starting sheet.

As the players walked out to tumultuous applause at Stamford Bridge, Ben subtly glanced over to see where you were. He spotted you at the far end of the stadium, at what was away goal for the first half and home goal for the second half. You made eye contact and grinned at him, mouthing ‘I love you’. He winked back at you, suddenly feeling an extra sense of confidence coursing through him as the starting whistle screeched out across the stadium.

It was a frenetic match. Southampton were surprisingly competitive against the Champions of Europe, making it one of the most exciting matches you’d seen.

The Blues were one up at the break. Despite efforts from both sides, that was all they could achieve in the first 45 minutes, and you knew Tuchel would be giving them extra encouragement in the stadium.

As you waited for the second half to begin, someone tapped your shoulder.

You turned to see a girl around 11 years old looking up at you with curious blue eyes.

‘Excuse me?’ she asked.

‘Yes?’

‘Are you Ben Chilwell’s girlfriend?’ You smiled fondly. Your sister was around the same age as the girl, and she reminded you of her.

‘I am, yes! Do you want me to send him a message?’ She nodded shyly.

‘Please can you tell him that he’s my favourite player? And I hope he scores soon?’ You crouched down so you were at her eye level.

‘Of course I can, sweetheart, I’ll personally make sure he gets the message.’ She grinned, before waving goodbye and bounding back up the stairs towards her seat a few rows back from you.

You turned back to face the pitch, as the announcer came over the loudspeaker, proclaiming the start of the second half and encouraging people to go back to their seats. ‘I’ll see you soon, sweetheart!’ She waved goodbye, before bounding up the stairs back to her seat a couple rows above you.

The boys came back out onto the pitch, all with gritted teeth and equal looks of determination on their faces.

If the first half was frenetic, the second half was even more so. 15 minutes into the second bout, Southampton was awarded a penalty, causing frustrated sighs to erupt from the home end when the Southampton player scored.

20 minutes later, Timo sent the ball flying into the net to double Chelsea’s lead. Your doubts were looking ever more pointless; Chelsea were looking stronger than they’d seemed all match, especially in their defence.

Little did you know, your highlight of the game was yet to come.

A minute to go, and there was an absolute melee at the home goal, with two Chelsea players trying to score but the goalkeeper was having none of it.

You saw Ben take control of the ball and volley it towards the goal, and before you’d had a chance to encourage him, he’d lobbed it towards the net. There was a slight delay as VAR and the goal decision system decided whether it was a goal, but you knew it was a goal. You knew it had passed the line.

The second Ben knew it was confirmed, he came sprinting straight to your blinding smile lighting up his entire face with his dimples on show. Cheers and shouts were deafening your ears as he bundled you into a hug, you returning the hug as tight as you could.

‘I told you! I told you!’ you kept saying, trying to keep the delighted tears back. You broke apart to hold his face. His blue eyes were shining with tears, causing your own tears to leak onto your cheeks. ‘You just scored!’ He just grinned, too overwhelmed with emotion to talk, before kissing you hard. The cheers were almost as loud as when he scored, making you giggle against lips.

‘Winning for you is all I’ve ever wanted,’ he murmured to you, resting his forehead against yours.

‘You did it, babe, you proved them all wrong and I am so proud of you.’ You could see he wanted to celebrate with you more, but he was being dragged away by his teammates. ‘I’ll see you at home,’ you said, pressing your lips to his once more.

‘I love you, baby, thank you for being here.’

‘I love you too.’

You watched, heart burning with pride and love for Ben, as he celebrated the goal and win with his teammates, who had quickly become his family after his move. With all the doubt and confidence issues and worries he’d had in the break, you would not have dreamed of being anywhere else.

[blueathens]

Ben As A Dad Would Include...

Masterlist//Dusk Till Dawn Masterlist//Agape Masterlist

𝖱𝖾𝗊𝗎𝖾𝗌𝗍𝖾𝖽

First of all, let me just say you and Ben are AMAZING parents, just so much love all round the family

Ben knew from the beginning that you was the one for him, his wife and mother to his children

He doesn’t mind how many children he had, it was up to you considering you was birthing them, he just wanted a child that was a mixture of the two of you

And at the birth of your first child Ben cried, full on cried, kissing the side of your head as he was so proud of you for welcoming your child

The minute he held his child he knew in that moment that he was never going to step down from being a dad

And he was a dad who was all hands on deck, always helping you as it wasn’t just your child it was his as well, his responsibility 

He would buy them a little Chelsea and England kit with his number and name for them along with mini white shoes to go with it

He would get a tattoo of their name on his chest, right below your name

Ben and you would take it in turns to sort out your crying baby during the night, always supporting and helping the other out

He would teach them football from a young age 

Along with football he would teach them the piano and obviously all the other stuff like riding a bike (along with you teaching them of course, you were in it together) 

His love for you and his child was unconditional

He has a whole album of his child, labelled with their name on the folder

Takes you and their child to away games, so he didn’t miss any milestones, but if you couldn’t come due to work then he would just constantly face time the pair of you (he already did this before you had children so it wasn’t strange to you)

Ben always coming to events for his child or children if you decide to have more, and if you did Ben would be over the moon and love them unconditional too, along with getting their name tattooed and adding a new album for them

The longer he is as a father the better he gets, especially that he becomes less of a pushover, something he was when he was new to the whole dad thing

But he was a pushover when he was away for a long time, he wanted to make up for missing anything so the first few weeks of coming back he was slightly a pushover, something which his kids took advantage of 

He would cheer them on at all sports day or sport events, if it’s football he thinks his kids are the best and that everyone else is just terrible

Family day outs is a thing along with family game nights

He just loves spending time as a family it was very important to him

Because of the close knitted bond your family became, it was easier for your children to talk to either of you about anything, not feeling silly or stupid for asking knowing that you’ll never judge. 

Ben would never just hand them money as they become older, he would tell them that they would have to work for it as that what adults do

He was a great support system if anyone needed a shoulder to cry onto

Dad jokes...I see him as someone who does dad jokes sometimes, not all the time but just for a laugh

He always showed affection to them with you so they knew what love was and how they should be treated when they get older no matter if they were a girl or boy

100% being supported with any decisions they make unless it was something bad then he would support them of getting out of that trouble

As a footballer he has mums flirting with him but he always shows them that he has the perfect family already

When they were younger he loves doing stories with them including voices and actions - just being silly as he loved seeing them smile

His kids deserved nothing but happiness just like him and you

No matter the gender of his child, when they bring a lover round he will become a strict dad, wanting to know if they were right for his child, and his children would want your and his opinion on their dates and neither of you liked them then they wouldn’t be with them, they never did things to disapprove you guys due to the close bond, they didn’t feel the need to lie or hide these things with you guys and they trusted you guys completely

Every family and friend was jealous of how good the Chilwell family was, always questioning how it was done but none of Ben’s small yet perfect family said anything but smiled happily at them.

Ben would just want what’s best for his kids and he would love them with all his heart and be the best bloody dad in the world

[myrwritesfootie]

I’m Proud Of You - Declan Rice

Who: Declan Rice x Reader

Prompt: “I’m Proud of You.” from this post

Based on: this post

Words: 470

Disclaimer: I am not connected to Declan Rice or anyone else mentioned in this writing.

Seeing Declan in tears on the football field made my heart break bit by bit. All I wanted to do was run over to him and just hug him, but I couldn’t. I wasn’t allowed near him yet, not until the game and all official business was done and over with. It was good to see that Mason was there with him, knowing very well that having his best friend there would be a bit of a consolation.

I had one of Dec’s nephews in my arms, one who was in tears and who was burying his face against the shoulder of my England kit. “I know baby, I know,” I whispered softly, knowing very well the pain and sadness he was in right now. Together with the rest of Declan’s family - with his nephew still in my arms - we went down to the large space inside the stadium. It felt like ages before the players finally joined their families. Slowly they walked in one by one, the room filling with soft chatter as the people tried to lift up the spirits of their loved ones after the lost game.

“Uncle Dec!” One of his other nephews yelled out and ran over to him when he entered the room together with Mason. The other young man patted Declan on the shoulder before walking over to his own family. Declan lifted the little boy and took him on his arm, a slight smile appearing on his lips at the sight of his family.

Family would always be the most important thing in his life and I loved watching Declan with his nephews. I walked over to my boyfriend, with the other boy in my arms - still sad but a bit happier now that his uncle had reappeared. I leaned in so I could press a soft kiss to his lips, before handing over his other nephew as well. I watched as the three young men talked and how the little boys both pressed a kiss to the cheeks of their uncle. It made me smile.

The young kids were placed back on the ground and Declan placed his arm around my waist, pulling me in for a tight hug, hiding his face against my shoulder. My fingers played with his hair as we stood there like that for a moment.

“You don’t want to know how proud I am of you. You were great out there and you all brought so much happiness to all of us. I’m so proud of you and I love you.” I felt Declan squeezed his arms around me a little tighter, not ready to let go just yet but acknowledging my words. Just as I thought that this was going to be it, I heard him whisper something back to me.

“I love you too.”

[lxndonorris]

something in your pants - Jack Grealish

Y/N x Jack Grealish Theme: Smut, Swearing (you've been warned) coming home to find Jack in the new England kit, leading to some sexy time x word count: 1540+

Today, while you were at work, your boyfriend Jack sent you a picture of a sealed box, captioned with eye-emojis. You had one thing in mind, that the two of you were waiting for, but he wouldn't answer any text regarding the content of the box.

The next hours felt like torture, but now you're done with working at the coffee shop and you're just arriving at your apartment. You can see Jack's car parked in front of it, so you know that he is home, waiting for you. Quickly, you open the front door and head inside.

The only thing you can hear is the TV running in the background, people speaking about the upcoming matches. You take your jacket off and carry it around your arm, while you're walking through the hallway to the living room. "Jack?" You say, hearing someone pace through the room. 

"Living room." His voice echoes through the hallway, sounding nervous but very excited. As soon as you enter the room, you spot Jack standing in the center, wearing the new England kit with his hands at his waist and a huge grin on his face. "It's finally here." He can't contain his giggles, looking down at his new jersey, running a hand across his chest.

"Jack. This looks amazing." You say, putting your bag and jacket on to the ground as you walk towards him. "I know right? It feels good too." Jack says, running a hand through his already messed up hair. You look at him. enjoying the sight of him being proud and happy. He wasn't sure if he would make it into the squad and once he got the message, he was happier than ever before.

"Let me see." You say happily, feeling the fabric of the new shirt. "Wow, it feels really comfy." He nods quickly, still smiling brightly. "Look at that." Jack turns around, showing off his name-tag on the back. You run a hand across the letters, but your eyes wander deeper, looking at his butt, filling the shorts completely. "It fits perfectly." He says turning around again, putting his hand on your waist.

You run a hand through his hair, trying your best to fix it at least a little bit while he just stares into your eyes. "I'm so proud of you." He blushes at the sound of your words and pulls you in for a sweet and loving kiss. You separate from him, placing another kiss on his nose. "Hey, I'm ticklish." He giggles. "But thank you. You helped me through everything." Jack's expression softens, his hands still firmly on your waist.

"I gotta say, you really look so good in that kit." You say, looking at his chest, down to his socks. "Oh, is that so?" He says quietly, his voice already rougher than usual. "Oh yeah." You lean in closer, your eyes stuck at his lips. "I've just got a question." He raises an eyebrow and smirks. "What?" Jack says breathlessly as your hands run along his waist to his ass, cupping him with the palms of your hands.

"Is there something in those shorts for me?" You say innocently, stroking his cheeks gently through his tight shorts. "Maybe." He says, seemingly enjoying every part of it. Your hands wander around his crotch, slowly, carefully tracing the outlines of his shorts. "Do you mind if I look?" You lean in closer, your lips barely brushing over his. He takes a deep breath, trying to keep his composure. "Not at all," Jack whispers, his eyes starting to glow.

Now your hands reach the front, where you can feel him bulging already. Stroking him gently, you can see him getting more and more tensed. "Is this for me?" He puts his hand on yours, pressing it harder against his growing erection. "It's yours if you want it." Biting your lip, you get under his shirt with your other hand, stroking his chest. You don't need to say another word before he kisses you longingly. "All of it, it's just for you." He moans into your mouth, bending his hip against your head.

"Yes, yes I want all of it." Your whole body reacts to the tension filling the whole living room, your muscles twitching at the thought of him filling you up. "The couch?" He breathes heavily, still kissing you wildly. "I won't make it to the bed." You start rubbing your hip against his bulge while Jack bites your lip. "Me neither." Still making out, you make your way to the sofa, the two of you tugging at each other's clothes. You separate and help each other out of your shirts. First, Jack takes his new jersey off and lets it sink to the floor.

Then he unbuttons your blouse, more quickly than ever before and you discard it next to his jersey. "Sit down." You grunt deeply, pushing him down to the couch. He smirks deviously, immediately spreading his legs widely. Licking your own lip, you unhook your bra easily, exposing your breasts and throwing it in front of his feet. He looks down at the floor, his eyes slowly wandering to your tits. "Fuck yeah." He runs a hand down his chest, grabbing his bulge firmly, letting out a soft moan. You open your jeans and let them drop down to the floor, leaving nothing but your panties behind.

His touch gets more intense and he grunts more and more. You stroll towards him, taking his hand of himself. "This is mine." You smirk and get on your knees. At first, he seems surprises, but his face gets cockier the closer you get to him. Your hands run along his huge thighs, stroking him gently until you reach the waistband of his blue shorts. He gasps once you slip inside them, teasing him by playing with it. His hips bend forward at your touch, his bulge brushing your face. "Rude." 

You hiss, still teasing him playfully. "Fucking tease." He growls, looking at you angrily. "You like it." You say once your hand gets inside his shorts and boxers, feeling his dick bulging into it. "That's what I'm talking about." He groans as you start stroking him, before you pull his pants down, just enough to expose him completely. With one last look at his face, you take him into your mouth, his taste tingling on your tongue. You start to move your mouth rhythmically, your hands on his big thighs keeping them apart. 

Jack moans, leaning his head back against the sofa, dropping his hands next to his chest. It just feels right, so you enjoy the feeling of him inside you. You work on him for a little while longer, just enough to make him groan out loud. But then you stop and take him out of your mouth. He looks at you, barely satisfied but you have other plans. "You won't cum yet." You smirk, getting and climbing on top of him. He instantly puts his hands at your waist, pulling desperately at your panties. "Don't fucking tease it if you can't deliver." 

Jack growls angrily, but you don't mind it at all. Actually, you like him angry and you know that he doesn't mean it. "Watch me, asshole." You say once he got rid of your underwear and you let him slide inside you. Now you're sitting in his lap, starting to ride him. His hands are firmly on your skin, keeping you in place while you move faster and faster. "Y/N." Jack grunts, his thumbs running across your skin. You put your hands on his chest, rubbing against his well-formed body.

Your hair falls into your face so you throw your head back to get it out of it. Jack's expression changes every few seconds, trying so hard to restrain his moans. "Let it out." You smirk, putting a hand at his cheek, tracing his jawline through his beard to his chin. Before he can reply, he's interrupted by a long, deep groan. "Good boy." You lean into him and kiss him, breathing heavily into his mouth. The two of you groan together once you start to move even faster. "I can't ta-." Jack growls before you can see his whole body shuddering while he cums. The feeling of pure pleasure filling your mind and the look on Jack's face pushes you over the edge as well and you scream loudly.

Exhausted, you climb off of him. Jack pulls his boxers back up, struggling to get his dick inside. You giggle and pick your underwear up from the ground. Swiftly, you put it back on, just in time with Jack getting dressed as well. "Come here, babé." He opens his arms and you sink into them. Jack kisses your forehead and strokes your back. "That was. Fuck." He says, his voice rough and husky and his hand still feeling himself through his boxers. "I know. That kit man." You look at the white shirt and blue shorts on the ground and lift your chin up to meet his gaze.

"I'm so happy for you." You say, kissing him once more, this time, a more gentle and soft kiss. "Me too." He says, and you keep on cuddling for a while, watching the sports news on TV.

[shadowhuntertrash]

Kit x Ty for the headcanons maybe??

I love them 😍 @blackthorngirl14 also requested

I feel like Ty would really like driving, the constant motion of it and everything. I think he would really enjoy watching Kit with his head thrown back, his hair messed up from the wind and a smile on his face. I feel like this is one or their aesthetics.

Ty calls him honey because he likes the way it sounds and it reminds him of Kit's hair and his smooth charm that he has with everyone other than Ty. Kit calls Ty baby when he's whining about something but other times he just calls him sweetie.

Ty likes to sing but mostly to instrumentals so he hums and stuff and Kit finds it cute so he'll dramatically play violin or piano and it never fails to make Ty laugh.

Ty is very observant and picks up on Kit's order very fast. He knows what Kit wants to eat before Kit does, most times Kit will deny that Ty knows what he wants and will go through the whole menu before caving and admitting that Ty knew exactly what he wanted. He has even gone so far as ordering something else just to spite Ty (which didn't even work) but hated what he got and didn't even eat it.

Ty saves bugs. Kit typically likes animals but he HATES bugs. They remind him of when he had to stay in the basement when his dad was having meetings and so everytime he sees them he freaks out and Ty has to save him.

Ty asks logical questions when it gets late 'but is it truly possible to experience anything objectively?' and Kit asks more of wtf kind of questions. 'is it the s or c thats silent in scent??'

Ty tells his family first specifically Julian, it would have been Livvy but she already knew. Julian was proud of him and excited and very much gave Kit a dad talk about hurting Ty. Kit didn't have any real family to come out to and Johnny had been terribly homophobic and so Kit was terrified to tell Jem and Tessa in fear of them kicking him out because they were all he had left. They didn't they were very supportive and it lead to a talk about JUST HOW MUCH Will had meant to BOTH of them.

Kit whispers inappropriate things to Ty when he's bored with whatever Ty and someone else are talking about. Most of the time he does this when they are having a meeting with the other LA Institute members. Dru finds it hysterical and Julian still hasn't caught on to the way Kit will whisper something to Ty that makes his eyes go wide and a blush cover Ty's face.

Kit has had a severe lack of reassurance in his life so he always seeks reassurance from Ty. He seeks it constantly whether it be training, something he said, or something weird like cooking. Ty readily gives it and Kit appreciates it more than Ty will ever understand.

I think they switch but I think their first kiss would be Kit kissing him softly because he had been waiting for so long and it was finally happening and he didn't want to push Ty but Ty is like I think tf not and pulls Kit closer by his hair and kisses him HARD.

Kit is late to EVERYTHING. Ty isn't always early but Kit seems to have an inability to be on time. The inhabitants of the LA Institute have made a point to tell him the incorrect time to show up to things so he's on time. When Kit and Dru became parabatai they told him to be there at 3 but it actually started at 3:45. He was still late.

Kit is actually very good at photography. He had grown up taking pictures of people and things that made him happy. He once turned his basement into a dark room when he was younger.

Ty picks up after Kit, not that he's overly messy but if he forgets to put something up Ty will pick it up because he likes things to be clean. There are certain things he keeps organized that he won't let Kit touch such as his bookshelf that he organized a certain way. Kit doesn't mind because it just means that Ty reads to him since he can't get the books.

Neither of them like to drink because it makes Ty feel bad and more anxious about things to the point he is constantly fidgeting, it makes everything louder for him and he refuses to drink. Kit doesn't like to drink because when he was younger Johnny told Kit that his mother was killed by a drunk driver, even though he now knows that to be untrue he still can't bring himself to drink more than a glass.

Kit likes taking Ty on spontaneous adventures, it takes a lot of trust on Ty's part so Kit doesn't take him far at first. Eventually Ty settles into it and actually looks forward to the spontaneous adventures Kit leads him on. So far they've dropped everything and gone to the San Diego Zoo, England where 221B Baker Street is, and a drive in movies marathon which is one of Kit's favorite things to do.

[emwritesfootball]

American Girl | Mason Mount

Word Count: 1,949

Warnings: light sex mentions

A birthday gift for my girl @lionspridetingz. Happy birthday, Ads! <3

- - -

When you’d told your friend Christian you were coming to England as part of your study abroad program for a year, he’d immediately offered his place up for you to be his roommate and you’d gratefully accepted. Oddly enough, his place was closer to the university than any of the housing options that were listed, and you were excited to spend time with your childhood friend.

The day before you were set to arrive, however, you got a panicked call from Christian. He was muttering unintelligibly and you couldn’t really hear him over the sounds of the London storm, but you heard enough to know that the room he’d prepared for you had flooded and he was asking his teammates if they would let you stay there while he got that part of his house fixed. Too stunned to say anything other than ‘okay’, you hung up, shaking your head at the insane situation that would only happen to Christian.

Your friend picked you up at the airport the next morning, both of you grinning from ear to ear as he spun you around in a big bear hug. “Fuck, I missed you,” he drawled, instinctively grabbing your massive suitcases that you’d barely managed to haul off the conveyor belt at the checked bag station.

“I missed you, too,” you replied, playfully bumping his shoulder with your own. “So, where are you taking me?”

“Mason’s place. Some of the other guys also offered to take you in but he’s the one I trust most, so I picked him. I hope that’s okay.”

“Yeah, it’s fine,” you hummed absently, but internally you were reeling. You’d never met Mason Mount in person but you’d met him plenty of times over FaceTime while you’d been talking with Christian, and somewhere along the way, you’d managed to fall for the England player. You knew you’d be meeting Christian’s teammates at some point, but you hadn’t expected to be living with the one you had a crush on.

You zoned out on the drive to Mason’s place, telling Christian you were just taking in the sights when he asked. It wasn’t a full-on lie - you were taking in all the new sights that were so different from Pennsylvania’s Americana charm, but you were also thinking about Mason and wondering what it would be like to live with him.

Christian shutting off the engine to the car brought you out of your daydreams and you stared at your new home for the next few months.

***

Mason walked out when he heard Christian pull into the drive. He couldn’t believe his luck, having such a beautiful girl live with him while Christian got his place fixed after the flood. Not that you’re gonna do anything about it, the internal voice in his head screamed. Christian had made him promise he wouldn’t try anything with his friend, and Mason fully intended to keep that promise.

She was even more beautiful in person. Mason felt his throat go dry and his palms start to sweat as he took her in. She was in travel clothes - leggings and an oversize hoodie; her hair up in a messy bun - but he couldn’t help going speechless. If she looks this good now, imagine how good she’ll look dressed up for the awards dinner at the end of the season, he couldn’t help thinking, but quickly tried to regain composure as Christian’s voice brought him out of his own head.

“Mase! Thanks again for doing this, man - I really appreciate it.”

“No problem. Glad I could help.” Mason turned his attention to her. “Hey. Nice to finally meet you in person.”

You giggled, hoping your blush wasn’t obvious. “You, too. Thanks for letting me stay here.”

“Of course.” Mason reached for the duffel you were holding, his fingers brushing yours as he took the bag. “Any friend of Christian’s is a friend of mine.”

You felt a little dejected at the statement, but you tried to tamp it down. Just because you had feelings for Mason didn’t mean that he had to have feelings for you. Plus, as one of Christian’s teammates, he was definitely off-limits - no matter how badly you wanted him. You followed him through his house, trying to keep your eyes ahead of you instead of on his toned back or ass, which proved harder than you thought.

The room was beautifully decorated and you held your breath for a moment while you took it in. It was a beach theme, whites and light blues everywhere. The decor told you a woman must have decorated it, and you felt a pit in your stomach when you remembered that he and Chloe had recently broken up, but that it was entirely possible that she’d been the one to design this. “It’s beautiful; thank you, Mason,” you murmured, setting your bags down. Christian set your large suitcase down next to the dresser, and Mason put your duffel on top of it.

“Let me know if you need anything. This place is yours now, too, so make yourself at home.”

“We’ll be in the living room playing FIFA but if you want help unpacking just let us know.” Christian gave you a smile that you returned and both boys exited, leaving you alone with your thoughts.

***

Two weeks into living with Mason, and the two of you were the best of friends. Of course, you were still closer with Christian, but Mason was getting there. You did your uni work during the day while he was at training and the two of you would cook dinner at night, planning out the following day’s meal afterward so you could go shopping for fresh ingredients in-between your classes. On the nights you weren’t prepping for the following day’s uni classes, you and Mason relaxed on the sofa with a movie or some trashy British reality show. It was the best part of your week, honestly, and you couldn’t believe how easily the two of you had fallen into a routine. On the colder nights when you were both snuggled under individual blankets, you couldn’t concentrate on the movie because you were distracted thinking about how badly you’d like to snuggle under one blanket with Mason.

***

“Are you coming to the match tomorrow?” Mason asked the night before the first match you’d be attending in London.

“Yeah,” you said smiling, turning to face him. The two of you were unwinding on a Friday night, and you were once again wishing you could be snuggling with him instead of sitting on the opposite end of the sofa.

“Do you, uh, do you need a kit to wear?” Mason couldn’t believe he was stuttering over his words, feeling incredibly awkward in front of you for no reason. Well, he knew the reason but he wasn’t going to dwell on something that wasn’t going to happen.

You paused, your heart racing. “Oh. Uhm, I have one of Christian’s that I was planning on wearing?” You couldn’t believe you were turning down the opportunity to wear Mason’s kit in the stands but you knew Christian would get suspicious and wearing Mason’s kit felt too intimate for you - even though nothing was happening between you and Mason.

“Oh, right. Sorry.”

You felt bad, watching Mason visibly blush and run a hand through his hair as he chuckled awkwardly. “Don’t worry about it - maybe one day.”

Both of you could feel the tension in the air at the last part of your sentence, but neither of you acted on it. It was a line you weren’t ready to cross, but something told you it would be happening sooner rather than later.

***

Over the next month, the two of you got closer on the sofa. Soon, separate blankets became one blanket and you snuggling into his side became your legs over his lap with your head on his shoulder. You hadn’t kissed yet, but both of you knew it was going to happen sooner or later.

You shared everything with him - your thoughts and feelings on anything; your childhood; your past - and he did the same with you. Mason soon came to know what mood you were in by the tone of your ‘good morning’ and you could read him better than Christian. You knew that Mason was worried about not getting a call-up for this latest round of World Cup Qualifiers - something he hadn’t told anyone on the team - so the morning he got the call was huge.

“It’s Southgate,” he’d whispered when his phone went off at breakfast one morning.

“You got this,” you reassured him, watching him like a hawk as he picked up the phone.

Mason’s expression was neutral as he nodded and said, “Yes, sir,” over and over into the phone.

“Well?” You asked when he hung up.

“I got the call-up,” he said, the disbelief in his voice evident.

“Oh, my god! Mase!” You stood up, enveloping him in a hug. “I’m so proud of you!”

Mason returned your hug, so overwhelmed by emotion that he didn’t even realize he’d kissed you until you were pulling back, looking at him with an odd look on your face. “I-”

“Shut up and kiss me again, Mase,” you murmured, wrapping a hand around the back of his neck and pulling him in for another kiss.

***

Your relationship grew from there, but the two of you kept it a secret, not wanting to tell anyone until you were ready. Slowly, your things moved from the guest bedroom to his bedroom, and you spent every night in his bed. Mason loved having you in his bed, drifting off to sleep to the sound of your American accent as you told him stories. You loved getting to spend your nights in his bed, the feeling of waking up next to him better than anything else in your world at the moment.

Slowly, you started wearing Mason’s kit underneath Christian’s, making sure Christian’s wasn’t visible when Mason bent you over the sofa and fucked you senseless after matches.

“I think I’m ready to tell everyone,” Mason said one night as the two of you were cuddling in bed the night before another big match. “That is, if you are, too.”

“Yeah, I think I am,” you murmured, pressing a kiss to his sternum. “After the match tomorrow?”

“Yeah.”

***

Chelsea’s unbeaten streak under Tuchel continued, a big win coming against United. You hadn’t seen Christian before the match so you’d switched out his shirt for Mason’s, the ‘Mount 19’ on your back feeling lighter than air as you ran onto the pitch after the match and immediately kissed him. “I’m so proud of you, baby,” you said, kissing him again for good measure. He’d scored a goal and you couldn’t wait to congratulate him.

“What the fuck is this?” Christian’s voice cut in and you and Mason jumped apart.

“She’s my girl,” Mason explained, the words filling you with warmth as he pulled you back into him and slung and arm around your shoulder.

“We’re together.”

“I can see that,” Christian grumbled, looking between the two of you. “It’s a little weird so it’ll take some getting used to, but okay. You,” he said, pointing at you, “don’t hurt him. And you,” Christian pointed at Mason, “if you hurt her, I’ll hurt you.”

You rolled your eyes. “We know, Christian.”

“C’mon, Angel,” Mason murmured, pressing a kiss to your temple, “let’s get home so we can celebrate your birthday properly.”

“You remembered?” You asked, shocked.

“Of course. I’ve been into you since the moment you moved into my guest bedroom - how could I forget?” He leaned down, kissing you properly. “Happy birthday, Angel.”

[tabloidtoc]

In Touch, May 10

You can buy a brand new copy of this issue without the mailing label for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Queen Elizabeth begs Duchess Kate to stop Meghan Markle now

Page 1: Contents

Page 2: Take a Hike -- consider this your nature explorer starter kit -- Nina Dobrev

Page 4: Lizzo finally decided to shoot her shot with longtime crush Chris Evans and in a TikTok video, she revealed she slid into his Instagram DMs, saying she knows she not going to marry him, and it hurts her to the core because he's a rare breed -- two days later, Chris responded and Lizzo, who jokingly proposed marriage to Chris in a 2019 tweet, shared her excited reaction to receiving his kissing emoji and message -- Chris wrote no shame in a drunk DM, God knows he's done worse on this app, referencing the NSFW shot of himself he accidentally posted last year -- in the meantime, a new man stepped up: Chet Hanks, who said if it don't work out, he's here, to Lizzo

Page 6: Crib of the Week -- Bryan Cranston's eco-friendly beach house

Page 7: Bad Guest of the Week -- Kyra Sedgwick on cops rushing to Tom Cruise's house after she pressed what turned out to be a panic button during one of his dinner parties, Superfan of the Week -- Kim Kardashian upon learning her corset maker also created an undergarment for her beloved Bridgerton, Number of the Week -- 23 days it took Chrissy Teigen to return to Twitter after quitting in March, Makeover of the Week -- Halsey debuted yellow locks to show off a psychedelic new collection from her About-Face makeup, Winners of the Week -- Downton Abbey fans because a second film based on the hit show and featuring most of the main cast is coming to theaters this Christmas, Loser of the Week -- Prince Andrew after an obsessed fan is arrested after talking her way into his home and wandering around looking for him for 20 minutes

Page 8: Up Close -- Madonna strikes a pose with a big plate of pasta at Hollywood hotspot Craig's, Jennifer Aniston kicking back on The Morning Show set, Jennifer Lopez taking a selfie with Shotgun Wedding co-stars Josh Duhamel and Lenny Kravitz on the last day of shooting

Page 10: Animal Instincts -- Cher with Kaavan the elephant who she helped rescue from a Pakistani zoo, Kaley Cuoco and her baby horse Zee-Yah, shirtless Tyler Cameron and his dog Harley

Page 12: Heidi Klum stuck a toilet plunger on Howie Mandel's head with Sofia Vergara on America's Got Talent, Tom Cruise wearing a large face mask on the set of Mission: Impossible 7 with co-star Hayley Atwell in North Yorkshire in England, Kate Hudson jumping into the pool to celebrate the launch of Fabletics' new active swim line, Liam Hemsworth with tousled hair

Page 14: 93rd Annual Academy Awards -- fashion -- from hot hues to glimmering gowns, it was an evening of star-studded style -- Carey Mulligan, Regina King

Page 15: Zendaya, Margot Robbie, Amanda Seyfried

Page 16: Daniel Kaluuya watched as his Supporting Actor Oscar got engraved, Glenn Close may have lost again but she won Funniest Moment of the Night when she did the Da Butt dance, Yuh-Jung Youn with Brad Pitt, Reese Witherspoon couldn't resist a selfie in front of a wall of Oscars, Anthony Hopkins' win for Lead Actor was considered a major upset and Chadwick Boseman fans were irate and one industry insider said the whole show was a disaster

Page 20: Caitlyn Jenner has thrown her designer hat into the ring to become the next governor of California, saying she is a proven winner and the only outsider who can put an end to Gavin Newsom's disastrous time as governor, but she has her work cut out for her as her critics immediately pointed out that she sat out two-thirds of the elections she could have voted in since 2000 and not only that, the Olympic champion has never held elected office nor managed a major business and even the LGBTQ community and her former family the Kardashians refuse to get behind her as the LGBTQ community remembers the Republican supported Donald Trump who didn't exactly champion their rights and as for the Kardashians (who lean Democratic), they think Caitlyn just wants to be in the spotlight again and will turn her campaign into her next reality show, but Caitlyn insists she's in it for all the right reasons and plans to focus on the issues, not camera angles, and make California great again

Page 21: Kelly Osbourne got honest with her fans, admitting that she relapsed and she's not proud of it, but she just wants to let them know that she's sober today and will be sober tomorrow -- Kelly, who first encountered drugs at 13 when she took liquid Vicodin after she had her tonsils removed, celebrated three years of sobriety in August 2020, but shortly after, she slid right back into her old ways and it was bad, but she made it back, and this time she says she's really serious about staying sober and her friends fear the worst, because they've heard her say that before and they just pray that she means it

Page 22: Cover Story -- The Plot to Stop Meghan Markle -- desperate to save her family from public ruin, Queen Elizabeth gives Kate Middleton a special mission -- Prince Harry and Meghan have made it clear they're willing to go public with more complaints which worries the queen -- the queen is eternally grateful for Duchess Kate's loyalty and she knows she can trust Kate to be discreet

Page 25: Prince Louis and Archie have gotten so big -- Duchess Kate and Prince William's youngest son Prince Louis just turned 3, while Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's son Archie has just turned 2, and new adorable photos show they've both changed a lot

Page 26: Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones: How They Saved Their Marriage -- Catherine reveals what's kept her and Michael together through thick and thin

Page 28: George Clooney: Fame, Fatherhood and Turning 60 -- as he hits a big milestone, George reflects on choosing family over career and why life has never been better

Page 30: Julia Roberts finally finds happiness -- the actress makes a life-changing decision that saves her sanity and her marriage -- Julia and her husband Danny Moder, who've long been based in Malibu, made a bold move, buying a Victorian Revival-style home in San Francisco last year and Julia is starting over in San Francisco and it's a new and exciting time for her and Danny

Page 32: The Big Interview -- Mike and Maryse Mizanin on their reality show Miz and Mrs: this season is the craziest yet

Page 36: Beauty Buzz -- Shop Her Glam: Andra Day on Oscar night

Page 38: Style Spotlight -- rainy day essentials -- don't let the drizzle dampen your style -- Karlie Kloss

Page 40: Animal Overload -- my cat looks like Leonardo DiCaprio

Page 46: Horoscope -- Taurus George Clooney turned 60 on May 6

Page 48: Last Laughs

[savannah-lim]

Now You Sea Me || Kaden & Savannah

Timing: After The Student Body Location: Caves on Harris Island Parties: @savannah-lim and @chasseurdeloup Content: Gun use (on monster), body horror (description of mermaid), violence (on monster)  Summary: Savannah is both a professional and a disaster at mermaid hunting

Savannah knew from experience that New England winters were no joke. The nights were growing darker, the days chillier, and White Crest lay on the tip of the Maine coast, its cliffs and islands nestled among the glacially cold ocean. So of course, it was an excellent time of year to go mermaid hunting with a miserable Frenchman. She’d dressed in some thermal, water resistant clothes, form fitting to allow her ease of movement and make it easier to avoid getting snagged on the rocks, a thick woolly hat, and a lined parka. She didn’t know exactly what she needed for the trip, so she packed a bit of everything; her gun, extra ammo, a barrel-mounted light, regular flashlights, flares, and even snacks (they might get stranded out there!). She’d even got ziplock bags for her phone and keys. All in all, she was pretty proud of her level of preparedness by the time she went to meet Kaden at the beach on Harris Island. “I’d recognize that sullen side profile anywhere,” she said by way of greeting. Not that she could talk. “I parked just off the road up there. I have some extra supplies in the car just in case.” She honestly shouldn’t have been so excited about this. “So, mermaid?” 

Kaden always hated the water monsters. They always had the upper hand in a way, especially when in the water. And, of course it meant getting wet. Not usually a big deal to him, he’d dry off. But in Maine in the late fall? This wasn’t his idea of fun. Then again, he was severely questioning if hunting was ever his idea of fun anymore. He sighed and gathered up his nets and harpoons and spears. It didn’t matter if this was fun or not, there was a mermaid and he knew how to kill it. It would be irresponsible not to tackle this. Plus, he had Lim standing by in case he got hurt. Regan couldn’t complain about him being in the woods alone. He wasn’t alone and hey, for once, he wasn’t in the woods. “Sullen?” Kaden let out a huff of breath. “I’m not sullen. Putain.” Alright, that sounded a little sullen. “What’d you bring?” he asked, rebalancing the load on his shoulder. “You have a med kit, right? I just… I have a feeling.” With his luck, there’d be some injury or another. “Sounds like it. Lead the way, Lim.”

“I don’t know what Putain means, other than the food, but you’re kinda sullen,” Savannah snickered, probably just a little too at ease about this whole thing. She was sure that would go away once she saw it again. Kaden was a way better companion on this sort of thing than Agatha had been though. The girl was great with a gun, but way too quick on the excuses. “I do. I always have a med kit in the car.” She didn’t wait for that annoyed look of disbelief to flash on Kaden’s face, cutting it off with; “for this, I moved it to my backpack.” She went about listing what she had brought with her, hoping it would be enough for Kaden to declare that she wasn’t entirely useless. Sadly, she hadn’t had access to a harpoon. “Can I have one of those?” she asked, leading the way down the beach and towards the cave she and Agatha had entered. “I think the police tape it still up, just--yeah, this way.” It led a convenient trail towards the sea water pool in which they’d seen the mermaid. Being back in this place made Savannah cringe. All those bodies. “Do we use bait? Like a ribeye?” 

“No, no. Not poutine, putain,” Kaden said with a sigh. “It’s an expletive. Like fuck or shit. Sort of. Either way it’s not the same as the fries with gravy and cheese curds.” He couldn’t believe this was what they were explaining as they wandered down towards the beach. “Glad to hear it,” he replied in response to the med kit. “Hope we don’t need it but this is White Crest.” As fast as his side had started healing from his forrary during the full moon, it still stung as he walked. He hoped his gait and slight wincing didn’t betray it at all. He didn’t need to answer any more questions about that night. “You want a harpoon? I mean…” He didn’t exactly have a good reason to refuse. And if she was going to help. “When we get down there, sure.” The police tape wasn’t far and when they reached it, neither of them had to even pretend not to get caught as they ducked under and headed towards the scene of the crime. And the monster. He had to admit, being police really did have its advantages for hunting. “Yeah, we should probably come up with a plan,” he said as he started unloading his gear, handing her one of the harpoons. “The best thing to do is going to be to get it out of the water. If we can harpoon it and get the net around it we can try to drag it out.” Easier said than done, he knew that full well. “Didn’t really think about bait.” Shit. He stood there, arms crossed a moment. “You want to be bait?” He didn’t want to be bait.

"Oh," she shrugged. "I only know Merde. Now if you want to swear in Korean, I'm your girl. Gae-sae-ggi." Savannah was quite happy to discuss expletives. She was oddly energised by all this, and happy to talk him through some of her favorites as they walked. "This is White Crest," she repeated, giving a humorless chuckle. "It really is a weird horror show of a town, isn't it?" And yet somehow her words didn't seem disparaging. She was still amazed he'd even agreed to let her come, considering how unhappy he'd seemed when she and Regan were out there on the river. 

As they approached the cavern, she knew this was the place. It was practically burned into her consciousness. Savannah placed down one of the larger lights, turning it on near the wall so she didn’t have to hold it. "I've never used a harpoon before," she said, positively energised at the idea. The bait part, she was less enthused about. "Why? Why would I want to be fish monster bait?" She shook her head. "I packed food though. Do you think it might like some sandwich meat?" Probably preferred its food fresh, but she hoped Kaden wouldn't challenge her on that. “Or--do you have a knife? Maybe I could just cut my finger and drop some blood in the water.” 

“Merde’s a good one, too. Putain de merde is really the best, though.” Kaden’s brow furrowed and he tried to repeat her Korean. “That any good? I’m guessing not. I’ve heard my uncle complain about the French accent coming through in my German. I can’t imagine it’s better in any other language.” It was odd how easy the convo felt. Like they weren’t walking into potential death. “No place like it, that’s for sure. And I’ve been to a lot of places, I don’t know about you.” 

As terrible an idea as this probably was, having a normie with him on this hunt, and a Federal agent at that, Kaden couldn’t argue with how prepared she was. It almost made him question if she was as clueless as she let on. Almost. “Hey, I don’t want to be bait. And you don’t know how to use a harpoon.” He sighed and insisted she take it anyway. “I mean, I know I’m prettier but someone has to do it,” he said, jokingly. He wasn’t going to push it, though. She just seemed so enthusiastic, he hoped she just might go along with the bait thing. Kaden blinked at her a moment. “Food? Are you telling me you brought snacks? On our hu-- I mean, encounter.” Shit, he hoped he covered it up at least a little. Likely not. Probably didn’t matter too much either way. “Do I have a knife,” he repeated with a scoff, like it was the world’s dumbest question. “The real question is which one you want. Not that I’m advocating for blood letting. Let’s try sacrificing the snacks first. It might work,” he said and gestured for her to go ahead, his harpoon in hand, ready to face the beast. 

“Could be better,” Savannah answered, honestly, but not unkindly. “But Korean is tough if you’re not used to it. I wouldn’t complain about your accent coming through. It’s sort of part of who you are, right?” They weren’t left with much time to dwell on that conversation though before the subject turned back to bait. 

“I should have brought some leftover meatloaf,” Savannah groaned, putting down her bag. “Yes, I brought food! What if we get lost down here, or one of us gets injured? I wanted to be prepared.” She’d probably gone a little overboard, admittedly, but he hadn’t exactly given her a list. “There’s a water resistant thermal blanket, some spare socks…” But the one thing she didn’t have was a knife, so she took his gladly, pocketing it briefly before rifling through her backpack for her sandwiches, throwing in some sliced chicken from between the buttered slices of bread, then standing back as if waiting for a volcano to erupt. 

“Meatloaf?” Kaden asked, his face pulling into a disgusted frown instinctively. There was nothing that had ever sounded appealing about that dish. “Hopefully the mermaid isn’t as picky as I am.” He had a feeling that, knowing their luck, this mermaid just might be. “Well, glad you came prepared. I guess. But putain, did you pack for an overnight trip or a hunt?” Then again, sometimes those overlapped. He sincerely hoped that wasn’t the case here. “I’m going to need that back when we’re done by the way,” he said after handing her the knife as they backed away. He waited, harpoon in hand. It felt like they were there for a minute. Maybe two. Nothing so far. 

Kaden’s mouth pulled into a thin line and he gestured to indicate she should stay put where she was as he approached the water, slowly, weapon ready. One step, then two. Still nothing. Three, four. Maybe it had gone and fucked off. Five, s-- “Putain de merde!” Kaden shouted, stumbling back as what looked like a woman burst from the water. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say she was gorgeous, green eyes, alluring and practically beckoning him to the water as she sang. If he didn’t know better, he might be fooled. But he did know better. So Kaden charged towards the beast, harpoon in hand. As quickly as the facade had appeared, it dropped, and the woman bent back and away, revealing a row of teeth. He thrust the harpoon towards the open mouth, but before he could ram it through the monster, its fangs clamped down, snapping it in two. And then another head popped out of the water. “Fucking shit,” he grumbled. Lim better be prepared for this, too. 

"I know you're French, but you don't have to be a snob," Savannah answered at his reaction to her mention of meatloaf. She'd prefer a good Korean BBQ, but it was tough to find a decent one in White Crest, if there were any at all. "Okay, so I may have over-packed a little." But it was better than coming unprepared, she thought... Savannah accepted the harpoon perhaps a little too gladly. She wasn't someone who expected to ever have any joy in hunting, and this wasn't the type of hunting she'd ever anticipated, and it was hard not to feel the pure adrenaline and excitement of it mixed in with the fear. It wasn't the killing that interested her. Not in the slightest. It was being part of something unknown and exciting, discovering something new. "I'll try not to break it," she answered, her voice dryer than anything else managed to be in this cave. 

Before she could say anything else, her eyes widened at the sight of a beautiful young woman emerging from the icy saltwater, the very same she had seen just the other day with Agatha. "Hi again," she answered, "miss me?" Oh, she'd always wanted to say something cool like that, but she felt entirely less cool when the beast half-swallowed Kaden's weapon, and brought a friend. "Oh no! Hey! Look out!" She pulled her own trigger, hitting the creature, but just barely. It made an inhuman groan as the metal scraped across its scales, leaving jagged edges. “Hello?? Why is this thing so slow to reload?”

“Putain!” Kaden shouted again as the shot rang out, diving out of the way of the beasts and the bullet. “You could have hit me!” True as that may be, she had shot the one mermaid, no mistaking it. Not clean enough to kill it, though. He scrambled out of the way and reached for his own gun. Shit, he hadn’t been prepared for multiple. His mistake, really. He took the gun and started firing where he could. One want through the first monster’s mouth, though he couldn’t be sure if it did real damage or clipped its fucking fangs. It did give Kaden a second to scramble away from the edge. Taking them out with bullets wasn’t impossible but with the strength of its scales, it’d be a task. Especially with two. Best bet, drag one of those fuckers out of the water. “Aim for that one,” Kaden said pointing to the left. “Going to try something.” He took the harpoon he gave her and grabbed a net, running over to the creature on the right. He threw the harpoon into what looked like the “woman’s” shoulder before tossing the net at it. Teeth tangled in the net and he hoped like hell when he pulled back, they wouldn’t tear it to shreds. Just had to get it out of the water. 

“But I didn’t!” Savannah answered. Come on. At least he could give her some credit. She’d passed her marksmanship certification with flying colors. She took advantage of Kaden’s gunfire, loading the harpoon again and readying for another shot. She kept her hands steady, all her training coming together to teach her to keep a calm and steady hand. Quantico sure hadn’t expected their training to be used for something like this. Their attention being on Kaden made it easier for her to land her next shot, aiming at the one Kaden had indicated. The harpoon loosed, whizzing through the small space between them with a low whistle and hitting the mermaid square in the abdomen. “Oh, that was a good one!” She picked up Kaden’s intentions and started walking backwards, dragging the thing as it made ungodly screeches that she was sure would alert every house on the island. 

For not being a hunter, Kaden had to admit that Lim wasn’t too bad at all this. This time, at least. Guess coming prepared made a difference. Kaden tugged and pulled and finally, the monster was out of the fucking water, letf to fucking suffocate. He turned his attention to Lim and helped drag the second one along with her. Once they were both on the rocky surface of the cavern, it was almost embarrassing to think of them as terrifying. Both were flopping and flailing, gasping for breath. The lures on top of them, the ones that looked like women, were still trying to entice them as best as they could. “Help… me…” they moaned. The whines turned into screams and Kaden had had enough. He took his bowie knife out, dragged the one near him, slit it under its jaw, then same to the second. Blood and guts poured over the floor around them. But the beasts stopped moving. Kaden pushed his hair out of his face and assessed the situation. “Guess we did it. Didn’t die. So that’s nice.”

Savannah credited her FBI training for preparing her for this sort of thing. Okay, not exactly this sort of thing, but intense situations, those were something she was trained to simply tackle confidently and pragmatically. She lacked Kaden’s supernatural gifts and knowledge of the bizarre, but she did her best to hold her own. She watched, fascinated as the creatures struggled on the cave floor, her torch light falling on them, creating shadows on their faces that made them look even more horrifying. She didn’t even look away or flinch when Kaden dealt the final blow. “That was actually… pretty fun,” she said. “If you ignore the mortal peril. We saved lives today. No more frat boy snacks for these things.” She sounded, and looked, terribly proud of herself. 

Kaden leaned over, hands on his knees, letting the adrenaline wear down, trying to catch his breath, when he looked back up at Lim. Did she just call this fun? “Yeah. Sure. If you ignore that one small detail. Sure.” He shook his head and started to gather his equipment back up so they could get the hell out of there. “Maybe don’t start hunting monsters on your own just for fun, though. I mean, not unless you value that whole life thing you have going for you.” Once his weapons were all gathered and ready to go, he looked back at the monster’s bodies. “We should probably burn those or something, shouldn’t we?” It’s not like he could bring them to Regan right now.

Savannah's veins were flooded with adrenaline. She caught her breath, doing her best to wipe away what blood and monster guts had made their way onto their clothes with the anti-bacterial wipes she'd brought with her. "No, no, I'll leave the sea monster slaying to the professionals, Ahab." At the mention of burning, Savannah furrowed her brow. "Oh, yes, I suppose. Unless we want one of those teens with phone cameras to put it on Instagram." Regrettably, and very reluctantly, she reached very slowly for one of the most important things she'd packed; a hip flask. "I... suppose this might help?" She held up an index finger, taking a sip before handing it to him as if she was parting with precious jewels. "Don't say I never gave you anything." She definitely wasn’t going to tell Keen about this. 

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Robin and Gale Hood; Ben Hardy x reader Chap. 4

*Author’s note*

After thinking about how in some versions of Robin Hood they expand more on the Merry Man and how Disney’s only version doesn’t (just has Robin hood and little John) so I’ve decided to rectify that and add more members of the Merry Men.  Now these names are actually the names of other members (well except for one name I had along with keeping the original name) so here’s the final cast list of what I have in store for you all.

Cast list:

The Scotsman: Richard Madden

David of Doncaster: Jamie Bell

Gilbert Whitehand: Taron Egerton

Friar Tuck: Brian May (think early 1990′s Bri)

Chapter 4,

Sherwood forest

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things​

@waddles03​

@psychosupernatural​

@ixchel-9275​

@simonedk​

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels​

@queensdivas​

@queendeakyy​

@wormzteef​

@geek-and-proud​

@queen-paladin​

___________________________________________________

Gale Hood was riding along back to Sherwood forest to meet up with her brother and Little John, and along the way three more lovely chaps came riding up behind her and called out to her.

“Oi Gale!” cried out a handsome dark haired, blue eyed Scotsman riding a pure black stallion.  She turned and smiled and said.

“I see you gentlemen have returned from your voyage. Tell me how were the other towns?” she asked the men.

“About the same as Nottingham is. I fear that if Prince John isn’t stopped he’ll suck the taxes out of not just Nottingham but all of England.” Said a young Welsh man with a tuff of brown hair riding a white horse.

“We’ll find a way Gilbert. One way or another. So how were the Sharpe’s Gale?” said the third gentleman with long shoulder length brown hair riding a brown horse.

“Veronica will soon be feeling better thanks to the medicine you helped me find David.”

Guess I should explain to you gentle readers.  These three dashing young men are also apart of Robin and Gale’s Merry men.  Sure there have been many tales of just Robin and Little John, but in this story we’re going to shed some light on some more members of the Hood sibling’s gang.

The Scotsman, well that’s really his name in the gang.  He was wanted for such crimes back in his Scotland home, that he rid his real name forever and just went by ‘The Scot’.  But every now and then he would be called ‘Kit’ by our gang of outlaws.  

At first he wasn’t even permitted to join the group (mostly because the Scots and the English didn’t really like each other) less he bested Robin Hood in fair combat (to which he did).

The second chap on the white horse is known as Gilbert Whitehand. He is really the only person (besides Gale) that is up to Robin’s skill with a bow and arrow.  He has a keen eye and it is said he can even shoot an arrow without even looking at the target.

He can be quick and rash at times, especially when it’s about protecting the poor people but when need to he can be reasoned with and is above all else loyal to a fault.

The third gentleman with the long brown hair is David of Doncaster.  He’s more like the voice of reason of the band.  Whenever tempers fly or someone’s about to get killed (and it has happened before on an occasion or ten) David is the one there to make the peace.  He and Gale were especially close since they both had a similar experience on how their mother’s were killed when they were kids.

He’s also been her confidant (basically he’s her Little John in a way) especially when James left for London and she was heartbroken.

“That’s good.” There was silence through the air, an awkward silence.  So much so that Gale stopped her khaki colored mare and turned towards the three men whose horses stopped and let out a few nickers and neighs at the sudden stop.

“I know what you three are thinking. And believe me I already know.”

“Know what?” asked David.

“Yeah we-we-we don’t know what you’re talking about.” Gilbert tried to play off.

“Don’t lie to me boys. I know that James and Marian are back.”

“What?!” they all faux out innocently.  They then each began to say how they didn’t hear about it.

But one look from Gale and they broke down and all said that they knew and heard about it from the town’s over.

“You lot are so adorable.”

“Well it’s just that…..we look at you as our own little sister and well—when James left never did I want to beat the shit out of royalty before.” Gilbert said.

“Yeah and that would’ve gotten you a front row seat to the hangman’s noose.” David said.

“Look we know how happy he made you and—how miserable you were the first few months lassie. So we—but secretly we’ve been thinking that maybe with him back in Nottingham you both could……”

“I’ll stop you right there Kit. It’s been over 6 years since he left. And in that time with him being the next in line he’s destined to find a woman of royalty to marry and support an heir. There’s no future for us anymore.”

“Gale…….”

“You know as well as I do David. Besides he’s probably forgotten all about me.”

“If he had Gale, then why would he give you his family’s ring?” Gilbert asked.  Gale clenched the ring around her neck into her fist.

“Robin and Little John are waiting for us. We can’t keep them waiting.” She urged her mare onward.

The three gents looked at one another sympathetically for their female leader but urged their horses onward.

When they got back to the entrance of Sherwood forest. Which lay right by a medium sized water fall.  They got off their horses and took the saddles off before sending them off back into the woods.

One by one they walked across the stone-cobbled path that stood over the water before entering behind the waterfall and walked through a tight cave entrance.

And there in the middle of the vast extension of the forest was a campsite with laundry hanging to dry, a few tables and chairs, and a large fireplace surrounded by stones and rocks to keep the flames from spreading.

“YOU’RE BURNING THE FOOD!!” Little John’s voice exclaimed.

“Uh-oh. He’s at it again.” Kit muttered.  The four of them walked around a large tree and there was Little John fanning a smoking pot with one of his newly washed clothes.

“Sorry Johnny. Guess I was thinking about Maid Marian again.” Robin said as he wiped his shirt of the soot and ash from the burned dinner. “I can’t help it……I love her John.”

“So you’ve heard too brother?” Gale’s voice soon spoke up. Robin and Little John turned and when they saw the rest of their gang and family arrive, Robin nodded.

“Yeah. And I assume you—”

“Please not—I don’t want to hear another word of it.”

“Look why don’t you two stop pining and moaning about just marry those two already will yah?” Little John said as he tried to cool down and save the burnt food.

“Marry them?!” the siblings exclaimed.

“You don’t just walk up to a girl, hand her a bouquet and say ‘hey remember me? We were kids together will you marry me?’ No. It just isn’t done that way.” Robin said as he mimed out his first statement before turning away solemnly and going to check the laundry.

“Oh c’mon Rob, climb the castle walls. Sweep her off her feet. Carry her off in style.” Gilbert said.

“It’s no use Gilbert, I’ve thought it all out and it just wouldn’t work. Besides what have I got to offer her?” Robin sighed.

“Well for one thing you can’t cook.” Little John said as he sniffed the food before trying to save the taste by dumping some water into it.

“I’m serious lads, she’s a high born lady of quality.”

“So the lass has class. So what?” Kit said.

“I’m an outlaw that’s what!” Robin shouted as he hung the shirt Little John used to fan the food back over a tree branch. “That’s no life for a lovely lady always on the run. What kind of future is that anyways?”

Gale looked at her brother solemnly before looking down at Prince James’ ring and clenched it in her palm.

“Oh for heaven’s sake son!” a voice suddenly cried out. Robin fell into the laundry basket and when he looked up he saw standing before him was the good Friar of Nottingham, Friar Tuck.

He was a middle aged man that stood about 6’2. Surprisingly for a Friar, he had wild curly dark hair.  He was a kind hearted soul who not only gave his life into helping the poor people of Nottingham in this time of crisis, but he also was a father figure to our gang of outlaws.

In fact Robin and Gale’s mother had asked the Friar to watch over her two children before she died and he kept that word like it was the word of God.

“You and your sister aren’t outlaws. Why someday you both will be called great heroes.”

“A hero?” laughed Robin. “You hear that sister? We’ve just been pardoned.”

“Well that’s a gag. We hadn’t even been arrested yet.” Gale said releasing the ring from her grip.  Friar Tuck walked up to her and gently ruffled her hair as he said.

“Alright laugh and doubt an old Friar you young rouges. But I swear to you there’s going to be a big to-do in Nottingham.” He then walked over to the stewpot, took the spoon that Little John was using and took a small sip of it.

Before anyone could have a chance to warn him that the stew was beyond repair, he started coughing and tears began to stream down his face.

“Well done ain’t it?” he croaked out.  David quickly prepped a cup of water and handed it to the good Friar who took it and rinsed out the bad after taste of the burnt stew.

“You’re lucky your cooking didn’t kill him.” Gale hissed lowly to her brother.

“Like you’re any better at cooking than I am.” Robin sneered back.

“No need for arguments children.” Friar Tuck gently scolded as he cleared his throat.

“Sorry Friar.” The two rebels said solemnly like two children being caught doing something naughty.

“Anyway. I bring news from the minstrel.”

“Ahh. And what does ol Alan O’Dale sing about these days?” asked Gilbert as he perched up along his favorite tree branch.

“Tomorrow, Prince John is hosting a championship archery tournament.”

“Archery tournament. Ha! Robin, Gale and I could win that standing on our heads with our eyes closed.” Boasted Gilbert as he fiddled with one of his black tipped arrows and gave a wink at the siblings.

“Oh Gilbert you flatterer. But I’m sure we’re not invited.” Gale said.

“No. But there will be a couple people who’ll be disappointed if you don’t come.” Friar Tuck said as he took another sip of the water.

“Oh yeah. Like ol bushel britches the ‘honorable Sheriff of Nottingham’.” Little John mimicked the Sheriff’s deep monotoned voice.

“And of course let’s not forget the ruler of this land Prince John. ‘Mummy!’” Kit mimicked as he began to suck his thumb.

“No……Maid Marian and Prince James.”

“Marian?” Robin said in shock.

“And James?” Gale whispered in the same tone.

“Yes. The prize along with a golden arrow is that she’ll also be giving a kiss to the winner.” Friar Tuck winked at the rest of the band before softly chuckling.

“A kiss to the winner?” Robin gasped happily. “Oo-de-lally! C’mon you lot what are we waiting for!?” Robin cheered ecstatically.

“Wait a minute now Robin! What if this is a trap? You know how both Prince John and the Sheriff both want your head for different reasons. What if this is some plot to lure you out?” David warned.

“You underestimate me my dear David. Besides, faint hearts never won fair lady. So fear not my friend, this will be my greatest performance!”

“Where’s Gale?” Little John soon spoke up.  As the six men looked around, they did notice that their only female rouge was in fact missing.

“I’ll go find her.” Robin said.

“Pardon me Robin, but allow me to go find your sister.” Friar Tuck offered.  Robin, secretly knowing that his own sister probably didn’t want to talk to him, allowed Friar Tuck to go search for his sister.

Further down the trail that Friar Tuck used to enter Sherwood Forest, he found Gale sitting among a field of veronica flowers.  Friar Tuck smiled solemnly and walked up towards her and said.

“It is said that the Veronica flower symbolizes fidelity and love. I even saw Prince James pick up a few of these flowers when he and Marian first arrived back to Nottingham. And I could tell that he was thinking of you.” Gale continued to look down at the flowers, fiddling with the purple buds within. “You doubt my words my dear?”

“No. I believe it.” She muttered.  Friar Tuck looked at her with soft eyes. “Friar Tuck……was it my fault for loving him?”

“Love is not a fault. Nor is it a flaw.” She looked at him confused.  He did sometimes like to talk in strange riddles and tongues and it sometimes did get annoying to her when he did that, especially to her. “I also seem to recall seeing the scar on his chin from when you first met and you knocked that rock against his handsome face.”

That at least got a smile out of Gale.  A real smile to which the good Friar softly chuckled.

“Listen my child;” he placed his arm over her shoulders and the two looked at each other as he continued, “Love is a deep magic that is the most powerful thing the good Lord has given us. It helps us define right from wrong. And governs all of our destines. Yours, mine, your brother’s, as well as Marian and James.”

“But what if he’s forgotten about me?”

“If he had then he never would’ve come back with Marian.”

“And what about forgiveness?” she said sadly as she looked down, tears filling her eyes.  Friar Tuck gently wiped a hidden tear from the corner of her eye and he said.

“My sweet Gale. I understand your fear about meeting James after what happened between the two of you. But I need you to also consider of what James has gone through. My good friend King Richard has told me of how depressed his son has become since that day.”

“You really think I should go see him, don’t you?” she asked after a long silence between the two of you.

“It’s not my place to tell you what you should or shouldn’t do. You are a mature, beautiful young woman. All I ask is that you make the choice that you won’t regret making.” He tucked a strand of her wild black hair behind her ear before placing his hand against her cheek.

She nuzzled against his warm palm before Friar Tuck placed his forehead against hers.

The two of them remained in that position.  Gale Hood drawing strength and love from the good Friar who had been the only father figure she had ever known in her whole life.

He gave her a gentle and loving kiss to her forehead before standing back up and left her to return to the church.  Gale looked down at the ring and unhooked the chain from her neck.  She let it drop down to her palm and she looked down to admire the family crest.

The proud lion staring right into her very soul.  As tears poured down her face, she placed the ring to her lips before finally for the first time in years, placing the ring back onto her left thumb (since it was the only finger it would fit on her).

When she returned back to her camp, her brother was the first to look up at her.  The others soon followed and the men waited patiently for her to speak.

“Whatever you lot have hatched up—I want in.” Robin walked up to his sister and asked her.

“You sure?”

“I’ve been wallowing in self-pity and guilt for years. I—I want to finally clear my conscious and finally face my past head on.” Robin smiled at his little sister and pressed his forehead against hers, their noses grazing one another’s.

“I’m proud of you sister. We’ll get through this together.” Gale nodded and repeated.

“Together forever.”

“Never apart.” Robin whispered.  He then came around to her side, slinging his arm over Gale and he said. “Gents, slight change to the plan now. We’ve got ourselves a new actor in our midst. Here’s what will happen now.”

Throughout the night, our band of rouges rehearsed and rehearsed their upcoming performance and this time both Robin and Gale would get the closure they needed.  

Finally reuniting with their childhood lovers and hopefully rekindle the flames that they feared were long extinguished.

[gingyboo]

Mirror Mirror

A/N: Again many thanks to @booglebug

Description- Soulmates existed. People knew that much. Soulmates were rare, a handful in each generation, an unexplainable phenomenon that formed a bond closer than blood and more sacred than marriage.

Bucky finds his soulmate when he needs her most. Little does he know how much she needs him too.

(Soulmate au that slots pretty much in to the MCU but with soulmates. Set after TFATWS.)

Pairing- Bucky Barnes x OFC

Warnings- Mentions of violence and guns, but its mostly fluff, drama and angst.

This is a multi chaptered fic.

Please like, comment, reblog!

prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8

Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11

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Chapter 12

They woke up curled together the next morning. Their foreheads were pressed together, his left arm snaked round her wait whilst his right was tucked up supporting his head, he hummed softly playing with her loose hair. She looked into his eyes, adoration flooding through her.

“I know I have never said it, but I love you.” Nancy whispered. A smile spread across his lips and a blush rose to his cheeks.

“I thought that was because it didn’t need saying, I love you too.” He kissed her firmly on the lips. She smiled into it before rolling away and out of the bed.

“Come on sergeant, we’ve got work to do.” She ordered.

“Yes ma’am.” He answered.

They got up and ready quickly and without incident. Nancy pulled on her dress from the night before and Bucky slipped into his jacket, the left sleeve missing, flexing his vibranium arm. They made their way to the palace once more, meeting Sam at the door. They were led to the main hall where Duncan Everett was already sat bound by a brightly lit device to the floor. A force field surrounded him as well. He has wearing the same clothes as the night before minus the black coat and appeared tired and fed up. Shuri was sat casually in a chair, her legs swung over one of the arms. She smiled as they entered gesturing to some other seats that were laid out.

“Lieutenant Everett if I’m correct?” Shuri started taking the lead in the interrogation.

“I don’t go by that rank anymore.” He answered quickly with a scowl

“Well, no I suppose you wouldn’t, seeing as you’re legally dead.” Nancy snapped back.

“touché.” He smirked.

“What is it you want with Martin Cartwright?” Shuri asked firmly.

“Absolutely nothing.” He dragged his eyes away from Nancy to look directly at Shuri. She frowned in response.

“What’s all this been about then?” She stood up approaching the forcefield.

“I don’t want anything from Matin Cartwright. I’m after her.” He pointed straight at Nancy. Bucky drew himself up to stand in front of her.

“Well you can’t have her.” he shouted, anger rising inside.

“Oh, believe me it’s not like that big guy.” He shook his head laughing.

“Then what is it like?” Sam asked. Duncan looked around the room weighing up his options.

“I’m trying to smoke out a rat, just needed some decent bait.” He leered at her.

“Who, who’s the rat?” Nancy faltered.

“I think you already know that. Christopher Cartwright.” He stated confidently.

“Christopher Cartwright is dead.” Bucky snapped back

“So am I, legally.” He smiled

“So, it’s true, Kit is alive.” Nancy said standing up to step infant of Bucky.

“Most defiantly.” The prisoners voice filled with venom.

“Explain.” Sam said. All of them now on their feet. Duncan looked between them, realising he was outnumbered and alone, he told them everything.

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America had their Captain, Britain wanted their own. The super soldier serum was lost but the military took on the greater scientific minds in the country to develop their own. The hired on the brightest and best test subjects from across the Army, Navy and Air Force. Duncan Everett was one such subject. He was the brightest and best, young, fit and healthy. Three years in the British army, he held a great sense of patriotism. It was the greatest honour to be selected. It was there that he’d met Lieutenant Commander Cartwright of the Royal Navy. He led their group, always first to volunteer, always encouraging, always up for a laugh. They’d all loved him. He was the first to take the serum, he was the natural choice, Duncan was happy to wait his turn. Until Christopher betrayed them all. Destroying the test samples and running off into the night. The scientists were found dead in the morning and the programme was shut down. After that the government wanted to forget the venture and wipe the slate clean. The test subjects were placed in witness protection for their safety. A fake training exercise was enough to stage their deaths and the country was none the wiser.

Witness protection hadn’t suited him or his comrades. If bringing in the only successful recipient of the new serum could restart the programme, then that is what they’d do. It wasn’t hard to find supporters, many criminal organisations were interested in possessing an enhanced human. What moral implications could there be for Duncan, he would simply had all his benefactors over to the police once they were brought back into the military. Tracking down Christopher Cartwright had turned out to be more difficult than he predicted. He was a man of great means, Duncan suspected he could be hiding anywhere.

Then he remembered the sister. The letters Cristopher had written but never sent, always to the same woman, the picture of the girl with the long dark hair laughing next to him that he’d kept in his wallet. Nancy Cartwright, the sister he’d felt guilty for abandoning, at least that is what Duncan had managed to infer from their conversations. She was nothing special, a London socialite, daughter of a diplomat overseas. Getting close was to her proved to be more difficult, her home was too secure to think about a break in, she rarely ventured out alone and when she did it was to no readable pattern. Then came her invitation to the ballet, they’d been intercepting her communications, alone in a box with an easily compromised politician. Duncan had sent in his men, only to be foiled by two of the avengers. He’d gone in to get her himself, played his trump card to no avail, then been picked off the ground like a door mouse being hunted by a bird. Duncan then retreated to regroup in Amsterdam.

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“Why would Kit betray you?” Nancy said forcing back the tears in her eyes. Kit was alive, it was the only thought in her mind, her singular purpose was finding him.

“I was going to ask you that. I don’t believe he was working alone. You got any ideas who he was working with?” Duncan smirked knowingly at her.

Nancy’s heart sank in her chest, she felt like she might feint or throw up. Bucky caught her as she stumbled, she couldn’t meet his gaze though. She shook off his grip and, though it took all her remaining strength, she marched from the room.

“Think I touched a nerve?” Duncan asked the room.

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Nancy walked for a while before her legs sent her to the training room. She found the targets set up like they had been the day before. She breathed deeply handling the knives laid out for practice. She picked one up, testing its weight gently before launching it towards the target with a scream. It missed rebounding off the forcefield and falling to the ground. she picked up two more throwing them with the same result. She let the tears fall, felt the walls collapsing in on her. knife after knife she threw until one bounced badly on the forcefield and came flying back at to her ear. A hand shot out and grabbed it, it took Nancy a moment to realise it was her own. She stared at it in surprise, taking a deep breath she could almost hear the music in her head, she threw it back and it hit home, dead centre. Her toes curled as she found adrenalin coursing its way through her. She jumped on the spot before picking up the fallen knives. she returned to her spot, the music filling her head again as she threw the knives in quick succession, each hitting, forming a ring around the centre. She heard a clapping coming from behind her, she whipped round to find Bucky stood leaning against the door frame, his face carved from stone and unreadable.

“Bucky…”

“What’s going on Nance, what was that in there?” he walked over to her, his thumb rubbed a stray tear off her cheek. she shook her head turning away from him.

“He’s so bloody smug, like he’s proud of himself, like this is some sort of game, well it’s not, it’s my life and it’s my family, it’s my brother.” she said pulling the knives from the target, “Well you know what, no one messes with my family,” Buck nodded agreeing with her.

“What did he mean, about Kit having help, he seemed to say it for your benefit.” he asked grabbing her hand.

“Bucky don’t push this,” he let go automatically, his brow creasing.

“Nancy please, you’re shaking.” She hadn’t noticed till he told her.

“There are things I haven’t told you, about my family, people we don’t talk about, and I should have told you, but I couldn’t. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” She fell to the floor at his feet, he slid down to join her.

“Whatever it is, it’ll be okay, you can tell me.” Bucky insisted. She was quiet for a while, Bucky could almost hear the cogs turning in her head.

“My mother is Sokovien by birth,” she stuttered out. “Her maiden name was Zemo, her father was Petrov Zemo, her older brother was Machev Zemo and her nephew…”

“Helmut Zemo.” Bucky finished for her. Nancy looked away, nodding.

“I only met him twice, my mother didn’t agree with their criminal dalliances, so she lived a very separate life after she married. He came to England once with his mother, they stayed with us, he was older, a moody teenager at the time.” She chanced a glance at him, still he appeared unreadable.

“And the second time?” he said.

“My grandfather’s funeral.” She said finally meeting his eyes.

“And Kit, did he know him any better?” Bucky asked, encouraging her to continue.

“Not that I knew, but who else could he know who hates the very idea of super soldiers enough to kill those who made a serum?” He agreed with her there.

“Nancy,” he placed his palm against her cheek. “thank you for telling me.”

“You don’t hate me?”

“I couldn’t hate you if I tried.” he sealed his words with a kiss to her cheek. As he stood up he brough her to her feet as well. He linked their fingers together after taking the knives from her hand. “That was impressive.” he nodded towards the target. “Seems like Shuri’s theory was correct.” Nancy nodded, leaning her head against his shoulder. “We don’t choose who we’re related to Nancy.”

They left the training room together and walked together, they walked through the city in silence, Bucky’s thumb drawing patterns across her knuckles. He planted kisses on her head at seemingly random intervals. As they got to the city’s outskirt Nancy figured out where he was leading her, down to the lake again. The sun was high in the sky this time lighting up the water. Nancy’s forehead was shiny with sweat and her feet ached from the walk. Despite this she felt calmer hearing the gentle lapping of the water. They stood together breathing in the fresh air.

“I suppose I’ll have a fair bit of explaining to do when we get back.” Nancy said, breaking the silence and turning to face her soulmate. He stared at her, taking in the way the light set fire to her hair and how her eyes seemed to glow green and gold.

“You don’t have to explain anything if you don’t want to. But I think you know what we are going to have to do next.” his eyes squinted against the sun whilst his hands sat on his hips.

“Yeah, time for a family reunion.”

“You don’t have to come, me and Sam can do this ourselves, report back to you.” Bucky tried.

“No, I have to do this, I have to come with you.” Bucky knew better than to argue. He brought his arms around her looking down into her eyes.

They’d speak with Shuri later and arrange a visit to The Raft.

[espercr---archived]

✶ - 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆'𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 

     gentle disclaimer that i’m going off of her age as opposed to actual years . this is to keep the focus on her & plot points in her life , rather than events in the universe(s) she inhabits - although i do have ideas about when these events occur adjacent to the mcu , so i will add in little notes about that as i go . also this is going to be incredibly long - so it’s going under a read more . things may also change with plotting / the addition of mains - so this will be a living document , & i will add things accordingly . 

𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 - hope is born in london , england to newlyweds ardella & damien baxter , a biochemist & engineer respectively . she spends her first 2 years growing up in the city , but with little faith on the way her parents decide to take advantage of the farmhouse ardella recently inherited in the states . 

when hope is the age of 3 , faith is born , & her family is living happily on the outskirts of a little farming town - brightside , tennessee . growing up in the country is paradise - she spends her time exploring the woods , caring for animals , & helping her mama in the kitchen . it’s not until later that she realizes she’s just a bit lonely - especially once faith starts to pull away from her .

at the age of 11 she meets winfield , the boy who will be her best friend for life . he is a bully , initially - but with some convincing ( & her mama’s famous triple chocolate muffins . ) he gives her a chance . . . & from then on they’re thick as thieves . before their friendship , hope was rather shy & reserved - but with his encouragement she quickly blossoms into much more of a socialite .

her life is looking up until the age of 14 . she discovers her parents have been killed in a lab ‘accident’ at their place of work , a company she knows next to nothing about . it only occurs to her later that maybe there was a reason for her parent’s secrecy . not knowing better , the sisters wrongly assume that the ‘social worker’ that comes to collect them means well - really , she is connected to the deaths of their parents , & they are taken to an illegal testing facility to be experimented upon . once it’s clear that these people mean them harm , hope does her best to fight back & protect her sister - but . . . really , at this point she doesn’t stand a chance . 

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 - she learns that the woman who kidnapped them is dr . bianca white . she doesn’t know it at the time , but this woman used to work with her parents . what she does know pretty immediately , is that she is bad news . hope is convinced to make a deal with her : allow herself to become their willing little lab rat , or allow her sister to receive the same treatment . it’s a no brainer , hope chooses to comply . 

by the age of 15 there’s been little to no progress & her captors are becoming impatient . their experiments become more & more ruthless . faith has started to detach herself from both hope & the world in general . she’s angry with her sister , for making no attempt to escape or fight back at all - unaware of the deal she has made . it’s at this point they are seperated entirely - & experimentation on faith begins , however hope is oblivious to this . she needs to believe these people are keeping their promise . faith becomes even more resentful of hope every day .

just after her 16th birthday she’s told faith has died . the scientists have a hunch - their energy readings show a correlation with hope’s emotions , negative ones in particular . so they provide the most negative stimulus they can think up , even if it is a total lie . faith is alive & well , however she’s been manipulated into aligning herself with her captors . what her torturers hadn’t planned on , is just how volatile hope’s reaction would be . the energy behaves like a sizable bomb - freeing hope & injuring everyone within the blast radius . finally , she is able to fully access the abilities she’s been developing for the past two years . she’s on a warpath to escape the facility & free the other victims , putting an end to the experimentation for good . in the meantime , dr . white escapes with faith - cutting her losses . 

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐇 - wealthy journalist , kit armington , is tasked with reporting on the facility’s illicit activity & takes pity on hope - taking her in as a foster child . during this time hope endures questioning by the police , the press , & eventually several hearings as a witness . dr . white is presumed dead - hope believes she murdered her , & despite how much hatred she holds in her heart for that woman . . . this really tanks her mental health & self image . she feels like a disappointment to everything her mother stood for , & vows to never use her abilities again . . . she doesn’t even try , for fear of hurting anyone . 

at 18 hope has completed her education through home schooling  , testing out of high school & with kit’s financial aid - she enrolls in college . it’s there she meets christina , & . . . these two have a rocky start . as roommates they clash - christina is a bit of a shut in & a neat freak . . . hope is disorganized & has fallen in with the partying crowd - which is atypical for her , but trying to drink away the pain seems a lot better than having to feel it all the time . it’s not until a late night heart to heart that they finally see eye to eye . hope convinces christina to come out with her & live a little - christina keeps hope from overdoing it . they balance each other perfectly , & make a great team - this never changes . it’s at this point christina begins to develop an unrequited crush on her best friend .

𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐑𝐘 ( domestic abuse tw ) - the pair graduate at the age of 22 & begin their journey of opening a bakery together . they receive the condition that if they can raise half of the funds necessary , kit & christina’s family will match the sum in equal parts . the pair head to new york , christina working as an accountant & hope working two waitressing gigs . it’s at this point she starts dating a guy that’s no good for her - as christina would remind her frequently . she’s not proud of her time spent with him , but she’s also infatuated with the illusion of love - especially considering all she’s been through . it’s at this point she’s reunited with winfield , who is down on his luck trying to make it as an actor in the big city . she takes him in , after some convincing - but is understandably vague about the circumstances of her disappearance . one day she returns to the apartment with a blackened eye - & though she tells him not to , he goes after her abusive boyfriend . hope follows , walking in on the violent confrontation . seeing her best friend being beaten to a pulp triggers her powers for the first time since her escape from the facility - effectively putting a stop to the brawl , & exposing her powers to winfield . he convinces her to use them for good - & once again becomes her trusted confidant . at this point she can barely lift a feather without her emotions being supercharged - but this changes with time & practice . 

𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐁𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 - at the age of 25 Hope’s Bakery is open for business . winfield has his own place , just across the street & she is practicing vigilante justice when the sun goes down . it’s this chunk of time i use as a default for most of her interactions . ( in comparison to the mcu , i place this before the winter soldier . ) this is her situation until the beginning of her first arc - effectively , her status quo . virtually untrained , all alone - but determined to do some good . 

𝑎𝑟𝑐 𝟣 . 𝐌𝐘 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐄𝐃 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 - mercenaries start turning up to kill hope . not her vigilate alter ego , stellar jay , hope b . baxter . at first she thinks her identity has been compromised , but that’s not it . following the clues , she learns it’s dr . white - back from the dead . she’s become aware of her vigilante routine , & wants to cash in on her lab project . the mercenaries were a test , to see what she could do - & gauge whether it’s worth trying to recruit her . hope , of course , isn’t happy about this . especially when dr . white decides to use christina as leverage . this would be a great time for any close friends / potential romantic partners to discover her secret - since this is where she’s at her sloppiest . there’s a lot of stuff left loose here for mains / additions to canon - but eventually , hope has a final showdown with bianca white & discovers that her sister is alive & well & pretty evil . she’s asked to choose her own freedom for chris’s life , however with winfield’s help she is already safe . dr . white shifts bargaining chips - threatening faith’s life , who is now thoroughly betrayed . the sisters do the impossible , working together to take down bianca - who is remorselessly dispatched by faith . . . who disappears as quickly as she reappeared in hope’s life . 

needless to say chris , hope , & win all go to therapy after all of this . 

𝑎𝑟𝑐 𝟤 . 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐅 𝐖𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐘 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐖𝐄'𝐕𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐃𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 ? - now 26 , hope spends this arc trying to find faith & convince her to come with her  & stop killing people ,  please . her sister has taken to freelance mercenary work - so hope isn’t too pleased . it becomes very clear that faith always felt outcasted & unwanted in their family , especially from ardella - who only seemed to praise hope . this resentment isn’t easily cracked , but hope does her best . it doesn’t quite work , but seeds are inevitably planted in faith’s mind - maybe her sister isn’t the pretentious perfect princess she built up in her mind . hope is a guilty hero after all , constantly in battle with her desire to do good & reluctance to use the full extent of her powers . she’s convinced her mother would be disappointed by her violent approach . so faith enlightens hope . . . their mother wasn’t who they thought she was . 

she caused the explosion that killed her , their father , & a whole department of scientists . she sacrificed herself & others to prevent a dangerous substance from being utilized by the wrong group of people . their parents worked for the same facility that kidnapped their children - dr . bianca white was their boss , & had been blackmailing them for years . ardella finally had enough , & decided to end it . 

hope had always held her mother up on a pedestal , idealizing her , & holding herself to impossible standards . . . now she’s the bigger person , with no body count & the knowledge that her pacifist mother was capable of so much destruction . 

𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐔𝐃𝐄 - adding this little bit in here , because the only thing that could make hope’s mental health tank even further at this point is christina & her cat pumpkin turning to ash at her feet . she does all she can to cope , helping her community , reuniting what’s left of families , & providing food through the bakery for people in need . but when things quiet down ? she flees the city to spend some alone time in her hometown . this would be a great time for any potential friends / romantic partners to check up on her . . . or even stay for good . not much to do for 5 years , after all . she gardens , picks up a stray dog & names her honey , bakes a lot , just sort of . . . lets the scars heal over . by the end hope is 31 .

𝑎𝑟𝑐 𝟥 . 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐁𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 - now that the world’s back on track . . . hope quickly learns that faith is back in action , now a fully formed villain . hope is taking it upon herself to take her down , but it’s not going to be easy . this arc is a bit of a question mark , but it will inevitably end with faith finally admitting that she wants her sister back after all these years . 

& that’s the full timeline for now . that’s what hope is dealing with while she’s chatting with your muses . . . so be kind to her , she’s going through a lot . help her out , teach her how to fight - hold her when she cries ! & most importantly - come plot with me so your muse can be factored into these arcs !