#holy crap the one before this one is going on 20 minutes.

[hazelplaysgames]

unnecessary flaunting at the end is a must.

[kremlin]

@wikwalker hi sure yes anything to give me an excuse to procrastinate the post i should be writing right now. here are all teh drugs and how to manage them. you can trust me, a drug addict

first of all: https://www.erowid.org/ , erowid always

don't be afraid of drugs, if they're the right drugs, you should do them since they will be a blast regardless and overcoming fear is also good (but outside the scope here)

OK to do as much as you want: alcohol - social benefit greatly outweighs health effects, no reason to avoid if predisposed to abuse since that'll happen sooner or later. what can i say? don't be a fucking dork. when you start drinking, really overdo it as much as possible without dying and get a few real nasty hangovers under your belt so you know how much is the right amount to drink.

weed - innocuous enough to be fine but will make you stupid in the long term. make sure to only buy from a real drug dealer and never some legal institution. cut it out when you're a "real adult". don't smoke weed and watch TV routinely, go out and do things so you naturally grow to hate it. good to go through this as early as possible to minimize the time you spend as a cringe weed enthusiast

i guess those are the only two.

ok to do infrequently (annually): "lsd" - or whatever it is, probably not lsd, blah blah blah, if it works and is sold on blotter its fine and won't make you go nuts or whatever. opt for a better psychadelic imo. see psych rule at bottom of section

mushrooms - better than acid since you know what they are. rule of thumb is to always do more than you think you want. minimum 1/8oz. see psych rule at bottom of post

dmt - if you somehow have a dmt hookup you don't need to be reading any of this. lasts 10 minutes which leads to tendency to way overdo it, don't do this, my favorite webcomic artist is permanently crazy from exactly that. using a crack pipe is also not the uhhhh most dignifying-feeling thing to do either. it's harder than you think.

mdma - for use at electronic music event or rave. overuse causes brain lesions or something.

coke - wait until you're in your 20s, have maxed out your roth IRA for a couple of years in a row, and havent missed a car payment in a similar timeframe. better still if you've worked a very shitty low paying job and know the value of a dollar. if you still find yourself buying candy you're not ready. too expensive to be worth it to get hooked on. know that you are VERY ANNOYING to anyone who also isn't high. don't fuck around with the guy selling it to you. avoid discussing or thinking about business ideas. you can't afford to make it a habit + kinda turns you into a piece of shit after a while, but at least a very interesting one

ketamine - another sick drug that rules, but save it for a special occasion. don't try and go into the k-hole your first time

rule for psychedelics - you get one good strong trip a year and that's it, make it count, always opt for doing a bit more than a bit less. but don't make it a habit, otherwise you turn into a very stupid very annoying "hippy" style cliché and believe in ghosts, aliens, crap like that.

ok to try once prescription opiates/benzodiazepine (xanax), valium, this kind of shit - worth trying so you can go "holy shit, this stuff is way way way too good to ever use responsibly" and then never do again. especially if you're white. for some reason we just can't handle this shit. if a doctor prescribes it to you, idk, that's your call to make.

ayhuasca - this is just dmt in a different form. do some other psychadelics a number of times before you do this. once you realize the whole "substantial visual hallucinations" thing is made up, its time. do exactly this: -buy root online (legal). receive box of dirt -boil dirt into "tea" (read erowid for exact recipe) -take over-the-counter anti nausea medicine or anything that will give you a stronger stomach -drink tea (its nasty as fuck, get it down quick) -have someone bigger than you keep an eye on you for the next five hours. -have the experience, which is absurdly intense, has no bearing to the real world, etc etc. don't be a bitch and throw up, if you do it'll only last an hour or so. again there is no way to provide a consistent description of the experience except that you will meet god. you only ever need to do this once and never again. trust me

peyote/salvia/etc - try em if you want, you'll never ever want to again afterwords. these are drugs for idiot teenagers too lame to get real drugs. imagine being very very sick from poison and utterly terrified at the same time. No good

whippets/nitrous oxide - just find a dentist that uses it and don't bother creating hundreds of pounds of trash on your floor for this crap that lasts ten seconds. you have to understand the extremely short timeframe coupled with the cost makes zero sense. go to a phish concert parking lot and do some people watching -- you do not want to be these people. only use is as a motivator to get routine dental exam. also if you somehow manage to make it a heavy habit your fucking legs stop working, no shit, but they start working again once you quit.

don't ever do heroin/meth/pcp - is is truly a mystery why you should never do these 🙄

synthetic weed/k2/shit from the gas station - it is so funny that they sell this as "weed that won't pop you on a drug test". its not weed. it is some dubious chemical sprayed on yard waste. smoke it to have a terrible time and go nuts. only buy drugs from legitimate drug dealers!

kratom - anyone's guess as to why this is legal but it's heroin for pussies. its still heroin

dxm/cough syrup - do you ever wonder why it is exclusively teenagers robotripping? it's because it sucks ass. is like a cheesegrater on your brain in terms of health effects with repeated usage. you're better than this king

inhalants - these are at the bottom of the list for a reason. do not huff gas. don't huff paint. do not consume computer duster. not fun + fastest way to make yourself a complete, uh, (word i can't say anymore) and then dead

not listed quaaludes- unavailable due to no longer being manufactured. these ruled apparantly

sincis2c - unavailable due to not existing, i just made this up

amphetamines - cannot provide objective take here. they're my albatross, lifelong (posted 4:55am natch)

[pumpkinsy0]

Ponyboy and Curly are both the type to say the most off handed crap to their friends or siblings. Like Curly will need to be under some influence to let it slip, but he'll say something like: "Do you ever think the wind is trying to tell us something we don't know?" And Tim will slowly glance over at him, dead face and say, "Stop saying odd shit, or you can bunk with mom at the loony house."

With Ponyboy it's more complex? Like he's got an active imagination so at dinner when he gasps and says, "We're just skin bags of meat, bone, water, air and electricity." Darry will stay silent for a moment before saying "No more Pepsi, books, movies, or TV for the rest of the night." (Sodapop is the only one that will actually stop and think about what Ponyboy says before going 'Holy shit, you're right!' and freak out along with Ponyboy)

a good chunk of their convos is just saying shit like this honestly

“shouldnt the equivalence of saying ‘im in my 20s’ as a teen be ‘im in my 10’s’🤔”

and then they talk about it for a minute and the other one makes another weird ass comment and its just a cycle

u have a better chance at robbing the biggest bank of america than understanding them even if u wanted to

on the “bright” side tho soda could probably count as the “curly and pony whisperer”

but imagine having to hear them say this bc after u come home from a long day of work, if i was tim or darry i woulda crashed tf out😭

[sspextkr]

snowed in - gerard/gn! reader fluffmas ao3

A snow storm blows out the power, leaving you trapped in an ATM vestibule with a certain celebrity crush of yours. (Heavily inspired by that one episode of FRIENDS ngl)

meet cute, plotless/mostly fluff, celebrity/fan dynamic, takes place in '07 read here on tumblr v or on ao3 (link above ^)

"5.. 10.. 15.. 20.. Good." You mutter under your breath, counting the amount you had pulled out from your bank account out loud. One week until Christmas, and there's still lots of shopping to be done. The last stop on your list for the night is a hole in the wall comic store for your younger brother, who's into all sorts of nerdy comic-y things. You have no idea what you're doing or what to get him- Maybe they'll have a cool figurine or something. They only take cash for some reason too, meaning you had to stop by and pull some out.

Although, you're also beginning to wonder if you should go home and do this in the morning- The snow is only getting worse by the minute, and you don't want to risk anything going wrong. The power could go out at any moment- knock on wood- and this vestibule isn't the comfiest. The ATM's are running smoothly, and the doors are functioning with no problem, so things should run smoothly.

You pocket your cash before walking to the front, and pulling the door handle. Clunk. It doesn't open. Maybe it's a push? Clunk. Not a push either. Just as you're about to give the door handle another tug, the lights flicker, before shutting off.

"... Shit-" You grumble, running a hand through your hair. Well, there go your plans for the evening. You spoke too soon, it seems.

“Aw, crap-” An awfully familiar voice sighs from behind you as well. “Guess we’re stuck.”

You only hum in agreement, turning around only to find yourself face to face with Gerard fucking Way.

…

“Holy shit.”

Like many of your friends, you had discovered My Chemical Romance in your late middle school/early high school years and became a massive fan, downloading every song of theirs you could find and buying as many magazines that had them on the cover as your parents allowed you too. Now, a little older and a bit more mature, you grew out of your phase, but the celebrity crushes still remained- Were they as intense as they were when you were 15? No, but certain photos did get your heart fluttering a bit.

Gerard pulled out his phone from the pocket of his trench coat, walking a few steps away before speaking. “Hi, yeah- I’m okay, I’m okay- The power went out and I’m trapped in the vestibule.” He paused. 

Right. You should probably call your own family and let them know where you are. You felt around your pockets, only to remember that you left it at home. Well, shit.

“No, I’m not alone..” Gerard glanced at you briefly. “I don’t know. Some guy.”

“Ha. I’m some guy.. What the hell is wrong with me?”

He spoke a few more brief words before hanging up, then awkwardly clearing his throat and turning back towards you, holding out his phone. “Do you wanna call anyone?”

You took his phone with an equally awkward demeanor, and dialed your moms number- You were supposed to drop by for a family dinner after a quick shopping trip, but the snow decided that you had other plans. After listening to it ring for a while, it goes straight to voicemail. Gerard gives you a sympathetic glance as he takes his phone back, putting it in his pocket.

"I just called my mom from Gerard fucking Way's phone, no big deal at all-" Secretly, you wished your cousin, Sabrina, had answered. She was supposed to be there, too, and was a massive MCR fan a few years ago like yourself. She would've been great to ramble with about this.

Neither of you spoke a word for the majority of the time, the only sound being the violent storm passing by outside. You decided to take a seat against the wall, awkwardly tracing the floor tiles. Gerard had a few other calls, some made and some received- It sounded like Christmas stuff, mostly.

"Busy?" You asked out of nowhere after his third call.

He gave a tired chuckle and nodded. "Yeah.. Christmas is always a big time of year for me. I'm.. I don't want to sound like I'm bragging or boasting, but I'm.. Sort of a musician. A bit big- Too big, if you want my opinion. Always some merchandise bundle scandal to deal with, or a tour that collides with vacation time-" Gerard paused, cheeks going slightly red with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I'm rambling."

"No, no, it's okay. I asked, didn't I?" That seemed to calm him down a bit. "I've.. Heard of you before, I think. You're pretty good." 'Heard of you' was putting it lightly, but there's no way in hell you're going to come out as a superfan and risk embarrassing yourself in front of your teen hero.

"Ah.. Well, thanks. I appreciate it. Really." He smiled shyly, gaze still facing the ground. Your heart fluttered again. Jesus Christ. "What about you? You have anything going on?"

"I was supposed to be Christmas shopping. I came out here to pull out some money, but-" You gestured to the window showing off the blizzard outside. "Mother nature decided I had other plans."

"I get that." Gerard stepped closer to you, taking a seat beside you on the floor. Ho ho holy shit- "I wanted to do some shopping myself before I went home.. Came here to pull out some money. There's a comic store nearby that I like that only takes cash for some reason."

That caught your interest. "Spikes?"

He nodded, giving you another soft smile. "Yeah! You've been there?"

"Once or twice.." You brushed a loose strand of hair out of your face. "My brother is really into comics and superheroes and all that stuff.. I figured I'd stop by and see what I could find him. Too bad I don't know the first thing about comics."

"Lemme tell you, as a fellow comic book nerd, a figurine of his favorite character will probably make his day. D'you who or what he likes?"

"Uh.." You paused as you thought. "Really, really big on Iron Man. He can't wait for the movie to come out. Hasn't stopped talking about it since he saw the first few previews."

"Iron Man.." Gerard repeated softly. "Well, he's one of the most recognizable superheroes ever, so I have no doubt you'll be able to find him something Iron Man related. Figurines can get pretty expensive, though.."

".. Will $20 be enough?"

Gerard chuckled like you had just told him a joke. "If they're having a sale.. Maybe."

You chuckled as well, the sound cut off by a shiver running down your spine. With the power off, whatever heating units they had going was also off, and it was getting pretty cold. "You okay?"

You nodded, wrapping your jacket around yourself a little tighter. "I just get cold easily."

Gerard frowned, scooching to the side for a moment to take off his trench coat before settling it over your shoulders. "There."

You mumbled a small thank you, cheeks heating up to an embarrassing degree. Why were you so easy? Who gets flustered from someone giving you their jacket? Maybe since it's Gerard fucking Way-

The two of you continued to exchange a few words here and there, small talk turning into lighthearted and playful conversations. It was a little surreal getting to know him. Yeah, you had read all sorts of articles and watched all sorts of interviews, knew every song lyric by heart, and could drop so many of his iconic quotes into any conversation, but you were able to see who he was off camera. And who that was, was an adorable, loveable bastard with a passion for comics. Who knew he had such a sense of humor?

Your time together came to an abrupt end when the power flickered back on, the ATM’s came back to life and the door unlocked, finally. The both of you stood up, and you gave his coat back, not feeling quite as awkward or shy around him.

"This was a surprisingly good time." Gerard said after putting his coat back on, adjusting the collar around his neck. "Any chance I can get your number so we can meet up again?"

You blanked before nodding. "Uh.. Yeah, yeah.. Sure.."

Gerard smiled. "Awesome." He opened his contacts and handed you his phone, in which you typed your number in with shaking fingers. "I'll, uh, text you soon?"

"Yeah- Totally. I'm free besides the holidays."

"Great." He began to step away, walking towards the front door, before turning towards you at the last moment. "It was nice meeting you."

"Y-You too." And with that, he left. You found yourself needing a moment or two before you left yourself.

...

Sabrina’s never gonna believe this-

[browneyedartist01]

My thoughts during the final hour of acomaf:

(Bare in mind that I notched up the speed to 1.5 then 1.75, and these thoughts are not in order)

-"You don't need proof that it works, I'm proof that it works-"

Weren't you made by high lords?

-"I will destroy your court."

And I will hate you. More so than I already do

-"He held out his hand like I was some pet."

"Come home."

My thoughts:

"Come home with me."

"Who are you?"

"The man whose gonna marry you, I'm Orpheus."

"Who am I?"

"Eurydice, *laughs* the girl who makes me wanna sing, the women I'm marrying."

-Why dose the evil man sounds like a radio announcer?

-Lucian really setting the bar higher already in how to care for your mate, as expected. (Go little Rock star)

-He broke through the bounds that a high lord couldn't break through just to go to her?!?!

-And he gave her his coat to cover her??

-"There were different kinds of torture I realized, there was ones I went through, what Rhys went through and then this."

Yeah, now you know how Tamlin felt utm.

- Did Nesta just give the evil king the middle finger? Ew, sarah cringe stop it.

-Cassian just keep dying sweetie, don't touch Nesta.

-Nesta be nice to your future brother in law.

- Freye unlocked a new power, somehow.

-Cheesy, this is all so cheesy.

- "his green eyes met mine, the sorrow and tenderness in them was the most hideous thing I've ever seen."

Wow, ok...

-Tamlin acting like Ryhsand though with Tamlin it's justified/understandable

- *me counting down the final 22 minutes while freye is dying*

-"I nerely gagged on his scent."

Freye darling, I get your upset about his deal with evil king. But he literally tried to save your sisters, stop being so dramatic.

- "my family."

It's been 3 months girly.

- "Tamlin ignored Lucian, so I did too."

Sums up Freye and Lucain's friendship

-Of course all the queens' want is eternal youth,

- Lucian naturally being the smartest one in the room.

-Noooo, not Ryhsand pov. 😭 this better not be the last 17 minutes.

-Holy crap, I just realized how similar this ending is to season 2 of lore olympus ending.

-Don't worry, the bat boys plot armor is thick. Sarah loves you monsters too much.

-Mor don't rip out the arrow it will only make it worse.

-Ryhsand please think, do you really think Tamlin would actually partner with evil king? He didn't even trust evil fae women when she first appeared, what makes you think he would actually help him beyond getting freye back?

-"she is my mate, my wife, the high lady of the night court."

BANG, CRASH A LIGHTING BLAST! (no joke there was thunder after he said this in the dramatized version)

I have 2 thoughts on this one:

1. There was a fan theory during the court trial in lore olympus (persephone was on trail for mass murder, long story) where hades and persephone got married before the trail started because at one point he called her his wife. This wasn't the case because she was 20 and he was in his 2000 (aka 40's) Idk if Rachel was a fan of acotar and wanted to steal from it (since acomaf was released in 2016 and the trial was released in 2020) but because people guessed it she dropped it. Idk that's just a my own theory.

2. How can she be the high lady when the mother is the one to give out titles? Do you realize what you just start Ryhsand? This could lead to more war against the more religious courts, this could lead to the end of the night court if the mother finds out... oh wait, this is acotar. Not real high fantasy, there's no real religious world building.

-"I've forgotten how quiet it was here, how small, how empty"

You do this every time freye, anytime your some where "better" you always just stick your noise up at your old home.

-Freye acting high and mighty towards Tamlin as if she wouldn't had praised Ryhsand for doing the same thing.

- Lucian, you are truly the best character.

-"My sister mate, the mother did indeed seem to have a sense of humor."

What do you mean? He would be a great mate. But then again you're suffering because of it...which makes it so much better.

- "as if he could do that to anyone."

But- but he did freye. And tbh I think he would have done worse to you if he deemed it necessary.

-Freye is really giving evil queen vibes. I wish I could enjoy it, but I know sarah is going to make her the "hero"

And that's it, Thank Saints.

[walkingintheheartbreaksatellite]

(They Long To Be) Close To You {1}

Harry Styles x fem!reader

Part 1- Sunflower Vol. 6

(No mention of pandemic.This starts as Harry writes Harry's house)Y/N lived a simple life. She worked and she loved what she did. She loved her family and she was happy. She didn't think she needed anything else. But one day, on a flight to a new adventure, she meets the one person she never expected to meet.

Fic warnings: mentions of past trauma, smut later, age gap (8 years), will leave warnings every chapter.

June 2020

It started in the early morning. 6:45 am to be precise. It was a chilly Gallup morning, and the balloons were going up, as they always did that early.

Leaving the house as soon as she could, starting the 20 minute drive to work like she did every day. Arriving at work with no problem, she was immediately called into her boss, Sofia's office.

"Y/N/N, could you come in here for a sec? And close the door?"

Y/N's pov

I slowly walked into Sofia's office, closing the door behind me and sitting down.

"Did I do something again?"

The older woman chuckles and shakes her head.

"No. But I wanted to talk to you. Do you remember when Alexander said we were expanding into Europe?"

I nod my head, briefly remembering the conversation.

"Well, they want you to go with a few drivers and go to London for a couple months to start up the first branch.Your position would be my current one. The company is paying for your living space and travel, you are responsible for anything else. Interested?"

Wow. That's... not what I thought she was gonna talk to me about.

"U-um yeah I'd love to! When do I leave?"

She smiles.

"At the end of the month. You'll be in charge of everything and everyone there. I know you'll do great."

I smile and thank her.

After that, the month flies fast. I pack what I need and it's shipped to my new flat and anything else goes into my mom's garage. On the day I leave, I meet the 2 drivers coming with me, Jackson and Adam, at the airport. At 4:30am.

It's already too early and I need coffee.

"You guys ready for this?"

The two men tiredly nod and we trek to our gate after checking our bags. After about 30 minutes we begin boarding our flight. The attendant scans my boarding pass and gives me a bright smile, definitely too bright for how early it is.m

"Miss, it seems you've been upgraded to first class due to availability. Enjoy your flight!"

Adam, Jackson and myself just share a look and proceed ahead. I find my seat and holy crap it's nice. They find theirs in economy and we part ways. I take my seat and pull out my iPad, briefly starting to get some work done. The plane takes off and soon we land in LAX.

The flight is a straight trip but I guess they had to pick up more people. I decide to put my work away and watch Demon Slayer instead. I pay no mind when I see from the corner of my eye, someone take the seat next to me. Jackson comes over to me to chat for a minute at that moment as well.

"Hey Y/N/N, do you have all the addresses for where we are staying? Ryan forgot to send it to us."

"Yeah. We're all in the same place, just separate units. We'll be fine."

He nods and then briefly looks at my screen.

"Really? Demon Slayer again?"

I flip him off and he laughs before he returns to his seat. After a couple minutes, the person next to me finally speaks up.

"Is it good? What you're watching?"

I take out my headphones and turn to the stranger, about to reply, when I see his face and my mouth drops.

"I-I um yeah, it is. I like it."

He smiles and holds out his hand to me.

" I'm Harry."

I smile and shake his hand.

I'm pretty sure he could tell I was shaking.

"I-I'm Y/N. I-It's nice to meet you!"

He laughs and I swear I could just die after hearing that sound.

"Y' must know who I am."

I nod and blush.

"I love your music. Always makes me feel better and brings a smile to my face."

He smiles.

" 'M glad to hear that. I love makin' music and gettin to share it. 'T means a lot t' me that it helps so many."

I nod and we talk for a bit.

I don't think I've ever actually had this meaningful of a conversation with anyone before.

"S'what are you watchin? Looks interesting."

"Oh, that? Oh it's just an anime that I like. I've seen it multiple times. I guess I just like watching it."

I giggle and he smiles, filling my stomach with butterflies.

"Would y'mind if I watched with you?"

I nod my head and hand off an AirPod to him, moving my iPad in the middle so we could both see and I hit play.

Somehow, through the flight, we finished season one and part of Mugen Train before we finally land. And I don't think I have ever been more disappointed. We both got up but before he walked away, Harry turned to me.

"I don't usually do this, but I want to see you again. Would y'want to maybe... exchange numbers? J-just as long as you promise not t'give it out...?"

Holy shit holy shit ho-ly shit.

"Y-yeah I'd love to! And I'd never do that! That's a betray of trust and that's one thing I refuse to do to anyone!"

He smiles and takes my phone, putting his number in it.

"Text me love. I would love t' get coffee with you sometime."

I smile and nod, waving him goodbye as I wait for Jackson and Adam to meet me up front. I see them come up and Jackson is grinning and wiggling his eyebrows at me.

"Shut it Miles. I don't want to hear it."

The two men laugh as we make our way out of the plane to baggage claim. I look around briefly for Harry and obviously I don't see him, causing disappointment to show on my face. I decide to pull out my phone and text him.

Y/N- Hi Harry! It's Y/N!😊

H-Couldn't wait, could you love?

Y/N-I could've! I'm just waiting at baggage claim and the two idiots I'm traveling with are teasing me!😒

H-Yeah? That's not nice. Should I come steal you away?

Y/N-Ha! As much as I would love that, I have to get the three of us settled in and dispatch them. Maybe coffee tomorrow?

H-Sounds great! I know a great place! I'll text you the address! See you tomorrow,love!

Y/N-See you tomorrow❤️

>>>————————————->

Waking up early the next morning sucked.

My alarm wakes me up at 6:30 as-per usual, but my jet lagged body did not agree with the new time zone. I had worked late, only getting to bed at about 2am, which would've been 9am my time.

I get up and take a shower, the hot water only soothing my aching bones for a short time. I dry myself off and make my way into the bedroom where my unpacked suitcases remain. I start to open them, only grabbing what I need.

I pull out a bright floral sundress, a pair of strapped sandals and the only other purse I packed.

I quickly get dressed before doing my hair and putting on just a little bit of makeup when I hear my phone ping. I look down at it to see a text from Harry and I smile.

H- Good morning, Y/N! I can't wait to see you!Meet me at the Abbey Road Cafe. I'll be there waiting! x

I blush and finish up before grabbing my bag and leaving. It's only about a 10 minute walk to the cafe and I manage to get there without getting lost. I head inside and find Harry in the back at a table. He smiles at me and stands up and he gives me a hug.

"You look beautiful! I'm feelin' a bit underdressed!"

Panic flashes in my eyes and he shakes his head with a small laugh.

"I'm only teasing! Really, you look amazing. Shall we get some coffee? Thought we might get some brekkie too before heading off."

I smile and follow him to the register.

"Order what you'd like. My treat!"

I frown and start to argue.

"Oh Harry, I couldn't ask you-."

He laughs and shakes his head once more.

"You didn't ask, I offered. Please?"

I sigh and nod and turn to the barista.

"May I please get a hazelnut espresso with oat milk? And.. a breakfast croissant?"

She nods and typed it in to her POS before turning to Harry, who smiles.

"A black coffee please. And a breakfast croissant as well."

She nods and he quickly pays and we stand off to the side to wait for our order.

"So, how was your first day in your office yesterday? Get settled in already?"

I sigh and only shrug.

"I suppose so. It's so nerve wracking. I was kind of thrown into this and while I'm grateful for the opportunity, it's a lot more responsibility than I had before."

He nods and gives me a small pat on the back.

"I'm sure you'll get the hang of it quick, yeah? Y' seem pretty resourceful, like you catch on quick."

I plush and grip my bag in embarrassment. We get our order and sit down at the back table, talking as we eat. We finish quickly and dispose of our trash before heading out.

"So you haven't gotten a chance to see any of the sights yet, right?"

I shake my head with a frown.

"I'll be here for a couple months so I'll have time but I would definitely like to see them."

He smiles and nods.

"I had a thought- I know the big sites and exciting.. But would you like to see some of the hidden gems of London?"

My face lights up and I nod enthusiastically.

"Please! I'd love to!"

He smiles and holds a hand out to me. I blush and hesitantly take it, butterflies filling my stomach as he laces out fingers together. We take the tube down to Little Venice and my mouth drops at the view.

"I-I've never seen anything so beautiful before..."

Harry smiles and leads me down a pathway.

"I thought we could take a kayak ride. Is that something you'd want to do?"

I nod and smile. We head over to the dock and board one of the kayaks, sitting close together.

He holds tight onto my hand as we travel down the river, making small talk.

>>>———————————>

1 Month

The next time I'm able to see Harry in person, he's walking through the doors of my office building with a plastic bag in hand and a smile on his face. My eyes widen as he walks through the dark doors and into my small office, shooting up from my chair in surprise.

"Harry! What are you doing here? Did you not see my text about lunch?"

He smiles and nods as he sits down in the chair in front of my desk, dropping my bag on the mahogany surface.

"I did. You said you had too much to do. So, I brought it to you."

He opens the bag and begins to place containers on my desk before pulling out a few bottles of water, and to my surprise, a bottle of Dr. Pepper.

"Harry... Where did you go? This looks incredible!"

He laughs and shakes his head. He walks away for a moment, to the break room I imagine, before coming back with some napkins.

"I didn't actually. Went to Whole Foods and Sainsbury's and bought the ingredients. Took maybe 2 hours? Hope it tastes good, haven't made sushi in quite a while."

He hands me a pair of chopsticks and opens the containers, my mouth watering at the sight.

"California Rolls? How did you know?"

He chuckles and he takes a roll and dips it into the cup of soy sauce he brought.

"You mentioned it the other day that you were craving some. Thought I might make some. There's also some fresh fruit and veg. Some veggie pot stickers too. Oh, and how could I forget-."

He reaches into the bag and pulls out a small blue package. Oreos.

"Thought you could use these too."

He smiles and hands them to me with a smile and I blush.

"Are you a mind reader? I was just thinking last night how much I wanted some to go with my glass of milk! You are seriously amazing."

I'm not sure if I see correctly or not, but his cheeks tint as if he was blushing, and he lets out a small laugh. We continue to eat and chat until we finish. With a light kiss to my cheek, he leaves with plans to go to dinner later in the week.

4 Months

"Harry, really. Where are we going? It's 11:30! It's almost midnight!"

He laughs as he pulls me along the dark streets of London until he stops in front of a building.

"What is-."

I raise an eyebrow at him and he just shakes his head before opening the door and pulling me inside. He heads down a hallway and reaches a door, pushing it open before pulling me inside.

"A studio? Why are we here?"

He pulls me over to the grand piano in the corner and sits me down on the bench, before sitting down next to me.

"I just finished a song for the new album. I haven't played it for anyone outside of the band.. I wanted to play you some of it."

He turns to look at me and tears swell in my eyes.

"Really? You want to play it for me. I'd love to hear it."

He smiles and scooches up close to me before turning back to the piano. He positions his hands and begins to softly play and sing.

Holdin' me back

Gravity's holdin' me back

I want you to hold out the palm of your hand

Why don't we leave it at that?

Nothin' to say

When everything gets in the way

Seems you cannot be replaced

And I'm the one who will stay, oh

In this world, it's just us

You know it's not the same as it was

In this world, it's just us

You know it's not the same as it was

As it was, as it was

You know it's not the same

He removes his fingers from the keyboard and turns his head back to me, only for a look of fear to appear on his face.

"Why are you crying? Are you okay? Do you-."

I sniffle and shake my head before wiping away my tears with the sleeves of my cardigan.

"I-I'm fine. That was just-. That was amazing Harry. You really are so talented. That wasn't even the whole song and you already have me pulled in. It's gonna be an amazing album. Album of the year, I bet!"

He blushes and wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side.

"That's definitely too soon to think about. But thank you love, I appreciate you saying so. Now, how about a late night snack? Then I'll take you home?"

I giggle and nod before standing up. I hold my hand out to Harry and he takes it with a smile. We walk out of the studio hand in hand in the dead of night, only our laughs echoing the streets.

7 Months

"A movie? You want to go to the cinema?"

I nod with a big smile.

"I haven't been since I left home! I thought it would be fun! Please!"

I pout and he sighs before giving me a small smile and nods. I squeal and jump into his arms, laughing as he catches me.

"What movie did you have in mind?"

I loop my arm through his as we begin to walk towards the nearest theater and I think for a minute.

"I was thinking like an action movie. Marvel if possible. Ooo! Black Widow! Black Widow is in theaters!"

Harry laughs and wraps and arm around my waist as we continue to walk.

"I guess that's the one. You really that into Marvel?"

I give him a look of shock and almost disgust.

"Sir! How many tattoos do I have?"

"16..."

"And how many of them are Marvel tattoos?"

"4..."

I give him a nod and he bursts out laughing, squeezing my waist as he pulls me along.

"You're too much Y/N M/N, you know that?"

I laugh and nod as we walk into the theater.

"Ohhh I'm so excited! I'm still sad over Natasha so if this doesn't save my fragile heart, I don't know what will."

He laughs and we walk in, taking our seats.

>>>——————————>

"Okay, I'll be honest, that was an amazing movie."

I leap in excitement, struggling to contain all my energy as Harry laughs at my child-like nature.

"Amazing?! More like the best movie of the year! Kick ass cast! Florence was 100% the comedic relief I needed! But ooo that scene at the end! She's going after Clint! That's crazy!"

He laughs and pulls me to his side as we walk through the night, laughing and enjoying our time together.

9 Months

It's been a couple months since I met Harry. And everyday with him is amazing. We both work quite a bit but still manage to see each other a couple times a week. Earlier in the week, I received a phone call from one of the corporate bosses.

I've been instructed to go home soon. With the hiring of more staff, I'm not needed and they want me back in my old position... And now I have to tell Harry.

I'm waiting for him at our usual spot and I see him come up to me. I stand up and meet him halfway, walking into his warm embrace.

"Missed you love."

"Missed you too."

He caresses my cheek and kisses my forehead. I can only force a small smile.

"You okay, love? You look a bit down."

"Y-yeah I'm fine. But we do need to talk."

He looks at me with concern as I lead him to our table to sit down.

"So you know how I've been telling you how well things have been going with setting up the new branch?"

He nods his head in acknowledgment.

"Well... it's done. There's new staffing and multiple drivers... so they want me back home."

We sit in silence for just a minute.

"When... When do you have to leave?"

"In 3 days...Look Harry... I don't want this to be the end of whatever this is between us. I like you. And these past couple months? You've made me feel so alive. I've never felt this way before...I know this sounds corny but I don't want this to be the end if you don't..."

He pauses for a minute before he bursts out laughing, leaving me in shock and confusion.

"How do you always seem to take the words out of my mouth?"

He pauses for another minute before continuing.

" Of course I still want to see you. I love spending time with you, Y/N. We'll work it out somehow."

He takes me out of my chair and hugs me tight. He pets my head and I start crying.

"Shhh. It's okay love. M'not letting you go that easily. You're stuck with me."

I begin to argue with him, tears falling down my cheeks as my vision blurs.

"But I'm gonna be in New Mexico! And you're still trying to write your album!"

He gives me a soft smile and shakes his head.

"You're forgetting about something though."

I just look at him in complete and utter confusion.

Those are the facts though... how could I be forgetting something?

"How often have you FaceTimed your mum just this week?"

"I don't know- probably like a good couple dozen- ohhhh! Duh!"

He laughs and hugs me tighter, resting his head against mine.

"I know it's not ideal, but we'll make it work. And I'll come visit you of course. Can't go long without my muse, now can I? I'll never get the album finished without you."

I blush and bury my head in his chest, causing him to chuckle.

"I'm know you would do an amazing job finishing it. You don't need me for inspiration Mr. 'I like to write songs about sex'."

He chuckles and lifts my head up, forcing me to look him in the eyes.

"Of course I do. I've written 2 songs already. Because of you. So I definitely need you. Stop thinking so little of yourself."

I nod, tearing up a little.

"Will you come see me off?"

He smiles and lifts me up.

"You really think I wouldn't? I'd never give up the chance to see you, even if it is goodbye."

He kisses my nose, making me smile.

"Let's go get you packed up, yeah?"

He grabs my bag and leaves a tip for the waiter.

"Wait, you're gonna help me pack?"

"Course I am. Gotta get my time with you while I have you. And besides, we need to finish Edens Zero, don't we?"

I chuckle and nod my head.

As excited as I am to go home to my family and my regular day to day life, I hate that I have to do it without Harry there with me. These past couple months have been amazing and he makes everything more fulfilling.

Heathrow Airport

I woke up early this morning and I'm not ready to leave. Harry came to see me off though. I take his hand and pull him off to the side.

"Something wrong love?"

I take a long deep breath.

"No... I just. I want to tell you something. I want to get it off my plate before I leave... Harry... I love you. And I know this is probably way too soon to say but- I just wanted to tell you. And I totally understand if you-."

Before I can finish, he grabs my face and kisses me. I close my eyes and focus on the feeling of his lips against mine. After a minute or so, he slowly lets go and he lets out a light chuckle.

"Sometimes... I swear... you talk so much that no one can get a word in."

I blush and bury my face in his chest until he pulls me out and places his finger under my chin, lifting my head up.

"I love you, Y/N. I mean it."

I start to tear up a little.

"What did I ever do to deserve you?"

"Dunno, because I am an angel."

He batts his eyes at me and flashes that smile that I love so much.

"Oh hush. I try to be cheesy and you decide to be cheeky."

He chuckles and hugs me, not letting don't let go until they call for boarding for my flight home. He kisses me once more and I let the tears fall down my face.

As soon as we let go, he wipes my tears with his thumb and smiles at me.

"Promise to text me when you're home?"

I nod my head and give him one last hug before I let go, letting the tears fall.

2 Weeks Later

Things have gone back to normal for the most part. I'm back to doing my old job. It hasn't been too bad. But I miss Harry like crazy. We FaceTime at least 3 times a day and talk on the phone almost every second.

He's been singing me to sleep recently and honestly I always wake up refreshed in the morning because of it.

Right now, I'm sitting at my desk, entering orders, when I see a name flash across my phone screen. I smile and answer.

Y/N- Well hello there, handsome!

H-Hi love! What are you doing later this week?

Y/N -Oh, you know, the usual. Working and going to my sisters this weekend, at least I think so. What are you up to?

H-Oh, you know, just planning a trip to go see my favorite girl this weekend.

My eyes go wide.

Y/N-REALLY?!

He laughs.

H-Really... Mum and Gemma wanna meet you. So... they were going to come with... if that's okay...

Y/N-I'd love to meet them! But isn't it too soon? I mean we haven't even made anything official...

H- That's what I said! But according to Gem, I refuse to shut up about you so they are insisting on meeting you.

I let out a little chuckle.

Y/N- I guess if I'm meeting them, you should meet my mom and my sisters..

H-We'll be in Thursday. I'm booking hotels for mum, Gem and Jeff.

Y/N-I'm sorry... are you expecting to stay with me?

H- I mean-

I let out a loud snort.

Y/N- I'm kidding. Of course you can stay with me. But it's only one bed so you can sleep with me or on the couch. I'll ask for Friday off and see if Sofia will approve it.

H-Don't worry bout that. We'll probably sleep Friday and explore later.

Y/N-Text me your flight details and I'll come get you Thursday after I get off. I can't wait to see you!

H- Me too love. I love you

Y/N-Love you too Harry.

We hang up and I get back to work, never letting the smile leave my face for the rest of the day.

>>>——————————->

What did you guys think? Let me know!

WC 4290

Tag List

@be-with-me-so-happily @swiftmendeshoran

@babyiamperfectforyou @freedomfireflies

@kaminokatiee @harrysmimi

@violetsandfluff @fruitmans @fruitmansrecs @strwbrrydaydreams

@rafaaoli @novalunosising

[flibbetygibbetsbro]

Some people really liked it, so here is some more of my unhinged fanfic of keefe in the forbidden cities

The

kid had come out of nowhere and she managed to hit him with her bike. Shit.

…

"Holy crap, are you good, man?" 

The boy she had hit blinked through his blurry vision to see a girl kneeling over him, her messy hair blowing in the breeze. All he could do was groan. His butt hurt. The boy tried to stand but only wobbled, nearly toppling over. The girl caught his arm keeping him steady, but that only seemed to make him woozier. His vision went blank.

"Wowsa, I guess you're NOT good then."

That was the last thing the boy heard before passing out. 

…

Name. What was his name again? He couldn't remember. His head hurt. His heart ached. What was his-

Oh yeah.

It was Keefe.

He forced his eyes open to find himself laying on some sort of table and bench combo thinking in the shade of a gigantic oak tree. Keefe turned his head to look at the bench connected to the table. Why connect them? Humans are weird. As he studied the bench, his gaze was caught on a leg.

That leg belonged to a person.

Keefe shot upright, ignoring the rush of lightheadedness as his body tensed, ready to flee.

"Woa there, bud. Chill out. I'm not going to steal your liver," the blond girl next to him said. The reinsurance should have made him feel better, but the thing about the liver seemed very unessacy. It made his gut twist a bit, almost like she was going back on her word and stealing his liver right then and there. "So, uh, what's your name?" the girl inquired. She seemed a little shy, but not in the "omg you're so hot and charming" way he was more used to, but in the "I just carried you to a table in a park and now I have no clue what to do with you now" way. Keefe supposed he'd feel about the same in her place. 

Keefes brain was so out of wack, he didn't even answer the girls question. He just looked at her blankly while his brain grasped onto the least important things. Like how she wasn't acting like most girls did around him. Maybe she was one of those people Sophie mentioned to him. What were they called again? Lemonon? Lebonan? No, lesbian. 

Before he fully grasped what he was saying, he blurted out, "Are you a lesbian?" 

"Nice to meet you "are you a lesbian"," she retorted dryly. 

Keefe reddened and crossed his arms irritably. (GOSH his head hurt). "I don't need to tell you anything."

She snorted and smirked a little, "Well aren't you a salty little cookie." Keefe just stared at her confused. Did she just call him…a baked good? He was befuddled before, but now he was baffled. He may have watched humans before, but this was the first time he had actually spoken to him. Were they all this confusing? 

"What?"

Keefe must have looked as baffled as he felt because the girl cringed slightly and seemed to shed a little bravo. "Sorry, I kind of forgot that you literally fainted, like, 20 minutes ago."

Wait, he'd been out at long?! "Wait, I've been out that long?!"

"Yep, you kinda freaked me out. I have a couple of friends that faint sometimes, but it usually isn't for more than a minute or two. You'd better get home and get something to eat." 

"Oh yeah, I guess." Sweet, he could just walk away and everything would be fine-

"I'll walk with you."

Keefe bit back a curse. This weird human was making it VERY hard to be undercover. With a forced grin he hoped was charming (he probably looked like he was freshly done with his daily hair appointment…with the mouth of Verdi the T-Rex), he stood to leave and find a corner hidden enough to lightleap away. "Nah, I'm good, uh…" She never gave HER name either. "...cookie." Wow. That was smooth. (Not really). 

As Keefe moved his legs to leave, everything went fuzzy for a moment before his vision cleared. Suddenly towering above him was the girl with the tail end of a shocked expression twisting into a mix of amusement and irritation. Realizing that he had fallen flat on his butt, he looked up at the girl a little sheepishly. 

"You're "good", huh? Oh, and my name is Soda." Soda was worse than Cookie in keefes mind, but Soda dragged him to his feet before he could dwell on names for too long. "Come on, we're going to Subway."

…

Subway, as it turns out, was not an underground collection of dangerous human transportation, but an above ground collection of dangerous human food. Wasn't the ham Soda ordered made from pigs? Ew. 

Soda turned to Keefe after she finished ordering her sandwich on the weird assembly line. "What do you want?" 

Keefe tried to play it cool, but his nose wrinkled a bit when he mumbled, "I'm good."

Raising an eyebrow, she seemed ready to add a sparky remark, but she paused when she noticed the way Keefe kept sending sideways glances at the meat section. "Oh. You're vegetarian." 

Before Keefe could intergect Soda had already ordered him a vegetarian sandwich. Keefe recalled that cheese was made from cows milk.

Ew.

The two of them sat in a corner booth. As Soda calmly ate her sandwich and drank her soda (was she named after drink of was it named after HER?), Keefe figeted and ignored his sandwich. The human emotions didn't make the world spin like it did when he first leaped, but his head still pounded and he had trouble focusing. Again, he found himself focusing on all the wrong things.

"Why do you have the same name as your drink?"

Soda smiled slightly (she was used to people asking about her name), but the way he phrased the question made her lips twitched downwards once. It was almost like he didn't know what soda was. Nah,that's crazy…

[hockeyandhrsepwr]

How on Earth?

*The boys try to embarrass Eddy, but things don’t go the way they expect*

The hockey boys are at a house party and have decided to spice the evening up with a little game of truth or dare.

“Eddy, your turn” Luke says and the boy rolls his eyes. “Dare.”

“Okay, think of the cheesiest pick up line you can, then say it to a girl of our choice & try to get a date.” The boys start snickering and looking around the room. “Her!” Duke points to a group of girls chatting in the corner “Bruh there’s four of them. Be specific.” He rolls his eyes. “The redhead in the black top. 20 bucks you can’t get her number.”

“Ooh, 30 he gets shut down right away.” Luke pipes up.

“15 he can’t get a dance with her” Comes from Mark

“Wow guys, thanks for the support.” Eddy flips them off as he makes his way towards the girl.

Duke snickers and the guys ask him what’s funny “She’s in my management class. Ive asked her out before but she said she doesn’t like athletes. And she definitely saw him over here with me.” He rubs his hands together. “There no way he doesn’t get shut down.”

Y/n POV

You’re standing chatting to a few friends that lived in your first year dorm, when someone taps you on the shoulders. Your friends are smirking and you turn to see Ethan Edwards, one of the hockey players. You know a few of them from classes but haven’t met him yet. You can see Dylan over his shoulder smirking. Oh shit, he’s wearing glasses. They’re my weakness, especially given how cute he is even without them.

Ethan POV

Holy shit she’s hot. The girl looks up at me questioningly. I’ve forgot what I’m supposed to say.

Y/n POV

He clears his throat

“Sorry, I just had to come over & say, my eyesight may be crap, but I can still see you’re an absolute catch. “

It takes a second but you laugh. “Really?”

His face falls, so you rush to finish “It was cute!” And his face perks back up. “So if I asked you if you want to grab a drink?” “Now or another time?”

He smiles “hopefully both?”. Damn he’s cute. You smile back.

“How about coffee tomorrow morning?” You wink

“That sounds good! Can I get your number so we can sort it out?”
“I’m thinking more we could maybe grab one now at my place and then see…” you trail off, hoping he’s picking up what you’re putting down. It takes a sec, but he seems to get it & blushes. He nods, dopey grin on his face. “I’d like that”

“Okay, Why don’t you give me a few minutes to tell my friends I’m leaving & then ill come grab you”

He nods & heads back to the boys as you walk off in search of your party buddy.

No one POV

Ethan walks back over to the boys, getting razzed because he didn’t get her number. They ask what pick up line he used, and the response is overwhelmingly “what the hell?” “Please tell me you didn’t”

Duker starts up “God thats embarrassing man. Of all the possiblities, you come up with that? No wonder it didn’t work!” He finishes just as someone approaches the group

Y/n POV

You sling an arm around Dukes shoulder as you say hey to him, Mackie & mark, who you’ve had classes with at some point over the last 2 years.

“Sup boys, having fun?” They nod. “Cool, Eddy you ready?”

He nods & extends a hand. You grab it and pull him towards you. “Bye boys” you call over your should as you pull Eddy away “see you Monday Duker.”

You head out and start the walk back to your apartment.

Back at the party

The boys are speechless. “How in the fuck did that work?” Mackie muses

“Guess its not that she’s doesn’t like athletes, she just didn’t want you” Luke laughs as he nudges Duke, who’s still staring at the front door.

“Legend” Mark says, as some of the junior guys make their way over. “Did Eddy just take a girl home?” Jacob says, and the boys relay the tale. “Alright! He’s got game.”

[kaiba-cave]

Guys. I had a crazy day earlier. 😭 Me and my mom went to get food and once we got it we were just sitting in my car for a minute when we saw this guy stumbling down the street. And at first we were just watching him like “ah, so sad, another drug addict on something”.

But this dude freaking collapsed on the side of the road. On his back, arms out, not moving. He was OUT. So we were like uh. We should call 9-1-1 probably?

I called 9-1-1 and I don’t know why but I wasn’t expecting the dispatcher to want me to check on the guy (I don’t know why I didn’t think that like, duh they’d want you to check) so we got out of the car and I went over to him and yeah, he was completely out. No response at all to anything.

And I am NOT the type of person to take charge doing anything. Usually I would’ve even made my mom call 9-1-1. But for some reason I started talking when the dispatcher answered and once I got out to check on the guy I was just focused in on trying to do what the dispatcher told me.

Dispatcher told me to watch his chest super carefully and put my hand near his nose/mouth to see how often he was breathing. And I was like. I don’t think he IS breathing. I could feel a super fast heartbeat but his chest wasn’t rising and I didn’t feel any air. The dispatcher was starting to walk me through how to do CPR, like I had my hands on him to start chest compressions when this guy ran over out of nowhere like “I’M AN EMT, MOVE!” and he took over the chest compressions. Thank god.

Before the EMT got there the dude on the ground was making this weird gargling/gasping noise and I couldn’t think of what it was called at the time but I’ve listened to enough true crime/911 call podcasts to know that it’s BAD. The type of breaths you take when you’re dying. The EMT guy called it agonal breathing after and I was like yes, I knew it was bad I just couldn’t remember what it was called.

But when the actual ambulance got there they said he had a pulse, so thank god for that guy. If I had to do it myself I don’t know if he would’ve had one tbh. I know how hard it is to do chest compressions, how tiring it is and how hard you have to actually press for it to work properly. Hard enough that you can sometimes break ribs doing it. But I’ve never taken a class or anything for it so I was freaked out. I was going to try, but holy crap.

My mom on the other hand was running around like a chicken with its head cut off, lmao. The dispatcher told me to ask someone to get a defibrillator if I could, so I told my mom to go to the pharmacy that we were close to and ask them, so off she went and after that I was so focused on the dispatcher and doing what he was saying that I don’t even know where my mom was for most of it. I think she went into like three different stores before anyone else bothered to come help and by then the ambulance was there.

And when he first fell, this guy had two friends walking with him. They literally just ignored him and kept walking. I saw one random guy just walk right past him. Another one walked up to him and sort of smacked him in the face but when he got no response he just left. So by then we were on the phone with 911 and getting out of the car to check on him.

I think eventually one of his friends came back? I guess, because he had a big cup of water from the 7/11 and he was pouring it over the guy’s face and kept repeating to me “I told him not to do that stuff, I told him not to do that, I only did some weed but I told him not to do that stuff”. But I was basically ignoring him because I was trying to listen to the dispatcher who I had on speakerphone. And by the time the ambulance came that guy was long gone, so I guess it was his “friend”, but he wasn’t gonna stick around to talk to the EMTs or the cops. That’s the main reason I’m sure it was an overdose. Plus this guy was maybe mid-20s. He wasn’t like an old man that maybe had a heart attack or something. Like I know that stuff can happen to young people but… no.

Anyway, I made sure to thank that random EMT guy before he left because damn. Lucky he was there.

Once it was over and I was back in my car I was trying not to cry, I think just from the adrenaline lol. It’s so weird like as it’s happening, it’s like you’re in your own world. I didn’t know where my mom was and didn’t care, I wasn’t listening to that guy, I was just focused in on listening to the dispatcher. It didn’t even feel like it took that long for the ambulance to get there, which in that situation you would think usually it would feel like they’re taking forever even if they aren’t, but by the time I heard the sirens I thought “wow they got here fast”.

We can get free NARCAN kits from pharmacies here too. Every time I get my prescriptions I see the sign there that says to ask about their free NARCAN kits and I always think about it but never do. Well now I’m going to. Because it would’ve been handy to have today.

I hope dude ends up okay. It’s sad how many people just ignored him while dude was literally dying on the side of the road. And yes, me and my mom assumed he was a drug addict too because of how he was stumbling around before he fell. But damn, I wasn’t going to just leave him there and drive away when we watched it happen. :/ It’s like some people just think eh another druggie, leave him be. He was also obviously not okay, it wasn’t like he was sitting against the building half asleep or something so you could maybe think he’s just high or whatever. He went down on the side of the road and you could tell it was bad. And like I said before, he looked maybe 25. He was young, he had a skateboard with him. And when the ambulance got there, they didn’t even seem to be in a rush when they got out. Like they were so used to this type of call it was just another normal day to them. 🙁

Anyway. After that we all just went about our days. Don’t even know what his name was but hopefully he makes it.

[larathia]

Series Review: 7th Time Loop

Okay, it's one of those series with a much longer title, but trust me, you just need "7th Time Loop" to find this one should you go looking. The rest of the title is broadly deceptive anyway.

This is another romance story. As before, I will state up front that I am basically aromantic and therefore I am not actually watching or reading this story for the romance part. I can comment on it, but ...yeah. It's not why I'm here.

There's a lot about this series that IS, though, and I wholly recommend it. Fans I have dealt with who aren't aro love this one so much they...kinda lose coherency, so I'm taking it on good faith that if you're one of those who WOULD be in this just for the romance, you won't be disappointed.

Now, on to my take.

Firstly, as even the shortened title suggests, this is a time travel romance. Rishe, Our Heroine, has lived seven lives so far.

Each time she dies, she goes back to the Worst Night Of Her Life - when the crown prince of Hermity, whom she'd spent her entire life up to that point being trained to serve as crown princess, decides to publicly dump her in front of half the nobles of the kingdom, in favor of declaring engagement to someone he likes better, while accusing her of a long laundry list of crimes she never committed. This leads to her being disowned by her family within about half an hour, going from 'duke's daughter' to 'only has the clothes she's wearing at the time' in the space of one night.

(Naturally, the first time this happens, she's shocked and devastated. By the seventh loop, she's much more 'I am SO GLAD I managed to skip being married to this bozo - seeya!' and I do like that very much.)

Once she's cast out, Rishe has to learn a trade to survive. And she does. Each lifetime she learns a different one, applying herself with all the intellect, curiosity, and perseverence she once applied to learning to be Crown Princess.

She learns to be a merchant, an apothecary, an alchemist, a lady's maid, a hunter/spy, and a knight, to be exact.

But before you go "holy crap that's way too OP" - she gets five years in each job. Five. That's it.

Because in each time loop, up to the seventh, when she's 20 she's killed. And in every time loop so far, what's killed her is a massive world war catching up to her. She's died trying to help the wounded, she's died trying to prepare wherever-she-is for the coming attack, and in the sixth time loop (when she's a knight, and arguably in her best position to defend herself) she is personally slaughtered by the guy behind the Great War, the instigator of all the violence.

Emperor Arnold Hein of Galkhein.

And this is where it gets really interesting.

From the sixth loop to the seventh, Rishe is cut down by Arnold and then, per the mechanic of the loop, dropped right back to that night when she's 15 and the prince of Hermity is casting her out. By this time, she's happy he does it and takes that part with grace. Her mind isn't even on the breakup event anymore, she's much more focused on "I have 30 minutes to get stuff out of my house before my parents disown me", and she's JUST looped so she's still mostly thinking like a knight. She books it through the palace, trying to take a shortcut.

Aaand basically slams into Crown Prince Arnold of Galkhein. Which gives her a minor heart attack, but doesn't stop her; she breaks off her high heels and leaps off a second floor balcony in full princess formal wear, forward roll into a run and off she goes to her family's house.

...She's caught his attention. By the end of the night, when the Prince of Hermity's and her family are done disowning her, the 'new career' is now being Crown Princess of Galkhein. Rishe is engaged to Arnold, the man who's responsible for her death six times over now.

Except...it's five years before that happens. He's not emperor yet. And...from what she can tell, he doesn't seem the type to want the sheer paperwork involved in ruling the world. He's buried under the work involved in managing Galkhein as it is.

This is the mystery behind the series, much more than 'why is Rishe looping in the first place'. Rishe wants, for the sake of her future survival, to figure out why this guy keeps instigating a world war so she can STOP it. But along the way, she's also finding out there were pieces she missed in her previous six loops that contributed to the future war and how it was conducted, so the story as a whole is this big tapestry of world events that in each loop she was both part of and partially ignorant of.

And all the while, the day of her wedding to Arnold gets a little closer. Along with the day Arnold murders his father, the Emperor, and takes the whole world to war.

Oh...and she's falling in love with him. It takes her five books to figure out that that's what's happening, so this is definitely a bit of a slow burn, but it's a pretty forgivable one in my view. Rishe is, quite reasonably, focused much more on "how can I prevent the great war and, incidentally, my own probable death" than she is on Arnold's basic hotness. (She's not BLIND to it, hence 'slow burn romance', but because it's not her main focus it takes her a bit to realize her heart's made up its mind.) And Arnold's upbringing has basically given him the emotional IQ of a chunk of slate, so while he's got a good start in "whatever my father would do with a bride, don't do that", he has a long way to go with actually processing the idea a human being would care about him.

The anime of this series is a pretty good introduction and takes you at least through book 1 (and maybe book 2), but I'd truly suggest getting into the light novel if you really want to know how far it's gotten.

[foxolotlfreak]

home away from home

Chapter one

Rift in space

rushing to the research lab, running down about 20 flights of stairs. The red flashing lights and loud blaring alarms of the “transport rift” protocol only made me run faster. I'm the one who worked with portals, but i've never worked with one of these.

It's kinda thrilling.

But even with all my training I was working on instinct. I grabbed the pack they set up for me just like in practice. Checking over items in my head, two weeks worth of food and water, fresh clothes, and a notebook with a pen. 

“Holy arceus” 

Thing has to be a least 20 feet tall

“It's a big one aint it” Nemona’s voice knocks me back to this reality

“Yeah, but, i think i'm ready to see the other side of it” shifting my weight from left to right trying to keep my feet off the ground to prevent a rainbow of foot prints from appearing below me, whilst hot potatoing my bag between hands to prevent the same issue.

“Where's penny? I wanna go nerd out with her before I leave” despite the fear this is really exciting. But that's not the only reason i need to talk to her

“Right office. The one with the colored handprints” crap- i forgot to change her door back after last time we hung out. I told her we shouldn't have played that new paintball game on hard mode.

I thank nemona as I run off down the right hall and burst through Penny's door. I pance as I try to get my breath back.

“Hey cel, you good? I know this is stressful but you're leaving prints everywhere” 

“I'm trying to get it all out before jumping into arceus knows where, potentially a place that demigods ain't welcome” my voice was louder than it should have been. Penny seemed unnerved. 

After pacing for a minute i swipe my foot over the bright spots i left everywhere, 

I need to get better at stopping those

I snap back to hear Penn calling my name “celeste, celeste, the gateway rift is destabilizing. You need to get going” 

Am I ready?

“Good luck cel” she smiled and bent down to hug me before pushing me to the door.

“See y'all in a fortnight” saluting before spinning on my heel and walking into the bright gateway was the last time i could call myself “normal” by demigod standards.

Memories replay in my mind, my seventh birthday still stands out as different. 

Sitting there with that necklace in my hands

The celestial steel was warm like it was fresh off of mom’s bench

It was so colorful

Like etherialy vibrant

“My darling boy, have i told you the story of your name?”

“I dont think so mama”

She took a deep breath, not as if she was tense but more as if she was content

“I named you after this very metal, because when i found you your eyes shone with the same vibrant light of this necklace”

I remember looking at her and giggling 

“Fun story mama, but my eyes are blue not rainbow!”

“Either way kiddo, i hope this necklace will guide you to have a life as vibrant as its colors”

I looked into the metal for hours, it felt so warm, as if it was a part of me i had lost 

And now in this gateway, this rift in the universe gives me the same feeling, and the colors are just as vivid

That sweet nostalgia quickly fades to show me things i hope to never see again

Memories of potential futures.

Standing on the edge of a shattered planet

Those vivid colors coating my own body

The core of my home slowly ripping away at me as it did to my family. 

But that was never gonna be the worst of it 

Was it?

Glowing wings rapped round my eyes.

I can hear someone talking to me, but i cant make out their words

Well, except for two words

“Thank you”

@forbidden-royal

your nugget pilot chapter

[blazehedgehog]

Interested in that new Suicide Squad game?

Not even a little, no. It's got the stink of a live service game all over it, it's been delayed to hell and back, none of the previews I saw sounded even a little bit positive...

It's as bad or possibly even worse than that Marvel's Avengers game, where it's the world's most bland game jam packed full of free-to-play mobile game junk. Except now they're asking $70 for it.

I'm getting really tired of every game having a loot system, or RPG mechanics where they don't belong, or whatever. All these little things to puff up play time, to fake the appearance of depth, and make it easier for them to sell you gacha packs.

It's like every game is Pokemon now: gotta collect everything, gotta raise everything up to max level, gotta grind against a million different numbers, because oh man, you think Harley Quinn's Mythic Clown Warhammer is good now? Wait until it's level 99.

And then next year, when they raise the level cap? Holy crap, dude.

Think of all the time you spent doing that stuff. Chasing stats. Pretending that grinding is automatically a substitute for depth. People love number go up. And I'm not even immune to that! In a good game I like to play, having an excuse to keep playing it is nice!

But more and more and more games are putting the cart before the horse. It's like they build a shopping mall and then fill it full of vendors that only sell old onions and manure. "It'll pay for itself," they say. "A lot of people need onions and manure." Not taking into account they're right next door to more useful stores people already go to.

And every game is a job now. I play Fortnite for about 90 minutes every night, something I've been doing for the last four or five years. The thought of playing any other live service game on top of Fortnite makes my bones creak like an old man.

Like, a specific friend is the one who enabled me to play Fortnite. He bought me a Founder's Pass for Save the World back in 2019, which means I get free v-bucks currency as long as I complete at least one mission per day. Depending on how luck falls, there have been days where I get upwards of 200vb per day, for free. Over the course of a month, that adds up pretty significantly.

We've both joked that the only reason we're still playing Fortnite after all this time is we always have currency for the shop because we get it for free. A Fortnite estimator website once said my account is worth multiple thousands of dollars, but I've actually spent maybe $100 total in real money over the last five years on it (about $20 per year).

Anyway, that same friend recently tried to drag me into playing Disney Speedstorm, because he loves that game. In the three or four months since he's been trying to lure me over, I have booted the game up maybe five times total. It is fun, but it's also a "this game is your job now" live service product. And my bones creak.

The stench of that coming off of Suicide Squad is too pungent to ignore.

[tj-dragonblade]

Top 5 Nightwish songs, go!

*sobbing*

I need you to understand. I tried to do a top ten a few years ago and managed to settle on a pool of 30 songs in no specific order. You have landed on one of the most difficult top-fives I could have been asked. Congratulations (and thank you, sincerely 💜). But I did it, after much thought and deliberation and with the caveat that ranking is extremely changeable after the first two:

1. Gethsemane I have to put this at number one since it is the most-played song in my library by a very wide margin. And it's very much a favorite. Gorgeous melody, so much devastating desperation conveyed, the frenetic piano runs, the cascading 'strings', the soaring vocals and some wonderfully poetic lines scattered thoughout the lyrics as well. 'Prayed more than thrice for you to see/The wolf of loneliness in me'. I love this song. So, so much.

2. Taikatalvi It's short but nigh on perfect, dark-waltzy 6/8 music-box intro swooping into melody equal parts foreboding and enchanting, vocals like a warning, by turns sweet or sinister, sweeping orchestrals, just. Extremely wintery and Fey all around. Follow the call and you may never see your own world again, but it may also be worth it.

3. Ghost Love Score Epic. I have been in love with this song since the first moment I heard it back in 2005. The perfect blend and interplay between the metal elements and the symphonic elements. All the time change stuff going on in the intro alone. The sweeping soaring lead vocal melody in the chorus over the choral chanting. 'If you be the one to/cut me I'll bleed forever'. The interlude through the middle, the switch to 6/8, the way it crashes back into the song after this break. The eventual return to the initial elements and the climactic rise in the melody I just. Yes Floor took the song to a whole new level, yes my favorite rendition is at Wacken 2013, but Tarja's studio version as linked above was the version I fell in love with and the version that introduced me to the band altogether.

4. The Poet and the Pendulum The melodrama and the bombast. The raw emotional journey, the discontent and misery and longing and anger-depression-despair, the final melancholy calm rising toward comfort and hope. The swings from melodic to discordant, the way it finishes like ripples on the ocean, soothing all that pain to peace and acceptance and moving-on. A 14-minute masterpiece of turbulence and exorcism.

5. Beauty and the Beast I will not deny that some of my love for this song is because it draws at least in part on the Disney version. 'Your ocean pulls me under/Your voice tears me asunder/Love me before the last petal falls'. Beyond that, I love the melodic change-ups, the back-and-forth vocals, the harpsichord patch on the keyboard, the rhythmic way it comes back in for the final section and the wordless soaring vocals over top as it finishes off, the growl at 4:20, that crystalline-delicate little melody tinkling over top of everything at 5:11. This was the one song back in the beginning that most clearly sign-posted where their sound was headed, the most 'Quintessential Nightwish' song off the first album, if you will. It's not particularly popular among the modern fans but holy crap I love it. So much. I am still so very emotionally distraught that we will never have the opportunity to hear a Floor-and-Marko version of this song, also.

Ask me my top 5 anything

[josiebelladonna]

some things people who’ve lost a crap-ton of weight, and i don’t mean 20-30 pounds, we’re talking upwards of 50 pounds (in my case, it’s now fucking 80 pounds) don’t seem to talk about:

my god, do you learn about your body. i always thought i could naturally carry a lot of weight, like i felt good at 250, but i can apparently drop weight like it’s no one’s business and i don’t look “too big” for my frame.

and my god, do you learn about your mind. you think a lot more clearly, for starters. i used to get mood swings when i was approaching 270: i stopped having them almost immediately after i started losing. you also find a new particularly morbid love of body horror.

hooooooly shit, do you learn about your family. never mind the fact that my parents both have health issues now (my dad’s diabetes and past drug addiction, and my mom’s blood clots, weight issues, leg issues, and actually had a tumor in one of her breasts when i was like 2?), i have generational trauma that apparently has roots in the soviet union, ww2, the civil war era, the religious wars in ireland, and the liberal wars in portugal, and i feel it all in my bones. it’s going to sound weird but when you shed a lot of weight, you see that trauma come out to play in ways that you don’t want it to, like… family treating you differently. family not knowing how to treat you now. because of its vastness, you can’t help but look at yourself and feel as though you just broke a curse of some kind. you’ll never have kids because a.) you don’t want to pass that on more than it already has; and b.) you’re too selfish, in your 30s, practically broke, can’t land a date, eating disorder did *something* to you, and you’re watching the world fall apart around you so it’s out of the question anyway, but you broke through nearly three centuries worth of bullshit, champ.

fatphobia is real. and when you get fat to laugh in the face of anorexia, you start seeing fatphobia for what it is. and you get thin with that in mind. you know what it’s like to have this big belly on you and to have a double chin. you know all the caveats of being fat, too—in my case, you know the eroticism of being fat.

the “phantom limb” feeling. i started noticing this when i hit the 40 pound threshold: subconsciously, you still think you’re that heavy. i let my belly relax and notice that it’s not hanging out nearly as much. i just did 20 minutes on the rowing machine—when three months before, i could barely do 5 minutes. i’m not getting edema in my feet anymore, and in fact, my feet are slender now. i can feel my hipbones. i can feel my ribs. i can feel my collar bones… holy shit, my jeans are falling off.

you’re cold. i’ve found myself wearing a hat more on cold days. a hat with gloves and my sweater because i’m freezing most of the time. it’s a jarring difference from being fat where i was often too warm.

you don’t use the bathroom as much. i remember taking a shit multiple times during the day at my heaviest. i would have these weird pains in my stomach like i had to fart (and i did, often) but they would just happen. i do piss a lot, though—most of that is from the fact that i drink a ton of water but apparently a big way you break down body fat finds its way into your kidneys and your bladder. i don’t bleed as heavily anymore on my periods (could be because i’m getting older, too).

there’s this overhanging feeling that you can very easily go into “lost too much” territory. in fact, this is my biggest concern (carrie fisher suffered a heart attack after she had lost a bunch of weight, after all). and in fact, there’s evidence to back me up on this, in that it’s better to be a little chubby/on the side of “overweight” than the “normal” section, notwithstanding the fact that bmi is a bunch of eugenicist bullshit. now you know why i actually don’t want to lose my belly all the way because it could probably be the only thing separating me from something awful.

loose skin. i actually don’t have much (if you can believe it, 80 pounds down) but i got it on my belly for the most part. my stretch marks are still there, these pale ghosts around the bottom of my waist. this weird indentation on my hip where i had a pretty stout love handle going. my skin there is unreal levels of soft now.

and lastly, everything tastes better?? obesity will, among other things, nuke your tastebuds so when you start dropping a lot of weight, you start craving healthier food and also more flavorful food. for example: never in my wildest dreams did i think i would love things like onions especially shallots and green onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, and a dash of chili flakes, but here we freaking are. god almighty, i love anything and everything aromatic. i season everything. i got two words for all of you and that’s “flavor bomb”. and i enjoy all the baked goods, as i think everyone on a weight loss journey should.

[wishfulwithwine]

Ghost Rider - Chapter Eight

Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x pilot female reader

Summary:

You lived up to your callsign, Ghost. You hid and then scared the crap out of people in the sky. As an incredibly decorated officer for your age, you were called back to Top Gun for a dangerous mission. Despite your best intentions, the people on this mission - specifically one - would do their best to get you out of hiding, getting you out of your comfort zone of the shadows and into a lively world.

WARNING: THIS CHAPTER IS 18+. INVOLVES EXPLICIT/NSFW CONTENT. PLEASE DO NOT READ IF MINOR.

Series Masterlist

Picture from Pinterest

Ghost: “Dagger One, up and ready on Catapult One” 

Hangman: “Dagger Spare standing by”

Payback: “Dagger Four, up and ready”

Phoenix: “Dagger Three, up and ready”

Rooster:“Dagger Two, up and ready”

Comms officer: “Support assets airborne. Strike package ready. Standing by for launch decision”

Cyclone: “Send them” 

Comms officer: “Dagger One away. Dagger Two away, Dagger Three away. Dagger Four away” 

Ghost: “Comanche, Dagger One. Stand by check in” 

Comanche: “Comanche 11, set. Picture clean. Recommend Dagger continue”

Ghost: “Copy. Daggers descending below radar”

Comanche: “Daggers now below radar. Switching to E-2 picture”

Ghost: “Here we go. Enemy Territory up ahead. Feet dry in 60 seconds. Comanche, Dagger One. Picture.”

Comanche: “Comanche. Picture clean. Decision is yours”

Ghost: “Copy. Dagger Attack”

Comms Officer: “Tomahawks airborne”

Ghost: “Daggers, assume attack formation”

Ghost: “Daggers set. Proceeding to target. Two minutes and 30 seconds in three, two, one, mark”

Rooster: “Two mark”

Phoenix: “Three mark”

Payback: “Four mark”

Ghost: “Going in” 

Ghost: “First SAM site overhead”

Phoenix: “Looks like we’re clear on radar, Ghost”

Ghost: “Let’s not take it for granted”

Fanboy: “More SAMs! Three o’clock high!” 

Bob:“We got two minutes to target”

Payback: “Copy. We’re a few seconds behind, Rooster. We got to move”

Comms officer: “Thirty seconds to tomahawk impact on enemy airstrip”

Comanche: “ Dagger, comanche. We’re picking up two bandits. Single group, two contacts”

Phoenix: “Comanche, what’s their heading?” 

Comanche: “Bull’s eye 090, 50, tacked southwest”

Bradley: “They’re headed away from us. They don’t know we’re here”

Ghost: “The second those tomahawks hit the air base. Those bandits are gonna move to defend the target. We have to get there before they do. Increase speed”

Phoenix: “We got you, Ghost. Don’t wait for me”

Comms Officer: “Sir, daggers two and four are behind schedule. Time to target, one minute 20”

Comms Officer 2: “Tomahawk impact in three, two… impact. Enemy runway destroyed”

Comms Officer 1: “Bandits are switching course to defend the target”

Ghost: “Rooster, where are you?” 

Payback: “Come on Rooster. Bandits inbound. We got to make up time now. Let’s turn and burn”

Ghost: “Heads up Phoenix”

Bob: “Whoa”

Comms Officer 1: “Sir, bandits are two minutes from target. Daggers are 1 minute from target”

Fanboy: “Guys, we’re falling behind. We really gotta move”

Payback: “If we don’t increase our speed right now, those bandits are gone be waiting for us when we reach the target”

Rooster: “Talk to me dad”

Ghost: “Come on Roos, you can do it. Don’t think, just do” 

Payback: “Jesus Rooster, not that fast!”

Ghost: “That’s it, Rooster, that’s it. All right. Let’s go” 

Fanboy: “ Damn, Rooster, take it easy”

Comms Officer: “ Sir, Dagger two reengaging”

Ghost: “Thirty seconds to target. Bob, check your laser”

Bob: “Air to ground check complete. Laser code verified, 1688. Laser is a go”

Rooster: “Watch your heads”

Fanboy: “Holy shit. Shit!”

Rooster: “Payback you with me?” 

Payback: “Right behind you” 

Ghost: “Phoenix, stand by for pop-up strike” 

Phoenix: “Dagger three in position” 

Ghost: “Popping in three, two, one”

Ghost: “Get me eyes on that target, Bob”

Bob: “Dagger Three. Stand by, Ghost”

Ghost: “ Come on, Bob, come on”

Bob: “Stand by. I’ve got it Captured!”

Ghost: “Target acquired. Bombs away”

Bob: “We’ve got impact! Check, direct hit! Direct hit!” 

Ghost: “Dagger Two, status”

Rooster: “Almost there, Ghost. Almost there. Fanboy, where’s my laser?”

Fanboy: “Rooster, there’s something wrong with this laser! Shit! Dead eye, dead eye!”

Rooster: “Come on, guys, we’re running out of time. Get it online”

Fanboy: “I’m trying!”

Rooster:“Come on Fanboy”

Fanboy: “Nearly there, nearly there!

Rooster: “Come on fanboy, get it online. There’s no time. I’m dropping blind”

Fanboy: “Rooster I got this”

Rooster: “No time, pull up”

Payback: “Wait”

Rooster: “Bombs away! Bombs away”

Comms officer 1: “Bull’s eye! Bull’s eye! Bull’s eye!” 

Ghost: “We’re not out of this yet. Here it comes! Radar warning! Smoke in the air. Phoenix, break right”

Phoenix: “Emergency jettison. Dagger Three defending”

Bob: “Here comes another one!”

Ghost: “Dagger one defending. Rooster, status”

Rooster: “Oh my god. Smoke in the air! Smoke in the air! 

Fanboy: "Break right, payback”

Payback: “Breaking right”

Fanboy: “Oh my god. Here they come!”

Payback: “Sam on your six, Rooster!” 

Rooster: “Deploying countermeasures. Negative contact” 

Ghost: “Dagger one defending”

Phoenix: “Talk to me Bob”

Bob: “Break right Phoenix! Break right Ghost! Nine o’clock. Nine o’clock”

Payback: “Rooster, two more on your six” 

Rooster: “Dagger two defending”

Ghost: Payback, SAM on your nose” 

Payback: “Dagger four defending” 

Fanboy: “Rooster, tally, seven o’clock”

Phoenix: “Talk to me Bob!”

Bob: “On our six!”

Rooster: “Dagger two defending” 

Ghost: “Phoenix, break right”

Phoenix: “I see it”

Rooster: “ Dagger two defending. Shit I’m out of flares”

Ghost: “Rooster, evade! Evade!”

Rooster: “I can’t shake ‘em! They’re on me! They’re on me!” 

There was no time for thinking.

Ghost: “Cyclone, Red Sea, round two” 

Rooster: “Ghost! No!”

 That was the last I heard before the plane broke and fell to the ground.

Pain erupted in my body, and I woke up to falling snow around me, a chopper noise above. 

“Shit” I said, running for cover when I heard the chopper start firing.

My body was already in so much pain from the crash, but the adrenaline of getting shot at from the chopper was pushing my body to run. 

Getting some coverage behind a tree, I know I got hit at least once, but I felt the chopper closing in. 

Then, I saw the chopper blow up in flames. Watching the scene, I saw Rooster’s plane crash, and I went as fast as I could to go get him.

He had to be okay. I saved my life for his. This was not going to have the same outcome.

By the time I got to his place, I saw him, barely conscious.

“Rooster! Rooster!” I called for him, getting to him and lifting him up. 

“Ghost” He said waking up and adjusting to his surroundings.

“Are you okay?” I asked, scanning his body for injuries. He nodded, but seemed a bit shaky.

“I think I might’ve broken my ankle” He said, and I nodded, before allowing him to use me to steady himself. I was in pain, undeniable pain, but I thought I could just hold out till we got out of here.

“Why’d you come back? I was saving you? You stupid boy!” I asked, confused.

“Because I’m in love with you and I’m never leaving you behind, Y/N. You and Maverick said not to think, just do” Rooster said, leaning over to stare at me with this beautiful eyes of his. I sighed, and he pulled me in for a kiss. 

“I- I love you too, Rooster” I said, breathless, before I knew we had to get going. 

Through my support of having him lean on me, we got to a good hiding place to evaluate the enemy site. 

“What’s the plan?” Rooster asked, as we looked around. I caught site of some planes - old ones, but they’d have to do for now.

“You’re shitting me. An F-14?” Rooster said, seeing my gaze. “We don’t have Maverick here”

“I’ve had training in all types of planes, including an F-14. I- This is our only way” I said, stuttering a bit as the adrenaline was wearing off and the pain was coming in, in all areas of my body.

Rooster raised an eyebrow, looking over me intently.

“You’re hurt” He said, concerned.

“When we get home, I’ll get checked out, but we need to go” I said, putting on my emotionless mask. Rooster seemed to realize this, and followed my lead. 

“Come on Roos” I whispered, as loudly as I could without getting us caught, as I did my best to help him get to the plane. I told him the instructions, and had him follow in the back seat quickly.

“Oh my god this thing is so old. Sorry I can’t drive this. If we weren’t in such a situation, I’d say it’s sexy you can fly this thing” Rooster commented.

“It’s ok, and thanks Rooster. Canopy?” I asked, smirking, preparing to go. I started leaving, despite seeing an unclear take off place.

“Both runways are cratered. How are we gonna get this museum piece in the air?’ Rooster asked, and I sighed, My body was beginning to be in burning pain, radiating from my arms and legs, and there was sharp pain in my chest. Rooster watched as the wings came out.

“Ghost, this is a taxiway, not a runway. This is a very short taxiway.” Rooster said.

“It’ll have to do. Just hold on, and trust me” I said, and Rooster sighed, before getting thrusted back.

I all but held my breath, as the plane started, and the needle kept moving. 

“Come on” I muttered under my breath, as the end came closer.

“Ghost… holy shit” Rooster said, closing his eyes as the plane lifted off, clearing the edge of the landing strip but breaking off the wheels. I let out a sigh of relief.

“You’re an incredible flyer. Better than Maverick” Rooster said, switching on his ESAT. 

“We won’t tell him that” I chuckled, feeling liquid come up my throat before I coughed. 

Wiping my hand across my mouth, I saw blood. Quickly, I wiped it on my suit so Rooster wouldn’t see, as I felt dread in my stomach.

I will do everything I can to make sure Rooster gets home safely, even if it costs me, well me.

“Alright Rooster, get in contact with the boat”

“Working on it” Rooster said. “Radio’s out. No radar. Everything’s dead back here. What do I do? Can you talk me through it?” 

“First the radio” I said, making sure my breathing was stable and he wouldn’t be able to tell how I was cringing through the pain. “Throw the UHF-2 circuit breaker. Try that” 

“There’s 300 breakers back here. Anything more specific?” Rooster asked.

“I don’t know. Not really my department” I said.

“I’ll figure it out” Rooster said, looking back to the breakers and then seeing the other aircrafts. “Ghost, tally two. 5:00 low. What do we do?” 

My adrenaline spiked again, my brain firing off a million scenarios.

“Okay, we need to be cool” I said, taking a large breath. “If they knew who we were, we’d be dead already” 

“Well, here they come” Rooster said, watching them approach. “What’s your plan?”

“Just put your mask on” I said, praying we’d be able to just fly home without them attacking. “Remember, we’re on the same team. Just wave and smile” 

“What’s that signal, what’s he saying?” Rooster asked.

“No idea” I replied.

“What about that one? Any idea?” Rooster asked, as they gestured now with 3.

“You had the same training as I did about the enemy, Rooster. I don’t know” I said, a bit frustrated, but watched the plane move. “Oh, shit. His wingman is moving into weapons envelope. All right, when I tell you, you grab those rings above your head. That’s the ejection handle” I said, breathing heavily, as my heart pounded with the possibilities.

“Ghost, can we outrun these guys?” Rooster asked, nervously evident in his voice as he realized what I was saying.

“Not their missiles and guns” I said, truthfully.

“Then it’s a dogfight” Rooster said. “I trust you, Ghost” 

“Fuck, Rooster. I can’t - I can’t be emotional for this. If - I love you, but I need to focus.An F-14 against fifth gen fighters? Just eject when I say so” I said, feeling my eyes water a bit.

“It’s not the plane, it’s the pilot.” Rooster said, trying to give me some confidence, repeating the words of Maverick. “You’d go after ‘em if I wasn’t here” 

“But you are here, Bradley” I said, adding his name to emphasize the importance of this. I wish I could see him.

“Come on, Ghost. Don’t think, just do.” Rooster said, the same thoughts in his head of wishing he could se my face as he tried to convince me. I sighed, before attacking.

“Tell me when you see smoke in the air” I said, after taking down one of the planes.

“Smoke in the air! Smoke in the air!” Rooster said.

“Hang on” I said, flying in front of the other plane to use that as a shield.

“Yea Ghost! Splash one, splash one!” Rooster cheered.

“Here comes another one” Rooster said, after we got out of the smoke. I glanced behind me, and and flew up.

“Rooster, flares, now!” I said, as he deployed flares and we tried to evade. 

As we got behind the enemy, I got tone and attacked, but was surprised by the enemy’s skill.

“What was that?” Rooster said, surprised as well, as we had the enemy behind us again.

“Hang on, we gotta get low” I said. “The terrain will confuse his targeting system” 

“Here he comes” Rooster said, keeping an eye on the enemy. He was incredibly impressed with your flying ability.

“Talk to me Rooster, where is he?” I said, as flares were shot around me.

“He’s still on us” Rooster said.

“We took a hit! We took a hit!” Rooster said.

“Damn it” I said. 

“Come on, Ghost. Do some of that pilot shit you’re the best at” Rooster said, pushing me to do more. Although I was concerned since I wasn’t flying alone, I knew I had to be better because I needed Rooster to make it safely.

“Brace yourself” I warned, pulling up and doing a trick shot.

I took another shot, getting tone, and firing a missile at the plane. Unfortunately, it didn’t hit, due to the plane defending with flares.

Switching to guns, I chased the plane, firing, and eventually, on my last round got the plane.

“Yes, splash two!” Rooster cheered.

All I could hear though was the ringing in my ears, as I began flying over the water back home. 

“Got the radio on!” Rooster said excitedly. “Getting us in touch with the boat”

All I heard was “radio, boat”, as an alarm blared, signaling another plane.

It felt like a daze, as I barely heard Rooster’s commentary, while the other plane shot a missile. I sent flares and destroyed it, but I knew the plane was going to come for more. 

My heart felt like it was going to pound out of it’s chest. 

“I - I love you Bradley” I said, as I realized what would probably happen as we were almost out of flares, guns, and missiles, and took another hit. 

“No! I love you Y/N. We’re going to get out of here” Rooster said, denying our fate. 

I tried again, flying the plane around the other -  a new trick I had learned recently, and managed to get the other plane to crash into the water.

“Splash Three!” Rooster cheered.

“Alright, let’s go home” I said, taking a deep breath, as I felt the adrenaline wearing off again, and the pain was blazing in my body. I could see the carrier in my sights, but my sight was quickly fading.

I held on, forcing myself to not lose consciousness, as I finally heard the boat radio connect with us.

“Ghost is downwind. No front landing gear. No tail hook. Full the cable and raise the barricade” I managed to state, when I heard the radio. 

I got myself prepared for landing, holding onto my last bit of control over my body, as I successfully landed the plane.

Then, my vision went black. 

taglist:

@studentville-struggles @rosiahills22​ @multiplefandommess @umm-i-love-u @callsign-blue @mak-32 @nothing2113  @kenobiow​ @beebslebobs​  @oakenshieldlover  @luckyladycreator2​  @fanboyluvr​ @turningtoclown​ @marantha​ @karleetakeenan​ @thorin-oakenshield-2345 @katiebby04

[that-banana-headed-bovine]

GIVE ME YOUR HEADCANONS FOR YOUR FAVORITE BOY. BEST BOY. KARR!

holy crap.  the universe does not want me to make this post I SWEAR.

I was having difficulties answering one of the segments of the format you were asking for, so I shelfed it for a bit to think on it.  I never came to a conclusion HASODH-

I scrolled thru asks and saw this.  Holy moly you have been waiting for so long, if you are still here I would just like to say that I am so sorry for that like.  I really meant to get to this sooner--

Well, if the wait has been this long, I had better make my response worth it right.  So I’d better get the text format.

wait where is it.

I scrolled through old posts and old asks for like 20 minutes to find the format.

I did not find the format

I typed up a long intro explaining this whole situation, and got started writing the ask

THE PAGE REFRESHED.

TUMBLR AUTOSAVED NONE OF IT.

I also thought I lost THIS draft for a second and nearly screamed.  luckily I did not I was just on the wrong blog

this is try number.  across all of the times I’ve touched it I don’t actually know.  Time two today tho.

Anyway AHSOD I am so sorry for the long wait AND that I will not be using the original format because it has Disappeared.  If I do eventually find it, I’ll probably revisit this with anything I missed, but for now I will just be doing my best with what I remember and adding some other nonsense Just Because.  I hope this is good asdioh-

Headcanons about Canon and not AUs for once in my life

You know how in TDR, they have that really zoomed out shot at the end of the chase before Karr careens off a cliff where they do a bit of an Oopsie.  That oopsie being “there is a very clear way out of this situation.  that way is turning left instead of right.”

And you know how in KvK, Karr’s self preservation programming is basically thrown out the window?  So that they could throw model cars at each other or sumn I’m not being sarcastic there’s actually a few split seconds where you can see them throwing model cars at each other it’s so freaking funny I highly recommend going back and looking for it if you didn’t see it, it’s like behind the explosion I think, idk the exact timing bc it’s been a while but Yeah

Well.  The IRL explanation for these things is almost definitely “because it looks cool”, and I’m definitely making way more of it than there is, but behold.  I have basically informed my opinion on Karr’s personality (behind the whole scared for his life thing) from these things.  Because, as a hyper-intelligent AI, he really shouldn’t be able to make these sort of “dumb” mistakes, right?

The best I’ve got, then, is that he’s a LOT more influenced by emotions than Kitt is.  I don’t know whether I’d go as far as to say that he experiences them MORE, because Kitt clearly does have them... I think he’s just more cautious by nature, so he doesn’t really let himself act on them much.  Karr, though?  He’s impulsive, and easily swayed off course by panic, anger, sadness, etc.  That’s why, despite being just as smart as Kitt is, he often makes far less rational decisions.

He drove off a cliff because he was so scared that he just acted on impulse without doing any of the AI rationalizing stuff we’re used to seeing from Kitt.  If he’d have cleared his mind enough to scan ahead and process the routes as he drove, he would have made a different decision.  That’s Kitt’s biggest advantage in their fights, and it would be his greatest contribution if the two were ever to team up; both of them can smash things, but only one of them can work properly under pressure.

Even down to his programming--code can be changed, so it’s not the law that we often think of it as.  It’s just a very, VERY strong suggestion.  Kitt has never tried to change it; he’s never even CONSIDERED it.  Karr, though?  He reached his breaking point.  The thought of continuing to live his life on the run, unable to trust anyone or stay anywhere, was enough to drive him crazy.  He COULDN’T bring himself to continue with FLAG--and specifically Michael and Kitt--constantly on his tail.  So, he snapped and overrode his very foundation.  He’d either get rid of them or die trying.

That’s probably the core of why Devon was so scared of him, without providing much of a concrete reason.  Because Karr’s unpredictable, far closer to human than they’d ever expected him to be.  Even when he was on their side, they didn’t think they could trust him not to change his mind, or make a snap decision that endangered everyone involved.  I think he could have gotten control of it over time, but it definitely makes more sense that they wouldn’t want to work with him in this state.  Their response to it is still immoral imo, but if they didn’t fully realize his sentience and just saw it as a programming fluke, then I could see where it seemed necessary.  Especially if an accident like that had already happened... Not gonna elaborate on that here; I’ve made a post about it, and tbh I probably shouldn’t have because it wasn’t my idea in the slightest.  It’s just such a good headcanon that I basically adopted it immediately AHSIDO (Yes I did credit the fren in the original post, but it still just wasn’t the ideal way to go about it tbh, that’s why I’m not linking either.  If you really wanna scroll for it, it is still there so go for it ig best of luck to ye IASHDOHSA, but otherwise it’s really not mine to tell)

Headcanons that are so extremely Not Canon / for AUs

While the Karr that is in canon hasn’t had much time to be in the world, and thus is far less worldly than Kitt is, I would think that it would come much more naturally to him than his brother if given the chance.  I mean heck, he developed a whole salesman personality underwater sooo /lh  That probably means that he also does that copying thing really well, too.  Like, how Kitt picked up on the Trucker jargon that one time and got excited and parroted it for a bit... it happens pretty often, but that’s the clearest example I’ve got right now oops.  Anyway, I think Karr does that, too, but incorporates it in a somewhat more stealthy way.  Because if he messed up people will be Trying to Murder Him Again.

All I’m saying is.  One of them might have a chance of understanding meme culture and that one sure as heck isn’t Kitt.

Like, I actually think that Karr and Michael would have... shockingly similar personalities if Karr actually got to understand the world and himself better?  If they’d stop hating each other for a second, I think they’d get along really well.  Both loyalty driven, both impulsive due to emotionality, both sometimes make dumb decision because they just care too much... bothwouldprobablydieforKitteventhoughhedhateit oops what’s that my brothers bias showing????

Anyway, how this applies in Human!AU is that Karr can blend into human life really well.  Like, he’s just as curious and unsure as Kitt is, but he quickly picks up on the basic behaviors that people around him are routinely using and integrates them so as not to stick out.  And then, as time goes on, he just would kind of figure out what it all means himself, to the point where he’s reverse engineered how to be human with quite good accuracy.  Whereas Kitt is always very curious and is quite open about it, because why wouldn’t he be y’know he’s not used to hiding, so he’d probably stand out a lot more at first if he didn’t have Michael there to do most of the talking and explain things for him.  Idk if that makes any sense but yeah.  I just love the thought of Karr actually being the knowledgeable older sibling because he’s had much more time to adjust to his new form, and like he actually has a whole life of his own going on that he’s basically just disappeared into until Michael and Kitt show up.  Kitt asks him stuff, and he almost always has an answer.  On occasion, those answers are confidently incorrect.  But he’s trying OAHSDOIHSA

Also Karr and Michael bickering about basically everything, things that don’t matter in the slightest, while Kitt’s just standing there making sure it doesn’t go too far.  The second it starts going south “Why does it matter anyway?” and everyone’s just dead silent.  It didn’t matter they just had a bad case of the Himbos.

Like, it’s pretty easy to forget that Karr’s an AI after you’ve been talking to him for a while.  But then you ask him something when he’s not worked up about anything, and he provides this Giggachad Massive Brain response and it’s like “oh YEAH”

Love Language

BECAUSE WHY NOT

Actually tho, I genuinely think love language is so important to his character specifically.  You can take it as romantic if you want, that’s not how I personally mean it in this case tho.  I mean how he addresses the people that he cares about, no matter what the nature of it is.

See, a lot of the (in my mind) misunderstandings about his character stem from how he acted whenever he got a new pilot.  Like, with Tony and Rev, it could be easy to think that he was being walked all over by them and that he was entirely aimless.  It would also be easy to think that, no, he did have a motivation, because he wanted to steal things + kidnap people.  Same with John to a lesser extent, because John never told him to do the bad things, just also didn’t really try to get him to do good things either.  So surely Karr chose to do bad because he really, really just wanted to?

But I think that, while it doesn’t excuse his bad decisions (ESPECIALLY not the ones that put people’s lives in danger), a lot of it can be explained by love language.  Karr, simply put, has the Acts of Service love language.

The reason Karr let Tony and Rev direct him however they wished is because, after they inadvertently rescued him from deactivation, he felt indebted and was genuinely grateful.  He showed it by DOING whatever they asked of him.  And all he hoped was that they would get him help in exchange, which they did in about the most awful way possible but yeah.

And then John came along, and Karr is DESPERATELY trying to do the same thing... John never asks for his help with, anything really, but Karr is proactively trying to get him to ask for something.  Doesn’t matter what, he’ll do it.  It becomes increasingly frustrating when his acts of service aren’t seen as good enough, when he technically had what he needed but was still sorely lacking a friend.  And then he started going to truly awful extremes to show through ACTION that he was a loyal friend, that whether John thought he needed a companion or not, he’d be there, he PROMISED.

He also, to a somewhat lesser extent, takes action against those who have wronged him, as if to say “I’m done caring, and I’ll SHOW you how”, y’know?  A lot of it was out of self defense, but still important to mention ig.

You could say that this is due to the nature of them being AIs right, like built to provide a service from the beginning so I’m SURE they do feel that way yea.  However, I honestly feel like Kitt would express care through basically anything other than that.  Like, acts of service are the bare minimum, he’d do THAT for anybody because he was made for it.  If he goes out of his way to spend time with you, though--or in an human!AU, if he leans into a hug--then he really does care.  So, I really am not just defaulting to this.  I think Karr specifically thinks of it as more than his obligation, it’s his great joy to show how much he cares.

I think there were more things, but also this post is so long already what IOASHDOSAD- I’m also .  kinda sleepy so I’m sorry if this doesn’t make sense oo f- And I hope that it’s worth the wait aa ahhh