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likedovesinthewindd · 1 year

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2:54 AM

tasm!peter parker x fem!reader

summary: you want to know why peter's been distant lately.

warning: injuries, mentions of typical spiderman violence yk, my inability to write a crime accurately (don't look into it too much), reader's a little oblivious to the obvious.

wc: ± 3000

a/n: i hate this endingg!!!! but i need this out of my drafts. let's also pretend that this trope is so original and not overused at all lmao. requests open:)

The incessant ticking of the clock above your head was beginning to piss you off.

The small restaurant was fairly busy, no one would've even be able to hear it, but you'd chosen the table next to the window–the one with the clock hanging on the wall adjacent to the big glass pane. You'd chosen this table because it was Peter's favorite. He loved watching the bustling city outside as the two of you enjoyed your meals.

You'd think that after living in the city as long as he has, that the scenery would have bore him by now, but he absolutely loved people watching. He could spend hours sitting outside on the rooftop or by the big window in your bedroom, just staring down at the people and cars going about their day or night. He could find entertainment in some of the most mundane activities, and that was one of the many things you adored about your boyfriend.

Right now, however, it was hard to think of how you much you adored him, but rather how mad you were at him. Tonight was your and Peter's six month anniversary, and although you weren't one to celebrate every little milestone, Peter had insisted that you go out for the night. Ironic, since he's not even here right now you thought.

You looked down at your wristwatch, almost in a way to spite the big one that hung right above you, and checked the time. It was a forty-eight minutes past eight. You'd been sitting here for almost 50 minutes waiting for Peter to show up.

You checked your phone, praying he had left a message saying that he was on his way, that he was just running late, but the empty lockscreen staring back at you only made a knot form deep in your belly.

Wait till nine, your mind tried convincing you. He's probably just really caught up at work. So you waited impatiently, your heeled foot nearly tapping a hole into the restaurant floor. After a few more minutes, your waitress approached your table. This was her second time at your table; she had come around first at around twenty minutes past eight, and you had kindly asked her to give you some more time, because you were waiting for someone.

You could see the pity on her face, her probably thinking you got stood up. But you weren't getting stood up, because Peter was just a bit late, and in a few minutes he'd walk through the door and the two of you'd enjoy a wonderful dinner. At least, that's what you were trying to convince yourself.

"Are you ready to order ma'am?" the waitress asked politely. You shook your head, putting on your most convincing smile. "No not yet, I'm waiting for my boyfriend, he'll be here any minute," you said. The pity on her face only seemed to increase. She gave you a weak smile and a nod, and went on her way to help another table.

You glanced up at the small TV that was displayed against the wall on the other side of the small restaurant. It was replaying an old football game from the previous week, before being interrupted by a local news channel's lives broadcast. The TV was muted, but you could see the headline at the bottom of the screen in big bold letters as the reporter stood gesturing at the scene behind her:

SPIDER-MAN TO THE RESCUE ONCE AGAIN

The fact that the city quite literally had it's own superhero always amazed you. Here this random guy was, jumping around in a blue and red suit, fighting bad guys and catching criminals, basically doing the cops' jobs and for free.

You've never had any personal encounters with the elusive hero, but you've heard enough stories from people about him, about how charming and slightly cocky he was and how they so desperately wanted to know who hid beneath the mask. You'd be lying if you said you weren't a bit curious to know too.

On the screen you could see Spider-Man lowering people from the second floor of some building by his webs. After lowering everyone to safety, he dissappeared back inside the building. It seemed to be some kind of hostage situation, people scurrying around confusedly and police cars surrounding the building.

You were so enthralled by the scene playing out on the screen that you hadn't noticed how much time had passed. When you looked at the little clock being displayed in the corner of the TV, your heart sank once again.

21:05

It was five minutes past nine, and no Peter in sight. You could feel your cheeks burning up from anger. A whole hour. Peter made you wait a whole hour, and it didn't look like he was gonna come any time soon. The anger was quickly replaced by sadness, the tears of frustration already fighting to fall from your eyes. You made your way over to the counter of the restaurant, apologizing for wasting their time and tipping your waitress for her effort, before making your way to the door.

It felt like everyone's eyes were on you. They could all probably tell you've been stood up too. There was no other reason for a girl to be walking out of a restaurant after ordering nothing for an hour with her head down and tail between her legs like a kicked dog.

The air outside was refreshing. You took a deep breath, trying to calm down your racing heart and somehow will the tears away. It was no use; after months of forced stoicism and pretending like Peter's recent negligence didn't hurt, the dam finally broke. You decided to take the walk to your apartment rather than hailing a cab, reasoning that the cool city air would do you good.

On your walk, the sobs continued to leave your mouth quietly. You missed your boyfriend, you missed being able to spend time with him and just be around him. The two of you worked at different times and lived on different sides of the city, so it was already hard to find a time when both of you were free.

The two of you hadn't been together for too long, but it truly felt like Peter was the one for you. When you first made things official you couldn't stay away from each other for too long. You always went on little dates and would meet up whenever the both of you were free, but recently your boyfriend's been very distant and you've been seeing less and less of him. Tonight had been the third date where he'd stood you up, and you couldn't help but think the worst.

What if he was seeing someone else? What if he didn't enjoy being with me anymore and this was his way of asking to break up?

The thoughts left your mind as soon as they were conjured up in your brain. Peter would never do anything like that to you. Not your Peter. He was the sweetest guy you had ever been with and there wasn't a day he wasn't telling you how lucky he was to be with you, or how pretty he thought you were and how much he loved you.

Even on the days the two of you weren't together (which were almost always lately), he'd still send you messages telling you how much he missed you, or would send flowers to your apartment when he knew you were feeling down and he couldn't be there.

Peter was a sweetheart, but you still couldn't help but wonder why he'd been so distant lately. You pulled your phone from your purse, quickly checking to see if he had left a message yet, but still nothing. You shoved your phone back into your purse angrily and started walking faster. All you needed right now was a hot shower and your bed.

As you entered your apartment you hastily toed off your shoes at the door and threw your purse on the nearest table. After a long, piping hot shower and a bowl of leftovers (you still being hungry due to your failed dinner plans), you decided to head to bed, where you cried some more before falling asleep.

A loud banging woke you up in the middle of the night. You checked the alarm clock on your nightstand, and when it read 2:54 AM, you turned yourself back around and ignored whoever chose to bother you at this ungodly hour.

Not even a minute passed before the knocking returned, this time followed by a shout of your name, not loud enough to wake up the whole floor but loud enough for you to hear. When you recognized Peter's voice, you groaned, kicking the covers from yourself begrudgingly before dragging yourself to the door.

You pulled it open aggressively, and when you were met with Peter's silhouette slouching against the doorframe, his head hanging low, all the angry words you had for him sat stuck in your throat. He looked up at you and his big brown eyes found yours in the dark of the hallway. He gave you a weak smile and you had to fight everything inside you to not smile back, reminding yourself why you were mad at him.

"Hi, sweetheart," he whispered. All the anger suddenly returned, and you found yourself slamming the door in his face, but before it could fully close, he blocked it with his foot and invited himself in. When he got out of the dark hallways and inside your apartment, you noticed the bouquet of flowers he held tightly in his hand. They looked like they had been through a lot, and the dress shirt he was wearing (most likely for your date) was untucked and heavily wrinkled.

"I don't want to talk to you," you said, turning your entire body away from him and crossing your arms like an arrogant child, trying to get him to leave, but he was stubborn, putting the flowers on the nearest table, gripping your arms and turning you to face him again. You refused to make eye contact, rather looking down at his pair of dirty sneakers. "I know, but let me explain myself please—"

"And say what?!" you snapped. You hadn't realized how loud you were until you saw Peter flinch slightly, his grip on you still not loosening. "What are you gonna say Peter? You got caught up at work? You had an 'emergency'? You—" when you finally looked him in the face, you got a good look at him in the warm light of your living room/kitchen.

He had a lot of bruising around his face, a rapidly darkening black eye and a busted lip. You looked down at the arms still holding onto you, and you could see similar marks lining his arms. Most of them looked very fresh.

This was another part of Peter that added to up sleepless nights, worrying yourself sick over your boyfriend. He always seemed to have some sort of bruise whenever you'd meet up. Sometimes it was something small like a cut across his eyebrow or a nasty gash on his cheek, and other times it was way more major, like the one time he showed up to a coffee date with a broken arm after being just fine three days prior.

The best part was how fast he'd heal too, no less than a weak and he'd look perfectly fine. It didn't make you feel any better though, and you'd still worry about where he was getting beat up like this.

You tried asking him about it, multiple times, but every time he would just cover it up with a lame joke or just completely try to change the subject. You stopped asking after a while, but that didn't mean you weren't concerned about his safety and curious about what was causing all of these injuries.

"Peter what happened to you? Your face? Are you—" you wanted to reach out and touch his face, but he stopped you with a hand that quickly caught your wrist. "I'm okay," he said, smiling sweetly and giving your wrist a quick kiss, before letting go of your hand. "No you're not. C'mon lemme clean you up," you said grabbing his hand and dragging him to the bathroom, almost completely forgetting about the argument.

The patter of your socked feet filled the quiet of the apartment as you led Peter to the bathroom. You sat him down on the toilet seat and quietly moved around the almost-too-small bathroom, opening up the medicine cabinet above the sink to retrieve the first aid kit. You started to clean the small cuts and gashes on his face.

His hands hesitated before making their way to your waist, holding onto your hips. Every time one of the cuts would sting, his grip would tighten slightly. The silence stretched on while you continued to patch him up, and after a while you decided to speak up.

"Look, Peter, I understand if you don't wanna, y'know be with me anymore, but even if we were to break up I'd still be concerned about you. I don't like seeing you get hurt and i can't help if—"

"Woah, hey what?" Peter interrupted your rambling, "I don't want to break up." "Then why do you keep canceling our plans, how come I never see you anymore?" you asked, pausing the work on his face. He winced slighty when he noticed your anger had returned.

"I've just...I've been busy, sweetheart," he said softly. "I've been busy too Peter, but I make time, because I wanna see you, and because I miss you like crazy. Do you even miss like you say you do? Because it surely doesn't show."

"Of course I do!" Peter said, the grip he had on you unconsciously tightening again. "Then why don't you make time?!" you said, the tears of frustration quickly returning to your eyes, "and what about all these bruises, huh? Every time I see you you're hurt somehow and I don't like that, 'cause I don't like seeing you hurt, Peter." By now a few tears had already unwillingly fallen, and you tried to swiftly wipe them away with the sleeve of your sweater.

It both warmed and broke Peter's heart to know that you were so worried about him. He really did miss spending time with you; you were his best friend and he loved being around you. He didn't want you knowing about him being Spider-Man, because he didn't want to put you in any danger. He wanted to keep you as far away from that part of his life as possible, you meant too much to him and he wouldn't forgive himself if anything happened to you.

He wanted to tell you on many occasions, he'd come close too many times to count, but he'd stop himself each time.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, not knowing what else to say. "Don't apologize, just talk to me, please," you said brushing your fingers through his soft brown hair. The action calmed both you and him down, and he closed his eyes for a moment, appreciating your touch. It was then when he realized how much he missed your touch, how much he missed you, and being close to you. He felt like he hadn't talked to you, or really even seen you in forever.

Peter didn't know what to say, he wanted to be honest with you, wanted to tell you so bad, but he wanted to protect you above all else. The silence between the two of you stretched on until you sighed, removing your hands from him completely and sighing.

He started panicking, he knew what this meant. You were going to break up with him, tell him to get out and never talk to him again, and even the thought alone made his heart sink down to his feet. He braced himself for the inevitable, retracting his hands from your waist and getting ready to get up and leave.

"It's really late, would you like to stay the night?"

He was definitely not expecting you to say that, and the look on his face certainly told you that. "Are you sure?" he asked, not knowing what else to say. "I don't want to taking the train at this time. You can take a shower while I reheat some leftovers for you," you replied dryly, making your way out the bathroom and to the kitchen.

Peter took your advice, still not sure why you weren't screaming at him to get out of your apartment. After a brief shower, he found some of the clothes you had borrowed from him folded neatly on the toilet seat. He put them on and made his way over to the kitchen. After a much appreciated meal the two of you made your way over to your bedroom.

He found himself immediately moving towards the small plush chair that stood by the big window, lowering himself into it and staring down at the city. You stood next to him quietly, placing your hand on his head and running your fingers through the strands once again.

"I promise I'll tell you one day," Peter whispered, turning his head to look up at you. "I know," you replied, "until then, I'll just patch you up when needed."

You wanted so badly to understand what was going on with Peter, but you knew that there was no getting through to him now, because he was stubborn as hell. So you'd take what you could get for now. And in return he'd try and be there more for you, because he missed you, and the selfish part of him loved you too much to let you go, even if that were the right thing to do.

"How about you move in with me?"

#tasm!peter x reader #tasm!peter parker fic #tasm!peter x y/n #the amazing spider man #peter parker x fem!reader #peter parker x reader #likedovesinthewindd

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sp-ud · 1 year

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I'm trying to imagine what other Showfall Media shows are like.

Like, it seems like the section ran by the Puzzler is probably often a part of it, as he mentions doing this for 30 years and it's likely the Showfall employees who played his Rats are the ones who built the memorial to him.

Which I think means that the Puzzler is an example of what a 'sucessful' character becomes. I mean, just look at how Hetch describes what would happen if the audience chose "live".

"Rescripted, repurposed, and recast." But how'd he get a role as a mastermind who was aware of the behind the scenes? Well of we take what Hetch says about how the show usually goes...

It sounds like Hetch often uses this "reality breaking" as a theme in his scripts, and perhaps it depended on how a character reacted to their reality being shattered if Hetch would deem them worthy or not.

It's not really clear what counts as "being worthy" but I'd imagine it counts as being entertaining, both to Hetch and the Audience... and maybe the Founder? The Founder's motives are super unclear, why does he want these shows? Why did he decide to test this world's Audience in a new experiment like this? Why did he give Hetch this role? How did he-

Ahem. That seems like a different rabbit hole for another time, maybe once we get more Generation 0 stuff (as it's been hinted to be about the origins? Of the Founder). Let's get back to what this might mean for what the usual show Hetch would run could be like.

It definitely involes horrific games and the characters reality slowly breaking around them. But I get the feeling Hetch and Showfall are rarely so explicitly involved in this.

And I think this might be because they werent broadcasting to any of their usual Audiences, they were testing this world for the first time. An Audience who has no idea who or what Showfall Media is.

I'd imagine whatever usual Audience Showfall broadcasts to, is probably either

a) from a world where real people dying for the sake of entertainment is fine, maybe not everyone enjoys it or think it's morally okay, but enough people like it and it's not illegal to watch people literally get physically and psychologically tortured on TV

b) are under the impression it's also fake. They still see the whole "reality breaking" things. But it's presented as completely fictional, maybe Showfall even let's the more successful characters live semi-normal lives in their off-time to give the full illusion all these people are really just actors.

c) a world that's not even remotely parallel to our own in any form, maybe not even inhabited by humans. After all, Hetch makes references to the fact he runs this show for years far longer than a natural human lifespan

d) all of the above separately, we are being told we're getting a viewpoint into infinity. And Hetch clearly has all the time in the world to make any kind of show he wants, as long as it fulfills the purpose the Founder have him.

And ah shit now that I'm reading this again I just noticed they refer to our world as "one of the few we can entertain". Nope not unpacking that here, I still only gave 3 possibilities and when compared to literally "infinity" that still falls under "one of the few".

#i once again just started brainstorming #generation loss #genloss #genloss tse #hetch genloss #showfall media #spud originals

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mirai-e-jump · 10 months

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TV Guide, September 2023 Issue (Kanto Edition) ft. Kamen Rider Gotchard Cast Members (translations below)

Publication: August 23, 2023

"What's everyone's favorite previously released Kamen Rider series?"

Fujibayashi: I think of them as "generations," but I used to watch Den-O ('07-'08) alot. The first one I remember watching was much earlier though, with Kuuga ('00-'01). He was the first Heisei Rider, wasn't he?

Kumaki: That's right. For me, Kuuga was the one that left the biggest impact. When I was young, no Kamen Rider series were broadcast, so I don't think there were many people of my generation that were familiar with it. I have a younger brother, so we were able to watch Kuuga together.

Matsumoto: I have two older brothers, so we had alot of the Rider belts at home (laughs). I would watch TV together together with them, and they liked Den-O and Kiva ('08-'09), while I liked Wizard ('12-'13) and Gaim ('13-'14).

Motojima: I liked OOO ('10-'11), which wasn't too long ago, currently I'm watching Geats ('22-'23). Originally, I didn't know too much about Kamen Rider…but, after watching it again, I thought it was very interesting, and felt that I wanted to do the audition.

Abe: I had previously watched Fourze ('11-'12), and when I decided to take the audition, I went back and watched it one more time.

Tomizono: When I was young, I watched Ryuki ('02-'03)…

Fujibayashi: Ryuki was good too!

Tomizono: It really was. It was interesting seeing Riders with such different personalities. I even practiced the transformation poses from different angles in the mirror.

Fujibayashi: Before my audition, I actually practiced transformation poses. It's not really an audition strategy (laughs), but, I thought, "I should do it anyway," and come up with at least one transformation pose.

Kumaki: I did it too (laughs).

"How did you feel when you were finally chosen to appear in Kamen Rider Gotchard?"

Fujibayashi: I was overcome with emotion, and felt that I have finally been able to show something to my parents. I've auditioned for Kamen Rider many times, more times than I can count. Every time, my parents would still believe in me, so I think I'm finally able to return the favor.

Kumaki: I've also auditioned countless times, over the course of many years, so when I was able to pass, I shared the excitement with my family.

Matsumoto: I love Kamen Rider and have watched many of the previous series, so when I thought, "I'm finally going to be apart of this," I felt extremely happy.

Motojima: I joined my current agency in March of this year, where my manager told me, "There's an audition open." It was the first tokusatsu audition I've done for Kamen Rider. I was so happy when I heard I passed the audition, that I still clearly remember jumping up and down.

Tomizono: I was also very happy when I passed. I'm excited to be able to work on a single role for a whole year.

Abe: The moment my manager said, "There's an audition for Kamen Rider," I immediately informed my mother. She currently lives in Osaka, but she calls me every day, and I'll read her my lines over our video calls. When I told her I had passed the audition, she was so excited. Seeing her happy makes me happy, and it made me realize that I have to really work hard and do my best.

Fujibayashi: Kumaki-san and I have auditioned for Kamen Rider many times, but this was the first time for the three of us (Motojima, Abe, and Tomizono). How many times did Rinne (Matsumoto) audition?

Matsumoto: Two times.

Kumaki: That's amazing~.

Fujibayashi: She really is a talented person.

Motojima: I was happy when I was selected, but at the same time, I was worried about if I was actually capable of doing this. Before we started filming, I was actually really nervous. Once we actually started however, it's been alot of fun.

Matsumoto: I also thought the filming was alot of fun, going forward, I feel like I'll be able to improve in many ways.

Tomizono: I'm looking forward to playing Sabimaru for a whole year. Although, I do feel overwhelmed.

Motojima: I need to concentrate on the daily filming. I'd like to go through this year without forgetting to take this seriously.

#kamen rider gotchard #kamen rider #hotaro ichinose #ichinose hotaro #spanner kurogane #my scans #my translation #rinne kudo #tsuruhara sabimaru #icho renge #toku cast #tokusatsu #toku #interview #junsei motojima #motojima junsei #gotchard #idk when it came to coloring the names sorry #they put their names in english on the pages though

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kotamagic · 4 months

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Another loaded episode of Lore Olympus, so let's dive in...

Let's start with Aphrodite. Understandably, she's upset that Eros and Psyche are missing. Obviously, wannabe-king Apollo isn't going to broadcast that, but that doesn't mean folks aren't going to notice that three gods are now missing after Zeus went into a coma.

(Is that the Horrible Goose running amok in the background?)

Why the fuck do you want Eros' arrows, SPECIFICALLY the ones for true love? They don't work the way that you think that they do!

Look at what happened with the truth arrow. Anyone looking at Apollo when that thing hit saw the truth... the horrible, nasty truth about what he did. (I believe it was Daphne? That was what led to her getting "treed.")

If Apollo thinks a true love arrow is going to make Persephone fall in love with him (and thus, give him access to her fertility goddess powers) then he's in for a rude surprise. If anything, she'll lend her powers to Hades so that they can kick Apollo's ass together like a power couple!

Or, maybe he has something worse in mind? Let's hope not.

Shit is still going down in the Mortal Realm. Apollo doesn't waste a moment blaming Persephone for it on TV.

Hey fucknugget, unless I'm mistaken, sun gods/goddesses were banned from the Underworld LONG before Hades and Persephone were even a thing. And Persephone made the right decision escaping to the Underworld to get away from your r*pey ass. Choke on a long, splintery battering ram!

Even in the physical safety of the Underworld, Apollo still has the power to harm with his words. It's bad enough that Persephone is guilt-wracked by her rearranged powers causing havoc, but hearing Apollo's gaslighting on the TV is only making it worse

The title of this chapter is "Wheat", and we sure are seeing a lot of it here with Persephone. That mural on the wall seems to be watching her.

We're pretty certain that Persephone was originally supposed to take over for Demeter at some point. Well, that's not happening. The wheat imagery here seems to represent what was planned to happen. As it closes in more and more around her, there's the sense of Persephone being smothered by the old plans for her.

On the other hand, I can't help but wonder if, in some way, the mural is trying to point her in a particular direction. Wheat can be grown, harvested, and stored; this is what the mortals need to know and learn to survive the (now) long winters.

We've been watching Persephone progressively sweating more and more throughout this chapter. While she's talking to this nymph, her vision gets blurry until she passes out.

She's running a fever and is put on bed rest immediately. There could be so many things causing this that it's hard to nail it down to just one.

The situation with the Mortal Realm

Her wonky powers

Apollo gaslighting her on tv

Maybe it's Kronos

Whatever the case, she is not doing well at the moment.

While she's in bed, Demeter comes to see her. Persephone voices her worries to her mother, and Demeter seems to actively listen.

"I barely know anything about myself..."

The cliffhanger is Demeter saying "Wait..."

Will this turn into an honest heart-to-heart conversation? Will important secrets get revealed? Will Apollo get shot in the ass with a truth arrow on live TV? (GAWD, I hope so!)

Anyway, thanks for coming to my LO post!

#lore olympus #lo hades #lo persephone #lo apollo #lo eros #lo demeter #lo Aphrodite

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lenathekiller · 3 months

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I'm Sorry It Ends Like This

A/N: contains spoilers from about manga ch. 114 on just to be safe. Reader's death at the hands of Mikey, quite literally. Angst with a little sprinkling of love/affection. Little messed up in the head kinda talk/writing towards the end so ⚠️ (I didn't know if it'd warrant a dead dove warning or not but tagged as such)

Summary: Mikey pays you a final visit before heading off to the ruins, in order to say goodbye and tie up long forgotten loose ends. You both reminisce on the past and the man that once was Shinichiro Sano, your childhood crush.

Your tv was on, set to some random news channel that was currently broadcasting about another murder that had recently occured. You in all honestly were only half listening to the words being spoken by the broadcasters, sitting at your kitchen table on the verge of disassociating with the only thing keeping you tied to reality being the hot mug in your hands and the occasional mention of a familiar name from the television.

One by one all of the original Toman gang was being wiped out, killed off by the man they once devoted their lives to, and you knew before long you'd hear death knocking at your door too.

While you'd never been a member of Toman, you grew up close to the Sano family, studying in the dojo the grandfather ran. You were practically another member of the family back then, spending all your free time hanging out with Emma or watching Shinichiro work on a bike. Admittedly you'd had a crush on the older male, but with you only being a year or so older than Mikey you'd known you'd never stand at having those feelings be returned.

Regardless you'd never given up, always bringing Shinichiro little gifts like chocolates or decals you'd find that you thought would look good on one of his bikes. He'd always made sure to give you a ruffle on your head as thank you for the gifts, sometimes even offering you a ride on the latest bike he'd finished as a way to pay you back. You were in every way possible smitten with him in the way only a young teen would understand. He was your first love, and when he died you took it incredibly hard.

When Emma had told you about his passing you'd fallen to your knees Infront of her, heartbroken and sobbing on the Sano's front steps. For months you were inconsolable, a husk of a person going through the motions of life: Sleep, go to school, train at dojo, do your work, then cry till you fell asleep, repeat. Eventually when you did 'get better' you slowly stopped going to the dojo and hanging around the Sano family in general. Seeing them only reminded you of the love you'd lost and with Mikey starting his own gang you didn't want to be around it all anymore. Though you did occasionally ask mutual friends about how the siblings were doing for a few years after that.

Now here you sat however many year later, you'd lost count honestly, waiting for your old friend to visit. When you heard the knock at the door you moved on autopilot, moving mindlessly to let in the person you'd been expecting to come.

"Come in Manjiro. I've got some Dorayaki prepared for you at the table already." Your unfocused eyes caught his as you opened your door, ushering him in.

"So you've been expecting me then?" His smile was weak, eyes filled with a sadness you knew had been brewing inside him for years.

Sitting down across from him at your little table, you gave a smile filled with your own sadness. "You're old friends have all been killed, I knew you'd come for me too eventually."

"I see... well truthfully I wanted to save you for last." He bit into one of the buns, savoring the flavor for a moment before continuing. "I wanted you to be the last one I kill before I meet my own end."

"Are you planning a murder suicide with me?" Your voice was flat, absent of any emotions you'd expect someone to have when they asked a question as serious as that.

"No, I plan on spending my last night in Tokyo with you. I leave tomorrow to go out to that set of ruins Shini found those engines in. My end will be there at the hands of an old friend." He spoke so casually as if he was telling you about vacation plans instead of plotting his own demise.

"I see..." Taking a long sip from your mug, you thought over his words. "May I ask what makes me so special? Like why am I last?"

He was silent a moment, dark eyes calmly scanning over you. "If I'd taken your life before anyone else's, I would have been disappointing my brother."

"What do you mean by that?"

He finished off the Dorakayi bun he'd been eating and wiped his hands off on his pants before reaching over to gently hold one of your own hands in his. "Shini adored you, not in the same way you adored him though. He always told me how good of a person he thought you were and honestly he hoped you'd find someone that could return your feelings."

Tears prickled in your eyes at hearing that your childhood love had felt some kind of fondess for you. "He did? I guess I let him down then considering I never moved on from him."

Mikey wiped your eyes with the sleeve of his shirt. "I doubt he'd be upset at you for never falling in love. I know I'm somewhat relieved you never moved on from him in that sense."

"It just hurt so much after he died... I never wanted to feel that heartbreak again and I've missed him everyday since." You voice was soft, filled with heartbreak.

"I know the feeling, I also lost the person I loved, basically the same day I lost Shinichiro." There was a familiar sadness in his voice, the same kind you often heard in your own.

"You- you loved someone back then too?" Surprise was evident on your voice and face. Never did you think Mikey would have a crush on someone, especially back then when he seemed to be all about starting his own gang and all that. He always seemed too cool and carefree to ever develop feelings for anyone.

Mikey's smile turned into a more genuine one and he gave a small chuckle. "Yea, I did." He sat back in his seat, grabbing your mug and taking a sip from it as he averted his gaze for a moment. "I loved you back then... I still do actually. I admired that you never let yourself get discouraged from liking my big bro. I know he was not always that great of a person and he'd never be able to return your feelings but you never let that stop you from loving him. I guess I thought it was cool someone else thought my big bro was amazing too and I started feeling the same way for you as you felt for him."

A long silence held in the air for a few minutes as you processed his words and he continued to eat a few more Dorayaki buns.

"I'm sorry I left..." Voice hoarse from all the emotions flowing through you.

"Its fine. I never hated you for it, I knew exactly why you chose to leave." His hand reheld onto yours, comforting you even if only a little. "I think I would have done the same honestly. Seeing you would've also brought memories of Shinichiro, specifically all the times he'd brag about the little gifts you'd given him inorder to make me jealous or when he'd tell me I should man up and act upon my own feelings."

"I regret leaving sometimes, especially after I heard about Emma... I should have returned and been there for you." All the regrets and apologizes you held deep inside began bubbling to your surface now that Mikey was Infront of you cementing your demise with his presence. "You must have felt so alone after everything that's happened to you and I left at just the start of it all because I couldn't handle my own pain. I should have been there for you! If it was possible Shinichiro would have probably scolded me for abandoning you both after his death."

Mikey was beside you in an instant, pulling you into his arms and snapping you out of your internal self destruction. "Stop blaming yourself! Even if you had never left we'd still be in the same spot as we are now. I never blamed you for anything, neither did Emma and I'm sure my big bro wouldn't have either. Fate fucked all of us up, there was no feasible way for anyone to see just how bad things would become for the both of us."

Even after hearing his words you couldn't help from sobbing into his chest. All these years of masking the ache you'd felt was catching up to you and there was no stopping it from flowing out of you now that you've started to release it. You heard of every misfortune in Mikey's life and added it to your own pain everytime, from the struggles of Toman to the deaths of his friends and Emma. Every piece weighed on your heart as if you were the one that had caused them all by leaving after Shinichiro passed.

Not long after your tears stopped flowing and your breathing returned to normal after sobbing so hard, Mikey suggested the pair of you go lay down in your bed. All the exhaustion of letting out years of bottled emotions made you nod your head on agreement almost instantly after he'd suggested resting.

"Just rest now, I promise everything is gonna be okay and that you won't have to feel the burden of heartache for much longer." Mikey held you in his arms with all the affection the pair of you thought you'd never get to feel. "I know I said earlier I saved you for last because of how my brother felt about you but honestly I think I mainly chose to kill you last because of my own feelings. Truthfully Im an asshole who fears feeling the same pain you felt, having to live my life knowing my love is dead. I could handle living without you in my life knowing your living your own life but the thought of me being alive while your dead makes me feel ill."

Your brain was far too tired to respond to his ramblings with words of your own, so you sleepily just gave a hum and let your heavy lids shut over your eyes.

"I'd be lying if I said the thought of us dying together tonight didn't crossing my mind, but I know Id only be tarnishing your death tonight by adding my own. You deserve to be found alone so you can be mourned and not found with my own body bringing in all the attention or gossip of why you're with a wanted man like me. People would think poorly of you if they thought you had anything to do with me." He moved to lie you down beside him as he sat up somewhat over your sleeping frame. "Besides I already plan on going out at the hands of someone else. He actually reminds me alot of my brother funnily enough. I wish you could have met him sometime, and maybe it would have helped you move on from Shini. Regardless it's too late for any of that, and I know he won't be the one to actually kill me in the end but it'll still be nice to see him one last time too before I go."

All was silent now that Mikey had quit rambling to your sleeping form. He sat there watching you sleep for what felt like a blissful eternity to him, a hand of his snaking up to caress your neck. His fingers traced up and down the front of your throat a few times, feeling the steady pulse beneath his touch.

He knew he had to do end this eventually. He'd have to wrap his hands around your delicate neck and squeeze at some point soon before all his resolve left him. He knew strangulation was a more personal ways of killing someone since he'd have to look you in the eyes as he did it and hold longer than he'd think so you'd actually pass away and not just pass out. You deserved something more personal and intimate than just a bullet to the head or heart, sure those would end you quick but they were to heartless in his opinion.

He took a deep breath, mustering all his resolve as his hands circled your neck and began to tighten his grasp till he knew you'd have no room for oxygen to move in and out. You're eyes had opened from the shock, though once you'd realized what was happening you'd shut them again. Mikey hoped from the flash of a smile on your lips that in the haze of these final moments of yours, you'd mistaken him for Shinichiro.

Once it was all said and done, he'd planted a peck on your lips then laid back down beside you. Holding your limp form for this final time as he let his own exhaustion take over him. Tomorrow morning he would get up, say a final goodbye to you before slipping unseen out of your place and anonymously report your death before heading off to his own place of death.

Tonight though he wanted to hold you till he was sure your soul had passed over to the afterlife and hopefully you'd tell his brother and sister that he too would see them soon.

#tokyo revengers #manjiro sano #dead dove fic #dark ending

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putschki1969 · 5 months

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『Wakana 5th Anniversary “Prologue” ～Premium Online Live～』

An exclusive streaming event will be held for fan club members to celebrate Wakana's 5th anniversary as a solo artist. She will be joined by Hirotaka Sakurada on piano. Please be sure to tune in!

‖Event details “Wakana 5th Anniversary “Prologue” ~Premium Online Live~” Date: February 6, 2024 Time: 18:30~ Starring: Wakana, Hirotaka Sakurada (Piano)

‖Ticket details Ticket sales: Bitfan Tickets Live streaming: Bitfan Live [Purchase period] January 10th to February 12th ●Event viewing ticket ¥3,800 (tax included) ※For FC members ONLY ※An archived version will be available for viewing at the streaming URL after the live broadcast. You can watch it until February 13th. ❗ Join her FAN CLUB NOW! Check out my detailed TUTORIAL ❗ In order to buy a ticket, please refer to the tutorial provided by Botanical Land! I have also written my own tutorial for a previous FC event so feel free to check that out! Bitfan is a very foreigner-friendly platform so be sure to use this opportunity!

Oh yes, I am excited for this. I think Wakana is planning to do a lot for her 5th Anniversary. Hopefully she can hold a proper tour. This event will definitely be a perfect "prologue". Also happy to see Saku-chan again.

2024/01/10 Blog post by Wakana おしゃべりガーデン第５回目！〜その１〜

❗This is Fan Club EXCLUSIVE content❗ ❗PERSONAL USE ONLY❗ Do ❗NOT SHARE❗ on other sites ❗Join her FAN CLUB! Check out my detailed TUTORIAL ❗

Talk Garden Vol. 5！〜Part 1〜

"Wakana's Talk Garden Vol.5" has been uploaded! This time, I intended to talk about both the messages I received on the talk theme and the comments on my latest blog post...but I just didn't have enough time😂💦 Just talking about the comments from my blog post ended up taking 45 minutes...😅 I didn't even mention the messages for the regular talk theme...😅 It's all because I don't prepare in advance with some sort of script or rough schedule🫠🫠I'm so sorry! ! 😂💦

Due to the length, I made a “Vol#5 Part①” in which I only talk about the blog comments🤣 “Vol#5 Part②” will be uploaded at a later date, on that podcast I will be focusing on reading the messages for the original talk theme 🧚✨

The comment section was full of everyone's thoughts and feelings, I had a really hard time reading through all of them, I actually cried so many times that I had a stuffy nose. Despite that, I am happy that you shared your thoughts with me, I felt like I could relate to everyone in my own way. Thank you so much.

When I read that many of you are seeking music as a source of comfort in times like this, I wanted nothing more than to sing for you right away. Which is why I was more than happy to be able to announce an online broadcast for February 6th. I would like to have a fun time with everyone at my first live show of this year, February 6th marks the 5th anniversary of my solo debut. I'm really looking forward to it! ! (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))

Oh, by the way. I forgot to announce the next talk theme during the new episode, the talk theme for "Talk Garden Vol.6" scheduled to air on February 10th will be: "Memories of Valentine's Day"! I can't wait to read all your sweet and funny stories, of course you can also send me all of your sad stories ! ＼＼\\٩( 'ω' )و //／／

Well, please enjoy the episode even though it's long♪

Until next time~☆( *'▽’*)／

＊＊＊Wakana＊＊＊

Wakana’s Talk Garden #4 & #5

❗This is Fan Club EXCLUSIVE content❗ ❗PERSONAL USE ONLY❗ Do ❗NOT SHARE❗ on other sites ❗Join her FAN CLUB! Check out my detailed TUTORIAL ❗

Episode #4 »»—— CLICK ME 🎁 CLICK ME ——«« Episode #5 Part 1 »»—— CLICK ME 🎁 CLICK ME ——««

Vol 4 Topic “Things I should do before the end of they year but somehow, I turn a blind eye to it”

Vol 5 Topic "Please let me hear your current thoughts"

For next month’s episode which is scheduled to air on February 10th, the topic is “Memories of Valentine's Day.” The submission deadline is 01/31.

#kalafina #wakana #wakana blog #news #Wakana 5th Anniversary “Prologue” ~Premium Online Live~#botanical land #fan club exclusive content #Wakana's Talk Garden #hearing Wakana tear up always hits me right in the feels

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remadra · 1 year

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The Powers That Be

HC's and bragging under the cut

All the paintings were referenced from the game but I did them myself, I made the wallpaper design, yes I did the wood grain line by line because I'm insane and I taught myself to mimic the VHS/static effect manually. I'm incredibly proud of all the work I put into learning new techniques and improving my skills! Okay!!!

It's all canon to my Pale City teens AU but it's also my HC for the series in general.

Each power manifests as a warped version of its respective child. Hunger doesn't quite look like Six though. I HC'd the shadow in LN2 after Six gets taken as the Hunger manifesting, displaced because the Broadcast overpowered and kicked it out as Six was taken into the TV, and that it originally was RCG's power. Six and RCG have the same silhouette with their hoods up, or at least close enough to fool people into mixing them up. It attached to Six after RCG fell in order to save itself, because it needs a body to feed off or it'll fade away. That's why it seemingly encourages Mono forward when he falls from the train- it can't take Mono, he already has the Broadcast, but it can follow him back to Six, like a ship following an ice breaker. Hunger requires feeding (whether it be gaining control/power over something or feeding Six's ego in a pinch) but unlike any other power, it isn't bound to a location. It's a splinter of the Maw's power that clung to RCG, the daughter of The Lady, when she ran away, seeking to gain a foothold somewhere away from the ship to grow itself. In a way, both were running from their mothers. Hunger, as a non-location bound power, can also feed off other powers, slowly gaining abilities similar to or derived from others. Originally it couldn't transform it's kid into any monstrous forms, but close contact with the Broadcast's Tuning gave it an edge so Six can warp herself at will. Hunger can only grow, but so will the cost of feedings. This is why it only has one concrete ability for its current child unlike the other's having two.

The Broadcast is Mono's power, and rarely shows itself to others. It can be glimpsed lagging behind Mono as he runs through the tower or TV hops if one looked closely, but its shy for an all-powerful being. It prefers to watch. Its granted abilities are the TV connection and Tuning the world, though its restricted to the Pale City to stay at its most powerful. Mono can Tune things from their warped to normal forms, like clearing static from a screen, but it doesn't work on living things, or he can Tune something Out like The Thin Man into simply... not existing anymore. He can Tune his powers to be more precise but it's exhausting. The TV connection allows him to hop around via the screens, both through space and time as long as a TV is connected to the Signal Tower. It's easier to hop short distances because the toll is exponential. Mono could move a mile with one hop, but it takes less energy to make a series of short hops to move the same mile. It's also much easier to only move through time or space, so he'll often look for close by TV's to use before heading to a specific moment. To avoid paradox problems in the time loop, interacting with himself in a way he doesn't remember causes extreme migraines as the Broadcast patches in the new memories. He tries not to use it too much, and avoids spoilers for the future. They only cause problems.

The Pretender's power is called the Command. Strongest at the Nest, but weakest in its own personality, it allows her to direct or control adults in her domain- The Butler and The Craftsman would still do their jobs as adults are incredibly focused on purposes, but a little direction with a Demand helps remind them who's in charge. The vocal ability also has an effect on children. Though she can't Demand them to do anything, it can paralyze them momentarily. This ability gets stronger the older the target until they're compelled to follow orders. Her second ability is the Dismissal Touch, wiping the victim from the world and only leaving their possessions behind. It only works on the living, so her Touch wouldn't have any effect on the Bullies or something already dead. It's not that her gloves would stop the Dismissal either, it works on anyone through clothing as long as they connect, but because Pretty's powers are closely linked to her emotions it helps to have a tangible cover so she doesn't slip up and Dismiss a friend by accident. That is a hassle for Mono to fix via time hopping and restarting the day. Checking her gloves gives her a sense of security. Anything that startles or frightens her can cause her power to flare in defense.

That's what I have to share so far!!!

#little nightmares #little nightmares shadow #little nightmares hunger #little nightmares broadcast #little nightmares command #little nightmares hc #my art #rembles #im. i hope you all like it. i worked really hard and im really excited.#body horror #tw body horror

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hit-song-showdown · 1 year

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Year-End Poll #17: 1966

[Image description: a collage of photos of the 10 musicians and musical groups featured in this poll. In order from left to right, top to bottom: SSgt Barry Sadler, The Association, The Righteous Brothers, Four Tops, ? and the Mysterians, The Monkees, The Mamas and the Papas (x2), The Supremes, Johnny Rivers. End description]

More information about this blog here

*Opening chords of Fortunate Son playing softly in the background*

A few polls ago, I mentioned that the song list I was using was not the one originally published in Billboard Magazine during that year. This is another one of those cases. If you read through the magazine, you'll find California Dreamin' listed as the number 1 song of the year. However, the data has since been updated and Billboard's website (and other up-to-date publications) list The Ballad of the Green Berets as the number 1 song in 1966. Every place I looked has given me frustratingly vague reasons for this difference. Since my threshold for research ends at the point where I have to start contacting people, I decided to leave this up to my (un)educated guess and assume the magazine was published before all the data for the year could be collected. Maybe, as America's involvement in the Vietnam War skyrocketed this year, more people were flocking to TBoTGB.

However I feel about the song (I try to keep these blurbs free of my actual opinions when it comes to the songs listed), it gives me an opportunity to talk about Vietnam War era music. When I imagine this era in music, I mostly think of protest songs or basically just the Full Metal Jacket soundtrack. Often, this is in contrast to the music about "the war" my generation got. To people like me who grew up watching The [Dixie] Chicks backlash and the fire-hose blast of patriotic pro-war songs, the Vietnam War era of popular music truly feels like another era in more ways than the obvious. So why is the number 1 song in the country one of the few "pro-Vietnam War" songs from the time?

I was able to talk to my folks about this era, and keep in mind that they're pretty left-leaning so that's the angle I'm coming at this from. They talked about listening to Walter Cronkite read the death counts on CBS. My dad said that after the draft was kicked into high gear, it felt like the government was just "throwing bodies" at the war effort. Middle America no longer had the luxury of distancing themselves from the war. With the draft and the footage being broadcasted into people's living rooms, there wasn't even the pastiche of "glory". But my dad also said that when he was in school, his teacher would have the kids sing Ballad of the Green Berets in class.

It sounds like I'm spending too long talking about the context behind one song, but that's because I can't think about anything else other than the war. Because the people back then couldn't think about anything else. Even if songs weren't explicitly about "the war", it didn't take much for them to be recontextualized. Another song on this poll, The Monkees' Last Train to Clarksville, didn't sound like it was about the war to me. But if you're in 1966 and you're worried about you or your friends and loved ones getting drafted, and you hear a song with the lyrics "We'll have one more night together" and "I don't know if I'm ever coming home", it's going to strike a different note. And thus, Last Train to Clarksville is still listed in Vietnam War Music compilations to this day.

I try not to be too long-winded when writing these. And even when I do go off for too long, I'm still aware that I'm giving barely a surface level summary of what I'm talking about. All of the songs I list in these polls could be the subject of their own documentaries in my opinion, and the music of the Vietnam War could be its own documentary series. But the war is something that will continue to loom over pop culture, and I'd thought I'd mention it during the poll that has an actual decorated soldier on the banner. Unlike the people at the time, we'll be able to put the war out of our minds until it comes up explicitly again.

#billboard poll #billboard music #tumblr poll #1960s #60s music #1966 #barry sadler #the association #the righteous brothers #four tops #? and the mysterians #the monkees #the mamas and the papas #johnny rivers #the supremes

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ryanscabinlife · 1 year

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I can't believe it's been a month since I posted the May garden update. A lot of things has happened. Loads of wins and also plenty of failures. I guess I'll start with the progress of the ones I featured last month.

The hardneck garlic that overwintered are just about ready to be harvested. According to online sources, garlics can be harvested about a month after the scapes emerges. I was delighted to see the scapes as I was taking pics this morning. Can't wait to collect and make something out of them.

Oh tomatoes. I talked about how our weather has been awful many of times on this blog. After the dry May, they started showing some damaged on their leaves, and since they barely saw the sun this month, they did not grow very much. I panicked so I bought 30 more roma seedlings and 6 more cherry tomatoes. After a few days of sun, all of them are bouncing back to life and looking very healthy. Now I'm stuck with 60 romas and 12 cherries. Not the worst problem to have, really. All corners of the garden have tomatoes planted in them.

The beds where the trellis is sitting is now filled with plants. All of the beans and peas are looking great. The snow peas are about 4 ft tall and there's plenty of beans on the ground. The luffa that I was so excited about, none of them showed up. I bought a packet of 10 seeds for a whopping $4.99 and only 1 germinated. I'm currently babying it and waiting for the perfect time to transplant it. The cucumber is the other one I'm totally having hard time with. So far I've already used up the whole packet, and so far I have seen none. I planted the last 6 seeds yesterday but I'm not holding my breath. We have a neighbour (I'm using the word neighbour very loosely here, they're about 5km from us) who have a small road-side stand and in the summer they sell cucumbers. I think I'm just gonna have to rely on them for cucumbers.

The potatoes (all 30ft row) are doing extremely well. Some of them suffered from light frost and their early leaves died but they all bounced back. I think next year, I'll plant them even earlier.

It looks like the apple or crabapple (I still don't know) tree had a couple of successful pollinations. I think the reason for the lack of blooms is because the tree has been neglected and unkept for a long time. I've already been researching and watching a ton of videos on how to properly prune apple trees so I can prune it next spring in hopes that it will put out more blooms next year.

The border is looking a bit sad. Something to be expected on the first year due to the fact that most of the plants I have in it are perennials. I think they'll live though, I can only hope that they come out stronger next year. Looking closely, the wildflowers that I broadcasted are out. I see hundreds of them. I've added two smaller beds, I'm hoping to fill them up with the annual seedlings I'm currently growing. No progress at all on the potted garden in the background.

The brassicas are my favourites but also the main cause of my headaches. Thank god I have seeded a good amount of extras because these bitches have plethora of enemies! The first to attack was slugs. They destroyed a handful of seedlings (100% my fault coz I decided to plant them too young). I battled this with non-stop weeding and slug hunting. So far it's been working, I just go in early in the morning, remove all of the slugs and the weeds they hide into. Then the rabbits. I did not plan to build a fence this year but after the rabbit attack that ate almost half of the original plants, I decided to build a fence around the garden. Again, so far it's working. Then just when they start actually growing, the damn flea beetles happened. Yesterday, I ordered some food grade diatomaceous earth. I'm aware that it will kill all of the insects it will come across with whether they're good or bad but I guess I'll just have to be careful not to put it on any of the flowering crops so it doesn't kill the pollinators. Next year, to avoid using such measure, I plan to install netting on all of the leafy veggies. I don't wanna do that now because it will just trap in the ones I already have in.

Speaking of flea beetles and brassicas, these godforsaken creatures killed all of the arugulas and boy choy I planted at the end of April. I then replanted them a couple of weeks ago and lo and behold, all of them are damaged again. I'm leaving them on the bed for now to hopefully serve as food for the pests and in hopes that I'll be able to trap and kill them once the diatomaceous earth arrives. I'll try to grow them again in the fall when the temperature starts going down with netting. But for now, I planted some of my extra tomatoes to keep this spot occupied.

To my surprise, the asparagus are doing exceedingly well. Can't wait for 2025 when I can finally harvest some.

I have 3 tomatillos that survived and they're doing well. They're planted with the original cherry tomatoes and celery.

3 weeks ago, I though these celery plants were dead, but they managed to come back.

Peanut, another big failure. I planted a whole row of peanuts parallel to the row of potatoes. 30 ft of it and roughly 40 seeds, 3 germinated, 2 out of those 3 got devoured by slugs. So now I have ONE peanut plant. I scattered few sage and pepper seeds in the area as replacement. Let's see what happens.

After the small radish harvest yesterday, these is what's left. I'm gonna give them a week or so until I pull them all out. In preparation for their departure, I have okras and eggplants growing in between rows. I've already replanted the okra and eggplants a couple of times because slugs and birds keep on eating them. To avoid that, I just covered them with recycled plastic cups as protection for now.

On the same bed as the radish, okra, and eggplants are the softneck garlic. It's more or less an experiment. I was just curious if they actually produce garlic bulbs at the end of growing season. The garlic cloves I used are from Costco. They're not looking too bad.

Next bed over (where I have the failed arugula and bokchoy) are onions. I bought a pack of a hundred bulbs and shoved all of them in this bed. They just started emerging.

Next bed after that (my biggest one) are corn, zucchini, and butternut squash. The corns are doing alright. I dealt with poor germination with both of the squashes and when they show up, birds eats them. Nothing much I could do other than keep replanting seeds and protecting the seedlings with plastic cups. Looks like the ones I have at the moment are gonna make it.

Next bed after that are carrots. I planted these back in April, and this is what they look like now. They sure to take their sweet time to germinate.

25-Jun-2023

#ryanscabinlife #plantblr #plant community #garden blog #gardening #vegetable garden #garden #garden journal #garden diary #garden diaries #garden 2023 #my garden #gardencore #what's growing

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harukadrawsthings · 1 year

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Japan (and many international viewers who watch the original audio) has just seen the end of an era that lasted a quarter of a century. I haven't watched the episode yet as I'm awaiting the release of the English subtitles tonight from the team responsible for the translation but I have no doubt I'll need a lot of tissues. But since the outcome is already known in the land of the rising sun I've decided to reveal my art tribute to Ash and Pikachu in T-Shirt format that I've been preparing for at least a month but was reserving it for today!

I vividly remember the moment when the Pokémon series premiered in Portugal in October 1999, when I was still at primary school, and introduced us to an ambitious 10 year old boy who fell asleep on the 1st day of his journey in pursuit of a dream and who at first did not get along well with his electric mouse partner. There wasn't a single child or teenager at that time that would be indifferent and wouldn't talk about that universe inhabited by hundreds of creatures with magical powers and how different that concept was in an animated series for that time (and in videogames too because there was also a rush to Nintendo's handheld consoles!).

I never imagined that 23 years later I would still be following this story of friendship and how remarkable the protagonist would be in my life after being with me almost the whole time. He was the one who introduced me to a franchise I'm a big fan of and that same exposure has influenced my artistic path. He decompressed me on the daily train journeys I had to make to college, making me laugh and go to class with determination and optimism. He has been my psychologist these past six years which have been particularly difficult for me and has been a major element in my emotional stability. I also owe thanks to Ash for several important life lessons he has given me along his journey by demonstrating his virtues such as kindness, honesty, helping and being tolerant of each other. I have very happy memories of waking up in the morning and watching his adventures on television before going to school, and of watching him in the evening on television in more recent years including the present time.

Portugal will still have Ash on the small screen until the end of this year and I will follow him to the end and wait for the local dubbing of the remaining episodes to be broadcast (and cry again with the disclosure of the Pokémon Ultimate Journeys and this special 11-episodes mini-series) and enjoy his company for a while longer. I will miss this duo that won my heart and of millions of viewers of several generations all over the world that we will certainly never forget and that their memory will be eternal. It was a privilege to watch this story as everything happened in the moment.

So this stamped illustration is a homage and a gesture of gratitude to one of the most influential and impactful characters ever in the history of Japanese animation and who leaves us a legacy that I hope future generations will come to know and recognise his cultural importance. You'll be forever a legend! 🧢⚡

Thank you, Ash Ketchum and Pikachu, and so long!

Do not repost. Do not modify. Always credit me!

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Twitter || Ko-Fi

Commissions now open on Ko-Fi!

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Ash & Pikachu © Nintendo/TPC

Art © HarukaDrawsThings

#pokemon #pokemon journeys #anipoke #t-shirt #drawing #digital art #fanart #tribute #art tribute #harukadrawsthings #2023 #aim to be a pokemon master #mezase pokemon master #ThankYouAshAndPikachu #ThankYouAsh&Pikachu #ash ketchum #satoshi #pikachu #ThankYouAshKetchum

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bellaxgiornata · 11 months

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Life Worth Living [Chapter Five]

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Original Female Character

[You can find the full summary and chapter list for this series here]

Warnings/tags: 18+ for this series; contains fluff, angst, violence, PTSD, smut (Contains our beloved Defenders and lots of plot twists)

Word Count: 9.7k

a/n: This is a very long chapter and will forever be one of my favorite early chapters in this series. I love flirty Matty in this one and you should know that if I can work Matt and flirting over pool into a fic, I'm going to. You also finally get a bit of a glimpse at what Olivia can do... Anyway, feedback is always appreciated!

It was Saturday night, two nights after I’d run into Jessica and Trish. Jessica had texted me over the past couple of days, keeping me up to date on Hope’s case and her struggle to find witnesses. She'd also told me about the apology Trish had broadcast on Trish Talk yesterday morning, the day after challenging Kilgrave on air and he'd called in.

I remember listening to the show, hearing his voice over the radio for the first time in years. I hadn't been able to fall asleep for more than an hour at a time the past few nights since. I'd barely eaten, too, having lost my appetite with his reappearance in my life. And because I'd been spiraling, I hadn't left my apartment in the past two days either, unconsciously avoiding Matt, Foggy, and Karen. Matt hadn't had any other night time check-ins; since I was barely sleeping I wasn't having nightmares.

Currently I was sprawled out on my couch, staring at some awful sitcom, not exactly watching it. My eyes were burning and slightly bloodshot from the lack of sleep over the entire week. There was a half eaten slice of toast I had long since abandoned on a plate in the middle of my coffee table, which was a mess with dishes that had piled up.

A rapid succession of hard knocks at my front door caused me to stiffen on the couch. My fingers gripped the cushions roughly as I held my breath.

Did he find me already?

“Olivia! Where the hell have you disappeared the last few days!” Foggy’s boisterous voice called from the other side of my front door.

The tension slowly eased out of my muscles as I carefully sat up on the couch. I glanced down at the sweatpants and oversized black tee-shirt I was wearing and frowned. I looked a mess, but I didn’t have time to dress to answer the door for Foggy. With a huff I made my way to the front door where Foggy had taken up banging again.

I swung the door open to be greeted by Foggy’s beaming face–which immediately fell when he actually took in the sight of me.

“Holy shit, what happened to you?” he breathed out, eyes wide.

Karen suddenly appeared next to Foggy, Matt being pulled along beside her. Her eyes grew wide as well when she began scanning me up and down, her mouth parting a little in surprise.

“What’s wrong?” Matt asked quickly, voice full of concern.

“Jesus–you’ve got a bandage on your forehead and…shit, are those bruises on your neck?” Foggy gasped. “Did someone choke you?”

Matt’s jaw snapped shut instantly. From my place at the door I could see the muscles twitching as he ground his teeth. Karen eyed me with a sorrowful gaze, her focus lingering on my bruised neck for a few moments. I let out a sigh, rubbing a hand across my face.

“I’m fine, just had a terrible past few days,” I assured them.

“But were you attacked?” Foggy pressed.

“Yes, but it was a…misunderstanding,” I explained.

Foggy’s eyes narrowed at my words; Karen raised a brow at me questioningly. Matt still remained clenching his jaw, his hands gripping his cane so hard his knuckles were turning as white as the object itself.

“How does someone attacking you turn out to be a misunderstanding?” Foggy shot at me.

I waved a dismissive hand quickly, as if I could wave away their worry. “Look, don’t worry about it. I’m fine, I’m handling it.”

“That certainly makes me feel better,” Foggy said sarcastically. “Did you go to the police?”

I raised a hand, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I’m trying to. When I…can.”

“Why can’t you now?” he pried.

I took a deep breath, fighting back the frustration. I didn’t want to drag the three of them into this. They didn’t need to be on Kilgrave’s radar.

“Because the problem…requires evidence, which I imagine you can understand, being lawyers,” I told him. “And until I have that, I’m…dealing with it.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Matt said, his tone dark. “Whatever you’re doing, it doesn’t sound safe. You shouldn’t be dealing with it, especially not alone.”

“I’m not…I’m not alone,” I said slowly. “I have help. And I’m…” my voice trailed off, searching for the words. “I’m sort of the only one able to deal with this.”

“What does that even mean?” Foggy pushed. "You're being cryptic and it's scaring me."

I exhaled slowly, opting for a bit of the truth.

"Some P.I. was looking for someone, someone I…used to know. They thought I might’ve had information, but I didn’t," I explained. "Now I'm sort of helping them. That's all."

Karen looked skeptical but remained quiet at my explanation. Matt’s jaw muscles had stopped ticking, but his head was tilted to the side and I could tell he was intensely focused on me behind his dark glasses when I felt that telltale prickle along my skin. It was Foggy who continued on.

"But the bruises?"

"I was on a run, had my earbuds in. They grabbed me to talk, I freaked out and attacked them first," I explained with a shrug. "They were just trying to defend themselves too. Like I said–just a misunderstanding."

"Alright…" Foggy said slowly, not looking entirely convinced.

"So uh…" I cleared my throat awkwardly. "Why is it that you're banging on my door after nine?"

"We were going to go to Josie's," Karen told me. "We thought you might want to come out."

"Planning to stay out until the sunrise?" I questioned them cautiously.

"No," Karen said with a laugh. "I don't think Foggy could handle that again."

"Hey!" Foggy exclaimed, affronted. "I did just fine that night, thank you!"

I grinned at the pair before my eyes slid back and landed on Matt behind them. He was smiling but it almost looked forced. I hadn't spoken to him since the night he'd come over and then disappeared on me before I'd woken up.

"Would you like to join us?" Matt asked slowly, one of his brows raising.

I glanced down to what I was wearing, a frown covering my face before I looked up, taking note of their clothes. Matt and Foggy were wearing button down shirts, ties, and dress pants with nice winter coats covering them. Karen was in yet another nice dress with a black pea coat, her face made up and her hair neatly pulled back in a bun. Meanwhile, I was pretty sure there was a smear of peanut butter somewhere on my shirt, a hole forming at the left ankle of my sweatpants, and my hair was a tousled mess.

"I'm sort of a mess right now…" I answered, voice trailing off.

Karen smiled wide, catching my eye. "We can wait, if you want to change."

"Yeah, we'd love for you to come out with us," Foggy assured me. “Josie’s is just a dive bar, you don’t need to get dressed up. We just had some office work for a new case we worked on today so,” he said, waving a hand at their attire, “we haven’t really changed.”

Clearing my throat, I stepped aside from the doorway. "I'll just change quick, if you want to wait inside?"

Foggy quickly rushed past; I could feel him surveying the state of my apartment without even seeing him. Karen slipped in past me, guiding Matt inside. His hand briefly brushed against my arm as he stepped past me and I wondered if it was intentional or not. Closing the door behind them, I followed Karen and Matt down the entry hall into the living room.

I shifted awkwardly as Foggy and Karen eyed the coffee table littered with empty water glasses and coffee mugs; the piece of lone peanut butter toast forgotten on the table. I quickly grabbed the plate, biting my lip awkwardly.

“Sorry, wasn’t planning on company,” I muttered as I rushed to empty the toast in the trash before tossing the dish in the sink. As I made my way through the living room, I briefly mumbled out, “I’ll just be a minute,” before darting down the hall and towards the bedroom.

Sliding the door closed behind me, I made my way to the dresser, grabbing the brush atop it and quickly combing through my long, blonde hair. It was a tangled disaster and I frowned as I tried to tame it, giving up when the waves wouldn’t straighten out. I made my way to my closet, opening the door and quickly selecting a pair of dark denim skinny jeans and an oversized, cream colored sweater. I slipped out of my sweatpants and tee-shirt, pulling up the jeans before slipping the sweater on. Stepping back towards my closet, I grabbed a black leather jacket and tugged my arms into it. Making my way back to my dresser, I quickly applied some mascara, a bit of concealer to cover the dark circles under my tired eyes, and a faint bit of perfume–for some reason I felt like I could still smell the traces of peanut butter which must’ve gotten into my hair.

I paused, placing the spray onto the dresser and eyeing my reflection. I didn’t look nearly as put together as Karen but definitely better than I had before. My eyes traveled down to my neck, the angry bruising looking a little bit lighter today. I lifted a hand, my fingertips gently tracing the bruises with a frown. I had no way to cover those and I refused to use my abilities to heal them–not that I could now anyway, considering I'd have to explain why they'd disappeared. With a sigh, I pulled some hair forward and tugged my jacket tighter around me. It was the best I could do.

Exiting my room, I heard the sound of muffled voices. The three of them suddenly quieted when I appeared in the living room.

“Maybe you should convince Matt to get a dog and you can share it,” Foggy said as he rose from the couch.

My eyes narrowed playfully at Foggy as Karen giggled behind a hand.

“Are you implying I’m lonely, Nelson?” I asked him.

“Of course not…” Foggy answered, his tone not quite believable. "It certainly doesn't look like you've been in your apartment, alone, for days on end or anything…"

“I’m pretty sure that’s not how service dogs work, for starters,” I told him. “And also–I’m pretty sure I already said I’m partial to cats.”

“Then maybe you should get a cat,” Foggy urged.

“Thinking I should get a head start on being the lonely cat lady already?” I teased him, leading the group towards the front door.

“Oh, well, no–that’s not what I meant,” Foggy fumbled.

I laughed lightly, opening the front door and stepping aside so the three could exit. This time Foggy was leading Matt instead of Karen, who muttered a ‘thank you’ as she passed by.

“I’m just teasing, relax,” I told Foggy, locking the door behind me as I exited. “Besides, I’ve already considered getting a cat. Just haven’t exactly gotten around to it.”

“Maybe you should,” he continued. “I hear they lower stress levels.”

I rolled my eyes, jamming my hands into the pockets of my leather jacket as we stopped in front of the elevator doors.

“Alright, I’m feeling personally attacked now,” I joked. “Can we focus the topic of discussion to something other than me? You said you guys had a new client?”

“Oh! Right, yeah, that guy who came in that morning you were at the office,” Foggy said, perking up. “Can’t really go into details because, you know, client confidentiality and all. But we got a case! A paying one.”

I smiled, watching as the elevator doors flew open and stepping inside behind the group. I found myself suddenly beside Matt, who had dropped Foggy’s arm now.

“That’s great, really,” I told them.

“That reminds me, Karen,” Foggy said, turning his attention to her. “I wanted to ask you about that file from earlier.”

My gaze darted down to my feet as Foggy started discussing some case-related files with Karen. For a moment I wondered if going out to a bar with them was really the best idea, but then I quickly scolded myself. I couldn’t stay inside my apartment hiding forever. Besides, I wouldn’t be alone and tonight should hopefully be fun. And, if I was being honest with myself, I missed all three of them.

A hand gently squeezed my shoulder and I jumped, eyes darting upwards. Matt was looking in my direction, his brows raised just above his dark glasses. I noticed the elevator had reached the lobby, Karen and Foggy holding the doors as they continued their deep discussion.

“You alright?” Matt asked me quietly.

“Yeah, I uhm…yeah,” I said, shaking my head. “Just spaced out for a moment.”

The left side of Matt’s lip curled up at me, his brows lowering. “You mind if I walk with you? I think those two are in the middle of some very boring office talk, and I’ve sort of had enough of that for one Saturday.”

Nervously I shoved a few strands of hair behind my ear, nodding. Immediately realizing he couldn’t see the gesture, I smiled sheepishly and answered, “Yes.”

His warm hand slid from off my shoulder, slipping underneath my arm until he could firmly hold onto my bicep. I fought the shiver that ran down my spine, chewing my lip anxiously as I led him out of the elevator, his cane tapping along the floor as we moved.

“How far is the bar?” I asked curiously, trying to combat the silence as we made our way through the lobby behind Foggy and Karen.

“About a block and a half,” Matt told me. “Not far.”

When we stepped outside, the cold chill of the night immediately bit at my face and I unconsciously leant into Matt.

“Cold?” Matt asked me.

My heart sped up at the sudden closeness of his lips to my ear, his warm breath brushing against my skin. I swallowed hard.

“Yeah, just a little,” I answered.

Without hesitation, he removed his hand from its place around my bicep, instead wrapping it around my waist and pulling me in towards him as we walked. I could feel the hard muscles of his chest against my side now; the warmth of his body seeping through my leather jacket. I could smell the scent of cedar and clove again, something I hadn’t realized I’d missed until just this moment. The feeling that often arose in my stomach around Matt suddenly reared its head, causing my breath to catch briefly on my next inhale.

Matt’s nose brushed against my temple, his lips lightly grazing my ear as he leant in beside me, whispering, “Is this okay?”

I blinked hard, clenching my hands tightly into fists in my jacket pockets. For the briefest moment, I almost stopped on the sidewalk, overcome with a strong urge to grab him by the coat and pull his lips to my own. Immediately I pushed the thought away.

“Yes, but,” I answered, voice weak. I tried to calm down before continuing. “Isn’t this harder for me to help guide you?”

A very light chuckle warmed the side of my face from his breath. His mouth was back near my ear again, lightly skimming his lips against the sensitive part of it as he spoke.

“I know these streets very well,” he assured me. His voice was deep, almost a whisper; a conversation just between us as Karen and Foggy were forgotten ahead of us on the sidewalk. “I’ll be fine.”

There was a beat of silence between us, my mind entirely focused on the feel of Matt’s nose lightly brushing against the top of my head.

“You smell nice,” Matt muttered.

A snort escaped me at his compliment before I shot him a look. He was smiling in my direction, his eyes crinkling at the corners. I very badly wanted to rip those glasses off of his face to see him better.

“What?” he asked curiously, a smile lingering.

“I’m pretty sure there’s peanut butter somewhere in my hair,” I said with a chuckle, my cheeks burning in slight embarrassment.

Matt’s nose nuzzled against the top of my hair for a moment again. My eyes fluttered closed at the gesture; it wasn’t one I’d experienced before–something so sweet and affectionate–and neither were the butterflies that suddenly broke loose in my stomach.

“There’s definitely peanut butter in your hair,” he agreed, his tone teasing.

I laughed lightly along with him, rolling my eyes. “Great. Well, I’m glad you enjoy it. Is it making you hungry?”

“Maybe…” he said, his voice barely audible.

Something about the way he said the word caused a warmth to suddenly erupt low inside of me. I stiffened as I felt Matt’s hand suddenly tighten against my waist. He cleared his throat before speaking again, but I noticed a slight waver in his tone as he did.

“You smell like coffee though,” he murmured. “And a mix of something citrus and floral. Mandarin?” he questioned lightly, brushing his nose against the top of my head again. “And…hibiscus?”

I expelled a breathy laugh, feeling a little lightheaded from this conversation. “You’re good,” I whispered back. “Clearly you know your scents.”

Matt hummed in response, a slight grin permanently fixed on his face. He opened his mouth to say something, but was quickly cut off by Foggy.

“Welcome to Josie’s!” he exclaimed, gesturing dramatically at the entrance to the bar.

Breaking out of the private bubble Matt and I had been in, I glanced up. There was a red neon sign on the front window, displaying the name of the bar. The sound of old rock music was drifting out onto the sidewalk.

Foggy held the door open for Karen to pass through, and then gestured for Matt and myself. Matt’s hand slid from around my waist and back up to my bicep, his warm hand curling around it as I led him inside. I followed behind Karen to the bar, Foggy coming in behind us.

The bar was indeed a dive bar; it was dimly lit with neon signs and a few strings of lights around the ceiling. The walls were a dark wood paneling reminiscent of the seventies and there were a few old gambling game machines placed precariously about. A lone pool table sat vacant near the front window with the neon sign. I was surprised to see there were a handful of people here; it wasn’t crowded but it certainly wasn’t empty.

I rested my arms against the bar top beside Karen, feeling a pang of sadness as Matt released his grip on my arm. Foggy was gaining the attention of Josie behind the bar to order drinks as I continued to survey the room.

The three immediately ordered beers when Josie finally appeared. As she started placing the bottles on the bar, the older woman now stared at me expectantly.

“Oh, uh, water please,” I ordered.

“No!” Foggy and Matt both shouted in unison.

I jumped at their unexpected reaction, my eyes widening. Karen only giggled beside me, shaking her head.

“You do not drink the water at Josie’s,” Foggy warned me dramatically. “There’s something wrong with the pipes. You can… see the bacteria and rust in it.”

“That’s why we always order our drinks neat,” Matt added.

“Alright then…”I said slowly, turning back to the expectant Josie as she rested both hands on the bar. “Just a coke, then.”

“No ice!” Foggy tacked on.

I shook my head, laughing, as we threw some cash on the sticky bar counter.

“Not drinking tonight?” Karen asked me curiously as we waited for my coke.

“I don’t drink,” I admitted. “I prefer to be in full control of my…mental faculties.”

"Not a problem!" Foggy exclaimed, clapping a hand on my shoulder.

I thanked Josie as she placed my drink on the counter a moment later. My eyes wandered up to the television behind the bar. Despite the muted voices I could see they were talking about the man in the mask, an enlarged, grainy cellphone image of him on the screen. Karen followed my gaze, her eyes landing on the news.

"What’s your take on him?" she asked me curiously.

I shrugged in response, watching as she took a pull from the beer she'd ordered. She shot me a look, shaking her head.

"No, you've been here for a couple weeks now," she pushed. "You've had to have heard about him. Seen the news. Form some sort of an opinion."

"The mysterious Devil of Hell's Kitchen," Foggy said, whispering the vigilante's name. "Now I'm of the opinion we shouldn't let people go around punching criminals–that's illegal and all. But Karen thinks he's a hero."

I glanced at Karen, watching as she pushed some hair behind her ear and stared down at the beer bottle in her hands. Her fingers were peeling the label on the bottle absently.

"He did save my life once," she told me. "And he's been going after only criminals. Not killing anyone." She shrugged. "I think he's doing good."

My attention turned to Matt who was quietly taking a drink from his bottle, his eyes shielded by his glasses. He was leaning against the bar towards us, but he was facing the rest of the bar and the patrons in it. Foggy followed my gaze and threw his arm around Matt, causing his attention to return to our group.

"Matt here claims to not pay attention enough to form an opinion," Foggy told me, shaking Matt a little by the shoulders.

I quirked a brow at him curiously as I took a sip of my drink. "You've lived here longer than me, and you want me to believe you don't have an opinion?" I asked him curiously.

Matt sent me a charming smile as he said, "As a lawyer, I don't condone criminal acts. But he also saved one of our friends, so," he shrugged. "I don't have an answer."

"So what about you?" Karen asked, nudging me curiously. "What's your take?"

My eyes focused on my glass on the bar in front of me. "Honestly, I haven't given it much thought, but," I admitted, noticing the way Matt leaned forward in interest as I spoke, tongue darting out to wet his lips, "I've seen some of the footage they've shared of him on the news. You can't exactly deny that he's…skilled." I winced as Kilgrave’s face came to mind. "There's definitely worse things he could be doing instead of helping the people of Hell's Kitchen."

"So you approve of what he's doing?" Karen pushed.

I shrugged slowly before taking a drink of my coke. "Sure, I guess. At least he's not hurting innocent people."

"You know what? The pool table is open," Foggy said, pointing his beer bottle at the table. "Let's go play a game. We can do teams." He turned to me with a smile and a wink. "I'll be nice and take pity on you and give you Matt."

My brow rose questioningly at his words and the way Karen hid a laugh behind her hand. " Give me Matt?" I asked him.

Matt scoffed, a faux look of offense crossing his face. "I'm a human being, Foggy, you can't just give me away to people."

Foggy grabbed Matt by the arm, leading him toward the pool table. I pushed off the bar beside Karen, eyeing her curiously. She leant in beside me and whispered, "Matt is actually really good at pool."

"Buddy, I'm giving you an in to play with the girl you clearly like," Foggy pointed out matter-of-factly.

My cheeks flamed at his words and I ducked my head, biting my lip. Karen bumped my arm, catching my gaze. She sent me a questioning look, eyebrows raised. She tilted her head towards Matt and then back at me, an expectant look on her face. I chewed the lip caught between my teeth, eyes slightly wide at her silent question. Very slowly I shrugged in answer, shooting her a sheepish look. Her mouth twisted slowly into a knowing smile. Matt and Foggy carried on, entirely unaware of the exchange that just took place.

"Well when you put it like that," Matt countered with a low chuckle.

"Plus I figure Olivia could use the help," he added. A smirk crossed his face as the pair reached the pool table. "Though I suppose that means you can't pretend you need so much help as you usually would."

Matt’s lip curled into a mischievous smile as he turned towards Karen and I. "I still need help finding the cue ball," he pointed out.

I set my drink on the table next to the pool table; Karen shrugged out of her coat and I followed suit. My brow furrowed as a thought hit me and I turned towards Foggy who was helping Matt out of his coat before taking off his own.

"Wait, you think I'm bad at pool?" I asked him.

Foggy hesitated before he placed the coats at the table Karen and I had claimed. A frown crossed his face as he eyed me curiously.

"You're…not?" he asked tentatively.

I smirked at him before shaking my head, heading towards the rack of pool cues and grabbing two.

"I lived in Anchorage for a few years," I explained, turning back to face our little group. "The main social activity was going to bars–to play pool and throw darts." I waved a hand at the bar around us. "This is my element, Nelson."

"Aww, damn it!" Foggy whined.

I laughed, crossing over to Matt and swapping out his beer for the pool cue.

"You're going down, Nelson," I threatened playfully.

"Go easy on me, I'm just a poor lawyer," Foggy joked.

"Consider it payback for the comment about me being lonely and needing a pet," I teased back.

"Ohhh," Karen said, rubbing her hands together as she headed towards the cue rack, "Maybe we should make a bet."

Foggy grunted, rounding on Karen. "Did you not just hear the poor lawyer part?"

"What's your bet, Karen?" Matt asked her, ignoring Foggy.

She chewed her lip and let out a thoughtful hum before a large grin appeared on her face, her eyes landing mischievously on me. My eyes immediately narrowed in response.

"Losers buy the next round," Karen answered slowly, her eyes still reflecting a playful glint as they continued to match my guarded ones, "and winners…kiss."

My mouth dropped as I gaped at Karen. She just giggled in response, feigning innocence. Foggy offered Karen a high five, which she enthusiastically returned.

"Those sound like good terms," Matt responded with a grin. "I accept."

I held up a hand quickly. "Okay, explain to me why there's a stipulation on the winners?"

She shrugged casually, grabbing her beer from off the table and bringing the bottle to her lips. "To make things more interesting," she answered innocently before taking a drink.

Foggy stepped forward, holding his hand out towards me. "Do you accept the terms?"

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head as I reached out and shook his hand. "Fine," I muttered.

"Let the record state Olivia shook on it!" Foggy declared to the bar as Karen laughed. His attention returned to me as he released my hand. "Now you either win and kiss my handsome friend there, or intentionally try to lose and wound him deeply, madam."

I laughed awkwardly, unable to hide my amusement and nervousness at Foggy’s playful bluntness.

"And I would be so deeply wounded," Matt agreed beside me, his face serious as I glanced at him. But then slowly his mouth tugged up at the corner, a devilish smirk took its place on his face. I couldn’t help but stare at his lips as he whispered, "I promise I won't bite." He reached up, sliding his dark glasses slightly down his nose just enough to shoot me a wink before he slid them back up.

I swallowed hard, glancing away and avoiding whatever look Karen was surely shooting my way.

"How about you and Karen break," I offered, trying to keep my voice steady. "Give you both a fighting chance."

Foggy racked up, adjusting the balls in their appropriate places before sliding them to center and removing the rack. He waved a hand towards Karen suavely, bowing his head a little as he did.

"Ladies first," he said.

Karen bowed good-naturedly in response. "Thank you, sir," she responded before making her way to the front of the pool table.

Holding my cue between both hands, I watched as Karen lined up her shot as she bent over the pool table. Carefully, she slid the cue back before quickly snapping it forward. The cue ball barreled forward and knocked into the balls with a crack , sending the balls scattering around the table. The solid purple four sunk in the back corner pocket as she righted.

Matt leaned close to me, whispering, "Was it a good break? I heard something go in."

Keeping my eyes on Karen as she moved around the table, looking to take her next shot, I answered, "Pretty decent break. She pocketed one; we're stripes."

"That's good," he whispered back. "Stripes are lucky for me."

I watched as Karen almost got another ball in the pocket, just missing by an inch. Turning my attention on Matt, I asked, "Why does that feel like it's just a line?"

He only grinned back.

"Alright love birds," Foggy teased. "You're up."

I huffed at his comment, rolling my eyes as Matt let out a breathy chuckle. He cocked his head and gestured towards the table.

"Ladies first, right?" he asked smoothly.

"If you insist."

I left his side, making my way around the pool table and pausing in front of the white cue ball. Lightly tapping a finger against the cue in my hands, I surveyed my options for a moment. Eventually I leaned over the table, lining up my shot and finding the right angle to hit the ball. I sucked in a breath as I pulled the cue back between my fingers, releasing it at the same time I released the cue. The white ball flew across the table and knocked into the solid Karen had just knocked near the side pocket, pushing it further away now. The cue ball bounced back against the bumper before flying across to the other side of the table, slapping into the solid green six which in turn sunk the striped blue ten into the pocket.

As I strolled across the side of the table to take my next shot, I caught Foggy’s wide mouthed stare and Karen's surprise.

"How'd she do?" Matt asked his friends.

"I think it's safe to say she knows what she's doing," Karen responded.

I smirked as I leant over the table again, aiming the cue ball and knocking it easily into another striped. It slid right into the pocket as I sauntered over to the cue ball again.

"You guys are going to annihilate us," Foggy groaned. "How much time did you spend playing pool at the bars in Anchorage?" he called over to me.

I hit the cue ball, watching as it rolled its way across the table and sunk another stripe before I glanced up at Foggy with a smug smile.

"Well I don't drink, so… a lot?" I mused aloud. "But I'll show some mercy," I joked as I took another shot, intentionally leaving the cue ball in an awkward position for Foggy.

“Thank God for small mercies,” he mumbled sarcastically as we passed by each other.

I grinned, grabbing my coke from off of the table and finishing it. Foggy took his time lining up his shots, managing to land a tricky shot and sinking a ball, but missing on his next turn.

“Your turn buddy,” Foggy told Matt as he took his place beside Karen.

I stepped away from the table, crossing the two short strides to stand beside Matt. Gingerly I grabbed his forearm as I told him that the cue ball was on the opposite side of the table. As we passed by Karen and Foggy, I swore I heard Foggy lean in to Matt and whisper a “you’re welcome” as Karen giggled.

I stopped in front of the end of the table, Matt pausing beside me. “So,” I told him, sliding my hand down his forearm to catch the back of his free hand in mine, gently guiding it forward onto the table towards the white ball, “the cue ball is right here.” I paused as I held his hand against the ball, noticing how his head tilted close to me, his brows furrowing in thought as he paid close attention to my voice. “It’s about six inches to the left of the back middle pocket; about a foot from the back bumper. You’ve got a pretty clear shot at your ten o’clock to sink the eleven in the middle left pocket.” My eyes darted around the table, taking in other options.

“Or?” he asked softly, slowly leaning over the table and readying his cue.

Tentatively, I guided him along the table, one hand on his with the cue, the other on his waist as I turned him just a fraction.

“Or,” I told him, not entirely sure how good he was at pool, “If you hit the cue ball to your four o’clock, hard enough to bounce the bumper, there’s another striped perfectly lined up with the back left corner pocket near us.”

“Hmm,” Matt hummed in thought. “Thank you.”

My hands slowly slid off of him and I took a couple of steps back, crossing my arms across my chest and studying him curiously. His head tilted in a few different directions around the table for a moment before he leaned further over lining up his shot. It was at that moment I realized I had the perfect view of his ass and I tried–I really tried–not to check him out but my eyes dipped down for one appreciative moment. When I glanced up, I saw Karen smirking at me from across the pool table. I raised a hand, trying to cover the silent laugh that escaped me. The movement caught Foggy’s attention and he momentarily sent me a questioning look, to which I shook my head in response to. Karen bit her lip, trying to fight back her own laugh. The sound of Matt hitting the ball broke the moment and I glanced down at the table, watching as the balls scattered. He’d chosen the more complicated shot and succeeded.

“Good shot,” I praised him, slightly impressed as I made my way back beside him.

He turned his face towards me, grinning wide. “Maybe I just really want to win.”

“Flirt,” I teased him back as I guided him by his forearm towards the cue ball again.

“Is it working?” he asked me curiously.

I grabbed the back of his hand again, guiding it towards the cue ball as I reminded him, “I don’t date flirts. Cue ball is here, just in front of the back left pocket.” His hand touched the ball as I leaned in just over his shoulder, eyeing the potential shots. “You’ve got a good shot at another stripe, directly across the table in the corner right pocket. The ball is about…” I paused, gauging the distance, “four inches to the left of the pocket.”

“Easy,” Matt mumbled.

Again, I let go of him and stepped back, watching once again as he appeared to take in the table despite his lack of sight. Then he lined up his shot for a moment and sunk the ball. Matt stood up, smiling.

“Did that go in, Foggy?” Matt joked. “I couldn’t see.”

I giggled as Foggy exasperatedly rolled his eyes at his friend. “Yes, Matt,” Foggy answered in a deadpan. “You know it damn well did.”

I led Matt all the way to the other side of the table where the cue ball now sat, once again guiding his hand to the ball and directing him to where the last stripe sat and the obstacles in his way before I left him to take his shot. Honestly, I didn’t expect that he’d be able to make it–that shot would be tricky even to me. But my mouth dropped in shock when I watched him hit the ball and it jumped over a solid, smacked into a bumper, and then rolled into the final stripe, pocketing it.

“Should we get drink orders ready?” Foggy joked. “Seems like we lost already.”

Karen laughed, playfully swatting Foggy’s arm. Matt turned towards me, a wide grin still spread across his handsome face.

“What do you think, should I give them a chance?” Matt teased.

I snickered at his question, stepping towards him to guide him yet again to the cue ball.

“That’s on you,” I answered simply.

I lined him up and directed him to where the eight ball now sat on the table. It wasn’t a remotely difficult shot at all. When I laid out the table for him, he paused for a moment in thought as I stepped back.

“Eight ball, right corner pocket,” Matt called out.

I saw Foggy roll his eyes as Karen sent me a quick wink, downing the rest of her beer. I blushed, focusing back on the game. Matt hit the ball and it easily rolled across the table, knocking the eight ball into the right corner pocket.

“Alright!” Foggy exclaimed, clapping his hands as Matt turned around from the table. “Another beer for you and another coke for the lady?”

“Sure,” Matt agreed, his focus in my general direction now.

I swallowed hard, glancing at Foggy and nodding quietly. Karen waggled her brows at me before linking her arm around Foggy’s.

“We’ll be at the bar, grabbing the next round,” Karen told us, tugging on Foggy’s arm.

As they began walking away, Foggy called back, “Remind me to never put you two on a team together!”

I chuckled as I watched them retreat to the bar, sliding past a few patrons as they went.

“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Matt said, appearing in front of me now, “but we did just win, correct?”

I smiled, eyes darting up to the bar ceiling.

“Yes.”

“And the bet was that the losers had to buy the next round, correct?” he asked next.

My eyes slid down towards my hands, which were now playing with the hem of my sweater.

“Yes.”

“So Foggy and Karen are off fulfilling their end of the bet, but–correct me if I’m wrong here,” he said again, holding up a hand and looking very serious, “but wasn’t there another part of that bet? For the winners?”

Slowly my gaze shifted up towards Matt, his serious expression fighting to remain on his face.

“...yes.”

He raised a hand to his chin, rubbing against the stubble there as if deep in thought.

“Something about…” he made a face as if trying to remember, “the winners kissing?”

I rolled my eyes, not even bothering to fight the grin on my face anymore.

“Yes.”

His lips twisted into a matching grin, his tongue darting out against them for a moment. My eyes followed the movement.

“And you did agree to it, right?” he teased.

I chuckled, shaking my head.

“Yes, Matt.”

He took a step closer towards me, leaning in and whispering, “I just wanted to check.”

His hand rose, his fingertips grazing my jaw before he slid it further up, cupping my cheek lightly. My breath caught in my throat as he leaned closer, using his hand to tilt my face up towards him as his other hand suddenly gripped my waist, drawing me closer. Instinctively my hands flew up, resting against his solid chest to brace myself at the movement. The rough pad of his thumb briefly swiped over my cheekbone, caressing it a few times as I swallowed hard, eyes slowly drifting closed. My heart was pounding in my chest and I was almost positive Matt could hear it with how close he was to me.

It was another moment before his lips brushed lightly against mine for the briefest second and I unconsciously found my own tilting up to chase after his. A single huff of amusement left him at the gesture before he closed the distance, bringing his mouth to mine. His lips were warm and surprisingly soft against my own, which stood in contrast to the pleasurable rasp of his stubble against my skin. The hand on my cheek carefully made its way down, gingerly sliding down my chin and towards the back of my neck as he drew me in closer, our lips still working against each other slow and sweet. With a mind of its own, my right hand slid the rest of its way up his chest to wrap against the back of his neck, fingernails lightly raking against the bare skin there. The hand at my waist gripped tight in response, his fingers pushing into the fabric of my sweater.

After another moment he pulled away, leaning his forehead lightly against mine. I struggled to even my breathing, a heat igniting within me at the absence of his lips. I wanted more; more of his mouth, more of his skin, more of his body against mine. It was an ache I’d never felt before. But as my eyes fluttered open and were met with my own reflection in his dark glasses–which I so desperately wanted to rip off of his face yet again–I recalled where we were and why we’d kissed in the first place.

My hands immediately released the grip they’d had on him as I anxiously stepped back. In turn, Matt’s hands slid from their place against my waist and my neck, our foreheads pulling apart at the distance. I swallowed hard a few times, trying to collect myself as I blinked rapidly. When I glanced up at Matt, his breathing was a bit uneven as well but I noticed him shoot me a small, almost sad, smile. The expression confused me, causing my brows to crease together, but before I could say anything, we were interrupted by Foggy and Karen returning.

“Alright, so this round,” Foggy said as he handed Matt a fresh beer, “it’s guys against gals.”

Matt’s expression quickly recovered at the sound of Foggy’s voice, and he raised the beer to his lips before saying, “Sounds like it’d be a bit more fair.”

I found myself staring curiously after Matt for another moment, trying to decipher the look on his face, before Karen appeared beside me, holding out a full coke with a soft smile on her face. I shook my head, snapping out of my thoughts and shooting her a smile.

“Thanks,” I told her, accepting the drink. “Wanna wipe the cocky smiles off their faces?”

“ Always ,” Karen answered with a grin.

The next game began with many taunts and playful name-calling before we’d eased into other topics of conversation. It was unexpected when I was taking my shot that Karen brought up a new topic.

“Did any of you listen to the last few episodes of Trish Talk?”

I paused, my body freezing as I was trying to line up a shot.

“Yes,” Foggy answered immediately.

Matt shook his head. “No, I don’t generally take an interest in that show,” he admitted.

Foggy quickly cleared his throat. “Yeah, I mean. I was just listening in to that case she was talking about on there the other day. It was interesting, you know, from a lawyer’s perspective.”

“What case?” Matt asked curiously.

I had been lining up my shot again when Karen answered.

“Hope Shlottman? The girl who claims some guy named…Kilgrave? Mind controlled her to kill her parents,” she told him.

My hand slipped as I took the shot, his name causing my hands to immediately slick over with sweat. The cue ball barely rolled along the table not hitting a single ball. I swore I saw Matt’s head turn towards the pool table at my fumble.

“I can’t believe Hogarth took on that case,” Foggy said. “It still baffles me.”

“Why?” I asked, trying not to sound too curious as I made my way back over towards the group.

“Because she only takes winners,” Matt answered. “Cases that are a guaranteed win. Ones to make her firm look good.”

“And this one,” Foggy continued, “is…just strange. There’s video footage of her… committing the crime ,” he said, unable to say the word ‘murder.’ “And then she wants to…what, maybe plead insanity? I guess? Because she can’t really be intending to argue some man mind-controlled her to do it.”

I cleared my throat, trying to sound casual. “How would one even go about doing that, assuming, you know, someone did do that?”

Foggy sent me a weird look as Matt’s brows rose behind his dark glasses. I cleared my throat again, awkwardly this time, as the weight of their expressions lingered on me.

“I mean, hypothetically, of course,” I continued quickly. “I’m just curious. Since you guys are, you know, lawyers.”

“Well…” Foggy started, pausing as he thought, staring down at the beer in his hands. The pool game was long forgotten now. “I suppose witness testimonies would help. But like… a lot of them. Better if they were from reputable people.”

“What about…a recording? Of the man using his ability?” I asked.

Matt’s brows furrowed at my question as his head tilted further towards me, but he remained silent as Foggy answered. I could practically feel his intense focus on me, the hairs prickling along the back of my neck.

“You’d probably need reputable witnesses at the taping. The more the merrier,” he told me, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “Because someone could always doctor a tape to make it look like he could mind control people. So you’d need to make it credible. Hypothetically, of course.”

“Yeah,” I said, swallowing thickly. “Hypothetically.”

“But it was a weird episode,” Foggy continued. “Trish doesn’t usually talk about that sort of stuff, and she sounded like she believed it. Especially when she apologized the following day on her show to the man. As if he actually exists.” “That’s what I thought was weird,” Karen agreed. "Why would she apologize? Unless he…does exist. Maybe threatened her…"

I downed the rest of my coke swiftly, setting the glass on the table beside me. My hands were shaking and I tried to still the movement by gripping the soft fabric of my sweater.

"You feeling alright, Olivia?" Matt asked me curiously.

My head spun towards Matt, wiping my sweating palms against my jeans now. I forced a smile on my face though I was sure Foggy and Karen could see how tense it was.

"Yeah," I answered him quickly, voice a little high. I cleared my throat before adding on, "I'm just going to find the restroom."

"I'll come with you," Karen offered abruptly, setting her drink onto the table. She grabbed my arm and led me forward. "I'll show you where it's at."

Karen led us through the bar towards the back, where there was a sign for the bathrooms. We entered the women's restroom and I bolted for an empty stall. I used the bathroom, lingering for a moment to compose myself, before heading out and washing my hands. I could feel Karen’s eyes on me as she dried off her hands on a paper towel.

"How was it?" she finally asked me.

I glanced up at her, our eyes meeting through the dirty mirror. My breath caught in my throat–did she know?

"How was what?" I asked her.

She rolled her eyes, ripping off a sheet of paper towel and crossing the bathroom towards me, holding it out to me.

"The kiss?" she prompted.

I grabbed the paper towel from her, drying my hands off. I released a breath, my shoulders relaxing. A flush crept over my cheeks as I remembered the way his hand had cupped my cheek, his thumb gently caressing my skin; the strength of his chest underneath my hands, all hard muscle. I could still remember the feel of his soft lips moving so slowly against my own, the faint taste of him that had lingered for a brief moment after. My jaw clenched as I recalled the warmth of the bare skin on his neck under my fingers and the way his grip tightened on my waist when my nails had lightly dragged across the back of his neck.

"That good, huh?" Karen asked when I didn't answer.

I laughed nervously, her voice pulling me back to the present. Tossing the paper towel into the garbage can, I nervously tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

"It was…" I paused, exhaling slowly. "Yeah, it was good," I confessed. "Especially considering it wasn't, you know, an actual kiss."

Karen’s brows raised. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, it's because it was part of the bet," I told her. "For the game. Not like…it was supposed to mean something. I'm sure he does that all the time."

She frowned instantly, shaking her head with a sigh. "Foggy must have gotten into your head," Karen said. "I know I haven't known them for too long, but Matt has mentioned you a few times. I know he's asked Foggy about you, too, because he's told me. Matt's definitely interested, but he thinks you're not."

Crossing my arms across my chest, I glanced away, my mind racing back to the other night when Matt had come to check on me. The way he'd seemed so upset about me thinking he was the type of guy who slept around. Then I remembered the sad smile I'd seen on his face after he'd kissed me and frowned.

"I'm not good with relationships," I admitted hesitantly. "I've only had one and it was…bad, real bad. I don't exactly know how to do the whole relationship thing. And I'm not too interested in trying again at the moment." Under my breath I muttered, "Certainly not with someone who seems to easily flirt with every woman he's attracted to."

Karen mimicked my posture, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't think Matt is like that," she said slowly. "He's sweet. A good guy. If he wasn't genuinely interested he wouldn't be pursuing you. And Foggy said he's not seeing anyone else. He told me, and I quote, 'the guy is smitten'." She leaned forward, a large smile on her face as she emphasized again, " Smitten. Matt Murdock is smitten with you."

A small smile crossed my lips, but it vanished quickly when I remembered that not only did Matt not really know me, but I was also actively trying to help Jessica and Trish prove that my ex was in fact capable of mind control. And not only that, but he was someone who had forced Jessica and Hope to commit murder, along with so many others who had done equally horrible things because of him. The guilt of that weighed heavily on me, but when Kilgrave found out I was in Hell's Kitchen–because he would soon–I knew those around me wouldn't be safe. I couldn’t willingly put Matt in further danger, it would be terribly reckless.

"It…it can't happen," I said firmly. "Not right now, at least."

Her blue eyes narrowed at me suspiciously.

"So you do like him?" she questioned.

"I mean…I don't know him too well," I told her slowly. "But he's sweet. And funny…and so incredibly, unfairly attractive that it's painful."

Karen giggled, pointing an accusatory finger at me. "I saw you checking out his ass while we were playing pool!"

I laughed with her, holding a finger to my lips and shushing her between laughs. "That's our secret!"

Karen grinned, raising a hand and making a cross over her heart before pretending to seal her lips.

"He likes you though," she said when the laughter died down. "Maybe give it some thought before you completely say no."

I opened my mouth to answer but the buzzing of my phone cut me off. Sliding a hand into my pocket, I grabbed my phone and fished it out. The name on the screen read 'Jessica.' I frowned before taking a step back from Karen.

"I have to take this, I'll be out in a minute," I assured her.

She nodded before turning to leave. I waited until she was out of the bathroom before I answered.

"Jessica?" I asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Not more than usual," she greeted quickly. "Look, I managed to get my hands on the Sufentanil tonight. Don't ask me how, it's not important."

"Why do I feel like you stole from a hospital?" I muttered.

"Because I did, not the point," she continued on. "Can you meet us tomorrow? Trish and I have a plan to capture him. I can explain it all tomorrow, but…" she hesitated, sounding vulnerable suddenly. "I could really use your help. If you can really do what you say you can, we could really use you if this goes south."

"Whatever it takes, right?" I reiterated. "I'll be wherever you need me."

"Great," Jessica said, the word coming out like a sigh of relief. "My apartment tomorrow morning at 8? You remember where it is?"

"Yeah, I can be there," I assured her.

There was a pause, a beat of silence over the line.

"What?" I asked her.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Don't thank me, I told you that," I reminded her, guilt roiling in my gut. "I should have done something sooner, I'm fixing it now. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

I hung up, sliding the phone back into my pocket. Pausing for a moment, I took a calming breath before exiting the bathroom. I maneuvered my way through the crowd, spotting Karen sitting with Matt and Foggy over by the pool table where I'd left them. As I began passing the bar, something caught me by the arm and I stumbled to a stop. I swore I saw Matt stiffen at the table across the room before I turned to see who'd grabbed me.

"You could do a lot better, baby," the man holding my arm said in a low rumble. "You and that blonde." His head gestured towards Karen and I felt my fists clench at my sides, his hand still wrapped around my wrist. "A nerd and a blind guy…" He shook his head, eyes traveling down to rest on my chest as he bit his lip.

I wrenched my wrist free of his grip, glaring at the large, slightly inebriated man on the bar stool. I snapped my fingers up by my face twice.

"Eyes up here, asshole," I snapped at him.

His eyes slid back up to my face, a dark expression forming on it.

"Mouthy," he growled, rising from the barstool and towering over me. "Should teach you a better use for that mouth of yours."

"Sit your ass back in your chair," I snarled, voice lowering dangerously, "before I teach you a better use for yours."

With a sneer, the man balled his meaty hand into a fist and swung it backwards. A collective gasp sounded around us as he aimed a punch at me, but I caught his hand instinctively the moment it flew forward, snatching it the second it was mere inches from my face. The man froze, brow furrowing.

"No fighting in my bar!" Josie's voice boomed from behind the counter.

I clamped my hand tighter around the man's fist, eyes narrowing. I could feel a tingling sensation starting from my temples and behind my eyes before vibrating down towards the hand gripping the man's fist. I ducked my head, letting my hair fall forward to cover my face a little as I spoke.

"You should sit down," I ordered in a harsh whisper, my voice coming out with a faint vibration through the air, "apologize, and return to your drink. You don’t want to cause a scene."

The man gaped, his mouth opening and closing like a fish, dumbfounded. His fist suddenly lowered, hand dropping to his side as he sat into his chair again.

"I'm sorry about that," he muttered, brows furrowed as he spun back around in his chair, his attention back on his drink as he scratched his head.

I stood still for a moment, waiting for the telltale vibration to dissipate before I glanced past him, spotting Josie watching me curiously from behind the bar. The people standing directly beside us were also staring now. I cleared my throat and shrugged casually.

"Guess he didn't want to make a scene," I explained simply before turning and walking away.

Foggy interrogated me the moment I neared the table.

"What the hell was that?" he questioned immediately.

"Are you okay?" Matt asked with a voice as tight as his grip on the table.

"I'm fine," I assured Matt before facing a flabbergasted Foggy and a very pensive Karen. "Just a drunk guy who realized it wasn't worth starting a fight and getting kicked out." I waved a hand, trying to downplay the situation.

"What an asshole," Foggy grumbled, glaring at the guy at the bar. "I'm sorry, Olivia. But hey," he said, shooting me an apologetic smile, "Matt and I would have kicked his ass for you. I don't know how well, mind you."

I laughed, mentally noting the way Karen was staring at me with a calculated gaze. "I appreciate it but I can handle myself."

"Obviously," Karen said as she pointed towards the bruises on my neck, "since you survived whatever that was."

I forced the smile to remain on my lips as my eyes darted to my coat.

"I should probably get back home, it's getting late," I announced, making my way towards the jacket. "Thanks for inviting me out though, it was good to get out for a bit."

Matt abruptly rose from his chair, a charming smile on his face. "Let me walk you home."

"Oh you don't have to–"

"I insist," Matt cut me off. "Besides, we're going the same way."

#matt murdock x ofc #matt murdock x oc #matt murdock #daredevil x oc #daredevil #matt murdock series #matt murdock fanfic

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