#she's gonna do the trauma screenings next week so that's gonna be a lot of fun and by a lot of fun I mean pretty rough and difficult.

[neverendingford]

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[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - The Summer Games BLgin.

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top. Those Greeks did have that reputation for naked dudes rolling around together so I'm declaring it...

BL OLYMPICS!

I'll be passing out metals in various sporting events, as part of the weekly updates through mid August, just for funzies.

July 2024 Week 4

Ongoing Series - Thai

The Rebound (Weds Gaga) eps 9-10 of 12 - I guess mass murder is nothing next to having to raise funds for your basketball club. There were a lot of water sports in these eps (no not that kind). I’m not complaining. The street BB playoffs were fun. Frank is GOOD. I didn’t know he played. They aren’t using doubles for this. Meanwhile, it’s a bummer this one can’t be a poly romance. 

Winner!

Gold in Handball

for that shower scene in ep 9 (also... ya know, DUNK TANKS)

Balls in hands of all types.

Briefly must chat about that intro/outro music. It's like Thai autotuned Stray Kids. Which means I kinda adore it.

Century of Love (Weds Gaga) eps 5-6 of 10 - I guess he’s had a long time to learn how to fight really really well. This is a fun show. It does occasionally feel like a bunch of gay boys playing dress up. I LIKE P’Third a lot. I hope he doesn’t turn out to be an actual baddie. I’m finding the music a little intrusive in these episodes. I love the deconstructed suits look, and the velvet blazer. Very 90s. The confessions scene was very cute. It’s a good thing Vee is so easy-going, because the last few months of his life have been truly insane. And now he’s queen of the castle? Still working his convenience store job?

I honestly thought we'd just get kisses halfway through not a full on sex scene. But it was very sweet and tender. Appreciated, boys, thanks. However it’s never a good sign when the sex scene is it at the halfway point, it just means there’s gonna be a lot of trauma to come.

(I gotta say every time Daou smiles he actually looks his age.) 

This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans (Fri iQIYI) ep 4 of 8 - I like them now. I mean as a pair of characters. I wasn’t really sold on the main couple until this episode, and now I’m interested (yes I am shallow). The boy with the glasses is definitely sus. I’m quite drunk, thus I have to say Sailub is the hottest thing on my screen right now. Metas's taste in interior design sucks. OK, that physical therapy session was sexy. I wasn’t sold at first, but now I love this side couple too.

Argh. SailubPon kiss so well. Also COUNTER LIFT!!!! 

Silver in Weightlifting

Sunset X Vibes (Sat iQIYI) ep 7 of 12 - I’m the one who always says this stuff, but this pair might be the best at relationship heat. Let me try to explain. They are good at putting on screen the kind of NRE, want to bone, just really into each other physically and also connected and loving. It’s the way their bodies always arch towards each other. They’re very comfortable in each other’s space in a way that’s really rare to see out of Any BL country but Taiwan. I think they might be my favorite couple currently active. I don’t know how to put it except that

it looks like they want each other,

it looks like they like each other,

it looks like they’re into each other,

and it looks like they GET each other.

It’s nice to see on screen. The plots/stories/narratives that they're given aren’t doing them any favors, but man they’re a good pair. Meanwhile, was I screaming the whole time don’t rip the sample of the custom piece? Yes I was. But it was still sexy.

Sam getting discovered was fun! Yo is gonna burn his arse good.

My Love Mix-Up Th (Fri YT) ep 8 of 12 - Okay! Officially boyfriends. I almost like the friendship btw Atom and Mudmee better than the romances. But they all so cute. 

The Trainee (Sun YouTube) ep 4 of 12 - I hate the gf intern so much. I think she is past redemption now - time for death. What is it they say about ADs? they do all the work, for none of the credit but all of the blame.

Knock Knock Boys (Thurs Gaga) ep 10 of 12 - I guess Peak’s dad really is that awful. Jane is the beard? Got it. The show got suddenly quite sweet and complex. Where did that come from? Meanwhile ,Almond + Latte + sex education is awesome. Great trope we rarely get in BL. 

Love Sea (Sun iQIYI) ep 7 of 10 - Look, what’s really annoying me is that I am neither upset nor pleased with the show. I like to be driven one way or the other by Meme. Trash watch here. (delayed this week, I can't face it)

I Saw You in My Dream (Weds Gaga) ep 1-2 of 12 - Out the gate I don’t like it. I don’t really like the teasing thing and the acting is poor. That said, neck kisses in the very first episode do make me happy. So I’m gonna keep watching. As for ep 2, I like the sides, and we have gay brothers trope activated. I also like the paranormal element, it adds some much-needed tension, but it is still a little slow (typical of a pulp).

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

I Hear the Sunspot AKA Hidamari ga Kikoeru (Japan Weds Gaga) ep 6 of 10 - I like our poor lost puppy slowly figuring out what’s going on. It’s so elegantly done. Also, the the boy begs his quiet seme to SAY something, you know he’s gonna DO something instead. 

I could have done wihtout the pan around the head kiss. We over that, 8 years ago.

Takara's Treasure AKA Takara No Vidro (Japan Mon Gaga) ep 4 of 10 - Why don’t I like this show? I had to think about it quite a bit. It’s the power differential. I never enjoy it when the character with less power is the one doing the pursuing, it comes off as too desperate or something. In this case he is: from the country, poor, and younger, It just makes Takara’s dismissive attitude and snobbery unpleasant to watch. Also, you know me, =/= obsessive stalker behavior. 

It's airing but...

Bad Guy (Korea YT) - yeah, erm, no thank you.

4 Minutes (Thai Netflix/Grey) ep... - Great, a rich boy studying business at uni, suddenly gains the supernatural power to see four minutes into the future. I try to catch up next week.

I have a source, but I simply didn’t have time to watch it. So sorry. Too much traveling too much BL to keep up with. A perfect conflation of conflicting priorities.

Meet You at the Blossom (China) - it's your funeral (or, more likely, one of the main characters'). You can argue but... statistics. You know my feelings on this matter. MY BLOG, remember?

64.media.tumblr.com

In case you missed it

The Time of Fever AKA Unintentional Love Story 2 (Korea movie) trailer IS COMING IN SEPTEMBER!!!!

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

Coming Up Next!

7/29 Battle of the Writers (Thai ????) - trailer here, TutorYim return, and while I adore them, I really hope this is better than Middleman's Love. Won't be hard. However: the premise? Ugh. Something something authors fighting - save me. Why don't writers understand that nothing is more boring than writers?

8/4 Sugar Dog Life (Japan Sun ????) 10 eps - OMG a uni student who looks too young and a... COP. GAH. The subversion and kink of it all. Please Gaga pick this one up? They made it for US.

8/7 Cosmetic Playlover (Japan Weds ????) 8 eps - office romance around the makeup counter featuring a younger seme and sex by blackmail. I am intrigued. DFTUJ (don't fuck this up, Japan).

8/8 Monster Next Door (Thai Thurs WeTV ) 12 eps - I am so DAMN excited to see Big finally lead a BL. I can't even with this, one of my most anticipated of this year. He's a great kisser ya'll, he's kissed a lot of boys as second lead. I can't WAIT.

8/12 First Note Of Love (Taiwan Mon Gaga) 12 eps - About a singer with stage fright and his timid fan stars Charles (H4 the puppy one) and Michael Chang (the youngster in My Tooth Your Love), plus side couple featuring a Thai actor Jame (Koh in Gen Y) and Liu Min Ting (of Guardian fame). What a damn tean. I can't wait. With thier powers combined!

8/16 The Last Time (Thai Fri YT) ? eps - Convoluted story of loss and possible reincarnation or something.

8/22 The Paradise of Thorns (Thai movie) theater release - Jeff Satur is back but this does not look like a BL (the gay lover's death is the inciting event). More in Goodbye Mother vein. Looks dark and dramatic. He opposite and extremely well known actor Toey Pongsakorn who has never done gay before.

Addicted Heroin (Thailand adaptation) is also supposed to release this month. GIVE IT TOO MEEEEEE. I don't care about anything else but August back on my screen. It's been almost a decade since he did BL.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

This week's adventures in caption "out of" and "off" are not the same thing. This is an uncomfortable thought.

I'm so tired I'm seeing double. This is all you get.

(Last week)

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are a pain.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in it's infinite wisdom doesn't like too many tags.

Sports in Play (the jokes write themselves) )

Boxing

Breaking

(That's Not) Cricket

Diving (yes, for that)

Fencing (yes, with those)

Handball (exactly what it says, no, read the word.. again)

Rhythmic Gymnastics (obvs)

Squash (snicker)

Surfing

Swimming

Trampoline

Weightlifting

Wrestling

[foxcantswim]

FNAF Movie / / Vanessa x F!Reader

[Never Been A Fan]

(gif by me)

You've never been a fan of the animatronics. Vanessa tries to show you that they aren't all so bad. Content: Established Relationship, Fluff, Lots of Kisses, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Animatronics being cute af Warnings: Mentions of scars from animatronic wounds, Childhood Trauma(?) WC: 2,775

Vanessa had shown you the animatronics on your second night shift. You were about to quit right there and then, but you remembered that you needed this job. Nobody else was willing to hire you and this was the only way you could scrape by and afford to live.

Vanessa had been concerned at first upon seeing you take a step back and excuse yourself, but she didn't pry.

A few weeks had gone by and she continued to notice how shaky and touchy you had been whenever animatronics were brought up. Even when she made a passing comment regarding them, she noticed you almost freeze.

You had yet to actually go anywhere near the animatronics again since your first 'meeting', and Vanessa was itching to know why. Her curiosity was definitely getting to her, it had been a couple months after all. She would never know how you had managed to avoid them for so long.

Eventually, she decided to talk to you regarding the machines which seemed to have you scared.

"Hey, Y/N," Vanessa greeted you as she entered the office, an annoyed look on her face, "How many times have I told you to lock the door when you're on shift?"

You gave her a shy smile, "Sorry, Nessy."

She couldn't help but smile back, "What am I gonna do with you?" she rolled her eyes before putting her wet coat down onto the nearby desk.

You leaned back into your chair before looking back at the monitors, "You know nobody ever comes around here besides you anyways..."

You weren't wrong. But Vanessa just wanted to make sure you were absolutely safe... Well, as safe as you can be with possessed animatronics in the other room.

The blonde couldn't help but come up behind your chair, she leaned forward to wrap her arms around you - her chin resting on your shoulder, "Missed you..." she admitted.

You rolled your eyes, "You saw me last night, Nessy," you still leaned back into her touch regardless.

"Doesn't mean I can't miss you," she smiled before pressing a soft kiss to the top of your head before pulling away.

The two of you had then chatted for the next few hours of your shift, talking about future plans and whatnot. The night was indeed moving slow as, yet again, nothing was happening on any of the monitors.

Vanessa tapped her fingers against the desk, looking over at the monitors. She couldn't help but notice that none of the monitors were showing the animatronics.

She bit her lip before looking back towards you, your eyes had started to flicker shut here and there as sleep started to take over.

"Been meaning to ask you," Vanessa started, causing your eyes to snap open and look over at her, "Would you mind helping me clean the animatronics' stage tomorrow night? It's not lookin' too good. Hasn't been touched in a while."

Your heartbeat immediately increased.

"Y-You want me to help?"

"It would be much quicker with the both of us," she offered you a soft smile, knowing damn well that you wouldn't be able to deny her.

"I-I don't know. Maybe..."

"You haven't been near the animatronics since you first met them," she finally decided to be blunt with you.

You looked away from her, yours eyes focusing on some random screen, "I just haven't had a reason to."

"You don't have to lie to me, baby," her voice was soft, "If you have a problem with them, I wouldn't like to force you to go near them. You can talk to me."

You nervously scratched the back of your neck before searching for her eyes again, "I... I had a bit of a problem with some animatronics when I was younger... Back when Freddy Fazbear's first opened."

"You actually came here when you were a kid?"

Nodding, you stood up from your chair to go and sit next to her at the desk in the centre of the office, "Mhm... I was there for some kid's birthday party."

"Some kid?"

With a sigh, you frowned, "Well... She was my best friend back in school. At least I thought she was," you scooted your chair closer to Vanessa's so you could lean your head on her shoulder, her arm coming to wrap around you, "It was her, me and a bunch of other friends from our class."

Vanessa's hand rubbed your arm in comfort as she held you as closely to her side, "Something tells me you don't speak to these people anymore."

"Nah... Not worth my time. They all decided to play a 'prank' on me. My 'best friend' had organised it apparently," you bit your lip, slowly starting to feel like an idiot, "This is stupid, Nessy. I was young and scared and I shouldn't let it affect me now and-"

"Y/N. It's not stupid if it hurt you like this. It must've been pretty bad if it still affects you now." She waited patiently for you to continue.

You gulped harshly, "A few groups of other kids were there meeting the animatronics on the stage. And we thought it would be a good idea for us to meet them, too. It was my friend's birthday so... I was already scared to begin with, they kind of freaked me out," you let out a nervous laugh before clearing your throat, "Anyways, my friends decided I should go first and get it over with. I wasn't against the idea so I agreed..." you pulled away from Vanessa to roll your sleeve up, revealing a huge scar trailing down from your elbow to your wrist.

"What happened?" Vanessa said, shocked at how big the scarring was as she held your arm gently, tracing her fingers down it.

"I think there was three or four of my friends holding my arm? They were telling me to shake Fredbear's hand... and they wouldn't let go. But they thought it would be funny if they just shoved my arm into his mouth. I'm honestly surprised it didn't rip my arm off, considering I was a kid. All I remember was there was a lot of blood. Some of my friends laughed which just kind of fucked me up, I guess? I know it's stupid, but I've been afraid of animatronics ever since. Especially these ones," you nodded over towards the monitors, "Now that I know they have the ability to move freely..."

"I'm sorry, Y/N," Vanessa frowned before pulling you back into her side, "I understand, don't worry. It's not stupid. They can be scary and dangerous. They're massive robots after all."

"If you want me to help you clean the stage tomorrow night, I will," you nodded, "I don't mind."

"I'm not pressuring you, Y/N. If it's too much for you, then it's okay. I'd never want to bring up any past trauma. I'm sorry for prying."

"I was bound to tell you eventually," you shrugged, reassuring her, "It's okay, V... Maybe it's about time I faced them." You weren't entirely sure of yourself, but you knew you had to try.

A smile graced Vanessa's face, "They're big ol' softies. You'll love them. We can take it slow, and if you start to feel uneasy we can stop."

You nodded before kissing her on the cheek, "I'd like that."

"Okay. Remember the rules, yes?" Vanessa folded her arms, eyeing the animatronics up and down.

All of them simply stared at her, cocking their heads.

"I'm gonna take that as a yes."

Vanessa had arrived the pizza place an hour before your shift, deciding to chat with the animatronics before you showed up. She had established some rules, simple things like not to go near you or touch you or do anything without your prior permission. No loud noises or sudden moves were allowed either. Foxy had stomped his foot in outrage at first, but he soon calmed down. Chica was to also make sure that her cupcake was kept in check.

"We're gonna have fun tonight, guys," she promised, "I've got a couple blankets and pillows all ready to go if we manage to get to the main event without spooking Y/N."

They were all indeed excited. Vanessa had come to them during the day a few times to make sure they were okay. She had talked about you nonstop to them and they were desperate to get to know you. They trusted Vanessa when she said that you were amazing. A friend of Vanessa's was a friend of theirs.

Eventually, you had arrived at the pizza place. You stopped in your tracks upon seeing the animatronics standing in front of the main stage.

"Hey, Y/N," a huge smile was on Vanessa's face as she walked over to you, "I hope this is okay? We've gone over some rules and I promise you they won't come anywhere near you unless you say so."

You felt your hands shake in slight fear, but you took a deep breath and nodded, "Okay..."

Vanessa leaned down to peck you sweetly on the lips, "They're just gonna hang around whilst we clean the stage."

You couldn't help but smile at the kiss.

The stage was looking spotless after an hour or so. It would've been done a lot sooner but you couldn't help but stop and look at the animatronics every so often, just double checking that they weren't doing anything they weren't supposed to.

You were indeed surprised when they actually did stay still, simply observing you and Vanessa.

"Good job, Y/N," Vanessa said, proud of you for sticking it through, "I think that about does it," she nodded looked around the stage. She leaned her mop against a nearby wall. She hopped off the stage and walked towards the animatronics, "Thanks for letting us do that," she smiled at them. They all nodded in response. She turned towards you, you were still standing on the stage shifting nervously, "You wanna come say hi?" she wondered.

You placed your mop next to Vanessa's before stepping off the stage. Your hand instinctively started to rub your sleeve, above your scar.

"I-I don't know," you stopped a few feet away.

"They've been wanting to get to know you for a while. I've been talking their ears off about you and they want to see what all the fuss is about," she winked.

"There's not much to talk about when it comes to me," you muttered.

Vanessa rolled her eyes, walking over to you, "Don't be silly. You're incredible. They already love you, just give them a chance."

Vanessa lead you over towards them, stopping a few metres in front. Freddy slowly lifted a hand to wave at you, it almost seemed like he was smiling. You couldn't help but smile back, despite the nerves flowing within you.

"I'm sure you know their names, but it's still nice to do introductions," she wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled in you in close to her side, "Y/N. This is Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy. Guys... This is Y/N. The gorgeous girl of my dreams," she teased. You couldn't help but blush at her comment.

They all remained still, cocking their heads - clearly interested.

They didn't seem so bad...

"Hi..." you managed to squeak out, "It's nice to finally meet you."

Vanessa was proud of you for taking this step. It may have seemed to easy to others, but for you it was difficult. She would never judge you for something like this and she was prepared to help you every step of the way.

"Now that the stage is clean... How about we get to the main event?"

"The main event?" you wondered.

She smirked before moving away from you, she grabbed a blanket off of the table, "Did you know that they love to build forts?" she grinned happily.

"F-Forts?" you raised an eyebrow, "Seriously?"

Turns out, she was being serious.

You stood off to the side as the animatronics moved around the room, carefully making sure not to spook you. Bonnie and Foxy had dropped a table causing a loud bang which had indeed made you jump. The two of them had looked towards you and nodded their heads, you took it as their way of saying sorry. You couldn't stop the small smile from appearing on your face.

An involuntary giggle had escaped you as Chica hit Freddy in the leg with a chair, Freddy had glared at her before bopping her on the head.

Vanessa smiled, watching you.

"Almost there, guys," Vanessa encouraged.

Eventually, the tables and chairs were all piled up in the centre of the room creating a suitable outside to a fort. Vanessa gave them a thumbs up, "Good job." Moments later, the animatronics had all made their way to the fort and lay down on the floor. Vanessa used the blankets to create a roof over them, "Lookin' cozy down there, guys. Mind if I join?" her eyes found yours, "You wanna lay down with me?" she asked, praying you would say yes.

You bit your lip, looking down at the fort, "I don't think so..."

Vanessa frowned, "Oh... That's okay, Y/N." She still lay down next to Bonnie despite the ache in her heart, she really wanted you to be a part of this. She loved being around the animatronics, she loved to give them company. This wasn't a new thing for her to do. The blankets and pillows on the floor were warm, she just wished you were there too.

You looked down at them all. This was quite a scene.

You rocked on your feet, contemplating on whether or not you should face your fears.

"It's nice and warm down here, Y/N. You're missing out."

You then noticed that Bonnie was giving you a thumbs up. You couldn't deny that they were adorable... They were just kids after all.

Deciding to trust Vanessa, you slowly walked over. There was big enough space between Vanessa and Freddy for you to comfortably slip into. Freddy noticed your approach and carefully moved as far away as he could, giving you the space you needed.

Your heartbeat had slowed, really appreciating how the animatronics had been careful around you.

Vanessa couldn't stop the huge smile on her face as she saw you sit next to her.

She quickly wrapped her arms around you and pulled you down into a tight hug.

"Look at you," she laughed, squeezing you softly, "I'm so proud of you, Y/N."

You smiled before wrapping your own arms around the blonde, your head happily resting against her, "Thank you, Nessy," you whispered.

"I love you," she had muttered before manoeuvring the two of you so you were both comfortable in amongst the pillows, blankets... and animatronics. She brought you in for a soft and deep kiss, happy to finally have you in her arms.

Your arms tightened around her as you reciprocated the kiss.

The two of you hadn't really intended for the kiss to go on as long as it did, Vanessa's hands had slowly started to rub your sides.

A loud bang caused you to break away, however.

You both looked over towards the cause and noticed that a part of the fort had fallen, a blanket covered Foxy's head. You were sure the other animatronics would be laughing if they could.

Vanessa giggled before kissing you for a final time, "Looks like the fort needs some work," she sighed before untangling herself from you to go and save Foxy, she couldn't help but giggle again as Foxy's arms flailed about trying to free himself.

You slowly turned your head to face Freddy. Your body froze as you saw him looking back at you. Fear was definitely still there... But another ray of emotions and feelings were flooding in. One of them being trust. You were starting to trust the animatronics, thanks to Vanessa's help.

You simply smiled at Freddy.

And he seemed to smile back.

Taglist: @marvelwomen-simp ; @emiliaisdead ; @natashas-whore

[momotonescreaming]

Trying my hand at something different based off of a silly text post I made about a 90s/00s chatfic au. Not 100% sure if I'll continue it yet, so please let me know what you think! 💜❤️

Eddie couldn’t lie to himself that his heart skipped a beat when he got the notification. When he saw who the notification was for. The familiar bloop noise and the little pop up at the corner of the screen.

KingSteve85 is Online

Finally. Steve had moved away for college almost two weeks ago now, and Eddie had barely heard from him. Logically he knows that he and Robin needed the time to drive up, and set up in their cramped little dorms, and do other fancy college orientation things. But he missed them. Now that he had them, people who weren’t scared of him, people who weren’t afraid to call him out on his shit, people who got it. They talked almost every day after… everything.

Eddie would log on to the shitty old computer he and Wayne had fixed up and wedged in the corner of the trailer, scroll the internet, listen to music — and chat with Steve. He was a good fucking guy. And funny. And hot. And now it felt weird not chatting to him every day. Not logging on after a shift at Thatcher Tyre to find the little green Online dot next to his username. Not logging on at 2am after a nightmare to find Steve also online.

But Steve’s at college now, and his PC is currently boxed up in Robin’s childhood bedroom. Didn’t trust his new roommate, he said. Or his parents, after he moved out.

Without hesitating, ignoring the flip of his stomach and beat of his heart — he sends Steve a message.

c0rr0d3d_3dd13: soooooo how was ur 1st wk of college? :D

Steve replies immediately.

KingSteve85: so crazy haha KingSteve85: sorry i haven’t been online haha c0rr0d3d_3dd13: lol allgud. i know ur a big college boy now C0rr0d3d_3dd13: don’t have time 4 me anymor lol ;_;

Eddie cringes as soon as he says it, as soon as he hears the click of the enter key sending the message. Recoiling into a ball, hands over his face, curling up on the wheeled office chair, he lets himself spin as he watches the screen. Waits for the KingSteve85 is typing… message to pop up. God, Steve’s barely left and Eddie’s already a needy, self deprecating, mess.

Fuck his life. Crushes are stupid.

Because that’s what that is. He can admit that to himself now. Now that Steve’s left. He’s got a big, fat, gay crush on Steve Harrington. Him and all the other repressed queer kids at Hawkins High. What a cliché.

The computer pings with a new message, and his gaze is ripped towards the screen.

KingSteve85: never! there was just a lot of events and stuff this first week KingSteve85: did not have time to go to the library and log on lol KingSteve85: haven’t even called Dustin yet c0rr0d3d_3dd13: ur messaging me b4 dusty? Ur gonna make a girl blush harrington

Hunched over on the office chair with the broken wheel, at the computer he helped fix, with the shoddy speakers him and Wayne haven’t gotten around to yet — Eddie felt special. Dustin was Steve’s brother, one of his best friends. And yet Steve chose to message him first.

He tries to humble himself, hold back the blush with the knowledge that if Robin went to a different college than Steve (which was highly unlikely), he would have messaged her first. But Robin isn’t at a different college. And Eddie got the message first.

c0rr0d3d_3dd13: wot sort of events were there? music and drinking? Rotfl KingSteve85: literally yes haha KingSteve85: during the day there were like,,, tours and stalls advertising clubs and stuff KingSteve85: but as soon as it was night it all popped off haha c0rr0d3d_3dd13: u go 2 any? KingSteve85: some! not a lot haha. Robs wasn’t super excited and i didn’t want to leave her alone

It warmed his cynical heart, how much Steve cared for Robin. And how much she cared for him in return. They cared, and they love each other so much. Eddie thinks they’d still be close, even without all the debilitating trauma that glued them together. Robin had mentioned wanting to merge her and Steve into one being before, so they could always be close and balance each other out. Steve had immediately agreed.

Eddie had friends in the Corroded Coffin boys, but he wasn’t sure if they were at the ‘merge into one mega being’ stage of their friendship yet. Maybe Jeff. Jeff had gone off to college this year with Frank — to a different place than Steve and Robin — and Eddie had already received a postcard from him. It was nice to not be forgotten. A part of him wondered if he would be, when everyone went off to college.

But Jeff didn’t. Steve didn’t.

c0rr0d3d_3dd13: wot a gentleman lol c0rr0d3d_3dd13: wots ur timetable lik now? KingSteve85: fucking crazy dude KingSteve85: got lectures & tutorials & work & been thinking about doing a sport again c0rr0d3d_3dd13: which sport lol? u’ve got like… 3 to pick from c0rr0d3d_3dd13: ALSO DAMN DUDE THATS BUSY KingSteve85: i guess haha KingSteve85: been thinking either basketball or swimming. maybe baseball lol KingSteve85: which’ll add practices and meets and games and stuff haha

Before he left, Steve had quietly admitted that he wasn’t sure if he’d try out for a sport or not. During his senior year Billy Hargrove gave him a concussion so bad it benched him for months, and he’d spent ages trying to work back up to it again. So he could play without wanting to puke. And then he didn’t get into college when he applied to the fancy schools his dad made him apply for, and he missed out on any possible scholarships he would’ve gotten.

And he would’ve gotten them. Eddie’s not much of a sports guy, but he knows Steve was good. Great. One of the best.

Eddie quietly believed in Steve. He wouldn’t be himself unless he was exercising or playing a sport. You could see it in his face when he watched a game with Robin, when he played pick-up basketball with Lucas. It made him happy. So Eddie wanted Steve to try out. He was at the sappy stage where the thought of Steve being happy made his heart swell. He was happy he was happy.

(A part of Eddie just wondered if maybe Steve could be happy with him.)

c0rr0d3d_3dd13: do it!! i’ll cheer 4 u from here c0rr0d3d_3dd13: but leave som time free lol or u’ll go mad KingSteve85: enough free time i can chat w you? Haha

His hear clenches at the fact that it was Steve who bought it up. Their chatting. Maybe he thinks of it as often as Eddie does.

c0rr0d3d_3dd13: obvs??? c0rr0d3d_3dd13: if u 4get ab me im gonna cry dude KingSteve85: of course i won’t haha KingSteve85: gotta chat w you so you won’t go crazy back in Hawkins c0rr0d3d_3dd13: and i’ll make sure u don’t go crazy over there with your full ass schedule KingSteve85: its not that bad haha KingSteve85: but thank u c0rr0d3d_3dd13: i’d argue it *is* that bad c0rr0d3d_3dd13: i hav a full time job and the thought of ur schedule makes me cry

Wayne had managed to get him a job at Thatcher Tyre, through a few mutual acquaintances and a favour he had yet to cash in. It made him feel like one of those rich shit kids who go to college on daddy’s money and get a job in his company without having to work for it. The type of kid Steve was.

But Eddie can’t be picky now, and he and Wayne need the money. He’s good at cars, doesn’t completely hate it, and it pays. So he bit his lip, and now he has a full time job with a schedule of his own.

It is not as busy as Steve’s. He knows if he asks Robin, hers will be the same. Filled with band practices and sports games. Birds of a feather.

KingSteve85: i’m used to it haha KingSteve85: at least i’m only planning on one sport and not two lol c0rr0d3d_3dd13: u better stick to that harrington c0rr0d3d_3dd13: or i’ll drive up there and kick ur ass until you take care of urself

There’s a pause. The KingSteve85 is typing… message flickered on the screen, loading whatever message Steve was typing.

It eventually came through.

KingSteve85: i promise. but maybe i should break that rule so you can come visit c0rr0d3d_3dd13: u dont have 2 con me into visiting stevie. just say the word

Another pause.

KingSteve85: i will

[luci-cunt]

im about to go to sleep but when i awaken i hope to find an essay from you on how i get into hermitcraft

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH (just got home from work and I have a new puppy so I will be dead for the next week but here's this very quick overview bc I love you and also Hermitcraft)

SO--YOU WANNA FALL DEEPER DOWN THE MCYT HOLE BC DSMP WASN'T CONVOLUTED ENOUGH???? TIRED OF INCOMPREHENSIBLE LORE AND HARD-TO-FOLLOW PLOTLINES FILLED WITH ANGST AND TRAUMA??? WANT SOMETHING A BIT MORE LAID BACK????

OH BOY DO I HAVE THE ANSWER FOR YOU!!!

First of all: Hermitcraft is essentially a series where a bunch of super talented and pretty longstanding mcyt-ers play on a single minecraft server for a period of a "season" and build absolutely fucking insane bases and vibe together. It's all very structured and organized so on every member's channel u'll find playlists for each season.

(oh and by longstanding mcyt-ers I mean literal pioneers in the mcyt community, people who have redstone inventions named after them bc they've been around longer than the redstone itself--etc)

The server is super chill!!! Everyone is very nice and they all get along super well and coordinate things on a discord server so that everyone's got all the info and they also prioritize building over basically everything--which means like, fire tic is off (meaning fire cannot spread), you do not steal anythign unless you will pay it back at least like twice over (once Grian accidentally killed ppl so he grinded them out full enchanted netherite armor/tools + some blocks and this is literally just like, what everyone does)

But!!!! besides all that!!!! where do you start *watching*!!!!

There are something like,,, 30 members on teh HC server??? more??? I cannot remember. Every one of them posts Hermitcraft episodes to their youtube channels, but there's also a HC recap youtube channel dedicated to weekly recaps of all hermit activity which you can find here!!

The thing about HC is that everytime there's a new update to MC, or even just the server starts to get stale--they throw out the world and start a new, completely empty one from scratch and thus is a new "season." Currently we're only a few episodes into the 8th season!

I watch a very limited scope of HC but--here are my limited reccomendations

GRIANNNNNNNN: because of course, we love grian, we stan grian, he has cats--what more could you ask for? Yes you've seen him gracing your screen in MCC and killing it, and you've also most likely seen him in fanart comparing him to Philza bc both are badass MC players with ✨wings✨he's chaotic and super creative and very kind! he also builds lots of mega builds and they are *incredible.* You're gonna wanna watch him if you want some good, lighthearted gremlin content.

Goodtimeswithscar: my BELOVED!!! This man is like, chaos but make it absolutely harmless. He is Dr. Doofenshmurtz levels of unfunctioning in the best ways possible. Mans tries so hard to be a villain and he just akjsd;lfja;sldfkj cannot pull it off and I adore him so much for it. Also he's got a new vibe every season--last season he was a wizard who lived in a giant snail before moving into a massive mining-construciton-thing??? And this season he has very much Howl's Moving Castle vibes. He also streams on twitch!!! Which I would totally recommend bc he's very chill and fun to listen to. You're gonna wanna watch him if you want a little bit more spice to your episodes--what is that spice exactly? Just watch and you'll see >:))

Some honorable mentions of ppl I don't really watch but love:

Pearlescentmoon: she's a new member to the HC server this season and I love her!!! I've only seen her a bit in Grian and Scar's vids but she took down an entire build just to rotate it like 90 degrees we stan an icon.

Mumbojumbo: a redstone fucking madman--also like--posh?? but in an unoffensive way?? I have no idea this man is so white but also I love him?? that doesn't describe him right just--just watch something of his and you'll understand.

Bdubs: my BELOVED!!! he's just aslkjd;flajsdflk everything, idk man just watch a vid and you'll be in love he's just aslkjdf;lasjkf everything. His starter house is a massive moon with a clock hanging from it it's so pog I love him so much watch his videos

OH AND WHAT'S THAT???? YOU GET HOOKED ON HC CONTENT BUT THINK,,,,,,, 'HM--THERE'S NOT QUITE ENOUGH MURDER IN THIS'???

BRO I"VE GOT THE ANSWER FOR YOU!

(also it's very short--I think there's only like 8 episodes cuz there was only 8 sessions--it's complicated but Grian explains it in the first ep dw)

3rd Life SMP

(everyone has 3 lives--losing the first 2 means nothing, but once you die 3 times you goal becomes to kill every other player on the server. It does not go over like this. Roleplay ensues. Gays are had. What the fuck why does Ren have a scottish accent--why is he dead--MARTYN WHAT--)

You want wholesome gays with a bit of angst but an overall happy ending that will make you cry???

Watch Mr. Gaming and Scott Smajor's POV

(they live in a flower filled valley in little hobbit holes and they are husbands and they are not going to murder people bc that is not what nice people do and--oh my god did you just fucking kill my husband alright murder is ok--)

You want lighthearted, roleplay light hilarity???

Watch Grian and Scar's POV

(there's a llama named pizza, grian is bloodthirsty and not even on his red life, and scar really just would rather steal cookies and scam ppl out of their nice clothes than kill ppl)

You want somethign I can't even really describe but there's royalty involved?? and people dying for one another and very dramatic rp??

WATCH THE RED KING AND HIS HAND BRING UPON THE RED WINTER

(there's not even an explanation I can give here, I love them, they're killing it)

(there are other awesome ppl on the server but that's who I was mostly watching, also--Maj--to get you invested here's some mostly spoiler free cool fanart to hook you and some shitposts that are hilarious and very accurate <3 XDD)

Be warned tho man,,, that last episode--on anyone's POV alk;jsdf;lajsd it's ajlsd;fkjsad;lfkj just

Ok sleep time now, I had to cuddle a needy puppy like, throughout this whole thing and typed most of it with one hand you would not believe how hard it is to find and link this many things with one hand if you do not click on every single link I will know and I will stab you <3

[pentechnics]

Promises

Chapter 13 of Of Love and Time

Summary: As you recover, you get some discerning news from work. It forces you into an agreement that's easy to make, but near impossible to keep.

Pairing: Din Djarin x fem!reader (no y/n)

Series content: teacher/parent AU, fluff, slow burn, lots of mutual pining, sexual tension, mentions of past trauma (tagged in detail for specific chapters), depictions of violence (nothing explicit, no gore), angst, a dash of hurt/comfort, angst with a happy ending, Grogu is at the equivalent age of a human 4-year-old and can speak

Notes: I am SO SORRY it took this long to get this one out. This was not intended. But between having other projects and being out of town and not working on any of my WIPs for two whole weeks, it just played out like this. And it was important to me that I didn't rush it, because it's an important chapter! They all are, but since we're nearing the home stretch of this fic, it's all the more important that I'm 100% confident with a chapter before posting it. Also? Not gonna lie, this one was kinda painful to write. I'm sure you'll get why as you read lmao.

I hope you all can understand! And I hope you enjoy this one despite the happenings sljkdhglskg I promise I'll make this all worth it! Please let me know what you think!

Thank you so much for sticking by me and being so patient and wonderful. It makes me want to keep writing! And I'm going to do whatever I can to make the wait for ch14 much shorter than this one. SO, SO much love to you all! ❤️

As always, taglists is under the cut! Let me know if you’d like to be added/removed!

You did end up relapsing in the night. Din stayed with you the entire day, hardly letting you so much as scratch your head without making sure you were okay. As horrid as your body felt, you were grateful for his extended stay, even as you protested him calling in from work.

“There are plenty of other mechanics that work there. It’s an emergency, they’ll understand,” he’d said. You just sighed and rolled your eyes.

Between medicine doses and ensuring your stomach would not reject your meals, the two of you continued to talk and watch more episodes of Parks and Recreation. You noticed Din getting more and more into it, which filled you with joy. Even though you couldn’t see his expressions, you reveled in every little reactionary movement or comment he gave.

You weren’t prepared to get emotional over Leslie and Ben’s breakup. Watching Leslie be forced to love Ben secretly from afar, to pretend she didn’t love him around others, scramble to seize every little excuse to be near him, tugged at your heart. Especially as she opened up to Ron:

“We broke up because of me. But I have to tell you, Ron, if the world was ending tomorrow… I’d want to be with him.”

You sniffed and wiped away a stray tear from your face. It was way too close to home.

A warm touch on your shoulder brought you out of the data pad’s screen and back to your room. Din rubbed his thumb up and down as he gave your shoulder a squeeze. You smiled and scooched a bit closer to him. He wrapped his arm around you in response.

“Well, that’s significant. Problem is, Leslie, the world’s not ending tomorrow. The sun is gonna rise right over there. It’ll be a regular Friday, and you’ll be in the exact same position you were in before.”

You sighed. This was the first time you couldn’t wait for the school year to end. The first time you actually longed for it to end. And yet it dragged itself out in a cruel and tortuous dance of torment. And situations like the one you were currently in teased a reality that could come to fruition if only the circumstances would change sooner. Your hand clung to Din’s. He squeezed it.

How could something feel so good while also causing so much pain?

~~~~

Your symptoms began to ebb away later that day. Relief filled your system when you kept down a meal without any objections from your body.

Din stayed over that night as well, and when you awoke the next morning, he was still asleep.

You took a deep breath as you stretched. The strength had been restored to your body, head devoid of anguish. You smiled and looked over at him.

He laid against the pillow, helmet turned upward. Tiny modulated snores weaved their way to your ears. You giggled. One of his hands was resting on his stomach, which rose and fell with his breathing. The other was resting between your bodies.

With a smile, you shifted onto your side and placed your hand into his. His fingers immediately clamped around yours. You squeezed his hand and brought it closer to you, running your thumb up and down his finger.

Waking up next to Din felt more natural than it should have. Falling asleep beside him brought you so much peace that you got some of the best sleep you’ve had in years. You weren’t sure why this wasn’t scaring you the way it typically should be, but you were not complaining.

You stared at his hand. Far bigger than yours, skin so surprisingly soft given his current and prior occupations. You turned it over. Tiny scars decorated his knuckles and some other areas across the back of his hand. They were mostly smooth to the touch. You wondered where they came from; had a bounty earned a swift punch to the face? Did someone try to rob him and get obliterated for it? Or did he just stumble and bump into something while chasing Grogu?

You scooched forward and planted a small peck on his knuckle. Your cheeks grew warm as your lips lingered there, smiling against his hand.

Wow. You loved kissing his skin. It was delicate, warm, sweet like honey. You wanted more. Maybe someday, you thought to yourself.

Someday, if we get really lucky.

You backed away and looked at his head once more. It had not moved from its position. The snores had tapered off, but his breathing was still even. You closed your eyes again and nestled into your pillow, threading your fingers between Din’s.

~~~~

After making extra certain that you’d be okay and had everything you needed, Din packed up to leave that afternoon. You watched from the bottom of the stairwell as he replaced each piece of beskar, shielding the lovely skin you were now all too familiar with, and yet not familiar enough.

You’d be lying if you didn’t admit your disappointment. Having Din here with you was the most alive and relaxed you’d felt in so long, despite what your body was going through. You couldn’t help thinking about how empty your home would seem after he was gone.

You descended the rest of the stairs as he finished putting on his boots and securing his bag over his shoulder.

“Thank you for everything, Din. These past couple days…” you trailed off, staring into that black ‘T’ that had quickly become one of your favorite sights.

“... They’ve been wonderful.”

He stepped forward to meet you.

“Thank you for letting me stay. I’m just glad you’re getting better.”

You smiled.

“You’ll call me if you need anything?”

You laughed and nodded.

“Yes, don’t worry.”

“And you’re still okay with me checking in later this week?”

“Yes, though you really don’t have to, you’ve already done so much.”

“I know I don’t have to. I want to.”

He took a step closer, and slowly removed his gloves once more. He held out his bare hands to you; you placed yours into them and he wrapped his fingers around yours. You sighed as the familiar pillowy warmth encased your skin. He squeezed your hands.

“Everything I’ve done for you… I have done because I want to.”

You stared at him as the warmth of his words cascaded through your veins. He tilted his head forward, shoulders rising and falling with his breathing. Your mind was suddenly filled with the image of him walking out of your door and speeding away. It tore at something inside you; you squeezed his hands back. He ran his thumbs over your knuckles a few times before moving to hold both of your hands in one of his. With his freed hand he reached up and lifted the lip of his helmet. He brought your hands up-

Two light, gossamer kisses were placed against each set of your knuckles. Tiny pricks from his stubble grazed against your fingers. You held your breath as his soft lips lingered just a moment longer than they had to, smiling against your skin. You were certain your heart had stopped.

He lowered his helmet once more and gave your hands another squeeze before letting them go and replacing his gloves.

“Get some rest, Miss. I’ll see you soon.”

You nodded and cleared your throat.

“Give the family my regards.”

“I will.” he said with a nod.

He turned towards the door and opened it. You stood in the frame as he descended the small set of stairs.

“Oh-”

He turned back around.

“Take another look at the card the kids made for you. I think you missed something.”

You furrowed your brow and craned your head to look at it for a moment, still wedged against the wall.

“Okay.”

Your eyes didn’t leave Din’s figure as he made his way towards the curb and mounted his speeder bike. Your heart lurched when he revved it up.

“I’ll see you soon,” he called, “I promise.”

With that he began a slow descent down the street, looking back at you a few times before turning his full attention to the road. You stayed put until his speeder was out of sight.

You closed your door and slumped against it, a wave of emptiness overwhelming your senses. You looked around. The house was so silent now. So vacant.

So lonely.

You held your hands together in front of you. The spots Din had kissed carried a pleasant tingle. You brought one of them up to your own lips.

If only, you thought to yourself.

You looked up and your eyes fell onto the yellow poster paper poking out from behind your holostand. You pushed off the door and retrieved it. When you settled on the couch you took a closer look at the cover, giggling all over again at the pictures the children had drawn. You opened it up and reread every message. The one that referenced the song had your heart swelling once more. But you couldn’t find anything you hadn’t already seen.

You were about to put the card aside again when something on the back caught your eye. When you turned it over, you couldn’t believe what you were looking at.

Written in silver marker was a scribbled message that read,

‘This Mudhorn will protect you and make sure you get better. As long as you have it, you’ll be okay and we will be here for you. I love you so much Miss! Big hug! -Grogu’

Next to his words was a beautiful drawing of a Mudhorn skull — an exact replica of the signet Din wore on his armor. The one that represented his clan, his family, and the battles he fought while bringing it together.

You stared at Grogu’s message, reading it over and over again. And you stared at the Mudhorn signet. A couple tears ventured from your eyes and left tracks down your face. The moisture clung to your skin and crinkled with the movements of your muscles.

Grogu was a talented artist, yes, but there was no way he drew this all by himself. You bit your lip as more tears blurred your vision. You looked up to prevent them from spilling onto the card. Your heart heaved in your chest.

This made you miss them both all the more than you already did. It made you want to be by their sides all the more than you already did.

It made you want to give them your whole heart… all the more than you already did.

~~~~

The day dragged on into the next one, you limping from room to room, making sure to take your medicine and drink lots of fluids, as per Din’s instructions. That afternoon you reached into your fridge, where he’d kept a couple meals prepared for you. You smiled at his kindness, grateful that some aspects of your home were still marked by his presence. And when you closed the door there stood the Blurrg drawing Grogu had given you, front and center. The thought of him made you sigh; not having seen him in almost a week brought you a cloud of sadness.

While the food was warming up, your comm buzzed in your pocket. It was Gila.

You furrowed your brow; she should still be at work. She never made personal calls at work. Anxiety prickled in your fingertips while you pressed the ‘link’ button.

“Gila? Is everything okay?”

“How are you feeling, any better?”

“I’m getting there,” you started, “this is weird though, you don’t usually make personal calls during work hours.”

“And this isn’t one, sadly,” she said with a sigh. Your stomach dropped.

“What is it, what happened? Are the kids okay?”

“They’re fine, don’t worry.”

After that answer, she was silent on the other end for much longer than you could stand. You tried to steady your breathing as you waited, giving her space to speak. She finally sighed.

“First off, I’m sorry to be calling you when you’re at home at all, let alone while you’re sick. If the school year wasn’t ending and this wasn’t time sensitive, I wouldn’t have. But someone came in and filed a report against you the other day.”

Your stomach dropped again.

“A family? A parent?”

“No. A faculty member.”

Your eyes bulged from your head. Which of your coworkers would have possibly had an issue with you?

“What kind of report?”

“Inappropriate behavior.”

She went into the details: the report had accused you of having inappropriate relations on school property with a student’s parent. Your student’s parent.

“But here’s the real reason I called — they essentially said they saw you and the tin man making out in your classroom, but that would be impossible since he never takes off his helmet. Either way I would’ve called you, but this part is especially not adding up to me.”

You scoffed at the words.

“What the hell?” you said, “Gila, I swear, there’s no truth to that statement.”

“And I believe you,” she said, “but I have no say in this; I’m still going to need an official statement to take with me to the Board if you’re going to appeal this.”

“Can you tell me who submitted the report?”

“Technically, I really shouldn’t — confidentiality and all.”

You searched your brain for any possible contenders. Almost all of the teachers had been around your room throughout that night, so this had to have been someone lurking around near the end of the night, after most folks had gone home… Perhaps someone who hadn’t shown themselves to you, but that you knew for sure was present-

One face stood out in your mind. You groaned and ran a hand through your hair.

“It was Bo, wasn’t it?”

Her silence was enough to answer your question.

“That creep, why would he lie about something like this?”

“I don’t know. But I need you to tell me what really happened.”

You walked through the entire night with her. Every last detail, including when your crown fell and Din helped you replace it on your head. You could hear the faint scratching of Gila’s pen as she took note of your story.

“And I have witnesses to all of this. Not just Din, but the rest of his family was there as well.”

“A- Din? Since when were you and tin man on a first-name basis?”

“Not now, Gila — the point is, would that help?”

“Yes, it would. If they were willing to provide statements. I’ll call them up and see what I can do, okay? It’s important that you stay out of this part of the process in order to protect the integrity of your case.”

“Got it,” you said with a nod, regardless of the fact that she couldn’t see it. “Just don’t pressure them or anything. This isn’t something they have to get more involved in if they don’t want to. Is there anything else I need to do?”

“Keep resting. Get better. I’ll take this from here and let you know what happens.”

Your stomach churned. You still needed to come clean about your actual violation. You sighed. This is just as good a time as any, you reasoned.

“Gila, there’s something else we need to talk about. A separate manner from this, but not by far.”

She was silent for a moment.

“I don’t like the sound of your voice. What is it?”

You gulped down the lump in your throat. Dizziness filled your mind as anxiety coiled around your gut and squeezed.

“I need to report myself for inappropriate conduct.”

“Wait- what do you mean?”

You wanted to cry. It was possible that Gila might just fire you here, like this, over the comm. The tears were pushing against the backs of your eyes. You squeezed them shut in an attempt to keep them back.

“Something did happen between me and Din. But not at Open House, and not on school property.”

You gave her the details of what had occurred after Grogu’s birthday party. Tucking Grogu in, talking with Din, and, of course, the keldabe kiss.

“Does that even count though?” Gila asked once you finished.

“I think it does, it’s just as much of an intimate gesture as a regular kiss is in Mandalorian culture.”

Gila sighed.

“Y’all were so close…” she muttered. You didn’t fully understand what she meant, but didn’t press it.

“Okay. We’ll handle that after this first report. I’ll do what I can for you, hon, but I can’t make any promises.”

“And I don’t expect you to. Please don’t lose your job by not doing this properly. I can face it, whatever it is.”

You tried to believe that even while your entire body shook. As long as Gila buys it, you thought, you could get yourself to buy it eventually.

“Atta girl. It’ll be fine. You’ll definitely be getting big points for bringing it up on your own. But don’t worry about any of this right now, okay? I’ve got your statements, I’ll do the rest. You get better.”

You mentally groaned as your stomach flip-flopped and your head weighed itself down with vile thoughts once more.

“I’ll try.”

~~~~

“Arts and crafts time, kids.”

The substitute teacher, Mr. Duma, led the students to their desks and they all proceeded to doodle with their chosen art utensil. Grogu sat next to Li and across from Chia and Jack, the four of them sharing a bucket of various markers and colored pencils.

“I hope Miss comes back soon,” Jack said while scribbling with an orange marker.

“Me, too,” Li agreed, “Mr. Duma is nice but I want Miss to come back.”

Grogu nodded along. His heart grew heavy at the thought of you; they’d been without you for four days now, not including the weekend, and he missed you beyond belief. Mr. Duma still did the after-school goodbye routine, but it wasn’t the same without you. He only ever offered a handshake.

Grogu picked up a grey pencil and colored in the image of his dad’s helmet. You were drawn next to him, with Grogu standing between you both. All three of you were smiling — as much as Din could through the helmet — while the sky rained big blue drops around you.

“She’ll be okay,” he said quietly, “and she’ll come back.”

After arts and crafts time was done Grogu slipped away towards your desk. But he hesitated. If Mr. Duma saw this drawing first, he might take it away. Or someone else might get to it before you could see it. He headed over to his designated hook by the door and put the drawing into his backpack instead.

‘I’ll give it to her when she gets back,’ he thought to himself.

Next was recess. Mr. Duma led the students out to the play area, where they immediately ran to their activity of choice. Grogu joined Chia, Li, and Jack for a game of catch.

The four of them stood in a square formation and tossed a large ball around, giggling when someone dropped it or accidentally got knocked over. It was a welcomed distraction from the sadness of missing you.

When the school day was done, Grogu didn’t make an attempt to be the last one in line. He gave Mr. Duma a quick handshake before running off to his father, who scooped him up and carried him over to the speeder bike.

“How was school, kid?”

“Fine,” Grogu said.

“You’ve been a bit quiet this week,” Din said with a small chuckle. “Is it really that boring?”

“Kinda. It’s not as much fun without Miss.”

Din let out a small ‘huh’ and settled Grogu into the booster seat behind him.

“I miss her a lot. We all do.”

Din sighed and patted his head.

“I know. I-... I do, too.”

Grogu looked up at his dad, who looked down for a moment before looking back at him.

“But she’s going to get better and come back soon.”

“Yeah. She has the Mudhorn now, she has to get better.” Grogu said with a nod. Din chuckled.

“That’s right, pal.”

Din gave Grogu a pat before sitting in front of him and revving up the bike, carefully looking around for pedestrians before pulling out of the parking lot and driving off.

Grogu took in the familiar sensation of wind against his face. He giggled as it made his ears flutter about.

When Din stopped at a stoplight, he turned his head to the side.

“Hey, how about a little treat before we go home?”

“YES!” Grogu cried, jumping for joy in his seat. Din laughed and took a different turn.

The two of them drove up to Grogu’s favorite restaurant. After acquiring some nuggets and fries — with the essential free toy — the duo set off for home once more. Din parked the bike and helped Grogu down from his booster seat before grabbing his school bag. Grogu clung to the paper bag with his treats inside, brow scrunched in thought.

“Papa, how come I couldn’t go see her when you did?”

Din froze for a moment before sighing. He could give Grogu all the nuggets in the world, but it’d never be enough to make him forget the sadness of your absence. He knelt down to Grogu’s level.

“I wanted to take you with me. But we didn’t know what she was sick with, and we couldn’t risk you catching it.”

Grogu looked down. After a silent moment, his little brow scrunched together.

“But what about you? You didn’t get sick.”

“I have this,” Din tapped the cheek of his helmet with a finger. “Helps keep Papa from getting sick.”

“Oh,” Grogu looked down again.

“Hey- you’ll see her soon, Grogu. I know it.”

Din reached down to pat Grogu’s head, which made him look back up.

“Miss will get better and be back at school by Monday.”

Grogu stared, a sense of uncertainty clouding his gaze.

“I promise.”

Din didn’t take those words lightly anymore. Not since meeting you. He had honest faith that you’d get better, and that Grogu would be seeing you come Monday morning. It seemed to work; Grogu nodded with a little smile after a moment and lifted his arms in the air. Din picked him up and carried him into the house.

~~~~

When Saturday rolled around, you were still a bit weak. Just as you’d flushed out most of your prior sickness, new stresses settled in far too quickly and took over your thoughts ever since your talk with Gila. You were still recovering, both physically and mentally.

Today Din would be coming by to check on you. And you’d have to have a conversation that would surely bring you both pain. It was the last thing you wanted.

You counted down the hours until that afternoon, almost as if you were anticipating an execution. You tried to distract yourself and keep busy, even through your limited capacity. But most of what you could do reminded you of Din: watching sitcoms, reading the kids’ card, eating Din’s soup, sitting on the sofa with an empty space where Din would be sitting if he were there. Where he’ll probably be sitting while you have this shitty conversation.

One solid thing you were able to get done was a little note for Grogu. Seeing his beautiful message in the card touched your heart, and you wanted to thank him. You’d written a pinky promise to see him soon, and that until then you’d be thinking of him and using the Mudhorn he gave you to get better as fast as possible.

A few hours later, a knock sounded at your door. You sighed and made your way to it. Aside from the other things that would come with this visit, you had a feeling he also wasn’t going to be happy to see your slow recovery. You took a deep breath before opening the door and taking in the familiar sight of his broad figure filling up the entire door frame.

“Hey,” you breathed as you invited him inside.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, already tapping his helmet. “You look a little better, but still don’t seem okay.”

His tone was so sad. Guilt crept to your heart, as if you’d let him down by not being better yet.

“Yeah, some new things happened for me to stress about.”

He nodded.

“Gila called us.”

“Good,” you said with a nod. You were grateful to be seeing him after he found out about the report, rather than being the one to tell him. Gila had told you to stay out of it, after all.

“We all backed you up. That report was ridiculous.”

“Thank you,” you said while letting out a breath of relief. “You didn’t have to do that, I’m sorry everyone had to be so involved.”

“Don’t be,” he gave a dismissive wave, “you didn’t do anything wrong. And we wanted to support you.”

You smiled.

“She also mentioned what happened at Grogu’s party. I wish there was more I could’ve done for you there.”

“Oh please, don’t worry about that,” you waved a dismissive hand.

After a moment you invited him to take a seat on the couch.

“I think we should have that talk now,” you said while settling down beside him. “Is that okay?”

“Yes, I think it’s a good idea. I don’t want you having any more stress like this.”

You stared at him for a moment, taking in his image. Warm, comforting, familiar. A complete 180 from just a few months ago, when he was a stoic, stern stranger. Your gaze moved down to the gloved hands in his lap. You took a deep breath.

“There’s still about a month left in the school year-” you gulped. The words felt like poison dripping from your lips, sucking out your life force with each one you had to say.

“-and I think it’d be best if we-”

You sighed and squeezed your eyes shut. You couldn’t bear to complete the sentence.

“... didn’t see each other.”

Your eyes snapped up to Din’s visor. You tilted your head at him, to which he shrugged.

“I had a feeling that’s what we’d have to do.”

Your chest deflated with a huff.

“I don’t want to do it,” you said, “but I think it’s the only way to make this work. We can’t risk jeopardizing either of the reports Gila’s working on, and we can’t be giving anyone any more reason to file more.”

“You’re right.”

You stared at him in silence. This should’ve made it easier. But him already understanding and agreeing that this was best only made it more painful. Your mind wandered to what the next few weeks might look like: only getting to wave at him from afar after a school day. Not being able to share a random conversation or go for a spontaneous jetpack flight. Not being able to hold his hand and watch Parks and Rec.

Just as you’d gotten yourself to open up your heart to him, you had to shut it again. Your chest grew heavy.

“Miss,” Din scooched closer to you and placed a hand on your knee. “I don’t want to be apart from you, either. But it won’t be forever.”

You stared at that black ‘T’ that you’d grown to adore, longing more than ever to see the eyes hiding behind it. He was right. In the grand scheme of things, it was only for a little bit. But with the way time was moving lately, you had a sense that it would seem like the opposite.

“Besides, when it’s done, we won’t need to worry at all anymore.”

His other hand pushed your hair behind your ear. You sucked in a breath through your nose as you took in his touch while you could. It lingered there, as if he were also absorbing you while he had the chance.

Your heart skipped a beat. Not having to worry anymore sounded like an unreachable fever dream. Not having to look over your shoulder to see who could be watching, not having to watch yourself, or keep yourself from expressing all the wonderful ways Din made you feel. Being able to spend more time with him and his beautiful boy, and their wonderful family. Your mind briefly wandered to the shenanigans you all shared at Open House, and again at Grogu’s party.

That could be your every day. That happiness could become a regular part of your routine. The pillars that built up your life could merge with his. You took a deep breath.

If you could make it through this next month… there’d be nothing in your way anymore.

“So,” you said as you cleared your throat, “in that case, I think it’s best if you schedule your transition appointment during a school day sometime soon. Kos, one of our admins, is covering for me until I get back and is also taking on appointments while we teach the kids. They’ll take good care of you and tell you everything you need to know about Grogu’s next teacher, and what to expect for the next school year.”

Din stared in silence for a moment before he nodded.

“Okay.”

A little whisper of a word. His thumb grazed your jawline in a delicate motion, as if you’d fall apart under any extra pressure. And maybe you would have; a sudden pain began plunging through your heart.

“I trust you. I’ll do that.”

It was only a few weeks, but were you strong enough for this? Were you strong enough to look at this man without reaching for him? Without being able to feel his touch, or give him yours? Without being able to embrace the sensation of your heart erupting with glee at the very notion of him?

Without telling him all the things you so desperately needed him to know?

Holding back was never something you thought you’d have trouble doing. You never had in the past, after all. Yet here you were. Aching for release, and your sentence hadn’t even begun.

“It’ll be hard,” you breathed, “it’ll be so hard, Din.”

“I know.” he paused and squeezed your knee. “But it’ll be okay. I promise you.”

You sighed, putting your hand over his and giving it a squeeze. You nodded.

“You’re right.”

It was already impossible. Impossible to sit there and stare, with Din just a few breaths away, and not lean into him. Not press your forehead to his. Not collapse into his arms. Your heart refused to settle down, no matter how deeply you breathed. To try and ease the restless needs, you scooched closer to him, pulling his hand higher up to cover your thigh with its warmth. His other hand moved up and down your back in a soothing motion.

You wanted to return the gesture. This couldn’t be easy for him, either. You looked him up and down to decide which armorless area would be best to focus on without fully throwing away the promise you two had just made.

You settled for his shoulder blade, placing your free hand on the space above his pauldron and squeezing, running your thumb up and down the fabric of his flight suit. His movements stilled for a moment. You looked into his visor with a small smile.

“I know it’s only for a bit, but…” you bit your lip, a sudden sense of hesitation almost halting the rest of your words. Did you have the right to say them? The two of you hadn’t technically established anything between you. Nothing tangible strung you together.

And yet there was no doubt in your mind that you were fully tethered to him. No matter what you might try to tell yourself. You took another breath and squeezed his shoulder again.

“... I’ll miss you.”

Din squeezed your leg. Hard. For just a second before easing off once more. His chest rose and fell with deeper breaths.

“I-”

He sighed. The hand on your back slipped around your waist and pulled you a bit closer, visor unmoving from your eyes.

“... I’ll miss you, too.”

You wanted to cry when his voice cracked.

The two of you sat there together for a few more drawn out moments, hands and eyes absorbing as much as they possibly could to tide you over during the upcoming month of drought.

With a final squeeze of your side, Din retracted his hand with a breathy ‘okay.’

“I suppose I should go, then.”

You bit your lip hard to stomp down your heart’s protest while nodding your head. If he stayed any longer, there’d be no controlling yourself.

He patted your thigh one last time before rising from the couch. You joined him and walked towards the door a few paces behind him, until he suddenly turned back around.

“Promise me, though.” he motioned his hand towards you, helmet tilted at a dangerous angle. “Promise me. That if you need me for anything during this time, you'll call.”

You stared at him, gulping down the sudden lump in your throat.

“I don’t care about the reports, I don’t care about any of that stuff. If you need me, nothing else matters. I want to be there for you.”

His words hit you like a punch to the gut. You’d never heard such a stern tone from him before. It was almost frightening. It was such a drastic shift from the gentle, soft man who was just holding you on the couch. He sounded frantic.

“If you get sick like this again, or something else happens, I can’t bear to-” he cut himself off and looked away from you with a deep sigh, gloved hands dropping down with a huff. He didn’t continue right away; instead he stared off, fingers flexing in and out of fists. You stayed still and waited for him to continue.

“Please. Just promise me you’ll call.”

Would you actually be able to keep such a promise? For the first time in years, you weren’t sure you could. Under any other circumstances, you’d have no problem giving him that assurance. But these weren’t normal times.

What would you do if you did find yourself in such a situation? Risk losing your job again, before even knowing if you’d still have one by the time the year ended? Risk Din and Grogu’s wellbeing by possibly pulling more unwanted attention towards them? Putting more burdens than you already had thus far onto those you cared for? Your breaths came shorter as your mind swam with horrid possibilities.

You were frozen, your throat suddenly bone-dry. What were you supposed to say to that? Your eyes darted around his figure as you tried to piece your thoughts together.

“Wait- no.”

You looked back up at Din, who was waving his hands in front of himself.

“I’m sorry. I know what that word means to you. You’d be loyal to it. And forcing you to give me that would be… extremely selfish. You have more to lose from keeping that promise than I do.”

He took a deep breath.

“I’m so sorry.”

Just as mysteriously as the tension arrived, it dissolved. You cracked a small smile. When was the last time someone had put this much consideration into their words for you?

“You know, if that’s your definition of selfish, then we’ve both been guilty of that.”

Din turned to you, head tilted in a silent question. You let out a little laugh.

“I feel like every interaction I’ve had with you has been selfish. Wanting things I shouldn’t be wanting, but going after them anyway.”

You took a step closer.

“Isn’t that why we’re here? Because we both decided to be a little selfish?”

Din huffed.

“I suppose so.”

Your smile grew. “Thank you. For caring so much. It really does mean a lot.”

His turn to step closer to you. The gentle weight of his hand landed on your shoulder.

“You’ll be okay.”

It sounded like he was convincing himself more than addressing you; you nodded with confidence.

“I will be. And every time you see me at school when you come to get Grogu, you’ll have less reason to worry.”

He nodded again. After an extended moment of breathing in his space, taking in that now comforting scent of cologne while you could, he stepped away and the two of you made your way to the door once more.

“Wait!” you called, a light bulb going off in your head. You turned to your side table and retrieved the small folded paper you’d prepared.

“That reminded me, can you give this to Grogu?” you held the paper out to Din. “I just… wanted him to know I’m thinking about him.”

Din nodded and placed the paper in his pocket.

“He’ll love hearing that. He… misses you a lot.”

“I miss him too,” you said with a smile. The image of his grinning face entered your mind, just before the image of Din speeding off replaced it.

“Be safe getting home.”

“I will be.”

His hand hesitated on top of the knob. He turned to you again, visor peering into your face. The fingers on his free hand flexed about.

“Take care, Miss.”

The somber tone of his voice shattered something inside you. You squeezed every muscle in your body to keep the tears at bay. Din turned the knob and made his way out the door. You stood at the frame and watched, regretting not reaching out to him or giving his hand an extra squeeze when you had the chance.

He sat still on his speeder bike for a second before looking your way. You couldn’t even attempt a smile, instead biting your lip to keep from crumbling right there. You wrapped your arms around yourself and squeezed.

His sight didn’t leave you as he revved up the bike, movements slow and reluctant. In contrast, he gave you a nod that was certain, solid, confident. As if he were telling you that you’d both make it through this. That got you to smile a bit while you returned the gesture.

Watching him drive away wretched at your heartstrings. Once he was out of sight you shut the door and sighed.

So it begins.

~~~~

Every muscle in Din’s body protested as he got further and further from your house. There were so many things he wanted to tell you, so much he wanted to do for you, but it wasn’t the right time. As much as he tried reasoning with himself, his heart lurched with the weight of words unspoken.

Something inside him had come unhinged when you admitted you’d miss him. It was the closest he’d gotten to hearing you evoke any potential feelings for him, and he wasn’t prepared for it. He wasn’t sure if it was better to know or not at this point. But either way, it was clear that those words would echo in his mind throughout the upcoming month without you, when he’d be missing you just as much.

At that moment the last thing he wanted to do was leave you. He was a protector, first and foremost. And as his mind raced with what could become of you or your health in the time between now and the last day of school, without being able to help you, he panicked.

He kicked himself for what that panic caused him to ask of you. Your promises, unlike those of most people, were true. He’s seen it firsthand, how far you go to keep your word. How much you do to make sure everyone involved is taken care of, even at your own expense. It would’ve been cruel of him to put you in that position for his sake. You had a career on the line — happiness, fulfillment, all the beautiful things he saw in you whenever the two of you would speak in your classroom, or when he saw you interact with your students.

Who was he to put you at risk of losing that? Again? There was no excuse for it.

The sight of the community garden pulled him from those thoughts, instead plunging him back to that night under the moons with you. Without thinking he pulled over and hopped off the bike.

Din walked around the empty garden, retracing the path you’d led him down back then. New fruits and vegetables were growing from their designated spaces, and the orange berry bush was blossoming tiny white flowers in preparation for a new batch.

He looked up at the sky. It was a clear day, a few clouds scattered among the sunshine. Images of flying through the night with you resurfaced, the memory of your giggles and squeals bringing a smile to his face. His mind continued to wander.

It was all so unexpected, the way you fit so perfectly into his heart. So many moments came together in his mind: playful banter during a check-in, adventures during the zoo trip, watching you beat a man unconscious in a diner, seeing you make Grogu smile in a way he’d never seen before, getting lost in your glowing eyes while you talked about something you loved, and so many more. With each one his heart soared to heights previously unheard of.

There was no denying how much you’d grown to mean to him.

He made his way down to the florals; some of them were wilting away while others were budding anew. He stopped to look at the mystery plant from afar, imagining you standing in front of it, gently nudging a bud with your fingers. Your face was clear as day in his mind; you were so content, so calmly curious. He couldn’t get enough of that expression.

Now that plant was blooming, violet flowers were sprouting near the top while shimmering pink ones began to bloom underneath them. The colors changed in hue as the eye moved down the bush, creating a gorgeous gradient. The whole plant stood taller than you, and just a bit shorter than him.

He stepped up to it and pressed a button on his helmet. No results from the scanner. He turned it off along with the thermal map, getting as close as possible to seeing the plant’s natural image through his helmet. Had you seen this yet, he wondered. They’re so beautiful.

And even though he still didn’t know what this plant really was, it reminded him of you. Late to begin blooming, but eventually sprouting the most beautiful flowers in the garden. Persistent in its efforts, mysterious in its transformation. Colorful and varied. Soft to the touch, with a strong, unwavering foundation.

A sight he never wanted to stop looking at.

He sighed and headed back to his speeder bike.

He couldn’t go home yet. Not like this.

****

OLAT taglist: @dincrypt @anrimdjarin @kodye1018 @persie33 @janebby @allmahfeels @onomatopoetic-aesthetic @queen-since-97 @tobealostwanderer @darlingotaku @fangirlalexia @justdrawings101 @onebrownoneblue @440mxs-wife @what-iwish-you-knew @girlofchaos

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[postmodernmulticoloredcloak]

I decided to watch the Walker pilot so you don’t have to. #1

I don’t know why I’m doing this, but I’m doing this and the more I put it off the less I’ll want to do this. So. Let’s start.

The fist thing we see is Jared Padalecki, em Walker, driving. He’s vaguely smiling and there’s the sun behind him. He seems happy. He’s driving a truck, for some reason my mind goes to Twilight. I’d rather watch that. At least there are vampires (not dressed like clowns) there. Anyway. Walker is meeting someone. He’s meeting his wife! “Look at you!” she says. The camera makes us look at him. He looks like this

I am unsure whether we’re supposed to see this as sexy or cool. It looks frankly ridiculous. I don’t know if I’m just not American enough to appreciate the aesthetic of this. But I didn’t go through 15 seasons of Americana-in-British-Columbia for nothing. If a character appeared like this on Supernatural, it wouldn’t be presented seriously. It would be played for a chuckle or in a light-hearted way at least. Not even Dean Winchester would find this hot.

The Padaleckis tell something to each other. Apparently he needs to go home with the kids and his parents because it’s game night. My mind immediately goes to Game Night the episode and I am sad now. But Walker lifts my mood in its own weird way.  He doesn’t know the rules because every time she tells him the rules, he blacks out. I would make a fun quip about this, but the truth is that I relate to him a lot right now because I blacked out during the entire scene. I’m not sure what they said other than the game thing because I wrote it here. I already forgot the rest.

Anyway. What we’re supposed to get from this scene that they’re Very In Love (see that soft warm light?), and that he’s anxious because he’s not great at being a father because he’s shit at games apparently, but his wife is like ~don’t worry so much~ because she’s a kind, understanding wife. He tells her to be safe, because the Texan countryside is dangerous or something. She needs to stay on a route he approved for some reason. Is she traveling with supersoldier serum in her car? Is Hydra going to murder her? [cue the Marvel snipers shooting me to death because they don’t want Marvel to be associated to this]

Later, everyone is having fun playing fake monopoly, but Walker (whose mannerism is just Jared, he’s not even trying) is apparently too stupid to understand a game for kids. Plot twist, this is anti-cop propaganda because it says cops are dumb.

“Et tu Brute” Jared says when the kids point out he broke a rule so they get an extra turn. I thought I was safe from hearing Jared speak Latin! I thought I was safe! I am never safe!

Emily (Gen) suddenly texts him “SOS. Answer” which is OMINOUS! Oh my god! Aren’t you feeling the tension. The rest of the family keeps playing fake monopoly. Someone throws dice. Are we supposed to go “oh! The dice are ~symbolic because someone’s playing dice with her life” or have I been watching too much good tv.

She is running somewhere in the countryside, wearing a white shirt (is this the cowboy lady equivalent of the Wife Nightgown?). She says something is not right. He’s worried. Then he hears gunshot and her scream. He does the Alarmed Jared face, presses lips together and does a Upset Jared face.

Then he goes out, tries to call her again, and again, does a Jared Upset Sniff--

Oh! We actually see her! She’s alive, but she’s been shot in the stomach. Her white shirt is definitely the cowboy lady equivalent of the Wife Nightgown! Ah the blood coming from the stomach! How terrible! Her phone is ringing but she cannot reach it. She is definitely alive right now, though. She’s breathing heavily because of the wound, which is breathing, which is the opposite of being dead.

He decides that she’s dead, and lets out the already infamous manly scream of anguish.

It would be sad if it wasn’t that literally one second ago we saw her wounded but alive. Her turning out alive in the season finale or so will shock everyone. Nobody will have seen it coming. Who wrote this? They should have just shown the ringing phone and her bloody hand/side, making the audience assume she was dead, instead of showing her breathing. Now the audience is gonna assume she didn’t actually die, and wonder “why didn’t he call someone or went looking for her” but apparently Jared’s characters have forgotten that, like, ambulances are a thing. Jared’s manly screams of anguish are more important than common sense.

I’m not going to say anything about the manly scream of anguish. I’m not going to say anything about the manly scream of anguish. I’m n

We’re just 4 minutes in, guys. Why am I doing this?

Eleven months later, says the screen.

It’s night, outside a house. The son is waiting for him. The daughter doesn’t think he’s coming. On the porch there are two men, one is his brother and one is apparently his former partner, now new boss. He’s dressed like you’d expect a normal person to be dressed in a casual Texan night, hat and tie and all. If you are law enforcement in Texas and don’t wear a cowboy hat at any moment, you will be executed. That’s what the death penalty in Texas is for.

Somebody arrives, but to the kids’ disappointment is some dude whose function is to tell us the men’s names. The brother is Liam, the cop dude I forgot.

Walker is being sad on the back of his truck and drinking alcohol, which is the only way television can express a man having trauma. Holy shit - he reminisces of his wife like this is some emotional Lord of the Rings scene in a place where Elves live except this is not the Lord of the Rings and is just ridiculous, look

She’s seen running towards the gazebo, then she turns

This is exactly shot like the scene where Arwen has a vision of her son. Flowy hair and all. I cannot take this seriously.

He smiles sadly. Then a cop car arrives.

Mexican Lady Cop(TM), whose function in the story is to be a Mexican Lady Cop(TM) asks for his licence since he’s drinking alcohol in a public place.

“You ask so nicely” drunk Walker says. Ew. “Yeah, they train the girls special” Oh! Can you see? She is the Feminist Icon who Takes No Shit from the Dude! I’m so excited. I am slowly losing the will to live.

She drives him home on the police car. His legs don’t fit. At least this is realistic.

He does exposition in the car, including “I needed to visit a ghost instead”. There-there was no need to say it. What’s the demographic they’re aiming for? Five year olds? Do they have to spell everything out loud?

“It’s been a while since I had an actual conversation” he says, which supposedly explains why he’s making awkward exposition, but it’s just bad writing. At least they acknowledge it’s bad writing.

She figures he’s law enforcement coming back from an undercover mission from some drunken ramble he makes. This is worse than the Sherlock phone cable port thing.

She says she just got promoted from state trooper, ehe she will work with him wink wink nudge nudge. Is she going to be a cop-buddy-character slash love interest except when they’re almost about to realize they’re into each other, his wife comes back and draa~ama? I can already see it.

He goes home, makes some Jared grunts, and falls asleep on the couch.

Next morning, he goes out and jogs to where he left the truck. He puts on a cowboy hat which is supposed to be an artistic shot.

I’m slowly dying. He makes some Jared Deep Breaths, at least this made me laugh.

Wait, he’s now wearing a black hat. He’s in mourning, see? What.

He drives to his father’s ranch. His father is Super Not Impressed. It’s awkward. They took about horses. Mitch Pileggi is thinking that at least the other show was more exciting and there was Jensen Ackles in it.

He gets into his parents’ house and the dogs run to him, he does the Jared Dog Chuckle. He hugs his mom. He hugs his son - “August, my boy!” he says, like a normal person his age says.

He hugs his brother and they joke-wrestle and he says “I’m still the big brother” and did I mention I’m dying inside. I just can tell this is SUPPOSED to be reminiscent of Dean and Sam’s first meeting at Stanford in the pilot except Jared is the big brother now. Ew.

We learn that the brother is a DA and gay. All pilots suffer from Forced Exposition Syndrome but it’s like this isn’t even trying.

He goes to work and hugs (very manly hug of course) his friend-now-boss, who is called James. James asks him if he’s good and he’s like yeah I’m good, which our I’m Fine Lie Moment #1. Some things never change.

Enter the case of the week - a cop offered roadside assistance but he was assaulted. We’re already starting with a “Oh No Poor Cop :( Someone Doesn’t Like Cops And Gets Violent” plot. Yay.

Ta-da! Mexican Lady Cop appears, cowboy hat and all. James says she’s Walker’s new partner. My heart cries while Walker says “figured you’d be a guy” and she replies “so did my mom”. The feminism is so strong :’) She’s such a strong female character :’) I’m so happy :’)

Then Walker makes such a quintessential Jared thing with his mouth that I need to stop this here and take a break.

It’s been 13 minutes. So much still to go. I’m bored. Why am I doing this.

[wdwmarveldisney]

Decision

Isaac Lahey x Stilinski!reader

Request by @castieltheasstiel - Okay so it's a few weeks after Allison's death and the reader has come to a conclusion that she wants to become a werewolf. She tells Isaac about it and he asks her why and she says 'I don't want to feel helpless anymore, I want to be able to protect myself so I don't end up like Allison" and after he hears that he just hugs her and says "okay we'll talk to Scott and Stiles" and Stiles argues about it at first and then realizes he won't be able to talk her out of it.

Summary: Grieving the death of your best friend, you make a decision that would change your life forever and no one was stopping you.

Masterlist

A/N: Alright, I have finished and I kinda like it, not gonna lie. Hope it’s okay.

Part one is here. Part three is here.

GIF isn’t mine

Four weeks. Four weeks of grieving and processing and shutting yourself away. Everyone got it, Allison was like an older sister to you, your rock and now she wasn't here. Isaac had been by your side through it all, hesitant to leave your side when you were feeling this way. Stiles had also constantly been there for you but also had to put a lot of attention onto killing Void for a few days and was still dealing with his own trauma so you didn't want to be so dependent on him. Lydia had been round a lot too, the two of you being able to sit and just talk about Allison, recalling all the good memories. They had all helped, all made it easier then just being alone.

But with what happened, you couldn't stop thinking. You were human too and completely undertrained unlike Allison and it could be you next. You knew the pain, how it felt after you lost them and you couldn't do that to them. So you wanted to lower the risk, put in precautions so that you were at less risk. You wanted to be some a werewolf. It made sense, you would be able to protect yourself properly and you wouldn’t worry anyone and you could heal quicker and yeah, you’d have deal with the whole turning but surely it was worth it because you could control it. And you knew the risk, the bite might not work for you but you also knew it was worth it.

So one quiet morning with Isaac, cuddled up in your bed watching Disney movies, you brought it up, “What’s being a werewolf like?” You watched how he frowned, tearing his gaze from the singing villagers and instead staring at you, befuddled. He sat up a little and glanced to the screen before looking back to you with his brows knitted together, “Why?” You rolled your eyes, biting back a sarcastic comment as you tried to snuggle closer to the boy and simply shrugged, “Because I want to know,” you feel him tense at the lack of a quip that seemed to be a Stilinski trait. Isaac interlaced your fingers with his, both of you staring at your joined hands, “It’s...hard sometimes. But I think that it can be helpful for some people, having something they have to focus on and control. It’s different for everyone,” you watched him turn your hand around, playing with your fingers as he spoke. Letting his words sink in, you nodded slowly before glancing up to him. He bit his lip in concentration as his gaze stayed fixed on your hand and he didn’t dare look to you. It was adorable.

“Do you think I could do it?” His gaze snapped to your face, scanning for any signs that this was just a joke or a harmless question. But he didn’t see any and his face dropped as he sat up properly, letting you fall to the bed, “No, alright? You’re not- That’s not happening?” You watched the frantic shake of his head as he began to panic and you sighed whilst sitting up tall. You grabbed his hand and held tighter when he went to pull away, “I have to. Look, I’ve thought about this and you know I wouldn’t want to do it unless I’m sure,” you watched him look down and so brought your hand to his cheek, smiling slightly when he places his hand over the top. But the smile faltered at the way he sighed and shuffled before meeting your gaze, “I get that but, what if it goes wrong? We could- I could lose you,” you hated the way his voice broke as his eyes filled with tears.

Pausing, you debated how to phrase it before taking a deep breath, “I know Isaac, trust me but I- I don't want to feel helpless anymore, I want to be able to protect myself so I don't end up like Allison,” you gave him a pleading look, thumb wiping away the few tears that fell. Isaac stared at you with such heartbreak that you couldn’t look at him much longer and instead opted to look where your hand rested on his cheek. He stayed silent for a few moments before nodding and letting his head fall into his hands once you let your hand drop from his face. Isaac sighed as he finally spoke up, “Okay, we'll talk to Scott and Stiles,”

Grinning, you jumped up and began to pull him out of your room and towards Stiles’ room where the boys were. Barging in without bothering to knock, both boys face you surprised and scared until they realise who it is. Unlike the conversation with Isaac, you kind of just blurted it out, “I want to be a werewolf,” Stiles spluttered slightly, standing up and walking over to you. Scott seemed just as shocked, eyes wide and jaw dropped. Your brother took a few deep breaths before finally managing out a shaky, “What?” Scott stood to when he noticed Stiles’ gaze fox on Isaac behind you but you had already stepped in, “No, it’s my idea and Isaac was hesitant at first too but he agrees. I just, I need to do this. I can’t stop thinking about how I’m vulnerable when we’re out there and I can’t stop thinking a bout how I feel right now and I don’t want to put you guys through that again. And it’s like Isaac said earlier, I need something to focus on right now and I, I can use it as this thing to help me through it because it something I can control and it could keep me stable. Just try and understand,”

Stiles shook his head frantically, hands going to hips, “No, you’re not doing this. Do you know how likely it is you’d die?” Scoffing at his words you took a few steps forward, jabbing a finger into his chest, “You don’t get to decide. I’ll just go to another alpha if I have to,” Stiles glared down at you but you mirrored the look with an equal amount of rage and determination. You watched out of the corner of your eye, Scott paused then slowly nodded, mumbling a small, “I’ll do it,” which made Stiles spun round to face him. He shook his head, a small huff of disbelief leaving his lips, “No, you won’t,”

Scott shook his head, smiling slightly at how protective Stiles was being and how pointless it was giving just how stubborn you could be. “Stiles,” your brother went to argue but closed his mouth before he could utter a word. He glanced to you and how you leaned into Isaac, his arms around your waist. He saw the look in your eyes and groaned in frustration when he realised that you weren’t changing your mind. “Fine,” he huffed and you smiled faintly at him in thanks before turning to Scott.

“Alright, what do we do?”

[blastedking]

State of the Kingdome - 11. December 2021

Comic

In a bit of great news for the start, Universe: Law of Fire III - Kings and Legends is done. It will start as scheduled right after Starheart. (Cover is on the 7th of January, First page the week after naturally) 🌟

Kings and Legends continues almost right after Starheart story-wise - this time, last but not least, the focus is on Angus.

It is 55 pages long - which is actually the longest comic I've ever finished at once I think. And yet there was so much I had to cut out. The supporting cast is Noora Louhimo from Battle Beast - but originally I wanted a whole lot more in it. In the end though, even she doesn't get as much screen time as I would have liked due to the appearance of SOMEONE else who is stealing the show. xD (okay it's not that much of a mystery at this point... I spoilered that one a long time ago.)

Story

As a bit of a surprise to everyone including myself I actually managed to get something done for Christmas - it's just a short "slice-of-life" thing, which I originally started last year but had no time for then.

It's called Leitnacht and is based on the Christmas pictures I posted last year. Just something quick and more light-hearted and fun (for the most part. Mixed with some horror elements and the lingering mental trauma because of course) with the Powerwolf guys and a Sabaton cameo. Also, a cover that took WAY too much time which is why there will be only that one for three chapters.

"Leitnach" will be starting next week on the 18th, uploaded as usual on AO3 and a link will be posted here.

After Leitnacht is done follows Parts and Fragments, (the Ralathor has a terrible day story) will come as planned. (A week later due to Leitnacht but still January 15).

However, after that, there will be another break again because ULFIII took a lot longer than planned. Also Return to Darkness (which is the story that follows narrative-wise directly after PaF) is still not done. And given that I have to focus on School now extensively, it won't and can't be done till my current situation changes (see the Personal Section down below).

Art

The queue is currently good till about Mai next year so no changes on that front. There are a couple of very pretty pieces coming up I'm really looking forward to sharing with you! ❤️ While I will take a bit of a hiatus, focusing on school, nobody should notice xD

I will expand the reblog days with the start of next year - one day for 2020 art, one for 2021 art and one for old stories. Everything will be tagged accordingly if you don't want to see the old stuff again.

Friday stays for the comic, Saturday for new Stories and Sunday for new art.

Personal

Job and School have been pretty stressful in the last months - I didn't get much done. Actually, I haven't really gotten around to do anything besides work, school and drawing and even then the latter two are suffering. Haven't even read anything in months now, all my other hobbies are pretty much dead in the water too, which isn't great… But, no way around that. This is the last stretch of having to manage school, work and hobbies - the last 4-5 months. So it's gonna get better soon enough.

I have the final exam in May and Project Presentation in June/July. The latter ain't so wild, May is basically the time when I can breathe again.

Looking forward to that.

👑

[nightklok]

Kloktober Day 1 Prompt

Prompt: Favorite Character and OTP Pairing: Picklegail (Pickles the Drummer/Abigail Remeltindtdrinc) Title: The war is over and we are beginning Characters: Pickles the Drummer, Abigail Remeltindtdrinc, Eclair (cat), band members and charles are only mentioned Trigger Warnings: Very slight angst, very slight mention/discussion of trauma/PTSD. Tags: Some dark humor, mentioned trauma, discussion of trauma, fall, post galagtikon 2, hopeful/happy ending Summary: It's the first fall Pickles has realized he's lived through in years.

Author's Note: Yes this is...6 days late-But i still wanted to publish this anyway so enjoy :')

Read this fic on AO3 or read below!

The first day of fall fell on a Saturday.

And Pickles would realize it was the first time he had actually been aware of fall in years.

He couldn’t remember the last time he saw the leaves change or pumpkin picking or any of the fall activities he sparingly went to as a kid. He simply had no time, family, or desire to do any of those things as he grew older. He had the sudden moment of sadness that he had missed another fall but told himself fall was gonna come back next year and he’d just look at the leaves harder next fall. But he never did.

But now, he had the time. A lot of it. And a fresh perspective on life and just how wonderful living a quiet life was.

Getting to sleep in on a Saturday morning with the person he loved the most and having nothing else to do for the day was one of them. Normally, Abigail was the one who woke up earlier but for the weekend, it got to be the opposite. He could get up in an hour, make some breakfast and they could see about doing something together. Whether it’s going outside or staying in and watching something. But at the moment, he was content enough just sleeping.

But it wouldn’t last long sadly. Despite nothing important needing to be done for the day, he was woken up by the sound of meowing and a cat smacking his face.

Éclair, their beautiful cat they found outside a K-Mart, happened to like going on walks in the morning. And she was very persistent about her walks being exactly at 7:13 AM. It was 7:13 AM.

“C’mon, it’s Saturday,” He murmured as he pulled the blanket closer to his face, hoping that he could sleep for just a few more minutes.

But Éclair had no concept of time and would continue pawing at the sheets and when she began whining, he knew that his time sleeping in was already over. He didn’t want to wake her up and figured she deserved the extra hour of sleeping.

“Okay, okay, I’ll take you on a walk,” Pickles finally answered as he used a hand to gently push her away just so he could sit up. He was careful to not disturb Abigail but he saw her move and murmur something he couldn’t quite hear. He had to assume by the tone that she meant she was gonna do it. She always tried to even when he told her to sleep in on weekends.

“Just go back to sleep, babe, I’ll take care of it.” He answered quickly as he got out of bed but she was already sitting up.

“I’ll come with you.” She answered, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes., “Just give me a few minutes.”

There was no convincing otherwise and he was too tired himself to argue. He quickly snuck in a kiss before he got out of bed, “Alright, take your time.”

By the time he had thrown on some clothes and made himself look presentable enough, Abigail was already by the front door, kneeling down to leash Éclair. Despite them taking the same time to get ready, she looked like she had spent much more time doing it. Then again, she always looked beautiful to him regardless of how much time she spent.

He really did save the world to get to see today huh.

She stood up once she leashed the cat and turned to look at him with that small smile he always loved, “Ready to go?”

“Yeah,” He answered as he made sure he put the house keys in his pocket before opening the door to let her out first before himself. Éclair already began wandering around the front lawn, as far as her leash would go.

They were hit by a cool breeze that gently swayed the trees surrounding them, causing some of the red and orange leaves to fall gracefully onto the ground. The trees weren’t entirely turning their leaves yet but the appearance was showing much more by the day. And each day only meant another normal day. The worst was behind them.

“You sure you don’t wanna get a jacket?” She asked.

“Nah, I’ll be fine. Got my own body heat.” He answered before he pulled her slightly closer enough to feel her skin heat up by the touch, “Besides I know how you can warm me up if I get cold.”

She wanted to mention about the neighbors or anybody seeing them but there was no one around at the moment. It was just them enjoying the early morning fall, the cool breeze and quiet excitement for a new season that just begun.

“Well, are you cold now?” She asked as she pulled him a bit closer.

He didn’t say anything else but reached up to kiss her, feeling her warm lips as they pressed against his. It felt as compassionate as the other thousands of kisses they must’ve shared in their lifetime. Honestly, he could probably find the same feelings he felt kissing her when he got a first kiss; the excitement, anticipation and pure love that he got to kiss someone he loved.

Their kiss was interrupted when she felt her leash getting tugged by Éclair who had grown impatient of them. She sat as far as the leash would let her, looking up at them expectantly. Amused, they walked past their front lawn to the sidewalk but felt the leash being pulled once again. They turned around to find her sitting still, meowing impatiently.

“C’mon, wanna walk a bit more? No? Okay.” Pickles answered with a laugh as Abigail went to pick her up. Almost immediately, she climbed up on her shoulders as she always preferred.

Her idea of walking outside was to walk a few steps and one of them had to pick her up for the rest of the walk. Walking around a block required too much energy. Did they expect her to actually walk alongside them every morning? Yes. Did she never fulfill that dream? No. But they also fed into her routine and nature, it wasn’t just their house anymore after all.

There was no use in arguing with a stubborn cat. She had made her territory in Abigail’s shoulder and they simply had to go along with it. She adjusted the leash so the other end of it would hook onto the inner jacket pocket that had a small sewn in hole meant for earphones. Once she made sure that the leash was secure inside, she reached over to hold his hand who quickly took it.

They took the usual route around the block. Shoes crunched against freshly fallen leaves, the wind picked up slightly again causing the leaves around them to move gently against the wind to a new area. If Pumpkin Spice Lattes and Apple Cider weren’t a symbol that fall was approaching, it was the leaves.

Pickles did try to remember when he last fall. Was it when he was a kid? A teen, maybe? He always fled before fall approached somehow. Always ended up in an area where he could not see the seasons change and everything remained a stagnant season the whole time.

But there was nothing to run from anymore. He could stay and watch the seasons change and turn forever if he wanted to now. Is this what freedom really feels like?

“Do you wanna go grab some coffee at the coffee shop?” She asked, interrupting his thoughts.

He quickly snapped his attention back to her and nodded, “Yeah, actually, the one two blocks from here, right?”

“Yep.”

He knew she knew that something was on his mind but she thankfully didn’t say anything. She already knew enough that he would speak when he was ready and he was always thankful for being able to fill in the gaps when he couldn’t speak. And she would always be thankful when he knew what she meant to say when she could barely get a word. It was a secret language between the two that no one but them knew and it was one they were both incredibly fluent in.

The coffee shop was a mom-and-pop one located on the end of the corner. LGBT friendly (Did he ever find those kind of coffee shops growing up?) and even had a small corner of the area for younger kids to play with. It was one of the places that they always loved frequently going to-if they weren’t well known to the world, they would’ve been known pretty well to the baristas.

“I can take Éclair, you can go order for us.” Pickles said. There were seats outside and given the weather, it wouldn’t be so bad to just sit outside and drink coffee while enjoying nature.

“Alright. The usual?”

“Surprise me.”

Pickles managed to take Éclair off her shoulder and set her down when he found a seat with decent shade. He tied the leash to the pole of the table but she seemed uninterested in exploring and instead jumped on his lap, presumably to take a quick nap.

He checked his phone while he waited, trying to catch up on whatever missed emails and posts from friends he had missed. Admittedly, going from seeing his friends everyday to now once a week at most was one of the toughest things to shift to. From knowing everything that went on in their lives, his knowledge of their whereabouts now came from whatever they posted in the group chat or social media.

Toki’s selfie with Magnus over the Eiffel Tower during their backpacking in Europe route. Nathan’s blurry image of a kid playing with a gator from the alligator rescue/children’s daycare he had started with Rachel. Skwisgaar’s video of one of the songs he was working with Nathan. A prototype rollercoaster blueprint from Murderface for the Dethklok amusement parks he and Knubbler were in charge of. And Charles not sending a photo but reminding him through text about a meeting regarding his solo album.

It was a crazy feeling to have looking at the boys he had lived with for more than a decade suddenly doing their own things. Did he feel left out? Maybe things were moving too fast? Miss the old times? He didn’t really know.

He found himself staring at his screen for far too long until Abigail came back taking a seat in front of him, “They’ll be coming over in a few minutes.”

He set the phone down, “Alright, what’d you get me?”

“You did mention you wanted me to surprise, didn’t you?” She answered with a playful smile that was clear she wouldn’t go easy on him.

“C’mon, I gotta know if I’m allergic to it or not. Could very well be allergic to milk today and might not even know it.”

“Guess it’s up to you to find out then; I’m sure there’s an EpiPen somewhere.”

Of course, she wanted to ask what was wrong but she didn’t want to press him. She knew he would budge eventually, he always did, but it was just a matter of patience and hoping to catch him at the right time.

Eventually, the barista came with the tray of coffees and food she had ordered, including a puppuccino for Éclair who woke up and hopped down to get her treat when Abigail set it down to get everyone’s orders.

She set the pumpkin spiced coffee, cinnamon rolls and a breakfast sandwich in front of him. She had ordered the same pumpkin spice coffee and breakfast sandwich; she always tried to avoid desserts for breakfast but he quickly shoved in a cinnamon roll in her plate anyway, “Here it can be your cheat day.”

“But you made me macrons yesterday.” She pointed out.

“It was sugar-free. And you can’t just pass off on a warm cinnamon roll. It’s bad for the environment I saved.”

She contemplated not even long enough before agreeing. They were pretty good cinnamon rolls…, “Guess I’ll need to pay for your contributions. Alright, I’ll take it.”

Pickles grinned as he took a sip of the coffee. It was still hot but he refused to even express he burnt his tongue for the sake of looking cool, “Great, glad my hard work paid off.”

For as much as he joked around, he didn’t mention anything about what was bothering him for the rest of their breakfast.

He would mention it on the walk back home when it was Pickles’ turn to let Éclair lay on his shoulder and Abigail holding a bag of free treats that the baristas insisted they take home. A few desserts as payment for saving the world. It was well worth it.

“I forgot what fall was like.” Pickles finally said as he looked at her. He didn’t downplay his feelings by joking

“You did?” She asked.

“Yeah. It had been too long since I last saw leaves and everything else and whatever. I guess it’s making me realize how long I missed out on some things, y’know?”

She had to wonder how he even forgot about fall. Or the fact that his hair color always reminded her of it. It was the color of vibrant red autumn leaves, not quite ready to fall yet but when the sun hit it, it showed the intricate details and would even shine as bright as it sometimes. And how could she ever put that into the right words? Maybe it just wasn’t the right moment, “Nostalgia?”

“I-I guess it’s that. Yeah. Nostalgic for the old things I guess. I was too used to that life. And I’m very happy with you, I really am! I’m doing more of the things now than I did before, but it’s hard to just completely let go of the past.”

Of course, he thought she would get offended which is why he didn’t look at her. Here he was clinging to his past again like some spoiled brat. If only he didn’t open his mouth. He probably seemed so ungrateful-

But he was met instead with warm hands taking his and he looked up to a very understanding Abigail, “I understand. There’s some things I miss and feel nostalgic for too. I don’t expect you to not miss those things. These things just end up happening, it’s part of natural life.”

“I guess…it’s just a lot harder to adjust than I thought. I’m sorry if I’m just dumping this on you, though. I know that this hasn’t been easy for you either.”

It wasn’t easy when Abigail could barely sleep without getting horrific nightmares that he had stayed up most nights worrying about. It wasn’t easy when Pickles ended up getting horrific nightmares too when he came back home, and he had yet to tell her all that he dreamt about. Their future kids, grandkids even, and even the current neighborhood kids would ask for stories of their heroism. Do they even dare talk about the price that was paid for it?

It couldn’t even be said that they had overcome it. The nightmares were less frequent, yes, but they were there. All it took was one bad night to ruin a week or month even. The horrors of their past would most likely be there for the rest of their lives, looming over and ready to strike when things seemed to be better.

But they made it so far together too. What’s another mile anyway?

“It hasn’t been easy but we’re both getting there.” She paused her walking to look at him, “We made it so far together, after all. I don’t expect you to be okay the same way you don’t expect me to be okay either, right? I’m not gonna ask you to do anymore than you already are doing and what you’re doing is enough.”

“And if it’s not enough? God, what if I’m just fucking up right now? There’s no way I can just…I don’t even know what. It’s just terrifying to be falling down that dark path again.”

She watched as Éclair looked up to the leaves around them, eyes completely dilated to look at the world around her. A leaf would just brush past her, failed to be caught and it fell to the ground.

Of course the leaves would eventually be raked. Whatever wasn’t thrown out or burned would eventually become mulch for the soil. Would help provide for the soil when spring rolls around. Then everything will grow again. Everything will be okay.

“If we fall again, we start over and flourish.”

—

“What was your last memory with fall if you don’t mind my asking?” Abigail asked that evening. They sat in the living room couch, sharing a blanket as they watched Knives Out. It would quickly become a tradition for them to watch whatever fall-related movies there were just to get in the spirit.

He paused for a moment, before finally coming up with an answer, “I met you, didn’t I? We were at that fall event Cornickelson used to host. It was probably a few years before you became Dethklok’s music producer? But anyway, we were paired at the same table and I was probably awkward as fuck right then and there but you still wanted to talk to me. We went to the garden and we just ended up talking about everything. God, I felt like a teenager with their first crush when I was with you. I never got to say that your hair color reminded me of the leaves.”

[mirkwoodshewolf]

A new kind of competition; RA on the Masked singer pt. 2

*Author’s note*

Okay I know I’m kinda doin this out of order but I was posting this part on Wattpad and since it was still in my copying memory I decided to post this part up first but no worries, pt. 1 will be posted up in just a minute. And I wanna tell you all that there will be only TWO MORE chapters left before I finally complete the Rock Angel series. Enjoy this chapter until next time my dears :)

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things

@waddles03

@psychosupernatural

@ixchel-9275

@simonedk

@queensdivas

@queen-paladin

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels

@geek-and-proud

@starswin

@queendeakyy

@5sos-wdw

@onebigfangirlworld

@isabella-bby

@labessieisallama

@ssa-sadboi

@naturalswifty89

@wormzteef

@bohemiansweede

_________________________________________________________

*Round 5. THE SUPER 8*

Now it was starting to get serious, this was now the Super 8 and this was the first time this season that 2 people were gonna get eliminated.  I took a deep breath and gave a silent prayer to God and Freddie above to give me strength.

“And here to give us yet another star-stellar performance and another few hints as to who this mega star could be under the mask. Here’s the Lioness.”

The LIONESS; CLUE PACKAGE

“What very few people don’t know about me is that I didn’t always have that good of a homelife as a child.” I said as I walked through a child’s room.  I took hold of my stuffed lion and hugged him tightly as I continued, “The people who raised me were well—let’s just say they weren’t the nicest of people. The remainder of my childhood into adolescence was toxic for me.”

“Oh my god.” Nicole muttered sympathetically.

“Growing up with that much toxicity it really damaged my self-esteem. No matter how hard I tried, it just wasn’t enough for them.”

“Growing up in an abusive home.” Robin noted. “Wonder if she’s an advocate for domestic abuse?”

“But I knew I couldn’t let myself be buried underneath all that hatred. It took a long, long, long, long time. But I forgave them. Because in a way without them, I wouldn’t have found this inner strength within me.”

“You go Lioness.” Cheered Jenny.

“That’s why for this performance, if you or a loved one is dealing with toxic family members or partners. There’s no shame in admitting they’re in the wrong. Because if you continue to listen to their toxic lies, it’ll only lead you down one way. And you’re too good to leave this world just yet.” I set the stuffed lion down and punched the wall which shattered as I let out a proud roar.

I stood there on stage with the mic on hand as my girl Pink’s “Beautiful trauma” came on and I began singing in a ballad like tone first.  Slowly walking across the stage till I came upon a beautifully decorated swing (much like the Black Swan used a couple rounds ago).

*Me*

We were on fire I slashed your tires It's like we burned so bright we burned out I made you chase me I wasn't that friendly My love, my drug, we burn out

Oh

I got on the swing and it slowly raised up, lifting me all the way high above the audience as I sang the 2nd chorus. As the mantra part of the chorus came up, silk extended from the ends of the swing and I slowly swung back and forth making the silks dance gracefully in the wind.  When the bridge came up, I turned on my semi-good rapping skills. As I rapped out the bridge, the swing lowered me down towards the catwalk that stood in front of the judges.

Once my feet touched the ground and I sung the last verse, I walked towards the judges and sung before each of them.  

*Me*

The pill I keep taking The nightmare I'm waking There's nothing, no nothing, nothing but you My perfect rock bottom Beautiful trauma My love (my love), my love, my drug, oh

My love, my love, my love, my drug, oh My love, my love, my love, my drug, oh My love, my love, my love, my drug, oh My love, my love, my drug.

Mmm tough times they keep coming All night laughing and knackered Some days like I'm barely breathing Then after we were high and the love dope died, it was you

The pill I keep taking The nightmare I'm waking There's nothing, no nothing, nothing but you My perfect rock bottom My beautiful trauma My love, my love, my drug, oh

After walking back on stage with Nick standing at my side, he congratulated me on another amazing performance.  

“The Lioness is pulling our heartstrings once again.”

“I agree Nick. Especially after hearing that story of her going through domestic abuse that—that’s never an easy thing to go through. But Lioness let me just say you are a strong woman underneath. Because I can tell you’ve overcome that trauma and made a name for yourself.” Nicole told me.

I pounded my heart and raised my hand towards her.  She gave me a heart back.

“Now we raided through your fridge and found out just what exactly the Lioness loves to eat.”

“Oh come on Nick this is easy! She eats meat!” Ken exclaimed.

“Sit your butt down Ken!” Nick exclaimed. “Men in Black, bring out the Lioness’s favorite meal.” One of them came pulling out a cooler and sat it right beside Nick and he said. “Alright, let’s see what we’ve got in here.” There was a drumroll before he opened it to reveal a thermos that read JASMINE TEA.

“What’s that say on the thermos?” asked Jenny.

“Jasmine tea.”

“But there’s no food there!” complained Ken.

“To answer your Question Kenneth.” I scolded. That got the rest of the panel as well as Nick laughing. “Any type of food is good for me, but it’s this tea that will give you a clue. As to who I am.”

The audience and Nick ooed.  Jenny’s mouth opened widely as she rapidly pounded her stack of notes.

“Jenny it looks like you’ve got something.”

“I do! I do! I do! I do! I do! Okay so in the clue package she talked about her abusive childhood. Rough upbringing, but she didn’t say parents were the ones doing it. And the number code that was given to us awhile back, that 149121. I have been running through my head various codes as to what that could mean. Until the TEA is what gave me the idea.”

“Who is it?!” Ken demanded.

“At least she’s making more sense than you do Ken!” Robin dissed.

“Okay the code actually stands for 11-24-91. And this Rockstar has a tattoo of it on her shoulder with Angel Wings to remember her friend and mentor Freddie Mercury. This is most definitely the ROCK ANGEL (Y/N) KLINE!!!”

“Oh yeah that’s right. She does have a tattoo with that date on it.” Robin agreed with her.

“Nah I’m gonna disagree with you on that Jenny.” Ken said.  Oh boy here we go. “Now going off based off the clue package we saw domestic abuse. And on the number code the first few numbers I picked out were 911.  This actress started in a movie known as “The Call”. Welcome to the Masked Singer Halle Berry!”

I shook my head and crossed my arms at him.

“Look at her she’s agreeing with me.”

“Ken this is not Halle Berry!” Nick Cannon said.  I then waved bye to Nick as I proceeded to walk off the stage but he told me to come back, so I had no choice but to stand there. “See Ken you made the Lioness upset just like you did with Nick Carter last season.”

“Hey like I said before then. This isn’t the first time someone’s walked away from my guesses, and it won’t be the last.”

“I think I might have an idea on who it might be.” Nicole piped in.

“Go head Nicole.”

“Okay so we saw the domestic abuse, growing up in an abusive home. But I also remember from a few weeks back there was a sign that said AIDS. So I’m thinking she’s also an advocate for AIDS/HIV awareness. I’m gonna put my money on Rihanna.”

Oh wow that’s impressive.  But sadly she’s wrong.  Although I have helped Rihanna with some of her AIDS awareness promotion when the two of us were at a party together for MTV.  She told me she wanted to start a campaign for it but had no idea where to begin with it.  So I gave her some of my well known contacts and gave her some business advice that I remember learning from Deacy on how to handle everything.

“That’s not a bad guess. But Rihanna’s got a different voice. But whoever you are, you wowed us once again Lioness.” I bowed and blew them a kiss as Nick told me that I could head backstage.

“The judges are slowly but surely getting a grip with my identity. But I’m not ready to go home just yet. And if I somehow make it through, I’ll give them a performance that’ll definitely throw them off my scent.”

Thankfully, I was safe from being unmasked in this double elimination, however Seashell and the Yeti weren’t as lucky.

*Round 6. THE SPICY 6*

It’s down to the wire now.  This song might just make me or break me, especially since it’s the hardest song I’ll ever do in my entire singing career.  But like Freddie and I always say, “It’s go big or go home darling.”  Plus this is another special performance that I’m dedicating to.

“Now then we actually got to sit down and actually talk with this Megastar. Here’s what we managed to find out about the Lioness.”

THE LIONESS CLUE PACKAGE AND INTERVIEW.

This clue package showed me getting my mask taken off but I still had a black face cover hiding my entire face.

“Oh yes that feels so much better.” I praised at feeling the cool air on my face.  The Producer then asked me.

“So how has it been being the Lioness so far?”

“A lot of fun. She’s given me the courage to do things I never thought I could do before.” The screens would show some of my previous performances from getting on a wrecking ball to being lifted well over 10ft above an audience.

“What would winning the Masked Singer mean for you?”

“Well I’m not just doing it for myself. But for my pride as well. Especially my dad.”

“You’re dad?” I nodded.  The screens would then show me walking around my den with a picture of me and a shadow figure of a male lion.

“Not related by blood but he’s been my father figure for as long as I’ve known him. In fact without his love, I never would’ve found true love on my own. My husband, my kids, even my grandkids. They wouldn’t have existed had he not given me the love that I was denied growing up.” I stroked the picture of the shadow figure of the lion beside me.  The screen also showed my real family with my husband lion, 4 adult kids and 2 young grandkid cubs.

I pressed the frame up to my mouth and gave it a kiss, the screen even made a kiss sound effect as little hearts danced around it.

“So Papa Lion, this song is for you. I love you so much and thank you for everything you’ve done for me.” I blew a kiss to the camera as my clue package and interview ended.

The ballad opening for “I don’t wanna miss a thing” by Aerosmith came on and I took a deep breath.  This was it, but you’re doing it for Roger here (n/n).  Even though he won’t know it, this song is for him. I opened my mouth and soon began singing.

Once the bridge came around and the most difficult part of the song came on, I unleashed every ounce of alto rawness I had within me and just belted out that last yeah which made fireworks rain down from the ceiling and the audience seemed to enjoy it.

*Me*

I could stay awake just to hear you breathing Watch you smile while you are sleeping While you're far away and dreaming

I could spend my life in this sweet surrender I could stay lost in this moment forever Cause moment spent with you is a moment I treasure

Don't want to close my eyes I don't want to fall asleep 'Cause I'd miss you, babe And I don't want to miss a thing

'Cause even when I dream of you The sweetest dream will never do I'd still miss you, babe And I don't want to miss a thing

And I don't want to miss one smile I don't want to miss one kiss

And just stay here in this moment For all of the rest of time Yeah, yeah, yeah!

Don't want to close my eyes Don't want to fall asleep 'Cause I'd miss you, babe And I don't want to miss a thing

After finishing the song, fireworks came up behind me as I punched my fist into the air and panted from within my mask.

“Oh my god where did that come from!?” exclaimed Jenny.

“The lioness taking us to the far reaches of outer space with Armageddon!” Nick proclaimed as he came up beside me.

“I wanna say something first Lioness. That was probably your best performance ever.” Robin told me.  Oh my god seriously? I knew I had cracked up on that last ‘yeah’ but to hear him say this was my best performance surprised me. “You really laid it out on the line tonight with probably the hardest song but you executed it phenomenally.” He praised.

I bowed my hands in gesture to him telling him I wasn’t worthy.

“Alright now let’s see just who amongst our panel is the Lioness connected to.” The judges all looked up and soon my chute came down towards Ken but Nicole intercepted it from him and she said.

“Oh it’s for Jenny.” She passed it to Ken who passed it to Jenny and she saw the silver charm of a birthday cake.

“A birthday cake.” She told the crowd as she held the charm between her fingers.

“Jenny. I wanna thank your husband for performing at one of my kid’s birthday party.” At that the crowd got all suspicious and Jenny’s face was gaped wide in shock.

“Is Donny doing things behind your back?” Nicole accused Jenny.

“I hope not.” God these innuendos kill me. “Okay so apparently you know my husband Donny. But I-I don’t remember him ever telling me he performed at a kid’s birthday party.”

“What about the entire New Kids on the Block?” asked Robin.

“Possibly. Was it just my husband or the entire band that performed at your kid’s party?”

“You know she can’t answer that!” Nick snapped playfully.

“I’m sorry but I gotta know!”

“Alright panel. What’s this clue package doin for you?”

“Okay well in the clue package there was the picture of her family. I saw four grown kids and 2 grandkids. If she really is a grandma then I still gotta go with Rock Angel. Because her daughter Kelly just recently gave birth to a baby girl last year during the pandemic doing an at home birth.” Nicole said.

“Yeah and in the clue package she spoke about a father figure. And I read somewhere that she considers Roger Taylor from Queen her dad.”

“Okay, okay panel.” Damn they are starting to see it now.  But I hope this performance keeps me in the game.  “Well, all we know is was that was yet another killer performance. Make some noise for the Lioness. Go ahead and head on backstage.”

The judges really are seeming to close in on me. I really don’t wanna go home at this point but if I do then it is what it is.  I still had a lot of fun doing this show and it was an amazing ride.

But at the votes, I was surprised to see that it wasn’t me that was going home.  But the Russian Dolls, after doing Elton John’s song “I’m still standing”. I thought they did a hell of a lot better than me but I guess it’s not always the voices that count, but how you execute the performance.

Now it was onto the Semi-finals.

*SEMI-FINALS*

I’ve come too far to end this journey now. The Semi-finals is the last step to ensure that I can secure my spot in the finals.  And I have just the song to get me there.

“Week after week she has astounded us with pure, unadulterated vocals. But can she claim her spot for the finals. Let’s dig up some more clues on……the Lioness.”

THE LIONESS; CLUE PACKAGE:

“Being in this competition has taught me a lot about myself. On one side there’s the Lioness I present before the media, when I preform or out in the public. Then there’s the Lioness I am around my pride. A mother, a daughter, a grandmother. And I think that’s really the best job compared to my career.”

“She’s definitely a family woman.” Jenny stated as she took down some notes.

“I wouldn’t be anywhere without my family. They are my rock. Even those that had left me I still see them throughout my life.” I stood before a funhouse mirror maze and saw various shadows surrounding me. “And it’s their voices that give me the courage to continue the fight. So for this performance I’m gonna pull out all the stops and just allow you all to see the real me. Nothing but my raw vocals. I’ve fought to hard and I’m just not ready to go home yet.”

The stage screens were lit up with a rain animation as well as rippling water.  I stood there alone with the mic and the spotlight down on me as I sung the song that was once offered to me for the Original movie, but I recommended the Producers to Christina to do the song.

As the song grew more fiercer with the soft drumbeats and my voice became more powerful and intense, I could feel tears filling my eyes once more.  I was gonna get to the finals even if it costs me my voice.

*Me*

Look at me You may think you see Who I really am But you'll never know me Every day It's as if I play a part

Now I see If I wear a mask I can fool the world But I cannot fool my heart

Who is that girl I see

Staring straight back at me?

Why is my reflection

Someone I don’t know?

There's a heart that must be free to fly That burns with a need to know the reason why

Why must we all conceal What we think, and how we feel?

I won't pretend that I'm Someone else for all time When will my reflection show Who I am inside? When will my reflection show Who I am inside?

At that last belt which I held longer than I ever held a note before.  A 9 full seconds which made the crowd go berserk.  I could see some people wiping their tears away as I sung the last couple of notes before finally ending it with a bow of my head.

“Heartfelt! Lioness once again pulling our heartstrings.”

“Okay I just need to say this Nick.” Ken said.

“Go ahead Kenneth.”

“Throughout this entire competition especially when it comes to the Semi-finals, it all comes down to who wants it most. And Lioness—” he wiped his tears away. “You didn’t just show us that you wanted a spot in the finals. You proved you’re worthy of the Rock Gods!”

Aww Dr. Ken.  I blew him a kiss and patted my heart and he blew me multiple kisses back.

“For once I agree with Ken.” Robin said.  “If people didn’t get teary eyed when you performed Whitney Houston’s hit song, they’re definitely not dry eyed by now.” The 2 women nodded in agreement.

“I agree with the guys. I grew up listening to this song. And to hear your voice do this song, not only did you just sing it. You felt it. And when a singer feels a song, it makes it that much more powerful.” Nicole added.  I nodded and replied to her.

“Agreed Nicole. This song……it really spoke out to me when I first heard it. And…..during a really, really rough time in my life. It—got me through so much.” I spoke through my choked tears. Knowing the judges could sense that I was crying underneath the mask, they all awed at me as Nick rubbed my back.

“Lioness even getting emotional up here. Panel, any guesses as to who she might be?”

“All I can say and have been saying is that this is a true, professional performer. And just that belt alone showed us what you’ve got. A true fire within you. Now I know that I’ve said the Rock Angel a couple of rounds but just this week alone hearing the voice, I wanna say this is Christina Aguilera.” Jenny said.

“But wouldn’t it be risky for her to do her own song?” Robin asked.

“She could’ve disguised her tone in order to sing it. But that recognizable control of the belt has to be her.” Jenny reasoned with him.

“I don’t think so Jenny. Cause in the clue package she says she’s a grandmother and Christina ain’t no grandmother yet. I’m still gonna say this is the Rock Angel.” Nicole said.

“Alright well, another heartfelt performance. Give it up one last time for the Lioness.” I waved to the audience and blew kisses at them before exiting the stage.

By the end of the round (and finding out the identity of the infamous Cluedle-Doo being none other than Jenny’s husband Donnie Wahlberg) it was time to see just who was gonna get eliminated and find out who was going into the finals.  I stood there with my hands in a prayer as I mouthed out a prayer before Nick finally said the contestant going home.

“The Black Swan!” oh no!  She’s actually been my favorite singer in our group.  Hell she and I were the only ladies representing Group B and now it was up to me.  “So congrats to the Piglet, Chameleon and Lioness, we will see you three in the finals.” I walked up towards Black Swan and gave her a hug and she hugged me back. “Aww look at that, Lioness giving Black Swan a hug. Seems we’ve got a friendship up here.”

I patted the side of her face before bopping her beak and finally left behind Chameleon.  Well it was up to me now, could I secure another female winner for the Masked Singer? Or be runner up? Only fate and the superfans will determine that.

*?????? POV*

I was reading the paper as per my morning routine.  Nothing new except this whole COVID talk and false expectations on the vaccine delivery. The world really has gone to shit hasn’t it these past few years?  That’s when I got a ding on my phone from my daughter Laura.  I unlocked it and read her text with a link to a video.

Dad, is this who I think it is?

Video: MASKED SINGER THE LIONESS

I think I might’ve heard of this show. Yeah it started off in America and after it’s popularity, various of other countries began it.  Here in the UK we just completed season 2, so this must be the American version.  I’ll admit the costume on the thumbnail looked beautiful and the detail was astounding.

I clicked on the video and it read THE MASKED SINGER S.5 SEMI-FINALS LIONESS.

The lights were dimmed and the second she opened her mouth to sing, my heart skipped a beat and I went frozen in my chair. Quick as I could I turned on our smart TV and opened up the YOUTUBE app on the TV and impatiently waited for it to open up.

“My love?” Veronica’s voice spoke as she came down.

“I’m fine dear!” I told her as the app finally uploaded.  I went over to the mic icon and pressed down on it and spoke into the remote. “The Lioness Masked singer.”

Soon enough various videos popped up and soon the video that Laura sent me was the first option.  I clicked on it and of course bloody ads had to come up. “Oh for god’s sake!”  I sat down on my chair as the video finally played and I could hear the rest of the song.

“Reflection” by Christina Aguilera.  This version was the recently updated one for the live action remake but just hearing this voice alone I knew only one person who could sing like that.

It had been decades since we last saw one another, shortly after 9-11 to be exact.  But even though I’m no longer involved with the music business anymore, I’d always ask Brian or Rog to keep an eye on her and tell me everything about her.

And now seeing her perform as this Lioness creature for such a show, they didn’t know just how lucky they were to be in her presence.  As the song got more powerful, I could feel these old bones of mine feeling warm and secure, tears filled my eyes and at that last belt, goosebumps came all over my body and a shiver ran up my spine.

There was a slight tremble in her voice as she ended the song.  I knew it was because she was crying underneath that mask but as always she holds out strong and finished the song as beautiful as ever.

The audience roared with applause bringing back some memories of when she went on tour with us.  Only her and one other person could get a crowd to sound just like that.

“She’s gotten stronger with her vocals.” My wife’s voice spoke from behind me.

“She was taught by the best. And she now coaches the best.” Ronnie took her place by my side, placing her hand on top of mine.

“You really should give her a ring sometime. I’m sure she’d love to hear from you.” I turned away from her.  “You can’t have the boys and me be your messengers forever. I know for a fact she’d be happy to hear your voice again.” I sighed deeply. “At least think about it my love.”

“I will.” I placed my hand on top of hers and gave her a light peck on the cheek.

“Are there any more performances of her on this show? Luke says she’s been all over the media being the Lioness.”

“Well that was the Semi-finals performance, let’s see if someone collab all of her performances together.” I went back to the search box and soon found about a half hours’ worth of (Y/n)’s performances. I clicked play and soon her 1st performance came up.

Seeing her dance reminded me of our times on the dance floor back in the day.  She was the only person able to keep up with my crazy dance moves, and that’s why she was always the perfect dance partner.  Even Ronnie agreed to that statement.

“That girl never changes. She’s still got it even after all these years.” Ronnie smiled.

“That she does love, that she does.” God she has grown so much since the last time we parted.  Her voice much more mature and able to do things she never did before. And some of the stuff that she’s doing on this show is bonkers.

Never did I think I’d see her on a makeshift wrecking ball or be lifted high above the stage on a swing with silk ropes dangling down from it.

I hope she takes the gold and win this little show of hers because she rightfully deserves it.

*FINALE*

It is time.  Do or die now.  It was me vs. Piglet vs. Chameleon.  After performing a beautiful, angelic performance with last season’s winner LeAnn Rimes, the finals were finally ready to start.

After a couple months of going from 14 down to 3, it all came down to this moment right here, to determine who was gonna be this season’s Masked Singer champion.  Chameleon went first and then I was going to be next.  Chameleon had stuck to his rapping but I could hear more singing out of him this time around and he actually had a pretty good voice.

“Up next. She’s been putting us through a roller coaster of emotions. From hard rock to ballad. Here is the last performance and your last chance to guess at who is beneath, the Lioness.”

FINAL CLUE PACKAGE.

I was walking through a tunnel slowly.  One foot in front of the other.

“Being on the Masked Singer has really been a lot of fun. When I first came on here, never did I think I was gonna make it this far.” The screen would show highlights of all my previous performances along with some additional clues.

Like a familiar band logo at the corner and season 3’s champion Night Angel’s wings. And the year 1981.

“This song was written by a very dear friend of mine. A friend that was taken from us far too soon. But it’s through this song that win or lose, I’ll always take with me till the day I die. Because no matter what, we will always make it through the tough times, especially with what we’re going through now with the Pandemic.”

The stage was dark except for a few lights as the familiar tune of Freddie’s last song he ever performed in the studio came on. I was having brief flashbacks of that day in the studio seeing him record this very song but I had to get my mind right as I sung the first verse.

Once the chorus kicked in, fire exploded from behind the stage as my rock and roll band came back on once more.  The stage was mine to command one last time as I walked across it for the chorus, giving it my all, just like Freddie did.

By the time the bridge came on, my voice was starting to tremble but I kept my emotions under control till the end of the song.  When I got around towards the end of the song, I would hold out a few of the notes till I finally belted out the last note much like Freddie did on the record.

And I swear it was like I could hear him singing alongside me, guiding me to hold the note out longer.

*Me*

Empty spaces, what are we living for? Abandoned places, I guess we know the score, on and on Does anybody know what we are looking for? Another hero, another mindless crime Behind the curtain, in the pantomime Hold the line Does anybody want to take it anymore?

The show must go on The show must go on, yeah Inside my heart is breaking My makeup may be flaking But my smile, still, stays on

My soul is painted like the wings of butterflies Fairy tales of yesterday, grow but never die I can fly, my friends

The show must go on

Yeah, yeah! The show must go on

Oh yeah! Yeah! I'll face it with a grin I'm never giving in On with the show

I'll top the bill I'll overkill I have to find the will to carry on. On with the show. Show. The show must go on.

As the song ended, fireworks fell down from the roof and fire and smoke exploded from the side of the stage as I panted heavily with my arms extended outward.  With the last struck of the drums and guitar, I punched my fist into the air.

I sent a quick kiss to the Heavens as the audience went insane.  I saw all five judges on their feet applauding me.

“The Rock and roll Lioness showin us that the Show must always go on.” Nick praised.

“I swear each and every performance you do, it just gets better and better! You could just be this season’s winner.” Jenny told me.  I clenched my hands and did a victory gesture with them, I could only hope I’d win but it’s not up to me.

“I would agree. She just keeps escalating and escalating her performances and I’m just in awe whether it’s her rocking out or pulling our heartstrings with her raw voice.” Nicole said.  Even last year’s winner LeAnne said.

“Hearing this voice alone makes me feel like I’m looking at a champion singer here.” I placed my hand over my heart in thanks.

The judges then proceeded to do some more guesses, Robin and Nicole were saying that I was the Rock Angel while Jenny was saying that I could be Christina Aguilera and of course Dr. Ken (out of the blue) decided that I was Beyonce.

“So tell us Lioness, what would it mean to you to win this competition?” Nick asked me.

“Well Nick, winning would mean that I’ve given my fans a whole new side of me that they’ve never seen before. But even if I don’t win, I still had a blast being here.”

“We were happy to have you here. Give it up one more time for the Lioness everybody!” I waved to the audience and walked backstage.

“This whole experience has been a wild ride. But I had a lot of fun, win or lose.” I told the camera with the Men in Black behind me.

The Piglet then did his song, “Faithfully” by Journey and man did he kill it.  He definitely pulled my heartstrings with that performance.  So it could be a close race between him and I, or there could be a game changer and Chameleon could take the trophy as the first rapper to sing solely Rap/Hip-hop songs.

“Tonight was a star-worthy performance, but as we know only one can take home the Masked Singer trophy. Now it’s up to our judges and Superfans at home to vote for your favorite now.” I stood between Chameleon and Piglet with my hands together in a prayer.  “The votes are in. The contestant with the least amount of votes and in 3rd place is…….”

There was suspense in the air as I felt my foot shake just waiting for Nick to say which one of us got in 3rd place according to the votes of the judges as well as America.

“The Chameleon!” the audience gaped in shock. “That means Piglet and Lioness you both are safe and can head backstage before we call you both back out to crown a winner. Let’s make some noise for the Chameleon everybody!” I walked up to the Chameleon and extended my hand and we shook hands before I walked with Piglet at my tail as we both waited backstage.

About 10 minutes later, we were told to come back onto the stage to finally crown a winner of Season 5 of the Masked Singer. Piglet and I stood on opposite sides of Nick as he held in his hand, the envelope with the Winner’s name.

“Welcome back to the Masked Singer.  It is now time to crown our new Season’s champion. Piglet, or Lioness. Which one of you will be taking the golden masked trophy home? The votes are in by the judges and the super fans. And the winner is……..” I could see Piglet’s legs shaking as he has made them every time throughout this entire season, while I was rubbing my hands together nervously.

Nick opened the envelope before proclaiming into his microphone.

“THE PIGLET!!” confetti soon exploded covering both me and Piglet up with strings of blue and silver confetti.  Piglet stood there shocked while I clapped for him. He deserved the win, he did a great performance and a great song to close out this season with.  He took the golden mask trophy and danced with it as Nick said.  “Congrats again Piglet you are this season’s champion. Which means you can stand over there in the championship booth till it’s time to unmask you.”

Before Piglet left, I walked up to him and patted his shoulder before giving him a hug and he hugged me back.

“Aww Lioness is being all cuddly with our contestants here.” Piglet and I shook hands with each other for a good competition while I went back to my spot to be unmasked once and for all.  “Lioness you’ve wowed us week after week and as sad as we are to see you go, I think I speak for everybody here, we cannot wait to see who you are!”

The judges all agreed as well as the audience.

“But first, let’s bring out the first Impression guesses. Men in Black! Bring ‘em out!” I could already see the judges pleading for them to not to.  “Yeah it’s been like—months since you guys wrote these down.”

“Can we please not do this Nick?” pleaded Jenny.

“Too late. And the first guess is from…..Nicole.”

“Oh god.”

“You guessed……Christina Aguilera. Not a bad guess.”

“Yeah that really isn’t a bad guess. However I’m not gonna stick with that. Based off the clue package of LGBTQ, and growing up in a domestic abusive home, plus the recent clue package with the symbol of the band Queen’s logo and the Rock n Roll hall of fame right beside that. I’m gonna go with the Rock Angel (Y/n) Kline.”

“Okay. Okay. Let’s see who else we’ve got here……Robin!”

“Oh no.”

“You guessed……Pink.”

“Oh that’s not too bad.” He shrugged.

“You stickin with it?”

“I am not gonna stick with that. Like Nicole I did see the Queen logo in this week’s clue package and just going off by the voice alone. I re-listened to some old records and this is clearly the Rock Angel herself.”

“Alright 2 votes for the Rock Angel. Mrs. Jenny McCarthy.” Jenny sunk down in her chair as Nick grabbed her envelope and opened it up. “Your first impression of the Lioness was……also Pink.”

“Oh thank god I thought I had pulled a Ken guess.” She wiped her hand across her forehead as Ken exclaimed.

“Hey!”

“Ken sit down! Are you sticking with that guess.”

“No. The number code we were give, the 149121. Which I’ve coded as her tattoo for the date of Nov. 24th, 1991, the date when Freddie Mercury sadly passed away from complications from AIDS. And seeing how she talks about her family, her kids, her papa Lion. I’m going for (Y/n) Kline the Rock Angel!”

“Alright, alright, alright. Dr. Ken……” oh this outta be interesting to see who he thought I was at the first performance.  He opened Ken’s envelope and laughed.

“What? What did he write!?”

“Janet Jackson!” oh my god! That even got me weak in my knees as I laughed.

“With those dance moves I thought it could be her! No one could’ve done that dance better than she could! DON’T LAUGH AT ME!!”

“Are you sticking with that guess?”

“No because the clue package doesn’t support it. Okay so we’ve had LGBTQ, domestic abuse. She’s a family woman with 4 kids and apparently 2 grandkids. Although I think the grandkids is a lie. She went through some tough times throughout her personal life. This is none other than Lady Gaga! Welcome to the Masked Singer!”

“What?!” Nicole exclaimed.  “But she’s not a mom!”

“Well then she could be lying about the kids then too all I know is that the rest of my brilliant theories lead to Lady gaga!” I shook my head and placed my hands over my mask shaking my head in defeat. “See! She’s even admitting I’m right!”

“No she’s not she’s just done with how ridiculous your guess is.” Nick said.

“Well I don’t care. This is Lady Gaga and I’ll take it to my grave!”

“Alright. Ms. LeAnne. As our guest panelist you have the last say in who you think this might be.”

“First of all let me just say you are a super star whoever you are under there. If we had competed against each other last year, I would’ve been quaking in my boots.” We all laughed. “This is truly a rock legend under here with the few rare female rockstars that came with the time. And I actually got the privilege to see her perform with the band Queen one year for a birthday party. And there’s only one person that I’ve seen on stage that can sing with as much fire as you Lioness. And that is the Rock Angel herself.”

“Okay Panel. Everyone except for Ken Jong has agreed on their final guesses. Lioness! It is time for the moment we’ve all been waiting for. We wanna know—whose behind the mask. It is time for you to Take it off!”

“Take it off! Take it off! Take it off! Take it off!” everyone soon started chanting.  I held my arms out in a shrug before shrugging my shoulders and finally reaching for my mask and tried to lift it off.  Nick was helping me as the audience and the judges kept chanting.  I could tell I was keeping them in suspense, just wait until they see it’s really me.

Finally the mask came off.

I shook my head and pulled my hair out of my face and the crowd went nuts, the judges all jumped up and cheered.

“THE ANGEL OF ROCK HERSELF! ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAMER! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN THE ONE AND ONLY (Y/N) KLINE!! THE ROCK ANGEL!!!”

“OH MY GOD!!” I heard some of the judges exclaim.

“Look how beautiful she is!” Nicole praised me. I waved to the audience and gave them a “Freddie Mercury” like bow with a twirl of my hand.

“Hello LA!” I said.

“Angel! Angel! Angel! Angel!” I heard the crowd chanting out.

“Wow it is such an honor and a privilege to be standing here next to a true Rockstar.”

“It’s an honor to be here Nick. Thank you all for having me here.” I told him.

“Tell us why did you choose to be in this show?”

“I know this answer gets told a lot but for me personally I speak from the hard truth that we should all strive to do different things cause—you never know which days are gonna be your last.” I hinted my potential death scare almost 20 years ago.  The judges all nodded in understandment.

“And I’m told that you also wanted to say something about this performance in particular?”

“Yes. The song I had done wasn’t originally my choice.” The audience as well as the judges all looked at me in surprise. “Originally the Producers wanted me to do a Katy Perry song, but……this coming November will mark the 30th anniversary of the day my boys and I lost our beloved Freddie. And…….being there the day he recorded this song in only one take. I felt in my soul that I had to do this for him. To give him a grand performance because due to this covid Queen and I aren’t touring till we feel it’s safe to start touring again, like many artists are. So I really wanted to honor Freddie with a performance that I hope did him proud.”

“Well you did just that.” Jenny told me.

“Thank you. And I’m glad you managed to catch that Jenny, you truly are the Masked Singer detective.” She pointed out to me and that’s when last season’s winner LeAnne said.

“I grew up listening, to both you and Queen. And—I can say for a fact that you definitely did Freddie Mercury proud. And it’s good that you and the remaining members of Queen continue his legacy. Sure it’s not the same as it was before but you don’t refer to him just in the past. But in the present.”

“Thank you LeAnne dear.” I thanked her as I blew her a quick kiss.

“I just gotta say (Y/n). You absolutely crushed the choreography with Janet’s song for your first performance as well as your wrecking ball routine. I think those were my favorite performances of yours, will we expect any of that once you start your solo tours back up?” Nicole asked me.  I laughed along with the audience.

“You never know.”

“Well it has truly been an honor to have you on our show. Now then ladies and gentlemen, to sing for us one last time give it up. For the artist formerly known as the Lioness, the Rock Angel (Y/n) Kline!” the audience applauded and I sung “The Show must go on” one final time for the audience.  Putting my heart and soul into the lyrics before finally belting out that last note in a different key before punching my fist into the air and sending a kiss towards the heavens for Freddie.

After the show all ended and a few days passed by, I did a livestream on my Instagram as well as my Youtube page telling my fans that I was indeed the Lioness and just talking about my experience on the show. Of course Bri, Rog and Adam blew up my phone with calls/texts/DM’s (mostly Adam. Bri and Rog still don’t quite get DM’s) telling me why I lied and did that show in the first place.

I gave them my straight answer that I wanted to have a bit of fun and do some type of performance and show the audience a whole new side of me when it came to performing.

I was just about to go to bed after bidding Georgie goodnight (he had to work a late nightshift tonight) when my phone rang. I picked it up to see it was an unknown number from London.  Curiously, I pressed the answer button and said.

“Hello?”

‘Sister dear.’ My heart stopped and I sat down on the bed.

“Brother mine?” I choked out.

‘Hey love. It’s uhh—been awhile, hadn’t it?’

“Try 20 years yah rotter.” I teased as we both softly chuckled. “What—how…..”

‘Laura sent me a video of you on the Masked Singer. The American one. You were beautiful up there.’ I placed my hand over my heart. ‘Although I do wish you had won. That—boy band person couldn’t hold a candle to you.’

“Oi now, Nick Lachey did just as well as I did.” I softly lectured him.

‘Well I still feel like you should’ve won.’ I smiled solemnly.

“Was it just because of the Masked Singer that you wanted to call me?”

‘That and…..’ he trailed off.  I lay against my bed and softly spoke to him.

“Deacy?”

‘I…….’ he sighed heavily. ‘I know I haven’t been the best at keeping contact.’

“John.” For the first time since……probably back when I was an intern for Miami all the way back in the autumn of 1980, I called him by his first name (unless I referred to him him by his full name did I call him John, most of the time it was Deacy).  “I get it. Plus my schedule has been quite hectic. And you—you’ve been busy yourself. After all Queen would’ve fallen decades ago without your financial brain.” We both shared another laugh.

From then one we talked pretty much the entire night up until it was almost 6am my time before we finally said our goodbyes. It was sweet to hear from him once again after so long.  Now whether or not I’ll ever hear from him again, I don’t know.

But at least I know my Brother Mine is still keeping his eye out for me, in one way or another.

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

Top 5 Most Hated Characters

As y’all can see, this week’s T5F is a request sent in by anon. I picked it because I guess at the time I thought it would be fun to explore some of TWDG’s least popular, and most hated, characters while also taking into account characters that I can’t stand. 

These are characters that the vast majority of us don’t like or downright despise for many different reasons. None of us are going out of our ways to defend most of these bastards, and anyone who is I get the impression they’re doing so for the sake of being Different™... though while looking around for info about these characters and what people were saying about them, I did find myself in some odd places.... come across, eh... odd fanart. 

But I guess this is the part where I say this is all in good fun and if you happen to be a legit stan of any of these people, that’s cool. Maybe you can answer some of my questions as to why??

5. Nate 

Okay, when I said that I found myself in odd places, it turns out that Nate actually has a bit of a fanbase. It’s not big or anything, from what I can tell, but big enough for me to question why because I was under the impression that we all agreed that this dude sucks.

Seriously, I would’ve put him higher on this list if I hadn’t discovered this handful of people making fanart for him and claiming him as a comfort character. While I find that an odd choice, you do whatever makes you feel comforted, y’know? Just would like to understand why. 

As for the rest of us, he’s terrible. Every time I go back to 400 days, he’s someone I never look forward to seeing. I’ve even tried not getting in the truck with him while playing Russell’s story, but in true Telltale fashion, you’re forced to drive along with this creep. 

Red flags start going off when Russell’s sharing his story about his previous group, something you can tell left some trauma with him, and Nate is just weirdly fixated on the girl Russell liked. Like yeah okay dude, I get it, it’s the apocalypse and you haven’t had any action for a while but oh my god. 

Then the whole walker thing that almost gets Russell chomped is annoying. Oh, and how could I forget about how it’s implied that he attacked the old couple before and was there to finish them off, which he does no matter what and it’s not great. 

Hell, he even uses the line Russell gave him but it’s worse because crazy eyes. And if you don’t say anything, Nate murders them right there without a thought and then continues to be a real creep. Fuck this guy. 

As the wise Eddie once said, “I don’t what that guy in my life, man!” 

4. The Stranger

Hey, have I ever mentioned how much this dude sucks? 

I don’t even have to tell you why he’s on this list. We all know the obvious reasons-- manipulated and kidnapped Clementine, which caused Lee to get bit by a walker and fucking die. No one here is white-knighting for this dipshit. 

Sure, it sucks what the Stranger went through. He lost his family and that would be enough to drive anyone up the wall. I mean, just look at Kenny. But this dude, okay. Look. Listen. I can only feel so bad for you when you lost your son on a hunting trip that your wife told you not to go on, then when you went looking for him, you literally left the car unlocked and running for anyone to come across. Then you come back and gasp. So your wife leaves you for being a moron... then when you find her dead, you cut off her head and keep it like a damn bowling ball because...??

At least that’s what I get from it. The writers probably should’ve done a better job with explaining what the hell happened but y’know. 

That’s not the only reason no one likes this guy. Oh no, you also add to the pile that the Stranger himself is dull. As a character, the dude is just.... boring. And I get that’s probably what they were going for with the whole “I’m just a guy, but you ruined my life and made me this way.” 

However, when you set him up the way you did with the talks over the walkie and the stalking, I was expecting a bit more personality outta this loaf of soggy bread. But no... boring yet crazy. Interesting combo and I’m afraid it doesn’t work. 

3. Larry

Larry?? On a list of most hated characters?? Nooo...

Yeah, surprise. Larry also sucks. Stop the presses. 

Larry is a pain in the ass to deal with for two episodes, constantly belittling the people around him and treating his daughter like shit. Oh, and don’t forget how he behaves towards Lee even if you try to be as nice as possible. Nope, he doesn’t care, he still thinks Lee is garbage and will continue threatening to reveal Lee’s secret to the group. Who cares if that could fuck up the dynamic and endanger the group? Larry sure doesn’t. 

Until the very end, this dude is just a splinter in the foot. By the time you get to the meat locker and he has a heart attack, you’re not gonna save him because you think he’ll be better if he survives. No, you’re attempting to save him for Lilly and Clementine’s sake, and if you don’t even care about that, you siding with Mr. Family Man to smash his head in. 

Not only is he a soiled diaper, he also don’t have much personality outside of asshole. He has maybe two moments where he’s shown to be just a bit chill? I mean, Lilly tells us that he has a lot of pain and that’s why he’s like this.... but that doesn’t excuse his behavior. 

Oh, and can’t forget that apparently he was obsessed with Lilly leaving the lights on so he let the power get cut, so Lilly couldn’t eat ice cream and had to let her hair air dry like a heathen. Unforgivable. 

So yeah, fuck Larry. 

2. Troy

Ugh, Troy. Fuck this guy. 

No really, out of all TWDG characters, this dude and my #1 pick are my most hated. Can’t stand Troy and the only reason I didn’t do a tie for #1 is because for a split second, Troy does show a tiny bit of humanity when Carver is beating down Carver, but blink and you’ll miss it.

Which had me a little concerned to find a handful of posts about having crushes on Troy and drawing fanart but.... again, I guess you do you? And if you can, please explain why because I honestly don’t understand. 

Just looking at the screenshot of him annoys him. He’s got one of those punchable faces, y’know? 

Anyway, when playing as Clementine, I’m always worried that he’s gonna pop up outta no where and grab her by the neck like he does later in ep3, even though I’ve played s2 a bunch to know that he’s not going to. 

But hell, he doesn’t need any excuse to smack anyone around, and there are a handful of times he can really hurt Clem depending on her choices. 

Not great, dude. 

Can’t say I’m too sorry that Jane shot your dick off. 

1. Badger

Yeah, you guys remember Badger. Y’know.... the man who murdered Mariana then laughed about it, claiming that he enjoyed watching her head explode and would do it again and again if he could? 

That’s what puts him at #1. He may not have the most screen time like Larry or Troy, but when he is around, he’s fucking awful.

He gets joy from killing Mariana, like it’s some sort of sick thrill for him to go around murdering children and other innocent people. 

Remember Francine? Caught her and used her as bait to try and get Javi to come down, and even went as far as to have some fingers cut off. Like, he gets off on destroying people, entire communities.

Shit, he seems to even get off to his own beat down. 

He’s fucking gross and outta everyone on this list, I haven’t found a single person being like “Yeah, he’s garbage but I like him kinda?” like no, you’re such garbage that even the Different™ crowd don’t want you. 

Fuck Badger. 

By the way, if you’ve never had Conrad kill him in your game, I suggest looking it up. It’s pretty good. Gives Conrad a little bit of closure after what happened to Francine, as well as give Javi some closure for Mari’s murder. 

Not a single soul wept for you, Badger. 

---

Dishonorable Mentions

-Joan. She’s boring, forgettable, and no one is out here gushing over her because most of the time, we can’t even remember her name. -Danny from Vince’s story in 400 Days. Y’know, the dude going to prison because he was convicted of SA. I’ll never understand why people go with him over Justin. Justin sucks, too, but not the same level Danny does.  -Lilly in S4. Ugh. That’s a whole other topic for another day. -Arvo, though I guess he has a bit of a following, too

---

Well there ya go. Do you agree or disagree with any of my choices for this list? Or have anything to add? I’m always down to chat.

Have any suggestions for future T5F’s? Feel free to send ‘em in! :D

---

Next week’s T5F Top 5 BROTPs

[potionsprefect]

Not One But Two

Pairings: Ethan Ramsey x Victoria Clarke

Word Count: 1.6k

Summary: The baby scan throws them a little surprise

Rating: General Audiences

Category: Fluff

A/N: I wasn’t going to make this a series but after @queencarb asked if there was gonna be one, I couldn’t resist! Thank you girl for the inspiration ❤️

First part here

The morning sun was shining through the windows, lighting up everything in its path. The birds were chirping softly outside the window and inside the large master bedroom, a couple laid contently amongst the duvet.

“Do you reckon we could call in sick and just spend the day in bed?” Victoria asked.

A rich chuckle sounded from near her belly. Her husband had his head on her stomach, stroking her soft skin and pressing kisses to it every so often.

“We could, but then that would look really suspicious when we turn up for our scan.” Ethan replied.

“Who would ever question the Ramsey’s?”

“Anyone who wants to have their privileges revoked.” Ethan shrugged.

“One look from you and they’d be off running. I remember what it was like during my intern year.” Victoria laughed.

“All of them ran, apart from you.” Ethan said turning his face towards her.

“Not even scare mongering from the great Ethan Ramsey himself could make me run away from him.” Victoria smiled, running a hand through his hair.

“And I’m glad you didn’t.” Ethan moved further up her body to press a chaste kiss to her lips. “Because now we’re happily married and you’re growing our beautiful little baby.” Ethan caressed her slightly swollen stomach.

“I never realised how content you’ve become.” Victoria smiled.

“Being with the right woman will do that to a man.” Ethan smiled kissing Victoria, stroking her hair. “Pregnancy suits you.”

“You’re flattering me.”

“It’s not flattery if it’s true. Maybe you should become pregnant all the time.” Ethan ran his thumb across her lips.

“Are you saying I wasn’t well suited before?” Victoria teased.

“I’m saying pregnancy brings out the beauty in you. And you can’t argue with that.” Ethan replied.

“I’ll take your word for it.” Victoria said.

“You better Mrs Ramsey.”

“Of course Mr Ramsey.”

— — — — —

Since they found out she was pregnant, Ethan had limited Victoria’s tasks in the hospital. If there was a trauma, she was only allowed to treat the green and yellow tags. She was exempt from any x rays, scans and infectious patients and was allowed regular breaks.

Victoria had tried to tell Ethan she wasn’t made of glass and could still carry out her normal duties. They agreed to disagree on their opinions on traumas but came to an mutual agreement that Victoria could have regular breaks, particularly because her back and feet were constantly killing her.

“There you are Sienna.” Victoria said heading towards her friend.

“What’s up?”

“I need to run upstairs for something, could you send this to the lab for me?”

“No problem. Fancy lunch later on?”

“Sounds great. I’m sorry I’ve been a bit down lately.”

“You don’t need to apologise! We all have our low moments. Although for you I’m guessing there will be a lot of high ones soon.” Sienna smirked glancing at Victoria’s stomach.

“How did you...?”

“The signs were all there, although I properly suspected when I saw you dashing into the bathroom earlier.” Sienna chuckled.

Victoria stared eyes wide at her friend. Although her morning sickness was not as severe as she expected, she thought she had avoided anyone noticing. Apart from Ethan of course.

“How far along?” Sienna asked quietly, making sure no one was listening.

“I found out last week, I’ve got my appointment in 15 minutes.” Victoria smiled.

“Ahh! I’m so happy for you!” Sienna squealed giving Victoria a hug. “Don’t worry I won’t tell the others.”

“Thanks Si. I’ve gotta head upstairs.” Victoria replied heading off down the hall.

“Good luck!” Sienna smiled.

Victoria headed down the corridor and up to OB where she checked in and waited for her name to be called. She text Ethan telling her where she was but didn’t get a reply.

Another 15 minutes had passed and Ethan still hadn’t turned up. She tried texting him and even calling him but he didn’t pick up. Where was he?

“Victoria? Would you like to come through?” Janice Myers, head of OB called out to her with a smile.

Victoria took one last look down the corridor and then followed Janice into one of the exams rooms.

“So how have you been?” Janice asked as she took a seat at her desk whilst Victoria sat on the exam bed.

“Not too bad. The morning sickness isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I’m not throwing up as often as I thought I would.” Victoria replied.

“It’s always different in every case, some women have it bad, others barely have any. I guess you’re lucky.” Janice replied.

“Very lucky.” Victoria chuckled.

“Is Ethan not with you?”

“There must be an emergency downstairs. I’ll find him later.”

“Ok let’s get started.”

Victoria lied down on the bed and lifted up her top as Janice put some of the gel on her stomach. She placed the wand gently to the gel and on the screen flickered a black and white image.

“There we go.” Janice smiled moving the screen so Victoria could see.

Victoria smiled at the screen, her eyes glistening with emotion. She could just make out the tiny figure.

“I’d say you’re about eight weeks, healthy size, everything looks good.” Janice smiled.

“That’s a relief. That’s all I could hope for.” Victoria said.

“Indeed.” Janice said looking at the screen. She suddenly furrowed her brows and looked at the screen more closely.

“What is it?” Victoria asked noticing the change in her demeanour.

“See for yourself.” Janice chuckled slightly pointing to the screen.

Victoria scanned the screen, looking for anything that would’ve caused Janice to take a second look. She then saw it, and her eyes widened in surprise.

“Is that...” Victoria trailed off.

“A second heartbeat.” Janice smiled.

Victoria stared at the tiny little heartbeat then darted her eyes back to the original one. “Wow.”

Janice laughed slightly. “I have to admit, I never believed Ethan would marry, but being the father of twins? Now that is something I can’t wait to see.”

“Double the trouble for the both of us.” Victoria laughed a little. “I thought twins meant the morning sickness would be worse.”

“It is usually but I guess you’re even luckier than you realise. Both babies are looking healthy and are at a decent size. I’ll print out some photos and a sheet of things to look out for over the next few weeks. Are you taking any vitamins?”

“No I was going to pick some up on my way home.”

“I’ll write you a prescription. That way you can avoid any unwanted looks or gossip.” Janice smiled.

“Thank you.” Victoria smiled back.

Victoria headed out the room and back downstairs still shocked from the news that she was having twins. Ethan is going to kick himself that he missed that she thought.

By the end of the year, there wouldn’t be just one baby in their lives, there would be two. The thought of that made her feel giddy with excitement.

Victoria scanned the corridors trying to spot her husband. He wasn’t in any of the filled rooms nor was he by the nurses station. Victoria then decided to head to his office and wait for him there. She fired a quick text to Sienna.

Rain check on lunch? Need to tell Ethan something x

Sienna immediately replied:

No worries, hope the appointment went ok. Just dealt with a massive trauma so would’ve been delayed anyway! X

Victoria headed into Ethan’s office and sat down in his chair. She text Ethan telling him where she was and waited.

Her eyes scanned the room, his office was bare with only a few additions over the years. On his desk was a picture of them at their wedding, smiling at each other as they did their first dance. Next to it was a single photo of Victoria, grinning as she held a drink in her hand.

Victoria smiled at the photos, knowing Ethan would soon be adding a third photo to the collection. Or possibly a fourth if he wanted one photo of each baby.

The sound of the door opening and closing made her look up and there stood Ethan, looking panicked and angry with himself.

“Vic I am so sorry. We had a major trauma come in and when I thought it was over, they just kept rolling in.” Ethan said breathlessly making his way over to her and kissing her forehead as she stood up.

“Ethan it’s fine. I know how stressful it can be working in the ER. It’s ok.” Victoria ran her fingers across the lines of his face, trying to relive some of the tension he was feeling.

“But I missed the scan! Was everything ok?”

“You might want to sit down.” Victoria directed him to the chair. If he heard the news she had to share standing up, he’d probably faint.

“What is it? Is everything ok?” Ethan asked looking up at her.

“See for yourself.” Victoria reached into her pocket and pulled out the scan. She handed it to Ethan.

Ethan directed his eyes between the scan and Victoria unsure what to say. He could feel his heart pounding - whether it was the adrenaline from treating over 30 casualties or from staring at the scan he didn’t know.

Twins.

“Ethan?” Victoria’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

“This is...” Ethan trailed off.

“Unexpected?”

“I was going to say amazing.” Ethan smiled.

“That’s not the reaction I had when I first saw them.” Victoria laughed a little. “Double the trouble for us.”

“Even when they’re on their third detention in a week.” Ethan chuckled as he stood up and wrapped his arms around her.

Victoria sighed against his chest as Ethan’s hands ran up and down her back.

“Looks like we’re going to have to buy double of everything.” Victoria looked up at him.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Ethan pulled her in for a kiss, lingering for a few moments before he then pressed a loving kiss to her stomach.

— — — — —

Labour fic up next!

Hope you enjoy this!

Tag list: @ohchoices @openheartfan @queencarb @genevievemd @iemcpbchoices @choicesaddict5 @schnitzelbutterfingers @alina-yol-ramsey @i-bloody-love-drake-walker

[kaimelia]

heartbeats (ch 6)

a/n: this took a super long time, but here’s the next chapter! I can’t make any promises as to when the next one will be out, but I hope you enjoy this in the meantime! <3

here's chapter 5 if you need a quick refresh CHAPTER 5 

and the other chapters are linked on my masterpost

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

"Amelia? Could you bring me my computer?" Amelia groaned and rolled her eyes, picking the laptop off the coffee table and entering the bedroom. She smiled at her husband, handing him the computer and adjusting the pillows behind him. "Thank you." She sat down next to his legs and fixed the blanket over him.

"Scout and I are going out with Mer and Ellis for lunch, will you be fine here?" He nodded. "And if you need anything, you'll call me, right?"

"I'll be fine, Amelia. I'm a week post-op with no complications; you can leave me alone for more than an hour." She sighed, squeezing his leg softly.

"I know. I'm just worried that you'll disappear on me. You'd think that as a doctor, I'd be less scared all of the time." Link placed his hand over hers, cringing as he moved too quickly, and a sharp pain spread across his abdomen. "What, what happened? Are you okay?"

"Just sore, Amelia. I'll be fine here; you go spend the afternoon with Meredith."

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

"I just need everything to get better, you know? I mean, I knew surgery wasn't going to fix everything, but I thought it would be some sort of relief, but he's not feeling better yet." Amelia reached to her side, picking up a leftover fry from her son's plate and glancing over at him. He and Ellis had eaten quickly and scurried off to the playscape at the park, chasing each other up and down the structure.

"I thought they got a good amount of the cancer out?" The neurosurgeon shrugged, sighing heavily as she watched her son go down the slide, meeting his cousin at the bottom.

"They did. I just want Link to get better; being a good wife and mother while my husband is dying in front of me is getting pretty difficult," she muttered, taking the last fry from the plate. "Scout just has so many questions about everything that I can't answer. He doesn't understand that we just don't know some things, and that doesn't mean that it's bad; it just means that we don't have answers. And, I just want my husband back."

"Things still aren't going well between you two?"

"It's better since his surgery, but he's just not the same person anymore." She looked off to her side, where Scout was screaming happily as Ellis pushed him on the swing. "Link doesn't chase Scout around the house anymore, he doesn't hold me as we fall asleep, he doesn't wake up early to make waffles anymore, it's just all of these little things that I never appreciated, but now I miss them so much. It's like, even though he's still there, the person he was is gone." Meredith reached out, placing her hand over Amelia's folded ones in comfort as the neurosurgeon sniffled softly. "I want my husband back, Mer."

"I know. And I'm so sorry, Amelia, and I'm always here for whatever I can do." Amelia sat up as Scout came running towards the table after a gust of wind, his hair messy and his cheeks red from the cold.

"You want your coat?" He nodded, sitting down at the picnic table as she pulled it out of her purse.

"Momma?"

"Mhm?"

"Can we go to Disney for my birthday?" Amelia's eyes widened, her mouth falling open as she realized.

"Your mom will have to talk to your dad," Meredith stood up, helping Scout to pull on his coat. "Go play again; you can't leave Ellis out there by herself!" He jumped off of the bench, running back over to the playscape.

"Oh my god," Amelia muttered, dropping her head into her hands. "His birthday is next week; I totally forgot." Meredith sat down next to her sister, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"Hey, you have a week. I'll help you get him presents or plan a party, whatever you need. And, you can give him an IOU on Disney; I'm sure he'll understand."

"I'm a terrible mother. I can't keep doing this, Meredith." She jolted up once her phone rang beside her, Link's name appearing on screen. "Link? What's up?" Meredith watched as Amelia listened, her face falling as she stood quickly, grabbing her purse and shoving her phone down.

"Is everything okay?"

"Link's in a lot of pain; he said he's calling an ambulance, and I have to go meet him at the hospital," she breathed heavily, calling for Scout. "I shouldn't have left him alone, he was in pain this morning, and he said it was just sore, but I thought it was something more, but he told me to go, and I listened, but I should've trusted my gut and stayed, and I-" Meredith placed her hands on Amelia's shoulders, shaking her back and forth lightly.

"Okay. Breathe, Amelia. You go to the hospital; I'll bring Elle and Scout to daycare and come find you, okay?"

"Okay."

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

"What the hell happened?" Amelia rushed into the trauma room, taking her place at Link's side and instinctively grabbing his hand, her free hand resting on his head, brushing his thin hair down. Richard turned towards them.

"It appears that you have an infection from surgery, and it's become severe. We're going to start you on a round of antibiotics and hope that the infection gets wiped out."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then we'll decide treatment as needed. A nurse will come in soon to get you started on antibiotics, okay?" Link nodded, thanking their coworker as he exited the room.

"You should've called me sooner, Link." He looked over at her and sighed.

"I didn't want you to freak out, and I didn't think it was a big deal. I've been in pain since surgery; it comes and goes." Her chin quivered as she wheeled a stool over, sitting down beside him. "Amelia, I'm going to be okay." She shook her head as her eyes welled up with tears, dropping his hand and folding hers in her lap.

"Link, I can't lose you; I need you to tell me when something's wrong." He reached out for her arm as her voice cracked and tears began to fall from her eyes, but pulled it away as she flinched at his touch. They both froze when the doors opened, and a nurse walked through, making polite small talk as she put the antibiotics into his I.V. and started the medication. The room was quiet once she left.

"Amelia," he started, stopping once she held out her hand.

"No, I just need a minute." She pushed herself up, quickly leaving the trauma room, running her hand through her hair as she hurried out.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Jo stopped her, and Amelia's chest sank at her friend's joyful voice.

"Link's in the E.R., maybe you can go stay with him; I just can't right now," Amelia muttered, continuing her path down the hallway as Jo hurried in the opposite direction. "Mer!"

"Hey, they're checked into daycare; what's happening?"

"He's got some sort of infection, and I need to go puke right now." Meredith followed her into the bathroom, quickly grabbing the neurosurgeon's hair back as she heaved into the toilet, her shoulders shaking as the silence of the bathroom was filled by her sobs and the sound of her head banging against the wall of the bathroom stall.

"Amelia," Meredith sighed in desperation, pulling Amelia's head against her chest, embracing her tightly.

"I think he's gonna die, Mer; I really think he might die."

"Shh," she hushed, running her hands down Amelia's hair. "Can I help you get into an on-call room? I think you need a minute to relax." She hesitantly stood, using Meredith's arm for balance as they walked down the hall. Meredith pushed open a door, scanning the room to make sure that it was empty before leading Amelia inside. "Alright, just come lay down for a little while, okay?"

"You'll wake me up if something happens with Link, right?"

"Of course." Her eyes followed Amelia as she laid down on the bed, settling into the firm mattress, and her eyes quickly shutting as she fell asleep. Meredith stood and left, closing the door softly, pulling her phone out of her pocket, and dialing a number she rarely called. "Hey, Carolyn, it's Meredith. Amelia needs you."

[steve0discusses]

S5 Ep 3: Apdnarg is Really Hard to Spell

 Yo guys, people are getting vaccinated, the sun is parting through the clouds, and I felt so nice that I even stopped listening to quite so many throwback 00′s BTS mashups (and yet I keep clicking on these dissonant catastrophes thinking “this time it’s got to be better. This time they’ll figure it out.” and like, no. Turns out you can’t match Brittany’s Toxic with BTS’ Black Swan. You can’t do that.)

This must be a sign that things are getting better. If anything, it means my personal tastes are improving. I mean I only clicked on like 3 “Dark Academia” Playlists where I could pretend I’m some sort of spooky witch in an abandoned library with a bad music player and basic taste in classical music (like can we ban Satie from Youtube for a little while?). Hell, I might even do a prompt update to this blog!

Yeah, you heard me, I’m actually going to stay ahead of the update schedule for Yugioh Abridged (maybe. I haven’t actually watched cuz of spoilers, I just noticed the thumbnail pop up on Youtube and was like “Damn it, they came out of hiatus??? I got hurry UP.”)

Anyway, speaking of the sky parting.

I’ll have you know my bro said this is actually more like a circumcision and it was one of the worst thing I have ever heard.

We get a chance to take in this lineup of confusing and varied character designs, and Joey. who is...still Joey.

The animators probably had to hold a strike in order for them to put Yugi in the audience, lets be real. There are TOO MANY PEOPLE in this shot and one is wearing a turban where you draw every single wrap. I hope those artists charged by the line.

Tea has a subplot where she’s just very frustrated with everyone she knows. They have been traveling together for like many weeks and got trapped in a foreign country so I get it. But at the same time, it’s kind of hard to picture Tea with female friends.

Because right now you got this 12 year old child, the other duelist who does not care about anything besides cards, and Kaiba’s 3 dragon cards that we’ve all collectively decided are female.

Hell it’s almost like the writers are asking themselves why Tea is here. Maybe they forgot. There’s no more ghosts to bus, no more people to knock out with her ass with random Olympic feats. Tea’s just sidelining.

(read more under the cut)

Mokuba is a itty bit bit taller this season, and so I guess that means he can legally climb on top of the cherry picker in order to give a riveting speech.

Really says a lot about Mokuba that he is so unphased about talking to, I dunno...an entire planet of people. Kind of a shame we never see this courage from Mokuba used for anything other than talking really, really big and giving everyone around him a really hard time.

Mokuba takes a moment to dunk on Yugi Muto, as is Kaiba tradition.

And then introduce the first pair of duelists, which obviously must be between the few people in this tournament that we actually know and care about.

Thankfully, in between last episode and this episode, Yugi has figured out who his own Grandpa is. This is a relief, because Yugi is such a mess, that I was fully convinced it would take over half a season for him to recognize it. I mean how long did it take him to figure out he shares a body with a ghost? Like half a season?

Instead Yugi recovered gracefully from not recognizing his grandpa, but it’s not like he bothered to tell anyone else, so the rest of our cast is just gonna be like “Is he my hairdresser? The guy who delivers my mail? Who is this guy who made absolutely no significant changes to his outfit or voice?”

Like sometimes this show goes full Spongebob silly kid’s show and you never know when to take it seriously or not. They might be sacrificing the entire cast next episode. I really don’t know. But for now their big concern is who is grandpa??? Like an innocent card version of “Are you my Mother?”

Faced with public speaking, Yugi decides to have a melt down.

We have seen him face monsters, we’ve seen him on TV dozens of times, he’s been in multiple competitions...but give a speech? Of course he can’t do that. The kid doesn’t attend enough school to know how to do that. Them’s learning skills.

And that was when a newly assembled wife-jet spliced through the sky like a souped up razer scooter and deposited 1 fully equipped Seto Kaiba in a Buzz Lightyear jetsuit.

THE RECOVERY.

Seto always watching over his Brother, ready to save this awkward party if it kills him (and it really should, that suit is held together by two seat-belts), making sure to get on that platform before Yugi starts going off about how he’s half an Ancient Egyptian. (Ah, life before social media. You could just be hella famous and also half a dead dude and people would just not know. I kinda miss the time before I knew literally everything about everyone.)

Please admire how close those flames are to setting Mokuba’s heavily hairsprayed mane completely alight. It would be an unforgettable spectacle.

These were absolutely just random ass jet packs that Gozaburo Kaiba made to kill hell tons of people, right? Like Seto found it in the family cabin, clutched to the heart of some crispy fried corpse and was like “neat! Mokuba! I found a cool toy!” and just plucked that thing out of that skeleton’s clutches and has been flying around for months?

Like this is Seto Kaiba’s Butter Glider, right?

Seriously what type of vehicle license do you need for one of these things? RIP My ‘Seto only has a scooter license’ headcanon.

Which I’m only even thinking about because I’ve had to try and make an appt with the DMV for days to get a freakin REAL ID. I went to sleep in 2019 and I could fly on a plane. I woke up in 2021 and it’s like “Want one last screw you?” and just...can 2020 please stop screwing me over? It’s March.

Anyway, the Jet is removed soon after, so no, this is not part of his new outfit. He goes right back to his Post-S4-Trauma-Normcore.

After wrestling this competition out of his brother’s hands and confusing everyone in the audience, Roland must have gotten the memo to cut the microphone before Seto got too excited and we were quickly ushered on to the next stage of the tournament.

One sec...the BTS Mashup playlist I just clicked on did a Black Swan X 7 rings mashup and it’s the worst thing my ears have ever heard.

Holy crap. I had to actually turn down my volume. Like...Ariana Grande already has music that has way too many overlapping singing parts on it--and then lets just stick a 52-person boy band on top? That’ll fix it. Yeah. Go ahead.

Wow. Even I had to change the song and you know how much I enjoy pop culture mistakes.

Spot the Mickey but like a million times easier because it’s a Massive Dick Shaped Dragon.

Yep. That’s my grocery shopping outfit. Except maybe not a lab coat and a duel disk. Wish I had a duel disk, that would make social distancing just a hell ton earlier. Just a “Yo, only one person in checkout, please” and then bap them on the head with a propelled discuss/hologram.

Anyway, Grocery shopping/Doctor man dueled the Purple Hair Boy, and considering that Purple Hair got screen time and shook Yugi’s hand once--I think that Doctor man doesn’t stand a freakin chance.

Good. I hate him.

Also, every time he breathes he’s gonna fog up his glasses. I have experience in this area. He can’t read his own cards in the same way I can’t read my phone if I’m in the refrigerated aisle.

So the way this tournament works, is everyone has to sit in the stadium to watch the show. Kinda like showing up to a football stadium just to watch a recorded TV monitor...but then again...that is how it feels to watch a football game at a football stadium when it’s live (at least with the tickets I usually get.)

And as we watch Grandpa waiting for his competitor, we find out that his competitor (Joey) is too busy eating snacks to give him the time of day.

Why do cartoon hot dogs always have lettuce? Is that seriously supposed to be relish? Or is there a place in the world where you put lettuce on your hot dog?

Sorry, bro has just informed of his favorite hot dog order, which is absolutely terrible so I will share it with you: a Five Guys hot dog with ketchup, mustard, pickle relish, onions, mushrooms, pickled peppers, and you guessed it--topped with freakin lettuce.

My own kin. How am I over 30 and just finding out that my baby brother thinks it’s normal to walk into a restaurant with normal god-fearing law-abiding people and order lettuce and mushrooms on a hot dog?

I have fully failed him.

The rest of this episode is watching both Joey Wheeler and Mokuba have a shared panic attack while Seto does freakin nothing.

Please remember that Seto has both a jetpack and a dragon wife plane and could have easily solved this problem. But nah.

Then again, Seto Kaiba has given this crew so MANY rides, that maybe he’s tired of being the Soccer Mom for the team?

Like they don’t actually say this episode, but Seto was the one in charge of like...this entire place, do you think he made the 2 for 1 special just to get Joey where it hurts the most? Or does it actually not take any subterfuge to screw Joey Wheeler because he’s just naturally this way?

Like Mokuba wasn’t there when Joey was told “stay right here, and then we will all go together to fight Dartz” and Joey was like “I’mma save Mai from herself although she told me not to!” and then he Hella Died. But, Mokuba did see the result, AKA, Joey’s dead body being carried on the back of Tristan. Maybe Mokuba never realized that Joey died because he went out of his way to be late?

Lets do a tally of every time I can recall with my dodgy memory that Joey was threatened to be DQ’d/pretty much was DQ’d either by his own fault or no fault of his own

-When he wasn’t allowed to go on the boat to Murder Island because he was a stupid nobody kid who did not have a dueling glove

-When he wasn’t actually supposed to be in Pegasus’ tourney and was, in fact, secretly using half of Yugi’s entrance ticket the entire time

-when Bandit Keith stole the ticket that Joey got from Yugi so then Joey had to borrow Mai’s ticket although she had just used it so it really shouldn't have counted. Because, really anyone could have just piggy backed off of each other’s ticket until the whole boat went through that castle.

-When his account was hacked to get entered into Kaiba’s tourney when Kaiba very clearly told him he could not apply solely because he was Joey Wheeler.

-When he was late to his sister’s eye surgery because he got mugged by Marik’s Rare Hunters, so she almost refused to do the surgery.

-When Joey got possessed by Marik, and as Marik, threatened to murder everyone else in the tournament including both of the Kaiba brother’s who’s tournament it was, and then chained himself to Yugi Muto to throw both of them to the bottom of the ocean.

-I think there was a point when he threatened to attack Kaiba in Kaiba’s own tourney while not possessed? Like several times?

-when he got struck by Lightning and almost did not stand up fast enough after being struck by lightning, which is apparently a type of DQ in Duel Monsters.

-When he tried to save Mai from getting hit by a fireball, but then Yugi did it instead, and then so many people were standing on the dueling platform that Kaiba couldn’t possibly DQ them all.

-When he entered the restricted area of the blimp in order to hassle Kaiba into landing the Blimp, which Kaiba did not do.

-When Marik killed Joey before Joey could press the “go” button on his duel disk to play the card that should have won Joey the match.

-When he was dueling a lawyer in a digital universe but then the dice was like...weighted? So Noah had to walk over and be like “The hell is this weighted dice? This is my perfect digital world? How did you even do that?” and then Joey won because the match was no longer legit.

-When Joey yelled at Noah too much and so Noah turned Joey to stone for being a rude ass spectator

-When Mai was like “Wheeler and Valon, listen closely: do NOT murder each other” and then Joey did a murder on Valon so she was like “I guess I have no choice, I was very clear” and killed Joey straight up.

-When Joey decided to block Seto’s fireballs while Joey Wheeler WAS a playing card, somehow disrespecting both Dartz and Seto Kaiba at the same time.

-When Joey was playing cards but then got absorbed into a giant Leviathan and basically couldn’t play anymore after that.

-There’s probably hell ton of S0 stuff I just haven’t seen yet.

-This episode

And Joey runs fast for a montage of wacky things that really have no business being in a theme park. Things like this:

(remember when Bakura almost died from a rock that ended up being a balloon? It comes full circle.)

The stuff that the Kaiba brother’s think is normal and fun.

Anyway Joey fights off a bunch of hologram snakes and bats and everyone is like “Should we tell him it’s just holograms???” And it’s like wow, guys, how many times have these ‘holograms’ straight up murdered Joey Wheeler and everyone else on this cast? Too many? Because I have a google doc with so many deaths on it. 7,805,844,048, to be exact.

Anyway, he gets there with five seconds to spare and Mokuba’s like “well at least you were still entertaining while we filmed you in front of a live audience being a total spaz for 15 minutes straight, so I’ll let you go.”

Grandpa and Joey start playing, Joey completely oblivious that this is just an older Muto, while Hawkins walks up awkwardly and is like “hey guys. I’m so sorry about this.”

(welcome to my font choices, for those new here, I have to make weird font color choices to make sure it’s legible for the colorblind and also for the non-colorblind. This one is not much contrast, so I may change it up in the future, but for now, this is Grandpa Muto’s new font. I apologize to every graphic designer reading this. Please don’t tell anyone who has ever hired me for graphic design about this blog.)

What’s funny about this exchange is that after they find out that Yugi’s Grandpa is Apdnarg (HOLY my brain cannot get around the spelling for that, and I will not change it in the caps. I cannot do a ‘pdn’ ever again), they don’t stand on his side of the field or anything. Hawkins is legit Solomon Muto’s only fan during this exchange and like...damn. Way not to back your Grandpa, Yugi.

Yugi immediately strides up to Mokuba to non-confrontation-ally inform him that he has stepped over a line and Mokuba is like “what are these things you say called ‘lines?’”

According to Mokuba, Solomon Muto begged him to be in the competition so he could relive his glory days (glory days making no sense here, because the game has only been released for the past 15 years, so glory days is like...the before times that can only be referring to disgraced archeologists and Pegasus ((who is, in his own way...a disgraced archeologist, too))) and Mokuba was like

“You trained Yugi Muto, right? Hey that’s good enough for me. This drama is gold. People will eat it up. Hell yes. Don’t be afraid to abduct him a little bit. Maybe trap a couple people in a digital hellscape for a little while? Now we go by Pegasus house rules here, so fire as many lasers as you want, but just make sure not to hit anyone in the face. Oh man, we are going to be swimming in cash. Love it, Muto Sr, love it.”

But I dunno, I feel like Grandpa won’t make it past next episode. It is Joey. We kinda need him to make it past Ep 4 of the arc. If Grandpa Muto becomes the new Joey Wheeler, that will be a weird transition for this show to make.

But that’s all for today, as always, here is the link to read these in chrono order becuase there’s SO MANY that you don’t need to read backwards--don’t do it--just use the chrono tag (and I don’t know if you can add compound tags, but I did separate the Season from the Episode, so if you write S4, it should only pop up stuff from S4. I didn't’ do that to seasons 1-3 though because I just...didn’t.)

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

And because I brought it up: here it is, the best BTS Mashup that I found on my deep dive. Like legit--this one isn’t a mess:

Most of other ones are horrible in a fascinating way. Like I’m not even a BTS fan, I think I sort of age out of that metric, I’m just bored and quarantined. And lets be real, we all appreciate a good bop when we hear it.

[anxiously-going]

Leonard is a Starfleet doctor, fresh from the Academy, working at a base in Atlanta when the news about Tarsus breaks. He still hasn’t fully processed the news before he gets word that he’s to be one of the doctors to go on the rescue mission at Pike’s recommendation. And it’s a good thing Pike lives across the country otherwise Len might have actually kicked in Pike’s door to demand just what Pike was thinking recommending him for something like this. He has to settle for ranting and pacing in front of a holo screen instead.

Pike waits patiently for Len to rant himself out before reminding the young doctor that he was the top of his class in all of his psych studies, and everyone he worked under during his residency gave glowing reports about his ability to work with trauma patients. There is no doubt in Pike’s mind that Len is the best doctor for this job. For these patients.

Leonard is on a ship out the next day.

He lands on Tarsus IV fully expecting to be handed a pile of files and cases of patients who had been deemed “worthy” by the former governor.

Instead he gets one.

“No one else can work with him.” He’s told when he asks about it.

So he goes to meet his one and only patient.

He goes ballistic when he finds an emaciated teen strapped down to a hospital bed in a makeshift holding cell. Demanding to know who’s idea it was to use a five point restraint on medically delicate and severely traumatized patient, and when the doctor steps forward Leonard rips them a new one before they can get two words in. (It wasn’t until much later that Len found out that this person was the CMO for the mission and could have feasible had him court martialed.)

Len gets into the room and everyone outside swears it’s nothing short of a miracle that he got the kid out of the restraints without incident.

All Len did was talk to the kid about what he was doing and treat him like he was a person. (He may have also offered to help him press charges against the [REDACTED] that put him in restraints.

Through conversation they find out that they both know Pike and Len does what he can to make sure the kid gets to call him as soon as he can.

The kid’s name is JT, as it turns out. His file says James, but Len wanted to know what the kid- what JT preferred to be called.

It’s not all smooth sailing. JT is still deeply traumatized (Len begins to suspect by more than just recent events) and deeply hurting. But he tolerates Len better than anyone else so Len takes that for a win and does his best by the kid. Taking careful note of his triggers and how to avoid them, snapping at anyone that gets to close without announcing their intentions first, by the end of it all Len has gained something of a shadow and JT a guard dog.

Pike meets them back on earth and is utterly stunned when this kid he’s met maybe half a dozen times, maybe, barrels into him, clinging to him tightly. But he just sighs and wraps his arms around the kid, telling him he’s okay now. He’s safe.

Pike and Len wait and contact JT’s family multiple times, but by the end of the week it doesn’t seem like anyone’s coming. An admiral says something about foster care and JT looks sick when Len jumps in.

“I’ll take him.” There’s no hesitation in his voice. “He can stay with me. I’ll take him.”

Long story short Len gets full custody with minimal fighting from Frank and soon Len and JT are back in Atlanta.

Jocelyn is not at all happy about this “overnight parenthood” business and up and leaves before Len even lands in Georgia. (Eventually she turns up to grab the last of her things and rubs a few snide comments about meeting someone else while he was off planet and get him to sign the official divorce papers.)

And just like that Len is a single dad to a teenaged son.

They both try so hard for each other, but Jim (he starts going by Jim back on Earth as a way of trying to adjust) is still deeply traumatized and scared to share about Tarsus and his life before that and Len…

The more he tries to help Jim the more he realizes his relationship with Jocelyn had been…unhealthy. (It was abuse and if Jim has to call what his uncle did abuse then Len has to call what he went through abuse.)

Pike keeps in touch and when he hears about the struggles Jim is having in school he cuts him a deal. If he can pass the entrance exam to Starfleet Academy he’ll get Jim into classes the next semester.

Len is terrified. Because Jim’s a freaking genius, of course he’s gonna get in! What was Pike thinking?!

Pike was thinking Jim needed something to strive for and now he’s got it.

The problem is that, despite having a good home and a safe place to grow the last few years, Jim still has a lot he’s carrying around. No one knows he’s one of the Nine, no one knows about his uncle, but they all still know who is father was. He still feels like he has a lot to prove.

So on top of getting into the Academy at seventeen, Jim is bound and determined to be out in three years.

He’s going to become the youngest captain Starfleet has ever seen.

Leonard is terrified for him, but he supports him nonetheless. There is no doubt in his mind that Jim is capable, he’s smart, and resourceful, and everything to look for in a good captain. But Jim is his kid. And He supports him, but that doesn’t keep him from worrying.

So about the time Jim is looking to graduate, Len contacts Pike about placement aboard the Enterprise. Pike has already been working on making space for Jim on his ship and it’s easy to make sure Len gets a spot too. (He might be a little smug when he tells Len “You’re my new CMO” because Len is still not a fan of flying.)

But before Jim can finish out his finally year Vulcan is attacked.

Len is set to go up with Pike and Jim is going to be left on Earth.

And he panics.

Jim breaks into one of the med areas and starts digging around for that mud flea vaccine he’s heard Len ranting about having significant side effects and wishing there was a way to get around them.

Then he gives himself a dose of that.

Jim stumbles, literally, into Len as he’s getting ready to board the shuttle and there’s no way he can leave the kid in this condition, but this is a full on all hands on deck emergency, so he does the only thing he can do and he drags the kid aboard with him.