#they have been in fights with justin a few times and they constantly shit in his house and his water bowl

[the-casbah-way]

i saw a tiny fox cub today i don't know why it was on its own i hope it is ok i love baby foxes so much i've never seen one in person before it was SO SMALL

[dontcallmecarrie]

No Hero [And Not Made Of Stone]

...I’ve got nothing. Not even sure where the idea came from, but as per usual, the moment my brain had an idea it immediately took it by both hands and ran with it so here you go. Name for this AU might change, but for now here have another song lyric [from Five Finger Death Punch’s “Wrong Side of Heaven”]

Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe

Warnings: mild profanity, dysfunctional families, a metric buttload of gender and identity issues, because the protagonist is a possibly agender character [their stance on gender can be summed up as “huh, those parts are new. Weird. Moving on”]. Not exactly Tony-friendly at times, but not for the reasons you’d think. 

To sum up: haven’t done a SI-OC fic before, let’s see how it goes. Under the cut, because RIP mobile users otherwise.

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Justin Hammer’s name wasn’t always Justin Hammer.

He doesn’t really remember what it was anymore, but he knows that much.

.

Honestly? This ‘memories of another world’ thing was more a pain in the ass than anything else, at least at first.

It might’ve been cool if they remembered something useful— concrete dates, specific innovations, hell, even any tips of what stocks to invest in— but no, they had to get short end of the stick with weird dreams, identity crises, and a longing for a family they’d never had.

Oh, and another round of puberty, because of why the hell not. Like last time hadn’t been enough of a pain in the ass.

Ugh. They wanted a refund.

.

...okay, so it probably could’ve been worse. 

Justin has vague recollections of going to sleep hungry, of huddling with their younger sibling under blankets because their parents couldn’t pay the electrical bill— so really, in the great scheme of things, being born as part of the 1% this round was. Something.

Trippy as hell, is what it was, honestly.

This family was loaded, and under other circumstances, they might’ve even been able to enjoy it— if, y’know, they hadn’t had the incredibly shitty luck of being born two years before Tony Stark.

.

“Look at what he’s doing, that could be you” this, “study hard, he’s going to be your rival” that— geez, if any other kid had been in Justin’s shoes, he would not have envied them. 

If he didn’t already have a firmly established sense of self, it would have been a mindfuck of a childhood because for some reason, his father kept comparing them? And yeah, Justin could kinda see some of the parallels— they were about the same age, both firstborn sons and heirs to their parents’ respective companies— but that’s about where the similarities ended.

Look, Justin wasn’t a genius, okay? He was fairly bright for his age, but...he wasn’t a one-in-a-million prodigy. And, up until he was 6, that had been acceptable.

But then the press went wild because oh, look, Howard’s son built a circuit board at age four, and it all went downhill from there because suddenly, being normal wasn’t good enough. Not for his parents, anyway.

.

Sometimes, he wondered what would’ve happened if it had been another kid in his shoes— how they would’ve handled the small army of private tutors and the extra classes they kept being signed up for in the hopes of finding something they excelled in.

The pressure of constantly being compared to a once-in-a-generation prodigy, and always being found wanting.

Justin wasn’t afraid of hard work— but it was grating, even for him. 

Really, just about the only silver lining to this ‘second life’ thing was his adorable little sister, Stephanie.

She, at least, looked up to him: her gap-toothed smile didn’t hold any expectations for anything other than the piggyback rides he regularly offered, and this time he didn’t even have to worry about medical bills, or—

Anyway.

.

His family and the Starks run in the same social circles, because of course they do. 

Now that he’s getting older, Justin’s being dragged along to all of the fancy shindigs with his parents, and it’s only due to two lifetimes’ worth of self-control that keeps his polite smile from wavering when he’s introduced to the bane of his existence.

“Hi, my name’s Tony Stark.” The little brat said, and Justin bit back a sigh as he shook his hand.

.

...so, the Stark heir his father wanted to be his rival was a kid. Actually a kid, which just made this mess that much more pathetic because part of Justin had almost been starting to want to buy into this rivalry thing, but.

In this life, and the last one, they’d been an older sibling.

This time, despite everything, he could tell he was softer— he had never gone to bed hungry, never had to worry about the roof over his head, or being solely responsible for his younger sibling’s health and safety— but.

Old habits die hard. 

.

Of course Justin’s father hears “the Starks are sending their seven-year-old heir to boarding school” and thinks “good idea, why didn’t I think of that?” 

Of course.

Of fucking course.

Steph had cried when they’d packed their things, and for that alone, Justin would never forgive their parents.

.

The other brats at boarding school are more invested in the Hammer-Stark rivalry than they are.

...this was going to be a long 9 years, wasn’t it.

.

One of the perks to going to one of the most elite boarding schools in the world was the options. Certainly, Justin doubted other places offered skiing and fencing and over eleven languages in their electives. 

Not that he was complaining: it was definitely a way to keep busy, certainly much better than the constant attempts at one-upmanship that came part and parcel with cramming the richest heirs, heiresses, and honest-to-goodness royalty in one place. 

At the end of the day, though, they were all kids. Bratty, entitled little shits who were still at the stage where they constantly went “my father will hear about this!” and Justin had way better things to do with his time than engage in those petty little playground attempts at power plays. 

So he dove into everything the school had to offer, bouncing from elective to elective like a ping pong ball, and trying not to think too hard as to why Spanish had come so easily to him, though he’d never studied it before— or why he’d felt a pang when the instructor had congratulated him on his accent. 

.

Somewhere down the line, Justin...kinda made a name for himself? Apparently?

Ugh, they’d never understand these people. 

.

Okay, so apparently he’d kinda become an older brother figure of sorts to the brats around here? Somehow? Even though he hadn’t exactly been planning on doing anything of the sort when he saw an underclassman struggling during practice, or stopped fights before they could start in the common room because he’d just sat down and didn’t have the patience to move all his stuff somewhere else to study.

Didn’t make sense to him, but apparently it was enough for some of the professors to write ‘good leadership skills’ on his transcripts, so whatever.

As a bonus, it made his old man happy. Not that Justin gave a damn about what he thought about him personally, but the increase in his ‘allowance’ [it was in the triple digits, like hell he was calling it that] was nice.

.

Among the hobbies Justin bounced between, there were a few that raised more eyebrows than others.

Knitting, for instance, was something some of the more annoying brats liked to laugh about. They eased up when they found out he sent the scarves and hats he made to his little sister, but... eh, whatever. 

Sewing, too— apparently it was okay if it was framed as a Boy Scout-esque ‘know the basics so you can always be prepared!’ way, but the moment he did any sort of embroidery there went his respectability. 

Well, at least nobody gave him a hard time about cooking. But then, his chilaquiles had some of these guys’ eyes watering just from the smell of it, so. 

It still didn’t sit well with him sometimes— kinda like how puberty had Not Been Fun on a number on levels, but hey, if all else failed, he could just ignore it harder. 

It hadn’t failed him yet.

.

Stephanie insisted on going to boarding school with him when she got to the age he’d been shipped off at.

It was...nice, having his little sister around again. 

.

It was a good thing Justin had been okay with being designated the heir of Hammer Industries, because Steph was... exactly like he remembered her.

Cheerful, upbeat, startlingly devious and manipulative when she wanted to be, and just a tad bit spoiled.

...okay, so Justin had probably contributed a bit to that last one. In his defense, he’d been doing his best to shield his sister from the staggeringly high expectations he himself had to deal with, but look, he wanted at least one of them to have some semblance of a happy childhood, okay? 

Goodness knew he hadn’t [not this time, nor the last].

.

Stephanie wasn’t interested in the family business, was more interested in pursuing a career in the arts.

Justin, of course, encouraged her wholeheartedly.

Their parents weren’t entirely happy about it, but...wasn’t like they had much to complain about. Not when Justin was always in the top ten of his year, not when the professors practically gushed over his responsibility and work ethic. 

He was no Tony Stark, but he’d made a name for himself nonetheless.

.

“So, we’re supposed to be rivals?” The bane of his existence said once, at yet another gala. “Howard says so, anyway.”

“Seems that way,” Justin shrugged as they pilfered a flute from a nearby table, carefully not commenting on how he’d referred to his father by his first name. Talk about a strained relationship, right there.

“You’re not really acting like one.”

“Well,” Justin sipped at his flute before making a face when he discovered it was champagne and not apple cider like he’d hoped, “it’s nothing personal, just business. Healthy competition, y’know? Someone’s got to.”

Stark eyed him for a moment, before giving him a brilliant smile. “You know, I think I’d like that.” 

.

Justin would never, ever understand these people.

.

In the time Justin Hammer got his degree in business, Tony Stark got several Ph.Ds. 

Not that he envied him: the idea of being shoved into the limelight after losing his entire family? Hard pass.

.

For some reason, Tony Stark seemed to think they were friends.

Why.

Sure, Justin tried to be as cordial with him as he did with anyone else, but... how on Earth did that translate into being friends?

.

“You look at him like he’s a kid,” Steph says once, laughing, “you look at all of us that way, haven’t you noticed?”

“Well, to be fair—”

“You’re only a few years older than us, but you keep acting like you’re dad. More like a dad than our actual dad, sometimes,” her smile dropped for a moment, “don’t think I forgot that time he didn’t even call for your birthday.”

Justin made a face. “But what’s that got to do with anything?”

She sighed, then gave him a smile and a look he couldn’t decipher. “You’ll figure it out eventually.”

.

By the time Justin Hammer became the CEO of Hammer Industries, Tony Stark had held the same post in his company for over half a decade. 

Yet...well, something weird was going on.

Maybe it was because Justin’d had more time to prepare for the cutthroat world that was the defense industry, but— 

For some reason, he couldn’t help but think Tony was softer than he’d thought.

No-brainer contracts that would have been a cinch to broker, passed over simply because their distributors didn’t pass their incredibly high standards; buyers who wanted in, but whose past associations— very, very far in the past— meant SI didn’t even consider them. 

Justin couldn’t understand it. 

For someone in the industry, Stark’s morals were...unusual. Respectable, from one perspective, but remarkably naive from any self-respecting businessman who wanted to turn a profit. 

He was fairly certain the only reason Stark Industries was considered number one in the sector was because of the constant influx of new designs; they just were turning down too many contracts for him to consider otherwise. 

Sure, sometimes Hammer weapons found themselves in the wrong hands— much more often than Stark weapons, regrettably— but it was one of the hazards that came with the business. They’d both known it from the get-go; Stark weapons were considered the best for a reason, even though somewhere down the line, his company’d gotten a reputation for no-frills dependability and ruggedness to the point where unscrupulous individuals would do anything to get their hands on either. Wasn’t like there was anything they could do about it, not when money talked in ways laws didn’t.

Why Stark was so hung up over it, he just. Couldn’t wrap his head around.

.

Stark was proclaimed dead, and there was strong evidence to indicate the attackers had been using his guns.

...well, fuck.

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“This is fine,” Justin muttered as his personal headache proceeded to come back from the dead only to say his company was going to stop doing the thing it was known for and making an ungodly mess in the stock market while at it, “it’s not like it affects me, anyway.”

.

Overnight, Hammer Industries became number one in the defense sector. 

Justin was not a happy camper about the spotlight.

Even more so, when he had to take additional measures so his sister could continue enjoy the privacy she’d had after pursuing her dreams as an artist because the press didn’t want to leave well enough alone.

.

“You know, you could’ve given me a warning.” Justin scowled when he saw Tony at the next gala.

“You handled it well enough, didn’t you?”

Ugh. 

His headache was back, and worst part was, the smile he got more than made up for it.

.

...and then I kinda ran out of steam.

tl;dr: MCU canon had Justin Hammer as a foil to Tony Stark, here their dynamic is more along the lines of Beethoven and Mozart [one really respecting the other’s genius, and working their butt off to get to that level of respectability and general acclaim].

in this AU, Stark Industries is kind of like Apple— very futuristic high-tech stuff, all the bells and whistles going on, etc, whereas Hammer Industries is the Nokia in this analogy: not fancy in the slightest but as close to indestructible as it gets. 

[xserpx]

Battle Ground Thoughts

Major spoilers below.

The Good

I really enjoyed the last part of the fight with Ethniu. Hendrick's sacrifice was well done, and the Marcone reveal was fantastic. The action was really great, although it did get too much at times, especially the beginning of the fight with Ethniu where it’s more like reading a shonen manga, lots of huge ‘final’ attacks and mist clearing as they wait for the blood spray before someone pulls a trap card. Still pretty likeable.

Marcone as a Knight of the Blackened Denarius is intriguing. My one caveat is that I think it diminishes his post-Small Favor achievements quite a bit, knowing he had access to all that power. It makes sense, especially considering just how much Marcone was able to get done, but yeah, I liked this little twist. Marcone is probably the main reason I would keep reading the books, as things stand.

I like the fact Harry's finally been kicked off the White Council, as he should be. I'm not sure why this is controversial, though. He’s clearly broken several laws, and tbh I was kind of surprised they kept him on after becoming the Winter Knight, like... conflicted interests, much?

Drakul and the Blampires were cool. Wouldn't mind seeing them again.

The Bad

Justine's reveal, while interesting bc omg Outsiders infesting the characters we love, it also absolutely terrifies me in terms of what it actually means for Thomas/Justine both in the future and in the past. A future that might not even happen, now. And considering how long it's been since she was infected, it's entirely possible a lot of Justine's feelings have been manufactured as well. One of the things at the top of my Do Not Want list was Justine or the baby getting hurt, and now we’re here.

I'm severely disinterested in Harry/Lara. I have no idea where it's going, but it's boring at best. Maybe Jim Butcher has an idea for it that doesn’t result in me rolling my eyes, but I’m not feeling charitable today.

Ivy and Harry never got a proper conversation. Also why tf was Ivy dressed in a school uniform for that fight? Unless she's a sailor senshi or something, it just doesn't make sense. Plus she should be in her mid-late teens by now, ffs, not her early teens.

We're still drawing out the Starborn mystery? Ugh, ok.

Michael's cursing out the White Council for kicking Harry off the team... Completely OOC, sorry, I hated it. Michael is a great character because he doesn't swear as a matter of principle. If he had to start swearing, that was a bad hill to choose.

The way the morality of the White Council flip flops depending on Dresden's mood is getting annoying. At the meeting at the end, he says the Council is the biggest defender of humanity, and that he's clearly sitting at the monsters' table, but they're also supposed to be the enemy for treating him as such? Ebenezar and some of the Seniors are douchebags, for sure - especially Eb as it's personal - but Carlos and the rest are solid good guys trying to do their best. After everything that's happened, Harry shouldn't be so freaking bitter. He’s a monster now. Either own it, or make different choices. Also Carlos should’ve told him what Molly did to him. I hate that this hasn’t been addressed and that Carlos just looks like a suspicious bastard when he’s actually sustained life-changing injuries and trauma. Communication generally between Harry and the White Council needs to start happening like yesterday.

Butters needs to just go away, please. Give me a break from this shithead. He's had a few months of training and can keep up with literally everyone. He gets all these Crowning Moments of Awesome, but he never suffers for it, and at this point I'm genuinely wondering whether he'll ever suffer any consequences whatsoever. Also he constantly outshines Sanya, who is ostensibly better qualified, and the Sword of Hope should have been the stronger of the two in that last fight. I’m sick of hearing how great Butters is, and being expected to laugh at all his dumb, nerdy references.

Harry barely thinks about Thomas when he considers his recent losses. Sure Thomas is still alive, but barely, with no guarantees he'll survive or that he'll come back the same person. Harry should be grieving for him as much as he's grieving for Karrin at this point. I also wanted there to be more reason behind Thomas's actions, some sort of conspiracy within the White Court, but there wasn't. It's bad enough being anxious for Thomas, but being anxious for his whole goddamn family is just way too much, ffs.

The Ugly

I mean, I've told people: if I'd tried to imagine a worst case scenario for Karrin Murphy's death, it would have been better than the ending we got. It's worse than James Norrington dying at the hands of Bootstrap Bill. It's worse than Superman's dad dying while trying to save the dog. She shouldn't have died at all, period, but if she absolutely had to go, there is no fucking way in HELL that that was the best way for it to happen. Whether she comes back or not, there is no way to justify that scene. Gard saying she saved everyone by defending Dresden might be a satisfying Watsonian explanation for some, but of all the times, of all the places, of all the ways, and of all the people... JB picked the absolute worst possible combination. Absolute. Garbage. It's not that he can't write decent sacrifices. Hendrick's death was superb! So why the FUCK couldn't Murph get the same treatment? Why the FUCK was she killed off so FUCKING pointlessly? This isn't a real life story. This isn't some hyperrealistic, anyone can die, Game of Thrones type bullshit, where you can just kill off the second main character as shock value and have it be valuable to a bigger theme. This is the Dresden Files, a fucking series where all the women are Playboy models, and there's a middle-aged dweeby guy in sports goggles riding a skateboard and wielding a lightsaber and facing off with a Titan after just a few months of training, and having threesomes with bisexual women half his age, one of whom wears a fucking Avengers t-shirt to bed. It's a fanservice show. So it is not too much to ask for the main female character to be given the kind of death she actually deserves, let alone that she be allowed to live long enough to enjoy a relationship that's been so fantastically built up over 15+ books. (Query: was any of her family at her funeral? Audiobooks make searching hard, and I can’t find out if that was mentioned.) It's not unfair to hate the FUCK out of JB for pulling such a horrible, awful, LAZY move. I didn’t cry when it happened. I actually laughed quite a bit, maniacally, because it was that much of a train wreck. I'm not crying now, either. I'm just so, so tired. RIP Murph.

Granted, I haven't had to wait for a Dresden Files book like this before. Skin Game had a very neat ending, whereas this asks way, way, way more questions than it answers, which is probably more par for the course in this series? But now my two favourite characters are out of the field and may never come back, and I'm just so fucking tired and disappointed, and tired of being disappointed. I don't know whether it's worth staying invested in the vague hope Jim Butcher will start giving a shit about anyone other than Butters, but I can't see the next book being much good when Thomas and Karrin won't be there. When Karrin may never be there again. When I don't even know if the next book will show up, or if there'll be another hiatus resulting in a mediocre story.

I'm predicting that there'll be a Murph-centric short story in the near future that'll probably be a "gotcha!" to all the fans like me who fucking hate how BG turned out. Either it'll finish her off entirely or hint at a resurrection, which may or may not come. Either way, it won't justify her death. It won't make this better.

If I wasn’t as invested in Karrin, I’d like this book more. I can understand if people like it, and there are definitely some good things about it, but it’s hard to appreciate those bits when there’s such a massive pile of stinking shit sitting smack bang in the middle.

[vriki]

ive been playing pokemon sw/sh nonstop for the past few days so the cursed tdi this time is literally just diagnosing the og cast

this post got ugly long so its under a cut

chris is ex-champion. he got to be champion for a few years until some fucking ten-year-old came in and stole his spot, and being a petty bitch, he took to making the Bad Guy Group (debatably, Team Drama.) he has fire and dark types, majorly, but takes on anything that seems useful. (a sharpedo or.. few.. make for an interesting obstacle put in the way of some of those trainers out there.)

feral ezekiel is a ghost trainer. cryptic and confusing. he looks about as much akin to a pokemon as he does a human being, making for a pretty spooky atmosphere that fits in well with ghost-types. 

duncan, obviously, gets to be dark type. there is literally no surprise to this at all, the dark types are the edgy ones

DJ doesnt have a type preference, he’s a breeder! he helps run the pokemon daycare and always takes extra good care of the eggs nobody comes to pick up, meaning he basically has his own swarm of baby pokemon that he cares for immensely. (you know his partner is a bunny pokemon, im just not sure which)

Lindsay also doesn’t have a type preference, but she does contests! dj helped her breed and raise the perfect pokemon for them, and she loves all of her babies so much! she spoils them rotten with accessories and treats. (think lisia!)

tyler is a fighting trainer, which is a whole ass mess. he ends up in personal brawls with his pokemon sometimes, and on more than one occasion he’s managed to get into funny, but concerning situations with them. it doesn’t help that at least one of his pokemon is just as clumsy as him.

eva leans fighting too, but she’s the total opposite of tyler. her pokemon are dignified, strong, and make no mistakes bcs they practice hard and they follow a strict schedule. she also takes on some normal types, but they tend to be more casual or sacrificial to heal up another pokemon during battle

 bridgette and geoff both take on water types, as expected, but bridgette leansto pure water types whereas geoff leans to mixed types (esp water-psychic, those guys can learn moves that make for the SICKEST parties bro)

sadie & katie lean fairy, with a side of grass and normal. 

noah, not caring for battle, followed in the path of professor, so he kind of just has an ever-rotating supply of pokemon to study. sometimes owen can drag him out on an adventure, and noah just uses that time to study owen and his pokemon.

speaking of, owen has a pretty diverse team! (think rival- kind of just a mishmash of types.) A snorlax (raised from munchlax, thanks dj!) is his partner pokemon, but thats about all i got

cody, ever the man to try and get attention, doesn’t have a set type. he’s trying to fill out his pokedex to impress, and complete gym challenges in attempt to reach championship, so he’s constantly rotating whatever’s most powerful and what matches up with type advantages (that he calls noah to confirm, every time. ‘soo im about to head into the dragon gym, and its not that i doubt you, but are you sure that fairy types are the move here? because i mean- theyre just so small and dainty and dragon types are-’ ‘holy shit cody i dedicated my life to this, yes im sure, just go already.’)

trent took the route of normal types, and kind of just takes on pokemon that can sing. jigglypuff, chatot, and the rarity that is an eevee, able to carry a tune. he makes his career around music rather than battles, and loves to sing with his pokemon!

izzy took on grass (and bug) because she finds those ones the most fun! she likes to go absolutely bonkers with them in the forests, hanging out with wild pokemon of all kinds. (most of them shes actually not really officially caught,she just foraged berries, shared, and they followed her home.)

justin is, expectedly, also a contest participant more than a trainer! most of his pokemons movesets contain weather-related moves, so he can have watever weather he wants, whenever he wants. otherwise they tend to be cute, pretty, or graceful moves tbh. snooty pokemon on the dl.

courtney, fire. her passion and determination? could only be matched by fire types. she just works best with them out of all the types, so it kinda just happened

gwen is poison, mostly because its one of the edgy types and she’s gotta fit that Gothe Aesthetique somehow. 

harold doesn’t have a type, but he mostly definitely as a durant. a fighting type, yknow, cause of the ninja thing. (probably one of the bipedal ones). at least one electric type, and probably a flying type, too. 

heather? electric and dark! morpeko is her partner pokemon. she likes to do dramatic catwalks lit by nothing but the lightning bolts of her pokemon, ominous!

beth is a bug/ground type trainer! couldnt tell ya why if you asked, its just the vibes.

i was gonna be cliche and give chef food-themed pokemon, but then i looked at a garbodor, and i think you know what chef has. garbodor, muk, those types. he runs with chris in the bad guy group.

leshawna is unfortunately the only one im totally blanking on. i got absolutely nothing for her.

[lovingkaneko]

Speakers (Colt x MC)

Summary: Colt has had enough of his neighbor blasting the worst music in the middle of the night.

Author Note: Just something I thought of in the shower. I got carried away with the story and the characters, there’s so much I could write about this. But I’ll keep it a one part thing :,) This is my favorite story I’ve got so far

Book: Ride or Die: A Bad Boy Romance | Choices: Stories You Play (AU)

Pairing: Colt Kaneko x MC | Ellie Wheeler

Word Count: ~2.7k

Rating: Mature (swearing) this is mostly fluff.

I pressed my pillow into my face, trying to drown out the torturous music coming from next door. I physically couldn’t bare to listen to it anymore. This was my first night in my new apartment and I regretted moving away from my dad already. He obviously didn’t want me to be with his crew, for a reason I didn’t understand, so I decided to leave. I won’t stay where I’m unwanted. But if this keeps going, I’m going to lose my mind. 

“Is that-- One Direction? Are you fucking serious?” I groaned loudly, not wanting to get up to face my neighbor. She’s probably a stupid teenage girl obsessed with Harry Styles or something. It’s not 2013 anymore, why is she still listening to them? The music stopped abruptly and I sighed with relief, placing the pillow back under my head. I closed my eyes and slowly drifted off in the silence. It felt like sleep was an inch away and in my grasp, but I was awoken suddenly.

“YOU’RE INSECURE, DON’T KNOW WHAT FOR!”

“Oh my fucking GOD!” I shouted, sitting up and banging on the wall, “Shut up!”

The music stopped once more and I calmed down. Finally, I was able to sleep comfortably without having to be tortured by the sound of British boys. I woke up the next morning feeling exhausted and irritable as usual, I checked my phone to find a message from Ximena. She had simply asked if I was coming over to the garage, an innocent yes or no question. Why would she even bother to text me? I put my phone in my pocket without answering.

Closing my apartment door, I stepped out into the hallway. The floor creaked, reminding me of how cheap my rent is. I made my way down shaky stairs, thinking about seeing the crew. If I’m being honest, they were fun to hang out with. They were tolerable, besides Logan. That guy presses all my buttons and the urge to punch him is almost irresistible.

I got to the parking lot, reaching into the pockets of my leather jacket for my keys. After searching in every spot on my body, I groaned. I had left them inside my room, how the fuck did I forget?

I turned back around and made my way back up the stairs, cursing under my breath. As I approached my door, I noticed a girl locking her door next to mine. 

Oh, so this is the annoying Directioner. 

Except, she didn’t look like just any teenage girl. Her hair was put into a tight braid off to the side of her shoulder and my eyes did indeed trail down her body. She was stunning, but that didn’t excuse the fact that she took away from my precious rest. 

“Hey, you,” I called out to her and she turned to look at me in shock, her eyes widening innocently. I suddenly felt a twinge of guilt, I was on the verge of complaining about her music but I decided against it.

I closely examined her features, suddenly discouraged. I had to think of something else to say. 

“Can I borrow your bobby pin?” I asked in a bored voice, she still looked like a deer in the headlights but she took a few seconds before relaxing.

“A bobby pin? For what?” Her voice was sweet and pretty, matching her exterior. Yet, I was still shocked at how innocent she sounded.

“It’s none of your business,” I said and she furrowed her eyebrows.

“Well then why should I let you borrow it?” She was suddenly angry, I was taken aback by her new attitude.

“You know what? Forget it,” I scoffed before turning away from her. She laughed and I looked at her again in frustration.

“I was joking,” She took the bobby pin out of her hair, making her bangs fall over her face, “Here.”

She handed it to me and my jaw clenched, not wanting to pay attention to her. As innocent as she seemed, I knew she was trying to get into my pants, which wasn’t going to happen.

“Thanks,” I went back to my door and began to pick the lock.

“Woah hold up, are you breaking into that room?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“Isn’t that like... Illegal?” She asked as she subtly freaked out, I chuckled. If only she knew the rest of it.

“Sure,” I continued.

“Should I be calling the cops or--”

“It’s my room,” I cut her off with a sigh.

“Ohhh,” She realized and cleared her throat, “Don’t bother giving it back. I’ve got millions more, um... Have a good day?” It sounded like a question.

“Okay,” I answered as I heard the lock click. I went inside, not saying goodbye to her. My keys were on my bed, of course. I picked them up before continuing with the rest of my day, not even thinking of her for a split second.

It wasn’t until that night, when the torture began again. 

“YOU GET THE LIMO OUT FRONT--”

“Fuck, not this again,” I whispered to myself, standing up. More than anything, I wanted to go banging on her door to complain. But as I was opening my door, I remembered that she had done me a favor earlier. The anger in my body subsided and I breathed slowly. Ellie was pissing me off.

“YOU GET THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS--”

“Can she at least pick good songs?” I slammed my door shut and went back to bed. Somehow, I managed to sleep with Hannah Montana playing next door.

I woke up later than usual the next day, getting ready in a better mood than usual. As I stepped out of my apartment, I noticed a note left on my doorstep. I was suddenly alarmed, was this a message from someone out to kill me and my father? I pulled my phone out, ready to dial the crew. I picked up the note and immediately, I lost all my excitement.

“Any song recommendations?”

Is she serious?

I went back into my room and grabbed a pen. Angrily, I scribbled a note back to her, “Just stop playing your fucking music at three in the morning.”

I pushed it under her door and continued with my day. The crew didn’t have much coming up lately and I was beyond bored. I laid in my bed, slamming my door to piss off my neighbor.

Immediately as I pulled out my phone, the music began.

“WHY YOU GOTTA BE SO RUDE?”

I chuckled, since she purposely picked that part of the song to start with. She was taunting me. As much as I hated pop songs like this one, I found myself tapping the side of my phone with the beat.

The music stopped and I figured she went to sleep, it was late anyway. I had no reason to stay up anymore, so I drifted off.

The music continued for days and it went back to being annoying. I had actually gone to tell her to shut it off after coming home from the garage, Logan had started a fight with me and I wasn’t taking any shit. Her music had been turned lower, it was all she had changed. 

I was thankful that she wasn’t blasting her speakers anymore.

However, one night was different. She had her music crazily low, but I still heard it, of course. I pressed my ear to the wall, curious as to what she was listening to, wondering why the daily routine had changed.

“I heard that you're settled down That you found a girl and you're married now”

"Adele? She’s never played that,” I whispered to myself, acknowledging the change of music. She was always listening to peppy love songs, but I guess she wasn’t feeling it tonight. 

This continued for a month, she played heartbreak songs at least once a week. There were days in which she didn’t listen to music at all, sometimes I’d hear her sing along. She wasn’t good, definitely not, but it was something different.

One night, I heard her playing The One That Got Away by Katy Perry. I had enough of it, I was dying of curiosity. I got up and left my room. I knocked on her door softly, as opposed to the aggressive knocks I’d do when I was telling her to shut up. The music stopped and the door clicked open. She peeked her head over the corner and her tear filled eyes widened as she saw me.

“Colt?” She asked before hiding behind the door, sniffling and I guessed wiping the tears away. She motioned for me to come in and I stepped inside. I felt suddenly uncomfortable, I liked knowing things and that was the ONLY reason that I was there. Obviously, something had happened with her and it was crucial for me to find out.

“What’s with the emo music lately? What happened to Justin Bieber?” I questioned as she looked at me with her bloodshot eyes. 

“Why do you care? I thought you hated it anyway,” She chuckled sadly, sniffling again. That was the thing, I didn’t care, so I don’t even know why I was there.

“I don’t care, I’m just... Curious,” I explained cautiously to make sure she doesn’t sob even more. I hated seeing people cry, it pissed me off.

“I’ve had nobody to talk about it to, Riya hated Joseph and is glad that he dumped me,” She said, as if I knew who that person was, “So I guess I can tell you.”

Before I knew it, I was sitting on her bed with her and she was ranting to me about her break up. Honestly, I was far too intrigued in her story. I even felt anger at some points, hearing about how that guy treated her. 

It simply reminded me that I would never get into a relationship, that stuff sounded overly complicated and stressful. 

She had a whole box of tissues beside her and she constantly wiped her tears away. How the fuck did someone cry so much? Is that even physically possible?

She finished telling me all about their relationship and I was left wanting to know more. She checked the time on her phone.

“Oh my gosh, it’s five in the morning!” She exclaimed, “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to keep you up this late, I got carried away. It’s nice having someone to talk to,” She smiled sadly.

True, she had talked so much. But I didn’t mind it for some reason, she was an interesting person. She was genuinely innocent, there was no dirt on her. Hell, she was a virgin before she dated that prick.

We said goodbye to each other, not planning to see each other after this. 

But the meetings continued, every single night for a month. The first few weeks consisted of her telling me stories about him and how much she liked him. She was healing, it was apparent in her attitude when speaking of him.

One night, we were sitting in front of her TV eating popcorn and watching Criminal Minds. This was usual for us at this point, I considered her a friend. Being with her was like inhaling fresh air, she was so much different from me, it was fascinating to see life in a different perspective. 

There was a knock on her door and she quickly got up to open it, I turned around to check who was there. But by the way she froze, I knew immediately who it was. I made my way to her side instantly, pulling her behind me protectively. 

“Joseph,” I snarled at the man at the door. He looked offended by my appearance. He seemed hostile.

“Do I know you?” He asked and his breath reeked of alcohol, I would’ve gagged if I wasn’t used to it, the men at the sideshows smelled so bad. Don’t get me started on Salvador.

“No, but I know you. Get out of here,” I jerked my head for him to leave. I felt Ellie’s hand beside mine and linked our fingers together, feeling her trembling.

“What are you? Her new boyfriend?” Joseph scoffed and I felt my jaw clench with irritation.

“Yeah, now beat it,” I lied, not caring about what she would have to say. The skinny blonde boy’s mouth gaped open and he scowled. He must’ve felt that I was going to knock him out, because he furrowed his eyebrows and left without another word. I closed the door and turned to a shocked Ellie.

“It’s nothing,” She said, wide eyed. I really didn’t know what she was on about, I shrugged, realizing that our hands had separated. I made my way back to the couch, rewinding the episode. She sat beside me, she was distant this time.

“How was it? Seeing him after so long, I mean.”

“I’m just... Unsettled. I didn’t expect him to come here, I wasn’t ready,” She whispered and I heard her voice crack as she started crying.

As I’d mentioned before, watching people cry pissed me off. But I was angry for other reasons, I hated seeing how that bastard hurt her.

I never knew what to do, nobody had ever comforted me. So, I just settled for putting my hand on her knee and rubbing my thumb on it soothingly. Except, this time, she did something differently. She wrapped her arms around me.

I was stiff at first, my eyes widening as shock made its way through my body. I awkwardly hugged her back, this wasn’t something I was used to...But I liked it.

I relaxed slightly and buried my face in her neck, she smelled like strawberry shampoo. Her weeping slowed and she pulled away, I felt embarrassment flush through me. I never hugged people, I hated being touched, I wouldn’t even let my mom do it. Yet, Ellie Wheeler was nice to hold.

I noticed her mood was ruined by his sudden appearance and I came up with the perfect plan to make her stop being mopey. 

I took her phone and connected it to the cursed speaker she had next to her television. My fingerprint was already registered, since she thought it would be good for emergencies. I opened up Spotify and searched up something I never thought I would do, but I was desperate to see her stop crying.

“MY FRIENDS SAY I’M A FOOL TO THINK THAT YOU’RE THE ONE--”

“Colt,” She gasped, a smile coming onto her face, “Are you playing 2009 Justin Bieber?” I rolled my eyes and went up to her, putting her hand in mine and pulling her up on her feet. 

“What are we doing?” She asked as she examined my face, I wasn’t smiling.

“We’re blasting music at three in the morning,” I answered, accidentally grinning at her. Her mood had changed in an instant, she dragged me into the open space of her living room. Before I knew it, she was jumping up and down and singing at the top of her lungs.

“LOVE ME, LOVE ME, SAY THAT YOU LOVE ME!” 

She was lost in the music and I was just watching her admiringly.

“Come on,” She took my hand and before I could protest, she pouted. My mouth gaped open, in disbelief that she thought that would convince me to dance with her. I wish I wasn’t so easily controlled by her.

Everything else in my mind had disappeared, my hate for dancing had been thrown out the window. It was just us right now. The song ended way too soon an we were left laughing and out of breath from jumping up and down. The neighbors below us were probably pissed off, but we could care less.

She looked so beautiful, her usual braid was messy and her eyes were still red from crying over that asshole. But I couldn’t help myself, I was staring at her lips and she smiled as she noticed.

“Go for it,” She said as her cheeks turned pink, “You’re my boyfriend, after all.”

I rolled my eyes at her joke, but I didn’t lose the chance. I kissed her.

--

Tags: @mskaneko @desireepow-1986

[kirajw]

I’ve allowed myself to stan a new show: Fox’s ‘911’

Since ‘Supernatural” is ending, I need to used my fangirl powers for good, and I’ve totally fallen for Fox’s ‘911.’  I’ve always watched the show here and there, because Angela Bassett, y’all.  But I’ve been burned by Ryan Murphy before (#JusticeforTheTroubletones) so I never let myself get invested in his shows.  

Here’s some of the reasons I love it:

BUCK (2.0)

Upon first glimpse, it would seem like Buck is the poster boy for toxic masculinity, but even before he became Buck 2.0, he was basically a selfless, slightly reckless golden retriever who imprints on everyone and just wants to help people. 

He loves kids, and happily spends his time with his best friend’s son.  

He speaks in italics. (It’ll make sense when you re-watch his scenes).

As reckless as he is, we’ve never seen him drunk or violent. In fact, he’s been assaulted a few times, even by Bobby, and he could have thrown him into the ceiling and he’d rather de-escalate the situation than fight back.

He doesn’t care if people think he’s gay, which I don’t officially give him points for.  He’s been mistaken for Christopher’s father and Eddie’s husband at least once, and didn’t correct the person as most men would.  Because he knows there’s nothing wrong with it. 

He cries easily and embraces it.

He has a dope facial birthmark.  LIKE ME. 

You can do pretty much do anything to him (EXCEPT mess with his family or his job) and he’ll forgive you.

He knew Doug was a scumbag even as a teenager.  He sent Maddie cards and things even after she broke off communication with him just to let her know that he was there.

He gave Maddie the tools to rebuild her life and kept reminding her of her strength.  He also never pulled the douche “Don’t bang my sister” nonsense when she started dating Chimney. He supported her to make her own decisions.

He’s constantly trying to better himself. Since the show started, he’s learned to have more intimate relationships, how to cook and clean, and to tone down the reckless behavior.

He looks a caricature of Justin Timberlake.

HAVE YOU SEEN HIM?  He’s hot AF.

2x04 and 2x08 are basically perfect episodes.  The writing is gimmicky and cheesy, but it’s actually really good.  The continuity is FANTASTIC.

DIVERSITY: In every sense of the word: sexual, ability, racial, etc.  Similiar shows (”Chicago PD”, “Law and Order: SVU”) don’t even know black women exist or they bury them in the coroner’s office.  And it’s MOSTLY done well.  I’m side-eyeing Athena’s “It was a bad stop” nonsense this week.  Because we all know she’s set a cop on fire who pointed a gun at her babies.

Eddie and Buck: Best bromance ever!  They talk about emotions, share his son, and work through shit in a mostly healthy way.  I don’t need them to date, though it’d be cool if they did. I ship their bromance. It’s one of the healthiest male relationships I’ve ever seen on TV.  Sorry, not sorry, Sam and Dean.

Bobby: I actually hate Bobby.  He’s so boring, and his backstory isn’t the tale of redemption; it’s more of a sage of how white privilege lets a man who should probably be in jail continue to fail up.  Peter Krause also can’t seem to generate a spark of chemistry with Angela Bassett, which means he’s either sleepwalkin’ though the role or a far worse actor than I originally thought.  I do like him though because he found a brother (Eddie) for Buck. That’s it. 

Maddie Buckley

Her domestic violence storyline was one of the most refreshing I’ve seen on TV in the sense that it addressed how hard it was to leave an abusive husband.  And then, she fucking killed his ass.  They could have easily had Buck and Athena arrive in time to kill Doug, but Maddie made the decision to fight back and to save herself. They’ve done a decent job of showing her recovery as well, including the PTSD.  She’s not magically better, and she probably never will shake those triggers. 

She also seems like a great sister.  Maddie and Buck scenes are some of my favorites. I’m bummed we haven’t really seen them together after the tsunami.  

I remember the Jennifer Love Hewitt craze years ago.  And it kind of disappeared when she DARED to gain a pound and age like a human being.  But we totally slept on her talent.  And I want her to have her own Ryan Murphy show, preferably one where she beats up men by night and runs a flower shop by day.  

I can’t wait for her and Chim to get married. Or for her to have a baby.  That Buck delivers. During a mudslide.

[msjr0119]

Forgive me

Part 12

Series includes suicide and abuse.

Based on true events but using TRR characters who are owned by Pixelberry.

Warnings: Swearing, abuse/rape.

@annekebbphotography @burnsoslow @drakesensworld @ladyangel70 @kingliam2019 @bbrandy2002 @butindeed @bascmve01 @drakewalker04 @pedudley @captain-kingliamsqueen @duchessemersynwalker @insideamirage @of-course-i-went-to-hartfeld @kozabaji @texaskitten30 @ibldw-main @kimmiedoo5 @nikkis1983 @dangerouseggseagleartisan @gnatbrain @walker7519 @lodberg @cmestrella @hopefulmoonobject @addictedtodrakefanfic @angi15h @liamxs-world @rafasgirl23415 @notoriouscs @yukinagato2012 @dcbbw @qammh-blog @nz1091 @beardedoafdonutwagon @cordonianroyalty @custaroonie @lauradowning29

I’ve just buried the kids guinea pig- if there any spelling mistakes etc please forgive me it’s been a traumatic day 👎🏻

******

“Liam I’m not going anywhere. I did this for you and Lucas.” Trying to hold him, he brushed her off him abruptly. Tears forming in her eyes she regretted trying to keep the two people she loved the most protected and safe.

“Riley I mean it. I will escort you back to New York in the morning. I suggest that you sleep in Leo’s room or the room next to Drake’s. I have business to attend to. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Fine. YOUR MAJESTY.”

Throughout the day after their argument, he was thinking about reconsidering what he had suggested. She had killed Justin, for them. Taking a risk that he probably wouldn’t dare do himself.

After his meetings for the day; including a press statement regarding his father’s death- Liam ambled into his quarters. Loosening his tie, he slumped onto his bed. Regretting how he had spoken to Riley, he needed to make amends. In his mind, he didn’t want her to return to New York- he just wanted her to be safe until all the events that had happened in the last twenty fours had blown over. Getting his shit together, he had rehearsed the apology in his head what he was going to give her. Walking to Leo’s old room, the door was slightly open ajar- knowing she wasn’t there, he headed to the room next to Drake’s. Knocking on the door, there was no response.

“Riley. Please talk to me. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to say what I did- I just wanted you both to be safe. I don’t know if Justin acted alone- I want you to stay here, with me. We can be a family- I’ll protect you with all my heart. I know what you did was for us and Lucas....” After pouring his heart out, there was still silence.

“Remind me to never annoy you- you New Yorkers can be as scary as Olivia.” He joked, hoping she would respond. “Please talk to me. I want to make sure that you are okay. It broke my heart seeing you hurt. I know that Drake was protecting you- I will apologise to him too.”

“Li? What are you doing?” Drake returned to his room, seeing the king sat on the floor in the hallway crying. Sitting next to his best friend, he pulled out his hip flask- knowing that Liam would need it after what he was about to explain to him.

“She won’t talk to me.”

“Liam- she won’t talk to you because she’s not here. You told her to go back to New York. She got on a flight with Ella around an hour ago. Bastien took them to the airport. I’m sorry Li- she insisted that it was too hard to say goodbye but she told me to tell you that she will always love you.”

“Drake, I’ve fucked up. I’ve lost her haven’t I? What if Justin didn’t act alone? I was thinking about that- about her safety, Lucas’s safety.”

“No you haven’t lost her. Just give her time. Besides I don’t intend on paying Maxwell his money back. We will get your Queen back soon, if there are more people involved Bastien and the guards will find out. I believe that Riley saved the royal family- it was Justin who was the ringleader- without him I doubt anyone will cause any more harm.”

******

Waking up the following morning after their argument, realisation hit -the reality that she had runaway- broke his heart even more.

Riley, Ella and Lucas arrived back in New York- Riley remained silent throughout the flight. Feeling guilty that she had torn Ella away from Drake, as well as regret for her poor decisions.

“Riley? Where are you staying? You’re always welcome at mine. Or Rob said you can go to his. I know you don’t want to listen to me, but Liam will apologise - he has had a lot to think about, he’s going to be stressed. Just give it time.”

“I’m going to Robs. Thanks though. I need to go to the doctors.”

“Why? You are going to be jet lagged. Just go to Robs, and catch up on sleep. He’s offered to look after Lucas.”

“Well now I’m back here, I need to rebuild my life. I need to go to the doctors to re -register us, I need to go to an estate agents to buy or rent an apartment, I need to find a job. I can’t just mope about El. I need to provide for Lucas.” Ella knew Riley would ignore her advise anyway- she was the most stubborn person she had met.

“Okay, if you need anything let me know.”

******

Riley explained everything that had happened to Rob- he was like an echo, repeating everything his sister had previously said to her. Give Liam time. Arriving at the doctors- she never informed them that she intended of leaving the country. Demanding to see someone urgently- she had hoped they would squeeze her in.

“Miss Brooks?” Riley stood up, feeling ashamed with herself- if anyone asked why she was there she intended on just saying that it was a regular check up.

“What can I do for you?”

“I ... I need the morning after pill. I... someone raped me yesterday.”

“I see. Is that the reasoning behind the bruise under your eye?”

“Yes. I also have other injuries. But I am fine.” Showing the Doctor the darker bruises that were forming on her arms surrounding nail marks, as well as her eye- he was shocked. Wondering why she showed no emotion regarding the abuse she had received. Thinking back to the event that led up to her killing her abuser.

“Don’t you dare touch me!”

“Why are you so timid? You slept with a gay man. I will give you everything.”

“The difference between you and Leo is that I loved him in so many ways. I despise you Justin.” Swinging his fist back, he aimed for her - a way he believed would shut her up.

“Shhh...” He wiped away her tears, before covering her mouth. “Just be a good girl, and no one will get hurt...”

Pushing her to the ground, she felt defeated- not able to move. Feeling numb. Fighting against him, was neither use nor ornament. He had her trapped. Ripping the zip on her jeans, he forced them down along with her pants, whilst sitting on her chest. Turning back to face her, he gently wiped the tears away from her cheeks.

Pulling her up, once he had done with her- he held her arms tight by her side.

“There’s a good girl. Pull your jeans up now.” Riley did as he commanded her to, feeling ashamed of herself. She watched him pull pieces of the hedge out of her hair. Smirking at her, she was thankful that he hadn’t noticed her back up weapon. Kissing her neck, she knew she had to end him.

“Here, there’s some water and the pill. Do you want me to refer for you some counselling? You have been through a traumatic situation. Have you reported the crime to the police?” Riley didn’t condone rape, but she had committed a crime that was far worse.

“No, I was on vacation. I won’t see him again- I don’t need counselling, thank you. I have lots of friends - they will support me.” Lying she intended on keeping this a secret- feeling annoyed with herself for allowing him to do it.

“Okay. Look after yourself Miss Brooks. If you need anything, please come and see me.”

******

It had now been sixth months since Riley had left Cordonia. In those six months, Liam and Riley had talked on a daily basis- but more recently Riley became more distant. The tone of her voice, wasn’t as enthusiastic anymore.

“Good morning. Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

“Riley. Please talk to me. I care about you both. I want to see you both- please don’t shut me out.”

“Fine.”

“When can I come and see you? I miss you both.”

“Whenever Liam.”

“I’m sorry. I will keep saying it until I’m blue in the face. I love you.”

Every time Liam said he loved her- she hung up. Riley found it more difficult to talk to him as the months went by- needing to tell him what had happened that fatal day she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Dragging herself back to the doctors, he had suggested that she was depressed- and referred her to counselling which she attended once a week. Ashamed to tell her friends, she just said that she was volunteering at the hospital. Bastien and the guards had found the other people that were involved with Justin’s vendetta- these people were the people who’s identities were hidden on the CCTV footage. Liam desperately wanted to inform Riley about the news- knowing his suspicions were correct. However, these people didn’t act upon bringing the royal family down like Justin had intended. Now they weren’t in any danger, he had hoped that she would forgive him and return to Cordonia.

******

Riley took her time getting ready for the night, Beth had organised a double date to get Riley out of the foul mood she had been in for the last few months. Deep down, she was still in love with Liam- but she wouldn’t admit it to anyone. Not even Ella, who was constantly travelling to and from Cordonia. Ella had offered to look after Lucas- every time she mentioned Liam to Riley at every opportunity given she just ignored it. Hearing a knock at the door, she was confused as she believed she was meeting Beth at the restaurant.

“Drake?”

“Riley, you look beautiful. Am I disturbing you?”

“Erm... no. Come in. But I am going out soon. What are you doing here?”

“Well my girlfriend lives here doesn’t she... thought I’d come and check in on you. You’ve gone mute on us the last couple of weeks.”

“I’ve been busy rebuilding my life here. I need to provide for Lucas. Whiskey?” Drake nodded, he wanted to inform her how Liam was- he regretted forcing her to leave Cordonia for her own safety.

“Liam’s here. They all are. He misses you. He’s been so miserable. Deep down he knows what you did was for you all. You shouldn’t have left- he was going to insist that you stay.”

“I’m sure Liam will be fine. Drake I need to go- I’m late as it is.”

“Who’s the lucky fella then?”

“Excuse me?”

“Ella told me you’re going on a double date with Beth.”

“I... I am. Doesn’t mean that I want to though. I just need to let my hair down every so often.”

“What about Liam? He wanted to... never mind.”

“Drake, I’ll catch up with all tomorrow. It’s been good to see you.” Drake stood up, not wanting to let her go on the date. Pulling her into his embrace, they stood frozen. Drake lent down- and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

“Agree with me that, this kiss meant nothing. Tell me that you miss Liam’s kisses. If you go on a date, and they kiss you it would feel like it felt when you kissed me then. No one could compare to Liam.”

“I don’t feel anything anymore anyway Drake. I’m not interested in relationships, Beth is forcing me out. I’d be happy just spending time with my son.” Drake knew what heartbreak was, but she wasn’t the same person they had met. It was as if she had some personality transplant. She was vacant- lacking emotions.

“Don’t go on the date then. Even better- go and see Liam. He knows he fucked up, he wanted you here to be safe.”

“I would have been safe! I killed the man who was the issue Drake.”

“I know, I know... but he thought that there could have potentially been more people involved, which there were- hence why he wanted you to return here. He isn’t a bad guy Riley, he was putting you first before his own feelings. I believe Justin did something to you too but I’m not going to express my suspicions. Fuck Beth. I know she’s trying to help you come out of this shell- but I know deep down you are in love with Liam. As he is with you. Just give him chance to explain. You probably won’t believe me, but whenever he spoke to you his eyes lit up. Then he went morbid again.... he loves you Riley. These six months have been hell for him, as I’m sure it has for you too. At his Coronation ball he wasn’t celebrating- he wanted you by his side.”

“His majesty King Liam of Cordonia.” Liam forced his way through the crowd- not really wanting to celebrate. Keeping conversations brief with all the nobles- he had expected to have his Coronation with Riley by his side.

“Li, congratulations. Are you okay?”

“I miss her Drake. I miss Lucas. I can’t do this without them in my life. I never thought I’d fall in love. The sooner this is over the better.”

“I’ll take you to New York, once things have got settled here. Ella explained that she’s doing okay- she’s quiet. But she’s okay.”

“She won’t have a full conversation with me- she just responds with one worded sentences. How am I going to make it up to her? Prove to her how much she means to me- if she won’t talk to me?”

“Simple. Just speak from the heart. Use that Rhys charm. You are the King now. If she really is the one you love- you know what to do.”

“He will make a fantastic king, but Drake I have to go...” Drake stood up, knowing she was being stubborn. Leaning down he kissed her on the cheek before saying bye. As she locked the door, she decided to shout to him. “By the way your suspicions are possibly correct. I’ll see you all tomorrow, I promise.” Drake gulped, wondering why she couldn’t tell anyone. Had she told anyone?

*****

Riley arrived at the restaurant, fashionably late. Beth thought she could now breathe after making excuses up for the last hour or so.

“What time do you call this?” Beth gave her a bit of lipstick that matched her dress. Riley really didn’t give two fucks- another Prince Charming could walk through the door but he wouldn’t be Liam or Leo for that matter.

“Beth I didn’t want to come in the first place. I am quite content staying single.”

“No, you are hoping that Liam will sweep you off your feet. If he loved you he wouldn’t have forced you out of his country.”

“Beth you don’t know him! Or me for that matter. Can we please just get this over and done with.”

Riley sat across from Beth, never even making eye contact with the man who she was supposed to be on a date with. Beth did the introductions, before they ordered a bottle of wine to share. Throughout the meal, Riley was ignorant- mainly due to the fact that didn’t want to be there but also because her date Callum just spoke highly about himself- never once asking about her. At the end of the meal, Callum kissed her on the cheek and said he would contact her regarding a second date- believing that she was just quiet because she was nervous.

*****

Drake arrived at Ella’s apartment, still in shock with the hint of what happened to Riley.

“How was she?”

“Quiet and feeling pressured to go with Beth. Justin raped her before she killed him.”

“He did what?” Liam walked out of the spare room, Drake didn’t know he was there. Fuck he muttered to himself.

“What are you doing here?”

“Ella invited me, knowing I’d missed Lucas.”

“I should have warned you that I’d invited him over but you was longer than expected- it slipped my mind.” Ella handed Drake and Liam a drink, they were all shocked.

“Did you know Ella?” Liam asked, hoping that Riley hadn’t gone through it on her own. If Riley hadn’t have killed him, Liam was sure he would have done it. Feeling like he couldn’t breathe, he wasn’t there for her when she needed him.

“No, liam. She has been quiet with us all. Daniel and Lola noticed she wasn’t herself either. We all just assumed it was because of you.”

“Why couldn’t she tell me? I’d have supported her.” Placing his head in his hands, he wished he could turn back time- protect her from all of this.

“Maybe because you insisted that she returned here?” Drake said in a sharp tone of voice. Liam feeling guilty already didn’t know what to do- if he contacted her regarding what Justin did, Drake could potentially be her next victim. But somehow he needed to let her know that he knew to show he still cared for her.

“I’m just going to... I’m going to check on Lucas.” Ella and Drake nodded, both not knowing what to say.

Walking into the room, he picked Lucas up out of the travel cot. Holding him, he needed to control the tears that were falling onto the young princes head. What are we going to do with your mommy Lucas? She’s so strong, she’s incredible, she’s brave. I love you buddy, I love your mommy too. I’m not letting either of you go again.

*****

Riley made her way over to Ella’s apartment, she just wanted to be with Lucas. She had arranged for Ella to have him overnight, but her plans had changed. Letting herself into the apartment with the spare key- she made Ella and Drake jump.

“I could kill Beth. I am not doing this again.” Throwing her bag on the floor, she was grateful that she didn’t walk in on something happening between the two love birds. “Drake? What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same.” Liam had gone in the shower after Lucas was sick down him- prior to Riley showing up unexpectedly. The two of them smirked at each other- it was fate that Riley had showed up.

“I’ve come to collect my son.”

“It’s fine Riley, I assume you’ve been drinking- we will look after him.”

“I’ve only had three glasses of wine El, I’m capable of looking after him. I’ll come back tomorrow for the travel cot. Enjoy your night together.” Riley touched the door handle on the door leading to the spare room.

“Don’t go in there!” Drake and Ella said in unison- maybe they should have warned her about who was in the room.

“Why? Is Lucas okay?”

“Yes, he was sick just before but he’s asleep now, Ri.....” Riley shook her head- feeling like the worse mom because she wasn’t there for her son when he is poorly. Ignoring her friends, she barged her way through the door.

*****

“Liam?” Liam turned around, wearing nothing but sweat pants. His eyes widened, jaw became agape- she looked beautiful he thought.

“Ri.” Avoiding his gaze, she knew she had to remove herself from the room as soon as possible.

“I... We should go...” Sneaking past him she bent down to collect all of Lucas’s belongings.

“Leave him here, he’s asleep.”

“He’s my son Liam. I will do what I want with him.”

“I think you and I need to talk.”

“I told Drake before that I would see you all tomorrow. I’m tired. I just want to take my son home.” Touching her, she flinched. Not knowing why her body would react like that- it’s Liam, he wouldn’t hurt me she thought.

“I know what Justin did to you. I’m here for you. I love you, I’ve missed you. We can work through this.” Before she could respond, she stormed out of the room.

“Drake how could you?”

“I overheard him Riley. It wasn’t his fault. He was going to keep it a secret for you.”

“Who else knows Drake? Have you told Maxwell and the others too? Or how about advertise it around Times Square?”

“Ella asked how you was, I didn’t even know Liam was here. I swear.” Looking between the three of them, deep down she knew Drake wouldn’t maliciously spread her secret.

“I need some air. Excuse me.”

Shit, Liam muttered- following her out of the door forgetting he wasn’t wearing a top or shoes, he didn’t care. Seeing her sat on the curb outside the apartment block she looked defeated- a different person, not the Riley he fell in love with. Hearing footsteps behind her, she knew who it was without even looking.

“Go back inside Liam, you’re going to catch pneumonia.”

“Likewise.” Turning around to look at him, she shook her head- she had got away with murder once. She didn’t believe that she would also get away with allowing the King to suffer with pneumonia.

“I’m not the one stood in the rain wearing no top or shoes.” Feeling the rain run down his chest, he was freezing- shivering. But at this moment in time, Riley was his priority. He could handle a little bit of a cold, sitting next to her he was hoping that she wouldn’t mind.

“Well I decided to take the risk of catching pneumonia.. I fucked up Riley, I didn’t want you to leave- I wanted you to be safe.”

“I know Drake said...” She interrupted him- whispering, before pulling her knees up to her chest.

“Let me finish please....” Riley nodded, not making eye contact with him. “These six months must have been hell for you- I knew you were distant on the phone. I believed it was due to my decision about your safety. I just wished you’d have told me- I’d have cancelled all my meetings and come straight over. I wanted to come, but Drake convinced me that you needed time alone. You were always on my mind, from the minute I woke up- until the moment my eyes closed at night. I am so sorry, if you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”

“You’re forgiven Liam, I don’t hate you. So you don’t have to apologise. But I am sorry. I caused all of this. So I don’t need any sympathy regarding what happened that day.”

“You was thinking about me and Lucas- I understand that now. At the time I was grieving, I was angry, I was frustrated that I didn’t get the chance to prepare for my Coronation. You and Lucas are my priority, and always will be.”

“You should really go inside, the rains getting worse. You don’t want to end up in hospital- the food can be atrocious at times.”

“I’ll only go inside if you follow me.” Liam stood up, holding his hand out for her- the first eye contact she had made with him. Baby blues fixated on each other. Taking his hand he pulled her up, before holding her tightly. I love you he whispered in her ear, hoping she’d give some indication that she still loved him. Wrapping her arms around his waist- her grip became tighter. Feeling safe again in his arms, she didn’t want to let him go. Lifting her chin up, he looked down on her- leaning in closer. Something he had wanted to do for so long- he had missed her. The rain ran down their faces as their lips reunited, each feeling the cold raindrops. Liam removed his lips, admiring her before pushing his lips onto hers leading into a more passionate kiss. The feeling was intoxicating as it was all those months ago. Moving her damp hair to the side, he buried his head onto her shoulder before kissing her there. The drizzling rain falling effortlessly from their faces down their bodies. Breaking the kiss, he tucked her damp hair behind her ear.

“As much as I enjoyed that kiss, I believe my toes are about to drop off any moment. I’m freezing Riley. Please stop being so stubborn.” Laughing at him trying to keep a straight face, she had missed him- he smiled at her laugh, before kissing her on the forehead.

“I’ve missed you so much. I am never letting you go again. Please can we go and get dry... I wanted to ask if you’d come back to my hotel room with me? I’ve got something to give you....if you’ll accept it...”

[thebestpartofthecarrotcostume]

So today was not a great day because of all the pain today and then that gets me down and depressed because my mum has the same thing but didn’t show symptoms until around 43 and now she’s 48 and requires a walking stick/rollator to get around and about a dozen pills just to help her barely function. So, obviously showing symptoms since I was about 22 is insanely scary and worrisome for me. And I 100% get that FND is not linear - or even hereditary - so I can’t base my case on my mum’s, but damn it if I don’t still get scared of that shit. So, a very mum-like day of being in pain all over and having a squiffy brain put me in a bad one.

I’ve been watching season four of 13 Reasons Why over the past few nights and the final episode came on and that shit hit home hard because Justin is literally there dying, on palliative care, and you see him getting worse, and that shit had me sobbing because my nan is going to be worse than she is right now and she’ll be bed-bound, wasting away, barely able to hold a conversation, and the time that that comes will be hard because I don’t think I’ll be able to be there for her.

A massive source of my anxiety and depression through life has been as a result of me not getting my degree, then having to rely on entry-level jobs, and getting fired from those because of undiagnosed ADHD at the time. So, my logic for re-enrolling in uni again last year (to start this September) was to make myself more valuable so that I wouldn’t be as likely to get fired and all that shit, but also because I know in myself that I haven’t accomplished anything in my life that I set out for myself. And that ends up with my constantly having this nastiness in my head that reminds me I’m not good enough and not doing anything with my life and shit. And with three suicide attempts under my belt as a result of anxiety and depression that stems from that, I really fucking need to get this degree.

So, then, when my nan gets diagnosed with terminal cancer and that kind of puts a cog in the works because I’m with her everyday atm to try and give her some quality of life (take her out, keep her spirits up, keep her happy and cheery) alongside helping with her care and I have this constant back and forth fight inside me about not going to uni to be there until the end because I worry that nobody will treat her as well as I do, but I also worry that when it gets harder and worse - if I do defer for a year - that I will literally break when she dies, and then I won’t have uni or anything to try and force normality on to me, and obvs being a year further away from the degree, it’ll just end badly.

I have to keep reminding myself to be selfish and go to uni because I fucking deserve to live and have a life and not die because I couldn’t cope with not having my shit together, and I know my nan would fucking hate me for not going, but it’s really fucking hard when we’re talking and uni comes up and my nan (who is overtly unaffectionate as a person) says “I shall miss you terribly when you’re not here” or says about how the days out I take her on and the activities and suff that we do to keep busy are “so memorable” it fucking makes me feel sick. But I’m honestly scared that if I don’t go to uni in September that I won’t be alive next year. I know that I’m commuting to a local uni so I’ll still be able to see nana as regularly as possible and stuff, but it’s just a constant battle in my head, and I don’t think it’ll stop until she’s gone unfortunately. It all just makes me feel so sick.

[deckerstarwrites]

wanted plots for my 1x1 blog @mostpxculiar as well as fcs I’d like to play/play opposite to. please like this post, or dm me if you’d like to discuss any of these plots further! tw: nsfw/smut plots cheating, pregnancy, murder/blood,  under the cut.

plots i want, but also please come at me with plots YOU want!

a plot based off of fleabag/hot priest from fleabag

someone should give me a plot with this big bad gang leader and his super soft and cute girlfriend that has him wrapped around her finger. like he’s a feared man, which she doesn’t really care about. and she’s there to patch him up and while he usually tries to hide her away from the cruel world he’s in whenever he isn’t there with her, she just patiently waits for him when he’s out and about doing his business and he’s so fascinated by her and no matter how much of a bad guy he is, he’s just so soft for her and he’d do anything for her!!! and then his most precious possession gets kidnaped and shit goes down snsnsns (m/f, f/f)

f/f plot where a snobby, graceful, poised and rich prima ballerina falls in love with a reckless pole dancer who is super hot with a 6 pack and colourful hair and the girls are total polar opposites pls hmu

a plot where muse a just needs to get away from everything so she packs up everything into her small shitty car that barley runs and just drives. she loses count of the boarders she crossed until she lands right into the middle of a small town where the population is like 2 thousand and her car breaks down. so she goes into a diner that she sees is open and she asks about a mechanic so the lady in the diner calls up her friend who happens to be muse b, the local mechanic. so muse b comes over and tells her that he wont be able to check her car out until morning bc its like 10 pm now so muse a is going to check into a motel or smth but muse b offers to put her up for the night and bc shes broke she says yeah and basically they end up banging with the intention that after tomorrow they are never gonna see each other again - wrong. muse b goes down to his shop and looks at the engine and a really important parts gone in it and its going to take a couple weeks for it to come in and basically muse a has to stay in this shitty small town for the next couple of weeks AND THEY FALL FOR EACH OTHER AND WE CAN FIGURE THE REST OUT! (m/f, f/f)

I really want a one night stand where she snuck out before he woke up and he tried looking her up but he didn’t even know her full name, so he moved on. Move on years down the road and he’s just gotten engaged and at the engagement part he’s introduced to her sister that’s been living overseas for the past few days, but who is it, that girl from all those years ago. Better yet, meet her child, wait, why do they his eyes.

modern hades and persephone where persephone is a tired college student and when she finds out the god of the underworld wants to make her his bride she’s like “become queen of the dead AND never have to go to an 8 AM lecture again, not to mention watch with popcorn as my ex dies and finds out my new boyfriend is his new king? YES PLZ” and just fucking swandives down into the underworld and hades is like “…i had a carriage prepared but okay that works too”

plot three. six months ago he let the nanny give him head. he has been avoiding talking to her since, and is really flustered. she is a full time, live in nanny in their giant mansion. i’m getting a ‘living in england’ vibe, but i’m not sure. he has 3-4 kids running around with his wife of years. the nanny can’t stand the wife, but is obviously polite. his wife is bitchy, whiny, and all she cares is about appearances. who cares if you’re actually happy? just play happy. pretend to be happy. the nanny loves to fluster him when the wife isn’t home. she’ll wear short outfits, lean over, not wear underwear, forget to wear a bra. it was a holiday. so they invited the nanny to eat dinner with them. she starts rubbing him under the table. later on that day, he pulls the nanny to the side into the bathroom or something to tell her that she had to cut it out and that it was a one time thing. out of the blue  - he kisses her hard. just give me lots of behind the wives back, and maybe she gets pregnant down the line?

ok but i need a plot where there’s these two idiots who are roommates, and they bicker and act like a married couple constantly, and can hang out like bros but they’re completely platonic, no we’re not in love that’s preposterous!! and it’s so evident that they’re into each other like whenever one goes out on a date, the other is all bitter like ‘no i’m definitely not jealous’. and they like leave bars together at some stupidly early hour and their friends tease them and they just go home and get drunk together instead. and like domestic washing the dishes and fighting over who does what and flinging soap at each other. and then one day it kind of just clicks, you know, like wow you’re my best friend but i think i might love you as more this is so difficult and just, give this to me now.  (m/f, f/f)

not to be dramatic or anything but i really want a sugar daddy/sugar baby plot where the muse a is “ happily ” married ceo of a big company with shit tons of money and muse a goes out to a local bar just to chill when they meet muse b. ofc they hit it off and go in muse a’s car and fuck all night and in the morning muse a offers muse b a proposition, if muse b agrees to be muse a’s mistress then muse a will give muse b anything they want starting their sugar baby/sugar daddy relationship. it’s all good until muse a sees muse b all over another guy and looses it and gets into a huge fight with muse b that ends with muse a fucking muse b up against his car and yea gimmie this smut i need sneaky around and sexting while around his wife nd getting him riled up like yes pls thank  

bloody , murderous & psychotic couples who love killing people for the thrill and make out with bloody lips and high five each other by the mountains of dead bodies they made . fuckyeah ?  give me this crazy shit . serial killer couples . vampire couples . dark romeo & juliet couples . modern au persephone & hades couples . couples who compete to see who kills the most or the most gruesome . give me gore . give me bloodshed . GIVE IT TO ME !  (m/f, f/f) (focusing a lot on hades/persephone, vampires but willing to go the bonnie and clyde or serial killer route)

no offense but i need a messy exes plot where they can’t get over one another no matter what they do and they always tell themselves they’re not gonna go back to them yet every time they get done with a date they end up knocking on the other person’s door and just jealousy and angst and heartbreak and crying because they don’t know if this is ever going to work out but they can’t walk away because this person is still their whole fucking world and they don’t know how to move on  (m/f, f/f)

faceclaims I’d like to play and play against or both  but also literally come at me with your fcs!!!

Inbar Lavi

Tom Ellis

Lauren German

Sophia Bush

Trevante Rhodes

Zoe Saldana

Madelaine Petsch 

Camila Mendes

Lesley Ann Brandt

Manny Montana

Diane Guerrero 

Adria Arjona

Ana De Arms

Aisha Dee

Chris Evans

Ryan Gosling

John Krazinski

Matt Czuchry

Lana Condor 

Elizabeth Lail

Anya Charlotra

Victoria Pedretti

Zazie Beetz

Shay Mitchell

Candice Patton

Margot Robbie

Florence Pugh

Lucy Liu

Jodie Comer

Katie Mcgrath

Justin Baldoni

Indya Moore

Oscar Isaac

Matthew Daddario

Tessa Thompson

[gramon-my-otp]

To The End, With You - chapter twelve

Previous Chapter |  Next Chapter

Chapter Synopsis: Russell and Gareth participate in the entrance ritual of the secret gay brotherhood of Britpoplar. The Gallagher brothers prank Damon and Graham in an awful way - which escalated to a surprising revelation between the two friends!

Alternative Universe fanfiction placed in the 1600s. 

Words: 2040

Disclaimers:  I understand that Blur, Pulp, Oasis, Suede, Elastica and other bands members belong to their own and have their own personality and personal lives. I am aware this is nothing but a work of fiction and the way the characters are represented are fruit of my imagination and do not correspond to their real thoughts and way of life. Fanfiction should not be taken seriously.

(After more than three years, I came back to finish what I have started. Thanks for the giving me motivation @skygramon​ I can’t do this without you)

Two cloaked individuals sprinted around the borough of Britpoplar at night. They were aware that there were eyes in places they would never imagine. The location chosen for a secret meeting was unfamiliar to them, but the path that led to it was infamous for the grieving memory it sparkled. It was where Simon Gilbert last walked alive - and they were there, the two cloaked men, holding hands. They stopped by the butcher shop, as it was instructed to them. A straight gated iron door opened before them, almost invisible in the corner of the slaughter house. Only then the blokes noticed a flickering light in a window above. A hidden room above the shop. The negotiators had already been waiting. The men entered and the iron gate shut closed. Damon Albarn received the visitors with a knife in hand, pointing at them.

“Identify yourselves”

They removed their own covers completely, revealing to be Damon’s fellow Russell Senior and his young lover, Gareth Coombes. Damon put his blade back and greeted them accordingly. The setting was unsettlingly silent. The glow of candles reflected upon the stairs behind them.

“Up we go”, asked Damon, gesturing with his arms and hands. 

The blonde followed the couple climbing the stairs, heading to the bedroom. Another iron gate, and also a door. Anxiety built up in the two lovers hearts. They held their hands tighter, and carried on. On the edge of the bed sat Morrissey and Alex James. He wasn’t happy to be there, but as a member of the society he had to fulfil tasks when required of him. Russell wasn’t expecting to see neither of them there. He would never guess the so much respected librarian was homosexual, and he never cared for a poor lowlife profile such as Alex. He was speechless already. Gaz took a deep breath and gathered the courage to make his question:

“Are those the ones assigned to each one of us?”

“Yes”, answered Damon, behind them. “It was easy finding someone slim, tall, and young as you are for Russell. Believe me, it’s easier to get it done when the person resembles someone you like”.

“So, I have to lie down with fellow Alex, while he has to lie down with Morrissey”, Russell was repeating the obvious. He knew Damon wouldn’t volunteer because they were kind of close. Still, the thought of that passage rite was absurd, but necessary.

“Are you going to stay here and watch us?” - asked Alex, annoyed. “Aren’t we going to have a little privacy?”

“Mr. James… Somebody has to watch the surroundings. Damon had the idea that we leave as a group afterwards, pretending we’re drunk”, Morrissey explained. “I’m sorry this room doesn’t fit your needs, but it’s the only we could find in a hurry. Now, shut your mouth and do what you are supposed to!”

Gaz and Alex were tops, while Russell and Morrissey were bottoms. It was difficult for the couple having to have sex in those conditions, only to be accepted, protected by the community. Proof was necessary, and now they had it. The plan for them to leave in safety proceeded well. They were mistaken by drunkards lost in Britpoplar streets. 

~

The sound of boiling metal and hammers crashing against steel filled the emptiness of the air under the hot midday sun. The Gallagher brothers had been reforming armor pieces for the soldiers for the last few days. Not that they cared for the army. In fact, they didn’t, but gold was gold. The payment was good and they needed it. They constantly thought about what Jarvis Cocker and Brett Anderson said to them. Honestly, they thought they were crazy and being paid for following people was something way over the line. They rarely did the patrols they were supposed to, and never saw anything that called their attention. That day, though, was their lucky day. 

“Fuck, I’m bored!”, voiced Liam, dropping his working material. “Tired of doing this and bored!”.

“If you leave the hard work to me again, I will take your gold for meself”, warned Noel.

“You just try it!”, Liam raised his fist toward his brother.

When they were about to throw punches at each other, they noticed movement behind them. They see Damon walking past by with Graham, chatting joyfully. In the midst of the awkward silence between the Gallagher brothers, the two peasants ignored them. In fact, they didn’t even witness the foolish discussion. They were so focused and entertained with each other. 

“Let’s fool with them just like we did with that Justin Welch moron last week” - suggested Liam, with pure mischief in his eyes. 

“Do we really have to?” - Noel questioned, uninterested.

“Are you crazy?! Stop being a slackass and let’s go!”- Liam tried to encourage him.

“Alright, alright. They are full of shit anyway…” - Noel got moving then, and Liam went along.

Graham was actually having one of the most exciting afternoons of his life. Listening to Damon nonstop, telling stories of the town and sharing his adventurous experiences. He would either blabber about managing the gay community or how much he liked Justine. Graham couldn’t avoid thinking how big of a hypocrite and selfish Damon was at that matter. What the hell did he want in life? The answer was simple, Albarn wanted the whole world, he wanted everything. However, no man was able to play God, nor he was allowed to be larger than life just for the sake of good fun and self indulgence. Damon’s sins were numerous, as he was endangering both himself and all the people he cared about. Sooner or later, Graham would suffer from some kind of backfire. The blonde one had been spending the whole day with his friend, saying lots of things, but not what he really wanted to say. Coxon was fine whether Damon knew he was attracted to him or not. It was too dangerous to risk it all for an affair. He was more than happy with his friendship.

“Oi, mates! What a pleasure to see ya in this part o’ town!” - Liam came in grinning wide.

Graham froze from his arse up. He was aware of the Gallagher’s reputation. 

“What’s wrong, newcomer? Shat your trousers?!?” - Noel already got a grip of the brunette’s shoulder. 

If Damon decided to fight them he would surely lose. Graham was nothing but a scaredy cat - there was no way he was going to help out in combat. As Liam sunk his knee deep in Damon’s stomach, Noel punched Graham in the mouth. 

“Damon, no!” - uttered Graham.

“I’m okay, Graham. He’s too weak for me…” - Damon could barely talk, and still he mocked the one who bullied him.

The two victims were dragged by their enemies to Britpoplar’s cemetery. It had both fancy tombs for the rich families and some areas to drop poor abandoned chaps. Last time Damon was there he stole Simon Gilbert’s body away, to bury him at his homeplace. 

“Right! Let’s play a game!” - Liam held Damon by his hair, almost pulling it from his scalp. They kept climbing the hill on the cemetery until they found the tiniest stone mausoleum. It must have been built for a child, but the funeral never happened. The monument was there for a really long time, and the Gallaghers often took other young men there just to terrorize them, locking them up in the tomb for several hours. They were about to do it with Damon and Graham.

“Liam, I don’t know if they will both fit in! We never tried putting two at once!” - Noel was laughing at his younger brother’s psychotic necessities. He probably participated only for gags.

“Shaddap and help me” 

The only way Damon and Graham could coexist in that horrid conditions were positioned against each other, face to face, squeezed in the vault between the stone walls. 

“Let’s see how long it will take for them to figure how to get out” - the two friends in trouble overheard the sentence, as the voices from Noel and Liam disappeared with the distance. 

It was so tight in there that their rib cages didn’t have enough space to breath. Their legs were nearly intertwined with one another. Graham’s crotch was against Damon’s thigh, as well as the same for the other way round. The whole situation was disturbingly inconvenient, and yet it could get a lot worse.

“Graham, are you okay?” - Asked Damon after noticing his friend’s face twitch. - “Can you breathe?”

Coxon could only nod positively, while a drop of sweat ran down on his forehead. Damon struggled to move his hands and looked all around the stone enclosure.

“That’s what Justin Welch meant with being abused by the Gallaghers! What a bunch of useless cunts! If he got out, we can too!”

Not that Graham was relieved with the idea of being free from that nonsense, but while Damon was slowly searching for a lump, a button, or a handle of any sort in the walls, it was hard not move accidentally against his mate, rubbing himself against Coxon’s body.

“Damon, I am sorry, I am so sorry, I can’t!”

“What are you…? Oh, my… Graham, you…”

That was it. Graham Coxon got a boner, and his stiffness was screaming inside his trousers, trapped between Damon’s thigh and below his own navel. Damon first reaction was to be in shock. Never in his mind he could imagine this chap longing for him, even though Morrissey had suggested so a few days prior. Graham was truly mortified. He refused to open his eyes and wished he was dead only not to hear what Damon had to say. Instead of what was expected, Damon suddenly burst into laughter. Graham discreetly peeked at his giggling face. 

“That’s right! Laugh at me! I deserve to be humiliated!” - Coxon cried dramatically. 

“Shut your mouth, Gra.” - Damon silenced Graham himself, surprising him with a warm, magisterial, and hopeless kiss. He forced his tongue inside the man’s mouth, relishing on his sweet taste and extreme insecurity. 

Graham, at first, got so scared with Damon’s sudden move, that he fought it, refusing to believe that his life had come that - but as soon as Damon’s large tongue made way, his whole body simply swooned. He wanted more, and he didn’t want it to stop - but Damon had a million thoughts in his head. He started it, and he ceased it too.

“We shouldn’t, Graham, you’re my friend.”

“I… I think I am in love with you.” 

When they thought they were never gonna leave that wretched tomb, Damon unexpectedly hit his elbow on a piece of the wall and dislocated, making it possible for them to push the stones apart and escape the trap. They literally fell on top of each other when they made it out.

“You don’t want to get involved in this, Graham.” - Damon was referring to joining the gay brotherhood. “I can't let you risk your life over me.”

“But - I am not confused anymore! I know now, I want this, and I want you!” - Graham embraced Albarn, still on the ground.

The blonde one held Coxon’s chin, as if he was about to kiss him again, but then let go. He got up and assisted his confidant afterwards. 

“Try to imagine yourself with a maiden or something and get rid of this hard-on you’ve got, We’re going back to the university.”

Eventually, Graham’s erection faded away, but not because he imagined a naked woman - being rejected by Damon in that way had hurt him. He felt as if his feelings had been played with, like a dart game. Damon had hit bullseye, and his heart was now bleeding.  Neither him or Albarn could sleep that night. Coxon was just too sad, regretting that he opened his heart to his friend in a moment of fragility. Damon, on the other hand, kept awake because of his guilt. He didn’t want to mess with Graham’s feelings at all. He was still resenting Simon’s death, and believed he couldn’t keep his brothers at the secret community safe. He loved Graham too, still, he wasn’t ready to put his life on the line for the sake of their feelings. 

[samtheflamingomain]

f is for fucked up

I recently binge-watched the Netflix show F is For Family.

It caught my attention because of a few things: set in the 70s, Justin Long as Kevin is fantastic, and, a very odd thing for an animated show, it features direct continuity. You HAVE to watch it in order.

And if you do, you see a pattern. Frank, the father of the titular family, is an abusive asshole who frequently threatens to defenestrate his children.

But, unlike, say, That 70s Show, it's not really played for laughs. Frank rarely ends up getting what he wants or comes out on top. His words and actions eventually lead, over 3 seasons, to his marriage almost falling apart, and his children being severely neglected to the point that one runs away.

There's usually a feel-good ending to most episodes, but because of the continuity, it all adds up.

A lot of things come to a point in the very last episode of season 3. I know the people reading this have likely already seen it, but let's recap then analyse.\

There's a new baby on the way, and this causes Frank and Sue to feel like their lives are disappearing. Frank will never achieve his dream of becoming a pilot, and Sue is a deeply unsatisfied housewife. She gets an equally-unsatisfying job, then has her only brilliant invention stolen from her.

Maureen had always been "Daddy's little princess" until recently, when Frank pays more attention to Sue and tries to get ahold of Kevin's behavior. She starts to feel invisible, and so she devises the idea to go on a TV show to win a game. And to be noticed.

Bill, in my opinion, has it the toughest of the kids. He's constantly getting beaten up by bigger kids until one day he falls in love with one of their sisters, who turns out to be psychotic. He spends a night under his parents' bed, which scars him deeply. (3 guesses as to why) Then he sees a man explode in front of him and his father tells him to bottle it up. "That's what real men do". This culminates in him agreeing to run away to Pittsburgh with his crazy girlfriend.

Meanwhile, Kevin also goes through a lot. His friends dump him, he sleeps with his neighbour's wife, and ultimately, he gets arrested.

I saved him for last because, after he gets arrested, Sue says to Frank, "You need to try a different approach. Yelling doesn't work. Try being compassionate and nurturing." After a bit of bitching, Frank agrees.

And this almost made me cry. Because that's my parents - ideally. They screamed at me my entire life because, like Frank, they "didn't know what else to do".

But my parents never realized that they needed to take a different approach. So the fact that Frank even tries (though it doesn't last) redeems him a bit.

But I want to go back to comparing it to That 70's Show, not just because both take place in the 70s. But because the fathers are so similar. Veterans, "real" men, horrifically abusive but able to admit their mistakes. The last part doesn't excuse the abusiveness, but it doesn't count for nothing.

Tangent: My father never once admitted to being wrong about anything, even scientific or historical fact. I tried to explain the Monty Hall problem to him once and it culminated in him screaming for me to shut up and go to my room. Then, one day, he brought it up and explained it to ME. And I reminded him of the time I'd tried to do so, and he tried to say that I had been trying to convince him that the answer was "50/50", not "66/33", the correct, but seemingly illogical answer. The opposite was what happened.

Anyway. My point is that, in a lot of TV shows, there's a lot of abuse that isn't taken seriously. 70s Show eventually gets there, but it takes nearly 7 seasons for Red Forman to admit he fucked Eric up. Frank realizes, when Bill is screaming at him while nearly drowning, that he fucked his kids up. In fact, he realizes similar things a lot.

And we see him honestly trying to change. He says and does a lot of truly unforgivable things, but at the end of the day, he loves his family and tries his best to make amends when he realizes he's wrong.

Perhaps another of my favorite moments is when, in couples group counselling, Frank finally realizes why he's so angry and mean to his wife: he's jealous of her success. And because he thinks he needs to be a "man's man" and a "real man", he can't stand that his wife took a job when he lost his. He can't stand that she's invented a million-dollar idea. He says, in a sudden epiphany, "I think deep down, I want you to fail." The implication being that he thinks he's failed.

This is a very profound moment, and one of the first ones that truly shows Frank as the extremely vulnerable and thin-skinned man he is. He finally reaches the core of his anger, despite it being a terrible sentiment.

Two great examples of this thin-skinned-ness are in his neighbours Vic and Chet. Vic is a handsome man with a hot wife and a big house and a sports car: all the *things* Frank wants. Chet, however, is the PERSON Frank wants to be: respected, revered, loved. He turns out to be an absolute douchenozzle, but Frank tries to remain blind to that fact because he so desperately wants to be liked by Chet. This doesn't happen with any other character, and it's because, I think, he thinks he would've been a Chet if he hadn't had kids.

Another pretty heartfelt moment is when, after a fight, Sue insists they go to lunch. They start up right away and Frank goes outside to have a smoke so "she can calm down". Then he pulls out the list of things Sue wanted to discuss that he grabbed from her and called unimportant. He reads it. Item 3: "Whatever happened to 'co-pilot'?"

Flashback to the moment young Sue tells young Frank she's pregnant. Frank promises her they can weather any storm together, promising to "be her co-pilot" in life. He realizes now that he's completely fucked up.

This comes to a head when he's taken hostage by terrorists trying to hijack a plane. He says, "If you shot me now, you'd be doing me a favor," and gives his fuck-up with Sue as the reason. And she hears him say so.

So, to go back to 70s again, I think Frank is generally a more well-rounded character. Red Forman has a few epiphanies, but largely doesn't work on his flaws or serve any purpose other than a driver of conflict.

And when we do realize that Eric knows Red fucked him up, and Red accepts that, it becomes clear that Eric is not mentally well.

So too does that happen with all the Murpheys. Bill definitely has PTSD from multiple terrible events. Kevin likely has a form of borderline personality disorder (can't manage relationships, pushes people away while simultaneously craving emotional contact, risk-taking) as well as a form of anxiety and hell, maybe even oppositional defiant disorder. Maureen is the youngest and a Daddy's girl, so she's definitely the most healthy of the kids. But she's still something of a bitch and can be pretty manipulative.

Sue is the epitome of the depressed housewife. Only, that isn't her only trait that's played for laughs (see: Kitty being an alcoholic on 70's). She actively tries to change her life, to become the person she wanted to be.

The show's not perfect, but it does touch on a lot of important topics (racism, sexism, domestic abuse, child abuse, anger, envy, even drug use) - and often in a way that most shows wouldn't touch with a 50-foot pole.

To finish up, I'd actually point to the theme song. It starts with Frank graduating, soaring into the air with his newfound freedom. Then things start hitting him literally in the face. First, a draft notice. Then a baby bottle. Then a wedding cake. Then a bunch of random shit. He loses his hair and gets fat. This simple visual is actually very powerful in portraying the helplessness and powerlessness Frank feels about his lot in life.

I'm sure there have been millions of dreams shattered due to the unforeseen birth of a child. And, to get to my damn point already, I think that's one of the most important underlying themes of the show. A huge part of the reason Frank treats his kids and wife poorly is because he blames them for stripping him of his dream of being a pilot.

It might sound pretty obvious, but Frank's not really all that smart - at least, he lacks emotional intelligence.

I think she show is headed in a direction where this will become more prominent, and may even result in Frank realizing he's not right to take out his shattered dreams on his family. But we'll see.

Stay Greater, Flamingos.

[dontcallmecarrie]

an idea I had on my commute, because this trope is a personal favorite:

Justin Hammer blinked the stars out of their eyes, not even bothering to move before they got their bearings because last thing they needed was to get motion sickness on top of whatever had been in that weird laser gun Ivan and Victor had been messing with went off.

Ugh. They’d told Ivan to secure his projects better, told them someone’d end up in the hospital, why did nobody listen to them?!

Well. 

At least Winter’d tear them a new one, they could count on that much. If only because they were his meal ticket, but still.

Justin cautiously tried to sit up, and now that the ringing in their ears was going down they caught the last few snatches of whatever the people around them had been saying. 

Because there was now a crowd now, apparently. Joy.

“—ell is going on here, how did he even get here?”

“—rgy readings are all wrong, this makes no sense—”

“—plain to me how a civilian got into one of the most secured locations this side of the Mississippi? Anyone?”

“—ot to be kidding me,” a familiar voice said, “how did Hammer of all people get here? Oh, hey, he’s alive. Hey, Hammer? How’d you get out of Seagate?”

One of these things was not like the others. 

Not that Justin knew what the hell was going on, not when they’d been in a safehouse not two minutes ago, but...this was the first time in their life they’d heard that note of derision in Tony’s voice. 

Aimed at them, anyway, because goodness knew how many rants about Howard they’d talked him through after the accident. 

“Anyone get the number of that truck?” Justin asked with a groan, and didn’t even have to pretend to be confused by the truly impressive number of guns pointed his way as he sat up. “Hey, easy there, when’s the last time you got certified to carry with that type of grip?”

The looks Justin got were...less than welcoming. 

“How’d you get out of Seagate?” Director Fury said more than asked, and just like that, Justin knew what that gun had done, even before an agent looked over with a frown after tapping away at their tablet.

“Sir? Justin Hammer’s still in custody.”

Winter had better be kicking everyone’s ass for this, this was not what they’d signed up for when they’d stopped by with takeout.

.

aka NHDD!Justin crash-lands the MCU, and it goes about as well as expected.

...but to be honest? I’ve been playing with several permuations of this, just can’t decide which would be the most fun to mess with because, I mean, here’s some of the others:

NHDD!Avengers meet canon, wonder wtf is up with this ticking time bomb of a team and canon!Tony’s almost unrecognizable because they’re used to a Tony with very clear boundaries and may not be as heroic, but he’s theirs and seeing a version of him who’s been through the wringer is. Something not great. 

50/50 odds on who picks a fight, because NH!Tony will push back if someone tries to start something, but NH!Steve has even less chill than canon because he’s caught up in a goddamn love dodecahedron and anyone looking at his team wrong gets to deal with all the pent-up stress that entails.

NHDD!Justin meets canon [see above]. Rocky start due to obvious reasons, while Cabal’s scrambling to figure out a way to get them back, Justin immediately latches onto canon!Tony and they may not be a therapist, but tbh they’re pretty damn close sometimes. 

canon!Tony gets a concentrated dose of All the Feels™, feat. “your feelings are valid” and “you are not alone, asking for help isn’t being a burden” and “even if other people think poorly of you, that’s on them, you owe them nothing” and Tony’s very, very sad to see him go.

...this could also be pretty painful for canon!Justin, for reasons seen in this next scenario:

canon!Justin meets NHDD. Cue All The Self-Worth Issues. Because I tried to hint at it in NHDD, but long story short, canon!Justin was kinda set up for failure, between his poor excuses for parents, terrible role models, and the whole “growing up constantly compared to Tony Stark” thing is just asking for a major inferiority complex somewhere in here. So you take this Justin, and present him a world that could be summed up as, “I’m you, but better”? Who has everything he ever wanted, was taken seriously and treated with respect? He’s not going to have a good time.

irony is, it’s absolutely not his fault, either: NHDD!Justin is different not because of his circumstances, but because they’ve got echoes of a past life [...even if they don’t remember the specifics anymore].

on the flipside, the NHDD crew would get a better idea of just how unusual their Justin is, and their secret might get discovered somewhere in this

Cabal meets canon. Cue explosions, and a lot of dark hilarity because this League of Supposed-to-be-Evil-but-mostly-Just-Vibing has way better teamwork than the elite team of superheroes assembled to protect the Earth.

Victor’s probably the snarkiest here, once the shock of “holy shit I knew I hadn’t expected to survive Latveria’s civil war but is this what would’ve happened to my homeland? thanks I hate it” wears off.

NH!Bucky gives absolutely no fucks about shit going down anymore, splits his time between hunting down HYDRA [which seems to be even more of a problem in this hellscape, ugh] and avoiding this universe’s Steve Rogers because self-care is a thing and he has no idea what this universe’s Bucky is up to but he knows he’s probably in not as great a place as he was. 

[eryiss]

Blade of the Wanderer - Chapter One

Summary: Laxus’ life was fine. Not comfortable, not as good as it could be, but fine. Then a stranger entered the walled town of Magnolia, a stranger named Freed Justine, and everything changed. [Fraxus Multi-Chapter | T for Violence] 

Hey all! Here’s a new five-chapter fic for you all, and it’s a samurai AU. It’s part of the @ft-bb event, in which I’ve been signed up with @fyo-schii who’s made this amazing art!

You can read it on Fanfiction, Archive of our Own, or under the cut. And you can see all chapters right here. I hope you all enjoy it!

Chapter One – Clashing Blades

Year: 1539x. Luna-cycle: 8. Day: 11.

Fairy Tail was not a welcoming place. Not anymore.

Being a small village at the south west of Fiore, hidden in the shadow of the Hakobe mountain range, it was completely secluded. It was entirely self-sufficient. With no communication occurring with other settlements, it relied on its own farms and mines to gather the necessary resources for its inhabitants. It was entirely cut off from all of society; nobody could come in and, more importantly, nobody could get out.

Bordering the town stood stone walls. They were higher than any building they contained, at least a yard thick, and constantly covered with guards. The only break in the walls was for the steel portcullis, which only opened for the farmers and miners, so they could complete their trade. For anyone else, the village was everything.

This was felt by everyone who inhabited Fairy Tail. But nobody felt the seclusion of their home more than Laxus Dreyar.

The twenty-one-year-old was set to inherit the village, to rule it after his father's death. As a child, his father kept him contained in the large house they owned. Ivan claimed that, if he were to rule over the town, he should have no relationships with the people; it would make him weak. The only people he was permitted to know was his family, the house staff, his tutor, and the other members of his combat training class. Even with this strict control over Laxus' life, Ivan had made his anger known when his son had befriended two members of the combat class; Bickslow and Evergreen. His friends didn't return after that, and he was only permitted to talk to them through a monthly letter.

As he grew, things changed slightly. Instead of being confined to his home completely, Laxus was permitted to walk around the town with relative freedom. Ivan said it was a gift, he claimed that Laxus was thirteen years old, starting to become a man and was close to becoming a satisfactory heir. Looking back, Laxus realised his father just wanted to make sure people knew the man who would one day rule over them. To give him a presence for them to respect and fear.

Initially, he had used the fear his family had over the town to his advantage; it made Ivan happy and he got what he wanted without question. This attitude continued until he received his monthly letter from Bickslow and Evergreen with a clear message: change, or they stopped contact.

Another change that came with age was the survival training. Once every three months, he would be taken out of the village and into the forest at the foot of Hakobe. He'd be given a small set of supplies and was told to survive on his own for the week. The first time, he had been told it was a great honour to be allowed to leave the walls, and that he should be thankful for the experience. It took him longer than he was proud of to realise it wasn't an honour, nor was it a gift. It was another way Ivan tried to mould Laxus in his image.

Laxus, just like Fairy Tail, was secluded. At a standstill. Alone.

Until he wasn't. Until Freed Justine.

For all it's faults, and there were many, at least Fairy Tail was quiet. Other than during combat training, the only sound of the town would be the soft talking of the town square that only came alive on market days. Laxus had grown accustomed to it so, when there was a disruption, the blonde noticed it immediately.

He was in the courtyard of his house when it happened, training against a sand-filled dummy. The movements of his sword were well calculated and sharp, aiming at the pressure points that he had grown used to hitting. He was one of the strongest fighters in the town, taught by both his father and a well-respected fighter named Gildarts, but he could often be found training alone to further enhance his skills. There was always room to grow, to get stronger.

After plunging the tip of his blade into the sandbag, deep enough to make an incision that would leave an opponent bleeding, he heard yelling. His movements stopped an he ran a hand through his sweat soaked hair, frowning.

This never happened.

Quickly placing his sword into the scabbard, he started to walk through his large house and towards the town square, where the shouting and struggling was coming from. He grabbed a towel and wiped his face and bare torso dry, placing the sword on its holder as he left the building. As he approached, he saw a crowd had formed.

The people moved around him, giving him a near unhindered view of what was happening. It took him a few moments to see through the small huddle of village guards and understand why they were acting so aggressively. When he did eventually see what was happening, his frown intensified.

This really never happened.

Forced onto his knees, in the middle of the guards, was a man. A man not from Fairy Tail. He had long green hair, a style of clothes that Laxus was unfamiliar with, and a dark looking glare on his face. He was struggling against the men holding him down and, given that four of the town's guards were fighting to keep him in place, he was obviously strong. He was also obviously intending to get out from his entrapment.

Taking a second to look around again, Laxus could make some assumptions to why the stranger had been captured. One of the guards, who was not holding the stranger down, had a deep red patch coming from under his sleeve where he was obviously bleeding. Another guard was holding a sword that Laxus didn't recognise. It was made out of a different metal, the hilt was entirely a different design, and the blade was tinted with blood. It was pretty obvious that, somehow, the stranger had attacked the guard and had been dragged into the town because of it.

"Quiet!" One of the guards yelled.

Before giving the stranger the chance to either follow or deny the demand, the guard took the hilt of his sword and slammed it against the stranger's jaw, electing a harsh cracking sound. Many of the onlookers gasped at the act.

The stranger, however, had a different reaction. Although he still continued to struggle, he made sure to look at the guard who had hit him directly in the eye, and a grin split across his features; a grin Laxus could only be described as demonic. This was enhanced by the small trail of blood sliding down from the man's forehead, obviously the violence before they entered the village wasn't as one sided as Laxus had assumed.

"Fuck yourself," The stranger's voice was slightly croaking; had he been hit in the throat?

A loud roar left the guard's lips at the taunt. He lurched forward and grabbed the stranger's hair in his right hand. Without taking a moment, he slammed the stranger's head down into the stone ground. Again, the act of violence caused a small amount of shock throughout the crowd. Not that it stopped the guards.

After the stranger didn't show enough pain to please the guard, he released the stranger's hair and kicked him in the stomach. Laxus didn't make a move to stop him, why would he? The stranger would have brought this upon himself.

"Silence."

Ivan. Shit.

Laxus looked over his shoulder at the sound of his father's voice. The crowd seemed to freeze, all looking towards him as the town's leader approached the crowd. People split apart in the same way they did for Laxus, though obviously gave Ivan more space to move than they did Laxus. The only people who didn't move for him was the guards who were still struggling to keep the stranger down, and Laxus himself.

Ivan wore a sneer on his face, each footstep electing a sharp click against the stone ground. The closer he got to the kneeling stranger, the more he seemed to tower over the man. Even still, the stranger kept direct eye contact with him. He even maintained the small smirk.

Nobody ever looked at Ivan like that, not even Laxus. Nobody dared.

Instead of speaking to the stranger, Ivan looked towards the guard who had attacked him. Laxus looked towards the guard for the first time, having previously been too entranced at the sight of a man who he had yet to see; even blooded and bruised, a new face was a thing of wonder. The guard immediately stood to attention, acting more like a soldier than a protector of a small town. Laxus wondered if the guards would ever treat him like that when he was in charge. He wondered if he wanted that.

"What is this?" Ivan demanded, motioning towards the stranger.

"A trespasser, sir," The guard said, voice harsh and well trained. "He was found at the furthest end of Hakobe forest. After he became violent during capture, six of us were forced to move from out posts to assure he was correctly captured and taken here, sir."

Ivan was silent for a moment, something that made the tension practically palpable. Everyone living in Fairy Tail knew that Ivan Dreyar could be vicious. When he was silent and obviously deep in thought, it was safe to assume that he was concentrating his viciousness into a particularly cruel act. When he seemed to focus back on reality, he turned slowly to the guard whose uniform was stained with blood. The crowd tensed further.

His movements were slow, calculated in a way to further induce fear in the guard. It was obviously working. When Ivan reached into his coat and pulled out a small thatch bag, Laxus took a small intake of breath. He knew what was going to happen – it had happened to him multiple times – and it wasn't going to be nice.

"The little mongrel hurt you, I assume?" Ivan's voice was calm. It was nauseating.

"Yes sir," The guard managed to spit out, standing to attention though clearly scared. He watched with wide eyes as Ivan slowly opened the small bag; the kid didn't know what was about to happen.

"So, not only are you not capable of doing your only job," Ivan chuckled darkly. "Your inadequacy has also caused six of my men to leave their post. Therefore leaving us vulnerable. That's your fault, don't you think?"

"Y-yes sir," The guard's stutter made Ivan laugh a little. He looked towards another guard.

"Show me his wound. Keep it open," He demanded.

The other guard did as instructed. He pulled the blood-soaked sleeve up to the other man's shoulder, revealing a particularly nasty looking slash on his bicep. The wound was then split apart, allowing blood to flow from it freely. The injured guard watched with wide, scared eyes as Ivan reached into the small bag and revealed its content. He slowly lifted it, so it was visible to both the guard and the crowd watching it. The fine white powder slowly trickled out and back into the bag, and the guard immediately started breathing heavily with fear.

Salt. It was salt.

"Well, if you agree with me that this is your fault, and that you literally have no fucking use to me, then you'll also agree that you deserve this."

Taking a large pinch of salt, he brought his hands over the open wound. The guard tried to struggle but was restrained. Other than Laxus, Ivan and the guard himself, everyone in the crowd looked away as the salt slowly started to fall into the open flesh. The only thing stopping Laxus from looking away was knowing Ivan might see, and the ramifications of that happening. Not looking away became harder the second the firsts grain landed, as it was then that the injured guard began to shout in pain.

Laxus was taken back to his training with Ivan. Every time he made a mistake that caused him to bleed, this is what his father would do to him. He could still feel the burning sensation, the pure pain he had felt and the yelling that it had caused. It was hell; but he did nothing to help the guard before him. It became too much. He had to look away, and when he did, he had to pause.

The stranger was watching.

Looking at the stranger's face, Laxus couldn't be sure what he was thinking. His expression was impassive and almost analytical, as if he was trying to understand what was happening rather than being disgusted by it. All Laxus did know was that the stranger was the only person other than Ivan who could bare to watch.

Ivan's hands were tightly grasped around the guard's arm, adding a cruel pressure to the salt covered wound. The town leader had an almost pleasant grin on his face as the guard yelled, screamed and struggled. Ivan didn't allow him to move, smirk intensifying.

"Are you finished?" Ivan asked after a moment, voice sadistic.

"Please. Please stop," The guard started to beg.

"I asked you a question," Ivan chuckled. He lifted his free hand, grabbing the guard's jaw in an obviously tight grasp. He forced the guard to stare directly at him, whose screams were left replaced by a harsh, scared silence. Ivan's grin intensified, as his voice raised to a loud yelling. "Are you finished!"

The guard started to breath heavily, and all he could manage to do was nod. Laxus looked back to him and saw that he was biting his lower lip to stop himself from screaming. Laxus had done that, screaming had only made his father more aggressive.

"Well if you're done, why are you here?" Ivan's voice was the eerie quiet tone again. "Work. Now!"

Ivan released the guard's arm, who stumbled back a little. He grasped his arm, wide eyes as he saw the whole crowd were looking at him. He looked around, before his eyes settled on Ivan again. The town leader had placed the bag of salt back into his pocket and had replaced it with a small, corrugated dagger. He placed the tip on his middle finger and started to spin it, maintaining eye contact with the injured guard.

"All of you will return to your posts within the minute," Ivan chuckled darkly. "And if you don't, you will no longer be guards and, until you find new work, you will spend the time you should be working in the stocks."

It was enough of a threat to get the guards moving. They all knew of the stocks. They all wanted to avoid them.

Laxus spared a glance towards the guards as they ran towards the gate, before looking back to the stranger. Despite no longer being held down, he remained on his knees and looked towards Ivan with the same emotionless expression. Without men holding him down, Laxus could look at him without obstruction.

The blood was dripping down his face still, and Laxus could see a bruise starting to form. His hair was a slight mess now, probably from when the guard had grabbed it. His clothes were relatively well kept, rather than being ragged like Laxus expected. He actually almost looked noble.

It was then that the stranger looked towards him.

They shared a glance for only a second, but something about it unsettled Laxus completely. Laxus knew everyone in the town, or at least recognised them. Meeting someone new was usually only restricted to when a child was born, so having an adult man look into his eyes and not knowing who they were – not knowing anything about them – was unsettling. But, Laxus couldn't find it in himself to look away.

He suspected the stranger was looking at him with the same examining expression that he'd worn when watching Ivan's torment of the guard. The blonde had never felt vulnerable because of another person that wasn't Ivan, but the stranger seemed to be looking right through him. The blonde shuffled a little where he stood, but still couldn't look away.

Until Ivan forced him to.

The town's leader loomed over the stranger, grin still plastered onto his face. The stranger lingered his gaze on Laxus, before looking up towards Ivan. Still, his face was impassive. Laxus knew that it would antagonise Ivan; his father loved being intimidating and the reactions that garnered.

"So, mongrel, why the fuck are you in my land?"

The stranger didn't reply. He didn't even blink.

"You've gone deaf, have you? Because I heard your little barking at my guards," Ivan chuckled. "But you go silent around me. Funny."

The stranger still remained silent. Only Laxus noted the flare of annoyance on Ivan's face.

"But when I say speak, mongrel," The town leader glared, crossing his arms and making his biceps bulge under his sleeves. "I expect you to speak."

Ivan's actions were swift, and he slammed his foot into the stranger's stomach in a cruel kick. Again, many members of the crowd gasped or looked away, but Laxus watched as the stranger grunted and doubled over a little. Ivan's smirk turned more sadistic at the reaction, obviously he felt like the embarrassment of the stranger's silence had been made up for with the violence. The smirk fell and twisted into a cowl when, not a moment later, the stranger returned to his previous position of kneeling and looking up towards Ivan.

With an audible exhale of breath that showed his annoyance, Ivan stormed behind the stranger with his dagger in hand. He slid the blade under the man's chin and started to pull it up, digging it into the man's jaw and forcing him to lift his head. Still, the stranger remained silent and looked towards where Ivan had been standing.

"Answer my question, or I'll slit your fucking throat," Ivan whispered, venom in his tone.

"Could you?" The stranger's voice was deadly calm. It rivalled Ivan's tone. "Because I don't think you could. I think you're too much of a coward not to hide behind your guards."

Laxus' pupils dilated a little. Nobody had questioned Ivan in this way, nobody had the guts. The entire town had been brought up on the knowledge that Ivan was ruthless and was not to be questioned. To see someone mocking his authority and doing so while a knife was resting against his throat, was something alien to Laxus. He looked to his father's face, worried with how he was going to react.

Ivan's hand clutched around the dagger and he pulled it a little closer against the stranger's throat. Laxus knew his father was taking it personally, and that he would see this as the stranger trying to humiliate him. He also saw that Ivan was, for once, at a loss for words.

"You're either brave or stupid," Ivan eventually spat out. "Assuming it's the former, I'll reward that."

The stranger was silent again. Laxus saw Ivan's eyebrow twitch a little.

"If you're as brave as you think you are, you'll get a chance to leave," Ivan slid the dagger against the stranger's neck again, just shy of cutting it open. Laxus winced a little. "You'll fight one of my men. If you win, you leave. If you lose, I'll flog you, humiliate you, then I'll slit your throat. How's that sound, mutt?"

"I'd rather fight you," The stranger spoke again, still with no emotion in his tone. "But as you're insistent on proving my point about your cowardice, I agree to those terms."

Laxus watched as Ivan's teeth grinded a little, and the blonde still was slightly shocked by the stranger's treatment of his father. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that Laxus was almost in awe at the stranger; even the stronger members of the village like Gildarts and Laxus himself knew to be cautious around the man and his temperamentality. Only Makarov had been courageous enough to actually stand up to his son, and even he hadn't been so blunt with challenging his authority and mocking him while doing so.

Once he had gone, that's when Ivan really let loose his rule on the town.

"Listen to me you cocky little fucker," Ivan growled, jaw obviously clenched and Laxus could see rage in his eyes. How the stranger managed to remain calm, Laxus wasn't sure. "If you think you're some kind of tough shit, you'll be treated like it and fight my own damn flesh and blood."

Laxus blanched, and many of the crowd looked towards him.

"So you'll put your family in the path of a blade, but not yourself?" The stranger commented, still looking at Ivan. "Interesting."

Ivan's chest was now heaving a little, and Laxus wasn't sure if how long his father's self-control would last before he actually slashed the man's throat. Instead, however, Ivan removed the knife from its position and slid it into the small scabbard in his belt. He placed his foot on the stranger's back and pushed him down. The crowd was silent as the stranger's head was forced onto the ground again, and Ivan kept it there for a few moments, before removing his foot.

He stalked forward, walking directly towards Laxus. The blonde stood to attention in the same way the guards had; just because Ivan was his father, it didn't mean he expected any less respect. Ivan stopped so he was chest to chest with his son, and his expression showed the same level of anger that it had when dealing with the stranger.

"Do not fuck this up for me," Ivan spat.

Laxus stood still as Ivan walked past him, purposefully bumping into the blonde's shoulder before walking through the crowds and towards their house again. Every member of the town seemed to be looking at Laxus, but the blonde didn't pay attention to them. A small amount of nausea formed in the pit of his stomach as he realised what was going to happen.

He looked towards the stranger. The stranger looked back.

Looking into his eyes, Laxus couldn't shake the feeling this man was going to change his world completely.

-~---~-

There were few situations where Laxus felt overwhelmed. They all involved his father.

So when the blonde found himself presented with a situation that overwhelmed him that didn't involve his father – unless being the instigator counted as him being involved – Laxus didn't no how to react. Thankfully, in this specific situation where he found himself overwhelmed, the freedom to make his own decisions had been taken away from him.

Almost all the town had packed into the large, indoor fighting area of the townhall under Ivan's instructions. An hour had passed since the stranger had come to town, enough time for Laxus to adorn his black kamishimo and he told of the importance of his victory. Ivan hadn't made it clear what would happen if he were to lose the fight, but he had made it perfectly clear that if Laxus wasn't the victor then his punishment would not be something enjoyable.

"Fighters," A loud voice shouted from the battleground. One of Ivan's favoured guards, Laxus didn't know his name. "Enter the mat."

Laxus, on his cue, walked towards the circular, wooden stage elevated from the ground. His bare feet were cold against the wood, and he grasped the scabbard covered sword tightly in his hands as he looked around. The entirety of the town were there, even the miners. Ivan obviously wanted the stranger to be humiliated in front of as many people as possible. Laxus just hoped he could cause the required humiliation to appease his father; he knew he was a good fighter, but he knew nothing of this man, including his fighting ability.

He looked to the stranger as he climbed onto the stage. He was clean of his blood, wearing a white kamishimo, and had been given a sword different to the one the guard had taken from him. Laxus expected both the weapon and clothing had been provided by whoever had cleaned him up; he wondered if the sword had been sharpened enough to make the fight fair.

"You will fight until either side gives up or is pinned to the mat for twenty seconds," The guard continued. "If that does not happen under a five-minute period, the fight will end, and both sides will be inspected. The party with fewer clear wounds will be classed as the victor."

Typical fighting rules then. That was good. At least Laxus was familiar with that.

As the guard inspected the wooden platform they were to fight for, a requirement for all large fights that Laxus had been involved in, the blonde looked around again. His father was sitting at the head of the room, lounging in a large seat in a way that made him look like a king; Laxus knew this was intentional. The second he looked towards his father, Laxus found himself trapped in Ivan's harsh expression. The meaning of it was obvious, a reminder of what he had said before.

'Do not fuck this up for me.'

It was only when his father looked away that Laxus felt he could do the same. When he did, he saw that the inspection had been complete. He looked towards his opponent, who seemed insistent to keep up his stoic façade. Laxus hoped he was doing the same, because the swell of nervousness would not please his father if he could see it.

"Both fighters will meet in the middle," The guard spoke again. "You will shake hands, then retreat to the edge of the mat. After my instruction, the fight will begin. Understood?"

Laxus nodded sharply, as did the stranger. Once the guard stepped back, both men walked slowly towards the small circle at the centre of the platform. The stranger raised his hand first, removing it from the scabbard-covered sword and held it aloft. Laxus took it and grabbed it, flexing his muscle as he squeezed in a way to intimidate his opponent from the start. The stranger did the same, and Laxus realised that his earlier conclusion that the stranger had strength to him was correct. That wasn't a good thing.

"Freed," The stranger said, his voice a little different than before. Less antagonistic, perhaps.

"Excuse me?" Laxus muttered, frowning.

"It's my name: Freed Justine," The stranger – Freed, apparently – explained as he removed his hand from Laxus'. "I believe, in formal combat, you should at least know the name of the man you're fighting against."

"Suppose so," Laxus grunted, trying to remain intimidating. "Name's Laxus. Laxus Dreyar."

"A pleasure," Freed smiled. Laxus couldn't identify the motive of the smile.

"Both parties will return to their respective sides," The guard yelled again.

As instructed, both Laxus and Freed walked to the edges of the platform. Laxus slowly removed his sword from the scabbard, eyes hardening. Sure, the stranger had impressed Laxus with the bold treatment of his father, and Laxus found himself slightly unnerved by the man whenever their eyes met, but none of that mattered. This man was his opponent, and Laxus couldn't let anything stop him from fighting to the best of his abilities.

He watched as Freed also removed his sword from the scabbard that had been provided to him. He brandished it, and Laxus saw that it was indeed a well sharpened weapon from the town, rather than Freed's own blade. So they were on an even standing in that respect at least, and Laxus knew that he was a good fighter. He could win this.

He would win this.

"The fight will begin on my command," The guard yelled to crowd, who silenced at it. "When a participant needs to give up, they will tap on the mat three times."

Laxus' grasp on the sword tightened a little, and he readied himself. He was never nervous before a fight, but he normally knew what to expect. He'd engaged in combat with everyone in the town that fought and knew how they worked. But with the stranger, he had no idea. Would his actions be fast, would he stay still and fight on a defensive measure? Laxus had no idea, something unfamiliar to him. But that was fine, he would just have to adapt. He was a good fighter and trained by the best of his village, he could deal with that.

"Begin."

Neither man made a move immediately. Laxus had braced himself for a lunge, wanting to avoid it rather that going for the first strike and running right into the stranger's sword. It seemed Freed had the same plan, as he was watching Laxus with the same amount of intensity.

The crowd was silent. The room tense. Everyone waited for one to make the first move.

Laxus acted first. He closed the gap between them both, lowering his sword so that is sliced just above the platform in a forward lunge. Lowering his body into an almost crouching position, Laxus attempted to slice his sword against Freed's lower calf muscle. The blonde knew it would be arrogant to think he could get the guy to tap out, he needed to make sure he cut Freed up enough to win on the amount of injuries caused. Furthermore, creating a substantial dash on his leg may harm Freed's balance, which could be important for his victory.

The blonde glanced down towards his sword to see a small dash of red staining Freed's kamishimo, obviously blood. For a moment, Laxus wondered if the white colouring of Freed's clothes was done purposefully to show both the blood and the injuries more obviously, therefore making Laxus seem like the victor.

Temporarily distracted, Laxus didn't see Freed raise his sword until the last moment. The blonde couldn't react as Freed's sword ran against the side of Laxus' right arm. It cut open both the black cloth of Laxus' clothes and into his bicep; a trivial amount of blood trickled from the wound, and Laxus hissed at the stinging sensation. He shouldn't have let himself get distracted like that, the cut was completely avoidable.

Laxus' eyes followed the fluid movements of Freed's sword, before flickering his opponents face. He was looking towards Laxus' inner left thigh, and his sword was going that way as well. Laxus pivoted on his right foot to move out of the way.

But Freed anticipated that. Or maybe that was his plan.

The blonde watched as Freed's wrist turned so that his blade was pointed towards the platform. He jutted his wrist up, slamming the hilt of his sword into Laxus' chin with a large amount of force. The blonde staggered back a little, grabbing his chin with his free hand and rubbing it. There had been enough force in the blow to leave a bruise, but Laxus couldn't understand the point of it. A bruise wouldn't could as a wound, so why bother doing it?

The two men returned to their initial positions, but now were slowly circling each other. They were still even in terms of injuries, unless the stranger's previously gained wounds would be counted. If true, Laxus had a clear advantage. But he couldn't count on that, the humiliation Ivan wanted Freed to go through would be more satisfying if it came from the fight and only the fight.

Laxus watched as Freed lunged towards him. Again, he pivoted to the side to avoid his opponent's weapon. This time, it worked in his favour. Laxus ran the weapon across Freed's stomach as he passed, before kicking the back of the man's knee to bring him down.

The crowd started to cheer. Good, Laxus could use that. He was meant to be the victor, he had to be.

As Laxus brought his sword down to make another cut, this time on the man's back, Freed quickly turned on his knees. Laxus faltered a little at the fast, obviously pre-planned movement, giving the stranger the chance to raise his own sword with both hands. The blades clashed with a loud, metallic clink, and began to push against each other.

Changing his position to get a better stance, Laxus began to push down against Freed's own sword. The stranger was putting up a good fight, but as Laxus placed his left-hand half way up the blade, he knew Freed would break before he did.

But Freed knew that too. He anticipated it.

Just as Laxus started to push Freed's sword in a way that would allow him to complete the cut against his chest, Freed's eyes flittered around the entirety of Laxus' body. He was obviously planning his next move, meaning Laxus would have to move fast before his opponent could come up with a way to counter him. Digging his feet into the platform and flexing his arms, he pushed down harder, jaw clenching.

Looking directly at his opponent's face, Laxus felt overwhelmed again. Even now, Freed's face was impassive and showed no expression. He should be intimidated; he was surrounded by people who wanted him to lose while fighting for his life. How the hell was he not panicking? Was he that cocky?

Laxus could do nothing but continue to push forward, though his stomach lurched as Freed's expression gained a smirk. Suddenly, the force of Freed's sword pushing against his own was gone and Freed shifted. Laxus couldn't stop himself from lurching forward with the force, and Freed used this to move out of the way.

The blonde let out a loud grunt when something forcefully rammed into his stomach. He looked down to see that it was Freed's elbow. He stood still, winded by the hit to his stomach, giving Freed a chance to continue his attack.

Lurching forward again, Freed slammed his shoulder into Laxus' chest and pushed forward. One of his legs had curled around Laxus' foot, taking away his balance and allowing Freed to slam him against the hard platform with a loud bang. Laxus winced in pain as Freed climbed over him and placed the sword against his throat, leaving the lingering threat of cutting his throat if Laxus tried to move or push off him.

Shit.

To his right, Laxus could hear the guard starting to count down from twenty. The crowd was silent now, and even without looking Laxus knew that his father would be enraged that he had gotten into this situation. Freed's fighting style was so foreign to Laxus, he wasn't as strict as Laxus was used to. But still, everything seemed planned.

But all he needed to do was get out of this. He couldn't push Freed off, the sword against his throat stopped that. He needed to be smarter than what his training wanted him to do; Freed was going against his training. He wasn't easy or predictable.

As the countdown reached nine, Laxus had formed a plan. He raised his right hand, which was holding the sword, so his weapon was off the ground, and slowly started to rotate it. He kept direct eye contact with Freed, hoping that he had as much trouble looking away as Laxus himself did. When the sword was in the position Laxus wanted, he quickly slammed the hilt of it into the side of Freed's head in a vicious attack.

Taking the moment of shock he'd created, Laxus pushed Freed off of him and got to his feet again; the guard stopped his countdown the second he did. He didn't give Freed a moment to collect himself before slamming his foot into the mans stomach, before stepping back to catch his breath. Breathing heavily, he watched as Freed slowly stood up.

"I'll be honest," Freed chuckled, voice a little hoarse. "I didn't know you had that in you."

"Have what in me?" Laxus grunted, knowing he shouldn't speak but doing it anyway.

"A rebellious streak," Freed grinned, running a hand through his long hair so that it was out of his eyes. Laxus could see the injuries on his forehead from before. "I assumed you just lived in daddy's pocket."

Laxus' jaw clenched; the power his father had over him was a point of contention for Laxus and having someone who knew nothing of him mock that was enraging. He raised his weapon again, rushing towards his opponent and swiping his sword low, aiming to cut just below the knee to bring him to the floor. At this point, he didn't want to win just because he had caused more wounds than Freed had, he wanted to win by forcing the man to tap out. He wanted the man to give up and feel shame for doing so.

He tried to ignore the voice in his head telling him how similar he sounded to his father.

Not stopping himself, Laxus watched as his sword cut through the air and towards Freed's legs. Freed crouched slightly, lowering his own sword so it blocked that path of Laxus'. Another loud sound of metal clashing filled the room, and Laxus hissed in annoyance as his plan was so easily stopped. His teeth grinded against each other as he started to retract his sword so that he could return to the other side of the wooden platform.

Before he could do this, though, Freed lurched forward. Again, he slammed his shoulder into Laxus' chest to wind him slightly. However, instead of retreating, he grabbed the wrist that Laxus was using to hold the sword and began to squeeze it hard. He also slammed his elbow into Laxus' arm, loosening his grip enough for Freed to wrestle the weapon from his hand.

Laxus watched as the sword was tossed to the side, sliding off the platform and causing some of the crowd to shift away so that it didn't hit them. Laxus' pupils dilated a little, this wasn't good. He now longer had his weapon.

Freed retreated to his side of the platform again, and Laxus watched as Freed almost ceremoniously tossed his own sword to the side and off the platform. Laxus frowned, not understanding why Freed had removed such an obvious advantage he had worked for. Looking to Freed as if silently asking for answers, he saw the stranger was simply smirking and lowering himself into a more hand-to-hand combat ready stance. The smirk antagonised Laxus, had Freed removed swords from the fight simply because he wanted to unnerve him?

Bastard. He was using Laxus' lack of information on his fighting style to dominate the fight.

He didn't have time to think about this. Freed lurched forward with his centre of gravity low. He slammed his body into Laxus' and grappled him around the waist. Laxus quickly tried to adapt, doing the same by grabbing the fabric of Freed's kamishimo. Laxus had the physical strength over him, but Freed seemed to have more training in this fighting style than Laxus' basic training from when he was a teenager.

Although Laxus didn't notice it, Freed was slowly straightening out his posture. Doing this changed their position so that Laxus was forced to crouch down, putting him in a position that allowed Freed shift his balance slightly.

With a sudden jut of his arm, Freed pushed hard against Laxus' chest. Only then did Laxus realise that Freed had wrapped his leg around his own in the same way he had earlier, trapping his foot in place so that he couldn't move it to keep himself upright. Soon, Laxus was on the mat with Freed over him again, and all he could hear was the heavy breathing coming from both men and the guard counting down from the side-lines.

This was bad. Really fucking bad.

He couldn't get out of it the same way he had before. This time, Freed's left forearm was pushing hard against his throat and his right arm pinned Laxus' to the wooden platform. His right foot pushed into Laxus' stomach to keep him pinned down further. Only his left foot was on the ground, keeping him steady.

Laxus tried to push himself up, but Freed's position was strong and kept him in place. All he could move was his left hand, but the moment he did Freed's arm left his throat and returned Laxus' arm to its previous position. He was fucked.

"Three," The guard spoke clearly.

No, no. This couldn't happen. He couldn't lose to this stranger. Not when his father had made it clear that this wasn't a fight he was allowed to lose. He needed to get out of this. He really fucking needed to get out of this!

"Two."

He tried to push up again, clenching his eyes shut and gritting his teeth. He could feel Freed's grip on him lessening slightly as he did. But that didn't matter, it wasn't enough to get the guard to stop counting.

"One."

It was hopeless. Laxus gave in, deflated against the cold wooden floor as he opened his eyes. He looked to the side, seeing that Ivan had left his chair and was standing by the platform; he was obviously pissed. Laxus let out a small exhale of breath, resting his head against the cold wood. There was no point in worrying now, it was inevitable.

"Its over," The guard yelled. "Part."

Freed did as instructed, removing himself from Laxus and allowing him to breath. The blonde remained on the mat, both because of exhaustion from the fight and out of acceptance of his fate. He'd lost the fight and let his father down, therefore embarrassing his father and himself in front of the entire town. He didn't know what punishment he would undergo, but he knew that it would make the salt in an open wound look kind in comparison.

When he opened his eyes, Freed had been announced as the winner. The crowd was silent, most likely out of worry for what Laxus was going to go through. Laxus looked up when he saw Freed's hand outstretched for him to take. Despite knowing it probably wouldn't get his father's favour, Laxus took it and allowed Freed to pull him up.

"You did well," Freed said, panting slightly.

Now, it was Laxus who was silent.

"Your father seems angry at you," The victor continued, looking over Laxus' shoulder. "If it makes the situation better for you, know I could have made him give up within the first minute. You put up a fight."

"You should leave," Laxus muttered. "He won't keep to his word."

Laxus had nothing more to say to him, so turned and walked to the edge of the platform. He stepped down, seeing his father walking towards him from the corner of his eye. He tried not to let the nervousness show as he stopped, turned towards him and stood to attention. He also tried to ignore the curious look on Freed's face at his actions.

As Ivan walked closer, Laxus could see that he was very barely restraining the look of anger that threatened to tear across his face. Laxus couldn't stop himself from swallowing as Ivan stood close enough to make them chest to chest.

"In my office," Venom was obvious in his tone. "Leave!"

Ivan walked away, leaving Laxus to deflate where he stood. No matter what was going to happen, he knew he was going to be at the mercy of Ivan's cruelty, and the relationship between them was only going to worsen things.

He was fucked.

-~---~-

The silence was suffocating. But Laxus knew that, the moment it stopped, he would be willing it back.

He stood in his father's empty office, arms behind his back and chest expanded slightly as he looked towards the back-wall Ivan's desk stood before. He still wore his kamishimo and his cuts were untended, but both factors were the last thing he was thinking about. A few bleeding cuts and an outfit that was made for fighting was nothing compared to the reaction that his father would have if he weren't in his office as soon as he possibly could be.

Hearing the gentle ticking of his father's clock, Laxus tried not to stir. He didn't know when Ivan would return, but he knew that when he did, Laxus would get no respite. He had been standing in the office for five minutes – at least, that's what he estimated – and the nervousness was killing him. That was probably the point of making him wait in the first place.

If it was, it was working.

As he waited, Laxus tried to distract himself from his stress by thinking about the man who had caused it. His feelings about him were… conflicting. This random man had walked into the town, gotten into a situation where he would fight Laxus, and had won and left Laxus to deal with the consequences. Laxus should be pissed at him, but he wasn't. Perhaps because, subconsciously, he knew that Freed fate would be worse if he had lost.

He didn't know what happened with Freed when he left. He expected that, if Ivan was going to stick to his word, a guard would have given him his possessions and 'escorted' him out of the land that Ivan considered his own.

The slamming of a door behind him cut Laxus' speculation off.

Laxus was a statue as Ivan stomped through the room. He forced his eyes open as Ivan walked behind his desk, deciding to stand behind his chair rather than sitting. Laxus could see that the relatively calm façade had fallen, and now was replaced with a look of rage. All it took was a single look in his eyes for Laxus to know he was fucked.

Ivan remained quiet for a moment. Laxus could see that his hands were grasping the top of his chair tight enough for his knuckled to turn red. He was breathing heavily, and Laxus could hear every exhale. Each breath increased the worry Laxus felt considerably.

"What the fuck was that?" Ivan suddenly yelled, making Laxus flinch a little.

"I'm sorry, sir," Laxus immediately spoke. "He was-"

"Did I say you could talk?" Ivan continued, still yelling loudly. He liked to keep up a pretence of being calm in public, Laxus knew otherwise. "The purpose of that fight was to ruin that man. To make him laughable, to punish him for even daring to question my authority, to make sure everyone in this fucking town knows that I'm in charge and anyone who has any ideas otherwise will not be tolerated. All you needed to do was beat him in a fight, something you've been trained to do for most of your damn life. But no, what did you do?"

"Sir-"

"Do not interrupt me!" Ivan practically screamed.

He stormed around the desk, glare tainting his face and anger almost burning in his eyes. Laxus remained still, knowing that whatever Ivan was doing would worsen if Laxus showed any sign of intimidation. He just needed to get through this, that was all.

"You humiliated me," Ivan yelled directly into his face. "Everyone in this shitty little town saw what happened. They saw how fucking useless you are, they saw you lose against that stupid little mongrel. All that goes towards me! You represent me and now you've humiliated me. I am to be a god to them and you have ruined that! Because of you and you crappy fighting, you have ruined what I have spent years creating."

"Sir, he doesn't fight in the-"

Ivan's hand shot up. He grabbed Laxus' throat and squeezed tightly, making the blonde grasp. His instincts told him to pull his father off him – he was stronger and a better fighter than Ivan, he knew that - but he knew it wasn't worth it. What his father lacked in strength he made up for in sadism.

"You do not give yourself excuses!" Ivan screamed again. "You were not good enough. You were not strong enough. You were pathetic. What were you?"

"Pathetic," Laxus rasped, now slightly struggling to breathe.

"You've always fucking disappointed me," Ivan growled, grip tightening. "You know, I thought that you'd be able to grow up after that ratty old man died and his influence went with him, but you're still weak. Still a little kid who doesn't know how to look after himself. Fucking pathetic, just like the man who tainted you."

Laxus now felt angry. His grandfather – Ivan's own fucking father – was not just a 'ratty old man' and he had not tainted Laxus. He had raised him better that Ivan could have ever hoped to do. But he couldn't speak, because of the fucking effect that his father had over him.

"I am done looking after you," Ivan forced eye contact. "You're not a fucking man, you just pretend to be one. You need to grow the fuck up and man up!"

Ivan released his grasp on Laxus' throat and walked back behind his desk. Laxus breathed audibly to catch his breath, still unblinking as he watched Ivan. The berating was bad enough, but he knew whatever physical punishment that Ivan had planned for him would be terrifying. The blonde had seen other members of the town go through hell for disappointing Ivan before. They had disappointed Ivan less than Laxus had, and they hadn't been Ivan's child and therefore directly related to his reputation.

"Get out," Ivan suddenly demanded.

"What?" Laxus frowned. That couldn't be it, just getting yelled at.

"You keep fucking up, and I'm done with it," Ivan yelled again. "This town is mine, and I rule it because I am strong. You insult my reputation with everything you do and this is the last time. I want you out of my office, out of my house, out of my fucking town! You are not my child, not get out. Maybe you'll learn to be a man on without me babying you."

Laxus breath was caught in his throat. There were many things he expected, all of them painful. The stocks, where he would be forced got stand under the blistering sun without a shirt for hours without food, water or rest; working in the mines, where he would not be granted any safety equipment and he would be overworked and purposefully exhausted; or even being taken into the centre of town and being whipped with his father's favoured cat o' nine tails. Pain, exhaustion and being forced into a dangerous situation was something that he could deal with and something he had expected, but not this.

He was being kicked out? He would be forced to leave his home, his friends, and pretty much everything he knew. All because he lost a fucking fight against a random fucking stranger who happened to be caught by some fucking guard and just happened to piss Ivan off enough to cause this situation. His life was being completely upturned because of this fucking stranger.

"Are you being serious," Laxus suddenly growled. "You're kicking me out because of some stupid-"

"I am kicking you out because you're a worthless piece of shit," Ivan yelled.

Laxus watched as Ivan walked back from behind the desk and towards the door of his office. He slammed it against the wall and opened it. He looked at Laxus, silently demanding that he leave. Laxus slowly walked towards it, heart racing.

Holy shit, this was actually happening.

"And let me make something clear to you, Laxus," Ivan growled, his voice deep and toxic. "If I ever seen your face anywhere near my fucking town, that scar is going to be the nicest thing I will have done to it."

The door was slammed the moment Laxus walked through it. From there, he walked on autopilot. Nobody spoke to him as he left the large house that he now no longer lived in, nor did they try to approach him as he walked through the middle of the town. He knew he needed to leave now, he had no doubt Ivan was serious with his threat and that he would make sure that he was gone within the hour. He didn't know what exactly would happen if Ivan did find him, but he knew it would be more painful than anyone not sadistic could conceive of.

For the first time in a long time, he walked through the gates of Fairy Tail. Wearing nothing but a blood stained kamishimo and with nothing but the sword attached to his belt, he was forced to leave his home. He felt lost, alone and enraged.

Only one thought consisted in his mind. This was the fault of Freed-fucking-Justine.

I hope you all enjoyed this. This fic is a little different to what I’m used to writting, and fight scenes are something I’m not overly confident with, so I hope it wasn’t too bad. Updates will come every Monday and Friday until the fic is done. I hope you all enjoy it!

[imnoexpertblog]

Here's some stuff to do and listen to.

7/20/18

Are you ready to receive some suggestions to entertain your fine selves? ‘Cause I’m ready to give it.

For those who are local: My dad and brother run NYFO together for Green Bay. What’s NYFO? WELL. “NYFO 7on7 Football is the next generation of player development, no matter your skill set. NYFO is the NATIONAL GOVERNING BODY for 7on7 & Non-contact Football. Our leagues, camps, and training exist to ultimately transition better, safer, and more fundamentally sound knowledgeable players. NYFO is committed to helping every player in our program improve no matter their skill level. By doing so we will ultimately enhance the sport of football, from youth organizations through the NFL. NYFO is ‘Non-Contact’ For parents, ‘non-contact’ can be translated into ‘one-hand touch.’ Without the distraction of full-contact, players can focus on fundamentals. With so much negative media attention given to concussions and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), 7on7 offers parents a safer alternative for kids wanting to play football.” Quick additional info: They offer programs for age groups 8U, 10U, 13U, 15U, and 18U. Go to their website if you’re interested in signing your kids up! Okay but anyway, if you need something to do this Friday you should go to a Bullfrogs baseball game! Bullfrogs “Stars Of Tomorrow” fundraiser family & friend tickets are $18 and include your ticket (duh), a Bullfrogs hat, a hot dog, AND a soda! A damn steal if you ask me. It helps out NYFO and you’ll have something fun to do! All registered players from NYFO get in free with and a portion of the proceeds from family/friends tickets sales going to the NYFO by simply using code “NYFO7on7” at the point of purchase. Go to greenbaybullfrogs.com, click Buy Tickets Now in the top right corner, and enter the promo code (NYFO7on7). Gates open at 6:05pm and the game is at 7:05pm!  See you at the diamond on July 20th! Give them a follow on Instagram! @greenbay.nyfo

I never really blog about music for how passionate I am about it. I have mentioned before that I sing, too. I’d love music even if I couldn’t sing though. Anyway, everyone loves finding new music, right? I’m gonna tell you my most listened to artists and songs on my Spotify. First, I’ll tell you how I found this data. I found this question forum on this link: https://www.quora.com/Is-there-a-way-to-see-my-most-played-artists-songs-in-Spotify. You’ll see in the answer that there’s Spotify.Me or there’s ManageMyMusic to see your most listened to stuff. Spotify.Me is intricate and gives you information like your favorites, streaming habits, and listening insights. Apparently, what I listen to the most is considered to be a bunch of different types of “pop.” I don’t know if I agree with that. They also tell me that “I know what I want” because 84% of my favorite artists are within my most-listened to genre. That I can agree with. It says I’m high energy lately in my streaming choices, but I don’t see it. I have been choosing really chill music, in my opinion. The other link in that question/answer forum is called ManageMyMusic and it gives you a ton of lists; Top artists and tracks for the “Short Term (4 weeks),” the “Medium Term (6 months),” and for the “Long Term (Years).” I’ll give you my top ten for each category, though I know there will be overlapping. I obviously love everything I am about to include so please give this stuff a listen. You’re about to get an intimate peek at my soul.

Top artists -- Short Term (4 weeks)

Jon Bellion

Drake

Milky Chance

Hozier

Andrew Belle

Bazzi

Aaron Carter

Roy Woods

dvsn

Troy Sivan

I didn’t realize that I listened to that much Jon Bellion lately. I mean, he is fantastic. I just didn’t realize I listened to so much of him in the last month.

Top artists -- Medium Term (6 months)

Drake

Blackbear

Tory Lanez

Marc E. Bassy

Jon Bellion

Bazzi

Post Malone

Hozier

Aaron Carter

Sam Smith

I can say for DAMN SURE that Baby has heavily influenced who I listened to these past 6 months. Drake has always been my man but I never listened to Blackbear, Tory Lanez, or Marc E. Bassy before I met him.

Top artists -- Long Term (years)

Drake

Sam Smith

Troye Sivan

Andrew Belle

Justin Bieber

Jon Bellion

The Weeknd

Jessie Ware

Hozier

Tove Lo

None of that even remotely surprises me.

Top tracks -- Short Term (4 weeks)

Jessie Ware, You & I (Forever)

Hozier, Jackie and Wilson

Sabrina Claudio, Orion's Belt

Jon Bellion, Overwhelming

Jon Bellion, 2 Rocking Chairs

Vance Joy, Mess Is Mine

The 1975, Somebody Else

Jon Bellion, The Good In Me

JAHKOY, Still In Love

Young the Giant, Cough Syrup

This is all very "me" lately.

Top tracks -- Medium Term (6 months)

Alina Baraz, Show Me

6LACK, Learn Ya

Tory Lanez, I Sip

Blackbear, moodz (feat. 24hrs)

Marc E. Bassy, 4am

Tory Lanez, Skrt Skrt

Ansel Elgort, Supernova

Bazzi, Mine

Post Malone, Psycho (feat. Ty Dolla $ign)

R I T U A L, Better By Now

This list is definitely Baby-approved.

Top tracks -- Long Term (years)

Justin Bieber, The Feeling

Troye Sivan, WILD

ZAYN, PILLOWTALK

Snakehips, All My Friends

Tatiana Manaois, Helplessly

Bryson Tiller, Don't

Chris Stapleton, Tennessee Whiskey

Sam Smith, Not In That Way

Hozier, Work Song

A R I Z O N A, Let Me Touch Your Fire

Honestly, the first 5 tracks do surprise me a little, but that was back when I had my music on constantly when I was single and home alone quite often. I remember keeping those on repeat for hours at times, so I’m not sure how accurate that actually is only because of that fact. This was all super cool to see, though. Some of it was expected, some unexpected. Either way, I hope I gave you some new stuff to listen to! And you should check out for own profiles. Nice opportunity to learn a little about yourself.

This past weekend, it was pretty warm out. Baby and I wanted to get Nugget a sprinkler so I took the little one with me to the store aaaaand they were sold out. Due to all the warmth. So I bought Nugget some water guns instead. We got 2 smaller ones and 2 larger ones for THIRTEEN DOLLARS, TOTAL. YEAH. This s’mom was shocked by that price, that’s for sure. We played and sprayed when we got home. Baby and Nugget had some fun together. The first thing Nugget did when we filled his gun though was spray me right in the (get ready) vagina. Yes. Then he yells, “I’M SPRAYING YOU IN THE PARTS.” I was like, “Uhhhhh, let’s not spray anyone’s parts and also let’s talk about anyone’s parts. It’s not polite and those are private” LOL. He’s never said anything to me about private parts or anything so that was new to me. He walks into my room when I’m changing a fair amount of the time and I know for a fact he’s seen more than I meant him to, but he has never asked questions, pointed anything out, etc. I think it’s important to set an example for your children in the sense to be comfortable with their bodies and such. This might be a whole new chapter with Nugget! We will see. Enough about my “parts” and back to the water guns. Baby said that on one of the weeks that we don’t have Nugget, that he wants to do a water gun race with me. I got 2 free beach balls from Sprint when I got a new phone last week (among a ton of other free shit, which I'll tell y'all about soon) and Baby said we should see whoever can get the beach ball across our backyard the fastest by spraying them with the water guns. I honestly think that sounds more fun than any idea I've ever had LOL. It reminds me of when I almost bought us both Nerf guns. So, if things are little mundane (or even if they’re not) maybe you and your love should find your inner children together! Get water-balloons and have a water-balloon fight, chalk up your driveway, set up obstacle courses, have a scavenger hunt! You can make it interesting by making fun deals. Whoever loses has to make dinner, for example. I think we will try all of these ideas eventually.

Speaking of shopping with Nugget, I am in the process of teaching him about not asking for toys every time we go. Baby went through a break up after a 3 year relationship before we was with me. He told me that he felt awful that Nugget no longer had two people raising him and Baby made up for that by buying Nugget toys every time they went to the store. I could tell there was a reason why Nugget would ask like clockwork what toy he would get every time we went shopping. I have been working on breaking Nugget of that expectation, as well as working on having him appreciate the things he has at home. I explain to him Daddy and I only have a certain amount of dollars and that its usually only enough to buy what we needed from the store in the first place. He actually understands this concept very well. He always asks why we are going to the store, so I always have the opportunity to tell him what we need to buy. When we went to buy the sprinkler he asked me, "Can we get a toy from here?" and I replied with, "Buddy, remember what we came here for?" He answered correctly about buying a sprinkler. I said in a very positive tone, "Yep and I'm pretty sure we only have enough dollars for a sprinkler. And you also have a bunch of toys at home that you love to play with." We walked by a few things that piqued his interest. As we walked by some bubble-guns, he goes, "Oooh, those look fun. But we only have dollars to get the sprinkler." I was so proud of him for making this connection and also proud of myself for explaining it to him so that he really does understand this. I was raised by people who didn't explain things. It was always a "because I said so" type of world and I learned to accept it. I won't put Nugget in that world, though. I want him to recognize reasoning and be able to grasp why things are the way they are. He is incredibly intelligent and capable of knowing this information. I also want him to trust me and be honest with me as we grow together, so the first step is me trusting him and being honest with him first. Just wanted to share my super proud s'mom moment of the week. I'll be back tomorrow with new recipes for you!

[shtbgs-blog]

me: has 500 muses me: adds more

shush i am in a battle to have the most muses and just bc i have like 600 doesn’t mean i don’t want to play them a few of these are old old old muses I always have muse for and would love to start playing again.

under the read more you will find introductions for:

ambrose hartley ( bebe rexha ) colby blackstone ( sofia black-d’elia ) harley maddox ( miley cyrus ) brinley joseph ( chloe norgaard ) quinn james ( kehlani parrish ) daniel silver ( herman tommeraas ) lance nash ( justin bieber ) holden clover ( james franco ) & conor johnson ( nicholas hoult )

Do I hate myself? Yes I do.

AMBER ROSE “AMBROSE” HARTLEY looks an awful lot like BEBE REXHA. SHE is TWENTY-SEVEN and while they're PLAYFUL, they have a tendency to get pretty ABSENT MINDED. You’ve probably seen them around Kola listening to HURRICANE by HALSEY. 

Ambrose came from a really loving family tbh like, she had no problem with them at all in the slightest

her problem was she just couldn’t stay tame no matter how hard she tried, even when she was young she seemed to be full of energy and at the age of six they had adopted another little girl to be Amber’s best friend

For a long time they were the closest of friends, and there were times where Amber thought they’d be friends forever, but as they grew older she could see how different they really were, and how perfect she seemed to fit into Amber’s family

Better than Amber ever had, actually.

So at the age of eighteen she packed up her things and moved out.

She didn’t move far, at first, instead she decided to crash with one of her girlfriends but that honestly didn’t last long.

That was when she began to travel but no one ever seemed to match her wild and adventurous persona.

While she was gone she did do a lot of bad things you could say. One of those things being mixed up with a man who actually sold her for prostitution but you won’t ever catch her talking about that

During one of these wild adventures, though, someone made the joke that they thought her name was Ambrose because of how fast she speaks. Ever since then it just stuck. That was a few years ago ( 25 )

She just recently came back to Kola after deciding maybe it was time to go home and see her family and old friends. But who knows how long this will last.

COLBY BLACKSTONE looks an awful lot like SOFIA BLACK D’ELIA. SHE is TWENTY and while they’re LAID BACK, they have a tendency to get pretty IMPULSIVE. You’ve probably seen them around Kola listening to FAST CAR by KHALID COVER.

papa was a rolling stone..... legit

her dad is a rock star and she’s one of hadley’s siblings

her mom is just as wild and firey as her father with a legit passion for music and maybe did a few songs with him but she was most known for kind of being a hot mess ( courtney love vibes )

which is why it’s so fucking weird that colby is the way she is like? she is just this soft spoken chill individual who likes to take photos

she’s been her parents photographer for events since she was sixteen but she’s been dying to get away from them 

so off to kola university it was, where she’s studying photography

she’s here to have a good time and she’s pretty chill

unless you get her stoned then she’s fucking wild

oh and when she’s drunk????

she’s basically a fucking rockstar just like her parents

HARLEM “HARLEY” MADDOX looks an awful lot like MILEY CYRUS. THEY are TWENTY FIVE and while they’re ACCEPTING, they have a tendency to get pretty OBNOXIOUS. You’ve probably seen them around Kola listening to CURSE OF CURVES by CUTE IS WHAT WE AIM FOR. 

Harley is here to steal your girl honestly they flirt with every single female they come into contact with it’s kind of overwhelming 

but they arent strictly into females they just feel more comfortable around them

They have always been masc / the dom in every single relationship they’ve been in, romantic or platonic. 

They just have always had that more dominant personality type which has lead to them getting into a great deal of fights

When they were seventeen they came out that they identify as agender and go by they/them pronouns but their parents just didn’t seem to get it???

it wasn’t super bad or anything it just lead it to be awkward in their house hold so Harley decided to leave at the age of eighteen after graduation

Ever since they’ve been living with their best friend ( wc ) 

They work in a liquor store where honestly they get to pick up on a lot of people and get invited to a lot of parties so they dig their life a lot tbh.

BRINLEY JOSEPH looks an awful lot like CHLOE NORGAARD. SHE is TWENTY-ONE and while they’re HELPFUL, they have a tendency to get pretty SKETCHY. You’ve probably seen them around Kola listening to RAINBOW by KESHA

. oh my god this is my oldest muse I’m bringing in so far and I’m actually writing a book based off her life so there’s a strong ass chance this is gonna be long and I’m gonna have the absolute most muse for her because i know her so well

so basically when brin was 16 her father convinced her to start dealing drugs for her in school because it was like the easiest way for him to make money since so many people in LA, California were smoking pot esp in high school 

And her dad has always been like a brodude more than an actual father figure and like she agreed because hey she got to pocket some of the cash and she was able to live her best life right

wrong at seventeen she actually fell in love with someone while her father was gone for a full fucking month and he had the audacity to come back pissed off at her for pulling away from him / he also may be on the run from the cops bc he almost got busted but he was mad at her for the former

so he took her away from la and they began their travels on the road

she never even got to finish high school

Basically she lived in an RV with her father traveling from city to city selling drugs just to get by

Her father had a way with talking to people that made it easier for them to sell and what not but soon, her father’s connection ran dry

She was nineteen the first time one of her fathers friends cornered her in the small RV bedroom and no matter how loud she yelled, he never came.

He swore it’d never happen again.

Three months later it was an almost routine practice and Brinley realized she never meant anything to him

She was too scared to leave and still to this day hasnt

She’s currently living in Kola, California but she’s staying in a motel room

Her father was able to score some drugs when they got there so she’s currently selling but she’s scared when the drugs run out he’s going to turn back to the old routine.

Give me some new friends for her

give me some people who will show her she can leave her father and stay in kola forever

QUINN JAMES looks an awful lot like KEHLANI PARRISH. SHE is TWENTY-THREE and while they’re SELFLESS, they have a tendency to get pretty MESSY. You’ve probably seen them around Kola listening to THE FEELING by JUSTIN BIEBER. 

Quinn is such a mess of a human being I swear to god

She would give her left foot to a stranger if they needed it which is wild because she thinks thats her best attribute

NO IM JOKING BUT SERIOUSLY THIS GIRL WOULD GIVE ANYONE HER WORLD and she’s so quick to fall in love with people it’s absolutely disgusting

but she’s just the kind of person who thinks too far ahead but she’s such a fucking optimist she feels like everything will work out and nothing could POSSIBLY EVER GO WRONG!

wow is she constantly wrong it’s a problem but listen you can’t get her down no matter how hard you try

she’s new so thats legit all i know about her

DANIEL SILVER looks an awful lot like HERMAN TOMMERAAS. HE is TWENTY-THREE and while they’re HELPFUL, they have a tendency to get pretty UNREALISTIC. You’ve probably seen them around Kola listening to I’LL SHOW YOU by JUSTIN BIEBER.

Oh my god this wild fucking animal right here was well, at first he was cosima silver’s nephew but now since i have them in the same group he’s her cousin and lives with her in the apartment above her little shop

This did not happen easily, oh no, he comes from a family of very strict parents who actually exiled Cosima’s family from their lives at a young age because they believed in her ‘gifts’ and they thought they were crazy

Daniel, though, thought the exact opposite. When they were young and before the split happened Cosima would talk to Daniel about her gifts and he would reel in them and he literally loved it so much

But when they were cast out of the family Daniel sort of realize just how horrible his family actually was??? and how different he was????

Sadly his dumb ass was honestly stuck there until a month ago where he finally packed up his shit and completely bailed on his family then moved in with Cosima and he’s been here ever since

He works in her shop as a tarot card reader or rather, he’s trying to learn how to do it. He has literally no gifts but he wants to help people and maybe start to learn from Cosima 

Personality wise he’s my big pansexual mess who is flirting and messing around with just about everyone every chance he gets and he just lives for making out and hooking up and having a good fucking time okay

LANCASTER “LANCE” NASH looks an awful lot like JUSTIN BIEBER. HE is TWENTY-SIX and while they’re RELIABLE, they have a tendency to get pretty IRRITABLE. You’ve probably seen them around Kola listening to HOLY GRAIL by JAY Z FEAT. JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE.

 lets start off with the fact that Lance is the oldest of SEVEN CHILDREN his mother being the common denominator 

Lance was the first born and her most prized son out of all the kids but as he got older, and she started having so many suitors, and started toying with various hard drugs he sort of lost that connection with her and was forced to grow up way too young.

When he was ten, he already had three siblings, each one of them born a year or two after the other and Lance was the only one who could really take care of them. Him and the second oldest were often left in charge of the kids but they didn’t want much to do with all the kids and Lance sort of understood that.

When he turned nineteen and the second oldest was eighteen they left town without so much as a letter which only forced Lance to become the actual father the whole family needed.

His life has always been about the kids. He now has siblings ranging from 3 to 25 and he usually keeps tabs on all of them. 

But ya boi has to make money some how, so, he’s dedicated any time he can get away from the youngest kids to doing what he does best and thats babysitting drug addicts or being a designated driver.

He personally does not do drugs but he knows what to do and how to take care of people when they’re tripping so he has become the druggie babysitter of Kola, California.

He’s honestly a really cool dude who is actually really fucking helpful all of the time

He just gets really god damn moody sometimes and wants to punch people in the throat but think about it his day starts at 6 AM with 2 children and 2 tweens, you’d be moody as hell too by 9 pm while driving some drunk asshole home

HOLDEN CLOVER looks an awful lot like JAMES FRANCO. HE is THIRTY-NINE and while they’re BALANCED, they have a tendency to get pretty FICKLE. You’ve probably seen them around Kola listening to A WALK THROUGH HELL by SAY ANYTHING. 

his gif doesn’t match my aesthetic at all or his aesthetic but IDGAF BECAUSE IM ALIVE FOR IT

ANYWAY Holden is a cop:tm: he’s been idolizing them his entire life and now he’s just a good guy cop who sometimes lets people off with a warning and is that ‘cool cop’ around town like

all the kids love him, even criminals like him he’s just really charismatic and seems really chill????

ugh i have literally virtually no information for him other than he was divorced and it’s gonna be one of the many wcs i write up and submit but if someone wants an ex husband who gets too focused on his job all the time hmu for sure

he also has a younger brother who may or may no t better be dave franco

CONOR "CJ" JOHNSON looks an awful lot like NICHOLAS HOULT. HE is TWENTY-SEVEN and while they're COMPASSIONATE, they have a tendency to get pretty RECLUSE. You’ve probably seen them around Kola listening to IDK LOVE by JEREMY ZUCKER.

ok he’s not a zombie in his main verse but like if u think for ( 1 ) second im not turning him into a zombie for the zombie verse ur WRONG!!!!

but lets focus on mainverse cj and talk about zombie cj later

Conor has always been a nice and compassionate kid and honestly, he got married at 23 to the love of his life

But after three beautiful years he lost his wife to a car accident and he hasnt been the same since

a lot of people in town look at him like this poor broken bird because ever since his wife died he hasn’t been able to be like a normal human being 

he doesn’t go out

he barely goes to work

he’s going to lose his house

he’s just in a deep deep deep depression and honestly it’s actively sad

but he’s still nice and charming and flirty at times but it’s very rare

[dreamatic]

   right now is one of the very few times i am angry with hayley ( @empathists ) and she is probably definitely angry with me right now which is fINE but that’s besides the point. i typed this out on her birthday and i hadn’t posted it yet bc i could never get to formatting it. anyways, i’m posting this now bc i love her and i would like her to read it whenever she wants. but i’m still angry. but also luvu you slut.

   OH MYGOD OHH MY GOD OH MY GOD the biggest happy birthday to my queen omg HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAYLEY. so i tried to make graphics but they were so shit you would have laughed at me honestly but when are you not laughing at me ??? oky tbh you’re the only person i’d talk to on four different apps........ F O U R  different apps. who does that? are we insane? yes. but that’s okay i wouldn’t change that for the world. 

   we’ve been friends for so fucking long????? when i was mcniacs and you fadedisasters? omg that was so long ago how wild. it all started with our babies oliver and audrey our toxic pair and wow are they shitty to each other but we love that okay we love it when he drinks and threatens to hit her and we love it when she maxs out his cards then burns his clothes we live for that !! then we got mason and laureline who honestly ?? OUR INNOCENT BABIES. and now we have ashton and anya and i’m so excited for them he’s gonna ruin her omg.

   i’m so so so fucking happy that i get to write with you even though you tolerate my extensive gaps of never replying and my spamming of musings and plot ideas that are constantly coming out of my ass. i love you so much thank you for still being my friend sigh

   i wouldn’t change a hair on your head you’re amazing and i think the shit people that you have in you day-to-day life take you for granted i swear to god i’ll end them all when i get to where you are i stg i will.

   you’re always there for me when i’m feeling down or stressed or anxious and i’m always going to be there for you on those days when you feel shitty or upset, even if you don’t wanna talk about i’ll still try and do my best to distract you. you’re honestly like a sister to me and no matter what you can’t shake me bc we’ve been in this bitch for too damn long don’t even try

   you’re so funny and smart and hardworking and strong. and yes you can screenshot this if you MUST you’re such a mom this is why i’m dad ( not daddy. please stop calling me daddy. ) i’ve never had more excitement and/or muse with anyone else as i do with you and i just wanted to say thanks????? i’m sorry that there are ppl in this rpc that actually use you for your males and ik you won’t say anything to them so i will give a very brief message from me to them:

   STOP BEING A SHIT PERSON. STOP USING HER FOR MALES. IF YOU’RE GOING TO DO IT THEN AT LEAST GROW A PAIR AND BE LIKE “HEY I WANT ASHTON BUT ALSO LET’S RP WITH NINA TOO BC SHE CUTE AF” AND TAKE THE FUCKING INITIATIVE. DON’T DO IT AFTER SHE MAKES A POST ABOUT BEING USED THATS SO HORRID. SHES SO SWEET AND WOULD NEVER DO ANYTHING TO OFFEND SOMEONE BUT I COULDNT GIVE TWO SHITS SO FOR THE BITCHES WHO ARE USING HER FUCK OFF AND YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. IT’S NOT COOL. RPING WITH HER AND REPLYING TO ONLY THE THREAD WITH ASHTON AND IGNORING THE ONE YOU HAVE WITH NINA IS NOT. COOL. IT JUST SHITTY. SO FUCK OFF OR BE FUCKING NICE. no one but you, hayley, is going to read this but that’s just for in case.

   i adore you. stay my friend forever. i can’t wait to meet you in person. i’ll rp with you until i die. i’ll defend you until i die. i’ll look out for you and be honest with you always. we can talk about ariana and about how justin bieber needs to clean his shit up. and about your boss and mine. thanks for hardly fighting with me. ( edit: how fucking ironic is this shit ) i love with my whole heart to the moon and back and i love everything about you just the way you are and that will never change and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise and if they do send them to me and i will deal with it i promISe. i probably sound crazy but idrc i don’t show you genuine affection often so savOR this. happy birthday gorgeous, you’re old now are you happy :) this is all over the place lemme end this rn yikes i need to get back to work

   again. stay golden & happy birthday & i love you,

                                                                                                  tay