#which is gonna be better for her but is gonna kill me

[thewertsearch]

EB: i would like to be culturally sensitive, but i wish it didn't have to be like that for you. […] AG: Well, thanks John. That's nice of you to say. 8ut let's face it, it doesn't fucking matter anymore, since our whole race was wiped out! […] AG: […] we'll never actually get to come of age and enter troll society, and see if we got what it takes. AG: 8ut that doesn't mean we stop growing up! AG: I think the game knows it's always gonna 8e played 8y kids, and it always rigs it so they enter right around the cusp of sexual maturity, whatever the race is. AG: Which kinda makes sense, since if they succeed, they've got their whole lives ahead of them to do whatever the hell they're going to do in their universe, like start repopul8ing and whatnot.

Vriska thinks that Sburb Players are always kids, because the game wants to give them more time to live in their universe. I'm a little skeptical, and not just because it de-canonizes my Homestucksona.

With the scale of what we’ve seen so far in the game, I didn’t expect a paltry concern like human lifespan to matter. With access to cloning, time travel and brain duplication, rejuvenating one's body would be trivial for a non-ascended Sburb Player, let alone a god of Life or Time.

AG: I really think how successfully they mature is tied to success in the game. It challenges the players in all the ways they need to 8e challenged to grow, which is different for every individual, and veeeeeeeery different for every race.

If Sburb absorbs the cultural standards of its Players, then I’m very happy we didn’t see the Quests that the game tailor-made for the Alternian Empire.

That would explain why we’ve never seen any troll Consorts, though. It's because they were conquered.

AG: I don't think we were so hot at that aspect of the game. In fact, I'm sure we were quite awful. Hell, even I wasn't that gr8 at it! I actually just kinda fell ass 8ackwards into the god tier, to 8e honest.

I wouldn't put too much stock into Sburb's idea of 'growth'. Its primary purpose is to propagate reality, and it's probably designed to mold you into someone well-suited to that task, regardless of your own desires. Your happiness and personal fulfillment is a secondary concern, at best.

Listen to what Sburb has to say, if you want - but take it with a huge pinch of salt. I doubt it has your best interests at heart.

AG: 8ut what really gets me is this didn't even occur to me until just now, while I was sitting around thinking a8out it. […] AG: That was why the game split us up into two teams. AG: It knew as we came of age, we'd pro8a8ly start killing each other. AG: So it just provided the stage. Red team vs. 8lue. It was so simple! All we had to do was what we were naturally inclined to. It might have worked out 8etter for us.

I don't agree with this take on the teams, either.

My interpretation is pretty much the opposite of Vriska's. I’ve always believed that the game pretended to split the trolls into teams, in order to trick them into joining one single cooperative group. If we assume propagation is Sburb's primary goal, then it must have concluded that this arrangement increased their chances of victory. In other words, the trolls are better together.

Plus, Sburb has never even hinted that the game can or should be played competitively. I think Vriska's just searching for reasons why everything's gone so wrong, and she's fallen back on Alternian conditioning again. Successful trolls kill, so her team must have failed because there weren't enough killings.

[waterfire1848]

For the ship prompts

#7 fake relationship au for tyzula (Ty Lee/Azula)?

Hello, anon!! Thanks for the ask!

Post canon AU

Azula was gonna kill someone. She was actually going to go back to prison, or whatever the hell that asylum was, and she didn’t care. That place had to be better than listening to the oldest council members alive go on and on about wheat distribution.

Don’t get her wrong. Azula knew this was incredibly important. She wasn’t about to say it wasn’t, but it was just so insanely boring. Zuko and her were passing looks to each other, both of them silently begging the other to declare an Agni Kai and get them out of here.

“The final item up for business is Princess Azula’s wedding.” An old man, General Kai, said.

Now that woke her up.

“Wedding?!?” Azula and Zuko yelled.

“Yes. Fire Lord Ozai had it written that if you could not find a potential partner before your eighteenth birthday then I would be in charge of finding you one.” Kai grinned.

Azula wanted to set the man on fire. She and Kai always hated each other because while she preferred to play the long game during battle and believed in putting time and effort into projects, Kai was more of a throw every soldier they had at a problem and see what happens.

The only reason he wasn’t kicked off the council after Zuko came to power was because his wife and Zuko were actually pretty close and she promised him no mutiny would come from her husband. Which was true, Kai never intended to go against Zuko but he did still hate Azula meaning he was definitely enjoying this.

“What? That can’t be a real agreement!” Zuko demanded.

“The Princess signed it herself.” Kai grinned.

“Azula?” Zuko asked.

“I forgot.” She snapped, “Not a lot of time to think about getting married when you’re locking up in a mental institution.” She hissed.

“There’s no issue though because I already have the perfect man lined up for you.” Kai told her, “Commander Aoi.”

“Koh’s Lair, no!” Azula snapped. On top of being one of the most insufferable humans Azula had ever met, and that was saying a lot, Aoi was over ten years older than her. If she remembered correctly, he should be in his early 30s by now. Zuko must have had similar thoughts because he instantly shook his head.

“As Fire Lord, I-“

“Read below, your majesty.” Kai said.

“No future Fire Lord may void this contract. Neither can new laws exacted by the Fire Lord.” Zuko read.

“Ozai is in prison and will die there. His contracts have to be void.” Azula argued.

“Maybe, but you’d have to prove that and you can’t.” Kai smiled, “I’ll send a messenger hawk to Commander Aoi and tell him the-“

“I do have a suitor!” Azula suddenly said.

“What?” Kai asked.

“Yeah. What?” Zuko asked.

“I have a suitor. We just haven’t been public yet.”

“Oh? Who is it?” Kai asked.

“Ty Lee.” The look on Zuko’s face would have made Azula burst out laughing if not for the seriousness of the situation. Kai looked at her in confusion and a bit of anger at the realization that she was about to one up him, “And since I do have a suitor, you can still Commander Aoi that the wedding is off.”

“Your father would have never allowed-“

“Nowhere in that contract does it say my suitor needs to be male. Just that they must be a member of nobility which Ty Lee is and she’s a respected member of the Kyoshi Warriors as well.” Azula’s grin was spread all across her face that she didn’t notice Zuko giving her a concerned look, “Ty Lee is my partner.”

“I think that’s a good place to adjourn the meeting.” Zuko said.

—————————————

“TY LEE?!?” Zuko yelled.

“I didn’t know who else to say!” Azula yelled back, “It’s fine. You’ll find a loophole in the contract or, worst case scenario, Ty Lee and I get married then divorced in which case we’ve fulfilled the contract and nothing more will need to be done.”

“Worst case scenario???? Azula, how do you think Ty Lee will react to this?!?”

“She’ll be shocked, of course, but she’ll understand that this was all to keep me from having to marry Aoi.” The way Azula pronounced his name made it seem like she wanted to vomit, “I’ll tell Ty Lee the news tomorrow morning and inform her of the plan.”

Zuko bit his lip. Yeah. Just a plan. Ty Lee would be just dandy hearing that she was, legally, now dating Azula, practically engaged. Only to also find out that Azula just said her name to get out of marrying a man much older than her, not because she actually liked her. The girl she’d had a crush on since they were kids was now fake dating her but wanted nothing more. Zuko shook his head. This was not going to end well.

————————————

“I’m sorry. We’re what??” Ty Lee asked.

“Dating. About to be married if you want to be specific.” Azula clarified. The way she spoke made it seem like she found nothing unusual or confusing about this.

“Azula, I….I just…how???”

“When I was younger, my father created a contract with me which basically said that if I didn’t have a suitor by the time I was 18 then General Kai could find one for me.” Ty Lee winced at Kai’s name. Even she knew how much the two didn’t like each other, “Kai was about to stick me with some old commander so I told him you and I were dating. It’s only until Zuko finds a way out of this or we just have a quick wedding then get divorced a day later, but that’s only a worst case scenario issue.”

Ty Lee’s jaw had dropped by the time Azula finished her plan which made the firebender uneasy, “Ty, please. We just had to fake a relationship for a few days. Please, I need your help or I’m going to be chained to some 30 something year old man for the rest of my life.”

“Well…wait! You could just marry Aoi then divorce him!” Ty Lee told her.

“Two problems with that. One, the thought of getting married to Aoi for any period of time makes me want to vomit. Two, I can’t. Both of us have to agree to the divorce and Aoi will never divorce me once he’s in line for the throne.” Azula handed the contract to Ty Lee, who quickly scanned it over.

“Azula, why did you ever agree to this?” Ty Lee asked, “You can’t divorce your partner or pick the person for yourself.”

“I had a lot of parental issues when I was younger, okay?!”

“Daddy issues.” Ty Lee smirked. Azula’s face turned red, but Ty Lee spoke up again, “If I’m going through all this then I get to call it what it is.”

“So, you’ll help?”

“Of course I’ll help.” Azula visibly deflated as if, for the first time in days, she felt some kind of relieve.

“Thank you, Ty.”

“But!” Azula’s face fell, “To sell this we need to act the part as well.”

“Right.” Azula nodded. This was a pretty basic fact. Of course they’d need to act like a couple now.

“Which means more than just some kissing and holding hands. We need to have a date where everyone can see us.” Ty Lee told her.

Now it was Azula’s turn to drop her jaw, “A date?” She asked.

“Yes.”

“And…what if one of us has never been on a date?” Azula asked, getting Ty Lee’s full attention now. The acrobat gave her friend, now fake almost wife, a kind smile. She had forgotten how uncomfortable Azula was with this kind of stuff. When Azula first returned from the mental institution, Ty Lee tried to help her meet people but the Princess wanted nothing to do with it. Only Ty Lee noticed that Azula did, in secret, try to meet people but it was difficult with her life and past actions. The most she’d ever done was a few kisses at some parties Ty Lee took her to but never a date.

“I’m thinking a calm dinner in the palace where the servants can see us and then we let them gossip. No one around but us.“ Okay. That came out way more romantic than she has anticipated but it did seem to calm Azula down a bit.

“That sounds good. Does a date mean…”

“No. You don’t have to wear a dress.” Ty Lee confirmed, laughing at her best friend’s hatred of the clothing.

“Thank the spirits. I’ll get something set up with the cooks for tonight.” Azula told her, “Thank you so much for this. I promise you’ll only have to pretend to date me for a few days.” Ty Lee waited until Azula was out the door to look down at the ground.

“Lucky me.” Her voice trembled with sadness.

—————————————

That night, Ty Lee got her best clothes from her house and made sure to walk all around the palace so everyone could see her. She kept making up excuses to go everywhere so all the servants could see her walking around. Finally, she arrived in the dining room to find Azula at the table. She had her hair down and was wearing the best robes she had. When Ty Lee looked closer she realized the fabric was made with spider-snake silk: the most expensive in the world.

“Wow.” Ty Lee whispered, “You look beautiful.”

“As do you.” Azula smiled.

“What’s on the menu today?” The acrobat asked.

“Pig-cow, rice, and egg custard.” Azula told her.

“Ohhhh. I love egg custard!” Ty Lee happily took some from the center of the table and put it on her plate, biting into it as quickly as she could, “Mmmm.”

“Glad it lived up to your expectations. I remember you telling me a few years ago that it was your favorite. I thought making it was the least I could do.”

“You made it?” Ty Lee asked.

“Okay. I, personally, didn’t make it but the chefs did and I’m the one who told them to.” Azula argued, “Same thing.”

“I’d argue that. It felt very different when we were doing wilderness training and I did the cooking while you told me what to make.” Ty Lee chuckled at the memory of the three of them in their tent, all yelling at each other as they tried to make the fish they caught edible.

“If I recall that correctly, I helped by catching the fish.”

“You almost burned them alive so they swam away then Mai hit them with her knife.”

“Exactly. It’s teamwork.” Azula grinned, bitting into her pig-cow, “I must say though that this pig-cow is better than you’re burning salmon-cod.”

“It was burning because you’re a firebender who controls all the flames in a room.”

“So first cooking was all you and now I’m responsible for the burned fish. Make up your mind.” Azula took a sip of her drink while Ty Lee looked at her with a raised eyebrow:

“I have made up my mind. I blame you.”

“Ha-Ha.”

A few minutes of silence filled the room until Ty Lee couldn’t hold it in any longer and spoke up, “Why did you say my name?”

“What?”

“My name. When you were thinking of a name to give to General Kai, why did you say my name? When you were thinking of potential people who you’d rather date than Aoi, why’d you say my name?” Ty Lee asked.

Azula looked down at her plate, clearly taking a few vital moments to think, “You were simply the first name to come up.” She lied.

“Azula-“

“It’s nothing more, Ty. You were the first name I thought of, but that doesn’t mean anything.”

“It doesn’t?” She asked.

Azula’s gaze wasn’t angry or confused when she uttered, “Do you want it to?” She actually looked a little hopeful.

“I…I think I do.” Ty Lee admitted. Spirits, her stomach was doing flip and every second that Azula wasn’t speaking felt like 100 years of waiting.

“I think I said your name first because thinking of potential partners made me think of someone who I’d want to be with, who I’d want to spend my days talking to, who I’d be fine with seeing every day and would accept me for everything I’ve done and was. Can I be honest?” Azula asked.

Ty Lee nodded, “Your name wasn’t the first to come up. It was the only one I could think of.” The acrobat’s eyes grew, “Ty, you don’t have to-“

“How would you feel if we turned this fake relationship into a real one?” Ty Lee asked.

Azula beamed at her long time friend, now girlfriend, “I’d love that.”

[devilart2199-aibi]

IDW collection reading update! :D 📖 (Fixed!)

Phase 2 volume 4 done! This volume included: Monstrosity, RID issues 12-18 and MTMTE issues 14-16!

I ended up reading all the way to Phase 2 volume 6 before finishing this update so my notes are a bit scattered! Anyway! As usual my thoughts are below :3 ⤵️

Monstrosity:

This story is set in the past, when Optimus has assumed leadership on Cybertron after the senate and pervious primes were killed.

This story is, I dunno... For some reason I can't really get into these?? It feels... edgy?? Idk, I feel like that's not the best way to describe it. But there's something about the vibe with these ones in the past (like Autocracy and this one).

Of course everyone is becoming the characters we know since this is in the past. So there is going to be a lot of fumbling and growing from them and things that seem out of character. But given their situation at the time, i can't be super harsh on odd decisions.

They have to deal with the senate and their corruption, as well as that from the previous primes, the Decepticons uprising and wanting to take over, Cybertron running out of resources aaaaand I feel like something else I can't remember rn 🤔 but a lot is going on!! Haha.

There is a scene that references the OG animated movie where they toss Megatron out of Astrotrain and he goes "I still function...!" Which was a pretty cool homage tho.

But this kinda felt like a whole way to just show how badass Megs is meanwhile Optimus is going through it on Cybertron 😂 It was entertaining and interesting at parts, but some things I was 'eh' about

RID: 12-16:

Before i go on, I'm sorry, but... this Megs panel is giving me the same energy as that little alien guy that was in the news months ago 🤣 Now actually⤵️

Megatron returns!! This story was very entertaining!! I feel like I can usually guess where something is going, but I was surprised by a lot of the twists here! There was so many!

The character deaths had me shook! 😭 Wheeljack ahhhh!!! Metalhawk!! Also everything with Prowl and the Constructions! O_O;

I'm sorry Prowl 😔 I was pretty surprised when they started killing off the Decepticons at first, but then went: "Well, I guess he's being super ruthless now" I couldn't see you were brainwashed!! 😭🗿To my defense, him teaming up with Arcee and given Arcee's record, it kinda seemed like the natural progression of things lol 💀

Two things I kinda have mixed feelings about tho are:

1. Arcee just casually being part of the Decepticon gang and no one questioning her being there?? She then easily kills the guy controlling Devastator and that was like... Megatron's big plan. Why didn't she do it sooner? I imagine it was to draw out Meg's, but still it seemed weird.

2. Starscream killing Metalhawk after Metalhawk came to save Starscream. It's in his character and everything, and I'm happy that he did it bc it shows who he is. But OOF I thought he was leaning a different way for a bit and that I had Starscream wrong, But no, he's greedy boy. (I was starting to like Metalhawk T_T)

Anyway! Good guy Swindle!! 🥹

MTMTE 14-16:

💀💀💀💀💀 BIG SAD. But!!! It was a super interesting story!! I really enjoyed learning about Overlord and Chromedome.

Chromedome becoming Trepan's apprentice in the past was crazy!! :O And the whole scene with him and Prowl in Prowl's office. When Prowl asks/threatens Chromedome to go into Overlord's mind 😙👌 *chef's kiss* GET 'EM CHROMEDOME!! 💪👊🔪

The whole thing about how the Phase Sixers are made was very interesting too!! This frame ⤵️ Meg's saying this made me lmao 😂 I can now see the thing between him and Overlord better now.

As for Overlord getting out and obliterating some of the crew... ughhhhh 😭😭😭 Pipes man!! Ratchet protecting the medibay was awesome. Best doctor 🚑😌

I was shocked during the fight with Overlord that Magnus got so injured!! I've read ahead already, but I was sweating it, I thought he was gonna die too 😭😭 Overlord goes right for your spark man 💀

Luckily they got Overlord back to his containment cell, but- 😭😭😭😭 LITTLE MAN 😭😭😭 Why'd he have to hop in there to get the sword??? OTL

Then Chromedome blowing it up once the cell disengaged from the ship 😭 It was a perfectly painful sequence! 👏

When I saw the scene with Whirl and the cannon/ blaster shooting asteroids, I knew it would come around 😔

Also!! Learning that Chromedome has had other deep connections with bots (idk if Brainstorm meant Conjunx' specifically) and given them his innermost energon before and that's why he's dry!! Excuse me as I sob 🤧🤧🤧🤧😭😭😭😭 and then he makes himself forget!!! UGHH OTL My heart man!

The tape that Rewind made too!! 😭🤧

Drift taking one for the team too by getting banished 😔 he's a real one. Also pls come back.

RID 17-18:

We got more Shockwave lore here and I'm a big Shockwave enjoyer so I was very happy!! More heartache of course tho 😢

Him pitching/making the Jhiaxian academy of advanced technology is huge. Then all the experiments he did once he was turned purple 💀💀💀

Him going to Dai Atlas and injuring him before the attack on the senate so that he would escape death was a cool surprise. He's still in there ;_; ahhhh.

There is another story that happens in current time where Bee gets turned into Goldbug, but I think he's called "Goldfire" here? 🤔 He really got injured during the whole thing with Meg's so they had to fix him up with pieces of his old earth form.

It was cool to see included in the story :3

Final Random Thoughts:

This volume had a bunch of great stories in it! And I learned quite a bit about characters I like!

Though it was sad, I'd say my favorite story was the mtmte one with Overlord (The Overlord arc?). The art is always fantastic and so is the story!

I look forward to reading more and I'll be making another reading update very soon since I'm already on volume 6!

I didn't want to lump them all together bc I like using images as the story breaks and Tumblr only let's you use 10 per post 😔 Also... I ramble quite a lot haha, so 3 volumes worth would definitely be too much! 😂

Anyway! See you next time! 👋

[gh0stsp1d3r]

ℳ𝒶𝓎𝒷𝒶𝓃𝓀𝓈 𝓈𝒾𝓈𝓉ℯ𝓇

Part 3, chapter 3- running with a bullet in my leg

Series masterlist

“Little change of plans, they did it. They sent Kiara to the wilderness camp.”

“Oh, no.”

“So, uh, I’m gonna need about eight hours for liberation.”

“Eight hours? I don’t have eight hours! We’ve got a jet here, we’re all waiting!”

“I know, dog. I know the clock is ticking. Look, my sister was sent to the camp for like a while, she knows it better than anyone. I’m gonna need to talk to her. If you have to go, we’ll meet you there.”

You got put into the wilderness camp when you were 12. JJ was 10. You had gotten into yet another fight, and the cops had busted you with a pre-roll or two in your bag. You were 12, smoking. They forced you to go, basically kidnapping you as you screamed and shouted against the workers hold.

You were there for almost a year, until your dad finally decided he couldn’t live on his own and take care of JJ by himself. Like an actual father should. But you have learned over the years Luke maybank was no actual father.

“No, we can’t… we can’t. No, JJ, listen, we can’t wait for you.”

“I know! I’m working on it, dude. Luckily I’m a problem solver, just stay in the Matrix, okay? I repeat-“ JJ paused, hearing the tire explode out. He looked out the window.

“Jj?”

“Damn-“ he shouted, the line suddenly ending.

“Son of a bitch.”

“Yo, what’s going on?” Pope asked John B.

“I’m gonna kill him.”

♡₊˚ 🦢・₊✧🩶.

“God!” JJ stepped out the car, going to the back and grabbing a spare tire and some tools. He grunted, and suddenly heard a car engine behind him.

He turned around, heart racing as he realized who it was. He swallowed the lump in his throat, seeing two men get out.

“Okay, fine.” He turned around, going over to them. The other man pulled out a gun, pointing it to JJ.

“Really?” He realized, looking at the gun and back to the tire. He had shot out the tire.

“After everything you just put me through, you shot my sister, and now you shoot out my… my friends tire! That’s not even my van!”

“You lost the load, JJ. Now instead of me getting paid, I owe them. Which I guess means you owe me, right?”

“I thought my sister getting shot in the leg was perfectly enough tor you.”

“Get in the car!”

JJ paused, thinking for a moment. “As much as I would like to, I kinda got a date, so…”

“You heard him, get in the car.” The other man spoke.

“Okay. If that’s how it’s gonna be. Look, I know you’ve heard the stories. About me, my friends. A little something called the royal merchant. A pile of gold. Is that ringing any bells?”

“I heard some bullshit.”

“Well, that bullshits real.”

“Yeah?”

“And yeah, we found it.”

“Yeah, I saw. That why you got a bunch of dudes throwing your furniture in a dumpster out back your house? Thats why your sisters homeless?You’re living high off the hog, bro-“

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, you’re talking about the house that’s being foreclosed? The cover? The one to throw off the scent? Rule number one, don’t do flashy shit like pay off a mortgage when you’re cashing in.”

“Stop. Let me guess. You, uh… got the gold. It’s buried somewhere in a barn, right? And if I just let you go right now, you’ll run right there, you’ll get it, we’ll split it, right?”

“Not exactly. Actually, it’s a little sweeter than that.” JJ looked over to the other man. “May I?” He asked, going over to Mike now.

“Look, let’s just forget about the Merchant gold. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. We’re going after the main course right now. All right? We’re going after the mother lode.”

—————

“Oh, God.” Sarah mumbled when she heard a car pull up, noticing it as Toppers.

You sat down with Pope and Cleo, feeling like it was better to maybe get out the plane for a little. You’ve been sitting for hours, but it felt better when you sat outside.

“Oh God.”

Topper got out the car, walking towards Sarah.

“Hey, Sarah. What are you doing? You just seeing John B off or what?” He asked, glancing at John B who stood behind her.

Sarah paused, looking at him.

“I’m sorry I, uh… I didn’t call. I meant to call you last night.”

“Oh you meant to call me last night? Okay.” He scoffed. “No, it’s all good. I was actually asking around myself and heard your dad’s plane was here. And I was like, oh, that’s.. that’s interesting.”

Sarah looked down.

“So, are you leaving with him?”

Sarah looked back up at Topper now.

“Are you leaving with him? Yes or no, Sarah.” He spat.

She nodded slowly, he scoffed again and his face fell into a crooked smile.

“You’re just… you’re just a f… a damn liar, Sarah Cameron. You’ve always been a liar. After everything we’ve been through? This… this is what you’re gonna do to me?” He laughed. “I’m done. Okay? You literally just promise John B would go away, you’d stay here with me. I can’t keep doin this..” he rambled on.

“Hey, Top. You got a little something right here, man.” You guffawed at the man, motioning to his black eye.

“Why don’t you shut up? How about that?” He looked at you, going over to John B now. “And oh, buddy, john B. You better be glad I didn’t swing back at you at the wreck cause I think you know what would’ve happened.”

“And your lucky I didn’t shoot your ugly ass on sight!” You shouted from afar, Pope hiding his face while he laughed.

“No one was talking to you, Maybank.”

“I’m not taking the bait, Top.” John B shook his head, looking at Topper. “You’re right. You would’ve kicked my ass.”

“I, um, heard they’re remodeling the Chateau. That’s tough man, how’d that happen?”

John B stared at him in disbelief.

“Oh shit.” You mumbled.

“What did you just say?” John B asked him, Topper backing up. “No, topper what did you just say?” Sarah held John B back.

“Hey, you guys have a nice life, all right?”

“That’s what you call a kook?” Cleo asked.

“Oh yeah.”

“Big time.” You nodded.

Everyone watched as topper drove away.

————

“Okay, so the office should be straight ahead. There’s a little wooden dude with a welcome sign at the door. And then, I think the lady there loved cats. Make up some bullshit story, like her cat passed away. Then, I would just wait and see where they go if they fall for it. That’s where Kiara would be.” You explained, sighing.

“Okay, thank- thank you. I’ll call you back when I’m on my way.” He hung up the phone, you sighing and putting it down.

It was getting late, hours passed and JJ was nowhere to be found.

“Has he called?” Sarah asked, they were running out of time.

You shook your head.

“Nothing.”

“We have to to go. We don’t have eight hours. And topper might’ve already called the police.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll try again.” John B said, you nodding.

“Wait. That might be JJ right there.” Cleo spoke, you guys suddenly hearing a motorcycle pull up.

“That is not JJ.” You recognized that helmet as soon as he pulled up.

“Rafe?” You asked him, furrowing your eyebrows as the tires screeched. Ward groaned behind him.

“Hey. It’s okay. You’re okay, dad. C’mon.” He mumbled to his dad, helping him off the bike, he had fallen off with a loud groan.

“It’s okay. You’re okay.” Rafe went to his side.

“Come on, help! Help!”

You were faster than the others to help him, it had been in your blood at this point. Muscle memory.

Ever since you were young, you couldn’t stand seeing people be hurt. It hurt you, you hated it. For as long as your dad could remember, you were always helping someone or something. Whether it was a hurt animal or a dying man like the one before you right now.

If it wasn’t someone you loathed or had beat in a fight before, you cared for them, tending to wounds. And as much as you didn’t like Ward, Rafe did.

He called it your mother’s trait, although you never really knew her, he saw her in you. Because luke knew that you were nothing like him.

And if you didn’t drop out, you would have loved to become a nurse or something. Something to help someone.

Despite the shooting pain in your leg from the bullet nudged in it, you pulled the helmet off of Ward and helping him up with Rafe.

“Fuck.” You muttered, helping him onto the plane.

“We gotta get him off the island right now.”

You let Rafe take over as he pulled him into the plane, through the doors and inside.

Sarah exhaled as she paced. “Shit, this cannot be happening.”

You sighed, hesitating before following Rafe and Ward inside the plane, helping sit him down onto the seats that already had your blood on it.

It was then that he took a glance at your bloody leg, wrapped in an also bloodied shirt. His focus was back on his dad when he let out a low groan.

“It’s alright dad.” He mumbled, more so to himself that anyone else. He took a glance down at his shaking hands, the blood of his father stained on them.

He looked back at you now, hands slowly finding their way to your face.

They trembled against your skin, you put your hand over his.

“Watch after him for me. Please.” He told you quietly. You nodded, and he pulled you into an embrace.

“He’s safe with me.” You nodded against his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” He asked you, looking down at your leg again.

“Got shot by some dude I owed money to. No biggie.” You shrugged it off nonchalantly, he laughed quietly and you both got off each other, just staring at each other again.

He leaned in, and your heart picked up as his lips ghosted over yours. He spoke against your lips.

“When you’re back, promise me we’ll talk?” He mumbled quietly.

“Promise.” You held out your pinky, like you would when you were together. He smiled and interlocked your pinky with his, before putting his lips on yours. When he pulled apart, he turned to his dad again.

“I gotta go. But you’re gonna be fine. You’re gonna be fine with them.” He told him again.

“He’s gonna be alright.” You told him as he began to step down the steps of the plane again.

The corners of Rafe’s mouth twisted up, nodding he walked over down to the pogues.

“We’re not done.” Pope said, putting his hand on Rafe’s shoulder. Rafe ignored it, and walked over to Sarah.

“Please take care of him.” He said, Sarah walking up the stairs to the jet. You were already tending to his wounds, wincing while you did so. They were bad.

John B turned around, going up to Rafe and putting his phone down.

“You do anything to him, anything, I swear to God I’ll find you.” Rafe spoke menacingly, quietly. It was a warning. “If anything happens to her…” he let the words linger in the air, as he heard sirens get closer.

“Wait, where’s JJ?” You asked John B, looking up from Ward, who seemed to be doing better somewhat now.

“We have to leave without them…” John B said, you furrowing your eyebrows.

“Are you serious-“ you began.

“He’ll find a way. He always does.” Pope told you.

Ward suddenly stood up, you just watching as he went over to the steps again.

“Wait, Rafe! Rafe!” Ward said, stepping out.

“Dad, hey! Get back on the plane!” Ward shouted. “They’re coming right now!”

“I gotta talk to you. Come here real quick.” He began to step down.

“Dad, you gotta- you gotta go!”

“Rafe, now!”

Rafe walked over to his dad, who held his thigh.

“Thank you.” Ward spoke, putting his hands on Rafe’s shoulder, looking into his eyes.

“Yeah, thank you.”

“Don’t thank me.” He mumbled as Ward pulled him into a hug

“Yep, yep, you’re a good boy.”

“I’m not.”

“Yes, you are. Look.” He grabbed his son’s face.

“Doesn’t matter what happens in the middle, it’s how you come out in the end. Look at me! Look at me!”

Rafe looked up at him finally.

“I know what you did, okay? I don’t care, cause you came back for me, right? You’re in control now. You’re the man. All of it is yours, everything here. It’s yours, son. You’re the man now. You proved yourself, okay? You’re the man. And I take back what I said about her.” He laughed quietly.

Rafe nodded slowly, tears in his eyes.

Ward pulled him into another hug.

“I love you, buddy.” Those words he waited all his life for.

“Oh god. All right. Come on. I got it.” He turned around, going back into the plane.

“You good?”

“Goodbye, son.” He said, giving him one last look as the door shut.

The plane began to move and the sirens got closer. Rafe stood, accepting defeat as the cops got out the car.

Rafe turned to Shoupe, hands running down his face.

“Well, shit Rafe. Looks like you got a story to tell.”

Ward sat back down across from you, you looking back at him.

“That looks bad.” You nodded to his thigh that he held, still bleeding.

“It is.”

“Uh… fuck.” You mumbled, rummaging through your bag. You pulled out a bandana, one that you had stolen a while ago as a kid.

“Can you… put your leg up?”

He did so, you kneeled down in front of him.

“This is gonna hurt like hell, so… you can do what I did and bite on a stick or something.”

You grabbed a bottle of alcohol, pouring it over the wound and putting the towel back over it.

He groaned, wincing and breathing heavily.

“Thank you.” He told you, you ignoring and it continuing to wrap it with the bandana. “Thank you.” He repeated, you nodding and standing up, going over to sit by yourself, propping your legs up and sighing.

You had fallen asleep against the window, and stirring when your new phone rung out with a notification.

“We made it out.” It read, it was JJ.

———

Tag list.

@cassie0sstuff @rafesgiirl @fals3-g0d @tiaamberxx @callsignwidow @saintnourah @calmoistorm

[cankersoregirl]

i'd be interested in your recent movie list - it's nice to hear what people are watching 🥰

OOOHHH thank you for asking!!! This gives me the perfect excuse 2 talk abt some of my favs ty hehe <3 The genres, years, countries, etc. might be wildly different and there’s no particular order to what I’m gonna list but here we go:

1. The Spook Who Sat by the Door

Ivan Dixon; action/political drama; America; 1973

EVERYONE needs to watch this honestly… it’s probably my favorite film I’ve seen this year. The movie’s about the first Black man, Dan Freeman, to be trained by the CIA, who then quits and takes the techniques he’s learned to create a team of Black youths to fight for freedom and against racism. Even though it’s a fictional plot, the real FBI pulled it from theaters for being too radical, and it has indeed been described as “the only true Black radical movie ever made.” I seriously can’t recommend it enough

2. Medicine for Melancholy

Barry Jenkins; romance/drama; America; 2008

If you’re familiar with Moonlight, you already know this filmmaker. Medicine for Melancholy is Barry Jenkins’ first film, about the romance between Jo and Micah after a one night stand that takes place in San Francisco. Some things I like about it are the ways the city and its racial issues so heavily influence the characters’ relationship so much so that it essentially becomes a character in itself. Since this is Jenkins’ first film, the budget was smaller ($15k) and it has a different feel from his newer movies which I personally really liked

3. They Cloned Tyrone

Juel Taylor; sci-fi/mystery; America; 2023

This movie was released on barbenheimer day and was WAY BETTER THAN BOTH OF THEM!!!! When Fontaine, a drug dealer played by John Boyega, seemingly gets shot and killed, Slick, a pimp, is shocked to see him walking around the next day as if nothing happened. Together, Slick, Fontaine, and Yo-Yo, a sex worker, work to uncover what actually happened and find that it’s much bigger than they could’ve imagined. This is a FANTASTIC sci-fi film with some fantastic writing (a lot of great one-liners lmao) and all the actors do amazingly. Also, the title goes hard!

4. Bad Genius

Baz Nattuwat; thriller; Thailand; 2017

I literally watched this last night (happy birthday Nonkul!) lol. In this movie the character Lynn gets paid to work with her friends to help other high school students cheat on tests. When I tell you this had me SWEATING from stress. It was very entertaining, I really liked the way it was shot and how it consistently kept the tension up

5. Do the Right Thing

Spike Lee; drama/comedy; America; 1989

Taking place on an unbearably hot summer day, racial tensions rise between the Black civilians and the Italian owners of a pizzeria in Brooklyn. This is a v famous movie, directed by Spike Lee, and honestly many of the themes still ring true today

6. Sorry to Bother You

Boots Riley; sci-fi/comedy; America; 2018

Set in the Oakland, Cassius Green becomes a telemarketer and uses a “white voice” to do better at his job. But when his coworkers form a union, he decides to take a promotion instead, leading to unexpected consequences. I don’t want to spoil anything, and this is another famous movie that many people have probably already seen and have probably been spoiled BUT. there is a crazy twist. I really enjoyed the messages and craziness this movie had to offer

7. Marry My Dead Body

Cheng Wei Hao; comedy/mystery; Taiwan; 2022

I saw this with my friend on my birthday and honestly it could not have been a better way to watch it. A homophobic cop accidentally gets into an arranged marriage with a dead gay ghost. Is that not one of the best plot descriptions u have ever heard. It’s horror, it’s comedy, it’s gay, it’s a romance (TO ME! And like everyone else who watched it)… WHAT MORE COULD U WANT!! It gave me a similar feeling as Secrets in the Hot Spring & Pee Mak, two movies that somehow seem to cover So Many Genres & that I love sooo much (the former is my fav movie ever). I literally laughed so hard I almost peed myself at times <3

Other than that some other movies I watched & enjoyed this year are: Love Lies Bleeding (2024), Claudine (1974), Eve’s Bayou (1997), and Bottoms (2023). I don’t wanna make this too long so I’ll stop it here but I hope you enjoy these films too if you decide to watch any!!

[cetaitlaverite]

Why All This Music?

Masters of the Air - Rosie Rosenthal x OC

masterlist is linked here <3

29. A Head Start

No resolution or compromise was quickly found to the disagreement about where Freddie and Rosie would live after the war. In fact, all conversation surrounding the matter came to an abrupt halt when Rosie’s fort went down over France.

He and the rest of his crew found themselves, mercifully, behind Allied lines, but they were all seriously injured. Rosie had to be pulled, unconscious, out of his cockpit by the Free French, but he woke up in a hospital in Oxford to both of Freddie’s parents sitting at his bedside. His co-pilot, Will Terminello, was conscious through the crash and had managed to get word back to Thorpe Abbotts that they were all alive but wounded, and when Freddie found out they were being sent to Oxford she’d telephoned her parents right away so that he wouldn’t wake up alone.

When Rosie finally returned, a week later than expected, smiling sheepishly in the front seat of a jeep with a broken arm and a splint on his nose, Freddie felt she could have killed him.

She hung back and waited as he disembarked the jeep, taking him in with a frown. When Rosie lifted his good arm to wave at her, however, she closed the distance between them in seconds.

“‘I promise I’ll never go down, Fred’,” she mimicked him in an unflattering impression, flinging her arms around his neck and pressing herself to him, making sure to be mindful of the arm sitting in a sling. “‘I promise I’ll always come back to you, Fred’,” she went on mimicking, even as tears of relief flooded her voice.

Rosie chuckled quietly, using his good arm to hold her close. “I did come back to you,” he reminded her softly, speaking into her hair, “didn’t I?”

“A week late,” Freddie said, choking out a laugh.

“What’s a week, in the grand scheme of things, huh?” he teased her gently. “Still came back. Still gonna keep coming back.”

“You’d better.” There was no real weight to the threat, not when she was breathing heavily to try to tame her tears. “I love you.”

Rosie pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I love you too.” He smiled against her hair. “Your parents send their love. They gave me some stuff to give to you.” Kissing her hair again, he moved to rest his cheek on top of her head. “Thanks for sending them, Fred. Last thing I remembered was the fort going down. It was nice to have familiar faces there when I woke up.”

Freddie nodded, too choked up just now to verbally reply.

It was silly, she knew, to be crying about all this. All he had was a broken arm and nose. But the thought of his plane going down at all, when his plane had never gone down before, removed the untouchable status he’d acquired which he so often used to reassure her. He’d never gone down, he’d always tell her, so she had no reason to worry. Well, now he had. And he’d survived, yes - hadn’t even been captured, in fact - but he had still gone down. He was still mortal - an excellent pilot, true, but so had Bucky and Buck and Brady all been. He was just as capable of being shot down as the others.

Rosie was transferred to the infirmary on base with a doctor’s note from the hospital in Oxford ordering that he spend a night in the infirmary, to make sure if he rolled on his broken arm in his sleep or otherwise further injured it then someone would be around to help. So Freddie spent the night sitting at his bedside. There were numerous empty beds in the room but she wasn’t allowed to sleep in them - they were strictly for patients, and she’d only be making more work for the nurses by forcing them to rewash and dry the sheets afterwards. And anyway, it was really nice of all of the medical staff to let her remain in there at all overnight when it was against the rules. Visiting hours applied to the infirmary just as they applied to real hospitals, but given Freddie’s history, which she knew was written in her medical chart because it was the primary reason she’d transferred airfields, the nurses on duty had decided to make an exception.

It was almost funny to her now to remember the relief she’d felt when Thorpe Abbotts had been handed over by the RAF to the American Air Force. After Daniel had first gone down she’d been convinced she would never love again anyway, but the prospect of dealing with Americans had made her feel safe from caring about any of them too much. She’d never met an American back then and had for some reason believed they’d be different to how they were. Now - well, she was in love with one and considering following him to America, so clearly her plan hadn’t worked.

Freddie read Rosie to sleep that night, smiling fondly as she watched him fight the closing of his eyelids because he wanted to carry on listening to her voice. But he slept eventually, exhaustion pulling him under as easily as the tide, and Freddie ran gentle fingers through his messy curls as she shut his book and placed it on the floor beneath her chair, then settled back into the pillow one of the nurses had let her borrow to save her back.

With the blackout blinds pulled and only the small lamp at Rosie’s bedside to illuminate the cavernous room, all of a sudden the silence was stifling. Freddie reached for and took Rosie’s hand, comforting herself with the knowledge that he was close. She had to make a conscious effort to settle enough to close her eyes as she sat upright in an uncomfortable chair.

She fell asleep holding Rosie’s good hand and woke holding it too, an awful crick in her neck but a smile on her face when she realised she’d woken first. Rosie was still sound asleep, his face turned into the pillow to face her and the hand holding hers tucked up snug beneath his chin, the light sneaking in around the edges of the blackout blinds lighting up the ends of his hair in a halo. His chest rose and fell steadily, his deep breaths belying the depth of his sleep, and though summer was still hanging on by a thread Freddie worried he’d be cold in the chill of the morning after he must have pushed his blanket down to his waist during the night. Using her free hand, she drew it carefully back up and tucked him into bed the way he’d once done for her, her heart growing warm when he snuggled down into the blanket now pulled up beneath his chin.

Rosie didn’t wake for hours but Freddie stayed there all the same, watching the rise and fall of his chest to assure herself that he really was here, really was safe, that all of the worrying she’d done was unnecessary. And, when she finally felt she could really and truly breathe properly again, he started mumbling his way into consciousness, the first and clearest word out of his mouth her name. “Fred.”

“I’m here, my love,” Freddie assured him, giving the hand she was holding a gentle squeeze.

“Where ‘m I?” he asked groggily. He tried to sit up but found he couldn’t plant his hands on the mattress to push himself up because one was in a sling and the other was holding onto Freddie’s.

Freddie smiled as he kept hold of her hand and resigned himself to remaining horizontal, as she watched him crane his neck this way and that to try to recognise his location. “The infirmary, sweetness,” she told him, squeezing his hand softly once more. “You’re back at Thorpe Abbotts, now, remember?”

“Oh,” Rosie mumbled. “Right.”

“Did you sleep well?” she asked him, reaching forward with her free hand to brush back some of the curls which had fallen into his eyes.

Rosie hummed his affirmative, which Freddie had, of course, already known, but she wasn’t sure whether she wanted to admit that she’d been watching him sleep for hours by now.

“Shall I call for one of the nurses to come look at your arm?” she asked him. Her hand remained in his hair even though by all accounts her work there was finished. He just had the loveliest hair. She’d liked Daniel’s hair too - bright blond, which she had always found fitting, because he’d burned so brightly it only made sense for him to look like he emitted light, too - but Rosie’s hair was captivating. Those soft, dark curls of his, the direct antithesis to Daniel’s straight blond locks, were stunning to her. He could have been a film star, she thought, if he hadn’t become a lawyer and a pilot. The promise of getting to gaze at those baby blue eyes alone could sell millions of cinema tickets.

Rosie didn’t immediately react to Freddie’s question - still disoriented from the pain medication he’d been given the night before, she deduced - so she added, “They might discharge you if everything looks good, and then we can go and get breakfast.”

He looked at her suddenly, with a new clarity, and Freddie perked up to think the promise of breakfast had gotten him to finally break free of the last lingering grips of sleep. But then he said, “Fred, baby, will you come lie with me?” in a soft little voice, a voice he tended only to use after they’d been intimate, and her heart melted into a thin liquid and trickled down out of her feet and pooled in her shoes.

“There’s no space on the bed, darling,” Freddie informed him regretfully. “I can come and sit on the edge -”

“I want you to lie with me,” he cut across her, still speaking so softly his voice was like the fur of a puppy.

Freddie tilted her head to the side as she gazed at him, fiddling with the ends of his hair. “I don’t want to hurt you, Bärchen.”

Before he could reply, one of the nurses, Margaretta, entered the room and smiled upon finding both Freddie and Rosie awake. “Mornin’,” she greeted in her distinctly Bristolian drawl. “How’d we sleep?”

Rosie mumbled something unintelligible, letting his head fall back to rest on the pillow again.

Freddie laughed, continuing to comb back his hair. “He slept well,” she informed Margaretta, sharing an amused smile with her. “He’s still drowsy from the pain medication Janine gave him, I think.”

Margaretta stopped in the middle of a step and stumbled as she attempted to right herself. “Janine gave him pain medication?”

“Yes,” Freddie confirmed, quirking a brow. “Last night when he first came in, right before I helped him to wash and get ready for bed.”

Margaretta had gone pale. “I gave him pain medication last night,” she said, wide-eyed.

Freddie sat up straighter. “What? When?”

“I think you went to go and get your things. He was complainin’ about the pain and about wantin’ you to come back so I gave him a tablet. There was nothing on his chart -”

Freddie’s eyes shot to Rosie where he was staring at the ceiling, muttering to himself. She wanted to laugh but wasn’t sure how serious this was.

Finally, Margaretta let out a laugh of her own. When Freddie looked at her she had a hand over her mouth, trying to hold in her giggles. “He’ll be fine,” she assured Freddie when she noticed her look, lowering her hand. “He’ll have slept most of it off, he’ll just be drowsy for a couple of hours.”

Freddie let herself start to smile, too. “He did sleep very deeply.”

Margaretta shrugged. “For the best then, I s’pose. Usually the men get nightmares their first night back on base after a crash - the pilots especially. Takes ‘em a while to work up to getting the sleep they need to heal their bodies. At least I’ve given him a head start.”

With a breathy laugh, Freddie lowered her hand to stroke Rosie’s cheek. “I’m grateful to you for keeping away the nightmares, then.”

Margaretta laughed a little bit herself, then smoothed her hands down her skirt and straightened her posture. “I’ll go fetch you both some breakfast, since I don’t reckon your pilot’s in any fit state to head off to the mess hall right now and we’ve only got me to blame for it. Does he eat eggs?”

Giggling, Freddie nodded. “Yes. Eggs, toast, he’s not very picky in all honesty. Prefers apple juice to orange if they’ve got it, though.”

“Apple juice,” Margaretta confirmed. “Got it. And for you, ma’am? Any requests?”

“Oh, you don’t have to get anything for me,” Freddie assured her. “I’ll just wait for lunch.”

Margaretta pretended not to hear this. “Eggs alright?”

Freddie laughed and relented. “Eggs are perfect, Margaretta, thank you.”

Margaretta nodded, inclining her head respectfully before turning and all but bolting out of the infirmary. Freddie assumed she was trying to get out of there before she accidentally laughed again but she needn’t have worried - Freddie herself was the worst for laughing at Rosie’s small misfortunes.

Rising from her chair, Freddie came to crouch by the head of the bed so she could meet Rosie’s eyes without him having to crane his neck. He brightened when she appeared back in his field of vision, and shut his eyes with a happy hum when she recommenced combing her fingers through his hair.

“Margaretta has gone to get you breakfast,” Freddie informed him quietly, leaning forwards to gently kiss the tip of his nose.

Rosie smiled dopily. “I love breakfast.”

Freddie grinned. “I know you do. She’s going to bring you apple juice if they’ve got any.”

“I love apple juice.”

Freddie laughed quietly. “She says you should feel better in a couple of hours once your meds wear off. You’ll be up and ordering me to eat every five seconds in no time, my darling love.”

Rosie cracked a sleepy grin at this. “I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetness,” Freddie told him softly, and kissed his nose once more because he was just so very sweet. “You had me so worried.”

“‘M fine,” he assured her quietly. “Just missed you. ‘S all.”

“I missed you, too,” Freddie answered him. “And I love you very much. Now shall we try sitting you up so you can eat something when Margaretta comes back?”

“Come lie with me first.”

Freddie rolled her eyes indulgently. “There’s not enough room, Bärchen,” she reminded him.

“You can lie on top of me.”

Freddie shook her head, laughing softly to herself. “No, darling. I’ll hurt your arm.”

Rosie pouted and frowned and complained when Freddie subsequently helped him to sit up, making sure his pillows were fluffed and propped up properly behind him against the bed frame. But, after Margaretta returned with breakfast for the both of them, it seemed that eating a proper meal helped to clear some more of the haziness out of his system. A midmorning nap later while Freddie was at work and she was looking up at a knock at her office door to find Rosie in the doorway, smiling sheepishly as he pushed the door open.

Freddie grinned. “Hi, my darling. Are you feeling better?”

“Yeah,” Rosie said, crossing the room to greet Meatball with pets to his head before heading over to Freddie. “Drugs have all worn off now.”

“A shame,” Freddie teased. “I rather liked that version of you.”

Rosie rolled his eyes, his cheeks flaming. It came as no surprise to Freddie when he changed the subject. “I’m back in my hut tonight, so at least you won’t have to sleep sitting up again.”

Freddie laughed. “I don’t know, I quite liked reading you a bedtime story the way you did for me. Woke up with an awful crick in my neck, though.” She lifted a hand to hold her neck as she attempted to stretch it out for what must have been nearly the twentieth time, grimacing as it stuck in the same place and sent a fierce ache down her spine.

“I kinda wanted to talk to you about that, actually,” Rosie ventured.

Freddie’s eyebrows furrowed. “About the crick in my neck?”

“No, the other thing.”

“About reading you a bedtime story?”

Rosie laughed, shaking his head at her. “I can’t fly for at least a few weeks. Jack’s got me pushing paper in air exec since he can always use the extra help, but there’s not a full job for me there, so I’ve got the next few weekends off. I was wondering if you wanted to take one of ‘em off with me so I can take you on that trip to London we were talking about a couple months back.”

Freddie brightened, sitting up straighter in her chair. “A weekend in London,” she said wistfully. “A hotel room to share and all the privacy in the world. If I can get leave I’m taking it, but I don’t know if I’ll ever come back.”

Rosie grinned. “So I should try to get some fake wedding rings for us?”

Freddie stood from her chair, rounding her desk to get closer to him. Once directly in front of him, she pushed up on her toes and he leaned down immediately, instinctively, to meet her for a sweet kiss. “Yes,” she told him decisively once they’d pulled away. “We’ll be fake married for the weekend to give ourselves a quiet life. They never check the marriage certificates - Cecelia and Emma both stayed in hotels with their boyfriends when they went on leave and said they only really looked for the rings. I might be able to borrow one of their fake rings, in fact, so then you only have to get one for yourself.”

Rosie smiled shyly as he curled his hands around her waist. He shrugged. “I kinda hope we get to do this a few times so maybe it’s better if I get you one of your own. Y’know, just in case.”

Freddie grinned. She knew what he was really saying, of course - knew the real reason he wanted her to have her own fake wedding ring - but didn’t say it just to give him his privacy. “Alright,” she agreed. “If it’s not too much trouble.”

He smiled and kissed her forehead. “You focus on getting leave and leave the rest to me, alright, Fred? I’m sure I can figure it out.”

“Hotel room included, provided I get the time off?” Freddie asked.

“Sure,” Rosie agreed. “Croz used to spend a lot of time in London so he gave me a list of good hotels.”

Freddie paused, quirking a brow. She was watching Rosie closely. “Interesting. What business did Croz have in London?”

A rosy flush filled Rosie’s cheeks once more. “You’ll, uh, have to ask him. I don’t know if he’d want me to say.”

“Keeping secrets, are we?” Freddie asked with narrowed eyes. “I do hope he’s not been having an affair. He’s married.”

Rosie said nothing.

Freddie raised her eyebrows. “I do hope you wouldn’t condone that sort of behaviour as well, if, hypothetically, he was having an affair and you knew about it.”

“Of course not,” Rosie said immediately.

Freddie was watching him with palpable scepticism. “So, hypothetically, if he did tell you he was having an affair, you’d tell him in no uncertain terms to knock it off and remind him of the devoted wife waiting patiently for him back home?”

Again, Rosie fought for words but ultimately said nothing.

Freddie hummed suspiciously, still watching him closely. “If I do find out Major Crosby was having an affair I’d be most upset with you. You do know that, don’t you, Major Rosenthal?”

Rosie nodded rapidly, eyes wide. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Because I love you an awful lot, but I would hope the man I love wouldn’t support a friend’s adultery.”

“Yes, ma’am. I mean - no, ma’am.” He met her eyes quickly, fleetingly. “I love you too.”

“Right, then,” Freddie replied at length. “You set about organising London and I’ll set about securing leave. And tell Croz next time you see him that I’m looking for him, won’t you, dearest?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good,” Freddie declared, using a hand on his shoulder to press up high enough to kiss his cheek. “Perfect. See you later, my love.”

“Yeah,” Rosie said, smiling sheepishly as he backed out of her office. “See you later.”

[bisamwilson]

.

[sameschmidtdiffname]

Do y'all think when Peeta came back from the Capitol he was partially looking at Katniss in the manner he was when he saw her in such a disheveled state after the war partially because after an intense amount of therapy and prepping to live as her neighbor again, he was just standing there like "I was scared of THIS??"

[moeblob]

Deacon loves two things: Ymber and digging himself a grave.

Fulj hates one thing: Deacon.

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[swordmaid]

omg hiiiiii ina 👋🤗🤗🤗

[icefang111]

Binged the dungeon meshi anime today and gotta say... was not nearly as fucked as everyone was implying???

Was really good, don't get me wrong but like, what's a little blood magic between friends ya know? It's chill, like bearly a 6 on the fucked scale. I was expecting more :/

[girlypsyop]

Man. Leaving a toxic relationship is just an exercise in learning how to live in your own head again.

[sanjarka]

emma and killian's love story deserved better writers, i mean you're gonna tell me that hook died like a HUNDRED TIMES in season five and then season six comes along and you never mention it? that's something that literally needs to get addressed again are you serious rn.

[eggmeralda]

do you ever feel casually suicidal? like you're not depressed or anything you're doing fine but also it feels like a convenient option

[lesbiansanemi]

*through gritted teeth* ppl can ship whatever they want and it’s fine it doesn’t affect you ppl can ship whatever they want and it’s fine it doesn’t affect you ppl can ship whatever they want and it’s fine it doesn’t affect you people can—