#possible continuation

Johnny spots you first. You were just heading down to the farmer's market on a Saturday morning when he spotted you. The normal stalls of fresh fruit and vegetables had their big signs, but you were attracted to the stalls that were selling jewelry and little trinkets. Crystals and the like.

He followed at a reasonable distance. Not reasonable at all to him, given how he wanted to have you wrapped in his arms and guided home to the rest. Johnny was just supposed to go grocery shopping, but as soon as he saw you? He knew the others would too.

After the farmer's market, he followed you home. Just makin sure his bonnie lass gets home safe. You hadn't picked up anything from the farmer's market, so he couldn't bump into you and have an excuse for you both to stop; so he could work his charm on you.

He couldn't risk it though. So he went back to the jewlery stand and found the one thing that caught your eye, and bought it. He would give it to you when the time was right.

He went back home, you dancing through his mind as he rambled to Simon about the pretty lady he saw at the farmer's market.

The next person you caught the eye of was Gaz. He was in the skincare aisles of a store and you breezed past for a thing of moisturizer.

His brown eyes lock on yours as you turn to leave.

"Sorry about that. Just had to grab this." You hold up the moisturizer, your face decorated with green star pimple patches.

"No problem. Acne?"

"No. Just some pimples."

"My sisters liked moisturizers with salicylic acid. Said it helped get rid of their pimples and keep their skin soft." Gaz tries to reach out.

Your eybrows scrunch together and you look at the ingredients. No salicylic acid... "Okay, mystery man. I'll look for salicylic acid in my moisturizers."

Gaz pulls off the moisturizer off the shelf and hands it to you. "Try this. And I'm Kyle."

"Thanks... Kyle." You take the moisturizer from Kyle and make your way to the cash register.

Later that day, Kyle comes back to the house that the team share.

"Johnny... I understand now."

The next person to see you is Simon. He is enjoying a nice cup of tea as the rain begins to patter against the glass he is sat next to.

The bell for the door dings as you walk in, tucking your umbrella into your body as you approach the cashier. "Hey, Ruby. How's it going?"

"Slow. But interesting. Apparently, the woman down the street is in an open relationship with her husband because they don't want to have to go through the messiness of a divorce." Ruby rings your usual in, spilling the piping hot tea to you.

"And who poured you this tea?"

"Her personal assistant, Mary."

"Ooh, girl~"

"Mhm. Anytime, girl. White mocha with half pumps of mocha sauce, half vanilla with whole milk, hot, right?" Ruby reads your order back to you, just double checking even if she knows the answer.

"You know it."

"It'll be out in a minute. And... sorry to say, but someone stole your spot." Ruby whispers to you before trying to subtly motion to the big hulking man with his tea and scone.

"Ah. It's fine. I'll just make a friend, and if not, then I'll just move to a different table." You whisper back as Ruby walks over to make your coffee.

"Hello," You approach the man carefully, "is it okay if I sit with you?"

The grunt was meant to be 'Of course, please sit with me, pretty bird. I'd lick the coffee off your lips if you asked.' but it just came out as off-putting.

Seemingly off-putting, at least... but you didn't turn away.

"I'm sorry, I'm not quite fluent in grunts yet. Mind a 'yes' or 'no'?" Your sassy retort does nothing to help hide the ever-growing tightness in his cargos.

"Yes... sit."

You smile at his confirmation and sit down, setting your bag down next to you and pulling out a journal with a cute pen.

"White vanilla mocha for sweetums!" Ruby calls out your order and winks before leaving it on the counter and attending to the other drinks in need of her attention.

"Be right back." You give the stranger a small smile before getting up to grab your coffee.

When you come back, Simon is still in the same position. You sit and sip your coffee, staring out the window at the sky before setting your coffee down and starting to journal what you know about the root chakra and how hung gar kung fu has helped you open and reconnect with the chakra.

"You believe in those?" Simon gets a glimpse of your journaling and makes his comment, not having any sense of spirituality or religion.

"I believe they might help. And even if they don't exist, what's the harm in meditation? It's been medically proven to better your mental health, so even if I'm not opening my chakra, I'm helping my mental health, stranger." You give him a small smile and continue journaling your experiences.

"Simon." He mutters, taking a sip of his coffee, looking away from you.

"What?" You look over, confused.

"My name is Simon." He's just gently blushing under the mask, taken by you.

"You have a nice name, Simon." You give yours in return.

He quickly finishes his tea and bolts out the door, jacket in hand and umbrella tucked away in his pockets.

As soon as he gets back to the house, he finds John in his study.

"Price... we need her."

By now, John has heard all of his boys talk about you nonstop.

How your hair look so shiny under the sun. How your skin has cleared up and Kyle sees it from time to time when you go for a walk. The attention to detail you put in with your journaling and that you care about yourself.

So, John, having put together a rough estimate of your routine, plants himself in your way. He shows up at the Saturday market, looking at some produce, when he notices you. He has a semi-clear image and description of you from his men, but seeing you? It is an entirely different story.

He understands now, and as such, he walks over to the trinkets stall, intentionally bumping against you, before turning around, "I am so sorry, love."

"It's alright," You assure him, going back to the crystals arranged on the table.

"Which one is that?"

"You haven't seen obsidian before?" You raise an eyebrow, but hold it up to him. "It's a stone made from volcanos. Sharp as glass, and way more dangerous, because it's a soft stone. It tends to break easy."

"We don't have many volcanos around here, love." John's eyes twinkle in amusement, hands in his pockets.

"Right. Sorry." You apologize quickly, "And I just info-dumped on you about obsidian. I'm so sorry. You're a stranger, and you probably didn't even want to-"

"It was interesting. I appreciate the facts you gave me. And I'm John. John Price." He puts his hand out, like he's going to shake your hand.

You give him your name and your breath stutters to a halt as he takes your hand and brings it up to his lips.

"Lovely to meet you." John gives that cute smile of his and slowly lets your hand down before walking away.

When John arrives back home, he enters like a man on a mission.

"You're right. She's perfect."

And all the rest look at each other with confirming smiles and nods before starting to build out the plan.

You sigh as you approach your car, getting your key out.

Another shitty day with another new boss who doesn't understand the fucking team...

And as you approach your apartment, jamming to music, you don’t notice the black van tailing you... it's respectable distance does not raise any red flags in your mind, not giving you a trigger for your anxiety.

You park your car, grab your things, and get out of the car, locking it after you've closed the door.

What you fail to notice in your exhaustion, is the hulking mass of a man sneaking up behind you...

And you're out like a light.

Author's Cup of Tea: I'll probably continue this later but I've got the hiccups and this has been sitting here for a while...

Edit: Finally edited this and I have a three day weekend, so part two might finally come out.

the fact is, shen yuan is an immortal with past memories intact. he is still bitter about the fact that he killed his student and led him to his demise (or so he blames himself). shen yuan is not quite sure why he's angry at himself, so instead, he points the negative feelings to luo binghe when he teaches at work, all according to the historical documents passed in the modern world.

insert luo binghe in his class, the noisy student who always hugs the prof's thighs, wanting to gain his favor. but for the first time since his first year in the university, luo binghe objects to everything shen yuan says abt the history of bingqiu.

There may be a possibility of a continuation... maybe...

Are any of you interested?

@silvahhauntah so r r y

-

When the sun goes down, and the wolves come out to play, where do the mice go?

Do they scurry into their furrows? Do they run and run, from hiding place to hiding place? Do they huddle together?

The wolves pay them no mind either way. They have no need. One mouse will not fill their bellies.

The mice do not know this.

The mice will run.

The mice will hide.

But the mice are not mice. The wolves are not wolves.

Nothing is as it seems. Not anymore.

Everything was tilted, in this apocalypse-that-wasn’t. Everything just a little wrong, just a little...

It wasn’t an apocalypse. Not the kind that had been written about for centuries. Not the kind that left behind heroes to save the day.

But “Apocalpse” was the closest word we had, and so it became the Apocalypse-that-wasn’t.

The wolves, in reality, loomed tall and intimidating and, in the end, not very wolflike at all.

They loomed tall, taller than even the highest treetop, taller than the half-demolished skyscrapers, taller than any human thought they had a right to be.

Instead of fur, they had skin of wood and metal, dark features and molten bones. A crown of antlers topped each head, fitting right in with their sharp, milky white gaze, their cheekbones of blade, and most threatening, their needle-sharp teeth.

They were terrifying. That, at least, required no further thought.

Possibly the only feature they shared, in fact, with the wolf, were the deadly claws tipping the ends of each ginormous foot. Except these were retractable, and much more comparable to those of a feline.

They cared little for the humans. Humans, who were hardly the size of one paw. Humans, who couldn’t begin to sate their hunger

They cared little, which meant they stomped on the humans without regard for their small lives. Could hardly see them, really.

It didn’t matter to the humans.

They’d always had a habit of catastrophizing threats.

So, they dug down, down, down. Down into tunnels, where they could hide, where they were safe, where they wouldn’t be found by anything that could harm them. During the day, they scrounged, killing anything that strayed foolishly close enough, planting only what flourished underground or close to it. At night, they slept in their tunnels, uneasy at the faint thump, thump, thump of the Walker’s steps.

One day, Humans were the top of the food chain, unbeatable, the apex predator of the world and in no position to be usurped anytime soon, except maybe by their own creations.

The next? Crushing, heavy steps that killed hundreds, that crushed buildings and plowed through electricity lines. Beings apathetic towards the creatures at their feet. Beings who walked steadily, steadily onwards. Beings who attacked only when provoked. Beings that proved themselves a threat anyways, that walked steadily on, no matter what lay in their path.

In the aftermath of their appearance, hierarchies found themselves abandoned. People who were sworn enemies helped each other out of rubble, people cried into the shoulders of those they had never met.

Some, after the calm, wandered off alone.

Some, after the calm, found themselves claustrophobic in the dark tunnels.

Maybe they survived.

Maybe they perished underfoot of the Walkers.

There was no way for those left behind to know. There were no phones, no messengers.

So they did what they did best. They passed their stories down, telling tales of bright sunshine and vibrant colors and the cool shade of trees and the smells and the water and oh, the sky, the stars.

And well, stories were nice.

But they weren’t good enough.

The tales left the children restless. There was plenty to do in the caves! Plenty of work, plenty of play, there was singing and dancing and music and games and-

But it wasn’t the same.

For some, it was enough. They had family and friends and they were surrounded by love, and they felt no need for adventure.

And then- and then there were others. Others like... me.

On all accounts, I should’ve been just as wary as the others. That’s how it worked. I should have wanted to stay in the tunnels, where it was safe, where I was protected.

I didn’t. The- the stories of the sunlight, brightness quite unlike that of our small dusty fires... i couldn’t imagine! And- And the water, what must it sound like? Was it clear, was it still? Was it cold, or warm? What would it feel like against my skin? And the sky, was it really blue? What did blue look like, on the Outside?

There were so many questions to ask, so many riddles to solve and-

And I was the only one asking them.

I’d never seen any of the things in these tales. Pictures, sure. But it was never the same. It was never enough.

Unless I went Outside, It never would be.

A rock and a hard place, as they say.

Safety or freedom? Familiarity or adventure? Cold, dark tunnels, or the supposed sunlight right outside?

I’d never made an easier decision in my life. I’d never made one harder.

I left.

I didn’t want to survive.

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Fairy Tail Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Characters: Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia Additional Tags: Short One Shot Summary:

Caged Fury

Edited as of August 28, 2018

by: Dragongoddess13

Chapters: 5/5

Fandom: Thor (Movies),Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Darcy Lewis/Jack Rollins, Beth the Waitress/Brock Rumlow, Jane Foster/Thor, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark

Characters: Darcy Lewis, Jack Rollins, Brock Rumlow, Thor (Marvel), Jane Foster (Marvel), Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Sam Wilson (Marvel), Natasha Romanov, Sif (Marvel), James "Bucky" Barnes, Emil Blonsky, Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Original Male Character

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Underground Fight Ring, Mixed Martial Arts, Cage Fights, Darcy is the fandom bicycle and I love it

Series: Part 2 of ShockStrike AU Series

Summary:

Darcy Lewis is an adult and as she always suspected; adults are boring. Apparently they don’t have to be though, she’s not quite sure. She’s a little iffy on the details and her source isn’t quite so reliable as she thought.