#[You Screwed Up; Letters to His Enemies]

[fanttasttica]

One plus one makes three

Rhysand x reader

After your one night stand with the High lord, you hadn't expected to see him ever again, but fate had other plans. You are pregnant, carrying the High lord's first child and you need to tell him. How is he going to react? And what will that mean for you?

Warnings: nothing (I think.. If you find anything, please let me know :D )

Words: 4129

Authors note: Thanks for participanting inthe voting! Since this idea got the most votes, i wrote it first. My next story will be on theme "enemies to lovers" :D

You weren't that type of a girl who got drunk every weekend and had a sex with males whose names you haven't bothered to learn. No.. So why was the universe punishing you for this? It was one night, only one. You were celebrating your birthday with some friends at Rita's, when you spotted the most beautiful male that ever existed. He was tall, seemed strong and there was this dark aura around him. He was undoubtedly powerful, but instead of fearing him, something dragged you to him. After some time you were watching each other from afar, he came up to you and asked you to dance. It was during your time on the dancing floor, when you found out it was no other than High lord or the Night cour, your High lord. It was the first time you saw him, the first time you talked to him and you thought it would also be probably the last. Maybe you ended up in his bed that night, but it was supposed to be only a one night stand, but fate decided otherwise. 

You weren't feeling well for a couple of days. Your friends were pushing you to see a healer and today you finally gave in. You visited your healer on the other side of the town, thinking she will brush it off, tell you to rest for another couple of days and eat chicken broth, you hated, but no. This wasn't only some illness you could get rid of after a few days. This would last for at least a couple of months and then the real fun would begin. You were pregnant. Carrying an heir to the Night court in your womb. Your stomach was still flat and if it weren't for your morning sickness and tiredness, you wouldn't have noticed you were pregnant yet. After finding that out, you thanked and said goodbye to your healer, leaving in a hurry. As if running from her would also mean that you would run from your situation. Unfortunately for you, that didn't happen. Symptoms still bothered you in the following days, reminding you about how screwed you were. 

“What are you going to do?” Your friends were curious, of course. And honestly you were too. “I have no idea. I am.. I only saw him once.” You answered her while running your hand through your hair. “Yeah, you saw him once. You slept with him once and you ended up pregnant.. I can't believe your luck.” It was hard to say if she was speaking ironically or not, because you wouldn't call yourself lucky. This wasn't some blessing. You weren't against children, you actually liked them and hoped one day you will have one, this was simply quite early for you and certainly with the wrong man. He maybe was a High lord, but you were an ordinary fae. He probably already forgot about your existence. “I don't even know how to contact him. Should I go back to Rita's in the hope I will meet him there? Should I send him a letter and tell him about this? And what should I write in it? Do I really have to tell him?” Not telling him anything and running to another court was an idea you were also toying with. “You can not possibly mean that! He deserves to know. And besides that, lies or secrets are always exposed in the end. He is the most powerful High lord of all times.. Do you really think you can keep this as a secret your whole life? Your kids' whole life?” You sighed in defeat and shook your head. “No, that's stupid.. I.. I just need another few days to collect my thoughts and think about ways to contact and tell him.” 

Few days passed by and you still weren't sure what to do. Why does it have to be so complicated? If he weren't the High lord, you would already have told him. It would make everything so much easier for both of you. It was pointless to cry over a spilled milk, but you couldn't help yourself, blaming it on your hormones. One day, you had enough of it. Enough of hiding in your room, crying and cursing on him and yourself. You were determined to find him, tell him about this and return home, so you could finally have some good rest without constantly thinking about this, because currently you were losing your head. You decided to try to find Rhysand again at Rita's. It seemed better to ask him for a minute there than marching to his house and demanding he would see you. You friends were supportive, not leaving you to be all alone. There always was at least one of them by your side, although you weren't finding it necessary, it was a nice gesture you appreciated. The first night you spent here looking for you, you hadn't had any luck, likewise the second or third night. But after sitting on the bar stool for the fourth night in a row, you finally saw him. He was talking to his friends, with a smile on his handsome face, unaware that his life was about to change drastically. 

Your heart started beating faster than ever before. In normal situations, you were a calm person, but obviously not today. “You should hurry and go speak to him, before other girls start to throw themself on him.” You swallowed hard.“Yeah.. I am going right now.” You tried to put on a neutral face and started walking towards him, even though everything in you screamed to run away. Suddenly, you were standing right before him and his friends, who were measuring you with interest in their eyes. You simply nodded at them in greeting and looked at the High lord. “You probably don't remember me, but we met here a while ago.. And I need to speak with you. It's urgent. ” At first you were worried he was going to send you away. He raised one eyebrow, but nodded and put away his drink, following you outside. Cold air hit you immediately, so you hugged yourself, before turning to face him. “I remember you, don't worry.” You weren't expecting that. “Yeah.. that's good.” It made a few things easier for you. Now you know there isn't a need to explain to him when you met and what you did together that night. “So? What did you need to tell me?” He was curious, of course. Maybe expecting you to try to seduce him, as many girls certainly did in the past, but there was nothing that could prepare him for this. “I am pregnant and it's yours.” 

There weren't many people who managed to surprise the High lord of the Night court. And even the least people managed to surprise him so much that he couldn't think of a reaction for the first few seconds. He was stunned, looking at you as if you were from another unknown world, so you took word once again. “To be honest.. I expected a worse reaction..” You sighed and looked at the ground. “I don't want anything from you. I want and will keep the baby, but if you don't want to, you don't have to be involved in the baby's life. I have people who will help me and also have enough money to take care of it. So.. It's up to you.” And with that, you left him standing outside alone, returning to your friends.

“How did it go? Did he take it well?” Immediately after your return, you were flooded with questions. You shrugged and drank water from your glass. “He was clearly surprised. I told him I don't expect anything from him and assured him it's his choice, if he wants to be involved or not and then left.” They laughed. “You told him this and just left him standing there alone? Oh my Cauldron, I would pay to see his face.” Maybe you would also laugh at this, only if it weren't you who was in this situation. You put one of your hands on your stomach. It was weird and also.. magical, knowing that right now, you are creating a new life. “He returned to his friends and is talking with them.” Your friend whispered to your ears. You could feel several pairs of eyes watching you. Shaking your head, you smiled at them. “Let's talk about something else for a while and try to enjoy this night.” You desperately needed some distraction and opportunity to think about anything else. In the end, the reason why you were here today was done and you deserved some break from this too. 

The next day, you were woken up by the Sun. After you forgot to close the curtains last night, there was nothing that could stop morning rays from tickling your eyes. Like any other day before, you were thinking, if you weren't dreaming this whole time, but morning sickness was clear evidence that in fact you were not. After brushing your teeths and hair, you dressed up, put on black leggings and your favorite jumper, you were ready for the day. For the last couple of days, you took time off from your job. It wasn't that hard,since you were running a small bakery with your friends and they almost forced you to stay at home. But today, you were determined to return. You wanted to start living normally again. There isn't a chance that you will spend a whole pregnancy locked in your room. You will take things slowly, so there is no chance for something to happen and it will all be good. 

Your day has been going just fine. After coming to work, you could finally be able to feel like a few weeks ago, like nothing was going on. Well, that was until the bell rang, announcing the arrival of another customer you should greet. After you look up, you find no one other than the High lord himself. “Shouldn't you be resting?” You raised your eyebrow. “Hello to you too.. I assure you I am rested well enough.” He came closer, the only thing between you was a counter, behind which you stood. “You don't need to work. I will take care of both of you.” You shook your head. “There is no need for that. I can work, what's more important, I want to work. I love my job.” Something in his face told you, he took this as a challenge. “You are pregnant with my child. I think I should have a say in this matter.” This whole conversation was uncomfortable for both of you. You both were very determined to do it in your way. And the fact that you were strangers had not been helping at all. You didn't know how to treat each other. “Then I guess we need to find some compromise.”

You weren't exactly thrilled with how some things turned out in the end, but on the other hand, it could be worse. After a long talk with Rhysand, how he told you to call him, you end up agreeing to stop working when you are halfway through your pregnancy, but that is not all. During those few weeks you will still be working, there will always be someone with you, during your shift. Practically, members of Rhys's Inner circle were supposed to babysit you. You knew it would be very unusual for you, but you were hoping that in a couple of days you will be able to ignore them or befriend them. You also agreed on moving in with Rhysand and his Inner circle, three weeks before the baby was supposed to be born and staying for at least a couple of months. “Honestly, I am surprised that you want to be so involved..” You mumbled. You two were talking almost your whole shift, which was coming to the end right now. “It's my baby, of course I want to be involved. We have to take care of her or him. Which brings me to my last point today.” He took your silence as a cue to continue. “We should get married.” You weren't sure what you were expecting, but this was certainly not it. Almost dropping a tray with two last gingerbreads, you turned to face him. His face was serious, there was no sign that he was just kidding, but you laughed lightly even so. “Good one. I am not marrying only because I am pregnant.” But he didn't let you brush that off so easily. “Why? It would be better. You would live in luxury for the rest of your life and I would have an heir.” Without this union, this baby would only be a bastard in the others eyes, you were aware of that, but you couldn't do this. “I already told you, I am comfortable with the life I am living. I don't need jewelry or fancy dresses. I was always determined to marry for love or not at all. And I am not changing my mind.” 

The weeks passed one by another. As Rhys promised, from the very next day, his friends started accompanying you, during your work. Sometimes, it was Morrigan you befriended quite quickly. It was because of her friendly personality. She was treating you like a friend from the start, promising you to always help you with the baby. Almost every time she came, she was bringing something for you or the baby. You It almost didn't make sense for you to go shopping for things for the baby since she was the one doing it. Then there were Cassian and Azriel. They also were friendly, but it took a little longer to get used to them, but after you started feeding them sweets from your shop, they warmed up to you and you were chatting like an old friend. The last person who you saw maybe two times was Amren. She wasn't rude, but when she was there, she was doing her own work and since you didn't want to disturb her, you hadn't talked so much. As for Rhys, he was visiting you every other day before and after your shift. The communication between you two was better and sometimes, you caught yourself staring at him, when he was talking to his friends and since that was exactly what got you into this situation in the first place, you weren't happy with yourself. 

“This is your last day, isn't it?” Morrigan was sitting on a table, smiling at you as you were counting the money before closing the register. “Yeah.. I still can't believe it.” You were half through your pregnancy and your bump was already showing a little. Fortunately, the morning sickness and tiredness have passed you by now. You were feeling great. “I don't know what I am going to do with my free time.” She shrugged. “You can read.. Paint.. Shop for the baby..” You chuckled at the last thing. “Thanks to you, the baby has more than enough clothes. And I pursue all my hobbies even when I am working.. Rhys is thinking that I will only lay in bed, eat and sleep, but that's simply not possible. I would lose my head after one week.” She smiled at you sympathetically. “My cousin behaves sometimes like a mother hen. I believe you, when you say it's annoying.. But you have to endure it only for another couple of weeks..” That wasn't helping. “I am not like a mother hen. I don't know what you two are talking about.”  You only noticed Rhysand, who was leaning against the door frame, now. “Yeah, you are worse.” You mumbled, after recovering from the shock he gave you. “You are hurting my feelings, dear Y/N.” You pursed your lips at him. “How are you going to recover from this?” His laughter filled the room and forced you to chuckle a little bit too. “When will you two finally get together? You are perfect for each other.” Neither of you answered her. 

As you expected, you were bored only after a week of not working. Sure, you had your friends and also new friends from Inner circle, but it wasn't enough. They also had work and their lives. So you decided to go bother the man who was responsible for your boredom, Rhysand. You already visited his home, he gave you permission to come and go as you pleased, so you decided to pay him a visit today with some sweet desserts from the bakery for him and a jar of pickles for you. The other symptoms of pregnancy passed, but this one, love for pickles, remained. You knocked twice on the mahagon door that led to his office and waited for his response, before opening them and walking in. “I am bored and it's your fault.” Rhys leaned back in his chair and narrowed his eyes. “How is that my fault?” He obviously wasn't understanding your logic. Maybe it was because he was a male or maybe because his brain was not affected by hormones. “You didn't want me to work anymore, so I don't have anything to do and in addition to that, I am already sick of some things that I normally like! It's frustrating.” You sat on the chair across from him. “I need to finish these papers, but once I am done, I actually know what we could do together.. Until then, you are welcome to stay.” You thought about it for a while and nodded. “Okay, I will wait. And I would almost forget. This is for you. Morrigan told me you like this.” You moved the dessert tray across the table in front of him. He looked surprised and also very happy. “Thank you, it's nice of you, but you didn't have to do that.” You shrugged, picked up one pickle and ate it before replying to him. “I wanted you. Sweet is good for the nerves. And you'll need a lot of nerve to put up with my moods.”

There was a comfortable silence. Rhys was working, you were eating pickles and watching him. During this time, you found out some other new things about him. For example, every time he tried to concentrate intensely, he furrowed his brow, when he was thinking about something, he tapped his pen on the table.. “I didn't know I was so interesting to you.” You blinked a few times, before you realized he probably noticed that you were staring directly at him for the past few minutes. “I was just thinking how can I protect our child from inheriting your crooked nose.” He chuckled and looked at you, still smiling. “Your love for me is touching.” You rolled your eyes playfully. “Are you almost done? I am running out of pickles.” He put the papers aside and nodded. “Lucky for you, yes. We can go now.”

You had to admit that his house was beautiful. It was so spacious, but cozy at the same time. It felt like home. During the tour Rhys gave you, you were imagining your life here. Imagining a little girl running around the corridors and Rhysand following her, while they are both laughing.. “There are only two other rooms I want to show you.” You offered him a small smile, “Okay, lead the way.” After climbing a few stairs, you reached the next floor of the house Rhys walked to the end of the corridor. “This is my room and right next to it..” He opened the door and let you walk in first. You gasped at the sight before you. It was a nursery. The walls were white and decorated with painted gold stars. Everything was ready. Closets full of baby clothes and other necessary things. Crib was in the middle of the room, filled with some stuffed animals and more blankets than needed. Tears welled up in your eyes. “It's so beautiful! Did you do it by yourself?” You asked, turning to Rhysand who was watching you with a happy expression. “Most of the things, although Cassian and Azriel had to help me to build the crib.. I am the most powerful High lord, but that thing is terrible.” You laughed at the idea of ​​the three strongest Illyrian warriors having trouble assembling a crib. “And Morrigan got the clothes.” You nodded, recognizing some pieces. “Thank you, really.” He walked towards you and carefully took your hand to his. “You don't have to thank me. I was happy to do it. After all, I promised you that I would spoil both you and the child.” The fact that your child was going to be spoiled was certain. And probably no amount of strictness couldn't prevent that. “As for spoiling you.. I also have room ready for you.”

It wasn't until Rhys pointed them out that you noticed a door not far from the crib. “This door leads to your room. And the door opposite.. to mine, so I can come and help you with the baby during the night or you can easily come to my room, if you would need it at any time.” It was practical, better than having to run to the hall and knock on his door there. “Are you ready to see it?” With this, he caught your attention once again. “Of course.” 

You fell in love with your room the first second you walked in. Rhys made sure the walls were painted in your favorite color. There was a table, not so far from the window. On the other side is a bookcase with a rocking chair next to it. The walk-in closet was the same size as your bathroom, which was as luxurious as everything else. “Okay.. Now I am really looking forward to moving in here.” You joked and lay on your big bed. Blanket was so soft you wanted nothing else than getting tangled up in it and never getting out. Rhys sat on your bed, watching you with a grin. “And I thought you said you didn't need a life of luxury..” He said playfully. As a response, you slapped him gently on his hand. “I don't need it. But I have to admit, it's nice.” You sat up and rested your head on his shoulder. He hugged you, with one of his hands, around your waist and placed his hand on your stomach, stroking it gently. “Only the best for you.”

Many weeks passed and now.. As you predicted, you were holding a baby girl in your arms. Your and Rhysand's baby girl. Your birth was quite easy, thankfully. You were happy. Rhys was all over the moon, not leaving you alone for one minute. The others were not better, they pushed each other away, only to get a better view of her, before Madja told them to leave, since you need to rest. So now, it was only you, Rhys and your little star. “I know I already said it.. But thank you.” You looked in his eyes and smiled. “I thank you. Afterall, this takes two.” Although most of the job was done by you, Rhys was amazing to you this whole time. Treating you like a queen. “I am really.. glad for this. Finding out I was going to be a father was shocking, I will not lie, but.. I am just really happy.” Hearing this made your heart jump with joy. “Yeah.. I am too. I am glad I met you. And I have to admit.. I grew fond of you.” He chuckled deeply and kissed the top of your head. “Does that mean you will marry me then? And I assure you.. I am not asking out of some obligation, because we have a child together.” Rhys was ready to give you time to think, but you didn't need it. It wasn't love at first sight with him. You were falling in love with him for a while, but now you were sure that he was your happy ending. Well.. him and your daughter. That's why there wasn't a trace of hesitation when you answered him, “I will.”

[anonymous-dentist]

Bleeding Heart Part One

Or: Somebody is attacking members of the Federation of Heroes, and Cellbit is, for once, not the killer

(TW: Blood, Self Harm [by technicality])

----

Cellbit first hears about the attacks from Bagi while they're getting lunch together for the first time in almost a month.

"I've just been so busy," she sighs. She looks about one insult away from slamming Cellbit's face into the table, and she looks about one wet piece of lettuce away from slamming her own face into her salad.

Cellbit hums in response. He's been busy, too. Not with police work, but photo editing is fucking hard, okay? Especially when your apartment is a fucking war zone thanks to yet another patented Richarlyson Temper Tantrum.

Only a little annoyed, Cellbit pokes at his barbecue hard enough with his fork to scrape it against the plate.

Bagi scowls and kicks Cellbit underneath the table.

Cellbit kicks Bagi back, with purpose.

"Fuck you!" she snaps, stomping down hard on his foot.

Cellbit responds by snatching her glass of water from next to her plate and turning it over above her salad.

"What?" Cellbit casually asks as Bagi starts visibly shaking with rage. "At least I'm not stabbing you this time."

"You-" Bagi cuts herself off with a frustrated groan.

She reaches across the table and steals his plate; he lets her, the meat is a bit too well-done for his tastes.

Cellbit leans back in his seat and watches her stab into the barbecue with the rage of a goddamn beast.

"Aren't you vegan?" he asks her.

"Fuck you," she tensely responds. "I don't have the patience for this today. Between you and those fucking- the Federation, I'm going to lose it."

Cellbit tenses at the mention of the Federation- the Federation of Heroes: Q City's defense against supervillains and petty criminals alike, the unofficial backer of the city's educational system and the police force and the courts, and Cellbit's unrequited worst enemy.

His nose wrinkles in distaste. "What do they want?"

"What don't they want?" Bagi sighs. "I don't see why they need us to solve this if they're in charge of literally every superhero in the city. It's just a couple of assault cases, that's it."

...Ah.

Casually- oh, so casually, Cellbit rolls his eyes and cracks a grin.

"What, is someone going around and beating up Federation guys again?" he asks. "I thought Enigma was dead."

Bagi nods, annoyance written all across her face in big red letters. "He is, I was there when he died! But freaking Foolish-"

"Oh, God, Foolish is on this case?"

"The Federation requested him specifically, but he's like-" (She screws her voice up into something approximating her coworker's.) "'Oh, no, Bagi! It's the dead guy assaulting all these Federation guys!' Like? Enigma is dead, how the hell is he still getting assault charges?"

Cellbit shrugs. "You know how Foolish is. He's probably still pissed about never actually getting to figure out Enigma's secret identity. He's just salty."

"Yeah, well. Whatever."

"Whatever," Cellbit echoes.

Bagi, somehow, looks much closer to death. She looks tired, but that's just what happens when you're stuck dealing with Cucurucho for an extended period of time; Cellbit swears he only gets sleep when Cucurucho is out of the city on official Federation business.

Now, Cellbit should probably be grilling his sister for more information. Any enemy of the Federation of Heroes is a friend of his, and he's got some contacts that he might want to hook this mystery person up with.

But.

Smile softening just slightly, Cellbit asks, "How has Empanada been? Is she doing better at this new school?"

Bagi's entire being brightens up, and she starts talking about her daughter's first day at her new school and how Empanada had the best time and how the school is actually accommodating for her disabilities and how... Well, Cellbit stops listening after a couple of minutes while he starts thinking about his own child.

Oh, Richarlyson.

He's so grounded.

-

But, funnily enough, it's while he's walking Richarlyson to school a week later that Cellbit finds the first official murder victim of Bagi's mystery assaulter.

"Oh," says Cellbit, looking down at the corpse lounging in front of his apartment building surrounded by its own brains and blood.

He blocks Richarlyson from following him out the door, much to Richarlyson's annoyance.

"What is it?" Richarlyson asks, squirming and trying to slip under Cellbit's arm. "I wanna see!"

"I think your other dads would kill me," Cellbit replies. He glances over his shoulder and down. "Can you go get my camera for me? I'll let you carry it to school."

Eyes widening excitedly, Richarlyson turns on his heel and bolts up the stairs.

As soon as he's gone, Cellbit looks back at the corpse.

It isn't a particularly good corpse. It's... messy. Too many wounds, too random. Skull fracture and cave-in seems accidental based off the location of the fracture and the location of the body; the killer probably smashed the victim's head against the building's railing and killed them just like that.

It's early in the morning. Early enough that Cellbit's street is basically empty; the Favela isn't really ever quiet, but people are smart enough to stay off the streets from sundown until sun-up. And the Federation of Heroes isn't dumb enough to try putting cameras up in a place like the Favela; it'd be a waste of money with how many times they'd have to replace them all.

So nobody is there to watch as Cellbit crouches next to the corpse and sticks a finger in the puddle of blood.

(Water holds memories, and blood is ninety-two percent water, so...)

The blood ripples like a lake after a stone was tossed into it, waves moving from Cellbit's finger outwards.

And then-

"Pai! I got it!"

Cellbit swiftly stands and turns and hides his hand in his coat pocket and smiles a thanks at Richarlyson. Damnit.

"Did you remember to lock the door behind you?" Cellbit asks.

He tries to block the view of the corpse again, but Richarlyson just barely manages to squeeze past him and out the door.

Cellbit sighs, "Don't tell your Pai Pac I let you see this. He'll kill me."

Richarlyson stares down at the body, frozen in shock.

Well. At least he isn't screaming?

Cellbit slings his camera bag over his shoulder and pulls his camera out. He's got work to do.

"Why do their brains look like that?" Richarlyson asks, nose wrinkled. "Gross."

"Brains don't look like they do in the movies," Cellbit explains, moving past Richarlyson and turning his camera on. He points it at the corpse's face, and he clicks the button. "They're a lot more... gooey. Not as solid as you'd think. It's mostly just the skull keeping them together."

"Really?"

"No, this is just kind of fucked up."

Richarlyson sits on the steps, arms crossed across his knees. He watches Cellbit work, not as disturbed as Cellbit thought he'd be. But, well, he is Richarlyson. He's seen worse than loose brains and a bit of blood. This is nothing.

"I think I know them," Richarlyson says after a bit.

Cellbit glaces up at him, camera focused on the bloody railing.

Richarlyson thinks some more, and then he nods. "Yeah, okay, so I don't know them, but I know their face! They were on the news last week! Super Hamster!"

Super... oh, right. Super Hamster, one of the Federation's newest recruits. Super low-ranked hero who spends their patrols getting cats out of trees and doing battle with a similarly low-ranked villain named Mongoose Man. Kind of stupid, but in a dumb college student way. Weird interviews. Weirder costume.

Cellbit lowers his camera and looks the corpse in the face. Super Hamster wore a mask over their eyes, but the cheeks and chin look the same...

Oh. Oh no.

God. Damnit.

-

Okay, so.

So.

Once upon a time, there was a supervillain named Enigma. He was a bit of a serial killer, but he only attacked and killed those affiliated with the Federation of Heroes: office workers, doctors, weapons suppliers. Heroes.

He did this for years. He founded the Order of Villains alongside fellow villains: the Demon and Crow Man. He killed dozens upon dozens of people, took down seemingly-endless numbers of rookie and professional heroes alike, made himself a reputation as the worst villain Q City had ever known.

And then he died.

There was an explosion during a chase he and the Federation's Sharkboy were involved in. Sharkboy was sent into early civilian retirement. Enigma was sent to his grave.

But.

Cellbit slinks his way down the alley with his camera bag slung over his shoulder. He's wearing sunglasses and a black surgical mask leftover from the last time Richarlyson was sick, and his hair is mostly hidden under a borrowed baseball cap.

Recently, according to both Bagi and the evening news, people seem to think that Enigma has done the impossible and risen from the grave. Somehow.

The thing is, the new guy doesn't kill the same way that Enigma did. Enigma used weapons the color of fresh blood. All reports from surviving victims of "Enigma" mention someone with a black sword and-slash-or a steel baseball bat.

Honestly? Cellbit wishes this new killer all the luck in the world. Going up against the Federation is risky business; that's why Cellbit retired in the first place: his family was at risk.

But, really, Cellbit can't have the rumors about Enigma's return continue to go around. They're making everyone pay too much attention to everyone else, and Cellbit really doesn't like getting stared at.

He really, really doesn't like getting stared at by Pac of all people.

So. For Pac's sake, and for Pac's sake only, Cellbit is on the prowl tonight. He's been studying up on the assault cases that Bagi has been investigating, and he's determined that nearly all of the assaults happened within a three-block circumference of the Federation's main building downtown. The outlier so far is Super Hamster, who was apparently Cellbit's upstairs neighbor before their death.

So. Downtown.

Cellbit doesn't have much on him. He has his phone and wallet, and he has a pocketknife and a pocket first aid kit. He's wearing gloves to hide his fingerprints, and because he knows better than to make skin-to-skin contact with an unknown super. (Because the new guy is a super, Cellbit can just tell; who else would have the balls to fight other supers hand-to-hand?)

And, of course, he has his camera. He needs to get proof for Pac, and then he'll get Pac to deliver the pictures to the right people.

Enigma might be dead, but "Enigma" would fit right in with the Order of Villains.

Cellbit steps out of the alley and looks up at the imposing Federation building rising above the buildings around him. It's big and white and glowing and shaped like the letter 'F' and it's fucking ugly, but it's also absolutely terrifying.

("Dispose of him.")

A helicopter lands on the Federation building's roof. Cellbit hopes it fucking crashes after takeoff.

With a sigh, Cellbit turns on his heel and starts down the street towards the building. He looks suspicious as hell, but he also has his P.I.'s license in his wallet if he needs to pull it out.

(He may not be an investigator anymore, but the license doesn't expire for another couple of years. Thanks, Federation!)

There's an itch on the back of Cellbit's neck. A mosquito, probably; it's summer, unfortunately.

Cellbit raises his hand to swat the bug away.

He blinks, and there's a figure in front of him standing beneath a streetlight in all black: hoodie, cargo shorts, what are probably athletic leggings beneath them, gas mask, and- for some reason- a medieval-style cloak with the hood pulled up.

Their hand rests on a sword hung on their side.

Cellbit doesn't so much as blink. Interesting outfit; the gas mask is a nice touch. Probably hiding a voice modulator inside it.

The sword almost seems to sing with all the blood coating it. Fresh blood, still dripping.

Slowly, Cellbit lowers his hand.

"Hey," he lamely says. "Nice cloak."

The killer's head slowly tilts to one side.

A deep, gravelly, very artificial-sounding voice drawls out, "You are not one of theirs."

Oh, so the killer is a nerd. That's cool. They'll fit in great with the Order.

Cellbit shakes his head. "No. I'm not. I'm on your side, actually. I'm just-"

The killer laughs, long and drawn out and painful sounding.

They shake their head slowly. "Don't fuck with me. No one is on my side."

Oh, so the killer is a depressed nerd. Who has obviously read a few too many comic books with how they're talking.

"No," Cellbit quickly says, "but I am. I hate those guys!"

The killer is silent. Still.

Cellbit watches them just stand there.

Swallowing a lump of anticipation in his throat, Cellbit continues:

"The Federation sucks. Everyone who works for it, or with it, deserves to die. I agree with you! But you-"

He cuts himself off with a gasp of pain as the killer vanishes in front of him and as a sharp blade stings along his ribcage from behind.

"Shit!" the killer snaps, voice modulator staticking in panic.

Cellbit staggers forward and throws himself onto the ground, careful not to crush his camera back. His sunglasses come flying off, but fuck them, he stole them, anyway.

His hand flies to his side, and it comes away bloody.

He grins. Perfect.

The killer lunges at him with his sword, aiming right for Cellbit's chest, but-

Cellbit raises his hand to catch the sword, hissing as the blade sinks into the palm of his hand. It cuts right through his glove like it was made of butter, but fuck the gloves, he stole them, anyway.

The killer freezes, confused as Cellbit drags his hand up the length of the blade. His blood drips down onto his hoodie, staining it dark.

"I told you," Cellbit growls, clenching his hand down and grinning. "I'm on your side."

And then Cellbit jerks his hand back and rolls to the side, narrowly dodging a stab to the chest. He raises his hand just in time for the blood running down his arm to ripple and start running backwards.

The killer must catch the movement, because they swing their sword towards Cellbit's wrist. Smart thought, but too late.

Steel clashes against iron with sparks and nausea as the killer's blade meets Cellbit's own.

Vaguely, Cellbit can see the killer's eyes widen through the goggles of their mask.

Cellbit swallows down a fever as he pulls the blood off of his hoodie and forms it into a tiny buckler shield. (If this other guy wants to go medieval, so will Cellbit.)

And then he pushes upwards with his blood sword with all his strength, forcing the killer to take a step backwards to keep themselves from falling on their ass.

"The cameras in this part of the city don't work," Cellbit breathes, pushing himself to his feet and desperately trying not to collapse under the weight of his own being. "You know this, but how? Only the Federation knows. They planned it this way. Job security."

"How do you know, culero?" the killer snaps.

They spin their sword once, look Cellbit over, and freeze.

Cellbit frowns. Just like before...

But then what happened before was-

Eyes widening in realization, Cellbit ducks to the side, just barely getting grazed by a sword skimming across the back of his neck.

The killer groans and tries again, this time catching the meat of Cellbit's bicep.

Cellbit groans, but he forces his blood to push the sword out of his body. It does so with a little protest, too weak to do much, but it manages.

"Enigma," the killer breathes. "You're supposed to be dead, man!"

"I am," Cellbit lowly says.

He hunches over slightly, more than a little out of practice. He holds his shield in front of himself, his sword quivering and at the ready.

"This is great!" the killer excitedly says. "Now that I know it's you..."

They lower their sword and sheathe it, practically bouncing on their toes. Their eyes glitter behind their mask, but they betray nothing.

"...we can team up!" they finish.

They reach a hand out.

Cellbit steps back warily. He holds his sword level with the killer's throat; it drips onto the sidewalk, blood splattering everywhere.

"I'm dead," Cellbit snaps. "You weren't supposed to even see me tonight! I just- oh, fuck."

He groans as a wave of heat washes over him. Pre-faint symptoms, he's close. He used to be better at this, fuck.

He staggers, both his sword and shield splashing onto the ground as he loses his hold over their forms. He braces himself against a streetlight, the same one he first saw the killer under, and he tries not to vomit.

The killer rushes towards him, gloved hands hesitating awkwardly next to his shoulders.

"You okay?" the killer asks. Even through their modulator, they sound concerned. Okay.

"I'm fine," Cellbit wheezes. He waves them off with a glare. "You just- I need proof. That it isn't me this time."

The killer stops breathing. They stop breathing for a long time.

And then they're next to Cellbit rather than in front of him holding his camera.

Cellbit's eyes widen. "Hey, no! Put that back!"

"Relax," the killer says, smile evident in their voice. "I'm getting you proof."

Cellbit's head spins. He hears the camera snap, and then he's on the ground. Oooohh, he's out of practice. (But isn't that a good thing?)

Another camera snap, and he's dry heaving. He hasn't eaten enough to be able to actually throw up anything, but his body sure wants him to try.

"Shit, hold on!" the killer exclaims, and then Cellbit knows nothing.

-

He wakes up to the familiar sound of the beeping of a heart monitor. There's a familiar alien sensation in his arm- I.V. drip, okay.

Okay, he's at the hospital.

Eyes flickering open, Cellbit lets out a sigh. Bagi is going to hate this.

"Fuck," he sighs, staring up at the ceiling.

Once upon a time, Enigma was the most feared villain in the city. But then he got a son, and he found his long-lost twin sister, and he realized that dying either from blood loss or from Federation execution wasn't the ending he wanted anymore. He wanted to live, and so Enigma had to die.

Cellbit hasn't passed out from blood loss since he was just starting out as a villain. It's been almost a decade since then, and he's definitely lost his touch. But that's for the better, really. He doesn't need to use his powers for that kind of stuff anymore. He can heal his son's wounds. He can read the lives of the deceased.

...Or, he would if he could.

He's startled out of his thoughts as someone comes into his room with an armload of vending machine snacks.

"Oh!" the new person exclaims, eyes widening. "You're alive!"

Cellbit doesn't know this person, but he thinks that he wants to.

"Who are you?" Cellbit croaks. "What happened?"

He was with the killer... and then he passed out... and...

"Oh, yeah, so I was walking home from work, and I found you all bloody and passed out on the sidewalk," the man explains.

He sits in the chair by Cellbit's bed, and then he dumps his snacks on the bed and lets out a sigh.

"I'm glad you're okay," he continues. "I was seriously worried."

Cellbit blinks. He's tired, God.

"My camera?" he asks.

"Over there," the man replies. He points towards the other side of the room with his head. "That Hombre Misterioso left it behind when he saw me there."

Cellbit frowns. "Hombre...?"

"Hombre Misterioso. The guy killing all those Federation workers? Apparently, he took a bunch of pictures of himself and managed to send them to the police. That's what they're calling him."

Cellbit's brain ticks away. "Doesn't that just mean 'mysterious guy' in Spanish?"

"Ay, you know Spanish?" The man grins. "That's cool!"

"I'm Brazilian," Cellbit murmurs, not really answering.

He gives the man an appraising look: brown hair, soft looking; dark eyes, glittering; red t-shirt, form-fitting; blue bandana, goofy. Biceps.

The man catches his gaze and winks.

"I'm Roier," he says.

Cellbit gives up on his analyzing; he'll get back to it when he isn't still so drained from losing so much blood.

"Cellbit," he replies. "Thank you for saving me."

"Nah, it's nothing."

(Roier's smile is sharp-toothed and positively breathtaking [or maybe that's just the blood loss talking.])

"Thank you for waking up."

[jaehunnyy]

Fight club

Genre: enemies-to-lovers, brother's best friend!au, angst, fluff, crack, suggestive

Word count: 3.4k

Pairing: boxing-manager!Wooyoung x fem!reader

Warnings: mentions and a few descriptions of fights, fighting settings, mentions of blood, hits, rude people, swear words, mentions of making out, pet names, kisses, allusions to some lines from the actual movie Fight Club and to Bouncy lyrics, possible grammar mistakes

Taglist: @shakalakaboomboo, @cromerteez, @nebulousbrainsoup, @justhere4kpop, @bluehwale, @bluisheye93, @ssaboala, @heesnovia

Networks: @cromernet 🤍

The white, wadded clouds were threatening to cover the ground in sad tears of rain as you were wandering around the strange city you were in, all because of his love for traveling. Your car's engine decided to give up in the middle of the street and there you were, looking for anything that would serve as a roof under your head for the night, until he gave you a sign. Suddenly, your eyes started to beam as you saw a rundown ‘Mtel’ sign, written in red neon lights (one letter obviously missing), one that happened to have a car service on the first floor. You ran there as fast as you could, fearing that it was gonna close or something; and as soon as you got in front of it, you started to wonder if you were in the right place. Two guys were trying to make their parrot talk or something, a few french keys and other tools scattered around the floor as they seemed to be occupied with their pet.

"Uhm… hello?" you dared to talk and get their attention, having two pairs of eyes analyzing you. "My car broke down… and you seem to work with these things so… mind helping me?"

The look they gave each other really had you confused—they were almost surprised with your request.

"Okay, I see how it i—"

"No! We can help, of course. We just… wondered how many other cars we have to repair, you know?" The taller one said, not-so-gently nudging the other one as if he wanted him to support his words.

The younger one jumped a little, smiling weakly as he nodded. "We got it!"

You still couldn't figure if they were honest or not, but you just went with it and let them handle your car as you went to the receptionist to book a room.

The morning came with fast steps as you woke up due to some noisy sounds from outside, disturbing your already not-so-great sleep. You yawned and looked outside the window, seeing how the two mysterious guys were carrying things in their garage. They were getting more and more suspicious, so you grabbed your jacket and went downstairs to see the process. Your car seemed to be intact, they actually put some effort into changing the color of it too into a matte one, which you weren't opposing to at all.

"Is it done yet?"

They looked at you, both trying to cover the car as much as they could as you were approaching it.

"No! Don't touch it! Go eat and then you can come see it." the one with the purple highlights said once again. "Oh, and we're Jongho and Yunho, by the way." He said, a gummy smile taking over his face as you nodded softly and introduced yourself.

As soon as you left the room, they sighed.

"We're screwed. We are supposed to be undercover policemen, not mechanical engineers!" Jongho scolded Yunho, as the oldest sighed softly.

"Then go and tell her this! I actually think we even did a great job… Even our parrot agrees."

"We'll see about that. And let’s hope she doesn’t call the police on us!"

Said and done. You came from the little diner, looking at your now covered car. It seemed promising.

"Tadaaaaa! Here is your car, fresh and new." Yunho said, taking the sheet off of your shiny car.

"Thank you so much guys! Money won't thank you enough for that." you went and excitedly opened the car's door, only for something heavy to drag you down slowly—it was the car's door.

"...I guess no money for us," Jongho said, head down in shame as he couldn't look you in the eyes. "I told you, stupid."

You were still in shock as the door was now standing on the ground, looking at the two boys. "Mind telling me what’s this about?"

"This… is not our job, Y/n, we're sorry for lying to you." Yunho said, trying to reach for you but you went outside, leaving them to wallow in self pity.

This was all because of your stupid companion, one that wasn’t even accompanying you right now, when you needed him the most. You threw your hair back in frustration, going around the busy streets you didn’t even know. It kept getting darker, and the few houses you saw were not giving you any comfort. You were in trouble, in a run down neighborhood you wouldn't even dream of. A blue-haired guy showed up at some point, and as crazy as you must have looked, you followed him into an alley. When you saw him suspiciously entering a back door; you rushed inside just before it could close. The inside was lit by some yellow lights and you swore you could hear loud cheers coming from the basement. You went to the first door you saw and opened it, forgetting about the personal space for just a while, until you saw a long-haired brunette surrounded by money. Oh, and having a rolled-up bill between his teeth. If you weren't in need of help, you would exit the door as fast as you entered it. Feeling that someone was staring at him, he looked in your direction and raised an eyebrow when he saw your unfamiliar face, putting the money in the bag and hiding it under his desk as fast as he could.

"Robbery?" he asked, eyes continuously on the money bag you were amazed of.

"Listen, dude. I'm lost in this hell of a district, my car is screwed by two liars and I just want to find a way back and go home. My last intention is to rob you."

He wore an unfazed look on his face, almost like he didn't understand a thing of what you said; he was getting on your nerves more.

"Also, what kind of people ask someone if they are gonna rob them? And how the fuck do you have so much money?"

He smirked as soon as you mentioned the money—if you looked close enough, you could almost see the dollar signs in his eyes.

"If you wanna know how, I can show you right now. Follow me."

What did you have to lose? You were already lost in your thoughts, you didn't have the energy to say no—so you followed him. As soon as you got inside the room, you noticed the pleasing decorum, but also the fighting ring in the middle of it. And after you took some time to look around and take in the new surrounding, your eyes met his.

"Sa—"

Before you could even finish anything, he was on the floor, mouth full of blood as your eyes widened, wondering what the fuck he was doing there—the one who made you get lost, the one who brought you there. Before you could speak again, you saw the money guy hurry in San's direction, as he got seated on a chair, an exhausted and hurt look on his face.

"What the fuck got you that distracted? You literally let him hit you!"

"Wooyoung… her… protect her…" he raised his hand weakly, finger pointing to you.

"Ha? Her? You know the mysterious I got lost girl?"

"That girl is my sister, Wooyoung!"

Oh.

"Shhh, calm down. Don't waste your energy. C'mon, drink a bit of water, and go back on the ring." he said, splashing half of the water bottle on your brother's face while trying to look unaffected. I didn't sign up for this, he thought, though there was nothing he could have done—they really needed the money.

The cheers only got louder when San returned to the ring, while you tried to make your way in the crowd, squinting your eyes to see something between the pink hair strands of a tall man in front of you.

"You stole my place." you turned back to face a built man, anger visible on his face as you blocked his view—and stole his place.

Words got stuck in your throat as you swallowed the lump inside of it, anger getting over your senses. "What did you just say?"

"I said that you stole my place and that I expect you to go back!" he raised his voice more and your eyes shut together, your fist ready to throw a punch, before you felt a strong arm dragging you behind them—the brunette again.

“She’s with me." he growled, dragging you next to him as you were worriedly looking at your brother. "You're going to have to win double the amount of money for this, San." he mumbled.

Another hit on the ring and he was completely out of it, the three seconds passing and the bells letting the public know who the winner was—and much to his friend's disappointment, it wasn't San.

"No way. No way this is happening. He lost because of you!" he pointed at you, hitting his chair with his foot until it fell down.

You were already overwhelmed by everything you witnessed, tears beaming at the corners of your eyes as your brother came to the two of you.

"Stop trying to control everything and just let go. Let go, Wooyoung! For once!" he said, tiredness audible in his voice as his breath was hitched and slow.

"That's my job, San. And you were supposed to help me, help us." All Wooyoung could do after this was frown, before he left the building to go get some air.

You looked at your brother and dragged him somewhere far from the looks of the curious ones, hitting his chest slightly.

"What the fuck are you doing here, San? Is this the traveling you loved? Is that what our parents would have wanted you to become?"

He looked down, avoiding your stare as he couldn't look at you.

"Why didn't you tell me you needed money?! I would have gotten a job to help you!"

That's when his eyes met yours, finally hearing his voice in the two days you've been separated.

"The first rule of Fight Club…" he started, his gaze becoming stern: "… is you don’t talk about Fight Club.”

He genuinely annoyed you.

"And what are you doing here in the first place?"

"I was trying to find a way to cope with everything that happened after my brother left me so he could go fight some random people."

Auch. That hurt worse than a kick, he sighed.

"I'm sorry, Y/n… C'mon, you can stay with me from now on."

You didn't want to give in, you couldn’t imagine yourself having to stand Wooyoung's tantrums, yet it was better than wandering alone in an unknown city—so, you did what you thought was right and listened to your brother. And maybe staying so much with him (and his friend you won't talk about), watching his matches, that might have opened new horizons for you. You were now having dinner with them, clearing your voice before letting it be heard.

"You know… I wanna join the Fight Club too." you said softly, waiting for any sort of reaction from them; and there were two different ones—Wooyoung's eyes lit up immediately as he saw more money coming his way, whilst San was looking terrified.

"No."

"Yes!"

They said in unison, glaring at each other.

"I'm not letting her join this, it's dangerous, Woo!"

Wooyoung seemed to absolutely ignore the boy as he smiled at you, the first time you have seen him smiling outside of matches San won.

"I will help you become the best fighter out here. We're starting tomorrow!"

All you could do was smile excitedly as San face-palmed himself.

Said and done. You were already one month into practicing, and Wooyoung kept on finding matches for you, the next one being in two days. You were inside the little space he claimed as your training room, punching the innocent punching bag as you heard the door behind you. You thought it was Wooyoung and smirked, turning to face him and kicking, only for your fist to stop right in front of your brother's face.

"Oh… hey San." you smiled innocently whilst all he could do was sigh.

"If you don't get along with Wooyoung, why do you keep on doing this? I didn't even agree!"

You looked at him, deciding to ignore the judging look he threw your way. "I think I am capable of making my own decisions and I sure as hell don’t need my brother to make them for me."

"Do you think our parents would be proud that their daughter chose this path?"

This time, you snapped.

"Maybe you should have thought about this before choosing it first. You are my only role model, San, what do you expect from me?"

"I'm sorry, babes. If that's what you really want… I promise I will support you. But please take care." he said, arm wrapping around your waist as he dragged you into a hug. You hugged him back, the nice feeling of longing surrounding you—before a fake cough snapped you out of it.

"Sorry to interrupt your brother-sister moment, but you're distracting her."

"So now I can't spend time with my sister?"

"Not when she has a match coming. Also, she's getting as good as you. I won the lottery with you, guys."

You smiled at his praise, though he seemed to have something else in mind.

"I didn't like you at first, you know?" he said, looking directly into your eyes.

"I know, it was mutual." you said, a cheeky grin taking over your face as you waited for his response.

"Don't get too excited, I still don't like you. But I like the money you bring." he winked, watching as San's eyes darkened.

"Wooyoung," he growled, "if you think I'd let you talk to my sister like this, you're wrong. We're not your fucking bank!"

Wooyoung flinched a bit at his friend's words, pulling his glasses on his nose and trying to act unaffected when, in fact, he wasn't. Since you joined, he found himself thinking if he was doing the right thing, if you two thought he used you for money—which San kinda confirmed; but he couldn't let these emotions take over him, so he did what he thought was best—left.

He left and you two didn't see him again. Match time was right there and he was nowhere to be seen; and as much as you wanted to lie and act indifferent about it, you kinda missed his antics, his nag, perhaps you missed him. This was maybe, the reason why as soon as you stepped into the ring, you started to have an uneasy feeling. He wasn't there to support you, to hype you up, and it left you with a bitter taste. Despite this feeling, you still tried your best. Tried to avoid your rival's hits, tried hitting more, and you actually thought you were gonna win. That was until you spotted the pair of ebony-like eyes you waited for, being the last thing you saw before everything turned black.

That wasn't the sight Wooyoung expected to be welcomed with. He forgot about the two police officers behind him, running straight to the ring and following San who jumped inside immediately.

"Stop hitting her! Stop fucking hitting, she passed out!" he shouted, shoving the person off you, just to discover it was exactly the reason why the cops were there.

"Yunho, Jongho, it's him!"

Before he could do anything, San pushed both of them and took you in his arms, running to the infirmary as fast as he could. Yunho and Jongho were fast to catch the guy before he could run away, whilst Wooyoung was quick to follow San, who let you on the bed while waiting for the nurse.

"San!" he said, catching his breath as the eyes of the older one sent ice arrows down his spine.

"Don't you dare get closer to us! She was your responsibility Wooyoung, you were supposed to take care of her!" he said, hands on Wooyoung's shirt as he shaked the younger.

"I know San, I fucking know I fucked up! But her rival… he was following you San, I had to let Jongho and Yunho know that you were in danger… I wanted to protect you two…"

"I don't care about myself, Wooyoung. I only care about her and you failed. You failed us and our trust as well."

Maybe it took some harsh words for Wooyoung to realise that he put you in danger, and that he actually cared about you. About his friend, and unexpectedly, about his friend's sister as well.

"San… I'm sorry, please give me one more chance! I'll be more careful and—"

"She's out of this, Wooyoung. We are out of your damn Fight Club."

Wooyoung looked down, tears beaming at the corners of his eyes as he couldn't blame you. He just wanted to get closer with you, heck, he might have been attracted to you all this time—yet look where ignoring his emotions took him.

"You have my number if you change your mind, San."

And with this, he turned in the opposite direction, preparing to leave again. He wanted to be there when you wake up, he was aware that he distracted you when he came in way too late to your match. He wanted to hold your hand and start being there for you, but San was right. He didn't deserve none of you. His wish for money made him realise what he was truly lacking—love.

"San," you whispered, your weak voice being heard by both boys in the room: "San, you were too harsh… He wanted to protect you…"

Wooyoung's heart swelled a bit at your words, ignoring San's warning and sitting on the bed next to you. Right when your brother wanted to tell him to leave, his best friend was faster.

"I'm sorry I was late to your match, Y/n. I wish I was there for you."

"It's okay, Wooyoung. I wish I did better."

"No, Y/n! I'm proud of you nonetheless. You two are already the best for me."

Seeing Wooyoung hug you made San's anger dissipate into the void, joining as one hand caressed your hair and the other one patted his friend's back softly.

Your bond became even stronger after that day. While you met their friends (the ones who screwed your car) and realised how nice they actually were, your feelings for Wooyoung also grew stronger. You thought it was the same for him. The way his hand would softly brush yours, the random forehead and cheek kisses you were given, they had to mean something. And there you were now, plopped on a blanket as the night sky was shining above you.

"Isn't it pretty?" you asked him, looking at his flawless face and brushing his long hair with your fingers.

"It would have been even prettier if I watched it with my girlfriend."

Your heart remained still.

"Your girlfriend…? Do you have one?"

"Not yet, but I am about to. I know it's been quite of a long ride for us, but I'm deeply in love with you. And I know you feel the same, Yunho told me."

You looked at him flabbergasted, hands stopping on their track as he dragged you on top of him. You didn't know if you should be mad at Yunho, or glad that he eased the situation.

"Pfft, do you really believe Yunho? What if he lied?" you teased, grabbing his cheek softly as he looked at your lips.

"Well, let me figure it out." he said, before his soft lips met yours.

You closed your eyes and enjoyed the moment, smiling a bit when his nose brushed your own.

"Thank you for making me realise that love is more powerful than money, babe." he whispered, "I'm still going to be San's manager. And you are going to help me."

You nodded, pressing a kiss on his chin as you laid your head on his chest.

San's next match was going to be interesting. Ten minutes before it started, yet nor you or Wooyoung were anywhere to be found. He was searching for you with a water bottle in his hand, tank top tight on his chest as his muscles flexed under it.

"Wooyoung? Y/n? Where the fuck are you?"

As he stepped further into the darkened hallway, he heard your giggles and sighed—he was already growing tired of how big of a menace you were as a couple.

"For God's sake, can you stop making out and come watch me? I have a match to win!"

You and Wooyoung could only laugh harder as your brother sighed for the nth time that day, but it soon became a chorus of joyful giggles as he joined you two.

"We're coming!"

[kurishiri]

Jude chapter 2 silly but kinda detailed summary

꒰ ִ ֺ ⊹ @ notice ⊹ ֺ ִ ꒱ any pretty translation you may see in here may not be 100% accurate or contain creative liberties due to characterization or narrative flow purposes. this is a sort of summary as well. if you enjoy, though, please consider reblogging, but please don’t repost these or claim these as your own!

for some ungodly reason jude and ellis r in kates room the moment she woke up and judes not lookin very appy hes like how long r ya gon sleep for ya bloody pleb and ellis is like haaii gm kate 🌸✨✨ and then jude like “get ready in 3 seconds” while holdin her chin. again, for some reason lmao

ok turns out we goin to their other jobs at a company called raven co

and ellis tells kate they got shops overseas too (wow jude got a boomin business) and they sell stuff in a lotta places and allat jazz. anw some dude greets kate and the others and thinks that kate is ellis gf. kates like umm no and hes like so ur the boss’ gf?

then he gets judes boot before kate can reply and judes like

Jude: It’s all yappin’ with ya so early in the mornin’, I see.

J: If ya gonna yap useless things, how ‘bout ya use that mouth o’ yours to do a bit more o’ your job?

J: If ya want a pay cut though, that’s a separate matter.

turns out the dudes name is theodore walker. 21 y/o. employee. first impression: bright dude

so kate asks ellis what his role is and hes like “hmm lets see, being a guard, preparing for guests, confirming clients, brewing up a storm…” and kate here thinkin wait a damn minute i have a feeling i heard smth real violent just now and then is like do you do anything else and well ellis responds with more violent words with a 😊 face. kate is like i thought i got myself into an evil org then jude comes in like

Jude: Well this evil company’s boss got some work cut out for ya.

she gotta sort out these letters (a loott of letters…) and judes like “if ya worked as a letter carrier ya mustve had to sort out letters before gettin breakfast”

ok so apparently judes kate just blurts out things w/o thinkin 💀 bc this time shes like well if hes gonna make fun of me (jude calls her princess but /neg) then challenge accepted! and then is like “ok bet i will get this done ez pz 🍋 squeezy” and judes got that shit eatin grin on his face like “that ya will do by the time i get back”

they r indeed still in their enemies era. her only saving grace now is ellis’ kind smile. ellis to the rescue! ⛓️🫶✨

omg ellis is actually an angel here he helps kate when he can sorting out letters and hes like gj today kate. you managed to do sm on ur own, u should be proud of urself and kate is like hes so kind… (yes he is!)

ah yes we cant escape the ellis is sweet as jam™️ allegations here

kate asks ellis why he joined crown and tldr its bc vic reached out to jude and jude said ok

Kate: But did you have to get caught up in all this too…?

Ellis: But——he made a promise with me.

As he said this, Ellis’ eyes narrowed softly.

Kate: …A promise?

Ellis: I’m waiting for Jude to reach the happiest moment of his life.

E: And I need to be by his side to see that moment.

[ insert some lines im too lazy to tl here ]

Ellis: But, it seems that moment just doesn’t want to come. …It’s like Jude is always unhappy.

jude comes in the door like yall so damn annoyin and is like stop yappin bout she don’t need to know. but ellis is like but its her job as fairytale keeper. and kate is like “i have a question for u too jude! why do u have ellis by ur side?” jude responds like “none ya damn business” but one tinie push from ellis and jude lets out a resigned sigh and speaks on it and is like hes got physical strength and a good ability. cant let that sorta value slip by. that said his heads got some screws loose so

and kate is like omg! he answered me!!

(So Jude has Ellis by his side so he can use his abilities at his convenience,)

(and Ellis wants Jude to fulfill his wish, I guess?)

They kept one another by each other’s side to help realize what the other wants.

——If I were to put into words what their relationship would be, it would be ‘a contractual relationship.’

That was the day I had gotten my hands on valuable information on Jude for the first time.

ko-fi☕️ ┊ comms🤍

NOTE: i forgot to mention that i can take comms to tl judes main story chapters, avatar mission stories, and his side stories in full, as ciele, the one whos gonna tl his story, said that i could tl chapters from his story too. the turnaround time per chapter is usually around 1–2 days from the time i start it. (for jude it might be closer to 2 days.)

[deathmetalunicorn1]

may i ask for strawhats with a reader thats like madeline hatter from ever after high or just simply the mad hatter?

-Growing up you could remember so many people calling you odd or strange, but you weren’t, you were just Y/N- bright, colorful, and a bit mad, but then again, everyone was!

-Where you grew up, nothing made sense, everything was wacky, mad, and impossible, but that’s what made your home so wonderful~

-When you made the decision to leave home to explore the world, your family supported you, making you promise to send letters and visit often, which you had no issues doing.

-Armed with your bottomless handbag and umbrella that you used like a boat, you set off for adventure and new experiences.

-And you found them on a pirate ship of all places, with your new crew, the Straw Hats! They found you on an island, having a tea party, but with your tea set, everything would float around, including you!

-When Luffy and the crew entered the clearing, you beamed brightly as you floated on by, “Hello new friend~ please join me for a wonderous tea-party!”

-Zoro, Franky, and Jinbei didn’t really know what to make of this situation, but Chopper and Luffy were quick to rush in, grabbing teacups and drinking down the tea so they started to float, cheering loudly as you giggled, swimming on by.

-Robin and Nami went next, then Usopp and Brook, all of them joining you in the air as you floated on by, twirling Chopped by his hoof, making him squeal.

-Robin spoke to you, “You don’t seem bothered by Chopper or Brook? Have you seen other odd things?” you looked a bit confused, “Odd? I don’t think they’re odd at all, a talking reindeer and a talking skeleton- how -hehe- mad!”

-Zoro commented that you had a few screws loose to which you floated over to him, handing him a cup of tea, “Everyone has loose screws, but missing screws is when I’d worry, that would mean something’s about to break!”

-His eyelid twitched as Sanji floated on by, feeling so weightless, “But if you’re too scared to join us~” they were quickly fighting after Zoro drank down the tea.

-Jinbei and Franky took someone handing them a cup as well and they joined as Franky floated by you, “This is SUPER awesome!!” which made more cheers ring out.

-Jinbei felt a little odd, floating in the air, “This isn’t like floating in water.” You hugged him around his neck, beaming, “Floating in water or floating in air, all that matters is what it does to your hair!”

-You were so unique and fun, Luffy didn’t even hesitate to invite you to join his crew and you immediately accepted, after taking a sip of tea, like you were pondering it, which made him and some of the others laugh.

-Marines and enemies didn’t know what to make of you, with your riddles, your odd way of talking and moving, and they weren’t expecting your bottomless bag to be sentient, chasing after them like a rabid honey badger, snarling and baring its previously unseen teeth.

-Sanji and Nami had been terrified, seeing this, until it came over to you after chasing everyone away and you patted it on the top, like it was a dog, “Good boy Jeoffrey! I hope you didn’t eat too many of them, you’ll spoil your dinner!”

-Luffy begged you to let him see what was inside Jeoffrey, and you agreed, taking his hand and you immediately leapt up and the two of you were promptly swallowed.

-Inside it was like a rabbit hole, spiraling columns of different patterns, colors, and textures, playing cards, desserts, tea sets, strange creatures all floated around, as you both floated down and down.

-At the very bottom was a door, but it was much too small for the two of you to fit inside, so you grabbed a pair of nearby floating bottles, handing Luffy one.

-His eyes went huge as he watched you shrink down to the perfect size, and he did the same, immediately shrinking, letting out a cheer as you both headed to the door.

-Luffy was stunned when you both went through the doorway, being spat out by Jeoffrey as you laughed warmly, enjoying the little adventure while Luffy started to ramble and gush on what he had seen.

-You promised to take the others in, a few at a time, later, as Jeoffrey needed his afternoon nap. You carried your bag like it was a cat, now snoring loudly, inside so it would sleep peacefully.

-You were a weirdo surrounded by weird things, but you were their weirdo, and that was the best compliment you had ever received, other than someone telling you that your hat looked nice!

[yuri-is-online]

hi, there! :D I hope to be on time for the event can I request :

(Finding a confession letter in your locker) With Silver, Jade and Deuce? Plz

22. Finding a confession letter in your locker

Hi hi you are very much on time of course you can （＾ワ＾）

Also just letting you know here, I did get your other request and do not mind answering it at all (though i am going to post some other ones first), in my og post I mentioned the prompts were limited by ask, so you submitted everything correctly, don't worry!

notes: they/them pronouns used for Yuu, fluff, Jade is a red flag as usual. Check out the rest of the event requests here.

Silver

There is an unfairly pretty looking man asleep in front of the gym lockers, face down, arms at his side, but with the light still hitting his hair just right way to make him look like he has a halo. You know that Silver won't be upset if you try to wake him, but as you kneel to do so, the slight creak of an unkempt hinge draws your attention up from your sleeping senior to your own slightly open locker.

Weird, you could have sworn you locked it at the end of class.

"Silver?" You decide to try calling out to him while you examine your locker for any sign of tampering beyond the obvious. "You good down there?" Nothing seems to have been taken, but something has been left: a letter. Gingerly, you remove and settle yourself on the floor next to Silver, gently shaking him as you open it.

Yuu,

I'm afraid that if I try to simply say to you how I feel, I won't be able to fully convey just how grateful I am to have met you, just how much you mean to me. But I want to try and give you a confession you deserve so please, meet me in the courtyard after your classes. I promise to say the words to you then.

-Silver

"I wasn't supposed to still be here when you read that." A muffled voice draws your attention back to Silver, who slowly pushes himself up to look into your eyes. "But since I am, I like you prefect." The words are simple, but the sincerity of his gaze adds the weight he was so afraid of missing.

Jade

You were screwed. The instant you saw the condition of the letter inside that lavender envelope you knew it was never meant to be seen, least of all by the person it was addressed to. The paper was hastily torn from a composition book, crumpled and lightly stained with what you assume from the scent is tea. No, you can't really picture someone as collected as Jade allowing the messy parts of his thoughts to be seen

You are a mystery I want to unravel

I never get tired of your voice

I want to be the first person they think of in the morning and the last thing they imagine at night. When they are alone I want them to long to return to my side, when someone hurts them I want to be the one who repays their enemies in kind. There is a word for these emotions, something that's as wonderfully unpredictable as it is painful-

A head rests on your shoulder, two strong arms pull you into an embrace that prevents you from seeing his face as a deep sigh tickles your ear, reciting from memory the destroyed portion of the letter-

"That word is love, I am in love with Yuu." Jade smiles into your neck as you shudder in surprise. "Since you are not attempting to run away, can I assume I have something of a chance?"

Deuce

"Is it just me or is Juice acting weird today?" Ace asks, slacking off away from Vargas's watchful eyes behind you and Grim. Not that you haven't noticed, but now that Ace mentions it- "I mean he's sneaking out of class, isn't PE the one he's actually good at?" You both look pointedly towards the lockers Deuce is not so sneakily heading towards with concern.

"Um, I'll be right back." You try to hide your concern but the judgmental faces that see you off suggest you aren't exactly successful. Deuce's broad shoulders disappear into the hallway and you attempt to calmly follow. Maybe he's sick? Or has forgot something? You run through so many scenarios that you fail to pay attention to where you are going and walk right into your target's back.

"Prefect!" Deuce jumps and you fluster, both of you look away from each other to the locker Duece had been standing in front of. "I'm sorry." He looks so embarrassed. You reach to open your locker as Deuce continues. "I really am sorry, it's just I thought really hard about the right way to confess but we have almost every class together..." Sure enough there's a letter sat neatly on top of your things, sealed with a neat spade sticker that leaves little doubt about who it's from.

"Technically you just did." You laugh and bring the letter close to your heart. "Meet me at Ramshackle after school."

"Why?" He asks, clearly nervous.

"Well you wanted to properly confess right? So let me properly answer." Technically the smile on your face already does.

[skrunksthatwunk]

UGH daigo who pretends to wanna see strip shows and go drinking as a 12 year old because he knows everyone around him isn't cool with him being a kid, so he tries to be less lame, to be more convenient. yeah, you can take me anywhere. in fact, you have to. i'll show you just how grown i am.

daigo who sheaths himself in black clothes, all bark and some bite, all dark and mysterious. all touch me and you'll get burned. playing hard to get. not that he doesn't want to be alone, but he sure as hell doesn't want to be lonely. and for that people have to like him. want to follow him. he's got to be a magnet. leave me alone, i'm not worth your time. so whoever picked him up from the gutter would really have to want him.

daigo who struggles to get his men in line as sixth chairman. daigo who only took the job because kiryu finally needed him. daigo who's never as good as the fourth chairman (who retired after a day, who never had to be chairman). daigo who never holds that against kiryu.

daigo who does what needs to be done, daigo who makes impossible decisions. daigo who rises to the occasion and swears in, daigo determined to be a better man than sohei ever was. daigo who sees the clan as his family, and tries to protect everyone in it. daigo who refuses to screw over kiryu's new family, and daigo who is shot for it. daigo who keeps the clan from tearing each other apart, whose absence brings out the worst in them. daigo who wakes up from a coma and saves kiryu and mine, daigo who comforts mine after, unable to even sit up properly. daigo who takes on a whole baseball team to protect his high school baseball team, daigo who's expelled and thrown in juvie for it. daigo who takes the hit because he knows he'll be yakuza someday anyway. daigo who protects his city. daigo who protects his men. daigo who works a way to offer his broke high school buddy millions of yen and another chance at his dream into his plans. daigo who shows his enemies mercy, daigo who rushes out injured to save the people who've helped him. daigo who tries to get kiryu off charges, who tries to push him to stay with his new family. daigo who loves his father fiercely, daigo who can be relied on. daigo who takes care of people.

daigo who kiryu gives the guidance he needs. daigo who kiryu pulls from depression, daigo who kiryu comes to rescue. majima comes back to the yakuza for, and kiryu who makes him, so he's not alone. daigo who shows mine what it means to care for others, why that's a trait worth dying for. daigo who mine feels he is not worthy of, daigo for whom mine sacrifices himself. daigo whom kiryu covers up mine's betrayal for because he didn't want to hurt him, and because mine was better than that. daigo who's forgiven for selling out majima, for getting caught in something stupid. daigo the "little chef". daigo who kiryu nearly jumps off a building to reach when he's shot, and saejima who holds him back. kiryu who leaves a letter for him, and not haruka, the always-chosen. daigo who's joined by saejima and majima when the tojo crumbles and they have to hide. daigo whose men follow him in the security company afterwards.

daigo who needed to be loved. daigo who loved anyway. daigo who was loved.

[yall-hate-kids-tourney]

Cyril (Fire Emblem) vs. Patty (Fire Emblem) vs. Braith (The Elder Scrolls)

Y'all Hate Kids: Screwed By The Writers

Propaganda below the cut

-

Cyril (Fire Emblem)

cw: Slavery, racism, grooming , Human trafficking, child soldiers, warfare, war orphans

"This boy. This POOR BOY. Would've submitted him to Yall Hate Teens if I could have, because BOY does the fandom rag on him. But thankfully, he applies to this one as well.

Jusr for some background. Okay so we got this 14 year old kid. Born in a (non-white) country with a lot of emphasis on fighting (which is iffy in its own sense too), and he ends up put in a battle at a young age. During this battle, he's captured by the soldiers of a noble family from the white people continent, and made into their ""servant"" (but let's be real, they aren't paying him.) Eventually, he's rescued by the pope, who is secretly a dragon, and he becomes very indebted to her because of this. He becomes almost fanatical in his respect for her, and that's where the main source of people disliking him in the fandom comes from. They think he's annoying. Or make really gross sexual jokes about him (14) and the 100 bajillion year old (that was hyperbole) dragon pope who arguably groomed him according to certain interpretations.

Anyway, for the things the writers did to him! Well, for one, a few of his supports are pretty bad. One particularly terrible one stands out-- his Hilda support. In which he's doing his job, working hard and stuff and she starts saying all these racist comments about how she didn't know that his people were capable of that. He's (rightfully) really rude to her for their first 2 supports, but eventually they have a slightly more friendly relationship. Their A is her bringing home a letter from her brother, telling her that racism is bad. That was what it took for her to realize that, by the way.

Okay, a little iffy, but guess what? You remember the noble family that he was ENSLAVED BY? YEAH. She is a member of that family. And in their paired ending? They get married. He marries the racist white woman who basically decided that he was one of the good ones. You want to know who he DOESN'T gave a paired ending with? Someone who can share his experience of growing up with a complex relationship with his culture. Or the guy who is curious about him and his life and helps to show him the beauty in the mundane, in a really very sweet support that tragically only goes up to B, wanting to go on a trip with him to see his homeland when everything is over. Or the ither person of color who feels questionably indebted to a powerful white person. Also his Byleth S support is really weird and creepy.

Oh, and he was completely cut out of the spin-off game. He was supposed to be playable in it, but they cut him out. You kill him in Scarlet Blaze (or maybe he doesn't die. I forget. You fight him.) And I think he sometimes shows up in other routes but that's it. He was done so dirty by the writers, the fandom, everyone. It's really fucked up."

-

I was fine with Cyril but a ton of people online SEVERELY hated my boy for just existing so I grew to love him out of spite. Cyril's backstory had him as a child soldier that was captured by the enemy nation where he became a servant to a noble family. Archbishop Rhea noticed Cyril and took him to Garreg Mach Monastery where he willingly works for her out of gratitude for giving him a home when he was at his worst. Because he's a kid (who's also far more mature than some of the older cast) Cyril was one of the few characters who was critical of the protagonist from the get go and I think this brought in the hate. Like- Cyril WAS a kidnapping victim but he's also mature enough to recognize that his home nation wasn't perfect and only encouraged a bloody culture that kept making orphans. Cyril technically doesn't need to work or stay at Garreg Mach but he does so because he feels that he owes Lady Rhea and the localization of FE16 smooths over a lot of that info. Like- leave my boy aloneee he's just living his own life instead of making the protagonist the center of his universe. He's a child soldier that has yet to really find his place in the world after finally being given the reigns of his own life. Cyril my son. Cyril my boy- you are more than all the hate. Be free my child

Patty (Fire Emblem)

Cw: age gap

in her home game, she’s an honourable thief who steals to give back to the orphanage that raised her. although restricted in her writing by virtue of being a minor character in an SNES game from the nineties, she has a memorable personality and one of the few characters who gets a canon backstory written for her outside of the game. she also has a celebrity crush on a prince who is at least a decade her senior. this is where my problem with how the writers treated her rises up: in this game, one of the main mechanics is pairing characters up in romantic relationships. one of patty’s most pushed pairings (and somewhat popular in certain circles in the fandom) is her with said prince. incredibly strange imo.

so then she gets added to the mobile game a year ago. for some reason they completely ignored her established motivations and made her personality revolve around that prince, and made her wayyy more obsessed. like to the point his younger cousin tells her to chill out. and like she also had a crush on the main character of her game they could’ve pushed for a much less creepy romance but no :/ patty i am so sorry girl

Braith (The Elder Scrolls)

ppl literally install a "killable children" mod JUST to kill her for the crime of *checks notes* being annoying and bullying a kid she has a crush on as an attempt at getting attention from her parents who seem to be fighting a lot and only have like 1 or 2 lines of dialogue that even mention they have a daughter. soooooo many skyrim spaces just LOVE to talk about how much they VIOLENTLY hate this random child just bc she's "annoying" and bc she "has the AUDACITY" to "disrespect" the dragonborn. like. dude. she's literally 10. she's being neglected at home. she's living in a warzone. i think she has the right to be a bit annoying.

[generalhumancloudalmond]

Mister Cyclop

Platonic!Yandere!Tartaglia x Bullied!Child!Male!Reader

How did it become like this? Why did you hit your brother Teucer? Why did you insult him? He... He just wanted to play with you. With his brother, whom he hadn't seen for so long. And you've been waiting so long to meet your family, too. So why did you screw it up yourself? That's not what you wanted at all...

You left earlier than planned. You didn't wait for your older brother Ajax, who was supposed to arrive in two days, but just returned to Fontaine. Initially, you dreamed of studying at Fontaine only for the sake of Teucer, he was not much younger than you and terribly loved cyclops. Once Ajax gave him a toy in the form of his favorite hero and you just can't but wanted to fulfill his dream. Just make a mechanism that would allow his favorite toy to walk.

"It would be great if Mister Cyclope could walk! Oh! And can even shoot a laser! With which he's supposed to crush enemies! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

However, here you are, looking at how other students spit in your shoes, how even one of the elders angrily looks in your direction, maybe it's a teacher.

"Stop crying, Y/n! Do you even know how many people your brother has killed and he...!"

"My brother is not a harbinger!"

"What's the difference?! You're from Snezhnaya! You're all sick in the head there! Invading foreign regions! Torture, kill, you are all monsters! From someone like you, we all have to suffer while you feast!"

Sitting on the floor, you just couldn't help but cry with resentment.

Your mom always told you to be kind to everyone, to always share and not offend anyone. So you did. On the first day you even brought hotcakes, which you made all night with your mother. You thought you'd make friends faster this way, but the other kids threw away those hotcakes and said that they didn't want to be poisoned by food from the north, that they weren't so stupid and naive as not to understand your true motives. They even read your letter that you wrote to your family, hoping to find the secret cipher. Of course, there were no any secret cipher, however, they made fun of you when they saw you admit that you were being bullied in letter.

"Oh! Are we hurting you? Really? What a pity... But you know what?! You can complain to your dad! And I'm not! Do you know why?! Because your fatui relatives killed him! Although I'm sorry! After all, the words "pain" and "loss" are not familiar to people like you!"

"I..."

"Do us all a favor, Y/n! No! Do the whole Teyvat a favor! Go back to your homeland and die with scum like yourself!"

You had nothing to say, as always. Fortunately, it was over in a couple of minutes. The class started and everyone left, everyone except you. You went to your room. You decided to finish disassembling the bag and maybe calm down a little. However, tears fell like a waterfall from your eyes when you saw a jar of condensed milk and a note from Tyuser. In your younger brother 's clumsy handwriting , it was written in large letters:

'Mom said I could take some condensed milk so I wouldn't cry. I don't know how I offended you... I'm sorry, brother. But I hope that condensed milk will cheer you up as much as it does me. By the way, you didn't hurt me at all!'

How... How could you take it out on your own brother... Also a younger one... You really are a monster from the north...

You fell asleep crying on the floor, despite the fact that it was only evening, and therefore woke up in the middle of the night. It was warm and smelled like home, like when the older brother had just returned home after another business trip. Your was nose tickled the fur, and your brother was sitting at your desk... Brother?!

"Oh! Y/n, you're awake... You really scared me, you know. You were lying on the floor, all in tears and with a fever... How are you?"

Ajax came up to you when you started crying again. However, this time your nose was buried in your brother's warm, big and motionless shoulder, and not in your small hands that were shaking nonstop and from which your own tears flowed.

"Brother... Brother..."

Ajax's left hand stroked your back soothingly, and his right hand pressed your head harder against his shoulder. Tonya called Ajax a knight, but for you he was like a brown bear, with big hands and fluffy hair.

"Do you know what I'm thinking, Y/n? About how well we will spend all the time together at home... Go ice skating, go fishing. I will definitely prepare my crown fish soup... However, Tonya will most likely disappear with her friends, as she does every yuletide... But I think they can be invited to us, Anton will definitely be embarrassed because of this..."

Your mouth unwittingly broke into a small, weak, but so tender smile at the mention of your older brother Anton, who was always blushing and shy in front of the girls. And Tonia, who, as she herself said, didn't believe in all this nonsense with fortune-telling. However, at the same time, she was looking forward to cherished days for rituals...

"Brother... I... I want to go home..."

"I know, my little rascal, and we will definitely go home..."

Enjoying a moment of happiness and such a pleasant, domestic tranquility, you do not see Ajax's eyes and do not think about the evil words of other children. you only think about home. When, at the same time, your older brother, seeing how you calm down, he starts thinking about your classmates and teachers again...

"I just need to sort something out first..."

[lxrd-ren]

Dude DUDE

The parallels to Last Life are insane

- Final Girls + BigB are the only 5 person teamup / allyship (if only for a bit) we've had since Last Life's Southerners

- Tuff Guys building multiple towers, one for each person also mimics the Southerners towers

- 1st season since Last Life to have the dark green name available

- Tuff guys is team B.E.S.T minus Skizz

- 1st season since last life to have every member be present (Skizz missing from Double Life, Ren+Lizzie+Mumbo missing from Limited Life, Ren missing from Secret Life) (Gem not being in seasons before Secret Life does not count her as missing from them as she wasn't added to the Life Series yet)

- Bases being references with The Avengers Tower in Last Life and Joel's car in Wild Life

- Even the name of the seasons have the first word containing 4 letters

- The next episodes are literally going to air on the 3rd anniversary of the Last Life finale (knew this curtsey of @desolationcleo)

- Ren letting someone else kill him / gain a life from him in exchange for allyship, Lizzie in Last Life and Jimmy in Wild Life

- BigB betrays his alliance and Cleo shuns him, yknow what happened in Last Life? Oh yeah

SAME SESSION, SIMILAR TITLE AND EVERYTHING

EVEN GOES TO THE SAME PEOPLE AFTER THE BETRAYALS

Not to mention the set up for the other factors??

Like nearly every season, Jimmy dies first in Last Life

In Wild Life, Grian vows to make Jimmy's curse stay true by killing him first

Y'know who killed Jimmy in Last Life? GRIAN. I WOULDN'T BE SUPRISED IF HE DOES PERMA KILL JIMMY AGAIN

Scott won Last Life. His teammate was Pearl, and also Cleo later on when she left her alliance

So, judging by popular opinion..

Joel wins Wild Life. His teammate is Gem, and also (possibly) Etho / Lizzie later on when they leave their alliance ?

Scott won by being honourable, but he can hardly do that this season with all his teammates making enemies quicker than he can make allies

And Joel this season has decided to be more controlled and seek out allies this time around

And don't get me started on the red names

- Mumbo and Skizz both being on red early on and working together to get kills

- Joel was the main red of Last Life; desperate and failing miserably. During this last session I'm sure you can see that same desperation through the red names in Wild Life

However, in particular I believe Tango is going to be the Joel equivalent this season. (Thanks to @tiredfoxtf for pointing this out) Mainly because:

- Tango was one of the first to turn red, which if I remember correctly, has not happened before

- Joel had a very tedious alliance with Scar, and Tango has a very tedious alliance with Etho + Bdubs

- Whilst Joel and Tango both have made many enemies, they both have a particular person that is their main one: Joel had Scott and Tango has Skizz (Or perhaps Joel in the future if it's more fitting for the main red name to rival the (maybe) winner)

- Unlike Mumbo, Tangos traps have failed again and again; just like how Joel's traps at the start also failed again and again. Since Joel did eventually start getting kills, perhaps Tango might also

- Plus, the reason their red and desperate in the first place is due to their respective seasons mechanic; Joel was the Boogeyman twice, both times made him go down to red and Tango got screwed over by the Wild cards snails

- Thinking of lives, they both started out their doomed session on 5 lives and got down to 1 by the end of it

[annasinterests]

don't look at me like that unless you mean it

seasons don’t fear the reaper ♫ nor do the wind, the sun, or the rain

|| series masterlist || main masterlist ||

a/n: hello hello hello!!!! i am crawling back from the trenches to update for this series!!! i've gotten a few comments here and there of people telling me how much they've enjoyed it so far which has made my heart grow 3x bigger. thank you to everyone who has been so patient with me and still following along <3 y'all mean the world to me!!!! enjoy buddies <3

word count: 1.3k (for good reason i promise)

pairings: joel miller x f!reader

warnings & tags: minors dni, abby's group pov, direct consequence of the last chapter, swearing, lots of tension!, depictions of violence, whatever you know of TLOU part II- throw it out the window from here forward — please tell me if i missed anything!

The gas station stood under the muted glow of the moon, its once-red sign now an overgrown relic, its letters lacking the shiny luster they had decades ago. The windows were boarded up with rotten wood, and the interior had been stripped down to its very foundation. It was the best refuge offered in the miles they trekked– the only, really.

Abby stormed across the linoleum floors, the rubber soles of her boots striking with an angry cadence, one maintained from the moments they stopped running. She carelessly slung her pack off her shoulders, letting it land haphazardly on the side, and drove her knife into the countertop. Planting her hands to steady herself, she murmured curses under her breath, a volatile symphony of emotions reverberating in the stale air.

The others trailed behind her, one attempting to make themselves inconspicuous by being the last– a futile effort given the charged atmosphere.

"Couldn't think of a name that didn't start with the same letter as your own?" Abby's voice cut through the silence, her anger evident even without turning to face her target.

Mel avoided looking at her hunched figure. The tension between them had been going on for months, and this was certainly the breaking point. Abby had been set on one mission for years, and all it took was five minutes for Mel to screw up. Your escape forced them fleeing farther than Abby preferred, dismantling their camp in haste and running until they felt some semblance of safety over the border into Idaho.

Embarrassment colored Mel's face as she weakly rationalized her guilt, "I told you it wasn't a good idea to begin with."

Abby scoffed and rolled her eyes, a sardonic smile curling on her lips, "What you should've told me was that you're totally fucking incapable. Would've been crystal clear, then."

Mel swallowed hard, feeling Abby's rage descend upon her like a palpable force. Glancing at the others, most avoiding eye contact due to their own discomfort, Mel crossed her arms and tried to find the courage to defend herself once more.

"I did my best."

"Well your best wasn't good enough," Abby retorted without missing a beat, finally turning to face Mel. The moonlight streamed through the cracks of the boards just enough to illuminate the intensity of her glare and furrowed brows.

It was clear that Nora and Manny's sentiments aligned with Abby's, yet they chose silence over confrontation. Jordan and Nick, perpetually indifferent, remained on the fringe, more interested in the thrill of hunting and hurting enemies rather than the unfolding of drama within their group.

"Listen, what's done is done, alright?" Owen placed his hand on Nora's back, an action that sent a pang of jealousy through Abby's stomach. She eyed them both with disgust and forced herself to swallow down the brewing nausea. "Now, our best bet is to head back to Seattle. We can regroup–"

"Se- What?" Abby's eyes widened at the suggestion. "No– We're not-"

"We don't have a choice," he cut her off and took a step towards her, concern evident on his features.

"The hell we don't!" Her voice thundered. "We're not going back!"

"You're being reckless!" Owen snapped back with an accusatory finger, "We can't afford-"

"Four years!" Abby seethed, her frustration pouring out, "Four fucking years, gone to shit because of her!"

Owen's jaw clenched, tired of the constant hostility towards Mel. "You're looking at a whole town to go after us, you know that, right?"

She pressed her lips into a thin line.

"What then, Abby? You wanna start a war with these people, is that it?" His voice raised with each word. "We can barely keep up with the Scars!"

The weight of the past bore down on Abby, her blind rage and need for retribution chaotically clashing with the pragmatic choice he presented, one that resonated with the others as they too recognized the impracticality of her rage.

Her clenched fists trembled at her sides, torn between her relentless pursuit of revenge and going about it all sensibly. She would've almost agreed with him– almost– if it hadn't been for the small voice that came from behind him.

"He's right."

The room plunged into a deafening silence, the air undeniably thick with tension now more than ever. Mel's figure was almost entirely shielded by Owen at this point, her provocation igniting an instant outrage.

Abby's features darkened and she ripped her knife from the counter, raising it as she stormed towards Mel. How dare she? It was bad enough that she embodied a constant reminder of everything Abby and Owen could've been, but now she had the audacity to defy Abby despite being the one responsible for this entire mess?

Owen caught her arm and she lunged against his hold with a powerful shout, "Fuck you!"

He pushed Abby back just enough to create distance, opening his mouth to speak but only being met with a forceful shove and resounding slap. "And fuck you, too!"

Abby's chest heaved as she backed up and glared between the two; one a former friend, the other a former lover– both nothing more than traitors to her now. She scoffed and shook her head, swiftly turning on her heel to retreat through a backroom and subsequent door outside. Manny exchanged a quick look with Nora before slowly trailing after her, while Owen watched her storm out with an apathetic expression and a loose arm wrapped around Mel in a half-assed attempt of consoling her.

Outside, Abby leaned against the cool brick of the building, her skin radiating a heat that would surely be more welcomed in the winter versus now. The bitter taste of frustration lingered in her mouth and it seemed like nothing could soothe the tumult within, not even the loud buzzing and ticking of insects around could snap her out of it.

She slid down the wall until she hit the ground with a soft thud and rubbed her hands over her face. She felt so much all at once– anger, grief, sorrow, resentment. This was all she could think about, all that she worked so hard for, only for it to be ruined. She couldn't fathom being forced to take ten steps back when she was so close to ending this nightmare.

Quietly, Manny joined her side. Her leveled counterpart, the one that could ground her when she was too close from flying off the handles. At one point in time, Owen had been that for her, but it ended long ago– back when he still believed in this mission, when he still believed in them.

Manny understood Abby's turmoil well– hell, he harbored the same resentment. He figured him to be another asshole left in this world to begin with, but the belief was solidified once he broke Abby's heart.

However, he also recognized the necessity of unity.

"Abs..." His tone was soft, "you know I've got your back, right?"

She shifted slightly, nodding and meeting his eyes. "And you know I hate Owen just as much as you do... fuckin’ idiot seems to forget these two are the reason we winded up here, but–”

Abby gave him a pointed look, to which he defensively held a hand up, "Maybe we should go back to Seattle."

All Abby could muster was a half-hearted scoff before Manny spoke again, "I know it's not what you want– but now they know, and now they'll be expecting… Think of it as a chance to make no mistakes next time."

She looked back down between her knees, reluctantly acknowledging the wisdom in his words with a nod. She sighed, her shoulders easing a bit of tension, "We were so close, Manny."

"I know, Abs," he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, his voice carrying the weight of shared disappointment. With a gentle jostle, he infused a touch of optimism reserved for moments like this, "But listen... Just when they think we're gone, we'll be right under their noses, yeah?"

The thought was enough to make her crack a smile.

[itonashi]

hii~~

Can i request any bllk boys of ur liking with a s/o who's very very smart🤓.

thank u~~

IT'S MY WIN!

pairing: itoshi rin x fem!reader

warnings: fluff, short fic.

note: i realized i have no rin oneshot so far and it was always his brother so this is his debut but in a short fic because i simply cannot think of a long fic with this one. im sorry if this doesn't exceed your expectations 🙁.

"do you have a screw loose?" rin is irritated at the fact that you, a top student could be so oblivious to a confession letter. he thought you had the common sense to identify the letter in his hand was a confession letter directed to you.

"i don't. of course i know it's a confession letter." you look towards the letter in his hand. "infact" you snatch the letter away and toss it into the trash "i don't want to know it is a confession letter. when i have you as my boyfriend."

you wipe your hands off with a wet tissue that you always have in your pocket. rin is staring intently at you after you said those words. i can definitely feel his burning gaze on me... you sweat drop at his gaze and awkwardly smile. he notices it and turn his head towards a new direction.

you lightly chuckles at his red ears that he tried so hard to hide. it was too obvious. he was jealous. you take his hand and his head immediately fly towards you — you tip toe at his height and whisper "let's go to the library, rinrin. ill teach you more english." you lean back and immediately disappear from rin's sight.

rin put a hand over his mouth and let out a sigh. goddammit... she got me again. he felt the butterflies in his stomach.

itoshi rin lose!

rin asked you out on a date but why is he the one late? you even went out your way to dress up yourself. a typical setting in a romance manga, it is always the cafe date.

you put up your hand on the table and hold up your head with it. pouting at the fact, itoshi rin is late. maybe it is better for me to do some revisions... pathetically even in a date, you would think about studying all the time. it's not your fault that you like studying.

"sorry. i was late." his deep voice reach into your ears and you could see how he was panting for breath. "oh, you're right on time. i just came here." you lie, wondering if he could pick up on your irritation. he take a seat infront of you "next time, we'll just date in the library." he suggests that because he knows how much you like the library. mainly the pure reason is because of the air-conditioning.

you agreed and sip on your peach tea. "stop lying. im really sorry for being late." rin avert his eyes from seeing your fiery eyes. your lips turn into a small smile "no need to be so scared, rinrin!" you put up a cheerful smile. "if you always look like that, you will have no fans!" with how you suddenly change your language, rin managed to stay calm "i don't need any fans." he blink his eyes.

"because im your only fan, right?" you gaze you eyes at him with a smile that made him fall in love you with you over again.

"yeah. you're right." rin admit to it. his intentions was to make you blush but he knew that he was already blushing from the start ever since you spoke those words.

itoshi rin lose... or did he really?

the loud cheering among the crowds make you have a headache in the moment. you were never one to like crowds but make it through just because itoshi rin is a soccer player.

and soccer players have big fanclub, right? but this is a different story. your school is hosting a field day right now and unfortunately you have become one of the relay runners. what make it worse is that itoshi rin was in it too.

and you two are enemies in the moment, right now. "give it your all, [name]" you can hear the smirk on his voice. "i see... thank you, rinrin!" even though rin wanted to show his confidence. your confidence beat his instead, even if sports isn't your forte and yet, you still tried your very best.

"are you okay?" rin pant, out of breath — when he could clearly see you suffering more than him. you look up "more than okay..." you said while sitting down.

you wipe off the sweat on your face with a towel that was given to you by your classmates. you close your eyes and burry your face into your legs (dawg i hope you can understand what im trying to write), you feel a presence beside you and peek a little.

"you won't mind i sit here, right?" rin ask you. you shake you head. rin glance towards you, extending his hand and pat your head.

you grab his hand "what's with the sudden affection?" you raised you brow in question. "motivation for you to ace the next test." he whisper, averting his eyes from you. you heard him for the first time but you wanted to tease him more. you lean closer "hmm? what did you say?" you tease.

"i said it's my win this time at the next test." he exclaimed, looking at the other way. it's a miracle no one heard him. you smirk "if i win, you gotta do something for me instead." you said with a sly voice.

you let go his hand and took the other energy drink beside him. opening the can, letting out the air inside it. you took a gulp, the refreshing feelings going down your throat.

"[name]. be my tutor."

"i have always been your tutor the moment i became your girlfriend."

rin widen his eyes and cover his face with his hand. you notice the blush on his ear and lightly chuckle.

itoshi rin! stop losing!

[averageclawcodeenjoyer]

Thinking thoughts again guys.

Thinking about Ganke (42)

More SPECIFICALLY thinking about Ganke as Doc Oct. Or at least, a variant.

I MEAN COME ON!!! TRYING TO GET ACROSS DIMENSIONS?? STUDYING THAT SHIT? That may be more of a 1610 Miles thing but I like to think that both Ganke"s are REALLY interested in it too. Or at least 42 is.

I feel like with the way their world is too, 42 Ganke is more likely to get a position at Alchemax. At the very LEAST for their science and tech and ease of access to stuff for his own projects.

But like. Come on. Look at him.

I just wanted to show that picture...

Assuming we know nothing(or little) about this Ganke's parents, is it too daring to think that, perhamps, his mother is Doc Oct? Or father, if we're being different. Just A PARENT in general?

And maybe I just like projecting onto them, but also maybe like... do you see what I'm getting at. Her ass probably hates kids. And isn't easily impressed. So imagine having a kid you probably don't even want (for science? Maybe.... more angst potential..) and he grows up absolutely DESPERATE to please you and get told that you're proud of him and that he's enough. And then he gets to an age where he no longer has to rely on you (or other people, her ass did nothing to raise him), and he starts thinking for himself, and since you're all bad and evil and stuff you realize something.

This whole entire time, the past thirteen long, dreadful years of your life, you haven't been using your full potential.

You have a pawn right at your fingertips.

A young mind full of turmoil and the overwhelming need to please you.

Someone who can be easily molded.

Manipulated.

Shaped.

Formed.

You have a tool.

Just sitting on the couch right in front of you. An entire person of just wasted potential. One who was sat on his ass for his entire life and done nothing (in her opinion)

And if you're all evil and bad, what are you gonna do with that information?

You're going to use it.

"Hey son I know I haven't really talked to you since your birthday three years ago but how would you like an opportunity to get close to the very grand and very loving mother that I suddenly am?"

He's going to say yes. That's like giving a mouse a cookie.

The chance to be with his mom some more? To finally get the chance to prove to her that he is worth loving? The answer might as well be a flashing neon green sign. Capital letters. Y-E-S. Because why wouldn't he

So she starts training him, in small ways at first, going easy on him since he's still just a boy, really, but gradually working him up with harder and harder tasks and missions until he's finally earned himself a pair of his own robotic octopus arms (that he had to engineer and build himself)

And FINALLY for ONCE in his fucking LIFE he is making his mom PROUD OF HIM. He finally gets the love, the praise, the appreciation he's craved ever since he was a toddler.

Ooh, and he's doing such a good job hacking into top secret shit and files and such a good job stealing and doing his mother's dirty work and-- what's this?

There's this new kid on the block.

Apparently, the old Prowler's retired. His alliance fell through. And the new Prowler? His loyalty has completely flipped. Motives, too.

Instead of aiding them in raids and taking out enemies, he's now actively ATTACKING them and foiling their missions.

Instead of being a villain like the rest of them, he's suddenly trying to get RID of the villains?

The fuck is this guy's problem.

Who does he think he IS suddenly poking his nose into shit he DOESNT belong in?? SCREWING UP GANKE'S CHANCE WITH HIS MOM!!! The chance he's been waiting SIXTEEN YEARS FOR! Oh, he's pissed.

He overhears hears his mom talking at a meeting about a plan to try and lure and trap this kid to get him off their asses (he's a master at sneaking and eavesdropping at this point.. even just to hear his mother's voice and think up ways he can make her like him) and he decided that this is his moment. His calling. His purpose.

That very night, he decides to make the Prowler (junior, as they're calling him) his very own personal mortal enemy.

But little does he know

The guy he's constantly trying to kill every night?

His roommate.

Yeah, The Prowler Junior(™️) is his high school roommate and (soon to be) certified best friend.

Blah blah blah they fight all the time oh but now they're chill and- I just blinked why are you guys kissing and holy hell your mother found out and tells you that you don't deserve your last name and will never live up to your potential (which, she claims she knew this, which is why she gave him his father's last name and not her own. Lee.) and you're fighting with Miles again and yet oh God now you've been disowned and have to go to him for help Oh No That's Bad What.

:3

Do you see the appeal. I need to draw him. And make more of this AU. What should I call it? I'll be thinking.. also open to suggestions I'm Bad at naming stuff......

OKAY BYE

[all-pacas]

house live-ish blogging: paternity (still only here for the Team, sorry old men):

this is i think the only episode chase does a crossword, and he's not even shown to be good at it, and yet. chase and his lil crossword books. you'll never take this headcanon from me. he goes through one 1001 puzzles to stump you! book a month 😌

also add it to the characterization pile, we now know three things about chase: strange accent, nepohire, bad at crossword puzzles

the letter cameron wrote "as" house:

[unreadable] to first say thank you for contacting my office in regards to my son, Daniel. I am sorry […] about your son's present condition. I have reviewed the date you forwarded to my office. There certainly are some interesting re[…] Daniel's testing thus far. I also have some concerns from the CT Scans I reviewed. Although I r[…] the work of the physicians you consulted previously, I do feel it is time that Daniel met […] specialist. I feel it is imperative for Daniel to seek advanced medical treatment immediately. Often […] neurological condition, time is the patient's greatest enemy. I am unable to make appointments in my office at Princeton-Plainsboro teaching hospital. I only consult […] on patients that are referred to my office from within the hospital. I do however see patients daily […] our walk-in clinic. This clinic is designed to treat patients who need to see a physician within Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. We are unable to schedule appointments within the walk-in clinic. I am scheduled to see patients daily Monday through Friday, between the hours of 3-6 PM. Thank you for contacting my office and I look forward to consulting you and your family. Sincerely, [signed] Greg House, M.D.

i love this because it is such a bad house impression. she isn't even trying. i also love the "listen. there is no way you will get an appointment. here is where i, gregory house, will be at the clinic. every day. just show up. no this isn't sketch, i, gregory house, definitely am writing this letter."

i will forgive cameron for literally anything but "the kid is having neuro symptoms, no i did not ask if he'd had head trauma recently" is an mess for sure. like i get it's set up for the episode to happen but. that's bad. love house telling cameron good work and then IMMEDIATELY rescinding it. "you're an only child aren't you?"

"you shoved it in my face just to humiliate me" — this is actually something cameron does a couple times in s1, she takes disagreement very personally; she assumes when house thinks she screwed up in heavy that he's doing it out of personal feelings and gets really upset about it too. she is thin skinned. she does not take criticism well, at all.

(cameron is a fundamentally self-centered person. this isn't a criticism. so is house. so is half the cast. but even her selflessness tends to be couched in external validation and praise: she does want to help people, but she also wants to be recognized for it: she flees situations difficult for her, she is not as selfless as she pretends/wants to be, she is thin-skinned and advocates for patients she sees herself in (or the people she cares about in) most of all. this is not unique to her but it is something i don't see talked about much -- except for by her legions of bashers who of course mean it completely different. she's not a selfish bitch, she's genuinely selfless and giving and kind. it's just her perspective is much more limited than i think even she is aware of. house dismissing this case is an intentional slight against her, not house being house.)

anyway there's a couple early episodes in s1 where cameron is the main whiteboard writer, which i think the show stopped when they realized it was actually kind of weird to make the One Girl office secretary lmao

chase early on wins points by suggesting the kid's parents are lying, and spends the rest of the episode chasing that high lmao. he keeps checking house for answers and guessing (pretty accurately) what house wants them to say and notice. he doesn't have a clue what is happening with the patient, but i love the mix of chase's asskissing/"political talents" and perceptiveness put towards the ridiculous purpose of "impressing the boss" instead of actually doing his job (also something about how chase is a people pleaser, or at least, tries his best to be liked and say and do what is expected of him in every situation)

once again foreman is coming up with most of the ideas and doing most of the work this episode lol, although the focus on him is less intense than in the pilot (chase, if anyone, is getting the most characterization this episode, although it's mostly he's kind of dumb and a suck up). but house actually defers the treatment to him almost entirely -- something house kind of did in the pilot as well.

chase and foreman positive interaction alert!!! joking about the dna test and chase suggesting they pretend the kid has huntington's. love to see it

the kids go to house because they don't agree on the patient having MS, the resulting argument reveals that it's foreman for and cameron and chase against. foreman is wrong, but gets his way with house. i feel like this is a pattern

"[the parents] aren't suing, but i think only because chase asked them" the asskissing powers emerge fully formed from the waves--

house asking foreman if he'd like some coffee and then pouring him some 😳

chase casually sexually harassing cameron by suggesting the patient stare at her breasts lmao. like i should find it annoying but a) cameron also seems to find it funny and b) they're such cute s1 friends okay

generally i love s1 and the episodes but i do feel like this one is kind of weak. i can't really say why, it just doesn't hit for me the way most of the first half of s1 does. i think the case just kind of feels weak; the show usually does a good job connecting the patient or case to at least one of the main characters, but there's really none of that here. nor do we really learn about the characters in any way, or have a dramatic case to make up for it. might be the weakest of the first half.

[sprnklersplashes]

(ao3)

concept: slavers or enemy pirates kidsnap kaz and intend to use him as leverage against inej. of course they took precautions but even then, when kaz isn’t fighting back and just sits there with a small smirk on his face, they’re all convinced dirtyhands is plotting his escape.

in reality though, he is in fact thinking “oooh when my wife gets here you guys are so screwed”

He wakes slowly, with a skin-crawling sense of deja-vu. At first, all he recognises is the rough fibres of ropes around his wrists-ropes and not handcuffs, interesting. As he opens his eyes, orange lamplight floods his vision. He has to blink twice before his vision adjusts fully, and even then he still feels like the room is swaying, a slight bob up and down that leaves him uneasy. Saints, what the hell did they drug him with?

It’s only when his head clears more that he realises that no, it’s not the drug. The room is actually swaying. And he isn’t alone.

Three figures stand before him, each one is clad in a white shirt and roughspun trousers that indicates shipworkers. While the otthers wear shabby looking brown jakcets and waistcoats, the middle one stands proudly in a (hideous) purple frock coat and gold-rimmed hat, tilted at an angle that Kaz suspects is meant to signify a carefree spirit. Really all it shows is that one, he is in charge here and two, he can’t pull off a hat at that angle. 

“Kaz Brekker,” the captain announces. Triumph lights up his face, like a cat that caught a particularly unruly mouse. “You’re not an easy man to find.”

“Perhaps for good reason,” he replies. His throat is tight, his voice heavy from whatever they drugged him with, but he won’t clear his throat. He lifts his head, raises an unimpressed eyebrow. “What business, gentlemen?”

“Don’t talk to us like we’re merchants, Brekker,” the captain says. “This ain’t the Barrel and believe it or not, you ain’t the prize.”

“No?” he asks. “You put a lot of work into grabbing me.”

The grin doesn’t waver, but even the little light can’t hide the annoyance flashing in his eyes. With a slow, deliberate pace he steps towards him, one hand on his belt and his tongue poking out. There’s a very, very strong smell of cheap liquor on him, but Kaz fights remains still. Even when the captain comes beside him and slowly squats and his knee brushes against Kaz’s.

Breathe, he reminds himself. In for eight, out for eight. 

At least Wylan’s advice is finally being useful.

“You’re not the prize,” he says again, dark eyes flashing. He bares his teeth. “You’re the leverage. Rumour has it that one Captain Ghafa is quite enamoured with you.”

“Never heard of her.” His voice is steady, even, smooth as a sheet of steel. Inside is another story, but if the captain sees that they’re both done for. The match-strike he felt when he said Inej’s name is kept well-hidden. 

“No?” he teases. His smile sharpens, and something unsettles inside Kaz. If this fool has touched Inej, he’ll cut off his limbs one by one to use as shark bait. “Then what’s this?”

Clumsily, the man pulls an envelope out of his pocket. He holds it before his eyes and Kaz’s heart contracts. His name, the Crow Club’s address, all written in Inej’s handwriting. Puzzle pieces fall into place now, and he curses.

He’d been expecting a letter from Inej for days now. He’d thought she was busy, or forgot, then began thinking she was hurt. And all that time it was in the hands of this bastard.

Shark bait is too good for him. Kaz will drain his blood and paint his sails with it.

“No idea.”

“My men intercepted this while tracking Ghafa. A messenger left her ship with it at the beginning of this week, after she’d docked in Weddle. It’s quite a sweet letter too.” He runs his finger along the edge. “She signs it ‘your Wraith’. Who knew the Captain had such a soft side?” He raises his eyebrows. “She’s pretty. You’re a lucky man.”

 “More that can be said for you,” Kaz growls. The captain stiffens, but the bravado doesn’t fade.

“Easy lad,” he says. “It’s just business isn’t it? A trade-off. Ghafa comes here, agrees to back off my business, and she gets you back in one piece. Surely the Kerch can understand that .”

“What makes you think she’ll come?” he asks. “From what I understand, Captain Ghafa is incredibly sharp. Sharp enough to not believe the threats of a washed-up sailor long past his glory days.”

The man’s eyes narrow. His fist clenches and Kaz braces himself just before he swings. Pain explodes along his jaw, the contact makes his stomach roll. 

Breathe, he reminds himself. In for eight, out for eight. The canal comes in flashes, but the flashes fade.

“Cocky little bastard,” he mumbles. “You think we didn’t think of that? We tied the note to something a bit personal.” He straightens his back, puffs out his chest. “Your walking stick is quite distinctive.”

Kaz freezes. Around the chair, his muscles tense. Some inner part of him starts to unravel, but he clamps it down, focuses on the task at hand. 

Clearly, this man has a death wish. And Kaz is more than happy to fulfill it.

“Stop your glowering, boy,” he tells him. “You’ll get your cane, and see your girl, once Ghafa agrees to our terms.”

“And when she doesn’t?” Kaz asks. He’s not thrown by the idea of Inej not wanting to trade; her mission is sacred to her and it’s for good reason. “If she refuses to stop? What do you do then?”

The man flinches, no doubt shaken by Kaz’s counter. Men like this are no different from Barrel bosses or Ketterdam merchants; they believe they are untouchable, so they play their cards too early. And now he is scrambling, searching for his next threat.

“Then…” He grabs Kaz’s jaw. His fingers are filthy, the skin is cracked and cold. Kaz swallows the nausea rising within him, forces the black spots at bay. He looks at the ceiling, just present enough to hear his next threat.

“Then I start carving up that pretty face of yours. Then the neck. Then the chest. We’ll see how long her resolve lasts when you have a knife in her throat.”

He lets go and Kaz lets his head fall, just managing to stop himself from gasping. The captain chuckles one last time, low and throaty. Kaz thinks about how he’d like nothing more than to drive his cane right into the man’s eyesockets.

He’s not trying to escape. Which feels odd; indeed, the crew assigned to watch him are puzzled. He could get out of these ropes in seconds, easily overpower the trio of pigeons standing before him. Hell, he’d overpower the captain with absolute delight. But then he would be stuck in the middle of the ocean with next to no way of knowing where he is, how to get back to Ketterdam or how to catch up with Inej. Too many unknown variables to play. So, he will keep his cards close to his chest, stall for time, and believe that Inej is coming for him.

And in the meantime, well, screwing with the shipmates is very entertaining.

On his first full day in captivity, he unties and reties the ropes around his wrists, so many times that the crew quickly run out of knots. A boy suggests they should try chains instead and Kaz doesn’t respond, just grins, slowly, knowingly. They stick with ropes, tied with so many knots his fingers are likely purple.

They station two kids at his door and two on the outside-and they really are kids. The ‘out of our depth’ looks on their faces remind Kaz of Wylan when they raided the Ice Court, though he doubts they have the resilience Wylan does. As they bring him his food, one boy looks nervously to the door and back to Kaz, fingers fidgeting as he sets the plate down. 

“They double-locked this door, right?” he asks.

“I broke someone out of Hellgate,” Kaz says nonchalantly, picking at the food. Unsalted cod. Delicious. “You think I can’t manage one measly door?”

And oh, the look on the boy’s face. It sustains him throughout the night. He simply raises an eyebrow at him and quietly pities the poor child because if he thinks Kaz is bad, he will be royally screwed when Inej comes. 

He is two days into his captivity when boredom begins to descend. It’s sparing, but still makes itself known. He’s been tied to a chair in the exact same position for most of his time here-not counting those moments where the guards are asleep and he slips out of his bonds and takes a walk around the room to stretch himself. And while scaring the crew with just a smile is undoubtedly delightful, it is bound to go stale sooner or later.

Not to mention, boredom means there’s less to distract him from the pain in his leg.

Thankfully, the door opens in the evening and the captain enters, smirk on his face and note held in his fist. 

“You’re in luck, Brekker,” he tells him. “The Wraith has agreed to a meeting. Her ship has been spotted on the horizon.”

“Has it now?” he asks. His voice is cool, his features steady. He will laugh about this in due time.

“She’ll be here in an hour or so,” he goes on. “And once she agrees to our terms, you will be free to go and-”

He is cut off. A loud scream pierces the air, and the captain freezes in place. Kaz allows himself a laugh, leans back as much as his restraints will allow.

The captain turns to him, eyes wide, face pale beneath his beard.

“What did you do, Brekker?”

“Me?” he asks. “I did nothing. I’ve been sat here for over 48 hours.” He shrugs. “However, did you know Inej Ghafa has a number of squallers in her employ? Ex-Grisha indentures who joined her crew since they had no home to go to.”

“I thought you said you didn’t know her.”

Kaz shrugs.

“I hear rumours.” The captain gives him one last, outraged look and then he’s sprinting up to the deck, so quickly that he forgets to close the door in his haste.

And now, Kaz is treated to the soothing, lovely sounds of the absolute carnage Inej and her crew are waging. Right above his head, someone is slammed into the ground, lifted and slammed again, a wet crack denoting some broken bones. Kaz winces. Meanwhile, the silence of his little cabin lets him hear the whooshing of blades, followed by a heavy groan as they find their target. Blows are traded, arrows fly. He even hears someone begging for mercy and above all, a confident and clear voice, barking orders as if she’d been born to do it.

And he can’t help it; there’s a faint glow of pride in his chest. Inej truly has earned her reputation.

Feet pound on the staircase outside. With a start, Kaz begins working on his restraints and Inej appears in the doorway just as the ropes drop. Crimson stains mar her trousers and her tunic, and her hair is coming loose from her braid. Her eyes are bright, chest heaving as she sheaths her knife. He rises to his feet, nods, pushes his hair from his face.

“You just can’t keep out of trouble, can you Kaz?” 

Inej tosses him his cane and he catches it without breaking her stare. The relief is indescribable as he can finally take the weight off his bad leg. Inej comes closer, dark eyes flicking to his chair before moving back to him.

“Did he hurt you?”

“Well, the food was sub-par and undercooked and that chair was dreadfully uncomfortable,” he begins. “But other than that I’m fine.” Inej nods, though the words don’t seem to register. Her gaze roams over him, searching for a hidden bruise or a cut, a tell that he’s hiding something. He doesn’t blame her, of course, hiding pain is arguably what he does best.

“Inej.” Carefully, he takes her chin and tilts it so she meets his eyes. He presses his gloved thumb gently into the indent. “I’m okay.”

She breathes out, nods, smiles.

“All right,” she says. Her hand comes up over his wrist, her fingers on his pulse point and she squeezes it once. They take the small moment together, reveling in each other.

“Playing the damsel in distress suits you, Kaz.”

“Damsel?” he echoes. “I was biding my time.”

“Until I rescued you?” she teases. “You were so sure I would?”

“It was a calculated move.” Kaz offers her his arm and, blushing, she takes it, as if they’re a gentleman and a lady enjoying an afternoon stroll. “Where are we anyway?”

“Close to Shirftport,” she says. They begin ascending the stairs. “We could make a stop there if you want. There’s a really lovely little diner there I keep thinking I should take you to.”

As they appear on the deck, Inej’s hold on him tightens, her free hand solid against his back. He squints against the bright sun, blinding him for a minute after his days in darkness. But then he adjusts, and the sight that greets him is worth it. The deck is stained red, Inej’s crew stand over the crumpled and whimpering forms of the pirates that captured him. The captain is tied to the mast, stripped of his jacket and vest, a particularly formidable-looking girl holding a knife at his throat. 

Inej and Kaz cross the ship together. Inej’s crew bow to her as she does, meanwhile the captain lets out a strained, high-pitched whine around his gag. His crew moan from their places on the floor.

Up close, Kaz sees the pulsing, dark slashes over his chest and across his face. The strokes are so fierce that they remind Kaz of an animal’s claws, only much more precise. 

“Thanks Roisin, I’ll take it from here,” Inej says. She twirls the knife around her fingers, thoughtfully, her tongue poked out to the side of her mouth. “Now what do we do with you?” 

“You could rip out his eyeball,” Kaz suggests.

“Oh but that’s your move.”

“I’d give it to you.”

The Captain whimpers again, louder this time. It sounds like he’s begging. Inej glares at him, the look just  as deadly as her blades, and Kaz laughs. Whether she uses his move or not, he doesn’t mind. The Wraith is deadly enough on her own, more than a match for this sad excuse of a pirate.

“I have missed you, Inej,” he says. Inej squeezes Kaz’s arm, then drives her knife into the man’s neck. 

[fairytalk]

Team Natsu

Natsu dragneel-The team leader and optimistic character of the group. Fire user

good qualities- Natsu Always tries to defend his family when he believes something is unjustified. And often times is there to be the uplifting presence when the people around him loose hope. His admirable trait is that his strength stems from his loyalty to his family and friends.

bad qualities-He goes into situations recklessly without thinking them through first. He is hare-brained about his emotional feelings towards the people he has become closest to and refuses to acknowledge that he may have caused distress. He breaks personal boundaries with his teammate Lucy heartfilia by breaking into her house and touching her body inappropriately without her permission. He has little mental character growth from what we have seen of him from the beginning of the series.

Happy- charismatic counterpart to Natsu and the group. Exceed

good qualities- He is thoughtful and makes good decision a decent amount of the time. He’s aesthetically pleasing to look at. bad qualities- lets be honest he’s a talking flying cat so the most bad he has done is stole some fish or break into lucys apartment with Natsu. besides that I almost didn’t want to add him because he is nearly irrelevant to the development of the series and mostly there as a companion to Natsu.

Erza scarlet-The mother figure / strong physical character of the group. Requip mage

Good qualities- Erza can be a really wise character when talking about her experiences, weather it be with friends or even enemies. She is able to quickly recognize what her next plan of action is. She is open about her feelings on matters during tense situations. She’s always there to offer comfort or advice.

bad qualities- To confident in the power of friendship always pulling through. When she apologizes it’s either too genuine or not genuine enough. I.e when Miliana was upset with her for forgiving Jellal so easily, she didn’t really take any of that to heart and has had a hard time showing her authentic understanding that she did something wrong that has effected her relationship with both people. This sort of happens again during the avatar arc when she offers Gray the position to go undercover in a cult. She tells him not to tell juvia, not thinking that it would screw up her state of emotions. It indeed did and when it was all over she apologized in a half insensitive tone as if she wasn’t all that guilty and would do it again if given the chance. She forgave Jellal to quickly because even though he was mind controlled by Ultear, it doesn’t change all the horrible things he has done to her and her friends. Some character growth but she has blatant issues that are not resolved.

Lucy heartfilia - The book smart / persistent main character of the group. Celestial mage

good qualities- Relatively known for being friendly and forgiving. She doesn’t back down in extensive situations even when her life is on the line. She cares a lot for her celestial spirits and if you come to her with an issue, she is open to talk about it. She’s useful in problem solving even if it falls through a little bit the first time, she masters it pretty quickly afterwards. She’s got extensive knowledge in literature and calligraphy. Power wise she has grown immensely, mentally, she is a wip but she definitely isn’t the same person from the beginning of the series. bad qualities-Thinks to little of her abilities as a mage but then contradicts herself by flaunting her powers to her enemy. Is a bit like erza in that she is ignorant to feelings sometimes i.e she was upset that natsu had left her behind with just a note, but she mostly thought about her losses and didn’t take into account that he had also lost his dad. In turn his runaway quest caused her to isolate herself from the rest of the guild. Keeping track of them only through letters, which she eventually stopped sending because everyone was doing different things. But her insecurities because of the note must of kept her from joining the rest, otherwise she wouldn’t be in a lonesome grieving state. Not that what Natsu did was right but she was definitely blaming him for all of there shared issues. Not to mention when she saw Juvia in a similar depression state she didn’t reflect on it as being similar to her own. When in reality they were both left behind in a different context but shared the same grief. I didn’t appreciate that Lucy didn’t defend Juvia during this time. It was brought back to just her and her friendship with Gray (she slapped him but it wasn’t for juvia.) She never mentioned Juvia at all In that situation even after she had seen the state she was in and knew Juvia had been sick because of it. Why couldn’t she have told him off just like natsu?. Infact she got all blushy when he apologized, it felt selfish. (Further proving that Mashimas statement about writing female characters bad was certainly true. It should also imply male characters as well.)

Wendy marvel - The young healing mage/ younger sister of the group. Air user

Good qualities- Wendy is really useful in dire situations and easily makes amends with a few of her past enemies. She is empathetic and has gained quite a bit of character growth unlike many of the other characters in fairy tail. Once she was timid and felt not useful but now she has some confidence from her experience in battle. She still has a little bit of doubts but she gets back her confidence with a little help from her friends.

bad qualities-She doesn’t really have bad qualities. But in a future post I will talk about her being a child and Mashima really being incredibly gross about it. (Yes she’s over 500 years old but he presents her still as if she is much much younger.)

Carla- The attentive counterpart to Wendy.Exceed

good qualities- she takes up for Wendy that’s it that’s the good qualities.

bad qualities-Grumpy and rude for what. Actually I get it a little bit. But she’s right in that category next to happy.

Gray fullbuster - The quick learning visual expressionist of the group. Ice make mage.

good qualities- Has strong relationships with a lot of people I.e Lyon, Erza, plus team natsu. Reliable, if you ask him to do something, he will try his hardest to get it done. Stays ‘cool’ in most situations. I need help with filling out the rest of his good traits, he’s got to have more*** help.

bad qualities-Back to being reliable, it’s a half and half trait being one of his best qualities and one of his worst. You see when he gets to being obsessed with something he will not stop going after it. It started with Deliora or however tf you spell his name, Gray wanted to be great (Gray-t) enough to surpass him for killing his family and also to surpass Ur his former master. Ok so spoiler alert Deliora is dead and melts away along with the iced shell of UR. Gray’s upset and Deliora still continues to haunt his mind until recently where he is forgotten and is comforted by Ur in an illusion state and his father acting as Deliora to get over his fear. This obsession with something new is created when Silver(his father) tells him to go after the book of E.n.d . Turns out Grays thirst for vengeance never went away, and so with his new devil slaying powers from Silver Gray starts obsessing over finding this book that produced Deliora. Of course Gray becomes a bit of a douche bag in this process, he tries to kill Natsu because he finds out his best friend is attached to the book that caused all his suffering that Natsu knew diddle about. He fiddles with Juvia saying he’ll treat her better or that he’ll give her an answer and runs off to try to get better but really is just holding off on his answer. Much like Natsu he was written with musty traits like, sexually harassing Lucy by asking her for her underwear or commenting on her outfits or her underwear. Stalking Lucy to her home, breaking into her house in an undressed state, trying to spy on women in the hot spring, groping an alchemy of Juvia without consent, putting Juvia in his mouth in her state of undress, this list is unnecessarily long. Next to zero character growth because he hasn’t changed any of his behavior. Please get them all therapy especially Gray.