#“I can't stay halfway dead forever”

[darcydarlingdabbles]

Helpless in Her Hold

//The Drow twins' proposition of Tav surfaces some insecurities for Astaron. Hurt/Comfort, angst but happy ending. CW: Unhealthy relationship to sex/sexuality, identity issues. Not edited... Song Rec: Supposed to Be (Acoustic) By Icon for Hire//

Astarion x f!Tav, Canonish, Act 3

2.1k

Astarion watched, helpless, with his dead heart in his throat as the drow twins propositioned Tav. His Tav. He want to growl it and glower until no one else in this pleasure den deigned to offer their services.

Why did she have to be such a lure for elven whores?

Astarion leaned back against the wall, hardly resisting the urge to fold his arms and sulk in plain view of the whole party. He wasn’t a child whose toy was being played with—and yet, the brightness of her eyes and the laugh on her lips had him wanting to pout and whinge like a toddler.

“I appreciate the offer, I do, but I must decline.” Tav shook her head. Though personally the vampire thought she could be a little more rude in her rejection.

Because the damn twins were were still giving her looks that were far too inviting. Not that Tav saw, because her eyes had landed back on him, and Astarion was just thanking his lucky stars he’d perfected the mask he wore.

“Is that your partner?” The female drow asked, her smile making disgust creep up his spine—it was easy to see where this was going. “We’d be happy to have you both.”

“My dear, I’m afraid you’d be the one parting with your gold.” A high laugh slipped from Astarion’s lips. “And, I do doubt you could afford me.”

He saw the twins’ mirrored expressions of bewilderment turn to glee for only a flash before Tav was excusing herself from them. Swiftly stepping over to him with—that damnable look on her face.

Oh he knew those eyes, so drawn with her concern and on the verge of pity. Tav looked like that when she was about to do something so dreadfully kind it might make him wretch.

And he could not be the broken toy when she was being offered two shiny new ones.

“Astarion—” Tav began in that tone, and he had to preempt her.

“I know pet, tempting as it is, I simply must decline.”

“Yeah?” Tav utterly confounded him with that lifted smile. “That’s good.”

“Good..?” Astarion asked, his mind trying to race ahead. Find the traps and disarm them before they sprung.

She’d preached to him over and over again about his choice, and what he wanted and how that mattered to her for some reason.

Only for him to make a decision about the drow for her.

Shit.

It was a test. It had to be. She respected his choices, now he was expected to reciprocate.

“Ah I see.” Astarion inclined his head to her, a salacious smile on his lips. “You haven’t had much attention lately…it has been a while for us.”

Tav blinked, and then those bright eyes were on his, searching him out. The pale elf would cling to the façade by the skin of his fangs, if it meant he could keep her.

She turned, and Astarion prepared for the feeling of a stake through his heart.

“Well, if my partner isn’t interested, neither am I.” Tav brushed off the twins’ advances with as much grace as one could muster. Until they finally had the tact to move to other potential patrons.

She was already leading the way out of Sharess’ Caress before Astarion had recovered from his shock.

The cold night air near Baulder’s Gate finally woke him.

“You could have gone with them, you know.” He blurted, wondering why in the Hells she hadn’t. It wasn’t like he was satiating her hungers.

Astarion felt Tav shrug her shoulder through their linked hands. “I’m not interested in any little tryst if it’s at your expense.”

She said it so simple, so easy, as if it were hardly worth a second thought.

Astarion’s mind was still reeling, but he put on a smirk. “Stop being so kind to me; it almost makes me want to return the favor.” 

As if it were a debt he could ever repay her.

…

Hours later, Tav lay in her darkened room, sleep evading her. The soft click of a lock being picked made her tense, hand instinctively grasping the dagger beneath her pillow. But the familiar silhouette slipping through the door made her relax.

"Hello, my darling," Astarion purred as he approached, her darkvision letting her see how his ruby eyes glinted. “Haven’t you gotten accustom to me creeping into your bed?”

"It has been a moment since you came looking for a cuddle?" Tav teased softly, tilting her head. His appearance at this hour had her wondering. The dark of night and hushed voices already strummed tension in the air between them.

“I do seek…something akin to that.”

Astarion perched on the edge of the bed, long fingers skimming up her bare arm and leaving goosebumps in their wake. Despite all her thoughts trying to tame her reaction, for now.

"I merely wished to express my gratitude, my sweet. For standing by me, even knowing what I am. What I've done. And what I haven’t."

“What you…haven’t?” Her half-awake mind might be jumping to conclusions, surely. Twining their fingers together, Tav brought his hand to her lips, pressing a soft kiss to his knuckles. "You never have to thank me for that."

Astarion's eyes shimmered suspiciously in the darkness before he blinked it away, his trademark smirk back in place. "I want to thank you," he purred, “Won’t you, let me?”

He moved then, pressing her back into the soft pillow she’d been having trouble sleeping on after so many nights spent in the dirt.

Though the familiar weight of him was already making the bed more appealing. Now, just like every time he fed from her, he cradled her skull and tilted her head back so tenderly. It was comforting, it was an intimate moment she was happy to share with him.

His eyes didn’t meet hers as he ducked his head. Usually he lingered, to make sure Tav was alright before his fangs pierced her flesh. So why did she feel lips caressing her neck?

Her fingers slid into his hair, trying to get a grip on herself as much as she was on his curls.

“Star, what’s going on?”

The chuckle he gave was at the base of her neck, lips and tongue teasing at her collarbones in a way that made her skin tingle.

“Returning the favor.” He purred. “You deserve it.”

Tav swallowed under his clever mouth, trying to hear what her mind was screaming at her before it could be drowned out by the sweet words and sweeter lips.

Suddenly his face was swimming before hers, still not letting her catch his eye as he cupped her cheek. “So very few people get what they deserve—you, as always, should be the exception.”

Astation, with his ethereal beauty and perfect words, had her stunned. It wasn’t until he lowered his mouth to hers that her mind caught up.

“I don’t deserve anything you don’t wish to give.” Tav managed against his mouth, giving a gentle tug to his hair to get him to pull back.

“My sweet…I very much wish to give.”

That silver tongue slipped right past her protesting lips.

…

The elf was certain he had her when those hands slipped from his hair to cup his face in her palms. Her thumbs stroked over his high cheekbones.

“Astarion, wait.” Tav breathed.

He stilled, pulling back, fear flickering over his features as he was sure he’d somehow hurt her—when he saw it.

That damnable look in her eyes.

“Wait—we’ve done nothing but the waiting.” He snapped.

And Tav, damn her, gave a softer look still. “I’m willing to wait longer, as long as it takes.”

Astarion's posture stiffened, his back becoming an iron rod as he sat upright. "Is that how you see me then?" He couldn't keep the defensive edge from seeping into his voice. Drawing it like a blade when he felt his throat was bared.

"All shattered on the inside? Some broken doll you no longer play with? Am I to be put on a shelf and never touched again?"

“Astarion, you aren’t—” She moved to touch him, but he rose abruptly, evading her reach.

He didn’t even know why he did it. But the way her hand fell back to the bed, dejected, hurt him just as the pain he saw on her face.

"I know you aren’t fragile," Tav said with conviction, eyes pleading for him to understand.

“Then what? Am I some charity case to you? Is that what you get off on?”

Astarion hated it the moment he said it. But, the fangs showed whenever vulnerability crept up on him.

She stayed silent, and he had to fill that void before it consumed him.

“I’m not some delicate boy with a broken heart. I have wants. And I can see that you have them too. So, why not?”

“Is that what you want?” Tav smothered his outrage like a blanket over a campfire.

His shoulders sagged under the weight of his uncertainty.

“I don’t know.” The words barely escaped his lips before they broke apart into whispers of self-doubt. “Gods, I don’t know how to do any of this.” A frustrated hand raked through his white curls.

He wanted her. He wanted to see her looks of want and he wanted to be the one to fulfill her desires.

He wanted to keep her.

She sat up, legs hanging off the bed. And his eyes were drawn to the bare skin of her thighs exposed by her loose sleep clothes.

“Astarion, what do you want?”

He stared down at her, red eyes probing for a hint of the right answer. What did she want him to say? He would say it.

But Tav held without giving an inch.

“Why do you always ask the most difficult things?”

"I’m sorry." she whispered back.

"Don’t. I want—no, I need to know that I am still wanted by you." The confession fell from his lips like a plea. "You who’ve given me so much and seen broken I am. You who’ve made me wonder if I do indeed have any pieces left of my own soul…” The words were on his tongue, but his throat constricted around baring his neck one last time. “Do you still want me?”

“I will always want you.” Tav’s reply came without hesitation or doubt.

Either he had gotten to sloppy to see it—or there was simply no guile in her.

Tav reached out, her hand finding his where he stood frozen. He could feel the tension coursing through him—an all too familiar vulnerability that he constantly tried to suppress.

“Then let me give you something in return.” He dropped to his knees before her, desperation etched into every feature. .“Please, Tav.”

She lifted the hand she held, cupping it in both of hers, before she pressed his touch against her chest. And he had a moment to hope, that maybe, she would just let him give a fraction of what she’d given him.

“You’ve given me everything already, my heart.”

A scornful snort burst from him, everything in him prepared to banish her romanticized drivel with a dose of reality.

“This,” Her fingers tightened around the fabric of his shirt over his chest. “Past the petty armor you wear. Beneath the pretty face and clever tongue,” She yanked him close before he could quip back.“That is what you give me; parts of you that you’ve given to no one else.”

When he looked at her then, he had no idea what she might see, even if he could use a mirror.

“Your kindness, your hurt, your wants. The truth of you. That’s what I want.”

“I can’t give—“ Astarion couldn’t get this damn silver tongue of his around a his words. “I don’t know what that is…who I am.”

“Then we can both find out. That’s all I ask of you.”

He swallowed hard as her words left him parched and speechless. The notion that he might still have something to offer, a piece of himself that was untouched.

Astarion found himself staring at her, wonder and disbelief battling for dominance in his gaze.

A gentleness tugged at Tav's lips. And for a fleeting moment, Astarion dared to believe that perhaps he could have this.

He moved up, but only to wrap his arms around her. To engulf her in his embrace. Just as that night when she wrapped her arms around him, and first showed him that there was affection, there was closeness, without the expectation of more.

Astarion would be just fine if he was helpless in her arms.

[chaosmultiverse-a]

@playedbetter

"Max"'s face nor eyes went up to meet the stranger, it was best to play it as though he was very shy, anti social, someone who makes social encounters dull.

"Oh yes, that's me." He simply replied holding the package closer, and continuing to look at the ground, his bangs covering most of his face.

'Max' was someone dressed rather plainly though... notably out of date given his long selved shirt & t-shirt, as for his bottoms he was wearing plain black leggings & well worn running shoes.

The package itself was roughly the size of his torso, just a little smaller & it was a amazon box that was marked fragile & that it had to stay right way up.

"Can I help you?"

[jaewritesfic]

Everlasting Trio DPxDC Nobody Knows Au

I love nobody knows aus.

I love aus where danny flees to Gotham after a Bad Time with his parents.

So what if:

Sam moves to Gotham for college after graduation. Tucker has flown down from MIT over the semester break to spend the month with her. They've stayed very close knit.

They're having brunch at a small cafe maybe a week in, and suddenly Sam's hand darts across the table and grips his forearm so tight it hurts.

He startles and asks her what's wrong, but she doesn't answer. She's too busy staring across the room with a haunted look on her face. Tucker follows her gaze and goes cold and still with shock and disbelief.

They're both frozen because that? That looks like Danny.

Danny, their childhood best friend. Danny who came to their freshman year of high school a little different. Withdrawn.

Danny who kept pulling away and making excuses no matter how hard they tried to engage him, who looked more tired and ragged with every passing week.

Danny who disappeared without a trace shortly after he turned sixteen and who, though it largely went unspoken, they believed dead and gone forever.

"It's not," Tucker whispers weakly. "It can't be, right?"

The guy across the cafe is older than the kid they remember, of course. Around twenty, exactly how old they are. How old Danny should be. He's tall, tall like they and Jazz always assured Danny he would be once he hit a growth spurt and into his dad's genes.

His nails are painted and his ears are pierced and his hair is a little longer, but he sits in front of his papers and computer with eerily familiar bad posture and a pen tapping at his bottom lip like their Danny always did when he tried to focus.

He looks leagues healthier than their Danny did before he went missing.

He huffs a breath out of his nose and pokes his bottom lip out as he scowls at something on his screen, and before Tucker can even process the gut punch of such a familiar mannerism Sam is out of her chair and halfway across the cafe.

Tucker scrambles after her with half coherent protests.

He reaches the table as Sam slams herself down into the chair across from the doppelganger, the guy jerking in surprise and blinking up at his two unexpected guests with confusion and alarm.

Then, slowly, Tucker watches his face go pale and the confusion be replaced with dawning shock, recognition and something unreadable.

"Oh," Danny breathes.

[kradogsrats]

The last time Lissa cries is in Katolis.

As she rides away, she feels as if she'll weep forever—tears she can't stop flowing down her cheeks, ceaseless and steady—but when she crosses into Del Bar, her face and eyes are dry. Her parents welcome her back into their home. Her siblings and their children turning out to comfort her. Lissa smiles and thanks them, lets them embrace her.

None of them say, I told you so. Not outright, at least. She can tell some of them are thinking it.

Doesn't seem all that broken up about it, does she? Not a single tear.

Shush—let the poor girl be. Not all pains can be wept over right away.

But when her mother falls ill, she doesn't cry like her sisters do. When they bury her—when her father, always mountain-strong, is reduced to gravel in his children's arms—she has no tears to shed.

Nor does she weep for her brother's son—young and bright and brimming with promise—dead the instant his horse throws him, his neck snapped cleanly. He'd planned to marry his sweetheart, in a year or two. There's a funeral instead, the other boy's anguished tears a river of grief.

Lissa still does not cry. No matter the sorrow, her eyes sit in her head like stones, hard and heavy. Dry as bone, even as her throat closes and her chest burns like her heart is on fire.

There are no tears from her even for her second sister's husband, a sailor whose ship never returns from its last journey through the spring storms. Her sister holds her own shattered pieces together for the sake of their small children, and the family rallies to support her with food and chores and company. They cry with her, late into the night—all of them, except for Lissa.

Cold as the heart of Hinterpeak, that one.

You're surprised? She married a mage, she was cursed from the start.

Then she abandoned her children in the snake's den, when she'd had her fill of him and his poison.

I suppose it takes a monster to love a monster.

What could she tell them—that Viren had meant no ill? That she'd been the collateral damage of a miracle, a negligible cost for saving a child from death? That her children were better served by staying with a father who loved them so fiercely than by their broken mother dragging them away?

That when he'd stumbled in half-mad, his face scarred beyond recognition, ranting and raving his demands that she weep to save their son, she had refused? That she'd feared what he might take from her, as if anything she possessed could be worth more than Soren's life?

That when his hand twisted in her hair and the cold glass pressed against her cheek, she cried not for Soren, but for the man she'd loved and the monster he'd become?

That, most of all, she had cried for herself?

She stays quiet, and does not cry.

Her father finally passes, never recovered from her mother's loss, and her brother approaches on behalf of the family. We love you, Lissy, you know that—but we think it would be best if you didn't come to the funeral.

Lissa's heart burns, her throat clenched tight against any protest, and she nods. She leaves that night, vanishing into the mountains. No one comes looking for her.

She settles outside a remote village, in a tiny hut halfway up the mountain, more a hunter's seasonal shelter than a house. She busies herself with survival—tends a garden, hunts and forages. Down in the village, she trades the pelts of what she can trap, and sometimes plays the decrepit, barely-tuned piano in the tavern for coins.

That's where she hears of the great march on Xadia. King Viren of Katolis, leading the united Pentarchy to end the threat of dragons for good.

Lissa returns to the tavern every day after that, desperate for more news—it's barely a week later when she hears he's dead, his army broken by an alliance between the elves of Xadia and those loyal to King Harrow's son. There is no mention of her children in any of the garbled rumors.

It's almost a relief, that she doesn't cry for Viren.

But Soren would be old enough to have joined the Crownguard, just as he'd always wanted. With two kings dead in such quick succession—first King Harrow, and then, somehow, his own father—could she even dare hope he still lives? And Claudia, so fascinated by magic, even when it tore their family apart—had she succumbed to all its dangers? Would Viren have let her walk a different path, if she chose?

She imagines going back, demanding to know what happened to her son and daughter—if Viren remained in a place sufficiently prominent to somehow become king, someone has to know. She imagines seeing them again, being able to run to them and take them in her arms. She imagines crying, then—a decade of stolen tears released in a flood of joy and relief.

Then she imagines their revulsion at the mother who left them, should she be unable to shed a single tear of grief or regret.

Lissa stops going to the tavern. Her heart burns as if its falling to ash.

She doesn't cry.

[variousqueerthings]

so the thing is, back when i first watched s3 of elementary i was not a fan of joan coming to this moment of "oh maybe i should break up with my stable, attractive, nice, charming boyfriend" only for him to immediately die, because it felt like a cop-out -- that she'd almost come to some kind of moment in figuring herself out, but now she'd be regressing into "oh well, i can't have romantic relationships because it's dangerous, not because i don't want them," there will forever be a tinge of something in her relationship with andrew now, even though she was literally in the process of breaking up with him because it wasn't doing anything for her. a certain rose tint over what was actually happening, which was that she wasn't into the idea of the relationship, or indeed, any romantic relationship

however this time around i'm more into it, because this time i'm suuuuch a fan of the continuous push and pull of introspection and refusal to introspect that exist in both sherlock and joan -- getting the emotional truth out of either of them is like pulling fucking teeth!

the fact that the "aftermath episode" of her bf getting murdered in which joan is steadfastly refusing to Feel Her Feelings is the same episode as the sherlock-and-marcus excursion, in which marcus bell is telling sherlock over and over "call me marcus" and sherlock's grimace makes it clear that too much vulnerability feels like getting stabbed, something he's only allowed five times it seems:

two are with people who are locked up (jamie and abigail, although the latter has some serious extenuating circumstances)

one is dead (alistair, and even then i feel like alistair never knew how much he meant to sherlock)

one is on the run from the law atm (kitty, although i know she works that out)

and joan

(and arguably mycroft, but that's slightly different, they're siblings, being a sibling is smthinsmthin)

and even with them -- with the exception of joan and previously jamie -- he is oh so very careful about how much of himself he shows

it's such a fascinating double-up episode exploring their attitudes towards relationships (the fact that jamie makes a form of appearance and it's via writing a letter to joan!!!!) (also ofc sherlock calls him marcus by the end)

and now back to joan, who is ostensibly much more "adjusted" to living a conventional life, after all she's prepped for conventional since she was a kid! except she really isn't, is she? she's canonically trying to fulfill some assumed goal of normalcy (stated to be expected of her by her mother/upbringing), and she's fighting against it every step of the way. she doesn't do close friendships really (she tried, and she sucked at it until she started meeting people more like sherlock, and then it's a little closer to the way he does "friendships" that is, we create a wide network of people, but we don't have to know that much about each other beyond what we need to support one another), and she certainly doesn't do romance (or, she tries for a bit, but fails over and over) and the entire time she's insistently going "sherlock you need support to figure yourself out, you need some help to stay sober, if you want to talk..."

her whole Thing is that she's very polite and charming, so of course she's not like her standoffish abrasive partner, sherlock, she's the "Nomal One" who's so well-adjusted, except when this life forces her to make decisions beyond her control

and now going "well, i'm dangerous to get close to, so i may as well not try anymore" is another wonderful way to avoid thinking about what she wants. she doesn't have any choices you see, it's simply the way things have to be (oh noooo). anyway this interaction suddenly happens halfway through the episode:

joan: you know i pulled away from you last year because uh… i felt myself sucked into this world that you built. i wanted something normal. something that was mine. sherlock: there's nothing wrong with that. you have a right to your own space, physically and mentally joan: im not sure that i do. i don't think i can keep our work and my private life separate. it just doesn't seem possible. but you already know that, i mean it's part of the reason you life the way that you do sherlock: yes but my choices dont have to be your choices watson joan: it might be better if they were. andrew would have been better off

see, andrew would have been better off, that's what the problem was, suuuuuuure. girl you were in the middle of dumping him when he was murdered, stop avoiding the real issue here! you shouldn't not-be-dating because of The Work, you should be not dating because you... don't want to. you've got to admit that you like the world you were getting sucked into. do it!

(once she's made the change to wearing suits, we know she's started to sort herself out, it's coming, she'll get there)

end of the episode:

joan: i feel... ok. i feel clear about something: our work, what we do... it's not just a job now, it's who i am. i'm a detective, i'm ready to embrace that. i live in this world - your world - and i probably will for the rest of my life sherlock: it isn't my world. it's our world joan: i understand that now. i accept it, i know what it means sherlock: and what does it mean? joan: it means that... it's ridiculous for me to think that... i can have a normal life. i'm not gonna do that anymore.

joan i want to study you like a bug!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(but also, youknow, if it's getting her there, then let her think it's the detective work enacting upon her life like an unstoppable force that she must stop fighting and accept the inevitability of. youknow. that's an aromantic way of looking at things too. can't do romance, oh so unfortunate, but The Work!!!!!!!!!)

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Random QL Grievances: 2024 Edition

Once again taking @lurkingshan's lead and doing my own version of this one. And in case the word grievances in bold and in the title is not enough of a clue, I will be saying not so nice things about some shows. You've been warned.

"The root of disappointment is expectation" Shows that were promising even before they started or that raised expectations and didn't follow through.

Last Twilight

I had high expectations for this show from the team and the story alone, and they were met until the halfway point, ok maybe episode 8. When it was good, it was really good. But when it turned bad, it turned irredeemably bad. Like I said at the time, this show had a real opportunity to say something about people with disabilities and also class disparity. But the message that one can only be happy when they're abled and one can only be worthy when they have "a proper job" is one that still pisses me off today. In my mind, they broke up not long after and Mhok is happy in with someone else in Hawaii.

23.5 Degrees

Speaking of badly handled characters...This show did so many things wrong, but the one that hurt me the most was what they did with Aylin. Once again, the message is, you need to change what is unique or different about you in order to be accepted and by extent be happy. I hate it.

Wandee Goodday

It started off so strong. A lot of things pissed me off about this show by the end, so I'll just mention the one that still kinda makes my blood boil. The most atrocious case of pair the spares.

The On1y One

More than anything, what pissed me off the most about the ending of this was that I felt like I was manipulated. I felt they purposefully left the story without any resolution, to make sure they got a second season. Because the director was asking viewers to put pressure on whoever, and to talk about the show and sign petitions or whatever the hell it was, while the show is still on, so for me felt like it was all planned. They did a disservice to their own work and their own team by stretching this story and adding elements to make sure it couldn't possibly be told in one season. And I have no issue with planning for a second season, but there are ways to do this and still make the audience feel like they saw a story with a start, a middle and an end. Even if it's an open ending.

I Hear the Sunspot

If you follow me or know anything about me, you know that it hurts my soul to put a jbl on this list. I am in pain. But I couldn't not do it. This was one of the biggest disappointments of the year for me. Not only because it's a jbl, but because from the start it had everything going for it. I still can't believe they managed to so spectacularly ruin this show in its second half. I said enough about it at the time, no point going into it again.

Other 2024 big disappointments :Jack & Joker (not enough bl in this bl), Unknown (that ending), The Sign (what a mess), Love is Better the Second Time Around (in so much pain), My Strawberry Film (it's not a bl but also doesn't know it is).

Other Random Grievances

Biggest Loss of Trust aka #in nobody we trust - Blossom Campus

Strongberry... What the hell? Nothing that strongberry has ever produced before could've prepared me for this mess. I still have no words for whatever this was.

It should've stayed on the shelf -Love is Like a Cat

There was no love and no cat. And they killed the dog. And if that wasn't enough, it was just so incredibly boring.

Worst adaption of a webtoon - Jazz for Two

As it turns out, pretty is not enough. Who knew? But seriously, Korea always gives me the pretty pictures and the pretty people. But this was awful. I read the source material and honestly it baffles me how they could make so many wrong choices.

Biggest waste of a good premise and excellent visuals - Dead friend Forever & 4 Minutes

And they killed Fuaiz TWICE!!!! I'm just gonna assume that his characters will not survive from now on. Anyway. I really loved the visuals of both these shows. But the writing just couldn't measure up. They both stumbled at the end, although I think 4 minutes stumbled way before that.

I think maybe I should stop. Anyway I only included shows I watched till the end, and not ones I dropped.

[shanastoryteller]

Happy birthday!!!!

WWX identity shenanigans? Or anything!

a continuation of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

A-Qing is scared.

Everyone around her is dead.

Everyone except Xiao Xingchen and Chengmei.

She doesn't know what to do. Xiao Xingchen remarks at how strange and reclusive everyone in this town is and she nods and complains, saying she wants to go someplace a little more lively, but Chengmei insists he likes it here.

Xiao Xingchen is blind and can't tell that everyone around them is dead and A-Qing can't tell him because she's supposed to be blind too, because if she tries then Chengmei will discover the truth about her and she'll become just one more dead girl who can't do anything to help anyone.

There has to be something happening here, some spell or trick. Xiao Xingchen had smelled blood on the road but he doesn't seem to notice the air of decay or the way no one around them is breathing. Chengmei has done something to dull Xiao Xingchen's senses or addle his mind, has done something to him that he hasn't done to her.

It's important to her that people underestimate her. She's worked hard to be underestimated. But she's almost regretting it now - maybe it would be better to be walking around in ignorance, rather than having to smile and laugh and pretend that the walking corpses around them don't frighten her halfway into being a corpse herself.

She could leave. Chengmei doesn't care enough about her to stop her, she doesn't think, and maybe she could get some help. But what will happen to Xiao Xingchen while she's gone? What if Chengmei does something terrible to him? What if he takes Xiao Xingchen and leaves and by the time she comes back they're gone forever?

The thought is ever worse than her current situation, so she stays, and hopes one day she'll find an opening to get them to safety.

She's by the river, because the corpses seem to avoid running water, when she sees a woman she's never seen before walking through the mist. A-Qing squints, trying to make sense of what she's seeing as the woman heads in her direction. It makes her nervous, but the corpses have never hurt her before.

She's wearing pale blue robes and she's tall, for a woman, and almost too skinny. Her dark hair falls freely down her back but she has a strange ribbon wrapped around her forehead. A-Qing is trying to figure out what killed her, considering she lacks the puffy face of strangulation or and her robes are free from blood, when she notices a sword at the strange woman's side.

Terror shoots through her. A-Qing yanks her robes to her knees, getting ready to run, when the woman waves at her and shouts, "You there! You're alive, aren't you? Have you seen anyone else alive around here? He'd be this tall, in all white, very pretty?"

A-Qing freezes, mouth dropping open. The woman still has her tongue. Her eyes sting and she desperately tries to blink her tears away, worried if she loses sight of the woman in front her that she'll disappear completely.

This woman is alive. She's got a sword and she's smiling and she's asking for Xiao Xingchen, which means maybe she's a cultivator too, maybe she can save them from Chengmei's horrible games.

A-Qing throws herself at the woman, who in spite of her small stature doesn't so much as sway with the impact, and instead lays a warm hand against her back. "What's all this, then? What are you doing here with all this going on, anyway?" She rubs soothing circles into her back. "Hey, hey, don't cry! It's going to be okay. I may not look like much, but I'm pretty good with stuff like this."

She's warm. She's warm and alive and she's a cultivator and she's going to help.

A-Qing keeps her forehead pressed against the woman's chest and starts talking.

[lexosaurus]

Everything Was White: Part 25

[see all chapters]

read on: [ao3] [ffn] (please read tags)

Summary: After being accidentally revealed to the public and taken away by the government, Danny deals with the aftermath of his time with the GIW.

****

"You can't stay inside forever, Danny," his mother told him that morning as he tried to eat his sad, soggy cereal.

"I know, Mom," he snapped. Because he did know, Captain Obvious. But it still didn't make today any less nerve-racking.

"You'll be fine. Your friends will be there with you, and Sam has her car, right? So the only walking you'll be doing is from her car to inside the restaurant."

Danny scowled at his spoon. "It's not the walking I have a problem with, and it’s not like I’m using my crutches anyway."

There was no saying how long they would be out, and using his crutches for longer than a few minutes was still exhausting. So no, that wasn’t the reason he was so on edge about this.

The truth was, this was officially the first time Daniel Fenton Phantom was going to be out and about in public. 

"People will leave you alone. And worst case, just leave!" Maddie offered a smile as she plucked his now-empty bowl from the table. "This is a big step, but your therapists have been telling you for some time now that you need to do this. It'll be fine, you'll see."

It was just lunch at the Nasty Burger. He'd done it hundreds of times before. And this time, because his parents were just so proud of him for taking this big step, sweetie, Jack had even left him a crisp twenty-dollar bill on the table that morning.

Apparently, Jack had chalked his last wad of missing cash up to ghosts. Assuming that Danny would ever do something like stealing was simply unthinkable. 

Danny went about his morning, showering, putting fresh clothes on, and combing his hair no fewer than three times because what if he couldn't convince the public that he was normal? What if they all saw him as a grotesque, dead monster in a human skin suit? Or worse, a traumatized, skinny, weak kid that the Guys in White had trained into their pet plaything?

No, he wasn't a dog, and he could cover up all his fears under shampoo, washed clothes, and a friendly smile that he tried to practice in the mirror but felt silly enough to stop.

And then the doorbell rang.

His core sizzled, and he was almost too slow to stamp it out, to remind himself that it was just Sam and Tucker, that there were no government agents at the door, Danny.

His therapist had said this adrenaline response was natural. Still, it infuriated him the way his heart pounded and fingers tingled pins and needles whenever someone approached the other side of a closed door.

"Danny!" Sam bounded through the entrance.

He barely remembered to put on that smile he'd practiced in front of the mirror that morning. "Hey, Sam! Tucker!"

"Dude!" Tucker pranced inside like he owned the place. "This has been such a long time coming!"

"Yeah, it was kind of—kind of hard for me to get out before."

"No worries, man!" Tucker offered him a high five, and though Danny rolled his eyes, he met his friend halfway.

"Eating alone with Tucker has been torture," Sam lamented, her dark purple lips setting in a pout. "There's only so many times I can take him drooling over his beef environmental disasters by myself before I lose my sanity."

"Well, don't worry, Sammykins, because now you'll have to witness the power of two of us drooling over our beef environmental disasters!"

Sam slugged Tucker in the arm, and although Danny could see there was little power behind it, Tucker still made a big show about gripping his shoulder and wailing, "You wound me, woman!”

"Shut up!" Sam cackled.

Danny watched the dramatic performance as if he were standing on the other side of a glass wall. Every time the three of them hung out, he noticed these little moments more and more. Moments where Sam and Tucker seemed like they were from another planet.

Or maybe Danny was the one from another planet. The hopeless alien trying to blend in with the humans.

"Alright, let's go?" Danny asked, not wanting to delve further into his depressed psychology.

Tucker snapped out of his performance. "Let's go!"

"My car's in your driveway. You good to get in on your own? I mean—uh—" Sam stammered, glancing at Danny's wheelchair.

Right. He hadn't driven with his friends before.

"I'm good. You just—um, throw it in the—you know what? I'll show you." Danny transferred from the couch and headed for the door.

It was warm for a typical January day in Amity Park. There was no paparazzi outside their house either—thank god. Danny was last year's sensational hit, and his overnight fame seemed to be beginning to die down.

Not that he was becoming obscure by any means. He was still on the front page of Reddit nearly every day, and his tag on TikTok had thousands of videos and millions of interactions. But the constant bombardment of people stalking him outside his house was finally dispelling.

Of course, this only added fuel to the fire that was his parents’ recent insistence on him going outside. The paparazzi would find him eventually as they always did, and there was nothing he could do about people recording videos of him to post on social media, but Danny would at least get a semblance of normalcy.

He followed them out of the house and into the driveway where Sam’s car—a hybrid, she’d been very proud to show off—was waiting for them. He climbed into the car. The passenger seat, because although Danny was fully expecting Tucker to call shotgun, he hadn't.

"So I just put it in the back?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. The brakes are on, so just put it in as is. It won't move or anything."

"Alright." Sam picked up his wheelchair as if she were picking up a baby for the first time. Nervous, hesitant, as if afraid it would break under the lightest touch.

He remembered when he was like that too. Scared he would break it by shifting his weight even slightly incorrectly. But those days had long since passed. 

Sam slipped into the driver's seat just in time for Tucker to lean over the center console. "Alright, Team Phantom! Nasty Burger time!"

"Ugh, don't remind me," Sam groaned, but Danny could see her smiling.

With little more fanfare than a nervous glance Danny's way, she turned the car on and backed out of his driveway.

"Should we get milkshakes, too?" Tucker asked. "I mean, what am I even saying? Of course we're going to get milkshakes! Duh! It's Danny's first time out since...since..."

"July," Danny finished all too quickly.

An awkward silence settled over the car. Tucker tried to save it. "Wow, that long? That's..."

He wasn't successful.

"It's okay! Uh, we're really happy that—that you…" Sam's voice also stammered.

God, the awkwardness between him and his friends was painful. Okay, it was Danny's turn to step in. Maybe a joke to ease the tension?

"Yeah. Well, you know, I was—I was too busy being kidnapped."

The dead silence grew, and Danny's heartbeat stuttered. He mentally kicked himself for bringing that up when he absolutely was not ready to talk about it with his friends.

If only they could see that he was Phantom again. That he had his core back and he was fine, he was okay. He wasn't some weak kid anymore, this helpless, fragile child. 

"Yeah..." Tucker said, looking at Danny like he had spinach in his teeth and he was too nervous to tell him.

"Listen, I'm good, guys, seriously. I'm just looking forward to—to eating my body weight in Nasty Burger fries," he lied. 

He’d wanted to take extra measures that morning to ensure the looming red bag wouldn’t be a problem, but he needed to be careful. Sam and Tucker knew him better than anyone else. He couldn’t take too much medication or they’d know something was up. But if Danny had a freak-out in the middle of the Nasty Burger, what would they do? How would they react? Would they agree with his parents and say that Phantom should never come out again?

Well, they already thought that, actually. That's why they didn't help him get Frostbite to take his chip out. That's why Danny had to turn to Vlad of all people.

Danny tried to shove that particular strain of bitterness away and tune back into their conversation. Sam and Tucker were chatting about…something that happened in their science class. Danny didn't know what because he wasn't in their science class. He was in the Learning Center because he couldn't handle being in a normal classroom. At least, not yet. 

“Yeah, but you’ll be back soon,” Sam said.

Oops, had he said something out loud?

"We wouldn't be in the same class anyway. You're in—in honors," Danny said. He turned to her, incredulous. "Do I look like an honors kid to you?"

"Well, you never know!" Sam said. “I’m not in honors everything, you know.”

"Yeah, we could be in the same English class!" Tucker said. “I’d rather die than join Sam in honors English hell, after all.”

“Maybe. But knowing me, they’ll invent a new—a new class below all the other ones.”

"Nah, no way you're leaving me alone with Valerie. You know she's been trying to talk to me, right? She knows we know she's the Red Huntress. She keeps asking about you."

He did not, in fact, know that Tucker and Valerie had spoken.

"What'd she say?" Danny asked, trying to seem casual as their car passed by a group of joggers who didn't so much as bat an eye at their normal car passing by. He was too used to people staring at the GAV.

"Uh…you know…" Tucker began, waving his hand around. "She said she was sorry for being rude or whatever—you know, back before she noticed my stunning good looks and charm!"

Sam snorted. "You're so full of it."

Danny found it difficult to find the humor. "Seriously, what?"

"Just the normal stuff you'd expect. You know, the same sorts of questions everyone else has. Was wanting to know how long we'd known you were Phantom, and how we'd helped out with the ghost fights and stuff. Nothing really special."

Danny had forgotten that Sam and Tucker had become somewhat public figures when he had been both thrust into the spotlight and taken from them. It was short-sighted of him to believe that they would have been left alone in Casper High

Sam pulled into the Nasty Burger parking lot. "She's been trying to talk to me, too. Same as Tucker. Have you talked to her at all?"

“No,” Danny lied, glancing at the red-and-white building. "You know if she still works here?"

"Nah," Tucker said. "She quit last fall. I think Vlad gave her a raise."

That was good. It meant there was little chance Danny would run into her again.

The car came to a stop. The drive had seemed much too short. Though, Danny suspected that even if the drive had lasted three hours, he would still think it was too short. Inside the car, he was safe, he was anonymous. But outside?

Outside, he was none of those things.

Danny took a breath in. Held. Then, on the exhale, said, "Okay." He looked at the gray ceiling of the car if only to avoid his friends' eyes. He didn't want to know if they were looking at him with pity or concern.

He opened his eyes and went to open the door when he noticed the large black SUV parked directly next to them. "Wait, Sam, uh—sorry. Sorry, I can't...you need to..." His cheeks heated up, and he felt the weight of the disabled parking placard in his hoodie pocket. He pulled it out and flipped it over in his fingers.

Sam's eyebrows knit in confusion, but then her eyes met the distinct blue and white stick figure, and her eyes lit up. "Oh shit! Sorry—totally forgot. Force of habit."

She turned the car back on, and Danny's cheeks only heated more. "Not—not a big deal. It's…it's not the distance. It's the space."

"No, no, I get it," Sam said.

Tucker leaned over the center console, not bothering to buckle his seatbelt again for the ten-second drive. "Listen, Danny, all I'm saying is that I can totally piggyback you over to the curb."

"I'd rather take my chances crawling, thanks."

"You're no fun!"

"Tucker, you can barely lift a wet paper bag," Sam quipped.

"You too? Come on, I've put on muscle this year!" He flexed his arm, though nothing bulged out from the sleeve of his baggy hoodie.

Sam snorted. "Doing what? Lifting your pencil from your desk every day?"

"No! I've totally been going to the gym, Sam!"

If he had, that was news to Danny.

But apparently, Sam knew exactly what he was talking about. She parked the car again and turned it off, saying, "Your New Year's resolution doesn't count! You've gone what, like three times so far? That's not exactly going to get you gains."

Tucker mimicked her lead, throwing open the car door and sliding out of his seat. "I told you, I'm easing into it! They say people fail because they go too hard too fast. Hell, you were the one that told me that!"

"Yeah, but I also told you it was important to establish a routine. Have you done any of that?"

"I'm working up to it, woman!"

Danny was about to yell out to his friends, "Hey! I'm still in here! Don't forget about me!" but thankfully, just as the awkwardness was beginning to get to him, Sam opened the trunk of the car and gently pulled his wheelchair out.

"Do I undo the breaks or…?" she called over.

"No, just leave them. I have to, um, transfer."

"Right! Duh!" Sam set the wheelchair next to his door.

Danny tried to make this transfer seem as fluid as possible. He tried to descend out of the car with the practice of someone who had had a spinal cord injury for a decade and was confident in their own body, thank you very much, but he couldn't help but notice the way Tucker awkwardly shuffled nearby, or the child with its eyes glued on Danny as his mother yanked him through the Nasty Burger doors, admonishing him because it's rude to stare.

He was fine. He was fine. It was only the Nasty Burger. He had come here a million times before.

He undid the brakes and gripped the rims of his wheels, his palms clammy against the sleek metal. He felt so small between Sam and Tucker. He was usually half the height of everyone else, but the gap felt so much greater out in public. He wondered how long it would take before someone posted a video of him on social media. This would almost certainly make the fame worse again.

Maybe people would see that he was just trying to return to his old life and would leave him alone. But as soon as that thought crossed his mind, he stamped it out. No way would that ever happen.

"Okay, let’s go! I'm fucking starving!" Tucker said, ushering the pace along. He ran ahead and held open the door nice and wide. "Come on, you guys are so slow! Make way, make way, the world's slowest people might come through!"

In times like these, Danny was almost grateful for Tucker's dorky obnoxiousness, if only to help quell some of his seemingly never-ending anxiety.

He opened his mouth to say something about Tucker being a little shit and maybe a threat about sleeping with one eye open that night when his voice died in his throat.

Friend groups and families of all ages packed the Nasty Burger as the weekend lunch rush commenced. And Danny could see them, the people whose eyes lazily glanced over to the loud teen at the door, spotted Danny, and froze. Then they nudged their friends, who also turned to stare at Danny.

The whispers started, and the cell phones rose.

"That's really him?"

"No way!"

"Do you think that means Phantom's back?"

Phantom was back, but Danny couldn't say that much. He could only sit here and grind his teeth into silence.

Meanwhile, Sam and Tucker seemed to be faring far better with the whispers and blatant videoing of their trio. Maybe they were used to it. Or maybe they were trying to pretend everything was normal for Danny because he was fragile now, he couldn't handle the pressure last time that's what landed him in inpatient.

"I keep telling you to come to the gym with me," Sam chatted animatedly. "I'll show you how to build a solid routine!"

"Oh yeah, because sticking to a rigid routine is exactly what I'd call having fun at the gym," Tucker snarked. "Seriously, do I look like the kind of person who'd be into that?"

"You're impossible sometimes, you know that?"

Tucker only offered his signature shit-eating grin in return. "And you still love me anyway!"

Once again, Danny was not a participant in their banter.

"Okay, I seriously wasn't joking before that I'm starving! I didn't eat breakfast."

"That's what you get for waking up late."

"Yeah, yeah. What are you, my mom?"

Danny forced himself to join the conversation as they got in line. Primarily, to distract himself from the blatant onlookers. And, perhaps also, to show that he was a normal kid with normal friends. "What are you gonna get?"

"Triple Nasty combo," Tucker answered automatically. "And probably a milkshake on the side. Duh!"

"That's so much food. The poor animals," Sam said.

"Yeah, and I'll eat it all too. You watch!"

"I'd rather not."

"Well, I already know you're getting a tofu melt because you hate fun. So what about you, Danny?" Tucker asked.

Danny shrugged. He wasn't sure he could eat with his stomach practicing gymnastics inside his torso. The smell wasn't horrible in the Nasty Burger, but it still had that slight processed scent that made Danny's eyes think that every red booth they spotted in passing was a vestige of the red bag.

Shit, now his brain was thinking about it. He wanted to stop thinking about it. Just stop, Danny, it's not that hard.

People got behind him in line. He could hear their whispers.

"…so small in person…"

"…feds messed him up…"

Inhale. Hold. Exhale.

Normal kid. He was a normal kid.

"Danny?" Sam's tone was too gentle.

He looked up to see that they were now standing in front of the register, and a nervous-looking teenager was staring openly at him. People around gave him a wide berth, most openly gawking at this point. The rims of his wheelchair felt cold, and then he realized shit, that was just the ecto-frost on his palms threatening to freeze him to the floor.

"Um…" Danny pretended to look at the menu, but his eyes couldn't really focus on anything. "I guess a…uh…just—just a regular Nasty Burger. And, um, fries."

That was a normal teenager thing to order, right?

"What, no milkshake?" Tucker asked.

"Not—not that hungry," Danny admitted. He tried to remember if he would have ordered a milkshake in the past. He probably did, right? His shrunken stomach was supposed to be back to normal now, according to his doctors, but he still didn't feel like it was.

"Aw, for real?" Tucker said, but he snapped himself out of it quickly, clasping a hand on Danny's shoulder and flashing a grin. "Don't worry, because I'm such an amazing friend, I'll let you share mine!"

"Oh, yeah, thanks."

The cashier rang him up—only slightly stuttering when she pressed a wrong button and apologized five times for making him wait an extra few seconds—and then the trio headed for a table.

"Needs to be off to the side," Danny said, realizing there was no way he could fit through the narrow aisles in the middle of the packed joint. "Not near the front windows, though."

Like hell was his face going to be the first that everyone saw when they entered the restaurant.

Sam was way ahead of him, though, already beelining for a table along the side. Danny followed with Tucker in tow yapping about some glitch he'd discovered in whatever video game he was playing. Danny appreciated the effort, truly. Video games used to be the primary thing that they bonded over. But now, Danny didn't even recognize the title, and he realized that he wasn't too interested in trying it for himself.

As they passed by the crowd, people practically leaped out of the way. When a middle schooler with her back turned was partially blocking Danny's path, her friends yanked her aside so hard that Danny thought the poor kid was going to fly headfirst into a table. But then she turned, saw him, and her eyes grew comically wide as she yelled, "Oh shit!"

Her friends, of course, giggled uncontrollably at that, chiding their friend for being "so oblivious, oh my god!"

Yeah, this was fine. He was just a normal teen at a Nasty Burger. There was nothing to yell about.

In another universe, they would have sat at a booth along the outer perimeter of the fast food joint. After all, booths were always superior. But not now, not when sitting in a booth meant abandoning his wheelchair to the aisle where the general public could trip and spill their drinks on it.

Danny didn't have to ask Sam to move one of the chairs off to another table. He scooted himself in as if this were rehearsed and they'd done this before, as if this were a normal Saturday routine for them and Danny wasn't so anxious he thought he might actually sink through the floor.

"This is why you never get any better at games, though," Sam snapped at Tucker.

It took Danny a few seconds to realize that they were still in the middle of a conversation.

"But it's fun! Come on, Danny, back me up!"

Danny blinked owlishly at him. "What is?"

There was the barest hint of a flicker in Tucker's face. A brief moment where his eyebrows began pulling together, where his lips dropped, where his eyes flashed, before he pulled his cheeky smile back on and answered in the same bright, whiny tone, "Exploiting the system, of course!"

If Danny hadn't known any better, he would have excused that as a trick of the light.

"But if you spend the entire time cheating, then you'll never actually develop any skill! See, this is why I always crush you one-on-one," Sam argued.

"Yeah but it's fun," Tucker reiterated.

Danny attempted to put on his best bro-code as he backed Tucker up with what was probably an extremely convincing, "Right."

Sam pressed her lips together, and Danny's fingers twitched for his pocket where a little plastic baggy awaited him.

He was not doing well at this whole pretending-to-be-normal thing. Maybe at home it was less obvious, but here, surrounded by dozens of other normal people, his little quirks were too glaring. Too freakish.

If he could take up the offerings of the small plastic bag in his pocket, he could pass as normal. But then Sam and Tucker would know something was up, and oh god, everyone was watching him, right? There were whispers everywhere. Why was being normal so easy for Sam and Tucker? Why couldn’t he be like them?

Maybe the pills were like his wheelchair or crutches. He couldn't be normal without them. He was a freak, a zoo animal in an exhibit, and everyone knew it. Maybe he belonged in a little cage where everyone could watch him, point and whisper, one with white walls and white floors and—

A kid stumbled forward, knocking into his wheelchair. Danny turned, and the child hid his face behind his stubby fingers and backed away. He bumped into his parents, who gently said, "Go on," and pushed him forward again.

The child, who couldn't have been older than six, approached him again, now peeking rather obviously out of his fingers. A tuft of dirty blond hair sat on a head almost too large for his body. But Danny immediately zeroed in on the child’s black shirt with a familiar white logo on his chest.

Why was this kid wearing his shirt when Phantom hadn't made an appearance in months?

"Hi." The kid stood beside Danny and dropped his fingers from his face. He rocked back and forth on his heels, barely able to hide his nervous excitement as he asked, "Can I take a picture with you?"

Danny's mouth dried instantly. He glanced at Sam’s and Tucker's reassuring expressions before turning back to this bouncing child.

Phantom had taken lots of pictures with kids before. But Fenton? Well, before the reveal, Fenton was a nobody. And after the reveal, he'd turned government-plaything-to-crazy-kid. The fact that not only did this random child want a picture with him but his parents were standing a few steps away encouraging it?

Was he dreaming?

Thankfully, his voice returned to Danny quickly enough for him to say, "Uh—yeah. Yeah! Of course!"

The child squealed and closed the gap between himself and Danny, who leaned to the side with his arm out. The kid went right for it, clasping his hands in delight when Danny's hand wrapped around his shoulder.

The kid's parents were quick with their phones, snapping their photos before Danny's brain could finish processing the bizarre nature of whatever the fuck was happening.

When the parents gave their thumbs-up, the kid whipped back around to face Danny, his nerves now fully given way to excitement. "Thank you, Phantom! You're my favorite superhero. Look, I have your shirt!"

For the first time in his life, Danny felt completely out of his depth. Thankfully, Tucker was to the rescue, leaning over with a "Wow! Look, Danny, it matches your suit perfectly!"

The kid clapped. "It does! I got it because then we match!"

"Thank you." Danny hoped he didn't sound too dumbfounded. "Um, what's your name?"

"Theo! Santa got me this for Christmas. I wear it all the time and my friends wanted the shirt from Santa! Bryce has a shirt already, and sometimes we match too!"

"Well, thank you, Theo!" Danny said, having no idea how to respond.

"Come now, let's let Mr. Phantom get back to his friends," his father said.

"Okay!" Theo said, then hesitated, glancing between the wheelchair and Danny before something in his little brain computed and he reached over and tried his best to hug Danny.

And if Danny's brainpower was flickering before, now it officially short-circuited. Because this kid, this kid, was really...hugging him? He took a picture with Danny and now he was trying to hug him?

And his parents weren't screaming and cursing at him for being a danger to their son?

No. Wait, his parents were taking a picture of this? They were smiling?

Danny felt a kick to the side of his wheelchair, and he snapped back to Earth to realize that oh, duh, he was supposed to hug Theo back.

Even though he was afraid that touching the kid might set someone off enough to call the police on him, nothing of the sort happened. He gently wrapped his hands around Theo's back, and then the kid broke free, beaming up at him with a smile so wide, Danny was afraid it might fly off his face.

"Thank you, Mr. Phantom! I hope you feel better soon!" Theo said, skipping back to his parents.

His father high-fived him, praising him for being such a good boy and asking Mr. Phantom first before leading them back to their table across the restaurant. The mother hovered for a moment, hesitating, before walking over to Danny and saying, "Thank you for taking a photo with him. You're Theo's idol. He was so worried about you when everything happened, so seeing you here today meant a lot to him."

"It's no problem," Danny said, and he meant it. He was still reeling that this happened at all.

Not that it was bad. It wasn't. It was actually…kind of nice. Warm in a way he couldn’t explain.

He pushed through his jittering nerves because, for some reason, he really felt like he needed to say one more thing. "Tell—tell your son that—that Phantom is working hard to be back soon."

The woman's eyes almost looked watery as she said, "I will. Thank you."

And then she left to join her family.

The whispers followed, but Danny suddenly didn't care. He felt light. Like he was almost flying. His core hummed happily, sending waves of exhilaration dancing along his limbs.

"Wow, that's so cool, Danny!" Sam said.

"Yeah, I guess it is,” Danny replied, blinking more stars from his eyes. "I didn't think anyone—anyone would…"

"It's like I said, dude!" Tucker grinned. "You're kind of a big deal. Both you, and Phantom."

"Well, yeah, I noticed." Danny's eyes flickered to that group of middle school girls who were very obviously sending Snapchat videos of him to all of their friends. "I just—I didn't think it would be—be like…that. I don't know."

Sam's lips pulled into a frown. "Danny, you realize that most people are on your side, right? That it's just the angry people who are the loudest?"

"On my—on my side and letting their kid take photos with me are two different things, Sam."

Sam and Tucker exchanged a look. A long look. One that soured Danny's mood instantly because shit, his friends thought he was unstable, didn't they? Were they going to tattle on him to his parents? Or Jazz? Tell them that Danny thought of himself as little more than a freakshow exhibit at the circus and that they should get him more therapy?

"It's—forget it," Danny said. He opened his mouth to elaborate, to make an excuse that the kid just caught him off guard and that he was aware that most people were on his side, thanks, and maybe spill that he'd seen their post pinned to his subreddit, when the girl at the counter called their order number.

He waited at the table while Sam and Tucker got their food. He could feel everyone's eyes on him. He was alone, vulnerable. Everyone was looking at him. Whispering. Wondering.

He heard a snicker behind him. Were people laughing at him?

No, it was just a group of friends, they were talking, they probably were laughing at something else entirely. Not everything revolves around you, Danny. Stop being so egotistical.

Thankfully, Sam and Tucker didn't abandon him for too long. They returned, trays of food in hand.

Sam placed his plate in front of him, and he held his breath. He could feel his fingers start to shake, and he hid them within the sleeves of his hoodie. He couldn't crack, not now, not while he was in public.

Don't think about it. It doesn't smell the same. This is totally different.

Eventually, he had to let out a breath, but not until the world had drowned out of his ears and his head was spinning. Was it from the lack of oxygen or the anxiety biting holes in his skin? 

"You're not going to eat?" 

He jolted up to see Tucker already halfway through his burger. Sam, too, was looking at him with a lost expression.

Panic swirled in him. Had his friends been talking casually to each other the entire time? Had they noticed his silence?

Did they care?

Was he even really their friend anymore? Or was he just the third they let tag along because they felt bad leaving him behind?

"Oh, what?" Danny tried to let out the breath he'd been holding as quietly as he could. His lungs burned. "Sorry. Yeah, just spaced out."

They stared at him a moment longer, and Danny could feel his face heating up. He could smell the processed food in front of him.

It's not the same thing.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Sam asked gently. “We can take this to go if you need.”

God, he hated how she looked at him like he could break at any moment.

"I'm fine," he snapped. He wasn't going to let her see him weak.

His pulse quickened. He needed another pill.

This was the issue with the hydrocodone. It wasn’t as potent as the oxycodone. It didn't last as long either. The mental relief wore off too soon.

He should have taken the extra one in his pocket.

Tucker and Sam were having a silent conversation. But this one was so loud, Danny could almost hear it.

"Should we bring him home?"

"I don't know."

"What if he has a meltdown?"

"He can't have one right now. We're in public."

He wanted them to shut up, to leave him alone, to stop looking at him like he was something to pity, like some starving dog begging on the street corner. And so, he raised his burger to his mouth and took a bite.

It was fine. He was in the Nasty Burger. He was fine.

The burger was juicy, and regardless of the smell, it really did taste like a burger. Nothing at all like what he’d eaten before. Which seemed to work for whatever set of stringent rules his brain had decided on, and he could feel the panic begin to trickle out of his skin.

"It's good," Danny commented when his gaze flickered up to see the strained looks on his friends’ faces. "Really good."

Sam's face melted in relief. "I'm glad!"

"That's why we brought you out here!” said Tucker. “Figured a taste of the best fast food ever would bring you right back to the good old days!"

Danny wished that was all it took.

"Yeah. I guess the reminder is nice."

Their eyes weighed a thousand pounds on his skull as he bent down and took another bite.

It did taste pretty okay. Nothing at all like the red bag, though it smelled a little like the red bag and ugh no don’t think about it, don’t think about it.

Their chatter started up again, and this time, Danny tried his best to follow along.

Or, maybe not. Because while they were talking about school, a topic Danny should have at least been familiar with, he was already lost.

“Dash and Paulina haven’t broken up yet, idiot,” Sam said.

“‘Yet’ being the key word there,” Tucker said. “That means you think they’re a bad matchup too!”

“Yeah, they have basically nothing in common other than popularity.” Sam swiped a fry off Tucker’s plate with a level of ease that made Danny’s gut squirm, though he didn’t understand why. “That doesn’t mean you’re suddenly going to become her knight in shining armor. You have even less in common with Paulina than Dash does!”

“Wait, Dash and Paulina are dating?” Danny asked.

Sam rolled her eyes. “Barely. Tucker’s convinced he has a chance to ask her to prom. No one thinks they’re going to last.”

“Prom?” Danny’s voice squeaked.

“Yeah, we’re juniors!” Tucker nudged him playfully. “We get to go to prom in the spring! It’s still a few months away before promposals start, but a man’s gotta plan early, right?”

Danny took a slow bite of his burger and chewed, not making eye contact with either of his friends. He’d forgotten that he was an upperclassman, technically. Though, given his current academic situation, he barely felt like a student at all.

But it didn’t really matter, because there was no way a damaged, fucked-up hybrid like him was ever going to get a date to prom.

“Hey,” a voice behind him said.

He turned just in time for a camera to flash.

The paparazzi instinct was burned deep into his reflexes at this point, and he ducked his face behind his hands.

“Can you still turn into Phantom?” the pap asked.

Sam shot her a glare. “Um, do you mind? We’re eating.”

The girl ignored Sam. “Can you speak to the rumors about why you haven’t transformed since your arrest? Is it true that the government took away your ghost form?”

“He’s literally still injured. He can turn into Phantom just fine. Let him heal first,” Sam said.

Danny felt his core pulse and winced, pushing it back down. His ghostly half didn't take kindly to the implication that it was weak and needed to stay hidden. It didn't like to lose.

It wanted to appear, to show the world that he was here again, he was back. 

But no. No.

"Does this mean that you're done acting as the town's protector?"

Danny ducked his head to hide the green glow of his eyes under his bangs, and he heard Tucker suck in a breath beside him.

Click!

The camera flashed.

Conversations at other tables hushed around him. Other people were picking up on what was happening.

Calm down. 

The door opened, and another set of footsteps began stalking over to his booth. 

Click!

"Phantom! Hey, Phantom, look over here!" 

Another paparazzo.

"Hey, hey!" a gruff voice behind the register called out. "What the hell are you guys doing on my property?"

"Phantom!" the paparazzo said, closer this time, ignoring the Nasty Burger manager.

"Okay, it's time for us to go," Tucker said quietly, stuffing both his and Danny's food back into its paper bag and tugging Danny's hoodie sleeve. "Come on, we're leaving."

If he got up, then that would be another shining example of him running away from his problems. It would be proof that he was weak, that he couldn’t handle a few simple questions. It would show the public that he couldn’t do normal human things like go to the Nasty Burger with his friends. 

But he didn’t have enough of the medication in him. His fingers wouldn’t stop trembling. He couldn’t make a stand without the fog.

"Let's go." Tucker's uncharacteristically serious tone offered no argument, and his eyes were hardened like a soldier going into battle. 

In all their years of friendship, Danny had never seen this side of Tucker before. Sam had always been the leader of their group, but in this moment, it wasn't Sam taking charge. It was Tucker not just asking but commanding Danny to follow his orders.

So Danny did. He pushed himself away from the table and followed Tucker to the door, passing by nameless faces and eyes all tracking his every muscle twitch. 

He felt like an alien. 

He should have just taken the extra hydrocodone that he couldn’t afford, suspicions from Sam and Tucker be damned. 

It was sickening how instantly he’d caved to the pressure from the paparazzi. He just wanted to look them in the eye and tell them to fuck off. 

But he couldn’t do that. Not without help.

"Phantom! Look over here!"

"Phantom!"

Had they multiplied?

"Get the fuck out of my store before I call the fucking cops, you vultures!" 

Those girls were whispering again. As were the other group of teens next to them. And the group of families behind them. And every group around the store. They were all staring at him, whispering, talking about him because they couldn't believe that Phantom was actually here in the flesh after months of only seeing his name in the news.

He felt hands on the back of his wheelchair, and then he had the stunning realization that Tucker was pushing him out of the restaurant. Had he stopped moving? He hadn't even noticed.

Déjà vu rushed over him, and for a moment, he felt like this was last fall all over again. With him spacey and confused, and Sam and Tucker doing their best to maintain a normal friendship out of some deluded sense of obligation, even though they were acting more like Danny was a toddler they were responsible for looking after rather than their friend. And worse, he couldn't even blame them.

Danny had rarely heard Tucker sound so serious. So confident. Gone was his squeaky, puberty-ridden voice, and now here was the blooming baritone of a nearly seventeen-year-old who had matured far more in the last six months than Danny had even realized.

Both of them had matured, he amended as he looked over to Sam's straight back and squared shoulders. Her toned arms swung and her chin stuck out with a set jaw and purple lips pressed in a line.

They had both grown so much. And he hadn't.

A toddler. He was just a toddler to them.

"I got it," he muttered, trying not to sound too bitter as he regained control of his wheelchair. 

The paparazzi followed them out of the restaurant, of course, yelling questions that sounded more like the buzzing of a mosquito than actual words.

Sam's car was right in front of the building where they'd left it, which meant that it was in the prime location for the paparazzi to get a nice show of Danny transferring to the car.

"Sorry that your faces are gonna end up on TMZ tomorrow," Danny said, trying to keep the tone light. 

Tucker waved him off with a grin that didn't reach his eyes. "Don't sweat it, dude."

"Wouldn't be the first time, anyway," Sam added.

Yeah, he supposed it wouldn't.

He tried to look more energetic than he felt as he got into the car, turning his head away as Sam and Tucker stowed the wheelchair in the trunk, even as he heard the flurry of camera clicks capturing every moment of it.

He also didn't miss Sam's overly aggressive door slam, or the tensely lighthearted tone Tucker's voice held as he called out to the paps, "Enjoy the rent money!"

Sam snorted, then opened the driver's door and began sliding into the seat. "Yeah, hope your parents are proud of you right now! Harassing a bunch of teens like this!"

"Just a word!" one of the paparazzi yelled back.

"Why haven't you turned into Phantom?" the second asked.

"Is it true that the Ghost Investigation Ward destroyed your ghost half?"

"Why didn't you answer me before? Are you finished working as Amity Park's protector?"

Danny's core twinged, and not for the first time today, he cursed his ghostly Obsession for making things like this utterly impossible to ignore. "I'm not done!"

Beside him, Sam stiffened, her hand poised on her open door, a second too late to close it. 

"I'm not done working as Phantom!" His core hummed. "I—I'll be back! Soon!"

"Danny, stop," Sam hissed.

Danny was done listening to what other people thought he should do with Phantom. He was done hiding.

"How soon?"

His core throbbed, and it took everything in him to not transform right then and there. Though judging by the breath Tucker sucked in, Danny could guess that he hadn't managed to keep his eyes from glowing green.

The first ghostly display he'd shown the public since his release from the hospital, and…he wasn’t concerned in the slightest at the potential backlash.

In fact, his core was preening like a peacock at the mere thought that the paparazzi had caught a video of his eyes glowing.

Recklessly, he pushed his aura out harder.

"How soon, Phantom?" 

Danny grinned. "Soon!"

****

previous / next

****

Thanks to @imekitty for betaing!

[read more of my works here]

[valeriancrow]

~Longing From The Heart (Venti x Electro Vision Male Reader)~

New A/N: This is a repost from like 2023 when I was into Genshin which I'm not anymore but it's still some good writing and something to start this blog with!! This is also like barely edited please bare with me! I can write better than this I swear!!

🚫Warnings and hashtags: Venti, Rude people, cursing courtesy of [Male Name], fluff, and some other stuff.🚫

What is What: Thoughts = Italics,  The Author Speaking = (Bold and Parentheses), When a character contradicts what was said = (Parentheses), (D/n) = Dead Name, (L.Name) = Last Name, (H/c) = Hair Color, (S/C) = Skin Color,

Word Count: 2.3k words

Playlist That I Used To Write This Story: “Longing From The Heart” A Venti Fanfic 

Author's Notes: I recently got into Genshin Impact and as per usual I feel for all the angsty boys and all the girls. Sometimes I regret my choice to involve myself in these kinds of things. Also, this fanfic took a turn towards angst at the beginning but don’t worry it gets better. I have chosen third-person limited for the majority of the story except when it specified otherwise.

Venti looked at the Statue of The Seven in Windrise, his Statue, atop the tree branches there. He then looked to Mondstadt in the distance.

The City of Freedom is forever free from a governing party and rules, somewhat. Venti longed to see his lover again, but he was halfway across Teyvat. Venti didn't know when his beloved was coming home or if he ever would, just like his friend from long ago. 

[Male Name], Venti's boyfriend and soon-to-be fianceé, had been sending letters to Venti. Mainly to keep him updated about how he was doing, how Aether and Paimon were doing, and their journey so far in Inazuma. [Male Name] has an Electro Vision, and he was in the land of the God of Eternity, who was going after people who bore a Vision, which was the order of the Vision Hunt Degree. Continuing with the letters, I noticed they had suddenly and unexpectedly stopped coming. This caused Venti to worry and assume that [Male Name] got injured or died.

Meanwhile, with [Male Name]

"What do you mean 'I can't leave the ship'!!" [Male Name] yelled at the Millelith.

"The Raining Qixing has ordered not to allow anyone named '[Male Name] [L. Name]' into Liyue Harbor, no matter what they say," the Millelith responded.

"Are you fucking serious? You accidentally electrocute someone one time, and you're banished from Liyue Harbor," [Male Name] threw up his hands in exasperation, "It was one time, and he didn't even feel it!"

"I still cannot let you in."

"This is bullshit; my boyfriend is waiting for me in Mondstadt!" 

"Sorry, but you cannot go through Liyue Harbor."

"Fine. Captain! I'll pay you extra to take me to Wangshu Inn."

" Wangshu Inn? That's a little off course, but you're paying extra, so it doesn't matter too much," The Captain says; in addition, he said the price.

" That's not as much as I expected it to be," [Male Name] said while he counted out the mora and handed the Captain.

The Captain thanked [Male Name] and directed the crew to draw the anchor and set sail to Wangshu Inn.

The sun had set a few hours ago, and the night's chill had set in. [Male Name] had stayed on the deck throughout the journey to the Wangshu Inn. One of the deckhands had come to check up on him because they were worried that he had fallen asleep while standing. [Male Name] assured the deckhand he hadn't and told them they would return to work. 

He was still on the deck, looking out at his surroundings. He could never sleep, no matter how tired he was, without the calming sound of the wind. This is why he was coming back from Inazuma so soon. 

Aether had sent him back with the threat of electrocuting him to death. That was more than enough motivation for [Male Name]. He had longed to return to Venti since he stepped onto Inazuma's land. He wanted to feel his warm embrace, calloused fingers brushing through [Male Name] 's hair, his lovely voice singing about past nations rising and falling, and the smell of Windwheel Asters and Dandelion Wine combined to make Venti's unique scent. 

In [Male Name] 's haste to get out of Inazuma, he hadn't had the time to send a letter to Venti that he was coming home. Not to mention [Male Name] could already hear the earful he would get from Venti and the berating he would get from Jean and Lisa about being unable to bring back something useful.

After at least two days at sea, the boat docked at a dock near the Wangshu Inn. 

"Thank you for taking me this far," [Male Name] thanked the Captain and left for the Wangshu Inn.

After arriving at the Wangshu Inn, he walked to the elevator and rode it up to the landing area. As he walked to the Teleport Waypoint, he passed Huai'an. Huai'an waved at [Male Name] to come over to him. 

"Hello, Traveler! If you're free, could you take a look around and clear out any monster camps nearby? They wouldn't dare come near the inn itself, but guests need to get in and out, and the Millelith can't always be here." Huai'an asks.

"Uh, sorry to have to decline your commission, but I have someone eagerly awaiting my return in Mondstadt." [Male Name] responded, trying not to show his irritation.

"Ah, is that so? Oh well, I guess I'll have some other travelers to do it for me," Huai'an said.

"Good luck finding someone. I'll be taking my leave now." [Male Name] said, walking off to the Teleport Waypoint. While he walks there, he makes his way to Verr Goldet.

"Hey, Ms. Goldet!" [Male Name] says, giving a small wave.

"Hey, [Male Name]. How are you doing? Do you need a room to stay?"

"Oh, no-no. I don't need a room. Is Xiao doing okay?

"As much as an Adepti and Yaksha who's seen countless deaths can be, I'm afraid." She looks at [Male Name], "He asked about you and where you were after you didn't come to see him for a while."

"Wha! Really? And here I thought that he finds me annoying and a nuisance." [Male Name] says in disbelief.

"I know, so did I," she says, hurting [Male Name] 's pride a little "You used to come around every two months, and when you didn't come in four months, he came to me asking if I'd seen you, but I told him that my guess was as good as his."

"Hahaha! Aether had asked me to accompany him to Inumaza so he didn't have to face the Riden Shogun alone. He wasn't thinking clearly because I have an Electro vision, not a Cryo or Pyro vision. It's silly asking me to come when he knew I would propose to my boyfriend at any moment, but I had a debt to him, and he chose to cash in the debt then."

"Oh, that's sad and kinda selfish, but you are powerful for someone with such little height and wielding a Claymore."

"That might be true, and just because I rely on my strength more than my vision doesn't make a difference against enemies."

"Also, I almost forgot that he asked if anyone knew how to make your White Imperial, but even Smiley Yanxiao can't replicate it." 

"Ah, that's my version of Almond Tofu. Only a few people have that recipe, making it hard to find. Additionally, that's different from the original recipe. The original recipe called for tofu, and in Monstadt, there is only tofu if some merchants trade with Liyue merchants. So we had fish, and with me knowing a lot about fish, I knew that Tilapia was tasteless like tofu. So I substituted the tofu for Tilapia. Sorry, I info dumped."

"No, no. It's fine. Everyone needs to info dump sometimes."

"Well, I can make White Imperial for Xiao and leave a recipe," 

"Yes, please do." 

[Male Name] walked to the kitchen, pulled out the recipe, gave it to Yanxiao, and asked if he could use the stove. The answer was yes, of course. After [Male Name] cooked the White Imperial, he also cooked some Almond Tofu for the angry Adeptus. He then thanked Smiley Yanxiao and took his dishes to the top of the Wangshu Inn. 

"Hey, Xiao~! I've bought your favorite~!" [Male Name] said. When the Adeptus didn't show up, [Male Name] set the food down on the small rock formation on the balcony and proceeded to jump off the balcony, not deploying his wind glider. He wasn't scared; he knew that Xiao would catch him. If not, he deployed his glider and glided down to the ground. Fortunately, Xiao did see him and teleported back to the balcony.

"You Dumbass, your not supposed to be jumping off the balcony. You promised you wouldn't do that again after the second time I didn't come, and you jumped off." Xiao said, fuming with anger.

"Well, you didn't come and didn't respond at all, so I thought you were ignoring me, which you were, but I'm not blaming you. I went to Inumaza with Aether and a few others, not saying a word to you and the others here in Liyue."

"Sure, anyways, thank you for the food. You can go now. I know you want to return to Barbatos so I won't keep you."

"Gasp How did you know!?" [Male Name] said with fake surprise, his hand flying to his chest to make it more believable.

"I heard you talking with Huai'an," Xiao said matter of factly.

"Oh, you poor baby. I'm leaving because, as you said, I want to return to Venti. I haven't squished his cheeks in forever!" [Male Name] said, walking towards the Teleport Waypoint. "Oh, and Xiao?"

"Mm?"

"Don't ignore me again, please." 

"Sure, sure. Just get going to your husband."

"Soon to be fiancé, then husband~," He said with closed eyes, walking down the stairs.

"Same difference." [Male Name] only responded with a laugh.

[Male Name] soon reached the platform that housed the Waypoint, passing no one that would get in his way there. As soon as he arrived at the Waypoint, he touched it and had only one thought: Monstadt. Of course, since it was an approximate location, the Waypoint dropped him off at the closest Teleport Waypoint near the city.

The night was setting in fast as [Male Name] ran into Monstadt. He yelled a quick hello to Lynn and continued running to the gates, killing off one of Timmie's pigeons with his electro shot. 

Running to the entrance of Monstadt's gates, Swan and Lawrence salute the older member of the Knights of Favonius, who passes them and runs past Miles. [Male Name] then makes a straight shot to Angel's Share. When he arrives at the Angel's Share door, he bursts through the door, slowing down and saying a quick hello to Charles. [Male Name] passes Six-Fingered José, paying him and the other drunkards no mind. He runs up the second staircase taking two steps at a time. After he reaches the second floor, he spots Kaeya, Rosaria, and Diluc. Kaeya and Diluc are bickering as usual, and Rosaria is sober as can be, looking at Kaeya disappointingly. 

"Kaeya, get out. You've had enough to drink, and I want you out."

"But Diluc~! I'm not hic finished my drink hic" Kaeya slurs out.

"Kaeya. Stop it. It would be best if you went home. Diluc, I'll take him home." Rosaria said, looking very displeased at Kaeya's actions to get this drunk. Diluc just nodded in response. [Male Name] made his way over to where the trio was. 

"Um, Diluc? I noticed that Venti isn't here. Do you have any idea where he might be?" [Male Name] asked Diluc, who looked surprised at his presence. 

"I thought you were supposed to be in Inazuma?" He said, looking confused.

"Yes, but Aether sent me back with the threat of being electrocuted to death." [Male Name] stated.

"Ah."

"Yep. I don't want to die yet."

"Well, *hic*, he hasn't been coming to the tavern *hic* very often anymore," Kaeya said, sitting down with Rosaria as she hadn't gotten up yet to take him home.

"That's strange…" [Male Name] said.

"I have an idea where he might be," Rosaria said.

"And where could-. Never mind, I know where he is." [Male Name] said, finally remembering where Venti would go if he wanted to be alone or listen to the breeze- The Symbol of Monstadt's hero, as Venti calls it. 

[Male Name] left the Tavern without even saying goodbye to the others, running out the door to where the random Fatui diplomats stood all the time and to where the Teleport Waypoint was. He touched the Waypoint and thought of the Statue of the Seven in Windrise. As quickly as he thought of the Statue, he was teleported there. 

[Male Name] looked around to find Venti asleep in the tree on one of the highest branches. 'How was that position even comfortable?' [Male Name] thought. He would never know. 

"Oh, Venti, baby. What am I going to do with you" [Male Name] said, looking at the sleeping male in the tree. The smaller male sighed and started climbing the tree to where Venti was.

After reaching him, [Male Name] caught his breath and picked Venti up. Venti woke up groggy and hugged [Male Name] 's neck. 

"Hey baby, wake up, darling." [Male Name] said in a soft voice.

"Mm~ noo~ Give me five more minutes."

"Venti, baby. I need you to stop squirming, or you'll fall." That woke him up. He stopped moving immediately and stayed still till [Male Name] reached the ground. Venti hopped out of [Male Name] 's arms and pulled the short man into a kiss. It was a passionate kiss full of love and longing that would make both of them never want to leave the other for so long again.

"Venti," [Male Name] said after he pulled away from the kiss to get air. Then he got on one knee and produced a small black box with gold and cyan details on the outside. "Will you marry me, Venti, my beloved?" The ring was gold, and Cor Lapis adorned it.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes!" Venti says, jumping and pulling [Male Name] to his feet. "I also got a ring for you." He says, taking [Male Name] 's hand and sliding a ring on his finger. Said ring was silver with Magical Crystals adorning the top of the ring. "I hope you like it, my sweet Cecilia flower,"

"Veeeennnnttiiii~!! I thought I told you I don't like being called that."

"Ehe~!" was the only response [Male Name] got before Venti took off to Mondstadt. Even though he knew that [Male Name] could catch up instantly with him if he pleased. 

"COME HERE, YOU LITTLE SHIT!!!" was the only thing heard throughout Windrise.

credit for first banner: @animatedglittergraphics-n-more

credit for second banner: @sisterlucifergraphics

~Danny

[intothedraft]

When I came to write draft 3, I tore the whole story up and practically started from scratch. Maybe because I didn't know I still had copies of the previous drafts following the Limewire Incident, but also because I'd outgrown it.

Seeing as the first two drafts are so similar, I thought I'd compare the two, and just for fun, show you how I'd write Dying Screams now, if I wanted to keep the plot roughly as-is but also make it, uh, make sense.

First of all, the changes:

Our protagonist is all grown up now

This is a GROWN UP book for GROWN UP kids, so Layane has been aged up to fourteen, and she has an on-page love interest!

In the original book she was either a toddler or eight. I say one or the other, because I switched the names. I guess I liked 'Layane' better for the protagonist.

The stakes have been raised

I can't say it's done well, but there is certainly a lot more action and danger throughout the novel.

Instead of finding their parents bodies and a note before leaving for Hiville, Layane and Clemant need to run and hide from their attacker. When their parents die, they stay dead. There is a sense of dread when Layane wakes in the middle of the ocean, and again when the boat lands on the dead-end island. Layane is almost killed by her 'brainwashed' love interest. Clemant is kidnapped many times, prompting other characters to save her. The bird is terrifying. The Dying Screams are presented as an unkillable threat, rather than 'easily defeated'.

In draft 1, any action/danger was resolved very quickly without much fuss, so it makes a nice change.

The characters (mostly) react to situations appropriately

In draft 1, Clemant hardly reacts to anything around her. Draft 2 has its flaws, but the girls are devastated when their parents are killed. Layane is terrified and angry on the boat. She is giddy when she meets up with Roan and betrayed when he turns on her. When she runs off to join the fighting, it's not because she gets to hold a cool flag, but because she is desperate to save Roan from certain death.

Yes, there are periods in the story where I forget to have characters react to things (and Clemant's personality drops off halfway through), but most of the time they do, which is a step up. They feel like they are reacting to things happening around them, rather than simply observing them.

I really, really care about LORE

We get so much lore in this. If only I could keep it consistent.

We hear about Hiville's history. The battle. The book. The prophecies. The temple. We are told about these things in detail, rather than plot-relevant locations or items just popping up randomly.

Some of the, uh, sillier elements are gone

No more Frenchman who had his DNA removed. No more squirty bottle of live-forever juice. No more Jez getting tied up repeatedly because she's annoying, or wearing jewellery that spells secret messages about how cool she is when she moves fast.

(Honestly, I should have kept that one.)

Because I've come up with BETTER silly stuff

The boat can talk! Jez smashes her own window for no reason! Gevirians canonically killed the dinosaurs! You can drink a potion to make you learn English faster! There's multiple secret villain lairs dotted around Hiville! Mystic was banished for 'being annoying'!

The dialogue is somehow simultaneously better and worse

No further comment.

The writing is much more self-conscious

Most of draft 1 made very little sense, but when I introduced something, I said it with my whole fucking chest.

Yes, this French assassin had his DNA removed by a shadow god. DEAL WITH IT.

This draft is different. I can't keep the history of Hiville consistent for more than two pages, probably because the idea of the first war happening 'millions' of years ago is a bit silly. There's a number of parts where a character explains a lore element (such as how Layane was able to defeat the Dying Screams in the book) several times to make sure the reader 'gets it', which is something I still do when working through plot elements I'm unsure about in first drafts. I think the reason G-slur comes off as insidious is because I was trying far too hard to make her a 'serious' character, to counteract how young-sounding the other Ladies are. The joke about her name is gone, presumably because I didn't want to change it, but I also didn't want to draw attention to how strange it is that she is called that.

It reads like I knew there were parts that were weak at best, but decided to ignore them, either because it's just a draft or because this is my comfort story.

On that note, if twelve-year-old me approached me now and asked me to rewrite this in a way that worked, while keeping most of the plot intact...

DYING SCREAMS: 2025 EDITION

We open on a house somewhere in middle-of-nowhere Somerset. Our sixteen-year-old protagonist, Layane, knows her life is unusual. Her parents have moved their family around many times. They never let her outside alone. Never let Layane speak to anyone. She knows this is strange: she has read books and watched films, and knows she should be in school, should have friends.

She also knows she can't. Her family are in danger. There are bad people out there who would harm or kill them if they were found. Her parents tell her that when she is older, they will tell her everything.

One day, Layane is looking after her eight-year-old sister, Clemant, while her parents are out getting groceries or something. Layane gets drawn into a book she's reading, or show she's watching, or [insert hobby here] and realises her sister has vanished. After a panicked few minutes, she finds Clemant outside, at the edge of the garden. There's a woman riding a horse down the country road, and she has stopped to talk to Clemant, who is amazed seeing the massive animal. The woman doesn't appear to be a threat, but Layane panics and drags her protesting sister back inside. Anyone could have seen them! Not wanting to worry their parents, Layane says nothing to them about what happened.

That night, Layane cannot sleep (unusual for my characters). She is terrified that the woman might be one of the bad people who wants them dead. After a while, she is so tired that she thinks she's hearing things. A woman's voice, telling Layane her family is in danger. A dream, surely. A symptom of the panic from earlier. Then she sees words carved into the wall, shockingly real. They tell her to grab her sister, get her parents, and run to the garage.

Layane hears a sound outside. It could be her parents, or an animal. Could be something else. She springs into action, grabs her sister, and goes downstairs just in time to see her father killed. She does not see his attacker.

Layane, Clemant and their mother attempt to flee, but the floorplan of the house actually makes sense this time. Layane's mother tells Layane and Clemant to run, not into the garage, just get away from here. She causes a distraction that tragically leads to her death, but not before shouting for the person to leave them alone, that they haven't told anyone anything, and the girls run outside.

Once out, Layane hears the voice again. The garage. Get into the garage. Panicked, she obeys, and finds that weird boat her parents have always had, covered in a sheet. The voice tells her to get in. The boat - an amphibious vehicle with both magical and mechanical elements - activates immediately. The girls fall asleep, and it fires down the road, destination unknown.

Layane wakes up and all she can see is ocean. The boat is still moving. She feels strange and groggy and does not think her sleep was natural. She panics, starts pressing buttons, turning the wheel to see if anything happens. Nothing does - the boat keeps moving forwards. At some point Clemant wakes up and joins Layane's frantic investigation of the boat. After a while, they give up. Layane hits and kicks the seemingly indestructible control panel, scaring Clemant. Their parents are dead. They have no one. They will die out here.

Then in the distance, Layane spots a tiny lump in the sea. An island. Her relief is short-lived, because it's a rock in the middle of endless ocean. To her horror, the boat brings them right to it, and an electronic voice announces they have reached their destination.

At first, Layane is confused. Why would the boat take them to a small, dead-end cave? Then the boat says a word and the wall opens up, revealing a marble staircase leading endlessly downwards. Carved into its walls are depictions of women with four arms and wings in impressive clothes. The first is standing under a waterfall, the next dancing in flame, the next has plants growing around her, the next flying in front of the sun, the last surrounded by darkness. There are more carvings further down, similar designs, and the staircase seems to go on forever. Layane and Clemant do not want to go down. The air is stale, and the staircase becomes an eye-aching optical illusion when they try to see its end. Then the boat starts rolling down, the stairs becoming a slope that allows it to descend with ease, and the girls know they have no choice. The ocean goes on forever. They follow the boat, which stops and lets them back in.

Layane wakes up, now certain that something knocked her out. All she can remember is being on that boat, those marble depictions of four-armed women repeating over and over as she went down. Gods, she thinks. Now Layane is no longer in the boat, but in a bed in a grand, wood-panelled room with green furnishings. No sign of Clemant, but there is a woman at the end of the bed. A blue-haired woman wrapped in fine, blue clothing. And she has wings.

Before Layane can splutter a reaction, the woman introduces herself as... well, not G-slur, I'd come up with a more appropriate name, but for the purpose of this I'll continue to call her G-slur. She tells Layane that Clemant is fine, and recovering from the effects of the journey in the next room. She is so sorry about what happened to Layane's parents. She tried to enter their minds, but could not. Adults are usually more resistant to someone entering their minds.

Layane relaxes a little. She clocks the extra two arms and tail, and knows this woman is one of those figures carved into marble, or something like them. She asks G-slur what this place is, and G-slur explains they are in an underground country called Hiville, populated by Gevirians. G-slur is one of the country's leaders, their Lady of Water. Hiville is place of powerful magic, and its leaders are the most powerful of them all. Each Lady has an important task in keeping their underground country inhabitable. Without them, this place would return to barren rock.

Then Layane asks what happened to her parents, and G-slur explains that Layane's family are special. Centuries ago, one of Layane's ancestors was the first person to enter Hiville, after a boat carrying her and a friend capsized near to the entrance. Maybe they were scientists or engineers. Something like that, anyway. They were found by two Gevirians who took pity on them and brought them inside. While they were recovering, the two humans were introduced to Gevirian magic, and the Gevirians worked with them to combine technology and magic into mechanical marvels such as the boat. Eventually, the two humans wanted to go back to their families, and the Gevirians thought it would be useful to have two people to help them relay information about the outside world into Hiville, so they agreed.

Unfortunately, that was where things started to go wrong. Layane's ancestor wanted to bring her family into Hiville, to keep their creations and magic to themselves. Hiville is a peaceful place, and she did not want to ruin that. Her friend, who obviously has the surname Sovance, thought that they should sell their inventions, along with Hiville's very existence. Think of how much money they would make!

Naturally this came to a head, and Great-Great-Great-etc-Grandma Croe killed her friend. Whether it was self-defence or not is unknown. This started a rivalry between the two families that has been ongoing to this day. The Gevirians naturally aligned themselves with the Croes, and the Sovances lost the knowledge of where Hiville's entrance is, but they know what was taken from them. Supposedly they have been tinkering with the magical items taken from Hiville by their ancestors, in hiding, planning their revenge for years. They must have been who killed Layane's family.

Layane is horrified. She asks to see her sister, and G-slur takes her there, while reassuring Layane that they are safe now. The Gevirians owe a great debt to her family for keeping their country secret, and Layane and Clemant can live here, safe from the enemy who killed their parents. That's what G-slur keeps referring to the person who killed their parents: their greatest enemy. It's a bit heavy-handed but Layane doesn't pick up on that, eager to see her sister. Layane and Clemant have a tearful reunion.

Shortly afterwards, they are introduced to Jezirah, the Lady of Plants. She seems to be in her late teens, and doesn't act as Layane would expect the leader of a country to act. Jezirah has a bangle that lets her focus her powers, because she's still pretty rusty. Jezirah tells Layane that she's younger than she looks, but was aged up via magic after the previous Lady of Plants died suddenly. It's not hereditory, Jezirah explains, but after a Lady dies, a random child is born with her powers. Some Gevirians aren't happy that the Ladies rule Hiville, she says. It would cause so many issues if the position was taken by a baby, right after the last Lady of Plants died, especially as she was starting to sympathise with the people's desire to vote for a leader like humans usually do shortly before her death. Still, never mind all that! Jezirah likes her job! Looking after Layane and Clemant is the first time she's been given any responsibility, and she takes it very seriously.

Over the next few weeks, Layane privately mourns her parents but does enjoy her newfound freedom. She's staying in Jezirah's massive, luxurious treehouse tended to by Jezirah's staff, can explore the nearby towns whenever she wants (even though it feels odd that the Gevirians treat her as a curiosity), and in Jezirah she finally has a friend. She is angry that her parents didn't bring the family here sooner. She could have been living like this all along, and they would still be alive.

One day, while walking, she comes across a temple. Unlike the other buildings here, it is shabby, crumbling. There's statues of some of the previous Ladies, now covered in weeds and damp. Layane walks up to the entrance, and feels a deep sense of dread. She thinks she hears a voice - or maybe just the wind - calling her closer. She runs away.

When she tells Jezirah what she saw, Jezirah is worried. They return to the temple. No sign of the voice, but the place is creepy as hell and Jezirah thinks maybe Layane imagined it.

I'm sure this won't come up again.

We get some more detail about the Ladies. Maybe Layane meets the others here. Maybe not. Point is: they exist, and occasionally show up at Jezirah's house, or Jezirah goes to meet them and brings the kids along because she's a mess. We see some cool elemental powers, but their roles feel more... politician than god, the longer Layane spends with them. Shafina is silent and Layane isn't sure what to think about her. G-slur appears to be running the show. Maybe I'll even give Saphirah a personality this time.

One day, someone arrives at Jezirah's house, escorted inside by Jezirah's guards. A Gevirian girl around Layane's age, who -

(Of course I'm making Roan a girl. Also, I'm going to change the spelling to Roen, as it is in every other draft. I know I could make Jezirah a viable love interest too, but I'm sticking with the previous plot. Anyway.)

- was walking near the temple with her father, when he heard a voice. The girl, Roen, watched in horror as her father walked deeper into the temple, touched a brick that transported them to a hall deep as the earth's core, and walked up to an old book on a podium before disappearing. Roen ran until she reached Jezirah's grand treehouse to ask for help.

Of course, Layane hears all about this afterwards, as Roen cannot speak English. All Layane knows is there was a commotion, and something bad must have happened to that girl. The other Ladies turn up to discuss, before heading to the temple. Layane tries to listen in to their conversation, but they are speaking Gevirian.

Afterwards, when Roen is safely at home with her family / other parent / whoever, Jezirah tells Layane about the Book. An ancient magical artefact, created by the Lady of Shadow from hundreds of years ago, to contain a human army that discovered them and tried to attack. The thing was designed to drag every human in Hiville inside it, so it's lucky that the only humans in Hiville were the army. Unfortunately the way she bound the book meant that they were unable to die, and continued to survive within the pages as a ghostly army. (Happens to us all.) The Gevirian Ladies at the time tried to destroy the book, but found they were unable to without opening it and releasing the ghostly threat they called the Dying Screams. Instead, the Lady of Shadows cursed it so that whoever opened the book would hand control of the army to their greatest enemy. No one would ever open it, but they hid it in the temple anyway, just in case.

It's all okay, though! They've knocked down the entrance to the temple. It was old and creepy, anyway. Some leftover from when the Gevirians treated the Ladies as gods. Jezirah always hated the thing.

After Jezirah has told Layane all of this, Layane realises that Clemant has been listening in, and is understandably terrified. What if the person who killed our parents gets the book, Clemant says? They're our enemy. Layane and Jezirah reassure her that nothing is going to happen.

Dot dot dot.

A few days later, Layane runs into Roen in the nearby market. They don't speak each other's languages, but somehow Roen knows Layane just lost her parents, too. Roen shows Layane around and they have a nice little time together during the calm before the storm. They teach each other a few words in their respective languages. It's nice.

Then the calm before the storm becomes the storm. Clemant is in bed, when she hears a voice. Her mother's voice. She thinks she is seeing things, but her mother explains she's a ghost. She can't touch Clemant, or stay with her long. But there's a book that contains all the ghosts, and if it's opened, Clemant's parents will be free. Ghost Mother leaves, and Clemant follows.

Layane wakes to find Clemant's bed empty. She goes to look for Clemant and sees her outside at the base of the tree, walking into the forest as though sleepwalking. Layane gets Jezirah and they set off.

Quickly, they lose Clemant. Jezirah asks Layane to wait while she swings through the trees to find her. She leaves her bangle with Layane, in case she needs it.

Then Roen shows up. She is acting strangely. She seems to know more words in English now, and it soon becomes apparent that she is there to kill or harm Layane. It makes no sense. They had such a nice time together! Roen says she needs to kill Layane because humans will always try to kill Gevirians. And she has a gun! Oh no! Roen tries to shoot Layane, and Layane uses the bangle erratically to defend herself and ends up blasting Roen with magic, sending her flying into the undergrowth. Jezirah spots Clemant near the temple, then returns having heard the commotion. Layane is traumatised but decides to focus on her sister.

Jezirah and Layane reach the temple and find a hole has been dug through the rubble. A perfectly Clemant-sized hole.

We cut to Clemant, who has reached the book. Her mother is with her, and the moment Clemant touches the book, she can swear she can feel her mother's hand on her shoulder. Her nails are long and sharp, which is weird, but that's fine. As Clemant opens the book, she realises the thing on her shoulder is a fucked up human-bird hybrid with swirling eyes, but it's too late. She collapses.

Jezirah and Layane eventually rescue her, and pull her away as the Dying Screams are released from the book. They run as the ghosts swarm around the temple, then spill free, and fly towards towns and villages. Jezirah and Layane hide with Clemant.

There's chaos. Blood. Fighting. (Etc.) Jezirah and the girls make it to G-slur's underwater house to ask for help. G-slur says she knows what must have happened: that family, the Sovances, must have found a way into Hiville. Presumably they followed Layane and Clemant inside! And they have all sorts of magic-enhanced gadgets and biological experiments, including something powerful enough to make you do anything according to rumours. G-slur dashes away and heroically pushes back the Screams with her powers, saving hundreds of civilians. Her magic will not hold forever, though, she says.

Layane and Clemant hide out in Jezirah's house as the Gevirians go to war. Roen comes to, sees that her country has been overtaken by fighting and ghosts, and realises she has a big gap in her memory. Word has got out that there are two humans in Hiville who have doomed everyone. They even hid the book, you know, the only thing known to stop the Screams, because they would be sucked in, too. It's not in the temple any more, so they must have hid it! Roen knows she has to warn Layane. She heads to Jezirah's house, has a confused and panicked conversation with the others - for some reason, after her brain was scrambled, her English has massively improved, something that Jezirah said happened to her after she was aged up via magic by G-sl- right as the Gevirian army discovers Layane and Clemant's location.

The girls, helped only by Jezirah after the other Ladies seemingly side with the mob (G-slur privately telling Jezirah that she will fix it, don't worry), end up on the run, aiming to leave Hiville. At some point, Jezirah reminds us all that the last Lady of Plants died under mysterious circumstances. Maybe because she's angsting over not being able to help much. At some point Roen and Layane kiss, or Jezirah and Layane kiss (providing I have made Jezirah old enough so I don't have to examine the ethical implications of Layane kissing someone who was aged up via magic), or they all kiss each other in front of Clemant, who is very uncomfortable.

They face threats from the army, the bird, and the Sovances. Except the Sovances seem... off. It's unclear why they're there, what they're doing. They seem to want to make money from Hiville but also want to completely destroy it. After one of The Gals (dealer's choice) manages to knock one of the Sovances out, the captured Sovance comes to and it becomes apparent that they were under the spell of something powerful. They have no idea where they are or what they're doing.

But why, Layane says, would they hypnotise themselves with their own bird? It doesn't make any sense!

They don't have time to dwell, because they get attacked again, or [miscellaneous peril]. But good news, they're close to where the boat is stored by the entrance of Hiville! (Note to self: actually map out how Hiville is laid out.) On the way, they pass the temple, which is... being rebuilt? It's odd, why the hell would anyone want to rebuild it? The old statues are gone, replaced by a new one, which looks a hell of a lot like -

Then it hits them. G-slur. She must have orchestrated all of this. She expressed annoyance that the people no longer treat the Ladies as gods, she has the power to control people, and as the only one able to push back the Screams she has the most to gain from the chaos. Layane and Clemant never saw their parents' killer so it could have easily been her, which would mean she now controls the Dying Screams! Layane remembers something her mother said before she died, we haven't told anyone anything. That doesn't really make sense if it's aimed at the Sovances.

Makes a whole lot of sense aimed at G-slur, though...

Holy fuck, she might have even killed the last Lady of Plants!

Jezirah has a bit of a crisis, realising that the girls were put under her care because G-slur knew she would fuck up. Then they all rally. The BOOK. They need to find the book and use it to trap the Dying Screams again. If G-slur orchestrated this, she presumably has the means to stop it, so she must have the book!

Which means... she plans for Layane and Clemant to die. Layane has a choice. She can leave, let G-slur become a dictator, and stay on the run from presumably both G-slur and maybe the Sovances for the rest of her life. Or she can fix the first place that has ever felt like home.

She decides the latter.

Now armed with a plan, and probably several swords and guns, Layane sends Clemant and the remaining (now un-hypnotised and very confused) Sovances to safety. Maybe there was once a feud, but it's over now. Layane insists to Jezirah and Roen that she will join the others before they activate the book, as they won't let her sacrifice herself.

Then, they head to G-slur's house. G-slur is not there when the girls arrive, but they are faced with soldiers/booby traps/some kind of threat. Maybe it turns out Saphirah is in on it, because she has a personality now. They search until they find the Book, but... oh shit! They have no idea how to use it to trap the Screams!

G-slur arrives and tries to stop them via horrible water magic and mind control, and Layane and Roen escape with the book as Jezirah holds her off. Layane and Roen head to find Shafina, who has never spoken whenever she previously appeared and has always felt like a bit of a wildcard. Supposedly it was the Lady of Shadow who trapped the ghostly army last time, so she must know!

They are of course right, and it turns out Shafina not only knows, but was the person who created the book in the first place. Yep, she's super old. She says she can activate it, but then Layane will be trapped in the book, too. Shafina could probably stop G-slur as well, but she's been alive for so long that she prefers to just observe. Shafina teaches them the words to use. Layane and Roen tell her she's a coward, before racing away to get Layane to safety before activating the book. They don't think their harsh words had any impact on Shafina, but she does save Jezirah from being killed by G-slur by yoinking her away.

On the way, Layane and Roen are stopped by G-slur's army. It looks like they're stealing the book! Layane immediately decides to sacrifice herself and yells the words that binds the Screams to the book.

In the aftermath, G-slur acts like this was her plan all along. She let Layane into Hiville because she knew - because of her awesome powers - that Layane would save them. The temple housing the book is rebuilt, and is basically a temple to G-slur, worshipping her powers and role in the war. Jezirah and Roen are in hiding, terrified that G-slur will find and kill them before they can tell everyone the truth.

Meanwhile, inside the book, Layane comes to. She's still alive, still solid, unlike the other ghosts in the book, who appear to be fading. They have been held to this earth for too long. They don't attack her. While outside of G-slur's control, they seem more... trapped. Tired and confused. Stuck to a world in a half-life. Layane tells them she has a plan to free them all.

In the weeks afterwards, something odd starts happening. Gevirians who visit the temple hear a voice. Layane's voice, telling them that she has defeated the Dying Screams within the book, and that G-slur was the one controlling them. That this was all a trick.

G-slur brushes it off publicly as the Screams attempting to sow discord. Then privately, she goes to the temple to check out the book. It seems... different. It's no longer trying to drag people inside. G-slur realises that Layane must be telling the truth. She doesn't know how the magic works, nor the impact throwing a 21st century teenager into a book full of, I don't know, Viking (?) ghosts would have. She approaches the book and opens it, aiming to free Layane and kill her.

Of course, the Dying Screams are not dead yet, and by opening the book, G-slur handed total control of them over to her greatest enemy: Layane.

The Screams burst free and tear G-slur apart before she can freeze them in living ice or whatever. Layane follows, and her last act of control over the ghosts is to release them - something that G-slur and the other Gevirians could have done all along, if they'd thought of the ghosts as anything other than a mindless threat. The Screams disappear. Hiville is saved.

Everyone finds out what happened quickly, because G-slur's arrogance meant she left a tonne of evidence that she was evil all along. This includes evidence that Layane's family used to live in Hiville, until G-slur started using them as scapegoats for anything that went wrong, and they fled. Hiville's people get to vote for a leader for the first time, rather than leaving ruling the country to those born with elemental powers, and funny thing is: no blue-haired baby is born in the immediate aftermath, and Hiville continues to function without its Lady of Water. Layane and Clemant decide to stay in Hiville. It's nice. Peaceful. A world of magic, etc etc.

There's an epilogue, because I know twelve-year-old me would have loved an epilogue. Layane and Roen, or Layane and Jezirah, or whatever, grow up and have a baby together. That baby, some variation of half-Gevirian-half-human, is born with shocking blue hair.

THE END

This... turned out longer than I planned. If I don't write something for my next writing group meeting I'm going to have to admit it's because I wrote this instead.

[throwupgirl]

BETTY: You can leave now, Vee.

VERONICA: No. I can't. Because I'm your friend.

BETTY: Really? Well let me ask you something. Do you screw over all your friends?

VERONICA: Cheryl and I were trying to cure you! We still are!

BETTY: Like hell.

VERONICA: Cheryl can read the Book now.

BETTY: Oh so what? So you MIGHT find a spell that MIGHT take this Mark off my arm? But even if you do, what's it gonna cost? 'Cause magic like that does not come free. No, it comes with a price that you pay in blood. So thanks, but I'm good.

[BETTY turns to leave. VERONICA grabs her shoulder to stop her.]

VERONICA: No! You're not. Maybe you could fight the Mark for years. Maybe centuries, like Cain did. But you cannot fight it forever. And when you finally turn, and you will turn... Cheryl, and Archie, and everyone you know, everyone you love... they could be long dead. Everyone except me. I'm the one who will have to watch you murder the world. So if there's even a small chance that we can save you, I won't let you walk out of this room.

BETTY: Oh, you think you have a choice.

VERONICA: I think the Mark is changing you.

BETTY: You're wrong.

VERONICA: Am I? Because the Betty Cooper I know would never have murdered Jughead.

BETTY: Yeah well, that Betty's always been kind of a bitch.

[BETTY tries to leave again, but VERONICA stops her.]

VERONICA: Betty. I don't wanna have to hurt you.

BETTY: I don't think that's gonna be a problem.

[BETTY grabs VERONICA'S hand and wrenches it off of her shoulder, then punches her hard in the face with her other hand.]

VERONICA: Betty.

[BETTY punches VERONICA over and over, then throws her on the floor. VERONICA, bloody, gets up, still trying to stop BETTY from leaving.]

VERONICA: Betty. Stop.

[BETTY, halfway to the doorway, turns around and launches a new attack on VERONICA, beating her up worse than before. As VERONICA lies on the floor, half conscious and coughing up blood, BETTY pulls a knife from VERONICA'S coat. She grabs VERONICA'S shirt and prepares to stab her. VERONICA manages to grab BETTY'S hand.]

VERONICA: No, Bee. Please. (She coughs and blood comes up)

[BETTY stares coldly at VERONICA, holding the knife. BETTY strikes with the knife, and stands up. A shot of VERONICA reveals that BETTY has stabbed a book next to VERONICA'S face.]

BETTY: (walking away) You and Cheryl stay the hell away from me. Next time I won't miss.

[VERONICA, still on the floor, watches BETTY leave in horror.]

[chaosmultiverse-a]

@deathxcko Two 'edgy' foils to yj members walk into a bar & the mun reuses a joke from a different ask thingy-

Inertia almost looked offended by how much Red Hood was missing the point, he wanted to grab the point from over his head and smash it down on him so he'd acknowledge it.

"Okay I mean yes but- You know what I was asking! Don't pretend you don't, I have done some research on you and it suggests that at least in the past you weren't a idiot."

[things-arent-what-they-seem66]

Watching you get hurt is like a blade through the heart, I can't take it.

Could you write a small piece of Highchool AU with this? (Perhaps the night Adam got attacked? Please :<????)

Ouch my own heart.

Beep....... Beep....... Beep......

That was the only sound that Adam could hear as he started to wake up. He groaned, everything ached his head felt heavy. Opening his eyes, light hit him right away making Adam wince.

When he finally adjusted, he opened them to see his arms covered in many wires and bandages. The sheet was pulled up halfway and Adam could see the bandages on his chest. His chest suddenly felt heavy, it throbbed with pain making Adam gasp.

What the fuck happened?

"Adam? Oh my god you're awake." He looked to see Lucifer sitting beside him, his cheeks stains with tears but he was smiling at him. "I was so worried."

"Lu?" Adam's voice was coarse, his throat dry like sandpaper. "What happened?"

Lucifer took Adams hand in his, making sure to be gentle. "You don't remember?"

Adam looked down at their hands, trying to recall what happened. It hit him like a semi, the memory of Alastor coming up from behind and throwing him into the wall before stabbing him.

I don't normally play with my food, but I'll make an exception for you.

The words echoed in Adam's mind, his stomach clenched, chest felt tight.

He was gonna puke.

Sensing this, Lucifer grabbed the trash can and placed it in front of Adam in time as he threw up the contents of his stomach. When he was done Lucifer put it back.

"That fucker stabbed me, he tried to kill me, he called me food." Adam sobbed. He felt a weight move onto the bed and he leaned into Lucifer's chest and cried he didn't care how it looked.

Lucifer was still pissed at that asshole Alastor, he deserves worse than what he did to him for stabbing Adam. "Shhh, it's okay love you're safe now." It took a while for Adam to stop crying. "I'm sorry."

Adam looked up at his boyfriend confused. "The fuck are you sorry for?"

"Not being there. Maybe this wouldn't have happened. Watching you get hurt is like a blade through the heart, I can't take it." Lucifer felt his eyes water again, the memory of Alastor having Adam pinned to that wall, blade in his chest, blood pooling....... Lucifer didn't want to think about it he never showed up.

Adam would be dead for sure.

"Luci, you saved my life. I'm forever grateful to you, I love you." It may be the pain meds talking, but Adam was feeling emotional.

"I love you, too." Lucifer placed a kiss on Adam's forehead. "I'm glad you're alive."

Adam snorted. "Yeah me too."

They stayed like that for a while until Sera and the doctor came in. Adam would be in the hospital until his injuries healed more and Lucifer would visit every day.

[rottenmemes]

the front bottoms—various lyrics sentence starters.

some lines adjusted to fit; feel free to change pronouns, proper nouns, etc. as needed

am i getting into heaven? there’s no fucking way.

i would sleep better on your floor than i ever would in my bed.

learn to accept that the things we have now are the best we've had yet.

your friends are here and they miss you, but they’ll eventually move on.

i will always think about you, ‘cause you remind me of who i am.

i’ve tried and i gave everything i had, but i just gave up.

what we have is nowhere near as good as what we should have by now.

it's okay to give up, 'cause nobody here could care less.

time is running out and i need to choose, the clock is moving faster than it used to.

they say face your fears, but i can't stop running.

i'm scared i'm gonna die as lonely as i feel.

it's okay if you're unhappy—just take a look around. there's no one here that's happy either.

the only thing that'd shut me up now is your hands around my throat.

if i tell you all my secrets, would you tell me all your lies?

i have stitched a mask of confidence and i wear it like a glove.

no one's going to listen ‘til you mean every word you say, so if you can't find the feeling, you better learn to lie—and if you know we're gonna fail, then there's little point to try.

i can't get what i need, and you're all i need.

there are certain things you ask of me, but there are certain things i lack.

you say i'm changing—sorry, i didn't know i had to stay the same.

i think you're changing, but don't worry—you don't have to stay the same.

i shouldn't feel like i have to protect you.

at my funeral, don't lie. tell them i didn’t want to die.

i understand that everybody's got their problems, but you seem to have a little more than anybody.

there are things i think we'll come to regret, and the majority of them are dealing with me.

i used to love the taste, i'd do anything for it—now i'd do anything to get the taste out of my mouth.

what about your friends? don't you love them enough to stay?

it probably won't get easier, just easier to hide—prepare for an aching the rest of your life.

i have this dream that i am hitting my dad with a baseball bat, and he is screaming and crying for help—and maybe halfway through it has more to do with me killing him than it ever did protecting myself.

i believe that, yeah, maybe no one's perfect—but i believe that you're pushing your luck.

there's no doubt in my mind that if you could, then you would try to crack my ribcage open and pull my heart right through.

i've been around long enough now to know that the good things never last.

how low is your self esteem? how low could it possibly be?

i know you're in love with me, and i've been ignoring you.

i’m alone only half of the time, and the other half, i’m only hiding.

i got miles to go 'til i ever get home, but the sound of your laugh and your voice on the phone makes me feel like i’m already there.

hey man, i love you, but no fucking way.

make sure you kiss your knuckles before you punch me in the face.

the good thing about this cast is i can still hold a knife, so if you ever twist my arm again, i'll be sure to put up a fight.

the past few months were pretty rough; a couple times i wished we both were dead.

just try to appreciate what you got while you got it, so if it ever goes away, you can say you enjoyed it while it lasted.

i don't regret it—how could i? you were the best i ever had.

i wish i could pretend to be all of the things you think you see in me.

i don’t care if you’re not sorry; i forgive you.

the farther you go from where you start, the harder it is to get back.

just because something burns bright doesn't mean it's gonna burn forever.

don't feel bad for me, because i won't feel bad for you.

when i wake up, i think of you.

it doesn't get worse, and it doesn't get better; you just get old—it lasts forever.

no one saw me the way you did, and no one's seen me that way since.

i know that no news is good news, but that’s always felt backwards.

i’m bound by love, born to obey.

you are the truth i choose to bend myself around.

a long time ago i promised that if you were happy, then i was happy.

don't take it easy on the animal—i am the animal.

sometimes things work out perfectly when there's nothing to lose.

i don't know where i am, but i've been here before.

i'm sorry for your loss, there's not much i can do.

i could see myself dying for you.

we're both trying, you gotta give us that.

why don't you put your boxing gloves on and punch your punching bag, get some of this rage out you have deep inside of you—you’ll feel better, that's the point.

there was resentment built up that was never expressed properly.

you seem to see through whatever it is about me that's trying to be tough.

this is the fear i was born into, it somehow still affects me today.

it may or may not seem like you're leaving me behind, and it may or may not be always on my mind.

i don’t wanna put a curse on myself—i don’t wanna put a curse on you either.

you don't have to try so hard to not see me around.

the more you give, the worse it gets.

i wanna be good to the people that i love—i want them to think of me as someone that they can trust.

i wanna settle down—i want you to settle down with me.

[omgsquee2001]

Chapter 2: Hell is Forever

As Charlie left to take the phone call with her dad, Angel looked over at Vaggie, [Y/N] and Alastor.

"Hey, I have a question. If freaky face over there is so powerful, then why can't he just make people stay here?" Angel asked.

"Oh, trust me," Alastor smiled menacingly. "I can." Alastor said. Dark Magic swirled around his closed hand.

"Why do you think I'm here?" Husk asked. Everyone looked over at the winged cat demon behind the bar. "You actually think I'd be cleaning bottles and listening to you fucks bitch and moan all the time if he wasn't forcing me?" Husk asked. He wasn't mad at [Y/N]. Despite being upset with their father, Husk actually liked [Y/N]. He thought they were a good kid, despite knowing their secret. As Husk was cleaning a bottle, Niffty popped up from behind the counter.

"I like being forced." She said, and smiled.

"Keep that to yourself, Nif." Husk said, glaring at the smaller woman.

"What? You don't love being here with me, Whiskers?" Angel Dust teased. Husk glared at Angel.

"Call me Whiskers again and I'll jam that bottle down your throat!" Husk shouted, a cat like growl coming from him. Angel smiled.

"Kinky~ Come on, keep talking dirty." Angel said, smirking. Vaggie sighed.

"Angel. Let Husk do his job. And, no, we can't force sinners to stay here." Vaggie said. [Y/N] nodded and looked at the Spider Demon.

"Vaggie's right, Angel. They need to choose to stay here." They said. Angel shrugged.

"I'm choosing to be here and I think it's all stupid. We're in hell, toots. That's kind of the end of the road, ain't it?" Angel asked. Vaggie sighed again.

"Well, Maybe it doesn't have to be. Just because nobody has made it out before doesn't mean it's not possible." She said. [Y/N] nodded. Angel placed a hand on Vaggie's shoulder, giving her a deadpan expression.

"Hey, whatever means I can keep crashing here rent-free. Crack is expensive." Angel said. Charlie was still talking to her dad on the phone. She nodded excitedly.

"Yeah, I can totally, yeah. I'll head over there right away. Okay?" Charlie said, and hung up. She let out an excited gasp. "Yes…YES!" She giggled in excitement and leaned out in front of the wall. She called over to Vaggie. "Vaggie! Holy, shit!" In her excitement, it sounded like gibberish. Vaggie's eye widened in surprise.

"Ah! what?" She asked. Charlie waved over at her girlfriend.

"Get over here!" She mumbled excitedly. Vaggie sighed, a happy smile on her face. She walked over to Charlie.

"What's going on?" Vaggie asked. Charlie took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

"My dad just called, he said that the leader of the Angel Army wants to meet. He asked if I could go instead." Charlie said excitedly. Vaggie placed her hands on Charlie's shoulders, trying to calm her down.

"But-but, the extermination just happened. What could they want this soon after-" She didn't get the chance to finish her sentence as Charlie suddenly started singing.

"I can do this! Somehow, I know it!"

"I'll get Heaven behind my plans!"

Vaggie sighed.

"Charlie, hold on..."

"There's just no way I could blow it."

"Not this once-in-a-lifetime chance!"

"It's just a meeting." Vaggie said, trying to calm her girlfriend down.

"To change their minds

"And touch their hearts

"Or... whatever angels have!"

Vaggie sighed.

"This could be bad..." She said. Charlie walked over to Vaggie and grabbed her hands. Charlie smiled.

"Cheer up, Vaggie!"

"This could be swell!"

"Something tells me that today will be a happy day in Hell!"

Vaggie sighed.

"Okay, but just don't... sing to them." Vaggie said. Angel, Niffty, Alastor, Keekee and [Y/N] all watched as Charlie bounded out the hotel doors into the partially destroyed Pentagram City.

"That bitch is halfway down the street!" Angel said, smirking. Vaggie sighed.

"Is she—?"

Angel smirked and nodded.

"Oh, she's dancin'!" Angel said. Vaggie groaned.

"Ugh, no!"

Charlie made her way down the streets, oblivious to the destruction and dead bodies of demons everywhere as she continued to sing.

"There's a warm, fuzzy feeling.

That wafts through the air."

"Every street so revealing. It's hard not to stare!"

She came to a window of a sex dungeon where a Hellhound was humping against an imp, wearing a sadomasochism mask. The two looked at the girl and she awkwardly walked away from the scene, continuing her song.

"It's a realm so appealing it beats anywhеre.

If you don't mind the smell..."

Charlie accidentally stepped on a dead shark demon that was releasing a fume, making Charlie hold her nose in disgust. She avoided the corpse and continued on.

"It's a happy day in Hell!"

Charlie waved at a demon who was holding a newspaper, however, it was revealed that he had a spoon full of meth.

"Hi, mister!" Charlie said gleefully.

"Go fuck yourself!" The demon shouted. Charlie gave a tight lipped smile and continued on. Another demon opened his window, showing a fire behind him.

"There's an endless trash fire that's burning my soul." The demon sang.

Charlie continued to greet each demon she came across.

"And a ton of barbed wire to shove in his holes!"

"Doing what is required, we all have our role."

"I'm not doin' well!"

"Another shitty day in Hell!"

Charlie climbed up onto the trunk of a destroyed car and faced the other direction from the demons.

"If I can show them the dream I've dreamed.

That any soul can change!"

From the Hazbin Hotel, Vaggie climbed into the watchtower, as if calling out to her girlfriend.

("Those angels' minds are hard to change.")

"Then they will know everyone can be redeemed.

From the evil to the strange!"

("They're bloodthirsty and deranged!")

"I can hear all their stories.

The lost and displaced."

"And I know that they're more of an acquired taste.

But! if I open the door and I give them a place.

At my Hazbin Hotel. It'll be a happy day in Hell!"

A truck drove by, and Charlie hitched a ride from the back to get around the city. She passed porn studios and Cannibal Town.

"From the porn studio.

Where the cinephiles go.

To watch award-winning demon bukkake shows!"

"To the Cannibal Town. Where they don't wear a frown 'cause," Charlie got hit in the eye with the blood from one of the corpses the cannibals were feeding on. "Holy shit! Ew, my gosh! WHY?!" Charlie frowned in disgust. Her frown then turned to a smile.

"And I don't give a crow that. His brain's got in my eye!

Cause with the Shifters gone, I know I can spare them. From Heaven's genocide!"

"I can do this, I just know it!"

"I'll get Heaven behind my plans!

There's just no way I could blow it."

"Not this once-in-a-lifetime chance!

To change their minds."

Right then, a slug demon with a trench coat appeared in front of Charlie, exposing his nude body to her, which freaked her out.

"And touch my parts!"

Charlie smiled awkwardly and with disgust.

"Uh... No thank you. I'm just gonna...

Fulfill my destiny!"

The demon rolled his eyes and pulled his trench coat over his body again. "Your loss, bitch!"

"I can already tell!

Today is gonna bе a fuckin' happy day in Hell!"

~~~~

[Y/N] sighed, a guilty look on their face. They walked into their room and walked over to their window, overlooking Pentagram City. They wrapped their arms around them, and sighed again. There was a sound of a whisper behind them. They already knew that their father was in the room with them.

"[Y/N]? What troubles you?" Alastor asked, walking over and placing his hand on his child's shoulder. [Y/N] sighed and leaned their head against Alastor's chest in comfort.

"I'm, debating whether or not I should tell the others what I am. About me being a Shifter." [Y/N] said. Alastor hummed.

"Well, it is ultimately your choice, my dear." Alastor said. [Y/N] nodded.

"I know that. But, what if they get mad at me for not telling them? I mean, Shifters were the only species of Hell Born that could actually kill an angel." They said. Alastor hummed.

"Well, put yourself in their shoes for a moment. Suppose that the child of the Radio Demon told you that they were a Shifter. How would you react?" Alastor asked. [Y/N] shrugged.

"I dunno. I guess I would be upset for a while, considering I thought that all the Shifters were dead. But, after they explained that they were the last Shifter and couldn't possibly defend all of Hell from the Exorcists, then I might be a little bit more understanding." [Y/N] said. Alastor nodded, and smiled gently down at his child.

"Well, there you go. They might get upset, sure. But, I'm sure coming out with the truth would be better for them, and for you." Alastor said. [Y/N] sighed and nodded.

"Maybe. Can, can I ask something of you, dad?" [Y/N] asked, looking up at their father. Alastor nodded.

"Anything, my dear." Alastor said.

"If and when I do tell them, would you be there with me? Just in case things turn south?" [Y/N] asked. Alastor smiled.

"I promise I will always be there for you, my dear." Alastor said, pressing a kiss to [Y/N]'s head. [Y/N] smiled and wrapped their arms around Alastor's waist in a hug, the Radio Demon returning it, resting his head on their own.

"Thanks dad."

~~~~~~

Charlie walked up to the Heaven Embassy, where she was going to meet the leaders of the Extermination Army. She pushed open the door.

"Hello?" Charlie called out, her voice echoed in the empty hall. She walked through and found the Embassy to be completely deserted. "Hello? Creepy." Charlie commented. Her footsteps echoed through out the hall.

Charlie came to the front desk. No one was there. The only thing there was a bell to ring. She tapped the bell. In an instant, a golden scroll and a feather pen appeared before her. "Oh, okay. Also creepy." She said and signed her name. The scroll and feather disappeared. To her right, a set of twin doors slid open, showin Charlie an empty meeting room. She cautiously walked inside.

"Uh...hello? Is anyone here?" Charlie called. Suddenly, the lights switched on, revealing two Angels. One of them was dressed in black and gray armor. The other, dressed in a white robe with gold accents. What was interesting, was that both Angels had masks with what looked like demon horns on them. The angels were Lute, the lieutenant of the Extermination Army, and Adam, the leader.

"'Sup!" Adam greeted, surprising Charlie.

"Holy, shit!" Charlie shouted, surprised by their sudden appearance. She quickly got back up and smiled. "Hi, I'm Charlie. My dad asked me if I could meet you." Charlie said. Adam nodded, seeming uninterested with what she had to say.

"Yeah, I know." He said. He had a plate of ribs sitting before him, eating them casually. Charlie chuckled awkwardly.

"Okay, well, it's nice to meet you." Charlie said, reaching her hand out. Adam smiled at her and reached his had out as well.

"Totally. It's nice to meet you, too." He said. Charlie reached for his hand, but it suddenly slipped through, scaring Charlie. It was revealed that Adam was just a hologram. Adam burst out laughing. "Ha! I fucking got you. Did you see that?" He asked, turning to Lute, who just nodded. Adam laughed again and leaned back in his seat. "Ha. Good shit." Adam said. Charlie narrowed her eyes.

"Uh...so, wait. You aren't here?" Charlie asked. Adam scoffed.

"No, you think I'd come down there?" He laughed in a condescending way. "No, I mean, I love the vibe, totally, I love your tunes. Pretty fucking hardcore, don't get me wrong. But! it's such a bummer! man. Everything down there's just so "eugh", ya know?" He chuckled again. "Ew." He shook his head. Charlie smiled awkwardly.

"Right. So, I'm happy we've got this opportunity to meet. There's a project that I've been working on that I really want to talk to you about-"

Adam put his finger to Charlie's lips, silencing her for a moment.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, slow down. We've got time. How about we get to know each other a little, hmm? How about lunch? You hungry? I got you." Adam said. He took the plate of ribs he had been eating and handed it towards Charlie. "Here's my personal favorite. You'll love it." Adam said.

"Uh...thanks." Charlie said. She reached for it, completely forgetting that it was a hologram. Her hand went through it again, freaking Charlie out again. Adam let out a bark of laughter.

"I got you again, bitch! Fuckin' hilarious!" Adam said, laughing. Charlie chuckled, unamused. This was going to be a long meeting.

~~~~

Back at the hotel, Vaggie was walking back and forth in the lobby. [Y/N] and the others were sitting in various chairs and couches. Angel Dust was constantly looking at Husk and winking, while Husk was glaring daggers at him. Vaggie sighed.

"Okay, so, Charlie is dealing with something very important, so while she's gone, we are making a new commercial. One that represents her vision and what we're doing here. So, we need a camera." Vaggie said. She looked over at Alastor. "Alastor?" She requested. Alastor snapped his fingers and conjured up a camera for Vaggie, however, the camera was a folding-type old camera from the 1930s with no recording films at that time. Vaggie glanced at him, unamused. "A video camera?" She requested.

"Hmmm." Alastor hummed in distaste and snapped his fingers again. A modern day video camera appeared in Vaggie's hands, replacing the older looking model. Vaggie smiled. "Alright! Let's do this!" She said excitedly. [Y/N] was watching behind Vaggie as she was recording Husk and Angel at the bar.

"And, action!" [Y/N] called. Husk was looking down at the script he had, reading right from it with the script in his face.

"Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel. Can I help with anything?" Husk read, looking up at Angel, who was sitting at one of the stools. Angel smiled and winked at Husk.

"I've been a bad boy, and I need a big, strong daddy to put me in my place…on the path to redemption!" Angel said. Husk groaned in distaste. [Y/N] cringed lightly at the scene. Husk looked down at the script again.

"Well, you come..." He was interrupted by Angel moaning.

"Oh yes!" He cried out.

"To the right place." Husk finished, not looking amused. [Y/N] sighed and pinched the bridge of their nose.

"Cut! Okay, Angel, we need you to be less horny if possible, and Husk, can you maybe not have a script in front of your face." [Y/N] requested. Husk looked over at [Y/N] angrily.

"I ain't no actor! I can't memorize this shit!" He shouted, smacking the script. Angel leaned over the bar, smiling seductively.

"Well, we could improv this shit, baby cakes," he got closer to Husk and purred seductively. "Rrawwr."

Husk growled and shoved Angel off the counter, making the porn star fall onto the floor. Husk shrugged.

"Whoops." He said, and grabbed a bottle of alcohol and began drinking from it. Vaggie sighed.  

"Husk, come on." She demanded.

~~~~~

Back with Charlie, she was being bored to death by what Adam was telling her about his weekend.

"So, I was playin' this gig, and for some fuckin' reason, this virtue chick was diggin' on the drummer, and it's like, "do you know who I am? I'm fuckin' Adam. I'm the original dick!" He complained, pointing to his nether regions. "All dicks descend from me. You think you want drummer dick?" He asked, looking to Lute, who shook her head. Adam nodded. "No way! I'm the Dick-fuckin' master!" He shouted. He then ate a rib, speaking with his mouth full. "So, anyway, then we fucked, and it was awesome. What'd you do this weekend?" He asked, looking at Charlie. Charlie sat up straight in surprise.

"Wait, your name is Adam? Like the first man Adam, that means you…Oh…." Charlie put two and two together, realizing just why her mother had left Adam in the first place. "That explains so much." She said, wincing. Adam smirked.

"I know. I fucking rock." He held up his hand in a rock pose. Charlie cleared her throat and got back to the matter at hand.

"Well, Adam, sir. Mr. Adam, sir." Charlie said awkwardly. Adam smirked.

"Call me, Dickmaster." Adam said. Charlie gave him a deadpan look.

"Adam. You seem like a smart, well, stand up guy!" Charlie said, trying to appeal to his ego. Adam picked at his teeth, clearly uninterested.

"Uh-huh." He said.

"And I know you are the leader of the angels. And you are a big thinker, a revolutionary. You and your Executioners killed an entire race of Shifters! You're, well, a, a genius!" She said. Though she hated talking about how he killed the only beings that could protect her people, she had to get him on her side. Adam scoffed.

"I mean, your words, babe." Adam said, smiling. Charlie smiled.

"Who would really love to put his name on something." Charlie said. Adam sat up, a big smile on his face.

"Fucking love putting my name on shit! Shit's the best!" He shouted. Charlie smiled.

"It's a solution to our biggest problem!" She said, thinking that she was finally getting somewhere with him. Adam's eyes widened.

"Oh, Herpes. Yeah, that's a bitch." He said. Charlie groaned lightly.

"No! Our... other biggest problem." She said. At this point, Adam was just messing with her.

"Oh…uh..ugly people? Math? Global Warming? Nah, wait, that's Earth's problem." Adam said, listing off all the "problems" that they shared in common. Charlie stared at him, unamused.

~~~~

//I'm going to go ahead and skip a few scenes cause I feel like this is getting really long.//

"When you take her out for the fifth time and she still expects you to pay the check but you're like, Hey, I thought you wanted equality." Adam complained. Charlie groaned, getting fed up with Adam and his ego.

"NO! our shared problem of overpopulation in Hell!" Charlie shouted. Adam's eyes widened in realization.

"Ohh, well that's not a problem! We got that covered!" Adam said. He turned to Lute. "Lute, how many demons did you kill this year?" He asked.

"Got a good 275 this year, sir." Lute said, talking as if it was some ground breaking record. Adam's eye brows rose.

"275? Woah! Badass! Awesome job, danger tits! Pound it." Adam raised his fist for Lute, who gave him a fist bump. Charlie frowned.

"Uh no, not awesome. Those are my people, you know that right?" Charlie asked. Adam looked at her and nodded.

"Oh yeah. That must suck for you!" Adam shouted, bursting into laughter. Charlie frowned. She didn't understand how Adam and Lute could care so little about the souls in Hell.

"But these are souls...Humans souls just the same as the ones you have up in heaven." She said. Lute frowned at Charlie.

"They're not the same. They had their chance and they earned damnation." Lute said coldly. Charlie shook her head.

"You're wrong. Sinners made mistakes, sure, but everyone makes mistakes." Charlie said. Lute narrowed her eyes at Charlie.

"Angels don't make mistakes." She said. Charlie rose her eyebrow in challenge.

"You really think that."

"I know that." Lute said. Adam smirked and nodded.

"Yeah, I've never made a mistake in my fuckin' life." Adam said. He chuckled. "If anything, you should be thanking us." He said. Charlie frowned.

"Thanking you?" She asked. Adam nodded.

"Uh, fuck yeah! We got rid of the very beings that were allowing the over population in Hell to begin with!" He said, referring to the Shifters. Lute walked around the table towards Charlie.

"The only reason you're still here is because daddy gave you and your hell born kind a pardon from an exorcist blade. How does that feel, to know how little you matter?" Lute asked. Charlie looked down, frowning in sadness. Adam perked up.

"Oops, almost out of time. Guess we should get into it." He said. Charlie's eyes widened.

"Oh fuck!" She shouted. She rushed to present her plan as fast as she could. "Okay I've got a lot to get through and not a lot of time and I feel like you weren't hearing me before so here it goes." She cleared her throat and started talking at a fast speed to get through everything. Which eventually turned into singing.

"I know Hell's population is out of control.

It's a bad situation.

It's taking a toll."

"If we rehab these Sinners.

And cleanse all their souls.

At my Hazbin Hotel,"

"Wait, I'm getting ahead of myself!" She shouted. She quickly picked up a drawing of the Extermination Angels flying down to Hell.

"Right, Extermination." She said.

"I know you guys fly down.

Just to kill once a year."

"And it must be annoying.

To schlep all the way here."

"If they join you in Heaven.

"That trip disappears!

You can wave that chore farewell." She took a deep breath.

"It'll be a happy day in..."

She was cut off by Adam.

"Let me stop you right there." Adam began singing. Charlie stopped.

"Oh."

"Save us all precious time."

"Okay..." Charlie hesitated.

"If what you're suggesting.

Is letting them climb.

Up the ladder.

Oh, they'd rather cross the Pearly Gates?"

"Well, uh—" Charlie started, but was stopped by Adam.

"Sorry, sweetie. But there's no defyin' their fates!"

"'Cause Hell is forever.

Whether you like it or not.

Had their chance to behave better.

Now they boil in the pot.

'Cause the rules are black and white.

There's no use in tryin' to fight it. ♫

They're burnin' for their lives.

Until we kill 'em again!"

"Okay, but.."

Adam smiled down at Charlie.

"Just try to chillax, babe.

You're wasting your breath."

Charlie chuckled awakwardly.

"Did I hear you imply.

That they don't deserve death?"

"Are they Winners?

Are they Sinners?

Without the Shifters

It's cut and dry."

"Well, actually, if you take a look..."

"Fair is fair, an eye for an eye, yeah!"

"And when all's said and done,

There's the question of fun.

And for those of us with Divine Ordainment.

Extermination is entertainment!"

"Bow-now-now-nownow

Guitar solo, fuck yeah!"

"Oh, da-ah-ah now-now-n-now-n-now-n-now-n-nownownow!"

 "Hell is forever.

Whether you like it or not."

"Had their chance to behave better.

Now they boil in the pot."

"'Cause the rules are black and white.

There's no use in tryin' to fight it.

They're burnin' for their lives.

Until we kill 'em again!"

"Fuckin' Hell's forever.

And it's meant to suck a lot.

So give up your dumb endeavor.

'Cause you don't have a shot!"

Charlie growled in anger. Her demon form coming out as she burned some of the papers she was holding.

"Long as I've got your attention.

I guess I should probably mention.

That we made the determination.

To move up the next Extermination!"

Charlie's demon form faded away as her eyes widened in horror.

"What?!" She shouted.

"Can't wait a whole year.

To slaughter those little cunts.

I know it's just been a week.

But we'll be back in six months!" Despite being a hologram, Adam grabbed Charlie by the wrist and threw her out the door. Charlie tried to rush back to the door.

"Um, wait, you-you..ugh SHIT!" She shouted, slamming her fist onto the door.

~~~~

//Whew! This is a LONG one. I apologize for that. Let me know if you like it being long, or if I should cut it down.//

[bullet-prooflove]

The Crab Dance Prompt List

Please check the updated character list on my pinned post to see who I am writing for before submitting a prompt!

Also read the rules and do not forget to put the entire prompt into your ask!

I saw you downtown kissing another man

But we don't say forever, but when we're together

I fell in love with I looked over and saw her singing to the radio

And all them other boys say she's a goodbye girl

Honey, dance with me in this bar tonight

I’m the boy that’s always been in love with you til the end

Don’t mind the strain of a hurricane, they come around every June

You were hitchhiking on an old dirt road

Nobody taught her it takes a lot of water to wash away New Orleans

It 3am Im overthinking again

Why do I still give a damn about you

Yeah, I ain't tryna fix her I just wanna kiss her

Sitting on the front porch with a cigarette burning

Baby you look hotter than west Texas sunshine

She never wanted to be white picket fenced in

Looking out through my window Watching the snowflakes fall

Remember all the nights we had?

But here she is, free, layin' next to me 'Cause I ain't tryna to tame her love

I'm terrified of being alone, so I've been seeking out affection

You once called me forever, now you still can't call me back

Staring out at the sunset With you by my side

There's moments in life that I regret Like never holding you close

And I'll dream each night of some version of you That I might not have, but I did not lose

You promised me I was more than all the miles combined

Wake up again in an old motel

One day you wake up, he’s packing up his truck

Why can’t I move on  and give a fair chance to someone new.

And leave before the mornin' sun

And I'm missing you like hell

He stays for the night but hes gone by the morning

Go on tell me what you really feel, because I’ve been dying to know.

And I know you have gone with her and I can't go back home

She ain't living for a diamond ring

I keep the windows down and the wind in her hair

So I thought that if I piled something good on all my bad That I could cancel out the darkness I inherited from dad

We're burnin' it down Blazin' up a trail of smoke

Why can’t I find a way to forget being in love with you

I said "I love you" but I, I never even meant it,

No, I am no longer funny, 'cause I miss the way you laugh

Wherever we are, wherever we go Yeah, that's where she calls home

Just looking for somebody as wild as her

It’s clear that we were meant to be.

It's getting cold but that sun is cresting

And I recall what she said That she wanted me dead But there ain't no grave deep enough

You don’t want to know what he said about you

My other half was you I hope this pain's just passin' through

And I know your daddy wants to shoot me dead

And it's half my fault, but I just like to play the victim

Should've left me at the door, but you let me in And now, your heart is on the floor

I put up a fight because I can’t stand the sight of his hands touching you

Too many different women in my phone

You aint opposed to digging up old bones and raking over the pas

Now I am stuck between my anger and the blame that I can't facet.

I'm sorry, baby, I'm a liar How is it possible to love someone else if I can't even love myself?

It’s a little piece of heaven when we lay down at night

She keeps on loving me and I keep on wondering why.

Love letters written in the dead of night

You must have had yourself a change of heart like Halfway through the drive

But I took her heart, and then I ripped it in half This ain't the first time I've done this neither