#“and he stole a picture from a strip club that’s his friend’s wife in a bunny outfit

[crabbri]

my roommate (who doesn’t watch the qsmp) asked me to update them on what happened today but how the FUCK am I meant to explain what’s going on here // mi compañero de cuarto (que no ve el qsmp) me pidió que los actualizara sobre lo que pasó hoy, pero ¿cómo carajo le explico lo que está pasando aquí?

[jmagnabo92]

How I Met Your Mother Thoughts Part 2

11. Robin left the group until Tracy died and then started coming around again.  Proof: In “Bad Crazy”, the time jumps are 4, 12, 14, 16, and 17 years.  4 is right after the divorce (2017) where she’s trying to stay connected due to Lily’s insistence.  Then the very next time jump is 2013 plus 12 = 2025, the year after Tracy dies.  She’s hanging around again because Ted’s available.  Of course he’s hurting, and not open to moving on (as he has a ten year old and eight year old to think about), so, it’s another two years.  Still not ready, two more years.  Then one year when he’s getting closer and closer to being ready, which is why she hangs out with them more and more.  

Also, further proof: Penny at five has no idea who Robin is.  She calls Robin “The bus lady”.  This is right before the deleted scene where Robin asks Ted if he wanted to continue with the forty deal (and Ted then decides it’s time to make Tracy his wife).  BUT in earlier episodes, and in general, he refers to her as “aunt Robin” and says she starred in their colored pictures.  Since they were 9 and 7 when Tracy died, it still makes sense that Robin would star in their pictures if she started coming around, again.  

Side note, Ted’s not the reason Jeanette is crazy, she was crazy before.

12. It was cruel of Robin and Barney to have Ted as their best man.  Especially, after he told her he loved her the year before.  It was even worse for Barney to ask him to be his best man, but then take it away without even talking to him.  The entire episode of “The Broken Code”, Barney was being unnecessarily cruel to Ted.  A) because Barney broke the code first, and B) because without breaking the code, the whole wedding wouldn’t happen.  Especially when it was Barney’s fault he wasn’t there for Robin, Robin fault that she called and she was grabbed his hand, not the other way around.  His hand is face down on his knee.  She reaches over and grabs it.

Side note, why the hell wasn’t James Barney’s best man?  Either from the beginning or when the “code” was broken.  James should’ve been his best man.  I’d be offended if I was James.  Especially when James/Tom relationship was part of why Barney was warming up to marriage in the first place.

13. Ted’s decision to move to Chicago was stated to happen in “Something New”, but I think it actually happened in “Romeward Bound”.  Why?  Because his best friends are moving to Italy for a year, and there’s that moment where Ted knowing Robin better than Barney, tells Barney that the whole “look don’t touch” thing is not okay with her.  As we know from her aversion to strip clubs and her reaction to Barney’s declaration that she’s okay with it the first time they dated, she is definitely not okay with it.  Even Lily says the same thing, but Barney was cold when he told Ted to back off.  This was the moment that Ted realized without being able to talk out his frustrations with Marshall and Lily, he’ll go crazy.  Just like the year before when he left the apartment because he needed a change, he needed to leave New York, no matter how much he loved it.  Seeing how quickly he changes gears to stay, it’s clear that he just needed happiness and/or at least a buffer.  If Marshall/Lily weren’t planning to move, he wouldn’t either.

14. I’m rewatching Season 2, so this might be a little ranty, but seriously, Lily was so wrong in “How Lily Stole Christmas”.  First of all, Ted was right to call her names when you consider that she waited 9 years to decide she needed to find herself, and when you’re angry, especially in that situation, you’re going to say awful things to make yourself feel better (and Marshall needed to hear bad things about her to start moving on, he had put her on pedestal and she needed come off for him to move on).  Second of all, she wasn’t just punishing Ted, she was also punishing Marshall, who did nothing to her.  

Also, she lives with them (something that has been going on for six years since they moved in there in 2000), and if she kept being so petty, she was going to break up their long lasting friendship because he had the right to be angry over her abandoning Marshall since he was dealing with the result of her actions (and clearly supporting Marshall because he laid around all summer drinking).  I’m not saying she couldn’t be angry about what he said, but stealing Christmas away from both Ted and Marshall was wrong.  Anyway, that brings me to another point.

15. Lily’s Credit Card debt.  This is a second reason that many people, at least on Reddit, attack Lily, and I have to say that I understand how she ends up in so much debt.  First, it’s the clothes, but the main issues are A) paying for apartments and utilities that she’s not actually living in because she needed it for her independence  B) not working for a private school to make more money and C) she tends to ignore her debt entirely until she has no choice.  Both she and Marshall spend money as soon as they get it, even when they were in debt from the wedding, school, and Lily’s shopping sprees, which only makes it worse.

16. Making the Wedding that Ted met Tracy at be Barney and Robin’s wedding, while makes sense from a story point of view (since it starts with Robin, so letting go of Robin makes sense to be able to move onto the love of his life), was a bad decision for the show.  Why?  Since Ted was ready to be married from Pilot and Barney was the anti-marriage guy for the first like four seasons, it caused Ted’s plot to basically pause until Barney caught up and then surpassed him.  The last 3 seasons focus on Barney’s development from one night stands to being a one-woman man, meanwhile Ted, who’s already at the commitment point is stuck in pauseland because his story needs Barney to surpass him.  For me, having Ted be a bystander in his own story, makes the story drag.  I really don’t like the last few seasons because of the focus on Barney’s development when I’m here for Ted’s story.

17. “Lucky Penny” is a good episode, except for the annoying completely unprofessional Airport Personal and glaring plot holes regarding the timeline. I also don’t like the scene where the kid with a broken leg, the old lady, and the pregnant lady are all practically demanding that he get up, like they own his seat. He had every right to that seat, jelly legs or not.  However, I really like the idea that Tracy actually dropped the penny, and even more that is why his daughter’s name is Penny. I also like the connection - this wouldn’t have happened if that hadn’t happened, and that wouldn’t have happened if that other thing didn’t happen. Basically, this is the entire series.  

If Ted never met Robin, he would never date her, if he never dated her, they wouldn’t break up, if they didn’t break up, he wouldn’t have gotten the Butterfly Tattoo, if he hadn’t gotten the Tattoo, he never would’ve met Stella.  If he hadn’t met Stella, he never would’ve gotten left at the alter, if he hadn’t gotten left at the alter, Tony wouldn’t have given him the Professor Job.  If he never became a professor, he never would’ve met Cindy, if he never met Cindy, he never would’ve prompted her to realize that she’s a lesbian, and then randomly running into her allowed for Tracy to be the band at the wedding.  I think I lost track after Cindy, but the entire story is all if this happened then that happened.  

18. Ted helping Victoria run away from her wedding was totally Out Of Character.  Ted was left at the alter and it nearly destroyed him, but he randomly decides to run off with Victoria, completely allowing Klaus to go through that same pain?  It just doesn’t make sense.  He got closure in “The Ducky Tie”, he didn’t need to go out with her again.  Also, the fact that she blamed him for her cold feet and decision to run off from her wedding soured me on her.  It was her decision, her freak out, she did not have to answer the call or show up at the bar, and she certainly didn’t have to use Ted as an excuse to leave.  Besides, Klaus also left, so it was going down the drain anyway.  Also, I got irrationally mad that her dad apparently expected Ted to pay, uh, no.  That’s on Klaus and Victoria, not Ted.

19.  Speaking of!  Going back to Season 1  “The Wedding”.  Ted honestly thought that he checked plus 1, so I get why he worked so hard to get Robin to go to the wedding, but the fact that it sparked the Temporary End of Stuart and Claudia was not his fault.  He would not have owed them the money back, especially when their relationship was clearly fragile if that fight on the eve of their wedding could end it.  Also, they clearly should never have gotten married, seeing what we see of them later on, it’s really obvious they are not compatible, and they would’ve been better off with other people.

20. In the “Duel”, Ted and Marshall are passive aggressively fighting about the apartment, which was brought up again in Season 9 “The Poker Game”.  Apparently, despite living together, they cannot discuss things openly and honestly, which is hilarious, how do you live with someone for most of your adult life and not learn how to talk?  

So, anyway, the reason I bring up “Duel” is that Barney tells Ted that he’s being edged out, and asks him if he’s going to still be his (Marshall’s) roommate when he’s married, and fun fact, for the first year and a half of their marriage, he is their roommate.  Also, in that same time period, they are apparently fighting over the wedding present that Ted didn’t get them, even though A) they live together B) How would Stuart know what Marshall’s favorite Coffee Maker was and C) Ted gave them 2 grand to finish their hardwood floors in their new apartment.  It doesn’t make any sense for Marshall and Lily to be hung up on a specific present when Ted SOLD his new car and GAVE them a lot of money for their new apartment, even though he would eventually be down a roommate (well, 2) and have his rent go up (because he’d now have to pay Marshall’s half).  I love Marshall, but come on, dude, no need to be so...what’s the word?...Greedy?  

                                                       ***

Anyway, I still have more thoughts, but have no idea how to be less wordy, so new post will eventually come.

[maggiemaybe160]

Birthday Wishes

Super Angst Fic Ahead. You’ve been warned. Also read on Ao3. Thank you @nickelkeep​ for the beta and cheerleading. <3 

Dean doesn’t celebrate his birthday anymore. He hasn’t for years.

There are pictures of the first and happiest birthdays. They’re tucked away in a box in a storage unit filled with hunter’s gear and booby traps. Dean hasn’t actually seen them since he was a child. There’s a picture of a very tired Mary Winchester beaming as he holds her baby. John is sitting on the edge of her hospital bed, pride written all over him as he wraps an arm around his wife and grins at the camera. There’s another one where Dean is sitting in front of a cake with a big candle number one. Both of his hands are embedded in the cake, frosting oozing out from between his fingers. There’s one from when he turned four and he’s offering his slice of cake to his infant brother as Mary and John laugh.

Dean remembers his first birthday without his mom. He was turning five. He remembers his father crying. There were empty bottles all around the room and Dean remembers picking one up and blowing air into it to make it whistle. His dad had snatched it out of his hands and told Dean not to touch them.

“What day is today?” Dean had asked.

“January 24,” his dad had answered, showing him on the calendar.

“That’s my birthday,” Dean had announced proudly.

“Fuck,” was the only answer he had gotten. Then his dad started crying harder. So when Sam started to cry, Dean went to his crib and lulled him back to sleep by singing Happy Birthday.

Dean remembers the birthday he got back to the motel and found a sheet cake with a note taped to it. His dad had left some money for a pizza and an excuse of a job with “PS. Happy Birthday, Son” scrawled at the bottom. Sam had sung the song and Dean announced they were having cake for dinner. Sam had cheered, but Dean knew by then that their dad never left enough money for his days of absence.

Dean remembers when his first day at a new school was on his birthday. He was in the sixth grade and hid in the bathroom during lunch so he could cry. After school, his dad took him out to test out the sawed-off he’d made the week before.

He remembers screaming after the Impala, standing at the edge of Bobby’s driveway, tears running down his face as his father left him behind. Bobby hadn’t said anything about the tears. He’d waited until Dean was through before bringing him inside and washing him up. When Dean sat down at the dinner table, he asked why Sam was grinning from ear to ear.

“Dad just left us, you dope. Why’re you happy?”

“It’s your birthday,” Sam had answered, swinging his legs under the table. Bobby walked in holding a lasagna with candles in it and the two of them sang. “Make a wish!” Sam had ordered as soon as the song was over. Dean doesn’t remember his wish, but he remembers closing his eyes and thinking about it before blowing out the candles.

“The first pie burned, so we can have the second for dessert,” Bobby had promised as they dug into their dinner.

There was the birthday that his dad came back early for. He’d wanted it to be a surprise for Dean. Sam was on a sleepover at one of his friends’ houses and Dean… Dean was having a sleepover in his motel room with a boy from school. John didn’t wait for the other sixteen-year-old to leave before he hit Dean so hard he was seeing stars. It was the first time he was called a fag. It was the first time the beating he was receiving wasn’t for something to do with hunting or his father’s drinking. It was the first time he heard someone try to stand up for him, the boy he was with screaming for John to stop.

His seventeenth birthday, he was already out of high school. He’d dropped out to become his father’s soldier. It was drilled into him that he was nothing more than a soldier, and a poor one at that. He stole the keys from his father and woke Sam up at the crack of dawn. They took Baby out for a spin. Dean was tempted to keep driving forever. He almost did. They stopped at a diner and ordered everything on the menu, slapping their dad’s fraudulent credit card down to pay for it all. They worked their way through pancakes and bacon, hot cocoa with whipped cream and a mocha for Dean. There were waffles and sausages, fruit cups and garbage plates. They laughed and flicked food at each other from across their table. And then it was time to go. So Dean drove Sammy to school and went back to his motel room for his birthday beating.

Dean was turning twenty-two the night Sam brought him a pie and a problem. He applied to Stanford. Pride had swelled in Dean’s chest, but his heart was breaking. He didn’t just apply. He got in. He was starting in the Fall and he was asking for Dean’s support and his silence.

“Just until I find a way to tell Dad.”

Dean had promised and taken a bite of his pie.

The last birthday he celebrated was his twenty-fourth. It wasn’t celebrated so much as vaguely acknowledged. Dean and his dad had been quiet, sitting across from each other in a restaurant. Their last hunt was over and Dean scarfed down his burger without question.

“She’s yours,” John has said as he slid the keys to Dean. “If you can take care of her.”

“I will, sir,” Dean said, his hands tightening around the metal. “Thank you.” John nodded and they continued their meal in their own thoughts.

Dean slept in his car that night, stretched out across the front seat as he looked up through the window at the starry sky. His favorite tape played gently and he hummed to it quietly before turning off the car and closing his eyes.

He had wanted to celebrate his birthday with Sam when their Dad was gone and it was just them on the road hunting together. He had planned to get a cake and rent a movie on pay-per-view and announce that this was their dinner. Right before his twenty-seventh birthday, he had electrocuted himself and had a heart attack. Sure, he was going to live, but only because his life was traded with another’s at the hand of a reaper. It was over, but Dean couldn’t shake it. He stood in the bakery of the grocery store staring at the sheet cake for too long before he left and bought a pizza on the way home instead.

“Happy Birthday,” Sam had said when Dean walked in with the pizza. He had a sheet cake on one of the beds, ready with two forks. “Didn’t think I forgot, did you?”

The next year, Dean glared at the calendar. He was supposed to be dead. His dad made a deal and now he was living on borrowed time. If he hadn’t done it, Dean would have died before making it to twenty-eight. He would have died in a car crash, blood running down his face as he melted into the backseat of his beloved car.

“I don’t want to celebrate this year,” Dean told Sam.

“Why not?”

“It doesn’t feel right. I shouldn’t be here. We saved a girl, but we didn’t save anyone else. I just don’t feel like it, okay?” Dean had grabbed the remote and turned on the tv before Sam could answer.  Sam didn’t argue, though. He left Dean alone to watch tv and returned an hour later with a six-pack of Dean’s favorite beer in one hand and a cherry pie in the other.

Dean remembers his twenty-ninth birthday. It was his last hurrah before being dragged downstairs. He’d sold his soul and he would celebrate if he wanted to. They set off fireworks together in the middle of nowhere. They ate bacon cheeseburgers and pie. Dean dragged his party-pooper brother from bar to bar, staying until they were kicked out of each one. Sam waited in the car as Dean went to a strip club, his pockets loaded with singles.

When it was all over and Sam was in his bed asleep, Dean stared up at the ceiling in the dark and whispered, “All hunters die young. Twenty-nine is old enough. Happy Birthday to me.” The first year out of Hell was the beginning of Dean refusing to celebrate his birthday. To make sure Sam didn’t try to show up with a pie or a cake, Dean let himself disappear. Sam didn’t text him to ask him where he was. He didn’t call him. Dean was alone with Baby on his first birthday out of Hell. He spent it staring up at the sky, wondering why Heaven would save such a broken person.

His birthday became a box on a calendar with bad memories. Sam didn’t try to bring it up and Dean didn’t have to hide. Then Sam was gone. Cas was gone. All Dean had was Lisa and she didn’t know when his birthday was, though they fought about it.

“It’s not a big deal. Just tell me,” she said, though her voice was no longer calm and curious. She was getting angrier the longer he kept his mouth shut.

“Drop it, Lisa,” he had warned her, closing his book and getting out of his chair.

“You want the ‘picket-fence life’ as you call it. You want the girlfriend and the son. You want to live in the suburbs and have friends and celebrate holidays, but you won’t tell me what happened to your brother. You won’t tell me where your father is. You won’t tell me why you’re here. You won’t even tell me when your god damn birthday is!”

“They’re dead!” Dean had yelled. “Dad’s dead and has been for years! Sam’s… Sam’s gone! Are you wondering about my mom too?”

“Dean, no. I.. I’m sorry,” she tried, realizing her mistake.

“Because she’s dead too!” Dean continued, every muscle in his body tensed. “What the fuck else did you want to know? My fucking birthday? Like it fucking matters?” She didn’t know it was his birthday that day. “I need some air,” he said, dropping his voice and dragging his fingers through his hair.

“Dean…”

“Don’t follow me,” he said as he walked out to the garage. He locked the door and slipped into his Impala, gripping the wheel until his nails bit into his palms and his knuckles turned white. He clenched his jaw to keep from screaming and when he shut his eyes tight, he ignored the tears that had rolled down his cheeks.

The next time Dean thought about his birthday after that night was when he was sitting with his back against a tree in Purgatory. Benny was sleeping as Dean kept a lookout in the dark, his grip tight on his makeshift blade.

“I don’t know how long I’ve been in this place,” Dean had prayed quietly to Cas as he prayed every night. “I’m not giving up. I won’t leave without you.” He drew a candle in the dirt between his feet. “It could be August. It could be January. It could be my birthday and I wouldn’t even know it, Cas. If it’s my birthday, then I get one wish, right?”

He took a deep breath and blew out the etching of a candle. It was too dark to see, but he was sure the marks were gone, his drawing erased. He remembers his wish. He wished for Cas. It’s the only birthday wish that Dean remembers coming true.

It was Dean’s thirty-fourth birthday when he got to give the Braveheart speech to a LARPing group for his Queen of Moondor, Charlie. He hadn’t realized it was his birthday until after the speech when he was back in his normal clothes driving away with a smile on his face.

“Have a good birthday?” Sam had asked. Dean had felt the floor drop out from under him. He wasn’t allowed to have a good birthday. It had been a cursed day for most of his life.

“I didn’t know it was,” Dean said honestly. He wanted the subject to drop before it entered dangerous territory.

“Nice speech,” Sam said instead of continuing the birthday talk like Dean had expected him to.

“Thanks,” he grinned again and his birthday was forgotten.

The first birthday present Dean received after the Impala was the Mark of Cain. His brother walked out of his life and Cas was far from home. Dean drank more alcohol with the Mark on his arm than he ever had before. His tolerance was higher and his thirst was greater and his home was emptier than ever.

“Happy Birthday to you,” Dean sang quietly to himself before taking another swig of beer. “Happy Birthday to you. Everyone leaves you ‘cause you’re worthless. Happy Birthday to me.” His next birthday went unannounced and unnoticed. Looking back, Dean realized that on his birthday, he’d been slamming his fists into Metatron’s face, the pain from the Mark easing with every swing, urging him to keep going. He had dragged the angel blade down the angel’s chest, eliciting the screams that fed the Mark as Sam and Cas beat the door down. He was pulled away, the world far away under the daze of the Mark. Being forcibly removed from his attack felt like waking up from a fainting spell. His birthday was spent trying to find out how to get rid of the previous year’s gift.

Dean’s thirty-eighth birthday was spent in a jail cell in the middle of nowhere. Dean kept track of the days that he was confined to solitary by etching tally marks in his wall. His birthday was just another tally mark. He sat on the floor with his back against the wall and refrained from praying to Cas.

Dean had already decided that he would say goodbye to all of his family and friends on his fortieth birthday. He was prepared to lock himself inside of a coffin at the bottom of the ocean. He was prepared for it if it meant saving everyone else. Dean remembers wrapping his arms around his brother and wanting to say more. He remembers not being able to find the words. He also remembers staring at Cas’ name in his phone. He was the only person Dean couldn’t say goodbye to. He knew that if he looked into those eyes while he was that weak and heard his deep voice begging him not to do it, he would have given in. He wouldn’t have been able to go through with leaving everything behind when everything was begging him not to.

It’s Dean’s forty-first birthday. He made it all the way to forty-one. He pushes the thought away as he has for every other birthday and makes his way to the kitchen.

“I’m going for a drive,” he announces. Sam looks concerned for a moment before his eyes flicker to the calendar. He nods and continues eating whatever the fuck is in his bowl. It looks and smells like oatmeal, but Dean doesn’t want to dwell on it.

“Have fun,” Sam says. Dean bites his lip and hits the wall gently as he nods before walking away. Sure. Fun.

It takes three hours to drive to his destination. He checks his pockets and makes sure they’re empty before he gets out of his car and walks into the seemingly abandoned building. He walks slowly and looks around at the cracked windows that provide the only light this building has.

“I’m not armed,” Dean says. “No tricks. Just a wish.” A birthday wish. A hand grips his wrist and he feels himself get spun around. He’s face to face with a djinn, his eyes glowing blue.

“A Winchester,” the djinn says. “Where’s the other and the angel?”

“At home unaware. Just me.” He keeps his voice even despite the slight fear he feels pounding in his chest. The djinn’s other hand sparks as he brings it to Dean’s temple. The world slides away and Dean feels himself being caught before he falls.

When he opens his eyes, he’s exactly where he started. In the middle of an abandoned building. He stands up and looks up at the windows. They’re not cracked anymore. He turns to the door and walks to the exit, brushing the dirt from the floor off of him.

“Dean!” Cas runs to him from where he had been standing beside the Impala.

“Heya, Cas,” Dean pulls him in for a hug and closes his eyes as he feels Cas’ arms around him. He’s probably only feeling his own heart hammering away, but he’s sure he can feel Cas’ slamming against his. “Come on,” he says when they break apart.

“Where are we going, Dean?”

“Trust me. You’ll love it,” Dean says with a cheeky grin and a wink. Cas gets into the passenger seat and takes a tape out of his pocket. “What’s that?” Dean asks as he starts to drive.

“It was a gift,” Cas says as she pushes it into the tape deck. Dean would recognize this tape anywhere. He’d made it a long time ago and given it to Cas. He grins as Zepplin plays loudly through the car.

The drive doesn’t take as long as Dean expected, but he’s glad to park and stare out over the Grand Canyon with Cas by his side.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Dean asks, turning the music off.

“Yes,” Cas breathes, looking out.

Dean feels Cas’ fingers brush against his on the seat between them. He laces his fingers with Cas’ without looking down.

“I’m glad you prayed to me,” Cas says quietly. “It gave me a reason to fight.”

“I’m glad you fought,” Dean answers. “So I could see you again.”

A helicopter rises from the canyon and Dean’s eyes go wide. He takes his hand from Cas and throws the car into reverse, turning 180 and trying to drive through the kicked-up dirt. He can hear the sirens. They’re being surrounded. Dean spins the car around again, panic rising in his chest.

“It looks like an army,” Cas says.

“All of this for us?” Dean looks from his rearview mirror to Cas.

“Place your hands in plain view!” The order comes over a loudspeaker from one of the cars. “Any failure to obey that command will be considered an act of aggression against us!” Dean tunes them out as they continue their demands. He grabs his gun and starts to reload.

“What are you doing, Dean?” Cas asks.

“I’m not givin’ up.” He presses the bullets in hastily. “I just got you back.”

“Okay. Let’s not get caught.” Dean looks up at Cas’ words.

“What’re you talkin’ about?”

“Let’s keep going.” Cas’ blue eyes are piercing and pleading. He looks from Dean to the cliff they’re facing. “Go.”

“You sure?” Dean asks.

“Yes.” Cas nods and looks back at Dean. “As long as we’re together.” Dean grins and nods.

“Cas,” he breathes before he pulls Cas to him and their lips crash together. His fingers rake through Cas’ thick hair as his lips part for him. He can feel Cas’ hand on his jaw and his teeth against his lip. They laugh into each other as they part.

Dean nods and floors it, speeding toward the cliff. He holds out his hand and Cas takes it without hesitation, their fingers winding together. The tires leave the ground and Dean suddenly feels weightless. He squeezes Cas’ hand and turns to look at him, wanting his face to be the last thing he sees.

His dark hair is wild from Dean’s fingers dragging through it. His eyes hold all the shades of blue that the sky holds. His lips are perfect and slightly parted, taking in a breath.

“Dean.”

“Cas.”

“Dean!” Dean blinks blearily, the dream tearing itself up and disintegrating. He can’t focus. He’s so cold and tired and Cas is there. Cas. “Let me heal you,” he pleads. His face swims into focus. Why is he here? He didn’t tell anyone he was going to be here. “What were you doing here?”

“It’s my birthday,” Dean says on an exhale. He feels Cas’ hand on the side of his face and wonders if he has enough blood left to blush. Cas is healing him. He can feel the heat of the grace in Cas’ palm. He doesn’t fight.

“You could have died,” Cas says. Is it anger? Worry?

“Not with my guardian angel,” Dean says as he sits up. His head had been in Cas’ lap, cradled gently. He clenches his jaw and looks away from his best friend. “Thanks, Cas.” He looks toward the door and realizes how dark it is outside. “How long was I gone?”

“Only a few hours, but multiple djinn were feeding on you. How did this happen?”

“Come on, Cas. It’s a long drive back.” He gets up at the same time as Cas and walks toward his exit.

“I didn’t know today was your birthday,” Cas says as he gets in the car.

“It’s not important,” Dean brushes it off. “Hasn’t been for a long time.”

“Happy Birthday, Dean,” Cas says quietly.

Tag List: To be Added like/comment/reblog the post on this link @jemariel @blueeyesandpie @anarchiana @samatedeansbroccoli @localgaycatastrophie @fandom-is-my-middle-name @soloarcana @destielhoneybee @destiel-honeypie @misha-moose-dean-burger-lover @spn-bitchh @awkward-penguin-in-a-trenchcoat @skittles-rainbow-cat  @kingofmyimagination @k-lewis @castibella-shipper-of-the-lord @aestheticallydyke @righteouscomeuppancejogstheliver@deanwinchesterswitch @adventurous-blob @iamcharliebradburylevelperfect @ain-t-bovvered @royalrowena @telefunkies @em-thechaoticplant @canadduh-fics​ @alex-alison

[hornsbeforehalos]

Anytime, Sweetheart: Part 19

Pairing: JDM x OFC, Slight Corey Taylor x OFC Features: Ackles & Padalecki Families, R2, Misha Collins & Vicky Vantoch, Norman Reedus, Andrew Lincoln, Kim Rhodes, Briana Buckmaster, Ruth Connell, Corey Taylor and other cast members & OFCs* *THIS IS AN RPF FIC**

Series Masterlist Summary: (I’m horrible at summaries, but let me try): Kylin Ackles runs to her brother’s house after leaving her abusive boyfriend of 3 years, where she meets Jeffrey. Events unfold that bring them together, as well as push them apart. Warnings: Emotional abuse, Physical Violence, mentions of rape, cursing, drinking, recreational drug use (weed), Strip Club, RPF, NSFW**, GIFs, implied smut, Age Difference, Slow burn, Emotional rollercoaster, poorly written smutt, etc… 18+ please

(A/N: This is strictly a work of fiction that I came up with off the top of my head. For fictional purposes his S/O & Son are not mentioned. I love him and his little family, though, so no hate intended. This is the first time posting anything on Tumblr, but I couldn’t get it out of my head since my ao3 fic is currently on hiatus because writers block. Feedback is appreciated. unbetaed, all mistakes are mine.) TAGS: @jml509 @jesbakescookies @daddy-kink-confirmed @aquivercactus  @xagateophobiax @sorenmarie87 @missghoul18@jdmfanfiction @jeffreydeanneganstrash @through-thesilver-lining@beffyblueeyes @docharleythegeekqueen

   "I FEEL NO SHAME, I’M PROUD OF WHERE I CAME FROM, I WAS BORN & RAISED IN THE BOOOONDOCKSSSSSSS" I sang loudly, dancing around Jensen’s trailer as I cleaned it up for him, ignoring the sound of the door opening as I continued to prance around

   "-And here we have you’re lovely girlfriend, Jeff, putting on a show for us in Jensen’s trailer,“ Misha laughed, holding his iPad up over his face as he walked into the small living room area.    "WHAT? Dmitri!” I screeched, snatching the tablet away from him as fast as I could and turning it around to face the screen.

Sure enough, there was Jeff, laughing his fucking ass off.

   "Shut your fucking mouth, Morgan. You too, Collins,“ I snapped, eyes darting from the man laughing on the screen to the mean laughing on the couch, "Fuck you both.”    Misha raised a finger to say something, but thought better of it with the scowl I shot him and kept his mouth closed. “Never took you for a country girl, darlin’.” “I’m from Texas, Jeffrey.” “Touche.” “What are you doing talking to Misha, anyway?”    "Well, I tried to call my girlfriend about 10 fuckin’ times, but it seems like someone didn’t want to answer their phone.“    I quirked an eyebrow and walked over to where my phone sat on the counter. Sure enough, I had 9 missed phone calls and 5 unread texts. "Sorry, babe. Got distracted with cleaning Jensen’s nasty ass trailer.” “Why are you cleaning his shit? He’s a grown man with a wife.”    "I was bored, and I already cleaned Misha’s, speaking of which,“ I turned to Misha and glared at him, "Does Vicki know you stole her vibrator?”    Misha quirked that infamous left eyebrow, but couldn’t avoid his face pinkening slightly, “Yes, she does. Do you need to borrow it?”

   I scoffed, looking back to the screen where Jeffrey’s face had both his eyebrows raised in question. “I hate the two of you, so fucking much.” “We love you too” they both replied in unison.

“Hey there, beautiful.” Corey beamed from his end of the phone. “Hello yourself, handsome.” I smiled, replying back. “You ready for Vegas?” “As I’ll ever be, ha. Are you picking me up from the airport?” “Yes ‘mam I am. Meeting you over by the baggage claim.” “Good, I’m not tryna get lost and have to search everywhere for you.” “Are you excited?”    "Of course, this is gonna be awesome. Never thought I’d be in a music video for one of my favorite bands.“ "You’re makin’ me blush.” “Whatever, rock star.” “Well, you are!”    I rolled my eyes as I packed my bag, making sure I had everything that I thought I would need. I was heading out that afternoon to shoot the new Slipknot video for Vermilion and would be gone another week. Jeffrey had given me the side eye when I told him the schedule over Skype, still not feeling 100% comfortable with me being around Corey knowing his interest in me, but I had assured him that I could handle myself with him, which I could. Although I wish Jeff was able to be with me like he was in New York, he had his schedule and there was no room for negotiation in it. I missed him like crazy, and it had been almost 2 weeks since I had seen him now. We talked everyday but the distance and working had made us both irritable, and the last conversation I had had with him was us snapping at each other.    "Whatever.“ I repeated into the phone, coming back from my thoughts and into the conversation I was having with the blonde singer at the same time my phone beeped, signaling I had another call coming in. Looking down at the screen, Jeffrey’s face popped up 'Think of the Devil’ "Hey, Cor, um, I gotta go. Jeff’s calling.” “No problem, tell the lucky guy I said hello.” “Will do. Talk to you later” I replied before switching calls. “What’re you doing?” Came his familiar greeting the moment I said 'Hello’    "Packing" I replied, sorting through my makeup bag and checking that everything was there. “Mmmm. Don’t go marrying that boy while you’re in Vegas, now, ya hear?” I rolled my eyes. ’We’re going there already?’ “Don’t start, Jeff” “I’m not starting anything, sweet pea. Just teasing.” “You’re so fucking jealous, dude.”    "Like you said, I have no reason to be jealous though, right?“ He rasped, tone lower. I could almost hear his eyebrow quirking. "No, you don’t.” “And why is that, honey bunch?” I rolled my eyes again, “Because I’m yours?” I said it like it was obvious. “Good girl.” I rolled my eyes again. “Stop rolling those eyes at me girl, they’re gonna get stuck back there one day.” “You sound like my father.”    "Not quite, even though I do like it when you call me Daddy.“ He drawled, raspy chuckle slithering through the phone line.    "Well, Daddy, I’ll roll my eyes at you if I want. What are you gonna do about it from all the way across the country?” “Brat, I will get on a plane right now and fly over there and whoop that ass.” “By the time you get here I’ll already be in Vegas. With Corey.” “Yup, your'e gonna get it.” He growled. “Oh honey, I can get it whenever I want.” Another growl. I was getting to him. Always so much fun.

“He…he…he.” I giggled devilishly.

“When am I even gonna get to see you again?”    "Ummm, well, I’ll be back here in a week, we’ve got the scoring to do still for Gish and then I should have a couple weeks free time. Don’t you have a con in Houston soon?“ "Yeah.”    "Well, I’ve been meaning to go see the family, maybe I can fly out to Dallas and then Drive down there to see you?“ "That could work” I could tell he was smiling now. “Good.”

   When I arrived in Vegas late that night I was greeted with multiple reporters lined up at the gate waiting for me. “Kylin, Kylin! Where’s Jeffrey? What are you doing here in Vegas?”    I smiled and waved but didn’t say anything, worming past them to the baggage claim to look for Corey.    When I found him, he himself was being bugged by 2 women with cameras and notepads, them asking questions about what he was doing here, how things had been, et cetera.

   "I’m here waiting to pick up a friend. Oh, there she is!“ He instantly through his arm over my shoulders as I approached, pulling me into a tight hug. Naturally, a picture was taken that same moment.    "Here we go,” I muttered, rolling my eyes for a second before throwing on a fake smile.    "What are you two doing in Vegas together, Kylin? Does Jeffrey know you’re here?“    My mouth dropped open as I choked out a disbelieving laugh at her and raised my eyebrows, "Good try, Red. Good Try. Corey is a friend of mine and I’m helping him out with a project he’s working on here. And to answer your second question, if Jeff didn’t already know where I was, then he sure would know here shortly, correct?”    The red headed woman stuttered for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts. We didn’t give her a chance to figure out what to say next, though, because with perfect timing my suitcase came circling around the belt and Corey grabbed it before hurriedly leading me towards the exit.    "I guarantee you I’m about to get a phone call in three…two…one.“ I said once we were in the car and had driven down the highway a little bit. My phone vibrated on cue, displaying Jeffrey’s face. "Hello, Darling.” “Well hello to you too, Dear”    "As you probably already know I have landed and have been successfully captured by Mr. Taylor.“ "Oh he’s Mr. Taylor now, is he?”    "Dude, are you on your period or something?“ I snapped, not wanting to deal with this right now. "Woman.” He growled warningly. “Well,?” I challenged. “I’m going to hang up the phone now. Call me when you have a moment alone.” “You’re a fucking brat, Jeffrey.”    "Only when you’re one, Sweetheart.“ and with that he hung up the phone. I turned the screen off and shook my head at it, Corey looking over to me from the driver’s seat. "Everything okay?” I sighed, “Yeah, Jeffrey just being Jeffrey.” “Thing’s good between ya’ll?”    "Oh yeah, things are great, he just gets bitchy when it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.“ "Completely understandable. Long distance is defiantly hard.”    "Yeah, that’s for sure. Not too much longer 'till I see him though and can work all that grumpiness out of him.“ I laughed, shaking my head again. "L-M-A-O” He replied, laughing.

   I was flipping and contorting myself around the pole, flinging myself upside down and holding onto poses as the camera man whirled around me, catching the shots he needed as I made my way around the metal to the time of the song. The director had been thrilled that I needed very little direction and was so well skilled in the art of pole dancing. Corey moved to his place in the shot, moving to pull me off the pole and into his arms as the 'scene’ called for. I felt his arms wrap around my waist as I held myself out, letting myself fall into him so he could catch me. I suddenly felt a bout of nervousness sweep over me as he set me down on my feet and spun me around to the time of the beat, he dipped me down and lowered his face to mine. 

You’re just fucking acting, Kylin. Get it together.    Our lips met as he swung me back up upright, him twirling us around in a dance with our mouths pressed together. Per script, my eyes stayed blank and expressionless, but my heart was hammering in my chest. Corey’s fingers gripped my waist through the flowy dress I was wearing, pinching the fabric between his fingers. I don’t know if he meant to or not, or if he even really did, but I could swear I felt the vibration of his lips against mine that muffled a groan into his mouth. When he finally pulled away and opened his eyes, his pupils were dilated and he dug his fingers into my hip again, before spinning me away from him so I could climb back up the pole.    The director called cut and the volume lowered at the same time that I did, just in time to see someone I least expected plop themselves into the chair beside where the director sat.    "What the fuck are you doing here?“ I asked, shaking my head as I walked towards him. Corey instantly followed and clapped him on the back in greeting nervously.

   "Playin’ spy.” He answered honestly, ignoring Corey as he wiggled sideways in the chair and stretched his legs over the arm as he leaned his head back and stuffed his mouth with a handful of popcorn from Craft Services, “You tell your boyfrien’ about that little scene there, Ky?”    My eyes narrowed at him as I swallowed thickly, looking from him to Corey before replying “It’s not like he tells me when Negan has scenes with his wives, so I didn’t think it was important.”    "He also hasn’t been on a date with any of those women either, now has he?“He retorted sarcastically, finally moving his attention to Corey, "How’s it going, man?”    I sighed as Corey gulped and nodded his head at Norman “Going good, man. Nice to see you.”    Norman’s eyes went back to me from him as he dug his phone out of his pocket, “Mmmmhmmm.”    "Is this my fucking life?“ I mumbled, before spinning on my heals and wandering off to find something to eat, anything to get away from the awkwardness.        But of course the awkwardness was unrelenting, because as soon as I made it back to the craft services table, my phone rang. Here we fucking go. "Hey honey,” I answered innocently, playing it cool. “Really, Kylin? Fucking really?” he, on the other hand, was not very cool at all.    "I see you’ve spoken to your agent.“ I said, narrowing my eyes in the direction of Norman, who was still sitting in the chair I left him in, speaking with Corey. "You’re God damned right I did, what the fuck? You couldn’t even tell me?”    "Tell me, Jeffrey, when’s the last time Negan kissed one of his wives?“ I snapped back, irritation growing. "It’s not the same.” he growled    "How in the Hell is it not the same, Morgan?“ I growled right back, teeth clenched together.    "Well, I don’t know, Kylin, let me go grab Elyse, or Chloe, take them out to dinner and show them a good time before the next scene, huh?”    "What? Really, Jeffrey? I don’t understand why you’re acting like you don’t trust me.“ "I trust you, Kylin. It’s him I don’t trust.”    I rolled my eyes and cocked my head with a sigh, the need for a cigarette growing rapidly with the frustration. I walked back over to where my purse was by Norman, flipping him off while digging for my smokes. He laughed, which made Jeffrey laugh in my ear. “You’re gonna give him shit, aren’t you?” Jeff rasped as I began walking away    "Oh living Hell, darling. Living Hell.“ I giggled menacingly, opening the door and stepping outside.    "You really wanna know why I sent him?” Jeffrey asked, voice kinder and sincere, “Hmmmm?” I asked, pressing a cigarette to my lips and lighting it. “After what happened in New York, baby doll, I ain’t takin’ no risks.”    My lungs tightened from his words, the hair on the back of my neck standing on end as I leaned against the side of the building. It almost felt as if someone was watching me, but I chocked it up to Jeffrey’s reminder and my general nervousness. I shook my head of the feeling and took a drag of my cigarette, sighing loudly on exhale. “I miss you,” I said mournfully, not wanting to argue with him anymore. “I miss you too, baby girl, so fucking much it hurts.” “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, I didn’t want you to…react that way.” “Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?”    "Wow, Jeff. Fucking wow. I’m trying to apologize and you say that shit? You know what? Fuck this.“ I seethed, sliding the disconnect button with a grunt, not believing that he actually had said that to me. "Fucking asshole,” I muttered, taking another drag.    The feeling someone was near attached itself to me again, but when I looked around I saw no one. There was a noise, like the sound of a door closing near by and I squinted my eyes in the direction of the sound but was instantly distracted as the door beside me opened suddenly as Corey and Norman walked out.    "Jesus Christ you two scared the shit out of me.“ I gasped, jerking back at the sudden motion.    "Sorry, princess.” Corey apologized, smile quirking on his face. Norman glared at him.    "You okay?“ Norman grunted, moving in between Corey and I and leaning into my personal space, "Ya’ll okay?”    I looked up at him and nodded silently before tearing my eyes away and looking back into the parking lot, dragging the cigarette to my lips to finish it before stomping it out. “Yeah, uh, we’re fine. ” I nodded again, speaking up to break the awkwardness.    "Look, uh, we’re done for the day, you two wanna go get something to eat?“ Corey asked, turning the attention back to him. "Yeah man, I could eat.” Norman answered, looking to me for my approval.    "Sounds good.“ I replied as we Corey opened the door for us, chancing one last look over my shoulder before stepping back into the building.

   Dinner went by sullenly, my mind dancing away from the conversation that the two men were having to other thoughts, like why I was still feeling put off. Norman of course noticed, leaning into my side in the booth we were at and whispering in my ear, "You okay?”    "Yeah, I’ll talk to you about it later, don’t worry for now.“ I replied, looking down to my plate of food and then to Corey’s confused stare. "Everything okay, Ky?” Corey asked, suspicious of the way Norman was acting.    "Huh? Oh yeah. Just….off, a little today, sorry.“ I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the stubborn feeling in my chest as I glanced around the restaurant one last time.    The men when back to their conversation and I went back to daydreaming until Norman’s phone began to vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out and smirked at the screen, answering it while holding a finger to his lips in my direction.    "Hey Keagen, what’s up?” he answered, smirk on his face that told me all I needed to know. “Uh, yeah, I’m in town.” his eyes shifted to me and I gave him a knowing look.    "Oh, you are? Well than, um.“ I pinched his arm with a smirk of my own, teasing him as he swatted my hand away.    "Well, I’m kinda looking after a friend right now,” his eyes shifted to me with a pleading look, and I shook my head, waving my hands at him to not to worry.    "Well, yeah, they should be okay for a little bit, where are you staying?“ he smiled at me, moving the phone to his shoulder to bring his hands together in prayer formation, mouthing “thank you” "Okay, yeah, I’ll meet you there at around 9?” “Okay, sounds good.”    Norman ended the call and returned his attention to me, eyes flicking from mine to Corey’s, “You’ll be able to get her back safe, big mouth?”    "Yeah, I got her, no worries.“ Corey replied, brows furrowing as another look of confusion crossed his face.    "I shouldn’t be back too late. I’ll meet you at your hotel later?” Norman requested, arm wrapping around me to pull me into a hug.    "Yeah, sounds good, Norm.“ I assured, dipping in to reciprocate the gesture. He threw some cash down on the table for his tab and left, leaving Corey and I alone.     "You wanna come back to my place for a little bit? I got a buddy of mine coming over who got some super dank.” Corey offered, picking up his glass of tea and finishing it off.    I thought about it for a second, unsure of if I should let myself be around him by himself. He did say his friend was going to be there though, so I agreed, “Sure, always down to smoke.”

   Corey’s penthouse suit was gorgeous, it over looked the strip and I could see all the thousands of lights flickering in the distance. I gazed out the window while he fixed us drinks before plopping down on the fluffy leather couch to take the glass of wine from him. He smiled at me and sat down, flipping on the TV. “Mind if I ask you a question, Ky?” “Sure” I replied, sipping the blood-red liquid. “Is Jeff….I don’t know how to say this…” “What?” I asked, curious. “I mean, he sent Norman all the way out here to keep an eye on you?”    I gulped, knowing where this was heading but not wanting to fully explain Jeffrey’s concerns for me. “It’s difficult to explain, Cor. He is the way he is because of…reasons.” “Involving me?” “Not really, honestly. He’s just…protective, is all.”    "Seems like he’s more controlling than anything. Surprised he even let you do this.“ "Jeffrey doesn’t let me do anything, Corey. He’s not controlling, he’s protective.” “He sent someone to spy on you, Kylin.” “There’s more to it then that, Cor. Just let it go, okay?” “you’re my friend, Kylin, and I just want you to be happy.”    "I am happy, hun. Just don’t worry about it. Jeffrey and Norman have their reasons, okay? Just leave it at that.“    Corey looked like he was about to say something else but was interrupted by a loud knock at the door. He sighed, sitting his glass down on the nearby table, "That must be Tony.”    He got up and opened the door to greet his friend, I rose as well and sauntered back over to the window, slightly irritated with Corey’s alligations about Jeff. Corey lead the man into the living room, me not really paying attention as my gaze had been diverted back to the skyline’s glittering stars. It wasn’t until he spoke that I whipped my head around at the sound of his voice. “Well, Well, Well, Look at this.��

   The glass slipped from my hand and came crashing to the floor, spilling the blood-colored liquid onto the pretty white carpet as I gasped in horror at the face before me.    A gun was swiftly lifted from the back of Anthony’s pants into the air to aim directly at Corey’s temple. Corey froze, holding his hands up while questioning, “What in the fuck are you doing, dude?” Ignoring him, Anthony’s attention focused on me, “Darling, how have you been?”    I remained pressed against the window, panic rising in my gut and forcing my body to shake involuntarily. I gulped as Anthony stepped closer to me, weapon still aimed at the shorter man. “H-h-how…"I started, but trailed of as my voice broke.    "H-h-how…” He mocked, face contorting in sarcasm before looking back to Corey, “She didn’t tell you about me, did she, Cor?”    "Kylin, what the fuck is going on?“ Corey asked, serious expression on his face as his eyes met mine, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed thickly. "Um, I-I…"I began again, but couldn’t, "I’m sorry, Corey.”    "I’m sorry, Corey’“ Anthony mocked again, face back distorted before he erupted in a fit of giggles, "Tell him, Kylin. Tell him who you really belong to.”    My eyes left Corey’s to look at Anthony’s face, the psychotic chuckle behind his pupils prominent as he licked his lips and danced his gaze across my frame, “Lookin’ good, puddin’, you know that? Sugar Daddy been feeding you right, huh? So what are you doing with ol’ leather face over here?”    I swallowed as I glanced back over to Corey, who still had the stoic expression on his face as he stared at me, “This is why Jeffrey’s so protective, huh?” he asked, understanding coming into his eyes as he put the pieces together.    "Oh yes, see, Cor, the only reason why I even was working for ya’ll is because I knew that you had befriended my beautiful fi-an-ce here, and, you see, she’s always too busy for me, so I figured I’d go to her“    "I’m not anything to you, Anthony, ” I spat, seeing red as I pushed myself away from my position to step in front of him. Brazenly, I grabbed the barrel of the pistol he was holding against Corey’s head and moved it in the direction of my own, “If you’re gonna shoot someone, shoot me, Anthony, I’m tired of fucking dealing with your sociopathic bullshit.”

   With the same Cheshire grin that I had picked up from him displayed across his mouth, he tilted his head, cocking the hammer on the gun and running his tongue over his teeth, “Sounds like a plan, baby doll.”

Corey screaming was the the last thing I heard before everything went black. 

[solnyshko-moyo]

Liability

Prompt: Based off of Lorde’s Liability.

Pairing(s): Steve x reader

Warnings: angst, language, mentions of death

WC: 5636

A/N: I’m not too familiar with the X-Men storyline, so bear with me if there are a lot of inaccuracies.

The team is gathered in the conference room going over an upcoming mission. The mission involved infiltrating a nightclub rumored to be run by hydra. Steve is debating with Tony who should be going in and who would be the lookouts.

Tony wants to go inside, mainly because the nightclub has exotic dancers. Steve thinks Tony should be air support outside of the club. “Tony you have little to no training in hand to hand combat. You can’t wear your suit inside or change into it quick enough if needed.” Tony slumps in his chair knowing Steve has a point.

“Me, Bucky, Nat will go inside, Wanda and Scott will watch the door. Tony and Sam will provide air support, Clint is going to watch the side streets from the roof. Bruce is down the street with the van running intel.” Steve shuts his folder and moves to stand up.

“What about me?” You ask wondering why you are being left out. Peter you understand, he’s a kid and you are going to a glorified strip club but you? You can help.

“You are staying behind.” Steve says firmly, setting his jaw when he sees the bewildered expressions of the team.

“Why? I can fight, I can help.” You might not have a power that would contribute to the mission, but you aren’t useless. You know how to fight, and damn well too.

Steve doesn’t hesitate when he says, “You’re a liability.” The room is silent. Natasha’s eyes go wide, Bucky closes his eyes and shakes his head, and Tony for once is speechless.

You stand there staring back at an unwavering Steve. You nod your head a few times, taking in the fact Steve has so little respect for you and your capabilities. You never knew he thought so little of you. “I understand, I’m a liability,” You say back to him, impressed your voice doesn’t waver. “Sorry for the inconvenience then.” You turn on your heel and walk calmly out of the conference room.

You’re angry and hurt. You’ve given everything to this team since the day you joined. You’ve done everything that’s been asked for you, you put your teammates before yourself, and you’ve saved all their asses more times than you care to admit. But the kicker is that Steve Rogers, the man who somehow stole your heart sees you as a burden, or how he put it, a liability.  You set your jaw as the elevator door slides shut and begins to ascend to your floor. You are a strong woman, and you'll make him regret those words by showing him exactly what you give to the team by not giving any more. You’ll go somewhere where you’re appreciated and wanted.

You throw some clothes into a backpack, not worried too much about what you’re grabbing. You fill your backpack with the things you can’t live without. Pictures, a book, and your grandma’s necklace you keep safe on your dresser. You shoot a text to your buddy Scott Summers that you are coming back to X Mansion for awhile.

“FRIDAY no one is to enter the elevator until I get off.” You tell the IA as the elevator begins to descend to the main lobby. You don’t bother answering the receptionist as you exit the tower through the lobby. They're gonna watch me disappear into the sun.

You know the team will be notified immediately, so you waste no time in hailing a taxi and telling the driver to take you to Time Square. You know how to disappear, you aren’t an idiot. You don’t have much money since most of it is on a credit card or in the bank. So you’ll steal a car and drive it halfway to the mansion and have someone come pick you up.

It’s Bobby who comes to pick you up in Eastchester. You haven’t seen him in years. You were a few years older than Bobby when you were last at the mansion. “Y/N! Scott sent me to come pick you up.” Bobby calls out his car window. You smile and jog over to where he’s parked.

“Bobby! Or should I call you Iceman now?” You tease as you pull him into a hug across the center console.

His laugh rumbled in your ear, and he shakes his head. “Bobby will do just fine, Shadow Lotus.”

“Ugh, no one’s called me that in years… I don’t think I’ve missed it.” Shadow Lotus is your ‘superhero’ name, given to you since you manipulate plants. You thought Poison Ivy was cool, even if she’s a villain in the comics. You get where she’s coming from, wanting to be left alone with her plants in an untouched place, not all the killing. You hate how people are destroying the earth.

It’s late when you finally get to the mansion, the sunset long ago and you’re exhausted. Bobby almost turned the car around to refreeze Steve when you told him what happened. If this is how Bobby reacted, then you really don’t want to see how Scott reacts.

The team watches in disbelief as you walk out of the room. For one, they can’t believe Steve said that and for two you didn’t even stand up for yourself. Natasha knows damn well you could have kicked Steve’s ass right then and there and no one would stop you. She could tell you were hurt, everyone could.

“Steven Grant Rogers, what the fuck is wrong with you?” Natasha yells, the first one to break the silence. Steve doesn’t even try and tell her to watch her language because he’s still staring at the door.

“I did what I had to do.” Steve sighs, your face had been carefully guarded after the second of shock after he called you a liability. But the hurt in your eyes wasn’t as easily masked.

“Not sure that’s the best way to win over the girl,” Bucky mutters leaning back into his chair, looking at Steve disappointedly.

“You’re telling me you’ve had feelings for Y/N and you call her useless?” Natasha clenches her fists together and closes her eyes. She takes a deep breath before continuing, “You’re more of an idiot than I thought.”

“I had to keep her safe. I can’t risk something happening to her, and this is a dangerous mission.” Steve holds his hand up before anyone can cut in to defend you. “I know she can handle herself, but she’s not on Hydra's radar. She’s powerful. She could cover a city in plants in less than a day if she wanted. You’ve seen her room, she did that in a matter of minutes.” Steve remembers when you first got to the tower. He showed you your room, and in minutes you had all but covered it in ivy and flowers. He had watched mesmerized as you set a small potted plant next to your window, and without moving a muscle, you had made the plant grow. Vines of ivy snaked along the walls and wrapped around the ceiling fixtures and framed the doors. It was beautiful to watch.

“She’s anything but a liability, but I can’t let anything happen to her.” Steve rubs his hand over his face, he messed up, and he knows it.

“Y/N is the best thing that happened to this team. No one would let anything happen to her Steve.” Wanda crosses her arms and glares at Steve with the intensity of a thousand suns.

“You should apologize before this gets too out of hand,” Clint suggests, he loves Y/N. She’s always asking about his kids and wife.

“Fuck,” Steve whispers and runs his hand through his hair.

“Sorry to interrupt but Susan at reception has asked me to inform you that Ms. Y/L/N has left.” FRIDAY’s voice chimes through the ceiling.

“What do you mean left?” Several voices ask at once.

“Ms. Y/L/N has taken a bag of belongings with her. She requested no one enter the elevator while she rode to the lobby and walked out the door.” FRIDAY responds dutifully. “Surveillance cameras in the front last saw her getting into a taxi.”

“Well done Steve. I hope you're happy.” Natasha gets out of her seat and stalks to the door.

“Y/N has many friends in New York alone. She could have gone anywhere.” Wanda sighs, finding you would be hard.

“FRIDAY pull up her phone, see if it can be tracked,” Tony asks pulling out a tablet.

“I’m sorry Mr. Stark, but GPS is turned off on Mr. Y/L/N’s cellphone. Last known location was Avenger’s Tower.” FRIDAY responds earning a groan from Tony.

“Watch her credit cards and if her GPS turns back on let me know right away,” Tony instructs. Finding you would take more than a miracle.

“How many friends does she have in the area?” Tony asks Wanda, hoping you would choose one close which would be the most convenient for you.

“She has a friend that lives in the Bronx, Wade. She’s also friends with one of his buddies, but I don’t know where he lives. And she’s got some friends in midtown I think.” Wanda racks her brain trying to think of where you would go. She only hears about people from your stories of before your time with the Avengers.

“She said she doesn’t want her friends on shield's radar if they aren’t already,” Clint interjects. He understands and respects her for it. He tried for so long to keep his family hidden and if Y/N wanted to do the same he wouldn’t pry.

“This is all my fault,” Steve whispers and hangs his head. If he hadn’t been so selfish and trusted his team to protect each other, Y/N wouldn’t have left. He vows to himself that when he finds you, he will make this right.

“Y/N! I didn’t know you were back, when did you get here?” Storm pulls you into a hug when you wander into the kitchen the next morning.

“Late last night, Bobby came and picked me up.” You hold on to the white haired woman for dear life and try to hold back the tears. You are stronger than crying over a boy. You didn’t want what Steve said to affect how you live your life.

Storm pulls back to take your appearance in, and her smile fades as she notices the dark circles under your eyes and the tears threatening to spill. “Honey, what happened?”

“It’s nothing. It isn’t important.” You smile, trying to brush off the impending conversation. She doesn’t believe you, and you know it.

“If it’s nothing then why do you look so sad?” Storm smoothes down your hair, she hates seeing you like this.

“I kind of quit being an Avenger.” You give her a sheepish smile when her eyebrows shoot up and disappear into her fringe. “Well, I left without telling anyone, and I don’t really intend to go back anytime soon.”

“Why? What happened?” Confusion laces Storm’s voice. She doesn’t understand why you would leave.

“They are getting ready for a mission, and Steve sat me out but when I asked why he told me I’m a liability. I’m a little much for everyone. I get it. Sometimes I let my powers get the best of me. So instead of arguing, I left and came back to the people who understand.”

“You’re so much better than any of them. If they can’t appreciate you, then they don’t deserve you.”

“It just,” you choke back a sob, “it hurts so much. I loved Steve. I thought he liked me enough to consider me his friend. I love him so much, and apparently, I mean nothing to him.” You can’t hold back the tears any longer. Your vision blurs, and you feel the hot liquid running down your cheeks.

Storm pulls you back into a hug and holds you tightly. Scott, who had heard from Bobby what happened, races into the room. He sees you and Storm embraced tightly and sandwiched you between them. It breaks his heart to see you like this. He and Storm share a look, both silently vowing to show you how much you mean to everyone at the mansion.

After your tears are dry and you’ve calmed down Scott leads you outside. You wonder where he’s taking you, but you don’t fight him. As the greenhouse comes into view, you smile remembering how much you loved spending time in there when you lived here. As you get closer, you notice it’s different than how you left it. Well of course it is, it’s been years since you’ve lived in the mansion.

“We tried our best to take care of it, but we weren’t as good with it as you were.” Scott smiles sheepishly as you take in the state of the plants. Most of them are alive still, they just aren’t as vibrant or perky as you left them. A lot of them need a good pruning and bigger pots, but for the most part, they are alright.

“You did well. At least they aren’t all dead.” You punch Scott’s arm lightly earning a chuckle from him. You walk through the rows, assessing the damage and making mental notes of what you’ll need to pick up from the store. Mostly bigger pots, the rest you could do yourself.

You spend the day in the greenhouse taking care of the plants. Talking to them as you prune, coaxing them to stand up taller as you water, resurrecting the dead plants with soft strokes. Even though you could have done all this without so much effort, you liked taking the time to give each plant the attention it needs. You could have easily manipulated the plants to be exactly how you wanted, but taking the slower route because it gives you something to do.

You’ve been at the mansion for a week before a mission is getting organized. It’s like deja vu as you look through the file you are handed: infiltrating a Hydra base. This time though it’s a warehouse that is supposedly holding a mutant hostage.

“Alright, we are planning on going in with the element of surprise. Storm and Colossus will take the back, Warren, Jean, and Bobby the roof then work your way down. Hank, Y/N and I will take the front.” Scott points at the blueprints of the warehouse as he assigns partners and bases. “There are two floors above ground but, underground is unknown. Bobby, Warren, and Jean go for information on their computers as soon as you can. Y/N and I will find the girl they are holding. Storm, Colossus, and Hank keep the building clear and if you need backup Bobby will help.”

“Do we know where they are keeping the information and girl?” Jean asks not taking her eyes off the blueprints.

“First floor is likely a cover floor. Probably going to store a few vehicles and crates. The second floor is probably going to be where the information is kept based off of other hydra buildings. The testing labs and cells will be underground.” You chime in, this isn’t your first rodeo in Hydra bases.

“We leave in twenty. Get changed and meet in the garage.” Scott stands from his chair and talks with Jane over the blueprints.

You realize you don’t have a field suit with you, only street clothes. So instead of going to your room, you head to Storm’s. She lets you borrow one of her suits, even if it’s a little tight. You are shorter than her by a couple of inches but more muscular from your time with the Avengers. The suit is a lot tighter than you normally wear, but it doesn’t hinder your ability to move around.

The warehouse looks abandoned from where the team is hiding in the bushes. The windows are blacked with dirt, and the paint on the walls is peeling off in layers. If it weren’t for the tire tracks leading up to some garage looking doors, you would have believed no one’s been here in years. Thick vines of ivy creeping up the sides of the building congregating near the windows. You watch as your vines cover the windows in thick layers, sealing away all the possible exits. The only ones that don’t get covered are the front entrance, back entrance, and the roof. The Hydra agents would be trapped inside.

The group splits into three, each subteam moving closer to where they will enter the building. At exactly 7 o'clock sharp, each team enters the warehouse. The element of surprise is on your side. The Hydra agents are milling around playing cards. Before they can open their mouths to yell about the intruders, you shoot vines of ivy at them, pinning them to the ground and strangling them with the vines. Scott and Hank stand next to you in shock, they had no idea you were even able to do something like that. The vines had shot from the dirt ground, but there was a basement under them, they had always thought a plant had to be present for you to manipulate it, but here you are conjuring up plants out of nowhere.

Footsteps scuffle in the dirt approaching where you are standing. Two more agents are coming to see what the noise is, stop in their tracks at the sight of their buddies on the ground covered in vines and dead. They begin to pull their guns out, but before they can do so, you slam them against the wall with more ivy vines. You walk past them with Scott and Hank following close behind you leaving the two men struggling to pull the tightening vines away from their necks before they end up like their friends on the ground. You walk into the main room at the same time as Storm and Colossus. Sharing a brief nod when they alarms start blaring alerting the Hydra agents of your presence.

The room floods with agents as you and your teammates spread out. Electricity cracks in the air, and you can hear Scott’s laser zapping somewhere to your left. You summon thick blades of grass from the ground, catching agents feet and pulling them to the ground. You pin them by their arms and legs to the ground with the grass, they grunt and trash around trying to free themselves. The grass begins to creep up their neck lightly choking them. You can see the fear in their eyes as they feel the grass begin to tighten around their necks. Their thrashing gets more violent as you move past the dozen or so men on the ground to keep fighting the next wave of agents.

Scott jogs over to you amidst the melee and pulls you toward the basement stairwell. Most of the agents are upstairs fighting the rest of the team. You and Scott take out the stragglers quick and easy as you make your way through the tunnels. You pass the testing labs and kill the ‘doctor’ in charge before you make it to the cells. A lot of them are empty and unused. There was a guard hiding in one, and Scott rolled his eyes and slammed it shut. You left it locked, not caring if it was cruel. You didn’t come to sympathize with Hydra agents. You came to rescue the mutant they are holding captive.

The last cell in the block has agents guarding it. You and Scott do a round of rock, paper, scissors jokingly. You throw paper, but Scott throws scissors. You roll your eyes and don’t bother moving around the corner to be in sight of the cell door. The floor and walls are concrete, so it takes a little more concentration, but you manage to squeeze a few vines of ivy through the cracks of the concrete. You surprise yourself, you thought you were summoning normal ivy, but to your surprise when you and Scott walk around the corner it’s poison ivy.

If Scott noticed or has an opinion he doesn’t voice it, instead, he heads toward the cell door. Beaming the lock off, he pulls the metal door open and hesitates before stepping across the threshold. “We aren’t going to hurt you. We came to help.” He calls into the room. “We came to get you out of here.”

There’s shuffling in the room, but the prisoner doesn’t say anything. “I’m gonna come in, so you can see me.” You call into the room. You pause, waiting for her not say no, but when she doesn’t say anything you take a step into the room. “My name’s Y/N, and my buddy out there is Scott. We are like you.” You crouch down, mostly for show, and stroke the ground coaxing some daisies to break through the concrete. You shift to the side, so the light hits the flowers for the girl to see.

You hear light footsteps approaching you from the left and focus on keeping your muscles relaxed. A young girl no more than eleven crouches at the edge of the darkness. You can see the outlines of her features and wonder how long she’s been here.

“Are these real?” She asks lowly, reaching out a dirty arm to touch the petals.

“Yes, I can control plants. And Scott wears cool glasses over his eyes.” You don’t tell her why he does because you don’t want to scare her. “We came to take you away from here and these bad people.” You hold out your hand and give her a soft smile.

“I’m Kennedy. I can disappear.” Her arm reaches out to take yours. Once she’s holding your hand, she slowly steps into the light and practically glues herself to your side.

You and Scott make your way back up to the main area where the rest of your teammates are waiting for you. Warren and Storm are nowhere to be found. Bobby informs you they are getting the cars since they are the fastest. Apparently, Warren airlifted them and used the extra speed Storm gave him with the wind.

“Kennedy these are the rest of my friends. Jean, Bobby, Dr. Hank, and Colossus. They are all super cool.” You whisper the last part after you introduce everyone. She nods slowly and waves back at everyone, but doesn’t say anything. She’ll warm up, you’re sure of it.

“The Hydra base is supposed to be housing something powerful. We aren’t sure what, but we think it’s a prisoner.” Tony hands everyone their files as the quinjet lifts off.

No one’s head is really in the game, they are all thinking about Y/N. She seemingly disappeared once she got into that cab. Tony tried tracking it through cameras, but it’s like she got in but never got out. Steve though has been up to during all hours of the night trying to figure out where you went. Trying and failing.

The quinjet lands a couple of miles from the Hydra base, and the team begins the trek through the woods. The warehouse used to be used for lumber storage. The processing mill is about a mile from the warehouse. Neither has been used since the 80’s.

Nearing the building, the team ducks into the cover of the trees and bushes. The team takes a good look at the building, assessing it for weak points and possible inhibition. It truly does look abandoned. From the peeling paint to the ivy scaling the walls.

Tilting her head Natasha looks at the ivy more critically, it just doesn’t seem right. “Does the ivy look weird to you?” The team murmurs their agreements, but they let it go, nature is weird.

The team splits off Tony, Clint and Wanda make their way around the building. Natasha, Bruce, Steve, and Bucky stay crouched in their spot behind the bushes. Bruce hasn’t taken his eyes off the ivy. It looks thicker in certain spots and hardly any vines in others.

“Ready.” Clint’s voice crackles through the comms, “One, two, three. GO!” The teams slip through the doors ready for a fight.

But what they meet are dead bodies. Steve stops in his tracks causing Bucky to slam into his back. “Steve what-” Bucky’s words die out when he sees what Steve is staring at. Natasha and Bruce slip around the super soldiers wanting to see what’s going on.

“Y/N… she was here.” Steve whispers. He takes in sight before him in shock. Dead agents are laying on the ground with vines tethered around their necks. The looks of fear still etched on their faces and their hands are clutching the vines. A little further into the building there are two agents pinned to the wall with more vines.

“It doesn’t even look like a fair fight.” Bruce inspects the vines and gives an experimental tug to one. Even though Y/N is gone, the vines are still holding on strong.

“Let’s keep moving.” Steve doesn’t wait for the others to say anything before he’s moving through the room to get to the next. The room is silent, bodies littering the ground. A dozen or so agents are laying on the ground being restricted by long blades of grass wrapping around their limbs like thin ropes. Like the agents in the other room, they were strangled by the plants.

“It looks like she wasn’t alone. These are claw marks. Over here it looks like someone was electrocuted. Who was Y/N with?” Bruce examines the body he’s leaning over. The one next to this body appears to have frostbite.

Clint’s team walks into the room casually, weapons down and not appearing to be ready to fight. “The back is clear. Someone did our job for us.” Clint shrugs, the missions a bust.

“Yeah, Y/N did it for us.” Steve sighs, “She’s already been here.” Clint raises his eyebrows at the grass tied agents.

“Let's split up then and clear the building? We can go upstairs and see if they left the computers intact and you go downstairs and see if there’s anything good.” Tony suggests taking the face part of his mask off. Steve nods and begins to make his way to the stairs.

There aren’t as many bodies down here, and only some of them look like you killed them. Their light footsteps echo the halls, stopping only to peer into empty cells. Steve approaches the agents who are slumped against the ground with poison ivy wrapped around their bodies. Blood is splattered on the wall where it looks like each agent was slammed against before sliding down the wall. Whether they died of strangulation or blunt force is unknown.

“Y/N did this?” Steve whispers, he can’t believe you were capable of something like this. He never thought your powers could do this. He knows your powerful, but you summoned a poisonous plant through concrete. It’s left him reeling.

“Her powers are manifesting stronger than before likely due to a stressor. I’d have to look at her DNA and run some tests, but that’s likely the cause.” Bruce looks over the bodies as well as he can while staying clear of the poisoned leaves. No one says anything, but they all know what stressor Bruce is referring to. Steve hangs his head in shame, it’s his fault all this happened.

“Hey, guys we found the surveillance. Come take a look.” Tony says through the comms from upstairs. Steve, Bucky, Natasha, and Bruce make their way back through the building and up to the second floor where the others are.

The team watches you approach the building with some men, a furry blue beast looking man and a man wearing weird glasses. They watch as you make your way through the building killing Hydra agents with minimal effort. The Hydra agents didn’t stand a chance against you let alone the team you were with.

“I don’t recognize any of the people she’s with, but all their suits have matching X logos on them. It’s not hard to guess she went back to the X-Men.” Tony leans back in the chair letting the video continue to play. The team continues to follow you as you move through the building. Eyebrows raise as you will the ivy vines to kill the last two guards. Tony was right earlier when he said he thought it might be a prisoner being kept here.

“Why didn’t I think she would go back to the X-Men. She grew up with them at the mansion.” Steve groans, the answer had been in front of him the whole time. How could he be so stupid?

“Because it was obvious. She’s hiding in plain sight, she knows we know where the mansion is but we don’t know where any of her other friends live. We focused on them instead of following up on the obvious lead.” Natasha’s impressed, she hadn’t thought of looking at the mansion either. Y/N probably hadn’t even thought that far into it, she probably just wanted to go home to her family.

You sit in the grass with your eyes closed, face tilted toward the sun like a sunflower. You’d been doing some thinking during your meditation. First why you had summoned poison plants back at the Hydra base. You figured it was just heat of the moment at the time, but the more you thought about it, the more you are unsure. Sure, you have a deep rooted hatred for hydra and what it stands for but is that the only reason for the poison? Ultimately they were going to die anyways, but it still bothers you. It was a fluke, you convince yourself, it won’t happen again.

You wonder if the Avengers are even looking for you. Probably not. You’re a liability to them. The truth is I’m a toy that they enjoyed 'til all of the tricks didn't work anymore, and then they are bored of me. You survived my usefulness to them, and they didn’t need me after that.

You push them from your mind. Instead, you think back to yesterday when you were in the greenhouse looking tending to your plants. Kennedy had followed you in, she had been sticking close to you as she settled in. You showed her how to take care of the plants and told her how you wanted to depot all the plants and put them into the ground. You explained the rotations you were thinking and how it benefitted the plants. She listened like you were speaking the gospel truth. It was endearing, and you were glad someone else appreciated plantlife.

You didn’t hear someone approaching until they sit down next to you. You don’t bother to open your eyes, you can smell his shampoo. “What are you doing here Steve?” You ask quietly and stay basking in the sun’s warmth.

“I came to apologize. I’ve been looking for you since you left. I’m so sorry Y/N.” Steve begins, he can’t put into words how sorry he is. “I never should have said that to you.”

“So why did you? How did you even find me? And how did you even make it through the mansion without someone trying to kill you?” You open your eyes and cast them down, you thumb one of the flowers that have popped up near you during your meditation.

“You guys didn’t erase the surveillance footage at the Hydra base. We came in a couple of days after you.” Steve trails off, his mind flashes back to the bodies you left in the clutches of your vines. You don’t say anything and continue to toy with the flowers. Steve continues, “I’ve been beating myself up about what I said.”

“You shouldn’t. You spoke your mind and said your opinion. If you wanted me out of the tower there were easier ways, but hey, what are ya gonna do?” You shrug, there’s no use in yelling at him anymore. That was never you, yelling didn’t solve anything. Talking it out sure, but saying hurtful things back to make yourself feel better isn’t your thing.

“I never wanted you out of the tower Y/N,” Steve says softly though he understands why you would think so.

“Then why Steve?” You don’t understand his game.

“Because I love you dammit!” Steve says louder than he intends to. This finally gets you to look at him. You’re eyebrows raised farther than humanly possible. Steve’s got a funny way of showing his love. He sighs, he’s going to have to tell you now. “I didn’t want you to go on the mission because I didn’t want to see you hurt. I care too much about you. I have feelings for you, and I know you probably hate me now. And that’s okay, I deserve it. I just- I wanted to tell you I’m sorry. For everything.”

You continue to stare at Steve in shock. He looks away, his cheeks burning and his heart in his throat. He hadn’t planned on telling you everything. “I love you too, you know. Even if you are an idiot.”

Steve jolts his eyes back to you, he looks like a puppy all full of hope. “You do?” He whispers not believing his ears. You roll your eyes and drag him down by his shirt collar. You place a soft, chaste kiss on his lips. Steve places his hand on your cheek, thanking just about every god he can think of.

He pulls back and rests his forehead against yours. “I love you Y/N, and I will spend forever trying to make it up to you.”

“I love you too Steve.”

[sending-the-message]

Case #2- Youtube's Most Mysterious Vlogger by JacobMielke

THIS IS NOT A JOKE PLEASE HELP

That was the subject line of the very first email my investigative service received. I have it saved to this day. In a way, that case shaped the years to come. It cemented that we weren’t just going to be having walk-throughs of haunted houses and going bigfoot hunting in the woods. There would be times when things became serious.

I started Mielke Investigations with my friend Moxxy in the summer of 2015. I was (and still am) a horror writer and I wanted to work more with nonfiction. Being an actual paranormal investigator allowed me to do that by enabling me to write my about my own experiences. Moxxy, a fan of my work who eventually became a friend, came up with the idea. After a terrifying first case where we investigated supernatural activity in a strip club (which you can read about here) I decided to make it official and had business cards printed for the newly minted Mielke Investigations. Moxxy had taken to distributing them to people who might be able to throw a case our way. Lo and behold, someone noticed.

From: (omittedemailaddress)@aol.com To: (omittedemailadress)@aol.com Subject: THIS IS NOT A JOKE PLEASE HELP

Hello,

I found your card at a bus stop today and I hope you can help me. Do you know who Opperyke is? He was a Youtuber I liked to watch. His channel was deleted last year.

I know you only focus on like ghosts and aliens and stuff so hear me out. My mom was having nightmares and one day she saw his picture on my computer and said “that’s him! That’s the man in my dreams!” The scary thing is I was having nightmares too! I’d be running through a maze and he would follow me. I would run and he would walk but somehow he was always right behind me. My mom used to have nightmares where she’d be at a pool watching me drown. Opperyke was the lifeguard and he’d never even try to save me. My mom doesn’t have those nightmares anymore but I still do sometimes.

I know it’s not much to go on but maybe you could look into it a little? Every time I think about him now I get scared. And my mom didn’t even watch him, how was she having nightmares about him? Am I just overthinking things and being a baby here?

Please help!

-Amy (Name omitted)

She was right, it wasn’t much to go on. Still, she was our only client (hah! As if we were getting paid) at the moment so I opened a new file on my computer: Case #2.

I wasn’t able to find too much that night on account of the channel being deleted before it could really take off. What information I had came from forum posts and the like. The Youtuber called Opperyke had a channel in 2013-2014 of minor success. His real name was Scott, though no one seemed to know his surname. He posted vlogs talking mostly about his life and thoughts. I was able to find a single screenshot of one of his videos off Google image search showing a video of about fifteen minutes in length and around 5,000 views. Opperyke was gesturing at the camera, his mouth open in mid-speech.

He looked normal to me, with his short brown hair, brown eyes, and thick rimmed glasses. His face was smooth as the day he was born and his shirt was a red sweater. And yet… as I studied him I started to feel most curious. There was something slightly off about his features, as if they weren’t sitting right on his face and the difference was minuscule enough that our minds weren’t registering it on a conscious level. Though he was smiling, his eyes looked… pained, maybe?

I decided to pursue it further and wrote a quick e-mail back to the client saying I’d look into it.

The next day I met up with Moxxy for coffee and broached the subject of Opperyke. I told about the client’s nightmares, what little information I’d been able to find, and I showed her the screenshot of him on my phone.

“Cool,” She said. “I’ve never heard of him but I’ll see what I can find out.”

A couple of days later she emailed me a link and instructions on how to view it. I had to download a browser called Tor and change a bunch of my settings. After two hours of frustration I followed the link to a hidden video sharing site, which I’m pretty sure gave my computer digital syphilis. The post was an Opperyke video entitled MY LAST. I moved my mouse cursor over the play button but before I could click it, footsteps ran at me from behind.

I whipped around in my chair, hands up to defend myself, but there was no one in the room. I chalked it up to the upstairs neighbors running through their apartment (a perfectly normal thing to do at one in the morning) and turned my attentions back to the video.

The picture quality was normal but the audio was distorted all to hell. Someone, either the person who posted it on this website of questionable legality or Opperyke himself, put subtitles in the video, so I was able to follow along. It started normally enough, Opperyke recounted the events of his day (he mowed his lawn and got a package from Amazon) and some of his sociopolitical views (he seemed to be a big fan of Mitt Romney and George Takei). Towards the end of the video, something finally caught my interest.

“So I have something to tell you guys. You’re not going to want to hear it but this has been a long time coming. For reasons I can’t disclose, I’m shutting down my Youtube channel.”

He smiled at the camera then and I couldn’t help but flinch. There was something sleazy about that smile. It was the kind of grin I imagine a heroin dealer would give to a pregnant mother right before selling her his product.

“For my closing thoughts, I want to talk about secrets. We all have them; anyone who says they don’t is a liar. Most secrets are harmless. They’re the secrets of the kid who stole the cookie or the husband who slept with his wife’s sister on their wedding night. But there are other secrets, secrets with power, secrets that haunt whoever learns them.”

He leaned in close to the camera so his face took up the entire screen. His features were hideous and I couldn’t imagine how I ever thought otherwise.

“Some of you know what I mean. Some of you know my secret.”

The video ended there and I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. On the surface, there was nothing about this video that made it worth looking into for a paranormal investigator, even if it was creepy. But on the other hand, Opperyke gave me a strange feeling. I’d felt this before, many times stronger then, in the basement of the strip club Moxxy and I investigated. I don’t claim to be a psychic or anything, but… I don’t know. Maybe having experienced what I did gave me a sixth sense for these things. I download the video and saved it to my Case #2 folder, praying the entire time that it wouldn’t mess up my computer.

That night while I slept, I dreamed I was in a grocery store. The fruit and vegetables were rotten and had attracted flies and wasps. The deli display was filled with decaying meat and fish. Untold thousands of maggots writhed in the display. I went to the manager’s office to complain about the conditions (and the fact that there were no other employees on duty) but it was empty. I was alone in the store. A calendar on the wall of the manager’s office was open to July of 2013. The 11th day was circled.

“Do you want to know my secret?”

The voice behind me was as distorted as it was in the video. The only reason I understood the words were because they weren’t just behind me, they were inside me. A hand fell on my shoulder and an electric cold spread from the point of contact to the rest of my body.

I opened my eyes and watched a spider scurry across the ceiling. It paused briefly, as if it knew I was watching, then continued on its way. The first traces of light glowed blue through the window, not yet enough to illuminate the room. In the dark, a voice whispered next to my ear, not distorted at all this time, “Do you want to know my secret?”

Yes, Opperyke. I really do.

It took nearly a week of asking questions on forums and in Youtube comments sections before I made the next breakthrough.

July 11th, 2013. That was the day Opperyke uploaded his first video to Youtube.

I had no way of knowing that date the previous week and yet it and the man it relates to appeared in my dream. It was the final shred of proof I needed to confirm something supernatural was going on (could I have thought of a rational explanation given time? Probably, if I relied way too much on assumptions and coincidence).

I asked Moxxy to see if anything significant or strange happened on that date, since I’d reached the extent of my researching abilities. She assured me that she knew a guy who knew a guy.

And he must have been a good guy because I had my answer the very next day. Moxxy forwarded an email to me with an old article attached to it. On July 11, 2013, in the small town of Marietta, Ohio, a 24 year old college student named Scott Eric Cranston was murdered in his house while his parents were on a date. His throat had been slashed while he sat at his computer, recording a video. His senior picture was in the article. It was a good picture; the unsettling, creepy features I saw in his video were absent in the picture.

Opperyke was murdered the same day he recorded and uploaded his first Youtube video. Then he continued to make and upload more for two years after his death.

It wasn’t the first time I’d heard of ghosts continuing to do after death what they would have in life. Many a tale has been told of deceased old ladies tending to their gardens even in death or the spirits of dead parents watching and protecting their still-living children. But it was the first time I’d heard of a ghost vlogging. The internet has affected our world in such a huge way, I suppose it was only a matter of time before it affected the supernatural world as well.

I emailed my findings to the client, who I never heard from again. There were ways I could keep investigating and gathering data but my curiosity was sated for the time being. I saved all of my data in the Case #2 folder and decided to deem it “Closed”. I thought there was nothing more we could learn. I thought I knew Opperyke’s secret.

I thought wrong.

Case #2 will continue in an update. Follow my author page here to be notified when the next part is up.