#(this is the only piece I have prepared I am so very screwed)

[ceryulean]

"You're wearing it wrong, Ivan---You're gonna catch a cold!"

Ivantill week 2024, day 1: Autumn/Sick!

[sirfrogsworth]

Froggie's (Almost) Very Productive Day

I try to fit as many out-and-about chores as possible into a single day so I only have one set of post-exertional malaise consequences instead of consequences after each day of doing a thing. So any time I decide to drive, I try to find several tasks to accomplish all at once.

My first stop was the Family Services Division in the hopes of getting some help with grocery bills. I am making ends meet, but it seems to be getting harder each month. And maybe I could have skipped my trip to Florida and saved that money, but if I don't do something drastic for my mental health, I fear this first holiday season without a parent could send me into the darkness.

I needed to do an interview to finish applying for SNAP. I wanted to do a phone interview, but the next appointment was in January. So I went to social services where they allow walk-in appointments. I waited in a tiny plastic chair for several hours until they called my name. She yelled out "Benjamin" because when most people see "Grelle" they aren't really sure how to say it. (Rhymes with belly.)

She started my interview and it was going swimmingly at first. But then she started asking questions about the house and my inheritance and my trust. I had no idea what to tell her. It feels like a mistake now, but I have had pretty much no involvement in that process. I have no idea how it works. And I started to panic because she was acting like I was committing fraud or something by not mentioning the trust. But the entire point of the trust was to protect my benefits. Nothing is mine. I own nothing. I have no access. But I had no idea how to explain that.

Maybe my lawyer can help me apply, but I did not want them investigating everything and screwing things up before we even have the estate through probate. We specifically hired a lawyer and went through this convoluted process to make sure everything was on the up and up. But she really made me feel like I was doing something wrong. And that made me panic, which probably made me look even more guilty of something. So I just canceled everything and left.

After a few hours in a crowded government office, I decided to head to a different crowded government office.

I know I didn't need it until 2025, but I decided to go ahead and get my Real ID thingie before my first flight. I was kind of hoping they'd retake my picture because my current driver's license is... well...

And I'm so glad they took my big terrible picture and made it into a smaller, more terrible picture.

People complain about the DMV, but the one near me runs like a machine. It was filled with people and I still only had a 10 minute wait time.

I'm starting to wonder if all of those 80s comedians who were all, "What's the deal with the DMV?" were exaggerating.

Good stuff, Jerry.

I head up to the counter and ask for a Real ID. She asks for two pieces of mail and my birth certificate.

And this disappointed me a little bit.

I did my research. I went to the Real ID website and used their interactive guide to figure out exactly which documents I would need. They gave me this entire checklist and I printed it out and went through all my records and mail trying to find everything.

I had to wait a week for my internet bill to come because it's the only thing I forgot to change to paperless. This took a lot of effort and I was ready to be validated for being so prepared.

And she asks for two pieces of mail.

Any mail.

So I was off to get new tires.

Driving around on 8 year old bald tires was giving me anxiety. I didn't have the money for new tires, but I remember the guy saying they had financing. Recently several of my past debts went past the statute of limitations, and so my credit score lifted itself out of the pits of "poor" and into the realm of "fair." So I decided to take a chance and apply for a Discount Tire credit card. It's a 6 month payment plan with no interest, so that didn't feel as predatory as all the credit card offers I get in the mail with 8000% interest.

We started going through the approval process and I was answering all of the questions and then I saw the name of the bank offering the credit. It was the same bank that tried to sue me and also the bank that can longer collect due to the statute. I was worried they put me on some sort of list and would deny me. But, to my surprise, they approved me instantly. And wouldn't you know it, they gave me almost exactly the amount needed for a new set of tires.

I'm hoping we'll be doing another auction of the house stuff soon, so I plan to pay off the card and then cancel it, but this was the only solution I could come up with to drive safely until then.

I was having a weird day where photos of crusty rich wide dudes followed me everywhere I went. Here is my good ol' boy governor at the entrance to social services.

And at the tire place, I noticed this fella...

Why does every rich CEO think they are a font of wisdom capable of creating compelling quotes?

Does he think no one has ever said "work hard" and "have fun"? And after he said this was he like...

"That's gold, put that in *every* store."

"Oh, and use that picture of me where it looks like a handsome gal just grabbed my undercarriage."

He probably thinks, "Well, no one has put these specific generic platitudes together into a single mega-platitude. I am a genius."

"Be honest, work hard, have fun, be grateful, pay it forward" sounds like he had a bunch of motivational posters on his wall and started reading them all at once.

Like, every line could have a picture of an eagle above it.

In any case, the guy at the tire store, Dakota, was really nice. He made the experience very low anxiety. And he really liked my Thor's Hammer keychain with built in fidget spinner.

He went around showing it to all his coworkers. "Look, it even spins!" And they were like, "Dude, where did you get that??" And I was like, "Amazon." Now I'm just imagining 10 dudes at a tire store all fidgeting their hammers.

As nice as he was, Dakota was still a salesman and had a job to do. He gave me two tire options and tried to upsell me. The cheapest tires had a "1" rating for winter. He said they get "super hard" in the cold... I tried not to giggle. But I explained I drive about twice a month and mostly to the grocery store. If it is a bad winter day, I'll just wait or get delivery. He understood and set me up with the cheaper tires.

He then checked out my car and noticed my tire pressure sensors were dying. I keep getting a warning light on my dash. Apparently they all have tiny batteries in them that die after 7 years. And you can't just replace the batteries so you have to install brand new sensors.

And this is where my social anxiety got me into trouble.

I don't actually need these sensors. They are usually inaccurate. I prefer to test my tires with an actual gauge. But I got so caught up in his sales pitch that I agreed to replace them... at $60 each. For that I could have gotten the fancier tires. I really don't care if an orange light shows up on my dash. And I looked up the price online and a pack of 4 is $30. Though that is without installation.

But still... I wasn't thinking and he was so nice that I was just like, "I want to please Dakota. Saying no might make Dakota sad." Dakota's job is selling me but that doesn't mean I have to buy anything. He would live if I had said "no thanks."

To make my blunder more blunderous, when they finished the tires he asked for my key fob. And it decided that was the time for the battery to die. And in order to reset the system for the new tire pressure sensors, you have to press two buttons on the fob for 7 seconds. Thankfully I had a spare fob at home, but if I want my fancy new $240 sensors to work, I have to return to Dakota and have him initialize them.

I really hope these are the Cadillac of sensors.

Or, like, the ones they use on Cadillacs?

They better be accurate, is what I'm saying.

I do feel safer with new tires. So I am glad I did that. And I gave them a good obligatory kick and felt the tread. They seem nice enough even if they get boners in the winter. It's crazy how bald my other tires were in comparison. Like, I can fit half my finger down into the tread on the new ones—which did not get them super hard.

The way I drive, I probably won't wear them down. They'll probably start to rot before I do.

Before I do, meaning before I wear them down.

Not before I rot.

I am not in a rotting competition with my tires.

I was then off to Sam's. I decided all of my hard work accomplishing 2 out of 3 goals deserved some sushi. So I grabbed some California Rolls and headed home. On my way out, a Hummer and a Porsche nearly collided in the parking lot. And they sort of got stuck facing each other. One of them needed to back up and they both signaled at each other like "You back up, I'm not backing up." And it was just this weird standoff between the two douchiest looking cars you could imagine.

I mean, you have to be a douche to drive a Hummer.

I still remember the mystery Hummer dialysis patient from when my dad was going 3 time per week. We could never figure out who owned the Hummer, but we knew it was not the underpaid nurses and techs. So it had to be one of the patients. And none of them seemed the type. We never solved that mystery.

That hummer started off a delightful safety yellow. (Elon would cry.)

They decided this wasn't extra enough... so they did this...

Katrina and I could never decide... are these cow spots or the world's least effective camoflauge?

There was another patient who drove this old beater...

And I loved seeing this car because we had the same one when I was a little kid. I'm afraid the aesthetics of the 1980s Caprice Classic did not stand the test of time, but it had great sentimental appeal for me.

But this maroon beast that squeaked and sputtered its way from here to there belonged to a very sweet older gentleman. Sometimes he and my dad would be dialysis buddies—sitting next to each other in the recliners. And the worst thing about dialysis was the boredom. All you have to do is watch broadcast TV with 4 channels.

All of the TVs require headphones. They give you your own set of super cheap headphones in the dialysis welcome bag. They were very uncomfortable so I ordered my dad better ones with cushioned ear cups.

His dialysis buddy noticed them and thought they looked nice. And then he revealed that his free headphones broke and he didn't know how to get new ones. He had been watching TV with no sound for weeks. So, I bought another pair with the soft ear cups and my dad gave them to his friend. And it just made me happy imagining the two of them watching The Price is Right in matching headphones.

I do have to make fun of this sweet old man a little bit. When I walked passed his car I noticed he implemented the world's most effective anti-theft device ever created.

That's right... The Club™.

If someone decides they have to have a 40 year old car with an engine that sounds like a dying hyena and a hubcap missing... they are out of luck.

But hey, you gotta protect what is important to you. And if I needed a getaway car and my choices were between his beater and the Cow Hummer, I'd take his ride for sure.

Well, I'd try... and then get arrested because The Club™ is undefeatable.

Do NOT look that up on YouTube. It's 100% true. (And the Lock Picking Lawyer doesn't count due to him being able to break into Fort Knox with a paperclip and then doing it again to make sure it isn't a fluke.)

The dialysis center is in the same complex as my local Tolerable Schnucks and I still see that maroon boat of a car every once in a while. I always smile whenever it is there because it lets me know he is hanging in there and hopefully still has sound for his TV.

Wow, I went off on a mega-tangent.

I didn't even finish talking about my day. Where was I? Oh, the douche standoff finally ended. The Porsche Douche capitulated and backed up. Probably due to the fact the Hummer Douche has 0 visibility behind him.

When I got home I started devouring my sushi. I finally heard back from my lawyer. He submitted the last of the evidence for my appeal. And I was finally able to confirm he got the records of my ECT treatments from 20 years ago. I worked so hard to get those. At first, they forgot to send all records before 2011. I had to call back and figure that out. They shipped them and they didn't arrive until a week before we had to file. Everything was so last minute and my anxiety has been... palpable. It felt like when I did my science fair project on Sunday night.

He's hoping to get a decision at the beginning of next year. He warned me that these appeals are usually rejected. And that the most effective method of approval was a hearing in front of an administrative law judge. But that could be delayed by up to a year. So I might need to figure out how to survive until 2025. As long as my brother does what he is legally required to do, I should be okay. But counting on that also gives me palpable anxiety.

And that was my day.

Every time I go out is always an adventure.

But remember...

BE NICE. EAT YOUR VEGGIES. PET CUTE DOGS. DREAM BIG. KEEP YOUR TIRES WARM... FOR REASONS. 5 LIFE LESSONS -Froggie, Mildly Famous Internet Person

[writefightandflightclub]

I finished it, I finished it!!!!!!

I have finished my Santiago series, Ride or Die!!!!!!!

All 87,000 words of it!!!!!

Eleven chapters!!!!!!!!

It’s so very close to me being able to queue all the chapters up and post it (I do need some time for the final chapter by chapter edits, and getting everything in the right format for tumblr posts etc. as it’s still in one big Google doc) but I wanted to take a little moment to celebrate right now :D

Wahoooooo!

I have been writing this for LITERAL YEARS, and honestly, I have never persevered for this long with any writing project in my life, nor have I ever written nor attempted anything of this length (potentially besides boring work reports, yuk!) before!

Idk, the series might totally bomb when I post it, maybe no-one will read it, or maybe those who do give it a bash won’t enjoy it at all, and I am trying to prepare myself for the fact that something I have spent YEARS on simply may not be well-received; but regardless, FOR ME, this project and these two characters and their story have a special place in my heart and represent an achievement I’m proud of, and so for that reason, I am very excited to be able to finally say “it’s done” and to (eventually) share it with you!

I’ll keep you updated with when the series will launch. It won’t be before 2024 (because like I said edits and all that, and 87k is a lot to edit LOL) but once it goes live I hope to queue-up a chapter a week for you; which is almost three months of content! *gasp*

The series will be angsty and smutty and angsty smut and more angst (with a friends to lovers / idiots to lovers skew) and it’s very character-driven.

If this sounds like your thing and you would like to keep updated, please lmk in the comments and I can add you to the series tag list (FYI, I will only add you if you’re 18+!).

I do feel really nervous to share it after spending so long on it - especially because I know it’s not “perfect” - but for where I’m at now in terms of my abilities to write multi-chapter stuff (I will say, I never set out for this to be multi-chapter so structurally I was a little screwed from the start - this was only supposed to be a one shot! :P) I gave it the best stab I could, and I know this has been a crucial step towards taking a much better stab at an extended piece of writing next time around, so I regret nothing at alllllll :D

Anyway, thanks for listening :D

[pollymorgan]

Coach Negan Part 4

Warning: Argument on the phone (and with the ex), Negan being Negan, blowjob in a public toilet.

As soon as my pulse has normalized again, Negan wordlessly hands me a napkin to clean up the mess between my legs. Then our food arrives. I don't really have much of an appetite, I just regret that we didn't stay at my place. I only have eyes for Negan. The incredible orgasm I just had has only made me crave more. This man brings out a side of me that I didn't even know existed. And the worst part is, that jerk knows exactly what he's doing to me and clearly enjoys it. He would just have to ask me, or rather command me, and I would probably immediately climb onto his lap and let him screw me right here in front of everyone, that's how much I wanted him.

Just as I pick up my utensils, my phone rings. The ringtone completely kills my appetite. Ringtone? Well, more like a warning signal. I've set the tone specifically for my 'ex-husband', to mentally prepare myself when he calls.

I drop the utensils in annoyance. With the words "Sorry, I have to take this!" I rummage the phone out of my bag and have to be careful not to pull my panties out along with it.

I answer the phone, "Yes?"

"Can you explain to me why you're telling our children that I'm standing them up?" he shouts aggressively into the phone.

Oh no, this is the last thing I needed. I've sworn to myself never to be the mother who drags the divorce through her children. That's why I often bite my tongue, even though he doesn't deserve it. Okay, sometimes I slip up, but even his lawyer would find it hard to justify his behavior, and besides, our kids aren't stupid, if they're stood up multiple times, they'll notice.

"If you stop shouting at me... we can continue talking, otherwise I'll hang up right away..." I say calmly and then look at Negan, "Excuse me for a moment...".

Determined, I stand up and head towards the toilets, while accusations continue to rain down on me.

At the same time as another woman, I enter the ladies' room. Annoyed, I look in the mirror and notice that my makeup has been slightly affected. I lean over the marble counter and wipe away the mascara residue with my right thumb under my eye, while supporting myself with my left elbow and pressing the phone against my ear.

Amidst his never-ending monologue, I can only interject with brief moments of "That's not true...", "Ask her yourself..." and "If you had been there, you would know..." It's all so pointless and only serves his need to vent. As usual.

I am well aware that the woman who has just left the cabin and is washing her hands next to me is eavesdropping on my conversation. But frankly, I don't care. Even when the door opens and the next person enters the room. I just hope I can end the call as quickly as possible without it completely escalating. Because if there's one thing I've learned in recent years, it's that this man is absolutely unpredictable.

I see in the mirror how the woman next to me shakes her head and leaves the room. Suddenly, my heart skips a beat as Negan appears, as if it were the most natural thing.

We maintain eye contact through the mirror and he stands very close behind me, while I am still bent over the sink.

My ex's words are no longer really registering with me. I can hear his aggressive voice, but what he's trying to tell me has been going around in circles the whole time.

However, something catches my attention again. "And what about that stunt in front of the school? Peggy told me that you embarrassed her in front of the entire student body by starting a fight with her gym teacher.. What's wrong with you?"

Now I can hardly contain my laughter, but I try to remain as serious as possible.

Defiantly, I reply, "If you actually listened to your daughter for once, you would know what a self-absorbed jerk her gym teacher is,.. Mister Smith more than deserves to have someone give him a piece of their mind..."

Negan looks at me in mock shock and mouths the words "What?". Then he gives me a pat on my outstretched bottom, which makes me flinch for a moment. Now I can't suppress my grin anymore.

I see in the mirror how Negan's eyes wander over my body and he considers what to do next. His gaze lingers on my butt. Slowly, he tries to push up my dress, under which I'm wearing nothing. I quickly straighten up and pull it back down with my right hand.

Then I turn to him and our eyes meet directly now, making my knees instantly weak. Threatening I signal him threateningly with my index finger to stop these games. But Negan immediately grabs my wrist and presses my hand directly against his crotch. When I feel how hard he already is, everything clenches in my lower abdomen. Inevitably, I bite my lip and swallow hard.

I hold the phone slightly away from my ear and clumsily try to cover the receiver.

"What's this?" I ask tensely.

"What?" Negan innocently asks, "I just want to show you how damn horny you make me, and when I see your cheeks all red like that, I'm damn sure you don't find the whole thing so bad either.."

I briefly glance over my shoulder in the mirror and see that this damn guy isn't lying. My cheeks are bright red! Why am I so damn easy to read?

I hear my ex getting louder on the phone. Annoyed, I bring the phone back to my ear. "Listen, I'm in the middle of an important business dinner, if you have problems with our children, please solve them on your own..." then I simply hang up, without waiting for his response.

After a brief moment of silence, I grab Negan and pull him purposefully into one of the toilet stalls. As soon as we both fit inside, I close the door and push him roughly against it.

I press my body tightly against his, look at him innocently, and ask softly, "What should I do now?"

"Fuck, beauty, you know damn well.." he says with a confident smile.

But it's damn fun for me to turn the tables a bit and take control.

"Oh no, I want you to tell me..." I reply assertively and give him a gentle kiss on his lips, barely touching our mouths.

"Get down on your knees and take my hard cock in your sweet mouth."

"Oh, oh what's the magic word?" I tease, while at the same time undoing his belt and reaching into his pants. When my fingers touch his hard penis, I really have to be careful not to lose my composure. But from his whole body's reaction, as he flinches, even if he tries to hide it, I see that I have just as much power over him.

I pull my hand out of his pants once more, but only to hold it up to his face.

"Spit on it!" I command. Without breaking eye contact, he lets the saliva glide onto my palm.

I immediately grasp his penis again and smoothly glide up and down with the help of the fluid. The quiet moans that Negan lets out send little electric shocks directly to my vagina.

"Please, please take it in your mouth..!" he pleads, while the sound of the next woman entering the room and going into the toilet can be heard.

"Oh, very good!" I say and slowly squat down. I pull down his pants and boxers a bit more, and his hard, perfect cock is right in front of my face. Again, I grip it and with my tongue I slowly lick up the precum that has formed on his tip.

"Come on, no more games, sweetheart.. Show me how deep you can take it in your mouth..".

His words encourage me to put them into action. I take a deep breath and then let him glide into my mouth as far as possible. Even though it's not that easy, I push him in as far as I can. And I am rewarded with a soft "Fuck, yes, just like that.." from Negan. His hand lands on the back of my head and his penis twitches deep in my mouth. I let him slide out again. "You like that, huh?" I tease him, looking up. Without taking my eyes off him, I repeat the process, and Negan's hand presses me a little further against him. When I pull away, I gasp for air. Something that clearly pleases him.

His hand moves to my face, and with his thumb, he strokes my open lips and says in a deep voice, "You're so good to me, beautiful lady.. Let me come in your mouth, and then I want you to swallow it all, understood!". In a state of excitement, I simply nod and then focus again on his penis. I lick along his shaft. I thoroughly explore every vein with my lips and then enclose it completely with my mouth. With each further touch, I feel Negan's tension more and more.

"Fuck, yes.." he says breathlessly, before the salty warm liquid lands on my tongue..

[starsoftheeye]

TMAGP Episode 15 Live Reaction

I'm destressing after an exam so we're doing this again baby wooo

Pre-Episode

My YouTube keeps not showing the episode, it's been like an hour since the release and its still not up for me

It's not even up for my laptop this is so annoying

I can't remember how I got it to show up last time as well

Bro I keep refreshing my page and its not there WHERE ARE YOU???

Screw it Spotify get over here

THANK YOU SPOTIFY

who is this man and why is he just doing the toffee/gum in mouth/ face stretching exercise from every drama rehearsal i've ever been to

this is oddly scary

as a physics student... probably

oh its a gum ad

oooh implications

this podcast sounds cool

hi simon!!

i'm gonna stop talking about the ads now this post is so long already lmao

i love it when people dedicate episodes to their friends its so sweet

Pre-Statement

sam and celia!!

:0 he got them tickets? thats so sweet i love him

Theatre tickets can be fucking expensive as well jesus he is down bad

ah yes, my favourite piece of theatre to bring a date to: The Pillowman

i love them

alice!!

oooh luke mention

every thursday i listen to a new tmagp episode and every thursday my samalicelia post becomes a little more plausible

she has really thought this through huh

okay this is probably alice meddling out of jealousy but seriously you cannot expect me to hear her basically asking these two to hangout after theyve been on a date and expect my samalicelia brain to not go insane over it

aw alice :(

jack mention jack mention

"babys are cool" shes so me

aw celia i love her

uh oh sam and alice conversation

oh so now youtube decides to work

i cannot understand what sam said there but i'm assuming it was funny and only a bit passive agressive

Statement

Ah another voicemail

this guy sounds like tim but not

oh god what fucked up dinner party are the rich doing now

"they wanted to know whos kill they were eating" oh this is gonna be interesting

oh no theyre watching

ah yes, very informative "prepare"

whos gonna die

ooooh a fucked up woman i love fucked up women

i know this is probably a very important character and i should be paying attention but i am a mere lesbian and i am finding this woman very attractive right now

thats when you realised something was up?

oh im so gay

theyre gonna aim for the caterers they are not safe

bingo

theyre gonna make them run methinks

they killed all the birds

oh are they gonna make the caterers kill something/someone?

oh no steven :(

these people are being very vague id be asking so many questions

each other?

EACH OTHER

PLEASE BE EACH OTHER THATS SO COOL

EACH OTHER YES

I LOVE HUNTING STORIES

this guys enjoying this a little too much

go on boris

oh no boris :(

is she following him?

OH NO HE GOT CAUGHT

AHHHH WOMAN

SHES HOT

HUH????

CELIA RUN

actually no dont you have a better chance if you stay i think

SLAY CELIA

lena what did you do

this is weirdly homoerotic

GWEN???

GWEN WHAT DID YOU DO

GWEN I LOVE YOU BUT WHAT

CHESIRE BOUCHARDS WHAT

GWEN?????

Post-Statement

ooooh is this lukes band?

theyre good i like it

awww these two arent gonna survive together

damn hes doing well

pfffft weedy git i love luke already

hello?? whos this??

lady are you okay??

alice run

ALICE RUN

ALICE HONEY WHAT HAPPENED

yippee more trauma for her to cover up with jokes

is she doing ellie the elephant oh my god

oh shes back

yeah alice you should run

im betting this was the stranger from the magnus institute

i shouldve paid attention to her little ramble lol

oh my god so much is happening in this show and we're only on episode 15

[alexeeeeeeeeeee]

Lesson One | Welcome to Devildom!

| 1 | Royal Academy of Diavolo

'Where am I...?'

…

In a dream.

Because there was no other reasonable explanation for the fact that Goh was currently standing dumbfounded in a huge medieval-looking courtroom, being stared at by several men claiming to be demons.

'Demons. Ha.'

Was this a joke? Was he high? Even though he didn’t remember ever taking that kind of substance in his short life, maybe the stifling air of his small room in the university residence had made him dizzy enough to hallucinate things...

''... though we just call it RAD. You're standing inside the assembly hall, the very heart of RAD. This is where we officers of the student council hold our meetings and conduct our business.''

'Officers of... the student council? Is this a school?'

Goh had barely registered one piece of information that ten others popped up and assailed him with nonsense. A demon realm? A prince? What was his name again? Diavolo? One of the other men present explaining to him that Goh had been summoned into the Devildom as an exchange student aiming to complete an exchange program between a Celestial Realm and the human world? A man who actually happened to be Lucifer, Avatar of Pride?

'What the... Wait no, don't come any closer!... Stop talking already... A YEAR!?'

Oh, and now Lucifer (?) was handing him what looked an awful lot like an iPhone − a... D.D.D.? − and was informing him that it would be used to communicate with them and to invoke magic cards via a magic virtual book that would allow him to fight against other demons to strengthen his soul.

'Please, Goh, just wake up already... all this seems way to lucid for me to be reassured that nothing's real.'

...

Looked after by the Avatar of Greed, Lucifer's (?) brother?

Why didn't it sound promising?...

| 2 | The Seven Brothers

''So, what business does a human got with THE Mammon?''

''You'll... apparently be in charge of me from now on.''

''No way! There's nothin' in it for me.''

Great.

So one of the little brothers of Lucifer (?) had already some beef against him because his older brother obliged him to take care of the human.

The three other men in the courtroom were apparently also siblings of Lucifer (?), the gorgeous champagne-haired being the Avatar of Lust, Asmodeus (?); the passive-aggressive blond, the Avatar of Wrath, Satan (?); the giant and hungry redhead, the Avatar of Gluttony, Beelzebub (?).

'Aren’t Lucifer and Satan supposed to be the same being? Also, those Avatar Lords seem to embody the seven deadly sins, which means there must be two other brothers for envy and sloth…'

Goh had a really hard time trying to correctly understand the situation, and he was still not completly sure whether all this circus was reality, but since taking the phone − the D.D.D. −, he had this uncomfortable feeling that he might not be dreaming.

After all, the device felt pretty real to him.

Heavy, even.

As the presence of the five men (?) around him. He didn't feel extremely safe with them near him, even though Diavolo said that the brothers were going to protect him of potential demons disagreeing with the prince who might try something against him to screw things up.

Thus, Goh would have to live with them in the House of Lamentation.

And thus, Goh needed to collect as much informations as he could. Because if this interdimensional exchange program was his new life − for a whole year −, he needed to be prepared.

Had to be prepared.

Otherwise, there was a possibility that he could never be able to return to his normal life.

And maybe that the courtroom door presently opening would be one of the first danger that he would need to be aware of.

| 3 | Mammon, Avatar of Greed

Goh was so screwed.

He was definitely not dreaming.

The rush of fear that he felt as Mammon approched him and grabbed his shirt before ordering to give him all his money was way to real to only be a construction of his imagination.

Goh tried hard not to show any emotion, like he'd been doing since he'd become aware of his surroundings, as the tan-skinned and silver-haired demon was threatening to eat him right in front of his face, but it was a bit difficult when a fiery blue-green gaze and a hot breath were assailing him.

He got even more convinced that all what was happening was reality when Lucifer hit Mammon hard enough to let go and to cause him and the human he has been holding to stumble a few steps from the shock of the impact.

At this, Goh couldn't help but surreptitiously widen his eyes, momentarily stunned by the raw strength the demon was capable of displaying.

'I'm going to die. Protected? Hell, those brothers will be the cause of my death!'

Even though he had just been kind of attacked − technically, the demon hadn’t touch him −, the human felt a little confused when Satan revealed that Mammon really only cared about the money of someone, not the someone in question, because the bad feeling that was swarming tirelessly in the depths of his gut seemed to lighten a little when Goh's shaken mind had witnessed Mammon's reaction to Asmodeus' derogatory remark : the Avatar of Greed hadn't respond by making use of this threatening aura that Lucifer and Satan had released a little earlier when the latter was presented.

Even though the silver-haired demon obviously cared a lot about money − Satan called it ''grimm'', right? −, the human was able to perceive that he was also capable of restraint.

From the way Mammon's brothers − minus Beelzebub − insulted him without flinching, Goh deduced that this was the usual way of treating the second eldest.

Second eldest who, if one followed a logic of power scale, must have been the second strongest of the siblings, just after Lucifer.

At second glance, Mammon appeared to be a free spirit, thus explaining why he didn't look eager to personally take care of Goh during his stay in the Devildom, but maybe he was really not the worst protector that could be.

'I guess he looks more reasonable and sincere than Satan, Asmodeus or Lucifer... As for Beelzebub, I think that if I don't touch his food, he should leave me alone. Maybe I can survive this... I just have to not get involved in things that don't concern me and I should be fine. I think... I hope.'

''Alright, human, listen up. As much as I don't want to look after you, I've got no choice. So in return, you better make sure you don't cause me any trouble, got it?''

A bit calmer than five minutes ago, Goh took a few seconds to size up his interlocutor, the demon's blue-green eyes glinting mostly with annoyance and resignation, but also with a spark that he could describe as curiosity.

Relaxing his imperturbable expression a little, Goh nodded, thus sealing their future collaboration.

| 4 | Good Luck

''Humans, angels, demons, I imagine a universe where each accepts the other. Where we are brought together as friends. This is my dream, and I'm asking you to be the foundation for it.''

'Talking about an utopia...'

It wasn't like Goh was mad at them for kidnapping him without any warning only to throw him into this whole new and dangerous world, no : he was just internally furious and worried and so, so lost.

He was just a random university student, with common short and messy brown hair and even more common chocolate brown eyes. He wasn't tall, nor was he small, he wasn't particularly fit − just the right healthy shape to make his body work.

He was a nobody amongst nobodies.

Not even thirty minutes ago, he had been in his campus dorm, reading an anthropology book while trying to not suffocate from the late summer heat − nothing that was most normal and banal in his eyes.

But now...

The human let out a soft, tired sigh, a certain weight hunching his shoulders forward as Mammon guided him out of the room.

Even when he was little, Hugo Yatsurugi had never been the type of boy who believed in fairy tales or monsters under the bed. No, he had always been a down-to-earth, very curious child.

The mysteries of the world had fascinated him for a long time now, and it was human beings that had particularly caught his attention.

After all, what a strange creature this abstract life form was. Coming from the hominid family, humans had progressed from primate to the modern individual that they now boast of having reached in approximately seven million years. A lot of work and transformations to proclaim themselves master of the Earth.

Younger, the brunette had always wondered how the human mind developed and how it was really made. It was his curiosity about psychology and anthropological behavior that led him to study history and observe people. This was how he discovered his ''passion''.

Analyze, decode, then try to help if he could.

Neither Goh nor those around him understood why he had fallen for such a hobby. After all, as a kid, he hadn't been the most sociable of the classes he had been through, content to stay away.

But he seemed to always have had a soft spot for human beings in general. Even though the young man knew full well that the world he lived in was doomed to destruction because of human impetuosity and stupidity, he wanted to be able to relieve his specie of the scourge with which it had burdened itself.

As a human himself, Goh had come to believe that nothing and no one could dethrone the superpredator that they were. Obviously, he'd been wrong all along. Angels and demons now had to be added to the balance.

And this reversal of forces changed absolutely everything.

Especially for someone as realist as Goh.

As the human was crossing a paved street, he took advantage of the fact that Mammon was walking a few steps ahead grumbling under his breath, to allow genuine surprise to appear on his face when a bracelet adorned with a pendant representing Capricorn came to life with a will of his own and wanted to follow him, simply held back by the turnstile on which it was attached.

When the brunette was suddenly called − summoned? − to the council room of RAD, he felt immensely scared and confused, thinking he was going crazy.

Now, he just felt concerned, anxious.

And the fact that he only felt like that not even an hour after this whole traumatic experience and discovery destabilised him even more.

Taking his eyes off the rustic decor of the shops and restaurants − taverns? − of the Devildom, Goh let his blunt gaze land on the demon before him and frowned softly as his heart skipped an uneasy beat.

'Why does it feel like a... déjà-vu?'

| 5 | The House of Lamentation

Goh expected that the residence of the seven brothers would be able to accommodate him and them, but he didn't think that the house would actually be a mansion.

Huge, noble and austere, the old building seemed to have two floors, although the human managed to distinguish a third which must served as an attic. Several lights were on, informing the brunette of the presence of someone inside. Probably the two brothers who had not been present during the small welcome assembly.

''That rotten bastard... Does he really think he can scare me into doin' whatever he wants?''

'Ah, so he was complaining all along...'

Mammon suddenly turned around, almost making the young man who was following him trip.

''Just so we're clear... it's not like I can't say no to Lucifer, okay? I only agreed to babysit you because, um... Well you know, because... uh...''

'Because...?'

''Anyway, it doesn't matter! Just don't go thinking that I'm scared of Lucifer or anything! Because I'm not!''

''I know.''

It wasn't the first time the student had faced people like the Avatar of Greed, those who turned a blind eye and said the complete opposite of what they thought to keep face. The best way to ensure that a conversation went well with this type of person was to go their way.

Delighted that their interlocutor was of the same opinion, they would automatically be more at ease.

''... Oh. Okay then, as long as we've got that straight.''

Goh was treated to a discreet glance that he could have missed if he hadn't been so attentive and observant by nature. Just after, Mammon turned around and pulled down the handle of the large double doors.

''... Ugh, whatever. Let's move on.''

An imperceptible smile stretched Goh's lips for the first time since he was in the Devildom. He was happy to have managed to understand part of the behavior of his protector in such a short time.

It could be useful to him later.

Following the demon and leaving the darkness of the night for the light of the residence, astonishment quickly took place on the young man's face as the entrance hall presented itself to him.

Listening absently to Mammon while detailing the place, he learned that the House of Lamentation was actually a dormitory reserved for members of the student council − minus Diavolo, who had his own castle − and that others like it existed all around RAD. From what the human understood, the student council acted as a sort of Congress.

As to whether the power of Diavolo and the brothers extended beyond the academy, the brunette suspected that it was the case, if only with the title of crown prince of Diavolo.

'Which means that these guys are really big shots here...'

''Hey, don't just stand there with you jaw open. Hurry up, or I'm gonna leave ya behind.''

The student noticed with surprise that his inspection of the entrance hall had absorbed him more than he would have expected, Mammon having had time to start taking the corridor which led to the rest of the ground floor.

It's while joining him at a small trot that Goh's chocolate eyes were attracted by a bulletin board where several sheets of part-time job offers were pinned.

''If there's something you wanna ask me, you'd best do it now.''

''What are your hobbies?''

The young man wanted to see if the question would destabilize him. Testing his reactions was a good way to establish the limits that should not be crossed to avoid really annoying him by accident. In addition, it would allow him to better understand the character who would serve as his bodyguard for the coming year.

''Hobbies? Pff, I don't have any... Wait, how about this : I like taking it easy, laughing, and having fun! That's my hobby! Eh, though I guess that's more like a 'lifestyle' than a hobby, huh?''

Maybe it was because of his cooperative reactions, but the human didn't expected the tan-skinned demon to be this easy to talk to.

At first glance, the brunette only saw the snappish character of the Avatar Lord − the fact that his first gesture was to grab him by the collar perhaps had something to do with it −, but when Mammon appeared comfortable in a situation, it seemed easier for him to express his true feelings.

''Anyway, I was actually asking if you had questions about life here at the dorm. I don't get why you wanna talk about me...''

'I don't know when I'll be able to know more about you, or if I'll be able to. I can learn about the Devildom whenever I want.'

''But I'm gonna give you a piece of advice, so listen up.''

The silver-haired stopped moving forward and Goh had all the difficulty in the world to stop to avoid hitting him. His chocolate irises were suddenly anchored in the blue-green eyes of his interlocutor and the serious and harsh look that the demon gave him made him swallow in spite of himself.

Their involuntary proximity already made him insecure, and the fact that Mammon began to tap his chest with his index finger, as one did when one wanted to threaten someone, did not help to calm his growing anxiety.

''If you wanna survive even a day here in the Devildom, you'd better listen real close to what I'm about to say. If it ever looks like a demon is about to attack you... run away.''

Lowering his arm, the Avatar of Greed turned again to resume walking, apparently not noticing the stress he had just put the human through.

''Either that, or die.''

Slightly frowning, the brunette couldn't help but think that this advice was worth gold.

Of course, here, he was just a weak human at the mercy of an entire country filled with seemingly man-eating demons.

No way he would do otherwise.

''How about this? I vote for you to die, Mammon.''

'... Huh?'

| 6 | Leviathan, Avatar of Envy

COMING SOON...

| 7 | The Tale of the Seven Lords

COMING SOON...

__________________ 🕯 __________________

[ghostchems]

the sads

you've fallen behind on your classes at the ministry because of an episode of the sads.

notes: some hurt/comfort with our favorite popia. gn! reader. references to depression. 1k words. tbh i wrote this for myself bc i needed it, haha. ao3 link.

You are curled up in your bed underneath a mountain of covers and pillows. You hadn’t left your room for about a week and a half except to sneak to the cafeteria to grab some food and to get some fresh air in the garden every so often. It was a hard time of year for you, the cold seeping into your bones and your brain, leaving you without any motivation to do much of anything.

You had reached out to your teachers multiple times to apologize for your absence and to submit some half-assed assignments. During the good times, the times where you felt like you were in control made classes a piece of cake. The class topics were interesting (rituals, summoning, potions, etc.) and you had a deep interest in becoming a key member of the ministry.

During the good times. When you had the case of the sads, nothing mattered. All that progress was out the door, all that inspiration gone. You felt crippling fear that you were screwing up your time at the ministry but you couldn’t bring yourself to do anything about it. You stay under your covers, drifting in and out of sleep, scrolling endlessly on your phone.

There’s a knock at your door and you freeze, then peek out from underneath your cocoon. Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe you were hearing things. There’s another knock and you recoil. Nope. Someone was here. 

You climb out of bed and adjust your oversized sweatshirt to cover yourself (you are wearing nothing underneath). You kick some of the dirty clothes on your floor out of the way as you mosey on over to the door, taking a deep breath before opening it. 

A quickly hands you a note and immediately leaves. You are in a daze, clutching the note in your hand as you watch them leave. You unfold the note and you feel a pang of fear jolt through you.

Papa’s office. Fifteen minutes.

You scramble, throwing on a pair of underwear and pants. The fear is only growing stronger within you. You know you’ve fucked up now and you were about to face the consequences of your actions. Mental preparations were running through your mind and you uncrumpled yourself, smoothing out your appearance so you can look semi-presentable for Papa.

The walk to his office felt like an eternity as your mind continued to spiral. You are expecting the absolute worst: being expelled from the ministry – get your shit and get out. It was a good run. You could say your goodbyes to your friends, or just pack up and go. Move back home and be miserable.

Your hand is shaking as you knock lightly on Papa’s door.

“Vieni, per favore.”

You open the door and walk in, fidgeting with your hands as your eyes settle on him.

He’s scribbling something down, glasses on his nose, brows furrowed in thought. Once he’s done, he looks up at you brightly, removing his glasses with a smile. Papa is dressed in his black poet shirt and his tattered, tight black pants. His paint is immaculate; he looks fresh-faced and completely put together - the complete opposite of how you were looking and feeling.

“Ah!” He claps his hands together. “I am very glad you are here, tesoro. Please, have a seat.” Papa gestures to the seat across this desk. You immediately do as you’re told, sinking as far into the chair as you can. 

“I am sure you know why you are here.” Copia is still smiling and you can see the kindness in his eyes. It doesn’t make you feel any better, though.

“First, I want you to know that you are not in trouble, tesoro.” Papa looks at some of his notes on your desk as your eyebrows quirk. “Your teachers reached out to me because they’re a bit concerned about you. You are usually one of their top performers and they greatly enjoy your work.”

You can’t bring yourself to say anything, your mouth hanging open. But, there is a sense of calmness that falls over you. It is a relief that no one is upset with you and that you haven’t disappointed anyone. 

“Do you want to tell Papa what’s going on?” His voice is soft and he looks at you with such care. “If you are comfortable with that?”

“I-it’s just hard right now” You croak, a bit surprised by how your voice sounds after hardly using it for the last few days. 

“Is it the sads?” He leans forward in his chair and reaches a hand out for yours.

“The big sads.” You take his hand and he squeezes you, his eyes crinkling as he gives you a sad look.

“I understand, tesoro.” 

You can see in his eyes that he truly understands how you feel, perhaps more than you could know. Copia had been through a lot in his time in the ministry, having worked tirelessly to climb the ranks in order to become Papa. But with all that time spent, with all that sacrifice, there were moments where the exhaustion peeked through. 

There were times when he felt nothing he did mattered; that he was just controlled by the leaders, that he was just destined to follow their orders. He disappeared at times to be alone, to turn himself off. It could be suffocating. 

“You take all the time you need.” His voice is a mere whisper. Papa squeezes your hand again, with a smile. “I am here if you need support or, ehm, just someone to talk to about the sads. I was also thinking, perhaps coming up with a special curriculum for you when you’re, eh, ready for it.” 

You notice he’s less confident than he had been moments ago, as if something you said struck a chord with him. It makes you even more comfortable with him because you feel like you can see the vulnerability that not very many get a glimpse of.

“Papa, that would be amazing.” Your lips pull into a miniscule smile, the first time you had smiled since feeling this way. “T-this means a lot.” As your voice cracks, you start to get the feeling you’re about to cry. Somehow, you manage to hold the tears in but barely.

“Of course, tesoro. We take care of our own here.” He smiles again and the vulnerability is gone. “Ehm, would you like to circle back here in a few days for a check-in?” Papa lets go of your hand and shifts his eyes to his calendar. You nod slowly, shifting in your seat. He pencils something in.

“I won’t keep you any longer.” Copia leans back in his seat as you stand, your legs feeling a bit shaky from the whole interaction. Still, you felt lighter as you walked to the door, the weight of royally screwing things up off of your shoulders.

“Tesoro?” He calls for you just before you leave his office. You turn to look at him and he looks so soft, so gentle.

“It will get better. Prometto.”

[callmearcturus]

Also raised my eyebrow that the “pseudonyms” used in the piece were all TMA characters (and generally well-liked ones) which is something that’s going to play a certain way to the readers depending on who they’ve chosen and they definitely knew that! That alone discredited some of their journalistic integrity for me, even without knowing who the author was. The title of the piece was also off to me, considering it really wasn’t about Alex at all and that was acknowledged near the end. Not saying this means one thing or another either, but knowing who wrote it definitely puts some things in perspective for me!

yeah no zyka is sharing parts with the class and like this is so far from being objective or reasonable, it's complete horseshit

again: i am sure that managerial fuck ups happened and screwed people and that's not okay

but this shit is trying to build a narrative and uuhhhhhh

Was Rusty Quill testing the waters to see what they could get away with, and what people were prepared to call them out for? It seemed they hoped for everyone to stay quiet so the company’s image could stay clean and things would blow over. Why?

nah brah its pretty common to ask people not to talk about layoffs while they are still in progress, that's actually really fucking normal. you can choose not to obey but its not weird

An observation has been made to me that there’s a very good chance that the list on Kickstarter of stretch goal guest writers may be the totality of the people in the audio fiction indie world that have still not had an experience with Rusty Quill.

this is provably untrue and also the way it frames a specific narrative is incredibly suspicious

What Rusty Quill seems to be doing with The Magnus Protocol is banking on its fans to bail it out. Instead of putting in the work with their original shows, shows full of stories and characters fans have already become attached to, they’re pulling back and returning to what is profitable and nostalgic.

lmao fuck off

guess what, folks, i knew the second the KS was announced that TMA2 was for money. like, i'm sure they worked on an idea and formed it and tried to come up with something cool. but if one of their other properties had blown up, we would not be seeing TMA2

just because you are doing something to get paid doesn't make it soulless and evil.

and folks I'm sorry but: when you are a working artist, doing the art that gets you paid isn't a fucking crime, and the marketing director of fable and folley knows it.

also i hated the "WTNV is only big bc its gay" and i hate the "TMA only blew up bc its gay." get fucked. a lot of people found out about TMA bc jonmart but to be clear: if the show wasn't good, people would not have listened to 159 fucking episodes just for two boys to hold hands. grow up.

no fucking sell.

[tobiasdrake]

We're making bad choices. :D

Wait, is that Chrono Trigger influence I smell? We've got the party that stays externalized and follows you around, and turn-based RPG battles that happen right there on the map rather than in their own psychedelic wonder-zone.

This world map layout was the last piece I needed to say this game definitely took inspiration from the greatest RPG ever made.

I wonder if they have a New Game+ with a ton of goofy bonus endings based on when you decide to suddenly quit the main story and go fight the final boss instead. :P

In any case, Operation "Do what we're expressly not supposed to do and then brag about it to our authority figure" is a go!

But first we're going to have a bite to eat. Honestly, I agree with Garl. Right before getting into the most trouble of our lives is the best time for a snack.

And that sandwich looks immaculate. I'm a little jealous.

Oh wow, we are troublemakers, aren't we? These sandwiches weren't just good; They were sacrilegiously delicious! ...sacrilecious!

Okay, enough tasty treats, time to make mistakes.

HAHA! I am the best Winter Solstice whatever! This is going to prove to be a terrible mistake in a moment but right now I am riding this high. Let's race inside at a reckless sprint!

There's just something invigorating about, after much effort and practice, finally managing to complete a task you were expressly told not to do in the first place. Like scaling an office building on government property.

Oh good, so we're already in deep trouble. I was worried we'd have to go and tell him that we should be in deep trouble.

Nah, screw that. I want to do a good old-fashioned dungeon delve. Maybe we'll find a Big Chest that has a weapon inside of it. We can give it to Garl since he has no opinions about what weapon he wants.

LET'S GO, TEAM!

GOOD JOB, TEAM! We made it to the very first room and now we're screwed.

It occurs to me only now that, as all of our weapons are presently hypothetical, this may have been a mistake. I don't think the rainbow slugs are going to be very impressed if we lob Garl's backpack at them and run away.

They don't take a monster census in the forbidden cavern, Garl.

OKAY BUT HOW THO

That passageway is a straight shot to the entrance. It's a pretty tight passage with nowhere you could have been hiding while we were tromping through. It is physically impossible for you to be cutting off our exit right now, and I expect - nay, demand - that you cease any and all un-causal existing, and vacate from the impossible reality in which you have now found yourself.

...

Any minute now. Any. Minute.

Is it preparing to vanish in a puff of logic because otherwise--

That thing has a sharp horn pointed directly at the small of my back. This is going to be bloody. Why did I turn around?

GARL NO

I am immensely grateful to you for shielding me from that attack with your body. That was a super heroic thing of you to do and I appreciate you so very, very much.

But why did you use your face to block the horn!? You have a backpack, my guy!

We are in deep trouble. If we run deeper into the cave, we will most certainly be gored to death by monsters. But if we stay here, we have to face Moraine and own up to what we did.

...

I'm weighing my options.

Oh wow. And we're right back to screw Moraine. Can we seal the cave up behind us and leave him in here?

I want to give Garl the biggest hug and be besties for life for what he did for me. T_T But instead the future says we stop hanging out and never see him again. This flashback is ripping my heart in half.

Why do I get a bad feeling about that?

Our training began not on the basis that we have promise and the school recognizes our talent, but rather on the basis that we can no longer be permitted to go unsupervised.

We're the class screw-ups.

Well, at least he shows a more gentle side when he's not interacting with us, directly or indirectly. So maybe he's not a jerk. Maybe he just doesn't like us specifically.

Garl lost an eye and his two best friends all in one night. What a terrible night. That sandwich we all shared together is the last happy memory before everything went south. The symbol of our sacrelicious bond.

I hope he's doing better now. He's had ten years to move on with his life. People heal and grow and change. I'm sure we'll see him again; The game wouldn't be bringing him up if we weren't going to. But I hope he's in a good place and not, like, the Darth Vader of the plot.

"Go to your room and think about what you did FOR TEN YEARS" is a bit harsh of a grounding, dude.

And there it is again. Let people make their own choices! Obviously what happened here today was a terrible mistake committed in the ignorance of youth but come on. He wants to be our bestie so bad he sacrificed his eye for me. He's my gosh darned hero. T_T

[mad-hunts]

“ how did we live through it and how are we still living? ”

Two-Face isn't new to surgery. It's the only reason he has any hope of functioning - in the beginning, when his face was first damaged, he could barely breathe without assistance. Still, it's not all sunshine and roses now - he still finds himself under the knife again with Barton at the helm, needing scar tissue removed from inside his throat.

"you'll do as we ask and nothing more, and just to make sure - we'll be doing this without the knockout gas."

an armed, awake patient is not ideal in the least, but he seems unwilling otherwise.

@twcfaces

whenever he wasn't sure what to say, one might find that barton is quite content with staying silent — and that is exactly the kind of response that his newest patient had gotten from him to the question they posed. especially considering that two-face hadn't made it entirely clear as to whether he was actually talking to barton or not. though he did end up taking a glance at the two of them, it was only after he was done washing his hands. doing so was just standard procedure for working with any kind of patient; well, that, and putting on gloves. barton wasn't going to do it quite yet, however, with how they had to be absolutely sterile and it seemed like they were... on edge. though if it was due to the nature of the surgery, then he could definitely understand that; or even if it was due to being hesitant to trust him.

so, to hear that he wanted to be kept awake while barton was going to cut into his throat using a laser was a little bit shocking, to say the least. barton blinked at them several times from where he stood in disbelief before raising both of his eyebrows at once, ❝ uhh, you do realize that i'll be sticking a tube down your throat, right? and cutting into your scar tissue to remove it using a laser? it's really not something that i recommend being awake for. ❞ he was half-expecting the both of them to say something like ' psyche! ' or ' gotcha! ' before long due to the nature of their demand. but it never came, so barton supposed two-face really must have been dead serious about it. he let out a half-suppressed and still equally as incredulous chuckle.

❝ but hey, if you want it done that way, i could always make do. that would still involve giving you a mild sedative though because i need your muscles to relax, ❞ barton took a blank piece of paper out from a cabinet above himself and scrawled something on it once he acquired a pen. after drawing a line, he gave both of them to two-face. ❝ oh, and i'm going to need written consent from you that you wanted it done this way. because i am not getting screwed over if you experience something during this that you find very distressing. especially, after i warned you about it. alright? ❞ barton offered the both of them a small and obviously plastered on smile before turning around, which caused it to completely drop from his face.

❝ ah, sometimes i really do wonder why i decided to mainly treat criminals. they can tend to be very bad patients, ❞ he was talking to himself now and barely above a whisper while he reached for the gloves on the counter. barton might as well get prepared while they were signing that... right?

[writteninthesewalls28]

Family

A story about a girl wanting to find out the truth

A/n: Fifth chapter, here we go. (And just a reminder again, this is all reposted from my main blog so I have it on here as well and everyone can read them!)

Warnings: none

Milly's POV:

It was a real wonder I made it home safely with all the tears messing up my sight while driving. I sat at the house for at least 2 hours, but no one ever came or saw me. Not a single soul. So, as lonely and broken as I was, I decided to drive back home. To Calum. I didn’t quite know how to feel about him. Will he be mad? Will he be happy when I return?

I parked my car in front of our huge house and checked my Make-Up before I stepped out of the car. Like I expected- A complete mess. It was impossible for me to fix, so Calum will basically notice right away that I'm not feeling so good, that something bad happened. But is that really that bad? Calum has always been a very caring boyfriend who always wanted to make sure I'm okay, even though he tends to get a bit too worried about me sometimes.

Still, there is only one way to find out, what has happened in the time, I was away. Stepping in front of the door, I took my keys out of my pocket and opened the door.

"…he can talk to her" was the first thing I heard when I stepped into the house. I immediately spotted Calum in the living room on the sofa, which you could see from the front door. He was on the phone, talking to someone, but right now, his eyes only laid on me. I laid my keys down, slipped out of my shoes and jacket and walked towards him, already preparing myself for the worried asks, what has happened to me. But, against all my expectations, Calum just handed me his phone without saying a single word.

"Hello?" I asked softly in the speaker, having no idea which voice to expect to hear now.

"Hello Milly. Would you mind, if I’d give you to Lou so he can talk to you?" That was Harry's voice. Why is he talking to my boyfriend? These two haven’t had a conversation since 2017.

"Sure. Is everything okay?"

He sighed.

"Well, I should better ask you that question…" before I could ask him, what he meant with that, Louis held the phone.

"Mildred Tomlinson, what were you thinking? Only leaving that single, confusing message behind and not answering your phone for the next 8 hours?" Wow, that felt like an actual bomb exploded right next to me. Calum probably felt it too because he put his arm gentle around my waist, giving me a safe feeling.

"Louis, I—" I thought he was the one, who understood my decision, who'd help me no matter what. I totally did not expect this, any of this.

“I knew this would only cause trouble! You do know I'm the one who should protect you, right? But you make it very hard for me to try and not loose you like we lost Fizz." He said, getting more angry with every word he said.

He brought Fizz into this. He mentioned her.

"Louis, if you haven’t noticed, I am 25 years old. I don’t need your protection and you will never ever use Fizz, our Fizz, as an example like this ever again! She was my sis too.” At the last sentence my voice cracked like it never did before which only caused Calum to hug me even tighter and my eyes filled with tears again.

"Milly, then at least tell me what you found out today. Was it worth making me worry so much?" You could hear how he was just waiting for me to tell him I screwed up. A big lump started to form in my throat as soon as I saw the ultrasound images in front of my inner eye and how I basically found out nothing. I stared into nothing, thought going absolutely crazy. What should I say now? Should I share the only piece of my parents that I have with them?

"I can end this call if you’re too uncomfortable" I frightened at Cals voice being so close to my ear as he whispered the words to me. But I shook my head.

"As you said, I sent you a message, being not entirely useless since you probably read I was at the youth welfare office. They didn’t give me much, names and an address. And they were married and lived together at the time. I drove to the house and… um—“ The tears streaming down my face made it really hard for me to continue talking. I tried to order my thoughts and what I wanted to say.

"The house was empty." I mumbled under my breath. I hid my face in my own hands and cried, soft sobs coming out of my mouth. I told everyone I will do this alone and that I will succeed. But as always I'm a failure, the black sheep of the family, not belonging to anyone. Only causing problems.

Ignoring Calum, who moved closer to me, both of his huge arms wrapped around me, I tried to fumble the 4 little pictures put of my pockets.

My eyes only focused on these tiny leftover images, I said:

"I’m sorry Louis. You are right, I only cause trouble in this family and make you worry too much. I'll stop, I'll leave you alone now." And clicked on the red button on the phone's display.

Calum’s POV:

It hurts seeing his girlfriend like that, the girl who always wants to be strong for everyone, who wants to be perfect, wants to do everything right. Calum tries explaining to her, that everyone makes mistakes and has weak moments, but she never listens. And one thing Calum knew for sure: Milly is the most afraid of making one of her siblings mad or to give them a reason to think less of her.

That exactly this happened right now, in a moment Calum noticed right away she wasn’t feeling well, made his heart break into a million pieces. She didn’t deserve to hear all of the things her brother said to her during that phone call. She didn’t deserve to find the empty house and the strange looking ultrasound images she holds tightly in her hands.

All he wanted, was to ask her what exactly happened in the last few hours that he wasn’t with her, but deep down he knew, it would only make her even more uncomfortable. So all he did, was sitting there, hugging her from behind and making sure she's safe with him.

"You are an amazing woman, you know that, right?" He whispered into her left ear and didn’t get a reaction.

"Mills? You do know that, right?" He asked one more time, watching her closely.

"Cal, I never did anything correctly." She then whispered back. That response made everything in his body shake.

"Milly, never say that again! You maybe made one mistake right now, by not checking your phone. But you did it, you tried finding them." He said, in an attempt to comfort his girlfriend.

"…But—“

"Nah, there is no 'but'." He interrupted her and took a deep breath. "Who cares, you didn’t find out much! You did it, you had the strength to go and take the first step!" His arms still around her, he looked at her face, noticing a slight change in her face expression.

"Do I see a small smile on your beautiful lips there?” He asked her cheekily. She chuckled at that sentence and cuddled back into the strong body of her boyfriend, feeling more relaxed.

[wjforever]

Shatter me again. Chapter 83

Adam's strike sobers me up a bit and brings me back to the harsh reality. I started to weaken my defenses too early. I shouldn't do this at all.

"Give me a towel and something cold, damn it," roars Kenji and grabs his nose. He's too wounded to get to the bathroom by himself.

Adam is in no hurry to help him, and neither am I. I softened not because of Kenji, but because of myself. But I still don't like this person at all. I didn't like him when he was just a voice. I don't like him now either.

While Kenji continues to resent and presses the hem of his/Adam's T-shirt to his nose, Adam takes my hand and pulls me into James' bedroom. With a sharp movement, he slams the door shut and turns to me.

"Tell me something." He says and looks at the ceiling, sighs heavily. "Tell me anything."

I'm trying to calm him down, grab his hands so that he looks at me again. My touches are gentle, delicate. I think they have to tell him a lot. Because touching is still something very important to me. Almost intimate. I think it will always be this way.

"Adam. I know you wanted us to run away. But Kenji can bring a tail not only because of the tracker. He was bleeding. Even if all his words are true, it's unknown where and what traces he could have left. And we can't just go nowhere right now and try to get to the place you were talking about, hoping we can do it. We can't prepare properly, stop to take more needed things, try to build temporary housing. It's too dangerous to make a nest when kites are hunting over our heads. We can't just take James and go nowhere."

"And what do you suggest?" He speaks roughly. "What should we do then? I can't take that risk. Kenji could be lying, it might be a trap… I've always tried to shield James from all this shit…"

I don't know what to say to him. Pain boils in his eyes. He tries to say something else, to find words, but seems to change his mind, and then he tries again. "I didn't even tell him about our father."

I think this is the first time Adam has decided to talk to me about this. He had always avoided this conversation before. And this is very important to me. Although I'm afraid I won't be able to find the right words to show him how much it matters to me.

"He doesn't know him?"

"I don't think he remembers him. Father almost completely disappeared from our lives before James grew up. And in those rare moments when he was around, I tried to keep James away from him. Sent him somewhere. I never wanted him to go through that. I made up stories for him. I wanted him to have a chance to be normal. I didn't want anyone to touch him. I don't want to screw him up. God, I can't let this happen."

I understand what he doesn't say. He doesn't want his brother to go through the same thing as he himself. And what I was so afraid of is happening to me. I can't find the words. If I had been given a piece of paper and a pen, I would probably write many, many words and phrases and sentences. Maybe a little messy and understandable only to me, but still… But talking to a person, looking at his face, and not with a blank sheet of paper, these is completely different thing.

"I feel like I'm losing. No matter what I do, it's never enough," his voice becomes a whisper. "Because there is chaos around him, he is surrounded by cruel people. He encounters things everyday that I can't control, and I haven't even been around him for so long. I couldn't explain anything to him, comfort him, protect him. How to protect him from all the horrors of our world? From all these people… dead… So many people, Juliette… are dead"

If it were possible to carry words in a backpack and get them out as needed… But I don't have any stock. I don't know what to say or do in such a situation. So I just touch his face. He takes my hand in his palm, kisses my fingers. Honest, kind, modest, sincere, open. And he's so confused.

"I don't know what to do," he says, and it's like a confession that costs him so much more than I can understand. Control is slipping through his fingers and he’s desperate to hold on. "Tell me what to do."

I'm looking at his long eyelashes. I think I'm just now noticing how long they are. Like a reed framing a deep lake with the most serene waters. I'm swimming in this lake, I want to swim in it endlessly, but I need to float to the surface, in the cold, cruel air. I need to say something to him because he needs me more than ever before. Now he needs me, and I have to repay him.

"We don't have many options. If we just go nowhere, then there is a risk that we will be caught in the end, because we are in plain sight and it's not at all a fact that we will be able to hide quickly. But what's worse is that we may just freeze, it will be difficult for us to find food.… As for Kenji… What's the point of him leading us to who knows where? If he wanted to turn us over to Warner, then all these additional steps would be completely unnecessary… Do you trust him? I mean before, did you trust him?"

"We didn't have that much contact. And you?"

"I don't think he's lying about knowing a place we can go."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea…"

"Why not?"

"What if the people he's going to take us to are even worse than Warner?"

I get cold just thinking about it. It makes sense, but still…

"What other options do we have?"

"I would like to be only with you."

"I know. But we should at least try. To see where it might lead us. Look, you trusted him before, remember? At least once. He knew you were in my room, even though it was forbidden. But he didn't tell Warner anything."

"God knows it's not out of the kindness of his heart and not out of loyalty."

"What other reasons could he have?" I ask.

"Oh, that's simple. Do you know what they say, Juliette? Let sleeping dogs lie. No one wants to mess with Warner without reason. If he found out that one of his personal soldiers was breaking the rules, everyone would pay for it. Everyone would be checked and the one who handed over the culprit in the first place. The Reestablishment loves those who rat out their enemies, but doesn't like those who try to find more benefits for themselves. They are careful about it. And those who are smarter understand this perfectly well. So he did this not for us, but for himself. After all, he understood me because he also wanted to be in my place."

My face is twisted in a grimace of disbelief.

"I don't think it's such a great place to work, guarding a person who can kill with a touch."

"Oh, you don't even guess. It would be much better for Kenji than most of our assignments. It's enough for him that you're female. As well as for the majority of soldiers."

These words of Adam make me uncomfortable.

"It's disgusting."

"Yes, it is."

I frown, but I'm trying to look at things more mundane. Maybe I don't need to always look for noble motives in everything? It's high time to understand that sometimes people just pursue their own goals, sometimes quite dirty and base.

"In any case, what he can offer us now is the best option. We ran away from Warner, didn't we? What's to stop us from running away from a new place if we don't like something?"

Adam smiles softly. And then he lets out a sad laugh.

"There's another problem."

"What is it?"

"I might kill him before we even get there…"

"Then the problem of choice will cease by itself, and we will improvise on the fly." Adam chuckles, and I give him a sad but encouraging smile. "We will try to find another option if we get the opportunity. When we get the opportunity. In the meantime, we just need a place to wait out the storm."

"Yeah, maybe you're right. Okay, let's do it then."

"Hey, what the hell are you doing there?" Kenji shouts, and then knocks twice on the door with his fist. "You are not alone here, have at least a little decency. Besides, it's not the best time to get naked, guys. It's not that I'm against nudity, it's always cool. But if you don't want to be killed while you're naked, get your asses over here."

"Can I kill him right now?" Adam asks me.

"I can do it myself." I laugh, feeling myself blush at Kenji's words. I want to hide my face and Adam is the best place. So I stand on my toes, take his face in my hands and kiss him softly. "I love you."

"Yeah?" he says in a low, hoarse whisper.

"Absolutely."

"Shall we go then?"

"Mgm."

We leave the room and Kenji looks at us suspiciously. 

"Oh, can you walk by yourself already?" Adam says mockingly and Kenji rolls his eyes.

"You've never carried me, even though you could. Bridal style would look so romantic."

"Jerk."

"But the charming one."

Their bickering never stops. Meanwhile, the three of us are trying to pack up. More precisely, rather Adam is trying pack things that haven't yet been packed. I just ask if I should take a first aid kit from the bathroom with us and when Adam answers in the affirmative, I occupy myself with this little task. 

I can see how hard it is for Adam to pack his brother's stuff. Because we can't take much, but every trifle could be important to James. All this, a reminder of home.

Even I find it hard to leave this place. This could be our home. It looked as close to it as possible. And I can't imagine how hard it must be for Adam to leave this modest space. He put so much effort into creating a cozy nest for his younger brother. My heart breaks just looking at his desperate face.

Kenji is the complete opposite of Adam. He examines his body, assessing the newly acquired bruises and abrasions, looks around in a lively rush. He's oddly resilient and upbeat. It really amazes me, almost scares. I'm used to seeing much more tense, angry people around. But nothing, it seems, could hurt Kenji. I don't know any other person, not that I know many, who would be so happy about a bullet in his leg and possibly broken ribs. It seems to me that nothing can discourage him, and I can't help but admire his determination. I would like to be able to react to difficulties in the same way.

The only thing that really pisses me off about him is that he won't stop staring at me.

My task couldn't take me much time, no matter how slowly I tried to complete it. And while Adam is busy, Kenji turns his full attention back to me.

"So how come you can touch our sullen friend?"

"I have no idea."

"Oh, come on," Kenji snorts, and I shrug. "But at least did you touch him first or did he touch you? Which one of you couldn't resist? Or was it some sick experiment or some shit like that?"

I don't want to share with Kenji such details that seem very personal to me. In fact, I could easily tell him that it was all just an accident. Because that's the way it was. But I want to keep this for myself. And I don't want him to ask any more additional questions.

"Tell me more about the place where you're going to take us."

"Why are you changing the subject? Maybe we could try it too, huh? Don't you want to touch me as well?"

I refuse to look at Kenji. I'm playing arrogance, but I'm actually terribly ashamed. I already wanted to believe earlier that maybe one of the soldiers would turn out to be like Adam, but this didn't happen. And I would never risk touching Kenji.

"You don't want me to touch you."

"Maybe I do?" I can hear from his voice that he's smiling.

"Get off her if you don't want to have no legs without a bullet hole."

"Hey, why so rude? You guys should take a some sedative or something. Why shouldn't I, a lonely person, try my luck and make a move? The girl definitely likes it, and it may be interesting to me. Let the lady speak for herself, come on."

"I'm not interested," I quickly intervene.

"Take your time, that's all," he points to his face again, "is not permanent, so take your time with the answer."

I see Adam running his hand through his hair. His usual gesture. He's agitated, annoyed, maybe even disappointed. I wouldn't mind him interfering again, but he doesn't.

"I said I'm not interested. Not now, not ever later."

I would like Adam to clarify the situation, so that he tells Kenji that we're together. But he doesn't, and I can't say it first myself. 

What if he doesn't think so? Maybe our confessions don't mean anything and don't mean that we are only available to each other. Maybe he doesn't want anyone to know that we're a thing, that we're a couple. Couple. I don't even know what it is. How do people behave after they confessed their love to each other?

Kenji doesn't back down. He continues to say something about his face, about his incredible beauty, which, of course, will again be available to all mankind. That life turned out to be unfair to him at the most inopportune moment, when he really needs his face.

Eventually Adam breaks down, and at first I think he's angry, but instead he laughs dryly.

"Hey, buddy, do you have something against my face?" Kenji asks with feigned resentment.

"I have something against you."

"But we were cool, why got you a bug up your butt?"

"I can't even remember why I interacted with you at all. And why do I continue to tolerate you now."

"Maybe because a strong male friendship and trust can't be broken by anything?"

"Rather because I trust her."

Kenji abruptly turns his head to me and tries to smile with his battered face.

"Wow, so you trust me? I knew it would work out for us. Rejection at the beginning, then trust, there are just a couple of steps to the ardent passion. It sounds like the beginning of some amazing romance novel."

"I can add a little drama and shoot you," I say irritably.

"Sounds tempting." He plays with his eyebrows. "You know, I like it when you threaten me. I don't even know why myself."

"Maybe because you're an idiot?"

He shakes his head. "Nah, it's something about you. Your voice. Do you know that you have a very sexy voice? And you make everything sound naughty."

Adam flies up to Kenji in the blink of an eye and Kenji tries to back away from him, although it's pretty difficult for him. 

"Quiet, doggy, quiet. Good boy." He looks at me. "Don't you have some bone to throw to the doggy?"

I see Adam's furious expression and purse my lips. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but it makes me laugh. This whole situation is really ridiculous. But I also understand that Kenji with his idiotic remarks makes me feel more relaxed and calm. He behaves so undignified and defiant that it automatically makes everything he says seem frivolous. And for some reason my rudeness and arrogance don't bother him at all and don't offend him. I realize that I'm starting to like this game. I like the confidence it gives me.

Kenji stands behind me to prevent Adam from getting to him, and crosses his arms over his chest.

"Kent, calm down already. I'm just messing with you, that's all. I like seeing psycho chick get all intense." I turn my head at him, raise my eyebrows and threaten to step aside with a barely noticeable movement. "Hey, it's a compliment, of course. All this psycho kind of works for you, you know?"

Kenji gives me a sly smile and winks. But Adam is not soothed or amused by his words. It drives him crazy.

"What's wrong with you?" He says, clenching his fists.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" For the first time I hear annoyance in Kenji's voice, and it seems curious to me. "Everyone is so uptight in here, one can go mad."

Adam starts pacing around the room without any specific purpose, sighs, squeezes the gun in his hand.

"If it's all because of your brother, then relax. The guy will be home soon. And he'll be fine. The kids even love things like that."

"I'm not worried about my brother, I'm trying to decide whether to shoot you here or taking you outside first."

"You still need me," Kenji says, yawning slightly and falling onto the sofa. His face immediately distorts from another wave of pain. "Oh, fuck, I shouldn't have gone so far." He grunts, and then looks at Adam again. "You still need me, remember? The painkillers you have is kind of real crap, you know. Is there anything stronger?"

Adam doesn't have time to answer. We hear the front door open. 

James returns home.

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[desertsiren]

r3m3mb3r-m3-n0t​:

“A world for just me and you”

Location: Bathroom at Airbnb Time: 1:00 am Mini Event: Bachelor Party

@desertsiren

When he awoke Elias would ponder just how exactly he became absolutely inebriated when he had no more than four shots the entire day. He’d wonder why he screwed himself over when he had a wedding to set up early the next morning, and if whatever drink took his fancy was worth it. He would not remember dipping a pinky into a strange sparkling liquid that smelled of honey and tasted like bile. He would not remember anything. Left with only the fragments of a wild party and a crick in his neck to piece together a story that made some sort of logical sense. He had yet to release the idea of logic- the comfort of it- even though his life had dissolved into fantasy.

But he would play Sherlock later, a mystery well saved for tomorrow, when he was a little more lucid and a little less happy. For now he was content with the heat that simmered in his belly and wrapped his bones in a winter blanket. The world around him had slowed and for once, in a long while, he took in a deep breath without the fear of losing hours; in his little pocket of space the Elias in his head who would hurt him with words was quiet and nothing truly mattered, everything would be okay.

It took him a bit to wander back to the bathroom, having walked into multiple rooms in different states of confusion, and upon seeing Oliver lying in the tub he squeaked out a relieved little giggle. Carefully, methodically, with a state of precision that would have been incredibly annoying had they been sober, he placed box, after tin, after package of food on the bathroom floor- having raided the kitchen while everyone else was off doing who knows what? What he did know was that they wouldn’t mind. With each thing of junk food lined perfectly next to another he’d take a piece and press it to the siren’s lips, waiting patiently for him to eat, before feeding himself with a sharp nod- inspecting the goods.

“You should N-O-T tell Connor about this!” He threw a very pointed finger in the air before waddling off to plug something into the outlet farthest away from the tub- thankfully he retained some of his brilliance. “I bought it with his rich money, but I don’t think he knows how to read so he’ll never knoooooooooow!” He barked out an evil laugh as he wiggled around- something he would have called an excellent dance in his drunken opinion. Pressing the switch the night sky projected onto the ceiling, false stars sparkling above as the DJ’s music pounded outside the door. Elias tapped away on his phone, squinting down at the bright screen as he got rain sounds to play over the poorly chosen dubstep. It wasn’t perfect but it settled that nagging feeling that sat heavy on his chest, desperately trying to remind him of something important about the other.

He plopped himself near the tub, holding on to Oliver’s arm since his hand was too far to reach. With the pad of his finger he pointed to the ceiling and traced out a constellation, “That’s you. That’s Lyra the harp, harps sound beautiful,” gently, hesitantly he laid his head against the Siren, “In my world you are beautiful.”

When the noise of the people grew beyond what he could handle, he tripped his way into one of the bathrooms. He thought it was out of the way - maybe an en suite? The important part was that it was quieter. the nice part was that the tub was quite large. So he set about doing the thing he usually did when the world became too much, and set about drawing a bath. The nice thing about humans is that the water can be so warm. he mused as he hummed a half-forgotten song.

Water level apparently sufficient, he climbed in without further preparation. Even with heavy cloth encasing him, it was always a relief to float and simply exist in water. If anyone asked how long he was there, he would have no way of knowing. It didn't help him sober up - the intoxication actually heightened the floating feeling to near-euphoria. The world was spinning again,  - that seemed to be a thing when Elias was around. But it wasn't so bad, even if the man brought some of the noise in with him.

Oliver watched him blankly as the pile of plastic-wrapped "food" grew - honestly where was it coming from? When some unknown dry snack was pressed against his mouth, he wanted to crinkle his nose in disgust and refuse it. But despite his precautions, the gnawing Hunger was noticable and this was not a place to hunt. So with a resigned sigh he let the tasteless thing through his lips. Hopefully tilting his head back against the side of the tub would prevent further feeding by hand.

Bleary-eyed, he hummed in agreement. There was no need to tell Connor about the revelries of his guests - the man had taken part in them. His brow furrowed as the man moved again. Is he coming or going, is he staying or leaving, is it time to sleep now? The fast words were indecipherable to Oliver's drunken senses, but he distantly thought that the wriggling was not unlike that of a fish when caught. The change in light was far more pressing to his mind, jolting up with a soft splash to see both where the points of light were coming from and where they spread across the flat surface. He settled back as the human tapped away at the bright screen, tracing the shapes and lines he'd known since he could swim to the surface. The name the humans had for the Fish was strange, but the sound of another voice was soothing. "I am in other ones as well," he said matter-of-factly. His people, like all Fae, were generally considered attractive. It was something he learned even before he left the ocean, it was part of who sirens were and how they lived and hunted. "But I am not from the stars. Tell me another one... Please?"

[landinoandco]

Our Love is a Game

Lando Norris x Reader

Request from @jamieeboulos

Warnings: pinch of fluff, cute ending because they are the best

Word count: 2.7 k

Requests are open :)

It all started with a phone number, an innocent exchange that would subsequently change the world you knew; mostly for the better. When you had met Lando, as far as you were concerned you had just met a 21 year old who lived in London and had a passion for cars. How wrong you were. It was only when things started to get serious that he sat you down and explained everything that came with being a formula one driver; more importantly the fandom that he was involved in. 

You had always been a private person and admittedly this piece of information almost broke your relationship but after some time to think you had decided that he was worth it all. You both decided it was a better idea to keep your relationship as quiet as possible - you took every precaution to make sure you stayed a stranger to the fans.

For the past 2 years, you thought you had managed to stay clear of the cameras, the photos and the twitch streams but it wasn’t until a fan-made compilation caused your world to spiral out of control. 

You and Lando were out for a run, it was a part of your morning routine - a great way to start the day and it was time that you two could escape the motor sport world and act like a normal couple without worrying about who might be watching. It was time you both valued and appreciated. On this particular morning, Lando had decided to add to his Instagram story, a short video of his morning adventures - the mist still hanging around the trees as you ran under a heavily graffitied bridge, the early birds song chirping animatedly. At the time you didn’t think much of it as you were too busy tying your hair back up to notice. 

It wasn’t until you got home and looked at his story that your heart stopped, rushing over to the kitchen island you placed your phone down and ran your fingers through your hair. It was a blink and you’ll miss it moment but in the corner of his video - the last millisecond before it ended - there was a flash of a purple top (the purple top you had been wearing) and a swish of brown hair as you chucked it back up into a ponytail. 

“Lando.” You called out, trying to keep your voice as calm as you could. You didn’t know why it had affected you so much - or why you were so desperate to keep your identity a secret. It wasn’t like you wanted to hide your relationship; you were the happiest you ever had been, everyday was exciting and offered new prospects - it was more that you were so used to being in this bubble with Lando, the idea of it bursting seemed rather unappealing. Usually you didn’t care for how others saw you but seeing some of the words that people used to describe him, it would be enough to trouble even the thickest of skins. 

Lando’s close proximity broke your thoughts as he stared down at your phone, pausing on the flash of brown and purple. “I am so sorry, love.” He almost whispered, his eyes widening at his carelessness. He picked your phone up to take a closer look. 

“It will be alright, won’t it? I mean, it’s a blink and you’ll miss it.” You had said, more to reassure yourself than Lando. He didn’t answer, anxiety building in the pit of his stomach because he knew exactly what he had started. 

The fan-made compilation didn’t go viral until a few hours later - as it turns out that flash of purple was the perfect cherry on top of an unappetising cake. Lando was sat on stream - not that this was out of the ordinary and Max had decided to join him, leaving you alone to rewatch Friends for the umpteenth time. 

The pair were sat reacting to videos on YouTube when a clip of a seal swimming into a shoal of fish started playing - the amusing part was that they kept quickly dispersing away from the seal in question. Unsurprisingly, they laughed and Lando spluttered: “This is me trying to find a girlfriend.” What the fans didn’t know was the apparent irony of that sentence and this was what caused the major meltdown; whilst Lando and Max were busy crying with laughter - that chat had filled up with the same link and references to the video you would be redirected through. 

Max was the first to stop laughing, tapping Lando on the shoulder as he pointed at the chat. Hundreds of the same message filled the screen: “That’s not what this compilation shows.” “Lando, what are you hiding from us?” “Lando and Max laughing knowing very well he has a girlfriend.” 

“Chat what on earth are you waffling on about.” Max chuckled uneasily, looking at Lando out of the corner of his eye. Lando sat with a forced smile, his nostrils flaring as he continued through the comments. He could only let out a tense laugh as he swallowed thickly - his throat feeling suddenly dry. You were still sitting, completely engrossed and unaware that Lando Norris was now trending on twitter. 

Max had come up with an excuse to end the stream not long after, Lando uncharacteristically quiet. His thoughts were with you in the other room, had you seen it? Did you know? How would you react? He felt as though he had lost all control, like he had failed you entirely - all he wanted to do was protect you yet he was the one to screw it up. 

“Hey,” Max nudged his shoulder, “It was bound to happen at some point. Let’s go and see if she’s seen it - if not then -” He took a deep breath, “We will watch it together. We need to know what we are working with here.” Lando nodded, unable to reply, his body went into automatic pilot mode and too quickly he was standing facing you. 

Pausing the tv, you looked at Lando - his jaw tightened and facial expressions set as though he had just seen a ghost. “Is everything ok?” You asked apprehensively. 

“There’s something you need to see.” Max reached for his phone, pushing Lando onto the sofa. You offered your arm to Lando, pulling him into a hug. Max pulled up the video and pressed play. A tense atmosphere held the room hostage - breath restricted and gazes fixed onto the tiny screen in front of you. 

It started with a clip from this year’s Goodwood - Lando preparing to drive his last hill climb - you remembered it well, a McLaren hat placed on your head mainly to cover your identity; knowing that there would be more than a few fans around. The clip moved to 3 separate stills - all of you in your McLaren hat. One with your back to the camera, you hand placed around Lando’s waist, the other two a side profile as you spoke to Max. 

The reaction was immediate, you slapped your hand to your mouth, Lando looked horror-struck and Max was watching you carefully. 

The video moved on, this time a clip from the quadrant video where Niran trains like Lando for 24 hours - Lando and Niran were in the kitchen preparing to eat their breakfast when once again the video moved to stills. This time they were of your reflection in the oven - holding the camera. You had thought at the time, if you were behind the camera it would stop every chance of you accidentally being caught on camera. Apparently not. 

The video had moved on again, this time to stills of Lando arriving on track - of course there was no way for you to get on track without being photographed and you were fine with that because you would just arrive after Lando either with Jon or Charlotte. Photos of you arriving with Jon and Charlotte flashed up - with them you were just another member of staff but put with those other stills and it really did yell out that you and Lando were romantically involved. Finally the flash of purple from Lando’s story. The game was up. 

“Oh my-” You stuttered as the video came to an end. Fortunately your Instagram hadn’t been shown but judged by how skilled you knew the fans to be - it would only be a matter of time. “I feel sick.” You admitted, wiping your hands across your face. Lando still hadn’t said a word, staring blankly at the floor. Max was the first to come up with something logical, turning to you and Lando. 

“It will blow over.” He started, “The fans will soon lose interest and move onto the next big headline. We just need to ignore anything we see regarding the subject.” He moved his attention to you. “Maybe avoid social media for a few days. Let everyone cool down -” Sensing your means to interrupt, he held his hand up. “I know you shouldn’t have to and I know none of this is fair but unfortunately people have no boundaries and believe because it’s on social media it is their business. If they were in our situation, I’m pretty sure they would be the first to complain. Let’s just go along with it for now. It will give you time to think about what to do next.” 

Lando cleared his throat, pulling you closer into him. “I’ve failed you. All I wanted to do was protect you.” At this, Max got up and left. 

Shaking your head, you pressed your lips to his forehead. “You could never. Think about how long we kept it secret for. Besides, until we announce or admit anything - it isn’t confirmed.” You offered, trying to soothe his worries. He nodded, still not convinced. 

“Our love is like a game and it’s not a game I enjoy playing.” He croaked, lacing your fingers together. 

“I know, Lando, I know. Let’s let everything calm down and then we can think about what our next step is.” 

Weeks later and it was the night before you were due to leave for your summer holiday. You would be spending it with Lando and some of his friends and family. Due to the current pandemic, it had been so long since you had been away - even if it was a bigger group of you going; you were still looking forward to spending that quality time with Lando. 

Max had decided to take himself and Tom off to the streaming room - leaving you and Lando to sort out the remaining items you needed for your time away. 

“I have a present for you.” He said suddenly, his hands behind his back. You beamed, taking a step closer to him. He shook his head, “If you want it - “ He pointed at his lips. 

Rolling your eyes, you pecked his lips then held out your hands like a child. Lando chuckled, “Close your eyes.” Hands still outstretched and eyes closed, you waited for Lando to present you with your surprise. He grasped your left wrist and attached something to it - “No peeking.” He added. A moment or two later, he dropped his hold of your wrist and said: “You can open them now.” You could hear the smile on his lips. You opened your eyes and looked straight to your wrist - he had given you a pink watch. You furrowed your eyebrows and looked up at him, his eyes twinkled as he then pointed to the orange watch on his wrist. 

“Watches?” You asked, confusion laced your tone. 

Nodding, he said, “We all have matching watches but in different colours - they are for our holiday away.” 

You gave him a lopsided grin and wrapped your arms around his neck, “I love it. Thank you.” 

In the streaming room, Max was having to ignore the majority of the comments because they were all asking the same thing: “Who was the girl from the compilation.” He was trying his hardest to keep moving off the topic, instead showing off the watches - it had been his idea, blue for him, orange for Lando, a child’s watch for Tom and a pink watch for you. He had listed off all of the colours and said who they belonged to: “And then pink-” He paused, mentally face palming. He looked over to Tom for assistance - he hadn’t meant to say pink at all. “And pink is for someone.” He cursed his poor excuse but as if by magic - Lando walked through the door. 

Distracting the stream from his slip up. 

Croatia was a dream come true, the hot summer sun on your back and the time to just relax and recharge. Days spent with Lando sunbathing on the boat or stuck in a tense game of Uno. Not being the only female was brilliant as well - as they got to go off and not feel guilty about leaving you on your own. 

Currently, you and Lando were standing in each other's arms - the afternoon drawing into the evening as the sun began to set. You had your arms around his neck and his arms were around your waist, sighing contentedly you broke the silence: “This is nice.” He pressed his lips into your hair, a sign that he agreed with your statement. In that moment, it was just you and him - everyone seemed to disappear from around you and all worries vanished. It was the simple yet affectionate moments that had always meant the most to you. You felt as though you could relax every muscle in your body, listening to his steady heartbeat - you wished for this moment to never end, to forever be in his arms and to not worry about who sees you there. 

Ever since that compilation had been made, the thought had been on your mind a lot. Were you ready to go public with Lando? At the end of the day you were both happy and surely that was the most important thing. 

Later that night, you were sitting eating your meal when a phone was handed to you, displayed on it was a picture of you and Lando - in each other’s arms. 

Instantly you knew what this meant, looking at Lando you were met with the same expression. He did as well. 

You and Lando had decided it was time to announce your relationship, there was no point sneaking around anymore if people knew and were looking out for you. You had agreed that the best way to do it was if you joined him in a stream, that way they got to know you a bit more for who you were. 

“Is it ok to feel as nervous as I am?” You asked him, pulling up a chair beside him. He was setting up the stream, two mugs of tea placed in front of you. It seemed completely unnatural to sit facing the camera. 

“I mean, this is kind of a big deal so yes I would say, it’s completely natural for you to feel nervous.” He reached for your hand, rubbing his thumb over the back of it. Nodding, you took a deep breath. 

“Ok. I’m ready.” You said, your heart beating at a million miles an hour. The corners of his lips turned up, leaning in to leave you a kiss on the lips. 

“I love you and I’m so proud of you.” He admitted quietly, as though you were the only person in the world, his eyes flickered with complete adoration. 

“I love you too. Now, shall we start it?” 

Lando went to press the start stream button but paused. He turned back to face you, his eyes wide and offered an apologetic smile. 

“What did you do?” You asked, a smile toying at your lips as you had an idea of what it might have been. 

“Stream, meet my girlfriend.” 

He had already started it...

[hawkinsuniversity]

𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

pairing : katherine pierce x reader (gender neutral)

warnings : angst, swearing, making out, mention of grinding

you were exhausted. after spending all day shopping with elena your feet were sore and your back felt as though it would give out any second.

you collapsed on your bed as a wave of relief rushed through your body. your eyelids began to close and you felt yourself drifting off into what can only be described as a coma.

suddenly the peace was interrupted by an abrupt pounding on your front door.

as you walked through the foyer you wondered to yourself who could be here to see you at this hour.

opening the door you were met with the familiar scent of vanilla and chanel n°5. staring back at you was none other than katherine pierce. you had been in love with her as long as you could remember, however, you highly doubted she would ever return your feelings.

“i called you.” she calmly stated as though she was prepared to have a civil conversation. any stranger would be drawn in by her tranquil tone, but you knew better. katherine was angry. although you were confused as to why, you decided to see how the conversation would play out before defending yourself.

“yeah... about that, i’ve just been really busy over the past few days.”

“with elena?” she asked as she cocked her head to the left.

“elena? we only hung out today.” you responded.

“so you admit it. you were with elena today.”

“yes... why would you even care if i was with her?” you questioned.

katherine’s expression quickly changed from relaxed to furious. you could see how mad it made her that you had spent time with elena, but you couldn’t figure out why.

katherine began slowly walking forward and before you knew it she was inside your house, closing the door shut behind her. the tone of the conversation had clearly changed in a matter of seconds and you did not like the direction it was headed.

“you want to know why i care?” she screamed, clearly enraged. “i care because that little whore has taken almost everything from me, and i will not let her take you from me too!”

“i can be friends with whoever i want to! you do not get to decide who i spend time with!” you spat back.

“oh my god. she has you under her spell doesn’t she? she has somehow convinced you that she is the victim in this situation. well guess what? you and elena can spend the rest of her miserable little life together for all i care.”

“what are you talking about! there is nothing going on between me and elena. and for your information i don’t see her as the victim but i sure as hell don’t see you as one either.” you yelled, completely outraged.

“elena took everything from me y/n, and you would know that if you payed even a little attention to me.” she rebutdtaled

“i pay plenty of attention to you. do not turn this around.” you said slowly as a deep growl escaped your lips.

“you know what. screw you. you think i need this in my life? i don’t! stay the hell away from me or i swear to god i will rip you apart bit by bit. have fun with the rest of your pathetic, meaningless life. you and elena deserve each other. you're both selfish bitches.” she remarked.

just as she was about to turn around and storm out she realised what she had just said.

“y/n, i am so sorry...” she began.

but it was too late. tears welled in your eyes as you felt your muscles grow weak. hearing the person you loved the most say that about you made your heart break into a million pieces. you felt hot, salty tears stream down your face as katherine looked down at you with regret.

as she tried to cup your face you shoved her hand away in anger.

“that would make three of us.” you stated in a cold tone, turning your back on her.

this time it was katherines turn to be filled with emotions. all of them different. anger, lust, sadness, guilt, shame, grief, hatred and pain coursed through her veins as she was suddenly filled with a very familiar feeling. jealousy.

before she realised what she was doing she sped over to you, grabbed you by the throat and pinned you to the nearest wall.

her lips throbbed, aching at the thought of kissing you.

as you began to register what had happened you felt katherines lips crash against yours. her tongue moved roughly through your mouth and her lips tasted like sweet dark chocolate.

pushing you harder against the wall she began moving her body against yours. as if the two of you had the same brain you started to move perfectly in sync.

pulling away slightly you looked up at katherine in awe.

“please don’t see elena again.” she squeaked, sounding like a completely different person. “i can’t loose you. you’re all i have left.” she wailed as her voice broke.

you were speechless. attempting to figure out what had happened you pushed her away further, trying to think. katherine only saw this as an action of discomfort. she began to break down pushing herself into your arms.

“i’m sorry.” she stuttered, barely able to get the words out.

this only left you more confused. katherine had never acted like this and you were worried about her.

“katherine... what just happened?” you asked clearly disoriented.

she moved herself away from you, backing up a few steps.

“i love you.” she said as though she had never uttered those words before. they sounded unnatural coming out of her mouth but you didn’t want to discourage her.

“you do?” you asked.

she slowly nodded, avoiding eye contact.

“i love you too.” you murmured so quietly no one but her could have heard you.

she looked up at you with a cocky smile plastered on her face as though she hadn’t been a complete mess only seconds ago.

grabbing you by the waist she shoved you back into the wall and continued to make out with you until the next morning.

[artzee-bee]

End of all things [1] | Chat Noir x witch!reader

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug (Adrien Agreste/Chat Noir)

Summary: Y/N had been Chat Noir’s friend and moral support for a long time now. Even though she had magical powers too, she never liked getting involved with akuma attacks, but now, as Hawkmoth’s gotten control of the miraculous of creation, she couldn’t stay indiferent anymore. She had to save her friend and Paris!

Genre: Mostly angst? A little fluff

Warnings: canon typical violence, mentions of death/dying

A/N: This was requested, but as I was writting it, it got very long and I’ve decided to post it in 2 parts. I’m not gonna post the request just now, so as to not spoil the rest of the story but Part 2 will be coming out on friday!!!

Part 2

~~~

Chat was pacing around the room, waiting for you to be done with your potion. You had heard from your parents that there had been a new akuma attack today, but as the news reported, the two parisian heros took care of the problem in no time. For this reason, Chat’s presence at your house felt unusual. Normally he would stop by when he needed to rant, when he was in need of comfort and reassurance but the fight today went well, so what could possibly be bothering him?

“Ok, I’m done” you said, screwing the cap on the little bottle and placing it on your shelf “Wanna talk?” you asked, to which Chat gave you a shy smile

“Yeah, a little”

You made your way to your bed, motioning for him to follow you. You got under your covers and passed him his favorite plushie, a cat to no one’s surprise

“So what’s up? Is it about the fight today?”

“Well no it’s more like a...personal problem?”

“Oh…”

“Claws out” in a rush of light and electricity, the infamous hero vanished before you, transforming into Adrien Agrest

“Well, what is it?” 

Adrien revealed his identity to you months ago. You first met him as Chat, but when you really got to know each other, he decided you needed to know all of him. Well, he needed you to know all of him.

You listened to him rant until way past midnight. Until you were both too tired to stand up straight, so you laid down in your bed, covers up to your necks, muffled stories told in between yawns. You listened carefully, giving him your full attention. He fidgeted with the collar of the stuffed toy and you used your magic to make 2 hot chocolates. Eventually, everything that needed to be said, was said. You offered Adrien to watch a movie, since that always cheered him up, but he refused

“It’s late and I have a photoshoot early in the morning. My makeup team will be angry with my dark circles anyways, better not make it worse” he joked

Adrien transformed back into Chat and you cast a safety spell on him, which you did every time he left your house late at night. He always teased you about being ‘too protective’, but deep down he found it sweet how much you cared and wanted to know that he would get home in one piece.

“Night Chat” you said, wrapping your arms around the hero

“Good night Y/N!”

The next few days went by quietly. You hadn’t run into Adrien at all, but you texted a bit back and forth. Sunday evening however, things took a toll for the worst. You turned on your tv, ready to catch up with your show when you heard Nadja Chamack’s voice doing the news report

“It seems as though Rena Rouge and Chat Noir are struggling to stay on their feet! They have taken shelter under a fallen bus, leaving Ladybug alone to defeat Hawkmoth'' your pulse skyrocketed. As you watched the screen you could see Chat and Rena off to the side, struggling to catch their breath. Rena seemed to be in pain while Chat was trying to help. Ladybug was using her yoyo the best she could in order to protect herself from the supervillain, who was wielding his cane like a sword over her head. The fight was clearly going in Hawkmoth's favour! You grabbed your jacket and ran out the front door and onto the empty streets of Paris, towards the Eiffel Tower, where the fight was taking place. 

People screamed at you from their balconies to go home, warning you about the fight and the danger you were putting your life in but you didn’t care. All you could think about was how they needed you. Chat needed you! Every late night talk and every inside joke shared between you two replaid in your head like a broken record. Behind Chat’s tough mask, his alter ego of hero and protector, was the fragile figure of Adrien Agreste. The young blonde boy who cried during romantic comedies, who liked to have his hair braided and forgot how to speak when someone complimented him. If you didn’t help, the heros would loose and he would most likely die! Alongside Ladybug and Rena who, even though you didn’t know their real identities, were still young girls. As you ran down the street, you heard kids crying inside one of the homes. You ran past but at the last second you heard Nadia’s voice coming from their tv

“Ladybug was akumatized”

You approached the Eiffel tower from the side, where you could see everything going on. In front of the tower, right next to Hawkmoth, stood Marinette Dupain-Cheng, dressed in a tight, dark red suit, darker than Ladybug’s. Black butterflies replaced the dots of the heroine's suit and the purple butterfly mask of Hawkmoth’s control was shining over her face. Marinette was Ladybug! She did, in fact, get akumatized. On the other side, you saw Rena and Chat, struggling to stay up right. They were obviously in a lot of pain and extremely tired, but Hawkmoth was merely mocking them.

“After all this time” Chat spoke up, but his breaths were shallow and rapid “I thought you’d know one thing about us! We don’t give up without a fight. Never will. Especially not against you” and with that, the two ran at each other.

“It doesn’t have to end like this, you know?” he said “We don’t have to fight to death. I wouldn’t want to have that on my conscience. All you have to do is give me your miraculouses willingly. The town will be safe, you will be safe! It’s the most heroic option you’ve got. You won’t be any good to Paris if you are dead”

You knew this was not just another fight between them. This was it. Either the heros won or everything they’ve worked for would be lost. Hawkmoth would win and get his hands on both miraculous and god knows what kind of destruction that would bring not only upon Paris, but the world. You focused all your energy in one spot in the air, right between where Chat and Hawkmoth were supposed to clash but before they could reach each other, you sent a wave of energy that blew both of them apart, like a bomb. Hawkmoth flew back into the Eiffel tower while Chat hit the pavement with a thud. Confused and certainly disturbed, both of them began looking around for an answer as to what happened when, finally, Hawkmoth’s eyes landed on yours.

“Aha, miss Y/L/N. What a spectacular honor to finally meet you!” you didn’t reply, instead you stood tall, maintaining eye contact

“I know a lot about you. Seen a lot. Felt a lot of your emotions. None of them can compare to the powers I’ll have with the two miraculouses. With Ladybug’s earrings and the guardian under my control, I’d say my mission here is almost over’’

“Y/N get back!’’ Chat screamed but you were too involved now to run. This was your fight too.

“It is time you give up Hawkmoth. Paris is not yours, neither are the miraculouses. We will destroy you, no matter what it takes!”

“Listen to yourself, kid! <<Destroy me>>? The most you can do is pull a rabbit out of your hat…” before he could finish his sentence, you snapped your fingers in his direction and instantly, the ground around beneath Hawkmoth and akumatized Marinette, fractured. From within the cracks, many tangled plants came out, encapsulating the 2 villains. You sprinted towards Chat and Rena, ignoring the signs of struggle coming from the prison of weeds.

 Alongside the two superheros, you hid inside a corner coffee shop, which was now empty.

“Y/N, you need to leave!! You are putting yourself in too much danger!” Rena told you, as she collapsed to the ground from exhaustion

“Stop with that already! I am here and I’m not going anywhere!”

“Yes you are!” Chat looked at you. His voice was calm and yet, his eyes were filled with disappointment “You are not a superhero. This is our job!”

“You need help”

“No we don’t!” Chat had never, in all your years of friendship, raised his voice at you, let alone yell “ You need to stay safe! You could die! Hawkmoth doesn’t care about anything if it helps him get what he wants! I am ready to take that risk. Rena is too” you both turned to the red headed hero, only to see her slowly nod “But I can’t allow you to take it”

“You can’t tell me what to do”

“I don’t want you to die!” he screamed again “I love you and I will never forgive myself if you don’t come out of this alive!”

Before you could say anything, you saw Hawkmoth and his minion, through the cafe window, cutting through the last of the plants and escaping your trap. You grabbed Chat’s arm and pulled him to the floor, from where you could not be seen

“We’re in this together now” you said in a stern voice, looking the blonde kid right in his eyes “Whether you like it or not '' this time, he simply nodded.

You stuffed your hands into the pocket of your jacket and pulled out 3 little bottles, containing a mate, green liquid. You had prepared one for each of the heros, now you’d only need two.

“Here, drink this!” You handed each of them one “Regeneration potion. Should put you back on your feet.” as soon as they finished drinking the brew, you could see color coming back to their faces

“Where’s Marinette’s akuma??” 

“Her necklace” replied Rena “It’s a gift from her kwami”

“Got it. You deal with Hawkmoth. I’ll bring Marinette back!”

Chat and Rena exited through the front door, grabbing Hawkmoth’s attention. He called out to Marinette to attack, but before she could take a single step in your direction, you had snuck up behind her. Using a simple invisibility spell, you managed to exit unnoticed behind the two heros. It finally felt like the fight had truly begun. From the corner of your eye you could see Chat and Rena doging Hawkmoth’s attacks while you, were doing your best to get your hands on the stupid necklace! Even though she couldn’t see you, Marinette seemed to almost always know what your next move was. She would expertly block all your attack and would keep you an arm’s length away at all times. Finally, you had enough and in one swift motion, you pinned her back to your chest, ripping the necklace away. A wave of black and purple took over the both of you and when it vanished, all you were left with was a half unconscious Marinette in your arms. You dropped her to the ground slowly as she was coming back to her senses. You wanted to talk to her but your thoughts were driven away as you heard Chat scream bloody murder.

On the opposite side of the platza, you saw Hawkmoth rip Chat’s ring off his finger, forcing him to detransform. The exhausted figure of Adrien Agreste fell to the ground with a thud. Hawkmoth had, indeed, gotten his hand on both the miraculouses.