#(used to be three but she seems to not care about me at all) seperate friends i'm so grateful for both

[navramanan]

So tired of continuesly feeling this way I keep trying and failing time and time and time again

[lalasworld2x]

The Raid • Reader x Shigaraki Oneshot

The city had been invaded by the Paranormal Liberation Front. Every section had been attacked by seperate groups of the league. They even made it out to the rural areas just after the city. Y/N’s town couldn’t have been invaded at a worse possible time…

This was Shigaraki’s part of the league. They broke down houses, dragged fathers out by the shirts and mothers out by the hair. Children screamed and kicked everywhere you looked. Pets flocked to protect their families, but they were kicked to the ground and thrown into the wild. Every home was ravaged and robbed. All valuables were stolen, only to be sold later off.

Shigaraki walked through the storm of destruction. Was this what he expected when he planned to take over the world? Not exactly, but he wasn’t complaining. All he wanted was to see people suffering and miserable - the same way he was raised. He decided he would join the fun and take down a few families while he was there.

The raid had lasted probably two or three hours by now and somehow there were still people fighting for stability. Shigaraki ignored all of this and ventured towards an awfully quiet house at the end of the roads. The lights were off and it clearly hadn’t been broken into yet. To be fair, it didn’t appear to have anything valuable stored inside its walls. Just for the hell of it, he still kicked the door in anyways.

It was dark and quiet. Whimpering came from the other end of the house. He checked every room with heavy footsteps, wanting to savour the fear radiating from that very last bedroom. There was nothing special about the rest of this house anyways. It didn’t even seem like many people lived here - maybe two at most.

Finally. That last door. It was already open. He peered inside and his heart sunk.

A person hunched on the floor covered in weak blankets. They trembled in the dark, tears drenching their skin. In their arms was clutched a baby. A new born. Maybe a few hours old. Shigaraki stepped into view from the doorway. Y/N stared up at him with terror in their eyes.

“Please… Don’t hurt my baby…”

Their arms visibly tightened around the little one. Its skin was dark and unwashed - they clearly didn’t have the time to tend to the baby’s needs. Tomura stepped closer and crouched down. As he peered down at the baby’s resting face, a feeling of unusual love fell over him.

He reached his arms out but Y/N immediately snatched their baby out of the way, hissing in pain. A passion burned in their eyes - fear was no longer present. Just an angry need to protect their kin.

Tomura stiffened. He thought for a moment. “Has he eaten yet?”

“She. And yes, she’s eaten.”

He nodded. The smell hit his nose and he realised a puddle was in the corner of the room. This person had given birth all alone as their town was being raided. They clearly had no one to help them. For the first time in forever, guilt panged in his stomach.

“What if I took care of you?”

“And why would you do that?” they demanded.

For once, he didn’t have an answer. He swallowed hard. This was the most beautiful person he had ever laid eyes on, holding the most precious form of life in their arms, and he felt like he just fell in love with the both of them. “Because I want to.”

What a stupid reason. He was a menace, a villain. A cruel man. Why on Earth would he want to help some random civilian that was suffering - suffering the way he thought he’d want people to suffer?

Y/N narrowed their eyes at him. “Fine. You will take care of me and my baby, or you will leave us alone. On one condition.”

“Yes?”

“I will never be separated from her. Not even for a second.”

He nodded again, firmer this time. He held his hand out to help them stand up, but they smacked it away. They managed to stand themselves up. Shigaraki realised they were in nothing but a large shirt and a long blanket.

Just as they started to walk, Y/N’s legs became jelly and started to tumble - only for Tomura to catch them in his arms. “Let me just-“ Tomura started to speak but trailed off as he scooped his arms under Y/N’s legs and back, picking them up bridal style. They tightened their loving grip around the baby.

Once they stepped outside of the house, the world went quiet. Villains and left over civilians watched as the leader of the liberation carried this helpless creature to safety. “I need a medic! Find me a medic immediately!” Shigaraki screamed at his league.

Somehow Y/N could already tell that their baby wouldn’t be the only one attached to their hip.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Masterlist

[bijoumikhawal]

thinking about Ming Yi/He Xuan and Shi Qingxuan and their relationships to women....

Like obviously Shi Qingxuan is insanely transfem coded. Maybe you think they're transfem nonbinary/genderfluid or she's still putting on her male form partially because Shi Wudu hates when she's out and about presenting feminine, but either way that's not a cis man.

But also. Ming Yi, her bestest friend, also shapeshifts into a woman. It's noted that Qingxuan encourages people to do it and tries to convince them (because she enjoys it and assumes others must too), but it's noted that people are uncomfortable with it in the narration iirc. We only really get to see Xie Lian's reaction to her suggesting it and he reads as at least somewhat uncomfortable, though him and the deal with him dressing up in drag whenever a Situation occurs is a seperate thing. But Ming Yi, who LOVES to complain and be cranky, never says one word that I immediately recall indicating he's uncomfortable with it. Xie Lian is easily able to politely talk his way out of it with no hard feelings between him and Qingxuan, so it's not like he "had" to.

Further, crucially, He Xuan's anger comes from the deaths of his loved ones as well as his destroyed life. His sister, his fiancee, his mother, and his father- mostly, women that he cared for. Now, obviously this can be criticized as a bit too close to fridging (generally I think people's accusations that MXTX is a misogynist don't hold much water- its obvious to me that she's portraying misogyny as common but not delving too much into it because she's writing M/M romance first and foremost). But I'm also turning the reparative reading of it in my head, of the specifics of He Xuan and the value he places on his relationships with women.

Further, as part of that reparative reading, the misogyny that Shi Wudu enforces. I know he's some people's babygirl and I won't yuck a yum, but he does immediately discard the lives of 5 people as utterly worthless (3 of them being women). Yes, as Water Tyrant, hes implied to kill a lot of people, and since he targets sailors that don't give him tribute, probably mostly men. But, when we are asked to personalize the people he kills, to know their names and the specifics of their deaths, we are given 5 specific people, and three of them are women. These lives he sacrifices for Shi Qingxuan, his "brother".

Notably, during the last scene we get of the Shi siblings and He Xuan, the thing that makes He Xuan rip Shi Wudus arm off is him trying to kill Shi Qingxuan. "You won't survive without me, this is a mercy". Though Shi Qingxuan is in a masculine form, Shi Wudu can be read as enacting misogyny; you can't live without a man protecting you, so it's best to kill you if I'm going to die. More specifically, this man should be a relative; he tells Shi Qingxuan to seek out Pei Ming before this, iirc, and then seems to decide it isn't good enough. Even though Shi Wudu disapproves of Shi Qingxuan being a woman in public, he is used to seeing Qingxuan present as such because Qingxuan did so to hide from the Reverend during childhood.

And yes, arguably Shi Wudu doesn't like Qingxuan presenting as Lady Windmaster because it's a bad memory; but I think it can be both. It's both "this reminds me of a scary part of our lives", and "this is something gross and beneath you, and I can't believe you'd do it in public". And even as Shi Wudu dislikes it, he frequently is controlling towards Shi Qingxuan in a way that is both "I am your older siblings and I've had to protect you all our lives so obviously I know best" and "I am your older brother, and you are a woman who cannot be trusted with her own life" if you acknowledge that Qingxuan is, indeed, transfem.

Its not only that you can read the Water Palace scene as "He Xuan feels something for Shi Qingxuan other than hatred but refuses to back down on revenge", you can also read it as "He Xuan watches another woman he has some feelings towards be attacked by Shi Wudu, directly this time". And obviously yes: He Xuan is the villain in that scene and he's threatening both Shi siblings with violence. The only innocent person in that room is Shi Qingxuan. There is no babying here, only some thoughts I've had about these three characters and their relationships to women.

[p-wrryyy-mordial-soup]

Hiiii :3 heres my pack of losers (my x-rank team) because i needed ghost to actually have a team :]. heres a link to all my splatoons on toyhouse

seperate refrences, little blurbs about them and color alts where they all share eachothers colors below the thang v enjoy my word vomit idk how to write character stuff out teehee

sorry his ref is a year old and rushed for artfight </3 also the age is wrong i think i changed it to 23

he's from around where the deepsea metro is/was. had to leave because of unstable surroundings from an unknown to him cause. he's best friends with Rust and her kids, im gonna be honest i haven't actually thought through how they met and ive just realized this oops. since he spent most of his life underground and now lives in the splatlands he gets sunburnt way too frequently to not be covered up constantly, though he wears thing like tank tops and shorts during splatfest since those mostly occur during the night.

He met wisteria and ember first and then 72. they didnt apoint him as leader nor do they really care to have one but he's the tallest so everyone assumes its him. he's the most softspoken out of the 4 of them but thats a really low bar, he has a hard time making decisions but once he does he will die on that hill

(since its not on his ref like the other three)

72 escaped the metro before agent 8 went through it, he had found a memcake that was dropped after a test giving him just a clear enough mind to think for himself some. he ended up finding his way out after a while of accumulating a couple more memcakes, barely any where his though so hes walking around with memories that aren't his. It also took him a while to get used to the fact he isnt a soldier nor a test subject anymore. If he saw another sanitized mollusk he'd probably hide or run away </3.

72 met Ghost while after wandering around the area for a while, and ended up crashing in his car the whole time on ghosts way back to the splatlands (he thought 72 was like, drunk or something since he was tumbling around and seemed to be not the most coherent). he doesnt blink or breath unless hes actively thinking about it :[.

he had a hard time discerning things for a while but hes gotten better, at first he thought ember was just a weird octoling because she wears the old octoling goggles. we beat the evil soap with friendship in this house!!!

personality wise hes pretty hyper and cheerful which isnt usually your first thought upon seeing a zombie, forgot his age but hes an adult, he was encouraged to pick his own birthday :]

I have the least down for him at the moment, there will be more on her prommy </3 she's 21

She's a callie superfan with a vulgar sense of humor, usually the one who purposefully makes other players angry. born and raised in the splatlands she knows all the places to hide and get you lost in.

he's been friends with ember the longest, they where online friends until ember moved to splatsville. was introduced to ghost and 72 later by ember, he likes to antagonize 72 (think sibling antagonizing, theyre both in on it). down to fist fight you in the back of a waffle house

Originally from the inkopolis outskirts, they're 31

Ember's both a video game and turf/anarchy streamer, she has camera in their goggles for the latter. bad habit of talking in twitch/internet lingo outside of streaming. Once she has eyes on something its nearly impossible to get her to do something else. Very friendly outside fighting, will give you nice words and a pat on the back after a game whether they won or not.

met ghost while playing turf war in a random que, he was, in her words, "a bit to intense to be playing in turf" and told him after the game that he should try out anarchy, he was scared of it since he was new to the area. they ended up teaming up and playing a couple games together, later inviting wisteria and eventually 72.

theres def more to these guys but it will take me a long time to get the words in my head to cooperate 🙏im better at answering specific questions about things then coming up with what to write myself

have some color alts :3

[alyszaen]

~ "Circle Triangle Square" - changbin x chichi ~

embedding in time: march 2023 word count: 1.1k words summary: changbin needs to know why chichi has been closed off around him warnings: pure angst, swearing, yelling disclaimer: Chichi is an O/C invented by @chiskz who gave me explicit permission to create and post this. a/n: I recommend reading this first. You don't have to, but it makes everything make more sense

Part Two Part Three

Do not repost or translate my work. © All Rights Reserved Reblog or comment if you liked it. Let me know what you enjoyed.

Chichi radiated confidence. Her eyes looked like small crescent moons because of the wide grin she was giving Changbin. He sat across from her, seperated by the glass wall in the recording studio. "How did I do? I think this is it!", she was satisfied with the ad-lips she just sang into the microphone. They were recording them for their upcoming album. All of the other members were already done, but with her busy schedule for Troubl3mak3rs, some personal projects and life in general, the oldest only now got the time to record. And who better to create some ad-lips with than Seo "Yooooh" Changbin.

She took of the headphones she was wearing all throughout the process and put them in their designated space. When she looked at the rapper through the see-through wall, he seemed anything but happy. His hands were moving through his hair, pulling it back and out of his face. He seemed stressed, his eyebrows furrowed. "What's wrong, Binnie?" Ichi couldn't hear his sigh, but it was obvious that something was bothering him. Were her recordings not as good as she thought?

"Why are you being distant with me?", he didn't look angry at all, instead a hurt expression became clear through his glossy eyes. The girl knew what he was talking about, but she couldn't tell him that. There was no way she could explain why she stayed away from him, so she did the only thing she could think of in this moment; She lied. "What are you talking about?"

He stood up fast, pushing his chair back with so much strength that it got shoved into the dark couch behind him. It would definitely leave a mark on the leather, but that didn't matter to Changbin right now. What mattered, was to find out why his best friend was lying to him right now. "YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" The young mans eyes widened, he didn't mean to yell at her. He knew of her past and the damage it could do, but he was so afraid to loose her, almost intoxicated with that fear, that he lost control of the volume. She didn't even flinch, sure he would never hurt her. Yet he still apologized instantly - ashamed that he shouted at her.

Instead of panicking, Ichi grew furious. She walked towards the door seperating the recording room from all of the mixing-technology and opened it with all her strength. It didn't slam against the frame, because it was secured with rubber, but it still visualized her anger well.

"What the actual fuck, Changbin?" He visibly cringed at the name, not used to being called anything but loving nicknames by her. Tears built up in her eyes, but she didn't let them fall. She may trust him with her life, but showing weakness - which crying in front of the members felt like to her - was not something she took lightly. It was almost trivial. Of course they had all seen her with tears on her cheeks, but never like this. Never because she was the one causing someone else pain.

She stepped closer, now directly staring at the muscular man in front of her. "You know I care about you. I'd never want to hurt you. Ever...", towards the end of her sentence her voice grew quiet. Enormous amounts of guilt spread through her entire body. Hurting him was the last thing she wanted to do.

"Then why the hell have you been ignoring me? You say you don't want to hurt me...", before his voice could become more forceful he caught himself, not wanting to get too loud again. His next words were quiet, a mere whisper. Anyone observing would think he was saying something sweet or comforting. His voice was warm and almost soft, "But you have been the cause of most of my pain during the last weeks.", his voice broke, tears pooling in his eyes aswell, "I needed you! I needed my best friend to cheer me up, but she wasn't there...she was the reason why I needed cheering up in the first place."

Chichi couldn't practically feel her heart break into a million tiny pieces at his words. Her bottom lip quivered, her mouth drying up in an instant. Her chest felt heavy, but not in a comfortable way. Instead of feeling heavy with love, it felt heavy with pain. It was like someone filled her chest with thousands of stones and told her to keep moving. Every single breath felt like a burden on her body. She knew she couldn't keep it a secret anymore. It was eating her alive to be the cause of so much pain for him; To be the reason her best friends heart was aching. She was fighting with herself. The girl knew she owed him this honesty, but she was deadly afraid of what would happen once he knew. Ichi didn't think she would survive it if she lost him. Especially not like this.

This was the moment where Park Ichi let go of her restraints for the first time in years. She released all the built up emotions, all the fear and pain and anger that she stored in her body for so long. And with that release she also rid herself of the control for them. Ichi let the tears roll down her cheeks a while ago, her pupils widened in stress. "You want to know, why I've been ignoring you, huh, Changbin?", she took one last step closer, pointing her finger at his chest. With every word she said she got louder and louder. "I was ignoring you, because I can't be close to you anymore. I want to cry because I can't touch you. My heart aches because I just want you to tell me THAT EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE FINE, BUT IT WON'T BE!", she was yelling now. Enraged by her own emotions. "I'M IN MOTHERFUCKING LOVE WITH YOU, YOU ABSOLUTE FUCKING IDIOT!"

Chichis eyes widened in shock. She unconsiously threw her hands over her mouth. The tears she was releasing were not from anger or sadness anymore. They were filled with regret. She could never take this back. This would change everything. She probably just destroyed her most dear friendship and there was no way to change that.

And the only thing Changbin did was stare at her...

Taglist: @longingpurity @hyujinnie1 @sensitiveandhungry @minvho @hee0soo @minnnie-binnie @zoe8stay @l3visbby @bbyquokka @imafivestarkpopstan @mxnsxngie @serenitysoda200 @lino-jagiyaa @notastraykid Feel free to let me know if you'd like to be added to the taglist!

[ravens-words]

been you all along, Part 2

Part 1

Somehow, in a truly horrifying twist of fate, Bradley's mortal enemy became his daughter's favorite person.

Or

Five times Jake was his daughter's favorite person, and the one time he was Bradley's too.

AN: the response to part 1 was so lovely that it motivated me to write even more and now I have part 3 and part of 4 written! Thank you to everyone who reblogged/liked!

《2》

Their paths cross again two years later, in a bar close to where they're both stationed. Hangman's undeservingly passive aggressive, and as cocksure and smug as ever. Bradley gives as good as he gets, but somewhere in the back of his head, there's a memory of his three months old daughter in Hangman's arms, and it makes it impossible to do anything more than bite his tongue and avoid him for the rest of the night.

.

Weeks go by, and things with Hangman go from passive aggressive to downright hostile. He's so goddamn angry he can't see straight, so he heads to a diner, orders a coffee and does his best to calm down before he goes to pick up Caroline.

All his efforts are wasted, though, because once he gets to Ice's house, he finds none other than Jake fucking Seresin playing with the kids- particularly, his kid.

A hand on his chest is the only thing that stops him from stomping over there and ripping his daughter out of the other man's arms.

"Hi, Bradley."

"Hey, Sarah- what's-"

"Tom wants to see you," she informs him, and there's a twinkle in her eyes that tells him she knows exactly what she's doing. "Go, I'm keeping an eye on the kids," Sarah assures him, "all four of them."

At that, he can't help but laugh.

.

Ice is in his office, as per usual, and he gets up when Bradley enters. Bradley hugs him, tight enough to hurt, but the older man doesn't seem to care. "How are you doing, Ice?"

He pats his back, and once they seperate, he types out a message on his computer.

[Not too bad. How about you, kiddo?]

"Doing okay."

Ice raises an eyebrow. [Anything you want to share?]

Bradley rolls his eyes. "Pretty sure Mav already told you what happened, we don't need to talk about it."

[Sure we do.]

"He's- he just gets on my nerves, and usually, I can take it, but this time- he went too far."

[He did. But it's not for the reason you're thinking.]

"Oh?" He asks incredulously, "so it's not just cause he's an asshole?"

Ice laughs, nearly silent, and shakes his head.

"Why's he here?"

[He's Sarah's nephew, and his father is an acquaintances.]

He raises an eyebrow at the choice of word. "Acquaintance?"

Ice mimics him and raises an eyebrow as well.

Bradley rolls his eyes. "It's just a fancy word for someone you hate but have to be nice to."

He shrugs.

"And Jake? Is he an acquaintance, too?"

[No. Jake's family.]

It's so simple, yet the words hold more weight than Bradley could've imagined. Ice means every word, and he can't say he's not surprised.

Ice taps the screen to bring Bradley's attention back to it, then smiles. [He's a good man. A little rough around the edges maybe, but who isn't?]

Bradley wants to argue, he does, but Ice looks tired, and his hands are shaking, so he bites back his response and nods. When he stands up, Ice does too, and Bradley only hesitates a little before he leans in and hugs him.

Ice returns the hug, holds him tight and Bradley buries his face in the man's shoulder and hopes the tears don't fall. "Thank you," he mutters as he pulls back.

Ice just smiles. "What for?" He rasps.

Hearing him speak is jarring, and he feels guilty for thinking it, but it's a far cry from the smooth, gentle voice he was used to. He pushes the thought away. "For letting Linny stay here. I really appreciate it."

"I love that kid," he says, like it's that simple- and maybe it is. "Mav-"

The smile instantly drops, and Bradley shakes his head, backs away. "Don't," he says, a little harsh, "we don't talk about him, that was the deal."

"Kid-"

"Ice, please," he pleads quietly, "please."

He deflates, but nods.

Bradley breathes shakily, "I'm gonna go get Caroline now, okay? I'll see you tomorrow."

Ice nods again.

Bradley all but runs out.

He doesn't get a moment to breathe before he's hit with the image of Jake chasing the three kids around in the garden, groaning theatrically when one of them pushes him and dramatically falling to the ground. His breath catches in his throat when his daughter grabs onto Jake's leg with all her little limbs like a koala, and he grins down at her and starts moving. Bradley finds himself smiling when Carloine shrieks and holds on tighter as she's lifted off the ground. Soon, she's joined by the other kids, and Jake, in an effort to keep from squashing one of them, trips and falls onto his ass. The kids laugh, and he fakes a frown. "Alright, alright, you little rascals, go wash up now, I think dinner's almost ready."

Caroline lingers while the other two run inside the house, and she goes to lay beside Jake. She's two, almost three, and she's not talking much, but Carloine loves to babble. Bradley loves it, and from the fond way Jake looks at her, the other man does too.

Jake's head turns his way, and before he can duck out of the doorway, their eyes lock. It takes a moment for him to process. The other man's face goes slack in shock, then confusion, then he looks at Caroline, back at Bradley, then at Caroline again, and it registers. He sits up slowly.

"Linny," he calls out, eyes never leaving Jake's, "time to go, baby."

"Dada!" She screams, getting up quickly and almost falling on her face in her haste to get to him. Jake steadies her, the move almost unconscious.

Bradley crouches, holds her tight when she reaches him, and stands up with her in his arms.

Jake's still staring at him.

There's no hate, no anger in those green eyes, but there is something unreadable in the depths of them.

He doesn't bother trying to figure it out, he's got more important things to think about.

Like the little girl in his arms, and what would happen to her if things didn't work out the way they planned tomorrow.

He kisses his daughter's temple, turns to leave, but she wiggles in his arms, wanting to be put down.

He does, and is surprised when she runs back to Jake. He looks as surprised as Bradley feels when her little arms wrap around him. "Bu-bye, Jake."

"Bye, Care-bear," he says it quietly, with care, and Bradley can't take his eyes off him, even as his daughter comes running at him and her little body collides with his legs. Jake's eyes find his again, and Bradley has to make an active effort not to get lost in them.

He nods once, a sharp and jerky motion.

Jake nods back.

.

A week later, Jake Sersin saves his life.

.

[wisteriainslumber]

leoidevil friendship headcanons

two posts so soon?? no wayyy everyone seems to love their dynamic in penned in ink (deserved, i love them) so i decided to give you some fun, general hcs about the mean girls of all

warnings: swearing? i think thats it. wow, go me

they share a steady HBIC rotation

they respect each other so much but it will never look like it (bc seven forbid they show love and compassion and care in clown school, right?)

insults in this group = love. the more unhinged, the more it means they care for each other

aka if you try to break them up bc they look like they're going to throw hands they'll flip the narrative as if you are the crazy one for thinking they're genuinely fighting

do you see why these three are always split up in events now?

leovil are constantly using honey, dear, and sweetie in their arguments (derogatory)

once, when particularly annoyed, idia called them mom and dad bc 1. they remind him of his parents and 2. he hoped it would be weird enough to change the topic but no, leovil are running with it

there's made up lore about how idia was adopted. the story changes every time. so far, idias been a double orphan, picked up at a dumpster, cloned, picked up from the lost and found, and at some point he was biologically related to that fire lizard from frozen 2

leona regularly gifts idia super expensive jewelry. he receives a bunch of them and believes idia would have something better to do with them than he can (idia uses them for cosplay and hands some off to ortho because he likes the way it shines)

and the gifts progressively get very specific to idias interests but the chances of the court giving the second prince a custom headset (conveniently aligned with idias interests) seems relatively low

vil vehemently refuses the charity but will not say no to exclusive afterglow savanna garments (she wants to feel special and leona isn't thaaat opposed to it)

whenever someone offhandedly mentions that they got their eyes on something, its a race to see who can get it first

and bc vil is a sentimental one, his room is FILLED with trinkets and photos of his outings

leovil is always caught up on idias current obsessions, with leona knowing the key plot points and vil only knowing the names and faces

idia would not stfu abt this con and leovil didn't have time to pretend like it was annoying bc they do NOT KNOW who to go as (presumably idia just wanted to talk or maybe get one of them to go to the con for him but the girls were not having that)

like these two binged Idia's 'show of the month' and were having so much trouble figuring out who his favourite characters were, but ultimately settled for the main character and her friends

idia LOVEDD the surprise even though he has like, no clue who tf they were cosplaying (turns out leovil remembered the title completely wrong)

leovil were hella committed to keeping up their character while idia was too busy running around like an excited puppy

vil always carried around a bunch of tampons for his classmates but has a seperate pouch for leona & idia (bc they have nice patterned packaging. that's it)

leona's homescreen is a photo of them wearing mouse-ear shades. they all look so cool (leona has not revealed the lockscreen to anyone)

vil always lends his products to his friends because besties share everything (he even has specific formulas he's custom made for them! vil's never ever EVER gonna give them away tho bc then he wont have an excuse for an impromptu skincare session LMAOO)

leona's the designated everything holder bc idias backpack is always filled with random junk and his posture is terrible and he's the only one who can apparently 'treat vil's purse with respect' (he complains about it though)

even if they weren't important, i feel like if they got group kidnapped, they'd bully the kidnapper so hard that they'd be let go unharmed and the kidnapper would be in tears

leona has ALLLL the tea and it takes a swipe from idia to verify the facts. with rumours, vil can pinpoint exactly who is being talked about, down the the dorm, year, and class number

idia sits in between the custody battle for epel and jack DAILY. but the silly thing is whenever idia chimes in with a perfectly reasonable idea (like say, flip a coin), leovil suddenly get along again just to say it's a dumb idea (its not)

idia and leona have sibling solidarity and bc vil is an only child they exercise their sibling rights just to tell vil complete lies (aka, anything vil does, like sneezing, will receive a comment like 'if you sneeze more than 4 times a day, it means you're awakening a ghost')

and they're committed to the bit. idia will absolutely forge research articles and leona will claim his fifth-cousin-twice-removed had mysteriously gone missing because of it

when vil's feeling down they do not gas the queen up (she already knows it, hun). they let vil raid their closets to pick out their outfits for a photoshoot

when vil's not in the mood for THAT then its a code red. leoide will dress themselves up so good that vil feels underdressed so now he HASSS to go on their impromptu outing. peer pressure wins again

the gossip sessions over shaved ice or any kind of dessert go CRAZY in this trio, like they're so loud bc the tea is outrageous and you want to be mad but at the same time, go on, i gotta hear more

idias ideal hangout is a self-care day. they'll all wear facemasks and idia will do everyone's nails and they all gossip

sometimes idia will come up with a theory, like that sam is from another world, and vil will say it's bogus but ends up feeding more evidence for the theory

once vil beat idia in a video game (that idia was a pro at, mind you) on the first try and idia declared their friendship over

vil and idia are video game buddies but not past the AMs bc vil has a bed time (leona's still salty about the cats & videogames comparison so he only watches)

vil and idia fight over custody of ortho all the time but leona just uses the distraction to get ortho to leak all the juicy secrets

other than that vil and ortho are doing evil potion making aka finding creative ways go sneak veggies in leoides food

the trio never have any real drama so they always end up 'fighting' each other over the stupidest shit. like the way they tie their shoes, the typo they just made, or how loud they breathe

whenever one of them is seriously down, it's always a bad-cop/good-cop situation bc getting too serious makes these emotionally stunted losers feel icky

they do talk about their feelings though, but it never turns into a pity party

idia LOOOVES being dramatic tho and will set the stage for his sob story only for it to be that the cashier didn't wish him a good day

vil will use idia's lingo for the shock factor and pretends it never happened after and leona will pretend like he didn't like that his time got wasted but will reassure him. and by reassure i mean he stands w idia in line and says 'have a good day' to the cashiers so they'll say 'you too'

and no idc what u say, idia will chat shit about everyones crushes but will do one of two things: A. be besties w them if his friends end up dating and B. have a crush on the BAREEE MINIMUM

okay i joke a lot but leoidevil all keep each other in check and strive to uplift & become the best version of themselves

its three different flavours of self-hatred all communicating with each other

and they will still preach self-love (leona bc he thinks they deserve better, idia bc he gave up but that doesnt mean his loved ones have to, and vil bc he believes you will never be at a satisfactory point in ur life if you dont make amends with yourself)

btw they have a very elaborate plan to go to therapy together and a back up plan if they happen to end up at the ward instead

friendship bracelets but its the admission wrist bands

all in all, the whole school is afraid of this power trio but they're just super weird together

12/10 leovil still have pictures of idia's phantom bride wedding day

if there's other groupings or ships you want me to do hcs for, send me an ask! i love exploring character dynamics smmm this will definitely be a new series of mine

[t0mcruize123]

March 5th

Fifth March 5th🎀🫶

This is the last part to this story and I’m genuinely going to miss writing it, it’s been kinda fun😭 this part is massively inspired by the movie vanilla sky so u may wanna watch the movie first to understand this better💪hope you all enjoyed it but most of all @mqverick who this was originally written for🫶 HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUVVVV THIS IS ALL FOR U

Fifth March 5th:

“All of this, everything is your creation.”

David stared at the pink and peach clouds surrounding him, still trying to process everything that had been said, “When did the lucid dream start?”

A tall man dressed in a slick white suit claimed to be Edmund Ventura from Life extension - a company dedicated to placing people into Lucid dreams until their bodies were revived. David had initially laughed at the idea, convinced this was all a figment of his imagination after she’d drove away the previous night, but he couldn’t wake up.

“Do you remember the first March 6th? When you ran to the plane in slo motion?” Edmund looked at him from across the building, “When she left, you went back to your apartment and that was the moment that you chose for the splice.”

His eyes widened, “Splice?”

“The end of your real life and the beginning of your lucid dream. After that day, nothing was real in the traditional sense. Your lucid dream was monitored by life extension.”

David pinched the bridge of his nose in confusion and rubbed his hands down his face. So Edmund was telling him that 5 years ago when he kissed her on the plane was his last real memory? Everything else had been a dream?

“Precisely,” Edmund read his mind with a disturbing smile, “You barely knew her in your real life but in your lucid dream she was your saviour.”

David thought back to each year spent with her, how comfortable and content he’d felt within her arms and how nothing else had ever seemed to bother him. Had he really been dreaming the entire time? What had happened to cause him to even sign up with life extension?

“What happened to my real life? What did you erase?” He stepped forward eagerly, no longer convinced it was fake yet still unnerved, “Tell me everything.”

He drew in a slow breath, “after the plane took off, you went back to your apartment alone and never saw her again. You didn’t meet up next March 5th because you were both too busy, too worried the other had forgotten, and we’re trying to move on with your seperate lives. You got ownership of the company, you had great friends but you were still lonely,” his voice was filled with sympathy and David flinched, “You craved the comfort youd felt only with her, but had no idea how to reach her. Instead, You found life extension on the internet and signed a contract.”

In David’s real life, he’d been alone? Surely that couldn’t be true, he had tons of friends right? Had she really impacted him that much?

“It wasn’t danny who died in that car wreck two years later, David, it was you,” David’s head snapped up at the mention of his friend, “you gave yourself to us and you’re now in a suspended in a dream state.”

“Danny didn’t die?” He smiled in relief though there was nothing to be happy about.

Edmund shook his head, “Your friend Brian Shelby organised a three day memorial, and she flew from Chicago and never recovered.”

David found the thought oddly comforting. Even though they’d only known each other a day, she’d cared enough to fly back.

“It was she who somehow knew you best and she never forgot that one night at your party where true love seemed to blossom.”

And now she was gone…David shook his head fiercely and looked at the bright skies, “I don’t want to dream any longer.”

Edmund smiled slightly as I took form behind David. I knew I wasn’t real - I was just a figment in David’s dream and yet my thoughts, my emotions, my memories…everything still felt so real.

“You’re here,” David spun to face me, his features instantly relaxing as he took me in. I smiled as my hands came up to touch his face. I wasn’t angry at him anymore for falling in love with Violet. Right now on this rooftop, there was just me and him.

“There was a glitch in your lucid dream David,” Edmund confessed in the distance, “You were supposed to end up with her with the perfect happily ever after, but the glitch caused you to form a relationship with Violet. That was never supposed to happen.”

My lips tugged up as I moved closer to David, “Me and you were destined, I always knew it.”

There was a glint of mischief in his eye as he brought his lips close to mine. The feel of his mouth was familiar and I welcomed the soft press of his tongue. He was everything I needed and more - it was the kind of kiss I could’ve stayed in for the rest of my life, but we both knew it couldn’t last.

David needed to wake up.

“Look at us,” he pulled back and ran a hand through my hair, “Frozen and dead, and I love you.”

My heart would always hammer at those words, “It’s a problem.”

“I lost you when I left you on that plane,” his smile saddened for a moment and I kissed the corner of his mouth, “And when I got in the car wreck. I’m sorry.”

A sob clung to my throat as David interlaced our hands together, “Do you remember what you told me once?”

My lips parted in anticipation and he smiled, “Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around.”

A tear rolled down my cheek but I didn’t bother wiping it away. Planting one last kiss to his lips, I closed my eyes and took a step back.

My hand reached out, “Come find me.”

“My life won’t be complete until I do,” the corner of his lip tugged up though his eyes glistened in the sunlight, “I’ll see you in another life when we are both cats.”

I grinned and David took a step back towards the edge of the building. My pulse raced but I knew he had to take the leap of faith; David was going to be okay. We were going to be fine.

Part of me worried when he woke up the real me wouldn’t love him as much as the dream me. But Edmund had said true love had blossomed at his party all those years ago, we had something special.

David hovered on the edge of the building, his pants echoing in the air as his hands clamped into fists at his sides. He was always terrified of heights but I knew he could do this. If anyone could do this, it was him.

As if David could read my mind, he inhaled sharply and fell forwards from the rooftop. The wind instantly smacked his face as he flew towards the floor, a strange feeling of peace unfurling in his stomach.

“It’s time,” Edward looked at me with a small smile as I slowly faded away. The world itself seemed to fade into the colour white, taking everything and everyone in its path. I looked at the edge David had stood on only moments before and smiled, knowing we’d be together in another life soon.

“Relax David….Open your eyes”

David blinked at me in bewilderment as though he was confused about where he was or who he was. With wide eyes and a slack jaw, he stared at me in confusion and I repeated the question.

“You promise?” I looked into his eyes and tried my best to ignore all the people on the plane watching us through their windows.

“Promise what?”

I almost laughed in disbelief, “To meet up with me next year…March 5th?”

He shook his head slowly as if coming to a sudden realisation, “I’m not coming next year.”

I shifted back in confusion and he added, “Because I’m coming with you right now.”

My brow creased, “What?”

“This is going to sound insane but I know that if I let you get on this plane alone, both of us are going to end up upset and alone, with broken promises,” he touched my shoulder, “And I’m tired of holding back and making excuses. You make me happy, and I know we’ve only properly known each other for what? A whole day? But I know you. I know you better than everybody else and I’m not going to let the one person I’ve ever truly loved slip through my fingers. I’m coming with you.”

I don’t think I could’ve replied if I tried. Everything we’d planned and talked about had just vanished and yet I was happy to see it disappear. I liked this new David. This David who didn’t care about challenges and thought with his heart, not his head; this David who I knew I was going to have so many fun adventures with. I could already see it.

“You want to fly to Chicago with me?” I confirmed with a small smile and he nodded, “You’re going to need a jacket.”

He flashed a familiar grin, “Trust me, I know.”

It felt surreal as we clambered on the plane together, hand in hand, with no luggage and no real plans and yet…no worries. Being with David always seemed to cool me down and I knew that as long as I was with him I was going to be okay. Maybe it was insane; I mean I hardly knew the guy and yet I felt as though we’d lived a thousand lifetimes together.

David went back to buy a ticket to the plane and we managed to swap places with other passengers so that we were seated together. They gave us small smiles and knowing glances and I couldn’t help but wipe the cheesy grin off my face. I wasn’t going to sit and wait 364 days to start living my life.

I looked at David at my side and squeezed his hand tightly, pressing my lips against his. We’d only kissed a few times and yet i felt as though I’d felt him a thousand times, held him and loved him thousands more. This was what it felt like to love. I wasn’t going to hold myself back anymore, I was going to seize the chances I had.

I was going to start living today, and that included David Aames at my side.

Who would’ve thought?

The end🫶

[multi-dudes]

some things I've found out this week

journaling has been my lifeblood. there's a specific alter/fragment (🌼) who has been going absolutely ham, writing a lot and having a lot of worries and fears to say. and I've come to find we'll come back to the writings later and someone else will write something back. or in the case of 🍊, he's able to pop in quickly between writings and I'm assuming the two of them communicate best that way. I've noticed handwriting does change and some alters struggle to even physically write. I do too but I always chalked it up to my wrist deformity, but it seems like 🌼 can do for a long time without any pain, when she feels more pain usually than almost any of us that I know of. or maybe that was a good couple of days. idk

aforementioned fragment has actually written most of the posts here, but we both thought we were more of each other. and oftentimes it's hard to seperate who's who and I'm sure there are either fragments of me in me with the shit I've been through thr past few years but I guess we'll see about that. I think she is developing a different identity now but we both feel too linked to seperate cleanly. but we act very different now that we can pinpoint what it feels like.

she also holds most of our memories and masking. when she gives out at the end of the workday I sometimes feel straight up catatonic. I've always done that but now that I know someone else is holding the fort and basically collapsing when we get home is both crazy and sad. it makes several parts of this brain feel like they want to step in and do something. even though I only know like three or four now

three of us have drawn ourselves at different times of the day and they look completely different which is personally tripping me out not even gonna lie. we all focus on different methods, different importance, and the art styles are subtly different just like handwriting. like 🌼 draws like I did as a kid but with some more of my current skills level. same with 🍊, the type of art style I did when I think he formed, and the same things I struggled with then rather than now. it's not foreign but it's not the same.

it also explains my current art struggles a whole fucking lot. got a whole bunch of people in me with conflicting interests that I don't agree with so half of "me" comes out unsatisfied no matter what

🍊 is best at self care but doesn't always front and that's okay. generally has the track record of least executive dysfunction but is debuffed with so much autism and so little masking that he generally only comes out when physically we're alone, and is the easiest to realize is switching

🌼 comes out for almost everything even remotely stressful and is almost omnipresent. whenever we have a headache it's usually her I think

💋 seems cool but only comes out in very specific circumstances. but acts really different. also drew herself

there are no alters that represent anything familial so far, to me

I/we have been having so much dissociation lately. I've given up on hobbies for a bit and I feel no motivation to do anything. I'm still taking my Adderall just because it helps me get out the door and focus at work and honestly sometimes helps the dissociation be less drastic. but there have been several days this week where we just have to sit for hours doing literally nothing, even if we want to do a very specific thing. and also feeling like nobody and nothing at all. just totally shut down. and I am the host and I've barley been present for a fat minute but I also feel like everyone else all at once. I'm used to that feeling though

🍊 claimed a plushie as his own to represent him in the physical world. am thinking of doing the same because that's so fun

[definitelynotafurinasimp]

helloooo can i request kujou sara, yae miko and ei x reader where the reader is always happy and never shows any negative emotions but they recently lost a loved one so they come up to them and just hug them & asks to be hold without saying anything? sorry for the detailed request and have a nice day!! i love your writing very much btw💖💖💘💘💘💕💕💕

Them comforting a reader that's usually always happy

characters: Kujou Sara/Yae Miko/Ei x gn!reader (seperate)

warnings: Hurt/comfort, mentions of death

a/n: I'm starting to get the feeling, that I'm getting the hang of writing for those three characters, at least I hope so, since now it would seem even more stupid if I wrote them the wrong way. Also, this isn't the oldest request I got that wasn't finished yet, so for those that reqeusted something and have to wait a little longer, I made a small anouncement here. So check it out if you're interested.

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Kujou Sara

The general knew all to well how it felt to loose people close to you. Regretfully that was part of her job. At the same time, seeing soldiers break because of it also wasn’t a rarity. But when she heard of one of your parents death, she somehow foolishly expected you to handle it in the same way you handled every bad situation fate had thrown you into, so when she opened the door to your shared home and saw you wrapped in blankets, while crying on the couch, she froze.

When you heard the door creakingly open, you face instantly turned in it’s direction and you quickly tried to hide your tear-stained cheeks. But it was to no avail as seeing as Sara had frozen up was enough evidence that she had seen you cry. When she slowly and a little awkwardly approached you and sat down next to you, you didn’t waste any time to hug her as tight as possible.

“I’m sorry, I can’t really comfort you with words, but if there’s anything that I can do for you, please just say so”, Sara offered after a long period of silence, before placing her chin on your head. You simply shook your head before answering.

“Just hold me, that would be enough.”

Yae Miko

The last time Yae had lost anyone important to her, was when Ei decided to shut herself into her Plane of Euthymia, but that was different from your loss. The Archon didn’t die and eventually came back, but humans tended to stay dead. When she had heard that you came to visit her at the shrine, she instantly went to greet you. And while she planned to privately tease you as she always did, when she saw your face full of grief, her playful attitude quickly died down.

Miko had no time to react as you threw yourself at her and instantly hugged her tight, you eyes still obviously being red from having cried earlier. You didn’t care that the two of you were still in public, you just felt as if you wouldn’t be able to take it any longer. Yae quickly took you into her room where the two of you sat down. Your grip not loosening for even a second.

“You have some nerve to hug me in public like that”, she said and while her words may have sounded harsh, she somehow managed to say them in a caring voice. But your grip loosened nonetheless.

“I’m sorry”, you apologized once you calmed down a little bit and trusted yourself to not break into tears again, only for Miko to tighten her grip on you and softly pet your head.

“I never allowed you to apologize. You humans tend to get emotional in moments like that, but you’re my human, so I’ll allow it.”

Ei

Ei had lost people important to her much more frequently than she would like to, but unlike her, you didn’t have an entire dimension to lock yourself into. Not like she would want you to do so, since she had finally decided to leave the Plane of Euthymia behind and face the future. So when she hadn’t seen you for a couple of days and started worrying about you, she decided to visit your home, only to instantly get tackled by you. Just instead of it being a joyful one, like she was used from you, this one practically screamed for comfort.

Ei had just managed to close the door before you had embraced her in a tight hug. She didn’t need to look at your face to know how you were feeling, since all the tissues lying around made it evident that you were crying for days. Instead of saying anything, she returned your hug and started petting your back.

“Sorry for how it looks right now”, you apologized in a low voice once the tears finally stopped rolling down your cheeks and you were able to form a coherent sentence again.

“That’s not important. Let’s focus on making you feel better, I wont leave until I see your typical smile on your face, a genuine one. If I have to, I’ll be here until the end of eternity.”

[clouds-rambles]

Hands

I was going to just add this to the queue but I really like this so you guys get to see it now

Man am I in love with hands omg

please reblog bc hands

Pairings; (Seperate) Eula, Albedo, Beidou, and Xiao x reader

Warning(s); A little suggestive at times, but overall sfw, HANDS <333

Summary: Hands headcaons, just hands. Pretty hands. Hands. Let me kiss their hands. Hands <3

Keep reading under the cut!

Eula

Her hands are a lot softer than you ever imagine them. Not like there’s anything wrong with that, but you always imagined her hands a lot more calloused because of the claymore she lugs around.

‘Oh I’ve been wearing gloves since I started training in swordsmanship so I’ve never had to deal with rough hands’

Her hands are on the bigger side but they’re delicate and always look smaller than they actually are. Eula will sometimes just hold your hand and you’re just like ‘wow I forgot your hands are bigger than they look’

Eula loves fingertip kisses, be it when her hand or gloved or not. She just loves the feeling of featherlight kisses on her fingertips

Her hands are a little sensitive because of how she protects them in gloves so you like to just surprise her by running your fingers over her palm to see her cheeks turn a little rosy, it’s cute.

What mesmerises you as Eula dances is the way she moves her hands when she’s dancing alone and when she’s dancing with you, you can feel her delicate touch on your back.

Eula loves holding your cheeks with her hands and caressing your cheeks with her thumbs. The way you lean into her touch always causes a blush to reach her face.

Eula’s hands are cold (the same with her overall body temperature), and she loves the way you jump just a little bit from the cold contact on different parts of your body. If she’s really lucky you’ll offer to warm them for her either between your hands or on your shoulders where you can rest your neck on them.

Eula knows you’re obsessed with her hands and often finds excuses to just touch you, be it grazing her fingers against yours or tucking a ‘stray strand’ of hair behind your ear. She’ll do the latter even if your hair isn’t prone to falling into your face.

When the two of you sit together in Angels Share you often find yourself taking her hand and fiddling with her fingers as she and Amber talk about the favonious gossip

 Albedo

Albedo is naturally enamoured with your hands, he’s obsessed by the way they feel against his own hands, and the way they feel as you touch his face. And the strange obsession you have of tracing the outline of the mark on his neck.

Though Albedo has never gotten the hint that your love his hands has much as he loves yours.

His forearms and hands are often soft and sensitive because of the constant protection they have thanks to his gloves, there’s an odd scar or two on his hands, but nothing to disrupt the overall softness of his hands.

You love to just slowly pull off his gloves just to kiss the soft skin of his forearm and nuzzle your nose into his palms. The blush Albedo has whenever you do this is always more than adorable.

Albedo also finds himself doing similar things, he loves the feeling of your hands against his lips. He loves just covering your hand in kisses before he kisses your lips.

Seeing someone obsessed with your hands is so crazy to you, it never fails to make you blush like crazy, even at the simple movement of taking your gloves off.

The tips of Albedo’s fingers always feel perpetually cold even when his palms are warm. He enjoys watching the way your goosebumps react to the soft, cold touches of his fingertips.

Albedo’s favourite time to hold your hands are after long experiments, especially when he feels the cramp in his hands act up a little bit

Albedo is also obsessed with the way you massage knots out his back, there hasn’t ever been a time he’s come from a back massage feeling unsatisfied

Albedo often greets you with a soft kiss on the back of your hand, even if your hands are covered by a layer or two of fabric. He’s just obsessed with the way your hands look and feel

 Beidou

Beidou’s hands are calloused from years at sea, it’s only been in recent years that she has started wearing gloves. So many scars from various battles as well as general rope burns adorn her skin.

The texture of her hands against your cheek is always something to swoon into, especially after not seeing her for a long while, the way her rough thumb rubs against your cheek makes you want to kiss her until you can’t breath

Beidou doesn’t quite get your obsession with hands, but she’s always more than happy to entertain you with the grin she holds close.

The feeling of her ungloved hands against your bare back, or even your shoulders is enough to make anyone swoon for her

Considering the fact her gloves are fingerless Beidou loves to tease you with lingering touches of her hands as she goes about her business.

When Beidou holds your hand and rubs her thumb against your hand? Just say you’re in love already, you don’t even care if she teases you because damn he hands are just great

Nights that the two of you are drinking Beidou loves to just have some kind of connection to you, ranging anywhere from holding hands, to a supple grip on your thigh.

You enjoy kissing Beidou’s palms and leaving soft chaste kisses on them. Maybe Beidou doesn’t understand the hand thing, but she does understand raw affection when she sees it. So yes, Beidou no doubt about it always has a light blush on her cheeks after you kiss her palm, a darker blush if you tell her how much you love her as you do it

Beidou’s hands always seem to have a static current to them, her light touches through the day always feel electrifying, and not in the cheesy sense. You honestly believe that she uses her vision just to give you small shocks through the day. Not like you’re complaining though

 Xiao

Xiao is helplessly in love with hands, no matter how much he refuses to admit it.

It’s common knowledge that the adeptus is touch starved with all caps, and will often happily melt into a hug. But your hands on his skin always feels, different, they always feel more despite less of your body touching him.

He especially loves it when you fiddle with his own fingers, even more so when they’re ungloved.

Xiao’s hands are rough, not many new scars are apparent because he’s been wearing his gloves for some time, but they are there. Xiao enjoys the feeling of your fingers, and hands in general, gently grazing over the bumps of old scars.

More than once your hands just touching his own has made him more than content, if you whisper things to him his cheeks will flush a dark red

Xiao is a man that’s adept in the art of fighting and finds himself naturally excelling in the art of his job. He’s used to being strong, being alone, being the only fighter. So why does he feel the opposite when your hands are on him? Why does he feel overwhelmed with love?

Xiao isn’t so great at expressing his emotions, especially verbally. And even when it comes to gifts Xiao finds himself thinking too hard about something you’ll love anyways. So? The two of you found a way for Xiao to happily express his love to you without forcing him to say the words aloud.

Three simple taps ‘tap tap tap’ that’s all you need to do to say I love you.

You find him doing it everywhere, especially when your focus is either on his hands, or your hands are on him. ‘tap tap tap’ on your thigh as you hold his cheeks, ‘tap tap tap’ on your head as you delicately kiss his palms

That’s where you worked out his like of hands, he always seems to tap you more whenever your hands are involved. It makes you smile and makes you want to scream to the entirety of Liyue that your adeptus boyfriend is the most adorable, loving man you’ve ever met

[sweetchup]

Bi•valve

Noun

an aquatic mollusk that has a compressed body enclosed within a hinged shell, such as oysters, clams, mussels, and scallops.

AKA

The Most Common Seashell in the Ocean

————————

Vol. 1: Just Keep Swimming // Ch. 4

Type: Poseidon x reader

Word Count: 2,000+

Masterlist

————————

It is early in the morning by the time you wake up. So early that the sun hasn’t even risen over the horizon. Over the ancient city of Athens.

Even Triton is still in bed at this time. Cocooned in a thick fluffy blanket on top of Alexander The Great—The righteous name for the Stuffed King Turtle—with pillows surrounding him like a nest. It was at times like these that you wondered if Triton was part bird, perhaps the son of a harpy, rather than aquatic.

However, that was the last thing on your mind right now. Your eyes flickered down to your phone, staring at the text messages Bella had sent you last night.

—Heyyy (y/n)💕💕! Long time no see! Thanks again for helping out with the festival again ur the best. —

—Btw I heard from the rumor mill that u have a son. Why don’t u bring him along for the festival tomorrow? We can watch him quickly during ur shift and then you can have fun with him after. —

—There is also going to be cotton candy and fireworks! It will be lots of fun for the kiddo 😉😙.—

Letting out a sigh, you rub your aching temples, already feeling a headache coming on. You knew Bella meant no harm, she really is just a playful airhead at heart after all. But, it didn’t reassure the fact that it sounded like the whole school by now has found out you have a kid. Which didn’t please you in the slightest.

Especially since some of your classmates can be as toxic as snakes. You didn’t want to bring Triton anywhere around people like them.

Then again, it wasn’t like Triton couldn’t handle himself, he was more than capable after all. You found this out the hard way after he picked up a Boulder twice his size yesterday like it was nothing.

It would also be nice for the boy to have some fun for once instead of staying inside all day. Today was going to be sunny and nice out. A perfect day to play and go outside.

Decisions. Decisions.

��…Mom?”

At the call, You peel your eyes away from the screen to look over. Triton had already scurried out of his nest like bed in the corner of the living room by the time you looked up. His hair was tousled in every which way direction as he rubbed his eyes with sleepiness. A cute yawn left his lips before he finally opened his eyes. Their pale Ocean blue glory looking up at you.

“Good morning Triton.” You cooed at the young boy as he stumbled his way over to you on the couch. He practically collapses onto you, rubbing his face into your stomach for a couple of seconds before relaxing.

You chuckle as he mumbles a good morning in return, at least what you guessed to be, though it is hardly hearable.

It is silent after that for a few as you two take in the quiet morning atmosphere. The birds chirped from the window and you could even hear the soft sounds of footsteps from your neighbors above. The world was slowly waking up.

However, as much as you wanted to stay there for longer and relax, the alarm on your phone dings. A painful reminder that you should start getting ready for the festival.

Groaning, you attempt to peel Triton off of you so you could get up but the boy doesn’t budge. You attempt a couple of more times but after hearing a small giggle from said boy, you give up.

Shuffling up from your spot, you stand up but still Triton doesn’t budge. His knees drag on the ground slightly as he falls off the couch but he recovers quite quickly by using some of his powers. Making himself float effortlessly in the air as he stays latched onto you.

You let out a small sigh but don’t care to stop the boy. Instead making your way to your room so you could finally get ready.

As soon as you enter your room however, the peace doesn’t last long as after you tell him how he has to get out so you could get changed, Triton is forcibly thrown out of your room with a pout on his face.

“Mommmm!”

Triton leans against your door with a whine. Already missing your presence even though he knows it hasn’t been that long. He stares at the door handle in temptation but frowns as he knows he shouldn’t. That he should respect your privacy as you get ready.

“Mommmmmmm!”

“Triton, please! I’ll be out in a few!”

—.—.—.—.—

You wondered if you should have asked Zeus more about aquatic gods. Especially in a time like this.

“Triton… Sweetheart? I need you to let go of my leg so I can walk.”

“B-but—“ Triton stutters out, his grip on your leg tightening as the bus begins to screech to a halting stop. You weren’t sure what was up with him but he was very clingy today. He wouldn’t take no for an answer when you told him to stay home today. Forcing you to bring him along.

You seriously wondered if today was something special that was making him act so strange. Perhaps something that pertains to gods. Aquatic gods especially.

“You can hold my hand instead. I just can’t walk with you holding onto me in this long dress and sandals.”

Hesitantly, Triton lets go of your leg and grasps your hand. He seems content with this type of contact for now but you don’t know how long it could last. Especially when you start waiting tables. The last thing you need is Triton using his powers to spill hot tea onto customers.

“(Y/n)!”

“Oh, Bella.” You announce as said girl spots you in the crowd as you enter the festival.

“So nice to— Oh my, This must be your son!” Bella coos out, squatting down slightly to look at Triton who quickly hides behind you. “Such an adorable boy and… Oooo~ Look at how nice you are dressed up.”

Startled by Bella’s comment, you take a step backwards, “Huh?”

“Oh, don’t play coy with me. You are like the bell of the ball. The—“ As you and Bella bicker back and forth, you miss how Triton puffs his chest out at Bella’s previous words. He knew how beautiful you—His precious mother—looked right now.

You were wearing a white and blue thin silk-like dress, one that flowed as effortlessly as the waves of the sea. Bracelets, Choker, earrings, all of it was shining gold. Not even Apollo, god of the sun, glimmered with as much gold as you. Your makeup was flawless with your cheeks and lips dusted in a light red to add color to your face.

Honestly, in Triton’s opinion you were even more gorgeous than Aphrodite herself. Though, he would never say that out loud… you would be in trouble with the goddess if he did.

“Woah… Dude look…”

At the sudden voice, Triton looked over. A group of males were looking at you from afar. Clearly, mentally agreeing with Triton on how pretty you were. Though, it seemed as if they couldn’t bring up the courage to make their way over to greet you. Chickening out whenever you happen to even accidentally glance their way.

“You can look but you can never touch…” Triton snickered to himself, humming a small tune in content as you finally wave Bella goodbye and go on your way.

After a while of mingling in and around the crowded area, you finally make it to your section. It was thankfully easily spotted with all the decorations of colorful fish and blue fabrics that flowed throughout the air.

“Woah! It’s like we are underwater!” Triton awed as he looked up. “Mom, this is—“

“Ahhh! Is that your son (y/n)?”

“Wait, he's here?”

“Oh my!”

Startled, you two look over to your right as three of your classmates walk over. It seemed that you were correct when you thought that the rumor must have spread about the whole school by now.

“His name is Triton.” You explain to the girls as they looked down at said boy. Triton once again hid behind you but that didn’t do much as they still cooed and asked questions to him. Feeling bad for the poor boy, you decided at that moment it would be best to leave him in the back where more of the male staff was located so he would stop being ogled at. Though it would also sadly leave him out of your sight for a while. “Well, we have to get going for my shift. I will see you three later.”

“Of course!”

The girls smiled kindly at you before all at once cooing, “Bye Triton!”

“B-bye…” Triton stutters out, looking at them from around your leg quickly before hiding again.

“Ahhh so cute!”

“I know right!”

“My. I’m so jealous of—“

As you walk away, you wait a little for the girls to be enough ways away before looking down at Triton, “You're really shy today, Triton.”

Triton lets a smile whine out in detest and clutches onto your leg more, “You can’t blame me, mom. I’m not used to girls and affection from them. My old mom scared all the women away from the palace, remember?”

“True. True.”

Finally, after many obstacles—too many in yours and Triton’s opinion—you had made it to the tent. By the time you had got there, it was already bustling full of customers and you knew you had to hurry.

“Now this way, Triton.” You tell the young boy as you bring him to a seperate tent. Being careful not to bump into the other waiters or chefs as you lead Triton to an area in the corner with the supplies. “Mom has to wait tables for now so I need you to stay right here alright. I’ll be back soon, if you get hungry you can ask Jeremy or Paul for food.”

At the sound of their names, two of the chefs look over and wave.

“But mom…” Triton whines, upset that he has to let you go, “…Can’t you stay.”

“I’m sorry but I can’t. It will just be an hour until the actual waitress I’m covering for arrives. Then you have me for the rest of the day alright?”

Triton’s face looks unsure. Still not completely content with letting you go just yet.

“Don’t worry little man.” Triton jumps a little as Paul pats the top of his head, “Your mom won’t be gone for long. In the meantime, I know how to pass the time real fast. I can teach you how to make a mean sundae.”

“R-Really?” Triton questions out, looking worriedly back and forth between you and the male. Seeming to be struggling to fight against taking the bargain the man has given him.

“Of course, you won’t even notice time has even passed by the time mom picks you up. Now, what do you like in your sundaes?”

As Paul takes Triton away, you mouth a small thank you to your classmate before giving Triton a wave goodbye. Just as you are about to turn to walk a way, you feel a hand on your shoulder.

“Don’t worry (y/n). I’ll make sure to watch your son while you are gone.” Jeremy says, shaking his head in discontent as he remembers, “I saw how those girls were harassing the poor boy earlier.”

“Thank you so much. I promise I’ll be quick.”

“Of course don’t worry about it.”

As you leave the tent, you give Triton one last look goodbye. He wasn’t looking at you at the time as he was much to busy scooping huge chunks of oreo ice cream into his bowl. Concentrating to make sure they were stacked perfectly on top of each other.

You felt a sting of worry and doubt bubble up in your stomach as you continued to stare at Triton. Unsure if it was okay to leave him like that. But, you quickly push it away, once you see Paul right behind him. Close by to help him if needed.

Triton will be okay.

Triton will be okay.

Okay.

That’s what you kept telling yourself.

But, little did you know,…

…that wasn’t the case.

Author Note: I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. I’m sorry I left it on a cliffhanger though lol. I didn’t mean to, it just worked to break up chapter 4 and chapter 5 at this point. Anyways, other things. I’m going on vacation with my extended family next week 🎉. But don’t worry, I am going to spend tomorrow and Friday writings so you will stay have chapter 5 and 6 for next week, don’t worry :)). It’s also fitting since I’m going to the beach, Poseidon I’ll see you there 🤣🤣.

Taglist: @angeli-fucking-cat @marixxhq @sproutcorner @orophaea

[kalims]

Alright, I know that Zhongli x Mother!Reader is not canon (wish it was), but how would Reader react to the Fatui? Especially since three of their Harbingers have forcefully held their child down, forced them into a brutal no bars beat down, and tried to assassinate them? Basically wronged them in a way that would make any decent mother's hackles rise.

And how would the Fatui react to the Traveler's mother personally coming after them?

‼️MAY CONTAIN SLIGHT SPOILERS FROM INAZUMA ARCHON QUEST PART II ‼️

Ah, from the way you put it alone actually makes me realize how brutal and heartless the fatui is. Dear god, I think you've opened my eyes. I will forever admire the three harbingers, I believe that they own have their own story as to why they've pledged their loyalty to the tsaritsa but they currently seem like.. a bad guy which I live for! Mihoyo did such a good job writing them! Moving on no one cares about what I think, we all want out mother reader so let's move on!

I'd like to see that aether and lumine both seperately took on some of the mother's personality traits so in short, mother reader is usually reserved yet headstrong in a way. However mother reader IS the reader, so her personality can be any of what you visualize!

Before I continue, aether is somewhat the traveler mihoyo uses whereas lumine is the one he'd have to look for so let's go with that.

Mother reader would have a reaction any average mother would have after hearing that bad people are after her children/aether, she'd be of course angry. Her first instinct was to pummel them down and teach them a lesson as to what they'll be faced with once they initiate an action like threatening her kids once more.

Buttt, I also envision that she'd lose her senses. You know the feeling of being overcome by rage then you no longer have control over your actions? I think that's what she is.

Even you can't convince me otherwise that losing your own blood and flesh, a being that you've poured your sweat and tears into. Is the most painful thing a parent, no less a mother could feel. She just can't fathom a world without the twins! In a way she'd react somewhat violently. Even if she truly loved zhongli, the twins are her whole world. She'd crumble if she lost them.

The only way to stop her from losing her shit and going for the tsaritsa herself is if zhongli absolutely promised that he'd talk to the tsaritsa himself to stop their attempts on the twins life. In exchange for her to calm down, so kinda like a contract? You can't blame him! His natural instinct to solve problems like this is just to propose a contract as he always did.

As to what the fatui would react to?

I think they would no doubt be shaken by her anger, even if it's just a little. Who wouldn't? Mother reader goes batshit crazy once she just spots a fatui agent or something, her first action was to send them back to the tsaritsa to convey a message. 'Leave my kids alone or I'll come for you.'

The tsaritsa would be frustrated, a woman had been interrupting her plans again and again! Though she could tell that the little threat was no joke, said woman had been marching on fatui camps and beating them up. The cyro archon would have taken care of the problem herself but there's a doubt, the travelers always beaten her soldiers when they encountered them, they even held up to a fight with an archon! Who's to say their mother couldn't too?

SO YEAHHHH, it all stops once zhongli does his contract thing.

WHEWWW, that was so long. I actually enjoyed writing that! I hope that answers your question ;)

The contract from zhongli includes the tsaritsa needing to leave the kids alone while mother reader will in turn leave her organization alone too! I THINK?!?!?

[myhaikyuuacademia]

Zemo x Reader [pt 2]

Part 1 Summary: hurt comfort, worried reader, bed sharing (no smut) Warnings: none that I can think of, Zemo gets injured by Walker throwing the shield at him lol, swearwords Notes: I just had to continue their story oml, this is so sappy and fluffy

It had been a few days since you and Zemo confronted your feelings. You’d been sneaking glances and lingering touches since then, but Bucky and Sam rarely left you a chance to do anything more. The three of them were going to Mama Donya’s funeral to try and convince Karli to stop hurting innocent people, but they had been gone for longer than you thought they would. Sam and Bucky didn’t want you with them, convinced they could handle it themselves. Zemo probably didn’t mind you staying at home either, safe from any potential danger. You grew restless. Surely, talking to Karli couldn’t take that long?

Something must have happened. The decision was made: you were going out to check on them. You didn’t think of the fact that you didn’t even know what direction they went, much less where the funeral was held. All you were thinking about was their safety. But before you could even get up, the door opened and Sam and Bucky came through the door, beat up, and carrying an unconscious Zemo. ‘‘What the hell happened?!” You stood up from the couch to give them a place to lay Zemo down. ‘‘Walker happened.’‘ Sam growled. ‘‘Jesus...’‘ you sighed, making your way over to the kitchen to grab some towels, wetting them and then going back to the couch Zemo was passed out on. You were trying your best not to show how worried you were, but still couldn’t stop yourself from caring for him. ‘‘Aw come on, really? He won’t die.‘‘ Sam remarked when he noticed you kneeling down beside Zemo. ‘‘Yeah, you could have at least brought us some too.’‘ Bucky added. You turned around to face the two guys apparently moping at the fact that you didn’t bring them a bandaid for their boo-boos. ‘‘Are you unconscious? No? Then you can take care of yourselves.’‘ Without another comment you turned back around and started taking care of the wound on Zemo’s forehead. You cleaned the already dried blood from his face, carefully, trying not to hurt him. Once you were satisfied with your work you got up to put the dirty towel away and get some bandaids and ice for his head. By now Sam and Bucky were carefully observing you, done with cleaning themselves. ‘‘You seem awfully worried about him.’‘ Sam commented, right as you placed the ice on his head. ‘‘Again, he is unconscious. Plus, don’t we need him for something? That’s the whole reason he is even out of prison. Not to mention I’m a nice person, if any of you were unconscious I’d do the same.’‘ You got up to face Sam and Bucky. ‘‘I don’t think he has any medicine. Or food. Can you go get some? I’ll babysit.’‘ Reluctantly the two men made their way to get the needed stuff. Which left you all alone with Zemo once again. A groan alerted you the fact that Zemo was waking up. You rushed over to him, kneeling down beside him once again. ‘‘Darling, what did  I miss?” His voice was rough, the accent even more prominent right now. A relieved chuckle left your mouth, if you weren’t so worried about accidentally hurting him you would be kissing him. ‘‘Walker knocked you out with his shield apparently.’‘ His hand reached up to the bag of ice, mostly melted by now. ‘‘Oh sorry, is that too cold? I can put it away.’‘ You cursed yourself for sounding so worried. He just smiled, ‘‘It’s okay. You cared for me?’‘ You smiled, ‘‘Of course.’‘ He reached out for your hand, intertwining his fingers with yours, before closing his eyes in pain and exhaustion again. ‘‘Thank you.’‘ With a soft expression you reached down with the hand not holding his, to gently push a strand of hair out of his face, your fingers barely ghosting over his skin, in an effort not to hurt him. You kept sitting like this for a few more minutes, silent, just being in the moment. Grateful he was okay. When Bucky and Sam came home with several crinkly plastic bags full of food and first aid kits, you  were sitting on the same couch as Zemo, who had pulled his legs closer to him to allow you some space, reading a book. Careful to keep a distance that the two avengers wouldn’t question upon their return. ‘‘Food!” You put the book down with a big grin on your face, ecxited at the prospect of something to eat. “Any ideas on what you want to cook? We brought something of pretty much everything.” Bucky directed the question at you. “What are you talking about? I’m not cooking.” You furrowed your brows. ‘‘Well Bucky here can’t cook, and I am way to exhausted, but I am totally good at cooking just saying. ” Something about Sam’s statement made you doubt that he was a good cook. “I’m a terrible cook. Why did you expect me to cook?” Before the two could do any more than make grimaces and shrug, Zemo interjected. “Not to flatter myself, but I am quite good competent when it comes to cooking.” “Yeah right, as if we’re gonna let you cook.” Sam squinted his eyes. “You’ll probably poison us or something.” You snorted. ‘‘I don’t think we have any other choice, at least a death by poison is quicker than a death by starvation.’‘ You shrugged, indifferent. You didn’t even notice at first, it was honestly a little embarassing how long it took you to realise, but you’ve practically been glued to Zemo’s side the whole day. Where he went, you went. Once you realised, you just hoped that Sam and Bucky didn’t pick up on it. Currently he was preparing the food, cutting vegetables, and you were standing on the other side of the isle, head propped up on your hands with your elbows resting on the cool surface. You were watching him intently. He smirked, not oblivious to your eyes on him and your clinginess. Standing a few feet away from you was Sam, who had been watching you critically for a few minutes now. Apparently he noticed too. ‘‘Why are you looking at him like that?” You turned around, blinking, “like what?”. “You’ve been staring at him ever since he started cooking.” He stated. Bucky joined him now, taking the few steps that had seperated them before to stand next to his colleague. You mustered your best mock confusion. “Just trying to make sure he doesn’t poison us.” You half-joked, trying to deflect. Bucky shook his head, ‘‘You’ve been following him around all day, like a lost puppy.’‘ “Not true.” You just said. “You have.” Zemo chimed in. You turned around to him, dumbfounded. ‘‘Ugh shut up.” Sam looked at the two of you quizzically. “Are you two sleeping together?” You choked on your spit. “What?!” You turned around to face him again. Bucky seemed surprised too. “Sam, I don’t think she would.” He tried mediating. “Just look at her, the way she’s been acting since we came back, tending to his wounds, following him around, staring at him - without a break -  for what must have been like 15 minutes.” Sam argued. “You know what? Maybe I’ll just sleep with him tonight, just to fuck you off.” Your words laced with venom, you looked at him defiantly, before walking past him, grabbing your shoes and phone and walking through the front door. “So you haven’t slept together?” He called after you, leaving you to slam the door in annoyance. Bucky was about to follow you when Zemo spoke up. “Just leave her be. I think she wants to be alone right now.” He turned to Sam. “No, we have not had sex.” Then he just went back to preparing the food, leaving Bucky to sigh and fall onto the couch and Sam to run a hand through his face.

You were back in time for dinner, thanks to a quick message from Zemo. Most of the time eating was spent in a tense silence. Zemo tried to lighten the mood once or twice with some jokes or funny observations he made, but to no avail. In the end you all went to bed super early to avoid the weird atmosphere. Soon you found yourself standing in front of the door to Zemo’s bedroom though. You hesitated, before softly knocking on the heavy, wooden door. A faint “come in.” made you open the door slowly, not to make any noise and startle the other inhabitants of the safehouse. You closed it behind you with just as much care. “Are you here to “fuck off Sam”, princess?” He asked, amused and clearly joking. “Yeah, totally, 100%.” you said, the sarcasm obvious. You made your way over to the bed he was currently reading in. “May I?” you gestured to the bed, asking him if you were allowed to join him. He simply nodded, before continuing to read. You climbed into bed, covering yourself with the blanket and scooted as close as possible to the baron lying next to you. Head on his shoulder, reading along with him, just enjoying being able to be this close, to touch him. He soon closed the book and put it on the nightstand next to him. Wrapping his hands around you he placed a gentle kiss on your forehead. You were content, laying in his arms like this. Right now, you didn’t want to think about all the possible outcomes of this, most not having a happy ending for the two of you. Right now you just wanted to enjoy this moment. You held him, not daring to let you go, and he held you, not letting you slip away to an uncertain future. A/N: at this point this might as well just become a series,,, no promises but a part 3 might be planned as well- Taglist: @ajeff855 @heyassbutt05 @lowkey-love-loki​

[oliviayamaoka]

Heartfelt Deception Continuation (Joey / The Legion x F!Reader)

Joey x Reader Angst!!!!!!

Hi! I’ve been busy working and getting ready for university but I’ve been DYING to finish requests! I wanna put my heart and soul into the requests so sorry if it takes long! Working on finishing the Doctor stuff after this!

Anyways, general plot is you see Joey again but your reunion is short lived!

You weren’t sure how long you’d been in the Entity’s realm at this point. It felt like years but must’ve been a few months. It feared you apart on the inside thinking about all those you left behind. What terrified you most was the thought of you actually being dead. Were you just a husk being punished in this purgatory? This hell? What the hell did you even do to deserve this? You sighed deeply and looked upwards.

You awaited the trial. It had been almost two weeks since you were chosen to participate in a trial. You cherished every moment not being in those twisted games. A shudder ran through your spine remembering your last trial. You awoke in a bathroom with Kate Denson. There were devices on your heads and the voice of a man spoke, telling you that he wanted to play a game. While you and Kate played that awful game, the other two were doing generators. You got the trap off of your head but Kate wasn’t so lucky. It was terrifying but you couldn’t forget the image of the woman in red. The woman who wore a pig’s head as she chased you.

“Y/N?” A guy said to you as you jumped. You recognized the guy as Quentin Smith. He was around your age and you two talked before.

“Oh, hey.” You said with a smile, a nervous one.

“Are you, like… alright?” He asked you as you nodded.

“Just nervous.” You said to him.

Quentin was friendly but he looked extremely tired. He came the same time as the dream demon? You hadn’t personally fought this demon but you hated what you heard about him. But, you did remember where they came from. Elm Street, was it? Despite the atrocities that occurred here, you loved hearing about where all these mysterious people came from. He nodded in response and looked around.

“Yeah, me too. I, uh, heard that we might be fighting that ogre…” He said. You saw the fear in his eyes when he began to remember his own trauma fighting these creatures and murderers.

“Which one?” You ask, trying to lighten the mood as he chuckled quietly.

“The samurai one.” He said as you nodded. Y/N only fought him once. A hulking samurai who beat her down in an instant. You cringed, remembering the blunt force trauma on your back. Quentin noticed how uncomfortable you looked and cleared his throat.

“Anyways, yeah… it’s just gonna be me, you, Bill, and… Ace? I dunno, they’re old so I don’t really know how to talk to them.” He shrugged.

“Well, I have faith we’ll be fine. Bill might look old but you should see him in action.” You said with a grin. Bill once refused to leave you behind, carrying you on his back and throwing you out the exit gate once. Since then, you admired him and always had his back.

“Yeah, he’s a fighter, isn’t he?” Quentin asked as he yawned. You were about to say something but the familiar, cold fog surrounded you guys.

“Come find me.” He quickly said to you as the fog completely engulfed you.

You shut your eyes tightly, opening them again when you were sure you were in one of the realms. Your hair blew slightly when you looked around. This place seemed foreign to you. It was a hospital of some sort? Not Crotus Prenn. Y/N looked around, crossing her arms tightly. The hallway looked old, dirty, and bloody. In one of the many rooms were chairs and bathrooms?

Y/N shivered and peaked down the hallways. You didn’t see any of your teammates. As you walked into the waiting room, you saw a paper on the ground. You kneeled down and picked it up.

“Leary’s Memorial Institute exposé.” You mumbled, instantly lighting up when you realized this must’ve been the realm that belonged to the infamous Doctor. You didn’t fight him yet but you heard how he fought survivors. Electric blasts? The place seemed massive and long. You then remembered what you heard your friend say. ‘Come find me.’

“Quentin?” You called out, not too loudly in fear that the killer was around. When you got no response, you just began to quietly speed walk to the generator you spotted down the hallway.

You kneeled down, wasting no time in getting to work on it. The repairs came naturally to you. And when you were so focused on survival, you were determined on fixing this generator. The generator sparked and as you continued to fix it, it became more and more loud. At this point, you didn’t care if the killer heard you. You just wanted this generator to be completed.

Or at least you thought so, anyways. Your concentration broke when you heard a scream nearby, it must’ve been Ace? Your finger slipped and the generator blew up. Y/N covered her face as she rapidly stood up. You felt dazed for a moment and heard something sprinting towards you, you quickly turned around. You gasped loudly, holding your arms up in defence as you felt something slash through your forearm.

You let out a scream as the figure immediately stopped. Y/N stumbled a bit, panicking at the slash on your arm. The killer had been one of the Legion members. You immediately forgot about the rapid bleeding from the wound when you looked at the killer. It was Joey. He seemed frozen in place, immediately regretting his actions. He held his knife as he stared at you, breathing heavily from the fatigue he got from his frenzy. Joey wasn’t thinking straight earlier, he always had a temporary migraine whenever he finished his frenzy.

As he was about to reach out, a chair was thrown at him. It was Ace. He had a slash on his back from Joey’s knife. With confidence, he spread his arms out. Ace seemed somewhat pissed off too. Joey grunted and snapped his eyes to his direction.

“Come pick on someone your own size, pal.” He said as Joey switched the way he held his knife.

“Run, kid!” Ace yelled at you.

You looked at Joey before nodding and quickly breaking into a sprint. Joey watched you, feeling frustrated at his situation. He quickly began to chase Ace, wanting to hook him and find you as fast as possible. Y/N continued running and vaulting into random rooms. You held your forearm, losing more and more blood. Y/N eventually stopped running, feeling exhausted and lightheaded.

You kneeled down, biting your lip hard as you pressed your forearm into your shirt. It stung and the sight of your own blood was making you panic. In fact, you didn’t even realize how much sound you were making, breathing heavily and crying. When you heard footsteps beside you, you basically shrieked but quickly realized it was just Bill.

“Ah, shit.” He said, throwing his cigarette to the side. He kneeled down beside you and looked at your wound.

“Quentin, get your ass over here!” He yelled. You covered your mouth with your other hand as Quentin entered the room, carrying a medkit he must’ve found. How did he always manage to find a medkit? You didn’t care right now.

“Are you okay? I mean, obviously not but…” Quentin said, quickly opening the medkit for Bill.

“It stings.” You said.

“Who was it?” Bill asked, taking your wrist as he began to quickly clean your wound and mend you. You shook your head.

“I-I don’t know… he’s after Ace right now.” You said. The three of you heard the familiar scream of Ace in the distance. He must’ve been hooked.

“Not anymore.” Bill huffed as he wrapped a bandage around your arm.

“There was no alcohol or stuff in it, sorry.” Quentin said as you nodded.

“He’s one of the faster ones, though.” You said as Bill helped you up. He has his usual mean mug.

“We best split up and work on seperate gene. If you see the bastard, you better man the hell up and run for the sake of the rest of us. I’ll get Ace. You kids work on fixing these godddamn machines.” Bill said in his usual gruff tone.

“Yeah…” Quentin said nervously.

“Okay… got it.” You said as the three of you quickly ran in seperate directions. There was no need for small talk with no generators completed yet.

You ignored the pain of the wound. Not because of your objective but because he was here? What the hell were the odds of seeing him again? Why didn’t he just kill you in Ormond? Maybe, it was a deception trick? You didn’t know and it was starting you drive you crazy. He even shows you his face. His face! You never forgot what he looked like. You also never forgot how he felt, sitting so close to you and comforting you? You felt your face heat up at the thought but got angry thinking about how it just could’ve been a lie.

You walked back to your generator, quickly going back to work on it. As you kneeled down, you yelped as you were pried off of the generator. Y/N panicked as the gloved hand covered her mouth.

“Please don’t scream!” You heard the familiar voice of Joey say to you. You struggled but quickly stopped, curiosity getting the better of you.

You quickly ripped away from him when he let you go. You turned around, eyes wide and your posture tense. Joey tilted his head, taking in your features as his shoulders loosened. It felt so intoxicating for him to finally see you again. He pulled his hood back and took off his mask. You still felt on edge when he did so. Joey knew he didn’t deserve to act so friendly but still, he smiled seeing you again.

“Look… I know things look bad right now.” He began as you furrowed your eyebrows.

“Bad…?!” You whisper shouted.

“I’m sorry, okay?! I didn’t mean to…! The Entity makes me and my friends go into this weird ass bloodlust state where we want you just stab everything in sight, I stopped as soon as I recognized you!” He explained, rambling a bit.

“Stopped, huh?” You questioned, mad about your wound. It was pretty deep. He sighed deeply, holding his head in frustration.

“Look, I could’ve done so much worse than that, okay…? I just, I’m sorry, okay?” He said.

“You don’t sound that sorry.” Y/N replied, you crossed your arms.

“Man, just bare with me, aight? I’m not used to saying stuff like that.” He said, clearly flustered.

You let your guard down and stared at him. Of course, you still felt extremely scared knowing he was one of the killers but he felt so… relatable? Funny, almost. Why was Joey even a killer? What did he even do?

“It’s okay.” You said after a few silent moments. He looked at you.

“Really…?” He asked, a bit dumbfounded.

“Yeah… it’s fine, it doesn’t hurt anymore.” You mumbled awkardly as he stood up straight again, putting his knife away.

“I doubt that but still… it’s nice seeing you again.” He said with a geeky smile. Your eyebrows lifted in surprise as you held your worst to your chest, looking around.

“I-um… why aren’t you trying to kill me…?” You asked in a quiet, awkward voice. It felt so strange speaking to other people your age. Quentin was fine but this was Joey.

Joey stared at you for a second. Not even he knew the answer to that question yet. Well, he didn’t but he didn’t want you outright tell you that he had a crush on you. He scratched the back of his neck and nervously looked around. He wanted to shoot his shot since he wasn’t sure if he’d see you again for a long time but he didn’t want to rush things and make you uncomfortable. Not that he cared, if this thing between you two was possible then he’d be as patient and respectful as he could.

“I think you’re cool.” He replied as you stared at him. You blinked a few times in both shock.

“You think I’m cool…?” You questioned.

“Yeah, yeah… you don’t like that?” He asked.

“No, I do, but… you’re a killer.” You said, your eyes wide with fear subconsciously as you looked at him.

Joey felt a sting in his chest with the way you were looking at him. But, you were right. He was indeed a killer. Fucking Frank, he thought to himself. If it weren’t for him and Julie pretending to be so badass, he wouldn’t be here. Although, he probably wouldn’t have met you. He deserved to be here for helping them kill that janitor. Joey knew it deep down but he wanted to preserve the image of himself he wished he had. A geeky Canadian teenager. Something he once was before he hung out with the wrong crowd.

“I know I’m a goddamn murderer, okay?! I wish I wasn’t but I had no choice!” He snapped. You seemed taken aback by his sudden outburst.

“I’m sorry, I…” Y/N stammered as he shook his head, sighing deeply.

“No, it’s fine… my bad. I’m just used to getting mad easily ‘cause of my friends. I dunno, you just miss social cues when you hang out with the same three fuckers.” He said.

You fumbled with your hands nervously and looked towards the waiting room. You thought for a second before clearing your throat.

“Um… wanna sit…?” You asked nervously as you pointed towards the waiting room. Joey stared blankly before looking at you, surprised by the suggestion.

“Uh, yeah, definitely.” He nodded eagerly as he followed after you.

You walked into the room and sat down on one of the chair, putting one leg over the other. Joey seemed much more confident when sitting, getting comfortable with his arms crossed and legs spread. You didn’t know why but you smiled at how comfortable he quickly got. Joey was a mystery, an interesting one to say the least. Y/N looked around at the walls.

“So… how are you…?” You say.

“Chilling, I guess… you?” He asked.

“Surviving.” You joke as he chuckled lightly.

“Sorry, I gotta ask… what do you survivors even do after the trials? When I first got here, I thought you would all be dead permanently.” He said to you.

“Oh, uh, there’s like a campsite? We get our own tents and supplies. We kinda just explore the woods and dreadfully wait for the Entity to choose the unlucky four.” You explained.

“Unlucky four, huh? Why are you here?” He asked you. Y/N shrugged lightly.

“Honestly, I don’t know… I was happy and free until the fog came. I’m starting to lose track of the days.” You said.

“Me too.” Joey said with a deep sigh.

“Why are you here…?” You asked nervously.

“Me? Uh… fuck. Look, I’ve been doing some self-reflection and getting in touch with like, emotions and shit. I know what I did was wrong but it was Frank’s fault. And Julie influenced his dumbass… if only they didn’t think they were fucking Harley and Joker.” He muttered.

“What happened?” Y/N asked.

“I—or we, killed a janitor… it was some older dude. Me and Susie didn’t want to but I dunno, I never thought peer pressure was real but… I guess I was just scared shitless when I saw Frank with that knife…” He said. You could hear the guilt in his voice as he leaned forward.

“And it could’ve been something we could’ve easily redeemed ourselves for but… that’s when the Fog came. I dunno… ever since I met you, I’ve just been thinking a lot.” Joey said.

“Me?” You ask as he looked at you.

“Yeah… not in a weird way but, you’re cool and normal… something I don’t find often nowadays.” He shrugged as you nodded, your heart thumping from how flustered you’d become.

“So, who’s this Frank?”

“Frank? Well, he’s my bro. My best friend, as you people would say. I dunno, he was kind of a loser now that I think of it but ride or die, amirite? Anyways, I always knew he was kind of crazy. And Julie too. I never liked her too much, she was always kinda bossy. Especially towards Susie.” Joey explained.

“Anyways, we formed the Legion. It was us four against the world for a bit. Quite literally now that I think about it. I think the Entity changed Frank… he’s more… violent now? Literally doesn’t even listen to reason anymore.” He said.

“Sounds like an asshole, sorry.” You said as he smiled.

“He is, don’t worry.” Joey said.

“So, that’s why you’re here? You got scared and were forced to do something? That’s such bullshit.” You said, looking at him.

“Yeah, I guess so…. I’m really nothing to be scared of.” Joey said before falling silent, holding his head for a second when he heard whispers in his head.

“Are you alright?” You asked.

Joey felt the Entity’s anger with him. At times, it was scary. He remembered what happened to Susie when she didn’t comply with what it wanted her to do. It just twisted her even more and made Frank into a complete monster. He shut his eyes tightly. Joey wasn’t making an effort to sacrifice anybody and the Entity was growing tired and bored with this trial.

“I’m fine, just fatigue is all…” He lied.

“But, um… yeah, thank you for opening up to me about that stuff… and for your gloves.” You said, smiling warmly. He looked towards you.

“You remember that?” He asked.

“How could I not? You’re still my friend. A good one, at that.” You say, grabbing his hands softly and standing him up. Joey wished he didn’t have his other set of gloves on so he could feel your skin.

“I was gonna suggest you drink some water slowly but… there’s none.” You said to him.

“Real smart.” He sarcastically laughed with a grin. You smiled too.

“Please, I literally forgot we were in hell.” You said.

“Oh, this is hell?” He asked, becoming a bit more bold when it came to flirting with you.

“Maybe.” You replied with a smile.

You frowned when he held his head again. Joey grunted at the sudden sharp pain in his head, a migraine worse than when the frenzy ended. You put your hand on his shoulder, watching him with concern as he grit his teeth. Why they hell was this happening now? Why the fuck did the Entity suddenly care so much? Joey knew what it wanted. It wanted it to hurt her.

“Y/N…” He muttered.

“Uh, what’s up…?” You asked in concern.

“I don’t think it wants us to waste anymore time.” Joey said, wincing from the pain and becoming more overwhelmed when the whispers grew louder. Y/N couldn’t hear anything.

“What? The Entity?” You asked.

“Listen, you should just… run, okay? Go do a generator or something.” He said before he cried out in pain after finishing his sentence.

“Joey?!” You asked with panic in your voice.

“Fuck…! Quit it, you motherfucker!” Joey yelled at the Entity, holding his head. You rubbed his back, totally unsure of what to do.

“I-It’s okay…! Don’t listen to it!” You said to him.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry.” Joey said to you when you suddenly felt a sharp pain plunge into your stomach. Your eyes widened as Joey stood tall, aggressively twisting the knife before pulling it away.

You coughed out blood onto his chest, clinging to his shoulders when you felt yourself lose blood rapidly. Joey pushed you back, slashing again at your chest. In that moment, he felt rage, anger, sadness, regret, shame, and guilt. But, the bloodlust he felt was even stronger than what the frenzy made him feel. He couldn’t control it. The Entity did. You wailed as you curled up, not expecting anything that just happened. Joey cleaned his knife off, putting his mask back on and lifting his hood.

Joey didn’t speak. He couldn’t even look at you when he picked you up. It made him feel even worse at how weakly you were wiggling. You punched at his back as hard as you could but you were ready to faint at any given moment due to the extreme blood loss. Joey shut his eyes tightly once he got to the hook, hoisting you off of his shoulder onto it. Your eyes shot wide open at the hooked sensation. The hook shot adrenaline through your body as you tried lifting yourself up, letting out a scream as you hung there.

He couldn’t even bare to look at you. Even in his crazed state of mind, he seemed ready to just kill himself. Why did the Entity do what it did? He just turned and walked away as fast as he could. Due to the amount of time you wasted with Joey, the Entity just decided to kill you then and there. It didn’t want to wait for any of your fellow survivors to come and get you. It was bored and hungry. Joey began his frenzy once he heard the Entity finish you off, deciding to take his anger out on the remaining survivors.

You slowly opened your eyes to see Yui watching you intently. She seemed surprised you were awake and brushed your forehead. Beside her was Claudette who made sure you were okay.

“You’re awake.” She said.

“Yui…?” You asked, disorientated.

“You did not last long, at all.” She jokingly said as you sat up. Claudette seemed too shy to tell you not to sit up. You winced.

Usually, it would take a few days for all wounds to completely heal.

“You guys must have had a rough trial.” Laurie said as she kneeled down beside you. You looked towards the other three.

Quentin, Bill, and Ace seemed to be in a worse condition than you. Multiple bandages and bloodied wounds. Your mind immediately went to Joey. What had happened? You winced at the pain in your stomach.

“It’s a really deep wound. Just sit back and relax.” Laurie said to you as you nodded.

You thought about Joey. You remembered your last interaction with him, how he seemed unwilling to kill you. What did the Entity do to him? Would he be like that forever? You teared up at the thought of it. Joey didn’t deserve to be here, he was just like you and Quentin. He was normal. You shut your eyes and hopes that maybe you’d see him again. There was a sense of heartache within you when you thought of him now.

“Heard you had an amazing fucken trial.” Frank said to Joey, congratulating him but Joey wasn’t having any of it.

“Fuck off, Frank.” He growled at him as Frank held his hands up jokingly.

“Too much palettes dropped on your tiny brain, Joe?” Julie asked sarcastically, sitting close to the fire inside the lodge in Ormond.

“The Entity seemed happy with your trial, Joey. Maybe we won’t have to do one for a while.” Susie suggested, twirling her knife.

“Probably for the fucking best.” Joey muttered as Frank stood up, tilting his head.

“Why are you so riled up, man?” He asked.

“Just leave it, Frank. Joey’s becoming soft.” Julie said, rolling her eyes.

“And you’re not? We’re in a whole different fucking dimension!” Joey snapped.

“Why would I be? We get to do whatever we want.” Julie shrugged.

“I thought that way too… when I was a fucking kid.” Joey said to her as she glared.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Frank questioned him.

“You guys are still so fuckcing delusional… we can do whatever we want, really?! Even if we weren’t in his shit hole, we wouldn’t have had money, jobs, or a place to stay. I can’t believe I was that fucking childish to think this was paradise.” He said to them.

“Where the fuck is this coming from then, huh?! You just had a good fucking kill sesh and now here you are bitching like a fucking pansy.” Frank said to him.

“Kill sesh? Maybe, I am a fucking pansy for not wanting to be cool and edgy for killing innocent people.” Joey said, inches away from each other’s faces.

“Innocent people, huh? Who’d you see there, Joey?” Julie asked, a grin on her face. She seemed excited from the anger.

“Nobody.” He quickly replied.

“Was it somebody from school?” She asked.

“I didn’t see nobody, now fuck off.” He said.

“Ever since that one Ormond trial, you’ve been acting so fucken soft. We all noticed, Joey. You feel bad for one of those survivors, don’t you?” Julie said to him.

“They’re not worth feeling sorry for, Joey. They’re here for a reason and we have to punish them.” Frank said to him.

“How the fuck do you know that? Did that janitor deserve it?! Did Susie deserve this?! They sure as hell didn’t and neither did Y/N!” Joey yelled at them. Susie’s face lightened a bit. She also missed her old life but was often bullied by Julie.

“Y/N, huh? Must be one of those newer gals. You like her, Joey?” Julie asked him.

“Skip of the tongue, bitch.” Joey muttered.

“Awe, you finally found a girl. Frank and I were starting to think you’d be a virgin for eternity.” Julie said to him with a laugh.

“Shut the fuck up.” Joey said angrily.

“Whatever, she’s not worth it. She’ll probably end up as the Entity’s lunch by next week. Sometimes it kills survivors for good. Just imagine what it would do to somebody one of the killers cared for.” Frank said, smiling when the realization hit Joey.

“Awe, Joey’s showing emotion for once.” Julie teased. Joey felt scared for the first time in forever. Was it true? Would it kill Y/N because he cares for her in that way?

“Leave him alone, guys. You act like you’re not a couple.” Susie said to them.

“Oh, shut up. That’s different, we’re a group.” Julie rolled her eyes.

“Fuck you guys.” Joey said as he stormed off, leaving the other three. He needed to check up on Y/N somehow.

[the-witches-you-couldnt-burn]

Living with what you’ve done

Uhhhhh

UHHHHHHH WHAT

Ok so I started writing the 100 special but then I got to 120!?! Wtf when did this happen?

Though I would like to thank each follower personally I have social anxiety and would rather not randomly message strangers following me. Here is my public thank you!

Idk what I did while writing this but it seems I managed to copy-paste the beginning four seperate times. This brought the word count up to 5.9k but it is now edited and brought down to 2.3k

Inspired by my friend @deltaxxk who loves angst and told me I have to write a follower special

Other prompts used: One, Two

Also! There are movie references within this fic, if you get them all you get a virtual lollipop 🍭

Ao3

Disclaimer: THIS FIC IS MAJORLY ANGSTY PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS IF ANY OF THE WARNINGS WILL TRIGGER YOU

Warings: blood, fire, death (+graphic descriptions of dying), injuries, grief, human trafficking and mentions of psychopathy

———————

“Robin we’re out of time! We must leave, we’re out of time!” Her yo-yo strained with tension as she swung into a goon, sending their body flying away from her team.

They had gotten a lead on a meta trafficking ring that involved some of the Gotham elite’s children disappearing. The lead brought them to the dock, GothDrill’s warehouse sat just off to the right. Its fluorescent lights signifying signs of life, Marinette knew most weren’t there willingly.

“Make more time!” He snapped back. Ladybug fumble slightly before regaining her footing, she wasn’t expecting the coldness in his tone.

She jumped back into the fray and watched from the corner of her eye Damian take on four goons by himself. She stifled a sigh before punching the man in front of her square on his jaw, ‘must he always prove himself when he has already?’ Damian edged himself closer to the garage doorway of the shed before disappearing into the building.

Focus her attention back on the battle around her, she saw Red Hood downed under a steel beam. She rushed over, and with her enhanced miraculous strength to lift the offending metal. He groaned with pain, the beam had pinned his legs, forcing him to lay stomach down. Wrapping his arm around her shoulder, supporting the majority of his weight to get him to his feet. Pain throbbed in his left leg and they stumbled onto the dock to hide behind down GothDrill crates.

Ripping the seams of his pant leg, she revealed a dark purple bruise that was rapidly spreading. She also discovered the beam had broken his femur and shattered his kneecap, how he wasn’t screaming in pain was beyond her. Pink light danced between her fingers before drifting down to his wound. Jason bit his hand to prevent any cries from leaving his mouth. He didn’t want another confrontation in his state.

The sound reached her before the light did. Jason panted as he looked up to see what distracted her from his healing. Reflections of orange and yellows dancing across her cerulean eyes. “Damian.” She whispered frozen stock still.

Something within her very core snapped and cardinal urges overtook her common sense. Shooting up like a bullet she sprinted towards the blazing inferno, her ears numb to the world around her.

Inside was worse than the burning exterior. She could see where the explosion originated from, big barrels of flammable chemicals blazed white with heat. The smoke and burning chemical gases penetrated her airways, coughs racked her chest.

She could see flames running up the walls and the lit barrels but the rest was black. The smoke was a blanket of darkness that wrapped around her.

And then she heard it. The screaming.

Multiple voices, so raw with pain, masculine and feminine, old and young. Running towards it she hoped to spot Damian but luck wasn’t on her side. Instead she found the trafficked civilians, their bodies red with burns with their hair and clothes set ablaze.

She ran full speed at the wall nearby, shattering the melted bolts. The fire blazed brighter at the new source of oxygen. She directed the victims out, the dove towards the water. The goons had fled during the initial explosion leaving the Batfam free to help.

She looked down at the bodies of those who didn’t survive. Some were burned beyond recognition, she kept looking, scouring for Damian.

She heard Red Robin calling her name, she looked up to see the scaffolding holding the roof breaking apart and falling to where she stood. She felt her body tackled out of the way and another thunderous crash hit the floor.

She was dragged outside and placed into the care of a newly arrived ambulance. Her eyes, red from the smoke and ash, looked out the back door of the vehicle. Firefighters and police had arrived on scene along with news reporters and the public. Families of the trafficked were reunited with their lost love ones and others mourned their deceased. Red Robin stood there, watching her.

“You can’t just follow me into fire.” She croaked to him, her oxygen mask muffling her.

The whites of his black cowl narrowed and his fists clenched. “Then don't run into fire,” he growled at her before walking off.

Her body moved without thinking, removing her oxygen mask against the protests of the paramedics. Ladybug reassured them she’ll be alright and that they should help the others who were more injured than she. She walked back towards the building but the black-clad figure of Batman stopped her stride.

“You’re not using your cure.” He stated. Her eyes widened, the cure could save his missing son, save the trafficked from their injuries and deaths. Who was he to deny the will of a god’s favoured?

Using the cure in Gotham was always straining and the Batfam knew that. On multiple smaller occasions, she was prevented from using it due to the amount of damage and crime being reverse causing serious health concerns they observed in Marinette. But she never thought it would also be denied on an occasion like this.

“I have to! Robin cou—“

“No, you could die.” He cut her off, her foggy mind becoming more enraged.

“And he could live!”

Without a reply he injected her neck with a sedative, her body collapsed from the drugs and exhaustion. The world going dark around her.

+++++++++++++

Three days after

Her blaring phone distracted her from her dissociative state. She was staring lifelessly at her TV, she could say what happened in the show even if her life depended on it. She scrambled to her phone, Dick’s name lit up the screen.

She accepted the call, answer with a hoarse “hello?”

“Marinette? Are you able to make it over we have some things to tell you.”

Her breath caught in her throat. Pressing her phone to her ear with her shoulder she ran around her apartment, grabbing her keys, shoes and jacket. Rushing out the door she rapidly fired questions at him, “What is it? Did you find him? Is he there?” All of which were answered with silence.

“It’s best that we discuss this when you get to the manor.” And with that, he hung up. The click seemed to echo in her car, even though she knew it didn’t. Driving towards the outskirts of Gotham where Wayne manor resided, she felt a spark of hope rekindle in her chest. Although Dick didn’t give her much to go on she still hoped they found him and everything could go back to how it was.

Fate wasn’t merciful to the naive it seems.

Her world shattered around her as she saw the crisped cape on the table. The smell of burnt blood permeated the room. Her eyes stayed locked onto the cloth as she spoke, “But this is only his cape, not his body. He still could be alive somewhere! He is injured and hurt and we have to find him!”

No one spoke. Their eyes flicked to one another.

Jason limped in her direction, his crutch clicking against the stone flooring. He placed a heavy hand on her shoulder, his eyes brimming with unshed emotions. “The cape was found with the body, everything else was unsalvageable except the cape.”

A silent “we’ve found him, just not how we wanted,” resounded throughout her being.

She glared at Bruce, “He could be alive if you didn’t stop me! I could have saved him!” She lashed out, tears pouring down her cheeks.

“And we would have been having this exact conversation with Damian about why we didn’t stop you. The best outcome for this situation was you living.”

“No the best outcome was both of us being given a chance at survival” Marinette screamed at him, his face was emotionless. How could he be so uncaring to the fact of his youngest son dying?

Running out of the Batcave and manor she gasped at the cold night air. A sob escaped her mouth. Her head banged against her steering wheel, tears dripping onto her pyjama pants. There was no way she’d be able to sleep tonight.

++++++++++++

Twelve days after

Fire danced in her peripheral. A medley of bright oranges and golden yellows. She remembered the times when the two of them would watch the sunset in silence, sipping on hot chocolate and green tea. This blazing inferno was different. Its colours more violent and foreboding.

The screams. They were different from the ones she heard that night. They were his screams.

She saw her body encased within his burnt arms. Damian was little more than a burnt corpse, his eyes blazed green and his bone was replaced with metal pipes. The cure resurrected him but he was not wholly there anymore.

She awoke screaming. Not in control enough to remember she had neighbours; mentally pleading that they’d understand. They knew of his disappearance but not of his death. She was still heavily in denial.

She isolated herself away from everyone, afraid she would hurt anyone else that got close. She couldn’t stop wanting to hurt Bruce for making her unable to use her cure or the goons for setting the place alight and killing her fiancé. She wanted to go scorched earth.

She snuggled into his pillowcase, his faint scent of honey was still present. She willed herself to fall back asleep, his scent surrounding her. His pillow, his shirt, his ring; but she was missing him.

++++++++

Two hundred and eighty-seven days after

Red trickled down her finger. It took her a moment to move the fabric away from the dripping blood source but managed to before it stained. It had been years since she had pricked her finger with a needle, but her subconscious must have needed to feel something; even if it was pain.

She looked around at her juvenile pink room. She had moved back into her parents six months after Damian’s death. Three months into her stay and she still had most of her belongings in boxes. The only decorations in the room were scattered commissions and a wooden blanket.

Looking down at the puddle of blood that was growing on her white desk she wonders if Damian bled before the fire cauterised his wounds. She had researched that burning to death was one of the most painful ways to die, it takes hours, each nerve ending burning. The burn victim usually passes out after a few minutes but she could imagine Damian desperately trying to put himself out, only to find more fire encompassing him.

His cape was bloody so she hopes he bled rather than burned. Or maybe he was crushed by the falling roof and killed instantly. She hoped he didn’t suffer for long.

Similar intrusive thoughts plagued her mind constantly but she kept her focus on her art to push through the days. Gazing down at the wound she found Tikki had held her and Wayzz had wiped the puddle with tissues.

Today she’ll live for them. Tomorrow she might live to try her father’s new recipe of cinnamon macarons. Last Tuesday she lived to hear Luka’s new song. Next month she might live just to pat the stray kitten that lives in the alley behind the Chinese restaurant two streets over.

++++++++++

Five hundred and twenty days after

She froze at the sight before her. Thinking it was another hallucination or she was having another nightmare. “You thought,” The glass in her hand cracked under her grip. Her brain couldn’t process what was happening. She hasn’t disassociated this much since the day he ‘died’.” That by faking your death, you could find out who you could rely on?”

“TT, yes. Now that I know everything can go back to the way it was.” She swigged her glass again, wishing it were whiskey instead of water. When they had met, Jon and his family had warned her that he was severely emotional constipated from his upbringing but this was in the psychopathic area of emotionless.

“No.”

“What?” His shock almost seems real. His eyes had widened and his body language was unsteady.

“No, we aren’t done talking about this! How ignorant do you have to be to think this won’t affect our relationship? Won’t affect me?”

“It wasn’t real. I’m here.” He stepped forward, arms rising to hug her. He never was one for physical contact. She pulled back, grabbing a steak knife and placing it between them. He told her he had set the place aflame. He found the lead for the trafficking ring. He planned it all. And now he was back, almost a year and a half later.

“That doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt! I’m going to have nightmares for the rest of my life! How selfish, how, how stupid do you have to be to not consider what it does to someone who cared about you?!”

“Cared?”

“Do I need to spell it out? We’re done. I don’t want to see you ever again,” She seethed. “You think everything can go back to how it was before? Well, it can’t. I spent months of my life mourning over a guy who wasn’t even dead. Who didn’t even care about me enough not to toy with my emotions. My life isn’t a game Damian!”

“I only did this because I thought—”

“I don’t care. Get out. Out of my house. Out of my life. Just get out.”

“I didn’t intend to hurt you, I just wanted to know.” Hot, rage-filled tears ran down her cheeks. She jabbed the knife at him, stopping inches before his chest. She had backed him down the stair and to the front door. Neither of her parents were home and he was more unpredictable than ever.

“I hope you can live with what you’ve done, le miel”