#- Ash/Raine/Rio || He/It

[ghost-of-many-names]

Switching between phantom limbs for a fennec fox and raine from the most recent owl house episode

Yeah... I prefer the fennec fox

[moiyume]

death is the only end for us — chapter i. the bird.

pairing: yandere!satoru gojo x fem!reader

sumary: The news about Suguru's disastrous death shakes [Y/N], Gojo convinces her to return home to bury him. However, [Y/N] is unable to see that Gojo's real intentions are darker than she imagines.

warnings: angst, description of blood and death body, threats, mentions of death, suicidal thoughts, spoilers from the main story.

word count: 2829.

more information about the history: here.

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SOMETIMES WE SEE A DEAD BIRD LYING ON THE GROUND. Sometimes the dead bird is you or someone you love. You believe that no one else is capable of deceiving you at this point of the championship, yet the words of the man in front of you sounded like the purest falsehood to your ears, but your heart and the part of you that knew him knew that those words were not lies. The dead bird lying on the ground beneath your feet was Suguru Geto, your best friend.

Last month you talked face to face and he told you about his plans for Christmas and New Year. You would meet during the January holidays or in February for the Brazilian carnival, you would like to show him the hustle and bustle of downtown Rio de Janeiro, take him to Sapucaí, to enjoy together as you used to do every year since you ran away. But your plans were thwarted by his death and you had nothing left, no one you could trust, the person who took care of you all those years was gone and took with him the hopes of one day returning home without people seeing you as a monster or a traitor.

You let go of Satoru's t-shirt and fall to the ground on your knees, your heart breaks into millions of pieces that you don't think you will be able to put back together again, tears flow incessantly but you don't make a single noise. You place your hand on your chest and lean forward until your face touches the rough pavement floor, you open your mouth to scream but there is no strength in you to do so, you feel only a bitter taste of defeat in your mouth.

You pour the sadness encased within you onto the pavement and still it doesn't seem enough. Gojo's arms surround you and lift you up, and wrap you in a tight embrace, the loss wasn't just yours but his too, for that reason you don't back down, you just cry against his chest like there's no tomorrow. You wonder if he cried when his best friend died, you wonder where he was when it happened, you wonder why he didn't save you and you can't help but think that if you were by his side things might have been different. Now there is only half of you in this horrible world and the other has most likely been turned to ashes.

You leave the comfort of that embrace and wipe your tears with the sleeve of your dress, you look from side to side not knowing exactly where to look, you are lost and confused, you want to go back in time and hear Suguru's voice again, with this thought wandering through your mind tears flood your eyes again, Gojo holds your face and makes you face his. He looks calm, but there's a storm about to rain down in his eyes, he's trying hard to calm you down, uselessly.

"I'm sorry." He wails from the bottom of his selfish heart and rubs his thumb over her wet cheek. "But you need to go home, he's waiting for you for... you know... the funeral..."

You raise your eyebrows wide-eyed. So it hasn't been long since it happened, you conclude. You pick up the portrait you accidentally dropped on the floor when making that scene and shrug, remorse crashing over you like a bucket of cold water, rattling your entire body with an icy chill. You feel a friendly hand hold your shoulder, but right now it felt as oppressive as the pain you felt in your chest.

"How long has it been?" you question, unable to accept Suguru's death, you glance at Satoru out of the corner of your eye and his face turns grim again. "Who did this to him?"

There weren't many people in the world who could get close enough to hurt Suguru Geto, two of them were here, you and Satoru, you wonder how many powerful wizards have emerged since your departure and condemn yourself for choosing to remain oblivious to the world you are a part of. You weren't dumb, you knew that Suguru could seem like a bad person to anyone who didn't know him and that his sour personality wasn't to everyone's liking, so you deduced that he would be an enemy; and his enemy was your enemy too.

"It was me." Satoru answered without hesitation making you freeze. "Two days ago."

A dry, snapping sound echoes through the street drawing the attention of the curious, you slap his face hard enough to leave a mark on his cheek and take his balance away, you have no idea where you got the courage to do it, but you did. Your hand is tingling, the guilt leaves your body and gives way to hatred that ignites in your soul like a spark that falls on a pile of straw and spreads dangerously, the cursed energy dormant inside you begins to overflow and makes the air thin, almost impossible to breathe, the people who passed by on the street start to feel sick and Satoru stares at you in despair. You could kill everyone right now, but your target wasn't innocent people, it was the giant snowman in front of you. You prepare to punch him with all my strength, however he holds your hand, a shockwave rushes down to the ground and the concrete above your feet cracks on impact, you hear the frightened people comment and turn away from the scene, but no you don't care. Your whole body is shaking from the anger.

"How dare you come here and tell me it was you who killed him?" you question him, the words came out so fast and with such anger, you don't care that you spat at him, you move your arms violently and pull the hand he was still holding. Finally, you face him with eyes full of hateful tears. "You came to kill me too?! Is that it? You're going to kill all the people you say you love?"

A deadly silence settles between you during the trip back to Japan. No matter how many times you remember the outcome of the conversation, the answers you heard were disturbing enough to keep you over twelve hours of flying completely silent. Everything is wrong, you don't know why you agreed to go back with Satoru with the possibility of being killed at any moment, maybe because you wanted to say goodbye to your best friend, however you realized that you've really only come this far because you lost all attachment you felt for your life the moment you learned that Geto died at Gojo's hands. You want to die with him.

You hate him for killing Geto. More so because he told you there was no choice. There was a choice and he made it, he killed him. You weren't able to look at him after your conversation, all the things he said after that went in one ear and out the other, you don't want to know how many innocent people died that night, and how many more could have died if he hadn't done what he did, you want to spend the holiday with my best friend, complain about his mediocre life and listen to him talk about his daughters and his new friends, about his achievements and about his dreams.

Suguru and you had a funny dream that you, the villains, would find a happy ending together. Him doing whatever he wanted to do with the non-wizards and you going back to the cosiness of your old home, with my family, consisting of your elder sister and your nephews. Sadly, only one of pits survived to fulfil this dream, you smile darkly at the thought. No, you are not fulfilling this dream, because you are still seen as a villain, and you will never be able to see your family again, because the only person who fought for your innocence was killed by the man who never believed in you.

You were sent to the place where the burial would be through a teleportation spell, no one knows you're back after all, the spell leaves you so bewildered that you're surprised the moment you realise what this place is; the hill where Suguru and you killed the first special grade curse together. It's an important place for both of you - for you - there are traces of the cursed energy of both of you everywhere, some fight marks remain on the trees and grass, the flowers that usually grow in the valley are buried by the thick layer of snow, but it's a pleasant sight nonetheless. The bare, dry, twisted tree at the top of the hill on the other hand is a morbid sight, it looks like it died recently too. So does it.

You approach the tree and finger the phrase carved into the aiaigasa-shaped wooden trunk "Sugu + [Y/N] friends forever". A weak involuntary smile is present on your tired countenance, you were not in love with each other, but at some points in your life you regret choosing Gojo as your partner at the time, you were genuinely happy, even though your relationship had a disastrous end. And you think he knows that you regret choosing him. Maybe he regrets choosing you too, you would never judge him if he told you.

Watching the tree you are able to see the ghosts of his past. The young Suguru and young [Y/N] lying on the grass dirty with blood and dirt, they are looking at the sky and then at each other and start laughing, the young [Y/N] turns sideways and rests her face on her hand to face her best friend, you two are talking about some teenage bullshit, he wanted to be a hero and you wanted to be an ordinary person. It breaks your heart to know that neither of you got what you wanted; he became a curse user and you became a mercenary.

You leave your daydreams when you hear twigs cracking under someone's feet. You spin under your heels and frown as you see Satoru with a body covered by a sheet in his arms, you had a switchblade hidden in the sleeve of your jacket, ready to shove into the intruder's neck, but to your chagrin the intruder was only the gravedigger. You admit it was hard for you to see him holding the corpse of your best friend, you can't go to the morgue because in theory you are still an escapee so you can't see the state the body is in before we come here, you feel a lurch in your stomach as the smell of blood and decay reaches your nose. Gojo places the body on the grass and looks at you with the shovel already over his shoulder.

"I'm going to go dig. In the meantime you can say goodbye, I just don't recommend taking the sheet off, the sight won't be very pleasant." He warns and the message sends shivers down your spine, you look away from the body and feel like crying again, Satoru places his hand on your shoulder but quickly removes it after your threatening look. "Sorry."

You kneel beside the corpse and even with the warnings remove the sheet, you kept in mind that if you couldn't face him you could never get over the loss, the image of his perfect face would forever be in your memory and make you cry more than necessary, if there is an exact amount of tears to be shed.

You feel the bile rise up in your throat as you see his partially destroyed body, there is an arm missing, it seems to have been torn off violently by a powerful force, his face is also destroyed on the right side, you wonder how Satoru had the courage to leave him like that and come to the conclusion that maybe it wasn't him who really killed Geto. You shake your head in fear thinking too much, there was no plausible reason for him to lie about Suguru's death, and you doubt he would cover up for his best friend's killer, because to him no one is above Suguru. You wonder how Nanako and Mimiko, his daughters, are doing, do they know their father is dead? Did Satoru tell them?

You hold Geto's hand and it is cold and stiff, his whole body is, you open it and lean it against your face, he used to hold your face whenever you wanted to cry. You shed tears on it and hold back the sobs, you are afraid of what your life will be like from now on, what your life will be like without him, you will never get a call from him again, you will never be able to see him smile, the more you think about it the more tears fall.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." You beg for his forgiveness and grab the corpse hoping he will wake up from his eternal sleep and hold you, but nothing happens, you let out a strangled scream and swing the corpse without stopping. "I can't stand being alone anymore... please... please... don't leave me..."

Satoru finished digging the grave and waited patiently under the tree until you stopped crying and kept quiet, you don't know if out of respect, pity or a mixture of the two, but you were thankful that he didn't address you or make any unfortunate comments. Before handing Suguru to him, you give a kiss on his forehead, Satoru was extremely annoyed, you whisper a few words in the deceased's ear and then the wounds on his body disappeared and the missing arm grew back, from bones to flesh, for an instant you could swear he was alive, for even the colour of his skin was back to how it was before. You would never let Suguru be buried looking that horrible and believe me he knew that only you could do that.

Then you linked your hands together in front of your chest with your eyes closed and let the cursed energy inside you flow into the frozen grass to the heavens. The snow disappeared and the sky opened up, spring descended and the sun appeared on the horizon announcing the arrival of dawn, the flowers on the hill blossomed, and the birds sang again, the once dead tree came back to life, the flowers and fruits were born even brighter than they used to be. The hill filled with life once more, as if winter had never come.

"Like in the world?!" Satoru exclaimed stunned, and you stood up slowly with the body in your arms, you stared at each other in silence for a minute before you handed it to him. "Looks like Suguru was right when he said you could fix anything, even death." He laughs in a sinister way.

"!!!"

You say nothing but your expression said it all; you feared that your secrets would be discovered by this person, the truth about your true nature was something that no one in this world should know, it doesn't seem that Satoru knows anything but the chance that Suguru might have let something slip in his last moments makes you distressed. You remain silent as Satoru buries him and walks down the hill to pick some flowers to leave over the grave. You return to the tree and now there is only a rectangular mark in the earth, there is no plaque saying Suguru Geto lies buried here; no, there is only a tree, a handful of flowers and two idiots here.

"He wanted you to be buried here because he said you could bring life back to this place." Gojo reaches out to pick up a rose petal that danced in the air, before crumpling it and releasing it for the wind to carry again. "I guess he was right."

"Not entirely." You interrupt him without intending to, in fact you could make the sky open up and flowers bloom in the middle of winter, but just that, you tuck a lock of hair behind your ear and look away. "I can't resurrect anyone, before you want to nail me as Christ, that's temporary, an imaginary space. It's not real."

"It looks pretty real to me." He retorts dismissively as he pats the tree trunk, you roll your eyes.

"It'll let it be at some point. It's not real."

"Like the people you killed?" you feel a shiver run down your spine as you see Satoru's shadow approach you, you turn towards him abruptly and stumble, you take a few steps backwards in order to increase the distance between you but he continues to approach. "It's time to pay for what you've done."

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━ to be continued; ﹢ ⌑ ﹒

[cloudcountry]

IKEMEN FRANCHISE MASTERLIST !!

unconventional otome game love interest traits each guy would have

ikemen vampire . . .

guessing their love languages (headcanons of the mansion residents. ~450 words.) — guessing their love language based on the very little information i have about them oops

yearning (isaac newton x reader. ~1k words.) — you fall asleep on isaac's shoulder while he's working.

lipstick marks (mozart, arthur, vincent, & isaac x reader. ~400 words) — you leave a lipstick mark on him, how scandalous!!!

an artist's dilemma (vincent x reader. ~500 words) — vincent sees a masterpiece in you.

painting with vincent (vincent x reader. ~300 words) — after a long day, you find solace in vincent.

lover of flowers (arthur & isaac x reader. ~1k words) — arthur is enamored with the reserved florist & isaac stumbles about her.

hair clips are my love language (ikevamp characters headcanons. ~800 words) — giving the suitors some of my hair accessories.

comte and a vampire hunter (comte de saint germain x reader. ~500 words) — you run into comte (or rather, he runs into you) after you kill a vampire.

mozart & the wire brooch (mozart x reader. ~250 words) — you give mozart a gift.

vlad and the florist (vlad x reader. ~250 words) — it seems you and the florist you met a long time ago have the same idea.

cooking with will (shakespeare x reader. ~300 words) — you teach will how to find his way around the one room in his villa he never uses: the kitchen.

bakery date with theo (theodorus x reader. ~300 words) — theo "takes you out for a walk." (read: takes you out on a date to a bakery.)

baking an apple pie (isaac newton x reader. ~450 words) — Isaac's been working hard lately, so you take Arthur's advice and make him a tasty treat!!

little things they love about you (suitors x reader. ~1,000 words) — the little things they love about you.

shakespearean serenades (shakespeare x reader. ~600 words) — theo yells at you to wrangle your lover. said lover is trying his best to serenade you.

ikemen prince . . .

self care (yves kloss x reader. ~1k words.) — you're supposed to be doing your skin care routine right now, but teasing yves sounds much more appealing.

small moments with rio (rio ortiz x reader. ~500 words.) — sweet moments with rio C:

guessing their love languages (headcanons of the ikepri characters. ~600 words.) — guessing their love language based on the very little information i have about them oops

dance with me (clavis lelouch x reader. ~400 words.) — you dance with clavis in the rain.

breakfast for you (clavis & yves x reader. ~300 words.) — yves is trying to make you breakfast, but clavis has other plans.

unusual protection (clavis lelouch x reader. ~350 words.) — clavis takes the fall for you, and you're left wondering why.

snowed in with clavis (clavis lelouch x reader. ~1,000 words.) — you get snowed in with clavis. shenanigans ensue.

christmas cookies to save kingdom! (gilbert von obsidian x reader. ~800 words.) — you and gilbert make christmas cookies together!!

sledding with cyran (cyran rose x reader. ~400 words.) — you go sledding with cyran.

ikemen revolution . . .

pet names (zero, edgar, kyle, & harr x reader. ~400 words.) — you call some of the ikerev suitors a pet name for the first time.

the winter itch (kyle ash x reader. ~300 words.) — you call on your favorite doctor to help you out with some chilly problems.

happy birthday (blanc & kyle x reader. ~400 words.) — blanc and kyle attend your after party. (a birthday gift for vivi!!)

soft kyle ash (kyle ash x reader. ~350 words.) — soft kyle ash, your favorite doctor.

the black army pines (black army x reader. ~350 words.) — some mildly embarrassing things that have happened to you while a certain black army member was pining for you.

baking with luka (luka clemence x reader. ~400 words.) — you decorate a gingerbread house with luka.

decorating with zero (zero x reader. ~500 words.) — you and zero put up holiday decorations in red army headquarters together.

love like a heart is no love at all (edgar bright x reader. ~2,000 words.) — edgar contemplates you.

over and over again (blanc lapin x reader. ~2,000 words.) — to blanc, you are the change he needed, and your pressing secret won't change that.

ikemen villains . . .

shopping with ellis (ellis twilight x reader. ~300 words.) — you ask ellis to come shopping with you, and he agrees.

ikemen sengoku . . .

hot springs (yoshimoto x reader. ~350 words.) — you visit the hot springs with yoshimoto.

you are the world (mitsunari x reader. ~1000 words.) — domestic bliss with your husband, mitsunari!!

mystic messenger . . .

snowball fight for love! (saeyoung choi x reader. ~500 words.) — you take saeyoung completely off guard with a snowball to the back of the head!

jaehee on your birthday (jaehee kang x reader. 360 words.) — jaehee celebrates your birthday!!

[ghost-of-many-names]

@ghost-of-less-names :33

[bitchybylershipper]

grief is quite strange in my opinion. it never looks the same for every person. there are many things grief can look like. some people have outbursts. some people get physically sick. some people have shutdowns. it all depends on the person.

there are many ways that people grieve. i grieve by remembering. sometimes i grieve by regretting, but that is usually a gateway from remembering. sometimes the memories make me really sad. sometimes the memories make me happy. it all depends on context.

id like to tell a few stories about the particular person im remembering right now.

id like to start off with the fact that before he died he said he wanted us to put his ashes in a folgers coffee can. i feel like thats all you need to know about him already lmao. my aunt vetoed that one real quick. his urn ended up being a slender porcelain white vase-looking container. it is quite pretty. this is not a memory i get to share very often but it is one of my favorites.

he love, love, loveddd anything and everything spicy. like i am being so fr this guy carried a bottle of hot sauce in his pocket everyday. i am not kidding. i remember the birthday party we threw for him when he was undergoing treatment. i remember that we made him a gift basket with the spiciest shit we could find since it was pretty much the only thing he could still taste.

to add to that last part, he also really liked just eating straight up salt. my grandpa did too actually. (ah, you say. so thats where you get it from) i witnessed him eat a helluva lot of salt before he died. BUT. the funny thing is: when he died, his sodium levels were low. which always kinda makes me laugh when i think about it even thought its really not very funny. i think i just like the irony.

he loved fireworks. when i still believed in god and blamed myself for his death because i didnt pray enough, i told myself that everytime it rained and thundered, each lightning strike was him finding some fireworks and getting into trouble in heaven with my grandpa. each lightning strike was him telling us, its okay up here. youll be okay down there too. im still looking out for you.

to add to his love for fireworks: when i say that, i mean he loved fireworks. like the illegal shit that is banned in some states (including my own; he used to drive out of state to get fireworks for a good fucking show) one year, he lit one and it fell over before it went off. when it went off, it went straight into the neighbors house. (not like inside but like it hit their house) fortunately, it didnt escalate past that. to this day its me and my cousins favorite story to tell.

when they had to take him in for check ups and stuff, he always asked us to bring him original-flavor hubba bubba gum.

one of my most prominent memories of him is the time he drove me and my cousin home from basketball practice and sang alone at the top of his lungs to meet in the middle by diamond rio. he was so much fun to be around.

tonight im remembering by chewing grossly over sweetened bubblegum and listening to a specific playlist of country music that i made myself with songs that i associate with him. i miss him like hell. i really really miss him like hell.

[tankwolf]

TAG GAME LETS GO!!!! i think this is the first time i’m doing a tag game here so. here! @konnorhasapen tagged me to assign some songs to redacted ships and i think i have the right ones :] here ar my favs below the cut, in no specific order 👍🏽

Tank/Quinn Butch 4 Butch by Rio Romeo (x) yeah this ship makes me go insane as is because i love angst and pain and torturing myself, and this song just kind of gets it man. kind of puts a perspective on all the abuse and pain and makes the obvious delusion, hurt and doubt sound normalized and romanticized, and so it’s easier to get a peak into the mechanics and warped mindsets of abusive relationships through it. yeah. just listen to it. going loco everytime i put this song on 🤪

Tank/Sam Sunlight by Hozier (x) sam said his darlin’ feels like sunlight on an easy day, but i think this song is mostly from tank’s pov. the overwhelming feel of the song that fills up your chest would be how tank saw it too, a stark contrast from what they know, as opposed to sam who paired sunlight with ‘easy’. “who would trade that hum of night for sunlight, sunlight, sunlight?” to “a soul that’s born in cold and rain knows sunlight, sunlight, sunlight” and the fact that it is so new to them that it feels bigger and grander and holier than they’d ever known. AHHH DO U SEE WHAT I MEAN. YEAH.

David/Angel BREAKFAST by half · alive (x) it just feels like an easy song, but it’s obvious from the lyrics that it’s still really daunting. david’s character arc has always been about learning to accept and ask for help. his main problem was not being a dick about it in the process, which stems from him finding vulnerability daunting, and angel kind of provides that kind of support with the dickyness just, on default. the “strength in the open, the broken and exposed, should I flee to the mountains?” bit. it hasn’t been easy for him to get used to that but he pulled through!!! and. yeah. also, breakfast is just something david’s plenty good at, and food is sorta his way of showing he cares........................... i’m kidding his song is rude boy by rihanna.

Milo/SH Apple Pie by Lizzie McAlpine (x) the whole thing with milo and his mom and how they kept moving around, and then him and sweetheart moving into Their Own Place ... yeah.. the song itself is about the concept of home and your other person, and there’s a verse about cardboard boxes and moving and just. yeah :’) also, it’s established that milo is ALSO good with food. 

Asher/Babe Video Games by The Young Professionals (x) not the lana del rey (original) version because something about a male voice claiming to be in a sundress is just. very ash-core. i think the song itself is pretty self explanatory if you’ve seen his videos. video games are his number one comfort thing, and the first time he confessed his love was WHILE they were playing a halo game, and said playing was a big part of why he felt compelled to do it. like i said, self explanatory. 

Gavin/FL Say You Won’t Let Go by James Arthur (x) this ship was a tricky one to pin. ik, overused song, i KNOW. was initially gonna go for an arctic monkeys song but gav is so much deeper as a character than that kind of erotic tension. this decision is also influenced by imp!gavin. gavin even in the imperium universe is set on a future with the freelancer and it’s just AHHH it’s the “i’ll love you in every universe” thing + the purest love you can imagine, the kind that feels as easy as breathing despite both of their baggage, the kind that only grows with age. i have Thoughts about this ship man idk. can u tell gavin’s a fav :’)

Huxley/Damien Impossible by Nothing But Thieves (x)  i can just picture dames listening to this song on repeat for hours thinking of hux. idk if the album cover’s colours have tricked me into thinking the song is damien-coded, but it makes a lot of sense for these two, y’know? huxley handles hardships like it’s a breeze, even if it isn’t, and dames isn’t used to that level of optimism. he teaches damien to be vulnerable, and moreover that he can handle him being vulnerable, because that’s something i’m sure dames has an issue with. i just love them sm, especially hux. i would  really like a huxley hug 😔

Aaron/Smartass  Nerve by Destroy Boys (x) pretty obvious why. “you stride right in and you get on my nerves, but I won’t say I’m disturbed because I want you to” y’know? also the high-hats and cymbals with the guitar, that kinda high energy rock music just reminds me of their banter. put that over passive adoring lyrics and you’ve got these two idiots ^-^

tagging -> open tag!! idk enough of u and enough of u well enough to tag people :^) literally nobody’s coming to mind help

[ghost-of-many-names]

Watched the new episode of the owl house last night and uhh...

Having a Hunter headmate and Raine being my fictotype(?) is... funnn... /s

[ghost-of-many-names]

fuck it. system picrew chain

[pynkhues]

57 for the sensory prompts 💖

Ooo, I love this one, anon, thank you! I'm assuming you wanted Good Girls, so I'm sorry if you were after something else!

This is set in a vague, speculative post-4.16 world. :-)

-

57 rain on a metal roof

It’s the promise of rain more than the actuality of it that greets them at the house.

The thick, damp blanket of air weighing down on them as they climb out of his G Wagon and start towards the dilapidated building, gravel crunching beneath the soles of his boots and the heel of her pumps, and god, she should’ve worn something more practical. Would’ve, if he’d told her where they were going.

It's been almost a year since she’s even been here, since she pulled up in her minivan, Max a ball of anxious energy in the seat beside her, the gun too close, wrapped in an old hand towel and buried beneath loose tampons and old receipts in the belly of her purse. A year since she’d past on Rio’s lessons to him – a second-hand class in how to load, hold, shoot a gun that still didn’t feel right in her own grip – but she’s held guns since then.

She just hasn’t shot one.

Not since - -

Well.

Her gaze darts sideways to where Rio’s a few steps ahead, beanie pulled low over his ears and hands buried deep in his pockets to ward off the late fall chill. He doesn’t look right here somehow, not as he passes the weather-worn picnic table and not as his narrow body becomes a cut of darkness against the faded white walls of the bullet riddled house. She’s used to him these days in sleeker joints – at one of his bars, at the Country Club, at restaurants that don’t list prices – places that almost move like him; both effortless and tireless at the same time.

(That cool, like - - disaffected, kiss-you-kill-you vibe is totally fake, Annie had told her a few weeks ago while they’d cleaned up at Sweet P’s. Nobody who’s actually cool would be this hung up on you. No offense.)

The thought makes Beth snort, sniff, a cold drop of rain suddenly hitting her cheek, and she wraps her arms tighter around herself, trying to match Rio’s long stride as he gets to the house, rattling open the door and disappearing inside. Vaguely, the thought finds her that maybe she’s wrong. Maybe Annie is.

Maybe the kiss-you-kill-you vibe is exactly who Rio is, maybe he chose his brother-cousin after all, maybe last night, whatever it was, had been a lie.

(But god, it hadn’t felt like it, not with the way he’d touched her, the way he’d pulled her close, held her there against him until the sharp angles of his body left indents in the soft curves of hers; the way he’d moved inside her so deep and slow she was babbling, keening, scrambling at his back desperate for him to go faster, but he hadn’t. Like he’d wanted them both to feel every moment. A film slowed until you could see every frame).

She hadn’t expected it.

Not after she’d closed in on Nick. Not after she’d gotten enough to Phoebe and Dave to have him put away, handcuffed in his City Council office, his eyes wet in a way Rio’s never got, like he couldn’t handle his own façade slipping even after spending months trying to make Beth’s, a lifetime maybe, of trying to make Rio’s.

Still, it hadn’t taken long for Nick’s wobbly lower lip to stiffen and his arrest had lasted only as long as any of Rio’s – a flash in the pan of success – and Rio had come to her house and she’d thought maybe it was over, maybe this was it for her, only he’d kissed her, and it had felt like a new page in a book she hadn’t realised she’d missed.

“You comin’, Elizabeth?”

And right, Beth thinks, sniffing, eyeing off the dark doorway, before glancing backwards at the thick grey sky, the first spit of rain, the dry grass and tangled, crunching trees waiting for it, and she steps inside.

There’s not much to it really – cobwebs and rat shit, a few broken items of dust-coated furniture – a table slanted awkward with a missing leg, moth-eaten curtains bundled on the floor, a few beer bottles with ash broken apart in the dregs. If Rio cares, he doesn’t show it, grabbing the table instead to leverage up enough against the wall that it stands, before swinging his bag off his shoulder onto the top of it. He pulls out two guns, a clip, alcohol wipes for fingerprints.

“He might not come after me,” Beth tells him, and Rio doesn’t even turn around. The wind outside whistles through the bullet holes in the walls, and Beth shivers when a particularly damp breeze finds the back of her neck. “We were pretty publicly connected, he might just want - - ”

“You wanna risk that?” he drawls, hands making quick, neat work on loading the gun. “Ain’t got that husband of yours to take the bullet for you this time.”

Beth’s jaw clicks shut.

The memory finds her. The fingers Rio’s now using to test the trigger instead tracing her chin, Dean in front of her, tied to a chair, the look of betrayal naked on his face, Rio unloading the gun just once. The way he’d slumped forwards.

Rio had staggered backwards.

She inhales, the musty smell of the room darting up her nose.

He’s right though. Dean’s long gone, but - -

Her heart flutters.

“Should I be worried about my kids?”

(They’d stayed at Annie’s the night before, the night of the arrest, playing Mario Kart with Ben and eating too much candy. Annie hadn’t asked questions when Beth had asked if she could keep them one more night, but she knew that only meant the kids were close. The questions would come when Annie could speak freely).

“Not his style.”

“But you think a mother of four is.”

It’s the first thing she’s said since the car that’s made Rio look at her, actually look at her, and she finds herself more annoyed than anything when he greets her with a bemused, slightly exasperated look, as if to say - - well.

As if to say a lot of things.

Beth rolls her eyes, and Rio exhales a laugh, shakes his head, before starting back across the room towards her.

“I don’t know,” he says. “This is new land for all of us, darlin’. Nick ain’t ever been the one in the cell, and you and me - - ”

She waits, unsure of what he’s going to say, and his mouth does that funny thing it does, and he shrugs, a warm look on his face.

“Ain’t ever woken up together after, huh?”

Beth flushes, and Rio offers her the handle of the gun. It takes her a minute, gaze darting up to him, surprised by the ease in the offer, the openness of his dark eyes, and it’s only then that she hears the rain in full. The ricochet off the tiled roof, the thrum of it, the way the air seems to gasp in relief – no longer pregnant. She thinks her hair is frizzy. She thinks Rio’s nose is red, his eyes tired. She thinks she lets her fingers brush his when she takes the gun. She thinks she wants to kiss him again.

From the way his gaze holds on her lips, she thinks he wants to too.

But he doesn’t. Not yet. Now, he takes a step back, and he says:

“Now, show me what you remember.”

Send me a sensory prompt (Good Girls, The Umbrella Academy or Succession)

[wellthatschaotic]

Hellooo

We wanted to share that we also have a hunter fictive :33

We may also soon get a raine fictive (if your hunter knows who that is from his source?) but otherwise i think theyre a fixtype or something of mine :3

- Ash/Aquarius/Raine/Rio || He/It

ooh another me! and yeah i know raine (not well but still)

[ghost-of-many-names]

If I may add

When I chose my new name it felt uncomfortable for a little while until I got used to it, I think it's pretty normal to have to get used to a name before you're fully comfortable with it

But I'm used to people using multiple of my names now and I definitely prefer them over my deadname

If you're still worried about it, you could try out some other names or get someone to refer to you by multiple different names and see how it feels, but if you like the name you chose then just go for it!

And if it makes you feel better, I know a few cis people who have changed their names to something quite different, so even if you were cis you still deserve to be called by your preferred name even if that name isn't the same as your "birth"/deadname

I recently came out to my mom and she hasn’t been super supportive and keeps misgendering and dead naming me. She thinks it’s just a faze and it’s been making me miserable so I decided to come out to my (very gay) friend group and the’ve all switched to my new name except for one who hates my new name and says she won’t call me it and will continue deadnaming me. I was pretty upset and went home and told my mom and she basically said that my friend can have opinions and I need to decide if I want to ruin a good friendship over a silly thing like a name. She said I need to choose if “some silly name that is probably a faze” is more important than my friend. is my mom right? I love my new name but im starting to doubt if im trans because the new name is slightly uncomfortable but im growing into it. Please help?…

nah, your mom is just being indignant. she's dismissing your feelings, anyone who calls what you are going through a "phase" or "temporary" is not taking your feelings into account. this is dismissive behavior, and regardless of what her motivation for doing so is, it's not helpful, and it's not a loving and supportive action. it is working directly against you and you have every right to be upset

whether or not your friend "likes" your name doesn't dictate whether or not they should call you that. that is your name. your friend needs to call you by your name, regardless of whether or not they "like" it. i don't "like" the name jared but i have called both of my friends their name. i don't like the name brittany, but i still call people that name. you get the picture. doesn't matter if you're trans or cis, people should still call you by YOUR name regardless of THEIR preference.

your mom and your friend are unfortunately thinking about themselves and their feelings over yours, and that is extremely unfair to you. this is not up for them to decide. you shouldn't have to deal with that kind of opposition over something very innocuous. im glad your other friends are being supportive- even if what you are going through were to be temporary, you still deserve to be treated with respect.

i hope you're able to feel a bit better soon, socializing with your supportive friends will help. you deserve more complete support in your life, and i hope you're able to find some peace and continue to live as you are with your correct name and identity. take care, good luck, stay safe

[caroleyre]

will i feel his ashes as they settle against mine? // self para

Oh, you know what this is about.

If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired.

Rain started when he arrived home from the Capitol, nothing but a suitcase, defeat and bone. The suitcase would be waiting for a full week unpacked. The loss Carol had to address sooner. It’s fine, it’s fine. This is still all fine. This is not permanent, not a disaster, not the end of his fucking life. This is not where he gives up the only symbolic crutch he could stand. 

He took all of his clothes off, and climbed the stairs to his room, where the urn was gathering dust in his absence. Normally, at home, he would dust it off, take it downstairs for breakfast -- he would talk to it. Carol knew it was stupid, too, but it was better than silence, better than utter absence, better than conventional loneliness. He knew Rio was dead and not on the line. He just needed to entertain the idea that there still was something to love, to lose, in there.

And there was. He’d just masterfully lost it.

His eyes photographed the verdict of Rio’s life. Carol did not hesitate. He took the urn into his hands one last time, and slid outside, on the beach, palm resting on top. There was no sunlight. Because it was raining. The clouded warmth made sense. This was not happy, but it wasn’t mean rain either. Rain did awful things to ashes, but the urn was securely closed, carefully held. There was no harm.

Until he dived into the sea, holding the cold urn against his skin. The water, a restless piano of drops, moved aside for him. He stepped for as long as he could, a walk to the bottom of the ocean, holding the furthest thing in the world the closest. At one point, when he got close enough to the hypothesis of drowning, he stopped, in between standing and floating. 

Hesitating, shaking, holding his chin up and the urn above the water, Carol took in the moment. They would never be together again, even this changed, poor definition of Rio that was all gray and flour. The lid opened, and particles came out to play, lion released from its cage, ocean coming home, ultimate liberation. Rio would have loved to become one with the sea. 

The shore was a thin line behind. The rain insisted. Particles of ash stuck to Carol’s chest, fought against his body, wet and dark. Carol did not fight back, and did not look disgusted -- though there was something macabre in how this felt as opposite to Rio’s soft skin. Some of it got into his mouth. He swallowed, and then he swam, for the longest time, holding onto the urn, now empty, now just dumb bronze.

He swam until the ashes were no longer glued to his wet skin. He swam as the rain thickened. The swimming didn’t have to end for the longest time, diving each thought underwater and getting it salted and clean until there was nothing. Once his mind became liquid enough for all this to pour into the ocean, everything felt lighter. Emptier, too -- but empty didn’t press. It only ached by absence.

His skin shivered when he got out of the water, washed away and officially alone. It was dark when he got inside.

Medea waited outside of his house, no regard for the judge’s order, no fear of distance, coming closer and closer like poisonous ivy. She stopped before the porch, but her action had a defining, demanding period to it. From beneath her laced umbrella, she had moved her piece and was waiting for his counteroffer. No, for his surrender, check mate.

Carol froze on the other side of the window. Not with thickened heartbeats and anxiety, but with the sort of defeated fearlessness that had taken all from him. After running a hand through still wet curls, he swallowed dryly and climbed down the stairs from his fort of lonely and timeless. The gesture of opening the door had been performed so plainly they could have been mistaken for friends visiting each other. She didn’t move closer. Her voice had something of a queen negotiating.

“I thought you’d have had the decency to come yourself.”

“I’m not allowed,” he retorted plainly, voice still hoarse. Nothing simpler.

“Give me the urn.” 

Carol somewhat smiled. There it was, the tiny victory in his loss. “Give me the urn,” his words mirrored her own, almost hummed, as he twisted on his feet to reach for the wet recipient. Medea’s gaze darkened considerably. She knew right away. It felt empty

“What did you do?” came her hiss, faltered and trying not to falter. She did not lose it, though. They hardly ever lost anything.

Carol cleared his throat, in between catching a cold and losing his voice from pointlessness in talking to begin with. “Tell your parents he wouldn’t have liked to be boxed on a shelf. I scattered him into the ocean. That’s where he belongs, you know I’m right. He is no one’s nightstand accessory now.”

She saw black, for most of his speech. Black with anger and hurt and fury with this boy, as stupid as Rio had been -- except for the fact that he was not family, and she had no intention of tolerating any of it. “This was not yours to decide.”

“You don’t get it, Carol. I don’t care, I don’t want to know what you think you had with my brother. We are his family. He was ours to mourn however we saw fit.” Her voice almost trembled. Almost. Medea held herself very collected, very eloquently. “He was ours to mourn. After you killed him.”

His breathing cut. There was no way he would acknowledge where he, too, went wrong. This has always been a story of Carol and Rio. The rest is what we call background noise. It didn’t matter. He snapped out of his thinking with a shrug. “The ocean is good. He’d have liked the ocean better than being yours to mourn. Sue me, if you feel like it.” It was whatever. He’d lost once -- now everything else can be lost too without making a difference. With that, Carol nodded a wordless goodbye and shut the door. The ball was in their court. To him, it did not matter. He was all alone anyway.

[bakubitch-minusultra]

Not Alone: Chapter Eleven

-> an apocalyptic series with bnha characters but without quirks because im the writer and i can do whatever the fuck i want :P new character unlocked

-> Word Count: 2.1k

-> Warnings: none(?)

-> Taglist: @5sosfckss @laudthingcat @zphilophobiaz

The sun set as they reached the top of a hill she never climbed. It was in the opposite mountain range from where she had been and she was nervous of it. She didn’t know what lied on the other side. Her feet hurt and she was tired.

He layed a bunch of bows on the ground and gave Y/n a very appealing look. It made her stomach hurt.

She walked to where he had chosen to sleep and smiled at it. There were branches on the ground which made a mat for sleeping. He had chosen a huge tree with great bows to protect them in case it rained. He was like her father, more than she expected him to be. Not that she ever expected to meet him.

“They think you’re dead.”

He put the last bow down and sat on it. He took the jacket he had brought with him and put it down, patting it for Y/n to sit beside him. Her steps hurt her feet now that they had stopped walking. She dropped onto the ground beside him and watched his eyes sparkle as darkness took over the night sky. She tucked her bow and quiver next to her, always close.

“I was taken to the work farms. We were hiding in this old house like your farmhouse. I wasn’t smart like you though. I never thought about bunkers or having a few different houses and traveling between them. I was an idiot. Anyway they came. I hid Mina and Kirishima and let them take me.”

His face was stoic. She wanted him to kiss her again. She started to wonder if he was going to.

“How did you get away from the farms?”

“I met some people while I was there. Doctors who were forced to work the breeder camps and other scientists. They convinced me I needed to start a revolution from the outside. I escaped with some of him.” He shook his head, as if his thoughts entertained him and brushed his hand through his hair again. He looked at Y/n and smiled, “You know a good spot to clean up around here?”

She shook her head, “Never been here before. You’re starting a revolution?”

He nodded, “The camp we were just at is one of our peace camps. It’s like a retreat. The children and young and old stay there. We have people coming and going constantly. Didn’t you notice how easily you were welcomed?”

“I guess. I just thought that’s what people were like when they live in a camp like that. Aside from the machine gun escort that is.”

He laughed again. She liked the sound of it but it reminded her of Kirishima.

“Well that was a big wolf Y/n. How’d you end up with him?”

“His mother gave birth and must’ve gotten sick shortly after. Hades was waiting for me at the door of the cabin one day. He was tiny then. I could hear his brothers and sisters in the woods. I found the mother dead and half eaten surrounded by the other cubs who were weak and sick. It was awful. I shot them and burned them. It’s the closest the infection ever got to my cabin. He was immune anyway so that’s helpful.”

“He’s immune? Naturally? Maybe he never ate any of the mom.”

Y/n shook her head, “Nah, she wasn’t the only sick thing Hades has eaten. He likes the infected.”

He grimaced, “That’s disgusting. Disgusting and lucky all at the same time.”

“It is.”

“What do you know about the start of the infection?”

Y/n shrugged, “People got sick and some died but others lived and went a little crazy.”

His eyes looked dark as his expression lost its humor and the sun set completely. “No Y/n, people didn’t just get sick. The infection was spread on purpose. Everything that’s happened has been a plan all along.”

“That can’t be true.”

“I wish it weren’t. There was something called the United Nations. They did all of this.”

Y/n felt sick, “They were evil?”

“Not evil, just detached. The world was running out of resources and everyone was constantly putting a hand out to them and asking for aid and food and money. The UN had been warning us forever about global warming and the ice melting and the ocean becoming acidic. Anyway in 2012 all of Greenland's ice and snow melted in a week. The earth started to enter a drought. We thought it was a cyclical event but it wasn’t. It was man made. We had pushed it too far. The same time all this was happening, a conference was held in Rio about the environment. Canada, the US and China pretty much pulled out and admitted they had no intention of slowing their pollution to the recommended level. It would be too hard on their economies. That was the final straw. Apparently the UN had a backup plan for a worst-case scenario such as that. They had a plague. It had a vaccine, which made it easy to spread and then control. The problem was it mutated. They spread the virus at the same time they had bombs placed deep in the ocean along the Japanese coastline. They bombed the shelf and pretty much wiped Japan off the face of the earth and made the west coast of North America a target for huge tidal waves.”

It felt like a movie to Y/n. It didn’t feel real. It felt like the ramblings of her father, before.

“How could you know all this?”

“The work farms. I met people who had been part of the initial plan. The plan was to reset everything. Instead the UN decided they wanted to start humanity over but set it up to succeed this time. The breeder farms were built where only the fit and healthy were allowed to reproduce."

She shivered just imagining it.

Bakugo laughed, “It isn’t what you think. I know what everyone thinks happens but it’s not. The girls only breed every three years and only up to three times. The pregnancy isn’t the result of rape, it’s done using science. The baby is made in a lab and then inserted into the woman’s womb.” Y/n gagged and Bakugo laughed. “The religious had the same reaction. The UN never mentioned this plan to anyone but the very high ups. It never went well.”

“The girls are still taken against their will and made to make babies against their will.”

She saw his head nod in the dark, “Yup and the babies are not God’s children to the Christians. Anyway the UN runs the military but again, they sit in their closed office and plan using numbers and facts and data. They don’t leave it to see what the world looks like or how corrupt the military is. They’ve built six cities world wide from the ashes and rubble of previous cities. They plan on cleaning every inch of the world.

Y/n’s head was spinning, “What about the borderlands?”

“They can’t use anymore bombs without affecting the weather and pollution again, so the plan stands at leaving us to our own devices until they have this part of the world cleaned up. Then they’ll come round us up.”

“Why?”

“They want the diseases and illnesses bred out. They won’t allow those people to live and breed.”

��Oh my god it’s like a nightmare.”

“It is. On that note, we need sleep. You sleep first and I’ll keep watch.”

“That’s some bedtime story.” She liked Kirishima’s better. He laughed and Y/n watched his silhouette in the dark for a moment. He didn’t lean in to kiss her. He was watching the hill they climbed. “How long have they been breeding science babies?”

His outline turned to her and she saw the shine of his eyes in the dark,”A long time.”

“Are the babies different than the rest of us?”

“Yeah.”

The broken branches led them to a camp in a valley on the opposite side of the mountain where her farmhouse sat. The size of the camp was disturbing. Bakugo smiled as he saw it and walked directly up to the man holding the gun amid the trees.

“Halt.”

“Oi dunce face!” Bakugo shouted.

The gunman smiled, “No shit, Bakugo you’re alive. I heard they caught you.”

Bakugo laughed, “They think they did. Is Monoma still in charge?”

The man Bakugo called dunce face pointed to the camp, “He’s still in the smallest tent, you know what he’s like. Still paranoid they’ll bomb us.”

Bakugo laughed and pointed towards Y/n, “This is my friend Y/n.” She felt hurt when he called her his friend. She didn’t know why but the word stung.

“I’m Denki,” He put a hand out and Y/n noticed he had a nice smile. She met his golden eyes and smiled back, “Nice to meet you.” His eyes flickered to Bakugo and an even bigger smile crossed his lips, “So where’d ya two meet?”

She looked at Bakugo.

“She walked up to the mountain retreat the other day with a huge wolf for a pet and an unruly teenager.”

Denki’s eyes grew wide, “You have a wolf?”

She nodded. She wanted to find Mina and Kirishima. She didn’t understand why Bakugo wasn’t busting inside to see them. She felt herself fidget in place,

“Well I’m gonna go see Monoma and see what’s new on this side of the hill.”

They walked toward the camp as the sound of birds squawking filled the forest. The gunmen lower their weapons as they hear the sound and they walk past them. The camp opened as the forest spread thin. It looked like the camp they were at before except that everyone was wearing a firearm or knife. At one point Y/n swore she saw a sword. There were no children here.

“Bakguo! You’re alive!”

A girl with long blonde hair and cut off shorts ran and jumped into his arms. Y/n’s heart stopped as she watched the girl kiss his lips. The lips that only just kissed Y/n the day before. She felt heat radiating from her cheeks. She heard about men who weren’t tied down in romance novels and felt sick thinking that she had fallen for one. All the years of reading the novels and judging the ladies who seemed strong and smart and then fell for a jerk. Reality hurts. She wanted Kirishima and Mina and her cabin and Hades and Jirou. She wanted to let the world kill itself and hide up in the mountains. She never wanted to kiss Bakugo again. She couldn’t believe she was so reckless.

“Camie what the hell. You know me better than that,” He twirled her around and looked sheepishly at Y/n, “This is Y/n.” Y.n nodded and gripped her bow.

Camie beamed at her, “Wow nice find Bakugo, He save you from the farms too?”

Y/n raised an eyebrow, “I don’t need a hero.”

Camie looked at Bakugo, who was staring at Y/n. Y/n walked past him and started to look around. If he didn’t want to find his friends then that’s his problem. Y/n would be damned if she would let them live another moment without the knowledge that their asshole of a friend was alive and well.

“You pissed at me?” Y/n didn’t turn and continued along, eyes desperately searching the crowds of people.

“Bakugo.” He shook hands with a very tanned man with the whitest smile Y/n had ever seen. People continued to greet him, but she couldn’t hear them anymore. She saw what she was looking for. She saw a tall guy limping with shaggy red hair. She broke into a run and dived into his arms when she was close enough to him.

As she made contact he turned. His face was exactly as she remembered it. He had her in his arms before she could speak a word.

“Y/n oh my god. Y/n it’s you. Holy shit I thought they got you.” He was planting kisses everywhere across her face.

“Where’s Mina?”

Kirishima’s kisses stopped but his grip on her face was still strong, “They took her.” Y/n felt her heart drop and wanted to collapse into his arms and sub.

“Shitty hair.”

Kirishima dropped to his knees in front of Y/n. His hands left her face and fell onto the tops of his knees.

“Bakugo? Bakugo is that you?”

Bakugo rushed at him and lifted him up. He pulled him into his embrace. The friend’s hug was fierce but all she heard was the sentence ‘they took her’ repeating in her mind.

Kirishima looked back at her, “You found him?”

Y/n shook his head, she had no words. They hug and cry and laugh but she was stunned. Finally able to speak, she muttered, “Where’d they take her?”

Their reunion no longer meant anything to Y/n.

[solartranslations]

AF2 Debito Epilogue 2: Your Voice that Echoes Through the Sky

~*Scene: Church Inside*~

Debito: Hey, Fel

Debito: I think you might have some regrets about this in the future… You’re okay with that?

Felicita: As long the light still shines, there’s salvation for us

Debito: …As long as you’re smiling, I can relax

Debito: And as long as we can keep on living

Felicita: Yeah…

Felicita: I want to wrap up all your pleasure and pain in my happiness…

Debito: So, will you live alongside me…?

Debito: Fel…

Felicita: Yeah…. I will

~*Scene: Harbor*~

Liberta: Alright, that should take care of all the shipments

Ash: Oh, there’s fresh apples again today

Liberta: Hey, Ash! Still doing your tiger trick?

Ash: Sure am. It’s a big hit at Piccolino

Liberta: Think they’ll like it even more if you jumped through a ring of fire?

Ash: Not happening! Anyway, they’re waiting for me so I have to go

Liberta: Alright, I’ll head to the usual place then

~*Scene: Church Outside*~

Solde: I wonder when we can see Ash-ger again

Nicolato: I wannna pet Ash-ger-chan!

Rio: Me too…

Liberta: Hey! I brought presents!!

Nicolato: Yay it’s Liberta! Did you bring anything yummy?

Solde: That’s all you ever think about

Rio: Is there any for me…?

Liberta: Okay, come on! Wait your turn

Debito: Liberta, did you bring them presents without telling us again?

Liberta: Oh crap, he got me

Nicolato: *eating*

Debito: Nicolato, don’t eat the evidence

Liberta: Debito, I’ll go bring the rest to Ojou!

Debito: …Hm? Yeah, okay

Debito: Seriously, he ended up doing the exact same thing as Dante

Debito: Come on, all of you! It’s going to rain soon so hurry inside

Rio: Okay

Debito: And Solde. I know you’re hiding them in your shirt. Hand them over

Solde: Eek!

Debito: If you keep them now and the Sister finds out you got more than everyone else, she’ll get mad

Rio: Solde! Just hand them over!

Solde: O-okay

Debito: Alright, hurry back then

Nicolato: Okay!

Solde: Why does Debito always catch on to what I’m doing?

Nicolato: He can’t even hear anything. It’s amazing

Rio: It’s like he can see into our hearts

Felicita: It’s because he’s watching all of you very closely

Solde: Sister!

Debito: Felicita

Felicita: Can you three do me a favor and take all the laundry in before the weather gets bad?

Felicita: Let’s make it a race!

Solde: Okay

Nicolato: Okay

Rio: Okay

Debito: Looks like Pace and Luca came during the afternoon again

Debito: The kids never stop eating so the food is always helpful…but it’s still so much

Felicita: I can’t tell if those two are helping when they have a break from work, or only work when they take a break from helping

Debito: They always amaze me

Felicita: You appreciate their help though

Debito: Hey…don’t laugh

Felicita: [Debito and I take in children without homes in the church]

Felicita: [The Family and anyone else we know help out and give us their support]

Felicita: [When they grow up, I wonder if they’ll support me and Debito somehow too]

Felicita: [My feelings will never change]

Debito: Hey, why do you look so amused…?

Felicita: I don’t

Debito: You know you can’t fool me with words, right?

Debito: Come on, you need to look like a Sister in front of them you know

Felicita: …Yeah. I know

Debito: Usually, you end up making that face when you’re thinking about me

Felicita: Huh!?

Debito: And I do too

Felicita: What kind of face is it?

Debito: I’ll tell you if you want to know

Felicita: ?

Debito: It’s a face that says…I just adore you, Felicita

~*End of Scene*~

Debito’s ending bonus 2 has been unlocked

(Back to Directory)

[ghost-of-many-names]

Ghost of Many Names came from an inside joke with our friends before I figured out I was part of a system. Basically I wasn't allowed to talk since a d&d session that I wasn't part of was being recorded which is where the "ghost" part comes from. Then since I have a name hoard thats where "of many names" comes from :3

Then theres The Computer System which just comes from one of my partners associating the word "system" with computers lol

Ok but like how do you all come up with system names? Because I’ve never seen a system name that wasn’t cool as fuck. Feel free to reply/reblog with your system name!

[wickedmilo]

THE BETTER HAWKEYE | MILO & ORION

PLACE: Outside the University of Maine TIMING: 12:39 AM SUMMARY: Milo runs into Orion and, after not seeing each other in over a month, the two manage to reconnect. WRITING PARTNER: @3starsquinn CONTENT WARNINGS: Addiction, alcohol, drug abuse

Milo had always been the type to wander at night, but usually he had a goal in mind. There was always a dealer to meet, a club to go to, a stranger he could go home with. Now, he wandered the streets because he could. Because during the day he was confined to the house, itching to do something, for the sense of freedom he used to have. Sometimes, when he was feeling particularly melancholy, he walked past Tower Comics, thinking about the excuses he was going to give his boss when he was ready to return to work. And now he was outside his old college building, staring up at the structure, remembering what it felt like to walk through the doorway, and into a class. Usually late, usually smelling of pot, always with a coffee in his hands. Sparking up a cigarette, he leaned against the brick wall behind him, observing the college from across the quiet street. There was nobody around at this time, despite all of the lights being on. And it was weirdly comforting to reminisce.  

It didn’t take very long for him to be drawn from his memories, though, as a familiar figure began to make his way down the entryway steps. Orion, he would recognise him anywhere. They had attended school together, though Orion had been far too shy to make his acquaintance back then. It was only after getting a job at the comic book store that they really began to get to know each other. His colleagues used to tease him endlessly about the boy’s very obvious crush. But as far as he was concerned, it was pretty harmless. Orion had never once made a move, and he didn’t exactly seem the type. He missed their conversations, he missed the routine of work. Although he had never been one to keep to a schedule, having somewhere to hang out and talk to people away from the nightlife of the town had been nice. He enjoyed it. Pushing away from the wall, it was probably a bad idea, but he couldn’t stop himself from crossing the road. He was feeling relatively mellow. With a handful of pills in his system, freshly fed thanks to Harsh and his generous supply of blood bags, he was in control. He wasn’t a danger. “Hey!” He called, exhaling a breath of smoke. “You do know they don’t give you extra credit for studying in the middle of the night?”  

Some time out of the house would do Orion some good. Following his most recent meltdown, he stayed at the campus library until the sun had fallen. The place was popular for all nighters with college students. He had done his own on multiple occasions, or at the very least used it as an excuse when he was trying to avoid his family. When he finally left the building it was with books tucked beneath his arm and the smell of rain in the air. Incoming rain it smelled like. That, and cigarette smoke. But aside from that, Rio didn’t tell there was another person around at all until the voice called out and scared the crap out of him. He jumped, one of the books slipping through his arm and falling to the ground. “Jesus. Sorry. Hey.” Rio breathed, bending down to grab the book and not even bothering to check who the person was saying hi to him. His cheeks flushed when he finally turned and saw Milo. “Oh. Woah. Hey! It’s been awhile.” Milo had been a familiar and friendly face at the comic book shop. One that Rio remembered fondly from high school even though the two never spoke. He also remembered how flustered he had always been trying to have a conversation with the boy at the comic book shop post graduation. He could remember just how awkward those first few discussions had been until Rio started to get a bit too passionate about the history of comic books. The only thing that could overcome his bad habit of crushing on any guy that was nice to him was how much he loved nerding out over things. 

Luckily for both of them, Rio was a bit less flustered around boys than he used to be. “Ha ha. Very funny. I focus better at night.” Rio shrugged as an explanation. It wasn’t technically a lie, although on this particular night he was just using it as an excuse so he didn’t have to go home. “I haven’t seen you at Towers recently. Do you still work there?” 

Milo felt a wave of guilt when Orion dropped one of his books. He had forgotten how easily flustered he could be. Before he was able to reach down and pick it up, Orion had it securely back under his arm, so he offered him a sheepish grin instead. “I didn’t mean to scare you,” he admitted, his version of an apology. He watched, incredibly amused, as his company realised who he was talking to. Taking a drag from his cigarette, he blew the smoke away from where they were standing. “Yeah, I guess it kind of has.” It made him sad sometimes, to remember the simplicity of before. His life had always been turbulent, and unpredictable. But through his own choice. He had still been in control. Tower Comics had been a brief escape from the never ending cycle of getting high, and coming down. He showed up, he stood behind the counter, he sold comics. It was too easy. A quiet laugh escaping him at the mention of being able to focus at night, it felt too relatable given his current circumstance. “Things got a little… weird, for a while.” Like that wasn’t a ridiculous understatement, but he wasn’t sure what else he could say.  

“I, uh- I don’t actually know.” Did he still work there? It had been over a month since he last showed up for a shift, but his boss had always managed to tolerate his bullshit. Missing shifts wasn’t unusual for him. Neither was arriving late for them, sometimes he even left early, slinking away when nobody was around to stop him. He had a feeling if he walked in with an apology and an explanation, he would be able to keep his job. “It’s been like... a month, which is probably not great. But they’ll let me back. I mean- I hope they’ll let me back. Why?” He asked. “Are you still stopping by? Have you been missing me?” He was teasing, but just barely. He genuinely missed Orion, and he liked to think the enjoyment of their conversations had been mutual.  

“It’s fine. I’m notoriously jumpy” Orion admitted with a small laugh. He would have thought that with all the training that he had been doing recently that he might get a bit less anxious. As it turned out, getting rid of that instinct wasn’t going to be easy. As if he needed any other reason to loathe his deceased parents. Now that he had composed himself, he got the chance to study Milo. Rio couldn’t remember how long it had been since the two had talked in the comic book shop, but he knew that it had been awhile. Something about him seemed… different. Physically, he didn’t appear to look very different than he had at Towers, but something was definitely different. Just as Rio was a lot different despite the relatively small change to him physically. Rio’s bleached blonde hair was gone, but he was still stick thin. His baggy hoodie also hid any new muscle definition his training had afforded. “Weird?” Rio questioned. He had an entire list of theories of what Milo might mean by that. This town had no shortage of weird things. But maybe against all odds, Milo’s troubles were completely mundane and non supernatural. “Sorry to hear that. Are things uh- getting better?” 

“Fingers crossed for you. The guy that owns the place seems pretty nice, right?” He had no idea what may contribute to disappearing from work for a month, but he didn’t exactly know Milo that well. The two had been friendly enough at the comic book store, but the friendship hadn’t exactly extended outside of there. “Well I don’t get to rant about comics with anyone else in the store, so yeah for sure. I missed having you to chat to.” Though Rio didn’t go there as much anymore, he had stopped there a few times over the last month or so. Admittedly, Rio had been going there less and less for far longer than a month. While dating Winston, the two stayed busy working at the Scribrary or hanging out with their friends. After Winston left town, Rio had thrown himself into his work. “I drop in when I can! I’ve been busy lately, so I haven’t been able to go as much. But if I knew you were going back I’d definitely try to swing by more often.” He cringed at his own statement. “What have you been up to? Outside of Towers, I mean.” 

Milo continued to smile, feeling a strange sense of affection for his friend. Seeing him outside of the comic book store was a rare occurrence, but it was comforting to know while his life had become so new, and disorientating, it had carried on as usual for other people. The world was still spinning, Orion was still buying comics. Things were going to be okay. Shifting uncomfortably on the spot as Orion observed him, he couldn’t help but feel as though he was being read. In the same way his mom always knew when he was on something, or under the influence, before he had even said a word to her, maybe Orion could see somehow that he had changed. “Yeah,” he laughed, only a hint of bitterness lacing the sound. Taking another drag of his cigarette, he tapped ash absentmindedly. “Really fucking weird.” He admitted. “Don’t be sorry, though. S’not like it’s your fault.” He caught his company’s eye again, showing him his sentiment was sincere. “I mean- I think so?” It was hard to gauge, when everything was still so fresh. But now that Harsh was helping him, now that he had someone there, he didn’t feel so lost. The hopelessness that had been weighing down on him wasn’t quite as heavy as it used to be. “Yeah… yeah, they are.”  

His smile growing at the mention of his boss, he nodded, reaching up to push his hair back away from his face. “He’s pretty chill, I don’t think he’ll mind too much if I just, you know… say I’m sorry.” He knew taking responsibility wasn’t something he was good at, but hopefully his boss would be able to see he was serious this time. This absence wasn’t his fault. “Oh, yeah? Well I’m here now if you need to ramble. Immortal Hulk is still going, right? I don’t suppose you’re caught up?” Raising his eyebrows, he knew it would be unfair to openly tease Orion for his comment, but he couldn’t resist the flirtatious expression. What harm could it do? “So, what you’re saying is I’m the best thing about Tower?” He laughed easily, offering a casual shrug. What have you been up to outside of work shouldn’t be such a loaded question. But how was he supposed to answer? Oh, I died, found out the world I thought I lived in was very much not the world I was living in. Developed a mad craving for blood, hurt one of my closest friends when she randomly decided she wanted to kill me, then shacked up with another vampire who realised I had no idea what was going on… “I’ve, uh- I’ve been around.” He muttered, dropping his cigarette to the floor, grinding it beneath his shoe as an excuse to avoid eye contact. “You?”  

Orion’s brow furrowed as he considered his best course of action. There was still a chance that Milo’s definition of weird was vastly different from Rio’s. “Right. Yeah I know, it’s just- it still sucks. And I’m sorry that it sucks.” Rio rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. At the very least, Milo confirmed that things were getting better. That had to be a plus. If nothing else, there was something positive. He was tired of things only getting worse. He needed to know that things really did get better for some people in this town. “Well I know that we aren’t like uh- you know super close or whatever. But if you ever want to talk about the weird stuff, I’m a great listener.” He hoped that Milo could pick up on the differences between Rio then and Rio now. Back then Rio was far too flustered and infatuated to ever be able to sustain a genuine friendship. He wasn’t nearly as hopeless as he used to be when it came to making friends.  

“Oh! Yeah I think it’s still going. I started it, but I’m behind right now. The series is really interesting, even though I’ve never cared much for Hulk comics. Right now I’m following Strange Academy pretty closely. It has a lot of like, Young Avengers or X-Men school energy. And I’ve always been a sucker for the teen or young adult superhero groups! I’m hooked.” It was comforting to see how easily he was able to slip back into conversation with Milo. Rio groaned at Milo’s very pointed comment. “Well maybe I’m saying you were” Rio laughed, imagining how he would have reacted a year ago if Milo had made the same comment in the store, “Until you disappeared. Now it has to be like the gaming tournaments or something. And I don’t even participate.” With his incredibly vague response, Rio was all but convinced that something very supernatural had occurred in Milo’s life. Teetering the line between nosy and understanding, Rio kept his mouth shut. The two ran into each other out of luck, not exactly the ideal scenario for either to be spilling their secrets to each other. “Me? Well my friend moved out of town and left me in this giant house by myself. So I’ve basically been a hermit for the past two months. So my life is very, very boring.” 

Milo hadn’t been expecting such a genuine apology, it caught him off guard. It was very clear that, despite not being incredibly close, Orion cared about him, and it hit him that he cared about Orion in return. It was strange how easily somebody could become a fixture in your life, but it certainly wasn’t unwelcome. He felt his throat close, as he fought to suppress whatever emotion was attempting to overwhelm him. It would be embarrassing to explain why he was suddenly choked up. He refused to become the person who cried every time they were offered a shred of kindness. “Thank you…” He said, his voice quiet. He wondered whether it was obvious how touched he was by the sincerity. “That, uh- that means a lot.” Unable to stop a sudden laugh from escaping him, he shook his head, falling back into his usual demeanour. “No, honestly-  you don’t want to hear it. I’d only sound fucking insane, and I kind of brought it on myself, anyway...” Brushing off the comment, he jumped at the chance to talk about comic books. This was an easy subject, this was something he knew.  

“Hm, I’ve heard good things about Strange Academy. Do you know who’s doing the artwork? I know how fucking basic this is but I kind of miss seeing Skottie Young, his variants are always insane.” Grinning, his eyes shining with mischief, he couldn’t help feeling genuinely flattered by Orion’s admission. Not many people saw him as anything more than a waste of potential. It felt good to just be Milo, the kid in Tower Comics who enjoyed making conversation. “I knew it.” He teased. “I’m going to assume the past tense is because I’ve been gone for a month, and not because you’ve changed your mind.” Nodding at the mention of gaming tournaments, he tried to remember whether he had ever attended one. He wasn’t the type to be drawn into the world of comic cons, and gaming. He enjoyed comics because, as far as he was concerned, they were a form of literature. Any extension of that enjoyment never quite managed to capture his attention. “Well, I’d hate for you to settle. I’ll be back soon…” He knew it wasn’t a promise he could make, but he so wanted the statement to be true. “And then your very, very boring life will maybe be a little less boring again.”

Whether it was the scholar in Orion or the side of him that desperately wanted to be better friends with Milo, he absolutely did want to hear more about whatever had been happening in his life. But he also knew enough from his own experiences avoiding a topic that Milo didn’t want to dive into it right now. “Of course. And seriously, anytime. I may be easily panicked but I’m slightly less easily surprised.” That may not exactly be the truth, but when it came to the supernatural it was becoming more and more true. “No pressure or anything. The offer stands for whenever.”  

This definitely didn’t seem like the time though. Instead, Rio enjoyed the comic conversation instead. “Good question. I don’t actually. It looks familiar though I’m sure they’ve done other stuff. I’ll have to look it up.” Rio made a mental note to do some research on it in the morning. “Oh yeah I totally get that! He’s great! I’ve always been a big fan of Jimmy Cheung, but it may just be because of how much I love the Young Avengers. Which I’m sure is annoyingly obvious so I won’t shut up about them.” Nor did he ever plan to. He loved those comics. Loved the idea of rebelling against their parents and the adults trying to hold them back from doing what they thought was right. It resonated with Rio in a way that he was always too cowardly to do for himself. Well, until he murdered his parents apparently.  

“Okay, okay. I admit it. Don’t let it go to your head though.” Rio smiled and raised his hands in surrender of the information. This was all… good. It was nice to be able to hold an actual conversation with him outside of comic books for once. “Well I’ll be on the lookout for that. And maybe sometime we could also do something that wasn’t in a comic book shop too? Like hang out or something?” Rio found himself asking, surprising himself by the suggestion. “In a purely platonic way of course. I mean uh- I don’t like still have a massive crush on you or anything. So this is not me like making a move or whatever.” He sighed, only realizing after that he had basically just admitted to his Milo that pre-Winston, Rio had a crush on the guy. “Not that I ever had a crush! Unless it was super obvious. But even if it was, please for the love of god forget that this last part ever happened.” Jesus. 

Endeared by Orion’s explanation, Milo made a mental note. Maybe he couldn’t tell his friend everything, but it would be nice having somebody he could confide in about certain struggles, even if he did need to be somewhat vague about them. “Maybe, one day…” He offered Rio a warm smile, making it very clear that he meant what he was saying. He wanted to, it just wasn’t quite that easy. Glad of the subject change, he focused on the conversation, thinking back on whether he had ever taken in the name of the artist. “Oh, Cheung is awesome! Whenever I want to imagine what a character would look like for real, I go to his work.” Laughing when Orion mentioned talking endlessly about the Young Avengers, he tried to convey with his expression just how much he enjoyed that fact. It was never an annoyance, hearing someone speak so passionately about the thing they loved. “Definitely not. You could never annoy me.” He insisted, not trusting Orion to accept the sentiment. “See, I’m more of a Jekyll and Hyde kind of guy, maybe that’s why I’m drawn to the Hulk. It’s one of my all time favourite tropes, you know?” Maybe if he took the time to dissect why, he could talk about how he related to the internal struggle, the constant battle between desire and a need to be in control. But that struggle had become much more real to him recently, and he wasn’t sure he was ready to talk about it. If he was being entirely honest with himself, he had never been ready to talk about such a personal observation.

“Oh no, it’s too late. It’s gone to my head.” He continued to tease. Raising his eyebrows, he wasn’t expecting the invitation, but he was incredibly grateful to receive it. Any relationships he had cherished before being turned had basically been burned to the ground. He wasn’t sure how to navigate them now. This was a welcome reminder that it was possible, that he could still have friends. Distracted by the blush creeping to Orion’s cheeks, it was the first time since approaching him that he considered the blood coursing through his veins. His skin was flushed, he could hear his heartbeat. It was difficult to ground himself, but he managed. Turning his head away from the direction the wind was blowing, he made an active effort to avoid his scent. As quickly as he had begun to feel normal, any semblance of normalcy was stolen from him. But he refused to get caught up in bitterness, not when he was so close to reclaiming a piece of his old life. Taking a hesitant step backwards, he attempted to frame the movement as casual, carefully fixing a grin back into place. He was genuinely amused by what he was hearing, everything was just so difficult. “Maybe not super obvious.” He assured his company. “But my colleagues might have pointed it out to me.” It was his turn to hold up his hands, more than willing to grant the request. “Already forgotten. And I would seriously love to. It’s been a while since I’ve done anything. I mean, even this is just… a relief. I guess that sounds dumb. I just- I really fucking missed this.” 

Though the conversation was sidelined, Orion grinned at the thought that there was more to Milo’s story. A book that hadn’t completely closed. Rio wasn’t sure that there was a friendship outside of Towers. That it was just a worker passing his workday by humoring the awkward gay kid with a crush on him. Rio was thrilled to learn that was not the case. Or not entirely at least. So the conversation about his mysterious weird experience would be shelved for another time. “I’m so glad that we agree on Jim Cheung’s superiority. I would have given anything to be like Kate Bishop. She was like, the coolest comic book character ever.” He spent a lot of time wishing he was more like Kate Bishop, though her entire character’s premise didn’t fit perfectly. The imperfect family, sure. But Kate’s entire strength was that she was the only non-powered person on an otherwise super team, temporary status of Eli Bradley notwithstanding. Rio’s own super abilities, wanted or not, sort of ruined that desire. He still wished he was as confident as she was. “Ooh! Yes that’s a fascinating trope! Fun fact, Robert Louis Stevenson was actually inspired to write the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde while he was trying to work on a play about an actual person named William Brodie. Apparently this guy, William was like a big figure in his town. City council and all that jazz, but ended up being outed as a thief. Robert was fascinated by how someone who had such a clean public image could do such terrible things.” Rio was partly staring up at the sky now as he rambled on about the history of a book that was already a couple hundred years old. He could tell that the rain was about to start. Compliments of the super senses he couldn’t forget about. “Sorry I uh- get passionate about random history things.” 

Rio tried to fake a serious tone, but he couldn’t stop laughing. “Oh god, I created a monster. You’re never going to let that go are you? You know, I’m sure there’s plenty of other employees at Towers that I could go and annoy.” As much as Rio was enjoying the positive energy, he couldn’t help his face from heating up at openly talking about his old crush. “Oh god. You said that way too nicely. It was definitely super obvious.” Rio sighed. His face was on fire now, and he could only imagine the bright shade of red his cheeks must be. “Thank you for taking pity on me. Because I desperately need this too. I’m very tired of sitting in my house doing nothing all day.” 

“Kate Bishop, huh?” Milo echoed. He had definitely heard Orion talk about her before but hearing about his favourite characters always intrigued him. He had such a way of explaining himself, he could say the same sentence over and over and Milo was fairly certain he would listen regardless. “Poor Barton, just brushed to the side.” He teased, his eyes shining. He didn’t know an awful lot about Kate and her backstory, but more than once he had been flicking through a comic book, only to stumble upon a mention of trying to please an emotionally distant father. Boy, did he know what that felt like. His father hadn’t been absent. In fact, he had many memories of playing catch as a child, of being read bedtime stories, and baking on the days designed for them both to spend time together. But Oliver Summers had never talked about his feelings, and had always made his expectations incredibly clear. The moment his son was able to read on his own, he was expected to. The moment he was able to study on his own, he was expected to. The moment he could fend for himself, cook his own meals, do his own research, he was expected to. It was academia, and independence above all else. And now that he was officially off the rails, he had grown all too familiar with his stern disappointment, shame and frustration often simmering below his carefully arranged expression. “Bishop is pretty cool though, I’ll allow it.” Falling silent again, he recognised the look on Orion’s face and knew he was about to learn something. At the very least, hear about something interesting.  

He could vaguely remember covering the topic at university, but he had been in and out of his classes. Incredibly unreliable, and incredibly not sober. Which made the information feel fresh, and exciting. “Don’t apologise for being passionate.” He hated to think anybody ever made Orion feel bad for sharing the subjects he enjoyed, even if that person was Orion himself. “People are complicated… it’s fascinating, really. I guess you never really know a person’s motivations. Not unless they outright break them down for you.” Grinning suddenly at the choice of phrase, the irony wasn’t lost on him. They were talking about monsters within literature, but hadn’t he also kind of already become one in real life? He would usually wallow in that, but with Orion it felt easy to see the humour. “Maybe you have.” He admitted, mischief lacing his tone. “And no, I am definitely not. You’ve already confirmed I’m the most interesting employee, so if you want to go and bore yourself with the others then I guess I can’t really stop you.” It was impossible not to notice how flushed Orion was, his skin pink with embarrassment as a quiet sigh escaped him. But there was just enough distance between them both for his friend not to feel like a temptation. The last thing he would ever want to do is hurt somebody he cared about. “I’m not taking pity on you, moron. I want to hang out.” He insisted. “And not many people describe me as nice, so I’ll take it. Thank you for the compliment.” He felt guilty for being pleased to hear Orion spent so much of his time alone, but it only justified his decision. He could spend more time with Orion because Orion wanted company. And, Vampire or not, where was the harm in that? 

Orion only shrugged in response to Milo's question about Barton, “Hey Kate said it best herself when she called herself the better Hawkeye. She wouldn’t lie.” The first drop of rain hit against Rio’s forehead. It ran down his face, a welcome drop of cold against the burning skin. He could just barely hair the sounds of droplets hitting against the pavement now. It didn’t seem like it would start pouring right away, but the rain would probably only get heavier from here. In preparation, Rio slid his bag off of his back and opened it, revealing even more books stuff inside. It was a tight squeeze trying to get the books previously held under his arm in. He was just barely able to zip the bag up. It wasn’t a permanent solution, but it would protect against the lighter rain until the conversation with Milo faded. Rio wasn’t in much of a rush to leave right now.  

“Right. Sorry. I’ve been told I over apologize too. Example A, two seconds ago.” Rio had found a decent group of people that had embraced or encouraged his sometimes overbearing passion for history, but each time still came as a surprise. He was used to passive annoyance. A feigned interest in the topic before all too intentionally taking an opportunity to change the subject. But he finally knew people that didn’t do that. He really liked those people. He was just glad Milo was one of those people. “No. Not at all. People always surprise you.” Rio agreed a little too aggressively, eyebrows rising in unison with his emphasis. Hunters were a perfect example of this. Trained to kill, taught to blend in. Some were just better at it than others. “I’m totally going to regret telling you that” Rio rolled his eyes and wiped away at the stream of water running down his face from the rain. “Okay, okay. You don’t have to get all defensive about it. We’ll hang out then. I’m looking forward to it!”  

Milo laughed, he couldn’t really argue with Kate Bishop herself. And though he hadn’t actually read very many of the Hawkeye comics, it was clear Orion knew what he was talking about. “Okay, okay, you win. Kate is the best Hawkeye.” He surrendered, feeling the first drops of rain begin to hit his skin. Glancing up at the night sky, the clouds were dark, and thick. The water was as cool as the night air, and it was a welcome sensation, but he had a suspicion it might be the start of a downpour. He knew it was unfair, expecting Orion to feel the same way about the weather, but he didn’t want to leave just yet. He watched patiently as his friend did his best to save his books, wincing a little as he considered just how heavy his bag must be. “Are you apologising for apologising?” He asked, raising his eyebrows with a quiet smile. “Come on, which way were you walking?” He readied himself to start moving again, absentmindedly brushing down his hoodie before forcing his hands into his pockets. “Let’s get you out of the rain, I refuse to be responsible for your shit getting ruined, and it’s getting cold.”

Waiting to be given a direction, he mulled over what Rio was telling him. As far as he was concerned, he had always been incredibly predictable. His parents always knew how and when he was next going to screw up. As a Human, when he disappeared, Dani always, always knew how to find him. “Maybe some people.” He said finally. “I don’t think I’ve ever surprised anyone.” Offering an easy grin, he hoped his warm expression might be enough to take back the insult, he so often forgot not everybody was used to his humour. It wasn’t as though he could call people names while he was working, and he had only ever spoken to Orion at work. “You won’t regret it, don’t worry. I’m not that mean. And an insult from me is a compliment, I swear. I didn’t mean anything by it, I’m just excited-” It felt ridiculous to admit, but it was undeniably true. “I haven’t had anyone to talk to in a while, so…” Anyone regular, anyway. “It’s good to see you. I mean it, Rio...” 

“It was barely even a fair fight. Hawkguy never stood a chance.” Orion laughed. Talking about stuff like this was one of the few times he seemed to excel, or at the very least accomplish, at normal conversation. He missed being able to just talk and laugh and even joke without spending the entire conversation constantly second guessing every single word before he even said them. “That’s uh- Kate starts calling him that when they start working together. Since they’re both Hawkeye.” Rio picked the bag up and swung it back over his shoulder with relative ease, tucking his arms through the straps. “I’m pleading the fifth on that one.” Rio shrugged, but began walking with Milo. He wasn’t sure why Milo thought he needed an escort to his car parked around the corner of the library, but he assumed that it was probably the same reason that everybody assumed Rio needed an escort or a protein shake or regular exercise. But like with most hunters, even Rio was an example of how looks could be deceiving. Most people didn’t peg the sickly looking gay frail kid as the one that could rip a car door off. “For the record, it’s not your fault at all. I’ve been doing a great job ruining my… stuff all on my own.” 

Walking towards his car, Rio spun and walked backwards to look at Milo. He wasn’t sure what Milo meant by that. That he had never surprised anyone. He supposed it could have just been an offhand comment that didn’t require much digging into. But something about it seemed incredibly sad. Rio started to consider his own stakes on the word. In a way, Rio had tried his whole life to be as unsurprising as possible. He had wanted to blend in, be a good person and fly mostly under the radar. He supposed that same tactic would backfire though. It was only more surprising when someone found out he was a hunter now. “You surprised me like twenty minutes ago. Like genuinely scared the crap out of me. Not that that’s super hard to do.” Rio laughed, but hoped it helped at least a minimal amount, “I’m honestly surprised you even like, came up and talked to me tonight. So there you go. First time for everything.” Rio’s foot caught on something on the ground and he almost tripped, stumbling backwards a few times before righting himself. That’s what he got for trying to walk backwards and talk. They got to the mostly empty parking lot and Rio lead Milo to his car, “Welp. Here we go. I uh- yeah. Same here. I could use a friend right now so…” Rio pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it over to Milo, “Want to put your number in? So we can plan a hang out. Or text or whatever.”  

Milo smiled, listening to Orion as he continued to talk about Kate Bishop, and Clint Barton. It was obvious to anyone how his demeanour changed when he was talking about something that he genuinely loved, and he sincerely hoped he wasn’t the only person to appreciate that. “Maybe I should make more of an effort to get into Hawkeye.” He admitted. When… if he was allowed back to the comic book store, it would be the first thing on his to-do list. “Wouldn’t it be easier to take up a new mantle at that point?” He asked, trying to imagine working with somebody else named Milo without things descending into confusion. It didn’t go unnoticed just how easily Orion swung the bag over his shoulder, but he chose not to comment. He wasn’t about to embarrass him, not after his admission. Maybe he was right, maybe people really did have a way of surprising you. His smile faltering momentarily, he had a feeling there was a lot more to the words than Rio was letting on, though he brushed them off. If he wanted to elaborate then he would. “Exactly, so you don’t need my help.”  

Following his friend to where he could only assume his car was parked, he moved slowly, allowing Orion to face him walking backwards. The rain was falling with a little more persistence, but there was nowhere near enough water to soak them through. Pushing his damp hair back away from his face, he caught Rio’s eye with an easy laugh, oddly touched by the sentiment. “I guess that’s true, you know… I can’t argue with you on that one.” It wasn’t quite the same, but it felt like enough. “I do like you.” He insisted. “I’d jump at any excuse to talk to you, you don’t know how boring my shifts used to be when you didn’t show up to see me.” His step faltering as Orion stumbled backwards, the boy righted himself before he even had the chance to fully react. “If you were hoping I was going to catch you and sweep you off of your feet, you need to be a good 2 yards closer.” He teased, as they finally came to a halt in the near-empty parking lot. Accepting the phone gratefully, he hurried to plug in his number. Mainly in an attempt to keep the device out of the rain, but also because it felt good to have a contact, he wanted Orion to have a way of reaching him. Handing it back, he pulled his carton of cigarettes from his pocket, ready to light one for the begrudging walk home. Harsh was probably wondering where he was. “I guess, I’ll- uh… I’ll see you around then?” 

Orion had often wondered that same thing about the Hawkeye issue. Though he supposed it did change a bit depending on how far someone dived into the character. “Great question. I actually think in some of the comics that Kate Bishop sort of drops the hawkeye name because she becomes a private detective instead. It’s a whole thing. But regardless, I’m interested in getting your thoughts on it!” He was mostly excited to have someone to talk comic books with again. 

There had been a surprising amount of honesty and sentiment in what had otherwise been a fairly comical conversation. With how bold Milo was being in his statements, Rio found it hard to focus. As the conversation about comics died down, so did Rio’s ability to talk apparently. But he had to try to force himself to not reverse back into his old habits. He wanted to be actual friends with Milo now. Not just a customer with a crush. “Uh-” Rio drug the word out for far too long before snapping back to focus, “Thanks. Same to you.” At least the cold air would help fight any further blushing. “Very funny, Milo. I am not that person anymore! I’m just a clumsy comic book nerd. Not a clumsy- uh- crushing comic book nerd.” Yikes. That wasn’t as smooth as he was hoping it would sound. “Anyways. Thanks again.” Rio said, opening his car door and tossing the bag of books across the center console and into the passenger seat. He was about to pull himself into the car when he turned back around. “It’s only going to rain harder. Probably, I mean. Do you have a car? If not I can give you a lift?” 

“I guess I have some reading to do.” Milo was becoming more determined by the second to pick up the Hawkeye comics. It wasn’t the first time Orion had managed to convince him to start a new series. “I can’t promise I’ll have anything interesting to say though. You’re way better at talking about this shit than I am.” Grinning as he waited for his friend to find his words, he hadn’t been expecting a joke about his crush. “Eh, two out of three aint bad.” He teased. “Though I am offended you got over me so quickly.” He added, the look on his face making it very clear he wasn’t being serious. He wanted to ask why he was being thanked, surely not for the compliments, but he didn’t want to draw attention to any potential lack of self esteem. That hardly seemed fair, and he could make it clear he genuinely enjoyed Orion’s company in other ways. It made him happy to think there would be opportunities in the future to spend time with him.  

Caught off guard by the sudden offer, he shifted awkwardly on the spot. He hadn’t been in a car since becoming a vampire, and it definitely didn’t feel smart to get in one now. Especially not with a human, somebody whose heart was beating, pumping blood through their veins that he could smell, even from where he was standing. “No,” he murmured finally, his voice melancholy as he remembered just how much he could no longer do. He had spent the better part of the past seven years saying yes to absolutely everything, taking risks without considering the consequences, walking headfirst into danger because if he told himself things would be fine then it became all too easy to believe. Now… for the first time in his life, he was being forced to think, to contemplate every action before making a decision. It went against every instinct he had, it wasn’t in his nature. But it was necessary to keep other people safe.  

“No, I’ll be okay. I’m not staying too far from here…” He absentmindedly sparked up his cigarette, needing something to do with his hands. “Thank you though.” Shooting Orion one last smile, he held his gaze, needing him to understand his sincerity. “It really was good to see you. Text me.” The moment the words left his mouth, he turned away. Before Orion could call out to him, or tell him to get in the car. Before he could change his mind and put anybody at risk. Before he could think too deeply on his new limitations, and what it felt like to say no. To have no choice. So much had been taken away from him, and wallowing in that fact had become a past time. Though, he realised, with a strange sense of clarity, he may have just gained a friend. It was this thought that carrying him, as he left Orion in the parking lot. This thought making the night feel a little less dark as he disappeared into the shadows.