#.....okay i did just remember how he dealt with the other half of the situation but the Hallowrove part at least he dealt with well hdhfhfhs

[theramblingvoid]

Number 6, for Hallowrove!

Okay this is the fun one I'd hoped someone would pick because the thing is it's happened so many times in canon already that there's just NO question about the answer

Hallowrove's List Of Who She'd Go To If Badly Injured, by preference:

- Fluorine Scaleflats, a Rubbery friend with a great skill and interest in Shapeling Arts who can be relied on to piece her back together in (mostly) (if asked nicely) the right order

- Haarsink, who also knows shapeling arts and can probably apply them in a much less biologically creative manner in a medical setting, but is second on the list because showing up bleeding at his place would stress him the hell out (ask me how I know lol)

- Oversol, who although being a deeply trusted safe place to go has no particular medical knowledge or skills and will probably just call a very expensive doctor and/or pick Hallowrove up and sprint her to a hospital, while being VERY stressed either way

Hallowrove's List Of Who He'd Go To If Badly Injured, by what inevitably actually ends up happening:

- Oversol

- Haarsink that one time

- But other than that it's always Oversol

- Good lord Hallowrove you are going to put this poor man into heart failure we have got to stop letting this happen so often -

[simpleeindulge]

An Itch to Scratch🔞

Info: fem/reader x Zoro, MDNI, Mature, implied masturbation, cunnilingus, vaginal intercourse, cock warming, enough plot to get to the point🔞

Context: You and Zoro have the same issue and come to the same conclusion.

The feeling was both unbearable and embarrassing. The unique situation made Y/N wonder if this is how Sanji felt most of the time when Nami gave him the cold shoulder. Why it was worse now, she couldn't guess, but she needed a release.

The two faithful toys Y/N kept clean and ready failed right when she was about to peak. The first toy just took forever, and the second was only half-charged and died right at her peak. Y/N wanted to scream at the loss of sensation and flung her toy at the wall.

"Useless!" She cried as she picked up the broken toy and dumped it in the trash. Y/N then went to the ship's bathing room for a long shower at full power.

This is hell, pure hell, Zoro thought as he scratched his scalp red.

He couldn't explain what was going on with him. His usually trained body was not cooperating with him. 'The Need', as he referred it to himself, had appeared that morning. He dealt with it as usual, like an adult, whenever 'The Need' arrived.

Only this time, it wouldn't go away. Oh, he would get his release, but not even two hours later, 'The Need' would be back, stronger than ever. Zoro couldn't explain it. Not even when he was a teenager did he need to jerk off this much. After jerk-off number three, Zoro ignored the 'The Need' when it appeared an hour later.

Training, just think of it like training. A form of self-discipline.

He then hissed as his hard, throbbing cock rubbed against the fabric of his pants the wrong way as he walked to the bathhouse on the ship. Maybe nearly drowning in a tub of ice water would make this torture stop.

Zoro had just turned a corner when Y/N nearly crashed into him.

"Oh! Sorry," She said, sounding moody.

Zoro noted her wet hair and flushed skin. Worse, he could smell the soap she used mixed with her own scent. Zoro heard himself swallow and covered his face to keep from inhaling more of her alluring amora.

"Are you alright, Zoro?"

"Fine." He replied gruffly.

Y/N sighed and was about to leave when a thought occurred to her. She grabbed Zoro by the opening of his robe and dragged him with her.

“Hey! What-”

Zoro stopped his protest as he studied Y/n's body. She was tense in her back and shoulders as if something was weighing her down. If she had just taken a shower, shouldn't it have gone away?

Maybe she had a problem, he thought, and hoped it would be enough to distract him from his issue if she was planning to tell him. He let Y/n take him to a storage closet and waited for her to talk.

“Do you remember that conversation we had at the bar about four weeks ago?”

Zoro glanced up and hummed as he thought about what she was asking. He made an annoyed sound when the memory wouldn't come to him.

“That's okay, you will in a second. Zoro, I need you to have sex with me.”

His dark eye widened, and just as Y/n said, the conversation came back to him in a flash. It started with Sanji chasing after a busty barmaid and ended with breakfast being late the following day.

Zoro had made some comment that Y/N overheard. Somehow, the pair made a pack to come to each other if they needed relief. But that was supposed to be a joke, right?

The hard cock in his pants didn't care if it was a joke or not and throbbed at the offer.

“Huh?!” Zoro said as his dick screamed at him to shut-up and take Y/n’s offer.

“Look, I wouldn't ask you this if I wasn't desperate. I usually can handle this myself, but my body is being a literal bitch to me right now.” Y/n explained as her cheeks flushed with embarrassed heat.

Zoro's face also flushed since he never expected a trusted crewmate to ask him such a thing.

“What do you mean you can’t handle it?!”

“I mean, I've tried and failed. I need something else! I need…” Y/n cut herself off and looked away.

This was a bad idea. Worse, she pulled Zoro into her issue. She respected the swordsman and trusted him, but this was so inappropriate.

Y/n bit her lip and said to him, “Sorry, forget what I said. It was stupid of me to ask.”

She then moved past him with her eyes lowered to the ground. His hand shot out and grabbed her arm.

“If we do this, we keep it to ourselves. And we don't make a habit of it.”

Y/n's head snapped to Zoro. She was ready to say he didn't need to give in to her request or feel obligated to help when Zoro untied his red sash and dropped his robe. God help her; her mouth practically watered at the bulge in Zoro's pants.

“Oh,” She said dumbly. “Wait, how long-?”

“All day,” Zoro huffed as he crossed his arms. “All fucking day.”

It was her turn to swallow as the air around them suddenly thickened. She wanted to move closer to Zoro and feel for herself how hard his cock was under his pants. Instead, she breathed slowly through her nose and out her parted lips. She needed to think. To evaluate the situation.

What I need, her body and brain said in unison, is to put that cock in my-

"Y/N."

Y/N's eyes flicked back up at Zoro. A smooth smirk played at his lips, and why not? He had something she wanted, and they both knew it. She could understand how it would stroke his pride to see how her breathing had changed and how her eyes darkened with lust.

The fact was, she had something he wanted, and Y/N could see the change in him as well.

“Please, Zoro. Just this one time.” She said in a heated whisper.

Fine, Zoro thought as he moved closer to Y/N. He picked her up and sat her on top of a crate. They could be adults about this and fuck like the crazed animals their instincts wanted them to be. Y/n blinked up at him as he pushed up her skirt and pulled down the lace panties.

I should be embarrassed. I should stop this. I should...

Y/N's mind stopped as Zoro dipped his head down, one hand wrapping around his throbbing cock. As he went down, Y/N simultaneously spread her legs and leaned back, careful not to topple over, but the crate was long enough to accommodate her.

Zoro released a long, appraising breath that made Y/N shiver and close her eyes.

"What a needy woman you are, Y/N. You're already wet." Zoro's voice rumbled.

Y/N cried out as she felt a smooth, wet tongue slide up her folds and flick at her clit. She squirmed on the crate and tried to close her legs as more of a reaction then a rejection.

Zoro slapped his hands on her inner thighs, making Y/N yelp in surprise. Zoro forced her bent legs down in a frog-like position to open her up completely to him.

He grinned up at her.

"I doubt it'll solve your problem, but I want to give this a try."

Y/N's breath stuttered, and then, her head was whipped back as Zoro dug on in. She wondered where he had learned. Her second thought was being grateful she had bathed. The last was purely worshiping her new god, Zoro's tongue.

"Fuck...Oh...fuck...Zoro..."

Zoro chuckled into her as he licked and sucked, added his fingers to throw her off, or when she dared to mention "god" in the mix. He edged her close, to the very fucking edge and then pulled away. The near-angry/desperate scream she made had him laughing and smirking down at her.

"ZORO! THE FUCK!"

"Easy there, pussy cat." He grinned as he moved over her, his cock in hand. "We're doing this together."

Y/N huffed as she panted. Her eyes were blown with lust, and her cheeks flushed as she gave him an impatient look. He chuckled again and rubbed the round head over her clit, then pressed it against her folds.

She hated the needy whimper that left her, but dammit, she needed to come already!

"Zoro...Please..."

The smirk was gone as Zoro felt a bead of sweat running down his near his ear and neck. He wasn't inside her yet, but he knew she would be warm and snug. Just one thrust and things would change between them.

"Y/N, you sure-"

"Yes! Please, god damn you! Hurry up before I dry up and go to Sanji-"

The cook's name was barely out of her mouth when Zoro pulled her closer and bucked his hip. The feeling was painful and delicious as her eyes rolled back and her body arched.

"OH! Fu-"

"You deserved that; I hope you know that."

Y/N laughed and smirked at Zoro, "Yeah, I do. But worth it."

"You brat."

Zoro then did something Y/N didn't expect, he kissed her. She accepted the kiss as her arms and legs went around him. What followed was 20 minutes of mind-blowing rutting.

Zoro wanted longer, but she was too wet and hot for him not to lose it just 6 minutes in! Worse, he had a feeling this wasn't going to be a one-time thing.

He held Y/N's wrist down as he let his world crumble as she squeezed the life out of him as she came. The sweet mewling sounds Y/N made his ego roar as his cock twitched side her.

His sweat-covered forehead rested on the crook of her neck, and he breathed in her sweet-smelling skin. Finally, his body felt satisfied enough not to bother him for a while, and he yawned as he felt ready to nap.

"Did you just yawn?" Y/N giggled as she pushed against him, but his body refused to budge.

"Need to nap," Zoro simply grunted as he wrapped his arms around her soft body.

"Zoro, your cock is still in me."

"Leave it. It's not hurting you."

"That's not the point. Zoro, get-"

Zoro then snored, and Y/n sighed as she wondered how long of a nap he would need before he let her go. She then yawned and prayed that her back wouldn't be sore later as she fell asleep under him, feeling satisfied at last.

[annab-nana]

This one is just from me.

Stargazing with Eddie from his van (or like on top of the hood off his van) while Eddie is still on the run from season 4🥺 and them just being soft and shit🥺

this idea sounds so cute, but i think i made it more bittersweet than i intended, whoops

warnings: not proofread, mentions of drugs/drug dealing

❀ masterlist ❀

you weren't proud of your past, but with the cards you had been dealt in life, you weren't left with many options. though, the words drug dealer were still thrown in your face by those with nothing better to do with their lives—carol perkins and her posse—it wasn't something you had done in ages. for you, it was only a way to make ends meet until you could find something better. however, that time of your life did give you something good.

eddie.

before him, you had never met someone you connected with so instantly. you weren't a believer of soulmates or that there was someone out there that was your other half until you met him. he understood you so effortlessly. he matched you perfectly. he was everything you had ever hoped for and more. he had always been there for you and now it was your turn to be there for him.

since the whole town was looking for eddie, you were also on their radar. luckily, you knew how to hide in the shadows and slip through without being noticed when you went to rick's. this was the only time you were happy that you ever delved into dealing. you'd never felt relief like you did when you saw eddie's van hidden in the forest near rick's.

your head rested against his shoulder as his arm curved around you to hold you close. ever since you showed up, he hadn't let you go. you soaked up the peace you had with him now. it was just you and him on the hood of his van, staring up at the stars. crickets and frogs sounded through the woods. tree branches moved with the wind. eddie's heartbeat and warmth comforted you more than ever. you had never felt so serene.

that was before the nagging thought of the situation you were in came back.

"eddie," you started, a heavy weight in your voice, "what are we goin-"

he cut you off by pulling you on top of him and kissing your lips. when he pulled away, his eyes carried deep sadness and despair in them.

"for tonight, is it okay if we don't talk about it?" he asked softly. "all i want to think about right now is you."

your eyes danced all over his face for a moment before you nodded. with everything that was going on, the least you could be right now was his comfort. you didn't know how much longer you would have to be that for him.

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[jgmartin]

MISTER GALLOWS

[TW: child abuse]

"I don't like him," Liam says, staring a hole into the ground. "Mister Gallows hurt my sister, and he tried to hurt me too."

The kid's young, younger than most subjects I've dealt with. He's witnessed an Event, and not just any Event, a serious one. It's something that could have massive implications. My bosses are calling it a situation, and they're telling me that I need to get his story, and I need to get it quickly because people's lives are on the line.

I'm an Interviewer for an organization known as the Facility. I specialize in working with juveniles who have crossed paths with the supernatural. Liam Hanesworth is one such kid. He's just shy of twelve years old, but he looks worn down. His eyes are framed with heavy bags, and his skin is tight to his cheekbones. He's also missing at least three of his teeth.

"How did he hurt your sister?" I ask. The room we're in is brightly lit, with cartoon animals nailed to the walls and faded imprints of Looney Tunes on the carpet. It's designed to calm kids down.

"He pulled out her teeth."

I write down his words on my clipboard. As I do, I record details about Liam. His expression. His tone of voice. It's all important in some way or another. All of it swims together to build a picture of whether what he's saying is true or false. Sometimes it's both, and the minutia helps determine where reality ends and the lies begin.

"Why did he do it?" I ask.

Liam shrugs, rubbing his arm. It's an expression of discomfort, of nervousness. He's not sure he should be talking so much. He's not sure it's safe to say. "You want to know why he pulled out her teeth?"

"That’s right." I already know Liam’s sister is dead. She’s been dead for several months, so it seems strange that he would fixate on the monster pulling out her teeth, as opposed to the murder. “Do you know why?”

He shakes his head. There's something there, though, in his eyes. There's something that says he isn't telling me the full story, so I press him. "Does he ever talk to you, Liam, this Mister Gallows?"

He nods. He still won't look at me, but that's okay. Kids are nervous at the best of times. After what he's been through, I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't look another person in the eye for years.

"What does he say when he speaks to you?"

Liam opens his mouth. His lips are pale, and they tremble. "He tells me I can't talk about him."

"It's okay," I say. "I'm one of the good guys." I pull out my badge, with the howling wolf inlaid in gold, and I show it to him. "See? I'm like a police officer, except for kids dealing with scary things. I can make that stuff go away."

It's a line I've used a hundred times before. I'm not sure it's ever worked.

"I'm not a kid," Liam says, folding his arms. "I'm almost twelve, and I don't think anybody can make him go away."

Liam's smart for his age. Top of his class. According to my preliminary research and the discussion I had with his father, he's never felt at home around other children. 'They bore him,' his father said.

"What if I can make Mister Gallows go away, though?" I lean back in my chair, and its legs creak under my weight. "Don't you think that's worth a shot?"

There's a moment of silence between us, and I let it stretch into eons. Time works differently for kids. It feels longer. More tiresome. Soon enough, it stretches on long enough that it wears on Liam too.

"I guess so," he says at length.

"Good," I reply, swallowing my smile of satisfaction. "I'm here to help, remember. It's my job."

He chews his lip for a second, and behind his mop of black hair, I catch sight of him glancing at me. "Okay," he says. "I just want him to leave me alone."

"Me too." I run my pencil down the sheet on my clipboard, pausing under the heading that reads ORIGIN APPARATUS. "When did all of this begin?"

"A year ago… pretty much. I was ten and a half."

"That's a long time for a young man. How often does he visit?"

"Lots. Almost every night."

Almost. I make specific note of that term. It's a throw-away line, but one potentially valuable. "The first time he visited you, what happened?"

"I was sleeping," Liam says. His hands are tugging at the strings of his hoodie, and he's staring at a smiling ostrich on the wall. "It was winter. I remember feeling really cold. I had all of my blankets on, but I was still shivering. I got up to turn on the heat, and I noticed my window was open."

I nod along with his words, my pencil scribbling across the form. The cold could have been a ghost or a spirit, but the open window is the more likely culprit. I try not to cast judgment quite yet. After all, my bosses seem to think this kid is the genuine article, and his mutilated mother does a good job supporting that.

Still, I didn't get this far by cutting corners. "Did you leave it open when you went to bed?" I ask.

"I don't think so."

I make a note on my clipboard. "Please continue."

"I walk over to close it," Liam says, and his voice starts to stutter and die. "… And I see something on the other side. Somebody's out there, watching me, far away by the fence."

"Is your bedroom on the ground level?"

"The house is just the one floor," he explains. "My bedroom faces the backyard, and I see a man out there, just past the garden. He's waving at me."

"Waving at you?"

"Yeah, just like this." Liam raises his hand and slowly moves it side to side. His expression is deadpan, and his lips are twitching. "It makes me uncomfortable, so I go to lock the window, and then the man shuffles forward a bit. I realize there's something weird about him. It's dark, so it's hard to see, but it looks like he's hunched over on all fours."

"Like a dog?"

"Yeah. As he shuffles forward, he calls out to me. He tells me to wait. 'Don't close the window,' he says. 'I have something for you. Then, I want something for me.'"

Something moves across Liam's face. Disgust, maybe? Self-loathing? It's quick, whatever it is.

"I listen to him," Liam continues. "I don't know why. I think it's because I realize he isn’t human, or maybe I'm in shock. All I know is closing the window feels pointless now. It feels like it's more likely to piss the thing off and make it want to come in even more."

I listen to Liam's words intently. His story is compelling enough, but his vocabulary is more impressive by far. It's no wonder the kid skipped a grade.

"Understandable," I tell him. "What happened next?"

Liam squirms in his seat. "As he gets closer to the window, he reaches out a long, skeletal hand. There's blood on his boney fingers, and now that he's only a few feet away, I notice he's wearing this burlap sack over his head, with a little hole cut out for his mouth. Except his mouth doesn't have any teeth. He tells me he's hungry. He says he really needs something to eat.

"I'm scared. I've never seen anything like this before, and I don't know what to do, so I tell him I need to ask my mom. I tell him we have some leftover turkey in the fridge, and that I'll be right back." Liam pauses, and it's like his world is falling around him. His eyes are bloodshot, and I wonder when he last blinked.

"The man grabs me by my arm, and it hurts. He tells me my mom doesn't need to know. He says he came to my window for a reason. He pulls me closer, and his grip really hurts, and when he whispers in my ear, it aches. It feels like it's cutting the inside of me. He says I'm special."

My eyes glance up to the camera in the corner of the room, and I raise an eyebrow. I know my supervisors are watching. "Special?" I repeat. "Why?"

Liam shakes his head. He's back to tugging at the strings of his hoodie. "I don't know. He asks me again if he can come in, and I tell him I have to ask my mom, but at this point, I'm not planning to ask her anything. I'm just going to tell her there's a psycho out there, and we need to call dad and the police and wake the neighborhood up.

"He tells me if I don't invite him inside, though, he's going to add my blood to his hands. Then he runs a finger across my cheek, and it's cold, searing cold. He asks me if he can come inside again. He says he's hungry, and he just wants a bite to eat, and then he'll leave. 'Promise,' he says."

Liam takes a shuddering breath. His eyes are closed. The smiling animals aren't working anymore-- if they ever did. He's alone with his thoughts now. They're tearing at him, picking away at his mental state, and in his expression, I see the grimaces of grief and regret.

"You aren't to blame for this," I remind him. "What happened was going to happen whether you were there or not."

When he opens his eyes, they're soaked with tears. "No, it wasn't!" he snaps. "It happened because I let him in. It happened because I told him he could get something to eat."

I open my mouth and realize there's nothing to say. There are no words that will take away this boy's pain, so instead, I look back to my clipboard. I busy myself writing down the details of the man's request and the boy's reaction. When I'm finished, I have to ask him to continue. I hate myself for it. I always do.

He does.

"I tell him he can come inside, but he needs to be quick. I tell him not to steal anything, either." He shakes his head. There's doubt in his eyes; disbelief. "I thought he was telling the truth. I didn't think…" His words are lost in sobs. “I thought he would leave.”

"It's fine," I say in a soothing voice. I reach out a hand to touch his knee, to comfort him, but he winces, so I pull my hand back. "You're safe now."

"She's not," he says. "She's not, and she'll never be safe again!”

I take a breath. It's hard, these interviews. They always are. Children are supposed to be the pieces of the world that are pure and untouched by the horror that humanity perpetuates. They're meant to be idyllic. Fantastical.

Too often, they're not. "I'm sorry to interrupt," I say. "Go on."

Liam's sobs taper off into a frown and then a snarl. Rage replaces despair. "That's when he told me his name: Mister Gallows. He tipped his top hat to me, and said 'Nice to meet ya,' and then he crawled up through the window."

Liam reaches up a hand, wiping away the evidence of tears. "It was gross looking. His bones were snapping and twisting as he hunched over, lurching through the opening. The window’s not that big. Maybe large enough for me to fit through, or another twelve-year-old, but not a full-grown man, and Mister Gallows was much bigger than anybody I'd ever seen."

"Mister Gallows," I mutter, staring at the name on the sheet. It's not an entity I'm familiar with. My preliminary research didn't come up with any leads either. Whoever this legend was in life, he certainly didn't make much of a name for himself. Once more, I raise an eyebrow to the cameras and my supervisors watching from the other room. I wonder why this Event is so important to them.

"How tall was he?" I ask.

"Tall enough that even on all fours, his back scraped along the ceiling. He had to crane his neck down to look at me, and I could just barely see his eyes through the burlap sack he wore over his face. He asked me to show him to the kitchen.

"So I did. I walked him to the fridge and opened it, and when the light came on, I saw Mister Gallows was wearing this old, raggedy suit that looked like something from the 1800s, covered in dust and moth holes. My hands shook as I pulled out the leftover turkey, but Gallow’s didn’t notice. He was too busy humming. It sounded like an old song, a really old one. I don't remember the tune.” Liam pauses before adding, “I'm sorry."

"That’s fine,” I say, jotting it down onto the clipboard. “These are interesting details.” The intense cold, antique apparel, and out of date song certainly lead me to believe we're dealing with a ghost. "Is the food to his liking?"

Liam shrugs. He looks uncomfortable again. He's shaking. Shivering. There's something about him that's different, like he's having some kind of reaction. "Are you feeling alright?" I ask.

He nods furiously. "Yes, I feel fine. I um– I give him the plate of turkey, and the man asks me how he's supposed to eat it. I tell him I don’t know, can’t you just swallow it? He snarls, clacking over the kitchen tile and putting his face right next to mine. He tells me there's more room for blood on his fingers, lots more.

"I'm whimpering, and I tell him I don't know what he wants. He tells me he wants some teeth so he can eat. He opens his mouth and shows me his empty gums, swishing his tongue around some. Then he reaches up a hand and forces my mouth open. 'You've got a nice set,' he says.

"I���m starting to panic. My legs feel wobbly, and my head is spinning. I think maybe if I change the subject, I can bide my time long enough for my mom to wake up, and then she’ll see what’s going on and call the cops or dad. I don't want to scream, though, or be too obvious, because I think this guy– this creature doesn't have any qualms about murder. So I keep my mouth shut, mostly. I stick to safe topics."

"Like what?" I ask.

"Like what he had for me."

Ah, yes. ‘I have something for you. Then, I want something for me.’ They were among the first words Mister Gallows spoke to the boy; a bargain, one innocent enough.

Of course, to entities like Gallows, such deals are usually deceptions or a means to an end. They allow the creature to broker for horrors too terrible to put into words.

“What did he have for you, Liam?”

Tears slip down the boy's gaunt face. He raises a sweater sleeve, wiping them away before sniffling. “He had a message.” Liam’s nose is running, and he looks sickly. Unwell. “He said it was from somebody he never wanted to meet.”

How curious. "What was the message?"

"Just some words." Liam’s eyes stare at the floor, and he crumples into a ball of hoodie and jeans. He wipes his runny nose on his knees and makes himself small. “I um, I didn’t understand them.”

Some words. I let that roll around in my head for a while. It doesn't mean much now, but when you've been doing this job for as many years as I have, you learn pretty quickly that strange words aren't to be dismissed. Words have power.

“Were they in another language?” I ask. “Or were they too quiet to be properly heard?”

“A different language,” Liam says. He’s squirming like crazy now. I’ve scarcely seen a kid look so uncomfortable in my entire career. “Maybe Latin?” He shakes his head. “I only know French.”

“That’s alright. What happens after he says those words?”

“Mister Gallows gets angry. He tells me now that I’ve gotten what I’m owed, he wants what he’s owed. 'I gave something to you,' he says, 'and now I want something for me!’

"I ask him what he wants, but I already know. He opens his toothless mouth, pointing at his gums with a long, skeletal finger. 'I'll take some of these, I think.' He laughs a bit, and tips his tophat again, adding, 'Please and thank you.'

“He crawls up in front of me and pushes me against the wall. ‘Open up,’ he says. I try to keep my mouth closed, but I can’t. He’s too strong, and he forces it open. Then he reaches in and…” Liam gets quiet. His mouth hangs open, and he reaches a hand up, feeling where three of his front teeth should be. “He pulls them out.”

“He just wanted three of your teeth?” I ask.

Moments pass, and Liam’s face looks tortured. His mouth is being pulled in every direction, oscillating between frowns and grimaces, and his eyes are blinking erratically. I nearly call a break to the Interview, but he starts talking before I get the words out.

“He reaches back inside my mouth to pull out more, but the kitchen door opens. It’s my little sister, Lacey. She’s bleary-eyed and yawning, and then her eyes adjust, and she realizes what she’s looking at. She realizes the nightmare she just walked in on.”

Liam swallows. “She screams for mom. In the blink of an eye, Mister Gallows stampedes across the kitchen and wraps a hand around her mouth. 'Shh, little girl,' he says, using his other long arm to pet her hair. Then he puts his face close to hers, and he opens his mouth again, showing those toothless gums. He whispers to her to be quiet. He says as long as she doesn't scream again, he won't kill her."

My pencil flies across the clipboard. This is likely the defining moment of the Event, the moment that Mister Gallows murders Liam’s sister. I keep my ears open and brace for the worst.

"He moves his hand from her mouth,” Liam continues. "Lacey’s silent, and so am I. Part of me is hoping that mom heard Lacey’s scream, but another part of me knows better. I think Lacey does too. Heck, even if dad were home, I doubted it would make a difference. Mister Gallows was too big. We needed a SWAT team.”

I offer a consoling smile. “It’s likely a SWAT team would have been equally ineffective. You did what you could, Liam, with what you had. You didn’t want anybody to get hurt. That’s very brave.”

He looks down. His expression is despondent, but he doesn’t wait for me to prompt him. He keeps talking like I never said a thing.

"Mister Gallows opens Lacy’s mouth. He slips a finger inside of it and feels her teeth. He's looking at her through that burlap sack, and he's mumbling to himself, but I can't make out what he's saying. Eventually, he turns to me and asks, ‘These are new, aren't they?'

"I know he's talking about her teeth. She's a year younger than me, but she's gotten most of her adult teeth by now. He taps on them, and it makes a clicking sound, bone on bone, and then he pulls away. He looks back and says, 'These will do,' and then…"

Liam goes quiet. His body quakes, his eyes bulge. It's like he's trying to contain something, whether it's a furious rage or tumultuous despair. Whatever it is, it's desperate to get out. He doesn't want it to.

"Mom appears in the doorway, wearing her nightgown. All the color is gone from her face. She’s looking from me, with my mouthful of blood and three missing teeth, to the monster standing over Lacey. She snaps, snatching a knife from the kitchen counter, and runs at Mister Gallows.”

I chew on my pencil eraser. It’s a foolish gesture, but one I can understand. As a new mother myself, there’s very little I wouldn’t do to protect my baby. “Your mother attacked Mister Gallows?”

Liam nods. It takes him a while to get the words out, like he’s trying to do it without letting something else slip. I feel for him. It’s difficult for children to keep their emotions in check, particularly when recounting traumatic events.

“She runs at him and starts slashing and hacking at him, screaming at him to let Lacey go or she’ll call the police or the church or the FBI. Mister Gallows grabs her by her hair and smashes her head down on the floor. It hits the linoleum with a thud, and then she gets really still.

"I remember thinking she was dead. Then he picks her up again and smashes her down a second time, and I hear something crack, and blood starts pooling on the floor. Her leg is twitching.”

Liam takes a shuddering breath. I want to reach out and give him a hug, but he’s already responded adversely to being consoled. Instead, I pay him a look of understanding. Talking about these things is probably tearing him apart inside. His mother survived, of course, but she was irreparably damaged.

“Mister Gallows turns back to Lacey. She’s crying and shrieking, and he puts his hand into her mouth, and she starts gagging. He starts pulling out her teeth, jamming them into his gums one by one, humming as he goes.”

Liam leans forward and retches, vomiting onto the floor. Yellow-brown bile splatters my shoes. I shoot up out of my chair, indicating to the cameras that we need a cleanup crew in here and that the Interview is on hold.

Liam hurls again, and more throw-up spews from his mouth. I crouch next to him, placing a hand on his back. "It's okay. It's okay. You're safe." I say the words, but I don't know what they're supposed to do. How do you make a kid feel better after witnessing his mom’s skull split open on the kitchen floor? How does anything make that go away?

I whisper affirmations into his ear for what feels like hours but must have only been minutes. “It’s not your fault,” I say. “You’re a good person.”

A knock on the door interrupts me. I rise, unsure why anybody would be knocking. All employees with access should already have a keycard granting them entry.

"Hello?" I call out.

"Cleanup crew," a muffled voice calls back through the thick steel. "Can you let us in?"

I frown, looking from Liam to the door. I move toward the video communicator on the wall, activating it and seeing two janitorial staff on the other side. One of them holds up a mop in exasperation while the other flashes her ID.

"Our keycard isn't working," she says. "Can you open it on your end?"

Something about the situation unnerves me, but I shake it off. We're in a secured government compound. Facility agents are swarming the premises. We're as safe as can be, so I disengage the manual lock.

The door won't budge.

I try again, repeating the process, making sure I did it correctly—still nothing. I press the communicator. "Sorry," I say. "It looks like this room's malfunctioning. Can we get a tech team down here to look at it? I can't open it manually."

They grumble and turn away, leaving their mop and bucket behind them.

I look back to Liam. The smell of fresh vomit is thick in the air, but my focus is singular, on him and him alone. He said Mister Gallows had visited him almost every night for the past year. That had only been the first day.

"Liam?" I say in a small voice.

He's sitting in the chair, head in his hands, weeping with bits of puke still dripping from his chin.

I take a step forward. "If Mister Gallows gave you his message and then got his teeth, why did he keep coming back?"

Liam looks up, and his eyes are murky. Clouded. "He wanted to say sorry." He lifts a sleeve to his mouth, wiping some of the bile off of his face. "He kept apologizing. 'I'm so sorry, kid,' he'd say. 'I didn't know.' "

“Sorry for what?” I ask. “Killing your sister?”

A howl envelopes the room, and Liam breaks into quaking sobs. The lights in the room flicker. There’s a clatter to the right of me, and I look down and see toy building blocks shifting across the floor. On the wall, the cartoon animals aren’t smiling anymore. They’re slowly melting away.

Liam's face is ugly now, and he's crying as hard as I’ve ever seen. "He didn't know who I was,” he chokes out. “He thought I was just another kid." My heart races as steam hisses from Liam’s eyes, and I realize the tears are evaporating even as they form, dying in the smoldering blaze of his pupils.

A wind picks up in the room, and it tugs at my blouse, whipping about in a gale that tears the posters from the walls and casts toys into a tornado of color. Hands behind me, I stumble backward and try the door again. It won't budge.

I'm trapped.

My eyes drift up to the camera on the ceiling, but the red recording light is off. I'm alone. It's just me now. I take a breath, inhaling the fumes of vomit and sulfur, and I wonder if death is going to be half so bad as all these monsters make it seem.

"Who are you?" I ask, and I'm unable to keep the terror from my voice. “Are you Mister Gallows?” Perhaps the kid is possessed. I’ve seen it before.

"No," Liam whimpers. "I’m a bad person, though. I'm an awful person."

"Why did Mister Gallows--" I'm almost shouting now, as the tempest rocks the entire room. "Why did he feel the need to keep apologizing?" Learning blocks and toy trucks ricochet off the wall, narrowly missing my face.

"He was scared," Liam bawls. "He was scared I would hurt him if he didn't."

"Why?" I scream.

The gale stops. The toys fall with a clatter, and the animals on the wall aren't melting anymore. They’re beaming with the same, fake smiles they’ve always had. My breath heaves in my chest, my legs quiver, and my hair is a mess, but I’m alive. I’m okay.

Liam sits quietly in his plastic chair. He’s staring at Bugs Bunny on the carpet. His small hands are clenched into fists, and whatever fire once burned in his eyes is now extinguished. He’s just a boy again. The broken, trembling boy I promised I would save.

I’m no longer sure I can.

“Liam?” I say, taking a nervous step forward. “Is it okay if we talk?”

He doesn’t say anything, but he nods.

“Why was Mister Gallows afraid of you?” I do my best to maintain a calm tone, but my voice is all over the place. I can barely keep myself from stuttering. “Did it have something to do with what just happened?”

Silence. He’s whimpering again, and his hands are tugging at the strings of his hoodie like his life depends on it. Tears litter the carpet around him. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s okay,” I say, moving closer to him. My legs feel like jello, and my mind’s still untangling itself from what it just witnessed. “I can tell you’re a good person, Liam.”

Liam turns to me, and there’s fear in his features. He closes his eyes, clenches them shut, and he winces in pain. "It's hard," he says. "It gets harder every day."

I take a few more steps forward, and I'm back to my chair. I sit down in it, brushing frizzled hair from my face and taking a deep breath. My eyes snap up to the camera. It's recording again, and I know they're watching. I wonder if they witnessed the scene that just unfolded.

They probably already knew, I decide. They were expecting it.

"Liam," I say, in a careful tone. "Why was Mister Gallows afraid of you?"

His blue eyes appear, one blink at a time. He looks small in his chair, and when he speaks, his words are faint. I barely hear them.

"He’s afraid I'm here to kill him." A smile plays at the corner of his lips, and he grips his face with both hands. Agony fills his eyes, and his next words leave a mark that no response can fill. They crash around me like a carpet bomb. “I’m afraid I’m here to kill all of us.”

Once more, my eyes dart up to the camera. Is this what my supervisors were after? Is this the real Event? Am I the one experiencing it?

"What makes you think that?" I say, and my words are clipped, breathless. Fear has wormed its way into me.

"I'm one of them," Liam says, clutching a fistful of hair. His eyes pulse with blood, and he groans. "They told me so.” His voice strains against something. It's jagged. Sharp. "They told me I was one of them, that I was born to cast the earth into flame and ash."

"Who?"

"Them," he says, raising his eyes to my own. "The Gods Beyond the Veil." He’s different now. He’s not the boy I knew, and I’m not even sure he’s human. There’s a darkness to him, a suffocating, mighty abyss that’s pulling at me, begging me to join it. “The Eldritch,” he says, and his eyes are crackling again with dancing flames.

I want to run. I want to get out of here, but I know better. The only way out is through. “Your sister…” I say, in an uneven voice.

Police had found Lacey Hanesworth in six pieces. Her arm on one side of the house, her leg on the other. The home was a bloodbath. Liam’s mother had witnessed all of it from her wheelchair, and the scene had driven her mad. ‘A monster,’ she had repeated. ‘A monster killed my baby.’

“Did Mister Gallows kill her?” I whisper.

Liam's eyes flare. “You tell me,” he says.

Agony replaces everything I’ve ever known. I feel my arm lurch to the side, and something invisible is pulling at it, heaving while some other force holds me in place. I shriek for help. I scream at Liam to stop. I do everything I can to move and run, but I’m stuck in place.

There’s a horrible sound of tearing flesh, and my world goes black. I come to a second later, and blood is pouring from a hole in my torso where my arm used to be.

The door crashes open, and six people in robes rush in, casting warding charms and backing Liam into a corner. Somebody jabs a needle into me, and another person starts wrapping me in gauze.

Somebody shouts. "Keep him back! She's in critical condition!"

A blinding flash fills the room, and then the world fades away. Darkness envelops my thoughts, my memories, my mind. There’s nothing to see or hear or think about anymore. It’s just the Void. Unending. Ceaseless. I call out, but I have no voice. I’m drifting, senseless through infinity.

It's wonderful. It's terrifying.

I open my eyes to the bright lights of the medical bay. I’m in a hospital bed, my body is covered in bandages, and there are doctors and people in suits discussing something near me. They don’t seem to realize I’m awake. I try to open my mouth to speak, but it’s too hard. So I just listen.

“He’s the one then, The Conclusion?”

“Seems like it. Didn’t expect him to go nuclear back there, though. Talk about teenage angst.”

A laugh. A woman.

“No kidding. Honestly, it’s a wonder this lady survived. Word is she was right beside the kid when it went down."

"Looking at her, I'm not surprised." Another voice. Male. "I've never seen so much necrosis."

"You remember Jacob? The dickhead from Public Affairs?"

"Oh, yeah. Don't get me started on Jacob."

"Well, he was by earlier giving us all the rundown. 'If anybody asks, the damage was caused by a gas leak, that's all.' But he let slip a few extra details."

"Oh, spill the beans!" There's a clattering sound. Steel on steel. Surgical instruments being sifted through. I'm still too weak to speak. Too weak to move.

"Apparently, they sent in warlocks to deal with the kid, and all of them ended up piles of salt. Now the compound's just a few bricks and a cloud of asbestos."

A woman snorts, then laughs. “What were they expecting? As if warding charms could hold off an Eldritch God.”

“Technically he’s not a god, only a harbinger." A different man. This voice is casual. Teasing. I strain my eyes and see the blurry outline of a black suit. "The Gods come later, Cheryl.”

More laughter.

“It’s a damn shame. I read our patient's file here and if you can believe it, she was the one who sorted out The Boundless Whispers! Smart lady. Great with kids, too.”

“I suppose she wasn't smart enough." The first man again. A doctor, maybe. "It's just like I've always said: most people at Compound 7 are inept."

“That's not fair, Dave." The woman tuts. "They had some duds over there, same as we do here. They were doing important work, though. Pass me the scalpel, would you?"

"Of course."

"Thanks."

Steel cuts into my flesh. It hurts, but I can't move. I can't speak. I'm too weak, too absent.

"I should let the two of you get back to it, then." The man in the suit.

"Don't sweat it, Ryan! We're nearly done here anyway."

The steel digs deeper. A piece of me comes free.

"Anyway, I'm not surprised Compound 7 fucked everything up all over again. With The Conclusion’s power, we had a real shot at ending this invasion before it started, didn't we, Ryan?”

"We really shouldn't be talking about this out in the open, Dave. I shouldn't even have mentioned it."

My brain feels mushy. Slow. More pieces of me are sliced free. I hear the wet slap of my flesh dropping into a metal pan.

"This is hardly 'in 'the open,' Ryan. We're well enough alone. Now the kid is too. He's lost in the wind, apparently. Oh, she’s--”

“Jesus, she’s awake!”

There's hurried movement around me. I see the blur of a face, the white of a surgical gown.

Figures swim in front of me, two of them, a woman and a man. Doctors. Surgeons. They’re saying things. They’re telling me I’ve had a bad accident and that I’ve suffered terrible wounds. They’re telling me they’re going to give me some more morphine so I can get some sleep.

I try to tell them no. I try to tell them I want to know what’s going on.

My world goes dark.

The next time I wake up, I’m alone. The hospital room is empty, save for a desk in the far corner, and the buzzing fluorescent light above. I feel stronger now, more conscious. I sit up with some struggle, and my body feels different. Alien. It’s as though pieces are missing.

I glance down, and memories flood me. My arm is missing. It feels like my legs are gone too. I wiggle and squirm, using my other arm to prop me up into a seated position. Weak-eyed, I look around for my belongings. For my phone.

It’s there, on my bedside table. I reach for it. It's too far.

“Erin?” A groggy voice says from behind me. “Oh, sweetheart, you’re awake!”

I glance back and see my mom, her gray hair wistfully dancing in the air conditioning. She puts a hand on my face, and her eyes are filled with tears. She keeps telling me she loves me.

“I’m sorry,” she says. “I’m sorry this happened to you.”

I tell her it’s okay. I tell her I need her to hand me my phone.

“Why?”

“Because,” I tell her. “I have to tell the world what I just overheard. I need to dictate all of this before I forget it.”

She’s confused, my mother. She’s asking if I’m feeling okay. She keeps talking about things that don’t matter.

“Mom,” I say. “I heard something earlier that I wasn’t supposed to.”

She gets quiet. She recognizes my tone, and she knows I’m not feeling loopy or out of it. She listens.

“I need you to give me my phone. There’s a boy out there with messy black hair, pale skin, and a blue hoodie. He’s the most important person in the world right now, and if we don’t find him, the world might not be around for much longer.”

She passes me my phone. I tell it my story.

Now, I pass that story to you. I’m asking you to keep an eye out for a missing boy with black hair, a blue hoodie, and crackling pupils. His skin is pale, sallow and his body language is small and nervous. He might be upset. He might be agitated.

If you see him, don’t approach. Call the police. Contact me here. Tell an elected official you need to get in touch with the Facility. The boy is important. He’s The Conclusion to everything, and he’ll write the ending to our story one way or another.

Just know that if we don’t find him, it won’t be a happy one.

[linktheacehero]

Chapter 5 of a Tale of the White Devil!

Ao3 Link @zelinkcommunity

They continued searching for any other clues that would help Link track down the girls. He judged from the plushie’s scent that it was still relatively fresh,and presumed it to be about a day or so old. So the girls couldn’t have run off too far but the monster’s smell overwhelmed  his nostrils making it difficult to differentiate. Sheik remained searching where he had found the toy almost desperately, still nothing of note was found. 

“Do you think we can just try with the stuffed toy?” he asked, eyes pleading. Link found himself having a hard time denying his partner’s request with that look (Though that was true regardless). “It’s worth a try.” Shifting  into the large wolf many had come to fear, he sniffed the rabbit plush and concentrated his senses. He could visualize a clear path before him leading deep within the woods, he followed the trail. The trees got thicker alongside the mist, a cloudy sea of vapor and bark obscuring their vision.  Though it was not a bother to Link, he caught his friend tripping on every root that came across their way, and nearly running into every tree. So the wolf slowed to a halt and got low to the ground. “Get on my back, it’ll make it easier for us to not get separated.” Sheik looked at him hesitantly, as if he was wondering whether it would be really okay for him to do this. The old hero understood that the sheikah was just being considerate of his space but the patient expression Link bore seemed to ease his worries and sat on top of his partner. “I’m not hurting you am I?” Link simply shook his head. Sheik was gentle in his grip, his fingers intertwining into the snow white fur the same way one would do to a significant other’s hair. “Your fur is so soft, Snow.” Link fought the urge to wag his tail. He liked the physical affection Sheik gave him; ever since he first scratched Link’s head at the tavern, the man had wanted more. 

Would it really be so bad if we strayed from the mission for a bit?

The wolf shook away his thoughts. He could not afford any distractions, no matter how tempting they were. It’s been close to half an hour when he hears whimpering nearby. He stops once more, his partner getting off his back while the wolf  transforms back into the devil. The cries guide them towards the dark huddled figures of three shaking girls. “W-who’s there?!”

Sheik tentatively walks close, his tone ever soft as his gaze. “My name is Sheik, I’m not here to hurt you or your sisters. Your mother asked me to find you, are any of you injured?”

The eldest looked up towards Sheik, her eyes puffed red from crying while her sisters cowered behind her. “Mama sent you?” The warrior gave her a reassuring nod. The girls tentatively walked closer, all holding trembling hands, they still didn’t trust his partner until the youngest spotted the plush in his hands. “Sir Francis!” she exclaimed. She ran towards Sheik with the largest grin and grabbed the toy enthusiastically, giving it a crushing hug. “You saved him from the monsters! Thank you mister!” Link couldn’t help but smile at the scene, he was so relieved to know that they were safe and well. However, he did not dare approach and instead stood a couple steps away hiding by a tree. They had dealt with enough monsters, they did not need to meet another. 

While Sheik checked them for injuries and bandaged those he found, the youngest spotted Link hiding and walked over to him. “Lily!” called out the eldest, “Where are you going? get back over here!” Lily did not obey her sister. Link was unsure of what to do, where he would normally leave in a situation like this he could no longer do so. It was clear that he caught the young girl’s curiosity and that she was unafraid of him despite his appearance.

“I remember you. You saved Papa from a monster.” The devil was speechless. Before Link could do something, Lily hugged him with the same amount of energy as when she was reunited with her plush. He was frozen in place, hands raised, afraid to touch her. “Thank you for saving him.” Tears are pricking his eyes when she lets go. She didn’t view him as a monster, she saw a hero.  He glanced over to Sheik who was giving him a soft smile and mouthed him a question.

“You okay?” Link simply nodded in response. They would be able to talk more about it afterwards. “Sara! Zena! You can come over here, it’s okay! He’s the one who saved Papa from the bad bone monsters, remember?” Her sisters approached with eager curiosity, though Sara was more reserved. Sheik followed behind them. Link decided to kneel down so they could talk easier, much better than getting a stiff neck from having to look down so much. “What’s your name?” asked Zena. “Snow…” 

Lily giggled at his response, “That’s a funny name for someone like you, mister!” “Hey, I like it!” His eyes glanced towards Sheik’s, it had been the name he had chosen for him after all. But the sheikah seemed more entertained at them poking fun than his defending the name. “What name would you have given him instead?” he asks the girls, to which Lily rests her head on her fist with her tongue sticking out in deep concentration. “Jean-Luc!” she shouts triumphantly. “Absolutely not,” Zena responds. “It has to be something cool like him!” “But Jean-Luc is cool!” Lily protested, stomping her foot in response. “Even Sir Francis agrees!”

“It is not!” Link couldn’t help but inwardly laugh at their little argument. If someone would had told him a week ago that he would be in the forest witnessing two little girls pick out a name for him with his longtime crush standing beside him he wouldn’t have believed them. “Saber!” “No!” “Louis?” “No” “Bel-” “What about Haldur?” spoke out Sara. Everyone turned to stare at her, she had been silent during the whole conversation that neither of them believed she was interested. “It's a pretty cool name right?” Haldur. Something about that name stirred within Link into the very crevices of his soul; as if something was awakening from its deep slumber. The power of the deity hummed in his veins, his senses heightened and for a split second he swore that he was no longer in control of his body. “Yeah! That’s a great name!” shouted Lily, thus bringing him back to reality. She turned back to look at him, “what do you think mister?” “I kind of like it,” Sheik added. “It sounds powerful but also soft, it suits you.” Link prayed that his blush was not as obvious as he felt it to be. “Haldur it is then.” A low rumble of thunder boomed above them, a sense of uneasiness fell upon them as they looked to the ash colored clouds. “We should leave,” piqued Zena. Taking charge, Link shifted into the wolf and asked the girls and Sheik to get on his back. With all of them secured he dashed across the woods, the scent of an oncoming storm tickling his nose. 

Just before arriving Daear he had turned into a more passable sized wolf, and walked beside his partner and the girls. Lily seemed to be amazed with everything he did; from changing shape to how easily he was able to pick her up alongside her sisters. However besides his small feats of power, she seemed to be greatly interested in his relationship with Sheik. “Are you two boyfriends? Or husbands?”

The two of them whipped their heads to the youngest sibling, then met each other's eyes before turning away. Before Sheik could clarify, a woman’s call was heard across from them and was running towards them with open arms alongside what he assumed was their father. “Girls!” they were joyously weeping, relief shining in their eyes. “Mama! Papa!” The girls cried and bear hugged their mother, all of them shaking in each others hold. A small crowd had begun to form around them, curious to see the commotion while whispering among themselves. “That sheikah found them! Can you believe that?”

“I thought those girls were goners, I’m so relieved.”“Do you think that he had to fight that Devil? He doesn’t even look hurt.”

“Thank you so much sir, I truly cannot express my full gratitude for what you have done!” Their mother began to rummage through her pouch, which Sheik quickly caught on and protested. “Please ma’am there’s no need for you to pay me back. Seeing you be reunited with your daughters is payment enough.” “But I can’t just let your kindness go unpaid! At least let me cook you some dinner as thanks, you must be famished for dealing with that horrible monster!”  

Link stiffened when he heard that last comment, glancing up at Sheik who gently pet his fur. “I truly appreciate the offer, but I do have something to say now that you reminded me of it ma’am.” He turned to face the crowd; head held high, gaze unwavering and his once gentle voice now regal as he spoke.

“It wasn’t the White Devil that kidnapped the girls, but instead monsters enhanced by dark shadows.” As expected, many gasps and whispers of objections are heard. The parents of the girls looks at Sheik in confusion, Link doesn't blame them. For years they had believed what others had spoken without asking for proof, and now its being challenged? “How do you know it wasn’t the devil that sent those horrid creatures?” Spoke out a soldier, “how do you know, that it isn't behind it all!” The others murmured in agreement. “It's a crafty beast, powerful too. Who’s to say it can’t command monsters to do its bidding.”

“And you know this how? Have you ever seen or met the devil? Has anyone here really seen it?” Sheik questioned, and was met with silence. 

“Those in the infirmary did…” “The same ones who you refuse to listen to?” He didn’t let anyone further comment, “From what I have seen, not a single soldier nor hunter  here has done anything  to further investigate the situation and instead has been blaming an innocent simply because everyone else has deemed him dangerous! Instead of listening to those in the infirmary, you deemed them paranoid. Instead of thinking for a second about another perspective, you blindly follow!” 

No one dared to speak, the soldiers looked at each other with embarrassed looks, while the hunters glared daggers. “Well then, if what you say is true then how do you know it’s innocent? How can you prove to us that that thing  isn't dangerous?” 

It was Sheik’s turn to stay silent. He had been so engrossed in defending Link from the false accusations that he had slipped up the truth of his involvement. There was no possible way to save face now, not when he was this deep. Unless… It was a risky move, one that would very much worsen the situation for not just Sheik but Link’s as well. But since when had Link not ever taken a risk to protect the person he cared for the most? He changed into the form of the deity, hands remaining at his side and looked down to the people of Daear. “Because I’m right here.” 

Soldiers and hunters unsheathed their weapons while the villagers screamed from the sudden reveal. Everyone hid behind the line of soldiers, everyone except the young girls the duo had saved earlier. Sheik stood by Link, firm and hand protectively in front of his partner while the girls copied him. 

For a moment the world flickers, and before him is no longer a crowd of scared villagers but angry knights with weapons drawn. They’re looking at him with disgust, calling him a monster, murderer and a beast. He says nothing, it’s not like there was anything he could do to change their minds.

“I shouldn’t be here! That thing has caused enough death and destruction that it should be burned for it’s crimes!” The crowd cheered, and all he feels is his heartbeat pounding in his ears.

“Silence!” Commands the person in front of him. It was not Sheik, but a woman in a stained white dress with golden hair and wings that shined more beautiful than crystals he’d seen in the forest’s caves. A sword lay at her waist, black blood still dripping from its tip. Though he could not see her face, he knew that her expression  must be furrowed in anger. “This deity has risked his life confronting the Demon King and his own brethren in order to give you all a chance of survival. And this is how you repay him? With insults and threats?!”

“It’s forbidden for a devil  to be on sacred grounds, Your Grace. You shouldn’t be associating with it at all.”

“And who are you to deem what is forbidden to a goddess?” 

Silence befell upon them, and the knights melted away into the present villagers and soldiers who looked at him in fear. The woman in white was now Sheik, whose crimson eyes stared down at the hunters.

“They called us devils when all we did was help.”

The fierce deity’s voice rang clear in his mind. Had he shown him that scene? Was it a memory of his past? But why? Link didn’t understand, but he didn’t have time to dwell on it.

“Girls?” called out their father, “what are you doing? Come here where it’s safe.” But they did not move. 

“You heard your father,” spoke Farris, the drunken hunter they had met the day before. “Step out of the way before you get hurt.”

“If you even think about harming them I  swear on Farore that I will pierce that blade of yours into you,” their mother warned, surprisingly at Farris who backed down. “Why are you doing this, girls?”

“Because he saved us!” Sara began, “Haldur and Sheik found us after some skeleton monsters attacked us! And Sheik is telling the truth, it wasn’t Haldur that took us, it was some weird shadow thing.” Her voice had quivered near the end, whatever had taken them, it had not been pleasant. 

“He even saved papa!” shouted Lily, and their mother looked at her husband. 

“It- he saved your father?” They nodded in response. The father stepped closer, his wife behind him with her hands close to her chest and stood before them. 

“I had gone out to get some wood with the girls when it happened. Something had struck me in the back and I had fallen, I couldn’t see anything, only hearing the sounds of breaking twigs and metal scraping and I swore I was going to die there but then- ” He looked up to meet Link’s eyes, as if he was making a connection. “I saw a white blur destroy whatever had attacked me, and then leave before I could even register what I had seen.”

“Yes, I remember. It had been a Stalfos that lingered too close to the village,” Link explained. 

“So it was you.” The children had moved now, no longer standing protectively in front of him but now next to their parents. “Thank you for saving my life, and I apologize for blaming you against my daughter’s abduction.” 

The devil nodded. Next to him, Link heard Sheik let out a sigh of relief. “Don’t you all see,” he began again as he turned to the crowd, “Haldur, the being you all call the White Devil, has never harmed anyone here and simply has been protecting you all from the monsters that linger in the Lost Woods. There is something much bigger at stake here.” 

“And we will figure it out.”

[dreamblasterharuka]

I have come with a Another Cipher/Pixy fic request. Focusing on Merlin during her school days. Im kinda thinking fluff/angst but Since she had two famous pilots as parents. People did talk about them but she did get into a fight with someone over her father’s past and she was sent to the office to due It. This was inspired by a fanart of them picking up Merlin and Cipher saying”Did you win?”

Win or Lose

Thank you so much for the request! I love writing in this AU. I went with a fem!Cipher, I hope you don't mind.

The fanart

Also on AO3

This wasn't fair.

Merlin was stuck waiting in front of the principal's office, waiting for him and her dad to stop talking about whatever punishment she's about to get. Her face and knuckles were starting to hurt and all the energy she had during the fight already disappeared. Now she just wanted to go home. Tyler was probably off getting coddled in the nurse's office, and he would face absolutely no consequences, as always. 

Not fair weren't quite the right words for it. She was in enough trouble already, but the only word for this situation was bullshit. 

Tyler was a bully. He called the other kids names, but Merlin was sure that he had it out for her specifically. He made fun of her name and pushed her around, even when she made it a point to avoid him. Nobody wanted to be friends with her because anyone who was nice and didn’t ignore her became a target, too. 

She dealt with it for months. Everyone told her to tell the teacher, and then she did, and the teacher didn’t do anything. All he did was make excuses or tell her not to worry about it. He told her that Tyler was only trying to get a reaction out of her, so she should just keep ignoring it. Easy for him to say. He was a grown up. He didn’t have to hide out in the bathroom during lunch just to be left alone.

The mean words didn’t really bug her. Words were just words, after all. There were only so many times she could get called weird or creepy before it just got old. Besides, she really was Belkan, or at least half-Belkan, so she wasn’t sure how that was supposed to be an insult. But Tyler didn’t call her a mean name this time. He insulted her dad.

Some of the other kids were talking about planes, and she knew a lot about them, so she tried to jump into the conversation. Her parents were both fighter pilots, after all. They were her heroes, and they even had fancy titles, so of course she took pride in them. Then Tyler said that Solo Wing Pixy was a Belkan criminal, so of course he was evil. Something that had been building for a long time snapped, and she launched herself at him and started swinging.

Merlin didn't remember most of the fight, but it took Mr. Smith to pull her off of him, and Tyler had a bloody nose. Her teacher had to physically drag her down to the front office, where they called both of her parents, even though her mom was at work. Dad showed up first, looking pissed, and had been talking to the principal and Mr. Smith in the other room for nearly half an hour.

Another couple of minutes stretched on before the grown ups finally walked out of the office. If anything, they all somehow looked angrier. She just stared down at her knees. Her eyes burned, but she refused to cry. She had never gotten in trouble like this, and she wasn't sure her heart could take her parents' disappointment. Dad patted her back. "How're you feeling? Are you okay?"

Merlin nodded. Physically, she would be fine. Before she got a chance to talk, and probably start crying, another person arrived at the front office. It was Mom, who for some reason looked really happy. Honestly it was scarier, since her mother was usually super stern looking. "Merlin!"

"Mrs. Foulke! Are you aware that your daughter got into a fight with another student?"

Mom completely ignored Mr. Smith as she crossed the room and put her hands on her shoulders. "Merlin. Did you win or lose?"

Merlin thought back to Tyler and his bloody nose. "Yeah, I think so."

Her mom cracked a smile and patted her shoulder. "Atta girl."

"Mrs. Foulke!"

Mr. Smith might've not said anything for all the reaction that he got. "Why don't you and your dad go get all of your stuff, and I'll meet you? Make sure you get everything."

"Everything-everything? Or just for the day?"

“Everything-everything.”

Oh. Everything-everything meant that this was the last day of school, and she was never coming back. Usually, that just meant that they were moving again. Her parents were military contractors, whatever that meant, so they moved around from base to base a lot. Something told her that this was different.

Mom patted her shoulders again, before rounding on the principal. Both her dad and Uncle PJ said that she could be really scary, but Merlin always thought that they were kidding. She was short, and had silvery hair, like an old lady. Sometimes she got mistaken for a little old grandma. But the look on the principal's face meant that he thought she was terrifying. Before she could see why he was so scared, Dad grabbed her hand and led her out of the office.

The hallways and classrooms were mostly empty, thank goodness. All the other kids were out at lunch. Her own lunch was still in her cubby, but the fight completely soured her appetite. If she did get a chance to eat it, she probably would have thrown it up by now.

Emptying out her desk was quick work. All she had to do was stuff all the loose papers and notebooks into her backpack while Dad held it open. They'd sort it out later at home. Since they had done it so often, they had it down to a science.

"Is there anyone you want to say goodbye to before we go?"

Merlin thought about it. There wasn't anybody that she would really miss, and she was pretty sure that nobody would miss her. "Nope. I do gotta turn in some library books, though."

"Oh yeah? What's it about?"

On the way to the library, she told him all about it. It was a fantasy story about a group of knights that were training to fight dragons. It was the first in the series, but the school's library didn't have any of the other books. Just chatting about the story distracted her from how anxious she was about the fight. Mrs. Taylor wasn't there, which kinda sucked because she was nice, so they just dropped the books off in the return box.

They ran into Mom on the way out, back to her serious self. "I got all the paperwork in order. Apparently, if we stay, the administration will do something about their bullying problem, which is exactly what they said last time. They seem to think that I am someone who makes idle threats.”

"You didn't run into the mom, then?"

Mom's face darkened, and she muttered some bad words in Erusian. She spoke a lot of it at home so Merlin could learn, but she was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to know those words yet. Dad grabbed her by the arm and started walking towards the car. "C'mon, Cipher. We've already had one fist fight today, we don't need another."

The car ride home was only quiet for a few minutes, before the dreaded questions began.

"Why did you get into a fight?"

Mom looked over the seat at her. "You're not in trouble. We just want to know."

"Tyler lied and said that dad was a criminal."

The silence was deafening. Merlin expected a reaction, but not that. Her parents watched each other out of the corners of their eyes, sharing expressions that she couldn't decipher. It was hard to not sink back into herself. Neither of her parents got loud-angry, but it was times like this that she kinda wished they did. At least then she could know what they were thinking.

"Well..." Dad was the one to break the heavy quiet. "He's not exactly wrong."

"What?" That couldn't possibly be right. "But- but- aren't criminals bad guys?"

Her parents exchanged some more looks. Her mom sucked in a breath. "It's complicated."

Dad heaved a sigh and watched the road. "Look, kiddo, I've made a lot of stupid decisions and done a lot of bad things over the years."

"It wasn't stupidity." Mom's voice was hard. "There were a lot of factors, and you chose what you thought was the lesser of two evils."

"That doesn't change the fact that I was wrong, Cipher. I ruined a lot of lives for some stupid ideal that'll never happen."

"You tried to make amends."

"Not well enough. Not if they're harassing our child over what I did."

"This," Her mom gestured wildly in the air to emphasize her point. "Is not your fault and you know it. Bullies are all the same. If it wasn't about you, it would have been about something else."

Mom gently laid a hand on Dad's arm, and his posture relaxed. She spoke super softly, and if it weren't for the fact that they were having this conversation right in front of her, Merlin would have thought she was eavesdropping. "You tried. And I know you don't believe me, but that does amount to something."

So Dad really was a criminal, but Merlin knew for sure that he wasn't a bad guy. If anything, she was just more confused. "Then, are criminals not bad guys?"

"It depends. Some are really bad, and some just got dealt a bad hand in life."

"And sometimes laws aren't meant to help its citizens, only protect the interests of those in power." Dad mumbled under his breath.

"What?"

"Nothing." Mom glared at him before glancing back at her. "You'll understand when you get older, but let's not get into that today."

That explained absolutely nothing, but she was pretty sure her head would start to hurt if they did. But she trusted her parents, and she was sure they would explain if she asked later. Merlin still had a lot of questions, but only one of them needed to be answered today. "What’s going to happen now?"

Dad drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "Right now? We're going to go home, and I vote that we order pizza."

"Yay!"

[stratus-skye07]

Suga Craze [Finale] | Suga

[Ten] [Masterlist]

Y/N

This was it, again. I was on the edge of death. Normally I wouldn’t care since I’ve always known that it was my fate to get killed this way but this time I was happily married and expecting. With those two differences, I had a lot more to live for. I can’t help but let a tear fall down my cheek.

“Can you give CL a message for me?” I tell them.

The man scoffs, “Last words? Don’t you think that’s a little cliché?”

I shrug, “Maybe, but who’s to say CL won’t be dead before you tell her or if you guys will even live to pass on my message.”

“So what is it you want me to tell her?”

I sigh, “I’ll be seeing her again.”

It’s when I hear the gun get cocked that I know that this is the end of the road for me, again. I close my eyes when the last thing I hear is the gun go off.

The breath gets knocked out of me but somehow I’m still breathing. There’s no pain radiating anywhere on my body like before. My eyes continue to stay shut as the ringing in my ear continues to vibrate as the room is silent. 

“Are you planning on staying like that all day?” I’m surprised to hear a voice I’d least expect to hear again.

Opening my eyes, there he was standing in front of me, “Suho?”

Looking at my surroundings, the men that were standing before me were on the ground, dead. Suho, along with the rest of EXO were standing over them.

He smiles lending me his hand, “Sorry we’re late. You wouldn’t believe the traffic.”

I let out a half laugh half cry from the relief of not being dead as I took his hand to get to my feet, “How did you know I was here?” 

He cocks his head over his shoulder. I look past him to see my faithful friend. “Noona,” Jimin comes up to hug me.

“Oh, I’m glad to see you’re okay.” I look to see if he wasn’t too badly disciplined by Yoongi.

He nods, “Suga wouldn’t listen so I went to find help elsewhere.”

I look back over to Suho, “Thank you.”

He shakes his head, “Let’s just say I was repaying a debt.”

“Yoongi.” I quickly remembered what was important, “Do you know if Bangtan are okay?”

Baekhyun steps forward, “We have Sehun watching the place. He says the place is pretty much a hostage situation.”

“Then we need to go.” I pull on Jimin’s arm to make it towards the door.

Once we get to the bottom floor of the safehouse and out of the building a familiar car pulls up to the front. Jungkook jumps out of the driver seat, “Y/N!” He pulls out his gun to point it at Suho, who was walking behind us.

I stand in front of Suho with my hands up to stop him from attacking my savior. “No, no, don’t shoot! They saved me. They’re on our side.” Slowly he lowers his gun before putting it away.

“Are you okay?” Jin asks, approaching me.

“I’m fine, but we need to get back to the penthouse.” I say nudging him towards the car.

Jin tries to hold me in place, “It’s okay. We believe you about CL.”

Jungkook adds, “Yeah, we can’t take you to the penthouse right now. Suga is talking to her. He ordered us to get you out of the safehouse and away before she suspects we’re on to her.”

“Suga is doing a lot more than talking to her.” Suho steps out to say.

Jungkook and Jin look at each other in confusion, “What do you mean?” Jin asks.

“Yoongi and the others are being held at the penthouse. CL’s most likely trying to convince him to join her but we all know that he won’t do that without a fight.” He explains.

Jimin adds, “So we need to get back to the penthouse right now.”

Jungkook signals to the car, “Get in.”

“Whoa, Y/N.” Suho calls out to me.

I bow to him respectfully, “Thank you again for your help, Suho. I promise when everything’s dealt with, I’ll repay you for your kindness.”

“So that’s it? You think we’re just gonna sit back and let you go into war possibly outnumbered?” He asks.

I shake my head, “I can’t ask you to put your members in danger for us. This isn’t your problem.”

He places his hand over his heart, “We have a slogan that we hold close to our hearts. We are one. That means no matter what problems we face as individuals, we handle together. That includes allies.”

SUGA

CL had just sentenced my wife to death and for that I have to give her the same fate. I gave her a chance to drop everything, let Y/N go and walk away but she just has to have the last word in. She had us sit and watch as the time passed from when she was supposed to call her men which means the deed was done.

I fell to my knees at the realization that my wife and unborn child were really gone. If I’d only figured it all out sooner, she would have been here with me. She would’ve been safe in her own home.

“Last chance, Yoongi. You have nothing holding you back anymore.” She taps the gun on my shoulder, “We could start fresh.”

“Fuck off, CL.” I growl the words.

She tsks before aiming the gun at my head again, “What a shame.”

Suddenly there’s a loud thunderous noise coming from downstairs which distracts CL long enough for me to grab the gun from her hand. We struggle back and forth for a second, I nearly manage to get the weapon out of her grasp until I feel a sharp pain hit me in my side. Looking down, CL managed to stab me with a knife. A knife she always kept hidden in her custom belt strap. I fall to the ground holding onto the open wound. My hands are getting covered in blood. 

CL stands over me with the gun in her hand and the knife in the other. “It didn’t have to be this way, Yoongi. You should’ve chosen me.”

Y/N

Driving a fast as Jungkook could, along with EXO following close behind, we make it back to the penthouse. We’re greeted at the entrance by EXO’s member, Sehun.

Suho approaches him, “What’s going on?”

Sehun replies, “No change, the three members are being held at gunpoint in the living room of the penthouse with about twenty 21 men surrounding them, all armed.”

“What about Suga?” I ask.

“He’s being held in his office with CL but I don’t know if he’s injured or not.”

“How are we gonna take them by surprise?” Jimin asks.

I look up at the tall building, “The only quick way is the elevator but who knows how long we have before they realize we’re in the building.”

Suho smirks, “I might have a way to extend the time.” He looks over at Kai, who nods.

After raiding EXO’s trunk for guns, we enter the elevator and wait for it to take us all the way to the top of the building. We didn’t have much of a plan other than saving Yoongi and the others.

Kai reaches in his jacket pocket to reveal two black cylinders, “As soon as these go off, it’ll give us a longer span of time to get in. We move and we move fast. Since Chanyeol, Chen, and I are the best shooters, we’ll go in first in order to take out the ones holding Bangtan at gunpoint.”

Jimin cocks his gun, “I can shoot, I’ll go in with you.” 

I nod at Suho to give him my approval.

He continues to explain his plan, “The rest of us will spread out and take out every last one of them. Anyone in a dark corner, we’ll take them out.”

“As soon as I see an opening, I’m going to Suga’s office.” I state making it clear where I’m heading.

A few seconds left until the elevator reaches the floor. I look down at my stomach again. Eomma has to save appa, little one. I might get hurt and that will hurt you too but I need you to be strong for me. I need you to trust eomma from now on.

Finally, the light hits the final number of the floors. The elevator doors open when Kai steps out leading the way down the hall just short of the entrance into the living room to toss one flash-bang grenade on both sides of the room.

Storming in was chaos. Jimin, Kai, Chanyeol, and Chen managed to take down the men that were surrounding V, J-Hope, and Namjoon. Jin and Suho rush to release them from their restraints before arming them.

I started making my way towards the hall by the stairs to get to Yoongi’s office. I managed to take down the men that had been guarding the area with help from Jimin and D.O. We end up splitting up once another shooter starts going crazy with the shots. I hid behind a pillar as I took my shot at him, killing him.

Suddenly, I end up running out of ammo. I look past the stairs to see the closed door leading to where Yoongi is. Seeing that the coast was clear, I made a break towards Yoongi’s office. I stop short when I see a man come out of the corner of the stairwell. Before he could shoot me, Suho comes up to shield me then shoots the man.

He shouts over his shoulder, “Go! I’ll cover you!”

Quickly, I sprint to the empty hall to reach the door. It’s locked but I hear movement inside. I kick the door down, managing to break it open, when I see CL standing over Yoongi. He was bleeding out of his side abdomen. 

“Yoongi!”

His eyes widen when he sees me, “Y/N?”

I quickly turn my attention to CL as I kick the gun out of her hand. She starts swinging the knife at me but I take a step back to dodge each swing. I manage to grab her wrist and upper arm to stop her from striking.

I push her up against the wall to stab her with the knife but she uses her strength to resist. She takes the opportunity to kick me in the ribs but I don’t budge. I stop pushing and begin to pull her away from the wall which catches her off guard.

I lure her to the center of the room. Using full force, I flip her over Yoongi’s desk but she manages to slide off it and stand on the other side. She pulls me onto the desk in an attempt to stab me. She manages to cut my bicep while stabbing but I roll around to dodge the punctures she made to the desk until it got stuck.

I swipe her hand away from the handle of the knife followed by a jab to the face. The second punch doesn’t land. She manages to grab my arm to twist it behind my back and push me towards the desk. My stomach ends up hitting the edge where she slams my head into the wooden surface, inches away from the knife.

“You should’ve just stayed dead.” She says in my ear.

I push myself off the surface of the table to elbow her in the face and free myself from her hold. She ends up kicking me up against the glass wall window. It knocks me off my concentretration, giving her time to reach for the gun that had slid under Yoongi’s desk. She reaches for it but Yoongi grabs it to fight her for it. CL kicks him in the face to get him to let go, giving me enough time to seize her from shooting me.

We both struggle with the gun which causes her to pull the trigger twice, shooting holes into the window. We both come face-to-face in the game of push and pull as I shove her into the edge of the desk.

She chuckles, “This world isn’t big enough for the both of us.”

“Then let’s end it.” I state.

I push her back a few steps then tackle her against the window, causing it to shatter. We both go through the glass where the street could be seen twenty stories down, the only thing visible is the lit street lamps. Thinking quickly, I reach for the edge of the window. CL was just as quick as she held onto the edge. With both of our hands holding on, we start kicking each other in order to knock the other off. I fought with the pain in my ribs to hold on for dear life.

CL manages to hold on with one hand to the ledge as she lifts the gun to my head. “I guess the better woman won.”

She pulls the trigger but instead of a bang, there’s just a click. Pulling the trigger multiple times, it turns out the gun had run out of ammo.

“I gave you a warning.” Pulling out the knife I managed to get off the desk when I was fighting her for the gun, I stabbed her in the heart. “Say Hi to Hyung-Sik for me.”

I watch as the life disappears from her eyes as she releases her hold from the ledge and falls. I groan in pain as I build enough strength to pull myself up but my grip is slowly slipping. The shards of glass begin to dig into my palms, making it harder to keep my grip. I nearly lose my hold when I feel a warm sensation wrap around my forearms. I look up to see a pale Yoongi.

He smiles, “I’m not trying to lose you again.”

He pulls with all he has left. If he wasn’t injured, he’d be able to lift me with ease but due to his wound, it’s making it hard for him to use his full strength. My grip slightly slips due to the blood on Yoongi’s hands from his wound.

Once I’m pulled up far enough over the edge, Yoongi embraces me to lift me back into the room. We stay on the floor hugging each other for who knows how long. We both felt the fear of losing each other in our time away. 

After killing CL, Bangtan and EXO were able to finish off the rest of CL’s men with no major injuries. While everyone was cleaning up the mess of a warzone in the penthouse. I stitched Yoongi’s stab wound up.

“You’re lucky she didn’t hit any organs.” Taking glances at him as I knotted each suture, he was staring intently at me the entire time without so much as a flinch of pain. “Doesn’t it hurt?”

He takes my free hand to place it over his chest, “Not as much as here.”

I chuckle, “Would you rather be cheesy than to say you were wrong?”

He nods, “Why tell you what you already know? The least I can do is make up for it with cringy remarks.” I cut the stitch then placed a gauze bandage over it.

Looking at his face, there’s a gash on his eyebrow from getting kicked in the head. I reach into my medkit bag to grab a disinfectant wipe.

I wipe the cut down causing him to make a face, “What? You can handle getting stitched up but not cleansing wipes?”

“No one can handle the feeling of putting hand sanitizer on papercuts, let alone this.” He says pointing at the wipe in my hand.

I scoff, “CL must’ve hit your head good if you’re able to make jokes so easily.”

Once I finish bandaging his cut, I’m picking up the pieces of paper from the bandaid when Yoongi reaches for my hands. 

He squeezes them tight before his eyes go glossy. “CL was never one to bluff. I thought you were dead for good this time. I forgot how to breathe. All I could think about was how I couldn’t keep you safe like I promised you. I’m so sorry.”

I pulled him into my arms to show him that I was alive and nothing else matters. I run my fingers through his hair as I whisper in his ear, “You knew CL for a long time, she was someone that you trusted. I know it must’ve been hard to think that someone you respected could hurt someone you love.”

He places his forehead against mines, “I promise I’ll believe anything you tell me. If you say the sky’s green, I’ll ask you what shade of green it is.”

We stay in place for what seems like hours until there’s a knock on the door. Turning we come face-to-face with Suho. He has a bruise on his cheekbone along with a bloody lip but it looks like he was in a minor fist fight in contrast to what really happened.

Yoongi jumps down from his desk to approach Suho. He stares at him for a second before extending his hand. “Thank you for saving my wife.”

Suho looks at his hand before smiling and taking it, “I hope this proves that I don’t want anything but peace between us.”

Yoongi scoffs, “It proves a lot more than that.”

Suho nods before sighing, “It seems like everything is under control now. We’ll leave you guys.”

Yoongi clears his throat, “Just so you know, if you ever need anything from us, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Good to know.” He looks around at the messy office, “This was fun. Next time you need a hand, give me a call.” He gestures to me, “Except for you, if HE gives you a hard time again, you know where I live.” I chuckle as Suho leaves the room.

Yoongi watches him leave before turning his attention back to me, “What does he mean by that?”

I shake my head, “Let’s not get into that.”

Before he could ask any more questions, Namjoon knocks and enters the room followed by the rest of the Bangtan members. Everyone had been through hell today but they still stood tall after going through a war.

“Everything alright in here?” Jin asks.

Yoongi and I both nod, “Nothing we couldn’t handle.” I add.

Namjoon looks at the other members before looking back at me, “Y/N, we want to let you know how sorry we are for not figuring things out sooner.”

I wave them off, “It’s okay. Everything worked out in the end. If we hadn’t found out about CL beforehand she would’ve had time to come up with a way to take us all out. She would have succeeded.”

Jimin approaches me with a worried expression, “Noona, is the baby okay?” 

I nod reassuring him, “This little one has a lot of fight in them, just like their parents.”

“Jimin,” Suddenly Yoongi steps towards Jimin, “I know I was hard on you about helping Y/N. I only did it for her safety but I want to tell you, and I hope I don’t have to say this ever again, thank you for not listening to me. From now on, I’ll trust your judgment more especially when it comes down to Y/N’s safety. If something like this happens again please stay by her side no matter what.”

Jimin smiles before nodding, “Of course, hyung.”

I scoff, “If something like this happens again, I’m leaving Korea.”

Namjoon shrugs, “I doubt anything’s gonna happen any time soon.”

Jungkook tilts his head in confusion, “What makes you say that? Something is always happening.” He says gesturing to the whole mess in the office.

“Suga and Y/N have taken down two major leaders in not even their first year of marriage, would you challenge a couple with those odds?” He asks.

First Hyung-Sik and now CL, the threats won’t stop coming. Not as long as we’re still alive and well. Eventually, someone else will come in to threaten our lives but we’ll be ready for anything. We’ve overcome them all so far and with our luck we’ll continue to come out on top. Especially with our baby coming soon, it gives us more of a reason to win.

Bangtan has come a long way and will keep climbing until there’s no one left to threaten us. Even if we end up being the most notorious group in Seoul, then so be it.

[trashpandafiction]

We Survive (2)

Summary: What happens when the Behavioral Analysis Unit comes across a situation they weren’t trained for? When the dead begin to roam the Earth, it challenges the BAU to something they’ve never dealt with before: the apocalypse. Along their journey for survival, they come across Rick Grimes and his group of survivors. Among the survivors is Jocelynn Russo, who thinks that the new group could be helpful to them. Things seem to go well until an unexpected enemy appears. Will Negan and the Saviors be the one thing to break the groups, or will they be able to defend themselves? All anyone knows is they have one common goal; to survive. Pairings: None yet. Word Count: 3,844 Warnings: Mentions of guns. A/N: Hopefully this chapter is decent. I changed the main conflict from the first version of this story to make a bit more sense, but I'm still iffy on it. That's probably just my insecurities though, I don't know. If you’d like to be tagged in future updates, just let me know! Please do not redistribute my work without my permission! Reblogging is fine with credit intact.

Two - A Narrow Escape

Penelope stood by the window; arms crossed over her chest. She let out a sigh and shook her head some as she still saw no sign of the others. The sun had already started setting, and that meant that it would be harder for the group to get back. Not that she thought that they would get lost, but who knew what else would be out there? They might have run into some of the dead, or they might have run into people who weren’t as kind as they were. Anything could have happened, and it was making her mind race. For once, she hated the fact that she had the job she did; she had too many scenarios going through her head and none of them were positive.

“Haven’t you heard the one about a watched pot never boiling?” JJ’s voice spoke up from beside Penelope.

She jumped slightly and looked over at the other blonde and sighed. “JJ, they should have been back by now. We all agreed on sundown, does no one else remember that deal?”

JJ gave a small smile before speaking. “Maybe there were more places to check than they expected. They could have found another camp, and maybe they’re talking to another group. I’m sure they’re going to be just fine.”

“Statistically, it’s more likely that they’ll come into contact with the dead than the living anyway. I mean, just on our journey alone, we’ve seen more dead people walking than we’ve seen living people walking.” Spencer spoke up from the beat-up couch in the center of the room. He and David had started a game of cards with a deck they found in a desk drawer and were playing by the light of a small lantern.

The women both looked over at Spencer, and JJ smirked. “Thanks, Spence.” She looked at Penelope and put a hand on her shoulder. “Why don’t we just find something to occupy ourselves with while we wait, okay? They’re going to be fine.”

Penelope looked at JJ and nodded. “While I think that occupying ourselves is easier said than done, I will gladly take any option over staring out this window and waiting for their late arrival.” She said simply before moving to sit on the couch next to David.

A bit of a way from the cabin, Aaron, Emily, and Derek all walked back, keeping their senses high for anything that might cause them any issues. They hadn’t found much, but they did manage to find a few cans of food and a couple of water bottles that were half-filled. It wasn’t much, but it was at least enough to get everyone a bit more motivated to keep going. At least, that was what they were hoping for.

“It can’t be much further; this is that broken tree we saw on the way out.” Emily spoke up, looking at Aaron and Derek.

“I’d say we’re about fifty yards out.” Derek estimated. “We should get back there before the sun is completely down.” he added, carrying the bag of supplies on his shoulder. “How pissed do you think Penelope’s gonna be?” he asked with a small smirk.

“I’m sure if you throw a couple ‘baby girls’ at her, all will be forgiven.” Emily retorted. Even with the situation they were in, Emily appreciated that the group kept up their banter and the normalcy it brought. It was likely their only defense against their real feelings about everything.

“That’s it up there.” Aaron spoke up, pointing towards a small orange glow coming from a cabin window. “We should stay quiet, just in case there’s anyone in the area; living or dead.” he said, taking his gun out of the holster.

Derek and Emily took Aaron’s lead, heading towards the cabin. After checking to make sure that the area was clear, they headed to the door to knock three times, their way of letting the group know that it was them. The door flew open, and Penelope wrapped her arms around Derek and Emily’s necks.

“You’re all late, and don’t think you’re getting out of an angry hug, Aaron Hotchner.” Penelope said before letting go of Emily and Derek, and hugging Aaron tightly. “I was worried sick about you all.”

Derek chuckled and returned Penelope’s hug before coming inside and setting the bag down on the dusty coffee table. “Glad to know we were missed.” he said and nudged Spencer on the shoulder.

Aaron hugged Penelope back and gave a small smile. “We ended up finding a second place to search, and that’s what took so long.” He explained. He entered the cabin and shut the door behind him.

JJ smirked and hugged the three who had just returned. “We tried out best to keep her occupied.” She joked. “Were you guys able to find anything out there?” she asked, crossing her arms as she sat on the armrest next to David.

Aaron nodded. “We were able to find a few things, but not very much. Did you four have any trouble here while we were gone?” he asked, standing in front of the coffee table to face his team.

David shook his head as he looked through the bag that they had brought back. “Nothing out of the ordinary, given the circumstances.” He said and nodded to himself as he saw the water bottles and cans of food. “We should save these for the morning.” He suggested.

Derek nodded and looked over at Aaron as he wrapped an arm around Penelope’s shoulders. “If nothing came up while we were gone, this is probably a safe spot for the night. As long as we take sleeping in shifts like we have been, keep the noise quiet, we should be good.” He shrugged.

“We should try and keep the lantern on as little as possible, even the slightest bit of light could be enough to attract the undead.” Spencer said, looking up at his team members. “Did you guys manage to find any neighborhoods or signs of towns on your trip?” he asked.

“Not that we saw but given the fact that there was a gas station and an old diner, I’d say that there is probably a suburb somewhere around here. It’s just a matter of finding which direction we should go.” Emily said.

David nodded and then spoke up. “Well why don’t we get some sleep tonight, recharge, and then tomorrow we’ll refuel and see if we can’t find a town or something along the way.” He looked over at the group and then cleared his throat. “I’ll take the first watch.” He said standing up to pull a stool over to the window so he could watch what was happening outside while the others slept.

Aaron spoke up again after agreeing with David. “I’ll take next watch, then Derek, Emily, JJ, Spencer, and then Penelope. I don’t know if we’ll need everyone, but let’s plan on it.” he said and looked around the cabin’s living room. “Find somewhere comfortable, I know it’s not the ideal situation, but we’re going to make do.”

The rest of the team started to spread through the room to find a place to sleep for the night. JJ, Penelope, and Emily all sat together on the couch to sleep, while the guys found different places on the floor. They used old blankets and their own jackets and shirts as pillows to bring some comfort to themselves. David got the lantern off and started his shift as the rest of the team fell into a light sleep.

The shifts went well, and when it was time for Penelope to take her shift, the sun was just beginning to rise. She and Spencer both agreed that it was fine to let the group sleep in a bit, knowing that the team wouldn’t mind a bit of extra sleep. After everything that they had been through, that was a luxury to them. Just as Spencer was getting ready to lie down, there was a strange noise outside of the cabin, a small rumble almost. He looked out the window and narrowed his eyes a bit to see what the noise was. Outside of the cabin, there was a decent sized group of undead, and they were heading towards the cabin. Before he could turn to tell the rest of the group, there was a loud thud against the back door.

Penelope flinched at the noise and looked at Spencer, who had already grabbed his gun. “Should we just let them pass?” she whispered.

Spencer opened his mouth to respond, but heard another thud, followed by the sound of creaking wood; they were persistent, and the cabin door wasn’t going to hold. He moved to the back door and held the door as best as he could.

The noises were enough to wake the rest of the team, who were all getting their weapons ready and assessing their situation. There had to be about fifty of them outside, and more could have been coming. Aaron had his gun in his hand as Derek helped Spencer hold the door. Everyone else went to the windows to see if they could get any good shots.

“If we can get them all to the back door, we’ll be able to make it out the front door and towards the road.” Aaron said, holding his gun as he watched the undead start to surround the cabin. “The gunshots are just going to draw them into us and possibly attract more.”

Derek nodded and groaned as he held the door shut with Spencer. “We need to get their attention to this side of the cabin and get the door to hold long enough for us to get out the front.” He said.

Spencer nodded and worked with Derek to hold the door shut. He looked around the room and noticed a window above the door. He looked next to him and saw a counter that he could stand on. “I’ve got a flare in my bag which might work, but I’ll need to get up on the counter so I can toss it out of that window.”

David walked over and helped Derek with the door. “Go grab it but be fast. Once they start heading this way, they’re gonna be stronger against the door.”

Spencer headed over to his bag and pulled out the flare. He had been saving it in case they needed to flag down a rescue unit, but they were past the point of being rescued. He got it ready and headed over to the counter.

“Spence, just be careful.” JJ spoke up from the front of the room.

He gave a nod before climbing onto the counter and opening the window. He lit the flare and held it out of the window for a moment, getting the attention of the undead. The light and hissing sound of the flare started to attract a few of them, but if he was going to get them all towards the back, he needed to change his plan. With his other hand, he grabbed his gun, aiming at a nearby tree and shooting twice.

Penelope and JJ looked out the side windows. “It’s working; they’re heading to the back.” JJ said.

“Spencer, you’re gonna have to hold the flare up there until the last minute.” Aaron said reluctantly. “It’ll keep their attention long enough for us to get out before they realize what’s going on.”

Derek looked up at Spencer and then at Aaron. “Everyone, get ready to go, when I say the word, you guys head out, then Spence, then David and I.” he said.

Emily helped JJ and Penelope get the bags together while Aaron kept an eye on the windows to make sure that the undead were heading towards the back. “Spencer, fire one more shot to keep their attention.” He said.

Spencer nodded and shot once more into the tree. The undead continued to head towards the sound, but that put more strain on the door for Derek and David.

          “This door isn’t gonna hold much longer, Hotch.” Derek said, looking around the room to find something to block the door and buy them some time.

Emily came into the kitchen and helped hold the door while Aaron thought up a quick change in plan. “If we can move the coffee table to brace the door it could buy us enough time.” He said.

“Spence, let me take the flare, you go help Hotch.” Emily said. She climbed up onto the counter beside him and carefully took the flare from him, continuing to hold it out the window.

Spencer went into the living room and helped Aaron get the coffee table cleared quietly so they could take it into the kitchen and barricade the door. As they picked up the table, the back door let out a loud crack as it started to give way.  Emily dropped the flare onto the crowd outside the door, hoping it would slow them down.

“Change of plan. We’re gonna take as many out as we can on our way out.” Derek said.

          “We have to preserve ammo, we don’t have enough bullets left to take them all out.” Aaron argued.

          “They’re starting to come back to the front.” Penelope said, grabbing the bags with JJ.

          “Hotch, you four head to the road, we’ll be right behind you. We’ll only use what we need and head out. We don’t have time for a debate.” He said, getting his gun out while David reached for his. “Count of three. One…”

          Aaron opened the front door and let JJ lead the way. Penelope followed, and then Spencer. Aaron looked back at David, Derek and Emily, giving them the option to back out.

          “Two…..go, Hotch!” Derek ordered.

          As Derek yelled ‘three’, Aaron followed Spencer outside and took out the few stragglers who had headed towards the front of the cabin. Gunshots could be heard from the back of the cabin and then there was a crash. The gunfire stopped for a moment, only to pick up a moment later. Two guns were firing for a moment, and then the gunfire stopped again, the only sound coming from the cabin being groans and hisses.

“Hotch, we have to go in there.” JJ said.

Aaron looked around the area and could already see more of the undead coming towards the sounds. As much as he wanted the four of them to go inside and help their friends, it was a suicide mission. They were outnumbered and didn’t have much ammo left; they only had the option to run. “We can’t win this fight, if we go in there, we’ll all be killed.”

“Well, what about them? We could still save them. We have to try.” She argued.

Penelope looked at the cabin and shook her head as she saw some of the undead heading towards the front door. “They’re coming towards us.” she said softly.

“It’s a suicide mission.” Aaron said sternly. He looked at the cabin and then back at JJ. “I don’t like the decision either, but we need to move.” He said with the slightest evidence of a crack in his voice.

They all looked at the cabin before taking off running towards the road. None of them wanted to look back, but they could tell how far they were getting as the groans and noises from the undead started to fade out. When they got to the road, they stopped to regroup, none of them wanting to say anything.

Aaron looked at the ground and then at the team. “There’s a high chance that more of them will be heading towards the sound. We need to head towards the gas station we found yesterday; we can figure things out when we get there.”

Penelope looked into the woods, hand on her chest. The thought that they had just lost three of their own hadn’t fully set in, but she felt numb. How was she going to get through the rest of this? She didn’t want to lose anyone.

“I shouldn’t have let her take my place.” Spencer spoke up. “I could have been up there, I’m quicker on my feet.” He spoke.

JJ looked at Spencer and shook her head, putting a hand on his cheek. “Spence, she didn’t give you much of a choice. Now isn’t the time to put blame on anyone, especially yourself.” She said.

Aaron looked at them and spoke up. “We need to get moving. We can follow the road, but we should stay in the trees a bit to stay out of sight.”

Penelope wiped a tear from her eye and nodded. “I’m sure they’re just fine. They found a way out of there, they always do.” She said, trying to convince herself more than anyone.

Spencer couldn’t even bring himself to spout off a statistic this time around. “Hotch is right, we should get moving. There’s likely more headed this way.” He nodded.

The group crossed the road and into the trees on the side of the road to hide from anyone passing by, but still stay on the same path. They started walking towards the gas station, none of them uttering a sound. It was almost hard to believe what had just happened; it was all so fast, and now they were three people down. If anything, it showed them that none of them were safe and that in a moment, everything could change. For now, they all headed to the gas station to make their next plan; it was all they could do to keep themselves from breaking down.

--------

Jocelynn had finished dinner and was heading back to her house when she saw a light on in the supply garage. She furrowed her brow a bit before heading over to see if someone was in there, or if Olivia had just left the light on. As she turned the corner and looked inside, a small smile came to her face.

Rick was standing to the side, looking over the inventory notebook and glancing at the shelves every so often. His hand reached and rubbed his chin some as he looked over the list.

 “You know, Olivia counted everything earlier, and she probably did it twice.” She spoke up, stepping into the garage.

He looked over at her and chuckled, shaking his head. “I know she did, and everything is here and accounted for. I just can’t help thinking that there could be more out there, you know? Maybe we’re not looking in enough places.” He mused.

She nodded and gave him a small smile. “We’ll find some more places. Maybe we can go a bit further out on the next run.” She suggested with a shrug.

Rick looked up at her and raised a brow. “We?” he asked her, closing the notebook and setting it back on the desk against the garage wall. “Is that your way of asking to go on this next run?” he asked, trying to keep a straight face.

A light blush crept across her cheeks and a soft laugh escaped her lips. “Could be my attempt at a stealthy hint” She said, looking up at him.

“Stealthy?” he asked, earning a nod from her. He smirked and shook his head some. “Yeah, I suppose you can come along. I’ll see who else wants to go with us and we can make a day of it.” He half joked as he headed to the garage door.

“Sounds like a fun day.” she joked back as she followed him out of the garage. She helped him pull the door down and then put her hands on her hips. “Two days?” she asked as he locked the garage.

“Two days.” Rick repeated. “We’ll head out when the sun rises and see how far we can get. Hopefully we can find some new places.”

“Maybe some new people.” she added softly, moving her hands to her sides. She knew that he had been a bit reluctant to let new people in, especially after a few incidents in the past; but she thought that maybe it was time.

He looked at her and shrugged, then looked down at his hands as he toyed with his watch. “We can cross that bridge when we come to it.” He said and looked back up at her.

She nodded and smiled a little. “I’ll hold you to it, Sheriff.” she teased, nudging his arm gently. “Try and get some sleep, okay? You don’t always have to worry about everything all the time.” She said as she headed towards her house.

“Yeah, and you don’t need to worry about me worrying.” he countered as she walked towards her house, a crooked grin on his face.

As he headed back to his own house, he ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh. He knew that she was right about bringing in new people, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready to bring new people in. On one hand, they could use the extra help and extra hands, but on the other hand, they weren’t in a good position to defend themselves against the wrong people getting in. He headed into his house and checked on Carl and Judith before heading to bed for the night.

Jocelynn headed into her house, and to her room. She sat on the bed and pushed her hair back before laying back against her pillows. She hated the nighttime because she always had a hard time falling asleep. Her mind raced, and memories of what she had been through filled her head and often left her with nightmares. Of course, ever since she met up with Rick’s group, they seemed to be a bit better, but they hadn’t fully gone away. As she lay in bed, her mind started to wander to the upcoming run. It would be helpful if they had some help on the run, but at the same time, she wanted to spend some time with just Rick. She wouldn’t admit to him that she wanted to spend time with him alone, but she also wouldn’t say no if the opportunity came about. She let out a sigh as her mind started to race about the possible outcomes of being alone with him. It was something that she wanted, but what if he didn’t want the same thing?

“Just go to sleep, Joce.” she mumbled to herself as she turned over in her bed. She closed her eyes and changed her thoughts to the upcoming run.

Maybe they would find a good place for supplies, somewhere that hadn’t already been looted. Maybe they’d even find some people to bring into the group. Maybe they’d find both or nothing at all. Before long, she was fast asleep, dreaming of the run and what could possibly happen. She hoped that the actual run would go better than the dream, but she could only hope. That’s all anyone could do these days.

[traumasurvivorshelpingsurvivors]

TW for possible assault, alcohol & drugs, graphic-ish description of what happened. I don't know what happened last saturday? I met this guy through tinder & agreed to meet him in a pub. he brought me a drink but it was too busy to hear each other so he takes me back to his place, gives me another drink and rolls a joint to share. I'm there thinking yes, I'd like to hook up with him, hashtag ho era and all that, and then he starts kissing me. and it's. not great. (1/?) - sunshine anon

It's also kind of rough. But, like, whatever, I've dealt with bad kissers before I guess. At some point he asks if I wanna give him oral and I'm like... a little shaken by the kissing still but I say sure. I start and I'm sort of struggling with it and I say that it's hard for me (i think at this point I was starting to want out of the situation) and he just says it's hot that I'm struggling and does the hair grabbing thing. (2/?)

obvs I'm not doing a great job because I kind of don't wanna be doing it anymore so he asks if I wanna have sex- and at this point I think I say something along the lines of "uh okay I guess" because I'm thinking the sex will be better than the oral/kissing was and hey, i'm in his home, I've had his drinks and alcohol, whatever. So he sort of starts grabbing me and putting me where he wants me- in a position I know is painful for me but I was struggling to make words until (3/?)

He's about to put it in, at that point I kind of snap back into my head and say I brought condoms bc like. If we're gonna do this I wanna be safe about it. So he puts one on, goes back to putting me where he wants me and starts. It immediately hurts too much for me to deal with so I say that, but I can't remember if I said to stop but after a few minutes he takes me over to the couch so I'm on top (4/?)

I give it a go but again it's hurting too much and then it becomes apparent that he just doesn't seem to care. Like I'm visibly in pain and squirming and keep saying it hurts and he's just bouncing me up and down. At some point I think I tell him to stop again instead and he picks me up and carries me to the bedroom and starts again (I'm internally panicking by now). I'm saying it's hurting again so he stops for a maximum of like 10 seconds before saying shall I go again (5/?)

I think at that point I didn't wanna piss him off- and again felt guilty that I'd taken his alcohol and weed and I was starting to feel out of it and dissociated and sort of made the connection of "stop = switch positions" so I nodded while grimacing and he went again. It was still painful but a little less and occasionally felt good but I was still trying to get him to slow down to a comfortable pace and was on the verge of telling him to stop again when he said he was (6/?)

gonna finish so I just kind of rode it out. And then we went back to watching whatever show we were watching. And I was still panicking, so I said I'd leave in half an hour and got dressed (I didn't remember getting undressed??) and got an uber to my friends place where I had a full on panic attack and said something about how I thought I consented just because I didn't want the possibility of him not taking a no. But like... (7/?)

I didn't SAY no i said stop, i said it hurts too much, andc he didn't listen to that. and idk. It's been 2 days and I've been so fucking spaced out on everything and I'm avoiding my friends/housemates in case they ask how the date was and I'm just trying to focus on uni work (which isn't going well). I know in theory I should do some damage control for my grades/job so I've spoken to my wellbeing team and my academic mentor briefly (8/?)

and told my manager I'm likely to be out of it for a few days. and i know its bad because I'm dissociating so much and get panic attack symptoms from thinking/talking about it but idk if I have a *right* to be. Like. I keep going back and forth between "it was my fault for bla bla bla, he did stop for a moment, he did sort of ask before, he wore the condom i gave him, I did technically consent at parts" (9??/?)

and "he didn't care he was hurting me, he was laughing the whole time, he went harder when i said stop, he just switched positions when i said stop, he was LAUGHING the whole time. If it'd been me I would never have continued, it's not that hard to see when someone's in pain" Idk how to feel or what to think basically. I have a wellbeing appointment on Friday I guess we'll see how that goes but fuck. I can't function rn (10?/10)

Hi sunshine anon,

I'm so sorry about what happened.

I'd like to share with you this article about the spectrum of consent - enthusiastic, willing, unwilling, and coerced.

Enthusiastic consent is actively wanting to participate, not fearing the consequences of saying yes or no, and that saying no would mean you'd miss out on something you want.

Willing consent is when you care about someone but may not be interested in the moment although desire may begin after saying yes, and that you only dread the consequences of saying no (as in it would hurt their feelings, etc).

Then there's unwilling consent, which is when you fear the consequences of saying no more than saying yes (you don't want to say yes but saying no would be worse), there is not only a lack of desire but a lack of desire for desire (you don't even want to develop desire), and that they'll stop bothering you if you say yes.

Coerced consent is when you're threatened for saying no, that you'll be hurt for saying yes but hurt more for saying no, and that saying yes means doing something you actively dread.

It sounds like your consent shifted through the spectrum from start to finish; you initially wanted to hook up with him (ho era, I love that), but then when he kissed you that consent was more just willing because you weren't really comfortable, but you still wanted to have sex with him. Your consent shifted more towards unwilling perhaps when he asked for oral and when the sex began, and then it seems to have become coerced as the sex continued because he blatantly ignored your body language and your verbal communication that it hurt etc.

The thing is that you are (or should be) allowed to revoke your consent at any point. You can be in the middle of sex and change your mind and that's okay. You can say you're not interested and change your mind later too. Just because you gave consent at some points doesn't mean you gave consent to all of it. You don't deserve to feel pressured by anyone to feel that any consent you provide is irrevocable.

You're right that it's not hard to tell when someone's in pain, and if it were me too I would never have continued either. I don't mean to postulate other people's motives but I find that abusers aren't thinking about anyone but themselves when they're taking advantage of someone. You may find this video helpful.

I hope the appointment went well, feel free to let us know how that went. I'm not sure what Wellbeing is exactly, but I do recommend getting set up with a therapist if you haven't already and if that's possible for you. A professional could help you process and heal from this experience.

If anyone has any comments or suggestions, please feel free to add on. I hope I could help. Please let us know if you need anything.

-Bun

[apollostears]

𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏; 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫₀︎₄︎

♘︎ 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 + 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 : 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐟𝐟, 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐭

♘︎ 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 : 𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐢 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲/𝐧 𝐠𝐨 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞. 𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐮𝐧𝐚'𝐬 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐧, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞?

♘︎ 𝐰𝐜 : 𝟏.𝟗𝐤

♘︎ 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐨 𝐱 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫; 𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐢 𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐚 [𝐨𝐜] 𝐱 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

♘︎ 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬: @desiray562 @gabzlovesu @reneeslay @emonaculate @po3ticb3auty @indiecursor @protectpancakes

「︎ 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 + 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 + 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 」︎

KENJI NAKAMURA WAS UNCONVENTIONALLY HANDSOME and some of you found that extremely attractive, more than you’d care to admit. Maybe it was the way his white locks were always pushed back by some type of headband or the way one cheek had a dimple that showed when he smiled, whatever it was had you weak in the knees. The predate meet up the two of you had at the university’s on-campus café was considered a textbook success. And when you reported this to the girls, they blew your eardrums with screams. Save for Jade, who was confused about the whole situation. But you felt hopeful, nonetheless, and as you got ready to leave for the official date, Geto had not appeared on your mind once.

“You remember what you do if you need help, right?” Wendy was preparing for a session when she stepped out of her room in the white lingerie set Gojo gifted her.

Seeing her body like that was of no surprise to you. You couldn’t even begin to count how many times the three of you had seen each other half naked, or naked, in the years you’ve lived together.

“Yes mom, I know the steps. You should be saying that to Jade. She is the one sneaking out late at night.” The girl in question had been out of the apartment since earlier that day

Neither of you had any idea where she had been, but she was grown and had enough sense to be cautious while out on her escapades.

With a pointed look, Wendy folded her brown arms over her chest and jutted her chin out. “Don’t worry ‘bout her, okay? She’ll get spoken to, trust.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at her protectiveness. “Girl, I need to go and meet this man. I’ll be back tonight. Have a good session babe!”

As she was saying her goodbye’s, you had left knowing that if you stayed any longer you’d definitely be late meeting Kenji. Wendy was a Camgirl, often doing videos on a weekly basis and sometimes teaming up with Gojo, her unofficial-official boyfriend who was also in the Cam world. As irregular as their relationship was, you hoped for something like that. Maybe Kenji could be that someone. . .You’d have an idea after this afternoon.

The mysterious man had chosen a local art museum as the place of choice. You thought it was different from what most men you’ve dealt with would choose, and Sukuna’s offhand comments about Kenji choosing that place to up his chances of fucking you, did not help your hesitation. But when you met him in front of the entrance, dressed casually in beige/brown colors, you realized that not all men held secret agendas like Sukuna did. Some were good and Kenji was one of them.

“You look amazing. I brought a small thing of flowers, [favorite flower] right? I uh, kinda talked to your friend, Mei Mei? Yeah, she told me what you liked.”

Flowers?! Swoon.

A shit eating grin was stretched across your face as you happily took the flowers and gave him a hug. “Thank you Kenji! They’re beautiful.”

A small blush dusted his cheeks and there that dimple was, showing up on his boyish smile. Extending his arm out to you, he gave you an expectant look.

“Shall we discover the art that is this city?”

Like a kid with a crush, you giggled shamelessly before linking your arm around his. “We shall.”

Fuck, you were down bad.

“THERE’S NO WAY THAT HAPPENED!” Kenji walked next to you in awe.

You had just told him about a story with you and Jade, one that was definitely embarrassing but a testimony to you guys’ strong friendship. “Look, I wish I could forget it but it was so embarrassing.”

The museum was a great first date. After moving past the initial suspicion and nerves, you realized that Kenji was harmless and that the two of you had a lot in common. “You sure do have an interesting life. I was kinda surprised you agreed to go out with me, considering Geto and all.”

You were taken by surprise, why now? Why here? Sensing your discomfort, Kenji stopped walking to place a hand on your upper arm, stopping you in your tracks.

“Hey,” he said gently, moving his other hand to softly grab your chin and turn your face to his, “I'm sorry for bringing him up. I just--”

“No. It’s fine, just took me by surprise is all.” You laughed nervously, one of your own hands coming up to touch his wrist that was connected to the hand on your face. “And there is no ‘Geto and all’ there never was and never will be.”

Your definitive tone was all Kenji needed to hear to understand that there was a part of you that he did not need access to as you had closed it off to the world, and even yourself. When his hand finally released your chin, your skin began to miss the warmth that his large palm gave you. It was a simple gesture, but one that had your stomach churning with butterflies. His hand on your arm slid down to meet your own as he casually intertwined your fingers together. A bold move, but one that he made seem natural and you were okay with that.

“You hungry? There’s a place with the best Katsudon I’ve ever had.”

A smile found a way onto your face as all previous tension left you. “Oh really? Better than your mama’s?”

“Way better.” Kenji’s dimple made an appearance as he offered you a genuine smile.

Well who were you to pass on the opportunity of discovering better food? So, with a shrug, you and Kenji decided on Katsudon to end a good date.

“Alright then, Pretty boy. Take me to this place that’s better than your mama’s own food.”

With a wolfish grin, Kenji tugged you with him as the two of you made the small walk to the shop.

ATTENDING SUKUNA’S MATCH WITH THE CREW WAS SOMETHING OUT OF A MOVIE. It had been a week since your date with Kenji, where three more dates had occurred in between then and now, and there had been a notable change in your behavior. You were happier, less stressed, and satisfied. Things were easy with Kenji and while it was unusual for you to fall for someone so quickly, he didn’t give you much of a choice. And truthfully, you liked it. This would be your first meetup with the group since the party.

“So if Ryo wins this match, he’s undefeated?” Shoko asked as you all met up in the lobby of the arena.

Sukuna and Toji’s nightly activities were illegal but the people who funded them weren't. And so you guys found yourself at a rented out sports arena to watch the match. Since he was one of the contenders, he managed to secure you guys with front row seats for the bloodfest that was supposed to happen soon.

Toji appeared behind her, an arm thrown across her shoulder as he stole some popcorn from her. “Yup. The bastard will be the first fighter of our club, to have four seasons undefeated. He’s a fucking monster.”

Which was true, Ryomen Sukuna was an absolute monster in the ring. From the few times you’ve attended his matches, usually due to Wendy going with Gojo, you’ve seen how brutal he is. It makes sense he’d be undefeated since he started college.

“Is that why he molly whopped your ass two weeks ago?” You could hear the smirk in Gojo’s voice as he pointed out Toji’s shortcomings.

“I’ll do the same to you if you keep talking.” He threatened, meaning every word.

You thought it was funny how the boys bickered, each of them purposely pissing the other off like they hated each other.

“Who taught you ‘Molly Whopped’? I know you not cultured enough for that shit.” You pointed out, moving to stand next to Nanami who offered a piece of an edible.

All of you shared a laugh as Gojo pouted and sucked his teeth. “I’m cultured.” He mumbled, while Wendy babied his fragile ego.

“Who are we waiting on?” Utahime had returned with Choso and Mei Mei, an abundance of snacks in hand.

“Geto and Jade. Geto’s picking up the kids and I actually don’t know what Jade’s doing.”

Wendy not knowing where Jade was, was weird. Truthfully, you didn’t know either. She knew of the match happening tonight and you thought she’d ride with you guys but she wasn’t home when y’all left.

Nanami had looked at his phone as a text came through. “They are in the parking lot. Apparently Jade caught a ride with Geto on the way here.” He announced before placing the device back into his pocket.

“She’s catching more than that.” You heard Toji mumble from his place next to you.

Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Huh?”

Like a deer caught in headlights, a brief look of surprise crossed his face before he attempted to cover up his mistake. “Nothing.”

You opened your mouth to press the issue but the sound of Yuji’s excited greeting stopped you.

“Hey guys!” The pink haired boy came with his two friends, one being Toji’s younger brother and the other a friend they met when starting school.

Nobara gave you guys a smile and a wave, giving you a hug before addressing the other girls. Megumi trailed behind slowly, a neutral look on his face. Him and Toji were so similar yet so opposite, it was scary.

You were the first to see Geto come in with Jade trailing behind him. He looked good, unnaturally so, and it pissed you off that you were attracted to him. But as you were busy taking in his appearance, you couldn’t help but notice something off with Jade’s.

“Is that his shirt?” You hadn’t meant to sound so surprised, but it was a shocker to see her wearing his clothes. Something that, prior to you, he had never let anyone do.

Jade was lucky you missed the stank look she gave you, but she wasn’t lucky in her tone of voice when she answered your question. “Is there a problem?”

Geto looked embarrased as the rest of your friends watched on. Watching for your response to the unwarranted disrespect you had just received.

“Better watch it Jade. It was a simple question, chill the fuck out before there’s a problem to be had, for real.” You loved Jade like a sister and so you knew how smart mouthed she was. But that shit wasn’t going to slide with you and she knew better than to do that.

A look of regret came across her features as she readjusted the bag on her shoulder. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I just had an embarrassing accident and Geto came through for me.”

You were wary to accept her sudden story but you nodded your head nonetheless. “Glad you guys made it safely. C’mon, the match is about to start.”

The incident that happened in the lobby moments prior was forgotten as you all headed to your seats in anticipation. The place was packed and you honestly felt like a celebrity walking through the arena in front of everyone.

As you all got settled in, you were sandwiched in between Megumi and Mei Mei. The three of you are closer to the middle and in perfect view of the ring. The lights dimmed as the opposing fighter prepared to come out and music filled the already loud arena. “Who’d they say he was fighting again?”

“At 256 pounds of pure muscle, this newcomer has demolished his last few matches, only having one loss on his new record. Ladies and Gentlemen, The Punisher!”

The tunnel to your right had smoke billowing out of it as you all awaited to see who this newcomer was and it was not who you expected.

“Kenji?”

𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄. 𝐲𝐚'𝐥𝐥....𝐢'𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬

𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: @brownmochi @knjkitten @sweeneyblue1 @gabzlovesu @desiray562 @namjoonswifeyy @nyxeclipse @rubinocore @uniquelybeautiful @somerandompipzsxh @dabilovesme @histarean @hannas16 @caribbeanwifey19

[spencessmile]

Conversations In The Bullpen

Pairing - BAU x Fem!Reader

Summary - You and the team exchange stories from past and present times.

Warnings - Fluff, Swearing & slightest mention of injury and talks about clowns.

Word Count - 1.6k

And all imagines/fanfics/blurbs are written solely by me so please don't steal my work and/or post it without my consent. Feedback and Comments are welcome. Happy reading!

Requests are CLOSED!

**

“What about you Y/n?” You hear Morgan’s voice as you finish up your last report, adding it to the finished pile. You slide your chair towards his desk, Morgan’s foot stopping it before it hit Garcia’s legs. “Craziest thing you saw or dealt with in LA before you quit your job as a cop? Go.”

“Oh, um,” You chuckle. “I could probably go on forever. A lot of weird shit happens in LA.”

“Top 3?”

“Top 3? Okay, first I had a case where a woman killed her husband because he refused to leave their cottage in her name. When my partner and I investigated we found out that she buried him within the walls of their house.”

“Oh my god, no!” Garcia groans.

“Second has to be when I had my right hand inside a man’s chest for nine hours. He was in a really bad car accident and he wouldn’t have made it to the hospital in time so I had to open him up in the middle of the street in order to stop him from bleeding out.”

“That sounds so cool,” Emily beamed, her chin resting on her right hand.

“There goes my dinner,” Garcia spoke.

“His sternum was severely messed up which caused his heart and one of his big blood vessels to start bleeding into his stomach.”

“Wow! It sounds just like that episode from Grey's Anatomy where Meredith had her hand inside that guy's chest. Remember the one who had the bomb inside him? How did it feel to have your hand in someone’s chest?”

“One of my favourite episodes. Uh, it was umm sor- It was bloody and it got worse,” You shrug. “I passed out on the OR floor.” You chuckle thinking about the whole situation and how ridiculous it sounds saying it out loud.

Morgan and Emily crack up laughing as you shake your head. “Yeah, I remember that whole week being so chaotic but that took the cake.”

“Third?” Spencer asks.

“Oh, this one is top on my list. In 2016, there were killer clowns on the loose in Los Angeles.”

“Nah uh. Nope!” Morgan shakes his head as you notice him tense up at the mention of clowns.

“Morgan has coulrophobia,” JJ said giggling at Morgan.

“What really?” You asked, JJ nodded.

“Oh yeah, Morgan’s not a fan of Halloween, people in costumes or masks.”

“Listen,” Morgan put his hand out. “Costumes and masks give me the hibbie jibbies. Just no.”

“Hey everyone knows you're terrified of clowns but no one here knows why exactly you're terrified of them. What’s the story behind clowns?” Emily asks.

Morgan puts five fingers up. “I had evil older cousins.”

“Oh!!” Everyone laughs.

“Morgan,” You pat his shoulder. “I was traumatized by my older cousins too but don’t worry their all going to hell.”

“I just don’t like the way they look, with the red nose, and all that face paint and masks,” Morgan explains.

“You know the fear of clowns usually stems from the feeling of not knowing what’s going on underneath the mask or costume,” You still remember the words of your captain.

“I just don’t care. If I were to see a clown I will hands down punch it.” Garcia and you just laugh at how passionately Morgan seemed about his hate for clowns.

“2016 was a fucking weird year for LA. It started out as a harmless prank but people just took it too far. I think the LAPD arrested close to 2,000 clowns,” You sounded so ridiculous saying this out loud.

“I just glad weird fucking shit doesn’t happen here in Washington.”

“What would you do if a clown showed up at your apartment?” Spencer asked as

Morgan glared at him. “Why would you ever say such a thing?” Morgan spat, getting upset. “I’d probably kick its ass.”

“Morgan you're scared of like,” Emily waves her hand around. “Everything.” She laughs. “Remember that case we had NYC, and it was Halloween? You were so annoyed that people had decorations up.”

“Oh,” JJ faces lights up. “I remember that and the woman's husband who we were trying to find had a cage full of birds! Morgan, you were terrified of those birds!”

“Okay, can we not do this right now?!” Morgan looked annoyed.

“What’s your problem with birds?” You ask.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Well, actually one time Mor-”

“Baby girl, don't you dare say a word!” Morgan warns her as Garcia puts her hands up.

“Hey! That’s not fair, how come Garcia knows the story but not the rest of us?” Emily asks.

“That’s because I was there,” Garcia sips her tea, looking over at you.

“What type of person is scared of birds?” Spencer asks, shaking his head as Morgan sat up in his chair.

“Reid, Reid don’t move but there’s a spider on your shoulder!” Morgan yells as Spencer jumps up from his chair, violently wiping his shoulder.

“GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF! EMILY!!” Spencer continues to move around as you all lose it watching Spencer running around frantically.

“Emily, is it gone?!” He asks, as Emily is holding onto her sides, JJ leaning into her as Garcia was wiping away tears. Morgan's face was tomato red from laughing as you felt like you couldn’t breathe. “Guys! This isn’t funny! Is it gone? Where is it? Please, ser-” You could hear the panic in Spencer’s voice.

“Spencer!” You called. “There was nothing there,” You say, giggling.

“What?”

“Morgan was just pulling your leg,” You playfully smack the back of Morgan’s head as he continues to laugh at Spencer distraught condition. Spencer glares over at Morgan as he grabs the small hand exercise ball off his desk and throws it, hitting Morgan in the face. Everyone bursts out laughing.

“What was that for?”

“For what you just did to me,” Spencer says, putting a hand on his chest.

“Why are you scared of spiders, pretty boy?” Morgan questions.

“I just don’t like them. All their legs and fu-” Spencer shutters at the thought of them.

“Did I ever tell one time Spen-”

“Morgan don’t!”

“Spencer called me over one time because there was a spider on his bedroom ceiling. When I got to his apartment, he was wearing doughnut and smiley faces boxers while trying to kill a spider with a mop.”

“Shut up, your lying!” Emily looks over at Spencer.

“That didn’t actually happen,” Spencer’s face was flushed red with embarrassment.

“Didn’t it?” Morgan holds out his phone, playing a video of Spencer trying to kill the spider.

“This is the best thing ever!” Emily exclaimed.

“YOU MADE A VIDEO?!” Spencer shrieked.

“And I’m not ashamed to admit that I watch it at least twice a day because that video right there is pure gold, baby!” Morgan cheers.

“Who else have you shown that to?” Spencer asked.

“Oh just you guys,” Morgan replies. “My sisters.”

“Oh my god.”

“My mom loved your smiley face and doughnut boxers.”

“YOU SHOWED THIS VIDEO TO YOUR MOM?!” Spencer exclaimed as Garcia kept replaying to the part where Spencer runs behind Morgan.

“Look at his face!” She yells as you and Emily grabbed onto each other from laughing so hard.

“One thing is for sure after watching this video,” JJ says. “Both Spencer and Morgan radiate so much chaotic energy off each other.”

“Yes!” You say, giving her a high five.

“Hey Y/n, did I ever tell you about the time Morgan showed up at my apartment drunk?” Spencer asks and you shake your head. “While wearing nothing but briefs.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Oh you wouldn’t!” Morgan threatens.

“Watch me!” Spencer leans over and whispers in your ear.

“OH MY GOD MORGAN! You look over at him. “Seriously?”

“What’s going on out here?” You hear a deep voice from behind you, turning around you see Hotch walking down the catwalk.

“How come I didn’t know about Morgan's dirty past?” You ask, folding your arm. Without even asking Hotch knew exactly what you were referring to.

“I’m unfriending you all,” Morgan points to everyone as Garcia leans into him, giggling.

“Everyone here knows a little bit too much about Morgan’s sex life,” Hotch points out.

“Hotch, not you too man,” Morgan groans.

Hotch leaned against Emily’s desk as he looks around at you all teasing and laughing with each other. Though Hotch could hear the laughter from his office, he couldn’t help but walk out and join the chaos. It was times like this, that Hotch was beyond thankful to have you all apart of his life. He could always count on you guys to add the sweet and spice to your guy's solemn life.

“What are you all still doing here? Your shift ended half hour ago,” Hotch looks down at his clock.

“Oh shoot!” JJ said, quickly grabbing her bag. “I gotta pick up Henry from my moms.” She bid her goodbyes and headed out.

“What about the rest of you? Don’t have any plans?”

“I have a date but that’s not until Wednesday,” Morgan says as you all just stare blankly at him. “At 7pm.” You smirk at him. “What?”

“Today is Wednesday you dumbass,” You said. “You just stood up your date by a half-hour.”

“Oh shit!” Morgan scrambled for his things, beelining for the elevator. “If I don’t get laid tonight, it’s all your guy's fault and drinks are on you guys for a whole month!” He yells behind him.

“Twenty bucks say his date going to cuss him off for being late, leaving him hanging,” You say.

“Forty bucks say that Morgan is going to get laid and that we’re all going to hear about over coffee tomorrow morning,” Hotch said dropping forty bucks on the table, walking away leaving you all in shock.

[suchalonelysunflower]

Take Your Feelings, Put Them Into a Song (A.I)

Pairing: Ashton Irwin x Wallows! Fem! Reader

Requested: yes!

Summary: Y/N Sixx, bassist from the famous band Wallows, is helping 5SOS write their latest album CALM. If only she could keep her crush on the drummer under control…

Warnings: Fluff. Language. Some grammatical errors (English is not my first language, I’m sorry)

Word Count: 4.6 k

Author’s Note: IM BACK! Remember that Reblogs, Likes, Comments and Feedback are very important! You have no idea how much they help 💕 Hope you like it and Happy Reading 🦋🌻✨

My materialist // wanna be part of my tag list?

anon: Can you do a one-shot where the reader was born on 1996 and she’s the daughter of Nikki Sixx and Brandi Brandt and it’s the bassist and songwriter of Wallows (…) and she helps 5sos write songs for the album CALM and starts dating Ashton and the fans go nuts (in a good way) with shipping? There’s no drama like it was in EUH

It was another boring day in the studio and you would literally prefer to do anything else than to listen to Cole talk about the last date he had instead of working on your new song. But inspiration was lacking between you and your bandmates and you really had no other choice since you already took that time on the studio’s schedule.

One would believe that you would be used to dull times in the studio, having spent a lot of time on them while growing up with your parents, but boredom was a cruel crime inside your head and today your patience was running thin.

“Hey, peanut!” Dylan called your attention “Everything good there?”

You were laying on the sofa, looking at the ceiling for some kind of saving grace, but Dylan’s voice brought you back to your reality.

“Are we going to get something done today?” You asked with a sigh, with your eyes still glued to the ceiling “Cause we are really just wasting time by now and I don’t think Cole’s last fling will bring any kind of inspo into our little group”

“Hey!” Cole protested, earning a chuckle from Braeden.

“Whatever,” You said, already getting up from your spot “I’m going to take a walk”

You took a deep breath once you closed the door to your private room. You loved the guys, you really do, but sometimes people can be too much, especially people who you spend every single day and hour with.

Memories from the past year started to fill your mind and you smiled when thinking about how much your little band has grown. Wallows was now everywhere, you created a name for yourself without using your parent’s influence and you were so damn proud of that, yet when moments like these come around - the moments where you just need to breathe to escape the reality for just a while - you start to reflect on every choice you made and if they were the right ones.

It’s the overthinking that got you to write those first lyrics in the first place, the ones that were put into songs and now were, somehow, all over TikTok with thousands of people relating to them. So maybe, overthinking now might not be such a bad idea after all.

“It’s a terrible idea if you think about it for more than one minute, mate”

You stopped in your tracks when you heard that voice, thinking that maybe you were finally going crazy or someone could’ve read your mind. But it wasn’t until you heard someone else answer that you realized it was a conversation.

“Well, I don’t know what to do with it anymore!”

You turned your head to the left and smiled when you saw the little sign that said “5SOS now in session. DO NOT DISTURB” And realized that your other favorite boys were back in town.

Of course you ignored the sign and knocked on the door a couple of times before opening it shamelessly.

“Well, well, well…” You said with a teasing smile as you leaned over the door frame “If it isn’t my second favorite Aussie band”

The faces of two of the members of said band light up once they realize it was you, quickly getting up to wrap you in a hug.

“Mini Sixx!” Calum said, ruffling his hand through your hair “About time you came to visit us”

You pushed him and Luke away from you “And you should’ve told me you’re back from your break! I could’ve escaped Dylan and the other minions earlier”

“Rough session?” Luke asked, seating down and patting the place next to him for you to sit on.

“Oh, you have no idea”

You loved the 5sos guys, it was impossible not to. Ever since you met them at a label party in 2015 when you were introduced to them because you were the same age as half of the group, you knew that they were made to be on the stage.

It was easy to become their friend, given their welcoming attitude and easy-going smiles even before they found out who your parents were. It was nice for a change not to be Y/N Sixx, daughter of the famous bassist of Mötley Crüe and famous Playboy doll Brandi Brandt, for a moment and just be Y/N, a bassist that had a lot to give to the world. And with the boys you didn’t even have to try to be someone you were not, with them everything was just so… real.

Just like now, where you were allowed to complain about your lovely bandmates to them and they would complain just as well, with no judgment nor responsibilities, just three friends letting out some steam due to the stress of your careers.

“-And basically we don’t know what else to do with the song” Luke finished his rant on the missing piece of their new song for their next album.

“And you have the lyrics ready?”

“Yeah, me and my girl wrote it a few weeks ago but the melody is just…”

“It’s missing something” Calum finished for him with a sigh.

You hummed “Can I see it?”

The two Australians got to work, playing the song with the piano and the guitar and you came to the conclusion that they were right: there was something big missing.

“So it’s a ballad,” You said, thinking of ways to fix it.

“Technically yes, but when you play it like that it sounds incomplete and the lyrics won’t work with another type of rhythm” Luke sighed “We’ve been at it for days now.”

You stayed quiet for a while, reviewing the lyrics and melody more carefully now, analyzing the situation with different approaches but without getting anywhere. It was a beautiful song, it truly was, but it needed something else, something that could create a “boom” sensation for whoever was listening.

Something like…

“Hey guys, have you finished with the- Oh, Hey, Y/N/N!” Ashton said, opening the door and finding you with his bandmates in deep concentration.

Bingo.

“Uh, why are you smiling at me like that?” Ashton asked you with a chuckle, but you didn’t even address him as you turned to Luke and Calum.

“It needs drums”

“What?” The three men said in unison. You rolled your eyes and snatched the notes from Calum’s lap and started to sing the melody.

“Here!” You pointed out “In this part, before finishing the first chorus: I already made, already made that…” And then you started to make drum noises and movements with your arms for them to get the idea.

In a matter of seconds, Luke got up from his seat and walked towards you, taking the notes from you and reviewing them with new eyes, smiling as he got the idea.

“Ha!” He laughed loudly, “You’re a fucking genius!”

“Thank you,” You said with a smug smile as you, Calum and Luke started to discuss the arrangements.

“Wait, hold up” Ashton interrupted the chatter “Y/N, I appreciate you trying to help and no offense and all but I think this isn’t your place to just decide something like that,” He said, pointing to the three of you.

You rolled your eyes. You’ve dealt with stubborn people before, but Ashton did take a spot on your top three and you knew just how to handle him.

“Wow,” You said sarcastically with a teasing smile “One would think that by being half of the rhythm section you would have more… I don’t know, rhythm?”

Ashton crooked an eyebrow and you and you knew you had him in the bag “I just don’t think-”

“You don’t think?” You said, getting up from your chair and walking up to him to be almost chest to chest. You looked up to his eyes and challenged him “Or you just can’t handle the fact that I might’ve had a better idea than you”

You could see by the sparkle in his eyes that he has taken the challenge to heart. He took a step closer to you, almost pressing his body completely against yours, and smirked.

“Want me to prove you wrong, princess?” He teased but you didn’t back up.

“I’d like to see you try, darling”

Ashton’s smirk widened as he took a step back, turning his head towards Luke and Calum who were watching the scene with intrigued eyes and knowing smiles “Get your asses back in the recording booth”

He followed them as they walked into the big recording space they had, but not before sending you a wink seconds after he closed the door.

You were thankful he didn’t see you blush.

Once they were all set with their instruments - Calum on the keys, Luke on the guitar, and Ashton behind his drum set - You pressed the buttons of the console that would make it possible for you to hear them at the other side of the mirrored glass.

“Okay boys, show me what you got”

*

You became an official 5SOS songwriter after that day and even Ashton had to admit that you were adding so much more to the band lyrics and melodies since you started to work with them.

Every day you would find yourself walking towards their studio after your band’s session and you start to work wherever they left off. It was a simple dynamic that worked wonders for everyone and after every session, you would get even more inspired to write your own music for Wallows, so it was a win-win situation, not to mention, spending time with your new co-workers; especially a particular drummer that grew closer to you that you would’ve ever imagined.

When you first met the band you hit it off pretty quickly with Luke and Calum, them being the same age as you and having pretty much the same interests; then came Michael that shared a similar sense of humor with you and with whom you discussed videogames with. But Ashton was always the one that you consciously tried to not get too close to.

In all honesty, he intimidated you but not in a bad way. He was smart, talented, and super funny, not to mention also ridiculously handsome. But he was also stubborn, a little bit egotistical, and the only one that could keep up with you in a battle of wits, teasing, and sarcasm. And you knew that if you mixed that all together it might mean trouble, especially when he smiled at you like that.

Of course you had a crush on him, who wouldn’t? But the fact is that you know what it is like to date in the industry and having feelings for a member of another pretty famous band might bring some tension to the table, so it was safer to play the crushing card and just stay friends. Or at least that’s what you tell yourself every day since you started to see him regularly and spend more time with him than with any other of the two bands.

Speaking of…

“Earth to Y/N?” Called Braeden waving a hand in front of your face “Is anybody there?”

You blinked a few times before pushing his hand away with a scoff “Very funny, B. What’s up?”

“You spaced out again” Cole added, fidgeting with his drumsticks “Just when we were going to start complimenting you on that bass line you wrote the other day…”

You smiled as you threw a pillow at him that he was able to easily dodge “Sorry, I was just-”

“Thinking about a particular drummer again?” Dylan teased, to which Cole added.

“I knew it wouldn’t take long for you to fall in love with me”

You searched for other pillows and started to throw them at your band members, giggling as they started to throw them back at you and starting an improvised pillow fight in the middle of the recording booth.

“Hey, Y/N/N! I was wondering if you-” Ashton’s sentence was cut short as he opened the door and took in the scene that was in front of him.

You were so busy chasing Breaden with a pillow on each hand and a devilish smile that you didn’t even notice when the door opened or that Ashton was standing there, smiling at you with his arms crossed as you aimed at your bandmate's head.

“Oh look, peanut!” Dylan said teasingly “You knight in shiny armor is here to-” But before he could say anything more embarrassing, you threw a pillow directly at his face to shut him out.

You quickly turned your head to Ashton who was fairly amused by your battle skills and smiled at him.

“Hey!” You said breathlessly after chasing down the others.

“Hi,” He smiled back “Am I interrupting something or?”

“Nah, you’re good,” You said, throwing one last pillow at your three friends that stood in a corner blowing teasing kisses and puppy eyes at the two of you “These assholes and I are done for the day” You commented before said assholes started to pout and complain, but you were already out the door before they could say something embarrassing again.

“So…” Ashton trailed off, starting to walk alongside you with his hands in his front pockets.

“So,” You said, drifting your eyes from him and praying to the universe that he didn’t hear anything or else it would make the blush on your face even pinker “You needed me for something?”

You wanted to get the topic of work right there in the open as soon as possible, not wanting him to notice how nervous you got when you were alone with him. At least when you were talking about work you leveled the ground in some parts.

“Actually, I’m going home early today” He smiled softly “Luke and the guys are working on a love song that’s just way too happy and butterflies - in - your -stomach like and I didn’t think they needed me there if I can’t bring nothing to the table”

“You’re not a lovey-dovey feeling kinda guy?” You teased by bumping your arm with his, earning a “hey” from him “I actually get it, I’m not that kind of person either”

“It’s not like I don’t like it, it’s just that-”

“You process your emotions differently, and it’s easier to write those when you think of love in other stages and/or mixed with other complex emotions because-”

“Love is not just one-sided! Yes!” Ashton celebrated, amazed that you could understand what he was saying “I knew you would get it”

That comment made your cheeks heat up as you looked at him, all dimpled smiles and light chuckled as he looked at you with sparkly hazel eyes. Oh no…

“Well,” You said, breaking that little moment “If they are going to work on that all day then I guess I would head home, too. I don’t think I’ll be able to provide anything else either”

“Actually,” Ashton said as he stopped in the middle of the hall leading to the exit, making you stop as well and turn to him “I was wondering if you would want to get some coffee with me now that we are both free. Of course, if you really are free and have nothing else to do and want to actually drink coffee or tea… or maybe not and you’re not that type of person and-”

“Are you asking me out?”

Ashton stopped his rambling and looked at you with an incredulous smile and lightly blushed cheeks.

“I- well, yeah,” He said shyly “Yeah, I am”

You smiled and softly chuckled “Look at the famous drummer all nervous” You teasingly took a step closer to him, not knowing where this confidence was coming from, and he did the same “It’s just me, you know?”

“And that’s exactly the reason why”

“Do I make you nervous, darling?”

“Let’s say that if it were anyone else, I wouldn’t have rambled like that, princess”

You pressed your lips in a thin line and smiled as you looked away from him, blushing like a teenager on her first date.

“So…” You trailed off.

“So?”

“Lead the way”

*

From that moment both of your routines changed once again. Now you took time off the studio at least two times a week to go with Ashton on those small friendly dates as he took you out for coffee or just simple but meaningful talks.

Soon enough you lost all the doubts that made you nervous around him, seeing how easy it was to talk to him and how much you had in common in more aspects than just music. You became more comfortable around him and your level of teasing and playing grew alongside your relationship, not to mention the level of teasing and playing you received from your band members and the other 3 Aussies who joined in on all the fun.

You were used to blushing and dismissing comments about your - undeniable - crush on the drummer, but Ashton didn’t seem to be affected by them at all. On the contrary, Ashton played along and even seemed like he was enjoying it. Like in one particular occasion where you were working on a song together and Michael said:

“Oh my god, date her already!”

Ashton didn’t blink an eye before responding “I’m trying! But she just wants to focus on the harmonies”

And you’d be lying if you said that didn’t put a smile on your face.

Yet, you kept it all professional while being in the studio; no need to mix your personal lives with whatever was going on down there, that’s why those coffee runs were your favorites.

It was an unspoken rule between the two of you that “work-talk” was forever banned from those outings.

“So what are we going to talk about?” You asked him the first time you went into his favorite coffee shop.

“Us” He simply answered, unaware of the butterflies he just set in your stomach.

“Us?”

“Yeah, I want to get to know you better, princess. Who is Y/N Sixx?”

“Who is Ashton Irwin?”

“I asked first”

“I asked second” You countered

Ashton smiled widely “You think you’re clever…”

“It doesn’t matter what I think” You answered, casually sipping on your coffee “I know I’m clever just like I know you like me that way”

You were testing the waters back then, hiding the shaking of your knees under the table as you longed to know how he felt about it. But the way he smiled and how he blushed a little bit made all your fears go away.

“Yeah, that I do”

Your cheeks turned red whenever you reminisced about that moment - or any moment that you spent with Ashton for that matter - which gave you the perfect idea for a song.

“I don’t want to kill my time with somebody else…” You hummed to yourself as you wrote down what you think is the chorus to a new song.

You told Ashton that you were not the type to write silly love songs or very uplifting songs; but there was something in that memory, something in that feeling that you couldn't ignore or just let it be without doing something about it. So, you started to write it.

You couldn't separate the feeling from the art, after all, feelings were what led you to dedicate your life to music. People would say it was because of your parent’s influence but they had little to nothing to do with your decision. This was you, the authentical you writing whatever came to mind and then sharing it with the world and only a few people will get it in its entirety. And surely Ashton was one of them.

“Dadadada something, want you all to myself”

“Wacha doing there, princess?”

Speaking of the devil.

Ashton smiled at you as he hunched over the table you were working on, trying to peek at what you were writing. You lifted the notebook and pressed it against your chest faking offense as he giggled.

“Didn’t your mother taught you not to sneak up on people, darling?” You asked as he walked around your workspace and sat himself down on the chair next to you “Besides, you’re late. You were supposed to meet me here like half an hour ago!”

“Aww, sorry Sixx” Ashton pouted “But there were no chocolate chip cookies left in the shop so I had to go around town to get you some” He then put a bag of freshly made cookies on top of the table with a cup filled with coffee.

“You didn’t have to do that, you know?”

“Of course I did! You always only eat chocolate chips cookies in the afternoon”

He started to giggle again, ignoring the way you were looking at him “How did you know that?”

“C’mon, Y/N/N, every time we go for coffee you order two, one for the coffee and another one for the road. And every time we cater something you never touch anything but those cookies”

“I never knew you were so observant”

Ashton shrugged “I just pay attention if I like what I see,” He said nonchalantly with a wink, making you blush instantly, but you covered it up with an eye roll.

“God, you’re terrible” You scoffed.

“I’m honest!” You shook your head and went back to writing, but Ashton was not going to let that go so easily. “Look, how else could I know that you always put an extra bag of sugar in your coffee?”

“‘Cause I always drink the same thing,” You said without looking up from your notebook.

“Yeah, a mocha latte with extra chocolate drizzle and no foam. Honestly, how can you handle that much sugar?” You were about to answer but he caught you off. “But that’s not all you drink, whenever you have a bad day you always order a cup of mango and ginger tea because that’s your mother’s favorite drink and it helps you calm down. You also don’t want anyone to know that you’re having a bad day but the minute someone looks away your smile starts to flatter until you’re back in the conversation”

You stopped the writing completely as you turned to him, suddenly feeling how your heart started to jump all over your chest as he kept talking, eyes never leaving yours as he gave you a soft smile, almost as if he was remembering all those moments with you.

“You draw flowers on the corner of your notebooks whenever you feel bored. You love the sad songs on the radio and you know every single word to Lorde’s Melodrama, yet every time you have to choose a playlist you put 2000’s pop and R&B songs because it hypes you up. You hate awkward silences unless you are the one being quiet. You help Dylan dye his hair every time he asks you to because you would trust each other with your lives, you give Cole relationship advice because you care about him and he always appreciates your advice more than anyone’s and Braeden is your best friend because you always say that he is one of the few people that could make you laugh in a bad day and you have no idea how much I want to be included in that list”

“Ashton-”

“You write better with dim light, it helps you concentrate on your work. You say you don’t believe in astrology yet you check your horoscope every day. You want to make sure that everyone has a good time and feels included, that’s why you always make conversations with Micahel about games you never even heard before or let Luke braid your hair when he’s bored or how you switched topics when you noticed that Calum was not engaging as much in a conversation. You literally take care of everyone but you never let anyone take care of you, and when we do you get all shy and you blush as you say thank you and you have no idea how fucking adorable you look”

You sat there speechless as he spoke. You felt the back of your throat dry as you tried to find the right words to answer all of that.

It was too much. The fact that he knew all of that and how he said it like he was just talking about his favorite things in the world, it was just too much but at the same time, you want to hear him say that again.

A weird sense of joy and shyness came over you as he set his hazel eyes on yours. You gave him a small smile as you averted your gaze to the floor.

“Wow, I-” You started “I never thought someone noticed all that”

“How could I not?” You heard him say “You’re all I can think about and to say that I don’t notice you is like saying I don’t notice the sun in the sky or the stars at night. You’re the brightest light out there, Y/N, you shine everywhere you go”

You noticed how he pulled his chair closer to you and suddenly you felt how your chair started to slowly turn his way until you were face to face.

Ashton carefully placed his fingers under your chin and tilted your head until you were finally looking into his eyes again.

“There she is!” He smiled when he noticed your blushing cheeks and gleaming eyes.

“What do you mean when you say I’m all you think about?” You asked expectantly, curling your fingers nervously on top of your thighs.

Ashton chuckled. “Well, if you didn’t notice, I really fucking like you, Y/N”

You looked up at him, smiling with hopeful eyes and feeling as if a weight was lifted off your chest thanks to the joy you were experiencing while hearing those words.

“You do?”

“Unless you don’t like me back and I just spilled my feelings for nothing-” You smacked him playfully in the arm “Ouch! I’m kidding! Of course I like you! Fuck, Y/N I’ve been falling for years now and I thought I was being pretty obvious”

You laughed “I thought you were just playing!”

In an instant, Ashton pulled your chair closer and grabbed you by the hip, lifting you up and making you sit on his lap as he hugged you by the waist and you placed your arms around his neck.

“I’ve never been more serious in my life,” He said, “I’ll do anything to prove it”

“Well,” You said, pressing a kiss to his cheek and knocking your forehead to his “How about you help me finish this song and then you take me on a date? Cause I’ve been falling for you, too and I don’t want to waste any more time”

Ashton hummed as he nuzzled his nose against your cheek, kissing it softly as he murmured “Will I get to kiss my princess at midnight?”

“Maybe… or you can take your chances now if you’d like”

He smiled.

“I like those odds”

And just before you know it, he softly pressed his lips against yours; finally creating a happy beginning for the two of you.

Instagram Posts

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tags: @iknowyouthinkimbulletproof @mystic-232 @talksoprettyjjx @theshyspy @hoodhoran @flaneurcth @notinthesameguey @bubblegum18 @irwin-fletcher-ash @just-here-to-escape-from-reality @1980holland @wiiildflowerrr @hoplessromantic727 @fivesecondsofonedirection @another-lonely-heart @aabc5sauce @dudethisiswhyyoudonthavefriends @major5sosstan @5sos-imagine @SunflowerAngel2123 @perfectnouis @in-superbloom @lukeisstillapenguin @sadcupofcoffee @superstarmarvel @personalmuyverypersonal @ashtonsunflower @nicebasscalum @calumspupils @secretsicanthideanymore @the-ghost-of-luke @alltimesos @girlwhosimps @wontlastimokwiththat @ttinahood @lukespitinmymouth @perfectnouis

[batsandbugs]

A Kiss With a Fist

AN: Hey everyone another fic coming at you! This is for the Maribat Drabble Exchange hosted by @eat0crow I’m so excited to be participating! My fic was for @pixiebuggiewrites​ who wanted a Daminette soulmate fic. Sorry I couldn’t squeeze anybody else in here it was already getting pretty long! I hope you all enjoy! You can also read it here on ao3! (Pictures are NOT mine)

Damian stormed away from the hotel, aggressively zipping his coat. He didn’t care where he was going, only that it was away from here.

He didn’t want to be in Paris. He didn’t want to watch out for incompetent amateurs. He didn’t want to ‘control your anger, Damian’. He wanted to be sent home.

The calm night taunted him, the Parisian streets were too bight and too clean, resembling nothing like his dark city. He missed patrolling, he missed his animals, hell, a part of him (a small, barely negligible part he would never admit to) even missed his siblings. But no, he was stuck here, under his father’s orders until the situation in Paris drew to a conclusion.

Considering it took five years for outside help to be even called in, he had no clue how long the mission would last. He still hadn’t met the so-called-heroes of Paris, but the research he conducted showed they were ill-trained, undisciplined, and relying on so much luck it was a fucking miracle their city wasn’t a smoking ruin by now.

He sighed, sticking his hands deeper into the pockets of his coat. He regretted not grabbing his gloves in his storm out. He’d been so irritated at his father that even though the man was on the other side of a screen, half-way across an ocean, Damian needed to physically leave to calm his anger. It left him little time to grab essentials for a chilly winter night like a hat, or gloves. He considered himself lucky for remembering to grab a coat at all.

He wandered for a solid hour, the cold sinking into his bones chilling the raging inferno that always seemed to bubble inside him. By the time he no longer wanted to scream at anyone, he was sufficiently lost, considering he hadn’t taken his phone with him either.

Coming to rest on a bridge he took a seat on a small bench. He puffed a warm breath of air into his chilly hands rubbing them together. Nighttime in Paris was so… different compared to Gotham. While big cities never truly slept, this was positively peaceful in comparison to what he was used to. He hadn’t even heard a single sound of ruckus or distress, which seemed strange considering the city was currently besieged by a magical butterfly terrorist.

Damian inwardly scoffed. Butterfly terrorist. True, being a Gothamite meant no room to judge, but he found it hard to think of a stranger string of words.

He sighed; Damian didn’t even know what his father wanted him to do here. Sure, he knew French and was a proficient fighter, but what could that even lend to the situation? They needed a detective, and, as much as he hated to admit it, Drake would have been the better option in that department. Unfortunately, he was off-world. Grayson was dealing with a problem in Hong Kong with Cass. Brown was paired with the rest of the Sirens taking care of Gotham along with Batman, and Todd…

Well, even he recognized what an awful choice Todd would be against a villain who literally used strong negative emotions as his weapon of choice. Damian had a temper; Todd was a ticking-time-bomb.

A high-pitched screech cut through the night air, before being noticeably muffled. Damian was on his feet and running before he even mentally acknowledged it. The thud of his boots on the cobblestone bridge sent small shocks through his legs. Another large clatter directed him off to a side street a couple of feet away. Three men had cornered a tiny slip of a woman, who held her purse like a weapon.

Damian saw red. “Hey, why don’t you pick on someone your own size,” he yelled in French. There was one benefit to being in a foreign city, Damian did not have to play the part of a clueless rich kid who couldn’t hold his own in a fight.

The brutes turned to him and grinned mean smiles. One guy stepped forward. “Come on man, we’re just having a little fun. You can join if you-” Damian cut off the disgusting words with a jab to the nose. Then he spun around, sweeping the second guy’s feet from underneath him, hitting him with a punch to the face to knock him out cold. The first guy hadn’t lost consciousness, but he was doubled over which allowed Damian to knee him in the stomach. Another punch to the face and he was out cold too.

He turned to finish off the last guy, only to see the woman roundhouse kicking him to the head. The burly man fell with a thud. The alley turned eerily silent, the only sounds coming from the sharp breaths of both Damian and the girl. His pulse fluttered fast; the heat of the battle warmed his chilled limbs.

A red purse laid on the ground near his feet. Picking it up he walked over to the small woman, no teen she looked about his age, who was still sharply breathing.

“Here, this is-” a blur is all he saw before a sharp pain spread across his nose.

Did she-

Did she just punch him in the face?

The shock of it sent him sprawling onto the ground, and he blinked away the tears forming in his eyes. Damian cradled his throbbing nose, anger bubbled once more under his skin before-

*Zing*  

The connection hit him like a train. A deep well of rightness spreading through him. He looked up through bleary eyes to find the woman staring at him in similar shock.

“You’re my soulmate,” they sputtered at each other.

Damian inwardly groaned. The League made initiates kill their soulmate should they ever find them to prove their loyalty. He grew up never wanting to find his soulmate, knowing they would serve as nothing but a distraction and weakness. Even when he joined his father, the idea seemed an unneeded liability. Sure, his brothers found their soulmates within the superhero community, but what were the chances he would too?

A small whimper escaped the mouth of the guy lying unconscious on the ground, knocked out by the woman the universe thought would be the perfect match for him. Damian tilted his head. She might not be a superhero, but maybe the universe knew him better than he first imagined.

“OhmygoshIamsosorry!” the flood of words spilled from his soulmate’s mouth, her face a deep shade of red. “I was just-”

“Acting on instinct and adrenaline? Appropriate, considering the threat you just faced,” he said without anger. “Your right hook is sufficiently adequate.”

“Um… thanks? Are you alright though?” She extended a hand to help him off the ground. He took it, his larger hand enveloped hers, but she showed a surprising amount of strength as she pulled him up. The contact sent another *zing* through his body, smaller and more subdued though. Damian found himself reluctant to let go.

“Yes, yes, I’m fine.” He suffered worse in training before. With the initial pain dissipated, all that was left was a dull throbbing that would be gone by morning. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” she said with a bright smile. He took the chance to finally observe his soulmate. She was small, couldn’t be more than 5’2, which meant at 6’1 he towered over her. She was of mixed descent, with dark hair spilling over her shoulders, and bright blue eyes. Her arms and legs were toned with muscle, and she held herself with grace and confidence. She wore a face of tasteful makeup and was clothed in a short red dress and a pair of strappy heels with no jacket in sight. He had no clue how she wasn’t freezing to death.

Her smile dimmed a bit. “Actually, no, I’ve had better days. Today has kinda been a perfect disaster; first I’m late for school, then I forgot my homework, and my class bully decided it was a pick-on-Marinette day. There’s a three-hour Akuma fight, involving mind-control, which is always a total drag. I finally get home to find my parents worried sick about me because I hadn’t answered my phone which got destroyed at the beginning of the fight. I go to my class’s senior Valentine’s day dance hoping to finally confess to the guy I’ve had a crush on for years, only to get humiliated because he already has a girlfriend, and everyone else in my class knew and decided not to tell me. When I get away not to cause a scene, not only do I forget my jacket, but I also get attacked by three bumbling idiots with more mouths than brains.” She chuckled, hollow and verging on manic.

Damian stood there, unsure how to take all of that. He filed away the fact she was being bullied, and that she commonly dealt with Akuma attacks. Both equally important, as far as he was concerned.

“Now, here I am, standing in front of my gorgeous soulmate I punched in the face, after beating up said earlier idiots, rambling my mouth off because I don’t know the meaning of the word chill. Yep! I’ve certainly had better days. Ohmygoshimatotalmesskillmenow.” She muttered the last part into her hands, but Damian understood her all the same.

He would come back to the gorgeous thing later.

“…Do you want my jacket? You look cold.” It wasn’t the smoothest thing he could have said, nor the most appropriate considering the mess of a day she’d had. However, the manners Alfred drilled into his brain came knocking and if he was cold with a turtle-neck long-sleeved shirt and a jacket, she must be freezing in all that… nothingness. He averted his eyes from her exposed skin, looking at her face instead.

His soulmate looked at him for a long moment, before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

“You know what, yeah, a jacket would be nice,” she said in a tired voice. Damian shed his coat quickly, not minding the sharp sting of cold that hit him. He helped his soulmate into the sleeves and took an odd little pleasure in seeing how tiny she looked in the folds of his jacket.  

“I’m Marinette, by the way, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” She wrapped the jacket closer cuddling into the heat. “Sorry for kinda freaking out on you there.”

“The kind of day you’ve had has surely broken lesser mortals. Any coping method is your due. I’m Damian, Damian Wayne. It’s a pleasure to meet you Marinette.” He smiles, although the gesture feels odd, trying to appear non-threatening. While his soulmate (and maybe he was coming around to this faster than he thought possible) was obviously skilled at dealing with a variety of stressors, he didn’t want to add any more and risk her being akumatized.

“You as well Damian.” She shivered despite the added protection of his coat, as a gust of wind swept through the alleyway. “As much fun as this conversation has been, it might be best for us to get out of the cold.”

“Indeed. What will we do with these inconveniences?” he asked, poking one of the guys with the tip of his boot.

She sighed, picking her purse from the ground where he’d dropped it. “We’ll call the police to come pick them up. They’ll be cold, but fine.”

Damian scowled, “It’s better than they deserve.” He sneered at the guy who offered for Damian to join them. Join them in assaulting this tiny, bright girl, who’d been through enough. His soulmate. The bubbling rage began anew, and he wished he’d done more than just knock them unconscious, they deserved far worse for thinking, daring, to touch-

A small hand rested on his arm, dragging him out of his violent thoughts. “I’m fine Damian. Even if you hadn’t arrived, I would have been fine. I can hold my own in a fight. This is Paris after all.”

“Tt,” Damian scoffed. “Fine. We’ll leave them to their fates.” And if their fates happened to involve complete ruination of their online lives, credit scores, and secure information? Well, that was hardly his fault, now was it?

“There’s a good café opened late around the corner. Would you- would you like to go there?” Marinette asked.

Damian smiled at the tentative offer. “I would very much enjoy that, yes. I’ve been out for longer than I should, coffee would be great right about now.” She giggled and he felt his stomach flutter. Funny, giggling always annoyed him, but that bright clear sound... he could grow used to that.

Walking out of the dark alley, listening to Marinette talk to the police on her phone, Damian sighed. The streets no longer felt too clean, or the lights too bright. Yes, he was colder, and yes this was a complication, but for some reason, Damian could not bring himself to care.

Maybe Paris wouldn’t be so bad after all.

[asterekmess]

Did you ever watch Buffy? The first episode where Anya was introduced was titled "The Wish" and all I can think about is if Scott McCall had ever run into a pure Sidhe where they offered him a wish. Instead of, "I wish Buffy had never come to Sunnydale." It would be more, "I wish I was never bitten to become a werewolf." But just like all feaye tricks, the outcome is more, his Dad ended up with primary custody rather than his Mom and he was forced to leave BH. And then Stiles ended up more friends with Heather and others. And while Scott's life is worse, when he tracks down the others he finds all of theirs are greatly improved.

I think about it a lot and how Scott never really dealt with the consequences of any of his actions, everyone else did, and how an episode or mini-arc could have fixed a flaw in the show's design. I mean, we were already dealing with a lot of Celtic lore, why not someone from the Sidhe courts?

I have no idea why this took me so long to answer, so apologies for that. <3 I did watch buffy! I've seen all of it, and all of Angel as well. XD

I remember 'The Wish' episode, and whoooo boy it gave me chills. I loved how big the butterfly effect was, how something that seemed so small, something that Genuinely seemed to be the cause of a lot of problems in Sunnydale, ended up being so important to how things had progressed. Because, yeah, you would think Buffy not coming to Sunnydale would be a Good Thing, right? Sunnydale didn't have all of these insane issues before she arrived. It was quiet, and nothing big or scary ever happened. Her arrival matches perfectly with when everything started going absolutely nuts, so whatever selfish ideas Cordelia had, her thought that Buffy not coming to Sunnydale would be a good thing, makes sense. Except that, as she finds out, she's entirely wrong. Buffy's arrival was a lucky coincidence, or fate, whatever your taste leans toward. She showed up right as things started going nuts, and she kept it from going SO MUCH MORE NUTS.

Now, moving on to TW, it is a fascinating mix of being the Exact same situation, and the exact Opposite. I'll add a Read More, cus' holy god is this a lot of Rambling.

Because Scott wishing not to have been bitten...yeah, the bite Did improve things. But it improved things for him. He would absolutely regret making the wish, just like Cordelia did, because he would realize how many good things the bite had brought with it. BUT, conversely, he would have to realize how many good things the bite had brought for him, not for other people, and how their lives either wouldn't have been affect, or might've even Improved without him being bitten. Without the bite, Scott wouldn't have gotten on first line, period. His health issues made very clear in the five minutes he had them that any kind of stamina based sport was just out of the question for him. If he is unable to walk through the woods at a moderate pace without needing to grab his inhaler and stop against a tree, he just plain cannot play lacrosse for two or three hours of running at high speeds and working a bunch of muscles in his upper body. He likely wouldn't have gone out with Allison, because he would have no convenient way to get her attention. Furthermore, he wouldn't have the extra senses that both impressed her on the lacrosse field, and told him about her 'family dinner' the night of Lydia's party. (I've discussed this before, but... While it's true, Allison would have still brought him the dog; that dog would likely have attacked him, and his chances with her would have been shot in the foot when they both got in massive trouble and he likely had to go to the ER for stitches or something. Without Allison or first line, he wouldn't have started hanging out with the 'cool kids,' and quite frankly, wouldn't have had anyone to help him study for the classes he was struggling with. It's true that he also wouldn't have had werewolf things to worry about, or even a girlfriend to distract him from homework, so maybe that wouldn't have been such a huge issue, but still.

If we look at other people's lives and how They would have been affected by Scott not getting the bite...well, let's talk about that.

Stiles didn't get on first line because of Scott, or because of a werewolf bite. Or even because of the werewolf bullshittery occurring in town. He was put on first line because of his abilities, and even after being taken OFF first line for missing the game, he was put Right onto the field in the next game, chosen OVER other players who were perfectly viable options. Which means, he still would've ended up on first line. Allison wasn't interested in dating before she met Scott, and part of her draw to him was based on how 'different' he was. He knew things she didn't know how he could know, he had a weird ability to calm a furious, injured dog, and he had charisma that was ALSO gained from the bite, since being on first line made Scott Much more self-confident. If she didn't end up dating him, it's likely she wouldn't have dated at all. Which would mean no hiding from her parents, no strange conflicts of interest, AND, interestingly enough --depending on her involvement in the murders, etc that would still be occurring in town--no night in the school that would scare her bad enough to ask Kate for extra help and tip her headfirst into hunter training. AND, even if she DID still end up getting those lessons from Kate? There would be no bitterness to fuel her behavior at the end of season 1.

Allison was Traumatized after Kate showed her Derek on the grate. She was horrified, and didn't know what to do about it, and while we can ramble all we want about the morality of her not confronting her family (whom she's just discovered is willing to electrocute people) about it, the fact is that she pushed the thoughts aside to stop freaking out and went to that dance. Where she found out Scott was a werewolf, and was So fucking Betrayed that she was willing to help Kate catch him and Derek. No Scott, no betrayal, no willingness to help Kate recapture the miserable man who'd been chained up in a basement.

If we go back to that specific night, and try to unfold the events from there if Scott hadn't been bitten, things get a little complicated, but I'll take a few artistic liberties. Scott isn't bitten. Presumably, he just happens to get out of the woods in time, or he gets caught with Stiles by the sheriff, or doesn't go to the woods in the first place. These all change the possible outcomes of that night. If he hadn't gone in the first place, and Stiles went alone, would he have been bitten instead? Would Scott have been dragged into all of this anyway, but without the protection and boost of being a werewolf and cured of his asthma? If he weren't the one bitten, and he saw everything Stiles gained from it, would he still have such a hatred for the bite? Or would he want it, like Erica did, to cure him and make him powerful and cool? But, let's assume Stiles doesn't get bitten either. The second half of Laura's body still hasn't been found, and Stiles has no reason to fear running back into the preserve the next day, and no real punishment from his father as far as we can tell. So, does he go back to look again? If he did, he would run into Derek, because Derek would still be there after retrieving Laura's body himself. He would see Derek and still recognize him, and from there, things might spiral, still involving Stiles in the supernatural, and it's likely Stiles would try to involve Scott, and Again we get hit with "Would Scott want the bite, if he hadn't gotten forcibly bitten in the first place?" The answer is probably yes. He wanted to be cool, and popular, and on the lacrosse team. He wanted everything being a werewolf gave him. BUT if we're looking at this wish as similar to "The Wish," then no matter what, Scott won't be bitten. He'll be transported to a new world where it just never happened, and he'll be human, and forced to watch everyone around him be just plain different. Scott not being bitten would isolate him from Stiles, if Stiles got involved in the spn anyway. We SAW how Stiles cut off his other friends once the spn starting getting in the way. He and Harley? We have no clue how close they were. They were close enough for her to tease him about his crush on Lydia, for her to wander up comfortably to the locker and talk to them. And he cut her off as soon as the werewolf stuff hit. What if he cut Scott off? To protect him, if nothing else, like he did his own father. Once he realized the danger involved, I doubt he would be willing to put Scott in harm's way.

So, Scott would not only lose first line, lose his girlfriend, lose his popularity, lose his health and strength and heightened abilities, lose his 'importance' to the goings-on of Beacon Hills, but he would also lose Stiles, who seems to have been his only friend, unless he also had a relationship with Harley.

Okay, I've rambled enough about the what if's, so let's talk about the Reason why this wish would go so badly for Scott, in such a different way than it went for Cordelia. Cordelia, first off, wished that someone Else would not have/do something, rather than wishing for herself not to have done something. She watches how fucked up the world gets, and how much worse her life is without Buffy around to save the day. Scott wished for Himself not to have done something (even something passive, like 'get bitten') and would have to watch how fucked up his world gets, and how far behind he would fall. The other's lives might not necessarily get better, because Peter is still on the loose, and the hunters are still there, etc etc, but they would still Progress, while Scott would stay stagnant.

And WHY is that? Because Scott isn't important to the story. It DOESN'T start with him. That's the Whole Point of his character. He is supposed to be the 'everyman' who gets dragged into crazy shit and becomes integral to things that he wasn't ever meant to be a part of. The guy who wanders into becoming King or 'The Hero' that will save the world, even though he's just a small lad from a tiny town, whose highest prospects were "get on first line."

He was NEVER supposed to be Buffy, or if he was, it was done Very Badly.

But Beacon Hills WASN'T a quiet town before Scott was bitten; however much he might've said 'nothing ever happens in this town.' It was FULL of bullshittery and magic from the very beginning. There was the fire, and Paige, and the blinding of Deucalion, and the death of Alexander Argent, and the Nogitsune in the internment camp nearby. All of these things were around So much longer than Scott's bite, and they'd been affecting the world that whole time too. Because yes, in Buffy, the master was There before she was, but he was literally rendered inert by the situations he was in. And the things he'd done happened Centuries before, not six years. There is a difference. Sunnydale was Not Known for the insane number of weird deaths. Beacon Hills was. And aside from the Nogitsune, every single fucking thing that happened in Beacon Hills, was attuned to the Hale family in one way or another. Deucalion's blinding occurred during a meeting on Hale land, because Talia was known as a wise leader, etc, in the area and other wolves flocked to her. Deucalion biting Argent seems unrelated (if you even believe Deucalion did that, despite being a fucking pacifist before Gerard blinded him), but again, it occurs just a couple hours away from Beacon Hills, which is Hale Territory. The one who plays the Buffy role here? Who shows up at just the right time, and launches themself against an endless wave of evil, with slightly enhanced senses and a thorough need to do good and not back away from things that 'aren't they're problem'? The actual hero who is somehow tied to everything going on in ways even they don't understand? Was Derek. The guy who entirely unwittingly allowed Julia Baccari to survive, because he was trying to be merciful to his first love. Who entirely unwittingly was manipulated into giving up information that let a hunter kill his family. Who followed his sister back to town after six years of just trying to survive in New York, fell into a fucking tragedy, and decided to stop the bad guys anyway, even though he knew he didn't stand a fucking chance.

And as annoyed as some might get. The 'everyman' who stumbles onto the set and accidentally becomes integral to the saving of the world? The one whose ambitions are small and who expectations are smaller? Who is misunderstood, and has abilities that aren't recognized or appreciated, that doesn't really fit in, but tries their best anyway? The literal Angel to Derek's Buffy?

Is fucking Stiles. The son of the sheriff who just could not let it go when he discovered there was something funky going on. Who hung around on the edges, even though he wasn't really wanted, because he needed to help. Who ended up saving Derek's life over and over, and becoming so important as to be Derek's anchor? Who literally WENT DARKSIDE and HAD TO BE NEARLY KILLED, even though Derek didn't to kill him???

I know how it sounds, but JD SAID he took inspiration from Buffy. The issue is that his parallels are between DEREK AND STILES, and BUFFY AND ANGEL. Respectively.

Derek might act like the broody bad boy, but it is STILES' mentality that matches Angel's behavior, and it's Derek who matches Buffy.

I'm so fucking off track. Scott would be miserable if he ever managed to get a wish and used it to keep from having been bitten. And it would be sad. I would feel bad for him, had I watched something like that happen. Seeing him realize that most of the good things he had, he only got because of the bite. That Stiles would still be on first line, that Lydia and Jackson would still be the popular kids. That Allison wouldn't know he existed, or if she did would avoid him entirely. That Jackson would never have been turned into the kanima in the first place. That everyone else would move on and up in life, and he would still be standing at the bottom step. Because it wasn't his actual limitations that were holding him back, it was his refusal to accept them, to work with them, and to just plain stop Envying Everyone Around him, and start living his own fucking life instead of trying to steal other people's.

Scott wishes he were Cordelia, and I promise that would backfire too.

[badgirlcovenrep]

atlas

Alex Chen × Steph Gingrich fluffy comfort one-shot

(I was talking to a friend about the game and we were discussing how Alex is probably still carrying a lot of trauma. And even after everything that happened at the mines we still don't see her really grieve for the whole situation and herself. So- I had to write it, you know?)

Enjoy!

TW: mentions of suicide, death and mental health issues.

It's two months into their relationship now, and they are somewhere in a Californian town, living in a tiny apartment close to the beach. They play together in small venues and underground clubs. Alex bartends and Steph referees for DND campaigns at a nerd bar they found by chance on their first week there.

They're happy. As happy as Alex remembers being since she was- well, maybe nine.

Every day, it's a little like waking up into a dream. Living in an apartment with her first girlfriend, listening to music as they cooked dinner together. Getting to kiss her just because Alex felt like it. Because her heart went a little loopy inside her chest when she smiled. Because she knew Steph would hold on to her waist and make her feel like she was full of electricity.

The 'falling in love' business felt overrated before Steph.

But Being in the middle of it now, Alex doesn't think there's anything better.

Although a part of her still felt quite numb - she guesses it's not something that will go away that easily - and day by day, Alex felt a little bit more like she could breathe... like she was finally letting herself go, at least a little bit.

****

Now that she could comprehend and use her powers, it also seemed as if she'd started to become even more of a magnet for all sorts of emotion around her. And apparently Alex could do it in her sleep too.

The nightmares came in clusters most of the time, a badly cut-together mess of voices and feelings. The lady that lived under them, who lost her son when he was little. The couple from down the street, who were going through a hard time in their relationship. Even the little girl from upstairs, who had terrible night terrors of sharp-teethed monsters reaching from under her bed.

They all mixed inside her head until she woke up gasping for air and sizzling with emotion.

It was rare that she'd have a full dream, one that made sense and completed itself, but when she did they were always about Gabe. About sitting together at the rooftop of the Lantern and sharing a beer. Or climbing trees, like they used to do when they were little.

It was a relief from the usual doom.

And that dream was supposed to be nothing different. Or at least she thought it wasn't.

****

In it, they were at the ravine. A world of twinkling stars shining above their heads. The Colorado mountains all around them creating a landscape that was just as beautiful as it was bittersweet. Alex could see the log she'd crossed, still standing between her and the tiny outcrop of stone Ethan had been stranded on.

She hadn't dreamed of the ravine since leaving Haven Springs, but while she was there, Alex dreamt of it every night. She would see it when her eyes were closed. She could hear it, - the sirens, the terrible, deafening rumble of the ground splitting beneath them. The panic, pounding into her ears.

But this is different. Because when she looks around, Alex realizes she's standing over the elevated plateau, tied to the waist and leaning all her weight against a sturdy piece of rock.

Looking at her from below is Gabe. Lying on the cold ground. A cheesy smile spread across his face.

"Why are we switched?" Alex asks because that's all she can think of asking, as she stares at the rope that anchored her to the ground... to Gabe.

"Beats me. This is all your brain, not mine." He says, and Alex huffs in annoyance, "you know what's going to happen, but you keep coming here."

"I don't have a choice."

"Hmmm..." Gabe hums, but there's some humor in his expression as he stares intently back at her, "and that's exactly why... I'm here because I should say goodbye."

A coldness spreads over Alex's limbs. Around her, the very fabric of the dream dims into darkness as a strong breeze blows past them. She suddenly feels like throwing up.

"What- what does that mean?" It's a stupid question. This is her dream. Alex knows what it means.

Deep down, she knew she'd been conjuring him up for her own sake. Trying to bring back any morsel of relief into the giant hole he'd left inside her heart. However, Alex also knew at some point he'd be gone- she just didn't expect-

"You don't need me anymore, Alex." He says. As if it's that simple. As if she'd ever-

"I'll always need you, Gabe. Of course I need you." The words stumble out of her mouth, and she can feel the hot, angry tears falling down her face.

It feels like a hot iron pressed to the very top of her chest.

Like lava, boiling up into her bloodstream until Alex wants to punch something. The steam that prickles from under her skin, fighting to break free.

Anger always comes first when people feel cornered. It's something she noticed a while back. Out of all the emotions Alex had dealt with the past few months, that, at least, hadn't changed.

"Shit, Gabe. When you died I needed you more than ever."

"But we can't fix that, can we?" He asks, and another wave of anger rips through her. She looks anywhere but him, because Alex feels that if she does, she'll tackle and kill him all over again. But when he says nothing and they're left in the same pocket of silence - the one right before the whole world collapsed - her eyes eventually fall back to her brother. Tied to her and laid on the ground beneath. Looking at her like just as much the goofy asshole she missed so much.

Anger always felt urgent and fast, like a flash going through her body and leaving everything inside it in disarray. It demanded to be completely felt, but only for the moment it took for Alex to decide it wasn't worth launching the nearest object at a window.

Or trying to kill her dead brother.

"You might have needed Gabe. But you don't need this Gabe anymore, Alex. You can do it on your own now."

The fear and sadness that came after? They were usually much, much worse.

"But this is the only Gabe I have."

Those emotions, when mixed, turned into a horrible harmony that paralyzed her lungs and darkened the sides of her vision. They felt just as urgent as anger, but complacent. A beast staring at her from the very bottom of a pit. Tied to her by the waist and trying to lure her down into the abyss.

And, for Alex, the abyss was as deep as a ventilation shaft for a Colorado mining site.

"No, it's not. You'll always have me, Alex. And you know that." Not in the way that matters. Alex wants to say, but it's so redundant. He's the ghost. He should already know that. "And you have Ryan now, and Eleanor, Riley, Charlotte, Ethan... Steph..." he gives her a cheesy smile in the last name, wiggling his eyebrows back at her teasingly.

"Oh, God, way to ruin the moment." Alex can't help but chuckle a little through her tears. Is she blushing? You can't blame her for blushing, right? God, she feels like Diane.

"Hey. Let me have it. One of my only regrets is that I never got to tease the hell out of Steph for dating my little sister... and for being whipped as hell."

"That would have been so funny."

"I knew she'd get along with you but I guess I didn't expect... that. Shame on me. Should've had more artistic vision."

Alex chuckles as more tears run down her face. It's so bittersweet it hurts from the very inside of herself.

"All jokes aside. I'm glad you have her, and that she has you. She's good. Just make sure you tell her I'll haunt her from the grave if her dumb ass breaks your heart, okay?" Alex nods, and her body starts shaking with strangled sobs. So much emotion she just can't let go of. Because if she does, Alex is afraid there'll be nothing left.

"Hey. Don't cry. You can do this, Alex. You know how to live life now."

"I don't want to lose you again, Gabe."

"You'll never lose me. You'll just have to look a little harder." He smiles up at her, pulling jokingly on the rope, "now play your part - or is it my part? You get it."

And then- too soon. (Same as it was that night.) The sirens blast through the mountains, and somewhere above them, a giant explosion blows her eardrums, and boulders the size of cars come tumbling down the mountain.

She barely has time to blink. Barely has time to breathe one last time. Seen as she's Gabe, when she looks up all she sees is the giant rock, flying towards her, hitting her across the torso so hard, before she knows, she's flying way above the ravine, and one last glimpse of the stars catches hold over the veil of her memory before everything turns black.

****

She wakes up in bed, desperately clawing at the top of her chest as she gasps for air. Her lungs feel like they're made of lead, and all around her, she can feel the weight of the rocks, the explosion, the debris, weighing down her body.

Alex pats across the mattress for Steph, who is not there. Another wave of panic washes over her. So strong her mouth turns dry and her head aches as she tries to breathe in, but her lungs can only handle tiny, torturous gasps of half-breath.

Alex dispels a world of curses towards herself inside. Willing her own body to just calm down. In the bathroom, she can hear Steph singing softly to herself- she must have come home late from the DND tournament. Alex told her she'd swing by, but she'd had a long shift and ended up just passing out as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Alex hadn't had an incident like this in very long. She could control it now. Most times. It wasn't easy, with being on the road and constantly surrounded by people. Sometimes, she still got more than she could bargain. When she walked across a depressed person on the sidewalk, or heard one of their multiple neighbors yelling at each other through the walls, and suddenly she felt as if the world blended out of focus into a tsunami of feeling.

Feeling that wasn't hers but still felt so much like it was.

Steph helped whenever it happened. For a sarcastic punk rock mess, she was surprisingly stable and so very reassuring.

Just the fact that she can hear her voice. That Steph is there in the apartment with her, is enough to calm some of her nerves, and while Alex still can't keep herself from pulling in gasps of air as she tries to hold in any kind of oxygen, she at least has a plan.

Water. Water will make her feel better, right?

Almost as soon as the idea crosses her mind, Alex's half-delirious brain commands her to get up, but her body feels so very heavy. Like she's really been trampled over by a wave of giant boulders. And as soon as her feet touch the ground, her legs give up under the weight, and she falls onto the hard floor with a loud, heavy thud.

The girl's hands fly up to hold her weight against the bed, and thankfully that means she doesn't face plant the ground, but it sends her heart into a neck-breaking pace, and all air Alex'd been able to gather so far escapes her in a single huff until she's hyperventilating again, hot, angry tears running down her face.

You're so weak. You're such a fucking idiot. Of course, you had to go and lose Gabe twice, who the fuck would want to stay with such a mess-

"Alex, are you okay?" Steph's voice comes, as she opens the door to find her girlfriend sitting on the ground, looking like she might pass out from just trying to get her lungs to work, "Alex!"

In a second she's crossed their room and kneeled by her, both hands going up to her cheeks on instinct, smearing away her tears.

"Breathe with me, okay? We've done this before, you can do it." She always gets just a tiny bit of a scared aura around her when Alex gets like this, never for long enough that she can read it, but it's still there, the tiny flutter of fear, "come on, breathe."

Her eyes go up to find Steph's, her strong, glittering green gaze. Alex might be the one with superpowers, but it was Steph who could so easily reach in and soften her edges like it was nothing. It was Steph who could just lean in and hold Alex's hand against her chest, letting her feel the determined rise of her lungs. Strong. Stable. Even Alex couldn't possibly understand how she did that.

How she always made Alex's breathing slowly come to shaky, deep breaths, crawling painfully out of her dry throat, but still better than gasping like a fish. Inside her, Alex feels the furious hurricane of emotion, twisting itself into the bottom of her lungs, taking hold of every bit of her until she felt like she could throw up.

"Wait here, I'll get you water," Steph says, and Alex wants to complain, she doesn't want to be alone, even for a second.

But before she can, Steph has left their bedroom for the kitchen, and Alex feels as if she's stable enough to crawl into bed, so she does so at a glacial pace. She grabs Shu-Shu, holding her close to her chest as she sits and waits for Steph.

She eventually comes back in with a glass full and Alex gulps it down in silence, unsure if whatever dam of emotion that has taken place inside of her will break if she tries to speak. So she sets the glass back and lies her head down on the pillow, facing away from Steph and the rest of the room as she tries to reel herself back in.

She can hear Steph taking off her boots and climbing into bed, one arm winding around her waist as she pulls Alex in closer.

"Was it the lady from upstairs?" Steph asks, eventually, after they sit in a few long minutes of silence.

"No." She replies, and it comes out so strangled, so broken, a few more tears run down her face. Steph pulls her even closer, a tight, steady pressure.

"The couple again? I swear to God I'll call the police on that asshole this time."

"No." Alex says, and she detaches herself from Steph just enough so she can turn around and look at her, "I had a dream about Gabe." Simply saying his name makes her whole body shake. Steph is looking at her so intensely, Alex has to close her eyes, holding on to the fabric of her shirt with all she had not to explode in whatever terrifying, dizzying bomb of emotion she could feel brewing inside herself.

Alex felt so much from other people it overwhelmed her multiple times a day, and even then, it was nothing compared to this. Nothing compared to how much sheer strength it took from her not to let it blow.

It scared her. More than anything.

"He wanted to say goodbye." She says eventually, "it was- I don't know. This- I- this isn't coming from anyone- How do I get rid of it? It's like it's all inside of me and it's taking up so much space and I don't know how to fix it" The words come tumbling out before she can stop them, and she's rambling through tears.

Steph sighs. And Alex can feel the love and sadness mixed together, blowing from her in waves as she holds Alex's chin, bringing her up so they can look at each other.

"Baby..." there are tears in her eyes now, as she pulls her closer until their foreheads are touching, and they are so close Alex can smell her lemongrass shampoo, "This is all yours."

And such simple words shouldn't hit her this fucking hard.

But it all suddenly makes so much sense-

Alex was numb after her dad left. She felt nothing for months. It was one of the most terrifying feelings in the world, a deep and powerful depression that threatened to overtake her at any given point.

Like her whole body was nothing but dead weight and her brain was way too tired to even try and keep up.

Young as she was, Alex guesses she never realized the first time she felt anything at all after that was when she discovered her powers. The day a boy came to the orphanage and he was so angry it blew her across the hallway. Ever since then, everything around her was a cacophony of feeling. Coming from every direction. Every street corner, every store, every park.

Every moment of her life since she was eleven, Alex could only feel for others.

"I- I forgot." She realizes, half surprise and half so much sadness another sob breaks through her throat.

Now it made sense, the anger, the sadness, the fear, a hurricane of emotion so very powerful it made her ears ring.

"I'm scared." She admits. Because for someone who had been so focused on learning how to exist among other people's feelings, Alex had no clue how to handle herself, "what do I do with all of this? How do I fix it?"

"Alex. Look at me." Steph brings her face upwards until they are so close, Alex can see the speckles of blue in her eyes, "Gabe died just four months ago, and you were there to see everything- then you got shot and thrown down God knows how many stories into a dark abyss that you somehow walked out of, but not before also finding out about your dad's tragic death - and I haven't seen you cry, actually cry, for yourself, even once."

"I- I can't, it's too much. I don't know how, Steph." Alex had learned her lesson. She'd seen her life as it was and survived it. Deep down she knew it wasn't her responsibility anymore - that it never was her responsibility, to begin with - to hold herself together for others. She knows.

But old habits die hard, and Alex guesses it'll take a while before she starts feeling it too.

Because right now, it still felt like the world might collapse if she wasn't there to hold it together.

"Just- give it to me. Everything you have, I can carry it for you." Steph says, with such determination, Alex actually believes her, but she takes her eyes away, trying to avoid the bubbling of tears threatening to jump out through her throat "Let it go, please, Alex. I can't watch you carry it alone anymore."

At that moment, Alex glances at her again, and there's so much pain, so much love in her eyes, that inside Alex, the dam finally breaks and she's choking on sobs. Tears start running down her cheeks as Steph leans in and pulls her closer, one arm around her shoulder and one on her hip, squeezing tight in reassurance.

If she didn't know better, Alex would've guessed Steph was the one with the superpowers, with the way she coaxes wave after wave of emotion out of her with nothing but her steady presence and quick, light kisses she leaves on Alex's head and hair as she holds on to her shirt for dear life.

It overwhelmed her more than anything she'd experienced so far, and for what feels like hours, she just sobs as Steph holds her.

She cries for her mom. Dead before her time, trying to hold them together to the very end. She cries for her dad, dying a slow death deep underground, a picture of the two children he'd never see again dangling around his neck. She cries for Gabe, for the time they'd never have, for the time they did have.

Above all, for the first time, Alex cried for herself. For being the last out of all of them. For the little girl that had to love and lose every single one of them in succession.

And in the middle of all of it, like a speckle of golden light hidden under all the darkness, for the first time, she feels that it could all start to feel alright.

[arrowflier]

How about something with Mickey and Lip and their very strong stance that 'you don't beat women'/'guys that beat women they're bitches'. Both men have super short tempers, which is why they're always literally in each other's faces, but I'd like them to use that short temper while on the same side please!

Content Warning: mention of domestic violence

The bell over the door chimes as Cynthia walks into the salon, and four pairs of eyes focus on her immediately.

“Oh, um…” she says, caught off guard by their instant attention. “I just…” She looks back through the window of the waiting room, into the semi-darkened parking lot.

“Can I stay in here a bit?” she asks finally, sounding sheepish.

“Uh…I’m kind of the only one in right now,” the stylist answers, hands currently full of thick red hair, the woman in front of her raising expressive eyebrows at the interruption. “Did you have an appointment or something?”

Cynthia shakes her head, lips twisting.

“No,” she admits easily. “But I do have a crazy ex that’s been following me for two blocks, and I’d love not to deal with that right now.”

The stylist softens.

“Oh,” she says. “Okay, whatever.” she turns back the woman in the chair, using her head to gesture to an empty spot in the waiting area. “Take a seat, we’ll be here for a bit anyway.”

Cynthia does as she’s bid, sitting gingerly on a red-cushioned armchair near the door. Two men stare at her as she does, and she remembers the other two people in the room. They’re sitting as far apart as they can without leaving, but they obviously know each other; it’s all in the little look they share when she turns their way.

“Got a nice shiner goin’ there,” one of the men says, the one with the sleepy eyes and close-cropped hair. “Something happen?”

Cynthia repressed the urge to touch her bruised eye.

The other man leans forward, elbows on knees exposed through strategically torn black jeans. He cracks his knuckles, and her eyes are drawn to the crude words written there.

“Crazy ex do that?” he asks, sounding as if he understands. “You got shit taste in partners if they did.”

And despite herself, Cynthia laughs.

“You can say that again,” she says, and relaxes for the first time since she noticed Sam following her.

As her laughter fades, she notices the stylist watching her again; or at least watching her reflection in the mirror. Cynthia smiles—I’m okay, it says, really—and the woman smiles back.

“I’m Tami, by the way,” she introduces herself, though she doesn’t turn from her task. She runs a silver comb through red hair as she adds, “and these goons are my family, but let that influence what you think of me.”

“Hey,” the thin man says, frowning, “I’m the father of your child, you’re not supposed to be embarrassed by me.”

The other man snorts.

“Kind of hard not to be, Phillip,” he mutters, and ducks when Tami throws a comb at him without looking.

“Be nice to my boyfriend, Mickey,” she orders, “or I’ll mess up your cut.”

Blue eyes narrow.

“You wouldn’t. I’m your best fucking friend.”

“So?”

The tough one, Mickey, grins.

“And you’d have to deal with Ian’s sad face,” he adds, and Tami sighs.

“Fine,” she mutters. “But still, play nice.”

Cynthia relaxes further as they banter around her. It’s like being at home, her sisters all arguing while braiding each other’s hair with tender hands. She smiles wider, then winces when it pulls at her black eye.

“Hey,” Mickey says from across the little room. “Lady.”

Cynthia looks at him. His brows are furrowed.

“You never answered,” he says. “Your ex do that to your face?”

Cynthia bites her lip. Looks to the others. With the exception of Tami, they’re all looking at her expectantly, even the woman in the middle of her cut and style.

“Uh, yeah,” she admits, feeling silly as she confesses it to strangers. “I mean, we just broke up yesterday, and it…”

She blinked. Swallowed. Forced a laugh.

“Well, it didn’t go well.”

Silence, for a moment, as Cynthia avoided meeting anyone’s eyes. Then:

“And you said that fucker followed you here?” Mickey asks, already half-rising. “That’s good. Means I can fuck an asshole up.”

She isn’t that surprised. Maybe she should be—someone with those tattoos may not be what most people would expect of someone against domestic violence—but there a certain air about him, a protectiveness, that told her this wasn’t the first time he had intervened in this kind of situation.

She was more surprised when Phillip rose with him.

“Only a fucking coward hits a woman,” he spit out, face already twisted from her confirmation. “Little bitch needs to learn a lesson.”

“Lip,” Tami warns from her station. “Take it easy.”

Mickey is the one to reply.

“Nah,” he says, rubbing his upper lip. “For once your baby-daddy’s right, Tamietti. We gotta go give this dude a beatdown he ain’t gonna forget.”

Oh. Oops.

“Actually,” Cynthia says, hesitant, “Sam is—”

The door swings open, the little bell on top going wild.

“Cynthia,” Sam growls from the opening. “Are you fucking hiding from me?”

Fuck.

“Of course I am,” Cynthia says, standing. She feels better being on her feet with Sam so close. “You hit me, you bitch, you think I want to see you?”

Someone coughs behind her. Cynthia looks, just for a second, as long as she can stand to take her eyes away from Sam.

Mickey is staring at them, wide-eyed, fists clenched but not raised. Phillip’s mouth is open like a fish.

“What are you looking at them for?” Sam asks, angry. “These your new boyfriends or somethin’?”

“Don’t be stupid,” Cynthia mutters, and flushes. “I don’t even know them.”

Sam smirks.

“They look like pussies anyway.”

Cynthia waits for someone to do something. But for all their talk, Mickey and Phillip are silent, but for the frantic whispers they exchange behind her back.

“Should we…” Mickey wonders.

“No way,” Phillip hisses back. “We can’t—”

“But she—”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” comes a new voice, cutting right across them.

Cynthia barely comprehends it when the woman from the chair storms past her in a wave of red hair and flower-scented shampoo. Then Sam is going down, victim of a wicked right hook to the temple, and the woman is shaking out her hand while standing over the prone body of Cynthia’s abusive ex-girlfriend.

Phillip and Mickey gape, and Cynthia gapes right along with them. Then the woman flips her hair, holds out the hand that just dealt divine punishment, and says:

“Hi, I’m Debbie. Wanna go out sometime?”