#A quick sketch because I’m tired and I will forget by tomorrow

[someidiot-withadhd]

Oh wait have I never posted Tilin on here?

I draw them so much, how have I never shown them here??

Anyway, have a Tilin!!

[labomi]

a demon’s promise | (18+)

summary: You didn't want to spend your Friday night trying to summon the king of all demons in your tiny apartment, but here you are with your best friend by your side reciting an incantation from a strange book. To your utter relief, the spell doesn't work or so you seem to think.

pairing: sukuna ryomen x f!reader

words: 4.2k

warnings: explicit sexual content, slight dubcon, smut, explicit language, choking, overstimulation, rough sex, pet names, not a particularly happy ending

notes: read on ao3 here! first sukuna piece and i don’t have much to say except aahhhhh!! i initially planned it to be more of a cute, fluffy story but obviously that didn’t happen oops. well anyways thanks for reading!

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” you ask hesitantly, watching your best friend finish drawing a pentagram on your living room floor. Kimi dusts the chalk off her fingers, admiring her work with a satisfied smile.

“Oh, come on,” she says, a little exasperated at you. “Don’t bail on me now. Aren’t you the tiniest bit excited?”

“About summoning a demon from a weird book you found in the back of a sketchy thrift shop? Yea, I’m absolutely thrilled,” you deadpan.

It was about a week ago when Kimi surprised you with her new find. The book was bound in torn leather and filled with handwritten notes about how to conjure the supernatural on ink stained, wrinkled pages. It certainly looked old, but you couldn’t help but think it was a scam. Some kid might have decided to replicate the look and feel of an ancient book, filling it with absolute nonsense that your best friend was clearing falling for. 

Unfortunately, once Kimi had gotten a hold of this book, she would not shut up about it. For the past week, you tried your best to feign interest in her new obsession as she flipped through pages, oohing and aahing at the sketches and descriptions of different types of demons. They ranged from little mischievous creatures to incubi and succubi and even a terrifying being that ate the souls of its prey.

For the most part, you think the book is absolutely absurd, but you can't ignore the tiny voice in your head that is just a little terrified about the potential existence of demons. Kimi had begged you nonstop to try one of the spells. You were hesitant and initially said no, but she kept begging you over and over again. Eventually you gave in because she was your best friend, and she was clearly excited about trying out the book with you. There is no harm in humoring her a little, right?

Kimi finishes lighting the five candles that surround the pentagram as you place a small bowl in the center.

“Alright!” Kimi says, clapping her hands. She looks at the open spell book next to her, double checking the instructions. “The only thing left is a drop of human blood.” Kimi looks at you expectantly.

You blink and point a finger at yourself. “Me?” you squeak. “But isn’t this your idea?”

“But you know how squeamish I get about pain and blood! Pretty pretty pleaassee,” your best friend begs.

You sigh. “Alright, alright. You owe me big time for this. Hand me the knife.” Kimi happily gives you the small knife that you had grabbed earlier from the kitchen. Scrunching your face, you make a tiny little cut on your index finger and squeeze one drop of blood into the bowl. You suck on your finger, hoping it would scab over quickly. “Ok, now what?”

Kimi turns the page. “Now we just have to say this incantation together. Come here.” You scoot over to sit next to your friend as she holds the book between the two of you. Together, you both recite the words scribbled down on the crumbled page.

You wait.

And wait.

And wait.

And nothing happens.

“Umm,” you break the awkward silence. “Nothing happened.”

“No, this can’t be right.” Kimi groans and starts aggressively flipping through the pages. “We followed the instructions exactly. It should have worked!”

Part of you feels relieved. You weren’t particularly thrilled about inviting the supernatural into your tiny apartment on a Friday night. Now you’re more convinced that the book really is a fake.

“What were we supposed to summon anyway?” you ask, a little curious.

Kimi frowns, still re-reading the instructions. “A creature named Sukuna Ryomen. Apparently he’s the king of all demons.”

Your mouth falls open in shock. “What the fuck, Kimi? The king? You chose to summon the king of all demons? What were you thinking? I thought we were going to summon those harmless creatures that steal people’s left socks or something like that!”

Kimi huffs. “Well, I did ask you what we should summon, but you said you didn’t care and that I should pick something. So I did!”

You rub your temples, trying to keep calm. “You’re right, you’re right. My bad. I’m sorry.” You could tell that Kimi is already quite upset that the spell didn’t work, and you were just adding fuel to the fire. “Hey! It’s ok. Let’s just take the rest of the night off. I’ll clean everything up, don’t worry about it. And listen, maybe we can try a different spell next week. Perhaps there’s not enough spiritual energy in this room or something to summon the big guy.”

Kimi perks up a little at your words. “We can try again next week? Really?”

You nod. “Promise. Take the book back to your place and choose something a little bit more tame, ok?”

Kimi giggles. “Ok, I promise too!” She grabs the book and carefully places it in her bag before getting up and heading towards the door. You follow her and give her a quick hug.

“Talk to you tomorrow,” you say.

“Yep! Good night!”

Once Kimi leaves your apartment, you let out a deep breath. You survey the mess on your living room floor with a frown. You truly love your best friend to death, but she’s just a little too adventurous for your tastes sometimes.

A sudden wave of lethargy washes over you, causing you to lean against your kitchen counter for support. You rub your eyes, struggling to keep them open as your eyelids start to feel unusually heavy. 

Weird.

It isn’t particularly late, so you are a bit surprised to feel so tired out of the blue. You figure the excitement of tonight’s activities likely got the best of you, so you decide to retire early for the night. Walking into the living room, you blow out all the candles around the pentagram before retreating into your bedroom. You will clean up everything tomorrow. No harm in letting it sit out for the night.

---

You wake up with a start. The darkness of your bedroom greets you. Groaning, you grab your phone in order to check the time but it was dead. You silently curse at yourself for forgetting to charge it before passing out. You lean back in your bed with a sigh. Normally, you sleep through the night undisturbed. You briefly wonder what had woken you up. 

Crash!

You instantly freeze and hold your breath. The noise came from the living room. It sounded like something had fallen. You try to calm your racing heart as you convince yourself that it was just one of your decorations falling off the wall. But you know you won’t be able to comfortably go back to sleep without checking, so you quietly slip out of bed and open your bedroom door. You peek into the living room, but you’re unable to make out anything clearly in the darkness. 

You fully step out of your bedroom and hit the light switch for the living room. Squinting your eyes, you try to adjust to the sudden brightness. Once your vision finally clears, you gasp. 

There’s someone in your living room.

The first thing you notice about the intruder is his tattoos. Intricate symbols mark his entire body, including his face.

The second thing you realize is that he’s completely naked.

You open your mouth to scream, but the intruder appears right in front of you within the blink of an eye and clamps his large hand over your mouth to shush you.

“Be quiet,” he growls deeply. “You can’t act so surprised. After all, you’re the one who called me here.”

You feel a chill crawl down your spine as your eyes widen in realization.

No. No. It can’t be.

Once the intruder is convinced you won’t start screaming, he removes his hand from your mouth. He stands back and takes in your appearance as you stand there numbly in your pajama shirt and shorts.

“A woman, huh.” He licks his lips. “I wasn’t expecting a woman to be the one to resurrect me, but I’m not complaining.”

This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening!

You try to convince yourself that you’re still dead asleep in your bed and dreaming about this entire encounter. There is no way that damn book actually worked!

“Ryomen Sukuna,” you whisper to yourself, suddenly recalling the name of the demon you tried to summon with Kimi.

You don’t miss the way his eyes light up. “Oh! You’ve heard of me!” He grins. “You should feel honored to be in the presence of the Great King of Demons.”

You shudder at his voice. There’s a certain aura of power, strength, and pure evil that you can feel radiating from the demon, but his appearance is still rather surprising. For the Great King of Demons, he looks rather...human. You could have easily mistaken him as a normal man who just really liked tattoos. No tail. No wings. No horns. Perhaps your view of demons was a bit outdated.

“I have to admit. I’m a little disappointed,” Sukuna says with a small frown, surveying his own body. “It seems you didn’t summon me correctly. My power is nowhere near what it should be, and it took me forever to spawn into this measly physical form. I normally have four arms and two faces.”

Your eyes bulge out of your head. Did he say four arms? And two faces?

The demon taps a finger on his chin in thought. “I did start off as a human before becoming a demon, so I guess it makes sense I’m reborn looking like a human at first.”

You silently thank your friend for messing up the ritual. If Sukuna had spawned immediately at full power, the two of you would have both been in danger. At least it’s only you in harm’s way. Kimi is safe and sound, far away from your tiny apartment.

“It’s ok,” Sukuna purrs, approaching you. “It doesn’t matter that you messed up the ritual a little. You can help me fix it now, pet.”

You stumble backwards, heart racing and body quivering in fear. He reaches out to place his hands on your shoulders, steadying you before pushing you against the wall. You instantly freeze, breath caught in your throat as you wonder what he’ll ask of you.

Sukuna lightly strokes your cheek with one hand. You want to recoil in fear and disgust, but your body remains frozen in horror.

“You haven’t noticed?” he asks. “It was your blood used in the summoning ritual. That means we are bonded.”

No. No.

Sukuna places two fingers underneath your chin and lifts them up so you look directly up into his eyes. You tremble uncontrollably as you meet his dark gaze.

“The way I regain my strength is by sucking the energy out of you. You might have noticed that you felt tired and sluggish after the ritual. That’s because the it took a lot of energy from you to give me a physical form. Don’t worry though, it’s not enough to kill you. But you are pretty weak, so it might take me awhile to regain my full strength.”

You gulp. The Great King of Demons at full strength? You know you have to prevent this from happening somehow, but your phone is dead, the book is gone, and Sukuna is not likely to let you leave his sight long enough for you to figure out a plan. Was it even possible to fight back against him? Maybe your best bet was to comply with his demands and hope he spares you.

“But there is a way to speed up the process.” He looks down at your body hungrily before leaning his head towards you until his lips hover over your left ear. “Sex,” he whispers huskily.

You stiffen slightly and try to ignore the spark that travels down your body and lights up your core.

“Wh-what do you mean?” you stammer nervously.

“I feed off your body’s energy, and everyone knows that there’s nothing more powerful than sexual energy. Sex gets your heart racing and blood pumping. It’s the perfect energy source for my complete resurrection.” Sukuna moves away from your ear and grins at your stricken face. “You are the one who summoned me here. It would be rude to not feed your guest and accommodate his needs.”

He places a thumb on your bottom lip, rubbing it back and forth. You try not to react, but your body won’t listen to you. Sukuna’s presence is overwhelming. His bare chest is practically pressed against your body. His eyes are dark with lust as he gazes at your face. His thumb continues to rub your lips which leaves you flustered. Your mind feels hazy, and your body feels unusually warm. A small, sane part of you tries to fight back. A little voice in your head reminds that this is the king of all demons. How could you fall for the literal embodiment of pure evil?

“I know you’re turned on,” Sukuna says smugly. You look away feeling absolutely mortified, but the demon grabs your head and forces you to look back at him. “Ah ah. Keep your eyes on me. No need to get embarrassed. Like I said before, I was resurrected from your blood, so we share a connection. This means I can feel your blood pumping in your own body, and I can tell exactly where it’s headed.” Sukuna drops his gaze down your body to emphasize his point. He doesn’t miss how your thighs suddenly clench together.

With a dangerous flash in his eyes, Sukuna hoists you over his shoulder and throws you on your bed. Before you could even think about saying no, Sukuna is on top of you harshly nipping and sucking at your neck. One hand is already underneath your shirt, fondling one of your breasts and playing with your hard nipple. He sucks at a particularly sensitive spot on your neck which leaves you moaning shamelessly underneath him. Any doubts or reservations immediately leave your mind. 

Your body feels like it’s on fire being this close to Sukuna. He chuckles darkly, leaving your neck and pulling out his hand from underneath your skirt. “That’s my good pet,” he purrs. “So eager just for me.” Sukuna kisses you roughly, leaving you gasping as you try to match his fervor. Eventually he leans back and admires how swollen your lips look after his harsh treatment. Your pupils are blown wide with lust. With Sukuna’s face hovering just above yours, you can’t help but admire his unique markings. Without realizing, you reach a hand out and start tracing the lines on his cheek. Sukuna stills for a moment, enjoying your tender touch. 

The moment of gentleness shatters when Sukuna rips open your shirt with his bare hands. He immediately latches onto one of your breasts with his mouth and roughly gropes the other. You grip the back of his head, digging your fingers in his short hair. He bites down a little too sharply on your nipple, causing you to yelp in slight pain. Sukuna lightly chuckles at your reaction and finally pulls away, giving your now sore breasts a break. He suddenly flips your positions so that you are now hovering over him as his back hits the bed.

You stare at his chiseled chest and can’t resist rubbing your hands up and down his prominent muscles. Sukuna observes you with an amused look as you openly admire his body. 

“You like what you see?” he smirks.

You ignore the question and begin peppering light kisses down his chest and over his abs. The demon hums, enjoying your soft touch all over his body. However, he eventually has enough of your teasing. He pushes your head down until you’re forced to look at something you’ve tried to avoid glancing at the entire night. Your heart flutters with a little nervousness as you’re greeted with Sukuna’s dick. It’s long and thick with just the slightest curve. You wonder how you’re going to be able to handle his impressive size.

Sukuna can sense your hesitation, so he decides to give you a little push. He grabs your hair roughly and brings your face closer to his throbbing dick. “Be a good girl and open wide.” With a shaky breath, you take the tip of Sukuna’s cock into your mouth. He’s so thick that you can barely fit him in your mouth. With the demon’s hand still on your head, he coaxes you take him in deeper and you oblige. Sukuna groans as your hot, wet mouth takes more and more of his length. You look so good with your lips wrapped around his cock. 

You start to bob your head up and down to Sukuna’s delight, but he’s rather annoyed at your languid pace. “Too slow,” he growls and that’s the only warning you get before the demon jerks his hips up sharpy. You gag as his dick hits the back of your throat, but Sukuna's firm grasp on your head keeps you in place. He tightens his grip and then begins to roughly thrust into your mouth. You try to relax your throat and keep your composure even as tears start to fall from your eyes as the demon ruthlessly fucks your face.

“You feel so good,” Sukuna groans. “You were made to take my dick.” A particularly rough thrust leaves you gagging again and drooling all over his cock. “Fuck yea, just like that.”

Once the demon is satisfied, he releases his grip on your hair and you immediately pull back to catch your breath. You wipe the spit from your mouth and the tears from your eyes, panting heavily from the rough treatment. Sukuna silently admires the way your breasts look against your heaving chest.

“Take the rest of your clothes off,” he demands. You shakily get off the bed and shimmy out of your pajama shorts. As you roll down your underwear, Sukuna doesn’t miss how it’s already drenched with your arousal. As you climb back on the bed, Sukuna roughly places you underneath him once again. He spreads open your legs and presses a finger against your entrance to test your wetness.

“Damn,” Sukuna growls. “You’re this wet from choking on my cock.” You moan in relief as you finally feel some friction against your throbbing core. “A good little whore just for me.”

The demon strokes your folds at a leisurely pace which drives you insane. You unconsciously grind against his hand, silently begging him to pick up the tempo, but Sukuna just chuckles and continues to tease you. He barely brushes your swollen clit with each stroke, causing you to whine in frustration.

“Please,” you whimper.

Sukuna raises his eyebrows with a smirk. “Please what?” He suddenly stops his ministrations to your immediate displeasure.

You bite your lip feeling slightly embarrassed, but you decide to swallow whatever pride you have left. “T-touch me. I want to feel you. I n-need to feel you.”

“Only because you asked so sweetly,” Sukuna hums. He finally rubs his thumb over your throbbing clit, and you immediately cry out as pleasure wracks your body. The demon’s touch becomes faster and rougher, leaving you a writhing mess underneath him. Just as you’re about to hit your climax, Sukuna pulls away and you can’t stop the frustrated whine that leaves your mouth. He strokes his dick amused by your reaction and leans down to whisper in your ear. “Wouldn’t it feel better to cum around my cock? Come on. Tell me that’s what you want, pet.”

The fire between your legs only grows as you listen to his words. Desperate for any sort of release, you beg for Sukuna’s cock. “P-please fuck me. I need your dick so badly. Please please please.”

Sukuna answers your pleas by lining his cock against your sopping entrance before pushing into you in one go. You groan at the slight burn as your walls stretch around his wide girth, but you’re so wet he manages to slide his entire length into you without much resistance. Once he’s fully sheathed, the feeling is completely overwhelming. You feel absolutely stuffed to the brim with his giant cock pulsing inside you.

“Oh my god,” you breath. “You’re so big. Fuck.”

Sukuna doesn’t give you much chance to adjust to his size as he immediately pulls out until only his tip remains before ramming back into you at full force. You yelp at the sudden movement, while the demon softly groans. He sets a brutal pace that leaves you absolutely breathless. With every snap of his hips, you can feel yourself getting closer and closer to the edge. Your toes curl in pleasure, and you rake your nails down his muscular back as the demon fucks you senseless.

“You’re so fucking tight,” Sukuna growls as you continue to moan and whimper wantonly underneath him. When the head of his cock hits that sensitive spot inside you at just the right angle, the tension in your body finally snaps and a wave of pleasure completely washes over you. You cry out as you reach your climax, squeezing your eyes shut as you surrender yourself to the sensations of pure bliss.

Once you start to come down from your high, Sukuna pulls out of you and adjusts your body so that you’re on your hands and knees. Your arms are still quivering from your orgasm but you have just enough strength to keep yourself from collapsing. Both you and Sukuna groan as he enters you once again. He somehow fucks you even harder than before. The lewd, wet noises of your bodies slamming against one of another fill the bedroom. Sukuna grips your waist with such force as he slams into you over and over again that you know you’ll wake up with nasty bruises tomorrow. In this position, it feels like his cock is pushing even deeper inside you at such a brutal pace.

“You going to cum on my cock again?” Sukuna pants. He slaps your ass, and you squeak at the unexpected sting. “Answer the question, pet.” He gives you another slap.

“Oh god, yes,” you gasp as your cunt clenches around him. “F-fuck. Your cock feels s-so good.” Satisfied with your answer, Sukuna reaches around to rub your clit. It was just the right amount of extra stimulation you needed to reach your climax again. Your body shudders as you lose yourself to the white hot pleasure. Sukuna pulls out of you, and you immediately collapse on the bed.

“Who said we were done yet, pet?” The demon picks you up and places you on top of him as he lays back on the bed. You instinctively wrap your arms around his neck as your hard nipples rub against his chest. You can feel his still erect cock poking at your entrance. “I want to watch your face as I fill you up with my cum.” 

You wince as he slips back into you. You’re already starting to feel overstimulated and sore, but Sukuna hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down yet. He ruts into your limp body, only concerned about chasing his own pleasure.

You don’t think it’s possible for you to cum again, but Sukuna’s cock is continuing to hit all the right places. The pain from overstimulation only seems to egg you on further as you feel the familiar tension building within your body once again. Sukuna groans as your walls start to clench down on him. His thrusts become more erratic as he approaches his own release. 

As he continues to pound into you as you’re splayed across his chest, the demon tells you about all the humans he’ll kill once he’s at full power. Not even women or children will be safe from his destruction. He’ll lay siege to all Japan, perhaps even the world. Sukuna mentions how the golden age of demons will begin once again. 

You begin crying, but you can’t even tell if it’s from the overstimulation, the shame of letting him use you like this, or the guilt of bringing such a horrifying demon back to Earth. With one more rough thrust, you come undone again for the third time during the night. Sukuna follows right after you, pumping you full of his cum. There’s so much that you can already feel his seed leaking out of you.

Sukuna remains still, trying to catch his breath as you quietly sob against his chest. The demon rubs your head with surprising tenderness. 

“Don’t worry, pet. I promise I’ll spare you,” Sukuna says. “You’re mine now. No one else will ever touch you again.”

You hiccup through your tears as Sukuna’s words fill you with dread. It’s all your fault. He’s going to be reborn at full power and wipe out human civilization because of you. The guilt tears at your heart.

What have you done?

Sukuna can already feel his power returning to him. It’s only a matter of time before he’ll be unstoppable. Perhaps a couple of more days of indulging himself with your body will get the job done. He rubs your back, feeling how your sobs rack your body. Your tears only amuse him. Just another sign of how weak humans really are.

“Get ready for the new age, pet. And it’s all thanks to you.”

[shadow-assassin-blix]

Parent Trap

PART 2

Marcus Moreno x Reader

It’s hereeee! Children’s shenanigans. Yearning. A kiss.

The Artist

The rest of the week went smoothly. Artemis was very excited to have a new friend and talked about Missy often.

Friday came around, and Shade had to inform the school that she was running late in picking Artemis up. A seller was taking his sweet time, in trying to decide which of the 2 pieces he wanted, before deciding he didn’t want either.

She was annoyed; it wasn’t uncommon for a seller to act like they wanted her work before making up some excuse as to why they were no longer interested. Nor was it uncommon for a person to try and haggle for lower prices, claiming ‘you should be grateful someone even wants your business.’

She was tired to say the least.

She finally, after 45 minutes, pulled up to the school, and made her way to Artemis’s class to pick her up. She was surprised when she saw Missy sitting with her.

“Missy? What are you still doing here honey?” Shade asked concerned.

“My dad’s running late, but I have no way of contacting him to find out what’s going on,” She admitted quietly.

Shade nodded in understanding, before pulling out her phone. Marcus had made sure to give her his number the other day when they saw each other dropping their kids off.

She called him. It took about 4 rings, before he answered, out of breath “Hey Shade.”

“Hey. So. I’m here with Artemis and Missy, are you uhh.. on your way hon?” She asked politely.

She hears him swear in the background before stating, “I promise I didn’t forget about her. It appears that someone has changed every clock I know. I haven’t been able to tell time for 90% of the day.”

“Haven’t been able to tell time eh? Funny. Had something similar happen the other morning when my alarm went off an hour early. Weird how these clocks… have just magically changed for both of us,” She noted staring at the two girls suspiciously.

Both of them shrugged acting like they have no idea what she was talking about, before looking away.

“Listen, can you tell Missy I am on my way, I swear,” He requested with a sigh.

“How about this… How about I take Missy home with me, and she can stay the night? In the morning, you can bring her a change of clothes, and pick us all up for our date,” She offered with a smile.

“Are... are you sure? It’s no problem for me to come and get her, it would just be a few minutes?” He questioned hesitantly.

“It’s not a problem. We will see you in the morning, yeah?” She assured.

“Sounds good, can I talk to Missy real quick?” He politely asked.

She handed her phone over to her, and they talked for a moment before she hung.

“Alright. Let’s get outta here,” She nodded her head toward the door.

The girls grabbed their things and the three of them were off.  

She gets them home and told them to get to work on their homework. She checked on dinner that was cooking in the crockpot. It was crockpot chicken and noodles.

The girls finished up their homework and were currently helping her set the table an hour later. They were both giggling and whispering to one another.

“Alright you two, enough with the whisper party. Go wash your hands, while I serve up dinner,” She tells them, shaking her head.

She grabbed their bowls and ladled them a healthy portion for all of them. She had made some fruit salad to go with it and gave them a small plate of it.

By the time their plates were ready, the girls were bouncing back into the dining room. They took their seats, and she joined them.

Missy began asking questions about Shade’s work.

“So, what kind of art do you do?” Missy politely asked.

“I do mostly pencil sketches and paint occasionally even though I don’t think I’m very good at it. Been working on some new stuff, but... Mh. not sure how I feel about it so far,” Shade explained to her.

“Ooh. What kind of new stuff?” Missy asked excitedly.

Shade went to wave it off as nothing when Artemis piped up, “She’s been drawing the Heroics and their most famous battles! Kinda like a comicbook! It’s so cool!”

“What!? That’s awesome! Can I see it sometime? I mean. If you’re okay with it?” Missy asked amazed.

“Hmm. Possibly. If…” Shade began.

“If what?” Missy questioned.

“If… you promise to fix your dad’s clocks, and not mess with them again. I understand that both of you are excited to be friends and want us to get along too, but messing with clocks and alarms is not okay,” She bargained looking at both of them.

They both looked down, wincing as they mumbled apologies and swearing that they would fix things.

“Apology accepted. Finish eating and I’ll show you my workshop,” She stated with a smile.

Both of them perked back up and began eating again happily.

Once they all had eaten and cleaned up, Shade led them to her workshop. She slid opened the double doors and presented it to Missy.

There were several desks, covered in pencils, graphite and colored, pens, paints, and brushes. There was an easel and some blank canvases resting in a corner. She walked over to one of her sketch books and opened it about midway.

“Just, uh, don’t touch the ink too much. It takes a long time to dry,” She informed them setting it down on the small table where Artemis held her art supplies.

Missy was amazed. She stared at all of the drawings of Miracle Guy, Sharkboy & Lavagirl, Tech-No, and many other Heroics.  She noticed one thing though.

“You haven’t drawn my dad yet?” She mentioned looking up at her.

“No. I haven’t. I for whatever reason… cannot seem to draw him. Every time I do, I worry I’ll mess it up. Your dad meant a great deal to me at one point,” Shade tells her, thinking fondly of Marcus.

Missy and Artemis looked at each other, a plan forming.

They spoke a little more about art and what Shade does before the girls ran upstairs to go play.

Or so Shade thought…

The Hero

Marcus was finishing up some paperwork that had piled up over the week when Miracle Guy stepped into his office.

“What are you still doing here, man? Shouldn’t you be at home? With your kid?” Miracle asked him.

“Can ask you the same thing, MG?” Marcus countered, referring to his nickname.

“Had a job I just came from. Mission report. Saw your light was still on, figured I should check on our fearless leader,” Miracle lightly teased.

Marcus simply hummed in response.

“So. What’s been going on with you? You’ve been jittery all week. I had thought it had something to do with the incident at Missy’s school, but now… not so sure,” Miracle brought up, sitting across from Marcus.

“Remember… when we first started out? I was with that artist?” Marcus began, biting his lip.

“Yeah. The really pretty one, that you wound up breaking up with, right?” Miracle recalled.

“Mh. Her daughter is now best friends with my daughter… and we have a date tomorrow… and I honestly… don’t know how I feel,” Marcus confessed, setting his pen down, the report no longer distracting him.

“Wh-… What? Seriously? Wow. What a small world? I mean… this is the first time you’ve gone out since Isabelle died right? I think it’s only natural that you’re nervous. But… it’s also with someone you’ve been with. I doubt she’s changed that much in 15 years,” Miracle noted with a shrug.

“Yeah. I just… hmm. I don’t know. I am nervous… but I’m also…excited? Happy? I mean… I wanted to marry this girl back in college, but life… got in the way. I guess… I’m just worried I’ll mess it up,” Marcus admitted with a sigh.

“Oh? You never told me that part? Listen. It’s one date. If you don’t feel sparks fly or whatever then, it’s not meant to be. But if you do, explore it. You deserve to be happy Marcus,” Miracle stated.

Marcus opened his mouth to reply when his phone rang.

He answers noticing it was Shade’s number.

“Hey, what’s-” He began.

“Dad! You should get over here! Like quickly! As fast as possible!” Missy voice came, rushed.

Marcus goes to question her, but the line ends.

Marcus quickly gets up, grabs his things and runs out to his car. The drive under normal circumstances was 20 minutes, but he was there in half that time.

He ran up to the door, banging on it, panicked.

When the door opened, Shade stood there, looking extremely confused.

“Marcus?” She greeted staring at him concerned.

“Are the girls okay? Missy called and told me I should get here,” Marcus explained quickly.

“Yes. They’re fine. They went upstairs to play?” She answered still confused.

“But they had your phone? And she sounded worried?” Marcus recalled the phone call.

She suddenly patted her pockets, looking around trying to find her phone.

The Artist

It slowly dawned on her what happened.

“GIRLS! GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW” She yelled up the stairs.

A moment passed, and neither of them heard movement.

“I am so sorry Marcus. Artemis… must have grabbed my phone while I wasn’t looking,” She apologized, moving to go upstairs.

Marcus stopped her.

“Hey, so long as everyone is okay. Even though a CERTAIN YOUNG LADY IS GROUNDED. I’m sorry for almost busting your door down with my knocking,” He tells her, shouting part of his sentence up the stairs.

A loud groan could be heard in response.

“AS IS ANOTHER CERTAIN YOUNG LADY,” Shade mentioned loudly.

Cue another loud groan.

“Would… would you like some water?” Shade offered, twirling a lock of her hair.

“Yes. I would actually,” Marcus accepted gratefully.

The two of them stepped into her kitchen. Shade grabbed him a glass and filled it with water, before handing it to him. He downed about half of it, before setting it back down, wiping his mouth.

“So. What… what happened?” Marcus asked trying to understand.

She thought about it, trying to retrace the evening.

“Oh…. I showed them…some of my artwork… and Missy asked me why I hadn’t drawn you yet,” She realized.

“Oh? Ahem. So… Why…Why haven’t you drawn me yet?” He asked hesitantly and trying to hide his curiosity.

“I told her it was because… I was worried I would mess it up and that you meant a great deal to me… which is somewhat true… I have drawn you…but I always feel like… they didn’t do you justice,” She quietly admitted to him, not making eye contact. “Kind of hard to draw someone you were in love with for years. Especially when those feelings never quite went away.”

The Hero

He was surprised to hear that. He didn’t quite know how to respond. He did… know one thing though.

He moved around the island over to her.

“Forgive me… if this is too forward,” He whispered to her.

He gently cupped her face into his hands, and pressed a small, hesitant kiss to her lips. When she didn’t pull away or slap him, he kissed her again, but just a smidge longer.

He felt her arms move, sliding around his neck. He was extremely relieved when he felt her kiss him back. He lightly pinned her against her the island, his hands moving to her waist. They wrapped around her, pulling her close.

Their kiss lasted for a minute and would’ve gone longer if it weren’t for the fact that they heard giggles coming from the stairway.

They pulled away slowly.

“I told you that my daughter’s favorite movie was the Parent Trap, right? We’ve been Parent Trapped,” She whispered against his lips.

“You also said her number one favorite was The Mummy, which I guess it’s a good thing they didn’t unleash an unspeakable evil to get us together,” Marcus joked.

“This is true. You 2 are still grounded by the way, and Mrs. Moreno will be informed of that fact tomorrow when we leave you with her to go on our date,” She threw over shoulder.

There was a sound of 2 pairs of feet scurrying back upstairs.

“You… you still want to go out tomorrow?” Marcus inquired, hopeful.

“Yeah. Yeah, I do. If you still want to,” She mentioned, biting her lip.

“Yeah. I do. Though… I think I should go grab my little delinquent, and take her home, so you can sleep without anymore “emergencies.” Plus, I apparently need to talk to her about boundaries,” Marcus noted as he slowly stepped away from her.

“Yeah. I apparently have to have a similar conversation. We’ll see you tomorrow?” She said with a smile.

“Yeah. Tomorrow. Umm. Just one last thing,” Marcus hurriedly said.

He pulled her into another kiss, that she returned with a sigh.

When he finally pulled away again, he simply said, “One wasn’t enough.”

He called for Missy to come downstairs and get her things. He told her that a slumber party will have to wait for another time. As he took Missy home, he couldn’t help the smile on his face, as he thought about Shade.

He knew his evening was far from over, but he couldn’t wait until tomorrow.

[scornedlove]

Chapter Thirty

ROBYN

It’s amazing what good sex can do. When we left the mall, Rocky took me to his duck off spot at Manhattan beach, where we set some rules to our situation. No questions, no venting, and no expectations. We promised to keep emotions out and orgasms in. If either of us broke any of the agreements, that would be the end of our rendezvous.

After we both had a clear understanding, he got to work like his life depended on it. He took me to heights I’ve been desperately needing right there on the sand and in the back of his car. I rode him so good, I woke up the next morning sore as hell with a little pep in my step. 

What I didn’t expect, was Dre’s face to be the first one I saw when I arrived at the boutique. There was an all black Chevy Impala parked in the very last space, with some guy watching him. Guess he found a new driver. He kept glancing in all directions as if he was Dre’s bodyguard. All I could do was roll my eyes when I noticed Dre. He was holding a box of muffins and some flowers looking like somebody killed his dog.

I took my time getting out the cab, then slowly approached him with no-nonsense on my face. There wasn’t enough orgasms in the world to make me forget about him calling me an addict. When I got in front of him, I paused, waiting for him to speak first.

“I hate when you’re mad at me” he admitted, holding out the gifts.

“Is that what you think of me? An addict?” I quizzed, ignoring his offerings. 

“See, I knew you took what I was saying the wrong way. You know I don’t think you’re an addict, but you do need help. Which is why this is the last time I’m giving you these” he stated, pulling a pill bottle out of his pocket. It must’ve been evident that I didn’t want to take them from him, because he urged, holding them out for me to grab.

“I don’t want anything from you. Matter of fact, forget I even exist” I frowned, turning my back on him to unlock the door. I was early this morning for a reason and he was cutting into my time.

“Anna you gotta stop pushing the people who care about you away. I talked to John this morning and he told me-”

“Oh please, because YOU care about me right? Go care about those stupid tramps you got prancing around in them tight ass clothes at your clinic.” I bumped him out of my way, knocking the pill bottle from his hand as I entered the building.

I locked the door and peeped out the window as he scrambled to find the bottle without dropping everything else he was holding. The scowl on his face as he mumbled to himself when he picked it up, showed he was done trying. 

I hadn’t noticed before, but John was parked across the street waiting for him. He jogged over to the car without looking back, clearly cursing my name. 

“Bet his ass won’t come back now” I shook my head, thinking out loud.

“Damn it’s been forever since I’ve seen you!” Meagan’s animated voice scared the crap out of me.

“SHIT” I yelled, clutching my chest.

“Sorry, I ain’t mean to scare you” she giggled, coming from around the front counter. 

“What you doing here so early? I didn’t see your car out there.” I snapped, glancing around the store. 

“Oh, my mom needed to borrow my car, so I got dropped off today.” she explained as if this was the norm. Jenn, Frankie, and I were gonna have to have a talk. I gave them a key, so how did Meagan end up with a copy?

“So who’s that guy waiting out front?”

“What guy?”

“There was some guy” I explained, as I went to see if he was still there. He was gone and now I was starting to wonder if I was just overthinking. “Nevermind....you know we don’t open for another hour and a half right?”

“Yeah, I know. It was either be early or be late. So, here I am” she shrugged, walking over to the window to see what I was looking at. “Is that Dre”?

“I’ll be in my office if you need me” I yawned, ignoring her question as I jogged up the stairs.

It felt good being back in my workspace. I didn’t realize how much I missed being here. I started to notice that every time I’m in a low place, I avoid the things that really make me happy. Just then, an idea came to mind. It had been awhile since I’ve been inspired, so I wasted no time pulling out my pad letting my hand flow as I began to sketch. 

When I finished a couple of designs and going over the numbers for the past few weeks, I smoked a blunt, made some coffee, and promised myself today would be great before I went downstairs to join my crew. 

“Bitch, you don’t need no more vacations!” Frankie exclaimed, as Jenn finished counting the day’s deposit. While she did that, Frankie and I were reviewing the reports for the past quarter. For some reason, every time I was here in the shop compared to my vacation days, sales were up by thirty percent. I wasn’t complaining, but it did seem strange. 

“It makes sense if you ask me.” Meagan piped in. “Customer’s appreciate when you actually show up for them”

“Girl you still here?” I quizzed sarcastically. She was sticking her nose in places she had no business and it was starting to piss me off. “I appreciate your hard work. Enjoy the rest of your night and go get some rest. You’re off tomorrow so I’ll see you Thursday!”

“She’s off Thursday too!” Frankie corrected with a nod.

“Oh, well see you Friday” I grinned with a wave. She stood there lost for a moment, then finally agreed that she was tired as she grabbed her things and headed towards the door.

“Which one of ya’ll gave that heffa a key to my shop?” I asked crossing my arms over my chest as I glared from Jenn to Frankie.

“Not me” Frankie threw his hands up in defense. 

“What makes you think she has a key?” Jenn quizzed, unamused.

“She was the first one here today. I don’t trust her and I don’t appreciate my key being copied. I’m changing the locks.”

“I think your exaggerating” Jenn shook her head in disbelief.

“Well I think I’ll be the only one with a key since nobody knows how a copy just magically appeared.” I shrugged, leaving it at that. We finished closing the store in silence, but I could still feel Jenn’s attitude. I didn’t let it get to me though. I just rolled me another blunt and smoked until my cab showed up.

Minus the stench on his breath, the driver was a nice guy. He was a college kid trying to scrape up every dollar he could with every minute he had. I remembered those days. I invited him to have dinner with me when we pulled up to Gorgio Baldi, but he declined, which meant I’d be dining alone. Usually, I wouldn’t mind, but the last time I was here was with Chris. I hate that I let him meet me here, because now it will never be the same.

The same place that usually felt warm and cozy, was now big and cold. As I waited for my food, I had an eerie feeling that I was being watched. I looked around the room and noticed how busy it was. There were a few couples, a couple of families, and a group of girlfriends having dinner together. I wasn’t the only loner though. There was a guy, a couple of tables away, with his face in a book while he waited on his food. He was comfortable in his lonesome, but I was not. I couldn’t shake the feeling of embarrassment as the memories of the last time I was here, flooded my mind. 

When the waiter came back with my food, I took it to go. I decided if I wanted to enjoy my food in peace, I’d better stop and get Ollie and Pepe’s food as well. When I entered the grocery store, I was immediately irritated by how long all the checkout lines were. I wanted nothing to do with the chaos going on, so I grabbed some dog food and called it a day. 

As I weaved through the crowds, towards one of the long ass check out lines, I noticed a cashier opening a new lane, so I quickened my pace. I was almost there when, out of nowhere, a guy walked right in my path, causing me to smash my cart into his side.

“Fuck!” he yelled out in pain, scaring me half to death.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you! Are you okay?” I panicked, rushing around the basket to pick up one of the 2-liter cokes he’d dropped.

“I’m good” he winced, massaging his hip.

“You may wan grab another” I suggested, handing it back to him.

“You may wan watch where you’re going, you could’ve fucked my shit up.” he mimicked disrespectfully.

“Scuse me?” I paused, stepping back with a scowl. Who was he coming at sideways when he’s the one that ran into my basket? I fixed my lips to tear him down, but my voice caught in my throat.

“Oh shit! I was hoping I’d run into you again, just not literally, we forgot to exchange numbers.” Rocky lightened up, after recognizing me. I went from wanting to slap him, to wanting to jump his bones, and back to that strange feeling in the back of my gut. How the hell do I keep running into him?

“You following me?” I stared him down, trying to read him. I had to know, this was one too many coincidences. 

“How can I be following you when I’m on my way out?” He asked, waving his receipt.  “I was just picking up a few things for my little sister’s party ”

“Well, uh have fun.” I stammered, before rushing towards the checkout lane. Something about running into him two days in a row made me feel a little uneasy. He knows where I live, which means it’s possible he followed me. 

I didn’t see him or his car in the parking lot when I left the store, but I was more alert the entire ride home. By the time I made it home I convinced myself he lived nearby. That’s the only thing that made sense, so I said a quick prayer and brushed it off.

The next few days, I couldn’t help but look over my shoulder. I even went as far as having cameras installed at home. When you live alone, there’s no such thing as being too careful, so I updated my security system too. When everything was finished, I was impressed to say the least. I had everything connected to my phone, plus a couple of panic buttons around the house, in case I ever get caught slipping.

“This shit is dope” Mel exclaimed, as I explained the new system to her. “I just got one question. What’s going on?”

“What you mean?”

“Why did you get all this? Has Chris been threatening you?”

“What? Please! Not everything is about him. I just want to feel safe, that is all”

“You sure you’re not keeping anything from me?”

“I’m sure bitch! Now hurry up and roll up so we can get this movie started” I demanded, changing the subject. 

“Movie? Un-un! You still gotta pack your shit, we leave for Bim tomorrow.”

“Our flight ain’t til 11! I was gonna do it in the morning, you wanna help me?”

“Hell naw! You know how your ass is! It’s gon’ take you forever to pick out 3 days worth of clothes and I’m starving. I’m finna raid your fridge.” 

“Well, how ‘bout you pick my clothes and I fix dinner.” I bargained with a brow raise. 

“Ooooh, deal. I’ll take jerk chicken.” she jumped up a little too happily. “Besides, It’s been a minute since I raided your closet!”

“I betta not find nothing missing!” I called over my shoulder on my way to the kitchen.

CHRIS

"You can’t hold me!" Trey taunted, with his usual trash talk as the shot clock reached zero. We were at his crib playing 2K while Lala and Danni were cooking food, preparing for tomorrow. They were hosting Thanksgiving this year, so the house was smelling marvelous.

“Shut up man! You definitely got lucky” I shook my head in shame.

“Yeah okay, I beat yo ass bro. You just gon’ take that L?” he teased, challenging me to another round.

“Imma have to, I gotta get up outta here. I gotta be at the airport by 7am.” I explained, glancing at my watch. As much as I loved this game, I had other shit on my mind. I needed to figure out how to get Tae to hear me out, and what better way then through her best friend?

“Oh, you gotta get to Mama huh? Can’t miss out on that Thanksgiving dinner!”

“Nah, I’m actually gonna pop up on Tae. Maybe meet the fam and all that”

“Oh yeah? Can she cook?”

“You know what, now that you mention it,” I paused in deep thought. I don’t know. I’ve never had her cooking” 

“Well shit, I guess you about to find out! Good luck!” he laughed, cracking himself up. “But in all seriousness, how’s that going?”

“It’s cool” I lied with a shrug. “How’s the married life?”

“Man, if I knew marriage was the key to turn up the freak in Lala,  I would’ve did this shit a long time ago!” he exclaimed, grinning hard as hell.

“Guess that means it’s going good?”

“Nah, this shit is great. With the way we be going at it, she’s definitely gonna be pregnant any day. That’s if she ain’t already!”

“You fucking stupid” I laughed out loud and damn near choked when Lala came from the kitchen, holding a spatula covered in chocolate.

“Taste this” she demanded, as she strutted towards Trey. She had definitely put on a few pounds since I last saw her. Hopefully he was right and they were expecting. Everybody knew how much they wanted kids.

“Ugh, ain’t that cross contamination?” I frowned, shaking my head.

“Shut up, I’m still mad at you for what you did to my friend” Lala glared in my direction. 

“What you do?” Trey quizzed, looking confused. “You just said everything was cool”

“It was just a big misunderstanding” I sighed as I proceeded to explain the situation. 

“So you’re telling me you passed out next to yo horny ex-fuck buddy and ain’t hit?”

“I swear to God bro”

“No wonder she’s pissed. That just sounds like bullshit” Lala frowned, shaking her head. 

“It ain’t bullshit. Yeah, it looked bad, but I promise ya’ll I ain’t stupid enough to go down that road. I gave her some time to cool off, now I gotta go get my girl back”

“You really love her?” she wondered aloud as she cut her eyes at me.

“I do and I miss the shit outta her. Now what do I gotta do to at least get her to hear me out?”

“Chris, if I help you and you hurt my friend, I will personally help her fuck yo life up.”

“You ain’t gotta worry about that” 

“Okay, you got one shot. The only reason I’m even agreeing to help is because I know how she feels about you. She deserves to be happy. So if you ain’t 1000% sure about her then you should just leave things where they are. ”

“Damn he said he ain’t cheat! If my boy can survive that kind of temptation, then he know what he want. Trust me, I’m speaking from experience. ” Trey exclaimed on my behalf.

“He got a point. Now can you call her for me?

“Why you can’t call her?”

“You know she blocked me” I shook my head as she pulled her phone out.

“You wanna talk to her”

“Nah, I just need you to figure out what she got going on tomorrow so I can pop up on her. I know that seeing me face to face will show her how serious I am.”

“Okay, I can do that.” she smiled, as she dialed Tae’s number. She answered on the second ring and they caught up before she got the information I needed. Tae didn’t even think twice as she ran down her plans for tomorrow. I made Lala promise not to give her a heads up so she could be genuinely surprised. Now all I had to do was show up and speak my truth. How hard could that be?

ROBYN

“If the dog don’t trust it, you know something’s up” Mel blurted to the TV.  We were bundled up together on my love seat because my grown ass wanted to cuddle.

“I never understood why people don’t listen to they dogs!” I agreed, as we cracked our beers and clinked them. We were watching the Conjuring, knowing damn well we were gonna have nightmares from it. I didn’t care, I just needed a distraction.

Ever since the beach sex I had with Rocky, my hormones have been raging. That man had a magical tongue and the fact that he could hang for so long was impressive. I had more than a few orgasms when he’d finally gotten his, and I definitely didn’t expect that from a stranger. I didn’t know if he was really that good or if my drought intensified our encounter. Either way, I was still riding the high.

“You gonna answer that?” I asked, shaking Mel’s shoulder when her loud ass ringtone woke up my babies. Evidently, she was exhausted because she didn’t even make it halfway through the movie.

“Mellie” I called out again, but all she did was roll over and snore louder. I figured it was J when the text notification went off, so I grabbed her phone to let him know she had passed out.

I need another round, last night was incredible. 

What are you doing tonight?

Seeing Michael’s new text along  with no previous messages had my mind going straight to the gutter. I just knew this hoe wasn’t cheating on J. I wanted to wake her ass up, but decided against it. There had to be more to the story. I really hoped so.

My nosy ass could’t help it. I had to get more information. I went through her call history and didn’t notice his name once. I was about to dig even deeper when my phone lit up with an alarm notification. I received a text when my alarm noticed movement within 15 feet of my house. The last couple of times it was a squirrel but this time I was glad I checked it anyway. Apparently I had company.

I wasn’t sure how to feel about this unannounced visit, but smiled when a familiar face paused and took a deep breath before knocking at my door. 

“Sorry for popping up on you” Rocky grinned, when I opened the door.

“So you remembered where I live?”

“I couldn’t forget if I wanted to. My sister lives right across the street” he pointed behind him at the party that was going on. "She throws a mean Thanksgiving eve party if you don’t have anything going on.”

“Oh, um”

“I would’ve invited you the other day but you left so quickly I didn’t get your number” he hinted.

“My bad, I was in a hurry. I would go, but my sis is staying with me tonight.”

“The more the merrier. I bet she’d have a good time too”

“We actually have a flight in the morning, so we’re about to call it a night.” 

“Aight, guess I’ll just see you around.” he shrugged, returning to his party. The throbbing between my thighs wanted to invite him in to have our own little party, but my better judgement willed it away. Instead, I went straight to my room, pulled out my little friend, put some fresh batteries in, and went to work.

[xmalereader]

Javier Pena X Male Reader

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|| Masterlist ||

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Summary: And they were roommates *Le gasp*

Warnings: Language, Sarcasm, Javi being an asshole at first, Spanish. Italics means it’s in Spanish or I will write it in Spanish because this child speaks it!!

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“Senora, Rosa please.” A young adult male follows around a middle aged women as she walks around the apartment building that he was living in. “I said, I would allow anyone to live here but I don’t have the time for a roommate I need to focus on my projects and whoever this guy is they could ruin my life—!”

“Ya!!” Señora Rosa shouts out as she twirls around to stand in front of y/n with an angry look on her face.

Never anger a middle aged Colombian women.

“Estoy cansada de escuchando te!”

She was tired of listening to his complaints he’s been complaining to her all day about him not wanting a roommate at the moment but as the landlord she was either going to force him or throw him out. So of course, y/n silently agrees to allow his new roommate to settle into his own apartment.

He was going to regret sharing a place with a stranger, as much as he enjoyed having company around he just couldn’t help but want to be alone whenever he’s at home and not have someone on his constant back every single day.

“He’s a nice young man, you’ll like him.” Said Senora Rosa as she gives him a grin and hands him a spare key to hand to his new roommate to be.

—

Javier was moving back to Colombia for a short period of time, after being caught a couples of years back he was allowed to return back with new information and work in a much bigger position then his last. He’s going to be honest he missed Murphy, his trustworthy partner that he actually got a long with unlike the other partners he had in the past but that all ended once they caught Escobar, Murphy got what he wanted and returned back to America to live with his wife and daughter. Leaving Javi on his own once again.

Once he returned to Colombia to continued working for the DEA, he first needed a place to stay at and moving into his old apartment won’t work since they were all taken. So, before he could arrive he remembers finding any available place, he could stay there but as long as he can handle a roommate. Something that Javier wasn’t up to do but he had no choice but ot take the place wether he likes it or not.

He’s spoken to the landlord about his sudden roommate, she only told him that he was a quiet man and mainly stayed home focusing on his art work. Turns out that his roommate was a painter and worked over seas during a couple of months, but this year his roommate wont be going anywhere.

Javier made sure that his stuff was sent earlier to the apartment, he hasn’t gotten his key yet so he had to knock in order to get inside his new place. He stands outside and waits for the other to answer, he hears slight commotion on the other side of the door and hopes that his roommate wasnt having sex in the middle of the living room or something.

The door swings open to reveal a young man, he looked a little younger than Javier and more American looking but that didn’t matter to him. “Can I help you?” The other asks as he stands in front of the doorway with a rag in his hands, he noticed that they were covered in paint which is why he was cleaning them off. “New roommate? You Y/n?”

The other groans softly and sighs, “Yeah.” He pushed the door wider for him to enter as he walks back to the living room. His place was big, big enough for a family to live in. “So you’re Javier right?” Y/n asks as he tossed the dirty rag on the kitchen counter and turns on the sink to properly clean his hands. Javier watched him closely and nods. “Yeah, Rosa tell you?”

“Something like that,” y/n mumbles out and dries off his hands. “Listen; if you’re going to be staying here theirs going to be some rules.” Javier leans against the counter and pulls out a cigarette, putting the between his lips as he sighs. “And they are?”

Y/n approached him and removes the cigarette from his lips. “First rule, I don’t allow smoking. If you are going to be living under my roof then you are going to keep my air clean. If you want to smoke you’ll have to do it outside and if I notice that you smoked indoors I won’t hesitate to kill you.” He hissed out and tossed the cigarette in the garbage. “Second rule; No drinking either.”

“You’re kidding right?” This guy was taking away everything that he liked doing when he was alone but he was going to have to live with it. Sighing deeply he rubs his temples and nods. “Fine, anything else?” He was tired and just wanted to get some rest before he heads off to work tomorrow morning.

Y/n taps his chin in a childish way as he puts on a thinking face. “Oh right! How could I forget?” He laughs out, making his way around the kitchen, grabbing an apple and a knife. “If you want to have you’re little fun wiht your lady friends, you’ll have to do that at their place. I don’t allow that here.”

That was it, he crossed the line.

“Now, you can’t do that. I live here so I might as well and put some rules down myself!” Javier exclaimed in anger. “Oh, yeah and what’s that?” Y/n questions as he held the knife up and points it at javiers face, threatening him. “This is my apartment, I slaved and I slaved to earn the money that I need to move here. So don’t you dare say that you own this place when you don’t. So, if you so badly hate the rules then you might as well and find yourself another place to live.” With that he silenced Javier.

“You’re crazy.” Javier mumbled out as he watched him closely.

“Thank you, I take that as a compliment.” He finish’s cutting up his apple and smiles at Javier. “Make yourself at home.” He added and leaves back to the living room to continue on with his projects that he left behind.

Javier rubs his face in frustration. “This is going to be harder than I thought.”

—

After living with y/n for two months, Javier was quick to get adjusted to the place and to the rules. Their morning routines for the first couple of days were horrible, the two would argue about one of them making coffee and the other wanting to make tea. Same with breakfeast, y/n would be up early making food and blasting music which irritated Javier so much. He knows that the other had to be up early as well and do his own work, but Javier just couldn’t stand the blasting music.

But the two were able to work it out. The two made a plan for every morning and were to stick with it for the last two months. The two were quick to become friends, sometimes Javier would come home late and would sometimes buy them a pizza and the two would sit together in the living room and just talk about their burdens.

“Anything new on your project?” Javi asks and leans back on the couch. After living with Y/n for the last two months he noticed that he was an artist and would often spend his time standing in the living room in front of a colorful canvas or a blank one when he can’t think of anything. He was quiet famous for his work and would sometimes sell his own pieces, he didn’t get much but it was enough for him to live here in Colombia and to get the materials that he needed.

“Not yet...” he sighs out and grabs a slice of pizza. Lying down on the couch as he eats it and stares over at his blank canvas. “I would go outside or out in the country but it’s not safe right now. So, might as well and find another way to get inspiration.” He shrugs his shoulders and chewed on his food.

Javier chuckled a little and rolled his eyes. “You usually paint things from nature, why not paint out a portrait of some one? Or of something that happens in the streets?” He asks.

Y/n blinks at the thought and slowly sat up. “You know what? That doesn’t sound like a bad idea. I mean I’ve never actually painted anyone before so its going to take awhile for me to do at least one portrait.” He says with a smile. Smirking a little at Javier, he sits up properly with his legs crossed.

“Wanna be my model?” He wiggles his brows with a grin on his face.

Javier raised a brow himself and shakes his head. “I prefer not to.”

“Come on, why not?”

“I’m not a model.”

Y/n scoffs and rolled his eyes, “that doesn’t matter and besides its a simple tasks you just stand there and look pretty. I’ll draw you like one of my French girls.” He grins at Javier and laughs a little. Javier rolled his eyes. “Still, no.” And with that he tossed his pizza crust back inside the pizza box and stands up to go to the balcony and have a smoke. Y/n groans in frustration and shakes his head, he watched Javier leave the living room and go outside , he watched as he stands their and began to smoke which causes an idea to quickly come in mind. He scrambles out of the couch and grabs his sketchbook and a pencil, he sits in front of the entrance of the balcony and began to sketch out Javier. He makes sure that he isnt notice as his hand moves fast against the paper, making sure to get the smaller details so when he paints it out he’lol just have to look at his sketchbook.

He kept looking up at Javier and the back down to his sketchbook, he finishes his body form and his face. grinning as he draws out the eyes before he hears the sound of the balcony door being pushed open. He slaps his sketchbook closed and looks up.

“what were you doing?” Javier asks as he cleans up the mess that they have made. Y/n gives him an innocent smile. “Just drawing what catches my eye.” He replies back before standing up and tucking his sketchbook behind his canvas. “Need help cleaning?”

“Yeah, unless you want to live in a mess and from the looks of it you sort of do.” He gestured around the house where several paintings materials and finishes paintings were being laid around. “My house is clean you jackass.” Y/n says back and takes the trash with him. “Don’t judge me or else you can leave.” He pouts out.

Javier shakes his head with a laugh, he’s usually a closed off person and didn’t show much emotion but living wiht y/n, even though it was for a short period of time, he seemed to open up and be himself only around the other young man that he’s grown to like.

[my-arlington-academia]

Neha happy birthday fanfic 👗👒💗

This is a short one! About 1k words this time (while it's usually 2k) This one turned out to be really cute, a bit mushy at the end but cute nonetheless! I guess it's because of the recent events in the game but I really wanted to write a one-on-one fic with Neha and Scholar. I want Neha to be happy again 😭 Please give her a break. (On a side note: Scholar is a she again in this one!) Also, don't hesitate to leave keysmashes or something, honestly it's a bit sad when I write something and it doesn't get any comments. (I mean, that's the case for everyone. Whether it's a fic or art or something else.) Though it's totally fine if you just leave a like, still appreciated 👍Thank you very much! 💖

--------------------------------------

This is it. It was the end of the school year, everyone would leave tomorrow and Arlington would be empty again during 2 months until September comes again. Everyone spent that day packing their belongings and saying goodbye to their friends. Everyone including Neha who was heading to the town. She was slowly walking through the many streets she became used to for the past 10 months. Everything looked the same and yet, Neha felt really nostalgic. She wouldn't see this landscape for only 2 months. Logically speaking it's really not a big deal, 2 months goes by quick. However, when they'll receive their diplomas, in a year this exact day will be the last time she'll see this town. Neha was trying really hard to enjoy the scenery but her eyes started getting moist...

That's when a voice called out to her.

"Neha...? Crying again?"

Neha tried to dry her tears in a hurry. She already knew who that person was without even looking.

"Scholar... How come you always find me in my weak moments? I feel like anytime I start crying you're the first one to come running to my side... Had I not known any better, I would think that you're stalking me."

Scholar smiled in an almost devious way and with the sleeves of her jacket, wiped off the last droplet on Neha's cheek.

"Well, I was surprised too you know! When I first met you I would've never thought that you would be the person I'll see crying the most this year... You looked so stoic but turns out you're just a big crybaby."

Neha simulated a fake-offended look and rolled her eyes in amusement. Clearly, she did cry a lot this year, much more than any of their other friends at least, but looking back... Everyone probably cried at least once in the past 10 months. It's like Arlington gave all of them their "tough moment" of the year as a present. Always pushing its students to the limit, Arlington was a difficult place to get in and to stay in. Neha and Scholar understood that more than anyone else since they had to be enrolled through a scholarship. But they also both knew that they'll recall this year for the rest of their lives. Especially Neha, she was already thinking far into the future, seeing herself as an accomplished designer and thinking of the "good old days" while drinking wine with her closest friends.

"Can you blame me though? My first year in Arlington was already something but this year in particular was... crazy to say the least. But well..."

Neha averted her eyes in embarrassement and continued.

"...It is true that I cry a lot when I'm alone. Which comes out as surprising for many since I always look so emotionless."

Scholar laughed slightly, not really understanding if Neha was being 100% serious or telling a joke. Or both.

"Aww. Come on now! You're not emotionless, just really... reserved. You don't want to look weak so you always try to stay strong in front of others and that's perfectly normal: everyone does the same Neha."

Scholar remembered the first time she saw Neha having a hard time. It was during the departments competition, she was panicking and looked completely lost. And yet, when she was spotted in her moment of weakness she quickly apologized and even said that she was "wasting Scholar's time."

Neha immediately noticed the soft look in Scholar's eyes and cringed.

"Whatever it is you're thinking about, please forget it right now. And if you can't forget it then at least never think of it again..."

Scholar laughed loudly this time, seeing how embarrassed Neha looked she couldn't help herself. At this exact moment, the both of them understood what the other one was thinking without much trouble. It's funny how Scholar didn't even believe that this would be possible. Neha's mind was a complete mystery when they first met and as if that wasn't enough, she wasn't the type to talk a lot either.

But in any case, Scholar didn't come here without a purpose.

"Anyway, Neha. Don't freak out but you were kinda right earlier. I did follow you here."

Neha's eyes shot wide open.

"Uhh... Excuse me? Are you admitting that you're stalking me or...?"

Scholar grinned and Neha finally noticed that all this time she was holding something really carefully under her arm.

"Not exactly. I just thought that it was a waste."

"A waste...? Scholar, what are you talking about?"

Scholar extended her arms towards Neha, she was holding two sketchbooks. Neha naturally took them, understanding that those were gifts.

"It's your birthday in a week, isn't it? We should've celebrated it a day after Ellie's! Just imagine: two birthday parties in a row! It's such a waste that we didn't... And well, sorry that I couldn't come up with a better gift but to be fair, I figured that they would definitely be useful to you during this summer vacation."

Scholar was secretly hoping that whenever Neha would use the sketchbooks, she would think about her thanks to them. Neha needed to buy about two new ones each month so hopefully those would be enough for all of July.

Neha longly stared at the sketchbooks in awe. It was simple yet thoughtful, honestly Neha didn't come to town only to look around the stores for the last time. She also came to buy new sketchbooks for her ride home to India. She was planning on sketching a few outfits on the road, being up in the sky above the clouds and lively cities gave her inspiration.

A small silence filled the air before Neha restarted the conversation.

"Thank you Scholar, those will be plenty. I'll use them for sure. And by the way..."

Neha shyly looked up towards Scholar's eyes. She was about to say something she's been meaning to for a few weeks now.

"...I don't have a crush on Karolina anymore."

Scholar blinked a few times in confusion, there was surely a motive in Neha's words. Something really obvious.

"Huh? Uh... Yeah?? Okay. I mean, that's cool. I guess sharing a room with her for a year made you tired of her or something? Hahaha..."

Scholar was trying incredibly hard not to strike a victory pose, it had been some time now that she had feelings for Neha. However at the same time she was also aware of Neha's feelings towards Karolina which made their relationship a little bit awkward. But Neha's statement just now made it all clear. Scholar would be an idiot if she didn't understand what it meant. Neha just announced that she's open now in a not-so-subtle way. Still appreciated though.

"Scholar... Aren't you going to say something else?"

Neha was right. Maybe it was stupid to say this just one day before everyone would go their separate ways for a while, but at the same time, waiting for September was a no-go. Scholar had already waited long enough for this and screw it if the timing was awkward.

The wind blew strongly, making a bunch of leafs twirl in a circle around the both of them. It was as if they were getting wrapped up in their own little world. Scholar gulped and cleared her mind, in a slightly dramatic but strong voice she declared: I love you!

Neha smiled and answered: Yeah, me too.

--------------------------------------

Somewhere in a parallel world...

Scholar: I love you!

Neha: Yeah, me too. I love myself, I'm so awesome. Glad you noticed!

Okay sorry.

On a more serious note: I warned you! Told you it would be mushy! (Well it was still fairly cute I think...) This really gave off an "end of season" vibe, didn't it? The only thing I regret is that there wasn't enough funny dialogue, I love writing silly stuff... This is fine too though! I hope.

Well anyways, thank you for reading! 💗💖

[my-brothers-corrupted]

My Brothers, Corrupted

Chapter Three : Section Eleven : Reunion

Chapter One l Chapter Two l Chapter Three

Trigger warnings for character death, graphic violence, guns and gunshot wounds, abuse, and suicidal ideation.

Everyone is back together again - and Anti doesn’t like what he finds.

Red’s still fussing over Dapper by the time they make it to a hotel that night, but Dapper’s gone so tired and quiet he doesn’t seem to have the strength to reassure him, asking Red increasingly confused questions as the day goes by, nose bleeding at random.

“Where are we?”

“Headed back to Peru, Dap, to see Dok.”

“What do you mean, Dok?”

“Dok’s waiting for us, buddy. Your big brother.”

“How many big brothers do I have?”

“Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

“Who’s in the seat in front of me? His face is all shadowed.”

“There’s no one in the seat in front of you.”

“There’s someone in the seat in front of me. He’s not supposed to be here and neither am I. Where are we going, Anti?”

“It’s me, it’s me…”

He doesn’t resent Dapper for having another confused episode, or for hallucinating, but he kind of wishes they could just go back to the first half of the day, where it was just him and Max talking for hours in the front seat. He’s so easy to talk to.

They get two adjoined hotel rooms and leave the door open between them as Dapper curls up on the windowsill of his room, holding his new sketchbook to his chest but staring out at the world around him. Red sinks onto the bed beside Max and looks up at him.

“Whew,” he says.

“Whew,” agrees Max. “Some day, huh?”

“Some day. But tomorrow we’ll have Dok and he’ll help us get Dap’s medicine and everything will be okay.”

He sits back with a satisfied smile. His eyes and Max’s meet more easily these days. Dapper stares at them from the opposite room.

Anonymous asked: Sorry you're so confused Dapper. If it helps any, I don't think much will have changed for you guys, just Marv, Trick, and Anti. Results were a bit mixed but we did save a life and that's what matters so thank you.

“That is good,” says Dapper, managing a smile at the news. “It’s really weird that they’re not here with us. Tomorrow, though, we’ll be back with Anti and everything will settle down again.”

He puts his chin in his hands and glances over at his brother again. “I hope Red is saying goodbye to Max. He’s getting much too attached and they haven’t even talked about important things.”

Anonymous asked: Would you be upset if Max stayed? Not Anti. YOU.

Dapper stares down at his hands, at his sketchbook.

“It’s not… an option. If he’s still here when Anti finds us, he’s dead.”

He looks up again, over at them chatting in the other room, their bodies turned towards each other.

“But I was glad to meet him. He gave us a nice week. I will be able to hold onto it. Like Christmas. Or the day Trick and Dok took me to get groceries and fish. And everything was okay. You have to have days to hold onto.”

Anonymous asked: Hey Red, how are you guys doing? What's the plan, if there is one?

“Yeah,” breathes out Max. “I think, uh. I think we should talk about that.”

Ro sits up from his place beside him. “What do you mean?”

“Like… what are we planning to do after we find Henrik? What are we planning to do if Anti comes?”

Ro’s mouth twists. His face falls. Uncertain hands tangle together in his lap.

“Do you… do you want to go back to Anti, still?” asks Max.

Red looks down. Ro looks up. He covers his face for a second, letting out a deep breath.

No.

He doesn’t.

Oh, fuck.

How to admit it? Even to himself? He laughs softly, tugging at his hair.

“It’s okay,” whispers Max, his hand drifting closer on the bed.

“Max,” whispers back Ro, and Red, and Jackie, as one. “I don’t think I can go back to Anti.”

bupine asked: anti doesn't have to find you, dap. you can find dok and run. anti's still weak, and he got his ass kicked pretty good the other day by the magician you helped us save, so you'll have a fighting chance. blue and trick will be ok for now, i think

Dapper laughs, his whole chest shaking with it, pulling you closer happily. “That’s funny! You’re all trying to cheer me up.”

bupine asked: which part of it is funny?

“Running away from Anti? You think he’d ever let me get away?”

Anonymous asked: You deserve more than just days to hold onto. You deserve people to hold onto to make every day the best it can be.

Dapper shrugs.

“Well. Maybe. But that’s not what my life is.”

Anonymous asked: That's okay, bud. Knowing you don't want to go back to Anti, or that you can't, it's a step. We can try to figure out what to do from there.

“Yeah.” Max is quick to affirm it, leaning forward, trying not to let his face be too hopeful. “Yeah, yeah. It can just be - we can figure it out from here. That’s great, that’s great news. I was really hoping you would say that.”

“He won’t just let me go, Max.” Ro puts his head down, tugging at his hair. “And I don’t know how I could not feel guilty if I left the others behind…”

“Jackie, sometimes the best thing you can do in a situation like yours is have time to get your own life sorted and your head straight. You have to take care of yourself first.” Max’s hand is on his shoulder, his thumb rubbing soothingly across the muscle. “That’s not selfish. Just because you’re the oldest brother, that doesn’t mean you have to always be crucifying yourself for everybody else. You’re important, Jackie.”

It’s almost too much to hear someone other than Blue say it with so much conviction, and Red turns his head away, flushed and trying not to smile.

“Well… I just… I really wish I could just talk to Anti about this.”

He sighs and covers his face again. “I know he’s been bad to us in the past. But if I could just explain to him that I still love him, I just need some time away, and I can’t watch him lock up Dap anymore… I don’t know how to just betray him like this.”

“You don’t owe him anything,” says Max, and this time he must struggle to keep the heat out of his voice, the hatred. “He lost his right to keep you around every time he hurt and manipulated the two of you. He tore your memories to shreds just to ensure you didn’t want anyone but him.”

“He must have had good reason,” mumbles Red. “I’ve loved him this long.”

Max smiles sadly, but doesn’t contradict him.

“Listen, um. I’ve thought about this a lot, Ro. You know how I was planning to help Dapper hide from Anti? To save him if he ever got in trouble and you weren’t there to protect him?”

“Yeah?”

Max reaches for his wallet and pulls out a stack of fake IDs all with their shared face on it. There’s different names, nationalities, birthdates, everything. Ro stares at it, eyes wide.

“We could get on a plane,” says Max. “I’ll get all four of us tickets and we could go somewhere. I’ll forge anything you need. We’ll work together to cover our tracks. I’ve been hiding from Anti for years and you’re the best hacker I know. We could go, Jackie. We could go.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: What is your life then, Dap??

His fingers drum along the paper of his book.

“When I was born, I was stolen.”

He runs the pads of his thumb along the image of a boy in chains.

“I didn’t know anything but Anti. I was unhappy. But then I settled in. And it wasn’t so bad.”

Flips to a sketch of Ro, smiling at him.

“Eventually, someone saved me, and stole me. And I was unhappy. But then I settled in. And I was happy, for a little while. And things were good, and kind to me. But I still hurt. I was still haunted. And then he stole me again.”

Dozens of drawings of Anti. Again and again. You know it is him without knowing how you know it is him. Dapper, loving, traces his image.

“I was scared. Someone came to save me. They failed. We tried to run. We failed. Red forgot. He was unhappy for a while. But then he settled in. Trick and Dok tried to stay away. Anti caught them. Blue tried to run. He didn’t get away. He was unhappy, then happy, then unhappy. He’ll be happy again at some point. He’ll settle back in. Because you know something?”

He tears a picture of Anti out of his sketchbook and lets it flutter to the floor.

“Everyone else gets to forget. Everyone else does it once, fights, forgets. But Anti washes my brain out again - and again - and again - ”

He tears pictures of himself from his notebook. Pictures of his brothers. Pictures of Anti.

“And I never, ever get to forget. Not really. Not fully. Every day I’m disoriented, struggling with the memory loss and the psychosis and the time travel and the abuse. And every day, I wake up unhappy, and then - I settle.”

He puts his head down against the glass.

Crying soft and silent.

“Cause that’s what life is. It’s not happy. It’s settling. It’s getting caught again - and again - and again - and again…”

Anonymous asked: What do you think, Red? Do you want to go?

Red feels a dozen things, a hundred things, a thousand things all at once.

Joy. Yes! Yes! Let me go with you! Guilt. Anti would be so upset… Vindication. Well, fuck him, he’s been horrible to me. Fear. He’d kill us for this. Relief. The thought of being fucking free of it all!

And then -

Disbelief.

He pulls back from Max’s hand on the bed.

Staring at him.

Shaking his head.

“This is… a trick,” he says, mouth taut. “You - what do you want?”

Max stares at him, his eyes grieving.

“Please. Nothing. I don’t want anything but to see that you’re okay.”

“That’s not how life works,” spits Ro, on his feet, turned away from him, eyes burning. “What do you want? If you just told me… maybe I could give it to you. And we could go. I just need to know what you want.”

“Just you,” croaks Max. “Please. I don’t want you to be in pain anymore. Just you, Jackie. Ro. My - my - just you.”

Anonymous asked: Max doesn't want anything from you. It's not a trick. He doesn't work like that; has he ever tried to trick you before? He just wants you, and dap, to be safe, or at least as safe as possible.

“I get that you’re paranoid,” says Max gently. “It’s okay. Let’s just take a moment and breathe.”

Everything he says is gentle unless he’s shouting for joy, and he’s so pretty the sun should be ashamed, and how is Red supposed to put faith in someone like that? Why would Max give a fuck about him? What does he want?

Just you. Just you.

Red’s heart picks up in his chest.

He’s been pretending he doesn’t notice, but he does - even he couldn’t miss it. The way Max looks at him.

The way he looks back at Max sometimes.

He sits down on the bed, exhausted, staring at Max.

“Jackie?” says Max.

“Yeah,” mumbles Ro. “Just… just give me a second.”

He stares at him. Examines the strong curves of him. The warm lines of his brown hands. The eyes like a big cat’s. He thinks even if Max were ugly he’d still probably be beautiful. He moves like he’s in love with the world. His eyes are in love. Yeah, he’d be beautiful anyway.

“You’ve been really, really kind to us,” mumbles Ro, and he gets up again, and shuts the door between his and Dapper’s room. “If you wanted me, you just… you just had to say so, I - I’m grateful to you, and maybe, yeah, maybe I’d like to go away… and I could be what you wanted me to be.”

And then, before Max can answer, Ro is beside him.

Close beside him.

Max’s breath hitches as Red’s weight sinks into the bed beside him. A hand caresses the back of his head. A second grips his lapel and gently tugs.

“True or false,” says Ro. “You loved me once.”

Max’s eyes well. He closes them, biting down hard on his lip.

“Jackie… you’ve been through a lot, we don’t have to - ”

“Please,” says Ro, putting his head down against his shoulder. “Please, I - I want to hear you say it. I know.”

“You don’t have to - ”

“I just - I just - ”

“I loved you, yes, but you don’t owe me - ”

“Did I love you back?”

“You - I - yes, fuck, Jackie, my h-heart…”

It is Max’s turn to put his head down on Ro’s shoulder. You see, from your place in the corner, Ro’s face light up and flush, his mouth beaming as he buries his face against Max’s neck, and then they are hugging so tight they both might burst, tumbling down onto the bed, wrapped up in each other, holding on to each other, and Max weeps in silence against his chest.

“We were in love?”

“We were, we were, yeah, I loved you, you loved me…”

“You’re still in love with me?”

“I am,” sobs Max. “I never stopped being in love with you. You’re my family, Ro, you’re my heart. Please, we can’t talk about this anymore. You’ve been through so much - ”

“All you had to say was that you wanted me again,” says Ro, triumphant, and then Max freezes stiff as a warm mouth presses against his mouth. “I can give you that.”

He’s a little nervous, sure, but this? This is nothing for as much as Max has done for him! Max took care of him! Max took care of Dapper!

“Let me pay you back,” whispers Ro, sitting up slightly in his lap, mouthing another kiss against his neck. “Max, I can’t believe… I love you, too, I - ”

“Jackie,” croaks Max, no longer hugging him back. “No.”

He can be anything Max needs him to be. Max is kind and good and wonderful, a far cry better than Anti, and he’s always been able to be anything Anti asked him to be. He can be anything Max asks him to be too. He can get him to keep taking care of him and Dapper and Dok, too, and then all of them can go away, and everything will be wonderful, if he can just give Max what he wants.

“I’ll turn the camera off,” whispers Ro.

“No, don’t turn the camera off.”

“Just real quick, I’ll get up and turn the camera off. And it can just be you and me. It can just be you and me. Just - ”

“Ro,” shouts Max. “I don’t want you to do this! Get the hell off me!”

Ro -

Ro stares at him, disbelief in his face.

“M-Max, I - ”

“Please get off me,” whispers Max.

Ro gets off him, trembling, his face only getting redder, his mouth shaking with hurt. He turns away from Max, standing in the corner of the room, trying to breathe.

“I’m going to go check on Dapper,” he says after a moment.

“No,” says Max. “Please. Let’s talk about this. It’s not that I don’t… Ro. I don’t know where to start… I’m not… I’m not… you’ve been through so much and I don’t want this to be… this isn’t how I wanted this to… fuck.”

Max buries his face in his hand. Ro stands in silence, turned away from him.

Anonymous asked: Life can be happy, dap. It's not just settling, for everyone. It's not fair that it had to be settling for you, and for your brothers. But life can be happy. And we're trying to make it that way for you and your brothers.

There’s a faint sob from Dapper’s room. Max and Ro stop short, staring at each other.

“Maybe we should check on him after all,” says Max.

Ro wipes swiftly at hot tears, feeling humiliated and stupid, but Max’s hand comes down on his shoulder again.

“Let me,” says Max. “You’re all worked up. Just take a moment to breathe. I’m not mad, okay? I’m not mad. We just need to talk. I’ll be right back.”

He opens the door to Dapper’s room carefully, stepping inside.

“Hey,” he says to the figure pressed against the window. “Is everything okay?”

Dapper’s still more interested in talking to you. “I want my brothers to be happy,” he says. “But that’s not something that’s ever going to happen for me and pretending otherwise just makes it all worse.”

Anonymous asked: Change is hard, but we need it for the better. It can be adjusted to and it can stay and work and unfortunately we're going to have to fight for it. "Settling" is a refusal of that change. ANTI is a refusal of change.

“Change never happens,” says Dapper bitterly.

Max sits down on the windowsill beside him. “Looks like this night got dramatic for everyone pretty fast, huh?”

Dapper doesn’t look at him. Head against the glass. Eyes closed.

“I think they’re right,” says Max softly. “I think you have to keep hoping for change.”

“I’m not like the others,” answers Dapper coldly, to you, to him. “I wasn’t made for anyone but Anti. You know why it doesn’t matter if Anti gives me a hundred nicknames? It’s because he’s the one who picked my name. The others all got to be Chase, Henrik, Jackie, Marv. Me? I’ve always been Dapper. And that will never change.”

“Hey,” protests Max, worried, leaning forward. “Hey, come on. Don’t say that. Change never happens, that’s not true. You still have free will. You still change. Hey, you picked this shirt out, right?” He reaches out as if to touch the soft rhino t-shirt, but a warning look from Dapper wards him off.

“A fucking shirt isn’t the same as not living my entire life centered around making Anti happy.”

“It can be a start.”

“It’s only ever a ‘start.’ In the past six months alone, Marvin tried to escape with Henrik, willing gave in to Anti instead, then a whole fucking herd of magicians came to help us and we still couldn’t get away. When we were still twins, Jackie broke us out of our room and carried me two fucking countries away trying to escape with me while I was running a 40-degree fever. Couldn’t make it. I lived with my family for what – a year, two? Then Anti stole me again. I tried to escape twice before he wormed into my head, Henrik and Chase once attacked him head-on trying to get away, again and again we’ve fought, and you still don’t get it. We are never getting free of him. Soon, he’ll be here, and then? You’ll be dead, Max. Just like everyone else I’ve ever loved.”

Max stares at him.

“What?” snaps Dapper. “Are you afraid?”

“That was my sign name,” says Max. “You remember me.”

Dapper blinks. Glances at his hands. Glares again and turns back to the window, eyes burning.

“You should go be with Jackie,” he signs wearily. “While you still can. He deserves to know how much you’ve always loved him.”

Anonymous asked: Maybe it won't be happy for you. But it can be better than it is. It can be better than it is, and someday it will be.

Dapper breathes out a long, low sigh.

“If there’s one thing that might be worth fighting for, it’s the thought that maybe the others could be happy. I remember when I was first captured - when was that, who was I then? - I consoled myself by saying that since he had me, he wouldn’t need the rest of my family. But then he brought someone else to me. And more and more. And I couldn’t do anything but sit in my room, alone, watching him erase their love for me.”

“The others still love you,” murmur Max. “I still - ”

“You don’t have to pretend we’re friends,” Dapper cuts him off.

“We are,” protests Max, hurt. “We were.”

“You love me because you love Jackie and Jackie thinks he loves me. Sometimes when people love each other enough, they start to love the people that other person cares about. Just because they love that one person. We’re not friends, Max. We don’t know each other. Maybe we did once, but we certainly don’t now. But you still love me because you love my brother. So I think it’s enough. It’s enough that you should tell him you love him and mean it. You should go back to that room and tell him you still want - well, it’s not my business to talk about.”

“Are you sure you’re not just pushing me away because you stopped believing that anybody could love you but Anti?”

Max is surprised by the volume of his own voice. He covers his mouth with his fingers for a second, taking a deep breath.

JJ’s gone tense beside him. He doesn’t move.

“I’m sorry,” whispers Max. “Is that how you feel, Jameson? That that’s the reason everybody loves you? Because they love the people who love you, so you get the leftovers of everybody else’s love? Because, fuck, I… it’s not true. And I know you’re going through shit, and I’m sorry, but you owe it to your brothers to start trying to believe that, you owe it to Jackie – ”

“Jackie isn’t always kind to me,” Dapper interrupts him fiercely, though there’s no condemnation in his face. It’s just facts to him now. “Neither is Trick. They love me because their brothers love me. And Blue and Dok love me because Anti loves me and told them to, and Anti loves me because he needs me, and I am – I am – I am a weapon and that’s it, that’s all. A weapon and a pet and a child. Tired, that’s what I am. So… so unbearably exhausted, you wouldn’t believe… tired enough that the weight of it could sink boats, tired enough to kill men God offers more mercy to… Nobody can love me because nobody gets a chance to. Anti wants me in my room and I can’t get away from him. Maybe this week, for a little bit, Jackie’s loved me, but soon he’ll be taken away from me again, and I’ll be alone.”

“Jameson – ”

“Don’t call me that. Please. I’m not like Jackie. There’s no Jameson to go back to because there was never a Jameson to begin with. I was born in Anti’s grip and I will die in Anti’s grip. I have always been Dapper. Leave me alone. Be with Jackie while you still can.”

But Max isn’t done. Max can’t see him like this.

“You know something?” he’s choking out, getting on his feet before he can even finish signing. “I used to think you were the most wonderfully fierce person I’d ever met. You were so bitingly funny and so bitter but so kind to everyone around you. Like you had taken everything horrible that had happened to you and looked it directly in its face and then turned around to spite it by your love for everybody around you. Like you had taken all that hurt and you were deciding, every single fucking day, to use it to be a fucking beam of light to everybody around you.”

JJ grips at his hair. His head is bowed down against his knees. He cries into yellow shorts with suns on the pockets.

“Please leave me alone.”

“And fuck, it’s not your fault, and I know you’ve been stolen back to him a half-dozen times now, but goddamn, goddamn, Jameson, it fucking kills me to see you made into something passive and trapped when you used to fight every single day to get free of the hatred he tried to teach you. The worst part is, I see moments where you choose to go back to the person he taught you to be just because you know it’s safer there, not because you had to, not even because you were triggered, just because it’s easier for you. I get it, bud, it’s survival, it’s abuse, but I can’t pretend I don’t see it. I can’t pretend that you couldn’t have realized I was there to help that day you opened the motel room door and saw me, because, Jameson, I saw the recognition in your eyes, and then you realized, I think, that I was against the fucking rules, and you attacked me instead. And I think now you’re attacking me again because it’s easier to feel bad than it is to feel good for a moment and then feel left out again a minute later, because you’ve let him tell you that nobody gives a fuck about you, and it’s not fucking true! It’s not fucking true! You have to stop! Don’t you dare say Jameson wasn’t real, he was the truest person I ever fucking met.”

“I can’t help what I had to become!”

 “I know,” says Max. “I know. But that doesn’t mean I will ever accept that you have to stay as that person forever. Especially since he’s fucking miserable, and will barely even admit it to himself.”

bupine asked: i know how ridiculous it sounds, but it is possible to kill him. you told us that anti was defeated once, forced to possess an animal. a magician got him to that point the other day. he was close to death, from what we saw, or as close as he could be. he was given a lot of electric shocks that hurt his body. if he died, blue could get his magic back. you could be a family again. a real, loving family, dapper. do you remember what that's like?

“Kill him?” Dapper’s hands shake slightly. “Is that what we’ve come to? Sometimes I dream about killing him, but I don’t think I could ever do it. No matter what I think of him… Anti has been my entire life. And there have been moments I loved him so deeply I - I - ”

Torn between grief and his own hopeless anger, Dapper wraps his arms around himself and sets his head back against the wall, closing his eyes. There are pictures of his family scattered around the floor around him. With a sinking of his gut, Max sees that Anti is the only one ever depicted as smiling. Red is a hollow, despairing shadow chained by the ankle to a doorway. Blue is sick with shaking, bleeding palms. Trick and Dok are separated by doors, one chained up by the throat, the other holding a bottle of pills and a thin-looking cat.

“I can’t let myself wake up again,” whisper his hands. “I can’t become aware. Can’t let myself remember. Can’t let myself leave this headspace. If I do, this numb world all becomes a nightmare again…”

Anonymous asked: I think I get what you're saying, Dap. But the thing is, at some point you have to leave the numbness. To me, it's like fog. And past it is scary, and painful, but it's just a storm. It's just a storm, and you will come out on the other side. The fog is safe, and known, but it's no way to live, not forever.

“They’re right,” says Max. “And you deserve better than to be stuck in that fog forever, JJ.”

“Ha,” signs JJ wearily. “That’s a whole different issue.” “Well, in my opinion, you’ve always stressed way too much about your own morality,” says Max with a small smile. “Even while doing good shit, you’d feel guilty for tricking the people around you into thinking you were a nice person, when really you believed you were a bad one. Just because of the things Anti made you do.”

“I could have fought harder against the things I’ve done,” grieves JJ, his eyes downcast. “I could have tried harder, I - I’ve killed people, tortured people, helped Anti capture my family… and the worst part is, it’s not that I feel guilty for the sake of the things I’ve done, I’m just scared to go to hell…”

“Jameson,” soothes Max, and he reaches out to try and touch him again, but JJ draws sharply away, shaking his head.

“You don’t know how bad of a trigger strangers are for me,” he warns. “I could kill you.”

“I’m sorry, I keep forgetting. Forgive me. I just want to be here for you. I want you to know that I think you fought as hard as I could and you still deserve forgiveness.”

Tears flow down Dapper’s cheeks. He brushes at his face, sniffing.

“You still deserve to get away from Anti,” says Max. “You still deserve to be loved by other people. You’re important too, James. You’re not just somebody’s tool. You’re a human being.”

“Not quite,” sighs Dapper. “But I understand what you mean. Max, listen. Even if I am as important than my brothers, you should know that I’m more important to Anti than they are. So if it comes down to it, and you can take Henrik and Jackie and run… leave me behind. Please.”

Max’s eyes are wide.

“What? No. I can’t do that.”

Dapper puts his head down against the window and sighs.

Anonymous asked: But Dap, this might be your only chance to get away, don’t you think you should take it?

“I’m sorry,” says JJ. “I just… really am having a hard time believing we could get away. But maybe you could take Jackie at least. And you could be happy like you always deserved to be.”

“Don’t just give up on yourself,” says Max. “Please.”

bupine asked: dap, you deserve saving too, you know. you don't have to be who anti made you. you said you were with your brothers for a year after anti - who were you then? everyone can change if they want to. and you do. you might not be able to be the jameson jackson that we knew. but you can be someone that isn't anti's.

“I could tell you anything you want about who you were,” murmurs Max. “If that helps.”

“No,” says JJ softly. “They’re right. I can’t get that person back, but he was… he deserved better than what he got. Maybe I could still be someone who would make him proud someday. All he wanted was to live without being haunted by Anti.”

He stares down at his own hands. Scarred and worn.

“I’m sorry,” he says.

Anonymous asked: No maybe not, but sometimes we have to fight for the things we want. Do you want to go back to Anti?

“I… I don’t believe I can get away from Anti,” admits Dapper quietly. “So there’s no point in hoping for anything else.”

“Listen to me,” begs Max. “They’re right about fighting. And you, Jameson - you’re a fighter. You are a fighter. You’re ferocious. Don’t forget that. Here’s what I’m asking, JJ, here’s what I’m begging you for - ”

JJ looks up at him with his endless silver-blue eyes. And maybe it’s true that when they met at first all those years ago, Max had only loved him because he loved Jackie. But time went on and Max loved JJ too - creative, talented JJ, wild, fierce JJ, sincere, warm JJ, and the others too, his friends, the only family he had left after his father died, the people who comforted him and held him through the worst time in his life. Sarcastic, intelligent Henrik, loving, boisterous Chase, and Jackie’s best friend Marvin, beautiful and loyal.

“If we get a chance to fight,” says Max. “If you get a chance to fight for your brothers to be happier than they are - take it, JJ. Take it. Don’t give up. They still love you. They still need you. Fight for the things that you want for your family.”

JJ looks at him. Tiger eyes. An old friend. Mostly forgotten. Family.

“Alright,” he says, very soft. “I’ll try.”

Max smiles at him, his eyes gleaming. JJ tries to smile back.

“Now stop worrying about me so much and get back in there with my brother,” says JJ, giving him a slight smack with his sketchpad. “If I have to watch you two making out with your eyes for five more minutes I’ll stab you both.”

“I don’t even know what to say to him now.”

“Well, you’re going to have to figure it out, aren’t you? I have many talents but romancing my own brothers is not one of them.”

“Thanks, JJ.”

“Don’t thank me. Max, I… just… get back in there. Thank you.”

He gives him one more smile and turns to return to Jackie.

Max closes the door behind him.

Red is sitting on the bed, turned away from him, his hands in his lap. His head downcast.

Max sits down beside him.

The light is getting low. Footsteps echo from the rooms above them.

Max puts his hand on Red’s.

“Is this okay?” he asks.

Ro shrugs, but doesn’t push him away.

“You remember how I said Dermot Kennedy was the only artist we could ever agree on?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I put on some music?”

“That’s fine, I guess.”

Max pulls out his phone and then a man is singing, and they’re sitting in the twilight together, hands together.

“Look, Ro,” he says. “I’ve been acting really friendly, really comfortable and familiar around you. I think I wanted you to just remember. That was what I kept hoping. The more we acted like we used to be, the more you would remember. So I offered to hold your hand, and I joked around with you about everything, and I made you big promises and offers without thinking about how it would sound to you. I’m sorry.”

“No,” whispers Ro. “Please don’t ever be sorry. I just… really thought you liked me. I’m sorry.”

“I do like you,” says Max.

“But you’re not attracted to me anymore. I’m damaged goods.”

“No, it’s not that either,” cries Max, with a perhaps a little too much intensity, and it sits awkwardly in the air for a moment, and then Red snorts and they’re both giggling, faces red, turned towards each other in the twilight.

“You think I’m hot shit, don’t you?”

“I’m sorry, Jackie, you’re gorgeous.”

“I am? Look at you! Besides, I’m coated in all these fucking scars and I’m just kind of a disaster all around.”

“You look incredible. You’re so fucking beautiful.”

“Please,” murmurs Red, turning away, a little embarrassed now. “But then I don’t understand why you didn’t - ”

“Jackie,” says Max, exasperated. “You can’t have thought that was healthy.”

“I just wanted - I want you to know I - I appreciate what you’ve done, and I - ”

“I don’t want you to sleep with me as payment. You don’t owe me anything at all. And you should never feel like you owe anyone your body, no matter what they do or say to you.”

Ro’s eyes are swimming with tears. At last, he’s looking up at Max. His fingers enclose around Max’s own.

“I just don’t… want you to leave.”

“You don’t have to have sex with me to make me stay. You’ve been through a lot, Jackie. Not to tell you what to do, but I don’t think it’s a good time for either of us to be doing something like that. You shouldn’t have to feel like you belong to somebody, and honestly it scares me that I feel like you would have let me do just about anything to you whether you liked it or not. You deserve better. I won’t go. I’m here, Jackie. I’m here. This - ” He squeezes their joint hands. “This is more than enough for me. I’d be here if you just wanted to be friends. If you just wanted to go real slow. And that’s what I wanted to tell you. Here, come on.”

Ro allows Max to lead him to his feet.

“Dance with me?” he asks.

Ro blushes, but he can’t keep back a smile. “You cute bastard,” he grumbles, taking Max’s hand, and Max laughs and puts his free hand on his waist, and comes close to him, and then they’re swaying, quiet, in the twilight.

“I don’t need you to remember me and then suddenly have everything go back to what it was,” whispers Max, setting his head down against his shoulder. “It was wrong of me to just expect things to be the same. You don’t have to be the same as you were. We don’t have to be the same. In fact, if you never want to be with me again, that’s okay. We can just be friends and I will never hold it against you. But if you want to try something, someday, when you’ve had more time to recover…”

Red cannot remember the last time he listened to music casually. Certainly he cannot remember the last time he listened to music that made his heart swell like this. He can’t remember dancing, and he can’t remember dancing with someone he likes as much as Max, and he can’t remember the last time someone held him so gently and just rocked with him. Max’s warm waist beneath his fingers. Max’s warm hand in his own.

aether-mae asked: Hey Jackie, antis possessed blue and it’s given him access to blues powers without the physical damage on him, even though blues already very sick and stressed to say the least. Best thing is get to doc and prepare for his inevitable attack (and likely massacre of many more magicians, as he did just earlier).

The beep of the camera startles them both and they laugh, drawing away from each other, or trying to, though their hands seem to keep coming back together, and their eyes keep meeting and darkening, and they seem to move like they’re on the same pathway, both reaching out for you. But the laughter dissipates. Reality comes back.

“Oh, no,” breathes Ro, touching his hair. “No, not that.”

Max stares down at him, horrified. “Can he do that? Posses someone?”

Ro bites down hard on his lip, his eyes closing. He nods.

Max sits down on the bed. Ro sets you gently down on the desk and turns away.

“I’m sorry,” says Max shakily. “If I had known how badly off Marv was…”

Ro looks back at him, his eyes red, and Max already knows what he will say before he says it.

“I’m not sure I can leave them behind,” he croaks.

“So they’ll come with us,” says Max. “We’ll get Henrik tomorrow and we’ll talk. We’ll find a way. We have to.”

But this - this seems a thing impossible.

Then again, Max being in love with him seemed impossible too.

“I don’t know what to do,” whispers Ro. “I feel torn between two parts of myself. I still love Anti. But I know he will never let us all go. And if he stays… he’ll keep hurting us. It’s who he is. We can’t be with him anymore, but I don’t know how to go. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow.”

Max gets up and holds his hand. “Well,” he says. “Whatever happens, I’m with you. Okay? I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. No matter what it takes.”

Red means to go back to Dapper. To tell him the news. To look after him.

He ends up falling asleep in Max’s arms. His dark head is buried against Jackie’s collarbone. They hold each other. Dermot Kennedy plays on repeat.

He doesn’t know what will happen.

But there are things worth hoping for.

And, likewise, there are things worth going to war.

…………..

All too soon - all too soon - Dapper is shaking him awake.

“Wha - Dap?”

“Jackie,” signs Dapper, his hands trembling. “I can feel him. Anti. Coming to get me. He’s not far now. He’s not far.”

---------------

cest-mellow asked: hey magicians!! anti may not be far away now, and he’s possessed marvin so he’s at FULL capacity power right now!! and marvin could be seriously hurt in this!!

“You should stay here,” says Nina. “If Anti is close.”

“No,” says Henrik gently.

He’s made up his mind.

“Or we could go with you.” Genesis moves forward to grab his shoulder, squeezing tight, imploring him to listen to her. “You don’t have to be alone.”

“I won’t be.”

He’s going to go to Red and Dapper. From there, what happens will happen. But in the end, they’re the only ones who are going to be able to choose whether they stay with Anti or some day go, and he isn’t willing to watch more magicians die for him to feel safer for ten more minutes than he would otherwise.

He went to the mountain one more time to pick flowers and bring them to Christofer. To Jose. Blessed their memory. Thank you for everything.

“I just want to see my brothers again,” he says honestly. “Blue is hurt. I need to be with them.”

“Henrik,” protests Hermann, but before he can say anything more, Emmanuela is there.

“He’s decided,” she cuts him off. “It’s time to let him go.”

Hermann lets out a full-blown groan, pacing in the garden in front of the chapel, plucking at his cross, and Henrik can only smile at him.

He didn’t sleep last night. Too much to think about. Too much future ahead of him.

“Can’t I at least take you to the market?” asks Hermann miserably.

“Ask your mom,” answers Henrik, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. He has all of his things and everything retrieved from their car. He’s ready to go.

“Yes, I think he should go with you if he comes right back,” agrees Emmanuela.

Henrik grins and hefts you up, holding you firmly in his weary hands.

“Any last words for the magicians?” he asks. “It’s about time to go.”

cest-mellow asked: magicians, trick has been hypnotized to the point of being endlessly loyal to anti so he won’t be afraid to use his gun on you guys! i’m so sorry henrik :( also we’ll miss you !!

“He wouldn’t ever shoot you, would he?” asks JP.

“I don’t… think so.”

Nina puts a protective hand on her stomach and looks around at her friends, who look back with worry. Emmanuela, however, remains calm, remains sure.

“We know the fights we step up to,” she says. “If you called on us, we would not stay away. We would come to protect you, Henrik.”

He turns away, closing his eyes for a moment. It isn’t what he wants. He thinks to see one of them die would near kill him.

“Alright,” says Emmanuela. “Alright. Then you must have your presents, come.”

He blinks. “My presents?”

“I told you I’d get you weapons, right?” she says. “Protection?”

She holds up a trio of identical necklaces.

Strong brown bands hold one shining black stone each, carved into the image of a raven. Astonished, Henrik reaches out to touch one of the tiny black bodies, and finds it warm to the touch.

“Talismans,” says Emmanuela. “For you. One from three of us.”

“Wait,” he protests. “I thought magic power could only be transferred if you were dying.”

She chuckles. “You did do your reading while you were here. Permanently, yes, theft and Gift of Being can only happen if someone is dying or willing to die to hand the power over. Hermann’s necklace, for example.”

Hermann grips his crucifix. “My father gave it to me in his last days,” he says. “His power of invisibility is with me as long as I wear it.”

“But these are talismans, not relics,” says Emmanuela. “They’re only little pieces of power, and only borrowed. When you use them, the power will come back to us.”

“Three of you were willing to give that up for me?” asks Henrik, still stuck staring at them. You see his fingers curling tentatively in and out, as though afraid to touch them. It’s too much of a gift.

“More of us wanted to!” cries Genesis. “Emmanuela said I couldn’t because transportation magic is too fickle…”

“And apparently I’m ‘too recently stabbed,’” grumbles Hermann.

“If I had power, it would be yours,” says Nina.

“And if you weren’t seven months pregnant,” protests JP.

“Oh, yeah, that.”

“But JP,” says Henrik. “You…?”

JP grins back at him.

“Figured you should have a little piece of me to take with you,” he says. “Do you remember what my power is?”

Anonymous asked: Can you destroy the gun with your magic?

“There’s an idea,” says Henrik.

“That’s a small thing for gifts like this!” says Nina. “They’re only for emergencies. So maybe, yes, but this magic isn’t really… well, JP, go ahead and explain! He’s so dramatic.”

“Haha, fine!” JP beams up at Henrik and takes one of the necklaces from Emmanuela when she offers it to him. “I can turn people into animals. I was reluctant to give it - not because I don’t think you should have it - but because this power has always frightened me. The first person I turned… I never found a way to turn back.”

There’s a small, tense silence.

“But he deserved it,” adds Nina bitterly, putting her hand down on her husband’s shoulder. JP smiles gently.

“As much as a person can. But this talisman won’t do that, or at least not permanently. Here, maybe I can - ”

He begins to push himself out of his wheelchair on trembling limbs, but Henrik shakes his head quickly and, without hesitation, falls to his knees in front of his friend. JP smiles at him and reaches out to touch the side of his head fondly.

“Do you want this?” he asks. “You won’t be able to take it off until you need it.”

“I need all the help I can get, I think,” says Henrik. “And I trust you. Entirely.”

JP beams and unclasps the necklace gently, reaching out to clasp it around Henrik’s neck. It falls to the middle of his chest.

“When you need this power,” says JP. “You can unclasp it and you will turn into… something. I don’t know what, I’m sorry. It changes for every person. Or, if you want to use it for someone else, you take it off and - as quick as you can - you put it on them instead. Do you understand?”

“It will really turn me or someone into an animal?”

“Should last for… well. I really don’t know. Not longer than a day. Not shorter than an hour. It might depend on the animal.”

Henrik touches the black bird on his chest. “Thank you, JP. For everything.”

“Of course, amigo, of course.”

Henrik gets up on one knee to embrace him. JP hugs him back firmly, throwing his arms around him.

Anonymous asked: Can you destroy the gun with your magic?

“There’s an idea,” says Henrik.

“That’s a small thing for gifts like this!” says Nina. “They’re only for emergencies. So maybe, yes, but this magic isn’t really… well, JP, go ahead and explain! He’s so dramatic.”

“Haha, fine!” JP beams up at Henrik and takes one of the necklaces from Emmanuela when she offers it to him. “I can turn people into animals. I was reluctant to give it - not because I don’t think you should have it - but because this power has always frightened me. The first person I turned… I never found a way to turn back.”

There’s a small, tense silence.

“But he deserved it,” adds Nina bitterly, putting her hand down on her husband’s shoulder. JP smiles gently.

“As much as a person can. But this talisman won’t do that, or at least not permanently. Here, maybe I can - ”

He begins to push himself out of his wheelchair on trembling limbs, but Henrik shakes his head quickly and, without hesitation, falls to his knees in front of his friend. JP smiles at him and reaches out to touch the side of his head fondly.

“Do you want this?” he asks. “You won’t be able to take it off until you need it.”

“I need all the help I can get, I think,” says Henrik. “And I trust you. Entirely.”

JP beams and unclasps the necklace gently, reaching out to clasp it around Henrik’s neck. It falls to the middle of his chest.

“When you need this power,” says JP. “You can unclasp it and you will turn into… something. I don’t know what, I’m sorry. It changes for every person. Or, if you want to use it for someone else, you take it off and - as quick as you can - you put it on them instead. Do you understand?”

“It will really turn me or someone into an animal?”

“Should last for… well. I really don’t know. Not longer than a day. Not shorter than an hour. It might depend on the animal.”

Henrik touches the black bird on his chest. “Thank you, JP. For everything.”

“Of course, amigo, of course.”

Henrik gets up on one knee to embrace him. JP hugs him back firmly, throwing his arms around him.

hurricael asked: Wait!! So!! With the necklace thing!! You can put it on Blue/Anti!!! 'Cause I think I remember that he absolutely hates being an animal, so he'd probably leave Blue, and then you can get Blue away so Anti can't possess him again!!

“That… that could work,” says Henrik. “Though, hell, I can only assume that would be momentarily terrifying for Blue.”

“There’s something I want to say first,” interrupts Emmanuela, reaching out a hand to beckon him closer. “Henrik, come here for a moment.”

He moves towards her obediently and she draws him and you gently in, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Henrik,” she says. “Are you ready to fight when you go?”

“Yes,” he says, very soft.

“Are you ready to kill the monster?”

His eyes fall to the ground. His mouth goes still. He says nothing.

“You’re not,” she says. “But I fear that is what you will have to be ready to do before you are permanently free of him. Yes?”

He can’t look up at her. She presses down gently on his shoulder.

“Henrik,” she says, again his name, the secret name, the name like a promise of the person he was once and could be again. “You may use JP’s present however you like and whenever you like. To keep yourself safe. To keep your family safe. To punish the monster. But this one - from me - ”

She holds up a second black bird necklace.

“You use this,” she says, her dark eyes gleaming like the shine on her long, thick hair. “The day you are ready to watch Anti die.”

She puts it around his neck. Henrik swallows and accepts it, nodding.

“Yes, Emmanuela,” he says.

“A gift of light,” she says. “You will be able to wield it or give it to one of your warrior brothers to wield. It will burn him terribly - or perhaps serve as a purifier for someone with enough of his shadow inside of them. Do not take it off until you are ready to use it. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” he says again. “Yes, Emmanuela.”

He trusts her too.

bupine asked: henrik, do you remember anti's dislike for animals? that magic could be useful for something, hopefully. also, goodbye, magicians! we can't thank you enough for all you've done. and no matter what happens next, i don't think any of us will forget this.

“He would really hate that, wouldn’t he?” mumbles Henrik, picking at Emmanuela’s necklace, dropping down to hang between his breasts. “I could stop him from hurting one of the others… I could blackmail him, I could… I could really affect him. For once in my life. I have more than just words and a handgun.”

He blinks and then registers the rest of the message, straightening up to look around. Scattered throughout the little garden where he has made music, played games, read so many books looking for help, talked about everything that scares him and everything that makes him hope, found friends and peace and health and safety, if only for a little while - scattered throughout the garden are people who have been his family when he needed them.

“I,” he begins uncertainly. “I. I am not a sentimental man.”

JP smiles at him. Genesis tries to appear unaffected. Nina stares up at the sky and Hermann bites a trembling lip.

“Nor have I felt close to my religion in a long time,” he laughs, pulling at his necklaces. “But I feel I was like Jonah in the stomach of the whale, and you were what God sent to drag me out of the depths.”

Genesis takes a step closer to him.

Wraps her arms around him.

He feels the soft scars of her arms. Smells the flowered scent of her.

“Bitch,” she grumbles.

“Motherfucker,” he whispers back.

“Who’s going to teach me swears in different languages now?” she says sadly.

“You’ll figure it out, my friend.”

She buries her face in his hair for a second. “Bye, Henrik.”

“Bye, Genesis. Thank you.”

“You’ll tell us when you get free?” asks Nina, stepping up to him. “Won’t you?”

“Yes, of course,” he says. “Maybe someday I can come see you again. Bring Trick. Chase.”

“Meet the baby,” she says, patting her stomach.

“You’re going to name it after me, right?”

“I’d die first.”

He laughs and embraces her too.

Hermann stands away from the rest of them, sniffling, but Henrik only smiles. He’ll have a chance to say goodbye to him too when he reaches the market. There’s time. There’s time. There has to be.

Anonymous asked: What's the plan, Henrik? Are you and them going to meet up today?

“Yes,” says Henrik. “I’ve been texting with Red. He doesn’t sound quite like himself, but… in a good way. I’ll meet him and Dapper at the marketplace. From there, we figure it out. He talks about going somewhere safe. I think he has money, food, such and such. He must because he seems so happy. Hermann will walk with me to the market and then… I’ll go.”

He turns to smile at the younger man.

“Hold on, though, hold on,” says Genesis. “You got one necklace is left! Who that’s from, mama?”

“Well,” says Emmanuela, holding the last necklace. “That might be something of an issue.”

“What do you mean?” asks Henrik.

“Henrik,” she says. “I think this necklace is the most important one we can give you. It is not for one-time use. It is your shield. Your protection. Let me explain first.”

“What does it do?”

“It will stop the monster,” she says. “From getting in your head again.”

Henrik’s eyes widen.

He - he has to have that.

That changes everything.

If Anti can’t get in his head - if Anti can’t make him doubt himself - if Anti can’t possess or hypnotize or mind control him -

He has to have that.

Maybe he could win, with that. Everything feels much more real and certain all of a sudden. He’s stepping towards Emmanuela, fixed on that necklace, his heart pounding.

“It can do all that?”

“It should last you for more than a month, maybe two,” she says softly. “I fear that if you are not free by then, he will worm back into your head and erase all your progress, and then… I don’t know. This could be your only chance, Henrik. Do you understand? Within two months, Henrik - Anti must be dead. For you and all your brothers. Within two months, be free.”

His fingers tremble as he touches the talisman.

Within two months -

Freedom.

Anonymous asked: Red, Dap, what's going on on your end?

Anxiety.

“Dap. Dapper, look at me. You have to calm down.”

Paranoia.

“Should we not take him? He’s so freaked out. Buddy, are you sure it’s not a delusion?”

Anti is coming. Anti is close. Anti is going to put him back in his room.

Dapper leans over to vomit for the third time today, his whole body shaking. Red holds up a plastic bag for him and rubs his back as he’s sick, sitting with him in the shade of a cathedral not far from the marketplace. Max comes back from a vendor with a cool Inca Cola and Red presses it to Dapper’s reddened cheeks and forehead, shielding him from view until he’s ready to lean back, panting.

“Are you hallucinating? Delusional?” asks Red.

“Yes,” groan Dapper’s hands. “But I can tell the difference. Red. Please just leave me behind and get Dok and go. I can’t take this. I just want to go back to my master.”

“He’s the one making you so scared!”

“He can make it stop, too. Please… you might be able to get away if Anti at least had me.”

“Don’t say that,” murmurs Ro. He and Max exchange helpless glances over his head. “Let’s just get to Dok, okay? I bet you’ll feel better when you see him.”

aether-mae asked: I’m sorry JJ but killing Anti is your only way out of this. He may have been your whole life, but it’s a miserable life that’s choking you, and killing that life is the only way to create a new one that you can make for yourself. No one to hunt you down, no one to run from. You can’t hide from this anymore, or be passive any longer. Anti taught you to wield that knife, now show him what it’s for

“No, please,” sobs Dapper, curling in on himself. “No, no, don’t say that, I don’t want him dead, I need to see him, he raised me, I have to - I have to - ”

“Breathe, breathe,” begs Red. “Dapper, please, bud.”

“Kill Anti? I’d be so lost, I can’t, I can’t… took me apart, put me back together, puppets, my little puppet box, my toys, just playthings, we’re always playing games but not the kind I like to play, Max played with me - ”

“He’s getting manic,” warns Max.

“Dap, buddy, listen, you don’t have to think about Anti right now. Let’s just - fuck’s sake, where the hell is Henrik? I hope he comes soon.”

cest-mellow asked: take a deep breath, dapper. focus on red and dok, are you excited to see him again? you can show him your bear and henrik can show you the pretty things hes gotten while visiting the magicians. he’s got things from the car, too!

Dapper pauses, rubbing at his face.

“Things from the car? My old clothes from the car? So Anti will be less mad at me?”

He combs gently at his over-grown hair, trying to push it back into some semblance of neatness. “Yes, I want my bear, too, oh. Where did I put him?”

Red gets off his backpack and pulls the bear out, handing it over. Dapper stares down at it on his lap, calming a little.

“Its eyes are the wrong color.”

“Think you’re seeing things, lil bro,” says Red gently.

“Oh. Yes. You know, I would like Dok, but also Blue, I would like.”

“He’s not quite himself right now.”

“We rarely are,” agrees Dapper, reaching down to brush his hands over the alpaca fur of his bear.

Anonymous asked: Dapper? It's okay buddy, you don't need to think about that right at this moment if you don't want to. Dok's gonna be here soon, if you need something good to focus on.

“Come on,” suggests Max, reaching out to help Red to his feet, who pulls Dap up after them. “We can walk around the market and look for him. We’ll be ready when he gets here.”

“You can look at the other bears, too.”

“Oh, is this where you got that?” grins Max.

“Yeah, haha, we got most of our Christmas shopping done here this year. Neat little place. Come on, buddy, we’ll wander around for a while. Distract ourselves.”

Dapper takes his hand and follows after him.

Anonymous asked: Hey Ro! Are you excited to see Dok?

Ro breathes out a soft, shaky sigh. “I am, yeah. It’s just… I was kind of being a jerk last time we saw each other. I hope he’s not angry or scared of me or something. I think I owe him an apology.

“You guys are helping him make his way over here, right? Tying up any loose ends and ready to go?”

Anonymous asked: I don't think he's mad at you, or scared of you. He didn't seem that way; from what I can tell, he just wants to see you and Dapper again.

Red relaxes, looking down at you gratefully.

“People… are way too nice to me,” he laughs, rubbing at the back of his neck. “No one seems to care about all the times I’ve fucked up. I kind of want someone to just beat me to hell, punish me for it. Like that would make it right. I know it wouldn’t, it’s just… ha. I don’t know. I don’t really deserve anyone’s forgiveness.”

Anonymous asked: Sometimes we need to be loved rather than hurt to learn our lesson y’know? It’ll be okay, Ro :)

“Yeah,” laughs Ro softly. “Yeah… weird how that can be harder than just taking the punishment, huh?”

Anonymous asked: I'm not going to say you haven't made mistakes, even bad ones. But I heard somewhere that one of the biggest indicators of whether you can really forgive someone is whether they're trying to change. And from what I've seen of you, you are.

Red looks at Dapper beside him, his little brother’s eyes watching the stalls and people as they pass, and Max ahead of them, guarding them, his hair glowing gold in the sunlight.

“Yeah,” he says. “Yeah, I am. There are things worth changing for. And people who make me feel like I can.”

spicydanhowell asked: are you bringing the stuff from the car, hen? heading out?

“Right, right,” says Henrik. “Yes, I… I have to get going, don’t I? Thank you. Yes, I have all the stuff from the car in my backpack.”

If you don’t question who’s giving him the third necklace, he isn’t going to bother to either. He doesn’t want to think about it anyway, as he has an inkling of who it might be from. Emmanuela places it around his throat and it falls down to his clavicle, so the necklaces make a three-star constellation from his collarbone to his breasts. The design of the raven is lean and

“Thank you,” he says. “For everything. For the things you did do. And for the things you would have done if you could have. If I had asked you.”

“If you ever need anything,” she answers.

“Yes.” He knows what she means.

“Goodbye, Henrik.”

He takes her out-stretched hand and shakes it. Takes in one more look of the Raven Queen.

“Goodbye, Emmanuela.”

He turns back to Hermann, staring sadly at him from the corner.

“Come on,” he laughs, reaching out for him, and Hermann takes his hand. “Stop sulking. It’s time to go.”

“Okay,” says Hermann wearily. “Let’s go. I’ll take you to the marketplace.”

“Thank you.”

The old convent looks down at him one more time in return. In his mind, he says goodbye to the little room with the open windows, goodbye to the garden and the cool dark chapel, goodbye to the dining room and the piano and the forest where he remembered his name.

Hermann whispers a spell to move them through the convent’s protection, and they reflect through the mirror and re-appear into the world. Cars rush around them. Buildings tower above and chatter with noise. The streets are swarmed with people.

Time to see his family again.

Henrik and Hermann head towards the market by way of the cathedral.

“Leave me here,” says Henrik softly, stopping by the gate. “Go say a prayer for me. Same God.”

Hermann’s eyes water and overflow. He stares at him, not letting go of his hand.

“I don’t want you to have to go,” he says, holding on to his crucifix. “Stay with us. We can keep you safe.”

“I have to go,” answers Henrik. “I have to be with my brothers.”

“Amigo,” mumbles Hermann, and leans in to hug him, close, close. “Hermano.”

Henrik laughs softly, trying to diffuse his own grief. His hands come up to wrap around Hermann’s back and they hold each other there in front of the church. The bells are ringing. Six in the evening.

You can barely make out the last words they offer each other before parting, but they’re there, soft in the evening light.

“Be safe, medico. Take care of your brothers. I’m sorry I couldn’t do enough to save them.”

“You did everything. More than you know. Thank you for making me believe there were kind people in the world.”

He was nothing but a strange man following them home from the shops, once. Henrik laughs and squeezes him closer for a moment more. Hermann kisses both his cheeks.

“Goodbye,” says Henrik. “Get home before Anti comes.”

Hermann nods and waves at you too with a soft, fond, sad smile. And then he disappears.

“Gone without a trace,” whispers Hermann, and Henrik laughs, his hands falling away from the invisible body of his friend, turning to go find his brothers.

—————

Red and Dapper and Max make patient circles around the marketplace. The crowds are dying down now as the tourists move off to dinner and evening entertainment, swarming out of the stalls and down the busy streets.

“You could get me another bear,” suggests Dapper, examining a stand full of alpaca-fur stuffies.

Ro laughs, but he’s considering it.

“We’ll see how much time we have,” he chuckles. “We - oh. Oh.”

Dok.

Standing in the entryway of the marketplace, holding to the straps of his backpack. Staring around through new glasses.

Red has never seen him looking so… calm. Healthy. Peaceful.

“Dok,” signs Dapper. “Dok!”

Max’s hand brushes across Red’s back. “I’ll give you three a minute,” he smiles, turning to disappear into the dispersing crowd, finding another stall to look at. Red is already racing forward.

“Dok!” he shouts.

His brother looks up.

Red comes to a halt before him, panting.

“Dok,” he repeats lamely, suddenly unsure of himself, and Dok stares back, his mouth slightly open, his eyes wide and delighted.

“Red,” he says. “I - ”

Dapper crashes into his brother and engulfs him in a hug. Dok lets out a deep laugh, his whole chest shaking with it, and swings Dapper in a circle, clutching him to his body. Dok murmurs love and reassurances at him, fussing over him as Dapper nuzzles forcefully into his cheek and neck and chest, hugging him tight, tight, breathing in the smell of him, his feet lifted off the ground by Dok’s grip.

“My poor darling, my poor love,” breathes Dok, rocking him. “You have been without your medication, you have been without so much. I can fix one problem at least. Here. I went back up to the mountain where we were living. The medication was still there, here…”

From his backpack, he pulls a little bottle of pills. Dapper sobs, his hands wrapping desperately around his Haldol at last, and Dok helps him take just a half pill to begin with, hugging him again as he swallows it and cries.

“It will take some days before it starts helping,” murmurs Dok.

“I needed you as much as the medicine,” cry Dapper’s hands, clinging to Dok. “Big brother looks after me.”

“Red was kind to you, wasn’t he?”

The question lances through Red’s chest, but he knows he deserves it. He swallows nervously, shifting on his feet.

“He figured it out,” answers Dapper benevolently, stepping slightly back from Dok at last.

Red and Dok stare at each other.

“We should, uh. Get off to the side a little, I suppose.” Red steps back and forth, back and forth. “Have a little privacy and we can talk - ”

Henrik hugs him.

“Little brother,” whispers Jackie, and hugs him back.

“It’s so good to see you… I didn’t know if anyone was dead or alive, I didn’t know if you were safe or had money, I didn’t know if you were being taken care of…”

“I was so scared those magicians would hurt you.”

“And you and Dapper hand-cuffed and fleeing, and all of us apart, and I didn’t know if they were enemies or friends at first.”

“I just wanted all of us to be back together, even now I can’t help but think… Dok, listen, I - I was being a terrible brother, last time we saw each other. Forgive me.”

Dok touches his beard, drawing back to look at him.

“It’s forgotten,” he answers, soft and earnest. “It’s forgiven. We’re together. That’s all that matters. I was so worried.”

Ro’s eyes water, his heart aching, but in a good way. He pulls Henrik back into a hug. “We’re okay, Dok. We’re okay.”

“You must have stolen and stolen,” he worries, brushing at his beard. “Red, do we need to hide?”

“We might yet. But I didn’t have to steal nearly as much as I would have. There’s someone you should meet.”

Red turns around, looking for Max in the crowd.

“Where did he go?” he murmurs.

“To give us some privacy,” answers Dapper. “Probably looking at shops or something. He must be - ”

A woman screams aloud.

Red is turning, looking for him, and the crowd parts like a Red Sea, and a wave of commotion leaves Red feeling numb and distant, people rushing past him, a second scream, a third, calls for the police, the market emptying, vendors leaping their stalls to escape, and Red in the middle of it, too suddenly over-stimulated to meltdown, stepping back towards the place where he last saw him.

And there is Max, in the dirt, bleeding from the heart.

Black-crimson ink from his chest.

Open, blinded tiger eyes.

Red hears Dok give a cry and Dapper a shrill warning whistle. Just meters away, standing over the corpse, Red’s twin stands tilted on a cane, his eyes, green and blue, shining coldly in the evening light.

“My brothers,” says Anti, dropping the bloodied knife to hold out a hand instead, tears welling in his eyes. “Oh, oh, my brothers. I was so, so worried. But here we are again. Here we are again. I will make everything right.”

Ro hears himself screaming.

cest-mellow asked: jj can you turn it back??? are you healthy enough???? we can’t lose max!!!!

Red turns to him.

“Jameson,” he croaks. “Jameson. Please. Oh, God. Please.”

Dapper is clinging to Dok’s shirt, standing in front of him, protecting him. You can hear Dapper’s breath hiccuping, his eyes fixed, with pupils blown, on Anti.

But even now he cannot stand to watch this happen.

Too many innocent lives. Too many innocent lives.

Dapper takes his clock from his pocket.

You see Anti’s eyes widen furiously. “Dapper!” he calls. “Don’t you d

The post where Hermann and Henrik say goodbye was reblogged with this addition:

Dapper is in the marketplace.

Clinging to Red with one hand.

To Max’s backpack with the other.

He leans forward to throw up for the fourth time that day, his eyes flickering with silver light, crying as Max and Ro converge on him in worried murmurs and cool drinks pressed to his head, feeling their heartbeats through his hands.

Anonymous asked: Turn back time Dapper do it now!!!

“What did you have to turn back?” Red and Max hurry him towards a shaded corner of the markets, Red holding him close to his chest. “Dap, are you okay, is everything okay? It was just for something on the other side of the world like last time, right? We’re okay?”

Dapper tries to breathe, shivering. He feels terribly dizzy.

Max’s corpse is in front of him again and he jumps, terrified -

No, no, just a hallucination. Just a hallucination. Keep it together, Dap! They’re okay for now.

“Have to run, or fight, or convince him not to hurt him, or, or… I don’t know what to do,” stammer Dapper’s hands. “Dok is coming. Near the entrance.”

Anonymous asked: Trick and Anti are here, Ro! Keep Max close at hand and don’t let him go alone! Trick has a gun and he’s been hypnotized and he is willing to shoot anyone who will take his brothers away!

“He’ll hurt Max,” warns Dapper, clinging to Ro’s sleeve. “I told you if he was here when Anti came, he would die. Leave me, I’ll be enough to distract Anti. Go.”

“No,” cries Red viciously, though you can see a new terror in his eyes, his head swiveling around the marketplace. “No. Max, stay here, stay with us.”

“I’m here,” answers Max softly, trying to calm Red’s hands as they paw desperately at him, as though trying to reassure him that Max is still there. “I’m with you. We have to keep each other safe. Watch out for Anti. I think we should probably get Dok and run.”

“Do we even have time for that?” asks Red. “He’s already here. I don’t know how close.”

Anonymous asked: Henrik, where's the closest entrance to the marketplace? Do you know what cardinal direction it is from the center? Wait there, we'll get the others to come to you

Henrik pauses, blinking at you. “I’m almost to the south entrance,” he says. “Did the pigs find us or something? I’m ready to run.”

Anonymous asked: Red, Anti is here, he’s going to kill max, that’s why Dap turned back time!!

“I can’t - I can’t - ”

If Red didn’t panic when he saw Max’s body, he is beginning to now.

“Can’t watch you die. I can’t watch you die. Max, I - ”

“I’m here,” repeats Max, steady as a seafarer, clutching his hands when they reach out to touch him. “Jackie, I am right here. I’m with you. Let’s worry about what will be, not what was.”

Red settles slightly, letting out a slow breath, summoning ferocity to replace the fear. He has to protect them both. All of them. His little brothers. His… whatever Max is. His Max. That’s his job. That’s all that matters.

“I don’t want to lose you again,” says Red, and Max looks back at him, and his eyes are deep and endless, and his mouth is soft and -

“Can we fucking focus?” asks Dapper.

“Right, right. Okay, let me think.”

Anonymous asked: All of you, Anti is coming to the market. He'll be here in maybe five minutes, probably a lot sooner. He will kill you first, Max. You all need to decide right now: are you running? Or are you going back to him?

“Leave me with Anti,” repeats Dapper, stepping forward.

“No!” Ro repeats right back. “No, you’re coming with us! We’ll go away. We can try reconnecting with Anti when we’ve had some time and we know he’s not going to fucking murder us!”

“I don’t want to go.” Dapper’s eyes are pained and wet but so determined it stops Ro in his tracks. “I want to want to go, but I don’t want to go.”

You can see Max trying to understand what he’s saying, with limited success.

“Dapper,” signs back Ro. “I need to take care of you. That’s my job. I have to make sure you don’t faint too much upstairs and that you get enough food and that Anti lets you have the right dose of medicine and - ”

“You don’t always have to be my suffering savior, my love.”

“He will hurt you. He has always hurt you. And I have so often, just - just let it happen.”

“I can’t get away today, Red. I just can’t. He won’t let me. If you two could go, at least you would be free. Or if you won’t let me go entirely, just let me go to Anti this time around and I’ll reverse it when I know what the best option is.”

“You’re not well,” protests Red. “You can’t reverse so much, Dapper, you’re going to make yourself snap or have a psychotic break or get really ill or something. I can’t put you on the line like that.”

“I will do what I have to to protect you,” answers Dapper fiercely. “You and the person you love.”

Red’s breath hitches and he shakes his head, turning to you and Max.

“What do you think? Should I just… fuck. Should I leave him behind? Just for one test run? Maybe? Or run off with him? Don’t look at me like that, Dapper, I’m making this decision executively. Don’t argue.”

Anonymous asked: Dapper, no. Anti has Blue's magic and can use it fully; the only option is to run. With them. I don't think you should risk the possibility that he controls, or partially controls, your time powers again. It might do more harm than good.

“Come on,” says Ro, immediately convinced - really, he just needed the reassurance. “They’re definitely right. I’m playing the big brother card. Come on.”

Dapper squeezes his eyes shut, but doesn’t protest. In the end, however, if Max and Ro find a way to get away, he has no intention of going with them.

immabethehero asked: Henrik, Anti is here. He'll kill a good friend and ally of Jackie and Jameson. Keep a look out.

Henrik swears vehemently, his pupils shrinking with fear. He stands nervously outside the market entrance, plucking at his necklaces.

“That ‘friend’ should just go,” grumbles Henrik. “Anti will not kill the three of us, but an intruder… they should run while they can.”

But at least… if Anti is here, then Trick must be two.

Dok swallows and forces his hands to still, calming himself.

They’ll figure this out. Together. They have to.

Anonymous asked: Dapper, what is your plan? If you stay behind, what do you plan to have happen?

“What always happens,” says Dapper wearily.

“Settling?” mumbles Max.

“At least this way, I could be a distraction for the rest of you. And I could find out where Anti is and what he plans to do. He’ll catch me if I run.”

“Let’s just try,” pleads Max, already moving forward with Red. “Come on.”

spicydanhowell asked: jamie, you need to keep fighting to get away your brothers will never really be free if they have to live with the guilt of leaving you behind. besides.... henrik found out that nobody will ever be able to get anti out of their head until everyone does- if i remember correctly -so!! please? do what jackie says?

This seems to interrupt Dapper’s thoughts entirely. He stares at you and has to be grabbed by Red to keep heading through the marketplace.

“Everyone does?” he signs, bewildered. “They can never be free… if I’m still in Anti’s power?”

His eyes are watering. His hands shake.

“But… I’m never getting out of Anti’s power…”

cest-mellow asked: be on the lookout guys, keep max as close as you can!

“Yeah, keep me close as you can. I wish this were in a sexier context,” sighs Max.

Anonymous asked: Max, Ro, Dap, Henrik is waiting for you outside the South entrance to the market.

“You, uh… you look like you’re waiting for someone.”

Dok blinks.

Turns around.

Anti’s there, yes, waiting in a different place than where you saw him last time, but Dok barely even sees him. He’s background noise. Everything is.

“Trick,” he whispers.

His twin gives him the smallest, shakiest smile he’s ever seen.

Tears in his eyes.

“I - I - ”

Trick can’t speak. Dok can’t seem to manage a single word. They’re staring at each other, meters apart.

“Dok!” cries Red. “We need to go! We - oh. Oh.”

Anti is no longer background noise. Dok feels his heart tremble as Blue’s body steps past him, sifting through the crowd, smiling coldly up at the trio of them.

“What’s this?” he purrs, his cane striking the ground as he walks, one, two, three, one, two, three. “My loving older brother… my loving little brother… and oh, look. A slinking whore.”

Max’s eyes are shining black in the evening light. He tries to step forward but Ro snatches his hand, breathing hard.

“You’re Anti,” says Max, and despite the fear there is a horrible, agonized victory in his eyes, to have found him at last, to see him face-to-face. “I’m - ”

“I know who you are,” says Anti irritably, dismissively, picking at Blue’s nails. “The lucky fucking porkchop that managed to hide from me. Jackie’s little heart, oh! So romantic. I’d like to see yours, now, Mr. Deshmukh, seeing as you’ve bared my brother’s. Your heart, that is. In the palm of my hand.”

“Run,” signs Dapper.

“Dok,” croaks Red. “Trick. Blue.”

“Run!” repeats Dapper, shoving him forward. “Now!”

hurricael asked: You can. You were never as fully in his power as the others, it's just that instead of covering you it got tangled up. But you can come out of that, it'll just take work and time. And, also, everyone else; please hurry, we don't want you to get hurt

Dapper doesn’t know how to start believing that, but he does know that they need to go, now, or Max will die. And if that means running with him, then Dapper will run with him. He grabs Red’s head. Red is still holding Max. And then, through the crowd, they are racing away.

Anti rolls his eyes, flushed from the heat and the fatigue of his injuries and Blue’s body. He turns around and grabs Henrik, making him yelp with surprise. Anti turns his eyes to Trick.

“Get after them,” says Anti. “I’ll watch where they’re going through the cameras and catch up. As soon as you have them in your sights, you kill that stupid fucker trying to steal them away from us. Am I understood?”

Trick has Dok’s gun in the pocket of his coat.

“Yes, Anti. I understand.”

Anonymous asked: Henrik, remember what they gave you, you are protected and now it is your turn to fight back. Think smart and be careful!

Henrik is panting. He stares down at you for a second before Anti draws his attention back with a soft tug on his arm.

“Dok,” says Anti, stepping into his space.

Henrik stills as he knocks their heads gently together.

“Anti,” he pants back, staring up at his brother.

The abysses of Anti’s eyes darken and swirl slightly, boring into his own. Anti wraps him gently into a hug. Fuck, but he’s warm, and the slight electric touch of him is familiar, nostalgic - maybe even homey.

His little brother.

He wants to hold him, yes.

But not because of hypnosis.

“I was so worried,” whispers Anti, and goddamn, he sounds it. His eyes close for a moment and he lets Blue’s head sink down onto Henrik’s shoulder, his arms wrapped around his waist. “After what I did to that girl - what I had Red do to that man - Henrik, I thought they’d kill you… I couldn’t find you… I missed you. I’m glad you’re safe.”

“Anti,” Henrik repeats numbly, his chest aching. He remembers Emmanuela’s warning. The day you’re ready to kill him. The day you’re ready to see Anti die.

How is he ever going to be ready for that?

“You’re going to help me, aren’t you, love?” breathes Anti, looking up at him again, his eyes getting darker, darker. “You’ll go after Trick and help him catch that intruder, won’t you? Forget about whatever happened these last two weeks. My bruder. Still my good boy, aren’t you? Or you want to be, right? Prove yourself to me. Go fetch your brothers for me and let’s all be a family again.”

“Actually,” says Henrik, his voice stammering. “I think you should… not kill Red’s friend like a crazy person with no regards for human life.”

Anti blinks.

Henrik blinks back.

Anti stares at him.

“What,” he says, voice flat. “In the actual motherfuck.”

hurricael asked: Red Dapper Max turn around now. Anti is where Dok is and he's sending Trick after you. Trick is completely gone, you have to go. I'm sorry, I don't know if you can get Dok

“Fuck’s sake,” cries Red, pausing to look back. “He can’t use my little brother like that. Trick - I can’t - I can’t go, I can’t leave them, I - ”

“It’s a little late for that sort of deliberation,” spits Dapper. “Max is here! You have to find a way to protect him whether or not we’re going back to Anti.”

“What do we do?”

“I don’t know! I never make choices like this! I just press rewind on my powers until someone tells me the day turned out fine!”

“We could hide somewhere,” suggests Max.

Dapper clutches the camera protectively to his heart. “Anti can see us through these and I’m not letting them go.”

“I’ll stop Trick,” snaps Red, turning back into the crowd. “I’ve always been the better fighter. Keep going.”

“He has a gun!” cries Max, but Red isn’t listening, stalking forward for a sight of his brother. He won’t let Trick get the drop on them. He can’t protect Max from what he can’t see.

Anonymous asked: Trick, Trick, can you hear us? You intend to follow Anti's orders to kill the person who's Red's friend, is that correct?

“Yeah, I got it handled,” he promises, patting the place where a tiny camera is clipped to his collar. “I just want to get my family back. Don’t worry.”

Anonymous asked: Amazing how a few weeks of basic human rights can allow people to do things like form opinions and develop relationships.

“You cut that shit out,” spits Anti. “Forming opinions and developing relationships is disgusting.”

And then -

Oh, fuck’s sake.

Dok can’t help it. He’s laughing.

“You’re so stupid,” he laughs.

He’s laughing hard. He’s laughing hard. There’s tears in his eyes. He’s crying.

“You’re so stupid!” he repeats, slamming his fist down against Anti’s chest, once, twice, all but collapsing into him, sobs tearing from his throat. “Why can’t you just be my brother? Why are you doing this? Red’s only going to hate you more! Why are you so horrible to me? I’ve been so, so good. I’ve always been so good. Even when my head was clear! And you still just treat me like a puppet.”

Anti lets him crash against his shoulder, nearly toppling them both. He wraps his arms uncertainly around Dok.

And then spots the necklaces hanging from his throat.

“Oh, is that the problem?”

He reaches out to tear them off, but as soon as his fingers touch the talismans, he’s jerking back with a cry on his lips, clutching at his burned hands.

“Fuck it!” shouts Anti, drawing attention now, people glancing over to see what all the English yelling is about. “Take those off right now!”

“No,” says Henrik softly.

“Dok, I swear on all that you once thought was holy - ”

“You wouldn’t like it if I did anyway,” says Henrik. “There’s a curse inside them. I won’t unclasp them til I need them.”

Anti swears aloud, rolling his eyes, panting from working Blue’s body too hard.

“Just shut up and come on, then,” he hisses, grabbing Dok’s hand and yanking him to his side. “We’ve got more important things to deal with right now.”

Anonymous asked: Trick I don’t think killing him will get your family back....I don’t think Ro would ever forgive you if you did that. Come on Trick don’t do this please? It’s wrong to kill him just because Anti said so and you know it!

Trick bites down hard on his lip for a moment, panting as he runs. He shakes his head like he’s trying to get you off him.

“I - I didn’t kill that girl when Anti asked me to,” he says. “It seemed wrong then, but it wasn’t! If I had killed her, she never would have taken Dok away from me! Anti knows what’s best.”

“Trick,” comes a commanding, familiar voice. “Stop, don’t come closer.”

Trick sees Red’s face in the crowd and a pained gasp tears out of his throat, his eyes watering as, after all this time, he realizes he must greet his brother in a battle. Red and Trick collide, Dok’s gun steady in the space between them.

“I’ll fucking shoot you, Red,” warns Trick, burying it against his stomach even as Red gets a grip on his hair. “Don’t be stupid.”

“Why the hell do you sound Irish?”

“Just shut up and move!”

cest-mellow asked: max, be careful, trick was ordered to kill you this time!

Max is ignoring Dapper’s hand yanking at him, trying to get him to run, his eyes fixed back on Ro in the crowd.

“Trick - Chase would never really… and especially in a crowd like this! He would never kill me, he would never shoot someone, he - ”

A gunshot goes off and Max screams even as Dapper pushes him back into an alley to hide. You hear Red holler in tandem, collapsing on the other screen, wailing as blood runs from his leg. Trick steps over him, heading back towards Max and Dapper.

Anonymous asked: UH max play dead??? Dap can you pretend you already killed him?? Trick will not stop coming and dap can't keep rewinding, anti already knows about max and wants him dead, so just make trick think he doesn't have to shoot him, job already done?

“Uh,” begins Max.

“Sure,” answers Dapper, desperate for anything to do, and he cuts a line of blood into Max’s stomach. Max yelps, startled, and crimson seeps into his white dress shirt.

“But Anti can see through the cameras!” protests Max.

“Well, Trick can’t,” hisses Dapper, shoving him to the ground. “Maybe it will buy us a couple minutes, and trust me, a couple minutes can mean a lot. Look more like I stabbed you!”

“Fuck,” hisses Max, and closes his eyes.

bupine asked: trick, don't. the man anti wants you to kill? red loves him, a lot. so, so much. he'd be fucking devastated if you killed him. i don't think he'd ever be able to forgive you after that. do you understand? this could cost your brothers love. and don't you dare say anti is the only brother who matters, because he's not. you know he's not. you know you love the others. don't throw it all away.

“Trick!” Red is screaming, the crowds clearing hurriedly away from the gunman. “Trick, please! Don’t hurt him! Don’t!”

Trick glances back at him, a touch of trepidation in his step, uncomfortable with disobeying an older brother, though he knows Anti’s orders trump his.

“Red loves him?”

And it’s true - Anti isn’t the only brother that matters. Is he? There was someone else. Trick blinks, his head aching a little.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Trick! He didn't do anything! Don't shoot him! Your big brother LOVES HIM

“Look,” sighs Trick. “It sucks that he’s confused right now… I can only imagine how much it would sting to realize someone you thought you loved was bad for you. But soon Anti will clear his head up and then, well. He won’t need anybody but us. We’ll be enough for him. And that - that’s how it has to be! He can’t just leave!”

Trick’s voice shudders. “He wants someone else? What, we’re not good enough for him? I’m not good enough for him? Anti says we’re enough and we shouldn’t want anything more. Anti will make it right again. He’ll forget all about this guy soon.”

hurricael asked: Trick. Stop, please. You just hurt your brother. Are you now going to kill a person who they've come to consider family? That could damage your relationship with them permanently. Please, hold on for a minute. See if we can figure out a solution that works better, okay?

Trick rounds the corner of the alleyway, blinking at the sight of his little brother kneeling beside Max’s body, playing peacefully with his bear and his bloodied golden knife.

“Dap?”

Dapper looks up at him, blinking.

“Did he try and hurt you?”

“No,” says Dapper, tossing the knife up and down in his hand. “But he was talking about taking Red away from Anti so they could go be happy somewhere without anybody chaining them in their rooms or forcing them to beat the shit out of me. And we don’t approve of that, do we, big brother? Who cares what Red will say?”

Trick’s gut twists uncomfortably.

Anonymous asked: Yes baby, I think you’re thinking about Dok. You remember him don’t you? You just saw him a second ago and he’s with Anti now. He’s your twin, the one that took care of you when you were sad? You bought him coffee for Christmas and he bought you that sweater. He’s here and he matters to you, maybe more than Anti ever did.

Trick touches his skull, blinking.

I love you.

Yeah? Even more than Anti?

Even more than Anti.

Shhh. I love you too.

Five seconds. The thought blinks away again. Trick shivers and tries to hold steady his gun.

“Let me check if he’s alive,” he sighs. “Poor little Dap, all covered in blood.”

“I’ve killed more people than you,” snips Dapper.

“Alright, just move.”

“No, he’s my kill! Anti’s going to be pleased with me! Get off or I’ll tell him you hit me!”

Trick draws back, shaking his head. “Don’t tell him that.”

Dapper scowls and curls slightly over Max’s body.

Anonymous asked: No, Trick, it's not at all that you're not good enough. He loves you a lot. It's just that sometimes different people fill different holes, and it's not possible for one person to be everything someone needs. Sometimes even multiple people aren't.

Trick shakes his head, his eyes stinging.

“No - no. That’s not true. I don’t want it to be. Dok and I, and Anti and I - we’re enough for each other. Nobody else wants me. If they’re not everything, then I’m never going to… to find anyone, I’m never… the fact that two people put up with me is already a fucking miracle. If it takes more than that, I’m lost.”

Tears well up in his eyes. He tugs anxiously on his fervently green hair.

“I have to be enough. I have to be everything or no one will want me around. They’ll find someone better.”

A sudden flash of fury strikes his eyes and he shakes his head hard, grinding his teeth.

“Move, Dapper! You’re not better than me! Anti already fucking replaced you with me so just move!”

Anonymous asked: Trick! Listen! Is these really something you want to do? Forget Anti you’ll have to live with your actions for the rest of your life! Can you really live with the guilt when you knew you have the chance to change it? Do you really want to kill a man for taking care and loving your brothers when they had nothing? Stop and think about this Trick!

Trick’s expression darkens wearily.

“I’ve killed people before,” he mumbles. “And they weren’t even threatening my family. I can live with it.”

Anonymous asked: He hasn't been threatening your family; in fact, he's even been helping them. Would you really kill someone who was kind to your brothers, when he could have just as easily not been?

“That’s true,” says Dapper coolly. “He did feed me and Red, and get us clothes and everything we needed and protect us from the police instead of turning us in.”

“I don’t care,” sighs Trick.

“Liar.”

cest-mellow asked: trick, you have to calm down. all of your brothers love you to pieces and want whats best for you, EXCEPT anti. the sooner you realize this, the easier this will be.

“I’d agree,” says Dapper. “But honestly the fact that you’re turning your self-esteem issues into a reason to kill a man is rather off-putting. Also, you are sprouting horns. Are you Anti?”

“No.” Trick rubs his face and slides to the earth, looking exhausted, hiding his face from you. “You’re off your meds.”

“Right.”

For a moment, they’re still.

“Can I have a hug?” mumbles Trick.

Dapper blinks.

“What?”

Trick looks up at him, red-eyed.

“I… really missed you all,” he whispers.

Dapper sinks slightly in on himself. He’s tired too.

“I missed you too, Trick.”

They move gently together there in the dirt. Dapper lets Trick press him to his chest. He puts a hand on his brother’s chest and feels his heartbeat.

He should have been the one who was there to take the brunt of Anti’s affection. It’s not a blessing. Trick shouldn’t have to be the one dealing with this.

“It’s going to be okay,” soothes Dapper. “Just don’t hurt this guy. Red really likes him, Trick.”

Trick hides in his chest.

“I’m going to do what I have to,” he says eventually.

“Me too,” warns Dapper.

hollenka99 asked: You love Dok too. And he wouldn't want you to kill this guy either. How about you make sure (through NON VIOLENT means) Red's friend understands he is not to follow you or your family anymore?

“Why can’t we just do that?” asks Dapper.

“You know Anti wouldn’t let us,” whispers Trick.

“Some things are more important than what Anti wants.”

“You really are delusional.”

Anonymous asked: Trick, I wouldn't risk provoking him. You never know if he'll want to prove why he should reclaim his spot as Anti's twin.

“Yes.” Dapper crosses his arms over his chest. “Wouldn’t want to risk it.”

“Babe, I know you’re, like, covered in blood, but you’re not really intimidating.”

“That’s the point! I’m disarmingly cute! It works better when Anti is here to counteract me.”

Trick just sighs. “At this point, whatever happens is going to suck, isn’t it?”

Dapper’s eyes close. “Trick. It’s my job to make sure we get the least sucking option available. Please just cooperate with me.”

Anonymous asked: Hey, Trick. It's okay. Your brothers want you, they love you. You are one hundred percent good enough. I should've said it's not always possible, that was my bad. They won't just find someone better; they love you in part because you're you.

“They’re right,” comes a voice behind them.

Trick whirls.

Doktor’s there. In the alley mouth. Helping Red to stay on his feet.

Trick can’t move. Frozen by the sight of him.

“I do love you,” says Dok. “We all do. Or at least we all will when we’ve recovered from the gunshot wounds you may or may not have given us.”

“Get the fuck away from him!” shouts Red, and Dok helps him limp desperately forward to collapse at Max’s side, pulling him into his lap, tears running down his face. Max looks up at him for a moment before his eyes close again.

Trick is just staring. Trick is just staring. Trick is just staring.

Five seconds and the image of him does not clear away.

Dok is still there.

Five seconds and Dok is still there.

Five seconds and Dok still say he loves him.

I do love you. I do love you. I love you. Better than Anti.

“Dok?” croaks Trick, his voice shaking. His chest shaking. His heart shaking.

Dok kneels down beside him.

“We didn’t get a proper hello,” says Dok. “But I’m here now.”

“Dok,” repeats Trick desperately. “Dok. Dok. I… I… what have I… what has happened to me?”

“Stay with me,” murmurs Dok, taking his face in his hands. “Here I am.”

bupine asked: trick, chase, fucks sake, will you listen to us? jackie loves that man and he has for a long time. he just didn't remember him. he knew you too, you know. all of you. he's been so good to jackie and jameson, he's bought them food and clothes and kept them safe and made them happy. they'd be dead without him. and jackie or red or whatever name he chooses - he loves him. and he is good for him. don't take away your big brother's best chance at happiness.

“They’re all right if you would just listen,” cries Ro. “And I - I do love him. You aren’t my brother if you hurt him. Max…”

He runs his hands across his face. Figuring they’ve given up the ghost a little, Max opens his eyes and smiles at him. Ro sniffles and smiles back even as pain courses through him.

“Trick, the fucking cops are coming, seeing as you shot me,” snaps Red. “We need to all get out of here now.”

“Red,” warns Dok, staring at the deep, bone-shattering wound in his leg. “Don’t get up. You’ve lost a lot of blood. You could lose the leg.”

“I’m fine,” mumbles Red, swaying slightly. Max rises up to grab him.

“Where’s Anti?” signs Dapper.

“Close behind,” grimaces Dok. “I kind of just dropped him.”

Dapper’s eyes flicker, an emergency plan forming in his head. For now, he’ll focus on the present, but maybe he can get Max out of this if something goes wrong.

Anonymous asked: Trick you are enough just the way you are. Your brothers love you for who you are and there are people that you’ve forgotten about or haven’t even met yet that have or will love you. You should never have to change your opinions or appearance to be accepted or loved by someone. That kind of mentality is abusive and wrong. You know this is wrong, you don’t have to conform. You are worth so much more than to be treated like dirt by someone like Anti.

“Yes,” murmurs Henrik, stroking his fingers through Trick’s hair. “I like the person you really are. I love him, in fact. More than myself. More than anyone. Trick… Chase…”

Trick grips desperately at his white coat, taking comfort in the soft fabric as his breaths come faster and faster, his head filling up with a terrible pain. He isn’t supposed to be thinking about this - but why? - but how can he not? - but Anti told him - but he needs to kill him - but why? - because he’s Red’s partner? because Anti hates - Xin Yi. Xin Yi.

“What’s happening?” screams Trick, tears coursing down his cheeks. “No, no, no, I can’t - I can’t - ”

“Your thoughts have been repressed for a couple weeks,” says Henrik softly, stroking his hair, his back, his beard. “The dam’s burst. This is normal, as far as I’ve ever seen. Just try and breathe with me through it.”

“I didn’t even think of you,” gasps Trick. “And I just forgot - she kissed me, she - and B-blue?”

He buries himself in Dok’s arms, gasping for air, and Dok chants reassurances at him while Trick rambles desperately. Red stares at them for a second. Dapper waits for him to speak.

Instead he faints.

Max gasps and catches him, helping lie him down, calling his name as blood seeps all too rapidly from his leg.

“You’re all disasters,” growls Anti’s voice from the head of the alley, and Dok, Max, and Dapper turn as one to see Blue’s body standing there on the cane, mismatched eyes flickering hatefully. “Dapper. Dok. Move.”

“No,” says Dapper, shaking his head, pushing himself in front of Max. “No.”

Anti’s eyes narrow.

“I can tell you’re slipping in and out, Dapper. You’re psychotic. Delusional. This boy treated you kindly for two weeks and you forgot the unity between us, my brother, my twin, the only one who really knows me… and I, the only one who knows you at all. I know what you really want is to come back to me. I know you don’t care about Max. Just about Red. I’ll make it right for him.”

Dapper closes his eyes. Opens them again.

“No.”

“Such a hypocrite,” Anti hisses, in a voice like a snake rearing, stalking forward. “Have you forgotten what you are so easily? Suddenly you care about this one? Out of all the people you’ve murdered… You’ve done a lot worse things than this, Dapper. Or did you finally manage to blot out the day you helped me kill all three of the men Marvin had in rotation?”

Dapper’s heart stutters in his chest. So hard it hurts.

“Or Henrik’s queer-platonic partner?”

Blood drips down his knife. Max’s blood down his knife. He does not move.

“Or your own fucking girlfriend?”

“Stop,” whisper Dapper’s hands. “Stop.”

Anti grabs his youngest by the hair. “Get up,” he says. “My perfect darling. Don’t go losing your mind on me now. I’ve missed you, my love. Get up.”

Dapper rises slowly to his feet.

Anonymous asked: Henrik, do you think it's a good idea to try and drop Anti with the animal necklace? If it works, you could get Blue back, but if it doesn't it might go badly.

“I don’t know,” chokes Henrik.

Anti turns glowing eyes to him and Henrik pulls Trick away from him. He can feel the heat rising off of Anti’s flesh as Blue’s magic pools. Max gives a sudden choke, eyes widening at a strange sensation in the middle of his chest.

But he won’t let go of Red, and he doesn’t run.

Anonymous asked: Fight it, Dapper. You're stronger than him!

“Shut up like a good little murderer and stay out of this,” sneers Anti. The trunks of trees burst up from the ground and Dapper sucks in a gasp as he is pinned back against the wall of the alley.

A rose bush blooms in Max’s chest. You watch him struggle frailly, eyes huge, choking for air as the thorns pierce him from the inside out. Dapper writhes, howling, tearing an arm free and scrambling for his knife.

“Aww,” mocks Anti. “You going to stab big brother Blue? Going to watch him die just to kill me? Not like you’ve ever cared about anyone but yourself before.”

Dapper’s eyes water and overflow, his teeth gritted tight in his mouth. No. He can’t stab Blue. He can’t kill him. No more innocent people.

“Please!” he begs, writhing. “Don’t hurt him! I won’t let you do this!”

“You’re a little late,” says Anti. “But don’t worry. I’ll make it better soon.”

“What if we gave ourselves back to you for him? Our loyalty again for his life?”

“Would you really? I… well. Not necessary now.”

“But you might? You might let him live?”

“I’ve got this handled as is. Red is unconscious and you’re bound. You’ll both settle down.”

“I.” Dapper struggles to get his hands free, signing around the knife. “I. I. I am the most ferocious creature you have ever met. I do not. Settle.”

Anti laughs.

And Max drowns, quiet, lying against the alley wall with Jackie in his arms.

Dapper stills in the arms of the tree. Slowly, they recede, and leave him on the ground again.

Anti wants him to be his little murderer, is that it?

“That was well over-due,” sighs Anti. “Now don’t even think about going for your stupid little clock. I can smell that you’ve already reversed once. My poor Dapper. I’m really going to have to put you back in your place. But if you reverse again without the password, I’ll be able to tell, and I’ll punish you and every single one of your brothers until you’re all screaming for mercy. You’re stuck, Dapper. Don’t worry, darling. I’ll fix it again soon and it’ll all make sense. But there is nothing you can do to save Jackie’s little - ”

Dapper picks up his knife and sends it spinning across the alley, where, in one neat blow, it impales Trick’s pounding heart and sends him into his death throes.

Henrik starts screaming like he’s being murdered, clutching desperately at his twin. Trick grabs the dagger, too astonished to be frightened, blinking dopily at Dapper as the life flows out of him in splurting streams of blood. And Anti?

It’s Anti’s turn to just stare.

Mouth dry. Heart pounding.

Trick.

Trick’s corpse on the earth beneath him.

He looks back to Dapper. He has never seen Anti’s eyes so terrified.

“Want to tell me that fucking password?” he signs.

He’ll reverse again. Max will not die. No one else will be punished.

He doesn’t care what it does to him.

“Athanasius. That’s the password. Now bring Trick back.”

The post where Red turned around to fight Trick was reblogged with this addition:

Dapper grabs Red by the hood, dragging him back to him.

“Dapper! Cut it out, I - oh, fuck!”

Red catches his little brother as he crumples against his chest, his legs shaking hard and blood running from his nose - and his mouth, too, Red realizes belatedly, tilting his face up at him. Silver eyes bore into his own, and Red tugs desperately at Max, pulling him close as his eyes rove the crowd for Trick, armed and determined, coming towards them.

“Dap,” breathes Red. “How many times?”

“Third,” sign Dapper’s weary hands. “So you do what I tell you. No questions. Take Max. Run.”

“I am not leaving you here with - ”

“He will not shoot me. I checked - he’s still scared to cross me. Keep running. If you can, hide. Give me the camera, give. If Anti catches you - Red, pay attention - if Anti catches you, you can trade loyalty for Max’s life.”

“I can’t just give up my mind again,” whispers Red. “Or my… or Max. Even if I think maybe I should stay with the rest of you and help you stay safe, I can’t just - ”

“Then you better be fast!” interrupts Dapper, shoving him away and straightening as best he can, gripping you in his palms, leaving Red and Max without a camera. You see them exchange one more glance, Red’s hands open like he might just snatch Dapper and bring him with them anyway, but then they are gone, their hands clasped, racing away together.

Dapper collapses for a moment. You go down with him, striking the pavement hard enough that a crack splits the middle of his screen. You can hear his shuddering breaths - or maybe they’re sobs as his head spins and his thoughts begin to unravel like cut-up threads, groaning out a breath as images replay in his head.

He really killed Trick. He laughs breathily, tears sliding down his face. It was like the games Anti used to play to test him, back when he didn’t plan to keep Jackie around. Killing him over and over again in front of Dapper, leashed to the bed they shared, knees drawn to his chest, replaying his murder until he lost count of how many times he had died in front of him…

“That’s a new memory for today,” he signs at you as he manages to drag himself up. “You might have to help keep me focused.”

“Dapper?” calls a concerned voice, stopping in front of him.

Dapper grabs Trick’s wrists and drags him into the alley, pinning his arms to the wall. He has to tell him something, stop him from something, get someone to… Dok to… hell, his head aches. He had a plan! Something touches his ankle and he gasps, but when he turns around to look, there’s nothing there. He is unraveling. Trick catches him when he crumples for a third time. This time, he faints away completely and you slide out of his hand, back onto the pavement.

cest-mellow asked: boys, the only way you can beat anti and get blue back is if you all work together. max that probably includes you since blue is possessed....

“Goddammit, Dap,” you hear Trick hiss, sinking to the pavement with Dapper limp in his arms, clutching his little brother’s head. “You better have the fucking password or Anti’ll goddamn kill you. Shit.”

He looks around, torn and frightened by whatever convinced Dapper to turn back. He needs to keep running after Red and the stranger, but he doesn’t want to get in trouble for leaving Dapper alone and unconscious either. He slaps Dapper’s face lightly and is relieved to see him stir, blinking his silver eyes dopily up at the sky. Trick shades him from the sun and lets out a nervous groan, holding him in his lap.

Work together. Dap tries to think, rubbing at his aching head.

hurricael asked: I think you should go for it. He seems like he's about to use Blue's magic, and that is powerful. Maybe- maybe act you're happy to see him, or something, and get close to him, and then use the necklace?

Henrik is pulled along by Anti’s hand, staring at his brother before him. He’s scared and he doesn’t know what’s happening, but if you ask him to, he’ll use JP’s necklace on Blue before Anti reaches Dapper and Trick. Or he can do what he did last time, and tug out of his grip, and run to find his twin and little brother.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: You do have the password now, right Dap? You remember it?

“Athana - I don’t know how to spell it. Z? S? Something. We’re fine. Trick, change in plans. Do what I tell you.”

“But I - ”

“Anti told me to change time! You do what I tell you when we’re playing with time!”

Trick bites on his lip but doesn’t protest.

“You need to get to Dok.”

Trick smiles faintly. “I… I could, but Dap, Anti gave me an order, I need to - ”

“I gave the order so I’ll worry about the punishment.” Dapper pushes on his chest, dragging himself back to his knees. “You and Dok need each other.”

“And you don’t need me?” protests Trick, holding his shoulders.

“What?”

“And you don’t - ?”

“Not you,” protests Dapper, whirling around. “What are you saying?”

“Dapper, no one else is talking.”

“I do know the password,” insists Dapper, staring at the wall. “I do!”

“Bud, stay with me.”

“I need to protect my family.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: You do have the password now, right Dap? You remember it?

“Athana - I don’t know how to spell it. Z? S? Something. We’re fine. Trick, change in plans. Do what I tell you.”

“But I - ”

“Anti told me to change time! You do what I tell you when we’re playing with time!”

Trick bites on his lip but doesn’t protest.

“You need to get to Dok.”

Trick smiles faintly. “I… I could, but Dap, Anti gave me an order, I need to - ”

“I gave the order so I’ll worry about the punishment.” Dapper pushes on his chest, dragging himself back to his knees. “You and Dok need each other.”

“And you don’t need me?” protests Trick, holding his shoulders.

“What?”

“And you don’t - ?”

“Not you,” protests Dapper, whirling around. “What are you saying?”

“Dapper, no one else is talking.”

“I do know the password,” insists Dapper, staring at the wall. “I do!”

“Bud, stay with me.”

“I need to protect my family.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: You get to make the decision now, Trick. You got this. Do what feels right to YOU, not anyone else.

“I do not want to get in trouble with Anti,” says Trick clearly. “I’m trying to be good. But I don’t think he would want me to leave Dapper behind, so let’s just take a second. Anti will be able to find Red soon, or maybe Dapper can rewind again when we have a clearer picture. Here, buddy, I got you. C’mere, I didn’t really get to say hi to you.”

Trick pulls Dapper back into his lap and Dapper sinks into a hug, distracted.

“Maybe… get Anti for me and he’ll stop and check on me. And I’ll have the password and he’ll listen to what I tell him.”

“Okay, soon as he comes.”

Anonymous asked: He's not kidnapping Red, Trick, don't worry. Red's okay, he's relatively safe at the moment.

“Okay, Red’s okay,” Trick murmurs to the both of them. “I mean, much as we can trust the cameras.”

He gives you a slightly dirty look. There are still things he hasn’t forgiven you for.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: It might not be helpful right now, Trick, but... we're sorry.

“Don’t apologize to him,” protests Dap. “He’s being a baby.”

“Hey!”

Anonymous asked: Here are the outcomes I can see for each option, Henrik. Just Anti: his attention might be drawn to you too much to succeed, but dap and trick won't be there to interfere. In front of them: Dap and trick won't be much help, trick might actively harm chances, but Anti will be distracted. With them, after reuniting: Trick will likely be out of it, probably dapper too, so you might end up with three people out of it and Anti right there. I would recommend the first option, but it's up to you

“I think you’re suggesting I put the necklace on him right now?” mumbles Henrik discreetly, a little confused. “I… I could.”

Anonymous asked: Henrik, dapper keeps having to rewind, I think you should put the necklace on blue. This could be your last chance.

Henrik shifts, uncomfortable with the dissidence, but he’s independent enough to make the choice for himself. He’ll wait to talk to his brothers, but if you suggest it again, he’ll do it without question.

He tears out of Anti’s hand and goes racing towards Trick and Dapper, ignoring an irritated shout from a limping Anti.

“What do I need to do?” he asks.

Anonymous asked: If you can give JJ his Haldol, please do!! I think he'd appreciate it. After that, just talk to Chase, comfort him when the memories start coming back. And follow JJ's lead.

“He’s had his dose for the day, but medicine like this takes time to kick in - days, maybe longer, with how long he’s been off it. Time travel makes his confusion worse. Don’t let him reverse again.”

Henrik races down the road. He can hear Dapper whistling for him, calling for his help with Trick. He finds them in an alleyway, sitting together, their arms around each other and Trick’s cupped hand full of Dapper’s blood. Dapper spits the copper from his mouth, looking, in Henrik’s medical opinion, ridiculous levels of fucked up.

“Take Trick,” signs Dapper. Trick’s eyes are already enormous and fixed on Dok as his memories rush back to him. “He’ll snap out of some of Anti’s hypnosis soon, but he’ll still listen to him if he’s given a command. Take him far away to hide.”

“Where?”

“Doesn’t matter. You have a camera. We’ll be able to find you again. Go. I’ll intercept Anti.”

“He’s not far. Come here, Trick.”

“What’s - ?”

“Just come on!”

And it’s Dok and Trick’s turn to race off, Trick still casting nervous glances back at Dapper and the alleyway.

Dapper pulls himself to his feet, breathing out. Breathing in. Breathing out.

Okay. Let’s face him again. He can do this.

Anti appears there in the alley on that cane.

They stare at each other for a second. Antiques and petrichor.

“Password?” says Anti.

“A-T-H-A-N-A-Z-I-U-S.”

Relief floods through Blue’s face. Anti moves forward.

“Close enough,” he laughs, and he pulls Dapper into a hug. Tight, tight.

“My - my little brother,” Anti whispers, and then he’s burying his face in his shoulder, holding him close, and Dapper is holding him right back, his chest aching, his head pounding, a wave of confusion rushing through his head.

“Anti,” he answers softly against his brother’s throat.

“I can’t remember the last time I was that scared,” laughs Anti, his voice shaking, letting himself be raw with Dapper, be open with Dapper, be himself with Dapper. “I never thought I’d see you again, for a while there. Dap, fuck. I love you… I’m glad you’re still mine. Always so good for me…”

Dapper pulls back, exhausted, his eyes dark. Anti kisses his cheek.

“What do I need to do, love?” asks Anti.

“Please,” says Dapper. “Let Jackie’s Max go.”

“Don’t you say that name. What’s gotten into you? You know I can’t do that.”

“Well, I don’t know where they won’t. But you’ll lose Red if you hurt Max.”

“I’ll figure it out. I have to have Red back. Our big brother…”

“Fine. Come on, I know which way they went.”

“Oh, no, darling, you can’t come with.”

Dapper’s eyes widen and his stomach drops.

That was not part of the plan. No. He has to go with, he has to make sure he can stop this -

“You’re confused and sick. You could reverse when I don’t want you to.”

“No, no, won’t!”

Anti handcuffs his right wrist. Dapper chokes, grabbing Blue’s arm, desperate.

“No!” he cries with his one hand. “No, I need to come, I had a plan, I just needed to remember it!”

“If I need you to reverse again, I’ll tell you through the cameras.” Anti places it carefully at his feet and handcuffs the left hand, making Dapper gasp, leaving him trapped and muted against the dumpster, shaking his head wildly.

“I’ll be back in just a few,” promises Anti. “Just go find Red and Max. Don’t worry, I have a signal on his phone. He’s been easy to track. I’ll bring Red back for you. If I’m not back in a half-hour, you reverse again. There’s my good boy. Goodbye.”

And that’s where Anti leaves him, sinking to the ground, his silver eyes wild, wild, wild and fixed on you.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Red, you need to move faster. Ditch your phone! Anti is tracking you guys. BOTH OF YOU DITCH YOUR PHONES AND RUN LIKE HELL

A

They ditched the camera, but Anti can hear them, Anti can hear them through the phone. He digs into the frequency and it buzzes onto your screens, showing you the darkness of the inside of Max’s pocket. Luckily for them, Max has been hiding from Anti for a long time. They already realized the problem.

“Give me the phone,” Ro is panting. “Go to the airport. I know you got tickets. Go back to England. I should never have let you come back with us. I just didn’t want to admit what he was. I didn’t want to admit that my little brother would hurt you.”

“I’m not leaving you. Not losing you again.”

“You heard the messages,” whispers back Red. “My brothers and I - we have to be together to get free of him. We have to work together and we’re not ready. Trick is completely in his head, Dapper can’t convince himself, and Blue is possessed and sick and hurting. We have to do this alone.”

“That’s stupid,” spits Max, and you can hear the brush of their clothes together. “That’s stupid. Let me help.”

“He’ll just kill you. I know the way Dapper thinks, at least in regards to reversals. He’s protecting us and you have to run. Max.”

“No… no. I can’t… I love you. I finally found you again.”

Air between them. Breathing between them. They are holding on to each other. Max will not let go of him. He can’t.

“Yeah, you can,” says Red. “You can and trust that I’ll come back to you.”

“You’ll forget me again.”

“No. No. Never.”

He can’t. He can’t. Can he? He can’t.

Anonymous asked: Max, you’ve given Jackie a reason to fight again. Your safety is the most important thing right now so please go back home! He’ll come back to you, but if you do not leave now you will die and loose everything that you’ve worked for. Stay alive for Jackie’s sake.

“I just want to know you’re safe, somewhere in the world,” mumbles Jackie, running his fingers through Max’s hair. Holding his waist. “If I forget… Dapper remembers, moment to moment. He’ll remind me. But you will die if you - ”

“Maybe I’d rather die than lose you again,” spits Max, suddenly venomous. “Maybe I’d die for a chance to shoot Anti in his fucking head.”

“He’s wearing Blue anyway. You can’t.”

“Chase is out of his mind and Marvin is sick as fuck and Jameson is always lost and you want me to - ”

“Max.”

“That’s my family, you, all of you, Juice Box, Jackie, you are my family. I’ll stay with you.”

Red sighs, very long and very deep. Touches Max’s face. His gloved hand.

And then he draws back and strikes him so hard you hear Max crash to the ground, his head slamming into the pavement, and that’s where he stays, unconscious, as Red turns, and takes his phone, and leaves him there in their hiding place.

Red does not show you where.

Does not show Anti where.

Max will stay there in his memory alone.

He doesn’t say “I love you.” Feels too much like a betrayal. He can hear Max’s song in his head.

“Bye, Max.”

spicydanhowell asked: henrik i think you should put the amulet on anti

“He’s away from us now,” says Henrik, struggling to orient a sobbing Trickshot. “I can go after him if you know where he is.”

“Don’t hurt Anti,” protests Trick desperately, trying to breathe. “Dok, Dok, what’s happening to me?”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Hen, Max and Jackie split up. Anti's tracking their phone.

“Shit,” hisses Henrik. “Is Jackie in danger?”

And on your other screen, at the exact same time, with the thumping of the cane:

“Would you fuckers stop trying to thwart me? Bastards. Red! Red, come here! I see you, big brother! Come on, we can be nice about this…”

Anonymous asked: Henrik, I think you should find Red first before using it, because Blue will be out of it and I don't think you can get them both away alone. And Trick, it won't hurt Anti. Do what Dok says, okay? He knows what he's doing.

“You’re going to listen to me, yeah, my Trickster?”

“Yeah, okay, yeah, Dok, you know I t-trust you, I love you, I’m sorry.”

“Just stay with me. Guys, I’ll go after Anti, but I have no idea where he or Red are!”

Anonymous asked: dap, are you doing okay? what do you need/want from us? max is safe, he and red split up for a little bit to stay safe. anti is catching up to red. dok and trick are still together, they might be looking for anti but it's kind of unclear, they might not have a plan yet.

You can find Dapper sitting there, head low.

The slow dripping of tears in front of the camera.

He hears your beeping and sniffles, reaching out his feet, trying to drag you closer to him, but all he ends up doing is accidentally kicking you, and you drop away from him, so he can just barely touch you with the tight, black dress shoes he put back on knowing his master was coming to steal him again, again, always. He sighs and closes his eyes, letting his head fall back.

He doesn’t want to do this anymore.

Everybody’s got to fight together to get free, but he’s never going to be able to. He’s always going to end up right here. Right here, chained and exhausted, in Anti’s captivity.

Wait.

But… Max gave him one present before all the rest.

Anonymous asked: We. Don't really know where they are either?? Jackie's being smart, not showing Anti anything, but he's still tracking his phone. It looked like Anti's getting kind of close now. You two should probably also be careful not to show anything, like,,, incriminating? We'll update you if we can.

“I see you, baby,” calls Anti again, stepping forward, stepping forward. People and pigeons part as he steps. Thud, thud, thud says the cane. “Come here. Come here. It’s okay. You brought the phone, so I know you wanted me to come after you. I know you’re going to stay here with little brother. Come here. Come here, my brother, my guard dog.”

“Don’t call me brother,” rasps Jackie, without much strength left. “You told me family was an illusion. A trick.”

“And I stand by that. But here you are. Planning to stay. Come. Sit down.”

A dark plaza. Outside a church. Always a church in Peru. A dark plaza and a dark bench. Late enough now that there are few tourists, just people moving, moving, moving, moving to go to their homes, to their families.

“They still think there’s a fight to fight,” coos Anti. “But you know better, my love. Sit down. I’m going to get you a drink.”

“What?” stammers Red.

“Yeah. I’m going to get you a drink. Sit.”

And he sits.

Confused, on the black bench.

“Know where we are?” asks Anti. He’s buying an Inca Cola from a nine-year-old vendor. “They want to know. Tell them.”

Ro stares around them. His eyes are watering.

Anti points up at a surveillance camera and connects it to you so easily you can tell he’s done it before.

“Outside the police station,” whispers Ro. “Where they held me after I killed that man.”

Jose.

Anti comes back and sits beside him, handing him the drink. Cracking it for him.

“Drink,” he says.

“I’m not thirsty.”

“Drink,” repeats Anti. “Because if you are not mine, then I have no need for you, and I can put you back in that police station right now.”

Red stares down at the yellow soda, bubbling happily at him.

His shaking hands pull it back to drink. Sweet. Bubblegum sweet. Taunting him. Anti, more than anything else, loves to taunt all of you.

“Give me the phone,” says Anti.

Red hands it to him.

“Guess what his password is?”

“I don’t know, Anti.”

“1007. Mean anything to you?”

“No, Anti.”

“I know it doesn’t,” he says.

He is enormously pleased with himself. Unlocking the phone, he holds it between himself and Ro.

“Look,” he commands, opening the camera app.

Mostly, it’s just pictures of Jackie being stupid.

Laughing and cooking pancakes. Holding Chase over his shoulders like he weights two pounds. Clinging to Max at the top of the Brighton Tower. Making superhero poses. Frowning exaggeratedly over a cake he burned the shit out of. Asleep on the couch, with Max’s arm slung around him. The two of them grinning side-by-side.

But there are the rest of them too. Henrik flips the camera off, sipping his coffee. Marvin and Jameson are motion blurred as they run away from halfway-finished graffiti, hand in hand and laughing. There’s a video of Chase and Jackie throwing a pair of shrieking children back and forth.

“So cute,” says Anti. “He adored you.”

He blinks at the camera and it sparks and smokes, the images disappearing into pixels. Ro blinks tears away and refuses to look at Anti, closing his eyes and clinging to his soft blue hoodie.

“That’s what I would have done to that boy if I found him,” growls Anti, dropping the phone to the ground. “Still could. But you were smart, weren’t you, Red? You knew what would happen. So you made the right choice. You’re giving yourself back to me. That’s what’s happening, right? Or should I keep searching for your little fiance and throw you back in jail?”

Jackie’s eyes snap open.

“My… my…”

There’s the word he’s been looking for. There.

“My fiance?”

Anti hands - Blue’s hands, his twin’s hand - are on his face, cupping his cheeks, and Jackie shivers at the sensation. He hates skin on his skin. Anti knows.

“You give yourself back to me right now,” says Anti. “And we will let all of this - all of this - go. Like it never happened. And I’ll take you somewhere new. And you’ll be happy again.”

“For how long, Anti?” cries Red, his eyes sunken, tears running down his face. “How many times will we do this? How many times have we done this? Why does Dapper talk about escape attempts I don’t remember? Why is it more painful every time we do this?”

Anti’s eyes flicker.

“Anti,” whispers Red. “Promise me this is the last time.”

Anti stares at him. Green and blue. But still Blue’s eyes. Still Blue’s face. Red touches his hair.

“If you lose me again, kill me or throw me in jail. None of us can keep playing this game. It’s too much. You’re killing us, Anti. You’re killing yourself. Promise me this is the last time.”

And Anti remembers promises broken, and heartache, and his own regret, bitter in his mouth.

If he promises, he means it.

He learned his lesson.

He means it.

“Okay,” he says.

If he can’t be happy with them, he can’t be happy. If he can’t control them this time - if they start to get loose - he’ll end it. He’ll end all of it. Okay.

“I promise.”

“And one more thing,” says Red.

“I’m not really a bargain-maker,” Anti.

“You love bargaining,” answers Red. “You told me it makes you feel like a crossroads demon and that that was probably your true calling.”

“Okay, fine,” he says. “I do. And it is. Aren’t we talking about your soul anyway?”

“Leave me with the memory of him,” says Jackie, very soft. “Leave me with one thing that doesn’t always hurt.”

Anti sighs and looks down at the broken phone on the earth, a distorted image of Max and Jackie smiling back at him. All too bright. All too beautiful. All too happy.

“Don’t change my memories of him. Don’t delete him. Don’t try to hunt him down. Just… leave him. And I’m yours. I’m yours.”

“Okay,” says Anti. “Okay.”

A flood of pigeons leaps up from the earth, darkening the sun and the steep tower of the church.

“As long as you’re mine.”

And he grabs Jackie’s head, and remembers the first time he killed the man in front of him, and he makes of himself a flood.

Jackie can hear himself cry out.

And then, Jackie can hear nothing at all.

Red still hears Max’s song, playing in his head, and Anti’s voice, soothing him.

“It’s over now. It’s over. It’s done.”

He always thinks he alone is enough for finality.

Anonymous asked: Hey Ro! You need to find Henrik! He’s got a plan but he needs your help first so you can grab Blue. Also! Anti handcuffed Dap to the dumpster where y’all split up first, at some point you need go back and get him!

“Fuck’s sake! Hand-cuffing my little brother during a psychotic episode! I’ll eviscerate him.”

Henrik hears his own words and laughs a little wildly, clutching to his necklaces. He wishes he could threaten to kill Anti as easily as think about actually doing it.

“Okay, my Trick, my twin, let’s go back and get our little brother out of those cuffs, and then we go find big brothers and Anti, yes?”

“Okay,” groans Trick, wiping at his face. He’s a right mess, snotty and red-faced, tucked like a kid against Dok’s chest and clinging to his coat. “Yeah, my little brother.”

Dok helps him up and they hurry back to the alleyway, looking around.

“Um, here?” asks Dok. “Or where? Carver is not here.”

Trick sniffles and points to the dumpster, where a pair of handcuffs lie open and abandoned in the dirt.

Anonymous asked: Dap, hey, Dap, where are you? Do you have a plan? Dok and Trick are where you were

“You know something?” says Anti, leaning on Red for support now, his big brother exhausted and completely dazed, holding a tissue to his nose to stem the blood that came down as Anti poured once more into his head.

“What?” mumbles Red, clinging to somebody. He can’t tell if it’s Blue or Anti.

“That wasn’t even that hard. I can’t believe I was that stressed. Like, sure, that stupid fucking asshole found you again, but I didn’t have to break you out of prison or anything. Dapper’s a little sick, but he had the password, he followed the rules. You just took a little convincing. Trick will have a quick breakdown, but Dok’s there for him. And Blue can suck me off cause he’s been such a fucking bastard lately. I’ll let him go when we get to a new country. Guess I gotta find a way to deal with Dok… goddamn magicians. Almost want to stay and kill them, but honestly, we’ve been causing so much trouble lately. At least I didn’t have to shoot anyone. You’ll help me put Dok back together, right?”

Red nods wearily, nearly tripping over stone.

“There’s my good boy,” purrs Anti, nuzzling against his shoulder. “I love it, I love having you back, I feel so much better. And Blue fits so nice. Lately I’ve been getting sick everyday at this time, throwing up blood, feeling so mortal. But it’s all okay now. I’ll have to use Blue more often.”

The cameras are beeping insistently and no one seems to be answering them. He frowns down at you as it continues.

“What are you talking to Dapper for? Which alley is it?”

He pulls Red to the side and Dok and Trick turn back to look at them. But no Dapper. You feel Anti still.

“Where’s Dap?” he says, very stiff.

Trick and Dok exchange glances. Trick offers Anti the handcuffs uncertainly.

“Dapper?” calls Anti, letting Red go. He stumbles and Dok hurries forward to catch him. “Dapper? Where are you, baby? He can’t be running around while he’s confused and having an episode. Where’d he go? How’d he get loose? Why isn’t he answering the cameras?”

“Anti, it’s okay, it’s okay,” Trick tries to soothe, hearing the rising panic in his voice. “We’ll find him, we’ll find him.”

Anti limps back towards the street, eyes wide. Dapper is not there. Blue’s hands shake on the cane.

Anonymous asked: Hen, you probably noticed, but Red's under Anti's control again, so be warned. He might not be able to help you with Blue

Henrik draws slightly back, touching the back of Red’s head gently, frowning at him, grieving the news. But when Red looks back, it hardly even looks like him. His eyes are red and so miserable Henrik can’t imagine him falling back into the person he was, hitting them and ordering them around and carrying out Anti’s orders. If this is Red, he is not the same.

“Dok,” he whispers.

Henrik strokes his hands through his hair. “Bruder,” he answers softly. “Come here.”

Red slips into his arms. Henrik hugs him as tight as he can, giving him his favorite form of pressure, holding his head to his shoulder, and Red cries into his white heart surgeon’s coat.

“It’s going to be okay,” whispers Henrik, wrapping his fingers around his talismans. “One month, two at most. Two months and be free. I won’t go under. He won’t take me over again.”

“We’ll only do it one more time,” mumbles Red, almost delirious. “Only one more time and then, one way or another, it’s done.”

And then Anti is checking his other cameras, and they hear him start to scream.

Anonymous asked: What is it, Dap? Do you think it could help?

Max gave him the lockpick the day the first day Dapper saw him again, when they both hand-cuffed him to the chair in their motel room.

It was a good thing to give him. He’s grateful. That’s all he’ll need it, so he lets it fall.

And it falls, and falls, and falls, and falls, and falls.

Down onto the street far below. Your view is fixed on it. It’s all you can see - the highway, dark in the evening, and the ocean, glowing beneath artificial lights, and the people like raindrops babbling in the heat far below you. The pavement and the river and the people like raindrops and Dapper’s tight, hot, black, dirtied little dress shoes, standing on the ledge of a building.

Softly, above you, Dapper is laughing.

[poptod]

The Story of Golden Fish and Red Duck (Ahkmenrah x Reader, Ch. 4)

Ch. 1, Ch. 2, Ch. 3

Word Count: 5.7k AO3 Link:  The Story of Golden Fish and Red Duck

Day and night seemed to mesh together as confusion plagued your thoughts, twisting what you thought you knew and changing your memory. Maybe he wasn't all that bad, you convinced yourself one day, but the next you were assured of your hatred and happy he was gone. Despite how your rollercoaster of emotions might've changed hour by hour you didn't take the necklace off - even when you were confident in your resentment of the man, you couldn't deny it was well crafted, and fit your complexion rather well.

When you weren't tossing and turning over your emotions towards Ahkmen, you were wondering what the necklace said. As gorgeous as the inscriptions were they held no meaning, not to you at least - it meant nothing except a physical reminder of what you could've done different. You'd only interacted with the boy two times outside of the times you were required to, but apparently it was enough to warp your world view, something you both despised and adored him for.

Unas dealt with thoughts of his own, issues different from yours but similar in subject. From the many hours you continued to spend with him you garnered that he felt guilty, taking the blame that the whole situation had progressed the way it did, even though you both knew it truly, really was Ahkmen's fault. He was the one who'd decided to do something bad. He was the one who took the blame. He did all that to himself in order to spend time with the both of you, not that either of you could see that - you were both far too caught up in the idea of never seeing him again that the thought of him planning that purely to see you never crossed your minds.

"We're going to see him again, right?" Unas asked you, both of you enjoying your usual market trip all the while feeling very lonely, despite the fact that it had always been just the two of you. "Like, the Pharaoh can't keep him away forever."

"It's up to several things," you said, feeling like you'd rather be talking about something else as you took a bite of your honey cake. "First off, it's possible his father will forgive him and let him go outside, and all that. Besides that option, there's always when the Pharaoh dies, his eldest son will take the throne."

"Kahmuh, right?" Unas asked, receiving a nod from you.

"There's a possibility Kahmuh will forget about the whole ordeal and the ban will be lifted, but Kahmuh isn't the type to forgive and forget. He holds grudges. He still hates my sister just because she doesn't show an interest in him, which is -"

"Disgusting," Unas interrupted you, to which you easily agreed.

"Hopefully this whole thing will be solved in the next several years," you said with a sigh, picking away at your treat without any real desire to eat it.

"Years? That's going to be forever," Unas said, shaking his head at the thought.

"Well the Pharaoh isn't that old. It'll be a while till he passes away, and besides," you eyed him, lowering your voice, "saying aloud that you want the Pharaoh to die or be gone, it isn't exactly a great idea."

"I'm simply not willing to wait that long," Unas declared, sticking the rest of his sweets back in his bag, and crossing his arms. "We'll have to do something about it."

"... I'm not killing the Pharaoh," you said slowly.

"What? No, that's - that's sick," he shook his head, "I meant we're going to have to either sneak into the palace or sneak Ahkmen out."

"Which one's easier do you think?" You said, taken aback by your own readiness to commit another crime. Unas even noticed, turning to you with a furrowed brow, before looking back at the general crowd.

"I'm surprised you even want to help. Don't you hate the man?" Unas said with a laugh, the grin reaching his eyes and crinkling the edges there.

"I do! I just -" there had to be a way to say you wanted to see him again without actually saying you wanted to see him again -"I hate seeing you so upset."

Unas stared at you for a moment as you tried not to make eye contact.

"Right," he said. "I'd say getting him out would be easier. He's got a balcony, right?"

You nodded.

"Should make it easy. We could do a catapult, a thrust of some sort, something... something that would propel us into the air and to his balcony. Since it's so high up, you know."

"Right, yes it's high, but I feel that that's a bit overkill? Wouldn't a rope and a hook work just as well?"

"So you're telling me you have the strength to throw a roped hook fifty feet in the air?"

He did have a point, not that you wanted to admit it - your idea was purely based off the fact that you hated the idea of just throwing yourself into the air and hoping by lucky chance that you'd land on the tiny balcony Ahkmen had. Unas claimed to be smart, and you knew very well that he was good at mathematics, but you can't just predict a curve. Even if he did manage to do that, it sounded a foolish concept by itself.

"Maybe we could catapult the rope?" You suggested, more unsure of yourself with every word.

"Hang on, you might be onto something," he said, a vacant stare taking over his eyes as some sort of machine began to materialize in his mind. With a gasp he stood, leaving you with a pat on your shoulder in the center of the market, heading in the direction of his home.

As usual Unas was a very fast runner, and by the time you found him back at his house, sketch upon sketch, every attempt scribbled with countless notes, lay scattered at his desk and pinned to the wall. You tried to speak, the noise just barely coming out of your mouth before he was shushing you.

To your credit, you did try to stay for a good long while, sitting silently in the backdrop of his bedroom. His father was hardly ever home and his mother knew you well, so the length of your stay wasn't of any great importance. Your parents would know where to look for you, but by the time sunset came around, you were a little tired of being ignored and fully ready to head home. You told him this in a quiet voice, gently tapping his shoulder as you did.

"Alright," he said, still engrossed in his latest version, before realizing what you'd just said. He jumped from his seat as you shut the door behind you, chasing after you and finding you in the hallway. "Meet me tomorrow. It should be done then."

"Where and when?"

"Let's say midrise? And, um... just meet me here. I might need help moving this contraption," he decided, nodding as though to affirm himself.

"Are you going to name it?" You asked with a chuckle.

"Now's not the time for that. I need to - I need to get back to it," he said, not even leaving you with a good-bye as he rushed back into his room. Sighing and shaking your head, a smile crossed your face; as annoying as those phases of his life were, it was nice to see him so entertained with something.

By the next morn you were well rested (though you doubted you could say the same for Unas), and your mother had prepared a rather large breakfast for no specific occasion. Bowls of honey and dates sat on the table, surrounded by several different loaves, each one a different preparation for a different taste. Where your mother got the resolve to do things like this you hadn't a clue, but you enjoyed it anyway, and as the sun sat in the center of the sky, you thanked her and ran off towards Unas' house.

Twisting through empty and crowded streets you made your way to the front door, knocking once before his father was already opening the door. Surprised you almost jumped back, but managed to stay on your feet - the last time you saw his father must've been at least five months ago. Abasi was a very strange man from what you'd seen of him, which wasn't much at all and you shouldn't've drawn conclusions from the very few times you'd spoken with him, but he certainly was the only person you knew who could read hieroglyphs.

"Abasi, sir? Sorry for um, interrupting whatever it was you were doing, but could you read this for me quickly?" You asked, keeping your voice fast-paced; anything less would bore him. With shaking fingers you undid the knot at the back of the necklace, the cold pendant sliding down your collarbone till it came to your hands, and you handed it to him.

He looked at you strangely for a moment before taking it, doing a quick once-over. Taking very little care with it, he handed it back to you, his face still stone.

"This side says run away with me," he said, pointing to the face-up side on your palm, "and the other side says please... and your name."

"Oh..." you murmured, wondering how he could've gotten a pendant with your name on it so quickly. Before you could even hypothesize on whatever the pendant really meant, Abasi pushed you aside and left, leaving you alone with your confused thoughts.

There are better times to think about this, you told yourself, but even as you climbed the steps and crossed the hallway to Unas' room, you couldn't stop going over it. It was personalized, with such an obvious intimate message, and as you opened Unas' door, you tied the pendant back around your neck - out of sight, out of mind. Still it seemed to weigh down on you, heavy against your chest.

"Good morning!" Unas exclaimed, yanking the door open just as you set your hand on the handle. You jumped back, caught surprised by his outburst - you had expected him to still be at his desk.

"Morning, Unas," you said, breathing slow and shaking your head to calm your suddenly raised heart rate. Taking your hand he lead you to his desk, sitting you down in his seat and pushing you towards the many sketches lain about his desk, scattered and disorganized.

"That one," he pointed to one pinned to the wall with a knife, "that's what we're going to be making. I know what parts we need, I made two sheets." He then proceeded to dig through the pile of papyrus, somehow managing to pull two identical sheets out of there as if he knew where it was all along. Handing one to you he took the other, and you looked over your own.

"Unas, I don't think we're going to be able to find all this stuff," you said slowly, going over the list. Several very specific bolts, strips of tough wood, metal hook that wouldn't break, a fifty foot rope - you'd be lucky to find even one of these in the trash heaps in an entire month. At that rate, it'd be easier to just wait for the day Ahkmen would be released of his family's own volition. At the bottom of the list lay the hardest material, your eyes bulging as you read it; 5.5 feet of linen.

"I think we'll be okay," Unas said, halting when he saw your expression.

"Linen? Are you joking? It's so hard to get it’s used as fucking currency, and you want five feet of it?!" You slapped the paper back on his desk, your hand making a hard slap with the wood.

"Hear me out, okay?" He said quickly as you stood, approaching him with your hands clenched into fists. "It's so simple to make, trust me, okay? You can trust me, you've done it before, now isn't any different except.. except we're saving the love of your life from imprisonment!"

You nabbed his list from his hands, looking over it again before tossing it to the side, still holding a death glare with him.

"Let's get some things straight," you hissed, backing him up into a wall. "Number one, he's not the love of my life, I don't even like the man. Number two these are ridiculous materials, and third -"

"You're on board, aren't you?"

"Of course I am, but I'm not going to be happy about it."

Shopping list in hand and a hefty amount of gold rings with you, the two of you set off in your usual direction; the dump house. It hadn't been long since the two of you had last seen it, actually it was just yesterday you'd been there, but somehow the heaps were never familiar. The sight of them you were accustomed to, yes, but exactly what the heaps were composed of was always a mystery. Each time you came (including this time as well) it felt as though the entirety of it had been cleaned and an entirely different type of trash had been dumped there.

Immediately you set off to work, Unas taking the lower floor and you taking the upper, lists in hand as eyes scraped meticulously over the piles. Several things caught your eye, and on any other day you would've run downstairs excitedly to show Unas, but there was a mission today - a real mission, that could actually help someone, namely Ahkmen. Not you. This mission was not for you.

"Holy FUCK!" Unas shouted, surprising you out of your close inspection. You ran downstairs, your mostly empty bag clanging against your thigh as you came to stand beside Unas, wondering what in the hell could've gotten him so worked up.

"Everything alright?" You asked.

"Everything's perfect! Forget the bolts and the sticks, well - everything but two bolts, we still need those," he said, marvelling at a large, thick piece of wood in a Y shape.

"... right," you mumbled, heading back upstairs after that shock. As distant as he usually was, there were moments where he would get far too excitable, scaring you in the process.

Fortunately he didn't have another outburst of energy the rest of the morning, and by noon you'd found the bolts and nails you needed - all that remained was the linen, the hook, and rope, which the both of you knew you needed to buy. Anything else would've been too cheaply made to support what you needed, thus the two of you left in high spirits, heading in the direction of the market.

Busy, as usual - weeding your way through the crowd you came to the best blacksmith, which you could only afford due to your status. Entering the small building, the first thing you noticed was the heat; unbearable, surrounding every inch of your skin and clogging up your nose with an awful burning smell. Somehow, even with the midday sun blazing overhead, it was hotter inside. Unas even cringed a little, though wasn't deterred in the slightest. He went straight to the counter, waiting for the man to notice him, and as he did you scoped the shop out. A hook wouldn't be all too hard to find, there were many uses for them. Your only issue was you needed a specific hook.

"Hi, I'm Unas," he introduced himself to the worker, who looked him up and down, took his glove off, and shook his hand.

"Idogbe. What do you need?" He asked, his voice surprisingly soft, especially for his build, which must've been taller and stronger than anyone you'd met.

"We need a sort of hook, one that can sort of.. attach, you know?" Unas explained poorly, gesturing vaguely with his hands as Idogbe watched unamused.

"You mean a grappling hook?" He asked after letting Unas suffer under his gaze for a good two minutes.

"Yes! That'd be perfect," Unas said with a smile, turning back to you in a self-satisfied manner. You exchanged odd facial expressions with him, getting slowly weirder and harder to do, till Idogbe returned to the desk from the back room.

"This'd be a good one, withholds quite a bit of weight. Rope attach here, weapon attach here," he said, pointing to the various holes and inserts at the bottom of the hook.

"Wonderful. How much for it?"

"Let's say 90?"

You could physically see Unas' eyes bulge out of his head at the price, and for the first time you laughed at his misfortune. Drawing nearer, you kept your mouth next to his ear as you whispered.

"You handle this, wrangle the price - I'll head in the linen direction," you muttered, to which he agreed.

It wasn't hard to find a fabric store, and even less difficult to find a good price - the woman manning the store, named Kakra, was clearly new. You hated to take advantage of that, considering she was practically stuttering on every word, but there were more important things for you to do. Kakra would have to deal with a price she shouldn't have let you buy at.

Around an hour or two after noon, you reconvened at the market's center, sitting on the edge of the massive crystal water fountain. After a quick show of wares, you made a quick stop at Nizism's for food, and headed back to Unas' home. There he constructed the contraption as you sat on his bed, daydreaming about how different your life could've been. Not towards anything in particular, you were fine with how you were - just different scenarios, something to pass the time as afternoon turned to evening.

"Is it done yet?" You asked, still staring up at the ceiling, tossing a wooden ball between your hands.

"Yes, actually, which is surprising considering how many times you've asked me that," he said, a clear annoyance in his words.

"Well how else am I supposed to know when I can look over?" You asked, frowning.

"It's not a surprise, you could've looked over whenever you wanted to!"

"Really? Oh," you said, sitting up and watching him finish up. "It's usually a surprise."

He backed away from it, the large Y structure now having the two ends of the linen wrapped around each protrusion except the bottom one. It didn't look particularly special, or new, but you knew better than to say anything. In all actuality it was a very plain thing, without decoration or pizazz, but you supposed it wasn't really the time to deal with that.

"Then, we have the hook," he said, raising the hook in the air, the rope tied to it, "and there's a special weight in the hook, gives it more momentum, so we place it like this..." he set the hook in the linen, pulling the material back as it stretched, "and when you let go -" he let go, and the hook crashed into the wall with a loud clang. "There you go!'

"So the hook is supposed to go up to his balcony?"

"Yes indeed, we just need a place in which we can launch it from," Unas said with a smile, clearly happy with his little invention.

"Somewhere we won't be seen, obviously," you said, scratching your chin as you thought of the layout of the palace, the surrounding brush and hills, trying to think of somewhere you'd be hidden that would also allow you to actually be able to aim correctly.

"That's the difficult part," he said, snapping his fingers.

"That's the difficult part? Didn't you play 90 rings for the hook?"

"Yes, but it wasn't really my money, so it doesn't bother me," he said with a shrug. You hummed in acknowledgement, still thinking of where you could launch from. Then it hit you - something you'd somehow forgotten from many years ago.

When you were around three years old, that was when you were introduced to Ahkmen - at the time you were actually rather friendly with each other, for some reason. He was cute, at the time, that is. Before you really knew what status was, before you knew that stalking was a thing that you really shouldn't do, you snuck out of your house late at night, hiding in the well kempt bushes surrounding the palace. From your vantage point you could easily see Ahkmen's balcony, though you hadn't known it was his balcony at the time - you'd thought it was just a balcony he frequented. Just then your mind connected it; you realized that balcony from all those years ago was his.

"Unas," you said slowly, your eyes glazed over as genius struck you, "I know exactly where we'll set up shop."

After a quick run to your parents house to notify them you'd be staying at Unas' for the night, you began packing for the trip. Fortunately you wore mainly red and black clothes, which would be perfect for disguising yourself in the shaodws. Unas, on the other hand, wore white and brown clothes, and after noticing this, you leant him your own clothes which were a little small on him.

Half prepared to go, Unas hoisted the invention on his back, securing it with the linen. You kept the rope and hook in your bag, and the two of you snuck out his window, keeping low on the rooftops in an attempt to stay hidden. Somehow it worked, even though you were almost caught about five times. Those five times started up your heartbeat, racing in your chest as you got closer and closer to the palace, the guards becoming more numerous as you did.

Hiding away in the bushes, you watched as torchlight cast shadows on the walls, and soon guards made their round, disappearing down the side of the palace. Motioning silently to Unas, he moved forward, setting up his contraption by digging one end into the soft ground to stabilize it. Using your utmost concentration to not rustle the bush around you, you helped him set the hook in the linen, pulling it back as far as you could.

"Are you sure this is going to work? 'Cause if it doesn't, we're going to have to run like hell," you whispered to him, the linen stretched in your hands.

"We're about to see if it'll work," he answered, an answer that was not in the least comforting, but had a valid point. Taking a deep, shaky breath you pulled it back just a little more, pointing it upwards by angling down. Now on target, you closed your eyes, took another breath, and released.

"This has to be one of the most stupidest things I've done," you whispered, your eyes still clamped shut. A quiet clinking sound came from far above you, and Unas hit your shoulder, a soft gasp leaving him. Slowly you opened your eyes, following his gaze to the balcony, where a silver hook gleamed in the moonlight, safely attached to the railing and a rope dangling down from it.

"I can't believe it worked," he breathed out, still in utter shock.

"You didn't think it would work?" You hissed. "This was your idea!"

"No time for that, we need to climb now before the guards get back," he said, hiding the contraption in the bushes and rushing forward. You followed, gripping the rope tight as you climbed after him, the knots you'd previously made in the rope making the journey much easier.

"This is dumb," you muttered to yourself as anticipation plagued your anxious nerves, reminding you how badly Ahkmen would make fun of you for trying so hard to see him again.

Gripping the rope tighter you hauled yourself up, letting Unas situate himself before climbing over the railing yourself, brushing your clothes off as if they were dirty. Which, to be fair, after kneeling in the dirt for so long, they weren't exactly clean.

Inside Ahkmen's room, a single rushlight was lit at his bedside, giving the room a faint, yellow glow. Somehow undisturbed by the racket you and Unas made, Ahkmen lay sleeping in his bed, the covers strewn carelessly about his mostly-naked body, which you pointedly ignored. Unas stared without thought, only brought out of his little trance when you elbowed him.

"Don't stare," you told him. "That's weird."

"Not even half as weird as your horrible flirting tactics," he said, not bothering to look at you as he approached the bed.

"There's - okay, first off, no, and second off, this is a lot more stalker-ish than I originally anticipated," you said, careful to keep your voice down, inching forward as Unas slowly came to stand directly beside Ahkmen's bed.

Looking at you he picked up a large book which had been sitting at his bedside table, a furtive grin overtaking him as he lifted it above his head. Color draining from your face you rushed forward, knowing he was going to wake up the whole palace in the worst way possible, but before you could grab the book from him he slammed it down on the floor. A loud clang bounced around the room, startling Ahkmen awake, the silk sheets dripping down his skin like water as he sat up.

Eyes wide and panting, Ahkmen looked between the two of you, attempting to say something but nothing coming out.

"Unas!" He finally got out, his eyes still bulging in shock.

"Ahkmen!" Unas said, opening his arms with a wide smile. Laughing, Ahkmen stood from his bed, wrapping Unas up in a tight hug. Unas returned the sentiment with just as much enthusiasm, patting him on the back as they parted.

"What are you doing here?" Ahkmen said, still smiling brightly at the two of you.

"Unas missed you," you answered dully, your arms crossed as you watched the scene before you, a mild amusement clear on your face.

"Really? And you didn't?" He said, his voice low and teasing.

"No," you said.

"I don't have much time to be honest, I've got lessons in the morning and I haven't been studying," Unas said, something you didn't even know until then.

"You're taking lessons? What for?" You asked, feeling only a little betrayed that he hadn't told you, but patient for his answer.

"I'm going to be a scribe like my father," he answered, nodding his head with his hands on his hips.

"I feel you'd do better as an architect," Ahkmen said with a pat to Unas' shoulder. You hadn't thought of it before, but Unas would make a good architect - he had an eye for both design and technicality.

"Perhaps so, but a son always takes up his father's mantle."

"When I become Pharaoh, which I will," Ahkmen said, glancing to you as he wrapped an arm over Unas' shoulders, "I'll make you chief architect. How does that sound?"

"I - excellent, actually, if you were really going to become Pharaoh," Unas sputtered out, clearly flustered by both the contact and the idea of such a position belonging to him.

"Aren't you third in line for the throne?" You said with a chuckle, drawing nearer to the pair of them.

"Yes, but I am the favorite son, so I have that going for me."

"... right."

You tried to make the best of your short time with him, playing several games of Senet (Unas won each time) before you'd exhausted that, moving onto word games and other such things. Desperately you tried not to think about Unas leaving for the night, which would leave you alone with Ahkmen - the thought had crossed you that you could just leave with Unas, but Ahkmen had already brought that up and was adamant that you stayed. The idea of it alone wasn't horribly terrifying, but the remembrance that this would be the first occurrence of you spending time alone with him absolutely was. Ahkmen, sitting across from you, didn't look in the least bit anxious.

The three of you spent a good deal of time breaking into fits of laughter, and as you leaned back the cool of the pendant landed right below your neck, tensing you up and reminding you of the message he'd written. He had to have written it, you'd decided that a while ago, considering your name was on it. Fiddling with it, you engrossed yourself back into the conversation, putting the thought of that in the deepest corners of your head. You'd deal with it later.

"I think I'd best be going, now. At least now one of you can win at Senet," Unas said cheekily, winking at the two of you seated on the floor as he stood.

"Be safe, alright?" Ahkmen said quietly, smiling when Unas nodded.

"Of course. Also, I'll be picking up the launcher, you take the rope with you, got it?" He asked you, and you nodded your agreement. With that you bid your good byes, and he set off climbing down the rope, leaving you alone in the hazy light of Ahkmen's room.

"Is he always like that?" Ahkmen asked when he was assured Unas was gone.

"Like what?"

"You know, that good at playing games," he clarified.

"Ah," you said with a smile, leaning back. "Yes. Unas has always been one for puzzles and strategy games. Drives me insane, but you get used to it after a while."

"He's a little odd, but nice," he remarked, fiddling with his clothes as he avoided your eye.

An uncomfortable silence (at least for you) spanned over the next few minutes as the various games and messes you'd made were cleaned up. By the time you set the last pencil on his desk, he was sitting on his bed, legs dangling off the side as he watched you.

"You're still wearing the pendant," he noted quietly, gesturing to the necklace heavy on your skin. You looked down, fiddling with it again.

"Of course I am," you mumbled, instantly regretting the words when he perked up.

"I just - I thought you might throw it away," he said with a shrug.

"No... why would you think that?" You sat on the floor in front of you, looking up at him.

Anytime now and it'll be the perfect time to ask him about what it says, you thought, almost tensing up imagining it. Just like the one you were having, that conversation would be horribly intimate and would probably screw up your image of who he was in your mind. Again. How many times had he changed in your head?

"I don't know, probably the fifteen hundred times you've told me you hate me? Might've been that," he said, laughing bitterly, fingers digging into his mattress till the knuckles whitened.

"I don't really hate you, I just -" exasperated you looked to him, trying to find a way to say what you meant without insinuating something. He met your gaze, looking almost hopeful for your next few words, only for you to disappoint him. "I dislike you."

"Yeah, I know," he mumbled, turning so he wouldn't have to look at you anymore. "Sorry for keeping you from leaving. You can go."

"Gold fish, I -"

"No, it's fine," he said, huffing as he hid under his covers.

"You always find a way to change who I think you are," you finally said, an admittance that he'd been on your mind - you'd thought of him. "Every time I think I've wrangled down who you are, figured out what makes you tick, you change it completely. I don't know if that's a talent or a flaw. Either way... good night."

You reached up behind your neck, untying the necklace and setting at his bedside table, within his clear eyeshot. As you made for the balcony, his sheets rustled behind you. He turned you around, necklace in hand and so close to you your face was almost touching his chest. Confused, you tried to ask him what he wanted, but he just put the pendant back around your neck, tying it and smoothing it out once he'd finished.

"It's yours. You can throw it away if you want," he said, almost venomous in a way you'd only seen in his father. Sometimes you forgot he was still a prince. He was still powerful, and he could still make you do whatever he wanted to. But he didn't - he went back to bed, turned his back to you, and let you leave.

You made down the rope, unhooked it (with a little trouble), and snuck back to Unas' house, where he sat at his desk studying. At his side were three rushlights, illuminating sharp shadows across his face, the ink of his pen scratching into the papyrus.

"How'd it go?" He asked without looking up.

"Oddly. We got in a fight but this time it wasn't just a stupid fight... I think I hurt his feelings."

"What did you say this time?"

"I said I dislike him."

"Oo, wrong choice of words," he exhaled sharply, wincing when he turned to look at you, flopped hopelessly over his bed.

"This must be the first time I've actually felt bad about hurting him. A year ago I would've been rejoicing," you grumbled, slapping your hand over your eyes as though to shield you from your horrible choices.

"That's probably because you actually like him now. I mean, you aren't admitting it, but you do. I'd go so far as to say, in complete and utter honesty, that you have a little crush on him."

You sat up, almost gagging at the thought.

"You can't be serious," you laughed, almost loud enough to wake his mother, but you knew to keep quiet.

"I am. I think you're actually making a big mistake, and you need to recognize that you genuinely like him," he said, and you knew he was telling the truth - not a hint of a smile. Sighing, you fell back down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"I'm so fucked."

"Your words, not mine, but precisely."

[ella-se-vuelve-loca]

Last One, I Swear! | Erick Brian Colón

Sooo I noticed I haven’t done any stories for Erick yet lol for now, the stories I write for him won’t have any of that dirty stuff y’all like lmaooo sorry x

Warnings: None lol just pure fluff

Masterlist

Wanna be tagged for future fics?

**

“Alright, one more!” Erick yelled as he lost another game of Mario Kart, again. “C’mon, I’ve - I’ve got it this time. I can feel it.” He went to start another match, but I stopped him. “Erick, let’s just turn off the game.” I said. “No, I refuse to accept defeat.” He got comfortable on the floor and had a frown sketched on his face. “Estas bien, mi amor?” I asked him. “No, it’s fine. It’s - it’s all good. Everything’s great.” Yeah, that wasn’t sarcastic at all. I looked at the time and realized how late it was. Yikes! The boys have to wake up early tomorrow for an interview. We were in his hotel room playing video games and ordered in some food to eat. We didn’t realize how late it was getting. “Erick, mira.” I showed him the time on my phone.

“I just.. oh.. ya son las 2:25 de la mañana?” He realized. I nodded and his head dropped. “We should head to sleep. I don’t want you to be grumpy when I come back to wake you up.” He sighed and slowly started to get up. “Yeah, I guess we do have to wake up early tomorrow..” I kept a smile on my face as I thought about how much Erick gets involved in this game and can never beat me. What can I say? I’m pretty damn good at it.

“Okay, fine let’s go to… porqué estas sonriendo asi?” I just shook my head and stood up. “Nothing, why?” I asked him and chuckled. I went to go and grab my hotel key card. “Crees que no puedo hacerlo, ¿verdad?” He accused and I just laughed, not being able to hold it in. “How dare you.” He had a small smile on his face. “It’s not my fault you keep losing. You’re just not that good as I am.” I flipped my hair and laughed. “Alright, grab your controller. We’re doing this right now.” I raised an eyebrow and looked at the time once again. “Are you sure you want to do this? I don’t wanna hear you complain that you didn’t win against me again.” I laughed. “No, don’t give me that. I’ll show you that I can win at least one race.” He looked determined. Then again, so did the other times.

“C’mon mi amor, just one more. I’ll prove myself! I know you’re tired y quiero ir a dormir, but this is it. I promise.” I looked at him and his eyes bore into my own. I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t say no to him. I mean, have you seen his eyes? They’re way to pretty to say no to. “Okay, fine. Let’s do it.” I grabbed my controller and sat back down next to him. He went to look for a new map to start the race. “How about a little wager? To keep things interesting.” He suggested and raised his eyebrow. I sat up and smiled. “Oh, you like that sound of that, don’t you? Alright, loser has to.. eat a tablespoon of coffee.” I just scoffed. “Is that it?”

“What do you mean that’s it? It’s a pretty fair bet, if you ask me.” Erick defended himself. I just sat there next to him thinking about my options. I could just go to my room and sleep, like we’re supposed to be doing right at this moment. Or, I could just beat him and call it a night. Decisions, decisions. “Princesa, por favor. I just wanna play.” Erick whined. “Okay okay! I’ll play.” I said as he clicked on to start the race. I leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. “Good luck.” I smiled and looked at the screen, getting ready to start. “You’re smiling now, just wait until I win this game. Let’s do this.” The intro to the track started and we both got ready. 

“I’m ready. Are you ready to eat my dust? I’ll be so fast, Sonic can’t keep up with my speeds. I’ll be sorry to even - .. oh shit.” By the time Erick looked back at the screen, the race was literally 3 seconds away from starting. “You should’ve been paying attention.” I comment. “Yeah, whatever. Shut up.” And we were off. I noticed him behind already as the rest of the racers passed him up. “You know you need to - ”

“Yes, I know I need to accelerate at the start.“ He frowned. “I can see someone is not enjoying this round as much.” I laughed. 

“Well, you were distracting me!”

“No I was not!”

“You did too!” 

This is so childish. I love moments like this with him though. “Alright, focus. You’re trying to psych me out right now, aren’t you? Well, it’s not gonna - don’t laugh at me like that.” He laughed. I can’t hold it in! This is too funny! “I’m sorry, babe. I told you this would happen.” He leaned in closer to the tv as I continued to win this race. “Okay, you asked for it now.” 

A few seconds of silence filled the air between us, until I heard him mumble. “Where did everyone go?” I could see his body moving side to side as he made turns. “Are you in last place?” I asked him, smiling. “No! I’m just.. trailing behind, that’s all. It’s all part of the technique.” Okay… now I’m starting to feel bad. I mean, sure it’s fun to beat him and win, but he seriously hasn’t won a single game against me and it’s starting to become sad. Hmm… maybe just this once.

“Yes, when I.. oh! Oh yeah! I’m coming for you now, mi amor.” I quickly looked over to his side of the screen and noticed that he got a golden mushroom. “See, look at that. Look at that! I told you, all part of the - ”

“Oh please! That mushroom must have felt bad and gave pity on you.” I joked.

“No, it wasn’t a pity mushroom!” He chuckled. Alright, time to slow down my movements. I started going a little more slower, not that he would notice, so he could catch up to me. “You’re laughing now nena, pero no vengas a llorar cuando pierdas.” I glanced at the map to see where each player is and noticed him coming close. Now I just gotta not pass him up. “Yes! C’mon, Mario keep going!” Did I forget to mention that he picked baby Mario as his character?

“Finally! 1st place!” He quickly passed me and I stayed behind. “No!” I joked along. He deserves a win anyways. He looks so excited. “Ay Díos mio it’s right there! I believe in you - “ He gasped and moved his body to the right. Peach was trying to pass him up and he wasn’t having it. “No. no, don’t you dare! Go go go!” He continued to try and block her so she won’t pass him up. “How am I in 8th place?” I asked out loud, just now realizing that I haven’t really been paying attention to my side of the screen because I couldn’t stop staring at Erick’s reaction to finally being in first. 

I could easily pass him up with the 3 mushrooms I just got, but I can’t do that to him right now. He’s probably dreamed about this moment of beating me. I don’t wanna take that away from him right now.

“Aww 8th place, is that right? It is over! It is over (Y/N)! Forget it! Don’t say I didn’t warn you!” He’s almost there! Just a few more seconds… oh my God.. he actually did it. Erick got first place!

“I finally did it! I finally beat you!” He cheered. I just chuckled and continued on racing. “Aww you’re still racing. Oh, it’s alright! You just go as fast as you can, okay?” He teased until I made it passed the finish line. “Hey, there you go! Look at you! You finished the race.” He smiled as he looked at the screen as his character received the trophy. “Oh, look at that. Baby Mario takes home the gold.” I raised an eyebrow and chuckled. “Are you happy?” I asked him.

“Well, of course I’m happy now, are you kidding me?” He started gloating in my face and I couldn’t help but feel happy for him. “Are you done?” I laughed and he shook his head. “No, I’m not quite done yet. First I have to..” He stood up and starting dancing all over his room. “Do my victory dance!” He jumped up and down, waved his hands in the air and did any silly dance he could think of on the spot. 

“I believe that a certain someone has to eat a teaspoon of coffee because that was part of the deal.” He said as he went to sit back down next to me. I rolled my eyes and went to get up, but he grabbed my hand. I looked at him in confusion. “Wait wait wait… not yet. Real quick, let’s watch the playback.” Oh this little fucker. “Why?”

“Why? So I can rewatch my victory over and over again, of course!” He quickly pressed replay and the video started. “See? Technique. What did I tell.. oh yeah, beautiful. Did you see that comeback? I went from 12th to 3rd just like that.” He snapped his fingers. “I have to admit, good job on your part princesa. Good job.” 

“Hey, this is only your first win. I’ve won so much more than you.” I chuckled. “Alright, let’s not forget who won here, okay? Let’s not lose sight of the big picture here.” He smiled and continued watching the playback. “Oh amor, that’s brutal. They just kept coming at you, huh?” Other characters keep hitting me with shells, so that’s how I ended up in 8th. “Yes! Look at that.” Baby Mario was about to pass my character up. “Admit it. There was no chance you could have.. ” He stopped, now realizing that I 3 mushrooms and I didn’t bother to use them. 

“Amor? Is that a.. wait a minute. You could’ve totally used it by..” Realization now dawning on his face as he looked at me. “Nena?” I didn’t meet his eyes and I started to back away from him. A laugh wanting to escape my mouth. “No no no, mirame. Look me in the eye and tell - don’t cover your mouth like that! No, ven aquí.” He held onto my shoulders and tried to hold me against him.

“Don’t back away from me like that, tell me the truth!” He turned my face so I could look at him. “Did you.. let me..” I cut him off with a quick kiss, catching him off guard and pulled myself away from him laughing. I ran to go grab my hotel key card and towards the door. 

“Hey, come back here! Oh, you’re gonna get it!” He laughed chasing after me.

**

Hey! It’s the end of the story! Lmao I hope y’all enjoyed! If you liked it, please make sure to send some love to my writing! Comment, reblog, and or like please! I love reading what you have to say!

[flamingo-writes]

Pain isn’t that bad, is it? — Zoro x Reader

Female reader implied

Summary: The scars on your back tortured you, constantly bringing back the haunting memories attached to them. And Zoro’s claim that back scars are to be ashamed of didn’t make you feel better. However, Zoro soon realises his mistake. 

Word count: 1.6K words

A/N: This started as a drabble, but I got a littlebut carried away. Also, the lesson within this drabble is quite important. 

Warnings: PTSD implied. Also implied sex, no smut tho. 

“Scars on the back are a swordsman’s shame” The words lingered on the air like a thread tying around your pride and squeezing it mercilessly, as you stared at the handsome man before you.

You’d been flirting with him for the past hour, sharing drinks and exchanging experiences and stories. And up until now, you found him quite attractive. Until his last sentence broke the charm.

“Really?” You asked, feeling the scars on your back ache. “How so?”

“One must never let their guard down, and never turn their back on their enemy” Said Roronoa Zoro proudly.

Flashbacks from the time you failed to save your little brother slashed the wounds open again, And the burn you got on your back seemed to be ablaze once more. But instead of blood flowing out of them, it was regret.

“I see” You muttered and took one big sip to your drink, hoping that the bitter taste of the alcohol softened the pain from the time you got hit by twelve arrows while protecting your little brother. And how those twelve arrows didn’t mean shit when a single arrow hit your baby brother, killing him a couple of minutes after the incident.

You finished your drink in a rather suspicious and quick manner. Zoro even noticed your sudden change of attitude. For someone not usually interested in casual affairs, you’d managed to catch his eye and spark his curiosity upon someone like you, you looked like a strong warrior with a secret behind her eyes.

“I’m sorry, I have to go” You murmured calmly and walked out the door, afraid that if you looked back, you’d see the two demons who sketched curses all over your back. Afraid that they’d grasp at you and pull you down.

However, the only grasping hand was Zoro’s.

“Wait” he said holding your arm delicately outside the bar the two of you were. “Is something wrong?”

“I was hoping to take you with me tonight, after all, you said you and your crew were leaving tomorrow, right? But now I realise, I’m no good for you”

“What do you mean?”

“I may not be a swordsman, but I do have scars on my back, and I’m ashamed of them” Your voice left a tingly regret in Zoro’s guts, as he looked at you, hoping that you’d make eye contact with him.

“[Name]...” He breathed.

“Don’t apologise. I don’t need people to look down on me. I’ve been looked down at for a long time, and I’m sick and tired of it. My scars ache, but they remind me that I’m alive, and that I’ve been through hell twice and still lived to see the sun rise again...” You pulled your arm, breaking free from his grip and stared into his dark eyes one last time before you turned and walked away, trying to keep the tears in for a little longer.

“Wait” Zoro once again grabbed you, this time by the hand. “I’m not gonna look down on you. I’m not the sort of guy who pities others. I’m sorry for whatever happened to you, I didn’t mean to put you through that again...Also, you don’t have to take me seriously, I’m just some other guy in this world…”

“I don’t think you’re some other guy” You cut him off. “You’re quite something, Roronoa. You’re the man who will surpass Mihawk. I have enough reasons to take you seriously. Besides, I told you, I am not a swordsman. I’m not ashamed of my scars because of what they are, I’m ashamed of them because they’re reminders of two big mistakes that cost my my brother, and my pride”

Once again, you tried to break free from Zoro’s grip. And this time, you didn’t meet his eyes. You couldn’t. The threatening tears were dangerously close to falling. And the very last thing you needed was to seem weak before such a strong presence like his.

In a split of a second, a thousand thoughts went through the swordsman’s mind. You’d been the very first person to get his attention ever since he first left home. Something within you attracted him like a moth to light. It made him feel stupid, constantly reminding himself of the stupid cook who was always behind girl’s bones.

As he felt ashamed of himself for flirting with a girl —knowing that if anyone in the crew found out, they’d tease him with it for ever—, he also felt ashamed for causing you so much trouble. Just as well, a sudden urge grew in his chest. An impulse, demanding him to act. However, being the disciplined swordsman that he was, he stuttered for a bit. He gave in when he realised he was going to regret it, not following his instincts, tomorrow when he set sail with the rest of the crew.

He pulled you towards him, and quickly grabbed your face with his free hand, pressing his lips against yours.

The spontaneous act made your mind turn blank for several seconds. And during those seconds, you weren’t aware of the fact that you’d kissed him back and were locking lips with him. Just as well, tears finally fell from your closed eyes.

It wasn’t until you became aware of everything once again, you broke the kiss, not pulling back, as the hand holding yours before the kiss was now on your waist, holding you close to him.

“I-I...Wh-why are you..”

“I don’t know” He answered leaning closer to kiss you again.

When you kissed him back once again, his chest rose with pride as his arms snaked around your body and squeezed you closer to him. Feeling his strength all around you sparked a fire in your stomach, eager to grow wilder, and prompting a soft moan from your lips, as Zoro swallowed it, feeling that same fire spreading in him.

“Ah” You gasped, breaking the kiss once again. “Did you not hear what I said?” You whispered close to his mouth, as your breath hit his mouth, making him crave another kiss

“Yes, I did. And I don’t care” He said looking you dead in the eye, the kind of eyes you see on a depredator before attacking its prey. “You caught the attention of the man who’s gonna become the greatest swordsman alive, you really are something. You’ve done something anyone has done before, I cannot let that chance slip away” He said as the words got out of his mouth without being previously thought, making him realise they came from the same place this sudden urge came from, and instead of fighting it, he decided to go along with it this time.

~

As you lied on your side, deeply asleep, Zoro gazed sleepily at your back, noticing the many scars you’d told him about last night. He hadn’t had the chance to see them, and didn’t feel the need to. But now, with your bare back facing him, he paid close attention to the burn scar in the middle, and several smaller silver scars all over your back.

With his mind still fogged with sleep, he stretched his hand and very gently caressed the scars, sending shivers all over your back. Slowly, very slowly, you became aware of his warm touch, and as you woke up, you realised he was tracing the scars.

“My town was being invaded by pirates. Several of them were throwing arrows at us…” You broke the silence, catching Zoro’s attention.

“You don’t have to tell me, babe” he purred, the husky sleepy voice doing something to you, making your body vibrate in anticipation.

“I tried protecting my brother, and got several of them in my back…” You continued ignoring what he’d just said. “And when we got back to fleeing, a single arrow got him on the neck, he died almost right away...The burn was made by Fire Fist”

“Wait, Fire Fist Ace?” His eyes now wide open with surprise as what was left of sleepiness quickly discipated like smoke in an open field. 

“I asked him to. I’d been sold as a slave shortly after my brother’s death. He came across the pirate ship that bought me, and he set me free. He didn’t want to hurt me, but I begged him to burn that horrible mark on my back…To be honest, I’m quite grateful. I rather have that scar than that horrible thing reminding me that for a while I was reduced to an object...”

“You’ve been through a lot” He purred, kissing your back and burying his face on the back of your neck.  “You’re stronger than you seem, and let me tell you, you do look like a tough girl”

“It’s the pain what’s shaped me to who I am today...back then I was miserable, but now I realise how much stronger I’ve become because of that…” The whisper somehow carressed Zoro’s ears.

“Pain isn’t that bad, is it?” Now, it was his voice carressing your ears, tickling your stomach. 

“Once you’re past it, you realise life isn’t as bad. It reminds you that you’re alive, and that you’re human, and how we only have a single chance to make the most of it…”

You could feel Zoro smile against your skin, as he proceeded to kiss your neck and shoulder, every now and then nibbling on your skin, sending shivers through your body. You slowly rolled on your back, as Zoro kept kissing your skin. Synched with your movements, he got on top of you. Feeling his weight on top of you brought back the memories from the fiery night you shared.

Zoro made his way to your lips and kissed them slowly, passionately, with the full intention of tasting your body once again, thinking how he could easily get addicted to it, and at the same time, conscious that he was going to leave in a couple of hours. And he wanted to make the most of the little time you two had left.

~~~~

Please, don’t forget to leave feedback!! It keeps me motivated! Also feel free to leave prompts! 

[sneegsnitties]

Creatures of the Light, Run From the Night Ch 3. Finality

[AO3 LINK] @tazbang​

Rating: T

Characters/Ships: blupcretia, taagnus, davenchurch, the light, the voidfish

tags: The Adventure Bang 2019, blood, transformation, alternate universe - canon divergence, character death, canon compliant, canonical character death, temporary character death, body horror, stolen century era, established relationship, we know nothing abt the light yall, angst, the light fucks everyone up? kinda, touch starved, alternate universe - creatures and monsters, other additional tags to be added, crying, slight religious themes,

Summary:The Light Of Creation has always been one of a mystery. It has the power to create, that obvious. But what else does it do? No one knows. This is what the seven birds are trying to figure out, why it’s so important to the hunger? what is the extent of its abilities? What else can it do? These questions will be answered, but not in the way that either of them were expecting. The light of creation has its reasons for doing what it did. A reason that is not quite understood. But whatever it did? It was definitely not what they signed up for. Not even close.

Chapter summary: Lup and Magnus let off some steam, Barry and Lucretia watch over Taako, and as for Taako? well it looks like hes fully embraced his fate.

Lup is exhausted, stressed and fucking pissed. The past few days she’s been trying to dig deeper into the light, further than they’ve already dug in the past 49 years they’ve been doing this. In the cycles where they’ve found the light of course. But no luck so far, she’s unable to find anything new.

She can’t fucking find anything. Not even Barry can, well not what they’ve already found out.

No matter how hard they dig deep into the inner machinations of the light, it always seems like something is preventing them from doing so.

It’s frustrating, especially now, it’s like there’s somebody out there who doesn’t want them to know. Making this a pain in the ass to figure out.

That may be a possibility but whoever the fuck is doing it will get an ass-kicking from Lup as soon as she finds out how and who.

But that can wait, sort of. Not really. It can’t wait. Because Taako is running out of time. It won’t be long until he’s fully crystalized

That little escapade he took out onto the deck of the ship the other night? It only made it spread more. All that moving around he did only made it worse for himself. It has completely devastated Magnus because now he has less time to spend with his boyfriend before his time is up.

It goes for Lup, too. Even though they’re only halfway through the cycle now, it’ll still be too long for them to wait until he’s back.

Honestly, she can’t imagine how Magnus is feeling about all of this. But Lup? She hates it. A lot. The elf wanders the ships as she tries to cool down from the frustration she feels at the moment. She could just scream at the top of her lungs on the deck of the ship or beat up some of Mangus’s training dummies. Or set some random shit on fire.

Anything to get her mind off of this.

“Lup?” she hears Magnus say, pulling her out of her thoughts. Speak of the devil. “Want- want to go for a walk or something?” he asks sheepishly. Lup is quick to notice that he looks so, so tired.

“Yeah.” she smiles, “I think a walk would be good for both of us.”

Magnus returns that smile. But it doesn’t reach his eyes like his signature smiles usually do. But in this situation? It’s understandable.

“How… how are you doing with all of this?” she asks, though she can already guess the answer.

“I don’t- I don’t know. It’s just so fucking bad Lup.” the fighter says, focused on the ground in front of him. His fists clenched as he holds back tears that threatened to fall.

Gods. it’s just so easy to forget that Magnus was just a kid, barely even an adult, when the mission first started. So was Lucretia. This isn’t anything anyone should go through.

“He was in so much pain when he woke up again, I just couldn’t handle it.”

Lup winces, “where’s it spread to now?”

“Half of his face, most of his chest, left arm,” he pauses, “just basically his entire left side now.”

The elven woman nods with a frown on her face, “I’m not finding anything new with The Light either. No matter how hard I try? There’s always something preventing me, somehow, from going deeper.”

Magnus gives her a confused look, “what do you mean? This is like some magical bullshit right?”

“I mean probably?” she shrugs. “But fantasy Jesus Christ, it’s so fucking frustrating!”

“Everything about this is, in a way. I just want him to be fine and back to normal.” he sniffs, “did it feel this bad when he caught that plague back in 14?” a tear glistens in his eye when he turns to look at her.

“I-I don’t know, I’d say this feels worse, so much worse.” she rubbed his shoulder in an attempt of reassurance, but finds herself tearing up too. “Because that time? I didn’t have to see him suffer for very long?” Lup holds back a sob.

Magnus nods, now tears are streaming down his face. “We’ll- we’ll get through this,” he says with the most sincere voice he can muster.

“Don’t we always?” she says with a watery laugh.

“The best we can.”

Lup looks away and up towards the sky through her tears. The sun has begun to set, bathing the sky in a beautiful pinkish purple. It reminds her of home. The sunsets were amazingly beautiful back home, but these are enough to rival. “I guess… this walk wasn’t as relaxing as you would have hoped?”

“No, not exactly.” he chuckles slightly, “but it got us away from the ship.” he wipes his nose with his sleeve.

The duo walk more in silence, enjoying the silence and scenery. Soon, they reach a clearing with a lake. The sunset reflects off of the still waters and luckily, there isn’t anyone around. It’s a good distance from the ship. So she lets out a scream, accidentally startling Magnus next to her who grins and follows her example.

They take turns screaming a few more times before heading back to the ship, seeing as the sun has gotten lower in the sky and it will be night soon. She hopes that their screaming didn’t raise any alarms from any nearby villages from all of their yelling.

“I should take Lucretia and Barry to that lake,” she hums, “Luce would love it.”

“She would,” Magnus says with a small smile. ~ It hasn’t been long since Taako had woken back up again after he was put under another sleep spell, waking up from this one isn’t as painful as the last time. Lup and Magnus have returned from their walk to blow off steam in the training room. Leaving Lucretia and Barry to watch over Taako.

Not that he minds or anything, he gets to spend time with one of his girlfriends. One he hasn’t had the opportunity to have enough alone time with. If you could call this alone time.

But Lucretia has been writing furiously in her journal about all the events that have transpired the past few days, even with one hand.

Moving to another page, she begins to sketch the mostly crystallized form of Taako. He’s impressed. He wishes he could draw that good.

Taako lets out a pained noise, breaking the silence that was hanging in the room. Making Lucretia look up with a look of concern.

He’s getting closer and closer to being fully crystallized now. Even with the process slowed significantly with him being restricted to his bed. Not like he has a choice in the matter.

The human woman gives him a look of concern, “won’t be long now.” she whispers and chews on her bottom lip.

“Y-yeah,” he whispers back, wrapping an arm around her waist, “should- should we call the others?”

“I think we still have time, too early to tell how long it will take exactly.”

“Love that you two lovebirds are talking about me like I’m not even here.” the elf speaks up through a pained voice, “really, how insensitive can you be?” he jokes.

“Sorry Taako, would… would you like to see my drawing?” she asks, almost hesitantly

“Hell yeah, show me.” he says with a smile, or the best smile he can do, “oh wow, that’s me ain’t it?” Taako goes silent. Barry realizes that Taako hasn’t looked at himself in a mirror in a while and doesn’t know what he looks like.

“Yeah, I shouldn’t have shown it to you, I’m sorry.” she shrinks into herself slightly.

“No, Creesh it was super good, I liked it,” he reassures sincerely.

“Yeah, it’s good,” Barry confirms and kisses the side of her head.

Lucretia smiles sheepishly, then continues working on her sketch.

The room falls silent again before Taako speaks up again, “do- do you guys know what kind of gemstone slash crystal is covering me?”

“Nope, not a clue.” he shrugs, “that might be a question for Merle.”

“I mean, definitely amethyst, right? Not opaque enough.” the chronicler supplies, not looking up from her drawing, “there are also streaks of various shades of purple in it too.”

“Well, what other types of gems are purple?” the elf asks.

“I can’t think of many off the top of my head.”

Taako then makes a pained noise again as the crystal spreads further down his leg and completely covers it. Now only a portion of his torso is uncovered and the rest of his face.

“Might be spreading faster than we thought,” he whispers to Lucretia again but disguises it as another kiss to her head.

She nods, jots something down in her journal, faster than Barry can process, then turns the page to a clean one and writes something else. She shows him the page which says ‘could be moving faster because talking could equal movement. Should call in the others when its spread over his torso.’

“So soon?” he asks in the most hushed whisper he can manage. “How long do you think he has now?”

She nods and scribbles something else down before presenting it to him again, ‘I don’t know. I hope he lasts through the night.’

The blue-jean clad man exhales sharply. Taako is approaching his end of the cycle rather quickly. But hopefully? Hopefully, he lasts until tomorrow. He has a feeling that Lucretia feels the same way. ~ It did, it held off, allowing Taako to make it through the night.

Last night felt excruciatingly long for Magnus. He could not stay asleep because he was worried about his boyfriend. The thoughts kept on swimming in his brain, making him toss and turn. Needless to say, he had gotten little to no sleep that night. Thoughts on when Taako was going to die.

That time was now, the moment the whole crew was dreading.

Taako almost fully crystallizing.

His torso was covered entirely by the time Merle had come and checked on him that morning.

It was hard not to hear the panic written within the cleric’s voice as he announced over the intercom as the rest of the crew was eating breakfast.

The crystal had - albeit conveniently - only left a portion of Taako’s face uncovered by the time that everyone had filtered into the elf’s room

“I managed to calm him down with calm emotions, so that’s why he’s unnaturally calm,” Merle explains, giving the fighter a look of sympathy.

Magnus ignores the look the dwarf gave him and immediately moves to his boyfriend’s side, “Taako?” he whispers and feels a hand on his shoulder and immediately knows its Lup without even looking.

“Hey babe,” Taako says through a strained voice and a half-smile, “I guess it’s time, huh?”

The fighter nods, tears are already streaming down his face. He doesn’t want to lose his boyfriend this cycle. It isn’t fair.

“Hey, don’t cry over me.” he says reassuringly, “I won’t be gone long, just a couple months. That goes for you too, lulu, don’t cry over me, okay?”

Lup lets out a sob, but nods as the crystal spreads over his remaining eye.

“I- I love you Taako,” Magnus says through his tears

“Love you too, big guy,” the elf smiles, “how about one last kiss for me?” the crystal spreads over his remaining eye completely and he smiles.

The fighter leans down and kisses his boyfriend for the last time this cycle. It takes some effort considering the crystal covering a good majority of his mouth.

“Taako, I-I don’t know why we don’t say this more and only in situations like this but, I love you.” she lets out another sob, “promise me we will? I can’t- fuck!” she buries her face into Barry’s shoulder.

“I promise.” the crystal grows slightly.

Now everyone in the room is crying. Surely, this is one of the worst deaths that has happened on this ship and in this damned journey. With how slow, yet so fast it had taken.

“And Lup?” he barely hears his boyfriend over his tears.

She makes a noise of acknowledgment, looking up from her boyfriend’s shoulder.

“Love you too.” and with that, the crystal finally spreads over the rest of his mouth.

The room goes silent, just for a moment, then Lup breaks down into tears again. Barry acts quickly and ushers her out of the room, his glasses clutched in his hand, not to get the tear stains on them, Lucretia follows closely behind them.

Magnus doesn’t move from his spot, he… he can’t bring himself to.

“Kid?” Merle comes over to place a hand on the fighter’s leg, his worn copy of the bible of Pan is in the other. Right, they have to do that prayer thing. None of them are all that religious aside from Merle, but it’s become a sort of a tradition whenever someone dies. “Would you like to do the honors?”

Davenport appears on his other side and the gnome takes the much larger hand of Magnus into his own.

The cleric directs him to the right page, he’s heard this same prayer many times before. He takes a deep breath and begins to recite. “Dearly beloved, we are here in honor of pan, who we are praying to today.” he wipes a tear away from his face before he continues.

~

“I love you too.” Taako says as the crystal covers his mouth completely and the dark purple world goes black.

‘This will only take a moment’ The Light says somewhere deep within his mind. ‘I just need to connect your new body to your mind.’  

[chuusappleheart-blog]

danger just like parallel lines(m)- 1

Summary: A very lucky girl has to battle her interest for three beautiful Korean men, of which only one is her boyfriend. She also struggles to forget her dark past, which won’t let her love safely.

Pairing: Yoongi/Reader , Jungkook/Reader , Taehyung/Reader (I’m going with the flow and have not made up my mind who is main boy)

Genre: Angst, Fluff, Smut

Word Count: 2,103

Warnings: Subtle mentions of anxiety and depression as well as domestic violence in future. Also a semi emotionally abusive relationship. 

A/N: This is my first fanfiction ever, please be nice :) let me know if you liked it, also if you have any suggestions. Enjoy!

I was hunched over at the doorway, staring at my shadow that stretched into the dark room from the light of the hallway. I didn’t know whether to let him know I was there or to leave, we hadn’t spoken all day. I understood. Yoongi’s job was so stressful and the deadlines were forever crowding out the rest of his life. He looked so beautiful hard at work. I could only see the back of his head, his bleached, white hair completely disheveled from having brushed his hand through it. The quiet drone of the tapping at his computer was suddenly interrupted by a tiny, high-pitched squeak which escaped the back of my throat. Damn it, why do I always hold my breath when I’m nervous? 

The office chair swirled around and I was faced with those gorgeous dark eyes that I loved so much. “Hey,” Yoongi smirked but I could tell from the raspiness in his voice how tired he was. 

“H-hi Yoongi!” I stammered. Eew, that was gross. I coughed a bit to clear my throat and calm down. “How’s the new track?” 

“Fine. School?” I cringed a little at the coldness in his tone, at how obviously he didn’t care. Nevertheless, I charged forward in my miserable attempt to hold up a proper conversation. 

“It was pretty good. But I think my Calculus professor hates me, I never come on time!” I laughed. I hoped it would cause him to smile, at least a little. Seeing his eyes crinkled (sort of), I stepped into his studio and debated whether to sit down or stay standing. It was a little shocking when he patted his seat, moving back so I could fit. I could barely hide my excitement as my back moulded into his chest and his thighs pressed against me. His arms wrapped around to continue working on his demo, but it almost felt like a hug. 

Him welcoming my closeness must have gone to my head and caused me to stop thinking straight because I shifted so my nose was laying against his collar bone. I instantly felt Yoongi stiffen up, but he kept typing away, perhaps a little more aggressively. The wide collar of his shirt exposed his skin, it was so cold and white. It was making me excited just to be this close to him. I began to breathe heavily and before long I stretched upwards to kiss his neck just below his ear. My legs spread apart and pushed back against his as my hand reached down and stroked his lean abdomen. I was so worked up that I didn’t notice Yoongi had gone still and silent, 

“Y/n...” his voice broke the silence and his hand gripped my wrist. I froze. He sounded exhausted, and I suppose that made sense. I pulled away a little and looked up at him, hiding behind the hair falling over my face. “I’d really rather we didn’t do this right now. Go to bed, you’ve got to get up early tomorrow.”

My entire face was red, I was so ashamed. Luckily it was dark in there. I wanted to scream but instead I whispered, “Sorry.” I shuffled off his chair and back out of the room. I stopped at the door again and turned back, “You’re tired too, are you coming to bed?” I was practically begging at this point. 

“I need to finish this. I’ll come later.” He lied, and I knew it, and he knew it but I just nodded and said goodnight. 

I curled up on one side of our double bed with my arm stretched out where Yoongi used to sleep. He hadn’t slept in our bed for a couple weeks now. I often found him still in his chair but other days he wouldn’t even be there in the morning. It had been so sudden, I never would’ve thought that he could get like this. Ever since I met him I knew he wasn’t the best at expressing his emotions, but this was beyond that. 

We hadn’t been affectionate in so long. I missed how his calluses from basketball felt when we held hands. I missed the smell of his hair, his shampoo but also minty for some reason. I missed how he kissed me when he was romantic, slow and patient. I missed how he got when he was passionate, pressing me against the wall so he was in full control. I missed talking to him about everything and anything, he used to make me laugh so hard with his sarcasm and give me the best advice if I was having trouble.

How had things gotten like this? Was it my fault? Where had I gone wrong? It had to be my fault, all the people I had ever loved in my life ended up hating me. I had no one else, I left my home town to be with Yoongi. He was my everything. My cheeks were damp from crying but I couldn’t make any noise, it would be so humiliating for him to know how upset I was. Yoongi had told me about his past struggles. I knew that he got overwhelmed by people’s expectations, that he hated to be surrounded by people. Had I stuffed up? Did I push him into a dark space? It took me hours to finally get some shut-eye. Yoongi did not come to bed. 

Jungkook had thought you were pretty from the moment he saw you. Your hair, the way your jeans hugged your thighs and the almost musical sound of your laugh. He wished he could be one of your friends that made you laugh like that, he wanted to be the reason your smile lit up the whole room. Not only that but you were smart, too. Jungkook knew because he heard you complaining to your friends that you found Accounting boring and easy. You were definitely near the top of the class. Meanwhile he was struggling just to pass. 

In fact, yesterday his Accounting Professor had called Jungkook in to discuss his grades. From the way things had been going, Jungkook knew it couldn’t be too good. He was correct. Turns out he was two more grades below 40% from failing the entire semester. His Professor had told him to either repeat the class or get a tutor. As if Jungkook was able to pay for the semester again. These thoughts plagued his mind as Jungkook shoved his way through the busy campus towards the lecture hall. 

The first thing he saw was you at your usually spot three rows from the back. You were chewing on the string from your hoodie and looking out the window, deep in thought. You actually looked pretty stressed out. But shit, you were hot. Jungkook couldn’t keep his eyes from you as he walked up to his seat in the back row. He walked past you and felt his face heating up as you sort of glanced his way. How was he meant to focus?

Most of the lecture passed in a blur, Jungkook either snickering with his friend Jimin, staring at your back, doodling in his book or actually trying to take notes of what the Professor was saying. The later didn’t happen very much. Class was about to end, Jungkook wasn’t paying even the slightest bit of attention, when the Professor said, 

“As we’ve already recapped FE, VE, AE, and OE Expenses must be included in our Invoice Statements for the month they were incurred, not paid. Jungkook!” Jungkook’s head shot up from his sketch. “Could you please remind us what those four expenses are?”

Crap. He was screwed. Most of the class didn’t care anymore after being lectured at for two hours, but there were at least ten people who had turned around in their seats to stare at him. Jungkook almost died when he saw that you were one of those eyes locked on him. The two of you were making eye contact for the first time. Jungkook’s heart rate doubled and he couldn’t tear his eyes away from yours. Your eyebrows were furrowed and there was a small frown on your face. You glanced back at the professor quickly before looking back at Jungkook and nodding reasuringly. Jungkook couldn’t believe this was happening. 

“Jungkook, we’ve got to wrap this up in a couple minutes...”, The Professor urged impatiently. 

Jungkook almost chocked when you started to mouth the answer to him. Jungkook blindly said what you signed to him, he would have done anything you told him at that moment, your eyes were hypnotic. 

“Fixed, variable, accrued and operation expenses.” 

“Uh... yes, that’s correct.” The Professor stammered in obvious surprise. He took a moment and then concluded the lecture. He must have truly been shocked because the lecture actually ended on time, unlike every other day. Jungkook barely noticed, he was still thinking about how you had smiled at him when he answered before turning back around to face the front. This had gotten too much for him to handle, he had to talk to you.

“Earth to Jungkook,” Jimin waved a hand in front of Jungkook’s face. Jungkook shook his head and looked around to see that almost everyone had left the hall. You hadn’t though. You always took ages to pack up your things. “Is something wrong dude?”

“No, everything’s cool.” Jungkook said quietly, hurrying to pick up his things to catch up with you. He didn’t know what he was going to say yet, he just knew he had to talk to you.

“Y/n totally saved your butt, I saw that.” Jimin laughed, shoving Jungkook. Jimin knew about Jungkook’s massive crush on you, hence the teasing. 

“Yeah, yeah I know.” Jungkook murmured as he started to speed walk down the stairs. You were leaving now.

“Hey! What’s the rush?” Jimin yelled after him.

“I’m gonna go thank her!” Jungkook shouted back without thinking that you would probably hear it. 

“Seriously?” Jimin laughed, “Alright, good luck!”

Jungkook gave Jimin a quick thumbs up before rushing to meet up with you. His much longer legs allowed him to cover the distance much faster than you had. You were just heading out when Jungkook slammed his hand against the door. You looked at him with wide eyes, the noise had scared you. Cute. 

“Hey y/n! Thanks for helping me out back there!” Jungkook puffed out and internally cursed himself for how hard he was breathing. Relax, she’s just a pretty girl like all the other pretty girls he had talked to in his life. Only it didn’t feel that way to him.

“You’re welcome,” you smiled. “But don’t expect me to do it again.” Jungkook’s eyebrows shot up at your sudden change in tone as you quickly turned around and began to walk away. No way, he hadn’t worked up this much courage for no reason. He quickly walked with you. 

“Right, of course not! Um, my name’s Jungkook by the way.”

“I know, we’ve had Accounting together for a couple weeks now.” You raised an eyebrow at him. Why was he being so stupid?

“True,” Jungkook chuckled nervously. “Listen, you can probably tell, but I’m really struggling in Accounting. If it wasn’t too much trouble, I was hoping you’d consider tutoring me?”

“For real?” You asked, clearly surprised. You didn’t seem judgemental, just genuinely surprised so Jungkook nodded quickly. “Listen, I would but I don’t have time, I’m super busy. Sorry.” You started to hurry away and without realising what he was doing, Jungkook reached out and grabbed you arm.

“I’m literally failing,” Jungkook whispered. 

Even though he was desperate to spend time with you, at that moment he was completely sincere. He really needed this. He couldn’t finish the semester as the stupid, popular, drop-kick who got by on his good looks and mediocre design skills. It must have shown, because you stopped walking and bit your lip, looking around as if trying to find the correct choice somewhere.

 “I’ll pay you well, I promise. $50 an hour.” Jungkook said quickly and saw your eyes open wide in obvious interest. “Plus, I’ll take you as my plus one to Kim Taehyung’s party this Friday to sweeten the deal. You know Taeyhyung, right? He’s that guy who hosts- ”

“Yes. I know who Taehyung is.” You said much too quickly and eagerly. Jungkook noticed the way you had lit up at the mention of the older boy but forced himself to ignore it.

“So... what do you say?” 

“Deal. My place, tomorrow night, 5pm.”

A/N:I’m super excited to post this, I hope it was alright. Happy to take recommendations for other fan fictions a as well, I stan a lot of other groups and have other interests so hit me up! I’ll try to update regularly. Thanks for the support! <3

[chezzkaa]

Numb pt 5

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Lumberjack AU Pairing: Ryan Haywood x Reader WC: 3200+ Warnings: graphic depictions of violence

Your bag hits the floor with a loud thud, but it’s nothing in comparison to the beat your heart sings too. You’d hoped it would quieten once Ryan wasn’t around, but the sound that rushed through your chest had followed you home. Up the snow banks and stairs, and through the lodge until it stands in front of you. Granting it your attention, it sings for a few more minutes before eventually fading with the nervous smile you put out of your mind. Absent fingers dive into your pocket, pulling out two small, smooth and dark stones, passing them across one another in your hand. Flashes of the gold inscribed against their surface sees you calming, tight giddiness in the centre of your chest relaxing. It doesn’t dim the smile, but it’s enough to think straight.

Then your phone is pressed to your ear, waiting for the distant rings while you continue to fold the stones. Your best friend’s voice greets you after the click, making your heart leap and the smile on your lips widen into a grin.

“Hey Y/N, what’s up?”

You try and sound as flippant as possible, suppressing the excited stretch of your lips. “Oh, hey Lauren, how’s life-”

She cuts you off, familiar with the tone and willing to take none of your teasing. “What’s his name?”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me, Y/N. What’s his name?”

“How rude,” you hedge through a smile, “my energies are struggling in this new environment and my stones need charging, and you think I’m all foggy because of some-”

“Shut up, Y/N. I know damn well that your energies are fucked, I can feel it all the way from here. Stick your fucking stones in the moonlight, damn it. But don’t you dare try and get out of this. What’s the fuck’s name?”

“Ryan,” you cave, the eager blip fluttering in your chest seeing you glare at the stones, abandoning them on the windowsill in the hopes bathing in the moon will help. “Stupid fucking things, I swear ever since I’ve moved they’ve been acting up. I tried using them the other morning, right? And nothing, absolutely nothing. They’re not even touching the weird fuzzy whatever-the-fuck thing is going on and making me feel kinda out of it. But oh my god dude, he’s amazing. His eyes are so fucking blue, Loz, and oh my god his fucking smile!”

“Spill, spill! So help me, Y/N, if I don’t get every juicy detail I’m gonna fly to those mountains and-”

But you don’t give her to opportunity to finish, pouring your heart into the phone line, agonising over every description, every flirtatious smile, and every heart skipping laugh. “His puns are fucking terrible.”

“Marry him,” she demands, “marry him right now.”

“I’ll make sure to propose as soon as I get to work tomorrow.”

“Wait, he’s your coworker?”

“Lauren,” you fold the words over slowly, feeling her excitement vibrate against your cheek, “he’s practically my boss.”

“YOUR BOSS?! Fuck, Y/N.”

“I know!” you throw yourself sideways, splaying across the couch and grinning at the ceiling. “Trust me, I know. But hey, enough about me. My face is gonna fucking split if I keep thinking about it. Speaking of bosses, how are things with you? How’s Trevor?”

It’s her turn to gush, voice quickening with her enthusiasm. “Dude. DUDE. Cus of you guys moving and shit he decided to take me out. We got all dressed up, and I mean dressed up. Heels, black lipstick - I looked like I might kill a bitch. And bitch, I might. But he picks me up and we’re driving, right? And he pulls into a burger joint. My favourite burger joint. So we’re sat there in this grease filled room surrounded by people in pj’s while I’m in this fucking expensive dress and he’s in this hot as fuck tux and bow tie, and Y/N?”

“Don’t tell me,” you giggle, “you fucking loved it, right?”

“I FUCKING LOVED IT.”

---

It takes a while for you to start moving, slumping off the couch and to your knees. Shuffling towards the fireplace, it's as simple as lighting a match; last night's set up of tinder and newspaper catching almost instantly. Lost in the hypnotic flames and the comfort your best friend is always able to provide without even trying, the room is engulfed in amber; warmth wrapping its arms around you as you wander to the kitchen, flick on the kettle, and get a cup ready. Scrounging up what the herbal ingredients you’ve stashed inside the island counter, you’re careful when measuring out quantities, muttering under your breath before starting your tea. A few quick stirs and deep inhales levels you, the feeling of the floor far more solid beneath your feet.

It's only once you draw your bag closer that you stop, tea pressed to your lips and fingers coming across something smooth.

Drawing the folder out of your bag, you stare at the file. It’s worryingly large. Jam packed with stapled sheets and post it notes, paper clips so heavy the top threatens to fold under the weight. Turning it over in your hands, you come to face the case printed on the front before you drop it like you’ve been stung. Your palm burns, recoiling away as the energy that’d started to smoulder diminishes. Still, the title glares from the floor, demanding your attention as it screams.

Case no. 30574208 Head in Charge: Det. Insp. J. Dooley Lumberjack of Motbury Active: 2016 -

It’s not the whole file - but it doesn’t have to be; because you can already see the first name poking from beneath the discoloured card. Can already see the smallest section of a lime green coat littered with tiny frogs, caught in the corner frame of a photograph. Can already feel a painful sting encasing your neck uncomfortably. A sharp pain that shoots through the centre of the back of your skull, harsh and demanding.

You’re on your feet in an instant, circling it as though it’s going to lash out with quick, erratic steps. But it doesn’t. It stays deathly still, like the bodies you’re sure remain buried within it. Just photos, sketches blotched with trauma and cross hatched with wounds while the real things rot in the morgue.

As quickly as you were moving you’re stopping again, cold despite the heat that leaves you suddenly sweltering, skin slick with sweat beneath the numerous layers plastered to your body.

You know what will happen when you pick it up again. It’s going to consume you, you think reproachfully, discarding the offending fabric that has you struggling to breathe, shedding and strewing it across the living room. It’s going to destroy you, just like last time. And just like last time, you won’t be able to help them.

You’d realised what being a detective meant a long time ago, and you’ll never forget. Never be able to ignore the fact that for you to do your job, people had to die. Names had to stack up so you could find the pattern, so you could ram their faces beneath the suspect and hope for some crack in their facade. Hope that one would die covered in stains, or with fingernails chock full of DNA. And when you’d come to rely on a tiny body still clinging to the crime that had seen it taken too soon, you’d been sick. So violently that you’d shaken for weeks. So violently that everything you ate came back up, so you just stopped eating.

And you could feel it. Feel every sharp wound and tattered bullet hole, limbs so restless that you’d wanted to scream.

Never again, you’d sworn, never fucking again would you pray that the next body would be more broken than the last for the benefit of another. You don’t care if one death could save the many. It didn’t fucking matter if that tiny, tiny person held the key to stopping the next body arriving on the coroner’s doorstep; because a life had still been lost. You’d hoped for it, you’d felt it, because it’s what you needed to do your job.

A shock of pain shoots through your scalp as your hand swipes through your hair, the old habits of stress already seeing you pull too hard. Gingerly withdrawing your hand, the clump of hair caught between your fingers is enough to spur you forward. Snatching the file from the floor you toss it on the counter, completely intent on storming into the station and ramming it down Dooley’s throat.

But you stop as it falls open, the photo staring at the ceiling far too familiar to ignore. You approach it as though it’s explosive, peering at the treeline you see outside your window every morning, covered in red markings and arrows. Taking it in your hand, you flip the photo over and read the notes jotted on the back with a falling stomach and burning palm.

17/04/2018

Body, male 10 yo (no. 6). Found 500 meters past tree line. Footprints entering. None leaving. Within vicinity of victim 3 and 5. Wounds consistent. Small incision at base of neck. Lacerations.  

You recognise the handwriting. Jeremy’s scrawl had always been all over your notes, and the later he’d stayed at the office, the worse it had gotten. The curves of his ‘g’s and ‘y’s are clumsy, ink smudging as he’s forced his numb, tired fingers to write down another death. Number 6. And now you have to look, have to see the body that’d reduced him to such sloppy functionality. The body found just beyond your treeline only a week before you’d moved in.

It’s the lime green coat again, tiny frogs leaping across the thick, puffed fabric donned by a smiling little boy. Mousey blonde hair sticks out at every angle, but he doesn’t seem to care, brown eyes wrinkling in delight while he laughs. You don’t want to look at the picture behind it, but you do. Taking in the tiny body curled in the snow, knees tucked into his chest. If he wasn’t wearing the coat, you wouldn’t be able to tell it’s the small boy from before. Tom, you tell yourself. Number 6. Tom.

You’ve seen a lot in your professional career, seen more vile, disturbing acts of violence than many can even dream of existing. Felt them prickle across your skin and scratch in your veins, itchy and raw. But this was more perplexing than it was nauseating, but it’s more certainly both of those things. Because rather than a beaten face covered in blonde and bloodied hair, there’s simply nothing at all.

The neck just… stops.

The wound is there, granted. But it isn’t messy. Blood and gore doesn’t coat the snow, nor does it soil the jacket. But it’s not a clean cut, either. Tattered around the edges, curling, bruised and blackened. Sagging.

And they’re all the same. As you search through the file’s contents you can’t find a single child with a head. Every body found in the same position, curled up as though they were sleeping. Found in the woods directly surrounding your home.

No wonder this place was so cheap to buy.

Curiosity burns intense over your concern, sitting heavily on one of the stools surrounding the island and shifting through the papers. The more you try to understand, the more confusing the case becomes. No matter how many times you fold it over in your head, you can’t comprehend the information you’re taking in. Only able to feel the pinch at the base of your skull, and a terrifying calm that numbs your chest and makes it harder to breathe.

And honestly it sounds more like an urban legend to scare children into behaving, or scare parents into disciplinary action. Because it just doesn’t make sense.

At first, it seems, the police force was inundated with complaints. Petrified townsfolk calling in as a snow storm rages through the night, the sound of knocking hammering against their doors. None dared answer. A group of kids messing around, you assume. And you notice that Jeremy had thought the same. Or perhaps a lost traveller caught in the harsh weather and seeking help. But there were no one there in the morning. Porches untouched by the snow but tattered by something, deep grooves tracing the frames of the entrance with vicious brutality. Camera’s cut out and sensory lights left undisturbed.

And then the trail of death started. Livestock, in the beginning. Bloody, brutal maulings that eventually left sheep with lolling necks and a glaringly absent skull - as though the bone has been sucked from the skin. But what bothers you isn’t the carnage, nor the senseless violence that has an animal killed and unused.

It’s the damage, the aggression once the creature was obviously dead. You can see it; can feel just how frenzied it all was. It’s not the first time, either. Every case you’ve witnessed like this leaves you with only one thought. Passionate, you’d argue. Angry. But the closer the timeline gets to the current date, the cleaner the kills become. Until they stop all together.

And the kids start disappearing.

The first one was just as messy as the livestock. Beaten and bloody, a pile of skin the only remnants of a face. But eventually, even that too disappeared. Like whoever it was, was getting better. Getting into the rhythm.

Your stomach twists, staring down at the file you’ve scattered across your counter.

It’s going to consume you, a small, defeated voice whispers in your head while you collect the pages, taking them to the scanner and copying the file before arranging it back the way you’d found it. It’s going to destroy you, just like last time. And just like last time, you won’t be able to help them.

You head for the car once you’re done, not bothering to wrap up against the cold.

---

The station isn’t fancy, barely recognisable as a place of authority when nestled between the other buildings. But regular shop fronts don’t normally have this many patrol vehicles lined up out front. 2, you correct while your foot meets the curb, only 2 cars. The late night doesn’t both you, and neither does the sterile atmosphere you step into. It’s a small space that offers a short line of chairs before the room is cut off by a reception desk, sliding glass protector open wide. Behind the divide you can see what you assume to be the staff room dotted with couches, and offices and files on the opposite side.

The door shuts gentle behind you, and with it’s quiet click you can hear the frustrated voices approaching the room. You don’t wait for them to arrive and beckon you forward, already moving to the reception and leaning against the ledger.

“I’m serious, Michael,” comes Jeremy’s exasperation through the walls, “I swear I just fucking had the damn thing.”

“Obviously not, asshole,” replies Michael smugly, “otherwise we wouldn’t be turning the station upside down.”

“I don’t get it. I had it at Jon’s, had it when I got into the car…”

“So you must’ve lost it on the way in this morning.”

“But I didn’t do anything else with it!” cries Jeremy, finally rounding the corner with his head hung in defeat.

“You must’ve,” insists Michael, coming into the room moment’s behind him. “If the boss finds out, he’ll be pissed.”

“I am the boss,” Jeremy groans into his hands, oblivious to your presence.

Michael, however notices you, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. “What do you want?”

You go to respond, but Jeremy interjects. “The damn case file before my fucking head explodes.”

“Not you, idiot,” laughs Michael, nudging his superior’s hands from his face and motioning to you. “You’re lover.”

“Gross.” Your nose wrinkles distastefully, as does Jeremy’s when he finally spots you. It doesn’t take long for him to beam, despite the teasing. “Never in a million years.”

“I’m way out of your league,” he insists around a comedic frown, “I’m arguably too good to be talking to you. But I will, because it’s weird seeing you back in a police station and I’m concerned.”

It’s your turn to laugh. “Don’t get used to it. I just wanted to return something I picked up by accident earlier today.”

“If you pull out this missing file I swear Jeremy is gonna fucking come.”

Jeremy’s expression agrees with Michael’s off-hand joke, the file you pull out of your bag seeing him light up. “Oh thank fuck! I thought I’d lost it, I was about to fire myself!” He takes it eagerly, holding it to his chest with a sigh of relief.

“Don’t leave your shit lying around next time,” you scold, “especially something as important and weird as that.”

He’s nodding until he realises the insinuation of what you’ve just said. Even Michael turns to you, the pair studying you critically. “How would you know it was weird?”

You shrug, seeing no harm in answering Michael’s question honestly. “You think I wasn’t going to look at it?”

“You said you’d never look at another case,” says Jeremy slowly, concern and excitement creating a strange, bubbling concoction in his chest.

“I didn’t really have a choice,” you admit ruefully, rubbing the back of your neck. “But it looks like you’ve got a serious problem to deal with. They all look… very angry.”

“Angry?” His brows furrow, casting Michael a quick glance before snatching a pad and jotting the word down. “What do you mean by angry?”

Instead of answering his question you pose your own. “What do you think it is?”

“A wild animal attack, mostly.” Michael grimaces as the words leave his lips, seemingly upset that they have nothing else to go off.

But you’re shaking your head, dismissing the thought. “No way this is an animal.”

“I’m sorry,” he says, more out of curiosity than ill intent, “but who the fuck are you, exactly?”

“Shit,” mutters Jeremy, jumping in before you can introduce yourself. He holds out a hand to you with a broad, proud beam. “This is Detective Inspector Y/N of the L.D. FBI squad. We used to work together, she was my boss.”

“My god.. You’re legendary around here.” Michael’s eyes are wide as he offers out a hand for you to shake, his grip firm and eager. “I didn’t realise you and the woman Jeremy’s been raving about were the same person. I thought you retired?”

“I am retired,” you say flatly. “What’s he been saying about me?”

“Nice things!” interjects Jeremy rather quickly, his hand covering Michael’s face to shut him up. He struggles, grunting and pulling away with a yelp. But Jeremy pays the complaints no more mind, now looking at you intently. “Does this mean you’re going to join the team as an external source?”

“No, I’m sorry Jeremy.”

His face falls. “No no, I get it. I appreciate you bringing it back. I owe you one.”

“I’m glad to hear you say that.” He eyes you up suspiciously, not trusting the smile crawling across your face. “Actually, I know exactly how you can pay me back.”

[askmeforafic]

Cafe Cabana

It started on a sunny day in a small coffee shop in the middle of Miami when Tony took over a table to try and get his life in order after Pepper had left. They had had an argument, he couldn’t remember what about or if she had quit or he had fired her this time, but she wasn’t here and his life needed some god-damned order while she wasn’t. So he was attempting this while mainlining coffee from the cafe that he was tipping the waitress well to keep refilling while not paying any attention to the phone calls he was making or the volume of them. If you asked Tony at any point this was when he would tell you it had started, on a day where he was stressed, tired and behind on his work as usual and did not need this bullshit.

In actuality it started about a year and a half before that fateful day in June 2001, it started when a Russian scientist fucked up and caused a very expensive bit of equipment to topple over. Normally this would have just made his superior officers rip him a new one and his paycheck to go down significantly. Due to Private Orlov’s luck this was not all that happened, the equipment falling caused a crack in the ice below the surface which made it unsafe to continue their work. After all the numerous drills they had at ass o'clock in the morning the base was evacuated within an hour and they didn’t get to see the full extent of the crack. 

                                                           ————————————–

January 2000

Steve awoke when he felt the Valkyrie shift, he forced his eyes to open to take stock of the situation. His first response was to move, to hit, swing the shield and escape but he knew he needed to know what was happening before he done that because the last thing he remembered was saying goodbye to Peggy knowing he was going to die. He saw the ice and had to fight the urge to panic, he would need to keep his energy and his head if he was going to get out. The ice seemed to have formed a crust which was allowing him to breathe for the moment but it wouldn’t last, he needed a plan. 

He shifted his weight, glad to see everything was still responding and that he could move slightly. Good, that meant he could use the shield to break the ice if he could get enough power behind it. Once the ice broke however it would let in the water and he would loose his oxygen, he wouldn’t have enough to get to out the plane and make it to the surface. He closed his eyes again remembering the layout of the plane, the cockpit he was in, the stairs, the hanger bay with the bombs.

The hanger bay would have oxygen masks! The pilots had them, he would just need to get to the hanger bay and grab one. Once he had that he could leave the plane and swim to the surface, sure he would need to figure out how to carry one and the shield while he had barely any strength but he could do it. He needed to do it.

His mind made up he shifted his weight again and forced himself into the ice in front of him which didn’t move. He leaned  back and tried again forcing himself forward harder causing it to creek. Bending his knees he tried once more with force and saw a crack start to form, he done this again in quick succession watching as the crack grew bigger. Taking a deep breath and praying to whoever was listening he hit the ice with as much force as he could.

Battling against the flood of water he swam towards the stairs, forcing his eyes to stay open and remember whatever the water tried to do to his eyes would be fixed by the serum once he was on dry land and had food. He dived down the stairs using the rails to help him and spotted the canisters of oxygen. Barely able to hold in a sigh of relief he forced himself to be faster feeling an ache in his lungs until finally the mask was over his face and he was able to breathe.

He took a moment to calm himself feeling the shaking in his hands slow down he then took stock of what was left in the plane. Off to his left he could see the bombers and to his right equipment. He swam towards the equipment to see what he could savage, he noticed a jumpsuit, quickly peeling off the uniform he changed into it. Making sure there was no indication of who the jumpsuit belonged to he quickly looked for something he could store his uniform in.

After finding some sort of canvas bag that he was able to store his uniform and shield in he swam towards the exit with his canister. He swam upwards for what felt like hours but could only have been minutes he reached the ice. Noticing a crack near the cockpit he slammed the bottom of the canister into it. He done this until he felt the ice give way and he was able to push the canister through the hole in the ice and on to land. Fighting for grip he forced himself out of the water and fell on to his back on top of the ice. He was safe for the moment but he needed to get home, he needed to know - how long he had been in the ice?

                                                              ———————————–

June 2001

Tony took a sip of his Americano and then frowned trying to remember when the Gala he had planned was, what time it started and if he had already talked to a tailor about getting a suit for it. He hadn’t noticed he was speaking aloud until the person at the table beside him turned to him and gave him what couldn’t quite be described as a smirk but was definitely not just a smile.

“The Gala is on the 30th and starts at 8pm sharp, you did speak to a tailor about a suit but I’m not sure which one. If it helps you started muttering under your breath in Italian after about Sfogliatelle and I think I heard something depraved about what you would do for it.”

Tony stared in shock for a moment at both the man’s face and the Brooklyn accent that had come from him. Giving himself a quick mental shake he returned the smile/smirk the man had given him and replied.

“Do you often listen to strangers private phone calls or am I just special?”

That actually got him a laugh, a real one from what he could tell with the stranger throwing his head back and clutching himself. Tony once again let himself appreciate the man, the way his shirt clung to his muscles and showed just how in shape he was. Tony was sometimes a drama queen but for a moment while the stranger was laughing he could have sworn the man was a Greek God come to life and Tony was more than happy to get on his knees and worship him. He was so distracted that he almost didn’t notice when the God replied.

“No, I tend not to make a habit of it but I have good hearing and you aren’t exactly quiet. Perhaps if you want to keep the things you would do for Sfogliatelle private you shouldn’t talk about it in public?”

The man was definitely smirking at him now and Tony quickly reminded himself that this was a public cafe and the first four ways of stopping that smirk would be  frowned upon. Not one to be up staged he lowered  his eye lashes while saying

“Why? Do you want to use that information against me? See if I am willing to do all that just for some semi-sweet cream?.”

That caused the God to blush and swallow so hard Tony could practically hear it which he counted as a win until the God licked his lips while staring straight in Tony’s eyes. Tony would later deny it but that caused him to jolt forward and spill the rest of his Americano over the table. Not one to miss an opportunity however he used it as an excuse to move to the Gods table and introduced himself.

“Tony Stark and all joking aside that really did help though I’ll probably forget when the Gala is again in five minutes”

The God reached forward and took his hand giving it a shake with an actual smile this time.

“Jack Morita, no problem I’m happy to help but if you’re that busy shouldn’t you have an assistant or something?”

Tony winced while letting the God (Jack’s?)hand drop.

“I did? I do? I’m not sure at the moment, there was an argument, yelling and a storm out and it may not have been her storming out on me. She might come back tomorrow but then again it’s been a week and this is the longest she’s not come back for after an argument.” Tony rubbed the bridge of his nose and waved his hands as if trying to physically get rid of the subject. “Enough about me, what about you Jack? What brings you to this lovely establishment today? Apart from eavesdropping on strangers and then giving them cheek?”

Steve feeling bad enough already for the shape his thought were taking about Tony without even giving him his real name let the subject drop. Instead he gestured towards his table where a sketchbook filled with what seemed to be the view from Cafe Cabana lay.

“I thought I’d find somewhere quiet to sit and sketch, maybe find some thing that catches my eye and draw that.”

Tony took a moment to really study the page, noticing the way the scene came to life and the figure just off to the left with messy hair, a phone in one hand and gesturing with the other.  Forgetting himself he grabbed the book and looked at the figure, it was definitely him that was sat at the table in Jack’s sketch he just couldn’t believe it. How had he managed to fit how Tony’s day/week seemed to be going in just a drawing of the back of him. The figures shoulders were back and seemed to be confident but if you looked closely you could see the tension and weariness in it.

“This is……you drew this? I don’t know much about art but this is brilliant, did you go to art school or something? Are you working anywhere doing this cos trust me if this is you messing around you’d do really well”

That earned him a deep chuckle from Jack who didn’t seem to be offended at Tony’s lack of manners.

“I went to art school back in Brooklyn and I haven’t started work yet, I graduated in May but there’s not much you can do with a Fine Arts degree”

Steve didn’t tell Tony that when he graduated in May he meant May 1941 and not 2001 but he doubted Tony would believe him if he had told him. After all that would make him 83 years old and he didn’t look like the average pensioner.

When he looked up again Tony was grinning like a fool and Steve had no idea what caused him to grin like that. Later, much later Steve would learn to be wary of that grin. It would lead to things that most people would categorise as insane, unsafe and quite a few unfavourable adjectives that Steve wouldn’t necessarily disagree with. He would only be able to say to whichever person saying them that no bodily damage had been done and any property damage had been taken care of already. At the moment when he first seen it however all he could think was that Tony had lovely eyes and that he was screwed.

“Well if your not working and I need an assistant why don’t we find a mutually beneficial agreement?”

[scatteredenthusiasm-blog]

24-hour Tech Break: Reflections and Realizations from a Screenless Day

For 24-hours this weekend, I joined up with Imaginarium and took a tech break. Starting at 6pm on Friday and going until 6pm on Saturday, I turned my phone off – not “do not disturb” or airplane mode, but just completely off. I closed my computer and iPad as well and zipped them up in my workbag and put them in my closet, out of sight and relatively out of mind. During my time away from screenland, I had a few realizations that I want to share.

Before that, I do want to acknowledge one thing.

I understand that people have actual hardships in life, and that taking a 24-hour tech break is not one of them. And I know a 24-hour tech break sounds like something that would be recognized at the Millennial’s Choice Awards.

“Oh my god, is that the guy that did the 24-hour tech break?” “Wow, I can’t believe it’s him!” “I thought he died at hour 13.” “No, the doctors actually rushed in and were able to resuscitate him after the 24th. That’s why he’s the guest of honor at this year’s MCA’s.”

Anyway, you get the point. But here’s what I learned.

Silence is Golden (for real)

I didn’t realize how much of the day my attention and thoughts were being guided by noise. My typical daily routine consists of nonstop noise. 

When I wake up I put in headphones first thing and listen to a podcast while I make coffee and breakfast, then I take out the headphones to write my morning journal of three pages by hand, then the headphones go back in and I clean up breakfast. Next up I swap out headphones for Spotify to play on my phone while I shower and get ready for the day, then I go headphones again and get my stuff together to head out the door. As I get in my car, I switch from headphones to my car audio, so I’m either listening to music (SiriusXM Fly channel 47, 90′s-00’s hip-hop and r&b, to be precise), or I’m making calls. My workday then consists of either interviewing people, training, staff meetings, or doing in-home sales presentations, which is pretty much me talking 80% of the time, which is just more noise. During a lunch break, or anytime between appointments/meetings, I toss the headphones back in and pick back up on a podcast. Eventually I hop back in the car to head home, so it’s back to music or phone calls. When I get home, the headphones go back in as I cook dinner, and then they come out as I eat dinner while catching up on the previous night’s Late Night with Seth Meyers (and other shows) on my DVR. As that finishes, I’m mindlessly scrolling through social media, just refreshing stuff waiting for the next little dopamine hit that is a new post, story, article, etc. To end the day, I toss the headphones back in while I do dishes, I still have them on as I get ready for bed, and then I pop them out only to fall asleep to Netflix on my iPad that is a foot away from my face, which I then wake up to 30-minutes later to find it still playing, so I close the case and go back to sleep.

Whew. That looks WAY worse typed out. From the moment I get out of bed to when I fall asleep (for the second time), it’s just noise-noise-noise-noise-noise-noise-noise-noise, with zero breaks.

My first realization during the tech break was how vital the silence was. I needed it desperately. The silence revealed to me exactly how much noise I fill my day with.

I like to think of clarity of mind as a mirror that I’m looking into. Every bit of noise throughout the day adds a little fog to it. Podcasts – fog, phone calls – fog, texts – fog, every refresh of social media – fog (and fog and fog and fog and fog). These things aren’t inherently bad on their own, but my relationship (or addiction, really) to them is unhealthy, because I let them fog the mirror all day.

The silence, however, is the only thing that would clear the mirror. Each hour of silence during the tech break was a small wipe across the mirror, until finally the fog was gone, which happened maybe at hour 17. The more fog you put on the mirror, the longer it takes to clear it.

When the mirror finally cleared, I was reminded of who I am and what I want to do with my energies that particular day. My creative juices started to flow, I had three or four short story ideas come up, and I was able to look in the mirror and see what the next right thing to do was. When the mirror is foggy, I don’t have a chance at seeing the next right thing. I’ll get an idea, but then a Facebook notification will completely derail that train of thought. With a clear mirror, I was able to think through a story idea completely uninterrupted, even sketching out a quick outline so I could return to it later.

Silence is vital, and it brings clarity along with it. I don’t mean that you have to treat your tech break like a silent retreat – you can talk to anyone you’d like in person – but when I say silence I really mean just a break in the noise of screenland, whether the screen is making noise or not. The silence recharged my batteries.

Productivity

Without the constant interruptions of noise, I was able to accomplish more tasks in my 24-hour tech break than I had done in the first two months of the year. I always have a running list of things I’d like to get done around my house on a day off, but then stuff comes up and those things get pushed aside, or I’ll start one project and then come back the next weekend and try to finish it, usually leaving it 75% done.

Over the 24-hour tech break, I did laundry (sheets, towels, clothes), reorganized my bedroom, cleaned out my car, deep cleaned my entire house (not just dusting and cleaning the floors, but like the scrubbing the shelves of my fridge kind of deep cleaning), raked leaves, pulled weeds, trimmed all my hedges, bought new succulents for inside, moved everything off my front porch, swept the floor, wiped down the furniture, and then rearranged the layout of the porch, I read 50+ pages of a book, I wrote my three morning journal pages, wrote 50% of this post (by hand, of course), I cooked, and I got rid of (donated) two trash bags full of clothes I haven’t worn since I moved into this house in 2016.

All done in 24-hours, with ~8 of those hours spent sleeping.

I don’t mind a good day or two of cleaning and organizing because I would usually catch up on podcasts or listen to music while I did those things. But without any distractions from noise or screenland, I was able to accomplish each task in about 60% of the time they would normally take because I was solely focused on that particular task.

For example, if I have headphones in while trimming hedges, I’ll come across a song I don’t want to listen to on a playlist, so I’ll get my phone out of my pocket to change songs, but then I’ll see an Instagram notification, and when I open Instagram I’ll see some new stories pop up, then I’ll comment on a friend’s story, which will remind me to text another friend back about something else, and then 10-minutes go by and I’m standing on a ladder with hedge clippers in one hand and my phone in the other, all while my playlist is now 5 songs past the one I wanted to skip in the first place. When finally get back to work on the hedges, another song will come on that I don’t want to listen to, and the cycle starts over.

(Exhale) I told you my relationship to screenland was unhealthy.

Without my phone in my pocket, I was not only able to complete the tasks much quicker, but I was also able to do them better because they had my full attention. Instead of just buying new succulents and putting them in new pots, I cleaned out all of the old pots and mixed in new dirt for the succulents I already had. At the end of the day, I was tired, but it was that good kind of tired, where you’re proud of your work.

I was at my most productive when the mirror wasn’t fogged.

Constant Contact

Last point, so I’ll make it quick.

I was stunned at how many times I would think of something that would make me reach for my phone to text a friend. The smallest thought would pop in my head, and I’d reach for my pocket for a phone that wasn’t even there because my first instinct is, “Oh, I gotta text that person about that.” I do that ALL DAY, which puts me in constant contact with so many different people. The reaction to reach for my phone was Pavlovian like.

The shirt I wore yesterday was one I bought in Encinitas last year when I was visiting my friend Luke, and I thought, “Oh, I need to send him a picture of this shirt.” Later on I was getting my golf clubs out of my car and thought, “Oh, I need to see if my friend Patty wants to walk 9-holes tomorrow because the weather is so nice.” Then I found an old jacket from college that made me think, “Oh, I need to send a picture of this to my friends because it reminds me of this thing we did back in 2009.” This routine happened over and over and over and over.

Again, texting my friends isn’t a bad thing – in fact, it may be a nice pick me up for both of us in the process. But the quick reaction to reach for my phone anytime those thoughts popped in my head scared me. It was like I was desperate to be in constant contact with a bunch of people all day, and that constant contact is going to add more and more fog to the mirror, distracting me from writing, cleaning, reading, or whatever I want to spend my energies on. Plus, each time I open my phone to send one of those texts, I’m more likely to come across something else on that shiny, 5.5” screen that will take me down a different rabbit hole, which will, in the end, make me forget to send the original text.

The break from constant contact was incredibly calming.

If you read one part, let it be this

As the clock approached 6pm, I started to get a little sad. I wasn’t ready for the tech break to be over. I wasn’t ready to return to my old way of doing things. Texts, calls, social media, emails – I knew it would all come flooding back with the press of one button. Or even worse, what if no texts came flooding in? OR, what if only one text came in and it was from the pharmacy saying that my monthly prescription was ready for pickup? That wasn’t the case, but I digress…

I loved my time off of the grid, and quite frankly, I liked no-tech Jeremy a lot better than screenland Jeremy. It reminded me of being a kid, when I could jump from task to task, pursuing whatever interested me at the moment, free of anything buzzing or lighting up in my pocket, and solely focused on what was right in front of me at that exact moment in time. I got out of my own head. The mirror was clear.

A power shift had taken place – one I was dying for and didn’t even know it. For the first time in probably a decade, I owned my phone instead of my phone owning me.

So going forward, I’ll make some adjustments to my routine: I’m going to limit the amount of time headphones are in my ears, I’ll swap out Netflix for a book before I go to sleep (because I know I don’t need to watch all of The Office for the millionth time), I will leave my phone in a different room of my house when I want to get stuff done, and I’ll continue not checking social media before noon, which I’ve been doing for Lent this year.

If you’d like to try a 24-hour tech break, here are my suggestions:

1. Do it over a regular weekend at your house, because it’s easier to analyze your habits when you are in your typical routine. If you do it outside of your routine, then you’ll have other distractions to keep you away from technology in the first place, which won’t reveal your tech instincts enough. It’s best to have as little planned as possible.

2. Get someone else to do it that doesn’t live with you, because it’s a nice little encouragement to know other people out there are doing it as well.

3. Keep a notepad with you and write down your accomplishments every time you complete one. By the end of the day, you’ll be shocked at what all you’ve done.

I know one tech break isn’t a cure all, so I’m planning on doing this once a month for the rest of the year. In the meantime, I’ll be working hard to keep the mirror clear.

[isadorator]

everything’s better with beanie babies

this silly au was something i came up with in convo with @crispypata last year, and it holds really fond memories. thanks to a quick beta from @clairelutra, i was able to finish this fic in time for crispy’s bday today!!!! 🎂

thank you, crispy, for being such a great friend, for enabling my crazy ideas and comforting me and helping me feel a little bit of happiness every day because you let me into your world. i can’t imagine what the last few years of my life would have been like without you there ♥♥♥ SO ENJOY SOME NONSENSE AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! \o/ (also on ao3)

In which the Agrestes are equally terrible at hiding secret identities while under pressure.

---

Gabriel shouldered open the door of the café, quickly getting into line and just as quickly tuning out his surroundings to focus on his sketchbook.

He scribbled out the third hoodie he’d drawn today and sighed. His professor for Advanced Fashion Design would never accept something so casual for his end-of-term project. It needed be something…something—

“Perfect,” Gabriel muttered as he looked up from the page, only to freeze when he met amused, green eyes.

“You’re bold this morning,” the pretty barista teased. “Double espresso again?”

Even if this small café was the closest one to his classes, he came in here entirely too often if the baristas were memorizing his orders. Especially this one.

This barista was an impressionist vision, with her soft blonde hair pulled into a loose bun and her smile crinkling her eyes, lending charm to her heart-shaped face. If Gabriel was less occupied with his course load and interning at his father’s company, he may have felt inclined to ask her to model for him.

(No matter what Duusu said, it was not a crush. His was a purely aesthetic appreciation of her beauty, and he would absolutely not allow himself to nurse such childish affections. It was unthinkable.)

The silence stretched, and the barista held back a laugh as Gabriel felt his face heat against his will.

(He did not have a crush.)

“Yes, thank you,” said Gabriel, trying to get a hold of himself. “Please add a croissant to the order, Mme…” His eyes darted down to her name tag. Curiously, she never wore the same one twice. Today, she hadn’t even bothered putting one on, opting instead for a pin with a sideways eight on it. “…Infinity?”

The newly dubbed Mme Infinity grinned, revealing her bunny teeth. “That’ll be €4, monsieur.”

Gabriel reached into his blazer for his wallet, giving himself time to gather his wits—not that he needed it, he was perfectly capable of ordering breakfast without being distracted—

The peacock kwami he was holding out instead of his wallet begged to differ.

Mme Infinity stared at the extremely stiff Duusu, mouth parting as she pointed at the kwami he was still showing her. “That’s—!”

“A Beanie Baby,” interrupted Gabriel, swiftly tucking Duusu back into his blazer. He kept his face neutral as he thought faster than he ever had in his entire life. “Quite popular in America right now, I understand. I’ve been studying them for class.” That was too many details, you’re making this lie seem less believable. Gabriel pulled out his wallet, mentally stilling his shaking fingers. “My apologies, €5 you said?”

Her eyes darted from his blazer to his face to his wallet and then back to his face. She slowly put down her hand and swallowed, a pink flush appearing on her cheeks.

Suddenly, Gabriel found it very hard to concentrate.

“€4,” she answered quietly, taking the euro note he held out to her and opening the till. “Christophe, a double espresso please!”

The dreadlocked barista (who Gabriel now realized had been watching the entire exchange) flashed him a cheeky grin and settled into making his espresso.

All too soon, Gabriel was tucking away his change and croissant as Mme Infinity presented him with his drink. She seemed to have recovered, shooting him a wink that twisted his insides with—absolutely nothing.

“Don’t forget your receipt,” she said with a sly smile.

Later, when Gabriel settled down into a quiet corner of the library with his breakfast and sketch book, Duusu popped out of his blazer with a squinty-eyed pout.

“I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry,” said the kwami. “A Beanie Baby? Really?”

“Hush,” said Gabriel. “I need to finish this design before tomorrow.”

“You’ll be fine, you’ll come up with something brilliant at the last minute like you always do,” said Duusu, waving his stub dismissively.

Gabriel wasn’t sure if he should be pleased with the compliment, back-handed as it was.

“More importantly, have you checked your receipt?” Duusu demanded, flying into Gabriel’s face. His kwami’s feathered tail was quivering with excitement. “Ooooooh, what if it’s a love letter?!”

Scoffing as he reached into his pocket for the slip of paper, Gabriel shot his kwami a withering look. “As if that barista would bother with such silly—”

Gabriel froze. When he held up the receipt for Duusu, he saw the back of it for the first time.

There, in purple ink, was a woman’s name, a number, and the message ‘Call me, handsome!’ punctuated with a heart-winged butterfly.

It was a miracle that Duusu’s squeal of delight didn’t get them kicked out.

---

Years later, Gabriel closed the safe door, locking away the Peacock Miraculous again. Gently pushing his wife’s painting back over the safe, Gabriel sat at his desk and went through his company’s finances until his appointment arrived.

The knock on his office door came quickly, and Gabriel almost asked Nathalie to open it before remembering she called in sick. Sighing through his nose, he stood and walked over to the door, swinging it open quickly.

His son was fidgeting outside, jumping when Gabriel appeared. “F-Father! Hi!”

“Adrien,” said Gabriel, clasping his hands behind his back. He walked back to his desk, fully expecting Adrien to follow. “Do you know why I called you here today?”

As he sat in his chair, Gabriel saw Adrien tighten his grip on his school bag.

“Did…you want to go out for dinner? Together?” his son guessed, looking hopeful.

“Of course not, we have a perfectly good chef,” said Gabriel. As Adrien’s smile fell, Gabriel clasped his hands in front of him. “No, we’re here to talk about your education.”

“My education?” Adrien echoed.

“Yes. Normally, Nathalie would be handling this, but as she’s come down with the flu…” Gabriel trailed off and then extended his hand, waiting. “I believe report cards were handed out today.”

Adrien jolted before looking up at Gabriel with wide eyes.

“O-of course! Let me just—” Adrien paused to tear open his bag and rummage inside before pulling out a kwami. “Here! I hope—”

A black kwami with cat ears. One held in Adrien’s hand, which coincidentally bore a silver ring shaped exactly the same as the Black Cat Miraculous.

There were no words to describe how furious Gabriel was—at himself for missing what were now painfully obvious clues, at Adrien for daring to defy his father and put himself in more danger than he could possibly imagine, at his staff for not noticing that their charge was a superhero—

“U-uh, this, um—it’s uh,” Adrien began, no doubt trying to come up with an excuse as to why he had a kwami.

Except he wouldn’t know that Gabriel knew about kwami. There was still a way to salvage this situation until Gabriel could take a moment to incorporate this new information into his plans.

(And he ignored the look of panic and shock on his son’s face that reminded him of golden sunlight in a café, so many years ago.)

(…Now there was an idea.)

“A Beanie Baby,” Gabriel reasoned for his son, his face carefully blank. “I didn’t realize they were still popular with people of your age group.”

“A…Beanie Baby?” Adrien repeated slowly. He held his kwami closer to him, no recognition of the term in his eyes.

Gabriel abruptly felt very old.

“Yes, a Beanie Baby, a vaguely animal-like doll such as the one in your hand,” said Gabriel, his tone deliberately sharp. “I’m growing tired of these stalling tactics—your report card, Adrien. Now.”

“R-right!”

Adrien hurriedly tucked his kwami back out of sight and pulled out the report card. Gabriel took it, noting the relieved slump of Adrien’s shoulders, before putting revelations regarding Chat Noir aside to review the report.

“So, Father,” Adrien began, breaking the silence. “Do you…like, uh, Beanie Babies?”

Glancing at Adrien over the rim of his glasses, Gabriel folded a hand under his chin as he went back to reading. “I would like you to have a better mark in Arts and Crafts.”

His son laughed sheepishly and dropped the subject.

---

But did not forget, apparently. The Beanie Baby gift basket Nathalie presented him on Father’s Day proved that.

Gabriel eyed the stuffed animals and toiletries suspiciously as Nathalie plucked an envelope from its depths.

“For you, sir,” she said, offering it to him.

Inside was a gift certificate for a Parent-Child day at a spa. Paid for out of Adrien’s own savings, no doubt.

Gabriel turned his head to take in the painting of his wife.

…Well. There was bound to be at least one emotionally vulnerable person at the spa. He could make it a working holiday.