#ALSO HER HESITATING WHEN THEY WERE TELLING HER TO KILL TRAVIS

[rainboworm]

Rewatching season 1 of yellowjackets and Shauna going "yeah i guess I'll cut up this deer if no one else is gonna do it, whatever" is so crazy... I'm over here like noooo, girl you're about to take on the role of the butcher in a way that's so deeply engrained in your friends minds that it will follow you your entire life, making you face the horror of all that happened out there much more directly than the others have and leaving you traumatized in some way none of the other girls have, noooo

[bloodyshadow1]

The thing Chetney says to laudna about orym suffering more than her is bullshit. Now, before anyone gets pissy, this is by no means an attack on Chetney or Travis. It's just that the sentiment has always bothered me, even when I see it in other media. This is also not me defending laudna. I don't think orym was right, but I feel like he was more right and laudna threw away any leg she had ti stand on when she attacked him. I just want to clear the air because this fandom never hesitates to attack someone for having differing opinions and I want to make my point clear.

The thing with suffering is both orym and laudna have suffered, but I don't think anyone has the right to judge on whose suffering is worse, especially when it's so big like what the two of them are carrying around. Sure, with small examples, x broke a finger while y broke their hand, you can easily tell y suffered more, or in situations with huge discrepancies; x stubbed a toe while y's house burned down, again it's clear that y is suffering more.

But life isn't easy or simple, neither is laudna and orym's conflict. Like what if x lost their husband, y lost their child, and z lost their parents, who do you say suffered more. You're allowed to pick the one you empathize with more, that's what most people do, but people aren't wrong if you pick x and they pick y or z.

The thing with what Chet said, is that it isn't helpful to measure suffering when it gets big. And I am well aware that Chetney probably meant specifically in regards to the sword, but even then I think it's more complicated than people think. You can't just weigh how characters suffered like they're on a scale and whoever is heavier is the one who suffered more and is therefore right. Sure you can say on Orym's side, the blade killed him, his father figure, and his husband while on Laudna's side she was killed by the blade, but that's still 1 person to 3 so Orym suffered more and is right in their conflict.

What if someone says, well I don't care about Will and Derrig, Will was just an npc who died in Orym's backstory that we never met while Derrig was just Liam's character for a one shot, to them it's not actually 3 deaths vs 1 it's the equivalent of 1 vs 1 again or 1.2 vs 1. I don't like this idea but I have seen this, or at least something like it in other arguments when the CR fandom broke so I am bringing it up. The same people might say Orym and Laudna both died to Otahan and that sword, but Orym was dead for less than a minute and brought back. But Laudna was dead for days and trapped in her worst memories by Delilah, she knows that if Delilah is around even death won't be a release from her suffering. Therefore Laudna suffered more and is right.

People can keep going back and forth forever and a day with bringing up examples of why the character they feel has suffered more and are therefore right. It doesn't change that everyone has Biases and will chose the character they can defend more. In truth, both Laudna and Orym suffered at the hands of the sword and it's something they needed to talk about but they both decided they were right and made the choice for everyone else. Because they're both incredibly broken, they've hidden it away from the party so they took the worst way to do things instead of talking. When they spoke they didn't talk to each other, they talked at each other which didn't help.

Chetney was wrong to say that Orym suffered more than Laudna, he was wrong to say that to Laudna of all people. It doesn't make him a bad person by any means, it doesn't mean he's wrong either, just he believes that. But it didn't help, and actually hindered the two of them because they both can only focus on their own pain and even if it's just in their own heads turns it into a suffering dick measuring contest.

All this ranting is a long, round about way to say, suffering is complicated and you can't just measure it empirically because you want to. People are complex and suffering is incredibly complex, you can't just compare and contrast two traumas and act like one is better than the other. I'm just getting this out there because every time there's character conflict the fandom breaks down and picks sides instead of accepting that both characters could be in the wrong. It's interesting in universe as a rp moment and I can't wait to see where it's going personally.

[worshippin]

i feel bad to even say this but it has been nagging at me so.

one of the reasons why the "main character" statements have been made about imogen is bc of the exact thing she did in ep107: completely hijacking fearne's moment. i mean, woof.

i know they're friends playing a game, i know laura probably didn't mean it/was playing into imogen's panicked headspace (she apologized in the moment) and i usually love laura's choices in any campaign, but man.. it's very frustrating. it's not the first time and it's very disheartening. it made me so uncomfortable and really angry on fearne's behalf, especially when it's clear that ashley isn't a fast-paced player and her choices take time -- not only when she acts but as she awaits the results. whenever something is happening that is imogen-centric everyone keeps quiet or say encouraging words but ultimately let her decide, but when it's fearne that is center stage everyone keeps pulling this kind of shit and not letting her have her choices breathe and unravel, letting her control how she wants her narrative to play out.

matt is a great DM and it's very obvious he makes sure to pull ashley in and give her opportunities for fearne to shine, and sometimes his gentle steering pays off greatly so that she allows herself to make any choice, no matter how bold, but in the end he does have to account for everyone's input as well-- which is to say, it can't only be his responsibility to uplift her and as of late it sometimes feels like it is? and idk it's not... great. and look, all things considered this is a show, so it's very frustating to watch.

like, when imogen went home to her dad fearne was nothing but supportive and made sure to ask how imogen was feeling and what was the course of action they were to take and she basically knighted herself as imogen's best friend, protector and follower. imogen had her big familial moment (and lbr she keeps having them). and now it's fearne turn to deal with her daddy issues and imogen can't wait ten fucking seconds for fearne's decision about wether to ally themselves with her father or not? fearne was already conflicted. she didn't feel guilty about the prospect of killing zathuda, but she was hesitating for a reason. she was interested in what he was telling her and what other information she could extract from him. and that's what matters. and that's why it was frustrating to have that taken away so quickly. it felt dismissive of not only fearne's story but of ashley's play. iirc travis was expecting and seemed excited for her to do something big - maybe cast a spell on gloamglut (i was on the edge of my seat thinking she was gonna tame that dragon or polymorph him!). ashton and braius were worried about the dragon and the temple crumbling on top of them; orym was also worried about the dragon and being diplomatic. but imogen popped off before giving fearne a chance. and y'know, sure, idk, maybe i am reading too much into it! maybe my love for fearne is making me see things a bit too harshly. but it doesn't feel like that. it feels like (another) opportunity wasted.

now i do hope this gets addressed next ep, in some way shape or form. one could argue this was just imogen panicking and trying to prevent them from getting separated again, like when ludinus tried to take fearne away. but eh, at this point i doubt that's how she feels (i mean, i sure hope. but wish is a 9th level spell and i don't have access to those yet). she just wanted to kill zathuda.

TL;DR the fact that she attacked before zathuda answered fearne completely derailed everything and shifted the focus from fearne. and yeah, sure, imogen is not the main character. but sometimes it feels like she wants to be, to control everything, fearne's feelings and choices be damned. i don't think anyone in the cast is careless or purposefully dismissive. i don't think it came from a place of malice, of course not. maybe it's just what imogen would do: unknowingly interrupting every moment. it happened. and it keeps happening. but fearne deserves better.

[nochi-quinn]

legend of vox machina watch party episodes 4-6: he's just sleeping

EPISODE FOUR

I'm late bc I was watching anime and playing pokemon. y'know, like an adult.

I don't know how long the episode has had subtitles but I enjoy them

big gworl

"I DON'T LIKE IT" "I love it"

raven queen: the fuck you say to me

fran drescher raven queen

(this is hilarious to me specifically for reasons no one understands)

I was gonna say something about silhouettes

"if scanlan started wearing closed shirts - " "I would be so confused"

"TRINKET DOESN'T COUNT"

"I would say grog" "WHAT"

matt's gonna tell this story if it takes another eight years

"MONSTER ON THE TV" "don't assume - " "I SAW TENTACLES, I KNOW"

"tentacles can also be your friend"

ONLOOKER

this is hilarious now that beholders are under creative commons

"where are your knees? are your ankles your new knees?!"

"sound more ankle-breaky"

"don't you hate it when you're in the middle of a fight and you're just dissociating"

"why is he punching him in the helmet?!"

mala: that baby has more sense than vax

I love that sam and travis are always in the back going "YOU WILL APPRECIATE THE CREW"

I think I'm behind on account of being late, this is the price I pay for watching anime and playing pokemon

"I watched this with my kids and they were both super grossed out - so success"

everybody just works around will now

bill frito can do anything

POKEBEAR

I believe travis could reach that pitch

"I invented walking away"

I am forever going to be trying to figure out what nonsense choir soundtracks are singing

"reliving - HA"

"it was raven feathers"

"laura can't lose her character so I'll lose mine" liam.

"have a guest on the show? main character dies. right, robbie?"

oh I hate that one on the end

"onlooker(?)" mala: official spelling

they're just gonna make that noise for the rest of the night

"he's so cute - sorry - "

"that jump scare at the end - why" "that's why"

I can't believe travis willingham is targeting me personally

that's actually. I also had not considered that critical role is technically post-apocalyptic

EPISODE FIVE

"it's my child!" "this one lives, that can't be right"

"you can't be a baby, you're a grown-ass woman"

give her a raise

"we thank you for your tears"

"can't even pick up sticks right"

"I wish we had the courage to do an overhead" have the animators not suffered enough

"it's probably okay. don't worry about it."

I think I say this every time but I love when they just go silent bc they are also watching the episode

"that's NOT how you romance someone"

"keyleth will remember that"

aimee!

"thank you for using the body silhouette I sent you"

I FORGOT HE HAD BLACK POWDER IN HIS POCKETS

PANTSLURA

"marisha? self-doubt? no!"

critrolestats what level were they

flamesneks

I didn't know that until someone pointed it out on twitter

I'm crying AGAIN dammit marisha ray

the One Woman Wail

"you're a giant fire chicken lady man!"

"seems a little OP"

that pestle IS upside down, I'm pretty sure

"dad likes vax bc they have the same haircut"

robbie didn't know about the lesbians

this time delay is killing me

"so many youtube videos" "just fucked up your algorithm"

"is that a thermal detonator" after chetney's boat robbie only knows how to think in bombs

"I was singing about meeting a girl in line for the shitter"

"you wouldn't put the nursery in the volcano??"

animatic!

"ANIMORPHS!"

oh I love lil sketchy keyleth

"is that a cloaca?"

"DON'T LOOK IT UP"

LAVA SNEK

"maybe these are IMPOSTERS" stares in speaker assum

"it's victor"

"I'll call bryan and michael and let them know" I have only called them bryke for so long

"the voice of korra was in the Lesbians Aren't Dead episode"

the red gay and the blue gay

"tell me I'm wrong!" "I can't!"

"I know a lot about anime gays you guys"

speaking of anime gays, robbie daymond

(akechi. the joke is akechi.)

"hesitant"

none of us are over keyleth but liam o'brien is definitely not over keyleth

"kash pushing in on his girl - " "that's the worst part"

"pissjets" brb changing my twitter name

EPISODE SIX

I'll error your joining watch party

"I'm sure it's fine"

"classic comedy duo"

I still enjoy grog's expressions so much here

"my ten-year-old son loved that joke"

this is me explaining the plot to my roommate

"scanlan is the only one that gets to go full anime" scanlan just is anime

"fucking DORK" robbie understands percy

"she does get hypothermia tho"

"a hoe never gets cold" "that is the episode title"

liam's running "I peed a little bit" is finally coming full-circle

"that's how you guys look at me all the time" at least matt does for sure

FISH TACOS

grog is barely smart enough to speak at all, he can't manage telepathy

the fire plane taught her how to cuss

PORKY PIG

I love robbie's genuine reactions

the whole back row airdrumming

"he's playing the instruments" "no he is NOT"

"that's MY HUSBAND"

one unit of sphynx

"a shit spell?" that's scanlan's thing

"you're giving me notes NOW?"

kaiju fight KAIJU FIGHT

~~anime~~

"I don't like this dragon, he's a dickhead"

"I don't care about his backstory"

"he's fine, robbie" "he's gonna go live on a farm upstate? where he gets all the sphynx food he wants?"

"sphynxes live forever even if they look like they died"

that knee slide was v cool tho

honestly I had the same thought as mica

mica refuses to pronounce that name now (she's valid)

"not that long, right?" "you don't know"

marisha what is that face. are we getting an art book. I want an art book.

FRIENDSHIP POND

"you love inflicting pain" "I FUCKIN LOVE IT"

mala: Travis: i have killed and i will kill again

"it's got a lot of slap bass in it"

"he's a transformer"

you leave the shit behind in people's beds and move on

(I'm still mad at him for that)

craven edge just using grog as a meat puppet

"it all comes back to the last of us" correct

"I was such an innocent smol bean"

"I'm a purple g - I'M WEARING PURPLE"

someone draw art of alicia's hedgehog familiar

sevonth

yaaaaaay troy bakerrrrr (said in the most deflating-balloon voice possible)

troy baker is a very good actor who is up his own ass as much as it is possible for a human being to be and still draw breath

[manslaught]

it's embarrassing, turning to shauna for help. they were never friends, so not only does it feel uncomfortable, but it's all just a reminder that this isn't meant for her, that she's pushing herself so hard for something she never wanted to do in the first place. mikayla's just convinced she needs to, that the only way she could possibly fix her reputation is by becoming something better, someone who does good instead of just hurting people. that's her main motivation, hoping that doing all of this might make her life easier in the long run, no matter how little she actually enjoys the work, but there's also the taissa of it all— she wants to be someone who deserves to be seen with her.

she should just give shauna the same explanation she's given everyone else: i want to do something good. leaving out the part where she feels like she has no other choice, leaving out the confession that she does hate it, leaving out how trapped it makes her feel, knowing that she has to be something more, that she didn't even let herself have time to readjust to civilization before shoving herself into all of this. she almost does, but one glance in shauna's direction, and she reconsiders. maybe she'd understand. she might not actually know much about shauna, what she wanted out of life, but she thinks she understands enough about her to know that it wasn't this.

“ i do, ” she mumbles, almost too quiet to hear, frowning down at her textbook. the letters have started to swim across the page, but it's still easier to look at that than her, especially when she's actually admitting this out loud for the first time. she's sure others have noticed, but she's always brushed off all of travis and tai's concerns, told them that she wanted this, but finally, she feels safe enough to admit the truth. “ —hate it, i mean. i never... wanted any of this. ” what's worse is she's not sure what she wanted before, because she never had the chance to learn that much about herself. her entire life had to be centered around survival instead, telling herself that she could figure out the rest after, until she killed her dad and realized that happiness was no longer obtainable at all, not when the entire world was convinced she was a monster.

mikayla lets out a deep breath, hesitant to go on, worried that shauna doesn't actually care, because she's sure that she's not thrilled to be here in the first place. “ but i have to. everyone hates me. i mean, except for, like... i don't know. five people. ” that never bothered her before; in high school, she was feared more than liked, and that was fine with her, but this feels different. “ everyone looks at me like i'm going to snap. ” again, she nearly adds, but she doesn't think that's what happened with her father. not entirely, anyway. “ i just thought— i don't know, maybe if i do something good, everyone could forgive me for the one bad thing i did. ” it's more than just her father, and shauna knows that, but she's not doing any of this to forgive herself— it's all just to fix the way the world sees her, if that's even possible.

again, she lets herself briefly look in shauna's direction, but not long enough to even read her face before she glances back down at the table, rolling her eyes at herself. “ it's stupid, i guess. i don't want to do this, but— i have to. for me. for her. i just— keep telling myself it'll get easier. like, maybe one day, it won't feel like some massive chore. ” but it's evident in the way she says it that she doesn't actually believe that; it's just the fate she's accepted for herself, knowing that she has to push herself for something she doesn't even want, all to have just a chance at redemption.

@manslaught said, "i thought to myself, 'what if i could be someone different?'"

shauna’s had the same thought herself,  but she never lets it go very far.  she can’t.   even in high school,  when she got into brown,   it was hard to let herself dream.   jackie was always there in her ear reminding her of the life they were going to live together—  shared dorm room,  shared college experience,  never moving on from each other.  something about it didn’t feel right,  though;   she didn’t know how to be without her,  but that felt like the problem,  like she needed to figure out who she was beyond her best friend.  that’s why she did the things she did,  betrayed her the way she did,  let her down the way she did.  but now,  on the other side,  she’s lost both the person she could have been when breaking free from jackie’s shadow and the person she was in it,  down to nothing now,  except for jeff’s wife.  that’s why it’s been so hard to see mikayla as driven as she is—  because after everything she’s been through,  all the time she’s lost on top of what time shauna had lost herself,  how could she get there?  and why could shauna never do the same?

she doesn’t look up at her,  only focuses down on the book she’d been reading in an effort to help mikayla along.  she wouldn’t admit it out loud,  but this has been the most thrilling her life had been in years—  a thought that threatens to reveal to shauna she’s only trapped herself in a life that wasn’t hers.  it’s someone else’s,  a role shauna’s forced to play now,  to make up for all she’s done and all she’s taken away from the person she loved most.  she’s miserable,  but she deserves it;   still,  studying,  and almost allowing herself to pretend she’s the one going to school now, after everything,  gives her the chance to feel something other than boredom for a change.

❝  and  —  doctor.   that’s what you decided?  ❞    she held back when mikayla first asked her to help her.  it seemed ridiculous,  imagining mikayla desousa of all people as a doctor.   but she quickly realized she wasn’t in a position to help,  and she needed an excuse to get away from home,  away from the mold she’d created for herself,  and mikayla was offering her the escape.  but now that she’s actually spent time with her,  even though she never really gave herself a chance to really get to know her before,  there’s something about all of this that feels off to her.   ❝  why?  no offense, but—  ❞   this time, she means it.   ❝ i don’t really get it.  honestly,  it kind of seems like you hate this,  ❞   she admits,  raising a brow to see if she’s onto something or not. 

[lovesomehate]

I've seen people rag on Travis for wanting to kill Silas and for being upset that its never covered why/how Silas is a werewolf and why we can't save him.

Storywise it's not really possible, because it's not possible for them to know this information. It's a tragedy for Silas as it is a tragedy for the Hacketts. Especially cause it feels like Travis if it were an option, could be convinced to kill the person who made Silas' a werewolf (if said person existed.) Travis hesitates and tries not to kill anyone and he doesn't necessarily care about how Silas ended up in his situation, but the furthest back he can go in his research, luck, and knowledge is Silas. Hell, and it took six years to re-find Silas.

Given the circumstances of things, I also hate the idea of Travis (the Hacketts) having to go to jail over everything. It's such a mess of a situation for everyone.

Yessssss!

Like I don’t think there ever would be a way to find out who bit Silas or if he was born like that (wouldn’t be surprised, his mum was literally a witch) specially cause he was feral and I don’t think he would he able to communicate with anyone. His mum kept him on a cage the whole time gkdnggjdnfns

I get very pissy when people side with the hag tbh. She was exploiting her ���poor baby boy” for money while she herself treated him like an animal and then blamed the Hacketts for one of the kids actually having a good soul and trying to set Silas free… 💀 fuck her!

I feel a lot of pity for Silas, but I would never hesitate to shoot him 👀 (all I wish was for Travis to actually use his words with Laura and tell her about Silas and how Chris wasn’t the first… so many people would have survived if he had)

And yeah Bobby and Travis do not deserve to be arrested for all the bullshite the werewolves in their family did 💀💀💀 maybe even pa didn’t deserve it… ma Hackett? FUCK HER.

Okay what’s up with the mothers in the game being all fucking horrible?😂

[lis-likes-fics]

A Witch's Love | Chapter 7

When they were under the shelter of the cabin, Y/N started talking with her, "How many years have you and your family lived here? Where'd you come from?"

She seemed hesitant to answer, unsure of the protections. Y/N gave her a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, we have shields over the house. No one can hear or see anything unless they're inside. Our witches set the spell, they're powerful."

That seemed to calm her. Or maybe Jasper was helping.

She took a breath and nodded, allowing herself to settle in a little more, "We've been here ever since..."

"Ever since?" Jasper asked quietly.

She sighed, "Ever since Tristan's wife died. Her name was Eudora, from what I heard, she was very kind and caring. Back then... Tristan was good. She died when Kristen was just seven and Anthony was eight. I came around a year after. My mother and father were, at the time, the closest coven. They came on procedure, just like you told him you were, and he..."

She trailed off, looking away. Jasper could feel her grief as she remembered. Y/N put a hand on her arm, "You can tell me."

She finally spoke after a moment of silence, "He took their magic and killed them. He took me in because I was young and didn't have much magic in me to use." A silent, angry tear fell down her cheek, "I've been with them ever since."

Vanity - though seemingly angry - perched closer to Verity, who pet her feathers to calm herself. Y/N looked off as she took in this information. Slowly, Jasper could feel the anger beginning to seethe off of her. He grabbed her hand, "Are you alright?"

Y/N turned to look at him, anger flashing in her eyes at this. He could see purple flecks in her eyes and realized her magic was being effected by her emotions as well. He went to soothe her, but it seemed like his gift was being deflected.

She explained shortly to Jasper, "He's a Siphon." Rolls of anger came off of her and her magic began to her. Jasper glanced at Freya for aid, but she wasn't of much help, she was also seething.

It seemed all the witches and familiars in the room were angry. Jasper felt a hint of fear, but not enough to make him too frightened. No matter how angry Y/N was, he knew she'd protect him. As much as he tried to use his gift, his powers were deflected by their magic.

"What's a Siphon?" He asked.

Y/N licked her lips and tried to calm herself, "A Siphon is a warlock who steals magic from others. They're one of the most hated of our kind because magic is a sacred birthright among all warlocks. Stealing magic is worse than murder."

Jasper could understand her anger now. He set his hands on either side of her face, turning her to look at him. She softened as she looked into those honey gold eyes. "We'll put a stop to this," he told her calmly, "We won't let him get away with it."

She nodded, "There's no redemption in Siphons. He must be killed or stripped of magic so we can return it to the Earth."

"I thought taking magic wasn't good," Jasper asked.

She shook her head, "Stealing is hated."

Verity helped clarify, "Stripping warlocks of magic removes the magic from their souls and returns it to the Earth. It's like a trade, and it's the ultimate damnation among our kind. It wouldn't be stealing and it's a punishment exclusive to Siphons."

Y/N nodded, "I'll see if I can contact Rowena. Magic stripping calls for a group of coven leaders, she's sure to know more who can help."

Vanity spoke in Verity's place, she knew her witch would be uncomfortable saying this, "You may not be able to strip him. You may need...to get rid of him all together."

"How come?" Y/N asked.

"Ever since my parents, he's been doing it more and more. He has this cycle, the witches who investigate here do their questioning and he siphons and kills them before moving on to the next. He uses us as pawns to get them. The magic has corrupted him...it's how he ended up with Travis," Verity explained.

Vanity nodded, "His familiar before Travis was a wolf named Trinity. When he Siphoned Verity's parents, it became Trinity's job to deal with him, like it would be his job to deal with her if she ever became corrupt. But Tristan killed her and Travis came to him as a replacement a week later. Hyena's are scavengers in the mortal world. They're scavengers in the magic world too. They join corrupted warlocks and use the tainted magic to grow stronger."

Jasper took in the information so he could better understand how to help his wife take care of the problem. She sighed, "I'll bring everyone up to speed and decide on what to do from there. Thank you, Verity. Keep this between us, please."

"There's no way I'm letting him know. He'd kill me and Vanity," she told her.

"Be careful," Y/N said. She nodded and stood, hesitating at the door. She took in a breath and took a step out of the cabin, leaving the safety of the warded space. Y/N sent a message through the mental link with her witches and they were back at the cabin within minutes.

"What is it?" Mariah asked. They sat down and Y/N thought over everything first before contacting home and getting them so they could hear.

"Hey, Y/N. We thought you weren't checking in until tonight," Levi said.

Jasper nodded, "We weren't, but we have news."

"It's not good news," Y/N sighed, glancing at everyone.

"What is it?" Carlisle asked, taking a seat and listening in closely with everyone else. Y/N shared a look with Jasper, Eileen, and Mariah and sighed, "Tristan is a Siphon."

She probably should have warned the vampires first, because all of the magical individuals were currently stilled with silent rage. Their eyes were also focused the most on Celene, who was very angry. They'd never even seen her frustrated or annoyed, angry was something that took them by so much surprise.

"What does that mean?" Cole asked quickly.

Charlie, sweet Charlie, spoke in an eerie tone that put Carlisle on edge. "Siphons steal magic. All witches hate them."

Celene spoke up next, "There is no way Travis isn't a corrupt familiar then. I was hoping we were wrong and he was okay, but there's no chance of that now."

Y/N nodded, still trying to work through her own anger. Luckily, Jasper was able to influence her emotions to some degree again, he was helping as much he could. "I... I might have to..."

"What is it, sweetheart?" Esme asked, worrying over her. Y/N sighed, looking up at Jasper for strength to even say the words before turning back to everyone else. "I may have to...get rid of him all together."

Those words definitely caught the vampires off guard, especially Carlisle. "How come?" Ever the pacifist, he didn't ever think anyone was deserving of death. He didn't want it to come to violence.

"He's too strong to strip of magic, and it's a duty of mine as a witch to make sure he is properly dealt with, and there are only two ways to deal with Siphons. But I could only do one," she put her face in her hands. However much she hated Siphons, she didn't want to kill anyone.

Sure, she had killed Victoria, but that was a different matter. Victoria was a vampire causing harm to humans, witches, and other vampires. Witches were supposed to protect life on earth, it's in a witch's nature to be able to handle destroying a vampire.

But warlocks killing other warlocks was supposed to be an unfathomable thought, it kept wars from breaking out and it kept civilizations from falling.

Tristan was plenty deserving, but Y/N didn't want to have to kill him. But, as a coven leader, she would have to. He's too powerful to strip of his magic, so she would have to destroy him to ensure he couldn't steal more magic for himself.

"I'll try to find another solution. Based on what I heard from Verity, I could convince them to join our coven. We could give them safety, maybe even transfer them to Romina for proper magical training and living. But...there's no hope for Tristan. Once you take magic, you're damned," Y/N said, still thinking to herself over what she needed to do.

Jasper sighed, "We'll speak to Anthony and Kristen. Maybe they have more information."

Carlisle thought over the information he gathered, nodding and sighing, "Do what you believe is necessary. We're here if you need us."

"If you need help kicking ass, I'm your guy," Emmett said, cracking his knuckles. His antics managed to crack a smile from Y/N, looking over at her brother-in-law with a faint chuckle.

"No, dummy. You and your fists need to stick with trees and stones," she told him.

Everyone was put in a lighter mood now, able to calm down a little more. She was grateful for that little bit of his, it reminded her that it wasn't all bad.

Immediately after ending the connection of the spell, they all returned to what they were doing. Y/N sighed, taking Jasper's hand, "I'll go speak with Anthony, can you take Kristen?"

He nodded, "Will do. Stay safe, alright?"

"I will," she told him, kissing the back of his hand before letting him go talk to Kristen. She caught Anthony while he was walking outside with a bucket of apples. "Hey, can I talk to you?" Y/N asked.

He glanced at the bucket, "Oh, I was just going to feed Alex. Do you want to come with me?"

"That would be fine," she nodded, walking with him away from the cabin. "Why is she all the way out here?" she asked, a little bit concerned for the creature.

"Tristan doesn't want her in the house, she makes Travis antsy," he muttered before finally reaching his horse. When Y/N laid eyes on the poor creature, she frowned sadly. Anthony seemed to have the same frown on his face as he stroked down her head and set the bucket down.

The poor thing was just a filly, and she looked slightly starved. "What happened to her? Familiars only come to warlocks when they can get proper care."

Anthony nodded, "I know, I got her a year before my mom died, she was just a foal. She was fine at the time, but when she left and Father... changed... she stopped growing and she got like this."

Y/N wasn't a creature witch, but she had two of them in her coven. She knew a thing or two about familiars. One thing she knew was that familiars grew with their witch. Alexandria was supposed to be a fully grown mare by now, she was supposed to be healthy and happy. If she was still a filly and looked starved, it had something to do with Anthony's magic and ability to care for her.

Everything in her knew for a fact that this went back to Tristan and not Anthony. If Alexandria was starved, it was because Anthony's magic was underdeveloped, and if she wasn't growing, it was because she wasn't getting proper emotional and psychological care.

Anthony wouldn't be able to deny his familiar that, Y/N could sense that. Tristan was preventing her from growing through Anthony. Travis had to also have a hand in it. He got antsy around her? There was something up, she would need to communicate with Levi and Celene about this or look through her grimoire.

Y/N looked at Alexandria, who ate the apple Anthony held to her mouth. She slowly set her hand on Alex's head and sighed, "She's a beauty, but she needs proper care."

Anthony shrugged, "I've tried everything, but I don't know how to help her. I don't have a grimoire or-"

"You don't have a grimoire?" Y/N questioned, looking back at him.

Anthony shook his head, "Never got one, nor did I make one. I don't have enough studies to be able to make one."

"That's one of your problems. She needs the magical training and studies to be able to properly grow out. She's starved because of your magic. You're underdeveloped, you need proper training," Y/N explained to him.

Alexandria pushed her head into Anthony's chest, wanting him to stroke her fur. She just wanted comfort from her warlock. He looked at her sadly and gave her what she wanted, along with another apple. "Where do I get proper training?" he asked.

"Your father is supposed to teach you if you don't have another available mentor," she muttered.

"Yeah, no. He doesn't teach us magic. Sometimes we're able to learn a few things, but we don't get that much training. Kristen probably gets the most out of all of us, she's the favorite."

"How do you know that?" Y/N questioned.

He shrugged, still looking at his familiar, "Because she looks kind of like Mom. He's softer with her, sometimes he gives her lessons in magic. Verity and I learn the most we can, but she's the strongest of us three. She teaches us sometimes." He smiled a little, "It's funny, being taught magic by someone younger than you."

Y/N gave a half-hearted chuckle. "I'm working on the grimoire that I'll give to my daughter when she gets old enough. It's a starter, has a few basic spells for her to start out with and she'll be able to add her own," she smiled softly to herself, "She'll be thrilled to get it."

Anthony smile a little, "That sounds nice. What was her name again?"

"Althea," Y/N smiled a little more, "Looks like her father. Golden eyes and all."

Anthony's smile grew before fading again, "Sounds like a family."

She glanced back up at him, seeing the sad look in his eyes. She didn't have to be an empath to tell that he was plagued with sadness and nostalgia. She looked back at Alexandria and frowned again.

She needed to ask Jasper what he learned from Kristen. If she was the favorite, she was the best bet. She needed to know how to help them before things got any worse than they already were.

[the-hidden-writer]

And Into The Fire

Chapter 1: A Phone Call

Summary:  Months after the Mitchells saved the world, Linda gets a phone call asking if she's seen two defective Pal MAX bots. Powerful people are after Eric and Deborabot 5000, and it's up to the Mitchells to protect them.

Check reblogs for AO3 link!

A Phone Call

It all started with a phone call.

6 months had passed since the “robot apocalypse”, and the world had fallen back into normality. In fact, since the robot apocalypse was so brief, it was now nothing more than a memory and a conversation topic to use as small talk. Things like “Where were you when the robots took you?” or “What did you do inside the fun pods?”. All in all, life had gone back to normal.

But not for the Mitchells. No, their lives were probably changed for good.

Katie had settled well into college. Now that she finally had her Dad’s approval, she felt free to have as much fun as she wanted without the burden of letting down her family. She regularly sent them updates of her work, and it made her insanely happy when she heard that Dad had made an effort to watch them fully, even if he didn’t quite understand them. That was okay though. It’s the thought that counts.

Back at home, things weren’t the same without Katie. Every time one of them stared too long at the empty chair at the table, it felt like a little stab to the heart. The Mitchells were a team, despite their differences, and one missing member was enough to knock their whole household off-kilter.

But they’d still managed to form a similar routine to their old one, just with one less Mitchell. Just Rick, Linda, Aaron, Monchi… and Eric and Deborahbot 5000.

The addition of the two childlike defective androids to their family was the biggest change of all. Once Pal was defeated and everyone was free, the pair had simply stood and looked confused in the midst of it all. The Mitchells (still high on adrenaline) had turned to leave when Eric called out:

“Mother! Wait!”

When he had the family’s attention, he continued. “Are you… satisfied?”

“Huh?” Rick voiced all of their confusion.

“Are you satisfied?” Eric repeated in the same, dry (but strangely uncertain) tone.

When nobody replied, Deborahbot had attempted to clarify. “Are you satisfied... with our performance?”

It was at that moment that a feeling of dread began brewing in Linda’s gut. She knew little to nothing about robots, and less about computer language, but something about the way the bots were speaking resonated with her. Katie had gone through a stage a few years earlier where she needed validation to stay confident but was too anxious to directly ask for it. She wasn't even sure if robots could have anxiety, but...

The fact that this seemingly unrelated memory had sprung to mind was enough for Linda to make her decision.

“They’re coming with us.” She stated firmly, and that was that. Rick had tried to protest but his argument was weak and, after taking one look at the bots that helped save the world, he couldn’t say no to their wobbly faces.

So Eric and Deborahbot came home with them and unofficially joined the Mitchell family. Luckily for the Mitchells themselves, the bots’ shenanigans were enough to help fill in the void left by Katie. The family had found their routine, they weren’t being hounded by the press anymore, and they’d found their new normal.

And then one ordinary day, the house phone rang.

Before Linda (the only human in the house at that moment) had time to react, two identical shouts of “Unknown number!” came in from the living room.

Eric and Deborahbot announcing the caller had been endearing at first. Each time any phone rang, they would happily shout the caller’s name straight away.

However after a few months of it, as much as Linda hated to admit it, it had gotten old and more than a little annoying. But the boys couldn’t help it and it brought them pleasure, so Linda had decided to let it slide for the time being.

Then when the phone rang after a particularly exhausting day and the bots had called out the name of a work colleague, Rick snapped. He yelled at the bots in what Linda thought was a very harsh way- so harsh that she was certain that they would be crying if they could display human emotions.

Rick had felt extremely guilty later that night and apologised (due to Linda’s nagging) in the morning. The bots immediately forgave him, but Linda noticed during the following week they would fall silent whenever Rick passed them or when the phone rang. To try and make up for it, she promised them that they could shout the caller’s name whenever Rick wasn’t home. They’d hugged her when she said that, and Linda felt like she’d done something right. It was a nice feeling.

“Mother! The phone is ringing!” Deborahbot called, snapping Linda back to the present. She’d been lost in her memories for a moment, so she quickly ran to answer the house phone.

(The bots weren’t allowed to answer the phone for obvious reasons.)

“Hello?” She answered, smiling when she noticed Eric and Deborahbot peeking their heads around the door to watch her.

“Hi, uh, is this the Mitchells?”

The voice on the other end was familiar, but Linda couldn’t quite put a name to it. Was it a parent from one of her school’s kids? No, because then why would they have her house number. Then who?

“Yes, this is Linda Mitchell. Sorry, who is this?”

“Uh, hey, it’s Mark Bowman.” So that’s where she recognised the voice. It belonged to the man whose face had been plastered all over the news and had narrowly avoided jail time for causing the robot apocalypse.

“What can I do for you, Dr Bowman?” She asked, trying not to let the sneer into her voice. She also tried not to notice the way Eric and Deborahbot visibly stiffened (an accomplishment for them) at the sound of the name.

“Right, um,” the man sounded oddly hesitant, “as you probably know, I’ve been going through a lot of official checks, to prove that the robots no longer pose a threat and stuff.”

His hesitance made sense then. He was probably being held at gunpoint by the CIA.

“Mhmm.” Linda nodded while simultaneously using her free hand to shoo her boys away. She didn’t know whether they could listen in to phone calls or not, but her instincts were telling her that they would not want to listen to whatever their creator was about to say.

“Well one of those checks includes making sure that all the Pal Max bots are permanently offline, you get what I’m saying?”

Linda wishes she didn’t. “Yeah.”

“Let’s just say that one took a while. Each bot has a unique serial number and was designed to send out a notification to Pal Labs if they got completely broken. And since there are like, millions of these things it took ages to sort them out, haha.”

“Understandable.” Said Linda pleasantly, although her motherly instincts were firing off the charts.

“So, uh, long story short there are two of these Pal MAX bots still missing. The rest have all been accounted for from these distress signals, but these ones seemed to have disconnected from Pal servers before the mass shutdown. Since they’re still online I’m guessing they’re defective.”

Linda felt a sudden, impulsive urge to kill Mark Bowman. This was not a first-time occurrence.

“So this is basically a super long way of asking if you’ve seen any rogue Pal MAX bots still online anywhere? Maybe back when you were saving the world?”

She had to resist the urge to hang up right then and there. Instead, she put on her sweetest teacher voice. There was truly no better way to mask her emotions.

“Hmm, no, sorry I don’t think we did.” She paused. “Even if we did, if the robots are defective then surely they can’t be that dangerous?”

“That’s what I’m saying!” Bowman exclaimed suddenly before clearing his throat and composing himself. “But uh… these people wanna be thorough. Can’t risk another apocalypse, y’know?”

Linda was about to respond when she heard a strange beeping sound on the other end, accompanied by shuffling.

“Uh, thanks Mrs Mitchell sorry again about the apocalypse bye-”

She’d been hung up on before she had time to react to Dr Bowman’s words.

On the inside, she was glad that he hadn’t pressed further about the missing defective robots. She’d been half-expecting him to already know their whereabouts and for there to be a confrontation.

But there hadn’t, and he’d hung up, and something about the whole thing seemed off.

She began to formulate a plan in her mind. Firstly, her robo-boys’ safety was the top priority of the situation. Once Rick came home she could tell him about the phone call and they could think of protection methods more clearly.

All she knew for certain for the time being was that the bots wouldn’t be leaving the house for a while.

~-.-~

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

If the beeping wasn’t startling enough, the aggressive hand signals the agents were sending him caused him to panic.

He decided to hang up quickly. “Uh, thanks Mrs Mitchell sorry again about the apocalypse bye!” It probably sounded rude, but he really couldn’t care at this point.

“So…” he nervously began, looking up from the phone screen but not wanting to make eye contact with any of the agents. “Did you find anything?”

“The call was intercepted by two separate individuals.” One of the younger agents seated at a computer piped up.

Mark gulped.

“It seems as though we were right, Dr Bowman.” Said Agent Ward, the CIA woman who had first initiated the search for the missing Pal MAX bots. “They’re targeting the Mitchells.”

Taking a deep breath, Mark tried to calm his nerves. He’d lost almost everything in the span of a few months- a good chunk of his self-confidence included.

“Now what?" He asked. "You’re gonna warn them, right?”

“Find them yet, Travis?” Agent Ward asked another of the agents, ignoring Mark completely.

“Hey! You didn’t answer me!”

“We’ve managed to trace the interception to its sources, Ma’am.” The other agent replied, also ignoring Mark. “The coding here does look like Pal MAX, but we can’t actually access it. Since they’re online, the defences are strong. It would take a few days to get through the firewall even with Pal Labs resources, let alone commence a rewrite.”

The agents only turned their attention back to Mark when he snorted when trying to hold in a laugh.

“Of course it’d take ages,” he scoffed, “these are Pal bots. They’re designed to be pretty much impossible to be hacked by humans.”

“Well then,” Agent Ward towered over him intimidatingly, “you’d better get to work.”

Comments make my day! :)

[rookie-ramsey]

Last Night Alive (Ethan X MC)

Description: What if Ethan was in that room? AU to chapters 10-11.

Warning: Major character death(s).

Rating: T

Word count: 4,687

Art by @churning-the-sea-of-milk

“Stand back! I mean it!”

Travis’s voice echoed in the room, making everyone freeze in their steps.

From the bed, Ed spoke up. “Travis, please… think about what you’re doing…”

“It’s not over… not yet…” Even as Travis’s voice lowered in volume, it did nothing to lessen the threat of the situation.

Olivia found her voice, willing herself to sound more confident than she felt. “Killing Ed won’t bring your brother back.”

Travis turned his icy glare on her. “You think I don’t know that? I tried to move past Johnny’s death for years, but it destroyed my family. My parents. Me.”

“Travis, let’s talk about this…” she urged, taking a deep breath and keeping a stoic expression plastered on her face.

Travis shook his head. “There’s nothing to talk about. If I leave this place, I’m going to jail. So I might as well die and take Ed with me.”

Olivia’s pulse quickened with panic.  Her eyes glanced to the canister in the aide’s hand. “Travis, what’s in that can?”

“Justice,” Travis snapped. His arm trembled as his finger tightened around the canister’s trigger. Slowly, he lifted the can.

“Travis, for god’s sake!” Ed interrupted. “You’ll get someone killed.”

“Like you got my brother killed?”

“What…?”

“My brother is dead because of your cost-cutting, backroom deals. He was just a kid-- I went to sleep every night for years dreaming of how I’d make you pay… I planned this for years.”

Olivia gasped when he whirled around to face her. His steely eyes met hers as his face curled into a scowl.

“It didn't have to be this way. You could've just let him die. You heard his phone call. You knew what kind of man he was.”

“I’m a doctor, Travis. I had to do my job.”

“Olivia is right, Travis. Come along with me. Let’s end this thing.” Bobby reached for Travis. Travis’s finger squeezed the trigger, releasing a spray directly into the security guard’s face.”

“No!” Olivia knelt next to his side and pressed her fingers to Bobby’s neck. “Travis, this has to stop now. He’s going into cardiac arrest!”

She reached for the defibrillator, but Travis raised the can again. Rage contorted his features as he aimed the nozzle directly at her.

“It didn’t have to be this way.”

Before his finger pressed the trigger, strong arms pushed her out of the canister’s direct line of fire.

She heard a hissing sound as the can’s contents deployed into the air. In the commotion, the door slammed shut as Ed fled the room.

Olivia felt a light mist land on her hands. A second later, her skin tingled and the smell made her throat tickle. Olivia raised her head to meet Ethan’s eyes. Her stomach dropped when the light reflected the clear oily sheen clinging to his skin.

“Ethan… what do we do?”

Ethan returned her worried gaze. “I don’t know.”

At his words, her stomach churned. She coughed, trying to ease the itch in her throat. The canister sputtered as the last of its contents spilled into the air. Her eyes travelled, falling on Bobby’s fallen form.

If the can’s contents had triggered immediate cardiac arrest, she couldn’t fathom what was inside it. Her only reassurance came from the fact that she and Ethan were younger and not exposed to a full blast straight to the face, but there was no denying the severity of the situation.

“All I know is we can’t leave or open the door. They’ll need to have this floor evacuated and the vents sealed.”

“Right.” She nodded tightly and stole a glance through the window, where a crowd already gathered. She pressed the button on her pager, gripping it tightly to stop her fingers from shaking.

A minute later, Baz and June worked through the crowd. Ethan held a hand against the door.

“Travis released some sort of chemical into the room. Get every patient moved off of this floor. We also need to call the CDC and Naveen. Nobody can come in or out until we know what this is.”

“Oh god…” Baz blanched. “How are you two?”

Olivia stood next to Ethan at the window. “We’re fine right now, but Bobby took a full blast to the face. Whatever’s in that can triggered cardiac arrest. All we know is it’s dangerous. We didn’t get as much on us, but it’s in the air.”

“We’ll get the patients taken care of and make those calls. You two hang in there.”

Olivia nodded and stepped back. She glanced across the room, where Travis curled up on the floor, shaking. Glancing away, she turned her focus to the window and watched as every staff member on the floor helped in getting patients moved.

A shaky smile crossed her features. “Not how I planned on spending a Friday afternoon.”

Ethan gave a tight smile in return. “Me neither.”

She took a deep breath and reached for his hand. After a couple of seconds, he returned the grip. Left with nothing else to do, they let quiet fall between them as they waited.

XXXXXX

Olivia had to glance at the clock on the wall to remind herself it had only been a little over an hour.

They’d since changed into hospital gowns. Olivia scratched at her wrists, trying to rid herself of the itch that wouldn’t leave no matter how many times she’d scrubbed her hands.

Her eyes drifted, fixating on the spot where Bobby’s body had lain. The CDC had removed Bobby and Travis, but it didn’t make the room feel any safer.

A lump formed in her throat. She swallowed hard and looked away. She stopped pacing a few feet in front of Ethan and glanced at him.

“Are you having any symptoms?”

“No.” Ethan shook his head, but his hesitation betrayed him. Olivia narrowed her eyes at him and he sighed. “A sore throat, headache, and mild nausea.”

“I only have a sore throat. You were exposed to a lot more of it.” Her worried expression gave way to an accusatory frown. “What were you thinking?”

Ethan hesitated. He inhaled sharply and ran his fingers through his hair. “I saw that he was aiming for you and I did what I had to lessen your exposure.”

“And by doing that, you put yourself in danger!”

“Once they determine what this is, they’ll know what antidote to use. You’re….  We’re going to be fine.”

The worry didn’t leave her eyes. “I thought you didn’t believe in false hope.”

Ethan fell silent for a long moment. His hand found hers and squeezed lightly. “I don’t. But right now, I’m choosing to believe that they can figure out what this is. My symptoms aren’t severe, at least not yet.”

Olivia’s eyes wandered, focusing on their hands. She laced her fingers through his. “I just hope you’re right.”

“I hope so, too.”

She fell silent, unsure of what to say next. For now, all they could do was wait and hope that there was an answer.

It was just a matter of time.

XXXXXX

Night fell and they were no closer to having an antidote than they were hours ago.

All they knew was they’d been exposed to a deadly maitotoxin with no known cure, and the clock reminded them of just how fast time was running out.

Olivia stifled a cough and glanced over at Ethan. He didn’t announce when new symptoms started, but he didn’t need to tell her for her to know that the effects were progressing.

A slowly tightening pressure weighed on her throat and chest in addition to the painful pulse in her head. Ethan tried to keep his discomfort hidden, but she saw through it. With the amount he’d been exposed to, his symptoms were inevitably progressing faster than hers.

“How are you feeling? And don’t try to make it sound better than it is to avoid worrying me. I’m way past that point,” she cautioned.

He leaned heavily against the window, gazing into the night. “It’s… uncomfortable. Very much so,” he admitted, his voice hoarse with the hints of a wheeze.

Olivia slipped her hand into his. She bit her lip as she looked him up and down. Even in the dim light, she could make out the paleness of his skin and his red-rimmed eyes. Beads of sweat clung to his forehead even as a chill coursed through his body.

A glimpse of her reflection in the window told her she didn’t look much better and she tried to crack a smile. “Deadly poison isn’t a good look for us. We look like we haven’t slept since 2009.”

A somber smile curled his lips. “I don’t have any arguments against that.”

“You? No arguments?” She shook her head and tried to laugh, but it fell short. She joined Ethan at the window and tentatively rested her hand on his arm. “I’m just trying to lighten the mood. I know it’s pointless.”

Ethan turned to face her. Her heart skipped a beat when his eyes softened, gazing at her with eyes more tender than she’d seen before. He hesitated before speaking, his voice low.

“I… I don’t know how this is going to work out,” he agreed. The affection in his eyes flickered into wistful yearning, along with fear she knew he was trying to mask. “And I want to say I’m glad you’re here, but if you weren’t, you wouldn’t be in this situation.”

“I was here first. You didn’t drag me into this. It would have happened to anyone who was in this room today.” Her voice quavered and she took a deep breath to steady it.

Wordlessly, Ethan settled his hands on her waist. He closed the distance between them and silenced her with a dizzying kiss. Olivia paused for just a moment before she gave into the longing and cupped his face in her hands.

Her heart skipped when Ethan deepened the kiss. His hands gently tugged her closer until their chests touched. After several moments, their lips parted and she touched her forehead to his.

Olivia opened her eyes to meet Ethan’s. She shivered at the longing he didn’t even try to hide. “Ethan…?”

He took her hand into his and squeezed tight. “I… I felt like I needed to do that.”

Hearing the unspoken reason, Olivia tightened her grip on him. She brushed her thumb against his stubble. “Promise me something.”

“What is it?”

“Promise me you’re not giving up. Promise me we’ll do that again. Please?”

Ethan’s throat tightened. He didn’t respond right away. His jaw clenched as he glanced away, blinking his eyes against the threat of tears. How could he make a promise he wouldn’t be able to keep?

“I can’t do that.”

Olivia shook her head. “Ethan, promise me. Even if you feel like you can’t mean it, I need to hear it. Please?”

He returned his focus to her. His expression faltered when he took in the pleading in her eyes. “I… I promise,” he relented, the lie making his chest constrict with guilt.

Nodding shakily, Olivia leaned up and kissed him again. Ethan closed his eyes and sank into her, taking solace in the tenderness even if he knew the comfort wouldn’t last.

“You… should lie down,” she whispered when he leaned into her. “You need to rest.”

Before he could protest, she took his elbow and gently steered him toward the bed. Olivia urged him to lie down and pulled the thin blanket over him. Her hand brushed against his clammy cheek.

“Here.” Ethan edged over and patted the empty space next to him. Without hesitation, she occupied it, turning onto her side and lying next to him.  

“Are you sure you’ll be comfortable this way?”

Ethan nodded. He shifted onto his side so they faced each other. He leaned closer and cupped her cheek in his hand.  “I’m sure. If this is my last night alive, I want you next to me.”

Tears threatened to fill her eyes, but she blinked them back. “I’d want the same.”

A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, but there was a sadness to it. His fingers laced through hers. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

“Mm hmm.” Nodding, she touched her forehead to his. “I… I hope we have more time.”

“I do, too.” Ethan let out a shaky breath and closed his eyes for a moment. “But there’s no antidote. If they find one, it might not be soon enough.”

She shivered at the weight of the truth behind his words. There was no cure for the toxin, and even if some medical miracle led to one, it almost certainly wouldn’t be in time for either of them.

“I know I should try to think of something happy, but all I can think about is what I should’ve done differently. Things I didn’t do that I should have.”

“Like what?” Ethan’s thumb brushed a stray tear from the corner of her eye.

“I should have travelled more. Loved more. I spent a decade of my life focusing on my grades, on my job. I turned down opportunities so I could study. I kept my heart on guard because I never knew if I’d be in the same city the next year.”

Ethan nodded softly and gently smoothed his hand over her hair. “Since we’re sharing regrets, do you mind if I share one of mine?”

“Go ahead.”

He bit his lip, hesitating. “I wish I hadn’t asked you to stay away.”

“You do?”

“We’ve wasted so much time.” Ethan paused, shaking his head to correct himself. “I’ve wasted so much time. I should have held you in my arms every day and told you much I… how much I care about you.”

Her eyes softened with affection as she took in what he left unspoken. “I… I always thought we should be together,” she admitted.

“Yeah?”

She nodded. The genuine happiness in his eyes made her eyes blur with tears. Her smile trembled as she wiped them away.  “Even though I was… am a colossal pain in the ass and I like to get under your skin, all the time we’ve spent together… it just made me want to be with you.”

This close, she could feel his chest rumble comfortingly when he let out a quiet laugh. The worry in his eyes faded, giving way to something sweeter.

For the moment, Ethan let go of the magnitude of their situation. He smiled gently. “The feeling was very definitively mutual. When… if we get out of here, I don’t want to waste more time.”

She chuckled, blinking back fresh tears. “If we survive, I’m holding you to that. I expect a romantic date and everything. No changing your mind.”

Ethan let out another laugh, this one weaker. He blinked, forcing his eyes to stay open against the heaviness of his eyelids. “I wouldn’t. Not again.”

“I know.” She fell silent. Then she looked up again.  “Ethan?”

“Hmm?”

“You mean a lot to me. In more ways than one. You’ve helped me become the doctor I am today.  I just want you to hear that.”

His expression softened. “I know.”

“I came to Edenbrook to work under you. I never thought we’d fall for each other. But then I met you and even though you were an ass sometimes, I still fell for you. I never thought you’d reciprocate it.”

“I did.” Ethan’s voice softened. “And I hope that you know I’m sorry for being an ass when I first met you.”

“Well, you did teach me a lot. If you’d coddled me, I wouldn’t be the doctor I am. Was. I’m still not sure about that part.”

Ethan’s smile faded into a sad one.  “I’m not, either. But what I do know is that if some breakthrough happens and they find a cure, even if it’s not in time for me, you’ll do great things. You’ll far surpass me.”

Her eyes glistened. She wiped her hand across them and forced a watery smile. “And if a huge breakthrough happens and we both get out of here alive, I’m going to steal your job the day I finish my residency. So watch out.”

Ethan chuckled wistfully. “I don’t doubt that at all.”

Olivia bit her lip and furrowed her brow in thought. Her smile faded as she remembered that could have been wouldn’t happen. The reality gripped her heart painfully, and for a moment she couldn’t find the words to say.

“I just… I just wish we could see it happen. I know we won’t be making it out of here.”

He didn’t respond right away. Ethan had known for hours that they wouldn’t have enough time, but hearing the words out loud magnified their gravity. He swallowed hard and nodded slightly.

“I… I think you’re right.” Ethan wanted to will himself not to believe his own words. He couldn’t, not anymore. Time wouldn’t slow down to allow a medical miracle for a toxin with no cure.

All they could do was delay the inevitable. Until now, Ethan hadn’t recognized the cold enormity of his own words. Now time was running out and he realized how little the words helped. Life didn’t follow a set of rules, no matter how much he tried to convince himself that everything did.

When he met Olivia’s eyes again, her stomach twisted at the sight of tears. Ethan cleared his throat and gently tilted her face toward his. He brushed his lips against hers, the tenderness of it making his heart ache with longing he should have acted on sooner.

When their lips parted, his eyes brimmed with tears. His arms looped around her and drew her closer. The walls he’d spent years building fell as he took in the warmth of her body next to his.

His words rolled off his tongue before he could talk himself out of saying them.

“I love you.”

The words hit her with the force of a tidal wave and she inhaled sharply. “I.. I love you, too.”

The tension Ethan didn’t know he was holding left his body. He sighed shallowly. Whether it was from relief or fear, he didn’t know. Maybe saying the three words meant admitting defeat, but he’d be damned if he didn’t let himself say them before it was too late.

“I...I needed… wanted to say that. I wanted to make sure you heard it.”

“I know.” Olivia rested her head on his shoulder. Ethan kept one arm circled around her waist. His other hand gripped hers, their fingers gently intertwined.

Sleep clouded his mind. Refusing to close his eyes, he tightened his hold on her hand.

Olivia smiled wistfully. “You can sleep… I’ll keep an eye on you. I’ll slap you if I think… you know.”

He managed a small chuckle. “I’m trying not to.”

“I know.” Olivia rubbed his hand with her thumb. Taking comfort in the touch, Ethan brought her hand to his lips and lightly kissed her knuckles. He blinked against the weight of his eyelids.

Ethan fought the urge as long as he could, but soon the ache in his head won and he slipped into sleep.

It wasn’t much longer before Olivia felt sleep threatening to take her. She refused, not taking her eyes off Ethan’s sleeping form. She rested her head against his chest, taking some reassurance in the gentle rise and fall as he breathed.

She wasn’t sure how long she stayed awake or when she closed her eyes, but some time in the night, or maybe it was early morning, she startled awake when Ethan coughed roughly.

Dizzy as she lifted her head, Olivia leaned closer to him. When his eyes opened, she heaved a weak sigh of relief.

“Hey…” she greeted quietly.

Ethan turned his head toward her. The cloudiness and pain in her eyes made her freeze, ice gripping her heart. For the longest moment, neither of them spoke. Finally Ethan coughed and spoke up, his voice rough.

“How long have I been out?”

“I don’t know for sure. I fell asleep.” Her eyes stung and she blinked. “I… I know it’s been a while. I was starting to think…”

Ethan’s thumb brushed against her cheek, wiping away the tear that escaped. “Shh…”

Olivia covered his hand with her own. Haunted by how far he’d declined in those few hours, she closed her eyes for a second before opening them. She gently ran her hand over his hair and forced a tired smile.

It left as Ethan’s eyelids fluttered shut, a weak breath passing his lips.

“No, no... don’t close your eyes. Ethan!” Her voice trembled as the plea barely escaped her swollen throat. Panic tightened her chest when his eyelids fluttered. “Look at me…”

A sharp gasp jolted his body. His lungs tensed, struggling to inhale. Olivia grabbed his hand and squeezed tight.

“Ethan…”

His fingers curled weakly around her hand. Pain twisted his features as another gasp clenched his chest. Even with the oxygen cannula aiding his breathing, his lungs tightened with pressure. His vision clouded, leaving his surroundings a blur.

“It’s… happening...”

Olivia’s heart froze. Anxiety gripped her lungs, sending a tremor down her spine. The unspoken meaning of his words made her heart slow to a crawl. As she tightened her grip on his hand, her head spun.

Wordlessly, she wrapped her arms around him. She gently guided his head to her shoulder and combed her fingers through his hair. “I’m right here…”

His chest trembled with sporadic breaths. The pained wheeze behind the ragged gasps clenched her heart. Olivia rested her hand on his chest and rubbed gently. Tears pooled in her eyes. She didn’t try to stop them from escaping as she tightened her hold on Ethan’s weak form.

“I’m right here,” she whispered again. “You don’t have to say anything. Just… just try to relax.”

Ethan tried to contain a shudder. His lungs burned, fighting against his attempts to breathe. Darkness fogged the corners of his eyes. His breaths escaped in short, shallow gasps.

“Shh…” Tightening her arms around him, Olivia squeezed her eyes shut. Tears still slipped through as she continued stroking his hair. His lips parted, but no words formed.

His eyes closed as a weak breath escaped his lips. When he went still in his arms, Olivia froze for several seconds. Her heart pounded against her ribs as her fingers lightly touched the side of his neck, feeling for a pulse. She felt nothing and in that moment, time seemed to hold still.

Her heart beat violently, then slowly. Then the reality hit her all at once and a sob took her breath away. Her body trembled as she gasped, squeezing her eyes shut. It wasn’t enough and tears flowed freely.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

She was supposed to spend her day treating patients. She was supposed to end the day at Donahue’s with her roommates. Another tremor wracked her body as she reminded herself that she couldn’t predict the future, that life had a way of crashing down in a moment’s time.

Olivia’s hand trembled as she reached for her pager. She pressed the button and tried to blink back a fresh wave of tears. Her head ached with dizziness as she tried to take a deep breath.

How was she supposed to tell Alan his only son died doing a job that should have been safe?

The thought stopped as soon as it began. All it took was a pained gasp to remind herself that she wasn’t making it out alive.

She wasn’t sure who came into the room or what they said to her. Her surroundings blurred, the voices near her nothing but incomprehensible, distant whispers. When Ethan’s body was removed from the bed, she cried out and buried her face in the pillow, letting her surroundings fade into nothing.

When the door closed, she wasn’t sure how much time passed before it opened again. It could have been minutes, an hour, or several hours; she didn’t know.

“Olivia?”

Through the haze, she faintly recognized Jackie and Sienna in hazmat suits. They sat on either side of the bed.

“Hi,” Jackie greeted softly.

“Hi...” Olivia whispered. Her eyes stung, dry but red and swollen. “Ethan…”

“We heard.” Sienna grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly.

She coughed, wincing when it sent a sharp pain through her chest. “I’m dying…”

Jackie’s face fell. She nodded slightly and blinked back tears. “We tried everything…”

Olivia shook her head. “Don’t blame yourself. Please…”

Sienna’s eyes glistened with tears. She bit her lip and leaned in, gently hugging her. A moment later Jackie joined in and Olivia leaned into them. She squeezed her eyes shut and felt her eyes sting at the realization that this was the last time she’d hug them, that she wouldn’t be going home to their apartment after this was all over.

“We love you,” Sienna whispered, burying her face in her best friend’s shoulder.

“I love you guys, too…”

Jackie sniffled and hugged her again before she pulled back. She cleared her throat and let out a shaky breath. “We… we just wanted to see you. I think the scalpel jockey wants to see you, too.”

“Send him in…” Olivia released Sienna, feeling her heart twist painfully at the tears in her eyes. Jackie put her arm around Sienna and led the way out of the room.

A few minutes later, the door opened again.

Olivia groggily as someone else made their way into the room. As her bleary eyes adjusted, she made out Bryce’s features through the plastic hazmat helmet. “Hey…”

“Hey.” Bryce leaned over the bed and hugged her as tightly as he dared. Then he grabbed a chair and moved it closer to her bed. He sat down in it and gave her a grin, but she could see the sadness behind it. “I thought you might want some company.”

“I do…” she murmured, nodding shakily. A rough sigh escaped her when her throat swelled. “I… I don’t wanna be alone right now.”

“We can’t all come in here at once, but everyone’s out in the hall. If they had enough hazmat suits, we’d be surrounding you.”

She laughed quietly. “I’m sure… I just hope everyone knows… how much they mean to me…”

“Yeah? Tell me your favorite thing about everyone.”

Olivia thought, the pain leaving her eyes for a second. “Jackie’s the toughest woman I know. She may like to compete with me at everything, but… she always has my back. She’d throw hands for me any time…. any time I needed it.”

He smirked. “That sounds about right.”

She continued, grateful for the brief distraction. “Aurora is the friend I didn’t know I needed… selfless, caring… Elijah and Sienna are the sweetest people I’ve ever met…”

“Am I chopped liver or something?” Bryce teased.

Her lips flickered into the ghost of a smile. “You’re okay, I guess... a little dorky, but you’re one of the first and... most loyal friends I’ve met here. You’re always there when… I need a friend… or an accomplice.”

“That’s better.” Bryce paused, trying not to let his smile fade as he extended a gloved hand toward her. Olivia took it, weakly curling her fingers around his hand.  

A sharp pain shot through her stomach. Olivia winced, a gasp catching in her throat. Her weak grip on Bryce’s hand tightened almost unnoticeably. The pained breath she released made her lungs wheeze as the pressure worsened.

“I’m… I’m glad you’re here…”

Bryce nodded, his eyes glistening. “You’re my best friend. I wasn’t about to let you be alone right now.”

“Thank you…” Her voice lowered to a whisper, almost lost in a cough so strong it made her head spin. Bryce’s face blurred out of focus and moments later she felt numbness pushing the pain from her body.

Her breathing shallowed to weak gasps. As her eyes slipped shut, she didn’t feel afraid anymore. Surrendering, she let out one last breath.

Note: I’m still not sure how satisfied I am with this. I love writing angst but I feel like it’s not my strength because I don’t know how emotions work. Feedback, please! I may end up deleting and re-writing.

Tags, part 1

@princess-geek / @lapisreviewsstuff / @msjpuddleduck / @silverlitskies / @paulfwesley / @dr-brianna-casey-valentine / @junehiratas / @choicesstanblog / @trappedinfandoms / @justanotherrookie / @bellcat2010 / @desmaranj / @lion-ess24 / @nooruleman / @caseyvalentineramsey / @xee-na / @edith-eggs1 / @oofchoices / @schnitzelbutterfingers​ / @tefigranger​ / @jlynn12273​ / @laceandlula​ / @crazy-loca-blog​ / @somegdchoices​ / @sanchita012​ / @forthebrokenheartedthings​ / @lilyvalentine​ / @parkerattano​ / @drramseysownsme​ / @misswhit12​ / @drethanfreakingramsey​ / @juneiswriting​ / @macy-ray85​ / @swimmingauthordreamerbonk​ / @myusualnerdyself​ / @siaramsey​ / @takemyopenheart​ / @queencarb​ 

[princessamericachavez]

Fjorester Talk in episode 117

also known as Sofía goes buckwild and overanalyzes 10 minutes of conversation and body language.

ready?

Ok, first of all, Fjord looks so worried from the get go as he asks Jester if Lucien/Cree was speaking to her directly. 

And when she confirms it he does this little grumpy sigh

He no like it. No like it at all.

Fjord: Does it seem like he’s keying in on you in particular?

LISTEN GUYS

I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR LIKE TWO WEEKS

HOPING FJORD WOULD GET PROTECTIVE OVER JESTER CONSTANTLY GETTING SCRIED ON/MESSAGED BY LUCIEN BUT I DIDN’T THINK TRAVIS WAS ACTUALLY GOING TO DELIVER

AND HE DIIIIIID

Ok anyway he goes on about how when they see someone else scrying it’s usually just a representation of the spell and wonders if Lucien is more powerful and therefor can see the person

and then he makes a pause mid-argument

because Jester makes this face and he realizes this is upsetting her, so he quickly backtracks trying to reassure her. 

Fjord: I’m sure it’s just coincidence but...

and here’s where the idea comes and god how long has he been thinking about this???

Fjord: since we’re not in the sea... would you... want to wear this?

YES HELLO DO YOU SEE THE PARALLELS TO THAT ONE TIME HE WANTED TO GIVE HER AN EXTRA POWERFUL HEALING POTION TO MAKE SURE SHE WOULD BE SAFE??? PROTECTIVE FJORD PARALLELS!!!

and then he just brushes off the fact that he’s a huge Uk’otoa beacon everytime they are on water —baby, you died once already, don’t act like it’s whatever???

Fjord: maybe it would provide some protection if we were to keep checking in on him?

Jester: I mean... it’s worth a try. 

Of course, as she points out, Lucien has already met all of them and he could just as easily scry on any of the M9 if he wanted to, but that’s not really what Fjord is worried about, what is bothering him. Fjord knew Lucien was watching and it’s not the first time they are scried on, but he makes it clear that he’s concerned about how centered on Jester that’s been lately. 

Jester: Maybe it’ll keep me from getting seen next time I scry on him?

Fjord: I guess we’ll find out next time we try it. 

The way he chuckles softly, trying to defuse the tension, and she smiles back even though this subject clearly has her nervous??? 11/10

Jester: Thank you. 

SHE SAYS IT SO SOFTLY. SHE’S CLEARY SO TOUCHED THAT HE’S WATCHING OUT FOR HER AND HAVING HER BACK JUST LIKE HE ALWAYS DOES. 

LOOK AT THOSE HEART EYES THEY BOTH HAVE WTF

THEY ARE BOTH SO SOFT 

Fjord: Yeah. Just in case it’s not... coincidence. 

Listen there’s such a heaviness in how he says the word. 

Like the possibility of anyone —especially this very dangerous stranger with the face of a friend— purposefully targeting Jester is his worst nightmare. It probably is. 

Jester: It’s also creepy. He did say that he kind of knew me, right?

NOTICE HOW JESTER IS STILL PLAYING WITH THE AMULET IN HER HANDS??? 

Idk why but that’s getting to me. She’s so nervous with this whole thing. 

Fjord: He did?

Jester: When we got there he said he hadn’t met anyone except for me. 

OH FJORD DOESN’T LIKE THIS AT ALL

So of course Jester tries to defuse the tension talking about how she must look like through the scry

AND HE’S JUST SO IN LOVE

And so he plays along

LOOK AT THE WAY HE MAKE HER SMILE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(same, Ashley, same)

And so, more reassured by the goofiness, Jester finally puts the necklace on. 

Fjord: And of course, it’s Caleb’s...

Jester: oh

LISTEN SHE DID NOT LIKE THAT. She was clearly so excited to get a present like this from Fjord and you can see her face fall a little when it’s deviated towards someone else. 

Jester: should I ask him if it’s okay?

Fjord: Well, he gave it to me to use it..

Fjord: and you seem to need it more. 

AKA THE AMULET WAS FOR FJORD’S WELLBEING BUT THE WAY HE IS OK IS IF HE KNOWS JESTER IS PROTECTED

Jester, now that she knows this is something that he is personally choosing to transfer to her: Okay...

LOOK AT THE WAY SHE CLUTCHES IT TO HER HEART I’M DYING

Fjord: And just be careful.

Fjord: I don’t like the possibility of him keying in on you or using that connection between the two of you to manipulate something. His magic seems strange. 

LISTEN GUYS LISTEN 

THIS PART HERE IS HUGE OK?

This is the part where Fjord took 18 steps forward instead of one since Rumblecusp

Whereas before he could’ve hide his concern as something tactical, something useful that made sense and could help their mission... or could’ve hidden behind group speech to disguise his concern...

here he says “I don’t like the possibility of him keying in on you.”

here he is straight up saying “I am worried about you”

(quietly hopes Lucien does exactly that to trigger more protective fjord instincts in the future and lots of angst based shippy shenaingans)

Fjord: Alright. More adventures tomorrow. 

BECAUSE THAT’S ALL OK

THAT’S IT

HE SAID HIS PIECE, HE KEPT HER SAFE, MADE SURE SHE LAUGHED A LITTLE AND THAT’S ALL HE NEEDS... THAT AND MORE ADVENTURES BY HER SIDE

But then Jester hesitates

AND LOOK AT THAT, THE WAY SHE PULLS BACK LIKE SHE’S AFRAID IF SHE SAYS THE WRONG THING HE’LL CLOSE OFF

THE WAY HIS FACE SCRUNCHES WITH WORRY OVER WHAT COULD POSSIBLY BE TROUBLING HER THAT SHE’S HESITATING TO SAY

Fjord: What?

Jester: H- How are you?

FJORD MELTING IMMEDIATELY: 

The way he goes from super concerned to extremely soft in 0.2 seconds.

(i am ashley and ashley is me)

Jester: *explaining all the very valid reasons she has to be worried about Fjord too and all the crazy shit that happened to him only a few days ago*

Fjord: *bursting with feelings of love*

seriously travis pls have some mercy of my poor yearning soul

Also I wanna talk about the way Jester brings up Avantika.

Jester: She tried to pull you into the water... you guys had a thing... it must have been weird to see her all kinda dead and stuff... was it weird? And then you killed her... again...

The way she calls them “a thing” and the way she checks if it was “weird” for him to see her as undead really says a lot to me. I think Jester never quite got over the heartbreak during the pirate arc and part of her probably still thought that Fjord harbored some sort of feelings or attraction towards Avantika. 

I think she believes whatever they two had was far more intimate than it actually was. Or, at the very least, Jester thinks it must have meant something to Fjord. 

How could she not? The whole thing had her bursting with jealousy and pain and unresolved feelings... you can tell how anxious she is around this subject but also she needs to know if he’s alright because she cares too much

Fjord: It was weird. Yeah, it was weird, for sure. I wasn’t expecting that...

HE DOESN’T EVEN REGISTER IT AS AN “EX” THING I SWEAR

Fjord: I’m alright. 

And so she finally relaxes.

Fjord: It feels like I keep trying to start newer chapters in my life and leave the old stuff behind and then it just... keeps popping up. 

Fjord: It feels like it’s hard to... pursue something new, when the past is not dealt with. 

YOU CAN’T SEE IT IN THE SCREENSHOTS BUT JESTER STARTS NODDING VERY GENTLY WHEN HE STARTS TALKING ABOUT NEW CHAPTERS AND MOVING ON 

ALSO THIS

(ashley knows what I’m talking about)

Jester: Do we need to deal with the past?

WE

SHE SAYS WE

BECAUSE AS USUAL THEY ARE A TEAM ALWAYS FIRST AND FOREMOST

AND IF THIS IS SOMETHING HE NEEDS TO DO SHE’S GOING TO HELP HIM AND BE BY HIS SIDE WITHOUT A DOUBT NO MATTER WHAT

Fjord: I think so. 

Fjord: Yeah... I want to. 

THE WAY HE LOOKS AT HER WHEN HE SAYS ‘I WANT TO’. HE WANTS TO HAVE A FUTURE WITH HER. HE WANTS TO LET GO OF THE PAST SO HE CAN HAVE A FUTURE WITH HER. HE’S LETTING HIMSELF ‘WANT’ THIS AND ADMITTING IT.

Fjord: I feel like I need to close all of that before...

AND THEN HE JUST GOES THROUGH THIS BLESSED FACE JOURNEY FOR 6 ENTIRE SECONDS

LOOK AT IT

AND THE WAY SHE SLOWLY SMILES LIKE SHE MIGHT KNOW WHAT HE MEANS

LOOK AT HER OWN FACIAL JOURNEY

ASHLEYYYYYYYYYY

And so Jester jumps into action mode offering her help. 

and Fjord —once again— proves that he’s able and willing to open up to Jester about things that he’s keeping close to his chest... like Sabian. 

Fjord: I um... I actually... I put a bounty out for S-Sabian. 

IDK WHY THIS FACIAL EXPRESSION AMUSES ME THIS MUCH

THIS IS FJORD’S ‘IM ABOUT TO CONFESS SOMETHING PERSONAL TO JESTER FACE’ AND WE’VE SEEN IT BEFORE AT THE KILN AND IN RUMBLECUSP

Jester: A bo- When? How?

SHE’S SO BEWILDERED LMFAO

and a little offended that she didn’t know

and I think Fjord can tell by the way he quickly tries to excuse it as a way to keep Kotho occupied after the whole Vokodo ordeal

But Jester quickly gets back on track and starts looking for a way to help him with this. If finding Sabian is what Fjord wants —what he needs— right now, she’ll do anything to help him. 

Jester: *describing how she would be able to help Fjord*

Fjord, who never had anyone be this ride or die for him ever and who is bursting at the seems with love for this kind and wonderful woman:

Fjord: Sure.

Jester: You want me to do it?

Fjord: Yeah. 

THOSE HEART EYES SHOULD BE ILEGAL 

Jester: *uses a sixth level spell to send a message for Fjord because this is totally her number one priority now and it’s not like they are dealing with stuff that literally drained her today or like they are stuck up north for god knows how long... nope... she needs to find a way to help Fjord right now*

Fjord:

okay okay okay

so after the message

you can see how Jester is worried that the news she finally found for him are bad news and not going to cheer him up

Jester: Oops

Fjord: No, no, no, no! No oops! That’s great! That’s great!

I love the way he rushes to reassure her, to make sure she knows that what she just did for him is amazing and means so much and please jester do not be sad about this because this already means so much to me you have no ideaaaaaa

Fjord: That’s... totally distracting but that’s great. 

Fjord: Thank you.

Jester: You’re welcome! Now you know!

Fjord, with more feeling and emotion behind it like he wants to tell her that she and everything she does for him out of love mean the entire universe to him: Thank you.

Jester, blissfully unaware that he’s in love with him but delighted that she was able to help and that he is letting her in enough to help deal with his past: You’re welcome! I’m glad I could help!

Fjord, still not over how good she is and how diametrically different her kindness is compared to everything else he’s known in life so far and still after these many months shook and surprised by how wonderful she is: That’s very nice of you, I-

Jester: It’s just a (6th level) spell. Easy to do.

SHE HAS NO IDEA THAT WHAT HE MEANS ISN’T THE MAGIC NOR THE SPELL NOR THE INFORMATION... IT’S HER HELP AND SUPPORT THAT HE IS SO SHAKEN WITH. 

Fjord: I.... will think about that all night. 

Sure you will Fjord. We know you will. But we know it’s not about Sabien but about Jester’s kindness that you’re gonna be thinking all night. We know that’s what’s keeping you up. Not the past, the future. 

AND OF COURSE

THE OBLIGATORY AWKWARD ENDING

Fjord: I’ll race you to the top!

Both: UP!

THEY ARE SO ADORABLE AND GOOFY AND PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER WTF HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE MY LIFE INSTEAD OF THINKING ABOUT THEM 24/7??

ANYWAY WHO IS READY FOR PIRATE ARC PART 2 AND MORE SHENANIGANS WITH THESE TWO WHILE FJORD GETS FINALLY READY TO MOVE FORWARD TOWARDS THE FUTURE HE WANTS WITH JESTER? I AM

[jazy3]

Thoughts on Grey’s Anatomy: 18X05

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Wow this season is really dragging. This episode felt super bland to me to the point that I didn't really have a favourite moment or scene at all. I know this was a crossover, but as I’m not loving Grey’s at the moment, I couldn’t be motivated to watch the Station 19 episode. I did think it was interesting that they played it up like it was Ben who had been injured or killed and then we found out it was Dean. I'm glad they didn't kill Ben off, but I'm sad that Dean died. I was disappointed that they pulled away in the very moment that Travis told Vic that Dean was dead. That should have been the episode's most emotional moment and they pulled away from it, so we didn't actually get to hear the words.

Grey’s is at its best when things are emotional and impactful and this episode had the potential to deliver the water works, but instead they chose to pull away which greatly weakened the emotional punch that this episode and the crossover in general could and should have had. I  understand Bailey's hesitancy in taking custody of Pru. The fact that she brought up not wanting to get attached to Pru because Dean's parents could swoop in and take her and that could still happen irks me.

They brought it up and then we see Bailey meeting Pru and very clearly getting attached without the reason she was hesitant being addressed. I didn't see the companion scenes on Station 19 where Ben agreed to take care of Pru if something happened to Dean, but my understanding was that Ben agreed because Dean asked him repeatedly, they were friends and brothers, and like he said to Bailey he never thought he'd die. Also, as he points out Bailey, she asked Joey to become a part of their family without talking to him so adopting kids without talking to the other person is kind of their thing now?

So yeah, they definitely should have talked about it, but I think ultimately they will make it work. I enjoyed Tom’s return! I love Tom and I was happy to see him back. I was a bit disappointed that Hamilton was really upset over nothing. They made it out like it was this big deal and then it turns out Tom didn't actually do anything wrong. He gloated to Hamilton about dating his daughter which he shouldn't have done, but apart from that Tom didn't hurt her or do anything to hurt Hamilton he was just his usual swarmy self. I think Hamilton overacted a bit, but I think that had more to do with his fears because of his illness rather than actually having an issue with Tom. I think he projected majorly, and Meredith was right to point that out.

Speaking of Meredith, here storyline with Nick this episode made absolutely no sense and I'm not just saying that because I don't like them together. At the beginning Nick asks her what she's wearing, and she says a chastity belt echoing her earlier comments about how she's not going to sleep with him. But then at the end of the episode we see them on a date at a restaurant where after having a non-sensical conversation they wind up making out. She repeatedly tells Nick she’s not interested, but then she agrees to go on two dates with the guy and makes out with him? Is she into this guy or not? Her words and her actions don't match and the whole thing makes no sense.

While I did feel some chemistry between Amelia and Bartley it wasn't earth shattering and I feel like she has way better chemistry with Link. Back in Seattle, we saw Owen get triggered by the explosion outside the hospital and afterwards he vowed to help other veterans learn how to manage their PTSD as he did. While the scenes with Owen were hard to watch I appreciate the show coming back to and re-addressing Owen's PTSD and the fact that it's not something that just goes away. I'm glad that Owen's found better ways of dealing with it over time and I think what he's trying to do to help the other veterans is admirable and makes sense for this character.

I did enjoy the scenes with Megan, Winston, and Hayes in this episode although the thought that they might put Megan and Hayes together makes me sick. I honestly got more of a friends vibe with Megan and Hayes and if they went that way and made them friends I’d be happy. As I’ve said, I love listening to Hayes talk about his life in Ireland and the conversation about cartoons was charming and it made me laugh. Speaking of Megan, do her and Farouk just live in Seattle now? When did that happen? They originally showed up for one weekend for Owen and Teddy’s wedding and while I was expecting them to hang around for a bit they appear to have moved there permanently and Megan appears to have been hired to work at Grey Sloan without them ever addressing it on screen which is weird.  

I’m a bit frustrated that we haven’t gotten an update on how Hayes’ son Austin is doing seeing as the fact that he was struggling was the reason Meredith and Hayes broke up and Bailey was supposed to be helping him with that, but now her and Ben are adopting Pru so when is she going to have time to do that? Also, Meredith still hasn’t told Hayes that she’s dating Nick while in Minnesota which is both cruel and out of character for her. This storyline makes about as much sense as her dating DeLuca did and likewise, they’ve done absolutely nothing to explain Meredith’s state of mind or her perspective. Overall, when it comes to my feelings on this episode I liked Tom's reappearance, but that was about it.  

Until next time!

[allegra-writes]

"TKN"

Peter Parker x Anti-hero!Reader

General audiences

Warnings: None

Part XIII of the "Mercy" Series

SERIES MASTERLIST | MY MASTERLIST

"Secrets only to those you can trust.

You better not break the Omerta..."

TKN - Rosalia f. Travis Scott

72 hours. That's how long you and Peter had been on the run. And in those 72 hours, Peter had gone through more new experiences than in a whole year as an avenger: He had joined the mile high club, only to five minutes later jump from said plane at cruise speed. He had illegally entered a country, broke into a department store and even shaved his whole head to completely change his appearance. He had celebrated his and yours new freedom with sangria, and more lovemaking at the beach under the stars... 

But this? Being held at gunpoint by a tiny girl with murder in her eyes and superhuman reflexes? That was, sadly, nothing new. 

It was like watching a dance, the way your high kick sent the gun in her left hand flying, as the blonde rolled out of your reach too fast for you to get a hold of the other gun on her right. You avoided a punch to your midriff, as she jumped away from your knife. And your boyfriend saw, helpless, as it was shot out of your hand by a bullet fired with millimetric precision to its blade. But he had been instructed under no uncertain terms to stay out of the confrontation, and by now he knew better than to disobey you. 

"Don't you know what they say about bringing a knife to a gunfight?" The girl quipped, heavy ucranian accent lacing her words.

You smirked,

"They only say that cause a knife is only as good as the one who wields it, тетя Lena… Are you sure you're better with a gun than I am with a knife?"

She rolled her eyes at your cockiness, knowing full well you had several more sharp weapons hidden in your body. 

"Ты менг раздржаешь... So," Lena inquired, eyeing Peter up and down, "Who's the boy toy?"

Your smirk intensified, a barely there twitch, an almost imperceptible movement of your fingers, was all the signal your boyfriend needed,

"His name is Peter," A web shooter went off, and Lena found herself suddenly unarmed "and he's not a boy toy" 

"No, he's an avenger" She spat the word like an insult, "You know the rules, Likho. We don't fuck with strangers"

"And we only share secrets with those we can trust" You finished for her, "I trust him, Lena" 

She huffed, still sizing him up, but you could see a new glint of curiosity, if not respect, in her emerald eyes. 

After a minute, she finally relaxed, dropping her defensive stance. Without another word, she turned away from you, opening a cabinet, taking out three glasses and a bottle of vodka. 

"What's the story, then?" She began pouring the drinks, "I assume there is a story there, last time I saw you, you wanted to kill the avengers. Now here you are, with one as a pet…"

"I'm not- I'm not a…" Peter stammered his protest, "I'm not a pet" 

"Then why are you trailing after her like a lost puppy?" 

"Lena," Your tone was warning, as you grabbed your glass "play nice"

She rolled her eyes again,

"You sound just like your mother. The blonde widow made a face, downing her drink in one gulp, only to immediately refill it, "I miss her"

"Yeah" you sighed, "me too…" 

Peter fidgeted uncomfortably next to you.

"Everything ok, Peter?"

Your boyfriend hesitated: His spider sense was still on high alert, but he couldn't really tell if it was because of the assassin, or another threat you were unaware of.

He decided to play it down for the moment.

"Yeah just… don't want to be rude or anything but I'm not really the vodka type"

"I guessed that already, Spider-Boy. Is why I didn't pour you one…"

"Then who's that one for?" He questioned pointing at the third one.

"That would be for me" 

You looked up, your face breaking into the biggest grin Peter had ever seen on you at the sound of the new voice.

"Alex!" 

A pang of jealousy hit him, as he watched you throw yourself into the arms of the tall, handsome stranger.

Because this Alex guy was handsome, there was no denying that: Bright hazel eyes on top of the sharpest cheekbones Peter had ever seen, pale face framed by dark, shiny long tresses almost to his shoulders.

"Nice hair" You teased, running your fingers through his luscious locks and Peter had the sudden impulse to stick bubble gum to them like Flash had done to him once, back in junior year. He self consciously rubbed his own head, too aware of his buzzcut.

"Nice bangs," the Alex guy shot back, messing your hair like one would to a little child, "you look like a schoolgirl" 

That earned him a rather painful looking punch to his shoulder.

"Punch like a girl too"

"Train a little harder and you will too" You winked. Peter cleared his throat. "Right, of course. Alex, this is Peter. Peter, this is Alex" 

They shook hands, Peter impulsively squeezing a little too hard for a human. But the skinnier boy simply smiled a wolfish grin, all sharp white teeth, returning the grip with just as much strength. 

"Welcome to the spiders' den, Peter"

…

An hour later found the four of you satiated and relaxed, amongst empty pizza boxes and beer bottles. 

"... So, there we were, completely surrounded by both Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, that were actually also Hydra agents, outnumbered and without any exit points in sight" Lena was retelling, Alex nodding enthusiastically beside her as he chew yet another slice of pepperoni, "So I reach inside my boot for my hidden glock, smirky hydra son of a bitch goes 'You looking for this, blondie?' Shaking my knife in front of my face…"

You fidget uncomfortably next to Peter, his eyes going from your beet red face to an Alex that seemed to be choking.

"And that little brat" she pointed at you, "Barbie pajamas, ice cream cone in one hand, my fucking gun in the other goes 'No, fart knocker, she was looking for this'" 

Alex finally snorted, little crumbs escaping his mouth and hitting you in the face as he started coughing. You wiped your face with as much dignity as you could muster.

"You're just salty because a nine year old saved your ass" 

"A sick nine year old" Alex managed to get out between barks, "With pink eye, she could only see with one eye. And using just one hand. Is why we call her Likho ever since" 

"Wait, you still had your ice cream?" 

"She never let go of that ice cream" Lena replied to the question Peter had directed at you, and you felt the temperature of your cheeks rise even more. 

"Literally single handedly took out 7 agents" Alex added, "and then demanded another scoop" 

All three of your companions dissolved in laughter, as you felt your stomach churn. Alex wouldn't look back on that particular memory with such fond eyes if he knew what that little incident had initiated, how it had snowballed until the consequences had reached a girl on the other side of the world, another red room experiment, just like you. 

They said a butterfly flapping its wings here can cause a typhoon in China. Well, your hurricane had levelled Ava Orlova's life.

You weren't one for guilt. Guilt had no place in survival. You did what had to be done in order to preserve yourself and your freedom. Just like your mother had taught you. Just like she had done. But being with Peter, loving Peter… well, that was having unforeseen consequences too, as you were coming to realize. 

Because now you understood. Now you understood Alex and Ava's bond, because Alex had felt for Ava the same way you did for Peter. Probably still did, since it was with trepidation that you realized his death probably wouldn't change your feelings for peter. 

After all, your own hadn't. 

"What about you, spider-boy? Any embarrassing stories to share?"

Peter smiled, for a minute forgetting where he was or why he was there,

"Actually, I do. It involves a barn, an overly friendly goat and hay in places hay should never…" He trailed off, his smile falling when he saw the look on your face.

"No! Why did you stop? That sounds like a great story!"

"Yeah, you got me at 'overly friendly goat'!"

Peter simply interlocked his fingers with yours, silently offering his support. It was time. You took a deep breath

"Because it wouldn't be fair to tell you a story that I don't remember" 

Silence fell over the small kitchen, as Lena and Alex processed your words, the later being the first to break it,

"S.H.I.E.L.D?"

"The T.A.H.I.T.I. protocol" you confirmed. He leaned back on his chair, chuckling, but there was no humor behind it.

"Well, well, well… ain't karma a bitch" 

"Alexei," Lena's tone was warning, "that was the Blank Slate project. You can't blame Likho for what Natasha did"

"Can't I? Really? Cause in over twenty years, our sister never cared about my 'trauma', but we find out about her" He pointed, accusingly, "and suddenly she is all about giving us a normal life. As if we could ever be normal. As if new memories could erase the Red Room from our bones"

"Alex…" You tried, weakly, but you didn't know what to say. Not when everything he was saying was true. 

"And now what? You want me to help you break through it? Now you need us to get back the memories they took from you, just like your mother stole memories from us?" 

"Alexei!"

"NO, YELENA!" Three figures automatically jumped into a fighting stance when his fist met the table. Alex closed his eyes, attempting to get his breathing, and his emotions, back under control. 

"If you want to help these Avengers, go ahead" He finally said, eyes fixed on his sister's, "but don't expect me to be a part of this." 

Without another word, he got up and left the room, leaving Yelena to pick the pieces of the broken bottle that had rolled off the table. And you, to pick up the pieces of your broken heart. 

"Shhh, it's ok, y/n" Peter, sweet, loyal Peter, tried to envelope you in his arms when he heard the first sob leave your throat, even if he didn't quite understand why it had hurt you so much to be called an Avenger. But Lena was there in a heartbeat, throwing him a dirty look, and taking your face in her hands to force you to look at her instead. 

"Don't listen to him, Likho. You're not an Avenger, you are a widow. You will always be a widow, and always will be a part of this family. Just like your mother."

You nodded, buring your face on your aunt's shoulder. 

"I'll help you, both of you" Yelena declared, eyes meeting Peter's, "Us spiders ought to take care of each other" 

To be continued… 

[darkelfshadow]

Session Summary - 107

AKA “Phlan Besieged”

Adventures in Taggriell

Session 107  (Date: 16th April 2021)

Players Present:

- Rob (Known as “Varis”) Elf Male.

- Bob (Known as “Sir Krondor) Dwarf Male.

- Paul (Known as “Labarett”) Elf Male.

- Travis (Known as “Trenchant”) Human Male.

- Arthur (Known as “Gim”) Dwarf Male.

Absent Players

- John (Known as “Ragnar”) Dwarf Male.  <Played by Bob>

NPC

- (Known as “Naillae”) Elf Female. <Controlled by Travis>

Summary

- Starday, 6th Sarenith in the year 815 (Second Era). Late Summer.

- The party begin this session, late afternoon, having just teleported back to Crescent Moon.

- As Archmage Tallous, Valthrun The Enchanter and Valder The Enchanter are not yet ready to perform the teleport ritual into Phlan, the party are forced to wait in Crescent Moon for two days.

- During this time, the party purchase some equipment and items, and allocate some of the newly gained magic artefacts to members of the party. Bucky also uses this time to slowly recover from the ordeal of being resurrected.

- Moonday, 8th Sarenith in the year 815 (Second Era). Late Summer.

- The party awake early, just after sunrise. Half an hour later, at about 6am, after preparing for the incursion into Phlan, the party stand before the three Wizards, ready to teleport in. The time difference between Crescent Moon and Phlan is four hours.

- Using the combined might of the three Wizards, along with a minuscule amount of the liquid from the Pool Of Radiance, the party are teleported into Phlan, forcing their way past the arcane barrier around the far city.

- It is mid morning in Phlan, but the city is almost in darkness. Most of the sunlight is stopped by the impenetrable 30 feet thick dome of a magic thicket of brambles and briars that has completely overgrown the city.

- The buildings show signs of damage and looting, with door and windows smashed open or boarded up with improvised defences. Dead bodies are everywhere on the streets. No signs of life greet the party, and the eary scene of the silent, dark, and still city concern the party greatly. Some of the buildings are completely destroyed, enveloped by seperate thickets of vines and branches that have twisted and pulled apart those buildings to rubble.

- The party have been teleported into the northern New District of the city, and make their way over to the nearby Manor of Sir Zern Xerstil but find that the building has been completely destroyed by the thicket. Hearing a moaning voice from a nearby street, the party find more dead bodies and destruction but one body moves slightly, with a moan. A lone survivor, a female, though nearly dead.

- The party quickly recover the female and begin treating her wounds. Nearby, the party find the decapitated body and head of Sir Zern. Nearby the also find the slain body of Rolk, the Dwarf Merchant Noble that had assisted the party on the first visit to Phlan.

- The party bring the injured woman and the body parts of Sir Zern into a nearby damaged building. The party rest for an hour, giving time for Trenchant to cast his most powerful spell, and Resurrect Sir Zern back to life. Trenchant will only be able to do this once more, but not for the remainder of this day.

- The now injured woman is spoken to, her name is Grondyn. She is distraught and in despair, as her husband and two children, and a group of civilians, were killed by the Cult as Sir Zern and Rolk were attempting to gather up the remaining populace and lead them to a place of safety. She does not know where they were going, but does know they were going to find the “Small Lady” who could hide them in safety from the Cult.

- When Sir Zern is returned to life, he is very weak and exhausted. All his injuries have been healed, but it will be a number of days before he is back to full strength. His armour has been totally destroyed and he has no weapons. Trenchant gives some of his weapons to Sir Zern, Ridir (shortsword) and the Dragongleam Spear.

- Sir Zern tells the party that Vorgansharax has consumed a large quantity of the liquid from the Pool Of Radiance, increasing his power to almost God like levels. It was because of this that Vorgansharax was able to create the magic thicket and arcane barrier around the entire city. As this happened, the Cult and its allies, began mass killings of the populace. There was no reasoning with them, or any attempt at taking prisoners, the Cult is slaughtering the entrapped population for sport and fun. Any attempt to try and attack or break through the thicket, causes the thicket to grow into creatures that attack back, as the thicket then grows slowly back into position. Half the population of Phlan, six thousand people, were killed in a day.

- Sir Zern also tells the party that Madame Freona (“the Small Lady”) and Glevith (a Crime Boss whom the party dealt with last time they were in Phlan) managed to get a lot of the locals out of the city via the sewers and they are hiding in the nearby Grimshackle Jail. But the thicket has now grown into the sewers and all travel via that means has stopped, trapping those left in the doomed city.

- Sir Zern informs the party that Olisara Lightsong of the Harpers has been killed whilst trying to save civilians (this information the party already knew), and also that Captain Greycastle has been captured alive by the Cult and taken to the dungeons under Stojanow Gate Keep. Most, if not all, of Greycastle’s forces have been killed. Further, the mysterious Black Knight has been continuing to kill individual Cult Officers one by one, but still no one knows who this figure is.

- The party learn that Madame Freona has now been using an ancient system of underground escape tunnels to house the remaining rescued populace. These tunnels were made when the city was first started by the Wizard Denlor, who’s tower has been locked up for many centuries. The escape tunnels, and the tower, are protected by strong magics, having resisted the arcane thicket and keeping the thicket at bay. The Lord Sage has been trapped inside the Libarary, as the thickets have attempted to overgrow and destroy the Library but the arcane defences of the Lord Sage have kept the thicket at bay, for now.

- Sir Zern tells the party where the ancient Escape Tunnel system goes to, and how there is an exit tunnel, that does lead out of the city from the original Keep, which is now Stojanow Gate Keep. The secret Escape Tunnel opens somewhere in the Dungeons but the exit to the outside leads into Valhingen Graveyard. This graveyard has been cursed for many centuries and no one goes into it anymore, as the Undead guard it. Sir Zern tells the party that their only way out of the city now, is to breach the Dungeons via the ancient Escape Tunnels, find the secret door that goes to the exit tunnel, and fight their way through the graveyard.

- Trenchant uses a Seeming spell to make the party, Sir Zern and the rescued Grondyn, look like Knights Of The Tears Of Virulence, allies of the Cult Forces. The party moves through the quiet back ways of the city, until they come to an abandoned street market area. Two Guard Drakes smell the strong Half-Orc scent of Sir Zern, and begin approaching the party with deep growls. 

- Before the party can respond, the Drakes rush forward and leap at Sir Zern, their jaws snapping at him. The party is forced to attack and kill both Drakes. Unknown to the party, the nearby buildings have a large group of Cult forces in hiding, watching. A Red Wizard Of Thay, Cult Fanatics and Cult Assassins. 

- When the hidden Cult forces see that the group of apparent “Knights”, do not use the correct verbal commands to get the Drakes under control, they look more closely at the party’s group. The Red Wizard of Thay concentrates, and looking hard, he sees through the illusion as he realises the group is not behaving the way Knights should. The Wizard leans out of a doorway and hurls a fireball at the party, exploding over most of them. 

- With their disguise now useless for this encounter, the battle is on. When the rest of the Cult Forces see that the Red Wizard has attack the apparent Knights, without hesitation, they join the fight too.

- The party are rushing forward, as Sir Zern shouts out that they need to take a certain street to keep on track for the only bridge towards the Old City District. The party is hit hard, taking severe injuries, as the Assassins are deadly. Varis is nearly killed and is eventually forced back. The Cult Fanatics stay within the building, hurling streaks of arcane fire at the party.

- Trenchant cleverly rushes towards the Red Wizard Of Thay and using his Rapier’s Wit, locks the Wizard into a Battle Of Wits. This magically compels the Wizard to duel with Trenchant, rather than cast spells, effectively taking the Wizard out of the combat. As such, the Wizard does not survive against Trenchant and Naillae for long.

- Sir Zern leads Grondyn out of the battle and towards the exit street, and safety. 

- The party are moving forward, the three Dwarves working together to kill any Cult Forces in their way. As they all near the exit street, with only one Cult Fanatic left, the party all rush madly into the exit street and away.

- They continue running through streets for a few minutes, before slowing down and making their way onwards, slowly and with caution. Upon ahead they can hear the sound of the river that cuts Phlan in half. Around the next block, is the main bridge to the other side of town.

<And as the party prepare themselves to approach the main bridge, where last time they fought to save Captain Greycastle, that is the end of the session.>

XP Allocation

Group - Combined (This is equally divided by the number of players who were involved)

Quests (Only quests that are completed or rendered undoable, during this session, are shown here)

- “Return To The Light” - Resurrect Sir Zern = 1000 XP

- “The Shepherds” - Commoner Survives Encounter (x 1) = 200 XP

Creatures Overcome

- Guard Drakes = 900 XP

- Red Wizard Of Thay = 2300 XP

- Cult Fanatics = 1350 XP

- Cult Assassins = 11700 XP

- Dragonsoul = 2900 XP

Individual (This is only given to that person and is not divided amongst all players)

Special Bonus (Outstanding Role Playing)

Nil

XP Levels and Player Allocations

Player : Start +  Received = Total ��(Notes)

Rob : 147397 + 2907 = 150304

Arthur : 117960 + 2907 = 120867 (Level up to 13)

John : 112927 + 2180 = 115107

Travis : 134803 + 2907 = 137710

Paul : 124286 + 2907 = 127193

Bob : 137095 + 3633 = 140728 (Level up to 14)

NPC (Naillae) : + (1454) (Level up)

[curiousconch]

Fight or Flight

Chapter 13 of Ricochet (An Open Heart AU)

Catch up here: Series Masterlist

Chapter Synopsis: Bryce and Heather both need to make major decisions as they face the final revelation about what truly transpired during Heather's kidnapping.

Pairing: Bryce Lahela x MC (Dr. Heather Song) ft. PLATONIC Ethan Ramsey

Words: 3.5k+ | Genre: Crime, Suspense/Thriller, Romance

Rating/Warnings: Mature (16+) / language, hints of violence

Author's Notes: So this took too long to write, and frankly, I'm still reeling with it. I have long planned the conclusion of this series but I am still shocked with how I came up with this final twist. I do hope you forgive me for sitting on this for far too long. Life wasn't making it easier.

Also, disclaimer: Majority of the characters are owned by Pixelberry, except the main character Heather Song.

"You can't go back to the case, Lahela."

Bryce pounded his fists on his oak desk in frustration. He just came out of a meeting from Chief Tanaka, requesting for him to be assigned back on the Farrugia case.

Victim - prosecutor relations. Possible disbarrment. Termination. To sum it all up, his career will be in jeopardy.

These are the looming threats over Bryce's head if he didn't back off the case. Not that he had much choice. Now that his and Heather's faces were plastered across every Boston online article from the gala.

He couldn't help but to think that someone planned to stop his involvement in the case. Probably because that person knows he's doomed once Bryce works his way to untangle the web of conspiracies that transpired.

Resolved, the ADA swears to himself to get to the bottom of it before he lets this go. Sitting down, his mind ventures to Heather, wishing that her day back to Edenbrook was going much smoother than his was.

*** 

Unfortunately, before noon, Heather found herself in a supply closet.

It was proving more difficult to go back to normalcy after everything that has happened. Patients recognize her from the news coverage. Doctors, nurses, even half the staff was treating her like something fragile. Even the usually grumpy attending that was her boss wasn't trying to get on her toes today.

For Heather, it was incredibly disorienting.

But the probable reason behind how everyone was acting weird around her was that early morning incident.

While taking on an emergency case, she froze up. The last time she did was during her intern year. And that was for an entirely different reason. This time, her head blanked out because she thought she saw Ed Farrugia in that gurney. The slithering snake of a man he was. She couldn't move her fingers, nor speak because of the mixed emotions of her imagined vision.

Edenbrook was where it all began.

Luckily, Dr. Naveen was around to sub for her.

And thus began her slow downturn, reaching the tipping point in this condemned supply closet.

Eyes closed and breathing slowly, Heather struggled to free herself from the suffocation she was feeling. She loved Edenbrook, she loved working here. But now, why does she only feel dread the first day she again set foot on it?

Beep beep.

The sound of her pager momentarily freed her from her prodding mind. It was Ethan. He wanted to see her at Chief Banerji's office. Sighing deeply, she fixed herself and got out of the closet, wondering what this meeting might be about.

An elevator trip and a couple of minutes later, she knocked on Naveen's door and let herself in. Ethan Ramsey was already inside.

"You asked for me?" Heather said, closing the door behind her.

Her mentor and grand-mentor exchanged looks of concern before straightening up.

"Grand-protégé, have a seat," Chief Naveen gestured towards the comfortable chairs in front of her desk, where Ethan already took a seat on one.

She obliged, taking the seat opposite her boss. Dr. Ramsey didn't take long to speak right after.

"We know you've been through a lot recently Dr. Song and we-"

"Please don't put this delicately, Ethan. I can't get anymore fragile," Heather spoke up, demanding for both doctors to tell it to her straight.

"Of course, Heather." Ethan coughed, before sitting up in a more commanding posture.

"Johns Hopkins have offered a long-term position to the Cancer research partnership we have with them," Naveen said. "We both think it's in the best interest of you and Edenbrook to take the opportunity, given that it's your target specialization and -"

"It's not in Boston." Heather finished the sentence for him.

"Yes," Ethan nodded. "We don't want your career to be overshadowed by what has been going on. You have a lot of potential, and this would make you a forerunner in the advancement of cancer research."

"It's frankly what you can call it, hitting two birds with one stone," the eldest of the doctors added.

"How long will it be?" Heather asked, weighing it all in.

"A year, a year and a half, at least." Ethan replied.

"And what of my position in the diagnostics team?"

"You'll stay on to consult remotely, but your responsibilities will be diminished given that we want you to spend more time on the cancer research."

Heather swallowed hard. They're putting me into self-imposed exile.

Sensing her hesitation, Ethan reached out to her and patted her arm.

"We only want what we think is best for you Heather, so please at least give this some thought."

She met her mentors' gaze and nodded at them, before rising to stand up.

"I will think about it," she said, leaving the office.

*** 

Pulling all the strings he had left, Bryce Lahela stepped foot into the mansion of Massachusetts' prolific senator. Isolated by house arrest, thinking about Ed Farrugia made the young ADA's skin crawl.

As he walked the carpeted floors into a receiving room, he couldn't help but notice the select macabre portraits that showed war scenes hanging on the stuffy walls. Says alot about its owner, that's for sure.

The double doors he entered in opened, and a tall imposing figure in unflattering maroon satin robes came in. He looked a bit older, yet, somehow, more formidable.

"Ah, ADA Lahela. I see you are not backing down?"

Bryce almost snorted at his arrogance, immediately sensing the pretend machismo in his foe's tone.

"We'll see about that, Senator," the prosecutor replied politely. Didn't want to cross the point of no return before I had the answers I wanted.

"So, what does the young and promising prosecutor want from a disgraced politician today?" Ed sat down on one of the most pretentious armchairs Bryce has ever seen in his life.

"The truth," Bryce smiled cheekily, standing opposite the other man, matching his bravado.

The senator's response was to lean back on the too comfortable chair, crossing his legs.

"Well ADA Lahela, are you certain you are ready for the truth? It may get closer to home, more than you will ever think," Farrugia replied, a sinister grin masking his features which suddenly made Bryce feel queasy.

I don't like where this is going. He thought to himself, staying quiet.

"I thought so," Ed Farrugia nodded, watching the lawyer's stoic facade slowly crumble. "But to hell with it, it's just going to be fun to watch how you had a hand on all of what happened to your precious Doctor Song."

The former senator snapped, and in came a butler that carried a tray. In the tray was a white envelope, and a tumbler of what Bryce smelled as scotch. The politico grabbed the glass and sipped the rich liquid, neither offering Bryce any nor pouring him another glass. Instead, he reached for the white envelope and raised it to Bryce's level.

"Recognize the handwriting, young man?" Ed Farrugia was now sneering at him, expectant.

As Bryce's sight slowly trailed the cursive handwriting, he sensed the familiarity of the strokes. Ed Farrugia's name was written, but there was something about the way it was written.

When his eyes fell on the top left side, he recognized the insignia almost immediately, the hairs at the back of his neck standing up.

There it was, the name he tried to get away from since his adolescent life. Lahela. The logo of his parents' godforsaken company that duped so many families.

Bryce can only freeze in place, as the horror of the realization that his parents somehow had a hand in all of the things that happened to Heather slowly dawned on him.

"Heather Song was the doctor that saved my ass, ADA Lahela, so of course I didn't have the motive to hurt her, you know. She prevented my assassination, and I'm not an ungrateful hypocrite," Ed Farrugia began to explain. "But Heather knows this... I am not to shy away from people who can give what I want, what I need, you understand of course? You're a smart young man."

"So in exchange of a generous donation to my campaign, I am to concoct a plan that will mutually be beneficial to me and my donors," Farrugia continued. "My donors wish to teach you a lesson, make sure that you do not forget where you came from, remind you that no matter where you go, once a Lahela, always a Lahela."

"That's why we went with a warning first, remember? Get out of Boston, or else," the senator shook his head. "Your parents didn't think she'd be a good influence to you. Frankly, an orphan with an absentee father? She'd set you up for failure. At least that was what your parents thought."

"And of course, I wanted to gain something more with it, might as well do the work right? I had my kidnapping staged, that dashcam footage you received? That's from me so that you can arrive at the scene before I get killed by that amateur wannabe Jordan. What's in it for me was public sympathy - as the survivor of a second assassination attempt. Public sympathy equals votes. As simple as that."

Ed stood then, and padded his way to the nearest open window, before looking back at Bryce.

"I used my own enemy, the Travis Brothers, to deflect suspicion, of course. I also a used a middle man, someone who already wants payback from Dr. Song, someone with motive... So Declan Nash worked for me, in exchange of leniency in his role on Panacea's medicare fraud." He smirked, satisfied with the grandiose of his plan. "My only mistake was that I underestimated that ungrateful piece of crap though. Who would have thought he had the brains to record me?" his fist connected on the windowsill, startling Bryce.

"So you see, young man, everything that happened, is on you. No one is to be blamed more than you. All because of your ambition to become something you are not. Something you will never be, be apart from your family name."

Stunned into silence, Bryce can only gape at the senator. The turmoil within though, was unparalleled.

The anger that was boiling in him in the revelation that all this time, his parents was the cause of so much misery. Bryce's heart was so quenched of the discovery that he hasn't completely escaped them, nor their relentless hunger for taking control of his life.

His fists clenched, wanting nothing but to smash every single thing in that wretched room. He didn't care anymore.

What right do they have after putting him in so much pain? What do they even want to achieve? Do they want to make him crawl back to them as if nothing happened? Do they want the same pretentious respect that so many others had just for their mercy?

How does he even begin to explain all of this to Heather? That everything that went downhill for her was because of the person she loved? How can she accept him now? How can she love him now?

And as if on queue, Bryce's phone began to ring. When he saw the caller ID, he almost dropped it.

It rang once again. And he knew he had to take it.

"Bryce? Can we meet?" The voice from the other line was firm, but fragile.

He tried to level his voice, not wanting to have her worried. At least not now.

"Sure, babe. Where do you want to go?" Bryce replied, walking out of the mansion that was sucking the life out of him.

"In that cafe, where I bought you coffee that first day we met. Do you remember where?"

Bryce sensed the urgency in Heather's voice. Has she found out? He hoped not.

"Okay, what time?"

"I was hoping now. If you're done working, that is."

He was done. No reason to delay the inevitable.

"Okay, I'll drive there now. I'll see you."

With a heart heavier than it has ever been in his entire life, he drove down to where it all began, praying so much that it wouldn't be a trip to full circle.

***

Heather nervously sat by the glass wall of the Cafe, in a quiet corner. She already ordered two caramel macchiatos, the same drinks she and Bryce had the first day they met.

She rehearsed what she was about to say in her head, hoping that repetition will make it less taunting. Once she sensed Bryce, she waved him to the table and stood up.

He instantly saw her, and the load he was bearing suddenly become a little lighter. But the guilt was still there. The guilt of being the person to have caused much misery in her life.

But years of practice of showing everyone else the facade of his unbreakable confidence helped him hide what he was truly feeling at the moment, and instead smiled at her.

Her beaming return smile proved to be almost too much.

He reached out to her and intertwined his fingers with hers, almost nudging the cup of coffee in front of him.

"Hey, you remembered," Bryce was touched.

"Of course, it's probably the only thing you ordered during those meetings." Heather chuckled, brushing his cheek with her knuckles.

Her chuckle was lackluster, not her usual one full of wit.

"What's going on, Heath? It can't be that you just missed me," Bryce asked, straight to the point, hoping to dodge her intuitive powers of observation.

She sensed the edge in his voice, making her eyebrow quirk. Heather discerned it was best to ask him first.

"No, Bryce. What's up?"

For the second time that day, Bryce was stunned into silence. Heather's sharp perception of him was unimaginably accurate. And he knew he'd explode if he didn't tell her.

So he did.

From the denial and threats of Chief Tanaka, to his prodding, which led him to the heavy weight of the truth of Senator Ed Farrugia's admission. He didn't spare any detail.

Heather listened intently, trying to comprehend exactly what he was saying. She saw the guilt in Bryce's eyes when he told her that his parents set the wheels in motion, apparently for some sick and twisted lesson he needed to learn, like he was still under their supervision, under their control.

The more she heard, the more overwhelmed she got. But she didn't let go of the grip she had on Bryce's hands, reassuring him that she's there to not judge, but only hear out what he learned of the unnerving truth. And to acknowledge the strength of Bryce's character to not hold out the truth to her.

That was what she loved about Bryce. He was never one to back down from the truth, when it mattered. At least that's the case with her.

She has spent half the day pondering about her own decision. She took Bryce's position into account but she didn't expect this other factor to come into play.

If she stayed in Boston, she'd stay with him. And he won't be able to help her case. She knew Bryce, and he'll be unnerved not to be able to personally oversee it. And with this new discovery, he'd want to all the more take this case. This was personal. And Bryce wasn't one to back down against it. She's going to hold her back.

If she left... Well, Bryce would be able to take on the case.

Either way, she'll lose him. And the mere thought of it pained Heather to the core.

Bryce noticed Heather's lack of reply, the contemplative look in her face made him sense something was about to go south.

"What if there's a way, Bryce?" Heather finally spoke. "What if there's a chance for you to fight all this? Would you take it?"

"Heath, I don't think I want to know where this is heading..." Bryce stared at her, confused.

"Answer me first, Lahela. If I give you an out where all those hurdles goes out of your way, will you go through with it?" The intensity with which her eyes bore into his was unparalleled, yet rendering him clueless.

It took him a few moments before answering. Everytime he asked himself the same question, the answer was never different.

"Yes, Heath. I'll fight this to make sure those bastards can do you no more harm." his answer was firm, but as to her way, he still had reservations.

She nodded, her heart screaming not to do this. But she had to do it, else, everything her and Bryce will have between them will be diminished to nothing but resentment and guilt. With him claiming responsibility for his own parents' actions, yet unable to do anything about it. And Heather resentment, because she can't guarantee that a day won't come that she'll blame him.

They can't be together. Not until this is all resolved, not until they can leave everything behind.

Laying it down the line, Heather had to choose. She had to choose for both of them, even if it will surely hurt them both.

"Do you trust me, Bryce? Do you trust us?" Heather was firmly holding his hands, determined.

He nodded, despite himself. He feared what she was about to say, so he held his breath.

"So be it, Bryce. I'll give you an out. I'll give you what I think you need now,"

Bryce was afraid to ask the next question in his mind, but he did anyway, fuelled by Heather’s fire.

"What's the cost, Heath?"

"I'm leaving for Baltimore, Bryce," she said quietly, biting her lower lip, clearly putting in an effort to hold back tears. "I hope two years is enough for you to fight everything alone, because you'll have to. We both have to fight this separately, it seems."

Bryce's blood ran cold. No, no, no, no fucking way.

Seeing the panic in his eyes, Heather soothed him by brushing her fingertips on the back of his hand, sadness beginning to creep into her expression.

"It's the only way, Bryce, it's the only way..." she repeated, as if to convince herself rather than him.

"No, Heather, I can't lose you, not this time, not ever." Bryce's voice was pleading with her, yet he knew, deep down, that she was right. That this seemed to be the only way to fight all the remaining battles of their lives.

"If we concede now, Bryce, it would only break us. If we avoid this now, it will eventually haunt us and we'll succumb to it. We'll just end up hurting each other." She struggled to reassure him, but she pressed on.

"This way, we're not bowing down. We stand more of a chance to overcome this if you'll fight this. If, we will fight this." She rose from her seat to take the chair beside him. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders, comforting him. "We're merely carving our own way around it. It's not going to be easy, but I know we'll overcome... Because you're one hell of a prosecutor, Lahela. You're the best and you know it."

"How come you're the one who's so brave about this?" Bryce stared back at her, tears brimming in the corner of his eyes, aware that this may be their end.

"Because I believe so much in you, Bryce. Because you can do so much for this world more than how your parents defined you. You are your own person, and nothing can ever take that away from you," she paused, brushing the hair away from the beautiful amber eyes that gazed down at her. "Most importantly, because I love you so, so much. And what I can give you now, the love I have now in me, is less than what you deserve. I want to heal, for myself Bryce. I want to be whole again, so that I can give my 100%. When all of this is over, I'll come find you, that's a promise."

Bryce couldn't help himself anymore and pressed his lips against hers with fervent passion, knowing that this will be the last time in a long time before he can find her in his arms like this. Agreeing to this course of action, they bid their goodbyes, never as uncertain as they were about the decision they just made.

In less than a week, Heather left for Johns Hopkins, bidding goodbye to everyone except Bryce. Hoping the moment she stepped inside the plane, life would give her this chance to start over, to completely heal, to become whole again. Because Bryce Lahela deserved more than the fraction of what she could give. He deserved everything of her, no inhibitions, no limits, no holding back.

Bryce watched her go from a distance. He watched her plane took off from the ground, all the while concocting a plan to defeat the shadows of his past lurking around so that he could be with her again. Freely, completely and irreversibly.

That day, two open hearts chose to fight. Fight for the things that hung over their head so that it was no more. But in their decision to fight, they lost the comfort of each other.  They embarked on their separate paths with the promise of meeting again one day.

The path to the summit was often lonely. It is in their hopes however, that the moment they reach the end of this hard path they were in, they would no longer be alone anymore.

More than their willingness to overcome another hurdle in their way was their certainty to trust in each other, in the strength of their love for one another. In their endurance. In their hope.

For them, that was more than enough. It has to be enough.

Author's Notes 2: If you're reading this, I want to thank you so much for taking time to read this series. There's an epilogue in the final edits and I promise to tie the loose ends of this final chapter! Please do share your thoughts in the comments, I would really appreciate it!

Tags: @eleanorbloom @ejustlurkshere @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

[apoguecalledjj]

Fixation (Chapter 8)

Sorry, this one is a bit short! It’s because the next one is going to be long, also there’s only one more part + an epilogue!

Series summary: Eleanor is new to the outer banks, and the pogues are quick to take her in. But so are the kooks, and as she grows closer with Rafe, trouble emerges. Trying to balance her relationship with the pogues and the kooks, as well as dealing with her own personal problems, Eleanor falls into a hole she may not be able to dig herself out of.

Chapter Word Count: 2140

Chapter Warnings: Hospitals

Previous Parts: Ch. 1  Ch. 2  Ch. 3 Ch. 4 Ch. 5 Ch. 6 Ch. 7 Ch. 8

Taglist: @prejudic3 @maragritatimebaybee @drewxxrudy @outerbankslove @bricksatanakinswindow @alexa-playafricabytoto @gigi-june

“I don’t think this is a good idea, JJ.”

“Kiara, he almost killed her. He almost fucking killed her.” JJ was fuming in the front seat of John B’s van. The five of them were currently on the way to figure 8, more specifically, the Cameron residence. 

“JJ’s right, Kie. I’ve had enough of Rafe fucking with my friends.” John B’s eyes were fixated on the road, but everyone knew his thoughts weren’t focused.

He pulled into the driveway and Sarah jumped out first, the pogues trailing behind her. Kiara and Pope hung slightly back, not entirely comfortable with the idea of a fight. Even though they both agreed that Rafe deserved to get his ass kicked, it wasn’t often that he was without Topper and Kelce. 

They learned quickly that Rafe wasn’t alone as he burst through the front door, his two friends just behind him. Topper glared, but Kiara could see a sliver of worry in Rafe’s eyes. Worry for Ellie, or worry about getting in trouble, she wondered.

JJ didn’t hesitate. “You fucking prick!” He yelled, lunging toward the closest kook boy, his fist connecting with bone. But JJ wasn’t thinking clearly, he wasn’t focused like he normally was during fights, this time he was overcome with anger and it was easy for Rafe to hit him back and eventually straddle him to the ground.

“Don’t come around my place acting all mighty and strong, you dirty pogue,” Rafe spat in his face. John B stepped forward to pull Rafe off, but Topper stood in front of him, giving him a shove back.

“You deserve to fucking die,” JJ snarled, his hands wrapped tightly around Rafe’s arms as he struggled to get out of his hold. “You left her alone. You left her alone to die!”

Topper’s fist froze in midair, and Kelce, who had yet to move anyways, took a step back. “What’s he talking about, Rafe?” Kelce asked.

“Nothing,” He mumbled, loosening his grip on JJ. 

JJ managed to push him off of him, flipping the boy over so he was now pinned against the ground. “Causing your girlfriend to overdose isn’t what I would classify as nothing.”

“Ellie overdosed?” For once, Topper sounded genuine. The two kook boys actually did care a lot about Ellie, they had grown quite close to her and to hear Rafe had hurt her upset the both of them.

“Yeah, she did,” Sarah said, stepping towards where JJ and Rafe still sat on the ground. She motioned for JJ to move and he did, and Rafe stood up to face her. “You idiot-” She jabbed her finger into Rafe’s chest. “-Got her hooked on cocaine. You know her mom’s a fucking addict? That’s why she lives with her uncle. And you got her addicted. Are you stupid?” 

Kelce moved away from Rafe, looking at him in shock. “What the fuck, bro.”

Pope continued where Sarah left off. “You think you’d be smart enough to at least not push her limits. But obviously not, since she’s now unconscious at the hospital, after they found her ALONE, SEIZING in your room, Rafe. Why would you leave her?”

“I called the ambulance,” Rafe mumbled.

“Yeah, and it was almost too late. Any longer and she probably would have died,” Kiara told him, not even able to look him in the eyes.

Topper was still staring at the ground in front of him. “I had no idea she was doing drugs.”

“She wasn’t, till she got with Rafe,” John B sneered.

“She’s still unconscious?” Kelce’s voice was quiet, barely above a whisper. “Can we see her?”

JJ froze, obviously not knowing how to respond. He didn’t like Kelce and Topper, got in fights with them often, but their reactions seemed genuine and they did spend a lot of time with Ellie. He glanced at Kiara, urging her to answer the question for him.

She nodded. “You two can. HIm, though-” She motioned to Rafe. “Absolutely not. I don’t even want to see him outside of the hospital.”

Rafe nodded, his eyes wide and frantic. He looked crazy, worried, and paranoid, and that was when JJ realized he wasn’t even sober. His girlfriend just overdosed, and he was still getting high.

Kiara’s phone rang, and she stepped to the side. JJ stepped closer to Rafe. “I think it’d be a good idea for you to stay away from Ellie from now on.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Rafe kicked at the ground, turning to go into the house. “Keeping me away from my own goddamn girlfriend, yeah,” He mumbled just loud enough to be heard.

“I doubt she’s your girlfriend anymore. I got a feeling she’s gonna want to stay a long way away from you,” Sarah said.

Rafe scoffed. “Top, Kelce, you coming? Fuck the pogues.”

“Nah, man, we’re gonna go see Ellie,” Topper told him.

Kiara stepped back into the group. “Perfect timing. She just woke up.”

---

The pogues, plus Topper and Kelce, rushed to the hospital and through the halls. Travis was leaned against the wall outside of Ellie’s room, his eyes closed slightly as he hummed.

“Hey, kids,” He said, hearing their loud footsteps approaching. He opened his eyes and turned. “Topper and Kelce. Didn’t expect you two with this crowd.” His eyes narrowed and he scanned the group. “Rafe isn’t here, is he?”

JJ shook his head. “No sir. We made sure he wouldn’t come, I hope that was the right thing to do...” JJ trailed off nervously, still not entirely sure how Ellie’s uncle felt about the situation even though Rafe had almost killed his niece.

“No, that’s good. We don’t want to see him around here anytime soon,” He said, nodding. He turned to Kelce and Topper. “You two weren’t involved with this, were you?”

Kelce’s eyes widened. “No, no! We had no idea she was doing coke. She never did it around us.”

Travis nodded once again. “Alright. Well, you guys can go in and see her. She’s been asking for you. There’s no limit anymore since she’s awake, so all of you can go in, but please, try not to overwhelm her.” His gaze was aimed towards John B and JJ with that last statement.

JJ entered the room first, and the smile that spread across Ellie’s face caused his heart to flutter. She already looked so much better, there was color in her skin and her eyes were bright. She lifted her hand up in a small wave and he went to return the favor but was interrupted by John B slamming into his back. 

“Why’d you stop man- Oh hi Ellie!” 

She giggled at John B, and JJ swore it was the most beautiful thing he ever heard. He had been terrified he would never hear that laugh again, and every sound that came out of her now felt like a blessing.

The rest of the group piled into the room, which was way too small for all of them, but Ellie didn’t seem to mind. Her smile just grew wider and wider as they piled in, especially Topper and Kelce, who she was obviously shocked to see.

JJ took the chair by her bed, a silent agreement among his friends that he would be the one to sit there. Kiara took the other chair, John B propping himself in the windowsill and Pope standing next to him. Sarah sat on the foot of the bed after some encouragement from Ellie, and Topper and Kelce stood on the other side of the room, not used to being with this group of friends.

“Hey El, how you doing?” JJ spoke quietly, finally able to talk to her.

She sighed. “Withdrawl is hard. I have a brutal headache, and I’m exhausted. But I'm not gonna sleep. I wanna talk to you guys.”

JJ had noticed that her eyes were slightly drooping, her blinks were longer than normal, but he hadn’t wanted to mention anything. He had watched his dad go through withdrawals before, and he knew how terrible it could get. 

There was a moment of silence, no one really knowing what to say after your best friend just had an overdose. Eventually, Ellie spoke up again. “So how’d you two kooks end up with the pogues? Never thought I’d see the day.”

No one spoke at first, not sure if bringing up Rafe was a good idea. But Ellie was waiting for an answer and they would have to talk about it soon anyways.

“The pogues came to tell off Rafe,” Topper finally told her, earning a smack from Kelce for how blunt he was about it.

“You guys went to see Rafe?” Ellie asked, surprised.

John B nodded. “Kiara wouldn’t let us beat him up though.”

“John B! You can’t say stuff like that!”

But Ellie just laughed. “Should have let them,” She told Kiara. Her face turned more serious. “I don’t want him around here at all though, ok? Can you guys try to keep him away?”

Kelce nodded quickly. “He won’t be around. The pogues dealt with that one.” He sent a smile their way, something no one thought they’d ever see. “And I don’t know if I can speak for Topper, but I’m not going to be around him much anymore.”

Topper nodded in agreement, and Ellie smiled softly. “Thanks, guys.”

Pope finally asked the question everyone was dying to ask. “Are you going to rehab?” He said quietly, not wanting to make her uncomfortable, but curiosity getting the better of him.

Ellie shook her head. “No, I told uncle Travis I didn’t want to go and promised I wouldn’t do anymore coke. Or even drink alcohol. The doctor wasn’t pleased, and really wanted me to go, but uncle Travis is letting me have a chance. Me crying helped a little, I think.”

"I'm glad you'll still be around, " JJ spoke quietly but he knew Ellie heard him because she smiled.

They continued to laugh and joke around afterward, Topper even managed to make John B and JJ chuckle a few times. Ellie felt happy, even after all she had been through because she was surrounded by the best people. It also helped that JJ was right next to her, he always managed to put her in a better mood.

His hand was gently rested on top of hers, neither of them could remember when he placed it there but it stayed, bringing warmth to her palm. His thumb brushed over her skin, relaxing her unconsciously.

"'M getting tired, " Ellie admitted after hours of giggling with her friends. It was still early in the night, but she still wasn't 100% and probably wouldn't be for a while. Even though she had been unconscious for over 24 hours and had taken a nap afterward, she still longed for sleep.

Everyone slowly trickled out of the room, but JJ stayed behind. "Can I talk to you alone for just a minute? It won't be long, I promise."

Ellie smiled. "Of course, I don't mind."

JJ wrapped his fingers around the hand he was still holding. He met her gaze, and she could see how serious he was. "I meant what I said before and I still do. I am in love with you Ellie, and almost losing you just helped me realize it quicker. I would give the world for you, you make my heart beat faster, and having you next to me is the best feeling in the world. I know you've been through a lot and you just got out of things with Rafe, but I had to tell you. Again, since this is technically the third time I've confessed." JJ noticed her look of confusion and quickly explained himself. "I poured my heart out to you while you were unconscious."

He chuckled. "I don't ever want to see you hurt again. I love you Ellie, and I'm willing to wait. Or unless you don't have feelings for me. I didn't think about that but if you don't it's okay. I kind of jumped the gun with that one didn't I?"

JJ would have continued to ramble on nervously if Ellie hadn't interrupted him. "JJ. Stop. I do have feelings for you. I think I always have, I was just- just overtaken by the drugs." JJ smiled, and she quickly continued. "But you are right, it is really soon. I need to take things slow."

He nodded. "Slow. I'm good with slow."

Ellie didn't respond, instead, she leaned over and pressed her lips to his. He immediately kissed back without thought, his hand moving around to the back of her neck while the other still held her hand.

They pulled away, both of them grinning. "What happened to taking it slow?" JJ asked.

"Starting now." Ellie smiled at him, then kissed him once again.

[twdgkidsdeservebetter]

A different AU

In this AU, Duck lives, Sarah lives and Mariana and Gabriel live. 

Let's imagine that Ben died with his classmates in the forest (along with his teacher and Travis).

That would mean the raid didn't happen and Duck never got bit

After completely running out of food and supplies, Lilly agrees to move on

(In this playthrough, Lee chooses Carly, leaving Doug to die)

(Sorry all you Doug fans, but I'm going with Carly cause I've seen most play throughs where the player saves Carly and personally I would save Carly myself)

After packing up everything, they all get in the van and leave the motel

Clementine and Duck talk about cartoons as the rest of them sits in silence

Tension continues to grow as Kenny continues to drive

Lilly and Carly argue (Lilly is growing paranoid that someone is stealing)

Kenny hits the walker and they all get out of the van to settle this argument

They all argue and Carly tears into Lilly

Carly is shot dead on the side of the road shocking everyone

Kenny tells Katjaa to keep Duck away from the windows but Clementine and Duck saw everything already

Lee leaves Lilly on the side of the road and they all get back in the van

Kenny calls Lee up to the front where he finds out Katjaa is bitten

(I don't really know what would happen if Katjaa lived instead of Duck)

(Alot of the Duck lives aus I've read kill of Katjaa, but they don't explain how she was killed off and when)

Lee sits with Clem on the couch and informs her of Katjaa's predicament.

Lee has the dream, fearing if Clementine was in the same situation as Katjaa

Lee wakes up and Kenny announces there's a derailed train in their way. They all get out to sit on some logs near the train. Kenny asks Lee if he can find some water for Katjaa as Duck sits with her quietly.

Lee takes care of the dead walker in one of the compartments and finds a bottle of water and a map. He also finds some tools. Lee presses a blinking light hesitanting.

He goes outside and gives Katjaa the water before figuring out how to start the train.

Lee soon meets Chuck who gives both Clem and Duck candy

Everyone gets on the train and begin to leave

Katjaa, whose becoming weaker and weaker every second, tells Lee to stop the train after a couple of hours on the train.

After convincing Kenny to stop the train, everyone gets off.

Kenny tries to tell Duck to stay, but being as stubborn, Duck becomes angry and tells his dad off

Hesitantly, they all walk into the woods. They reach a certain part and Kenny gently places Katjaa against a tree. Lee watches as they all say their final goodbyes. Kenny aims the gun towards Katjaa and Duck looks away, not bearing to see the sight of his mother being shot by his own father.

Kenny is too scared to pull the trigger and Lee offers to do it. Kenny and Duck cry together as Lee puts Katjaa to rest. They then begin going back to the train.

Chuck then gives Lee advice which Lee follows, giving Clem and a hair cut and teaching Clem to the shoot.

(In the game, Ben would come forward after Lee gives Clem a haircut)

The train comes to a stop shocking everyone. They all get out as Kenny screams at the hanging truck.

They meet Omid and Christa on top of the bridge

Duck stays with his dad as Clem and Lee go to the train station where they work to together to kill some walkers and find a blowtorch

Omid and Lee cut the tanker down, Chuck notices the massive herd coming towards them.

Omid not wanting to jump, Lee pushes him off and jumps off with him. Omid hurts his leg and helps Christa and Omid on the train

They escape the herd and Lee finds out someone has been talking to a man on her radio

The arrive at Savannah and the bell rings, Lee sees a figure on the church roof. The radio turns on and the man speaks to them. Christa gives Lee a nasty look after they find out the radio works.

A large herd appears forcing the group to move from the streets.

(Instead of Ben running away from Clem, Chuck is already there to save Clem from the walkers)

They reach a manor and Lee tries to find a way inside

Lee notices a dog flap which requires a chip, Lee digs up the dead dog for its collar which saddens Duck.

Clementine takes the dog collar from Lee before crawling inside, Lee praises Clem after.

Lee finds Kenny up in the attic seeing the boy like Duck, Kenny says he wouldn't know what to do if Duck turned into a walker

After burying the boy he sees someone watching.

Kenny and Lee go to the docks and meet Molly, where they discover Clem has followed them

Lee escapes through the sewers and discovers that Chuck killed himself and the walkers have devoured him

Lee finds a propped up sign to find an entrance to an underground bunker. Lee manages to calm down the group.

Vernon and Lee return to the manor with Vernon seeing Kenny drunk off his skunk and Christa tells him how Omid is getting worse by the minute

Lee then goes outside to find Clem then hears banging from the shed, Clem bursts out of the door knocking Lee over.

They see the boat and Kenny says they need gas and a battery

They all agree to leave Crawford and find the truth

Kenny goes to find gas as Vernon and Christa attempt to open the medical room as Brie stays with Clementine and Duck

Lee heads out to find the battery and meets up with Molly and they are able to get a batery

After watching the videos they confront Molly and she tells the truth

Since Ben is not alive, the hatchet stays in the door, but their are so many walkers they manage to break through anyway

Brie holds the door as Kenny tries to break through the armoury door (Ben isn't there which means they don't fight)

Brie is killed by the walkers forcing the group into the armoury

They run up the stairs to the bell tower and Lee kills the walkers slowly making his way up.

Lee climbs out of the window and they make their way back to the manor where Omid wakes up

After arguing with Vernon, Lee says goodbye to Molly and heads up to the study

After Clementine cries about not finding her parents, Lee leaves

The next day Lee can't find Clem and asks Duck who says she went outside earlier and continues to talk to Christa and Omid

Lee goes outside where he finds her hat and her walkie

When he grabbed her walkie, a walker reached out and bit him, Lee kills it and reaches for her hat, only to see the bite mark.

They all run out hearing Lee shout, he shows the bite mark and he decides it's more important to find Clementine, Lee thinks it's Vernon who took her

They all leave, Duck stays close to Kenny as he's told

They enter the sewer system

The stranger tells Lee that Clem is fine, saying that he isn't Vernon and to choose his words carefully, he tells Lee she's safer with him, they have a city of walkers between them, Lee figures out he has to be in the city

Duck talks to Omid as Lee searches the morgue to find a way out

He finds some tools in a closet before he passes out

Lee wakes up to find Kenny about to chop his arm off, Lee agrees, Lee faints again and wakes up with his stump bandaged

Walkers begin breaking in and Lee finishes opening the elevator shaft and the group hurries in

After climbing the ladder to the roof, they figure out a way to the mansion

Kenny tells Duck to not look at all the walkers through the streets

Duck glances at them quickly before looking up at his dad nodding

Lee uses the ladder to go to the bell tower and rings it, managing to jump from the tower to the roof

Duck tells him he's awesome as the rest congratulate him

They climb down teh fire and escape to the street to reach the manor

Duck sits silently as Omid opens the shed to find the boat missing and a note from Vernon

Kenny shouts in rage, leading walkers to froce them into the manor

The group run upstairs, Kenny shouting at Duck to go upstairs

They are then pushed up to the attic

As Lee figures out the wall is rotten as Kenny shows Duck how to shoot at random things in the attic

Omid breaks through the wall and find a couple who killed themselves

Duck stares sadly at them before Kenny makes him look away

They all get to the marsh house from the balcony, Christa is the last to jump but the balcony collapses. She manages to grab a pipe on her way down and holds on tightly

Kenny and Lee goes down to save her, Christa gets to the ground safely with the help of Kenny and Lee

Walkers corner them and Kenny closes the gate where Christa and Lee ran.

Kenny tells Lee to look after Duck before he shoots at the walkers

They climb back up and tell Omid and Duck their dead

Duck breaks down and Omid and Christa comfort him

After a few minutes, Duck becomes silent and seems calmer

He looked down at the herd before saying one last goodbye to his dad before they left

Lee tells Duck he's strong as they continue along the rooftops

Duck nods silently

Lee leaves the three and makes it to the Marsh house

Lee is then held at gunpoint by the stranger

They talk about all the choices Lee has made since the drugstore, not saving Doug, taking Clem to the farm, killing Larry, leaving Lilly on the side of the road and stealing from his family

Clem breaks out and Lee and the stranger fight, Clem kills the stranger and they escape cutting the walker open and covering Clem with blood and guts

Clem takes her hat back and sees her parents, Lee faints and drags Lee to a jewellery store for safety

Lee tells her he's not gonna make it and tells Clem a final lesson (If I played I would choose keep your hair short, because it's smart but it's also really sweet)

Clementine says one last goodbye to Lee and shoots him, not wanting him to become a walker

She leaves the store and walks through Savannah to the area near the train

She meets up with Omid, Christa and Duck who managed to make it out of Savannah and were looking for her