#Charlie always had this impact on me. i have voiced it a lot: he is the best and i love him very much and i will always trust him

[delusionalblfan]

what got me the most in the 10th episode (apart from the Alan x Dean scene that i was not expecting and was phenomenal) was Babe kissing Charlie's forehead. i had to stop watching to have my moment and to just breathe and give me time to cry. when Babe kissed him it was a moment of pure and raw pain, no more loud crying, or screaming, but a silent cry filled with care and love and deep engraved-for-life pain. and i feel like the kiss on the lips was the first impact, Babe's need to touch him, to see if Charlie reacted and was really dead, but those three kisses on the forehead. for the love of!! the care mixed with all that hurt and loss. Babe is so hurt by Charlie's death as it's expected but it's more than 'i lost him' or 'he is dead'. it was much more like 'he did not deserve this'. but not a cliche. it was like a film passing through: 'this man was treated as a nobody because a lunatic thought he was a normal alpha, hence 'unusable'...he could try to live a rather normal life but he knew i was in danger and i would be used…so he left that idea of a normal life behind and risked it all for me…he really entered my life with that sole propose...he lied willingly but also solely for my own good...he did not make fake excuses based on self pity...he ended up being part of my found family and he was a good person to all of them even for the one that was constantly criticising him...he loved me more than he loved himself…and now he is dead…he did not deserve this'. when you know the extent of someone's life, choices, willingness, that last statement will have a much bigger impact. and Charlie embodied that. so… my question is, how can Babe be sane right now? how is he even walking? talking? eating? i would be so depressed to the point of manifesting psychotic traits. i wouldn't have the courage to unalive myself, but i would just let my body be still and exist quietly somewhere while rewinding memories and regrets and untold words and just speaking to him and apologising and saying how much i love him, and i would do it until i perished

[watermelongirl01]

Sweet Rescue - 01

Firefighter!Dean Winchester x Fem!Reader

Content Warning: None, I think.

A/N: I hope you like it, please let me know if you do!

Your parents always warned you about the dangers of driving late at night, but did you listen?

It all happened too fast. As you were waiting for the red light to change, out of nowhere you felt a violent impact on the left side of your car, launching you across the empty street. Shattered glasses splattered down your face and you instinctively squeezed your eyes shut, waiting for the worst, only opening them again until your car finally came to a stop. 

The front of your car was completely destroyed, which is likely the reason why your legs felt trapped. You tried to move them to get out of the car, but it didn’t work. Your eyesight started to get blurry. You reached up to touch the side of your head and immediately felt a wave of nausea wash over you when you looked at the blood on your fingers.

There was no room to move, your throat felt dry and tight, refusing to let you scream for help. Your phone was nowhere to be found, and with each passing moment, your eyelids grew heavier, as if sleep was pulling you under.

You weren’t sure what the handsome firefighter was trying to tell you, you weren’t even sure when they arrived at the scene, let alone who called for them. 

The only thing you were sure of, was that the man in front of you had the prettiest green eyes you’ve ever seen in your entire existence.

Suddenly, the shock wave left your body, and all the noise came back. The blaring sirens and flashing lights complicate your vision, their brightness finally blinding you. For the first time in what felt like forever, you blinked again. The dryness in your eyes stung a bit, giving you a hint of how long you had been frozen at that moment.

“Sweetheart?” A deep and raspy voice caught your attention. 

“You have pretty eyes.” He flashed a smile at you.

You saw how he gestured for the other firefighters to help him get you out of the wrecked automobile.

“Don’t move your head, sweetheart, my friends here are going to take good care of you.” He pointed at two women who seemed to be the paramedics.

——

“Oh God, I came as soon as I heard.” A worried redhead barged into your hospital room. “Are you okay boss?”

Charlie has been there since you opened the bakery. Doesn’t do a lot of baking but she’s really good at managing business.

“I’m okay, they just wanted me to stay the night to monitor my contusion.” You reassured. “I will be discharged in a couple of hours. Just remind me to never drive at night again.”

The redhead sat on the end of the bed. “What happened?”

“A drunk driver, luckily the street was empty, it was just me, so it wasn’t a big accident.” You quickly explained.

“I heard the firefighters got you out.” She narrowed her eyes. “Pretty? Hot? Spill it.”

You chuckled while shaking your head. “Pretty hot, I would say.”

“We’ll have to thank them to save the best boss ever.”

“Oww, I knew you cared, Charlie.” You said placing a hand on your heart.

“Well of course, if you die I become jobless.”

“Touching words Charlie, they are really heartwarming.”

“No, really boss, I’m glad you’re fine.” She smiled softly, grabbing your hand between hers. “I should come back to the bakery, and make sure Donna hasn’t burned anything, but I will come back in a few hours to get you home, got it?”

“Got it.”

You waved goodbye to her and smiled to yourself. There was nothing much to do but stare at the white, sterile walls around you. No phone to distract you, it was probably destroyed in the accident. You’d been planning to replace it anyway, though not before buying the new refrigerator for the bakery, paying the bills, and—oh right—baking the wedding cake for your aunt, along with cupcakes for that birthday party. Damn it, you were way too busy to be hospitalized.

Before you could spiral further into your thoughts, a throat clearing from across the room caught your attention. You looked up to find a tall, green-eyed man staring at you.

Those eyes

“Hey, I'm Captain Winchester, I don’t know if you remember me, but I —.” You interrupted him.

“The firefighter who pulled me out of the car, I remember.”

He smiled widely. “You do?” He chuckled a little. “I came to drop some patients and found out you stayed overnight, so I came to check on you.”

“Yeah, apparently they wanted to monitor my head injury and the concussion, but they will discharge me in a minute.”

“It was a pretty nasty cut, huh?” He pointed at the baby pink Hello Kitty band-aid covering your tiny wound.

You laughed a little embarrassed. “Hey, it could’ve been dangerous, I almost died out there.”

“Not on my watch, sweetheart.” He leaned on the end of the bed, getting closer to you. You struggled to breathe.

Your hand traveled at the tiny band-aid in your head, suddenly remembering your choice of style.

“You know, they didn’t have normal ones, so they gave me no choice.”

“The hospital didn’t have regular band-aids and forced you to use a Hello Kitty one?”

“Yup, those bastards.” You frowned, not able to hide your smile.

He narrowed his eyes at you, calling your bullshit.

“Fine, I chose it, but it was because it’s the only band-aid that fits my personality.”

He chuckled. “That I can see.”

Captain Winchester stayed for about half an hour, chatting with you. He would have stayed longer, but one of the paramedics—Jo, as you had learned—came looking for him.

“Dean?” You looked up in surprise at the blonde girl standing in your doorway. Captain Winchester seemed equally caught off guard. “The guys are waiting for you. They want to rest.”

“Oh, sorry,” Dean muttered, glancing at his watch in confusion. “I kind of lost track of time.” He turned back to Jo. “This is the lady from the accident. Jo is, well, you know her.” He gestured to you. “Jo’s the paramedic who helped you.”

“I remember. Thank you so much, Jo,” you said, offering a genuine smile.

Jo nodded, her expression briefly softening. “That’s my job, but glad to see you’re okay.” Her focus quickly shifted back to him, barely acknowledging you.

Dean gave you a small smile, his fingers tapping on the bed rails. “I should get going, but I’m glad you’re alright.” He hesitated for a moment, then added, “Need a ride? There’s room on the truck.”

Jo raised an eyebrow at his words, clearly confused by his offer.

“Oh, my friend should be on her way. But I appreciate it, really.” You smiled at him.

He returned the smile, more warmly this time. “Alright. see you around, then.”

“Bye, Captain,” you said, your voice soft as you watched him leave.

——

“See you around? Are you stupid, Dean?” 

“Jeez Sammy, I’m sorry, my mind blocked for a moment, okay?.” Dean looked up at his brother, feeling slightly offended.

“Clearly, how are you gonna see her around if you didn’t even ask for her number.”

“I’ll ask Cas, he’s a doctor there, maybe he can get me her phone number?.”

“No, he can’t, it’s against the hospital policies.” 

“What if I invite him a beer in exchange?” Sam shook his head in disbelief.

“A bribe? That's illegal.”

“No, it’s not.” His fingers grabbed the bacon on his breakfast plate.

“Of course it is Dean.”

“It’s not illegal if you don’t get caught.”

“That’s not how it works, and you know it.” Sam massaged his temples with his fingers.

“Fine! I’ll ask Jo if she can do a follow-up and help me get her number.” The older brother took a bite out of his bacon, shrinking his shoulders. 

“No, bad idea, don’t ask Jo.”

“Why not?” Dean looked at this brother in utter confusion.

“Just don’t, trust me.”

Dean's mouth opened to argue back, but before he could say something a soft voice interrupted him.

“Excuse me? I'm looking for Captain Winchester.”

And there you were, looking beautiful, a different band-aid adorned your forehead, this time it didn’t have a Hello Kitty on it, it was simple in a pretty cherry red color. You were juggling with a bunch of pink pastry boxes, Dean recognized the logo, it was from his favorite bakery.

“You’ve found him.” You smiled when your eyes found his green ones. 

He immediately stepped forward to help you with the boxes, noticing there were at least six of them, each in a different size.

"This is for you," you said, offering him a warm smile. "Well, for all of you," you added, glancing at the curious firefighters who were watching. "It’s just a small way to say thank you for saving my life."

"Oh, sweetheart, you didn’t have to do this," he replied, smiling at you.

“It’s really no trouble,” you said with a shrug, your voice softening. "I didn’t know what to bring, so I grabbed a little bit of everything, pie, cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, cookies, I hope you like it." You clasped your hands together. "It was baked with a lot of love and a big thank you."

"How do you know it was baked with a lot of love?" came from Jo’s voice, echoing from the doorway as she leaned against the frame, arms crossed.

Dean winced, but you didn’t seem bothered by her tone.

"Uh, I baked them." you said, smiling softly.

"Do you work there, sweetheart?" Dean asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Well, kinda," you chuckled lightly. "I actually own the place."

"You own the bakery with the best pies in town?" Dean asked, a hint of excitement creeping into his voice.

"I don’t know about the best pies in town," you said with a small laugh, "but yeah, I own it."

"Awesome." He said.

"Excuse my brother." A deep voice said from behind him. A tall man with long hair stepped forward and offered his hand with a smile. "He really does love your bakery. I’m Lieutenant Sam Winchester."

You shook his hand, handing him a piece of paper as you did. He glanced at it, looking slightly confused.

"I wasn’t sure what would be enough," you explained, suddenly feeling a little shy. "But being there during the accident, seeing all of your faces, it just made me feel like I had another chance. So, I wanted to give you something to show how much I appreciate what you did for me."

You took a deep breath, watching his expression carefully. "For the next year, you can go to my bakery and get anything you want. My treat."

Sam blinked, surprised. "What? That’s too much, Are you sure?"

You nodded with a smile. "Yes, absolutely. I’ve already talked to all my employees. If I’m not there, they’ve been instructed to let you take whatever you want every morning. No charge."

"That’s really kind of you," a voice said from behind you. "We really appreciate it."

"Sweetheart, this is Chief Singer, Bobby Singer." Dean said, introducing you.

"A pleasure, Chief. You have the finest firefighters in town." you said with a smile.

Bobby grinned. "That I know." he replied, clearly proud.

You glanced at Dean, suddenly reminded of your to-do list. "I really should get going. I need to take care of some things for the insurance company."

"Let me walk you out, sweetheart," Dean offered.

You nodded, gathering your things as you made your way toward the door, stopping to say goodbye to everyone in the room.

"Thanks for the pie, beautiful," Dean said teasingly.

You felt your cheeks flush. "Thanks to you, for rescuing me and for checking on me."

"Always," he said, his smile softening. "I’ll be there tomorrow, first thing in the morning."

"I’ll make sure to be there."

"You better." he said with a playful grin.

And he stood there watching her leave the fire station,  her red high heels clicking against the gray concrete floor and hips moving side to side as she walked out.

“Oh my god, you really like her.” A voice coming from behind him said.

“Shut up, Sammy.” 

“Hey, it’s okay, it’s been a year already.” The younger sibling looked at him, placing a hand on Dean’s shoulder. “It’s okay to move on.”

Dean simply nodded. 

[rekino2114]

Mutli request: Charlie (Undertale), Sophie (Walten Files), and Marin (Dress Up Darling) with an S/O that starts to go through a self doubt cycle, feeling that he's not good enough for his girlfriend.

Chara,sophie, and marin with an s/o who thinks he's not good enough for them

Chara dreemurr

Chara kinda feels the same, to be honest. She's practically a demon who slaughtered thousands of monsters in different timelines it's a miracle that she still has a soul, and you're a really nice guy. she still wonders why you're with her sometimes

She'll take a while to notice what's wrong with you, but when she does, she immediately asks you who made you sad, and where can she find them. After you explained how you felt she was flabbergasted, you were crazy if you thought you weren't good enough for her. If anything, you were too good and she told you exactly that.

She tried to be more affectionate to you after the conversation (even if she still blushes a lot) she'll also remind you of how much she loves you and how you changed who she was completely, you both helped each other with your self doubt issues.

"Hey, y/n listen to me, how the heck did you start thinking that? Did somebody tell you cause if they did, I swear I'll......no? Alright, just don't think stuff like that anymore. You practically restored my faith in humanity. If anything, I don't deserve you"

Sophie walten

Sophie also feels like she doesn't really deserve you, but it's more because of what she puts you through, she vents to you about her trauma a lot,not to mention all the times you have to wake up to comfort her about a nightmare she had, she thinks she's pushing too much on you and that you're the best person she ever met since you didn't leave her because of that.

She noticed how you felt pretty fast, probably because it's the same way she feels. She was the one to comfort you this time around, hugging you and telling you how much you truly mean to her and how you helped her cope with everything.

She smiles more around you after, trying to physically show you how much you had a positive impact on her life. She also tries to rant less around you as she thinks it might annoy you. She'll always comfort you whenever you're down though, just like you do with her.

"Babe please don't say stuff like that, you're a great guy, and genuinely the best thing that ever happened to me, I.....don't know where I'd be If it wasn't for you, I love you so much please never forget that"

Marin kitagawa

Marin showers you in affection and compliments every 5 minutes, always calling you the best boyfriend ever and the light of her life, she makes you feel so cherished, but you still thought you didn't deserve that. She was so beautiful and nice and you were just an average guy, you thought you didn't deserve her.

She noticed almost immediately what changed in you. It was because you reacted to her daily hugs and kisses with less warmth than usual, so she decided to ask you what's wrong and not leave you alone until you told her the truth, your well-being is the most important thing in the world to her.

She was quite literally speechless when you told her the truth. How did you ever think about something like that? In her eyes, you're literally the most perfect person in existence, and you think you're not good enough for her? She can't have that. She will be twice as affectionate and loving to you after that (which is saying a lot) you'll never go an hour without hearing how awesome you are and how you always make her feel on cloud nine while she hugs you soooo tightly.

"W-wait, are you serious? Baby, pleeaaaaase don't say that. You're like the best. Have I not told you that enough? Cause I'll yell it at you until I lose my voice if that's what it takes. Literally every day I ask myself how I ended up with an angel come to heart, I love you so so so much and you are waaaaaaaay more than enough"

[look-at-the-soul]

Always with me

(Modern)Tommy Shelby x reader (+Grandma) 👵🏻

Hello beautiful people! Hoping you’re doing well 💞 It took me so long to finish this little story because for some reason I kept thinking it needed something else but couldn’t find what it was, then one day I thought this is it, don’t force it, the main point it’s there… sometimes less is more or so they say. Either way, I hope you like this!

Just to let you know this is part of a series of stories (not linked between them) about my Grandma’s series to honor one of the persons who had the biggest impact in my life and I recently lost. This is a small tribute and a way to cope with her not being around anymore.

Grief and sadness is mentioned but as usual I compensate with fluff and happiness ❤️‍🩹 thank you for your endless support, it means so much.

Word count: 3,602

✨ Inspired by Westlife song “Always with me”

They say that time can heal a broken heart

But I just don't know how this could be true

Everyday I see a picture on my wall

My heart is broken into two

Tommy poured two glasses of wine and headed to the couch, next to his girlfriend. She had been staring absently at the fire flames flicking before her eyes, she didn’t even notice when Frances asked if they wanted something for dinner. But he already knew the answer, it was one of those moments when Y/N’s mind wandered back in time to some memory with her grandmother.

Her energy felt so low, the sadness in her eyes made him feel hopeless, and with the holidays around the corner he knew it wouldn’t help to lift her up, as he knew the days meant so much for her. If only he could find a way to make her focus on something else, a distraction.

His eyes fixed on her features as she brought the glass to her mouth.

“You’re wearing lipstick.” He noticed a subtle tone.

A ridiculous suggestion he made when Y/N asked how to get back on track. Try to focus in small things, the finest details you used to do without even thinking about it. Like using your favorite lipstick, he had said back then.

The glimpse of a smile formed on her lips, but it didn’t reach her eyes, so taking both glasses he placed them on the table to then pass an arm behind Y/N’s neck to bring her closer.

“I know it’s not been easy for you, but take your time to heal… it’s okay to not being okay.”

His fingers massaged gently her scalp and Tommy felt Y/N relaxing against him, really allowing him to hold her, not just physically.

“I miss her.” Her voice cracked at the end, and felt Tommy’s hands hugging her tighter.

“I know, love. I miss her too, but you know what? I just noticed you’ve got so many mannerisms like her.”

Y/N’s head moved back to give him a confused look.

“You do, just as you were sipping coffee this morning, the way you hugged Charlie it made me remember every time we visited your grandma and she hugged you.”

“You think so?” Surprise washed over her.

Tommy nodded.

“You’ve got lots of things from her, both physically and internally.” He brushed a rebel lock away from her face and looked at her with adoring eyes. “I realized you look so much alike in this photo.”

Fishing his phone in his pocket, Tommy searched for the image he was looking for, a candid image he snapped from Y/N when she wasn’t looking.

“You never told me you took this.” She was surprised by how much she looked like her grandmother indeed.

“If you put them side by side, it’ll be more obvious.” A genuine smile appeared on his lips.

“It’s lovely, thanks. I’ll make a collage.” Y/N leaned in to brush her lips against his. “Do you mind if I go to sleep? I’m exhausted.”

“I’ll join you in a minute, just want to check Charlie.”

“My God, he must be so confused for not having the Christmas tree yet.” Worry was evident in her voice.

“Don’t worry about it baby, I’ll take care of it.” He then joined her in the middle of the hall to give Y/N one more reassuring kiss. Making sure she was upstairs, he called Frances. “Would you help me pack a small suitcase for Charlie and another one for Y/N, leave them by the door so the driver can place them in the back of the car.”

“Of course Mr. Shelby.” The maid nodded.

“Oh and Frances? Make sure to pack yours as well, I need you to look after Charlie.”

Leaving the maid perplexed, Tommy went upstairs.

***

“Since Charlie isn’t cooperating, Frances would you explain why all this mystery?”

Charlie grinned and gave Frances one long and expectant look.

“I’m afraid I don’t know madam.”

Y/N tried getting Tommy to talk, but it was useless. Suddenly he was more interested in the sky than in the interrogation she was making.

“Wow, look at that plane!” Charlie pointed out.

It was until then that Y/N realized of where they were going. The airport.

“Tommy.”

One look and she knew.

“Tom-”

“Just relax, okay?” He interrupted. “For once. All you need to do is get on that plane.”

“Can I ask…?”

“Nope.” He perched his signature Ray Bans against his nose and offered his hand so Y/N could get out of the car.

“Let’s go!” Charlie shouted, leaving them behind.

“Frances?” Y/N tried again.

“Oh Miss Y/LN I know the same thing as you.”

The crew of the private plane greeted them and offered drinks and breakfast, and Y/N still didn’t know the destination. She was worried not being able to take control over the smallest thing, because Tommy was taking care of absolutely everything.

“Fine.” She mumbled leaning against the window.

“Finally! Now we can start our little holiday.” Tommy squeezed her hand. “I know you didn’t feel like celebrating for what it means this time without your grandmother, but Y/N, she would wanted you to smile and be happy.”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“Wherever you choose to celebrate or not, your grandma will be right with you, in your heart.”

“I know, but it’s not the same without her.”

Tommy wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye tenderly.

“Sweetheart, I don’t want you to spend this Christmas sitting on the couch crying.”

He wanted to compensate for her sadness. And although nothing would her back what she wanted the most, he could try to make her happy. He was right, and the effort meant more than she could express, so with a sigh she rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes for a moment.

“Dad! Look!” Charlie’s nose was glued to the window. Frances looking over his shoulder.

That’s when Y/N realized….

“Paris?”

“We’ll always have Paris.” Tommy whispered.

Y/N wasn’t able to hold back the tears any longer.

She knew when she was around six years old, her grandma took her to Paris to visit some family, but the memories were blurred in her mind. Through her grandmother’s eyes she had been able to know some parts of their adventure together. A few photographs but that was pretty much all.

Either way, she felt a special connection to the place and that quote was something her grandmother constantly said, as it was one of greatest experiences she had with Y/N. And they both treasured it close to their hearts.

“It’s time to make our own memories.” Tommy’s voice made her go back into reality. “What do you say?”

She wanted to ask him a million questions, but decided to just let everything flow. In the end he really took care of everything, prepared even the smallest detail of their trip and gave her that reassuring smile that let her know everything would be alright.

As they stepped outside the airport, snow welcomed them, everything was covered in a white layer. But it only added an even more beautiful vibe to their trip.

“I love you, you know that?” Y/N closed her hands around his neck and pulled Tommy for a brief kiss while Frances and Charlie took their seats in the vehicle.

“I do.” He gave another one back. “And I love you too.”

“This is beautiful.” Y/N beamed as they rode through the Parisian streets.

“Actually… shall we stop?” Tommy proposed, while Y/N gave him a confused look. “It’s fine, Frances will make sure the bags are checked in and we’ll go back in a bit.”

Making sure Charlie had the scarf around his neck, Y/N covered her hands with her gloves, while Tommy’s hand wrapped around the small of her back as they strolled around.

“Dad I want to go the carrousel!” Charlie announced excitedly. With his father’s approval, the kid stormed towards the attraction impatiently.

“Bet you were just like that.” Y/N mumbled to herself but loud enough for Tommy to throw his head back and laugh.

“Guess you could say that.”

“Look! Just like Winter!” Charlie pointed at the white horse figure, thinking of their horse back home.

“Just like her huh? Think you can handle this one?”

“Of course, it’s a fake.” Charlie retorted making Y/N smile.

Paying for Charlie’s ticket, they stepped aside to see him riding.

Using her phone, Y/N captured a candid photo of Charlie waving at them, a big smile on his small face.

“What is it?”

“Nothin’ just wish Ruby could be here as well.” Tommy cleared his throat and pretended to be busy with a cigarette.

Y/N knew deep down that fearless man was a sweet man with a good heart who cared deeply of his people.

“I’m sure you’ll reach an agreement with Lizzie later on, she’s still a one year old girl.” Y/N leaned her head on his shoulder to comfort him.

“It’s hard to believe she’ll let me anywhere near Ruby.”

“You’re her father, you’ve the right to see her.”

These holidays had been hard for him as well.

“You know what? I don’t want to talk about anything that might ruin this, you, Charlie, me right here it’s all that matters.” He stated before taking a deep puff of smoke.

“Thank you, for cheering me up.” Stepping in front of him, Y/N captured his lips in a kiss full of gratitude.

“Careful, you might get us arrested and only one of us knows French.” Tommy joked with a sparkle in his eyes. His hands sneaking under her coat.

“I see why you brought Frances then.”

“I always have a plan.” He winked at her.

She could feel a thousand butterflies in her stomach by the way he smiled. “Santa said you’ve been a good girl.”

Y/N blushed. “Oh… and what about you mister?”

“Nah… I’m the bad boy your grandmother warned you about.” Another wink by him and she produced another smile as Charlie ran towards them. “But what you gonna do about it? It’s kind of late now to back down.” He added jokingly.

“She loved you too.” Bending down, Y/N asked Charlie if he enjoyed the ride. “Who wants some hot chocolate?”

“Me! Me! Me!” Charlie shouted.

Tommy groaned. “If you find the button to turn him off let me know.”

“You’re so mean, as if I did the same to you.”

“No, Y/N you turn me on.” Tommy admitted just before Y/N moved her hand to cover his mouth, he was taking advantage of Charlie’s innocence and the mischievous grin on his face gave him away.

Sipping on her hot chocolate cup, Y/N allowed a small glimpse of happiness, it was a beautiful place, the Christmas decoration providing a gorgeous sighting, everyone oozing happiness. The snowy weather made the sighting look out of a Christmas postal.

She was torn between enjoying her favorite season and the grief she carried in her heart. It was her first holidays without her grandmother and her empty chair was definitely evident. She was at a much better place now, no doubt but her absence felt heavy in Y/N’s heart.

Grief is just all the love with no place to go after all.

Noticing the sadness in her eyes, Tommy stopped at a stand, looking for the ornaments they had to decorate the Christmas tree.

“Are you looking for something special?” The man asked.

“Yes… a house ornament.” Tommy replied, feeling Y/N’s eyes on him. “Do you guys want something?”

“A reindeer!” Charlie’s eyes shining.

Y/N took her time studying the ornaments, until one caught her attention.

Following her eyes, Tommy had to swallow the lump in his throat. I have an Angel in heaven, called Grandma. It read. It was the one.

Kissing her temple, Tommy offered his embrace as they waited to get their decorations.

“Dad why did you choose the house?” Charlie asked with curiosity.

Getting a cab for them, he looked at his son. “I’ll tell you later about it.”

Y/N looked the exchange in silence, but also wondering the meaning behind his choice. She’s expect him to choose something with a dark humor behind instead.

“Look Charlie, the Eiffel Tower’s lights are flicking again.” Y/N pointed as they drove in the opposite direction, back to their hotel.

“Okay this is the plan, Charlie you’re heading to bed the second we step into the hotel, no questions. Tomorrow we’re having breakfast and then we’re going to a flea market.”

“Tommy…” Y/N gasped.

“What? You always said you wanted to see the Eiffel Tower and a flea market in that same order.”

“I know, but how do you remember?”

Scoffing, Tommy gave her the look. “Sweetheart, I pay attention.”

“Only thing that sucks is Santa doesn’t know I’m here.” Charlie complained once in front of their door.

With a smile, Tommy opened the door for them, making them both gasp loudly as they saw the huge Christmas tree in the middle, fully decorated with presents wrapped all around.

“Well I might have informed him we would be traveling and changed the address.” He admitted pleased with himself. He wanted them to have the nicest possible holiday. “Why don’t we add our ornaments?”

Tommy took her by surprise, not only for the trip, but for the tree as well, she thought about sneaking around the shops of the hotel to buy Charlie something thinking he wouldn’t get anything, but Tommy thought of everything.

“This is beautiful, thank you.” Y/N wrapped her arms around his torso, feeling so grateful to have him in her life.

“Presents are meant to be open until tomorrow morning though.”

“But Daaad.”

“No buts, off to bed.”

Pouting, Charlie walked towards Y/N. “Goodnight Y/N Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas Charlie, have a good night.” She hugged the boy and kissed the top of his head.

“Night Dad.” He then said. “Merry Christmas.”

“See you tomorrow son, Merry Christmas.”

Watching him disappear, Tommy took Y/N by the hand.

“Want to know why I chose the house?”

“Absolutely.” She brushed the fringe from his forehead with her fingers.

“Because that’s my only wish this Christmas… to build a home with you, Y/N. A proper house; our own title team, we’ve talked about the future, well it’s finally here, in this moment. You made me realize of what I truly want, what I dream of.” Getting on one knee, Tommy showed her an old jewelry box. “I know you miss your grandma terribly and no one will ever fill her place in your heart, but in some way, she found a way to show you she’ll always be right next to you, she gave me this ring, she wanted you to have it and be as happy as she was during her marriage. Will you marry me?”

He looked at her with tears in his eyes, fighting to say the words as emotions took over.

“Tommy…” bending down she kissed him. “Wait a second, this is her engagement ring?”

Taking the delicate piece from the box, he smiled proudly.

“Before she passed away, she gave it to me to propose you with her ring.”

Her head was spinning, her heart drumming against her ribs.

“She did what? When?” Shock was written all over her face.

“Can you please say yes first? So I can get up.” He groaned.

“Yes of course!” She kissed him again, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“When we took her to the clinic, as you were asked to fill the papers with her information, the nurse just left,” he explained as the memories of that day came back to him, “she asked me if I really loved you, to which the answer is pretty obvious. Then she asked me in case something happened to her to go to her house and open the safe to get her engagement ring and keep it until it was the right time to give it to you, she wanted you to have it as she knew how much you’d miss her.”

Y/N sobbed as Tommy’s voice cracked.

“She said to me make her even happier than I was, and the day she walks down the aisle, I’ll be right by her side.”

“I thought it was lost or stolen, as I went through her belongings.” Y/N wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes.

“She wanted you to have it, with a different meaning.”

“It’s the most perfect ring I’ve ever seen.” She looked down at her left hand, the stone shining under the chandelier.

“Just Iike you’re to me.” He pulled his now fiancé for a hug. “She wanted you to be happy, to live life to the fullest. Said you were her favorite grandchild.”

Her lower lip trembled just as his hands came to rest at each side of her head.

“Just don’t let anyone else listen.” They said in unison to what Y/N’s grandma used to confess.

“I know you lost a huge part of yourself when she left. But you have to know that you were right beside her through everything, you enjoyed her in every moment, every visit, dinner and chance you had, you took care of her until her very last breath, and no one can take that away from you. Find peace in that. You loved her as much as she loved you.”

Tommy caressed her face with his thumbs.

“Now you have to keep that promise, and be happy. For her. For us.”

Y/N could only nod. Words were stuck in her throat.

“I can’t believe this is happening.” Y/N expressed in a whisper, staring at her grandmother’s engagement ring.

“We’re getting married.” Tommy assured her, thumbs caressing her cheeks. “Eh? Soon to be Mrs. Shelby.”

Y/N blushed. “That sounds promising.”

Taking her by surprise, Tommy grabbed her from the waist to spin her around, making Y/N gasp and hold onto him tightly.

Trying to hold back the tears, Y/N hugged Tommy closing her eyes for an instant.

“What’s crossing your mind?” He asked.

And for the first time in a while, he saw the way the smile reached Y/N’s eyes.

“Thinking how grandma will always be with me.”

****

As usual your feedback means the world to me ♥️✨

Master list

Tag list: @lyarr24 @runnning-outof-time @cillmequick @datewithgianni @cloudofdisney @gretelshelby @gypsy-girl-08 @lespendy @onlydeadcells @fastfan @stevie75 @prettylittlehoneyeyesxoxo @esposadomd @forbidden-forest-witch @ange-thoughts @moral-terpitude @elenavampire21 @forgottenpeakywriter @thenattitude @winchestergirl22 @zablife @elk96 @heidimoreton @imichelle-l-rigby @allie131313 @already-broken144 @peakyscillian @babaohhhriley @shelbydelrey @shaddixlife @sloanexx @sydneyyyya @adaydreamaway08 @pono-pura-vida @thomashelbyswife @darleneslane @everythingelseisextra @kmc1989 @mariaelizabeth21-blog1 @lau219 @red-riding-wood

[speedycoffeedelight]

An Animalistic Disaster

Chapter 28 : Final decision

Masterlist

Summery :Where Alastor tries to persuade you but fails miserably

A.n : A lot of this chapter is inspired by a song. Try to guess which one it is before reaching the end !!

" What the fuck?!"

Safe to say that almost everyone lost their shit looking at Melody for an explanation. Melody laughed nervously shying away a bit under their gaze. She didn't think this would have this much impact.

" So uh...you remember your birthday right? Your mom said she would be happy if you spent that day with her."

" Uh-huh...and?"

" And that they think they found a suitable match for you. Apparently it's someone you know" she scratched her chin. " I couldn't hear the name properly. I think it was...... something!"

" And they think I'll just accept that proposal in the blink? What are they thinking? What is my MOM thinking?!" You slammed on top of the floor angrily. You didn't care if it hurt your hand or not. Out of everyone, you didn't expect your mom to agree to something like this. This felt like betrayal.

" (Y/n)....are you..are you okay? " Charlie asked in a concerned voice extending one of her hands towards you. You gave her a weak nod and smiled before hardening the features. " It's fine, I'll just say I don't agree to this. They can't force me to marry someone. That's against the law." You said in a monotone tone.

It's true while your mother has always poked at you to settle down, she never outwardly forced you to be with someone. She always said that you were becoming a big girl and maybe someone by your side would do you good instead of being alone. A mother's worries.

But this new development. This has to be the work of your dad's side. Especially your grandma. Even your dad didn't dare cross your grandma. From outside, your dad was the main person of the household, but in actuality, it was your grandma. You learnt it the hard way. She was mostly to blame for the person your father became today. You used to go her for comfort from your dad. You thought your sweet sounding grandma understood you. Until you realized she blamed YOU for every time you cried to her about unfairness from your dad, not her child. You lost another person dear to you that day, and never sought her out ever again.

You snapped back to reality suddenly to sound of arguments and planning. All of the crew were arguing and talking over each other on how to prevent it. You sighed slowly standing up and going outside. You needed some fresh air. A pair of brown eyes followed your every move.

*Step* *step*

You took off your shoes a bit earlier. Moon didn't shine today. The sky looked cloudy. Cool breeze were flowing through the air making swoosh sounds around the tall trees circling the place. It might rain soon. The air felt misty. The grass beneath your feet felt pleasant as well. You could slowly feel your thoughts drifting by. ' Marriage huh? This isn't the first time I've heard that being brought up...damned dad..this is all his fault! I know it!'

You looked down at the pond as your own reflection stared back at you . suddenly another face joined besides yours in the reflection. Being spooked, you quickly whipped your head towards Alastor who was grinning with his hands behind his back. God your heart was pounding.

" Are you alright my dear?" Alastor's honey toned voice rang through the air. " I do hope you weren't hoping to jump in the pond and be done with, that would quite... disastrous!" He laughed, this bastard laughed while you were concerned for your future. " Well fortunately for you, I wasn't going to. But I will now. So if you'll excuse me, I have a pond to sink into and when I die it's going to be your fault ."

You huffed extending your feet to step into the pond angrily. You had enough of this man. Common sense left your head under all the frustration. Before the water could touch your feet you were yanked back into Alastor's broad chest. While you were trying to figure out what's happening, he held your hand and spun you around. You couldn't even comprehend or move away from his grip. Finally he dipped you low enough for your hair to almost touch the water surface as you gripped onto him tightly in fear of falling. Alastor leaned closer to your neck, breathing in your scent. You smelled intoxicating.

"My dear, how about a proposal ~? "

You furrowed your eyebrows. A proposal? Whatever was he planning. And this pose...it has your heart running as fast a lighting. You looked up at his brown eyes, scanning for any sign that could possibly reveal just what he was planning. You found none.

" I think you could use a....friend in this time of need. Or a partner if you'd prefer"

Alastor was trying to choose his words carefully while scanning your face for expressions.

" Why...?"

" Why to save you from that dreadful dad of yours of course! Someone like him would be just better dead! Don't you think so?"

Panic rushed through your mind at what he was suggesting towards. You pushed him away, breaking out of his clutch easily and hugged your arms. "No! I'm not killing my father if that's what you're planning Alastor! I'm not that far gone like you. "

Alastor takes a slight offend to that. But his grin never falters. Instead he steps closer now with his arms behind his beck. His form easily towered over you forcing you to look up. " Come one dear, just a tini tiny deal, with the one you fancy the most~". He was trying to use your attraction for him as a tool. He was your favourite after all, wasn't he? No matter what that picture box or the king of hell did, they could never replace him!

He began to circle you now, like a predator circling its prey. The wind was getting even stronger making your clothes and hair flow and you could swear that you saw shadows dancing around you. Before you knew it, he was right behind you, whispering in a deep husky voice. Wait, was that...his southern accent?

You were blushing like crazy. He was using all your weaknesses against you. The closeness, his accent, the height difference. You could almost see the fluffy ears on top of his head flickering as well. You took a deep breath. You knew he wouldn't harm you. At least not while Charlie and others were present. But since you liked him, you knew enough about him to know that he is most probably using you for his entertainment. Oh well, you'll play his game for a bit. He didn't take you for a easy catch did he?

A smirk graced your lips as you turned around and lifted up on your tip toes. The first technique to throw him off the game was to get as close as possible. This guy loved getting in others personal bubble. But someone getting into his? Not so much. And it was working as you saw him back away his face a little.

" Say, If I did get my father killed, how do I know it won't come back to bite me later? How do I know you won't do a half assed job that'll get me and all the others arrested? " You poked a finger at his chest. "You sir, may have been a well-known serial killer before but times have changed, there are a whole lot more technologies and camera here now mister, that I bet your old timey ass never bothered to look into"

Alastor was effectively silenced. This was very very rare. 'Damn woman...' His ears were pinned back to his head which didn't escape your eyes. You found them cute. The fact that you were able to get under his skin so easily made you puff out your chest with a victory smirk.

"C'mon! Just give me one chance cher. Times may have changed but my skills hadn't gone that rusty yet. I can handle it and serve his head in a silver platter for you. All I require is your dear soul. Don't you want to be closer to me? " This man was literally purring in your ear.

" Listen, I'll have you know, just cause I like you, doesn't make me a easy prey. I can tell what's good for me or not. I've been swimming with piranhas all my life, now, I don't need a shark like you coming after me."

"I'm actually a deer. That picture box is the shark."

" You know what I meant smartass "

Alastor's lips curled into a smirk. Intriguing, quite intriguing indeed . He should have guessed that it wouldn't be this easy. " But don't you see, this is once in a lifetime offer! Cher, just give me your words" he suddenly grasped your hands pressing them against his chest. His eyes shined with a strong affection and determination. You gazed into his brown eyes suddenly shocked with this change.

Before you could utter anything, Charlie and Husk called your name. Alastor's brows furrowed with annoyance looking at the pair. Suddenly you were snatched away from Alastor and placed into Husk's chest who then shoved you to on top of Charlie.

" Listen here motherfucker. You may have tricked me and Charlie, but I ain't letting you trick (Y/n) too " He declared angrily flaring his nostrils. Husk's tail was all puffed up behind him angrily as he made a low hissing sound. Meanwhile Charlie was just checking up on you to see if you're okay. They heard the last few bits of talks between you two. While Charlie was more caught up with the fact of how Alastor and you were holding hands and seemed so close. You two didn't do something right? Only if she noticed a little sooner.

Alastor wasn't bothered at all by the things Husk was threatening him with, but more so at the fact that he and Charlie dared ruin his moment. He was so close to making you convinced. Spoiler alert, he wasn't. Alastor suddenly grabbed both Husk and Charlie by their collar and pulled them up close placing a hand on both of their shoulders.

" Husk and Charlie! My dears! You both came at the perfect time! Won't you put in a few good words about me to our dearest host here?"

Husk looked pissed while Charlie just looked baffled. But before they could say something, they felt their lips move on their own.

" Oh yes, Alastor helped me a lott" you heard Charlie say, except it was actually Alastor's who was mimicking Charlie's voice in a high pitch and moving her lips accordingly somehow. Their lips were darker then usual. It was the shadows that moved around Alastor. Soon enough Husk's lips started moving as well.

" Seelling my soul was the best thing I ever did kid ! Trust in this old kitty cat and make a deal with the handsome devil while you can !"

Once again it was Alastor's voice mimicking Husk's with a gruff tone in them. Alastor even pulled up his cheek a little to make the poor man copy the expression of a smile. You would have laughed if it wasn't apparent on his face of how much he hated every second of that.

" How are you doing that Al? " You asked with barely muffled laughter. Alastor's grin became ten times more bigger looking at your smile. He let go of the two making them cough immediately and rub their mouth to make the uncomfortable cold sensation of the shadows go away.

" What the fuck-"

" THAT my dear..." Alastor's booming voice cut through the Husk's as he took your hands in his once again. " Was simply an ounce of my power~ " Suddenly the shadows you saw around him made sense. " But I thought only Vaggie, Charlie and Lucifer had powers..." This bastard hid it didn't he?

You noticed in between tugging and dancing and spinning around, you both came around the lake side again. " Now then, cher~? What do you say? Do we have a deal ? " Alastor came far to close to your liking again, inhaling your scent with a blissful look on his face.

"I think...."

Alastor's smile widened parting his teeth over your neck. His breath ghosting over the skin.

" I'm going to...."

His teeth grazed your skin. You heartbeat increased rapidly.

" Have to decline! "

Alastor's eyes widened, did he just hear that correctly? But even before he could come in terms with what he heard he was suddenly pushed to the side.

*Splash*

Charlie and Husk watched in horror as Alastor was pushed into the lake by you. You wore a smirk of pride and held no regrets to what you just did. Charlie quickly ran up to you and held your shoulders while looking down at the lake in horror as Alastor face emerged from the water and shook it off .

" (Y/n) Why would you do that! "

" What? He was annoying me, plus it's not like he's dead! Consider it payback for what he did to me before. " You shrugged looking away. " My dad wants a good little daughter huh? I'll show him what a good little daughter I can be." You chewed out your words. "And I don't need his help to do it. Charlie? Husk?" You looked at the two with a smile on your lips that promised mischief.

" I think we three can handle it ourselves, don'tcha think so?" You ruffled their hair in both hands. " With Husk's tricks and Charlie's power, this thing will be easy. " Suddenly rain started pouring soaking You three all together. The wind was much faster as well. There was going to be a storm tonight. Perfect, just the weather for your current mood. You were laughing like a mad woman as they both escorted you to the cabin worryingly.

*Floosh* *splash*

Alastor coughed as he sat back the shore. His ears were pinned back to his head as he shivered at the cold. Each drop of rainwater felt almost like a cold bullet. He took off his glasses and shook his head. It didn't do much to dry his head but it pushed away all the leaves and other stuff from on top of his head. He felt disgusting. He started growling in anger, ears pinned behind his head. ' Oh I'm going to strangle that girl in her sleep I swear- '

" Need a hand old friend ? "

He immediately swiped his head back. This lousy picture box was here. This damned shark head. Scowling, he stood up and tried to figure out just how much of that he saw.

" If you're looking for others, they already headed back inside."

Two of them stood there as rain continued to fall over their heads. " What are you doing outside exactly Vox? Did you come here just to mock me is it?" Alastor grin tightened around the hinges, almost biting into his lips now trying to keep his smile up.

" Alastor, I have a deal to make a with you, a proposal if you will "

" And what makes you think I would accept? "

" Oh I think you will "

Vox took a few steps closer to him. Alastor honey coloured eyes calculating his every move.

" It about (Y/n)'s engagement "

Somewhere a thunder fell, illuminating the entire night sky as a tree fell.

.

.

.

.

Several footsteps approached, crunching the wet leaves bellow. Flashlight shot through the dark, showing the way though a dark wood.

" I don't think we're going to find anything anymore. Let's just go home. It's getting late, my sweet wife is waiting for me."

The one in front scoffed. This new guy just came a few weeks ago and already lazing around more then the older officers. He will need to give him some more training later. He clearly forgot who he was working under with. He couldn't began to fathom how he can just relax and talk about going home so nonchalantly as if there wasn't a killer on loose.

" Plus it's been weeks till the last murder. Maybe the killer is done...... Sir ? Are you listeni-"

Suddenly the man in front steeped on something...soft. He wasn't stepping on the ground anymore. In a second his flashlight pointed to the ground with several others soon following.

" We have a new body.."

A.n : Heyyyyyyyy, yeah. So, I'm not dead, but I'm about to die from all these studies -

And so, the song in question was " say my name " from bettlejuice. I had this scene envisioned in my mind for months and now I can finally write it. This songs covers Alastor and reader's relationship quite a lot as well.

And now as always, stay tuned~

Tag list: @legostars @glowinthedarkbones1150 @darifes @aria-tempest @rainbowcake1212 @luxylucylou @aaliy89 @uniquecutie-puffs

[watchmenanon]

A chat with Noah Schnapp, the 11-year-old Montrealer who voices Charlie Brown in The Peanuts Movie

'I listened to as much as I could find online to get the voice right. Winning the role took a lot of hard work'

Special to National Post

Published Nov 06, 2015

Noah Schnapp, the 11-year-old actor, son of former Montrealers Karine and Mitchell Schnapp, was selected to provide the pipes for the ever-flappable Charlie Brown in The Peanuts Movie after an extensive hunt. For good reason: his take is dead-on. It turns out that wasn’t accidental.

“In preparing for my recording audition, my mom told me to YouTube the old Peanuts Thanksgiving and Christmas specials to hear how Charlie Brown speaks,” the articulate Schnapp says in a phone interview from his family’s New York City base. “So I listened to as much as I could find online to get the voice right. Winning the role took a lot of hard work, but good fortune as well. There were a lot of other talented kids up for the part, too.”

After studying the character, Schnapp says, he can relate to Charlie Brown in a lot of ways. “Charlie never gives up, and I try never to give up either. And my dog Spaghetti is a bit like Snoopy — a real wise guy.”

Schnapp already has an impressive resumé — moviegoers can catch him in Steven Spielberg’s new Bridge of Spies, and will soon be able to see him in the indie feature, We Only Know So Much, based on the book of the same title.

He is commuting between New York and Atlanta, where he is in the midst of shooting Stranger Things, a supernatural thriller series for Netflix.

And he spent a portion of last spring in Park City, Utah, where he took part in the Sundance Directors Lab and played the lead in director Brent Green’s Untitled Loveless Fable. No surprise, Schnapp was the youngest person invited to the event, which was also attended by such heavies as Robert Redford and Ed Harris.

To top it all off, he was just listed in Variety’s Youth Impact Report as a rising star under 21 to watch out for.

Pretty heady stuff for a kid who only started acting in community theatre three years ago.

Schnapp plays the son of Tom Hanks’s negotiator character in Bridge of Spies, and is most convincing as a kid who’s concerned about a Soviet nuclear retaliation at the height of the Cold War. He dutifully learns the ludicrous duck-and-cover technique should a missile strike while he’s at school, and keeps his bathtub full of water should it strike while he’s at home.

“I have to be honest and admit that before I started working on that project, I actually didn’t know much about that period or who they (Hanks and Spielberg), were,” Schnapp says. “But you have to understand that I was only nine at the time.

“However, when we started pre-production, I watched most of their movies. Then I went: ‘Wow!’ I hadn’t realized how big and how important they were.”

He was particularly struck by Hanks’s manner.

“He’s just such a selfless, generous actor,” Schnapp marvels. “In most of his movies, he’s usually playing the hero and good guy, which is what he really is. He would always be holding on to my shoulder (during shooting), and putting me into the spotlight. And not just me — he was always trying to make everyone else shine, too. It was really such a great experience working with him and Steven Spielberg.”

Schnapp is nothing if not determined. Because of his lack of experience, he figured he was a long shot to land the roles in The Peanuts Movie and Bridge of Spies.

“It was kind of crazy — those were some of my first auditions,” he recalls. “I was very excited, but I didn’t really think I could get the work in Peanuts. Still, I really, really wanted it, because I knew I could do it. And I got it.

“It was the same thing for Bridge of Spies. It was crazy, too. Then I just started getting more and more roles.”

Apart from Hanks, he’s had some solid parental figures watching his back when he’s on the job. In We Only Know So Much, Jeanne Tripplehorn plays his mom, while Winona Ryder takes on that role in Stranger Things.

The Sundance Directors Lab was a great learning experience. “There were about 200 directors, actors and screenwriters. I learned that it was OK to experiment with scenes and improvise new lines. We were like a big family �� everyone became my friend.”

Though he didn’t start acting until he was eight, Schnapp says he caught the bug two years earlier.

“After I saw Annie on Broadway, I came out of the show crying, because I wanted to be on that stage. Then when I watched TV, I just knew I wanted to be that person in the TV, too.”

[mostsanegirlever]

Hi :) 

I’m writing this as a direct response to whatever the hell went on yesterday. Before I directly offer my counterpoints I just wanna make some things clear:

1. English is not my first language and I don’t use any proper translation app for revision. I use a lot of adverbs because that’s how I express myself in my mother language. The punctuation also goes with how I use it in Portuguese.

2. I’m not offended on Chan's behalf, I’m just extremely passionate about debating (both online and irl), especially when I think others are objectively wrong.

3. I’m not only pro boycotting this single, but I also pray every night that it never sees the light of day.

I’ve been against this collab and voiced my distaste as soon as I was made aware of its existence. At first it wasn’t because of Charlie Puth’s “opinions” on the Genocide being conducted against Palestinians in their occupied mother land (I actually had no idea where he stood since I have him blocked everywhere for being annoying, ugly and untalented), but getting to know that he’s an actual Zionist was the final straw for me, and I won’t be listening to it at all. That’s where I personally stand and I’m not known for changing my mind.

As soon as the news dropped, I took this feature for what it is: a chart gambling move by Republic Records (Stray Kids’ American distributor and promoter). Releasing a soulless English single featuring a C-list American “artist” is basically a trend in K-pop nowadays, since it places the group in the charts fast enough before the actual comeback, has viral TikTok potential and extends by 2 the promotional period.

I never actually expected JYPE to follow suit with SKZ, as much as they have given other groups the tired and bland English pre-release. As I said, it was a no for me from the start because I don’t like nor do I listen to something that’s so shamelessly a marketing strategy made for an easy cash grab.

I expressed my opinion that it was a sell-out move that would taint SKZ’ original and cohesive discography. 

As soon as the credits were posted, my first thought was that it was never SKZ’ song to begin with. In my opinion, it was very clear by the credits positioning that the song was made by Charlie and the other dude (who isn’t even like just a random Zionist but a full Israeli that has undoubtedly served the IOF) and the featuring was orchestrated in a reunion with people who see music as business and artists are decided by they capacity of making profit by charting. 

Once again, I personally refuse to consume this type of slop, especially when it comes from people who openly align themselves with a genocidal ethno-state.

I’m aware that my decision to not listen to this song won’t have any impact on the decisions both companies will make for SKZ in the future, since the music industry isn’t known to take morals into consideration when it comes to easy profit.

I also keep my opinion that media consuming (or non-consuming) isn’t activism, and there’s a fine line between reasoning on why you chose to boycott and empty virtue signaling. The latter always comes with a huge deal of self-righteousness, which we’ve seen plenty of since yesterday.

My expectation was that everyone who agreed to boycott directed their indignation towards RR and JYPE, since it was obviously an administrative decision and this has no artistic value. MUCH TO MY SURPRISE! (not really, this always happens) Chan has been in the front-line for getting all the lashes.

No mention of the other members of 3RACHA, who were also “in the room with racists” and have the exact same amount of credits and creative liberty, no mention of RR who obviously was the one orchestrating the promotional single (as they did with that TXT song with Jonas Brothers, Usher feat. Jungkook and the list goes on).

Lots of people questioned this when they saw that tweet, with no concrete response by OP or the ones who backed her up on why he was solely being condemned and blamed for the collaboration.

After a while, many came to justify that directing the anger towards Chan is valid since he is “the leader”, “the oldest” and “the spokesperson” of the group. For me personally, it’s hard to understand why a group made out of fully adult cisgender able-bodied males would need a spokesperson when they’re perfectly capable of speaking up for themselves on instances like this, but it’s interesting to see him suddenly become the only one who can speak for the group considering many people were shading him for being the one who always gives the speeches earlier this week.

Although the main claim is that he has more power because of his position as leader, I don’t think anyone actually believes that. The blame falls strictly onto Chan every single time because he made the biggest mistake an artist can make: treat his fans as equal.

He established an open line of communication as he presented his own authentic self, showing his flaws and often putting himself down and accepting the blame as means of maybe alleviating the inhumane amount of hatred he’s been submitted to since he dared to share his passion with the most demonic industry with the biggest amount of brain-dead fan-girls.

This made Chris the main character of arguably the most intense parasocial relationship I’ve seen in years of fandom hopping.

The post that started the blame shift towards Chan referred to him by his full name (weird, but punctual since many seem to believe they know him personally) and goes on to say “I know that you’re reading these quotes” or something like that.

See what I mean? That struggling to fulfill obligations as an idol and cutting himself open to give the fandom unrestricted access to him for years only made them believe that that’s all he does? That he’s #oomf and they can just say anything and it’s part of his job to acknowledge it? That any problem is for him to solve individuality and every praise is meant to be shared?

This entire idea that Bang Chan is somehow different, more important and more impactful than his coworkers isn’t because of the leader title, it’s because of the close relatability due to his openness.

Chan deals with the producer role much as he did with his relationship with the fans: he’s always made it clear that 3RACHA has the same amount of power when it comes to the creative direction of the band. Changbin and Jisung always acted alike, never letting it seem that Chan is the one who calls the shots or takes on “the leader” role inside the producing unit.

This message has never seemed to reach the fandom for some reason and when it comes to highlight something negative it falls strictly on Chan to acknowledge it. His coworkers who are on the exact same level and have the exact same power are never expected to stand up for anything.

Many argue that it’s because Chan is a native speaker but it’s actually, again, because people have a parasocial relationship with him specifically, to a level the other producers never allowed.

That’s exactly the reason you can see here:

if you're like, okay yeah screw all those other people, but why are you blaming chan? niru @/the_kpopalypse on twitter wrote it very well:

"I think Chan is one part of a large team that made this happen. That being said, as a leader, as someone who has generally made it a point to communicate his views on anything that goes on in fandom or the world, and the one who has emphasized the social justice angle of skz's brand since day one...[he] is a grown man who can and should hear the truth."

The expectation doesn’t come from actually believing he’s the leader or the spokesperson, it comes from taking his openness and treating fans as equals, as exposing himself in a genuine way and continuing to attend to expectations in order to keep the crowd pleased and now it all falls on his shoulders, even though not for a minute has he claimed to have more creative freedom or power than any other member in the producer line.

The whole “because he is the leader” means nothing but “because I have higher expectations when it comes to him, because the close relatability made me think I have an open channel of communication and I can demand he attend to my expectations, because I know him on a personal level and he frustrated me”.

I don’t blame anyone for growing such a deep rooted parasocial relationship with him, Chan is indeed a charismatic leader, it’s the hypocrisy that I can’t stand. It’s clearly not his move to go on with this collaboration, and if you decide to critic him in hopes that he’ll see it somehow (as if he has nothing to do but sit around reading your demands and taking notes but once again this belief comes from this parasocial relationship where you guys are convinced he’s the one who’s always there and he’ll be a hero and make everything alright again), then Han Jisung and Seo Changbin, the other men who are credited the same amount, are just as capable of standing up for this.

The parasocial relationship this entire fandom has with Chan (that can be both for love and admiration or hatred and jealousy btw) comes with this huge amount of expectations for him but also for the infantilization of the other members.

Chan is the dad, the one who’s capable and dependable and calls the shots and the other 7 fully adult cis able-bodied millionaire males are just...there. They have no opinions, they have no responsibilities, they have no say.

They’re all 23+ in age and Chan being the oldest is hardly an excuse as to why he’s being pointed as the sole member who needs to take a stance since Minho is no more than a year younger than him.

These are grown men who have been legal voters for years already, and have been raised and socialized in a culturally conservative country. Chan being brave enough to talk about his own political and social views (not the group’s, since the text I’m replying to seemed put him in “skz” when it came to praising) should be a breath of fresh air but instead it only gave him more responsibility when it comes to “educating” the other members, somehow.

I am of the opinion that these expectations only fall on him because you think you know him on a personal level, whereas the others kept the fans at a safe distance from the beginning.

Singling someone out for being “the oldest'' doesn't fly. He speaks for himself only, not for everyone. If it’s about taking a stance, I need all of them to come forward individually and use their social status for what they believe. They aren’t alienated from the world and they have the same amount of free time Chan has, signed the same contracts and are just as grown and capable.

What happened yesterday with name dropping Chan exclusively was no more than people who cultivated a deep rooted parasocial relationship with him  (easily noticeable since skz_8283 and the people backing her up are all +18 RPF writers) and seem to think that media consuming and tweeting is activism.

The doubling down on still pointing him out as the sole precursor instead of actually demonstrating their distaste towards the people who decided that this chart gamble would be real, or even at the very least expecting the same amount of responsibility from the other members was even more upsetting.

The anger towards this project is completely justified, but as long as you keep Chan in the middle of your rage it will also be completely misplaced. Chan doesn’t have a choice in this, redirect your demands towards the people who actually call the shots: Republic Records and JYPE/DIV1.

[waugh-bao]

@thebedroomblues I think Keith’s thing with the drum kit and staying centered on Charlie as much as humanly possible is maybe the best microcosm for understanding the band dynamic as a whole, or at least the dynamic between him and Charlie.

It all essentially arises from three avenues ->

1. The way they worked in the early years, and where they worked, forced Keith and Charlie into close physical proximity on stage, and Keith came to rely upon it as a way to be centered and a source of comfort.

Which are both aspects of that relationship he’s been very open about:

"I'm probably the most drummer-influenced guitar player around. Over the years, Charlie and I developed a style between us, and a lot of it has to do with the fact that for many, many years I couldn't hear us onstage at all. The chicks are screaming and the band has no P.A. So we developed a way of playing where it didn't matter if we heard the voice or the bass-it was just Charlie and me. I'd be forced right up against Charlie's kit with my amp right next to him. My playing would have been totally different if I hadn't gone through that with Charlie. I developed more and more of the rhythm things and licks because he was really all I was playing to."-1989

“When we're up there it's just like a little cocoon. I'm just with my man here [Charlie] and we make this row together.”-2006

2. Keith sees Charlie as the person who has had the most impact upon his playing and his particular, rhythm focused style. As his source of inspiration, really.

To the extent that he credits him with being his greatest strength:

“I'm tied to a drummer, Charlie Watts, loyal as a rock, and that's enough for me. It's with him that we've built an art of rhythm that's very much our own. Everything I've been able to invent over the years is based on this strength that he brings to me. We know each other so well that we can take every risk.”-2010

And the one who had given him his riffs, which are the basis of his musical character/his most famous skill as a guitar player:

“Also, when you play with Charlie Watts, you've got that amount of swing and rhythm behind you and it's very easy to surprise yourself. Because from my point of view I'm bouncing off Charlie Watts, we're both swapping rhythms, cutting it up, and when we get really cocky we even try and fuck each other up. ‘Aha! Got you, just this once!' You can't do it on your own in an isolated thing. To come up with those sort of riffs you've got to have the drums there, 'cos that's the inspiration. So what do I say? 'Monkey Man', the riff, I got it off Charlie Watts and he doesn't even know it.”-2002

3. He just really loves watching Charlie.

The man literally begged Marty Scorsese to include footage from inside Charlie’s bass drum in Shine A Light:

And he has zero problem bragging about how much he enjoys doing it, nor any hesitance in admitting that that’s how he spends most of his time working:

“He plays with humor too. I love to watch his foot through the Perspex. Even if I can't hear him, I can play to him just by watching.”-Life (2010)

“I've spent half of my life standing just in front of that drum kit…”-2002

“Charlie is the beat I listen to when I play the guitar. His drum pedal kick hole [in the drum kit] is the only thing I see when I'm on stage. He is the only beat."-2012

Watching him, it’s easy to see he’s not exaggerating:

Nor is it hard to see that he’d get a little (or a lot, depending upon who was doing it) violent when someone tried to interrupt his Charlie time:

With regards to Mick often trying to stop him from doing it/redirect him, my educated guess is that it arises from a fundamental difference in how they value the aspects of a ‘great’ rock show. Keith is all about the music first and aesthetics second. That’s why he was always happy to concede stage design and all that stuff to Mick and Charlie, and only insist that it didn’t interfere in their ability to sound as good as possible.

Whereas Mick, while he obviously believes the music is important, is much more focused on the showmanship and business aspect of tours and shows. He wants them to be musically solid and visually entertaining, so that the audience feels that they’ve gotten their money’s worth. So having the famous guitarist in the band show the audience his back for most of a concert, rather than play to them, is a problem.

Plus Keith has a tendency to get carried away (to put it lightly) when he’s left to his own devices with Charlie for too long, and make decisions that might comes across as…odd.

I mean, he bit him.

"I was shooting Charlie from the side of the stage at the Müngersdorfer Stadium in Cologne [in 1982] when Keith decided to join in, eventually biting Charlie's neck whilst both continued to play to an audience of 50,000. Back on the band plane, Ronnie Wood drew a pen and ink drawing of the mimed vampiric encounter that had been spontaneously staged by Keith for my benefit."-Denis O'Regan, 2012

[basilquesadilla]

Just a warning, this post is just a rant/vent with about 0 organization, and may also have some mild, vague spoilers.

Watched Heartstopper season 2 with a friend last night, and I think this time that show really hit me hard and made me feel super single with my aromanticism, even with Issac there. I really enjoyed spending time with my friend, but I got sad because my thoughts were going “This isn’t forevee, you’ll be back to being alone soon.” Watching issac feel awkward amongst his own friend group felt so relatable, anf I resonated with that hard.

I feel like my aromanticism is just something I’m constantly going up and down with how I feel about it. I’ll feel great about it for a bit, then i wont feel hood about it at all for a while, which is getting tiring to experience. I often try to attach queerplatonic/platonic meaning to romantic songs, and i tried to do that with the song that played in the final scene where Charlie talks about the bullying he experienced and what it was like. But i couldn’t do it. There’s not even anyone I’ve met that i’d wanna be in a queerplatonic relationship with, aside from a few where i knew there was no chance. I just felt so lonely so I couldn’t even listen to it.

One thing that doesn’t help me is I feel so touch starved yet I’m also often touch-averse, likely due to the former. It took me nearly a.year with my current friends who I met last year to even do hugs, and I doubt it’ll ever go beyond that because i feel like people never show their friends that much physical affection. Especially since, even if i am non binary, i still look like a cis man right now. And I know a lot of people would find like doing any physical affection with me because of that probably, and I’m touch averse so what does it matter anyways lol. It’s just a torturous limbo lol.

My friend was saying how the show made them want to reinstall dating apps, and meanwhile after the show I had to tune my thoughts out with TikTok and listening to other music to avoid my thoughts.

Another thing that hurts is(this is some long context that i need to add) is that after high school ended, i really didnt get to keep in contact with a lot of my friends(Ik that’s common but bear with me). I’d watch some of them thriving and finding friends despite it being 2020 fall semester where covid was still in its full swing in terms of impact on uni, and meanwhile I was alone. I was severely depressed, and lonely. Because no one i met in my courses with other engineering majors clicked with me(the classes were pre reqs for me as a computer science major). So then I got more lonely, and sophomore year was a repeat.

Final week of school that 2nd year i even decided i couldn’t take talking to even my online friends community aside from 2-3 close friends there. Then junior year happens, and i met my current friends. And of course i love them and everything. But i also have this voice in my head saying that the repeat will happen post graduation. We’ll all go to different places, and then they’ll talk to me less and less, and eventually I’ll just feel lonely and isolated again, and be back to thinking some very dark thoughts. And it’s terrifying. And i guess watching heartstopper s2 reminded me of all that, even tho i absolutely adored it still. All i could think in the back of my head was “you will never experience affectionate touch like this. You will never be able to be in a romantic relationship,’or a queerplatonic one. You’ll be lonely and your friends won’t always be there with you.”

So yeah, here I am, back to feeling shitty about being aromantic and hating it. Because instead of feeling the yearning, crushing, and relationships like others. Instead of feeling physical affection like others. Instead of being able to see a future with a partner. All im experiencing right now is bitterness at my lot in life and how i feel like all my friends will slowly leave me, and i won’t be able to make new ones because I suck at doing that as shown by the 2 years before meeting my current ones. And that just makes me feel depressed. I honestly feel kinda broken and hopeless. Aro and thus a lot of relationship options are cutoff from me, cant find people I’d want to enter a queerplatonic relationship with, AND have trouble with making friends. It just feels like I’m destined to be lonely, and ik it isnt supposed to be a factor in that, but it does feel like being aromantic plays a role in this whole mess for me rn. And i hate that.

If you read to the end of this, ty and I greatly appreciate you :) 💛

[shxdowsofombra]

Wedding/After Party

[Charlie]

Charlie went over to the side where Tate was once he made sure everything was set with Nibs for the ceremony. “Hey baby, is it anything like you thought it would be like?” 

[Tate]

Tate sat in his seat before hearing Charlie’s voice. He looked up at the boy and nodded, “Yeah it’s really nice. Your parents did a good job.”

[Charlie]

“It’s weird being able to be here and see my parents getting married. But I think it is cool too.” He says before hearing the music and standing up as his mom walked down the aisle and the ceremony went on. 

[Tate]

“Well it’s the way they always wanted to do it, I think that’s pretty special.” He smiled before hearing the music and standing up. He watched Misty walk down the aisle and leaned over. “She looks gorgeous.”

[Charlie]

Charlie smiled as he saw Misty walking down. “That was her dream dress since she didn’t get to wear it for her first one.” He says before seeing his dad cry. “Yup I knew he would cry when he saw her.” Charlie smiles fondly. 

[Tate]

“I think that’s everyone’s wish, their husband cries when they walk down the aisle.” He jokes. He sat back down when instructed and continued to watch the ceremony silently.

[Charlie]

Charlie watched as the ceremony continued. He then clapped along with everyone else when they kissed and went back down the aisle together. Once they headed for the limo everyone started to get their things. “Why would you want to make someone cry though? I mean I know it’s happy tears but still…”

[Tate]

“Well you want to know they were so affected by you and the moment. I don’t know, I am okay with a shotgun wedding. Just me and whoever I love. That’s all that matters to me. But this…this is like a fairytale.”

[Charlie]

“I agree with you. I don’t really want the whole world watching, that is too much. I know my dad wanted a more private one but being royalty I guess they couldn’t.” He shrugged before taking Tate’s hand. “Come on, let's go to the castle. My dad did promise my mom her dream wedding so…I think this passes as that.”

[Tate]

Tate nodded, “There are a ton of people, but the people do love your mother. That’s always nice to see. A Royal people actually like.” He smiled before nodding. “Okay.”

[Charlie]

“I hear that quite a lot about my mom.” He says as he lets go of Tate’s hand so they can get into the car and he drives them to the castle. “I think it’s nice that everyone looks up to her. Had she not known about being a siren none of this would have happened. I mean my parents would have still gotten together but the whole kingdom thing…it wouldn’t have existed. It is interesting how the smallest details could make such a huge impact.”

[Tate]

Tate got in the car with Charlie and listened to his words, “What would your parents have done if they didn’t live here? Did they have a plan? Like staying in the camps or? They kind of seem like the type to run away to a private island.” 

[Charlie]

“Well my parents actually have a house that he made for them and I am sure that is where they would have lived. Girls can’t access lost boy camp and boys don’t really like going around the lost girl camp. My parents were a special exception. Although I wouldn’t put it past them to have their own island somewhere.”

[Tate]

“Oh wow that is romantic. He made a house for her? That’s…wow. I don’t even know what to say to that.” Tate says as he smiles.

[Charlie]

“I am starting to think it's a family tradition at this point. My dad made one for my mom. My brother in law built one for my sister. I am sure I will do it at some point for someone that I love too obviously further down the line.” He tells him before parking the car and getting out to walk around to where Tate was. 

[Tate]

“And your other brother, Tommy? Is he building houses for people? I was wondering who his girlfriend or boyfriend is.” He says as they walk together. 

[Charlie]

“Uh yeah, Tommy built one for his girlfriend but she doesn’t know yet. He has been trying to keep it a secret to give as an anniversary present. So don’t tell anyone I told you that.” He smiles as he takes the other’s hand as they make their way inside. “You look very handsome in your suit by the way.”

[Tate]

“Oh so he is dating someone? Cool. And your sister? Does she have someone building things for her?” He laughed before smiling. “Thank you, so do you.”

[charlie]

“Yeah someone is building her something too, also a surprise though.” He smiled before pulling them away from the crowds for a second so that he could give Tate a kiss. 

[Tate]

“Oh interesting.” He laughed before kissing him back. “So what do we do now?” He asked as he looked around the room.

[Charlie]

“Well now we are waiting for my parents to arrive for the after party so I figured we could, you know…kiss some more?” He tells him with a small smile before connecting their lips once more. 

[Tate]

Tate kissed him back before laughing. “You want to make out in front of all these royals and your siblings?” He asked as he looked at the boy.

[charlie]

“What? Oh.” He takes the other into the hallway away from everyone else and away from prying eyes. “No one will see us.” Charlie smiles before kissing him. 

[Ellie]

Ellie pushed away one of the princes who was talking to her before walking inside of the castle and stopped as she saw Charlie. “Charlie? Oh that is you. Is this your boyfriend?” She asked, smiling.

[Tate]

Tate kissed him back before pulling away when he saw someone walking up. Tate smiled as he extended a hand, “Hi it’s nice to meet you, I’m Tate.”

[Charlie]

Charlie barely had a second to enjoy the kiss before hearing his sister. “The world is against me. I sense this.” He mumbles before nodding his head. “Yes this is my boyfriend. Ellie, Tate, Tate, Ellie. No one is supposed to be in this hallway…aren’t you supposed to be with Tommy?” He asks. 

[Ellie]

Ellie shook Tate’s hand, “Hi nice to meet you.” She smiled before looking at Charlie. “Why would I do that? He’s surrounded by a bunch of princesses at the moment.” She said before looking at Tate. “So you are a doctor?”

[Tate]

“Tommy is your twin right? That must be cool, having a twin.” He smiled before shaking his head. “No, I mean not yet. But one day hopefully.” He smiled before looking at Charlie.

[Charlie]

“Yeah and he seems absolutely thrilled they are there. I heard he was looking for you though something about fixing his tie.” He shrugged. “I think he is a very good doctor. He patched me up before so definitely on the way there.” Charlie smiled as he looked over at Tate. 

[Ellie] 

“Are you trying to get rid of me? To make out with your boyfriend?” She asked teasingly. “If Tommy wants me, he knows where I am.” She says before nodding. “Yeah he is my twin. That’s cool, I am sure Charlie is really into that.” She smiled.

[Tate]

Tate just smiled as he just shrugged, “Yeah I guess. I don’t think it’s that cool, but it’s nice to know he likes it.” 

[Charlie]

“Yes, please. For the love of everything just like five uninterrupted minutes would be great. We will be out there to join once mom and dad arrive.” He says before taking Tate’s hand and pulling him into his room at the end of the hall. 

[Ellie]

Ellie stopped Charlie as she looked at him. “And why would five uninterrupted minutes be necessary? You do know we are supposed to be here waiting for them to show up right? Not getting lucky in an empty room.” Ellie smiled teasingly. “What table are you at Tate? I am sure Charlie can move you to the family table, there is more than enough room.”

[Tate]

“Uh I don’t know.” He shrugged. “I didn’t get to check. I can do that now, I guess.” He answered. “Thanks for the offer, but I am okay with whatever table I am at. I don’t really think sitting at the family table is for me right now.”

[Charlie]

“First of all, I do not ‘get lucky’ alright, not that that is any of your business. Second of all we already know that mom and dad are going to take their time in coming here for many reasons. Third of all, unlike you I don’t get to see my boyfriend every day so please just go find someone else to tease before I lose my mind.” He groaned. 

[Ellie] 

“Chill out, you always make fun things so awful.” She said before rolling her eyes. “Go then. Have fun making out.”

[Charlie]

“I don’t like being teased and you know it. I got enough of that when I was younger thanks.” He rolled his eyes before leaving Ellie in the hallway and going to his room with Tate. “Sorry about her, my family loves to embarrass the younger ones…mostly me. I have my dad’s temper so of course they want to poke a sleeping bear or wolf in this case.”

[Tate]

“I mean I didn’t mind it. It comes with the territory, but I mean if you don’t want her to do that that’s up to you. My family isn’t going to let you just walk in and not ask you a ton of questions. And honestly I want them to. I care about their opinions.” He shrugged.

[Charlie]

“See I don’t mind questions, they are fine. I don’t like them assuming things about my sex life. It isn’t their business. I am sure meeting your family for the first time won’t consist of questions about how lucky you are getting. I don’t think those are normal questions.” 

[Tate]

“Well Ellie didn’t do anything too bad in my opinion. But again it’s whatever you feel. I mean you didn’t really introduce them to me anyway so it was nice she came up to me.” He pointed out. “Anyway, what time do your parents get here?”

[Charlie]

“I was going to introduce you when there was a chance due to everything going on. They both live in another kingdom so they are rarely here. You already met Luna, Hope, Zach, Hero and my parents so they were the only two left besides TJ who never comes around.” He shrugged.

“Well knowing my parents they probably took the long way around so we still have some time. They never arrive on time due to certain…uh reasons.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Also, I don’t think I ever asked what your last name was. I know you know mine but I don’t know yours.”

[Tate]

“Well all the more reason to introduce me to them now.” He says before nodding. “Oh okay. It’s Roberts.” He said before looking out the window at the garden downstairs.

[Charlie]

“I can introduce you once my parents get here while they make their rounds to each of the tables.” He tells him. “So then how did you come up with that name?” Charlie asks as he notices Tate looking at the garden. 

[Tate]

“How I came up with my last name? My dad.” He smiled. “I mean I assume that’s his name and that’s why I have it but you can ask them when you meet them.”

[Charlie]

“So then you ran into them after leaving the lost boy camp? I mean Peter doesn’t bring adults here…are they human too?”

[Tate]

“I mean as far as I know.” He replied. “They are younger. I mean my mom had me as a teenager and is still a teen so, I think I am older than them now.”

[Charlie]

“How would they be younger than you if you came after them? Do you mean they are physically younger? So then your parents would have had to be a lost boy and lost girl? Otherwise you wouldn’t be human right?” He asks as he walked over to where Tate was and took his hand. 

[Tate]

“Well I mean they are still teenagers. I mean yeah physically, but sometimes mentally. I love them but sometimes it’s me that is more like the parent. Yeah they were, but they left the camps as soon as I was born and moved to level e camp.”

[Charlie]

“So then it’s possible my parents know your parents.” He tells him. “Did they work at the e camp too then? They seem like they would have some cool stories since I know lost boys and lost girls weren’t really allowed to see each other from what I was told.”

[Tate]

“Yeah maybe, I never asked. They really aren’t into the whole royal thing.” He replied before nodding. “They still do. You’ve probably run into them once and didn’t realize it.”

[Charlie]

“I mean my parents weren’t either until the whole finding the lost princess thing happened.” He says with a shrug. “Well I am sure they were lovely then. Most people I have run into have been very nice.” He tells him. “So then have your parents thought about giving you siblings or did they just want one?”

[Tate]

“No, they are pretty happy with one kid. I don’t even think they intentionally wanted me.” He laughed slightly. “A happy accident my dad says.” He replied.

[Charlie]

“A happy accident? I don’t think parents should be calling their kids accidents in the first place. I couldn’t imagine how I would feel if my father told me I was an accident.” He shrugged. 

“Well in any event, I am glad that your parents had you otherwise I wouldn’t have met you.” He smiles as he pulls the other close to give a kiss. 

[Tate]

“Doesn’t bother me, it’s the truth. I don’t want to be lied to.” Tate said before kissing him back. “Thanks.” He laughed softly.

[Charlie]

“I know but still.” He says before giving him another kiss as he lets his hand come up to cup the side of Tate’s cheeks as he deepened the kiss slightly. 

[Tate]

Tate kissed him back before feeling him deepening the kiss and followed his lead with the kiss.

[Charlie]

Charlie couldn’t help himself as he continued to kiss Tate until the other’s back was against the wall. He continued to kiss him before breaking the kiss slightly so he could kiss down his neck. 

[Tate]

Tate continued to kiss the other back until he felt his back against the wall. He felt Charlie breaking their lips apart and kissing down his neck. He pushed the other away slightly. “Maybe let’s just…calm down for a second.”

[Charlie]

“I wasn’t planning on going any further than that since I know that you don’t want to. It’s just nice to be able to kiss you without being interrupted.” He says before hearing people down the hall. “It seems my parents are here. Come on.” He says before taking the others hand as they made their way out of the room.

[Tate]

“I don’t care if we kiss in public you know, it doesn't have to be hidden in some dark room.” He told him before taking his hand and followed him. “Sure, okay.”

[Charlie]

“I know but we tend to be interrupted if it’s not us by ourselves.” He tells him. “Wait really?” Charlie asks as he stopped when he processed Tate’s words. “You don’t care if we kiss in public?” A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. 

[Tate]

“Yeah, why would I care? I don’t see a problem with it.” He shrugged. “Is that not normal or something?”

[Charlie]

“No, it’s normal. I just thought with the whole wanting to wait thing it would include that kind of stuff in public as well.” He says. “But it makes me happy to hear that.” 

[Tate]

“Well we aren’t having sex in public.” He laughed. “It’s just kissing. I am cool with that.” He says before looking at him. “So where are we supposed to be now?”

[Charlie]

“Main ballroom.” He says as he intertwines their fingers as he leads Tate through the people.

[hells-greatestdad]

Lucifer watches as Sera attacks Michael. 'Take Emily someplace safe'

It's been an exceedingly long time since Lucifer has felt anything fond for Sera - once having been on the council with her. Naturally... Lucifer's actions and fall did plenty to more than estrange them, not even to speak of the centuries and eons since...

But to protect someone dear to you? Lucifer can understand that.

And then Emily pleads with him, he nods.

"Of course. I'm a lot of things, Emily, but a coward is not one of them." At least.... not in terms of battle.... He feels her prayer fuel his power.

And then there's Michael.... all those words, as usual. But something he says catches Lucifer's attention....

However, before that, there's an attack, the impact felt. Lucifer is still in decent condition afterwards, but Michael is as powerful as he remembers. Once that attack is weathered, Lucifer processes...

'Where Charlotte, your daughter' .... 'is no more'

He falters.

"Wait.... Charlie is..."

There's a twisting feeling in his gut, a heavy weight on his chest. As if someone just punched him, very hard. And not only from Michael's attack.

"I was talking with her only this morning...."

That's war.... it takes. And takes. And takes...

But this time, it took something most precious....

Grieve later. Move forward now.

...where had these words come from? They are clear in his memory, yet he does not actually recall such a conversation...

Lucifer speaks. Voice perhaps a bit hoarse as he bites his tears.

"Cycles, huh. You and Dad... always talking in goddamn riddles...."

Move forward now.

If you don’t, your child’s dream dies with her.

"Michael. If I were to just give up, would it even be the same me in another 'cycle'?"

Head low, but he looks up, now. Determination in his eyes.

"Too many people have sacrificed so much in this one. Including my daughter. I can't let that be for nothing. So if it's all the same whether we die or whether we give up? Even then, I'm going to fight for this reality. Charlie's efforts can't have been for nothing. I WON'T LET THAT HAPPEN!"

A moment. Lucifer continues to face Michael, not turning either direction.

"Sera. Emily. I'll have your backs on this. Let's set aside our differences for now."

With that, he rushes at Michael, aiming for a blow to the face using his flames

Aaaaand it misses....

|| @high-seraphims & @cast-you-dxwn ||

The earth quakes before them,

The heavens tremble;

The sun and moon grow dark,

And the stars diminish their brightness.

The LORD gives voice before His army,

For His camp is very great;

For strong is the One who executes His word.

For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible;

Who can endure it?

Joel 2: 10-11

The Heavens crack open. The sky shatters into pieces, Creation reflected in countless jagged fractals of the very fabric of its own reality.

The patience of the Lord has limits, and His wrath is mighty. That which has bathed nations in fire, which has filled the valleys and canyons of the earth with the dead, which has covered the lands in rushing water.

A finality in purification.

A Creation made clean.

A star falls, and the very pillars of the universe tremble with its terrible impact. Heat, pressure, and a light so terribly radiant that it threatens to eclipse the very rays of all the suns of all the realms.

Metal to slag and stone to magma, all to dust and ashes in the face of the crater that now dominates the battlefield, a destruction only seen in Creation as the humans had clumsily learned the power of splitting the atom. The very threads of reality weep and whimper, and from the largest celestial body and the smallest atom come the words that herald the final doom of all things.

Revelation.

Retribution.

Judgement.

Michael.

“Awake. Awake. Rise up, O Jerusalem.”

The words drift through the smoke and dust, and the haze parts with one swift movement, as though the very particulates are commanded to make way by the voice that drifts through them. Like the Red Sea to Moses, a corridor stands now clear between the center of the crater and its observers, with walls of dust and ashes.

“You, which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out.”

There stands an angel.

His armor gleaming, his robes white as snow, as though untouched utterly by the destruction that swirls about him. Dark-striped wings fully unfurled, their massive expanse touching from edge to edge the deep depression that his entrance has struck into the solid ground.

His helmeted head does little to hide the light that burns in his eyes, supernovae unto themselves, scything across the battlefield with judgement and intent of reprisal.

In his right hand rests the hilt of his blade. The Blade. That which has no name save for those given by its foes. Nay. Its victims.

Foebreaker.

Daemonsbane.

Anathema.

His left, so it seems, is empty. Raising slowly, pale and calloused fingers curling in to his palm save for one. Pointing. Accusing. Condemning. All at the three who dare to stand before him. To stand against him.

They who had once been the most beloved. Not just to their Father, no. But to himself. But what, pray tell, is love in the face of duty? How stands fondness in the face of bitter betrayal? A trajectory following of days long past, when the eldest son had been called to take into account his brother.

“O Brother of Mine. Merry in rebellion. What now, has it cost you?”

He does not look to Lucifer as he speaks. His words not only his, but of the many. Countless voices that rise up from his throat, the cries of the faithful accusing and damning, even as he takes in the two who stand at the Fallen Kings side.

“O High Women of Heaven. One so burdened by duty, as we all must be, why now have you shrugged your shoulders? Why now do you strain against the yoke? Another, light and love incarnate, such tenderness given flesh and feather. Do you not now understand the joy of destruction? The holy uplifting of a righteous cleansing?”

His lips curl bitterly, his teeth bared in anger, and he gestures widely. To the destruction that mars their home, to the blood that spatters the street. When he speaks, his words are an echo, the same as he had spoken when he had once driven his blade into an unruly siblings chest.

“What have you done?”

@high-seraphims @hells-greatestdad

[startanewdream]

For the @hinnyfest, prompt #6: "You are speaking about my future wife/husband. Be more respectful"

(Or this is a weird Weasley mess, don't mind it)

***

"Are we gonna tell them now?" Harry asked as they walked the path to the Burrow, following the enchanted lights that one of her brothrts had charmed to indicate the way to Ginny's birthday party.

"Not yet. After I blow out the candles."

Harry glanced at her. "Cold feet, Weasley?" He teased.

"I am just looking for the moment with the most impact," answered Ginny easily. "And you better keep calling me Weasley while you can."

"Weasley," he repeated in a purr, pulling her closer. Ginny grinned as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you, Weasley."

"I love you, Potter," she said against his lips, and then they were kissing, fireflies around them, the night warm and promising–

"Hey, hey!" Ron's voice broke them apart. He had his hands covering his eyes. "No snogging on the party's premise!"

"I thought it was my birthday–why can't I snog whoever I want?"

"Because this is a family party," George answered, pulling Ron's hands away. "It’s safe to look now."

"I would keep his hands–because I plan to snog Harry a lot today."

"Mum!" George called loudly, though Mrs Weasley was far away. "Little Gin is planning to smooch Ickle Harry."

"A lot," added Ginny defiantly. Harry held back a laugh.

"Come on, Ginny, they don’t need to know."

"Know what?" Asked Mr Weasley, bringing a set of chairs outside.

"Ginny wants to snog Harry," said George earnestly, ignoring Ginny's glare.

Mr Weasley coughed, pulling out his glasses to clean them. "Well, they are boyfriend and girlfriend…"

"Thanks, Dad." Ginny beamed at him. "Now–"

"How is that you always get away with it?" Asked Ron, almost amused.

"Because I am the favourite daughter, of course." 

"Pst." George chuckled. "It’s not Ginny, it’s Harry. Mum and Dad don’t think Harry can do anything wrong."

"This is Harry we are talking about, right? No offense, mate, but you don’t have a perfect record."

Harry shrugged.

"And it is a full record," Percy added good-naturedly, joining them. "Have you seen your file at the Ministry?"

Harry grunted; his file could easily fill up seven history books if one where to tell them, which he hoped never happened.

"A file?" Asked Bill curiously, passing by with a basket of flowers. “Care to share?”

“Just read Skeeter,” suggested Charlie, smirking at them. “What's now, Harry Potter: Chosen or Lucky One?”

“I’d say he’s lucky and chosen,” Ginny said, eyes narrowed. “And I would stop pestering him—you are ruining my night.”

“Exactly, it’s your birthday, we can mess with Harry,” said George reasonably.

“I would say getting all my brothers bat-bogey hexed would ruin the party.”

“Er—” Harry squeezed Ginny’s hand. “Maybe we can just have a laugh—”

“Not at your expense.”

“According to Skeeter, Harry has faced worse than us,” Charlie teased.

“I can vouch for that,” added Ron. “Acromantulas—”

“How are spiders worse than a professor with two heads?”

“We once threw a snowball at Voldie’s head,” George said, a nostalgic glint on his eyes. “Oh, if we knew back then…”

“How many professors have tried to kill you?” Bill asked in a serious voice. “I lost count.”

“Are we considering Umbitch?”

“No, she just scarred him for life.”

“Got jealous of Voldie probably…”

“That’s it,” snapped Ginny, taking out her wand. “You should be more respectful—Harry’s life is not a scandal that you can just gossip like that—you are speaking about my future husband! He is part of the family and you will—what?” She blinked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Harry chuckled, clearly amused. “Hum… Ginny—”

Ron was the first to recover. “Husband?” He repeated, glancing from her to Harry. “Future husband? So you—”

“I proposed,” confirmed Harry, grinning broadly. “She accepted.”

“YES!” And then Ron was hugging them both, and his brothers were clapping; Ginny didn’t look like she was going to hex anyone for the moment.

“What’s this?” Mrs. Weasley asked distractedly. “How nice of you to be so happy with Ginny’s birthday.”

“Nah, she has a birthday every year,” George said genially, ignoring Ginny’s warning gaze. “But she only gets engaged once—at least, we hope so.”

“Engaged? Oh!”

"I am gonna hex you," whispered Ginny, even as she hugged her mother.

"It’s bad luck for a bride and a birthday girl to hex her brothers," he replied calmly, winking at her.

Harry laughed. "We will get back to them," he promised.

[darknessisafriend]

Periods Commodus x Reader

Here I’m back with an imagine about our dear Emperor, @beatlebabe1996​ I dedicate this to you ;) 

You and Commodus had been married for a bit less than a month now, slowly, you had gotten used to each other’s presence, his frequent brooding and worries, but also his playfulness. Commodus was a man to discover and each day you learned more about him and fell even more in love with him; what had started as an arranged marriage had evolved into love. Even your husband, who was very suspicious over you at first and distant was learning to let down his guard, learning to know you were trustworthy. Yet, you still had a lot to learn about each other, you were discreet and shy, and he had a terrifying reputation…

You groaned in bed, burying your head under the sheets as the chamberlain came to wake you and your husband; today you really didn’t want to get up, you had a difficult night and pains in your lower belly had awaken you, you had understood your periods were coming. And as you woke up, you realized a slight wetness between your thighs, oh no…not when your husband was next to you, he would be disgusted, like many roman men were, some even considered it as a bad omen; what if Commodus reacted that badly too? Your heart started to hammer in your chest, you didn’t know how you would get out of that situation. You retained a little jump as you felt Commodus’ arm wrap around you.

“My Y/N…it’s time to rise.” He said softly and placed a feather like kiss on your temple. You closed your eyes, those soft lips gave you goosebump; but you lightly groaned, pretending not to feel very well.

“I’m…I think I’m going to stay in bed a bit more. I’m not feeling at my best…” you muttered. And you instantly felt your husband’s worry grow.

“What is it Y/N? are you feeling any pain?” he quickly asked, ready to call for a doctor.

“Commodus, please don’t worry about it. Just get up and start your day, I will surely feel better later.” You tried to convince him, you didn’t want the doctors involved and telling you to sleep separately from your husband until your periods ended, you wanted his comfort during that tough time of the month. But you knew how stubborn he was, he wouldn’t let go so easily.

“Tell me what you have. I don’t like things to be hidden from me. Especially from people I love. Don’t make me order you Y/N” He replied on a tone without appeal, he won’t leave this bed until you told him your symptoms.

“My belly hurts quite a lot…” you moaned as another cramp hit you. However, you didn’t expect Commodus to pull on the sheet to take a look and so you couldn’t prevent him from seeing the blood that had tainted your nightgown, you looked away in shame, your heart racing in fear that he would get angry.

“Oh Y/N tell me this is just your monthly bleeding…” murmured your husband, just for you to hear and avoid getting attention from anyone else. In fact, at the view of the blood, his heart had skipped a beat, fearing you had gotten severely ill.

“Yes, it is. I’m sorry, I should have known it was coming and I should have gone to my quarters.” You quickly apologized, not knowing how he would react. But he didn’t answer, instead you felt him get off the bed, perhaps in disgust he wanted to get away from you, you squinted your eyes shut, what would he do next?

“Love, here.” You jumped, startled by his voice so close to you. Slowly you opened your eyes and met his clear orbs, he looked at you softly, no hint of disgust or anger. You were speechless, you had to admit. And only after long seconds you noticed he held a piece of cloth in his hand, perhaps one of his expensive neck scarves made of silk.

“What…?” you asked confused.

“To absorb the blood for now.” He explained, not caring to dirty and taint the cloth “And I got you a clean loincloth.” He gave her a little smile, handing it to you as well and you couldn’t help but look at him as if he was crazy. “What?” he asked, curious as to why you looked at him like that.

“Well you’re not…? horrified or disgusted? Something like that?”

He chuckled, shaking his head “I have seen a lot more blood in the Colosseum.” He said jokingly, trying to relax you.  his hand going to caress your hair. “And I heard some doctors say it could be a thing that helped the woman to procreate. So, something that would give me a baby with you, an heir…it’s neither disgusting nor horrifying. It’s beautiful.” He replied more seriously. He respected you and would never treat you in such way, the only woman he could trust and have close to him.

“But all men they…” you tried to explain, to be sure of how he felt.

“I’m not like all men my dear. I am Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus, the Emperor.” He smirked proudly at you. And you couldn’t help but giggle, indeed he wasn’t, he was unique, in many ways. He sat on the edge of the bed. “Don’t be ashamed my love. I will take care of you today, only emergencies of the Empire will get my attention.” He added, and you sighed in relief, he was a very caring lover, fully dedicated. So, you got up, taking the cloth and the loincloth and going to change.

Once you were all cleaned, you sighed contently, you were in fresh, absorbent undergarments. You felt much better and knowing Commodus would be mostly by your side today greatly helped. As the day passed, Commodus spent his time with you in your shared bedroom, away from the Senate or councilors, working at his desk, dressed in his black and red toga, reading and replying to petitions from the People.

Each time he heard you groan as you cramps became more painful, he left his desk and joined you on the bed, lying down next to you, wrapping an arm around you. “Be strong my love, it will go away.” He murmured against your ear as his hand gently massaged your lower belly. His warmth and gentle caresses alone appeased your pain, or at least distracted you from them. He stayed as long as you needed, or until you dozed off, tired by those changes in your body.

You were discovering how caring Commodus was, he had this tender side that was well hidden by a protective wall around his heart, he had been betrayed so many times. But with you, he could be himself, because you made yourself vulnerable to him and he felt safe enough to be in return. Soon, your poor husband witnessed your mood swings for the first time and found you snaping at him for no reason and then you ended up on the verge of tears. But Commodus showed himself very understanding, these monthly bleedings really seemed to impact the woman deeply.

“You know, I do have mood swings too sometimes…” he said as he hugged you, soothingly caressing your back, his words making you laugh.

“That’s actually true, mister grumpy!” you giggled, burying your face in his neck, now placing soft kisses against his warm skin, making Commodus hum in pleasure.

“How about we go for a bath?” he suggested, kissing your temple.

“Hmm good idea.” You grinned, nibbling his skin, earning a small moan from the Emperor, your mood swings were quick, but he wasn’t complaining from that one, he actually enjoyed it, a lot.

You both headed for the baths, hand in hand. Commodus had especially requested the water to be warmer, he had quickly understood warmth relaxed you and soothed your pains; and indeed, he was a very good observer. As you both entered the warm waters, you sighed in contentment and a slave came to bring a plate full of nuts and dates.

“I asked our physician Galen about what you go through. He recommends you eat these. Helps with fatigue and moodiness.” Your husband explained to you as he took some to eat, you looked at him, once again amazed.

“Dear, you surprise me more each time. It’s such a sweet attention. Thank you.” You smiled happily, swimming to join him, wrapping your arms around his waist.

“Anything for you Y/N. You are my world.” He replied as if those words were naturally coming out of his mouth and with you it was. He took a date and presented it to your mouth, smiling as you eagerly ate it.

“I had never dreamt of such wonderful husband.” You murmured, tenderly kissing him, grateful to have him; your mouth traveling to his jaw. You felt him sigh contently, how much he loved feeling you so close to him, purely desiring him…his hand buried in your hair as you nibbled his earlobe.

“Oh Y/N…” he breathed, slowly starting to feel aroused, he wrapped his arm around your waist while his hand seized your chin, making you look at him in the eyes. “Kiss me.” He said softly that request was the sweetest command, as if he feared you would stop.

“Yes, my love.” You agreed softly, instantly closing the gap between the two of you. He supported you just as you supported him. An endless devotion and an always stronger love, you could fight the whole world just to be in each other’s arms.

Commodus harem: @lyoongx​ @weirdflecksbutok​ @skaravile​ @niniitah-ah @stardancerluv​ @sgtsavoytruffle​ @charlie-sisters @ohcarlesmycarles​ @rajacero @hopelessdisasterr @stellargirlie​ @rosebloodstuffandthangss​ @clowndaddyfleck​ @jaylovesbats @dreamingmaria​ @sagyunaro​ @just-a-fucking-comedy​ @spaceinvader​ @radio-hoo-ha​ @lady-carnivals-stuff​ @sierraclegane​​ @legojorny​ @lemondedeniname​​ @hvproductions​​ @syvellsworld​​ @papercut-paranoia​​ @jokerflecker​​ @beautifulyoungprospect​​ @bring-your-holy-water @five-miles-over​ @yukis-writing​ @morrisonmercurryphoenix @fly-like-a-phoenix​

[kkshowtunes]

Dial 9

A little Mac-centric angst about Dennis moving to North Dakota. This is a songfic! The beginning of every paragraph is a lyric from the song Baby Hotline by Jack Stauber. This could be read as platonic or ship, I kinda wrote it as both.

Words: 1,624

TW: Alchohol (Canon typical) and anxiety

Anyway, this is my third fic ever, so lmk what you think!

Baby hotline

Mac planned to wait a month after Dennis left to call him. A month to let him cool off, and then they could catch up. He lasted a week.

--

Please hold me close to you

Only a week passed, and his best friend/roommate/colleague's glow began to leave their apartment. Mac and Dennis's apartment that is now solely Mac's. In those long three days, he played a voice recording he had of him raging about how the guy at the store had given him umber hair dye instead of sienna. He never thought he'd miss it.

--

Baby flatline

He punches in the first 7 of the number that was left for him on a crumpled baby blue post-it. He's too busy noticing that the ink has already faded a little bit that he doesn't even notice the shake in his hands. At least he knows he's not dead because a dead man's heart doesn't beat like that. 

--

Still time to do it too (ha-ha-ha!)

The whole gang is feeling the impact of the departure. Frank even posted a friend-wanted ad. The only person who signed up was this chick named Mindy, or Wendy, or something. Whatever her name was, it certainly wasn't Dennis.

--

Baby snack time, chow down to earth

His life has become an out-of-order routine. Wake up. Eat. Go to work. Work ends. Work out. Sleep. Much like in the suburbs, but this time he's getting muscles. And this time, Dennis isn't there. 

--

But in your head she's a hoarder of quarters

Mac pushes the 0 button before halting. He can't tell why he can't just call the number. It's just nine numbers. He rolls a quarter across his knuckles mindlessly, a trick he learned when he was nine and a habit he gained when he was ten. He started collecting quarters. Only the special edition North Dakota ones that came out over a decade ago. He only has two so far, but he thinks he'll soon have a small fortune in 25-cent North Dakotas.

--

And no boundary boredom, boundary boredom

It's so boring. So boring to not call him. So boring to wait for Ellie or whatever the new Dennis's name is. It's so boring to go to work, especially when Charlie's off trying to woo the waitress and Dee's buying a new car because he crashed the last one. It's boring to go home to only his exercise bike and beer.

--

I contend that your drinking eye has never opened

He types a 1. Then stops. Again. He takes a sip from his beer and wishes he hadn't. The beer didn't pair well with the taste of anxiety brewing in his stomach. Anyway, he'd been trying to cut down on alcohol.

--

I insist somebody will die, and I hate hoping

He quickly dials another 3 digits. Then stops. Goddammit. That's when the thoughts poured in. Dennis is dead. Just like the thoughts that started getting worse when he was 12. Just like the ones he got when his dad got arrested. He's dead.

--

Wishing that the pills let you cry, and I hate coping

He looks at the coffee table. Dennis didn't take his Borderline Personality pills with him. He always insisted he was fine and didn't need to get medicated. But he always took them anyway. He hopes the other man is okay. He hopes a lot.

--

Someday I will go back outside and see her okay

He doesn't want to be selfish. He knows Dennis is off being a dad, being a partner for Mandy, being Brian LeFevre. He still wants to look out the window or go to Paddy's and have him there. In his dreams, he's there, and he's okay, and he's real.

--

Hung up and put it on hold! My line is getting cold! 

He types in the additional numbers and hears the dial-up noise. The phone rings. He breathes. In through the nose and out through the mouth. Just like how Mandy taught Dennis to do. He still hangs up before anyone can answer.

--

Hung up and put it on hold! (Oh, uh, I'll try again though)

Goddammit. Coward. He begins to dial again.

--

Baby Hotline, please dial nine to get out!

He stares at the post-it and its 15 million creases. He stares as if he hadn't memorized it 15 million times over. He pretends to forget it again, just to see his handwriting and the number scrawled. He takes a second to pretend to memorize it, then he types it in. The last digit is a nine, Dennis's unlucky number. Why? His favorite family member, his aunt, died when he was nine. The license of his first car, which he wrecked, ended with a 9. He met Charlie and Mac on September 9th. Nothing good happens with nines and Dennis. Mac knows this because Mac always remembers stuff like this. Stuff that isn't important but stuff that matters.

--

No flatline, what were you scared about? 

The number rings through! It's a valid number! There's a voice at the other end! Dennis is fine. A feminine voice? Mac knows Dennis's voice. That isn't it. Maybe it's Mandy's. Dennis is fine.

--

Baby sat by and felt the wind

Mac is so busy fixating on the voice's sound that he doesn't realize what it's saying. "Could you repeat that?" he asks, his voice excited and a bit rough from not talking for a bit. The room is cold, but the excitement brings a comforting breeze of warmth. "Dial 3 if you are dealing with suicidal ideation," the voice buzzes, stiff and robotic. The room freezes, cold as the voice that just spoke.

--

Numb, feel burning with haste

It takes a second to piece it together, but this isn't anything to do with Dennis. It's a mental health hotline. Anger wells in Mac's chest as he lets out a frustrated yelp. Anger turns into fear. He hangs up hastily and drops the phone to the ground.

--

And I'm realizing now it's a terrible waste

"Dennis cared about me enough to leave the number! What if Dennis isn't safe? I can't contact him? He didn't want to talk to me anyways… but-"He goes through this train of thought a few too many times as he paces around the room. Scratching his beard and mussing up his hair, getting gel under his fingernails as he does.

--

I feel numb, what a waste

Another two weeks pass, and Mac continues his routine. The phone incident (as he recently dubbed it) is now nothing but a dull pain in the back of his mind. Cindy (that was her name!) joins the gang. They're back to scheming. To being happy enough. To guarding the bar and being evil and badass and all of that.

--

Sunbathe 'til morning time and your eyes will open wide

He sits in the sunniest patch of his apartment, right next to the window where Dennis used to perch and sulk when his D.E.N.N.I.S-ing didn't work. It's always sunny in Philly. Except when it's not.

--

Oh baby, never mind

He has muscles now. Sort of. He's working on getting ripped all the way. He'll have them by the time Dennis comes back... if he comes back. "Never mind," he thinks, "I don't need to measure my life in terms of Dennis. I'm just as badass by myself."

--

And my sight, oh run and hide

Scheming with the gang, the new gang, is more effective without Dennis's rage. It doesn't mean he doesn't miss him like hell, though. He shakes his head to clear his mind. He tells himself not to obsess.

--

I can say, "Oh, wrap it in with cinnamon"

It's Dennis's birthday. Dee's too, but no one cares about that. Mac's train thought spirals are remedied only by buying a drink and adding something sweet and spicy. Not thinking too hard about anything. There's nothing to do about any of it.

--

I've been dead

Mac writes a letter:

Dear Dennis,

I don't know where you live, so I'm just sending it to North Dakota. God will find a way to give it to you. I hope you're alive! It was your birthday yesterday! I know that you know that, though. I wouldn't want to undermine your intelligence. Haha. It was Sweet Dee's birthday too. Duh. No one cares about her. That goddamn bird! Haha. Anyways, please reach out sometime. I'm still at the apartment. Love and care and stuff like that, not in a gay way. Even though I am gay. But like not necessarily for you.

Your best friend,

Mac

--

Oh, wrap the trouble now, I feel so good. Ring won't bend, thinking bent.

Dee always said they were like a married couple. Now Mac feels like a widow. But he's moved on. Moving on feels good. He would have preferred to not have had to move on from anything, but this will have to do.

--

I won't stay more anymore, oh I don't even think about it

He rearranged the apartment already. Gym room. His room. No room for Dennis. Why would there be a room for Dennis? Cindy says he has a Dennis-shaped hole he needs to fill. She's probably right. He buys a doll that looks like him.

--

Oh, you know I don't

Cindy hates the doll. Even though she's the one who suggested it. She insists she never did. The whole gang hates it. Obviously, they do. It's disgusting. Mac knows it too. Mac hates it, but he hates himself without it more than he hates the doll. So whatever. It stays. Mac prays because it's like hoping, but god's there.

--

I hate hoping

and he really, really, really does hate hoping

[ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes]

The Love Yet Known Part 3

Summary: Tommy Shelby needs to make sacrifices to ensure the safety of his family. So he concocts a plan to marry off his sister to the one and only Alfie Solomons.

             Late that summer after everything was settled with Luca Changretta, Tommy invited Eliza and Alfie to visit Arrow House in Warwickshire. Since Tommy was the one who initiated it, he figured it would be a nice, quiet few days. Charlie clearly missed his aunt dearly. The little boy was used to always having her around to entertain him. He always asked after her and became cross when Tommy said she was married, that’s why she didn’t live with them anymore.

            “Well, when is she not going to be married?” Charlie would ask.

            Tommy just chuckled and shook his head. ���I don’t think there will ever be a day when that happens, my boy.”

            No one was blind to the growing affection Eliza and Alfie had from their wedding day on. In fact, it was quite a sight to see when the two were together. Such a shy thing like Eliza had a calming effect on Alfie, who rarely seemed to be in a sour mood when she was around. Likewise, he seemed to bring Eliza out of her shell a little bit. She had many friends in Camden and found herself more active in the community than she ever imagined she would be.

            Tommy never gloated, well he tried not to, but he liked to boast about how he made the match between Eliza and Alfie.

            Still, Arthur and a few of the other Peaky boys were having a hard time accepting Alfie into their sacred spaces. They considered him their sister’s husband, not a brother-in-law. They had a petty habit of writing to Eliza and addressing it with her maiden name. Arthur felt sick to his stomach if he saw his dear sister’s name next to a name like Solomons.

            Alfie wasn’t very hospitable either. He wouldn’t let go of old habits of trying to rile Arthur up. He only ever invited a few of Eliza’s family members to visit them in Camden. None of them even knew the married couple shared a beachfront home in Margate. Alfie would shudder to think if the Shelbys got an idea of inviting themselves over for a holiday.

            But all things considered, life was going well.

 ~~~~~~~

            Alfie helped Eliza out of the car. “This place gets bigger every time I visit; I swear it does.” He muttered.

            His wife laughed softly. “Well, hopefully, you don’t get lost.”

            Charlie came running outside to greet his aunt. “Auntie Liza!”

            “Hello!” Eliza beamed and stooped down to pick her nephew up.

            “Oh, love, be careful.” Alfie winced. It was a good thing Eliza wasn’t easily irritated. Because once Alfie found out she was pregnant, he became overprotective. He insisted on carrying things for her, let her sleep in as long as she liked, and had someone come in to take over any housekeeping duties that she might’ve done. Not that Eliza was keen on keeping anything clean anyway. Alfie knew he was being annoying, but he wanted to make sure that his child and the mother of that child was well kept. He felt it was his duty to ensure their safety and health.

            Charlie gave Alfie a side-eye. “Hi, Uncle Alfie.” He said in a less jovial voice.

            “You well, Charlie?”

            “Mhm.” The little boy shrugged.

            Eliza set him down and reached for her suitcase but Alfie stepped in. “I’ve got it. Go on ahead.”

            She gave him a kiss on the cheek and followed Charlie inside to find Tommy.

~~~~~~~~~ 

            At dinner that night, it was just the four of them. Tommy, Lizzie, Alfie, and Eliza. They chatted casually about things, nothing too consequential. Then, during dessert, Eliza felt it was a good enough time to tell them.

            “So, Alfie and I have news.” Eliza reached for her husband’s hand under the table and gave him a smile.

            “You’re pregnant.” Tommy finished for her.

            Alfie’s brow furrowed. “And what on Earth gave you that impression?” He snapped. He knew how important and special it was for Eliza to tell everyone about the baby, so Alfie was a bit ticked off that Tommy had affectively ruined the moment.

            Tommy glanced up from his whiskey glass. “Am I wrong?”

            “Well…no.”

            “But how did you know?” Alfie asked again.

            “Because of the way you’ve been acting around her. Anyone could tell if they’ve known you long enough, Alfie.” Tommy answered casually. “I haven’t seen her carry anything at all today.”

            Eliza just chuckled. “Well, I didn’t know we made it that obvious.”

            “You and I will have a lot to talk about then,” Lizzie spoke up.         

            “Why? Oh…oh really?” Eliza’s eyes lit up. “You’re pregnant?”

            The two sisters-in-law got up to hug one another. Surely it was special knowing there was someone else walking a similar path. After all, it’s not like their husbands knew what it felt like.

            “Well, seems we’ll be coming around much more often then, Tom.” Alfie sighed. Well, if his wife was happy, then he would drive her back and forth from London to Warwickshire as many times as she liked.  

~~~~~~~~~

            Lizzie gave birth to Ruby when Eliza was still seven months along. Seeing and holding the baby girl in her arms was such a lovely occasion. It was almost like a hint at what was to come. It would be much more surreal though, that’s what Lizzie told her.

            “It’s so strange holding her. All of a sudden, you’ve got this little life. One you’ve waited so long to hold and she’s yours to care for and love. It’s really overwhelming.” Her sister-in-law tried to explain as best she could.

~~~~~~~~~~~

            Now all there was to do was wait a little longer. The nursery was all set up and ready. Meanwhile, the midwife was on call whenever the first signs of labor came.

            In the blistering cold of February, Eliza was due any day. Alfie started to work from home just in case she went into labor and he needed to be there for her. He didn’t get out of bed as early, but he was awake much earlier than his wife on most mornings.

            It was a peaceful time where he could just bask in the warm feelings of holding his beloved wife close to him, all cuddled up in bed. Cyril keeping their feet warm at the end of the bed. His soft breathing sometimes syncing up to Eliza’s heartbeat.

            Alfie would wrap an arm around her waist, resting a hand over her swollen stomach. There, he could feel his child kicking. The emotions that overcame him when he felt that little pressure against his hand were indescribable. He was thrilled, excited, nervous, afraid. He didn’t know how he would measure up as a father. Didn’t know how his line of work would impact the life of his child.  

            Every possible worst-case scenario had run through his head since Eliza told him she was pregnant. His worst fear was losing her and the baby. Or losing the baby and having to cope with their shared grief. Or losing Eliza and having to be a single father while grieving his wife.

            The possibilities kept him up at night, practically driving him mad with anxiety. But then there were the good thoughts. The joy he would feel when he first held his child. The pride of seeing every milestone from first words to first steps.

            It was overwhelming to think about and it didn’t help that the wait was making him even more anxious.

 ~~~~~~~~~

            But finally, the day came when Eliza gave birth to a healthy baby boy. It was a relief to hear that his wife and son were both going to be perfectly fine. As Alfie climbed the stairs to see them, he felt his hands trembling with anxiety and anticipation.

            What if he did something wrong?

            What if Eliza thought he wasn’t a good father?

            What if he just wasn’t enough?

            All the self-deprecating thoughts seemed to vanish into thin air when he saw his son swaddled in his mother’s arms.

            Eliza gave her husband a tired smile. “He’s beautiful, Alfie.” She whispered with tears in her eyes.

            Alfie walked over to the bed and peered over. “Fucking hell, look at all that hair, aye?” He chuckled with tears welling up in his eyes as well. “Look at him, he’s about as perfect as you can get, ain’t he?” He kissed Eliza’s forehead. “I can’t ever repay you for giving me such a perfect gift.”

            “I think you can with a few dozen nappy changes.” She teased back.

            “Done deal.” He grinned and gently cradled his son’s head.

            “You can hold him.”

            Alfie’s nerves pricked at him again as he sat down on the edge of the bed. Eliza gently placed the newborn in his arms, looking over him with such fondness.

            “There you are.” He said softly. “Been waiting quite some time for you, mate.”

            Eliza rested her cheek on her husband’s shoulder as he spoke to their son. “What should we name him?” She asked.

            They had passed around a few names over the course of her pregnancy but none of them particularly stood out to either of them.

            “How about Asher?”

            “Is that Jewish?” Eliza asked.

            Alfie nodded. “Means blessed. Was one of the twelve tribes of Israel, back in ancient times.”

            She smiled. Truly, she felt blessed. Not just by the birth of her son, but by everything. She had found her soulmate, fell in love with him, married him, and now produced such a beautiful little boy. Her heart felt so full in her chest. “I love it. I think it’s absolutely perfect.”

  ~~~~~~~~~~         

            A month after Asher was born, Eliza brought up the idea of bringing him to Warwickshire to meet her family. Tommy was apparently arranging a dinner to bring the whole family together. That way they could catch up on things without being busy with work and the children could all see their cousins.  

            Alfie bristled at the idea. It was one thing to spend a couple of days with just Tommy and Lizzie. But to be around the whole Shelby family, it was not a pleasant thought. He almost felt as if he’d be alone, surrounded by people who didn’t quite trust him. People he didn’t really trust either.

            “Won’t be a pleasant trip, tryna get there with a newborn.” He thought of the mistake on the fly.

            “It’ll be fine, it’s not too far and I’m sure Asher will sleep the whole way there. If he doesn’t then it isn’t the end of the world.” Eliza assumed her husband was just concerned about the baby’s sake.

            “Dunno…”

            “Then maybe we invite everyone here. It’ll be a little crowded but we’ll make it work.” She suggested to eliminate the idea of traveling.

            Having the Shelbys in his space, his territory was an even worse idea. “Tommy’s place is big enough, we ain’t gonna have that many people over here.”

            “So…” She looked at him. “Then we’ll go to Tommy’s.”

            Alfie didn’t want to outright say he didn’t want to be around her family. He was afraid it might break her heart. But he wasn’t going to pretend that it was a joy to be around them either. He stifled a groan, feeling backed into a corner for sure. “I mean…if it’ll make you happy, love.”

            “I want to see Ruby and I want everyone to meet Asher.” She replied, able to hold her ground against him when she chose to. “So yes, it would make me happy.”

            There was no arguing that. His wife’s happiness was one of the few things that mattered to him. “Alright then, we’ll go. I won’t be a bother about it.” He promised, earning a smile and a kiss from him.

~~~~~~~~~~~

            Asher slept through most of the car ride over to Warwickshire. Eliza appeared happy to be seeing her family and to introduce them to her son.

            The sun was starting to set as they entered the estate. Alfie felt on his guard as he walked in beside Eliza, already hearing the colorful language coming in from the parlor. There was laughing and yelling coming from upstairs, most likely the children playing with one another.

            Polly saw them coming in first and rushed over to embrace her niece. “Look at you. Motherhood suits you, my dear.” She turned to Alfie who was holding his son. “And there he is. Looks very healthy. You must be very proud, Alfie.”

            “Yeah.” He smiled slightly. Leave it to Polly to get on his good side even when he was tense. “He’s a lot of work, ain’t he, but it’s rewarding.”

            Polly could see the hesitation in Alfie’s eyes. He was holding Asher protectively to his chest, his eyes scanning across the room almost looking for potential threats. She decided he would have to warm up to the idea of handing his son over for anyone to hold.

            Eliza didn’t appear to catch onto her husband’s discomfort. “Alfie, I’ll take him.”

            “S’alright, love. I don’t mind.”

            “Well, let Polly hold him for a bit.” She suggested.

            “It’s alright,” Polly replied gently to her niece. “You two make yourselves at home. I’ll get you a drink, love. Alfie would you like something?”

            “No, thank you.” He replied a bit relieved that Polly hadn’t pushed the matter.

            But then Arthur swooped in and gave his sister a bear hug. “Glad you came, chey.”

            Eliza giggled and hugged him back. “Hi, Arthur.”

            “Good to see ya. Now, where’s the little one, aye?” The eldest Shelby’s eyes settled on Alfie with a look of slight distaste.

            Eliza stepped in to try and keep the atmosphere light and festive. “This is Asher, he just turned a month old.” She reached over to adjust the little cap on the newborn’s head. His dark hair was sticking out from underneath it.

            “A month already.” Arthur shook his head. “Well, wish we could’ve been there earlier.” He gave his brother-in-law a stern look. As if Alfie was purposefully keeping Eliza hidden away in Camden Town to keep her away from her family.

            “Arthur…” She sighed. But it was too late. The powder keg had already been lit.

            “Well, mate, it weren’t the easiest delivery. Eliza had to take a bit of time to recover.”

            “If Pol had been there like she wanted then maybe it wouldn’t have been so difficult.” Arthur wasn’t standing down from the challenge. In fact, he welcomed a reason to argue.

            “Arthur, that’s enough.” His aunt interrupted. “We’ve had this discussion before but it’s over. The baby’s already born.”

            But neither man listened to a voice of reason. “She had the best midwife in Camden Town there. Are you insinuating I wouldn’t get the best for me wife?”

            “I’m saying you’ve been keeping our sister from seeing her family.”

            “She’s got a mind of her own, mate, she can go wherever she wants whenever she wants.” Alfie crossed his arms over his chest.

            “Please, will you two just stop?” Eliza begged.

            “Did she have a choice when Tommy sold her off to you?” Arthur’s voice raised and Eliza knew she had to step in before the rest of the party started to take notice of the brewing storm between her brother and husband.

            “Alright, enough. You two are making a scene and it’s ridiculous.” She took Asher from Alfie’s arms when he was caught off guard and handed the baby to Polly. Before her husband could protest, she grabbed his arm and dragged him into another empty room of Arrow House.

            “You’re just going to leave him?” Alfie spat.

            “With my aunt who I trust with my life? Yes!” She snapped in an exasperated tone. “What on Earth has gotten into you? I thought this would be a nice visit, I didn’t think I had to tell you to be on your best behavior. But apparently, I should’ve because you’re acting like a child!”

            “Your brother started it!” His normally soft-spoken wife gave him a death glare. Alfie backtracked when he realized the childish response was exactly what Eliza was talking about. “I’m sorry.” He mumbled. “I just don’t like him treating me that way. Like I’m some monster who kidnapped you.”

            “Oh, Alfie.” She sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him close. “You know Arthur and you know that’s not true. You’ve given me everything and I’ve never been so happy. But we can’t make them see that. If they don’t see it then that’s their fault.” She kissed his cheek. “We know the truth.”

            He grumbled. Of course, she was right, seldom was she wrong. It just didn’t help that when they went back to the party, Arthur would still be the same. “M’trying, love.”

            “I know you are.” She smiled. “They’re difficult. But you are too.”

            He chuckled. There was no arguing that.

            “But now Asher is sort of a buffer. You just have to let them hold him.”

            Alfie looked disgruntled. He knew intuitively that none of the Shelbys would bring harm to the child. But there was still that protective instinct that he could never totally shake. If he let his guard down, bad things happened. The only time that wasn’t the case was when he was alone with Eliza and Asher. That quiet space where everything good in the world seemed to line up. Nothing outside of their warm home mattered.

            “Alright.” He relented. It seemed reasonable that if he played along, the sooner they would be out of there.

            Eliza smiled and kissed him softly. “Try to enjoy yourself.” She said before going to return to the party.

~~~~~~~~~

            Alfie followed and found Polly was still holding Asher. But Ada and Lizzie were cooing over the baby. Tommy was sat next to his aunt, holding Ruby and smiling at his new nephew. Even Arthur was nearby smiling at Asher.

            Alfie did his best not to hover even when his son was passed from relative to relative. It seemed to make Eliza happy to see her family holding her newborn. She spoke proudly about him. The meaning of his name, his blue eyes, how much Cyril adored him, and everything else that had happened in his short life.

            After a while, Alfie began to relax slightly. Although he always kept an eye out to see who was holding Asher.

            Toward the end of the night, his son was finally placed back in his arms. Asher was fast asleep despite the Shelbys having a good time with a good amount of alcohol. Alfie gently touched his cheek with his thumb. “They can be exhausting, aye?” He murmured quietly. “Better get used to it I suppose. Don’t think they’re going anywhere.”

            Asher yawned and shifted slightly in his swaddle.

            Alfie glanced up when he heard someone clear their throat. Arthur was standing nearby, a glass of whiskey in hand. “Mind if I sit?” He gestured to the empty armchair near the sofa Alfie was sitting on.

            “Ain’t my house, mate.”

            Arthur shrugged and sat down. “So, how does it feel, aye? Must get no sleep with him. And Liza, I doubt she ever gets up. Would take a train to wake her when she was younger.”

            It was a strange olive branch but Alfie chuckled. “Yeah, it’s tough tryna get her up to nurse him. S’alright though. Never been a big sleeper myself.” He admitted.

            “Yeah, war will do that to you.” Arthur agreed after a sip of whiskey.

            They were so similar, it was a wonder that they butted heads so often. They were veterans with deep scars, liked to solve problems with their fists, hardly flinched at death, and yet fiercely cared about their kin. But bad blood was hard to wash out, especially in their line of work.

            “I’d always be up with Billy when he was that young. It’s good, keeps your mind busy.” He added.

            “They’re a good distraction.” Alfie nodded, looking down at his son. “Changes a lot of perspectives on life.”

            Arthur looked across the room to see Eliza smiling at him. Of course, she’d put him up to it, insisting that if he wanted to see more of her, he would be nicer to her husband. Arthur complained but she wasn’t hearing it. It seemed that marriage and motherhood had really taught her when to put her foot down. But sitting there with his brother-in-law, Arthur seemed to realize that there wasn’t much else he could do. Here they were, both fathers to a son, both husbands. They were too old to be the vicious fighters they were as young men. It was too tiring.

            Alfie came to a similar conclusion. They could fight about the same things that happened so long ago. There wasn’t anything new to argue about. Just the grudges they both held. Which were equally as tiring. “Here.” He held Asher out.

            Arthur looked a bit surprised but decided not to make a scene out of it. He set his whiskey glass down and cradled his nephew to his chest. “Looks like Liza when she was a baby.” He chuckled. “She had so much hair. Our mother was shocked. I hope he doesn’t cry as much as she did. God, she was noisier than John ever was.” His eyes saddened at the mention of Eliza’s twin. It felt like ages ago that they’d lost John and yet, it was still so fresh.

            “That’s his middle name, you know,” Alfie said. “Asher John.”

            Arthur got a little choked up. “He’d be thrilled if he was here.” He tried to laugh off his grief but it was obvious how much it hurt. “Don’t think he’d ever stop bragging about it.”

            Eliza came over, so happy to see the two men getting along for the first time ever. She kissed Alfie’s temple as she sat down next to him.

            A quiet lull fell over the room. The warm chatter of family radiated with the fire and drinks. Alfie felt his shoulders relax while he wrapped an arm around Eliza’s shoulders. Things could be okay if he allowed them to be. So he did.

Permanent Tag: @papa-geralt-of-cirilla​ @biba3434​ @kimmietea​ @karmezii​ @enrapturedbythemoon​ @vampgirl1997​ @tarafaithe​ @evelynshelby​

PB Masterlist

[wondersofdreaming]

Lost Boys - TEN

Characters: August Walker / Captain Syverson / Walter Marshall

Word count: 2.605

Warnings: Guns. Lost brothers. Blood. Death. Shooting. The aftermath of the explosion.

Author’s note: The end. I know it's crap but thanks for reading anyways.

Divider by @firefly-graphics​!

Everything in this story is a figment of my imagination, with inspiration and snippets from the movies ‘Mission: Impossible - Fallout’, ‘Sand Castle’, ‘Nomis/Night Hunter’. This is pure fanfiction. If something doesn’t make sense, it’s not supposed to.

I do now own any of the characters from the movies that I write about in this story. Only the OFC’s are mine.

Feedback is appreciated.

MASTERLIST

[ONE] [TWO] [THREE] [FOUR] [FIVE] [SIX] [SEVEN] [EIGHT] [NINE]

Walter had a grim look on his face. He could see that Melanie was starting to panic. Her face contorted into a look of worry, also her eyes were searching for the big body of her brother underneath all the rubble.

“We’ll find him,” Walter assured her, “Are you hurt?”

Walter helped her sit up on the pavement.

“I’m feeling a little woozy, and my back hurts from colliding with the car. Else I think I’m good,” Melanie answered. Walter made a mental note to keep an eye on her, as she could have a concussion or may be bleeding internally.

“Lucas!” Melanie walked into what used to be the front garden, calling for her brother.

A high pitched tone was ringing in his ears. The blast had knocked Lucas off his feet and onto the nearest solid thing, the neighbouring house. His broken arm was throbbing with pain, while a burn was slowly spreading across his chest. He had tried breaking ribs before, so he wasn’t doubting that he might have cracked a few from the blast.

Lucas opened his eyes and watched burning paper dissipating in the wind. The scorching heat from the fire warmed his face, as he lay there watching the orange and red hues. It was quite beautiful to look at, while it destroyed the childhood home of this triplet brother.

Brother. Sister. MELANIE!

He scrambled to his feet, hissing as the jolting pain thundered through his body. His head was spinning as if he had just gotten off a wild carousel ride. He was feeling nauseous as he tried to move.

“LUCAS!”

It was a distant sound, but he heard his sister’s voice through the loud ringing.

“Mel!” he tried yelling back, but the tone was low. His throat was sore and felt raw like someone had tried scratching the flesh from the inside.

In the distance, he heard a fire truck's siren, but he didn’t care about the fire, he needed to get to his sister. He jumped over the broken fence between the neighbouring houses. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to walk, it hurt to even think, but he had to make sure that Melanie was safe. The adrenaline was pumping in his veins, making him move faster.

“Mel,” he said hoarsely as he saw her crying into his triplet brother’s shirt. They both turned their heads towards him. Melanie released Walter and ran towards her injured brother. He was prepared for the impact, as his sister collided with his cracked ribs, but let out a gasp anyways as she hugged him.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Melanie sobbed, “I wouldn’t even know how to tell mom if you had died. And what about dad? What about Josh? And your job?”

“Mel, stop talking. We’re okay,” Lucas shushed her. He hugged her close, even though it hurt, but he didn’t care.

The sirens grew louder, making the raging headache Walter was sporting even worse, but despite that, he moved towards the road and guided the fire truck and fire engine towards the burning building.

Soon the area was swarming with ambulances and police cars. The firefighters contained the towering flames, while medics were attending Lucas, Melanie, and even Walter, who had stubbornly told them that he was fine, was looking into a flashlight.

“Can you remember your name, sir?” the medic asked.

“Walter Matthew Marshall, detective at the Minneapolis PD,” he grumbled.

“Well, detective, you might have a concussion from your head hitting the pavement. You need observation for the next 24 hours.”

“I don’t have time…”

“Detective, it is not up for discussion.”

Walter was groaning the entire way to the hospital. He and Lucas were placed in the same room. Lucas’ injuries weren’t as bad as expected, with only a few broken ribs and a concussion. Melanie had escaped unharmed, except for a few bruises and a high tone ringing in her ears.

The brothers needed observation for the next 24 hours, and with a lot of stubbornness from all three, Melanie was allowed to stay in the room with them for the night.

The police arrived a few hours later to take their statement. If it wasn’t because the situation was quite serious and Walter rarely laughed, he would have been rolling on the floor after seeing the confused faces of the detectives, when they told them that Melanie was the sister of Lucas but not of Walter.

It didn’t take long before Melanie fell asleep on the pull-out bed the hospital had provided. Lucas watched as her chest rose and fell, feeling relieved that she was alive and breathing.

“How are you feeling?” Walter asked from the window. He was watching the people walking in and out of the hospital, as they had a clear view of the main entrance.

“I’m good, sore, and pissed,” Lucas answered, “What do you think happened?”

“My theory is someone planted that bomb to either set it off when we came back or to destroy any evidence that could be found in that house,” Walter mused.

Lucas nodded, having had the same thoughts.

“Do you think he had anything to do with this?” Walter asked after a silent moment, pulling Lucas out of his train of thoughts.

“I don’t know, brother. I have no clue what our brother is capable of. He is a wanted criminal all over the world.”

“Do you think he’s the mastermind behind this?”

“He could very much be, are you having second thoughts?”

Walter turned around and glared at Lucas, who stared back. Their equally blue eyes were sharp and alert.

“No. I just hope we can catch him, get him into a prison that can get the idea of world domination out of his head, and where I can keep an eye on him.”

August walked into his mother’s new house on the outskirts of the city. He had been transported in a cargo ship to get back into the states. His tech associate Marc had been furious at him for leaving the safe house in Thailand, but nothing could stop August, he always got what he wanted.

“Mother!” August’s voice echoed across the mostly empty house. He removed the hood of his jacket, revealing his identical face to Walter and Lucas, with the exception of the moustache.

“Auggie, my son,” he heard her soft voice coming from his left. She looked frail and thin as if she would crumble at any given moment.

“We had a clear agreement that my brothers were not to be harmed,” August growled. His patience was running low as he stared daggers at his adoptive mother.

“They were at the wrong place at the wrong time, my dear,” her voice was calm and as if she was talking to a toddler.

Since the death of her daughter, Amanda had toughened up and had started the hunt for revenge. First, her plan was to kill all of the abusive men in the world. Then her plan expanded as her organisation became bigger. August had stood by her side while she ordered people to be killed. She was merciless and cruel, not the astronomy-loving woman August had grown up with.

“You’re hiding something.”

“For the hundredth time, I am fine. Sign the damn release papers, you cannot hold me here against my will,” Lucas raised his voice at the young resident doctor standing before him. Lucas was a tall man, and from his time in the army had gotten quite muscular, which were straining against the moss-green T-shirt Melanie had helped him in.

“I must advise against it, Mr Syverson,” the resident said firmly, but still, he took a step back.

“It’s Captain Syverson.”

“Your release papers will be ready in 10 minutes, captain.”

The doctor left the room. Walter was standing by the windows, looking down at the people walking. One hooded figure caught his eye, but he blinked and the person was gone.

Two phones rang simultaneously, waking the trio who had all fallen asleep in their respective beds after they’d gotten back from the hospital. Lucas looked at his screen and was immediately wide awake.

“Aiden?” he grumbled.

“I heard about the explosion. How are you?”

“Got out of the hospital this morning. I had to take a nap. Me? Take a nap?”

Lucas heard his friend roar with laughter. He would have laughed at himself if he had the energy for it, but instead devoted said energy to concentrate on why Aiden was calling.

“I’ve found your missing brother,” Aiden’s voice was serious as he explained that August was back in the country. He had avoided getting in through flight but had been caught by a few security cameras at a harbour in Norfolk, two days earlier.

Lucas walked out of his room, needing to tell the others about the news. Walter stood by the windows, stoically listening to whoever was at the other end of his phone call. Melanie was in the kitchenette, pouring coffee into three mugs.

“Thanks, Charlie. Tell Faye that I’ll be home soon,” Walter ended the call. “That was Charlie. Raven got a hit on August’s whereabouts, he’s here.”

“Aiden told me the same thing.”

Walter frowned. His mind racing.

“Fuck,” he whispered, “I saw him earlier. He was at the hospital.”

“How do you know? You’ve never seen him before,” Melanie chimed in.

“Call in triplet-intuition or maybe it was the way he was standing. Still as a statue in the middle of a parking lot full of people walking by.”

“We have to go find him,” Lucas said. He fastened his gun to the holster in his belt and covered himself with a black zip-up hoodie.

Just as they’re about to head out, there was a knock on their door. Walter opened with caution, one hand on his gun behind his back.

It was one of the receptionists with a note that had been left for them. She handed Walter the black envelope, he thanked her and closed the door.

“Meet behind the library at midnight.”

“I can only be from August,” Lucas said. He paced around the room, wondering if it was a trap or not.

“Or maybe it’s a trap, you shouldn’t go,” Melanie told the two brothers.

“We have to. If we’re not back before 2 AM, call the police and say where we are.”

“No, I’m going too!”

“Over my dead body! If dad finds out, he’ll have my head. Mel, if this is a trap, someone needs to know where we are and can tell the police or FBI why it happened.”

Melanie sulked but agreed to stay back at the hotel.

Under the cover of a moonless night, the three siblings met for the first time. Lucas and Walter stood with their backs to the closed library, while they watched as their triplet brother walked down the pathway towards them.

August opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by the sound of heels clicking on the pavement.

“You have always been such a soft boy, August.”

The three brothers saw Amanda Walker coming closer with a raised gun in her hands.

“And your two brothers are a big pain in my ass,” she continued. Before anyone could move, Amanda aimed for Walter, but August’s reflexes were faster and he jumped in front of his brothers.

Everything happened in slow motion. August turned around with a sad smile on his lips beneath the moustache. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as his body landed on the cold hard ground. Lucas ran towards August, while Walter set off after Amanda.

August whispered something in Lucas’ ear before he took his last breath. Lucas closed the blue eyes of his brother as Walter came back.

“I lost her,” he grunted. He kicked the grovel around him, cursing at the world.

“It’s not your fault, Walt. Come, help me carry him home.”

A year later the two remaining brothers stood side by side looking at the tombstone with their brother’s name on it. Oliver Thompson.

“We found her, brother. It took some time and a lot of travelling, but we found her, and she’s going to be in jail for the rest of her life.”

“And we went to a hypnotist who unlocked our forgotten memories. No clue how she did it, but we remember the good times, the bad times, the sad times when mom and dad…”

“Let’s not become all too sappy, bro. Walter is getting married. She’s a nurse. Wish you could meet her, a feisty one, I think even she could whoop your ass.”

“Lucas has also found a woman. She is a veterinarian with a short fuse, but she makes the sweetest apple pie I’ve ever tasted.”

The brothers kept on babbling about what was happening in their lives, not noticing the hooded figure standing in a grove of trees, listening to everything.

August smiled at his brothers. His moustache had been shaved and he was growing out his curls. Somehow he looked like a beardless Walter, which he had chuckled over as he shaved.

“I’m sorry, brother. I wanted to burn down the world for being such a cruel place, but I know now that no matter how much I make it suffer, it won’t take the hurt away from my heart. Please, take me to the docks. Warehouse 16. Leave me there and don’t look back.”

Those were the words August had whispered to his army brother.

He had realised that he loved the peaceful life of living in a village in Thailand. In the few weeks, he had resided in the faraway hut, he had gathered food and helped the villagers with their farming, even though he didn’t want to help. But a particular black haired woman had insisted on him helping since he had such big muscles.

The world looked different from before with the woman’s help, he saw beauty wherever he went. But when Marc stood at his doorstep, telling him that his mother wanted to see him, he refused, so Marc did the only thing he thought would persuade the moustached man, he held his black-haired beauty at gunpoint.

August promised to go with Marc and made another promise to his new lady that he would be back, which he sealed with a kiss to her soft lips.

She had waited for him to come back, even demanded to know his secrets. If she were to be his wife, she needed to know about all his demons. So he told her. He had been astonished that she hadn’t run away screaming. Instead, she had smacked his cheek and told him that the world was a beautiful place in the eye of the beholder and that he needed glasses.

He couldn’t wait to go back home, to the woman who was waiting for him, who loved him for him, and he hoped he would be back in time to meet his child, the miracle he had created and would protect.

But he had needed closure to see that his brothers were well and happy as he was.

“... And Faye keeps saying that I have to shave off my beard and keep the moustache, so she can see what you looked like. I said no, of course, telling her that she can go harass Lucas instead.”

“She is such a sweet angel, with a devilish charm. I hope to one day have my own kid, who’ll wrap me around their tiny fingers and I’ll be putty in their hands.”

“Well, we hope you’re happy, brother, wherever you are.”