#Constantine is having a meltdown

[corkinavoid]

DPxDC John Constantine's How To: Ghost Kids (pt.2)

[<- part 1]

"Oh, yeah," John jerks his head up like he just remembered the fact people are supposed to have names at all. He gestures to the kids, pointing to each of them as he introduces, "Daniel, Daniel, and Danielle."

This time, all three kids flip him off simultaneously. Bruce clears his throat, trying to figure out if Constantine is messing with him and, if so, in which parts. Since, so far, everything the man has said sounds like a poor attempt at pulling his leg.

"I don't think they like those," he cautiously says, and the kids whip their heads at him, nodding furiously. Bruce can't help but be just a little enamored with the way they behave.

"Of, sod off, at this point I don't care what they like," John straightens up with a dismissive, albeit weak, wave of his hands, and rubs his face, "They are menaces. Sometimes by accident, but mostly on purpose. Their grandfather thought it would be easier to handle them if they were not teenagers, and while I agreed with his reasoning at the time, I-" he glances at the kids, who all have displeased grimaces of various levels on their faces, "I have been made to reconsider. I swear that ancient bitch is laughing his ass off wherever he is now."

The kids suddenly grin. They are not very friendly, nor polite smiles - if anything, they look a bit nightmarish. An old grandfather's clock in his study makes a very loud ticking noise.

"See?" John whips his head to look at said clock, the expression on his face bordering on insane. His eye twitches.

If Bruce doesn't do anything now, he might become one of the very few people who managed to witness John Constantine, the Laughing Magician, have a meltdown. So he sighs and decides to solve the problems one at a time.

Which means that no matter how alarmed or suspicious he is, his first move would not be to interrogate either the man or the kids.

"You can sleep in one of the guest rooms, I trust you can find it on your own," he tells John, almost softly, as he catches the girl from slipping away from his lap, "Is there anything I need to know about children before you fall unconscious?"

John slumps with relief, so obviously that Bruce almost smiles. Hardships of raising - or, watching, for that matter - kids, he understands.

"Yes," he breathes out with an air of exhilaration and turns to the kids again, pointing to the middle child, "Danny is the original. He is from this dimension and timeline, that is. Dan," he turns his finger to the older boy, "is in the wrong timeline, he's Danny's future evil self redeemed into older bratty brother. Dani," he switches to the girl, "is Danny's clone, made by his arch-nemesis of a godfather. If she starts melting at any point, wake me up immediately. If any of them start floating, sprouting tentacles, speaking to walls in static, or glowing, don't."

Bruce looks down to the kids. So, definitely metas, that would explain the government trying to get them... Or, no, it wouldn't because he is fairly certain no government is going to blatantly ignore the Meta Protection Acts.

"Don't let them raise the dead, and if you give them food, make sure it doesn't have a face. If you find more than three of them, it means one of them has duplicated, don't worry, they will absorb it back later. Absolutely don't let them touch any guns," Constantine is backing down to the door as he speaks, his gaze flickering from the kids to Bruce and back every second. Like he is leaving a ticking bomb in Bruce's lap, and not three children. "Danny is, comparatively, the most responsible one, the other two are up for any dubious trouble they can get to at any moment. Oh, and their memories are wonky because of de-aging, they remember some things but not others, so if they say something particularly disturbing, it's most likely some random piece of knowledge they managed to keep."

Bruce raises an eyebrow. He did get the part about the kids being, well, abnormal in the matters of their origins, but the disjointed set of rules and advices doesn't help as much as Constantine probably thinks it does.

"Allergies, preferences, ages they were before?" He tries to get at least some more info down before John disappears through the door. Actually, maybe he should send someone to handcuff the man to the bed lest he disappears completely.

"None, but don't let them eat cutlery. Danny likes space, Dani has a thing for exploring, and Dan likes violence." The older kid stirs in Bruce's lap and says something in the direction of Constantine. No sound comes out, but the man seems to get what he's trying to say anyway, "Okay, yes, that was rude of me, sorry. Dan likes... exercise," he ends up with, and that placate the boy enough to slump down and cross his arms. John sighs, "They were seventeen, fourteen, and twenty respectively. Now," he snaps his fingers, and suddenly Bruce can hear the girl - Dani - humming a tune under her breath. So, he lifted the silence spell, it seems.

"Good fucking luck," John wishes to Bruce, earnestly, and all but vanishes away.

Bruce sighs and looks down to the kids.

"Are you hungry?" He tries, and all eyes are on him at once, attentive and unblinking.

"Fruitloops," Danny says, and while Bruce is positive that's the name for a cereal, he gets a feeling that's not what the kid meant.

[electricgg]

From what I read I feel like Wayne reader wouldn't swear. But maximoff reader vibe is like I would curse if the situation is dire.

What would happen if she walked in a room which is having every member of the batfam. And she is so tired of their bs. Rightfully so.

And she curses. Batfam never heard her curse what could be their reaction.

Yes, Wayne wouldn’t swear. She always made the effort to avoid curse words in her matter of speech.

Maximoff tho… let’s say Uncle Pietro’s bad influence stuck even after the hex. She pretty much curses in her head and out loud without a filter (which gains a lot of warnings from Logan jsjsjsjjs)

In that scenario, she probably walked into the kitchen or the living room and came face to face with the Batfam and cursed (something among the line of ‘fuck this shit, I’m going back to bed’), everyone would have different reactions.

Bruce would be caught off guard. She has been snappy and upfront, he is letting pass (for now, even if he has to bite back his tongue.) but cursing? Yeah he is probably thinking Jason is passing time with her behind his back and teaching her that (she is a high schooler with free will?? She could have picked up from anywhere.) He also tries to get her attention and correct her behavior but she is flashing him a middle finger while stomping down the hall.

Dick is having a meltdown. WHO DARED TO TEACH HER THAT??? He is definitely pinning the blame on her classmates (bc he refuses to acknowledge Bobby and Warren as her friends). Ever since she has been hanging around those boys, she has behaving so unkindly and unladylike. This is why she needs to move to homeschooling, too many unreliable people trying to corrupt his little baby sister.

Jason is somewhat proud and somewhat puzzled. Sure, he knows she has been acting somewhat hostile by Dick’s sobbing calls at 2am and he gets it! But, it’s still odd to see her (someone who always made the effort to look put together and proper) cursing so openly. He will probably need to look into her new behavior deeper (get his stalker ass rn-)

Cass is very much terrified. She still looks over her shoulder every five seconds since the piano room event. She is not taking well her sister new change, and the cursing is just doing it worse. Is she possessed? It’s this some doppelgänger situation? She is probably contacting Constantine after that-

Tim dissecting every word, posture and look. He thinks is all part of her well thought plan (bro what-) to catch him off guard. Do something that she would never actually do so she gets a reaction out of him. He thinks he should sit her down and talk, reassure her that she doesn’t need to do that because he has always known how clever she is and there’s no need to act like a rabid cat anymore (somebody knock his ass out pls-)

Damian is also analyzing the situation while also panicking like Cass. Is it truly an act to get their attention (his own specifically)? Is she under some mind control spell? Is that even HER?! Yeah, Constantine is a horrible choice but he’s the only one that knows about possessing. Either way, Damian thinks it’s the outside influence of someone or something

[not-too-many-eyes]

A Study on Mesmer Jr.

(Also Known As: Nott is obsessed with the bigot autistic girl from the time travel gacha game and its her birthday tommorow so lets talk about her.)

(CWs: Ableism, racism, child abuse) I Love Mesmer Jr. Which isn't a secret to any of my friends who have had to listen to me talk about her at length. I cannot get her out of my head. I think she's fantastically written, fun to read about, and just an all around interesting character.

As such, I want to take a moment to pull apart Mesmer Jr, and consider her place in this story. To contemplate why she acts the way she does, and to connect to the themes relating to her character. I hope you enjoy reading this.

A Curious Impression

Mesmer Jr makes an interesting impression when you first meet her. For one, she immediately causes alarm bells to rings when she talks to Sonneto, one of her earliest conversations, who she says she enjoys talking to because of their "shared values" she feels the need to say that she would have liked talking to her more if she were a "full-blooded human."

Which is something that you see a lot whenever she's complimenting an arcanist, or considering arcanists in any positive light. Even if it's inappropriate in the context, she feels the need to assert her beliefs, to say that:

Mesmer Jr, Praise: As an arcanist, your performance really amazes me. Wish you were a pure-blood human.

Of course, as we know, Mesmer Jr is an arcanist. She's a full-blooded arcanist. Being noted to be from a very Important family, and even being implied to be more talented than most of her family in their line of work: (The Fallacy of Idealism)

Nobody is more talented in this than Mesmer Jr. Her bloodline gives her outstanding ability and keen senses, which makes everything clear and intelligible to her.

She's also startlingly obedient. She has no noticeable outward negativity towards what Constantine has ordered her to do to Vertin, despite it seeming to cause pain or stress. Insisting that this is the normal treatment given to patients despite Madam Z's opinion, and we learn Much Later that her boss had an ulterior motive to all this.

She's even noted before we meet her to seem like a:

(Open Sandwich)

???: It is the other one- the one with indifferent outlines that makes her look like a refined machine.

Evoking images of perfectly programmed robots and droids that do what they are ordered to perfectly without question.

Of course, in the same part this line is from, the game is already nudging us to be open-minded when it comes to interacting with her. As the first thing we learn about her isn't her personality, isn't her appearance, isn't even her Voice.

It's her abuse.

Dirtied Hands

Open Sandwich is one of my favorite bits of writing in this game. It creates this incredible tension where you just waiting for the bad thing to happen, the line about how the child labor laws were turned into paper to wrap the sandwich is wonderful, and I love it.

But it's also the first time we ever actually hear about her. It depicts her having a Sensory Meltdown. Caused by her family's uh- blatant disregard for children's rights, and exposing her to a patient at age 12 because her skill was useful for the treatment. The trauma of the event marking the start of her "nightmare."

Of course this isn't the Only Thing she has gone through at the age of 12. The entire events of Nouvelles et Textes pour Rien happened during when she was 12. She might of had even more traumatic experience before that, considering she went to SPDM, a school that we know Very Well for their child abuse, and she Certainly had traumatic experiences afterwards.

She Is a 16 year old therapist taking care of The Foundation's most "unstable" patients, after all:

Mesmer Jr, Suitcase Climate: Those insane people screamed and rushed out of the guardroom. They kept meaninglessly and repeatedly roaring. Then, their blood shed on the snowy ground. I've seen that a lot.

The Rights of Children Don't Matter when there is Scarcity. Her needs are secondary to The Company's. Her welfare simply isn't important for the Foundation's Beautiful Future. Only the skills and infromation she can provide.

Constantine even manipulated Mesmer Jr into telling her the plan. Purposefully traumatizing her so that she would become scared and anxious. She Asked her to help them, trusting that Constantine, an adult she trusted, would be able to help. Constantine just lied, and made her continue to treat these people even when the experience mind numbingly traumatic for even fully-grown adults.

As a result, Mesmer Jr has developed multiple mental illnesses. Most notable OCD, but she seems to hallucinate in her Monologue.

She's not exactly a healthy person, which really compounds how much you Don't want her to be a therapist.

Of course, it's not like she would ever seek actual proper treatment for it.

For many reasons.

For one, Reverse 1999 is not exactly a kind world to the mentally ill, and she herself is a good example as to why.

Proper Treatment

Let's go back to the first thing I mentioned about Mesmer Jr. She's a bigot, she's a certified racist to every arcanist she ever talks to. She thinks humans are the superior race that will overtake arcanists.

She's also ableist. Just horrible ableist. These two bigotries are intertwined in Very important ways. Her hatred of arcanists is informed by her hatred of the mentally ill, and is further informed by what she has been taught about arcanists.

Reverse has established that the way arcanists and humans are generally viewed is that arcanists are the more emotional, unstable, immature ones and humans are the more logical, stable, and mature ones.

Now, this is a stereotype, one that has been proven wrong time and time again. There is nothing logical, stable, or mature about being so upset at a 12 year old you think killing her friends is a good idea.

And similarly, there is nothing actually inherently wrong about being a weirdo, or mentally ill. For one, uh, everyone is a bit of a freak sometimes, and two, Mesmer Jr treats it as if for the world to get better arcanists need to fully disappear and be replaced with human rationality, but Madam Hoffman says it best:

(Chapter 6 Part 15: With Hope Rekindled)

Hofmann: We have all heard it, humans are more rational and arcanists are more emotional. Hofmann: Their sensitive to the darkness of the world, so they can easily become absorbed in their own emotions and ignore reality Hofmann: But, if we put a human child in the position of an arcanist, who always takes on the world because of his uniqueness, who is never understood for his talents... Hoffmann: Maybe he too will become impulsive, sensitive immature and unstable Hoffmann: And that's why it sometimes dawns on me that if we put an arcanist child in the position of a human being who receives enough love, education, and positive feedback... Hoffmann: These 'instabilities' might be controllable. At least enough to keep them from hurting themselves or others.

But Mesmer Jr really does believe wholeheartedly that being a "freak" is bad, and that being an arcanist is to blame for why she is one.

Mesmer Jr, Hat and Hair: Thanks to it, we are all freaks now. Haven't you ever blamed your brain? Haven't you for once vomited due to the sound or whisper in your brain? How naive and ignorant.

That being an arcanist is something inherently wrong, and as a result of that inherent wrongness, that inherent "insanity," they need to be controlled by humanity.

Mesmer Jr, Chitchat II: I can only stand those arcanists from the Foundation and the Laplace. After all, their insanity is contained by humans.

She believes that humans are destined to overtake arcanists like it's natural selection. That it's only inevitable that arcanists will be overtaken by a species that in her eyes, is logical and understandable.

Mesmer Jr, To the Future: Just like Homo sapiens wiped out Neanderthals, arcanists will be eliminated as well. This is not a prediction, but a predestined fate.

This is, of course, due to the systemic part of Reverse's world constantly pushing this idea that arcanists are Inherently more immature and chaotic.

Constantine and her family deeply traumatized Mesmer Jr and then told her it wasn't actually their fault but this Other Group that She is also apart of but Don't Worry it can Be Controlled.

Mesmer Jr: It's not just about age. It was never going to be suitable for me. Mesmer Jr: Unless one day all the arcanists are gone. Pandora Wilson: Then you and I will be gone, too. Mesmer Jr: Exactly, along with the source of my pain

However, Mesmer Jr's own mental illnesses and susceptibility towards being overwhelmed by others emotions does really mean that she finds being around highly emotional people Taxing. She also finds that the unpredictable of life and other people Tiresome.

She was friends with Vertin in the rest when she was younger sure, but even then she did find arcanists overwhelming and "scary," even when she wasn't in the full thick of it, she saw them being treated and found it unpleasant and painful.

(Nouvelles et Textes pour Rien)

Mesmer Jr: But I'm not interested in arcanists. They are all mad people, and we had to treat them after all...They looked scary.

Now, usually, you grow out of this. She's not Born To Be Racist Forever.

In a better world she very much could have, I dunno-

Be able to actually internalize that arcanists aren't actually inherently a harmful thing, but that her needs sometimes conflict with the needs of others and grew up with the tools necessary to understand that this is a fixable problem that doesn't actually need a whole group of people including herself to die to be solved.

Or, something like that.

However, this isn't that world, this world thinks Mesmer Jr is a good therapist, and that her treatment is humane.

So she's seeks to create stability in the world as a result of that lack of support.

Mesmer Jr, Hobby: What you see is the alignment and tidiness. What I adore is this orderly state.

As much as she understands that it's a sign of her own "franticness" that she does this, it gives her comfort knowing that she has things that she Can Control. That her life isn't actually dictated fully by things out of her understanding. That she has the ability to direct her life in a small, maybe even insignificant way.

Cause, she really just doesn't have much control over her life.

Press the Button

Mesmer Jr, Clothing and Torso: ...Achieve the function.

A lot of Mesmer Jr's idolization of humanity comes from this idea of efficiency and simplicity. She talks so much about rationality and "tidiness," but as I've already established Reverse is full of so many instances of "human insanity" so it's plain ignorant to ascribe this trait to humans.

Which, well one she is ignorant, and also racism isn't rational and Mesmer Jr was taught human supremacy of course it's not going to be aligned with actual reality.

Which is true.

However, I do think it's interesting these traits that she idolizes are not from humans but from:

Mesmer Jr, Clothing and Torso: Humans are like machinery, simple and efficient. Arcanists are quite the opposite.

That's who she's actually idolizing here, isn't it? She's not really idolizing humans, that's just the framework she was given. She's idolizing machines and going "Wow humans are so cool."

Her Udimo is a machine.

Not just any machine, but a machine invented in part By Her Workplace, and even when she was 12 the narrator describes her as a "refined machine." Indifferent and rigid.

This is the beautiful controlled being that she is seeking! The beautiful tidy, orderly, calm being that just proceeds with whatever order is given to it. One that has...completely no control over it's life, and what to do with it.

Because, traditionally speaking, Machines do not have the ability to self-determine. They don't exist as people with conscious thought and emotion, but as Things and Tools that can Achieve Functions.

I noted way back in the start that Mesmer Jr is startlingly obedient. She does what she is told, and encourages others to do the same.

She's glad that Vertin:

Mesmer Jr, 100% Bond Conversation: ...Anyway, I'm glad you gave up on those insane plans.

Before saying that she doesn't want to be forced to Lobotomize Her, and that she doesn't actually want anyone to end up in Artificial Somnambulism.

But she doesn't say she won't do it. Just that she's happy Vertin did "give up" because it means that she probably won't have to. This seems to be her general approach. Even if she's not happy, she'll do it, her wants don't matter.

She assumes that she has no other option and that her only path forward is following orders from her boss. That the only path forward is the one set for her. There's no point in fighting it so she's just gonna continue on that path, and others should do the same or else they'll get Hurt. Learned Helplessness.

Sonetto is similar to her in this sense (Mesmer Jr says so herself,) and Sonetto is shown to hold quite a lot of repressed emotions, and to deviate from the rules or what is logical when she feels something is at stake.

After all: (Is ABA Really “Dog Training for Children”? A Professional Dog Trainer Weighs In.)

We all know that we can feel angry without expressing anger. That we can smile when inside we are crying. You can stop someone from expressing an emotion, but that doesn’t make the emotion go away. A dog who has been trained not to growl is considered by trainers to be a “time bomb dog.” When you read about a dog attack that came “out of nowhere” and “without warning,” it is because this sort of method was used to handle “problem behaviours.” Studies show that dogs trained with these sorts of methods actually have an increased rate of aggression, because punishing aggressive behaviour doesn’t deal with the underlying fear and anxiety that caused the aggression in the first place.

But Mesmer Jr, in contrast to Sonetto, who has an interest in poetry and curiosity in the outside world and has the aforementioned repressed emotions. Has no real distinct personal identity. She does not own anything that shows her interests, unlike her other coworkers who usually have at least Something on them. All of her items are stuff made by Laplace and exist unaltered. Even her cute little headband is a EM amplifier is part of the uniform.

She holds no control, no identity, no agency. She exists as a machine that someone can press the buttons of and achieve whatever function she needs to achieve at the given moment.

This is her current state of existence, and it's not something that's exactly sustainable. The cracks in this machine-living have been showing since she was 12. How many more do you think have been created now that she's 16?

The Foundation

Now, this is really depressing, but that's because Mesmer Jr is just a bit of a depressing character. She can't really get away from her job. For one, her parents are horrible, two The Storm means that the world is always on the verge of ending. Where else will she go?

But, as said previously:

A dog who has been trained not to growl is considered by trainers to be a “time bomb dog.”

Similarly, a girl trained to not develop any sort of identity will crack Someday.

I have no knowledge of what could happen next in her story, nor am I interested in theorizing about it. But I do find it interesting to think about.

[madamelaydebug]

WHO ARE "THEY"

"THEY" are the 13 Ruling Families of the Jesuit Council, a.k.a. Illuminati bloodlines, a.k.a. black nobility, and their lineage goes back to the Zoroastrian bloodlines. Farnese, Borja (the common image of Jesus is actually a Borja), Colonna, Gaetano (Caetano), Medici, Pamphili, Orsini, Aldobrandini/Borghese, Chigi, Breakspeare, Este, Somaglia, and Conti. Some of these surnames have died out due to no male heirs, but the bloodlines still exist and control everything about your life. You Never hear about them in mainstream media, you will find very little information about them on the internet, and that's the way they want it.

They do not worship God, in fact they have hidden God behind the veil of heliocentrism, big bang theory, and evolution, and there is Zero evidence of any of those, there are only theories. Their goals are to fulfill Biblical prophecy, create world economic meltdown (Central Banking System and the Fractional Reserve Banking system which creates money out of thin air which causes the cost of goods to inflate and they own it all), create a fake alien invasion (which is why they needed to create "space) then they will bring out the antichrist disguised as Jesus (Who calls himself the Vicar of Christ on earth THE POPE) to save the world and create a New World Order.

They have produced over 35 Popes, antipopes and an untold number of Cardinals and Archbishops. They killed JFK, JFK Jr., RFK, MLK, John Lennon, among many, many other assassinations including 5 unsuccessful attempts to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I of England, though they did get her foreign minister.

They control what is taught in our schools, preached in our churches, mainstream media, what is in the music we love, movies, books, newspapers, magazines, etc. The Jesuits took over the education systems in Europe in the late 1500's, granted by the Vatican. Their Rockafeller Institute dictated what is taught in the U.S. so look up the Tavistock Institute.

They use false flags to start every war, financing both sides, including 9/11. They paid the rent for Copernicus and Galileo, and Newton was President of their Royal Society. They absorbed the Jesuit Order after its inception in 1541. Basically the Roman Empire never went away, they just moved across town to the Vatican. Constantine had it correct....you cannot control a population by being their leader, but you CAN through RELIGION and using the Inquisitions and crusades to force everyone to convert to your religion.

Under their rule is the Council of 300 which includes criminals like our Presidents and many members of their cabinets as well as high ranking members of the Congress and the Military.. That spreads out into high ranking members of the Freemasons, Knights of Columbus, Knights of Malta, Bilderberg Group, Council on Foreign Relations, its European counterpart, European and Asian nobility, and of course we cannot forget our old friend Henry Kissinger.

They control the Trilateral Commission, which comprises the Vatican who controls the message you hear in church, the Rothschilds control the banking and printing of money from London, and the U.S. Military and Intelligence Agencies do the policing from Washington.

They are filling our vaccines and spraying our skies (the U.S. government and the U.N. have openly admitted this) with metals such as aluminum, mercury, and barium to suppress our superior mental abilities, to make us sick, and to create as many autistic children as possible which will be the super soldiers of the future (Microsoft and other companies are already hiring specifically autistic employees).

They have put the Zionist Jews in a position of ownership on paper, to take the blame if their plans get exposed and in return the Zionists get Palestine (Balfour Declaration) which will end up being destroyed anyway in WWIII.

They are the majority stockholders in all of the Central Banks, mainstream media, Hollywood, fortune 500 companies, military industries, Banking, Publishing Houses, Transportation, Pharmaceuticals, Medical Companies, and on and on they Own us as Corporate Entities.

[voidfound404]

Hellblazer • Hades 2 • Epic the musical crossover, inspired by @katerinaaqu

It’s quite funny that John’s and Odysseus’s past are always so close behind, and there’re more than one skeletons hidden in their closets.

The difference is Constantine’s used to be haunted by his dead friends and would let them die AGAIN cuz of his arrogance, and he’s having a good time down in the underworld. Odysseus on the other hand, He wept as he drove away relatives and friends shades who wanted to eat sheep's blood with his sword( and let’s not forget he tried to hug his mom three times, THREE TIMES, yeah Agamemnon tried to hug him too but failed), and gonna have panic attacks and mental meltdown.

Constantine probably just like “ hey if they bother you that much I can expel them permanently, free of charge.” And Odysseus would be “ WHAT?! NO!!”

[foreveric]

ahh

what about the

reeves verse with a reader who panics like over everything and she lowky had meltdowns

im saying this cause its me and i need any of keanus characters to calm me down

💌 — gotta love me some keanu to calm me down from stressing myself out lol.

john wick

he's going to cuddle and squeeze you until the meltdown calms down. he won't let you go even after the wave washed over, just to make sure that you wouldn't fall back into another meltdown for as long as he can control it. he'll say things like "baby, it's okay", "don't worry, I can take care of this", and "just breathe with me".

jack traven

similarly to wick, jack will love on you and talk you through the meltdown. he'll place a hand on your shoulder before wrapping both of his arms around you and placing his chin on top of your head in a protective manner, as if he was silently fighting off all of your stress and worries.

john constantine

he's going to give you tough love, like the cynical bastard that he usually is. but, he'll still give you the affection that you needed in your own ways. he'll poke some jokes at you, using his sense of humor as a shitty (but, in his own ways, the only) way he knew how to calm others down in stressful situation.

neo anderson

he won't let you get stressed, not if he could control it. getting a little into yandere territory, but if it was a severe problem with anxiety or meltdowns, he'd program a special code to help you not have them anymore. he doesn't want you to be overwhelmed with too much, so he will do everything in his power to practically shelter you from any unnecessary stressors.

[lemontongues]

i never actually finished spirit world bc im constitutionally incapable of keeping track of what im reading but if xanthe never met zatanna i think they should and then they should have a colossal gay meltdown about it that constantine fistbumps them for in solidarity

[kineticprodigywave]

My guess is that he will end up either asking for something deceptively small and unassuming, but so extremely specific and with so many details attached to the delivery that it’d be hella hard to get; something so entrenched into poetic nonsense, verbose and double-meaning that no one knows what he is actually asking for or something that was just plain never made before.

For the hyper-specific route I think it could be something like one of the lost writings of Plato that had specifically been in the Library of Alexandria when it burned down, rescued by a time-traveler to be gifted to a Japanese Samurai forty years before Alexander’s birth by someone who never traveled in time and then recovered at exactly 4:37 AM of a solar eclipse only to then be translated into Czarnian by a ten years-old kryptonian. Not only would it be specific enough that the League might as well take years and a lot of planning to get right, but also is something that will likely make Constantine worry needlessly a lot - sure, he will probably catch up that this is utter nonsense meant specifically to make the JL’s collective lives hell, but this is someone leaning heavily into the trickster archetype, meaning that somewhere amongst the nonsense there could be something that actually has magical significance that will turn around and bite all of them in the asses.

For the excessively verbose I can see Danny just sprouting out random bits of rhyming literature taking from laughably different civilizations translated to literally 40 languages from different universes and then cobbled together. No one, least of all Danny himself, knows what he asked and he is just hanging around while they try to either solve the riddle (I’m imagining Tim and Bruce here in front of a massive conspiracy board with eye-bags bigger than their actual eyes having a joint meltdown over the conjugation of the word melt in Lilium) or gifting him old stuff in the hopes of accidentally stumbling on the answer. Then a few years down the line Danny is hanging around in some burger joint in Metropolis being interviewed by Lois when she offer to let him have her burger and he goes: “Thank you, and with that the payment for my services has been finally given! Hopefully the next time it won’t take half a decade” and just… leave. To make things even more surreal there is absolutely nothing special about this day, he has been to burger places everywhere with a number of varied people who paid for him before, Danny refuses to elaborate.

Alternatively Danny might just ask for something that doesn’t exist at that point in time and/or that is just plainly too dangerous to give out, something like the miracle machine that the future JL with that organic Brainiac has.

The Realm's Greatest Actor (part 1)

(Prompt) (part 1- you're here!) (part 2- to be written...)

The sigal glowed, and started rotating on the floor. It was working.

Constantine stepped back a little, the chant finished. He glanced at the big bat, and then the room grew cold. Frost covered all nearby surfaces, and he could see their breath. The ghost king was coming.

Cool mist drifted to the floor to reveal a... kid. Alright. Unexpected, but okay.

"Your Majesty," He said, bowing, soon to be followed by his 'colleagues'.

The kid glanced around, legs bent at the knee while he floated, arms limp at his sides.

"At ease," He dismissed, with a wave of his hand and a faux-sigh. "What is it you, ah, require?" He said, in a posh, 'holier than thou' voice.

Batman stood up to speak; "We need assistance with a large monster we believe to be one of your subjects terrorizing our cities."

The kid pursed his lips, doing a small spin, and then narrowed his eyes at Batman. "Hmmm." He did another small, smooth backflip in the air that led him closer to the hero in black.

"What do they look like?" He asked, crossing his legs and arms, floating eye level.

"They are a robot, flying around on a hovercraft and destroying buildings. They are attracting the attention of hostile aliens."

The kid nodded, eyes still narrowed, lips still pursed. "Skulker. I know him. Not very nice."

"Can you help?" Conastatine cut in.

The little king then unfolded himself, a devilish smile on his face.

"I can!" He floated over to the Brit. "For a price, of course." He said, lying on his side. "I fear I may not be able to leave this circle until we make a deal, and thus cannot get to him to stop him..." He frowned, turning away to wipe a single tear off his face that flew into the air before turning to mist.

Constantine sighed. "Naturally. What do you want?"

The Ghost turned back to him, a hand on his chin. "What do you have?"

Constatine glanced at Batman before speaking. "My soul," He said. "Or anything money can buy."

The ghost king looked him up and down. "I don't want your soul... I'm not a fan of sharing." His eyes traced over the various heroes. "Ooh, what a lineup!"

He floated to the side, looking over Constantine's shoulder. "Robots, kryptonians, Amazonians, Atlantians...and people. A nice mixed bag. Very interesting characters. You're all dressed up like heroes! Hah! You don't even have any watches!" The ghost giggled at his own... joke?

Constatine glanced over the heros the gauge their reactions. Some were disturbed, some were serious.

"Do you have hero names too!? Oh, tell me, tell me!" He shook his fists excitedly, kicking his legs and leaning forward.

"I'm-"

"Wait-!" Constaine cut Superman off. "We don't know what he could do with a name. Even a hero name."

The king's eyes locked onto him, not moving an inch, and his smile vanished. Then it returned, but it was different, and he sprang into motion once again. "So, you're the party pooper. Why'd you invite me if you don't want to have fun?" He tilted his head to an almost un-natural angle.

Constantine chuckled, more out of awkwardness than humor. He was about to say something more, but Batman beat him to it. "We don't have time for parties. We need Skulker gone, as soon as possible."

"Alright, alright. I see who's in charge. What is your little group called, anyway? I need it for my dream journal." The ghost smiled, toothy and a little less mischievous.

Batman glanced at Constantine, and with a nod, he replied. "We are the Justice League."

The king snickered. "Alright! Who am I making a deal with?"

Batman stepped forward. "I will buy you one thing from Earth, in exchange for your help. Any one thing that is not a sentient being."

The king looked to the side thoughtfully. "I suppose that's enough. Any one thing that is not a sentient being in exchange for dealing with skulker. Let's shake on it." A contract appeared out of the air, simple, but long. The bat read over it quickly, which was probably a few times for the super-human capabilities of that guy.

"Alright. Let's shake on it." The ghost king outstretched his hand, a wicked grin on his face. Batman took his hand, to which the Ghost King eagerly shook it. Constantine was worried his arm might fall off. The bat almost stumbled from the force, but looked unaffected after. When they let go, a puff of frosty air fell to the ground.

"And I'm off!" The kid saluted and then disappeared. The whole league turned to look at Constantine, then, when he gave them nothing, at Batman.

He responded by pulling up footage from a drone on the screen. For twelve minutes, the king laughed and flew around the creature that had been stealing their bodies and burning their cities. Then, he simply hit him a few times, with some blasts from his hands, and sucked him into... a thermos?

He then appeared back into the watch tower, devil grin still plastered on his face. "It's been a while since I talked to Skulker. He hasn't changed much- no one really does after they become my denisins."

The leaguers glanced around, exchanging looks. They were mostly baffled, but the bats, as always, was stoic.

"So, what is it you want?" He asked, looking grim.

The ghost's smile changed, but just slightly. A little more mischievous. "I'll tell you later. For now, this dimension is pretty sweet... I think I'll stay!" He said, looking around and nodding to himself.

The room grew tense. "What do you mean 'stay'?" Constantine asked.

The king giggled, disappearing and reappearing behind the brit. "It seems like it would be fun, with all the... ya'know." He said, gesturing to the league. "Interesting characters. As I said before."

Constantine tensed, and turned to the king now behind him. "...Well, what are you gonna do?" That earned another giggle.

"I'll tell you for a deal," He offered, hand outstretched. Constantine raised an eyebrow at that, unimpressed.

The hand lowered, suddenly snapping to the king's back. "Guess not then." He drifted over towards the crowd, arms behind his back as he looked them over with more attention than before.

His look of slight boredom turned into a mischievous grin that seemed to be his default smile. "Best to go explore, yeah? Have fun with the clean up! And then, he disappeared. But this time, he didn't reappear behind anyone. He was just gone. But one question lingered.

When would the Ghost King be back?

(Prompt) (part 1- you're here!) (part 2- to be written...)

[artymcart]

SUPTOBER 2022

Day Sixteen // Red

An intervention.

That's what Eileen called it, as she sat with her her family together. Robert on her lap, Kiara with Jack and both kids just cuddled up on them.

Sam at her side, his eyes on the table, his hands between his legs. He made himself small, his shoulders hunched forward, body language closed off.

"We have to talk about it Sammy, we can't wake up in Constantine's-Nightmare-World every two days," Dean said, his arms crossed over his chest.

For months the whole bus was illuminated in red when Sam slept and dreamed. At first it was something Eileen was able to break, talked to him, held him close, the light would fade fast and everyone could go back to sleep.

Now it radiated for hours, inflicted everyone's dreams, nightmares, caused sleep paralysis and heavy episodes of PTSD (Dean hasn't slept for WEEKS now, Cas woke up screaming for minutes after an heavy episode, clawing at his back until he had scratched himself bloody).

"I can't control what I do in my sleep!" Sam sounded bone deep tired. He had tried to so many things now, meditation, yoga, mind tricks, magic, even some drugs. But he wasn't able to controll his dreams or powers and he was very stressed about it that he inflicted his family too.

And it got to the kids too, what got Sam close to a meltdown.

"We want to help you, we're not just tired, we're worried," Jack signed.

"You're not alone in this. But something has to change before someone gets hurt. We appreciate your efforts, we know that magic and everything else is a part of you now," Eileen signed, Kiara in her lap looked at her hands with big eyes, already tried to imitate what she saw, clumsy little fingers forming 'magic' "But if it's messing with your head so much that we're all part of it, we have to work on a solution."

Sam just looked at his wife, an encouraging smile on her face, a hand on bis back. He smiled back, tired.

"We'll find a way, Sam" Cas said, a promise in his voice, which made Sam look up to him across the table. They were so sure that there IS a solution. While Sam was still not sure if there is something that could help him. He was tainted, after all, since birth. And marked by Rowena herself.

//You're not clean. In the biblical sense.//

ENDVERSE AU

[phoenixrising0308]

Unenchanted: Tennessee Honey

The Pencil Chronicles- Series premise: This series was inspired by Long Hand Trope Pencils (Special thanks for the extra pencils!). The pencils have a phrase that can be a prompt or a line from a show or book. I wanted a random A/U where anything is possible and, so that’s what I have with this series (TPC). SO take what you know and throw it out the window. Anything goes in this series. It is a canon divergent series for any book I write about. My character personalities remain the same as do the ones I write from Pixelberry in the manner I write their canon character. It could be any character, any pairing, any scenario. I will go where the pencil leads. Catch up with everything here

Detailed disclaimer

Scenario/Timeline: The day of the UN Gala. Drake and the MC go to her hotel room for drinks.

Pencil Chronicle Prompt/Theme: “Hi, Guys! I’m broken”

A/N: So I’m doing a few prompts for this story, and they appear in bold throughout the story.

Wacky drabble prompt(s): #83 “That makes my [Body part tingle].”,#84 “Just keep moving.”,#85 “Do you want me to leave., and #86 “Have you lost your mind.”

Ask prompt: #34 “Why can’t you see that I’m in love with you?” #40 “Are you implying that you want to kiss me?”

Triggers: 🍋

Chapter Song inspiration: Tennessee Whiskey

Word count: 1,562 *As always, forgive my typos and, grammatical errors.*

Reading time: 12 minutes

Jewels by David L - New York

Jessica huffed and said, “Can we get this going here?”

The jeweler apologetically said,” I’m sorry, I don’t mean to cause you any more stress. We were polishing it.”

The sales clerk smiled at them and said, “SO, are you ready for your big day?”

Jessica eyes got wide; she was ready to explode. She was quiet for most of the day, but he knew she reached her tipping point.

Drake put his arm around and said, “The future Mrs. and I are-”

Jessica pushed his hand away and shouted, “Fuck it! Listen, I’m not okay. I’m picking up the wedding band for my boyfriend’s fiancé. JUST GIVE ME THE FUCKING RING, OKAY!”

Everyone in the store turned around, paying attention to Jessica’s outburst.

Jessica continued her rant as Drake began to cringe at the spectacle. “Let me just shout it for the people on the back. I’m the mistress!”

Drake shouted, “Garcia!”

Hi, guys! I’m broken. I love punishing myself. Oh, I’m stopping you from shopping? “Do you want me to leave!?”

Drake shouted, “Jessica, have you lost your mind!?”

A woman said, “Geezus.”

Jessica ignored him and turned her attention to the woman and said, “Fuck you. Just keep it moving; you’re getting your happy ending!”

Drake tapped the glass. “Give me the fucken ring. Just give me the fucken ring.”

Jessica snatched the box from the jeweler and said in a sarcastic tone, “I bet it beautiful and wonderful and has some beautiful perfect LiamISH detail.” Jessica opened the box and looked at the dull, uneventful ring. She scoffed, “Well, it certainly is basic, and well, Madeleine is a basic bitch, so it suits her. BUT it doesn’t matter what I think, At the end of it all, they will go off into the sunset, AND they live happily fucken after!”

“Jessica, please calm the fuck down. Out of all the shit you went through this is the moment you pick to meltdown in public? You know somehow this is better than at the UN gala.”

“I’m gonna dick punch Constantine TONIGHT. I’ve had enough! You know what Liam, Madeleine will probably starfish you, and well you like vanilla. SO ENJOY YOUR VANILLA SEX LIFE. Your gonna be think about my -”

The sales clerk let out an exaggerated gasp.

Drake shouted drowning Jessica out, “JESSICA, let’s get the fuck out of here. Let’s just have a drink.”

Baccarat Hotel -

Jessica’s hotel room balcony

Drake sat across from Jessica and poured her a drink, and handed it to her. Jessica walked over to the stone siding of the enclosure and pressed her rear end against it. She placed her plump plum lips to the rim of the and tossed her head back, taking it all at once. “Man, that makes my throat tingle. But it’s still smooth.”

‘Her lips are perfect. Fuck.’

Drake put his empty tumbler down; he smiled at her and said, “Jack Daniels… Tennessee Honey. Jessica, don’t go to the gala. We can just hang out and talk here.”

Jessica poured herself another drink and said, “You know Drake, you have been calling me Jessica a lot today. It feels nice.”

‘She noticed. Time to come clean.’

Drake poured himself another drink; he took a gulp and set it down, then said, “I have been hoping that you would fucken see me.”

Jessica looked at him, puzzled at his comment, “I’m looking right at you, and I’m not fucken drunk.”

“Jessica, I want you to look at me the way you look at him.”

“Drake, are you-”

Drake took the rest of his drink and set it down on the table, and stood up. “Why can’t you see that I’m in love with you?”

Jessica eyes got wide, and she said, “Drake, you’re in love with me? How long?”

His eyes averted; hers he was shocked at his very own outburst, saying aloud the words he held inside of himself for months. “In Italy, I wanted to cross that line with you. For months, I wanted you to look my way. Liam, doesn’t fucken deserve you. I want to. I want to try.”

Drake walked over to where Jessica was standing, held her face in his hands. She chewed her lip and said, Are you implying that you want to kiss me?” Drake took a deep breath and, in a low husky whisper, said, “Fuck yes.” He pressed his lips against hers, and she opened her mouth. Their tongues coiled and mingled and meet each other in the center like they should have been kissing each other for years.

Jessica dropped the tumbler on the floor and ran her hands through his hair as they kissed, closing her eyes and completely melting into him. There so much longing in his kiss she felt it in the pit of her stomach he was awakening something inside her. His kiss sent shivers down her spine as she held onto him. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her in closer, so they were flush against one another. “I want you,” he mumbled against her lips, an excited and fond look in his eyes. Jessica hesitated for a moment. Should they be doing this? She wasn’t sure, but the idea of how good it would feel was clouding any doubt she had about the situation. Jessica didn’t know what this was, but she wanted to explore it. So, she nodded, taking a deep breath and holding onto him.

Drake’s hands traveled to the small of her back as he said, “Just give me one night with you.” Jessica didn’t respond, and they continue kissing; Drake traced the shape of her ass with his hands before put lifted her dress dipped his hands in her lace underwear. He slowly moved his hand down to rub at her clit, making her moan out and arch her back. Drake got on his knees and gently lifted her left leg over his shoulder, his hand his “You feel so good,” he mumbled. He did not know how they survived without touching each other like this; she felt it too somehow; they were spending a lot of time with each other, and part of her resented Liam for even considering the option of a Cordonian arrangement. She could feel his desperation even more after a few moments went by. Her leg wrap around his neck and his hand holding her thigh to spread her legs giving him deeper access and it became more intense.

“You taste like honey,” Drake mumbled, slowly letting two fingers enter her. She sighed at the feeling, tilting her head back with a bit of groan. He also leaned down to lick at her clit, the two sensations overwhelming her. Her body jerked as she let out a little cry, her body pleasantly warm with pleasure. His two fingers started moving, crooking the spot that she wanted him to hit most. It was already so much.

He fingered her for only a bit before he took his fingers out and licked them. He then focused more on his skilled tongue work, looking up at her with clouded eyes. Jessica burying her fingers into his hair. “Fuck, oh my god, Drake!” she moaned out; her body was on fire. Jessica was dripping on herself, her nectar covering his mouth and her thighs. She felt close, warning him with a whine. He pulled away, making her gasp and groan.

“I want to be inside of you when you cum,” Drake said quickly, picking her up and taking her to the bed. She chewed on her bottom lip, leaning up to kiss at his neck as he hovered over her. They undressed each other, Jessica taking off his jacket and Drake taking off her soft dress. Drake tossed their clothing aside in favor of their desperation. “I want you so bad,” Drake groaned, grinding down onto her. “Let me show you how much I’ve wanted you,” he mumbled, pressing his thumb down onto her bottom lip gently, taking a moment to look at her as he slowly lined up with her and pushed forward, both of them gasping and then moaning out at the sensation of filling and being filled.

“Oh god,” Jessica moaned, looking up at him. Drake smiled and let out a moan in the back of his throat. She could see that he was holding back from moving immediately, pausing inside of her so she could get used to the feeling. Jessica, buck up her hips a little and tightening around him to encourage him to move. He ended up moving with a groan, closing his eyes and starting his thrusts.

They both groaned, Jessica, panting as he buried himself inside of her over and over again. “FUCK DRAKE,” Jessica gasped, holding onto him. Drake leaned down, caressing her cheek somehow even through his thrusts. He still was not going too fast to saver the moment she gave herself to. He happy to have this moment, this single moment of bliss with her, but if this was it for them, he wanted to make sure they could remember it.

Drake’s speed picked up, and he reached down to rub at her clit again. After being edged once, she was close. Her body felt positively electric as she moved closer to her climax. She was so warm, both with fondness and with her body heat rising so much. He continuously toyed with her clit, leaning down to give her a passionate kiss as she fell over the edge. Pleasure erupted through her body in a blind wave as she gasped against his lips, pulling away in favor of crying out in bliss. Her body jerked, and her head fell back, the tightening caused by her orgasm pushing him over the edge. His thrusts stilled as he buried himself deep inside of her, leaning over her with a loud groan of her name.

Originally published on 3.21.21 and transitioned to this URL on 10.21.22 by the original author. -J

[evilminji]

You'd want to punch Constantine too if some asshole kept blindly siding with random assholes and Banishing(which really HURTS and is traumatic and scary) folks out of THEIR HOMES, which were invaded by living folks who start WRECKING the place with out so much as a "hey there, new roomie!", and causing people to have Obsession driven meltdowns!

Does he bother to TALK to people? Calm things down? Do a little mediation, maybe? So ghosts KNOW WHATS GOING ON? No. Just "Boozed up trechcoat! Here to throw fire in your face on the second worst day of your life! Then take your family home so they can make a condominium!"

Not everyone WANTS to "move on"! Be this asshole is out here, with his Human-centric, Living Are Always Right, bullshit veiw points, forcing little old ladies and kids into the Zone! They're TERRIFIED. All they wanted to do was stay somewhere familiar.

Play in the parks they've always known. Watch the flowers and people who walk by. But noooooo! Can let Ghost STAY. Gotta kick them out! They "Don't Belong"!

SAYS WHO!?

And like? Flash and Wes are all >.> <.< This.... this feels like it's been building a while, huh? *continued ranting filters over the phone*

*and it continues*

*and continues*

*WOW he's upset*

*someone finally wrestles the phone away.* Yeah, we'll send those papers! And Sam's Ethics in Magic Manifesto. Things a BRICK! But a good read! Danny, get OFF THE TABLE. NO FENTON FAMILY BLOOD FUEDS-!*click*

DP X DC Prompt #42

While following Danny, Wes manages to accidentally recreate the Flash Accident. So he hunts down the best person to ask for advice. Barry Allen.

(Eddie Thawn could be funny tho)

[lesbianmarrow]

actually my favorite part of legends of tomorrow is in season 7 when they crossover with riverdale and the waverider has a meltdown bc the riverdale timeline doesn't make any sense and then the whole cast has to sing together to make gideon calm down and take them away. but unfortunately they don't notice until later that they left constantine behind in riverdale and nobody wants to go back there for him but sarah insists bc it's her job to make sure the crew stays together.

and then when they come back for constantine they find archie teaching him the epic highs and lows of high school football, which constantine never experienced because he's british. and then archie and his friends enlist constantine's help in exorcising a demon from cheryl blossom because she's on an ungodly rampage only when they finally catch up with cheryl it turns out she wasn't even possessed by a demon she's just like that. and all the legends stop by the diner to have a milkshake before they leave

[galahadwilder]

I want a Good Omens/Hellblazer crossover where John Constantine is so confused as to why this demon is so bloody nice and Crowley is having a “meet-a-celebrity” meltdown over this Liverpudlian conman who manages to piss Hell off so badly that the entire hierarchy knows his name

[krzys2000]

@fancycat-thesilvertux I think that Jack and Madie problem is not that thy are bad parents it is that they countertrade on one thing and put their 100% into it. So when they realise it I predict meltdown of epic proportions

Silly Jazz they can they just need reach for right helpers.

I think it would be time to call mandatory fenton family gathering. No matter if you are member by blood marriage adoption or friendship. Wouldn't it be funny if Waynes (or Alfred and therefore batfam) and Constantine would be members of extended/branch Fenton clan? Just imagine their wtf

You forget that Danny didn't want to be hero (but did it because he feel responsible for portal opening) and he can be vengeful little shit when he wants

Chaotic time is treat. Also I can see Danny turning him in mad scientist and encouraging him (Danny may not have good grades currently but he modified all that fenton teach)

Prompt based on this meme:

Danny: What you got there?

Ellie holding a smoothie in one hand, and with kiddie Tim tucked under one arm, drinking his own smoothie: A smoothie.

Basically, Ellie adopting kiddie Tim. She’d been doing her cross country fly trip, visiting Gotham. Going invisible to not be spotted, Ellie ends up spotting the Bat and bird’s tag-along, a little kid that’s lugging around a camera.

Of course, she’s interested in what his deal is. This is a little kid that’s out late at night chasing vigilantes who are chasing criminals. Does he have good blackmail photos?

And look, she didn’t really intend to adopt a kid, but now she had because he’s a neglected child in a mansion too big and too lonely that he sought to keep himself sane by chasing after vigilantes.

Ellie is only a bit older than Tim, so she can’t be his mom, so she settles with being the most badass sister, second only to Jazz! Because it’s Jazz. She has the right to the #1 title.

Tim meanwhile is finding himself enjoying having an older sister that can walk through walls, disappear, and fly! It makes getting pictures of Batman and Robin so much easier with her help!

[badchoicesposts]

Don’t Dream It’s Over Chapter 3

Series Summary: Liam and Ali thought that their relationship was perfect, but their whole world came crashing down when Constantine called him back to Cordonia. Four years later they meet again at Liam’s bachelor party, determined to make things between them work even if it isn’t always easy.

In this AU, Liam and MC (Ali Moonessar) dated for a year in New York while Leo was still crown prince. They broke up when Constantine asked Liam to come back to Cordonia, but they meet again at Liam’s bachelor party before the social season. The story will contain flashbacks, which will be italicized, of their relationship and follow them as they try to navigate the season with Ali as a suitor. I’ve messed around with the timeline a bit so that it fits the story better. I’ve also added in a few OCs of my own.

Pairing: Liam x MC (Ali Moonessar)

Word Count: 2,752

Taglist: @flowerpowell, @timmagicktoad, @kingliam2019, @ao719, @emceesynonymroll, @hopefulmoonobject, @dcbbw, @qammh-blog

If you would like to be added to the tag list let me know!

A/N: In this chapter you’ll get to learn a bit more about Ali’s family. 

This is my first time ever posting a fic. Please let me know if you enjoyed it and would like to read more. I thrive on validation, lol. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 1 Chapter 2

Ali had spent time in Drake and Liam’s apartment before. She spent most of her time there if she was being honest. She was lucky that Drake liked her enough to tolerate her presence there as much as he did. However, she had never really spent much time in the apartment alone. One of them was almost always there with her. 

She let herself into their apartment, looking around as she waited for Liam to come home from work. It was strange to be here without either of them. This place had been a second home to her for the past six months, but without Liam, it seemed big, cold and empty. Ali kicked off her shoes and made her way into Liam’s room. She dropped down onto his large bed, the soft mattress relaxing her muscles and alleviating some of the ever present pain in her lower back. 

Her eyes began to close as she gave into the drowsiness that had overtaken her body. However, the peaceful moment was interrupted as a sudden chill went up her spine, and she immediately shot up in bed. A soft scratching noise seemed to be coming from inside the walls, and the lights above her head flickered. She looked around the room frantically for a moment before the scratching noise chased her out to the living room, where she waited impatiently for her boyfriend to come home. 

When Liam arrived he saw Ali curled up on the couch, the decorative throw blanket pulled up over her head. Even though he had sat with her and calmed her down, it was obvious that he thought she was being ridiculous. He had laughed at the suggestion that what happened had anything to do with the supernatural universe and simply went to change the light bulb. Ali had the same experience several times after that night. Each time a chill would run up her spine before she heard the scratching noise and saw the lights flicker. Each time she had felt a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach, and each time Liam had blamed it on faulty wiring or old light bulbs.

This time, however, Liam was lying in bed next to Ali when it happened. His face had been buried in her neck, and as he began to press gentle kisses to the skin there, the lights flickered. She jumped out of his arms as the scratching began and looked at him pointedly. 

“There’s a fucking ghost in your bedroom,” she said, almost hysterical at this point as she watched Liam look around the room with furrowed eyebrows. 

“I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for this,” he said calmly, attempting to pull her back down next to him.

She pulled her arm away from him and placed her hands on her hips. 

“There is no logical explanation for this,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm around the word ‘logical’. “You have to move.”

Liam began to chuckle as he looked at the girl fondly. He stood up and walked over to her, wrapping her up in his strong arms. As his body enveloped her much smaller one, she could feel his chest vibrating with laughter.

“Don’t laugh at me!” she said angrily, her words muffled as she spoke against his bare skin. 

“Sweetheart, I promise you there’s no ghost,” he said, trying to hold back his laughter, as to not frustrate her further. 

“Then why does that keep happening?” she asked, turning her head to look up at him. 

Liam brushed one of her dark curls out of her face and kissed her forehead gently. 

“I promise I’ll talk to the landlord, and we’ll figure it out,” he said softly. 

Ali pulled herself out of his arms and made her way back over to the bed.

“You won’t figure it out because it’s a goddamn ghost,” she grumbled under her breath, pulling the covers up around her.

Two strong arms pulled Ali backwards, and she crashed into a hard chest. She looked up to see Bastien holding her close and reaching to grab Liam’s arm as well. Another member of the royal guard pushed his way in front of the two of them, stopping the reporters from getting too close. Bastien kept one arm wrapped protectively around her small frame, and his other hand rested on Liam’s back as he guided them towards the hotel. His jaw was clenched, and as the three of them rode the elevator back up to their floor in an awkward silence, Ali could tell he was extremely agitated. 

The rest of the guys from last night were all lounging around the sitting area of Liam’s room when they entered. They were each nursing their own hangover, but could easily tell that something was wrong as a negative energy entered with them. Maxwell looked over at them from where he was smothering jam on a piece of toast. The look of hope that was on his face from seeing them enter together quickly disappeared. 

Bastien paced up and down the length of the room, and for a few minutes everything remained completely silent.

“Your father is going to be furious,” he finally spoke. 

He didn’t look angry anymore. Instead, a look of concern crossed his features. Liam released a deep breath and his shoulders sagged the slightest bit. 

It was unsettling for everyone to see him look so defeated. He had always been strong-minded and strong-willed. It had been drilled into his brain from a young age that he should never show weakness and that it was always necessary for him to carry himself with an air of confidence. 

Ali stood glued to her spot by the door, not knowing what to do. The only time she had seen him like this was right before he had gotten on the plane back to Cordonia. Every one of her instincts told her to go to him and comfort him, but there was a voice in the back of her head saying that it wasn’t her place anymore. Even if it was, she wouldn’t know what to say. The world of media and nobility wasn’t one she knew anything about. Instead she just watched him. She watched as he took a breath, straightened his spine, squared his shoulders, and put on a mask of neutral expression. 

“I’m sure my father will find some way to properly address the press as he’s done for Leo several times in the past,” he began calmly, before turning to face her, “Ali, you were completely right. I have a responsibility to Cordonia, and I should have never said the things that I did last night or this morning. It was a poor judgment call on my part. I apologize for upsetting you and my momentary lapse in judgement. I’m afraid you won’t be able to leave until the crowd outside disperses, but you are welcome to remain here in the meantime. Please excuse me.” 

With that, he walked to the bedroom of the suite and closed the door behind him. His words were short, and Ali could see that he was struggling to say them with as little emotion as possible. However, knowing this gave her no comfort as she once again felt tears stinging her eyes. He spoke as if he were addressing the public as a politician, not to the person that he claimed to love. She roughly bit down on her lip, desperate to not cry in front of a group of men that she hadn’t even known for twenty-four hours. She felt exposed, and she wanted to run and hide. But, her feet were rooted to the floor. 

Drake approached her slowly and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, but she barely registered his presence. 

Ali wasn’t sure how long she stood there watching the door that Liam had just disappeared behind, but she probably would have been there longer if the sound of several phones going off hadn’t pulled her out of her thoughts. Maxwell, Charlie, and Leo all pulled out their phones and skimmed through something before looking at her and each other nervously. 

“What is it?” she asked, her voice hoarse. Maxwell made his way over to her cautiously and handed her his phone. 

“Damn, they work fast,” she heard Drake say as he looked down at the phone over her shoulder.

The web page was opened to a Cordonian news site, and the title “Prince Liam’s Bachelor Party Hook-Up” was staring back at her in bold letters. There were pictures of the two of them kissing on the street outside the hotel and some of the group leaving the bar last night. The reporters had caught bits of their conversation, and the article told of how he begged her to stay with him, speculating how the pair knew each other. 

Ali handed the phone back to Maxwell and stepped so that her back was pressed against the wall, depending on it to keep her upright. She was aware that everyone in the room had their eyes on her now. Taking a look at her own phone for the first time that day, she saw several frantic texts from Cole’s sister, Emma, and a few from his older brother, Luca, asking where she was. 

“Moonessar, do you want to take a walk? My room is right down the hall,” Drake said cautiously, as if he were expecting her to have a meltdown at any moment. 

“No,” she said, already bringing the phone up to the ear as she spoke. 

She listened to it ring several times, relaxing at the sound of the voice that picked up. 

“Luca, I need you to come get me,” she said, before turning and walking out the door.

************

Ali had known the Larson family her entire life. The four Larson siblings had been born into a household with an abundance of money but absentee parents, and when Ali was young, her mother had worked as a maid and nanny for them. Ali grew up alongside the siblings and became fast friends with Cole and Emma because the three were close in age. When both of Ali’s parents died in a car accident, Cole’s older brother, Ezra, had insisted that she move in with them. She was only nineteen and had been such a mess at the time that they all agreed it was for the best. She had been living with them ever since, and the Larsons had become the siblings she never had and the family she needed. They had always been there for her.

Luca was the oldest of the four siblings, and even though he and Ali couldn’t be more different, their connection had always been different than they one she had with the others. Luca was the most put together person that Ali had ever met. He had expensive tastes, always wore a suit that had been perfectly tailored to his body, and was a prominent lawyer in one of New York’s biggest law firms. However, regardless of their differences, Luca and Ali seemed to balance each other out and had a natural chemistry that made them unstoppable when they worked together. Luca was kind-hearted and very obviously cared for her in a way no one else ever had. 

The other siblings had often joked that the two should just get married and finally make Ali an official Larson, and while Ali knew that Luca was everything she could possibly want in a partner, there was always a piece of her that couldn’t commit to a relationship with him. It was the piece of her that had always and would always belong to Liam. She had casually dated other people after Liam, but she had too much history with the Larsons to even consider that with Luca. If she entered a relationship with him, there would be too much pressure from the family for them to get serious, and she knew that she wasn’t able to fully give herself to him. So, she didn’t, and instead they had formed a different relationship. They weren’t like siblings, but they weren’t in a relationship either. She couldn’t explain what they were. They were just close.

Now, sitting in the front seat of Luca Larson’s car with tears streaming freely down her face, Ali wanted nothing more than for him to pull her into his arms and tell her that everything was going to be okay as he had done so many times in the past. 

“Luc, I-I m-made a mistake,” she choked out as he pulled into the parking complex a few blocks away from the building they lived in. 

After parking the car, Luca turned in his seat to face her and placed a hand on her knee, tracing soft circles on it through her jeans. 

“Let’s get you inside. We can talk there,” he said softly. 

He got out of the car and ran to the other side to open her door for her. He kept her locked tightly in his embrace as they rode the elevator up to the large penthouse apartment they all shared. Upon entering the two were met with the angry face of Emma Larson. 

“Where were you? You know that if you spend the night away from home you’re supposed to let someone know! You’re lucky we didn’t call the police!” she began, before Luca shot her a look that quickly shut her up. 

Even though Emma was the youngest in the household, there was no doubt that she was the one in charge. She currently had a tape measure hanging around her neck and was clutching fabric scissors tightly in her hand. From a young age she had been into design and had recently been trying to make her way into the world of fashion. She tended to “stress create”, and it was evident that she had been doing so for quite some time as there were varying fabrics in different colors spread across the living room floor. Her loud voice had pulled Cole and Ezra out of the kitchen, and they both straightened their bodies into a protective stance upon seeing Ali’s tears. Luca led her over to the couch, and Ezra went back into the kitchen to get her a glass of water before joining the group. 

“What happened?” Luca asked, his voice was gentle as he spoke to her.

Ali shakily pulled up the article on her phone and handed it to him. She watched as his jaw clenched momentarily while reading it and had to stop herself from crying even harder. 

“I’m sure it’ll all blow over in a day or two,” he said, a soft sigh escaping his throat as he handed the phone to his siblings. 

“The article isn’t what I’m upset about,” she breathed out. “I- I slept with him, and I shouldn’t have. I know I shouldn’t have, but I saw him last night, and I didn’t know how to let him go again.” 

“You slept with him?” Emma exclaimed.

“Well, obviously. What did you think she was doing when she didn’t come home last night?” Cole asked casually as he lounged back in his chair. Ezra and Emma both glared at their brother. 

“I feel so stupid. You should have seen him this morning. After we got mauled by the press it was like he just turned all of his emotions off. After everything, after telling me that he loved me, he just dismissed me like it was nothing in front of all of his friends. It was humiliating. God, I’m such an idiot.”

A fresh wave of tears began to fall down her cheeks, and she pushed off her glasses.

“This is all your fault!” Emma said, glaring angrily at Cole.

“How is it my fault? I didn’t tell her to sleep with him!” 

“You don’t leave your friend alone in a bar with their ex!” 

“I didn’t leave them alone! All of his friends were still there! Drake was there!”

“Children, please,” Luca said in an exasperated tone, his siblings’ antics only furthering his frustration. 

Ali buried her face in the decorative cushion next to her, wishing that she had actually used her common sense the night before and hating Liam for the things that he said. In a hotel room less than an hour away from her Liam was staring at his computer screen, hating himself for hurting her and dreading the conversation he was about to have with his father. 

[nancywheelxr]

horror/slasher movie AU, where Charlie is the final girl

I love this prompt so much, you don’t understand. I love horror movies and just-- this is so fun to write! Also, hope you get well soon!

*

It had all started as fun.

Ava had granted them a vacation even as she had been busy herself after the whole mess with Neron and then fixing the timeline, and everyone had collectively agreed they needed a change in scenery. Let’s go camping, Ray had said, and Sara had just loved the bloody idea, but Nate was putting his foot down about seeing the past, watching history playing out, so Mick had grunted and Zari had plotted a course to Washington, mid-80s.

A cabin in the woods had sounded perfect, then, and when Charlie had seen it, rising up alone in the middle of the trees, she had thought idyllic. 

Everyone had settled in and the day had bled into nightfall, and Charlie watched Ray start a fire and laughed at his face when they all told ghost stories. Aren’t you a scaredy-cat, she had teased, cackled at the way his eyes widened and the fire flickered, and somewhere in the woods, an owl had hooted. Ray had looked so scared, then. Charlie thinks he must have left right after, storming up to the cabin. Nora had stood up, ready to follow him, but Constantine had flickered his cigarette at her, let him cool down first, love, and she had sat back down.

They hadn’t seen Ray since.

At first, they had thought he had returned to the ship, done with the whole thing, but now in hindsight, of course, he hadn’t. Ray is a boy scout. He wouldn’t leave like that, but then again, he should have known better than go off alone.

According to the map Gideon had provided them, there was a waterfall nearby, real pretty, it would have been a shame not to check it out while they were there, even if Ray had bailed. Sara took Nate and Nora, then, wanting to take their minds off Ray. They left right after breakfast but when the sun was setting, only Sara and Nate returned.

Nora had left early, they said, to try and contact Ray.

It was dead smart of the killer, Charlie thinks, to take Nora next. Because no one thought much of it. She must have joined him at the Waverider, they’re attached at the hip, nothing strange there.

But Mick– Mick had suspected, what was it that he called? Foul play. He said there was foul play. Ray and Nora’s room was just like they left. Why hadn’t they taken their stuff with them if they were returning to the ship? Maybe that’s why Mick disappeared next.

While everyone went right on with their business, while Charlie went to take a bloody nap, Mick hiked to the nearest town, said he was going to ask around if the locals had seen anything.

It’s been almost two days now.

They had all dismissed that, too. Just Mick being Mick, probably had gotten caught up in some bar and passed out on his drink. But Charlie had seen it, had felt it, too. The unnerving sensation that something wasn’t right, it had begun to creep around the edges. Everyone was on edge. Jumpy. Snapping at each other. Because that’s three people now– gone, just like that. But there were explanations, perfectly good explanations, except they couldn’t be sure because the signal wasn’t making it to the ship, too many trees around.

That night, Charlie had knocked on Zari’s door, she had been buzzing with something, hackles raised.

“What are you doing here?” Zari had asked, and she had just gotten out of the shower, hair still wet and pajamas on. Charlie had been thoroughly distracted. “I thought you were bunking with Mick.”

“Yeah, too creepy there now, without him and all,” she had shrugged, trying so hard to pretend none of that was a big deal. Now, Charlie thinks she should have found strange Mona wasn’t there, in the room. She had been the one rooming with Zari, after all. But she didn’t, because Zari had let her in and Charlie had lost track of anything that wasn’t Zari, then. “How are you holding up anyway, city girl?”

Zari had laughed, all pretty in the moonlight, and hit Charlie with her towel. “Hey, I’ll have you know, I used to spend the summers up on my aunt’s farm.”

“Oh, is that so? Should I be coming for you, then, for advice? Are you a real farm girl now?” She had grinned, crowding her against the window. “Maybe I should stay here tonight, then. Get you to teach me how to start fires and all that girl scout rubbish.”

“Are you proposing a sleepover?” Zari had raised her eyebrow, hopped on the window seat, and Charlie had fit so well between her legs. “Why are you really here, Charlie?”

“Just thought to myself– we’re on vacation, and I was feeling dead lonely on my room, who better to make me company? Been thinking about you all day anyway,” that wasn’t anything at all like what Charlie had wanted to talk about, but she had leaned closer and watched Zari lick her lips, make her decision, and then they had been kissing.

Nothing else had mattered and they hadn’t noticed Mona hadn’t returned until it was well in the morning.

That had been the moment they realized there was no denying it– something or someone was picking them one by one.

It had changed everything.

The sun had turned pale and the trees had turned ominous, reaching up to the sky with gnarled branches and a canopy so dense, they covered everything in shadows– if they squinted, they could possibly make out only about five feet into the woods. The house had been silent, eerily empty, and every creak and noise had echoed like a death sentence in the halls. Every closed door could be hiding a monster behind, every window was an invitation to be dragged away, and sometimes it felt like the walls themselves could be swallowing them.

Charlie had taken Zari’s hand, watched Constantine make a big show of investigating it all, contacting the dead, checking for the supernatural, and venture into the house while they all huddled in the basement.

It had been silent then, too, and they never heard him scream.

Whatever it was– it had been in the house with them.

Nate had cried, yelled about knowing Ray wouldn’t have gone off like that, how they should have known since the beginning something was wrong, and Sara had tried to calm him down, shush him before the killer heard where they were, but he wouldn’t listen, fuck, he just wouldn’t listen, and Sara had kept trying to placate him, but Nate had kept losing his shit, and maybe that’s why they didn’t notice how close to the door he had been. Nate had been in the middle of his meltdown when a gloved hand had punched through the glass and closed around his neck like a claw, dragging him out, door and all, kicking and screaming.

By the time they reached the doorstep, there were wood splinters everywhere and no sign of Nate and his kidnapper, just the broken door lying halfway to the forest.

It had been only Sara, Zari, and her.

The house had never felt larger.

With no way to contact the ship or anyone, for that matter, there hadn’t been much choice but risk booking it to the nearest town, like Mick, and they were losing daylight, so nothing was packed and the house was left behind like a ghost town as they went into the woods.

And how bloody predictable of them. It had taken about half an hour of paranoid silence for something to go wrong. Sara had been the first to scream, piercing the quiet with a pained cry as a bear trap closed around her ankle. Zari had tried to help, running towards her, but another trap had swallowed her foot, sending her down. And Charlie had been paralyzed, then. Frozen, not knowing who to help first, but Zari was crying, whimpering in pain, and her ankle had been a bloody mess, so as much as Charlie wanted to help Sara, they all knew Charlie would always pick Zari.

Christ, Charlie hopes Sara understood it. 

They never heard when Sara disappeared, but one moment Charlie had been trying to pry the thing open and the next Sara was gone, trap open wide behind and dripping blood from the fangs. 

Zari hadn’t screamed.

She had taken Charlie’s face on her hands, leaving bloody fingerprints on her cheek, and she had kissed her. It’s the look on her eyes, though, that had stayed with Charlie.

That had been the moment Zari realized what was going to happen next.

Somehow, she convinced Charlie to look around for any signs of Sara, scream her name just in case. When she got back, Zari had been gone, too.

And now– here Charlie is. The last one standing.

She’s got no weapon and no idea where she’s going, the underbrush is scratching at her feet and the forest is silent, too silent. There’s no creaking of branches, no sounds of animals, no hooting of an owl. Just silence, and Charlie.

Her heart is either lodged somewhere in her throat or with Zari, wherever she is, because Charlie refuses to believe they’re not still alive. She was never one for hope but-- anything else is just unacceptable. 

But it doesn’t matter. Charlie is a survivor, she made it out of Hell, and she’ll break the neck of the bastard who’s got her friends, if it’s the last thing she does. She made it out of Hell and Charlie won’t mind walking right back in if it means saving her friends, saving Zari.