#I could have gone further with the rendering but I kinda gave up

[caliburn-not-calculator]

A goop? A slime? An ooze perhaps?

They come with or without the top hat

[taegyuun]

月が綺麗ですね?

request: Can I request a ni-ki fluff where u both are besties but love each other and u try to confess but ur to shy so he kisses u ?🥺💗

word count: 1.5k+

note: his outfit is inspired by what he wore in his lie cover and italics are your thoughts :) 月が綺麗ですね means “the moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” which is a more poetic saying of “i love you” in japanese

it was a around 4 pm and the sun was beginning to set. you promised to yourself that one last time, before riki left for a few months to go to a dance company, you’d see the sunset with him for old times sake.

but a teenager needs their sleep, right? right. so you overslept through your alarm.

you look at your phone in disbelief for a few seconds, letting your half asleep brain render what you’ve done. and then once you realise that the sun would be setting in 30 minutes, you scramble out of bed - legs still tangeled in your sheets and run to your wardrobe, pulling out a random hoodie that coincidentally belonged to the boy you were meant to be meeting in about 15 minutes.

you pull it over year head before checking yourself in the mirror and deeming your messy outfit enough, he is my best friend, you think to yourself.

ah yes, here’s that word again - best friend.

it was a cliché trope, the one where one of the two friends fall for the other and they either suck it up and deal with their feelings till they move on and possibly miss their chance at one of their best things in life or they confess and potentially ruin their friendship. you were a brave one, or at least that’s what you told yourself, and you decided it was the best choice to finally get your feelings out in the open - hoping they would be reciprocated.

and hey, if it didn’t work out, at least you wouldn’t have to see him for a month minimum and that would give you time to get over the embarrassment of ruining your tight knit friendship.

you snap out of your thoughts with a shake of your head and the sound of a message coming from your phone - it was from riki.

riki :D : hey u comin? 16:08

y/n <3 : hi yeah sorry got caught up with sumn 16:08

riki :D : alrighty i’m waiting outside 16:10

you furrow your brows at the message. outside? you both planned on meeting in the field and stuff yourself with your favourite food one last time before he had to stick to a diet - but you didn’t question it further and quickly ran down the stairs ready to run out the door to see your best friend.

instead, you’re met with your mother gushing over him in the kitchen and your father congratulating him on his future career - even as a 15 year old. it was common sense that your parents liked him, you’ve been best friends since elementary school but what you didn’t expect was your mother almost at the brink of bursting into obnoxious tears at the thought of the nishimura riki leaving okayama and her child behind.

to be quiet frank, she was completely more bothered about the fact that riki was leaving okayama, more so than the fact that he was also leaving you behind - she loved him as if he were her own son. “remember to call us ok? tell us how it’s going.” she gripped his shoulders tightly before caressing his face and pulling him into a tight hug. he quickly wrapped his arms back around her, reciprocating the feeling of homesickness even though he hadn’t left yet, before muttering a, “don’t worry, i’ll make sure to call everyday.”

he shared another hug with your dad, more manly than the one with your mum before your mother saw you waiting at the stairs, ushering you to come forward before shoving a bag full of snacks for you two. “make sure to stay safe with riki and don’t go wandering too far - oh also don’t stay out too late... have fun!” before she shoved the both of you out the door, quite stunned.

you then open the bag, seeing it full of yours and his favourite snacks and some... hearts? flowers? what on earth-

“hey, come on slowass... let’s go before it gets too dark,” rikis voice calls out before he softly grips your hand and tugs you along, a bright smile spreading across his face. “what are you wearing?” you look at his outfit and see him covered in a slightly large white dress shirt and black jeans. he looked... put together.

“oh this? i had a dance cover i had to do today, ignore it.” you usually wouldn’t pay attention to what he wore - especially if it was for his dance covers but what you couldn’t ignore was the slight blush that dusted his pale cheeks. is it because i’m wearing his hoodie? no that can’t be it. he never minded before - actually he was always the one to hand you his hoodies. so what could it be?

“let’s sit here, it’s a good spot for the sunset,” he pats the spot of grass next to him on the hill, indicating for you to take a seat. you place the bag at his feet before sitting down onto the cool grass, feeling it tickle at your ankles. 4:33 pm. the sun should be setting right about now-

“riki, uhm, uh well i was gonna uh-“

“spit it out, y/n,” he giggles through his words as he digs his hand into the bag before pulling out two snacks and handing one to you. easier said than done, einstein.

“do you really have to go?” you curse under your breath for being such a coward and not just saying what you wanted to say straight away. “yeah, unfortunately,”

“unfortunately? don’t you want to go? it’s your dream, riki. for the love of god, don’t tell me you’re starting to question it.” you voice raises slightly in bewilderment. he chuckles lowly while looking out into the sky: orange, pinks, purples and hints of blue mixed in the sky like water colour being dipped in a glass half full. “no i’m not... questioning it, i’m more concerned about what i’m going to leave behind.” he takes another bite before speaking again, “i’ll miss okayama, y’know? and all my friends... even that weird, janky shop on that corner that no one really goes to. but it’s the fact that i’m leaving you behind thats making me want to stay here... i don’t want to leave you.” as he speaks, the moon peaks through the clouds more, becoming more apparent to the human eye. it almost reminds riki of his own feelings - hidden for so long before finally becoming clear.

“riki, you two-braincelled dumbass, stop being worried about some janky corner shop and go follow your dreams! you won’t be gone forever, a few months at top and sure, i may not be there in person but... you’ll always have me y’know? i’m your best friend after all!” you end your little speech with a gentle push from your shoulder to his and a wide smile, making him chuckle.

but it was humourless.

“you good?” your smile fades and instead is replaced with a small frown. he looks out into the sky again, the beautiful sunset colours suddenly replaced with a darker blue and grey transparent clouds covering a tiny part of the moon. “best friends... yeah.” it was a very quiet mutter - clearly not meant to be heard by you but it was just loud enough for your ear to catch.

this is my chance.

his quiet words gave you a slight boost of confidence and you suddenly sit in front of him, making him jump slightly in surprise. “what are you doing?”

“riki, shut up for a second,”

“right ok well, i was meaning to say this for a very long time but i kinda didn’t want to ruin anything so i decided to be a genius and basically leave it till the day before you leave so incase i did mess anything up it would give us some time y’know? but anyways uh i just wanted to say that i uh... well ok so i - well basically-“

“y/n, shut up for a second so i can kiss you.”

“i’m sorry what?” that’s what you tried to say, but instead your words got muffled by his hands softly grabbing your face and connecting his lips to yours in a warm, slow kiss.

oh good lord.

kissing riki felt like midnight strolls. walks under a roof where the rain bounced off. mario kart competitions at friendly gatherings. ordering a takeout when you don’t feel like cooking. finding your favourite shirt after misplacing it for months.

it felt so... normal. so exciting yet homely. it was something you were so happy to experience - yet it made you feel at peace and as if you were meant to be there.

as he pulled away, your cheeks warmed in delight and he shyly smiled down at the ground. in return, you lift his face and place another soft peck onto his pink lips and smile brightly after. his black pearl eyes then flicker to look behind you, smiling tenderly as he looked back at you before opening his mouth to speak.

“月が綺麗ですね?”

[doc-pickles]

we’ll go your way

HAPPY BIRTHDAY @cicinicole-14!!!!! I really love that the way we show birthday love in the group chat is writing fics lmao. Anywaaaays I hope you enjoy this fic and of course hope you have a great day.

Alex, for once in all the years he’d lived there, was happy to see the rainy skies of Seattle. After staring at rows and rows of Iowa cornfields for the past week and a half the dark and gloomy skies above him were a welcome sight. He stared at the blur of buildings and street lights that passed outside the window of the cab he’d called, his anxious heart settling knowing that soon he’d be at home with his wife.

 Jo had called a few times in the time he’d been gone. It had been over a week since he’d left Seattle and he could tell that she was starting to get anxious. Her voicemails had become more frequent and her voice was on edge every time he listened to her speak. It wasn’t that he was avoiding her, it was that everything he had to say was too much to explain over the phone. The situation he’d walked into with his mom and siblings had been worse than he’d anticipated, prompting his silence and lack of an answer to Jo. Because he knew if he called his wife and heard her voice that he’d break down and he’d rather do that in the comfort of their home. 

 When the loft building finally came into view Alex practically jumped out of the cab. He paid the driver quickly and began to race upstairs, eager to see Jo again. Realizing that at half-past 10 she might be sleeping already, he slowed his pace as he got closer. With practiced ease, he slowly slid the metal door of the loft open, listening closely for any sign that Jo might still be awake.

 The only noise coming from inside was a soft melodic singing, the sound instantly enrapturing Alex as he stepped further into the home in search of his wife. When he finally found her, his heart skipped a beat at the sight before him. Jo stood with her back to him, tiny baby cuddled into her shoulder as she rocked back and forth gently trying to coax the little one to sleep. It didn’t seem to be working though since a pair of bright blue eyes stared up at him as his wife sang softly. 

 “A smell of wine and cheap perfume, for a smile they can share the night. It goes on and on, and on, and on,” Jo brought the baby down into her arms to stare at him, brows furrowed as she took in his wide-awake state. “I don’t know any nursery rhymes, sorry kid.”

 “You're a natural you know,” Jo spun around in shock at the sound of Alex’s voice behind her, eyes scanning him as he moved towards her and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Although I’m wondering why you have a baby here in the first place, you know we live in a death trap.”

 Jo stared at Alex for a second more before wrapping one arm around him and pressing herself into his side, a relieved breath leaving her as she took him in, “Oh my god, you’re here. I’ve been so worried about you.”

 “I’m fine, Iowa was just… a lot,” Alex pressed another kiss into Jo’s hair before looking at the baby in her arms, who was now fighting to keep his eyes open. “Seriously, who’s kid is this? This is a newborn, who the hell gave you their brand new baby?”

 A soft chuckle left Jo as Alex scooped the baby out of her arms, his hands dwarfing the infant as he pressed him close to his chest. The sight made Jo’s heart stutter, the baby instantly curling close to Alex, “He’s a Safe Haven baby, I just picked him up a few hours ago but I figured he could use some love before I took him to the hospital. And now that you’re back I can use you as an excuse, you know since you’re the baby expert and all.”

 “Well, he looks happy and healthy to me. And I guess I am the baby expert because he’s asleep,” Alex leaned down to kiss Jo on the lips, holding her close as he took a deep breath and relished in the feeling of being home. “I missed you.” “I missed you too. Everything okay back home,” Jo asked, eyes searching Alex’s. He didn’t reveal anything though, instead opting to press his free hand into her back and hold her close. “We can talk later, I gotta figure out what to do with this little one since we don’t have a crib around here.”

 “Grab the laundry basket,” Jo looked up at Alex in confusion at his statement, a laugh escaping him as he took in her expression. “I’m serious, I used to do it for Amber all the time. Just lay a pillow in the bottom and put him in. I’ll watch him and you can get some sleep.”

 Jo threw one last curious look over her shoulder at him before walking off to grab what he’d suggested. Alex turned his attention to the snoozing baby on his chest, the warm feeling radiating from the little body comforting his anxious mind. A quiet yawn left the little boy as he attempted to snuggle further into his chest, Alex’s heart stuttering at the sight. He’d held hundreds of babies over the years, but something about standing in the home that he and Jo had created together with a newborn resting against him made his heart swell.

 “One laundry basket bassinet, ready to go,” Jo held up the basket with a grin, eyeing Alex who hadn’t even attempted to pull his eyes off of the baby in his arms. “C’mon, pop him in so I can get a shower and some sleep, he hasn’t let me put him down all afternoon.”

 Alex finally looked up to Jo, a grin overtaking his face as he shook his head, “I’ll hold him a bit longer, you can go jump in the shower if you want. We’ll be fine out here.”

 Holding back her comment on Alex’s unwillingness to let the baby go, Jo pressed a kiss to her husband’s lips before heading into the bathroom. Alex settled himself onto the couch, one hand lazily stroking the infant’s back as his own eyes began to flutter shut.

 “You know, Jo had the same kinda start you’re getting and she’s still pretty badass,” Alex let a soft chuckle out, the vibrations of his chest prompting the baby to nestle further into him. “Probably shouldn’t be swearing around an infant. Whatever, I think you’ll be fine, little man. You’ll find someone who loves you very much.”

 His over exerted body didn’t take long to relax into the couch cushions, the weight of the baby on his chest lulling Alex into the most peaceful sleep he’d gotten in weeks. He let his mind wander as he drifted off, thoughts going to a place where laying on the couch with a sleeping baby was his everyday and not just something that happened by chance. 

 That’s where Jo found him half an hour later when she exited the bathroom, a small grin on her face as she knelt next to the couch. Her fingers gently threaded through Alex’s hair as she waited for him to wake up, tired eyes taking in the smirk on her face, “What’re you smiling about?”

 “Nothing, you just look good with a baby on your chest,” Jo pressed a quick kiss against Alex’s lips as he grinned at her. “I want one.”

 Alex’s brows furrowed as he looked to Jo, not understanding what exactly she was saying, “Want one what?”

 “A baby,” Jo utters the words as if they’re the most natural thing ever and Alex swears if there wasn’t a sleeping child on his chest he would’ve leapt up in surprise. “I want a baby. With you. I want to try for a baby.”

 Alex stared up at his wife for a moment, an expression of awe playing across his face as he took in what she had said to him. If he had things his way they would’ve had a baby as soon as they tied the knot, but he knew that he had to wait for Jo to be ready before they took that step. If he was honest with himself, he’d known for a long time that his wife was the person he wanted to start a family with. When he’d dropped his pants and jokingly asked her for a baby he had known for sure if she had said yes that it would’ve all worked out. Of course the two of them had been to hell and back since then, but now… Well now he could barely believe the words Jo was uttering.

 “Did I finally render you speechless,” Jo’s teasing tone and shining eyes snapped Alex out of his daze, one hand coming to pull her closer to him. “Is that a yes?”

 “It’s a hell yes,” Alex chuckled as Jo pressed her lips to his, both of them uncontrollably grinning when they pulled apart. “I really did miss you, I could’ve used you out there.” “Well I’m here now, we can talk about it later,” Jo reached for the baby in his arms, placing him in the makeshift bassinet before turning and settling herself on Alex’s lap. “I’d love to stay up all night with you and get some baby making practice in, but I’m exhausted and there’s a newborn in our laundry hamper that needs to be supervised.”

 “You go sleep, I slept the whole flight back,” Alex pulled Jo in for another kiss, his fingers threading through her hair as he tried to bring her closer to him. Pulling back with a grin, Jo placed one more kiss on his lips before untangling herself and heading towards their bed. “I love you.” “I love you too,” Jo settled herself under the covers, meeting Alex’s gaze once more. “And I’ll love all our children. Or at least one child…”

[this-is-what-makes-us-fandoms]

Pretty Boy || Lab Rats ||

Requested: Hey! I'm a huge fan of Lab Rats &I always LOOOVE Chase but curious about hero front of it (i haven't gotten to see the new Elite Force yet!) I'm kinda curious how he would do with a gf when they were in high school that was kept a secret and he finds out by fluke she's a super? If it is too much to ask for you can ignore this, I just need fluffy Chase with superGF and secret relationship because why not? Everything else is a secret?? (Cookie)

Pairing: Chase Davenport x Reader

Warnings: A lil bit of swearing

Words: 2.5K

A/N: Hi! This is done! A little shitty but I feel proud of it. To the anon who requested this, I hope it came out to your liking. The ending was a little cheesy but that’s because I don’t know how to write... :D

It was the end of the day and you were standing in front of your locker, putting away what you didn’t need and grabbing what you did. You had a knee up, pressed against the lockers to keep your bag steady as you tried to neatly stuff it with material. You felt arms snake around your waist, almost making you lose your balance from the slight surprise. But you knew who it was, a smile appeared on your face as you zipped up your bag so you could give your attention to your boyfriend.

“And to what do I owe this display of affection,” You mused, leaning into his embrace.

“For being so cute,” He answered, planting a kiss on top of your head.

“Well not that I’m complaining but someone might see us. And if I remember correctly, you wanted to keep our relationship a secret, for whatever reason,” You said, hearing him sigh, making your smile stretch wider.

You loved teasing him, especially since he’s such a touchy-feely kind of guy and couldn’t show it out in public. Why? Well, he wanted to keep your relationship between the two of you, something about wanting to enjoy it before others found out. But it’s not like you minded, it just meant you got him all to yourself without having to worry about anyone interrupting.

You felt him unwrap his arms around you and you turned to look at him, a frown on his face. He saw the teasing glint in your eyes and rolled his own at you. He knew that you didn’t actually want an answer and just wanted to get a rise out of him. You understood his reasoning for keeping your relationship a secret and you were more than okay with it.

“I’m joking. Do you have any training today? We can go back to mine, do our homework and then watch some movies,” You suggested.

“Nope, I’m all yours this afternoon,” He replied, grinning widely.

“Great, let’s go,” You said, matching his smile.

The two of you were heading out the doors when you heard a phone go off. Chase dug around in his pocket and pulled out his phone, a familiar look crossing his face. You knew that look, it meant that he just got a mission alert and your plans were being thrown out the window. He looked over at you, a guilty look on his face that further confirmed your suspicions.

“Mission alert?” You questioned.

You looked up at him, he had a hard look on his face that said it was a bad one. “Yeah, it looks like there was a bridge collapse. There are still tons of civilians trapped.”

“Oh my god! Go! Go be a hero please,” You said, practically pushing out the school doors.

Chase smiled at you, glad to have such an understanding and accepting girlfriend. He looked around the area, making sure no one was looking your way. When he was sure the two of you were in the clear, he gave you a quick peck on the cheek. You wanted to return the kiss but he was gone before you could, but just in time too. You felt your own phone vibrate, looks like duty called for you too.

By the time you got there, the bionic trio were already there, doing what they could. Bree was speeding citizens off the bridge while Chase and Adam worked at keeping the bridge up. You noticed a cable wire snap off, heading straight for Chase. You flew over to it, reaching it just a couple inches before it hit Chase. He heard the noise of the falling cable, looking over to it and barely reacting to it. Just when he thought it was going to crush him, it stopped inches away.

You threw it to the side, revealing your superhero form to Chase. “It’s you!” He exclaimed.

“Hey, pretty boy, missed me?” You asked, a flirty tone in your voice.

He huffed and rolled his eyes at your flirty nature and the nickname you dubbed him with. “No... but thanks for the save, I owe you one.”

“Anytime, pretty boy. Now fill me in on the situation,” You replied.

“The bridge is on the verge of collapsing. Adam and I are doing our best to keep the bridge up while Bree super speeds everyone off. But we’re running out of time and there’s still civilians trapped on the bridge,” Chase explained.

“Got it. I’ll help in what ever way I can,” You said.

You flew off to help civilians and making sure the bridge didn’t collapse any further. You were helping a couple of trapped people, not noticing the cable wire that was about to snap off. You got them out of there safely, just in time for the cable to come flying off. It hit and sent you flying downwards, shock rippled through you at the sudden hit. The shock rendered you unable to think straight, the only thing going through your head was how you were going to pummel into the ground.

You closed your eyes and braced yourself for painful impact but it never came. Instead you found yourself in strong steady arms. You opened your eyes and saw Chase staring down at you, a worried look on his face. For a second you forgot you were in your hero attire and not civilian clothing. You had to get out of his embrace before he recognized it was you behind the mask. He didn’t quite know about your alter-ego yet and this isn’t exactly how you wanted him to find out.

“Ah, um, I have a boyfriend!” You exclaimed, leaping out of his embracing and crashing onto the ground.

Seriously, that was the first thing you decided to say, how freaking embarrassing. You didn’t want to get off the ground, not after shouting something like that out.

“Um, sure. I wasn’t trying to imply anything,” He said, confused by your sudden outburst.

“Right sorry, I'm just not used to be saved. Thanks, pretty boy,” You replied.

“Yeah no problem. Bree got everyone safely of the bridge, we have to get off before the whole bridge collapses on us,” Chase told you.

He stretched his hand out for you to take, helping you up once you did. You raced off the bridge once you were up, just in time as the rest of it collapsed. You left the civilians in the hands of the paramedics and the police.

“So, are you finally gonna tell us who you are?” Chase asked once you were all far away enough.

“Sorry, pretty boy, but that’s one secret I can’t reveal,” You told him.

He rolled his eyes, expecting that answer. “Right, sure. You get to know who we are but we don’t.”

“Hey, just because you revealed your identity to the world doesn’t mean I have to. Some things are sacred,” You replied. “Anyway, look at the time, I have to get going. See you around, pretty boy.”

You left before Chase had the chance to say anything, making him sigh heavily. You had a tendency to do that, leave with the last word. It really irked him, more so since he knew nothing about you. You just showed up out of the blue, helping them on a mission that was going badly. They appreciated the help, and all the help after that but they were still a little weary about you. They didn’t know you so they didn’t know if they could completely trust you. More so since they weren’t sure what you were, some of your abilities weren’t bionic.

You got home and changed into something more comfortable before flopping onto your bed. You sighed and let yourself relax, today was a little more stressful than expected. You had gotten a little too close to Chase today, you were lucky he didn’t recognize you. If he had, that would have been such an awkward conversation that you weren’t ready to have. Or rather one you were scared to have.

How do you tell your boyfriend that you’re a superhero? You didn’t want him to freak out, especially since the world of superheroes was a well-kept secret. Specifically, because of how the public might react. You didn’t want to scare him away, you had to handle this delicately and well thought out.

Your phone started ringing, snapping you out of your thoughts; speak of the devil. “Hey babe! How was the bridge mission?”

“We managed to save everyone but the bridge still collapsed. She showed up again though,” He told you.

“Ah yes, this mystery hero. How was it this time? Was she still helpful?” You asked, pretending as if you knew nothing.

“Yeah, she helped us get everyone off faster. Although, something weird did happen. She got hit by a cable wire and almost fell to the ground but I managed to catch her. She freaked out though, I don’t know why,” He explained.

“Ha, what a weirdo. Maybe she was mesmerized by how hot you are,” You joked.

“Right, I’m sure that’s what it was. Seriously though, it was weird how she reacted like that.”

“Alright, calm down pretty boy. I’m sure she just didn’t expect the save.”

“Wait...What did you just say?”

“I said calm down pr—Shit. Uh, I gotta go.”

You quickly hung up the phone before he could say anything, tossing it to the side. You groaned loudly and threw both hands over your face. How could you be so stupid? You never called him pretty boy, at least not in your civilian form. That’s how you separated yourself from girlfriend and superhero. As his girlfriend, you didn’t need to try so hard because you were already together. And not to mention the whole let’s keep our relationship a secret thing. But as a superhero, you had more range of motion and could flirt and tease him because it didn’t mean anything.

But now, you’ve crossed that line and there was no going back. You felt your phone vibrate next to you, you didn’t have to check to see that it was Chase calling. You ignored it, waiting until it stopped ringing before you turned it off completely. You’d no doubt that he had figured it out by now, he knew that you were this mysterious supergirl. You had no choice but to tell him the truth now, but you didn’t know if you could actually face him. What if he leaves you because you lied to him, because you kept such a huge secret from him? The thought scared you more than anything, you couldn’t risk Chase leaving you. You loved him, like really loved; he was the first guy that really ever understood you.

You sighed heavily, feeling defeated and stupid, there really was no getting out of this one. Out of all the stupid things you could’ve done, this was the one you had to pick. Lucky for you though, tomorrow was the start of the weekend so you could just avoid Chase until Monday. You sighed again, no point in exhausting yourself with this right now. It wouldn’t change anything; Chase would still know about your secret identity. You should just get some sleep and figure this out in the morning.

You were stirred out of your slumber by loud pounding coming all the way from your front door. Who the hell was knocking this early in the morning? You reluctantly crawled out of bed and headed downstairs, grumpy that someone disrupted your sleep.

You opened the door, barely registering who was behind it. “Can I hel—Chase?”

“Finally! Do you know how worried I’ve been? I thought something happened to you,” He exclaimed.

“I can explain, wait, you were worried?” You questioned.

“Yes! I mean, I’m still really confused about all of this. But my first priority is making sure you’re okay,” He said, face softening in worry.

Your heart did a jump against your chest, he was more worried about you than your big secret. God, how could you ever think he’d leave you. “I’m sorry. I just panicked, this was never supposed to happen. But, now that it has, I owe you an explanation.”

You invited him in and walked over to the couch where the two of you sat down. Silence engulfed the two of you while you tried to find the right words to say. Where do you start?

“So, why didn’t you tell me?” He asked, breaking the silence.

You took a deep breath before starting your explanation. “I was going to tell you, eventually, I just didn’t know how. I’m mean I can’t exactly just say that I’m secretly a superhero, especially since we’re supposed to stay secret.”

“Okay, but that doesn’t explain why you couldn’t tell me. I mean, I’m your boyfriend, I thought you’d at least have a little more trust in me,” He said.

“No, you’re right, you’re absolutely right. I didn’t tell you because I was scared of how you’d you react. I didn’t want you to leave because of this, because you found out your girlfriend was a superhero with superpowers. Superpowers and bionics are completely different, my abilities can’t be explained with science. I didn’t want that to freak you out. And I know, I should have trusted you with this. I’m sorry, but now that you know, I hope you still decide to be my boyfriend.”

“Are you kidding, of course I still want to be your boyfriend. I mean, I still don’t understand all of this, superpowers just sound ridiculous. But if its you, I’m willing to learn more and understand all this superhero stuff.”

“Really, you mean it? I mean, I totally understand if this is too weird for you.”

“Yes really. I love you and I want to know everything about you, even the weird superhero thing.”

You smiled widely and jumped him, wrapping your arms around him and hugging him tight. You couldn’t be happier, Chase accepted both sides of you and now you no longer had anything to hide. You heard him laugh, feeling it vibrate off his chest as he wrapped his arms around.

“So, you’re really a superhero?” He asked, still a little shocked and confused by the sudden news.

Now it was your turn to laugh at him, you were in for a long road of explanation.

[drkcnry67]

age doesnt matter, i love you for you

title: age doesnt matter, i love you for you

pairing: John x reader

kink: chair sex

fluff: age gap

rating: 18+

TAGS/WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS SEXUAL CONTENT, DO NOT READ IF UNDER THE AGE OF 18. BY TUMBLRS LAWS YOU SHOULDNT HAVE ACCESS TO THAT TYPE OF CONTENT. THIS STORY CONTAINS LOSS OF VIRGINITY, GETTING THRUSTED WHILE ONE PERSON IS SITTING IN A CHAIR, HAVING SEX WHILE SITTING ON THE LAP OF SOMEONE SITTING IN A CHAIR, SEX WITHOUT A CONDOM, OLD GUY AND YOUNG GIRL (NOT UNDERAGE), SMUT AND LOTS OF IT, I LOVE THE SMELL OF SMUT IN THE MORNING, MOANING, SCREAMING SOMEONE'S NAME, THE SOUND OF THE CHAIR ROCKING.

mentioning @spnfluffbingo @spnkinkbingo @sweetness47

kink fluff

The day your world changed was the day you took up hunting, the day you first met him... That's right a man, a real one who was not afraid to get his hands dirty.

You decided to take on a hunt that included you walking yourself and your machete into a vampire den.

You ended up getting knocked against a tree hurt really bad. That's when you heard a voice yell up from beside you.

John: hey pee-brains, leave the lady alone.

You turn to see a man standing there, a man, ragged rough and handsome to boot. He was in front of you Ina instant...

John: are you alright miss?

Yn: no somethings definately out of place... I'll reset at my hotel room. Stand me up and let's finish taking these guys out.

John helped you up, you were not in the best shape but you managed, it only takes one arm to swing a machete to slice off vampire heads.

John: all done, I've also done the gasoline already. All that's left is to throw the lighter.

You were now being held upright by John as you lit the lighter and threw it into the bodies.

John: once at the car give me directions to your motel room... We will go to whether you are staying, it will be a nice change from sleeping in my car...

You kinda giggle as John and you arrive at his car... You are placed in the front seat, John goes round to his side and climbs in beside you... He drives down the interstate, you direct him...

Before he got out of the car you handed him your room key... you both walked into the hotel room, john holding you upright as he locked the door and placed the bag on the ground.

John: you were good out there, but your shoulder needs to be reset...

Yn: alright how...

John: well here this should help a bit.

John hands you a bottle of whiskey and allows you to reposition as you sit into he corner of the bed.

You take a few swigs of whiskey before John takes the bottle and places it on the far table.. he then comes up and resets your shoulder.

You kinda screamed slightly as the pain was immediately felt. but instead of handing you the whiskey, he instead gave you some room to remove your bloody shirt... but instead notices your struggling.

john: i know this isnt exactly the best of situations, you want help getting out of the bloody shirt. i mean you are gonna probably in alot of pain and a shoulder needs time to heal before it can be properly used but in order for the healing process to start properly you need to be wearing something less constricting.

yn: i feel so stupid, i shouldnt have gone into that nest half cocked. i havent been hunting long, i was trying to find the vamp that killed my parents. so far i have nothing. nothing that proves im any kind of hunter.

john: well maybe i can help you, find the thing that killed your parents. do you remember what it was?

before you could respond you realized that john was alot closer to you than he was before. he also wasnt wearing a shirt. well you lost your train of thought as you felt his hands lift your shirt gently off you.

you could smell the slight amount of whiskey in his breath as his eyes just stayed locked with your own. his lips pursed slightly at the sight of you and him being so close.

john took his chance, he kissed your lips, rendering your words useless. oh this wasnt all that he did, you guys went at it, well slowly, but kinda quickly. it started with kissing, then john gently helped you to lay back far enough so you both were laying on the bed.

john then made quick work to remove any remaining clothing items. his breathing between kisses was exhilerating you almost forgot about your shoulder, if not for the gentle movements of john, who was being mindful in the first place of your injury.

but without going too much further into detail, you lost your virginity that night and forgot for a short time about your shoulder. you were eternally grateful that John was the one to save you, you felt like you owed him a debt right then, but none as deep as what you would feel in a few months...

that was the start of your journey with john, you knew it wouldnt be easy but you went along with it. you guys found and killed the vampire that killed your parents you got justice for them. Together you and john fought/slayed monsters and demons from nevana to Georgia and up the east coast.

But then he disappeared on you and without any explanation, note or reason. He was just gone. Like a ghost, like he never existed.

You on the other hand now living a wonderful life within central Nebraska, hunting with a woman named Ellen and her daughter Jo.

Jo: alright mom where's the nest?

Ellen: for the last time Jo it's not a good idea for you to be in the field.

Jo: mom it's a vamp nest what makes tonight so much more different than any other night.

You look outside and see it immediately.

Yn: Jo have you looked at the sky..

Jo: no why

You wave her over to your side.

Jo: oh cool some wolves to kill too...

You look at her with a half smile.

Ellen: no you girls are not going out there with werewolves on the loose just to hunt some vamps trust me they will still be there another night plus I need help running the bar.

You and Jo looked from Ellen to eachother and then you went behind the bar with Jo and the night shift began...

All was quiet till a bunch of gunshots rang outside the building. This was turning into a home hunt... You and Jo with your machetes now joining the party, 2 lads with guns and a older gentlemen on the outside finishing off 3 out there...

Ellen came down the stairs to the ruckus. In time for her to see who had brought the party to her bar.

Ellen: well well well, if it isn't the Winchester boys. Hunting as a family I see...

Ellen has ushered to the doorway where the one person who in a million lifetimes you never thought you would ever see again... The same man who up and left you all those years ago, well actually it was only 2 years prior and it was indeed he...

Your eyes went wide with shock.. You knew his first name and he knew yours... So of course his surprise when he saw you...

Both of you approaching...

Yn: John

John: Yn it's been too long...

Yn: yes it has...

Ellen and Jo along with the other 2 boys in the room round yours and Jo's ages now also starring at yours and John's reunion. But it was Ellen who spoke.

Ellen: I vote we clean up the mess of bodies, burn them, and then we drink while these 2 explain how they know eachother...

You and Jo help drag out the bodies and you light the match that sets them ablaze.

You go behind the bar and pull out glasses and whiskey that which was poured and you stayed behind the bar wiping down glasses and the counter.

John: I saved yn's life about 2 years this day, we both hunted together for a while, but when I got a call from missouri about the boys visiting her I knew I had to come back... So I left while Yn was sleeping... No note no nothing. The classic Winchester way... I didn't think I would ever see her again, as I'm sure she was sure that she would never see me again. It was the classic Winchester gentlemen charm, save the lady stay with her for a while then leave without notice or warning in the middle of the night.

You shrugged it off as he just stared at you, you went into the back to grab more shot glasses.

Jo: well since those vamps are taken care of and I don't really think that...

Ellen: well I mean it's the Winchester boys, Jo hunny, let's show these boys their rooms so they can freshen up, and get some zzz's I think Yn and John need to talk..

Jo comes behind the counter to give you a hug and you smile...

Yn: don't worry Jo I'll be OK... Make sure those 2 don't get into trouble.... Plus I'll see you in the morning... You will most likely be sleeping when I'm done. I love you Jo...

Jo: OK. Love you too girl. Mom Yn is gonna lock up and clean up... You are ordered to get some sleep...

Ellen: thanks honey... I'll see you in the morning.

Jo, Ellen, Sam and Dean left to the upper parts. You and John were down in the main floor. John approached the counter slowly...

John: can I help with anything.

Yn: you can put the chairs on the tables... And explain why you left in the first place..

John removed and hung his coat... He started stacking the chairs on top of each table... You finished cleaning the bar and went to turn down the blinds, and close the sign.

Locking the door as well you smiled lightly for this was the first time you had been round John since that day. You were not gonna do anything to mess that up.

John: I left cause I got the call from a friend Missouri that the boys had been in to see her. You were not in any danger when I left, and I figured you were capable of handling yourself.

Yn: handling myself John I was alone... More alone than I ever had been if I hadn't met Jo and Ellen I would be living off the street hunting and killing whatever I could to survive.

John looked at you he had no idea that you felt that way...

John: I would have stayed if not for the call... I would never have left your side... I had made a vow to protect my boys to keep them away from the thing that killed their mother. But I failed... I failed the promise I made to their mother by raising the boys to be hunters... They are spit fires tho, but through everything they are the best damn thing to ever happen to me.

You turned around to see him sitting in the chair... You went to sit in his lap, when there was a perfectly good chair beside him... But you had an alterier motive for doing so.

yn: you took my virginity from me the night you saved my life. you are the only man i have ever felt anything for, sure others have tried but none of them were you. i feel complete with you are john. when you left you broke me. if not for ellen and jo i would have been dead or worse. please next time you get a call or something like that lets discuss it like adults for now, take me right here on this chair, show me the reason why you and i fell in love that night you saved my life, show me the reason why you and i were so perfectly matched.

john didnt need to be told twice, your shirt immediately was torn off, the crotch in your jeans now had a large hole in them, you made quick work to undo johns belt/jeans and remove his shirt.

your panties were torn and johns cock was beneath your dripping wet pussy. you grinded against him, making him harder and bigger. you were so wet, it was dripping onto the floor, onto your needing to be cleaned floor.

you knew what was coming next, you knew that this was the night the moment you had been waiting for, for the past 2 years.

john: here i come baby girl!

you got wetter as john slid his now really hard cock into your extremely wet pussy this almost caused you to cry out.

You and John as far as you both knew were the only 2 still awake in the roadhouse, neither of you thinking that someone might still be awake listening to what's happening.

Meanwhile, Jo and Dean were playing cards.

Jo: so did your dad ever mention that...

Dean: what that he and your best friend had a thing nope... By the way pick up 10...

Jo threw a pillow at Dean as she picked up 10 cards.

Jo: do you think they will ya know... Be a proper item now.

Dean: well dad has deserved some sort of happiness after all he has been hunting longer than any of us yungens... It's quiet down there though.

Jo took a second to listen...

Jo: no it's not I can hear a chair rocking I think or squeaking at the very least... Whatever is going on I don't want to know and I really wish I didn't have enhanced hearing or a direct line to hear what yn is doing. It makes it kinda difficult when we are working downstairs, but useful when we are hunting but at the same time we don't have to shout cause we can telepathically communicate when both sides have it tuned in, otherwise it's one sided radio basically.

Dean: so your tuned in to what yn and my dad are doing...

Jo nods and kinda shifts her position Dean takes notice of this and kinda brings her to sit on his lap...

Jo: I thought...

Dean: Jo I've been in love with you since that first day I met you... Your mother scared me though. But now I think is the perfect time for us to...

That was it, that terminated any link to your thoughts that Jo was tuned into. For she now like you was having her own fun.

You and John however were on round 5 at this point. A couple times though John had whispered the same phrase over and over again in your ear, he kept saying, "I hope you are pregnant..."

After round 5 was done a few moments later John kissed you but something felt off... It was strange for you didn't think anything of it till his eyes shifted to black...

You immediately took a file of holy water and yelled,

Yn: back off you unholy freak. Get out of my man... Exorciamous te omnis immundus spiritus omnis satanica potestas omnis incursio infernalis adversaraii omnis legion omnis congregatio insectas diabolica ergo draco malidic te eclesium securum facious libertatum te regamos adios bitch!

John's body froze black smoke filled the devil's trap on the ceiling. This was why John wasn't really moving, this was why John once he sat down didn't get back up.

Once the smoke had dispursed you kinda fashioned a tablecloth covering for yourself and did John back up. Before calling for help.

Yn: help someone please come down here.

In moments footsteps flooded the stairs Jo and Dean were the last to come down for they had to get decent too.

Ellen and Sam were the first to arrive into he scene. You realized that they would have questions.

Ellen: what...

Yn: I'll explain later, I'll also pay for any repairs but Ellen we have to get him to the room, please. He will be more comfortable there.

Ellen: alright sweetie, but how did he get possessed.

You then took his shirt and moved it to the side. His anti possession mark has been severed. You banged the floor with your fist.

The only person you let help you off the ground into hat moment was Jo, for she was your best friend she was the only other person in your life you trusted.

Ellen: boys help your father to his room, Jo take yn to the room too. We can deal with this in the morning.

Yn: no Ellen we nee...

Before you could speak the rest of your sentence, you were silenced by a familiar grunt. This pursuaded you to immediately go to the kitchen and grab the mop and broom and dustpan and with Jo and Ellen against better judgement clean up yours and John's mess.

You then followed your best friend to the room where your man now lay, the boys Sam and Dean standing outside the door

Sam: he has been asking for you...

You walked inside and shut the door for the night, hearing the light switches and lowered voices you knew they would all be out like lights soon.

John: how did... I mean did we...

You placed your finger to his mouth...

Yn: yes we did, you were possessed by a demon who didn't actually reveal himself to be one till about halfway through... I feel so dirty.

John: cuddle with me, when I get my legs back in the morning tho I will pound you into the middle of next week...

Yn: we have time John we have nothing but time. Don't worry about anything.

You missed his lips and made out till he passed out from exhaustion. You turned off the lamp after taking off the table cloth and removing your torn clothes and John's belt and boots.

You pulled your blanket over John, then you crawled under it, snuggling into the warmth that was John. His gentle steady heart beat now lulling you to sleep, your placed your head on his chest, knowing your heart was finally home.

[astoria00]

Crimson Calling

Summary: When Cinder's and Ruby's powers clashed they both winded up in a rather different version of Remnant than the one they were used to. Now they both try to find their way back on their own, asking help in familiar places with...questionable consequences.

Pairing: Salem x Cinder

Genre: Angst; kinda dark

Word Count: 2.7k

Warnings: Non-Con; Dub-Con, Manipulation

[Small one shot series; Cinder/Ruby in later chapters; noncon/dubcon for first one shot]

This world was certainly strange.

Cinder had no other words to describe it. As similar as everything appeared…it was not the Remnant she knew. The one she learned to fear and despise.

Especially Salem gave her some…really mixed signals.

Of course she wouldn’t dare to insinuate that she had the literal goddess of hate incarnate all figured out, but…there was a subtle…difference in her behavior.

And they all seemed to involve her for some reason.

Lingering touches, incredibly gentle smiles…last night Salem had even dined with her. It had been strange and ridiculously awkward, but also quite enjoyable.

There had been a time where her Salem had treated her quite the same way, earning Cinder that accursed title of the favorite, and yet it was easily explained by the fact that she had been a child back then.

Not that Salem didn’t still hold her to some higher standards most of the time…but she since had abandoned overly sentimental displays of emotion and respected her boundaries.

Cinder sighed and leaned a bit heavier against the inner wall of the chimney.

Whenever she felt unruly and unsettled the urge to retreat to a safe spot became so overpowering that she had given up fighting it.

So far it seemed to work.

Salem left her alone whenever she hid herself in here and she was glad to find out it was the same in this world as well.

She needed to think…to clear her head.

This world’s Salem had promised to help her return to her own version of Remnant.

There was nothing to worry about.

If someone was able to pull that feat off it was her.

Salem is obsessed with me.

Rubbing her temples Cinder tried to blank out what her otherworldly self had told her.

She didn’t know anything!

Traveling with the likes of those bandits and Ruby Rose.

Running away from Salem, from her ensured way to power?

What a laughable version of herself.

Not even a maiden…

‘How pathetic.’

Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Thinking about this was ridiculous!

Salem had always valued talent and a certain drive for reaching one’s full potential.

Her…rather strong interest could be easily explained by never having truly gotten to know her Cinder…seeing as that one was a spineless coward, so how could Salem not try to treat her in a fairly affectionate manner?

Still…she really wanted to get back home again.

“Do you enjoy being in this place, Cinder?

I have seen you…visiting that spot for quite a few days now.”

Startled, Cinder peered up out of the fireplace.

Of course this Salem would find her just as soon as she had stopped thinking about her.

Oh well.

“Just a habit of mine I cannot seem to get rid of”, she answered pleasantly, hoping to hide her uneasiness.

“No need to discomfort yourself on my behalf.”

‘Dammit!’

The master of grimm smiled amused, inclining her head amicably.

“May I sit with you?”

‘Sit…‘

With her…inside a chimney?

This question felt more than a little strange to her.

The maiden couldn’t help but have a…bad feeling about this.

But this was Salem they were talking about.

How could she refuse her master?

“Of course, but…it is not really the most spacious place…”

“I don’t mind”, came the prompt answer, as Salem ducked inside the fireplace, sitting across from Cinder, as the girl backed away somewhat, trying to put some form of distance between them.

Crimson eyes settled on her almost teasingly.

“Are you nervous, Cinder?”

As much as she wanted to deny it…she knew it wasn’t in her best interest to lie to the older woman, other world or not.

“Yes, naturally being this close to someone in such minimal space is bound to make me a tad…unsettled.”

She could see that Salem approved of her choice of words by that pleased smile of hers that flitted over her features.

“I enjoy your honesty.

But you are correct. It is rather…cramped inside this chimney.

Which begs the question…what are you hiding from?”  

‘What?!’

Jumping to her feet heatedly, Cinder stated vehemently:

“I’m not hiding from anybody!”, bumping her head against the hard stone roof, she winced from the pain and slumped down again rather unceremoniously, rubbing over the sore spot.

Chuckling quietly, Salem shook her head in amusement.

“You are a terrible liar, Cinder.”

Have you lied to me?!

A dreadful feeling settled in the pit of her stomach, as she hurriedly replied, almost stumbling over her words:

“I am not a liar! I-”

Cinder trailed off, taking a deep breath to calm herself down, before continuing in a far more controlled way,

“Frankly I believe this topic might be a bit too…private for me, so I would like to stop talking about it now.”

On second thought, maybe she shouldn’t have revealed that part after all.

She…didn’t quite like the gleam that had entered Salem’s eyes.

And she especially didn’t appreciate her leaning in far too close for comfort just to ask:

“How private?”

Alarm bells began to ring in Cinder’s ears, as she tried to backpedal somewhat, fighting the impulse to flinch away and huddle in the corner.

“Too private to discuss it with a stranger.”

A dark look crossed Salem’s features, but it was gone so soon that Cinder couldn’t be sure if she hadn’t just imagined it.

“A stranger you say…”, the older woman pondered over her words, a very sweet note to her tone,

“But aren’t I far more to you than that?”

That…was oddly specific.

“Yes, but-”, the maiden admitted begrudgingly, trying to process the truth behind those words, only to be interrupted, by her master tugging her a bit closer, forcing her to stare into these blood red orbs.

“And wasn’t it you who basically invited me to sit and share this place with you?”

‘…huh?’

Was that how it happened?

She wasn’t sure.

Their close proximity caused her head to spin

“I…”

Salem embraced her completely, just like she had done countless times since the maiden had gotten here, lowering her voice to nothing but a whisper.

“Does that not mean you trust me?

That you feel safe in my presence?”

It all felt so strange and yet…so familiar.

“I…do…”

Had her voice always sounded like that?

“But of course I won’t pry.”

Salem’s hands ghosted over her shoulders, giving her an ominous smile.

“Whatever happened…whoever dared to lay their hands on you, I will destroy them!

Even in this world if I have to.

Do you know why, Cinder?”

No, she didn’t, but she couldn’t bring herself to say anything.

There was this…sickening feeling inside her gut, a mix of disgust and…anticipation, when Salem gently lifted her head some more.

“Because my love for you knows no limit…or boundaries.”

And with that she bridged the remaining distance and captured Cinder’s lips.

The alarm bells that had rung inside the maiden’s head abruptly stopped, as the sensation registered within her brain, rendering it utterly useless.

Salem seemed to take her response rather positive, smiling into the kiss, deepening it slightly, letting her hands run through Cinder’s unruly hair, causing the girl to twitch involuntarily.

It…didn’t feel entirely unpleasant.

The warmth that began to rise inside her…the tingling spreading through her body…

‘What’s…happening to me?’

Cinder had never felt like this before.

So…entranced…so…

‘Violated!’

A wave of nausea washed over her, as disgust crept up on her, settling in the pit of her stomach. She tried to back away, to break the kiss, to press herself against the wall behind her and just push Salem away, but she was unable to move.

‘Please stop!’

As if her prayers were being answered, Salem pulled away with a satisfied hum, licking her lips in such a sensual way that her stomach flipped.

Why was she reacting like this?

This was her mentor, her mother even!

She was sick even thinking about her that way and yet…she felt strangely aroused by her.

‘Wrong…this is so wrong!’

Peering into these crimson eyes that seemed to want to devour her, the maiden shuddered noticeably.

She felt trapped, like prey in front of its predator.

“Please…”

Her voice sounded strangled and unnatural, even to her own ears.

So vulnerable and…insecure.

Salem’s expression softened, tugging Cinder closer, before pressing a long finger to her lips gently.

“Shh, let me love you, Cinder.”

‘…love?’

Was that what this was supposed to be?

Did that mean she could just…refuse it?

“I-”

The rest of her words were immediately swallowed by Salem kissing her again with even more vigor, eliciting a sudden gasp from her in the process.

A moment the master of grimm didn’t let slip by.

Quick wittedly she slipped her tongue inside the dark haired girl’s mouth, the contact making Cinder jolt backwards, hitting the wall with her back in the process.

Salem loosened the hold she had on her, using them to balance herself, as she decided to trap the maiden further using the weight of her body, causing the girl to squirm and struggle against her grasp. Her kiss became even more fiery, as she tried to tempt the girl into reciprocating her motions, letting her tongue tease Cinder’s.

“Hngh.”

A soft whimper tore itself from Cinder’s throat.

‘Feels…’

Odd, wet, strange, weird, overwhelming.

‘…nice…’

It…felt nice?

Her struggles slowed, as her mind was being swarmed by pictures.

Pictures of her and Salem…in bed…entirely naked…entangled into the throws of passion.

Cinder’s stomach churned unpleasantly, but she couldn’t help the heat that pooled in between her legs, feeling her resistance ebb off, as she slowly began to kiss the older woman back, her hands loosely trailing over her shoulders.

Humming at her compliance, Salem drew back, sitting back across from Cinder beckoning her over.

The pictures made the dark haired girl woozy.

She couldn’t help but be lured onto the older woman’s lap.

She didn’t want it to stop and the pull was too strong.

Why had she even wanted to stop in the first place?

Huddling close to her, she initiated a short passionate kiss herself, feeling Salem’s skilled pale hands roaming over her back. The maiden subconsciously followed the touch, as those hands slipped underneath her top, running slow circles along her shoulder blades.

Every nerve inside her seemed to be on fire, when the older woman leaned forward gently nibbling on her ear. Her hot breath causing pleasant tingles to run down her spine.

“Do you feel it?”

Salem’s husky low tone only turned her on further, her breathing having become just as heavy as hers.

“Yes”, Cinder managed to wheeze out, welcoming the slow caresses.

Something…odd was starting to poke against her stomach, but she paid it no mind, helping Salem instead to get rid of her top.

There was such a…need inside her. She wanted the pictures to finally become reality.

How could she have ever thought this wasn’t right?

The master of grimm needed to love her, only then would the fire extinguish.

…but why did she still feel so nauseated by the whole ordeal?

As soon as her top was gone and thrown carelessly aside, Salem mustered her with unmasked hunger in her eyes, leaning in once more to trail a line of kisses down the maiden’s feverish skin. She made her way from Cinder’s neck down towards her collarbone, her soft lips burning on her flesh, as her fingers came into contact with her naked breasts, causing the girl to yelp and trying to shift away from her.

“Don’t fight it, girl.”

The maiden was unable to truly focus on Salem’s words, but her tone let another shudder run through her body, arching her back into the older woman’s touch.

“Hangh!!!”

Cinder’s chest was on fire.

The soft tongue running over her erect nipple caused her to buck her hips forward, tearing a strangled moan from her, as she brushed the kind of hard bulge along the older woman’s lower abdomen.

“Hmmm.”

Salem practically purred at the contact, pulling Cinder closer against it, while rocking upwards.

“Wha-hangh, what’s-?”

‘What is that?’

She wanted to know what brushed against her core over and over again.

It felt so good!

“Shh, Cinder.”

But Salem’s words where almost contradicted by how impatiently she began to pull at the maiden’s shorts, while rocking her hips even harder.

Not that Cinder complained.

She wanted the older woman to finally give her the release she so craved.

Her pants felt so incredibly tight and the friction wasn’t nearly enough.

A new picture flashed through her mind, bringing with it the promise of even greater pleasure yet to come. Of something buried deep inside her. The most intimate connection they could have.

And oh how she wanted it.

“Please, I-hah-…I need-!!!”

Salem sucked harshly at Cinder’s sensitive nipple, making her cry out.

“…You’re right…let’s make love together.

We have both waited for so long.”

‘Finally!’

Lifting her hips to assist the older woman to pull down her shorts and underwear, she breathed harshly, her nerves burning, as all she could think about was what was about to come.

Salem trailed her long fingers along her inner thighs, leaning forward to press a kiss against her damp folds, eliciting another sweet moan from the dark haired girl.

This was beginning to feel like torture.

Cinder could feel her slick juices running down her legs, as her master rubbed teasingly over her clit.

“AHNgh, pl…please…I…hngh…I need you to…aah love me!!!”

Salem chuckled quietly.

“Gods, you are so ready for me.”

One of her hands disappeared from her thigh, fiddling with something Cinder couldn’t see in her half way standing position, when the older woman’s other hand tugged her down onto her lap again, colliding with something hot and pulsing against her entrance.

Yes, this was it.

This was how they would become one!

Following Salem’s guidance she felt the hot member parting her folds, gliding inside without much resistance…until it hit a barrier.

It was in that moment that her master’s other hand joined the one on her hips and began pulling her down…and pleasure was replaced with pain, causing Cinder to tense up, squeezing around the pulsing length.

Salem didn’t let up, a long drawn out moan escaping her lips.

“Ahh, you are so tight, Firefly!”

…

Fire…

‘FIREFLY!!!’

It was as if Cinder had been doused with a bucket of ice cold water, as the reality of what she was about to do hit her full front.

Just…how…?

Memories flashed through her inner eye.

The time Salem read her stories, taught her to fight, hugged her when she was upset, praised her, scolded her…

Pressed her against the wall of the fireplace, kissed her without consent, was currently somehow inside her…

Her thoughts finally caught up with her head.

Her mentor…her mother…was…

‘Inside…-‘

…

Cinder screamed.

She couldn’t remember the last time she did so…to be honest she couldn’t even focus on anything beyond the fact that she wanted, no, NEEDED, to get Salem away from her.

Fire erupted all around her, the sudden outburst of her powers clearly surprising the older woman, as she was blown away, the wall behind her breaking at the force of the impact.

Shaking like a leaf, the maiden stared at her hands in disbelief.

Whirling around she fled from the room, mindlessly running through the castle she had once called her home until she reached the basement, right into the room her world’s Emerald and Mercury had been given once upon a time.

Crawling under the bed, she tried to calm her racing heart.

She had been right!

They all had been right!

This Salem…was dangerous!

‘RUN!’

Cinder needed to get out of here.

And that as fast as possible!

[440mxs-wife]

It Was Always You

Pairing: Sam x Reader

Your phone dinged in your pocket with a text message notification. Your eyes widened as you read the message from Dean. It said they were on their way home, but that Sam got hurt, and to be waiting in the infirmary. He didn't elaborate on Sam's injuries, so you made sure to have suture kits and bandages readily available.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It's been about eight years since you started hunting with the Winchesters. When you met them, you and your hunting partner/boyfriend, Evan, were on a hunt for werewolves. Your intel on the number of werewolves turned out to be wrong, which caused you and Evan to quickly get overwhelmed. At one point, Evan thought that you had gotten them all but the pack leader ambushed him out of nowhere and killed him.

You scrambled to find a hiding place, but knew it was just a matter of time before you were discovered. Just as the pack leader found you, a gunshot rang out and it dropped to the ground. When you looked up, you saw two men standing before you in blood-stained clothes. One of them had spiky hair, glittering green eyes and introduced himself as Dean Winchester. The other man was taller than the first man, with kind, hazel eyes and chestnut brown hair. Sam Winchester.

You had heard of the Winchesters, but never thought you'd ever cross paths with them. They checked you for injuries and rendered first aid. They also helped you with Evan's body in giving him a hunter's funeral. With Evan gone, you had no one else, so Sam and Dean invited you to join forces with them.

Living in the bunker, you settled into a routine with the Winchesters. They did the field work, while you were in charge of the bunker. You mainly researched cases, only hunting when absolutely necessary. You kept the home fires burning and patched up injuries. You waited up for them to come back from a hunt, hoping they would both be in one piece when they got home.

As time went on, you realized that the younger of the two Winchesters had captured your heart. At first, you tried to deny what you were feeling for Sam. You buried your feelings deeper each time he smiled at you, or laughed at something you said. The sidelong glances and lingering touches between you were slowly driving you crazy.

You tried to keep it cool on the outside, but you didn't know how much longer that would last. You already knew that there was no chance that Sam was interested in you "that way". If Sam ever found out how you felt and didn't return your feelings, that could make things weird between the two of you. You just had to keep reminding yourself of these facts, which was proving to be more and more difficult each day.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The bunker door flew open, and in came Dean, with Sam's arm around his shoulder. You had just come back from the infirmary to see Dean trying to maneuver Sam down the stairs. You raced up the steps to sling Sam's other arm around your shoulder to make it easier on both of them. Once in the infirmary, you and Dean managed to get Sam into a sitting position on one of the beds.

"What happened?" you asked Dean as you started to assess Sam's injuries.

"Thought it was a simple salt-and-burn, but turns out, the ghost was working with a couple of demons. We took care of the ghost, then as we turned to leave, the demons showed up. One of them flung Sam at the wall, then started beating on him. I took out the one who came after me, then got the one fighting with Sam," Dean explained.

As Dean is telling you about the hunt, you could see Sam was wincing with each breath. You tried to carefully remove Sam's shirt to check for more injuries. You finally decided that you had no choice but to tear the shirt off of him. Straight out of your fantasies, to be sure, but you harshly reminded yourself to keep your hormones in check. This was for purely medical reasons.

Once his shirt was removed, you could see multiple bruises on his torso. You figured it was probably bruised or cracked ribs, so you taped and bandaged up his side. Sam seemed to be breathing a little easier now that some of the pressure was off.

You continued your examination of Sam for other injuries. You found that he had a cut on his forehead, which likely meant a possible concussion, and he had a sprained ankle. You patched up the head wound, carefully wrapped his ankle and gave him some pain medication.

"Guess you're going to be stuck here for the next few days, Sam. At least until some of the swelling in that ankle goes down," you explained as Dean went to get an ice pack.

"No way, I'll be bored in here. I'll recuperate in my own room," Sam muttered as he attempted to get to his feet.

You forcibly put your hands on Sam's shoulders and got in his face until you were nearly nose-to-nose with him. "Sit. Down. Now, let's recap: you were recently in a fight with a demon, during which you got flung around the room and beaten. At the very least, you have bruised or cracked ribs, a possible concussion and a sprained ankle. You won't be going on any hunts for the near future, either, so I suggest you get comfy, Sam," you quietly but firmly stated.

Sam thought about fighting you about staying put, but the look on your face stopped him. Dean had also brought Sam's pajamas and a clean pair of boxers. Dean helped Sam change clothes, but not before making a lewd comment about how Sam should ask you for help. Then Sam got back in bed, into a sitting position. You placed a pillow under his sprained ankle and pulled the blanket over his bottom half. Sam caught your hand in his as you smoothed out the covers. "Hey? Thank you," he said softly.

You turned around and gave him a worn out smile. "You're welcome, Sam. But you don't have to thank me. I apologize for being so rude about getting you to stay in here, I know it's not an ideal situation. I just don't want to see you get further injured, all because you were stubborn and wouldn't allow yourself a chance to heal," you explained. Then you pulled up a chair next to the bed, and you stayed to keep Sam company.

It wasn't long before Sam's adrenaline wore off and the pain meds started to kick in. He yawned and you could see his eyelids begin to drift closed. Before you left the infirmary, you made sure he was comfortable and gave a lingering kiss to his cheek. "Goodnight, Sam," you whispered as you swept his hair from his forehead.

You wandered through the library and found Dean nursing a glass of whiskey. "Everything okay, is Sam asleep?" he asked.

With a weary sigh, you dropped into a chair and confirmed that Sam was indeed asleep. "I gave him some meds for the pain, so hopefully he'll sleep through the night. He needs rest, and I'm going to make sure he gets it," you replied.

"Gotta say, sweetheart, seeing you take charge like that with Sam was kinda hot," Dean smirked.

"Oh, but Dean, you're not the Winchester who has my heart. That would be Sam," you remarked. Your eyes widened and you immediately clapped a hand over your mouth once you realized what you'd said. "I mean, uh, that, um, oh hell," you stammered, as you covered your face with your hands.

Dean chuckled and put down his drink. "Relax, it isn't like I didn't already suspect something had to be going on," he remarked. "If it makes you feel any better, I think Sam's pretty clueless about it. But you should tell him at some point," Dean advised.

"Yeah? Maybe so. Then what happens when Sam doesn't see me that way? I'll have ruined a good friendship and things around here will get weird. No thanks," you stated firmly and rose from your chair. "Goodnight, Dean," you called over your shoulder as you walked to your room.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

You checked on Sam first thing the next morning. He was looking much better than when Dean first brought him in, with a little more color in his cheeks. He seemed to be a bit restless at the moment, moving his head from side to side. From his mumbling, you could tell he was in the middle of a nightmare. You knelt on the chair next to Sam's bed and reached for the washcloth in the basin. After all of the water had been wrung out of the washcloth, you folded it and placed it on Sam's forehead.

As soon as the washcloth touched his forehead, he seemed to relax and start emerging from his nightmare. He stopped thrashing his head back and forth, and wasn't mumbling anymore. His breathing seemed to even out as you sandwiched his large hand in between your two smaller ones. Your thumb gently rubbed circles on the back of his hand while you whispered soothing words to calm him.

You watched as Sam's eyelids began to flutter and eventually fully opened. He seemed a little disoriented and immediately tried to pull his hand from your grasp, but you held fast. "Shh, shh it's okay, Sam. You're in the infirmary," you soothed.

"What happened? What am I doing here?" he asked nervously.

"You got hurt on that last hunt with Dean. You took care of the spirit, but you didn't know that it was working with a couple of demons. Dean killed one, but the other one went after you. Beat you up pretty bad, possible concussion, some rib damage and a sprained ankle," you explained.

"I remember now. I tried to go back to my room, but someone in a not-so-subtle way told me there's no way that was gonna happen," Sam gazed pointedly in your direction.

"Hey, I had to do something! You can't tell me that you would willingly follow my instructions of staying in bed with your foot propped up? Not to be lifting things to aggravate your ribs? Yeah, right," you retorted, dropping his hand. You got up from your chair and started to walk away, but Sam reached for your hand, and caught hold of it.

"Calm down," he chuckled. "I promise to stay here and behave myself. But, I'm going to need some distraction. Wanna play cards or watch a movie or something?" he asked.

Your attitude softened. "I can do that. Let me go shower and make some breakfast for all of us, then I'll be back. Deal?" you replied.

"Deal," he grinned.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sam watched with a smile on his face as you walked out of the infirmary. He thought back on the events of the last day or so. He remembered the worry in your eyes when he and Dean first came through the door. Then he noticed how quickly you had regained your composure to focus on the task of getting him to the infirmary.

When you tore open his shirt, Sam thought he saw a fleeting glimpse of something in your eyes. They looked full of softness, an adoration maybe? Like you appreciated what you saw, but felt guilty and decided that maybe you shouldn't have. Could she have feelings for me? he wondered. Then he searched his mind for evidence to support his observation.

He thought about how he always finds you in the kitchen just in time to greet him after his morning run. You know exactly how he likes his coffee, and how to make the perfect egg white-only omelet with all of his favorites. And just this morning when he was having a nightmare, you knew exactly how to bring him out of it.

Sam made up his mind that if you were going to confine him to the infirmary, he was going to use this time to his advantage. He decided to test his theory and try to find out how you really felt about him. Maybe he'd even discover his own feelings along the way.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Over the next week or so, you spent a lot of time in the infirmary with Sam. The two of you played gin rummy, with Sam winning most of the time. However, you got your revenge while playing Scrabble by being the all-time high scorer.

As the days progressed, Sam started to notice certain things about you. How you scrunched your lips when you were deep in thought about the next card to play. Or how your hazel eyes sparkled as you discovered the winning letter combination in Scrabble. Your thousand-watt smile and how it lit up your whole face.

One evening, you took Sam out for a drive to get some fresh air. You drove to an open field that you knew would have the best view of the setting sun. As you leaned against the car, Sam turned to you and saw the wonder in your eyes at the simplicity of nature. He noticed how your hair caught the rays from the setting sun just right to make it look like it glowed. It was at that moment he realized he was falling for you.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A week later, Dean got a call about a case a couple of towns over. It was a simple vengeful spirit, so just the two of you went. Sam's injuries had healed pretty well, but he decided not to chance it and therefore stayed home. You promised that Castiel would be available if he needed anything, and would probably check in every now and then. Then you gave Sam a lingering kiss on the cheek and blushed a little as you shyly said goodbye.

Late that night, Sam was jolted awake by the sound of the bunker door flying open. You and Dean had succeeded in your mission and stopped at the bar on the way home. Dean's high alcohol tolerance enabled him to drive home without too much difficulty.

You, on the other hand, were a stumbling, weaving, giggling mess. Dean kept trying to shush you so as not to wake up Sam, which only made you giggle even more. He finally got you turned around in the direction of your room and guided you down the hallway.

Dean paused at your doorway and leaned you against the wall while he opened your door. "Hey, Dean?" you slurred. "You know what I wanna do right now? I wanna tell Sammy everything. You know, 'bout how I'm in love with him," you mumbled.

"Oh, really, Princess? Are you sure that's such a good idea in your current condition? 'Cause if you want, I can knock on his door right now and have him poke his head out here so you can tell him," Dean chuckled.

"NO!!" you shouted. "Don't do that. 'S probably not a good idea anyway, since he doesn't like me that way," you muttered.

Dean opened your door and pulled you towards him to guide you into your room. "How do you know that? Did you ask him? What would you do if he was standing in front of you right now?" he asked.

"Kiss him. Like this," you answered and gave Dean a kiss full on the lips. At that moment, Sam poked his head out just in time to see what looked like you kissing his brother. He dropped his gaze to the floor and quietly closed his door.

"But, that'll never happen. So I'll go in here, cuddle with my pillow and pretend that it's Sam," you replied softly, tears shimmering in your eyes.

Dean kissed you on the forehead. "Goodnight, Princess. Take a couple of Tylenol with a bottle of water before you conk out. Hey, you did good work today, you know," he remarked.

You nodded. "I know. Thanks, Dean," you mumbled, then closed your door.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next morning, you didn't have nearly as bad of a hangover as you expected to have. It was enough, though, to remind you that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to drink so much. When you wandered into the kitchen, Sam was already at work, making breakfast. Something was off about him, however. He had yet to acknowledge your presence as you walked in, even with just a look.

"Good morning, Sam," you remarked. Sam said nothing, just kept preparing his breakfast. "Good morning, Sam," you said a little louder. Still no response. "Good--" he cut you off.

"Morning," he snapped then returned his focus to finishing his breakfast.

"I-is something wrong, Sam? Are you feeling pain again, maybe from your ribs or your ankle?" you asked timidly.

"No, no pain there," he answered in clipped tones.

"If-if you tell me where you're hurt, I'll see what I can do to help ease the pain," you tried.

Sam looked up with a rare flash of anger in his eyes. "Listen, I don't need your help and, more importantly, I don't want your help. Besides, I think you've done enough," he snapped. You nodded, and brushed past Dean out of the kitchen, then ran to your room.

"What the hell was that all about?" Dean asked.

"Oh, like you don't know? The next time the two of you decide to hit the bar after a hunt without me, do me a favor. Get a room somewhere, then you can take care of two birds with one stone," Sam retorted.

"Now, what is that supposed to mean?" Dean demanded.

"It means, I saw you, Dean! You two weren't exactly stealthy when you got home last night. I saw you outside her room and the two of you were kissing. Don't even try to tell me 'it's not what it looks like', because I know what I saw. She wants you, not me," Sam ground out as he left the kitchen.

"Some days, it's best just to stay in bed," Dean muttered to himself.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Over the next week, you and Sam did your best to avoid one another. If he was in the room first, you waited until he left before going in. When you did end up in the same room, neither one of you could look at the other, let alone say much of anything. Not unless it was absolutely necessary, like looking for a case.

Dean was stuck in the middle, forced to watch it all from the sidelines, which tore him up inside. The two people he cared about most were in pain because of a misunderstanding. He wanted to try and fix this, but he knew the two of you had to work it out on your own.

Garth called Dean with a case involving a vamp's nest that needed to be dealt with. It was fairly good-sized, so he was going to need all three of you to take it down. You didn't really want to be cooped up in the car with Sam for that long, given the tension between you. However, you were needed, so once more, you pushed your feelings down so you could focus on the job at hand.

After another successful hunt, the three of you ended up taking another trip to the bar. You decided to keep your drinking to a minimum, considering what happened last time. You, Sam and Dean settled into a booth, with the boys on one side, you by yourself on the other. Dean brought over the first round of beers, which you tried to drink slowly to pace yourself. The boys finished their beers well before you, so Sam left the table to get the next round.

"You have to talk to him sometime," Dean remarked.

"Dean, I appreciate your help, but this is one time you need to stay out. Sam's angry at me, and he must have a good reason, because he doesn't get angry often," you replied.

"Not this time he doesn't, have a good reason that is. Remember that night we finished that vengeful spirit hunt? We stopped here on the way home, and you drank too much?" Dean prompted. You nodded. "Do you remember what you said to me outside your bedroom door?" he asked.

You thought back to that conversation. "I told you that I should tell Sam how I feel, and you offered to knock on his door to get him," you responded. "Then you asked me what I would do if he was in front of me at that moment, and I....Oh Chuck," you whispered. "He saw, didn't he? He must have thought I chose you over him. That's why he snapped at me in the kitchen the next morning," you said as everything made sense.

Suddenly you had a strong urge to find Sam, to explain what happened that night. You slid out of the booth and scanned the bar area to see if Sam was still there. He was, only he wasn't alone. A gorgeous woman with long, dark hair was making serious eye and body contact with Sam. He had his arm around her and was smiling at her, then he was laughing at something she'd said. Overall, he looked extremely comfortable in her presence.

Your heart sank as you abandoned your decision to find Sam. You told Dean you were going to get some fresh air and that you'd be back. However, you had no intention of returning to the bar. Instead, you started walking back to the bunker.

About halfway home, a car pulled up next to you and the lady driver asked you if you needed a ride. You politely declined, then the stranger showed you her fangs. You turned to run back to the bar, but didn't make it. Two other vamps appeared, and when they got to you, they knocked you unconscious.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Having fun tonight, Sammy?" Dean asked, with an edge to his voice.

Sam ignored the tone. "Yeah, actually. For once I'm the one picking up the chicks. See that brunette over there--" Dean cut him off.

"Cut the crap, Sam. You know who you belong with and it's not that brunette chick," Dean retorted.

Sam rolled his eyes at Dean, then looked all around the bar for you but didn't see you. "So, where'd she go?" he asked.

"Like you care. Right after you left the table, she went to find you to talk to you, try and clear the air between you. Then she saw you and Ms. Right Now hanging all over each other and headed outside for some fresh air," Dean grumbled.

"Shouldn't she be back by now? I've been gone from the table for about half an hour, Dean," Sam said as concern started to creep into his voice.

As Dean caught on to what Sam was saying, his phone rang, with Caller ID saying it was you. He answered it, but on the line it was your captor instead. Dean demanded that they release you and promised that if you didn't make it out alive, he would personally slice off their heads.

"You don't scare me, Winchester. But I can smell the fear rolling off of her in waves, and it's so deeply satisfying. She's a feisty one, though, won't tell us where you are no matter how much pain we've put her in. Allow me to demonstrate," the vamp cackled with glee.

She came over to the middle of the room where you were tied to a chair. "Where are the Winchesters?" she demanded. "I'm not telling you squat," you snapped as you glared at your captors. The boys heard the sound of you being slapped across the face for your outburst.

"She's so uncooperative. Guess it's time to sample the merchandise," the vamp remarked. She could see you struggling against the ropes, so she slapped your face again. She tilted your head to the side and sank her fangs into your neck, causing you to cry out in pain. The boys could tell what was happening, and it was almost more than they could bear.

"Oh, boys, she tastes just as sweet as you'd expect. You have two hours before she becomes one of ours," the vampire retorted before disconnecting the call.

After the call ended, you heard her giving instructions to the other two on what to do when Sam and Dean showed up. Then she went back over to you. "Relax, sweetie, this is almost over. I promise that after the Winchester boys are dealt with, I'll put you out of your misery as well," she cackled as she walked away.

As soon as you were sure you were alone, small sobs shook your body, tears streaming unchecked down your face. You sent up a silent message to Castiel, hoping against hope that he was listening. If he was, then he could tell the boys where to find you, and you might have a prayer of seeing Sam again. All you wanted was one last opportunity to explain and maybe find the courage to tell him how you felt.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Back at the bunker, Sam was busy on his laptop, frantically trying to locate you. He thought back on the events of the past few weeks, and how tense it's been between the two of you. Regardless of what happened before, you were still an important part of his life, and he wanted that part back.

Dean brought in the bag of weapons and dropped it with a thud onto the map table. He leaned on the table with his palms flat on the surface and glared at his younger brother. "All right, Sam. I'm sick of this. There's something you need to know about that night," Dean started.

"Not now, Dean. I'm busy trying to find her through the GPS on her phone," Sam grumbled.

"Yes, now, Sam. That night outside her door, she wasn't talking about me. She was talking about you. That kiss you saw? She said--" Sam cut him off.

"Dean--" Sam started.

Dean slammed his hand on the table, causing Sam to jump in his chair. "She said that if you were standing in front of her at that very moment, she would kiss you," he finished. "It's YOU she loves, Sam. For her, it's always been you," Dean said softly.

Sam paused in his search efforts to consider what his brother was saying. Was it possible that he misinterpreted what he saw that night? If so, then all the tension and animosity was his fault, and he had to make it right with you. He only hoped time was on their side and he would have that opportunity.

A whoosh of wings was heard and Castiel appeared in the bunker, a grim look on his face. He had heard your prayer and told the boys where to find you. Cas also gave them a description of the place so they could formulate a rescue plan on their way.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The female vamp returned to the room to see if she could get any more information out of you. If not, she said she was fine with inflicting more pain on you. She didn't get the chance to start anything, though. One of her lieutenants came rushing in to tell her that Sam and Dean had been spotted. They all knew that Castiel was likely not far behind, but he hadn't been seen yet.

At the mention of his name, you felt a light touch on your shoulder. "Cas? Is that you?" you whispered. You felt a quick squeeze of your shoulder and relaxed a bit, knowing that Sam and Dean were at least aware of your location. The female vamp leaned down next to your other ear and murmured, "Not quite done with you yet, dearie. I'll be back soon."

As soon as they were out of the room, Castiel made himself visible and started to untie your ropes. "Thank you, Cas. I wasn't sure I'd ever see you again," you mumbled as you drifted out of consciousness.

"Shh, just take it easy. I'll have you out of these ropes in no time," Cas replied. Off to his right, he heard heads hitting the floor and knew that there were no more threats.

Sam was the first one through the door and rushed to your side. He checked for your pulse and was relieved to find that you were only unconscious. His heart sank at the sight of the injuries inflicted on you by the vamps, and instantly blamed himself. As soon as you were free of your restraints, Sam scooped you up in his arms and carried you to the Impala.

In the backseat of the Impala, Dean helped secure you in Sam's waiting embrace. He held you to his chest and whispered soothing words in your ear as Dean raced back to the bunker. He was almost afraid to let go, as if you would disappear if he did. Sam silently promised you that once you woke up, he would tell you about his feelings for you.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

You awoke to find that you were in a bed in the infirmary, and were no longer wearing the clothes you had on at the bar. You were now wearing your sleep shorts and a T-shirt. One of Sam's T-shirts. You looked over to your left and saw Sam's lanky frame draped uncomfortably over a chair next to your bed.

When you tried to move your left hand, you saw it was perfectly entwined with Sam's larger hand. This small movement caused Sam to jolt awake and his eyes seemed to automatically lock on yours. "Hey," Sam said with a soft smile.

"Hey, Sam," you croaked. Sam handed you a glass of water to relieve your parched throat. "How long have I been out?" you asked.

"About a day and a half. I was so worried, I thought I'd lost you," Sam replied, his thumb tracing gentle circles on the back of your hand. "Cas healed what he could with his limited grace, so you'll still have some healing to do on your own," Sam explained.

"Thank you for rescuing me, but I'll be fine now. You don't have to worry anymore, I can take care of myself from here. Don't let me keep you from your girlfriend," you remarked.

A puzzled look crossed Sam's face. "I don't have a girlfriend," he replied.

"Yes, you do. That brunette from the bar. I saw how the two of you were looking at each other that night," you answered. You pulled your hand from Sam's hold and swung your legs over the side of the bed. At the doorway, you turned to face Sam, who was still sitting beside your bed. "I hope she makes you happy, Sam," you said softly.

Sam couldn't believe what just happened. You had let him go, more concerned for his happiness than your own. What you didn't know is what made him happy was being with you. "Wait!" he called after you, running to catch up.

He found you resting against a chair in the War Room, trying to catch your breath before continuing on to your room. "Listen, I owe you an apology about that night you and Dean came home from the bar. I got angry because I had finally found someone that I want. When I saw you kiss him I thought, as usual, she chose my brother over me. That's why I snapped at you that morning," he explained.

"I know, Sam, because Dean and I talked about it at the bar. I wanted to clear the air with you, so I got up from the booth and looked for you. That's when I saw you with her, your new girlfriend," you replied.

"For the record, she's not my girlfriend," he firmly stated. Sam reached up and caressed your cheek with his knuckles. He drew you closer to him with his free hand on the back of your neck. "How could she be, when I'm in love with someone else?" he asked softly. Sam inched forward until your lips meshed together in a sweet, tender kiss.

"Oh, Sam," you whispered.

"Baby....," Sam responded as he dove in to capture your lips for another, deeper kiss. You melted into the embrace of his strong arms and surrendered to the feel of his hands roaming up and down your back. Your hands slid up his well-defined chest and continued until your fingers were threading through Sam's hair.

When the kiss was broken, you and Sam touched your foreheads together and grinned at each other. "You're the one who makes me happy. I love you," Sam remarked softly.

"I love you, Sam. It's always been you," you replied.

Sam's thumb gently caressed your face as his hand cupped your cheek. He drew you into another lingering kiss that left you breathless. He carefully scooped you up into his arms and placed you on the bed in his room. The blankets were already pulled back and he arranged them up and around you. Then he slipped into bed beside you and drew you into his embrace.

"No more cuddling with a pillow anymore, pretending that it's me. You've got the real thing now," he remarked. "I love you, Baby."

"I love you too, Sam. Sweet dreams," you murmured.

[tigers1o1]

Feather AU

The title is a work in progress, I haven’t decided anything for sure yet but for the sake of simplicity we’ll just call it the Feather AU. Also I did talk about this AU breifly on discord, so if you’re on TLOC and this sounds familiar, that’s probably why sifbskcnsof

Dabihawks, canon divergence, spoilers for manga chapters through 272 (but no further bc the rest of the arc isn’t going to be important, if it even happens in this), angst/fluff/maybe implied smoot

Hawks gets his wings burned off by Dabi (chapter 272)

He’s rushed to the hospital in hopes that his wings can be saved. at this point, hawks is basically in and out of consciousness, if not passed out completely from pain

He wakes up eventually in the hospital. The room is empty, no gifts or flowers or cards, no people either, only the steady beeping on the heart monitor

There’s a single card, signed by the president of the hero commission. It says something about “you did well. Most of the League escaped (Dabi included it doesn’t say that in the letter I’m just telling you so you as the reader knows sjdbdid), but you completed your mission.” Not even get well soon or anything.

The doctor comes in and tells him good news and bad. Good: Hawks will survive just fine, he’ll have a long healthy life, all that. Bad: it’s incredibly unlikely that his wings will ever grow back and he’s been rendered basically quirkless. The doctor says something about how he could probably still control his feathers, but those all kinda burned up so that’s useless anyway.

the media told everyone Hawks had died in the hospital, killed by Dabi (a coverup by the hero commission)

He checks out and goes home after a few days and one of the first things he does is carefully take off the bandages to see the almost-done-healing scars. Big angsty cry

He gets a call from his handler. He’s been relieved from heroing. HAh more pain

He ends up just kinda existing, he doesn’t get a job (the commission still pays him some until he can get a new job and he still has a ton of money saved from being a hero). He just floats by day to day. He’s started going by Takami again and he wanders the city most days.

He finds himself realizing that everytime he wanders, he ends up in a familiar place, the warehouse downtown, the roof of an abandoned apartment complex, the back alley of some shitty club. He’s been to each of these places before and there was something in common with each: they’d been where he and Dabi had hung out together

There’s a strange tugging in his chest and seeing as he has nothing better to do, he packs a bag and follows the tug.

It takes him across a few different cities, the tug getting stronger sometimes.

As he travels, he has a lot of time to think, and he ends up thinking about Dabi and everything that happened (during the travelling part, imma throw in a bunch of flashbacks to when he and Dabi had been together). He kinda doesn’t blame Dabi for trying to kill him, he betrayed them all, even after telling Dabi he loved him so many times. Poor guy was probably heart broken, also y’know hawks murdered Dabis friends so liek

The tug starts getting gradually stronger and Hawks realizes it’s a feather. It had somehow survived and someone must have it. He stops at a shitty hotel at some point and he can almost feel the feather, it feels as though someone is playing with it, the ghost feeling of fingers stroking it.

Hawks has a dream that night: it’s a memory of Dabi. It was the night they showed each other who they really were, not Dabi and Hawks, but Keigo and Touya. It had been then that Hawks realized that he did actually love Dabi and the start of the inner struggle of his love vs. His mission. He’d given Dabi a feather that night. “Just in case” he’d whispered against Dabi’s lips

Hawks wakes up suddenly, the tugging of the feather suddenly so much stronger, as if it were much closer. Vaguely, he thinks he hears someone talk to the feather. Something about “I’m sorry. I don’t think I can forgive you, but I miss you” and suddenly, Hawks realizes that the feather he’s been chasing is the one he gave Dabi, the one he just dreamed about

He manages to go back to sleep with thoughts of Dabi. He wakes up that morning and almost turns around bc *dabi* is the one with the feather, maybe he should just turn around and let go

He keeps following it anyway, this time with thoughts filled with all the ways he’d kill the fucker for burning his wings and destroying his life

He finds Dabi on a roof, much like the ones they’d frequent together before. Hawks’ voice cracks when he calls out to Dabi, who hasn’t noticed him yet “Touya”

Dabis tiffens and turns suddenly, feather clutched tightly. All of the murderous intention was suddenly gone and Hawks was honestly so relieved to see Dabi, and Dabi seemed relieved to see hawks too.

Dabi thought he was dead, just like everyone else had been told

They talk. A lot. Also hug

There’s a lot to unpack in this scene that I’m just not gonna go over because dear lord these bois are both messes

[blazehedgehog]

I kinda see what you're saying critique-wise, but I do think you're being a tad harsh. I'm an old FF7 fan, and fan of turn based rpg's as well, but most of the changes I'm privy too seem to make sense. I have yet to see that ending (I won't until I play it) but the new battle system, the art style, everything I've seen in trailer and demo feels... Familiar but new, and I take that as a positive. I already have FF7, just a graphics upgrade doesn't matter too much to me. I like getting more stuff.

I feel like I have been cautiously accepting of most of Final Fantasy VII Remake over time. I don’t love the changes they’ve made, but I haven’t ever, like, written the game off or anything. Even when it came to the battle system, while I wasn’t a fan of some of the decisions after playing the demo, I watched other people play it to gain further insight on what I might be missing.

To say I am being “a tad harsh” is to judge me on the standards of knee-jerk reactionary internet fan boys, when my opinion is a little more nuanced than that.

I have always tried to give this game the benefit of the doubt at every single possible step of this process despite vocalizing my distaste for every decision they’ve made so far because I am a crazy Final Fantasy VII mark. I am even considering breaking my normal rule of “Wait until a sale” to buy FF7 Remake when it comes out, because I’d like to write a review for it.

(Unfortunately, I have two reviews on the docket already, so I’m still mulling the decision over in my head.)

Here’s the deal: changes don’t have to bother me. It’s pretty much expected that, if they are remaking the game, there will be changes. There were changes to Resident Evil 1, 2 and 3 when they remade them. It’s kind of what you do.

It’s just, like I said in this ask…

There’s nothing wrong with broadening your appeal, you just can’t sell off the soul of your product for it.

But then, what is the soul of Final Fantasy? I don’t know if I can answer that. A couple months ago, I stopped and looked back on the entire franchise and realized I only really like four Final Fantasy games out of a total of 15.

I have personally played FF1-9, played a demo and watched a complete Let’s Play of FF10, played a demo of FF13, on top of watching a complete Let’s Play of FF13-2, and over half of Lightning Returns. I also played a multiple different demos of FF15, including the one that’s just the opening 2-3 hours of the game.

To get deeper in to the weeds, I finished Final Fantasy 1 on the GBA and it instantly became my favorite Final Fantasy. I played about halfway through FF2, also on the GBA, before getting bored with its bland characters and clumsy battle system. A friend gave me his copy of FF3 on DS, and I played it for about an hour before deciding I wasn’t in the mood at the time. I have yet to be in the mood. 

I have finished FF4 on both SNES and DS. I have fond memories of the DS version despite the fact it is almost unfairly hard at points. I played the fan-translated version of FF5 on SNES up to the third map before deciding I didn’t care about any of the characters or the world – again, very by the books, though I suppose on some level it wrote some of those books.

I made it up to the final boss of Final Fantasy 6 on GBA just last year, fought it once and lost. Decided I was too unimpressed by the rest of the game to try it a second time. That was definitely a game whose zeitgeist outweighed the game’s actual quality. I did not hate it, but I definitely didn’t fall in love with it. I am an acquaintance at best.

I put 100+ hours in to Final Fantasy 7 from 1997-1999. I did nearly everything in that game, by myself, without a guide. I pushed most of my party to level 99, learned all their limit breaks, got all but one master materia, defeated all of the weapons, and even engineered a materia setup that let me cast Knights of the Round in an endless loop for zero MP. I destroyed that game front to back, inside and out.

I played Final Fantasy 8 up to around the start of the second disc (when you get the first “airship”), and could not tolerate the disjointed story or the awful characters any more than that. I’ve never looked back. I played Final Fantasy 9 up to the third disc via Blockbuster rentals, but at some point some gremlin decided to destroy the third disc, rendering the game unplayable on my machine. I enjoyed what I experienced, but I never saw how it ended.

I do not think of FFX fondly. Or anything related to FF13. Or FF15. That final FF15 demo feels like it has dialog written by a space alien failing to approximate earth language, and I got bored of it long before the demo itself ended. A friend has been nagging me for years to play FF12, and I have it on Switch now, but I haven’t had the time to start it.

Regardless, I have played a lot of Final Fantasy, and I only really like 1, 4, 7 and I guess 9. I have definitely wrestled with the idea that maybe Final Fantasy just isn’t for me as a series.

But at the same time: Final Fantasy almost WAS for me, at one point, and the fact that they keep straying further and further and further away from what I liked about the series means it’s valid for me to be bummed out about it. You’re welcome to like it for what it is, but it doesn’t mean I have to.

And Final Fantasy VII Remake definitely makes changes in line more with where modern Final Fantasy as a series has gone. That’s my whole problem.

[shotgun-boots]

Inspired by an AU with @mama-grimm fyi this is her interpretation of Salem who has a big maternal soft spot for kids. Anyway the AU was Salem taking in a young Mercury after coming across him, and Marcus. Mercury spend years training under Salem’s eye, and becomes a protector to her OC daughter for Salem, Aurora. This is just me writing how I think it would start.

Mercury Black, then age thirteen, was trying to hide from his father, Marcus Black, in the forest surrounding their home. The young man shuddered in fear as he desperately tried to keep quiet as he heard his father’s voice.

“Mercury you weak runt! Show yourself now!” Marcus hollered as he searched high and low for his missing son.

Mercury tried to keep quiet for a little while longer before he tried to continue running away from home. Hopefully Marcus would search a different part of the forest soon. Though from how it sounded Marcus was getting closer to him....

The young man could only gulp as he tried to strengthen his resolve before he tried running for it hoping he could outrun Marcus, or find someone who could save him. Sadly his efforts would be proven for not as Marcus’s voice could be heard.

“Big mistake you little shit! I can hear you! When I find you, you’ll be lucky if all I do is break one of your arm this time!” The older man yelled not bothering to hide his intentions once he found his son.

Mercury haphazardly looked behind himself to see if Marcus was there but as soon as he looked forward again he ran into someone, and grunted as he fell down. When he looked up he took notice that he’d ran into a woman...an extremely pale woman with red eyes, white hair, and the white parts of her eyes were black. He began to shake in fear because she looked like the witches from the stories he remembered his mother telling him.

“P-please don’t hurt me.” Mercury stuttered as he backed away from the woman who’s expression didn’t really register to the boy.

The woman, Salem, just stared at Mercury, truthfully she’d only been in this area to collect on an asset that Watts had recommended to her. The supposed master assassin Marcus Black, but she hadn’t expected to hear the man she was as looking for threatening a boy; said boy who’d run into her. It’d taken all her self control not to summon every Grimm in the area to massacre the man.

“I’m not here to hurt you little one.” She had a chillingly calm voice, but Mercury could tell there was a lot of rage and malice hidden behind the calm voice; all of the years he’d spent with his dad taught him how to pick up on that.

“Tell me why are you running?” Salem knew the answer to her own question, but she didn’t want the child before her to panic any further than he already was.

“M-my dad...he...he still thinks I’m to weak. I tried to prove to him I wasn’t but....” Mercury winced as he realized just how hurt his leg was. He’d tried to fight his father, and his aura was broken now though his legs were still damaged from the fight.

Salem’s eyes narrowed hearing this, she couldn’t tolerate most of humanity already but abusive parents earned a special type of ire from her. “Your legs, try not to move them.” She tried to comfort him since she could see that he was risking infection just running around this forest.

“The fuck are you?” Marcus’ voice rang out as he’d been shocked to see Salem, and taking in her appearance. “You some kinda weird faunus.” The belligerent man sneered as he looked at Salem.

Salem’s eyes hardened as she hadn’t looked up yet to address Marcus. “Try not to move...Mercury was the name I believe this man was yelling at you.”

Mercury didn’t know what was going on, this scary looking woman seemed angrier now, and his dad showed up too. He honestedly didn’t know what to expect now as he saw the woman stand to face his father.

“No I’m no faunus, just someone who hates seeing insignificant men hurt those smaller than himself for an illusion of power.” Salem said with her voice still calm despite the underlying malice hidden beneath the surface.

“Heh whatever bitch, is you want to die protecting that weak little shit, he my guest.” Marcus smirked as he readied his weapons while getting in a fight stance.

Salem actually cracked a smile as several clawed hands appeared under Marcus’ shadow, and began clawing at the man. Salem just walked forward ignoring Marcus’ screams of agony, each step just closing the distance between the two of them as she savored his suffering.

By the time she’s closed the gap between herself and Marcus she’d been staring into his eyes as she saw his aura break. “Such a shame Marcus, I’d come here to personally recruit you.” She’d wrapped one of her hands around his neck before lifting him as if he were nothing compared to her.

Marcus has let out an agonized wail as he’d had parts of his flesh ripped away from the clawed hands that dragged along his body when she’d lifted him. “The fuck are you bitch?!” Marcus continued to scream, and kick the air as he stared down at Salem.

“My name? It’s the last name you’ll ever know Mr. Black. Salem.” She said as she continued to squeeze neck before her ears were filled with the sound of several shots being fired, and Mercury’s screams following after.

She’d been rendered shocked as she turned her head seeing that Mercury’s legs were now bleeding profusely, and shot in a way that seemed to separate his shins from his knees. This action sealed Marcus’ fate in her mind, but the man was just laughing at her now.

“The way I see it now you stupid bitch is that you have two options; you can save the little shit, or you can kill me. I’d also hurt he’s losing a lot of blood.” Marcus laughed like a deranged animal as he’d shown no remorse after he’d basically destroyed his son’s legs.

Salem sneered as she’d thrown Marcus into a tree before walking over to Mercury. Sadly the boy’s legs were to far disconnected and destroyed that her magic could actually heal; the best she could do now was focus her energy to stop the stumps from bleeding out.

“Heh, sentimental bitch. You chose to save the boy instead of killing me.” Marcus said standing up, trying to aim his weapons at Salem, only to hear the snarls of several Beowulves slowly approaching him.

“No, Mr. Black. I’ve decided to do both.” Salem said as she shielded Mercury from the site of his father being torn apart by Beowulves. Mercury did just barely hear his father’s screams though as he was slowly succumbing to losing consciousness after so long.

“Sleep Mercury, when you awake you’ll have a much better life ahead of you.” Was the last thing he’d heard.

Mercury has awoken days later, according to the man with the weird mustache. He’d seen that his legs were replaced with prosthetics when he’d moved the sheet he was under. That had been a huge shock to him as his legs were gone below the knee, but he didn’t have much time to contemplate things as Salem had appeared in the room while he’d been distracted.

“Good evening Mercury, I hope you slept well?” Salem said as she looked at the boy, she’d been mildly impressed with Watts’ work on the boy’s new legs.

“W-where am I?” Mercury asked her as he looked up at Salem. “Why did you let me live?”

“Simple, when I look at you I see a boy who was given a harsh hand at life with his potential wasted. Tell me Mercury, what if I offered you safety, and all the power that came at being by my side.” Salem gave Mercury a gentle smile as she could tell the boy would give her the answer she wanted to hear, and the answer he gave did not disappoint.

As of today Mercury Black had gone from the scared abused son of an assassin, to being a disciple of the Queen of the Grimm along with some older girl named Cinder. He didn’t know what was in store for him now, but he was going to face it head on.

[rqgnarok]

she - carol danvers

she – carol danvers

song: she by dodie

fandom: the avengers ft. xmen (marvel)

words: 3407

warnings: kidnappings, ptsd, nightmares, blood, death, etc.

summary: carol stares and falls in love.

author's note below.

Am I allowed to look at her like that?

Could it be wrong

When she's just so nice to look at?

Carol doesn’t know how she hasn’t been caught staring.

She’s beautiful. She’s got mutant blood running through her veins and that should make her dangerous enough for Carol to consider her a threat, but the energy that flows through her own system and her common sense tells her they’re way beyond that shit. (Y/N) Xavier has time and space falling through her fingers and could render you to dust with the flick of a wrist, a simple thought if she wanted to. Carol has never known anyone more gorgeous and powerful and terrifying all at the same time.

She loves it. She loves her.  

And she smells like lemongrass and sleep

She tastes like apple juice and peach

Oh, you would find her in a Polaroid picture

And she means everything to me

(Y/N)’s kidnapped by HYDRA and Carol sees red, can’t understand the sudden feeling of tears getting caught up bitterly on her throat, tightened angry fists and the permanent scowl on her features. Because it was supposed to be a retrieving intel mission, she screams at Steve later when he returns to the Quinjet without the mutant by his side, how the fuck did HYDRA get their hands on anti-mutant tech, how dare you leave her alone-

They find her on a warehouse, after being under HYDRA’s care for sixteen days, with a heavy collar around her throat, now an angry red with scratches and scars (Y/N) can’t heal due her mutant gene reacting badly against the tech used on her. The Avengers go to rescue their teammate and find a shaking, muttering, lost mess instead. She shrieks and pushes back every time someone tries to touch her, and it isn’t until she sees Carol’s energy brighten her eyes that a flash of recognition swims through hers.

The ride back home on the Quinjet is loud and rattled, the medics trying to force drugs into (Y/N)’s system while she fights back with whatever she’s got left, still blinded by her time as HYDRA’s guinea pig to know better than to let them manhandle her that easily.

Carol hurts as she has to pin her down for them to work (because she offered. Of course she offered, a dangerous feeling of uneasiness pressured her on the chest at the mere thought of Steve, Thor or even Banner touching her, hurting her like this), can’t look away as (Y/N) throws her a betrayed look and even if the bruising she left on already blemished arms to keep her at bay would disappear as soon as she got control of her powers again, there’s an ache within her Carol knows won’t fade until she makes sure (Y/N)’s safe, home, sleeping it off in the familiar comfort of one of the Tower’s endless rooms.

Because it shouldn’t be this easy, she thinks later in the darkness and safety of the medbay, as she buries her face on (Y/N)’s hair to breathe her in and press and experimental kiss on it, because the mutant gene is supposed to protect her, even if her job consists on putting her life on the line every single goddamn day.

(Y/N) wakes up days after being brought in, with a clean system and no scarring left of her time as HYDRA’s puppet, yet Carol is left with the sudden realization that it never hurt like this whenever another one of her teammates got kidnapped or hurt during a mission. The fear she’d welcomed during those weeks the mutant was missing and when they’d found (Y/N), hurt and bruised and so close to losing herself to insanity, roots itself deeply within the pilot.

It takes her long enough to realize she’s falling in love.

I'd never tell

No, I'd never say a word

And oh, it aches

But it feels oddly good to hurt

Carol hates it when Scott Summers comes to visit.

Sure, the guy’s nice enough, but kinda cocky for Carol’s taste. Dangerous, too, according to his file (because Nick Fury has a file on everyone), and the fact that he can’t look the guy straight in the eye doesn’t let her be assured that he can really be trusted.

But the thing is that (Y/N) grins so fucking wildly when she sees him stepping into the common floor’s threshold, hugs him tight enough for her to shake with the force her limbs are using, and there’s something in the way she looks at him, nostalgic and sad and familiar, that makes an uncomfortable disappointment swim on Carol’s belly.

And yet, she manages.

“How are things, back home?” Carol overhears (Y/N) asking one day, and it kills her to think that even after all this time, she still considers her father’s establishment home rather than the Avengers Tower among all her friends and the people she’s saved and have saved her multiple times. Somewhere among those people, is Carol, in love and quiet enough about it for (Y/N) to be blissfully ignorant about it.

“Been better, been worse,” Scott reassures, and there’s the faint noise of him throwing a popcorn to (Y/N)’s mouth to see if she catches it. She hasn’t, at least for the past hour. They took the living room hostage and have made it their spot for the last couple of hours, much to Sam’s annoyance who was banished to hang out in his room for the rest of the day. “You’d know more if you came around every once in a while.”

“I know,” (Y/N) laments, and Carol doesn’t expect the softness of her tone. Because the (Y/N) she’s learned to know is rough around the edges, always bright and big and not at all this: gentle and small and sorry. “I know, I just-”

“I know,” Scott answers, light and teasing and probably just what (Y/N) needs right now. “We just miss you. Your dad- he’s been talking about you a lot these days.”

“I wish I could go back,” she admits, unintentionally cracking Carol’s facade even further, who’s hiding behind the wall at the entrance of the room for the last few minutes instead of just walking in like she intended to do a few moments ago. She’s afraid of breathing differently and being heard and doesn’t dare to react while (Y/N) speaks. “Sometimes, I do. When the weight of the world gets so heavy upon my shoulders, I wish nothing more than to go back home. To be a little girl, hop into my father’s wheelchair and race across the house.”

There’s a smile somewhere in there, nostalgic like only missing someone, something can make you. Carol knows about that well enough. Even if Yon-Rogg turned out to be all she stood against, she missed him sometimes, a friend and a guide she could talk to whenever she felt like she had no idea what she was doing.

Carol guesses that’s what Scott Summers is to (Y/N).

“But the people we’ve lost, Scottie-” she cuts herself off and takes a deep breath, two, three of them before she’s sure she won’t be shedding any tears soon. “I know that if I go back, I’ll feel like I’ll be standing on a graveyard rather than my childhood home.”

“I don’t wanna taint it like that,” she continues, somewhat desperate for him to understand and Carol can easily know that he does. Isn’t that what friends are for? “I’d rather live in the memory of it forever than to remember it for something it’s not.”

Scott doesn’t answer, but Carol knows he’s reaching for (Y/N), to her hand, a shoulder, anywhere he could touch that would mean he understood and gave his silent support. There are common losses in there, the phantom of a pain Carol couldn’t even begin to understand. She supposes its good for them to have each other, whatever way that may be.

Something she was sure of; she could never be what Scott Summers was to (Y/N).

And she smells like lemongrass and sleep

She tastes like apple juice and peach

Oh, you would find her in a Polaroid picture

And she means everything to me

(Y/N) comes to her when the nightmares get too ugly.

At least when she’s around on Earth for them. And because they do, get too ugly, way too many times for Carol not to hurt about it, but she’s happy enough that it’s her bedroom door (Y/N)’s knocking on when she could easily enough go to Bucky, Steve, Sam, or Tony, who suffer from the same demons and wear their PTSD on their sleeve as easily as (Y/N) does.

Carol stopped asking after the first few nights, now used to just letting her in and petting her hair as (Y/N) rests her head on her lap, lulling her to sleep with soothing, repetitive movements against her scalp and back. Sometimes she starts dreaming again even under Carol’s care, mutters name the pilot hasn’t heard before, and some she has. A mix of Alex, please, no, don’t, dad, stop him, Erik, I’m sorry, don’t hurt, Scott- bubble out of her throat, first as quiet laments until she’s screaming her lungs off, crying and jerking still under Carol’s ministrations.

She doesn’t talk about it. Sneaks out early in the morning before Carol wakes up but at breakfast makes sure to send a thankful look her way, which does help ease the knot that forms at her presence on Carol’s stomach.

One night she comes in with tears still rushing down her cheeks, and (Y/N) doesn’t have to speak for Carol to know her voice is hoarse from screaming and crying. She holds tight in one hand an old, tattered polaroid, a picture of a man in a wheelchair with a little girl sitting in his lap, grinning up at him with so much childish innocence, Carol feels it too greatly and gets the need to look away.

“It’s my dad,” (Y/N) murmurs when she catches her staring at it and sure, Carol should’ve known, not because they look alike but because of the admiration shining in (Y/N)’s eyes and the fondness on her father’s smiling back at her. Not her actual father, though Charles Xavier has proven himself as a man worthy of such an important title, considering her parents left her at his doorstep when she was barely a few hours old.

“Usually, they’re about people that are already gone,” (Y/N) explains, a little quieter and a little more heartbroken. Carol knows she’s talking about her nightmares, a sad shiver running through her spine before she stops her thoughts from derailing. She doesn’t have a right to be upset. “But tonight-”

She can’t bring herself to say it.

“I miss my dad,” (Y/N) whines instead, sounding awfully like a little girl asking for her daddy. Despite everything, Carol aches, too.

“I know,” is all the pilot can offer as a form of comfort, knowing not to push further due the fact that the mutant’s words already sound wet, sniffled enough to be close to tears. “I know you do.”

(Y/N) begins to cry silently against her pajama shorts and Carol pretends not to notice, except that she does, and if she tightens her grip around the mutant a presses a harsh kiss against her hair, just like she did when the mutant was recovering in the medbay after that mission, well. Neither of them mention it.

Oh, oh

Oh, oh

And I'll be okay

Admiring from afar

'Cause even when she's next to me

We could not be more far apart

Steve and Tony, against all expectations, manage to fall in love along the way.

There were fights and arguments and so many almost deaths they could no longer count them in both their hands, but if it's one thing Carol admires from them is their capacity to look at each other with more love than the last time, despite all.

The eyes are really the windows of the soul, she guesses.

The sweet aftermath of a mission well done reaches all members of the Avenger as the Quinjet flies them back home, all despite bruises and wounds and some comfortable silences that are threatening to swallow them whole.

Carol’s stare inevitably searches for (Y/N), and she finds her staring at Steve and Tony, during one of their post-mission-I’m-so-happy-you’re-not-dead public yet somehow incredibly private displays of affection, all fond eyes and soft, lingering hands in places where the eager eye usually isn’t looking. Wrists where pulse points can be easily found, the arc reactor where warm light reassures Steve Tony’s alive despite all expectations, fingers searching to outline bruises that will either be fading within a few hours, days or months. Anything to make sure the other is there, with them, and they’re not taking a ghost back home.

Carol wishes she could have that sort of reassurance to rely on.

“You’ve ever fallen in love like that?” Quiet and somewhat hesitant. She probably wouldn’t be opening that can of worms if she weren’t so overwhelmed by what Carol guesses it’s nostalgia along with exhaustion bordering on delirious.

She’s never been more beautiful, and Carol can’t look away. Neither can (Y/N), both of them from their significant target.

“Can’t say I have, no.”

Silence.

Hesitation.

Carol breathes in, let’s go.

“You?”

“A long time ago,” is all she answers, face barely reacts at whatever memory might be passing through her head. Later, after another one of her nightmares, she will dare to talk about Alex Summer midst sleepy sadness. She will ramble to Carol about meeting each other when they were teenagers, falling in love while discovering their powers and helping Charles with the school, losing him first to Vietnam and then to the PTSD, lastly to his own powers after sacrificing himself to save them from Apocalypse. The nightmares that followed, the never ending almost dead haze she falls in and in which she sees him as a promising afterlife. Right now, though, she only shrugs it all off. “Don’t do it anymore. Hurts too much.”

Didn’t Carol know.

“Yeah.”

And she tastes like birthday

Cake and story time and fall

But to her

I taste of nothing at all

“You love her.”

Carol would’ve jumped at Rhodey’s gentle jab, the man worthy of War Machine suddenly at her side, if she weren’t used to the Avenger’s bullshit by now.

It’s one of Tony Stark’s many gala dinners in which he wears a gorgeous black tux along a gorgeous super soldier by his side. Carol’s wearing a silky lavender colored gown, blonde hair gorgeously curled down, nails perfectly made and eyes, as always vigilant, darting across the room looking for what, who she’s always been after.

“Don’t even try to pretend you don’t know who I’m talking about,” Rhodey, as always the best friend figure, is not too intrusive nor too easy on her, and God knows why, Carol appreciates it. “You’re the literal description of heart eyes.”

“What?” she must not understand the reference, cause Rhodey only grins to himself and grabs two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter. Carol accepts the alcohol gladly, even though both of them know that due the energy running through her veins doesn’t allow her to get drunk, no matter how much she wishes she could sometimes.

“You love her,” he says again, and there’s something not quite pitying but rather kind on Rhodey’s stare that still makes Carol look away nevertheless. It’s not a question, it’s a simple statement that has so much truth in it, it almost makes her wanna puke. God knows how she’s managed to get this far with the feeling crushing her ribs and poking at her heart whenever she even looked at (Y/N).

Who, speaking of, is found by Carol’s masterfully disguised as bored stare, and something in the pilot relaxes. The mutant is grinning at something Bucky’s saying, leaning against Wanda as she takes another sip of Tony’s expensive champagne, not yet opting for Thor’s Asgardian liquor that does have the power to get her tipsy enough before the mutant gene washes it all away from her system.

“It’s so great to see you like this,” Rhodey continues, and at Carol’s raised eyebrows that clearly spell, you wanna say that again, boy? he can’t help but laugh, loud and carefree just as Carol hasn’t felt in a long, long time. “Feeling things, I mean. Clint was sure that you were actually a cyborg, and he and Scott got a bet going on about who can get you to cry first.”

“Is this why they insisted on watching The Notebook the last movie night I was here?” Carol feels something like affection for her team bubble on her stomach as she turns back to find (Y/N) quickly in the crowd. “It was good, I mean, just not tearjerker good.”

“Not tearjerker good- Did you not see that ending?” Red lips can’t help but to raise in a smirk at Rhodey’s incredulous tone. He shakes his head, breathes out and turns them back to the conversation at hand before Carol gets to change the subject completely. “What I meant- It’s good to feel things, y’know. They make us human, and human is good. But it’s even better to let them out. You don’t talk about them and they grow ugly things inside of you.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Carol insists, still resisting to meet his eye, and as far as she knows, she’s right. Because she’s gotten to know (Y/N) as good as she knew herself, once, before destructive energy rushed through her system and before her blood turned blue and before they tried her to strip her from her humanity, not realizing that falling in love could destroy whatever progress they thought they were making on her.

And she knows the mutant well enough that she’d given up on love a long time ago, after Alex Summers and being stripped of her humanity herself, until she got too tired of watching everyone she loved decay and die around her, so she closed herself off to that sort of pain. She wonders what kind of the ugly things Rhodey had mentioned (Y/N)’s got echoing around in her head. And, against her better judgement, she wonders if she could get rid of some of those demons.

Human is good, human is good, human is good, she repeats to herself like a mantra, until Rhodey’s voice becomes her own and she tries for her heart to settle against her chest.

At the other side of the room, (Y/N) smiles and Carol has never been more in love.

“I’m sure there isn’t,” Rhodey’s sarcastic remark cuts through her rapid train of thoughts, there’s a hand on her shoulder that grounds her enough for her to listen to his last advice.

“Tell her.”

And she smells like lemongrass and sleep

She tastes like apple juice and peach

Oh, you would find her in a Polaroid picture

She doesn’t tell her.

She wanted to, though. That much she can admit to herself because it’s true, during her midnight comforts or before a too dangerous mission, after one of Stark’s galas when (Y/N)’s make up is almost all gone and she looks more exhausted than ready to party but Carol believes her to be more beautiful then.

It rests at the tip of her tongue, always, she has gotten used to those three words hanging around and making a home of the roof of her mouth, sharing room with the fear of losing the mutant’s friendship if she dared to speak them up.

It’s easier this way, she tells herself as she catches (Y/N) laughing mid movie night, Game Night being Clint’s choice of the week and so far, being a success. The mutant’s sitting in between Sam and Carol herself, who’s leaning against the edge of the couch as she does what she knows best to deal with this desire that doesn’t seem to fade away, she stares.

She stares as (Y/N) obliviously catches her and grins back, crediting the easy, content features on the pilot’s face to the idiotic movie playing in the background.

She’s fine. It’s fine. Even if this is all she gets to have, somehow, it’s enough.

And she means everything to me

Yes, she means everything to me

She means everything to me

 ___________________________________________

hey, bitches

just wanted to get this fic out of my system, i had the idea in my mind for some time and i noticed there’s only a few carol danvers fics here so, here it is!

i'll try to get to work on some other fics i've got in my drafts, y’know that feedback and suggestions are always appreciated, and my requests are always open.

toodles,

-       e.

[takerfoxx]

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Season 4, Episode 13, First Impressions!

“Don’t…do it.”

Well, haha, okay, things are fucked!

Right, right, okay. So, lots to cover, but the long and skinny of it, nearly everyone we know kinda lost big time.

Glimmer lost. Her plan to reactivate the Heart of Etheria backfired as predicted. The truth of the weapon horrified her, and now she is the “honored guest” AKA captive of none other than Horde Prime himself, with her hated enemy Catra to thank for her continued existence.

Hordak lost. All of his attempts to conquer Etheria in order to impress Big Brother were ultimately for naught, because as it turns out, Horde Prime don’t give two shits about any of that! All Hordak managed to do was just give himself individuality, which Horde Prime finds gross and casually obliterates, re-assimilating Hordak into the collective. I mean, it turns out that Hordak was a name he gave himself! He wasn’t supposed to be a powerful and worthy servant of Horde Prime, he was just supposed to be another cog in the machine! Hell, at one point he even didn’t want to go back, specifically when he was with Entrapta! Oh, my heart.

Adora lost. Yes, she managed to overcome Light Hope’s control and stop the superweapon, thereby saving both Etheria and the galaxy at large, she also had to destroy the sword in order to do so and annihilate Light Hope, cutting off her connection to She-Ra and rendering herself powerless. Yeah, I know she’s still She-Ra and will figure out how to use her power without the sword, but consider how much of a blow that must have been. The sword was must have felt like the thing that made her special, and Light Hope really was her mentor. And now it’s all gone, and she’s (from her viewpoint) just Adora now, with her friends still in danger and Horde Prime now in control.

Also, can I just take a second to point out how awesome that bit about Light Hope’s internal struggle was, with her snapping back and forth between Mara’s Light Hope and the current one? That whole “Don’t…do it” thing with her tone changing was genius, and actually got me misty-eyed.

Catra...sort’ve lost, but also didn’t. On the one hand, her complete and utter breakdown was finally completed. Hordak learned of her deception and straight -up tried to kill her, thereby rendering all of her plans that she desperately put so much of her hopes of validation into completely moot. And sure, she did manage to defeat Hordak in single combat (and oh man, that fight was incredible!) because that’s what she does, but in the end, she was left with nothing! No Horde, no allies, no conquest, and all of her friends were gone, either by having left her for her enemies and/or having been driven away. And then who should show up to further drive in the knife than the person with the most talent at breaking people down?

Double Trouble’s scene with Catra was magnificent, pure cinematic gold. They used all of their vast knowledge of everyone that Catra felt betrayed by or had driven away to hit her again and again, laying bare all the lies she had been telling herself and showing her for the terrible person she had become. And yeah, I had seen that picture of them as Adora pressing Catra’s hand to their cheek and thought that it was a legitimate reunion, but the truth was just so much worse.

However, it’s telling that the person they saved for last wasn’t Adora, wasn’t Hordak, wasn’t Shadow Weaver, or Entrapta. It was Scorpia, the one person who accepted Catra unconditionally, didn’t leave her due to a conflict of ideals, wasn’t trying to use and manipulate her, or had been backstabbed by her in a moment of panic. Scorpia left because she could no longer be around Catra, because Catra was abusing her like she had been abused by others. It was the final proof that Catra had become everything she hated.

And she just takes it.

She doesn’t protest, doesn’t deny, doesn’t attack DT even though she probably could have. She just cowers and lets it happen. Because it’s exactly what she needed to hear.

DT gets away and technically is one of the few characters to end this season by getting ahead, but while I’m sure they certainly enjoyed their performance of breaking Catra down, I can’t help but feel that it was in part benevolent. As if in, DT genuinely was fond of their little kitten and laid out some harsh truths for her own good. Doesn’t mean they didn’t enjoy every second of it though, being the neutral agent of chaos that they are.

God, that scene was so good.

However, having the full weight of that realization come crashing down on her turned out to be good for Catra, painful as it must have been. Because it snaps her out of her breakdown and gets her back on her game, and thanks to a bit of quick thinking and a silver tongue she manages to save Glimmer, Etheria, and (I assume, time will tell) get into a position of power with Horde Prime.

And you know what? I’m calling it now; this is the start of her redemption arc. I honestly think that her reasons for saving Glimmer were benevolent, and she’s going to try to help her former nemesis. Also, I’ve mentioned how Glimmer and Catra are foils for one another before, but any ever notice that Catra has one black sleeve on her right arm and Glimmer has one white sleeve on her left. ENEMY BONDING AHOY!

In regards to Horde Prime, I love that everyone was predicting him to be like this big, hulking monstrosity, like Hordak on steroids or something. Instead, while he is bigger, it’s not by much, and his design is actually more androgynous, with a very muted color scheme, all whites and pale greens. And yet…it really works for me. It kinda drives in his fixation with order and perfection. And I love how he’s unfailingly polite and gracious while committing atrocities, only to snap at the sight of Hordak’s “imperfection.” I wouldn’t say he’s terrifying like a giant berserker would be, but he is incredibly intimidating. I am very much on board with seeing more of him.

But then, it could also be his uncanny resemblance to another favorite villain of mine...

Look, I’m just saying, the similarities are there.

Scorpia getting juiced up on the Black Garnet was fucking incredible. I love how giddy she was with her new powers, but also remaining true to herself, even apologizing when she hit Catra’s henchmen too hard. And even with the things the way they are, she still asked Glimmer not to hurt Catra, and her first instinct when everything went to shit was to seek out Frosta and Perfuma to help them, even though she barely knew them (that’s my girl!). Oh, I hope the Runestones are still working so Scorpia can keep her powers, and I love that she’s a full-fledged princess now. Though I do wonder: what happened with that Fire Princess that supposedly got corrupted? Is that graphic novel canon? If so, what happened to her Runestone, and why wasn’t it included during the power up?

And one final note: good on Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio for finally deciding that they’ve had enough and splitting.

Y’know, I really do love this show. It just makes me happy. I love these characters, I love their personalities, I love their relationships with one another, I love their world, I just really love this show. And while I do not want it to continue past its planned end-point, I am going to miss it when it’s gone.

End. Scene.

[roominthecastle]

Hi Room, What do you think about the finale? Any theorys about why Katarina did that to Red? And what do you think about the Stranger? Thanks!

To me, the finale in general felt okay, which is strangely comforting bc it wasn’t bad. I’m good with an “okay”. “okay” is an improvement (like I still feel TBL is trying while – to use a concurrent example – GOT gave up on itself and its fans spectacularly). There are individual moments that are more than okay to me (DEMBE, the team work, esp Liz & Red, esp esp Liz taking charge and that tiny moment of synchronized tea drinking) and others are less than (e.g. the conclusion to the conspiracy plot is kinda… ?!), but overall I like how S6 played out and my excitement for (lucky number) 7 is intact. Things are in motion and interesting again, and I finally gave myself permission to do a proper, full-scale re-watch during the summer, maybe attempt to chart the timeline, too, which is sth I never expected to consider doing again. I’m even gonna read the comics. In short, this season pulled me back in the Zone.

the rest is behind a cut due to length – @ mobile app users, apologies as always

Red’s identity, Dom’s story, and Liz’s side of these things

The Stranger: Masha was bound to figure out you aren’t who you say you are. What I can’t figure out is Dom. Why would he tell her all that?Red: In an attempt to help her move on.The Stranger: And she believed him?Red: She did. So much so that she‘s decided it’s safe to bring her daughter home.The Stranger: I know Dom meant well. He shouldn’t have told her that story.

So… having seen this scene, I def have more doubts than before, anon, but I still believe that the gist of the Rassvet story (including Red == Ilya) is true. This is (imo) why Red tells Dom “I know the broad strokes, I know who I am, but I need to hear the details you used to sugarcoat the ugly truth to make it look like a fairytale”, i.e. something that Liz has a tendency to swallow (see changed man!Tim or every paternity test they show her), something she was eager to embrace here, too, despite the obvious holes bc – as she told Ressler – “it is sweet and safe, so I’m gonna overlook things that don’t add up and hope it doesn’t come crashing down on me this time”. But it does. Every time.

Whether we like it or not, this is a consistent trait in Liz, this willingness to settle for a sweet, simple story over the messy, complicated truth even when she has misgivings (see her going at Red in 219, “It wouldn’t kill you to lie just once to make someone feel good.”). She’s not stupid, she’s just scared and unsure, imo (and so is Red but, unfortunately for Liz, being pathologically secretive is still what soothes him). But when there is no sweet story available to make Liz feel good/safe or it’s no longer sustainable, that’s when she grows restless/angry and goes on the offensive until she feels safe again. She did this w/ Tim and then w/ Red, too (she literally locked both of them up to gain control), and both times we can eventually hear her say “I was scared of you but not anymore”, and both times she expresses love for a safe & sweet idea and not the full reality of these men who cannot live up to that idea, so the cycle starts up again (well, not w/ Tim as he is now dead but Red is still in the running.)

It doesn’t really matter if the answer she gets is incomplete or untrue. As long as she can make herself swallow it, as long as it brings a sense of security, she will go for it. Tim played along w/ this and that fantasy bubble collapsed every time. Red never did and never will indulge her w/ sweet delusions but by doing so, he also reduces their “feelgood” time together. He hides behind her father’s identity but for her, he breaks cover repeatedly, which to me further signals that he doesn’t wish to take on the roles associated w/ this identity in her life, which clearly clashes w/ her park bench claim of “this is who you will always be to me”. And given Liz’s track record w/ these self-soothing declarations, I think we will once again see her being contradicted.

Having heard of what’s happened btw her and Red, I think Dom decided to tailor the truth to give them a quick-fix. His story brought a sense of safety/certainty that Liz craves – sth Red refused to offer when he told her he had a secret and he had to keep it and refused to give her any embellished feel-good alternative. But now he is on edge bc some of his secrets have been spilled and it was done in a way that maximizes his discomfort (by making him look like a hero when he considers himself anything but, and, ultimately, by undermining his control over his own “narrative” around Liz). I believe this is part of the reason why he tells Dom that he likely made everything worse by telling her that story.

I hope next season they will be pushed to face more of the actual truth together – in all its ugly, messy glory – about what exactly happened and, more importantly, why. Because we still don’t know much of that. Dom only offered a taste but now Katarina is back to mix some sour to the sweet (I am hungry as I am typing this, can you tell ;)

The Stranger: well, we barely have anything to go on here but what we have is already intriguing, i.e. he grew up w/ Red, he seems to know Dom and Katarina personally, he seems to have some serious tradecraft background + connections, and he is among the v few who is trusted w/ Red’s secrets, so he is inner inner circle for sure (and he’s played by Brett Cullen, so… yes please). I still think the childhood pledge from the Rassvet story is an element of truth (it just fits our Red way too much + I see it reflected in “Cape May”), so I think these 3 (the Stranger, Red, and Kat) were likely childhood friends and they all picked similar career paths (or it was picked for them), so the Stranger is likely Russian, too.

Katarina continues to puzzle me to no end, I freely admit. And I am enjoying it (for now anyway). The finale offered some really interesting details here, imo, and I think Red’s 2nd meeting w/ the Stranger is the most revealing.

Red tasked his mysterious friend to locate Katarina bc Ressler’s dig for his real identity triggered an active search for her, too. The Stranger finds her and hands Red a picture saying, “It’s her. I’m telling you, Raymond. Paper trails. The passports. The travel. It’s her.” What we can immediately conclude here is that they didn’t even know what Kat looks like now since it’s not the picture the Stranger used to identify her but her signature methods/movements (knowledge of this implies a close working relationship in the past at the v least). And since he doesn’t hand Red the pic to ask him to confirm it’s her but to show him what she looks like now, we can also conclude that Red had no idea what she looks like now, either, which means that he hasn’t seen her for almost 3 decades and, apparently, he would have been fine w/ maintaining this arrangement if it hadn’t been for the security risk Ressler’s digging exposed them to.

This conclusion lines up nicely w/ two (imo very important) things established in previous episodes:

Red’s hallucinations at Cape May – he sees Kat the way she looked in 1991/92. His mind couldn’t conjure her present image bc his last memories of her are almost 30 years old. This in turn implies that the Hobson’s choice event took place around this time, as well, and that was the last time he saw her. It was the last time Dom saw her, too, if what he tells Liz in “Rassvet” – that it was 28 years ago – is true.

Katarina being dead – whatever happened to Kat, her own father considers her as good as dead now. So does Red and Dom blames him for this loss, going as far as saying he killed her.

Dom: These boxes are all I have left of my daughter.

Red: If Katarina were standing here instead of me, if it were she asking you, what would you tell her?Dom: It doesn’t matter because she is not here and she’s not asking.Red: But if you could tell her–Dom: I can’t!

Dom (to Liz): If my Katarina was still here, she would have let me know. [… her mother sent a letter hoping it] would find her alive. I picked it up because I knew it never would.”

Liz: You said the name Masha Rostova had been lost to history until the manhunt. Now it’s out there and someone’s looking for me. It’s my mother.Red: Lizzie, your mother is dead.

Her mother was dying, Kat never showed. Her daughter was being hunted and it was televised globally – Kat never showed. And clearly neither Dom nor Red expected her to as they both seem to consider Katarina dead despite being aware that she is still out there somewhere. Moreover, they both believe that Liz is better off thinking her mother is dead than knowing whatever the truth is (so it cannot be too good). Add to this Red’s latest remark to Liz – “your mother can’t hurt you” – and things truly get weird and interesting. Was Kat subjected to some special session w/ Krilov, too, that somehow “extinguished” parts of her, practically rendering her old self “gone”? This would be my current best guess (just a shot in the dark, really) and I know it’s crude sci-fi territory but this is TBL we’re talking about.

Whatever happened to Kat, Red was involved in it, and we have several remarks to back this up:

“All the money, all the time and effort, all the favors in the world cannot possibly equal what you took away from her.” (Red, 216)

“There was a woman and her child. Both were doomed. Both would die. I could either save one or lose both. I chose the child. It was the worst thing I’ve ever had to do in my life.” (Red, 319)

“I’m not sure Elizabeth will ever be ready to learn what you did to Katarina.” (Dembe, 422)

“[Katarina] is gone because of choices you made.” (Dom, 320)

In “Cape May”, Red hallucinated forgiveness/absolution from Katarina but we don’t know if this is how she actually felt. It could have been just Red trying to make himself feel better about doing what he felt to be necessary. Katarina in the present doesn’t seem to be in a forgiving mood, tho. She clearly expected to be contacted and she clearly considered Red’s presence a threat.

Red: If Moscow is looking for Katarina, if Agent Ressler’s inquiry has reignited their search…The Stranger: Then I know that could be bad.Red: I want this done before Masha’s daughter comes home.

So… your guess is as good as mine here, anon. All we have for now is a whole lot of vaguing and very little concrete info. I agree, it feels there’s sth more to this but there’s just so little to go on, it could be almost anything. What we can conclude is that the Stranger and Red (and Dom) have stayed away from Katarina for almost 30 years and if it hadn’t been for Moscow’s freshly reignited interest in finding her, this complete lack of contact would have remained. They didn’t even keep direct tabs on her since they had no idea what she looked like or where exactly she was or that she was a threat to Red (otherwise he would have approached her differently, imo).

They clearly do not want Kat to be found – the precise “why” remains to be seen. Red’s first words to her are a warning – “it’s not safe” –, and I think he truly went there to make sure she wouldn’t be scooped up. That was his immediate objective. If she were found, the consequences would reach Liz and Agnes, and heading that threat off is what ultimately motivates Red here (→ “I want this done before Masha’s daughter comes home.”). He didn’t look too enthusiastic to make contact. He didn’t want to, he had to.  And he didn’t tell Liz, which suggests that he wants this separation to remain, which suggests that something is up w/ Katarina that goes beyond the usual “you can’t be in her life bc it’s dangerous” reason. Dom stayed out of Liz’s life, too, for safety reasons yet Red told him to find Liz if anything happened to him. That doesn’t seem to be the case w/ Kat at all. Red himself stayed away from her yet he went to find Dom after Liz “death” and returned several times after that for advice or simply for his company.

The meeting w/ Kat wasn’t a social call and it did not feel like a romantic reunion, either. Red just looked sad and tense to me. And he clearly did not expect to be stabbed, so I don’t think that bit was part of any planned performance. Why he received that treatment is another good question. Kat has clearly come into the possession of some new info that compelled her to go on the offensive. It could be related to their past and that vague remark about what Red did to her OR it is about something more recent that Red wasn’t aware she was aware of?? Right now this moment feels like a convergence of two separate threads: Red came to warn her based on “undisclosed plot point A” and Katarina reacted to him based on “undisclosed plot point B”.

Oh, I love this song, anon. Antis can keep pointing at that awkward kiss (that he doesn’t even initiate, she keeps pushing her face into his) as evidence of some ~epic romance~ all they want, but once again they fail (and/or refuse) to see things in context and “Cape May” was already pretty clear wrt Red’s feelings, I agree. and the finale lines up w/ it, too, which is nice.

Red hasn’t seen her in 30 years yet he only decided to contact Kat bc her looming exposure threatened Liz and Agnes, and when he is shown a picture of her, this is his reaction:

Not exactly what I’d expect from a dude in love (even if it were unrequited). He had a way more emotional reaction to Dembe’s return and he only left like a week ago. This is more like how you react when someone shows you photographic evidence of Bigfoot chilling in their hot tub w/ a beer. And now we know Red knew all along that Katarina was alive, so him “designating” Liz as the woman he loves and confessing (several times both to her and others) that without her he has nothing to live for and saying her name as his last word speak volumes already. So if they wanted to sell Red/Kat, they have already undercut themselves on multiple fronts here by giving literally all the romance tropes to Red/Liz. But I don’t believe they are selling R/K, it’s just another smoke screen + Kat is part of a past both Red and Liz have to settle for the sake of their future. And settling the past is always easier and more fruitful to do w/ a living human than w/ a ghost or a hallucination.

Yeah, I think it’s there to signal that they (Dom and Kat included) go way back and were/are close, like you said. and to indicate shared Russian roots, perhaps. As I said above, I still think Red is Ilya and the Stranger is likely Russian, too, (and so is Dom), so using Liz’s original Russian name makes sense in this context of “Russian togetherness”.

and Red sometimes calls her Masha around Dom, too, bc that’s what Dom calls her bc that’s who she still is to Dom. And I think that’s why Red calls her Elizabeth bc that’s who she is to him, which is a nice little detail further emphasizing that his main/defining connection to her is the present one just as James keeps saying. Or as Red puts it on-screen

I can def see both sides here, anon, and more. Knowing what we know about Red, both are likely among the multiple reasons that underpin his behavior in this scene. Yes, on the one hand, he was pressed for time and wanted that Kat thing done as soon as possible. On the other, he was also kinda closed-off as if he were trying to hold back emotionally as well as physically, which I think flows from 2 main sources: 1) he feels uncomfortable w/ the labels Liz wants to push on him (ever since the pilot he’s been displaying a preference for “partner” and not “father” and he might be reaching his saturation point) and 2) he is still heartbroken and afraid to put himself out there again w/ Liz after three major betrayals in a row. He’s already had a sort of baseline distress due to how emotionally vulnerable he is to Liz at all times, so after this latest heartbreak I think he is just trying to take things slow, leaving space and time for Liz and himself to figure out a mutually acceptable way to fit together.

She’s been using his heart as a knife block to satisfy her own needs and I think it’s making him less and less willing to force himself into slots that feel uncomfortable to him. She just decided that him playing dad and grandad is what suits him but a week ago she thought life in prison suited him the best. I mean… that’s not how you relationship. At all. Relationships are ongoing negotiations where all involved need to consent to their “roles”. It’s not “I hate you now, so I will put you in prison” and then “I love you now, so stay for dinner”. After everything that’s happened, I am not surprised Red is pushing back a little here for the sake of (what’s left of) his own sanity. He is a deeply flawed, problematique human being but he is still a human being and not a toy.

Liz and Agnes are the most important to him and he would never ever force his preferences on them, I completely agree. But that doesn’t mean Liz should be allowed to force her preferences on him esp when those change so often and so drastically bc she clearly doesn’t know what she really wants from him yet. I think this realization is finally truly dawning on this guilt-ridden, lovesick idiot and that’s part of what we see in this scene, esp in that “I don’t wanna intrude” comment that really does feel like a pointed retreat from her abrupt park bench declaration. But of course there is no negotiation w/o talking and that’s what Liz wanted to do before Red shut her down, so…

bottom line (that’s been the same for 6 years): these 2 need to talk.

[goodwriterwithbadhabits]

Phantom Lover

Master List

This is a doozy! I got so carried away. You wanted angst? I give you Detective Yixing x College Reader. 

And I am so sorry about this one, it seems both too long and also so rushed at the same time.

Warnings: Certifiably fucked up. Torture, death, blood violence, cops, swearing

Enjoy

~~

When Detective Yixing woke up, he was not expecting the first thing he saw to be a woman standing in his bedroom, but there you were. Your was face covered in scrapes and bruises, your clothes torn and bloodied and your fingertips dripping blood onto his bedroom floor.

Of course he did the logical thing, the thing any police detective would have done at that sight at 9:30 in the morning.

He screamed. Loudly. 

You took a step back, shocked at his outburst, and stumbled back further when his bedroom door burst open and his roommate burst through the door. Suho looked around wildly, brandishing a baseball bat.

“What the fuck, Lay?” He huffed, “Scaring the shit out of me this fucking early.” Yixing looked at him incredulously.

“Do you not see the girl? The bloody woman standing right there?” He gestured to where you stood but Suho seemed to look right through you.

“Lay, there's no one there, you're just overworking yourself, dude.”

“No, she's right there!” He practically shouted. Suho sighed in annoyance and walked over to you, and then through you.

“No one here, Lay. Seriously, its the missing persons case, its got you going crazy.” Suho sighed, patting his friend on the shoulder and leaving the room. “Maybe you should ask for someone to take over.” He offered from across the house.

“Yeah maybe.” Lay breathed, still staring at you. “Are you real?” You looked down at yourself, examining the blood on your fingers before looking back at him and saying something he couldn't here. “What? I can't hear you.” You spoke again, clearly attempting to enunciate every word but there was still no sound. “You can hear me, but I can't hear you, right?” You huffed, shrugging.

“Lay! Come eat, you're gonna be late!.” Suho called.

“Could you, um, could you turn around? I need to get dressed.” He asked, tugging the duvet closer to himself. Your cheeks went red and you pointed to the door. He nodded and you practically ran out of the room.

You were aware of everything, your name, the dull throbbing pain that coursed through your body. Even what had happened right before you found yourself seemingly astral projected in some stranger's house. You didn't feel dead, you could feel your pulse when you checked it, but you couldn't touch anything. Your hand just went right through it, which made making your way through the house so much easier.

You wandered his house, waiting for him, for a few minutes. It was fancy, two stories, a nice view, a huge pool in the back, very art deco meets log cabin vibes. Lay's roommates, Suho and Sehun, a friend of your roommate's, were sitting in the spacious kitchen, discussing Lay when you got there.

“I think we should talk to Xiumin, it's not healthy for Lay to be working so much.” The other one said.

“Maybe, but he seemed really sure about there being someone there. I went to college with him, I've seen what he's like when he's hallucinating.”

“When was he-”

“I'm not telling you that story, Sehun. Don't you have class?” Suho immediately cut off the younger man.

“Not for another hour, but if you're sure he isn't hallucinating, have him talk to Professor Do.” Sehun shrugged.

“The creepy occult professor?” Suho questioned, setting a thermos next to a lunch pail on the counter.

“Yeah, but he knows a lot about ghost stuff. It's a long shot, but maybe he can help him out.”

“Whose gonna help who out?” Lay inquired as he entered the kitchen, now clad in crisp slacks and a cream-colored button-down with black suspenders standing stark from the cloth.

He looked good, like every detective from the movies and TV shows you had grown up watching and knowing that he couldn't hear you, you told him so. 

“Professor Do, he's an occult expert and he might be able to help out with the girl your seeing.” Sehun explained. Lay nodded, picking up the lunch box and thermos. “I'll check him out after work. See you later guys.” He waved to his roommates as he jogged out to his car. Once outside he glanced behind him to see you following. “Do you recognize any of the buildings in the area?” He asked you, to which you shook your head. He opened the driver's side door and rested his head on the roof of his car. You, in some half-assed attempt at existing in the corporeal plane, grabbed at the handle of the passenger side door and shockingly, were able to open it.

“Holy shit.” He breathed, “Well, climb in, you can come with me to the precinct and we can see if we can't find out what's happening.” He instructed, and you both climbed into the car.

Back inside the house, Suho and Sehun slowly turned towards each other as Lay pulled away, both having seen, not only the car door opening on its own but also the reflection of a beaten-up woman in the window of the car.

“Did you see?” Suho asked the younger boy.

“So he's not crazy.” Sehun admitted.

“And he's not hallucinating.”

“But who the hell is she?”

~~

“We just received another missing person's report.” Police Captain Xiumin announced to the group of detectives gathered around the report board. “A young woman L/n, Y/n. She went to work four days ago and never came home. Her roommate, Kim Jongin, says he thought she might have gone to her mothers and forgot to tell him but when he called this morning her mother said she wasn't there.” The captain tacked a picture to the board and Lay had to hold back his gasp, there you were, staring back at him from what looked like a school ID. “Zhang, do you have anything on this case?”

“I think so, we've noticed a pattern.” Lay started, loading a presentation on the projector. You were sat at his desk next to him, staring at your own picture on the wall. Had it really been four days? “Whoever is doing this only seems to be taking college women, that was obvious. We didn't see any possible connection until last night. None of them are in the same major, they don't look alike, but they all have one thing in common. They have all modeled for an art class on campus. The class meets at 2 on Thursdays. Lee Sora, two days before she was taken, Yang Hyunjoo, three days prior, Kim Sunmi, one day prior.” CCTV images of girls you vaguely knew popped up on the screen, all posing some sort of way on the dais in the middle of the room. “Hwang River and Boo Hana were both the day they modeled, I'm almost certain if we check, Miss Y/n will be on the list of their models.” A few of Lay's colleagues gave him looks of awe while others stared at him like he was their archenemy.

“Do that. Who would have this list of models, who would know?” Xiumin inquired.

“Only the teacher, whose been at class nearly every time one of them was taken, and the students in the class.”

“I want the names of every kid in that class, I want them brought in and questioned and I want this figured out yesterday. And who the hell is that?” Xiumin nearly shouted as a shadow fell in front of the projector screen, you had stepped in front, pointing to the photo of yourself.

“There's no one standing there.” Someone noted, “Just their shadow.”

“Zhang? Is this part of the presentation?” Lay smirked, making eye contact with you.

“No sir.”

“Then who is that? And why can't we see them?”

“Sir, I believe that is Miss Y/n.” You nodded, which made everyone gasp. “ I think she's going to be able to help us out.”

“Alright.” Xiumin mused, still staring at your shadow. “Everyone get to work. Yang, I want you on the list of students, round up who you need to. Zhang, meet me in my office, and bring the girl.” The lights came back on, and the projector turned off, rendering you invisible once again. Xiumin walked to his office as Lay set his things back on his desk. You made your way over to the report wall, seeing the faces of the other girls.

“Recognize anyone?” He asked you. You nodded, pointing to Lee Sora, a girl you had met in the cafeteria during a study group. “Just her?” You gestured to the others and made the motion of kinda with your hand.

“So you can see her then?” Homicide Detective Lu Han asked, looking towards the report board where Lay was looking. “How come?”

“No idea. She showed up in my room this morning. Suho walked right through her but she managed to open my car door.” Lay explained.

“Hmm, maybe it's just your things she can touch.” He offered, “Y/n! He called, lobbing his badge towards you. You tried to catch it only to have it fall right through you.

“What was that going to accomplish?” Lay asked.

“Give me your badge.” Lay complied and Lu tossed it in your direction and to his shock, you caught it. “Hey, I was right.” He grinned. “If she holds on to it, we'll be able to see her too.” He shrugged. “Either way, you need to go see the boss.” You walked over to Lay's desk trying to hand him back his badge.

“Hold onto it.” He ordered, before leading you towards the boss's office.

~~

“Care to explain whatever this is?” Xiumin asked, leaning on his desk and staring at the floating police badge in front of him.

“I don't know how to, sir. She was in my room this morning, no one else can see her.” Lay explained. “It seems she can only touch my things, I was shocked she even cast a shadow.”

“But she's L/n Y/n?”

“It would seem so. The problem is, I can't hear her when she talks, and I don't understand sign language.” 

“We need to know what she knows.”

“I was going to stop by Professor Do, the occult studies professor, see if he might be able to help.”

“We'll go now. Take her in your car, I'll meet you there.” Xiumin ordered. Lay nodded and the two of you left the office.

“At least someone believes me, and I know you're not just a product of my hallucinations.” Lay laughed, gathering his folders on his desk. You plopped in his chair, hand immediately going to pick up his letter opener, spinning it in your bloody fingers, effectively smearing your blood across it. “Hopefully Professor Do will be able to help.” He sighed, “Let's go then.”

~~

Xiumin met the two of you in front of the administrations building of the university.

“Hello, can I help you?” The receptionist inquired. The young man, whose name tag read Jongdae, smiled at the two men, not noticing the floating police badge that was now attached to a chain around your neck.

“Captain Minseok, Busan PD, this is Detective Zhang, we need a few things from you.” Lay pulled out your picture from his files.

“Recognize this student?” Jongdae nodded, smiling. “What can you tell us about her?”

“She's a wonder. Investigative Journalism major, though she hasn't been to class in a few days.”

“Since when?”

“Well, she came in for her Friday morning photojournalism lecture but hasn't been to class for the last two days. I'm getting kinda worried.” He confessed. You smiled, thankful that one of your friends cared.

“Thank you, we may have more questions for you. What’s the best way to get hold of you?” Xiumin asked, Jongdae immediately grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled his number on it.

“Here, call or text me. For any reason.” He winked at the captain, who wasn't sure how to respond. You burst out laughing, thankful that no one could hear you.

“We, we need to know if Professor Do is in today.” Xiumin stuttered, tucking the paper into his breast pocket.

“The occult studies professor?”

“Yes.”

“Let me call.” He picked up the phone, while Lay and Xiumin took a few steps back.

“I'm going to stay down here, I want to ask this guy if he knows anything about the other missing girls. Take her up to the professor and call me if anything comes up.” Xiumin decided.

“Yes sir.”

“Excuse me.” All three of you looked to Jongdae. “The professor is in his office. It's in the human sciences building, I can give you a map.” Lay looked to you who pointed to yourself, telling him you knew the way.

“That's alright, I know the way. Thank you.” Lay turned back to his superior and nudged his shoulder. “Don't have too much fun Captain.”

“Shut up Zhang.”

~~

Walking through campus was strange, you saw people you knew, but they couldn't see you. At one point you walked right by your friend group and heard them asking Jongin about you.

“I don't know. She didn't come home Friday. I filed a missing persons report this morning.” He explained.

“Why'd you wait?” Sehun asked, “I've got some friends at the police department, I could have asked them to look into it.”

“Sehun.” Lay chastised, as he walked by. “Don't go getting any ideas, you'll end up owing me favors.”

“Lay, what are you doing here? Is it about-” Lay cut the younger man off.

“I'm just here to speak to Professor Do. Although.” Lay pondered for a moment. “Have any of you attended the live model art class?”

“I have.” Your friend Tao, raised his hand. “The one on Thursday right?”

“Anything you can tell me about it?” Lay asked, pulling his notepad out of his pocket. “Anything that's changed in the past few months?”

“Well, the class only started a few weeks ago, but it's been losing its intrigue. Only a few of us still attend the class. Most have dropped it.” Tao explained.

“Would you be willing to come down to the station and answer some questions, Mister...?”

“Huang Zitao. And yeah, that's no problem.” You smiled, watching Lay and one of your closest friends talk. You couldn't pretend not to like Lay, he was smart, kind, and hard working. There must have been some sort of connection between you two, it was the only explanation for why you showed up in his bedroom.

“Thank you, when you can, go to the station and ask for Yang. He's the one who gonna want to ask you some questions.” Lay bowed to the group who bowed back before walking off.

“Detective. Are you gonna find our friend?” Jongin called. Lay stopped, locking eyes with you as you both smiled, slowly turning back to the group.

“Yes.”

Lay continued pouring over his notes as you made your way to Professor Do's office. A few students seemed to notice you, or at least the floating badge, and do double-takes, but most were scurrying between classes. You paused in front of the classroom as the professor said goodbye to the students, waiting for him to be finished speaking to the last of the stragglers.

“Excuse me, professor Do?” Lay interrupted, “Detective Zhang, I need to speak to you.”

“Of course, I'll see you next week Hyunjin, and I hope you find your friend.” He told the student, turning his attention to Lay and the floating badge as the student ran off. “Come in you two.”

The inside of his classroom was surprisingly normal-looking, a few dead animals in formaldehyde and some ancient texts hanging on the walls, but his office was another story. Giant bookshelves full of decaying texts, charms, and crystals on the walls and strange devices on shelves across the room. “I suspect you're not here about the missing girls.” He started, motioning for Lay to take a seat. “You here about that.” He pointed to you and the badge. “Your ghost friend.”

“Actually, it's a bit of both professor, this is L/n Y/n-”

“One of the missing students. Is she dead?” You had spoken to the professor before, but the way he was staring at you was freaking you out.

“I don't think so. She looks pretty alive.”

“You can see her? Tell me everything, feel free to have a seat Y/n.” He sat on the other side of his desk, eyes never leaving you as Lay explained everything.

“So others could see her, and she can't touch what isn't yours?” He mused once Lay had finished.

“That seems to be the case professor.”

“Call me Kyungsoo. I think I've seen something like this before.” Both of you perked up at this.

“You have?”

“Its a very rare soulmate bond. The ability to astral project to the other if the need arises. Eventually, you'll be able to do it whenever you want.” Kyungsoo explained, moving to one of his bookshelves.

“Hold on, did you say soulmates?” Lay asked.

“Yes.” Kyungsoo's blunt reply made you both look at the other, and you felt your cheeks heat up. “It says here that we may be able to see her using a mirror.” He read, setting the book down he grabbed the large mirror from the corner and set it in the middle of the room. “Y/n, come stand in front of this please.” You did as you were told and were shocked when you finally got to see yourself.

You looked like shit.

Your hair was ratty and greasy, you were covered in cuts and bruises and the shirt you were wearing was cut in places and covered in blood, likely from your own hands which had finally stopped bleeding.

“Well hello again, how are you feeling?” You shrugged, not really sure, everything felt kinda fuzzy and yet damp, like your actual body was somewhere wet. “Alright, try speaking, tell us your name.” You did and once again, no sound. “Well, do you know sign language?” You nodded, thankful to finally be able to communicate. “Alright, well tell us your story, slowly, and I can translate.” He glanced at Lay, who was fishing out his notebook again. When Lay gave you a thumbs up, you began.

“I was leaving work, walking through the park. It was late at night and I hear someone behind me. Then someone put their hand over my mouth, I smelled something awful and I woke up in the dark. I could see a door of some kind, there was light around it, I went to it, but it was locked and the stairs leading to it were wet. I banged on the door and tried to pry it open with my hands but someone hit it from the other side. I got scared and hurried down the stairs. I don't know how long I was there, but sometimes a tray of food, usually a sandwich and a glass of water was shoved in a hole in the door. I found what felt like a window but it didn't let in any light. I had been trying to pry open the door again when someone hit the door and I fell backward, I think I fell down the stairs, but when I opened my eyes again, I was laying on your floor, you woke up a moment later.” Kyungsoo glanced at the detective who was still frantically writing notes.

“What do you recall of the room you were in? Did you get a feel for the size?” He was kinda hot when he went full detective mode.

“She says it felt small, and it was possibly underground.”

“Was there anyone else in the room?”

“I don't think so. I never heard anyone else, and you say I've been gone for days.” You paused, frantically trying to remember something else. When it hit you you frantically waved your hands before carefully signing what you had to say. Kyungsoo's eyes went wide and he hesitated. “Are you sure?” You signed it again, slower.

“What? What is she saying?”

“She says, I heard screaming like someone was being hurt, not very far away.”

~~ Back at the precinct, you and Lay stood in the interrogation viewing room as people were interviewed by Yang Jeongin and Lu. Most of them said the same things, they only knew you from the class, never spoke to you afterward and never thought there was anyone who might get mad at you for anything.

Then Tao came in. You were practically pressed to the viewing glass, wanting to walk through it and comfort your friend who looked a little scared.

“Huang Zitao, martial arts expert, fashion and design major, what are you doing in an art class?”

“Honestly, there's a guy I have a thing for who was in the class for a while before he moved back home to China. Then it was too late to quit and the people there are pretty nice.”

“Did you know any of the models in the class?” Jeongin asked, to which Tao nodded.

“I know Boo Hana, she's in my interior design class and L/n Y/n is a close friend of mine.”

“Was there anyone in the class that might have had it out for any of the girls?” Tao hesitated, nervously looking around. You quickly pulled off the badge and walked through the wall, moving to stand behind Tao and set your hand as close to on his shoulder as you could.

“Zitao, we need you to be honest with us if there was anyone that gave you even a bad vibe, we need to know, we won't be able to find your friend unless you tell us.”

“There was one guy...”

~~

“We can't just run in, it could get somebody killed. We need evidence Zhang, you know that.” Xiumin was trying to remain calm as Lay pleaded with him.

“But Captain, this guy is our only real lead-”

“If you think he could have something to do with this, get some more evidence and give me a reason to put out a warrant.”

“But Captain-” “Enough, need I remind you what happened last time your went rushing in to danger?”

“No sir.” Lay sighed.

“Go home, Lay, you have until the end of the day tomorrow to bring me something substantial, or I'm taking you off the case.”

“Minseok,” The older boy looked Lay in the face, being as professional as possible.

“You've become too emotionally invested, get your head clear and find something in the morning. I have faith in you, you're my best detective.”

“Thank you sir. I'll see you in the morning.”

~~

“None of this makes any sense,” Lay groaned, tugging at his hair. It was nearing 3 in the morning and Lay was still pouring over his notes and files. You were sat next to him on his couch, wishing you could help him more. You weren't even sure if you could touch him to calm him down, you hadn't tried. “Tao said he was the one, but he's a straight-A student, captain of the debate team, even in choir. He's like a damn angel, and if he is the one and I can't find him, something might happen to all of you and you could get hurt or worse. I can't have that on my conscience-” You stopped his ramblings by setting your hands on his cheeks, turning his head to face you. You looked at him sternly, making him sigh and press his cheek further into your hand. “You're right, I'm way too stressed about this, and freaking out won't help.” He chuckled, “You aren't even speaking to me and you're already putting me in my place, maybe we are soulmates.” You chuckled as well, the smile on your face making his broader. “I don't know what to do.” He finally sighed. You had an idea and slowly trailed your arms down his neck and to his shoulders. “Woah, darling, I don't plan on having sex with a ghost.” You smacked his chest, grabbing the notebook from beside his leg.

“Why don't you google his name, ya nasty.” You wrote on the notepad.

“Darling you're a genius.” He declared, grabbing your cheeks and planting a chaste kiss on your forehead. “Why didn't I think of that? Don't answer that.” He pulled his laptop closer to himself and pulled up the browser. “What's his name?” You flipped through the notebook, scooting closer to him in order to show him his own notes. “What would I do without you?”

~~ “Captain! Captain, I have something.” Lay nearly shouted as the two of you entered the precinct.

“Good, because I couldn't get the art teacher to cancel tomorrow's class.” Lu added, joining Lay as he walked towards the captain's office. “Most of the student's have been accounted for, and they have some pretty solid alibis.”

“Zhang, Han, tell me you have something, preferably something we can act on before tomorrow afternoon?” Xiumin greeted, opening the door of his office for them to enter.

“Actually yes, sir.” Lay practically grinned. “I looked him up last night, he's a recent transfer student, the last town he came from had a string of serial kidnappings and subsequent murders right before he came here. He lives in some big farmhouse looking thing on the very outskirts of town.”

“That's not enough to get a warrant.” Xiu sighed.

“Maybe not, but combined with the character reports from the interrogations yesterday, it's enough for us to be able to go talk to him. And if we see something, we can act.” Lu explained, setting a stack of transcripts from the previous days down on the captain's desk. Xiumin looked at the papers in front of him, then to the two men.

“Go together, I'll have everyone here on standby, if anything sets you off, I want you to radio backup, unless someone is dying, you are not to go in by yourselves. Understand me?” Both men stood straight, saluting their captain.

“Yes sir.” He saluted them back.

“Go find our girls.”

~~

Lay in full tactical gear was hot, you weren't even gonna lie. The bulletproof vest, the boots, had you been one of the weirdos on the internet you would have asked him to step on you.

“It looks like an old bunker, a barn built on top, and a farmhouse.” Lu explained from the passenger seat. You were sat in the middle of the backseat, that way Lay could continue to keep an eye on you. As you got closer to the farm, your arm started to burn. Not like the building was on fire, but more like someone was stabbing you with a hot poker.

“I'll check the barn, you knock on the front door.” Lay decided. “Y/n, are you okay?” He asked, seeing your pained expression in the rearview. You shook your head frantically, clutching the burning spot on your arm. “We're almost there, we'll get you out of there.” He assured you, but when he glanced back at you, the backseat was empty. “Shit.” He growled, stomping on the gas and turning on his sirens.

“Lay, what the hell?”

“She's gone. Something's happened.”

~~ When you opened your eyes, you were laying on a cold metal, something, possibly a surgical table. Your arms were strapped down and you could still feel the burning in your arm. You frantically looked around the dimly lit room, seeing a figure with purple hair slumped against a far wall.

“Ah, there you are.” A man's voice said. “I was wondering when you'd come to.”

“What did you do to her?” You asked, voice hoarse. He chuckled darkly.

“Sora? She's still alive if that's what you're wondering. I'm not going to kill any of you yet.”

“Why are you doing this?” He slammed his hands on either side of your head, leaning above you.

“Because you and your little whore friends deserve it. Parading around in practically nothing while pretending to study, then having the audacity to be a nude model.” He growled you could feel the tears leaking from your eyes, into your hair. “I'm going to make you hate this body, then, I'm going to kill you.”

“What are you gonna do to me?” Your voice was quiet and squeaky, not something you'd ever want someone to hear.

“I'll do exactly what I did to Sora, I'm going to make your skin so horrifying you'd never let it be seen, then I'm going to do the same to your face. Then I'm going to kill you.” He moved around you, standing between you and Sora, but not enough to entirely block your view of her. “I can't do it all at once though, too much pain and the body shuts down, but as long as you don't pull a Sora, you'll be fine. For now.” He raised a small scalpel and from the corner of your eye, you saw Sora shift.

~~

It was beginning to be too much. Your voice was shot from screaming, and your arms were burning from the missing skin. He was flaying you, piece by piece. He paused finally, setting down his tools to check his phone, and you looked behind him, shocked to find Sora missing. The sound of tires outside made you both look towards the doors of the barn you were in.

“Help!” You cried, voice much quieter than you'd prefer. “In here!”

“Shut up!” He whisper-yelled, “You stupid-” He was suddenly cut off and you turned your head to find Sora holding a large piece of rock above her head as he fell to the ground.

“Oh my god, Sora!” You gasped. “Outside.”

“I heard, let's untie you.” You would have been startled by how calm she seemed, despite missing chunks of skin on her arms, but all you could think about was how much you wanted out of there. She started working on the knots on your arms as you continued shouting. Something must have been blocking the doors because it was obvious someone was pushing on them from the outside.

“Lu! Lay!” You called, your head beginning to swim from blood loss and exertion.

“Y/n? Is there anyone else with you?” Lu called thought the doors.

“I'm here, Lee Sora.”

“I need to get my partner, will you be alright?”

“He's unconscious right now. Just hurry back please.” Sora called, finally freeing your arm. “Don't sit up, you'll probably pass out.” She instructed you.

A moment later the barn doors exploded inwards as Lay drove the car into them.

“We need back up and at least one ambulance here ASAP.” Lu ordered into the radio as Lay jumped out of the car.

“The others, do you know where they are?” He asked Sora, eyes still trained on you.

“Down in some sort of sub-basement.” Sora explained, “There's a trap door over there.”

“Hey you.” He finally greeted you. You smiled up at him weakly, trying to lift your arm to grab his hand.

“Hey you.” You whispered back, as he found your hand with his.

“It's nice to hear your voice.” Your eyes shut as you chuckled weakly, and the last thing you heard was him calling your name faintly.

~~

When you finally woke up, someone was holding your hand, and someone else was having a quiet conversation somewhere else in the room. As your vision cleared, you could figure out you were in a hospital room, Jongin sitting in the chair beside you, holding your hand as he scrolled on his phone.

“Kai?” Your voice made him jump and drop his phone as his face erupted in a smile.

“Oh my god, you're awake.” He jumped to his feet, hugging you tightly. “I was getting so worried.”

“I'm okay. How are the others?”

“Hana, Hyunjoo and Sunmi were discharged this morning. River is filling her discharge paperwork out now and-”

“And I'm right here.” You turned your head to find Sora in the bed next to you, with one of her friends sitting next to her. “I wasn't going to leave until I knew you were okay.”

“Thank you.” She smiled at you, but her attention was brought to the doctor that had just walked in.

“Good afternoon, miss Y/n. How do you feel?”

“A little weary, and like I rolled down a street in my swimsuit.”

“Well, your arms are a little worse for wear but we have pain medication and an ointment for you to apply once you're discharged. You should be alright in a few weeks.”

“Awesome. When can I leave?” You laughed, hating hospitals.

“Lets check your vitals and we could have you out of here in an hour.”

Down in the waiting room, where you and Sora were wheeled by your respective best friends, stood a cluster of people. Two men in crisp suits helped Sora out of her wheelchair and pulled her into a tight hug, one that seemed more intimate than brothers. Another man in a suit was talking to Xiumin and from the look on the captain's face he didn't like the guy.

“I am so ready to go home.” You groaned, standing up and popping your back.

“I bet you are, but I'm going out to lunch with Kyungsoo.” Jongin told you, handing you your keys.

“Oh, how am I getting home?” You asked, earning a shrug from him.

“I'm taking you. I'm also taking you out to lunch.” Lay made his way through the crowd, stopping right in front of you. “I think its time we got to know each other, right?”

[artsymew]

Hadn’t realized how much I craved Contestshipping content until I started writing it again. Felt compelled enough to write 1k+ on Drew finally getting some new pants -  its a public service at this point. You can also read it (and the previous story for context, though not required) here.

.

.

“You need new pants.”

Drew finishes his espresso, throwing the Sawsbucks cup in a nearby bin. May hungrily takes another bite of her bagel, staring unsatisfyingly at Drew’s pants.

“I suppose you’re right,” Drew picks at the frays lining the tear, frowning. “These were my favorite.”

May’s cringe goes by unnoticed at his statement. He’s handsome; anyone with a pair of working eyes can tell. His elegant and suave contest persona make him a popular coordinator. He’s always a step ahead of her. She sometimes finds these qualities unfair, but looking at those pants…

Arceus must have decided to be fair; he gave Drew a terrible sense of style.

“Let’s go shopping!” she insists, “we got here early, and we were just looking around today.”

“Wait, we?”

“Yeah! What else am I supposed to do while waiting for you?”

“Practice your appeals?” he answers as if it’s obvious. May sighs, he has a point. She should practice with Glaceon given that the warmer weather affects ice-type attacks…but…

She glances at those pants again. Their color reminiscent of her first impression of Drew all those years ago: obnoxious. She never cared much before, dismissing them as an odd Larousse fashion. But all those same years of getting to know him – growing closer - made those once-tolerable pants increasingly noticeable.

As her friend Dawn would likely say: not helping someone in need of fashion advice is a disservice.    

Arceus knows he needs it.

“Our Pokémon just healed up,” she reasons, “I’d rather give them more time to rest before practicing. Plus, I already planned to shop a little later anyways!”

Drew prepares another excuse, but seeing May beaming up at him excitedly doesn’t exactly help in his favor. A few more seconds pass but the fiery determination shining in her big, blue eyes doesn’t dim. Honestly, he should have expected this.

He sighs, defeated.

“I guess having you as a second opinion wouldn’t be the worst that’s happened to me today.”

Drew’s a simple guy when it comes to clothes: he finds something practical; he wears it. It’s simplicity he engages in outside of coordinating, preferring to leave the showing-off to his Pokémon. He’s worn these pants since the beginning of his journey and they’ve lasted, needing to only roll up the cuffs during his growth spurt. He also doesn’t mind their color, thinking it quite nice. Though, he knew he would have to change them eventually.  

Just not to the khaki pants May’s showing him.

“Drew! This shade goes well with your hair color!” she lifts them closer to him eagerly, then another glimmer catches her eye, “oh! those red ones would look great too!”

“Sure, the red ones are nice,” he shrugs as May beams, “if I wanted to look like a Christmas tree.”

Drew stifles a laugh when face morphs into a frown and she huffs away to another rack. It’s the fifth store they’ve gone into. Fifth. He found something at the first one yet May insisted they compare other options. She could probably go on for hours and its already nearing noon. He knew he was going to regret this. Why did he let her come along again?

She’s currently holding a pair of navy-blue pants and staring intently at Drew’s hair when she catches his gaze. She smiles sheepishly, a light blush dusting her cheeks. His heart flutters.

Ah. That’s why. Stupid feelings.

Still, as much as he enjoys spending time with her, his general disinterest for shopping and his exposed knee-cap urge him to wrap this up.  

May practically skips to meet him, another pair of pants in hand. “Any luck finding something?”

Time to be honest with her.

“Look May, I appreciate your help, but I’ll just look for something later.”

He immediately feels like an ass when her expression falls.

“Oh…” she clutches the pants, “I’m sorry Drew. Guess I got carried away. You don’t like doing this kinda stuff, do you?” She tries smiling at him. “I’ll wait while you look for some- “

“Actually,” he interrupts a little desperately, gesturing at the pair she’s holding, “those ones aren’t bad.”

Drew honestly hadn’t paid much attention to the ones she’d been holding. So, here he was in the dressing room much to May’s excitement and his dismay. Unlike his pants these were plain, black cargos. An interesting choice considering her attempts so far to try out “fashionable” statements. Though not something he saw himself picking out, they’re surprisingly comfortable and fit him well. He tucks in the violet shirt he did pick out (that looks very similar to the one he already owns) and exits the stall.

May’s waiting on the bench nearby. She smiles wide when she sees him, rushing up to him.

“Drew!” she gasps, clasping her hands together. Her smile turns a bit smug, “I knew these would suit you!”

Drew’s too taken aback at her enthusiastic response to remark. Contest-Drew would typically brush it off with a flick of his hair and a confident attitude. Normal-Drew, on the other hand, doesn’t know how to handle compliments from May, his rival and the girl he’s been hopelessly in love with for years.

So, he just stands there, eyes wide and blushing and willing himself to snap out of it. Meanwhile, May’s too focused on inspecting his outfit to notice. Her eyes narrow. “Wait, your shirt looks a bit off…”

She steps forward, reaching to undo the top button of his shirt and Drew (if even possible) turns a darker shade of red. She’s too close. Close enough to view how impossibly blue her eyes are through long lashes. Close enough to feel her breath tickle his neck as she fixes his collar. Close enough to smell the sweet perfume she tried on at one of the stores. Close enough to hear her heart beat over his own booming thrum while she gently loosens the tuck on his shirt.

Close enough that, if she allowed him, he could find out the taste of her lips.

“There…” she admires her work, oblivious to the flustered mess she’s rendered her rival in. It’s only when she looks up and notices how red he is – how lovely flecks of jade appear up close in his gorgeous forest eyes - that she realizes what she’s doing.

Now she’s blushing.

“I-I’m so sorry!” she jumps away, arms flailing. “I didn’t mean-- I j-just wanted to fix the button and then saw how the collar was a bit wrinkled and—and---"  

Seeing how she’s out-flustering him, Drew clears his throat to regain his composure. “Don’t worry, I know its hard for you to keep your hands off me.”

She stops rambling and glares at him, cheeks puffing out in annoyance. He finds it both amusing and adorable thinking how she resembles a Cherubi. “You’re so full of it.”

“If by ‘it’ you mean good lucks and a sharp wit, then you’re absolutely right, May”. He flicks his hair, mostly because he knows doing so will further infuriate her. He holds in a chuckle when it does.

“Well, what do you think of them?”

Right, he had yet to opinion on these pants. Pondering, he tugs at the rough fabric, sliding his hands in their large pockets (another plus) before answering. “I didn’t have high expectations,” he smirks when May pouts, “but they’re comfortable. If they have you practically swooning, they probably don’t look bad either.”

“Hey! I’m just glad you like something I picked out,” she crosses her arms defensively. Then she’s looking at her shoes, attempting to hide another blush. “And you do look really good, so…”

He’s convinced.

After paying for the clothes at the register, he wears them out the store. May’s gloating in her success, but he figures he’ll let her be for now. Instead, he holds his old pants in front of him, looking wistful. “Shame I have to part with these though,” May turns to him curiously, “maybe I could turn them into shorts.”

“Please don’t.”

.

[anistarrose]

Distortion (Gravity Falls x Pokemon)

Summary: Ford’s search for a way to take down Bill Cipher brings him to the Distortion World, where he meets a surprisingly kindred spirit.

Word Count: ~3800

Warnings: some self-blame and self-hatred

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19440313

Another Pokemon Falls crossover, this time with Portal Ford!

***

Finding himself surrounded by shadowy trees that hung in the air like smoke, and staring down a massive waterfall that drew from a pool at his feet and ran upwards into the sky, Ford decided that he was getting really damn tired of gravity anomalies.

You’d think that falling through a punched hole in spacetime would be a singular sensation, unmatched by any other experience — but one of the first lessons Ford had had to learn was to never underestimate the vastness of the multiverse. There would always be yet another dimension where every too-light step would remind him of being lifted off the ground by a humming, crackling portal behind him, of bolts of blue-white electricity winding around him while gravity’s pull rendered him just as immobile and helpless as a Thunder Wave would —

At his side, his Ninetales let out a soft warning growl that jolted him back to reality, just in time to glimpse a shadow shoot across the clouded, dark blue sky. It vanished the span of a single pounding heartbeat, and Ford couldn’t help but look back to Ninetales, hoping for some confirmation that he hadn’t imagined the sight —

An ear-splitting screech filled the air, inhuman and indescribably enraged. Ford dove into the grove of spectral trees, Ninetales close behind him, but as his hand passed through one, they all faded away completely, leaving him no cover.

Yet as painfully exposed as he was, neither the shadow nor the screech returned. The dimension was left eerily silent, aside from the almost peaceful gurgling of the waterfall.

Ford stomped to the center of the floating platform, and yelled to no apparent target: “What is this place? Why did you guide me here?”

Naturally, there was no apparent reply. The waterfall kept gurling, and the illusory trees kept swaying in an intangible wind, but the dimension seemed almost completely devoid of any sentient life.

Except the shadow, of course — and Ford was already forming a hypothesis about that shadow, just as he did about nearly everything, but it seemed almost too incredible to believe. He wasn’t even sure if he would be thrilled to be proven right, or terrified.

He would make up his mind soon enough.

***

On many a rainy autumn afternoon back home, Ford would curl up in the top bunk with Rowlet and Vulpix while Stan would build a pillow fort beneath him with Meowth and Zorua, and they’d just sit peacefully together, drinking hot chocolate and sharing little tidbits from whatever they were reading at the time. Stan preferred comic books, loved the adventures of Crobatman and Captain Braviary and the Green Lanturn, but Ford…

Ford was always into mythology.

“Get this, Stan! There’s a Pokemon called Giratina that can travel between dimensions — and takes on different forms in the different worlds!”

“Huh, neato.”

“And here’s the coolest part — they say that in at least one of its forms, it has six legs and six spikes on its wings!”

“Really? Wow, sounds like you should try and catch one!”

“Well, according to the legend in this book, there’s only one in the whole universe — so catching it is probably off the table, but I’d still like to meet it. Except… except it doesn’t look like I’ll get a chance to, because…”

Ford’s face fell as he skimmed the next few paragraphs. “They say it mostly stays in a world on the reverse side of ours, because it was… banished there. It was just too… violent and destructive for our world, I guess…”

He didn’t say it, but he thought: Too much of a freak.

“Hey, lighten up! That just sounds like a spooky bedtime story someone made up to try and scare their kids into behaving,” Stan told him. “Or their little siblings. It seems kinda like something Shermie would come up with, doesn’t it?”

“No,” Ford said quietly. “These myths are usually pretty credible. I think it’s real.”

“Well, then I bet it’s just misunderstood,” Stan declared, unfazed. “You know, I bet you will meet Giratina one day — ‘cause you’re gonna clear its name! Find it an alibi! Show the world what makes the freaks and the weirdos the coolest of all of us, not the scariest!”

That got a smile out of Ford. “You’re right. And, you know… I always have wanted to travel to other dimensions…”

***

Ford quickly discovered that not all of the trees were illusions — but not before confidently walking into one and getting a faceful of rough, paper-thin leaves. He didn’t hear or see any more signs of Giratina — if that even was the shadow’s true identity. He still wasn’t sure if he wanted it to be.

True, he had kept seeking out more myths about the Renegade Pokemon well into his college years, and would always be thrilled upon discovering a new tidbit of lore of even the most dubious credibility; and true, he had always clung to the improbable, self-indulgent dream that he might one day encounter Giratina itself and discover its true nature for himself —

But here in a dimension that bore an uncanny resemblance to the elusive Distortion World, subject of both shrouded legend and scientific speculation; here outside of idealistic childhood fantasy; here in reality where a hostile Legendary Pokemon could hurt or more likely kill him with ease, where his demise could spell the end for the whole universe’s best shot at escaping a demon’s tyrannical reign… here, Ford couldn’t help but be terrified.

Terrified and frustrated, that was, as he walked into the same damn tree for the second time.

“We’re just going in circles, aren’t we?” he realized aloud, and Ninetales gave a low murmur of agreement. “Just big, spacetime-defying circles. Shit, what do we do?”

As if on cue, something lit up near the edge of his peripheral vision. He instinctively whirled around to face it, but the light — a pulsating blue sphere, reminiscent of ball lightning — was already darting away, erratically weaving between floating trees and leaving behind a meandering, faintly glowing trail that arced between floating slabs of earth and across sideways lakes.

It was a familiar sight to Ford, having led him to this world in the first place.

“Azelf?” he whispered. There was no reply aside from the trail growing just the slightest bit dimmer.

“Fine,” he finally muttered. “I’ll follow you one more time.”

***

On many a day spent while wandering the multiverse, far from home and even further from peace, Ford would catch himself wondering if it was for the best.

Growing up, it would have taken more than twelve fingers to count all the times Ford was told he was cursed, or a bad omen, or simply a “monster.” Often, it wasn’t to his face — just whispered to his parents, or sometimes even his brothers, when the accuser didn’t think he was listening — but it was an omnipresent, inescapable constant of his childhood, something he had to learn to either tune out or shrug off.

Ironic, then, how it was only now that he was starting to believe it.

Now that he’d seen the lives he’d ruined. Now that he’d seen the destruction he’d invited in to his world. The way he’d torn Fiddleford away from a young and loving family and traumatized the poor man into starting a cult, the way he’d been so wrapped up in his own ego that he ignored all the words of warning from his friend, from his Pokemon, and eagerly put himself to work for an ancient entity of pure chaos and malevolence… “bad omen” didn’t even begin to describe the way he endangered everything and everyone he grew close to, the way he ruined everything he laid a hand on.

And yes, he was doing everything he could to fix his greatest mistake, to construct a weapon capable of destroying Bill, but his conscience simply would never allow him to do anything else. And yes, he sought out leads for ways he might one day be able to get safely home again, after Bill was dead and gone, but that was for his Pokemon’s sakes, not his own. He had left a world that he had never fit into, never done anything but endanger, and had he been adrift in the multiverse alone… he wasn’t sure he’d ever go home, even if given the chance.

***

Ford called Ninetales back into its Pokeball for a time, as he leapt between stepping stones across an unnaturally calm lake. Two twin rivers fed into it, twisting down from above like a double helix and generating a froth of bubbles that dissipated quickly, leaving the surface pristine like a giant mirror. For a moment, he thought that he saw a massive shadow reflected in it, looming and angular — but then he blinked, and it was just an all-too-familiar face that was staring back at him.

(His face, but not his face. Gaunt with exhaustion and weary from fighting off despair just like his, but not for the same reasons.)

Then the surface began to ripple, so subtly at first that Ford couldn’t quite pin down what was wrong, even as his instincts screamed at him to run. Cautiously, he crouched down and lowered his head to the water’s level —

Another screech tore through his ears, and he jerked his head up to see an invisible shape burst through the helical tributaries. Based off the massive explosion of water it displaced, Ford surmised it must have been gigantic, easily taller than he was and maybe as much as three or four times as long…

And now it was barreling straight towards him, its path made visible by the V-shaped wave it churned up as it flew. The spray from the lake seemed to interact with its body for a few brief seconds, revealing a glimpse of a set of long, thin wings — six of them, by Ford’s count.

He took a step backwards, nearly toppled into the lake, and then made a split-second decision as he righted himself. The creature had to be flying only just above the surface, in order to leave such a large splash in its wake —

Just before the point of the V reached his stepping stone, Ford jumped as high as his legs could carry him and slammed against something solid.

***

When Ford had nearly drowned while hiding from pursuers at the bottom of a lake, his oxygen tank leaking at an alarming rate, the hidden entrance to a submerged cave full of breathable air had felt like divine intervention — and the stories of lake-dwelling spirits, representing knowledge, willpower, and emotion, that he remembered reading as a child only reinforced that feeling.

Yes, it may it may have been a bit naive, a bit too optimistic, of him to get his hopes up for an encounter with Uxie in particular — but he couldn’t stop his mind from leaping to the possibilities that a favor from the Being of Knowledge would offer him. He could ask for information about Bill Cipher’s history, or weaknesses, or even where in the multiverse he could find some of those stubbornly elusive components of his quantum destabilizer…

And besides, he was Stanford Pines. What lake guardian would take an interest in him, if not the one representing knowledge, and truth, and memory, and by extension science?

So when he noticed a pulsating blue light shining on the cave walls — not the golden-yellow of Uxie, which he’d been so desperately hoping for — he was taken aback. He froze in place reflexively as a glowing blue orb darted out from around the corner and circled him erratically, stopping inches away from his face for a second before teleporting a few feet back and taking on a less luminescent, more defined form. Two resplendent red gems rested near the tips of two long, flat tails, and another between bright, intelligent golden eyes that seemed to be constantly shifting, looking Ford over.

Azelf, Being of Willpower, was not the first Legendary Pokemon Ford had ever encountered, but it may very well have been the most unexpected.

“Why you?” he blurted out. “Can you help me defeat Cipher?”

Azelf took off in a flash, so quickly that Ford momentarily thought it had left the room before he noticed it behind him, circling one of the the larger puddles like a glowing, crackling blue whirlwind. He took a step towards it, and realized the puddle seemed oddly reflective — his mirror image was bright and vividly colored, albeit warped and distorted by ripples.

Azelf zipped by once more, narrowly missing his face, and he tried to take a step back but his legs felt as heavy as lead. With horror, he watched as the puddle in front of him sunk into the ground, creating a roughly conical and ever-widening depression that he almost immediately found himself on the slope of.

“With all due respect, Azelf,” he growled as he was dragged towards the center, “what the fuck?!”

After a moment of frantic fumbling, while continuing to slide towards the apparent portal — a cylindrical hole in spacetime itself, starlight from Arceus-knew-what galaxies flashing from within the tunnel’s navy blue walls — he managed to procure a grappling hook from his bag, and aimed for a jagged formation of stalagmites a few feet beyond the outer edge of the conical whirlpool. But his shot was instantly pulled off course as the wormhole’s gravity caught it, redirecting it down and into the distortion as Ford felt a violent tug on his end of the line. For the first time since the portal had appeared, he felt his feet move — dragged down the side of the cone and into the portal, where his vision went white and his body went weightless.

When he felt solid ground beneath his feet again, he was surrounded by gravity-defying waterfalls and wispy illusory trees.

***

His attacker became visible as Ford landed on it, his hands running over a red and black-striped back that felt rough, yet oddly immaterial. The sensation of touching rough scales was undoubtedly present, just not as vivid as it should have been to Ford’s senses. He nearly lost his grip as the creature — no, as Giratina, there was no doubt anymore — writhed and screeched in apparent surprise, but Ford somehow managed to turn himself around and grab one of the yellow ridges where its wings attached to its body, straddling its serpentine neck awkwardly as the six wings beat furiously around him.

Half-blinded by the spray as Giratina flew through another waterfall, Ford was guided by experience and instinct alone as he reached for a Pokeball on his belt. His Decidueye appeared in a flash of light, dodging red-spiked wings and a lashing tail to fly along Ford’s side.

“Use Spirit Shackle!” Ford yelled. “Immobilize the wings!”

Decidueye perched briefly on a floating stone and let three arrows fly. Two of them were lost to the gravity anomalies, deflected off in unpredictable directions, but the last one flew true — piercing through two of six smokelike wings, which spasmed as a purple aura spread down the tendrils. Giratina immediately careened off to one side, and Ford instinctively tightened his grip — a mistake, he realized a few seconds later, when the two of them crashed into the mirrorlike surface of the lake below and the force of the impact tore through him, ripping him off of Giratina’s back and plunging him into the water.

The cold hit him first, a wave of icy pins and needles that swept down his body, trying to inject him with numbness, with that atmosphere of lifelessness and hopelessness that permeated this dimension. He spluttered and thrashed, desperately trying to breach the surface, to find a handhold to pull himself to shore, but as second after precious second crept away without oxygen, he realized: there was no sense of buoyancy in this lake, no tug pulling him towards the surface. No way to know which way was up.

He forced his eyes open, and saw glowing red stripes lighting up the darkness. They coiled all around him, above and below and to every side, as two gleaming crimson eyes floated ever closer —

Enveloped in a bright blue aura, Azelf zipped through the water between them. It touched one tail to Ford’s forehead and the other to a spot right between Giratina’s eyes, then disappeared before Ford could even process what had happened.

“What —” he gurgled, opening his mouth reflexively and not closing it fast enough to stop the water from surging into his lungs. He hacked and coughed, trying to whack himself in the chest with one hand and reach for his Pokeballs with the other, but he failed on both counts as his limbs grew heavy, and blurry spots danced across his already obscured vision —

Something lifted him above the surface and he gasped for breath, taking longer than he should have to realize that he was now kneeling upon Giratina’s head, just behind its golden crown.

You need to breathe? a raspy and faintly echoing, yet surprisingly soft voice asked him.

“Most humans do,” he choked out automatically, spitting coughed-up water back into the lake and recalling a concerned-looking Decidueye back into its Pokeball before the nature of the conversation sunk in. “Wait — Giratina? You saved me?”

Yes. Giratina went silent for a while, as it lazily drifted across the surface of the lake — how it could float despite the disorienting lack of buoyancy, Ford wasn’t sure.

Why are you here? it finally continued.

That was a good question, Ford thought, and also a question he wasn’t sure how to reply to. It was tempting to simply blame Azelf, but given how it was Azelf who had evidently opened up their current line of telepathic communication, that didn’t seem wise.

In a roundabout way, he’d ultimately ended up here for the same reason he ever traveled to any dimension, Ford figured, so that was how he decided to reply.

“I’m looking for a material that will help me save the multiverse,” he stated slowly.

Why does the burden of saving the multiverse fall to you?

It wasn’t the response Ford was expecting — though it may have been one that he deserved.

“I made a mistake. I was the one who endangered my home dimension in the first place, and now I need to fix things.”

Giratina didn’t respond immediately. What is the material? it eventually asked.

“Well, there are a few different components I’m looking for… do you have anything small that distorts spacetime either far more or far less than its mass would indicate?”

Yes. Hold on tight.

Giratina spread its wings and lifted into the air, Ford still perched atop its head. Columns of water and floating rocky islands flew past them as they ascended, and raced towards the blanket of foreboding purple clouds that stretched across the sky from horizon to horizon —

And then, they’d breached it, and were surrounded by stars — white dwarfs and red giant and everything in between, binary pairs dancing waltzes together while supernovas exploded into sizzling plumes of plasma. Yet they all ranged just from the size of a fist to a basketball, and floated by within arm’s reach of Ford, so close that he could feel their heat drying out his sopping coat.

Instinctively, he held out an arm to run a hand through a glowing red-orange nebula, and streams of gas danced around his fingers, swirling together to consolidate in his palm. He made a fist, and the contents of his hand immediately caught ablaze under the pressure — not quite hot enough to singe him, but bright enough that rays of white light escaped from the cracks between his fingers, illuminating all six of them like a beacon in the night sky.

Giratina dove back beneath the layer of clouds, and as they slowed to a more leisurely pace, Ford opened his hand again to see a system of six tiny stars all orbiting each other as they hovered just above his palm.

Will that work?

“...It’s perfect.”

They drifted past the double helix waterfall once again, close enough for Ford to make out his distorted reflection in one of the streams.

Life isn’t meant to stay in this world, Giratina told him. We should part ways soon… but before, I can open a portal nearly anywhere in the multiverse for you…

A pause. You know, I could open a portal to your home.

Ford looked down at the star system in his hand, and then back to his reflection… and then over his shoulder, to the still nowhere-near-complete weapon strapped across his back.

“I deeply appreciate the offer, but my team and I can’t. There are still things we need to do that… we need to keep traveling between dimensions to accomplish.”

You are banished by your own choices, then…

Giratina nearly came to a complete halt for a moment, and Ford cringed, so preoccupied with worrying he’d misspoken that he hardly noticed the sphere of ball lightning descending from the sky just a few feet from his face.

You have a fierce stubbornness inside of you. Azelf’s voice was loud and resonant inside Ford’s head, completely unlike Giratina’s hesitant, rasping whisper. And when you embrace it, it may often turn out to be to your detriment…

It shed the sphere of blue lightning, revealing its true form. Warm golden eyes fixated on Ford, and its tails twitched as an oddly human smile spread across its tiny face.

But our flaws often stem from our greatest strengths, and you possess exactly the dedication and endurance that are needed to save this universe.

“Thank you, Azelf,” Ford whispered. “I’m sorry for doubting your judgement.”

Have you decided where you wish to go, if not home? Giratina asked him.

“I suppose… Dimension 61-6,” Ford decided. That was the dimension he’d encountered Azelf in, a place that he still hoped would contain many more resources to help him in his fight against Cipher.

Alright. Giratina opened its mouth and breathed out a whirlwind of shadows that bore into the surface of the lake below, carving a conical depression in the water. A white glow lit up at the bottom of the funnel, flickering faintly as if beckoning Ford towards it.

“I’d be so lost without your help, Giratina. Thank you so much.”

Giratina’s head bobbed slightly, as if nodding.

I wish you luck with your quest… friend.

Before he could change his mind, Ford jumped through the portal.

***

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Thanks for reading, feedback/reblogs are appreciated as always! I’ve been thinking about the Mystery Trio and how they correspond to the Lake Guardians for a while, and eventually settled on:

Stan is emotion (Mesprit): He can definitely be very stubborn, but that stubbornness is often derived from emotion, such as his love for his family. He acts closed-off sometimes, but emotions are the driving force behind so many of his actions, like restarting the portal despite the dangers and sacrificing himself to beat Bill and save his family.

Fiddleford is knowledge (Uxie): This one is probably the most clear-cut, since Uxie is capable of erasing memories. Of course, Fidds is highly intelligent and inventive as well, just like the traits Uxie is said to grant.

Ford is willpower (Azelf): Knowledge could of course be fitting for him too (and that manifests a little bit in the fic itself, with Ford hoping to meet Uxie), but I think willpower encapsulates his personality even better. He survived in the multiverse for 30 years with the sole goal of taking down Bill, and then endured a brutal amount of torture in Weirdmageddon but still refused to give Bill the equation.