#I literally screamed YES! when it went to him as a suspect

[oddheadd]

Perfect Husband

You didn't have that much experience with guys, and the little things you did experience weren't good at all. Everything felt so... Empty. The "Wyd" texts and shallow conversations at the bar didn't satisfy you. You knew what you wanted, and you decided to go for it.

So when you met him it felt so real and unreal at the same time.. He felt real as in he understood you, he engaged in interesting conversations and knew just what was the best for you.

...And he felt unreal as in he wasn't... Human? Like a man from 19th century novels, he was gentle, polite, relatable but mysterious enough to keep you wanting him. The problem before was everybody acting same, now you were weirded out with how unique he was? You started thinking you were the problem.

Therefore, after a few months of dating, when he set up a beautiful dinner table for you two, with candles, flowers, perfectly cooked delicacies and asked you to marry him, you said yes.

You cut the steak and...

"Oh... This seems raw..?"

"It's medium rare, dear. But I won't feel bad if you don't want to eat it." - he smiled.

You felt lucky. So, you cut a piece of it, and put the red, moist and almost slimy piece of meat in your mouth. His smile widened as he watched you do so. You chewed and chewed, trying not to think too much about the texture or the taste, instead washing it down with red wine and forcing a smile.

The night ended with him gently holding and kissing you, while not so gently fucking into you. It felt almost like a reward for accepting his proposal, and the amount of times he made you cum only supported that theory.

The wedding happened shortly after, him making sure it was as big or as small as you wanted.

Everything after that felt like a dream... In a literal sense. You found yourself derealizating on more occasions than you can remember. Feeling dizzy, out of the place and unreal was then a daily accurance for you. And you didn't quite feel comfortable with talking about it with your husband.

But it didn't matter... Not as long as at the end of the day you laid in his arms.

However, even that comfort was broken when only weeks after your marriage, he started staying at his job later and later... As soon as he got home he'd take a shower, too.

Suspecting that your husband was cheating, you decided to follow him one day.

The day went on fine, he stayed at his job til 8, but then he left. You quietly followed, wanting to catch him in the act. He... Went into the woods..? Was he actually fucking someone in the woods? Then you saw another person... But they seemed to not be aware of your husband being there. In fact, he was watching them... Stalking them like a predator would to a prey. The person was obviously wasted, having come in the woods to relieve themself.

Your dear husband got up from his hiding spot, and approached the person... And so you watched in horror as his limbs started twisting unnaturally, making popping and cracking sounds as, his skin changing it's color into a dark red, almost a bloody color. He turned into something incomprehensible... A monster.

His now inhumane looking jaw unclenched, opening so wide he could swallow a man whole, and he took a generous bite out of the person, their bloodcurdling screams not loud enough to bury the sound of your ears ringing.

Despite the scenery being hard to look at, you turned around to leave, but stumbled and fell down with a loud noise.

Your husband's head turned towards you slowly, and his smile fell.

The dream turned into a nightmare.

Man I just love creepy, cannibalistic, eldrich monsters/gods and not in an only ha they're sexy way (I blame the movie Ritual)

[wastelandresident]

Lovesick / MV1 & CL16

She was his first love, but then they drifted apart. Now her relationship with his greatest rival is revealed after their sex tape leaks. Max is looking for closure.

When she joined Ferrari a few years ago, Max was happy to have her around again. He imagined things would be back to how they used to be, with the two of them hanging out as much as they could, this time reminiscing of their younger days. The days when his frustration disappeared the moment she flashed a sweet smile at him, when his heart went crazy from feeling her gentle touch on his cheek. But she was so focused on her career that she barely had time for him, and eventually he decided to take a step back and wait for her to come around.

But she didn’t.

And then, out of nowhere, it was announced that she would become Charles’ race engineer from the following season. He was so proud of her, yet he had no chance to tell her that. As strange as it was, despite spending so much time in the same paddock, his mother talked a lot more to her than he did. She was the one who told him how happy she was, how she couldn’t wait to start in her new position, and it was also her who mentioned that the poor girl was scared as hell because she didn’t want to disappoint the Tifosi. 

There was no reason to worry as it turned out. The first season was full of playful banter and casual jokes between her and Charles, something the Tifosi appreciated very much, leading to the mutual decision that she was their precious princess next to the prince of Monaco. And then this year their communication changed, blatant flirting appeared in the short radio messages, making millions of fans lose their minds. 

And every time Charles is seen with her, they are always looking at each other with a fond look in their eyes. It’s a look Max has known so well from his younger days, when her big, bright eyes were watching him with this same fondness in them. These days he’s happy if she even glances his way, and this isn’t because she ignores him, she’s just a little too busy being friends with literally everyone but him. They talk properly like twice a year, but even those meetings are brief and awkward.

Max knows that it’s probably his fault. He’s not happy to see her and Charles getting closer and closer, which probably radiates from him and keeps her away. And now that he saw their little sex tape? He just wants to scream into the void and curse the universe for this cruel joke. The universe is laughing at him, he knows that. Seeing his greatest rival do the things he wants to do with her is painful. 

Sometimes he wonders if she knows how much she means to him. If she even suspects that her number is saved under the name loml. Groaning, he picks up his phone and opens the chat with her, hoping she’s still awake to see it. He can’t wait until having the chance to meet her at the track, he wants to talk to her right away. So he asks her if she can talk, if he is allowed to call her now.

After a few messages sent back and forth, she eventually agrees to talk to him, and he finds himself worried about how this will go. But he can’t back out now, he needs to get some answers. Yes, he’s drunk, that’s why he suddenly has the courage to tell her the truth about his feelings, taking a huge risk knowing she’s in a serious relationship. 

“Why him?” he asks her not more than half a minute into the conversation. She’s confused, having absolutely no idea what he’s talking about, but he’s ready to give her all the answers she’s looking for. “Why Charles? I’ve been trying to get through that wall you built, but you make it impossible to approach you,” he blurts out before taking another sip of his drink. 

There’s heavy silence on the other end of the line, and after a while he begins to think she will end the call without saying a word. But then he hears her let out a long sigh before speaking up. “What do you want me to say, Max? When I came to F1, you were in a relationship. You seemed happy and madly in love, who was I to get into the picture? And what was I supposed to do anyway? Get on my knees and beg you to choose me? Thanks, but I have dignity,” she explains. 

His breath catches in his throat. “But then I broke up with her, so why did you keep your distance?”

“I don’t know, I kinda forgot about my feelings for you. Look, is there anything else? Charles is waiting for me.”

That’s all he wants to hear. Maybe this won’t give him the closure he was seeking, but it was a small step towards it. Time can help. Time can heal his heart. Time can give him the chance to recruit his mother and hope she would be willing to help him win you over. 

[miryum]

"Tactical Village"

Summary: Detective!Jason Todd x detective!Reader based on Jake and Amy's relationship

Series Warnings: Swearing, descriptions of violence (but nothing descriptive), guns and other police stuff

Series Masterlist

“Do you recognise any of these men?” Y/n asked a woman who was wearing a ‘Visitor’ tag. 

The woman shook her head, saying, “I was hiding in the bathroom stall so I didn’t see his face. But, I heard him. He was singing along to the track.”

“Do you remember what he was singing?”

“Oh my gosh, no, Y/n,” Jason couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “Don’t do it….” Y/n chuckled along with him. Captain Wayne had assigned a detective to Y/n whenever she interrogated a perp. There had been an… incident. 

Cass didn’t know who gave Y/n a guitar, but the woman was currently torturing a perp with her terrible playing of the instrument, accompanying the sound with loud, off-tune screaming. 

The woman shrugged. “I think it was that song ‘I Want it That Way.’ ” 

Y/n hummed. “Backstreet Boys, I’m familiar.”

“Maybe a little too familiar,” Jason muttered. He thought of all the times Y/n had agonised both the criminals and detectives on duty with their songs.

“Number one,” Y/n ignored Jason, pressing a button for the intercom. “Could you please sing the opening to ‘I Want it That Way?’”

“Really? Uh… okay,” Perp 1 said. “You are… my fire?”

Y/n glanced over to the witness who shook her head. “Number two, keep it going.”

“The one… desire.” Perp 2 squinted to Perp 1, looking for confirmation that this was actually happening. 

“Number three?” Y/n nodded along to the nonexistent beat. 

“Believe… when I say?”

“Number four!” Y/n called out, grinning widely, leaning on the desk.

“I want it that way.”

“TELL ME WHY!” Y/n sang loudly into the microphone. 

“Ain’t nothing but a heartache,” all the suspects chanted along. 

“TELL ME WHY!”

“Ain’t nothing but a mistake…”

“Now number five,” Y/n crooned to the melody.

Perp 5 raised his hand, losing himself in the music. “I never wanna hear you say,”

“WHOO!” Y/n shouted out.

“I want it that way,” everyone finished together.

“Chills! Literal chills!” Y/n shivered, giggling. 

“It was number five,” the woman said. “Number five killed my brother.” 

“Oh my gosh, I totally forgot about that,” Jason murmured. “And, Y/n, just so you know, you pressed the ‘speaker’ button. Everyone in the precinct could hear that.” 

“Ohhh… whoops?”

“Happy Tactical Village Day!” Y/n high-fived Tim on her way in the door. “Happy Tactical Village Day, Cass! Happy Tactical Village Day!”

“L/n, I'm surprised to see you so excited about departmentally mandated training exercises,” Wayne commented. 

“Why, ‘tis the most fun day of the year, my good sir! Something you wouldn't understand, because you're not programmed to feel joy.”

“Yes, but my software is due for an upgrade,” Wayne retorted.

”When you play along with the robot jokes it ruins my enjoyment of them,” Y/n pouted.

“Yes, I am aware.”

“Anyway, Tactical Village Day is awesome!” Y/n continued with her rant. “We get to field test a bunch of cool, new weapons and there's always a fun training situation. Last year's was prison break. It got uber violent. It was like being in an action movie.” Her eyes went wide with excitement.

Y/n was using a piece of her hair to slowly chisel away at a metal bar of a cell.

“Y/n?” Steph called from the other end of the cell. “Cass and I dug a tunnel. Wanna use it?”

“Go on without me,” Y/n said in a deep, gruff voice. “I’ll make due by myself.”

“It's also a good opportunity for us to bond as a unit,” Steph said, reminding them all the true reason of Tactical Village Day.

“Everybody gets into it,” Y/n exclaimed. 

Jason kicked down a door and he and Dick rushed through it, screaming as they stormed the room. 

It turned out to be a supply closet.

“Suffice to say, the sixty-sixth has never had a perfect run,” Dick chuckled and scratched his neck. 

“Yeah, but Y/n has been the finalist for coolest kill two years in a row,” Stephanie said. “Every precinct sends their footage and all the cops vote.”

“It's not that big of a deal,” Y/n waved her away. “All you win is a children's tennis trophy, so…”

“You desperately want that trophy, don't you?” Wayne asked.

“So badly.” Y/n growled. “I will stop at nothing to obtain my prize. I'll shoot all of you in the face if I have to!”

“Go team,” Damian said monotonously. 

“Okay, so,” Y/n slid into the seat next to Jason’s on the bus ride over. “I’ve figured out my fictional persona for this year’s shooty-shooty rootin-tootie.”

“How the hell do you come up with these names?” Jason muttered, mostly to himself. 

“I am… Gina Thunderhouse. Russian spy, weapons master, and total badass. I even have cool Russian accent.” she said in a bad accent. “Babushka. Moscow. Rasputin.” 

“You know ‘babushka’ means ‘grandma,’ right?”

“Whatever. At least I have a persona, Mr. I’m-not-even-trying-to-be-fun.”

“This training isn’t about fun,” Jason frowned. “It’s about honing our skills to be better officers.”

“We shoot paint at pretend bad guys!” Y/n cried. “How is that not fun?!”

“I’m gonna go talk to Dick,” Jason said, standing up. “You have fun thinking of more Russian words.”

Steph quickly filled Jason’s empty seat, grinning sharply. “Seems like you two are getting cosy!”

“Come on, Brown. Not this again!”

“You gotta admit there’s spark.” 

“How many times do I have to tell you?!” Y/n exclaimed. “He’s like a brother to me.”

“And Leia was like a sister to Luke,” Steph sang out.

“Okay, that’s not fair. Luke didn’t know! No one knew.”

Steph shrugged and let the conversation go, though a smile flitted through her lips. Soon, the sixty-sixth arrived at the building where Tactical Village Day would commence. Walking in the doors, duffel bags full of gear and weapons in hand, Y/n shouted out, “The six-six is in the house!” 

“Six-six!” The rest of the crew echoed.

“Hey! Biz!” Y/n greeted an old friend. “They upgraded you from bystander to perp! That’s great, man. Still gonna blow your brains out though.”

“Wouldn’t expect anything else,” Biz waved back.

“Jason Todd?” A voice spoke from a crowd of detectives and cops. “Is that you?”

“Rose?” Jason’s head whipped towards the voice. “It’s been so long! What’re you doing here?”

“I’m with the seventeenth now,” she explained. “We’re paired with you guys today.” Rose was a tall, slim, blonde girl whom it seemed Jason connected with very well. 

“Wha- what’s going on here?” Y/n shuffled up to them, Steph close behind. 

“Oh, Y/n, this is Rose Wilson.” Rose held out a hand and Y/n firmly shook it. “Rose, this is Y/n L/n. She’s the life of the six-six.” He placed a hand on Y/n’s lower back, pushing her slightly forward. 

“Nice to meet you,” Rose said. 

“Likewise,” Y/n pressed her lips together in a smile. 

“Well, I gotta go,” Rose hugged Jason. “I’ll see you later, though. Great seeing you.”

“You too,” Jason returned the hug. 

Once Rose had left with a wave, Y/n turned to Jason and questioned, “So… who was that?”

“That was Rose,” Jason said as if it was the most obvious thing. “We went on a couple of dates last year.” 

“You did?” Steph asked. Y/n had forgotten she was behind her. Cass joined them, silently backing up her friends.

“Yeah, I liked her, but she was stationed in Metropolis so I didn’t get to see much of her. I guess it just fizzled out.”

“Right,” Y/n gawaffed. “That's the girl you said the lame stuff about. Like ‘she's a good listener’ and shit.” Internally, she felt bad for deriding Rose- she seemed like a nice person- but she couldn’t help but take a rag at Jason.

“I'm sorry, what do you look for in a relationship?” Jason asked snarkily. 

“I don't know,” Y/n shrugged. “Real stuff. Shape of their ass. Sense of dark humour.”

“Of course.” Jason rolled his eyes and stalked away.

“Isn’t it weird that Jason dated that girl?” Y/n scoffed, hands on her hips.

Steph raised her brows, mirroring L/n’s stance. “Why do you care so much?” Her voice rose higher with each word.

“Okay, first of all, your insinuating voice is way too high,” Y/n accused. “It's weird. And second, I don't care. I'm just wondering why he would like her.”

“Whatever you say,” Steph said, voice still high-pitched and she shuddered. “Okay, yeah, I hear it now. I sound like Cat from Sam and Cat.”

“Yes, you do.” Cass agreed. “But, I agree. L/n needs to confront her feelings for Todd and woman up.”

Y/n rolled her eyes and excused herself from the conversation, claiming the need to talk to Tim.

“Oh, this is so cool!” Y/n squealed, holding a parallel gun. “You can shoot around corners. I love guns.” She sighed and said, “I'm gonna make such a good mom someday.”

Jason shook his head, lips pursing. “Not even gonna touch that.”

“Not even gonna touch that: Title of your sex tape,” Y/n muttered, then chuckled. “Come on, man. At least make me work for it.”

Soon, it was time for the sixty-sixth to run the simulation. The team was standing by the door, waiting to be let in when Y/n slid by on her knees, making a dramatic entrance. “Gina Thunderhouse had arrived.” Her voice was, once again, accented in a bad Russian tone.

“That was majestic,” Tim joked.

“Custom kneepads to help me win coolest kill,” Y/n patted her knees, showing off her kneepads. After an awkward silence, she asked, “What, don't tell me Thunderhouse is the only lady here with a signature move!”

Tim shrugged. “I was bouncing around the idea where when I'm out of ammo, I release my mag and dropkick or chuck it into someone's throat.”

“You know how people hold their guns sideways to look cool?” Dick asked. Y/n nodded and the sarge continued, “It got me thinking. What if you held your gun upside-down?” He demonstrated it, flipping his gun upside down, finger still on trigger.

Before Y/n could respond with how that was an incredibly stupid idea, a loud buzzer sounded and another precinct marched out the door, looking victorious.

“Seventeenth’s done.” Y/n muttered and Stephanie stepped closer to her. “Heads up.”

“Hey. How'd it go?” Jason greeted Rose. 

Rose smiled and replied, “it went well. We had a perfect run! And not to brag, but I think we just set a GCPD course record for time.”

“Definitely a brag,” Y/n huffed quietly. 

“A course record?” Jason’s brows shot up.  “That’s so cool.”

“Thanks.” Rose looked up at him. “I'm psyched. By the way, good luck in there.”

“Thanks,” Jason called after her as she walked away.

“All right, huddle up.” Y/n pulled Jason away by the strap of his vest and into a group huddle. “This is how it's going down.”

“What happened to your accent, Gina?” Steph asked teasingly, knowing full well what was going on.

“Forget that shit.” Y/n frowned. “We're taking this seriously. Okay, on three: Let's break that course record and be the best precinct here! One, two, three!”

The group repeated, “let’s break that course record and… uh…” They all trailed off, mumbling different things as they forgot the words. 

“Yeah, I agree, it was too many words.” Y/n grimaced. “Let’s just do it.”

“Okay, I've got the details for this simulation.” Dick sat in front of a console, radioing in to everyone’s headsets. “A group of armed men entered an embassy and took hostages.”

“Which embassy?” Y/n couldn't help but ask. She shook her head, reminding herself to stay focused. “Doesn't matter. We’ll just say, Canada. They’re too nice to say no if someone asks to take them hostage. So take out the perps, clear the civilians, rescue the hostages?”

“Affirmative,” Dick confirmed. “This is an active shooter situation. You're cleared for maximum engagement.”

“‘Maximum engagement?’” Y/n scoffed. “What is this, Jurassic Park: The Ride?” 

Dick didn’t answer, commanding, “Brown and Drake, perimeter security. Brown, make sure he doesn’t fall asleep, but also doesn’t die from caffeine overdose. He only got two and a half hours last night.”

“Got it,” Brown said, yanking Tim’s cup of coffee away from him.

“L/n and Todd, you're the assault team. I'll be in the command centre. Cain, I need you to do surveillance on the places I can’t see.”

“On it.” Cass disappeared into the vents and Dick stared after her, wondering how she didn’t end up as an assassin-for-hire.

“All right, focus up,” Y/n said into the comms. “We got eighteen minutes and forty-one seconds to break this record. No screwing around.”

“Wow, you're really not gonna do a character?” Jason asked, smirking.

“I am playing a character,” Y/n said. “A no-nonsense detective whose only goal is to set this course record. Her name is Y/n L/n. She’s a kid who grew up with an absent father and just wants to prove herself. I don't have time for her full back-story. Sarge, please, let’s start.”

“Okay, guys, and go!” Dick clicked a stopwatch and the team rushed in.

Y/n zipped around a corner, gun drawn. When she didn’t see anyone, she called, “clear!”

She and Jason repeated the actions, peeking around corners and yelling, “clear.”

Y/n turned around a corner and fired two shots at a cop labelled “PERP.”

“Nice,” Jason commented.

Y/n ignored him and said, “okay, only three perps left. We might actually do this.”

Dick’s voice came in through the comms. “L/n, Cain has intel that there’s a hostage in room 409.”

“Copy that.” Y/n inhaled and said, “I love how it always smells like fresh paint here. Reminds me of how often I moved as a child.”

“No talking,” Jason reminded her. “You'll give away our position.”

“Look out!” Y/n was staring over his shoulder. She quickly lifted her gun and fired a shot at someone. 

Jason shielded away from the noise. “That was close.” He inspected Y/n and said, “there's paint in your hair.” He reached up and smoothed the paint away. “Thanks for shooting that guy.”

“My pleasure.” Y/n followed him around the corner and stared at a door marked 409. “The hostages are in there. Intel says there's a couple of heavily-armed perps with them.”

Jason asked, “you want to wait for backup?”

Y/n shook her head. “No time. We only have a minute to win the record.” She sighed and declared, “I'm going in.” At Jason’s scandalised look, she reassured him, smiling. She gently took Jason’s gun from his hands. “Don't worry. I have a plan on how to beat them: Give up.”

“What?!”

“Trust me,” Y/n said. “Or don't.” She shrugged. “I'm doing it anyway.” Jason’s heart dropped, watching her walk cautiously into the room. She announced, hands holding her guns in the air, “GCPD! Don't shoot!” Inside the room were two perps, guarding three hostages. “I'm here to surrender,” Y/n told them. The hostages looked at her as if she was crazy. “Let the hostages go and take me instead,” she said. 

“Not happening.” One of the perps growled. “Drop your weapon!”

”Okay, okay, my fingers are off the triggers.” Y/n agreed, dangling her guns off her fingers. “I'm just gonna slowly put them down in front of me….” She started crouching down. Jason watched, aghast, from the doorway. “I’m slowly putting 'em…” Suddenly, she twisted her fingers around and pulled the triggers, shooting the two perps in the chest.

“Goddamn it!” One of the perps yelled.

“Dick, time!” Y/n shouted into her comm.

“18 minutes, 28 seconds. You broke the record!” Dick cried back.

“Yes! Nice!” Jason ran in and hugged Y/n tightly, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around. She squealed and hugged him back. 

Jason paraded her out of the room and they greeted their teammates to a chorus of cheers, applause, and claps on the back.

“Ah, there she is!” Dick called.

“The record is ours.” Y/n spread her arms.

“I still can't believe your final kill came from Dick’s move.” Tim shook his head, looking disgusted.

“You went upsy-downsies?” Dick gasped. “That's what I call it, because you hold the gun upside-down.”

Y/n sighed. “Yes, Richard, I went upsy-downsies. And none of you shall ever speak of it again.”

“But I want to speak of it,” Jason whined. “You looked really stupid.”

“Alright, let's go.” Dick grinned. “Drinks are on me.”

“Nice! Here we go, six-six!” Y/n held her hand up to Jason for a high-five, face flushed with excitement.

Jason grimaced. “Actually, Rose asked me to dinner, so maybe I can meet up with you guys afterwards?”

Y/n’s face dropped. “Oh. Sure. Yeah. Of course. Cool. Cool cool cool cool cool cool cool.” Jason nodded and left, giving goodbyes as he walked away.

“What's going on, Gina Thunderhouse?” Cass smirked, sidling up with Steph. 

Y/n muttered, “what do you think Jason sees in Rose?”

“So you do like him!” Steph accused, smiling slyly. 

“I'm just curious!” Y/n tried to defend. “I mean, she's okay-looking and a good cop….” But aren’t I okay-looking and a good cop? “Also, she set the course record, but that's nothing. I broke it, like, 20 minutes later.”

“You want to know why he went out with her and not you?” Cass asked quietly. 

“Yeah.” Y/n swallowed harshly. 

“Because she actually asked him out,” Steph finished.

Captain Wayne raised a brow, looking down at Y/n’s desk. “You won coolest kill?” He gestured to the small tennis trophy Y/n was staring at. 

“No- not by a long shot.” She chuckled dryly. “But Dick bought it for me ‘cause he felt like I should’ve won. But he’s bias, of course.”

“Of course.” Captain Wayne smiled softly. “Detective, are you alright?”

“Yeah. Thanks, Captain,” Y/n mumbled. “Can- can I ask you a question?” 

“Sure, L/n.”

Y/n looked up at Wayne. “How’d you know Clark was the one?” she whispered.

Bruce sighed and offered, “come into my office. And bring your trophy.”

Doing as she was told, Y/n followed Bruce into his office. She sat down and Bruce took the trophy from her, placing it on his desk proudly. “When I first got here, Damian told me of your predicament.” When Y/n’s mouth fell open in betrayal, Bruce held up his hand. “I would’ve figured it out either way. I used to be a detective, after all. But what he didn’t know is if Todd liked you back. However, based on months of observation, I’ve noticed, for lack of a better simile, that Todd follows you like a lost puppy. I should know; I acted the same way towards Clark before we started dating.”

“Did you ask him out?” Y/n asked.

Bruce let out a laugh. “God, no. I was too scared. But that’s not an invitation to make the same mistakes I did. I lost a lot of time with Clark because of my anxiety.”

“Duly noted, Captain. Thank you.”

“Anytime, L/n. And good job in the Tactical Village.”

“Thank you, sir.”

[thelunarfairy]

Hey there! Am back :3

Chap 120 was uh...ow. AidaIro hurt my feelings to put it lightly.

Ahem- anyways.

I was thinking a lot about how in thos timeline, Tsukasa and Amane almost switched roles. I mean, Tsukasa is still infested with the entity, but Amane is the one doing the enitity's bidding this time. I know Hanako still had the entity in him in the normal timeline, but you het the point.

Anyway, I wanted to know your take on why Amane seems so out of control with the entity, and Tsukasa handles it better. Why Hanako needs a seal. I mean, Tsukasa does some pretty fucked up shit, sure, but he also doesn't try to kill everyone or sacrifice them (Sakura, Natsuhiko, etc). It's like Tsukasa and the entity have more of a partnership, while Amane is almost enslaved to it.

Now, I know memory also plays a part here, because he doesn't recognize Kou or Nene (at least not u til the split second when Nene screams for Hanako to help her) and it snaps him out of it. If he remembered them, would he able to hold back and not murder Kou and Mitsuba? Then again, can't exactly ignore all the murdering he's doing anyway. Besides that, Amane has always been known to have the kinder temperament. You can see it in his eyes versus Tsukasa's, and his personality in general.

I guess my curiosity stems from the fact that with the entity, Tsukasa never killed humans despite having the entity in him. He was probably hurting Amane, but it was because he WANTED to break Amane right? Wanted him to kill him. So why could Tsukasa grow up (before he was murdered obv) and not go on a murderous rampage, while Amane does? Amane is literally an adult too, and Tsukasa is still a child! Lil psychopathic bb.

Sorry if this is too long of an ask 😅 I really dont know how to stfu lol. Excited to see your take on this if you decide to!! No worries if not :)

Hello dear!!!!! welcome back!!!

That chapter made the fandom suffer XD

You answered your own question. Tsukasa has a special connection with the entity. Apparently he is the first one not to fear the entity, he taught it to speak and stayed with it daily for a while.

Tsukasa sacrificed himself willingly, he fulfilled the agreement, and he went alone, he didn't have to be forced to do it. So yes, he and the entity have a partnership.

Tsukasa does what the entity asks, which means that it doesn't need to control and order him, because he will do it.

And the entity "trusts" Tsukasa so much, that it allowed him to come back, and the one who asked it to come back with him was Tsukasa.

It wasn't the entity that said "you'll only come back if I go with you".

It was Tsukasa who said that the entity would go with him.

In the old reality, Tsukasa is committed to accomplishing some still mysterious things, his intelligence resonates with the entity. He can convince it to do certain things or stop it.

Like how he easily makes the house retreat when he sets it on fire.

Not because the house wouldn't listen if he asked, but because Tsukasa was pretending not to have a direct connection with the house to Kou and Nene, so that they wouldn't suspect.

He wouldn't say "stop it" in front of them, so he used another effective way without taking away the idea that he is trapped and is a victim of the house. Yes, he is a victim, but he was the one who chose to sacrifice himself, he wasn't forced to do it.

He talks casually with the entity, as if they were close friends. He isn't afraid of anything, so Tsukasa doesn't need to be manipulated or controlled, he does what he has to do.

Remember that I'm referring to Yorishiro and little Tsukasa from the old reality. It's still too early to conclude anything about Tsukasa of the new reality.

Amane from the old reality fears the entity, you can see the fear reflected in his eyes, he knows the danger that creature represents. Hanako doesn't like the entity and is forced to do the things it demands.

He doesn't like what he does and is against it, but it seems that he has too much experience and understands that fighting the entity is problematic. The entity will force him to do what it wants, as you saw, and since Hanako doesn't want to do what it asks, then the entity takes control over him.

This seems to be something that really happened in the old reality too, since he can only control himself if he is sealed.

In the new reality, Amane has no control at all, suddenly he is controlled and the entity does what it wants without even allowing Amane to have memories of it, so that he won't be able to try to get rid of it.

So in short, Tsukasa has a partnership with the entity, so it doesn't need to control Tsukasa at all. (in the old reality).

Hanako fears and is against the things the entity does, that's why he is possessed, to be forced to do what the entity wants.

Amane probably wouldn't kill Kou and Mitsuba if he were fully conscious, at least if it didn't have any direct objective.

For example, if he needed to sacrifice the two for someone he loves, he would do it. He already did. Hanako will always be Hanako, what changes are the circumstances. As much as he is kind, he still has the potential to be someone bad.

Tsukasa hurting Amane is an old theory, because the signs point to it, who would Amane forgive for hurting him like that?

Tsukasa, but Nene too.

Tsukasa can be aggressive and violent with people, but so far he has never been like that with Hanako. That must mean something. I once created a theory about Amane's injuries.

Now about Tsukasa, don't believe that he is a "psychopath".

We now understand how the entity works, in many moments we have clearly seen how the entity also influences Tsukasa's actions, just as Aidairo made it clear how the entity acts.

Amane is a serial killer now, but it is not exactly him. The boy is just a shell that is being controlled by the entity, it is the entity that wants the deaths.

You just said that Tsukasa does not kill humans, how would he be a psychopath if he does not kill humans?

Remember, the entity is still inside him.

Why is Tsukasa, who has always had the entity inside his body, still considered a "psychopath", and when Amane kills MANY people, he is just the boy who is being "controlled?".

Do you see the point here?

They both have this thing in their bodies, and they are both under its influence. Neither Amane nor Tsukasa want to kill anyone, in any reality.

The only psychopath that exists here is the entity.

Don't worry!!!!!!! Thank you!!

[nyxirrationalstories]

Hello it's me again since your request is open ( correct me if i wrong ) , may i've a request for saint Seiya. Seiya,hyoga,Shun, Ikki,shiryu ( classic saint Seiya ) .... With model fem s/o, please...S/o who thought their boyfriend was cosplaying when they accidentally passed by/were at the scene after their fight and screamed in Joy.

This is gonna be so funny.

Btw, how are you?! Where have you been

Yes, the ask is still open. I'm fine, I had my bad days, but I'm still me after all.

I've been busy with college, I had an emergency surgery last year, I got this tumblr "hacked" (I got in a fight with a friend, I took advantage of giving her the password and she deleted ask and drafts), I got a cat that I love very much and a few days ago I taught a literature class at a chemistry school.

So between good and bad, thanks for asking. I appreciate the courtesy.

I misunderstood the ask, but I recover with the last 2 knights. Sorry, I hope you like it.

Actually, the scenario sounds pretty funny and I can already imagine every single situation.

- Seiya

Let's imagine for a moment that the poor boy forgot to tell his S/o about his fight on behalf of Athena.

So when S/o walked into the room and saw him in his armor... she got a "Lois Lane". Her boyfriend a zodiac knight? Naaaah, impossible. Must be a pretty good cosplay.

She couldn't help but be thrilled at how well done, I mean, literally wearing armor to emulate a knight? Now that's love of art, the passion in this work... she couldn't help but express it to him.

Seiya was quite confused and embarrassed. I mean, he loved that his girlfriend showed so much passion in "looking for the details of the cosplay" but at the same time he felt that not only did he owe her the truth but he didn't deserve those compliments because he hadn't even made the armor.

Unfortunately, every time he tried, the redder his face felt. He couldn't take that joy away from her, not yet.

- Hyoga

Here the reason I didn't say he was a zodiac knight is because he is too reserved and aloof about some things.

And Camus, especially Camus. Moreover, you just knew that Hyoga trained to be stronger alone. Camus only knew that Hyoga went to nearby villages to "read and train his mind". You both suspected certain lies, but Hyoga was living up to "expectations" so there was no problem?

So when you saw him in his armor in the dead of winter... you couldn't help but put several blankets and a coat on him. Hyoga was quite surprised and touched, it had been a long time since anyone had taken care of him like that.

As a cosplayer model, you told him that you were proud of his dedication and success in his costume, as his girlfriend "what were you thinking? It's so cold, you might get hypothermia".

Hyoga didn't correct you, it was better that you thought (for now) that this was just a costume and that he was a "handsome fool" who wanted to surprise you.

With you by your side, winter felt like spring.

- Shun

I think Shun never said anything because of the danger you might be in, I mean, look what happened to Ikki's girlfriend.

However, unlike the others, Shun might even go so far as to play along: photos, short videos, even do a little roleplaying to make your moment of joy turn into fun and euphoria.

It was quite an interesting afternoon until he took you by the hands and had to tell you the truth. And well, as the meme goes, "at first Ego thought it was a joke, but as Lingüini explained to him Ego's smile disappeared".

Next thing Shun knew, your next cosplay would be "The Knight of Andromeda" and that you would always support him no matter what.

Bonus: In the Hades saga, even though you were worried after everything that happened, Shun gave you the clothes that Hades used so you could cosplay.

- Ikki

I think Ikki needs no explanation as to why he didn't tell you he is a zodiac knight.

So after a successful fight and with all his buddies safe... he never thought he would stumble upon one of your photo shoots.

On the one hand, he was quite happy that you were fine and having fun. On the other hand, he had to put up with the teasing from his classmates and brother. Either with comments or Shun and Seiya posing for your photos. They even forced him to take a group photo for one of your stories.

For more "fun" the fools commented on the story, "praising" the cosplay. And you were responding with immense joy at how your boyfriend was "quite skilled at cosplay, just like his friends and brother".

Ikki vowed revenge, each of them would pay for their crime. Except for you and Shun, you guys were okay.

- Shiryu

I think Shiryu was honest from the beginning, but maybe you didn't believe him from the start. The other is that there was so much work that the detail completely slipped your mind.

So when you praised his cosplay, Shiryu mito you confused, but he appreciated the praise to his uniform. That's when reality hit you again and you could only feel your cheeks burning, hiding your face in your hands and whispering a "sorry".

Shiryu just smiled and stroked your head, telling you it was okay. Until Seiya said that his costume was better for cosplay, to which Ikki told him it was "simple and insipid". Thus starting a fight of "Which armor was better for cosplaying?"

Bonus:

Saori watched happily as you tried on the ancient robes of the Goddess Athena. She didn't have the heart to tell you that it wasn't a cosplay, nor to refuse to let you try them on.

She even put on the ornaments she herself would wear. You were her goddess of love, just as Ares had Aphrodite, she had you.

Saori was happy that you didn't know she was Athena, because you loved Saori Kido, who she really was. There was no duty, no quest for power, not that you liked the "Saori, the rich girl" part either. She was very grateful that Jabu had forgiven her for her mistreatment. Although now he kept teasing her about her "next cosplay".

[alessiathepirate]

Scream

NOTHING GOES ACCORDING TO PLAN: Ethan Landry x fem!reader

Summary: Nothing went according to plan. She shouldn't have been stabbed; she never meant to be a victim.

Notes: English isn't my first language. I apologize for any mistake I made while I wrote this short story.

Warnings: SPOILERS! (Scream 6), blood and violence, description of said violence, swearing

•••

Just like before, after the doors closed in front of them, separating the friend group to two smaller teams, she was once again torn between suspicion and love.

Handling that situation was always the most challenging for her. She felt like her whole mind was torn into two parts whenever the whole group was together and the 'Core Four' - as Chad liked to call themselves nowadays - accused her lover of being a Ghostface killer. And it's not like she was stupid, not understanding their reasoning. She knew where they were coming from, she accepted that their suspicion towards everyone other than themselves was the right thing to think these days - but still, they for sure gave her many migraines ever since the murders have started again.

It was hard to be both an understanding friend with great survival instincts and a loving, protective girlfriend who either shut the world out or kicked someone in the face whenever accusations were thrown around.

And as Sam with the others got further away from them, she was once again standing between those two sides. Ethan was trying to keep up the positivity, while Mindy was trying to get as far away from her prime suspect as possible, sending her glances which said 'you should do the same'. Once again she was left in the middle.

As Mindy took a few steps away from them to text Chad, Ethan held her hand and gently squeezed it, trying to reassure her that everything would be all right.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, sure." she answered and stood on her tippy toes to press a kiss to his cheek, close to his mouth. "I just wish it was over, you know? I don't like it when they are treating you like this." she turned towards Mindy, not daring to raise her hand and point at her, because even though her friend was texting, she for sure looked like she's glaring at them here and there while doing so.

His answer was another gentle squeeze and it made her heartbeat faster.

After waiting for the next ride to show up, what to her felt like long hours, they got into the cart, finally leaving that station behind. But after getting in and looking around, she had the feeling that standing and waiting at the station was probably better, no matter how she could literally cut through the tension with a knife.

Inside, there were multiple people dressed up as Ghostface, sending her to a whole other dimension. That whole thing felt like a set up and a trap, and fearing the worst she looked around to find Mindy, who didn't want to stay with them.

Ethan found her first and raised his hand to wave, but didn't get any kind gesture back from her.

"I'll go and check on her, okay?" she asked as she looked up at him. "I'll be right back in a few seconds."

And just like that she was on her way to Mindy, pushing away a few people to be able to move.

"Hey, are the others okay?"

"Sure." was the short answer she got. "But maybe you should ask yourself if you're okay."

She didn't have to continue for her to know that she's talking about Ethan, who's gaze she could feel on her back.

"I know I am." she replied, trying not to argue as she looked at the screen of Mindy's phone.

U on the next train?

Yes w Ethan aka GF

Sending...

She did her best to bite her tongue and not say anything. Mindy's hurt and that's understandable, Anika just died and everything is going to shit again. She has to keep calm and let it play out, she'll see that she was wrong and even though she won't apologize, the usual mood will be back again.

Mindy raised her arms, because the message didn't want to be sent, but after a few moments she gave up and looked at her with a sigh.

"Look, you know you should never trust the-"

That's when a man with a Ghostface mask on leaned towards them, making them jump and curse at him. The guy laughed as he muttered a 'sorry'. The two girls backed away, but doing that got her further away from Ethan.

"God dammit, now I have to believe that everyone in this fucking city is an asshole." she cursed as they found a new spot. She turned around and sent Ethan a reassuring smile, calming the poor boy down, who was about to get to them.

Just then the lights started to flicker, making the train darker and creepier. It sent goosebumps down her spine.

As she noticed another person in a Ghostface costume a few steps away, a man accidentally bumped into her, sending her backwards, stumbling far away from Mindy. Many others had to change positions as the most likely drunk guy tried to keep his balance, but that created a barricade between her and Mindy - and Ethan. She could no longer see them, and she was pushed even further back until her back touched the metal door.

Yes, these people were truly assholes tonight.

The lights flickered once again and that's when she noticed the movement. Like a true horror movie scene, as it got dark the figure got closer and closer, but stood still when the lights were on again. The mask of the Ghostface costume scared her and she was about to either call out or scream when the figure rushed towards her, and the last thing she knew was that she tasted the material of the gloves on her lips, as the person kept her mouth shut.

How could she forget, she thought as she looked at the mask, examining the eyes and the mouth, never say 'I'll be right back', because you won't be back.

The sudden pain in her abdome was so strong and insufferable that tears formed in her eyes as she closed them, as if that would help her escape from it. She felt how the knife cut through skin and muscle, but she could also hear it and those sounds made her gag. She felt herself shouting, but no one could hear her because of the hand on her mouth.

And then the figure started cutting and cutting, pushing the knife upwards towards her chest and the absolute misery and torture that action brought with itself was too painful to bear. She was sobbing then, she knew that much, but she raised her arms to either defend herself, pull the mask off or hurt the murderer, so the others will know that the scars on someone means they found who they were looking for.

The knife was pulled out too suddenly and she fell to the ground with some quiet whimpers, not finding the strength in herself to shout, while the train moved on and on.

Mindy was the first to get to her, since she was closer, but by the time she got there the figure was already gone. Mindy fell to her knees in front of her as she cursed, trying to find the right thing to do to stop the bleeding.

She only noticed that both of them were shaking after Mindy pressed down on her wound, what made her cry out in pain. She felt both cold and hot as she did her best to not look down, because she was sure the sight alone would make her faint.

"Shit, shit, shit. We gotta get you out of here!"

And there he was - Ethan was pushing through the crowded cart, not caring who will fall. When their eyes met all she saw was shock. He seemed so shocked that for a second he froze, not knowing where he is or who is. He only moved when Mindy cursed again because she started to cough. The way he rushed to her, almost falling while doing so, broke her heart. His cheeks became pink, he started to sweat and he cursed out so loudly she was sure everyone in the cart could hear him.

"Fuck- that's a lot of blood..." his voice cracked as he talked and as he leaned closer and touched her face, making sure she's keeping her eyes open, she explored something new in his gestures and expression.

The shock turned to fear at first. Pure, unmistakable fear as he looked at her and noticed the wound and the blood. Then it changed again. The fear was still partially there, but so was something wild and primal. The way the muscels moved under his eyes and next to his mouth, she could feel the anger radiating off of him. She found the need to protect and avenge in his gaze.

"Get the fuck away from her, you hear me?" Mindy tried to push him away in fear.

"Can you shut the fuck up for one second for God's sake?" Ethan was angry and scared. She's never seen him angry before. "We have to get you out of here, okay darling? Fuck, call 911!"

The train stopped, the doors opened. As Ethan's left hand took Mindy's place on her abdomen so her friend can call for help, she grabbed his arm, trying to settle her pain and fear down.

"It's okay, it's okay, sweetheart. I'm gonna get you out of here."

And he did.

He got a hold of her left arm and waist as good and as gentle as he could, and slowly walked her out of the cart. Her right hand found his on her stomach as they both pressed down on the wound, trying to stop the bleeding.

"E..." she muttered or at least tried to.

"Sh, don't talk, okay? Everything's gonna be fine." his voice was cracking here and there and when she looked up at his face she could see that his eyes became teary.

She interwined their fingers; their bloody, sticky fingers.

Ethan as gently and painlessly as possible sat her down to the ground before a pillar, close to the entrance to the subway station. She noticed how some people stopped to give them worried, panicked looks.

Her back was against the cold concrete as she kept eyecontact with him, pressuring herself to stay awake.

"You're gonna be okay, you hear me?" she didn't know who he tried to reassure with that sentence; her or himself. "God, you're gonna be fine. You have to be."

She raised her arm to touch his face even if the pain in her stomach had travelled up to her lungs because of it. The throbbing pain was so much, she almost accidentally poked him in the eye, because her hands started to shake.

Seeing the way her body reacted to the pain sent Ethan over the edge and the tears that already danced in the corners of his eyes started to fall. She's never wanted to see him cry. All right, maybe from happiness, but definitely not from fear. She wiped the proof of distress away with her thumb.

"I don't want to lose you..."

The way he said it, voice full of fear and pain made her cry as well - the reasons of the tears were mixed together. She whimpered as he pressed down a little harder on the wound.

"I- I've never wanted you to get hurt-" he had to swallow to continue. "I don't know what I'd do without you..."

"They'll be here in a few minutes!" Mindy shouted as she ran back to them. "I gotta go up so I can lead them here."

"Then go!"

Mindy looked at her wounded friend and only left when she nodded that it's fine, she'll be safe with Ethan.

After the girl left she looked back at her lover and did her best to keep her breath steady as she started to talk: "You won't- lose me, E. That won't- won't fucking happen!" she tried to smile at him, but the smile turned out to be quite ugly, because she gritted her teeth from the pain. "Besides- this will scream for a sick tattoo- when it scars."

They both smiled then, painfully, but honestly at her weak attempt to make everything better.

"I love you, E."

She thought about how crazy the past few days have been, how everything went from bad to worst. Yet no matter what happened, Ethan was always there for her to make everything better. He kissed her, hugged her, cuddled her and did his best to both calm her and make her forget about the situation they were in.

And when Ethan seemed to be a bit under the weather or when he got a bit hurt or overall tired from all the pointing fingers and accusations, she was doing the same for him.

"I love you too..."

He leaned in and pressed a short, but meaningful kiss to her lips and ran his fingers through her hair with his free hand.

" 'You'll stay with me, right?"

"Of course I will."

"Good," she whispered. " 'cause I'm fucking terrified of hospitals."

They both giggled a little as their foreheads touched. She started to cough again.

"I'd do anything for you..." Ethan mumbled, his voice had a strange edge, something what was even to her unknowm. "Anything."

That's when she saw Mindy, followed by paramedics, all of them running towards them. Ethan pressed one last kiss to her forehead then let go of her, giving place for the paramedics and letting them work.

As they put her on a stretcher and got her outside to the ambulance, Ethan's phone started to ring. As he looked at his wounded lover on the stretcher he felt so much anger building up in himself that he almost threw the phone away. She stabbed her. She had one fucking job and she stabbed her.

He'd do anything for her...

That night Ethan decided to go to the hospital instead of the shrine.

[honeygrahambitch]

Rookie Questions: Why is Hannibal willingly surrendering to the police? Love? Wanting to show Will that he can't live without him? Is the memory palace strong enough for him to live peacefully in prison? What is it all this for?

Okay very good question. I was going to make a post about this topic but it's even better that you asked.

So the main focus of my answer will be the idea of impulsivity. And now you can say "what? But Hannibal is the least impulsive chatacter." Well, yes and no.

Hannibal plans every single little thing. Think about how he got Will in jail. Every day he planted little evidence to frame him. He slept with Alana so he could have an alibi in case Jack suspected him. Hannibal is incredibly manipulative and intelligent and cunning and composed, that is, most of the time.

There are however, two moments when he acts out of impulsivity. And these moments have something in common and I will explain that later in this post.

1) Mizumono

The plan wasn't to kill Abigail, nor to try to kill Alana and to stab Will as much as possible and make a mess and then run away heartbroken. The very calculated plan was to run away with Will and Abigail. And to bring Abigail back in Will's life. To turn back the time for Will. The plan was to kill Jack with Will's help.

But this changed when Hannibal realized Will betrayed him. He is so hurt he can't take rational decisions. He acts out of pure raw feelings. He is in so much pain he tries his best to hurt Will the way he did too. And he does that by killing Abigail in front of him. And then by literally stabbing him. And then he runs away. The gif i attached screams impulsivity.

Hannibal is no longer calm, quirky, composed, elegant. He is a force. A furious, hurt and angry force.

2) The moment he surrenders

Exactly the moment you chose. Again, this time, the plan was to save Will from the Vergers and then to leave together after he would bring Will home. Hannibal doesn't expect Will to be so angry and done. The plan wasn't to surrender in front of Jack and the FBI for sure.

But he didn't expect Will to "break up with him". Will literally tells him that he doesn't want to think about him anymore. And says fucking goodbye. And Hannibal is hurt. You can see that on his face when Will says that painful stuff.

And now to answer your question, in this episode, Hannibal does the same thing he did in the end of season 2. He knew that Will would search for him in Florence because he told Will about how much Florence means to him, right? Like Bedelia says "you made sure he would know where to look for you". Telling Will about Florence was somehow his backup plan "in case" something went wrong. In case he would have to run away without Will. But trust me, Hannibal wasn't counting on this in Mizumono. This was his "worst case scenario" You can see the surprise on his face when Will calls and says "they know". Hannibal could have ran away from the moment he felt Lounds' scent the day before. But he didn't. He really put all his trust in Will. And he shattered it.

However, when it came to running away to Florence, he wasn't giving up his freedom. Now, when he surrenders, he does. He is so hurt and surprised by Will's "walls" that the first thing that comes to his mind is to disrespect Will's boundaries and force him into knowing where he can find him.

Hannibal is a very confident guy. He is very confident in his mind. And memory palace. So living in prison wouldn't have destroyed him cause he has an amazing emotional and mental strength. What would have destroyed him however was "not having Will in his life". That's why his options are: prison or never see Will again. And he chooses prison. Yes, because he loves him.

And now i will explain the connection between the two scenes. Hannibal acts impulsive and makes radical decisions only when he is hurt by Will. Because he loves Will. So yes, he surrenders because he loves Will and decides that he is more precious than his freedom. And of course, there is some pettiness here as well cause Hannibal has a big ego.

He wants Will to feel a bit guilty, like "you don't want me? Fine then. Look at me surrendering and giving up my freedom." Cause it's not really freedom if the person he loves is not part of his life. So running away makes no sense.

I hope I answered your question. I didn't expect to make such a long post ahdjdnsndndn

[rollercoasterwords]

hi, good evening or whichever,

so i started reading as the worm moon dies like a year ago, when u started posting i think, then left it at regulus’ interlude because of life i guess, i had a no reading streak, but then i started reading again yesterday and binged it in 6 hours because… yes. it’s fucking great. like, you’re really an amazing writer. and i’ve just come to compliment the shit out of your fic and your choices for this story. i beg your pardon for the intrusion and this long ass ask.

1. the action. as a writer myself it’s so fucking hard to pull of action scenes and fast paced moments. i never got confused on how they went to point A to B, what happened was clear but still rushed and fast paced. especially the chamber of secrets dude. i was at the edge of my seat, almost screaming at the laptop. SO GOOD.

2. james. gosh dang it. you fucking nailed it. such a hero, such a self sacrificial guy. he intrinsically believed he was good, that he would vanquish evil. and then. HE FAILS. it hurt so bad, it felt all so wasteful. and then. HE’S KILLED BY THE SISTER OF SOME MISTAKE HE MADE. he just so carelessly and accidentally killed peter, and then he can do nothing as his sister kills him. it was so fucking good. i love when every sacrifice he made was all for him not to reap any of the fruit. christ. i still get chills. i love him.

3. remus and sirius. like, your characters in general but they killed me. i love that at the start remus was hellbent on the cause, all rationality, every sacrifice was necessary. he even suspected sirius of being to cowardly for the fight but THEN. remus is angry at sirius because he went too far in his sacrifice. how cowardly am i now remus. delicious fucking food.

and yeah i could say many more things but this is your blog and i can go insane in my own head about this fic so i will.

thank you for this story, the work that you put into it, and your generosity for sharing it. i am eagerly waiting for the last two chapters :))

hi!! responding a bit late lol but no need 2 apologize i love long asks <3 so glad ur enjoying the fic!!

action scenes can def be tricky 2 write but they're also so fun <3 helps that i usually have a little movie playing in my head while i write them so i just picture what's happening + describe that lol

& james!! yeah i knew from the beginning that i wanted his character to serve as a sort of deconstruction of the whole 'chosen one' trope in the fic, so i really wanted to write someone who embodied that figure of The Hero Destined for Greatness and have his entire life build up to that & then very decidedly have him fail!! so that ultimately what kills him is sort of like a reflection of himself: not a hero, but a kid seeking vengeance. love a tragedy etc

r&s have been very fun 2 write in this fic as well...i do love a bit of irony & u hit the nail on the head w ur summary lol. i was talking to a friend abt this as well tho to give remus a bit of credit technically sirius DID do more than he strictly had to--like he could have just erased his memory up to the point where he & r got captured by poachers & still think he'd been captured by the order rather than that he was working with them when he went back w his memory erased, bc up to that point he really hadn't been working w the order! but he knew if he only erased the 6 months he was actually w the order he'd be putting a huge target on remus's back; so really the only reason he went back further & completely erased all his time w remus was to protect him. & that's part of why remus is so angry! sirius didn't strictly have to erase literally every part of their relationship, but he did it to protect r...i love when love makes everything worse <3

anyway ty 4 ur message + the kind words etc! <3

[system-vent]

one of the nastiest nastiest feelings is taking our shirt off and its not even because the body is human and afab and im a tabaxi tiger and amab, i have accepted that and i can look past it. i can cope with that, it doesnt bother me or any hosts or ex-hosts. what bothers me is the scars on our arm that come from a very harmful frequent fonter we had because i KNOW that the scars from him were preventable. i know we couldve stopped him. why the hell didnt we stop him from doing any of that? if we had known he had bad intentions and was doing all those bad things on purpose we wouldnt have let him front but he kept saying he was trying, he would be better, hes just anxious, hes depressed, he has bpd. so do the rest of us the body has those disorders you dont see me causing half the shit he did?? i hate him.

seperate rant/ramble: as i was typing this i heard either coyotes screaming outside, or i had an auditory hallucination. i hate this body and it's schizophrenia for a multitude of reasons which sends me on a new tangent ☝️🤓 i hate having schizophrenia because its often misdiagnosed as did (/srs) and we go "ohhh but maybe im faaaaking" i can garuntee you that the disassociative amnesia regarding our childhood may be a sign! and the very obvious shifts of personality, and also earlier today i had a fleeting thought that was something i wouldnt think and i thought it in the voice of one of my headmates. lo and behold he fronted without my noticing and neither of us know how long he was in front for.

on another note i hate hate hate having to self disgnose. our mother gets aggravated and has a borderline mental breakdown every single time one of us asks her why she thinks we are not autistic because to us and to other people with autism it is BLINDINGLY obvious, just as an example of why we need to self disgnose this much. schizophrenia, adhd, depression, anxiety, and various physical issues are all things we have been diagnosed with. we suspect autism, bpd, aspd, did, and dyslexia. we did not think about any of these disorders or about having them, and we knew nothing about them until friends with said disorders would talk about their experiences and vent about it and we went "oh no... oh no..." and then we had to go do vast amounts of research into them and overlapping disorders and just. so much research. and the autism part takes EVERYTHING literally and at face value so very often we will go "oh this cant be us! we dont have every single symptom!" and it is, in fact, us. we also fakeclaim ourselves when we hear stories about how bad these disorders can be and ours is never that bad. its bad enough to actually genuinely impact our life more often than not and the symptoms are very distressing when we notice them, but they arent as bad as they could be which to a lot of my headmates makes it very obvious that we do not have the disorders we very much do. it causes a lot of denial towards ourselves, we had looked into dyslexia and joking about having it for months but we never flat out said we have dyslexia until one of our managers straight up told someone "yeah we're dyslexic this losers are just in denial because we can send messages that are coherent. they think we are not dyslexic because we go back and correct any typos? doesnt make sense to me. the typos are still made, and we still miss a lot of words we need to correct very often. oh yes im aware theyre idiots." sometimes fakeclaimer logic is just so broken. we also have a lot of alters that have dyslexia in source memories and whenever they fromt our typing gets much worse which obviously means we don't actually have dyslexia OR did! /sarc. DID truely stands for dumb idiot disorder because i could spend a week listing times when our symptoms for all our disorders were very very prominant.

.

[siriuslysatorusimping]

Ok, so SOOO much to unpack here, brace yourself. I posted prior on as anonymous 🫥 to get some quick info out, but now I’m really hankering in to unpack.

Ok, so I get it, Gojo definitely has valid reasons to suspect Rinko, but also…

I agree with anonymous (ง'̀-'́)ง, I was ready to fight Gojo (and everyone else who’s an ass to Rinko). Congrats, you have turned a group of Gojo simps to an army of Rinko protectors 🛡️

Anywho, back on point here. Gojo suspecting Rinko was valid because literally everything pointed to her, and while they do communicate to each other often, Rinko has proven to not always share everything because of either Clan shit, or I suspect to keep the barrier of friends with benefits with Gojo.

That said, like, Gojo literally out here claiming she’s his “You’re mine”, like it’s nothing. It’s definitely something, and I get Rinko not addressing in the moment, but she has to question it (Right? 👀)

Also, thank you for representing her feels so eloquently 🥹 as someone who’s recently discovered I have PTSD and panic attacks, and trying to recover from, you handled her own feelings so well! Sometimes reading those experiences can make it hard for myself, but I was able to get through it. So thanks 😊

Well hello! I will also address your anon message in this, so everything is below the cut!! 😊😊

If you're new and HAVEN'T already, you can read Another Level on AO3 :)

I'm pasting your Anon message:

I’m so very impressed with the recent writing of Rinko and Gojo’s life. The way you handled Rinko’s breakdown was true to form of the panic instilling, the body dissociating - all scarily accurate. Literally was screaming at Gojo the entire time to help her breathe by breathing. From my own experience with panic attacks, having a loved one help you through it works wonders (even if you may not want it, you need it). Rinko’s story has found a special place in my heart, and you do her justice in expressing it in your writing. Truly impressed

OKAY.

I will first address the panic attacks and how accurately they are written:

I have had panic attacks for as long as I can remember. I have also had PTSD from past relationships. I recently discovered that I am also autistic 🙃 and 'autistic meltdowns' are often mistaken for panic attacks in undiagnosed people. So, there's that.

I have written about my mental health for a long, long time. Many years. If you'd like, I can share those, but I don't want to make you feel pressured to read them! (also don't want to out myself for how much of myself I've accidentally written into Rinko 👀)

AN ARMY OF RINKO PROTECTORS YES.

I can tell you who will be LEADING that army:

Don't you HURT HIS ADOPTIVE MOM COUSIN.

Gojo staking his claim and what Rinko thinks:

I'm gonna be real with you. Rinko thought almost nothing of him saying that for two reasons: 1) He was drunk. 2) She straight up thinks he is the dumbest man alive.

Rinko genuinely thinks that Gojo is just stupid and doesn't realize that things he says and does send messages of more than being friends.

Why, you ask? Let's take a lil trip down memory lane:

We'll start with this bit from Let Me Know You:

“Friends don’t typically do this,” she said quietly, a small laugh escaping when he pouted. “Unless you’re going to tell me this is how all of your friendships are? Because that’d be very interesting.” That made him laugh, his eyes crinkling at the corners, hand moving to the back of her neck to pull her lips to meet his again. Pressing his tongue into her mouth, his other hand went to her shirt again. “I’ll admit this might not be a conventional friendship,” he murmured, unbuttoning the few buttons she’d managed to fasten earlier. “But that’s what makes it fun. We can have sleepovers-”

Then, I Say "Sayonara":

But she couldn’t, she wouldn’t, tell her mother about her ‘unconventional’ friendship with Gojo Satoru. Not the typical friendship, he would always say as he grinned, pressing a gentle kiss to her temple or forehead. Such a contrast to how he would spend the next few hours taking her apart in every way he could.

AND THEN, FINALLY, New Memories:

“You know,” she said, reluctantly allowing him to pull her along with him again. “That isn’t exactly how friends-” “Not a typical friendship, baby,” he cut her off. “Now,” he paused, grabbing her by the waist and warping them to her apartment. “Get changed.”

I'm going to write an Author Discussion once we've gotten through (Please) Prove Me Wrong, so that will break down quite a bit and hopefully answer some of your other questions!! 😊😊

Full disclosure: Gojo's POV was never meant to be as big of a deal as it's become, and I am struggling to write it rn 🙃🙃🙃

Thank you for reading and sending these TWO amazing asks 🥹💕

[sorenserotonin]

bro how come everyone in the modern scream films that go back to the 96 killings are obsessed w billy??? sure he was the more dominant killer in the duo, but stu was a big part of it. hes the reason they went after casey and steve, hes the one who came up with the plan to frame neil. the idea to Start killing was billy’s idea, but the massacre was stu’s idea. i hate the roman retcon so im ignoring it and just using the information we get from the first movie. scream 5 takes us back to stu’s house but its all about BILLY and i get that sam is his daughter but so i know why SHE focuses on him but everyone else??? like the whole thing was a team effort for them as a duo. yes, sidney focused a lot on billy but thats bc she was dating him for TWO YEARS and he KILLED her MOM and then his mom tried to kill her bc of something that was ultimately billy’s fault bc he decided to kill his fathers mistress. i just dont understand why scream 5 and 6 minimize stu’s involvement in the massacre. this isnt even meant to be a “stu’s alive” conspiracy theory post either this is just like… its so weird esp bc it was such a big part of the movie. you can watch it over and over finding the little clues that stu is heavily involved and piece together the details of their plan and how exactly it was followed through, but you have to know that when casey becker unmasked her killer it was stu who she saw. stu had fun doing it. in the big chase scene at the party, stu is the one in the costume. hes the one who taunted sidney with the keys to the car, hes the one who killed kenny. when they were inside, after billy shot randy, it was a shock to sidney that billy was involved bc she immediately turned to him, begging for his help, and then she realized they were a team. considering how important stu was to billy and his massacre, you’d think that the newer movies would view them as equal especially bc stu was so manipulative and was never even a suspect. billy wasnt some evil genius mastermind he was angry and misogynistic and out for blood. stu was no genius mastermind either, but he literally stated that the idea of framing neil was his idea, and the entire plan for the final act hinged on getting enough suspicion on neil for it to work so billy can kill sidney and they could follow stu’s idea of framing neil. stu is the reason it was such an elaborate thing. when it was billy’s plan, they definitely didn’t wear the costume. they didnt have the costume to kill maureen bc they needed sidney to witness who she THOUGHT was cotton leaving her house when she found maureen’s body. stu is the reason for the iconic costume and voice modulator that all the copycats use.

[joseopher]

HELLO, LADIES, WORMS, HOMOSEXUALS

As we know I check the novacaine tags daily.

AND THE ATLAS SIX VACATION SERIES HAS BEEN UPDATED!

I LITERALLY SCREAMED

when the dust has set!!!!!!!!!

WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS FIC:

Nico continues to wish he drowned instead of witnessing novacaine

LOVE CONFESSIONS

Sibling dynamics

Found family dynamics

Friendship dynamics

Sleepovers!!!

THE BEST ENDING EVER

Spoilers! Spoilers! Spoilers! Spoilers! Spoilers! Spoilers! Spoilers!

"They had gone upstairs together earlier today, probably to fuck. When they finally were downstairs again, Tristan had talked to him like nothing happened. Like the relationship between them was completely normal. Eventually, the two of them disappeared again, probably to fuck. Again."

Nico is so done. He is so done. He will commit murder if he has to deal with novacaine again.

"He didn’t want to think about them having sex, although it felt like that was all they ever did."

I mean...he's not wrong.

Then Nico sees Callum smile and is like what the actual fuck. He just stares at Tristan like "explain yourself". And Tristan is just like "la la la".

Nico is suffering.

"Wanted them to be the type of friends that could share those things. "

Awww Nico wants to be friends with Tristan <3

“It’s just that we were just there not too long ago. Before we went to my room. I just thought that Tristan doesn’t even go to his room that often. Only to sleep. Or with me,” 

“And you wanted to rub that in our face again because….?” 

HAHA Callum being jealous and petty and Nico just wanting to murder him.

Nico @ Callum constantly: You are a bitch.

"'Well, I don’t know. Why on earth would anyone want him dead?' Nico nodded toward Callum.

Callum put his hand on his heart and cooed at him. 

'That’s exactly what I’ve been wondering for years now, Varona,' he said. Nico flipped him off. Tristan rubbed a hand over his face with a sigh."

I love these people so much. Callum is sooo petty and Nico is just pissed off and Tristan is like "I can't believe these are the people I want to hang out with".

"'So someone tried to blow me up. That’s nice.'

'Tried to blow you and Callum up,' Reina corrected. 

'That I can understand,' Nico said. This time Tristan flipped him off. 

Nico is #1 novacaine anti

"Nico had always suspected that was just a sex thing. Maybe Callum had just such a big dick that Tristan couldn’t resist. It simply couldn’t be because of his personality, because it was shit."

Correction Nico is just a Callum anti.

(Parisa listening to Nico's thoughts as he tries to understand novacaine is so funny.)

"'As long as we have pillow fights,' Callum added. Parisa snorted. 

'Prepare to die again old man,' she threatened."

The friendship dynamics in this fix>>>>>

“If you even try to kiss each other below the belt while we’re in the same room I will cut off both of your dicks,”

LOLOLOL YESS GO OFF NICO!!

"Libby sighed. Callum sat down next to Tristan. He let himself fall back, held up by his elbows, and pushed his feet on Tristan’s lap. Tristan just let him. It was disgusting. "

Nico has "novacaine supporters" in his DNI on twitter.com

“We’re in love, for starters.” 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Maybe he quite liked the rest of them too. Some more than others, but there was fondness in him somewhere."

AW NICO IS MAKING FRIENDS <3 <3 <3

“Are you in love with him?”

“Yes,”

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"so

i did dreamfuck you?"

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"'Got it after a few hours on the first day. Same handwriting as the invite. Suppose it was from Atlas. He’s been planning to kill me since then, I guess. Think he was hoping for you all to do it but no one did. Stayed here to spite him.'

'And to sleep with his favorite the whole time. To rub it in,' Parisa added. Callum smirked.

'Perhaps.'" 

Aww Atlas's plan was that them being stuck here 'on vacation' would make them try to kill Callum again. But they didn't and instead made friends <3 <3 <3

Also, Callum got laaaaaid.

Bet you didn't expect that Atlas!

OH MY FUCKING GOD THIS WAS AN AMAZING ENDING. PHENOMENAL! PERFECTION! I LOVED IT!

I AM SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW!

SO HAPPY!

I LOVE THIS AUTHOR'S WRITING SO MUCH!

GO READ THE ATLAS SIX VACATION SERIES OR I KILL YOU!

[lunarsun12]

NCT Interrogation

Masterlist

Previous Part / Next Part

The second group decided to investigate the NCT household. Taehyun and Soobin went to the dream house, who is their next door neighbour. To question them and Taehyun is convinced that Haechan isn’t innocent. When they knock on the door, they were greeted by Jisung.

Without hesitation, Taehyun asked if Haechan was home and explained the situation. Jisung suggested that he can help them with their investigation. By giving his most sus members to them , so they can interrogate them. Poor Jisung almost cried after hearing what happen to Kai plush collection.

Which members of the NCT Family is it? Or are they all innocent?

Soobin created a chat we need to talk chat

Today 21:00

Soobin🍞: Alright I added people who can help us plus potential suspects

Yuta🦁: Why am I here? I am perfectly innocent

Haechan🐻: Me too I am always innocent-

Jisung🚀: Don’t lie hyuckie, you lied about breaking Eomma plates yesterday

Haechan🐻: No I didn’t! I understand for Yang and Lele but me that is rude

YangYang🐑: Is this another werid chat again-

Soobin🍞: No it’s perfectly normal where is your Eomma?

YangYang🐑: He is busy right now

Soobin🍞: Again? I need to ask him to give back the money he lent from me. It has been a month now!!

Chenle💸: What is this now? I haven’t done wrong after I accidentally did something

YangYang🐑: 👀👀

Chenle💸: How’s that cat called Leon is that cat okay?

YangYang🐑: I guess so? Why do you care? You never bother asking about Eomma pets

Chenle💸: Nothing😊

Soobin🍞: We have one more person left?

Taehyun🐯: Do we really have to ask that Jungwoo person? He is so weird

Soobin🍞: Yes according to our little detective Jisung. He normally causes the most trouble

Jisung🚀: That right, here are the bad hyungs in this family. I will be on standby

Yuta🦁: Jisung? How could you call me bad? I treated you so nice

Jisung🚀: I saw something and you are bad hyung for lying to Mark ☹️

Haechan🐻: Please tell the tea pleasee

Jisung🚀: No, I am helping Soobin here. That’s so mean whoever did that to some kid plush

Taehyun🐯: So where is Jungwoo then?

Jisung🚀: Hang on let me call him

Jungwoo🍬: THE FABULOUS ME IS HERE

Yuta🦁: More like pain in the butt

Soobin🍞: Good we got everyone here!

Soobin🍞: Taehyun take it away!

Taehyun🐯: I am gonna be direct!

Taehyun🐯: Do any of guys know Kai? Wait wrong question! Who slaughter Kai animal collection?

Yuta🦁: Kai from exo? I love him, I went to their concert I love himmmmm

Haechan🐻: He means that whiny kid from upstairs

Jungwoo🍬: The kid who smashed an apple on your head?

Haechan🐻: NO THAT WAS ANOTHER KID. IT IS NOT FAULT, I ACCIDENTALLY TOOK HIS APPLE JUICE

Haechan🐻: Our new neighbour!

Yuta🦁: Ohhhh that guy, nope never met him

Jungwoo🍬: Oh the kid who was carrying his dolphin around. And screamed at me when I said it looked like a whale?

Taehyun🐯: Answer the question please! Which one you guy slaughtered Kai plush collection

Yuta🦁: Wasn’t me, I have been ever so busy. Plus I don’t know anyone called by Kai

Jisung🚀: You sure definitely have…

Haechan🐻: Look, I know the rules of plush collectors never ever touch somone plush without permission. Killing someone plush is a grave sin

Jungwoo🍬: Doing that sort of things does not make me fabulous…so no I didn’t touch it

Chenle💸: Why would I touch that kid plush! Jisung will tell Eomma right away, he is with me 24/7 literally

Jisung🚀: Lele is right, I haven’t seen him leaving the house. Apart from taking Daegal for a walk

Chenle💸: Then why did you put me on the suspect list? You clown!!

Jisung🚀: You seem to always cause trouble after what you and-

Chenle💸: YOU BE QUIET BEFORE I KILL YOUR PLUSH COLLECTION

Chenle💸: I mean my dearest Jisung please stop talking

Jisung🚀: Sorry, I forgot we in the group chat

Chenle💸: …i can’t believe I took you under my wing

Soobin🍞: Chenle, you better not blackmailed Jisung again!!

Chenle💸: I DID IT ONCE UNCLE DOYOUNG OVERREACTED

Jisung🚀: Did Lele blackmail me?

Soobin🍞: ANYWAYS let’s swiftly move one shall we? Continue Taehyun

Taehyun🐯: You all sure??

Yuta🦁: I can vouch for myself 😁

Haechan🐻: Yes I am 100% sure, Hyuckie doesn’t lie

Jisung🚀: Hyuckie is telling the truth this time, he was busy annoying Renjun hyung all day

Jungwoo🍬: I told you I am innocent. I play nice 😊

Taehyun🐯: Wait a second YangYang!

Taehyun🐯: You have been dead quiet! It got to be you??

YangYang🐑: I fell asleep…my brother kept me awake with his animal noise making yesterday

Jungwoo🍬: How could you fell asleep? It seems we are in a crisis

YangYang🐑: I haven’t slept since yesterday and finally the house is quiet as Appa took Hendery and Xiao to his parents for a week

YangYang🐑: Also Mr Soobin, my Eomma said he won’t pay you back and then he laughed

Soobin🍞: My money…

Taehyun🐯: Or were you up all night with a guilty conscience?

YangYang🐑: Why? Would I need to do that where I can just get Eomma to buy me stuff. Plus I like Kai, he is such a good gaming buddy

Taehyun🐯: Fine you all in the clear…

Taehyun🐯: Also Eomma tell Appa to do his special trick on Mr Ten. He will cough up the money

Soobin🍞: NO! DON’T INVOVLE YOU APPA IN THIS!! Leave Ten alone, let him keep the money

Soobin🍞: My life will be at risk, if we mess with Ten. I heard from Jaemin

Taehyun🐯: Thank for your cooperation. My lie detector is saying you all tell the truth

Jungwoo🍬: Lie detector on phones?

Yuta🦁: Did he hack into our phone camera?

Haechan🐻: Ahhh I am hideous, my bed hair

Taehyun🐯: Wow, you all have brain! Don’t worry, it safe with me!

Soobin🍞: Since when did you learn how to hack

Taehyun🐯: Appa I gotta go study byeeee

Soobin🍞: Ahhhh such promising child!

Soobin🍞: Thanks Jisung for helping!

Jisung🚀: I am always happy to help! Please come and visit soon, next time I show you my Lego collection!!

[electrasev5nwrites]

Ninja Daily: AIC 12

(The night prior)

Sometimes, Aiko was a really frustrating person, Obito ruminated.

"I mean, I did literally say that I didn't come to fight." He crossed his arms, feeling a scowl coming on. "I was friendly. I said hi."

The jinchuuriki that she'd brought with her rippled, open-mouthed screaming at the three-tails. He was quickly losing form, skin bubbling out into oozing red sores that popped into soft, demonic flesh.

And honestly, it was insulting that Aiko would trust him before Obito. That stupid kid had lost it when confronted with another jinchuuriki. He'd struck at Aiko. What kind of ally was that?

He considered that for a moment. Then he peered over the roof a bit nervously, just to make sure Aiko wasn't standing behind him or anything.

Well. Okay. Maybe there was a reason or two that Aiko could be a bit grumpy with him still, even if they really should just call it even at this point. Yeah, yeah, he wasn't perfect but- but he'd never stuck his fingers in someone else's eyes. Petty. She was so petty.

'Is she still pissed about her eyes?'

Obito squirmed guiltily. He, uh. Was beginning to suspect that he wasn't going to find Zetsu had stored them away somewhere. So he probably couldn't manage an apology bouquet complete with her original body parts- his best idea so far. That was about as far as he'd gotten with unpacking that bothersome business.

Fine! He admitted it, that had been kinda rude on his part. He was sorry. With some time and distance and a little bit of medication and a lot of counseling, yes. He recognized that had been not okay. He was really sorry. But…

'I want my friend back.'

Judging by the way all the color had bled out of her face when she'd seen him, maybe waiting around for her to show up hadn't been the best idea. He'd been confused, okay? Disoriented. Out of sorts. He'd been pretending not to sense Bakashi waiting uncomfortably outside the clinic room on one of his super uncomfortable late night 'Is Obito really here?' panic runs. And then he'd been standing? In Mist? The air on his face was damp and he could smell heavy salt. All he'd heard had been sharp breath and felt chakra swelling and then Aiko'd spoken up-

'She's so rude,' Obito remembered fondly.

She'd had the audacity to be indignant that reality hadn't done what she'd told it to. This was definitely her fault, there was no doubt in his mind. He'd paused, torn between the urge to hide and the desire to follow after the most familiar person in this madhouse.

He could have followed the inevitable clattering cacophony and outrage that followed Aiko wherever she went. Probably.

But he'd felt his own chakra. He'd sensed himself. It was the creepiest, most fucked-up feeling he'd ever encountered, and he never wanted to experience it again.

It wasn't a dream. Not a memory. Not a hallucination. He was feeling his own chakra, twisted and angry in ways that he didn't remember. He'd felt like that? He'd been in that place?

How much damage had he caused? He was like a rabid animal. He'd hurt so many people, and killed sensei and poor Kushina-san and so many people, just for nothing, for nothing because the perfect world was never going to happen and-

Obito hated the man that he was. He hated the man that he'd been more.

It was a stupid idea. He'd been on forced inactivity for two years. Only in the last months had he been allowed to do more than mindless physical drills, only four months back his chakra had been unsealed as a concession to good behavior and noted improvement from that frightening psychiatrist woman.

But. You know. No one really expected that their older self would step up behind them using a jutsu that no one else had ever used and-

It just wasn't a thing anyone planned for. What lunatic would anticipate being attacked by themself?

Hmm.

Obito frowned. He made a mental note to come up with a plan to counter his own techniques. Like, soon. Sure, getting dragged back to his own past had only happened to him once, but that was still a significant statistical increase over the likelihood he would have assigned the possibility before.

'Fall into my past once, shame on Aiko. Do it again…'

Still probably Aiko's fault, actually. Now that he thought about it, it was really only surprising that this had only happened to her one time. Sure, she seemed to have some kind of intuitive knack for interdimensional fuinjutu, but, that didn't really inspire confidence in her tendency to improvise.

'I should get her in some kind of tutoring. Is there an after school program like that?'

Speaking of Aiko, what was she- Obito squinted the one eye that he had, blithely looking past the hell that the two bijuu were unleashing on each other. Twits. He'd just wanted Yagura to keep the chumps Aiko'd brought out of the way so that they could talk. It was embarrassing how things had escalated, really.

Oh. He squeezed his eye shut, chewing over this development. That was her plan, huh? What a weird kid. It was just Mist. And it'd been an accident anyway, they could sort it out. Was Aiko really trying to take control of the situation? Why would-

salt brine roiled out of Rin's open mouth, spilling down her chin to mix with foamy flecks of her own blood and small glistening lumps of something he couldn't identify. Her shoulder blades felt so small in his hands, her body cold from the sea and-

Obito shuddered the memory away. He swallowed. He breathed in deeply, remembering where he was. He was now. That was then. Back. Ago. Unchangeable. Aiko wasn't Rin and the three-tails wasn't cursed and Bakashi wasn't even here right now for things to be his fault.

He fisted a handful of his hair and dug in sharp, jolting breaths through his nose.

He couldn't do this right now. He couldn't talk to her now. She was busy, he'd come back later, he'd try again a little differently and she'd take a minute to listen to him and she'd realize that he was right, that he needed her to work with him right now. She'd understand. There was so much to do. There was so much set in motion that she'd hate too.

After all, she was here, wasn't she? Not in Konoha. It made sense. Aiko had family, friends. It would be significantly harder to replace yourself if anyone was around to know or care. Aiko had to have realized that things were better off if she stayed out of Konoha, away from her little self.

It would have been helpful if she hadn't exposed herself to Akatsuki as an enemy. There went his five best plans about how to get rid of them. But…

'We'll figure something out.'

Present

She looked out into the dimly lit coast town and realized that coming there was a mistake. An extra stop to equip herself just wasn't worth it.

Aiko looked down at her bare feet. She felt naked, exposed, unarmored. She was in her underwear, with dried ink crackling over her stomach and hipbones.

'It doesn't matter right now. For all I know, Utakata's dead. I know a lot of people died. I need to know what happened.'

She swallowed. She went to wrap her arms around her chest and then thought better of it, pushing her shoulders back. Aiko took a steadying breath that quietened most of the trembling. And she went.

Her geography had never been the most accurate, unfortunately. Without the seal on the Mizukage to use as a precise guide, she found herself on a remote stretch of Mizugakure's outlying islands overlooking a rocky beach. She blinked at the patched, dingy boat tied up at a log. She tried again. This time, she found herself on the incline of an impact crater, less than a foot away from a mangled, stinking pile impacted into the ground that had probably been a person before a bijuu had stepped on them. It was hard to tell more than that in the dim light afforded by a half moon.

Aiko didn't let herself look away too soon. She looked until she thought she could remember the way it looked, the spill of blood and crushed flesh and the splintered rib bone curving in a ghastly, eyeless smile on the canvas of the dirt.

'I did this. I saw Mist after Mei's takeover, and this hadn't happened. If I hadn't been so cocky, this person would be alive.'

She was hailed down before she reached the top of the crater, by a hard-eyed man with hollowed cheeks and a broad jawline. He reached down to help her out. It wasn't necessary, but she took his hand and let him haul her to the lip of the hole.

He let go as soon as she was on her feet, freeing his hands to unwind a length of bandage from his arm. He tossed it to her, politely looking no lower than her jaw. "Have you checked in yet?"

She took the bandage and used it as a hasty chest wrap, because it was a nice offer even if modesty was low on her priorities. When she was done tying the end, Aiko pressed her lips together and shook her head. It took a second try to speak over the dryness in her mouth. "What happened to Utakata?"

Now, he looked at her critically, gaze traveling up and down to check her lack of gear and state of general disarray. "You're looking for the jinchuuriki."

She honestly did not know what that lack of inflection signified. So she nodded.

They stood for a moment before he seemed to make a decision, jaw working silently. "I'll take you there." He lead her to an intact building, but stopped at the lobby. "I need to continue to look for survivors. You'll have to take it from here."

Aiko nodded. It felt like she'd been doing that a lot. Belatedly, she realized she hadn't gotten her guide's name. She cleared her throat. "Thank you…"

He gave a perfunctory nod that was not quite a bow. "Noguchi Hiro."

"Noguchi-san," Aiko repeated, holding the name in her memory. "Uzumaki Aiko. Good luck."

In she went. The power was out, but the main hallway was marked with a trail of far-flung candles, not enough for any reading, but adequate for marking a path. Before too long, she heard voices.

Familiar voices.

Her hand actually shook as she slid aside the door. Utakata looked exhausted, hair unusually lank and dark circles ringing his eyes. The moonlight coming in the window revealed that Mei didn't look much better. Her left arm was bleeding through a sling.

Relief hit Aiko. It felt more like being doused in cold water than muscles relaxing, but she felt her limbs tremble and sink as the adrenaline cut off.

"Aiko." Utakata stood, eyes wide.

Her head hurt like she might cry. She blinked instead, forcing it down. "Utakata." Thank god.

Mei might have looked sullen if she were less exhausted. "Uzumaki, is it? Sit down. I don't have the stomach for watching you make eyes at each other right now." She gestured at a cushion with her injured elbow without even wincing.

Aiko sat seiza, folding her numb legs under her body.

Utakata looked down at her, and then glanced away quickly. His jaw twitched. Then he reached for the fabric sash fastening his under-robe shut.

"Don't bother." Aiko waved him off. She managed a smile. Or, at least, she pulled up the sides of her mouth. "You can't trust me with your clothes. I don't know what happened to the robe I borrowed earlier. You'll end up naked if you keep that up."

Mei huffed. She gave Aiko a very deliberate once-over. "I suppose you might be the expert on that."

Just maybe.

Aiko swallowed again and tried to summon some moisture in her mouth. It was so dry that her tongue hurt. She wondered how long she'd been laying in Suna's deserts before a patrol had picked her up. "I saw that people are searching. Are you two taking a break?"

No one answered for a moment. Then Utakata lifted one shoulder elegantly, trying to summon up the nonchalance that usually seemed so natural to him. "Terumi-san has recently completed a shift moving rubble. She has kindly decided to spend her break time keeping me company, for the continued comfort of concerned citizens."

Tired as she was, it took way too long for Aiko to parse that. "Mei-san has chakra exhaustion and you're basically under arrest?" she summarized bluntly.

Utakata gave her a half-hearted dirty look, but deigned to nod along with Mei. He finally sank to a seat again.

"Right." Aiko rubbed her palms against her thighs. "Who's… who's in charge?" She glanced between them. "The Mizukage is definitely dead, right?"

Stupid question. Of course he was. She had his bijuu.

"Yagura is dead," Mei confirmed flatly. "What did you do with the Sanbi?"

Aiko lifted a hand and touched her fingers to the seal on her gut.

The older kunoichi's expression tightened. "Of course."

When she didn't say anything, Utakata cleared his throat. "As for the matter of leadership… That has yet to be resolved." He exchanged a meaningful glance with Mei. "There is a noticeable dearth of suitable candidates."

But… the answer was so obvious.

Aiko tucked her fingers under her knees. "I see two S-class Mist nin right now. One of you should do it." She looked right at Mei as she said that to drive her point home. "I thought that you wanted it."

Mei gave her a look of pure hatred that shook Aiko back a little. "I am widely opined to have failed in my capacity as the captain of the hunter-nin division. I'm afraid that I lost the public's trust in my capability to protect my own. No one would support my ascension to more responsibility after a catastrophic failure such as being the only survivor of four teams."

'Oh. Right. How many people did Utakata and I kill that day?'

She didn't even remember. If Aiko had to put a number on it, she's say it was definitely more elite operatives than you could lose without accusations being pointed at the leadership involved.

"Politically, her career is over." Utakata philosophically ignored the look Mei turned on him. "However, I must also remind you that losing control of my bijuu and transforming in the village center inspired no confidence in my abilities. If the new Mizukage does not simply prefer to execute me, I will face court-martial."

Aiko blinked and responded without thinking. "Or you could run away."

There was an ugly silence. Utakata was tired and far older than he had any right to. Mei gritted her teeth, looking at Aiko with utter revulsion.

'That… I can't believe that was my first thought. That it was okay to run from the consequences. I fucked up just like he did and caused so much harm, even if it wasn't me who killed anyone. I'm not… I'm not the kind of person who runs away from that. I'm not.'

She swallowed. "Sorry."

Utakata inclined his head, accepting the apology with some grace. "Your return presents… a possibility."

Wait, what?

Mei picked up where he had left. "No one knows what happened, but you were seen." Her lips were pale. "There has been talk of identifying the person who sealed the three-tailed bijuu, which is what I can only assume to have happened when it suddenly disappeared from the field of battle." She eyed the ink on Aiko's skin. "And now you have the bijuu. You are unknown, but that power is as respected as it is feared. The people would accept you."

What. Aiko stared, mouth slightly open.

Mei gave a small sound of disgust and turned away.

Aiko startled back to her senses enough to point out- "I'm not a mist-nin." That was kind of important.

"It is easier to believe that an unknown from the hunter squads is being put forward as a candidate than an outsider." Utakata's smile twisted wryly. "The idea is self-evidently mad. Terumi-san can corroborate the story."

"Besides, who capable of contesting that cover would be stupid enough to say anything?" Mei added. She huffed. "No one wants to be the village without a jinchuuriki. Now that one has returned, it would be pure foolishness to drive away the other. Giving you a position binds the ostensibly stable jinchuuriki to the village."

Her head was spinning. It was too much. This wasn't her home, this wasn't her village. She had to get back into Konoha- she was working on a plan to get offered an invitation.

"There has to be someone else." Aiko's voice sounded strange. She didn't quite feel like it belonged to her. "Mizugakure has powerful shinobi."

"Dead or traitors," Mei rejected. "The seven swordsmen are scattered. One apprentice remains, but he is not the caliber of shinobi that we need. Perhaps a strong candidate might return, but it would be unwise to wait and hope for the best."

Mei was right. But no, no, no, she wasn't ready to give up yet.

"This situation is in addition to the risks inherent in a regime change." Utakata sounded less confident than Mei did- this was theoretical knowledge for him.

He didn't remember a change of Mizukage, did he? Mei would remember before Yagura's reign. Aiko remembered the Godaime Hokage's installation and the problems it had presented, both domestic and international.

People would think Mist was weak. They would see a target.

'And they're right. Mist is weak, and lacking a strong kage makes the problem much worse.'

Mei's eyes bored into Aiko, dark and unforgiving. "If a candidate is not put forward, unrest will develop. We cannot afford to be internally divided." Her hands curled into fists on her lap. "You have caused this. You must fix it."

Utakata gave Mei a sidelong look, but he didn't disagree. He didn't disagree because Mei was correct, and it would be stupid to deny it.

She'd done this to them. She'd set off the chain of events that unleashed two bijuu on a city center. She'd ruined Mei's career and prevented her from being the savior Mist's people needed. She'd led Utakata into a situation he didn't want, and he was going to face the consequences.

'It's not even the first time that I accidentally set bijuu on someone else's country. I never even apologized for that, much less faced the consequences. I just… I just moved on with my life, tried to re-integrate into Konoha. Is that the person that I am?'

The guilt sat in her stomach like she'd eaten rocks.

'I'll never be able to go home to Konoha. They'll never trust me. They shouldn't.'

Aiko felt like crying. She closed her eyes, but this time she let it seep through her lashes. "I'll do it."

"Finally." Mei stood, steadying herself with her good hand when she swayed on her feet. The kunoichi gritted her teeth and exhaled slowly. She was clearly forcing down pain. She had other injuries. Broken ribs? After a moment, Mei continued as though she'd never stopped. "We'll have to find you some clothes. I'll see what I can do about gathering upper level shinobi to swear you in and witness. The rest will fall in line, once everything has been passed around and you've been see. Where you would like-"

"I don't need to get cleaned up." Aiko stood too. "Where are the bodies being brought? That's where we'll meet."

"What?" Mei gave her an odd look, but Utakata was shaking his head.

"Absolutely not!" He rocketed to his feet, white teeth bared. "Have you forgotten last time?"

No. But. They shouldn't be dead. It didn't matter what had happened last time, because this wasn't a whim. She had to do it. Aiko couldn't quite manage to find the energy to explain why this was important, so she just looked at him.

Utakata faltered. A muscle twitched in his neck. Then he looked away.

That was answer enough. Aiko swallowed. "I'll need something to drink before I go. And I'll need a few minutes to contact- to try to contact the Sanbi."

On her own, she didn't know how far her chakra would get her. Mist's dead were a lot fresher than Zabuza had been, or anyone else she'd raised. Hopefully she could do it. But borrowing chakra could only help.

"Uzumaki?" Mei sounded cautious. "What are you planning?"

"You're right. This is my responsibility." Her feet felt like lead, but she kept moving towards the next candle in the darkness. "I owe Mizugakure my service. I prefer to make my case through action."

Unnatural, sick and wrong action that she hated, but she owed them. She did. She'd do it for them. She reached deep down, clutching at the chakra shielding her gut. She knew this seal. Jiraiya had explained his reasoning to her and forced her to practice it until she understood the consequences as well as he did. Once she contacted the Sanbi, the connection would go two ways. She would hear its voice.

The thought gave her a shiver, a cold rush up her spine. She remembered encountering it when she'd sealed it into that Mist chuunin. Or was he a genin? She didn't even remember his name, anymore. It had been a long time ago.

But she remembered how it had felt to brush up against that alien intelligence. She remembered desperation and fear so potent that it might have been hers, all sunk to mingle in a pool of bleak, hopeless despair. She'd be opening herself up to that. Permanently. She wouldn't be able to get away.

'Sanbi-san? I need to talk to you.'

The world dropped out. She had no feet to catch her, no hands to steady herself with or channel chakra to escape. It was just her and the turtle demon.

It was crying out of the one visible eye, but there was no sadness otherwise visible. Its beak was sullenly impassive, a hard line.

She realized that impression was stupid a moment later. A turtle's face didn't move like a human's did. That didn't mean there was no sign of misery on the Sanbi's face. It just meant that she couldn't interpret it.

"Jailor."

Aiko winced. "I'm sorry." It was inadequate, but it was all that she had. "I didn't mean to."

"You didn't mean to come prepared with a seal, tip me on my back, and eat me?"

It did sound like a flimsy defense when it was summed up that way.

"I couldn't let you hurt anyone else." She swallowed. Her mouth was dry even here. That was unfair, she didn't even have a mouth. "I hadn't planned to have to seal you. I didn't realize that the Mizuage-" Aiko paused. "I don't even know what happened, actually. Why you took over his body. I didn't know that could happen that way."

The Sanbi lashed its tails against the ground. "His," it corrected peevishly. "His tail."

Wait, what?

"The shared perception goes both ways. Stop referring to me like I'm a tree."

Oh. Right. That was fair. Aiko nodded. "Sorry. Sanbi-san. Is that okay to say?"

"It's terrible. But for now, it will do." He turned away, claws digging into the blackness around them.

Aiko shuddered, feeling the movement like a gouge actually inside her gut. Wait. How was that- was that normal? It- he, he could hurt her from inside her?

"Why are you here?"

Right. Focus. "I need to use some of your chakra."

The Sanbi eyed her suspiciously. "How much?"

She had to admit she wasn't sure. "I'm… I'm going to try to revive everyone who you and my friend killed last night. If not, as many as I can."

He gave her a long look. "Humans can't do that."

Aiko thought of turning her Rinnegan on to show him- but that didn't make sense. She wasn't in her body, she was in her body. She couldn't show him right now.

"Rinnegan?" Sanbi asked sharply.

Oh, right. He heard her thoughts, didn't he.

"Where did you get-" He sucked in a breath and paused, interpreting the information that her mind pulled up without trying. Obito, Pein, betrayal and releasing three bijuu and being rescued by Naruto and Kakashi- "I know that human."

What? Which-

"Two." The Sanbi settled down, tucking his legs underneath his shell like a comfortable cat might sit on his paws. "The Uchiha. He came for me. He changed me, and he changed my jailor. I also know the pale human."

That didn't really-

"The one with the lightning hand," Sanbi elaborated impatiently. It seemed displeased with how slow she was- agh, she'd did it again, he, he, he, not it. "That one- Kakashi? Kakashi killed one of my previous jailors." His tails lashed again, but this time it seemed more thoughtful than angry. "She was perhaps a host and not a jailor," Sanbi amended. "She was… not willing."

There was something ugly and familiar about that scenario. A female jinchuuriki that Kakashi had killed. It seemed plausible enough- but the detail that she was an unwilling host let the hairs up on Aiko's neck. That didn't sound like a mist-nin.

"I believe Kakashi was a nestmate." Sanbi seemed to be working hard to remember. "It has been a very long time, and our partnership was brief. I, too, was not at my best. That was another…" He started again. "The seal was particularly provocative on that occasion."

"Nestmate?" Aiko felt a headache coming on. That sounded like a sibling, but Kakashi hadn't had any siblings. She was pretty sure. Who else would be close enough that-

Oh.

'It's a good thing I gave up on Konoha. It'll be a miracle if he can stand to look at me now.'

"That's rude!"

Aiko waved that off. "It's not you. Not really. He blames himself for killing her."

The Sanbi was quiet for a moment, as if he was considering the extenuating circumstances and ramifications. "He did kill her." He sounded mildly bemused that this could be debated.

Well. Fair enough, she supposed. In the literal sense.

What other sense is there?

"I'm not sure, exactly," Aiko replied before realizing that she hadn't heard the question aloud. She froze. Then- no. No, she wasn't going to worry about it. The rules didn't apply here.

"You may not be the most foolish human I have encountered." Sanbi sighed. "Do as you will. I cannot stop you from taking my chakra. You must know this."

"I know." Aiko rubbed at her eye. Wait- was that her real body she was moving? She stopped, because the sensation was too confusing. "I won't do that to you. It's wrong. I'm sorry for what I did to you. I couldn't think of another solution, but that doesn't make it right."

She thought the Sanbi might have been touched. He seemed to waver for a moment. When he spoke, he sounded a little teary. "I… appreciate that." He cleared his throat. "In that case… No. No, you may not use my chakra."

But she needed it!

Aiko physically bit her tongue to keep from protesting like a child. Couldn't he see it was urgent? Lives were at stake. She owed Mizugakure to do as much as she could.

'Operative word there being 'me'. I owe them. Sanbi doesn't owe them or me.'

It took a long moment to master herself.

'It's not his fault that I got them killed. It's not his fault that Obito and Yagura used him like that. I can't- I can't abuse him to fix my mistakes. I am- I have to be better than that.'

Slowly, shakily, she nodded. "Right. I need to go."

And she was back in her body, slumped against the wall with blood dribbling out her mouth from the bite in her tongue. Utakata was kneeling over her, checking at her pulse.

Wearily, she pushed him away. "I'm fine."

When the words came out garbled and wet, Aiko paused. She swallowed blood, hot and metallic. It slid unhappily down her throat, but her voice sounded better when she tried again.

"How long was I out?"

Utakata ignored her protests and helped her stand, only letting go reluctantly. "Minutes. Terumi-san has gone ahead to make preparations." He swallowed visibly, looking away. "Did you- I assume that you made contact?"

Made contact. Yeah. Aiko nodded, before she remembered he wasn't looking. "We had a talk."

He made a small, relieved sound. "Ah. It is good to know."

Aiko glanced at his face in profile. She decided she didn't have the heart to tell him. He'd only worry.

[hugs-for-klavier-gavin]

Long Post with Possible Spoilers ahead! *spoilers in tags*

I’m on the final case of Duel Destinies and... I gotta admit I’ve loved every second of it so far (despite it taking me almost a year... maybe two to get through it). When I started playing the games with my fiancé like two years ago, we started voice acting them, and I’ve been loving voicing Athena. But also GOD it hurts right now. I think I’ve already cried twice and we’re not even through the trial. Then again I don’t think there’s a single game I haven’t cried in. Maybe Apollo Justice? I don’t think I did. If I did it was happy tears.

My fiancé decided to try something and had me try to predict who all the killers were in Apollo Justice, Duel Destinies, and Spirit of Justice because I had predicted other killers before no matter how out of field it was. I don’t even remember what my predictions were since that was two years ago, but I know he wrote them down. I’m curious to see if I was right on any of them. All he told me was who was in the case, who the victim was, and who the defendant was.

But like, I’ve heard so much about people not liking Duel Destinies or Athena that I got kinda concerned going in, but I honestly really love this game and I love Athena so much. It might be weird that I’ve loved this game so much but I personally love it. It might be in my top 3 Ace Attorney games so far? Maybe I’m biased though. I hated voicing Wendy Oldbag so I think that changed how I felt about the og trilogy.

I might do a main series rating once I get through Spirit of Justice? I might wait until I’ve gotten through the Investigations and PLvsPW for that. I dunno.

Signing off from this ramble that’s gotten way too long: Phoenix

[a-constant-gay-panic]

Babysitter

masterlist

pairing: steve harrington x older fem!reader 

summary: steve has been babysitting your kids for quite some time now. he’s tried to stop and he knows it’s not right but over time, he’s developed feelings for you. even if you are technically still married.  

warnings: swearing, legal age gap (both individuals are of age), divorce, cheating, slight sexual tension, very short steamy moment, fluff with a sprinkle of angst 

word count: 2.5k

a/n: the steve fic that no one asked for but i wanted to make :) enjoy this ig? 

disclaimer: i don’t fully know how divorces work and the whole legal routes of things so forgive me if there are some mistakes please- 

(yes, your kids' names are arabella and alice. yes, they’re both inspired by songs. ‘arabella’ by arctic monkeys and ‘living next door to alice’ by smokie. i like them both so deal with it. but i also apologies if your name is eric or jennifer-)

— — — — — X — — — — — 

“steve?” you call from your room, giving yourself a last once-over. you’re about to leave for court, finally about to discuss who gets custody of your children. 

you get no response from the man in question and stand, ready to leave your room and get the show on the road. making your way downstairs, you hear your daughters, arabella and alice, squealing and giggling. 

entering the living room, you’re greeted by the sight of steve harrington, your long-time babysitter, pulling faces and chasing your girls all around the place. he makes a roaring sound as he scoops arabella up and tickles her, causing alice to screech and grab a pillow, rushing to rescue her twin. 

you smile at the sight of him and your kids, heart melting at their bond. 

as if he can feel your presence, steve turns around, eyes comically wide and your daughters follow suit. you frown playfully at them but your serious demeanour soon cracks as you burst out laughing at the 3. 

“anyone ever told you, you act like a kid, harrington?” you question as you walk further into the living room. “a few.” he says with a small laugh before his breath hitches slightly in his throat as he takes in your attire, the pantsuit you’re wearing complimenting all your features just right, causing his imagination to spiral. 

“where are you going, momma?” alice’s voice is small as she looks over your neat outfit. “i’m going out now. that’s why steve is here, sweetheart.” you kneel down so you’re her height. “out where?” arabella asks, her eyebrows furrowing. 

you sigh and look down, not sure how to approach the topic.

“you know how your dad hasn’t been around for a while now?” the two of them nod. “well, momma is going to go discuss a few things with him about it.” you explain carefully and they “ohh” and “ahh” at your words. it’s not a secret per say, but you've never told them exactly what's going on. 

you had tried to avoid the subject but you knew you’d have to tell them eventually. part of you knew that you didn't want to talk about it due to your own embarrassment, after all, how is someone supposed to get over the fact that their partner cheated on them with someone who’s barely an adult?

yes, that's right, your bastard of a husband, went and slept with his 20 year old intern. cliché right? well to make it more stereotypical, his intern also happened to be his friend's daughter but you weren’t going to get into that. 

the realisation when you saw a pair of underwear, which didn’t belong to you, under your bed was enough to make your blood boil. the anger and embarrassment being too much. you often suspected at times that he was cheating but you never had any proof so you decided to play it off.

you had quite literally kicked him out that night, screaming profanities at him and his mother while he blabbered about it being a mistake before slamming the door in his face.  

you were livid. you weren't one for disloyalty so the day after the incident, you called your lawyer and soon enough, the divorce was being set into place. 

now there you were, kneeling in front of your angels, telling them simply that their father wasn’t going to be around much longer. of course, you weren’t being completely honest with them. the court session was about custody over the kids but you didn’t want to worry them, choosing to rather hide some information for their sake.

looking at them, you can’t stop the tears forming in your eyes, worry clouding your mind. you pull them both in for a hug in an attempt to hide your expression but steve sees your pained look. 

you make eye contact with him and he mouths the words, “are you ok?” you smile sadly at him and release your girls from your embrace, telling them to go play in their room while you speak to steve. 

“but we wanna play!” alice pouts and arabella follows her actions soon after. “and you can. in your room. momma has some grown up things to tell steve.” you say with a smile. 

once the two are out of earshot you can’t help but fall onto the couch, eyes stinging once more. 

“hey, what’s the matter?” steve asks softly. you shake your head and look at him, a scared and defeated look on your face. “well my divorce papers are going well but there's still a possibility the girls will be split up or that i won’t get custody of either of them. i know it's unlikely, but still… it scares me.” 

“shit… i had no idea you and eric were splitting up.” 

‘lie.’ 

you thought. there was no way he didn’t know. he’s sure to have heard the countless fights and the cruel words you would mutter to your, soon to be ex, husband. 

“it’s nice of you to pretend to be oblivious but we both know you were aware of our relationship.” the smile on your face has no trace of humour. “i’m sorry…” is all he says. you scoff and shake your head. “no need to apologise. it was only a matter of time. hell, the only reason i married him was because the thought of me having children with a man i wasn’t married to was too ‘taboo’ for my parents.” you admit. 

steve sinks into the couch next to you, close enough for you to feel the warmth radiating from him. “don’t worry so much, ok? i’m sure things will work out… hopefully the court will see what a dick he is.” 

you laugh at his words, grateful for his company now more than ever. you turn and see him already looking at you but instead of him averting his eyes like he usually does when he’s caught looking at you, he keeps the eye contact. you stare back and silently admire him. his eyes, the ghost of a smile still on his lips, the way his hair frames his face, him. 

there was no denying that steve harrington was a gorgeous man, you’d always thought so. you had to stop yourself from making any moves or giving any signs of attraction, not only due to the couple year age gap and the fact you were technically his boss, but also because at the time and even now, you were still married by law and if you were to get caught, the amount of trouble it would cause is huge. 

you snap out of it when you see him inching closer. quickly averting your eyes, you look at your watch and see that if you didn’t hurry, you’d be late. 

“i should go… don’t have much time left.” you mumble as you get up, walking towards the door and grabbing your bag. steve coughs to cover his embarrassment and stands, following you. “yeah… i’ll see you later.” he awkwardly rubs the back of his neck as he watches you open the door and step out, shouting a, “bye darlings, i’ll be back soon!” and getting a, “see you!” in return. 

you laugh slightly and look at steve. “call me if anything happens, alright?” he nods, “of course. good luck.” 

the last image you see before driving off to the court house is steve standing in the doorway, alice and arabella on either side of him, all 3 waving.

the sight is enough to raise a lump in your throat, regretting not giving your girls a father like steve. 

— — — — — X — — — — — 

you grip the steering wheel tightly, blood boiling as you drive back to your house. the images surfacing in your mind coming and going with a vengeance. 

“y/n.” your teeth grit together at his voice. turning around you plaster a fake smile on your face even if you’re throwing up inside. 

there, in front of you, is eric and his new toy, jennifer. you cringe at their choice of attire; black leather makes up everything. “you realise this is a court, not a drug deal, right?” the venom in your voice is prominent and it causes a few eavesdroppers to glance at the 3 of you before muttering to each other. 

“well at least we know the meaning of fashion.” jennifer fires back and you mentally facepalm. “you have no idea how childish that sounds…” you mutter to yourself. “how about you leave the talking to the grown-ups, ok?” you mock a little bit louder. 

eric snickers and you look at him confused. “i almost forgot how much fire you have inside you.” 

his words send shivers down your back, and not the good kind. jennifer glares at him and then you, not knowing who to be mad at in that moment. 

“let’s just get this over already.” you spit out, hands curling into fists as annoyance and disgust creeps into your mind. 

soon enough you’re walking out, head high and a weight lifted from your shoulders. that is, until jennifer grabs your arm, forcing you to turn around. “what do you want?” you ask, boredom written on your face. “you think you’re so big, huh?” she glares. 

pulling your arm from her grasp, you scoff. “what are you going on about now?” “just because you got to keep your little brats, doesn’t mean you’re any better than us.” 

you laugh at the absurdity of her words. “i’m pretty sure it does make me better. besides, what do you care? it’s not like you ever wanted to be around them.” she laughs, “seems as if you’re forgetting that they’re not just your kids. they’re eric’s too. it’s pathetic how you got custody when he’s clearly more fit for the job.”

you were officially pissed. it’s not because your feelings were hurt, oh no, but it was the sheer delusion she had that you weren’t good enough to raise your kids. 

you glare at her and take a step closer, forcing her to take one back and look up at you due to the height difference. “listen here, say whatever the fuck you want about me but never, and i mean never, imply that i’m incapable of caring for my children.”

you see a flash of fear in her eyes but she quickly covers it with another short laugh. “you couldn’t even keep your husband and yet here you say that you’re able to look after them? that’s rich. we all know i was better for eric and i’d be better for the two bitches-”

a loud noise is heard as your hand collides with her face, the force so hard it turns her head completely. 

“say that again and i swear to god i’ll do worse than slap you. all you are is a bitch who hides behind empty promises and words, knowing that someone is bound to save you but look around, there’s no one here to save you now, is there?” you whisper menacingly. 

you look behind her and see eric staring at the two of you, cigarette in mouth and a disgusting smirk on his face. “i suggest you run back home, kid, before things get messy.” you hiss, head jerking towards the smirking asshole.  

you give both of them one last glare before climbing in your car and driving off. 

— — — — — X — — — — — 

you slam your car door closed and stalk up to the front door. before you’re able to unlock it, steve is already opening it with a smile. “hey! how did it go…?” he trails off slightly as you storm inside, throwing your bag on the floor and your coat on a chair. 

“good. i got custody of both the girls.” you say simply, jerking a few buttons of your shirt open as you try to cool down. steves eyes search the newly exposed skin but he quickly stops himself before he gets carried away. 

“what’s wrong then?” he asks and you sigh in annoyance and anger. “eric’s 'new love'," you start, sarcasm dripping from your words, "decided to, not only insult my ability to keep a man, but also my ability to properly care for my own kids.” you’re seething and turn to finally look at steve. 

you lock eyes again and an idea passes through your mind, a thought which you weren't able to stop in time. you aren’t sure if it’s the anger which pulses through your veins or if it’s the way he looks right then and there, but you find yourself quickly closing the distance and kissing him, giving in to your impulsions.

his eyes widen as your lips crash onto his but they soon close as he relaxes, almost immediately responding to your advances. your hands tangle in his hair and his do the same, roaming freely as your tongue forces its way into his mouth. just before things could go any further, a squeal reaches your ears. 

“i told you!”

you and steve quickly let go of each other and see alice and arabella at the bottom of the stairs. alice is smiling widely while arabella frowns, arms folded with an upset look on her face. 

“pay up!” alice says in a sing-song voice and you and steve watch in amusement and confusion as arabella pulls out a sweet from her pocket and hands it to her twin. “goddammit!” her voice is frustrated and steve can’t help but to burst out laughing at the serious exclamation of anger from her. 

“hey, hey, hey! language!” you scold. she looks at you and folds her arms, “you say worse.” “don’t sass me, little one. i’m an adult, you’re not.” you find yourself trying your hardest to not laugh at the way she’s standing. she's a total drama queen at heart.

alice and steve are dying with laughter at the interaction and you watch in awe as steve picks alice up to hide his face which is streaming with tears from laughing so much. 

soon enough you and arabella join in, the whole mock situation soon defusing. 

you pick arabella up and her and alice hold hands, forcing you and steve to stand close to each other as they whisper secrets to each other. 

you look at steve and smile. he blushes and speaks softly, “so are we going to talk about what happened…?” you make as if you’re thinking before saying, “nah.” his face falls and you laugh again before telling him that you’re joking. 

“we’ll discuss it later. either in here or in my room. all depends what sort of ‘discussion’ you want.” you smile cheekily at him. “how about we go from here to the discussion in your room?” he asks and you smirk at him. leaning closer you whisper, “sounds like a plan.” you gently place your lips on his and the children in your arms squeal again. 

“gross!” “don’t be rude bella!” “but it’s gross!” arabella defends herself. “no it’s not! they’re in love!” alice counters, hands cupping her face to add to the effect. her words make you and steve blush together. 

“so… is steve going to sleep on dad's side of the bed now?” alice asks innocently. 

“alice!” steve bursts out laughing at your shocked expression and you can't help but look at him lovingly. 

“tell you what. if your mom says i can be, then i will.” 

you stare at the 3 of them adoringly, nodding slightly as steve kisses you once more. 

you were bubbling with delight, knowing that your kids finally have a good father figure in their lives and that you might've found someone who loves you for you. someone who you definitely feel the same for. 

— — — — — X — — — — —