#I swear I expected EVERYTHING from Love in Paradise EXCEPT WHAT WE GOT

[mandrake-arya]

So... are we (and mostly Athena) okay after the cliffhanger?

[midnightsconspiracy]

Faith Restored

Faith Restored - @midnightsconspiracy

Summary: When an argument with your husband causes you to walk out, a vendetta against him leads to you being kidnapped. But will Hank find you in time to be reunited with him and your child?

Warnings: Swearing, Violence

Word Count: 2670

Requested: Yes! I got these two requests so decided to combine them into one fic as they were pretty similar, so I hope the people that requested don't mind. :)

"hi!! I’m so happy I found someone that loves hank too. I’ll literally take any fic with him: age gap romance, marriage, having a baby, his enemies taking you and him tearing the city apart to get you back, some combination of all that, I’ll take it all. thank you for your writing!!"

"Hii! I love your fics 💖 could you please write something with hank, like he arguments with his girlfriend about their work, then she’s kidnapped and he gets all worried and asks for forgiveness, if you don’t feel comfortable with that it’s aaaaall goood :) xoxo"

A/N: I really enjoyed writing this fic and I have a few more requests to write so stayed tunes for them. But thank you for your support and keep sending requests in. Also if you've got some free time drop me a message, I'd love to hear from some of you guys!!!

Masterlist

Love. It was a feeling you had refused to believe in. Everyone around you telling you that the one was out there, and it was only a matter of time, but you were convinced that wasn’t true. At one point previously you had believed in it but that only led to a broken heart and weeks of uncontrollable crying, the man you thought was the one, cheating on you only days before your wedding. So how could it be true if the universe had let you suffer that badly? But as cliché as it sounds, that point of view changed completely as soon as you started your new job as a detective in the intelligence unit. From day one you had fallen head over heels for your boss, that hope of love finally returning. It had taken a long time for you to trust him and enter a fully committed relationship as that fear of heartbreak and the large age gap between you loomed over you both initially. Hank had been the best though, taking his time going step by step to make sure you were comfortable with everything, as well as keeping away the judgement from others the best that he could. He understood that feeling himself, still suffering the loss of Camille’s death, scared that you would leave him, but instead of being non-committal, it drove him to love you more, living each day like it was his last.

Now five years later, your relationship was pure bliss. Long gone were the days of doubts and distrust, instead replaced with only contentment and loyalty. Onlookers still judged the unconventional age difference but you had learned to live with it, coming to the conclusion that you loved Hank regardless and that was all that mattered. Only eight months into the relationship he decided that you really were the one for him, and a world in which he didn’t spend the rest of his life with you was one he couldn’t imagine, and so proposed inside his office, the place that started it all. You married shortly after at the courthouse, with only a small guest list, just wanting to be surrounded by your closest friends and family. The unit all in attendance, some crying, others wishing it were them getting married but collectively all ecstatic at the fact their favourite office romance was finally tying the knot. The next couple of months felt like absolute paradise, like you were in some sort of dream never to wake up again. Never a day went by where you didn’t feel the utmost joy and love in your heart, each day was a new adventure with the man that you could finally call your husband. You were on cloud nine thinking your life couldn’t get any better, until one day two pink lines stared back at you.

When you married Hank you didn’t expect to have any children, with him already having Justin and a grandson. This left you a little disheartened, but you would have married him under any conditions, even if that meant your dream of having kids would never come true. Whilst talking about your future together in the first few months of dating, the topic of kids had come up once or twice, with him stating he would love to have kids with you, but believing he couldn’t have any due to his age. But once you had told him you were pregnant, he was absolutely elated, even crying whilst confessing how much he loved and appreciated you. After a relatively difficult pregnancy with Hank being the most supportive, protective partner there could be, you gave birth to a gorgeous baby boy weighing in at 8 pounds, having his eye colour and your nose, a perfect combination of the both of you. For the first few years of your babies life, you spent your time staying at home looking after him, watching him grow up to look more and more like your husband each day. But finally, after his third birthday, you decided the unit was your calling and you wanted to rejoin your old team.

Things started off relatively normal, reuniting with the unit properly, finally becoming a team again. Adrenaline filled your veins once more, loving the thrill of arresting criminals and going on busts. The words ‘let's roll out’ sent sparks of serotonin throughout your body, loving being back after years of ‘calmness’ from child care. This new feeling caused you to get a little over-excited sometimes but nothing, in your opinion, that could be considered careless. However, if you asked Hank he would completely disagree. The man just wanted you to be safe at all times, not just for him but for your son as well. Things started heating up after a couple of weeks of you working there, him not wanting to address it initially as he knew you were so happy doing what you loved, but he was scared for your safety. He didn’t want a repeat of his last marriage, he adored you so much he wouldn’t know what to do with himself if you were to get an injury or die. That was until one night, a bad day at the office caused him to snap, needing you to know how he felt about what you were doing.

Leaning against the counter in the kitchen at your shared home, you heard the door slam, knowing it was Hank, who had stayed behind in his office after a particularly nasty case.

“Hi Babe, did you get everything done that you wanted to?” You chirped, just happy that your husband was finally home.

“Y/N we need to talk,” you turned around to face him, your smile falling at his serious tone.

“Ok?”

“I understand you love being back in the unit but Y/N, we have a son now”

“What are you trying to say?” You replied, your tone turning sour, part of you knew what he was trying to say, but never in your mind did you think he would confront you about it. Why couldn’t he just be happy for you?

“I just think you’re being too reckless in the field,” he remained calm, just trying to get you to understand where he was coming from.

“Reckless? Are you fucking kidding me! I’ve spent three years looking after our kid and you can’t even allow me to have this?” You were furious by this point, you loved your job and had been away from it for a long time. Ok, maybe you were a little under cautious sometimes but not what he was suggesting!

“I'm just looking out for you, I can’t have you dying on me Y/N! You’re my wife for god’s sake I want you to be alive and safe!” He raised his voice, angry you couldn’t see what he was seeing.

“You know what fuck you, Hank!” You pushed past him, grabbing your keys and wallet on the way out, getting into your car to go anywhere but that house.

Driving around the city you were thinking of places to go, your parents, a hotel, another member of the units house? Finally deciding on Jay’s apartment you pulled into his buildings car park, checking your phone before going inside. Staring back at you were five missed calls and thirteen unread messages, all from the same person, the reason why you were outside someone else’s apartment and not your own home. Getting out of your car you walked towards the entrance of the apartment building, mulling over whether you should message Hank back. Deciding against it, you lowered your phone, not even wanting to think about it for the time being. Suddenly someone grabbed you by the waist, yanking you towards them, placing a foreign material over your mouth. You screamed, praying someone would hear your cries as you kicked your legs out and at the perpetrator as they dragged you backwards. More hands reached out to pull you into a car, sobbing you regretted what happened earlier, wishing you would have just stayed home. Finally, as your vision blurred, you hoped the unit would find you before it was too late.

Waking up in a cold room, you tried to pull your arm towards your chest, meeting resistance in the form of metal chains attached above your head. You groggily looked around, using your detective skills to assess the situation you were in, noting nothing in the cold, concrete room except yourself and a metal frame chair placed in front of you. Confused at the situation, you thought about what you had done, was it a person you had arrested? Or someone who had a vendetta against you? That you didn’t know, you couldn’t comprehend anything at the moment, your head pounding not allowing you to think clearly. You remembered being in the apartment complex’s car park after an argument but other than that everything was hazy. Thinking as hard as you could, your thoughts were interrupted as one of the offenders entered the room. He sat at the chair, sharpening his knife, a sadistic smirk played on his face.

“You know why you’re here?” Raking your brain you couldn’t think of anyone you had pissed off enough for them to go to these extremes.

“No,” you replied not wanting to antagonise him in any way.

“Your killer of a husband murdered my boy in broad daylight and no one, NO ONE, ever did anything about it!”

“That wasn’t me, please just let me go, you can talk it out with my husband in the proper ways!” You pleaded, knowing that him showing you his face didn’t bode well for your chances of survival.

“YOU SIGNED UP FOR THIS THE DAY YOU MARRIED THAT MURDERER!” He shouted out, punching you in the stomach, taking his anger out on you anyways possible.

“He’ll find us, and when he does he’ll kill you too,” you spat knowing that you couldn’t make anything worse. In response he threw a series of punches at your face, grabbing his knife holding it to your throat. Smirking he replied,

“You think he really cares about you?”

“WELL, WHERE IS SHE?” Hank was absolutely seething. Shouting at anyone who came to talk to him, both members of his unit and uniformed officers alike. He couldn’t lose her, besides his son, she was his whole life, not even wanting to picture a world where she wasn’t with him. He had to prepare for the worst, he knew that, but he couldn’t do it without a tear coming to his eye. Why her? Why couldn’t they just have taken him instead? He was who they wanted, not her, so why couldn't they just have fucking take him?! The team all sat watching, waiting, knowing it was only a matter of time before he would come out and demand answers, ones they didn’t have at the moment. They owed their boss, cashing in multiple favours with him throughout their time in intelligence, and they knew this was the only thing Voight would ever ask for in return. And Y/N, you had worked with them for years, not just being colleagues but developing a strong friendship that would last years to come, that’s if they could find you in time. Exiting his office, the unit turned to their boss as he spoke.

“I want everyone giving their all to this case, this is my wife we’re talking about, not just some faceless victim, Y/N, your friend, your colleague, and we are going to find her. No matter what it takes, am I clear?” Each detective replied with a ‘yes sarge' and getting to work, investigating every lead that they could. A couple of hours later the team had found the suspects, located pod footage from the time you were kidnapped and worked out a motive, everything seemed like was going well, except for the fact they still didn’t have a location. Another hour passed and still no location, Hank getting more and more agitated by the second, with his anger about to boil over, all with the push of a button, or a certain detective. Being the bearer of bad news, the team pushed Ruzek to play the devils advocate to tell the Sergeant they had come up empty.

“Hey Sarge, we’ve got nothing else, every lead we’ve got is coming up dry”

“NOTHING! YOU’VE GOT NOTHING? SHE COULD BE DEAD FOR ALL WE KNOW AND YOU’RE TELLING ME YOU’VE GOT NOTHING?” Hank boomed scared that his precious wife, who had done nothing to deserve this, could be being tortured or even worse dead.

“Hank, Hank” Olinsky stepped in, pushing his distraught friend back in his office, knowing Adam had done nothing wrong, instead just an outlet for his long term friends anger.

“It's ok, she’s gonna be fine” Alvin reassured him, knowing him exploding with emotions would do nothing to help his missing wife. Finally, an hour later, the team got a breakthrough courtesy of a CI of Dawson's, gearing up and rolling out as quickly as possible much to Hank’s delight.

Raising your head, you spat at the man in front of you, teasing him even more, threatening him to do his worst. He had beat you, cut you, degraded you, trying to get your spirit to break. Although you knew Hank would come to find you, you were starting to crack, the pain overwhelming to the point where you couldn’t cope anymore, a pain you wouldn’t wish on anyone. You were losing faith rapidly, expecting your unit to have already come by now, but where were they? Maybe they didn’t actually care about you? Lowering your head after a series of more beatings, you’d had enough.

“Please stop, please, I’ll do whatever you want, just please stop!” You cried finally giving into the man.

“I want you to pay for what your husband has done to my family, pay with your life,” he pulled a gun from the waistband of his trousers, pointing straight at the middle of your forehead. You had lived your life as much as you could, finding the love of your life, having a son and restoring your faith in the universe, well up until now. Closing your eyes you prepared yourself for the bullet, but when the loud shot came, it wasn’t from a gun but instead the door flying off its hinges.

“DROP THE WEAPON!” Someone shouted, someone that sounded weirdly familiar to your husband.

“DROP IT,” they repeated before you heard a clatter on the ground and a flurry of movement. Suddenly someone grabbed your face, nervously speaking your name. Opening your eyes, you looked up, staring straight into the eyes of your husband, smiling briefly before a cloud of darkness washed over you.

Waking up, the first thing you noticed with the constant beeping of a machine, then the warm feeling of a hand in yours. You slowly opened your eyes, blinking sluggishly adjusting to the harsh light, before focusing on the figure beside you.

“Hank?” You croaked, sounding like death itself but glad you were alive and facing your husband once more.

“Baby! Thank god you’re alive, you got me so worried there,” you smiled, thanking whatever god was out there for a second chance so you could spend the rest of your life with your husband and child.

“I-i missed you, Hank”

“I know Baby, I know I missed you too.”

“I’m sorry for walking out on you, why couldn’t I have just stayed there and listened to you? Talked it out properly”

“No don’t apologise, this was all my fault, you loved what you were doing and I was trying to take that away from you because of my own selfish wants.” You loved the man beside you unconditionally and although you were mad in the moment, this whole situation made you realise that nothing he could do could make you love him any less.

[agentsoftie]

Sleepless Nights ( S.R )

summary: Reid and Y/N aren’t the most fond of each other. So what happens when they can’t sleep, have to share a bed, and be married.

pairing: Spencer Reid and female reader

a/n: AHH okay so here it is! It’s my first au so it’s probably not the best. But big thanks to @anepiphany! Ani baby none of this would be happening without you! Thank you for you tips and making me not go insane! Also pls tell me if I slept something wrong cuz like, your girl not the best when it comes to it. Also there will def be a loophole somewhere in my case and if you find one, just let it slide because life is filled with loopholes ❤️ also this is gonna be a two parter!

warnings: mentions of a case, little angst (like the smallest amount), fluff really though

remember to like and reblog!!

You were always the type of person that got along with everyone. And by everyone you meant everyone. You were a people pleaser, always changing your personality for someone. To the security guard, you were a sports junkie, always catching the latest games. To the guy who worked at the bookshop, you were the classical girl. And to the barista, you were the girl who was always late but always paid 3 dollars extra tip. But Dr. Spencer Reid was the only exception. 6’1 and standing tall. Mr. Eidetic Memory and 187 IQ but oh God how you cared for him. You loved him, you loved him more than all the moons in the galaxy. But him? He hated you, so naturally, you hated him too. As the saying goes, if you can't beat them, join them.

“Guys we got a new case,” Garcia says.

You walked into the room and sat to the seat closest to the front where Garcia would be since she was your best friend. Ironically that was the seat farthest from Reid.

“Okay, so this is Mira Normen and her husband John Normen. They had gotten married 2 months prior to their deaths. Mira was 25 years old and she was a teacher at the local middle school. John was 26 and he ran a local pet grooming business. As you can see, but not me for obvious reasons, they were both stabbed once in their chest and then once in their thigh. Mira was shot once in the heart and once in the head and John was shot twice in the heart and twice in the throat. The M.E. found a ring stuffed into both of their throats. And not the cheap kind, I mean a year's worth of salary for one of us.”

“Okay, so this guy’s rich,” You said.

“Yeah, no shit sherlock,” Reid said.

“Guys,” Hotch said in a stern voice “Garcia do we know anything else?”

“Yes actually. They were both last spotted at an event for rich people. So like something Rossi would go to.” She said, chuckling at the last part.

“You and I both know very well that I do not go to those kinds of events. I stay at home for god sakes.” Rossi says causing you and a couple of other people to chuckle.

“Why does this case sound so familiar?” JJ asks, breaking the chuckles.

“Well there was a case exactly like this a couple of years back if my memory is correct, which it always is. We tried to solve it but we just couldn't so it ended up as a cold case.” Reid said.

“And everythings the same?” JJ asked.

“Yep, everything. Well except the city.” Reid said.

“Great, well i think we got everything. Wheels up in 30.” Hotch says while getting up.

-------

You sat alone, like always. At first everyone was concerned, like they had done something, but they then soon realized that you just liked to be alone and this was really the only time.

“Okay, so I checked if anyone had moved in the years and I have 5 names. Thomas Maddison, Stephanie June, Eliza Honeycutt, Devi Paradise, and Klaus Hiller. And only one moved to our little town and that would be Miss Eliza Honeycutt.” Garcia said.

“Can you ch-” Morgan was saying but got cut off when she said

“Already did ‘Hot Chocolate’. Miss Eliza moved a total of 3 months after the case. Looks like it was due to a messy divorce. Her and Mr. Maddison had not been going strong for the last couple of months and it looks like they decided to call quits just before you guys came to town.”

“Can you-” Morgan started to say but then was again cut off by Garcia.

“Already got you babes. The address should be sent to your tablets.” Everyone was still looking at her, “that means look at your tablets.” She says while gesturing her hands making them look down.

“We got it babygirl,” Morgan said without being interrupted.

“Great! Now, this is the time I leave and let you amazing little people do your jobs!” And with that, she was out and so were you.

-------

It was 10 pm when you got to the hotel. You weren't exhausted but you definitely were not in the mood to solve a murder or multiple in this case. You all had checked in now was your favorite time of all choosing rooms. You never bunked with anyone unless Garcia, but that's if she ever came on a case. Emily and JJ were already gone, same with Hotch and Rossi. You were about to grab the key for the single room but Morgan got it before you.

“Sorry hot stuff, I need room alone this time.”

“What!? Why!?”

“I don't need to explain myself to you Y/N,” Moran says, and just like that he was gone.

You and Reid grabbed the keys without looking at each other and walked in the elevator. You both did not make any eye contact until you got into the room. There was only one bed. You immediately called room service but they said that there were no more rooms available so you two were stuck with that one.

“Okay, which one of us is gonna sleep on the floor?” you heard Reid say.

“Excuse me,?”

“You heard me.”

“Oh stop being such a baby Reid. We both know that if you don't sleep on a bed or something remotely similar you get all grumpy and get headaches all day. And if I don't sleep on a bed or something similar I get high on caffeine and get paranoid. So for the sake of the team, we are gonna sleep on the goddamn bed together!”

He didn't know you paid attention to him like that. Sure everyone knew that he would get grumpy, but headaches? No one, not even JJ. He didn't like to tell people about them fearing of being babied around even more than he already is. Although he did know that whenever you don't get enough sleep not only do you high on caffeine, but you have nightmares. You never told anyone except Garcia of course. He’d realized that you had nightmares after a group holiday to Rossi’s beach house, he heard you talking in your sleep and there were not good things being said.

“Okay geez fine whatever. Are you gonna go shower first, or am I”

“Me obviously,” you say while getting your clothes.

The water was hot when you got in, just how you like it. You started to soak your hair in the water needing to cool down a little and prepare yourself for the days ahead of you. All you could think about was sharing the same bed with him. With the guy, you're in love with but doesn’t know. And will never know.

After 30 minutes you got out of the shower and changed. You wore a pair of shorts and a loose flowy t-shirt which you had knotted after putting it on because it was too big. After you brushed your teeth, did your skincare, and brushed your hair.

“Finally, how long does it take?” You heard Reid say while you were walking out of the bathroom. He didn't look up until you sat on the bed turning the tv on.

“It takes 40 minutes Reid, it always takes 40 minutes. But you would never know because you've never had a girl stay over,”

“Oh, you're so funny aren't you,” he says in an annoyed way.

“Yeah, I am.” You said smirking while looking up expecting to see him annoyed but instead greeted with a small smile which was then washed away quickly by the sound of his voice.

“Okay, I'm gonna go take a shower now. Don't wait up.”

“ I won't, don't worry.” You say while he goes into the bathroom. You swear you saw him smile. It may have been small but it was there.

-------

“You waited for me.” You hear while turning off the tv. He was wearing a pair of basketball shorts and a white t-shirt. His hair was an absolute mess, and you could tell that he had to take a shower in not the hottest water.

“Ha, yeah no. You took like 10 minutes, did you think I was gonna fall asleep in 10 minutes.”

“Yeah well, that's what happens when you take up most of the hot water.”

“I'm sorry, you should have gone in the shower first.”

“You wanted to go into the shower first!”

“Okay and? Look, can we just go to bed or something? We have a long ass day ahead of us.”

You felt the bed dip and got chills all over. He didn't seem to notice, thankfully. You were cold, but not cold enough to want to layer up. You looked over and the time and it read 11:15. You tried to sleep, but you just couldn't. So again you looked over and read 11:39, and then it was 12:06. You felt like you were going insane.

“Why are you still up?” Reid said in a raspy voice while turning over to face you.

“Huh? Oh, um, I couldn't, can't sleep.”

“Ugh, fine come here.”

“What?” Before you could say anything he had wrapped his arm around you and forced you to nuzzle up against his chest. It actually felt pretty nice. You felt like you were on top of the world and that everything was going to be okay. You put your arm on him after processing what was happening. He then pulled you in closer and when you looked up at him you realized that he was knocked out, gone like a light in one of those horror movies. And before you realized it you were out too.

-------

“Y/L/N wake up,” is all you hear. The sun was barely out yet, so naturally, you just wanted to go back asleep.

“5 more minutes”

“Fine.” Although he didn't want to say anything or admit in this case. This was the best sleep that he’d gotten in a while. At first, he thought it was because of the way he slept but he then quickly realized that it was because of you. With your legs intertwined with his, one of your arms on his chest and the other in his hand. Your hair, so messy, yet so perfect at the same time and he would give anything to fall back asleep with you. He was in love. He was in love and was falling, falling harder than ever.

“Y/N, come on it's been 10 minutes. We need to go, get up.”

“What? Oh. Wait, fuck, what time is it?” You say in your very raspy yet airy morning voice.

“6:13, now we have to get ready or we will be late.”

You didn't want to get up, you really didn't. You wanted this moment to never end, but sadly time was not on your side for this one. “We never speak of last night, got it.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Its agent.”

-------

“Miss Honeycutt, hi I’m Agent Y/L/N,” You say while sitting down for the interrogation.

“Hi yeah, why am I here?”

“Oh, no one’s told you yet?’

“Well yes the people who rudely (italicize) came into my home said something but I wasn’t really listening.”

“Oh okay then. You're here as a suspect for multiple murders.” Her face was in total and utter shock. “There has been a murder recently that connects to a murder that took place back a couple of years ago. You lived there when it had happened and then you moved. And now you’re here because a murder played out exactly that same way as the one that took place in the past.”

“Look, I have a valid reason for moving-”

“Divorce I know.”

“Yes, well you don’t know the reason.”

“Oh, and what would that be?”

“I was cheating on him, Thomas. He found out and then immediately filed for divorce.”

“Huh, is that so. Well, you kno-” You were cut off by the sound of the one and the only doctor himself.

“Y/L/N can I please speak to you.”

“Um yeah.” You walk outside of the interrogation room to face him. “What is it?”

“I don't think she did it. The way she’s reacting to all of this is way too natural to fake and she still hasn't called for a lawyer to be present. Normally in these types of situations the un-sub mostly always calls for a lawyer or anyone in that case.”

“I know, I know, I know. But she mentioned an ex-husband that could help us with this case.”

“So what you're just gonna “interrogate” her until she starts to talk about her former husband, or just talk about that and only that as a whole?”

“Yes, precisely.”

“You amaze me Y/N,” this was the first time he said your name in conversation naturally and not because he was forced to for an undercover assignment and shit. Well except for this morning but you can't decide if that was a small little fever dream or actual life so it doesn't count.

“And I you Spencer.” He noticed, oh he noticed and his heart practically burst from his chest because of the serotonin he got when you said his name. It was like every time you said his name an angel got its wings.

-------

“Hey Garcia, could you dig a little deeper on our little Thomas Maddison?” You ask her.

“Of course pumpkin. Okay so here's what I got. Thomas Maddison born May 30th leaving him to be a Gemini and you know how I feel about those. He moved from our fun little town too, well, um,-” was what she said before being cut off by Emily.

“What do you mean by ‘um’ Garcia?” She said with a puzzled expression.

“Well, ‘um’ means he disappeared from the face of Earth. Completely gone. No new dental records, no new home, I mean, not even a simple receipt. It’s like he just clicked ‘erase all’ after the divorce.”

“Is that even possible?” I ask.

“Well yes, but you have to literally become a new person for that to happen.”

“Garcia look into anything in his life that could possibly lead him to have hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Reid said.

“Okay, so it says here in one article that he owned a local jewelry store that got burned down around that time of the divorce. The local paper wrote it off as an accident but everyone thought he wanted to skip town after the divorce so he would just take all of the insurance money. Which I guess is kind of true. Um but anyway, yeah that’s really the only explanation. His parents didn't leave him that much money in the will, and he wasn't a drug dealer.”

“Okay, thanks hun! You've been of more help then you know. Call Hotch and everyone else in. I think we got the profile.” You said before ending the call.

* literally 5 or 6 minutes later *

“Okay, so the guy we’re looking for is very popular with the people. He always tries to make everything about himself. Your classic narcissist.” Hotch starts off with.

“This guy hates love though. He never brings up the topic and hates it when people bring it up. And although he hates love, he looks like the guy who could pick anyone he wanted, although he relatively picks on younger women.” JJ adds.

“Yes, and this guy is going to be a white caucasian male. Most likely in his late 20 or early 30s. And he is going to have wealth and will show it off as often as he can.” Emily says.

“Any questions” you heard Hotch ask.

“There’s an event tomorrow just like the one that Mira and John attended. Will he be there? And if so, do you think he will attack again? And if yes then what will do?” You see an officer asking.

“Well yes, we heard of that and already planned everything out. Tomorrow night Agent Y/L/N and DR.Reid will be attending the event.” Rossi said.

You were in complete shock, and frankly so was Reid. You guys never agreed to this, and as much as I love black tie events, they aren't really my cup of tea when there can possibly be a serial killer there. Not to mention the guy I fucking love more than anyone in the world would be there, with me (italicize). Like now I have to look badass and sexy (italicize) at the same time, although that wouldn't be that hard you thought to yourself.

“Guys, can Reid and I please talk to you all in private.” You give Rossi and Hotch very unobvious yet obvious death stares.

“Yeah, now please.” He says.

* again like 2 or 3 minutes later *

“Um hello, last time I never agreed to this and by the look on Reid’s face, neither did he.”

“Y/N you heard, our unsub likes younger women,” Derek says,

“Okay well then just send in Emily, or JJ, or both in that case.” You say in an angry tone.

“Oh baby, you think we're young? Were flattered but no. Sadly out of all of us, you look the youngest, and are the youngest.” JJ says while laughing along with Emily.

“And for you Reid, you out of most people should know that the murders happened between young lovers who got married. And Derek doesn’t call you pretty boy for nothing. Rossi says following JJs statement.

“We really aren't getting out of this one huh?” He asks.

“No. Now it's late so I want you all to get a good night's rest and be ready tomorrow. Reid and Y/L/N you guys can sleep in a little but you'll have to be ready by 4:30.” Hotch says. And with that, everyone goes back to their rooms.

“I fell in love the way you fall asleep; slowly, then all at once” – John Green, The Fault in our Stars

Part two coming tomorrow!

[pretend-writer]

Down Below (Chapter 71)

Summary: After being sent down on Earth with the other prisoners from the Ark, Y/N Reyes faces series of events and learns about survival. With new things happening around her, she is now starting a new chapter in her life.

Pairing: Bellamy Blake x reader, John Murphy x reader, Raven Reyes x sister!reader

Word Count: 3.1k words

Warning: swearing, injuries

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It had been 6 years since we've been back on the ship; at least that was how it felt like. The Red Sun, the journey through the forest, it took so long and my body was so exhausted. It was a relief that I was finally back to our temporary home.

We got back "home", not expecting anything that we saw. Everyone was out of cryo, other than McCreary's men. They've kept all criminals in cryo except for one.

'What the hell is going on?' Bellamy said, curious as we all walked into the crowd of people that were in the cafeteria.

As we squeezed in between everyone, there was Octavia, groaning while she laid on the ground with blood all over her body.

'Trying to help your sister but she's stubborn.' Diyoza took her hand out for Octavia to grab. She instead ignored her, trying to get up on her own. 'See? Stubborn.'

'Why are you out of your pod?' Bellamy asked.

'You're asking me? Someone took me out, why else would I be out here.'

Raven came through the crowd, 'I got her out. Octavia got jumped by Wonkru and she was fighting them back. I didn't know what to do so I got Diyoza to help me.'

'Well, you could go back because we cannot have you running around the ship.'

'I stopped the fight didn't I? Octavia could've died, Bellamy. People are upset about Blodreina and showed no mercy. I helped her.'

'Now you can help us by leaving. We're trying to find a new home at Sanctum with these people down on the ground and they can't know we have criminals with us.'

My brows furrowed, confused how we never really talked about what we were doing next. 'Uhm. Did we even agree to stay there with those people?'

Sure, they helped Murphy but we don't know what they were capable of nor did we know who these people were. I was all for building our community again but not with strangers we knew nothing about.

'Yeah they seem a bit... odd.' Shaw added. 'I mean they were too perfect. Their fancy clothes, their mannerism, I don't know I just don't fully trust them.'

'You're the one talking.' Bellamy mumbled, rolling his eyes.

'And you're innocent in all of this Bellamy Blake?' Diyoza walked towards him, 'We are all criminals here, one way or another. We killed to survive, sacrificed our loved ones, killed some to avoid the deaths of many. If not, we witnessed every murder and haven't spoken up about it. We are all guilty of something.'

Bellamy chuckled, 'Whether you have convinced others or not you're never going to change my mind. You're leaving either way.'

'I'm pregnant. How am I supposed to survive in the woods with nothing?' No one had ever mentioned that Diyoza was pregnant, it could've been obvious the way her belly was out but I was too busy to stare at her child. Not to mention we were fighting for our lives back on Earth. 

'Is that really necessary Bellamy?' Raven spoke up. 'We don't have to get rid of anybody.'

'We have a chance to live in a decent environment, with a supporting community with food and water. How are we supposed to pass that up?'

Diyoza shook her head, 'You know what. Do as you please, I don't want to be a part of this mess anyways.'

Watching her walk away, I stood in front of Bellamy. 'You're okay with letting her go? Letting her live off in a woods where we don't even know what happens down there.'

'She can deal.'

I shook my head, glaring at him as I wondered what in the world made him this way. 'Who even are you?'

After glaring at Bellamy I started to chase after Diyoza and ran through the hallway. 'Diyoza, wait. Don't go.'

She kept on walking, eventually ended up at by the door where the exit was. 'Your boyfriend doesn't want me here. I don't want to be somewhere I'm not wanted.'

'He's not my boyfriend.'

'Trouble in paradise huh?'

I bit my lip, 'He's beside the point. But some of us want you here, at least I do. Heck, we need you here. There's these people down there and we can't figure them out. It’s just something about them that feels odd. Then there's this Red Sun and-'

'The Red Sun?'

'This thing on the ground that messes with your head and-' I figured that after they dropped us off, they went back up for safety. Which made sense why they weren't affected by The Red Sun. ‘It’s just a mess okay?’ 

'Hm sounds like I can't help you with that one. Sorry but I’m not a brain surgeon.'

'Okay, fine but you're smart, reliable and capable of everything. Just stay. Please.'

Diyoza paused, staring at me in silence for a while before she spoke up again. 'Why do you want me here so bad? After all I've done.'

'Honestly, I don't know.' I paused for a second, thinking about why exactly was I defending the woman that wanted to destroy our clan. 'If you wanted to kill Wonkru, you would've done it but you didn't. Meanwhile when McCreary stepped into your shoes, we lost so many of us. I feel like you're not completely a bad person.'

'You're a weird one huh.' Diyoza laughed, 'I was one of the most wanted mass murderer in the world and you said I'm not a bad person.'

'People change and I think you have. I just wished that people would see that part of you instead of letting you go because of your past.'

Diyoza nodded, 'You have a good heart. You know that? No wonder why that boy is in love with you.'

'Well, that boy screwed everything up. I've tried, all these years with him and nothing has been working between us.'

'You know, when we had Clarke hostage back when we first landed on Earth, the first thing Bellamy had asked was to dig up that bloody underground of yours to come save you. He wouldn't let us do anything else. Said that you were in critical condition when the doctors found you outside six years ago during the radiation, worried that you didn't make it from getting exposed.'

My eyes widened, shocked to hear these information from her. 'Ah, I didn't know that.'

'He really wouldn't shut up about you. Said that he couldn't live with out you and that you made him a better person. He wanted to talk to you about everything that had happened at The Ring while you were down here. Then wanted to apologize for something he'd done up there, he started to dig through that fallen tower over that hatch with his bare hands, poor boy. Bellamy seemed crazy but it showed how much he cared about you.'

I didn't know what to think after what I had heard from Diyoza. It was surprising to hear, especially knowing how it all went down after that. It would've never occurred to me that he felt so strongly about seeing me, the way he approached me after our reunion.

He had acted like nothing happened, instead Bellamy asked so many questions as to what happened in the bunker. If he had been honest with me from the start, just as how Diyoza said, maybe it could've all been different.

But who was I to say, I was never honest with him about the Dark Year either.

'Anyways kiddo, it's time for me to go.' Diyoza smiled, but it seemed like a sad one. 'What do your people say, "May we meet again" right?'

I nodded, smiling back at her. 'Yeah. May we meet again.'

Diyoza pushed the button to open the ship, as I watched her hop off and slowly walk into the uncharted world. We've only covered a small portion of the moon, who knows what was out there. I knew she could take care of herself but I was scared for her.

As Diyoza disappeared into the woods, I heard bickering from behind. It was Octavia and Bellamy; mostly Bellamy yelling at his sister.

'Why did you think it was okay to pick a fight with those people? Now look at you.' Bellamy snickered.

Octavia yelled back, 'So you think it's a good idea to throw me off the ship too?'

'Wait, what?' I already thought Bellamy was crazy for kicking Diyoza out. She was a fighter, a great one at that and she knew the way around tough situations. She would've been a reliable person to have on our side and now all of the sudden he had decided to kick his own sister out too.

'Reyes, stay out of this. I'm serious.' Bellamy flared his nose, not looking at my direction at all.

'Bellamy, how am I supposed to live in the woods? I don't know what's out there.' Octavia seemed terrified and scared; The same eyes I saw when the Dark Year began.

He shook his head, 'You can catch up with Diyoza. You both would know what to do.'

'This is fucking crazy.' I cut in between the both of them, facing Bellamy. 'Are you really going to leave Octavia out there?'

'Y/N, it's okay. There's no convincing with him, his mind is made up.' Octavia bit her lip, eyes watering as she stared at her brother. 'I-I just can't believe you're actually doing this.'

Bellamy kept his mouth shut, just staring at her as she slowly backed away from us. She looked over at me and smiled.

Octavia seemed as though she already made peace with leaving us but I didn't. Despite what happened between us the last few weeks before cryo, she was someone that was close to my heart. She helped me through tough times, starting from my trauma at Mount Weather to being by my side when I had no one at the bunker.

She was my best friend, someone I needed by my side throughout everything. I didn’t want her to go but knowing the stubbornness in the Blake family, I knew that Bellamy and Octavia had made their decision.

'Y/N, thanks for everything. I'm sorry I said those words to you when we were marching to the gorge, you know I didn't mean it. I appreciate everything you've done for me at the bunker.’ Her tears filled her eyes, approaching me as she opened her arms. 

‘It's me and you forever, Octavia.' I hugged her tightly, crying into her shoulders.

'You and me, always.' She smiled as she wiped her eyes, glanced at her brother before she turned around and walked away. 

He closed the door to the ship as soon as Octavia took off, her jogging away as she chased Diyoza down the forest. Not even acknowledging that she may die out there, not even saying their possible last goodbyes.

'You're unbelievable.' I wouldn't have thought Bellamy would go so low to a point where he would abandon his own sister.

'And I told you to not butt in our business.'

'Octavia is my best friend, of course I'm going to butt in. For all we know, we'll never see her again. Would you be able to live with yourself if we see her dead in the middle of the woods one day?'

It hurt to see him act this way, I had no idea why Bellamy chose to do something he didn’t have to do at all. His mind was probably going crazy, just as how mine was when I was at the bunker.

He was out of control, every decision he had made was started to affect other people's lives including his sister’s. After not seeing Octavia for six years, I didn't know why he chose to let go of her again.

‘We are not discussing about Octavia.’ Bellamy rolled his eyes, ‘My sister, my responsibility. My rules.’

As he turned to walk away from me, I pulled his hand intensely. Bellamy lost his balance as he faced back at me, ‘You’re going to bring her back here. Now.’

‘Reyes whatever you’re trying to do, you need to stop.’ Bellamy’s eyes seemed lost, confused, sad yet angry. I’ve never seen him like this before, even on his worst days I was with him before Priamfaya. It was as if I didn’t know him anymore. ‘You can go chase after her, I don’t care.’

‘You know she won’t listen to me. She needs you to go for her.’

‘She needed to leave, now let me go.’ He shook his arm, trying to get away from my grip but I didn’t let him. Instead, I held his arm tighter.

We stared at each other, Bellamy studying my facial expression and wondering why I was so against all of this. I was angry at his betrayal towards his sister, the way he’d been handling everything so far. I hated what he turned into; or perhaps this was the real Bellamy he kept hidden this whole time.

I didn’t know what came over me, I was upset, infuriated about everything about him that I pushed Bellamy to the ground. He fell hard, not expecting me to act the way I did. He immediately reacted, getting on top of me as he finally gained control.

‘Why are you doing this?’ Bellamy questioned as he sat on top of me. ‘Why are you so angry about something that’s not about you?’

‘It is about me, Bellamy!’ I yelled, squeezing through a space I found between his legs and my body and crawled out of his grip. As I got up, I kicked him to the ground causing him to fall on his back again. ‘She’s my friend, someone that was there for me when I was at my worse. And then you... you-’

Bellamy got up, breathing heavily as he grabbed onto my wrist. ‘I’m what?’

‘You just continue to hurt people, keep hurting me.’ It was humiliating that I was crying over the same damn thing that we’ve continuously discussing since we reunited.

It was just a cycle of telling him how I felt, how to fix a situation and he wouldn’t listen. Everything was getting worse, considering that we had bigger issues in the picture starting with these random people we knew nothing of. Instead, Bellamy wanted to get rid of his sister and a pregnant woman into the woods.

'But here you are, trying to pick a fight with me. Verbally and now physically. What does that make you?'

'I'm trying to help you understand what I'm feeling.' Talking to him didn't work, it never had and it never will. Now I had to face him, literally face him and show him how tough it had been. 

Bellamy pulled me in closer, gripping me tighter to make sure I won't escape this time. 'You've been clear about it, I just don't agree with you. Not anymore.'

'Of course you don't. So then you decide to treat me like crap and walk all over me when I'm trying to talk to you, despite what you've done at The Ring with Echo.'

‘And Murphy just treats you so right, is that it?’

Biting my lip, I tried to stop my tears from falling. Why was he treating me the way he was, pulling me in and trying to get me back and then pushing me away, making me feel bad about everything?

‘He does. And unlike you, he never made me cry.’

Bellamy's nose flared, hurt by the words that came out of my mouth but trying not to show it. It was obvious though, I've known him long enough to read him easily.

While his grip loosened, I pulled my arm away. Before we were able to exchanged our last words, I looked at Bellamy and walked away back to the others.

It was hard to understand him now, he would say one thing and do the exact opposite. I wish I knew what made him this way, perhaps something had happened while he was at The Ring.

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‘We don’t know what’s going to happen to Kane.’ Raven sighed as we sat next to him.  'Abby and Jackson did everything they could, it's just a matter of when he's going to wake up.'

It felt uneasy watching Kane laying there, he almost seemed lifeless. 'He needs to wake up, I need him to.'

After Octavia leaving us, after John practically dying during the Red Sun and being in a terrible condition after those people managed to fix him, it felt like people were slowly slipping away from my hands.

Hearing Kane's side of the story about the Dark Year made me feel better, realizing that he was in pain just as I was. At the end of the day, even with all the shit that we both have been through, he was my father. And I needed him back.

'He'll wake up, Kane's strong just as you are.' Raven rubbed my arm, 'How are you holding up though? I saw Bellamy kicked Octavia out. What's going on with him?'

'I wish I knew. He's been acting weird lately.'

Raven chuckled. 'Probably jealous of you and Murphy. They wouldn't stop fighting at The Ring, Bellamy locked himself in his room at one point. I don't know, this might be hitting him hard.'

'But he started it. I was ready to be with him again, or at least start slow like we said.' Everything changed when I found out about Echo, realizing that he was bickering about my mistakes when he was hiding his own issues.

It was more than betrayal I felt when he turned his back on me. It wasn't even the kiss that I was angry about; it was him acting as if he did no wrong, that I was the problem that our relationship had fallen. He made me think that because of my mistakes, I've lost his trust. When in reality, we've both failed in our part of keeping our promise. But he made sure to only blame me.

'He was a mess up there, Y/N. I've never seen him so absent, so empty.' Raven added, 'Bellamy really lost it when he heard you barely made it to the bunker.'

'Why are you defending him?'

'I'm not. It's just- he went through a lot too is what I'm trying to say. You had your shit down at the bunker, Bellamy had his up at the Ring.'

I sighed, getting confused all over again. I couldn't lie, it was easier to hate Bellamy instead of dealing with the feeling and the confusion that I had. I wish that we had talked everything out, about the time we were apart from each other. 

'Why are you telling me this now?'

'Honestly, I thought he snapped out of it when we got back to Earth when he had hope to see you again. Then after seeing him before we went to cryo and he seemed fine. But now, he's spiraling again. Just like he was at The Ring.'

As I looked over at Kane laying on his bed, I took a deep breath and buried my head into my arms as I leaned in. This was all too much; Bellamy, John, Marcus being in this state and then dealing with these new people.

All I wanted was to live normal again, live peacefully amongst ourselves. I had hoped that when we got off Earth we can start over again just as how Monty said when he said his last goodbye.

Of course, that wasn't the case. Not at all.

[neapocream]

Mastermind! MC

In this, MC is the one who come up with the idea of the game and influence many people including people from other worlds to help create the game. Mastermind!MC’s goal is gather data from many transients from different to create an exception that can’t destroy all 24 (including their own) to create a giant world for him to ruled. Reason is unknown.

Sorry if it seem out of character, but I’m writing this a bit late since I’m been pretty busy lately and wanted to post something.

~~~~~~~♧.:.♚.:.♧~~~~~~~

Oniwaka

It finally was time, it was time for the end of the world. Many of your friends have died because of the expection that suddenly appeared. It was strong and was most likely to destroy the place maybe less in a day. Oniwaka was the only friend you have left and was trying to protect you...but you stop.

“It time...it finally here...I finally got rid of all representatives...and anyone that are able to stop me. But now they gone and no one is left to stop me...Haha...HAHAHAHAHAH!

Oniwaka was confused a bit scared even. This isn’t like you at all, the master he swear to protect. What happen?

You told him everything, how you was the true creator of this awful game, the reason why app battle existed, and the reason why their was a wall built in Tokyo.

Oniwaka didn’t know what to say and can you blame him. You telling him all of this while Tokyo was being destroyed. You told him he didn’t have to worried because the world is going to be created and they can live together forever in that one. Where they can be happy forever...

Oniwaka didn’t understand, he was asking why over and over. Asking what wrong with what we have now. You was surprised because you thought he might be happy about living a peaceful world.

You look him in the eyes and asked. “Am I’m doing something wrong? I’m creating a world for many species to lived together. Where many people who was harm can finally find peace with each other. Is that really hard to understand? That I’m doing this for others?”

He knew you as a kind master, who is selfless no matter what. But when he heard the sentences that come from you mouth while looking it to your eyes. He knew that not the whole truth. So Oniwaka asked why again.

You was honestly was getting impatient and wanted to speed this up. So you got close toward him and kiss him. Oniwaka wanted to pull away, but before he can...

You stab him though the chest...

“Sorry Oniwaka...I love you, I really do. That why I have to this. So you won’t remember what happen here in Tokyo. When you wake up, you going to live a happy life and hopefully we can finally stay together...”

You pull away and gently lay him down. The expection is almost done, so it time to take control. To welcome a new life for everyone...a paradise for everyone where no one will remember Tokyo or what happen here.

You only hope you’ll see Oniwaka soon...

Zabaniyya

Everything was in ruin, all your friends was gone and Zabaniyya was left that was trying his best to protect you. He notice and ask why you ain’t trying to fight back or why you not even trying to run. So you told him...everything.

Zabaniyya was shocked of course, he never thought the master he swear his loyalty to would do something so...sinful.

You couldn’t bear looking at him and don’t know how he would react. Is he mad? Maybe, but you wanted this. This would help reach your goal you waited so long for. Was you happy what you have to do to achieve it? No, you was anything, but happy.

Suddenly Zabaniyya suddenly hug you. You didn’t know why, didn’t wasn’t what you expecting. He went and said talk about how hard it been for you to do all this, just for the happiness of others. He said that he swear his loyalty to you and that he will do anything for you because he was nothing but a tool.

This upset you...so much that you stab him without thinking.

“Why you keep saying that? You’re a tool? Don’t give me that crap! You’re much more than that, you have emotions too! If you’re mad say it, if you’re sad show it. Stop saying you’re a tool for others to use! But...you don’t have to worried about that...in the new world I’m creating...you won’t have to think like that anymore. You going to wake up and living a life where you can show emotions to others and maybe...I’ll get to see it.

You slowly watch as Zabaniyya died in your arms while tears was coming out of your eyes. You’ll be able to meet him soon...right?

Ophion

Everything was gone in a flash, no one is left alive expect you and Ophion. Ophion was able to keep you safe and now you two was hiding underground.

Ophion notice how upset you were and went to comfort you while of course calling you his darling spouse. While he was close to you he heard you mumbling saying “This is the hardest part”.

He question what you was doing about and after giving him a second of silence you let it all out. You told him everything, including the expection that destroying Tokyo and how you creating a new world.

Ophion was...overjoyed? He get to ceeate a world again with his beloved spouse by his side and with his Sacred Artifact that bring forth anything created in Olympus. This is what he wanted...to create a world again. He was hugging you and kissing you all over...it honestly broke your heart for what you have to do...

You stab him while kissing...

“Ophion...I love you, I really do. But sadly can’t let you be by myself, not right now. You only see him as your past wife that you lost long ago and honestly, it hard to tell you love me for who I am or the soul that stuck in me. But once you wake up you won’t remember anything about this world and you’ll soon woke up into a new world. Maybe you’ll be a ruler there too, but...if we do meet again....”

And so he died right there. Now you’re alone in a world soon to be destroyed.”

“I hope you love me for me.”

[lucisfavoritedemon]

Rebellious Soul: Chapter 5

Pairing: None

Summary: Y/N is having a hard time coping with the fact that her friend is gone and now her best friend is back, but there is a new player in town. The ultimate leader of the Rebels, Commander Ruby. Will Y/N be able to defeat Eve or will she give up the fight to mourn the loss of Dean?

Warnings: Mentions of torture.

Word Count: 1324

A/N: I realised that what I had posted, and what I had written were two completely different things. So I went through an edited this chapter, along with Chapter 6. I have major plans for those two chapters, and I got away from my original thought process. Also, as you may have noticed, this is loosely based off hunger games, but it's with a twist. I hope y'all are enjoying this series so far. Thanks for the understanding and patience.

"I thought that the Colt was just a legend?" I asked looking between Gabriel and Charlie.

"Well supposedly, but there are more facts out there proving that it exists more than there is proving it doesn't. When thinking about stuff like this, I go with the facts."

"Alright then. I guess I should round up my gear and head out. The faster I can find my guy the better. I have a feeling it won't be long before Eve figures out what we're planning."

"Good idea. Why don't we head out together that way we could both hit our people and both know with having to relay the information to multiple people? That way Eve doesn't find out as quickly."

"I agree. Gather everyone interested and let's head out in ten. I have to speak with Sam before we leave."

"Sounds like a plan."

Gabe and I headed off in different directions. I hadn't seen Sam since we heard about Jessica. It was hard for him not knowing whether she's alive or not.

"Hey Sam. How's everything?"

"Better. At least getting there."

"I feel so bad for what happened to Jess. I'm sorry she got dragged into this."

"Don't be. She knew the risks just like everyone else. Trust me you didn't do anything. Ruby told me what you did for her, and that is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me. I never expected you to give up this opportunity to get revenge on Eve for Dean."

"Did you not hear what happened? The theories at least?"

"No. I haven't really wanted to listen to what people have to say about the matter. He's gone and I can't have him back. It hurts because we were close. We grew up in this together. He was like a brother to me."

"I know Sam. I wish there was more I could do to help you cope other than the fact that we are going to get him back. I don't care what anybody says, Ruby promised a rescue and amnesty for all of them. Including Dean."

"What does everyone say happened to him exactly?"

"That Eve had taken him hostage. Tortured him in unimaginable ways. Using him as their poster child to rid the world of Rebels. She won't stop till we are all dead or worse under her spell. Killing us off is her main goal, and she has the biggest inside man we had. She has the means of destroying us if she truly wanted to."

"I know Dean is our biggest and best weapon we had against her. He was building a case file on how to kill her. Said that he was doing it for someone special. I could now only assume that's you."

"Why me though?"

"Because you would want revenge. He knew your father died. Apparently he also knew how, and it's not how you think it happened."

"I knew he was killed, but I never told anyone because no one would believe me. They all knew I hated Eve from the moment I first saw her. She is clearly nothing but evil, and I will stop at nothing to defeat her. We have everything we need except the weapon to kill the thing that can kill her."

"What is that?"

"A special gun that can kill almost anything with a single bullet. We need the gun to kill a Phoenix. It's ashes are the only thing strong enough to kill her."

"You're not talking about the Colt are you?"

"Afraid so. Do you happen to know someone who might know it's whereabouts?"

"Yeah, but I would save him as a last resort." Sam warned.

I knew perfectly well who he was talking about, but this was a chance to get the upper hand on Eve. I wasn't going to let him tell me otherwise. I couldn't risk Dean's life on a last resort situation. He was our last resort.

"I'm sorry Sam, but this is that type of situation. I'm going to do whatever it takes to get Dean back. For all of us, not just me. He meant something to everyone, which is why this betrayal is the worst we have ever seen."

"I know, it's just, he is bad news. I wouldn't go to him unless no one else truly knows the whereabouts of the Colt."

"Fine. But if no one else does, or even if they hesitate for a second we move to him, got it?"

"Yeah now go and save Dean. For all of us."

Gabe, Ed, Harry, Michael, Castiel, and I all headed out in search of our first lead given to us by Gabriel and Cas who have known this person, well rather Angel, for a long, long time.

"Balthazar. We are here for knowledge on a weapon we seek the location of!" Gabe yelled through the thick of the forest.

As I have stated before each creature lives in a designated section of the world. If ever caught out of their designated area, they were immediately killed off. This was a beautiful lush forest that looked like a Heavenly paradise Perfect for the majority of it's heavenly inhabitants.

"Ah, Gabriel and Castiel. What brings you two traders back home, and with humans too?"

"Enough Balthazar. We need to know the location of the Colt."

"Ooh, temper. I say, is this how you got daddy to give you your favorite toys? Well that tone doesn't work on me Mikey." Balthazar spat.

I had to agree with the Angel, Michael was being a little too straight forward.

"Balthazar? We seek the location of this weapon for a good reason. Please will you help us?" I asked kindly, gaining a gentle smile.

"I wish I knew, but sadly I don't. Maybe if you five hand over the girl I will suddenly remember."

"He's lying." Gabe simply stated.

"How do you know?"

"He only wants Y/n because it will earn him and the others a spot at the big kids table. He doesn't really know where the weapon is. I say we move on."

"I agree. Let's head out."

"Okay, you got me. I really don't know where the weapon is. I'm only in charge of the Angelic weapons. The rest go through Crowley. He will definitely know where this weapon you are seeking for is. I swear."

"I know. Sadly Crowley knows everything about this gun." I whispered walking away.

I knew exactly where to find Crowley. We had a few talks here and there, but I have never asked him for a favor as big as this one.

"Crowley! We need to talk! It's about the Colt."

"Hello darling. It's about time."

"I know it has been a while, but I need you to pull in that favor of mine. You know the freebie before you start charging?"

"Yes I know what freebie means. Why do you want this Colt so bad? It doesn't even do anything."

"It's important."

"You want to kill Eve don't you? Well sorry to break it to you, but sadly she is one of the four beings this won't work on. Been there, tried that."

"We know it doesn’t work on her, but it will work on the thing that can."

"Oh. Well in that case here."

Then the gun appears in his hands and he tosses it to me. I looked at the gun in awe. It was the most beautiful thing in the world. Now all we needed was to get to the Phoenix mountain without being caught by Eve and her stupid henchmen.

"One last thing. Well really two. Don't let her know I'm working alongside you and two DON’T miss your target! Kapeesh?"

"You got it. Don't let Eve know and don't miss."

"Good." As quickly as he appeared he was gone again.

Now all we needed was to find these Phoenixes and find Eve. Things were starting to go in our favor.

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[my-name-is-luka]

Saturday — Dear Husband — Your apprentice’s wedding or married life

@gentapprentices

*TW: I wrote this at 5 am and idk it's bad I swear I wrote better things that this but I'm delivering this late and I wanted to already publish it and I'm so tired guys hhhhhhh*

_________

Sometimes people adopt childs on accident. This is no exception.

Now, Luka always thought that children were messy, noisy, annoying, and if given the option to have one he would most certainly deny it. He could barely take care of himself, how would he take care of someone who needs even more help and whose brain and body are still in development? It was hard, it was exhausting, and it was something he wouldn't do until he was mentally prepared to do.

But here he is, rain falling over him and the little girl next to him, leading her by the hand to the shop so she wouldn't have to sleep under the docks that night.

They met a few weeks ago, when he was practicing his magic at the pier. He was performing the spell almost perfectly, his mind focusing on the ocean and the water he just shifted into a ball, his whole being at peace. With keeping the shop, helping Nadia with the Masquerade, and getting enough supplies for the Julian's clinic he barely had any free time, which meant that only a short, calm moment alone at the dock felt like paradise.

"Sir, are you a witch?"

... and then the little girl came into the picture.

She asked a few questions about wizards, sorcerers, and magicians, about why his necklace glowed, about how he became a sorcerer, about how she could learn magic. She was Chiara, a seven-year-old who would usually be found walking on the docks, scamming the bystanders, or dealing things with the other kids. She was way to smart for her age, but Luka didn't consider it something good, because kids who are smarter than what's expected at their age usually were forced to use their wits to survive.

And so he went the monday, to tell her about his tribe and magic.

He went the tuesday, to tell her about his friends and his new life he made at Vesuvia when he first arrived.

He went the wednesday, to tell her about how he got closer to Asra and their life together.

He went the thursday, this time with Ieskat, to tell her about how they met each other, how to take care of a macaw, and how the bond between familiars work.

He went the friday, to teach her about how each person's magic is different and how to develop her.

He went the saturday, just the day she found out that all this time she's been talking to the man who saved the world, which means, a day full of questions about the battle against two goats and about how Countess Nadia, her idol, was out of the public eye.

Almost every day for the next weeks he would go to the docks, sit in a pier, and teach her about whatever she wanted to know until he had to go back home (which means, at the sunset). At first she was just that curious girl who would keep asking about things a normal person wouldn't know and by some reason he knew, then it was like a tired but emotionally attached master teaching a little kid how to contact water spirits and perform any kind of spells, and now they were walking into the shop, soaked from head to toes, exhaling a lungful of air at the feeling of water drops and cold going away.

"Love, we're home!" Luka yells across the room, taking off his boots and placing them next to the door, the child with him imitating his act. He hears steps in the kitchen before a smiling face greets him at the doorframe.

"We?" Asra asks, and shifts his gaze towards the girl next to him. His smile falters out of surprise, but just a second later he smirks again, moving towards the duo. "Welcome back." He says, giving his husband a short smooch before smiling at the child and looking suspiciously at his spouse. "Well? Won't you introduce us?"

"Oh, yeah, right away." He places his coat on a wall hook before joining once again the conversation. "Asra, this is Chiara, I told you about her, remember?" He nods, and the man looks at the girl. "Chiara, this is Asra, I also told you about him."

Asra extends his hand for the small, amazed person in front of him to shake, who both shyly and surprised takes it and gives it a firm shake before dropping it.

"Kiki, how about you go feed Ieskat? He should be in the backroom, he'll be glad to see you." He gives her a small pouch with almonds and palm nuts, sending her to the other end of the shop. When she's out of earshot he looks at Asra once again with a guilty smile. "Look, I know you may be mad at me, I wouldn't blame you if you were, but I swear I can explain this, okay?"

Asra looks at him, the smile decreasing but still there, an indecipherable expression in his face as he nods firmly.

"We both know that she lives at the docks, right? And we both know how dangerous is to be there during a storm, with the whole thunder-spreads-through-water-and-sand thing." He starts, looking into his spouse's eyes, hoping his message would reach him. "She's been doing her best to survive— stealing, lying, dealing, and she's only seven. I'm not saying that she should stay here forever, only for the night, and once the thunderstorm is over we could... I don't know, help her out or something, find a place and a family for her to live with. I knew her for four months already, and I just want her to be safe, I don't care the price or with who, just-" He tries to get the words out of his mouth, but when he realizes what he's going to say he freezes. Taking a deep breath, he keeps talking. "I care about her well-being, and if I can assure it, even for the shortest time, I'll do it. But I want to know if you're okay with hee staying here for the night."

The magician looks at him slightly surprised before smiling fondly, there was a reason they fell for each other, after all.

"For me that's fine. She can stay at the guest room, so she can have her own privacy. We'll try to make her as comfortable as possible, okay?" He nods with a grateful and equally fond smile. "Good. I have to keep cooking, you could start setting the table. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes."

"Can I help with something?" They both startle at the sound of a small, shy voice, whose owner is just walking down the stairs.

"We could set the table together, and if we have time I can answer some question you may have. Then Asra can tell you about our epic, fierce, treacherous experience saving the world by his point of view, yeah?" She giggles a bit at the exaggerated adjectives before following him into the kitchen.

What were supposed to be around ten minutes felt like just a few seconds, they slip like sand through his finger and all he has left are the sensations they provoked, but there was this second in which everything just stopped, and he could appreciate fully the scene rolling in front of him.

The table is already set, every glass, plate, and cutlery placed neatly on the tablecloth. There are a lot of different, enticing smells in the air— spices, salts, sauces, condiments. She was sitting on the counter, listening to Asra's (way more understandable than his) explanation of how tarot worked, shooting question after question, always eager to know more. Her eyes shine with amazement, her body unconsciously inclines towards his, and with every words she seems as if she was told the most important and fantastic secret ever. This was new information, after all, she hasn't been raised with magic users as they did.

The sound of rain and the grey color of the sky makes a perfect contrast with the room, making it look even warmer than before. There are small light orbs floating around in case Asra needed more illumination, each one of them of a different color and different brightness. Sometimes Chiara would get distracted looking at the orbs, moving like clouds through the ceiling of the room, or taking a look around the room full of things she never thought she might see in her life, but eventually she focuses her attention on the subject he's explaining her.

And so he smiles with a fondness he doesn't think he felt before at the place they made—. a safe oasis, in which the rest of the world, the past they tried to leave behind, and the problems they eventually would have to face were forgotten. Just the three of them, talking about random stuff, feeling like everything was okay for a few hours.

Chiara didn't only stay that night, she did the next one, and the next week, and the next month, and the next year. She had a home, after all, the first she ever made and the one she would value the most out of whichever that came next.

They were okay. They were home.

[dargeereads]

COCKY HERO CLUB

Release Date: May 17, 2020

Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward are excited to bring you the Cocky Hero Club: original works from various authors inspired by Keeland and Ward's New York Times bestselling Cocky Bastard series.

COCKY DUKE

BY ANNABELLE ANDERS

Mrs. Ambrosia Bloomington, now a widow, is ready to start a new life amongst Mayfair elites without the overarching reach of her late husband, Mr. Harrison Bloomington.  With her trunks loaded safely onto her own private carriage, she’s ready to face the world as an independent woman in Regency London.

She does not, however, bargain for cocksure Frenchman, Mr. Charles Cochran Bateman coming along and turning her very ordinary journey into the adventure of a lifetime.

She does not bargain for his laughter, his enthusiasm, nor his Joie de vie.

And blast and fiddlesticks, she certainly is not expecting to experience the sparks that charge the air between them.

And, it seems, apparently, neither is he…

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MOTHER CLUCKER

BY CAT JOHNSON

They say opposites attract, but in this case, they might just combust . . .

HEATHER

Hermosa Beach seems to be the place for throwing together unlikely opposites.

My rooster Rowdy and his new crush, Pixy the goat.

Me and the obnoxiously cocky cowboy from Texas . . .

But unlike Rowdy and Pixy, there’s no way I’m going to fall for David Strickland.

Nope. Not gonna happen. I could never be with a man so completely opposed to everything I believe . . . no matter how hot he is.

DAVID

There couldn’t be two people more different than the beautiful little tree hugger and rooster rescuer Heather and me.

We can’t agree on anything, except that we disagree on everything—some times more heatedly than other times. And believe me, things are starting to heat up between us, in more ways than one.

She's the last thing I expected to find at an animal shelter in California. But now I found her, I have no intention of letting her go.

I just have to get her on board with that plan.

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SECRET KEEPER BY CHRISTOPHER HARLAN

She was the fruit of a forbidden tree, but nothing in this world was going to stop me from tasting her.

My name is Dylan Murphy, and I work for the rich and powerful of an exclusive Manhattan building. Graham Morgan was my first boss, but soon after I was working with some of the most famous entrepreneurs, business moguls, and movie stars in the city. They trusted me because I always followed the cardinal rules:

Never betray secrets. And never, under any circumstance, get personally involved.

I’d never dreamed of violating my professional mantra.

Not until she walked past me.

The look we exchanged that night set my body on fire, and I knew right then and there that no matter the consequences, she was going to be mine. But she was one of them—off limits and out of my league, but she was the kind of woman who I was willing to risk everything for.

I keep other people’s secrets for a living, but the biggest secret of all might be my own.

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COCKY CAPTAIN

BY ELLIE MASTERS

Ex-fighter pilot, Logan Reid, is exactly the kind of man I despise. He’s a cocky jet jock, a former Navy Blue Angel, and full of all the arrogance that comes with being the best of the best.

I’m an ex-Zoomie, an Air Force tanker pilot. The rivalry between our sister services is nothing compared to that between fighter jocks and tanker pilots. We’re bitter rivals and I’m low-man (woman) on the totem pole

The last thing I need is to spend six hours at thirty-five thousand feet locked in a cockpit with the cocky captain. But I have no choice. I’m his co-pilot, and we’re taking the CEO of Montague Enterprises, and his family, on a mini-vacation to the Grand Caymans.

We have three days on the ground before we fly back.

Three long days in paradise and he wants to spend them all with me.

I have a thing for fighter pilots.

It isn’t animosity, exactly, but rather a deep-seated dislike. They get all the glory while the rest of us sit at the butt end of their jokes and wither beneath their ridicule.

I hate fighter pilots. There, I said it. I hate the arrogant pricks with a passion.

But after one look into those magnetic eyes, and the devastating wink which follows, I’m thinking of throwing caution to the wind. What harm can come from some innocent flirting? Besides, it’s not as if my job is at risk.

I’m not prepared for the air to sizzle when he’s close.

I’m not ready for our explosive chemistry when he touches my skin.

I’m not equipped for the fallout when our three days come to an end.

And I never expected to fall in love.

But all good things come to an end.

I wasn’t prepared when I walked away.

And I wasn’t ready for what came next.

He’s arrogant.

He’s cocky.

He’s determined to get what he wants.

And he’s refuses  to let this end.

He’s fighting for a forever…with me.

But, I’m not ready for our beginning.

He’s arrogant enough to prove me wrong.

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SEXY SUIT

BY J.H. CROIX

When I met Ryan, I might’ve been trying to break into his basement.

It was for a good cause. I swear. Also, my dog broke in first.

Ryan Blake is jaw-dropping handsome, wealthy & cocky. Not quite my type. By some miracle, he doesn’t call the police on me when he catches me trying to rescue my dog. He even fetches a doctor for me. Don’t ask why.

I don’t figure I’ll see him again. Then, I do. Then, he kisses me. Once. Twice. Is three times the charm? To be honest, I swooned at the first kiss.

All swooning aside, we are seriously opposites. I wear cowboy boots and skirts. He wears suits and ties. He’s all New York City. I’m a Southern girl looking for a new start. We even talk at different speeds.

The list of things I don’t expect from Ryan is long. I don’t expect him to think twice about me. I don’t expect him to nearly bring me to my knees with a look. I don’t expect him to be so much more than I ever imagined.

I absolutely don’t expect to fall for him. So hard I’m skidding sideways just to catch my balance.

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WICKED BEDMATE BY JENIKA SNOW

Getting fired and humiliated in front of everyone at my newly acquired secretarial job at Morgan Financial Holdings wasn’t how I’d seen my day going.

And then chaos—or maybe luck—ensured.

I was set up on a blind date, shocked that my former boss was giving me a month’s severance, and had the perfect interview lined up.

Maybe things were looking up for me after all.

And although finding a man should have been on the bottom of my to-to list, I couldn’t get Jason—the uber sexy blind date—out of my head. Sexy and confident—or maybe arrogant—he had me yearning for more with just a smoldering look and a smirk of his lips.

But when a night of drinking leads to getting in bed with him and having the wildest, most intense night of my life, I didn’t know if I should ask to see him again, or do the good old walk of shame.

And it’s when I walk into my interview the next day and come face-to-face with my prospective employer that the reality of my situation sinks in.

Because there, sitting across from me with that devilish smile on his face, that knowing expression of what we’d done the night before, is the one and only Jason, my supposedly one-night stand.

Looked like my humiliation wasn’t over just yet.

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LUCKY BASTARD BY KAYLEE RYAN

Emma

When my best friend Aubrey asked me to tag along to an event with her, I never could have imagined that it would be the day that my life changed forever.

He’s arrogant and demanding and doesn’t take a hint. Landon Barker, the quarterback for the Hermosa Beach Trojans, is a player on and off of the field. He’s got his sights set on me as his next play, but I see right through him. Aubrey says I’m overreacting, that I should give him a chance. What she doesn’t realize is men like Landon don’t fall for the girl next door. That’s not reality. She got her fairytale, although it was a long road. Not all of us are that lucky.

Landon

She’s a friend of our new kicking coach’s wife. When I ask Chance for her number, he tells me I have to find a way to get it myself.

Nothing when it comes to Emma has been easy. She’s the first woman ever to turn me down, and that won’t do. However, as time passes, it’s about more than that. It’s about her smile, her laugh, and just spending time with her. She thinks I’m a player, and she’s right. What she doesn’t know is that I play to win, and her heart is the ultimate trophy.

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COCKSURE ACE BY K WEBSTER

I’m a fighter.

At least that’s what my daddy always told me.

It’s in our blood.

Hard work, hustle, and a little Hennessey is the Reid motto.

He taught me to fight for everything I wanted in life.

Take down those who threaten the dream.

My dream is to marry the perfect man.

That man is my father’s best friend and I won’t stop until I have him.

And at Daddy’s wedding in Costa Rica, I plan to make that dream finally come true.

Then, my life will be smooth sailing.

Until a chance flight with an arrogant pilot throws me off course. 

Literally. 

Camilo’s decisions affect my future, and I can’t allow anything—not even a cocksure, ridiculously hot idiot—to stand in my way.

Problem is, he fights back.

Every battle I’ve won in life, he shoots down and exposes me for the fraud I am.

Trapped in paradise with my devilishly handsome nemesis seems like one of the seven circles of Hell…and, boy, is it getting hot around here. 

He’ll strip me of my armor.

Remind me of my past.

Force me to rethink my future.

And help me live in the moment.

Will he steal my heart too?

One thing’s for sure.

This girl won’t give up without a fight.

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CLUTCH PLAYER BY NIKKI ASH

Harper

I fell in love when I was sixteen. Landon was my entire world and I thought he would be my forever. But I was young and dumb, and with one error in judgement, I destroyed any chance of a future we could’ve had together, along with our hearts.

Twelve years later and I’m going through the motions of life, but not actually living. Which is why I let my friends, Bridget and Simon, set me up on a blind date. Turns out, it’s not so blind after all. Because the man sitting in front of me is the same man who’s held onto my heart all these years.

Landon

They call me a Clutch Player because I’m good under pressure and quick on my feet. I was also quick to fall in love. The first time it was with baseball, the second was with Harper. And for a short time I had them both.

Until I lost Harper and all I had left was baseball.

For years, I focused on my career. I had accepted that baseball was my one true love.

Until I saw her again. I never imagined we’d ever get a second chance, but now that she’s sitting right across from me, I know there’s no way in hell I’m going to let her go again.

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SEXY SCOUNDREL BY RAISA GREYWOOD

Carlina Perez is in way over her head. Unexpectedly jobless and fostering an exotic pet with an insatiable appetite, this pastry chef needs a new gig faster than she can whip up a batch of scones.  But when she’s tapped to serve as the personal chef to a haughty tabloid regular, she only considers the job out of sheer desperation. After all, Giorgio Acardi may be filthy rich and intoxicatingly handsome, but he’s also a first class scoundrel.

Giorgio Acardi has it all:  money, fame, an endless string of beautiful companions, and the respect of his colleagues and rivals. From the outside looking in, his life is perfect. So perfect, in fact, that he’s even got his eye on a new personal chef. She’s talented and gorgeous, and it shouldn’t make a difference whether she hates him or not as long as she does the job. But there’s something about Carlina that Giorgio just can’t resist, and he hasn’t enjoyed success by backing down from a challenge.

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[choicesfanficanonymous]

Kin (Estela x MC/Taylor (f), Estela/Aleister sibling stuff)

Book/Series: Endless Summer

Summary: Post-ending (Endless ending). The world beyond La Huerta is gone, Taylor’s family are nothing but a fabricated daydream, and Estela’s only living relative is a walking reminder of her connection with the figure that tore her life apart. What do love and kinship mean in this burned and scarred world?

Word Count: 5384 words (sorry, a long one!)

“Hear me out, dudes,” Raj urged, setting down steaming plates of food on the table. “this place has everything; everything we need… except for…”

“Waterslides!” Craig exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air.

“…waterslides!” Raj finished.

“And how,” Aleister sneered, “pray tell, do you intend to build such a thing? I suppose one of you is an engineer, equipped to build a theme park monstrosity up to health and safety regulations.”

Jake scoffed. “Malfoy, when has anything we’ve done met health and safety regulations? I dunno… maybe jumping into the path of the Loch Ness monster’s psycho cousin with nothing but a ripped-up hang-glider was a stretch, but a slide? That’s goin’ too far!”

“Fine, enjoy your death-trap. I can assure you I won’t be running around beneath it holding a net.” Aleister wrinkled his nose. “But there’s no escaping the fact that a waterslide would be an absolute eyesore. I swear, paradise is wasted on you people!”

“But who build’s a world-class tropical resort without a waterslide?”

Around the tables by the pool that had been brought together for breakfast, the Catalysts, save for Diego who had spent the night in Elyys’tel with Varyyn, chattered animatedly. Since Rourke’s demise, it had become routine, along with the nightly dinner gathering. Dealing, as they were, with a loss so huge, so devastating, holding together was the best they could do. Raj was in his element- on almost full-time hospitality duty- and he saw it as a way of honouring his grandmother. If he could do anything at all to keep his friends smiling as they moved through unspeakable grief, he’d be doing her proud. Taylor, wracked with guilt for her failure to sacrifice herself to end her friends’ suffering, had been reclusive, but she was trying… she was trying so hard to be the supportive shoulder they all needed. Beneath the table, her fingers were entwined with Estela’s, stroking them in a circular motion, and feeling a soft and reassuring pressure in return. As she took a sip of juice- what strange fruit it contained, a mystery- Taylor briefly made eye contact with her wife, and it was enough to make her heart flutter. She tuned back in to the familiar bickering and reached for a breakfast burrito.

“This is ridiculous!” Aleister was saying. “When you’ve all emerged from fantasy land, we can talk about creating something that’s actually worthwhile. The sheer knowledge we have access to- the possibilities are…”

“Waterslide! Waterslide! Waterslide!” chanted Craig, banging his fists on the table. To his great satisfaction, Aleister’s face began to colour with increasing frustration.

“I’m sorry- how old are you; eight?”

“And what are you, the fun police? Estela- he’s your brother, stick it to him!”

In an instant, the table went quiet. Estela’s expression turned cold and stony. A hard glare resting upon Craig, who withered back with an averted gaze, she got to her feet and, without a word, walked away.

Aleister looked pointedly in the opposing direction, discomfort showing clearly on his flushed, drawn face. Grace immediately placed her hand over his, looking over him with great concern.

Zahra rolled her eyes. “Nice one, dumbass, you really outdid yourself there.”

Quinn’s brow furrowed, worry all over her face. “Taylor, is she okay?”

“I- I’ll go after her.” Her gut twisting, Taylor rose from the table. The silently bubbling tension within the group had finally breached the surface, and she felt a personal responsibility to resolve it.

She strode out onto the sand, picking up the pace until she had almost reached her wife’s side. Without looking back, Estela reached her hand out behind her, inviting Taylor in.

“It’s a shame we can’t fix that faulty connection between Craig’s brain and his mouth.” Taylor took Estela’s hand and grasped it tight.

“Family means something,” Estela growled. “My family is gone. Aleister is not… is not…”

With a tug of her arm, Taylor pulled her into a hug. Estela was tense, but she returned the gesture, her movements stilted.

“Do you want to be on your own right now?”

Estela took a moment before answering. “No. Stay with me.” She held on tightly to Taylor’s hand. It anchored her, holding her from losing herself in grief and rage. Slowly, she calmed herself and gave Taylor an encouraging smile. “You don’t need to worry about me.”

“I don’t worry about you- pretty sure you are literally the biggest badass on earth. But I do care about you. And even the strongest people can use a hand to hold sometime.”

“You can do more than hold my hand, you know,” Estela said, a smirk on her face and a glint in her eye.

With a giggle, Taylor nuzzled her face close to Estela’s and planted a sweet kiss on her cheek. “That’s a start, right?”

“I’m feeling better already.”

As she went in for another kiss, Taylor felt a gentle hand catch the side of her face, lovingly drawing her lips towards Estela’s. They met in a tender, lingering dance.

Estela came away, her cheeks glowing. She sighed. “Goddammit, I love you, Taylor.”

“Goddammit, Estela, I think I love you too,” Taylor said, a laugh in her voice. She playfully twiddled with Estela’s hair as she watched her expression become thoughtful.

“I do want to open up to everyone. I care about them,” Estela said. “Even Aleister, two-faced bastard,” she added with a snarl. “It’s just, some things I… can’t. He’s no brother of mine. Hearing it is a knife in my chest. You understand, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do. Well, as much as anyone can. You know, I don’t think anyone’s expecting you to be a bubbly, outgoing life of the party all of a sudden. And everyone knows you care. It’s obvious. They like you for you. I think even Aleister does… in his snobby, terrified way.”

“He should be scared. Half the time I can’t stand to look at him. And the stupid thing is, I don’t even know if it’s the betrayal, or if I just don’t want a reminder of who I am.”

Taylor shrugged. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m getting the impression the ‘secret half-sibling’ thing is weirding him out too.” She kicked off her shoes and walked into the sea, enjoying the cooling feeling of the water lapping around her ankles. “Look, I know talking isn’t always your strong point, but it might do you both good to just put it all out there. Maybe that’d do something about that elephant in the room.”

“The last elephant on earth… maybe we should keep it, for now.” Estela sat down in the sand and rested her head on her hands. There was no hurry; they were together on this island for as long as they lived. Confronting Aleister, confronting whatever it was he meant to her, it could all wait.

“Just… just, don’t let it trample over you, all right? You deserve to be happy.”

In spite of everything, a smile tugged at Estela’s mouth. She watched Taylor wandering through the shallows, her face a picture of quiet contemplation. There had been a lot of that in the week or so since Rourke’s plans had been scuppered… introspection, coming to terms with new identities and adjusting to a future so different to what any of them had envisioned. Estela knew she was fortunate; grief for her tio and the earth aside, her future was far brighter than she’d have expected not so long ago. She just hoped her friends- friends… how long it had been since she’d had any of those- would in time find the same contentment. Perhaps more than anyone else, though, Taylor appeared lost. Estela looked over her wife protectively in the aftermath; with no quest for vengeance to occupy her, her purpose was now to support Taylor through a turbulent period of transition. And, of course, it worked both ways. Today felt like a bad day, but there would be tomorrow, and the tomorrow after that. Estela bit her lip, her eyes glazing over as troubled thoughts swirled through her mind. Perhaps Taylor was right. Perhaps she should stop skirting around Aleister, if nothing else but to avoid awkwardness for everyone else. She wondered, how did Aleister perceive her? The child of his father’s affair, he could quite easily resent her. Maybe he should. After all, at the end of the line, Rourke had acknowledged Estela as his truest heir, not Aleister. As much as she tried to shake the ridiculous thought from her head, Estela found herself coming back to a disturbing conclusion. Part of her was afraid that Aleister- not family, never family, but a genuine link to her mother- might turn away from her. She angrily pushed the notion from her thoughts. She didn’t need or want a half-brother, and certainly not a literal Rourke clone at that. It was just… part of letting go, and she’d grown enough to know that letting go was what she needed. Having been powered on anger for so very long, Estela wasn’t quite sure who she’d be once she had no living person to channel it towards. Would she simply implode? Perhaps… if she didn’t have Taylor.

The faint sound of sand beneath light feet made Estela alert. She glanced sideways to see Quinn approaching, a piled-up plate in her hands.

“I thought you might appreciate breakfast to go,” said Quinn shyly.

Surprised and touched, Estela sat back in the sand and offered Quinn a bashful smile. That girl really was too good.

“Thanks.”

Taylor came running back from the water and put her arms around Quinn. “You’re the best, you know that?”

Quinn beamed in response, and she carefully sat herself down beside Estela, making sure not to drop anything. “Well, I couldn’t let you miss out. I think we all know Raj’s heart would break just a little if you two didn’t get to enjoy his breakfast burritos.” Tentatively, she placed a hand on Estela’s arm. “And, if I’m honest, I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Estela’s cheeks flushed, but she didn’t shy away. “I’m… fine. Is Aleister…?” She shook her head. “However I feel about him, I mean… I don’t like him… but we’re on the same side. When it comes down to it, it’s not him who’s really hurt me, it’s his father.” Still, she could not say ‘our’ father. Her tio was the only father figure she’d ever needed. Out of nowhere, she felt a stab of pity for Aleister. He’d never had that.

“I think he and Grace were gonna go down to the library together. That’s their happy place.”

Taylor plonked herself down in the sand and began tucking in. “Honestly? I think that Aleister’s pretty happy on the whole. He’s just adjusting to… a lot.” She gave a little sigh. Poor Aleister. With everything that had happened since the revelation of his origin, she hadn’t taken as much time as she should have to make sure he was okay. Responsible as she felt for caring for her gang of friends, she knew she’d dropped the ball there. “Like we all are. But we’ve all got each other’s backs.” Relieved to see Estela looking a little brighter- another win for Raj’s cooking- she put her free arm around her. “I’m gonna have to give my compliments to Raj- these are so good!”

“We’ve got to be getting low on meat that isn’t squirrel or… dinosaur. Is there anything left in the freezer?”

Quinn furrowed her brow thoughtfully. “I think we’re getting near the end of our supplies. I’ve been meaning to do some baking but… once everything’s gone, it’s gone. We should talk to Varyyn; if the Vaanti can throw lavish feasts, there’s no reason why we can’t make La Huerta work for us too.”

“I don’t need to ask Varyyn to know how to hunt,” said Estela. She was quiet for a moment. They needed to start doing something. The initial high of the fight for survival ending had waned, and what was left was reality. Everyone was in pain. With emotions running high, the group could easily splinter, devoid of a clear way forward. Chilling around The Celestial wasn’t enough anymore. “But you’re right. We have everything we need here. I’m going to go hunting- or fishing, it feels like it’s gonna be a hot one.”

“You’ll teach me, right?” Taylor asked.

Estela just smiled. Honestly, she couldn’t imagine much she’d rather do with herself. She met Taylor’s eyes and answered her silently.

Beaming, Taylor raised her burrito. “To bringing home the bacon- or whatever the screwy La Huerta equivalent might be!”

“Cheers!” laughed Quinn as she and Estela bumped their tortillas to Taylor’s.

Having gathered a few supplies, all the while managing to avoid any awkward encounters in the wake of the breakfast drama, Estela led Taylor along the coast to the west, Furball trotting eagerly at their heels.

“There,” Estela said, nodding her head in the direction of a strip of land rising out into the sea. “There’s a reef just beyond the cliffs.”

Carefully, Taylor lowered herself down the rocky side of the grass-covered headland, gripping tightly with her fingertips in a precarious hold. Beneath her, Estela climbed down with ease, barely slowed by fact that she had the added complication of holding a spear under her arm.

Taylor huffed, a little breathless. A pebble plinked off her forehead, and she looked up to see Furball skittering around the edge, watching them with great curiosity. “You be careful, little guy! You don’t want to sl-“ She bit her tongue as she lurched downward, her foot missing the next hold. Scrambling to regain her grip, Taylor felt something firm beneath the ball of her foot, and she glanced beneath her.

“I think the fox is fine. You might want to check your own footholds.” Estela held the blunt end of the spear beneath Taylor’s foot until she appeared to have steadied herself. She settled on a jutting out ledge just above the water and held out a hand to guide her partner down the last little way.

“And we couldn’t have just swam out from the shore?”

“Not unless you want to catch all the waves breaking. It’s better to go straight to where the fish are.”

Stripping down to her swimming costume, Estela slunk into the water, her movements smooth and stealthy. Taylor followed suit, ducking under the crystal-clear water. Together they swam out to a colourful reef, where they found themselves surrounded by silver-scaled fish that appeared to shimmer in the bright sunlight. It was beautiful.

Running out of breath, Taylor returned to the surface and treaded water, watching as Estela rounded onto a target and popped her head above the water, hair plastered to her face.

“Hey, you want me to try and herd them over to you?”

Estela nodded. “Push them toward the sandbar, if you can.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

Taylor swam from side to side, sending the fish swimming away from her- and towards the sandbar, where Estela was waiting. After a few moments, Estela streaked forwards, and came up with a writhing fish on the end of her spear.

“Okay, that was impressive.”

A little smile on her face, Estela beckoned Taylor over to the shallows surrounding the sandbar. She pulled her close against her chest and lowered into the water. “Here,” she said, taking hold of the fish with one hand and giving Taylor the spear with the other. “Don’t flail around so much. Be still… keep your eyes open… focus.”

Feeling her pulse quicken at the sensation of her partner wrapped around her, Taylor took a moment to redirect her attention to the task at hand. She held her breath and put her face under, trying to avoid sending ripples out into the water as Estela gently guided her spear arm backwards in preparation to strike. She didn’t move a muscle, and soon the fishes swam by them, oblivious. Seeing her chance and taking it, she thrust her arm forward, but the resistance from the water was greater than anticipated and she came short.

“Dammit!”

“Try again… you were close.”

Estela swam away, taking her catch back to the rocks, where Furball spun around in excited circles. Determined to catch something, Taylor slipped back beneath the surface and tried again… and again… and again… until finally…

“I got one!” she hollered, taking in a mouthful of water and spluttering.

“You’re a fast learner. Throw it here.”

The sun rose high into the sky, beating down hard on the La Huerta coastline. The pile of fish Furball had been diligently guarding had grown satisfyingly, and he proudly perched himself on top, watching as the women splashed about in the sea. At one point, Taylor had sat him on her shoulder, egging him on as he shot ice out into the waves, catching fish that got in the way of his short, powerful blasts. He only accidentally iced Estela one time. Leaving fishing to the pro, Taylor built up a small fire on the edge of the headland and managed to tackle the cliff face with just enough finesse to bring up a large fish to cook.

“Shit, it’s hot,” Taylor grumbled, very quickly realising that the water was very much the place to be.

Mrrrrp? Furball chirruped, and he sent out a small wave of snow. He bounced to the side and looked up at Taylor quizzically.

Taylor scooted over and sat in the newly frosted-over grass. “Thanks, little guy!” She pulled off a little piece of meat for him and tickled his back as he dug in. That little fox was totally unique, one of a kind. Had he ever had a family? Thinking about Estela and Aleister, about the families her friends had all lost, Taylor felt a bizarre loneliness. She could reach into her mind all she wanted, but there was nothing beyond sitting beside Diego on the plane. In fact, the more she tried, the less that came to her. Even knowing it was all fabricated, a lie, she wished the false memories of a childhood were still there. So she could at least pretend. Next to the lives of everyone she cared about, her existence seemed so… shallow… empty. You could scratch beneath her surface and you’d find nothing, no history at all.

“Something on your mind?”

Taylor jumped, looking behind her to see Estela hauling up the fruits of her efforts up onto the grassy outcrop. “God, you nearly made me jump outta my skin! You know you don’t have to sneak up behind me like a ninja, right?”

Estela crawled over, sitting down beside her wife with a little grin. “It’s fun making you squeal.”

“One of these days, I’m gonna get you so- “

“You can try, if you like. But you should know I don’t scare easily.”

“We’ll see…”

Brushing a wet strand of hair from Taylor’s face, Estela looked at her imploringly. “So, what has you so distracted? You looked… sad.”

Taylor shook her head. “It’s nothing. I…” And then she stopped. There was no point to hiding what she felt, not from Estela. “I’ve just been finding it harder and harder to recall anything I thought I knew before we came here. The fake memories Vaanu gave me. I know how crazy it sounds trying to hold onto something that was never really there, but… it’s all I’ve got.”

A thoughtful frown on Estela’s face, she considered Taylor quietly. “Maybe your true memories are taking their place, pushing them down. Is any of it left at all?”

“I can sort of recall things related to Diego. I guess those feel more real because he’s here, I’ve got something solid to build from. But anything else… no. It used to be like a blur, but now there’s nothing there. Blank. Of course, it was going to be like this- it’s not as if the memories I thought I had were ever real. I just feel hollow, like I’m missing something that should be there.”

Estela pulled her close, so they sat shoulder to shoulder. “I can’t imagine it,” she said softly.

Taylor winced. “This is going to sound insanely self-absorbed with, well, everything, but I wish I’d had a family. People to remember from my childhood. Hell, even to have had a childhood at all.”

“That’s not selfish. All those things; it’s part of being human. How could you not want that?” Estela gave a heavy sigh. “Memories, a past… family. Losing it all, it feels like you’re being ripped… torn to pieces. It’s the worst pain there is. But it hurts because what’s been taken away meant something. My mom, my tio… I would go through losing them again, over and over, if it meant we could have one more day together. Or an hour.” She leant her head against Taylor’s and closed her eyes. Hearing the gentle crashing of the waves, she could imagine they were sitting together on a San Trobidan beach. “I wish I could give you those memories… those hours.”

Grasping her lover’s hand tight, Taylor exhaled shakily. She slowly relaxed into a comfortable silence, closing her eyes to appreciate the feel of Estela next to her, giving unflinching support. Her stupid hurts and worries didn’t feel so shameful while she had that love surrounding her.

“Tell me,” Taylor whispered, after a long while. “Tell me about all the little things. The memories that make it worth the hurt.”

A small but warm smile came to Estela’s face. “For a long time I couldn’t look back. Looking back made me weak, and I couldn’t afford to be weak. Even when I was small, I couldn’t stand it. Mom wanted to protect me, and I never wanted her to feel like she’d failed. When I was eight, I broke my arm- or had it broken for me. Kids in San Trobida, they don’t know anything but fighting. That’s all we see all around us, on the news, it’s just normal… you learn to pull a punch young. It was after that, Tio Nicolas started to teach me to defend myself. I knew I would do whatever it took to follow after him; I was too young to understand, but I knew he was fighting so Mom didn’t have to worry anymore. When the riots kept me awake at night, I would crawl into bed with her. I wasn’t afraid… I didn’t know any different, but I knew she slept better if I was in her arms. I would go to sleep with her singing to me, stroking my hair, holding me like I was her whole world. I’d get up before sunrise, make her a coffee. Spill it everywhere ‘cause, you know, broken arm. And she didn’t care that I made a mess, she just knew I loved her.” Her voice became hushed. “I loved her so much, Taylor.”

“I know.” Taylor gently rubbed Estela’s arm, hoping that she could give even a little comfort. All she really knew of Olivia Montoya was from her virtual reality message, and from the haunting hotel room recording. “I- I wish I could have met her. She seemed so intelligent… brave.”

“She was. She was so determined. Whatever it took for her to get the future she wanted for us, she faced it. But she always found time for us. Just for us.”

“Like going on your lunch hikes?”

“Yes, like that. And when I was little, we used to walk along the beach and collect shells. We’d go swimming and look at the fishes; there would be tropical fishes in all colours. She showed me how to appreciate small things… beautiful things. Sometimes, it felt like the world was blowing up all around us; you need to find beauty in the little things when that’s your life. And she made it easy. Just being near her. She would sit and read on one side of the room, and I would sit on the other side. We didn’t have to say anything, I could just feel that she was there. After she was gone, I don’t remember being happy. Not until I met you.”

Taylor wrapped her arms around Estela’s waist and nuzzled her face against her neck. She suddenly started giggling.

“What’s the matter with you?”

“Estela, my love, my soulmate, my heart’s desire, my dearest friend, my starlight… you stink of fish. Like, bad.”

Estela laughed and put her hands to Taylor’s face, pulling her in. She caught her mouth in her own, kissing her fiercely. Taylor’s hands travelled up Estela’s back and into her hair, holding her close as she reciprocated, the momentum pushing them down into the grass. After a moment, they both doubled over, collapsing into giggles.

“You’re not smelling like a basket of flowers yourself.”

“How about we finish this once we’re cleaned up a bit?”

Propping herself back up, Estela gazed over her wife, her cheeks hot. “Promise?”

“Cross my heart.” Taylor looked into those dark eyes, which were brimming with warmth, and felt herself melt. A promise like that? Not even a question.

“I’ll give these to Raj,” Taylor said happily, swinging the bucket of fish. “We are gonna be his absolute favourite people. At least until everyone’s sick of seafood.”

Estela gave her a quick kiss. “I hope so. He’s been on my back about the knives disappearing from the kitchen.”

“Yeah… I’m pretty sure there was a note pinned to the drawer. Something about ‘these knives are for cutting food, not people’. You may have been mentioned by name. In bold block capitals.”

“That’s our next job, then. Make some practical weaponry. We should get a hold of some of that amber the Vaanti use.”

“Sounds good. The cutlery is spared, and you can put your dagger-envy to rest. Everyone’s happy.” Taylor gave Estela a playful shove and headed inside.

Estela made to follow, but her eye was caught by a movement from the side of the hotel. It was Aleister. Her walls leapt up, her gaze hardened, and she turned away.

“Wait! I wanted to…” Aleister faltered, singed by the hostility that radiated off her. “I have something for you.” He wished he’d thought to just give what he’d found to Taylor, who was rather less the human equivalent of a bomb that could go off at any moment. “You needn’t think of it as a gift or anything sentimental. But it belongs to you.”

He thrust his hand forward, ignoring the clear mistrust in Estela’s eyes. She took from him several crumpled photographs.

Estela’s mouth dropped open. Her eyes grew wide, then scrunched tight shut, wet with tears before she could properly comprehend what she held in her hand. She turned herself away from Aleister and messily wiped her eyes.

Mirroring her actions, Aleister awkwardly turned to the opposing side, completely at a loss for what to say. Dealing with emotions was not his strong point. Words of comfort, sympathy? Simply callous coming from him. “I, uh, that is my mother and I… and Grace… we found these in a hidden safe in the library,” he said finally, still avoiding eye contact.  “I had wondered… he said he’d truly loved your mother… perhaps something might have been kept.”

Her fingers running tenderly over a photograph; a small child, arm in a sling, walking hand in hand with her mother along a beach, a rough but almost pretty town in the backdrop, Estela could barely hear Aleister’s words.

“My mother,” he continued, “knew that he’d put away some items from her room. Obviously, somewhere private… hidden. It’s not much, but it seems he couldn’t bring himself to destroy everything.”

A flicker of rage licked through Estela’s heart, but it was extinguished by a bittersweet wave of aching sadness and love.

“It’s the fish… the smell; it’s making my eyes water,” Estela lied, sniffling still.

Aleister snickered appreciatively. “Given the sensitive nature of our exchange, I decided it best not to comment on the… aroma. I am glad that you are at least aware of it.”

“A small price for dinner. I hope you’re hungry.” Frowning, Estela looked down at the ground and then pointedly into Aleister’s face. Well, shit, better get this over with. “We almost died because of you. You were so stupid, so arrogant, you almost killed the only people who gave a damn about you- “

“-Can we not do this now?” Aleister scowled and rolled his eyes. It had been too much to expect to get through to someone so blinded by hate. Estela was just like their father… never satisfied… out of reach. It was small wonder he’d seen something in her that he never had in Aleister. “Is it really so difficult for you to let the past be the past for five minu-“

“No.” Estela’s gaze became steely, and Aleister was momentarily forced into silence. “No; listen.”

“To your well-prepared character assassination? I would rather not.”

“You put your trust in the wrong person. Even the best people…” she felt her voice waver as she thought of her mother, of Lila. “Even the best of us can trust the wrong person… the worst person. In the end… you made your choice. You saved us. He… he told you he could bring your mother back to life. You were an idiot to believe it but… I understand. You’re a better man than Rourke ever was. And I can’t keep holding a grudge against you. I don’t want to.”

Aleister’s face registered surprise, but he quickly collected himself. “Uh, thank you. I know how personal this has been to you; how personal it has always been. You and I have been at odds so much of the time… but I would not have wished my father upon you. I’m sorry.”

Estela winced, her face clouded over. Her eyes flickered back to the photo. To her mother. The last person she imagined would keep her in the dark. Tears rolled down her cheeks and once again she had to look away. She felt a hand placed awkwardly on her shoulder, then hastily removed.

“Ah, I…” Aleister stammered. Where was Grace when he needed her? She’d have wrapped Estela in a hug and been done with it. Certainly, she could have done so without the fear of having her lights punched out. But yet Estela didn’t bristle at the bumbling attempt at physical contact. If anything, she looked… amused. “Is something funny?”

“You’re about as good at opening up as I am,” Estela said, smirking through her tears.

“A side effect of a life shaped by a treacherous snake,” Aleister said with a wry smile. He paused for a moment, trying to read her. “We have a certain kinship. A regrettable one, I’ll admit, but… I’m grateful to have it. He was never much of a father… my mother died when I was small… it has been lonely, I’ll admit. Perhaps, in time…?”

Estela’s mouth was dry. “…maybe we could have a couple of drinks, stew over how he screwed us both over?”

“That sounds appropriate. I don’t expect you to ever see me as family… kin… but…” Unsure, he held out his hand.

“Friends I could do.” With a deep breath, Estela grasped Aleister’s outstretched hand firmly. “I’ll leave the hugging to Taylor, though.” She glanced down to the precious photos held tightly in her other hand. “And, uh, thanks. Thank you… more than I can say.”

He gave her a nod of understanding, and they parted ways. Her photographs clutched to her chest, Estela realised she was trembling.

“Hey?” called Taylor, walking over, her brow furrowed in concern. “Hey, is everything all right?” She put her arm around Estela’s shoulder and inhaled sharply as she saw what was in her hand. “Wait- are those?”

Estela wiped her eyes and nuzzled close to Taylor. “Everything is… good. Uh, better than… uh…” Another deep breath. “It’s family… family stuff.” She put a hand to Taylor’s cheek and almost laughed at the stunned look on her face. “Let’s go up to the room, okay? We’ll get cleaned up and… I’ve got some things to share with you.”

[jaybirdxarsenal]

Little White Lies (II) - (Jason Todd x Reader)

Part 1. Masterlist.

Words: 1.8k

Permanent tag: @fangirlnova, @jasonsredhoodie, @thelittlestsnart, @jaytemis-tbh, @nightravenxx , @tacticaldivine, @trashyemonerd

Story tag: @rnindexplosion, @justoneystrdy, @ravenfirenight, @nabilaqmr, @karismah, @sarcasmismyfirstlove, @catlya, @illeatyoursoulwithmustard 

(the ones that are cut I wasn’t allowed to tag)

Thank you so much for 2k followers! 

''Can I help you?'' He tried his best to find his words, and even though you weren't able to see it, he was shocked that you were standing in front of him. Since this morning when he bumped into you he couldn't stop thinking about how much he wanted to tell you how beautiful you look today, just like any other day.

''Sugar.'' The only thing that crossed your mind was how people ask their neighbors if they have sugar. The stupid cliche you always see in movies. People really ask their neighbors for sugar? It was stupid but you at least pulled out a word.

''I think I have some.'' He mumbled, trying his best to remember if he really has any and to also stay calm and act as normal as possible around you. He had no idea when he did the groceries the last time. Usually Alfred does them for him or one of his brothers comes with fast food.

You weren't that type of person who invades someone else's personal space, but this time you let yourself in in Jason's apartment when he left to the kitchen, even though he didn't invited you in. Still, he didn't protested when you followed him, he was actually more than happy to be that close to you, even for a little while.

''I'm sorry for the mess...I wasn't expecting anyone.'' It wasn't just a mess, it was like a tornado made it's way into Jason's apartmen. Bottles of alcohol, unfinished cigarettes, clothes all over the floor, dishes, food that was probably more than two weeks old. That's how much you affected Jason Todd. So much that he neglected everything, everything except for you.

He looked bad. Really bad. You never thought someone would love you that much to end up like this. You didn't just broke his heart when the ''accident'' happened and forgot who he was, you ruined him. It was like in the picture you were holding in your pocket it was a totally different person, it was nothing like the one standing in front of you. It was like Jason Todd died once again when your memory did.

''I swear I had some the last time I checked.'' He whispered looking through the stuffs he had on the top shelf.

''I...'' You tried to find your words while he wasn't looking at you. ''Jason...'' You almost whispered. It was such a weird feeling to say his name out loud, not only in your head. The whole day you thought about the name that belongs to the man you once loved, but now that you hear it it's more pleasant than thinking about it.

Your voice saying his name gave him goosebumps and he was terrified of turning around to face you,but he did it anyway. ''I'm not here for sugar.''

He looked at you confused. There were a lot of things going on in Jason's head at the time, and it might've crossed his mind that you are here because of him. That you remembered him and how much you love him, just like he loves you. But he left that corner of his mind because it was too bright for a lost and dark soul like his. He felt like he didn't deserved that much happiness.

''Then what are you here for? It's because of the music, isn't it?''

He was sure it was the music. He was aware that he sometimes listens to music really loud, but it was all with a purpose. Jason never understood before the accident, your weird passion for sad song. They made you feel better. After your accident Jason understood what was all that about. Listening to your favorite songs made him feel better and a little bit closer to you. Even though he was crying while listening to them, it felt like you were there to wipe away the tears.

He plays every song every night in the hope that you might remember one of them. That you might remember him. When he can't sleep because of the nightmares, he look through the window at the stars, his mind creating different scenarios where you and him are back together like you used to.

''Your music is very lovely, it doesn't bother me at all.'' You assured him. ''Maybe you could give me your playlist, if you want. I'd really enjoy to listen to them more often.''

Starting a conversation, that's good step. You thought.

His face brightened up and you could swear that for a second he smiled. It was like his smile wasn't even there but you it felt good and right knowing that even for a second you succeed to make him smile.

'Yes, sure! It would be my pleasure.'' He started to look for something then he continued. ''To be honest, when I saw you at my door the last thing I was really curious what brought you here. I still am.''

You removed the picture from your pocket trying to find the right words. But does the right words even exist? You've already been through the worst as a couple and anything you could say it would be nothing comparing to what happened to both of you. You have a broken memory and he has a broken heart, what a perfect match!

''I came for this.''

At first he didn't know what you were holding in your hand, but as he walked closer to you he remembered the entire day. He smiled, a sad smile that broke your heart. Damian told you about the accident and not even for a second you blamed it on Jason and you hate that he blames himself. He was as much of a victim as you were, only that his scars weren't visible as yours.

''Where do you have this?'' He took the picture from your hand, analyzing it. How happy you two were. He had a soft, almost hidden smile on his face.

''Damian. I'm his art teacher. He told me everything.''

''Oh...'' He sighed.

In that moment Jason was thinking only about how you find out about how he ruined your life. How he almost got you killed. Since then Jason cries more than he ever did in his entire life and he was trying his best not to cry in front of you right now. Even though his Red Hood persona and his though personality follows Jason everywhere, you were the first person to discover that Jason was more sensitive than he wants to show.

''It wasn't your fault, Jason.'' You never saw someone even in your life as confused as Jason. It was impossible not to notice the guilty in his eyes. ''Can we sit down?''

He immediately took all the clothes and the other things he had on the couch and threw them on the floor. You couldn't help but smile seeing how sloppy he acts around you, like he was a teenager having a crush on the popular girl at school. You were never the popular girl and it was weird how Jason made you feel more important than you really are.

''I don't know where to start.'' You sighed.

''Do...do you remember me?'' He asked even though he was terrified of the answer. ''I mean, do you remember anything about me? About us?''

''I...'' You didn't wanted to make him sad again, but it was the time to only be truthful and let the lies for others. ''I don't.'' It was impossible not to notice how his hopeful smile faded. ''But I want to.''

He raised his eyebrows, surprised.

''You do?''

''Yes. It's been awfully lonely for me all this time since I had the accident. I don't know what I even call it like that when it was anything but an accident. Anyway, I had so many questions but no one wanted to answer me. I don't remember much and even though my memories may never come back that doesn't mean we can't make new ones.''

''That sounds great. I bet you have a lot of questions.''

You giggled and nodded. ''Millions, actually.'' You rested your hand over his, squeezing it a little bit, thing that he probably didn't even felt. ''You know, I learned how to make this great Italian dish and if you want I can show it to you while we catch up on some things.''

That night you learned a lot of things about Jason and your relationship. You were more than grateful when Jason let you know that he can cook, because you weren't the best at it. You laughed together, talked about different things and topics like one of Jason's favorite, literature.

Your mind had no memory of this Jason Todd who spend his nights wondering in Gotham as a vigilante, but definitely your heart did. It was the best feeling in the world.

* A few years later*

‘‘That’s not true!’‘ The little girl protested, crossing her arms around her chest, thing that made her father laugh.

‘‘Yes,princess, it’s true. Your mother didn’t ate your brother. That’s just how babies are made. There is an egg and-’‘ Jason started his sentence but his daughter stopped him, pressing her little hand over his mouth.

‘‘Exactly, daddy! Listen to me, I saw her.’‘

‘‘You saw mommy eating your brother?’‘ Jason raised his eyebrow, asking himself how is that even possible for a child to have such a huge imagination while wondering what did his daughter really saw?

‘‘Yes.’‘ She looked so much like Jason. From her black hair and bright blue eyes to the attitude. In that moment she looked so serious, like no joke in this world could make her laugh, not even her favorite ones her father always tells her.

‘‘How come?’‘ It’s been a few years since you and Jason welcomed your daughter into this world, but Jason still can’t believe that he finally has his own family. He was always that type of person who cared about his family but you and his daughter with the little one who’s on the way, it was different. It’s like his own little paradise.

‘‘Well you said that there is an egg and mommy ate an egg. I saw her.’‘ 

‘‘Princess, that’s not how it works.’‘ He couldn’t help but laugh, while the little one asked herself what is so funny about what she said.

‘‘Yes, it does! Don’t be silly, daddy!’‘

Right on time, you came into the room to help your husband explain your daughter how all the baby thing actually works. 

‘‘Well, how about we ask mommy where babies come from? I bet she knows better than me and you.’‘ Jason proposed and the little girl nodded.

You joined Jason and your daughter on the small blanket she settled in the middle of the living room so she can play picnic with her toys. She prepared a cup of tea for you and another one for her and Jason, while waiting for an explanation.

‘‘I love you!’‘ Jason whispered in your ear, right before pressing a little kiss behind it.

‘‘I love you too!’‘

[fanaticwritings]

His Secret - CHAPTER 4

Sam Winchester x Reader [AU SERIES]

summary: Sam Winchester is the CEO of a branch of the billion dollar company Winchester Corp. The reader is a detective and also the love of his life. They think they live a happy life but there’s trouble in paradise. Y/N finds that her beloved wanders off somewhere at nights, when she sleeps. She obviously grows suspicious. What does he have to hide?

warnings: angst, questions are answered, also- more questions, fluff if you squint

word count: 1.8k

catch up here: chap. 1 | chap. 2 | chap. 3

A/N: This story gets me so excited! The build up is slow but I promise you’re going to love it. Do give this a read!

Y O U

“Where'd you get that from?” you asked Sam, as you lay under him, a tangle of limbs. You looked pointedly at a small scratch that ran up his forehead and disappeared into his hairline.

Sam studied you for a while, eyes searching your face, trailing down your nose and finally to your lips.

“I fell in the bathroom,” he said, smiling although he didn't look at you when he said that; eyes fixed on your lips instead. Strange, you thought but brushed the thought away as you let out a chuckle. If there was any lingering ghost of the thought, it was gone when Sam pressed his mouth to yours.

You weren't sure if you'd heard him correctly. Sam was still facing away from you, shoulders slumped.

“You what?” you murmured, voice a mere rasp.

He turned to look at you then, his multi-colored eyes looking grey in the dimly lit room.

“You heard me,” he said, clearing his throat and pursed his lips.

The words settled heavily in the air around you.

Out of all the possible explanations you had conjured up for his disappearance, this hadn't even remotely crossed your head.

A million questions pounded in your mind as you tried to wrap your mind around what he had just said. A killer? How? How did he have contacts? How far was he involved? How far had he gone? Was Sam in danger? What had he found out? This was supposed to be the answer that made you surer of the man you had fallen for and yet, you felt him slip away further. Did you know Sam at all? All those times he looked tired, battered and injured, he had been on his ‘hunt’. It wasn’t stress or a bathroom accident. Sam Winchester voluntarily risked his life, every night. This all seemed like a bizarre dream and you expected to wake up any moment now.

“How?” you whispered, flumping on the bed absentmindedly.

Sam looked at you quizzically. “Huh?”

“How could it be a murderer?” you said. You wanted to ask so much more, you didn't know how to digest this. But your detective mind was already grinding out theories, curiosity eating away at you.

Sam sat down in front of you.

“I shouldn't be telling this to you, Y/N,” he said, sighing deeply.

“No. You should tell me everything, Sam,” you countered.

“What are you scared of?”

“I'm scared for you, baby. I don’t- don’t want to lose you,” Sam said, looking at his hands. You noticed the sharp clench of his jaw. He was trying not to cry. You sighed softly. For a moment you forgot what he had just revealed. You knew Sam had abandonment issues because of his past and you hated how insecure it made him.

“You won’t lose me, Sam. But I need to know what’s going on with you. Don’t you think I deserve to know?” you asked, cupping his chin and making him look at you.

Sam was shaking a little, his forehead scrunched up and jaw clenching. Fear clouded his eyes.

“Sam,” you said a little boldly, this time. His name was a soft plea and you hoped it was assurance enough.

Sam shut his eyes and shook his head.

“I know I should have told you before. I am sorry I didn’t. But- but I thought I was doing it to protect you. But now that you know…,” he trailed off, looking up at you.

You moved to sit right next to him, hips touching. You took one of his hands into your own and gave it an assuring squeeze. “It’s okay. Tell me now. I’m right here.” It seemed to give him some confidence but it dissipated the next second.

He sighed again. Suddenly, he looked very jaded. Worn down. Broken.

“Everyone thinks that the fire was an accident. Even the police confirmed it, after looking into it for almost four months, that there was no evidence of arson or anything else. Dad..Dad couldn’t save Mom and... So the case was closed and we were sent off to Uncle Bobby.”

Your chest tightened. You had heard the story a million times but never from Sam, who was the heart of that very story. It hurt to see the sorrow dull his vibrant eyes; his shoulders sagged from the memory.

“I grew up thinking so too, until-” he inhaled sharply,”- until one day, Dean told me something that would haunt me forever.” His eyes clouded and looked distant as he was whisked into a memory in his head. 

“We were drunk. Well, Dean was, I had like one round. We were talking about the company and stuff when Dean suddenly became serious. He took my hand and clutched it tightly to his chest. ‘There was no accident, Sammy. Mom and Dad- they were murdered.’ He looked strange. Alien. It was eerie and I felt scared of him for a second. He looked dead serious too and he- he was trying not to cry. Y/N, I’ve never seen Dean look that afraid. He has been the stronger one and yet...I asked him how he knew, hoping it was just his trauma and alcohol speaking but- ‘When we ran out, Sammy… Do you remember dad pushing us out of the house? When we ran out, just outside the window, I saw a man. I almost yelled but I swear I saw him and he seemed to have caught me looking too because the son of a bitch ran, Sammy.’” Sam looked like there was more to say but he couldn’t. He was trembling a little. His grip on your hand was tight, knuckles almost pale and his face was devoid of color.

“Sam,” you whispered. You could almost picture a two-year old Sam running away from a blazing fire, being pulled by a six-year old Dean and their terror struck faces. You shuddered. You pulled Sam into you, hoping you could provide him some comfort because words seemed to be failing you at the moment. 

He stayed silent for a full minute before continuing.

“I didn’t want to believe Dean, Y/N. I really didn’t. My rationality told me that it was something his six- year old brain had made up to deal with the grief but he told me that it was something that stayed with him forever. He also told me that he went looking for the guy later, on his own. But nothing. The thought never left me, Y/N. I tried to bury it somewhere, hoping I could move on. We- we had healed. Dean and I. But this was a jarring reality, too probable. Anyone could’ve done it. Anyone.. who had a motive,” Sam said, straightening a little. The sadness never left him but his eyes danced with a new emotion. Anger.

He continued, not wanting to stop now. You wanted to say so much but the words caught in your throat. You didn’t want to interrupt him, either. He had to let it all out. Sam wasn’t exactly the one to open up easily.

“I didn’t think about it until recently,” Sam confided, finally glancing back at you. “Before we started dating. I trust Dean with my life, if he asked me to kill myself I’d do it without question. And I couldn’t shake the image of Dean from that night. The thought occupied my brain at all times until I finally asked Dean to describe the guy. So I thought, what the hell. Maybe with the latest tech, I’d have a chance to find him. He did warn me that it was fruitless now and it was better that I forget it. I said I’d try so he described him anyway. I asked around for help- small detectives, the underground network, anyone but the local cops. I didn’t trust them- and... I finally hit a match.”

Your heart thudded against your chest. He had found him? But then why was he still-

“He died on November 3rd, Y/N,” Sam said, darkly answering your unspoken question. Your stomach did a flip. Wait what?

“God. So that was a hit man?” you asked, realisation dawning on you.

Sam nodded gravely.

“The person who hired him probably got him finished off. To clear their tracks. Everything about him, was erased. No other information except his name and the date of death, whatsoever. All records- simply vanished,” Sam said, eyes blazing. “But that meant that it was true, everything Dean had said. Why else would there be no information about him? Why did he die the very next day? It was too big of a coincidence.”

You were shaking too, you realised but Sam was too lost in his thoughts to notice.

“The real murderer is possibly still at large, Y/N. The real truth is still hidden,” Sam snarled, his features rigid and mouth contorting into an agitated sneer. Each word held more weight than the last and Sam was being crushed underneath. You couldn’t in the slightest imagine what Sam was going through. He had grown up thinking that everything he loved was taken from him was because of an unfortunate accident. To have discovered that it was not the case, would’ve shaken him- destroyed him. Your throat burned, and felt scratchy. Sam hid so much behind that dazzling smile of his and you felt a surge of pride, love and respect for him. Tears welled up at the corner of your eyes, chest heaving.

You gazed at him. His tall, lean frame looked small, far too small. He looked frail, shaking and trembling as he wallowed in his past. You could almost see the burning house reflected in his subdued eyes and felt a sudden need to protect him. To bring him justice. 

Not because he was your lover, but because he was someone who had so much taken away from him for nothing.

“Sam,” you said again. It seemed that was all you could ever utter. You fumbled for words, yearning to comfort him. You gave his shoulder a tight squeeze instead and he leaned into you.

“I need to find them, Y/N,” Sam said, hoarsely. You nodded heavily, you could read him now. You didn’t- couldn’t know what he was feeling but you sympathised. You understood. He had gone through so much, all alone. His whole life had been flipped upside down. You searched his eyes- they were swirling with a thousand emotions but his hand never left yours. You decided then, that you were going to be there for him. You were going to be there when he needed his girlfriend, and also when he needed a detective. Every step of the way.

“You will find them, Sam. And I will help you.”

Please, please let me know what you thought of the chapter/ series! I love to know what goes through your mind when you’re reading, it’s what keeps me going! Leave a comment/ ask <33 Could really use it!

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[berensaats]

under the cut you will find 370+ otp tags. these were all taken from various song lyrics and quotes, except one or other i made up myself. they are unsorted, ranging from anything since skinny love to soulmates to friends with benefits to toxic relationships, exes, forbidden loves and so forth. tw: nsfw, mentions of battle and religious references. likes or reblogs are appreciated. hope you enjoy it!!

otp: you could be my cure 

otp: take away all my sin ; give me a sweet prayer on my lips

otp: i’ll make you feel like you’ve been blessed

otp: i found love where it wasn’t supposed to be

otp: i’ll use you as a warning sign that if you talk enough sense then you’ll lose your mind

otp: i’ll use you as a focal point so i don’t lose sigh of what i want

otp: i’ll use you as a makeshift gauge of how much to give and how much to take

otp: i’ve moved further than i thought i could but i’ve missed you more than i thought i would

otp: fear is the heart of love

otp: i will follow you into the dark

otp: you’re a king and i’m a lionheart

otp: though far away we’re still the same

otp: as the world comes to an end i’ll be here to hold your hand

otp: i find shelter in your arms

otp: your eyes look like coming home

otp: the unrelenting constancy of love and hope

otp: these violent delights have violent ends

otp: a love like this won’t last forever

otp: maybe it was just as simple as a change in your heart

otp: he can cut through these strings and open my wings

otp: this slope is treacherous ; i like it

otp: put your lips close to mine as long as they don’t touch

otp: i’d be smart to walk away but you’re quicksand

otp: too good to be good for me

otp: i’m wasted on you

otp: i’d kill for her ; i’d die for her

otp: two crowns and a gold cup

otp: if your heart is a dog fight then i’m ready to go to war

otp: your legs are the north star

otp: if you’re lost in this darkness i’ll carry your throne

otp: they try to break inside the walls with these lies but i’m pulling up the draw bridge

otp: we rose this love from the dirt

otp: no grave can hold my body down ; i’ll crawl home to her

otp: she’d give me toothaches just from kissing me

otp: i swear i thought i dreamed her

otp: she never asked once about the wrong i did

otp: my baby would never fret none about what my hands and my body done

otp: if the lord don’t forgive me i’d still have my baby and my baby would have me

otp: what a splendid mess

otp: maybe i just wanna be yours

otp: secrets i have held in my heart are harder to hide than i thought

otp: we’re so late nights

otp: i always push my luck when i’m with you

otp: faded every night ; dancing all night long

otp: the nights were mainly made for saying things that you can't say tomorrow day

otp: do i wanna know if this feeling flows both ways?

otp: been wondering if your heart’s still open and if so i wanna know what time it shuts

otp: maybe i’m too busy being yours to fall for somebody new

otp: have you no idea that you're in deep?

otp: she’s a silver lining climbing on my desire

otp: all i wanna hear her say is ‘’are you mine?’’

otp: are you mine tomorrow or just mine tonight?

otp: is it desire or is it love that i’m feeling for you?

otp: i want you to want me again

otp: you make my heart shake bend and break

otp: never knew loving could hurt this good

otp: you’re driving me wild

otp: kiss me on the mouth and set me free

otp: i can be the subject of your dreams

otp: don’t you wanna se a man up close?

otp: i’m pulling on your heart to push my lucj

otp: i still hide you in my poetry

otp: if it’s a 7 hour flight or a 45 minute drive

otp: when you look at me like that my darling what did you expect?

otp: i’d probably still adore you with your hands around my neck

otp: once again you had to greet me with goodbye

otp: i was sleeping in the garden when i saw you first

otp: bones of my bones and flesh of my flesh

otp: like the dawn you broke the dark

otp: you were the brightest shade of sun when i saw you

otp: like the dawn you woke the world inside me

otp: you will surely be the death of me but how could i have known?

otp: i can feel your pulse in the pages

otp: i have written you down now you will live forever

otp: i can’t say the words so i wrote you into my verse

otp: i had fallen in love with you before i knew

otp: my doubts fade when i’m kissing you

otp: everything has changed

otp: there are no boundaries or barriers if two people are destined to be together

otp: it’s you that i’ve been waiting to find

otp: can you show me how we can escape?

otp: i’ll recover if you keep my alive

otp: you make it shine

otp: every part of me you change

otp: just hold me together ; tell me you’ll always want me to stay

otp: wanna be the one you steal ; wanna be the one you shield

otp: i wanna be the one that your love can heal

otp: they are the hunters we are the foxes

otp: love’s a fragile little flame ; it could burn out

otp: i know places we won’t be found

otp: just grab my hand and don’t ever drop it

otp: tell me when you’re gonna let me in

otp: why don’t we go somewhere only we know?

otp: i should just tell you to leave because i know exactly where it leads

otp: could end in burning flames or paradise

otp: when we go crashing down we come back every time

otp: kissing feels like healing

otp: like gods at the dawning of the world

otp: i would know him in death ; at the end of the world

otp: their hands meet and light spills in a flood

otp: he is half of my soul like the poets say

otp: there was never once weakness in wanting another

otp: reason was always conquered by love

otp: if one must be pitied for loving you ; i will love you as much as i must and as much as i can

otp: your closeness pains me

otp: i simply see more in us than we both are.

otp: even when you’re next to me it’s not the way i’m picturing

otp: you wanna be friends forever ; i can think of something better

otp: at least i got you in my head

otp: i wanna ruin our friendship ; we should be lovers instead

otp: i don’t wanna be your friend ; i wanna kiss your neck

otp: you found the real me

otp: there’s millions of reasons to love you

otp: we don’t even need a title

otp: you don’t got to be mine ; just be mine for the night

otp: we just try to keep those secrets in a lie

otp: your eyes will lead me straight back home

otp: my friends won’t love me like you

otp: friends should sleep in other beds

otp: friends shouldn’t kiss me like you do

otp: these hands had to let it go free and this love came back to me

otp: you are the best thing that’s ever been mine

otp: you gave me roses and i left them there to die

otp: you gave me all your love and all i gave you was goodbye

otp: if we loved again i swear i’d love you right

otp: no place like home ; no place like her

otp: give a little time to me or burn this out

otp: we'll play hide and seek to turn this around

otp: all I want is the taste that your lips allow

otp: give me love like never before

otp: wonder what for ; why we keep coming back for more

otp: is the only reason why you’re holding me tonight ‘cause we’re scared to be lonely?

otp: we’re just reckless kids trying to find an island in the flood

otp: you can have the best of me

otp: give me your heart ; i’ll show you that love is always there

otp: if forever's gonna last then we'd better find the same direction

otp: i want you for so long ; tell me if it is so wrong

otp: trying to make it so clear ; hoping that we fall in love

otp: don’t give up on me when i stumble along

otp: remember my love for you won’t fade

otp: all your lights are red but I'm green to go

otp: i want you ; i’ll colour me blue

otp: only seeing myself when i’m looking up at you

otp: i know you’re seeing black and white so i’ll paint you a clear-blue sky

otp: without you i am colour-blind

otp: ain't nothing better worth imagining

otp: look for my heart ; you stole it away

otp: i want you to burn my bridges down

otp: i miss someone who isn’t mine to miss

otp: i dream about someone who isn’t mine to dream about

otp: i love someone who isn’t mine to love

otp: bring me some hope by wandering into my mind

otp: when it feels like i’m lost at sea you’re the song i sing

otp: you’re the anchor that i tie to my brain

otp: for your eyes only i will show my heart

otp: in a sea of lovers without ship and lovers without sight ; you’re the only way out

otp: i am an island ; you are the ocean

otp: i cannot have you without drowning

otp: i’m part of your world but i cannot have you

otp: i am deserted and you are too deep

otp: i cannot love you without losing me

otp: i will be your sword and shield ; your camouflage and you will be mine

otp: meet me on the battlefield

otp: everything could stay the same or we could change it all

otp: i met you in the dark ; you lit me up

otp: you made me feel as though i was enough

otp: i knew i loved you then but you’d never know

otp: just say you won’t let go 

otp: i bet you love me more after that first fuck

otp: i bet i love you more than i can say to you

otp: you’re my favorite kind of night

otp: used to be that i felt so damn empty ; ever since i met you no vacancy

otp: to commit our hearts to each other no matter what

otp: they say love is drowning and hell ; i’d let you drown me

otp: i fell in love tonight ; i didn’t mean to fall in love tonight

otp: if only i could hold you ; you’d keep my head from going under

otp: if we’re not meant for each other then why did we fall in love?

otp: you wish i was yours and i hope that you’re mine

otp: i tasted the divine and she left my lips dripping with love

otp: wanna show you how it feels to rock with something thrill

otp: let me show you what it’s like to fuck with something right

otp: stop messing with those boys ; get you a lady

otp: even when the world is against us i’ll keep you warm

otp: wanna keep you warm like you know you want to be kept

otp: the ghosts that we knew will flicker from view

otp: you saw no fault ; no cracks in my heart and you knelt beside my hope torn apart

otp: give me hope in the darkness that I will see the light

otp: i will hold on as long as you like ; just promise me we’ll be alright

otp: we'll share my all and our children come and they will hear me roar

otp: my soul will find you each time

otp: when you walked into the room it’s like the sun came out

otp: fires like this can tear the world apart

otp: i’d rather take a hit and fall than never fuck it up with you at all

otp: sparks in the dark gonna tear through my heart and start a fire

otp: baby can we burn it slow?

otp: there is no love without burning

otp: i am in love with everything that is unreachable: the stars; the moon and you

otp: untouchable ; burning brighter than the sun and when you're close I feel like coming undone

otp: you can tell them you are mine ; i’m sick of games

otp: take these walls and rip them down

otp: i'm not bullet proof when it comes to you

otp: i lay down this armor for you

otp: i’ll be your escape ; i’ll be your safe place

otp: all I gave you is gone ; tumbled like it was stone

otp: thought we built a dynasty that heaven couldn't shake

otp: we deserve a soft epilogue my love

otp: what can you steal from a thief? his heart

otp: she was my salvation ; i was her destruction

otp: come morning light you and i'll be safe and sound

otp: i will be your lover ; fighter

otp: i wanna fight for love

otp: i'm aiming high not to lose you

otp: your heart is afraid to want more

otp: i can't help but love you even though i try not to

otp: can’t help but want oceans to part

otp: i’m overcome in this war of hearts

otp: love like a lover ; shine in the dark

otp: i don't deserve your love but you give it to me anyway

otp: when I'm falling apart your arms are always open wide

otp: give me a reason to keep trying ; give me more than i could dream

otp: we should just kiss like real people do

otp: what did you bury before those hands pulled me from the earth?

otp: i will not ask you where you came from ; i will not ask and neither should you

otp: in search of silver linings we discovered gold

otp: we'll defy the rules until we die

otp: let's be sinners to be saints

otp: the world may disapprove but my world is only you

otp: if we're sinners then it feels like heaven to me

otp: how can you expect me not to eat when the forbidden fruit tastes so sweet?

otp: our hearts are too ruthless to break

otp: love ; i see it running through you

otp: fill up my old heart with new light

otp: loving in the moment is something luminous

otp: iscariot you fool

otp: i should’ve worshipped her sooner

otp: if the heavens ever did speak she's the last true mouthpiece

otp: i'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife

otp: offer me that deathless death and good god ; let me give you my life

otp: there is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin

otp: we were a fire with no smoke

otp: rags to riches but i'm addicted to being broken

otp: take my breath away ; you know i'm bound to choke

otp: when I close my eyes i still see your ghost

otp: distance makes the heart grow founder said by someone stronger than me

otp: let me take your heart love you in the dark no one has to see

otp: who wouldn't want it when he looks like that?

otp: if i try my hardest would you look my way?

otp: the only time i’d ever call you mine

otp: love is worship for which the heart needs no permission

otp: learn me hard ; learn me right

otp: love was kind for a time ; now it just aches and makes me blind

otp: you forgave and i won’t forget

otp: love will not break your heart but dismiss your fears

otp: lend me your hand and we'll conquer them all

otp: lend me your heart and I'll just let you fall

otp: where you invest your love you invest your life

otp: you heard my voice ; i came out of the woods by choice

otp: i will call you by name ; i will share your road

otp: wherever there is you i will be there too

otp: no matter where i sleep you are haunting me

otp: now your mess is mine

otp: my atlantis we fall

otp: we built it up to pull it down

otp: we might just end up crashing but I'm ready if it happens with you

otp: you're the only thing I know and I don't wanna let this go

otp: close to you i feel i'm at home

otp: we were built to last

otp: we could burn and crash ; we could take a chance

otp: like it’s our last dance

otp: he will never be satisfied ; i will never be satisfied

otp: it’s the feeling of freedom ; of seeing the light

otp: that doesn’t mean i want him any less

otp: at least i keep his eyes in my life

otp: look into your eyes and the sky’s the limit

otp: if it takes fighting a war for us to meet it will have been worth it

otp: i don’t know how to say now to this

otp: hold my hand and now you're not alone

otp: you paralyze me and i don't know why

otp: lovers and enemies then we're back to friends

otp: like a shadow and a dancer

otp: the summer thrill is gone but we've never been so in love

otp: i can taste it my heart breaking

otp: if i die may it be of love and if i love may it be you

otp: my soul is enclosed inside your skin

otp: i lack the air you're not breathing next to me

otp: i will love you thief even if you keep my soul

otp: i will love you thief even if you invade my dreams

otp: i only find you in my dreams and since you aren’t here i will try to keep sleeping

otp: you have won each battle but you have not won the war

otp: i know you have been through some tough times but please don’t push me away

otp: i’d give whatever it takes to have you near

otp: sent a picture to my mother ; told her you are the woman i’ve always wanted

otp: if your body was a book i’d read a thousand chapters

otp: even if it takes my whole life i will wait for you

otp: i know there is still love in your eyes and your glance says you’ll return

otp: if you leave there is nothing left

otp: all the water in the sea could not put out all the love you’ve given me

otp: i’ll leave the door on the latch if you ever come back

otp: it will be just like you were never gone

otp: your streets ; they agonize me

otp: you sleep in my sleep ; you cry in my tears

otp: there is your whisper in my thoughts

otp: how's this relationship of your and mine ; it doesn't have a face and yet it's so deep

otp: unless we share someone's pain we don't get separated from our own

otp: what's the world to do with the love of these two

otp: if you shoot it's a fight and if you wink it's love

otp: veni vidi amavi

otp: this red love ; this remorse of love

otp: my name is love ; your name is love

otp: should i change my name or should i hide yours?

otp: touch me with your body ; color me in your color

otp: my jewel and money is just you

otp: there is joy of love in the night and in everything you say

otp: the only thing i have in the world is your heart

otp: the heart flies ; it has got wings and attached to you

otp: here it's love and there it's fight

otp: this bed of yours and mine is a battlefield

otp: if you press the trigger i'll play kisses

otp: i've become lovely having read your name

otp: just for you i have gone mad

otp: like an expensive liquor and i've drunk it all in one gulp

otp: the shadows of your memories don't go away

otp: how do i end this distance?

otp: it's only this disease called love that is grown up

otp: once I'm lost in your talks i'd never want to come back to consciousness

otp: i've learnt to smile from you

otp: even on trying to remove ; your color doesn’t get off me

otp: i want to love in you and get lost in you only

otp: i want to hide you in my heart and not open it after that

otp: the one i have worshipped ; i’ve come face to face with her today

otp: with just the gaze of your eyes my heart has mended

otp: the story is only a tragedy if the god loves you back

otp: i wanted to tell him that i loved him but i was afraid that he would hear me

otp: you are my reality ; my most precious treasure

otp: you are the crown lying on my head

otp: luckily they don’t see how weak i become when i’m with you

otp: over the glowing hill we conquer

otp: we return to each other in waves ; this is how water loves

otp: let him be soft and let him be mine

otp: love is the only thing that turns this cage into a palace

otp: no one is chasing you but me

otp: i rub your tensed wrist like a pliant mouth ; i wait for spread fingers and a vulnerable palm

otp: these unarmored parts which are mine alone

otp: what are you more afraid of? that he gave you his heart or that you would gladly give him yours in return?

otp: just your heart in exchange for mine

otp: i didn’t know that i was starving until i tasted you

otp: in your eyes i see my bloodline

otp: you’re the rising sun ; you’re the setting sun

otp: i was with you before we were even born

otp: i have looked at you in millions of ways and i have loved you in each

otp: i will always love you ; i will always find you

otp: you are my fate this once and always

otp: hell is loving you in my sleep and waking up alone

otp: they know you walk like you’re a god ; they can’t believe i made you weak

otp: if it should be that i am hated for the simple sin of loving you then let me be despised

otp: take the mask off when you speak to me

otp: with his educated eyes and his head between my thighs

otp: i wanna sleep next to you but that's all I wanna do right now

otp: i wanna get close to you cause your hands and lips still know their way around

otp: the less time that I spend with you the less you need to heal

otp: you think my bruised knees are sorta pretty and i think your tired eyes are kinda nice

otp: it is never too late to begin our love again

otp: i tried to love you less ; i couldn’t

otp: i can’t go on if it’s not you

otp: even though I try so hard i can’t forget these feelings

otp: and i’ve been cold since you left

otp: despite everything it’s still you

otp: he was her warmth ; she was his peace

otp: we don’t have a lot but we’ve got each other

otp: please don’t be in love with someone else ; please don’t have somebody waiting on you

otp: this is me praying that this was the very first page ; not where the storyline ends

otp: what a lovely way to burn

otp: if i told you about the darkness inside of me would you still look at me like i’m the sun

otp: i’d be your shadow ; i’d walk with you

otp: in your breaths and in mine there is the same air

otp: as long as we’re together doesn’t matter where we go home

otp: i just wanted you to fuck me but then i got greedy and i wanted you to love me

otp: trying to make it work but man these times are hard

otp: even after all these years we just now got the feeling that we're meeting for the first time

otp: these times are hard they're making us crazy don't give up on me

otp: tried to break love to a science in an act of pure defiance i broke her heart

otp: you can break everything down to chemicals but you can't explain a love like ours

otp: there's no starting over without finding closure

otp: from what i've seen and i've heard when it comes to you there are no words

otp: see you in my mind then i open my mouth and it's silence

otp: there are no words you can understand ; only lovers can

otp: can't take the ache from heartbreak

otp: there's no fair in farewell

otp: if i could turn back time then i would rewrite those lines

otp: if i had to break the bank ; spend every penny on your dreams

otp: love ; like art

otp: you healed these scars over time embraced my soul you loved my mind

otp: you saw me cry say i'm still the soldier in your eyes

otp: it may not seem like very much but i'm yours

otp: you've fallen in love in the worst way and if you don't go now then you'll stay

otp: if you're looking for heaven it sure as hell ain't me

otp: how can i move on when i'm still in love with you?

otp: when a heart breaks it don't break even

otp: what am i gonna do when the best part of me was always you?

otp: kiss me with adventure until i forget my name

otp: true love ; hard to hide

otp: she found the colours to paint him where the world had left him gray

otp: she is electricity running to my soul

otp: the way you kiss me will work each time

otp: then we grew a little and romanticized the time i saw flowers in your hair

otp: i know i haven’t lost even though it’s too late to recover the heart you stole from me

[eccacia]

Favorite Snowbarry Fics

So I have a bit of free time before things get busy again, and being Snowbarry Trash™ I thought, What better way to spend it than rereading my favorite SB fics????? At first I compiled all the links in one place as a reference for myself, but what the heck, it won’t hurt to put these fics out there again and send the writers some love.

Before anything, a caveat: this is by no means a comprehensive list of all the best SB fics. There are a lot of other great fics out there. Also “favorite” here probably more accurately means “fics I reach for when I’m having a bad day,” lol. So to these writers here, THANK YOU. Your fics really get me going again. (And to other fanfic writers out there, keep writing! You’ll never know when a fic will make someone’s day a little better, as these did for me.)

The fics are below the cut, arranged alphabetically. I put in the summary and a brief gushing of what I liked about them. Happy reading, everyone! Don’t forget to give the ones you like some love!

& If It Never Ends then When Do We Start, by @ttinycourageous​

Far too soon, a common occurrence for them, their time together is up. Looking up at him Caitlin wonders how long they’ll be able to keep this going; Barry gone on a mission, she back to the lab ignoring Jay’s advances, both of them under the scrutiny of the agency they work for. How long before her heart gets broken?

“Can you keep a secret?” Barry asks.

[00Q au in which Barry's the spy, and Caitlin one of the scientists providing the gadgets. The two grow closer over the course of several months, mostly due to Barry's insistent inquiring after her real name.]

Spy AU? Secret Identities?? Forbidden Relationship?????? Uh, count me in. What really gets to me about this, though, is that unlike other spy AUs, the language isn’t punchy and action-packed; instead the story’s told with restraint, and the language pulses with quiet longing. Tension and suspense aren’t so much in the external circumstances as in the internal conflict, so the moment that they finally come together is the climax in both external and internal tension. It’s just brilliant. Also I live for coded affectionate exchanges, that whole saying one thing but meaning something else, and it was so well done in this fic.

at first sight, by @tinytendril

College Pride & Prejudice AU. Literature student Barry swears he hates everything about the privileged side of Central City, including one leggy, doe-eyed, bon-mot tossing, label-worshiping vortex of girly vapidness Caitlin Snow. Until, as these things go, he doesn’t, not even by a small measure, and not at all.

I’ve read this so many times I’ve lost count. But really, wow. Barry as Lizzy and Caitlin as Darcy just makes so much sense, and the rest of the cast were slotted so naturally into their P&P counterparts that I couldn’t imagine it any other way. The dialogue’s also very witty. I love how Caitlin calls Barry out for his pretentiousness. (The pretentiousness is so well-done, by the way. I mean, just look at the summary. It’s a mini-adventure into the dictionary.) I always get this sense of vindictive joy when Barry realizes that Caitlin can match him line for line. Ha, you show him, girl. Serves him right for underestimating you. Anywaaay, I could go on, but in short, I love this fic to bits.

Blind Date, by @chasingblue57​​

Iris just knows that Barry & her TA are perfect for each other, she just needs to get them in the same room [college au].

Iris as a matchmaker, Barry and Caitlin being set up on an awkward blind date, them talking about awkwardness during said blind date... It’s the most adorable thing, I tell you. Even if the same can be said of nearly all of Blue’s fics, this one’s close to my heart.

cold and paperskin, by @briarsrosie​

You're Killer Frost. Caitlin Snow is dead. You deserve to die, too. / Trigger warning.

This technically isn’t SB or even romance. It’s Snowbarisco friendship, and I’m glad it is. It’s also a great rendering of Caitlin’s disjointed, fractured consciousness following her rampage as Killer Frost, and the obsessive repetition of that “you-deserve-to-die” reveals the destructive quality of her guilt. But what really got me was the friendship. I mean, friendship’s usually light and fluffy, but their friendship here is tenacious and stubborn and hopeful, and it’s what saves Caitlin in the end. It’s so precious.

Could End in Burning Flames or Paradise, by NeoNails

Or 5 Times Caitlin Had Sex with Barry & the 1 Time It Meant Something. "She didn't know what series of events culminated in Barry's mood that night, but she did know it began with him pulling the bottle out of her hand and taking a long swig for himself."

This one needs little explanation. I don’t know about you, but one of the first things I did as a new SB fan was to look for good smut, and this one was the first one I came across. It definitely did not disappoint. It was written way back, but it remains my favorite smutty fic.

here is my heart (your love is everything i need), by @roastytoastyprincesss

AU: In a world where soulmates exist, when your first touch with them shall brand you for life, Barry Allen gets marked. By who he's not quite certain, but he's determined to find out. Caitlin Snow however, she knows... she's just not ready to deal with it's repercussions. Snowbarry.

The angst almost killed me in this one. It’s a masterful prolonging of a misunderstanding, with every opportunity to right it consistently thwarted; and when the truth is finally revealed, it’s in the worst circumstances possible. It’s what makes their reunion so cathartic, and their hot make-out scene towards the end so satisfying.

(i know that) we’re cool, by Lint​

She hasn't smiled much because there hasn't been anything worth smiling about. But all of a sudden some string bean of a police scientist wakes up from a lightning induced coma, and her facial muscles magically remember how?

Probably the first SB fluff I’ve read. Whenever I reread it my facial muscles still ache from smiling. Also, I’m pretty wordy as a writer, so it amazes me to see how much happens and how much is conveyed through short sentences and succinct dialogue.

If summer is for lovers then consider me in love, by gustin puckerman

When Barry finds out about the kiss.―Barry/Caitlin. Post 1x19 "Who is Harrison Wells". Oneshot.

This has the most adorable SB conversation ever. Barry and Caitlin tiptoe around the elephant in the room in the most endearing, awkward way, but what really gets to me is that behind the innocence of their words, their verbal dancing around each other feels like a strip tease, a slow revelation of the truth one line of dialogue at a time. It ends in the purest way possible, though: not with a kiss, because that would have been a decisive gesture, one that doesn’t quite fit with the atmosphere of the story, but with tentative hand-holding and a walk home. What’s not to love?

Knowing the Flows of Time, by @christinafalls

There is no greater pain than knowing. Barry travels back in time to save his mum, that single event is the catalyst that allows him to have a life with Caitlin he never expected he'd want. But could he truly fight destiny when he knows they were never meant to be?

I was an emotional wreck after reading this fic. I was in tears by the end. Everything hurt. I was in a daze for the rest of the day. This story, I remember thinking to myself then, is one that knows how to end. The storytelling was beautiful, with not one scene out of order. I still reread this from time to time just to marvel at how seamlessly everything unfolds.

Lifeguards’ Summer, by @destianac

This was going to be the longest summer of her life. First, she had to work instead of travelling with her best friend. Second, she was paired with that tall brown-haired guy and his cocky grin. Snowbarry AU one-shot. Summer Lovin' 16 - Day 2 - Lifeguards AU

My favorite SB summer read. Destiana pulls off a Barry with boyish charm, cocky and goofy at the same time. The dialogue is light and funny, and there’s a ton of fluff. Not just any fluff, too — it’s sexy fluff. Destiana practically invented that genre for SB. I read this on bad days to cheer up, and it always does the trick.

Swimming Lessons, by chasingblue57

The gang heads to the beach so Barry can teach Caitlin to swim, things get a bit handsy.

This is one of my favorite tropes of all time, and Blue just nails it. The moment when he first sees her in the bikini. The tickling. The not-so-accidental, lingering touches over bare skin. The “Don’t Worry, I Won’t Let You Drown” speech. The innocent flirting contrasted with the fact that they’re both half-naked and, well, wet. I grin like a fool every time I read this, especially when I reach the last line, because it recasts everything in a different light. Read it if you haven’t yet and you’ll see what I mean. It’s just delightful.

somebody sweet to talk to, by tinytendril

Isolated and jaded, executive assistant Caitlin finds an unexpected companion with a stranger, or her IT specialist, Barry. Except, they’ve only got a single phone line to connect them.

AUs are usually more difficult to ease into, but in this case I’m in awe of how I already have a feel of the setting and the characters from just the first paragraph. I also love how Caitlin and Barry’s relationship progresses through dialogue, how they initially get in touch because of professional necessity, and how that professional necessity soon (d)evolves into a sly ruse for another kind of necessity altogether. I’m a sucker for those things, and this one was beautifully done.

text me a heart attack, by @shyesplease​

Caitlin texts Barry because she needs a little bit of saving, but Barry might be the one having a heart attack.

One of the best things about reading drunk!Caitlin is watching how she (and the author) comes up with ways to reduce Barry into a flustered, tongue-tied mess, and in this fic it’s done so deliciously: drunk!Caitlin sends Barry a hot pic of herself that he receives during a nice, wholesome family dinner... and, well, you can read on to enjoy the hilarity that ensues. I also love the devious twist at the end, during the post-drunk!Caitlin conversation in the morning. Barry’s teasing her mercilessly, as expected, and Caitlin endures it... until she turns the entire conversation on its head with a single line, and then saunters away leaving Barry simultaneously confused and turned on in her wake. Poor Barry. Good thing there’s a sexting sequel...

Untitled, by @snow-bellarke-barry​ 

Barry sneaks into Caitlin’s house at night & asks for her help.

My favorite Caitlin-nurses-Barry-back-to-health fic. I just keep going back to the scene where Barry, after two days of being knocked out by an injury, finally wakes up to see Caitlin dozing off, and then he correctly surmises that she hardly slept for the entirety of those two days while keeping watch over him. It just seemed so Caitlin to worry to the point of forgetting to care for herself, but at the same time not exactly revealing or broadcasting the extent of her worry (except probably in the form of a warning, or in this case in eliciting a promise from Barry). And the scene at the end when they kiss after the culmination of all the anxiety was definitely a wonderful bonus.

wanna be around, girl, by tinytendril

1960s Snowbarry AU - Marrying into wealth isn’t Caitlin Snow’s idea. It takes an annulment and a pool boy with a smart mouth to break out of her perfectly colourless suburban lifestyle.

Oh my God, I live for this fic. I have a soft spot for heroines who go through their lives having everything externally but feeling a diffuse, unnameable restlessness inside, and then meeting someone who finally, really sees her behind all the glamor. I’d like to think it goes beyond just romance, this seeing; it’s like being acknowledged and respected and accepted as an individual... Or is that what romance is? Lol anyway, I love how the choice of setting further emphasizes the importance of appearances. It makes Caitlin’s developing relationship with Barry all the more deviant, and it becomes an important stepping-stone to her questioning of societal expectations and finally breaking free of them; it enables her to not only choose whom she wants to be with but also what she wants to do with her interests and talents. Other than that, I also love the progression of their relationship: how rigid their interactions first seem, marked by the obligatory proprieties; how they slowly shed those proprieties; and then how, during the climax, they just throw all caution to the wind. A really wonderful, engrossing read. I always feel so content after reading this.

Well, that’s it for now. I might add more in the future when I’ve read more fics or if I’ll suddenly remember one that I’ve missed. If you liked anything, don’t forget to let the writers know, or reblog with your comfort fics if you like :)

[saint-gallier]

Shopping to the end of the world

So today, after i rewatched all the Coco Peru's discount department stores videos (love me some Coco Peru), i decided to finally look for that Emmaüs store that opened recently. Emmaüs stores only open on wenesdays and saturdays and only afternoon, four hours. I am looking for a small piece of furniture to store my books, or my shoes, i'm not sure yet. Anyway, i doodled a little map so i can't get lost and guess what? I did and i had only 30 minutes left before it closed. I had no idea that before reaching it, i'd enter this area, which is actually the dead end road where the Emmaüs store is at the absolutely end of of the street - Emmaüs store was way further than i thought it was but in the end i got there for 15 minutes. It gave me more pain than satisfaction as after one minute i found the perfect little crappy shelf unit that would fit perfectly in my place. Sadly being by foot and obese makes you rethink twice before bearing such wood (no sexual connotation implied). So, i sighed after wandering through the paradise of shelf units, only to get out and really notice the street on the other side. Night had fallen. Earlier i could smell and watch the foggy presence that made the place look the end of the world. Over there, surrounded by its cloudy mist as if almost erased, the cathedral stood like a pencil drawn ghost, a queen of solitude in the city center, telling people to fuck off (that's my hope). Here, it felt like all these huge warehouses were standing alone, neighbours of noone despite being conjoined for some with another store but it truly looked like all these stores had been rejected by the rest of the city (world?) and landed here, on a platform which consists of this alternative street. Buses pass by but they are of no importance. Sure, there is this hypermarket Carrefour facing it with its huge parking place, with its lights but i felt somewhere else, i felt like on the seaside of things. I went to a huge place that sells stationery, educative books for children and creative arts (oh, the agony). And finally landed in la Caverne des particuliers, aka the cavern of details, I'm not sure if the name suits well in english but i swear in french, the name is a perfect match for what it is, because it truly is a cavern, almost a grotto. It's a deposit-sale warehouse that has no heat which is perfect to me. It is packed by everything you'd expect except there is this smell of old things, there is a creepy bearded guy drinking coffee that will start following you very closely and unless you don't do a strong look, he will continue tracing your steps (i had my earphones but gave him the "i'm sorry but what the hell are you doing?" look). There are tons of furniture, stationery, i-don't-care-toys, left-on-the-side-junk, the usual decorative candles, frames, whatever we see it everywhere we go crap. But there is that kind of grand-mother lost treasured furniture you know, there are fridges, mini-fridges, old delightful trunks, crappy... i mean creepy religious statues, old scarfs, hats, volkswagen bags, clothes, weird ornaments that all smell bad. There is literally this little cave filled with framed art, from bad paintings to amazing engraved reproductions that cost the skin of my ass. Surprisingly a lot of design seats, couches, shelf units, boxes and even plastic garbages. There is of course an area dedicated to old VCR and really, really old unknown vinyls. Oh the creepy guy again, oops gotta go. I ended buying a biography of Leonardo da Vinci, a pocket book that will introduce me to chinese art and a novel called 'Bech travels' written by someone named Updike and it didn't cost me three euros. I came home with ankles swollen and a hole on my right sock again. So in the end, i guess the little jingle of each Coco Peru's videos fit perfectly with my trip to... i don't know what this place was. But i will get my crappy shelf unit!

[aion-rsa]

Avengers: Endgame - Different Versions of Marvel Comics' Infinity Gauntlet Story

https://ift.tt/37j59uM

Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame are only two of the many different takes on Thanos' epic Infinity Gauntlet story.

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The culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has arrived with Avengers: Endgame, where the greatest Marvel superheroes tangle with Thanos the Mad Titan, following up on the events of Avengers: Infinity War. Since showing up at the end of the first Avengers movie, it’s been pretty apparent that Thanos would be scouring the cosmos for the Infinity Gems/Stones so as to do an adaptation of the hit early '90s miniseries Infinity Gauntlet.

The comic has become rather iconic in Marvel history and it made sense that they’d spend the better part of a decade building towards it. As we now know, they didn't take to the source material all that closely. Sure, there was no crushing on Death or appearances by Adam Warlock, but it very much drew from that well. It's to be expected. Infinity Gauntlet is a storyline that’s been retold, adapted, and twisted in all sorts of ways since first appearing nearly 30 years ago.

Here are all the different variations of Thanos and Adam's Excellent Adventure.

INFINITY GAUNTLET (1991)

We’re going full spoiler on this.

As a follow-up to the two-part story Thanos Quest, the Mad Titan Thanos has control of all six Infinity Gems and is essentially God. Mephisto hangs around to feed his ego, while naturally plotting to overthrow him. Thanos also has his so-called granddaughter Nebula hanging around, stuck in a catatonic zombie state because Thanos is a jerk. Since Thanos wants to win the love of Death herself, he uses the Gauntlet to wipe out half of the universe. 50% of all living things simply vanish, including a big chunk of the superheroes. Adam Warlock is reborn and goes to the remaining heroes, coming up with this awesome plan of going to Thanos’ space home and punching him in his stupid scrotum face. This is really a swerve because he plans to have them all killed off as a distraction so Silver Surfer can sneak by and steal the Gauntlet off Thanos’ hand.

Meanwhile, Thanos’ whims have caused Earth to drift away from the sun, making it colder and colder by the hour. Odin and all the other heavyweight god types on Earth are blocked off from interfering. As a way of making Death jealous, Thanos uses the Gauntlet to create a mate in Terraxia.

read more: The Weirdest Thanos Moments in Marvel History

Mephisto suggests that Thanos hold back against the heroes to impress Death, so he scales it back a lot, which gives the heroes a 1% chance. As hard as they try, they still lose horribly and are killed one-by-one by Thanos and Terraxia. After Captain America goes full-on badass and stares down Thanos, Silver Surfer flies in and misses his mark completely. About then, all the galactic heavy hitters – the tapestry of the universe itself – show up. Thanos goes back to full power and makes mincemeat of them all. He transforms himself into a form that’s one with the universe, which leaves his physical Gauntlet out in the open. Nebula takes it and steals the power, reverting everything to how it once was...except for the part where she still has all the power.

Thanos teams up with Warlock and a couple of the more powerful heroes, ultimately defeating Nebula when Warlock takes control of the Soul Gem and shorts it out a bit, causing Nebula to drop the Gauntlet. A fight breaks out and Warlock comes out wielding the Infinity Gauntlet, swearing to use it wisely. Thanos fakes his own death, but is later seen living a quiet life as a farmer.

So that’s Infinity Gauntlet Prime. Let’s see how other writers and mediums have messed around with the formula.

Read Infinity Gauntlet on Amazon

WHAT IF THANOS CHANGED GALACTUS INTO A HUMAN BEING? (1992)

What If #34 was a humor-based issue of the series and while most of it is painfully unfunny, the opening seven-page short story is humorous and even a little bit uplifting in its own weird way. No joke, this is actually my all-time favorite comic book story.

As Thanos fights the cosmic entities, he decides to get creative when dispatching Galactus. He transforms him into a human being and sends him down to Earth. Galactus awakens naked in a trailer park, forgetting who he is while being a 100% facsimile of Elvis Presley! A single mother named Gertrude takes him in and thinks he’s the real deal with amnesia. She explains everything about Elvis to him and while he still has no memory, he trusts her and decides that he is indeed the King. He swears to do good with this second chance by not getting involved with the pitfalls of fame, such as drugs.

read more: The 100 Best What If Moments in Marvel History

Also, the comic features the million dollar line, “Ma’am, the hunger gnaws.”

Galactus gets back into music, trying to stay on the down low, but soon people take notice and we’re about to get the second coming of Elvismania. Right as he’s about to see to the public, Galactus is confronted by Adam Warlock, now in possession of the Infinity Gauntlet. He wills Galactus his memory, but the Eater of Worlds doesn’t want to return. He’s found a better identity as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll and chooses to stay with Gertrude and her son, giving both Galactus and Elvis Presley’s legacy a second chance.

WHAT THE--?! #24 (1992)

Marvel’s lesser-known humor book from the early '90s once featured a Mad Magazine-style spoof of Infinity Gauntlet called “The Infinity Mitten.” Thermos and his advisor McFisto go on a double-date with Death and Taxes, but Thermos is disappointed that Death has no interest in him. Using the Mitten, he removes half of life in the universe...except on the first try he accidentally just removes everyone’s lower half. Earth’s heroes go after him, but brute force isn’t enough. After talking over various ideas to remove the Infinity Mitten, they go with challenging Thermos to strip poker. They all lose and die of embarrassment.

read more - Complete Guide to Marvel and MCU Easter Eggs in Avengers: Endgame

The cosmic beings show up to throwdown, but Thermos points out that he’s an atheist and they all vanish. Silver Surfer (or whatever his parody name is) starts whining about all the death he’s seen, causing Adam Warlox to finally snap at him for being such a downer. Warlox shoots him with a revolver, which Thermos steals and uses on Warlox and McFisto.

Thinking that killing off an entire universe of heroes and villains is enough, Thermos is shocked to see that Death is now dating Nintendo's Mario. Death explains that her new boyfriend is killing off the entire comics industry by himself!

WHAT IF THE SILVER SURFER POSSESSED THE INFINITY GAUNTLET? (1993)

I absolutely love this issue and would have liked a variation of this as the actual ending of Infinity Gauntlet instead of what we got. Surfer succeeds in snatching the Gauntlet from Thanos’ hands. First thing he does is set everything back to normal. Then he sends everyone back home except Warlock and Thanos, who he keeps as advisors...but really as witnesses as he makes the universe a better place. He starts off with the well-meaning moves you’d expect. He eliminates disease, hunger, soothes hatred (a Kree and a Skrull are shown greeting each other happily), and even makes Death into a more alluring figure instead of something to be feared. Then he goes to Hell to see if Mephisto would be cool being remade into something a bit more pleasant, but Mephisto instead starts a fight. Surfer vaporizes him and goes back to his home to think about stuff.

read more - Avengers: Endgame Ending Explained

Warlock and Thanos go to Doctor Strange because, boy howdy, Surfer’s going nuts with all that power. Strange figures the best way about this is to summon Surfer’s old flame Shalla-Bal to talk some sense into him, especially since Surfer’s thinking of removing randomness completely and giving the universe complete order. Arguments and fighting happen, but seeing Shalla-Bal so hurt brings Surfer back to sanity. He uses the Infinity Gauntlet’s power to destroy itself – and seemingly he and Shalla-Bal with it – but we discover that the two of them are secretly alone on a paradise planet of their creation to live the rest of their lives in secret.

As everything returns to normal, Thanos stands alone, holding up the scrapped remains of the Gauntlet. With a smirk, he says, “So close. Oh, yes... So very close.”

MARVEL SUPER HEROES (1995)

In a follow-up to X-Men: Children of the Atom, Capcom released a one-on-one fighting game called Marvel Super Heroes, which is loosely based on Infinity Gauntlet. In it, you control a hero or villain as you gather the Infinity Gems from your opponents, working your way to fighting Dr. Doom and then Thanos. Upon meeting him, Thanos will steal your Gems and complete the Infinity Gauntlet before the final battle. While there isn’t much story in the game, it definitely stays loyal to the comic in ways. For instance, Thanos’ battleground is his base from Infinity Gauntlet, where you can see the likes of Thor, Nova, Drax, Scarlet Witch, and She-Hulk frozen in stone as Mephisto and Death idle in the background.

read more: The Legacy of Marvel vs. Capcom

The game is kicking rad if you haven’t played it, letting you unleash the power of the various Gems in battle, each giving you a different ability. The console version includes playable versions of the bosses, as well as Anita, the emotionless little girl from Capcom’s Darkstalkers series.

Here are the various endings based on the different characters defeating Thanos:

Anita: Simply uses the Gems to free the heroes from their statue forms. Nothing else.

Blackheart: Is asked to hand it over from his father Mephisto, but Blackheart turns on him and chooses to rule reality.

Captain America: Reverts the heroes to normal. Then pals around with Thor and throws the Infinity Gems into a black hole so nobody can use them.

Dr. Doom: Bitches out Thanos and rules the Earth with the Infinity Gauntlet. Yeah, they don’t get very fancy with this one.

Hulk: Reverts the heroes to normal. Thanos wants to die, but Hulk leaves him begging. Hulk goes on a second honeymoon to Vegas with Betty, but he chooses to get there by leaping with Betty holding on for dear life.

Iron Man: Reverts the heroes to normal. Considers using the Gauntlet, but then refuses. Later, he’s bummed to discover that his nervous system problems are gone. He selfishly used the power after all. Cap tells him not to worry about it.

Juggernaut: Is ready to grab the Infinity Gauntlet and get his vengeance on Xavier. Suddenly, Adam Warlock pops in to take it away, thanking Juggernaut for saving reality and then sending him back to Earth. I hate Adam Warlock.

Magneto: Creates a second moon around Earth and makes it a permanent home for mutants, finally separating himself from the humans. He is the eternal ruler of New Avalon.

Psylocke: Reverts the heroes to normal. She returns to the mansion, thinking about how she has experienced being molded to the will of others before and would never, ever do that to another person.

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Shuma-Gorath: Absorbs the power of the Infinity Gems and grows in size, allowing it to feast upon reality itself.

Spider-Man: Reverts the heroes to normal. Goes home to Mary Jane to find out that he’s going to be a father. This is a lot less uplifting when you remember that this game was released during Clone Saga. Ugh.

Thanos: Has two separate endings. Either he chooses to become one with the cosmos as the true ruler of the universe, or he gives up the power and lives on as a farmer.

Wolverine: Reverts the heroes to normal. He realizes that he could use the power to find out about his past, but refuses. Instead, he leaves the X-Men to find the answers himself.

Thanos would return in Marvel vs. Capcom 2, still with the Infinity Gauntlet, but the game lacks anything resembling a coherent storyline. Then in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, the Gauntlet is treated as a red herring as Thanos is more interested in fashioning Ryu's dark energies into a Satsui No Hado Gauntlet so he can kill (or at least hurt) Death.

MARVEL SUPER HEROES: WAR OF THE GEMS (1996)

You would think that this would just be a lesser incarnation of the one-on-one fighter I just talked about, but no. This Capcom release is more of a sequel to the side-scroller beat ‘em up X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse. In it, you play through with your choice of Hulk, Captain America, Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Iron Man. Coincidentally, Iron Man’s select portrait is just a picture of his sprite from the arcade game. Go figure.

The game is one big mishmash of both Infinity Gauntlet and Infinity War, which makes sense, considering Infinity Gauntlet wasn’t really filled to the brim with villains to fight. Here, you get to fight evil doppelganger clones of various heroes, like Hawkeye, Vision, Sasquatch, Iron Man, etc. At first you search for the various Infinity Gems, trying to stop the likes of Magus and Dr. Doom from getting their hands on them, but Thanos gets the last one. After going through Nebula, you face Thanos and...well, it doesn’t really have the same dire sense of danger when he isn’t at full godhood. At least in the arcade game, he’s got all six Gems. Here, he has one against your five. That’s hardly impressive.

read more - Who is in that Important Avengers: Endgame Spoiler Scene?

I guess Thanos has the Reality Gem because literally all he does is cause fire to burst from the ground and summon a closing stone wall. That’s it. He’s slow as molasses and his death throes feel like they take an hour.

Afterwards, Adam Warlock takes all the Gems for himself and sends everyone home. Feeling the need to give this epilogue some filler, they ask if Earth will ever truly be safe. When all your enemies move like snails, Earth isn't in that much danger, I suppose.

WHAT IF THE IMPOSSIBLE MAN OBTAINED THE INFINITY GAUNTLET? (1998)

So you know that part where Silver Surfer tries to swipe Thanos’ Gauntlet? It almost works in the sense that he removes the glove, but he fumbles and drops it. It’s then grabbed by none other than the annoying shape-shifter of the cosmos, the Impossible Man! Although Thanos is no threat to him, he does basically pee himself once all the cosmic beings show up. He escapes with Surfer and points out that he’s totally capable of handling the burden of wielding the Infinity Gauntlet. To prove his point, he brings Surfer to Zenn-La, his lost home planet. He’s reunited with Shalla-Bal and all should be good, but Surfer can’t help but feel that things aren’t quite right.

He’s summoned by Galactus because although Impossible Man’s claimed to be about using the Gauntlet justly, he’s in the middle of exacting revenge on Galactus for eating his home world of Poppup way back when. Surfer fights him and loses, but convinces him to do the right thing by pointing out that he can just rebuild Poppup and return all its people. Galactus agrees to help, but due to plot device BS, Poppup can only be created at the expense of the fake Zenn-La. Surfer ultimately goes along with it because while he can never accept his fake world as real, Impossible Man is too oblivious and simple-minded to really question his.

read more: What's Next for the MCU in Marvel Phase 4?

Poppup is reborn, the Poppupian race is reborn, and Impossible Man gives up his power to the Elders of the Universe. Everything seems fine, but then Surfer realizes that the Poppupians are all purple and green versions of heroes and villains, fighting it out like a bunch of goofs. He looks on in horror while a purple and green Forbush Man waves at the reader from behind his back.

WHAT IF: NEWER FANTASTIC FOUR (2009)

A little backstory on this one. Jeff Parker and Mike Wieringo were working on a What If issue about the New Fantastic Four (Spider-Man, Hulk, Wolverine, and Ghost Rider) remaining as a team. Unfortunately, Wieringo passed away during the making of it, so they had various artists finish the book in his place as a tribute. Even if it wasn’t such a heartwarming sentiment, What If This was the Fantastic Four? is an excellent comic to read.

This is the sequel, which asks what would happen if Infinity Gauntlet happened in a timeline with the New Fantastic Four, except that Ghost Rider is wiped out of existence from Thanos’ power and is replaced by Iron Man. Their first meeting with Thanos doesn’t go so well, since Hulk’s attempt to intimidate him with how strong he is in relation to his anger causes Thanos to wipe out a chunk of the Milky Way and state, “And I’m not even angry.” The omnipotent Thanos also separates Hulk and Banner out of curiosity and his desire to show off. During all of this, Wolverine notices how Mephisto is able to steer Thanos around with his words.

Like in regular continuity, Adam Warlock brings up his awesome plan of, “Do what I say and don’t ask questions so you don't know that I’m using your horrible deaths as a diversion,” but this time it doesn’t fly. As Stark puts it, “I don’t [know what I’m doing], but I don’t think he does either.” When they go at Thanos, Wolverine is the only one with a plan. He chooses not to fight Thanos and instead badmouths his partners while talking Thanos into thinking that Mephisto is trying to horn in on Death. Thanos buys this lie and vaporizes Mephisto. Wolverine worms his way into position as Thanos’ new right-hand man and explains to the other Fantastic Four members that he hopes that Thanos will reward his loyalty by forcing Jean Grey to love him.

read more - What is the Sound in the Avengers: Endgame Credits?

Thanos continues to effortlessly defeat all challengers, even when Iron Man creates a suit of armor out of a fallen Celestial. Wolverine talks up how Thanos hasn’t even physically touched Death and that love is all about contact. Thanos gets all flustered because it isn’t proper, but Wolverine eggs him on to just touch her face. As the nervous Thanos reaches out to do so, Wolverine chops his arm off with a smiling, “Sucker!” and has successfully cut off his source of power.

Hulk punches Thanos out, Spider-Man uses the Gauntlet to put everything back the way it was, the Gauntlet is given to the Watchers to guard, and Bruce Banner becomes an honorary Watcher. Free from being one with the Hulk, he lives in the Watchers' citadel for the rest of his life, practically bathing in the vast knowledge available to him.

Too bad they didn’t keep going with What If: New Fantastic Four stories. They were only two issues, but they were a lot of fun.

WHAT IF: SECRET WARS (2009)

This one only sort of counts. Thanos only gets one mention, but the story is more of an alternate history companion piece that makes a couple parallel references to the original story. In Secret Wars, Dr. Doom was able to siphon off the powers of Galactus and the Beyonder, making him nigh-omnipotent. In this reality, he keeps the power and fully defeats the heroes. He easily conquers Earth, all while leaving all the heroes alive and using his power to make sure Sue Storm’s pregnancy (which resulted in a miscarriage in regular continuity) is a healthy one. He leaves the world a utopia and flies into space. The thing to take away from this story is that at his heart, Dr. Doom is not a ruler, but a conqueror. That’s why he’s ruled the world no less than three times in regular continuity and always left it behind for the sake of struggle.

His attempt to take over various alien empires is met with resistance, so he wipes out all who oppose him. Then he seeks out even more power by slaying the Elders of the Universe and stealing the Infinity Gems. With the Soul Gem, he enters Hell, frees his mother, and kills Mephisto (which he says would only be temporary, since he’s the Devil and all). Next on the agenda is taking out the only beings higher than him on the food chain: the Celestials. The fight lasts 407 years (!) and in the end, Doom is supreme, albeit with the Infinity Gems destroyed.

During the battle, a shockwave knocked Earth out of orbit, much like in Infinity Gauntlet. Doom sees that life will eventually come to an end. Without a second thought, he uses the remainder of his cosmic power to set the Earth back in place and save the planet. The final scene shows, fittingly enough, that he’s become a farmer, freely appearing with no faceplate. He no longer feels ashamed of his scars and plans to rebuild his rule from the ground up, fully understanding the true potential of mankind.

Personally one of my favorite Dr. Doom stories.

SUPER HERO SQUAD SHOW SEASON 2 (2010)

The wacky cartoon series based on the toys with the creepy smiles is a fun enough diversion. The second season of the show is all about the Infinity Gauntlet with the first half of it being based on Thanos’ quest to get all the Gems. Thanos is voiced by Jim Cummings, meaning he sounds like pretty much every Jim Cummings voice you’ve ever heard. Interesting thing here is that Thanos has Nebula captive and he refers to her as his sister. So if you’re keeping score, she’s his granddaughter in the comics, daughter in the movies, and sister in the cartoon.

The whole Death concept is forgotten about here and Thanos is purely out for galactic power for the sake of being an evil overlord with galactic power. In the episode “Fate of Destiny,” he gets the full set of Gems and the Super Hero Squad goes on the attack. They are soundly defeated (mostly thanks to Thanos’ reality-warping catchphrase, “DO OVER!”), as are Dr. Doom and his underlings. Thanos is then challenged by the Silver Surfer, who is wielding the Infinity Sword, the ultimate weapon of the first season’s finale. Thanos challenges him to a winner-take-all fight, which Surfer accepts. When they shake on it, Surfer pulls off Thanos’ glove.

Unfortunately, the Infinity Sword has been slowly corrupting Surfer over time, so having the Infinity Sword AND the Infinity Gauntlet drives him over the edge. He sends his former teammates spiraling through the multiverse, giving us children’s cartoon adaptations of 1602 and Planet Hulk. Also, he knocks Earth out of orbit, making it increasingly cold. For the remainder of the series, he’s the main villain.

In the finale, “The Final Battle! (‘Nuff Said!)” The Dark Surfer is challenged by the team of Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, Hulk, Wolverine, Falcon, and Thor. Surfer chooses to split himself into six beings for his own amusement. Each Surfer is powered by a separate Gem, but the heroes have figured that each one is capable of countering a specific Surfer based on their own abilities/personalities. For instance, the Mind Gem has little effect on Hulk and Wolverine’s surliness is able to overpower the Soul Gem. With the help of Ronan the Accuser, they defeat Silver Surfer and get all the Gems together.

It’s not over until they find where he hid the Infinity Sword, leading to a final battle between Iron Man and Dr. Doom, where they accidentally destroy both the Sword and the Gems. The resulting explosion fixes the universe, including Earth, and all is well. Surfer’s back to his senses and willingly accepts his Kree imprisonment. No longer able to get his revenge on the Surfer, Thanos decides to go hang out at a chicken farm instead. Cute.

SUPER HERO SQUAD: INFINITY GAUNTLET (2010)

Around the time of the second season’s debut, they released a video game tie-in where you go around fighting enemies with two heroes at a time. In the story, Iron Man and Hulk are picking up some new boots for Thor’s birthday. The boots get mixed up with Thanos’ Infinity Gauntlet and wackiness ensues. Eventually, Thanos gets all the Gems. The duo of Iron Man and Scarlet Witch are able to defeat him, but then Silver Surfer swoops in to steal the Infinity Gauntlet. Corrupted by its power immediately, he does away with Galactus and, like in the cartoon, splits into six versions of himself. While Spider-Man sits this one out, the other twelve heroes pair up and fight the various Surfers one-by-one.

Once defeated, Surfer comes to his senses. He and Iron Man throw the Infinity Gems and Infinity Sword into a rift in reality, taking care of that problem. Meanwhile, all the villains are busy fighting each other. Iron Man figures to just let that sort itself out. The heroes celebrate Thor’s birthday, but it turns out his boots have been enchanted by Loki to make Thor dance for an eternity. Iron Man and Hulk search for the receipt so they can return it.

AVENGERS AND THE INFINITY GAUNTLET (2010)

This out-of-continuity story is a reimagining of Infinity Gauntlet as an all-ages comedy book. With the ultimate power of the Gauntlet, Thanos wipes out half of life in the universe for the sake of seeing chaos reign and the survivors destroy each other. The remaining heroes only know the where of the threat’s source and not the who or what. Sue Storm puts together a team of Ms. Marvel, Hulk, Wolverine, and Spider-Man. Dr. Doom bursts into the room and after a fight where he takes down everyone on his own, Doom offers to join the team. Their transport is US-Ace, the star of the forgotten 80s comic US-1.

The real treasure of this miniseries is watching Dr. Doom interact with the uncouth US-Ace. Especially when they visit the space trucker’s parents, who run a space diner. Ace’s mother bullies Doom into making everyone sandwiches, which is amazing.

Once they come across Thanos near the end of the third issue, they all get thrashed. He’s only stopped thanks to US-Ace driving his space truck into him thanks to his truckopathic link (Doom grumbles, “Oh Lord, he has a name for it...”). The act knocks off the Gauntlet and while Doom eventually gets his hands on it, it doesn’t work. Turns out he’s a perfect Doombot created by Doom to be released into the world if he were to ever go missing for whatever reason, such as, say, half of the universe's population magically vanishing into thin air. Spider-Man stops Thanos from getting the Gauntlet back on his hand and then uses its power to wish for a universe where Thanos never had the Gems in the first place.

Spider-Man ends up back on Earth where he’s the only one who remembers the entire adventure. He isn’t too broken up about it, but he wishes someone else out there would remember what he did. Elsewhere, Thanos plots his eventual revenge by sketching Spider-Man’s head into the ground, then adding an X over it.

I’m just bummed that despite having a million characters in Avengers: Infinity War, we don’t get to hear Dr. Doom sarcastically respond to US-Ace with, “What a colorful turn of phrase. Perhaps you will regale us with more of them over a ‘mess of biscuits’ later.”

Read Avengers and the Infinity Gauntlet on Amazon

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE: SEASON TWO (2015)

Ugh. So, once upon a time, there was this badass Avengers cartoon that people really liked. Then they canceled it and replaced it with Avengers Assemble, which I guess is still a thing. Anyway, much like Super Hero Squad Show, the second season is about Thanos and his quest to acquire the Infinity Gauntlet. By the halfway point, he has it and he loses in an incredibly embarrassing way.

Iron Man has Arsenal, a robot built by his father that can absorb energies and is programmed to protect Tony at all costs. After Thanos imprisons the Avengers with magic rock hands from the ground, Arsenal just walks towards him. Thanos -- with control over time and space and so on -- shoots lasers at him. Iron Man explains that Arsenal is able to absorb such a thing. Knowing this, Thanos' strategy is to SHOOT LASERS HARDER because holy shit. Arsenal yoinks the Gauntlet off Thanos' hand, freeing up the Avengers to beat Thanos into mush.

Then Arsenal becomes Ultron because reasons.

Oh yeah, there was a digital pinball game based on Infinity Gauntlet too, but I have no idea how to even write that up. I watched footage of people playing it and couldn’t make heads or tails of what the hell is even going on.

Gavin Jasper writes for Den of Geek and will never not love that Impossible Man/Roddy Piper panel. Read his other articles here and follow him on Twitter @Gavin4L

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Gavin Jasper

Nov 18, 2019

Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Infinity War

Marvel

Infinity Gauntlet

Thanos

from Books https://ift.tt/2QwBubx

[ecotone99]

[FN] The End is The End is The End

The man’s eyes peeled open like a crusty scab. “I cannot wait to show you around,” hissed the mushroom speckled serpent, “there are so many fun things that you can now achieve.” It slithered over to the corner of the room and began to stir a vile of a strange, emerald-colored liquid. The creature bore a worrisome grin, that never quite left its wide set jaws.

“What is that ringing sound?” questioned the young man laying on the floor.

“To be foolish once is to live as a fool,” preached the serpent as it handed the vile off to the man, “but to regress is to please.”

“What do I do with this?”

“You are useless!”, exclaimed the reddish creature, “Obviously you are expected to drink from it!” It saw worry growing on the man’s young face and explained, “Now, now, I didn’t mean that… just trust me, this is paradise after all.” The serpent beamed a hideous, black-toothed grin.

“But I don’t know what’s in there. It could be dangerous.”

The creature let out a slimy cackle as it said, “I don’t think you need to worry much about that dear boy. Just drink, and you will feel a freedom never felt before.”

The man began to question where he was. He examined the small, dimly lit room that he had woken in. He observed the way the walls and floor shifted around him, almost as if he were in water, except the rhythm was one he had never experienced before. He peered out through the windows, but all he saw was infinity.

He was combing through his mind, attempting to pull any memory that explained his situation, when the floor dropped out from beneath him. However, he wasn’t falling. The man sat still as the environment changed around him. He watched the tiny shack he had just sat in, plunge off into the sun. Yet the sun was not actually the sun. The more he began to perceive things, the more they changed. The sun became an eyeball, unblinking and unmoving. Covered in a spectrum of colors from a dingy green to an inky red. The ground beneath him approached as a hollowed out sphere, floating in from a greater plain of existence.

As the man turned to look behind him, an immense, lightning-white flash dazzled him, and a blistering horn began to sound off in the distance. Before he could question any of this however, a divine figure who stood three cubits tall, greeted him. Despite his stature, his wise voice echoed throughout eternity as he spoke. “Young man, how have you arrived at an existence such as this? You could not be more than twenty years old, am I correct in that assumption?”

“Yes, that is true. What is thi-”

“It’s all so very regretful,” the cherub said with a mournful scowl on his face. “But it’s okay boy, none of this lasts very long anyway. Just accept the fate you were given, and ask for the hand of the lord.” “But sir, what is this place? How did I get here?” “Nonsense. Don’t bog yourself down with these sorts of quandaries lad… these are God’s ten holy minutes. His little gift to you. Just enjoy it while it lasts, and await his arrival.”

The man had not even turned his head away, and yet somehow the heavenly figure before him was replaced with a potted rose bush. He attempted to rise, in order to investigate the flower, but he soon discovered that his legs beneath him did not work. There was an immovable force that had cemented him to the ground where he lay.

A car passed by.

By the time the man had decided to quit his useless attempts at movement, the rose bush had grown one hundred feet tall. From each enormous, earth-toned limb hung a lantern of fire. At once all the lanterns dropped and exploded into a fiery rage, dancing along the infinite earth. The bush began to descend as the fire pulled ever more tightly together, in a ballet of flames.

Words didn’t seem necessary in a place like this. The fire had finally begun to cling to the shrub, just as it sunk to the ground. Each glorious, marooned petal, floated softly to the earth as the inferno claimed its victim. All this fire and yet, the bush remained intact; petal-less yes, but still intact indeed. The motionless man marvelled over the smoldering conflagration before him. What was all this for? How did he get here? How does one escape this perpetual fantasy?

He was not truly dreaming, was he? He could not move, for his legs were inanimate. He could not think, for the answers were non-existent. He could not speak, for every time his mouth had opened, the noises that followed were not his own. What was he to do?

A willowy man of mortal descent, who wore a long snowy beard, drew near. His silky facial hair hung all the way between his legs, and his skull was shaped like an oblong melon. He carried no weapons, but something large protruded out of the sack he bore. He sat down on the ground beside the man, and pulled the object out. It was a book. He began to read to the man.

“He was incarnate that we might be made god.”

“What does this mean?”

“In a land of your own, man becomes God. With no morals, with no thoughts, with no boundaries, one begins to feel holy. These are the holy minutes, spend them wisely as they disappear. You have choice here.” explained the bishop.

“Everything here is so cryptic.”

“Ah yes. Indeed it is. For none of this is reality. Look around you. Have you been able to truly view one thing in this entire galaxy of nonsense? Or has everything just flown by in an infinite whirl? The clock is ticking. Do not waste your time on questions, or anecdotes, or material items. Feel, love, admire. Cherish, adore, accept.”

“But what if I need more time? I just got here. Can’t you help me?”

“Ah lad. I’m sorry. But nothing here is tangible. Not even I. As I said before, you are God here. In these holy moments, before the fade to black. You may see an eye in the sky, or a floating cloud of dust, and think, ‘This is an odd place’, but this is all because of you dear boy. If you want mountains, or skies, or trees; lakes, or rivers, or streams; valleys, or canyons, or craters… all you have to do is such. I know you won’t understand, and that’s the dreadful curse of this all; time always expires before you truly understand how to exist… but it’s okay… you’ll be okay boy.”

“But-”

“Hush now. Let me read a different passage to you.”

The bishop read aloud, “Dreams, dreams, an awful fright; they’ll hold you close til the end of night; and when at last the morning comes; you’ve lost control, and the locust hums.”

It all began to fade away, not to black, but to a bright white. No more bishops, or books, or eyes… just white. The man looked for something to hook his eyes to, but there was nothing. A sea of unending tranquility. A monotonous drone of emptiness.

Until the sky zipped open.

He laid facing upward, as a human face, covered in a large pair of spectacles, appeared above him. The woman had a mask that covered the lower part of her face, and a bouffant cap on top of her head. She spoke not to the man, but of him. “He’s just not responding. I have to call it.”, she announced with a most remorseful look on her pale and delicate face. Just as fast as the sky had opened, it sealed. The man was now alone, floating in a vast array of continued nothingness.

Except for a sound. A ticking sound. A sound that bounced around the walls of infinity and all throughout the man's head.

Something was floating toward him in the distance. He could not make it out until it was directly in front of his face.

It was a clock. This was where the ticking sound had originated. He attempted to read the clock, but it was all so blurry. All he knew was the ticking. This all had to mean something; the clock, the doctor, the visits from these fantastical figures… what did it all mean? How much time did he have left? What was it all counting down towards? In his mind he prayed for one more visit, one more explanation as to what it all meant.

His prayer was answered.

Out of the void grew a tree. A wearisome tree with hardly enough leaves to obscure its decaying limbs from any prying eyes. Its bark had splintered, and blistered many moons ago. Trees were not meant to exist for as long as this one had. From out of its belly it spoke. “Existence is a curse. None of this is built to last, especially you. I held the forbidden fruit in my palms, and I watched it defile you. You wish for the answers to this existence? Is this not what dismantled the last life you were given?”

“I believe you, I swear I do! I do not desire knowledge that is not mine, I only hope to find a way out of here.”

“A way out? There is no way out. This is it. You had your chance for the past millennia. You all burned the bridge with your absurd desire for enlightenment. My gardener, in his infinite wisdom, left when the bite was taken from that sacred apple. You are all alone.”

“But I-”

“No. I tell you the truth, and that is all you asked. If you desire a conversation, you may have it with whatever false idol you wish, but I simply cannot bear your existence.” The tree rotted back into the same cavity it materialized from.

And they arrived.

Before him now, stood all three figures previously met throughout his journey; The Serpent, The Cherub, and The Bishop. They stood still in their positions, waiting first for the man to speak.

He still lay fastened to the ground before them, looking upward. “Please,” he begged, “teach me what all of this means. I know my time is running short, but you have to show me. I don’t want to leave. I don’t want to.”

The Cherub spoke first, “The most important thing to remember is that your beliefs here matter. No matter what else you may have heard. You are here to ponder, you are here to wait. A sign will appear, even if you cannot comprehend it. Many cannot fathom an existence beyond logic and reasoning, and that is why these moments become so heartbreaking to watch. You are simply squirming in the dirt like a helpless insect.”

The Bishop retorted, “Now now, let’s be gentle with the lad. He’s not an imbecile, he just expects an explanation of an illogical world.” He turned his attention to the man. “You see, your ears are open but you are not truly listening. This is all so incomprehensible for a mortal being, so simply listen to what I say, and just do exactly that. You have less than five minutes left before all of this is for naught. In this moment, you are holy. You are free of existence, and therefore free of sin. I suggest that you use these last moments for pleasure. Not a sinful pleasure mind you, but you may now manufacture a sense of tranquility, of contentment, of joy. Do just that, use these final minutes to accept your circumstance, and experience this moment, for you are now one with the divine.”

“Stop your foolishness.” retaliated The Cherub. “He is not some deity. He is merely being tested by one. If he listens to you, he’ll end up with the rest of the sinners. You know not of what you speak.”

“Is God not within all we see?” questioned The Bishop.

“Yes, but not everything is God. God is everything, but not everything is God.” replied The Cherub. “The boy is not divine, plain and simple. This is his test, and he must pass.” The Cherub turned to the man, “You say you do not want to leave, this is achievable as all things are, through him. This fool tells you that you control this world, but you do not. You will see. He will present you with a message, and you must reach to his outstretched arms and say ‘Yes dear God. Please, take me with you.’”

The Bishop grew more furious as the seconds passed. With a fiery intensity he growled, “You act as if I claim God is dead. He is not dead. He is alive in this moment. This is the very moment that people wait their entire lives for. When heaven and man meet. It is so very beautiful, and yet you want the poor boy to waste it on some moment that will never arrive.”

Seeing a perfect opportunity to strike, The Serpent finally entered the conversation. “Don’t you see how silly these fools are? Their arguments about who is right, and who is wrong, are wasting your few precious moments. Listen to me”, it encouraged, as a smirk spread across its lips. “This rancid, hairy man is right when he says that you have power here. Unimaginable power. Think about all of the things you can do here, that you couldn’t do on Earth. All the pleasures of an infinite power, not resisted by any man or being.”

“Stop it right there.” retorted The Cherub. “I may not agree with either of these buffoons, but I certainly do not want you to fall into the hands of a heathen. It would like to watch the entire cosmos burst into flames.”

“Yes please son, whatever it is that you choose, do not follow this repugnant creature. It will only lead you through a path of destruction.” agreed The Bishop.

“They only envy me.” hissed The Serpent. “They wish they had the capacity to live in this hellish purgatory as gloriously as I do. Follow me, and you too may have all you ever wanted.”

“You can’t be serious!”

“Your self-righteous charade never fooled anyone.”

“I should banish you throughout an eternity of realms.”

“You don’t have the power!”

“Through God, we all h-”

“ENOUGH.” The Man bellowed with the power of a thousand stars. “I requested guidance and yet you all purposefully misdirect me. As time goes on, I gain more of my own consciousness. This is no different than Earth. You have wasted my breath. I want you all banished from my presence.” The Man proclaimed with an indisputable authority.

And just like that, they dissolved.

The Man was alone once again, but this time with a sense of consciousness. He felt finally awake. He began to consider the options presented to him.

The Serpent: Sin is inconsequential in a realm such as this, and therefore, The Man should live his last moments in a state of luxury not present in any real existence. If he is to accept the untold dusk ahead of him, he must first experience sin.

The Cherub: God is real. He is the only way out of this situation that doesn’t end in an inescapable darkness. The Man enjoyed the sound of a life after this life, but he could not perceive a reality in which this was realistic. He decided he would look for the sign of God as his time expired, but he did not expect one to come.

The Bishop: Man is man, until man joins the divine. He says that in these “moments of holiness”, man becomes God, just as God became man through Jesus. To him, this is Heaven. This is a kingdom in which man can finally will his own being into existence.

The Tree of Knowledge: Man created sin. God left because man disappointed him so. None of this has meaning, just as life no longer has meaning. An oblivion of options, and an absence of time. And so, The Man realized that through all of his questioning, and discussion, he had wasted his last few moments of existence. He had repeated the same mistake all humans make in their lives on Earth.

He turned his neck upward. A rain cloud had formed above him, and only above him. The precipitation wet his face with a cold, dense flood.

The ticking had started again, but this time it was much faster.

He had accepted the fact that all of this was over, he had only wished that he had a chance to do it again, so that he could make the correct decision this time.

He smelled something.

He looked off into the distance. He saw a mountain. He saw smoke.

Was this a sign, or had he created this of his own will?

He lay still on the ground, eternally immobile.

He howled in remorse, but it was merely a whimper in the infinite sea of darkness approaching him.

Fade to black.

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