#I wanted him to be seen and nightmares make it so that obvious solutions just aren���t possible so

[knockknockwhosthereartistism]

Bills attempt of manipulating Stan via Alex Hirsch

Alex talking about scrapped idea of Bill attempting to make a deal with Stan^^^

[inbarfink]

"Just move forwards, Simon! Well, maybe I don't want to move forwards!"

Okay, so it’s pretty damn obvious that Simon’s whole rant here is not just about the physical act of moving forwards through the Time Room. Like, I don’t need to explain what ‘moving forwards’ means in this case, right? But… the thing I’ve been thinking of is that the metaphor here might actually extend more than just this one line.

Because, yeah, Simon does need to move forwards. Metaphorically because embracing change and accepting you can’t actually go back to some idealized past where things were Better is the only way he can actually be happier. And literally because there is an Angry Beetle Cop out to murder his head off for the crime of being chosen by God as a sapient hard-drive. 

But moving on is hard, and you know why?

Because it is hard to move forwards in this silly little mumu.  

And again, this is both metaphorical and literal. Simon is fully aware that he should move forwards with his life, but this robe is yet another painful reminder of the trauma he’s trying to move on from. Yet another example of people treating him like he’s Ice King. Yet another symbol that him being Simon again is seen as some sort of a mistake.

And also, it’s just obviously physically, literally uncomfortable for him to move in this thing.

Simon was forced into a fit designed for a Wizard who could Fly. He’s constantly lifting it up and being so careful about his steps as to not stumble on it, and also trying so hard to not flash his genitalia to God and God’s two OCs that he shoved in his brain. Not to mention he’s running around the Time Room barefoot. And, like, at least when Ice King wore this he still had underpants.

But the thing is.... like, okay, the thing about the Shorts Scene is that it is kinda unfair Fionna got her outfit upgraded into a more comfortable variant while Simon still has to wear the Trauma Robes. But the important thing to remember is that Fionna got those lovely shorts because she explicitly complained about the skirt.

You can say that Simon’s problems should’ve been Obvious and maybe that’s true… but it’s still notable that unlike Fionna, who immediately complained when she started to find her outfit kinda uncomfortable - Simon lets out one sarcastic grumble when he first gets the robe and then just keeps his mouth shut and quietly wallows in his misery until he reached his breaking point. 

That seems notable especially with what we see of Simon in “Simon Petrikov” and how hard it is for him to be honest with his loved ones about his problems. 

I’ve seen some people express some anger at the way Finn and Marceline acted towards Simon during that episode. Saying they didn’t care about Simon enough. But Simon was deliberately hiding his struggles from them - and especially from Marcy. You know, he opened up to Finn and Finn was honestly doing what he thought was best. The problem being that Finn is pretty-messed-up himself and not good at therapy.

And Simon decided the best solution was just to drop the whole thing and pretend that Finn’s adventure did help as a way to end that nightmare without directly confronting him about Actually Making Things Worse. As far as Finn is concerned, Simon was doing badly and is now doing well. And as far as Marcy is concerned Simon is doing just fine! And this situation is not likely to change unless Simon actually speaks up!

Of course, this is easier said than done. I mean, like I said, he was TRYING to open up to Finn and from his perspective, got punished for even trying out for help.

And with the mumu, the situation is a even more complicated. Yes, Simon didn’t speak up when he had the chance to say ‘hey, actually it’s also pretty hard to run around barefoot in a robe! I would like some Pants please!” But also… where Finn and Marceline have both expressed nothing but genuine concern for Simon and take his issues very seriously in their own way - Prismo, Fionna and Cake have all been kinda callous about Simon’s situation and his mental well-being so far. 

So maybe it wasn’t totally unreasonable for Simon to assume that any attempt to assert what would make it easier for him to actually move forwards will fail. Or at least would be far too emotionally grueling to actually be worth it. I'm not saying that's for-sure what would've happened. I mean those three aren't just jerks for the sake of being jerks - it's just that Prismo is kinda occupied with his own grief-induced-depression-spiral and Fionna and Cake don't really get Simon yet. And we're surely going to get to a point in this narrative where these two genuinely care about him too sooner or later. But I can see in that moment why he would think that.

And so he keeps wallowing in the misery and resentment as it gets increasingly harder and harder to keep going forwards. Until he breaks and decide that maybe, what he actually wants is to just stop.  

[what-have-i-unleashed]

stealth lesson

just a little play of hide-and-seek with our favorite soldier boy cross.

unbeta-ed and unedited as always.

(cw: exhibitionism (kinda?), some hunter/prey going on)

"hide-and-seek?" cross asks, incredulous, to which killer gives a nod.

"you're decent at fighting. but stealth-wise? terrible. we need to work on that."

cross raises his eyebrow ridge and looks at the two skeletons behind his 'handler'. they're all standing in the training ground near the forest. it's the first time cross sees them up this close, and they're just as intimidating as seen from afar. horror and dust, cross remembers from the brief introduction nightmare gave him the other week.

killer notices where cross is looking at, and not very helpfully adds, "they're here as... additional support."

"for what?" cross questions, squinting his eyes and folding his arms across his chest. he doesn't want to admit feeling a bit apprehensive by the situation.

"not for you, that's for sure," horror chimes in, giving cross a dreadful smile with a small tilt of his head. cross scowls at him in return.

"no need to scare the newbie, egghead," killer says, though he sends horror a light smirk, clearly finding the antic amusing. turning to cross, he continues, "let's say, we're going to be seekers and you're the one hiding. no shortcut allowed. more challenge for you, isn't it, soldier boy?"

"no fun if there's no prize though," dust, being quiet the whole time, finally speaks up, as the other three turns to him.

"you're right," killer hums. "maybe we should add something as... incentive."

"how about," dust steps past killer to stand face-face-face with cross, tilting his head up at the monochrome skeleton and sporting a grin, "every time we find you, you lose one piece of clothing? how does that sound?"

"what?!" cross blusters, his face flushing purple. killer and horror exchange an indescribable look behind dust's back. cross tries to regain his composure as he speaks to the skeleton in front of him, "are you- what- why did you say that?!"

"scared, crossy?" killer whistles at him jeeringly.

"how about we play for two hours only?" horror muses, his eye locked onto cross.

"five-minute head start for you too," dust adds. "it's just a little bit of fun."

cross looks from one skeleton monster to another, his face heating up at the unwavering attention he's getting. he knows what he's going to say before he opens his mouth to answer.

it's been an hour and cross is getting more and more desperate as he waddles through the forest to find a place to hide. he didn't expect either killer or horror to be such skilled trackers. which should make sense honestly - they're nightmare's hounds after all. horror has found him most of the times, and gleefully watched as cross was ordered to take off his clothes piece by piece. thank the stars cross' usual uniform has many layers, or else he would have been butt-naked way too soon in the game.

but at least, cross can admit that this game is teaching him something. footprints are the most obvious way to be tracked down. any disturbance is the trail or dirt would lead his pursuers to him. he needs to be as quiet as possible while traversing the areas, else they would hear him moving around and clock exactly where he is.

however, learning facts is easier than coming up with solutions and applying them. it's not long before killer catches up to him, a taunting smile on his face as he leisurely watches cross take off his belt.

"aww, i kinda want to see more there," killer whines in the most fake annoying voice ever. his smile is unchanging as he rests his chin on his fist.

"oh shut up already," cross shoots back, unable to stop his embarrassed blush appearing on his face.

"heh, how many times have you been caught already? you're down to your sweater and shorts there."

"urghh," cross groans. "you and horror are so insistent it's starting to get annoying."

"dust hasn't caught you yet?"

"not once."

"... hmm you know, crossy," killer says after a while. "if you want to call it quits here, then no problem."

cross gives killer a strange look. "i'm not a quitter."

killer shakes his head, seeming amused. "your loss, soldier. better start going before anyone else catches up."

and catch up someone does. not even ten minutes later, horror captures cross again. and this time cross furiously takes off his sweater as horror taps his fingers on his forearm.

"you should probably give up. what? you only have your shorts left."

"i'm not quitting."

it is quiet. too quiet. it's been half an hour since he sees any of the others. it doesn't usually take them this long to find him. so either they are dawdling around somewhere, or they are taking pity on him.

... as if.

maybe this time his hiding attempts are finally paying off. practice makes perfect and all that. cross feels a giddy feeling in his soul, threatening to buzz over his body. finally.

but he can't celebrate just yet. carefully shifting his position on the tree branch so as not to rustle the leaves too much, he tries to look down around him to see if there's any sign of the murderous trio. nothing as of yet.

oh, maybe he'll actually win this infernal game, and then they wi-

ping!

cross doesn't realize his soul has been turned blue until it's too late. he's thrown off the tree and into the dirt below. lifting his head, he sees dust casually jumping off from somewhere above and walking towards him.

"how long have you been here?" cross bemoans.

"doesn't matter," dust shrugs his shoulders, his eyes intensely locked onto cross. "you lost."

"... do i really have to take my shorts off?"

"that's the rules. though," dust stops at cross' feet and crouches down, his face near cross' heated one, "i accept other punishments."

cross breathes out, hesitantly, "... like what?"

dust doesn't say anything. he takes one of his gloves off with his own teeth, eyes looking at cross the entire time. cross watches, dazed, as dust glides his ungloved hand up from the soldier's chin to his cheeks. his thumb traces small circles around the corner of cross' mouth, silently asking for cross to open his mouth. cross obliges, and dust leans in, fingers exploring the rows of teeth under him. his thumb stops at one of cross' fangs and stays there. cross looks up at dust inquisitively. but dust again doesn't say anything, only staring down at him from above, his hood obscuring his face.

finally, dust breaks into a wide grin, "cute."

what. cross blinks. and before he can question any further, dust's hand leaves his mouth with a trail of saliva. dust wipes it on cross' shorts before standing up and dusting himself.

"... that's it?" cross asks, surprised by how breathless and timid he sounds.

dust puts his hands in his jacket pocket. "you want more?"

cross startles. "no! no, i mean- you're sure you-"

"yeah, that's enough for me," dust cuts him off. "you reactions are amusing enough. see you later, lover boy."

with that, he shortcuts away, leaving cross flustered in the empty field.

"you know, you're kinda mean to the newbie, dusty."

"... i don't know what you're talking about."

"really? stalking him from up above since the beginning and sending us his locations is not mean behavior?"

"nothing in the rules says i can't do that."

"like i said, meaaaan."

[victoria-rue]

victoria-rue's Recommendation Masterlist

I was tired of play hide 'n seek with old stories in my likes. So I'm just going to leave them here so I can find them better and so other people can find them easier too ♥︎

Recommendation Masterlist part 1, part 2, part 3, & part 4

Stranger Things

Eddie Munson

Beth by @farfromharry

Eddie’s trying to navigate adulthood after a baby is dropped on him from a prior hookup. He tries his best for the baby girl and does well, things are made even easier with the help of his friends around him. When he meets you his life flips again, and although it takes a while to admit your feelings, he eventually ends up with a family he never expected he would have.

june baby by @luveline

you're a single mom living three trailers down. eddie thinks you're the prettiest girl he's ever seen. queue smiley face oatmeal, grossly misused power tools, desserts on the living room floor, a haircut, and an abundance of nerd metaphors

the pain of letting you go by @strangermarvelss

you've separated from your husband, eddie, but aren't looking to rebound anytime soon. but he is

Penny 'Verse by @queenimmadolla

having found a family in your friends, Hawkins is no longer a sinkhole to you, so when you and Eddie discover you���re expecting, letting all your other plans go in favor of starting a family isn’t all that difficult.

Billy Hargrove

18 by @perpetuelledaydreaming

Billy Hargrove needs a Queen and you need someone to help you get out of the hellhole that you are currently in as you move to Hawkins. It should be an easy and obvious solution, right?

the hurt is good by @bookshelf-dust

Steddie

Good Neighbors (Steddie X Reader) (Book One) by @justmeinadaze

You move into a new apartment complex with you six year old son while going through a divorce. You meet your sexy neighbors Steve and Eddie who are adorable with your kiddo and both care a lot about you.

We're A Family (Book Two) by @justmeinadaze

Steve, Eddie, reader, and her son are now all under one roof taking things one day at a time with their taboo little family.

Marvel

Steve Rogers

the send-off by @earth616variant

Being his best friend and assistant, Howard Stark asked you to be the first one to be tested on his time machine project. After some unexpected errors, you ended up stuck in the modern times of the 21st century. Where you meet the man you thought died years ago: Steve Rogers.

Peter Parker

Infinitely You by @spider-stark

In every universe you are the one person Peter Parker will always love more than anything; unfortunately, he always realizes it too late. Now that they've been granted a second chance none of them are willing to miss out on finally making things right.

Barbie

Ken

Kenough for you by @frost-queen

This Isn't Barbie Land by @guppydoll

You are working away as a waitress at a night club when the oddest man came up to you after your shift and accidentally swept you off your feet. Yet you don't know if you are ready for another relationship after the disaster that was your last one. You just hope everything goes nice and easy. Ken is your doll and he wants you to teach him how to be human and help you through the pain you've been feeling. 

Harry Potter

Draco Malfoy

Pure-Blood Potter by @fanfics4all

Are You With Me? by @sourstilinski

Y/N is a Slytherin muggle born. She’s used to her house ostracizing her due to her blood status and her friendship with the Golden Trio, especially Draco Malfoy. But during their fifth year, they discover they might need each other more than they think

Bill Weasley

long hair & tattoos by @wisteria-blooms

You, (Y/N) Malfoy, despise your family’s views on blood purity. Unlike your little brother Draco, you won’t be roped into marrying for status. However, when your father, Lucius, puts down an ultimatum, you’re forced to find a lover for next week’s dinner. With his long hair, tattoos, piercings, and your father’s worst nightmare reincarnated in a man, who better to bring than a much older Bill Weasley? What should’ve been one night of deceit turns to a battle of charades and wits. Just who will crumble first: your family, Bill, or you?

James Potter

𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘥 by @astonishment

James plans on proposing to Lily. Trying to calm his nerves, he goes for a walk in the woods, then somehow finds himself in the land of the dead, engaged to Y/N, the corpse bride. With his friends and girlfriend looking for him, can James make it back to the land of the living? Does he even want to?

Regulus Black

Manipulating Death: Season One by @morganalatina21

When Harry discovers he has a twin sister that was hiding for years, he wants to know all about her, specially about her ability to bring people back to life.

Second Son by @cherryslyce

Forbidden from contacting Harry over the summer, you opt to explore the eerie halls of Grimmauld Place where you stumble upon a lonely portrait of the House's second son.

Tom Riddle

Challenging fate by @lovebeinaprincessworld

There were a lot of unexpected things happening the day of the Battle of Hogwarts. Being send back into the past to change the course of history was definitely one of them.

Young Sheldon / The Big Bang Theory

Georgie Cooper

Texas Romance by @countrymusiclover

Y/n is Missy's high school friend, even though the Cooper girl is only in elementary school. She spends a lot of time at the Cooper house and learns what living with Sheldon was like. Through her years of high school, she realized that she's crushing on the eldest football playing brother Georgie. He's reckless and does things his mom doesn't approve of so Y/n questions herself of how she is falling for him. The two have to figure out if they can actually be a couple or not and deal with Missy's teasing.

The Texas Tire Family by @countrymusiclover

10 years after George Sr passed away Georgie and Y/n have to adjust to being the adults of the family. But when Sheldon reunites with the pair he needs them to come to his wedding, except Georgie tells him no. Dealing with two ten year olds and a secret they never expected to hear Sheldon was getting married.

Avatar

Jake Sully

Si fpom by @fluloa

You're dead to me by @chaethewriter

In which Jake Sully leaves his life on earth to settle down with the Omatikaya people as Toruk Makto. Having a family that consists of four kids with Neytiri, everything seems to work out just fine, but what if the past comes back for him? And his babygirl is right there in front of him?

folklore masterlist ✩ jake sully by @theseuscmander

widowed jake sully tries his hardest to heal from the loss of neytiri and you’re there to pick up the pieces and mend him back together, even if neither of you wanted to or realized.

Hoodie by @midnightsapphire

you thought jake was the one, now you’re grasping straws at what was.. and what could have been

I See You by @heirtothekingdom (now only on Ao3)

You observe the mighty warrior, the famed Toruk Makto, struggling to adjust to his new life in the Metkayina clan. The gentle whisperings of Eywa push you past your comfort to reach out a helping hand, to ease Jake Sully in the only way you can.

Tsu'tey te Rongloa Ateyo'itan

i want to see mama too by @dreamingofpandora

seven years ago, you had died alongside grace while trying to protect pandora. a few months after your death it was discovered that you were pregnant; leaving tsu'tey to raise your son vu'ran without you. but, things start to get strange when vu'ran is certain he saw you move.

Miles Quaritch

Ma Miles by @mechformers

When your son is taken, left behind by your Toruk Makto, you desperately go on the hunt for your boy. Knowing who took him, knowing that nothing good awaits him, you search high and low through the battlefield of Pandora, praying that Eywa will guide your way.

What Do I Tell My Friends Family by @plzfeedmebread

No More Than a Memory by @chaoticlicense

Miles isn't the same man as his human counterpart. The mistakes of the past are not his own. Neither are the feelings he has for a woman he's never met but remembers as though he has. In another life, you were everything to him. His light, his life, the one who brought a little joy to his dreary world. But you made your choice just as he made his. You both know that neither of you can change the past but maybe, just maybe, you can forge a new future…

Avatar: The New Mission by @milknhonies

After failing his mission to hunt down Jake Sully, Miles Quaritch is given a new mission. Let’s just say you’re not the most co-operative na’vi native and Quaritch loves to put you in your place.

Neteyam te Suli Tsyeyk'itan

ONE OF US by @forever--darling

neteyam sully was the next olo'eyktan and for years had been focused on his training and his responsibilities only. he had never accounted for you to become one of them. when you got your avatar body and ended up in the forest alone, being brought to the village and offered to be taught the ways of the people wasn't what you expected. let alone it being neteyam, future olo'eyktan becoming your teacher.

“you make me feel brave//you make me feel safe” by @thesparkisnearlygone

alyara was only six weeks old when she was left behind as the sky people were forced to leave pandora 19 years ago. she was raised by Norm and Max, and she grew up running through the forest of pandora with the sully’s. her love for neteyam had blossomed over the years, but she knew nothing could come of her feelings for him, even after she is surprised with her own avatar. still, she can’t seem to picture herself with anyone else, and she will soon find that her feelings are not unrequited.

Charming Killer by @writing-makes-me-human

You get chased into the wilds of Pandora with a broken communication collar and a bullet wound, but Neteyam finds you. He goes to kill you but an omen from Eywa stops him, and as he approaches you he realizes you are his destined mate.

His Secret Admirer by @teyums

All Of My Love by @kurogxrix

IN WHICH Neteyam’s mother and clan disapproves of your relationship, because you’re a dreamwalker. When you both advance in your relationship, the clan cannot help but attempt to ruin things for the both of you.

Ao’nung

Weakened by Eywa by @shkudss

Ao’nung finally realizes that his actions have consequences

Jake & Neytiri

My Heart Never Knows by @star-girl69

In the safety of the Reef, you know no war. You only know your family, the feel of the ocean on your skin, the feel of the wind blowing through your hair. You know only simple things, the barely there shine of the sun, a reprieve from where you are covered by your sister. You are the moon and she is the sun, and you are destined to live like this. You had long since given up any hopes of a mate until the Forest People arrive, on their colorful flying ikrans. Ronal does not like them. Tonowari respects them. Tsireya is entranced, Ao’nung sees them as new market to tease. With your family divided, you do not know how to feel about them. Until you See them, the parents of this family, Jake Sully and Neytiri, and the sun suddenly feels so much brighter. But your heart never know the future. It is in the hands of Eywa, but you cannot give your heart to these strangers knowing it could hurt. But, it seems this strange man and woman have other plans.

Keep Me Ablaze (Book One) by @star-girl69

The only mother you have ever known is the forest. Yes, you have Grace, other women at the base. But they are not quite your mother. It’s hard for your Aunt to talk about her- but how can you blame her? Alone and drifting through the world, a fire burning inside of you that threatens to snuff out, Grace teaches you alongside the Omaticaya at her school. They call her sa’nok, and sometimes you wish you could call her that too. But you feel like you would be betraying your mother. Neytiri is your spark, even while you’re young, shy when Grace pushes you to play with her and even shyer when the two of you form a tentative friendship. But it grows, and she grows into the woman you know now. Life without her is miserable, but at least you have something new to explore in the form of your Avatar. You run through the forests and help Grace, and soon you are 20 years old and looking out onto your life like it is a prison. You could leave. Go to Earth. But you couldn’t leave the forest, your Aunt, the memories of your mother and father. Then, Jake Sully comes, a warrior with no legs, who holds the same spark as Neytiri does. But with the weight of impending war looming on each of you, death everywhere, you don’t know if they can keep you ablaze.

Ember in Your Hands (Book Two) by @star-girl69

Although a part of you had died, you found that you were still full of life. With children running around and healed scars, life is what you dreamed about during those dark nights so long ago. You don’t know betrayal anymore, you don’t know loss or suffering. When you’re forced out of the only home you’ve ever known, you find yourself becoming hateful and bitter. You blame your mates, who have only ever burned for you, for all that has happened. You’ve changed and they’ve changed, and you’re not sure if they can keep you ablaze- not this time. You’re just an ember in your hands.

Yawnetu by @sunandsstars

One other mate was enough, but two? Unneeded. _ was the outcast, the unwanted woman. Jake and Neytiri wouldn’t ever see her..right?

Tonowari & Ronal

Yawnetu by @sunandsstars

With her arrival in Awa’atlu, reader seeks to find a sanctuary for her family, one that she may find in two particular individuals

Neteyam & Ao’nung

He's Not So Bad by @biolumilunareclipse

your parents as well as the his had decided that you would be ao’nungs mate and the tsahìk of the metkayina clan. you were to be mated after you had both reached a certain point in your training. naturally, they suggested you help ao’nung and tsireya help teach the forest people your ways in your free time. this allows you to develope a close bond with the eldest son, neteyam, with whom you have plenty in common. as time passes and ao’nung becomes more accepting of them, he realizes they have plenty in common as well.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Willy Wonka

Chocolate Princess by @the-girl-wh0-cries-w0lf

Y/n Ficklegruber can't help but become enamoured with the spectacularly peculiar man stood in the middle of the galleria.

The Candy Man by @kteezy997

Enola Holmes/Bridgerton

Sherlock Holmes

Upon a nightly walk by @frost-queen

Having snuck out of the house to explore the town at night, you stumble upon a drunken Sherlock. His drunken behavior very silly and adorable to you, you take it upon yourself to escort him home. Once there, you find it hard to leave him alone so you decide to stay. Which comes to a surprise for a waking Sherlock who tends with care for his sweet savior. 

Viscount Tewkesbury, Marquess of Basilwether

Love at first encounter by @frost-queen

The moment I knew by @frost-queen

You are very bubbly, sweet and wise. Every since you were a little girl you dreamed of becoming a princess. One day you meet Tewkesbury, completely smitten by him and he by you. You are very certain about your future with him after meeting him once. Later during family diner, you tell your siblings you are to marry him. Leaving them with different reactions to your sudden news.

Benedict Bridgerton

love letters and seconds sons by @jimblejamblewritings

The princess is finally ready to debut in society. But before she does, she decides to disguise herself and see the true faces of the ton.

The Bear

Carmen Berzatto

Six Months by @aestheticaltcow

parenthood angst

[via-rant]

Obrumbratio Scintillae

Chapter 4 -

Leo sat in the corner of the basement shaking. His back hurt like hell and he knew she'd come back any minute. He tried to find somewhere to hide but he couldn't, no matter how creative he got. He whimpered in fear when he heard the door open, closing his eyes, hoping he'd make it go away. He sat for a minute before opening his eyes when nothing happened. He looked at the door. It was still open leading to a dark room.

He stood up shakily and took a step forward. The pain was suddenly gone and he relaxed, not bothering to question it. Take the good while it lasted. He walked to the door and found... someone there. The room was full of machine parts and tools and he had to contain his excitement. The man looked at him and he flinched at how big he looked. How bruised and scarred he was. Leo's seen many people like that. It never ended well for him.

"Um... hi?" Leo asked trying to hide his fear.

"Oh! Hi. Leo right? I know you changed it."

"I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Oh! My apologies. I'm Hepheastus. Your... dad."

"Oh! Oh..."

" 'Oh'?"

"Yeah... what do you want?"

"What? I'm not allowed to see my kids?"

"You are. You guys just have a knack for asking for favors with no benefits, so... what is it?"

"I don't like those dreams you have. The nightmares. I just wanted to make sure you had a nice one but I'm not really a dream God, so this is the best I could do."

"This is your version of claiming. Good to know."

"You're welcome to the tools and whatnot." He said and Leo wanted nothing more but how did he know he could trust him?

"Look. I know living at that Camp, you're convinced we're bad people. But I really do want the best for you and your siblings." He said and Leo sighed before going up to a table to start building. He did while trying to keep his hands from shaking, knowing Hepheastus was at another making something else.

He was glad he didn't try to start any conversation with him. Usually he'd prefer talking but sometimes the silence was nice. Especially in a place that reminded him of his mom. He smiled at the thought of her as his hands messed around with whatever in his hands.

"How did you and mom meet?" He asked. It was a question he wondered before but never got answered.

"One of my inventions went haywire and got to earth. I had to get it, obviously, but it nearly killed her."

"Oh that's nice to hear."

"Yeah... So I helped heal her when I shut it down and gave her what she needed. I went to check on her regularly until Zeus figured it out and forbid me from seeing her. Didn't know she was pregnant then."

"But I made sure to keep a close eye on her. I tried to see her a couple times but didn't know how she'd react to me just showing up again."

"So the solution is to not show up at all. Real logical."

"But how did you watch her?" Leo asked and he got up. He pulled out an old TV and tapped it. It flickered on and showed Leo being tended to by Luke.

"So since she... died you've been keeping an eye on me." He said connecting the dots.

"Okay, look, I know what you're thinking but I don't know how to talk to organic life forms."

"Sure." He said walking back through the door. He didn't go back to the corner. He was in the living room. Where she was sleeping on the couch. He snarled and pulled out the gun he made in the other room, pointing it at her.

"I'll just have to fight for myself then." A bullet flew throught the air.

---------

Luke stood with his hands in the air as Percy glared a him. Percy had the tip of his sword to his throat and Nicos at Percy causing the kid to stop.

"Nico. I-"

"Shut it. I don't care about what you have to say."

"I'm here to bring you back."

"Back? Are you insane?"

"Okay, I know it's not a good place for you. But neither is here."

"How do you know?"

"I don't know it's full of monsters? Including him?" He said like it was obvious.

"Luke isn't a monster! He saved my life!"

"Yeah for his own benefit! He's trying to get you to join his army!"

"Yeah no shit. Why do you think we're training so hard?"

"We?" He asked and looked at the bed. He glared at Luke again.

"Nico, you don't get it. He's evil. He's trying to take down the Gods. With everyone else here."

"I know." Nico never knew how to feel about that. Those are their parents and all of them are definitely not bad but the majority are. He hasn't heard of one whose been there for their kids. There were the Hunters but that was different. They only talk to their kids if they have something they need.

"And maybe that's a good thing." He said and Percy's face turned to surprise. Then he attacked Luke.

Luke pulled out his sword but only to protect himself. He had to admit Percy was a good fighter. Especially against 2 people. Especially against someone who was bigger than him. But he was losing anyway. Nico knocked his sword out of his hand and pushed him against the wall with his sword.

"You've gotten better but it's not enough."

"Nico, don't. Percy. I know-"

"Oh don't try to sweet talk me again bitch. Nico, please-"

"You seriously can't take a hint."

"Percy I get it-"

"Can you-"

"Can you guys please shut up?" They heard and turned to the bed. They all stood there not knowing what to do.

"Who is this guy?" He asked trying to sit up but Luke pushed him down again. Or tried to. Leo smacked his hand off and Luke raised a brow.

"I can move dude. I'm not dying." He said sitting up completely. There was something different about him.

"Who are you?" Percy asked and he looked at him

"Nicos best friend. Who are you?" The kid seemed to reel back at that one.

"This is Percy." Nico said quietly and Leo glared at him.

"Oh! Great! The hero wannabe huh?"

"Aren't we all."

"Fair. But still. What are we gonna do with him Commander?" Luke sat there staring at them not knowing what to do. He stared at Percy, who looked scared and helpless. He realized it took too long to respond when he reached into his pocket and pulled out his pen.

"Let him go." He responded quickly before he could do anything else.

Are you insane?! We can keep him for bait! We-

"Please shut up. Knowing Percy he'll probably find some way to get out. Besides, he's right. Being on this side is bullshit. You think I'm gonna sit here and watch these kids get hurt for my own gain? No. They've been through enough." He said and fogot there were other people there.

"Great. Our leader went insane." Leo said and Percy rolled his eyes. He almost said something but another second passed before a knife was plunged in his shoulder.

"You're annoying. Shut up." Leo said and the two looked at him in surprise. "We can use him as bait."

"Leo. What-" Nico tried and Leo smiled at him.

"We do what needs to be done." Luke was starting to regret saying that so much. Nico and Luke looked at each other, nervously. This wasn't Leo.

I like this kid.

--------

Getting to my favorite part!!

@moa-broke-me @yonemurishiroku @pjo-hoo-toa-freakazoid @potatoman-taterdude @the-demigod-slytherclaw @im-always-lost-in-a-book @stillcarmine @art-randomness @cryptic-ember

[letsbenditlikebennett]

TIMING: Current PARTIES: @chasseurdeloup & @letsbenditlikebennett SUMMARY: After Alex's injury, Kaden is watching over her. Both are in their head with guilt for different reasons. Alex tries to relieve the tension and then tries to contribute to it. Ultimately, ends on a soft note and Kaden is a good big cousin. CONTENT: Gun use , parental death (mentioned)

The couch had turned into something of a den in less than the course of 24 hours. Already, the coffee table was littered with different snacks and canned foods as well as the can opener. The remote was handy and so were a number of the different books she was hoping to read before fall classes started up. Alex was burrowed up in her favorite orange blanket and had Puppyeye asleep on the couch beside her as she read a book on local flora. 

Kaden had been in the kitchen, making something or other that she hadn’t been paying much attention to, but it seemed most of his morning had been spent downstairs with a not so subtle eye on her. When she had run off from Alan, she hadn’t expected him to go tattle to her cousin. Hell, she hadn’t even known the guy knew who her cousin was. It wasn’t like she had some sort of grand plan to hide her injuries. She hadn’t spoken to Cass since she’d found out the mushroom ring was destroyed, so there was a giant question mark over whether or not she could have hidden away in the cave under the guise of just being a normal young adult wanting to spend time with their crush. Mack probably would have let her crash at the manor and let her hide away from the world. At least until she could walk without an obvious limp. That option was off the table as she was pretty sure both Andy and Kaden were afraid to let her out of their sight. 

They shouldn’t have been. Despite the fact Alex felt their love and couldn’t bring herself to turn it away, she knew it changed none of what they’d grown up always knowing. So even though she took comfort in Kaden���s constant presence, it also left a lump in her throat that was hard to swallow as she looked blankly at a photo of wood nettle. Her thumb traced the edge of the page and she took a deep breath to find her voice. 

“You know, you don’t have to keep a literal eye on me, right,” she attempted half-heartedly, “Pretty sure even if you could catch me right now if I tried to run, gramps.” 

—

When Alan contacted Kaden and told him what had happened, it was hard to believe. Alex had been shot. It still didn’t feel real. Kaden had seen it again and again in his nightmares. The scene was a staple since he’d moved to Wicked’s Rest. It’s not like it was out of the realm of possibility for his younger cousin to get hurt, he knew damn well that she was a potential target for hutners since the first day he stepped foot on the cabin porch. Even so, he wasn’t ready for his nightmares to come to life. At least not this soon. The hunter that Andy had warned them about, too. Responsibility and guilt weighed heavy on his shoulders. Sure, he hadn’t been there for Alex the way that Andy had and he hadn’t always been the sort of person who would have protected his cousin as fiercely as he did now, but that didn’t make any of it any easier to swallow. 

Loss was constantly present in Kaden’s life. He knew it well. But familiarity didn’t make it a friend and he wasn’t inviting more loss into his life, not again. He didn’t have a clear answer on how to keep it at bay, however. So all he could do was make sure he was there this time. He would be there to protect Alex if Andy wasn’t. One of them would be there. It was the only solution he had. So he planned to stay there in the cabin with her while she recovered and had spent the better part of the past 24 hours cooking or baking. It gave him something to do, to focus on, something other than the anger and horror, and it was some small way  he could help. For now. 

“I’m aware,” he said curtly, placing the plate of fresh baked croissants on the coffee table in front of Alex. “That’s part of the problem.” The ranger took a seat on the chair next to the couch, settling in place to stay there with her. “If he comes back, you’re defensless.” He didn’t plan to explain it any farther than that. He couldn’t, not while emotions had a chokehold on his throat – he couldn’t be sure if anger, grief, or any combination would spill out if he wasted more words on the obvious. 

—

The attempt at lightening the mood hadn’t gone over nearly as well as Alex would have hoped. She wasn’t entirely sure what she expected the reaction to be, but the curt manner in which her cousin answered her made her feel like it had been the wrong move. Her fingers found the frays at the edge of her blanket and she chewed nervously at her lower lip. She hadn’t meant to inconvenience or worry anyone. If Alan hadn’t blabbed, maybe they could have skipped this. He could be off doing whatever he liked to do with his weekends and she could be holed up… in her room? Alan’s was clearly off the table and she wasn’t sure where things stood with Cass since finding out about the mushrooms. She did have permission to raid Mack’s fridges whenever she wanted and it wasn’t like her place was lacking in space. Surely their second attempt at a sleepover had to be better than the first. Not that it mattered since none of that was the case. Andy and Kaden knew and now felt like they had to watch over her. So here they sat, Alex not quite able to look up at Kaden as she murmured, “I’m sorry.” 

She shifted in her seat and winced slightly as the movement sent a stab of pain to her hip. There was no doubt that Kaden caught it and that only made her feel worse. She didn’t even know what she was apologizing for. For being hurt? For making him worry? For being a burden in the aftermath, who needed protection? The glassy sheen that covered her eyes was already betraying her, but at least she could play that off as physical pain which was at least slightly more justifiable than her sensitivity. 

“Cabin’s still not that big,” she offered quietly, “You can do your own thing and I’ll be ok. I know watching me read probably isn’t how you wanted to spend your weekend.”  

—

Kaden’s brow furrowed as he looked over at her. “Sorry?” he asked, tone as brash as before. “What for?” It was hard not to fall back into old habits. The ranger’s first thought was one that he heard from his mother countless times. Apologies are a waste of time. Don’t apologize, do better. He hated that it nearly left his lips. Something about all of this, it tapped into parts of him he thought he’d buried. Only now he was using his training to protect the very thing he was meant to hunt. 

Catching the glint in her eyes was enough to soften his own expression. “Don’t apologize,” he said, unable to shake the thought entirely. Only his reason for saying it was nothing like his mother’s. “There’s nothing you have to apologize for.” His fingers brushed the book he had beside him, hesitating to grab it. He knew it wasn’t even worth pretending to look at it, he couldn’t concentrate on anything but the matter at hand even if he tried. Still, he picked it up and flipped open to where he’d left off, going through the motions of it anyway. “You shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place.” His eyes fixed on the words on the page, but they were meaningless. Just black shapes on white paper. They didn’t matter. Alex was hurt. Beyond just hurt, she’d been shot. She could have died. And he had done nothing to prevent that. 

His nightmares had nearly become reality and he hadn’t done a damn thing to keep it from happening. 

That wouldn’t happen again. He wouldn’t let it. “I’m the one who should be apologizing,” he said after a beat of silence, his voice lower but no warmer than before and his gaze still glued to the book. “So I’m going to spend my weekend making sure my family is safe. Like I should have done in the first place.” 

—

Maybe there wasn’t anything to apologize for, but there was a heaviness that lingered in the air that was hard to ignore. Alex couldn’t help lingering on the thought that her weakness was an inconvenience. Neither Andy nor Kaden would be so cruel as to say it, but her parents' words still echoed in her mind like a broken record. ‘Les Durand ne sont pas faibles. Se lever.’ Had Kaden not heard similar mantras in his childhood? It didn’t matter if she should have never been in the position, the fact was, they were both born to this. If she hadn’t been on the receiving end of the bullet, the alternative was to be the one firing it. Even if the hunter genes had decidedly skipped over her, a violent end still seemed inevitable, like it was somehow seeped into her being. 

“We weren’t born for quiet endings,” she parrotted her mother’s words in French. They felt disconnected, like it wasn’t even really her speaking them. Alex was already well past the life that was “destined” for her, but if hunters didn’t have quiet ends, she doubted monsters got that luxury. The throbbing pain in her hip was a stark reminder of that. “Danger’s inevitable,” she murmured, “I should have been better prepared, should have paid more attention, should have tol-” She stopped herself. She didn’t know how much Alan had actually told Kaden. She chewed at her bottom lip again. “I should have told Alan about the hunter before our lessons.” 

Guilt seemed inescapable no matter which way Alex looked at the situation, but then Kaden was saying he was protecting his family like he should have been doing all along which left the werewolf with a confused look on her face. Brows knit together as she tried to piece it together, but how could he have even protected her in the first place? It wasn’t like she was going to invite him or Andy along to werewolf shifting lessons. She closed the book in her own lap and looked over at Kaden. “If I don’t have anything to apologize for,” she started softly, “Neither do you. It’s not like I was about to invite you along to Alan’s while he taught me how to shift outside of the full moon. It was always just going to be me and him there. If I… Maybe if I told him things would be different, but that’s still not on you.” 

—

“Putain de merde,” Kaden said, slamming the book shut. He recognized those words immediately. “Don’t quote that bullshit at me.” He heard shit like that more than enough times growing up. From his mother, from his father when he’d been alive, and his aunt and uncle. Didn’t matter who said it, it was all bullshit. “You’re twenty-one years old you’re not talking about endings, got it?” 

The anger was rising up inside him and he could feel it threatening to spill out. And the only place it would land would be Alex. He ran his palm down his face and took a deep breath, trying to center himself, remember who he was angry with, what he was angry with. And it was clear she was trying to diffuse the tension. She shouldn’t have to, he should get himself together.

Still, he couldn’t quite prescribe to her idea that he had nothing to apologize for. Of course, he wasn’t going to be out there with them, but it shouldn’t have come to this in the first palace. “I know that much. But this piece of shit should have been out of the picture as soon as he threatened you and Andy.” He shook his head, trying to shake off the thought of Alex in pain, shot in the middle of the forest, her blood staining the ground. “Alan has to know to be on alert regardless. If he’s been a werewolf long enough to help you, he knows what a hunter is. This isn’t on you.” Kaden looked over at her and caught her gaze. “You’re not at fault for what you are. Or trying to learn more about how to control that. You’re not.”

—

A cloud of tension hung over the air in the living room. Perhaps quoting her mother’s words hadn’t been the way to go, especially when her cousin was breaking away from everything their family had stood for. The fact he was sitting there beside Alex and taking care of her despite the fact she was undeniably a monster was evidence of as much. It wasn’t like she wanted him to all of a sudden turn back to the codes they had been raised on, but the very words Kaden called bullshit were ones she could wear as an armor. If she were the same broken record, no one could ever hurl the same cruel ideas back in her direction. Still, she could see the anger rising in Kaden and it made her want to burrow into the nest of blankets she had around her. 

“It’s not bullshit,” she tried to retort, “I should have been better prepared.” The words rang hollow. Alex wasn’t even sure how much she believed them anymore, but the frustration she could see her cousin trying to reign in still made her feel like the same small kid who shuddered when her parents had directed the same phrases at her. Her firsts were clenched around the edges of the folklore afghan that sat on her lap. “The point was more being vigilant avoids the whole ending thing. Wasn’t trying to jumpstart the whole ending thing,” she muttered weakly. 

Then there was blame shifted at Alan regarding alertness and she shot him a glare. “Don’t,” she barked, “I lied to him. If it’s not on me, it’s not on Alan either. He wasn’t being careless. He would have protected me if I hadn’t— It’s just not his fault I got hurt. It’s not your fault I got hurt. I ran into the line of fire, that was my choice.” 

The guilt-ridden part of her had been so quick to jump to Alan’s defense, it took a moment for her to realize Kaden had said the hunter should have been out of the picture. There was a certain finality and masked anger behind the words that made Alex feel sick. She hadn’t wanted Alan to kill the hunter and she sure as hell didn’t want Kaden or Andy doing so either. If she hadn’t felt so damn bad for lying to him, she was pretty sure she could smack Alan for tattling on her. “He’s not a piece of shit,” she shot back stubbornly, “He’s a ranger who probably grew up learning everything we learned and is doing what he thinks is right to protect people. We don’t get to just take him out of the picture.” 

Despite the fact that some selfish part of her wanted Kaden to care about her and her safety, Alex couldn’t live with the idea of her sister or cousin compromising who they were to protect her. Just because they loved her and she so desperately wanted that love didn’t magically make her not a monster. Pushing his buttons on purpose hurt her. She wanted to nod and reach out to him and cling to Kaden like she wanted to, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t be the reason Kaden hurt another hunter. “Just,” she softened, “Please don’t blame yourself, ok?” 

—

“How?” Kaden asked. “Be more prepared how? It’s not like you were close to town, you weren’t going to run into anyone who wasn’t out there trying to–” He clenched his jaw shut, unable to say the words aloud. He hated this. He fucking hated this. He hated knowing that she would face a lifetime of this, of people trying to hunt her down and kill her. And he understood why, he knew the thought behind all of it, he grew up knowing, but that didn’t mean he could stand by it. 

“You what?” he said, head snapping to look at her. “You ran into the line of– Alex.” He couldn’t parse his emotions, he couldn’t hold onto them long enough to figure out what they were. There was anger and fear and sadness and panic and even more all wrapped in one. He braced his palms against his knees, pushing down on them as if the pressure could contain whatever emotions were trying to explode inside of him. 

Just when he thought he might have had a handle on it, she dropped another bombshell. “I don’t care.” He shook his head and dug his fingers into his knees. “I don’t fucking care what he grew up learning, that doesn’t make him not a piece of shit for trying to kill someone. It doesn’t make me not a piece of–” Didn’t matter. That didn’t matter. He buried his head in his hands before running his fingers through his hair, pushing it back, and trying to collect himself. “If anyone gets to ask him to fucking leave town and never show his face again, it’s me. If anyone gets to fucking ask him to use employ some goddamn humanity, I get to.” 

He was ready to punch a wall, throw something. That or just collapse in on himself. He wasn’t sure which would come first. Kaden looked up and locked eyes with Alex. Sure, he hadn’t been in town long, but he still knew he would do anything to keep her safe. Fucking anything. And he was scared of what that might mean. Especially since he had a feeling that line would be tested sooner rather than later. “Only if you don’t blame yourself,” he replied, voice softening and nearly cracking. “I just got here, pipsqueak. Stop making me worry so damn much already.” He attempted a smile and reached out to ruffle her hair. 

—

It was hard to keep her resolve, but that had always been where she fell short, hadn’t it? No matter how long or diligently she trained, Alex never had the resolve her parents tried to drill into her. The part of her that wanted to keep pushing was overshadowed by the kid who was tired. It didn’t change the fact the anger she saw in Andy and Kaden both scared her even if it wasn’t directed at her. If anything, it was another reason on the ever-growing list of reasons she hated herself and she wished she could harness that calculating coldness her parents had hoped to instill in her, but that had never been her. Everything hurt and she was too exhausted to fight Kaden on the holes he poked in her arguments. 

“I don’t know,” she sighed dejectedly, “Don’t think they’ve got a ‘How Not to Get Killed for Idiots’ I should have been brushing up on.” The joke fell flat, but it was comfortable to fall back on. She’d never been strong like Andy; the heaviness in the air and everything they had faced, together and apart, had always been more weight than the werewolf could carry. 

Not that she really thought the joke could ease the tension, especially when Kaden looked at her in disbelief. She wanted to hide under the blanket and not face that look. In trying to shift misplaced blame away from Alan, she’d told on herself. “Uh,” she shrugged nervously, “I did, yeah. Seemed kinda fucked up to let Alan get shot after lying to him and leading a ranger right to him even if he still got…”

Yet again, Alex found herself trailing off. All of this was more than she knew how to process. The tangled web of feelings she had about rangers and werewolves was difficult to parse through. Especially when Kaden referred to her as someone. She wasn’t so sure he was right about that one, she was a monster. The ranger wasn’t a piece of shit for trying to kill a monster, but it was harder to keep that same energy when she imagined it was Alan the ranger killed and not her. “I’m not someone to him,” she reminded quietly, “Just another m- werewolf to him. He doesn’t know that I’ve never killed anyone.” She wasn’t sure that really mattered. All it took was losing control at the wrong time.

“I know you’re mad at him for hurting me, I just don’t want you to do something you’ll regret,” she said looking down at her palms in her lap, “But you can ask him to leave or whatever. I just… If it’s what you want to do.” 

But then Kaden was ruffling her hair and the feeling like a kid suddenly didn’t seem quite as pitiful. This time, it was her cousin delivering the joke and she cracked a weak grin. “Deal,” she agreed as she rested her head on his shoulder, “But kinda rich coming from the guy who was a werewolf chew toy like a month ago. Just saying.” 

—

Kaden wanted to yell that he didn’t give a fuck what that hunter thought, he was wrong and that was all that mattered. He clenched his jaw instead, grinding his teeth to keep the words inside of him. He inhaled deep, trying to hold onto some sort of rational and calm. “But you are someone. And that should be enough.” He knew that was simplifying things way too much. Werewolves were still dangerous and he never denied that. He just couldn’t see eye to eye with the idea of killing blindly anymore. His eyes were open now and he couldn’t just put the blindfold back on. 

While he wasn’t sure if he could rip the wool off of this particular hunter’s eyes, if he could just get him to leave town, see that people cared about Alex and that she was being looked after by other rangers, maybe… Right, that was definitely seeing the world through rose-colored glasses. It would never be that simple and not every mind could be changed. Didn’t mean it wasn’t worth a shot. 

“Alex,” he said, his voice weary from the conversation already, mostly because it’s one he’d had with himself too many time over. “I’m not going to kill him. I’m not going to kill anyone. I promise.” He didn’t need any more blood on his hands. “I’m not going to just sit back and let him kill you, or anyone else for that matter, if I can help it.” That was all he wanted at this point, to not be surrounded by death. He was tired of it, tired of making bodies, of finding them, tired of the unecessary end of life. He was simply tired.

And he was tired of pushing back against his little cousin, so he was glad to see she was willing to let things lie. As she put her head on his shoulder, he wrapped an arm around her and gave her a very gentle squeeze, careful not to pull at her and potentially aggravate her injuries. “Yeah, yeah. Do as I say, not as I do.” The chill that ran down his spine as his arm rested on her shoulders somehow felt different than his usual hunter senses. 

Maybe it was just the context, probably was, but he liked to think that maybe it was because it was Alex that he didn’t feel that sense of alertness, that his hairs didn’t stand on end. With her, it felt more like a shock of comfort, a jolt that felt like family. Both of those sounded stupid but he didn’t care, he was just relieved that she was alive and, for the moment, safe and sound. He would make sure it would stay that way. Andy would, too. There was no way this piece of shit was going to get near her let alone hurt her again with the two of them working together. He had to believe that. There was no alternative.

“Alright, so what are you making me watch now that you have unlimited time to torment me with whatever media you want?” He turned to her, raising a brow as he asked.

—

The way Kaden said she was someone with such certainty almost made her believe it. At the very least, Alex could acquiesce that she was someone to her cousin. She was someone to her sister. She wanted that to be enough for her to feel like someone to herself, but for now maybe she could at least treat herself like she was someone if it meant less worrying for Andy and Kaden. Plus, she found she had grown too tired to really disagree with him on that point. Continuing to push it would only make him worry more and the idea of anyone confronting that hunter made her stomach turn. 

The promise did ease some of her worry. Alex couldn’t stand the idea of her cousin or sister stooping to killing a hunter for her. They were good, they weren’t monsters like her. They had the chance to be better. How could she stand in the way of that? She nodded slowly, “Thank you. I understand protecting me, I just… don’t think I could live with myself if someone was dead for the sake of protecting me.” 

It was hard to let go of the idea that she shouldn’t even exist, but Alex knew better than to utter that thought aloud. Kaden would argue otherwise and they’d be back in a loop again. She much preferred the more relaxed mood they were slipping into as he put an arm around her. The motion was comforting in a way that she had only ever really known from Andy. It wasn’t like her parents ever comforted her when she was sad or hurt, that had always been her sister even before they’d lost their parents. She couldn’t deny that the affection felt good and she felt her heartbeat slowing as she relaxed again. 

Finally, Alex wasn’t the only one trying to lighten the mood with humor. She let out a soft sigh and shook her head. “You realize I know about as much about media as you do, right,” she laughed quietly against his shoulder, “But since it’s whatever I want, we will be watching the Long Pond Studio Session of Taylor Swift’s Folklore. Maybe by the end you’ll even admit you like the music.” She gave his side a playful nudge. The heaviness still lingered and she knew it would, at least for a while, but at least he wasn’t mad at her even if Alex was still mad at herself. 

[berenwrites]

Beyond the Battle - Chapter 12 - Stranger Things - Steddie

Beyond the Battle­: Action & Consequence

Click here for All Posted Chapters

Summary: Steve hits things with a bat or gets hit depending on who you ask. He definitely does not have anything to do with the psychic stuff. That is El’s domain. However, as Vecna is defeated, the rules change.

Pairing: steddie (Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson)

Other Relationships: Steve & Robin, Steve & Dustin, Eddie & Dustin

Rating: Teen

A/N: Multi-chapter story, updated regularly. Honestly not sure how many chapters it will have yet because it's still a bit hand wavy in the middle, but definitely more than 12. Thank you to my beta for find my mistakes and to all those who read/like/reblog.💖 Follow #st:beyond-the-battle for updates.

Also on AO3

Chapter 12.    Child Geniuses

“Okay child geniuses,” Eddie said with his usual dramatic flair after food had been consumed and everything tidied away.

“Hey,” came from several directions.

“Technically he’s not wrong,” was Erica’s view on the matter.

“As I was saying,” Eddie continued, “there is a matter we need to discuss.”

Steve could tell Eddie was nervous under the bravado, but he hung back, letting Eddie deal with this how he wanted to but ready to step in if Eddie needed him.

“Okay, Eddie,” Dustin said, “what is it?”

“Well,” Eddie said, “just to make sure everyone is caught up, El declared me completely de-Vecna’d yesterday, thank you El, but also a little bit other.”

“Like me and Will and Steve,” El said with a smile.

“This morning we found out what the other is,” Eddie went on, giving her a nod and a tight smile. “I woke up with fangs.”

“Fangs?” Will asked.

“Like when you were a minion?” Dustin added.

“Kinda, but not really,” Eddie replied. “Much neater.”

“They were shorter than the ones he had in the Void,” Steve revealed, since he had been the one to actually see them, “but his eyes were the same; black, with a red ring.”

“And everything what, just went away?” Mike asked next.

“That would be a nope,” Eddie replied with a very much false smile. “They came with this really gnarly thirst.”

All the kids were looking at Eddie now. The tension was obvious.

“So, you’re still a vampire?” Dustin asked, seeing straight to the root of the issue.

“Yep,” Eddie said, popping the ‘p’ in emphasis.

“But you don’t have any vampire weaknesses,” Mike pointed out, waving in the general direction of the windows and the bright morning sun.

“Also true,” Eddie agreed, “and it’s not like I can will the fangs back. They were there, but now they’re not, or at least they aren’t extended. Not sure how that works to be honest.”

“How did you get rid of them this morning?” Lucas asked.

“Um … well …” Eddie hesitated for the first time.

“I convinced him to bite me,” Steve entered the conversation once more.

“You did what?” Dustin demanded.

“Henderson, you don’t have a leg to stand on, so button it,” he countered. “I made Eddie bite me. It wasn’t like we hadn’t done it before, and I healed the wound. See, no bite marks.”

He held out his wrist which no longer even had the little pink spots.

“He took like two or three swallows and that was it,” he added.

“And you let them?” Dustin asked, glaring at Robin.

“Robin wasn’t even there,” Steve defended his best friend. “Eddie and I were in my room. We were sleeping in the same bed because of nightmares. You all know what those are like.”

It was sad because every kid in the room nodded, even Erica, but it meant they all got each other.

“I figured it would be easier to deal with Eddie’s condition if there was an easy solution,” Steve told them, “and there is.”

“It could have been dangerous,” Dustin pointed out, but his tone was much less accusatory.

“I’ve seen Eddie’s control when he was starving and dying,” Steve defended himself. “I trust him.”

And that was the crux of the matter. No matter what, he trusted Eddie. It would take something far more than fangs to shake that trust. It was the same trust he had in all the party. Occasionally they did stupid things, they were kids, but he trusted their motives.

Eddie looked kind of astonished at his vehemence, but it got the message over to Dustin. Although Steve could understand Dustin’s worry, after all he had lost Eddie once and they’d all just been through hell and their own near-death experience, the kid needed to understand.

“And after you fed, the fangs just went away?” Erica asked, getting the inquiry back on track.

“After I fed, I was high as balls. No, I don’t understand either because it wasn’t like that before,” Eddie admitted. “Steve went into mother hen mode and got me to lie down, and I slept it off. When I woke up again, the fangs were, well, normal.”

He opened his mouth to demonstrate.

“Are you stronger or faster than you used to be?” Mike asked.

“I … ah … don’t know,” Eddie said with a shrug.

“We should test that,” Mike said, looking at Dustin.

“We could use Steve as a control,” Dustin agreed with a nod. “Steve, do you have any weights?”

“Will and I were going to help Steve test his powers,” El said before he could reply.

“We won’t need him for long,” Dustin replied. “We only need a baseline, and Steve’s a jock so he’s strong.”

Steve shared a resigned look with Eddie. He could feel the morning slipping away from him as their child geniuses conspired.

~*~

Being a baseline consisted of hefting a few weights, which Steve was more than happy to do. He had a set up in the corner of one of the garages where he sometimes did weight training, so they had plenty of kit to play with. It was what was coming next that had him worried.

While Dustin, Mike and Lucas had camped out with Eddie in the garage, Steve had soon found himself in his living room with El, Will, Erica and Robin. Under El’s direction they moved the coffee table so it was closer to one of the couches, at which point she produced a piece of card with concentric circles on it and a ball bearing.

Steve watched as El put the card on the coffee table and the ball bearing on top of it right in the centre.

“We made this so Will could practice,” El told him with a bright smile.

“I’ll show you,” Will offered.

Steve nodded, because he really hoped someone would give him a clue before he made a complete idiot out of himself. Will sat down on the couch, took a deep breath, and fixed his eyes on the ball bearing. The hairs on the back of Steve’s arms lifted up as if there was static in the air. After only a second or so, the ball moved off its spot to the edge of the next circle. It then started to follow the circumference of the ring, slowly, but accurately.

“See?” Will asked, blinking as if coming back to reality.

The kid automatically put a Kleenex to his nose.

“Um, no,” Steve admitted.

“Don’t worry, you will,” El assured him, “and the nosebleeds get less.”

“It’s like using a muscle,” Will explained, “the more you use it, the more you can do without hurting yourself.”

“If you say so,” he said, he was very unsure. “What do I do?”

“Sit on the couch,” El told him with one of her small encouraging smiles.

He and Will swapped places.

“Focus on the ball,” she explained simply, “and push from here.”

She put two fingers on her forehead.

“Okay,” Steve said, but that sounded far too simple.

It was. He spent the next half an hour staring at the steel ball and failing to do anything except make himself go cross-eyed.

“I don’t get it,” he admitted eventually. "What does it feel like?”

“It’s like a pressure between your eyes,” Will said.

“Could you demonstrate again,” he asked, “and would you mind if I touched you while you did it?”

“Sure,” Will said with a smile and they swapped again.

Steve placed a hand on Will’s shoulder and closed his eyes. He figured if his healing was touched based, if he had a chance of understanding what Will and El were trying to teach him, touch might be the key.

“Ready?” Will asked.

He nodded without opening his eyes.

The hairs on his arms stood on end again and this time he felt something else. It was kind of like a pressure, or at least the echo of it, but it felt different, more ethereal. He also sensed something off and automatically reached out to fix it.

“Did you get it?” Will asked and went to wipe his nose.

The Kleenex came away clean.

“Did you just fix my nose?” Will asked, looking at him.

“Um,” he said, “maybe.”

El laughed.

“That could be useful,” she said, sounding positively delighted. “Did it help? If not, we could try a more emotional approach. It’s how I do bigger things.”

“I did feel something when you were moving the ball,” Steve said. “Only one way to find out, I guess.”

“Yeah, because it’s really boring watching nothing happen,” Erica said in her usual judgemental tone.

“It’s really boring not doing anything too,” Steve quipped back as he took up his position on the sofa again.

This time as he focused on the ball, he did his best to recreate the echo he had sensed from Will. He tried to approach it like learning a new skill in sports, since he was good at those. The first time was always the hardest.

“Oh,” Steve said as he pushed hard with his mind, “that doesn’t feel right.”

For the first time the ball bearing moved. Not very far or very convincingly, but it moved.

“You did it!” Robin crowed, clapping her hands and she was echoed by Will, El and even Erica, only Steve missed most of it.

The world went very fuzzy for a moment as pain shot through the left side of his head. He swayed in his seat as the room looped the loop. This was very not good.

“Oh shit, Steve,” he heard, and he thought it might have been Robin, but everything was distorted and surreal, so he couldn’t be sure.

Nausea twisted his stomach as the universe lurched and he made a desperate dive for the trash can at the end of the couch. His breakfast revisiting was unpleasant to say the least as vertigo turned his stomach inside out.

“Erica, can you get some water?” he heard Robin say, and at least this time her voice sounded properly like her.

“Yeah, that’s disgusting,” Erica said, “I’ll be right back.”

“Steve, are you still with us?” Robin asked as a gentle hand touched his back.

He nodded, closing his eyes and trying to force the spinning feeling to go away.

“Let’s not do that again,” he said quietly.

“Here,” Robin said and passed him a Kleenex.

“Thanks, but ow,” he replied. “Did the drum section of Hawkins High Band just take up residence in my head?”

He didn’t even try and sit up yet.

“I’m so sorry, Steve,” El said from somewhere close by.

“Not your fault,” he said, reaching out blindly and patting her on the arm. “I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to do what you and Will do.”

“Well, you can do it,” Will chimed in, “but it definitely doesn’t look good for you.”

Steve managed a small smile and carefully opened his eyes. The world stayed nicely in its correct orientation, which was a good step forward.

~*~

“Ugh,” Eddie said, collapsing on the couch next to where Steve was already sitting nursing a headache with tissue stuffed up his nose.

“Had fun?” he asked.

“No,” Eddie replied. “Those kids are sadistic.”

“I know,” he said with a small smile. “So, any superpowers?”

“Do I look like I have superpowers?” Eddie replied, putting his head back over the couch.

“Not even vampire strength?” Steve asked, a little disappointed.

“Stevie, I’m not even as strong as you,” Eddie said, “and now I ache all over. You made it look easy, you bastard, and it wasn’t.”

“Sorry, can’t help perfection,” he replied and smirked as well as he could with Kleenex in his nostril.

“Dumb jock,” Eddie shot back immediately.

“Wimpy nerd,” he countered, and they both burst out laughing at the same time. “Ow,” he said as it exacerbated his headache.

“Aren’t you supposed to be able to fix yourself now?” Eddie asked as the amusement passed.

“Yeah,” Steve said, “but seems I’m stuck with the headache because there’s nothing really wrong. The way El and Will explain it, it’s like training for a new sport, new muscles hurt when activated.”

“If you say so,” Eddie said.

“And, well, since I already had a headache, I didn’t feel like making it worse by trying to heal the nosebleed,” Steve continued.

“So how did it go?” Eddie asked. “Jedi powers activated?”

“Huh?”

“Are you going to start throwing things around with your mind?” Eddie clarified and Steve caught up.

“Oh, yes, but no,” he replied.

“Gonna explain that?” Eddie asked.

“I can do it,” he revealed as he rubbed his temples, “but I am never doing it voluntarily again.”

“Why?” was Eddie’s obvious question.

“He puked,” Robin said as she walked into the room. “Full on Exorcist shit, or Starcourt aftermath.”

“It was unpleasant,” Steve added. “Thank you, you’re an angel,” he added as Robin handed him a mug of tea.

The smell of chamomile was heavenly. Robin had introduced him to various teas over their friendship and he kept a stock in the back of the cupboard.

“Is that chamomile?” Eddie asked, peering at the mug curiously.

“Yep,” Robin replied. “My grandma swears by teas, and I got Steve addicted after Starcourt, but sssh, because big strong jocks don’t drink tea.”

“I think that ship sailed years ago,” Steve muttered as he sipped the soothing liquid. “You a tea man?” he asked Eddie.

“You did see how many mugs were in the trailer, right?” Eddie replied. “You think all of those were just for coffee. Wayne is old school when it comes to tea.”

Eddie’s eyes went distant as he mentioned Wayne.

“He thinks I’m dead, doesn’t he,” Eddie said after a moment.

Steve nodded.

“Dustin told him, even though we couldn’t tell him everything that happened,” he replied. “Look, we’ll need to talk to the others first, but we’ll come up with something. I saw him at the school the other day, so he came back to town as soon as he was allowed.”

“Stubborn old man,” Eddie said quietly.

Steve glanced around to make sure it was still only the three of them before he reached out and took Eddie’s hand. They stayed like that for several minutes.

“So,” Eddie said eventually, apparently snapping out of his thoughts, “no telekinesis. Did you figure anything else out though?”

“They did some of the Void stuff,” Robin piped up, crawling into the last space on the couch and throwing her legs over both of them. “Really weird to watch.”

“Void stuff?” Eddie asked.

“Mostly we were just talking, only there, not here,” Steve did his best to explain. “It was weirdly easy. El says it’s harder with distance, but we should try that at some point. She was also trying to explain going further and piggy-backing into someone’s mind, but that’s way too advanced for me or Will yet.”

“Way too advanced, he says, after telling us about talking to people on another plane of existence,” Eddie said with a shake of his head and exchanging a look with Robin.

“You asked,” Steve protested, sipping his tea.

His headache was showing signs of receding, which was a nice change from the migraines he had suffered in the past.

“I did,” Eddie agreed, “but allow me a moment of reflection, these are big concepts.”

“Tell me about it,” Steve could only agree. “El is a frighteningly sweet, but very focused coach.”

“She’s probably enjoying having friends like her, rather than fellow lab rats,” Robin said while shifting around to make herself more comfortable.

“Yeah,” Steve agreed. “The way her and Will are together, it’s like they really are blood related.”

“Does that make you the weird older brother?” Eddie asked with a laugh.

Steve turned his best hurt puppy dog eyes onto Eddie for that.

“You couldn’t have gone for cool?” he said. “You had to go for weird?”

“In this town, Stevie,” Eddie said with a sweet smile, “everything’s weird.”

End of Chapter 12

Chapter 13

[janetsboys]

Recovery- Carl grimes xRhee!reader

warnings: fem!reader, ‘arguing’, shared bed, grief, smut, fingering, unprotected sex, female receiving oral.

A/N: this is the first smut i wrote in english i’ve only wrote ones in my language (i’m french) so i hope this is good enough🫡

summary: (Y/N) is slowly recovering from her adoptive dad’s loss and she spends her nights sleeping in the same bed as her bestie, carl. they get close one night, like really close.

english is not my first language✌🏻

Since your adoptive father and Abraham died that awful night, you can’t close your eyes without living the scene over and over again.

This has been a huge problem since you need to rest after not sleeping for days. You’ve been in a really bad mental health since their deaths, everyone noticed of course.

Your dad was your whole life, he saved you, he was everything for you. Losing him was just too much and especially in that way, you’re very sensitive and you’re really not okay right now.

Your childhood and actual best friend is always by your side, he knows everything about you and especially how much you cared about Glenn. He’s been spending multiple nights sleeping in your bed with you to comfort you, you had a lot of nightmares about that event so having him with you was the best solution.

He hates to see you like this without having the power to make you feel suddenly better, he can’t just take your pain away. Tonight, you’re both sleeping in your room.

You keep thinking, looking at the ceiling as you think Carl is already asleep. You don’t want to cry, you can’t cry anymore, you don’t know how to express your emotions.

You focus on Carl’s heavy breathing, he seems at peace right now, you wish you could find peace too. This was an awful event for everyone, it was very hard for Carl too, he cried a lot too during your breaking down nights together.

You’re glad he can get some rest tonight.

You turn in the bed over and over again, trying to find some sleep. “Are you awake?” you hear Carl whispering, he obviously got awaken by you moving so much since his voice sounds really deep.

You turn to face him, laying on your side “Yep. Can’t sleep.” you respond, looking at him being lightened by the moon’s light going through the window.

“Are you okay?” you hesitate a lot, should you say yes? or no? or you don’t know? You nod, “Why can’t you sleep?” you ask him, “I keep thinking again and again.” he says, looking at you, “What are you thinking about?” he takes a bit before responding “You. I hate to see you like this.”

Last night, you almost cried in his arms the whole night, you couldn’t help but cried. You weren’t ashamed because it’s Carl, he’s seen you devastated, happy, almost dead. He’s been with you since the very beginning and is the only one actually able to comfort you when you feel like that.

“I’m sorry you have to comfort me constantly, it must be hard for you too.” you answer, taking his hand in yours. “You don’t have to apologize, this whole situation sucks. I promise we’ll be fine.” he says before kissing your forehead. You could just end up your life laying there with him.

You love him, you truly love him and it hurts so much. You’re constantly afraid of losing your family, you already lost so many and you only had the courage to continue because Carl was there holding you the whole time.

When Beth died, he held you in his arms, keeping your eyes away from the horror scene, as you heard your mother screaming in pain, Carl held you tight, a hand on the back of your head, the other around your back, you cried all the tears of your body, containing your emotions against his.

It was like this for everyone you loved that died, you both need each other to survive and face the day every morning.

You see the way he looks at you, you know you could let yourself drown under his touch and finally get away from your bad luck.

“And what is coursing through your mind now?” he says with an almost smirking smile. He also noticed how you look at him, it’s obvious you want to tell him your feelings but you’re absolutely terrified.

Everything you touch, everyone you love dies, you can’t do this, you can’t lose your partner in crime, you need him to go on and continue to live.

“You.” you simply respond, kind of thinking you said this in your head. He stroked your hair, he needs you close, always.

You both got sat down on the bed, he was so close from you you could feel his warm breathing on your skin. In a moment like this, you both needed to abandon all your worries and let yourselves finally feel something real after feeling empty for days.

Your breathing got heavier, you felt him looking at you but you kept your eyes on the wall, not knowing if you should listen to your heart or your brain. You feel his hand caressing your cheek, moving your head on the right so he could lean forward and kiss you.

You feel his breathing on your lips this time, eyes closed, you know you’re close from kissing him, your lips are going to touch each other but you turn a bit your head, you can’t do this. Not after losing everybody.

“I can’t do this to you, Carl. I love you too much for this.” you say, starting to sob a bit. He lets go of you and you stand up in front of the bed where he sits calmly, his eye on you.

“Y/N, it’s okay.” he tries to comfort you but this time it doesn’t work “No, it’s not- i should, i should leave.” you start panicking and stuttering when you walk to the door. Carl obviously stood up and put his body in front of the door, you run into him in anger, “Let go of me!”

You start loosing it, you’re afraid, you’re in love. You just want to run away, disappear so you won’t hurt people you love ever again but you can’t, cause that boy won’t let you go.

He held you back as you struggled, trying to “hit” him, loosing all your cold blood, you started to cry a lot, like a child having a crisis but he didn’t let go of you, he didn’t say anything he just looked at you in a painful silence.

“I said let go! Carl-” you got tired of fighting, you didn’t have any strength to even struggle any longer, you stopped talking and just lied on him, completely exhausted by your emotions.

“I can’t do this to you, Carl- I can’t kill you.” you said whispering with a broken and shaky voice, still sobbing against his chest. His arms around you.

You then stepped a bit back as he looked at you, “I can’t go on without you.” you say, again. “I can’t go on without you either, Y/N! You’re not losing anyone again, okay? I’m here! I won’t leave!”

“Can’t you understand? I destroy everything i touch!” you say not knowing how to say it anymore. “Then i’ll take the risk.” he answers, as you drown in his look.

You finally get it, he loves you so much he doesn’t care about how cursed you are. You quickly walk to him and kiss him, your hands on both sides of his face, he’s been waiting for this.

You can feel the butterflies in your stomach as you’re finally feeling something, he holds your waist, kissing you back, his lips fading into yours.

You want to just feel him everywhere on you, you need him. The kiss intensifies, guiding you back to the bed, laying on your back, you don’t let go of the kiss, he’s right on top of you, caressing your body, letting out of your lips to breathe and look at each other for a moment, you stroke his hair, contemplating his beauty that is finally yours.

You can feel his cold hands crawling under your shirt as you look deep in his eye, you feel him making his way between your thighs, he looks at you asking for the permission to get rid of your shirt, you nod and let him do it gently.

You can see him looking at your breasts, his hands massaging them as he kisses you, you let out a deep breath when you feel his bulge against your pussy.

His right hand leaving your breasts to get your pants off then enter a finger inside of you, sliding it back and forth as you tilt your head back under his touch, then he ads another finger inside of you, making your back ache small moans coming out cause you couldn’t hold the pleasure back. He rubs your cheek with his other hand, you put your hand on his, “Feels good huh?” Carl asks accelerating his movements, kissing your hand.

You felt yourself coming, “I think i’m close” you struggled to say. “Good, cum for me hun-” he goes faster and faster, curling his fingers, you let out a choked moan, coming on him as he leans down to kiss your forehead, you breathe loudly, “Please, Carl, i need you.” you beg for him, you can’t wait any longer. “Are you wet enough for me?” he asks, a smirk on, making you more and more impatient and needy. “Please- fuck me” you shamelessly moan against him.

He looks at you, his eye shining, he wants to fuck you so bad too.

He kisses you passionately on your lips, you see him getting his pants and boxer off, you’ve been dreaming of that moment for a long time, you truly need his cock right now.

He placed himself between your legs as you rolled your legs around his waist, preparing to take his dick. He put his hands on your hips, slowly entering your pussy, you adjusting to his size “Gosh- you’re so big Carl-” he looked down at you, this one sentence turned him even more on, you gasped as your cunt slowly swallowed his whole dick “Fuck, you’re so tight babe-” you hear and then feel him deep inside of you for the first but certainly not last time. Hearing groans escaping from his throat.

Carl begins to thrust in you, you moan loudly incapable of containing yourself, he kisses you hardly, his hips snapping back and forth, you open your mouth, your walls tightening around his hard cock.

Carl’s hands gripping your hips, his balls smacking against your ass as you get closer to your climax every second he spends inside of you. “You’re taking it so well babe” you feel him deeper and deeper, moaning his name in his ear, making him shiver and slam his lips against yours once again. Fearing the idea of someone in the house that could hear y’all.

“I’m gonna cum- Carl” you struggle to let out a full sentence, you can’t last any longer, “It’s okay, lemme’ hear your pretty noises hun” he focuses on your face as you tilt it back, your back aching as you cum right before he does. “Good girl” he rubs his thumb on your face then you feel him coming in you and press his lips against yours into a long and loving kiss before his dick slips out of your pussy.

He leans on your side, holding you tightly in his arms, recovering from the amount of pleasure you two just got tonight. You know for a fact you don’t regret letting him know about your feelings.

“I’ve been waiting for this” you say, your head resting on his chest. “I needed you so bad, (Y/N). I’m never leaving you.” he sighs, regaining his breath, “I love you.” you say, closing your eyes “I love you. So much.” he responds, stroking your hair. He kissed your forehead right before y’all fell asleep.

————————————————————————————

thank you for reading me my fellows carl stans :)

[dancingamongstdust]

sdc group when their partner sneakily joins their Egypt mission? And they only find out when it's too late for them to return?hcs pls?

Yes! My first Jojo's request! Hopefully I get more of these in the future because I love this show.

· You didn’t even make it onto the first plane before you sensed Jotaro’ large presence standing behind you.

· You turned around with a big smile and tried to pretend that it was a complete coincidence to see him there. He just stared while you slowly made your way through the boarding terminal with your ticket out.

· His plan was to send you home the moment that you next landed.

· The fight with Tower of Gray caused a problem with that plan though the stand itself had little effect on your trip. You only noticed when the group went bustling towards the cockpit, their tones betraying the importance of what was happening.

· You had ventured over and asked about the situation.

· The majority of the group had attempted to usher you out and Jotaro didn’t even respond. Still, Star Platinum kept you safe when the plane hit the water and you were practically carried into the lifeboat with the rest of the group.

· Your comment about the trip being more hazardous than expected earned you a glare.

· The rest of the group didn’t realise anything was special about you until you all arrived in Hong Kong officially and Jotaro led you alongside them to the hotel.

· Details about your relationship with him were quickly brought up after that though he seemed content to mostly ignore everything that was said. You found yourself enjoying the conversation with Joseph though he too felt that the trip was too dangerous for you to be on.

· Jotaro didn’t share a room with you in the hotel, instead having his grandfather get you one that was next door to his.

· Before he could disappear after making sure you were safe, you quickly apologised and asked if he was upset. He was always quiet but there was a heaviness to the air that made you feel as though you’d upset him.

· He told you that you hadn’t and that was the last of that.

· You missed your flight the next day when it became clear that Dio hadn’t sent just one person after the group. Star Platinum’s tendency to hover in front of you (whether you could or couldn’t see him) made it clear that you weren’t to be put in danger.

· Jotaro thought it would make you an easy target to send you back alone after you had been seen with the group.

· He was right and you quickly found yourself an occasional target for those who didn’t know any better. They never injured you badly but scratches and bruises became expected as you continued on the journey.

· Jotaro wasn’t affectionate normally but his coldness built up until one day, you asked if he resented you being there and apologised for your brash actions. You had no idea that the things they were involved in broke the lines of reality and fiction.

· He stared at you for a bit before sighing and wrapping one arm around you.

· That was all that you needed to fling your arms around his middle and squeeze him as tight as you could.

· He didn’t need to say it for you to understand that he didn’t hold it against you. Despite the constant danger that you were in, he had found himself calmer about the situation thanks to your presence. It would have been a much harder trip without you being there.

· Kakyoin thought he saw you several times but brushed it off as wishful thinking until toward the end of their Singapore stay.

· You were remarkably good at remaining undetected but more and more creepy things were happening, and it made you want to be closer to the group. It felt like the better option if you were putting yourself in danger anyway.

· There was a moment of silence when you made eye contact – your attempts at sneaking around now thwarted.

· So you raised your hand and waved.

· Kakyoin wasn’t sure what to think. For a second, he was sure that he was imagining it but your reaction to his unexpected departure had been suspicious in hindsight. You had gone from being devastated that he was just leaving without warning, to supportive about whatever he had to do.

· And this would be why.

· You made a joke about being mildly codependent when you sat down next to him, awkward and unsure of how he would react to you being there. It was followed by a question about his sun tanning wear that made him chuckle.

· Somehow, he wasn’t overheating in his uniform even though you were dying in just casual summer clothes.

· You apologised for not telling him that you were coming but pointed out how weird he’d been acting for the past few months. Sure, he had gone back to normal afterwards but you were worried. Especially because you knew fully about the slightly weirder aspect of his life.

· Whether you could see him or not, you felt Hierophant Green appear at the mention. He wrapped around your waist as usual. Close even when Kakyoin couldn’t be.

· As if to prove your worries correct, the first thing you found out after spending a day at the pool (pretending that you were just a couple on a regular vacation) was that an imposter had been walking around as Kakyoin.

· The others weren’t entirely on board with your presence and Kakyoin wasn’t happy with the amount of danger you were in.

· Several times he attempted to convince you that it would be safer elsewhere. He even asked Joseph to get you a plane ticket home at one point but each time you would see or experience something that added to your worries.

· The only way you were going home was if he was with you.

· You managed to remain mostly out of danger despite everything. The main threat you faced came in the form of Death 13 who quickly found a way to manipulate your cares for Kakyoin.

· After the first nightmare, you had started staying up later to make sure he was okay before going to sleep – thwarting the stand’s plans in a substantial way.

· When he nearly lost his eyesight, you didn’t sleep for days on end. You sat alongside the bed and waited for him to recover. Often, you’d think you should call somebody back home to let them know what was happening but he always asked you not to.

· While he was recovering, he asked you again to go home. The trip had almost doubled in danger and he didn’t trust Hierophant to be able to protect you fully.

· You refused once more and reiterated that you had come this far.

· You weren’t going to be going back without him at your side.

· Yeah, Polnareff wouldn’t have noticed you were following at all if it hadn’t been for Jotaro.

· It was shortly after they had arrived in Varanashi and you had accidentally drawn attention to yourself by laughing at Polanareff’s attempts at flirting with Nena. Though he himself hadn’t noticed that you were there, Jotaro had and he quickly come to the conclusion of having seen you before.

· You had made eye contact with him and quickly realised that continuing to hide was going to turn dangerous.

· So you waltzed over to your very distracted partner and draped yourself over his shoulders, playing with the earring and smugly smirking at whomever he had been flirting with.

· He was a flirt, that part you had never minded, but it was always satisfying to show off that he wasn’t truly available.

· Not having expected your sudden appearance, Polnareff had almost fallen over in his scramble to get away from you. After the shock subsided however, he had gasped and swept you into the air with an excited greeting and a seemingly endless stream of French.

· After you were put down, he rapidly introduced you to the rest of the group before realising that you weren’t meant to be there.

· You gave Jotaro an apologetic smile and mentioned that you hadn’t meant to cause trouble with your following.

· He had rolled his eyes and gone back to staring at nothing so you had to assume it was all fine now that you had shown you weren’t an enemy.

· Polnareff on the other hand had begun interrogating you to find out exactly why you had been in India when he remembered saying goodbye to you in France. Though admittedly, that memory was hazy due to the fleshbud having been in effect during time.

· When you explained his suspicious behavior was why you had followed in the first place, he gathered you close and squeezed you as tightly as possible.

· Your unexpected appearance came at the right time. After the bittersweet experience with the Hanged Man, Polnareff had been struggling and you acted as the best possible solution.

· You are a distraction, that much quickly becomes obvious, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing.

· Unfortunately, you did end up getting injured quite frequently while you were with the group but never once did Polnareff mention sending you home. You were never hurt in a way that would leave more than a small scar.

· The others did suggest it once but Polnareff had instantly shut that down.

· He could make sure you were safe. Why wouldn’t he want you with him at all times?

· You got quite a bit of attention during the trip, primarily from other men who all took great interest in you. It was entertaining to see the contrast between your casual attraction of attention and Polnareff’s active seeking of it.

· The only time either of you got actually jealous during the trip was of Iggy who had quickly realised how to exploit both of you.

· Surprisingly, you managed to follow the group all the way to Singapore before you were spotted by Avdol.

· You could have made it further still without notice but you had been so worried when their ship didn’t arrive in time that you just ran into Avdol the next time you saw him, hugging him as though he was going to slip from your fingers and never return again.

· Avdol was confused though he held it in well enough, just stroking your hair and reassuring you that he was alright.

· After you had calmed and pulled away, he touched your cheek before asking what you were doing there.

· You just shrugged and he sighed.

· Introductions happened then and you made an incredible impression on the rest of the group. Apparently Avdol had been sending you updates about his trip but due to your following, nothing had gotten through and you had to be caught up with everything they had learned.

· Stands were far from a foreign concept to you but you found yourself fascinated by the newer ones.

· Magician’s Red came out shortly after you had examined Silver Chariot closely – betraying Avdol’s otherwise well-hidden jealousy. He simply smiled and winked when you had given him a look because of it.

· He knew their trip would be difficult but Avdol couldn’t bring himself to send you home.

· You had spent such little time together since his first encounter with Dio (him having to flee Egypt shortly after) and he genuinely missed you more than he cared to admit. Additionally, Avdol was very certain that their group could protect you with the combination of knowledge and power they had.

· Avdol kept you well protected while you travelled. Nobody suspicious even got close to you while you were near him.

· He guided you away from dangerous situations with a hand around your waist and a smile on his face. You never even knew there was a problem. Those who got too close quickly found themselves at the mercy of Magician’s Red.

· Even if you couldn’t see his stand, the warmth of its presence would quickly alert you to its appearance. If you could see it though, Avdol would find it harder to brush off things as ‘precaution’ though he would still try.

· After his initial encounter with Hol Horse, you felt your entire world shatter around you.

· That was the end of your journey with the Crusaders as, after he was stabilized, you refused to leave Avdol’s side. You tended to him as best as you could while secretly hoping that he wouldn’t rejoin their quest after this injury.

· But as he recovered you realised that wouldn’t be an option.

· You volunteered to come with him again. Though you hadn’t been much help on the earlier parts of the journey, he was still injured and could probably use your assistance.

· The incident had been frightening to both of you however and when he next left, you weren’t with him. Before he left, you clutched at his clothing in a silent plead for him to stay.

· After the submarine disappeared beneath the waves, you sat down on the beach and just stared at the ocean for hours to come.

· You got to India before he noticed you and it was a complete accident.

· There was a problem with your hotel booking so you had to remain in the lobby for longer than anticipated – a hand propped on your hip and a bored expression on your face. You hadn’t anticipated that the group would make their way downstairs again, a problem with some missing room service.

· Honestly, he really should have noticed sooner given that the additional charges were coming from his account.

· To the others, nothing was wrong. Joseph just kind of stopped walking and you offered a simple smile in hopes that neither of your covers would be blown.

· He didn’t allow that to last.

· His shout of confusion made everybody jump and you turned around sheepishly. There were a few seconds while the rest of the group realised that you were the source of the commotion so you volunteered your information.

· You had been worried after Joseph’s stand developed (having been there when it happened) and you realised something dangerous was going on. While you weren’t planning on getting involved, surely it couldn’t help to at least know what was happening. From his stories, he didn’t exactly live the quiet life.

· Avdol – having met you before – had a feeling that you were trailing him and is pleasantly surprised to be proved correct.

· Joseph was irritated and worried and happy all at once which resulted in a half-hearted but very loud complaint about why you couldn’t understand what the word ‘dangerous’ means.

· He immediately demanded that you take the first plane home and you very simply responded with ‘no’.

· This resulted in a pretty one-sided argument where he continuously tried to urge you to stop being stubborn and just get back to safety. Your response remained the same to pretty much everything until eventually you just smiled and said that it was good to see him.

· That flustered him enough to cut off his tirade.

· A small silence was broken by the return of the hotel receptionist who couldn’t find a spare room to make up for the booking not coming through on their system. She began apologising when Joseph cut her off.

· It didn’t matter, you would be staying with him either way.

· Avdol sighed and commented something about having to change rooms when the question was finally asked by a very irate Jotaro.

· Who the fuck were you?

· There was a great deal of awkward stammering from Joseph before he eventually settled on saying that you were his assistant. You raised an eyebrow at that but went along with it.

· Though it was obvious that nobody believed it, the matter of your identity wasn’t pushed any further.

· You stuck around after that, mostly remaining at the hotel, and occasionally getting slightly hurt. Joseph made very sure that you remained far from any potential stands and you really didn’t mind that all too much.

· A rule was quickly made to make sure you weren’t ever left alone but that was just fine. You ended up dragging Joseph into too many stores, him complaining about it all the while, until you both left with at least one bag each.

· Jotaro didn’t warm up to you for a long time and even then, it’s more tolerance than anything else.

· The trip didn’t leave you badly injured but it strengthened your relationship with Joseph more than you had ever expected.

[jimlingss]

(sorry my tumblr app glitched so im not sure if this was sent twice) taking a chance for the requests! how about a seokjin or namjoon arranged marriage au with this: “Am I your lockscreen?” “You weren’t supposed to see that.” 🎄 happy holidays!!

↳ Playground Promises

1.9k || 100% Light Fluff || Kim Seokjin

The bell rings.

Moments later, children are sprinting from the doors and flooding the playground. You watch in fondness as some climb the monkey bars while others sit and dig into the sandbox. All of them were forging their first friendships they’ll remember forever and you were their witness.

This is one of your favourite times of day. You enjoy seeing the kids have their fun, listening to their laughter and giggles, watching their games of tag to play pretend. But today, your enjoyment is interrupted by a certain male teacher that comes to stand behind you.

Tall. Dark. And handsome. His broad shoulders carry the weight of the third-grade class and practically the entire elementary school. But you’d never admit that out loud.

“It’s a bit chilly out today. You should’ve brought your coat with you.”

You hum.

Every staff member, married and single, swoons over Kim Seokjin. It’s hard not to. But if others knew what your relationship was with him, you’re sure you’d never hear the end of it. The kids would make a big fuss and so would all the staff and faculty, and you’d rather avoid that.

“I didn’t know you were on playground duty today.”

“I switched with Sana,” he says and leans over to smile. “Thought you could use some company.”

You scoff. “She’s perfectly fine company.”

The corner of his plump lip pulls. “If you want to talk about the mathletes program. And I’m pretty sure you don’t.”

Before you can respond, a boy approaches the two of you with pink cheeks and wind-swept hair. “Mr. Kim, can I go to the bathroom?” the third-grader asks in the midst of catching his breath and the older man nods.

“Go ahead. But don’t run in the hallway, Lucas.” 

Said boy grins and dashes off.

Seokjin turns to you and lowers his voice. “My mom’s been asking about the kids.”

Your brows furrow. “Why? They’re a good bunch.”

“No.” He shakes his head. “I don’t mean your class’ kids, I mean our kids.”

You blink owlishly. “There are no our kids.”

“That’s the problem.”

You sigh and roll your eyes. “Wasn’t getting married enough for them?”

Seokjin shrugs with a faint, mischievous smile. “They want to go out for brunch with your parents this Sunday. Are you free?”

“When am I not free?” you retort lightly, but slip your phone out of your pocket to check your calendar anyhow. Seokjin glances over to your screen and once you finish, you slip it back into your pocket. “I have some marking to do, but I’ll probably finish by then.”

“Okay.” The pair of you turn back to continue monitoring the children playing and you’re glad to revel in the silence that’s been created between you. But after a beat, Kim Seokjin pipes up again. You don’t know why you’re surprised. He’s quite the talkative guy. “Hey, Y/N.”

You look over and he meets your eye.

He asks, “Am I your lock screen?”

Your face heats. If you were once cold, now you were warm from head to toe. “You weren’t supposed to see that,” you mumble. It was just a picture from the other day and you wanted to change things up on your phone. You had nothing else to use. It was convenient. That’s it.

Your entire relationship with him is built on convenience. At least...on his side it is.

Still, Seokjin grins and fortunately, he doesn’t tease.

You rush to change the subject. “A-Anyway, yeah, Sunday works for me. But we should probably talk about this after work.”

“Why? No one’s around.” His smile is spread from ear to ear and he leans in, whispering, “Are you that scared of people finding out we’re married?”

Immediately, you whip your head in all directions. Luckily, there’s no kid or nosy faculty member. You turn back to him, glaring. “I already said, I like to keep my private life under wraps.”

“I remember. But if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were embarrassed of me.”

You scoff and a murmur unintentionally spills out of you, “That’s impossible.”

You don’t notice Seokjin’s smile.

It’s been three months since you got married. It was a summer wedding. More importantly, it was an arranged marriage. And not because you were both wealthy and needed to be wedded to get the inheritance under some arbitrary contract rule or because it was your grandmother’s dying wish. No. You live a much more mundane, normal life than the dramas, movies and books.

It was your mom who threw a fuss. She was scared you’d be alone and unmarried, an old maid like your aunt — you didn’t say it, she just heavily implied it. But following her practically senile meltdown, you agreed. Partly to appease her worries and partly just out of curiosity.

You always wanted to get married. And deep down, you always wanted your own kids. But at the rate you were going, you had a feeling you wouldn’t be able to meet someone on your own.

What you didn’t expect on that blind date was for the other person to be Kim Seokjin, third grade teacher. Down the hall from you at the school. Someone across the room every lunchtime. Your dads were apparently long time colleagues, but Jin was still as equally shocked as you were during that first meeting. Yet, he easily agreed to getting married when you brought it up. Even when it was only after two months of occasionally seeing one another outside of your workplaces.

You still don’t know why he said yes.

“Ms. L/N!”

You’re torn out of your trance by a little girl at your knees. 

She pouts. “Jennie won’t let me play on the slide!”

“Did you ask her to share?”

“Yes!”

Before any more can be said, she drags you over and Seokjin trails after you. There’s another girl with brown braided hair climbing on the slide, and she swivels her head over as the two of you approach, eyes the size of saucers. 

“Are you taking turns, Jennie?” you ask her, and she vigorously nods.

“I am!”

“Well, you’ve been on it for a while. How about Lisa takes a turn next.”

“Okay,” she draws out and gets off of the slide before turning to her friend. “Here you go.”

It’s always little problems you have to solve — from sharing to knee scrapes and monkey bar accidents. Sometimes it’s difficult for the children to compromise, difficult for them to apologize and difficult for you to find a good solution. But you undoubtedly wish your own issues were this simple.

While you’re stuck in your thoughts, you miss Jin watching you fondly. 

“You’re good with kids,” he says as you move out of the way of running children and walk back to the perimeter.

“I wouldn’t be doing this job if I wasn’t. But I deal with older kids much better.” There’s a reason you teach fifth graders and not any lower than that. Seokjin knows it too.

“Remember when we had to supervise that kindergarten class together?”

You shudder. “It was a nightmare.”

“You weren’t that bad,” he tries to say but then laughs. You feign a glare, and he adds on, “Okay. I’m sorry, but I still mean it. It’s not as terrible as you thought. You’d make a good mom.” 

At that, your glare vanishes in favour of furrowing brows. You really shouldn’t, but you can’t help it when curiosity pries — so you break your own rule against discussing private matters at work. 

“Do you want my kids?”

Seokjin is wide-eyed and he turns to you. “Why not? We’re married.”

“Yeah….but…”

“But? Do you not want kids?” 

“No! I definitely want them,” you declare, almost a bit too boldly. He nods and you explain, “It’s just...I don’t know if you’re serious.”

Seokjin blinks. “I’m being perfectly serious.”

“I mean I don’t know if we’re serious.” You add, “Enough to have kids.”

“What’s more serious than being married?” Jin has a genuinely inquisitive and amused expression, head quirked to the side. 

You inhale a sharp breath and his gaze coaxes you to go on, so you do. “It’s just that you agreed so quickly to be married to me. It doesn’t….feel real. I don’t know if you wanted to marry me, if you did it on a whim, if this is some kind of joke—”

He frowns. “This isn’t a joke, Y/N. I wanted to marry you.”

Your mouth hangs open. Your eyes are rounded.

“Wh—”

“Mrs. L/N!” You’re interrupted by your fifth-grader, Park Jimin. He sprints to you, huffing and puffing, before leaning his hands onto his knees to catch his breath. “Have you seen Taehyung?! We’re playing tag!”

“No, I haven’t.”

Jin suddenly points to the left. “He went that way.”

Jimin books it.

Silence fills the spaces between you and Seokjin again, but it isn’t like normal. It’s filled with unanswered questions and the suspenseful cliffhanger of an unfinished conversation. The laughter of kids on the playground and field resound around you, but for the first time, you don’t listen to it. 

It fades into the background as you turn to Seokjin, wanting to know more. “What did you just say?”

The man smiles softly. “You have to know.”

“I don’t,” you assert. “So tell me.”

“I’ve always liked you.”

You blink and he continues, “Since you substituted for the art teacher and I saw you squirt red paint all over yourself. It’s something I couldn’t forget. Plus, the way you draw those stick people.” Seokjin laughs heartily and you’re trapped in your spot, unsure of how to react or what to say. He reads your expression and softens. “Did you really think I would rush into a marriage if I didn’t have feelings for you?”

“I…” Your mouth is agape. “I don’t know. Why did we never talk about this?”

Seokjin shrugs. “You never asked and I didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable if you didn’t feel the same way. I knew you married me for convenience.”

“That’s not true,” you retort within a beat. This whole time, you thought he married you for convenience sake. But it wasn’t entirely like that for you.

Seokjin’s eyes are big and you swallow down your embarrassment. “Isn’t it obvious every single breathing person loves you? It’s hard not to.”

Slowly but surely, a grin spreads into Seokjin’s puffy cheeks and he’s smiling from ear to ear again. “Well, you’re very good at hiding it then.”

Suddenly, the bell rings.

All the children reluctantly climb off the equipment, some dusting their hands while others grabbing their friends, and they rush into their lineups. There’s a few stranglers lugging their legs while groaning. But busy in their small playground worlds, no one turns around to notice you leaning in and pressing a chaste kiss to Seokjin’s mouth. It’s shy and brief, like the first peck exchanged between two for the first time. And you pull away just as fast, lips left tingling.

“We can continue this later, Mr. Kim.”

You stride off while Seokjin’s left smiling. After a breathless moment, he chases after you like children who have just made promises of their first love on the playground.

[lubdubsworld]

Blackberry Winters.

Part 1

Check part one for warnings 💔

Part 2.

Namjoon stared at his mother, her words registering but not quite sinking in. He blinked, a couple of times and swallowed dryly, trying to gather his wits that felt like they'd been scattered to the four winds. There was a dull ringing in his ear, a feeling of impending horror and he had to fight to bring himself back to the present.

"She is...?" He couldn't even say it. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realised the irony of it. It wasn't supposed to makes him feel that way. The reason he had taken her to bed was for this : a heir to take over the duties of the head alpha after him. And yet, he knew that he couldn't just ignore all the things that would come with having a pregnant mate. All the added responsibility.

At the heart of it , Namjoon was exhausted.

He had been trained for this position but it didn't make it any easier. His wolf yearned for solitude and serenity, peaceful quiet where he could contemplate life and all its mysteries but the duties and responsibilities kept piling up. He had no time to indulge in such whimsical fantasies. From daybreak to sundown, he drowned in problems that demanded solutions, issues that required his intervention and he was always giving so much of himself to so many.

It was as taking a toll.

And now here was the promise of another new soul. A pup. Fully dependant on him for survival. It was hard to be ecstatic.

" Why do you look so surprised? Have you not been sleeping with her?" She frowned, moving closer to the small wooden bench in the corner of the room. She sat down, primly adjusting the large swathes of her skirt. Even at her age, she was a beauty and despite being a widow, she was treated with great respect by all the wolves in the clan.

" I have... Of course...I just didn't expect her to ...so soon. " He muttered hesitantly. He made a quick calculation, Conceived at the end of autumn meant the child would be born at the end of summer. Rains and more rains. He would have to commission the weavers to make a lot of warm blankets and thick bedding for the babe. And make sure that all the birthing huts had their roofs mended. He felt an ache in his chest. He knew he had to have a heir. It was part of what he was responsible for. But he wasn't ready to be a father yet. Especially not with someone like her.

" You haven't been very subtle in your disdain for her, Joon. It makes me wonder of perhaps I have failed in teaching you the ways of a husband." His mother's sharp voice made him wince.

His parents had been deeply in love with each other. His mother had been an equal contributor in running the clan, his father's most trusted confidante. He couldn't imagine having something like that with the woman he had rather recklessly chained himself to for life. But he couldn't be openly defiant in front of his mother.

So he bowed.

" I've tried to talk to her mother. She looks at me like I'm some marauding villain."

Lady Kim scoffed.

" Because, for all she knows, you may as well be one. Think of who she is, how she was raised. Her mother died when she was eight and she has been keeping house for her father since then. It Is a miracle she knows how to read a few words and to write her own name. Old man Gong is unkind and cruel and I've only ever watched him treat her like an unruly dog that needed discipline and never like his own flesh and blood. She knows men to be cruel and powerful and capable of doing her great harm. Add to it your status as the head of the clan, of course she thinks you're dangerous. "

" am I to be blamed for her childhood now?"

" Don't be obtuse. That is not what I'm saying. I just want you to consider her upbringing, before you write her off as dramatic or hysterical. "

Namjoon sighed deeply.

" Alright, mother. I'll try to talk to her again. "

And he knew that he had to. If he wanted some semblance of peace in his life, he would have to make an effort with his wife.

----------------------------

Jiah sat by the haybale near the barn, cross-legged on the dirty floor as she watched Misu and Loshim, two of the stable boys tend to the horses. She stared at the careful way they brushed the large beasts, their tone gentle and soothing as they murmured reassurance to the agitated animals. She found it fascinating, how even an animal that powerful could feel fear and anxiety. It made her feel better about her own shortcomings.

From a very young age, she had known of her flaws. She was jittery, prone to cold sweats and breathing problems, easily frightened and absolutely terrified of confrontation of any kind. Her parents had been, to put it lightly, unkind. They had seen her as a burden, as something broken and useless and cumbersome and that had done nothing for her self esteem.

To make matters worse, they didn't let her attend lessons with the other omega girls, her education limited to scribbled writing on granite with chalk when her father was feeling bored or charitable. She could read a few words with difficulty . Could write her name out if you gave her some time and patience.

At first, her ignorance had been embarassing but over time she realised her education wouldn't serve her much purpose.

She thought of herself as something temporary and fleeting. Not meant to leave any lasting impression on the world. So it was alright if she didn't know what every other girl her age did. She was going to live and die in that hut near the boundary walls..... She would have no use for fancy words or exotic dances.

Or so she hd always believed.

So when the head alpha had asked for her hand in marriage, she had nearly passed out from her heart giving out.

Namjoon was seven years older, almost thirty winters old and she had only ever caught glimpses of him when he came to check on her father's watchpost occasionally. He was a tall man, strapping and intimidating with dragon eyes that glowed red. And one evening he had stopped by her side when she had been tending the beets and potatoes in the small vegetable garden out back.

He had stared at her for a few long minutes while she had sweated in nervousness and then he had promptly asked for her father. When the man had Stepped in and told her father that he was looking to make her his bride, the old man had been jubilant while Jiah had been confounded.

She hadn't wanted to say yes but she had been too much of a coward to say no. Besides, she didn't know if saying no would have any repurcussions....she didn't want to risk offending the literal head of the entire clan. What if they banished her? What would become of her then?

And so she had said yes. And here she was.

Mated to the man for life, her wolf connected to his and his mark on her neck and now....his child in her womb.

She felt the familiar stirring of panic, digging her nails into her palm to ground herself .

Jiah had long come to terms with the fact that her mind was not her friend. It sometimes tried to attack her , tried to make her feel irrational things. It convinced her that she was a bother, that she was useless, that she was a burden. It also tried to tell her that she was in danger, that she had to run and avoid and get away, even when she was perfectly safe.

When she had first come here as the head Alphas new wife, her brain had wrecked havoc on her senses. Had made her feel like a hunted animal, always cowering and hiding and trying to disappear . Namjoon had tried to be friendly, tried to be courteous and all she had done was hide and recoil, skin ice cold and words practically non existent. She hadn't said a word to him those first few days and even the bedding had been a nightmare, her entire body stiff as a board and she knew that he had probably felt like he was making love to a corpse.

She regretted it. Deeply. But there was not much she could do about it now. Besides she wasn't sure she even wanted to. It was obvious her husband's affections lay elsewhere. She had seen the way he looked at that courtesan. Had seen him sneak out for walks with her, had seen them huddled together in the room with all the scrolls and leather bound books.

Jisoo was a beautiful omega, well read and trained in musical arts. She played the gayageum and the flute, knew how to entertain guests with a perfect ceremonial dance and she was always at the helm of every festivity, dressed in vibrant fabrics and full of life.

She was also madly in love with Namjoon.

Jiah sighed, watching the horses paw at the dirty stable floor. She wanted to get to know her husband, yes. But she knew that even if she did, he would only find her wanting and inadequate in all ways.

And that was just not acceptable .

She maybe self aware when it came to her short comings but she also had her pride.

She would rather live like this. Tucked away like an embarassment, hidden like a dirty secret because then there would be no piercing gaze weighing her against her peers and declaring her broken.

Yes.

Pregnant or not, she wanted nothing to do with her husband.

------------------------

" Are you feeling well now?" Namjoon's voice startled her, eyes going wide as she looked around the resting quarters , gaze finally falling on the man standing near the large table on the side. Namjoon was bent over the rough oak surface , papers spread out in front of him, an oil lamp burning bright nearby, casting a sepia shadow on the man himself and she hesitated, debating the pros and cons of excusing herself to go see his mother instead. Maybe claiming a headache?

In the end she did neither, resolving to at least make an effort with this.

" I'm well, alpha. " She swallowed the lump in her throat. " I'm sorry for inconveniencing you. "

He straightened, turning around to look at her finally.

" Do you wish to move into another room?" He said briskly and she startled.

" Another room?"

" Now that you are with pup, there's no reason for us to keep sleeping together. I prefer having my own space. "

Jiah felt the blood rush through her ears. This shouldn't hurt but it did and she could feel the self loathing flood her senses. She stared down at herself, the lack of beauty and the utter lack of any kind of elegant upbringing. Of course he didn't want to stay with her any longer. What had she been thinking , agreeing to this farce of a mating?

" I... Alright. "

Namjoon turned away from her.

" Good. I've already arranged for all your things to be moved to the west wing , next to the gardens."

Far away from his rooms, Jiah thought bitterly. The sudden realization that Namjoon had been looking for some sort of brood mare and not a mate hit her . And it suddenly made sense that he hd picked her.

Someone easy to boss around.

Someone who wouldn't demand anything from him, loyalty or affection or attention .

And it irked her for some reason.

Why did he get to treat her that way? Why must she put up with it?

But she stayed quiet because she wasn't sure what to say.

" You can leave now, Jiah. " He said dismissively and she hesitated before stepping out of the room.

And she wondered if with her departure, someone else would be taking her place in his bed.

-----------------------------

Authors Note : would you guys like first person narrative or should I continue in third person? 👀

[whump-a-la-mode]

Would you continue the villain nausea whumpee? To show how he is after he is removed from the chair? Do they set him free since he won’t be violent anymore ?

I loved the idea of Villain being set free, and ran with it a bit! I hope you enjoy! Thank you so much for the ask!!

This is a continuation from here, and, once again, the story below is below a read-more to prevent any accidental viewing of content that could trigger emetophobia very badly. I would hate for anyone to see it as they scroll past.

However, this time, the first scene is shown, as it contains no potentially triggering content.

CW//Emetophobia, graphic description of vomit, self-hatred, medical malpractice, low self esteem, hatred of former friends, Stockholm syndrome, whumpee liking whumper, minor eye whump mention, nausea

The auditorium crackled with the feedback of a thousand microphones, shoved towards the stage, frequencies battling and screeching against one another in chaotic choir. From a mass of bodies, of cameras and clattering boom mics, the wire spheres emerged in their dozens, all pointed centrally.

All pointed at the stage, and the podium that lived upon it, glistening in freshly-polished hardwood and media attention.

Behind the platform stood a figure, as equally basking in fame, and equally as glimmering. Upon their face, perfect white teeth glowed as freshly-fallen snow, pressed together in a wide grin.

In Hero’s eyes, it was pride that shone. The pride that came with accomplishment, with recognition, with glory, with perfect hair and thousand-dollar suits and the attention of the world, all upon their face. Their words.

“Thank you, everyone, for being here.” With a greeting alone, the world tucked back in hushed quiet. “Now, we will have plenty of time for questions later, but I wanted to start off with what has surely found itself on every headline this morning.”

A pause. The expected clamor erupted from the horde of media, incoherent shouting and stomping. A rioting crowd.

“Now, now.” It was a practiced ritual, between lion and tamer. “I will be taking all of your questions at the end, but let an old guy speak a little, first.”

Laughter queued.

“Well, then. I’m sure you’ve all seen the headlines-- you guys especially, you wrote them! But, for everyone at home, yes, the rumors are true. A villain is now loose in the city.”

A practiced gasp.

“And it’s a good thing! You see, for years, now, our in-house villainous psychology research has been working on a technique that they have dubbed Reaction-Based Morality Rehabilitation. Now, I’ll let you in on a little secret.”

The hero leaned forward, hand cupping the microphone, playful smile clear upon their face.

“They gave me this paper, and it was like, 100 pages long. And I didn’t know half the words in it.” They backed up, smile remaining. “But, trust me when I say, those guys in R&D? They’re amazing. They know exactly what they’re doing, even if I don’t.

But, I won’t leave you hanging. I do understand the just of the procedure, even if I’m not so sure on the jargon.

It’s a very simple solution to a very complicated problem. I am a firm believer in the fact that people are not born as villains. We are all born as heroes. Some of us, through unfortunate means, however, turn rotten. Through this technique, however, me and Organization believe to have found a way to separate the villain from the person inside.

By using innovative methods of therapy, our psychologists are able to help villains reject their evil ways, all the way at the center of their neurology! We have heard many concerns about the possibility of relapses, of a villain turning sides upon their release. Yet, with this technique, changing sides is not a conscious choice. It is as much a thought process as it is a carefully embedded instinct.

Of course.” They straightened momentarily. “That does not mean we are simply allowing once of those who have harmed you return to our beautiful city unsupervised. We ensure you, multiple surveillance methods have been put in place. This is only a trial run.

We at Organization wish to think each and every one for your cooperation and participating in the beta test of this revolutionary new technique. If this run receives positive results, you can all think of villainy as a thing of the past!”

From the crowd emerged a cheer. A cheer for glory, for fame, for progress!

For the destruction of a foe.

For unquestioned success. A villain defeated!

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Villain’s fingers brushed over the top of the kitchen’s oak-stained counter, kicking up enough dust to suffocate, even as their tightly pursed lips protected them from such.

This was a house.

Their fatigued, half-haunted gaze turned to move over the surrounding interior. The kitchen was fully-featured, oak accented with shimmering, mottled granite. Not that anyone had bothered to clean in the place. Beyond the room and its attached dining area, a step lower, a carpeted area was positioned, furnished in felt couches and a television.

But this was not a home.

With a scratching nail to their neck, the villain moved forward numbly, to the base of the stairs and up them. Beneath their skin, the tracking chip was an awful feeling. Buried just deep beneath that it could not be seen, yet shallow to the point that its presence was unyielding and unignorable. A constant itch, embedded between twitching folds of muscle.

Maybe they could take it out. Maybe with the right kitchen utensil-

Halfway up the stairs, they dropped, keeled over themself with sickly pea soup filling in the space behind their eyes. In an instant, their mind retreated desperately from the thought, or any semblance of it, even as their stomach heaved with the residual ghost of it.

The tracking chip was fine and they didn’t care about it and they wanted it to stay there forever because it wasn’t coming out.

Legs now taking on an appearance that ever so slightly more resembled gelatin, the villain leaned upon the railing, ascending with a considerable additional difficulty up the stairs. In the very brief tour they had been given, their bedroom had been identified as the dark spruce door at the hall’s end.

Moving to it was a struggle on its own, insides still twitching and squelching with the remnants of acute nausea. Yet, their agony was only internal. They made it, and, all the way, kept their mind empty. Thoughts clear.

Not thinking of anything that could make them fall.

The bedroom was a bedroom. A dust-coated vanity. A small attached restroom. A nightstand. A bed.

At the very least, the quilts had some color to them.

Struggling in an attempt not to clutch their own stomach-- an action that they had learned, time and time again, only made the organ flip-- Villain shuffled to the piece of furniture that had been designed for use when they slept. Dust coughed from beneath the covers as they lifted them, crawling under.

Laying down helped, at least in some slight way that may or may not have been a placebo. It meant they could close their eyes. Make unwise thoughts that much less likely to happen.

For a moment, Villain succeeded in blackness. A blank mind. A world unmarred by the horrible jolts within their brain, the firings of neurons, the innate jostling of their frontal cortex.

Yet, it only lasted a moment.

With a jerk, they curled to a fetal position, legs bent and tucked beneath arms. Their body struggled as though weeping, though they had long ago learned not to cry. It was terribly difficult to produce tears, after all, when the metal drew their eyes to unbroken wakefulness.

This was a nightmare. They were certain of it.

That had been their first thought, of course, when the news of their liberation had been shared with them-- after it had been shared with the wider public. Things did not reach their cell very quickly. They had believed it to be a dream, for there was no other possible explanation.

Villains did not deserve freedom. They knew that. Violent little scumbags.

When they had been driven to the house, that was when the orinique connotations in their mind had flipped-- when dream turned to nightmare.

It was their home. Such had been stated clearly, so many times. Upon a thousand channels of media syndication. They had been given the keys, had stared at them for an agonizing moment. Watched them dangle between their fingers.

Hero had practically had to shove them through the doors, and even so, their attempts at escape ceased only after the fourth time they had been reprimanded for them.

Somewhere, something mechanical twitched. Moved. Buzzed. One of the cameras. They knew they were here, obvious, blocky, black eyes. At the very least, they provided some semblance of comfort.

Of home.

Of safety.

Oh, how desperately Villain wanted to go home. Everything had made so much sense there! Was so fantastically, wonderfully simple! If they were placed in their cell, they stayed in their cell. If offered food, they ate. When seated in their chair, they watched.

It was so easy. So invariable. Strict and stringently controlled, as the life of any vile beast who called themself a villain should be. Not a chance they could make a mistake, that they could do anything wrong. Only the slightest opportunities for their mind to slip, their thoughts to wander, to go somewhere bad.

Somewhere that would send them to their hands and knees, heaving and retching.

Food came often, with how difficult it was to keep it down. They’d counted once. Certainly the chefs must have become tired after preparing thirteens meals in a single day. Yet, in the end, they had only managed to fully digest one.

Especially since that was only the day on which they had counted-- it certainly wasn’t notable.

Now, there were no chefs. No cells. No chairs. No screens to watch. Order was gone, and chaos reigned.

Terrible, bloody chaos.

The house was far too large. So many times, Villain had begged for a schedule. For orders. For what they were meant to do-- when to get up, when to go to sleep, what to do inbetween.

Yet, the answers always came the same: A shrug, and four terrible words. “Whatever you want to.”

That which they wanted was not that which should be carried out! They were a villain! A terrible, retched thing! A monster! A devil! Their thoughts deserved no attention, their wants deserved only the click of the IV.

The sickness.

Somehow, despite the inherent maleficence that it most certainly carried with it, an idea manged to work its way through the folds of their brain. A thought. A plan.

A good one. One that did not incite their stomach to heaving.

Certainly, if they laid here, in this bed, then their freedom could not lead to the harm of anyone else. The world would remain safe, regardless of their liberty. And, when the cameras at last noticed, the heroes would be forced to return. To bring them back to the cell and the chair. To return them to where they belonged.

It was perfect-- though that wasn’t to say that anything they created could possibly be good.

Thus, they put the plan into action. Beneath the chains that were covers, upon the chair that was a bed, Villain waited.

Their plan worked for perhaps an hour.

An hour. Then the door was kicked in. This time, that which seized their chest had nothing to do with nausea, nothing to do with conditioning. Everything to do with terror.

Even their wildest dreams, their most optimistic ambitions, did not expect that the heroes would have come so soon. If they had, they would have knocked.

They curled tighter into their fetal position, fingers gripping skin until both turned white. Desperation and willpower, even together, could not stop their mind from tracking the noises as they moved through the house. Through the kitchen. The living room. Up the stairs. To the hallway outside.

Certainly, they would have noticed the lack of dust on the bedroom’s doorknob.

Perhaps it was a member of the public, come to take their righteous revenge. Such would certainly be deserved. Or, perhaps, a wayward hero, disliking the arrangement that had been made. Having decided to take the matter to their own hands. They deserved that, as well.

But, when the voice came, Villain knew that their hopes were as far as could be from the truth.

“Villain?”

Blank mind. Don’t think. Blank mind. Don’t think. Blank mind don’t think.

Beneath the blanket, they twitched.

“Oh, thank goodness.” Footsteps dashed to the bedside. Hands upon them. There was such a wholehearted relief to the voice, an unimaginable burden relieved.

Yet, such was impossible, as villains did not have hearts.

“We were so worried, so, so worried. You have no idea! Come on, come on.”

A hand, to the top of the blanket.

“There’s about a thousand cameras in here, buddy, so we need to get going. Everyone at base has been so nervous, all day. Ever since we heard... My car’s just outside, we need to go, quick.”

Villain’s only solace was torn away.

“Buddy? What’s wrong?” The voice was practically a whisper. “It’s me. It’s-

Supervillain.”

A blank mind, filled with thoughts.

The initial strike of nausea was enough to make them wail, even as they had no ability to. They hardly remembered getting to their hands and knees, hardly remembered as they began to heave. No. They registered only the horrid, green-and-brown mess that exploded upon the pale white bedspread.

Again, again, a thousand exhausting times, the heaving struck them, until chunky vomit was spilling off the side of the bed, ruining the antique carpeting. It only ceased to spill when their insides were well and truly empty.

That was when they were picked up.

It was a caring, warm hold, tucking them close to the chest of a vile demon. Yet, they had not the slightest ounce of energy to resist. Any muscles not exhausted by fatigue went back to work, heaving and coughing, even as nothing more emerged.

“I’m sorry.” With a broken voice, Supervillain spoke. “I’m so, so sorry. Let’s go back to base, okay? Everything’s going to be okay, I promise, I promise, buddy.”

No.

With evil like this in the world, nothing was even going to be okay again.

[nat-20s]

what’s poppin everyone please have this fun lil writing warmup/short story inspired by me thinking “Dancing in the Moonlight” was definitely 100% about werewolves

~*~

“So, this your first transformation?”

The counselor? Leader? Tour guide? Asked this with a perfectly jovial tone, as if the typical social mores surrounding, ugh, lycanthropy, didn’t apply to her. They didn’t know what exact title to call her, and her name tag just said “Luna”, which, reflecting on it, either was a joke on her part or a reflection of her parents’ sense of humor.

Picking at the scabs from last month, they cringed and replied, “No. Uh. Second.”

Luna lets out a low whistle. “Oof. That sucks. Guessing you got bitten rather than inherited the ol’ wolfman gene?”

“That’s...kind of personal?”

Unlocking the front door of the log cabin that served as King Harvest’s Headquarters, Luna shrugs and says, “Shit, sorry. Forgot the whole weird stigma around your source of the once monthly nightmare, as if it fuckin matters. Also, I know, I know, ass out of you and me. Hey, you got any dietary restrictions? Gluten, peanut allergies, the like?”

Voice flat, they tell her, “I’m vegetarian,” and waits for the obvious response.

As they wander through the cabin towards the kitchen, Luna flipping on the light switches, generic club music starts to filter in. Instead of the obvious response, Luna asks, “You like veggie burgers? Or maybe pasta? I’d offer salad, but that’s really not gonna cut it for tonight.”

“I ate before I came.”

With a snort, she tells them, “Oh yeah? Did you have about 4000 calories?”

“No? Why would I have?”

Sweeping out her arm, she gestures at the food laying out on the counter and tells them, “Then eat up! 4000 is really a minimum for the night if you don’t want to feel like someone physically beat out all of your energy in the morning. 6000 is more the target area, but we got, hmm, about 15 minutes before things get uncomfortable, and half an hour max before things get dire.”

They glance down to the food, and, admittedly, the broccoli alfredo does look pretty appealing. Still, they have to ask, “Is this a cult?”

Luna lets out a bark of a laugh that has nothing to do with her (maybe) being a werewolf. “Okay, first of all, what kind of cult is like ‘fuck yeah, we’re a cult’? Secondly, despite the first thing, I can say that we’re not a cult. I know how “King Harvest: Center for Movement Therapy” sounds, both clinical and vague enough to be suspicious as hell, but I didn’t come up with the title, blame my long deceased dad for that one. Plus, ‘King Harvest: Bitchin’ Wolf Dance House’ probably wouldn’t look good on the grant applications.”

“Grants?”

“Oh yeah. This bad boy’s been publicly funded since its opening in 1972. Hence no membership fees.”

“Is that why animal control is giving out your business card? Are they one of your sponsors?”

“Nah, that’s just Jack. Me ‘n’ him go way back, hell, to his park ranger days.  I mean, yeah, I think he’ll campaign for us, but mostly I think he just hates capturing a wolf in the night only to have a naked, trembling human in the morning, and he knows that our program significantly reduces the odds of that happening, at least in this neck of the woods.”

They let out a hum, then glance back down to the food. As appealing as it down look, they’re still about..30% convinced this is an elaborate organ harvesting operation. Or sketchy sex thing.

Apparently sensing their hesitation, Luna says, “You got a favorite chip?”

“Salt and vinegar.”

Grabbing a sealed family sized bag from the overhead cabinets, Luna tosses it to them. “If you come back next full moon, either eat enough in advance or have a real meal here. That being said, excuse the turn of phrase, you should wolf that down. It’s sure as hell better than nothing.”

They catch it, and the bag opens with a puff of air that speaks to a reassuring lack of tampering. As they toss a chip into their mouth, Luna grabs a water bottle from the fridge and places it down next to them. “So? Any questions for me? We’ve still got about ten minutes before we have to go out there.”

Rolling their eyes, they tell her, “No. None at all.”

“Great! Soon as you’re done eating we’ll get you started.”

“I was being sarcastic.”

“Yeah, no shit, smart-ass. Seriously, what are your, we haven’t got much time.”

“I don’t know? The whole..thing? I mean, how is it supposed to..work? Like? At all?”

“You ever see Amok Time?”

“Is that relevant?”

“It’s a yes or no question babe.”

“And if I say no?”

“Then the explanation is going to be a lot more technical and take a lot longer, ultimately to likely make less sense.”

“...I’ve seen it.”

“Great! So, Pon Farr is basically this chemical blood imbalance that results in fuck or die disorder, yeah? But then Spock neither fucks nor dies, and eventually the vulcans get their shit together and find out that an intense fight can serve the same function, and the blood fever chills out. Lycanthropy operates on a similar enough basis for comparison. You’re compelled to act out on energetically heavy base instincts, returning to the ways of the wolf or whatever. Traditionally, that’s done through running and hunting, which has, historically, been a crapshoot at best. Theoretically, sex can also get the job done, but I’m sure you can imagine how that gets extremely dicey extremely quickly. Either restraints or isolation has been implemented for a while, but, c’mon, they’re bandaid solutions, and they’re far from foolproof. Luckily for us all, my grandmother decided to connect back with her ancestors, and there was a handful of stories having huge festivals to deal with ‘moon violence’. She tried it out, and, yeah, dancing works.”

“That sounds…”

They don’t know how that sounds. Made up, mostly.

“Like a bunch of hippie bullshit? Yeah, it kind of is, Grandma Josephine was a huge hippie, but it’s hippie bullshit that works. In fact, let’s go see the others, it almost always makes things clearer.”

Figuring that whatever they’re about to see can’t be worse than their transformation last month. They head through the sliding glass door out the back, the thump of the music suddenly loud enough to be felt in their chest. The sight that awaits them makes them drop their chips and let out a gasp. Barely able to speak, they exhale out, “None of them...they’re not wolves. How..how??”

Indeed, the roughly forty people jumping to the pulse of whatever they’re listening to (some to the in house DJ, some, apparently, to what’s playing over the large headphones they have adorned), resemble the image of a wolfman much more accurately. They bare claws, fangs, elongated snouts, upright ears, and  serious amounts of hair, but they’re on two legs, and moving like humans. Some of them are even singing along to the lyrics, which really shouldn’t be possible.

Luna grins, making it obvious that she’s used to this level of shell shocks. “Ultimately, you do have to give into some damn rigorous instincts. But dancing is a human instinct, not a canine one, so you end up, well, humanoid. Pretty nifty, huh?”

“And they all..they all keep their minds? I didn’t...they don’t blackout?”

“Not since we banned alcohol in the 90s! Here, watch this.”

Luna nods her head at the DJ, and the DJ, obligingly, turns down the music for a moment. The members of the crowd not listening to their own music pause, then look towards the door. She cries out, “Hey gang! HOW WE ALL DOIN’ TONIGHT?”, and gets a mix between a howl and “WOO!” cried back. The DJ then turns the music back up, and the general movement of the crowd resumes.

They should be more skeptical. They want to be more skeptical, they were just minutes before, but it’s hard to disagree with something right in front of you. “This will work for me? I just..have to dance?”

“Well, it’s not guaranteed. Few things are. But we have yet to have someone turn violent on us. If you start to fell yourself slipping from consciousness, though, I do ask that you start heading further into the woods, as to not hurt other guest. If you find yourself just getting tired, there’s beds inside, and a fair amount of pillows around the edge of the quote unquote dance floor, if you end up in more of a nesting mood. Also, I recommend taking off your shoes before you start.”

“What? Why?”

Luna gives a pointed glance at the dancers’ feet, which, ah. They’re about twice as large as normal and at least twice as sharp. The converse on their feet would be no match. “Ah.”

“Ready?”

They shove off their shoes and place the remainder of their chips aside. “As I’ll ever be.”

Good thing, too, as they’re starting to feel an uncomfortable pressure in their chest that was the prelude to disaster last month.

Luna strides to the center of the dance floor, which is really a plush lawn surrounded by forest. The crowd naturally moves around her, and she yells out, “Aiyana! Play my song!”

Aiyana gives a nod, and the opening notes of “Dancing in the Moonlight” start to sound out. “Seriously?”

Luna shrugs, grinning like a fool, and says, “It’s a classic!”

“It’s cliché at best.”

Luna shrugs, and then begins dancing. She’s hardly elegant, but she is dazzlingly joyful in her uncoordinated movements. As the song reaches the first chorus, she gives a twirl, and in the split second it takes, she’s transformed. They blink in shock, not knowing you could transform that seamlessly, that quickly, that painlessly. Luna in half wolf form is just as expressive as the human Luna, and she gives a nod over her shoulder as if to say Come on.

Feeling somewhat foolish, they start to bop their head to the tune. Luna lets out a huff and grabs their hands, spinning them around and forcing them to get moving. At first, it’s them indulging Luna, but as they let themselves get lost in rhythm, they feel a stretching sensation in their face and limbs. It’s not unpleasant, more like when you wake up and work out the tension in your spine. They open their eyes and look down at their hands, now covered in fur in and made for slashing. It didn’t hurt. It didn’t hurt, and they’re still themselves, and they had no idea that full moons could be like this, maybe for the rest of their lives.

They turn their head to the night sky, and their body can’t help but continue to dance. Despite all their fear, all their dread, “movement therapy” worked, and they can admit, at least to themselves, that they feel warm and bright.

[emkay512]

Once Upon A Time

Chapter 3

Summary: This starts at the beginning of TRR book 2 with the Fydelia ball but with a different series of events. This AU is based off the show Once Upon a Time with Riley and Liam mirroring Snow and Charming. Characters belong to Pixelberry.

A/N: I felt like I needed to still post this, even though I’m terrified with living up to my own hype. Let me know what you guys think.

A/N 2: thank you for pre-reading @queenrileyrose and @sfb123 both of you have given me such encouragement and I really appreciate it!

Warnings: This will contain NSFW adult language and content. By reading, you acknowledge you are 18 and over.

I’m keeping the same tags from my earlier post, please let me know if you want to be removed, absolutely no hard feelings! If you’d like to be tagged, I would be happy to add you!

Tags: @burnsoslow @ao719 @kat-tia801 @callmeellabella @charlotteg234 @neotericthemis @bbrandy2002 @kingliam2019 @iaminlovewithtrr @amandablink @iluaaa @jared2612 @sfb123 @twinkleallnight @tessa-liam @secretaryunpaid @ladyangel70 @gkittylove99 @texaskitten30 @shanzay44 @ofpixelsandscribbles

“Wait.... what!?” Drake’s face had gone white with shock. “But, we all saw! We all saw her fall in love with you. She loves you for sure Li, what the hell is going on!?” Despite his best efforts, Drake had come to accept Riley as an important person in his life, she was a truly trustworthy friend and she was a chance to see his best friend marry for love. Surely she’d never give up on hope and love, she was the epitome of both.

Liam wasn’t sure how much time had passed since he watched the latch on his bedroom door shut with Riley’s departure. He had dropped to his knees unable to stand with the weight of his broken heart still staring at the door trying to unsee what just happened. He was so sure of her love for him, he had never seen such happiness and sincerity exist in his life than when she told him she loved him in the hedge maze at his coronation ball. All this time he’d been apart from her was spent planning for a solution, clinging to the memory of her smile the last time he saw her before getting engaged.

Getting engaged. Then he started to think about the effect this had on her. He hated himself, she was vulnerable and abandoned, of course she’d fall out of love. Liam’s head was still foggy, but he remembered pouring two glasses of whiskey and calling Drake to meet him and briefly telling him what happened and now getting his reaction.

“You.. you don’t understand.” Liam was still just only choking out words. It was bad enough to live in this reality, but to have to utter the words and make someone else understand what was happening was like living his nightmare over again. “She said she did love me, or that maybe she did, or that she couldn’t love me anymore... God, it feels like it all happened so fast! I can barely get my head straight!” His tone was clearly crossing into frustration, he lifted both hands to his head and balled his fists into his hair while groaning out his hurt and anger. “This is my fucking fault.. in so many ways, Drake. She said I let too much time pass, that it convinced her that I should forget about her, and that she didn’t love me. I should have protected her from those goddamn photos and fucking Tariq. I never should have gotten engaged to Madeleine, and I shouldn’t have kept her away.” Liam was huffing his words.

This was difficult for Drake. He’d never seen his best friend so defeated like this. Liam always knew how to maintain his stoicism keeping an air of calm and rationalism. But that was not the man before him now, Liam was completely disheveled with eyes bright red from all his earlier sobbing, he looked completely broken. Drake understood the pain, he knew all too well how easy it was to fall for a girl like Riley, but like he said, their entire gang watched them fall head over heels for each other, and that was what he wanted for both of them.

Drake knew he needed to reel Liam back in, and once he could get the full picture, he’d know how to return Liam to his sharp tactical self. “Ok, ok, ok. I know your feelings are all mixed up, and judging by your overall behavior it looks like you hit the whiskey long before I got here, and I’m sorry, but I need you to get a grip and tell me everything.”

Liam nodded and sucked a breath in recalling everything. How she walked in his room, how he thought he was protecting her, how she said he didn’t want to know who was responsible, how she noticed the missing lock on the door, and how she walked out. Drake felt like he hadn’t blinked once after hearing everything and he could see it seemed these obvious clues hadn’t dawned on Liam. “Li, it sounds like she gave you like a dozen red flags. You didn’t press on any of those strange things she said and did?”

Liam wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion. “I.. all my instinctual strategies were out the window. I couldn’t focus on anything at fucking all except the sound of being dumped. There’s no tactical training on having your heart smashed since this bloody institution snuffs out the idea of love from day one. I feel like my mother was the only exception, and look what happened to her.”

Drake sighed and pinched the top of his nose with closed eyes. He himself was having a hard time comprehending things, he couldn’t imagine Liam’s anguish. “Look. First of all. This is not your fucking fault. There is clearly something large at play here, and you and Brooks seem to be the center. I think... I think Brooks knows something. She’s a smart girl and I think she was leaving you clues.” Liam could feel the gears moving in his mind as Drake went on. “It’s odd that she just walked in through the door.. how would she have just walked through the halls undetected? Weren’t you expecting her on the balcony? Which, by the way... wild expectation, bro. Shouldn’t Romeo be beckoning Juliette on the balcony, not the other way around?” Liam side eyed him hard, yes they’re best friends, but really? Was now the time to bust his balls? Drake couldn’t help himself and continued, “When you told her you wanted to find out who was responsible for the tabloid photos, why did she try to convince you to stop? It would be one thing if she just wanted to end things, but why mention that you wouldn’t want to know who it was? To me, these suggest that she either knows or has an idea who the culprit is. Then, the smoking gun. Another lock-less door and her freely walking out again.”

Liam shot up, determined and clear headed. “You’re right. I won’t play victim to this scheme and I sure as hell won’t let her be one either. Ok. We need to get a hold of Maxwell, either she’ll talk to him, or we can have him check on her without any suspicion.”

“Then I’ll call him so it can’t be immediately traced to you.” Drake pulled out his phone and clicked Maxwell’s name putting the line on speaker.

“Yo, Drakester! What’s up? Hate to break it to you, but the party’s over, you missed it.”

Already annoyed, Drake responded, “Cut the crap, Beaumont. We got a problem, Riley is gone, have you seen her? You need to check her room, but for the love of god, do it quietly.”

“What the hell are you talking about, I just left her, she was on her way to see Liam. Drake, please don’t tell me you’re cock blocking the king.”

Drake and Liam had no time for Maxwell’s carefree antics, they were both on strategy mode. Hearing this, Liam spoke first, “Ok so we know she was always on her way to see me with the intention of actually being with me. Something happened between her leaving Maxwell and her walking into my room.”

Maxwell was completely shocked to hear Liam’s voice on the line and started to panic that what Drake had said might be true, “Liam!? So she’s really gone? Last I saw her was getting her outside, as she was on her way to your balcony..”

She does love me. Was Liam’s immediate thought when Maxwell said she was on her way to his balcony.

As Maxwell recounted his interactions, Drake and Liam ignored any of his inquiries and focused on each other, working out the information they were getting.

“So she had to have been intercepted..” Liam realized. “Someone TOOK her!”

“Guys...” Maxwell was still being ignored on the line

“...And convinced her to say those things to you. Blackmail. It’s the only explanation.” Drake was finishing out the same conclusion Liam was getting to.

“Guys!!” Maxwell screamed and got their attention. “I made it to her room, we’re too late, it’s been ransacked. She’s on the run. What. Happened?”

Drake filled him in with strict instruction to keep this a secret, they would have to investigate quietly to prevent getting caught. He disconnected the call and looked at Liam, “Ok, she’s MIA, which only supports the theory of blackmail. If she was making a voluntary move back home, she would have said goodbye. We just need to find out where she went.”

Liam squared his shoulders and steeled his expression, now knowing he was on a rescue mission, “I’ll find her, I will always find her.”

[mybg3notebook]

Astarion and Power - Part 1

Disclaimer Game Version: All these analyses were made up to the game version v4.1.101.4425. As long as new content is added, and as long as I have free time for that, I will try to keep updating this information.

Additional disclaimers about meta-knowledge and interpretations in (post)

The number between brackets [] represents the topic-block related to (this post), which gathers as much evidence as I could get.

Before talking about Power, Cazador, and other details, I would like to quickly gather what little we have about Astarion’s past. 

Backstory: Mortal Astarion.

About his past we have little information, mostly given by Swen in interviews with game magazines or via his on-live demonstrations of the game early in 2020 before the release of EA. All this information is subjected to changes, of course, so we should take it with a pinch of salt. 

As a mortal, Astarion was a corrupt magistrate who judged criminals he later sent to the local vampire coven of the Szarr family as food. After a while, his greed got the best of him and started to sell those criminals into slavery as well, having a double profit from this. This movement brought the fury of the Szarr family upon him. 

From this short story we can infer that there was a high probability that his judgements were unfair, condemning criminals who needed a death sentence to lighter ones (this is related to his strange comment of “death is a harsh sentence” in Arabella’s scene, see the post Astarion's Standards and Manipulation) while condemning innocent ones; all with the goal of having a decent amount of living creatures to offer to the local vampire or to the slave traders.

We also know, by his own words in game, that when he was turned into a vampire, he had been the victim of an attack of thugs/Gurs (he says this information in different moments of the game, changing details. I don't know if this is on purpose to show Astarion’s manipulative nature depending on your reaction to Gandrel, or it’s a consequence of unpolished details during EA). What we know for sure is that these Gurs/thugs were angry because of a judgement he had previously made. It’s easy for us to infer, using the info above, two situations:

Astarion may have condemned some isolated Gur to an unfair trial who ended up in a slavery network, being discovered later by their Gur fellows who simply avenged them in Baldur’s Gate. This theory has been developed as a way to see fit the concept of Maiden Fel.  If Gandrel dies and Astarion performs a Speak with Dead, he will reveal that Maiden Fel is the head of his tribe who asked him to return with Astarion “unblemished”. Digging for more details about who Maiden Fel is, Gandrel says she is the “reason even monsters have nightmares”. Walking on the speculation ground, there is a chance that Maiden Fel could be a nightmare Hag, since Gurs consider hags as “wise women'', and unlike the rest of the humans, they respect them a bit more than common folks.

Or the whole setting was done by Cazador, who plotted this ambush to make it look as an act of barbarism using furious Gurs (which attack could be seen as an obvious reaction since Gurs are despised everywhere due to their nomadic lifestyle and all the stigmas they carry) as a way to punish Astarion for trying to outsmart him.

Among the many conclusions that we can draw from here is that, if Astarion’s backstory is not retconned and rewritten later in the full game, we can be almost sure he was an Evil-aligned character as a mortal. We can’t say that vampirism twisted his morals; they were rather poor in the first place. 

Astarion, the Vampire spawn

After the bite scene, Astarion presents himself as a vampire spawn, a creature lesser than a slave for his master, since Cazador’s commands are impossible to resist. He explicitly says that his body always reacts to Cazador’s word and for two hundred years he was tormented by him. Thanks to datamining information, we know that Cazador performed an infernal deal, and part of the contract is carved on his back. 

Due to datamining information as well, we know that the first dream that Astarion experiences may not be the one related to the tadpole dreams mechanics since he dreams without having made use of the tadpole powers yet. I prefer to suppose that this dream is product of his own psychology, or even it could be an effect of Cazador’s power on him (maybe he can’t dream of anything but of his Sire, considering how possessive Cazador is)

As I said, this is not a dream of power and desire in the same way that the other companions or Tav have, and for this reason I’m inclined to say that the vampiric power of Cazador is the one making an effect instead of the tadpole (or simply Astarion’s trauma showing). This dream looks like a reminder, like a reiterative dream for Astarion about Cazador’s rule, which are:

rule 1: he will not drink from thinking creatures.

rule 2: he will obey him in all things.

rule 3: he will not leave Cazador’s side unless directed.

rule 4: he will know that he is Cazador’s proprietary.

Most options end up in the similar idea of: “Free? Lie to yourself, boy, but not to me. You are mine, forever.”

Cazador and Astarion

[Astarion has just related what Cazador made him eat] “Flies? What did you do to deserve that?”

“I existed, that was enough for him. He revelled in having power over me, because those with power can do whatever the hell they want.”

If we are going to talk about power with a character as Astarion in mind, we need to talk first about Cazador. Let’s start with the way Astarion describes him:

“The biggest threat to a vampire is another vampire. They're scheming, paranoid, power hungry beasts. So why would any vampire give up control over a spawn to create a competitor? Trust me, it doesn't happen.”

“Cazador Szarr is a vampire lord in Baldur’s Gate. The patriarch of his coven and a monster obsessed with power.(...) Not political power or military power. Power over people. The power to control them completely. (...) He turned me nearly two hundred years ago. I became his spawn and he became my tormentor.” 

“He had me go out Baldur’s Gate to fetch him the most beautiful souls I could find. It was a fun little ritual of his—I’d bring them back and he’d ask if I wanted to dine with him. And if I said yes, he’d serve me a dead, putrid rat. Of course if I said no, he’d have me flayed. Hard to say which was worse.”

“Cazador liked to make them art, spent all night with a razor, drafting a sonnet on my back. (Puppy eyes) Apparently the more I screamed, the more mistakes he made. And the more editing was required.”

“It was a group of Gur/thugs that attacked me that night in Baldur’s Gate. I would have died had Cazador not appeared and saved me. (...) He chased them off and offered to save me. To give me eternal life. Given that my choices were “eternal life” or “bleed to death on the street”, I took him up on the offer. It was also afterwards I realised just how long “eternity” could be.” 

“Cazador likes to toy with people. Let them think there was hope right until the end. Until he snatched it all away. Creatures like them don’t play games unless they know they’ll win.” 

(About Raphael’s encounter) “All that 'take your time. I'll wait' nonsense? He's playing with us. It reminds me of Cazador, taunting his slaves with hope when he knew the game was rigged. "

Tav: “Would he send another Gur to capture?” / Ast: “Yes, he probably thought it was funny.”

(“We can kill him.”) “No, you don't understand. You don't know him. Just trust me when I say we need to be careful. He'll send more lackies – he has plenty of souls to command. We just have to be vigilant. Keep our wits about us. And kill any monster hunters on sight. We can probably make an exception with Wyll... Probably.”

>>So far we know that Cazador has a particular pleasure for control, especially the one related to people’s will. With the nightmare information, we know he has powers related to mind control. He has many slaves, and enjoys cruelty, humiliation, and torture. He enjoys making Astarion eat putrid animals, carving his back with an infernal contract, and playing psychologically with him. He also likes to give false hope, making his victims believe that there is hope, removing it right in front of them. 

I want to highlight that this twisted way of giving hope just to offer a perverted solution to a person’s problem, and enjoying the pleasure caused by the break of the hope, can be seen in Astarion during EA: in the approval that Astarion gives to Tav when you revive Connor, and that pinch of hope in Mayrina turns into horror when she sees Undead!Connor. For Astarion this situation is “funny”. Similar can be said when he approves telling Arabella’s parents that she will be released after the end of the ritual, when she is in fact dead. 

Astarion describes a bit more what power we should expect from a Lord Vampire:

Shapeshift: turning into mist.

Calling wolves to do his bidding.

Shrugging off blows.

He “could walk into our camp tonight and kill you with his bare hands.”

Astarion and Slavery

One of the characteristics that so far in EA has got my attention was how little conflict Astarion has with slavery, despite having been his former condition. 

He is apathetic to slavery in the best case, or even supporting it in the worse case. Proof of this can be found in the Myconid Colony, when interacting with a duergar slave. He speaks as if it were a totally useful tool that inspires little sympathy in him, since they don't have consciousness. However, he leaves a quite open question when finally adding “Or maybe not”.

But this “maybe not” is not left to speculation, we can see what Astarion truly feels with a non-Gur human slave in another part of the game: in the Zhentarim hideout. This can be checked with Oskar, the painter slave.

You can free Oskar using persuasion with his kidnapper (Astarion keeps neutral, he doesn’t approve the freeing). Now, if you can buy Oskar by paying the gold directly or by using intimidation to lower the price, it would keep Astarion neutral until the moment of the payment is stated, which he disapproves. At first I thought it was because he was truly against slavery of thinking creatures... but it was not. It was because you are paying a lot of money (we need to remember Astarion is greedy [1] as well, he wouldn’t be a vampire if it weren't for his greed). 

Once bought, if you keep Oskar as a slave, and you demand him to keep silent because "you want your slaves silent unless they are spoken to", Oskar will think it's a joke, and you, again, can use the option "I don't joke with my slaves" and then Astarion will approve. None of these options is under any tag to make them believe they are part of a preformative act to prank Oskar. And this is key... this is not a joke. They are used as your real sentiments and intentions, and Astarion approves them.

These reactions are not random, they make sense with his—until this moment unchanged or retconned—backstory, where he had no problem trafficking with criminals as vampire food and later as slaves to have higher profits. So, these two aspects remain in his vampire nature unaltered: the most important thing is always to have profits, and his relationship with slavery is absolutely fine as much as it gives benefits, it’s useful or at least, gives him some entertainment.

The tadpole

We know the tadpole has a particular effect on Astarion. Unlike the other companions, Astarion doesn’t dream of a person who represents to him both desire and power. Power? undoubtedly, but desire? It’s hard to say. The implied, vague concept that Astarion has been sexually abused by Cazador is there (because we know these dreams are about “sensual” desire as well). 

It’s maybe a consequence of the vampirism and, by extension, of Cazador’s power, that makes Astarion unable to dream of anything else but his master. From the datamining information about the non-tadpole dream of Astarion, in which Cazador lists four rules, we know that the fourth one is about never stopping to be Cazador’s propriety, unable to be free, not even in dreams. Maybe Cazador’s effect also applies to Astarion’s dreams as well (but this is a mere speculation, there is no real proof of it on EA or datamining info so far). 

So when Astarion awakes in the beach and sees that some rules of his vampiric nature have been changed, he gets excited about the tadpole, and unlike the rest of the companions, he doesn’t want to get rid of it. He wants to master it, to have control of it. However, when the opportunity of controlling the tadpole appears with Raphael encounter, Astarion is one of the few companions who is completely against it at first. 

“Raphael is playing with us; Cazador liked to toy with people too. Let them think there was hope right until the end. Until he snatched it all away. Creatures like them don't play games unless they know they'll win.”

In that moment, he claims he won’t change a vampiric master for an infernal one. However, when the first use of the Tadpole causes the first symptoms of transformation evident, Astarion falls in despair: he is scared and, calling for Raphael to take him from the camp, he says a curious phrase: 

“I would choose servitude over oblivion any day”

So, after this moment, he is not completely convinced that Raphael is the true solution to his problem but he is more open to keep him as a plan B if anything else fails. Later he claims that it doesn't matter to be a servant of a devil, because he knows Cazador, and he wants to get rid of his power for good. 

“I won't lie, it's tempting. If I keep the tadpole, I risk transforming into a grotesque monster. If I lose the tadpole, Cazador has control of me, body and soul, and I return to the shadows. It's grim either way, so why not sell what's left of my soul to a devil? Better he has it than cazador. Whatever it's coming we need to have our options open.”

Astarion’s process of seeing the potential of the power of the tadpole increases along the game. It gets higher and wilder. The first instances of the tadpole use are about Astarion discovering how much this tadpole gives him powers he can barely understand. 

“The tadpoles are not so bad at all. (...) First I can walk in the sun, then make people dance like puppets? *laughs * I've certainly had worse days.”

He is not an idiot, he knows that, without control, they will end up turning into mind flayers, so he needs to find something powerful that can give him control over his tadpole. This is the reason why he encourages the use of the tadpole after knowing about the netherese magic containing the transformation via Omellun or Ethel.

Ethel explains that the tadpole had been tampered, so the dialogue goes:

Tav: “It's giving us more time, sounds good to me”. 

Astarion: “Perhaps. And who's to say it can't be tampered with further?” (She said it was netherese magic) “it must be powerful magic to stop the parasite in its tracks, I wonder what else it could do?

At that point in the story, he knows that the netherese magic is powerful enough to contain the transformation: so he is now sure that there is more time to use it. So he will end up being the only companion in EA who encourages everyone to use the power:

“What's not to enjoy (with this tadpole)? I can walk in sunlight, trespass upon any home, manipulate minds – I'm the most powerful vampire in the realms. Granted, the looming doom is an issue, but why not enjoy the benefits while we can?

Despite the nightmares happening after every use of the tadpole powers, Astarion doesn’t want to stop. At this point, he is the only companion who doesn’t want to. 

“The power to twist a mind to your will is worth some nightmares.”

By the end of the game, we are sure that Astarion wants this power without doubts. He revels in the power of mind-controlling people, ironically, despite having suffered so much of it under Cazador’s control. If we see all the situations where Astarion’s mind is controlled, or violated, his reactions will be extremely more aggressive than the other companions. He has suffered it a lot, but by the end of EA he is enjoying being on the other side of that power. 

This post was written on April 2021. → For more Astarion: Analysis Series Index

[curioscurio]

Seriida headcannons because i have brainrot:

• One day Sero puts on roller skates and waits till Iida starts his warm up of running as fast as he can around the tract and right as he takes off Sero shoots his tape at Iida.

• Funniest 3 minutes of Seros life. that is until Iida realizes he has a stowaway and IMMEDIATELY stops but SERO KEEPS GOING

• Long story short Iida has to run Sero to the nurses office because he skated into a tree

• That video of a car driving by with crazy revved engines but someone was playing a trumpet in it to make car sounds thats sero and iida but sero is riding on his back

• Theyre both health nuts but like on opposite sides of the spectrum

• Iida eats 12 vitamin gummies and protien shakes and enhanced health juices and shit

• And sero is like "iida.... the chemicals.." and eats a handful of basil before going out the door to energize himself

• Iida snores and sometimes when he snores his engines will gently purr and tbh it drives Sero absolutely wild. He thinks its the cutest thing ever

• Yes iida will occasionally smoke with sero but only off of school property on a weekend where he can just tell everyone they were out on a date

• Which they usually are but you know

• Sero leans on Iida all the time. He's sleepy? Lean. Need a shoulder to put his head on? Lean. Looking over his shoulder? Hand on the small of his back and lean. Arm over the shoulder. Hanging off his neck. Mans a koala basically.

• Iida likes to fix Sero's hair or tie or uniform when it's messy or out of place. Sero laughs but if it's in front of his friends he blushes like a madman

• Sero is really good at origami and makes little flowers for Iida. Iida is not imune to origami flowers

• Sometimes Sero falls asleep on Iidas shoulder during movies or when he's high or during late night studying and Iida takes it upon himself to carry him to his room every single time...

• in like 5 more mins tho i mean the movie is almost over theres no reason to wake him up yet 👀👀

• Seriida fusion would be named Hanten and their quirk would be asphalt feet so like. Imagine the sole of their feet produces molten asphalt and on the ankle is a wheel that flatens it out as soon as they roll over it. Essentially heelies that pave roads if that helps.

• Sero loves hearing Iida ramble and just lets him speak about whatever's on his mind and Sero will listen intently

• Example It's very obvious when Iida has a bad day and he will try and hold back because he doesnt want to overhwelm Sero but the minuite Sero asks what's wrong Iida let's it all flow out

• On the other hand, getting Sero to talk about his deep feelings is like pulling teeth and sometimes it's hard for Iida because Sero will just Not Want To Talk About It and iida just wants to find a solution or fix the problem

• Also sorry kind of off topic but Iida is the "can i speak to the manager" and "excuse me he ask for no pickles" and sero eats the pickles so not to cause a scene

• Who's more reckless Iida or Sero? Well

• Iida is reckless in life or death situations and will always sacrifice himself for a civillians sake or to avenge something and Sero has to snap him out of it.

• "Oh my god! Some idiot hero just rushed into the burning bulding at incredible speeds-"

• Sero, swearing: "thATS MY IDIOT"

• Sero is casually reckless as in driving one handed, jumping into unknown situations, jumping off roofs but trusting that iida would catch him, approaching a wild animal, that kind of thing.

• Does things that he doesnt realize are reckless. Would drink cactus juice because plant=water of course

• Iida has to stop him from licking swingsets because Denki dared him to

• THEY TAKE CARE OF EAVHOTHERRRR

• When sero forgets to eat and iida bring him a snack and/or a meal

• Sero taking on some of Iida's communal chores because Iida already does like 26363u3 things for their class

• Iida letting Sero cuddle close to him when its really cold outside and it feels like he's back in the ice at the sports festival and everyone is watching and pitying him but oh! Iida is there with an arm over his shoulder and now it's just the two of them and sero feels warm again and oh wow iida is a big man

• Sero noticing that it's Iida's turn to cook for the dorm that night and see's the way Iida's hands shake when it comes time to slice the vegatables and Sero gently takes the knife away from his trembling fingers. Gives iida a new task and takes over most of the cooking but sero really doesnt mind.

• When iida has nightmares about that dark alleyway and the smell of blood and wakes up thrashing but calms down because the smell of the insence in seros room is nothing like blood. The salt lamp in the corner keeps the darkness away and sero groggily asks if he's ok and grabs iida's hand and helps him breathe through it. sero gets up and makes iida a cup of tea and listens to iida talk about his dream and reassures him till iida can fall back asleep

• Middle of a battle and Iida gets cut up on his arm but Sero INSTANTLY drops by him to apply a tape bandage and make sure he's ok

• A villain is about to strike Iida from behind but suddenly his weapon stops mid swing and he's completely imobilized by tape and holy shit have you ever seen cellophane that pissed off before ??

• Sero fighting a villain up on a super high building but gets knocked out and thrown off and iida can only see a small silhouette plummeting from the sky from where he is. Iida books it as fast as he can and just barely manages to catch Sero before he hits the ground.

• When Sero wakes up he weakly snickers and Iida is holding him close, panicking, and asks "what's so funny??? Do you have a concussion" and seros like "i bet denki 20 buck i that the next time i got knocked the fuck out i would wake up in your arms. Im taking you out someplace bougie tonight babey"