#I'm so SICK of now being part of the aggressive group

[thissmycomingofage]

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[yinichigo]

Zelda: Light Enraged

A version of TOTK Zelda where Zelda; upon losing Sonia, snaps, temporarily forsaking her guiding principles of kindness and wisdom in a blind attempt to take out the man who keeps taking away everything she loves.

(little Free writing excerpt below for view into the Mindset of this little au.) (it's gonna be cringe but I gotta share the brainrot with someone. Don't worry it will be below the keep reading line.) (there's a reason I'm an artist not a writer)

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Red. Red like the tainted moon that bathed the world with its horrid light.

Red like Sonia's blood that now stained the late queen's gown.

Red that flowed onto Zelda's arms as she held a woman who she held the lifeless body of one she had come to see almost like a mother close.

Red like the light shining from the now crimson moon that reflected off the tears pouring down Zelda's face as her chest tightened and her body became paralyzed with grief.

Red like the Demon on the Balcony, laughing in victory at it all.

Despite the Demons horrid laugh and shrieking of monsters as they came to life echoed in this distance, Zelda could only hear silence as reality seemed to come to a halt as she looked upon the late queen. It was as if reality was closing in around her, the weight of all her past mistakes holding her like chains. It was as if she was not only looking at Sonia, but Daruk, Mipha, Urbosa, Revali, and even her own father. It was as if they were all looming over her judging her for her inability to save anyone she loved. Zelda snapped back to reality momentarily as Rauru call out to Sonia as he entered the room. "You are too late Rauru." the demon said, Self-satisfaction dripping from his voice. "You took for granted the god-like power you had in your hands. Do you see the potential you squandered? As for her, she is merely the first victim of your arrogance." The words were aimed at Rauru, but neither king could how the words would strike the other person still in the room. Taking one hand from Sonia, Zelda slowly reached for the Secret Stone that lay on her chest. This was no demon in front of them, and it definitely was no god. It was just a power-hungry brute who was flaunting stolen might. Might she and Rauru still had. Might that rightfully belonged to sonia. "You tried to control me, Rauru, and you will die knowing that you failed." Ganondorf laughed as he ready to fire his dark magic as the group. "No." the word was barely a breath as it escaped Zelda. "What was that?" Ganon sneered in disgust "I said No" Zelda repeated as she started to stand, "We have given you mercy and in turn you have taken everything we love. Despite your aggression, we gave you mercy, but that is not a mistake we will make again. It is my duty to protect Hyrule, and that's exactly what Intend to do." The smile on Ganondorfs face twisted into a sick grin as the small woman rose and began to approach, "If that is your wish, I would love to see you try." And fired off the spell he had been preparing.

The dark blast approached Zelda, but just as it would consume her, the growing light from the Secret Stone between her fingers deflected it like a shield. When the darkness and smoke cleared, the once gentle Zelda standing had taken on a new appearance; one as powerful as the demon king standing before her and as dark as her rage.

Rauru called out to her but she could no longer hear. For the time being he or she had become just as lost to him as the late queen. Though he didn't want Rauru knew he had to retreat without Zelda, and though he may be able to lay Sonia to rest, a part of him feared that Zelda may never rest again so long as Ganondorf yet lived. He just hoped that perhaps Zelda's lapse in judgement may yet buy him enough time to rally the nations to aid their fight to save Hyrule, and hopefully save Zelda as well.

[csigeoblue]

Double Date Part 1 - Roy Kent x Platonic!Reader (Ted Lasso Fic)

A/N: Roy Kent is your sour bestie and hates your mean boyfriend.

"Oh come on Roy! Y/N has been asking us to double date with their boyfriend for a month now. They're gonna think you don't like them anymore if you keep dodging 'em babe." As much as it pissed Roy off that Keeley was right, he knew he had to make an appearance especially since Luke is letting you show your face in public for the first time in a while. He'd always been skeptical of the guy when you first started dating but he didn't want to get in the way of your happiness as you'd been so helpful in getting him off his ass to win Keeley back.

"Oi! Fine. We'll fucking go on this stupid double date to check on Y/N." Keely squealed in excitement. She knew you'd be so happy to see your best friend. Roy looked down at his phone to text you back in your chat with Keeley.

RK: Let's meet at your favorite restaurant, Y/N/N.

YN: Luke made reservations for us at Pearl's. xD

RK: But you fucking hate that place.

YN: It's grown on me :3 ... Besides you and Keels love going there!

RK: If you're sure.

Only a fucking arsehole would take their partner to a place they absolutely hate. Roy tried to shrug off the weirdness of your texts and focus on the Tesco trip he had planned with Keeley. ___________________

At dinner, Roy's concern only grew. You came at him like you normally would for an overly aggressive hug but the look in Luke's eyes as he witnessed it was not at all jokingly annoyed even though his words were meant to be. Keeley hugged you with the same energy - having missed you the last few weeks.

"C'mon Darling, don't make a show with me right here."

"Sorry love, you know Roy's my best mate from my time at Chelsea."

"Why don't we get our table then? Thanks for making the rezzie Luke!" Keeley, bless her heart, attempted to diffuse the situation by deflecting attention towards the restaurant you all were meeting at.

You tried to get Luke and Roy to engage in conversation but it seemed Luke only cared about Keeley today.

"Honey, why don't you tell Roy about your new promotion at work?"

"Yes Luke, tell me about fucking work." Keeley rolled her eyes at Roy's sarcasm before hopping in. "Congratulations Luke! What is it you're doing nowadays?"

"Well Keeley, I am now a senior financial analyst at a big firm in London. Taking on more responsibilities and training new idiots."

"They're not idiots babe - they just need your guidance to know what to do. It's not easy being the new kid on the job." The wicked smile Luke gave you at your response made you freeze. Keeley might have missed it because she piped up adding onto your stance but Roy's all knowing gaze caught the slight tremor in your hand as you reached for your wine.

Luke chose that same moment to make a big gesture with his arms pushing back on Keeley a bit and happened to bump your wine allover your shirt as you went to sip. Roy stood up in fury as you did in shock. Luke had the audacity to laugh.

"Oi! Fucking hell, what was that?" Roy breathed heavily as Keeley put a hand on his arm to let him know she was there.

"Sorry Darling, guess you should be more careful of what's happening around you." You took a deep breathe to calm your nerves although now you were full on shaking. You nodded along mumbling an apology to the group.

"Sorry, I'm so sorry."

"Hey Y/N/N, it's not your fucking fault. It's this twat sitting next to you's fault."

Luke threw his napkin on the table as Roy sat down and you were wiping your top. "Alright that's it. Y/N, we are leaving. I'm sick of his shit."

Keeley spoke up concerned at how you've completely shut down.

"Y/N/N, babe, you can stay with us for dinner if you want. I've got a spare top you can borrow in the car. It'll only take a second." You shook your head while gathering your things. Luke had already started walking away from your group.

"No that's okay Keeley. I don't want to make things any worse than I have. You both have a good meal. Roy, you be better be good to this one." You pointed to Keeley with a small smile on your face.

Part 2

[deerabigailhobbs]

Greetings and salutations good friend; I bring offerings of Adamgail-siblings thoughts!

So I was thinking about Adam going 'fuck this' and bringing Abby back home with him. Does he still live in the same shitty place, or has a boost in the popularity of his photos following his post-trap fame given him enough money to get a better place? Do they bring any of the Hobbs House furniture with them? Orrrrrrrrrr does he live with Lawrence, coming home after being missing for a week with no warning like "Honey I'm home, and guess what I brought back: your future sister-in-law!"

Whatever the case, we see a drastic change in the type of clothes Abby wears after episode one. Going from floaty more casual clothing, to a more compressed(i can't think of a better word) look. So what if after moving in with Adam, she starts to wear a more grungy look; quite a few people dress aggressively to warn away people, so maybe Abby could go for that to get randos to stay back to keep herself safe.

Her and Adam could maybe have a siblings bonding moment of Adam giving her a (probably not great) haircut and dye-job in the bathroom to make her look less like the pictures in the paper!

I like to think of the idea of a while down the line Abby meeting Danny from Saw 2 at a 'Teens who nearly got serial-killed support group' or maybe Adam met Danny at a survivors group and Danny stuck to him because 'wow this guy knows Scott Tibbs lead singer of Wrath of the Gods (the band on his t-shirt)' or at some point Adam was like 'hey I have a sister your age I think you two could be good friends'. or something.

Anyway, the end result would be the two meeting and becoming friends, perhaps bonding over their trauma a little bit. And then mayyyybe joining forces to create an angsty teen band where they sing songs about the fucked up things that happened to them!

Hope you're having a good day!

Hello! Very happy to see you in my inbox again friend! I'm a little sick right now, but happy to ramble about the siblings :D

I LOVE the idea of Abigail, Adam and Lawrence living together. I really think Lawrence would be fond of Abigail. Although Adam wouldn't say exactly why Abigail had come to live with them, he'd know the situation back home is dire. I can imagine him getting the house all ready for their return , asking Adam beforehand what Abigail's interests are. So when Abigail arrives she's greeted with a small bedroom full of art supplies, and a window facing the park nearby the house, which he delightfully explains to Abigail had all sorts of critters roaming around day and night. I'm sure this would not only warm Abigail's heart, but Adam's too. Knowing that his partner would care so much about someone so close to him would make Adam want to propose that very moment.

I like to think when Diana visits, her and Abigail would get on well. Abigail would finally know what it's like to be an older sibling figure. I can imagine her helping Diana with her homework or making food for themselves when Adam and Lawrence decide to go on a date night, which would consist of homemade pizza and ice-cream for dessert.

(now I've got a really cute image of Adam and Lawrence coming back home to a sleeping Abigail and Diana, snuggled up against the couch while The Little Mermaid credits roll <3)

Funnily enough, I'm planning on writing a part of my fic where Adam cuts Abigail's hair, but dyeing it is also a nice thought! I'm sure Abigail would be quite hesitant to trust her brother with scissors and hair dye, but surprisingly he knows his way around a head of hair. And paired with some new clothes Lawrence had bought her (no matter how hard she insisted she didn't need them), consisting of flowy skirts, loose tops, cardigans and jumpers/sweaters for the winter months, she'd really start feeling like her own person, not who someone wanted her to be.

I also love the idea of Abigail and Daniel (Danny) being friends! Especially since the only person we see Abigail interact with her age is Marrisa and her dad's victims. He'd think she'd like so cool with her platinum blonde hair (thinking of that one picture of Kacey rn) and they'd hit it off!!! In my opinion, if they were to start a band, I think Abigail wouldn't want to be front and centre, so I can imagine her taking up the drums, hidden away from everyone yet still soaking up the atmosphere. And of course for their first gig Adam insists on taking pictures for free (much to the jealousy of Scott) and he'd be so proud of her!

[cosymelody]

Sorry for the late update everyone :P

Kinda been sick for the past few days and my wrist has been hurting quite a bit ;-;

Anyways, here's the fourth and final part of this little oneshot! Hope you've enjoyed it and sorry if it hasn't been the best it's been a while since I wrote anything

.•♫•♬• 𝑷𝒕. 𝟏 •♬•♫•.

.•♫•♬• 𝑷𝒕. 𝟐 •♬•♫•.

.•♫•♬• 𝑷𝒕. 𝟑 •♬•♫•.

.•♫•♬• 𝑶𝒏𝒆��𝒉𝒐𝒕 𝑷𝒕. 𝟒 •♬•♫•.

Crimson was about to reply with a sarcastic remark but was quickly stopped by Orange speaking in a gentle tone while placing their hand on Crimson's shoulder. "Don't let them get to you, alright, Crimson. Anyways, I suppose I'm the part of us that usually takes care of others and ensures everyone's well-being. It's just my nature to be protective and nurturing." Cyan stood anxiously behind Orange and looked up at them with a nervous glance before lowering their gaze once again. "And Cy here might be our anxiety and other emotional vulnerabilities. They tend to worry a lot and overthink things, but they also bring a sense of caution and carefulness to our decisions." Orange said reassuringly at Cyan, offering them comfort and support.

"So, how the hell do we get back to normal, huh? There some weird cult ritual shit we need to do or something?" Crimson said it in a passive-aggressive way, rolling their eyes. "Now that you mention it, how do we get back to normal? Does it have something to do with the swords, like how we got into this situation in the first place?" Orange said as they looked down at Four, each version of you holding the swords to their sides except for Gray, who was waving it around like a crazy person.

"Mhm. The swords should return you to normal when you hold them in the air with their points touching one another." Four said as he looked at each version of you, a hint of uncertainty in his eyes. Gray snickered at Four's words and finally stopped flailing their sword around as Cyan anxiously backed away from them, with Crimson shooting Gray an aggressive and dangerous look. Cyan looked around hesitantly before returning their gaze to Four and Orange, giving them a nervous nod of understanding.

"Alright then. Let's get this over with so we can get back to normal." Crimson said aggressively, their arms crossed impatiently, before skillfully and quickly spinning their sword into the air, the point of the blade pointing into the sky. Gray snickered as they approached the area where Crimson stood before speaking. "You know, you really are impatient. It kinda proves that you are our spite and rage, Crim." Crimson shot Gray a sharp glare, their eyes filled with fire. "Shut the hell up, ya dipshit."

Orange sighed softly as they pinched the bridge of their nose before glancing over at Four. "I assume this is similar in some way to how your colors act?" Four nodded in agreement with a small hum, confirming Orange's odd yet correct query. "Hm, how interesting. Well, I guess we should undo this whole split before we head back to the group and before Gray and Crimson start a fight with one another. Come along, Cy." Orange finished as they looked over to Cyan with a soft and kind look in their eyes before walking over to Crimson and Gray with their swords in hand.

Orange chuckled slightly as they saw how the others were ready to get back together and reunite into one. "Alright, is everyone ready?" "Hell yeah!" "Mhm." "Yup! Oh, can we keep this?" Gray said as they held up the torn-off claws of the Lizalfos from earlier in one hand. Crimson facepalmed as they groaned in annoyance, while Orange just sighed and spoke again. "Yes, but make sure it doesn't make a mess. It's still leaking blood, and it would be best if we didn't get it everywhere." "Yes! Thank you!" Gray said excitedly as they lifted their sword in the air. Crimson raised their sword as well, followed by Cyan and Orange, the points of all the swords connecting before a bright light enveloped them.

You opened your eyes once the blinding light had dissipated, your vision coming back and seeing no other versions of you standing around. It seemed that the fusion had been successful, and you were now the sole embodiment of your existence. Relief washed over you as you realized that you no longer had to split your mind and body with multiple versions of yourself. You patted yourself down to make sure you were completely whole—a subconscious act that proved you were whole once again.

You sighed in relief as you felt a weight lift off your shoulders. The confusion and chaos from that situation were finally over. You looked back at Four, who was staring at you as if you were some sort of divine being, as if you were the highest and purest living thing that could ever exist. You calmly walked over to him before carefully handing his sword back to him, his expression showing surprise and adoration for you. "Sorry about that whole situation. It was really weird, but still quite interesting." You said softly as he took his sword back with great care.

Four's eyes sparkled with gratitude as he replied, "No need to apologize. Your bravery and quick thinking saved us, after all. And I'm sorry for going through your stuff earlier." You couldn't help but smile at his genuine appreciation, feeling a sense of connection forming between the two of you. As the tension dissipated, you both stood there for a moment, silently acknowledging the unspoken connection that had been forged.

You chuckled softly after a moment before looking down at him with a sweet look, your voice coming out in a gentle and kind melody as you spoke to him. "It's alright, I forgive you. We should probably get back to the group before they start getting worried about us." Four seemed to snap out of his trance of adoration before letting out a little chuckle, his own voice coming out a bit smaller and more soft than usual. "Yeah, I guess so." He would never admit it, but he would much rather have more time with you and only you, not the other Links or anyone else.

You made him feel special and understood in a way that no one else could. As you both made your way back to the group, Four couldn't help but steal glances at you, cherishing the moments you shared together. He knew that the bond between you was something truly extraordinary and irreplaceable. Four couldn't help but hope for more moments like these, where it was just the two of you.

[disgruntleddemon]

Actually do get started on Eleanor Vance from Shirley Jackson's Haunted house on the hill. I've been seeing snippets from it on your blog and I'm getting a bit curious now

i am always ready to talk about my favorite babygirl lol. i'll try not to get too spoilery in case you ever read the book, cause it really is fantastic. if you do ever read it tho, i think the main tws are implied religious/child abuse and suicide

anyway, the very first line's introducing Eleanor is so good. "The only person in the world she genuinely hated, now that her mother was dead, was her sister."

she spent much of her adult life caring for her sick mother, to the point where she became a shut in. it's left her kind of immature, and unsure of how to deal with other people. she lives with her sister, her brother in law, and her young niece. given that this is set in the late 50s, they all seem to look down on her as an unmarried woman, and she's not left with a lot of options. she's offered to stay at hill house, and secretly takes the car her and her sister share to get there

basically, this doctor invited some people to stay at a haunted house and record any supernatural happenings. the main cast is:

Dr Montague: they guy who invited them. he takes on a sort of dad fiend role? the way the characters almost seem to play house with each other is def a thing in the book

Luke Sanderson: rich young dude who's pretty immature and lax. his family owns hill house, and they sent him to stay technically as a chaperone of sorts, but moreso to try and get him to be more responsible

and then there's Theodora: no canonical last name, and reads aggressively as queer in some way. she had a major, break up style falling out with a friend/roomate of unspecified gender, which prompted her to come to Hill House

while there, Eleanor craves connection, she's a deeply lonely person, but she doesn't know how to deal with people. she's left constantly feeling like an outsider, and the book is intentionally vague on what the group seems to think of her

there's also a part of Eleanor that wants to be taken care of, given that she's been a caretaker for years, but she despises being infantilized, which is how she's often left feeling.

she has an intense relationship with Theo, which reads as her being a repressed lesbian with internalized homophobia. she's simultaneously repulsed and obsessed with her. Theo seems to treat it like a summer fling, or just having fun flirting, but Elanor takes it deeply seriously.

Theo and Luke seem to flirt sometimes too, and it reads as both of them just fucking around and having fun for the summer, but Eleanor gets pretty jealous at times. she claims to have a thing for Luke, but only thinks about him with contempt. don't get me wrong, she thinks really nasty things about Theodora, but it's clear they have a lot more of an actual relationship

spoiling this line cause it's probably one of my all time favs in the book. it's just so delicious. they're dynamic is honestly insane

anyways, Eleanor's loneliness and isolation from the group starts to grow, and it seems like the house preys on her for it. it's like a predator circling her, and you can feel it

Eleanor's desperate for connection, and something that understands her, and she starts to believe she's found it in the house. her name is pretty important here too. she doesn't like to go by Nell/Nellie, but that's often what the group calls her. especially Theo. i think it plays into the Infantilization thing. but the house knows her name, and calls her by Eleanor.

i'm totally rambling rn, but i don't wanna spoil anything too too major. but one of Shirley Jackson's strong suits is absolutely her characters. there's so many layers to them, and that really applies to Eleanor. i can't recommend the book enough, it is always rotating in my brain. have a bonus Luke and Elanor scene since i don't know how to end this off lol

[thedivineflowers]

Was gud👾👾👾

So like it was a tie for the poll thingy and I felt like doing the middle schooler mc before overblot thingy so yeah 🤸

Let's go!!!

No one had thought that you could overblot at such a young age. Let alone overblotting when you have no magic! The previous overblots and magic being used around you formed inside your body and gave you your own magic that you didn't know you had until the day you overbloted. You had woken up feeling worse than usual and.notnfeeling like doing anything. Of course Grim woke you up and took notice of how you were pale and had bags under your eyes. The first thing that irritated you was that You were getting ready for the day and felt frustrated that you couldn't brush your hair. You cut the piece of knotted hair off and put your hair up before trying to go on with your day. The second thing was going to Mr. Crewels class. You had failed at test and someone has snatched your paper and announced it to the whole class "WOAH! HOW THE HELL CAN YOU GET THIS KIND OF GRADE MAN? I mean like I can't even be that dumb!" Before you could do anything Ace and Deuce defended you "shut the hell up and mind your own business! They're just a kid and they're not even from here! Don't expect them to know everything bastard!" The third thing that irritated you was Coach Vargas' class. They were to go on brooms and some of the class had mocked you "haha! You can't even ride a broom!" "Bet they wish they were us! Too bad!" You were already tired of them when they just started. "Shut the hell up and leave me alone!" "Ohh, is the nobody sad?~" "I said shut up!" You had swiped your hand to the boys direction and immediately the broom was cut into pieces and the student was dragged away, ripped parts of his clothing in the process. Jack came up to you noticing how you had used magic for the first time. But that aside you seemed extremely irritated. "Hey! Leave them alone!" He picked you up and excused the both of you so you could cool off.

As you sat down in the empty cafeteria jack asked you about the magic "Hey, back over there in the field... Did you know how to use magic?" "No... I didn't know I had magic until now. I'm sorry. I was just so frustrated and-" jack immediately stopped you from saying anything else as he gave you a snack. " Did you eat anything today?" "No. You know I don't eat breakfast." He sighed and went up to the ghost staff to get some food for you and lunch had started.

" you better eat alright? Eat until your full and we'll call it a day." You pushed the food away from you as you voices your complaints. "I'm not hungry and my tummy feels weird." Before Jack could say anything people started walking in and chatted. Jack made you take a couple bites and it turned out the weird feeling was turned into hunger. Surprisingly, your friends didn't sit with you as usual and it was just you and Jack. You were chomping down on your food when a group composed of people from different dorms went up to your table. "Hey, I heard from my friends here that you didn't use very kind words. How about you tell me why?" You took one last bite of your food then you spoke "they didn't use very kind words either and humiliated me. I simply displayed the same aggression they did. You got a problem with that?" "Yeah. You're gonna have to pay." The Diasomnia student grabbed a carton of milk and poured it on you. Jack defended you to the best of his abilities when other students pulled him back so it was just you and the student. A big circle was formed around the both of you and the student shoved the table aside. "Why can't you leave me alone? I'm just trying to get through the day. Why do you want to make it harder for me?!" "Because a puny little twerp like you needs to know their place." He started aiming spells at you when you got sick of it. "Just leave me alone!" Right after you yelled at him the student was dragged into a wall where he was knocked out. You looked around to see who did it when everyone was looking at you. You took a look at your hands. A gemstone that you had never noticed was nearly covered in blot. Malleus has seemed to finally arrived after he was informed that you had used magic. "Y/n." When you heard his voice fear had filled you as your eyes widened and you refused to look at him. Several pairs of hands had grabbed your arm and dragged you to a different area as the others that you knew followed along. You found yourself in a empty classroom as you were sat down at a desk as everyone gathered around you. "What was that." Malleus asked in a stern voice "I'm sorry. I don't know how to control it. I'm sorry I hurt someone from your dorm." "Why are you so frustrated?" Leona asked "..." "Y/n we need to know why you're acting like this." Vil had said as you snapped "I don't know alright?! Maybe because I've been picked on all day and I couldn't defend myself because I WOULD BE BLAMED" "I'm tired alright! I'm tired of getting picked on almost everyday and getting in trouble for defending myself! I'm tired of people paying attention to ME! And looking for things to pick on me for! I just want everyone to leave me alone for just one day! To just shut up and don't say shit!-" flames of different colors erupted around you, everyone moved away and had their magical pens out and ready. Different parts of the room were being torn up by your magic as you screamed from the pressure being put on your from the magic.

You fell into overblot.

DAYUM

Mf I'm hungry now but like I hope you like it cause like I kinda liked it and I feel kinda happy 😍

[cosmicjoke]

Okay, so chapter 213 of "Vinland Saga"!

Still no update on Thorfinn. Booo, hiss. I'm worried about the little dude, big time. It's hard waiting to see if he's actually going to make it or not, though I feel fairly certain he's not actually going to die.

Still, things continue to go badly for the Norse trapped in the fortress, though they seem to be holding out better than expected.

I for real thought for a moment that Einar got his eye shot out by an arrow. It would be funny almost seeing how utterly lost Einar is in this situation if it wasn't also slightly infuriating. He was so unkind toward Thorfinn and his refusal to fight for their village, but he's getting a full dose of reality this chapter about war and the way it works. His and Bug-eyes shock at the other villagers killing that Lnu who snuck into the fortress isn't at all deserved, or at least, on Einar's part, it isn't. He really has no excuse for acting surprised when people die or are killed without seeming reason in a war setting. He asked for this, essentially, by refusing to listen to Thorfinn and evacuate and abandon the village. I really do still wonder how exactly this entire situation is going to end up impacting his friendship with Thorfinn. I don't see Thorfinn holding it against Einar, but Einar's obsessive insistence on not abandoning their hard work and his anger at Thorfinn for being so easily willing to give it up seems like an insurmountable wall between them. Of course, we see some doubt in Einar in this chapter, and some seeming remorse at Bug-Eyes question of whether he thought Thorfinn was still alive or not, given he hasn't returned. It still bothers me though, how Einar is plainly more concerned with defending the village than finding out if his best friend is alive or dead. He continues to be blinded by aggression and his sense of righteousness in defending the village. And of course we see how these things work, with the other villagers vowing revenge for the two men that were killed in the days attack, promising to kill ten Lnu for every one of their men. This chapter definitely did a good job conveying how stupid people can be when getting whipped up about war, the kinds of excuses they make to themselves about why they have to kill others, even when those others aren't posing any sort of actual threat.

And there's obviously a fracture that's going to happen between the different tribes of Natives, with Ga'aoqi and his group waiting it out and hoping to starve the Norse to death, and now there being a contingent of war boats coming at the fortress from the seaside.

I'm thinking the way this whole conflict is likely to resolve is with the different tribes turning on each other and falling into disarray as a result, the entire offensive falling apart in the process. We see more unrest brewing in the way some of the Natives are getting angry at Mu'in and wondering who put him in charge. So I wouldn't be surprised to just see the different groups fracture and turn on each other, and that's what ends up saving the Nords from all dying. That would be pretty anti-climactic, but "Vinland Saga" does have a tendency to resolve it's conflicts in that way. Or maybe the plague will break out, as we do see those rats up in the rafters of the Nords houses. In which case, everyone might get sick and start dying.

Anyway, we'll see where this goes. I hope we get an update on Thorfinn next chapter. I really, really don't want him to die, lol.

[livingfast04]

Love love love the Monster AU!!! Something about humans and monsters living together in society and having laws be made for all to live in a (somewhat) peaceful world is just *flaps hands*.

Also love Steve's parents being together just cuz their both shapeshifters and only having him to continue the bloodline.

Maybe he talks about how he has a crush on someone that isn't a shapeshifter as a kid and they start realizing Steve might be the one to break the cycle. Maybe it freaks them out a bit because shapeshifters are always meant to be with other shapeshifters and they pull away slowly because Steve isn't following in their footsteps.

Also how in this AU there are still some species of monsters that even the most accepting don't want to acknowledge. I wonder why specifically it's shapeshifters.

My favorite part of fics is when Steve's parents aren't awful but they're not good either, true gray area indeed.

Honestly want to know if Steve never came out as non-human to the pack, would they have eventually kicked Steve out of his own home? Would they have worn him down to the point he would have wanted to Get Out of Hawkins and it's shittyness.

The possible angst for this AU is *chef's kiss*.

I don't know how to convey how much I just adore this AU in words and be Normal about it.

Thank you!!

I've been bouncing the idea around in my brain for a little while now, and finally just sucked it up and wrote out the general idea. I wouldn't say they pulled off because Steve is interested in other groupings of people. But rather out of a form of self-hate. It's a lot of Not breaking the cycle of abuse, and what comes from that. They know they are abominations but so is their son. And they don't even like themselves let alone their kid. There's always acceptations of course. They married and had a child out of necessity, both to appear normal, and to keep their families alive. and because it's safer to be with people who understand, than to stretch out. Stress themselves out, risk letting other people know things they aren't supposed to.

It's not just shapeshifters! It's a little hard to push all of that into the whole fic when it's really focused on Steve and his issues. Shifters face a lot of backlash, at least in the au, because they can be anything, could be someone else completely or a totally different person all together and no one would ever know. They are human, but they look less human than most other creatures do. They are a little more aggressive, a little more unworldly. And a lot of people don't like that.

Shifters also isolated themselves. Too many secrets, too many people who lashed out at what they didn't want to understand. So they chose hide rather than to help educate them about shifters.

I've written Steve's parents a few times now, and I wanted a different go at it. Still pretty bad human parents, hold a non-human child to human standards. But they are pretty good Shifter parents. Keep their baby safe. At least, when they finally decide to acknowledge them.

Uh, Steve probably would have starved to death before they kicked him out of his own house... Or died do to blood poisoning. Though Eddie probably wouldn't have let that happen, though he couldn't really tell past just the general smell of sick, and wasn't really doing anything about it because he was pissed off.

In a perfect world, Steve would have stayed. Probably until they had to bodily remove him from his own house, or would have lashed out physically. There was two ways that confrontation was going to do. Steve was going to bite someone, attempt to kill someone who walked into his bedroom, or the route I went with. Baby shifter reaching out to who was in charge of his group, because they could make them go away.

:D I'm happy people are liking this au this much. half has been completely pulled out of my ass tbh. But I'm having fun so it's okay.

[blackjackkent]

Finally got a followup from Astarion regarding the incredibly uncomfortable conversation with Araj back in Moonrise.

"The way she leered at me...the blood merchant... I can't get it out of my head..."

It is the most unsettled Hector has ever seen the elf. All the usual cocky facade is gone and he is fidgeting uncomfortably, the corners of his mouth turned down in an expression of fear and regret.

"It isn't like me. Not like me at all," he says hastily, shaking his head rapidly as if trying to clear something from it. His tone grows more agitated, trying to convince Hector of something and in doing so, trying to convince himself. "I was being too...precious, wasn't I? We could have used her potion."

He clenches his fists at his sides, looks at the ground.

"A moment of unpleasantry doesn't matter if there's a fine reward," he mutters. "I should have just gritted my teeth as always and let her have me for a bit."

Hector listens to this in silence. Does Astarion expect him to agree? Whatever torments Astarion has been put through in the past, he has not faced them here; Hector has done his best to make sure of that. But Astarion still sees it as not only expected but natural that he should have his comfort and safety sacrificed on behalf of the group.

"It makes me sad to hear you talk about yourself like that," Hector says quietly.

The sympathy, however, only seems to agitate Astarion further.

"Why?" he sneers. "I'm simply trying to be realistic. There's nothing more desirable in the world than a vampire, is there?"

"And when you've been through all I have, you damn well are going to fight with what few assets the gods give you!"

His voice rises to an abrupt shout, snarling anger at the workings of fate-- and then he stops, falls silent, as if surprised at his own aggression.

There's a long pause. Hector waits. Astarion lets out a heavy breath, and his face falls.

"But..." he mutters, lower now, still furious, and ashamed. "A part of me feels sick when I think about getting on my back for breadcrumbs again."

Gods. Every time Hector hears what Astarion has been through, it turns out that it was even worse than he thought before. No wonder Araj's offer upset him so badly - it was not just that something was "wrong with her blood", it's that it was a demand for sex, and he has been offered as a prize in that way before, turned into a piece of meat based on his looks and the nebulous appeal of 'the vampire.'

This Cazador...is there any degradation he did not put you through?

Hector sighs, shakes his head. "You have so much more than your looks going for you," he says firmly. And it's true. He's learned a lot about Astarion, far beyond the initial cocky, violent persona he tried to put on - he's got a sense of humor, he's quick with a joke, fiendishly smart, and tremendously strong given the brutal life he has been forced to lead. There's the foundations of a good man under the cracked and broken shell.

Astarion flinches away from the compliment, hesitates. "I had nothing at all for so long," he mutters. "Not even my body. That was owned by Cazador, to be sent out to tempt fools into his palace."

He rubs a hand down his face, fidgets a quick pace back and forth. "I have bedded thousands of people," he goes on, his voice rising in intensity. "Half of them I barely remember. Most of them didn't even grant me temporary bliss..."

A pause. His eyes flick to meet Hector's, and this time he holds the monk's gaze thoughtfully.

"It should have been so easy to let the drow use me for her fantasy. But perhaps..." He swallows, clearly fighting the urge to look away. "You showed me I have enough strength. I don't *need* to."

Hector feels something he hadn't known was tense in him suddenly come loose, and a smile flickers onto his face. He is surprised how much it means to him to hear Astarion say that - that he has started to realize his own strength, and that he credits Hector for his support. The absolute chaos and darkness of Moonrise has left him feeling empty, ineffectual and frightened, but he helped something good happen here.

"You're not a slave anymore, Astarion. You're free," he says softly.

Astarion swallows, and Hector is surprised to hear a tightness in his voice, the edge of tears. "I can stop using myself..." he whispers. "Stop being used. It...isn't worth the scars, anymore..."

[zeafeon]

Hey there! I've heard about a PMD&D campaign you're a part of with @azurityarts using the PokéRole system and its PMD module through their various art pieces and a few asks they answered. If you have time, I'd love to hear more about how that's been going, and what you think about the system!

Oh thanks for asking about it! I'd be happy to answer questions about the campaign I'm hosting right now, but for now I'll just give a general recap of what's going on for the players and what the plot currently is.

So the plot so far has been about Shadow Pokemon suddenly appearing, and the players trying to find who is responsible for their sudden appearance. Shadow Pokemon tend to be extremely aggressive and will typically attack non-shadows on sight (with a few exceptions).

The cause of the Shadow Pokemon outbreak came from one of their clients early in the game, when the group was acting as a sort of rescue team instead of investigating the Shadow Pokemon problem. They were around an Absol named Seth, who suddenly became sick after grabbing a treasure deep inside of a dungeon. They escorted him to a town of herbalists who they believed could help cure his sickness, only to find the town wiped out during their time collecting ingredients that the inhabitants needed to cure his illness. They haven't seen that Absol since, but they did find some strange, shadowy feathers in the room he was in...

Since then, the group has been trying to find a way to combat the shadows, and perhaps turn them back to normal. To achieve this, they enlisted the help of a scientist and researcher, a Porygon-Z by the name of Dr. Zed. Zed is currently working on a machine that can be used against the shadows, one he claims will be able to return them to normal. However, the ingredients he needs to make this weapon work are difficult to obtain, so the group has been helping him gather what he needs.

As for the current situation, they are trying to reach Mesprit's lake, which she seems to have turned into a sort of night club beneath a once bustling city, one that has been overrun with Shadow Pokemon.

I can't share much more of the plot at this time without spoiling my players (who will likely see this post), but I will include a few silly doodles my players have made that might not have been posted anywhere!

As for what I think of the system, before this I was running games off of a completely homebrewed system, which, while it worked, it was a bit unstructured and somewhat loose with the rules. Using Pokerole definitely gives our game a more solid foundation for rules and mechanics, but the module itself seems geared around encounters being extremely vicious and hard to survive. The inclusion of things like lethal damage (aka, a move will straight up kill you instead of knock you out), among a few other changes has led to me needing to make adjustments on the fly just to make sure even more basic encounters aren't a wipe. I do like the system! I just feel like it could be better balanced against players dying so often. That being said, I must be doing something right if there's only been one "death" so far! (And by death, I mean the character's fate is currently unknown, they were abandoned and dragged away by a Shadow Luxray, but they didn't find any kind of remains when they went to look for him!)

Anyways, I hope that gives a general overview of what's been going on, I'm always happy to talk about my own projects!

[ausetkmt]

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- A 20-year employee of the San Jose Police Officers Association charged in a scheme to distribute drugs, including fentanyl.

"I was just absolutely taken aback, shocked, became saddened," Sean Pritchard, President of the San Jose Police Officers Association said, "And as the days have gone by, I'm at a place where I'm now I'm angry."

RELATED: Drug smuggling allegations against police union exec hurts trust of SJPD, former police auditor says

Sean Pritchard, president of the San Jose Police Officer's association says he first got a call from federal authorities last Friday that Joanne Segovia, the union's executive director, was charged with attempting to import illegal synthetic opioid drugs from overseas, specifically valeryl fentanyl.

Federal prosecutors says it was part of a scheme to distribute them in the U.S.

Pritchard says Segovia had been with the union for nearly 20 years.

MORE: SJPOA executive turns herself in, appears in court after being charged in drug distribution scheme

"This person has been really known as the grandma of the POA, and it's not the woman that we have known for well over a decade and so that's why it's been so difficult," Pritchard said, "A woman who has helped fallen officer's families, helped organize fundraisers when officer's children are sick. That's the person we know."

Investigators say Segovia, 65, used her personal and office computers to order the drugs and agreed to distribute them elsewhere in the U.S.

The SJPOA says they had no knowledge of it and are conducting an internal investigation.

MORE: Arrest made in hit-and-run that killed mother and dog, injured daughter, SJ police say

The union says Segovia handled front desk operations but did not make decisions for the organization.

They still don't know what her exact intentions were with the drugs.

According to the criminal complaint, Homeland Security agents were led to Segovia through an investigation that looked into a network they say ships controlled substances made in India.

A network operative's phone was searched and they found messages that were found to be linked to Segovia and her San Jose address.

Investigators found that between October of 2015 and January 2023, Segovia allegedly had approximately 61 shipments mailed to her home coming from countries all over the world, from locations that included Hong Kong, Hungary, India, and Singapore.

MORE: Barricaded San Jose hostage suspect armed with machete killed in police shooting, SJPD says

The shipments had labels that included "Wedding Party Favors," "Gift Makeup," and "Chocolate and Sweets," federal officials said.

Federal investigators intercepted those shipments and say they found thousands of narcotic pills.

According to the complaint, Segovia continued to order controlled substances even after being interviewed by federal investigators in February. On March 13, federal agents seized a parcel addressed to Segovia in Kentucky, containing valeryl fentanyl, a fentanyl analog. The package reportedly originated from China on March 10 and declared its contents as a clock.

Santa Clara County supervisor Cindy Chavez heads the county's fentanyl working group that works to combat the opioid crisis locally.

MORE: Couple sentenced in SJ kidnapping of 'Baby Brandon,' DA says

"What's really concerning me is that it's just a reminder of how accessible this is," she said, of the news, "And that we, from a law enforcement and a community perspective, need to be much more aggressive and much more assertive about how we deal with interrupting that chain that that we just have been unable to break."

ABC7 reached out to Segovia and have not heard back.

The complaint states that she denied any illegal activity in initial interviews with investigators and then later tried to blame her housekeeper.

Segovia is due in court Friday at 1 p.m.

If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of 20 years.

[lunasalix]

Doing a lot of processing. Saw a video where someone was talking about their emotionally abusive parent and realized that the situations and feelings they experienced were eerily similar to my relationship. I've been emotionally abused for 12 years.

12 years.

My default to fawning is probably what has kept me here for so long. There are things that have happened in this relationship that I have never spoken or written anywhere, and may never do so. But I do want to list out a few of the common occurrences to help myself process and maybe help someone else realize their own abuse.

If I leave the house in anything other than no makeup, jeans, and a t-shirt, he accuses me of seeking the attention of other men, outright cheating; or he gets angry that I always dress up for everyone else, but never for him.

He writes down the date every time we have sex and uses these recordings to pressure me into sex if it's been more than 1 week. It does not matter if I am sick or experiencing mental illness symptoms.

He tries to initiate sex aggressively while I'm busy with other tasks, sick, or experiencing autistic burnout. If I turn him down, he reacts by lashing out at me verbally about unrelated issues. This anger can last hours or days.

He comes home daily and spends hours ranting angrily about his job. These rants often devolve into extreme anger toward minority groups as a whole. If I remain silent, he is angry that I am not responding to him. If I dissent, he is angry that I do not agree. I cannot win in these rants. I will always be yelled at.

If I complain about my work, he shuts me down by saying that I've complained about this issue before and should either change something to fix the issue, or just get over it.

He hates leaving the house for any reason, so if I want to go anywhere, I must go alone or with a friend. These excursions lead to accusations of cheating.

If he does go somewhere or do something that is the slightest bit uncomfortable or boring to him, he will make it his mission to ensure that everyone around is as miserable as him. This leads to a lot of me trying to cover for him and taking the brunt of his displeasure. He is proud that he does this.

He used to constantly take my journals and phone and read everything I wrote or talked about with others. I stopped journaling. Sometimes he still takes my phone.

He believes that my hobbies (sfx makeup, costuming, concerts, flow art) are sexual and accuses me of wanting to be a stripper.

Last year, I began preparing to go into drag professionally. I started building my costumes and practicing choreography. 2 weeks before my planned debut, he told me that if I ever got onto a stage, we would be over and I would be kicked out of our home (my childhood home that he bought at a huge discount from my mother and secretly cut me out of the deed on).

He tells me to try harder and just get over my autistic and adhd traits. He rolls his eyes and groans any time I mention those disabilities in relation to something in my life.

He hates key parts of my identity and will yell angrily at me about those identities if I bring them up (queer, disabled, activist).

He takes pride in being excessively cruel to others and threatens to do this to my family if forced to be around them.

Like I said, there's more that I won't put into words, but this is most of it. I didn't know i was being abused. Now that I do, I want out more than ever, but I'm financially trapped for the time being, and he knows it.

[actinidiafruit]

I just really wish masculinity wasn't seen as bad. I completely understand the stereotypes of bad men, who spout misogyny, racism, etc. Men who abuse their S/Os, men who get angry drunk, etc etc. But y'know, that isn't the fault of masculinity. That's the fault of the individual, the way men are raised in society, and the guys who won't hold their friends accountable.

Sometimes I really wish I were socialized as a man, but then I look around at my peers and see the unfair expectations set. The lack of being allowed to express their emotions properly (hell, the lack of even being taught how). Not saying men should be painted as victims due to the stupid societal pressures that exist, but there does need to be compassion and an attempt at understanding it. We need to raise our future men without these pressures, with the ability to cry and not be embarassed about it.

And I'm so sick and tired of hearing about a man doing literally nothing wrong, and having all the women in my life say shit like "oh stupid men are at it again," "we should eradicate men," etc. Like. Do they not see how dehumanizing that is? Do they understand that all hell would break loose if a man said that about women? Again, I understand that most women have had bad encounters with men, but that doesn't excuse boiling things down to black and white thinking. You're going to get nowhere in solving the problem if all you do is demonize things and joke about how x group should die.

And the comments about my own state. If I'm angry, well, "that must be the testosterone." Completely ignoring the fact that I'm less angry, and more in control of my emotions now that I'm on testosterone. Every negative action/saying I do is now percieved by others as a result of "man behaviour." Even though I'm not aggressive, and I try to be polite as often as I can. And the whole "Oh if you get offended by 'kill all men' jokes, you must be a part of the problem!" I don't even pass in public yet due to my chest. Hating like this, calling my every negative action "masculinity" is fucking dumb. Use your head, I am begging.

There is, in fact, a happy medium that exists. Nuance is a very real thing.

ultimately a lot of feminists will look down on or outright condemn transmasculinity and transmanhood simply because it is not narratively satisfying. because transmasculine identity and joy does not mesh with their feminism-as-defined-by-cis-women. they see trans men&mascs and, immediately or deep down, feel disappointed. by the womanhood dropouts. feel that transmasculine people will always be less feminist, or that they relinquished their place when they "quit" or "betrayed" their "sisters." they may not even hate trans men, they may not even be cisgender, it's just that they think it would be such a better look for the movement if you didn't... you know.

anyways. without acknowledging this feminist discomfort with transmasculinity and transmanhood, how it's caused by the friction between trans m&ms and cissexist feminism, we'll keep being failed over and over and over again by our own communities. we need to change the narratives we prize instead of treating trans men's identity as a problem to be solved.

[nyuwie]

His Obsession

ML x Reader

You were at a nightclub, dancing, drinking, and simply having a good time with your buddies. While dancing, you notice a bunch of guys stroll in, but you don't pay much attention until Damian walks in with a group of his friends. The moment you make eye contact, he goes from calm and pleasant to upset.

He rapidly approaches, tossing his jacket at you. "Put this on. Now." He says, clearly irritated with how you were dressed; you knew he wasn't going to leave you alone for the rest of the night.

"No way. You're not my boyfriend or something." You said as you rolled your eyes at him.

"Do you want to get harassed?"

Damian said upset, now that you had some baggy clothes on you, he was relieved, but now you wouldn't be able to catch the attention of any guys, which he was content with that.

"And do you really think anyone worth your time would even look at you?

"I am already being harassed by you." You said sarcastically.

Damian glared at your comment, not finding it funny in the least, instead now standing really close, towering over you, and wrapping his arm around your waist, making it where you couldn't move, pulling you into him.

"You're very mouthy tonight. Do I have to make you bite your damn tongue?"

He said, now sounding upset about your comment.

"Still not gonna wear your jacket." You said as you took a sip of your drink.

Damian just rolled his eyes. Of course, you were being stubborn, you just couldn't be cooperative, could you?

"I hate you." He muttered, but even with the jacket, boys were still looking at you.

Damian tightened his grip on your waist, pulling you closer, trying to cover as much of you as he could.

"Admit that you like me, Damian." You said teasing him.

Damian rolled his eyes again, now feeling irritated at your teasing, but still holding you close to him, almost aggressively.

"Never, I hate you, I hate your face, I hate your lips. I hate everything about you."

He muttered, trying to hide the fact that he actually was madly in love with you but would never admit it.

"Quite defensive are we?" You chuckled.

Damian tried to not smile at your chuckle, but he couldn't help it, he liked how you chuckled, but he quickly went back to a frown.

"You are very annoying." He muttered, looking around, seeing guys still looking at you.

He started to think of different ways to just take you home for the night so he wouldn't have to deal with these guys looking at you.

-TIMESKIP-

As midnight hit, Damian was getting tired of all the guys staring and looking at you, so, he took matters into his own hands, grabbing the back of your head, pulling your head back gently, tilting it up and smashing his lips into yours, kissing you full before pulling away.

"Alright, time to go." He said, now completely possessive.

You immediately pulled away and protested. "I can go home on my own, Damian." You stumbled as you try to walk.

Damian quickly grabbed your waist, pulling you back to him, wrapping his arm around you.

"No way in hell you're going home on your own. Like I would let you stumble home drunk. You're coming home with me, no argument. I'm not letting you out of my sight."

He said very firmly, not taking no for an answer, gently picking you up bridal style.

"B-But my mom! She would be worried sick!" You said as you tried to pull away from his grasp.

Even with you attempting to pull away from him, he kept his grip very firm.

"Don't care. You're coming with me, I already texted your mom, telling her I was bringing you home with me."

He said, knowing that even though your mom knew you absolutely hated each other, for some reason, she still trusted that you would be safe with him, letting him take you with him.

"She what?!" You said very shocked. Your mom trusted this guy??!

Damian smirked.

"Exactly, she trusts me to keep you in one piece, and of course, she knows how much of a lightweight you are when it comes to drinking."

He muttered the last part, still annoyed that you even took a sip of the drink in the first place.

He then carried you over to his car, opening the passenger side, placing you in, before closing the door, getting in on the drivers seat.

You replied with a groan.

Damian smirked once again, starting up the car, he looked over at you and laughed under his breath. Even after you had a couple drinks, you still were being very mouthy to him, trying to protest everything he says.

As they pulled out from the spot, Mason had one hand on the wheel, the other now gently running up your thigh as a warning to stop talking back to him.

"S-Stop touching me." You said as you pushed his hands away.

Damian groaned, his hands tightly gripping the wheel, not being too happy about you pushing away his hand on your thigh.

"Fine. Don't mind if I touch you elsewhere."

He said, now letting go of the wheel and reaching over to unbuckle your seat belt, before grabbing your leg, pulling it across his lap and grabbing your foot, now gently rubbing it as if to give you a foot massage.

"What the hell are you doing??" You said as you back off slightly until you hit the door of the car.

"You said stop touching you... so I stopped touching your thigh, and instead I'm touching your foot."

Damian said casually, as he continued to give you a foot massage all the while driving to his home, now glancing over at you, knowing that you were trapped, unable to get away from him unless you threw yourself out of the car.

You pulled away your foot, away from his hands.

"I'd rather jump out of this car." You rolled your eyes. Annoyed.

"Do it. I dare you." He said calmly as he continued to glance at you.

"As I said, you're not leaving my sight tonight." He once again reminded you before he looked back at the road, smirking at the annoyed look on your face.

As they neared his house, his smirk widened, he knew of all the ways to keep you with him.

Damian put the car in park and looked over at you, unbuckling his seat belt and undoing your seat belt, pulling you against him, gently pinning you down, so you couldn't try anything stupid.

"Promise to behave?"

"Fine. I promise to behave." You rolled your eyes.

Damian smirked at your lack of arguing, gently pulling you over to the leather couch, sitting down and pulling you onto his lap, wrapping his arms around your back, and leaning back into the couch, closing his eyes for a second, before speaking.

"Try and get out of my lap, and I'm making sure you can't leave."

He muttered, pulling you in closer, just wanting the feeling of you close.

You just stay put and glared at him.

Damian couldn't help but chuckle, enjoying your annoyed look on your face, but at the same time, he loved this situation.

"What? Not happy now that I'm actually holding you?"

He teased, looking up at you, his hands rubbing gently against your back. One thing about Damian that you may not have known was that he was starved for affection.

"I love you." He mumbled, his cheeks tinted pink as he finally confessed, he never expected you to hear him, he was still very tired and wasn't exactly thinking straight.

"You what?"

Damian's eyes widened, now hearing your voice after he mumbled out the three words he was dying to say.

He gulped, panicking at the realization that you heard him when he blurted out his feelings.

"N-Nothing. I said nothing. I have no idea what you're talking about." He muttered, trying to backpedal and pretend he never said anything. He didn't want to tell you and have you push him away.

"Oh okay" You said brushing off the thought of him actually loving a messed up girl like you.

"Love you too" You mumbled.

Damian's head shot up, his icy-cold blue eyes widening as he heard what you said, was he dreaming, or did you actually just say you loved him back?

"H-Huh? Did you just say what I think you just said?" He muttered, feeling as if he was in a dream and thinking he was just imagining what he just heard.

"I don't know." You chuckled teasingly.

Damian was so damn confused, did you say it or was he just hearing things, or was it just him imagining it. He just sat there looking at you, still holding you on his lap, but this time he tightened his grip as if to make sure he wasn't losing you.

"I-... Y-You do?" He asked, still not believing that he actually heard you say what he thought you said. He's desperate to hear you say it again.

"I love you." You said under your breath. More like a whisper.

Damian looked at you for a couple seconds after hearing you say that, before a wide smile appeared on his face, his eyes full of love.

"I'm definitely not hallucinating." He muttered, quickly leaning in and smashing his lips against yours, holding you close and refusing to let go, pulling you tighter into the kiss, wanting to deepen it, wanting to hear you moan into the kiss.

-Should I continue this?-

[casspurrjoybell-28]

Alpha's Temptation - Chapter 38 - Part 2

*Warning Adult Content*

It's now a few days later and Lucien has been declared comatose.

His vitals are thankfully stable, not that it provides any relief for Daemon.

He goes to the hospital constantly to check if his father is okay, if the doctors and nurses are doing their jobs correctly.

I go with him whenever I can.

I don't have anyone I can call a parent but I can only imagine how much distress Daemon is in seeing his in a hospital bed.

And now that I think about it Lucien is the closest thing I have to a father and yeah, I'm really worried too.

Sick with it, sometimes.

And when my mate is upset and sad and I'm upset and sad, things get really tense and stressful without them meaning to be.

The other day we had a small argument about how he saw Jay's arm around me when he picked me up from a hangout with my friends.

Of course, I apologized immediately but then he was asking all these questions about why an Alpha is hanging out with a group of three omegas or if I let Jay touch me like that all the time.

Of course, I started to cry and then he felt bad so we just hugged and decided not to talk about it anymore.

It didn't feel great that we didn't resolve it, though.

Then another time he was in a really bad mood after getting in an argument at work so I offered to have sex, thinking it would help him blow off some steam.

He did not react well.

He didn't like that I'd basically told him 'use me.'

He took it as an insult to his character.

Yeah, I think I definitely hurt him with that one.

So, things haven't been the best between us.

But it's not like he's treating me badly.

And we sleep in the same bed every night.

And even if everything feels wrong in the world, if I can fall asleep to the sound of his heartbeat, I'm okay.

Right now we're at Lucien's house in the living room.

I sit with Tristan on the couch, who Daemon says is the only alpha he can trust me with, besides Lucien.

My friends call him overprotective but my mate being so devoted to my safety is actually really cute to me.

I laugh at a meme Lylah sent to the group chat, quickly typing out a reply when Tristan switches on the TV.

I don't bother to look up until I hear a strangled scream coming from the speakers, jerking my head up to see Tristan's put on a horror movie.

A man is chained to a wall, being tortured by a robed figure in a mask.

The figure whips out a twisted looking blade and slices off the man's earlobe.

Blood splatters everywhere, the man screaming again and I feel like the wind has been knocked out of me.

My breaths become shallow as my gaze is locked on the screen.

My body feels frozen and I can't look away.

'That used to happen to me.'

I don't believe it. That can't be true.

'I used to be locked up for days on end. I used to be tortured by a man who had complete ownership over me.'

My heart is thundering so fast it feels like I'll faint.

My throats closed up and I can't breathe, overcome by fear.

It feels like I'm back in that horrible place.

Back where my stepfather can hurt me.

It can't be real.

Please don't let it be real.

I am not the boy that used to grovel at my stepfather's feet, blood on my back as I begged to be let out.

No. No.

'No no no no no no.'

Suddenly Daemon is there, aggressively snatching the remote from Tristan's hands.

"Turn that shit off," he growls angrily.

The screen flashes before going dark.

His voice has brought me back to the present and I sit there trembling, watching everything unfold with watery eyes.

"What the fuck did I do?" Tristan yells.

He stands up, his Alpha responding to Daemon's.

My mate ignores him, immediately going to me.

His eyes fill with pain as he takes in the look on my face.

He carefully reaches for me and when he sees I don't tense up in fear, he takes me into his arms, letting me bury my face in his chest.

"I guess I'm chopped liver, then," I hear Tristan snap.

"Don't ever show something like that to my mate again," Daemon bites back.

"He can't handle a little blood? You know what? You've become a fucking piece of work after finding your mate. Trying to rub it in my face how lucky you are, huh? I'm the one who's wanted a mate all these years, when you couldn't have cared less about having one. So fuck you, Daemon. Fuck this," Tristan shouts and then the front door is slamming shut with a deafening bang.

I flinch at the noise, hiding in Daemon's arms, despite the guilt flooding through me for what just happened.

I've done it again.

Caused so much trouble and drama for my mate.

Why am I so pathetic?

I'm the worst.

Without a word, Daemon picks me up and I cling to him like a koala, desperate to be attached to him.

He brings me upstairs and sets me down on the bed, intently observing me.

"Are you okay?"

"W-what about Tristan?" I ask, my bottom lip quivering.

"He'll be fine. I need to know if my mate is okay."

"I-I don't know," I say, barely above a whisper.

Daemons face softens and he sits down besides me.

"I'm hate that it's so... so easy for me to get like this," I whisper, tears pooling in my eyes. "Why can't I be normal?"

"Do you know how many times I've wished that?" Daemon rumbles out. "As many times as it took me to realize that no one is normal."

"I just wish I'd had a b-better chance," I sniffle. "A chance to not have had to go through that. I... I want be happy and not remember horrible things. But I can't and every time I think of him my body f-feels like it's rotting from the inside out. He took everything from me..."

I bury my face in my hands, my chest wracking with sobs.

My mate's big, warm arms surround me and I collapse into him, my body going limp.

"I'm so sorry," Daemon's voice is rough with anguish.

"I should've been there. Found you earlier and taken you away."

I shake my head.

"You didn't know, Daemon. I was so far away. In the enemy pack. You didn't..."

I break out into a sob, not able to finish my sentence.

He kisses my head, holding my tearful face to his, his brow creased in sadness and beyond that, anger.

Deep, broiling anger that I see simmering below the surface.

His body is tense beneath my fingertips, evidence of the effort he's making to restrain himself from letting his rage show.

"I will kill him with my own two hands," he growls. "I know that I can't erase him from your mind but I swear to you that I will take him off this earth forever and you will never have to fear him again."

"M-make it painful," I choke out. "Make him suffer."

"He will wish he was never born," Daemon assures me.